Hello all ^^
This may not be the update that a few people were expecting, but hopefully it'll be a nice surprise.
This story was originally started by a friend who grew out of fanfiction. I asked for permission to resurrect it and he agreed! So, without further ado, here is another bad attempt at writing -.-

Story key:
"Speaking"
'thoughts'
~~~

The ancestral home of the Aoyama clan was quiet as midnight approached. The moon, which usually bathed the courtyard in moonlight on summer nights, was absent in the sky. Six torches, each positioned around the courtyard, was the only source of light. A fitting setting for what was about to occur.

"Aoyama Motoko, step forward," a stern faced elderly woman commanded. She, along with two others, wore red and white ceremonial robes. The council, as they were referred to when need arose, had the unpleasant task of sentencing one of their best and brightest students their clan has ever seen.

"You have been found guilty of murder and treason," the woman continued, "the scriptures are clear. You are to be exiled from the Aoyama clan, and never be allowed to practice the sword art again."

Motoko did not flinch at her words. Someone went through the trouble of framing her and had done a masterful job of doing so. Her mind wandered as the elderly woman rambled on. She looked around the courtyard at her so called peers. Family, honor, tradition, respect, loyalty, these are words that could not use to describe those that surrounded her at the moment. Her eyes shifted from one face to the next, each giving her a look of shame, disgust, and disappointment.

Motoko had fallen hard, her innocence and honor were stripped from her during the clan investigation of a young clansmen's corpse found in her sleeping quarters. She knew she was innocent, she would do no such thing. Everyone else however thought differently. The very same people that watched as she grew and matured, the same that praised her for her devotion to the clan, the same that she sacrificed so much for, believed that she would kill one of their own!

"UNACCEPTABLE," Motoko screamed, startling everyone present. A long moment of silence passed, broken occasionally by the chirping of crickets.

"Excuse me," another council member yelled, this one an elderly man with thinning grey hair, "you are in no position to make such outbursts! Do not further dishonor yourself and the Aoyama name!"

"It is you all who dishonor me! Accusing and punishing me for a grievous act that I did not commit! How DARE you!"

"Silence, young woman," the elderly woman shrieked, speaking for the council again. "We will not tolerate such disrespect! The clan rules call for execution! Be grateful that THAT is not your sentence!"

"What would your elder sister say if she saw you like this," the youngest of the three asked. He appeared to be middle aged, his black hair beginning to turn gray at its roots.

"She would believe me," Motoko countered, angry that they would actually think her sister, Tsuruko would doubt her. "She KNOWS that I am not a murderer!"

"Be that as it may," the elderly man spoke again, "you have no proof of your innocence, except of your own stories, and that is not enough to convince us otherwise."

"You are hereby striped of your rank, your name will be removed from our clan record, and you are not allowed to set-"

Motoko cut the woman off, "I will not accept this…TRAVESTY of-"

"Then you will be EXECUTED," the woman shouted back, cutting Motoko off in return. "Seize her!"

During her trial, her sword had been taken and her hands were bound behind her back, however if her former clan thought that she was easy prey, she would prove them wrong. Two swordsmen rushed towards her, their weapons drawn. Motoko leapt backwards a few feet to put space in between her captors. She struggled against her bands on her hands but to no avail.

"Aoyama-san," one of the swordsmen began, "you were once so proud, so full of honor, please, stop this."

"Listen to Hamada child," the elderly woman shrieked, "do not bring more shame upon yourself!"

Motoko heard nothing. Her knees bent slightly as her opponents rushed at her. She sidestepped to her right as the first swordsman swung, causing him to miss completely. She swept a leg underneath Hamada, causing him to stumble forward and fall over. The first swordsman prepared for another lunge, but he was stopped short as Motoko kicked his right elbow, causing him to drop his sword.

Nearly every armed clan member in attendance made their way towards Motoko. Who in turn, span on her heel and ran towards the south wall of the courtyard. A clansman leapt from a blind spot in the darkness, the point of his sword missed Motoko by mere inches. Motoko countered with a vulgar but effective head butt to the nose and mouth, causing the man to fall flat on his back. Motoko deftly cut the ropes that bound her hands on his sword and continued her escape.

A ki attack caused Motoko to lose her balance as she reached the south wall of the courtyard. She stumbled forward, her head and right shoulder collided with the wall as she did so. She had no time to notice any pain or injuries, she knew she had to escape. She ran towards her right, heading to the south eastern corner of the courtyard. Using talents she never knew she had, she ran two steps up the corner of the south wall and pushed away with her right foot. While she was airborne, she steadied her left foot on the adjacent wall, and pushed up and away, back towards the first wall.

Her hands were able to grab the top of the enclosure eleven feet about the ground. She pulled herself up, and then leapt from the top to the ground below on the other side. A few of the other clansmen had the talent to copy Motoko's stunt, but by the time they reached the top, she was nowhere to be seen.

Unknown to her pursuers, Motoko had not left the property, she hid in a thick bush. When she felt the time was right, she emerged then stealthy doubled back to the left side of the complex outside of the south wall. She turned the corner and began heading north as she crept along the west wall. In an effort to confuse her pursuers, she found a rather large rock and threw it towards the south, then ran into the surrounding forests. Low branches scraped at her face and clothes as she ran from the compound. After what felt like an eternity of running, she came to a sudden stop and listened to her surroundings. She stood and waited for sounds of people giving chase. There were no loud voices coordinating a group search, there was no sounds of twigs breaking under foot, there was nothing. Satisfied, she began to make her way through the woods. She was certain that Kyoto's train station would be well guarded. With no better option, she searched for a place where she could rest and think. She thought of Su as she came across a rather large tree with high and thick branches.

If only Su could see Motoko now, curled into a ball as she slept in a tree.
~~~

Motoko awoke just before sunrise. Other than a searing pain from the tree branch in her lower back, she lived through her ordeal unscathed. She carefully climbed down form the tree, making sure to do so as quietly as possible. She knew her pursuers would still be out searching, the entire town of Kyoto could possibly be crawling with every man, woman, and child of the Aoyama clan.

