By Chibi Angelle
It was so early in the morning the sun hadn't even gotten up yet. All was still, the night creatures were just going to bed and the day creatures were just getting up. And yet, there was one who was fully awake.
A girl sat on the straw-thatched roof of the cottage she had built with her own hands. Her eyes were closed and she seemed so incredibly motionless that she could've been asleep. Her breathing was deep and even; In, out. In, out. She was meditating. She could feel the tension in the air, so thick it was almost visible, preceding the bearer of its news.
A soft breeze blew in her face, pushing her long auburn hair out of the way. With it, she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. They were light and careful, like someone trying to sneak up on her. She could see their aura, a light lavender color surrounding the figure's body, outlining it perfectly. Suddenly, a piece of metal whistled toward the girl on the roof.
With her eyes still closed, she leaned slightly back and to the left. Her hand shot up, catching it perfectly. Her thumb and pinky slid behind the hilt of the dagger while her palm rested flat on the blade. She looked at the pommel of the dagger, it had a single amethyst under and intricately engraved 'T'.
"Nice try, Tomoyo. You almost had me that time." The girl smiled kindly at her friend and apprentice.
"Hmph! As if, you're really nice Sakura, a total liar, but very nice." Tomoyo told her friend with a smile.
She was right, of course. The only person who could've matched her skills in anything was Nadeshiko, Sakura's mentor. But she was long gone now, murdered by some man in her sleep. For that she hated men. Nades had been her only family, and they took her away. Even so, Sakura had taken her place. She needed to continue living. Though the girl had only seen eighteen summers, she was still the best assassin… in the realm. She even had a bit of magic in her, nothing strong but it was magic nonetheless.
She flipped off the roof and landed neatly in front of Tomoyo. "Well, you could be as good as me as soon as you get the hang of waking before the sun instead of lazing about in bed all morning! You should move in with me, so I can wake you up when needed and train you better." She smiled at her friend. "And, you could teach me how to cook." She added conspirationally. Sakura could sleep in a tree and kill a man with her teeth, but cooking seemed to be much of a challenge for her.
The girl before her smiled. She was the same age but nowhere in the same league as her in combat. "Yeah, and I could mend your clothes. Look at the state of this, Sakura!" She grabbed the girl's arm and fingered the tear in the sleeve. "You should take better care of your clothing!" She was a skilled seamstress and took it as a personal offense when people around her wouldn't let her fix their clothes.
"Hai, mama." Sakura teased. "Come inside for a cup of tea." The girls walked into the cozy cottage and Tomoyo sat at the table while Sakura prepared breakfast. Sakura set a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea in front of her friend. "Itadakimasu!" They said together. Tomoyo hungrily started on the porridge while Sakura watched her intently. The porridge was almost finished when Tomoyo noticed that Sakura hadn't even touched her food.
"Why aren't you… Aw crap!" She realized that this was another test and she had failed. Tomoyo had forgotten to check the food for poison.
"You could be dead by now, Moyo." Sakura said solemnly. "Even thought you're with me, never let your guard down."
Tomoyo bowed her head, she was really just too trusting. Her friend reached over and touched her arm. "Don't worry, okay? Just… try harder next time. Hey, to what do I owe the pleasure of your early morning visit? Usually you would be asleep and I'd have to wake you up with a bucket of ice water. Who beat me to it?" She said, changing the subject.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Yelen-san came over and asked me to deliver a message to you because she doesn't know where you live." She pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Sakura.
"Thanks. You wanna hear what it says?"
"No, it might be something she didn't want me to hear." Tomoyo replied, already heading for the door.
"It's okay. She didn't have to send you, she could've found me with her magic. So I think she meant for you to see this letter also."
When Sakura finished the letter, Tomoyo understood why Yelen wanted her there; to keep Sakura from burning her house down.
"THEY WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!"
And that's the end of the chapter. I know it's short but it's just the intro to get you pumped about my story. Review please! I'll update faster if you do. Thanks.
-Chibi Angelle-