Chapter 2

The smell of trees and wood filled the air, which was warm and welcoming. Keiko shifted in her sleep, trying not to wake up, but eventually, gave in. She sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was laying in the center of a large and very beautiful bedroom. The light from the sun illuminated the paper of the shoji walls that lined the room, and cast a pale yellow glow on the tatami floor. Keiko noticed she was laying in a very comfortable futon with a beautiful quilt spread on top. Outside she could here birds singing and leaves rustling and decided to take a look around.

She ran to a sliding door and opened it. Outside, she saw a wall of trees swaying in a breeze. There was green grass, the greenest she had ever seen, surrounding the house where she assumed she was now staying. She ran out of the room and into the field to get a better look at her new home. It was much like her old home, only much bigger and not surrounded by other houses of the same style. She then looked past her the house and peered at her surroundings. Indeed, the wall of trees encircled the house and the small green meadow. From the sounds of the forest around her there wasn't any town or village for miles. Such seclusion… she thought, It's so peaceful… I wonder if there are any people around here who would be my friends.

She felt a lump growing in her throat again. Friends. All of them had been murdered in her village, along with her family. Now she was all alone in the world; not a person to guide her. She felt a numbness come over her now and sank to her knees. No tears could reach her eyes, and no sounds could reach her lips; she just sat there, her mind rushing from one happy memory to another. She saw her mother braiding her hair in her room, and saw her telling her something, but she couldn't hear a thing. She saw her father scolding her brother Taka for burning some fish they were supposed to have for dinner, but nothing could be heard. She saw her friends and herself all running through the village playing games, she saw her birthday celebrations, she saw her village's Obon festival; she saw her whole life just rolling by with no sounds of laughter, no music- nothing.

Suddenly, Keiko sensed someone standing behind her. She turned quickly to see who it was, afraid that it was another group of rouge ninja coming to finish the job. Standing there, wearing a large brimmed hat that she had never seen before stood her new companion Orochimaru.

"My lord!" she choked, overwhelmed with gratitude that he was still there. She fell to her knees again and prostrated herself at his feet.

"Child, why are you out in the meadow alone? Do you not realize the dangers of this?!" he hissed angrily, "Do you want to end up like the people in your village?!"

His harsh words struck a nerve within her. Her tears now flowed heavily and freely. "I… I am sorry, m-my lord," she sobbed, still prostrated at his feet, "I- I wanted to see where I was, and if my f-f-friends were here and I…. And then I… I…"

Orochimaru just stood there, staring blankly at the child. He didn't care about her words, and her tears didn't matter to him. But instead of letting the spectacle continue as he wanted, he knelt down and placed a pale hand on her shoulder. "Keiko-chan, I am not angry. Rather, worried about you!"

"W-worried…?" Keiko said, raising her head to look at him through the tears.

"Why of course! You are now my adopted daughter- the one I shall pass my knowledge to! I don't want anything to happen to you!"

"My.. My Lord…" She said, blinking back more tears.

"Now, come Keiko-chan, come with me and I shall give you a proper tour of your new home and what is to be expected of you." He stood and watched Keiko as she shakily got to her knees. She looked almost like a young deer; young and new, but very disorientated and wobbly not only physically, but mentally as well- someone he could mold to fit his liking.

He showed her things she had already seen when she ventured about, but a few more rooms she hadn't found, such as the storage room full of food and a room full of replacement futons. Finally, they found their way to the last room. Orochimaru slid open the rice paper door to reveal an extremely large tatami room with suits of armor and hundreds of different types of weapons on display. "This will be your training area for now. Here, I shall teach you the basics of combat and ninjutsu until you are proficient enough to attend me on my errands and such."

"Errands?" Keiko asked looking up at Orochimaru, "What sort of errands, my lord?"

"You needn't worry about that now. When the time comes, I shall address it. But now, I need to begin conditioning you for training."

"But my lord, I haven't had anything to eat yet today! Maybe if I could have some-"

"Silence!" Orochimaru hissed, glaring at the child. "Do you not want to learn the ways of the Ninja? Would you rather eat all day and grow lazy like the people in your village?! Do you not want to be able to master ninjutsu and be able to defend yourself?! Do you want to end up dying rather than living?! Do you want to end up like your family?! Do you?!"

Keiko stared wide eyed at Orochimaru, fear growing within her. Something insider her told her it would be wise to leave as soon as she could, to get away because this man was nothing to be triffeled with; that he was dangerous and may even kill her if she crossed him. Get out now! it said, Leave this place! Find shelter elsewhere! You are better off living in the forest than with this man! However, something deeper within her knew that even if she did run, he would find her. If she were to escape, he would be able to track her down with ease, and then bring her back or worse. Keiko bowed her head, not quite sure of what she was doing. "I apologize my lord," she said, not quite feeling her own words, let alone anything else. "I don't want to end up like my family and village. I shall do as you say."

