Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 9

Japan, 1802

In a small town sheltered by a large hill, a lone man strode down toward it. His red headband drifted in the light winds as he walked on the road into town. It amazed him that this place seemed unaffected by the chaotic events happening in the outside world. As he walked through town, he caught a few glances from the people, but he didn't mind it. He had gone through years like this and he could tell through people's glances what they were thinking. And since these people were used to such clothing, they were more looking at him because he was a stranger. A wanderer.

In any case, they didn't pay to much attention to him and went about their work. Ryu continued down the path. He had no real destination and was just passing through. He found a small inn and entered in. The innkeeper came up to him and gave Ryu his room after he paid for a room. Afterward Ryu settled in his room and lay down on the provided bed. It was early nightfall, but Ryu felt he had to rest early. He would have travel another couple of miles toward a cliff by Mt. Fuji in order to train. It was one of his favorite places to train.

"Help!"

Ryu's eyes suddenly snapped open. He quickly sat up and listened.

"Stop!"

The voice...no...voices were faint, but he could just make out the sounds of girls. Screams. Reacting instantly, Ryu shot up from the bed and out the window. He moved quickly over the ground as he continued to try to follow the sounds. A few others exited their houses, also hearing the faint noises. But as they were trying to figure out if they heard it or not, Ryu was quickly running toward the sounds. He wound up leaving the town and out into the forest area. But as he did, he felt...a strange presence. It wasn't an immortal, but it...felt like... The now-apparent screams broke his thoughts and he continued to run. Ryu quickly tried to hurry to the source and he finally came to a clearing in the forest. He face was horrified by the display he found.

Two men were holding captive two young girls in the clearing. One of the men was standing over one of the girls, who was lying on the floor unconscious. Her clothing was torn off completely and she had several slashes, cuts and bruises on her body. Ryu began to clench his fists in rage, now fully understanding what had occurred. The man grinned sickly as he moved to the next girl, who was screaming and struggling, but unable to get away from the second man's grip. The man pulled out a knife and slid it across the girl's skin, slowly tearing her kimono. The girl was crying desperately, but they would have none of it.

"...leave...her...alone..."

The man stopped to look at the naked, beaten girl on the floor. Apparently, she was still conscious and weakling reaching her hand up.

"...stop..."

The first man grinned again and walked over to her. Grabbing her hair, he lifted her head upward and brought the knife to her throat.

"You are a feisty one, aren't you?"

He shifted the knife from one side of her neck to the other. The beaten girl winced in immense pain, but managed to stare her captor down and spit in his face. The man wiped it away and flung her to the ground. The girl cried and the man stood over her and straddled himself on top of her body, still holding the knife. He licked his lips and lowered his hands on her when a sudden cry echoed out of the woods.

"HAAAAA!"

Looking up at the dim moonlight, both rapists saw the silhouette of a man diving from the air. With a cry, Ryu swiftly kicked the first one in the chest, sending him falling back. The second one quickly let go of his prisoner and tried to attack. But Ryu saw the punch coming and ducked underneath. The man was too slow to avoid the incoming uppercut to the jaw as the forceful punch caused him to fly back and smash into a nearby tree. As he looked, the first one was back on his feet and rushing in to stab Ryu. But Ryu saw him coming a while ago and the winds of ki picked up around him.

'Tatsumaki Senpuu-Kyaku!'

The whirlwind kick pummeled the man severely and caused him to fly further away than the second one, crashing through a tree. Ryu didn't check to see if he was alive or not as he went to check on the girls. The second girl was crouched by the side crying steadily, but unharmed. He then moved over to the first one and bent down. Lifting her up, he examined her. 'These wounds...she's not going to make it.'

"...that...was...incredible..."

Ryu looked at the girl's face. Despite the wounds and pain, she had a look of amazement in her eyes.

"Don't worry. It's okay. They're gone." he reassured her.

The girl whispered, "How...did you...do that...?"

Ryu blinked. Here the girl was dying and all she could think of was the technique he used. But he also remembered how the girl bravely stood up the captors, despite the fact that she couldn't do anything. Lowering her back to the ground, he answered.

"I learned it from martial arts."

The girl gave a pained smile, "That's...great...I wish...I...could do...that."

Ryu looked up to see the other villagers heading toward them. Looking back down at the first girl, "Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Another smile came up, but this one wasn't from interest.

"No...I won't."

Ryu frowned as he saw the girl knew the truth. He shut his eyes tightly but the girl continued to speak, her voice growing lower and lower.

"...my...name...is Sakura."

Ryu nodded solemnly, "I'm Ryu."

The girl nodded and closed her eyes. Ryu watched as her breathing slowed down and suddenly stopped. The townspeople arrived at the site too late to do anything. The second girl was still crying nearby, but she managed to explain what had happened and how Ryu helped them. As some of the villagers moved to apprehend the two rapists, other moved to Ryu and Sakura's now dead body. Two villagers rushed forward at them and held the dead girl in tears. Ryu stood back as he watched them, guessing that they were her parents. Looking away, he moved away from the people who had now lost one of their children.

The next day...

Sakura suddenly shot up, panting heavily. 'Relax Sakura. Calm down. It's just a nightmare.' However, it wasn't until she lifted her head back up that she found out how wrong she was.

"Where...am I?"

Sakura was sitting down by a tree within a grassy hill. She stood up and looked around to where she was. She vaguely recognized that she was on hill that overlooked her town. 'But how did I get here?' she pondered. Looking at herself, she was wearing white garbs. But that's what scared her.

They were funeral garbs.

'Why...oh...no. This can't be...'

A sudden headache suddenly overcame her and she winced slightly. 'Someone's...here?'

