Ninja Assassin: Attraction Read online

  NINJA ASSASSIN

  Attraction

  Prologue

  25 Years Earlier

  Natalya had been in labour for at least 30 hours. She had chosen to labour in the privacy of her own home with only two midwives in attendance. One of her midwives, a young gentle woman, wiped the sweat off Natalya's forehead with a damp cloth.

  “You are fully dilated now. You are doing well, just keep breathing through your contractions,” the young midwife said.

  That midwife’s words of encouragement were useless. Natalya wondered how she could be doing this to her body a second time, her first labour had been bad enough. A sensation of stabbing fire interrupted her thoughts, as the pain radiated from within her uterus and across her naked body. Waves of burning sensations were assaulting her almost constantly now. As this contraction peaked she released another agonising moan, and clutched the lower part of her swollen belly to no avail. Panting, she temporarily caught her breath.

  “I need pain relief! Why don’t you Japanese women use pain relief. I can’t do this!” Natalya yelled desperately.

  “You are too far along for that now,” the other midwife, a stern older woman said.

  “No. I need something. Please!” Natalya pleaded.

  “You need to push now. Just breath and push,” the older midwife said.

  Natalya wondered if she would welcome death to escape this pain, and to escape her husband. Her panic arose at the thought of her husband. He knew. She was sure he knew this was not his child. Otherwise he would be here….

  Another severe contraction hit as the baby’s head bared down on her cervix. Then another one followed before the one before it could even fade. This pain was beyond excruciating; vibrating through her like the relentless slamming down of low notes on a pipe organ. Natalya could not take any more. She felt out of control and cried out until she could no longer recognise herself screaming.

  “Help me!…. Get her out of me!” Natalya yelled.

  “Natalya, you need to calm down now and focus,” insisted the older midwife. “You are wasting your contractions, you must push properly. If your baby does not come out soon, I will have to cut you.”

  That midwife's harsh voice somehow broke through Natalya's hysteria. Somehow Natalya regained partial focus, possibly through outrage at the midwife's words. When the next contraction peaked Natalya pushed down inside her with everything she had. The pain was incomprehensible. Was her vagina ripping apart? And the ripping sensation continued to build as she continued to push. There was no other choice now. Her pain threshold was surpassed as her baby's head seemed to violently pummel its way out.

  The older midwife looked triumphant. “Her head is out now. You are almost done.”

  More agonising moans followed. With Natalya's final pushes the older midwife helped guide the rest of the baby out. That midwife gently wiped the baby and placed her on Natalya’s chest. The younger midwife smiled excitedly as she assisted by cutting the unbiblical cord.

  The following minutes were a blur of tenderness as placenta was expelled. Natalya temporarily forgot about the throbbing soreness around her vagina and perineum. She was oblivious to the midwives assessing her need for stitches, and cleaning up the mix of blood, amniotic fluid and faeces. Instead, she gazed in wonder at her innocent baby girl, now placed skin to skin against her chest.

  “You are so perfect,” Natalya said to her tiny baby.

  Natalya knew instant love for her second born daughter. The brutality of childbirth was worth it to hold her baby in her arms. However, the sense of foreboding was still there. In her heart she knew her husband would not harm this child. He had never harmed a child, she reassured herself. But she did not know what Tatsuya would do to her now that he must know.

  ***

  At the other end of the mansion, Tatsuya Takahashi was pacing in his study. Several objects lay broken on the floor. Still agitated, he kicked an overturned chair across the room. He was furious at his Russian wife, Natalya. The bitch had been screaming as she laboured to birth his brother's baby, and in Tatsuya's own home! Tatsuya was beyond outraged. He, the proud, ruthless Japanese businessman owned an empire. Tatsuya had a merciless reputation and security team of trained killers. It was not beyond him to use his personal ninja clan to terminate adversaries who got in his way. And his own brother, Tadao, had fucked his wife right under his nose!

