Times of Turmoil

[Fehrant]

"Hey, daddy, look!" A cute little girl pointed with her finger and stared with her eyes wide open. They were of a clear blue, just like her father's. The blond hair she had gotten from her mother, who looked at the direction her daughter was pointing. "What do you see, Lily?" She ask asked the little girl even though she knew the answer. A pack of deer ate grass at the distance.

"I see big animals, mommy!" She replied.

The father smiled. He was young, just like his wife, but his life career had being nothing short of success. He was wearing his a loose overcoat over his kimono, a coat that marked him a man of prestige. The coat was green and in the center of the back an unmistakable white symbol moved to the whims of the wind: the Seifugun. The pattern, and distinctive color of the code was only used by captains.

Two of the captain's underlings kept an eye on him from not too far. They were not too close either, to let the captain enjoy the time with his wife. But even as discrete and minimal as their presence was, her wife could not feel completely at ease. "Must they come as well? Why can't be spend some time just the three of us?"

This argument was a constant colliding point for the couple. "Dear, you know it's for security reasons. Our security."

She sighed.

He continued. "The Shinseidan in most occasions does not attack up front. They use stealth tactics to fight his stronger opponent. That's us, dear. The government's army."

She nodded solemnly. "I know, dear. But I am your wife, and I know too well that despite this, you are a very skilled fighter. The Seifugun does not make just anyone their captain. You're among the youngest captains, and that's not without merit or reason."

Her husband grinned. "So you think I am very strong," he japed. "Do I impress you?"

She chuckled, in spite of trying to remain serious. "Don't be silly now, Asano. You know my words are true."

"Aye. I do," Asano confirmed. "But it never hurts to take extra precautions. For my beloved ones especially..." And he kissed her. She returned his kiss.

"Mommy, look," Lily said. "There are big animals there."

They both turned to face her, still holding each other in arms from their warm embrace. They held hands, and walked towards her daughter, when Asano heard her underlings talk. "Stop!" They said. "Stop." They repeated, and then they were dead.

"The Shinseidan," were his thoughts at first, but when he turned, he found a figure in black walking past the corpses of his comrades. The samurai kept the pace straight towards Asano.

"Take Lily far away from here..." He ordered his wife, but she was frozen in terror, as the sinister figure moved closer. Asano drew his sword. "Damn you, Shinseidan!" He shouted. "You will not be forgiven for this."

The figure stopped, katana in hand. She was a woman. And not just any woman. She was an assassin with a bounty in her head, and an ominous legend on her back. Crow. Karasu. The bird that flew towards death. Shinseidan. Seifugun. It made no difference to the grim reaper. Asano realized immediately.

"You're no Shinseidan," he declared. "I beg of you, please not in front of my daughter and wife. I would like them to see neither your blood nor mine. They did nothing to you!" Asano was not afraid; he just wanted their family to live as peacefully as they could.

"Shinseidan. Seifugun. You are both the same. You fight for your ideals, with no disregard for the people that surround you," Karasu explained. "You are in no place to make demands. Now die." With those words, she lunged forward. Asano went to meet her head on, attempting to stab her with the blade, but the assassin danced sideway, letting the blade pass. Her own katana came down, slashing the captain on the side. Her wife gasped, and her daughter wept loudly. He started to lose blood rapidly, but he still held on. With a hand on the wound, his trembling sword stood upright, ready to be used against the enemy. "I... would not involve innocents."

Karasu took a stance. Unlike Asano who was breathing hard, she remained still as water. Her eyes were like a hawk's. "You represent a party. A group, and their ideals. And I represent another."

"Whom?" He demanded. As far as everyone was concerned, Karasu was a lone assassin.

"The souls of the dead." Asano stared speechless for a moment, but he soon had to react, for the assassin attacked with no warning, shortening the distance between the two in split seconds. Karasu let Asano perform the first attack, a weak sideways slash she edged backwards to avoid. Another slash came in succession, starting down raising up. She moved her head slightly to the side, letting the blade pass by close to her face. She grabbed his arm firmly, raised her own blade, twisted it so that the tip would be on the lower side, and thrust forward in a single motion that pierced his throat. The speed was such that he could not reach with his other arm in time. And just as fast she released the blade. Asano died without being able to speak properly: his windpipe had been punctured.

Karasu started to walk away when she her the distinctive metallic sound of the blade being picked up. Asano's wife held the blade unsteadily and with eyes too clouded with tears to see anything. The assassin simply walked towards the woman who sobbed silently. When Karasu was in range, Asano's wife yelled and attempted a swing, but her blade was sent flying into the air, deflected by a quick draw of the assassin's katana. The woman went to her knees sobbing loudly. The unforgiving assassin raised her katana with both hands, and executed her right there. A single thrust aimed properly enough to kill.

Asano's blade that had been deflected in the air, suddenly landed near Lily. The little girl who was still trying to wake up her dead father grabbed the blade, who was ridiculously big for her. The assassin stared down at her, and little girl dropped the sword in fear.

"Grow to hate. Search for me, so that you might attempt to kill me." And with those words, she left.

[Tsi]

Haru sat beneath the shade of an outcropping of a building in a rather small village. He raised his head towards the noise he heard that he could only assume was a crowd of people, appearing to them nothing more than a beggar. He could hear people running around.

“Everyone is always in a rush. No one takes the time to enjoy the things around them, much less notice them. They don't know what they're missing until they're gone. That is a lesson I learned too late.”

He heard footsteps approach him over the noise of the people around him, but he did not turn his head in the direction of the sound.

A voice said to him, “Even if you learned it too late for something, you can still use this lesson to enjoy other things you may have never noticed before. You never know when it will be too late to enjoy anything of this world.”

“All too true, sir,” replied Haru, still not turning his head to face this new person. “You seem quite knowledgeable, may I ask your name?”

“Very well, but only on two conditions. First, you must tell me your name. Second, you must look me in the eyes.”

The second request caught Haru off-guard. It was only natural to tell someone your name before asking theirs, but to ask someone to look them into the eyes was an odd request.

“For the first request, sir, my name is Haru. As for the second, it could be a bit more difficult. For you see...”

Haru took off his hat and turned to face the voice that had been speaking to him.

“Ah, I see. So you had lost something after all and at such a young age. I have not heard anyone come to that realization before that had not lost something important to them. Well, on account of your situation, I won't require that second condition anymore. My name is Minoru.”

“So...Minoru, as you said you have not made anyone that has come upon the realization I had without losing something important. You, yourself, seem to have had this same realization. May I ask what you have lost?”

“Heh, I'm one of the lucky few, I've only lost my sanity.”

They both laughed. A few passing people glanced at the two men laughing at some unknown joke.

“Well, Haru, I have a question for you.”

“Yes?”

“What is that staff you carry with you? I have never seen anything like it before.”

“Oh this?” Haru replied, holding his staff up. “This is called a San Jie Gun.”

“Is it a weapon of sorts?”

“Well, it can be, as can anything anyone uses in their life. I prefer to use it as a walking stick for those long journeys, but it can have other uses sometimes.”

“Very well. So, I take it you are a wanderer.”

“Indeed, I wander from place to place. I try to experience as much as I can and train my senses to overcome my lack of eyesight. Might I ask what you do for a living?”

“Well, I am a member of decent ranking in the Seifugun.”

“Ah, I believe I have heard that before.”

“I would hope you did, it's the name of the government of this country.”

“Ah, that's where I've heard of it. Please forgive me of not knowing. I am just a traveler and not one to keep up with politics and government, and tend to forget related things just as quickly.”

“You know, Haru, I envy you in ways. We're in a war with an anti-government force called Shinseidan. It is really draining on all of us in the military. I wish I could live life more freely as you, free from restraints of rule and war. I wish I could just leave the force, but I have a family and leaving would mean putting them in danger, because I am currently a higher ranking officer in the military.”

“I understand where you are coming from. The closest thing I had to family was killed several years ago by, I believe, the Shinseidan. However, on their deaths, I promised to not get involved with this situation unless absolutely necessary.”

“Ah, I see. You are very honorable, you do not let vengeance cloud your mind and make you forget about your promises to those that have fallen. Well, I apologize, but I must head back to the camp nearby. It was great to meet you Haru, may our paths cross again.”

“It was nice meeting you too, Minoru. Maybe someday we'll meet again and you'll be able to fulfill your wish of freedom for both you and your family.”

After the exchange of farewells, Haru heard Minoru walk off. He placed his hat back on his head bowed his head forward and began to meditate and pray on what just happened. He truly hoped Minoru could find the peace that he seeked.

[Hyzenthlay]

Yumi walked a desolate path, her eye's flicking left and right at wild flowers and gnarled trees. Her pupils a shade of a pure brown not dissimilar to the colour of chocolate. She had taken to keeping to a lonely road and so keep from prying eye's. Her katana's sat behind a cloak that also shielded her head from the seering heat of the day, she waved a fly away idly with her left hand. The cloak which sat on her shoulders left her left side open for easy access to at least one of her katana's. After all, the cloaks main purpose was to hide her away.

The path was long and dry and in the distance a town shimmered on the horizon, wobbling in the the glare of the heat. The dust of the road rose with each of her steps and as she drew, at last, close to the town she wiped her brow and walked a short way to an old dilapidated well on the outskirts. There she drank with gusto, looking around to take in the goings on in the busy market just ahead. Her eye's met with what she had wanted; standing outside a large almost mansion-like house were several Siefugun soldiers laughing amoungst eachother.

She took one last refreshing mouthful of water and walked the short distance to where they stood. Upon seeing her approach one of them stopped smiling and held his hand out calling out,

"Halt! Dissist!"

