romancing the ninja

In an archipelago of four Islands to the very east from Equestria was the nation of Neighpon, A nation steeped with rich history, good food and the ninja clans that each had their own island in the archipelago. It was truly a beautiful country, with cherry blossoms and traditions of old.There are four ninja clans, the bat clan, the phoenix clan, the clan of the tiger and the clan of the dragon. All four clans use all forms of ninjutsu, Stealth, hoof to hoof combat, bladed weapons, projectiles, poison and even mystical abilities.

However, each clan was skilled in a certain form of killing and focused on something different. The dragon clan are a clan of pegasi. They specialized in bladed weapons and focused on precision. Their victims always had very clean cuts, that killed almost instantly. It was rumoured that a single cut anywhere by a member of the dragon clan meant certain death. Their weapon of choice is the katana.

The clan of the bat is a clan of bat ponies. Their preferred method of killing was poison, more often poison darts. They focused on stealth, however they were known for using bladed wings. They could decapitate a target in mid flight and vanish before anypony knew what had happened. It was rumored that if it was completely silent, the bat ponies had already descended upon you.

As for the clan of the tigers, they are a clan of earth ponies. They specialize in hoof to hoof combat and their focus is their strenth and agility. While their climbing claws were meant for scaling walls, The tiger clan is known for using them and their false sharp teeth to kill their targets. Many of their victims have been mistaken to have been mauled by wild beasts

And finally, the Phoenix clan, they were a clan of unicorns, they specialized in projectiles, and the mystical side of ninjutsu. Their focus was on power. They used the mystic side to make up for anything the other clans specialized in. They were arguably the most lethal of the four clans.

The four had a mutual respect for each other, even though they never intermingled or worked with each other, in fact, it was common for one clan to be hired to take out a target while another was hired to protect the same target. This rang true with the Dragon and Phoenix clans and this caused tension and rivalry. This is a story of a dragon clan ninja who got swept up in a grand adventure, did she gain anything? We'll see if she got anything in later on.

*

On the Island of the Dragon on a dark and stormy night, a filly was born to a couple of street urchins, holding her foal in her arms was Karma Kata who was smiling at her daughter in happiness. she turned her husband, Indigo Kunochi smiling at her as he looked at their daughter. However there was something that needed to be addressed, something important and that was a better life for their only child. It was a bittersweet moment for the three of them. Lying next to his wife, Indigo, a pony with a moral compass in his heart looked at his daughter, she had his coat and her mothers hair that was black as the night sky."Karma?" he hesitantly asked "we need to give her a better life than that of a street pony you know that don't you?"

Looking down at her baby, she could not bear letting her go but deep down she wanted to tell Indigo that he was wrong and they could raise Violet. But in the end she knew Indigo was right. Violet deserved better than a life in the streets living off the garbage and refuse, feeding on the scraps while the privileged dined in luxury. That was no life for a foal, she nuzzled her husband sadly and acknowledged he was right aboutthis. "I know indigo," she said crying "But who would take in a poor street ponies foal?" She silently wept knowing that she could not give her foal a good life, where could they go? Was there any place or anypony that would take their foal into their home and into their heart? Indigo thought long and hard about this, he didn't think anyone was compassionate to the poor and the hungry.However there was a place where she could have the life of a happy filly, a place where she could grow up to be strong and beautiful like the cherry blossoms that would be in bloom in the coming summer. In the small town Katakana there was the sacred grounds of the dragon clan, Indigo knew it was a long shot but it was the only other choice they had. He put his faith into the hands of fate and decided that he had heard of the unwavering kindness of a grizzled ninja veteran who had fought in the clan wars, Master Kodachi Kunai.So his mind was set he and Karma would take Violet to him

"Honey," Indigo started "The dragon clan may be stealthy killers but they take foals under their wing and I understand the clan leader is a compassionate pony."

Karma was not too sure about this though "But Indigo," she whispered in sadness " While its true that they are honorable, they are still killers."

The kind father placed a hoof on his wife's shoulder and had a forlorn look on his face, showing his deep hurt and sadness. "I know... but what choice do we have?" Baby Violet Kunochi reached her tiny hoof to her mother's face, she looked back at her daughter with a mixture of joy and sadness she knew she had no other choice, she knew Indigo was right they could not raise her like this, no matter how much they wanted to keep her it was impossible to do so in the slums and alleyways of the town they lived in, they only had a few hours together as a family but to them, those precious hours were worth a lifetime.As hard as it was Karma and Indigo agreed that Violets best hope of living a happy foalhood was the only option they could take

Karma nuzzled her daughter affectionately. "I'm so sorry my little one." she cried and kept her daughter close to her chest. They donned a pair of tattered cloaks so nopony would recognize them. They carried their crying foal with them in warm blankets wrapped around her and made their way to the neighboring town of katakana the home of the dragon clan. By the time they had reached the neighboring town Violet had fallen asleep and stayed that way for the remainder of the short journey to Katakana. Finally from atop a hill, they could see the lights of Katakana piercing through the veil of darkness.Indigo sighed heavily as there was no turning back, the next couple of hours may be the last they would see their little filly, unable to watch her grow up into a strong and beautiful pegasus mare.

