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The Big Battle

"Ready?" Hikiji asked for the last time from the back of his steed. The army spread before his eyes and the many heads, pikes and standards formed a complicated pattern of power on the green grass. Standards flapped in the light wind. The sky was gray but it didn't look like rain.

The sword, which Usagi had given him, was in the scabbard on his back. Usagi had taken Kusanagi back, made it vanish again and then he had gone back into the now deserted camp to play his part in their plan. Hikiji wished him good luck.

So most of the people would see the next day.

Then he rode to the head of his troops like he always did. There, he drew the sword which glowed like Kusanagi did and gave the signal to attack.

Meanwhile, Usagi was on his way inside of the camp. He went to a certain tent which didn't look like any different than any other tent of the lords in the camp. The standards next to it had the mon(1) of Hikijis clan on it.

A large amount of guards protected the tent despite of the fact that every lord was on the main hill to oversee the progress of the battle. Usagi had thought about makeing himself invisible somehow and sneak past the guards or asking Qu'ral to bring him inside. In the end, all their plans to avoid having to kill the guards had to be abandoned because the occupant of the tent might have called for help. In that case, Usagi would have had to fight in the limited space of the tent.

Sighing, he called Kusanagi back into this reality and grabbed the handle. Then he switched into the state of the Tai Chi and attacked.

As always in this state, the weapon in his hand became an integral part of him. Usagi/Kusanagi cut through the surprised guards like a scythe through grass.

Something was different this time but Usagi couldn't readily say what it was. While he killed the guards remorselessly, he wondered about it. The guards stumbled around him slowly while he felt light and could lash out like a flash.

He was fast, that was what was different this time. Usually, his body felt slow and sluggish; only his thoughts were light and fast.

After only a few moments, the fifty guards lay dead in the grass. Since everyone else had left the camp, their alarm cries had not alerted anyone. No other guards came running to see what was going on here.

Thoughtfully, Usagi looked at the clean blade of Kusanagi. No blood, no soil, nothing would stick to it. It was still as clean, as untouched as it had been before this fight.

But that was of no importance, now. The longer he idled, the more people would die unnecessarily. He stepped into the tent.

The few servants stared at him. Because of Kusanagi, he knew that they were no threat for him. He stepped next to the bed where someone lay who should have died long ago.

The breath of Lord Hikiji was a groan. Some illness had ruined his body but he was still alive. Usagi almost hadn't recognized him anymore hadn't it been for the scar above the lords eye and his gaze. Hikiji had recognized him, too.

"Usagi," he wheezed.

"Lord Hikiji," Usagi replied.

"So it's true," the dying lord labored, "you are immortal."

Usagi didn't reply. Unmoved, he looked down at his enemy. 'People will be rejoicing when I'll stick his head on a pole,' he thought. 'What a waste.'

He beheaded his enemy and took the head with him.

Within a stone's throw, his horse stood where he had left it. Quickly, he rode back to the hill where the lords and advisers surveyed the battle and the people who operated the signals which passed the new commands to the units. Surprised, they looked up, when he came riding with the head in his hands.

Usagi looked down at the battle field. The first units had engaged each other but the battle was still in a very early stage. 'Good,' Usagi thought and then ordered: 'Now, Kusanagi! Release all of them! Confuse the rest!'

Immediately, chaos spread on the field. Those, who still had been under the influence of Kusanagi suddenly realized what they had done and the rest ran around in confusion. The formations broke and quickly, it became impossible to say who was a friend and who was a foe.

At the same time, the young Lord Hikiji pressed the button on his sword. With an impressive rain of sparks, the blade of his sword disintegrated and the glow vanished.

Usagi waited for a while until the soldiers had calmed down a bit, again. His plan seemed to work. So many soldiers had switched sides that no one could say if a soldier with the mon(2) of the Hirano clan was on the side of the shogun(3) or whether he fought for Hikiji. Confused, friend and foe stood next to each other and didn't really know what they should do, now.

Then Usagi voice boomed over the battle field. "My name is Miyamoto Usagi. I'm a priest of the goddess Ookaa'h." The soldiers gave a start and then looked around to find out where the voice came from.

Usagi held Kusanagi above his head and made it flash brightly one time. Cries could be heard and heads turned.

"The old Lord Hikiji is dead," Usagi went on and held the head high for everyone to see, "and with that, the spell is broken which he did use to control all of you."

While Usagi spoke, the people which he had released in the previous days, began to comfort the others so they wouldn't kill themselves in the terror of the moment.

"This," he held Kusanagi high in the sky and made it glow eerily, "is Kusanagi-no-tsurugi, the real sword of the gods. With Hikijis death, also this deception ended."

"I would like to ask the leaders of the armies to make their soldiers retreat into their camps and then allow me to speak with them so I can give them a report of what has happened. It is my hope that this war can be ended without further bloodshed."

With this, Usagi lowered the sword again and then turned towards Hikijis allies. Those had realized in the meantime that they stood next to their deadly enemies. A loud shouting had started and things were about to get out of control, when Usagi stepped in.

But he was running out of time. He didn't know exactly how long he had been in the state of the Tai Chi, now, but he would soon reach the point in time, when his body would again yield to the strain. Qu'ral waited for his sign to bring him to the moon where a healing tank already waited for him. They had argued if he couldn't leave this state for a short time to recover but leaving it would have also ment a breakdown.

Usagi prayed that he had enough time left to calm the opponents down before he had to leave the Tai Chi or die.

One lord turned out to be most stubborn in that respect. In the end, he even tried to draw his sword to kill Usagi.

But his hand grabbed only empty air. Perplex, he stared at the empty scabbard.

"A nice sword," Usagi said calmly and turned the blade in the light.

Then he suddenly stood directly in front of the lord and handed the sword back. "I assume," he said friendly, "that you didn't grab at it to attack me?"

