In the early morning a small caravan happened to be trekking across a narrow stretch of road bordered on each side by dense forest. It was a sunny morning, the birds were chirping merrily in the trees and the caravan was making good time. They had just rounded a corner when a voice broke the serenity of the forest: "Alright. That's plenty far enough. Stop where you are, leave the goods and no one dies." "You think you scare us! You cowardly bandit sho--" the head guard shouted, but was cut short as a knife appeared in his throat. As the head guard fell to the ground clutching his wound a man came out of the forest. "Okay, let me repeat what my comrade has said: If you all drop your weapons and run, you do not die." The man paused momentarily. "That's a good deal, right?" He waited for them to respond and when they did not he continued, "Right? Ah, you're going to make me kill you, aren't you? I didn't want to, it being a nice day and all; But if you insist..." he took a step forward, loosening his katana and leering at the caravan guards. The guards braced themselves and looked at one another, then at their dying captain, then at their employer, and finally at their foe. Those at the back fell out of their stance and prepared to run. Those nearest the front swallowed hard, preparing to die. The man took another step forward, unsheathing his blade to a half. The men at the rear faltered and, dropping their spears, fled. Now there were only 3 guards left. The head merchant began to scream at the fleeing guards, calling them cowards and worse. The man made one more step, very swift, his sword came out the last of its sheath and beheaded the frontmost guard in one swift stroke. He never realized he'd been hit. The other two guards dropped with knives protruding from them at various points. "Oh well, best off diving right in!" the man yelled as he rushed into the group of merchants, cutting them down left and right. ******** "Well Akunin, that went well," Narazu piped up as he emerged from the trees, "Anything good in there?" "Hmm, let's see." Akunin began digging through the boxes. "Seems to have been a silk merchant, a woodworker and... Hey look," Akunin yelled excitedly, pulling something from a box. "Leather! Must have been headed to the Unicorn. We could have some fun with this if we were near the Crane." "Yeah, that would be fun. Remember when we jumped that Crane courtier and wrapped him in the stuff!" Narazu laughed. "Oh yeah! We left him on the steps to the Daimyo's castle with a note 'To: The Crane.' I think he ended up committing seppuku," Akunin responded. "So we taking this to Ryoko Owari to sell it?" "Probably, at least we might be able to sell the leather there." ******** "So, how did you get a hold of all this Akunin?" the old merchant asked looking through all the boxes, "Or should I know better than to ask that?" "As always," Akunin replied leaning up against a wall looking half asleep. "Hmm, 150 koku for the lot. The silks are in poor shape and it looks like the best of them are missing. Some of the woodwork is damaged, and who do you expect ME to sell the leather to?" Akunin opened a single eye to look at him, "No tricks, merchant. I know three others who will pay twice that easily." "Of course, I forget who I deal with. 270 koku," the old man smiled. "It is acceptable," Akunin said standing up, "Have it ready for me for this evening." At that Akunin left. ******** "270," Akunin said upon meeting up with Narazu just outside of the warehouse. "Not bad for a morning's work. What should we do as an encore?" "I don't know. What I do know is we should find out the magistrate situation in the city at the moment." "You mean we're going to talk to Chibusa," Narazu said with a frown. "I don't like Chibusa." "I know," Akunin replied smugly, "That's why *I'll* talk to her." "That's worse." ******** Akunin and Narazu walked into the restaurant. "I think I'll go pay Ojii-chan a visit," Narazu said, heading down a side door. Akunin continued along towards the reception area when a group of women saw him. "Oh look, it's Akunin!" One woman scurried over to Akunin latching on to him, "What brings you here Akunin? You're always so busy off on the road, you never stop by." "Sorry , but I'm here looking for Chibusa. I need to talk to her," Akunin said, prying loose of the woman. "Aw. I never get to have any fun," the woman pouted. "Chibusa is up in the office." "Thanks." Akunin walked through the room and up a set of stairs. Opening the door Akunin said loudly, "Oi, Chibusa! It's Akunin! I need to talk to you!" An attractive woman sat in the room by a mirror glaring at Akunin from behind her fan, "You needn't be so loud. What is it you need to talk to me about?" she asked, raising a perfect eyebrow. "It isn't another of your schemes, is it? The last time I helped you with one of those you nearly married me to a--" Akunin cut her off, "No, nothing so grandiose. I just want to know the current magistrate