Kitsune Travel Record's

***************************

Japan, Ozunu Orphanage

Raizo walked carefully along the floor, his steps deliberate, his eyes scanning the ground he knew this was a treacherous path. Strings stretched beneath the floorboards, designed to detect any movement to alert those who lurked in the shadows.

One wrong step and his location would be revealed his attack would be thwarted.

He moved cautiously, one step at a time, trying to avoid the floorboards to remain silent but he failed.

A single, telltale sound, a sharp *twang* as a string vibrated broke the silence.

He froze, his heart pounding in his chest his senses on high alert.

"You have forgotten my teachings, child. No, you always failed that test to begin with. You are a failure compared to him." a voice, laced with disappointment that morphed into disdain, echoed from one of the rooms.

Raizo stopped, his gaze fixed on the room. The voice, familiar filled him with a mixture of anger and sorrow. It was Ozunu.

He started walking again, his steps quicker now, his resolve hardening he didn't care about the strings anymore, he had to find Ozunu.

"Is that why you threw those shurikens to save him from the soldiers?" Raizo asked, his voice a low murmur his words meant to provoke to make Ozunu reveal his location.

"Yes, because unlike you, he isn't a failure." Ozunu replied his voice laced with a hint of smug satisfaction.

"And he will always be a part of the Ozunu clan."

Raizo quickened his pace, his footsteps echoing in the hallway. He knew where Ozunu was.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room, his muscles tense his senses on high alert.

But the room was empty.

Raizo frowned He looked at the floor, his eyes searching for any clue any sign of Ozunu's presence.

Then he spun the kusarigama, its weighted chain slicing through the air. He threw it at the floorboards, his movements swift and powerful.

The kusarigama a deadly weapon honed by years of practice struck the floorboards with a resounding thud destroying the floor boards and the strings designed to detect movement snapped under the impact.

"Do you think being part of the clan was a good thing for the kids?" Raizo asked, his voice filled with a mixture of anger and sadness.

He was trying to focus on Ozunu's voice to find him to confront him.

He walked across the room his footsteps now silent with the strings beneath the floorboards destroyed.

"Whether you like it or not, I treated everyone in the clan as family." Ozunu replied, his voice a blend of indifference and a chilling calm.

"It may have been hard, the training, the discipline, but when I gave you a place, a strength to survive in this world you should have known you were part of the clan with duties towards every member. Betrayal was not accepted." His voice turned serious, a hint of anger creeping into his tone.

"Making a young man kill other people, turning every member of the clan into a killer, is that what family means to you?" Raizo's voice filled with a raw, unbridled fury, echoed through the room.

He opened another door, his eyes landing on Ozunu sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room a katana lay before him.

"Pity, you still haven't grown up," Ozunu said his eyes meeting Raizo's, a flicker of amusement in their depths.

"This cruel world has always been hard to live in what I did was giving you a fighting chance to survive but you guys didn't cherish it. That's why kiriko didn't live"

Raizo, his anger burning hotter than the flames of the orphanage, ignored Ozunu's justifications.

"The breathe I take after you are dead will be the first time I live my life" he said with fury.

As He threw the kusarigama at Ozunu, the chain whipping through the air the blade aimed at Ozunu's throat.

Ozunu, his eyes gleaming with a chilling anticipation didn't even flinch.

He didn't try to dodge. Instead, he reached for the katana in front of him, his fingers curling around the hilt.

Then in a blur of motion he vanished.

It wasn't a slow, deliberate fade in the shadows like he'd used before or what Ozunu Ninjas use but a sudden almost impossible displacement the air around him rippled as he disappeared leaving only a lingering echo of his presence.

The kusarigama, its trajectory unchanged, continued its arc.

It struck the wall with a resounding thud the force of its impact shattering the wood and plaster as dust spreads.

•-----•-----•-----•-----•

Forest Behind the Orphanage

Lucian smiled as he walked through the forest the sound of the river rushing nearby a soothing balm to his ears.

He heard the children talking behind him, their voices hushed their words filled with a mixture of fear and hope.

"Are we safe?" a younger child asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Of course." an older child replied, trying to sound reassuring.

"But it'll be a long walk, okay? It'll be hard if you're hungry." They were trying to shift the conversation away from the fear to focus on the practicalities of their escape.

They knew how easily children's minds could wander, how quickly their anxieties could escalate.

"No, I'm fine. I'm strong." the younger child said, shaking her head, her eyes wide. Discipline was ingrained in the Ozunu clan. They knew the consequences of showing weakness.

"It's okay to eat." Garrett said, his mind already planning their next meal.

"We'll just hunt for food later." He envisioned wild boars, plump and juicy meat and fresh fish from the river making him drool.

Lucian smiled as he turned around. He saw the older kids their faces a mix of weariness and determination carrying the younger children.

One of the youngest children was even riding on Garrett's shoulders a testament to the strength and resilience of the young boy.

While Violet her hands was holding two younger children as she walked behind them.

