Muramasa - The Black Blade War IC

[Buio DiAngelo]

OOC

Night had already fallen over the sleepless metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. The inky, starless sky contrasted by the ever bright, luminous city below, like the light of the heavens had dripped away from the sky and was now covering the land itself.

At this time Tokyo showed a new face. Under the cover of night it showed its true face. The young and restless frequented busy clubs to lose themselves in dancing, music, alcohol, drugs, and all manner of carnal passions. The old and powerful gathered at extravagant parties where they shared false smiles and empty laughter, looking down on the city they owned below them while still reaching up to the heavens for more riches.

Somewhere in the Tokyo port, members of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza were welcoming in a ship full of precious cargo. Pretty girls from Mainland Asia and the Philippines, lured to Japan illegally with promises of fame, fortune and great business opportunity and who would soon be forced into working as strippers and prostitutes for the benefit of the group.

Somewhere in the heart of the city a family man cocks his gun, aims and pulls the trigger. Another contract completed, another life taken, another story ended, another month of food in his children's bellies.

Under the cover of the night, Tokyo shows its ugliest side like badges of honor, revels in its violence, its ignorance, its selfishness and its corruption without shame.

In one of Tokyo's tallest towers, a woman looks down on the city, but she does not smile like the fat pigs who think they own the land they can look down on. Through the shine of heaven's lights that would disguise the city as a beautiful now, she peers into the soul of her city and sees the ugliness of hell clinging to every street, wall and person below her. She sees a city in desperate need of change, of order, of cleansing. She sees a city that has been allowed to remain godless for far too long, and she soon intends to correct that mistake with her own hands.

In her peripheral vision, through a stray lock of snow white hair, she sees a man approach her, but she does not acknowledge him. He places his hands on the silky soft skin of her shoulders exposed by her kimono and speaks softly into her ear. "Your subjects are waiting, your imperial highness."

Without a word she turns around, the man stepping out of her way, to the side, and she walks past him without giving him even a single glance. Two servants open a large ebony mahogany door and she steps into the room alone, the door is promptly closed behind her.

She looks over the room, the board room that had once served as the meeting pace of the Habakiri Group's board of directors. Now, it was her war room, and sitting around the long, oval wooden table, in the exquisite leather chairs once occupied by some of Japan's wealthiest men, were her four generals.

Konno Mitsune, her long-time acquaintance and the only person in the world, even amongst the disciples that she would consider calling a friend. A charismatic woman who knows who to get her way, and has a truly frightening physically dominating weapon which she wields with uncharacteristic ferocity as well as strong connections to japan's underworld.

Isa Tatou, A deceitful, selfish, whimsical and frightening woman. Charming and easy to underestimate but manipulative and lethal, possessing a power that makes her notoriously hard to kill. One could hardly ask for a more effective covert weapon.

Evan Manesuru a strange foreigner, new to the world of the disciples and their legacy, but burning with a dark fire within that will give him the strength to destroy all obstacles standing between him and his goal and the innate ability to adapt to any situation that will come in his way.

Kaburagi Kodama, A prodigy amongst heads rivaling herself in how easily and naturally she masters her weapon, youngest of the heads and missing an arm, and yet a lethal archer without peer. she has seen enough of the world's darkness in her life to see how desperately it needs change.

With these four under her command, Habakiri Tsurugi knew hat she would be capable of accomplishing her goals flawlessly, and that soon the world would be hers to reshape with the power of the gods.

The young, icy woman took her seat at the table's head, her secretary quickly coming forward and placing files before her, though Tsurugi paid them no mind for now. Instead she looked at her generals coldly and addressed them. "I thank you all for coming here on such short notice. I understand that you all have been placed under severe pressure due to the recent events but, rest assured, our inactivity will soon be coming to a close. The preparations I have made have almost reached completion and information gathered by my agents reveal that, predictably, the so-called 'loyalists' will stand against us in our just mission. War with those we may once have called our allies is, regrettably, inevitable, but rest assured my comrades, we are guided by justice, our vision will prevail, and together we will usher in a new age for this corrupted world. However, if any have concerns they wish to voice, now would be the time to make them heard."

[orangebox]

Habits die hard, so they say. It is in fact, quite true. Even within the lavish halls of Habakiri-senpai's corporate skyscraper, I busied myself with my portable game console - engrossed and seemingly unaware of my surroundings. However, it was done on purpose as I intend to have an 'invisible barrier' placed - so as to keep people away from trying to talk to me, consequently drawing less attention towards myself. The key point of this little ploy was simply having my headphones on. As such, I would seem to be mentally detached from the occupants and topics of discussion of the room; evidently discouraging those who perhaps wanted to start a conversation with me.

