'Aaron,' the leader of the council of elders addressed him. 'We have come to a decision.' Aaron raised his bowed head and looked at the one who had spoken. The leader of the council of elders looked tired. He looked as if rested in days. But then again, he probably hadn't. After the death of Calvin, the samurai kingdom had been in shambles. People were panicking at how yet another king could have been assassinated even after they had increased their security levels. The council of elders had been dealing with that and all the other problems that came along with the death of a king.

'What decision?' Aaron asked.

'We have decided to make you our new king.' The leader of council looked at Aaron with a serious and intense look that made him realise the importance of the matter. 'You have all the qualities. Courage, wisdom, loyalty and a heart for the people. Will you accept this position?' A long pause followed and silence took to the hall they were in. Finally, Aaron spoke. 'No' was his answer.

'Please explain yourself,' the leader of the council of elders said. Aaron's face hardened.

'I have to take revenge for my king.' The minute the various elders heard what Aaron had said, their faces darkened. They knew of the relationship their late king had had with Aaron. They knew what close friends they had been. They knew that they had been so close they had pratically been brothers. However, revenge was not what samurais practised. But...their king had afterall, been their king, their ruler. He had been high above all of them yet treated them with the due respect they deserved unlike many of his predecessors. He had treated them well and not just them; he had treated all well. He had been worthy and great.

'But you don't know who killed our late king,' an elder stated.

'I do. One of the ninjas did. I saw one of the assassins by accident that night. I wasn't sure at that time but now I am certain. That person was wearing the uniform of a ninja,' Aaron replied. Silence followed as meaningful glances were exchanged and decisions were made. 

'You won't be going for revenge. You'll be doing a job for us,' the leader of the council of elders said.

'But I-' Aaron was cut off before he could complete his attempt at a protest.

'You'll be going to the ninja palace as an undercover. We need to put a stop to this killing so once you're there, you'll have to find out who killed our late king and find out why. But take care that you will have to inform us on all that concerns the matter we have just mentioned. Whatever else that happens is none of our business.'

Aaron smiled, bowed and accepted his mission. 'Thank you, elders.' He knew that this meant that he would have a shot at revenging his friend.

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 Aaron stood before the great gates that allowed entry to the ninja palace. The two guards stationed there stared at him with their black, fathomless eyes.

'What business do you have here?' they asked, their voice flat and devoid of emotion.

'I want to become a ninja,' Aaron replied. 

'NO!' the guards shouted simultaneously, as one.

'Why?' Aaron asked, staring at them with a defiant glare.

'No one from outside will be allowed to learn the ninja arts. This is the rule.'  Aaron stared at them, his gaze never leaving theirs. He felt the seed of anger in him grow to something that was soon to be beyond his control. He his fists tightened and just as he was about to raise them and inflict pain upon the stubborn guards in front of him, the gates opened.

'Let him in,' a strong commanding voice demanded. The guards swivelled around. 

'But...But...' they stuttered in confusion.

'Let him in. I will account to the king for it,' the owner of the voice said, putting an end to their worries. The man was in his mid-twenties and he stood strong and firm with the air of someone who was in a high and commanding position. The guards bowed and complied.

'Follow me,' the young man commanded. Aaron followed him, not even bothering to take a last look at the guards. They passed through various courtyards where ninjas were practicing the ninja arts. 'But,' Aaron thought,'judging from their level of martial arts, none of them could have penetrated the samurai kingdom's defences much less actually kill Calvin.' Then, they entered a building and soon they stood before a door. Coated in a sheet of black paint, it looked like a ordinary door. Yet, somehow, it gave of a sense off foreboding. Maybe it was the result of the gold letters that had been engraved on the door. The engraving said: Testing.