With one swift movement Yumi removed his outstretched hand with one slash of her katana, the blade's shine was lost in a spray of crimson. Instinctively the other 3 soldiers withdrew their weapons; two held katana's and one a shorter tanto. She span falling down to knee level and chopped through the thighs of one, he dropped his katana and his arms flew around his now stump legs. Yumi removed her second katana and arose once more, the final two guards looked her up and down. A sharp breeze blew back her hood and her dyed blonde and black hair danced on it. She looked at the men with an expressionless gaze as one lunged for her. She jumped with his blow and ducked down to the right bringing both of her katana's around to meet his gut cutting him into 3 sections. The last of the guards was the one brandishing a tanto, obviously a new recruit or at least their equivilant. He tried a downward stab into her left side as she had been attacking his friend so with this she fell to the ground making him stumble forward. One of her katana's met his loins and he slid down it before lying motionless on the floor.

The market suddenly flew back into life, screams and running. She turned around to see a crowd of terrified spectators watching as the 4 soldiers lay motionless. She turned raising her hood once more and turned the handle of the mansion door. Inside, men were already waiting. At least 6 of them. They had obviously heard the commotion outside.

"Drop your weapons and be unharmed. Remain calm ma'am." said the nearest and, according to his uniform, the highest in rank.

She twisted her hands around spining her katana's back into their sheiths and looked up at them all. From her sleeve, on little pouch holders she pulled two short 6 inch spine-like sticks. She threw her arms out forward and the spines met their targets piercing their throats. The two fell to the ground holding their wounds, choking and gargling as they rolled around on the floor. As second later two more spines and two more throats. Her eye's were keen as her final two opponents sprang into action and in a dance like movement a katana was withdrawn and a downward slash removed his sword arm. The high ranking officer was the only one who remained he looked down at his fallen men and looked back at her. He lunged at her clumsily and with one forward thrust of her katana he was lay against her panting and gulping, she pulled back her arms and his katana left his grip ringing on the stone-flagged floor. She marched on up the corridor ignoring her surroundings, no more soldiers came but her heart raced as she reached the door at the end.

She reached out, her clothing and skin tainted with blood, and threw the door open. A man turned, supprised, he reached out for a sword that stood on a fine, elaborate wooden desk. Before he could grab it, however, a sharpened stick met his hand pinning it to the woodwork. Yumi walked forward and looked at the mans uniform, his silvery-blue eyes looked back at her under a mass of black hair. It was him, Yoko, her target. She could tell by the badge he adorned a white symbol. His mouth trembled and his eyes darted from her eyes to where they were looking,

"N-no, no."

His echoing voice was silenced with a slight of her hand. She ripped the symbol from his jacket, crammed it into her pocket and marched out without a word.

[Fehrant]

Minoru headed back towards his unit, who was waiting for him. Today, they were going to raid a possible location where a small group of shinseidan were theoretically stationed. Intelligence had always been the shinseidan's forte, but the government slowly caught up. They too started a spy network, ninjas, secret meanings, and all sorts of behind-the-scene maneuvers worth fighting their elusive enemy in equal grounds. It was the fruit of such actions that had led to scheming today's course of action; the small shinseidan group had been tracked for weeks, their comings and goings carefully monitored.

Minoru had served more than half his life for the government. He had joined young, at the age of 18, and was now 38, a seasoned man not to be taken lightly. He had fought his battles, and survived. While being of a humble family, his hard work and devotion had earned his position. He was an exemplary soldier, and level-headed. His devotion did not blind him, and justice was something that came out of his noble heart. That's why he had never hesitated, he had never faltered; his actions were only the right actions to take. He was a pleasant and kind person, but he had a strong character nevertheless. Higher ups would often joke about this, because he would speak his mind bluntly and with almost no regard.

The seifugun's hierarchical body started out by the ruler. The ruler, known as Miyamoto Ichiro-sama (Lord Ichiro Miyamoto) worked together along Shindou Gennosuke, the head of the army. Captain Shindou dwelt in the royal palace along with his highness. The ones that carried out Shindou's commands were Kansai Endou and a man simply known as Tenkai. Both came in and out of the palace constantly, meeting not with his majesty, but with Shindou. Both Kansai and Tenkai then talked to a group of generals, composed of 10 of the most elite warriors. The generals, or elite-10, had at their disposal an irregular number of officers depending on the area in which they had to carry out Endou's and Tenkai's commands. The platoons for each of the officers varied in size. Last, under the direct command on Tenkai, there's an organized group of ninja and spies. They answered to Tenkai only.

Minoru was part of the 10 elite generals. In fact, he was here carrying out Kensai's orders. Normally, one wouldn't see one of the elite 10 walking openly, and especially not alone, but today was an exception. The shinseidan group, while small, was located nearby one of the main five capitals, Kaikyo. The shinseidan took only temporal bases to perform tasks nearby, but the stay of this group had certainly exceeded its due. Either they were planning something big, or awaiting orders--that was Kansai's view on the subject. After laying in wait for some weeks, he sent one of his ten, to take preemptive measures.

Such was the extent of today's task. Minoru smiled to himself, as he recalled the short but fruitful conversation he had shared with the blind man. Minoru always enjoyed bits of conversation like this. And for a moment, his attention remained inside his head with his thoughts, failing to notice that someone was aware of his presence and, moreover, his identity. From in-between two huts came a woman clad in black, who stood directly in front of the path Minoru was walking. Ironically, there was no one else around. Minoru stopped, suddenly becoming aware of the person standing in front of him, 10 steps ahead. He gave her a critical glance, and effectively drew a sound conclusion of what situation he was in, and what he was facing.

"General Watanabe Minoru," Karasu announced.

Minoru grinned. "Aye, that will be me. And you must be the infamous death messenger for shinseidan and seifugun alike. Pleased to make your acquaintance, but I am afraid I must ask you to let me pass, for your own good. You might take me as a weaker opponent, but even so, my men are posted nearby. Can you handle the odds?"

"I will take the risk," she countered, and unsheathed her sword.

Minoru repeated the motion. She started to circle the general, and the general also started to do the same. The circle radius got smaller and smaller, until they were a jump away. Karasu bolted, blades met once, sending both slightly backwards. The eye of the storm followed, a momentum were both blades craved to meet one another, but were far apart, as if time had stopped. Then they met again, now a storm of blows and blocks ensued. Metal clang several times before the katanas were apart again. By then, Minoru was smiling as if he was enjoying this; Karasu looked intent on killing as usual.

"I am surprised," Minoru declared delightfully. "You must have almost half my age, but I am barely able to keep up. My skill comes from strict years of training, my swings are calculated and follow certain patterns. Yours on the other hand are crude and improvised. Are you self-taught?"

Swords clashed again. This time Karasu attempted frenetic slashes holding the katana with both hands. And just like Minoru had said, he only managed to keep up, successfully deflecting every deadly arc that would have certainly cost him his life. Since Minoru was more of a tactical fighter, he preferred to wait for an opening against such an overwhelming opponent, but Karasu was a relentless shower of steel.

They split again. Karasu breathed slowly. Minoru remained firm, and held his katana with both hands above waist level pointing upwards; a typical defense-based stance. "You better take care of that katana," he suggested. "If you keep at it like that, it'll not last long. In fact, I saw some chips in it, not to mention it sounds like the blade itself might need some readjusting to the grip."

As if acknowledging Minoru's keen observation, she glance at the edge. It was true. Everything Minoru said was true, and because of the fact that she did not have a formal swords sensei, is that she lacked knowledge in these basic matters. She simply held a katana and did what came natural to her: killing.

Minoru sighed. "One would think a warrior of your caliber would realize these things, eh? But you must have learned to fight on your own so I don't blame you." He made a pause, measuring the woman in front of her. "I mean, what are you doing? You could be someone's wife, a father's daughter. Why are you bent on killing people?"

Karasu lowered her stance for a moment. Her angry expression melted. "I..." She started, when a scream from a startled villager who had came unnoticed realized the two were fighting. "Shinseidan!" She screamed. "Shinseidan!"

Minoru opened his mouth to say something to stop the shouting, but it was too late; Karasu had reverted to the cold assassin self. "Let's put an end to this."

The general shook his head in dismay; there was no other choice. He took stance, and prepared to counter the irregular attacks of his well-studied opponent. He was confident the opening would come this time, or he would perish. Karasu took the initiative, sword poised high. A brutal slash came crashing down, but it was so fast Minoru only managed time to block. In that instant a loud metallic clang resounded, and half of Karasu's katana was sent spinning in the air. She darted backwards to put some distance again, glancing at the broken blade.

Minoru grinned, almost in relief. "See? I told you. Now, can we please..." But the deadly crow resumed her attack, even with half a katana. It was more like a knife now, too short to even qualify as a kodachi. "Are you insane?!" Minoru yelled while parrying the closer-quarter attacks, and noticing several openings. All he had to do was put some distance and use range in his favor, but just as he was about to perform the maneuver, he heard a shout from an outside and the distinctive sound of an arrow flying in the air.

"General! We came to your assistance!" Called one of the officers who had came followed by others, and soldiers as well. Karasu was now standing in front of him holding her arm who had been piercing by an arrow. Minoru felt the situation got worse and worse every moment, in fact, he was at a loss of words as to what to say to the assassin. And in that brief pause Karasu rushed to the side and got in between huts, escaping. Several arrows chased her, but all of them hit the huts.

The general stood where he was. Some officers approached him, the rest gave chase. "Are you hurt, general?"

"I... " He said without taking his eyes out of the narrow space in between the huts were his soldiers were giving the chase. "I... am not hurt."

----

Karasu had gotten away safely. The soldiers returned to their officers, and to Minoru. She had her back against a tree nearby a stream that passed directly through the middle of the village. She lodged a small piece of wood in her mouth, and removed the arrow from her arm, biting hard. She tore a bit of her sleeve, and tied the piece of cloth around the wound tightly.

It was already darkening, the orange sun setting in the horizon. But it was still clear enough to see for her yet, and she glanced at the broken katana for a moment before she resumed to find a spot to rest for the night.

[Hyzenthlay]

As Yumi walked back along the road to her current safe-house. The person in charge had never really earned his respect as far as she was concerned and he was about to get what his reconnaissance infomation deserved. She balled her fists up and walked into the building to find most of the occupants already gone.