The lord swallowed hard and took his sword back. The next moment, Usagi held Kusanagi in his hand. He was sure that he had moved so fast that none of the lords had been able to see it. For them, it must have looked as if the sword simply appeared in his hand, he hoped.

"Because in that case, I would have to kill you," Usagi went on in a most polite tone while he looked at Kusanagi, apparently lost in thought.

Then he looked up and locked his gaze with the lord. "Of course not, Miyamoto-san," the lord said quickly.

"Good," Usagi accepted and mounted his horse again. "I'm absolutely sure," he said casually, "that I will see all of you again when we meet with the shogun to find a suitable solution for this ... situation."

Then he rode back to Qu'ral as fast as he could.

Interlude

"Good morning," the stranger greeted the two ninjas. Katsumi followed him on a leash.

To see a member of her clan being humiliated in such a way made Makiko angry. 'Pulled around on a leash like an animal,' she thought furiously.

Katsumi, on the other hand, seemed to be completely relaxed. He seemed to be content and Makiko worried if they would join his fate, too. 'How did he change this man in only three days? What powers has this horrible ring around his neck?'

"Please, have a seat," the stranger asked them.

They sat down on chairs which were grouped around a table with a clear top. Katsumi sat down on the floor next to his owner. The stranger carelessly put his end of the leash over the arm of his chair but when he let go, it fell down.

Immediately, Katsumi took it and tried to fasten it better to the arm of the chair so it wouldn't fall down anymore. When that didn't work, he simply held the leash so his master could easily reach it. The stranger seemed to have paid no attention to these events.

They talked a bit but Makiko couldn't really focus on what was said. Stunned, she watched as the stranger patted Katsumi on the head like a pet. And how Katsumi seemed to enjoy it.

The stranger began to stroke Katsumi and his eyes closed in bliss.

Eventually, the stranger acted as if he would notice their looks just now.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" he said.

"Revolting comes to mind," Makiko replied in disgust.

"Hm," the stranger made. "You probably think that Katsumi simply enjoys that because the ring forces him to."

"Katsumi, please take off the ring and put it on the table," he ordered.

Katsumi followed the order immediately. Carefully, he put the ring on the table. Involuntarily, the two ninjas leaned back in their chairs as if they feared that the band could suddenly lunge at them.

"You don't have to follow my orders anymore," the stranger said gently.

"Yes, master," Katsumi replied calmly.

"Please kill Makiko for me."

He suddenly held a dagger in his hand and offered it to Katsumi. Katsumi didn't move.

"I don't want to kill anymore, master," he said instead and in the same tone as before.

"Then please put the ring on again so I can make you to."

Katsumi, who had already stretched out his hand for the ring, hesitated.

"Please don't, master," he asked humbly.

"I could kill them for you," the stranger offered.

"Master, I thank you for your offer but may I ask you to let them live?" Katsumi asked.

"Hm," the stranger sounded and thought for a moment.

"Then I'd like you to do the following," he started and then told Katsumi what he expected from him.

Makiko couldn't believe her ears when she heard what the stranger wanted from Katsumi and she had to use all her self-control not to run away screaming when Katsumi started to follow the order. Because of the clear table-top, she could see that Katsumi followed the order with a lot of enthusiasm.

Next to her, Kimi threw up.

Seating Arrangements

The soldiers had retreated into their camps. After Usagi had stopped the battle so unexpectedly, there had been some minor fights during the retreat when units had run into each other whose allegiance one could easily recognize but officers had quickly stepped in and made sure that the soldiers would follow the order to return to their positions.

Now, he sat alone on his horse somewhere in the middle of the battle field. In the distance, a handful of soldiers had taken care for the wounded and the dead and were now cleaning an area from the broken weapons where the large tent was to be erected in which the lords from both sides would meet with their entourage so Usagi could report what had happened.

Usagi watched the soldiers with satisfaction. His plan had worked as expected and he was very proud of his achievement. In only a few days, he had managed to thwart Kusanagis plans and now, peace could return to the land. 'An outstanding achievement, actually, when one took the short time into consideration which I have had to prepare myself,' Usagi congratulated himself.

While he waited, he talked to the sword. Right now, he was mostly curious about its abilities. He already knew some of the things which the sword could do from Käl but he wanted to know more.

'I wonder if you can lie to me?' Usagi asked. The sword said no to this. Since they shared each others thoughts, Kusanagi didn't only know what Usagi wanted from it but also exactly how he meant it. The same was true the opposite way, of course.

To talk with the sword was strange, too. Usagi still hadn't quite got used to it. It wasn't like he heard a voice in his head or something but more like ... as if he remembered the answer.

This way, the sword did manipulate him and he was worried about that. That had started when he had left the state of the Tai Chi. Qu'ral had been ready to bring him to the moon but to Usagis amazement, the expected pain hadn't happened.

He had felt nothing out of the ordinary despite staying in the state of the Tai Chi for a tremendous amount of time. Still, the usual side effects hadn't appeared this time. He asked the sword and learned that it had supplied him with the necessary amount of chi(4). As long as he owned Kusanagi, he would be able to stay in the state of the Tai Chi as long as he wanted without having to fear any problems.

The only thing the sword couldn't supply him with, was immortality. Usagi mused that the creators of the sword had probably expected that a being which was worth of owning Kusanagi would already be immortal. And with all other people, it would probably better if they couldn't abuse it for too long.

This lead directly to Usagis next worry: How long would he be able to resist the temptation to abuse his new power. 'Well, as long as I worry, I'm safe,' he thought slightly amused.

Qu'ral, on the other hand, had been very relieved when the battle had been stopped. For him, the thought, that intelligent beings could simply lounge at each other to kill, was hard to accept. It seemed that aggression was well-known in his culture but when one grew up, parents spent a lot of time so their children learned how to handle it.

"Hate, anger and fear are strong emotions which allow us to achieve things which are impossible, otherwise," Qu'ral explained while they waited, "But one must always be in control. If they control you, then the results are only more hate, more anger, more fear."

