Ryoko Owari, the city of stories, seedy heart of the empire.  The sort of place where men like me and Narazu 
are comfortable.  Our excursion into the Phoenix lands caused us to miss Naseru and Kaneka's little tiff.  Not that I 
care what they do, let them trash the whole empire for all I care.  I will survive, always have, always will.
	That, however has very little to do with what I was trying to say.  When me and Narazu returned we were 
quickly informed that a powerful merchant was looking for us, for a job.  Me and Narazu hadn't done any mercenary work
since that fiasco with the Yasuki, however Narazu wanted to do it.  Make some 'honest' money for a change.  The man's 
head was in the clouds.  Ayame was still with us, dispite my constant warnings that it would only lead to trouble.  So 
Narazu wanted to go earn some mercenary money.
	The job was essentially bodyguard work, which normally I would not go anywhere near, but like I said Narazu wasn't all there.  Merchants hire ronin guards for one of three reasons: One, they aren't worth thier patron's time.  Two, 
thier patron already considers them dead and will not waste the troops.  And Three, they have angered thier patrons and 
now must defend themselves.  Any of the above is not my ideal job.  Even when he offers me three times the bounty on my 
head.
	Next day off we go to hear out the job orders.  Turns out our employer had been a very naughty merchant; 
running opium dens, extortion rackets, and the like all under the counter so his samurai patrons get none of it.  A group of
samurai had found out and they wanted a very large cut.  He refused and now the samurai are planing to follow thier 
threat through.  If they were his patrons or not?  I am not sure.  What I do know is that they had this merchant scared.  
Scared enough to hire fourteen ronin.
	He broke us down into groups.  Eight were refered to as 'the guards', they were all young inexperienced ronin.  
Three more were called 'the hunters', they were young ronin with something to prove, if one of them survived this job
they were lucky.  Finally, there was myself, Narazu and a grizzled old ronin, we were called 'the talons'.  Never got the 
point of the naming patern, I guess the merchant just wasn't that poetic or something.  Anyway, us 'talons' had to pick up 
everyone elses slack.
	The samurai were coming this evening, I was never informed the clan of the samurai.  The guards were busy joking between the group of them.  Narazu and my self were busy making full use of the merchants kitchen.  Free food is my favourite type.  The old ronin was somewhere on the grounds, hopefully not making off with the best stuff while we ate.  "We should go make off with some wall hangings," I said looking around the room.
	"You think so?" Narazu said.
	"Of course.  Personally I'm quite taken with this," I said pointing at a particularly lewd picture of a geisha.
	Narazu looked at it, "Tell me your joking."
	"I'm not sure.  Look at the text..." I was interrupted by the sound of a man dying.
	"They came early!" Narazu said indignantly.
	The two of us rushed to where the cry had come from to find six men dressed in Scorpion armour standing over the body of one of the ronin.  "Oh, look Takeji there are more of them," one Scorpion said with a sneer, "I think its time we dealt with this trash."  The Scorpions rushed at us.  The lead one got a knife to the throat.  This lead the remaining five to decide that Narazu was a major threat.  I easily killed two of them who didn't pay me any mind.
	I heard the sound of combat on the other side of the compound, "Narazu!  Can you hold these three off?"
	Narazu responded by burrying an aiguchi into one bushi's face.  I ran across the compound as fast as I could.  I found the old ronin facing off against a Scorpion bushi, three more bushi lay dead on the ground along with the other two 'hunters'.  "Old man are you all right?" I said.
	"Now that you're here?  I'm perfect," he sliced down the Scorpion and turned to face me.  He no longer looked like an old ronin.  He looked like a ninja.  "I have hunted you for four years now, waiting for the moment to be perfect.  Today Shosuro Tensai, you die."  He sheathed his katana and drew another sword with a chain attached to the bottom.
	"You are going to kill me with that?" I asked skeptically.
	He began whirling the chain around his head, "As I recall you lost your last sword to a jitte.  You are hardly one to be gloating," he said casually.  Then he snapped the chain at my head.  I dodged but the wieght at the end smashed a wooden post to splinters.
	He hauled the chain back with a flick of his wrist and returned to whirling it over his head.  I rushed at him hoping to catch him off guard.  He threw his chain at me.  I moved to one side then he snaped his wrist and his chain wrenched my sword from my hands.  "I think you can live without this, yes?" he said.
