He enters; one man, one horse, twenty swordsman. How dare they show their face around Yoshokan after their previous “visit”. The destruction he laid out before the people as a display of his power, though he showed no true power or amount of skill on his own. They questioned his ability to fight for himself, since he was guarded nearly twenty-four hours of the day in his large palace which proved impossible to enter. The sound of horse shoes clashed with the hard soil below as all who stood in their path were knocked to the side. His entrance would be a grand one, and they would respect him, or die. As Norochi’s horse slowed to a stop, the troop behind did so as well as silence took over the crowd. Two troops quickly scampered to his sides to help him off of the steed, almost as if he were too fragile to do so himself. How could such a weak man be respected? His feet touched the soil, and it was then he smiled. Looking across at the horizon towards the group surrounding him, he began to laugh at them while clapping his hands.

“This is a day of celebration, why are you all so sad?”

No one speaks, fearing that even complimenting this petty man would get their tongue removed on the spot. The man, heavily clothe in the most luxurious material, stepped forward. These clothes made it difficult to actually judge his physic, but they all figured being that he was from royalty, his diet was well fed. “Today, I come for a wife…” Madness, how dare he request[demand] such a horrid idea. In any other situation, this may have no come off as too weird, but due to the fact he had his choice of woman, and the things he did to women, everyone feared for their loved ones. He stepped towards the crowd, eyeing the females scattering among the crowd, taking interest in eyeing their husbands as well just to further their hatred for him. It was almost as if being on top wasn’t enough for him, he wanted their hate and anger to boil up to a point that would grant him the ability to order his troops out on this entire location. A finger slowly lifted from the katana set upon his hips to a woman who’s eyes look towards the ground. In an attempt to avoid the eye of Norochi, she backs up a few steps in the crowd. “Don’t hide, you’ve caught my eye already. Come here!” Silence for a moment as she did no such thing. This brought a frown to Norochi’s face; he like most leaders, didn’t like to be defied.

His footsteps made their way towards her location, the dirt crushing below his steps. For such a feeble and despicable man, his impact with the ground proved otherwise. He reached for her from the crowd, a mother grasping her by the opposing arm wiping lightly. She was old, her strength would not match the strength of Norochi, and so in the end, the girl would be flung to the center of the road, the rocks below her knees easily cutting through the clothe she wore, and her soft pale skin. She gasped as her eyes looked up to the man slowly approaching her. “You will be mine tonight. We will eat the finest of foods, and you will be treated as royalty.” This would be considered an honor, had Norochi been an acceptable man, but it was more of a dishonor. She spat upon the ground, and that action was quickly matched with a reaction. Norochi’s hand swiftly backhand the woman forcing her to the ground again. “You will respect me, woman.” At this time, a man stood among the people, slowly entering the opening of the road before turning towards Norochi’s path. It took only a second for him to realize that this man was now standing nearly five meters away. “Let her go…”



Who was this man, rapped in the clothes of a lost warrior? He definitely wasn’t on the caliber Norochi was at, he must be a fool with a death wish. Norochi didn’t frown upon this bravery, he actually admired it. “You there, you seem to be rather brave-” “-let her go….now.” If there was one thing Norochi could not tolerate, it was being cut off when in the middle of a statement. He let go of the woman’s wrist and stepped over her body to approach the man. Both of them now gripped the hilts of their blade tightly as the troops behind itched for battle. Most began to move towards the swordsman as well, but a hand lifted demanding they remain in place like the good dogs they were. “You have the nerve to interrupt me? I’ll cut your tongue out.” His steps approach the mysterious swordsman before finding a proper kenjutsu stance within five feet of the opponent. The mysterious warrior simply stood in the same stance he held beforehand, his left hand upon his hilt.

Norochi’s stern and sadistic eyes looked into the shadow of the hood covering the man’s face. A moment of silence as the battle began though no one moved. It was the battle of minds, each attempting to predict the opponents move based upon stance and muscle tension. Then, at the most intense moment, they both revealed both blades so swift they appeared a blur to those surrounding them. Each blade met with a powerful clash, but neither man stumbled thus leaving little room for a counter. From that point on, each continued to dish out a slash attack, and each blade met with perfect precision almost as if they both shared the same mind. Each time the blades clashed, the troops flinched, wondering if the next blow would be the end. At that point, one quickly stumbled backwards gaining a bit more of a distance from the opponent. Norochi kept his sadistic expression upon his face as he looked at the hooded man. The slit upon his cheek bled, so apparently Norochi was losing? Well, it no longer appeared that way when the mysterious man’s hood fell from his head to the ground revealing his face. This came as a surprise, a blind-swords man? Why is it he chose to wear the blindfold? No matter, his hand was reaching for that now. The rag covering his eyes fell to his side as well as each eye revealed themselves. “I should have known it was you behind that hood…Shinzui.”



Shinzui? The samurai who once was the lead samurai of this location, a respectable man who’s disappearance was a sad one which cost the village their security.? Some were happy, and some could care less, seeing both Shinzui and Norochi as enemies. He seemed almost heaven sent.

“Well, this makes things much more interesting, no?” Shinzui stared at Norochi, an emotional face. This was not their first meeting, in fact, this was their second meeting. The last time the two approached each other, it was on the outskirts of Yoshokan where the fate of the city itself was decided through a battle between Norochi and Shinzui only. No one saw Shinzui that day because of this battle, where he lost to the devious Norochi. His loss was at the cost of losing his city to Norochi. Of course, this being before he was appointed the position he currently holds; Daimyo. “I thought I killed you last time we met?” He didn’t respond for a moment, but then spoke up. “You failed to do that before. Now I’ll correct my mistake.” His feet slid apart as he in a stance similar to Norochi’s, his eyes blank, staring down towards the ground as his hair hung over them. “Fine, but its not fair fighting a blind man, now is it?” Norochi picks fun at the fact that he is the one responsible for Shinzui’s eyes failing. The blow that actually ended the battle was that attack, but it had been almost two years since that day. Shinzui must be used to fighting blind now, no? Each warrior continued to make cross cuts towards each other as the battle grew a bit intense, a few articles of clothing being cut off of each other’s body. What were those watching thinking? Were they interested? Did they have any desire to interfere? Anyone that dared would be stopped by the troops guarding Norochi, but would that be enough?

THE STORY BEGINS