War of the Tiger and Dragon

Hidden Deep in the mountains lush and vast mountains, hides a village. The occupants of this village, were that of the Kuroi Ryu Shinobi clan. One of the two oldest clans of the Kyoto region. Kuroi Ryu, or the 'Black Dragons' held the hidden magic of the darkness and some of the oldest secrets of the art of the Ninja. The Kuroi are known for their more brutal and aggressive styles of Ninjustu and their ways of finishing a job. Black magic also being amongst their arsenal.

But their rival clan, the Kizuato No Akuma or the 'Scarred Demon' clan, clashes with their ideals of the Shinobi way and their magic, deeming their rival's EVIL and wrong, while it was e vice versa for the Kuroi in regards to the Kizuato. The Kisuato are famously also know as the Secret Tiger clan, where some tigers mysteriously appeared to their clan generation ago and have raised them to be in their clan like people...another reason none dare enter without permission.

Not many outsiders know of these clans unless they seeked them out for a job or mission....never DARING to take them BOTH on unless they wanted misfortune on his house and family.

However, this day a Kuroi Ninja was leaping through the trees of the forest outide his village, heading down the mouton to gather mushrooms for his grandfather to use in medicines....and for the stew pot. He landed in the nearest tree and looked out on his location, his face half covered, incase of being spotted by any outsiders ....or the Kisuato Shinobi.

"......Hmmm.....dark clouds are coming in, more rain..." he sighed, "I better get these got Gigi and soon." he got moving once more.

Natsuki looked up at the darkening sky as she ran through the forest. "Curse this rain. If this keeps up the floods will return." She sighed and stopped to take a rest in a tall pine tree so she could get birds eye view of the land. Ahead of her, was the main headquarters of her families rivals, the Kuroi Ryu Shinobi clan. They had been feuding since ancient times. Their choice of ninja arts and using dark magic was frowned upon by her clan. Her clan, the Kizuato No Akuma, were wielders of light magic and the power of nature and animals. They had a deep connection with the Earth and its creatures.

Below her on the ground, a large white tiger growled up to her. "I know! I know!" She crossed her arms and looked up to the gray sky. Thunder clouds began to gather and the wind began to pick up. A BIG storm was on its way to Kyoto. The tiger growled to her again. "Ok, I'm coming. Let's go." She hopped down out of the tree and started to run along side him toward home. She had ventured into enemy territory and her tiger companion/guardian warned her that she needed to hurry home before the rain flooded the river that separated the two territories.

The male shinobi had just made it to the mushroom growing spot and got his little bag open, collecting the mushrooms he had on the list he was given, "Yes yes......hmmmmmm, not many shitake....I'll need to look coder tot he boarder....fuck." he growled and gathered what he could from this spot and got running towards the boarder, time running out as the storm inches closer and closer to his position.

Natsuki and her guardian tiger whose name was Nemo, were sprinting as fast as they could toward the river border. "Damn this storm is getting worse." Shortly after it began to pour down rain and the wind started to pick up. She could sense the fury of the storm coming. Thunder and lightning began to flash in the sky. "We need to hurry!"

Nemo nudged her arm and told her to get on his back. Natsuki climbed on and rode all the way to the river boarder. They stopped in front to see the water raging from the storm. It was dangerous to cross such rapid moving water especially in a storm with such strong winds and heavy rain fall.

'We have to turn back. There is no way we can cross at this point.' Nemo communicated to her telepathically. "No way! We have to get home. We are still in enemy territory. If we are caught, they will kill us. We have to go." As they argued, the dam that held the heavy flow at bay gave way and water came hurdling towards them. They were both swept away and separated by the raging water.

"Nemo! Nemo!" Natsuki called to her guardian and tried to find him, but he disappeared into the water. She began to panic and tried to swim toward the shore, but she was struck hard in the head by a limb falling down stream. "UGH!" It knocked her unconscious, her lifeless body floating down stream.

The male ninja had arrived to the river on his side of the territory and felt the rain begin to fall, "Fuck...." he cursed. He went on faster, "Need to be quick and get home." he ran along the river bank. Then something caught his eyeing the river, "What the? HUH!" he saw it was a person floating in the river.

He looked around carefully and he jumped from rock to rock and he reached out and grabbed the person by the arm, finding it was a woman and in shinobi attire, "A Kizuato........" he was was concerned now. But he did want her to die the way she was in. He quickly got back to his side and remembered a cave a bit further back and got running back to seek shelter.

He tied her wrists behind her back and her ankles, knowing she's a shinobi, that she's not to be underestimated. He got a small fire going and removed his wet clothes to let them dry a bit.

Natsuki slowly began to come to. She blinked trying to clear her vision. That bump on the head really did a number on her. Her vision was blurry and she had the worst headache. She tried to move but quickly realized her wrists and ankles were tied.

"Wh-" She tried to speak but started coughing choking on water as she spat it up. She tried to call Nemo telepathically, but he wouldn't answer her. She began to fear the worst.

He heard her coughing and came over, "You're alive...good." he sighed in relief, worried she was dead. He kept her close to the fire to keep her warm.

