The morning dew dripped steadily from the leaves of the trees, dripping and watering the thirsty ground.

Sunrise light beamed across the tall grasses, fingering the mountains far off to the east.

A single cloud inched its way along the blazing sky, swirling white face growing smaller and smaller as it curled and moved.


Curled up in the safety of particularly long grass was a black female cheetah. A drop of dew pushed and pushed on a blade of grass until it bent it so much that it fell off and onto the cheetah's nose.

Face wincing in sleep, the cheetah opened her eyes and flicked her turquoise gaze to her nose to see a spot of wetness.

She licked at her maw, eyes half-lidded in tiredness and tail stretching out in a curl. She yawned, fangs glinting, and stood. She was still for a moment, ears flicking occasionally to ward off a fly or two.

Her thoughts were always slow in the morning and it took her a little bit longer to figure out what exactly she was doing now, and what she was going to do next.

Born and raised into a very unique lifestyle, the lifestyle of a ninja, she would tell anyone she was sharper than most; that her thoughts were speedy and vast, and her intellect far surpassed that of any normal cheetah.

She had to be that way, she would say, for she was a ninja, and ninjas had to be all things, or they were nothing.

Though when it came right down to it, the cheetah was perhaps not the brightest star in the sky. She was smart, yes, but she was nothing at all like she murmured she was.

She was not the shadow and stealth her people were; not an invisible soldier on the field of black battle.

She was just a cheetah.

But she would never, ever believe that. Indeed, she didn't even have those thoughts, not even for a moment. But the female wasn't one to always look at reality. She stalked through life blank-faced and dazed, thinking she was one thing when she was really another. It was a wonder she was even alive, what with all the trouble she faced in life.

On any hunt the female would think she was completely and utterly invisible; the epitome of stealth and shadow; a true ninja.

In reality she would be standing in plain sight in the middle of a herd, prey-beasts flailing and screaming and running in all directions.

How the cheetah ever managed to catch enough food to survive with her deluded hunting method was something short of a miracle.


Yawning once more, thoughts still sifting, the green-masked female finally remembered what she had been doing.

She had been waiting for the morning to come. For it was in the morning that her Master, Sellion, would return.

The female had met the...unique male cheetah some months ago. A cycle of events happened at the end of which the female pledged her allegiance to the male. For everyone knew that a ninja without a Master was like a frog without a pond. She was absolutely useless without missions to go on--without someone to serve. She was a soldier, an army of one.

It was true that she had not gone on many missions since then, but that was not something she thought about. The fact that she had someone to serve was good enough for her. Besides, she was doing a mission right now. She was waiting. Or had been...for...the morning.

Ah. It was morning.

And now she would wait for Sellion to arrive. That is, if he even remembered he had sent her to that spot in the first place. It seemed he had a bad memory.

But that was nothing. The female didn't heed such trifles. She was merely a simple ninja serving her Master by completing any missions and tasks he assigned her.

Though it was a random meeting, and though how it all happened did not make much sense, Sellion was her Master--the one who knew her True Name.

She was Midori-Koodori-Sennyo-Ninja-Kirei-Musume. She was a ninja. She served her Master, Sellion.

And she would serve him until she was dismissed by word or death.


The morning dew dripped steadily from the leaves of the trees, dripping and watering the thirsty ground.

Sunrise light beamed across the tall grasses, fingering the mountains far off to the east.

A single cloud inched its way along the blazing sky, swirling white face growing smaller and smaller as it curled and moved.

And somewhere in the tall grasses of the savanna, a cheetah named Midori sat down and waited loyally for her Master's return.