Chapter Eight

Chizuru leaned her head against the frame of her door in the dark.

"What in the world was that?" She thumped her head once against the wood in an attempt to stop the wanderings of her mind and the fluttering in her heart. She had never experienced something like this before. She had heard girls older than her whisper of things like love…or mainly just handsome men in general…but she always thought they were simply airheads. Now here she was imagining Saito's hand touching hers, his arms around her waist…

"GAH!" She growled out in frustration.

"Seriously…this is not right…." She fumbled around with her katanas, picking at the hilts in frustration when an idea occurred to her.

"Maybe if I just…snuck out for a bit...?" She halted immediately and shook her head angrily.

"No…that's wrong. I can't betray their trust." She thought for a while longer before truly becoming frustrated. Chizuru was not like some prissy little girl fussing over her appearance and handsome young men. She was a trained warrior, forged in her years of sweat, blood and tears. She gripped the hilt of her katana roughly before turning and marching out into the small courtyard outside her room. She would settle this through her katas.

The moon was still high and bright in the sky illuminating the small courtyard which would make it easy to perform her katas. She slowly pulled her sword from its sheath and tossed the blade back and forth between her hands. She would need to be quite to keep from waking the others. Slowly she danced through her katas focusing solely on her movements. Ignoring her previous thoughts became easier and easier as she kept going. Right now was time to focus on form, not speed.

When she finished she stood still in the courtyard for a moment staring at her sword. She shifted it in her hand and moonlight glinted off the blade blinking her in the eye. She thought about the countless missions she was sent on throughout the years. She remembered one where her master sent her on a solo mission to investigate a series of house burnings out in the countryside not far from where her father lived. Some clues had led her to a man feared by the villagers.

The villagers believed that he had also killed a young girl who had been around her age at the time and possibly a few others before her, but they couldn't prove it. She had snuck into his house to look for more clues, but found body parts hung in his kitchen.

A shudder went through at remembering the sight. She had frozen from fear and anger and could only stand and gape at the gore before her eyes. She had wretched in the corner when he came through the door. She had been too busy coughing to stay quite or to hear his approach. What he did next chilled her to her core. He had a small blade in his hand and was wiping it clean on his bloody hakamas. He wore a wicked smile as he licked his lips and eyed her. As soon as he took a step towards her, she had killed him. His face...and the body parts still clung to her memory.

She looked at her sword once more. Duty had called her to kill quite a few people. Sometimes she wondered if killing them was the right answer. She still couldn't tell. Her thoughts drifted back to Saito for a moment and she shook her head violently.

"No man would ever want to be with a women like me….a woman who has killed." She sheathed her sword and briskly turned around to return to her room only to come face to face with the man who haunted her thoughts. She froze mid-step both utterly confused and startled by his presence.

"How didn't I hear him?" Her eyes were wide with embarrassment. He cocked his head to the side before speaking.

"I am sorry if I startled you." He paused for a brief moment before continuing, "I could not sleep so I came outside for some fresh air when I saw you." His cheeks turned a slight hint of pink. Chizuru regained her composure and turned her gaze towards the ground.

"I too couldn't sleep. I…had a lot on my mind." Chizuru coughed lightly and awkwardly. They stood in awkward silence, neither really looking at the other before Saito broke the silence.

"May I ask to see your blade?" Chizuru's head shot up and stared at him for a moment before slowly drawing the katana from her waist and handing it over to him. He took it carefully and slowly pulled it from its sheath. His eyes roamed over the blade in awe. Chizuru blushed darkly at her impure idea of him gazing at her that way. She turned her head to the side and coughed to hide her blush.

"It is a truly remarkable blade. From where does it originate? I see no markings of its maker?" He puzzled over the blade more closely to see if he had missed something.

"My master thought it was extremely important for us to be part of the blade making process. When Master Masaru thought us fit enough to hold a blade, he sent us to the forges to help make our own blades." Saito eyes darted to hers and stared at her in awe, searching for any lies. He found none.

"The true masters of blade making did most of the work, but Master Masaru made sure that we were present at all times during the making of our blades. Mine was folded a hundred and one times. I weighted and made the hilt myself. The blade was all made by the master smith. That is why there are no markings. The blade is mine and mine alone." Saito gingerly re-sheathed the sword and gave it back to Chizuru.

"That is truly amazing. Thank you for allowing me to observe it." He bowed to her and when he rose again, she could see his brain working a mile a minute. She tilted her head slightly and considered him. She almost thought she could see him blushing under her gaze but she chided herself for thinking such and righted herself.

"It is late, I believe I will turn in for the night. It was a pleasure speaking with you…Saito." She bowed and began to move towards her door. As she slid it open, Saito called out her name grabbing her attention.

"Chizuru…would you mind sparring with me tomorrow?" His question caught her off guard and she raised a delicate eyebrow at him.

"Of course, you don't have to, but I am sure it would be good practice." His tone was even and straight as always, but she could almost catch a glimpse of hope in his eyes. She smiled warmly at him and nodded her head.

"I see no reason why not. It would be excellent practice." He bowed to her and thanked her. "I've been looking for a good sparring partner for years. Hopefully you can finally aid me in my search." She smirked at his taken back face and quickly slid the door closed ending the conversation.

Her heart was beating faster again and she wasn't sure it it was from excitement at her match with him tomorrow, or Saito's own smirk that he flashed at her just before she closed the door. Either way…she was excited.

*Short chapter I know! But I've been very busy! Let me know what you think though! Thanks guys!*