Sakura left Stryfe's chambers, her face kept carefully blank
of any and all emotion. Silently she moved down the many hallways,
eventually accessing a lift to the long abandoned town above them. The
house that she had chosen was slightly apart from all the others, and
she felt satisfied that no one had dared to disturb it.
The door's lock opened smoothly, and Sakura quickly paced the
rooms, insuring that she was alone there. None of the traps that she
set outside her home had been triggered, but one couldn't be too
careful, her master always said.
The rooms inside were mostly bare, only a few tastefully
chosen Japanese wall hangings adding any color to the clean walls. In
the bedroom a simple mat served in the place of a bed, two bowls set
nearby with water in one, and the other for the burning of incense.
And leaned up against the wall where the light from a window could
touch upon it, a traditional red demon's mask, the sort that would be
worn by a ninja.
Sakura knelt down on the mat, carefully setting a stick on
incense in the sand on the base of the bowl. The white haired woman
lit it, breathing deep of the scent, and let herself think of the
past. The past, and the reason that she was here in this place now.
A foundling, she had been raised in a succession of Japanese
orphanages until Sakura could afford to finally leave them in her
teens. The stories were that she was a kitsune, a fox spirit abandoned
upon a human's doorstep, stories that she did not always deny. It was
useful, occasionally, to be thought as something just a bit more than
human.
And even as a small child, Sakura had a talent towards the
martial arts. By her teens she had learned all that she could from the
local sensei, and moved on. All across Japan she traveled, going from
master to master and swiftly learning all that they could teach her.
And with each one she sought to find something... more.
And eventually Sakura found it in 'Ogun.
Even then, 'Ogun was a legend in the underworld of Japan. The
immortal demon ninja, the greatest assassin alive some said of him, he
was a man that all treated with a great deal of respect. The Triads,
Yakuza, the Mafia, even the Hand and their ancient enemies the Chaste
all treated him with the greatest of caution. Sakura had approached
him tentatively, with as much humility as she could possibly manage,
and was firmly rebuffed.
That very night, Sakura was attacked without warning by a band
of Hand ninjas. No quarter was asked of her, and none was given as
Sakura fought for her life against the assassins. In the end, she
stood triumphant over their bodies, her own blood drying on her arms
from cuts and wounds. The soft sound of clapping was suddenly heard,
and Sakura whirled about to see 'Ogun watching her, the trademark red
demon mask on his handsome face.
The Hand had been a test, and by destroying them Sakura had
passed.
'Ogun accepted her as his student that night, and the next
morning the training had begun. A hard taskmaster, 'Ogun pushed her to
her very limits, but in the first month alone he far surpassed any of
Sakura's previous teachers. She learned the tricks of the body, how to
dull pain and heal injuries by the force of one's will. And how to
turn such techniques against an enemy.
The pathways of the mind were the next set of lessons. 'Ogun
taught Sakura to slip unseen into the thoughts of another, to bend and
twist those thoughts to her own will. How to trick and deceive the
perceptions, even a kind of psychic invisibility were all eventually
available to her. And even greater techniques were promised to her.
And the fighting training continued onwards.
Occasionally, 'Ogun would lend Sakura out to one of his
allies, to accomplish simple jobs for them . A Yakuza needed to die,
but quietly. He mysteriously died, choking to death on his food. A
politician began to make some inconvenient demands for reform, and a
mysterious accident left him dead at the bottom of the stairs. And in
all of them, no foul play was suspected.
A tired Sakura would return to their home, a servant would
prepare them dinner, and they would sit and talk softly as they ate.
'Ogun rarely spoke of his own past, instead of great fighters and
opponents that he had faced in battle. Sometimes he would speak of his
former students, and very rarely he talked about Logan.
Sakura got the strong impression from him that Logan was the
one that got away. 'Ogun would speak of him quite fondly, the brawler
from the west who had sought to tame his primal savagery with the ways
of the samurai. A great fighter, strong both of will and of courage,
who had left him and his training for some reason. But 'Ogun did not
seem vengeful, exactly, instead he simply sounded just a bit regretful
about it.
She was out on one of her jobs when 'Ogun had to go out to
attend a meeting with a boss of the Yakuza, an old friend of his. When
Sakura returned she found that they had a guest, a westerner. The
American, Katherine Pryde. Kitty.
When 'Ogun expressed his desire to train the girl in the way
of the ninja she was dubious about the idea, though of course she
didn't show it. He was her master, she had to support him in all
things. Kitty's phasing gift shed some light on his decision, and when
she learned of the child's connection to Logan, all became clear.
'Ogun stripped Kitty's mind down, reverting her to her very
childhood, then he slowly began to build her back up again over the
space of several days. And with each and every step Sakura was there,
to be her sparring partner or whatever else that 'Ogun needed her to
be. As they fought, she came to know Kitty's body, the capabilities
and limitations of the just budding teenager, and Sakura was amazed.
There was so much untapped potential there!