  At first Tatsuya had refused to believe his own suspicions because he had always been close to Tadao. Tatsuya had planned to take a paternity test after the baby's birth just to ease his paranoia. However, Tadao had been present when Tatsuya received the phone call announcing that the labour had started. Tatsuya had known then from the look on Tadao’s face that he had betrayed him.

  Tatsuya looked down now at his swollen fists. He smiled viciously to himself as he thought about how he had beaten Tadao near to death. Tadao was in hospital now. If he survived, which was likely because the man was almost as tough as Tatsuya, he vowed he would destroy him. Tatsuya had helped build up his younger brother's smaller business empire, so he would start with crushing everything that his brother owns.

  A gentle knock interrupted Tatsuya's thoughts.

  “What do you want?” Tatsuya barked, as he yanked open the door.

  The younger midwife looked uncomfortable as she took in the state of the study. Tatsuya stared coldly at her, and she took an involuntary step backward.

  “Your healthy baby girl has been born,” the midwife quickly announced.

  Tatsuya nodded and wordlessly dismissed the midwife with two equal and overly generous cheques. He did not leave the study for some time. He waited for the midwives to finish their duties and leave his home. No one heard the older midwife hush the younger one's concerns about the tension in the household. The older one knew of Tatsuya's reputation and warned the younger one not to speak of her concerns again.

  ***

  Natalya did not want the midwives to leave, but did not tell them that she was afraid of her husband. She knew they could not help her. Natalya grew increasingly uneasy in the silence of the room after they left. The beating of her heart seemed louder than her baby suckling on her breast. Thoughts of fleeing with her firstborn had entered her mind more than once in the months leading to this second birth. But it was futile because Tatsuya would find them. Better to face him and be done with it.

  Finally, Tatsuya slammed open the bedroom door and strode up to the bed. He stared coldly at the tiny baby feeding on Natalya's breast. Silence sliced through the air, as Natalya’s dangerous husband stood over her. Tatsuya was not unaware of how beautiful Natalya looked with her large green eyes, wild blonde hair and flushed skin. His eyes narrowed as he watched a single tear slide down her perfectly sculptured cheek. Her tears would not help her now. Eventually Tatsuya broke the silence.

  “I have beaten your lover,” he told her coldly.

  “Will Tadao live?" Natalya asked.

  "You'll never know,” he said, quietly furious at her indirect admission of guilt.

  Natalya could not mistake the intent in Tatsuya's words and the dangerous flash in his almost- black eyes, as he slowly advanced upon her. Tatsuya had never harmed her before, but she knew what he was capable of and felt her terror rising.

  "Any final requests, wife?"

  "Yes," she somehow spoke, surprising herself at finding words whilst her heart pounded so rapidly. "Her name is Kaiya, it means forgiveness".

  Tatsuya hesitated briefly at her words but reminded himself that he would show no more weakness. He noticed that the baby had fallen asleep whilst feeding.

  “I will take her now,” Tatsuya said.

  “No!” Natalya weakly protested when her baby was wrenched from
her arms.

  Natalya did not have much strength left over to fight him after her long labour. Once the baby was bundled securely in one of his arms, Tatsuya slowly leaned over Natalya.

  “You have betrayed me,” Tatsuya said coldly.

  “Wait, the baby might still be yours!” Natalya pleaded.

  “No. Do not speak anymore, wife,” Tatsuya said. “I will hear no more lies from your treacherous lips.”

  With his free hand, he forcefully placed a pillow over Natalya's head and proceeded to smother her. He was consumed by hatred as he watched her futile attempts to kick and claw the pillow off her face.

  Tatsuya was unsure how much time passed after Natalya stopped struggling and became still. Eventually, he removed the pillow and looked down into his beautiful wife’s still, unblinking eyes. He swept a strand of wild hair off her pail face, fighting off any regret in his mind from killing the only woman he had truly loved. He was Tatsuya Takahashi. No one fucked him over and got away with it, ever. Mercy and remorse were not part of his character.

