Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to say this again so as to clarify anymore of the same questions. This story takes place in an alternate universe. It does not neccessarily follow the soul claibur plot. So please stop telling me that "this and this happened in the game so why is this an this happening". I've had enough. Thank you.

Chapter 8

Ronin of the Sea

The clouds began to gather swiftly as the ships cast off from the harbor. It looked like rain. That was never a good sign.

"Man the sails!"

Heishiro Mitsurugi, renowned ronin of the old empire, stood proudly on the deck, his arms folded over his chest. Barking order, he cast the horizon a beady glare, as if challenging the seas to do their very worst.

Mitsurugi feared nothing. He was fear itself, a product of the olden days, where he had slain countless warriors who dared to challenge him. He had missed those days, when his sword drank up the blood of the strong. Now he was merely a ronin for hire, a tool to the highest bidder. Currently, he was to escort merchant vessels safely along the seas, protecting them from any outlaws and pirates if the situation arose. There was no longer any glory in unsheathing his sword. He had soon forgotten his yearning for bloodshed.

"Captain! It looks like a storm's approaching. Perhaps we should wait until better weather comes along."

Mitsurugi turned to face the man addressing him and raised an eyebrow. "And why would we do such a thing? What difference would it make?" he growled, in no mood to put up with another whiny subordinate.

"But sir–"

"What is your name?" Mitsurugi demanded, feeling his temper rise already.

The man grew pale and immediately saluted for no apparent reason. "K-Keigo, sir!" he stammered nervously.

Mitsurugi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Well, Keigo, I take it you are a new recruit."

He nodded vigorously. "Y-yes, sir! I just transferred this month!"

"Well then allow me to explain how I run things on my ship," Mitsurugi said sternly, moving forward towards the tip of the boat. Nervously, the new recruit followed. "On my ship, I do not tolerate weakness. Only the strong and able-bodied men are allowed to work under me. Are you strong, Keigo?"

"S-sir! Yessir!" he exclaimed, saluting.

Mitsurugi narrowed his eyes. "Then why do you stutter like a child? Are you a child, Keigo?"

"N-no – I mean – no, sir!"

"How old are you, boy?"

"Seventeen within a week, sir!"

Mitsurugi nodded, pleased for once. "A fine age."

Again Keigo saluted him. "Thank you, sir!"

"Quit saluting me like we're in the army. This is a side job, boy! A simple delivery, nothing more. There is no need to be so formal," Mitsurugi snapped, turning to glare at the boy once again.

"Y-yes – I mean – sir!" Keigo replied, accidentally saluting once again.

Mitsurugi sighed and shook his head. "I can tell that I'm not going to like you very much, boy. Salute me one more time and I will be sure to cut your hands off myself. "And with that, he turned away, suddenly bored with the conversation.

Keigo gulped loudly but made a point to follow the grumpy ronin around the ship. When he had finally deemed it safe to speak once again, he asked, "Sir, why do you insist that we cast off at such a time? The storm is approaching, and it is our duty to get these other merchant vessels to safety."

"Haven't you been listening, boy?" Mitsurugi snapped, still in an irritable mood. "Nothing is too dangerous for my ship. Under my charge, no storm is big enough to hold us back. I will not have a petty storm put us behind schedule."

Keigo grew paler. "Captain…it's as if you want this storm to hit us!"

To his surprise, Mitsurugi threw his head back and laughed heartily. "I have changed my mind. I think I am going to like you, after all, boy!" he exclaimed, clapping him roughly on the shoulders. "Like I said, nothing is impossible for me. I would feel insulted if this storm did not hit us with all she's got."

"Captain…you're insane!"

This incited another hearty laugh from the ronin. "Welcome aboard, Keigo." And with that, he looked up at the sky and felt the first fat drops of rain fall. It was going to be a fierce storm, that he could tell, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Keigo felt a sinking feeling in his gut and leaned against the side of the boat where some of Mitsurugi's men were lounging about.

"That Mitsurugi's a crazy one, boy," one of them spoke up. "It would do you well to watch what you say around him. You never know what mood he's in."

"You look nervous, boy."

Keigo nodded. "Shouldn't we all? We'll be sailing in a storm."

