• Rei fingered the swords on her belt. Her long silky black hair was dancing in the light summer breeze. The smell of peach trees wafted past. The red ribbon holding up her hair slipped and fluttered to the ground in a spiral. Rei paused to pick the ribbon up. She pulled her hair into a ponytail high on the back of her head. She continued to walk through the forest, her bright purple eyes scanning the forest carefully. Soon she reached a sign. The words were faded and peeling. The shadow of the long-since painted words was obscured by old blood, likely from a long ago battle. Rei wiped at the blood with her hand to reveal the name of the next town. Rei inwardly sighed. She had reached her hometown. Her fingers involuntarily traced her forearm. She did not have good memories of this place. She knew her hometown was the only community for miles, plus she was low on supplies. She would have to hope that no one would recognize her.
    If someone recognized her, it wouldn’t be a simple feat. Rei had changed drastically over the years. Her hair had once been the color of sunshine. She used to have eyes that rivaled the sky with their pure color. Her friends said that a simple smile from her could brighten their day, and her laughter was the sound of tinkling bells. Rei hadn’t laughed since the slaughter of her family. Her heart felt incomplete, and a hole was left from her loneliness.
    She had been unable to cope with all the pity that was beginning to smother her. She had left during the night without telling anyone. They probably assumed she was dead. She shook the memories out of her head, and straightened her furisode kimono. She set her eyes forward, and walked into the town. As she walked by she scanned the faces of the people she passed to see if she recognized any of them from her childhood. She saw Aya, the boy who was always looking for her attention when she was younger, and Kaede, the old woman who had taken care of her for a short time after her parents were killed. The reactions of the people Rei passed were no surprise. She received the same reactions at every town she went to. Most of the townsfolk had badly disguised fear on their faces. The young children mostly were curious, but even they had traces of fear on their face. The mothers hid their children behind their backs not so subtly. The men glared at her as if daring her to make trouble.
    Lately, the samurai had been causing more trouble than doing their jobs. They flaunted their power, and made people miserable. They picked fights, and killed if they were refused. Because of all this, samurai were considered bad luck these days. Rei had become a samurai for revenge, until she had realized she was no better than them. She had changed her outlook, and did her best to protect people. But she did have some trouble with that…Rei shook her head to rid herself of that thought.
    Soon she arrived at the inn. She opened the door to find a girl about her age with medium length long hair, and brown eyes smiling at her. She looked slightly familiar. The girl bowed.
    “Konnichiwa! Welcome too-“ Then the girl realized she was talking to a samurai. So of course, fear covered her whole face.
    “M-May I help you?” she asked timidly. Rei scanned her up and down. She still looked familiar.
    “Ano...” The girl questioned. Rei snapped out of her thoughts.
    “May I sit down?” she asked. The girl quivered.
    "S-Sure…” the girl replied. She looked like she expected to be attacked. Rei sighed.
    “I just want a drink. I’m not going to do anything to you. Relax.” The girl wasn’t much calmer, but at least she was more curious and less scared now. She guided Rei to a vacant table near the back of the room. Rei sat down.
    “Ano…what would you like?” the girl asked.
    “Plain tea please.” Rei replied. The girl hurried away, clearly relieved that she was out of Rei’s presence. Rei studied the people around her while she waited for her tea. After a few minutes, the girl returned. She held a teacup in her hands. Rei accepted the teacup, and flashed a smile at the girl. The girl looked surprised, and then her face was scared again.
    “What?” Rei asked. She knew perfectly well what. She had smiled to see what reaction she would get. It was one of the smiles of her childhood.
    “N-Nothing.” The girl replied. Rei sipped her tea. She studied the girl. Rei was insanely curious to know why the girl looked so familiar.
    “What’s your name?” Rei asked after a minute. The girl instantly paled. Rei sighed again. Why did townsfolk always assume she was going to attack them?! It was so frustrating!
    “I just want to know your name. I’m not planning on attacking.” The girl hesitated.
    “Would you feel better if I told you my name first?” Rei asked. Rei was insanely curious to know why the girl looked so familiar. The girl slowly nodded her head after a hesitant pause.
    “My name is Rei Shiriayuki.” Rei told her, folding her hands and resting her chin on them.
    “M-My n-name is C-Chii Yuuya.” The girl stuttered. Rei studied her.
    “W-What?” the girl stuttered.
    “Nothing. You look like a Chii.” Chii looked confused, but was summoned away by another customer. Rei sipped her tea while she thought. Chii had been her best friend when she was younger. They had done everything together. Inseparable. They had both gotten the same hairstyle. Since Rei had been considered they “beauty” of the town, they only noticed her. She had pushed away their compliments, and told them to look at Chii. The haircut had framed her face, complimenting its heart shape.
    “There’s another samurai coming!” a man shouted, barging into the inn, and wrenching Rei from her thoughts. She heard screams from outside, and soon the inn’s door was broken down. A man with a sword sauntered in. It was the same man from all that time ago. Rei’s scar tingled, and her hand automatically reached for it. She involuntarily gripped her wrist with her right hand. Chii was watching. She slowly put her hand down.
    “Anyone want to fight?” He asked. He scanned the room. His eyes settled on Rei. An evil grin stretched across his face.
    “Another samurai. Good.” Rei noticed that Chii was scooting her chair closer to hers truly, probably hoping that Rei would protect her. The man made a beeline to Rei. Rei ignored him and sipped her tea.
    “You want to fight?” the samurai questioned, slamming his hand on the table, causing Chii to shriek.
    “Not particularly.” Rei replied. She sighed as her cup was sent across the room by the samurai hand. The man was mad now. The samurai started to curse and grabbed another cup from someone nearby. He chucked it at Chii. Chii screamed, and waited for the cup to hit her. After a second, she opened her eyes. She gasped. Rei had sliced the cup in half with her sword. The pieces of the cup hit the floor with a dull clunk.