"Disbanded!" Said her drunken officer. "Written off. We have been found out, not careful enough they said. Not... 'professional'!" He stumbled sideways and regained his balance by grasping the arm of a chair.

She looked at him with disgust and held out her hand brandishing the Seifugun captains badge. He looked down at it with a drunken gaze and fell backwards a step or two. He looked up at her with dizzy eyes holding out an open palm for her to give him the token.

"Thank you Yumi" He said holding it closer to his face.

The officer fell backwards suddenly, luckily, into a wooden chair.

"I-I... Er... have another assignment" he said looking at the floor. "Picture on the table. That one" he pointed with his right index finger, though, his arm waved around franticaly.

She walked over with a sigh and picked up the small, rectangular hand-drawn picture with a sheet of scribbled infomation. She gazed at it for a few seconds and then at the infomation. 'The crow' read it's title, she continued on reading about a woman that had been targeting Seifugun and Shinseiden officers alike.

"Why would this interest me!?" She said lookig at him boredly.

"She... Sh-she... Is a threat. Must be dealt with accordingly. Killed our old captain you know. The man who hired you... Asano"

Yumi's eye's widened, she crumpled the picture and shoved it into her pocket. Walking out the door her new captain, Nairo, called to her.

"B-be careful. She's dangerous" he said, half struggling a glass of wine down his throat.

She looked over her shoulder narrowing her eye's.

"Just find Jiro" She ordered.

Following the infomation she was now not so far away, she had been sighted hunting a Seifugun general named Minoru who had been seen on a road just outside town. Hopefully she would gain some infomation there.

[Tsi]

Haru stood up from where he was sitting. He had no idea how long it was from when he started meditating. Often when he meditates, time has no meaning to him and seems to pass by him faster than normal. He listened for the crowd he had heard earlier, but the sound of the crowd was gone.

“Hmm...I guess that it is nighttime now. That would explain why it is so quiet. Perhaps I should head indoors somewhere.”

Haru turned around and began walking towards the building he was sitting near, while it was quiet outside, he could hear some voices inside of the building that was previously behind him. He carefully used his walking stick to make sure he didn't step in any unexpected potholes. Soon, he set his stick on the ground and felt that it was the same and took a step forward. However, he took a step in front of his stick and hit, what seemed to be, a tiny wall. The step threw him off balance and he fell forward. He stuck his arms in front of him and slowed the fall a bit, but still landed on the raised ground in front of him with a decently loud thunk. He managed to hold in the pain of hitting the higher surface to a certain extent.

“...That hurt a bit...”

He felt the surface with his, now sore, hands and felt that it was made of wood. From this observation, he could only assume that it was the porch of the building he was heading towards.

“Well, that must have surely gotten their attention.”

As soon as he said that, he heard the sound of someone light-footed running towards him and then stopping. Then he heard a door slide open and the sound of someone running towards him continued for less than a second.

“Oh my! Are you okay?” said some unknown woman, who appeared to sound like she was in her late 20s or early 30s.

“Yes. I am fine, just a little bit sore. I must say that my ego is a little bit damaged right now. Nothing like tripping on a porch to cause a bit of embarrassment. It can be hard to see things in the dark sometimes.”

He started to pick himself up when he felt a hand grab his right arm and helped him get up. He brushed the dirt off of himself.

“I apologize for disturbing you this evening. If you'll pardon me, I'll be--”

“Nonsense, my sister and I were just sitting around talking,” the woman interrupted. “Please, come in. I insist.”

Oh great, Haru thought to himself. I've found one of those over hospitable people. I think I might be stuck here for a bit...

“Oh, sir, here is your hat. It seems that it fell off when you fell.”

The woman put the hat in his hand, which he then placed on top of his head.

“Now, please, sir. Will you not come in? It is a bit cold out here and my sister and I wouldn't mind at all.”

Haru sighed, “If you insist.”

With that, the woman grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside her house. Haru stumbled behind her as he tried to keep up. She slowed and eventually stopped when they came to, as only he could guess, a sitting room.

“Please, sit down here.”

He had a feeling she was pointing somewhere specific, but he had no clue where she was pointing to.

“No, that's okay, I feel like standing right now.”

“No, no, no, no,” she responded quickly. “I insist you sit down, I won't allow a guest in my house to be uncomfortable.”

Haru sighed again. There seemed to be no way around it. He hated telling too many people about his lack of sight, but there seemed to be no other way to get this woman get the point.

“Umm...it is still too dark for me to see, could you guide me to the seat?”

“Too dark?”

“Yeah...it's always too dark for me to see.”

Haru took off his hat and look towards the direction of the woman's voice, allowing her to see his eyes.

“Oh my! Well, here.”

The woman guided him to a seat, and he finally sat down.

“Now, ma'am, I must ask that you do not give me special treatment or anything of the like other than what I ask for help with, such as finding this seat. I don't mean to be rude, but even though I may not be able to see, I still want to get around on my own and, for the most part, I am able.”

“Oh...okay, I understand. OH! Where are my manners? I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Hikaru.”

“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Haru.”

“Welcome to my home Haru. Hold on one moment, I would like to introduce you to my sister.”

Haru could hear Hikaru leaving the room and a moment returning with someone.

“Haru, this is my sister Mika.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir,” said another woman's voice. She sounded younger than Hikaru.
“No, no, no. The pleasure is all mine,” Haru replied.

The room was silent until Hikaru asked, “Haru, sir, would you like some tea?”

“It would be appreciated, thank you.”

Hikaru left the room and then returned shortly after and handed Haru a cup of tea.

“Thank you very much.”

“Oh no, don't worry about it. It is not a problem.”

“I have one quick question, do you normally invite strangers into your house?”

“Well, not normally...but Mika saw you sitting outside earlier today. It seems that you have no place to stay and since you did fall on our balcony, I figured that you could use a good bed.”

“Well, I must say thank you. Actually, I was going to knock on your day and ask if there was an inn nearby, but I ended up tripping on your porch. I can figure out where walls are, but those elevated porches always get me.” Haru let out a laugh.

“I'm just curious,” said Hikaru curiously, “why were you sitting outside of our house?”

“Oh no specific reason other than shade from the sun. Even with my hat, the sun can still keep me a bit too warm. I try to find someplace that is somewhat comfortable to sit in for long periods of time when I meditate.”

“You meditate?”

“Yes, I spend a good bit of several days meditating. Surprisingly enough, there are many things in life to meditate on.”

“Ah, I see.”

Haru let out a yawn.

“I apologize, my meditation today seems to have worn me out.”

“OH! Well, Haru, sir, let me take you to our guest room,” Mika responded.

Haru was surprised by Mika's response. It was the first time she had said anything other than the introduction. He was expecting that overactive Hikaru to show him the way. Suddenly, he felt someone grab his wrist and pull him towards what he guessed was the guest room.

“Here is your bed Mr. Haru, sir.”

“Please, just call me Haru.”

“Very well...Haru.” He could hear her struggle to not say “Mr.” or “Sir.”
“Thank you for showing me my bed. I will hopefully be able to repay your gratitude in some way tomorrow. Good night.”

“Good night...Haru.”

She left the room and closed the door behind her.

“This day has been all too interesting for my tastes. I hope tomorrow will be slightly less eventful,” Haru said as he got into bed. “Well, I guess I'll find out tomorrow.” And with that, he fell asleep.

[Fehrant]

(OOC: Post previously approved by Hyzenthlay)

The night had come. The arrow wound in her arm stung, but she could manage. As long as the sun had been up, she had tried to find a safe place to stay for the night. That had only been a couple of hours, and she hadn't gotten far from where she was. She had, however, found that the terrain went up, eventually meeting with a natural stone wall that could easily be escalated by means of roads that had already been trodden over. At the sides of these walls, there was a precipice. A stream in the dead silence of the night could be clearly heard, even though the sound was faint.

She began going up the road, when she spotted a figure, treading the same way she had. With only the pale light of the moon, she could not make out exactly who the figure was. The person, now coming up, was not wearing armor however; there was no glitter in her clothes. Karasu figured she would wait on top, for better or worse.

When she reached the top, the view opened up. There was a bridge that crossed the ravine. On the other side of the land was another rocky structure, eventually becoming a thick forest that would spread as far as her eye could see tonight. Below, the water flowed into a thin stream, eventually leading to rapids and rocks. While the fall might only hurt someone, those rocks and the rapids would surely finish the job, she reflected.

Thud.

The distinctive sound of someone's footstep. She turned around to face the figure standing before her. It was a young girl, around her 20s, with short hair tied up in a pony tail. She was wearing a kimono, and had her weapons strapped on the back, waist high. As soon as Karasu rested her hand on the hilt of her katana, Yumi let a piece of paper fly into the air. A gust of wind blew, and Karasu caught the paper whom Yumi had intentionally released. The paper was a picture Karasu, next to some information, and a reward amount. Not wasting a second, the shinseidan ninja tossed a needle from her sleeve, but the crow knocked it out of the way with the back of her hand.

"Shinseidan, eh?" She questioned and smirked. "Here on duty or to avenge comrades?" Yumi made no reply. "I have dealt with both," Karasu explained. The assassin stared through calculating eyes, and her hands had went to the grips of her swords on the back. She hunched slightly as if ready to spring, whereas Karasu held a somewhat relaxed stance in comparison.

The crow woman drew and pointed the broken katana at the ninja. The blade stood still as rock. Yumi slided slowly to the sides, but the katana never stopped following her moves. She hunched more, almost crouched, then bolted in incredible speed towards Karasu, whom in turn stood sideways, with the katana on the far hand, and the unarmed hand close the approaching enemy. In the very last possible moment, Yumi took a right, and jumped at her prey, attempting a double slash. The attack however was nullified when Karasu's katana hit the two enemy swords as they were spreading out in an arc, stopping the motion. With her free hand, she tossed a crude punch at her face, that connected, but did no real damage. The ninja had no choice but to back down temporarily, yet when she left the killing circle, Karasu moved in.

