Authors note:
So, I'm not dead.(Wo-hoo!! -I think-) Thanks for reviewing and sorry for this to took so long. Here is the next chapter. I'm not proud of it… It's hard to understand some spots and well… –shut up! no more self pitty- =) I think it's great! Enjoy it, next chapter, maybe, coming soon…!!

first proof of ninth chapter
Road of two shadows

-Welcome home-
Ayame woke up hearing voices around her. They sounded familiar.

"Ayame! Come here I think she's awake…" That was Kiku's worried voice.

"Kiku?"
"Yes I'm here."

One of the village healers came in the room. Ayame herd her rushing steps as she sat down at the bed.

"But how can you… Where are we?" Ayame asked as the healer startet check her condition saying; "Let's see…"

"You are safe, in your home village." Kiku said.
Rikimaru stepped in the room quietly and stayed at the door.

"How did I get here?"
"Don't you remember? Rikimaru brought you back here."

"Rikimaru… When? How long a go?"
"… You haven't been here long… any more than an hour…"
"I'll go get something at the other room, I'll be right back…" Healer left the room passing Rikimaru.

"I'm so glad that you are back, I was really, really, worried."

Ayame blinked her eyes asking Kiku. "What time of the night it is?"
"Night? It's nearly afternoon?"

"…I need sleep…" She said rising her hand to her forehead.

"I'm sure the healer comes right back. Are you in pain?"

"Not really… I'm just so tired…"
"I go and let you sleep."

Kiku rose to leave. As she walked away to look for the healer she didn't notice Rikimaru hiding behind the wall. When Kiku was out of his sight he sneaked back at the room. To Rikimaru's surprise Ayame wasn't sleeping. She was now sitting at the bed, rubbing her eyes. Ayame was much livelier than three days ago, but she still had now idea of his presence. She didn't even sense him? Ayame watched her hands moving her fingers. Rikimaru sneaked closer hoping that he was making wrong conclusions.
She's blind

Ayame buried her face to his hands thinking that this couldn't be happening. Rikimaru kneeled down to her bed watching her suffer as it made him to suffer even more. He would have liked to comfort her by putting his hand to her shoulder. But when Rikimaru was about to do that he pulled away, realising that he would only scare her, as she didn't know him being there.

Then Ayame suddenly raise her look. Rikimaru would have liked to say something to her, but again decide not to give her any hints about his presence. Ayame watched over Rikimaru, to the door. After few seconds the healer came back whit a bottle of some short of medicine.

"Up and chatting already?" The healer said to them.

"What?" Was Ayame's response.
"She can't see." Rikimaru said shortly to the healer. Not until now she knew that he was beside her.

"I know. Her vision will come back in time."

Ayame forget the matter whit Rikimaru for awhile. "How soon?"

"I really can't say… Let's just wait."
Neither of them did answer. As only loosing her vision would have been the only thing that seemed to be wrong. Clearly she had lost her ability to concentrate her surroundings.

Rikimaru took her by her hand. He didn't say anything because of the third member in the room. Ayame understood his meaning and stoke his hand for answer.
"I let you rest now, maybe I come back later…" Rikimaru said to her as the healer seemed to want him out of the way.

He let go and Ayame said to him; "Thank you, for coming to get me back…"

"You just rest now...?"
"Okay…"

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Later that evening Rikimaru come back to the healers hut but found out that Ayame wasn't there anymore. When Rikimaru asked where she had been taken, the healer told him carefully that he should ask Gohda about that.

Wondering he went to see Lord Gohda. Gohda was occupied by his counsels. Only quickly he gets to say where Ayame was. Reasons he kept all for himself.
Ayame had been moved in the castle and she was highly guarded.

To guards whit spears stood in front of the huge wooden doors. They were quiet, not speaking to each other. It seemed like they would have been guarding something invaluable. Like they were, if Ayame really was in the room.

Suspiciously the guards let Rikimaru pas. After getting in he realised that this was one of the negotiation rooms. As this room were at the inner castle's bottom floors it was very rarely used. Opposite the doors there was a fireplace. In front of it stand a kimono rack and lamps both sides of it. White cushions had been placed at the mat like there would have been a table between those. Armours and swords adorned the walls.

Rikimaru stepped further seeing stairs leaving at the both sides of the room. Ayame stepped down from the balcony. She leaned at the fall by her hand.
"Rikimaru, is that you?"

