Ninjas

Date: 4/18/2020

I had a dream that started with me as a beginner ninja in a ninja class situation. It was similar to Naruto except much more realistic. It was this run-down looking building somewhere in Japan, near a bunch of wilderness. There was a small town nearby and everyone knew about the ninjas, we were kind of in a ninja town almost. Kids were brought here from all over to learn the skill. In the dream, it was about halfway through the ‘semester’ of the class. We had learned the basics, or, that is, we had learned what we were GOING to be doing and how it worked- but we’d never actually done anything yet besides work out and train our muscles to prepare. I was doing really well, I didn’t have many friends there since the other kids just didn’t really seem that social or at least not to me, but I didn’t mind all that much because it meant I got to have a lot of peaceful alone time in this beautiful forested setting. We had our own rooms in this building, well-kept despite how the building seemed run down, and they were traditional Japanese rooms. Except, all I had inside was a bamboo-framed bed, with a simple mattress, one pillow and one blanket, a small dresser-like table with one drawer to keep my stuff in, and a lamp hanging from the ceiling which could be turned on at night. I had gotten permission to bring some of the training stuff to my room as well, so I could train alone, since I’ve always been a student who can be trusted by the teachers. They knew I’d keep it well-cared for and that I wouldn’t train at inappropriate times (like the middle of the night) and they knew that, if I were to practice in my room instead of the regular area, I would actually do my work, and keep track of time to get to ‘classes’ afterwards. The only equipment I had was a soft dummy, which had spinning arms that I practiced punching, a high bar attached to two poles which could be used for pull ups and the like, and a set of strangely shaped weights which I kept underneath of the bed. The weights were almost like stretched gourds, with the middle being thin enough to grip, but the outsides ballooning out to huge sizes. They were filled with something heavy, I guessed sand but the teachers/trainers didn’t say, and I used them for various workouts. Since I kept myself on a strict regimen and often practiced during free times, I gained a lot of muscle and was actually pretty strong by the time the dream had started. In my drawers I had five sets of clothes- pajamas, two pairs of clothes for regular day wear, dressy/special clothes, and clothes for workouts. I had only two pairs of shoes which I kept well cleaned and cared for, but I kept these on the woven mat next to my doorway. I also kept a few books in the drawer, since books were one of the few entertainment aspects that were allowed here. One book was for pleasure, just a generic book, I don’t know what it was about. Another book was from this school, and had detailed lessons, explanations, pictures, and more, which I used to practice some more advanced things if I ever finished before the rest of the class (of course, I always got permission from a teacher/trainer before doing so, but since I tended to do my work fast and very well, they often let me go off on my own to learn slightly more advanced stuff). A different book was empty, and had a pencil attached. I used this to draw and write, and although I drew and wrote well, and enjoyed it, I didn’t do it very often at this school, since I was so involved with the studies. The final book was another training book, however it had really advanced stuff, like actual ninja stuff. I read it over and over to learn about how everything worked, and to memorize the moves in my mind, but I didn’t start it yet since the teachers/trainers told us not to try anything too advanced until they say so. But after thinking about and playing with the ideas of the advanced moves I came to know them very well, to the point where I think I could’ve done them after just a few tries if I wanted. I even started coming up with alterations to some of the moves, and even created a few of my own- all in my head of course, but the logic and physics behind it was interesting to me and in the dream I remember that I would often think of these things. Even the teachers/trainers, upon finding little sketches of my made-up moves in my sketch book (I never saw or heard any of the teachers come in, but I guess that’s because they’re ninjas; they must have checked everyone’s room just as a sort of regular thing, to check up on us and make sure nobody has contraband or anything), came to me and told me that I had great potential- and made sure I wasn’t trying anything yet, which I promised I wasn’t. And that was honest. I actually had one ‘friend’ which was this squat boy. I don’t remember his name. He had very wide shoulders and was slightly shorter than average, just an inch or two taller than me, but to make up for it he had a TON of muscle. He was very thick around the chest and waist because of it. He lacked a little bit of the quick wits and quietness that was required for some ninja things but made up for it with incredible strength and surprisingly good battle tactics when given imaginary fights. Whenever we had partner projects, he and I would be partners, and if the