She grabbed the sheath of her blade and attempt to hit Yumi in the chest. Yumi crossed her swords, and withstood the impact. Karasu closed in once again and attempted to stab her, but Yumi dodged by moving backwards again. The crow closed in, but this time Yumi was prepared. She crouched and performed a sweep kick; Karasu attempted to counter this by hitting her on the face with the sheath first, but the kick got to her before. She fell to the ground, having to let go of the sheath to have a free hand in order to land properly. Yumi not wasting a moment kicked her the stomach as Karasu was trying to get up, making her go down again. The ninja jumped on top of Karasu, restraining her body. Twin fangs closed in on her face, but she stopped the motion by crossing her arms, and blocking the assassin's. In terms of strength, neither was superior; they both relied on agility. Using the short and broken katana, she manage to scrape a cut in Yumi's palm, not dropping the lock guard. The assassin had to get off Karasu who would've pierced her hand otherwise. The extent of the wound had made her drop one of her twin swords. Karasu sheathed her broken sword, and picked up Yumi's. Blood trickled down from both her cheeks; the katanas she had stopped had almost gotten her face.

A needle flew by, but it was knocked down by the recently acquired katana. Yumi shortened her distance in that time, only to find a surprisingly readied opponent whom was more proficient in the use of a single katana than she was. They exchanged blows fiercely. Both had a slight disadvantage: the crow wasn't used to this shorter, lighter katana, and Yumi was more deadly with a two-swords style. By the time they stood at the distance, new silhouettes had appeared. Both were startled.

"Karasu," called of one the shadows. Four or five of them by Karasu's estimate. "You have taken the live of one of our comrades. Not to mention, his wife, even though she was not a warrior."

"That's what happens when you pick a sword," she explained.

"I will not preach to you about honor," continued the man. "We are of the belief that the end justifies the means. Yet, I wonder, crow, what end did you accomplish by killing her too? Have you no restrain? You rampage Shinseidan and Seifugun equally. What is your objective?"

"To take both heads," she confessed openly. "You Shinseidan are no different than your arch enemy the Seifugun. You believe your ideals are right, and you fight for them. Up to this, I wouldn't matter. But you both have showed that you have no concern for the people around, those that become involved and have nothing to do with this petty struggle. You are not the only ones that believe the end justifies the means; they too do. Honor or no honor." She chuckled, despite the hatred evident in her words. "But in all honesty, I too have a group I fight for. They don't have a fancy name, nor do they live anymore. But they are composed of all the dead people whose lives were taken in the name of the 'end'."

The man scorned. "Hmph. You think you do them justice by taking more lives? We fight for the better of the people. We fight, so that this tyrannic government ceases to be. We fight, so that the people will have more power. Power to be free. Don't you dare compare us with them. Certain sacrifices might happen along the way, but it's for the greater good." He turned to face Yumi. "Finish her," he ordered. The assassin stood still. "Finish her, I said," he repeated irritated. He signaled with his hand and the rest of the men started surrounding the crow. Yumi looked lost in thought, glancing at the crow absentmindedly. The latter got ready for the fight to come.

Some of the shinseidan drew their swords, and others started to spin a long, thin chain. The chain flew and Karasu dodged, but she had to use her arm to block the second one. The chain twisted around her arm, and got a hold of her. The shinseidan chain user pulled her back, and the other three with their swords drawn awaited. When she was in range, they attacked. The first one could not make it; he had been slashed in the gut before he could make his move. She second one attempted to stab her in the back, but she dodged. The third one attempted to cut her in the face, but she used the chain to block the sword, and then stabbed him, kicking him to release the katana. Now three remained. A second chain attempted to restrain her, but the chain was successfully deflected with the katana. Karasu ran towards the chain user that was still restraining her, but the ninja with the sword drawn stood in the way. He grabbed the chain, and pulled as well, making the crow lose her balance. She stumbled sideways, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. The second chain users repeated the attack. Karasu blocked, the ground beneath her gave away.

She fell to the stream below, the chain user had simply let go of the chain. The landing was rough even though it was water. In fact, it had taken the air out of her lungs. She struggled to come to the surface, even though the strong current pushed her. It was dark, and she couldn't see much of anything. As she came out, she was face to face with a rock, that at the speed the current was pulling her, slammed the side of her face and raked out one of her eyes, leaving a red line from forehead to cheek. She went down again, in terrible pain, with the ruin of her eye bleeding. But even so, she mustered the strength to come up. It was futile. The current slammed her body against the deadly rocks. One of her arms broke into several pieces. She hit her head, legs, and a rock had somehow manage to actually cut her on the back. She felt her consciousness slipping away. The pain was unbearable. Then there was a moment she was flying in the air, then water again. After that, the violent currents stopped. She came out. She was in the middle of a tranquil pond that was fed by a waterfall. She used one arm and one leg to swim to the rocky shore. She couldn't feel her arm, and her missing eye was burning. Her head was pounding with a headache. Her back ached, and the other leg hurt. The grotesque mangled limb dangled on its own, bones poking out. She walked for a while, not knowing where she was going. The rocky ground eventually became grass. She used all her remaining strength to get away from that place, even though each step was living hell.

The last sight her eye caught was a wooden hut. As she collapsed to the floor she saw her beloved, smiling at her. "This is it, Rupert. I'm sorry I took so long."

----

The next morning one of the ladies who had invited the blind man to stay found the body. It was high with a fever, and looked pale. They quickly took her in, and called the designated healer and herbalist. It was a grim prospect. The healer stated she would surely die, not to mention if by chance she did survive, they had to cut off the arm, or it'll infect the rest of the body and eventually kill her. And so the arm was cut. Karasu had woken up and screamed in pain, but had just as quickly passed out. Her whole body was covered in bandages.

That very morning a man with silver hair had come. He was a general of the Seifugun, and demanded to take custody of the woman. He had also taken temporal custody of the blind man, and the two ladies. Everyone was to be questioned. With guards posted outside, no one was to leave the house or enter it.

----
Several hours later.

About 10 men gathered around a round table in a dimly lit room. They talked in whispers until a set of two thick wooden doors cringed open. Two more men came, one finely dress, taller than the other one, yet trailing behind. The other one had shoulder length black hair, and was dressed normally.

"Gentlemen," the shorter man said as he took a seat. "I summoned you all in this brief meeting due to a recent report of our intelligence network. Read the report, if you will," he asked the taller man.

"We believe the crow has survived," read the man in a deep voice. "She has been found by one of the elite 10. We believe him to be Jiro Kurosawa."

"So you see," continued the shorter man, "we got two targets in one place. Though truth be told, I am interested in this crow character. She somehow managed to survive 6 of our comrades. Nairo, I want you on it. Gather some of your best soldiers, and take out Jiro. Offer the crow to join; if she refuses, kill her too."

With those words, the meeting was adjourned.

[Hyzenthlay]

Yumi stood a little dazed and watched as a brawl unfolded. The Crows words echoed in her head;

"I too have a group I fight for. They don't have a fancy name, nor do they live anymore. But they are composed of all the dead people whose lives were taken in the name of the 'end'."

What confused Yumi the most was that, according to what Karasu had said, she was fighting for Yumi's sisters too. She heard the clatter of steel and the heavy thud of a body hit the ground, her vision blacked and she felt a profound sickness sweep over her. The sounds of teh skirmish filled her ears and then a gasp. Her sight returned as Karasu dissapeared backwards down the nearby cliff. Yumi ran forward, she felt her heart pound in her head it gentle rhythm beating the confusion of the previous conversation from her mind. She ran to the edge of the cliff and saw as Karasu reapeared only to come to a bloody collision with a rock. Karasu was being washed away down a winding river, before she sank from view Yumi saw as she was dragged under with the current and came to strong imacts with several rocks and the river side itself. A tight grip around her wrist pulled Yumi back from the egde. She was span around to face a leutenant,

"What was that? What were you thinking?" he demanded, "you ignore a direct order and..."

A fist met his face and Yumi turned back to the cliff and pulled up her katana which Karasu had dropped upon falling. She peered off to see if she could catch one last glimpse of the crow, she couldn't. Karasu had vanished in the fast moving water. Yumi returned both katana's to their sheiths and looked at the wound on her palm, a cresent shaped gash made from the broken katana of her target. She had to meet her again, if she had survived. Even if only to exchange more blows. Either way, Yumi had questions that needed an answer.

As Yumi finally broke free of her trance she turned to she her leutentant being helped back to his feet. A stream of blood covered the lower part of his face and you could tell even from a glance that his nose was broken. He looked rather taken aback, the remaining men parted as Yumi walked forward to create a clear path. They looked at her with confusion as she walked past. Yumi had always been keen on their cause and had never dissobeyed orders before let alone assault and officer.

She walked back the path in the dark to where the old hideout had been, the moonlit hit Yumi's face in such a way that she looked almost divine. The rush of the river still filled her ear, the roaring of its current almost deafening. She rocounted Karasu's words once again, she twirled them around trying to find a loop-hole. It was no use, however, there was no denying that what she was saying made sense. Yumi shook her head and looked dead ahead and saw figure draped in a strange aura invisible but deinatlly present. He was draped in a long, brown cloak and the moonlight bounced off a crack at his chest where armour shone through. As she drew close he raised his head and Yumi immediatly recognised his smile though his eye's were shadowed.

"Master!?" She said wanting to bow but restraining herself.

Could it be? Her master had somehow come from beyond the grave to greet her in her hour of need, and when she felt most lost he would guide her once again? He smirked and spoke but when he did so his voice was not of happiness, but of a cruel malice.

"You did your task? The one you were assigned?" He inquired.

Yumi frowned at his words, he did not have any of the kindness nor courtesy of the man she remembered. She narrowed her eye's to see his face more clearly. It was his, but younger. He had the same curved lips, the same nose with a bump at the rim. It was striking, however, how handsome, young and fresh he looked. He seemed to be in his mid 20's and held the same aura of power and elegance. She answered despite her heart telling her not to, almost as if she were compelled to do so by and unknown force.
"No. I couldn't master Agari. She said some things that made the fight seem... wrong. I feel as if I have been helping the enemy all along" even as the words left her lips she felt herself regret saying them.