It has always worked for me, from experience - and I did not expect any different. However, I may always be wrong. Regardless, I did not bothered to listen in on the topics which were being discussed amongst those present in what was once the meeting hall of the Habakiri Corp building - or so it seems to be. My fingers diligently tapped on the buttons as I continued to expertly engross myself into such mundane entertainment. However, I'm quite proud to say that I may have defeated the purpose of my ploy to stay detached - as I was proficiently handling a portable console which was designed for the masses. In other words, for those with both limbs in tact. This would very well attract a comment or two.

Regardless, I would do what I do best - ignorance is bliss.

[Animal]

Evan Manesuru:

Evan stood alongside with the other traitors with his chameleon hood up covering the top half of his face. Despite being the only male amongst the group, he can easily be mistaken for a girl due to his feminine appearance. As Tsurugi was giving her speech, he began to envision the world with his twin sister living in peace once more, but not without having rid of the loyalists for stealing her away from him. Throughout his time with his clan he was taught that the loyalists were to blame for everything happening in the world, but he did not care about anything happening somewhere else. No, all he cared about was his sister and the clan used this to their advantage to get him stronger when in truth that his sister was perfectly safe somewhere else.

He glanced at each member who were in the room, each of them looked strong and reliable even the girl with one arm who sat next to him. It made Evan look like the weakest one amongst the group and his looks is not helping with his first impression, maybe he should have wore some shoes or made a new suit.

Evan couldn’t help but lock his eyes onto Kodama’s portable, it has been awhile since he has played any game systems. He was also amazed at the fact that she could play it with one hand, but the question that revolved around Evan’s mind was ‘Can she play it with a tail tickling her nose?’

Without a second thought Evan bent down and placed his hands on the ground doing a handstand. He managed to walk his way next to Kodama as the tail from his suit was dangling in her face. Keeping his balance he slowly dangled the tail back and forth making it brush lightly against her nose.

[Blandman]

On the very outskirts of Tokyo, atop a small lightly-wooded hill there lay a mansion, who's structure was humble despite its size. Walls and roofs alike were carved of solid stone and displayed sheer simplicity, while old wooden window frames encased themselves within the building. The whole thing could house thirty people comfortably, while its grounds had room for hundreds. And ever since Samuel and his kin had moved in about six months ago it was all being used to full effect. Every hall, room and stairwell bustled with Hourou clan members and their various activities. A number of sheets had been draped about the place to give it a more homely feel, along with rugs which were made of various materials ranging from simple cotton to animal skins. Every room which could accommodate a fire had one lit, numerous candles and incense were burning throughout the house despite the fact that the electricity was working fully and being used. People went where they wanted, ate where they willed and did whatever took their fancy. Of course each member respected their household, maintaining, cleaning and generally looking after it on a regular basis, rotating the chores as was customary. Even outside there was life. Two large pavilions had been setup, surrounded by yet more tents. Animals and people lived side-by-side in the gardens, and everyday was a hum of activity. The mansion's grounds had become a small city unto itself. Adults trained, children played and the livestock went about their respective business. All this ruckus had been created by just one branch of the clan. As Samuel peered out of his office's window, he wondered how he'd accommodate the entire clan here.

Well, he called it his office, but really it was just an office he had claimed for himself, promptly lined it with a mixture of bookshelves, small trinkets and some trophies along the wall. Any books which couldn't find a place on the shelves were simply piled up on the floor. A fire crackled away happily set inside of a massive stone-carved fireplace, whilst a massive oaken desk occupied the centre of the room. Upon there ancient scrolls and texts rubbed shoulders with daily newspapers and empty mugs of coffee. In truth Sam had been working himself ragged, firstly trying to track down the rest of the disciples who hadn't fallen for the traitor's and their mad dream. Then he had to try and convince them to meet with him, and even in that respect he wasn't sure if he'd fully succeed. And then on top of that he had to make sure his entire clan, all seven-hundred-odd of them were protected, supplied and provided for in any way he could manage. All this had earned him was a pair of bags under his eyes, a number of restless days and some heated discussions with his brothers, sister, cousins, uncles, on and on. Currently he was just taking a rest after having finished his latest bit of business, writing a set of terms for the traitors and their surrender. He doubted it would amount to much, but he had to try. First though he had to run it past the so-called Loyalists. Whenever they arrived that is. A sudden knock came at his door and for half a heartbeat he hoped it might be a new arrival.

