Woo! New story! This is the one I've been whittling on about for a while, so I hope it will be as good as I think it will be!

Discalimer: I don't own any characters from Pokémon but all of the below are mine :) Yay! I own ninjas!

This chapter is sort of a prologue and introduces you to the majority of the main OCs. The ninjas have Japanese names, the others have their English ones. I hope you enjoy!

Character Key:

Men

Arashi – head of the Akari Clan

Etsuo

Isamu

Goro – Green Obi

Hayate – Orange Obi

Kane – Grey Obi

Manabu – Red Obi

Ryoma – Brown Obi

Women

Akiko – Purple Obi

Sayuri

Chapter One

Fifteen years ago

"It's over," a man with blue hair and a short blue beard told Johanna Berlitz as he stood in front of her. He was wearing black hakama with a black kimono top. His obi was thin and dark blue in colour, tied simply at the front. A sword was hooked into his belt. "You will be able to rest easy now for the time being."

"The Kurai Clan have been pushed back to Kanto," another man added. He wore similar clothes but he had a lighter blue obi around his waist and a shiny Gallade by his side. "They shouldn't threaten you anymore."

Johanna burst into tears. She rubbed her eyes with her hands. The young girl didn't have a clue what was going on apart from the things she knew for certain.

One: Her boyfriend was dead.

Two: People had tried to kill her.

Three: She had a daughter.

No one rushed to comfort the crying girl since they either didn't know how to or they just didn't care. There were five men in the room. The two who had been talking to her were the only ones that looked concerned about her. The other three had green, orange and grey obis. Johanna never got their names. Maybe they did tell her them, maybe not. She was too scared to remember.

Finally the man with the Gallade got to his feet, but he didn't go to comfort Johanna. He walked around the room, all the while his Gallade watched him.

"Brother," the man said, "I feel uneasy about this."

The man with the dark blue obi nodded like he agreed with his brother. The two siblings looked at each other for a few seconds.

"However, the leader of the Akari Clan has spoken," the older brother stated with some bitterness. The younger brother smirked at the tone.

Etsuo was the elder brother with the dark blue obi. Johanna knew him to be the leader of the five. He could be harsh and cruel but he was skilled and determined to protect her. Isamu, the younger brother, was similar but kinder in every respect to Johanna. Etsuo, along with the other men, had a certain coldness about them that Johanna couldn't place but Isamu was somewhat different. Whenever she cried or said something that was slightly stupid, Isamu would calm her down while the others would snap at her.

Isamu ran a hand through his blue hair, shaking it slightly to mess up the style. He looked round at the remaining three men.

"Goro," Isamu said to the man with a green obi. Goro looked at Isamu with interest for a few seconds, waiting for orders, "Pass her some tissues or something."

Goro rolled his eyes before complying with his orders. Isamu's orders were always very different from Etsuo's orders. Isamu would ask, Etsuo would demand. Isamu hadn't always been like this but no one complained. They preferred having a nicer commander than three impossible ones. Goro passed Johanna a box of tissues. She took a few and began to blow her nose.

"Lady Johanna," Etsuo said, "With the Kurai Clan now in Kanto, you will be able to live your life again with your daughter."

"But it won't be the same," Johanna wailed, "I'll have to raise her alone!"

"Women," the man with a grey obi muttered. His name was Kane and he was the most cold hearted man of the lot of them. He had a droll sort of tone. "They are never happy with what you give them."

Isamu cast Kane a dark look but the conversation was cut off by the door of the room opening. A woman with black hair walked into the room. She was dressed in the same outfit as the others were but she had a purple obi. Her hair was tied up in a plait. She glanced at Johanna but no emotion washed across her face.

"Aki," Isamu said, "Any word?"

"Not yet," she replied.

"Akiko," Etsuo snapped, "Shut her up will you?"

Aki looked at the poor weeping woman before walking towards her. She sat down beside Johanna and pulled her into an awkward hug. Johanna latched onto Aki and weep fiercely into her top. Aki didn't look very happy but she didn't comment. Isamu looked at Aki with a hint of fondness in his eyes. Etsuo caught his brother watching Aki and cleared his throat. Aki's eyes flickered onto Etsuo in a dangerous sort of way.

