Tenchu: Darkness Love (my first love story) Prologue

Tenchu: Darkness of Love
I sit on a branch of the large Sakura Blossom tree in the courtyard, sighing softly to myself. I twirl one of my kodati in my hands as I look at the blade, the swirl of reflections all a blur.

Sighing once more, I sheath the blade and hop down from the tree, walking out of the courtyard, heading into the forest by the castle.

I whisper to myself, reminiscing happier times than what I have had to go through recently. “Why…? Why did you leave me for her, Tatsumaru…? If you would have only lived… I would have run away with you…”
As a flood of tears slides down my cheeks, I throw my right fist into a tree trunk, hitting it as hard as I possibly could at the moment.

As I feel the slight sting of the bark hitting my fist, I wait a moment before withdrawing my hand away from the tree trunk, looking at my knuckles.

Now slightly bruised and bleeding a bit, they no longer match my other hand, and I hysterically punch the tree with my left hand to make them match.

I keep punching the tree rapidly for a few minutes until someone’s hand lock around my wrists and pin my arms to my sides.

I look up through my tear-filled mahogany-brown eyes only to find myself reflected in the golden irises of Tatsumaru’s brother, Rikimaru.

I put on an emotionless mask and wrench my arms free from his grasp to wipe my face dry from all my tears. I then look at my hands, which are dripping blood and shaking horribly.

My eyes widen in surprise, for I hadn’t really felt the pain of it, other than the original sting of the bark colliding with my skin.
I sigh to myself and look up into Rikimaru’s masked face, my emotionless mask still in place.
“Rikimaru-san,” I say, nodding to him once as a greeting.

“Ayame… What did you do this for, my partner?” He reaches for my right hand and touches the raw skin of my knuckles.

I wince—I can feel the pain now—and withdraw my hand from his. “I do not know, Rikimaru-san. Gomen if it concerned you. I will go bandage it now…”
I walk past him and time seems to slow down as our shoulders brush slightly…