The Kunoichi perched on the limb of the tree in silence, staring at the sight before her. Eyes of purest amethyst scanned the area. She wouldn't have cared if an army marched on her right now to claim her wretched life. Nothing else mattered. Nothing except what lay before her, beckoning her on.
Needle-like tassels dangled in her face, and she brushed them aside. The ache of her crouched legs didn't bother her as she perched precariously on the smooth, golden wood of the tree. The area was covered in many such trees, like giant bonsai. Yet not far ahead was the road. And soaring above it all, white walls gleaming like pearls and green-black roof like deep, dark jade dazzling in the sun was the Palace. She could see the glimmer, with trained eyes, of the pure gold koi that sat on many of the roofs. At the very top of the main building, two larger stone ones sat. She smiled sadly. The kunoichi remembered hiding up there and watching the sun set. In fact, as she peered at the windows, she knew the layout of each room. She knew it all without even looking, and was confident she could walk it blindfolded.
"I'm home," she murmured softly, a single tear leaking from her eyes. Releasing her grip on the bough above her head, she hurtled out of the tree and landed on the ground, disappearing before the very eyes of the guards as if she had never been. But then again, she hadn't. She was a shadow.