Chapter Text
The Oath and Tenants of The Ninja:
I shall observe the Tenants of The Ninja; Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, Indomitable Spirit.
I shall respect all Higher Authority and Seniors.
I shall never abuse The Ways of The Ninja.
I shall never, under any circumstances, reveal my true name and face.
I shall be a champion of Freedom and Justice.
I shall help build a more peaceful world.
The world of the Ninjas, little is known about them. They carry out their missions in secret, and were thought by historians to be long-abolished before the Edo period in Japan. They were wrong. Ninjas still exist. Among us. Everywhere. Not just in Japan now. They've developed new rules and techniques to hide from the pry of nosy beings, and from people in general.
They are more stealthy than your top FBI agent, more experienced than any commando in the army when it came to combat fighting. They knew their way around better than any spy to ever exist. They strategise better than any general in the military.
Most importantly, they live among us. In the day, they go to work or school like any regular person. But they are not like us. Far more superior in terms of physical ability, they were always alert and on their toes, ready to fight to the last blood. They operated at night. Once they've put their gi and mask on, they've got a different identity, a whole different person, a new name. They are never to tell anyone of this identity, of this other life they have.
They operate in secret, hidden by the shadows. Sometimes they're assigned missions on their own, other times they work in teams. Teams can be as small as two people and as large as thirty. Team members are never constant. Missions are never the same. Never predictable. The Ninja Lord determines all of these. He holds supreme authority. No one knows his name or face, but they know his past. The only people who knew of anything and everything in the ninja world are The Authority; a group of people with too many years on their bones to be able to perform any strenuous missions assigned. They are the ones that research and find out issues that need to be 'fixed', and thus assign missions and groups. They have the job to observe and keep tabs on what ninjas do during the day, and also to recruit young ninjas, and send them to the respective centres for training.
The existence of Ninjas were so that society would be able to function properly and safely, not having to know the ugly truths of this world. They do all the dirty work; all for a better cause. They only have the Oaths and Tenants to live up to.
Our particular story revolves around the life of a certain Niall Horan; known to his ninja peers as Grasshopper. He originated from the Ninja Headquarters of Ireland, but was transferred to the Ninja Headquarters of England when he was 14. Family reasons.
Currently at the age of 19, he's attending his first year in the University of London and works part-time at a McDonald's near the university campus during the day. During the night, he was a Class-B ninja, sent to do more intricate and advanced missions than other ninjas. There are seven classes of ninjas, besides those of authority. Ranging for Class-G to Class-A, G being ninjas that are most junior and inexperienced, and A being the most experienced and successful in missions. Each ninja gets placed in his or her class based on mission success and individual skills and technique. Niall, for the matter, was extremely successful and skilful for his age, but because of lack of experience, he couldn't be placed in Class-A.
Nevertheless, he is quite satisfied with his placement and pay. Yes, pay. Ninjas get paid for what they do. Each individual mission gets a commission on top of their contracted pay. Where does this money come from, you must ask. Well, this is the reason why ninjas are required to have regular day-jobs and identities. More than eighty percent of what they earn goes to the Ninja Trust where they would collect interest from the banks. Therefore, intelligence is also an important factor when it came to recruiting ninjas. A higher pay during the day means more money during the night. Ninjas get paid according to the class they're in. Class-G ninjas would be paid approximately 1000 American dollars per month, on top of their earnings from doing missions. Their pay increases as they are promoted to higher classes.
But back to our story. Niall Horan was of small stature for an Irishman. He was not suited to play typical European sports like rugby, something his older brother Greg (who was not a ninja) had a passion for. Niall was approximately a hundred and sixty-seven centimetres in height. Despite not being a typically large Irishman, he had the hereditary Irish paleness and natural blond locks. But one thing about him stood out the most; his eyes. They were incredibly large and were of the clearest blue. The phrase 'eyes are the windows to your soul' could never be truer to Niall Horan. You could see happiness sparkle in his clear orbs when he laughed, sadness cloud over his eyes when he was sad, and mischief twinkle when he had a trick up his sleeve.
He was your average Irishman, carefree and fun-loving, despite the fact that he went around prowling during the night doing the dirty works of society. It was in his blood to be a ninja. His uncle Paul from his mother's side is a ninja, and had recommended Niall as a child to The Authority. Niall had since then trained in The Way of The Ninja since the tender age of 9. He had seen more bloodshed and foul play at the age of 13, the official age ninjas have to be to be assigned missions.
