Targeted Love
 

Yasu kneels before her elders and her father, the leader of their ninja clan. Having just returned from her previous mission they were going over the results of how the mission had gone. Standing, her father motions for her to rise, "As always you've done our clan proud Yasu. You may rest for a few days before you're given your next mission, there are matters that the elders and I have to discuss about your next target." Bowing, she turns and leaves having been dismissed from the council. Leaving the elder's meeting hut she takes a look around at her village, the young ninja's training and the mothers and eldest daughters looking after the youngest of the children who are not yet ready to begin their training. Her village is well known for their ability in completing a mission, usually being that of assassinating some sort of lord invading other lands or lords that the people don't like. Not being one for politics she didn't particularly care.

"Yasu!" A swarm of children come running up to her, some trying to climb up her and hang off of her. "Come play with us!" Looking around nervously she's herded by them to one of the places they were playing, a couple of them having mock sword fights with a stick.

"I bet Yasu is just as bad at fighting with a stick as us, they can't really hurt anyone!" One of the children hands her a stick then another one charges her. Swinging the stick quickly she smacks the one from the child's hand, leaving a small welt where she hit them. Suddenly feeling the pain and seeing the mark on their hand, the child begins to cry calling Yasu a meanie before going to one of the other women and telling them what happened. One of Yasu's two younger sisters come over shaking their head.

"Yasu, you should know better than to play with the children! You don't know how to go easy on them." She stares at her sister for a moment before turning and leaving. Looking over her shoulder she makes sure that the kid gets their hand treated before she's out of site. She makes her way out of the village and into the forest, getting away from the people there. Finding a tree that she likes a good distance from the village she jumps up into and makes herself comfortable.

"You'd think they would realize now that I'm not good at dealing with other people, or at least not in a friendly manner. Getting mad at me won't change anything. Since I was little I was trained to kill, they have it easier, they can just get married off and have a happy life with someone that loves them. Who could ever love a cold hearted killer like me anyways? The only thing I'm good at is killing, not taking care of children or tending to a home..."

Akira walks across the desert tirelessly, katanas at his side, trying to get to the next city. He is sick and tired of having to kill for no reason. He has taken permission from the Koga elders and taken their leave, saying that he does not wish to fight anymore. Right before his departure, however, his foster father, Hiroki Koga, took him aside and told him to be wary. Even though Akira does not wish to fight anymore, there are others who still do and will harm him if they recognize him. Saying so, he entrusted Akira with the katanas Akira had been given in his childhood, when Hiroki had found him on the street. On that day, Akira had skilfully stolen some money from Hiroki's pocket. Seeing great potential in the boy, Hiroki had adopted him as his own son, for his wife could not bear him any sons of their own. The young boy lived up to his foster father's expectations beautifully. But the boy also had a conscience. Every time he killed an enemy of the family, it left a guilt in his heart that would fade in time but never be truly erased. Thus, it happened that Akira left. Initially there was turmoil in the family, but they finally yielded to his wish. A cousin of his was made new head of the clan.

After an hour of walking, Akira reaches a town. Quiet and sleepy. He decides to rest here and continue on his journey tomorrow.

Starting to become bored with just sitting in the tree, Yasu decides to do some hunting, one of the nearby villages hasn't had much luck with obtaining fresh meat, so she figured they could use some help. Climbing up higher she scans the forest floor from her perch, spotting a wild boar rummaging in the denser part of the forest where it was darker. Taking out her manriki-gusari, she pulls her arm back and wipes it back up, letting it fly blade first from her hand, hitting the boar in its fat throat. It struggles for a while, knocking the blade loose and then bleeds out. Now that it was finished struggling she leaps down, cleans off her weapon, then hefts the boar onto her shoulder. Since it was about the size of a medium dog it wasn't too heavy for her to carry, any bigger though and she'd have to gut it here, which would attract wolves.

Making her way through the woods she reaches the local village, sneaking in the shadows as best so can while carrying the boar. Near the butcher's hut she drops off the boar, then throws some rocks near the building to get the man to come out and see the boar. Hiding in the shadows she makes sure that at least someone gets it.

