Two years after the Clan War,
A young boy limped down the alley. His clothes were worn and dirty and his leg stung from the blow his boss had given him. He was taking a bag of garbage to be thrown out when he noticed two men at the far end of the alley. The boy moved up closer trying not to be seen.
A spurt of blood covered the boy. One of the men had sliced the other in two. Now he turned and stared the boy straight in the eye. "What's the matter? Why don't you run?"
The boy paused and thought a moment unsure why. "I... I couldn't outrun you," he hesitantly responded.
"Oh is that all? Hmm, Tell me boy are you a peasant?"
"Ah.. well.. My.. my father was a ronin, though... he was more of a bandit than a samurai..." the boy answered.
"I see you said that your father was a bandit. I take it he's dead. Who takes care of you now?"
"Takagure-sama. He was an associate of my father's. He.. he leads a small jizumai."
"I see. I shall find you again boy. However, if you mention this to anyone I shall see your blood cover these streets," the man said then slipped away into the shadows of the alleyway.
The White Lotus, headquarters of the Takagure jizumai...
"Where's Heito's runt?" one of the ronin asked.
"He should be back by now. Useless kid. Nearly as useless as his father!" another ronin said angrily between cups of sake.
"You're right Takagure, we should teach him a lesson when he gets back here," a third ronin shouted.
The boy's arrival through the door was announced by a series of loud gasps from the restuarant. His kimono was dripping blood. Takagure immediately stood up in a drunken rage and shouted, "Idiot! Don't drip blood all over the tatami!"
Takagure charged forward to strike the boy. His strike never landed.
A chain flew out of the sleave of one of the men in the room hitting Takagure squarely in the chest and sending him flying. With a single motion the chain returned to the man's sleave. "Do not hit the boy, you will regret it," the man threatened.
The twelve ronin in the room stood up and drew their weapons. "What the hell does the kid mean to you!?" Takagure said coming to his feet, "He is a payment for his father's debts! He is mine!"
"I prepose a trade then, your life for the boy." the man said standing. Takagure took a step back, the man was dressed in a fine black kimono which hung loosely off his shoulders and a pair of hakama. His hair was long and seemed to have a sheen of red, as though it had been stained with blood. And his eyes... cold emotionless red eyes, they bore through him as if he was nothing.
"What the hell are you going to do with him?!" Takagure shouted in fear.
"He has potential. Now step aside or die by my blade."
"Rrrr. Get him!" Takagure yelled. His men rushed forward. The man drew his sword and casually danced past all the ronin's attacks. Slicing off their sword hands as he went. Takagure stammered in terror.
"I suppose you all wasted your time during the war attacking isolated caravans and the like. I could have spent a week and taught the boy how to kill the likes of you," the man said with a laugh.
"Who the hell are you!?" Takagure said turning to run.
Takagure stared the man in the face and felt the man's sword now buried into his gut. "Among scum such as yourself I am known as the Shinegami. Take some satisfaction in the fact that you have been killed by a legend," the man said as he turned his blade and sliced up and through Takagure's skull.
The boy sat motionless as he watched the entire battle take place. Stunned at the speed the man moved and how effortlessly he defeated the entire jizumai. "Boy, come along. There is much to do," the man said as he left the room. The boy followed him.
The Dragon mountains...
"Hitomi Fumae stop right there," a large tattooed man said full of menace.
Hitomi Fumae, a muscular shirtless monk with a tattoo of the most venomous spider in the Shinomen forest tattooed on the back of his head, turned with a lear. "Jurai if you are planning on bringing me to Kagetora-sama for that murder, I suggest you leave now," Fumae threatened.
"You'll need more than just a spider tattoo to defeat me Fumae."
"Its all I need," Fumae said as he lunged at Jurai.
Jurai took the blow without even flinching, "Can I hit now?" Jurai's fist smashed down into Fumae flinging him across the room. "So who only needs one... gurk," Jurai swaggered backwards sweat covering him, "What the hell... did you do?"
"I need only one tattoo, Jurai," Fumae sneered as green sweat began to trickle down his face, "Because I mastered it."
Three weeks later, Ox lands...
"Fumae-san we are most interested in your services, especially since your term with they Dragon is now at an end," Master Lotus said handing Fumae a brand.
"Thank you, but your brand most likely will be unuseable after I use it," Fumae said.
"You have your poison skin at full strength? If I did not know better Fumae I'd think you were trying to kill me."
"Only if you decide to do the same to me," Fumae said with a smile, "Not onlike the three men you have in the rafters."
"Of course, one can never be to careful when dealing with assassins, no?"