project was a competition we always won; everything one person lacked, the other made up for. I was fast and thought fast, and had deep knowledge of ninja moves- and in addition I was good at being sneaky. However, despite my muscle I was pretty weak compared to some of the other kids here. Plus, my ability to be quick when it came down to decisions dealing with mercy was a bit below par, since I always felt pity and was too nice to every ‘kill’ immediately, even in hypothetical situations like we did in class. The boy however, made quick and precise decisions in battle, not even blinking an eye, and was more powerful than even some of the teachers. His battle strategies were awesome and unique, and he was able to overcome a lot of situations with sheer willpower (and muscle power). Combined, we were a great duo. The boy and I talked sometimes but never ‘hung out’ or anything- which was fine for both of us, since we both preferred isolation and alone time. However, it was nice to have someone there when it wasn’t alone time. Anyways, the dream started in one of the classrooms. The teacher was talking about a new move that I had already studied, which we weren’t to practice yet, just to study and to learn about. Since I already knew about it I had completed my work- which was to write about how the move could be used, what it was like, how it worked, etc. and then to describe how well I’d be able to do it based on my strengths and weaknesses- I was doodling on the back of my paper and whispering with the boy, who was also finished (after looking off of my paper; but I didn’t mind because he’d probably be able to do it anyways, with his strength and all). Halfway through the lesson, one of the main teachers- almost like the ‘leader’ in a way- came through the back door. Since the boy and I were situated in the back, he came in right next to us. He had blonde hair slicked back behind one of the ninja bandannas, and wore the regular all-black robes and slipper-like shoes. A black mask covered the bottom half of his face. He was silent when he came in so only the boy and I noticed really. I looked at him curiously and his eyes met mine for a second. He smiled but I sensed fear and hesitation. One of the things I’d studied here was how to read people, by their every feature, by their posture- everything. It was one of my best ‘subjects’ at this school. Even with the mask I could tell something serious was up. The boy, on the other hand, took no notice. The leader guy met the eyes of our teacher and nodded slightly. Our teacher barely nodded back, finished the directions, and excused himself. A few kids looked back to see what he was doing but it didn’t seem to cause much disruption. “What’s up?” I whisper to the boy. “Is something up?” he asks. “Yeah.” The two teachers chat in voices so low I can barely hear. I close my eyes and focus my breathing and manage to make out some parts of the conversation, but nothing makes sense. I hear “find,” “infected,” “protect,” “going,” “time,” and “tonight?” I keep my face steady, not portraying any emotion. I was good at that. I look over at the teachers and stare at the leader, wondering what’s wrong and if I could help. After all, I was finished my work. When problems arose the kids were sometimes called to help. One time, there was a fire in the forest nearby. The teachers pulled a few select students- the boy and I included- and had us come help them put it out. I noticed that all the students they chose were very good at defending themselves, or at least running/escaping a bad situation, and that they also were kids who were faster learners. The leader meets my eye and I see something flash behind his eyes, but he keeps his face as steady as mine. I raise an eyebrow, slightly, as if to ask “what’s wrong?” The man shakes his head and I get a little frustrated. My curiosity is one of my only big weaknesses at this school, although I managed to control it 9 times out of 10. But I wanted to know if I could help. The man senses my unceasing stare and nods at the teacher. Then he comes towards me on silent feet. “Are you okay?” he asks, with a poker face. “Yes, but you’re not,” I reply. It’s not phrased like a question, but he makes out my intended inquiry- “what’s wrong with you?” He shakes his head again, slightly. I feel the boy watching behind me. The man sighs then says, “you’re finished your work early again, I see.” “Yeah,” I say carefully. He stares at my paper, where I’ve doodled a few of the made-up moves I’d learned. “You’re a rare student, Miss Ella,” he says after a pause. I wait. He continues. “Perhaps, if you come with me, I can explain to you what you’ve picked up on.” I nod, then glance back at the boy. He seems excited. When the leader turns his back the leave the boy gives me double thumbs up and mouths, “I’ve got your work!” “Thanks!” I mouth back with a smile, then follow the director. The director takes me silently around through the forest, on a hike I was not expecting. Even with my new fitness I’m a bit tired by the time we reach the sea, which is surrounded by cliffs. Carefully, he goes along the slim side of the cliff, where there’s a rock wall on one side and water on the other. I follow him, making sure not to slip. The path of the cliff winds around to a hidden dip in the