| abstract
| - Starless Night is the second book in the Legacy of the Drow series by R.A. Salvatore. It was later reissued as book eight of the Legend of Drizzt series.
- It is a peaceful night within Hoshigakure and the land it surrounds. The wind is calm and crisp, the leaves breaking from their branches as they litter the forest floor. There are guards keeping the village under watch from potential attackers, feeling that the night was going to be just another ordinary guard shift on the job. But there's something they never planned on, perhaps something they expected only in the back of their heads; A shadow in the night, one they'll never know was there until it's too late. Calling upon his forces, two figures, who appear about as lively as a corpse could get, begin infiltrating the village. Using their lithe frames, they carefully run through the village, taking advantage of their deathly bodies to avoid sensory-nin. As they scurry through the trees, they find their location; The communications building that gives radio information to the guards. Inside they sneak up on the two within handling the comms, stabbing them in the back while covering their mouths to keep them from screaming. As they breathe their last breaths, the two subordinates severe the lines to the communications tower, leaving the guards basically deaf. Finishing their task, they disperse into the shadows, linking themselves back to Kuroi's Yin Release pool. Akira lay across a thick tree branch, her head supported by her hands as she gazed up at the sky. Normally the night sky above Hoshigakure was dotted with thousands of bright starts, all wondering the black sky like fireflies in an open field. Tonight however the sky was obscured by a mass of dark clouds that shut out the night sky from the view of the village and the surrounding area. The only light that pierced through the night was the dim glow of the village's lights. Despite the village having grown over the past decade, it was still quite small. At least small compared to some of the other villages Akira had visited. Konohagakure had been completely demolished roughly a decade ago before Akira had been born, if Akira remembered her history correctly, and still it was several times the size of Hoshi. Akira was beginning to zone out, thinking about what living in such a large village must be like, when a rustle in the foliage nearby caused her to spring to her feet. Akira's hand slid around her back, hovering over the small weapon's pouch she carried, ready to draw a kunai or shuriken at a moment's notice. The forest remained silent for a few moments, just before Akira spotted a small rabbit scurrying across the forest floor below her. Akira breathed a sigh of relief, as the furry animal was far from a threat. As Akira watched the rabbit disappear into the brush, a sharp point touched her back, the business end of a kunai no doubt. "I got you." An almost excited voice stated. Akira turned her head, trying the best she could to get a look at her attacker without having to turn around. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could just make out the dark clothing of her assailant. "Your improving Toma." Akira stated, her tone positive and cheery. "But your still not quite there yet." Mere moments after finishing her sentence, Akira disappeared in a puff of white smoke, a small log appearing in her place. Toma, startled by Akira's trickery, stumbled back. The hood of his dark cloak slipped off his head, revealing a dark haired young boy, whom couldn't have been older than twelve, wearing a simple headband, the symbol of Hoshigakure engraved in the metal forehead protector. Before Toma had time to regain his composure, he felt a hand gently grab the back of his head. "Looks like I got you." Akira laughed, a warm smile on her face. "I guess so. But it's not over yet Akira Sensei." Toma stepped down the side of the tree branch, standing parallel to the ground while his chakra anchored his feet to the tree. From behind Toma came a volly of ninja tools, kunai and shuriken alike. With little time to react, Akira stepped back, ducking under a shuriken, then turning to evade a shuriken. As Akira prepared to dodge the next projectile, she quickly realized the two remaining kunai were both wildly off target. The reason became apparent to Akira when the wire string tethering the two weapons together reached her abdomen. The kunai both stuck into the thick tree trunk, embedding themselves deep in the wood. Another cloaked figure dropped down from a higher branch, placing themselves between the tree trunk and Akira. "Your mine!" yelled a young girl's voice, on that Akira immediately recognized as young Yuna's. Yuna lashed out with a furious jumping kick, aimed directly as Akira's temple. Unable to back away from the strike due to the wire string, Akira had to settle for blocking the kick with her forearm, the impact sending a jolt of pain through her bones. Slipping her fingers around Yuna's leg, Akira threw the genin back, forcing her to handspring in order to land on her feet. Upon landing, Yuna was shocked to see that Akira had already closed the distance between them, her finger less than an inch away from Yuna's forehead. "Very good Yuna." Akira praised. "Just be careful not to back yourself up into a tight spot. Your right up against the tree trunk, and that limited your options for evasion." "Yes indeed Akira Sensei." Yuna nodded. "Which is exactly why I lured you over here." As a puzzled Akira looked at her pupil, Yuna's features quickly dissipated, her entire body splashing down over the tree branch, revealing that it had been a simple water clone all along. Quickly turning to face the threat she knew was coming, Akira spotted a single kunai in the tree where Toma had stud moments before, a circular object handing form the kunai's ring by a string. It didn't take very long for Akira to deduce that she had been tricked, and the object now before her was a flash bomb. Diving form the tree branch, Akira covered her eyes with he forearm as the bomb detonated, filling the night with brilliant white light. Akira managed to land relatively unharmed, but the blast had still disoriented her, her vision obstructed by a light colored mass in the middle of her vision. With her distorted vision, Akira could just make out three figures standing in the forest path with her. Yuna to the left, Toma in the center and Michi, Akira's closest and most talent pupil, Michi on the right. