OROKU SAKI

September 21, 1974

YOSHI:

The feeling was strong, and had been building for weeks. It was so strong that I feared its intensity. It guided me, and only Sakura stood in the way. "You are being foolish, Hamato-san!" she cried as I retrieved a handful of shurieken and dropped them into my belt. "What do you hope to accomplish aside from getting yourself killed?"

I turned and glared at her. "He was my student," I reminded her. "He knows nothing more than what I myself taught him."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "And if you are killed? What am I to do then?"

I stared at her. "If Oroku Saki is here, he is in search of me. And he will not hesitate to kill anyone who stands between us. Including you."

"I doubt that he came halfway across the world in search of you," she returned.

"You doubt because you do not know him, Sakura."

"Of course I do not; I only know what you will tell me!"

I turned away from her and she grabbed my shoulder. I spun to face her again, surprised. "You will not leave me," she informed. "And if you do, you will not find me here when you return."

I was shocked by her boldness. "Where will you go?" I challenged.

"Back to Japan, perhaps," she suggested. "Or perhaps to a homeless shelter here in New York; I care very little at this point."

"You would not," I answered confidently.

"It would not be the first time, Yoshi-san."

For an instant, I was stunned. "You told me you were forced to leave your husband," I reminded her, feeling anger creep into the deepest of my emotions.

"I told you that he divorced me and that I found myself on the streets with nothing, I did not say in what order."

The look on her face was one of stone. She watched me with an intense look in her eyes. I was not sure what to say. "What is more important to you, Yoshi?" she demanded after a moment of silence. "Me? Or Saki?"

YOSHI:

I sat quietly on the blankets that were strewn over the floor in the small room. An oil lamp burned nearby, and shadows danced over the wall. I watched them with feigned interest, my thoughts racing. Hours of meditation had not calmed the frantic feeling deep inside of me. I was itching for a fight. I frowned as I considered that. No, it wasn't the fight I craved. It was the outcome. To be done with Oroku Saki forever. To never hear his name in my thoughts again, and never have to worry about him or what evil plans he might be concocting.

I felt her enter the room; she did not knock. She moved almost soundlessly across the cold cement floor to my bed, and knelt beside me. I did not acknowledge her.

"You are angry with me," she realized. "For what I said earlier. About Saki?"

I hesitated, then sighed. "I can not be angry with you, Sakura. You only speak that way because you do not understand."

I could hear the sadness in my own voice, and I was sure she could hear it as well. She untied the robe draped around her and moved behind me, enveloping me in its warmth. I felt her breasts against my back, as I was without a shirt, and my skin warmed slowly. She kissed my neck, and rested her head on my shoulder. "I apologize, Yoshi," she whispered.

I closed my eyes. "It is no matter," I sighed. "You have already been forgiven."

She considered that for a moment, and nuzzled against me. "If that is true, why are you not in bed sleeping?"

"I can not sleep," I informed quietly. "He plagues my sleep, even after all this time."

She breathed deep and hugged her arms around me more tightly. "I am so sorry, Yoshi," she breathed.

I shook my head slightly. "It is not your fault, Sakura-chan. There are times when I think I will never rest until he is dead."

She kissed along my collarbone, leaning over me to reach the front of my neck. "Must it always end in death and violence?" she pleaded.

I turned my eyes to her and she pulled away slightly to look at me. "Oroku Saki will not stop breeding evil until he is dead."