Thanks to everyone who reviewed / favorited / put my story on alert! This chapter takes place about a week after the last one ended. I love Sasuke, by the way. He's the reason why I don't know what to say when people ask, "pirates or ninja?" XD Although, I could probably just say Chosokabe and stump them. Anyway, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: "Sengoku Basara" © Capcom, Production I.G, and FUNimation Entertainment. The following is a fan-made story not associated with the above. No profits are being made. Please support the official release…you see?

Okay, remember how I said that Suishōryū would bring, if not happiness, then prosperity and protection to all Tamura who wore his likeness?

Yeah, you can go ahead and strike that.

I mean, I realize that it was morally wrong to run away, even if it did protect my peace of mind and my physical well-being. And I realize that the Kōga ninja would be a little testy if an outsider stumbled upon their hidden village. But did they really have to throw me in jail? A twelve-year-old girl saves the life of one of their fellow shinobi, and they throw her in jail?

Well, that's a ninja for you. No sense of honor. Jail…no decent samurai would've done that, that's for sure (including Father, believe it or not).

Well, to be fair, my cell isn't really a cell. It's built the same way as our guest room at home, or a tea room. There's no furniture, and the room's pretty small, but it's not uncomfortable. It's bright and warm, too. Still, there's no mistaking those bars on the window. I'm the Kōga's prisoner.

I sighed deeply and leaned my head back against the wall. This is exactly what I'd run away to escape – lack of freedom. At Miharu-jō, I'd been a prisoner within my own body, bound by my father's orders and the rules of polite society. Now I was a prisoner on the outside, too. And the funny thing is, I can't tell which is worse. At least these guys let me keep wearing my hakama.

…honestly, though, haven't any of those weirdo "Christian" missionaries come to this village (extremely well-hidden as it is – I barely know how I got here myself, let alone with an injured ninja)? Haven't they ever heard that story about…what's it called…the Good Samaritan? Really, I didn't have to help that girl. I had my own problems to worry about – you know, lost in a forest, no food or water for two days, stuff like that. But I found this girl lying in the path with a knife in her back, and out of the goodness of my heart, I wrapped up her wound and took her to the first stretch of civilization I accidentally stumbled upon. Which, luckily enough, happened to be this place, her hometown. Really, I did a good thing back there. And what do I get for it? Four walls and bars on the window.

Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from ninja. I'd never actually seen one – Father never trusted them, or anyone else, to serve him – but Kayo had told me plenty of stories and legends about them. They were like superhumans, unbelievably strong and fast, and move faster than the eye can follow. They don't ever make a sound on the job, and are the best for spying and assassination. Some people even say that they are taught black magic, and can do things that regular people can't, like clone themselves or change their shape. In some regards, they're even more impressive than samurai.

But still…like I said, they have no honor. They don't have a sense of loyalty towards their masters, and they don't care about anything other than their own self-interest. That makes them way worse than samurai. I wonder…Father might've been a pretty good ninja, if he wasn't so fat and slow.

I think some people in my position would be grateful to the ninja, though. I mean, sure, they've got a funny way of enforcing law and order, but once they've actually captured somebody, they treat them okay. This really isn't a bad place to be detained, and they brought food in for me…

But I'm not some people, and I don't trust them or their cooking.

Okay, there really doesn't look like there's anything wrong with the food. It's nothing special, really – some rice and fish, a small bowl of miso soup, and a cup of water – but to someone who hasn't eaten in two days, it looks like a feast fit for a king. I'd been eyeing that food for a while, now, and my belly was working up a protest just having to sit there and be empty. My parched throat was begging fir a sip of water. There was no reason not to eat or drink, right?

But still…call me prejudiced, but it doesn't make sense that those ninja would jail me for no reason and then just give me food and water. I mean, accident or not, Good Samaritan or not, I'm an outsider who found their village. They probably think that if they let me go, I'd tell other people where it is, and then their ninja secrets or whatever would be in danger. I wouldn't, by the way, and I told them that more than once, but I don't think they believe me. And really, the easiest way to make sure that I don't tell is to keep my mouth shut forever. Poison's a good way to go about doing it, too. After all, if someone comes looking for me, they won't be able to tell I was murdered, or by whom.

So, it's die of thirst or die of poison, huh…they both kinda suck…which is the lesser of two evils?

…

…dying of thirst, no question. I'm not falling for their stupid trap.

My stomach and throat burning in protest, I got to my feet, picked up the tray, and tossed it into the back corner of the room. The whole thing upended with a crash and a nasty splattering sound. So long, sustenance. If only you weren't poisoned, you and I would been very good –

"Oh, gross!"