situation in the city, given how often it changes." "Oh, that's all. You really got my hopes up; I thought you were here for something serious," she said, closing her fan and revealing her pretty face. Akunin moved in closer, "I could if you really want me to." "No, that's alright," she said, snapping her fan back open in his face. "There are several groups of magistrates currently in the city. There's Katai, to whom you are already well acquainted, a group of Unicorns, mostly Utaku I believe, and then there is a Crane, I believe he is here with the court." "So Katai, big deal, some battlemadiens, which might be fun, and a courtier, I think I should be more worried of Keiko. I think we can stay in town awhile." "So, you pissed of Keiko again did you?" Chibusa laughed, "You really should be more careful, Akunin - I think she actually likes you." "That's what makes me worried," Akunin replied with a smile. "So let's get some sake - it is a good day." ******** "Ojii-chan, how's it going?" Narazu said approaching an old man sitting in a booth. Smoke filled the air. "That's the problem with you young people, no respect," Ojii said pulling his pipe from his mouth, "I hope you're here to smoke, otherwise I might have to beat you senseless." "That's the problem with you old guys. I'm never sure when you're joking," Narazu chided. "Is the current batch any good?" "Its passable. Tell you what - if you can beat me at a game, I'll let you have some of my personal supply." "I'll take my chances with the current batch. You'd probably just cheat me anyways," Narazu said, taking out his pipe. "What's new in the underworld?" "How much you got?" Narazu smiled, "How does 10 koku sound to you?" "Pretty good. Alright, recently with the arrival of the court and the rise of the Shadowed Tower..." "The what?" "The Shadowed Tower. It's some strange Scorpion sub-sect. They have some opium dens and the like. A decent piece of the pie by my understanding. The Scorpion seem hesitant to let any information loose, something about it being an internal affair." Ojii seemed rather agitated, "I'm trying to get more information, but you know how it is. Anyhow, the court has caused some changes in the crime scene; Firstly, assassins and ronin have found it quite easy to get employment in town. Secondly, opium sales have gone up, much to my own pleasure. Thirdly, theft has gone way down. Too many Samurai about to allow such things. Fortunately, my extortion rackets haven't been hurt." "Got your fingers in a bit of everything, don't you?" "An old man has to keep busy somehow," Ojii said with a roguish smirk. "How is that scoundrel you travel with? I don't see him with you." "Akunin? He's upstairs looking into the amount of heat in the city." "Ah, Chibusa-chan, ne?" Ojii said smiling, "or is it some other girl. Ah, the joys of youth." "You're both idiots," Narazu said lighting his pipe, "I hope you know that." ******** Narazu sat out front until Akunin came out, which wasn't as long as he'd figured. "What, the whore not have a time free? I expected to be out here a good hour more," Narazu said gruffly. "Not as large a opening as I'd hoped. I got the Information we wanted, though." "Oh yeah. Me and Ojii-chan had a talk while I waited. Some interesting stuff came up. But let's hear what you got first." "Fair enough. Katai, some Utaku and a Crane courtier are the magistrates in town. I seriously doubt the Crane will do anything. Katai might be a problem if we draw too much attention and I'm not sure about the Unicorn." "Sounds good to me. The court's arrival has shifted the pace of the entire crime scene. Apparently theft is way down." "Theft down! The very idea! We must put an stop to this!" Akunin faked. "Opium and ronin work has gone up. Also, the Scorpion have some odd sub-sect mucking around with the underworld." "Hmm, that is interesting," Akunin said thoughtfully, "Anything else about this sub-sect?" "They call themselves the Shadowed Tower. That's about it." Akunin stopped for a moment. "Hmm, I think I'll look into this. You should go ahead to the house." Saying this, Akunin turned and was gone. Narazu could only shake his head and sigh. ******** Akunin slowly moved his way across the rafters of the building. After reaching his destination he hooked his legs around the beam and swung himself down. The person in the otherwise empty booth brought his sword out with a start. "Oh, it's you," the man said, sheathing his katana, "How did you find out I was here?" "It's quite easy to find one of the Lieutenants of the Commander of the First Legion when he's in town. That is why I always liked to maintain a low profile," Akunin said with a smile as he flipped down from the beam. "I need to talk to you about something." "It must be important if you are asking me. As I recall, you were the one who left the clan. Akunin, that is what you call yourself now?" "Yes." "An interesting choice given that you were expected to be some great