Meep! I made a mistake in the last chapter! Soul Edge's battle took place four years ago, not seven. (*thinks* Man... I think I've been playing too much Ocarina of Time...) Anyway... here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Soul Calibur II characters, weapons or plots, but Takharu was created by me.

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Fate & Destiny

*~* Chapter 8Further for Information *~*

                Several weeks had passed since Takharu's encounter with Nightmare. And no more challengers seeking Soul Edge had appeared, "A little peace away from all of the pursuers of Soul Edge is nice," she thought to herself as she wandered along the coastline of the Sea of Japan. It was eerily deserted, considering the battles that the people of Japan were engaged in. Takharu stopped walking and gazed out at the water... she could faintly see a ship headed in her direction, "Perhaps a short trip to Japan is in order..." she continued her stroll along the waterside in hopes of finding the port that the ship was headed for.

{-----|~-~|-----}

                "I should really remember to ask where the hell the Sword of Salvation would be next time I run into Talim..." Yun Sung had also had a quiet journey, but unlike Takharu, he wasn't pleased about it. "How can I find Soul Edge if I don't know where it is!?" he screamed, his voice echoing through the nearly deserted town. The few people around him turned from what they were doing and stared in confusion. "All right... I also have to remember to keep a low profile... not everyone in the Ming Empire will be as clueless as these people..."

                "So you know about Soul Edge, do you?" a woman who appeared a few years older than Yun Sung stood before him. She wore a sky blue shirt, and royal blue pants. Two strands of brown hair flowed gently in the wind, while the rest of her hair was cut short, "How's that?"

                "Uh oh..." Yun Sung thought, "Maybe they're not all clueless..."

                "Are you going to answer me?" she asked, impatiently.

                "Yeah," Yun Sung answered, "But what does it matter how I know about Soul Edge, anyway?"

                "It matters because you're butting into other people's lives!" she shouted, "Soul Edge doesn't concern you, or anyone else, so just quit while you're ahead!"

                "Who do you think you are, telling me what does and doesn't concern me?" aggravation grew in Yun Sung's voice.

                "I think that I'm the one who defeated Soul Edge four years ago!" she retorted, "I am Xianghua!"          

                Yun Sung was about to reply with a smart comment, but paused, "Wait... she defeated Soul Edge?" his facial expression changed from a frown to a smile.

                "What are you smiling at?" Xianghua blinked in bafflement.

                "Where was Soul Edge defeated?" he asked.

                Xianghua scowled, "I told you before, Soul Edge is none of your business," at that moment, she chose to turn and walk away, ignoring any more questions that he had.

                "But if you're getting involved with Soul Edge again, won't you need its shards?"

                Xianghua stopped and turned back to him, "Do you have a fragment?" she asked.

                "Actually... this shard has nothing to do with you... so just forget about it," Yun Sung turned back the way he came.

                "Wait!" Xianghua called after him, "You have to give me your piece of Soul Edge! You don't understand..."

                Yun Sung stopped walking, "Why should I give it to you?" he seemed to be trying to start a fight.

                "I'll tell you what," Xianghua began, "I'll battle you for your fragment. But not here... we can't bring attention to ourselves..."

                "Fine," Yun Sung agreed.

                "Follow me. I know where we can go to fight."

{-----|~-~|-----}

                "Do we have all of the cargo on the ship?" a Japanese man asked his crew member.

                "Yup," the other man replied, "It's a good thing some countries are still willing to trade with us without getting into a war."

                The first man laughed, "Yeah! Unlike those Korean bastards!"

                "Have you heard how things are going over there?" the second man asked.

                "Good for us!" they both boarded the ship, laughing.

                Takharu was hiding amongst the crates of goods onboard. She clenched her fists at the overconfident comments the men had said, "Remain calm..." she told herself, "You cannot give yourself away..." There was a long ship ride ahead of her, and she couldn't be caught.

{-----|~-~|-----}

                "What is this place?" Yun Sung asked, observing the wreckage around him, which almost looked like it was once a castle.

                "Xiwei ruins," Xianghua replied, "Maybe I'll tell you more about them... if you win," she drew her sword and prepared for battle.

                Yun Sung did the same, and the fight commenced. Xianghua twirled her blade tauntingly, and thrust it forward a few times, yet avoided contact with Yun Sung. "What? Are you too afraid to hit me?" Yun Sung teased her.

                Xianghua smirked, "In your dreams! The real challenge is yet to come!" she gripped his arm and twisted it behind his back, then tripped him with her nameless blade. Yun Sung quickly got back to his feet... it was his turn to go on the offensive. He rose White Storm and sent a fury of attack towards Xianghua, who was remarkably able to block the majority of his attacks...

{-----|~-~|-----}

                The ship slowly came to a stop at the port of Japan... however; the crew did not seem to be in any rush to disembark, "Oh great..." Takharu thought, "I'm going to have to sneak out with those fools everywhere..." she sighed, then got to her feet. Takharu sidled along the large crates, and peered around every corner to be sure that there were no sailors there. Once she was out of the cargo hold, she had to be quick to get off of the ship. It was actually rather simple... for most of the sailors were too busy getting drunk to even notice an extra passenger.

                As soon as she escaped the ship, she began to explore the area she was in, "Maybe I should have put more thought into coming here... what are the chances this will aid me to find Soul Edge?"

