So, since I like challenges and I am hoping that others might try some new ones (or some old ones even), I am going to try another history based challenge. I will need to stray from reality a bit more for this one than I did with my Western Story since I am making some of the key folks have political and military significance. I hope that readers enjoy this attempt and that you will forgive any discrepancies with the real history of Japan. The political maneuvering during the time of this piece seems really a bit too confusing for my scatterbrain to follow.

Also, if you hare interested in writing for a challenge or issuing one, there is a great forum on set up for it. Just click forum on the upper right hand corner from the skip beat fanfiction list. Then check out Your Challenge.

Rules:

-AR/AU or normal world doesn't matter, you have to make them being ninjas work!

-stay true to the characters personalities and relationships as much as possible (with that I mean, don't go jumble everything upside down; ex Lory is still Ren's superior in some kind; Ren and Sho will never be friends, Maria is related to Lory, Yashiro is close to Ren not another arch enemy...)

-no leaving out any characters, (Kyoko, Ren, Sho, Lory, Maria, Yashiro, Kanae, Chiori, etc...each one of them has to have his fair share of the story) though you can add new ones, which means cross overs are also welcome.

-at some point in time Kyoko has to be jailed through law(reason unknown)

-the story has to count at least 5 chapters

A Tie to Bind

A lazy breeze shifted hot, humid air through the thick leaf cover but offered no relief from the oppressive heat. Without a second thought, a young girl untied her sash and stripped her outer kosode. She kicked off her sandals and pulled off her socks. Just as quickly, the six year old removed her inner kosode. She dropped the clothes in a pile and ran across the pebbled shore and into the welcoming coolness of the water. Mogami Kyoko squealed in delight before rushing towards deeper water. She swam like a fish and cavorted like an otter in the bright sun.

After a while, her stomach grumbled and the young girl swam towards shore. The bright child had the foresight to sneak some fruit with her person when she made her escape from the Fuwa residence. Giggling at her hard won freedom, the naked child scrambled from the water. She was a few steps from her clothes and her stash of plums when she noticed a stranger standing near her clothing.

The little girl froze for a moment. The Fuwas were constantly warning her about the dangers from unknown people. Kyoko frowned. This stranger didn't look dangerous. He was just standing there and staring at her like she was some kind of strange creature.

"Hello!" the innocent child finally called as she decided that the young boy was obviously not one of the strangers that she needed to fear. In her naivety, Kyoko did not understand the potential dangers that unknown people, especially males, could pose to her person. Instead of reacting in fear, she grabbed her white kosode and shoved her arms into it as she offered another greeting since the young boy did not respond to her first one. Once clothed in her undergarments, she retrieved her two fruit. She held one towards the young boy.

"Would you like one?" the girl offered kindly.

The older boy took a couple steps towards the younger child and silently accepted the fruit offering. He watched at the girl bit gustily into her juicy plum before he took a delicate bite.

"I'm Kyoko," the innocent sprite offered as she climbed onto a rock to bask in the sun and dry. She wiggled her toes happily as she munched on her fruit. Her face reflected only joy and contentment in the moment.

"I'm Kuon," the older boy offered as he took a seat on the large rock beside the friendly girl.

Kyoko took another bite of her fruit and wiped the juice running down her chin with her sleeve.

"You have pretty hair," she stated with a hint of awe as she stared a bit more intently at her new companion. "Oh, and pretty eyes. Are you a spirit or something?"

The boy stiffened. Surrounded by so many dark haired and dark eyed people, Kuon was very self conscious of his unique appearance.

"My mother is Portuguese," he explained hesitantly as he waited for the inevitable disparaging comment. He was surprised when none came.

"Is Port-u-geese on the mainland?" Kyoko asked curiously.

Kuon smiled.

"Not exactly," the older boy answered. "It's a bit farther than that."

Kyoko tilted her head to the side.

"Oh... is it a magical place? Is that why you have such pretty hair?" Kyoko asked as she reached a hand towards the boy's light colored locks. Her chubby fingers brushed the soft locks and the six year old grinned at the softness.

Kuon blushed at the repeated compliment as he admitted that he has never been to Portugal but that his mother insists that her home country was very different from living here. He then explained that he lived with his father and mother in a port town. His little companion listened intently to everything he said and asked a number of questions. After the older boy finally fell silent, Kyoko asked him if he would like to go swimming with her. Given the heat, it didn't take a lot of pleading on the girl's part to coax the boy into joining her in the water.

The sun slipped across the sky and dipped behind the trees while the two new friends played in the water and then along the shore. As they traipsed along the lake edge, Kuon swung a large stick like a sword as they created an imaginary adventure.

"Will you be a brave samurai when you grow up?" Kyoko asked as she too picked up a make-believe sword.

A bit of guilt flashed through her companion's eyes as he said that maybe he would. The self-conscious boy didn't want to admit that he would ultimately be expected to take his father's place as Daimyo when he matured. He didn't want to alienate the first real friend he felt that he had ever made with admitting his family's political power.

"Sho-chan is going to be a samurai," Kyoko boasted happily. "And I am going to be his bride."

A tiny twinge of jealousy pricked at Kuon as he listened to his companion extol her precious Sho's bravery and skills. To combat the jealousy, the young boy boasted that he knew how to properly wield a sword too. Using his pretend blade, Kuon demonstrated some of the battle skills his father and tutors have drilled into him until they became second nature. His companion was duly impressed.

Taking up her own stick, the young girl tried to mimic the moves that she saw Kuon perform. The older boy chuckled. He stepped behind her and offered a minor correction in her stance. He shifted her shoulders slightly and nudged her one leg forward just a bit. Kyoko immediately followed his direction and executed the same sweeping attack she saw Kuon complete. Intrigued, the older boy showed her another one which she also mimicked well. Captivated with his companion's ability to reproduce his physical movements, Kuon taught Kyoko a number of beginning attacks and defenses. He even coaxed her into raising her pretend sword against his stick in a mock battle. Although her strikes held almost no power, it took her almost no time to be able to learn enough to do more than swing wildly.