"Where is the target now?" inquired Agari. He took a strange interest and he shifted uneasily as she told him the rest,

"She fell to a stream and was washed away with the current. Down southwards it path headed, but, I'm afraid that wherever she is she'll be badly broken if not dead. I saw her collide with numerous rocks and..."

"Where is this stream girl? Tell me" this caught her completely off guard, his impatience shocked her but her head swam with a servitude like no other. She felt like whatever he demanded must be given, like when she was a child.

"Up on the crest of that hill, on the eastern edge there is a cliff. When you look from it you can see the stream" she indicated the way with her injured left hand.

Her master nodded looking up the way she pointed and walked a short distance to a horse. Yumi felt strange, she knew this couldnt possibly be happening. She knew her master was dead but how uncanny it was how much this man looked like him, and how he knew of her mission. She watched him place his foot into the horses stirrup and pull himself up. Yumi turned to enter the old safe-house as the man rode off up the hill, she missed the next sight, as he rode heavily up into the wind his hood fell back showing a tied up mass of long, slivery hair.

She entered the building without looking, dropped her katana's onto the floor and fell back, sinking into the nearest armchair. There she reached into a cupboard to her left and pulled out a bowl full of a green and pink herb. She also pulled out a sheet and tore a long, thin, strip from it. She took the bowl to the tiny kitchen and poured a tiny bit of water from a bucket in with the herbs. She then ground it up into a thick paste and let it sit for a second on the side. She tore the strip of fabric in two and wiped the blood from her hand with on half, the cresent cut stung with ever wipe but she had it clean in a minute or two. She then grabbed a palm full of the herb mix and used her right hand to rub it into the wound. After she was satisfied with the amount of the medicine smoothed into the cut she used the other half of the fabric to bandage the wound.

Exhausted she stumbled into an upstairs bedroom and collapsed on a low make-shift matress. Her eye's stabbed with tiredness she lay on her back straing up a the ceiling. She had the wierdest thought before her eye's closed and she drifted off to sleep. She suddenly thought about her mission, how had her informants gotten got such good infomation on Karasu's whereabouts so quickly? Maybe her master had the answer. On that thought she sank into an uneasy sleep.

-----o0o-----

Yumi was woken by a loud knocking and she flew from the chair and prepared to darts from her sleeve. In walked Nairo, her captain, and a number of other men from her 'team'. Nairo looked astonished to see her standing there in front of them. He smiled at her and said,

"Perfect. We have a job to do. I dont know what happened to make you slip up but we wont go into that" he looked sideways at Ari, his leutenant who wore an unhappy frown and sported a newly acquired broken nose.

"Anyway, we are just getting some things and them we must set off down the valley. To find a general"

Yumi's face kept an expression that gave the air that she deemed the mission already mundane.

"Wait for it Dragon. We are going after Jiro"

Her mouth fell open and she suppressed a gasp. He smiled even more broad and the men around him grabbed various pieces of previously abandoned equipment and straightened up.

"When you are ready Yumi, we shall leave" spoke Nairo again.

"I'm ready" replied Yumi shortly.

Nairo nodded and the smile fell. He waved his hand and all the men within the house turned to walk out the door. Yumi followed as they headed south-east to come to the town easern gate. As they left through it Karasu's words flew back to Yumi's mind and then faded, Yumi saw her face as clear as day but as she trie dto concentrate on it it blew away as if on a breeze. Nairo fell back and walked at Yumi's side,

"Somewhere down here. Deep into the forest, On its northern edge, there is a large pond. Nearby stands a wooden hut. Inside this we should find Jiro. He's yours if you want him, we are here as a... precaution" Yumi knew he was referring to her fight with Karasu and the fact that she held back at the last minute, but she was happy with being given the chance to finally kill the man behind her family's death.

So on the marched east into the Togoro forest. Towards Jiro and, unknown to Yumi, the crow too.

[Fehrant]

The mid-size cottage had three rooms. One room consisted of the bedroom, the other one was a living room, and connected to that was the kitchen. It was an interesting sight to see, several soldiers sitting shoulder to shoulder almost as if they were part of the wall. In fact, they now took all the perimeter of the inside walls. The name for today's game was ambush: the seifugun had prepared well.

Jiro stood in the bedroom escorted by two soldiers. He simply stared down at the motionless body of the crow, who lied in bed covered in bandages all over. The two women hugged each other and trembled in fear, and the blind man stood still as a rock, with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

The elite general's eyes went up and down, measuring the incredible amount of damage the legendary killer had taken. He would end her life right there, but he had orders that needed to be followed. They wanted to make an example of this, and hang her in public. That is, if she survived all the way back to the capital. The remaining question was what to make of these people he had found with the assassin. One was a blind man. Apparently he had bumped into the house yesterday, and was offered to stay. The other two woman were the rightful owners of the house.

Steps rushed in. "Kurosawa Jiro-sama," called a voice humbly. "Someone is coming. Alone."

He spared everyone in the room one last glance, and left the room with the soldiers standing on watch. He followed the man who had called him to one of the exits of the house, not before motioning the hidden troops to lay low and stand still. He came out alone, his guide had remained behind.

At the distance, a man with short hair walked towards the house. Jiro didn't take long to recognize him, not to mention his clothes were obviously Seifugun. He was Satoshi, another top ten general. His presence here was not something that Jiro was expecting, nor something he would welcome. He and his squad could easily turn the tables of the shinseidan ambush with an ambush of their own. What was the man doing here?

Satoshi walked until he was a few steps from Jiro. Satoshi was a grown adult, with skin traced with scars all over. The seifugun would say he should've died many times now, but he had always managed to survived, which earned him the nickname of Luck Devil. Satoshi was an imposing man, with firm, cold eyes, and bloodlust reeking from his being at all times. Yet he was a mere pawn. More precisely, Tenkai's. If he had come here, it was under Tenkai's command. Something was going on. Jiro could tell.

"What brings you here? Your timing is most... inconvenient," Jiro explained.

Satoshi sneered at that. "I come under orders. I'm to take the crow."

Jiro was already getting irritated. Not only could the shinseidan arrive in any moment, but now he would have to argue with this senseless puppet just because of irrelevant power struggles between Tenkai and Endou.

"And I was ordered by Endou-sama to bring her to the capital. She is to be executed," Jiro countered firmly.

Satoshi grinned again malevolent. "And she certainly will, that crow-bitch. But I will take her somewhere first." Satoshi started to walk towards the inside of the house, but Jiro raised his arm to stop him.

"She is my prisoner, Satoshi," he stated.

"Not anymore, Jiro," he replied sardonically, then licked his lips. His hand went for the hilt of his sword. He gripped it firmly, then let go. "Tenkai said you would be stubborn about it. In that case, I'll help you with your little killing spree, then, we'll take her."

"No," Jiro denied once more. "She will be taken where she's supposed to be taken. And..." He stopped. His eyes narrowed, scanning the surroundings carefully. Satoshi turned his head to the area Jiro was looking. "Ah, here come the little rats," Satoshi confirmed playfully. Jiro and Satoshi went inside the cottage. With several soldiers, and two elite generals, a small group of unsuspecting shinseidan stood little chance.

But Satoshi had other plans...

[Hyzenthlay]

Yumi had kept silent almost the entire journey, only when she was inticed with a subject that particulaly interested her would she talk back. The forest had a strange feel to it, the light hit the leaves and bark in a different manner than she had seen before; almost making it seem fake. What was more, within the saftety of the tree's, there was also an inescapable feeling of claustrophobia. The sounds of life within it, however, were beautiful. Such sounds that made even the closeness of the tree's and the dimness of the light seem to fade away.

Not to long had past, a few hours or so, when Nairo called out from just up ahead,

"Everyone down" Without hesitation everyone fell flat on their stomachs with their heads as low as they could possibly go.

He was looking out onto an open path, after a few seconds he waved his arm and everybody stood. Yumi had only crouched and she was happy she had because looking around everybody was soaked through with the damn of the floor. The last thing she wanted was to freeze before she got to their destination.

As she stepped out onto the new dirt track which Nairo had led them to she had turned to look southwards and there, just in the distance, stood a wooden house. She smirked looking down at it feeling the strangest of sensations wash over her, she almost felt as if this house was the place her sisters had been all along. With every step she became more alert, they drew closer and closer to the door and Yumi hung back. A bad feeling had washed the good from her and as a thought to call everyone back entered her head and arrow struck. It hit a man just beside her, he fell struggling to the ground and pulled the arrow out. Yumi withdrew her sword instinctively and glanced up towards the door.

A wave of Seifugun troops spilled out into their own men, a few were killed as they tried to get out through the door but soon enouogh the Seifugun were through and advancing. Yumi was then thrown into the fray, her katana's cutting through limbs like butter. Looking around she noticed that the groups were now mixed and the battle was truly being lost. Upon a last stike she pulled her sword from a mans ribcag and looked towards the forest and there was Nairo, running like the coward he had always been. Yumi's attention then shot to his second in command, Ari. He was fighting three men a distance away towards the building.

Through the crowd andother man ran at Yumi holding his katana above his head. She she stepped to the side quickly and placed her katana out and almost with grace it cut through the mans gut. He fell to the ground and once again Yumi checked her surroundings, where could Jiro be? Her katana met another mans throat, one which held one of her fellow Shinseidan down.

In the doorway of the hut a figure appeared, his silvery hair glinting in the light. He smiled down at her and advanced. HIs sword danced with an awe-inspiring fluidity cutting down any enemy soldier along the way, all the while his gaze never left Yumi. As he drew closer she gasped, it was the man from the night previously. Jiro, he looked just like her master. Confused she almost fell victim to his first slash, she fell to her back and rolled as he stabbed down at her torso. Flipping back up she brandished her katanas and held then in a scissor shape and lunged at his loins. He jumped back and swang his sword to meet her neck, she ducked and felt the blade brush the top of her head. Without wasting a second she held her swords out, both forward and threw herself towards his abdomen. He parried this attack throwing it to the side, Yumi stepped back; as did Jiro.