"But aren't those destructive forces which one should try to avoid?" Usagi wondered. "The wise say that one should do good and that hate only destroys the one who hates."

"This might be good advice for the wise, but what does it help the poor farmer whose crop is being destroyed by an army?" Qu'ral asked instead of a reply.

He gestured: "Is it the hate which destroys the people or the fact that they don't know how handle it? We believe that hate is a part of life like love and death. Therefore, our teachers show us hot to control it instead of trying to avoid it. If you avoid something, then it's still there, just bidding its time. Waiting for a moment of weakness. One has to deal with it or it will harm oneself eventually. And usually at a time when it does the most harm."

Usagi could only agree to that. That was also the reason why he tried to avoid fights and why he killed his enemies when he couldn't avoid a fight. 'The survivor would usually believe that he had been dishonored and would come after me to take revenge.'

"But what do you do if you have control over yourself but the other hasn't?" he asked.

"In this case, my culture asks me to comply to the will of my opposite," Qu'ral replied.

"You would allow him to kill yourself?" Usagi asked unbelievingly.

"If that is necessary: yes," Qu'ral replied seriously. "But this is only a theoretical problem. Usually, one can overcome an enemy by other means than by the sword. But fighters, who travel armed, usually think that their weapons are the best way to solve their conflicts. And the proof is simple: They invested many many years of their lives training to use their weapons. That simply can't be wrong. No one would waste a long span of their lives doing something futile."

"Therefore," he went on, "we think it dangerous to own weapons of any kind. They lure one into believing that one can solve a problem with its help."

"Some people will never stop using weapons against others," Usagi argued.

"That won't change if you own a weapon, too," Qu'ral replied. "Quite the opposite: People, who think that they need a weapon, maybe because it gives them a feeling of security, will try to get their hands on one when they see that others are armed."

"But if you don't own a weapon," he went on, "then you can't use it. If you run into an armed person, now, you must find a different way to resolve the conflict. But if you have a weapon, too, then there seems to be only one possible solution left: To fight."

Usagi had to admit that the thought wasn't that far fetched. "That's the reason why it's so peaceful on the TAURUS," he thought aloud.

Qu'ral laughed. "That really depends on your point of view. On board of the TAURUS more people are wounded or killed in armed conflicts every day than have died here, today, on this battle field."

"But many more people live there," Usagi argued.

Qu'ral nodded. "That's true. Relatively spoken, really only a few people get hurt by force on the TAURUS."

In the meantime, the tent had been erected and advisers of both sides had arrived to discuss the important details like the seating arrangement. The advisers of the shogun completely rejected the idea that the traitors should sit next to the shogun or even on his side. If the shogun had to meet these people at all, then they would not sit at his side and to sit behind him was completely out of question.

"Why don't you place the shogun at the back, then?" Usagi proposed in a casual tone.

Dumbfounded, they stared at him

"You must be Miyamoto-sensei, I guess?" one of the advisers of the shogun asked after he had recovered from the shock.

"Yes."

The adviser didn't respond to Usagis ridiculous proposal. "For the protocol, it would be important to know what your rank is?"

"Half-god," Qu'ral replied dryly. The adviser ignored him.

"I'm just a priest of the goddess Ookaa'h," Usagi replied unperturbed.

"Well," the adviser said, "usually, the shogun wouldn't receive a simple priest ..."

Usagi laughed amusedly: "I think it will not mean any harm to him if he makes an exception for me like he did for Pau Tai 25 years ago."

It seemed that the adviser had heard of the incidents which had happened at that time because he flinched at the words. "Will you want to talk alone with the shogun, too?" he probed carefully.

"Oh," Usagi laughed, who hadn't thought at the little conversation which they had had in the evening, "I think that won't be necessary."

"I'd like to propose," Usagi went on, "to make three groups instead of two. Next and behind of the shogun are his allies and advisers. To my left, you will place the lords who have betrayed the shogun and to my right, you will place Lord Hikiji with his allies and advisers."

"Lord Hikiji," one of his advisers flew into a rage but Usagi interrupted him: "won't be pleased but I'm sure he will think twice if he should turn down my advice."

The adviser paled. Angrily, he and his companions looked at Usagi who sat on his horse serenely. This way, he could look down at them which they didn't like at all.

"Since this is solved," Usagi went on, "I'd like to ask you to return to your superiors, now, so we can begin. My time here is limited."

The advisers opened their mouths in protest. Usagi made Kusanagi appear and glow brightly. "But if my help is unwanted," he said calmly while the advisers choked on their protests, "I will leave at once, of course."

The advisers evaluated their options and then told Usagi reservedly that they would pass on his wish to their superiors but they were unfortunately unable to say in advance how they would react. Usagi agreed to this and the advisers returned to their camps.

When they had left, Usagi cursed himself for using his power to force them to do as he wished. But somehow, he simply hadn't been able to stop himself when he had seen them nitpicking. Thoughtfully, he looked at Qu'ral. Again, his emotions had taken control of him and he had ended up somewhere where he didn't want to be.

Interlude

When Katsumi had finished his disgusting work, the stranger thanked him. "You were really good," he praised the slave. "I see, you have learned well."

"Thank you, master," Katsumi replied smiling happily.

"If you want to," the stranger went on, "you can put on your slave ring, again."

Katsumi took it from the table but hesitated again. "Will you order me to kill someone, master?"

"No," his master promised.

"I do thank you, master," Katsumi said relievedly and closed the ring once more around his neck.

"Well, I got to go," the stranger regretted. "Why don't you see to the needs of my guests?"

"It would be my pleasure, master," Katsumi readily agreed.

"You will do everything they ask except touching a weapon or forcing someone," the stranger ordered and left them alone.

Again leashed to the chair, Katsumi stayed behind with the two shocked Ninjas.

"How may I serve you, mistress?" Katsumi asked humbly.

