Disclaimer: I don't own Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. I only own Shakalli.

Path of a Leader

Chapter 3 Confrontations and Confessions

He was cold. All he had known for what seemed like a short period of time was darkness, and surprisingly, warmth. Now he was cold. What the hell was going on here? He thought that, as a ninja, a taker of lives, he was going to hell. But where was he? All he saw darkness. A very cold darkness. For a brief second, he thought he might still be alive. That thought disappeared quickly though, when he thought of the pain that had racked his surprisingly thin body. But, if he wasn't in hell, or if he wasn't dead either, then where the hell was he?

He saw out of the corner of his right eye, a small ball of fire. That just happened to be floating in midair. It made it's way to him, and stopped a foot away from his face. The ball of fire was maybe eight inches in diameter, and for such a small fire, there was a lot heat radiating from it. Keno felt like the ball of fire was going to kill him. Which was surprising, since he had always loved fire, it always managed to calm him down, if there were no animals with him. The ball floated a few yards away, before turning (if it could possibly turn around), and flying at him. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had hit him in the chest, or even the face. No, instead it hit him in his injured side. He felt like he should scream, but only heard a muffled groan. He also felt as if his body were being held down with something, but he chose to ignore it. The pain he felt from the fire hitting his ribcage was too much. Suddenly he felt the cold slowly give way to warmth, and comfort.

He felt cold again. But this time, he felt cold on the inside, and warm on the outside of his body. He wondered how it was that a dead person could feel this way. Then he felt a presence. Just what was going on here anyway? He felt someone's hand on his fore head. The hand was delicate and warm. The hand withdrew and something was being put on his forehead. Something wet. And cold. Someone was surely torturing him, now that he had made his mind up that he was still alive. He heard a woman's voice, and he could almost swear he had heard that voice before.

"Seiji-san, he has a bad fever. I don't know if he can break out of this on his own." Seiji-san? He was still alive? That's right, he had failed in killing the young Date. But, wait. They were talking about him right now, right? He was still alive. That meant that he had failed in dying. Damn. Luck was not with him this month, of that he was sure. "Seiji, as your older sister, I have to ask that you get some rest. He has been unconcious for a while now. You need to get some sleep. If he wakes up, have one of the guards wake you. Please ototo.(Younger brother) For my sake at least." That's it. This woman was Yayoi-san. Seiji-san's onee-san. Just thinking that was making his head hurt.

"Hai, onee-san. I will take your advice and sleep. I need it. After all, it has been a rough past couple of days. Guard, when the 'patient' wakes up, please send someone to wake me. I thank you. Let's go onee-san, you look like you need some sleep as well." 'A rough past couple of days'? Just how long had he been unconcious? Owww, just thinking about it made his head hurt. Well, he did have a fever. Maybe that was what was making his head hurt. In fact, that was what Himeno said once, after she had gotten over a fever. Himeno. Oh, how he missed her and his brothers. He wanted to see them again, but he could never see them again. And that saddened his heart more than anything. The voices of people talking outside slowly faded into the back ground of nothingness.

The next thing he was aware of was his stomach was rumbling. He was hungry, his head still hurt, and he was still cold. He felt himself ball up. Until his left elbow hit his left side, right where his wound was. He bite back a cry and slowly opened his eyes. So he was still alive. That meant that he was going to be questioned about who had hired him and why. And then he was going to be punished, possibly even killed. Well, he was just going to have to fix that.

"You in there. Are you finally awake?" someone said behind him. He slowly turned over onto his back. Then, not wanting to further aggrivate his wound any further, turned his head to his left. He saw a guard looking at him. Well, here goes nothing.

"Hai, I'm finally awake." Oh how his throat hurt him. He had been sick this whole time. And his head still hurt. He looked at the ceiling and noticed he must have been in some sort of supply room. Not a prison. He had had to be arrested in order to get his target once before. The prison was much dirtier than his current room. He tried sitting up. But he only succeded in aggitating his wound and making himself dizzy.