cliffside, basically a secret area. There’s a small almost cave that the leaders takes me into. It gets so dark I can’t see my hand in front of my face, but I use my other senses to follow him. Finally he comes to a stop. Still silent, I hear him place his hand, maybe both, on rough rock. I hear it turn, then hear rocks grinding on rocks. Then, his voice echoes dimly around me. “Walk forwards until I say to stop, even if you think you’re going to run into the wall or fall down.” Then I hear footsteps and he walks away. I slow my breathing so I can hear as well as possible, and walk forwards, hands at my sides so that I don’t try and stop myself instinctively like he’d told me not to. I sense a wall made of stacked rocks coming towards me but don’t hear his voice, so I continue at the same steady speed, heart racing as I feel the rock come within a hair’s width of my face. My nose scrapes slightly against a rock, but I move forward. Then, the wall seems to disappear. Light filters through to my vision and I continue walking. It gets so bright I have to close my eyes. As I walk, eyes closed, I hear him say quietly, “alright, you may stop.” I freeze and open my eyes. I’m in a large cave-like room that’s decently big considering how small the previous passageway was. Light filters through cracks in the rocks, even in the rocks behind me, which doesn’t make much sense. Straight ahead of me on the back wall, there’s a passage that seems to lead to another ‘room’ or something. In front of it there’s a bamboo mat like the one in my room. In fact, to one side of the room there’s a row of training equipment, almost exactly like the equipment in my room but in pairs, like it’s meant for two people to practice everything at once. To the other side of the room there’s a small trickle of clear water flowing into a tiny pond about the size of a medium swimming pool, only the entire thing is about five feet deep all around. The water is so clear I can see straight to the bottom, and it sparkles under the strange lights. The leader stands in front of me, watching my reaction. I’ve kept my face neutral until now. I smile lightly and say, “I like this place.” The leader nods. “Do you know where this is?” I glance around again. “I can only guess. I’m assuming it’s either, some sort of training area for special - maybe handpicked? - students, or else it’s an old training area that’s now unused. Or maybe it’s even a training area for older students, like the teachers.” The director nods once again, approvingly. “As always, very nicely said. This is, in fact, a mix of everything you listed, and more.” I look at him and wait for an explanation. He tells me everything: Long ago, when the town was first founded and the first ninjas began their art, this was (like I’d said) the first training area. The ninjas here were all prodigies, and the students often came up with most of the moves they practiced. There were three main ‘teachers’ which were the founders of the art taught at our school. I happened to know about these three main teachers from my extra studies- they were the founders of everything I was learning, after all. However all I really knew about them was their age, what they looked like, and what moves they invented / how they contributed to the art. The leader explained now, that these three founders were much more than what I knew. They came up with the basis for everything- firstly, they established what a ninja really ‘was’ in terms of skills. They laid down the foundation for everything else that was created later on. They also came up with several of the most basic moves, moves which the other moves built off of or depended on, and they also came up with almost all of the practices and ways of training. The drills we did, along with the practices we learned- like the dummies for example- were all thought up and put into place inside of this cave room. The leaders were originally coming together to create something new, and that would be all. However once they realized the true depth of their ideas, they decided to collect students. They only took in the best and most adequate students- kids who seemed to be born with the skills needed, the wits and the sneakiness and the power. Then they took the kids here and, after carving rooms from stone, they taught them the art. The kids all grew to be amazing ninjas, all of them coming up with more and more moves and even practices. Several of them moved out once ‘done,’ however the three original ninjas chose the three most promising students and specially trained them. These students were taught secrets even the others didn’t know, and in addition, were made to be the new ‘teachers’ of this place. And so it continued. At least, for a bit. But, according to the leader, soon the tradition fell apart. More and more students were being chosen and it was deemed unsafe and uthonorable to continue teaching it here. There were too many secrets and too many kids, and besides the caves were starting to fall into ruin, and the art was too. Nobody created anymore, just repeated what the old masters had done. This cave was a place for the expansion and creation of the art, not to boring repetition; it was meant for dancing, not robotic movements, if that metaphor makes any sense. So they abandoned it, save for one thing. Every ‘leader’ of the school would be told of this place, and would look after it. And if it were deemed necessary, or appropriate, they would take promising students there to learn. Once he finishes explaining this to me, I mull it over it my mind. Then I ask, “how has it not fallen into ruin, though? You said it did, but it doesn’t seem so. Also, this place seems very old, yet preserved somehow.” He smiles under his mask. “Very observant of you. Yes, there is one secret of this place that hardly anyone knows: once you are in here, time does not exist.” I stare, wondering if he’s being literal. He explains quickly, “this place is a metaphorical pocket out of time. Anyone in here can train for what seems like years and never grow a single day older, except for in their wisdom and knowledge. Any muscle gained in here will only half-stay when leaving. It allows for the truer students to learn at a pace suitable to make them masters. The only problem is, the power which keeps it timeless- a scroll with ancient writing of the three founders- is something that many people with evil intentions wish to steal.” I accept this information with only some confusion as to how it all works. From there, the leader trains me. We work every ‘day’ on new moves, on practice and practice and practice until I’ve mastered basic ninja moves. Then, I move to advanced stuff. Throughout this whole time I only rest once I become so tired I cannot hold my eyes open, and when I awaken we start again. The leader leaves every morning while I do my warm up practices to get food, but I stay in the cave as instructed. The pool was used a surprising amount in practice- I’d use the water to perfect my punches, kicks and chops; I’d practice swimming to make my form and body more fluid, and to even practice holding my breath; I’d even practice battling in there, with the water providing an obstacle since it slowed my movements down. Once I’d even mastered the advanced stuff, the leader allows me to start doing some of my own moves. I’m super excited, and ready to try. Not to mention, my ideas have only grown more unique and firm after learning even more about all of the other moves. I come up with quite a few impressive things that the leader praises me for, although he makes sure to tell me that I need to practice even my own moves if I want to improve at all. The moves I remember making that have stuck in my mind even after the dream ended were kind of cool, actually. One was where I kick-flipped off of a wall, and while in midair, I did a flip, brought my feet down on the enemy/dummy, grabbed its head with my legs by securing them around its neck, and flipped again using my core muscles, effectively bringing it to the ground. Another move started with me backed against a wall- a scenario which was always tricky to get out of. In this move I’d punch out with one hand to make the opponent bring their arms up to block it, then, with their hand(s) occupied, is crouch low, and spring from the wall, launching through their feet. As I launched between their legs, I’d either A) take them out, or B) if their legs were spread wide, I’d swing my feet out as I did so, taking them out either way. A third move that I remember involved using my long hair. I’d often been told that long hair was a disadvantage in battle, as it gave the opponent something to grab and control me with, however the school never forced students to cut their hair. I wore it in a ponytail or braid at all times. When an opponent would grab my hair, this move would come into play; as soon as they had my hair in their fist I’d use their grip to do a flip towards them, and since they were holding my hair it would let me swing a little better, and then I’d lock my legs (my inner thigh area) around their neck and flip forwards with my core, similar to the first move, bringing them down. Once they were down I’d flip again to get to my feet. The leader ‘battled’ me every day, giving me the opportunity to test out my moves on real targets rather than still dummies. Eventually I became very skilled, able to defeat the leader in every battle- even when put at practice disadvantages, such as being blindfolded, having earplugs in, both of the first two at the same time, being given heavy weights tied to my arms and/or legs, being given something hard to carry to ‘protect’ (like an egg), or even being put in a situation where the leader has a weapon and I don’t. Every time I’d win, usually with ease. At that point the leader told me that my studies were probably close to over. I felt old even though I hadn’t aged a day, and I wondered how much ‘time’ I’d spent in here, even though technically it was none at all. Not only had I mastered all of the moves and even my own, new moves, but I had also studied a lot of ancient text in the cave. The texts talked about logic, about battle strategies and the like; about life and death, about the meaning behind the art of being a ninja, and even about darker, more magical things, like how to conceal yourself in the shadows with a few whispered words (that, as it turned out, required ‘years’ of practice to actually be able to say- they seemed to escape your throat when you tried to speak them), or like how to turn any nearby item into a weapon. I learned about all sorts of armor and weapons and