Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai 7 or any characters affiliated therewith. I only own Aya and her siblings.

Written with the assumption the reader has already seen all (if not the majority) of the series.

Chapter dedicated to Jessica C, Michelle D, Joe, and Sensei Chad.
"What the hell happened?!" Aya asked herself after lying in bed for about an hour. "Why did he suddenly come so close to me like he was gonna kiss me?!"

She glanced over her shoulder at the others sleeping in the room and sighed with relief. As quietly as she could, she crept out of the room with its sleeping occupants and slid open the shoji to step outside. Aya leaned on the rail of the wooden veranda, gazing at the silver moon. She could hear Kambei and Shichiroji around the corner quietly discussing about what could happen should the samurai go into battle. Suddenly, she heard Kambei's right-hand man strum a shamisen and sing softly:

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I once cut down

Bandits from all three thousand lands.

Cut them down and got cut down,

But still, but still I stand.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

For some reason, upon hearing the aide, Aya felt compelled to reply:

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

O, once-fallen warrior,

You say you still stand.

Tell me: Is it true that warriors yearn

For the battlefield later on?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Not a very good reply," Aya thought, wrinkling her nose. Never the less, the voices ceased while waiting for her to say more.

"You may join us if you wish, Lady Aya," Kambei said. Aya nodded to the samurai and was just about to kneel beside them when Yukino came rushing down the hall, followed closely by Kirara.

"The hunters are outside!" Yukino cried out. Suddenly, everyone was pulled into a flurry of wide-awake alertness.

"Impossible!" Gorobei exclaimed. "How did they know we were here?!" Aya turned around and ran into the room where everyone was asleep except for Heihachi.

"I'm sure no one saw us come in here…" he said, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"That's just the way war is. Get everyone else up!" Kambei commanded urgently.

"I'm already on it!" Heihachi and Aya said. Aya set to roughly shaking Katsushiro and Heihachi already had Kai and Akio up and ready.

"Mmm… Wh- Waugh! What's wrong?" the young blue-eyed samurai asked, nearly banging his forehead against Aya's in his hurry to sit up.

"Maro's here. Help me," she said, already shaking Rikichi. The group heard a commotion from across the simple garden and the shoji screens were slid open to reveal Kikuchiyo running towards them.

"Crap," Aya muttered, snatching up Komachi who was crying "Kiku! Kiku!" Kikuchiyo fell through the half-open screen doors and was soon followed by Ukyo, Tessai, Kyuzo and other henchmen.

"Kirara! Oh, I found you!" Ukyo cried with delight. "Hmm?" he looked over the samurai and villagers before him and stared at Aya.

"And who is this beautiful blossom? I want her too. Come girls, I shall take you away from this wretched place and give you a home in paradise," he said, spreading his arms wide and smiling a smile that would make many a weak-willed girl swoon. Aya gently set Komachi down and glared at Ukyo, who stepped back at her icy gaze. Kai and Akio shivered. They knew that look in her eyes. Indeed, Aya's voice was dripping with malice and hostility when she spoke.

"You think you can steal girls from where they belong? From the only life they've known? What kind of man would do that to a girl?! I made a vow to myself long ago never to be taken in by a wanna-be pretty boy like you, blue-locks! And I'm sure Kirara doesn't want to go with you either," Aya said, walking through the samurai until she was only five feet from Ukyo. She began to laugh quietly to herself. Tessai and Ukyo looked at each other, whilst Kyuzo merely studied Aya under his cold gaze. Was his vision playing tricks on him, or did this girl actually have a faint silhouette of black, feathered wings protruding from her shoulder blades? He nearly recoiled at the enormous wave of ki she emanated as she shouted,

"NO ONE DECIDES WHO WE ARE BUT US AND THERE'S NO WAY KIRARA OR I WOULD EVER GO WITH YOU! " That said, she stepped back into the huddled group behind her and Shichiroji swiftly raised the floor of tatami mats around them.

"Nicely said, Aya," Shichiroji said as he helped Kirara and Komachi down from the hidden stone hatch and onto the earthen path below. Aya held the little boat floating on the canal steady as everyone climbed aboard. Yukino stood on the stone steps nearby, trying not to show her sorrow as Shichiroji stepped into the boat after Aya.

"I knew you weren't through being a samurai," she said, attempting to sound slightly cheerful, though she was failing at it.

"I'm sorry. I pray this doesn't hurt the Firefly House much," the aide responded. Yukino pressed her lips together, trying to hold back tears.

"I can handle it. Don't forget this." She handed him a red, metal staff that Aya assumed to be a naginata like her own. Shichiroji and Yukino stared a long moment at each other, as if every second they silently exchanged all the thoughts and feelings they had for the other. At last, he looked away, and shoved the little boat away from the makeshift dock. Looking back from where she sat with Heihachi, Kai, and Akio, Aya saw Yukino begin to cry.

"I hope… I hope you die!" she said, her tears overflowing her eyes. Aya bit her lip and looked away. She vaguely heard Kirara say something that Momotaro always comes back with treasure in the end.

"Sister… don't cry…" came Kai's worried voice. Akio said nothing, but wrapped his arms around his sister's shoulders, as Kai hugged her as well. Kambei looked back and sighed.

"I'm sorry Shichiroji," he said. The aide shrugged.

"It was a good dream, but we all have to wake up sometime, right?"

"Yukino will be lonely for a time, but in about a year's time, I see she will be happy again." Everyone turned to stare at Kirara who was looking into the water. She looked directly at Shichiroji, but said nothing. Suddenly, Heihachi cried out.

"They're coming!"

A/N: I'm not dead yet. I realize this story is kind of drawn out, but I want to go slower with my relationship pairings here. I will try to speed up the storyline while slow down and fill out the relationships between my characters. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! I really appreciate you hanging on here!

NLBS