ONE

The wind was rustling the leaves and braches of the cherry blossom tree, scattering petals over the earth. Evangeline stood in front of her master, his dark eyes watching her knowingly. Her feet firmly planted on the ground, she was staring ahead into the distance. The peace of the moment was evident-the serene sunset arcing over the mountain ahead. Evangeline swept her hair behind her and took her stance. This was what she had been spending the majority of her life doing and now she was ending it. The end of her training was dependent on whether or not she could finish him.

He had done no wrong. Not truly anyway. It was just his problem that he was getting in the way of a man who wanted more power. Evangeline had never met the man but she felt pity for him. No. I have no heart. This is my life. This is what I do. If I don't do this, everything I've worked for will be over. She took one look at the man's face, his moistened eyes, tear stained face, and in a moment it was all over. The man's head sliced off in a single swipe from her sword, landing on the ground.

Evangeline sprang up from her sleep. Beads of sweat covered her from heat to toe. Bollocks! She thought angrily to herself. How long will the sins of my past haunt me? The brown-eyed beauty pulled herself out of bed. She shot a glance at the rest of the men, she didn't need to worry. They were snoring loud enough to put canon fire to shame.

She snuck up to the main deck to examine the sea. The moon was covered by frothy clouds, casting an eerie glow upon the sea herself. Waves were softly lapping against the ship, whispering in a low voice. "Come into us." It seemed to hiss. "No one will ever know. We promise we will help you."

Evangeline knew better than to listen to them. She had encountered this kind of temptation plenty of times before. She knew that the voices were coming from the ones she killed so long ago. Their voices floating into her ears, bringing memories to the surface of her mind that had been hidden away. She soon found herself in a state in between dreams and reality.

The head rolled and then stopped. Evangeline stood with her sword fast in her hand. The wind whistled through her hair, the slightest whisper setting the strands to blowing. She stood tall and victorious over her foe. "Well done. Your foe has fallen in defeat. Welcome to our world, master assassin." Evangeline and her master bowed to each other, as he handed her the master blade. This blade wasn't for training; this blade was made for killing. Only killers carried a weapon such as this.

Evangeline took the sword with great care. It fit her hand easily; seeming to merge with her directly. It was almost as if she and the sword were one. The bond was unbreakable, sword and master existing as the same being.

"From now on, you are a part of the ninja, the elitist assassins. The only true honor is death." Evangeline merely bowed and walked away. The Japanese sun locked itself away in the cabinet that is night.

"Oy! Missy! What you doin' up 'ere? Poop deck ain't no place fer a propa lady!"

This snapped Evangeline out of her trance. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I was just…I was just…ah…sleepwalking! Yes! That's it! I sleep walk regularly. So, I'll just, er, be getting back to sleep then. Good night, young master."

The crew man looked at her strangely as she waltzed down the stairs. Never in his life had he met such an odd woman. Oh yes, her beauty was undeniable. The way her mocha brown eyes glittered with that silent enthusiasm when ever discipline was given enchanted every man on board. Her raven black hair fell to her back in soft ripples. Porcelain seeped from her skin. She was gorgeous. Yet, she was hiding something and the whole crew knew it. They didn't really care of course. She was just another piece of arse.

Evangeline glided down the stairs and back to the cabin. She knew better than to get up in the middle of the night, she really did. The question was, how much longer could she keep her secrets secret?

Captain Jack Sparrow was having a barmy time in Tortuga. Life was wonderful. Barbossa had given him his ship back, Will Turner was captain of the Flying Dutchman, and he had just had a completely hatstand time with a woman. His next matter of business was to get cream crackered drunk. Well, this was assuming no damsel in distress issue came along. "You know every time I try to have a little fun, that bugger, Will Turner, comes along tellin' me I need to go save his bonnie lass from disaster. And I'm bloody well sick of it!" He said to no one in particular. Of course, this was Tortuga. Here, anything and anyone was welcome, even strange people who talked to themselves.

As he swayed down the street, his thoughts began to wonder to how Will was doing. And for that matter, how that pesky yet incredibly sexy wife of his was doing. Sure, they annoyed the hell out him, but he really did enjoy their company. After all, what was he going to use as leverage? His steps led to the local bar quicker than he expected. There was already a man crashed out on the street. "Sweet dreams, old man." He said to the man, after taking a small brown purse from one of the man's pockets.

The moment the big, wooden door pulled open, Jack was met by wenches, rum, and plenty of fights. "Ah, my people." He staggered to an empty table in his favorite corner. The chair made a glorious sighing noise as he pulled it out. It groaned as he plopped down onto it. One look around and he knew he was home.

Musket holes lined the stone walls in every direction. The high beamed ceiling managed to have ladies' skirts dangling down welcomingly. The men were playing their pirate anthems in the middle of the room. Barmaids wearing the most provocative clothing they could find pranced around carrying booze to any man who wanted it. And of course, he loved the fights; the fights that began for no reason at all, most of the time. Someone would be so tipsy off his arse he would conk another man over the head with his mug. Once "conked" man fell to the floor, his friends would then attack "tipsy" man; thus, leading to an all out cock fight. The wenches loved it, of course. They were drunk all the time so anything was fun.

"Cap'n Sparra? I was jus' wonerin' if I could ask ye sommat?"

Jack looked up to the giant standing in front of him. His brown, bushy hair stuck out in all directions and looked more like a shrub than hair. And his incredibly long beard hung over his large belly. Poor mate. Let 'imself go. "It all really depends on what you're asking, mate."

"I want ta' join yer crew, Cap'n. If tha's fine with ye?"

"Er, you seem like a…" he took a quick look over at the man, "strapping man. But my ship is, er, well handed. Thank you for your interest though." Jack tried to keep as much of a smile as possible.

"Are ye tellin' me tha' ye don' want ta' have me on yer crew?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. My ship is just at full capacity, 's all."

"Well, maybe ye'll reconsida' when ye 'ear what I have to say!"

If this was anything like the times before Jack had heard this, it was nothing. Unfortunately, this wasn't anything like the times before.

"Very well, but you can't possibly tell me something that don't already know."

"Oh, I think I can."

"Alright, mate, I'm listening. And then as soon as you're done telling me what it is that I don't know, how 'bout you bugger off, eh?"

"Aye, I'll do that fer ye. I jus' thought I'd let ye know that I know all about ye wife and daugh'er. I 'ope I'll be meetin' 'em very soon."