The Bakku no kuronotsurugi...roughly translated to the Black Sword of the Buck, was one of many countless 'legendary' swords known throughout Japan. Said to be made of an exceptional quality and thought to be used by a well known warrior in a famous battle. Now in the possession of the Kuwaddo Clan, the sword was locked away and guarded by a single samurai.

Kinsha wanted that sword. Not only for the quality and history of the blade, but to prove his skills as a ninja. One samurai would be easy enough, the sword was as good as his.

He remained hidden in a tree, watching as the candle lights along the manor were snuffed out. Soon all that remained illuminated was the armory, where the sacred Black Sword was located. And inside, his adversary waited, the ninja could see him sitting in meditation before the sword

In actuality, Quad had fallen asleep, sitting upright and snoring. He never was the best at the night shift for this reason, but the Kuwaddo Clan never bothered to check up on him at night.

Kinsha took a deep breath. It was now or never, he took his first step down on the tree bark, and slipping he hit the ground with a loud thud.

Quad's eyes opened just a bit, he yawns and stands up. Walking to the entrance of the room, he opens the door and steps outside, looking out into the courtyard. Nothing out of the ordinary...a few small pagodas remained lit on this night, a full moon was out (Kinsha picked the worst night for this), and several fireflies buzzed around. The samurai looked around a bit, wandering over to the area where he thought he heard something. Nothing there, he bent down and took a sip of water left in a pail nearby and proceeded back to the armory.

The samurai in white attire steps just inside the door when he notices a man in all black, already at the Black Sword.

Quad blinked a few times, making sure he wasn't just imagining this, and as Kinsha picked up the sword, the samurai unsheathed his own katana and stood there in a stance, nervous but prepared to take on this intruder. Kinsha turned around with the Bakku no kuronotsurugi, and stopping, he jumped a foot in the air seeing the samurai at the entrance, dropping the legendary sword which made a loud crash as it hit the ground.

The two stared at each other...waiting for the other to make a move.

Quad charged at the ninja, katana at his side ready to swipe upward. Kinsha reacted out of instinct, taking a shuriken in his palm and hurling it at the approaching enemy. The throwing weapon just barely missed the samurai's face, whizzing past his ear and hitting the wall behind with a thunk! The samurai slashed upward at the ninja, but was not nearly close enough to even hit him with the blade, and the ninja had swerved to avoid being struck anyway. A few more wild swipes at the intruder, who was managed to maneuver around the katana. At the next swipe, Kinsha lost his footing and toppled backwards onto the ground, a lucky mistake that saved him from the cut.

The ninja rolled, and grabbing the Black Sword, he scrambled to his feet and raced to the exit. Quad, already showing signs of fatigue, took his own throwing weapon - a kunai - and with a deep breath, he flung the blade at the ninja, hitting him square in the lower back. As it happened, a loud ping sounded and the kunai bounced right off. Another lucky break for Kinsha, as the kunai happened to hit one of his own throwing weapons, saving him from a crippling strike.

The ninja bolted out the door and into the courtyard, past pagodas and fireflies. The moonlight illuminated him well enough for the samurai, who chased after him with katana in hand. However, Quad could not close the gap on Kinsha as his asthma began to make him wheeze. The ninja turned here, and without thinking, threw another shuriken behind him at the samurai. The metal star connected, hitting his enemy in the arm and forcing him to fall to his knees and drop his sword. Quad gritted his teeth as he watched Kinsha sneer and escape. The samurai was defeated and dishonored.

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Kinsha rushed into the safety of the nearby woods, and finding a tree with a large branch, he climbed up it. Slowing his breath, he sat and rested on the body of the tree, smiling as he held the Bakku no kuronotsurugi, proving his skills as a ninja. He slowly began to unsheath the sword...

And was shocked to discover it was made out of wood! The sword was a fake, and worse, was covered in termites! As the little insects started to climb down the hilt of the sword and onto his hand, Kinsha jumped and threw the decoy sword, inadvertently losing his balance and falling out of the tree and slamming into the ground below. He watched in horror as the sword snapped in two nearby.

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The samurai stood, pulling the shuriken out of his arm and picking up his sword. He walked back to the armory, tossing the weapons to the side and mending the wound. He sighed, understanding he had once again failed to protect the 'sword', but instead of performing the ritual of seppuku, he slid open a small closet and pulled out another termite-infested decoy sword from a pile, placing it on the pedestal where the real Black Sword was supposed to be. He cleans the shuriken that struck him and placed it neatly in a small box that contained several throwing weapons from previous ninja raids, all that had struck him.

Quad sheathed his own katana and sat, closing his eyes. He mustered a chuckle here, as he was glad the real Bakku no kuronotsurugi, the katana he was holding and using, was safe.

The End