…wait, what was that? Is there…someone in here? But there wasn't anyone in here a second ago…

Right as I was opening my mouth to call out who's there, there was a burst of smoke and – oh, my God, where the hell did he come from? "Who the hell are you?" I heard myself scream as I scrambled backwards against the wall.

The boy – it was a boy, maybe a couple years older than me – jumped in surprise and put a hand up to his ear. "Ow~! Jeez, girl, you've got some scream…nice arm, too. Yuck…I swear Haruka-sensei's cooking is getting worse by the day." He grinned at me.

What…the hell…what's with this guy? "I-I asked you who you are," I said after a second, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. Which, considering that I'm a short, skinny, twelve-year-old girl, probably didn't count for much.

"Oh, right!" the boy answered, looking a little guilty. "Sorry 'bout that. The name's Sarutobi Sasuke, shinobi-in-training. Nice to meetcha. And you are…?"

He was playing the casual, relaxed routine, but I'm not biting. When all's said and done, his fellows took me prisoner – he could be interrogating me on their orders right now. "How long have you been in here?"

He snickered. "Gee, that's a funny name."

"No, seriously. How long have you been in here?"

This Sarutobi person's eyes widened, and that annoying little smirk slid off his face. "What? You mean you couldn't tell I was here?"

"How the hell could I? You were invisible!"

"Well, yeah…but you had to have sensed my presence, right? I mean, you threw that tray right at me! Not the best way to greet someone, by the way, but –"

This guy…"Look, I couldn't tell you were there, okay? I tossed the tray in a completely random direction. Trust me, if I had known there was an invisible ninja spying on me from that particular corner of my jail cell, I would have picked some other corner to toss my tray into." Probably.

The ninja waggled his finger at me. "Ah-ah-ah, kid. First of all, it wasn't spying – it was strict observation without knowledge of the subject."

Right, and I'm the shogun. What a load of crap. "Uh-huh…"

"And second of all," he continued, sitting down, "there is no such thing as 'random.' In this crazy world of ours, nothing happens by chance. It's all for a reason. Even if you didn't realize it, you must've sensed me there on an unconscious level. Pretty impressive instincts, especially for an outsider."

I sat back down, too, not saying anything. I don't know…just what is this guy going on about? I know I didn't know he was there…at least, I don't think I knew. But how can my subconscious know if my consciousness doesn't? I'm not getting this at all…

"And what's even more impressive," Sarutobi went on in an approving tone, "is how you were able to tell that the food was poisoned without…you know, getting poisoned. And so quickly, too! I don't think I've ever seen an outsider do that! It was in the water, too, and it's not so easy to pick up liquid arsenic. Color me impressed, kid."

I guess it was a good call, huh? But it's obvious – like, painfully obvious – that he's just saying that to make me drop my guard. Not gonna happen, Ninja Boy! "So it was poisoned, then? It's not enough that you people threw me in jail for saving that girl's life? You're executing me without a trial, too?"

Sarutobi winced. "Wow…it sounds pretty bad when you put it that way, huh?"

"It sounds pretty bad even when I don't put it that way!" I replied angrily. "Honestly, is this how ninja show gratitude? With poison?"

"Well, to be fair, we only save the poison for S-class criminals. You know, mass murderers, traitors, outsiders who find out our secrets, things like that."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, well, when you put it that way, that makes poisoning me a much better idea. I mean, I am an S-class criminal – I must deserve to be executed."

To my surprise, though, Sarutobi was looking uncomfortable. "No…no, you don't," he said after a second. "I think it's real messed up that you're getting the poison. I mean, you pretty much saved Kasuga's life, and besides, you're just a little kid."

"I'm twelve years old, thank you very much," I cut in, forgetting the context for a moment. "I'm hardly a little kid."

"Hey, it's little to me. I'm fifteen. Besides, you're pretty short for twelve."

God, this guy is wearing my last nerve…"Look, is there a reason you're here? Come to make sure that I actually kick the bucket, or are you just here to insult me?"

Sarutobi cringed again and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Why does he look so damn guilty? He's a ninja; he shouldn't feel bad about killing me! "No, uh…actually, I, uh…I wanted to thank you."

Wait…what? "T-Thank me?"

"Yeah…you know, for saving Kasuga. I mean, she's a good friend o' mine, and, uh…well, she probably would've died if you hadn't come along. So…thanks a lot."

"N…no problem." Wow…now I feel like a heel. I mean, yeah, he's a ninja, but he has feelings too, right? Jeez, I'm such a jerk. "S-So…how's she doing?"