  Tatsuya later placed Kaiya in a cot in the same room as his sleeping two-year-old daughter, Mariko. He informed the nanny that Natalya had passed away shortly after the birth. The Nanny was shocked, but mistook his coldness for grief and agreed to tend to the infant. He phoned his head of security and ordered him to deal with Natalya's body, and make the funeral arrangements.

  Before leaving the nursery, Tatsuya glanced at the two half siblings, sleeping peacefully in the large room. He decided then that he would keep Tadao's child. Of course, he would later confirm for sure that this was not his child, but he knew the truth in his gut. However, his brother would be left to always wonder if the child was his, should he survive his earlier beating. Keeping Kaiya could prove very useful. He would raise her to be a loyal and obedient killer for him. In time Kaiya would even become a deadly weapon that he could use against Tadao. This child would also be trained to help protect his true daughter, Mariko, the only person left whom he loved.

  ~

  PART ONE

  THE DOJO

  25 YEARS LATER

  ~

  Chapter 1

  Kaiya Takahashi was hacking her way upward through the thick green foliage of one of Japan's remote alpine forests. There was not a trace of a path, but she had an acute sense of direction even in unfamiliar terrain. Despite half a day passing since her last contact with civilians at the base of the mountains, she was confident that she was still on track.

  Her large pack weighed down her petite but shapely body, although she easily concentrated on her breathing and keeping her footing. Sweat tricked between her breasts and down her back, despite the cool mountain breeze. Her long black hair was secured in a pinned up braid, so that her hair did not get in her way. She was aware of blisters rubbing in her boots and branches scraping her limbs, through her black fitted shirt and matching hiking pants. Usually her clothes were worn tight so that none of her enemies could get a grab hold on her clothes during her fights. Kaiya was also perceptive enough to realise that male opponents were occasionally distracted by her curves as well. It was tactical to use her womanly figure to her advantage, and she enjoyed teaching men a lesson when they underestimated her.

  Kaiya thought of herself as cunning but knew others also described her as dangerous like her father. The other ninjas in her clan, who were all male, saw her as untameable and unattainable and this suited her fine. The clear majority of her opponents were also men and she figured her destination would be no different. The training program awaiting her would be her most gruelling series of challenges yet. Her killer instinct and disciplined fighting would get her through this. Kaiya had a lot to prove. She was determined to return to Tokyo with an even fiercer reputation, which her father would be proud of.

  Kaiya hacked aggressively through some more shrubs, and felt a subtle change in the air before she reached a sudden clearing. The trees parted over a moss-covered boulder, which ended with a sheer drop off a cliff. Stepping near to the edge, she removed her pack and sat for a while to catch her breath. She gazed down into the green forest canyon formed far below at the intersection of several steep mountain ridges. The canyon was a beautiful sight to behold. It stretched several kilometres wide, winding an unknown distance through the mountains. The faint white streaks of waterfalls cascading down some of the mountain ridges on the other side of the canyon, were just visible. The afternoon sunlight mixed with mist, and faded into the dark green forest below. The edges of the forest were now slightly shadowed by the mountains.

  In the middle of the canyon stood a formidable grey man-made structure. It had four traditional pagodas, all void of colour including the tiled rooftops. The somewhat aged dwellings surrounded an open space in the middle, undoubtedly an outdoor training area. The structures were bordered by four tall grey stone walls. Kaiya surveyed the secluded dojo below that would be her home for the next five or so months.

  Kaiya was aware of the prestige of securing one of six places in an elite, secret class of Ninjutsu training known only as, Mizuchi Ninjutsu. The training was rumoured to take place only once per decade. Of course, her father, Tatsuya, had had connections to get her and Kazuo in. Her father had completed this training himself with her uncle when they were in their late twenties or early thirties. Tatsuya was forbidden to reveal any details about the actual training or its past locations. Kaiya smugly thought that even her father probably did not know where it was being held this time. She had received a text message listing only the coordinates and today's date. Kazuo had received the same.