At this, the men all laughed in amusement. "Aw, you poor boy! This is the infamous Heishiro Mitsurugi ship! We only take on the boldest and most dangerous of jobs! The lesser the guarantee of survival, the more interested the captain is to take the job."

"You're all mad!" Keigo yelled, moving away from them. Heading towards Mitsurugi once again, Keigo soon spotted a dark shape flying in the air. As he followed it with his eyes, he soon realized it was a crow.

Mitsurugi also noticed this and peered closely at its beak. It seemed to be carrying something. Moving closer to it, the crow suddenly jumped at him and scratched his open palm. Wincing, Mitsurugi moved his hand back and watched as the crow flew into the air, circling the boat.

"Captain!" Keigo spoke up from behind the ronin. "I have a bad feeling about this!"

"It's just a crow," Mitsurugi replied, losing interest. Inspecting his palm, he soon realized the crow had cut him deeply. There was a deep gash from where its claws had touched him.

"Crows are an ill omen, captain! We should turn back now when we are still near the shore!"

But Mitsurugi was no longer listening. As he wiped the blood from his palm, he soon found a metallic fragment embedded deep in his skin. Pulling it out, he inspected it closely and scowled. Is this what cut me? he asked himself, wiping the blood off of it.

As he cleaned the shard, he began to hear a strange humming in his head. Soon, the shard began to glow.

"Captain?"

Lightning flashed, and all hell broke loose.

"Let go of me! LET GO!"

Cassandra landed hard against the cold stone floor. She was bound with both her hands and feet, and as she looked up, she could see a set of metal bars slide shut before her.

"Shut up!" Tira hissed from behind the prison bars. "You are in no position to be giving me orders!"

Cassandra wriggled vigorously against the chains holding her, but to no avail. "You coward! I'd like to hear you say that when you're in here without all your stupid crows!" she snarled.

Tira scowled. "You know, I think I liked you better when you were silent!" And with that, she slammed her hand against the metal bars, creating a powerful force from the impact. In an instant, Cassandra gasped as she felt an invisible hand punch her in the gut, nearly knocking the wind out of her. Tira smiled. "That's better."

Cassandra choked and sputtered for breath. "What do you want with me?"

"I want you to shut up!" Tira snapped, losing her patience once again.

"What are you going to do with me?"

At this Tira howled with laughter. "I want a new body! And you're just perfect for my plan. Now SHUT UP!" And with that, Tira slammed her hand against the bars, this time, rendering Cassandra unconscious.

"That's enough fun, Tira. We have business to attend to," a new voice spoke up, echoing loudly in the dungeon. It was a man's voice.

Tira looked up and realized someone approaching her. But it was not Nightmare. Smiling, she clasped her hands behind her back and nodded. "Oh, it's you. I trust she'll be in 'good' hands once I'm gone."

He chuckled. "Of course. We had a deal. You bring me what I want, and I shall do your bidding."

Tira's eyes flashed a crimson color. "Good. Now enjoy yourself with that one. I have one of ours to attend to. He's been such a bad boy." And with that, she vanished into thin air.

The sea had been stormy that day. The winds had howled fiercely, and the rain beat down against the sails with such tremendous force. The ship had cracked in seconds from the brutal strength of the crashing waves. The water had been relentless, unleashing its unquenchable fury.

He had been thrown off the ship, and was swallowed up by the sea.

The sea…

"The sea!"

Rousing from his sleep, he jolted up to sitting position and panted for breath. His surroundings came as a shock to him. The last he recalled, he had drowned – or thought he did – in the ocean, along with his men and his ship. He had been struggling in the water, the waves forcing him down no matter how hard he kicked his legs.

But he was no longer at sea, nor was he dead. Instead, he found himself lying on a soft cot beside a small fire. As he glanced around his surroundings, he soon noticed he was inside a small hut.

Where am I?

He turned to look at the flames just a few paces and noticed a pot being heated over it. Judging from the smell, he could tell it was herbal tea. Past the flames, he noticed a pile of stones resting on top of each other, appearing to be a forge or a small table. Beside it, he quickly recognized his crimson armor.

