TheDarkestShinobi: I have two ways this story could go but I'll let you decide by this simple question: Should Kasumi keep her loyalty to the Mugen Tenshin or become an actual Shinobi and swear loyalty to the Koga, and mean it? Review with your pick.

"The festival is today, Kasumi Chan." Kasumi looked up at Saji who was grinning. She smiled at him and turned towards Michiru.

"I guess I'd better get ready then." Michiru shook her head with a small one.

"Not yet, Kasumi Chan!"

"Well I am running said festival." Satoshi said as the girls started to talk, "So Saji will watch you in my stead."

"Hai, Hai!" Saji said as he pushed his way in-between the two girls wrapping an arm around each one. Kasumi had barely leaned into his touch when she saw Satoshi clench his fist looking at them from the corner of his eyes. She looked up at Satoshi.

"I hope our kimonos match."

Michiru just rolled her eyes knowing they did not match at all, she had handpicked the both of them so that Kasumi's and Saji's did. Of course Kasumi and Saji didn't know that, neither did Satoshi, who she knew would kill her if she even thought about setting his cherry blossom up with another man.

Satoshi had been summoned early in the day, and Michiru claimed she had forgotten something really important that she needed to do alone, so Kasumi and Saji had a few hours before either of them needed to do anything. Kasumi was suspicious of Michiru's sudden disappearance to leave her and Saji alone, but she did not press, if anything, this could help her to obtain some vital information.

"Saji kun."
"Hai."
"What shall we do, we have a few hours before we need to get ready for the festival."

Saji grinned as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Anything you want."

When neither of them could come up with a good solution, they had started a slow walk down to road. It was a makeshift tour of the town that she had not received before, he showed her his favorite hangout spots, and she spoke to some of his friends from school.

One of which mentioned that Saji was the head war strategist of the Koga. Kasumi had widened her eyes and sounded impressed, which caused Saji to gloat a bit, but inside Kasumi realized that this was the man she needed to get close to for the information and somehow she was going to need to get Satoshi off her back.

She knew that it was not going to be easy; she had pretended to like Satoshi before so that it would be more believable if she liked him. Saji did not view her the same way Satoshi did, and that could be a problem. She was not naive to her power as a woman, especially her body, which had developed father than most kunochi's. It was something she had told she would have to use to her advantage if she were to be a kunochi, but as of now, she had yet to use it.

She could see the glint in Satoshi's eyes when he was with her, in his mind they were already together and he was the possessive jealous type. She knew that she could tell when men were like that. Maybe Saji would tell her as a friend, and maybe she could deny any advances that Satoshi might make in the time it took her to get the information. That was a big maybe, and she knew that.

Saji was not as immune to Kasumi's charms as she thought he was. He liked her sweetness, he could tell from her eyes that she was kind, and way too good for Satoshi. He was excited about taking her to the festival, it would be time for them to bond, and if he could steal a kiss before tonight he would be able to tell Satoshi to back down before he got all possessive, if he wasn't planning their life already.

Saji had said goodbye to his friends and guided Kasumi away. They spoke about themselves but the topic drifted to the war, Kasumi was reluctant to speak about it so quickly but Saji wanted to show off his planning skills. Kasumi still wasn't sure if she wanted to help the Mugen Tenshin annihilate the Koga or prevent the war from ever occurring. But she knew that she still had to play her part, the sweet little girl that seemed too innocent to be a ninja, and wanted revenge on her clan so much it made her blood boil.

It was an act that was easy to believe.

She didn't have to act amazed at his ideas, she knew the Mugen Tenshin inside and out, as well as the Hajin Mon and their tactics would completely destroy the village if caught off guard. In all of Saji's planning he had found every weakness and strength of the Mugen Tenshin, every structural fault, every defensive gap, and every strength. But he did not factor her into the equation. The spy who would deliver the plans to the enemy.

She had to play a careful game, she knew parts of the plan, but if the Mugen Tenshin suddenly fixed the faults, or added more ninja to the patrol, then it would be obvious that she was the spy, and she could not risk the villages safety, or her chance to get back into the village that shunned her time and again. She did this out of love, a stupid little thing ninja were supposed to be above. It was easy to see why she would leave to regain her brothers lost honor, and why she would seek out help from the Koga. After all 'the enemy of my enemy can be my ally' or in this case an enemy too.

Michiru came running up to them hours later, as they were snacking and hurriedly dragged Kasumi away saying that she had to get her ready for the big festival and that it was going to take awhile. Saji watched them leave and smiled softly at the helpless look on Kasumi's face, even the best of the best were powerless against Michiru when it came to this.

"It is my great honor to welcome you to the festival, please enjoy yourselves."

Kasumi laughed as the fireworks were set off and the young children gasped. It reminded her of the festivals at home her brother would take her to when she was a mere child because their parents had to run the festivals. Within seconds Saji had grabbed her hand and started pulling her away from the crowd and into the booths.