Akira walks along the dusty road, trying to look for an inn, so he can spend the night. Along the way, he stops abruptly in front of a butcher shop. There's a dead boar lying right in front of it. Nobody comes to take it. He sees rocks flying towards the building, which startles him. "Hello! There's dead boar out here! Please come out and get it!" he yells. The butcher man comes out and picks up the boar, bowing to him. "Thank you. Did you kill this?" he asks. Akira shakes his head. "No, I did not. It was already out here when I came." The butcher looks puzzled for a moment but thanks him for telling him to come out and get the boar and goes back into his shop and sets about cutting the dead beast.

Akira looks around for the source of the flying stones and spots someone hiding in the shadows. Thinking that it might bother the person if he were to call him/her out, he walks on his way, trying to look for an inn.

Stiffening when the man wondering that spotted the boar looks in her direction, she slowly inches herself deeper into the shadows. How did he even spot me? Yes I had been throwing rocks, be he still shouldn't have been able to spot me so quickly. Now nervous she waits for the man to get out of view, checking around the corner to make sure he's not watching her before taking off into the forest again.

"I'll have to keep an eye out for that one, but I can't say anything to the elders and father because I'm not even supposed to be there. Urgh, this is kind of annoying, I hope that guy won't become a problem in the future for our clan. I don't mind killing people, but I don't want to be doing that for the rest of my life. I want to learn how to care for a family and have one, but no one would understand if I told them that." Sighing she shakes her head, having finally reached the entrance to the village, heading to her home where her two sisters and father wait for her.

Akira continues walking until he thinks of a way to find a place to stay. He runs back to the butcher man's shop. "Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where the village elder lives?" he asks the butcher. Smiling, the butcher replies,"Oh yes, dear boy. Just go straight down and take a right. It's hard to miss the village elder's house. It's the biggest one there is around here!" Akira smiles and thanks the butcher, and goes on his way. As instructed by the butcher, he goes straight down and takes a right.

The village elder's house looks like a palace, he thinks. He walks in, tells the watchman why he's here, follows the watchman inside and sits down on the chair, waiting for the elder.

When Yasu returns to her village she's immediately stopped by the patrol, "Yasu, the elders and chief want to see you." Sighing mentally she goes to the council house and kneels before them, her eyes lowered to the ground.

"Yasu, I know this is not the norm for our clan but we've just received word that a ninja from another clan has been roaming around. A renegade ninja in this region is problematic. So I want you to go to the local villages and see if you can find this man." Her father tosses a packet that has a drawn portrait of the man in question. Looking at it she sees a man that might be the same one she saw earlier. She didn't know why he was there but she had to do what was best for her village.

The elder shuffles his way into the room where the young man is waiting for him, bowing slightly in greeting. "Sorry for the long wait, as you can see I'm not as young as I used to be. Welcome to our village, dinner will be served shortly, but let me show you to your room." He leads the young man down a side hallway, to a room over looking the back garden. "This is a room with a nice view of the garden. My granddaughter will be by shortly to get you for dinner." Leaving the room and heading back to the main portion of the building, the elder pulls a piece of paper from his robes, looking at the drawing of the man he just took to that room. Sighing, he knew that the ninja clan of this area would soon be sending someone out to look for the man, probably their most skilled killer.

Seeing the elder walk in, Akira bows to him. He follows the old man down the hall into a welcoming room with a beautiful view. He thanks the old man politely as the latter walks away. Akira sighs and puts down his luggage on the floor next to his bed. He does not bother unpacking; he knows he will have to leave soon, probably tomorrow. He sits down on the luxurious bed, taking in his first evening as a free man, away from the violence and blood lust of the Koga clan. He takes a deep breath, as he always does at this time of day. It helps him relax and stay calm.

Akira hears a knock on the door. It is the elder's grand daughter, come to call him for dinner. He follows her down to the dining room, where the elder is already seated. Akira takes a seat opposite the elder. "I have not been able to thank you properly for allowing me to stay with you," he says. The village elder smiles at him. "It is no trouble for me. I always welcome visitors to the village." They eat the rest of their meal in silence.