"Isamu," Etsuo snapped, "If you would care to look out for Sayuri and the rest."

"Right," Isamu replied, quickly walking to the door. Once the younger brother had left, Aki looked at Etsuo.

"You treat him with too much coldness," Aki told Etsuo, "It is almost like you are afraid of him."

"I am not afraid of my brother," Etsuo snapped.

"You are," Aki stated, "You are afraid of Isamu's emotions and you are definitely afraid of Arashi."

"Arashi is my boss," Etsuo replied, trying to calm himself down, "We all fear him in some way or another. Maybe you should learn to fear him too."

"We members of the Churistu Tribe were told never to fear that which is not fear," Aki said. Her voice didn't get any louder but there was a certain bite to it that made the other three men become slightly unsettled. Johanna glanced up at Aki, eye still sparkling with tears.

"You members of the Churitsu Tribe are emotionless automatons who would kill on order," Etsuo spat at Aki. Aki tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. It was a subtle movement but the other three men seemed to shrink back against the walls. Johanna was pushed up into a seating position as Aki got to her feet. Etsuo raised his chin as Aki squared up to him.

"If I am such an emotionless automaton then why are you still here?" she asked, softly. Etsuo didn't reply. Aki glared at him a little while longer before she took a step backwards. She looked at Johanna.

"You will take the child and raise her as your own. You will tell her of her father as often as you can. You will move on," Aki told Johanna in a soft but ordering tone, "That's all you can do."

"Yes," Johanna nodded. Aki glanced at Etsuo for a brief second.

"And you will be a great mother to her," Aki continued before she closed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

"Thank you," Johanna said. The young girl wiped the tears out of her eyes and stopped crying finally. She stood up and walked towards Etsuo. She stopped short of him and bowed. "Thank you so much for helping me, sir."

Etsuo was at a loss for words. One moment that girl was an emotional wreck, now she was talking to him with such conviction. What did Aki do to women? It was like she gave them the strength to do anything. Etsuo bowed his head, grateful when he heard the door of the room open once again. Isamu returned with another woman and two men. The woman was holding a baby in her arms but didn't look very happy.

Unlike the others, the woman was wearing an elegant kimono which was white in colour with a light pink obi around her waist. She had light pink hair that was up in a complicated style with various ornaments in her hair.

"Sayuri-hime," Etsuo greeted with a bow. The other three men bowed in respect too. Aki bowed her head but did not fully bow to the woman. Sayuri gave Aki a cold glare but then ignored her.

"Lady Johanna," Sayuri said. Her voice was angelic. "Please take care of yourself and your daughter. Since she is the last of the Naiya Clan I would like you to think about allowing her to marry into our clan one day."

"I will," Johanna replied, "I will do anything to repay you for your help."

Sayuri nodded with a smile on her face. Carefully, Sayuri passed Johanna the small baby.

"From this day on, she will be known as Dawn Hikari Berlitz," Sayuri announced, "The Princess of Naiya."

"Thank you," Johanna muttered as she cradled her only daughter. Johanna felt tears well up in her eyes but she blinked them away, remembering Aki's words from earlier. The young mother straightened up and bowed to Sayuri and her warriors. Sayuri smiled before glancing at Aki.

"If you ever need anything, Johanna," Sayuri continued, "Please send for us. We give you this Umbreon so that you can find us if you should ever need to."

"Thank you," Johanna said as Sayuri handed her a Pokéball.

"For now, we shall leave," Sayuri stated, "All of us. So you can return to your normal life. Good bye, until we meet again."

Sayuri walked out of the room with the warriors following behind her. Aki and Isamu were the last to leave. They bowed at Johanna before leaving. Johanna let out a small sigh as the house returned to its usual silence. For once, she welcomed it knowing that everything was over… for now.

So that is the end of the first chapter. I am not sure when I'm going to update this fic but I will tell you when I post the next chapter! Please tell me what you think!

Also check out my blog for stuff on Akari!

RSx