Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

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
- 3
- 4
- 5
I watched Chimitsu go back into the main room for a few seconds before sighing and setting my katana aside. So she was an Elemental. That explained a great deal of things that I had been wondering about. How she knew so much about myself, Aku, my family, the origins of my sword even. How she could sit there so calmly and not be blushing as furiously as I was certain I had been. She was ageless and far beyond simple human ethics.

Knowing that we had precious time before the droids and destroyers would arrive, I reluctantly withdrew from the bath. Picking up the towel, I dried myself off before dressing, finding my kimono clean and soft as if it was brand new. She had even repaired the straps of my sandals and sanded away the splinters, all with a sweep of her hand.

Slipping my katana into my obi, I stepped out of the bathroom and found Chimitsu waiting with a sturdy leather bag carried with the strap crossed between her wings in back and chest in front. Her wings were folded against her back, nearly covering the bag itself, which rested against a slim hip. She smiled at me as I pulled my hair back up into its usual topknot, holding out some sort of pastry to me.

"Here. You'll need your strength, so eat up!" she said.

I reluctantly took it, noting that she held one like it in her other hand, nibbling at it daintily.

"Uhm...thank you. What is it?"

"Blueberry muffin. Damn good blueberry muffin, too. That's their biggest crop here; all their economy rests on whether or not the blueberries, strawberries, and such have a good crop."

I nodded and ate as she led the way to the door, reaching for the knob. I reached out and gently grabbed her hand, shaking my head a bit as she stepped back in surprise. I held the muffin in my teeth, reaching for my katana with my right hand and going for the doorknob with my left.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

I shook my head again and motioned for her to stay quiet as I slowly opened the door, peeking out, looking for danger. No honor in making her go first and risk having the last Elemental put in danger stepping out the door into an attack. I looked both ways down the deserted hallway before stepping out and relaxing a bit, removing the muffin from my mouth.

"Just a precaution. It may look quiet and safe, but I could not allow myself to let you go first and step into possible danger." I said in response to her question.

Chimitsu raised a brow at me as she closed the door behind herself, looking at me strangely for a moment before chuckling and shaking her head.

"You need to relax a bit there, Jack. There's no danger. Where do you think I went and got the muffins at anyways? They don't exactly have room service here, y'know." she said with a playful wink.

"Room service? Uhm, Chimitsu, is this a...brothel?"

She blinked and stared at me for a few moments as I felt my face heat up with a furious blush. I could not believe that of all the places in this village that I had been brought to, I had been brought to such a distasteful one such as this. A few seconds after she recovered from the shock of what I said, she broke out laughing, gently shaking her head at me.

"Oh my god...Jack...you think room service is a hooker sent up to your room for that kind of service?" she asked between giggles.

I could only nod in silence, still shocked at the thought that she would have brought me to such a place.

"Silly! Whatever gave you the impression I'd do such a thing? No, Jack, room service is where you send an order down and they bring your food up to you in your room. Only the hotels in the cities have that. Have to find your own chow around these parts." she said.

"I...see....forgive me. Please, let us continue before the bounty hunters arrive."

I hurried down the stairs to keep her from seeing the blush that had crept up into my face out of sheer embarrassment. Whatever had possessed me to think that Chimitsu would have done such a thing to me when I had helped her? She hurried up to walk beside me, watching me as we headed out of the inn and down the street. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a very amused look on her face as she watched me.

Suddenly, I realized that the village streets were much too quiet. Usually there were people out and going about their business at this time of day, but there was not a soul to be found. I stopped in my tracks, realizing that we were too late in leaving before the village was discovered. Chimitsu stopped beside me, looking around as a circle of robot bounty hunters circled in, surrounding us.

"K'so[1]..." I murmured under my breath.

They closed in on us, aiming various alien guns in our direction, each grinning maliciously, particularly at Chimitsu. I could not allow them to get close enough to take her as a hostage or worse. I quickly drew out my katana, holding it ready as they came even closer, waiting for the inevitable attack.

"Jack..." Chimitsu said.

"Hai?"

"We have no time to waste with these oafs. Remember what I told you...about why Aku's after you and why he's after me. We must break free and escape...put as much distance between them and the two of us as possible, understand?"

