There was no sudden surge of energy, but, at that moment, I felt a presence beside me. The feeling was familiar, like I knew it. Looking in the direction of it, I saw the glowing shape of a tall man.

"Yes, that is what I wanted you to see;" the voice belonged to Master; "I know I haven't told you much, but, it wasn't time yet…"

"What happened? Who was that ma…." He stopped me before I could ask anything more.

"I can't tell you, you'll have to find out for yourself…." The figure started to fade away. "There is a book in there, read it… hopefully it will give you some answers…." With that, he was gone.

"Damn it, why do you have to be so secret?? Why couldn't you just tell me!!!!?? WHAT THE HELL!??!"

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It took me awhile to calm down. Whatever wasn't busted in the cabin sure was after that. "Okay Willan, you can stop looking at me like that." The horse had been staring at me for an hour or so.

" Let me ask you something; why wouldn't he tell me anything?" I looked at him with a somewhat sad look on my face. "I mean, I've told him everything that I know about my past and what was going on... but he never said a thing about himself or whether HE knew something about me. He was so secretive…" I trailed off; talking too soft for anyone else to hear me.

All Willan did was nod and neigh. Even though I don't understand horse, I knew that HE knew what Master was once like. "I guess, since there is nothing else to break, I might as well look in the box."

I walked over to it once again. I had already touch it once and Master's ghost showing up was the only thing that had happened, so I didn't hesitate.

When I opened it, I noticed that there were a few of Master's things he seemed to have prized while he was alive. Some of the stuff I had seen before; a short knife that he used only for carving and a ring that he admired while I was supposed to be asleep. But then there was an old, tattered, charcoal drawing of a woman that I hadn't seen before, yet she seemed so familiar.

It was a picture of a young lady, and, even though the charcoal was smeared and the paper was worn, I could tell that she had light hair with some kind of streaks in it. I looked into a beautiful jeweled mirror that was in the trunk, too. My face was dirtied from the soot and red from crying and anger, but through all this, I could see that the woman in the picture had the same soft features as I possessed. But… her eyes didn't show the pain or emptiness; instead they were filled with love, happiness, and kindness.

My hair, too, had streaks of different colors to it. But mine wasn't light; replacing that is a dark blue. Hers was long and beautiful while mine is short and uneven; filthy from the days without a wash. Her clothes were nice and clean; almost royal like. All I had was a makeshift shirt, shorts, and hand-made leather boots (they were the only thing Master had taught me how to make)

Something caught my eye; the woman ha a thin chain around her neck. On the chain was a ring. Not much of the detail showed, but I could tell I had seen it before. I thought about it for a moment… then I remembered that ring that was in the box.

It took me a bit to find it again. When I did, I compared it to the one in the picture... even though I couldn't see the details I still knew that it was the same one. I looked at the one in my hand; it was made of silver with gold inlay. A deep green stone was set into it with a blue one in the center. I decided to take the drawing and the ring with me; where ever I was going.

I didn't see anything else in the trunk so I went to close it. The lid seemed a little heavy and thick. I noticed that one of the corners was coming apart from the rest of the lid, when I pulled on it a worn, old leather bound book fell out. I opened the book without thinking and started to read it out loud….

The child was born today. She is such a beautiful thing… she has her mother's features and dark blue strands of hair, just like her fathers. But, it seems that she doesn't just have his hair; mixed in with the blue is an array of light colors, just like her mother's long hair.

Today is the little one's first birthday. It's supposed to be a joyous occasion, but; I'm afraid that it's not. It seems that we have done something that is against the rules that we are to follow…

As I kept on reading, I found that I was the child. I also found Master's name in there, too…

…it was the first time in a long time that I have heard any of them use my real name… Haruki Kojima…

I never knew what his name was. I only knew him by Master.

________________________________________________________________________

I heard a noise behind me. When I turned around, nothing was there. I set the book down and went into the clearing. I saw no one, not even Willan.

I heard another sound coming from by the stream. When I looked around a tree, I saw a young man scavenging through the remains of something. He noticed that I was there and tried to run, but I didn't let him.

"Stay where you are!" I stood the way I did when I practiced fighting with my black sword in hand. The man continued running, not listening to me. I put my sword away and followed him closely; he was as fast as I was… not even Master could beat me in a race.

Soon we were side-by-side running through the forest. I could see that he had a sword similar to the one I had found and the one I received from Master. This one, however, was red like fresh blood, not black or white.

We came to a small clearing that had a beam of sun light shining through. When he got a good look at me, he started to laugh and said "You're just a weak girl, how do you think you can harm me?"

I pulled out the black blade again, smiling to myself. "Does this make you think differently of me?" I got back into a fighting stance.

"Oooo, the little girl has a big sword. I bet you don't even know how to use that thing!" He too got into a stance, holding out his sword as well.

"What makes you so sure I don't?"

"And what makes you so sure you'll win? I have been using this sword for years, it looks like you've never used yours."

"Even if I haven't used this as long as you have yours. I can learn anything I please easily. Besides, I don't think you'll be a match for me since I have two while you only have one." This time I pulled out the one Master told me to take from him… the white one. I held out both with a smirk across my face.

A strange look came over his face; he seemed to recognize the swords that I had. "Where did you get those? How could you be someone who would be chosen? He returned to his normal up-right position, staring at me with the strange look still on his face.

Stunned for a moment by his comment, I stepped down too. "Why is that? I must be since I have both." I motioned to the one in his hand, "That must be another of these. I would have said the same about you; not being able to wield such a powerful thing… but since you have it… you must be also."

"A woman shouldn't be gifted enough to deserve anything that should belong to me." He went back to his fighting pose, challenging me to battle.

"IF they should belong to you, then why do I wield them instead?" I too got into a ready position for his challenge. "If it's a fight you want, I shall give you one. And I should tell you, my Lord, that what you did was a big mistake. I WILL get revenge for my Master's death!"

Once again, he gave me the strange look. "I had no part in any killings. I was simply looking for something I could make money off of… and maybe something to eat. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why should I believe that? The man who killed him looked exactly like you…"

"Damn it! I knew that bastard wasn't someone to trust!" With that he threw down his sword and growled.

"What are you talking about, no matter what you say, I know you're the one who killed him!"

"Do what you want… we have a common link… I will not fight you. However, if you do kill me, you will never find the one who DID murder him… for I can show you where he is and how to get him…"