Ninja Love Story

Chapter 15

The room was so deafeningly silent I could hear my heart beat in my ears. Everyone had a look of pain on their face, as if envisioning themselves in my scenario. Yoshitsune was the first to speak. "Sheeta..." the ache clearly audible in his voice, "You've been through so much..." He took my hand in his but I said nothing. I simply looked in his eyes and took comfort in his smile. "Now that you've recovered your memories, what would you like to do?"

"I..." As much as I love it here, I owe it to my parents. "I will complete my mission. My parents gave their life for the Treasures and for me. As per my father's last wishes, I want to protect them from the Heishi clan." I said adamantly.

Hanzo stood close by with no emotion on his face, but I noticed his features droop a little. Like he was enduring a battle with his own demons. "Do you know where the Treasures are?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and attempted to remember. "We were interrupted before Papa had a chance to tell me... To be honest, I'm at a loss over what to do next." I hung my head low and tried to think.

The sound of fabric rustling caught my attention. I looked up to see that everyone had gotten up and were waiting by the door. Hanzo held his hand out to me, "Don't worry, we will help." He gestured to everyone with his other hand and spoke again. "Eventually, the Three Sacred Treasures will affect us all and we have you and your family to thank for keeping them safe. And just as you wish to protect them with your life..." Hanzo locked eyes with me and held my hands in his, "I wish to protect you with mine."

Hyuga cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "Pretty rare indeed to see Kazemasa doing something not in his self interest..." he smirked.

I giggled and feigned exasperation while Hanzo shot a look to Hyuga. "Fool, did you not just hear me say this will eventually affect us all?"

Hanzo helped me to my feet but still held onto my hand. Enya looked at our hands then at us, "Could it be... you've fallen for Sheeta, Kazemasa?" He waggled his eyebrows at us both and I found myself blushing.

"..." Hanzo said nothing. However, he gently squeezed my hand and blushed ever so slightly.

Hyosuke's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as big as walnuts. "Are you serious?! Really?" He recovered enough from his shock to give us a devilish grin.

Hanzo's face flushed a shade deeper and his jaw was firmly set, but when he spoke, he spoke calmly, "Enough with the idiocy. Answering you would be a waste of time so I haven't said anything, but..." he trailed off.

I took the chance to fill the silence. "My mother and father gave their lives to the Treasures and their family, and I will not hesitate to do the same. I consider you all very dear to me and I want to thank you for showing me kindness and letting me in. And I will not allow the Heishi army to get their hands on the symbols of the Emperor's power."

"Speaking of which," Yoshitsune interjected, "You spoke of a peculiar mirror earlier; it just so happens that the oldest mirror crafter's shop is here in the capital. Perhaps if you speak to the old woman in charge, she might be able to help."

I beamed. "Thank you so much! I'll go there right now." I tried to release Hanzo's hand so I could leave, but he pulled me back and held me close. I immediately blushed at our audience but he didn't seem to mind.

"I'm coming with you."

"Alright, I promise not to faint this time," I winked. Hanzo smiled and touched the flower in my hair. 

"Your fate and your destiny are tied to mine," he whispered. "Sheeta and I will go on ahead. We'll report back as soon as we have news."

Everyone nodded. "Here we go..." I said.

Within a few minutes, Hanzo and I had reached the mirror crafter's store. As we entered, we were greeted by the old woman, who bowed in respect. "Good evening. How may I help you?"

"Hello. My name is Sheeta Menai..." Right away, her eyes shot up in surprise.

"You are of the Menai clan...?!"

"Uhm, yes. Do you know me...?" I asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled as she cupped my face with her hand. "I knew your father quite well. Your eyes are as beautiful as he said," She knew Papa... I felt my eyes water and a small smile spread over my face at knowing that someone knew my father.

"I have something your father left with me, Sheeta," the woman said. She took her hand back and went behind the counter, pulling out a bundle of cloth. She set it on the counter and motioned for me to take it. I pulled back the fabric and gasped at its contents. "This-!"

"Sheeta, what is this?" Hanzo asked.

"It's the Yatano Mirror!" I answered incredulously.

Hanzo's eyes widened and looked back and forth between the mirror and me. "One of the Three Sacred Treasures? THE Yatano Mirror-?"

The old woman nodded. "Your father did not tell you of its exact whereabouts, Sheeta. It was a part of his plan all along to keep you from being cruelly interrogated by the Heishi."

I scrunched my eyebrows together confusedly. "Papa had a plan? What plan?..."

"Your father thought it best to hide each Treasure in correlation with the places of legend," She clasped my hands together and silently implored me. "Sheeta, do you ever remember hearing anything about the legend from your father?"

I lowered my eyes and spoke quietly as more memories assaulted me. "Yes... On the night the Heishi attacked us... But I always thought that was just a legend! Just simple words spoken in a rehearsed manner. If what you say is true and the Treasures are hidden in each special spot, how are we ever going to beat the Heishi to the locations?"

The old woman smiled tiredly and spoke again, "If Akira Menai told you of the Treasures' origin and the details of the legend, he certainly believed you could find them and that you would never give up."

I felt tears sting my eyes but I squeezed them shut and mentally scolded myself. That is definitely something Papa would say to me... I can't cry now, I won't cry now. I will not stop until the Treasures are safe and my mission is complete. "I owe it to my parents; I owe it to Papa..."

The woman let my hands go and I felt Hanzo step between us. He took me in and held me close, smoothing down my hair. "It's alright to cry, Sheeta... I'm here."

"Hanzo..." I shivered in his embrace and let my tears fall. 

He squeezed me gently and continued to hug me as he spoke again, "We will find them. Your parents gave their lives so you could continue living, so we will fulfill this mission and give them the honour they deserve."

I smiled despite my emotions. Thank you so much, Hanzo. I suppose you do live up to your nickname, Sunshine... I stepped back, wiped my face with my sleeves, and smiled. "Well, I suppose there's no time like the present then."

**And this is where I end! Thank you to all who are reading this, I'm sorry this is all I have at the moment. However, I will post more soon. Again, this is not an original story line; I only increased the verbiage and made it more into a novel setting. Check out Destiny Ninja for yourself and other Shall We Date? games. Thanks again!**