"Understood."

As the first few dashed in, I did my best to keep them away from Chimitsu, not wanting her to get hurt. Not when I had found her with her wings looking as if they had nearly been torn off by a set of giant claws. Knowing that, I could only guess that she was not much of a fighter and would not do well against bounty hunters, particularly since she was not armed.

Oil began to coat the dusty village street as the hunters fell under my blade, one by one, robot parts littering the ground. As I rapidly sliced one into three separate pieces, I sensed another coming in from the left. I swung around hard, taking its head before a blast from one of the others' guns clipped me in the shoulder, spinning me around until my body impacted with the ground.

I groaned as I laid there, my entire left arm feeling as if it had been set on fire. I tried to pull myself up, to reach my katana that was only a few feet away from me, knowing that I could not allow myself to give in to the pain until Chimitsu and I were clear of danger. My right hand closed around it and I drove it into the ground, trying to pull myself up to my feet.

*Pang!*

A shower of oil sprayed my back and stung my wounded shoulder and I turned to see Chimitsu standing behind me with a large nodachi blade in her hands. A bounty hunter that had once looked like an upright-walking panther lay in a heap on the ground between her and myself, cut clean in two. The other hunters had taken a few steps back, likely in as much shock as I was that this tiny woman could lift such an enormous sword with such skill. Taking a closer look, I noticed that the leather bag had disappeared and a scabbard for the nodachi had been strapped in its place.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I will be fine, but we must get out of here. They will not stay shocked at that nodachi for long."

She nodded and expertly spun it in her hand, sheathing it upon her back. She motioned for me to stand behind her and I did, watching our backs as the bounty hunters began to close back in. There were so many and even with the help of Chimitsu's nodachi, there was no way we could get a clear escape route made unless she took to the sky and up there, we would be sitting ducks for their guns.

"Get ready to run for it." she said.

"Nani?"[2]

"Get ready to run. I'm gonna clear us a path."

"A path? How?"

I caught sight of a flash of determination and ancient knowledge in those piercing green eyes of hers as her wings flared out behind herself. She was going to take to the sky and she would be undoubtedly shot down very quickly when the hunters realized she was out of their physical reach. Fortunately, she had another trick up her sleeve instead of taking flight.

As rapidly as she could, she began to flap her wings, stirring up a strong wind and blowing dust from the streets about. I stayed as close to her as I could, watching the hunters get swept off their feet or confused by the blowing dust. Not bad. Not bad at all. I should have known better than to underestimate an immortal.

Once a path out of the circle had been cleared, she dashed towards it, grabbing my hand to pull me along with her. Even her grip seemed stronger than it appeared she was capable of. I took off running, sheathing my katana once she paused to turn around and face the angry, dusty, and confused group of bounty hunters that were just now regrouping and realizing we had escaped from their circle.

"Go back to your master Aku and tell him that if I ever see any sign of his presense in this village ever again, he won't live to regret it." she said, a hint of ageless coldness in her usually cheerful voice.

With a great sweep of her hand, a wind came up and struck them as if it was solid, sending them flying back and clear through the village. Calmly, she lowered her arm and turned back to me, her expression softening, the look in her eyes fading away to their usual intensity. I stared at her in shock for a few moments before remembering my manners and turning towards the direction we had been headed.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly as she led the way out of town.

"That was....incredible. Never before have I seen such power."

"Outside of Aku, eh?"

"Well, yes, but I have never seen him do such a thing with such unbelievable calm. Shapeshifting, taunts, the portal through time, but all acts of desperation, anger, or cowardice. Will they come back?"

"If they have any brains in those metal bodies of theirs, no. Come. There's an oasis not far from here where we'll be safe for the night before we continue on our journey to find Aku. Now that I've found you and the Star of the Elements is complete, you might finally be able to complete your quest of destroying him."

"And then I shall be able to return home."

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps? What do you mean by "perhaps"?"

"I mean that I don't have the knowledge to cast a time spell. Technically, Aku wasn't supposed to have such ability, either, but he's apparently been doing his homework. We can defeat Aku, yes, but whether or not you'll be able to return home after that remains to be seen."