tools, how to make them, how to use them, how to master them; I learned about the best types of clothes to wear to be unsuspicious, about how to walk and talk and smile and laugh unsuspiciously, about how to be a spy. I learned about how to manipulate people and how to always win at chess games, metaphorically and literally. I was taught how to be stealthy, sneaky, how to blend in or even stand out whenever you wanted; and I learned even more about how to read people while keeping yourself unreadable. I gained complete mastery and control over my every movement. Everything was purposeful, planned. I laughed when I wanted to. I could be tickled and make myself cry instead of laugh. I could be put in extreme pain and make myself smile so realistically even I thought I was happy when I looked into a ‘mirror’ (aka the mirrored walls of one of the rooms which was made to confuse you and create a unique fighting as well as thinking area). I even learned things that the leader had not, either because he didn’t want to, didn’t have time to, or perhaps just wasn’t able to. I learned things about all sorts of stuff, even things that seemed unrelated. I learned history and how to predict futures. I worked on my decision-making until I could decide whether to ‘kill’ a pretend person in under a second. I pushed my observing skills to the point where nothing went unnoticed, and I spent days limiting all but one sense to build all of my senses. Then, I finally came to the point where I had no more to learn. At least, not from that place. The director nodded at me when I told him this, and reminded me that, when we left this place, it would be the same time that we came in from. Before we left he showed me a scroll which was hidden behind the rocks of one of the walls. I had noticed that it was there but didn’t check simply because the leader had told me not to. The scroll was the source of the pocket of time. He told me that no matter what it needed to be protected. I asked what had really happened that made the ninjas leave this place- I had learned enough that I could tell what he first told me was avoiding something big. He explained that, if you stay here and have even the slightest bad intention, it somehow mutates you. It gives you a zombie-like appearance and turns you into a violent, evil person. Students who had started coming here had slowly transformed and tried to kill their leaders, so it had to be abandoned. The most dangerous part of this was the fact that the zombified kids were infectious. After that we left the cave and went back to the ‘real’ world. I felt half of the muscle I’d earned fade, and even though I was much more powerful than I’d been when I entered, I felt sad to see all of that hard work go. With my new skills I navigated through the dark and back across the cliffs easily, and found my way to the school building without needing any help from the leader. When we get back he brings me through the doorway and I blink. The same class is still in session- we’d only been ‘gone’ for about thirty minutes of real time, from the walk to and from the cave area. I notice a lot more as I come back into the room than I’d noticed before, including the other students and things about them. I also notice a few hidden places I hadn’t seen before. The teacher sees us and again the two nod at each other; then the teacher excused himself and comes back. “Did she qualify?” he asks the leader in a quiet voice that I can now hear. “As expected. She created and mastered her own too, like you’d predicted. And not a single sign of infection the whole time- or not.” I listen idly to the conversation and at the same time, pay attention to the rest of the room. The teacher turns to me and says, “I’m glad you were given that opportunity. I always knew you’d be great; now, of course, you’ll have permission to practice anything you’d learned there.” I nod. “I learned just about everything there. Everything in our training books that is. Plus a few.” The teacher seems impressed, and tells me that although I am much more advanced now, he’d still like me to attend classes and practice and things- which I assure him I will. However, he gives me permission to do advanced practices, including sparring / battling with the other teachers for practice during practice times, and to try out any moves I like, including ones I’d come up with on my own. The leader leaves and the teacher goes back to teaching and I sit down next to the boy. Everything seems weird. My sketches of new moves in my journal seem elementary now, although there’s a few I suppose I could build on. The boy asks me what’s up and I say the leader put me through intense yet secret training, and leave it at that. The boy seems impressed, but doesn’t press, which I’m thankful for, because I don’t want to lie to him. After all, he was basically my only friend, unless you counted the leader now. After that class we go to practice but instead of going to my room like usual, I go to the practice room. Mainly just because the only way I feel I can improve at this point is by sparring, especially sparring with new people, since although the leader was an amazing fighter, fighting people with different fighting styles and techniques would prove a different sort of challenge. When I get to the training room the