It was early morning and Xianghua had already gotten up at the break of light to do her morning exercises. She had found an empty section of the temple, a beautiful courtyard near the back, where she practiced her swordsmanship in silence. Surrounded by exotic flowers and wooden statues of various Hindu gods, Xianghua performed her morning drills. The rays of the slowly rising sun shimmered brightly along the mirror like blade as she waved it through the air gracefully. Xianghua could not sleep well that night, nightmares of Soul Edge plaguing her troubled mind. The events of the night before, the crazed man, and the discovery of a new shard, had shaken her to the core. After a few moments, Rajit appeared and walked across the courtyard towards Xianghua.

"Good morning Rajit! How is he?" said Xianghua, referring to the crazed man that attacked her only the night before.

Rajit bowed his head low, his face covered by the hood of his sackcloth robe. Xianghua frowned, her eyes set in depression.

"Oh my…" she said, her voice rather low.

"How did you find the man in such a state mistress?" questioned Rajit.

Xianghua thought quickly, her mind racing to come up with some explanation. She resolved that she could not tell Rajit about her quest to destroy Soul Edge, or about the shards of the evil sword.

"I think he had been attacked by robbers. They left him for dead. Luckily I was nearby…but…"

"Tis' a sad situation mistress. However I'm glad you were at least able to get the man to us, so he didn't have to leave this world lying on the cold street. I have talked with the captain of the ship we will be taking and he said that the weather is perfect for sailing. We shall depart in one hour," said Rajit.

Xianghua simply nodded. Rajit turned and left back into the inner recesses of the temple. Xianghua looked up towards the early morning sky, a look of sadness set into her eyes.

An hour later, Xianghua met Rajit in front of the temple and followed him to the seaport. The true pride of the city was not just its ancient architecture but also its massive seaport. Boats from China, Persia, the Indonesian islands, and Europe all congregated en masse, carrying hundreds of different types of goods. The sweet smell of spices wafted through the port as the loud ruckus of sailors filled the air. Xianghua was taken aback by the sheer size of the port. After a few minutes she and Rajit walked up to a fantastically large ship. The mast of the vessel flew high into the sky, the pure white sails obscured by the burning sun. The ship looked new, as there were no signs of repair or damage that could be seen. Xianghua and Rajit walked up the plank and onto the ship. The first mate, a man by the name of Sarmat, was a rather short Indian man with incredibly dark skin. He and Rajit talked for a few moments as Xianghua looked around the port, trying to see if she could get a glimpse of Maxi. Rajit and Sarmat had started to walk away, while Xianghua seemed to stay transfixed in place.

"I'm sure he's here, somewhere…at least if he's still alive…" thought Xianghua.

"Mistress," said Rajit expectantly.

"Oh, coming," said Xianghua, turning around and following Rajit.

The sailors were piling on large crates using a series of pulleys, heaving the giant boxes with all their might.

"What type of cargo is this ship carrying?" asked Xianghua.

"All sorts mistress. Sarmat is a spice trader, so it's mostly spices from the Indonesian isles. They sell for quite a good amount at European markets. He's allowing us to sail with him to the other side of India, and from there mistress, you can make it into Persia, if all goes well."

"I'm sure it will," said Xianghua, her voice trailing off.

"You seem a little preoccupied today mistress, what is troubling you?" asked Rajit, honestly concerned.

"Oh it's really nothing Rajit. Sometimes I'm just plagued with doubt."

"That is natural, especially since you are embarking on such a long and arduous trip, mistress. I am not sure for exactly what purpose you are doing all of this, but I do understand that your reasons must weight heavily on you. Trust yourself, it's the best advice anyone can give," said Rajit, turning and smiling to Xianghua.

Xianghua looked at Rajit, her eyes nearly watering. She stooped low and hugged him, smiling warmly and feeling a sense of renewal. Rajit simply grinned and patted her on the back.

Breaking the embrace, Xianghua followed Rajit into the inside of the ship. The interior of the ship was very large and mostly empty, as the sailors were all outside preparing for departure. Sarmat continued to talk to Rajit in the native dialect, as Xianghua simply followed behind. Sarmat led Rajit and Xianghua to their cabin, and quickly took his leave to assist in managing the affairs of the ship. The room was quite cramped, and the word 'comfortable' simply could not be applied to it. There was a simple bunk bed with dark blue sheets, a small dresser, and a chair with a damaged backing.

"Not exactly the royal suite, mistress, but for our purposes it will do," said Rajit jokingly.

"As long as we can continue as scheduled I'll have no complaints," said Xianghua, laying her things down on the bed.

"I think I'm going to go back up and get a better view of the city. I won't be back to India for awhile so I should try to take in as much as possible," said Xianghua, walking out of the room. Rajit simply nodded, and began to unpack his things.

Walking back onto the deck, Xianghua looked out at the expensive port. She felt that if she continued to look, even up until the last minute, she might catch a glimpse of Maxi. She never saw him, and the ship soon lifted anchor and sailed off into the wide blue ocean. Xianghua watched as the cityscape of Sajarat slowly disappeared into the horizon. All around her was the churning of the Indian Ocean, and the occasional cry of a seagull.

Night had fallen and Xianghua was resting in her quarters, chatting with Rajit about various topics of mutual interest.

