Summary: After leaving the Aoiya to “discover” herself, Misao runs into the most unlikely person and embarks on an adventure that leads to China, where she agrees to pose as a concubine to destroy an evil mafia boss. Can she save her new companion from the dangerousness of his own mind? When the time for decisions comes, will she choose her newest love or her old childhood infatuation? ><><><><><>< White Tiger, Jade Concubine Chapter 2: Familiar Stranger ><><><><><>< “Be safe, Misao-dono.” Misao grinned up at the redheaded rurouni, punching him lightly on the shoulder. “I’ll be fine.” “Write us and let us know what’s going on,” Kaoru put in softly. “And come back and see us soon.” “I sure will!” Backing up a few steps, Misao felt her smile waver slightly. “Thanks for everything, you guys. Good-bye!” The young ninja girl turned away from them, biting her lip to keep the tears at bay. She moved forward, once again leaving the people she cared about behind, but not bothering to glance back. She had left Aoshi, she could leave Himura and Kaoru. But it was hard…from this point on she would be alone, wandering a path similar to that of the rurouni, hoping beyond hope that she would one day, as he had, find a place to call home. ~~~~~~~~~~ Enishi pulled the hood of his cloak closer around his face, hiding his shock-white hair from view as he weaved easily throughout the dense crowd. At this point, he could not afford to be spotted. His sword had been destroyed and these weeks of listlessly roaming around Rakuninmura had left him decidedly weaker than his normally fine-tuned state. For now he would move to Yokohama, hopefully avoiding the group of ninjas he supposed were even now scouring the city in search of him. Eventually, he would return to Shanghai, where he had left a substantial portion of money with an old acquaintance. In all of his dealings, his movements throughout the triads, he had learned a great deal. One thing that he had learned was that, no matter how careful the planning, there was always the possibility of plans going awry. His situation with the Battousai had proven this. His Jinchuu should have been flawless, but instead the Battousai had emerged the victor and he had been left with nothing but his sister’s journal and the knowledge that his attempts at revenge had been misguided. Before leaving the ‘city of sin’, he had asked his acquaintance to guard his money and a few of his possessions in case his plans had somehow failed and he was left in a situation such as the one he was in now. It was something he would have previously considered unthinkable. He, Yukishiro Enishi, should have been invincible. But his mortality, his weakness, had been undeniably proven. In the end, he had unintentionally rescued the girl whose death would have caused the greatest amount of suffering to the ex- hitokiri. The act had taught him something, though. Now he was left with nearly nothing, but he had a better understanding of his sister’s heart, her conflicted emotions. He would have given all of his wealth to know that sooner, to know that before he dedicated himself to a life of madness in the endless search of revenge. Instead it had come as a painful, shattering lesson. He supposed it was his just desserts. The strange emotion of love, the decision to give your life to protect someone else. These were things he rarely thought of, perplexities that lingered just beyond his grasp of understanding. The only one he would have willingly died to protect, the only person he knew beyond any doubt that he had loved, had been his sister. Beyond that, the emotion was a mystery. Seeing a vaguely familiar hawk-nosed visage ahead in the crowd, Enishi eased into the shadows of an alleyway between two buildings. The man passed by, murmuring something to the shorter man at his side, as Enishi watched them with narrowed blue eyes. Her recognized the both of them as part of the ninja group that was out for his head, two of the coldest and most skilled of all Tsung’s men. Almost immediately, Enishi started after them, mingling with the crowd so as not to be seen. If they led him to the rest of the group, he could accurately judge how many people were after him and how fair his chances were of surviving if they attacked. He knew he was strong, a fighter with talents way above the normal caliber, but not even he would survive an ambush by thirty or more armed ninjas while he himself remained weaponless. One thing was certain, he needed another sword as soon as possible **I will not kill, Onee-san. For you I vow to take no more lives…I will make you the same promise the Battousai made to you all of those years ago, but I must protect myself somehow…** ~~~~~~~~~~ Hefting her small sac over her shoulder, Misao hummed softly to herself, leaning close to a stand to inspect a small hair comb. It was a fancy thing, graceful and delicate, so unlike herself. She had the grace of a ninja, of course. The ability to move in silence through the shadows, the skill to leap onto rooftops easily and sneak into places unseen and unheard, but in many ways she lacked the gentle femininity that most women possessed. She was coarser, unrefined, possessing more boyish characteristics than feminine charms. She lacked the cool beauty of Megumi, the natural prettiness of Kaoru. **Maybe that is why Aoshi-sama does not want me…because I am not as pretty as they…** Lost in her thoughts, she turned away from the stand, not noticing the tall man