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War Of Shadows	By : TurtleNinja Category: +S through Z > Samurai Jack Views: 3353 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Jack, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Days passed and little had changed since I first awoke. Chimitsu could only repair my injuries a little bit at a time, spending the rest of it asleep so her powers could regenerate. I spent most of this time in bed, thinking and waiting anxiously for the day when we would be able to leave, hoping that nothing would happen to any of us until then.

Eventually, I was allowed to wander a bit around the castle, exploring what I could. If anything was to happen while we were here, then I wanted to know the layout of the castle. Knowing one's surroundings was essential when defending from attack and if you did not know your surroundings well, you certainly would not be able to defend them.

One morning, I watched a friendly arm-wrestling match between Chimitsu and Angus from my window, having been awakened by cheers and chants from the rest of the clansmen. Chimitsu calmly held her ground, nonchalantly inspecting the nails of her free hand while Angus struggled to push her arm down, using all of his strength until his face had turned as red as his hair. After a few moments, she looked back at him and calmly pushed his arm over until his hand touched the table.

I chuckled softly to myself as I watched the clansmen rib Angus over being beaten by a delicate woman and I wondered if only Duncan had known that she was an Elemental. A bout of arguing and friendly wrestling erupted down on the grass before several of the men began to place bets as to who would be able to take her down in an arm-wrestling match. Angus was their strongest clansman as far as I knew, which meant that those other poor souls would not have a chance.

Shaking my head, I closed the glass windows and returned to bed, knowing that Chimitsu would return in time for another healing session and to return to sleep. That sort of strength was natural for an Elemental and from what she had told me, did not drain her energy reserves any more than flying did. Her reserves apparently drained whenever she used any of her magic, not any amount of strength or physical power.

Yet, I had a feeling that there was something she was not telling me. She was by no means weak and rest did help her restore her power, but she could only heal a little bit at a time. Was she too drained to do more or was she simply saving her power? I began to wonder if she had drained herself more than she was letting on. If she had been saving her power, she would not have been sleeping as much as she did.

One night, I awoke from a startling dream and rolled over to see her slumped in a chair nearby, sound asleep. Her wings fluttered a little on occasion while she slept, but she did not move otherwise. I realized then that she spent each night at my side, sleeping in a chair to protect me from attack, which would explain her inability to fully restore her energies. Sleeping in a chair with wings on her back had to be uncomfortable, and if she was alert for an attack, then it was not a very restful sleep she was getting each night.

It was clear that I was not the only one concerned about an attack from Aku or my evil double.

Yet, if she suffered from her lack of sleep, she did not show it when I saw her again in the morning. She was always very cheerful, although I had to wonder if she was still suffering inside, forcing the pain back again for my sake. I did not want her to do such a thing, but I knew that I could not stop her from doing so, either.

Each morning, I was greeted with her smiling face, knowing that she would awaken long before I had even stirred. Slowly, with each day's healing session, my injuries were repaired, although she had the greatest of difficulty healing the bullet wounds in my chest and stomach. Her explanation was hard to follow, but she said that I had been bleeding on the inside from those wounds and that I had been fortunate to survive.

Without her help, it was certain that I would not have lived.

Shortly after she and Duncan allowed me out of bed to walk around the castle for exercise, his wife brought my repaired kimono back to me. Chimitsu had used a small amount of power to remove the bloodstains, but the stitching had all been done by Dee. If I had not known where I had been struck, I would not have been able to tell that the garment had ever been torn.

A few mornings after the wrestling match, I awoke to find that Chimitsu was not waiting for me as usual. With the exception of when I had awakened that first day, Chimitsu had always been at my side when I awoke in the mornings. For her to not be waiting for me, there had to be something wrong.

I flung aside the blankets and stood, dressing, finding the air to be cold and damp. Rain pelted the glass windows of the room and the air held a cold pall to it. I began to get a bad feeling as I tucked my katana into my obi, heading out of the room.

The hallway on the other side of the door was cold and silent as I padded down towards the stairs. I peered over the railing by the stairs, finding the entrance hall completely empty. On a day like this, everyone usually stayed inside near the fire to keep warm. I had no clue what time it was, so perhaps everyone else was in bed still, especially when the fire was nonexistant, but I really had a bad feeling about the silence that had fallen over the castle.

