Originally started out to be added to the details "Watching a Rising Star" it got away from me and mutated into this.

 
This is an ECHOS it doesn't follow the accepted back ground and creates a unauthorized background for the Young Assassin masquerading as a cook in Arthur Hansen's  Rising Sun Ascendant.

Master Keichie Damoku watched the Rising Sun descend from the cloud cover and whispered, yet another one.  He frowned as the news camera focused on the red dot, he was sure the woman had frozen for an instant in fear but he needed to see her hands, her feet and legs how they moved in relation to the rest of her body.

Turning the TV off in disgust Master Keichie cursed "Happosi spawn" and stood glancing around the room nervously before walking into the hall. Stopping at another room filled with a large screen television and several clan members he muttered at the images still being shown and ordered "I want to see the video tape from the broadcast news and have our operatives collect copies of all the local raw footage, have it in my office by tomorrow."

She melted into the shadows flowing between narrow bars, into ventilation ducts, through closed doors and shuttered windows eddying from shadow to shadow was smoke. She was Jumi the best of her generation, when people wanted the best, they asked for Smoke.

The smoke paused merging with a shadow cast by a narrow bar and waited something had entered the training grounds her smoke flowed wrong. After nearly five minutes of careful searching Jumi smiled and stepped from the shadow relaxing her aura allowing a dense layer of darkness to drift away and dissipate like smoke.

 The black clothed figure turned to a narrow shadow about six feet to her left and barely three inches wide and bowed while saying in very formal voice "Master Keichie".

 A moment later the girl yelped and jumped diving away in a complex set of maneuvers as she heard and felt a voice just by her ear say "Little one I'm still the master."

 Jumi lost control for an instant dropping out of her attack stance and in the voice of a very put upon teenager said "Great Grandfather!"

 The sight of her great grandfather leaning on a metal bar and laughing so hard he was slowly sliding to the ground had stripped away seventeen years of training and left a five year old girl.  A very irritated five year old girl that vanished a moment later as Jumi regained control and bowed deeply only a hint of frustration and irritation creeping into her voice as she bowed and said "Yes Sensei." before turning to leave.

 "Hold it Jumi I mean Jenny come here and remove your assassin garb. I want to see what two million dollars' worth of plastic surgery looks like." The girl gave a shrug and started to strip off the soft black cloth that covered her body, only to pause when the master spoke again saying"Over here Jenny my eyes aren't what they once were."

 Stepping away from the barred practice window he gave the young girl room to work watching closely as the black clad figure approached the bars and seemed to suddenly go bone-less flowing between the narrow bars, her head distorting as it passed through the narrow spacing.

 The smoke Assassins were masters of their bodies able to control every joint every muscle among there many skills was an ability to accelerate healing or alter their body chemistry, it was no accident the best surgeons in Japan and probably the world were all members of the Damoku clan.

 Keichie fought to keep the expression of a master as his great grand daughter demonstrated she was well on her way to becoming a master that might surpass him, her accelerated healing was already beyond his best. His sensitive ears heard the soft clicks and pops of bones leaving and returning to their sockets . She was the best of her generation and given time she would surpass even him.  The smoke were masters almost supernatural in their abilities and yet they were not the best.

 Ju... Jenny's growing skill made what he was going to say and see doubly painful.  Keichie carefully schooled his features as the girl now stripping before him revealed a gray leotard, tightly bound long red hair, blue eyes and a form that was voluptuous and three inches taller than his memories of a petit raven haired great grand daughter of the year before.

 Master Keichie's eyes traveled over his great grand daughter's new form. Gone was the asian girl who had been the very image of his granddaughter in her place was a European teenager of obvious Irish descent, not a hint of her asian heritage remained.

 He silently reminded himself this was forever, surgery might give back a hint of her Asian features, but the hair, skin, and eye colour were permanent.  The chemicals and gene techniques precluded any second use in changing her eyes, skin and hair.  It only worked once any more attempts to bring out or suppress recessive genes resulted in a violent immune response followed by death.

 Shutting his eyes for an instant as he thought, Damn you Happosi you have taken so much from the Smoke, our pride, our Honor, my granddaughter and now my great granddaughter's asian heritage.

 Opening his eyes he looked at the young woman bowed before him and said"Ju... Jenny you are forbidden from seeking revenge on Kasumi or any of the Tendo's. We of the Smoke must avoid all members of their school."

 "We are SMOKE! We..." cutting the girl's angry retort off with a snap of his fingers he said "YES! We are Smoke we only seem to walk through walls and yet they can pass through any wall. We are Smoke we can hide in the smallest shadow and yet they need no shadows to hide. We are Smoke and yet when our masters meets their students, our master were defeated.

 Taking a deep breath as he stared into the angry and disbelieving eyes of his great granddaughter Keichie sighed sadly and started his tale.

 Young one you where barely six months old when we took a contract to eliminate a pervert and his two students, they had been making a nuisance of themselves as petty thieves mostly taking womens underwear, but one of the women was very lovely and very wealthy they hounded her for months before she approached us and purchased their deaths.

 We are the Damoku clan the "Smoke". We were full of pride, caught up in believing the tales and legends whispered about us. We thought we were the best after all the Smoke had not failed in over 1600 years, not since encountering Merlin of Avalon had a Smoke Assassin failed.

 It seemed almost beneath our dignity to assassinate a decrepit old pervert, a cry baby, and a coward, but the woman's family had performed many services and our honor required it.

 We tried the kami knows we tried, but in the end all we succeeded in doing was drawing the attention of the perverted master, he decided he liked the "feel" of Smoke women and for twelve long months he tortured our clan stealing, touching and taking what he wanted.

Taking a deep breath Master Keichie looked at Jumi and said" Jumi it was your mother that ended it.  On one of the perverts favorite nights to visit she gathered the female Smoke together and waited as he beat the men stepping through walls coming yet again to "touch" and take.

When the night ended your mother was gone and we had a promise that as long as we did not bother his school he would not torment the Smoke.

 "HOW!" jumping at the loud demand Master Keichie looked at the anger filled eyes of the girl before him. He listened as the girl again demanded"How did my mother die!"

 Keichie Damoku groped for several seconds for an answer before settling on a lie and said "It was an accident, your mother went beyond herself fighting the perverted master and died under the strain."

 Taking another breath Master Keichie continued "We think the death of such a beautiful woman shocked him and when I and the others awoke from that night's encounter she was gone and we found a scroll containing a contract."

 Placing a hand over the girls mouth Master Keichie smothered her reply he could see she had just realizing what her action last march meant. She had broken the contract protecting them from Happosi.

Master Keichie quickly spoke"The girl lived it appears the surprise capability of the Americans to cure our most deadly poison has preserved the contract. The council takes full responsibility it was our fault, not yours, we never imagined one of that school would ever be allowed so close to the Emperor."

The shame he could see in her eyes was not fading, but he knew his next statement was likely to spark anger. Watching her eyes carefully he spoke saying "Ju... Jenny you will be going with master Horishi's family and students to live in Europe."

Master Keichie watched as the girls eyes seemed to flare and he thought, yes she had been planning something biding her time until the source of her shame returned.

The clash of wills was almost palpable, but after several second a head dropped and Keichie Damoku said"Go to your room and prepare for the journey Jenny."

Master Kiechie watched as the red headed girl left the room clad only in her gray leotard, he waited until the thick door was firmly shut, he waited nearly five minutes before a single tear fell and a soft whisper could be heard "Nodoka she's just like you always trying to use her own plans."