By: Adriana Limon (Nanas)

Disclaimer: This story is based on the cartoon ‘Samurai Jack’. I do not own Samurai Jack or anything associated with the show. That honor goes to the folks at Cartoon Network and the shows creator, Gennedy Tartakovsky (or however you spell it), the only thing I do own are all the original characters portrayed in my story. So to recap, Samurai Jack and all related characters and places © Gennedy Tartakovsky and Cartoon Network, All original characters and storyline © Adriana Limon (Nanas).

As for the rating of this part of the story, I guess PG-13 for violence and anything I might add later is a safe bet.

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Chapter 1

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“Ikaya…Ikaya, answer me! It’s time to come home, your shift is over!” Munsoli’s voice said from far below Ikaya, who was sitting on one of the highest branches of a Cino tree.

“Not yet Munsoli, can I stay up here for another hour.” Ikaya answered.

By this time Munsoli had climbed up the tree and was sitting on the branch next to her. His old furry face was a little flushed and his long white beard was full of pieces of tree bark and leaves.

“You know you shouldn’t be climbing the trees anymore, you could hurt yourself.”

“Ha, in the past one hundred years that I’ve lived I’ve never stumbled once, besides, I can still remember when I used to tell you the same thing and if memory serves you did hurt yourself a couple of times.” Munsoli said, laughing.

“Well, that doesn’t happen anymore. Now I can guide myself through the trees almost as fast as you used to.”

“Yes, I have no doubt that that is the truth, but for now it is time for you to come down from your post and go back to the village. Madame Miss has made a delicious Sneerbrow roast for supper.”

“MM, sounds good, but if its all the same I’d rather stay at my post a little longer.”

“Ikaya…”

“Please Munsoli, I’ve brought my cloak this time, in case the wind picks up. Just another twenty minutes, I feel that something’s going to happen and I don‘t want to miss it.”

Ikaya looked at Munsoli, making her big blue eyes seem bigger as she tucked her lips in a bit, making the ‘sad puppy’ face that she knew Munsoli could never say no to.

“Okay, child. But just twenty more minutes, and you put the cloak on before I leave, last time you didn’t even use it, and you came down with a fierce cold, remember.”

“Yes, thank you, Munsoli, I’m putting it on right now, see.”

Munsoli gave Ikaya a long sigh and jumped off of the branch, landing with a hard thud onto the floor, looking back at her so she knew that his small Charinrayth body wasn‘t hurt. Ikaya just looked at him and waved with a big smile on her face, as he started to walk back to the village. She turned back around when he was out of site and began to survey the land in front of her again.

Ikaya had lived in the village since she was eight, when Munsoli offered her and her mother a permanent home in the village of Charinrayths, or small cat-like creatures. Before that she remembered wandering through forests with her mother, trying to make ends meat wherever they could.

They were usually shunned from other villages because Ikaya had a green jewel imbedded in her chest and most rural villages saw this as an omen for evil.

Her mother told her never to believe that, her jewel was a gift from her father that gave her certain powers, and that she should learn to use them for good.

Ikaya never knew her father, but her mother used to tell her stories of how he was a powerful man, who loved them dearly and never used his powers for evil. Her mother also used to tell her stories of the huge cities that were scattered over the lands. Ikaya could never hear enough of the amazing sights and sounds that she said could be found there, but whenever Ikaya asked to go with her mother when she went to get food from these cities her mother would insist that it was too dangerous for people like her, and that it would be easier if she went into the city alone.

But that was a long time ago, Ikaya had since learned how to navigate through the trees as well as any of the other Charinrayths in the village. She had also since learned to channel her energy through the staff that her mother had made her before she disappeared a year after they arrived at the village, and was appointed one of the protectors of the village…which was usually more exciting than it was today.

“Sigh, twenty minutes are up, and nothing interesting happened. I guess my premonitions are getting a bit rusty.”

Ikaya picked up her staff and was about to jump off of her post when she heard someone in the distance. She squinted her eyes to see if she could see anything, noticing someone in a white robe walking through the forest.

“What’s he doing in this part of the forest.” she said to herself, jumping from tree to tree as quietly as possible, while she kept an eye on the stranger below.

He walked slowly through the forest floor, his eyes looking all around him. His black hair was tied back and help up with a small piece of wood, and he had nothing else with him except for a sword at his side.

Ikaya hid amongst the leaves, trying her best to keep from being noticed but she could see that he knew that someone was watching him because he had placed his hands on his sword.

‘How can he hear me, only the Charinrayths would be able to hear me.’ she thought to herself. ’That doesn’t matter, I can’t let him get too close to village.’

Ikaya picked up her staff and began to lightly channel her energy through it. She lifted herself on the branch a bit and was about to jump off when a Golganike crashed through the brush, making Ikaya loose her footing and go tumbling toward the ground.

The hood of her cloak fell over her face as she dropped toward the ground, expecting to hit the floor hard when she felt someone grab onto her before landing softly.

Ikaya lifted the hood off her eyes and came face to face with the stranger, his dark eyes looking down at her.

“Are you okay?” he said.

Ikaya could do nothing but look up at him, when she remembered the Golganike.

“Watch out!” she yelled, jumping out of his arms and pushing him out of the way.

The Golganike growled with hunger, lashing its claws around in an effort to hit one of the two bodies that jumped from here to there in order to dodge them.

The stranger had by this time pulled out his sword and leapt into the air, bringing it down onto the Golganike, who shrugged his efforts off and gabbed onto the blade of the sword, with the stranger hanging on by the handle.

The beast laughed and began to shake the stranger left and right. Ikaya felt that this should give her enough time get into position. She ran toward on of the trees and climbed it as swiftly as ever. By this time the stranger had managed to slide the sword out of the monsters grip and proceeded to slash at its thick strong hide to no avail.

Ikaya had taken her position atop the tree, ready to attack. She held the staff in front of her and began to spin it, with each spin sending more and more energy into it. The tips of the staff began to shine with what looked to be a green fire, growing larger and brighter with every rotation.

Ikaya opened her eyes and whistled, drawing the Golganike’s attention away from the stranger. Thrusting her staff behind her, Ikaya leaped into the air and came down upon the beast, bringing the staff over her head and into the Golganike’s, slashing all the way down to his legs, cutting the creature in half.

The Golganike’s body fell to both sides as Ikaya landed in front of them. Instantly the body began to smoke, before shining for a second and turning into two leaves, which blew away in the wind.

Ikaya brushed a tuft of hair to the side and turned to face the stranger.

“Thank you very much for saving my life.” he said.

Ikaya just glared at him.

“I am forever in your de..” he started, before Ikaya lunged forward.

The stranger had little time to react, but managed to bring his sword up in time to block Ikaya’s staff. Ikaya quickly brought it back and continued to twist and twirl it, in an effort to strike the stranger.

With every blow given by Ikaya, the stranger managed to block it. Ikaya began to get aggravated. Her best fighting moves seemed to do nothing against the stranger, who kept blocking every potential hit. She decided that perhaps she would need the aid of her jewel for this man, even if it was against her moral code to use such powers against other human fighters.

Ikaya brought her staff around again bringing it down on the stranger just as she had before, and just like before the stranger brought his sword around in time to block the hit. Ikaya took her focus away from her staff and onto the strangers face, who seemed confused about the whole situation.

She smiled and sent a large amount of energy through the staff, which threw the sword out of the strangers hands and into one of the tree trunks. Ikaya brought the staff around again, tripping the stranger with it.

The stranger fell hard, bringing his head up slowly, just in time to see Ikaya’s staff come at him, stopping just before it was to hit.