Hope for Peace

Usagi followed the advisers with his gaze and shook his head. He really had to admit that life was much more simple when everyone tried to help to solve a problem instead of greedily watching that the other one had no advantage. It was at moments like this when he realized how far advanced the civilization of the TAURUS really was.

And how little it actually took to make everyone happy.

"If you refuse mindless aggression," he asked Qu'ral to spend the time until the shogun would arrive, "why have you come?"

"There are two reasons," Qu'ral replied. "Firstly, my way of life demands that I help others who are in need and, secondly, the public reports about you said that you were a careful leader who will not carelessly get anyone in danger."

"You really read that in there?" Usagi laughed. "Astonishing."

"Why?" Qu'ral asked. "Until now, you match the description."

"Thanks a lot," Usagi said and smiled. "I just wonder who did put the report into the net."

One hour later, the shogun, Lord Hikiji and the large group of renegade lords arrived. While Usagi watched them arrive, Kusanagi gave him a lot of information about them. When the meeting started, he knew who was on his side and who wasn't.

The lords were not really happy about his seating arrangement but they really had consentet to his will.

Unlike what the adviser had said, it was the renegade lords who were most unhappy because their position meant that they would be sentenced. If the shogun would have allowed them to sit by his side, they could have hoped to survive the day. But now, that hope had been greatly diminished.

Usagi didn't worry much about this. He had proposed this seating arrangement because the shogun would accept it and Hikiji as well. If he was convincing enough, then the shogun would have no choice but to pardon the traitors. And because he had Kusanagi now, he had no trouble with Hikijis men in his back and even less with the so-called traitors.

He stepped through the gap between the two groups towards his place in the middle directly in front of the shogun. Respectfully, he greeted the ruler and then he waited to be addressed.

While a spokesperson of the shogun gave a short overview of the situation, Usagi remembered that Pau Tai also had shown proper respect at meetings like this. It probably made little difference for him but it would help Usagi not to abuse his power.

"I do thank the shogun and the assembled lords," Usagi started, "to receive me so I can share my knowledge."

"This all started 30 years ago." Clear and brief, he reported how he had found Kusanagi and that he had brought it to the Atsua shrine so it couldn't be abused. He also mentioned the attack of the Neko(5) ninjas.

Then he said that Pau Tai had come to Japan because Kusanagi had selected him as the rightful ruler of Japan and to train him how to use the powers of the sword properly. For this, they had returned to Atsua shrine, stolen the sword and replaced it by a copy. Since then, he said, he was in possession of the sword.

"That was about 25 years ago," Usagi finished his report about the past. A few lords out of Hikijis group and some of the traitors knew that he had lied but with Kusanagis help, Usagi was in control of the ones who would have spoken their mind and the others knew that their life depended on the fact that the shogun believed Usagis words.

Maybe someone would eventually talk but then, no one would believe him.

"The Neko ninjas eventually told Lord Hikiji Kaneda, the father of Lord Hikiji Tomoyuki here, about the sword. They stole it for him and this way, the copy got into the hands of the Hikiji clan," Usagi went on.

"The old lord learned about the possibilities which the sword offered and began to abuse them for his own plans. He never knew that it wasn't the real sword."

"How do you explain the outstanding abilities of the copy?" one of the advisers of the shogun asked.

"I don't know," Usagi lied. "I guess that Pau Tai did create a special copy, then, but I can only guess at the reasons for this. I thought that the copy is a plain sword that just looks like Kusanagi."

"And so you possessed the sword for 25 years?"

"Yes," Usagi lied smoothly.

"Why did no one ever take notice?"

"I have the sword with me right now," Usagi replied and made the sword visible. Gasps could be heard when the sword suddenly appeared behind his back.

"It is invisible?"

"Actually, it's unreachable until I call it," Usagi corrected seemingly unmoved.

"Please go on," the shogun asked.

Usagi let the sword vanish again. "In the next 20 years, I just owned Kusanagi but I never used it. My wife and I were completely used to capacity with leading my dojo(6) and when she died, I accepted Paus offer to follow him and become his pupil."

"Where did you go to?"

"To a place beyond the stars," Usagi said.

"To the heavens?" a lord asked unbelievingly.

"It's not the heavens where the gods reside," Usagi replied. "This place was created by men but I would say that it comes very close to paradise as I understand it."

"I spent the last five years there until I learned what was happening here. I returned to get a picture of the situation and to see if I can help in any way."

"When I arrived, I tried to meet with Lord Noriyuki. After several failed attempts, I finally found him in the camp of Lord Hikiji. When I arrived, he was about to return to you, shogun. I didn't follow him right away but began to examine a strange phenomenon which the Wizard Qu'ral had noticed."

"It seemed that Lord Hikiji Kaneda was still alive and he had allied himself with something which I would call a oni(7) lacking another word which describes it equally well. With the help of this being, he was able to control the lords and soldiers who have betrayed you. That is the reason why the lords were unable to realize what they had done as long as the spell worked."

"With the help of Qu'ral and Kusanagi, I was able to banish the oni and to kill Lord Hikiji. This broke the spell. You all saw this morning what happened then. The replica of Kusanagi was destroyed as well and because of the banishing of the oni, people were confused for a short time."

With that, Usagi finished his report which was a skilled mix of lies and truths and waited for questions.

"So what happened to the lords was different to what Pau Tai did when he was able to prove the treason of Adviser Okii?" the shogun asked.

"Yes, shogun. This technique, which is called hypnosis, can only be used as long as the person agrees to that and I really cannot believe that Lord Hirano would ever have done so. Furthermore, one can break through a hypnosis when one wants. Therefore, the effect of it would have ended soon after Lord Hirano would have entered the camp of Hikiji."

"I guess that Hikiji stumbled over the oni while he researched the possibilities which the hypnosis would offer him and he took advantage of the abilities of this being. Unfortunately, it refused to tell me any details so I cannot say what it really did."