Lucian turned back towards the river. He knew they were headed for safety, that they were moving toward a new beginning.

'This is the best thing I've ever done in my entire life,' he thought his heart filled with a joy he had never known before.

He would never regret his decision but he would forever cherish this moment.

Cortana floated beside him, her gaze fixed on the children, a small smile playing on her lips.

"This is just the start." she said, her voice a soft murmur. Their journey in this world was just beginning.

However Lucian's smile faltered he stopped walking his face turning serious, his senses on high alert, he heard something far away, a sound that sent a shiver down his spine.

Violet, seeing Lucian stop and understood why he stop she knew Lucian had the keenest senses of anyone in their group,

he was the one who guided them the one who kept them safe.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, her voice laced with worry, her grip on the children's hands tightening.

Lucian raised his hand, signaling for them to be silent.

He closed his eyes, focusing his hearing, tuning out the sound of the rushing river,

the whisper of the wind the rustling of leaves, his entire being tuned in to the faint sounds in the distance.

He heard it. The rustle of leaves,

the movement of unseen figures on the forest floor, the distinct sounds of footsteps,

and then the rapid multiplication of those footsteps running towards them with relentless wave of motion.

His eyes snapped open a jolt of alarm shooting through him.

"It sounds like there are hundreds of them." Cortana said, her voice filled with concern, her eyes fixed on the direction of the approaching sounds.

Lucian's mind raced they were too fast their actions targeted as if they'd been waiting. The sound of their approach a symphony of footsteps grew closer, unstoppable, unyielding.

"There's someone in front of us." Lucian said, his voice tight with a mixture of apprehension and resolve.

"There are too many."

He looked at the children their faces pale, their eyes filled with a mix of fear and hope.

They understood their escape, their journey toward freedom was being threatened.

Lucian sighed his heart heavy with a sense of responsibility.

He couldn't escape by himself not if it meant sacrificing their safety.

He had to protect them to ensure their survival.

He closed his eyes, his mind racing, his plan solidifying. He had to buy them time to create an opportunity for their escape.

He pulled the katana from his back its blade gleaming in the dim moonlight.

He turned to face the direction of the approaching footsteps.

He knew what he had to do.

"Go back." he said his voice firm, his words laced with a mix of urgency and a desperate hope.

"Maybe the soldiers will get you the freedom you want."

"What? You want us to go back there?" Garrett asked, his voice filled with shock and disbelief.

He couldn't believe that Lucian would suggest such a thing that he would abandon them.

"No way. Do you know what will happen if we go back? If we get caught by Ozunu? He'll kill us all." Garrett's voice, filled with a mixture of fear and anger, trembled as he envisioned the horrors they might face.

"I said go back to the soldiers, not the orphanage." Lucian said, his voice unwavering.

"Now go! I'll buy you time." He started walking, his steps quickens and purposeful, his determination evident in his increasingly rapid pace.

The older kids looked at each other, their faces a mix of confusion and fear.

Then they looked at the younger children, their eyes filled with worry, they knew that returning to the orphanage wasn't an option, not after what they had experienced but they also knew that Lucian was trying to protect them.

"I don't want to go back." a younger child said her voice trembling, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I want to go home." another child said,

his voice a choked whisper his words filled with longing.

They had escaped their prison found a glimmer of hope but now they faced a new danger.

The older children, their resolve hardening, took the younger children their faces filled with a mixture of gentleness and determination.

They pulled them along, carried them, guided them, their movements a testament to the bond they shared a bond that transcended fear and despair.

Violet, her heart pounding, watched as Lucian, his figure disappearing into the dense forest as he walked further away. She pulled the two children close her grip tightening.

She had to trust him.

"What's your name?" she asked loudly, her voice ringing through the clearing.

"We just know you as Asura. What's your real name?" She couldn't help but ask. She wanted to know the man who had saved them, who was risking his life for them.

Lucian, his steps quickening then he paused

his eyes fixed on the approaching threat he answered, his voice soft but clear enough for them to hear.

"Lucian."

Then he started running, his speed become fast with his determination getting stronger. He would face whatever was coming, whatever threat awaited him.

Violet, her eyes filled with admiration and gratitude before she looked at her companions.

"Let's go. Don't let him buying us time for nothing." She continued pulling the children, her voice a mixture of urgency and determination.

The children their initial fear dissipating, started walking again, their steps a little quicker, their face full of determination.

They couldn't let Lucian risk his life for them in vain as their journey towards freedom was far from over.

_______________________

Next Chapter: Kurokos

_______________________

Marishadow:

Hello to Everyone!, Join my p.a.t.r.e.o.n on:

https://www.patreon.com/Marishadow

To Support me and get access to advanced chapters. Get ahead up to 20 chapters.

~ 5 advanced chapters $5 ~

~ 10 advanced chapters $10 ~

~ 20 advanced chapters $20 ~

Every member helps me creating and sharing more with you all.