"Motoko," a voice rang out from behind. She flinched and bit her tongue to keep herself from cursing. She knew the voice behind her all too well.

"Sister," she said as she turned around. She was met with the tip of Tsuruko's blade, inches from her neck.

"Sister," she said again, her voice more feeble than before.

"What you have done is unforgivable." The calmness in Tsuruko's voice worried Motoko. The cold stare she gave Motoko as she looked down her sword at her was not comforting either.

"Sister, I-"

"And," Tsuruko cut her off without having to raise her voice, "you turn and flee from your fate."

"Siste-"

"Are you a coward, Motoko?"

"No!" Motoko's was surprised at her own outburst, especially since it was aimed at her elder sister of all people.

"No? Perhaps you will tell me why you ran from our home like a thief in the night?"

"….I…I'm innocent."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm innocent!" Motoko's voice echoed.

"Control your temper," Tsuruko commanded, she would not tolerate disrespect.

"I…I am sorry. But I have been falsely accused by the Aoyama council."

"Have you? Are you suggesting that the eldest and most wise of our family have incorrectly sentenced you?"

Motoko nodded, her eyes never breaking away from Tsuruko's. The two sisters held the gaze, after what felt like an eternity to Motoko, her elder sister sheathed her blade.

"I see," Tsuruko answered with a sigh, "I will not turn you in."

Motoko released a breath she did not know she held. She knew and feared that this moment would become violent, needlessly violent knowing that she stood no chance against her sister. "Thank you siste-"

"But, the elders will contact me and request that I deliver you home. When I am given that order, I am honor bound to follow it."

"Yes," Motoko answered, her gaze fell to her feet, "I understand." A moment of silence passed as that thought dominated both of their minds.

"Now, if you will excuse me," Tsuruko began, "I must prepare for my trip to Okinawa."

Motoko gave her a questioning look, "Okinawa? Sister-"

"For some strange reason, I just remembered a great story of Mutsumi-san's. She spoke very highly of Okinawa's watermelons, perhaps I should go see them in person."

"Sister, I do not understand, how is this -"

"Such a shame I misplaced my cell phone," she said as she dropped her phone on the ground at her feet, "I will be out of contact for the duration of my trip. If someone did try to contact me, I would not hear of it until I return here to Kyoto."

Motoko's eyes sparkled as she finally understood what her sister was doing for her. She gave a deep bow as Tsuruko turned and walked away.

Tsuruko hung her head when she was out of Motoko's sight. She was not as detached as she made her younger sister believe. If she would have been honest with Motoko, she would have shared her clashing beliefs and feelings. Tsuruko loved her sister and would fight to the death to protect her name. Her clan however, thought differently. Tsuruko will dread the moment when the clan finally gets on contact with her. As she told Motoko, she would follow the clan's orders.

Tsuruko promised herself to stay hidden for as long as possible. She knew that Motoko was very talented and only a handful of clan members could challenge her. Tsuruko however, was the best that the clan had produced in generations. Without a doubt, the elders would call on her. No matter how hard she tried to disappear, the clan will find her, and once they give her orders, she could not refuse.

Motoko took her sister's phone off the ground. She could not return to Hinata Sou, there would be scouts looking for her there. Her family could not be trusted, save for Tsuruko for the brief moment. Surely the tenants of Hinata Sou could be trusted? Naru-sempai of course, and Su, bless her little heart, would immediately put her creations to good use. Kitsune? Maybe when she's sober, she has shown that she is extremely wise and crafty. She couldn't bear to involve little Shinobu in any way. Urashima? In no way could she depend on him. Involving that clumsy, perverted buffoon would be her downfall.

More questions filled her head: would it be wise to involve her friends in such a personal matter? Should she return to Hinata Sou regardless? Should she simply run and not look back? Are their others she could trust? Could she solve this problem on her own?

Without realizing, her fingers began to dial home.

"Hello," a man asked as he answered the phone.

"Hello," he asked again when he didn't receive an answer, "is anyone there?"

Motoko immediately hung up. Had they arrived there already! Why else would a male answer the phone? It certainly wasn't the voice of Hinata Sou's manager.

The Aoyama clan had already reached them!

Could it have been a wrong number?

Motoko tried the number again, the phone visibly shaking as she did so.
~~~

"Who was that," a middle aged woman asked without turning towards her male friend. She seemed to have the uncanny ability to talk and take a puff on her cigarette at the same time.

"I don't know, they hung up," her friend answered with a sheepish grin. "Maybe it was a gentleman caller trying to confess their feelings. I had no idea you were so popular Haruka-san."

"Not funny, Seta," she grunted, "why are you here? Keitaro's is in the inn."

"It wouldn't be right if I didn't stop and have a cup of tea with an old friend." He lit a cigarette of his own, and before he could take the first puff, the phone rang again.

"Lovely Haruka's tea shop," he answered, then fell over from a tea cup thrown at his head.

"…Haruka speaking."
~~~

And that's the first chapter! Find any errors or things that just aren't right? Please let me know in a review. Till next time!