I was not happy to hear that, but when I think about it, I suppose it was perfectly logical for her to say it. She was only the Elemental of Wind, not the Elemental of Time, and it would not make sense for her to know how to control time. I walked alongside her through the hot desert sands, keeping my gaze on the path ahead of us, occasionally glancing her way.

"If Aku was not meant to have such knowledge as to send me through time with a spell in a moment of desperation, then what sort of powers does he have besides the shapeshifting and flight and teleportation?" I asked.

"Teleportation is a standard Elemental power. We couldn't get from one place to the other so quickly without such an ability. Aku's powers are over the realm of shadow and darkness. As you have seen that he has done with the future, he has plunged it into darkness and chaos and he can do that with anything. Where the Light Elemental can bring about light, he can bring about darkness. He can snuff out a candle with a gesture or plunge a city into a blackout, whatever and wherever he wishes.

"He can also slip in and out of shadows in addition to his usual teleportation. On more than one occasion, I have seen him in battle against people who have dared to rise up against him and watched how he would slip out of their very own shadows to kill them from behind as he saw fit. If there is darkness or shadow to be found, he can slip in and out of it or even blend into it like a ninja.

"He is also pure evil with no care for rules except his own and the Elemental Laws he could never break. He wasn't supposed to kill my sisters, but it wasn't physically impossible. It was just one of those things that was simply never done. The last power that I know about is his ability to bring out a person's dark side."

I blinked and stopped in mid-stride, looking at her. Bring out a person's dark side, now that sounded quite familiar.

"Mad Jack." I said softly.

She stopped and turned back towards me, realizing that I had fallen a few steps behind.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Mad Jack. My double. Aku created a dark double of me awhile back with powers equal to my own. He even looked like me, save for a darker set of clothes and disrespectful attitude."

"Whatever happened to him?"

"Defeated. He apparently could not stay solid once I realized that he was me and his anger was my own and let go of it."

"I see. Odd, I thought a created double would be more solid than that and more difficult to defeat. But he must not be too desperate or he would have used more of his shadow tricks against you."

We continued on our way, the oasis coming just in sight on the horizon.

"I know you're wondering why I was at the ruins of your home, how I could possibly be there after fleeing from Aku. I know you know it wasn't just coincidence." she said quietly.

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes, but not before you revealed yourself to be an Elemental. Why exactly were you there?"

"I knew you would be drawn repeatedly to that spot. It was once your home and no matter what Aku had done to it or this world, you would always find your way there eventually. I knew that after Aku had tried to kill me that your childhood home would be a safe place for me to hide until you arrived. Aku never goes there. Once he sent you into this future, he destroyed it and left for other parts of the world."

"Why would he destroy it and leave? Why would he not think to wait there for me as you have done?"

"Too much purity, I suppose. Despite his attempts to cast it into shadow and defile it, an aura of sheer purity remains. I couldn't use the energy to heal, but it would keep him away. It was only a matter of time before you showed up and found me."

I reached out and gently touched the edge of her wing, finding it to feel exactly like a bird's would, warm and downy. I could feel it twitch slightly beneath my hand before she playfully batted at me with it.

"That tickles!" she cried, swatting at me again.

"Gomen, gomen[3]. I did not mean to tickle you. I just wanted to feel them."

She smiled and folded them against her back as we finally arrived at the oasis. I held back a sigh and twinge of anxiety, remembering the last time I had followed a woman to an oasis. That last woman had been Ikra, who had turned out to be Aku in a very clever shift. Chimitsu was more beautiful than the Ikra form had been, looking much more human than Aku.

She was a far cry from Ikra, yes, but that one clever shift of Aku's had made me quite wary of women, particularly women who knew so much about Aku or myself. Chimitsu had never claimed to know Aku's plans, but she certainly knew his powers and my entire history. She could very well be an Elemental as she said or she could be an even more elaborate shift of Aku's, despite how I tried to tell myself that Aku would not be so foolish as to try the same trick on me twice.

