Nibankari Sidestory: Arashiyo

A Clash of Wills
As a quiet rain falls over a small valley along the southern border of the a young man looks out from the inside of a small restaurant, taking a movement of reprieve from the inevitable continuation of his objective. It had been several months since he had begun to track down and eliminate the members of the White Snake Sect, but his mission was far from over. Gazing out over the rhythmic precipitation Arashiyo, operating under the name Hashitaka, couldn't help becoming lost in thought over everything from recent ordeals to the events that sparked the flames of his current predicament. Breaking from solemn attitude the rain ninja's glance suddenly locks open a man making his way for the exit. Following suit Hashitaka places a few coins upon the table before strolling out the front door in pursuit of his target.

Maneuvering around a few pedestrians the shinobi keeps his distance as he trails his mark, a slender man in his early thirties. Steadily closing ground Arashiyo waits until the crowd thins out to grab the man by the collar and hurl him onto the ground of an adjacent alley in a single movement, before stepping into the corridor as well. Arashiyo's opponent doesn't stay disoriented for long, quickly spinning about to face the shinobi with a curved kunai in his grasp. Taking the initiative Arashiyo draws the blade from his side in what seems less than an instant, disarming his opponent with a shallow cut across the wrist before he had a chance to respond. Falling back from surprise the man begins to inch his way away from the swordsman, who steadily approaches with his blade to his side. Cornered at the end of the alley the man falls to his knees in fear. "Where is the rest of your group?" Arashiyo asks, peering at the exposed tattoo on the man's wrist. The trapped cultist attempts to convince the rain ninja that this is a misunderstanding but is cutoff as the swordsman slices the man shallowly across the face. "I'll only ask once more," Arashiyo explains coldly as he pulls back his blade in preparation to strike again.

"No, wait!," the man begs, "There's a hideout in the forest to the north...we've been laying low up there." Seemingly appeased by this information Arashiyo turns away from the cultist, sheathing his blade in the process, who appears to be relieved by this change of pace as he pulls himself to his feet. "Thank you for sparing me. Tor a moment I though you were really going to..." the man begins to say before being cut off a final time as Arashiyo whirls around swiping the edge of his hand past the mans neck. For a moment there is silence before the cultist collapses the the ground from a deep slash across his throat delivered by an unseen origin.

"Spare you? How foolish," Arashiyo speaks quietly as he makes his way out of the alley, "Not a single one of will survive this ordeal." As he walks away the man quickly succumbs to his wound, suffocating steadily on his own blood.