Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

Claimer: I own all of my original characters.

Well I finally got a new idea! Granted it's a bit of a different genre than what I normally write but I figured I'd be a good change for the moment. So, please read and review and let me know what you think of this so far. Thanks!

The Girl Who Cried Yurei

Chapter 1: The Face in the Water

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My father gently pushed us away as the bangs and shouts got louder. My brother took paw and hurried us to the master bedroom. We both took one last look at our father before Sitka pushed me inside. After we were inside, he quickly shut and locked the door.

"Sitka, what are we-" I started by was quickly hushed as he placed a paw over my small snout.

"Stay quiet!" he harshly whispered. I nodded as he nudged me underneath the bed. He followed in suit and we stayed completely silent. I looked at him with question and he simply placed a finger over his lips, telling me to keep my mouth shut. We both heard a loud crash and Sitka clamped his paws over my ears when yelling could be heard. The sounds were muffled and I still didn't know what was happening. We had just been sitting on the couch and now we were crammed underneath my fathers' bed alone. The sounds stopped and my brother removed his paws. He gave me a glance and told me to stay. I nodded and watched as he started to make his way our from under the bed.

I let my head slip out so I could see what he would do. He placed his ear against the door and listened for any sounds of movement. He motioned for met to get out from my shelter and I followed. I watched as he unlocked the door and shoved me towards the back door. We exited our home and he led me down the beach.

"Sitka," I said after running for a while, "where are we going and what happened to Daddy?"

"We're going to the Pulaski's and I'll explain everything later." I sighed as I followed my brother. Our neighbors' house finally came into view after we had been running for a good twenty minutes. Sitka sat me on the steps and then proceeded to knock on the door. I watched as the middle aged weasel couple answered the door and noticed my brother. He then started to tell them something and I watched their expressions change from one of generosity to looks of fear. Mr. Pulaski then went down the front steps of his home and down the path we had just followed while his wife led us inside their home. We were led to the couch and I sat next to my brother.

"Sitka," I wined, "what's going on?" He shook his head and I stayed quiet.

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The sudden stop of the railroad jolted me forward and I was awake. I lifted my head up off my sisters' shoulders and I rubbed my eyes. This had been the fourth time this week I had the same nightmare of the night my father died and it was leaving me exhausted. I could never sleep after I had a nightmare and having almost nightly thoughts of the same dream was causing me to fall off my game and slip up when I stole things. Because of this, my brother, sister and I decided to take a break and go on a vacation. It was Charlotte's idea to go to some hotel and spa in the middle of Japan's countryside and I figured it couldn't hurt. I had been to many different places in my life but one place I had never visited was Japan. I was excited to visit a new country but I was exhausted at the same time. With the combination of getting almost no sleep for four days, sitting on an eight hour plane ride, and finally a two hour train ride to the hotel, I was ready to fall face first into my room and do nothing but sleep. Hopefully I could relax while I was here and get rid of my stress. I didn't really know what was stressing me out lately; I wasn't really doing that much. I had moved back to Paris after Sly had apologized and I was willing to give him another chance; even if I was putting my inner feelings and sanity on the line. After I had moved back to Paris, I had stolen a few things before I had to meet with Carmelita for the first time in over a year. She had busted me while on a job and needless to say it was an all out war between the two of us.

"Let's go, Ramona." Charlotte's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I stood up from my seat with a sigh. I pulled my bag over my shoulder and started to leave the aisle until my sister stopped me. She looked my in the face and knitted her eyebrows together.

"You had that dream again, didn't you?" I nodded silently and she put her paw on my shoulder, "Let's go, kid. We'll sign in, get our rooms, and then you can start relaxing." She gave me a warm smile and we exited the train behind my brother. I pretty much day dreamed the entire journey from the train station to actually showing up at the hotel but the hotel itself caught my attention. It was a rather beautiful hotel. Even if it was only two floors high, it was still rather large. With a hallway to both the left and the right, the rooms were divided equally on both side of the hotel. What really caught my attention was the garden centered just beyond the front desk. The hotel was set up in a square that had a hollowed centered, which is where the garden was located. I could see a small lake in the center of the gardens and there were plants every where; a place I was definitely going to go after I found my room. Everything was quiet and peaceful and the sound of flowing water filled my ears. I looked around the front lobby area while my brother signed all three of us in and were assigned our rooms. Sitka handed me my room key and I set off to find my room.