"This leaves the possibility that this being still exists and something like what has happened could happen again?"

"Unfortunately, yes, shogun," Usagi lied. "But now, you know the signs and you will be able to react better and much more quickly should it happen again."

"This is only a small relief," the shogun admitted. "Would it be possible to talk to Pau Tai about this? I didn't notice him among your men."

"I don't know where he is right now," Usagi replied despite of having a suspicion. "And he probably wouldn't do it, anyway."

"The pupil doesn't know where his master is?" a lord asked unbelievingly.

"I am his pupil," Usagi confirmed, "but he doesn't train me by himself, yet. This is something to which some other pupils of him see to, right now, because my abilities and knowledge are way too small to justify that he spends his time with me."

"And why would he refuse to answer us?"

Usagi smiled unhappily. "Pau Tai would have known how to say this but I have to use my own words. The answer is that you are unimportant."

Anger spread. "I cannot change the facts," Usagi regretted. When Pau Tai came here 25 years ago, his goal was to change me as much so that I was able to become his pupil.

"I wouldn't have been able to accept this so he kept me busy the whole year which he spent here to distract me. This way, it took me almost 20 years before I finally realized what he had done."

"And when I knew, there was little I could do than to accept. I had to become his pupil. I would even guess that Pau already knew at that time what would happen and that we would sit here, today."

"25 years in advance?" someone called out.

"Pau is now almost 100'000 years old," Usagi replied, "and he doesn't plan in decades but in centuries! Why did he show Lord Hikiji Kaneda what hypnosis is? He would have had so many other ways to get rid of Okii-san!"

"He could have just walked into the palace of the shogun and snap Okii's neck and no one would have been able to stop him! He wouldn't even had to walk! Like Hanshiro and Qu'ral, he can teleport and reach any place this way. But he still chose the much more complicated way by getting an audience with the shogun. There must be a reason for this even though I don't know it."

"And what would you propose, Usagi-bonze(8)?"

"I would like to ask you to carefully think if there really is no way to stop this war without any further bloodshed," Usagi replied. "These lords here, who have served you well for many years, didn't betray you. Therefore, they are not responsible for the events."

"With the allies of the Hikiji clan, I fear, you will have decided in every case if someone has committed a crime or not. Of course, the same applies to Lord Hikiji himself."

Usagi had to answer many other questions of the shogun and various lords.

"How can we be sure that you will not return one day and announce yourself as tenno(9)?" was one of them.

"Well, I could have done that for 25 years, now," Usagi replied, "but I have no intentions to rule. There are others who are much more suited for task. I will make sure that Kusanagi cannot be abused. That is why I was so worried when I heard the rumors that Kusanagi had fallen into the hands of Lord Hikiji. This was the main reason for me to come back. If that hadn't been the case, I probably wouldn't have intervened."

"We are probably unimportant for you as well," someone said.

"Please do not believe that. But I would surely never have intervened in a battle. Instead, I probably would have paid a visit to my school and met with some old friends and acquaintances."

After all questions had been answered, a fierce discussion started about what should happen next. Usagi went over to his companions and simply watched the commotion. He didn't use Kusanagi to influence the result of the discussion; the people would have to solve their problems alone.

Interlude

It took the two ninjas a long time to recover from the shock of what they just had to see. Katsumi patiently waited to be addressed.

Makiko was undecided. On one hand, she wanted to order Katsumi to dress himself, not to behave that humbly anymore and to throw away this horrible thing around his neck.

On the other hand, she was only safe as long as he wore the slave ring. And as long as he wore the ring, he had to tell the truth.

She cursed herself but too much was at stake.

"Why did you do this?" she asked.

"I wanted to see my master happy, mistress."

"After all he had done to you?" she asked unbelievingly.

Katsumi hesitated. "I cannot explain, mistress. I'm just happy. Satisfied."

"What did they do to you while you were away?" Kimi asked.

"Mistress Marena talked a lot with me and helped me to explore my body and my emotions. Helped me to see what I can do and what I really want, what makes me happy."

"In the beginning, I tried to resist. It was unpleasant for me to have to follow her orders. On the other hand, I now know that I would have been unable to finish my training if I had to rely on my own will. So, looking at it as something in the past, I'm not unhappy about what I have gained, mistress."

Makiko had listened intently to his words and now thought seriously about her options. She decided to try a compromise.

"Come over here, Katsumi."

Katsumi took the leash from the arm rest and sat next to her on the ground. When she stretched out her hand, he put the leash into it. All she could do was shake her head.

Makiko examined the lock of the leash which connected it to the ring around his neck until she had found out how to open it and released him. She dropped the leash on the table.

"Can you get yourself something decent to wear?" she asked.

"Yes, mistress."

"Then go and dress yourself."

Katsumi left immediately. A short time later, he came back dressed. The clothes were simple and in a light brown tone which matched perfectly with his yellow-orange fur.

"Do you know how to leave this place?"

"Where do you want to go, mistress?"

"Back home."

"I understand," Katsumi replied a bit sad. "I will ask, mistress."

"Stop!" Makiko called when he turned. "Whom will you ask?"

"My master, mistress. I think he is the only one who can answer this question."

"We'll try on our own, first. Only after everything else has failed, we'll ask this ... person for help," she decided.

"As you wish, mistress."

"And stop calling me mistress already!" she said annoyedly.

"As you wish, Makiko," Katsumi said with the same humble tone of voice as before. Makiko gritted her teeth but she called herself to order. She would later try to figure out a way to give him some honor and self-respect back.

"Let's start our search at the same place where we did arrive," she ordered.

Rumors

When all arguments had been mentioned and the discussion started to turn into an endless repetition of itself, the shogun ended the audience. He decided that all lords who had fought against him for whatever reason, were under arrest until he had decided if they were guilty or not.

The lords in Hikijis group were of course unhappy about that but Lord Hikiji himself accepted this.