"I see my father trained you well" Jiro had spoken to her and at last she understood.

A smile spread across his face, "dawned on you has it?".

With those last words her flung himself forward and slashed downward. Yumi tried to parry but the force of the attack threw one sword from her left hand and Jiros's blade came to meet her bicep. She felt her arm go limp, he had cut straight through the muscle. Another blow came from the right, she jumped and int glanced off of her remaining katana with ease. It sent him off balance and Yumi acted once more and brought her sword down diagonally from left to right, the tip of the blade grazed his face as he tried to pull back. A gash lay from his forehead to just below his right eye, a new stream of crimson dripped and trickled down to his lips and chin. They both stood back once more.

Yumi looked at her injured arm and them back at him gritting her teeth. He threw her an angry glance also as her dabbed his fingers to his face and looked at his blood soaked fingertips. He frowned,

"Perhaps I underestimated you" he smiled once more, "my first battle scar, yours may be slightly worse" his grin cut through Yumi like the blade to her arm.

Again he came forward, this time his blade moved with such a speed that Yumi couldn't possibly parry she stepped back as the blade caught her calf and she stumbled as her lag almost gave way. She threw herelf forward, her blade just missed his chest grazing his right side, but cutting a bond that held his armour in place. The armour plate dangled and then fell to the ground with a thud. Jiro smiled down at it and then back at Yumi. Yumi herself felt weak due to bloodloss. With a last attempt at dealing some damage she focussed on his left side where he had no sword and it would be more difficult to defend. She had guessed well, her blade caught his side and opened a new wound which spat blood on impact. It didnt fase Jiro however, who just threw the hilt of his katana at her temple and knocked her sideways, an arrow struck her side and she was down. She lay, unable to get up and looked around at her comrades.

Helplessness fell over her as she watched Ari executed. He knelt before a Seifugun captain and with one swing his head hit the ground with a thud. All around her the other Shinseidan warriors were either dead or dying and she saw just how outnumbered they had been. 15-20 Seifugun still stood all around. Then, from the corner of her eye she saw a man running away due south, on his back he carried,

"CROW!" she yelled.

Jiro heard her and looked around, the smile fell from his face as he set off in persuit. Yumi felt blood fill her mouth, the pain of the arrow in her left side and the slice in her bicep were agonising. She didnt show that she was in pain but within just a minute she blacked out.

[Fehrant]

The battle was quickly coming to an end; the shinseidan had been ambushed, and were less in number. Their commander had fled, and the body without the head was in complete disarray. With odds of 3 to 1, the slaughter ensued. When the time was ripe, and Jiro was busy engaged in battle, Satoshi turned, and made his way back into the cottage.

No soldiers had been spared as guards; everyone had been called to battle, and the prisoners inside would not want to get involved in the conflict raging outside. Not to mention, the only actual "prisoner" was Karasu, and she had been unconscious ever since her arm had been chopped off. The rest were only witnesses or possible accomplices.

There was only one entrance, and one exit to that house. Satoshi came in, in a burst of speed. He had his sword drawn out. He reached the room in no time, each step echoing hard on the wood. The women who were living them panicked at his sudden appearance and the sound that kept creeping closer. The seifugun general simply heaved up the crow's body, and bolted out of the cottage.

By the time he was out, Jiro was finishing the battle with Yumi. The shinseidan assassin spotted Satoshi carrying what appeared to be a motionless corpse. On closer inspection, despite the bandages, Yumi recognized the woman she had been searching for.

"Crow!" She screamed.

A bird squeaked, and flew into the air. A black bird. A woman opened her only remaining eye as if beckoned by the carrion's bird cry. Jiro turned back, almost knowing what to expect. Satoshi exchanged glances in a fraction of a second, then fled.

"Damn Satoshi," Jiro cursed.

Karasu felt her whole body complain with pain. And to top it off, she was being carried clumsily, which didn't help the pain any. "Off," she said faintly.

"What?!" Asked Satoshi not slowing his pace.

By now, he was inside the forest nearby the cottage, with Jiro trailing not too far behind. He realized that with a burden on his shoulder, he would not be able to accomplish the mission. He turned a sudden left, and dropped the body, then turned right. The chase continued.

The crow was face down on the ground. She tried to get up, but went down again, when she found out her arm was not there. The fall had been very painful, but the loss of her arm was just as shocking. With her only hand, she tried to see what remained: only a stump of shoulder, and a bit of upper arm. Half her face stung terribly, and her back too. She tried to recall what happened, remembering the fall, and the rocks. It was all very hazy in her mind.

With an iron will, she stood up, and walked aimlessly. She spotted a fig tree, and ate a couple, awkwardly trying to peel off the skin with only one hand. After that, she kept walking towards where the forest became less dense. Eventually, she found the cottage.

The house was surrounded by some corpses, presumably shinseidan. No one else was present, even though it was clear there had been many soldiers. She noticed a trail of a cluster of footsteps, all going into the forest. The group that had caused this had moved that way. Her vision suddenly got blurry. She walked forward with some difficulty, and then her vision cleared up. She bumped into a corpse on the ground, and almost fell. She glanced down and spotted Yumi, moaning, and still alive. The crow's eye moved right, and spotted a katana stuck upright on the ground; it traveled left, and spotted two horses. She took the katana first, then removed one of the ropes that was tying one of the horses. She used it to bind Yumi's hands, then carried her to the horse. Getting her on the horse with one hand was something she couldn't manage, so she actually had to get the horse to sit. Then once Yumi was ahorse, she mounted, and they both left.

----

Satoshi had been captured by Jiro, and surrounded by his guards.

"Where is the crow?!" Jiro demanded, sword drawn.

"Fine, fine, you win," Satoshi conceded. "Let me take you to her." And so he did, but the crow was no longer there. The seifugun searched the forest, but found nothing. Jiro was even more irritated to find one of the shinseidan had escaped. He called one of his guards, and handed him a bag with some coin. "Give this to Nairo in the Rising Sun Inn. He has done well."

----

Yumi was tied on a tree, but still unconscious. Opposite to her, the crow waited, crossed-legged, looking at her grimly. Her intention was to have a little interrogation, then kill her. But what she didn't know, is that the shinseidan had a change of heart.

[Hyzenthlay]

Yumi felt nausea sweep over her as her eye's finally opened. Her vision was so blurred that, at first, she thought she was blind. After a moment or two however she had blinked enough to finally see her surroundings. She was in the middle of a forest and obviously far away from the point of battle. Just ahead of her a figure was sat rubbing at her temples, it was the Crow. Yumi suddenly realised what was going on and so didnt utter a word. She trie dto move but couldn't, looking down she saw that she had been bound to a tree by a thick, yellowing rope.

"You're awake then?" spoke the Crow realising Yumi was concious.

Yumi coughed up a fresh pool of blood and spat it onto the floor. She didnt answer and simply looked up towards the night sky and wondered how long she had been unconcious. The stars were out. Tonight was a cloudless, clear night. The Crow didnt wait on an answer from Yumi, obviously remembering her taciturn facade.

"You may not want to answer me, but I'll get answers" the Crow paused to once again run at her temple. A headach obviously plagued her due to the recent loss of one of her eyes.

"One way or another" she continued, "first thing first, though" the Crow held up one of Yumi's katanas and looked down the length.

"What are the plans of the Shinseidan?" Yumi turned her head and ignored the question, the next minute a shooting pain erupted up her left leg and she cried out in pain.

Looking down she saw the Crow had stabbed her with her own katana, not too deep but enough to make her point.

"This doesnt have to go on like this, if you'd..." the Crow stopped and shook her head rubbing furiously at her temple once more, "if you'd just co-operate there'd be no need for me to do any more damage".

Yumi looked at her with an expressionless face. Blood rolled down from her lips and gathered, dripping from her chin slowly. Yumi shook her head and once again looked up at the sky. After a few seconds the Crow continued,

"Where are the leaders of the Shinseidan stationed? Is there a safe-house close by?" the Crow tilted her head as she waited for an answer, resting her temple on one of her hands she rubbed gently in circular motions closing her remaining eye.

Another pain sprang into life as Karasu thrusted the sword into Yumi's right leg, another outburst and cry-out of pain and Yumi tugged at the ropes trying to lung at Karasu. She spluttered again and blood flew from her mouth, she felt faint and fall back to rest once more against the tree. She hit her head hard against the bark with frustration. Before she had settled the Crow spoke again, she leaned forward this time and spoke with a softer tone,

"Why do you fight so hard for these people? Why?"

Yumi looked at her, finally seeing a question she could answer. The moonlight sparkled in her eyes and she looked into Karasu's with an unwavering stare.

"The Seifugun don't deserve their place" with that she sat back and again star gazed.

Karasu sat back also and looked at Yumi's wounds. She then looked back at her face before her tone changed to almost one of regret.

"And the Shinseidan do? Both are as bad as eachother. In the interests of each of their grand schemes they happily go through innocent people to accoumplish their goals. What difference does it make what badge you wear if you are the same as your enemy?"

A silence washed over the two. The sounds of the forest filled their ears, Yumi at last looked back at Karasu and answered in a full coherant sentence.

"They are not one of the same. The Shinseidan fight for the people, the Seifugun are relentlessly trying to force tyranny... That's how I see it. Explain to me how they are the same, all I see is justice, and injustice."

The Crow seemed somewhat taken aback by her answer, as Yumi had been to hers. They looked at eachother before Karasu answered Yumi almost calmly. Seeming to reminisce.

"We both must have stories to tell. Maybe the only way we can gain what we both want is to co-operate. So, to stand on equal ground maybe I should explain things?"

Yumi sat up, the pain from the arrow in her side made her wince as it was dislodged and scraped at her ribs by the rope that bound her.

"I've been wondering" spoke Yumi, "what you meant when you said you fought for the people who had been killed".

