Chapter 1: Revelation

Everything was black. At first there were mere pinpricks of light, like stars. Then she noticed that they were fluttering downward. No, she realized. Snow. It was snow, falling to…well, she wasn't sure where.

She drifted backwards, seeing a sword thrust into the ground. It was a strange blade, the balance between a ninja-to and a proud samurai katana. She could feel a pang of sorrow at it: it was the blade of her leader, her brother, her friend, now dead. Why was she seeing this?

Suddenly the scene flooded into light. She soared above the blade, looking down on it. The snow melted away, and the sunlight flowed in. Spring grass covered the little hill in which the blade was thrust. Cherry blossoms now fluttered around it. Then, the seasons seemed to pass before her eyes. There was nothing but bright, warm sunlight. Then a red leaf fluttered by and the sun began to set. The grass became slightly browned as it would in August. Fall was here, and she was back at the level of the ground.

Suddenly she was startled. A figure was there, looking back the way he had come…he! His silver-white hair reflected the fading sunlight, as he turned his masked face to look at the blade. Recognition dawned on strange, amber eyes. He seemed to glide over to the blade, touching it experimentally. It was as if he was unsure how to greet an old friend whom he hadn't seen in years. Yet the hesitance faded, and he grasped it firmly. The muscles in his arms flexed slightly as he pulled it from the ground, holding it uncertainly, resigned to fate. And then he became aware of her presence. He looked onto her with mild surprise. She watched him sadly. She missed him, and longed dearly to call out to him. But she didn't, for fear of his image melting away. But as she realized this fact, she felt herself being pulled backward, into the sunset.
The last thing she was aware of was him, running towards her. He was coming.

Ayame's eyes fluttered open.

The first thing that struck her was the absurdity of her last thought before waking. He was never coming back. Death was death. There was no escape. And yet, it had been so real. It was as if Ayame could sense his ki near hers. Laying on her futon, she stared at the ceiling. What an absurd dream, she thought.

She sighed heavily. Ayame was a ninja, one of the Azuma Clan. These ninjas were unique. In a country torn by war, ripped to shreds by armies led by selfish, power-hungry warlords, there was but one samurai family that had held to Bushido and all it symbolized for so long. This was the Gohda Family, or the province by the same name. The current patron was Lord Matsunoshin Gohda. As it was his parents were slaughtered in these bitter wars, and his current counsel, Natadao Sekiya, had raised Gohda. And oh, he had raised him well! Gohda was a much loved and respected leader, one small beacon of hope and good surrounded by a sea of darkness. But small though the province was, it was a much-coveted piece of land, and this meant war.
This was where the Azuma Ninjas stepped in. Years ago the Azuma clan was a thriving village in the mountains, nestled where nobody would find them. They were protectors the peace, living by honor like samurai, killing by stealth like many of their more ruthless kind. And every one of them served their lord with a love and a passion they had learned from their parents, who had learned from their parents, who learned from their parents, back to the very beginnings of the clan. And since the beginnings of the clan, Gohda Province had been quiet and peaceful, its people thriving and prospering.

That is, until, eight years ago.

Ayame had grown up in Kyoto until she was four, when the city was destroyed, and her family with it. A man, an Azuma Ninja as it was, by the name of Shiunsai Azuma took the girl back to his home: the Quarantine Village. Here Ayame was raised along side two boys: Chikara, later called Rikimaru, and his older brother Tatsukichi, later Tatsumaru. Ayame had been enamored with Tatsumaru. But then when she was fifteen, shortly after her initiation into the clan, war broke out. A lesser lord beneath Gohda had tried to take over. The leader of his ninjas, Lady Kagami, rebelled and began her dream of conquering Japan and having it ruled by ninjas. Tatsumaru lost his memory in a fight and was rescued by Kagami. The two fell in love, and Tatsumaru unknowingly murdered his own master and set the village he had grown up in aflame. Ayame and Rikimaru were the only survivors. Under Kagami and her Burning Dawn ninjas, it looked as if there would be no victory. But Tatsumaru took his own life to atone for his crimes, and Ayame and Rikimaru killed Kagami.

