The Rise of the Ronin

Ichigo's palace

It doesn't take long before she decides to give up. She is not strong enough to get this man off her back, nor does she have a weapon to take her own life on the spot. From afar she sees the city of Yokohama disappearing in the distance. Dark clouds rise over the harbor and she can only imagine what has happened and if this man who kidnapped her has something to do with it.

She looks at him from below, perched on the back of his horse. His skin white, icy as snow. His eyes hidden behind impenetrably dark glasses. His hair can barely see it, made of silver, similar to his horse's coat. He hasn't spoken a word since he took her in one arm and rode away from the city. Instead, he placed a gag on her, screaming for help did her no good.

They ride for hours, so far that she doesn't know where she is standing when he decides to drop her from the back of his horse. He leaves her lying on the ground and gently takes the reins of his horse to lead him to a small lake to cool off.

The girl watches him out of the corner of her eye, uneasy at the obvious way he decides to ignore her. Without thinking too much she breaks into a run as she rips the bandage from her mouth and stops as she feels the air and the sound of steel traveling past her face. A sword sticks in the nearest tree and she sees strands of her hair floating in the air for an instant before she turns around.

The man who kidnapped her stares at her, standing a few feet away. He is so tall that he forces her to lift her chin to look at his face. Despite having his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, she is sure his gaze is stern. His lips are suspended in a straight line and a shiver runs down her spine now that he is no longer smiling.

"I'm tired," he confesses as he takes his first steps towards her, leaving her completely frozen. "Don't make me have to look for you," he says as he pulls the katana from the trunk of that tree as if it were stuffed in butter.

"What do you want from me? I'm not going to tell you anything, so don't waste any more time," she says with her heart pounding under her chest. As if bowing to him, she leaves her head at the man's disposal and closes her eyes tightly. "Kill me!"

Satoru arches an eyebrow as he sees her prostrating herself, begging him to be her executioner. He positions himself in front of her and when she hears his footsteps she opens her eyes to see his feet standing in front of her. Her body trembles involuntarily and silently accepting her fate, she closes her eyes again, her eyelids tightly closed.

She can't stop trembling even as the seconds tick by, until finally, intrigued by how long it is taking him to end her life, she opens her eyes.

He is crouched in front of her, smiling at her with his katana in his palm. His calmness exerts an overwhelming terror on her.

"I'll give you some time to come to your senses."

"What?"

"Why are you protecting them?"

"Because... I-I won't tell you anything..." she answers, rising to her feet.

He stands up and she lifts her chin in the direction of his face.

"You're not going to escape me, you're my only clue. Nor am I going to kill you, or torture you. Just because you are willing to give your life for them. What's your name?"

"Ka..." She's about to say 'Kasumi', but stops. "Kai."

"Kai?"

She hesitates for a moment; she doesn't know who this person is or why she is looking for her siblings with such conviction. She nods after deciding not to reveal her real name to him.