He threw his hand up to his head in the hopes that doing that would somehow stop his headache. It only succeded in proving that he still had a fever. Although his forehead was sweaty. What little he knew about wounds, infections, and fevers, told him that his fever was starting to break. That was the only good news, for him at least. He heard a door open and turned his head to see who was paying him a visit. The door was wide open and all he saw was the bright light of the sun. When the door closed partially, he saw, or thought he saw, someone coming towards him with a lamp. His nose told him that there was a tray of food coming towards him as well.

Getting up, slowly this time, he saw a young girl coming towards him. He recognized her as the girl he had seen the night he had attempted to kill Date. Come to think of it, she looked like him. She set the food down a foot from him and turned back to the door. He watched her open the door, sigh quiet angryly, and pick up a tray with a fancy teapot and two cups. 'Two? Why did she bring two?' As she walks back she stares at him. She then sets the tray next to the other tray, and hands him a bowl of soup. He accepts it and then she asks him, rather bluntly.

"Why did you try to kill my onii-san? What would you have gotten out of it anway? My brother is the one who holds this place together, so why did you want to kill him?" so that's why she looked like him. She was the younger sister, Satsuki. Well what was he going to tell her? "Better yet, why did my brother want to help you after what you had done to him?"

"Satsuki-chan, that's quite enough of that." he looked to the door to see Seiji walking through the now open door. 'Being sick is messing with my senses.' Seiji walks over to where Satsuki had been standing. Satsuki looks at her onii-san with a mixture of aggrivation, sadness and worry, before she hands the lamp to him, and leaves. Seiji waits until he hears the door slide shut. "And Satsuki, this conversation is not going to become a fighting match. He is still too weak to fight me and I have no weapons that he may try to take. I will be alright, okay, Satsuki-chan?" he has his eyes closed, but he has a smile on his face.

"Hai, onii-san." Seiji hears her walking away and then sits down next to the food that is on the floor. 'Those two must play this type of game often, if he knows what she will do like that.' Seiji sees that his eating companion is not eating. "Don't tell me you aren't hungry. The other day, you looked like you hadn't eaten in a while. You have to eat something, even if it's a small amount, since you were sick." he looks to see that Satsuki didn't give the 'prisoner' his chopsticks. "Satsuki-chan. Here, maybe now you can eat something." he says as he hands the chopsticks to the young ninja.

"D-d-domo arigato, Date Seiji-san." Keno takes the chopsticks, says a quiet 'I humbly accept this meal' and prosedes in almost inhaling his food. Seiji looks at him, feeling a little pity for the young man. Then he begins pouring tea for the two of them. Keno finishes with the soup and moves on to eat one of the pieces of fish that sits before him. Once he has finished eating that, he looks up to see Seiji is quietly sipping his tea. 'That explains the two cups.' He looks to Seiji to enquire about the other cup. Seiji looks at it, fills it with tea, and then gives it to Keno. "Arigato."

Seiji thinks he can see that this young man is very embarassed to be eating infront of him. When he finishes eating, Keno has eaten almost of the food that had been on the tray. He mumbles quietly, 'I give thanks for this meal' then he bows to Seiji, and once again aggitates his wound. For the first time since waking up however, he notices that the wound hurts less than it has in weeks. He hears the trays being slid across the floor and sees a pair of hands trying to remove the bandage. He looks up to see Seiji-san looks worried.

"Please lift your arm. I want to check your wound. I think it's bleeding again." Keno does what he's told as Seiji removes the bandage only to recoil in shock. "It seems that it's completely healed. I don't know how it could have healed that quickly though. It was terribly infected, when my onee-san looked at it." Keno looks down at his side to see that the only thing left, of the injury he recieved from Shakalli over three weeks ago, is a pink colored scar. 'Now how did that happen?' "You, young ninja, are a very interesting person. The pain you feel is what remains of that wound. That's why you still hurt. Interesting indeed."