Seven years of peace followed. In this time Ayame tried to heal from the wound that was Tatsumaru's death. And Rikimaru had been there to help. In that time she and Rikimaru had done the unthinkable: they allowed a bond to form between them. This was against the Ninja's Code…well, almost, she reminded herself. They weren't lovers. They were close friends. It was enough for a lord to worry about, but not enough to do anything about. It didn't matter anyway. Her love for Tatsumaru was replaced, and Rikimaru found his way into her heart. She almost regretted that she never told him. It was sad: she was twenty-two years old and had never been kissed. But after the brief peace, a terror came upon Gohda Province like none other: Mei-Oh, the Lord of Hell himself. His plan was to begin his reign in Japan, then spread it to the rest of the world. It was a samurai's job, a hero's job, if not for one fateful thing: Gohda's daughter Kiku was kidnapped, a plan to draw the ninjas into Mei-Oh's trap. And it worked.

Ayame closed her eyes. The scene replayed itself in horrifying detail. Ayame running with Kiku, trying to escape. Mei-Oh hurling himself through the portal he came from, the castle collapsing around them…and then Rikimaru…he had to be the hero. As they ran, a boulder fell. Ayame was prepared for death when Rikimaru with a blessed, god-like strength somehow caught and held it. Ayame continued out with Kiku, only to realize the inevitable: Rikimaru would not be able to escape. He would be crushed. She could still see that strange, goofy, yet sad smile as the boulder dropped. He was gone.

Ayame sighed bitterly. The result of all these years was this: Gohda's wife slaughtered during the Burning Dawn incident, her childhood friend and the man she loved both dead, and she still alive…and very much alone, for she was now the entire Azuma Ninja Clan.

"Ayame?"

The whimper at her door jolted her from her thoughts. "Kiku, what's wrong?" Ayame called groggily, sitting up and fixing her tousled black, shoulder-length hair.
Kiku came in as Ayame pulled her hair into the usual messy ponytail, bangs in her brown eyes.

"I'm scared, Ayame," she murmured, sitting next to Ayame. The two were nearly sisters.
Kiku was thirteen now, though she looked younger. Her big brown eyes were full of fear as they looked to Ayame for comfort.

"Kiku-chan," Ayame crooned, toying with her long, brown hair, "what do you think is out there that's going to get you? Don't you trust your guards to keep the monsters away?"

"They're gone."

"What?"

"The guards are gone," Kiku repeated, face pale. "I heard sounds like something sliding across the floor, and people whispering. I think we're under attack!"

"Kiku," Ayame said hesitantly, "are you sure you didn't just dream…." She stopped.
There was blood on the hem of Kiku's white kimono.

"We have to find your dad," she said firmly. "Kiku, I want you to hide in my closet and listen for anyone. If you do, don't say anything. Tap on the door."

As Kiku did that, Ayame threw on her ninja gear: a black halter-style shirt with a strip of mail over the heart, a pair of black, baggy pants that rode on her hips, and a belt with her short swords and tools. She quickly went into her closet and pulled Kiku out.

"You've got to run," she told her softly. "Go to your dad's Meeting Room at the top floor. I'll take care of the ninjas. No matter what happens, don' stop. Just keep running, okay?"

Kiku nodded, and Ayame thrust her out the door. Creeping to the stairs, she could hear the guards fighting…and losing. Soon only scoffing voices were all that could be heard.

"This one fought like a woman!"

"Excuse me?'

That ninja was dead before he hit the ground. Ayame had cut him to ribbons. Another gash went across the chest of one of his comrades. Two blows came at her from either side. She parried, kicking one man in the groin. She turned her back to the other man, parrying from behind and above. She shoved his ninja-to upward, then jammed her blades into his sides. Getting up and whirling around, she all but decapitated him, his head dangling grotesquely from a small flap of skin. As the last ninja let go of his manhood and took up his sword, Ayame kicked it out of his hands. She then cut his skull wide open.