Now, Niall was having an early dinner on his own at the school cafeteria. Earlier that day, he had received a message that he was to report to duty at the usual time (usual time being when the sun sets), ready and mentally prepared for the assassination of a group of high-ranking policemen who'd been involved in corruption with local gangs.
Finishing the last bit of his turkey club sandwich, he emptied his tray and swiftly made his way down the familiar streets of London to the Ninja Headquarters with his dark gym-bag slung over his shoulder. Entering a sleepy corner store, he headed straight for the dairy section, casually slipping on his mask and twisting the icecream tub at the farthest end. The tiles at his feet opened, and Niall braces himself for the rushing of air by his ears as he slid down the tunnel, letting gravity take control.
Landing swiftly on his feet, Niall carried on in the dimly lit room where fellow ninjas were already milling about, some already dressed in their gi and some still wearing everyday clothes, but all had their faces covered. He went to the change-rooms where he switched from his jumper and jeans to his black gi, and he proceeded to change his worn-out joggers for a pair of specially made jika-tabi, ninja shoes. Grabbing his weapons from his locker, he slung his twin katana over his shoulder. He refilled his shuriken pouch and added a couple of kunai knives. Now he was ready.
“Grasshopper reporting for duty, sir,” Niall announced as he got in line inside the mission hall. The ninjas ready for missions go to the mission hallto line up and get assigned their groups and be briefed in more detail of their mission.
“ShadowFox! EyeOfTheTiger! Grasshopper!” an Authority shouted from his spot at the podium.
“Yes sir!” three distinct voices called from the ranks, in sync even though they weren't anywhere near each other.
Niall's ears perked. What? He was gonna work with the ShadowFox and the EyeOfTheTiger? Holy mother of cheese, they were pretty much legends to all the rookie ninjas, also being rookies themselves. They weren't very much older than Niall, rumoured to be around the age of 24-26. They themselves have never worked with each other as far as Niall was concerned (and he was very concerned). ShadowFox and EyeOfTheTiger were the youngest ever ninjas to be promoted to Class-A when they were both 18. Seemingly, they were rivals.
For the first time in a while, Niall felt nervous. What if he didn't seem cool enough to ShadowFox and EyeOfTheTiger? What if he messed up on something and they deemed him unworthy of his position in Class-B? Taking deep breaths, he marched up to the front of the hall and accepted his mission scroll from the masked Authority.
***
“Grasshopper strikes again..” Niall whispered as the last unsuspecting man fell face first on the ground after receiving a blow on his back. The art of stealth and silent deaths were the first of which every ninja should know, and Niall perfected the very existence of attacks from the back. He knew exactly where to hit to knock his target out immediately, shutting off the nervous system and pushing the right pressure points.
Beside him, ShadowFox had started clearing all evidence of their presence (not that they would usually leave any signs, but it's always better safe than sorry) while EyeOfTheTiger was promptly making the deaths look like an accident. The two Class-A ninjas shared a look between each other, what is with this kid?, it said.
Barely two hours of knowing each other (knowing, like literally just being in close proximities and devising the plan to take down the targets), it was obvious that ShadowFox and EyeOfTheTiger shared a natural bond. Generally when ninjas are put in teams, some work better with each other than others. Needless to say, there are those who are naturally being drawn together based on personality and work habits. The two more seasoned ninjas immediately clicked and had formulated similar ideas on how to take their enemy down when given their mission. Niall on the other hand, had different ideas that intrigued the other two.
The older two of the trio had planned to attack by stealth when all policemen involved with the corruption were gathered in a meeting past midnight. Niall had suggested timidly that they follow each officer and finish them off silently as there were too many of them in numbers when they were to hold their meeting. ShadowFox and EyeOfTheTiger both agreed to Niall's plan as it seemed most logical. And here they were, mission accomplished before midnight. Record time for a mundane and vigorous mission. It didn't take very long to track each and everyone of those involved in the police corruption case, but it definitely took stealth and skill to get them down soundlessly, as not to alert the rest of the police force.
Feeling proud of himself for having come up with the plan ShadowFox and EyeOfTheTiger both agreed to, Niall decided to treat himself to some guilty pleasures (aka tons of fattening shizzles) in the cafeteria at the Ninja Headquarters. The Ninja Headquarters was just like any other official building; except for the fact that it's underground (literally), has a fully equipped fighting range, and everyone is masked in order to protect their identity.
Settling for a large poutine and icecream combo (the ninja were fairly international people and had food from all over the world served in their cafeteria), Niall wolfed his well-deserved past-midnight-snack down. He hurriedly grabbed his gym bag from his locker and made his way home hidden among the shadows.