"Long time no see, Heishiro-kun. It's been awhile."

Mitsurugi jumped at the sound of the voice and quickly felt for his sword.

There came a soft husky laugh and a slim figure slinked out of the shadows, holding up a katana. "Let's not be so hasty."

Mitsurugi immediately froze as he recognized the katana as his. Shifting his gaze away from his sword, he studied the figure before him carefully, noting that it was a woman. As his eyes reached her face, he recognized the face mask and frowned. "You!"

Taki laughed softly once again and walked over to the other end of the hut, placing his katana beside his armor and clearly out of his reach. "I see you remembered me. Good. That makes things easier." She removed her face mask, revealing her pale face to the ronin.

Mitsurugi struggled to get to his feet but failed as a searing pain erupted in his abdomen. Throwing the blanket off of him, he immediately caught sight of blood stained bandages wrapped around his stomach.

Immediately, Taki kicked him down, inciting a string of curses from him. "I told you not to be so hasty. You're just going to reopen your wounds." And with that, she watched with an amused grin on her lips as Mitsurugi was momentarily stunned from the pain.

The ronin groaned in pain, clutching his stomach. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"A bit," Taki replied, chuckling.

"Did you do this to me?"

Taki raised an eyebrow and roughly forced him to stay still on the cot. "Don't be ridiculous. Had it been me who made that poor excuse of a wound, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She grinned and moved Mitsurugi's hand away from his stomach. "See? You're bleeding again. This blasted wound refuses to heal, no matter what I do to it." She pressed two fingers against it, inciting another sharp gasp from the ronin. "Perhaps it's infected."

"Why am I here?" Mitsurugi asked, trying to distract himself from the pain.

Taki shot him a quizzical look as she removed his bandages. "You don't remember?"

"I remember being at sea…but that is all I can recall," he replied, honestly.

"Well, I don't know much, but I found you washed up on shore a few days ago. There was no one else there," Taki explained as she removed the bandages completely. "I figured you had been ship wrecked, but it seemed strange to me that there were no signs of that anywhere."

Mitsurugi winced as Taki pressed a damp cloth against his wound. "And why didn't you just leave me for dead? It's no secret that we are not very close friends," he pointed out.

At this, Taki grinned once again and pressed the cloth against his wound a little more roughly than what Mitsurugi would have liked. "Shinobi or not, I'm not interested in unnecessary bloodshed. I would have killed you myself, but where would that lead me?"

Mitsurugi gave no reply as he reluctantly allowed Taki to place a clean set of bandages on his wound. Instead, he took this time to recall his first encounter with the ninja, wondering how long they had crossed swords after every encounter. It had been seven years ago when they first met, and like all their meetings to come, they exchanged blows more than words. Finally, Mitsurugi turned his gaze back to the ninja and noticed something different from her.

"Your clan's crest is gone." His eyes darted up to meet her gaze. "How long has it been since you've deserted them?"

Taki scoffed in amusement and rose up to her feet. For a long time she didn't answer, but finally, she looked away. "They've been after me for some time now. It won't be long before they find this place. We'll have to move soon."

"'We?'" Mitsurugi grunted with disdain. "What's Japan's most outlawed shinobi want with me?"

"Insurance." And with that, Taki placed her face mask back on. "The government has a hefty reward on your head. 100,000 yen for your head, and double if brought back alive. No shinobi can resist the challenge. With you with me, the shinobi are bound to keep their distance."

Mitsurugi rolled his eyes and shook his head in disdain. "So you want me to tag along so you can use me as your shield."

"Whatever it takes."

He chuckled bitterly. "Are you insane? Your entire clan will stop at nothing to kill you, and you want me to help you? Not in a million years."

It was Taki's turn to throw her head back and laugh. Pressing two fingers firmly against Mitsurugi's wound, she incited a sharp gasp of pain from him, and lowered her head close to his ear. "I'm afraid you don't seem to understand your predicament, Heishiro-kun. You see, you are in no position to refuse any proposition from me. As you can see, I've saved your life. You owe me." And with that, she rose up and left the hut, leaving Mitsurugi to lie helplessly by himself.

Mitsurugi sighed. He really hated that woman.