"Pretty good," Sarutobi replied, grinning. "The doctors said you found her just in time! They said she's gonna live through it, no questions asked…" His face fell. "But they don't know if she can be a kunoichi anymore. Internal organ damage, and all."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

But Sarutobi quickly shook his head, all smiles again. "No, no, don't be! She'll be alive, won't she? That's the important part – oh, yeah!" he added, slamming his fist down on his other hand like he remembered something. "I almost forgot! The Elders were saying how it looked like you hadn't eaten for a couple days, so I brought these for you." He shrugged a rucksack off of his bony shoulders and pulled out – glory be! – a large container of rice and what seemed to be (considering the sloshings I heard) a full canteen.

I felt my dry mouth start to water in anticipation, and my stomach growled eagerly. Oh, that looks so good…that was so nice of him to –

Wait.

What am I doing? He may have feelings, but he's a ninja! He's trying to set me up just like those other guys! How do I know that he wasn't ordered to poison me, to make sure I died?

Sarutobi must've seen the mistrustful look on my face, but he didn't seem offended; he just laughed and took a small sip of water, followed by a pinch of rice. "See? It's all clean. Trust me, I got better manners than the guards. Go on and eat up as much as you want." He handed me the chopsticks and canteen.

Well…it still could be poisoned…aw, well, what the heck? It's better than being poisoned than someone I can't see; at least now I can try and strangle him before the poison really kicks in. Plus I'm just so hungry and thirsty…with barely enough time for an itadakimasu, I grabbed the sticks and started shoving rice into my mouth. A little dry, but it sure felt good to fill my stomach. I downed the canteen in a few gulps. I will never, ever say anything bad about ninja ever again.

Sarutobi waited for me to finish wolfing down my meal before whistling in admiration. "Whoo, you sure can pack it away, huh? When's the last time you've eaten?"

"Two days ago," I answered, handing him back the dishes. "Thanks a lot, man. You really saved my neck there."

Sarutobi shrugged dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Just think of it as a thank-you for bringing Kasuga back." He was quiet for a moment. "…I just realized, you never did tell me your name."

I was already prepared for that. I couldn't go ahead and tell him my real name – if word gets out that I'm the daughter of a daimyo, these ninja might just ship me back to Miharu-jō to pick up a hefty reward (if any) from Father. And I'd rather take poison over that any day. So, trying to sound as cool and casual as possible, I answered, "It's Takahashi Mei, from Echigo."

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. "Echigo, huh? That's pretty far away from here."

"I ran away from home." Well, that's true. "My family was trying to turn me into something I'm not, so I left. I ended up getting lost in the forest. My nan – grandmother told me stories about Kōga ninja living in these woods, but I wasn't looking for you, and I never expected to find you. I'm not going to tell anyone that you're here, either."

Sarutobi was quiet a moment before nodding again. "…yeah, I believe you." He grinned sneakily. "On that point, at least."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'on that point'?"

Sarutobi laughed. "Listen, Mei-chan, you may be cute, but –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who're you calling 'Mei-chan'?" I interrupted angrily. Really, he may have fed me, but that's no reason to get so familiar with me.

Sarutobi snickered. "Sorry, sorry. 'Takahashi', then. Anyway, you may be cute – aw, don't glare at me like that, it's true, you know – but you're a pretty bad liar."

I opened my mouth to deny it, but stopped – I'd just look stupid if I said otherwise. So instead I sighed and asked dully, "Was it that obvious?"

"To an ordinary person, not so much. But to a shinobi like me, it's pretty obvious. You're sitting too stiffly, and you added in a bunch of unnecessary details."

Grudgingly, I made a mental note to improve for next time. "…fine. I'm not from Echigo, and that's not my real name. But all the other stuff is true."

To my surprise (again), Sarutobi didn't press me. "All right. And don't worry, I won't press you for your real name or anything. We shinobi know that there are some secrets that ought to be kept." He smiled in a sort of amused way. "But you know, Mei-ch – I mean, Takahashi – can I be honest here?"

"Depends on what you want to be honest about."

"Well, don't get mad or anything, but…you don't really, uh…seem like most girls."

I burst out laughing. Oh, is that all? "Why would I be mad about that? That's a compliment to me!"

Sarutobi instantly looked more relaxed. "Really? Great! Kasuga always takes it as an insult, y'know."

I shook my head, smiling in spite of myself. "Aw, that just means she's not confident. Give her some time and she'll get used to it. So, what gave it away? The pants, right?" I lifted my hakama-covered leg to illustrate.

Sarutobi shook his head. "Nah, you see plenty of that around here. What gave it away was your attitude."