I heard a rustling in the brush behind me and wheeled around, looking for Chimitsu, realizing that she and I had become separated. The oasis was not a large one, but it would take me some time to find her again, particularly if she was looking for me at the same time. I decided to head for a more open spot to wait for her, knowing that where there was an oasis, there was water.

Not too far from where I had been, I indeed found a small, open area with water, where I knelt down to drink and wait for Chimitsu. While I drank and washed the dust from my face, I sensed presense behind myself and turned around, drawing my katana in one swift motion. There, standing before me, was Chimitsu, but she had greatly changed.

Her hair and eyes were darker and her wings were now black instead of white, glistening darkly in the hot midday sun. Her clothes had even changed to a short,tight black dress that fit very close to her figure. Her shoes had even changed from comfortable sandals to very sharp-heeled boots that went up over her knees and halfway up her thighs.

"Chimitsu?" I asked, hardly able to believe the drastic change in her.

"Mmm...I do go by that name, among others."

She walked over and struck a suggestive, almost indecent pose, the tops of her partially-revealed breasts practically in my face. It was becoming more and more difficult to maintain a polite composure. The arm holding my katana began to shake, not wanting to strike a woman, but not wanting such a seductive woman near me.

"Is that a sword in your hand...or are you just happy to see me?" she asked with a wicked grin.

I blushed furiously and backed away, holding my blade defensively.

"What has happened to you? A moment ago you were so gentle and kind and now you are behaving like a...a...cheap, tawdry, tart!" I cried.

"Ooh, why thank you! I do so love compliments."

She grinned again and pushed the hand holding my katana aside before trailing a finger down my chest through the folds of my kimono. I swatted it away, struggling to keep my composure with this tawdry woman hanging all over me.

"Rrr...feisty. I didn't know you liked it rough, samurai. I'll have to bear that in mind." she said with a seductive smile.

"Kiero!"[4]

She took a step back in shock at my sudden outburst before slyly grinning and laughing a shrill, high pitched laugh. I winced and wished that I could have covered my ears from the sharpness of it.

"You win this time, samurai, but you haven't beaten me yet. We'll meet again...and when you least expect it. Until then..."

In a flash, she snapped out with her hands and grabbed me by the folds of my kimono, tugging me into a very improper kiss. I was so shocked by the boldness of her actions that I could not struggle, let alone push her away or strike her down. She held me tightly until she was satisfied, to which she let me go, taking a few steps back and out of range of my katana.

"Try to keep it in your pants." she finished with a nasty grin.

I growled softly as she took to the air and flew away, leaving me there alone with my anger and embarrassment. I shook my head and sheathed my katana before looking around for any sign of my companion, debating on whether or not I should continue on alone. Yet, somehow, something told me to stay and look for Chimitsu, perhaps even ask an explanation, that such a kind being could not possibly act so tawdry.

I sighed softly and turned, heading back the way I came to look for Chimitsu, wondering if I was being foolish to do so. I looked around for any sign of the winged Elemental, beginning to think that perhaps it really was her that had been hanging all over me. Perhaps it was best that I headed off on my own again after all.

"Jack..."

A rustling in a nearby bush caught my eye and I hurried over, finding Chimitsu tangled up in its leafy branches. Her wings were white again and her dress back to the green Chinese print that she had been wearing earlier. Odd. How was it that she could fly off and then end up in a bush a few moments after leaving? Teleportation, perhaps, but why would she want to teleport herself in a tangled heap in a bush? Something was not making sense about it and it was beginning to make me feel edgy.

I hurried over and helped her disentangle herself, wings and all, watching as she tried to preen the feathers with her fingers.

"Thanks! Now, that's an experience I don't wanna go through again. Prickly thorns and wings do not mix, know what I'm sayin'?" she said.

I nodded and shifted a bit uncomfortably, remembering what she said about Aku's ability to bring out a person's dark side. He had already done it with me once in the form of Mad Jack. Could it be that he had brought out a dark half of Chimitsu in a similar manner? If that was the case, then I would not be able to trust her, at least not for very long.
--------------- [1]k'so= "Shit"
[2]nani= "What?"
[3]gomen = "I'm sorry"
[4]kiero = "Get out of here!"
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

War Of Shadows