  Kaiya did not turn as she sensed Kazuo come up behind her.

  “Took you long enough,” she said, as he joined her on the boulder’s edge.

  Kazuo grunted in response as he set his pack down. He brushed some longer strands of his black and orange-tinted rock-star hair out of his eyes, as he sat beside her.

  “There it is,” Kaiya said, pointing down into the canyon.

  “Good. I thought we had to be close,” Kazuo said somewhat relieved.

  “It looks pretty dated and run down,” Kaiya could not hide her disappointment.

  “It is a dojo. It is meant to basic, not luxurious like your apartment,” Kazuo said. “Although, I suppose I thought we’d at least have plumbing and heating.”

  “Don’t even joke about that. I could not last five months without hot showers and flushable toilets!” Kaiya said.

  Kazuo only half-smiled at her reaction to his comment. He appeared to be in a quiet and serious mood. The pair of them were used to working together and had always had a competitive edge to their friendship. Kazuo was already one of Tatsuya’s most trusted ninjas on his security clan, despite being only a couple years older than Kaiya. He had a reputation for being disciplined and she knew he had killed on more occasions than her.

  Kaiya had often sparred with him and knew that he respected her skill at fighting. He was much stronger than her and his body was hardened with muscle. But she was lithe and quicker than him. Her gymnastics training in her youth had allowed her to develop sharper movements and balance in her fighting. She was often underestimated by her opponent’s due to her size. But Kazuo had learned not to underestimate her. Kaiya knew what a strong opponent Kazuo was going to be and she hoped she could beat him.

  “Let me know when you’ve caught your breath,” Kaiya said.

  Kaiya was exhausted from their trek so far. However, there was no way she was going to show any signs of weakness, now that he was about to be one of her opponents.

  “I’ve caught my breath,” Kazuo insisted. “But we still have time to take in this view for a few more moments.”

  Kazuo was relieved to have their destination within sight. He was tired of trekking through the dense forest with his heavy pack on his back. He was irritated that Kaiya barely looked tired, even though she had been carving out this more recent part of their route. He had mixed feelings about attending this elite training with Kaiya as an opponent. H
e had his reputation to uphold so he would need to beat her. But if he beat her too badly he might lose favour with her older sister, Mariko. Mariko had begged him to protect Kaiya whilst they disappeared off the grid. She would not listen to reason that protecting Kaiya was contrary to this training, because Kaiya was one of his opponents now. Kazuo smiled at the ridiculousness of Mariko’s request. Mariko was gentle and naive and was the one who needed protecting. Whilst in his opinion Kaiya did not. In fact, he very much enjoyed protecting Mariko when his job allowed it. This was usually when Kaiya was not around to fill the role.

  Kazuo could not help but disapprove of how his employer, Tatsuya Takahashi, openly favoured and protected his older daughter yet allowed Kaiya to become a killer. The fact that she was good at it was not the point. Kazuo found it a shame that Kaiya had not done something else with her life fitting of her high social status. She should have pursued a gymnastics career after becoming the Japanese national gymnastics school champion in her youth. Becoming a killer instead seemed a waste of her talents and also a waste of her beauty, he could not help thinking.

  Both sisters were strikingly beautiful from their mixed ethnicity. He was initially attracted to Kaiya, but he now knew he needed a woman who was softer in nature and who appreciated his strength. Kaiya was very wild and at times too spirited. His attraction to Kaiya had long faded to a competitive friendship as he developed a spark with her softer sister, Mariko, instead. Kazuo smiled to himself as he recalled the kiss he had stolen from Mariko three days ago….

  Kaiya and Kazuo rested, briefly lost for a while in their own thoughts. Kaiya eventually broke the silence.

  “My rope will just be long enough for us to abseil down the first section of this decent. But we’ll have to be careful to keep our footing on the lower decent with the weight of our packs. Or do you want to find an easier way down?”

  Kazuo flashed her a determined look as he shook his head.