Bonjour toute le monde (yes, I'm taking French, and I love it, except my teacher keeps pronouncing my name wrong, but its okay.),

So, Halloween is finally upon us! Ooh, I hope you guys are going to have a blast. As for me, I'm going to be at school with my friend and my teacher... having class. Yes, no trick-or-treating for me. Anyways, I know it's a little early (like a day) for uploading, since I usually upload the new chapter on the first of each month (if I remember to, that is), but since it's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I'm going to be kind of busy just writing, and writing, and writing. I took on the 50,000 words challenge last year and realized that time control is extremely important. If you have no idea what I'm talking about and would like to know just go to . It's a really cool challenge that puts your creativity to the test. Within 30 days (from Nov 1 -30) try and complete a novel, several novels, poems, or whatever with 50,000 words (the point is the 50,000 words). The story and writing doesn't even have to be good. :P So, you can sign up for that if you want to. If you are interested you can look me up. My username is RueLin. Anyway, the point of all this is that, since I'm not up-to-speed with The Minstrel, there may or may not be another chapter coming out next month. Just giving ya'll a heads up. I apologize, its just that NaNoWriMo is going be taking up all my free time. I will try and compensate, though, to make it that you all get an early Christmas present. :P So please forgive me, and enjoy the next addition to The Minstrel and the Ninja.

Au Revior,

RueLin

Second Movement, Part 7

It was barely dawn when Mayuri lit a single wax candle in her small room at the inn. Quickly she changed from her sleeping robes into a thick yukata and draped a plain haori over it. She threw a coin bag and a cube of resin in her pouch and slipped the drawstring over her wrist.

From her trunk of possessions and clothes she grabbed a pair of waraji sandals by its straw thongs. Silently, she slipped the paper door of her room opened and slipped down the halls to the entrance. Slipping on her waraji sandals, instead of her usual wooden geta shoes, Mayuri left the inn like a ghost. She still brought along her red geta shoes to wear later, but for now, as she stalked away from the sleeping Amegakure, she wanted to be as noiseless as possible.

The air was chilly, and the haori wasn't enough to keep the cold from seeping into her bones, but it didn't matter. Her breath misted with each step she took that brought her closer to the gate. Soon, she was out. Free to roam wherever her heart desired, but there was only one place she wanted to be.

Mayuri wished she could teleport, but she was left to trudge up a lonely hill. She didn't mind, if it meant meeting him again.

The fresh morning dew soaked into her thin socks and her toes soon lost their feeling in the cold, but she continued on, passing rocks and flowers that have bloomed with the rising sun.

Finally, she had reached the top of her beloved hill and underneath the cherry tree stood a lonely man clad in black.

He waited, in the stillness, for her arrival. The moment seemed as if someone had timed the entire picture perfectly for him. The sun's beams combed through every highlight in her hair as it framed her face as a cool breeze flew past. Her skin was pale, the color of ash blotched with purple everywhere except for her cheeks and nose which were flushed with color. She stole the breath from his lungs.

"Sorry, have you waited long?" she asked, her violet eyes beaming up at him.

She trembled, her hands shiveredas they clutched her haori. He saw, she was cold

"No. I haven't." He almost smiled, his face was pleasant. Itachi slipped out of his cloak and wrapped it tightly around Mayuri's slim figure.

Clutching the garment around her, Mayuri inhaled his masculine fragrance that clung onto the cloak. It felt so warm inside, enveloped in what was his.

"Thank you." She smiled up at him again, her cheeks even redder than before. "But aren't you cold?"

"No."

His eyes turned scarlet as she scanned her chakra lines. Besides being cold, everything else physically was fine, and he let out a small sigh of relief. He thought it would be fine just sending letters to her, but soon, surprisingly to him, he needed more. He needed more than just written word that she was healthy and happy. He needed more than just written words of adoration, more than just her written thoughts. He needed her, in flesh, in all her glorious beauty.

He would never admit it, but every night he had thought of her, where she was, if she was sleeping, if she was safe. Traveling, even with a large caravan, is often dangerous. Bandits, thieves, and worse, rogue ninjas without morals dwelled in the highlands they travelled through. Itachi had only known where they traveled through her letters. The roads they took were perilous, but it allowed them to cut across mountains and valleys much quicker than the safer alternative.

"You're cold," he said, and before she could react in anyways, he lifted her into his arms and practically flew to the top branches of the cherry tree and let her soak in the sunlight.

