All my life I've been worthless, a ghost among humans. I came from a poor family. So poor, in fact, they had to sell me. My own family sold me to the Emperor. After five years I've gotten used to it, but the life of a concubine is not a good one. There are at least one hundred of us, all fighting for the Emperors attention, in hopes that he will take one of us for his wife. Back-stabbing traitors the lot of them are. You can't trust anyone. It's either look out for number one or get pushed to the side.

The Emperor, Aoshi Shinomori, is a cold-hearted man, from what I hear; you see, I've never actually met him. And neither have more than half the other concubines in his palace. I take it he's not very friendly. He is now twenty seven, ten years older than me, but he was only fifteen when he took the throne. I think that is why he is so cold, because he was forced to skip his teenage years and jump right into adulthood. I feel sorry for the man really. Around the palace he has earned a nickname, iceberg. Like I said, I've never actually met the man, but judging from his nickname, I'm not sure that I want to.

XxxX

I could hear Kaoru-chan calling out to me.

What does she want now?

I ran down the hallway, towards the sound of her voice. But she wasn't in our room. So I went out to the garden, and sure enough, she was sitting there by the edge of the pond, swirling the crystal clear water with her slender fingers. The gold fish trailed behind her hand like lost puppies. Even though her face was shadowed, I could tell she was frowning. After five years of living with each other, we could normally sense how the other was feeling. And right then, I could sense that she was melancholy. Probably because of Himura-san again.

I had told her numerous times; she just had to make a move on him herself.

Himura-san is far too modest to make the first move. He's a strange man, Himura. He is the Emperor's Shogun, leader of Japan's military forces, best swordsman in all of Japan, and yet he is one of the girliest men I've ever met. But Kaoru would kill me if she ever heard me say that.

There was no doubt in my mind; it was Himura who was causing all the mess. And there Kaoru was, crying over her girlie-man.

I just don't understand her sometimes.

She cried her heart out to me, just like every other time. And I calmed her down and told her to tell him how she felt, just like every other time.

They really are hopeless, both of them!

I sighed heavily as I made my way back to the training hall, where I had been watching the soldiers practice. I'm really not allowed to, but the Royal Kendo Teacher, Hiko-sensei had taken a liking to me back when I first came to the palace, so he let me observe as long as I stayed quiet.

I slid open the shoji doors and slipped inside. I quietly sat down and prepared to watch, but the soldiers were no longer training. It was two men fighting, one on one with what seemed to be double kodachis. And they were really good. One of the men was Himura; I could tell because of his flaming red hair. But I didn't know who the other was. I watched them, entranced, and I could feel the energy emanating from their bodies. They both moved in such graceful, fluid movements. I couldn't pull my eyes away.

As I continued to watch the two, I noticed that the stranger had an obvious advantage.

Himura-san's expertise is not double kodachis, but apparently the other man's is.

I was so concentrated on following their moves, I didn't notice them inching closer and closer to me. And by the time I did notice, it was too late. Himura-san's figure loomed above me, and then he fell. The stranger reached out, but he wasn't fast enough. I wasn't fast enough. Himura fell right on top of me. I screamed, purely on reflex and braced myself.

Himura-san is much heavier than he looks!

Himura apologized profusely and clumsily stood up, with the stranger's help. I sat there dusting myself off, and when I looked up the stranger's hand was there, right in my face, waiting for me to take it. So I did. I gladly grabbed the hand and pulled myself up.

As I stood up and tried to catch my breath Himura came running over. He placed his hands on my shoulders and again apologized.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright, Misao-dono? I didn't see you there."

He apologized so many times it was getting on my nerves. I grabbed his shoulders and firmly shook him. I looked him straight in the eyes and said loudly and slowly,

"I…am…fine…Himura! You don't have to make such a fuss!"

"Oro!"

I merely shook my head.

Himura is such a worry-wart.

I was still shaking my head when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was yanked around and the next thing I knew, I was facing the stranger who had been sparring with Himura. Now that I was closer to him, I could tell that he was extremely good-looking.

Boy is he hot!

I was gazing up into the stranger's gorgeous indigo eyes, when he uttered five words that I knew were trouble for me.

"What are you doing here?"

I just kept on staring up at him. I didn't really know what to say.

Thankfully, Hiko-sensei came to my rescue.

"I can vouch for her sire."

I love you Hiko!

"She comes in here a lot, just to observe. She's quite interested in the martial arts. Please don't punish her, I was the one who allowed her to stay."

The stranger looked hesitant, but he nodded his consent and I raced off, out the door without a second thought.

I ran and ran, not looking back once. Not until I got to my room did I stop to breathe. That really was a close call. If I had gotten in trouble for being in the men's training hall I don't know what I would have done. I'd have nowhere else to go.

I leaned back against my closed door and sighed in relief. My eyes were closed as I took a moment to catch my breath for the second time in the last ten minutes. And when I opened my eyes, I saw Kaoru sitting quietly by the window, looking at me questioningly. I sighed once again and sat down, ready to retell the entire affair to Kaoru.

I aimlessly walked through the empty hallways of the palace, not really caring where I ended up. Before long, I found myself standing outside the doors of the training hall. I stared at them blankly, unsure of whether or not I should enter. Then, I heard a sound. Harsh breathing and the sound of feet pounding against the tatami mats filtered through the closed shoji doors. Sliding them open just a crack, I peered inside. My eyes widened as I saw the stranger from the day before. He was going through some sort of kata and seemed to be deep in concentration. He did a swift kick, but stopped suddenly and slowly brought his foot down. Without even turning around he called out,

"Hello again. I must tell you, I'm not fond of audiences."

I stumbled back, surprised. Sighing, I slid open the door all the way and stepped into the dojo.

"I figured you were talented from what I saw yesterday," I said as I walked toward the stranger, "but that was just amazing."

The man didn't reply. He did, however, turn around and stare at me, which really got me feeling uncomfortable. I stood there in front of him, awkwardly digging my foot into the ground. Without taking my eyes from the suddenly fascinating floor, I tried to break the ice.

"So…"

"What's your name?" the stranger interrupted me.

"What…um…my name's Misao."

The stranger nodded.

"And you?" I asked.

"Aoshi." He replied dully.

"Hmm…something about that name rings a bell…"

Aoshi folded his arms across his broad chest.

"I would hope so." He stared down at me.

And then it hit me.

"Omigod, you're the emperor!"

He merely rolled his deep blue eyes.

"But you're so young!" I pointed at him, shocked.

He sighed, I'm guessing, out of either frustration or exhaustion, or maybe both.

A small 'Aa' was all that he said.

It was then that I remembered my manners. I quickly fell to my knees and bowed repeatedly, my head hitting the tatami mats over and over until I began to feel dizzy. Before I could seriously injure myself, Aoshi caught my head in his hand, which I found to be rather rough and callused, and pushed me back up into a normal sitting position. He gently brushed the red spot that had formed in the center of my forehead with the back of his fingers. The gesture surprised me, and I pulled back, uncomfortable with the contact. I was afraid that what I had done was considered rude and that I had offended the Emperor, but when I looked him in the eyes his emotionless expression had not changed.

"Get up." He suddenly said to me.

I did as I was told and stood up as gracefully as I could, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of the Emperor.

"You like Kenpo don't you?"