Valiantly, the little girl attacked her new friend with her imaginary sword until, finally exhausted, she plopped onto the ground. Breathing heavily, she grinned at her friend.

Kuon laughed.

"You know, if your friend Sho doesn't become a samurai, you could always take his place and he could be your bride," the older boy teased before turning a bit more serious. "You learn really fast."

Kyoko giggled.

"Fuwa-sama says I am a special kind of sponge. It's easy for me to learn stuff when I see and do it a couple times."

"You are definitely special," Kuon stated as he gently yanked on one of Kyoko's dark and tangled pigtails.

The older child glanced towards the slowly darkening sky. He sighed before informing the little girl that he needed to leave.

Tears welled in the younger child's eyes. She sniffed.

"Will you come and play with me again?" she asked. It might take her a couple days but she would be sure to find another chance to escape the fortress where she lived.

Kuon shared a pained smile with Kyoko as he admitted that he would most likely not be able to come play again since his family had to continue their trip the next day. Some of the tears escaped Kyoko's bright eyes at his words. Pained at seeing the little girl who accepted him for himself and not for his family ties, Kuon patted her on the head. He then reached for his neck and pulled the golden chain that hung on his neck over his head. He held the necklace towards his companion.

"Here, you can have this so that you can remember me. The next time we meet, you can give it back to me. It will be our promise that we will meet again. Okay?"

Kyoko accepted the loaned gift. She slipped the necklace over her head then picked up the white crystal attached to the chain.

"That's a piece of quartz that my mom brought from Portugal," Kuon explained.

"It's pretty," Kyoko stated as she ran her finger over the smooth edge of the mineral. "Are you sure that you want to give this to me?"

"Yeah," the boy stated as a slight blush climbed up his cheeks. "Just remember that you have to return it the next time you see me. Promise?"

Kyoko nodded her head solemnly.

"Good girl, Kyoko-chan," Kuon complimented with a smile. He tweaked her nose gently and wished her a good evening.

As the young blond ran into the woods, Kyoko clasp the quartz tightly in her hand as she vowed to see her new friend once again. She too then scrambled into the woods in the opposite direction as she headed back to the Fuwa estate and the inevitable scolding that was waiting for her. Her new gift bounced against her chest with each step.

"You can't let them have Kyoko," Fuwa Sho demanded as he stomped defiantly into his father's study. The young man just overheard two servants whispering in the kitchen that that the shogunate had demanded the Fuwa Clan send one of their members to the Hizuri Clan. Since Kyoko had recently passed her fifteenth birthday and was still not betrothed, the servants assumed the young girl would be the sacrifice sent to the family that oversaw one of the busiest ports in the empire.

The head of the Fuwas sighed at his son's display of temper. Once again, he was disappointed by his heir's loss of emotional control. Instead of reprimanding his son's behavior, the tired Daimyo waved his hand towards the missive sent from Ashikaga Yoshiteru by special courier just this morning.

"We have no choice. The Shogun demanded that we bind his newest trade alliance with the Hizuris by marriage."

"Then send someone else. You can't send Kyoko. She is mine."

Sho's father pressed his lips firmly together.

"Need I remind you that you were the one who said that you did not want to marry Kyoko-chan."

The younger Fuwa crossed his arms across his chest with a petulant expression on his face.

"Just because I don't want to marry her now doesn't mean that you can send her to someone else," Shotaro whined.

The elder Fuwa glared at his son's unreasonable demand. At almost sixteen, his father expected his son to have grown beyond his spoiled childhood but Shotaro continued to disappoint him. The Daimyo could not understand why his son would be so adamant about not marrying his second wife's niece but then be just as adamant against him sending her to another family. It was well past the time for securing arrangements for the girl's future.

Despite his son's complaints, Mogami Kyoko was the perfect offering for the deal. When Sho's mother died after giving birth to his son, the warlord had quickly taken a new wife; she was the younger daughter of a well established merchant. When his bride arrived at his fortress, she came with her pregnant sister. Sanae's husband was a samurai who had been killed in service to the Shogun's ongoing battle with his political opponents. Kyoko was born in his home and raised like one of his own.

When Kyoko's mother was afforded the chance to remarry, she left her child with the Fuwas and moved forward with her new life. The Daimyo could not help but smile as he contemplated his adorable niece. His 'little sponge' was a constant source of joy for him. Despite approaching adulthood, she was sweetly innocent while still possessing a mischievous sense of adventure that he secretly found amusing. He might enforce a very traditional atmosphere in his household but that did not mean he did not appreciate the spark inside Kyoko that made her so special. The elder Fuwa knew that Kyoko did not seem to fit in properly in his very traditional fortress. Her tutors found her exasperating because she was forever demanding to know things that were outside the acceptable bounds of study. She had no friends save for his spoiled son.

A sudden thought occurred to the Fuwa family head. If he remembered correctly, the Daimyo of the Hizuri clan married a foreigner. Obviously, the Hizuri household was willing to accept someone who was different. A grin teased along the elder Fuwa's lip. This truly was the perfect opportunity for his favorite niece. The teen would be sure to flourish in an open and accepting environment.

"Kyoko-chan will be sent to the Hizuris," he stated firmly and with no room for his son to argue.

Recognizing the finality of his father's decree, Shotaro stormed from the room. The shoji door slammed behind him and his father was once more disappointed in his son's immature display. As the Daimyo contemplated how long it would take his son to mature, his son contemplated how to keep control of what was his.