I crept down the stairs, looking for any sign of danger or that the castle had been attacked. Surely, if there had been an attack, I would have heard some sort of noise, especially from the Scots. Yet I had heard nothing, only silence. The only possible sign of any danger I found downstairs was a tipped over chair with a gouge mark in it and a single white feather.

That was more than enough for me, but if there had been a struggle in the castle, the Scots would have known and their noisiness would have jolted me awake. The struggle may have started in here, but it had to have gone outside for nobody to know about it. I hurried to the door and flung it open, squinting out through the rain, wondering where they could have gone.

The cold rain was coming down hard, making it almost impossible to see very far. I ignored the cold and dashed out into the grass barefoot, looking around the castle grounds frantically for any sign of Chimitsu. She could have taken the battle miles away if she had wished, but I doubted that she would have done so. She would not have wanted to leave the castle where I was, leaving it open to attack.

When I found nothing close to the castle, I hurried down to the bridge that connected the small island the castle sat on in the loch to the mainland, knowing that was the only way away from the castle. About three quarters of the way there, I tripped over something, colliding with the rain-drenched ground hard enough to hurt a bit. I slowly pulled myself up and looked through strands of soaked hair to see a single Grecian sandal lying there in the grass.

My heart pounded in my chest when I saw it, knowing that it belonged to Chimitsu. I reached over and picked it up, seeing that a few of its straps had been snapped and an odd, rust-colored liquid stained the soles. Blood. If she had been attacked, she was wounded, possibly even dead. With the heavy rain, it was hard telling just how much blood had been spilled and how much was hers and what belonged to her assailant.

A closer inspection of the broken strap told me that it had not snapped, but had been cut. The leather had a straight-edged cut to it, instead of a jagged tear. Mad Jack. Oh, gods, he had found us and she had tried to head him off, to chase him away. But where was she?

I spotted something white in the grass a few feet away and hurried over with the sandal in hand, eyes widening when I saw a scattering of feathers. Bloodstained feathers at that. The rain had failed to wash away all of the blood that covered them, but aside from the feathers and the sandal, I had no other sign of where she could have gone. The rain had washed away all the blood and any footprints that might have been in the mud.

I picked up a handful of the feathers that littered the ground, knowing that she had plenty of feathers to spare, inspecting the few that were there. The bloodstains were still rather fresh, but did it mean that she had taken to flight or had she been unable to fly at all? If she had injured a wing badly enough, she would not be able to take to the sky. Perhaps with this heavy rain, she could not have flown anyways, I did not know.

I let the feathers flutter to the ground and began to cross the bridge, wondering if I would be able to find any sign of a struggle on the other side of it. Without any ability to fly, I knew that she had only two other means of traveling without a horse or flying carriage. One way was on foot. The other way was teleportation, and if she or Mad Jack had used such a power, they could be anywhere in the world at this point.

Feeling weak, I held onto the wooden railing, walking along until I came to the other side. I gave a short cry of pain when something sharp sliced into my hand and quickly drew away from the railing, looking down at the wood. Perhaps it was only a splinter, but at the rate things were going, I was beginning to doubt it.

Looking closer, I found a single, four-pointed shuriken stuck into the wood, pinning a piece of paper to it. I tugged it free and looked at the rain-soaked paper, finding that the ink written on it had not faded or run from being so wet. Magic, no doubt left behind by my double. Unfolding it, I read the elegantly-written kana bearing more than a few rude and mocking words from my dark twin.

Softly, I swore to myself, crumpling the paper in my hand. He had Chimitsu now and was no doubt intending to destroy her. Even if I did show myself as he wished, he would still destroy us both. He knew all too well that I would not simply stay away and let him destroy her, even though I knew it was a trap. My honor would not allow me to leave her in harm's way.

I did not know whether to be angry or furious, but I did feel like tearing my double apart at that moment, even though the emotion would likely make him stronger. Damnit! We had been here too long and now Chimitsu had fallen trying to keep him away when one of us is all that he would need to draw the other out into a trap.

"CHIMITSUUUU!"

The fist that was clenched tightly around his note shook with my rage and I slammed it down onto the wooden railing. I ignored the cold rain that poured down, now completely soaked from head to foot. I looked towards the sandal that I had dropped upon being cut by the shuriken and sighed, leaning down to pick it up.