"Come in," he called out whilst turning to face the door "It's open."

But it wasn't a new arrival. Instead it was the eldest of his younger siblings, Balduin Dresden. Slightly taller and broader than Samuel, Balduin was a kind but impatient man, with a much more attacking-mind than his elder brother. He was three years younger than Samuel, but had always been a loyal, willing and competent commander. The two got on well-enough, so long as they weren't around each other for too long. Six months was more than too long.

"Don't seem so disappointed Sam," Balduin started in that deep growling tone of his.

"Sorry Baldy," Sam replied with a soft smile and a smooth voice "I'm just growing a bit concerned about my peers. If they don't arrive soon-"

"They will come. They have to."

"Aye, They have to. For all of our sakes," Sam turned back to the window and looked at the distant city looming ahead "I've been working on something. Tell me what you think of it."

Sam indicated over to his desk, where the terms he had written sat central to everything else, standing out quite easily. Balduin approached then picked it up roughly, scrawling over the writing with his eyes, inspecting every word as if it were a whole sentence. He read it again, this time out loud.

"'To Tsurugi Habakiri, Kodama Kaburagi, Mitsune Konno, Evan Manesuru, Isa Tatou, their respective clans and to any others whom it may concern. These terms and conditions are written in the hope that the Five Traitors will, for the sake of Masamune, for their ancestors', for their loved ones and for all the ideals they upheld, turn away from the dark path that they have chosen and instead choose to maintain the peace in this world. Our terms are as follows; 1. All traitors must renounce their claims to the other weapons, as well as the weapon Muramasa, otherwise known as the Black Blade. 2. All traitors will lay down their weapons and step down as the heads of their respective clans. The weapons will then be passed to the new head, if such a person comes forward. 3. Never again will any traitor wield a weapon of any sort, mundane or otherwise. 4. All traitors will resign themselves to exile for the rest of their days, with no option for return.

Should all the above terms be met, we the remaining loyal disciples will ensure the safety and protection of all clans and loved ones of the traitors. We shall also safeguard the respective weapons of each traitor until a suitable successor can be found. We also guarantee a safe and peaceful life for any traitor who willingly accepts these terms.

If these terms are not met, then we will regretfully have to take more dire action in the near future. We hope that this can be avoided.

Signed by those who are loyal,

Samuel Dresden.'

You can't seriously expect this to work? And why is there so much room at the bottom?"

"Work? No, it doesn't seem likely," Sam started with a heavy heart, resigning himself to the chair behind his desk as Balduin passed the paper back to him "But maybe it'll make them think. At least I can try and do that. As for the extra space, well...I'm hoping the other disciples still loyal will add their signature to mine. It won't be much good if we can't present a united front."

"And how will you deliver these, ahem...terms?"

"What better way than to send myself?"

"Yes, I can think of no better way of getting yourself killed, captured or injured in an ambush. A very fine idea Sammy," the sarcasm was thick in Balduin's voice.

"I won't send someone else to do my own work," Sam held his hand up almost instantly so as to stop his brother from talking "And I won't hear any more arguements on the matter. Please I...I'm very tired. Just a moment of peace, please?"

"As you wish," Balduin replied begrudgingly through his teeth, placing his left fist upon his chest and bowing before leaving the room.

When the door closed behind the man Samuel let out a thankful sigh. He had had enough of bickering with relatives to last him a life time. All he wanted to do now was prepare for the turmoil ahead and try and do the best he could do avoid bloodshed. Taking a sip from yet another mug of coffee, Sam stayed in his chair, reading over another set of reports from the wider clan branches. Other than that all he could do was wait and hope for one of the other disciples to show up soon.

