CHAPTER 1: A New Friend?

(In the Present :)

Alethea, now 22 with her long, dark brown hair pinned up in a traditional bun, sat kneeling on the soft green grass collecting some herbs from her garden. A small woven basket rested beside her. Her petite hands worked diligently as they filled her basket up with a variety of special leaves and other herbal properties. Alethea then spotted a patch of wild flowers growing less than two feet from her, she leaned over slightly to pluck a single wild flower from the ground; she brought the purple flower to her nose and inhaled its sweet fragrance.
"Lavender..." she noted with a soft smile. Swiftly she added the lavender to her basket and decided that her work was done for the day. With the basket in one arm, Alethea rose to her feet; her long, trailing silk gown the color of soft coal flowed out by her feet. Alethea then started making her way back to the Temple. The sound of children's laughter quickly reached her ears and Alethea soon spotted a couple of kids running about in the temple's courtyard. A sad smile came to her lips as she watched the young children play, reminding her the times she had spent with a certain ninja boy. It's been nine long years since she had last seen him,
"Nine...." she whispered while she softly shook her head and sighed. Life at the temple had been very quiet since she had return to it. Which in a way, she didn't mind but very soon all that would quickly change…….

Sash stepped off the private jet, breathing in the cool air of the morning gratefully. She enjoyed traveling but she couldn't stand being stuck up in a cramped airplane for 12 hours straight. She nodded her thanks to the pilot, a close friend of hers she had met in her few months of training in a special air-force program. Of course she never remained in any one kind of particular training for long. Just long enough to learn and master the basics. Regular hand-to-hand combat was her ace and if anyone could make martial arts really appear as an art, it was her. She already knew the way to the sacred temple and she made her way up the mountain pass with ease. Once she reached the front gates she merely pulled out her Nodachi, one that had been given to her when she had been training here a matter of years back. The gates opened and she walked inside taking a look around. Nothing had changed. She felt a small smile tug at her lips and she proceeded in further where she was stopped by the elderly monk she had contacted a week earlier. Bowing respectfully she greeted him.
He bowed back. "Shall I show you to your old quarters, Red Sash?" he asked using the name she had given herself when she had been training here.
"I know the way, brother Tachi." she replied with another bow. The old man smiled and bowed once more before turning and walking away.
In just a few minutes Sash found herself standing in the screen door-way of the same room she had stayed in those few years ago. "Just a bland and cozy as I left you." she said dropping her things on the floor. Normally she wouldn't have been allowed to keep her own possessions with her, had she been training here once again, but she wasn't here to study; at least not martial arts. She had other things she needed to research. She pulled out her Nodachi, her Kunai, her Shikomizue and a multitude of other weapons from her pack laying them out on the ground, all except the Nodachi. She could see the reflection of her clear green eyes shining back at her in its metallic gleam. It would only be a matter of time before McCullen saw that gleam. It would be the last thing he'd ever see.....

The hallway was silent as Alethea made her way back to her room carrying her basket of herbs on her arm. As she appeared at her bedroom door, a noise stopped her in her tracks; it was the sound of metal objects being placed upon the ground. Curiosity drew Alethea to follow the sound right next door to her own room. The door was left open and inside as Alethea peered in, was a young woman a few years younger than herself. As Alethea observed silently from the doorway, she quickly realized that this strange woman was not from around here.
"So who is she?" Alethea asked herself.

Sash spun around at the voice from behind her taking up a fighting stance then relaxing when she saw it was only a very young healing woman of the temple. Sash placed the Nodachi down apologetically. "You startled me." she explained with a slight shrug.

Alethea was taken back, her blue eyes wide with slight surprise.
"Oh, forgive me, sister. I did not mean to startle you." Alethea quickly apologized. "I was simply passing by when I noticed that you are not from around here........my name is Alethea, Master of the Healing Arts. And who might you be?" she asked with great interest.

Sash sheathed the Nodachi realizing that here at the temple she would have no real need of it. "Well, I was called Red Sash when I had been studying here of few years back but you can just call me Sash. Kind of a master of Zanshin." she explained brushing some hair out of her eyes. It was a complete understatement of course. She had taken her master's training and had practically perfected it. Zanshin was part of her, more like a default setting for her even when she wasn't fighting.

At the new information, Alethea raised a soft eyebrow.
"You studied here? It's a wonder then how we haven't met before, Sash." She stated as she took a few steps into Sash's room, "Zanshin you say? That's a rare style here at this Temple, only a hand full here know how to use it.....so what brings you back to the Temple?"

"Um...."Sash said uncertainly. What was she going to say? Oh I'm just dropping in so that I can track the slippery ninja who once studied here back to an even slipperier and more despicable man who ruthlessly murdered my mother when I was a child, so that I can finally kill the murderous leech? She sighed. "I'm just dropping in....because I'm looking for somebody." she finished. It was the truth after-all.

"Well perhaps I can assist you in your search. Who is it that you are looking for?" Alethea asked.

Again Sash sighed. But then having the help of someone who had been no doubt living here their whole life would make the search far easier. "He goes by Storm Shadow, last I heard anyways." she told the healer girl.

Alethea cocked her head to the side,
"Storm Shadow?" she paused for a few seconds, remembering the ninja, "Yes....I know him. We grew up together as kids. But last I've heard of him, he ran off when he was 13 after one of the great Masters here was killed. He's been gone now for 9 nine years." Alethea explained.

"Yeah." Sash sighed. "But all I know is that this is the only place he ever remained settled in so...I'm just trying track him down bit by bit." she said. "Anyways do you know anything?" she asked hopefully.

Alethea bit her lip softly in deep thought,
"Hmm......" She thought out loud, "I would suggest looking in the archives. There's hardly anything that we don't have on record about something or someone. If you'd like, I can take you there." Alethea politely suggested.

"Hmmm..."Sash thought about it. A trip to a giant temple library didn't appeal to her right now. "I'm gonna have to put a rain-check on that. Jet lag and all I really don't have that kind of energy....you said that he ran off after one of the masters was killed? Which master was that?" she asked wondering what master of the temple could have been killed.

A look of sadness crept over Alethea's face,
"He was known as the Hard Master...." she sighed, "...he was a great man...the best Master I've ever known."

"Oh, I see." Sash said realizing that the girl had obviously known the deceased master. "I'm sorry for your loss." she said sincerely. In the back of her mind, though a little red flag went up. She had the strangest feeling, a hunch that the death of the old master would prove to be very significant to her in her search for Storm Shadow.

Alethea gave Sash a soft, sad smile. "Thank you...." she answered."...well I understand that you must be tired from your long journey here, so I'll leave you to rest." she stated before she paused in thought again, " Huh....you know what? I've been meaning to go to the Archives and look up some old herbal remedies to treat deadly poisons.....while I'm down there, I'll look into finding anything that may be of use to you and your quest." Alethea offered with a gentle, friendly smile.

Sash gave a small grateful smile. She normally wasn't one to socialize but this girl had an air of calmness about her and it was honestly refreshing. "Thank you, uh, Alethea. I am certainly in your debt." she told her.

Alethea smiled as her response, "Well then, I trust we'll be seeing each other again soon." she stated as she gave Sash a soft, respectful bow. "Oh and uh Sash," she paused for a quick second, "Welcome back." she added with a friendly smile. With that said, Alethea turned and left the room.