-=When One Life Ends, A Story Begins=-

His name was Ryu Hayabusa II. Son of the famous superninja of the same name. Destined to become a legendary ninja bandit in his clan, as well as to seek out and defeat an unknown evil in the Mapleverse, the realm of space home to the Maple World.

From the journal of Shadow Viper, one of the latest genin of the Clan Hidden in Darkness, September 25th, 2006:

‘The news came too quickly. No one could believe it. No one but me. Somehow, some way, I knew deep down this could happen. I told him not to go, not so soon, but…

‘I had just gotten out of bed. 5 a.m., the usual, getting ready for weapons training, when I heard a scream. More than one of them. Some with words, some without. Sensing a possible second attack, I rushed outside. At the village entrance, every person who lived in it was gathered around one spot, some crying out in despair, some consoling eachother, some down on their knees. Somehow, the possibility entered my mind, and it became clearer as I got closer. One person must’ve caught sight of me, as she rushed towards me, utter grief and sadness written all over her face.

‘It was Yuka, Ryu’s girlfriend.

‘Yuka dove into my arms, tears streaming endlessly. As she tried relentlessly to tell me, everything began forming in my mind. I found myself discovering the news for her, telling her what I thought it was, and I was right.

‘Ryu Hayabusa II, the one chosen for a great journey….is dead.

‘Fighting both my way through the crowd and tears at the same time, I reached the front of the group. A body lay on the ground, covered entirely by a blanket. The village elders stood by, completely speechless.

‘Emotions began to set upon me as I began lifting the blanket at where the head was. Was it true? Was he really gone?

‘I lifted the blanket, and my gaze met his face. It was true. The emotions of anger, rage, shock, and horror leapt upon me, grief not far behind.

‘Covering his body back up, I then did the only thing I could think of. I plunged my dagger into the ground, and creamed out to the heavens the one question on everyone’s mind.

‘”Why?”‘

-=1 Week Later=-

The morning sun crept over the village. A simple village overall, built by a sprawling ocean, littered with houses, along with a marketplace, a town hall, and a school. The school was not an ordinary one, but rather a dojo. A dojo that taught the ways of the rogue.

In this dojo, a resident was getting up with the sun, getting ready to resume his rogue training. His true name was unknown, but he went by his given rogue name, Shadow Viper.

Unfortunately, like all the others before it, today would not be an easy day, as the loss of the most promising rogue student was still pounding in his mind, merciless with pain, like a migraine. Still, Shadow did his best to fight it off. He had lost a good friend and training partner, and the funeral was only yesterday, but he didn’t want to start his next week off mulling over the past. Though Ryu’s passing wouldn’t be forgotten, it wasn’t to be dwelled upon, either.

As he was getting dressed in the traditional rogue outfit, a knock came upon Shadow’s door. Something that didn’t normally happen this early in the morning. Yet it did now, and he had a feeling it was important. “The door’s open,” Shadow answered.

Yuka walked into the room, wearing her pajamas and kitsune slippers. Her hair was a mess, and her expression was no less depressing. Dark circles formed under her eyes. She shuffled over to Shadow, looking as though she hadn’t had a hug in years.

Sensing this, Shadow gave her one. Then he sat with her on his bed, starting off by getting at what had to be a big problem on Yuka’s mind. “You went to his grave, didn’t you?” he began rather sternly.

Yuka began replying, “I held an amount of respect for him like nothing else the first day he headed off to Maple World. He protected me with his life the day those monsters came to our village. We’d gone out for four years. Of course I went to his grave!” Greatly distress upon ending her short speech, Yuka began to cry.

Shadow held her close, whispering in her ear, “Yuka, I have no doubt you miss him terribly. I miss him as well. He was the top student at our school. He was a good friend of mine. Still, you can’t let this whole thing dominate your mind. You’ve been frightfully depressed all week, and it’s starting to worry me, perhaps the whole village. I hate to see you like this.”

Listening to his words, Yuka began regaining control of herself. “Perhaps…you’re right,” she said. “But it still hurts. Ryu was my pride and joy. He was my best friend, someone I just loved being around. With his experience as a bandit, I never thought this could happen. Now with him gone, I…I don’t know what to do.”

Shadow continued holding her, thinking of something to say, when someone else burst into his room. It was his other best friend. Like Shadow, his name was unknown, though he went by his rouge name, Lord Scorpion.

“Shadow…quickly…to the town hall….the elders have…found something…” Scorpion managed to say through heavy panting. “It’s something….Ryu had…probably around….the moment….he died.”

Shadow stood himself and Yuka up, his mind piqued with interest at the news. He turned to Yuka. “Come on, this may be something the whole village needs to see,” he said to her.

Together, the trio made their way towards the town hall, all of them wondering what exactly the elders had found.

—————————————————-

Hey folks! Tninja is back with his latest story. Unlike the past stories, this’ll be a full blown fanfic based on the game, similar to something like the Aurora’s Redemption story(btw SilverFx that story is awesome so far, keep it up). Yes, I know this prologue is a bit of a sad story, but it was the only thing I coud think of as a creative way to start this story and put a “hero’s end” to my last character. Of course, the story isn’t entirely made up; it’s based around my latest bandit at work. He is called ShadowViperX, and currently resides in Bellocan, so if you’re in that realm and liked this story, feel free to whisper me. I’ll post this story whenever I have time(don’t expect a world of them as I’m in college, but they won’t be rare, as I do have free time now and then). That’s all for now, folks. Until next time! *Tosses everyone a Mountain Dew before leaving*