After dinner, Akira spots a piece of paper on the floor. He picks it up, for there is no one else around, and is shocked when he sees a rough sketch of himself drawn on to it. Why is there a picture of him lying in this place, where he has never set foot before?

Yasu leaves her village and makes her way to the village she had seen the traveler at, keeping among the trees and hidden from view. Knowing that the only place to stay in this village would be the elder's home she makes her way there and sees the man as he's walking with the elder's daughter to dinner. Looking into the closet room to where they were headed from she spots a room over looking a garden. Stealthily she makes her way over to the room and takes a peak in, the room indeed containing the luggage he had been carrying earlier. She hears servants whispering nervously as they walk past the room but ignores it since they know not to come here if the person is a suspected target.

Looking around the best place to launch a surprise attack to kill him seems to be in the shadows behind his changing screen, which is also the easiest place to spot her as well if he's expecting an attack. And hanging on the ceiling would also be obvious. Instead she checks the door to the closet that keeps the futons and is satisfied to see it doesn't make a sound. Slipping inside she leaves it open a hair in wait for the man to enter.

Knowing for sure now that someone's out to get him, Akira treads carefully around the house. It is obvious that if he so much as walks into his room, he could get killed. He walks up to the terrace and admires the entire landscape, admiring its beauty. A very picturesque place, he thinks. A quiet, sleepy town, with friendly people. I wouldn't really mind dying here, he thinks. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down. He really thought that he would be able to start a new life just because he took leave of the Koga clan. He was disappointed.

Accepting his fate, or rather, to see what fate has planned for him, he walks back down the stairs and walks into his room.

Waiting until the man closes the door behind him, Yasu lunges out through the closet at him. Drawing her tanto in a quick motion while she's lunging at him so that she can place the blade to his throat and cover his mouth with her free hand to muffle any screams he might make. She barely even makes a noticeable during her movements, having been trained since she was a child in how to kill people. Her eyes held nothing but boredom in them, already getting tired of doing nothing but killing people for her clan.

Akira's eyes are trained enough to see the quick movements of the strange woman as she jumps out of the futon closet. Deciding at the last moment that today is not the day, he carefully, yet in a manner that would seem almost clumsy, trips the woman, causing her to fall on the floor.

Appalled at what he has done, he runs ovr to help the woman up. "I am so sorry," he says. "I hope you are not hurt." He curses himself. Women need to be treated with a certain respect and he just tripped one just now. What's wrong with him? Of course, there's the fact that she was lunging at him with a sword in her hand, all set to kill him. Wearing a seemingly shocked yet curious expression on his face, he adresses the intruder. "Who are you?"

Unable to stop him from tripping her as she flies towards him all she can do is tumble to prevent herself from getting hurt. She's a bit winded as she lands, though she shouldn't have expected anything less from a man rumored to have gone rogue from his clan. Though whether the tripping was an accident or not she didn't care about, it was more so her target actually staying in the same room without trying to run away or fight back.

Her eyes narrow when he expresses concern about her safety, completely baffled why he would be concerned about someone who was just trying to kill him. Ignoring his concerns since it could be a trick she jumps back away from him. As he asks who she is she reaches into her pouches and pulls out kunai to throw at him, some heading towards him and others covering an area. She hopes that she's able to at least hit his shadow with one of them since she'd be able to hold him with a ninjutsu if so.

Since Akira expected the woman to calm down after he asked her who she was, he is taken completely by surprise when she skips back and throws the kunai in his direction. One of them gets lodged in his right shoulder while the other hits his left arm. Grunting in pain, he takes the kunai out and drops them on the floor, his blood staining the knives as well as the floor.

I cannot lose my resolve, he thinks. I cannot. I am here to start a new life. I will not harm this woman even if she kills me.

He holds his arm to try to stop the bleeding, and then, as though the whole thing was a joke, he says, "Are we done here, ma'am?"

Yasu, not usually having this happen with her targets, becomes confused as to what to do next. At this point any other target would either be dead or if they were a ninja like her they would try to fight back. Neither of which is man is doing. She could easily continue attacking, but she's getting the feel that if she does continue attacking, or at least with weapons, things will get ugly quick. There's already blood on the floor, something she was trying to avoid. Thinking for a moment she decides maybe its better to try taking him alive and question him. With him being weakened it should be easy to pin him. Though she'd have to bandage up his wounds if she didn't want him to bleed out.