He set her on a sturdy branch and jumped down to a lower one. Silently, he took off each of her waraji slippers and then her damp socks. He then touched her feet and rubbed some warmth back into them. It was so intimate, something a man would do for his lover, and he knew it was wrong. He shouldn't be getting closer to her. But at that moment, he forgot the entire world, only she remained in his thoughts.

He looked up from his wide brimmed straw hat at her, whose face couldn't possibly be a brighter shade of red. Color had come back to her skin and lips, which was a good sign.

"Um," she started to say only to find her tongue had tied itself up.

He rose up from the lower branch and stood eye level with her. Mayuri could barely breath, their faces were so close. Can he hear my heart drumming in my chest, she wondered.

Gallantly, she lifted her hands and took the straw hat off his head, letting the wind pick up his long raven black hair. His eyes were as dark as night, though she could have sworn they were red a minute ago. There was such a mysterious and dangerous aura around this man, Mayuri couldn't help being attracted to him. Like a moth to a flame; knowing there was potential danger, but choosing, instead, to draw near the wonder in front of her.

The two of them watched the sun rise. Mayuri sat on her branch, and Itachi stood on his. As Mayuri kept her lavender eyes on the sun, Itachi turned to look at her, his gaze soft, hoping to be unnoticed by her. She was so perfect, so elegant, and so beautiful, with her head of rich gold cascading in a wonderful tumble down her shoulders and waist, and her eyes, so invitingly sweet.

All of a sudden, she turned her head towards him and caught him staring. Instantly, she looked away, and a blush crept to her cheeks. Even with all her embarrassment, she couldn't help the little smile that lifted on her lips. He had been staring, at her! And his gaze held a passionate yearning he wasn't aware of.

When her socks were once again dry, Mayuri slipped them back on and put her usual geta. She handed back Itachi's cloak to him. Lightly, be brought her back down to the ground and was ready to take off when she caught the hem of his sleeve. He stopped and turned his head to see her.

"Don't go yet," she pleaded. She realized what she had just said and let go of his sleeve, fearing that he might leave. But he just stood there, waiting for her next words. "I mean," she mumbled, her fingers crossing each other nervously. "It's been a year since we've last met." She lost her train of thought again. "Come to town with me," she blurted out.

If he was surprised, he hid it well under his hat. He made no other movement as he looked down at the waking village.

"Don't you have work?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted, "but I can come up with an excuse! The Spring Festival has been going on long before I was even born, they can hold one without me for a year, I think. I can send a message to my friend. I'll tell her I'm sick with a contagious disease and am unable to play for the remainder of the festival. And absolutely no one is to see me!"

Without realizing, she had started to pace back and forth as she planned her excuse. He as intrigued by her. She had so many faces and expressions. At one moment she would be the beguiling songstress, at another she would be the innocent, jolly child, and yet at another she could be the alluring woman that teases all his senses.

"Please, won't you go with me? It'll be fun, I swear it!" she begged.

Itachi let out a sigh and smiled and half smile. "Let's go then."

His reluctant acceptance was rewarded by the most brilliant smile he had ever seen that struck the ice in his chest.

"I'll send Lupa the message right away!" She took out the little pad of paper she always kept with her ever since they started exchanging letters and scribbled a quick note. "Oh no, I left Kurochi at the inn."

"Kurochi?"

"The little crow you gave me. I named him Kurochi."

With a flick of his hand the small bird appeared, perched on his finger, attentive to his master. Itachi stretched out his arm and handed Kurochi over to Mayuri. The miniature bird hopped onto her shoulders where he took his usual perch like a king takes his throne.

Mayuri rolled up the little note and handed it to Kurochi, who in turn swallowed it whole. Just as the note was consumed and larger version of the small crow seemed to grow out from Itachi's shoulder, ready to deliver Mayuri's message to Itachi.

Itachi held up a hand, as if to tell signal the two birds not to go through with the usual transaction. The larger crow stayed put on his shoulders as Mayuri gave Kurochi instructions to deliver the note to Lupa. Soon, the little bird set off and Mayuri turned back to Itachi.

"So that's how it works," she said as she put a hand on the oversized crow. "I guess you should be called Kuro-o then."

Itachi chuckled. "I guess he is. Show some gratitude," he said to the crow. "The lady just gave you an honorable name." As if in response, the crow tilted his head at Mayuri and flapped over to her shoulder and rubbed his head against her like Kurochi would and she laughed with a high trill.