"Seiji-san, your imoto(little sister) said that you helped me after I passed out. Why did you do that? I had just tried to kill you. You should have just let me die." Keno spoke softly while he lowered his head. Seiji had had a feeling that this question might come up. For some reason however, he couldn't help, but feel that getting himself caught was what the ninja had wanted to do in the first place.

"I refuse to answer that question, until you answer a few of mine. First, why did you not attack me while my back was to you when we were fighting?" Seiji was quiet as he waited for the other man to answer.

"I originally had no dislike of you. It was only by a twisted person's request that I kill you. You have two sisters and for some reason, maybe because of them, I just couldn't kill you while your back was turned. It was rather unninja like I know, but I just wouldn't kill you. Not like that. And besides everyone I have fought or killed, it was face to face." Keno became quiet. 'Why the hell did I have to say that? Why did I tell him everything?'

"Next question, who wanted to kill me? I was the target, right?"

"Yes you were the target, but as part of my contract, broken or not, I can't tell you who hired me. The ones who hired me said it was their boss that wanted you dead, but I don't know who that was. Sorry." Keno looked rather upset at himself. He had originally thought that they would wait until he had regained some of his strength, and he would be in the presence of weapons, or even one weapon.And he was just answering questions left and right. Maybe it was still the fever, maybe it was the fact that he had just eaten for the first time in, maybe two weeks, or maybe it was guilt. He was so confused, so he settled with mentally scolding himself. If word of this got back to his home, if his family had some how survived, he would be shunned.

"Next question, how did you hurt your side? I know my archers could not possibly inflict infection, especially not that much. So, how did you receive that infected wound?"

"One of the ones who hired me, tried to make me take on this task. He had my entire family held in some sort of forcefield. When I refused, he told her to strike me. I almost beat her, but she caught me in a moment of surprise. She had a sword coming at me from the right, and I didn't see the short sword coming at me from the left, until it was too late. Her short sword was what nailed me."

"I see. Now, here's another question. What is your name? I know you probably aren't supposed to tell and you aren't supposed to tell your captors anything. But everyone thinks you are now dead. Now what's your name?" 'Everyone thinks I'm dead? What the hell does he mean?'

"My name is Sanada Keno." 'Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Why did I just tell him that?

"That's a very interesting name. Now if I may ask. Do you like any other names? Like Ichiro, Toshio, or anything else?" 'Has Seiji-san been smoking bad grass or something?' But he felt he had to answer that question.

"Well, I like the name I have, but I do like the name, Ryo. That used to be my cousin's name. Why does it matter which name I like or not, Seiji-san? I can understand why you asked my name, but why ask me something like that?"

"Because, that's your new name. Sanada Keno died from his wounds the night he tried to kill me. You're his cousin Sanada Ryo." And with that he called for the guard at the door to summon a servant to take the dihes away. And all this time the poor young ninja felt like he just might pass out from shock. At the door Seiji turned and said, "Until I see you again, my friend."

"Seiji-sama, who is that young man in there?"

"That is my friend and new bodyguard, Sanada Ryo." and with that Seiji shut the door. This was just to much for Keno, er Ryo to absorb. 'Why did he just change my name like that? No doubt to help me start a new life, but why? And why his new bodyguard? My head hurts from thinking too much.' he lay down and it didn't take too long for him to fall back asleep.'Maybe it was all just a dream.'

Meanwhile Satsuki, Yayoi, Seiji and one of Seiji's guards stood in the hall out side of the door.

"Onii-san, why did you do that? He could try to kill you again."

"No he won't, Satsuki-chan. He was forced to attack me against his will. He is a good person, I can sense it. He will not try to attack me again. Besides, he deserves some kind of break, don't you think? Word has been sent out that a young male ninja that tried to kill me, died from the wounds given to him by my guards. Now that I know what his real name is, I can conform who it was. Word will spread that I'm still alive, and that Sanada Keno is dead. The ones who are holding his family hostage, will release them, and try to kill me themselves. And I will deal with them myself. That's all there is to it." and with that, Seiji walked down the hall to the door that lead outside.