'Go in,'  the man said, prodding Aaron towards the door. Aaron opened the door and walked in with the man following behind. He was greeted by total darkness, so dark that he could not see anything but the colour black. He walked into the middle of the room, constantly wary of his surroundings. Breathing. He heard the breathing of a third person. They were not alone. Suddenly, the room lit up with bright, blinding light. Aaron instinctively shielded his eyes in a protective gesture with his hand. When his eyes had adjusted to the glaring light, he lowered his hand and was greeted by a gruesome sight. Dried blood decorated the walls, splattered on all four sides of the room. Only the floor was spotlessly clean. Seated at the far end of the room was a middle-aged man. He rested lazily upon a chair, the only furniture in the room. Seeing Aaron, his eyes brightened and he sat up with eagerness.

'What a talent,' he thought to himself. He badly he wanted to immediately accept Aaron as a disciple to the ninja arts, yet he knew the standard procedures could not be neglected.

'Sir,' the young man who had led Aaron into the room greeted politely. 'He wants to be a ninja.' The man seated upon the chair stared intensely at Aaron, studying him from head to toe. He then stood up and walked towards Aaron.

'Do you know what all this is?' he asked, gesturing at the blood splattered walls.

'Dried blood on the walls,' Aaron replied flatly.

'And why?' the man questioned, now walking around Aaron. When Aaron did not answer, he continued. 'This is where all the duels of anyone who dares challenge us ninjas and our warriors take place. Of course, this is also where the testing takes place. This blood is blood scattered by our challengers and occasionally, our warriors. But ever since it also became a testing room, more ninja blood has been added to these walls,' he finished, now standing directly in front of Aaron. He stared at Aaron with a look that looked him through and out.

'You say you want to become a ninja. But to become a ninja, you have to go through the testing. Are you willing?' the man said in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper. Without hesitating, Aaron agreed. He didn't care how much pain he had to go through, how much blood he had to shed. He had to become a ninja, had to fufill his mission, had to revenge his friend's death.  'Are you sure?' the man asked. Once again, Aaron agreed with no hesitation on his part.The man nodded in acceptance and clapped his hands. Suddenly, Aaron heard a sword come slashing down towards him. He knew that this was the sword of the young man who had guided him into the room in the first place-there was, afterall, none other that had a chance to strike. With this knowledge, he finally understood what this 'testing' was. It was a test to simultaneously find out if he knew martial arts and whether he possessed the qualities needed to make a good warrior. Secretly, he smiled to himself. These ninjas were smart. In this way, they could spot if their potential students had the means to be a ninja and at the same time, find out whether they knew martial arts, whether they were spies sent to the ninja palace. Those who had not realized the truth had defended themselves against whosever's sword that attacked them, and if they had been spies, had contributed to the blood decorated walls.  But now that he knew how this 'testing' worked, he could use it to his advantage. He would have to remain calm and display the characteristics of a true warrior, yet he could not defend himself, so as to appear as someone not learnt in martial arts. Another reason was, of course, that he could not allow his identity as a samurai to be uncovered from his samurai martial arts.

The sword continued slashing down upon him but the deadly sharp blade stopped a mere centimetre away from Aaron's head when the man attacking saw that Aaron was not defending himself.  The young man who had attacked then hit Aaron's back with a palm so full of power that it caused Aaron, top martial artist as he was, to throw up blood. Aaron turned around to face his attacker. He did not do anything except to stare at his attacker while blood continued dripping from his lips. Aaron's attacker looked at the middle aged man as if asking permission to continue. The man nodded and once again Aaron's attacker attacked. But this time, his fist connected with Aaron's gut, sending him flying off his feet and crashing into the wall at the far end of the room. As his body hit the wall with a thump, he slumped down it. More blood dribbled out of Aaron's mouth and he felt tremendous, agonizing pain. Sweat dripped past his brow and he felt weak, the pain he felt being the strongest in his chest. Looking up, he saw his attacker standing strong directly in front of him. Struggling to a stand, he faced his attacker with courage hardly seen even among mighty warriors. Raising his palm to deliver another palm, Aaron's attacker lunged. 

'Stop! That's enough,' the man that had been watching the entire attack shouted. 'Very good. You have passed the testing.' And that was Aaron's final verdict before he slipped into unconsciousness. 

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