"I did promise to come to see you, didn't I…" Rikimaru said smiling for the fact that she was already up and walking.
"Yes you did…" She said wanting to sit down.

Rikimaru had come to meet her in half way.
"I don't need…"
"Let me do this…?" He guided her to rest in front of the fireplace. Then he sat beside her.

"Do you sense my Ki, Ayame?"

"Weekly…I'm no good. I guess my time as a ninja is over…"

"What's gotten in to you!? You are strong, you will survive this…"

"What's gotten in to me… Rikimaru? Don't lie to me, I maybe blind, but not stupid…I can not even hold my head together…what use could I be? "

Ayame rose up and stepped forward. Rikimaru did the same and put a hand to her shoulder. "No-one has expected you to be a ninja for all your live."

"Well, I did. You wanna know why? Because there is nothing for me, no other purpose that I could fill… I made my self a promise, some time ago, that I would live and die as a ninja, only as a ninja, nothing else… But if that doesn't happen, then I would have to…"

"Have to do what…?"

"…Nothing! I'll get better and if I won't I'll adjust! …You have no fate in me, Rikimaru. I'll show you…"

Ayame started to walk searching for something.
"What are you doing?" Rikimaru asked her wallowing her trail.
"Have a little fate in me, Rikimaru…"
"Just tell me what you are looking for…"

"I'm sure that here somewhere has to be…" And then she found what she was looking for; a rack whit four staffs. "Here" Ayame said giving Rikimaru one of the staffs and took one of herself.

"Ayame, I'm not going do this…"

"Fine then…"
That was the only warning she gave to him, before hitting him whit the staff. And it almost got true his defence.

"I don't want to hurt you" He tried, backing off.
"Don't get soft on me now…"

"You are still a convalescent so it wouldn't be fair…"

Ayame got a clue where he was by his voice so she made a fast move to push him out of balance.

"Look, who's talking…"

Rikimaru got up quickly. "Fine…"
He circled her quietly and she lost him.
"Why are you playing hide and seek, that's no fun!"
"I'm not hiding, I'm right here…"
Ayame twisted the staff, but hit nothing.

"Concentrate! Feel my Ki, forget the voice."

Rikimaru began to move doing taiji. Ayame fallowing his orders cleared her mind like she had done many times before. Eyes closed, sinking to her senses, she began her own taiji. Something haunted her mind and made it hard to see and to feel. Then she got a climbs of someone near her back. Taking her weight to other leg, she hit him whit the staff.
"Good…" Rikimaru said holding her punch. "Now a bit faster."

He let her unfinished hit drop as he moved to hit her to her side. Ayame knew now where he was, she could sense it and avoided all of his lame attempts to hurt her.

Ayame instead made an effort to stake him, but it was all in vain. Finally she lost her patience. Ayame did give Rikimaru only one way to defence him shelf and that was to hit her on the ground.

"Patience Ayame…, patience" He said to her leaning the staff. Rikimaru had always admired her strong will and stubbornness. All thought it was mostly the thing that got her in trouble. Ayame still kept her eyes closed and sighted.

Rikimaru put the staff away to lift her from the mat. When he did that other one of Ayame's gown sleeves fell down.

"Where are the blandishes?"

"I'm not allowed to use them right now." She tried to take her hand away from his.
"Why?"

"It's a message… When I was in that mission, I get caught. They, played whit me by writing the message that I was suppose to retrieve, in my arms… And then I killed him and them and… escaped. I know that Gohda told you to get me back, because I had sent a message to the village where he were then… but thank you for bringing me…"

Rikimaru was shocked to hire this. All made sense now. Gohda's behaviour irritated him when he saw her aching arms, shattered and red. "I'll go talk to him" He said determent. Ayame stopped him.

"Wait!" She said taking a hold of him. "Scribe will be here on any second now and then I can focus getting myself in one piece… Let me do this, don't walk over me. Could you listen to my request? Even as I… nothing…"

"What were you going to say?"

"Functional, to serve Gohda,… and you" She smiled her own figure of speech.
Taking Ayame to his arms Rikimaru said to her almost angrily. "Ayame! You are so much more than just a functional, thing… Maybe for Gohda that is all, but not for me…"

"Really, Rikimaru?" Ayame asked her voice full of hope.

Then for brief moment their lips touched.It was just a touch. For second they tought it might become something more.

And then the scribe walked in and made them jump off of others arms.

Rikimaru rushed out of the room.

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