[Hikari Sama]

It was just like her to make them wait, Mitsune had been sitting idly in her chair for the past half an hour and as much as she loathed waiting she knew that there was no point in complaining about it to Tsurugi. The large conference room was relatively quiet until Tsurugi finally decided to make her appearance, then the room fell absolutely still. Tsurugi's expression said something along the lines of 'I could eat your soul' but Mitsune could see the light in her eyes, from the first day they had met Tsurugi always seemed to get really excited when she was in charge of something. Now she would be in charge of a revolution that would change the face of the earth into something she could be proud of, a world of order and justice. It was unfortunate that some of the Disciple Families had refused to make the change and would have to be persuaded by other means. Why they would resist against making the world a better place was a mystery to her.
.
Tsurugi's speech was a bit dull for Mitsune's tastes but she was glad to see her friend fired up about their cause. "I don't think any of us would have shown up if we were concerned about your capabilities, besides the 'Loyalists' already know that we don't support them so it would be foolish for any of us to try and play it solo. As for me, I think we've spent enough time debating and biding our time so personally a change of pace is quite welcome." Mitsune leaned back in her chair and propped her hands behind her head, having said her peice she closed her eyes and relaxed.

[Bad Wolf]

The plane ride to Tokyo had been long and ungodly annoying. Francis had started to get restless within the first half hour of it, and he had a long, long way to go from there. It was akin to torture, and Francis couldn't even tell himself that it was worth it. In his opinion, this was a waste of his time and energy. He didn't have much of a care for the descendants of the disciples and all of that rubbish, but he certainly didn't want the world to end. Or whatever it is the traitors were up to. He was a bit lacking in the details of what their aims were. He just knew that the loyalists had to stop them, and unfortunately that meant he needed to fly to the other side of the globe. Screw his life.

When the plane finally landed--he'd wanted to kick the crap out of the crying baby in the seat behind his--he collected his single bag of belongings and went to grab a taxi. The sooner he got to his destination, the better. He was looking forward to sleeping off the jet lag. That was going to be quite the annoyance until he adjusted to being here. In Japan. Where apparently his family had lived some generations back. Right...

The taxi ride to the Houdou clan's estate was long, but not as annoying as the plane trip. At least there were no crying babies in the taxi. What there was, though, was a driver who had a really bad body odor, and Francis needed to whip out that nice blue fan of his for its incense just to survive the drive. Of course, the side-effect of that was that the driver was chatting him up the entire drive. Just his luck to have found a driver who was interested in dudes. This adventure was already off to an amazing start.

The drive would have gutted his wallet under normal circumstances, but the incense had actually made the driver give Francis a discount. That was nice of him. Francis thanked him and walked the last leg of his journey to the whereabout of the leader of the loyalists. The sight that met his eyes as he approached the estate was quite the pleasant one, he had to admit. Peaceful. Productive. Lively. The Houdou clan seemed to have its head on straight in terms of living simply, but effectively. He was actually somewhat impressed. He'd never trade in the adrenaline rush attached to his preferred method of earning a living, though. If one could count pickpocketing and petty theft as "earning" something.

Now that he was here, however, he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He didn't know his way around the estate, and he was feeling awkward just standing by the front door. People were looking at him weird--it was probably the osprey feather in his hair that had their attention, though perhaps the blue outfit with silver embroidery also looked strange--and he didn't like being stared at like that. He was also very rusty on his Japanese, and he had no idea if they'd understand them if he asked where the head of their clan was.

Making a decision, he decided to pretend like he knew exactly what he was doing and knocked on the door with feigned confidence. Hopefully whoever came to the door would lead him to that...guy. What was his name again? Samson? No, too biblical. Samuel? Still biblical, but at least that sounded right in his head.

[Nosuchthing]

Ana sighed as the world rolled past outside the window, it was dark, details hard to make out and every looming shadow menacing and filled with danger. It was all too true a representation of what the world had become, with fully half of the wielders determined to release an evil upon the world it hadn't suffered in millenia. Next to that the World Wars would look like skirmishes compared to what Masamura's release would cause. As they say, power corrupts, and none was so powerful or corrupt as the black blade. She only hoped they could talk sense into the young ones before they made a mistake they would all pay for. She turned her head away from the window. She didn't like Japan, it had been hard enough to bring herself to visit for this.


She frowned, bringing all of the weapons together like this would hardly help the situation, but despite her deeper misgivings she had attended to confirm her support. If she did not attend then the remaining descendants loyal to their mission would be outnumbered, easily overwhelmed, and she would be tracked down no matter how far she fled. No, they stopped them here or they did not stop them at all. She did not relish the thought of violence, she had seen enough, and remembered more, including the dark days of Masamura himself, she knew better than any of them what this would do.


She only hoped that they would listen to the voice of reason, she knew of the 'traitors', and each one was a formidable warrior made more so by the powers of their weapons, all she had on her side was experience and patience. Should they manage to prolong the fight any of them could easily fight for longer than she. Now she was too tired, too stiff. Too old.