Putting away her blade she cautiously picks up her kunai, saving the one he pulled out for last. Then she makes a move to try and grab his good arm.

Akira watches the woman as she studies him. She seems to be studying him for weaknesses. Or wondering why he isn't dead yet. Either way, he knows that he has to act fast. And get out of this place as soon as possible. He must survive.

He watches her with an air of jovialness, as though he is simply humoring her rather than trying to escape death. It's funny how things work, he thinks. This time, when the woman makes her move, Akira is ready for her. He moves his arm out of the way of her grip and pushes her towards the wall, holding her hands behind her back after taking the kunai off of them. He knows she can't escape, for he's far too strong for her.

"Ma'am," he says, in a pacifying voice. "I really hate to do this. Especially to a woman like you. But I have a life to live and, whatever your reasons, I can't let you take it from me." He sighs. "I'm going to let go now. I can only hope and pray that you won't try to hit me again." Saying this, he lets go of her, waiting for her response.

When he releases her she doesn't strike out at him again, since she knows now that he's weary of her attacking him again. Instead she turns around so her back is to the wall, glaring a bit at him. It's not often a man can pin her, she's normally too slippery for them, even when they're not injured. This man being able to do this makes her edgy, because a rogue being this strong could potentially tear apart the whole entire clan. And that doesn't sit so well with her.

"The only time rogues are nice to women is when they think they can get something out of them, and we don't tolerate rogues here. Bad for business if you know what I mean." Crossing her arms she continues to glare at him.

Akira returns the woman's gaze with a calm look. He can understand why she's upset. No ninja likes to be defeated. He sighs. "I suppose I do want you to stop attacking me," he says as he opens his bag and takes out some cloth to start bandaging his hand. "But apart from that I've been taught to give women the respect they deserve right from childhood." This was true. Hiroki Koga never tolerated it if a woman was disrespected in front of him.

"And I am no rogue. I am a traveller who doesn't stay in one place for long. I was planning to leave in two days, but if my presence in this town bothers you in any way, I will leave immediately."

"If you're no rogue then why are you not part of your clan anymore? Only rogue ninjas leave their clans. And the only thing my clan is concerned about is rogues. We've had enough trouble in the past with them, so we try to nip them in the bud before they cause any problems. Though I'm surprised you actually still see me as a woman knowing what I came here to do." She's still on guard but her eyes go back to a look of disinterest now, being bored once more with having to do her clan's dirty work.

Akira listens to the woman, letting her finish what she has to say. But at the same time, he plans his next move. It is obvious that he must leave soon. He must get out of this town before he gets killed for real. But that is for later. What about now?

He listens to her questions and suddenly comes up with an idea. "Who said I'm a ninja?" he asks. Technically, he isn't a ninja anymore, is he? He is a normal man, who happens to be exceptionally skilled as well as strong. This woman does not need to know who he was. She needs to know what he is. And he is not a threat. "Do I look like a ninja?"

Yusa sighs and shakes her head, "I'm no fool. You don't need to dress like one to be one. There's been plenty of missions I've been sent on where I had to disguise myself. And to be able to stop me so easily even wounded you have had training before similar if not the exact same kind of training a ninja would receive. If I was such a simpleton I wouldn't be sent out on as many missions as I am. Though obviously you have no interest in killing me, which can mean one of two things. The first is that you're actually not a ninja and just really good at melee combat, or two you gave up the ninja life. If you were a rogue you would have tried to kill me by now."

Akira nods in agreement. "You truly are an extremely skilled warrior," he says, as a compliment, and smiles. Should he tell her, he wonders. No, it is not necessary. "All you need to know is that I am no threat. I am only here so that I can get to the next town, and then the next one after that." He sighs. As an afterthought, he asks,"It was you, wasn't it? You were the one throwing stones at the butcher's shop." a light smile plays across his lips.