"Disgusting!" she said as brains dribbled to the floor. Hearing triumphant kiais from below, Ayame moved to the roof.

She was rather relaxed on the roof. As she turned a corner, she found a ninja standing right in front of her. She reacted without thinking, driving her blades into his gut. That was five tonight. Another she saw from a distance, sending a shuriken into his neck. Six. One walked above her, and she flipped onto the roof behind him, slitting his throat neatly. Seven…And so it went on. Ayame made her way to the roof of the Meeting Room. Here she was alone. It was too quiet.

"Oh? A resistance?" Ayame turned around.

There stood a ninja, clad strangely. He wore a sleeveless shirt of black over a silver mail shirt. His pants were black also, baggy and tied around the knee with greaves as was normal. A silver dragon was embroidered on his back, and a half-face mask covered his features. A red headband was tied around his forehead, for all the good it did. His long black bangs still fell in his blue-green eyes. Those eyes were eerie.

"Ah!" Ayame said with a smirk. "So you're the clumsy pig who thought he could take over the palace?"

"Some would say that," he said calmly. "Azuma Ninja, I assume?"

"Yep," Ayame said proudly. "Now, taste the wrath of the entire clan!"

She was onto him, slashing wildly. She was shocked to see how well he evaded her. If she cut left, he was right. If she went right, he was left. And then a flurry of his own blows were upon her. He was a fistfighter, who threw his blows quick and hard. One narrowly missed Ayame's nose, cuffing her cheek gently. He cheekbone throbbed dully as she brought the pommel of one of her blades into his jaw.

He staggered back, then toppled. Ayame smirked and walked over to him, wondering if he was dead of just knocked out. A name was embroidered on his shirt, she noted: Gaida.
Suddenly his hand wrapped around her ankle, and she was flung to the edge of the roof. She dangled by both hands, growling.

"Farewell, little Azuma Ninja," he said with a smirk, stepping on one of her hands.
Ayame removed her hand, whipping out her grappling hook. It caught him by the belt and dragged him forward. Yet he dug his heels into the tiles of the roof. One heel smashed into her fingers, creaking several sickening pops. She let go, dragging him with her. The wind rushed around her, and she knew she was going to die. Panic seized her at first, then a calm. She probably wouldn't feel anything before she died, from this height. And she could see Tatsu and…
Suddenly it all stopped, and there was a jerk on her arm. She fell a bit farther, then slammed into the wall of the palace.

"What the hell?" she snarled. Her entire front hurt now.

"Well I could have let you drop!"

Ayame gasped, nearly losing her grip on her rescuer's arm. She felt herself being hauled through a window. The dark was outside, and the golden light of the palace was around her again.
Quickly she regained her composure and got to her feet. She turned to her rescuer, expressionless.

"Is this some sort of a joke?" she snapped. "Because it isn't in the least amusing. Who are you really?"

Amber eyes looked on her with great bitterness. "Go ahead and test me Ayame," he said dully.

"And then launch your accusations."

"You're dead," she said flatly.

"Do I look like a ghost? Not that you'll-"

She cut the man off, slashing at him. Surely, she thought with a smirk, he would stagger back and ask why she was attacking him. Then she would kill him. But he didn't. Instead he whirled to the side, bringing his sword, a blade like the perfect balance between a ninja-to and a proud samurai katana, to the back of her neck gently.

"Now do you believe me…Omon?" he said with a small smile.

Ayame had no more reason not to believe him. He looked like him, spoke like him, fought and acted like him. Even his ki was right! And he knew her old name. Turning around, she was overcome with a million emotions.