approaching until he had run into her, knocking her to the ground forcefully as he shouldered passed. Immediately, her eyes narrowed in fury as she jumped up, yelling after him, “Watch where you’re going, you big jerk!” He continued as if he had not heard her, as if he had not just violently pushed someone to the ground without thinking. Frowning, she brushed loose dirt from her shorts with one hand, noticing that her bag had fallen a few feet away in the commotion, scattering a few articles of her clothing across the filthy street. She dropped to her knees, muttering to herself angrily as she quickly snatched up her soiled possessions. Stuffing the last article into the bag, she pulled it shut, preparing to rise to her feet when a cloaked figure caught her attention. It was walking quickly, face mostly hidden. Most others would not have cast the figure a second glance, but something about the way it walked, the grace and controlled power of every movement, caught her undivided attention. **I have the strangest feeling…that I’ve seen that walk before…** Quickly lifting her bag, she started forward, eyes trained on the cloaked figure. If she picked up her pace, she could get in front of it and maybe see the face hidden in the shadows of the hood. After a moment, the figure paused, ducking behind a stand as the man who had knocked her roughly to the ground glanced behind him, eyes scanning the crowd. Spotting her chance to find a position in front of him, Misao wove her way through the people easily and hid near a stand, partially obscured by a small, elderly couple. She watched intently as the figure moved forward once more, jade eyes held steady on the hooded face, hoping for a ray of sunshine to cast the darkened features into visibility. Strangely, luck was with her and the figure lifted its head briefly, allowing sunlight to wash down over handsome features. For a moment, all Misao could do was stare, taking in the high cheekbones, piercing eyes, and tan skin. **Yukishiro Enishi…what is he doing here? I never thought to see him again…** Without pausing to consider what she was doing, Misao began to follow him, maintaining a careful distance between them to prevent him from sensing her presence. **Where is he going? He must be following those men, but why? I had heard he disappeared off of that ship, but…where has he been all this time?** Snapping herself out of her musings, she quickened her steps. The only way to get answers to her questions was to follow him. It was too coincidental that he was in Tokyo, the same place as Kaoru and Himura. The same place where he had nearly destroyed the ex-hitokiri’s life and sanity. **What if he’s come to cause more trouble? What if he’s after Himura again? I can’t let that happen…** ~~~~~~~~~~ Enishi threw a quick glance over his shoulder, a feeling of unease building in his stomach. He was being followed, he was certain of it. For the last hour, he had felt someone’s eyes trained on him from behind. Whenever he turned around, though, the people behind him seemed innocent enough, mingling and shopping, most not paying him the slightest bit of attention. **More ninjas?** he thought briefly, turning his stormy blue eyes back to the pair of men he had been tailing. **I wonder if they have me surrounded and have been observing me this whole time, leading me into some sort of trap…** It was a distinct possibility. A possibility that did not sit well with him as he was, unarmed and weakened from the lack of constant exercise and training. Narrowing his eyes, he allowed his gaze to wander the stands, searching for something, anything, he could steal to use as a weapon. After a moment, a cool grin curved his lips as he spotted two policemen leaning casually against a wall a small distance ahead. They both had swords strapped to their sides. The swords were probably nowhere near the quality he was used to working with, but they would have to suffice. Any weapon was better than none. He could brush passed the officers and snatch one of their swords before they even became aware of what was happening. Moving forward rapidly, he bumped lightly against one of the officers, apologizing even as he quickly removed the scabbard from one of the policemen’s belts, tucking it into the folds of his cloak as he started away from them, instantaneously blending into the crowd. It was mere seconds before the officer released a cry of alarm, but by then he was a good distance away, concentrating on catching up to the ninjas he had previously been following. ~~~~~~~~~ Misao observed all of Enishi’s movements with narrowed green eyes, admiring the way he had easily fooled the police officer even as her growing curiosity of his motives increased in intensity. **What is he DOING? Why does he need a sword? I have to find out just what he’s up to…someone will have to warn Himura that Yukishiro is back in Tokyo. I won’t let this psycho hurt my friends again!** TBC… ><><><><><>< THANKS FOR READING!! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED SO FAR!! PLEASE REVIEW SOME MORE! GIVE ME MY INSPIRATION BACK, IT’S BEEN WAVERING LATELY! IF YOU ARE ENJOYING IT, SUPPORT THIS STORY PLEASE! Sorry for the length of the chapter. I am still in ‘intro mode’. Hopefully, the chapters will get longer as the story moves along! Until then, I hope you like them, short or not! Also, sorry about the length of time it took me to update. I’ve been having a mild case of writer’s block. But I think I’m back! LOL!