kids begin doing basic stuff, practicing punches and working out mainly, again no real moves yet, no real fighting. The teachers come in and everyone watches as they prepare to spar, impressed as always. I go over and ask to join. The teacher from earlier is there and must have explained because they let me sit by the side with the rest of the teachers preparing to spar. First the teacher that I’d just finished class with goes up, against a shorter teacher with flaming red hair. The shorter teacher is stocky but well-built, kind of like a leaner version of my friend. The other teacher is tall and lanky but fast. They fight and immediately I can tell the red headed teacher will win. While being shorter and stockier, his punches deal too much damage, and he’s almost as quick as the other teacher despite his power. They manage to drag the fight out though, before the redhead ‘wins’ by getting the other teacher to the ground in a position where, in a real battle, he’d be dead (his throat exposed, on his back, etc). Then the two shake hands and talk quietly a bit, and the leader goes into the ring. He nods for me to come over and I feel just a tad bit disappointed because I wanted to fight someone new. However the new environment would be better than before, if anything. There was equipment nearby I’d be able to use in the fight, and the walls and ceiling were higher. The space was much more open too. We spar and I have quite a lot of fun, really putting myself into it. I use the dummies to spring off of, or as ‘human’ shields at points, and the leader has a moment where he’s pinned me in a corner and it seems like he’ll win. But then I do one of my own moves where I do that kick-flip thing, and afterwards I flip to my feet and without hesitation take his legs out from under him with a swift kick (because he’d gotten to his feet almost as fast as I had). Then immediately get him into that losing position and I’ve won, just like that. As I help him up he comments that it wasn’t my best fight, as I had almost lost at one point. I reply that I hadn’t almost lost, it just seemed like I had, and he laughs. Then a few other teachers go. The practice time goes by fast but I manage to get in the time to battle two other teachers which I enjoyed a lot. I battled a massive, hulking teacher with dark hair and a short beard, who was basically a giant in all sense of the word. I had to be extra careful not to let him land a hit, but luckily he was much slower than me, so I beat him in decent time. The other teacher I battled was a woman with short hair and who was the teacher of our battle tactics class (for a reason). Her fight was probably the hardest of all three fights, since she knew how to use the environment and my every move against me. However I ended up defeating her too by scaling a wall as high as I could; then when I slid back down from the other side (since I had scaled near a corner), she went to attack as soon as I fell. I had predicted exactly what she’d do since there weren’t many attacks someone of her size and stature could use on someone coming from above them, and since I’d predicted what she’d do I was able to do a quick maneuver to dodge it and then take her down. After that point in the dream I was kind of distanced from the rest of the stuff at the school. I ended up attending meetings with the teachers and stuff, and whenever there were any problems I was always called to help. I still attended classes but at this point I didn’t do much, and practice times were either spent doing hardcore workouts to try and regain the muscle I’d lost coming from the cave area, or sparring with the other teachers. A few of them taught me some new techniques- things they’d learned on their own over the years. I would always put all of my energy and passion into learning whatever the teachers taught me, even if it was something small; I’d practice until I’d mastered it, because I had nothing else to do. Eventually the teachers let me become a part of their ‘missions,’ which were what they sounded like. They gave me a special outfit for these missions, all black with a mask. They also gave me my own special mask for daily wear, and my own ‘regular wear’ ninja outfit. The outfit was designed by and based on the ninja it was for, and I spent a while with the other teachers planning it out. Ultimately my outfit was pretty similar to the leader’s- which was no surprise, seeing as how much time I’d spent learning with him. The robes themselves were simple, thin cloth, bleached white. Beautiful yet simple royal blue patterns woven throughout the seams and the edges of the robe, similar to the golden patterns on the leader’s robe. However, a single purple-and-blue flower bloomed near my chest, made of the same thread, yet somehow so intricate it seemed real; it was shaded with cyans and deep plums and all other color variations to make it look like it was popping from the fabric. The hood of the robe was also white and had the deep, ocean blue patterns stitched along the edges, however the inside of the robe (revealed by the inside of the hood) was shimmering, silky sky blue, with flowers like the one on my breast stained all over the material. My mask was the same simple white cloth material, however it was slightly different than the robe. The inside of it