Orochimaru sneered, "Well said, my daughter." He placed his hand on her shoulder and led her into the room. "Your first form of training comes today," he explained, "you shall clean each piece of weaponry until it shines like the sun. Then, you shall pick a weapon that you shall keep as your own. Once you have found this, I shall teach you to use it."

He led Keiko to a small table where a wet cloth, a few stones and other objects lay. "Now, you shall figure out how to use these well enough; you are a smart girl, after all," Orochimaru said. "For every mistake, that is one hour you don't get to eat, and keep in mind child, I am very picky when it comes to weapons. Now, the sooner you get to work, the sooner you eat. I will peek in on you from time to time, so don't get sloppy."

"But Lord Orochimaru, I-!" She tried to say, but when she turned around, he was gone. Keiko bit her lip to keep herself from crying. She had never used any of these things before, and she certainly had never handled any weaponry before. She stared at the table for a long while, trying to figure out what to do, and soon her mind drifted into thoughts about her old home with her family in her village. She could see her mother waking up early every morning to make breakfast for the family, and she could remember hearing her grandfather grumbling about how the merchants in town never carried any good tobacco. Her mind then flew to memories of her father. He was one of the members of the village militia, so he did know a thing or two about weapons. Oh, how she wished he was here now. Then, it came to her. She could see her father leading her into his room to show her his prized sword. "Look closely, Keiko," he had said, "this sword has been in the family for many generations. If this blade every grew dull do you know what would happen?"

"What?" she had asked.

"It would no longer do it's job and cause much trouble."

"What do you mean, father?"

"If this blade ever grew dull," he explained warmly, "it could no longer protect the people of this village, or the people of whom I love, causing much trouble for not only you, your mother and your grandmother and father, but for the rest of the village as well. In order to keep this from happening, it is my duty to keep this blade as sharp as possible."

"How do you do it father? I want to keep it sharp, too!"

Her father laughed, "Unfortunately Keiko-chan, it is the men of the family who must take care of this task." When he saw how crest fallen his daughter looked, he smiled and said, "However, I don't think it would hurt to instruct you just in case." Just as Orochimaru had done, he led her to a small table where he kept all of the tools he used to keep his sword in top shape. "These stone here," he said, letting her touch them, "are to help sharpen the blade. This cloth and this liquid are to help polish the blade, and help it stay clean which is very important. If you ever need to use these items, remember to be gentle but firm. And remember, quality is much more important than anything else."

Keiko snapped back into reality and realized that she might have more of a chance to pass this test than she had thought. She scrambled to her feet and ran to one of the many weapon racks. She grabbed the first weapon she found and ran back to the table with it. She laid the weapon down and sat in front of it. It was a katana, and it was in fairly good shape. She remembered her fathers words on the specific stones and other tools and their purpose in cleaning up and repairing blades. Gingerly, she lifted the first stone and ran it across the length of the blade. Everything was going smoothly but suddenly the stone slipped and she cut her finger on the blade. She cried out and looked at her finger. It was bleeding, but nothing to be really concerned with. She picked up the stone again and continued to work, keeping a careful eye on what she was doing. The polish stung her cut finger, but for the most part, she just concentrated on the task at hand. Soon, she was polishing the blades like a pro; a very sliced up pro. "This is my first time," she told herself, "so there are going to be many cuts. But as long as Lord Orochimaru is happy, I too will be happy." Three hours past and soon, Orochimaru entered the room. He looked around and saw that the weapons he had assigned her to clean looked as if they were being handled by a very skilled craftsman. "Well, Keiko-chan," he said, still looking around, "I see you have adjusted to this job every nicely. And your on your last weapon, I presume?"

"Yes, my Lord," she said, slowly getting to her feet, the weapon in her hand. She turned to face him, and he got a good look at her hands. Small rivulets of dried blood wound their way down her wrists, but her hands were puckered and white, except for the glowing red cuts all over her fingers and palms. She gingerly held the weapon in her left hand. Orochimaru smiled when he saw this. She looked tired and in pain, but the way she held that sword, she looked like a small warrior.

"Well done, child." He said. "Now, you have seen my collection of weapons- which do you want to call yours?"

Keiko tightened her grip on the sword, and winced as her cuts pressed against the hilt. She held it out toward him just like a warrior would. "I have chosen this one," she said through gritted teeth.

"Good choice, young one," he said with a smile, "a nodachi blade- very good choice. Now, it would be wise to name your blade."

Keiko looked at the blade as if seeing it for the first time. She looked at the shining silvery metal of the blade, and the overall length. It was a large sword indeed, one she would have to learn how to master. "I will call it Kakuzentaru," Keiko said finally.

Orochimaru smiled when he heard her choice of names. 'Clear cut', he thought to himself, what a meaningful name…

"Well chosen again, Keiko-chan," he said with a broad smile. "Now, let us bandage your hands and get you something to eat."