And each of those nights, Kitty and Sakura would lay together
on her bed. Sakura restrained herself, despite the pliant
suggestibility that Kitty sleepwalked under, only holding Kitty close
in the protection of her arms. Until that final night, before Kitty
was to go out to face Logan. She stripped the unresisting girl, the
herself, and they lay there together. Gently, carefully, Sakura
brought Kitty to the heights of pleasure, then she guided Kitty into
giving her that same pleasure in return. They lay there entwined until
the sun rose, and it was time for Kitty to prepare.
Kitty left that evening, to target her surrogate father Logan
for death. 'Ogun waited calmly for the report, Sakura more restlessly,
and she was shocked when they discovered that Kitty had failed. Even
worse, she had been taken captive.
'Ogun accepted the news calmly, almost as he had been
expecting to hear it. He began to prepare for battle even as he
ordered her to stay out of it. It was a matter of honor now, between
himself and his former student. Like any good student, she was forced
to agree.
Like a cat Sakura slipped out to watch over Kitty. Logan
trained her hard in the wilds, driving her both body and mind to be
ready to face some battle ahead. And as she watched, she wondered if
Kitty remembered her, if those memories warmed her at night like they
did Sakura.
Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Sakura arranged it
so that they passed each other on a busy country street. And Kitty
walked right on by her, not a flicker in those dark eyes. It was
obvious that Kitty did not remember anything, that the enchantment
'Ogun had held her under had clouded those memories. The pain stabbed
her like a knife, and for a moment Sakura was tempted to strike at the
unknowing Kitty.
But she thought that her sensei 'Ogun would likely take that
to be interference in his upcoming duel with Logan as well.
But it was Kitty, not Logan, that 'Ogun faced in battle, as he
attempted to slay Logan's love Mariko and his adopted daughter. They
fought through the office building, Kitty's phasing and basic skills
against 'Ogun's years of experience. Finally, it came down to a battle
of wills between them, and Sakura was deeply shaken to see Kitty win
that battle.
Logan arrived before 'Ogun could slay the insolent little
girl, and their battle was one that would become legend. They were so
evenly matched it was frightening, but in the end Logan unleashed a
bezerker fury that even 'Ogun could not withstand. Finally the red
demon mask was crushed in Logan's hands, the dust spread across his
former sensei's body.
After they were gone Sakura carefully gathered up his body in
her arms, taking it away to be buried with the honor that he deserved.
Over 'Ogun's grave she softly swore her vengeance, not on Logan,
knowing that her master's very spirit would pursue him from beyond the
grave to the gates of hell itself, but instead on Kitty Pryde.
Kitty, who's failure had betrayed 'Ogun. Kitty, who had
rejected her sensei's wishes. Kitty, who had forgotten all about
Sakura. That final sin, Sakura had vowed to herself silently, would be
the one that Kitty would come to regret the most dearly.
Sakura left Japan, traveling the world to develop her skills
further even as she kept tabs on her enemy. She kept track of Kitty's
development, ad felt pleasure as more and more the girl's potential
was finally being realized. And during that time, Sakura made contact
with... him. Stryfe.
Stryfe had power, as well as great resources available to him.
Resources that would be very useful to Sakura in her plans to face
Kitty. As she came to know Stryfe she felt a kindred hatred in him, a
passion to destroy that almost rivaled her own. Their needs
dove-tailed quite nicely, him seeking to destroy the X-Men, her
seeking to slay a member of that team. So she gained his confidence,
rising in his employ to become one of his most trusted agents.
With a little smile Sakura snuffed out the incense thinking,
'And now it's early time. 'Ogun, your vengeance is nearly at hand.'
She smoothly stood, stretching out, and felt a dull ache within her,
an ache wishing to be filled.
She left the ghost town quietly, traveling to Sydney via her
own methods. Sakura found the place easily, having visited the Rose a
few times since arriving in Australia. She was escorted to one of the
many private tables, feeling pleasure at the concealment the fabric
blinds provided.
Occasionally, Sakura would look up at the painted roof and
chuckle softly at the erotic images presented there. 'A bit
unimaginative,' she thought, 'but amusing none the less.' A former
bordello, now operating as a lesbian run restaurant had a certain kind
of poetic irony to it.
"Miss Sakura?" a quiet voice asked.
"Yes," Sakura smiled as she gestured the lady to a seat. She
looked the girl over, thinking, 'Just what I ordered.'
She was a slim, athletic girl, just a bit shorter that Sakura
herself. Long brown hair flowed over her shoulders, and she looked
cutely smart. "Beauties Unlimited sent me over," she smiled at Sakura,
"my name is..."
"Would you mind," Sakura asked her quietly as she sipped her
drink, "if I just called you by another name for tonight?"
"That's quite all right," the girl smiled.
"Then I think I will call you," Sakura reached out, gently
stroking along the cheek, "Kitty."
To be continued...
Authors Note: Based loosely around the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine six
issue mini-series. I don't think they ever mentioned if 'Ogun had any
other students, so this story doesn't violate continuity too badly. I
wanted to give Sakura a more personal reason to be going after
Kitty...
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