Reunite
Shop keeper's POV
That brat keeps stealing from me! Ever since she was a little girl, and over the years she just keeps getting better and better and harder and harder to keep track of.
"Oi! You get back here, Tatsuno, I'm sending The KCS after you!" I yelled but she just kept on running, who knows where she disappears off to…
Girl's POV
I veered to the right, gracefully dodging a KCS trying to block my path.
You wanna know what The KCS is? Well they're a group of ninja hired by the civilians to capture me for my crimes.
The Kageru Capture Service… I am honoured they named a group after me.
Of course I can't take all the credit, my two best friends, Emi and Dei (pronounced Day) -those are not their real names but I call them that 'cause they don't like their long winded "labels"- help me out loads.
In exchange for their nicknames they call me Kaga… I came to a halt and I was surrounded by KCS
"Oh look I'm surrounded" I said stupidly, then a sadistic grin placed itself on my face, this was going to be fun.
The ninja new to The Game shied away at my grin and the ninja that had played The Game before winced.
I'm no ninja and don't know any nin or genjutsu but spying on the academy classes and picking up a few things off the street I can hold my own pretty well against any chunin.
My signature taijutsu style is called The Dansu no rantō (The dancing brawl).
I got it from watching drunken fights and from watching the heiresses taking ballet to make them graceful.
Yeah, pretty much randomly hopping about hitting people…
It's a waiting game really, to see who will crack first and come at me, its funny seeing them trying not to give into the temptation.
An impatient newbie flew at me, fist raised… Wrong move.
I just stood there and caught his wrist, twisting it to see how far it would go until I heard a snap.
I kneed him in the stomach before pushing the newbie aside and flung myself at my favourite target.
Ace Omnikara, he's been on the team for as long as I can remember and is the only worthwhile opponent, he's 19 while I'm 16.
We kicked and punched at each other but never managing to land a hit.
In truth Ace is like a big brother really, annoying and cocky but he always brought blankets or food when I needed it.
The only reason he's on the team is probably to spar with me and protect me if I need help.
I slid under his legs and made my way onto knocking out the rest of the team.
After the every member was unconscious Ace and I proceeded with our match until some of the others began to come to.
Both of us panting with a few bruises and cuts here and there we stopped and Ace gathered the team.
While he was preoccupied I slipped into the shadows. "Ace, were did she go?" one of the members asked.
Got away..." Ace muttered. "Another failed mission, huh?" another member quipped.
They all began to leave so Ace smirked at me in the shadows and I grinned back 'cause I knew he could see me.
I made my way down the alleyway and into a crowd of people on the street.
I had said I'd meet Emi and Dei at The Haikei Kafe (The Background Café), which is the one place I don't steal from because it's like a second home.
When the couple that owned it found me wandering around at age 8 they fed me my first proper meal since my mother died.
I was more comfortable living on my own so they didn't adopt, just helped me.
You see Mae and Juko had just found out from a medical nin that they could not have children so they were heartbroken, but I filled the gap.
They were only quite young when they found me only 20 and 21… I love them like my own family though.
I saw Dei waiting there for me, he's quite handsome really, and you might even say I have a small crush on him.
"Hi!" I said plopping down into a seat and began waiting for Emi.
Looking at him, I laughed softly, he was off in his own world and had not heard me come in.
I looked at him and noticed just how toned his body was.
"He must work out quite often…" I thought to myself.
Dei has light brown eyes and ginger hair and no, it's not carrot orange.
He wears a dark orange t-shirt under a grey coat with a fur collar, dark brown combats and boots.
"Are you staring at me?" he asked, I hadn't noticed that he had turned around and was looking at me, one eyebrow raised.
"I…Er…I…Um…?" I didn't know what to say.
Luckily Emi came just in the nick of time, jumping on Dei's back and trying to strangle him.
"Heya!" She chimed.
Emi just loved to annoy Dei, they're like brother and sister really.
A few minutes later the two were wrestling on the floor and Dei was turning blue.
This is when I normally break up their little matches, when someone's life is on the line…
"Are you trying to kill me?!" Dei yelled once I set him free.
Emi made her eyes go all big and innocent before speaking.
"Well not really, I just wanted to say hello…" She said in her cutest voice.
Juko popped his head room the kitchen door to see what all the commotion was about, shook his head when he saw us and went back to his cooking.
This was a regular occurrence…
Dei growled but sat down. Emi also sat down and leaned right back on her seat.
"Do you know what today is Kaga?" She said not looking at me.
I thought for a moment, and then it hit me.
"The 21st of August… When you arrived in Ōkan…" I said sadly, how could I forget?
You see when she was younger, Emi was in a traveling Circus but one day a terminal illness spread through the people.
She was somehow immune to this and took care of her family.
But despite this, the circus members were rapidly depleting till only Emi, her little sister Amu and her mother were left.
Emi's mother told her children to go to the nearby village called Ōkan and tell the Kinzoku (Metal) Daimyo that 'Kiyla' needed that favour now.
Emi took the now very sick Amu to Ōkan, leaving their mother to die in peace.
Just before they entered the gates Amu lost consciousness and her fever rose to dangerous levels.
Because Emi showed her circus pass she was taken to the Daimyo and Amu was taken to hospital.
Emi told to the Daimyo, Rikken, that her mother, Kiyla, needed that favour now…
He immediately understood, many years ago the two had been best friends and Kiyla had made him promise if anything happened to her he would take in her family.
Rikken told Emi he would take care of her and her 5 year old sister in his village.
He took Emi to see how her sister was doing… When they got there, the hospital had just pronounced Amu dead.
Emi ran from the hospital into an alley crying, I just happen to be in that alleyway collecting food from garbage cans when she ran smack onto me.
I saw her crying and asked what was wrong and she told me, so I told her my past.
That's pretty much how we met and became friends.
After that Emi had gone back to Rikken and he gave her a home….
Emi sighed "I wonder what Amu would have been like if she hadn't died?"
Dei glanced at me sadly, he knew the story too.
We ordered our food and ate in silence until a messenger bird came and landed on our table.
I heard Mae mutter something about animals being on the table as I opened the letter attached to the bird.
Come to the records room immediately and bring Emi and Dei.
Kinzoku Daimyo,
Rikken
I showed the letter to Emi while Dei paid for the food and we began to make our way to Rikken's office.
And… Oh yeah, I never properly introduced myself.
I'm Kageru Tatsuno and I'm 16 years old, I live in Ōkan (Crown) Country where the purpose of ninjas is to exterminate me and take our metal work to other villages.
My sisters and I were separated when my twin - Tenny -, and I were 3 and my elder sister – Ayame - was 8, myself being left in Crown with my mother, my twin taken with my father somewhere and my elder sister adopted into another village.
Problem is, I don't know where Ayame was adopted to and Tenny is just my twins nickname, I can't even remember her real name - sucks don't it... But still I have to try and find them and soon! Before its too late.
At 3 ½ my mother died leaving me to fend for myself until I met Mae, Juko, Emi and Dei.
At 8 I met Mae and Juko, at 10 I met Emi, at 12 I met Dei and my dream is to reunite my sisters and I.
I should really get started on that dream…