"Rikimaru…," she said softly. Rikimaru, she noted, had possibly become more handsome while he was gone. His silver-white hair was as messy as always, going right along with his dirtied brown vest and pants. He wore the same black chain mail shirt, and the same dull brown greaves and bracers. A black, ever-present half-face mask covered his expressionless features.

"Yes, Ayame?" he asked gently.

Ayame cut herself off. She couldn't allow herself to say what she had been thinking. How she could have possibly…even though he had been gone for a year now…no, it couldn't be done.

"You picked one hell of a time to show up!" she burst out. "What's the Lord going to think? If this upsets Kiku at all, I swear I'll-"

"I missed you too."

Ayame fell silent. Damn him, he was still too smart for his own good!

"Let's just go check on Lord Gohda and then we can talk about whether or not I 'missed you.' " she answered.

He chuckled softly. "Who's barking the orders here?"

"Me," Ayame said with a smirk, walking with him to the Meeting Room.

"-And so, that done, I felt myself being called back to this world. Who was I to defy it? The portal took me back to the ruins and I made my way here…just in time, it seems."

"I would say so!" Lord Gohda said. He had listened intently to Rikimaru's tale of what happened in the Portal, how he had jumped through it after Mei-Oh, but not been able to find him. By the end it appeared he had more gray hairs than before lightly dusting his dark topknot. His dark eyes sparkled with the tale of adventure, though.

"More than you know, My Lord," Rikimaru said with a smile. "Ayame-"

"Shut up or die, take your pick," Ayame growled.

Rikimaru silenced himself, for which Ayame was grateful. "Now, is there anything you wish for us to do? Perhaps I should guard Kiku's room personally? And Rikimaru can guard yours?"

Lord Gohda shook his head. "It has been a trying night, and the guards are more alert than before. You two may rest. Ayame, you'll explain everything that's been going on tomorrow?"

"That'll make for a cheery morning," she said with an eyeroll. "Right, I'll show him to his room."
The two bowed and went into the hall.

"You haven't changed a bit," Rikimaru commented casually.

"It's only been a year," Ayame said flatly.

"It seemed eternal," he said nonchalantly. "But maybe time runs differently in the Portal."

"I think you're being rather melodramatic," she replied bluntly. "This is going to take forever." She didn't add that this would be a good thing.

"I don't know why I expected a warm welcome from you," he sighed.

"This one's yours," she said darkly. "My room is where it's always been."

Rikimaru sighed and closed his eyes. This was not at all how it was supposed to be. Ayame still hated him, it seemed. Gohda was still blissfully unaware of what went on between the two. What had he expected? That she would return his feelings? That she too would love him as he had loved her for the past nine years? No. Ayame wouldn't. She was far too headstrong. It saddened him. The other side of the portal was a dark, cold, and lonely world. During his stay there…

"…I thought about all the things I left unsaid and undone," he said, his thoughts spilling out of him before he could stop them. "I had thought I was going to die. But I'm alive. I don't want to repeat that mistake again."

Ayame listened quietly. Most of his words went in one ear and out the other as she gazed at his handsome face, his strong arms, his gentle, but strange eyes. If only, she thought, she had been injured. Maybe Rikimaru would sit at her bedside and care for her. While you did what? Snap at him? She smiled bitterly. Yes, she was talking idiocy to herself. She loved him, she knew. But she never would have allowed herself to admit that before now.

"I assume you're leading up to something," she said simply.

"I should have told you this eight years ago, Ayame," he said.

"Skip the dramatics."

"I love you."

Ayame fumed for a moment. "Yeah, you should have told me that eight damn years ago!" she snapped, nails digging into her palms.

"Forgive me," he said quietly. "That's all I had to say." With that, he turned to go into his room. He was suddenly dragged around by Ayame.

"Idiot," she snapped, then her face softened into a slightly caustic smile, "that's the part where you kiss me!"

At first Rikimaru stared dumbly at her, dizzied by the mere thought. "You…"

"For five years I've known it, yes. Maybe I did before."

