Hello everyone! This is my first story I've written in a very long time. Please be nice, criticism is welcomed and encouraged but no flames please. Also, I do not own any of these characters except for Lilliana, though I do wish I owned the ninjas!

Chapter 1

She made a small clicking noise with her tongue as she watched the two new recruits train. It was a wonder why she hung around the training rooms anymore, she watched the same guys come and go every day and it was beginning to get a little mundane. She was Lilliana Romanov. Deep mahogany hair was tied up in a ponytail but still managed to trail down her back. There was a slight twinkle in her bright, sky blue eyes as she watched one of the new recruits struggle at the shooting range. The corners of her lips curled up in a smile as she remembered being semi-new to the whole experience.

Her hands reached down into the pocket of her black pants, fishing around for something to chew on. Sighing, she finally grabbed hold of a piece of gum and tore the wrapper off before placing it in her mouth. She had loathed not being able to smoke but sparring matches with Snake Eyes more than made up for the lack of nicotine.

Her arm twitched slightly as she heard the sound of padded feet against concrete. She allowed her eyes to flutter shut for a moment before she turned around in her seat quick enough for her long ponytail to catch on the wind and smack the offending person in the face.

"Morning, Master. Nice to see you this early." She spoke and signed to him at the same time; it helped her more than anything to remember what exactly she was signing.

He tilted his head and she was almost certain that he would have had a slight frown on his face. If only that mask wasn't in the way…

"Same to you Lilly." He signed before sitting on the seat next to her.

She stretched her arms out slightly, the tank top she wore seemed to protest and lifted up to reveal the creamy flesh of her stomach. Her hands pushed the shirt back down, a slight red color coming to her cheeks.

"So…what brings you down here?" She said, folding her arms on the table top in front of her.

"Reminding you that you need to train tomorrow and that you have a sparring match against Ripcord today." He signed, tilting his head slightly over to her.

She nodded and stood up suddenly from her chair, reaching a hand up to pat Snake Eyes on the shoulder. Her muscles naturally toned from dancing flexed slightly as she let her arms fall back into place at her sides. It was quite thrilling for her to be going up against Rip, of course he could never match her flexibility or fighting prowess it was still fun to watch him try. Then again, she had a very good Master that taught her how to fight…

"I'll head down then and change before I go and fight Rip then." She smiled and nodded to him before running down to the changing rooms.

She had changed out of her tank top and pants and had thrown them into her locker. There were only three outfits in her locker, the casual outfit, her mission outfit that closely resembled something Strom Shadow would have worn, and her special sparring outfit. She pulled on the micro thin uniform, it looked like a wetsuit but stopped mid-thigh and didn't cover up most of her arms. It was black in color, looking like leather with a red badge on the right shoulder. It may not have looked like it would protect her from much, but it allowed her an ease of movement. Besides, it wasn't like Rip had ever seriously hurt her in a sparring match. In fact the only person that ever really caused her much harm in a sparring match was Snake Eyes, and that was relatively minimum considering how deadly the ninja could be. She glanced over at the mirror and reached a hand up, loosing her hair from its leather bind. The hair flowed freely, spilling over her shoulders to reach the small of her back. She smiled and was finally ready to battle. It took most of her control not to run to the sparring room as she thought about beating Ripcord. Arriving at the sparring area she could see that a crowd of Joe's had already started to form. A small frown formed on her lips until she saw Snake Eye's, Scarlett and a few other members of Alpha team near the end of the group. She stepped into the center of the ring and watched as Ripcord entered on the other side.

About an hour later Stardust emerged victorious, much to the chagrin of some of the other Joe's who had bet against her. Ripcord laid on the ground a bruise already forming on the left side of his face and probably some slight bruising of his ribs. She smiled and watched as Scarlett and some others helped take him to the infirmary. Snake Eyes walked up to her and she let her head dip down in a bow to her master.

"Maybe you should have taken it easy on him?" He signed to her once her head was raised.

"I'm sorry master. Sometimes I forget that I'm not fighting…" She said softly, looking down at the floor.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she glanced up at her master, her breath stopping for a brief moment as she waited for him.