                Just then, two villagers walked by in conversation, "Did you hear about Kaminoi castle?"

                "Yeah. Do you believe that there are actually ghosts around that place?"

                "Originally, no... but lately people are saying that they can hear something moving around up there. I'd go and see for myself, but I'm not about to risk it all."

                "A haunted castle..." Takharu pondered, "Well, perhaps visiting it would be worth my time," she looked around the area, and clearly noticed a castle atop a hill across the town. Without hesitation, she set out to Kaminoi castle.

{-----|~-~|-----}

                "Come on..." Yun Sung struggled to break through Xianghua's defenses.

                Xianghua laughed at his attempts. She stepped to the left, taking her sword from under White Storm, causing Yun Sung to fall forward. "Time to end this!" Xianghua said, she closed her eyes and seemed to pour her spirit into her sword. The blade appeared to burst into flames as she swung it at Yun Sung. He rolled out of its way at the last minute, and stood up.

                "How did she do that!?" he thought in terror. It seemed so unnatural, "Am I capable of doing that, too?"

                "Are you frightened?" Xianghua tormented Yun Sung, knowing that she had the upper hand.

                "You wish!" he stepped back a few steps and imitated Xianghua when she had used that awesome attack, "This is worth a try..." he began to feel a surge of strength passing through his blade, "Now!" he shouted. His blade blazed in the same way his opponent's had. He leaped into the air, and lashed White Storm at Xianghua. She knew what was coming... now it was a matter of whether she could hold it off. The force of Yun Sung's sword was too great for her. She was knocked down, and left at Yun Sung's mercy... lucky for her, he had enough to let her live. Yun Sung held White Storm at his side, and held out his hand to help Xianghua up.

                She ignored his assistance and got up on her own. Xianghua turned away and began to walk back in the direction that they came from.

                "Where do you think you're going?" Yun Sung was irritated by the fact that she was just going to walk away.

                Xianghua stopped walking, "Home," she lied, "Maybe I should just forget about Soul Edge."

                "Then why don't you give me your shard?"

                Xianghua sighed, "Because I don't want you to find Soul Edge."

                "Why not?" Yun Sung persisted. He knew that there was more.

                "Listen to me! I have to defeat Soul Edge! I've done it before, and I'll do it again!" she exclaimed.

                "Why do you know to defeat it again? If it's gone, it's gone," he didn't really understand.

                "It's back," she answered, "And now I have to rid it for good."

                "Fair enough," Yun Sung said, "But you still haven't explained a couple things to me... what happened to this place? And, where did you destroy Soul Edge the first time?"

                "The Emperor destroyed this place, looking for the Hero's Sword. In Ostrheinsburg Castle," she continued walking once again. This time, she would not turn back to answer Yun Sung's questions.

                "Thanks for the descriptive answers..." he muttered, "Now all I have to do is find out where the hell Ostrheinsburg is..."

{-----|~-~|-----}

                Cherry blossoms scattered in the breeze in Kaminoi Castle, "This place doesn't look haunted at all," Takharu observed, "It's so beautiful..." she held out her hand and caught a cherry blossom, "The villagers are just paranoid," she concluded aloud.

                A rustle was suddenly heard from the cherry trees surrounding Takharu. She looked up in alarm... nothing was there, "Just the wind..." she assured herself, but something wasn't normal... the rustling had just stopped. The wind was still blowing, but there was no sound. Takharu thought that she heard footsteps, however she was too fearful to turn around.

                "Greetings," said a woman's voice from behind her.

                Takharu took a deep breath and turned to see what awaited her... to her relief, it wasn't a ghost or evil spirit of any kind. It was a human. The woman looked in her late twenties. Her long, black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and she wore a red body suit.

                "Well... will you not greet me?" she asked Takharu.

                "Hello..." Takharu said in reply, fear trembled in her voice.

                "What are you doing in a place like this?" the woman asked.

                Takharu thought for a moment, "No particular reason... I just wanted to see what this place was..."

                The woman shook her head and drew two ninja-swords, "There's something more... I can sense it."

                "What do you mean?" Takharu was slightly shocked. She didn't know what to expect for an answer.

                "Soul Edge," she looked straight into Takharu's eyes, "Mekki-Maru senses shards of Soul Edge."

                Takharu's eyes widened, "How did she know?"

                "Well?"

                Takharu drew the blade of Ra, "You can't take them..."

                "We shall see what I can and cannot do," she jumped into the air and seemed to vanish.

Takharu scanned the area frantically, "Where did she-" her thoughts were interrupted by the ninja dropping in. She slashed Takharu's back in an 'x' formation with her swords. Taken off guard, Takharu felt the full force of her enemy's attack.

"I am Taki," her adversary said at last, "The lone ninja. I'm certain that you also have reasons for wanting Soul Edge, but I look out for myself," she reached to steal the fragments from her fallen rival, but Takharu was still up for a fight. She rolled onto her back, and kicked Taki in the stomach. Takharu quickly stood up, and slammed Taki in the back with the hilt of her blade.

She immediately took Taki's shard of Soul Edge, and dashed back to the port for a lift back to the main land.

*~* End of Chapter 8 *~*

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@.@ That was longer than usual... Oh well! It's a good thing! I hope... what did you think? Please review!!!!