Chapter 4: Shadows

Asaki went back to her dojo and went into the kitchen, starting work on cooking dinner immediately. She thought about how she would tell her students. She couldn't just say "Hey guys I'm going to Kyoto to look for my old lover. By the way he's supposedly died when I did over two hundred years ago and he might have reappeared too. Bye!" She had to come up with a plan, something that sounded reasonable and logical. She had already told them that she didn't have any family so that was out of the picture. A friend maybe. Yes that would work. Telling them that she was going to see a friend in Kyoto to visit her in the hospital. It would be perfect. She couldn't tell them now; she would wait until after dinner before telling them the "unpleasant" news.

There was an eerie quiet looming over the table at dinner. Xiyan, Yakami and Miage ate silently, looking at each other and then to Asaki. She usually told them things that they needed to improve on or the plans for tomorrow, but tonight she was dead silent.

"Asaki sensei…?"

"Yes Yakami?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Yakami, why do you ask?"

"It's just, you're awfully quiet tonight."

It was the perfect time to say it. She wanted to wait until after dinner, but she didn't know how to bring it up and yet here before her was the perfect opportunity and she grasped it, "Well you see boys, I have a friend in Kyoto. She fell very ill and is at a hospital in Kyoto. I found out when I went into town today. I want to go see her in Kyoto and see too it that she recovers quickly."

Xiyan blinked, "Miss Asaki, I've never heard you say anything about a friend in Kyoto at all."

Asaki smiled, "Didn't I? I'm sure that I did. Her name is Miyake. I've known her since I got here. I was left in Kyoto and she was there for me when I first arrived so I feel it's only right for me to be there for her when she needs me."

"How long will you be gone sensei?"

"That's the thing boys, I don't know. The doctor's say that she might not make it so I'm going to stay there as long as I can in case those moments are her last. I might be there a few weeks or a few months. I just want to see to it that she has a peaceful rest."

Asaki excused herself, standing up and going to her room. She slid the door behind her shut and sighed. She hated herself for lying to her students, especially after having been honest with them before. She knew she could trust them with this secret and she knew that they'd keep it but she just couldn't bring herself to tell them.

The days passed quickly. While it was true that Asaki knew the man would be in Kyoto, she wasn't exactly sure where. She had to follow Kotore. She woke early in the morning, waiting on the side of Kotore's house to see when she would leave and where she would go. After about an hour, Kotore walked out of her house. Asaki followed her closely, hiding behind buildings and various bushes and trees which covered the land. Asaki followed her onto the train, keeping herself well hidden and out of sight from everyone, though still being able to see Kotore from her hiding spot. As soon as the train arrived at its destination, she saw Kotore get off and Asaki quickly got up and blended in with the crowd as they exited the train.

Asaki sighed in relief, saying softly, "Phew, I'm free…"

A man spoke, "Excuse me Miss. You in the kimono there, come back here please."

Asaki's heart sank, she became so worried, she didn't know what would happen to her, and she thought she had been discovered. She turned around, walking back the man, stopping in front of him, "Y-yes?"

He smiled, "Miss, your obi seems to be a bit off and your hair seems a bit messy. Here, use this to clean up." He handed her a comb, a luxury in any portion of Japan.

She nodded and smiled, combing her hair a bit and fixing it along with her obi, handing it back to the man, "Thank you very much sir." She bowed.

"The pleasure is all mine Miss, and please enjoy your stay in Kyoto."

She smiled, "I will, thank you." She started to walk away, looking for the direction Kotore was walking and barely had enough time to catch up to her. She followed her to a small building and listened to their conversation.

"Ah, Miss Kotore, it's nice to see you again."

"It's good to see you to Miss Hikari." She bowed, walking inside the small dojo.

Asaki sighed, listening to the two catching up on old times. She didn't want to listen to them talk, she was here for one purpose and one purpose only.

"So Kotore, are you going to look for that mystery man tonight?"

"No I think I will rest and catch up on old times with you today. I'm staying here for a week so I can use the rest of my time searching for him."

Asaki growled softly, whispering to herself, "Tomorrow? I want to find Crimson as soon as I can." She looked around, seeing the people still walking around even though it was late in the afternoon. She blinked, seeing a woman wearing a kimono with beautiful emerald silk flowers sewn on it. "That color…" She stood up, walking over to the woman. "Excuse me miss. I hate to be a bother but…" she began, bowing to the woman, "…I was wondering if you could tell me where you got that lovely kimono."

The woman smiled at Asaki, "You must be new here if you don't know the pattern. It's the kimono shop in this town. If you go down this way and make a left at the shop that has the swords above its door and go all the way down to the shop on the end. It has red cherry blossoms over its door so you can't miss it."

Asaki nodded, bowing once more, "Thank you miss." Asaki started walking in the direction she was told. She figured she might as well look in the shop while she waited. She looked around, repeating the directions to herself and finally looked up, seeing the red cherry blossoms on the door of a rather large building. "This must be it." She walked inside, seeing many women browsing through the large selection of kimonos.

A woman walked over to her, "Hello Miss, may I be of service to you?"

"Well actually, yes. You see I saw a woman walking along the street and I was just fascinated by the design."

"Oh I see. And what design was that? I can help you locate one if you'd like."

"No, thank you. It wasn't the design I was captivated by so much as it was the color. It was a beautiful emerald green."

