Yamanari Asukiko

Bio
The night was dark as the bruised and battered girl stumbled up the winding dirt road. Blood dribbled down her chin and from multiple cuts all over her body. Her left eye was almost swollen shut and her left arm hung at an awkward angle obviously broken. All this and she was only six years old. She had been walking along the road for days now and hadn’t seen anyone who could help her. So she kept walking with the hopes that eventually she would find someone to help her. She stumbled and fell, tripping over a rock in the road, and landing on her broken arm. Pain shot through her as she cried out blackness engulfing her vision. As she slowly sinks into the dark well of unconsciousness she hears faintly the slow plodding and creaking of a cart.



Images of fire and pain flash through her mind; faces of loved ones screaming in agony appear vividly in her minds eye as she sleeps. She cries out but no sound comes from her lips as she watches in horror as her family is slain brutally in front of her. Then the leering faces of the men who destroyed her life turn toward her and unmitigated terror grip her heart. She springs upright in bed, awakening with a start. Confused she looks around to realize she is in an elegantly simple bedroom. In one corner of the cozy room is a large dresser made from cherry wood. Its many drawers are ornately carved with stylized vines. A large silver rimmed mirror sits atop the dresser its silver edges are also cast in stylized vines. In the other corner a large cherry wood armoire sits regally, it to, designed with ornate stylized carvings of vines. Slowly she gets out of the four post queen sized bed and stops and looks in the mirror at her face. Her wounds have all been cleaned and bandaged and her arm has been set in a cast. Her tattered clothing had been replaced with a violet and white night gown. She stared intently at her reflection. Her hand moving unbidden to the traces of the cuts and bruises she still felt but could barely see. “You should be all better in a few weeks,” a woman’s sultry voice said from behind her. Startled she turns around quickly only to see a tall white haired old woman standing in the doorway. The woman had the look of someone who has see a lot of pain and suffering in her lifetime. Yet she wore the fatigue and stress of a long difficult life comfortably and gracefully. When she moved she didn’t move with the stiffness of old age, but rather the practiced grace of one who was at peace with the world around her.

Gliding into the room the woman sits on the bed facing the child. “Child what is your name,” she asks. Overcoming her fear and figuring that if she wanted to hurt her she would have by now the young girl calmly replies, “Asukiko.” The older lady smiles at the girl. “You are quite brave my dear. You may call me Tsuta,” she says. “Now child tell me your story,” she says quite seriously. Starting slow at first and then slowly building up Asukiko tells the old lady about the men who came to her village. She told her how they had looted and pillaged everything the village had. She told her how they had rounded up all the men including her father and little brother and killed them all in front of the women. She told her how they had…hurt her, her sister and mother. Finally she told her how they killed her mother and sister and how they had thought her dead. She said this all in a matter of fact voice. The feelings still so painful she was numb to it. “Tell me, Asukiko,” Tsuta starts. “Do you want revenge against those who hurt you, because I can teach you,” she asks. “You see I am in need of someone to care for me in my old age and I also wish to pass on the skills I have acquired during my life, as I am the last of my clan, I wish to see them passed on. We were once a clan of powerful fighters but countless battles and blood feuds have destroyed us. I will teach you our particular style of fighting which relies on speed, precision, and using the inherent energy of the body called chakra. You are brave and strong for one so young and I can see in your eyes not only the thirst for vengeance but a calculating intelligence that will come in handy when trying to learn my skills. You will be a force to be reckoned with, with my training of course. So ask you again,” she starts as she walks over to the armoire opens it and removes a large oaken case. The inside of the case is lined in blood red velvet and lying inside is a beautifully crafted short sword. Tsuta pulls the sword out slowly revealing the segmented parts which comprise it. “Do you want to learn,” she asks. Asukiko looks at the segmented sword, smiles a cruel little smile and nods yes.

Coming out of her reverie Asukiko takes in the surrounding country side. It had been eleven long years since she had decided to learn how to use and control the blade which now hung at her side, and it had been one week since Tsuta had finally passed away. Per her wishes, Asukiko took the three large books Tsuta told her to take then carefully dressing the corpse and arming her with her weapon she closed the door to the small house they had shared and lit a match burning the house and cremating her masters corpse. The books contained the basic knowledge of how to create and control the segmented blade that she uses. Tsuta wanted the knowledge to be passed on to whomever Asukiko deemed worthy to be her apprentice, but that time was a long time in coming. For now she would just be a wander. She rode along in silence just taking in the scenery around her. Three days ago she met a strange group of people, an exotic and attractive female named Lady Hess and a tall male named Rain and they invited her to travel with them figuring she could always leave them when she felt like it and deciding that neither one was a serious threat she agreed to meet them in a few days time. Now she was on her way to meet them and begin this new chapter of her life.