"Um...thanks" She's a bit taken aback by the compliment, not having expected it. Most times when she went to a client's home they didn't think she could possible do as they asked since she's a women, until she completed the task with no difficulties. When he mentions the butcher's shop she blushes, being able to see the parts of her face not covered by her mask around her eyes becoming pink from embarrassment. "Um...please don't tell anyone about that, I'm technically not even supposed to come to the other villages unless its part of a request. I just know there's been some issues with the crops and figured they could use the extra food..." Averting her eyes, she tries to hide how happy it makes her feel that he recognized it was her. Others would have just assumed it was not her, what with how awkward she was around others.

Akira can't help but smile. A kind ninja? It is the first time he's seen one. Each and every member of the Koga clan was so absorbed in his own self that helping the neighboring village is not just out of the question, it is unthinkable. But he does not say this out loud. "That's a nice thought," he says.

"Well, now that we are at least not trying kill each other, may I ask for your name?" he asks.

"well, the village helps us with getting jobs, so its only fair we help them as well." She continues to not look at him as she says this. But then stiffens a bit when he asks for her name, "Normally when asking for a person's name you would give your own first. All I was told is that there's a rogue ninja, no one tells me where they are from or anything...Though if you did want to kill me you would have done so by now...Alright, my name is Yusa of the Yukiyama clan. If you know anything about the clans in this region then you'd know who I am..." Regaining a look of disinterest she returns her gaze towards him.

Akira is a good listener. He does not interrupt the woman as she talks. It is interesting, the way she decides whether to tell him her name or not. He bows when she finally tells him. "Pleased to meet you, Yukiyama-san," he says. He wonders whether he should tell her that he is the "rogue" ninja she was looking for. She might just start attacking him again. And that would be a pain. Literally. His arm hadn't stopped hurting him yet.

Finally, he makes up his mind. "My name is Akira Koga. I used to be a part of the Koga clan," he says, and braces himself, ready to jump out of the way if she attacks again.

She nods when he addresses her by her clan name, realizing he knows nothing about the clans in the area. However when he says his last name she quickly leaps back, having her hands ready to draw her tanto if he makes a move to attack her. The adrenaline rushes through her body, making her super alert. After a few tense moments she realizes he's not going to attack her.

"For someone from the Koga family you are extremely docile. I've never heard of a Koga letting someone live after hurting them or trying to hurt them. And I know there's been some...issues in the past with mistakes. I mean my clan is not one to be messed with, but the Koga's don't take well to mistakes. And if you are a rogue they would have probably hunted you down and killed you themselves, so you're definitely not a rogue then." Relaxing she takes a pouch from her belt as she walks over to him. Reaching in she pulls out some bandages and ointment, a stern look on her face.

"Let me see your arm, even if you've left the Koga family they would be livid to find out you were injured by someone in my clan. And my father would be livid with me if he found out I attacked a Koga. Though it would be partially his fault for not waiting until all the information came in about you. Now this my hurt a bit, I'm usually doing this to myself, I don't normally do this for other people."

Akira looks on calmly as Yasu jumps back and takes out her tanto, ready to attack. In a few moments, however, she seems to realize that he has no intention of attacking her. After she speaks, he simply shrugs his shoulders. "There is a reason that I've given up the ninja life. I grew tired of the endless and unnecessary violence that is associated with being a ninja. I am still not free of the guilt that comes from murdering a human being. I am sure you know how it gnaws at your very being. Or you might be so used to it by now that it doesn't make a difference anymore. I cannot say." He smiles at her.

As she tells him to give her his arm, he removes the crude bandages he has tied around his arm to let her put the ones she has, which are undoubtedly better. He holds out his arm steady. "I don't think they'll find out, though. The Koga clan lives quite far off and I was actually thinking of going under an alias." He looks up at her, wondering if she'll give an opinion.

While she binds up his injury she thinking about what he's said about killing people. He's right that she's gotten used to it, but that doesn't mean she likes doing it either now that she thinks about it. She finishes binding him and says, "An alias might be better if someone does ask for your name. Though I'll have to report back and explain the situation. Once they find out you're a Koga they'll be glad I didn't kill you either way. As for killing people, I am used to it, but it is getting tiresome. Seems like that's all I was ever meant to do..." Thinking of her sisters and how they are married and having kids, she gets a bit jealous. She turns her head away from Akira, her eyes going distant and cold.