was also white cloth instead of the smooth light blue material. Also, it had simple purple flowers, not as complex as the others, stitched into it, blooming from one corner. The rest was partially outlined in the dark blue stitches. Altogether the colors of the robe made my eyes, which were almost the only things showing with this outfit on, seem brightly dangerous; they seemed much more gray in comparison with the blues. They were almost a stormy color, sharp and calculating, standing out from beneath the slight shade of the hood almost like they were glowing. I loved the outfit a lot, and wore it instead of my regular clothes whenever it was even a slightly special occasion. The regular ninja robes, which were all black, had a small blue flower stitched on the inside, like a marker, naming it as mine. In addition to these I also had masks for the other regular outfits I had. I had a mask for practice time which was a beige color, simple and tied around the back of my head; I had two masks for my regular outfits, black and white respectively, no patterns of any kind; and I had a mask for the ‘special’/dressy outfit, which was silky smooth and stained a light, light blue. Since I was basically an official ninja now, I wore a mask at all times. It was part of how we were supposed to hide both our emotions and identities. The other students noticed but didn’t ask questions which I was thankful for. The boy I was friends with asked a few and I answered what I could. Mostly I think he was happy that I could help him out with all of his work now, and that we were basically guaranteed to get over full credit if we worked on an assignment together. Later in the year, something happened. I was walking with the boy across the courtyard to get to another class when the leader ran by, not even bothering to hide his fear and panic. I immediately followed, and to my surprise the boy did too, telling me that if we were gonna fight he was gonna have my back. The leader met up with a few of the teachers in the forest near the school. When the boy and I joined them they didn’t even seem to care. They were talking about a place in code, but it was obviously the cave. “Did someone steal it’s power?” I ask. The leader nods, then shakes his head. “Someone broke in and tried to, but... the infection...” As he explains I figure out what happened. Basically, a bunch of people had broken in trying to steal the scroll. However their intentions were so obviously bad they were immediately infected and now the entire place was filled with a bunch of basically zombies, and the scroll was in extreme danger, because not only was it loose, but it could be destroyed at any moment. Without the scroll the original traditions and everything couldn’t be held- the three founders’ work would be forgotten. The rest of the place wasn’t nearly as important as the scroll, since a new place could be made just like it if we manage to save the scroll. However even if we enter with pure intentions the infection could still effect us if we weren’t careful to avoid contact with the infected people. Obviously, I volunteer to go in and help, since I knew the place and also how to get around. There had been one period of ‘time’ in there where, as a part of my training, I had been been prohibited from touching the ground at all until the leader said I could stop. The boy says he’s coming too, and then when everyone tries to protest he says, “literally the main thing I have going is my bloodline. It’s impossible for me to get infected by anything.” The leader considers this then explains that the boy was the heir to a family known for their extreme resistance to that type of stuff. However he didn’t know if it would work for this type of infection. Long story short the boy, the leader and I all go into the cave. Immediately I see dozens of zombified people mulling around in the pool or through the room. Most are in the water though. The leader tells me to handle the scroll itself, while he went to the back and got a few other important things. I nod and the boy and I go through the pool together to find the scroll hidden in the wall. There’s a few close calls where I think I might be caught but I manage to not be touched by the zombies. The boy, however, goes straight into the water and fights them off, in an attempt to clear my path as much as possible. Apparently his heritage saved him because he wasn’t infected at all. The leader rushes back in and we all escape just before the zombies rush at us from the back rooms. The leader gives a good kick to the rocks and suddenly the cave really IS sealed off. And, now that I have the scroll, the zombies would die soon as well. The leader says quickly that we have to go; the cave didn’t really matter as much as the scroll, however now that I had it people would try and get it. We needed to find a new place to put the scroll and to start over. He has a few items with him too; various other scrolls that were one of a kind, like the ones teaching how to command shadows or how to use ‘magical’ abilities; and he has a few select artifacts of a sort, also powerful. We seem to have saved everything from the cave that was priceless / that couldn’t be replaced; everything else could be replaced once we found a new area to hide to scroll. The dream ended there.