"Sorry for hog-tying you...but I KNOW you are a Kunoichi." he said to her, this guy was wearing only a fudonchi over his privates as he was crouched in front of her.

Once her coughing fit was over and she could breathe easily, she looked up in the direction of the voice of the person who had tied her. The ropes were skillfully tied tight. Whoever this guy was, he was indeed smart to have tied her up.

"If you know that, then why didn't you just kill me when you had the chance?" She struggled against her restraints trying to sit up. She looked the male ninja over. He was quite handsome from what she could see of his face, his eyes especially. They felt warm and inviting. She was confused. This man was her enemy. Why was he being so nice?

He stood, "Because I can choose to if I want to or not.....but I prefer to be peaceful than violent with no true reason to be." he said simply as he poked the fire with the stick and sat down to get warmer, checking the rain, which was still going. He sighed, "We'll be stuck here a bit." he said.

He checked his clothes and sighed again, they were still damp.

Natsuki was too dazed and her vision was too blurry to even realize the man was pretty much naked in front of her. She averted her eyes trying not to stare. She saw his damp clothes hanging by the fire. They were similar to what the dragon clan wore.

"Are you a member of the dragon clan?" She asked trying to keep him distracted while she tried her best to break her restraints.

"And If I am?" he asked, as he poked the fire, and looked to her, he noticed she was shivering, "You're still cold?" he asked her.

She scoffed at his answer and looked at the warm fire. She was too far away to feel its warmth.

"N-N-No..." She was very cold indeed. Her clothes were drenched and the sudden drop in temperature from the rain made it even worse. "I'm fine...the cold d-doesn't bother me."

He walked over and checked her clothes, "DOn't get the wrong Idea, but I need to undress you. Or you'll freeze." he said, untie her waist obi belt.

He knew she was panic no matter, but kept on going to get her undressed and closer to the fire to warm up, "STOP being silly and warm up, if i wanted to do something I would have by now." he said, putting her clothes over the same spot as his own clothes.

She leaned back away from him when he moved closer and felt her clothes, "Wait, WHAT?!?" She wasn't in a position to exactly defend herself. She was still tied up and she couldn't really fight him off. Still, she struggled while he pulled her clothes off. "Stop it! Just untie me and I will do it myself!" She leaned in and bit his arm when he went to take off her arm sleeves.

"If I let you run now you'll be seeing on MY side of the territory." he said, making it known she was on Dragon territory.

"Just SIT tight and warm up. I'll un tie you when You're warmer." he said.

"Fine then..." She remained quiet and sat there taking in the heat from the fire. All the had left on was her underwear and her tank top. It was wet so her breasts were pretty much visible through the thin fabric. She pulled her knees up to cover herself. She tried again to speak with Nemo but there was still not answer. She began to fear the worst. She sighed and tried to not let this guy see her upset.

".....................................You seem concerned, I don't blame you. Stuck in enemy territory and you mostly naked with a mostly naked man stranger in a cave while its raining......kind of funny actually." he chuckled to himself as he listed it all aloud.

He got a couple of the Larger mushrooms he had gathered and got a couple of sticks and he stuck them on and got the cooking on a angle near the fire.

"I'm glad you find this funny...I find it utterly humiliating." She stayed curled up tight to hide her body as much as possible from his eyes. "I'm just...worried about my companion. We got separated when the river washed us away..." She looked into the fire and tried again and again to contact Nemo.

".........A tiger?" he asked, know the Kizuato all had tiger companions. "I didn't see one when I found you, you were floating down the river outcold. You could have drowned if I didn't grab you.....or worse the wolves would have gotten you." he said, "OR mor elf my fellow shinobi." he listed.

Natsuki clenched her body when she heard that. She couldn't bring herself to believe that Nemo might be dead. He was old, but he was strong. He was her mothers companion once she became head of the clan. Since Natsuki had a tendency to be reckless and rebelious, Kohaku, her mother, made Nemo her guardian and companion until she was old enough to have one of her own.

"Th-thank you..." She said softly. "...for saving me. I am your enemy and yet you spared my life. I'm grateful." She sighed looking at him with a pale blush.

"..........Yeah....well....You've not tried to attack me, though I KNOW you might have soothing up your sleeve even when bound.....though couldn't see anything and you're not sitting uncomfortably enough to be internally hiding something." he was very observant.

"I am impressed. You are very perceptive...um you never told me your name." She said. "I am really in no position to try to attack you...more than likely you would win." She moved uncomfortably still trying to keep her goodies hidden from him.

".......Roku." he said, not telling his last name.

"And what about you?" he asked, he noticed she was trying to hide herself, "Even it you were baring all, I'm not going to touch you." he said. "But I know you don't trust me either, so i don't blame you in the least."

"My name is Natsuki." She said as she relaxed and moved her body into a more comfortable position. So her breasts were now visible through her damp tank top. She blushed hard and tried to ignore it.

"So you are the prince of the dragon clan. Even more interesting." She said.

He looked at her without a reaction, "....So I am known." he sighed, "So much for not trying to reveal it." he chuckled a little.

".....And you're one of the best Shinobi in the Kizuato." he said, recognising her name as well. "So we both failed to that." he joked a little.