hero," the man said with a quiet laugh. "What I did was my choice," Akunin said sharply. "I want information on the Shadowed Tower. I hear they have something to do with the Scorpion and I can't find out much more. I don't like that." "You ask what I can not give you. Listen, Yojiro-sama himself told me not to tell anyone," the man said. "You do know something," Akunin said in a harsh whisper, "I need that information." "Alright Akunin, since we go way back, I'll give you this one time chance. There are some people I need eliminated. If you can take them out, I'll give you the information... If not well..." the man said with a smirk. "Where do I find them." ******** Akunin arrived at the clearing about an hour before his foes were supposed to show up. You can never be too sure about some things. He leaned against a tree chewing on a birch sprig, savouring the minty taste. Eventually, a trio of mis-happenly armoured bushi walked into the clearing. Adjusting his bandana, Akunin moved towards them. "Congratulations. You three have some enemies in high places. Prepare yourselves for the afterlife." The tallest one strode forward, "I'll handle him, go ahead." The other two began to walk forward. The tall one pulled loose a tetsubo and swung it a few times in a sweeping pattern, "Listen buddy, I don't know who sent you but I am Dopu the Crusher!" "Sure, whatever," Akunin said. Dopu took one massive swipe at Akunin, which he evaded with a ducking run. Akunin released his katana in one swift iaijutsu strike as he unfolded himself from his crouch, cleaving Dopu's head off. Using his momentum planted both feet firmly on Dopu's torso and gave a strong kick vaulting him towards his retreating foes. Akunin landed directly in front of his targets. Akunin took a moment to assess them as they reacted to the death of their comrade. One had two short swords hanging from his hips. The other carried a katana but no wakizashi. Neither of them had anything resembling a clan marking on them. "I'm next and I assure you I'll be more trouble than Dopu," the one with two swords said drawing them both. Akunin said nothing. The man fell into a stance similar to Narazu's knife fighting stance, both blades held parallel to his forearms, left foot and arm forward. The man rushed forward slashing with his right sword. Akunin dodged it and parried the left blade with his saya. "Mantis tricks will not get you far," Akunin said adopting his opponent's stance using his katana and a saya. "We'll see about that!" the man yelled rushing at Akunin as before. Akunin smacked his opponent's left wrist hard enough to make him drop his sword with his saya, then pivoted on his toes wheeling his katana clean through the ronin. The man's upper torso hit the ground with a disgusting plop. Akunin snapped the blood from his katana. "You ready now?" Akunin said mockingly towards the last ronin. "I guess I'll have to deal with you myself," the ronin said in a feminine voice, stepping into an iaijutsu stance. "Heh, a woman, huh? Let us see if you are half as good as you think you are," Akunin scuffed, sheathing his katana. The two eyed each other down. An eternity seemed to pass by as they waited to see who would flinch first. Then finally the woman blinked. In a flash both swords were drawn and both warriors lunged at each other. Akunin spun around and realized he'd been cut on the arm. His opponent seemed similarly wounded. "A Kakita? No, not quite. Crudely trained at the least, the movement was too sloppy," Akunin said, glaring at the woman, "But you are good, I will give you that. I think I will need to stop holding back against you. I should have expected as much from Peneki," Akunin smiled intimidatingly. He snapped his katana out perpendicular to his body as flames rushed out, wreathing the blade. The woman's head hit the ground, the look of astonishment still on her face. ******** "Akunin! There you are!" Narazu shouted as he ran down the street after him. "Huh? What is it?" Akunin stopped. "I got the money from the old merchant. What are you up to?" Narazu said as he arrived, "And why do you have a bag over your shoulder?" "This?" Akunin said looking at the bag, "This is what I've been doing. I'll be back in a moment." "Okay. Where exactly are we going?" "Over there," Akunin said pointing at a small building. ******** "Greetings Akunin," Paneki said, Akunin walked up to him and placed the bag on the ground in front of him. "I take it this is what I wanted." "Of course," Akunin said with a smile, "Look in and see for yourself." "Later. For the moment there is something I want to show you." The two of them stepped out on to the street. Akunin looked around suspiciously. "What is it, Paneki?" "Over there," Paneki said pointing. Akunin obliged him by walking towards where Paneki had pointed, stopped, turned and yelled, "Paneki! I'll get you for this! Narazu we're leaving *now*!" Akunin began to run from the four horsewomen who chased after him.