She perked up as they entered the grounds of the manse however, a lightly wooded leading to a solid stone manor house of a not unimpressive size. Samuel had maintained his families fortunes at a level she, despite all her wisdom had not managed. It may not have been her fault, but she couldn't help but blame herself for the current state of the family's fortunes.

It wasn't long before she was climbing out of the car, lifting her skirts slightly to avoid splashing mud onto them she made her stately way, supported by her trident, to the door, joining a young man there. Francis, his name sprang into her mind, recalled from a half glimpsed photo a year ago, she half smiled, eidetic memory was a blessing in some ways. She made a half bow to him after he knocked, "Mr Williams."

[Kestrel]

Changing the world. Delightful. Isa sat down, her chin pressing into her fists, which on their turn pushed her elbows into the table. Her nose pointing towards the woodwork, her eyes twinkling at the sight of that woman in front of her; Tsurugi Habakiri. It was hard to take in Tsuguri was Japanese, with her pale skin, blue eyes and bleached hair. Smiling like a third-grader, she listened to the woman's words, secretly studying her peculiar colours.

Tsurugi's letter had been waiting for Isa for days. She was not the kind of woman to spend many nights at home. Isa had been surprised when she found there was an envelope left unopened, lying on her nightstand. Sealed letters directed at Isa Tatou were a rare occurrence. It contained two tickets to Japan. Isa barely even read the words before she decided to accept.

This was the first time Isa had visited Tokyo. It was a welcome change to be of average length. Perhaps she even was tall, Isa would tell herself. Many things were different from those she had ever seen. The metro had the most anticipated attraction. Tomorrow morning, Isa's first morning in the city, she planned watch in awe how many people fit into one. Isa once heard that the staff would push the passengers before closing the doors. Of course she could not miss this.

The feel of a skyscraper's view, however, was ever so familiar. Isa hummed, playing with the wine in her glass, wondering if this was all real. Perhaps this is why she maintained her fantasies about the metro. After all, the gathered crowd made miss snowylocks look normal by comparison. It was kind of like a dream.

First there was that boy who... Was that seriously a chameleon-suit he was wearing? And was he doing a handstand now? Isa snickered, even now she couldn't believe what she saw. The first thing she recalled saying to 'Cam-cam' was “Nice... Nail-polish.” When he had caught her staring. “But a bit cheap.” After that a blushing Isa had excused herself. Any attempt at conversation had gone nowhere since.

Then there was the girl with one arm. It felt rude to speak so bluntly about a handicap, but truth was that was how Isa memorised Kodama; that poor thing with one arm. How did she ever play video-games? Wasn't she frustrated? What if she had to press two buttons on the opposite sides of that gameboy? Did she ever make it past the first world in Mario? Did she wear those headphones so she wouldn't hear the other kids making fun of her? It was questions like this that had kept Isa at bay. The girl didn't seem to mind.

Lastly there was Konno Mitsune. Between Mitsune and Isa herself, Isa was glad to have at least one ally who was relatively normal-looking. At least, if you could call that kind of figure normal-looking. Isa imagined thousands of lines men must had tried to get her attention. For some reason a phrase she had heard in New York, “Are those space-pants?” Stuck in her head as the most suitable cheesy pick-up line. How many times Mitsune must have heard that one...

Konno Mitsune was the first one who truly spoke up after Tsuguri's speech. She had no doubt and seemed positive about the plan. Isa rested her glass on the table, her chin still laying on top of her other hand's knuckles. “So these loyalists oppose us out of... Tradition, but as is tradition in love and war...” Isa gestured with her hand for someone else to guess the end of her sentence. For someone with ideals like Tsuguri, Isa hoped that her morals wouldn't stand in the way of their success. “And are we in a rush? I've never seen much of Tokyo.”

[Buio DiAngelo]

Tsurugi narrowed her eyes slightly as the two youngest members seemed to be somewhat 'distracted' on their end. She was fully aware of the Manesuru boy's... eccentric personality, and expected he was mostly likely still paying close attention despite his acrobatics, but she found Kodama's inability to let go of her console disrespectful to a hardly ignorable degree. she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, but did so in a discrete, relaxed manner, not even wrapping her fingers around the handle as if she was going to draw it. she simply used the contact to tap into the sword's power and used her silent night ability and spread it t Kodama, erasing the noise produced by her headphones to ensure she would hear Tsurugi's next words.