I raised an eyebrow. "My attitude?"

"Yeah. You seem, I dunno…more boyish than the other girls around here. Or is that just an outsider thing?"

I shook my head sadly. "No, it's pretty odd even for outsiders." I took a moment to gather my feelings before continuing. "…ever since I was little, I knew that I was…different. I didn't like to do the same things the other girls did. I hated wearing women's kimonos, and I hated doing the tea ceremony and flower arranging and getting dressed up and all the other things girls are supposed to do. I liked playing outside with the boys. I liked riding horses, and swimming, and climbing trees…things like that."

"There are girls around here who like doing that stuff, too," Sarutobi pointed out. "It's all part of being a kunoichi."

I nodded and looked away towards the bars on the window. "But, see, my father…he never could really accept that part of me. He was always trying to force me into being the type of daughter he wanted me to be, just to make himself look good. He didn't care at all about the daughter he had." I felt a lump rise to my throat, and I swallowed thickly. No way am I crying in front of this guy. "…I was…I'm sick of trying to be something I'm not. So I left. I want to go somewhere where people wouldn't judge me. I don't know where that is, but there's no point to staying at my father's house anymore. I don't have anyone there who accepts me, except my…grandmother."

"Your mother doesn't accept you either?"

"I don't have one. She died giving birth to me."

"No friends?"

"Not really."

"I see…"

There was a long silence. I don't know why t hurt so much, talking about all this with a complete stranger. I don't know why it hurt, and I don't know why it felt…good. It was good to get it all off my chest, but was there a point…? What could he do about it? What could I do about it? Nothing, that's what…so there's no point in wallowing. You stop that, Tamura Megohime. Stop it right now.

"…hey, listen," Sarutobi said after a moment. "I think I might have a solution."

"I seriously doubt that, but go ahead."

"Well, like I said, nobody cares about stereotypes here, as long as we do our ninja duties. All the kunoichi are active and tomboyish just like you. But now the doctors are saying that…that Kasuga might not be able to finish her training. That means the village'll be one ninja short, right?"

"Yes…?" Where're you going with this…?

He leaned forward, a big grin (bigger than all his others) on his face. "So why don't you stay here and train to become a kunoichi?"

Wha – me? Become a ninja? No way…I can't…I'm a samurai's daughter! Samurai and ninja…they're like night and day! "I can't do that!" I blurted out.

Sarutobi's face fell. "Aww, why not?"

"Because…I'd have to kill people, wouldn't I?"

Sarutobi shrugged. "Maybe. Don't worry, though. After the first time, it's like swatting at flies."

Okay, that's an entirely different issue. Are all ninja that cold? "I'm too old to start learning!"

"Not really. We start training the new ninja at twelve years old."

"I…I'm in jail! And an outsider! They'll never let me join them!"

"I'll plead your case personally. You gotta admit that we've got a pretty strong argument. And this way, the Elders can make sure that you won't tell anyone about us, since you'll be loyal to the village." He stood up. "And quit making excuses, okay? You want to do this, I can tell."

Want to? Is it a matter of wanting to? I don't really respect ninja…but still…I was captivated by Kayo's stories. Human beings that could move faster than light, control the mysteries of our world through magic…it amazed me back then. But did I ever think that I could be one of them?

I heard myself sigh and say in a pitiful voice, "What if…I'm not any good at it? I wasn't any good being a daughter…what makes you think I'd be any better being a ninja?"

Sarutobi crouched down so that we were at eye-level. His smile wasn't mischievous anymore. "How are you gonna know," he began in a low, light voice, "unless you give it a try?"

And with that, he disappeared.

The moon was high in the sky before he came back, smiling so widely that it seemed like his face would split.

Sarutobi had recounted our talk before the Council of Elders, the twelve old men who governed the village. They had all been wise and powerful ninja in their time, and everyone took their word as law. Sarutobi told them all about me, and about his idea to induct me into the village. When he was done, they kicked him out and talked among themselves for hours before coming to a decision.

Five of them wanted to go with the execution as planned. Seven of them went along with Sarutobi's plan.

So it looks like I'm going to become a shinobi-in-training. I have a purpose now, I guess.

Funny, if someone had given me this idea two weeks ago, I would have spat in their face. Father would have, too, and most other samurai I know. I wonder what Bontenmaru would have thought…no, that doesn't matter. None of it matters, really.

What do I care what my father and the others would think? They never cared in the first place. Sarutobi cared, though, and those seven old men.

Maybe ninja…aren't so bad after all.

Things will be a little busy for a while since I have exams next week, but I hope to update soon. Thanks for rerading!