"Ah, yes. That has become one of our fastest selling and most popular color choices. Here let me show you some, please follow me."

Asaki nodded, following the woman through the store. Even though there were many people in the store, she felt as though she were alone with this woman.

"Here they are Miss, our best line of emerald kimonos. What pattern are you looking for?"

"I know this may sound strange, but red cherry blossoms, like the ones you hold above your door."

The woman nodded, pulling out a crisp, new emerald kimono with red cherry blossoms adorning the silk, "You're in luck Miss. This is the only one left and they're quite rare."

Asaki's eyes lit up seeing the kimono. She didn't think they even made the pattern anymore. She smiled, gently touching the delicate fabric, "How much is it for this kimono?"

"It's 53,960 yen miss but it's on sale for only 43,168 yen" note: 53,960 yen is roughly $500 and 43,168 is roughly $400. The kimono was discounted 20

Asaki frowned. She barely had enough for a ticket back home, let alone a new kimono. She wanted the kimono. She didn't want it the way that Cithara wanted a new kimono. No, Asaki had many memories connected with the emerald kimono she once had. It was how she obtained her codename "Emerald". She had been fascinated by the color and wore it in all of her kimonos in some way. "I don't really have that much money but…is there some way that I could work it off?"

The woman blinked and sighed, "I'm sorry Miss but I don't know of any. Well there is one thing but I don't think a woman of your stature would do it."

"Please tell me. I'll do anything to get that kimono."

"Well my husband runs the weapon shop in town. He needs a few swords sharpened and some other weapons delivered. If you can do that for him then I suppose I could reduce the price for you."

"Well I don't really have a lot of money…" she sighed. "I'm sorry to bother you with it. I just don't think I can afford it." She looked at the gown once again, touching the sleeves gently, "I just…use to have a kimono like that. Mine got torn a long time ago and I always wanted to get a new one. I had so many memories tied to it…"

The woman looked at her, watching as she was about to leave, "Miss wait!" she rushed back over to Asaki, taking the kimono from the shelf. "If it really means that much to you then you can have it."

"I could never accept such an extravagant gown without paying for it."

"Then help out my husband with the errands I said and then come back and get it. I'll be waiting for you."

Asaki smiled, "You'd really do that for me?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

Asaki took off and helped her husband to sharpen the swords and delivered the weapons he wanted delivered. She then quickly returned back to the kimono shop, strangely having remembered where it was. She took the gown and smiled, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. She was happy, hugging the gown tightly to her body. She felt like she needed to clean up and found a lake, pulling off her clothes and setting them on the shore as she started to clean her body. She had a blue cloth with her to dry herself off with but heard a voice call out to her.

"Hey there pretty lady. Why don't you come up here on shore and follow me back to my house?"

Asaki growled as the man grinned. "How about you get out of my site and let me bathe in peace?"

The man smiled, walking to her clothes and picking them up, handing them to one of his men, "You want your clothes, you're gonna have to come out of there and take them from us."

Asaki's eyes narrowed, "I highly suggest that you put my clothes back before I have to hurt all of you."

The men laughed as the man in front spoke again, "You hurt all of us? Come and try it if you think you can."

Asaki nodded, "Very well but remember you did ask for it." She grabbed her long cloth and got out quickly, and tied the cloth around her naked flesh as she picked up one of her katanas which was hidden under her cloth, firmly gripping the hilt.

The men looked at her and smiled, "Look boys, she's got a sword. I think she thinks she can actually defeat us."

Asaki smiled, "On the contrary men. I know that I can defeat you all." She kept her eyes narrowed at them, her eyes seeming to turn dark as coal as they had once before. She quickly unsheathed her blade, running at the men quickly, stopping six inches in front of them, swiping her blade across his men first, taking them all down easily with one swoop. She then turned her attention toward the supposed leader of the group. She turned around quickly, shoving her blade half an inch into the flesh on his back and sliced up, following his spine creating a large gash on his back. She grinned, sheathing her blade, picking up her clothes, changing into them quickly and picking up her other blade which still lay on the ground. "Let this be a lesson to you all, never underestimate your opponent, especially if she's a woman."

She walked off and went back to the place that Kotore was staying. She heard the door open and blinked, staying hidden in the shadows.

Kotore spoke, "Phew what a day. I think I'll take a walk tonight."

She started walking off to nowhere, Asaki following her, somehow feeling that she needed to but staying hidden in the shadows. Her kimono got wet during the whole incident and she wore the emerald one she had obtained that day.

Kotore accidentally bumped into a man with shoulder length hair which was pulled up in the back. He wore glasses and had dark colored eyes. He was wearing traditional Japanese clothing and had two swords on his left hip.

"Oh I'm so sorry sir." Kotore bowed.

The man smiled lightly, "No miss, the fault lies with me entirely. Forgive me."

Kotore blinked, nodding and moving on her way thinking him nothing more than an odd man in an odd town.

Asaki's eyes widened as he past by her. She thought to herself, "It's him…it's Crimson…"

The man continued on and Asaki followed him in the shadows, trying to keep out of sight to see where he would go next."

After about five minutes, he stopped. "I can sense you are there somewhere, hiding in the shadows. Come out and let you presence be known stranger and explain what it is you want from me."

Asaki blinked and looked around, keeping an eye on him at the same time. She thought to herself, "Crap now what am I gonna do? I want to talk to him but it's just…it's just…"