Ninjas, or shinobi, are by definition mysterious and hard to define. Few historical accounts exist, and many are considered to be rooted in myth or legend. Some legends say that ninjas could fly, shapeshift, walk on water, or summon animals. Others say they could control the elements, perform magic, or become invisible. We do know that ninjas were historically spies, assassins, and saboteurs, trained to blend in using disguises and stealth, but beyond that... well, it's up to our imaginations to decide.
In "Lost Love," Hero Freyr takes us on a journey to the past, to a time when there were guarded palaces, virgin princesses, and duels between men to defend their honor. In a world of royalty and politics, it is only logical that a ninja or two would be lurking in the shadows--but when a ninja develops doubts about a mission, things get complicated.
Nina Parker shows us the cunning mind of the shinobi in "A Job To Be Done." A ninja knows that a single problem may have many solutions and that some obstacles can be overcome in ways that are... well, mutually beneficial. But what if a ninja underestimates just how distracting that solution may be?
In "Under the Moons, Across the Sea," Kaysee Renee Robichaud tackles the age-old conflict of the ninja versus the pirate. Nemeses by their very natures, a pirate and a ninja can never join forces, and instead must destroy one another or risk destroying the world if they ally. But pirates are notorious for not obeying the rules, and ninjas follow their own code of right and wrong...
Emily Moreton's "Pigeons and Police Officers" speeds us ahead to a more modern time, when ninjas are hunted by the police and magic is punishable by imprisonment. But a ninja still needs to pay the bills, and a job's a job, even if catching pigeons seems a little silly for someone with a ninja's highly specialized skillset. When the police force is hot on your trail, though, you'd better fly as only a ninja can.
And speaking of a ninja's rare skillset, good training is hard to come by. If a ninja faces off against another, equally talented ninja, it's only natural to want to get to know the competition. In "Disarmed" by Vinnie Tesla, protagonist Zuth does just that, getting to know his assailant a little more intimately, perhaps, than even he has bargained for.
Finally, in "Shadows and Silence," C.V. Madison brings us to an alternative, post-apocalyptic future in which governments have collapsed, a great war has passed, and countries have split into small independent provinces. The samurai have been disbanded, but the shinobi still operate in secret, working to eliminate problematic public figures and to create a better future. But ninjas have family, too, and if the new world order has no place for them, where should the ninja's loyalties lie?
Are ninjas still around? Do they possess the ability to fly, or to disappear? Or are they merely bedtime stories told to young children to keep them well behaved? We may never know the answers to these questions, but there is one thing we do know for sure: there is unquestionably an element of the erotic, the mysterious, the fantastical, in the idea of the ninja.