The rain was still falling, creating mud puddles in the fertile soil of the rural town. Karma and Indigo kept to the shadows silently making their way until they could see a light shining in the dragon clans building. This was it, the place where they could give Violet a better life was within their reach. Trotting silently to the doorstep of the clan master, they waited to say their goodbyes. Indigo reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a bracelet that was written in neighponese and put it on his daughters fetlock as a memento and a reminder that they would always love her no matter what. Indigo hoped that one day they would meet again in this life, or another one.

Indigo silently wept as he felt Violet's tiny hoof touch his own "I'll miss you very much my darling sakura blossom" He leaned down and kissed his little girl on her forehead sadly. "I'll miss you my baby girl...." Her mother had written a note detailing Violets name and that she needed somepony to take care of her and love her. She tucked the note beside her daughter, and gave her one last nuzzle before they would leave her in the care of the clan master.

"Oh Violet," she sadly murmured "I wish we could keep you... I love you so much my baby girl" Turning her head to face her husband, She looked at him asking him in silence if they were ready to knock on that door. He nodded his head in reply and Karma knocked on the door firmly so she could be heard, that was when they bolted, hoping for the best and watched from the shadows silently. Karma wanted to rush back over and take her back but knew it would be pointless in the long run, she could only watch and hope for the best. Shortly after they left the porch that bordered the subterranean Dragon clan's hideout, the door opened.

*

Hearing the sound of his door being knocked on prompted Master Kunai to see who was knocking on his door at this hour of the night, Kunai was battle worn, a long jagged scar ran down his left eye rendering him blind from a battle he would rather not talk about. It was too painful to tell anypony, but underneath that rough hide was a heart of gold, the very best warrior in the clan and rumored to have trained one hundred students. He was a cunning ninja who lead the dragon clan. Opening the door, he noticed nopony was there, he shrugged his shoulders and was about to close the door when Violets crying averted his gaze downwards, Surprised, He began to look directly at a bundle of cloth that was moving and crying.

"A foal?" he asked. He picked up the bundle, unwrapped the cloth and saw a baby filly. As he looked at her, he found a note in the basket that held her inside and proceeded to read it "hmm to whom it may concern, this filly is Violet Kunochi, she is in need of a home and somepony to raise her like they would their own daughter, signed.... anonymous." After reading the note, he began to wonder if he could give the purple foal a good home, Kunai saw his clan as his family but he had no immediate family of his own, could he do this, could he be callous to a foal that was homeless? Violet a look that said she needed somepony to love her, and for some reason he felt like he could not abandon a helpless child to the bitter cold. Violet proceeded to tug on Master Kunais beard,giggling happily. Instantly feeling a connection with this filly, Master Kunai smiled for the first time in years. He never had foals of his own, and this filly was a blessing in his life.

"Don't worry, Violet." he said softly in happiness " I will be your father, my little sakura blossom" With those words he took the little filly with him into his home and shut the door behind him, smiling at the little bundle of joy. He went into the kitchen area and made some baby food by mashing up salad and fruit into mush. Cradling her gently in one arm, while sitting with his hind legs crossed in a meditative position, he fed Violet the food who ate it happily. Kunai began to take a glance at the clock on his wall. Violet began to let out a long yawn and began to slowly nod off, but still half awake. It was two minutes past eleven and little Violet needed her rest. The graying ninja clan leader took her to his room and laid her in a makeshift cot made of sturdy wood, that looked unused but why was it there? Only Kunai knew the answer. After laying her in her little bed, he sang her a Neighponese lullabye.

The song spoke of cherry blossoms in bloom, their rose coloured petals blowing in the winds of time. Promising a brand new tomorrow for the world. As expected, the gentleness of his lullabye, sent the little filly into a land of enchantment and wonder. Kunai had never been happier, for some reason, he thought that Violet might show potential to be a ninja herself. He thought it was just a hunch. He believed he should focus on the now because that is why they call it the present, because each day was gift to him and this day was extra special. Smiling he closed the door to their room, laid down his weary body and sighed with contentment. He was finally happy. And that was good enough for him. He had gotten a daughter on this dark and stormy night.