I do not own Senran Kagura or any of it's characters.
For reference, I have only played Senran Kagura: Burst. So I hope this story does not conflict with any of the games I have yet to play. If it does conflict, you can blame my lack of knowledge or you can just accept it. This is fanfiction after all.
I was cold. So very cold. But back then I was used to it. It was the rain that got to me. Soaking into my clothes. Chilling me to the bone. Streaming down my face. I guess that last one wasn't the rain. My tears weren't much better than the rain though. With the wind chilling them, they might as well have been the rain.
I thought that the large oak would protect me but the rain just trickled down through the leaves leaving me wet and miserable. Sitting up against that tree was awful. Each second just got worse.
I can't believe I got any sleep that night. I don't remember when it happened but eventually I did fall asleep. As you probably guessed I didn't sleep well. The sleep I did get was from exhaustion. Had it not been for that girl, I may not have survived the night.
When I woke up I had a jacket over me. I think it was blue but I don't remember. Beside me lay another girl. She looked kind of like me but she had this beautiful golden hair.
It was still dark outside and I couldn't see much. As far I could tell I was still under the tree and it was still raining. However something was tilted against the tree to for a small amount of shelter. I think it was just a piece of plywood but I don't remember that clearly. For a while I just sat there. Waiting for the the girl beside me to wake up.
Luckily it didn't take long. I watched as the strange girl slowly woke up. She started to roll over and very nearly knocked over the wood that provided our shelter. Soon enough she sat up and I was face to face with the girl. I remember having so many questions for her. Most of them revolving around who she was and why she helped me. With so many questions in my head, I found it hard to pick even a single one.
"I'm glad you're okay." She spoke before I could get a question out.
That's the only thing I remember clearly. Her telling me "I'm glad you're okay". She said more of course. We actually had a long conversation. It's just that it was so long ago. My memory isn't the clearest. It was a long conversation, of course I don't remember it all. It's just, I feel I should remember more.
Even so, I remember talking about everything. About both our times in the orphanage. About which stalls had the best free samples. Some jokes we had heard. I remember laughing so much but I can't for the life of me remember jokes we told. Soon enough our conversation came to an end. We both were pretty wet from the rain. So we moved from our tree and found shelter in a nearby building. We had only just sat down when we heard the music start.
As it turned out, in our attempt to escape the rain, we broke into a small theatre. We could only see a little from behind the stage. From where I sat I could see it was a small theatre with almost no one in the audience. Honestly, looking back, the actor's weren't very good. To me though, it was one of the best performances I have ever seen.
Seeing those performers was so inspiring for me. There may have been a small audience but they gave a performance that would have been suited for a stadium full of people. Or at least that's how I remember it.
The play was about a shinobi and his lover. With all his shinobi abilities, he could not save her. I think the reason I liked it at the time was all the action sequences. That was when I decided I wanted to become a shinobi. I think my new friend thought the same way as well.
We talked for a while about the play between each other. We both liked the ninja and how awesome he was. Discussing what we would have done differently and how awesome of shinobi we would be. I remember her saying how pathetic his sword was. With all his strength she thought he should have carried a lot bigger one. Our discussion only ended when one theatre workers noticed us and made us leave.
Eventually, my friend and I parted ways. I went back to the orphanage. Deciding it was better than sleeping outside. I spent the rest of the day at the library learning everything I could about being a ninja. By the end of the day I crawled into my bed and I slept like a baby.
For the first time in my life I knew what I wanted to do. I was to become a shinobi and nothing was going to get in my way. At least that's what I thought. Looking back, the practicing I did by myself was pretty silly.
About a month later I was adopted. I happened to be practicing when a new couple came in. For a while I was embarrassed and I thought I had blown another chance to get adopted. To my surprise they decided to adopt me.
"And what does this have to do with us being at the market?" Katsuragi asks.
"That show meant so much to me as a kid. I want to give that experience to the kids in the slums." I respond.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"I need your help picking a costume." I sigh. Katsuragi was probably the worst person I could have picked to help me.
"Well then. I am going to need some measurements." I can't say I didn't see this coming. Add another to the list of Katsuragi harassments.
"So do you actually have any idea's or did you just come with me to grope me?" I ask rhetorically. The answer is both but I have to do something to get her off my chest.
"Of course I do." She says, finally letting go. "I'll be back in a sec."
Of course I wait for her. I trust Katsuragi enough not to ditch me. Soon enough she returns with a simple kimono among other things. However, it's the final item she hands me that takes me by surprise.
A mask.
I would never give Kat the credit but it's perfect.