	"I've faced worse."
	"Of course you have," he laughed and threw his sword at me.  I tried to step aside but he whiped the chain towards me.  I clutched my arm as he hauled his sword back.
	I drew my wakizashi and ran at him once more.  Again his sword came flying at me, I leapt aside dodging it.  He smirked, then snapped the end of his chain onto his katana, unsheathed it and came at me spinning a chain with a sword at each end.  I dodged one blade and the other sliced into my leg.  His attacks were unpredictable, not suprising given what he was fighting with.  He sliced me repeatedly before I managed to get out of range of his blades.
	He caught both swords and looked at me sadly, "Not quite what your used to I see.  I've noticed that you're a bit lacking when it comes to mid-ranged combat.  Up close nothing touches you, you can even deal with the extra reach of a polearm.  At long range attacking you is pointless, you'll have moved aside before the attack arrives.  But at mid-range you're to busy closing in."
	I looked at my katana, it was about six feet from where I stood.  Unfortunately, he'd chop my head off before I got to it.  Only one thing left to do; run.  I flung myself backwards and ran for the nearest door.  Then it exploded.  I fell with splinters driven through my shoulder.
	"I thought you might try that," he said walking towards me.
	"You missed something," I said standing up.
	"Oh?"
	"This," I pulled out my katana engulfed in flame then I charged him leting out a blood thirsty kiai shout.  He tried to catch me with his blade but I nocked it aside.  A blast of fire erupted as I landed my blow.

	Narazu finished off the last of the Scorpion bushi.  "He couldn't have been that afraid of these weaklings," Narazu said retreiving his knives.
	"Very true," replied a voice from behind him.
	"I take it that you are the major threat?" Narazu asked turning around.  A woman dressed in a form fitting gi stood glaring at him, a scroll clutched in one hand.  Narazu threw a pair of knives at her, only to watch them be knocked aside mid-air.  "Oh just what I needed; a shugenja," Narazu said with a sigh.
	She raised her hands above her head and started to chant.  The tree she stood upon shook with the power of her spell.  Narazu pulled out a pair of knives and rushed towards her.  A gout of fire erupted from the shugenja's hands and blasted Narazu.  As Narazu was flung back he snapped both his knives into the shugenja, forcing her to fall.
	"How dare you!" the shugenja screamed.
	"It's not too hard.  It isn't like you were casting a powerful spell."  Narazu said as he stood scorched and his armour fully visable, "So, are you ready to get serious?  Or am I going to have to kill you first?" Narazu said with a malicious gleam in his eyes.
	The shugenja let out a howl and began to flicker in and out of visibility.  Narazu grimaced, looking back and forth as she approached.  Suddenly a tendril of darkness slashed up from the ground cutting deep into Narazu's leg.  The shugenja let out a howling laugh in glee, "Is this serious enough for you, ronin?" she mocked, "Or Am I going to have to kill you first?"
	Narazu rushed while she laughed and caught her in the throat with a tanto.  She looked down in shocked horror and then laughed, "Was that supposed to hurt?"  With a motion of her hand she flung him aside.
	"I see.  A ninja, is it?" Narazu said fighting to stand up.  A shout ripped across from the grounds.
	"Your friend is dead," the woman said moving menacingly towards Narazu.
	"Look behind you," Narazu said as he finally planted both feet on the ground.
	"I think I'd rather leave you battered and broken first," she said motioning her hand towards him.  A blast of air tore towards Narazu ripping apart the ground and upon impact sent Narazu flying, a visceral heap of blood, flesh and armour.
	"I suppose I'll see what he was on about," she mused as she turned.  Then her face paled, "How are you alive!"
	I walked towards her, rejuvenated from my battle with the old ninja.  My katana was not noticable for the gout of flames which now sheathed it.  I smiled, she was afraid.  An afraid opponent is good, they are too busy worrying about how weak they are to think about the fight at hand.
	She wove her hands in front of herself and a cascade of fire came forth.  Like I said afraid opponents are too busy worrying to fight back properly.  Fire doesn't do a whole lot to fire.  So I rushed at her, using the great blaze in my hand to slash at her.  She was pretty dodgy too, it took me three good swings to catch her.  Unfortunately for her flames do a great deal to shadows.