"And you…"

"Yes, and?"

Rikimaru slipped an arm around her waist gently, peering into her eyes. The skin of her face was soft beneath his hand, and softer still on her bare waist. He felt a thrill as his nose brushed her cheek, and she tugged his mask down around his neck. His eyes closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand tangling in his hair. Suddenly she moved her face forward, impatient and eager. Their lips met, and his head began to spin.

Ayame was scarcely able to believe what was happening. Despite her usual impatient manner, she was no longer in a hurry. He kissed her with a gentle passion, a tender love, and she did the same. It was true what she said. She had loved Rikimaru for a long time, but pride wouldn't allow her to say or do anything about it. Ayame was never the first to bow. Little did she know it, but this was the very thing that made Rikimaru love her.

Finally the two pulled apart, but Rikimaru didn't release her yet. "I love you," he repeated gently.

"I…," Ayame sighed impatiently.

"Well?" Rikimaru prodded with a small smile.

"I…love you…too…" Ayame said, feigning reluctance. The disguise was ruined by the grin that spread over her face.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"But I have to show you where my room is."

He chuckled softly. "Another time," he said, grinning. His face was vibrant red. "Besides, you said it's where it's always been."

"Oh…," It was her turn to blush. "Alright. Tomorrow morning then. Bright and early."

"Alright," he said softly, letting her go slowly.

"You'd better be up," she quipped, "or you'll wake up to an ice-cold bath."

"Good night." He grinned and shut the door in her face, the only way to escape temptation.

"You too," she muttered softly. "Pigheaded fool, and that's an insult to pigs…"

Ayame continued to grumble as she went to her room, playing the scene over and over again until she was dreaming it.

"This is unacceptable."

"Milady-"

"Be silent, Gaida! How many ninjas lost?"

Gaida flinched. The wrath of His Lady was terrible to behold. Nevertheless, he couldn't take his eyes off her dark beauty. She sat before him, her hair loose and falling to her knees. A black silk kimono was her only garment, embroidered with pale gold and silver and jade dragons and flowers. Her sharp gray eyes scanned over him without mercy. Her kimono was tied with a very thin gold obi, tied in a careless bow on her hip. As she leaned back on her throne, the large kimono fell back a bit, exposing her legs up to her knees. A shiver went up Gaida's spine as he tried to gather the courage to answer.

"The whole group, Milady," he said humbly. "There was an Azuma Ninja, and Gohda's Elite Guards. We almost had the little princess, but when the ninjas took the guards and returned, she was gone. We can assume she went to her father."

"Two ninjas slew your entire group," she repeated dully.

"Two? Milady, I hardly think the Princess is-"

"I'm not talking about the Princess, Gaida," she said sweetly, a smile curling over her face. "There is another: the one they call Rikimaru."

"Rikimaru Azuma?" he hissed in loathing response, "But I thought He killed that bastard!"

"Hardly. Rikimaru is stronger than you think," she smiled, "He mortally wounded Him, remember? We had better think this out."

" 'We,' Milady?" he repeated.

"Gaida, silly boy," she crooned, rising and laying a hand on his head. "Where would I be without a bold ninja leader like yourself at my side? When I am Empress of Japan, you shall be my Emperor. Alas, can you settle for being my pet now?"

"Milady," he said nervously. His heart beat rapidly and his eyes were full of lust. The front of her kimono had loosened. "You are my Empress, and I only wish to serve."

"Then you would do as I wish?"

"Name it, and it shall be done."

"That is what you said when I gave you the order to take the palace," she reminded him with a smile. "But I forgive you. You are to call me by my name. Now, follow me Gaida. We'll go to my chamber to discuss this Rikimaru ordeal."

"Yes, Kagura," Gaida sighed, a smile crossing his face. This was his chance.

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Author's Note:
So…? How was that? Credits to Miyuki for writing this chapter! This is only the beginning guys…it gets even better...I promise...REVIEW PLEASE!