"Don't worry. You just need more discipline. If you want, you may join me in my room later for some meditation." He signed to her and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

She nodded to her master, letting him know that she would take him up on his offer. The both of them walked to their rooms, Snake Eyes dropping her off at his room before retreating next door to his own. She smiled and set about getting ready for going over to see Snakes later on. Her room was decorated in red and gold colors, and styled in a Japanese way. She had a mattress on the floor that served as her bed. It was piled with pillows and blankets, and had a read curtain that went around the whole bed. She lit some Jasmine incense before she sat down on one of few pillows surrounding a low table. Her breathing began to slow as she started to meditate, not thinking on any one thing in particular, save for one memory of her and her master.

Lilly sat alone, staring out at the desert around her. She had been up here all day trying to look for answers or something that would make sense amongst the sands. A small sigh came from her as the temperature began to drop with the setting of the sun. There was sudden warmth around her shoulders and she looked up to see a coat of her master's draped around her shoulders. His mask was now absent, the sharp features of his face were a little shocking to her each time she saw them. She had known what her master looked like as a child and she had thought that years of training had made his face appear hard.

"Master…thank you." She said softly and stood up bowing slightly to him.

He nodded his head to her and motioned for her to come closer to him. There were deep brown pools that now peered down at her, boring into her being. She moved closer to him until their bodies were almost touching, her eyes never leaving his. With a small frown she watched as his face turned out to the desert. She sighed and watched as the purpled and red colors of the sky eventually changed to black. An arm slowly made its way around her shoulder, gently pushing her until her head rested on the strong muscled shoulder. There was a blush on her cheeks now and she barely noticed the cold.

"It's beautiful isn't it master?" She said, letting a smile cross her face.

He nodded to her, opening his mouth to say something before he stopped himself.

"I can think of something more beautiful." He signed to her, giving her one of the most amazing smiles she had ever seen.

She tilted her head slightly and looked over at him. He gave a silent smile and kissed her on the cheek, causing a bright red blush to creep over her cheeks. There was a small noise in her throat and she looked down at the floor, slightly embarrassed at the public display her master had shown her. But she regained some courage as he turned to leave.

"Ah, wait... Master?" She said, waiting for him to turn back around.

When he turned around she walked up to him and cautiously planted a small kiss on his lips. His smile grew and the two walked back into the base together, holding hands as they walked.

There was a small frown on her face, of course they both had feelings for each other but they didn't act on those feelings for good reason. They weren't too terribly sure how to go about it in their situation. Lilliana sighed as she stood from the chair, stretching her stiff muscles. She made her way to the bathroom, deciding to take a quick shower before going to Snakes' room. When she got out a white towel was wrapped around her and she had brushed out her long hair. She hummed lightly as she began to put on her night clothes which consisted of a white silk tank top and matching bottoms. She put on a black, Japanese styled robe over all of it and tied it gently at the waist. Along the back was the same red symbol that Snake Eyes had on his black uniform. She deemed herself ready and walked out of her room, knocking lightly at Snakes' door.

"Master it's me." She said lightly, being sure that no one but him would hear.

The door opened and she quickly walked inside, letting the door shut behind her. Her master had taken off his mask again and he motioned for her to sit down at the low table which closely resembled hers. She sat down on a seat and watched him, now clearly aware that he had only been wearing loose black shorts. His muscles rippled beneath skin, stretching and bunching with each movement. She smiled at her master and shifted slightly into a cross legged position. Snake Eyes sat and mirrored her position, pouring her a cup of chamomile tea. Her head nodded in thanks to him and she took a little sip of the tea.

"Ah, good as always master." She said smiling and sitting back.

"I'm glad you like it." He signed to her, sitting back slightly on his hands so that he could see the short woman better.

"Will we actually be meditating tonight master?" Her eyes looked down into her tea before she finished drinking the rest of it.

He shook his head and stood up again, moving to sit next to her.

"I thought that relaxing would be much better on you than any kind of meditation. You need it." He placed his hand on her shoulder and she instinctually put her hand on top of his. They watched each other for a moment before their faces began to get closer to each other.

Thanks to those of you that read to the end, any suggestions are welcome. I'm also having a little trouble with what her codename should be… But, we must press on. ^.^