Umi Amaterasu,

	Yoritomo Saiyoko strode out onto the deck of her kobune.  The day was at its end, and there were clouds on the horizon.  Saiyoko frowned, "Oh no.  I am not getting rained on today!"
	Seiji turned and looked at her baffled, "Um, how do you plan on doing that?"
	Saiyoko smiled, "I am a Storm Rider.  I drive the storm, not the other way around."  Saiyoko pulled out a handful of scrolls and began chanting.
	Ryuken watched curiously.  "How come the clouds are red but the sunset is yellow?" he asked with concern in his voice.
	Sweat began to form on Saiyoko's brow.  "This... is no... ordinary storm...," Saiyoko gasped, "We must... make for shelter.  I'll... I'll hold it off... 'til then."
	The crew flew into motion turning the boat around swiftly and made a mad race for the shore.  "There should be a cave we can hide in until the storm passes!" the first mate shouted.
	"And how do you know about that?" Seiji asked.
	"We have had to take shelter from more than one storm," the first mate said with a wink.

	Seiji and Ryuken sat and watched as the skies rained blood.  "Well, that isn't normal," Seiji said as he tossed a rock into the water.
	"Blood falling from the sky is not generaly something you see everyday," Ryuken said as he watched red lightening streak down into the water, "I am more worried about where this has come from.  No doubt we will hear about this before too long."
	"Yeah, hopefully Garen will kill us so Naseru can't send us to find whoever caused this," Seiji said darkly.
	"... No, I don't think he'd wait on us.  Though there will most definately be something for us to do when we get back," Ryuken said hopefully.

Kaeru Toshi,

	Tatakai's unit of ronin stood on the frontline of the Lion army.  He observed the Unicorn troop movements with great interest.  Just two days ago he had promised Matsu Nimuro that he would break the Utaku Battlemaidens, for this he would recieve whatever he asked.  He wasn't sure what he was going to ask for, but revelled in the mission itself.  Finally, he would face a truely worthy foe.
	"Tatakai-san, how are we going to stop the Utaku?" one of his troops asked.
	Tatakai furrowed his brow in thought for a moment as he surveyed the field, then he smiled.  "We are going to move to the far edge of the battlefield.  Then, we shall attack that unit of light Shinjo calvary.  We take their horses and charge the battlemaidens in the flank," Tatakai said quietly, "and when we get back I'll buy you all a good round of sake."  The soldiers rejoiced and began to move.
	The Shinjo were not expecting troops at the far flank of the Lion army, in fact it was the reason they were there in the first place.   After a pair of spears killed thier two front riders the unit fell into disarray.  In a flash Tatakai leapt up on a horse and drove his spear through the rider.  The rest of the unit made short work of the horsemen, quickly retrieved their spears and prepared to mount.  Two of the ronin were brutally kicked by the horses as they attempted to get near them.  "I take it that not all of you are experienced riders," Tatakai said with a frown from atop his new horse.  Most of the men nodded.  This would prove to be a greater than anticipated challenge.
	After a few more minutes Tatakai got his troops on horseback and began to rush towards the main lines, losing men all the way, as thier horses bucked them.  However, he and four other ronin had no problems with controling the horses, most likely they had all been Unicorn before fell from grace.  "Five men against the strongest unit in the Unicorn army.  Truely, this is a glorious day," Tatakai said with a mad look on his face.
	Tatakai watched as a unit of slingers parted to allow the Battlemaidens to rush forward.  He smiled as he drove his horse on faster as he raced to intercept them.  The horse, not used to the burden of a man of Tatakai's size, was starting to show signs of exhaustion, then Tatakai leapt from it into the Utaku.
	With one hand clutching the riegns to the horse of the battlemaiden he was now pinning down he began cleaving into the rest of the battlemaidens.  After his four companions caught up with him he finally tossed aside the woman from whom he had taken his newest horse.  His plan was turning out well, the battlemaidens, while feirce, were not terribly used to being charged in the flank by calvary.  Suddenly, in the midst of the melee many of the battlemaidens began screaming in rage and started cutting through thier own comrades to get at Tatakai and his ronin.
	"Damned man!  Get off Shikiko's horse!" one woman screamed as she barreled through her own lines.  Tatakai noticed that the woman's face was rather grotesquely distorted and decided to promptly remove it.  There was a brief pause in the shrieking.  Tatakai looked around him, to find his men all dead and fourteen battlemaidens surrounding him, all drenched in blood and with twisted forms.  He also noticed that the blood was falling from the sky.
	"I am surrounded by madness," Tatakai said grimly.
	"You have worse to worry about then that man," One of the battlemaidens spat through phlemy lips, "I shall happily devour you."  The rest of them hissed in agreement.
	Tatakai smirked, "I do not fear a handful of tainted whores," he said and watched them scream in rage.  A Scorpion he had once fought with had told him, 'that your enemies state of mind in a battle is every bit as important as your own.'  Tatakai found the theory particularily useful against the Crab and Lion.  Today, however, these battlemaidens would do.
	He stabbed the first one to reach him in the gut then flung her into the horses of the group to his right.  Next he cleaved through the spear hafts of the riders on his left.  He felt his horse shudder underneath of himself and in one motion turned and cleaved down the former Utaku who had slain his mount.  "Four down," he said as he leapt at another.