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" Michi and Yuna both said in unison. The two genin reared their heads back and unleashed a massive volume of water from their mouths. "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!" Toma, utilizing the technique Akira had recently taught him, thrust his hands forward, streaming his lightning into the stream of water Michi and Yuna had created. The wave of electrified water came rushing towards Akira, spanning a wide area and offering little room for evasion. Unable to think of an alternative quickly enough, Akira thrust her palm outward, the wave quickly closing in. "Explosion Release: Exploding Palm!" Just as the wave of water reached Akira, a powerful explosion erupted form Akira's hand, the concussive force splitting the water wave and diverting the water around Akira. Yuma and Toma both stud in awe, having only seen Akira's kekkei genkai once before. Michi's face remained neutral, as he had seen Akira use that very technique on many occasions. With the water wave cleared, Akira stretched her arms up over her head, her smile holding strong. "That's enough training for tonight everyone." Akira informed her students. "That was an excellent combination by you three. Who came up with the idea to use a triple combination like that?" "It was Michi of course." Yuna siad as she folded her arms. "Toma could never come up with anything that clever." "Well I didn't see you coming up with anything either." Toma retorted. "There's no need to argue." Akira said as she walked over to her students, trying to diffuse the argument before it began. "The important thing is that you all work very well together. If we can get through a few more mission without any problems I may have to take to Lord Hoshikage about entering you in the chunin exams next year." "You really think so?" Toma asked, barely able to contain his excitement. "It's hard to worry about you all with teamwork like that. Of course we'll still need to train hard before then." "So will be be training again tomorrow?" Yuna asked. "Unless we are given a mission training will begin tomorrow, same time, same place. For now you should both hurry home and get some rest." "Thank you Akira Sensei." Yuna and Toma said in unison, givning a slight bow towards Akira before turning and walking towards the village. As Toma and Yuna began fading into the darkness between the trees, Akira made her way over to Michi, who was still standing at a respectful attention. "You don't have to be so formal Michi." Akira almost giggled. Michi remained still, without saying a word. Akira looked at him, puzzled by his apparent inattentiveness. "I don't believe the formalities are for you Akira." Akira jumped and spun around, taken of guard by the unmistakable voice of the Hoshikage. "Lord Hoshikage! I apologize, I had no idea you were there." The Hoshikage stud before Akira, fully dressed in his traditional Kage robe, the only exposed part of his body his face. Even in the darkness, Akira could see the starlight reflecting of the Hoshikage's bright brown eyes. "No need to apologize Akira." The Kage's voice was soft and compassionate, different from the commanding tone Akira usually herd him speak in. "I was just out for a stroll and heard you were conducting training exercises around here. I thought I'd stop and see how things were going." "Very well Lord Hoshikage. Yuna, Toma and Michi are showing tremendous growth, and their teamwork is a thing of beauty. I don't think it will be long till Hoshigakure gets to once again participate in the Chunin exams." "That's very pleasing to hear Akira." The Hoshikagure stated, a warm smile on his face. "I looks forward to seeing your team in action. Well, I mustn't keep my wife waiting much longer. You two take care now." "Yes Lord Hoshikage." Akira and Michi each took a slight bow as the Hoshikague turned and walked off down the winding path that would eventually lead back to the village." "We must wrap this up, Kuroi. I sense five energy signatures making their way back to the village." A voice from nowhere speaks up. Nodding, Kuroi heads into the village himself, absorbing the energy of those who were killed by his undead forces. Using the shadows to his advantage, Kuroi began making his way through the houses alongside the undead. Using a signal, they all snap the necks of those sleeping in unison to make it as quickly as possible. "No survivors. We wipe this village out. But we want to be careful about this." Kisui mentally commands Kuroi and the undead forces. As they swarm the village, the guards do what they can to fight back, but are dispatched quickly by the ever growing numbers of undead, the recently deceased used to fuel his army. At the end of the assault, Kisui takes on a corporeal form, his physical appearance grimacing and dark. Lifting up his hand, he pulls the souls of the recently killed into him, his physical form becoming more clearer, but still taking on a specter's tint. "When I get my body back, I'm going to turn this world to fire and brimstone. The powers of Hoshigakure's heroes will give me a start." Making his way into the tombs that held Hoshigakure's most esteemed masters, he absorbs the powers of their souls, while Kuroi brings their vessels to life to expand his army. As Kisui finishes, he makes his way back into Kuroi. "See? And you had doubts about me accompanying you. I keep my deals. I get my souls, you get your undead army. And we both win in the end. Now, let's leave this pathetic village before those five come back." Standing still, Kuroi had another thought in mind. "What if we take the Hoshikage's powers, as well? I did not see their leader anywhere in this village. Is it possible one of the signatures you detected may be the Hoshikage?" Kuroi asks, looking towards the now desolate village. "You present a good point. I did happen to detect a rather large energy source coming from one of them; That may very well be the Hoshikage. We'll take him down and any resistance he may have with him and take their powers, then we leave this hole in the ground for good." Nodding, Kuroi stands form at the center of the village, the undead forces of the recently deceased returning to their beds to fool the returning parties, the guard forces resuming their posts. "Your training has certainly come a long way Michi." Akira stated as she impaled a slice of pork roast with her fork and tossed it into her mouth. "Thank you." Michi said absentmindedly as he took a modest bite out of a rice ball.
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