Koji and Rei climbed off the boat, their feet had barely cleared the boat before the Hattori sisters were desperately pushing the boat back out to sea. Koji and Rei watched as the boat slowly became a speck on the horizon. " I hope they'll come back" said Rei, " I don't think I can swim that far."
" Those don't make you float better?" asked Koji, teasing away his fear.
" Nope" said Rei, the light atmosphere was masking her fear as well, " they kind drag you down."
" Hm, always thought you'd float" said Koji.
They both turned and looked at the island, even the air was thick with an air of danger. It was more powerful than any dark smoke filled Yakuza gambling den. They slowly climbed up the beach to the small sand dune that separated the beach from the rest of the island.
There stood the manor house, it wasn't exactly hard to miss. It was the only structure on the island. But looking at the aged structure it was appeared that it didn't have much time left.
The elements had beaten and battered the structure, the roof was collapsed in several places, walls were crumbling, the entire place looked ready to fall over with the first good wind.

The pair started over the dune for the manor house, if Shuuya was anywhere it was in there. They had almost crested the dune when a loud crack echoed across the island, upsetting the gulls that were nesting in the tall grass. Both Koji and Rei ducked back down behind the dune to avoid being shot at anymore as a massive wave of gulls took flight covering the area in shade as they flew past the sun. " I think it is safe to say he is in there" said Rei, " any ideas?"
" It's just him" said Koji, " go left, I'll go right and we'll come at the house from two separate directions."
It wasn't much of a plan but Rei didn't have any other ideas. She nodded as another crack echoed across the island and a small plum of sand leapt into the air above their heads. " Good luck" said Rei.
The pair crawled off in opposite directions, they were completely covered by the large dune but every time the gun would fire they both would duck. They rounded the dune and were soon out of each other sight.

Rei found the going to be easy, almost too easy. Once she rounded the side of the dune she found herself in deep grass that complete hid her from sight. She would occasionally stop and peer through the grass to make sure she was getting closer to the manor and not further away. She slowly crawled deeper through the grass until she was almost at the manor. Now only a narrow strip of open ground lay between her and the manor. It didn't look all that far but Rei knew that Shuuya could just be waiting for her. She knew nothing about guns, aside from the fact that they were illegal in Itten, she had no idea how far they could shoot.
Rei was almost ready to lay down in the grass and think it over when she heard another gunshot crack through the air. It wasn't close to her, it must have been on the other side of the manor she thought. She knew if she didn't get inside Koji would get into trouble.
Rei took a deep breath and pushed off from the ground. She sprinted as fast as she could towards the manor, straight for a doorway that had long since lost its door. Rei crossed the threshold of the manor and felt the thrill of surviving the run surge through her veins. She carefully drew her daggers out and began to search the manor.

Koji lay in the grass waiting for the other sandal to drop. He had neared the manor and was shot at. It was only the hand of divine intervention that the bullet missed. Now Koji was waiting for the next shot. Koji hated guns, he had only seen two in his entire life, both times were never good situations, and now he could add one more to that list. He knew there was a reason why these weapons were outlawed. He would much rather go toe to toe with this guy with a sword, there was at least an even chance there.
Time passed and still there was no shot, Koji started to get itchy and moved. The grass rustled and there came a second shot. It split through the grass, slicing the grass into a shower of green blades.

Rei turned the corner and saw Shuuya, she reacted and charged. She surprised him and he got his rifle caught in the narrow hallway. Rei smiled, she had his ass.
Then her plan went totally awry. As she charged down the hall she heard a great crackle as the floor gave way under her feet. She fell through the ancient floor and crashed into the dirt below. She covered her head as she listened to the entire structure groan loud like it was all going to come crashing down on her head.

Shuuya grinned as he watched the section of hallway crumble around the girl. He knew there was only one opponent left. He would be able to deal with him with no problem. He rounded the corner to where he had the other simpleton pinned down in the grass and was shocked to see him in the room. He casually made his way back into the room and got the shock of his life.

Koji swept into the room his sword held high. The man by the open doorway and looked at Koji, in his hand he held a black rifle, smoke curling from the tip. Koji couldn't believe this was really Shuuya, the terror they had been hounding for so long.
He was sickly thin, Koji could see his sternum and ribs clearly through his skin. His eyes were sunken into his head and his hair was parse and thin on top of his head. His arms were thinner than his rifle, how he held the weapon and used it so ably probably had something to do with the large golden medallion that he wore around his thin neck. Shuuya snarled at Koji, " You, you ruined my revenge."
He reached down to cock his rifle and Koji made his move. He swept across the room and struck with his sword. Shuuya moved fast, almost too fast for Koji to track. His sword sliced through empty air as Shuuya laughed.

Rei heard the laughing and sounds of a fight coming from the next room. She looked up at the wreckage of the house that was over the top of her hole, it didn't look too heavy, all she had to do was push a bit and she could probably squeeze through a hole. Rei sheathed her daggers and gave the structure a push. It groaned a bit and plaster rained down on her head but it was moving. Rei heard another blow strike flesh and a groan, she wasn't sure if it was Koji or Shuuya but somebody was getting the bad end of a fight.