	Before he realized it the rain had stoped and he stood alone amid a pile of dead.  "Someone has robbed me of my worthy foes and replaced them with deranged mockeries.  This I can not forgive," Tatakai spoke as he began his long walk back to Kaeru Toshi.

Nanashi Mura,

	"Such a bleak place," a heavily robed man said as he walked down the main street, "Full of shattered men, full of shattered dreams.  The next few hours should be very interesting."
	The man made his way over to a particularily besheveled inn and sat down with a bottle of sake.  The inn contained a large number of ronin all drinking themselves into a stupor.  The robed man looked at them until he found one of interest, stood up and walked over.  "Do you mind if I drink with you?"  The ronin looked up, eyes bleary from opium and made a short grunt.  The robed man decided that this meant 'no' and he sat down.  "Tell me, do you know where I can find a man known as Kosai?  He was involved in a revolt in Crane lands a month ago," the robed man said as he filled the ronin's cup.
	"Ko.. sai," the man said in a daze, "He... stays upstairs..."
	The robed man placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "Thank you."
	Upstairs the robed man found Kosai, in the midst of a room full of tattered papers and broken furniture, staring out the window.  "I think you need to do something," the man said.
	Kosai turned and glared at him, "And who are you to tell me what I should do?"
	"Please Kosai-san.  I am here to offer you what you want.  Revenge," the man sat down and placed a package to his left.  "That is what you want isn't it?  Revenge on the Empire for crushing your master and his dream.  Revenge on the ones who cut him down.  Revenge on the world for reducing you to," he paused for a moment a gestured about the room, "To this."
	Kosai sat and thought about this for a long moment.  The man began to remove some of the wrappings that covered him.  A scream echoed from outside, "Ah, it begins," the man said with a wistful smile.
	Kosai looked at him harshly, "What do you mean?"
	"The begining of a new era.  I offer you a chance to be a part of it," the man said offering Kosai the package, "All you have to do is take it and vengence shall be in your grasp."
	Kosai paused for only a moment, then took the package and unwrapped it.  His eyes opened wide.  "Is this what I think it is?" Kosai asked in awe.
	"Of course, to my master aquiring such a thing is a small matter.  Now let us go to the window and see what is to be seen."  Outside the village had been overrun, no its own residents were attacking each other.
	"What is going on?" Kosai asked.
	"This rain is brings out the worst in those it falls on.  With my help you should be able to turn this rabble into an army.  If you choose to join with us," the man smiled.
	Kosai shoved his new sword into his obi.  "So who do I have to thank for this?"
	"My master would prefer it if you did not know his name.  I can give you my name, I am Mohai," Mohai said as his smile widened from ear to ear.
	"Very well then, Mohai-san.  Today I shall create an army to surpass all others.  Today I shall create an Army of Revenge."