"I'll explain. Years ago I saw a family torn apart by the reckless disregard of both the Shinseidan and the Seifugun. Since then, I've fought for all the people who have been affected by both sides. You spoke of justice, I'm giving that to them".

Yumi closed her eye's before recounting her tale, she tried to remember all of the details. She didnt want to say too much, just enough so that she would tell her side. The two assasins sat across from eachother both sat forward as much as the can, both injured. The Crow listened intently as Dragon child finally opened her eye's and told her story.

"The Siefugun are responsible for the death of my family, or, the only one I've ever known. The snook in whilst we were not expecting and tore my home apart. They didnt spare anybody, had I not fought back... I'd be dead beside my sisters. I won't stop until I have Jiro's head by my feet and firmly on the ground. If the Shinseidan can lead me to that end, then I'll fight for them until then".

After these words Yumi sat back and fought back tears. She never lowered her tough exterior but on the inside she felt drained, yet almost overjoyed that she had got it off her chest. It seemed, to Yumi at least, that the Crow was fighting for her sisters too. This told her that she'd be happy even if she were killed tonight.

[Fehrant]

The crow rubbed her temples again. She sighed slightly, and used the katana to cut the ropes. "You are free to do as you please," she stated. "The shinseidan and seifugun are the same trash to me. I intend to make them both pay for their relentless crusade. I..."

She stopped for a moment, stabbing the sword on the ground as if to use it for support. The strong assassin seemed to be in a very bad shape. A lesser warrior with the extent of her wounds would have collapsed long ago. It seemed as if she was reaching her limit for today. Her vision blurred yet again.

"Tag along, but don't get in the way. I will kill you if you do."

Yumi had taken damage too, and was worn out. Rest was in order for both. Still, almost disregarding the state her new ally was in, she asked, "shall we head out?"

It was already getting darker by the hour, they wouldn't be able to travel farther without getting lost, but they could not disregard the possibility of being tracked down. The current setting consisted of a few trees, a few bushes, and plain green fields spreading all across. Concealment was out of the question.

Karusu realized this, and so did Yumi; they haven't managed this long solely relying on mere luck; their survival instincts were well honed. Yet, the crow was dealing with another issue. The loss of blood had been too severe. Her eye was straining itself too much over doing the work two eyes had done all her life. She had lost an arm, upsetting her balance. Her wounds stung, though this was the lesser of evils. Her strength was draining away. She had none left. Not falling flat on the ground was already a feat proving to be too tiring.

"I will rest here," she replied curtly.

Yumi seemed puzzled for a moment, unable to understand the logic behind this decision. Was she completely unafraid? Was she entirely confident on her skills if it came to worst? One main difference between Yumi and the Crow was that while the former relied more on stealth, the latter was a upfront, brash fighter. Could that be the cause?

Yumi glanced at the only tree that jutted from the ground. It was not very big, but it had branches robust enough to be able to hold a person without breaking. Leaning more on precaution, she decided that she would rest in the branches of the tree, if she managed to find a spot without the risk of falling down.

Without a word, she started to climb the tree, feeling all the wounds complain but she put up with it. She climbed towards the sturdy branches, accommodated herself until she was secure, and would not risk falling. As she found the perfect spot, she heard a thud from below, and the metallic sound of a sword. On the ground below, the Crow had passed out. This was easy to figure out by the way the sword had flown off from her reach. This made Yumi realize she was unarmed. She looked at her katana far from Karasu's body tentatively. They would both have to build a bond of mild trust if they were going to fight alongside, and taking the sword right now, even though it was her sword to begin with, would be a sign of mistrust and could prove deadly if the Crow realized. The former shinseidan assassin could hold her on with martial arts, but she was more effective and deadly with a weapon. Moreover, if the Crow was indeed unconscious, their only weapon would go to waste if someone were to sneak up on them or simply show up.

With these thoughts in mind, she climbed down the tree. Calm and composed, she slowly moved towards the katana, eyes fixated on the Crow. She picked it up and sheathed it surprisingly easy. The Crow remained motionless all along; she had indeed blacked out. Not moving from that spot, Yumi's wary glance dissipated. All along, Karusu had fought and bled for her sisters, and all those that were involved in this conflict. Against both the fast shinseidan tide, and the solid seifugun current she had withstood, alone, solid as a rock on a river. A formidable warrior. But what of it now? She would surely survive the wounds with her strong will, but what of the irreplaceable lost of her arm and eye? For a warrior, that was devastating. Had her crusade for the dead come to an end? Only because she had encountered Yumi and that shinseidan group? Who would fight for those not waving a flag? Fighting for one's own sisters was a small scope in comparison to fighting for everyone's murdered sisters. To whom would her will pass down to...?

She stopped her train of thought. Yumi cared for her sisters, and she would strive to avenge them. That was all that mattered to her. That was the truth. Her purpose might be somewhat correlated to the Crow's, but Yumi's path was straightforward: she needed to kill a single man. In contrast, Karasu needed to kill a minimum of two, who did not expose themselves easily, and were well guarded. Many people would stand in her path to prevent it. Karasu's was going to swim a deep river of blood before she could fulfill her goal. She would not make it. She would surely perish. There was so much a single warrior could do. There was so much wounded warrior could do. Her suicidal quest could become a liability to Yumi, but for the moment, it could very well help her. While she took the brunt of the attacks, while she provided a diversion, Yumi could effectively work behind the scenes.

Climbing up the tree, it took a while before she managed to doze off. No one showed up that night.

The sun raised, and woke Yum up. The Crow laid in the same position as she was yesterday. The horse was sleeping as well. She climbed down, and pondered about the situation for a moment. She could easily take the only horse, the only weapon, and leave the wounded woman to her own devices, even though it was a bit compelling to find someone fighting for a similar cause. She decided to let her rest for a while longer.

It took a couple of hours before Karasu batted open an eyelid. "Let's go," she said in a faint voice. Yumi took the horse, and got up. The Crow looked unstable. Yumi extended a hand and helped her up the horse. They started galloping towards a direction Karasu pointed meekly. Eventually, to Yumi slight surprise, Karasu rested on her back. Yumi felt a bit awkward, but ignored it.

A town came in view. Inside, not to Yumi's knowledge, or the Crow's for the matter, the inn, Raising Sun, was found. Today, Nairo was supposed to meet up with the shinseidan guard to receive his payment.

[Tsi]

Haru felt a sudden sharp pain in his stomach, as though someone had put their knee to him rather hard. He shook his head. Where am I? He wondered to himself.

“Hey! I am talking to you!”

Haru felt another hit to the stomach. He somehow managed to keep silent.

“Do you know why you're here?”

Haru still remained silent.

“Are you deaf? I said, 'Do you know why you're here?'”

Haru sighed and finally chose to respond.

“No I am not deaf, I just simply don't like talking to people who inflict pain on others.”

“Oh, you don't like pain, do you?”

Haru felt yet another hit to stomach. This time he let out an audible gasp for air.

“Ah, you felt that one. Now how about you quit being smart with me and answer some questions.”

“...Why...should...I?” Haru could barely get the words out of his mouth because of lack of air.

“You don't want to feel more 'pain,' do you?”

When the man said the word 'pain,' Haru felt one more knee to the stomach.

“Fine...what...do...you...want...to...know?”

Haru heard the rustling of paper near the front of his face.

“Do you know who this is?”

“I...don't...know...”

“I told you to quit being smart with me!”

There was another knee to Haru's stomach.

“I...told...you....I...don't....know....”

“What's wrong with you? Everyone knows who this is.”

“I...don't...”

“So you really don't know, eh? Well, look me in the eyes and say that.”

Haru lifted his head a bit and started looking around the room.

“Come on, quit wasting my time and look me in the eyes.”

“I...would...if...I...could...see...them...”

“What are you, blind? I am right in front of you, now look me in the eyes!”

“You...are...right...sir...I...am...blind...”

“How can I know that this isn't some charade to hide something?”

“Why...did...you...bring...me...here?”

“I AM ASKING THE QUESTIONS HERE! NOW SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND ANSWER ME!”

Haru could tell that this man was indeed under a lot of stress. Just this one-sided discussion was driving the man over the edge. Something had to be wrong...

“If...you...must know...I am...like this....because...of the....group....Shinseiden.”

Haru could hear the man's position shift.

“Shinseiden, you say? What did they do to you?”

“They...poisoned me...I barely...survived...but lost...my eyesight.”

Haru could tell the man had calmed down a bit, albeit a bit quicker than most. It was as though the man had forgotten the questions he had asked earlier.

“Hmm...very well...”

“May I ask...you a question...sir?” Haru could feel his ability to breathe properly returning.

“If you must...”

“Where are we?”

“In the same place where you were sleeping.”

“Where are the...other two? Hikaru and Mika?”

“They're fine, we just have all of you detained for questioning.”

“Questioning? For what?”

“Well, we found an assassin in this household.”

“An assassin? Who?”

“One named Karasu.”

“I think I may have heard of her, but I'm not sure. I am just a wanderer.”

“She is an assassin that goes after both Shinseidan and Seifugun. We are trying to find all the help we can to stop her. I know you're blind, but maybe you can help us in some--”

“I am afraid I cannot. On my master's deathbed, I promised I would not get involved in this war except in dire circumstances.”

“These are dire circumstances...People are dying.”

“Then isn't it always 'dire circumstances' by your definition? People are always dying from the hands of man.” Haru was getting a bit frustrated. “Tell me, can you name me some people who have been killed?”

“Let's see...there was Asano and his family and an attack on Watanabe Minoru...”

“Watanabe...” Haru remembered the man he had encountered the previous day.

“Ah, I see you have met Watanabe Minoru.”

“While I do know him, that doesn't change anything. By the looks of it, these are 'dire circumstances' because your officers and relations are being attacked.”

Haru had a feeling this man was about to lose his temper again.

“DO YOU NOT HAVE ANY FEELING TOWARDS THOSE THAT SERVE YOUR GOVERNMENT?!”