She followed with wide eyes and an even wider smile; meanwhile she rolled her eyes at Saji's childishness. She would lose on purpose so that he would smile and comfort her with a hug or by wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She and Saji both knew she would never lose at a game like that; hopefully he would misinterpret her intentions as her wanting to be closer to him.

In a way that was exactly what it was.

Kasumi knew she could not move so fast. Despite earning Michiru's full trust she was not trusted by this village or by the most of the people in it. They welcomed her, but would be fools if they were not wary of her, and for good reason, for she did plan to betray them all. If Saji realized she had only become close to him after finding out he was the top war strategist then he would find out the truth in seconds. She was slightly surprised he had not already figured her out, but, she supposed, she was able to play her part very well. She also had the fact that she was a traitor to her home village on her side for this mission, but only few people truly knew she was one, the others had taken their word for it, and so she had to make sure their reputation remained stable.

She knew that would not be hard to do, they were respectable people, and as she now realized, people who were high in power. She caught Satoshi watching her twice from his seat on top of the stage; his eyes were narrowed in anger, an anger that was directed towards Saji, and in lust. He wanted her badly.

Kasumi knew that there were three weaknesses that ninja were warned about.

First was money, with money came power with power came corruption. It caused people to think that they needed what they did not, and that they could have all they want. It clouded ones mind and gave them false friends. Money could be traced to be one of the roots of all evil. Of the seven deadly sins money was greed and possibly envy, undisputedly a necessary evil.

Second was Alcohol, it lowered inhibition and therefore left one susceptible to his enemy and that was always to be avoided. One must always be alert, always. One must always be at his best, for they can never know when they will be attacked, or need to attack. People who drink become shells of themselves, pathetic versions of once decent people or ninja. They were less inclined to do things and more likely to get killed, and to get others killed. It provided an escape from oneself, but the person doesn't realize while their thoughts abandon the pain, the abandon their body and leave it susceptible to others. To non ninja it was funny to see an inebriated friend act out of character, for a ninja it was disgusting to see how much a comrade could fall. One never stopped after a single serving, there is a constant want for more. They became a lazy glutton. Sloth, gluttony.

The third taboo was the most dangerous, Kasumi knew, for she was it, and was trained to use it to bring much stronger ninja to their knees. Every person was warned about this, and no one was immune to its charm, its curves and aura, scent and feel. The pleasure and inevitable pain. Its instant gratification. The female. They were deceptive creatures that would lull people into false senses of security. Men felt different things when around women. First and foremost was the feeling of lust, a man and a woman were meant to be together, unfortunately they can be the strength but most likely weakness of the other. A man wants a woman in the same way a woman wants a man, if not for the emotional satisfaction then for pure cardinal desires. Some women are loyal, but some stray and when they do a man feels a new emotion, an anger that could lead to their untimely demise, and woman knew this. A woman could also take down a ninja in a completely different way, by building him up to the point when he feels he is invincible. When this happens a ninja goes into the situation unprepared and normally dies because of it.

Kasumi took pride in having this power when she first discovered it. She ripped her clothes and invented new moves to help her with her goal. Her half sister had called her a deceiving whore, but she had just smiled. She always smiled, showing off her cute face. It was simple really, a panty shot here, a glimpse of cleavage there and a weaker minded ninja would look and give her the opportunity to strike and take him out.

Women were the root of all evil.

They caused four out of the seven deadly sins. Lust, wrath, pride, and envy. They all knew it and even the innocent ones were not above using their beauty as another weapon. After all, that is all it was good for.

Male ninja knew it too so she was surprised to see him look at her this way so soon after meeting her, he should be the most wary of her. Kasumi laughed at the irony; if he was the actual target then the mission would have been really easy.

"What's so funny Kasumi Chan?"

Kasumi unconsciously licked her lips; his tone was seductive at the very least. She shook her head slowly not trusting her own lips. Despite her efforts and success Kasumi had only been lusted over once in her life for more than the last few seconds of the man's life by a man by the name of Zack, thankfully Ryu had showed up before Kasumi could lose control of herself. She could feel the lust in the air both times, and they both erupted a sense of lust within her. For it was a double edged sword, and she was not expirenced with lust.

"Heh, you sure?"
"Ye-yeah," she uttered and quickly looked away to the game in the booth they were currently in.
"Because I would say you are making a fool out of me." Kasumi felt his hands on her shoulders. His lips were by her ear now.
"We both know these games are way beneath the level and talent of a kunochi."

Kasumi felt his hands move down her arms slowly and turned towards him. She shrugged feigning complete innocence.

"Sorry, I've just felt distracted all night."

Saji smirked, and left it at that.

The rest of the night consisted of both Saji and Kasumi playing and beating every game in all of the booths. They laughed and goofed of and for a few minutes Kasumi felt like she was truly at home in a village full of strangers. Under different circumstances she was sure that they could've been the best of friends, or daresay possibly more than friends but under these circumstances she had to think of all of these people as her enemies. She could feel eyes on her and Saji, even when she seen that Satoshi was just watching and wondered who it was, but the new set of fireworks caught her attention.