"You don't say Rajit?" said Xianghua, turning around in her bed to look at Rajit, her voice filled with surprise.

"It is quite true mistress."

"You were a soldier before you became a monk?"

"Yes I was in the armed guard of Sultan Vajraheen, ruler of Kashmir. I was captain of his personal army."

"So why become a monk then? It sounds like you were in a pretty important position."

"Ahh but things are not as simple as position and power in this world, Xianghua, at least not for someone with the conscience that I possess. The sultan was a rather crooked man, always impulsive and quick to anger. I distinctly remember the day when he ordered my men and I to capture Sarwal, the leader of a village in the mountains. The sultan owned a lot of land, but that was not enough for him. He wanted us to take over this little village in the mountains, believing they were defying his rule. Well we went as per our orders, but the villagers were not militant in the slightest. They were mostly herders and sustenance farmers who were poor enough as it was, not to mention the hefty economic burden the sultan needlessly put on them. I did not want to harm the village in any way, but my second in command usurped my power. The sultan instructed him that if I did not carry out my orders that he should do it instead and take my place as captain. Well he tried to kill me,"

Xianghua let out a gasp.

"But I managed to get away in time, pretty injured though I might add. I later found out everyone in the village had been massacred. I somehow felt it was my fault, but after some years had passed I no longer blame myself for it."

"You shouldn't Rajit, it wasn't your fault that the sultan was such a dirty man. Those poor villagers though…" said Xianghua, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling.

"I felt so awful after that episode I never returned to the sultan's palace and immediately became a holy man. I felt it was the only right thing to do, and I have never since regretted my choice," said Rajit.

Xianghua was about to chime in as the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the ship.

"What's going on?!" exclaimed Xianghua, looking out of the cabin window. In the distance she could see another ship and the flare of cannons firing. The ship was getting closer.

"Pirates? Oh no, everyone on this ship is in danger, they might try to sink it…" wailed Xianghua.

"I doubt that mistress, the cargo on this ship is incredibly valuable. They'll probably try to board us. Those were just warning shots."

Xianghua felt warmth in her pocket; the shards of Soul Edge were reacting!

"I've got a very bad feeling about this..." she thought.

The sounds of sailors running clamored outside of their suite. Xianghua was not the type to just sit around when danger lurked, and ran out of the suite, if not just to get a look at the other ship.

"Mistress, it's dangerous!" yelled out Rajit, but Xianghua paid him no heed and immediately made her way to the deck of the ship.

The enemy ship was now extremely close, apparently attempting to board the spice ship. Xianghua noticed that the sails of the enemy ship bore the insignia of skull and crossbones.

"Typical pirates. It seems this ship has no defenses, I'll help out if we're boarded. But still, why are the shards of Soul Edge reacting? Is there another shard somewhere close by?" thought Xianghua who tried to stay out of the way of the sailors who were all running about preparing to defend the ship. Xianghua noticed a small cloaked figure darting from one stack of crates to the other.

"What was...?" Her thoughts were immediately interrupted by the loud screams of the enemy pirates as they threw across a long wooden plank Streams of vicious looking men clad in haggard clothing brandishing vicious blades came onto the ship, and a fierce battle ensued. The crews of both ships were locked in heated battle, and Xianghua was right in the middle of it. She immediately drew her sword and joined in the fray. One rather large pirate was brandishing two cutlasses and had cornered one of the sailors near a large wooden crate, ready to skewer the poor man. Xianghua immediately reacted, jumping onto the crate, and performing a flying kick right into the pirates face, knocking him back at least seven feet. She gracefully landed on her feet, sword ready to face the next enemy. Surprised, a few other pirates took notice of Xianghua and came rushing over.

"So they have women guarding ships now? That's a riot, say Ahmed, looks like we've got a pretty little fighter here," said one of the pirates, a rather grimy looking man with long black hair tied under an orange and white bandanna.

"Let's take her back on the ship and have some fun with her," said the other pirate grinning with a full set of yellow, grimy teeth.

"I'm not going to hold back you know," said Xianghua smiling slightly.

Taken aback by her confidence, both pirates lunged at Xianghua with their cutlasses ready. Dodging the bandanna pirate's thrust by spinning to one side, Xianghua grabbed the pirate's leg, flipped over him, landing on the other side and swept the other leg out from under him. Ahmed swung wildly at Xianghua, his sword swings rather unskilled and easily avoidable. Xianghua disarmed the pirate in one fluid stroke of her sword and immediately planted her right foot on his cheek, knocking him unconscious onto the ground.

"Nothing to it," said Xianghua looking around. One pirate lumbered toward her with a flintlock pistol, the barrel pointed straight at her.

"Let's see you dodge this one," said the pirate laughing to himself.

Xianghua's eyes grew wide as she knew she could not survive a gun shot. Just as the pirate was about to pull the trigger a small cloaked figure immediately leapt onto him, knocking him down onto the ground. The gun clattered across the deck several feet away, and the pirate lay unconscious on the ground. Xianghua looked up with astonishment towards the small gray cloaked figure who just saved her life. Just then, she noticed a warmth in her pocket, the shards of Soul Edge were reacting.

"Who is this person?" thought Xianghua.