"Given the importance of this discussion, i will request that your attention not be divided for the moment Kaburagi-dono." she spoke politely and without any obvious threat in her voice, but it was clear that the word 'request' was part of that sentence only as a formality.

Without waiting for acknowledgement from the girl, Tsurugi turned to her right where the attentive members of her group were sitting. "I am glad to see you are eager Mitsune-san, however, I do not think anyone here underestimates just how important what we are about to do is, and thus I believe we can all appreciate the importance of verbally affirming that we are all 'on the same page' as they say before continuing on to our plan of attack. As for your concerns tatou-dono, we will avoid acting rashly. We have the superior numbers but our final goal is not the eradication of the loyalist families, only the acquisition of their weapons. No doubt, many of the heads will fight to the death to ensure their weapons do not fall in our hands, but bloodshed should still be kept only to what is necessary. That being said, we can neither afford to show weakness or lack of resolve to the enemy at this point, I will ask that you do not treat this time as a vacation and do not go off sight seeinng without informing us of your movements. That being said, I wholly invite you to explore the city, and the rest of my country once we have succeeded in our mission. japan has some of the most beautiful sights in the world to offer after-all, though that may simply be my patriotism speaking.

Back to the subject at hand, however, I have no doubt that the Loyalists will put forth one last call for negotiations before officially declaring war on us. as i hear it, most of them have scheduled to come to japan this week, and thus either have already arrived, or are tonight arriving to japan and are all immediately put under the protection of the Hourou clan which has many international ties due to the nomadic nature it is known for. I believe it is completely plausible that the loyalist leaders are now all gathered safely within the Hourou mansion. A direct attack on said estate would be... unfavorable. As such, I propose that we capture whichever messenger they send to us, and return him to the loyalist alliance after torture, as a message of opposition. I propose this in the hopes of enraging the loyalist heads and drawing them out of hiding. If this alone does not work, I have prepared several locales where we will publicly display our powers in a bid to further ager tem. any of their subordinates sent to confront us will be mercilessly crushed and we will keep tanuting them in such a way until they realize their only option is to come out and fight up themselves. once this had been done, we can simply pick them off one by one by preying on their anger and insecurities. There is already one Head that I have personally ensured will be very susceptible to these methods and shoudl prove simple enough to isolate from the rest of the group. does anyone have any objections to this plan of action?"

[DarknessEternal]

Blood. Blood was flowing across the floorboards of the room. Blood was splattered across the walls and even the ceiling. Blood spilled from the bodies that lay scattered across the room. Blood spilled from Hei Di's feet as he ran towards the body of his father. Hei Di's father, his mother, his uncles and aunts lay mixed with a few bodies that Hei Di didn't recognize. Hei Di's father and uncles still gripped their blades even in death, defiant to the end. Hei Di held his father's bullet ridden body in his arms as he shook with a mixture of fear and anger. Hei Di already knew who had done this and why. The Zhang family had openly opposed the Habikiri group, and for that, they had been punished. The bloody scene began to blur as tear filled his eyes.

Hei Di awoke to the sound of a chime. An attendant announced the flight's descent into Tokyo. "Another painful dream," Hei Di muttered in his native Mandarin Chinese. It was a dream that had repeated over and over for the past week. A painful memory of the fateful day he lost his family. Hei Di shook his head and looked out the window. Outside he could see thousands of lights, below him was the city of Tokyo. As the plane made its descent, Hei Di remembered his previous visit to Japan. He remembered his grandfather, who had lived through the Japanese occupation of Taiwan and knew Japanese very well. He remembered the shrines he and his mother visited during their stay those four years ago. His memories were interrupted by the plane's landing. With a heavy heart, Hei Di once again entered Tokyo. It would be his third time in the city, Hei Di silently wished that he would live to leave it once more.

Hei Di looked at his watch and he entered the terminal. The flight was late, it put him behind schedule considerably. Hei Di made his way towards the baggage claim and found his bag. Inside was his family's blade, the Kuroyaksha, and its sheath, the Maou no Ryuu. If he had his way, Hei Di would have taken the guns used to kill his family as well, but those had been confiscated by the police as evidence. He would have to make do without them. Rubbing his tired eyes as he walked, Hei Di left the airport and called a cab. He handed the driver a slip with the manor's address on it. Stowing his luggage in the trunk, Hei Di slipped into the back seat and once again checked his watch. Scowling, Hei Di dozed off as the taxi sped off.