"You are awake."

Sakura quickly turned around to the voice. It was Ryu, holding a group of clothes under his arm. Sakaura began to remember the night and her fascination resurfaced.

"It's you. Ryu, right?"

Ryu nodded and gave her the clothes. Sakara took them gratefully.

"Thank you for saving my life."

Ryu's face turned solemn, "I'm sorry. But I'm afraid I was too late."

At this, Sakura blinked. 'Too late? What does he mean by that?'

As if to know her thoughts, Ryu answered, "You did die."

Sakura blinked in surprise again, "W-what do you mean?"

Ryu however turned around, "Come. I will explain everything."

Ryu lead her to a secluded area where she changed her clothes. As she did, Ryu waited on the other side of a tree. As he did, he told her what had become of her. Her death, her funeral, her burial, and how he managed to dig her out of the grave. Needless to say, she was awe-struck.

"I don't understand." she spoke as she slid on her shirt. "I...was dead? Then how am I here now? How am I alive?"

Ryu sighed. This would be the hard part.

"You are an immortal, Sakura. You will not age and you will not die."

Sakura came from the back of the tree and looked at him, "Are you serious? There is no such thing."

Ryu simply stared back, "You were wounded severely that time. Look at yourself now."

Sakura blinked (again) and slowly looked back at herself. She hadn't realized that her body was now free from the wounds those two men had inflicted on her before. 'How...?'

Again, as if to answer her thoughts, "Our injuries heal quickly. We can't get sick or ill either."

Sakura slowly looked back up at him, "I don't..."

Ryu stood off the tree, "You must understand. Now that you're immortal, others will come. They will try to kill you."

Sakura gasped, "Kill me? But I thought you said I couldn't die."

Ryu nodded, "Yes. The only way we could die is if someone takes off your head."

Sakura began to shink away in worry until she realized something.

"We? You're immortal too?"

"Yes. I've been alive for quite awhile now. Alive because I was taught how to survive. As you will be as well."

Sakura stepped away from him, "I...I...What about my mom and dad?"

Ryu looked down and shook his head, "You are dead to them now."

Sakura shook her head, "No, no, no. I could go back and explain everything. I can..."

Ryu suddenly stepped up to her and grabbed her shoulders, "Sakura, listen to me. Your parents saw you get buried, dead. Your friends and family as well. Now imagine what it would feel like to see you suddenly return. They will be afraid of you. They may even hate you."

Sakura however, shook out of the hold. "No! That won't happen! I don't believe you!"

With that outburst, she suddenly turned around and ran away. She dashed through the trees and grass, uncertain and scared. Ryu wasn't chasing her, but that didn't matter to her. All she could think of was to get back to her parents, her friends. She finally came out of the forest and into a clearing where she finally stopped to catch her breath. When she gathered enough, she looked up to where she was and was struck cold.

She had come out into a graveyard. Lines of stone markers lined the grassy area. One in particular caught her attention. From where she stood, she saw two people kneeling before one of the graves. Moving closer, she recognized the two people.

'Mama! Dad!'

She was ready to rush to them and tell them that she was still there; still alive when she saw the stone they stood before. A grave marker with her name on clicked within her as she began to think. 'What if...he was right?' She didn't think she could bear the thought of her parents and friends being afraid of her or even scared of her.

"In their eyes, you have already died." Ryu spoke quietly as he appeared beside her. "But if you reveal yourself now, they will suffer even more. Even if they accepted you, others will not. You and they will become outcasts and even they can not protect you should other immortals come for your head. They have to move on now. As must you."

Sakura slumped and tears were beginning to form in her eyes, "But...they...Mama..."

"They will always be your parents. But your path is different from theirs now. You must accept it."

A single tear finally fell down her cheek and was followed by several others. As she wept, she turned to Ryu and cried on his chest. Ryu blinked in surprise, but held the immortal girl as she wept.

"It's okay. It's okay." he whispered softly.

From then on, Ryu took Sakura and trained her in the ways of the immortal. How to fight, how to survive, and how to protect herself. He trained her some distance from her home so that she wouldn't be uncomfortable. After a few months training, Sakura had become a worthy fighter, both armed and unarmed. The time finally came for them to move on away from the village and out into the world.

"Are you ready to go?"

Sakura stood by the edge of the hill and took one last glimpse of her hometown. Taking a deep sigh, she turned to Ryu with a cheery smile.

"Are you kidding? I was born ready. Let's go!"

"So what brings you back here?"

Ryu and Sakura were sitting at the table, drinking tea. Sakura sat across from him and took a sip of the tea.

"Aw, come on? Can't I just come here to visit you?" she said jovially.

Ryu shook his head lightly. Even though she was far older than most, she still acted like an energetic teenager sometimes. But she wasn't fooling anyone, especially him.

"That is possible, but very unlikely since you couldn't have known that I would be here. In fact, I just returned today."

"Lucky, I guess" she shrugged innocently.

Ryu merely gave her a penetrating stared and Sakura groaned out loud, "Okay, okay. I have this slight problem and I thought I'd come here to train a bit. That's all."

"One of us?"

Sakura nodded, "Her name is Karin. She's...an old rival of sorts. Except that she wants my head."

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's a long story. And the truth is I am a little tired."

Ryu sighed lightly, "Okay. But I would like to know this immortal that's supposedly after you, okay?"

Sakura stood up and stretched her arms. "Yeah sure." she half-yawned. She made her way to the beds in the next room, but stopped briefly.

"But only if you ask really nicely." she winked as she entered the room.

Ryu saw the winked and cringed inside. 'Oh no. I hope she's not making that up just to be here with me.'