Tora no Kokoro: A Tiger's Heart
Part 1: "Kokoro no Hono'o no Gekido The Heart's Flames of Rage"
or "Tora no Ki The Tiger's Return"
By Valse de la Lupe (SesshysSheWolf/Jessica Morris)
CHAPTER ONE
Mouse and Kestrel
I'm just a girl, nothing more.
I'm nobody's daughter, or wife.
But does that mean you can just toss me away?
Even a killer has feelings.
The young woman paused for a moment, keen bright-emerald eyes studying the small village before her. A quiet, sheltered town, where no one had seen fighting or killing for years, since the Revolution, where no one would know a murder if they saw it with their own two eyes. That would come in handy, if she was summoned here for the reasons she thought she was. Very handy. The woman smiled faintly and touched the katana' at her waist. They were as unsuspecting as the mouse was to the kestrel swooping down from above to catch it in its talons.
Her smile faded. As unsuspecting, true, but also as innocent. Was it really right to kill harmless people...? She beat the thought down before it could raise a protest. It was her job to do, and never mind what - or who - was involved.
She had learned long ago that should never care for others. Because when you finally collect the pieces of your shattered heart after years of searching and waiting and hoping that the pain would end...
You let down your guard for an instant, and they scattered the pieces once more, taking it all away from you again.
People were there for either hiding among, working for, or taking down, depending on the situation; and she was just there to carry out orders, nothing more and nothing less.
A small breeze blew across the path, just enough to blow a few strands of her red-orange hair across her emerald eyes and to make her gray-blue hakama' flutter. She never wore the flowery kimonos' that other women wore - unless she had need to get close to a man to kill him - for they slowed movement when one needed speed, and created problems with turning when agility was a necessity. There probably wouldn't be a need for open fighting here - unless her current employer came short of the price or decided she was too dangerous to keep around; that had happened several times before, and she did not want to repeat something like it again and attract attention to herself - but she still would rather be prepared for anything.
She reached behind her back, feeling to make sure that the katana strapped across her back was still there - not that it would be missing, of course; it was just comforting to touch one's katana, sometimes. The katana at her waist was actually a sakabatou', a reverse-blade sword, one that at worst could break bones; she used that one for fighting when she needed to be inconspicuous, or when she needed a victim kept alive. The one on her back, however, was a steel-sharp katana; one that was used in assassinations, and when someone got in her way and she didn't need to hide her identity or skill. The woman did not kill excessively - if you killed too much, the pleasure of it was wasted; eventually the joy would diminish, until it ended completely, and one would become a cold-hearted killer, not valuing life - or death - in the slightest; that was where one changed from assassin to Manslayer. But she valued both equally. One could not be without the other.
The woman walked on, toward the village:
A she-tiger, waiting for the hunt to begin.
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I've finally gotten some time to update some of my fanfictions (AP history and French have been a killer the past few months), and I decided that this fic would be the first to be revived! Not only am I updating the chapters already posted here, but I also should have some brand new chapters ready within the week!
Also, I have added a completely new section, the chapter entitled "Yougojiten: Glossary", in which many Japanese words, terms, names, and phrases are explained in this section. I've tried to mark the terms with a ' sign (for example: hakama' ). Remember, this fanfic assumes that you have a fair knowledge of Japanese terms, so if there are any words you are unsure about, or you want to know the meaning of any of the characters' names, just click to the last chapter and you should find all you need to know, from "katana" to "souba" to "Shizutora".
And please feel free to comment, let me know if I've made any mistakes, or make any suggestions for future chapters!