    “I ask that you don’t hurt anyone.” Rei said quietly. The man sneered. Rei slipped her sword back in its sheath, and headed out the door.
    “Where are you going?” the samurai demanded. Rei didn’t reply. The man came at her with his sword. Rei pulled her blade, and held him back at lightning speed. The man gasped. Rei held him back with her sword in her left hand, and prodded him in a few places. The man went limp. People started to scream.
    “She’s a witch! She’s a witch!” they screamed. Rei sighed.
    She tied a rope around the man. Chii sidled up next to her.
    “What’d you do?” she asked, even more scared if that was even possible.
    “I just hit a few pressure points. He’s only unconscious.”
    “Why?” Chii asked.
    “Eh?” Rei replied, confused.
    “Why’d you knock him out? Most samurais kill.” Rei sighed.
    “I do my best not to kill. I’ve seen enough blood to last a lifetime.” Chii was silent for a minute.
    “How many people have you seen die?” Chii asked. Rei counted quickly.
    “Approximately 429.” She replied after a minute. Chii looked scared again.
    “H-how many of those did….” Rei looked at her.
    “Do you really want to know how many people I’ve killed?” she asked, her eyes focusing on Chii’s face. Chii slowly shook her head.
    “I guess not…” Chii mused. The truth was, Rei had killed all of them except for four of the 429. Her older brother, her mother, her father, and her little sister.
    Rei realized that Chii was babbling happily again, so she shook herself from her thoughts and listened
    “You saved my life!” Chii grinned. It was amazing how fast this girl could go between scared for her life to gleeful within seconds.
    “I doubt he would have done much to you.” Rei replied, “He was hardly able to hold a sword.” Chii shook her head.
    “He was going to kill me. I know it. But you saved me!” She attempted to hug Rei but stopped when she saw the look in Rei’s eyes. She slowly retracted her arms.
    “I’m going to treat you to a drink!” Chii smiled. Rei sighed. Chii had gone from being overly scared to overly friendly. She allowed Chii to take her hand and guide her back to the inn. Chii sat Rei down at the same table in the back. This time when Chii returned, she had two cups of tea. She handed one to Rei, and sat down across from her.
    “Are you really a samurai?” Chii asked curiously. Rei sighed.
    “I don’t think I need to answer that one. The answer is obvious.”
    “Is your name really Rei Shiriayuki?” Chii asked. Rei paused, unsure how to answer. Rei wasn’t her birth name. She had changed her name after she had become a samurai.
    “Yes.” She replied after a moment. Chii stared curiously at her.
    “Why did you hesitate?” she asked curiously, “Did you change your name?”
    Rei nodded.
    “What was your name?” Chii asked.
    “I don’t feel the need to tell you.” Rei answered, her eyes hardening. Chii looked surprised.
    “How old are you?” she asked.
    “Why do you feel the need to ask me questions?” Rei asked. Chii laughed.
    “Because I’m curious! Just answer!”
    Rei sighed. “Seventeen.” She replied. Chii looked surprised.
    “You don’t look seventeen.” Chii mused. “You’re the same age as me.”
    “I feel older than seventeen, but it is undoubtedly my true age.”
    “Where do you come from? Where were you born?” Chii asked next.
    “I don’t associate myself to any village. I left my village many years ago. It holds nothing left for me.”
    “Okay then, where’s your family?” Chii asked.
    “I don’t have a family.”
    “Are they dead?” Chii asked quietly. Rei nodded stiffly.
    “Oh.” Chii said quietly.
    “The bandage on your wrist is coming undone. I’ll wrap-” Suddenly Chii’s eyes widened. Rei looked quickly down. The scar on her wrist and up her arm to her shoulder she had gotten from the day when the samurai had killed her parents was showing. And unfortunately, it identified Rei to Chii.
    “No. You can’t be.” Chii gasped. Rei rewrapped the bandage.
    “SAKURA!!!!” Chii squealed hugging Rei before she could stop her. Rei mentally cursed. This was the exact reason why she hadn’t wanted to come to her village in the first place. All the people in the inn were gaping at the two. They hurried over.
    “Sakura?” A man asked. “But she looks nothing like Sakura.”
    “I know!” Chii nodded. “But she has the same scar as Sakura! And if you look close, her face is the same!” Rei cursed as Chii attempted to unwrap the bandage. Rei grabbed her wrist.
    “I am not Sakura.” Rei said through clenched teeth.
    “But-” Chii said.
    “I may have BEEN Sakura, but I am no longer Sakura. I am a samurai. My name is Rei.” With that Rei stood up. She was going to spend the night in the woods.
    The villagers’ eyes lit up.
    “You’re Sakura?” they gasped. Rei groaned.
    “I just said. I. AM. NOT. SAKURA.” Rei headed out the door of the inn, only to be surrounded by more people. All of whom, thought she was still Sakura. They all gathered in a circle with Rei and Chii in the middle. Rei had enough. She jumped up over the villagers and onto a tree branch to their surprise.
    “I AM NOT SAKURA.” She hissed. She saw the villagers acknowledge the deepness in her voice, and her now red eyes. They looked scared again.
    “Once your soul is tainted, you are no longer the person who you were. You become a new person. This is the reason why my hair is black and my eyes are purple. I am no longer the person I used to be. I can no longer associate myself to anyone, or any place. I am a now a rurouni, a wandering samurai.” Rei turned away, and headed out of the village. She felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
    “Why won’t you stay?” Chii whispered her eyes glistening with tears.
    “As I have already told you, I am no longer the person I was. I am Rei, not Sakura.”
    With that, Rei lifted Chii’s hand off her shoulder and walked away into the setting sun.