I turned it over in my hands, debating what to do next. I had to go after her, that much was certain, but was I ready? Was I strong enough to follow and battle my double, or were we both doomed? There was only one answer to that. I had to be. I could not spare any time for weakness or on my fury at the loss now.

She could be anywhere in the world now. It was well known that Aku had many lairs hidden around the world and my dark twin could have taken her to any one of them. It would take me days to find her now. Clearly, Chimitsu had either flown with me from the deserts to the south and east or teleported with me to the Highlands, but I had no such powers. I could only ride a horse or walk.

I looked up from the railing and the waters running beneath the bridge only when I felt a heavy fur being draped over my shoulders. Just behind me stood Duncan, a bit soaked himself, but clearly concerned about me and how long I had been standing out here in the rain. Lights illuminated the castle now and I knew that I had awakened everyone with my earlier cry.

"She is gone." I said softly, handing him the paper.

He took a glance at it before handing it back.

"What does it say, laddie? I can't read this strange language of yours."

"He has her. He has taken her to one of Aku's castles and is awaiting my arrival. He will know when I have left to find her and will know when I am close to arrival. If I do not leave within two days, he will have her destroyed."

"Who has her?"

"Mad Jack. My dark twin, created by Aku. He looks exactly like me, but dresses differently and acts completely the opposite of how I would."

"Can't say I know 'im. Come. Let's get you out of this cold rain and warmed up by the fire. You can explain the rest there."

He led me back to the castle, where the rest of the clansmen and women were waiting anxiously, some of the men with their swords in hand. I was given a few moments to change out of my soaked kimono and into a robe borrowed from one of the others, being wrapped in a heavy, thick blanket by Dee, who was not about to let me refuse and catch a chill. I headed back downstairs and sat by the fire, seeing the note and Chimitsu's sandal sitting on one of the tables.

"What's this all about, Jack? Where's ye angel lady?" Angus asked.

"Gone. They took her."

"They?"

"Aku's minions. They found us."

"But we didn't hear anything. Surely we would've heard something if there'd been a struggle."

I shook my head, smoothing out the note and looking over the kana again. He wrote exactly like me, just as elegantly, but his language was full of disrespect and rudeness. He was taunting me, toying with me. He knew that he had me at death's doorstep and that Chimitsu had escaped with me to restore my wounds.

"There was a brief struggle, but she took it outside to keep us from awakening and getting involved. That wooden chair that had been overturned had a gouge mark in it. That sort of cut can only be done by a sword like my own, a katana."

"What are ye gettin' at?"

"She took it outside, perhaps even began to lead the battle away from the castle, only to be overpowered. I found that note and her sandal and a handful of her feathers outside near the bridge. That note was, in fact, pinned to the railing of the bridge by a Japanese throwing star, which makes me think- no, I know- he is involved."

"He? He who?"

"My dark twin, known only as Mad Jack. At least, that is what he appears to be calling himself."

"We didn't know ye had a twin. When did you have a twin?"

"I did not exactly have a twin. I was an only child. This dark twin was created by Aku's magic, some time before I met any of you, but I thought he had been destroyed."

"How?"

"As much as it shames me to say it, I lost my temper on a very bad day. Aku used this to his advantage and used my emotions and his magic to create my twin. But he was not solid. He could not be kept in this world without my emotions, by Aku's magic alone. When I came to terms with my dark emotions and made them a part of me, he disappeared."

"But if he was destroyed, why'd he come back now?"

"Because he is an Elemental, just like Chimitsu. She is not an angel, she is an Elemental, the guardian of the Four Winds. Aku is also an Elemental, but is getting out of hand. He is breaking known Elemental Laws, one of which is the timewarp spell he used to send me here to this time. One of the others is killing Chimitsu's sisters and trying to kill her. Now it seems that a third broken law is fusing part of one of her sisters' Elemental essenses with some of my own to create Mad Jack again, and this time, he does not rely on my darker emotions to keep him here."

"Why did he go after 'er then?"

"Bait. It is clearly a trap and we all know it. This dark twin, he looks exactly like me, only dressing differently and acting conversely to how you all know me to act. He possesses every ounce of knowledge and martial skill that I do, making him extremely dangerous. I must go after her in two days or he will destroy her."

