INFINITY

October 11, 1974

YOSHI:

I climbed the thin rope up the outside of the metal wall and pried the window open with one hand. I grabbed onto the frame and swung into the building, landing quietly on the thin rafters. I retrieved the rope without a sound and climbed over to the other side of the room, directly above the men who hadn't seen me. I tied the rope to the rafter beside me.

There was a man on either side of the door and one in the middle. I inspected them carefully. They were not ninjas, only hired help from their appearance. They held guns, but otherwise did not pose a threat to me. I was much less interested in them than I was in the black-clad figure that walked into the room they were guarding. I could not tell, on first inspection, if the man was Saki or one of his students. But I knew he was a ninja of the foot clan from his attire. I was inclined to believe that it was Saki himself, but I did not know for sure.

I measured the rope carefully so that I would have just enough, and grabbed onto it. Then I swung down to the floor. I hit the man who was in front of the door right in the chest and he went flying backward, through the doorway and into the room. I followed right behind him, and let go of the rope as I landed silently, inches from my adversary. This close to him, I now knew he was not Saki. But I also knew that he would lead me to him.

The ninja jumped back. The man that had been at the door flew into two other men who were kneeling at a gray safe. They looked up just in time to see him and did not have nearly the required time to get out of the way. Besides those three, there were four men in the room. The two from outside the door would be coming in, too. All of them would be armed, I was sure.

I glared at the ninja for a moment, in silent warning. He made no move toward me, and I turned my attention to his thugs. I kicked at the man closest to me before he had a chance to reach for his gun. He reeled backward and slammed into the wall. I ducked away as one of the guns began firing. Scanning the room instinctively, I found the offending weapon and attacked the man faster than he could realize he was being attacked.

I darted out of the room, and disappeared behind a large piece of machinery. The shooting had stopped. They were confused as to where I might have gone. Having announced my presence, I was free to operate in the way I was most comfortable. I hid and waited silently.

One of the men was approaching, looking around carefully. But he could not see me. I waited until he was only a few feet away before lashing out. I quickly found the necessary pressure points, and he fell unconscious in less time than it took him to make a sound.

I attacked them, one by one. Each one of them fell, until I was alone with the student from my own clan. "Hamato Yoshi, I presume," he greeted, his voice cold.

"You know why I am here," I answered. "Do not make this any more difficult than it must be already."

"Oroku-sensei is not here," he informed me. "But if you wish, I will make your visit not a total waste."

He lunged at me and I ducked away easily. He was not as well-trained as he esteemed himself, and that made the fight most unfair, with the odds in my favor. He delivered a roundhouse kick in my direction, and I dropped, kicking his legs out from under him, before his attack had been halfway executed. As he crashed to the floor, I crouched next to him, my knee in his chest, a dagger at his throat. He did not move.

"Tell Oroku Saki to go back to Japan," I growled. "He has no business in this country. And if I see you again, I will kill you."

SAKURA:

I awoke slowly, knowing something was wrong. Beside me, the bed was empty and cold. I sat up and looked into the darkness, holding the blanket to my chest. "Yoshi?"

"I am here."

I was startled by the nearness of his voice. He was no more than ten feet away, sitting on the floor. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the faint outline of his form against a dim, flickering candle light. "What are you doing?" I asked. "It is the middle of the night!"

He did not answer. "Are you not well?" I asked. Again, he did not speak. "It is Saki?" His eyes closed slowly in silent answer. "Oh, Yoshi."

I crawled out of bed and took the blanket with me across the icy floor. At his side, I curled into a ball and nuzzled against him. He sighed, but did not move. "Yoshi, please try to sleep," I begged him.

He was silent for a long time, then he turned to me and smiled faintly. It was not forced, and not feigned. It was as if he had somehow taken his mind off of the thoughts that troubled him. His smile broadened as he looked at me, and he finally pulled away. I watched as he stood and offered me a hand. I accepted and he pulled me easily to my feet. "Come with me," he invited, exercising the little English that he knew. He could understand almost fluently, but he spoke very little in proper form.

"Where are we going?"

He only smiled. I knew he understood me, but he did not answer. He took my hands and walked backward toward the door. The blanket fell from my shoulders, leaving me exposed. "Yoshi, let me get dressed first!" I laughed, realizing that he intended to lead me out of the lair.

He spun behind me and enveloped me in his arms, his arms crossed over my chest. "I will keep you warm."

I attempted to wriggle away, but his grip was far too strong. "Yoshi, it is not appropriate to walk around the city streets naked regardless of what country you're in," I informed him sarcastically.

He laughed quietly. "I understood very little of that," he whispered against the side of my face.

"Apparently," I mumbled under my breath.

He pulled away slightly, a confused expression on his face. I turned and draped my arms over his shoulders, bringing our lips together. We kissed long and slow, and I felt his hands roam over my back. "Either allow me to put some clothes on, or I will stay here with them off."

He smiled as he considered that. "Both sound appealing."

I pushed away from him. "Yoshi!"

He laughed and took my hands. "Get dressed, then. I want you to see something."

YOSHI:

She stared up at the millions of stars in the sky, awestricken by their beauty. I had known she would be when I first saw them. I knew, also, that it was what I needed to take my thoughts off of Oroku Saki. The universe was so much larger than the two of us. But at times, my perspective got skewed, and I forgot how small the two of us really were.

"They are so beautiful," Sakura whispered.

"Hai," I agreed, running my fingers through her soft hair. "They are infinite."

She smiled up at the dark sky. She was so beautiful in the pale moonlight. "I had almost forgotten that such a vast expanse exists," she breathed.

I brushed my fingers over the side of her face, and through her hair again. "The bright city lights blind us," I agreed. "You must rise above them to see the sky."

"Surely no artist could capture this sight and paint it quite so beautifully."

I smiled. "Iie," I agreed. "Though I am certain many have tried."

I rested my head beside hers on my arm, and she turned to me. We stared at each other for a long moment before I looked back to the sky. She pulled closer, tucking her head under my chin. She nuzzled closer to keep warm, and for a long time there was no movement between us. "They are fascinating," I murmured to myself. "To think that each of those stars are so much further away than we could fathom. That it takes the light billions of years to reach our eyes."

"Hai," she whispered.

I buried my face in her hair and she laughed quietly as my nose brushed her ear. "It begs the question," I whispered into her ear, "what will our children's children see when they look up at these same stars, that has happened so many millions of years ago?"

She did not answer. After a moment, she pulled away from me. I brushed her stubborn hair back from her face. "You are very beautiful, Sakura-chan," I whispered. "Do you know that?"

She smiled and welcomed me as I kissed her. "Ai shiteru," she whispered against my lips.