Shuuya hit Koji with the butt of his rifle, for being as thin and sickly looking as he was Shuuya packed quiet a mean punch. Koji stumbled back slashing with his sword in a blind attempt to get lucky. Finally after several fail attempts he caught Shuuya. The tip of the blade slashed across Shuuya's chest, the top bouncing off each prominent rib. Shuuya didn't make a noise and struck Koji with the rifle butt again. He kicked Koji in the leg and made him use his sword as a crux. Another swinging blow from the rifle and Koji's sword flew across the room disappearing in the great heaps of dust.
Koji staggered, and spit a mouthful of blood on the floor. " No one can stop me" crowed Shuuya, the gash in his chest neither bleeding nor causing him any harm.
Shuuya raised his rifle and pushed the barrel into Koji's chest. Koji stumbled back and as he put his weigh on his left foot he heard a great crackle. The floor under his foot gave way and he found himself stumbled back towards the floor. Koji instinctively reached for anything to avert his fall. He grabbed the rifle with his right hand, the heat of the barrel burned his hand and made him release it quickly. The left hand reached out and grasped on something cold. He gripped it and tried to pull himself up but he heard a soft metallic click and found himself falling fast. Koji stumbled into a gap in the floor and hit the ground hard. His head bounced off the dirt and his vision was obscured by a great flash of white. He expected the next thing he would feel was one of those foul bullets ripping into his flesh and then the pain of death.
Koji expected to be upset, worried, scared, anything about his impending death, but all he felt was a vague calm. Koji guessed this was it felt like to die.

In an instant the world rushed back at Koji and he opened his eyes. He sat up and saw Shuuya on all fours screaming in great pain. Koji was confused, his strikes hadn't caused Shuuya any concern before and didn't remember hitting him since he lost his sword.
Koji watched as Shuuya's sickly pale skin began to become darker and darker until it had turned grey. Between his screams and desperate gasps for air his teeth were falling on the floor at first one at a time, then in groups of two and three. His thin hair had fallen off like a shower of fall leaves from a tree after being struck with an axe. He let off a long howl, his eyes sinking ever deeper into his skull until they disappeared and all that remained were two voids. " I HAVE FAILED!" he managed to curse at the sky which shown bright through the hole in the ceiling, " I curse you."
Shuuya dropped, his limbs no longer able to keep him up. As he hit the floor he kicked up a great cloud of thick grey dust that stank of foul decay and he was silent.

Rei stumbled into the room, finally she had freed herself from the wreckage that Shuuya had trapped her in. She looked at Koji laying in a hole in the floor looking like he'd been on the wrong end of the fight. Rei had expected to find Shuuya in the crumpled heap, not Koji. " What happened?" asked Rei coughing at the stench in the room, " where is Shuuya?"
Koji pointed to the cloud of dust. Rei pulled Koji from the hole and the pair cautiously approached. The cloud cleared as a fresh summer breeze traveled through the room cleansing it of the foul odor. There on the floor was a rotten, blackened skeleton clutching the rifle. Its empty socket and open mouth seemed to carry decades of anger in them still. Rei was at a loss for words, she wasn't able to figure out what had happened. The skeleton looked to be ancient, could have Shuuya preformed so sort of trick and put the skeleton in his kimono before fleeing, but why leave the rifle and his bag behind. It was then Koji realized what he was holding, he was holding Shuuya's medallion.
It took three long explanations from Koji about every detail of their fight. Koji himself wasn't fully sure if what had happened was true, it seemed so impossible to him now that he was retelling it and not living it. He gave the medallion to Rei and let her look at it as he went in search of his sword.

Their set the manor ablaze and left it to burn. They wanted the fire to consume Shuuya, and his infernal rifle. Neither wanted to leave anything to chance, it was best to burn it all to make sure nothing came back.

" You have any idea what that thing is?" asked Koji, as he nursed his jaw.
Rei shrugged, all her thoughts were on the strange medallion. It was written in a strange language, possibly the language of the peoples that lived across the Sea of Storms. The medallion was a large, heavy gold disc, writing circled the raised edge and there was a picture of some sort of demonic creature in the middle. The medallion had a cold sting of evil on it, Rei was amazed by how powerful it felt.
Koji poked Rei in the side to take her attention from the medallion. " Any ideas on what it is?" he asked.
" Got me" said Rei, " but it is certainly powerful."
" And golden" said Koji, " imagine how much we can get for that."
" I can" said Rei.
She stood up and hurled the ocean. Koji's very sore jaw dropped as he watched the solid gold medallion skip three times across the water and disappear beneath the waves. " Huh?" asked Koji, staring in shock.
Rei sat back down, " Why?" he asked.
" That was nothing but trouble" said Rei, sitting back down, " we'll let the fish worry about that."
" But... but... it was gold" said Koji.
" Don't worry" said Rei, " we will have plenty of opportunity to get more once we get back to land."
Koji nodded, " But I get 70 percent of the next job" he said.
" What?" asked Rei, " no way, 60."
" You tossed that medallion in the water" said Koji, " I could have sold that for a fortune."
" Yah, before or after you became some sort of crazy terror?"
Koji had to admit she was right, for a partner he never wanted she was certainly the best. Koji laid back and looked up at the sky, traveling alone was never his style anyways.