"Have you gone mad? You can't do it alone! Let us help!"

"I cannot allow that. I am sorry, but it is too dangerous. I must do this alone."

"You've gone insane! There's no way you'll be able to penetrate Aku's fortress in time!"

"He will know when I have left. I do not know how, he just says that he will know if I have left and I cannot risk him or Aku learning that I have help. They will surely kill you all before we reach our goal and that would be foolish. I appreciate your offer, but I cannot allow it. What Aku has failed to realize is that his spell works both ways. Mad Jack knows me and I know him. I know what he is capable of, how he thinks, and that alone will give me enough of a chance to know how to reach her."

There was a clear murmur of disappointment through the clan, but I was not about to let them throw their lives away on my account. I honestly did appreciate their offer, but they had wives and children and I was a lone man without anything left in the world. I was expendable, they were not, despite what Chimitsu had said.

We two were one and the same, bearing the same burdens and holding the same goal. Without her, I could not complete my quest. Without me, she could not complete hers. I had the knowledge necessary to battle my dark twin and reach her in one piece. They did not know what he was capable of and I knew that they would easily fall to his trickery. And even if they did make their way past him, they were no match for the ancient, Elemental Aku.

Slowly, they broke up the meeting and retreated to their separate parts of the castle, leaving behind only Duncan. I sighed softly and stared at Mad Jack's note, unable to help but feel furious about his boldness to come all this way in an attack.

"Why must ye go after the angel, laddie? You know it's a trap, that you have little chance of making it to her." he said.

"It is just something I must do. Twice now, she has saved my life and I have only repaid the favor once. Honor demands that I go after her again, even if it is a trap. To leave her to the fates would be absolutely unexcusable."

"Would you listen to yourself? You're going into the jaws of death for a woman who's probably dead already! Let your honor go for once, eh?"

"No! Chimitsu is not dead! I know she is not. And I cannot, for any reason, let my honor go. To let her die means my death. If I fail, then I can only atone for it with my death."

"Suicide? Are you mad?!"

"It is the way of the samurai and you know it. Like it or not, I must do this or die."

"And if ye die, then who'll be left to fight Aku?"

"I am sure there will be another."

"But not another with your skill and purity, even I know that."

I sighed heavily, knowing that I had no other choice and that to argue with him meant lost time, time I did not have to lose.

"She is my only ticket home, Duncan. Without her help, I cannot defeat Aku, I cannot return home, and without me...she cannot avenge the deaths of her sisters. She cannot lay a hand on Aku to kill him, not when Elemental Law forbids it. In the death of the demon, I restore my honor and her sisters are avenged. I must go after her, no matter what the danger." I said quietly.

He quieted down and looked at me, his eyes showing thoughtfulness.

"Well, I'll be. You're in love with the little angel, aren't ye?" he asked.

"What?"

I looked at him, wondering how he could possibly suggest such a thing when Chimitsu's life was hanging in the balance at the hands of my double.

"I can see it written all over your face, lad. You're in love with her. That's why ye want to go after her so badly, why you want to face that evil twin of yours and make your way through 'is trap."

"That is preposterous. I have no time for love with anyone. How could I when I am always on the run from Aku? I am never in one place long enough to fall in love with anyone."

"Aye, that may be true, but you have been in her presense for a long time now, on the run together, and that's been more'n enough time for you to fall for 'er."

I sighed again and he gave me a pat on the back.

"It's more than all right. Go on...dry yourself off and go after your angel. She's more than worth the trouble."

I looked up at him and he smiled, showing that no hard feelings had passed between us over my refusing to allow him and the clan to aid me. This mission was a personal matter in more ways than one and he could not get involved unless I wished it. For now, I would take the time to dry myself and my kimono off and then, I would go to find Chimitsu.

Was it love? I had not a clue, for I had never felt any such feeling before towards anyone but my family. Romance was something that rarely crossed my mind since I had arrived here. The closest I had come to thinking about it had been before I knew that Ikra was Aku and after that, I had given up. I did not dare trust my heart completely to a woman lest I be taken advantage of again.

But if this was love, then Duncan was right. Chimitsu was more than worth facing Mad Jack and his trap for.
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War Of Shadows