The renegade lords also disagreed. Only Noriyuki, who knew that Usagi wouldn't desert them, accepted the decision calmly.

After the meeting had dissolved, Usagi went over to his friend. They would talk a bit, the guards would pass on what was being said and this would further influence the decision of the shogun.

"Lord Noriyuki," Usagi bowed as it was proper. "I'm surprised to see you next to Lord Hirano instead of next to the shogun," he went on as if he really didn't knew.

"Ah, Usagi, my friend," Noriyuki greeted him happily. "Unfortunately, there is a good reason for that," the lord admitted depressedly. "I was told that I made an attempt for the life of the shogun in the evening right before the battle. I simply cannot remember anything but it was my Wakizashi(10) which had the blood on it."

"I'm most sorry," Usagi replied showing concern. "I could have killed Hikiji much earlier and put an end to this but I was hoping that I could find out how he had achieved this."

"Don't worry too much," the lord comforted him. "The assassination failed and I would have done the same in your place. Should the shogun find me guilty, I will pass on with the knowledge that I did everything I could to serve my subjects. Nobody can ask more of me."

"But it would still be an dishonorable death," Usagi disagreed.

"Well, maybe," the lord admitted, "but being a puppet of Lord Hikiji for a short time made me realize something. It might be terrible when others think that one has no honor but in the end, it's only important what someone feels deep inside of himself. It's impossible to take that from someone without his consent and it's this honor which really counts in the end."

"Wise words," Usagi thanked him. "I will see to it that they will be remembered."

The lord bid his goodbye and returned with his guards into the camp of the shogun. Thoughtfully, Usagi followed his friend with his gaze. Panda bears reached a high age and Noriyuki had now reached about half of his natural age. In the beginning, Usagi had been the older and Noriyuki had admired him for his experience. Now, things had evened out.

Lord Hirano, on the other hand, was a wreck. In the last three days after Usagi had released him, he had strained to play his role. But now, he openly suffered to have served his arch-enemy for almost three months. Not to mention the amount of his subjects which he had dragged into this as well.

In addition to that, Lord Hirano had reached a high age, now, and death in dishonor would be unacceptable for him.

"Ah, Usagi," the lord greeted him. Usagi could see how tired he was.

"Lord Hirano, I'm happy to see you again," Usagi replied and bowed.

Interlude

After only a short search, they had found their way back to the beach on which they had arrived. Together, they started to examine it. Makiko had to admit that Katsumi actually tried his best to help them. She almost regretted that, eventually, she would have to make him take off the ring. Sure, in the beginning, he would be servile but soon, he would become his old, dishonorable self, again. Then, she would have to be careful again to never let him out of her gaze.

Unfortunately, the search of the beach didn't yield anything. It seemed to be a pretty normal beach with sand, a few rocks and an ocean. Frustrated, Makiko ordered them to stop.

"Couldn't find what you were looking for?" the stranger asked politely. They turned around in surprise. Again, he had appeared from nowhere and they had only noticed him after he uttered the words. It was unnerving. "May I ask what you are looking for?"

"You are Pau Tai, aren't you?" Makiko asked. "My mother told me about you."

"I once was Pau Tai," the stranger admitted. "But only for a short while. Now, I'm someone else but you can still call me Pau Tai if you want to."

"We want to go back home," Makiko demanded.

Instead of an answer, it suddenly got dark. When their eyes had adjusted to the light, they saw that they were back on the clearing where they had left. The difference was that the ninjas could now move again and were drawing their swords. But they hesitated to attack.

Next, the clearing vanished and they were back in the castle. Surprised calls sounded. On the ground, dozens of sleeping ninjas lay on the floor, some naked, some with their masks on. Some had just toppled over, they had probably rested themselves against something to sleep, and others had been woken up by the yells and were now looking around in confusion. Pau had collected them from all over the land, no matter what they had been doing at that moment.

Then a strange blue light began to fill the sky. Makiko looked up at the glowing sphere which surrounded the castle. "Three days," Pau reminded her. Somewhere, children were crying.

"One moment, please," Makiko said to him.

"Take off your ring," she ordered Katsumi. He immediately followed the order but he was actually sad when he handed it over to her.

She had to force herself to touch it. It was warm, smooth and heavy. Beautiful. One didn't notice its horrible powers when one just saw it.

Disgusted, she threw it on the ground at Paus feet. "That's yours. Take it with you, we don't want it!"

Pau didn't move.

"Makiko?" Katsumi asked.

She turned to him. "Please, let me go with him, Makiko," Katsumi begged.

"You want to follow him?" she asked angrily. "You are unable to make such a decision right now!"

"Katsumi," Pau said gently, "give her more time. We will meet again in three days."

"Yes, master."

Pau stretched out his hand and the ring jumped into it. Then he vanished without a trace or sound.

Gen

Usagi had a few words with Lord Hirano. Then he asked what had happened with Gen.

"Gen-san has been severely wounded a short time after you left," the lord told him. "We had to amputate a leg. I've been without messages from my court for quite a while, now, but if nothing has changed, then he still oversees the education of my son Rikiya."

"Hard to believe," Usagi said amusedly, "that someone like Gen could find the stamina to teach."

"Yes," the lord smiled, remembering how he had first met Gen. "Everyone at court was pleasantly surprised when he started to train my men. He quickly got himself a good reputation as a teacher."

Usagi guessed that Gens popularity was based more on the fact that he was a hard drinker but he kept his thoughts for himself. With all the bad sides of Gen, he was still a skilled and clever fighter. Usagi just would have preferred if Gen would have been more reluctant to use his most dirty tricks.

To be remembered at the happy times they had shared openly cheered up Lord Hirano but reality quickly stepped in in the form of the soldiers of the shogun who arrested him and lead him away.

Interlude

Returning to her office, Makiko staggered and just had to sit down. She was worn out; the last three days had been very demanding. It had taken them half a day to find rooms for all the Neko ninjas that had suddenly shown up in the castle and to supply them with clothes and food. Until everyone had calmed down again and had known what the meaning of all this was.