I branched to the left and quietly stepped up the stair to the second floor and searched for my room. I eventually found it in the middle of the hallway on the right and it took only seconds for me to open the door to my hotel room. I stepped inside and could already start feeling at ease. Sure, the room was simple but there was just something about it that calmed me. The walls were a soft green and the rice paper door on the other side of the room let in filtered moonlight. There were two other doors in the room, one to the left then one on the right, which led to the rooms on either side of my room. I set my bags down to the right wall and picked up the piece of paper left on the sleeping mat in the middle of the room. I skimmed over the paper and read over the information on the sheet. According to the sheet, the bed mats were set out after ten P.M. and a small tea table was there the rest of the time. The cabinet on the left was where I could put my belongings there to hold and the cabinet on the right held towels and things for the baths that were located downstairs. The baths had both a shower and a large, natural hot springs for bathing. There were apparently banners held in front of the doorways to show who was allowed in at the appropriate time. Red banners for women and blue banners for men. The gardens were open to everyone at all hours of the day, or night, and different plants boosted different things such as good health of inner peace. I turned around to grab my bag when I noticed something perched on top of my bag; a very familiar calling card from a very familiar thief. It hadn't been sitting on my bag moments ago so it could only mean one thing; Sly Cooper was in Japan.

I placed the paper back on the mat and exited my room to head out for the gardens. I hummed quietly to myself as I fluttered down the stairs and into the gardens. Everything was so peaceful outside and I could easily spend hours in the gardens. A large cherry tree was blooming on one side of the lake and blossom pedals fluttered slowly to the water below. Bamboo was in one corner and bonsai trees were littered everywhere. The quiet knocking of a bamboo deer frightener was somewhere in the back while the unmistakable sound of crickets flooded the area. The moonlight reflected on the calm lake and I sat daintily on the stone bench in front of the cherry tree. I closed my eyes and just sat there, listening to the various noises until I could hear someone sit down beside me. I opened my eyes slowly and noticed Charlotte sitting beside me.

"Is it just me or does this remind you of Dad's house?" I nodded and chuckled.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. I loved his house on the coast, next to the greenery, and not a care in the world; nothing but sunshine and laziness."

"You miss him, don't you?" I nodded and crossed my arms over my stomach.

"Every day." I mumbled quietly. She nodded herself and we sat in silence.

"So tell me," Charlotte piped up after a while, "What happened the other day between you and Carmelita? Sit tells me it got pretty heated."

"It did. Well," I sighed, "She caught me when I was stealing that Mayan figurine from that temple in South America and instead of trying to arrest me like she was supposed to, she decided to 'tell me off'. She decided to tell me how I'm a horrible sister, and person, and since I'm the reason Cooper dumped her I should no longer be considered her sister or have the right to be a free person. I told her she was being overly dramatic and a moron. Then some rather…crude…name were exchanged and we tried to beat the living daylights out of each other but Carlos and Nick broke us apart…the jerk." Charlotte snorted with laughter.

"You could have taken her. She was always more bark than bite. Without that shock pistol she really doesn't have that much fight skills; just a really sour temper. Did you smooth everything out with Cooper?"

"Eh, I forgave him for completely breaking my heart…tearing apart my self esteem," I paused, "stabbing me in the back…obliterating my self-confidence," I stopped myself from reeling and continued, "But I'm still mad at him. He owes me big time, Char, and he's not getting off easy."

"Don't let him; you don't deserve to be treated like a backup," she patted my shoulder and stood, "I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted, and you get some sleep." I nodded and heart my sister slowly trot off. I stood myself and walked over to the edge of the lake. I looked at my reflection in the water and groaned when I noticed the bags under my eyes. I saw my reflection but I also saw something next to it. I looked closely and noticed it was another face. It was the face of a young female fox with dark, black hair, but she wasn't happy. I couldn't really describe it but it was just creepy. Really, really, creepy. I blinked and the face was gone. I blinked a few more times but it didn't reappear. I shook my head and looked away from the water. Maybe it was just my imagination. I was completely exhausted and I hadn't slept in four days so had to have just been my eyes playing tricks on me. I walked away from the water and headed towards my room to get some sleep. No matter how hard I tried to forget it, the brief image of the face in the water was stuck in my mind and refused to leave. The sunken eyes, the matted hair, and the expression just wouldn't leave. I was sure I'd be gone by morning but for now, it haunted my thoughts.