Tetsuo growled at [i]the woman's[/i] insolence. If she were a man, she would have found herself on the end of his spear; no one questioned his integrity. No one.

"Fronting a woman to stand in a battle line is already one dishonourable slight that I will for now tolerate," he spat, "and the ninja are not a formidable as you would think. But then you would thnk they were, wouldn't you? You're a woman, you listen to the gossip of the common people and you thrive on it." 

Angry now, infuriated in fact, Tetsuo stormed towards Sayuri with his spear held firmly in both hands. He may have struck at her, if it were not for the last second restraint he was able to bring to the fore. Glaring at her, with mere yards seperating them, he turned and franticly tried to regain his composure. [i]What were you thinking, you stupid old fool?[/i] Tetsuo's mind cried. He needed, no, he had to refocus himself. This mission was to be his final act. Such a display was distasteful, and Tetsuo did not want the last memories of him to be of an angry, hard headed simplistic idiot. He was better than this, and he needed deperately to show it.

Tetsuo sighed, and dropped to his knees before the Princess. "Forgive my childish illustration, my Lady. This mission is like no other that I have undergone. It is complex, and it is unconventional," he said, "but your safety is my only concern, and please never question this."

Gaining his feet, and not quite expecting an awnser from one so royal, Tetsuo adressed the group, "It appears I have shown my age. Too many years spent on the bloodied fields of battle have dulled my senses and turned my will to iron," he turned to Sayuri, "i aplogise for my outburst. They were hasty words."

Standing back, Tetsuo pushed his feelings of self-doubt to the back of his mind. "I stand at the groups command; where you think we should go, I will follow and where you think we should fight, I will stand my ground honourably."