Before Sunrise
By Starian Princess

Chapter 2

Sanada Yukimura watched in amusement as the girl, who had called herself Yuya, piled all up her salvaged cloths on one side of the entryway. She seemed pleasant enough. Her hair looked to be the color of grains right before harvest time and her eyes appeared the color of the sea. He had met many with the same attributes, he shrugged. What he was looking for tonight though, was a woman who could satisfy him- one who was experienced and one who could take a hint. This one was but a girl. And after letting his eyes casually roam about, he concluded that this was not at all a brothel. No, it looked more like an old-fashioned tea house to be exact. It was one of those places where one felt like meeting up with people, chatting like there was no tomorrow, and evidently drinking the night away. It had a homey appeal, like he was back at his compound with his faithful followers around him. For years, those people- his subordinates had been more like family to him rather than anything else.

He was a lone survivor, the last of the Sanada clan with nothing short of an expertise in sword fighting, archery, and being a well-trained ninja. He had lived through a war, made some allies and even more adversaries. At the moment, he was a ninja for hire; one who chose whom he served and to whom he pledged loyalty to. And in fact his reason for being in this town was to locate a certain person one of his clients was searching for.

He hoped he'd find the man soon enough, for he was anxious to get back to his base. Life had always been some sort of adventure to him, but now, all he wanted to do was lie down and take a rest for a moment. Circumstances wouldn't permit such carefree thought though. A friend of his, Benitora, had once said that life was meant to be enjoyed not ignored. One shouldn't let life simply pass by without a second glance.

'Very much like a woman,' he mused and turned once more to his companion. The mistress of the tea house had approached them again with a small lantern and left it propped against the wooden floor; he thought he could probably get a better view of his unlikely savior then.

In a moment, his composed sky-blue eyes widened a fraction, taking in the beauty he hadn't noticed before. Long shimmering hair trailed down her shoulder, a red ribbon left dangling on the side. He had been gravely mistaken. Her hair wasn't the color of grains, no; it was the color of molten gold. Her eyes, on the other hand, were a different story altogether. He had also been fooled. What he had thought of as the color of the sea was actually the shade of lush grass newly watered in the summertime. He breathed in, trying to calm his raising heartbeat. It was the first time he had felt such excitement, simply gazing at a woman.

He carefully retracted to what little conversation they had had earlier, and he almost let out a sigh in relief. He hadn't really said anything that would have seemed like he wasn't interested in the least. On the contrary, the charmer inside of him had answered with as much prowess that she would have labeled him a player by now. She hadn't been deterred though, for which he was glad. And she had replied to his flirtatious persona with an equally self-possessed rhythm.

'Ah, perhaps she is an expert as well,' he thought in delight. Their game would be a lot more enjoyable then. In time, he mused, he would be able to catch her at her own ploy.

He was glad that he had thought of his friend's advice earlier. Women, true to the saying, had to be carefully examined and left to be noticed a second time; just as life was to be passed with a second glance.

"It seems as though Sanada has reached the village earlier than expected." Crimson eyes moved to regard the town in contemplative silence. From the rumors, in fact, it appeared that the ninja was already lounging about somewhere ready to take him in when necessary.

"We'll have to be ready then, Akira." He smirked, drawing his katana out of its sheath and letting it glimmer in the morning sunlight. Muramasa's work was said to be the best, and he couldn't wait until he had the opportunity to try it out on the world-renowned Sanada Yukimura- the last of the Sanada ninja clan.

"I still don't see why we can't just attack now. It would be easy to find him." Yes, it would be easy but it wasn't part of who he was to fight aimlessly. No, they'd let their prey come to them when the time was right.

"Have a little more patience, Hotaru. We need to keep the game as fun as possible."

Where was he? Yuya frowned, searching the passers-by for a familiar head of raven-black and kind blue eyes. He was hard to miss, a flower- in her opinion- walking along in a dry desert. Not only because of his magnificent appearance, but also because of his diverse garb, he stood out like a swan among geese. She blushed slightly, recalling his open smile. It seemed to look right through her, and even though she had been wearing a rather thick kimono (however drenched it was), she had felt completely naked.

"Yuya?" She almost whirled around in a frenzy, hearing his voice coming from behind her.

"Yukimura," she bowed, trying to get a hold of herself. The only reason why she was feeling so… unlike her usual self was because she wanted him to desire her and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. It had always been her routine after all.

"I'm glad you could make it." She smiled, tilting her head up again to meet his eyes. She suppressed her hurried breathing and moved to slide the door open, motioning that he follow her inside.

"Mister Yukimura, I'm glad you could make time to see us again." It appeared that even the mistress, Kinu, had waited in anticipation for their scheduled guest as well. She had been the one to invite him, of course, after he had so graciously offered to help them take the rest of the clothes off the line. The rain had gone on for hours, leaving them almost virtually helpless. And he had been their knight in shining armor, or so as Kinu had placed it. So she had happily invited him over for some afternoon tea, after he had taken care of whatever business he was there for.

"I would never turn down such an offer, ma'am." He simply smiled in return, keeping his eyes on Yuya's form as the woman hurried along behind her mistress, and evidently directly in front of him. He took the time to observe her reserved yet graceful movements as she seemed to flow about, perhaps gliding atop some sort of invisible cloud.

