Royal Princess of Blood

Jin Rei separated from his superior once the meeting with the clan lord was over. Alone, he made his way to the Nightshades clan's training hall, the place where the new group of ninjas were being trained. The hall was separate from the main castle.

As he walked down the paved pathway, he could sense several eyes watching him. Most were from the guards positioned all throughout, but he could sense some gazes from the shadows. But he disregarded them, something like this was to be expected. He was at the most important building of the whole island, many dangerous eyes lurked in the shadows to stay on guard, to protect. Especially now that there were guests of great importance, one would never know what kind of danger could be around.

Eventually, he arrived at a particularly large building. It gave off a dark, chilly atmosphere. There were no guards around here, and there were barely any windows in the building. Even if they were, they were covered by dark curtains inside. As if they were preventing light from ever going in, none could even peek through them.

As Jin stepped in front of the door, he felt anxious. It had been a while since he last met his master. He would certainly be baffled as to why Jin came to visit. Visiting the master by his former student was not a common occurrence. Even more so when he came to tell the master of his utter, humiliating defeat by some random girl.

It was degrading to his pride, and to this school of shadows.

Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the doors. He slowly pushed them forward, and as usual, it was not locked.

He stepped inside the empty room. And as the door swung close, and the darkness returned, two short swords were suddenly placed right by his neck, almost touching his skin. Jin kept a straight posture and slowly shifted his gaze towards two people on both his sides. They were both wearing dark outfits, covering their faces.

"What purpose did you come here for?" one ninja asked, giving him a sharp look through the darkness.

Jin raised an eyebrow with a smile. "You must be students here. Currently tasked to watch the entrance, huh?" It was a common task for ninjas in training here.

"You could say that. And you… are you one of us?"

"I am your senior, so you better treat me well. Now, get these blades off my neck."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" the other asked.

"Do you think an enemy will be stupid enough to walk through the front door?"

The two ninjas looked at each other. They were still quite young. And looking at each other, taking their eyes off their opponent, was a fatal mistake. Thus, while their eyes were off him, Jin swiftly grasped one young ninja's hand before moving to his side and sweeping off his legs. The ninja lost his footing and started falling, so Jin subsequently grabbed his head and slammed him to the floor. He slammed down his arm, making the young ninja let go of the short blade.

"You!"

The other one moved in to engage, but Jin moved in from below. He grasped the hand holding the weapon before placing his hand by the ninja's belly and flipped him over, pushing him hard to the floor with a loud thud. Jin swiftly stood up before them with a grin, watching them groan in pain.

"That is why you two don't take your eyes away from your opponent. Especially if he's right in front of you."

Seething, the two ninjas got back on their feet, intending on attacking Jin again. But then another person stepped in from the shadows, his footsteps audibly clicking to announce his presence.

"Stand down."

Upon hearing that, the two young ninjas stood down and turned towards that person. It was a middle-aged man wearing civilian clothing, in contrast to the combat outfit the ninjas were wearing. Jin recognized him, and he casually waved his hand at him.

"Hey, steward." He was the person who took care of the house, maintaining its pristine condition.

"Mister Jin Rei, a surprising face. Aren't you supposed to be busy working for that young master?"

"Hehe, yeah. But I got a break."

"Is that so? Then, what purpose do you have coming back here?"

"I want to meet with the master."

The steward raised an eyebrow. "... Is it important?"

"Important to me."

"Why?"

"... I am lacking."

"Lacking?" He raised an eyebrow. "Why would you be lacking? That should not be the case. You have passed the school and become one of its best."

"... Please, let me meet him."

The steward was silent for a moment, thinking. But a moment later, he nodded, and he stepped aside. He pointed his hand towards the corridor. "Go ahead."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Jin Rei continued forward through the long, dark corridor. There were small torches hung on the walls, but they were not enough to light the way entirely. Unlike from the path before, this time, Jin sensed no gaze whatsoever. There were no eyes watching him going forward.

His steps echoed in the emptiness, the faint coldness of the air clung to his body. Jin never liked how grim this place always seemed to be. Barely any light. But that was on purpose. To be a ninja, one must be used in the dark. It took time to hone their senses to be able to see through the darkness.

He still remembered in the early days he would often trip or hit a wall because of how dark it was. And his friends would laugh at him.

As he kept moving forward, he eventually arrived at a large, dark chamber. He paused. The place had a few small torches to give a little amount of illumination. And in the chamber lined up were the ninjas in training, wearing their dark outfits, faces covered. They swung their hands in the air, kicked, and stepped back, all in unison, all in harmony. There were a hundred of them, half their number on each side of the middle path.

This kind of training was meant to make them harmonize themselves with each other, and to themselves. And they were to do this until their bodies collapsed. It was a terrible kind of training meant to develop your endurance as well.

And ahead of Jin, at the end of the path, was the master, sitting down on his seat, watching everything.