Haru knew what was coming and this time he decided to react. He moved his hands in front of his stomach and blocked another knee to his stomach.

“So, this...was a...lie. You are...not blind.” The man was short on breath from all the strength he exerted on that knee.

“Sir, you apparently have no idea how the body works. When the body loses one of its senses, it strengthens the others. I could hear your knee coming and plus you are becoming predictable.”

Haru could tell that this speech was not making things better for either the man nor him.

“You are apparently a man who does not understand honor. You can call yourself honorable, but to try and force someone to break a promise he made to someone on their deathbed is not an honorable thing at all. Your violent streak that I have been a victim of lately is not exactly honorable. While I do not want special treatment as a blind man, but no one deserves this kind of treatment.”

Suddenly, Haru heard the man spit something and felt his spit on his face. The man got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Haru then reached up and wiped the spit off of his face.

“I need to figure out a way to make sure Hikaru and Mika are alright. There doesn't seem to be a race against time, so I should meditate on this for a bit...”

Haru then began meditating on a way to get to Hikaru and Mika to make sure nothing happened to them.

[Hyzenthlay]

Yumi's limb's were furiously aching. The horse seemed to jolt with every step making her wounds spit or spill blood, she needed to provide both herself and Karasu with first aid and fast. She gathered her breath and, finally, pulled the arrow from her side with her right arm. Her left arm was completely numb and losing blood at an alarming rate, Jiros blow had severed the muscle almost in two making it limp. She had to rely on her left arm to do all the work and her eyesight was becoming hazy.

She felt Karasu's breath on her back, warm against the chill of the wind. The morning sun kissed her lip with a gently orange glow but no heat came with the light. She felt herself get a cold chill and once again a precognition of hardship came at her whilst looking at the town. Nairo's face popped into her head and then back out in a flash. She yawned broadly, putting this vision down to exhaustion. They both may have rested quite sufficiently for any person to be fully alert but both had taken injuries that drained them of it. Yumi found that by the they actually arrived within the town that the only thing on her mind was an inn. It wasn't too long before she found one either, a little shabby place named the "Raising Sun". The tiles of the place were old arched ones, turquoise in colour. The brickwork was scarlet yet it showed signs of aging, moss hung from the edges and most of the cement which held it together was crumbling. To Yumi's eye's, however, this place seemed a dream; what were the chances that anybody would find them in such a ramsacked and miserable place? Chances were that all the lowlifes in the land used this as a rally point, which would provide perfect cover as crooks helped crooks, and soldiers helped soldiers. A universal truth that at this moment warmed Yumi's heart.

Walking inn only confirmed her thoughts. Sat around various oak tables which swam with beer and ash were, bearded men playing cards, young overly dressed women dancing for cash and even as they walked in a fight broke out. Yumi made her way up to a counter carrying the still sleeping Karasu, above it read "rooms and customer relations" Yumi laughed at the latter of the sign and dropped Karasu into a nearby armchair. She was met by a burly gentleman with a whitened, scarred right eye and wild grey hair. He put a large, black haired arm on the counter and looked at her squinting with his damaged eye.

"Names Kurt. How cin I 'elp" he asked, through his accent Yumi could tell he was a westerner. She looked at him through narrowed eyes and then spoke.

"I need a room. 2 beds" she kept her words short and her tone mono. She found it hard enough to breath with a hole in her side as it was without wasting words on an old man.

Yumi had now placed her right hand over the tear from the arrow on her right side to staunch teh bleeding and breathed in with a rasp. The old man looked her up and down before handing over a key, sliding the key across teh desk he then turned and walked away.

"Pay int mornin'" he called back, "11, sharp" Yumi looked down at the small key on the counter, it read '7'. It was strange that the landlord had not asked about her wounds, nor had he even asked a name. Maybe this place truly was full of outlaws.

Yumi grabbed it, looking around to see if anybody was watching. She tugged Karasu's arm upwards and placed it around her neck heaving her up and making her way up the nearby staircase. Carrying Karasu was proving to be harder each step. The wound in her left leg was throbbing wildly and the pain had progressed a thousand fold. She closed her eye's concentrating on her breathing. They were moving at such a slow pace that Yumi thought they may collapse before even reaching the room. She dragged Karasu down the hall with a scraping sound on the carpet that somehow seemed strangely audible above the ruckuss downstairs. Puffs of dust srang from the carpet with each of their motions, looking around it almost looked as if they were in a cellar. Mucky chandeliers hung at an angle from the rotten ceiling and the floorboards creaked angrily at them as the walked.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached room number 7. Yumi gently leant Karasu against the wall next to the door and carefully lowered her down it into a sitting position. She fumbled around for the door key and, upon finding it, slotted it into the lock and turned. The door swung open and Yumi picked up the Crow and guided her to the nearest bed. She let her fall onto it, with her legs hanging from the edge and walked to a small bathroom nearby. Inside she took off her shirt and cloak and began washing her wounds. Her arm stang and leaked fresh blood at first before she tore up a towel and wrapped it around. Her leg took much less time and she didnt feel the need to bandage it. Once it were clean of dirt it seemed to stop bleeding quickly. Next began the more difficult task of stopping the blood which flowed freely from her right side. She used her left arm, which after cleaning had become usable but not strong, to hold up her right breast so that she could dab the wound with the last of the towel. The pain was immense, she had to keep stopping due to the pain making her feel weak and making her hand shoot away as if on it's own. It took her a long time to deal with the bleeding even though the wound was less severe than that of her arm. After an agonising 20 minutes it was finally clean and had clotted nicely. She ripped the right sleeve from her kimono and wrapped it around her waist. She felt herself grow weary but knew she must chack on Karasu first and then she'd go look around to make sure they had not been followed.

She walked into the room and over to the bed which the Crow lay down, passed out due to her injuries. Yumi removed all the old and now blood-soaked bandages from her body and re-did them using the sheet from Yumi's own bed. She used a small flower pot to carry water in from the sink to clean Karasu's wounds again. She felt as if she were 15 again, caring for her 12 year old sister Kaori when she had gotten flu. After the Crow was finely patched again Yumi left some fresh water on the side table, and helped Karasu properly onto the bed before re-clothing and exiting the room. Locking it behind her.

Yumi pulled her hood up over her head to overshadow her face. She intended to snoop around the bar area. If they had been followed, or anybody knew where they were rumours would surely have already started to circulate. She walked down the corridor back to the stairs trying her best not to pay attention to the throbbing pain in her leg. Once downstairs she walked quickly over to the bar and sat on a high stool. The burly landlord trotted over and again leant his arm onto the woodwork.

"Wha'll it bi?" he said, his voice was proud and deep giving him the aura of an ex militant.

"I'll just have an ale" spoke Yumi, she looked over her shoulder and around the bar.

The barman propped up his arm on the bar several seconds later and slid a glass of dark liquid over to her. He held out his left palm,

"Tha'll be 2" he had to shout these words as Yumi was in her own world watching a fight errupt near the door.

Yumi looked at him as though dazed and said aloud,

"Add it to the room" the barman/ landlord "Kurt" nodded and walked away to deal with another customer.

Yumi followed Kurt with her eyes and his next customer, to her astonishment, had a face she knew well. He had tried to conceal himself behind a hood similar to Yumi's but she spotted him straight away, Nairo. She leaned to the side to hear what he said, acting as if she were simply resting on her left arm even though it caused her great pain to do so.

"Wha'll it bi?" spoke Kurt, though his voice had obviously changed. He seemed more concerned now.

In a whisper captain Nairo replied and it was almost impossible to hear but Yumi managed.

"I'm here to meet Kurosawa Jiro-sama"

Kurt took his arm from the bar and crossed them both. He spoke in a gruff, harsh tone and pointed out of the bar.

"Sir, I mus' ask tha' yer leave as yer 'ave obviously already 'ad yer fair share tonigh'. Maybe you'll find more look in the alley!?" Kurt said faking anger. He pointed a short stubby finger towards the door and turned away to talk to another customer.

Nairo looked around and directly at Yumi, luckily not realising what he had seen. He proceeded to get up pretending to wabble clumbsily and staggered away to the front door and out into the street. Yumi took one last swig of her ale and followed. Once outside she walked around the back, keeping to the shadows and minding her footing. She peered around from a corner to see Nairo talking to a man dressed in Seifugun colours. Anger brewed in her, all the past events clicked into place. Including why he had been such a lousy tactician.

The Seifugun soldier held out a small bag of gold. Nairo took it, and walked away in the opposite direction to where Yumi was. She watched him walk away, look in the bag and throw it gleefully between both his palms. The Seifugun tarried a while as Nairo walked away so Yumi took her chance. She ran out as fast as she could and barged the soldier into the dark alley behind him. There she held him up with her strong right arm and withdrew the katana with her left. She couldnt wield the katana well with her left arm in this state, but the soldier didnt know that. She pushed him against a wall by his throat holding the katana down at her side.

"That was Nairo, yes? What did you pay him for? Please answer swiftly, I've had a hard day and I'd rather not waste my time repeating myself!" anger shone through her eye's.

The soldier struggled and choked out words.

"F-for a favour. For a-a f-favo...ghhhhg" Yumi's grip tightened on his neck.

"Don't make me repeat. Answer in full!"

"A-a... ghhgh... favour. He helped take d-down-own a group of Shinseidan that were causing problems. Two wanted assasins w-were involved. Hiii-ggggghhhg-high priority."

Yumi felt her left arm slide the katana into his side and simlpy let him fall to the floor.
The soldier was alive, barely. Yumi walked away back to the inn, her head pounding. The team she had sided with, It was just as the Crow had said, all of them were the same. She now had two primary targets, Jiro and Nairo. What if Nairo's roots ran deeper? What if all the Shinseidans plans were known and thworted by the government? Questions ran round in her head making it impossible to think of anything else.

When she had got back to the room she unlocked the door, walked in and sat on her bed. Karasu, it seemed, was beginning to come round and Yumi had to tell her what she had learned.