One group was still trying to find a different way out of the castle but the field passed through all their tunnels and even a new tunnel had finally failed at the glowing blue light.

The field really seemed to work as Pau Tai had promised. Everyone who had decided to give up his former life as a ninja and was willing to start a new one, could simply step through the blue light. Sometimes, it did change when a former ninja stepped through it and one could get a glimpse of a different place, possibly far away from the castle.

Others, who didn't want to give up their lives or who did it feignedly, found the field impassable. No sword or arrow could even scratch it. It had withstood fire and a tentative ram. Gun-powder hadn't show any effects on it. They had even tried various poisons without success.

As one of the last ones, she sent Kimi and Katsumi through the field. He had been a great help for her in the last days. He really did seem to have changed and for her, his past crimes were atoned. Composed, she followed them with her look as they passed the field effortlessly and walked away.

Kimi had begged her to come with them, to give up her old life and to start a new one. Not to waste this once-in-a-lifetime chance for nothing.

'Maybe if all Neko ninjas could have decided for that,' she thought tiredly. But she couldn't simply abandon her subjects.

Then, they waited for Pau Tai.

For their end.

In the Camp of the Shogun

They had just arrived in the camp of the shogun when the shogun wanted to see Usagi. On their way, Usagi had talked with the other members of his team and now, they had reached more or less the same level of information. In the two weeks in which they had made preparations, Qu'ral had transported the Chey brothers into the camp of the shogun. The brothers had already started to worry when Qu'ral hadn't shown up the next day.

Hanshiro had erected a shield so the loud bangs wouldn't irritate everyone else.

And now, Hanshiro accompanied Usagi to the shogun to shield them off in case it should be necessary.

"Shogun," Usagi greeted the ruler.

"Miyamoto-bonze(11), we thank you for following our call so quickly." The shogun made a little pause. "There are still a couple of questions. We assume that you, as your sensei, want to talk with us alone?"

"I'm not Pau Tai, shogun," Usagi replied humbly. "I'm unable to completely oversee all the consequences of my actions. But I also would like to inform you alone so you can decide how dangerous this knowledge is and if any of your advisers can live with it."

The shogun smiled slightly and asked his advisers to leave them. When everyone had left, Hanshiro sat in the middle of the two so he could erect a shield without harming anybody.

Interlude

"You look very tired," Pau said sympathetically.

"Everything has been done," Makiko replied. As usual, he just stood there all of a sudden.

"Thank you," Pau said. "With that, there are no ninjas left in all of Japan. No one can abuse them for his purposes, anymore."

"What will happen to us, now?" she asked but she didn't really care.

"Are you still upset because of what I seem to have done to Katsumi?"

"What does that matter?" she asked back. "No, I was never angry at you. Disgusted. Revolted. Not angry."

"Why?"

"Please," she said, "stop your games already. I'm tired of them."

"You think this is just a game? Because I'm so powerful that I don't have to care what happens with you? That I don't have to care because I'm so powerful that nobody can stop me?" Pau asked. "That's only because you don't understand what I do. I don't play games and never did."

He made a wide gesture: "Like a sword or a spear, I haven't been born but was made. I'm unable to enjoy anything and even less so to enjoy torturing others."

Showing exhaustion, Makiko leaned back against the wall. "So why then?" she asked uninterestedly.

"I haven't harmed Katsumi; it's just that you think that I did."

Makikos laughed unbelievingly: "You probably expect Katsumi to be happy for what you have done to him!"

"He is happy about how I changed him," Pau replied calmly. "Of course, in the beginning, he tried to resist and he thought it to be a more horrible experience than what you feel, but now, he is happier than he ever was."

"Find someone else to believe you."

"I can prove my words," Pau claimed.

"How?"

Wordlessly, he offered her a slave-ring.

Truth

"I have studied the old reports about Pau Tai," the shogun started the conversation. Usagi didn't reply; he had already expected that the previous shogun had noted down the conversation with Pau Tai so his successors would be prepared should they run into Pau Tai, too.

"Since you claim that you were present at that conversation, I would like to avoid to go into details. I just would like to note that Pau Tai had turned out to be most creative when it came to reporting the truth. Now I wonder if the same applies to his pupil."

"Like Pau Tai," Usagi replied, "I try to stay close to the truth even when it is unpleasant. But I don't sacrifice lives for it."

"I take these words in such a way that there is another way to interpret the recent events?" the shogun asked.

'Quite a neat way to say that I lied,' Usagi thought amusedly. "Well, about a month ago, I learned that Kusanagi tried to come back to me. To achieve this, it abused the lust for power of Lord Hikiji. When I realized that there was war, I had to come back and Kusanagi had achieved its goal."

"But I really don't want to rule. Maybe I'm a good sword fighter and maybe I'll eventually be a good servant for the Goddess Ookaa'h, but I'm no ruler."

"Just like Pau Tai, you prefer to pull your strings from the background," the shogun interpreted.

"Yes," Usagi agreed.

"Why should I let you live?"

"I'd like to point out the possibilities which the current situation offers to you. You now have all the lords of the land under your control and you can eliminate any resistance with little effort. The attempt to kill me, on the other hand, would meet my resistance."

Usagi thought for a moment and then went on: "I think you don't have to fear any casualties because my two wizards will be able to hold off any attack for long enough to allow us to leave this planet. But a fight between us would raise some unwanted curiosity."

The shogun didn't react to these words. "Why did Lord Hirano switch sides, then?"

"Kusanagis plan was not only to get back to me but also to secure my place as a ruler. For this, it brought all my possible allies on its side. After a victory of the young Lord Hikiji, I would just have had to sit down in a made nest."

"This means that Kusanagi can make people do what it wants?"

"Yes."

"So you could make me do whatever you wanted, too?"

Usagi confirmed that.