Jin slowly took a step forward. As the students' training was silent, their movements silent, breathing sounds nonexistent, Jin's footsteps echoed faintly. He could walk silently, but he was supposed to announce his arrival. Jin kept his posture straight as he walked, looking ahead, growing tense as he grew closer.

"Who do I spy with my little eye?" A deep, old voice echoed.

A couple of meters away from his master, Jin stopped. And he bowed his head deeply.

"Master Seiji, it is I, Jin Rei."

Seiji Enomoto, the master of the Nightshades clan. And the master of the ninjas here in Hokunoa. He was among the strongest ninja on the island, or perhaps in the entirety of Shinoroa. Jin raised his head and beheld his master.

He was an old man, with long gray hair tied backwards, and a short bray beard. He was wearing a special robe, and on his lap was his short sword. And on his belt were daggers. Furthermore, he had a scar going down his left eye — he was blind in one eye. Upon hearing his name, the master grinned.

"Jin, it's been a while."

"Yes, it has been."

"How is your work with that young master, that Katsuo Takauji?"

"It is very good, master."

"Hmmm, you may rise. Stand straight."

And Jin did.

"You have not visited ever since you left. What, you missed me?"

Jin awkwardly laughed. "No. I am here to ask that you train me once again, even for just a short time. To learn something new."

The master narrowed his eyes. "Why should I do that? Your time for training under me is already done."

Jin subtly took a deep breath. "I am lacking, master."

"... Why would you think that? After all that you have experienced, you are among my best students."

Indeed, that was a great achievement, and he took pride in it. Perhaps it was the greatest achievement of his life. Once, he thought it meant something significant. That he was nigh unstoppable. But now…

Jin clenched his fists. "I was… outclassed. Severely so."

"Severely so?"

"I was sent on a mission to spy on a girl. However, at the end of it, she evaded my eyes. I lost her."

"You lost a target?"

"Yes. It only took a second, and she was completely gone from my sight. And then she was right behind me… I could not sense her at all, master."

His master leaned forward with furrowed brows. "How could you let someone sneak up on you? You're supposed to be the one sneaking."

Jin lowered his head. "Not only that… Turns out, ever since I've been following her, she had known of my presence. She had only been allowing me to watch."

"... Were you just not being lax?"

"No… That girl is someone I cannot beat. She had my life at her fingertips. I never even had the chance."

"... Are you being serious, Jin?" He seemed in disbelief, but still kept up that composed expression.

Jin looked him in the eye. He was about to say something outrageous, but he was convinced of it. "I think… she's at your level, master."

The moment he said those words, the students that were in training completely came to a halt, and they all turned their heads towards him. Now there was complete, utter silence. It was the most outrageous thing that was said in this room. And it shocked everyone that heard it.

"... The girl is a match for me?" The master's voice was suddenly behind him, even though he was still sitting down in front of him.

But then, the image of the master on the seat disappeared, like a fading mist. And the actual master stepped beside him.

Jin slowly turned to his side, looking his master in the eye. "Yes, a girl from beyond our lands."

The master chuckled as he walked towards his seat. "We take pride in our skills, to be among the best of our craft."

Indeed, even Jin took pride in that, deeply. That was why he was so hurt when he was easily beaten.

"Not any of my students should be easily defeated by anyone." He slowly sat down with a frown. "If you ever did, you don't deserve to be amongst the clan. We have no place for weaklings."

Jin pursed his lips.

"Now, Jin, is what you said true? Or merely words meant to protect your honor and pride?"

Jin clenched his fists. "... It is the truth. That is why I seek strength."

"There is no more for me to teach you. When you stepped out of this house with my blessing, you were to learn for yourself. Make yourself grow. For you already have the foundation to be greater. And yet you claim to be outclassed by a random girl, who you think is a match for me?"

"... Yes."

The master slowly pointed a finger at his blind eye. "There are only a few I would acknowledge to be my equal. One of them is the lord of this island. He scarred me, not completely out of his raw power, but of the strength of his character. A relentless man. I refuse to acknowledge this girl to be my match."

"This girl is not to be trifled with. She easily wiped out an entire bandit base alone, without even alerting anyone. Even executing their powerful leader without a single sign of chaos."

"Bandits are trifles."

"She toyed with me. She didn't even think I was a threat. And she mocked me, saying she was better than our best. That itself is a mockery to us all."

"Words meant to patronize, nothing more. She may say it with confidence, but it does not make it true."

"No… I felt she was being sincere."

The master scoffed. "You come here seeking strength, development. But there is nothing more for you here, Jin. If you failed to obtain the strength to defeat her on your own time, then it is your own failure. You failed to nurture yourself. This is not the failure of the school or mine."

Jin's eyes widened as the master gave him a stern look.

"Our time is wasted here," the master continued. "She damaged your pride, not mine, not the school. Now, leave this house. Our business is done."

Jin took a deep, trembling breath. "... Y-Yes, master."

Guess he rejected my request…

He felt exceedingly bitter, but that was just how it was. Disappointed, he left the building.