"I better get back, if they start getting worried they might send other ninjas and that would make things worse." Leaving through the garden entrance she makes her way back to her village, jumping from tree to tree.

Akira watched Yasu with a dead pan expression on his face. Immediately, he realizes that he shouldn't have said anything about getting used to killing. The expression he sees on her face is far too familiar for him. He himself wore that expression on his own face countless times before. He is about to open his mouth to tell her something, when she suddenly decides to take leave of the room. He watches her leave, his expression still unfathomable.

Finally, he sighs and gets up. He cannot stand by and do nothing as another person goes through the exact same pain that he has been through. He feels duty-bound to give her some anonymous guidance, at least. He does not know how she will take advice if it is given to her by a stranger like him. He writes a little note on a piece of paper, folds it and follows behind Yasu, taking care not to make any noise. He goes ahead of her and places the note on a tree branch ahead of her and jumps out of the way so she doesn't see him. He hopes that she sees the note. If not, he will just have to try again and place it on some other tree branch.

Making her way from tree to tree, something out of the ordinary catches her eye. Cautiously she approaches the note that's tagged to a branch, but keeps her distance. She's trying to figure out why there would be a note stuck to a branch out here, and looks around to see if there's any immediate danger in the area. Yusa doesn't spot anyone, but she does get the feeling of being watched. Stealthily she approaches the note, taking it off the branch to read. Her eyes go a bit wide in surprise as she sees it being addressed to her.

Nodding in satisfaction as Yusa finds his note, Akira silently makes his way back to his room in the village elder's house. He jumps in through the window so nobody will notice that he was out. He still feels sorry for her. The Yukiyama clan are also quite famous, and numerous rumors of Yusa's skill had reached Akira's ears. Of course, some of them he dismisses as paranoia. She is definitely not a bloodthirsty demoness from hell, he thinks. Even the smartest people behave like fools when they are afraid.

He sighs and gets ready to go to bed. It has been a long day for him. Taking care not to sleep on his left hand, he drifts off in a few minutes, keeping a knife under his pillow, just in case.

Tucking the note into her pocket, she continues on her way back t the village. She makes her way over to the hut where the elders and her father are. They are already gathered together, so they must have found out some more about Akira.

"I see you're back Yusa, how did things go?" Her father keeps his face blank but she can see a trail of sweat on his face.

"It turns out that the target was Akira Koga of the Koga clan." Her father covers his eyes since hearing this confirmed his fears.

"Did you kill him?"

"No, not once did he try attacking back, even after I had injured him. All he did was prevent me from attacking him more. He claims to have left the clan officially, not as a rogue. And as a Koga, even if he was a rogue, any attack should have resulted in retaliation. Not only did he not retaliate but he also let me tend to his wounds from my attacks." Her father sighs in relief, then looks up at her like normal.

"It's good that he doesn't hold a grudge against his, he is the adoptive son of the leader of the Koga clan and just like you has been tried to be an assassin since he was a child. I don't want you to go anywhere near him again. I'll have another mission for you in a few days."

"...Father, I won't be taking anymore missions." His eyes and the eyes of the elders go wide in shock, "All I've ever done was fight and kill since I was a child, and I'm tired of it."

"What could you possibly do besides that? That's all you know!" One of the elders is furious at this remark from her. She turns and glares at her.

"That's because no one ever taught me about anything else, they just wanted to turn me into a weapon. I've been jealous of my sisters for years because they were allowed to do something other than kill people at your beck and call. Meeting Koga today made me realize I don't have to bow down to you and take orders like a dog. And there are other ninjas that are almost as good as me."

"Where would you go? You'd have to leave the village and everyone knows you as a murderous demon. There will be those out there who want your head."

"If they try to kill me, I'll just kill them, simple as that."

Leaving without saying anything more, Yusa goes back to her home, gathers up what few possessions she has besides weapons she thinks she'll need, then leaves the village. As she leaves she hears the others asking if she's gone rogue or something, all of them stepping back and away from her. Ignoring them she makes her way back to the village, taking refuge in the tree outside of Koga's room, keeping a weapon ready as she drifts off to sleep.