"Shall we go now?" Itachi suggested as Kuro-o melted back into the black of his cloak.

Smoothing out her hair and clothes, Mayuri nodded. Then before her eyes, another man stood in the place of Itachi. He wasn't as handsome, but she couldn't say that he was unattractive. Soon, she realized he had only altered his prominent features. He wore more common clothes, though they looked flashy with vibrant hues of blue and gold. He looked almost like a rich merchant's son.

"Sorry, I'll have to put on a disguise if we are to walk around freely in the village," he explained.

"Well, this look isn't as nice, but I guess it'll have to do," she said and shrugged.

The village was lively by the time they made it back. Mayuri wore Itachi hat on her head, the only thing he hadn't disguised away. To the rest of the world she was ill in bed, not strolling on the streets with a handsome stranger by her side. An excitement rushed through her nerves; she had never played hooky before.

They walked through the crowd window shopping around the stalls. There were many things on sale and the shopkeepers sounded inviting, but Mayuri had developed a habit of never buying something unless she absolutely needed it, no matter how much she wanted it.

They walked passed stalls selling festival masks, the most fashionable yukatas and getas, jewelry, freshly cooked food, chinaware, furniture, and instruments. At each one, Mayuir would pick something up and put it back quickly, only looking at it.

When the afternoon was almost gone, they stopped at a stall selling gemstones, bracelets, necklaces, and rings of all sorts. Mayuri looked over the gleaming emeralds and sapphires reflecting the shine of her eyes. Itachi watched her closely, as she scanned each item. She pointed at a heavily set emerald necklace and whispered that it looked too gaudy. Her fingers ran over some of the single-stoned rings, lingering only at one with a small ruby set in the center of the thin silver band. For a second, Itachi caught a covetous look in her eyes, but he knew she would not buy it. And true to her habit to leaving whenever she saw something she really liked, she suggested they leave to see the next stall.

Finally, they bought a little food and sat down at a stone settlement for a nice tree and dug into the hot buns filled with sweet red beans for her and sweet dango dumplings for him.

For just a moment, Mayuir took off the stifling straw hat and let the soft spring breeze stroke her cheeks. Soon, she placed it back on her head without another care in the world.

From across the town square, Toroki stood with Chikako that had annoyed him into going to the festival with her yet again. He was sure to show her just how much he detested going to the festival with her by acting indifferent to everything, but she was relentless and bent on having a good time with him. Secretly, he wished he was with a certain minstrel from his caravan. He looked down at the ground and kicked a pebble as he waited for Chikako to pick some trinket for him to buy.

From the corner of his eye he spotted a nice hair accessory with sapphires set as berries on a branch and emeralds as leaves and thought how nice it would be to slip it into Shinpi's gold hair. Somewhere in his heart, he relished the fact that she was sick in bed and not spending her time with anyone else. But just as soon as that thought conjured in his head he saw a blaze of gold from across the square. His eyes flew up as the person placed a straw hat back on her head covering her face.

Impossible, it couldn't be, Toroki thought as he impulsively walked toward her for a closer look. The yukakta did look familiar and there was no denying the kokyu case that was placed on her right side, where Shinpi always places it. But she was supposed to be ailing in bed, he thought, there should be no way she was cheerfully laughing in the village square enjoying the festivities.

Then he noticed the man she was laughing at. He was a little taller than average height and wore nice clothes, and overall looked harmless, except for the fact that he was with Shinpi. He could be considered handsome with large eyes and a good figure. Could it be that Shinpi fancied him? Toroki's brain sizzled a little at the thought. For the last twelve years she had not shown any interest in any man no matter how much they flaunt their riches and throw her attractive, lusty looks. As a famous minstrel in Amegakure, Shinpi was often the target of more than just a couple dandies and rakes, but Toroki had faith in her indifference toward them and believed that she would never fall in love with any man if she wouldn't fall in love with him. Who was this man that he could just waltz in her life and ruin his fantasy?

Overcome with rage and jealousy, Toroki stomped another few steps closer. It seemed as if his malice was sense by the man at her side, since he looked up and his dark gaze pierced through Toroki like a hot knife, sending a cold shiver down his spine and all his instincts told him to step back and retreat. He did his best and sent back challenging stare to the man, who looked back at Shinpi without heeding Toroki's threat.

Unnerved that he wasn't even taken seriously, Toroki had no choice but to saunter back to Chikako's side. He could take care of Shinpi later, and without the protection of her mysterious stranger.