Chapter 1: 

As soon as night fell, the village was already bustling with energy and happiness. In the village of ShaoYin, festivals were a pretty big deal. It wasn’t just the village's best way for its villagers to express themselves, it felt like release, and breaking away from what they held for so many years. People ran the market area to their hearts content, people conversed the night away, and everyone was allowed to be who they truly were. What stopped them was their fear of the most deadly ninja clan in the area, the Hoshira clan. 

ShaoYin has been traumatized by this clan for years now. So many attacks have been made against them, it started to become a regular in the current years. No one ever understood what the village had done to the clan for the attacks to be made, but no one ever stood up to question it. ShaoYin was always a puppet compared to the clan, and always made a mockery of them in every mission. Tonight, sadly, was going to be another instance of this. Even when the village thinks they’re safe from harm, the familiar sirens will go off, and the festivities would stop. Drums stopped suddenly, all of the villagers froze, and the sirens were the only thing left to be heard. Soon enough, every villager was able to see the Hoshira Ninjas file into the village, carrying various weapons and supplies. Villagers would run away, hide under carts or in stands, and hold hands in silent prayer. 

 “Village of ShaoYin…” 

The lead ninja exclaimed. 

“We see the festivities…we see everything, and it’s about time we shut this down.”

 That lead ninja was Toshi Hoshira. He had taken over the clan for about 20 years, and had led almost every attack against the village. These missions were mere training in his eyes, and feasted on the village’s weakness. He signalled for the ninjas to fall out, and all of them split with mastery. Ninjas, left and right, terrorized the village. Breaking into stands for Yen*, Lighting flames upon decorations, and destroying everything one piece at a time. The sounds of villager’s screams signalled success, and was the only thing that Toshi led these missions for: To bring intimidation to the village. 

“Grab everything! Leave nothing behind! Show them who truly owns them!”

 He commanded, watching his ninjas grab and take. 

One ninja that he made sure to keep his eyes on was his daughter, Yumi Hoshira, and the heir being the master of the clan. She had been loyal to this clan for her whole life, and trained under her father for moments like these. She wasn’t just the daughter of the master, she was the clan’s smartest and strongest unit by a long shot. 

“Okay Yumi…let’s grab this stand.”

 She would think to herself. She hopped inside with expertise, and looked around for valuables. She pulled out her katana and spotted a shop owner on the ground.

 “You! What’s the most valuable thing you own?” 

She asked aggressively, pointing her katana at the boy. “U-Uh…Check the drawer, my jewelry should be in there…”

 The shop owner said, clearly intimidated by her.

 “Don’t get any ideas…I will kill on sight if I see any funny business.”

 She snarled at him, already scanning the drawers. “No…No…Yes! This should do.” 

She said to herself, grabbing as much as she could. After draining the drawer completely, and marking the stand by carving the clean’s kanji on his wall, she was off into the night once more. 

The village wasn’t the same festive type in these times, they were weak, and at the mercy of the clan. The cries of scared children and the continuous sirens brought anxiety to everyone in the village. Ninjas continued to rule the night, and didn’t stop for anyone. 

“Alright, file back in! This village clearly couldn’t provide us tonight…” 

Toshi said, waving his hand off. The ninjas filed back up in an instant, still carrying various valuables like jewelry, yen, and other things. As they marched back up, villagers slowly started to come back out. Most shed tears of being robbed, others could only stand emotionless. It was always hard for them to come back from constant attacks, but they always tried their best as a community. Neighbors met to comfort each other, hold each other, and be the remaining family they needed in those times. The only ninja to look back at them was none other than Yumi. She saw one of the villagers trying to call everyone, as he seemed like the only one that had some faith left. It couldn’t help but make her feel something pang at her. 

“What is he doing?”

 She thought to herself. The boy had an apron on, so he was clearly a chef or something. He was trying to cheer up some of the low villagers. He was trying to say something but she was too far away to hear. 

“Why did he do something like that? It’s not gonna help the fact that all of them got attacked…”

She thought. After finally breaking her gaze by being yelled at by her father, she kept marching back.

Once they got back to the dojo, she was met with the sound of her mom fixing some meals in the kitchen. 

“Oh! Hey guys! How did your little mission go tonight?” 

She was the only non-ninja in the clan. 

“It was just another night…I take it that dinner isn’t ready?” 

“It’s gonna take a little longer, dear. The beef for our gyudon* didn’t want to cook tonight.” 

She said with a shy giggle in her tone. Toshi let out a low sigh, and headed off to his quarters.

 “And how’s Yumi tonight?”

She said, dramatically dropping her voice to joke with her. 

“The mission was fine, the ending was a little weird.” 

“How so? I’ve never heard you call a mission weird before.” 

“Well, there was this boy…”

Her mom’s eyes widened at the word “Boy” 

“Oh my god, a boy!? Did he go up to you!? How did you two meet!?” 

She asked ecstatically, making her daughter blush. “I-uh-Mom! Why would I be seeing a boy? I’m a kunoichi*, remember?” 

“It’s not my fault for assuming you saw someone. You’re a 17 year old girl, who's incredibly hot for her age!”

Yumi’s face dropped. 

“Let’s stay on topic! Anyways…”

She blurted, reeling her mom back in. 

“He kept trying to calm everyone that got attacked…why would he do something like that?” 

She said, still confused by his actions. 

“Maybe…he was just putting others before himself…something that this clan doesn’t do for you.” 

She said, a smile on her face. 

“Plus…thats a good trait for a boyfriend to have.”

She joked, making Yumi angry. 

“Alright! I’m dropping from this conversation!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>