Akira wakes up a little earlier than usual. He makes the bed and puts it back in the closet. He then takes his katana out of his bag and starts practising with it. He still keeps it with him, purely to practise and keep himself fit. For about fifteen minutes he practises, swinging it forward, then to the sides.

He finally puts it back and goes to the balcony. The village is just as picturesque during the day as it is at night. He spots someone sleeping on a tree not far away. It is Yusa. He smiles as he sees her face fully for the first time. For a ninja as skilled as her, she has quite a fragile-looking face. It is pretty in a way, he thinks. He looks at her a little while before going in to take a bath.

Opening one eye sleepily she sees Akira getting up and beginning to practice. She's glad to see he at least keeps up his training since it can save his life and all. She continues to lay on the branch while he trains, then when he goes back inside she sighs.

"You can't make me go back father." In the branches above her stands her father, looking down on her.

"I trained you so that you could be the heir to our clan since we couldn't have a son. I've raised you as if you were my son and I will not allow you to leave."

"So you're saying I have to kill you to leave? Father, I'm leaving because I'm tired of killing people, and not in the sense that I can't tolerate it or anything. I just want to do something more with my life then just kill people for the rest of it. And you could have trained one of our cousins to inherit, not me. my aunt has plenty of boys that you could have trained."

"What possibly could you want that you didn't already have? No man is interested in you because of what you were trained to do unless its a ninja, and even then it would have to be one that can best you which none of the boys in the village can."

"Which means you can't make me go back. I'm leaving the clan for good and I'll try to find my own path in life. Try to stop me and I will kill you father." Getting up and grabbing her stuff she jumps down into the shadows of the trees and slips into Akira's room to wait for him.

Akira slips into the hot spring near the elder's house. The warmth of the water almost feels welcoming. He loses himself, not worrying about the rest of the world. His mind wanders as he thinks about Yusa. Her situation is really not that different from the one he himself faced a week ago. They are both the best ninjas of their respective clans and they are both sick of killing without reason. The difference is that he left and she hasn't. He wonders if the note he wrote to her helped her realize something, if not inspired the idea of leaving.

He sighs and gets up, gets dressed and makes his way back to the village elder's house. He is pleasantly surprised to see Yusa in his room. He bows. "Good morning, Yukiyama-san. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He smiles at her.

"Don't call me that, my surname is not the same as my clan name. And I prefer to be called Yusa anyways. And I've left my clan and I was wondering if it would be alright if I traveled with you for a bit. I have some normal clothing, but not much. And as you already know I'm a pretty good hunter, so even if I have to trade in game to get better suited clothing for travel I will. I just hope you don't mind me tagging along since I have no where else to go..." Blushing some she doesn't look at him, quite embarrassed about her situation.

Akira blinks in astonishment as he is faced with this new situation. Not a problem, exactly. Just a situation. He studies her as she goes on about it. Finally, he sighs. "Listen, I haven't exactly dealt with other people in a friendly fashion before, at least not for long. So if you really wish to travel with me, you have a right to know that I know next to nothing about this world. I myself am in the process of learning about it." All this is just an excuse to try to get her away from him, he knows. Not that he doesn't want her around him. It's just that he is still not sure about himself and does not think he can take responsibility of another person. If she begins travelling with him, he's not sure. "Are you absolutely sure you want to travel with... me?" He finds himself getting a little embarrassed and stops talking.

Not looking at him she's quiet for a few moments, then sighs and gets up, "I figured you knew more than I did since you've at least been on the road a few days compared to me just hunting. But if I'm going to cause trouble for you I can just try on my own then..." Grabbing her bag she hoists it onto her shoulder. Yusa waits a moment before she starts heading out through the garden towards the tree line.

Akira tries to stop her. "Wait," he says, briefly wondering why he even said that. "I didn't mean to..." He sighs. "It is true that I have learnt something after leaving my home, but I'm not sure that you will like this style of living. If you are sure that a somewhat nomadic lifestyle will suit your taste, then you are welcome to join me. The company of a like-minded person will do us both good, I am sure." He smiles at her, hoping she understood.