It was not safe to feel safe here, but she couldn't help it, and she knew that was a problem.

Saji wrapped his arm around Kasumi as they watched the last round of fireworks go off. He noticed that their kimonos matched perfectly and made a mental note to thank his little sister for setting that up, because it was obvious that she had planned the entire day out for them. Kasumi leaned into him slightly and he smiled.

"Can I walk you to your home?"
"Hai, Hai!" She giggled out watching the explosions of color in the night sky. He wanted to say more but shook his head and watched the explosions in the sky.

He found his courage as they walked to Satoshi's house where she was staying. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she was looking up at the lights. He looked up for a second before tilting his head.

"Kasumi Chan, ano, I was wondering..."

She looked towards him, innocent eyes opened wide, no, he thought, they've seen to much death to be innocent, but they weren't corrupted. Just like her, she had caused death, felt rage and hate, but somehow remained unscarred.

"What about?"
"Well I was thinking..."
"That's a dangerous pastime, Saji kun."
"Heh,"
"So what did you want to tell me?"
"Ara, it could wait until the morning."

She turned to him, her eyes wide with curiosity and he stepped closer to her, and for the first time Kasumi felt the eyes on her. Her eyes darted to the side to warn Saji but she didn't move her head to warn their observer.

"Ano..." she whispered as she looked at Satoshi or at least where she thought he was.
"We are not alone are we?"
"No."
"That's fine," he stepped closer to her "I'd do this in front of the whole world."

Saji lifted up her chin with his finger and Kasumi felt her throat dry. Was she going to get her first kiss from a man she would have to kill? He moved closer and she could feel her heart start to beat like it would during the middle of combat. He then kissed her forehead. Kasumi licked her lips, and wondered if she wanted him to kiss her because she liked him, or just wanted to be kissed.

"Anymore than that would be... inappropriate for a first date, am I right?"
"Saji kun..."
"Ja! Kasumi Chan, until morning."

Saji then jumped up spinning and turning into nothing.

Kasumi felt her face heat up. She then turned to where she knew Satoshi would be.

Satoshi balled up his fists in anger at his best friend. Satoshi had claimed Kasumi as his own, he had not told anyone, but he shouldn't have had to. He watched her lick her lips and had wanted to do nothing but kiss them himself.

Inappropriate for a first date.

Did Saji really think Kasumi went with him for any other reason that she couldn't go with him, and that she needed to be supervised at all times? If he did then he was a fool. Kasumi should have known better too, but he knew why she did not deny him, for in her heart she was too pure to cause him pain. Satoshi cracked his knuckles as Kasumi turned to his direction, he would need to speak to Saji, and settle a few things. He spun himself and in his place a single green leaf confronted her.

He was right when he told her she only knew he was there because he wanted her to, for she did not sense him now. She could not sense him now, for as far as she came in her training she wound never regard him as anything other than he was, her friend, and when the time came, her savior. Never anything more, never anything less. She could never realize that he was not a man, but a monster. That he was still a being hell bent on revenge. He loved that about her and hoped one day she would be able to save him, but not today or any day in the near future because he still had a job to do.

He watched both Saji and Satoshi, and both of them made his blood boil with rage, neither of them knew her or had any desire to. They just wanted her pureness to themselves. He would not let them take that from her, from him.

He had found information in this village very easily; it was not nearly as secretive as the Mugen Tenshin. They were too confident, granted they could very well be considered stronger, but they were naïve in the works of the night. The Koga had sent a spy to the Hayabusa village, he remembered the trail the next day when she was discovered, for she thought no one watched in the shadows. The Koga was always too proud, and now, it would cause their downfall.

Ryu had a personal gain in the downfall of the Koga. Satoshi's father had known about the potential attack of their allies, the Hayabusa village, but had been content to let them attack, and even to let the Spider clan go unchecked to hinder him in his revenge. The Spider Clan, which was once among the five great Shinobi villages, was reduced to nothing in his rage, and he would make sure the Koga fell as well.

He could feel his desire for revenge like a beast in his gut, and it would eat at him until he could fulfill it. He would, even if he had to sacrifice Kasumi's purity to do it.

He shook his head trying to dispel his thoughts.

He would protect Kasumi; that was the reason he came, the destruction of Koga was the bonus.

Or did he subconsciously reverse it?

He stood looking at Kasumi below. He would save her and destroy the village. Period. He looked over the village and seen it burn in is mind. The fire would reach all the way to heaven as the people inside went to hell.

He was a man set on revenge, but like before he needed to remember to keep himself in check. Kasumi wanted to keep peace, but he knew that there would only be peace when the ninja ceased to exist.

They were getting closer to it. The Hayabusa clan was lost, the Spider clan was annihilated and the Koga would soon be too. That only left two.

Kasumi below looked up to him with a raised eyebrow. He jumped down. She knew he had seen everything and waited for the questions, and possibly the assault. She wasn't hoping he was jealous, right?

"Any new information?"

TDS: I'm back, expect a few updates all around, but I'm writing them all today so not yet. Lol. Review!!!