She was a temptress, he concluded, as he watched the sway of her hips. She made it so unnoticeable yet unbelievably alluring at the same time. Her golden tresses seemed much brighter in the daytime and he remembered how beautiful they looked even from a distance. Right away, he could tell it was her. And today, she appeared much more enticing than he imagined. Her kimono was cut low at the back, inevitably displaying her pale skin. She was practically flawless. And her eyes, oh her eyes, they were magically painted like emeralds. In addition to that, she wore a bit of make-up which only proved to heighten her beauty all the more. He found that he preferred her with as little as possible for hers was splendor anyone could appreciate without artificial means.

He then found himself wondering what on earth such an amazing creature did for a living. She seemed close enough to Kinu, so she must be at least some sort of relative, perhaps one those high-class merchants. But she looked like something else, something he couldn't put his finger on just yet…

"I hope you find this to your liking." Kinu nodded and opened the doors, the room immediately coming to life on its own. It was a warm-looking space, decorated with plants and a vast number of cushions.

'A summer getaway.' He smiled, taking in its appearance. Yuya's apparel seemed to match even. Her kimono was a nice sunset orange with some yellow flower patterns all around. Her red ribbon was securely wrapped around in her hair, allowing the strands to fall down the length of her back.

"Why don't the two of you wait here, while I go get the tea? Yuya, you know what to do." After the brief instructions, Yuya nodded automatically and motioned that Yukimura enter before her.

"Ladies first," he caught her hand at the last moment and tried to push her first gently.

"It's a custom that the guest enters first, Yukimura." She replied, seemingly indifferent and pulled her hand from his grasp. Inside though, she felt the touch vibrate all over her body and couldn't help the blush on her cheeks. She prayed that he wouldn't notice.

Yukimura didn't say anything after her statement and simply nodded, going ahead with the whole thing. He sat himself near the stage on the other side of the room, and Yuya sat down on his left, lifting her kimono slightly to get a comfortable position.

"So, Yuya, what sort of entertainment am I going to be experiencing today?" The ninja tried to make conversation, feeling the tension in the room after a few silent seconds.

"Whatever sort you wish to see." Her smile was full of mysteries, like she knew a deep dark secret she wouldn't be telling him any time soon. He felt like he had lost himself in that smile and unconsciously moved a hand to graze her lap.

The touch was barely noticeable but Yuya felt like the room had become so much warmer than it actually was. Another funny thing was that she hadn't felt particularly disturbed. When men made passes at her, however subtle they were, she would usually immediately back away without fail. But when this man touched her, she felt herself come alive. It wasn't unpleasant at all, like it was supposed to happen. But these conflicting emotions were what bothered her the most then.

Luckily, she was saved from having to answer him when Kinu came into the room with two other geisha she recognized. She stood up in routine and took her place on the stage.

Yukimura, having witnessed the whole preparation, watched in interest as one geisha brought out her flute and the other moved to take the tea tray from Kinu. It seemed that Yuya was an entertainer of some sort, perhaps a singer.

"This is Moeko and she'll be in charge of serving your tea, Mister Yukimura. And that is Akemi, playing the flute." Kinu had started with her introductions and he had to force himself from keeping his eyes on the green-eyed beauty, who had started speaking in hushed whispers to the other girl on her right.

"As you know, that is Yuya and she will be your entertainment tonight." The mistress finished, proudly looking on at the woman on the other side of the room. She seemed to take so much pride in the girl that Yukimura couldn't help but inquire.

"So I take it that Yuya will be singing for us?" He tried to keep his tone light, as if he was meant to ask out of respect but in truth, he was deeply curious. True, Yuya appeared to possess the voice of an angel but singing couldn't be her forte, now could it? He'd felt that there was something more to this.

"She can do more than that, Mister Yukimura. Yuya can sing, dance and perform all sorts of tricks for us. She is this district's best geisha after all."

Yuya heard the deep praise Kinu had meant for her and smiled in answer. The woman had so much faith in her, she'd never let her down. Although Yukimura moved her in ways she could only imagine, she resolved to make this one of her best performances. She refused to let a man affect her to the point of keeping her from something she lived for. She'd show him. She'd make him see there was more to her than met the eye and she would make him want her.

She took the fan Akemi was holding out to her and closed her eyes, visioning the dance she would be portraying. In a few seconds, she had one picked out and set out to do her work. Gracefully, she lifting her hand and propped it against her head while the other stayed at her side, poised out with the fan slightly opened. She moved her leg to let the trail behind her kimono rest on one side and flashed a bit of skin on the other.

And nodding discreetly to apprentice beside her, the music starting to flow through the room, she began her dance.

"I'm pretty sure Yukimura is here already. I can sense his aura from a mile away." Saizo looked down to regard his companion with mixed sentiment. He was Sanada Yukimura's right hand man, not this little shinobi. Hell would freeze over before he'd allow the shrimp the pleasure of locating their master first.

"It's not like I didn't already know that. Now, come on." He moved a hand to push the boy ahead of him as he scanned the town. Yukimura's aura was strong, of course, but it would probably take a few hours before they would be able to locate him. Knowing the man, he was probably enjoying himself at some local brothel. Women and sake; that was where Yukimura's heart and mind were most of the time.

He sighed. He wished they could be back at the compound within the day but at the rate this mission was going, they'd be lucky to be back within the week.

-TBC-