"That is unsettling."

Usagi pulled a piece of paper out of his sleeve, wrote something on it and then offered it to the shogun: "Please read this only after I have asked you to."

The shogun frowned but he still took the piece of paper. Then he rose and strode a few steps back and forth, lost in thought. He still carefully avoided the shield.

"You can now read the text, if you want to," Usagi said.

The shogun frowned deeply and looked at the text. It read: "You will rise and stride a few steps back and fort."

Interlude

"What do you want with that?" Makiko asked and involuntarily tried to shy away.

"I want you to wear it," Pau replied as if it was a present instead of an instrument of torture.

"You are insane!"

Pau sighed. "To put it on would mean two things. One, it would show your will to live. And second, your willingness to trust me."

Makiko laughed dryly. "So I become your slave? So you can do the same to me what you did to Katsumi?"

"That would be futile," Pau replied, "because you aren't Katsumi. It would harm you to try to change you in a similar way."

"So why don't you simply kill us? Why do you still have to torture us?"

"I don't; it's just your prejudices which make you unable to see the reality."

"Why do you insist on saving me? What's in this for you? Why me? Why should I live while all those ninjas, who have served me loyally have to die?"

"Because you could still do something for Japan while your death wouldn't mean anything. The other ninjas have made a decision to die; I can't help them anymore. But you stayed just because you feel an irrelevant bond to them. Therefore, I can still help you."

"Help," she said tonelessly. "What will you do with me? What will I be when I turn myself into your property without a will of my own anymore?"

"Whatever you want to be," Pau promised. "I will never force you to do anything. That again is something which was necessary for Katsumi. But neither the new Katsumi nor you need to know what you should do."

With a sigh, she picked the band out of his hand and turned it over undecidedly. Like Katsumis ring, it was warm and heavy.

She opened her mouth to ask another question but then, she realized that it was futile. She could simply pass the band back to Pau or she could put it on. In the end, the wizard would get what he wanted and it wouldn't matter if she agreed or not. Or what she wanted.

So she moved her hair out of her neck and closed the slave-ring around her neck voluntarily.

Truth

"That is very unsettling," the shogun said struggling to control himself.

"If I wanted, I could simply force you to leave me alone," Usagi admitted.

Angrily, the shogun rumpled the paper: "So, what should I do now?"

"Sentence the lords that oppose you to death," Usagi said calmly.

He once more reached into his sleeve and offered another document to the shogun: "In this, you will find a list of the lords who are not trustworthy and, as far as I could find out, the reasons why. Maybe you will be able to use these reasons to control them."

Without saying a word, the shogun took the document and started to read it.

Interlude

She felt no difference. She neither had the urge to serve Pau Tai nor to do anything else.

Pau had turned to the still living Neko ninjas. They glowered at him but he didn't seem to care.

He stretched out a hand. A gigantic ball of fire suddenly sprang out of it and swallowed the ninjas. Everything happened so fast that they hadn't even time to cry out. Pau lowered his hand and the fireball vanished.

The ground had been melted by the enormous heat and no trace was left of the ninjas. Makiko could feel the tremendous heat and the wood around the yard caught fire. Greedily, the flames started to lick at the beams of the canopy under which she stood.

"What are your plans, now?" he asked Makiko.

"Die," she said sarcastically.

"A pity," he regretted.

She sighed and stepped away from the flames. "I guess you will want to leave, now?" she asked.

"Yes, everything has been done, here."

"Lets go," she said indifferently.

Sometime in the course of the events, the blue shield around the castle had vanished. From somewhere, Pau had got new clothes for her and she threw her black ninja clothes into the flames.

Naked and with her head held up proudly, she stood in front of Pau but the reaction was not what she had expected. He didn't seem to enjoy the view or be ashamed to see her exposed.

"Wouldn't you prefer if I followed you without clothes?" she tried to tease him.

"It doesn't mean anything to me if you wear clothes or not," Pau replied and looked directly into her eyes. She couldn't say if he lied or not.

But she didn't give up so easily. "Don't you think I'm pretty?" she asked and posed for him.

"Your body is pretty but your soul is even prettier," he replied mysteriously.

For a moment, she was confused. Then, she shrugged and put her new clothes on. Maybe she wasn't the most pretty woman on the land but that he didn't show any reaction at all irritated her. His gaze simply didn't change, no matter whether she wore clothes or not.

She tried to remember if it had been the same with Katsumi or Marena but there, too, he had been relaxed and calm as if nothing was out of the ordinary. 'The sword doesn't mind to kill,' occurred to her.

"You said," she said aloud while she followed him away from the crackling ruins of her former life, "that you haven't been born but made."

"Yes?"

"Who owns you?"

"The Goddess Ookaa'h."

"Really? How is she?"

"Alien."

"Like yourself?"

Pau laughed and it sounded real. "She is much more alien for me than what I must be for you."

"Why do you serve her?"

"It makes sense to do so."

"And what's in this for you?"

"Life."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sick. She keeps me alive."

"So if you fail her, you will die?"

"That's a very simple way to express it, but yes. I serve her on my own free will, just like you serve me."

Makiko burst out in laughing: "Surely you can't compare that?"

"No?" Pau asked and looked at her. "I could have simply ordered you to put on your clothes instead of bothering with your stupid questions but I didn't. I waited until you were ready to leave, until you dressed and I answer your questions despite the fact that I don't have to do this at all."

Makiko stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Pau in surprise.

Truth

Eventually, the shogun looked up again. "How comes you know all this?"

"I located most of the people on this list with the help of Kusanagi. Then I talked with them and forced them to be honest with me, again with the help of Kusanagi."

"And if I use this knowledge against them, won't they want to try to have their revenge on you?"

"I will leave this world behind me, soon," Usagi said. "With that, I would be out of reach for any revenge. Furthermore, Kusanagi protects me."

"And last but not least, I'd like to point out that I invested quite some effort into thwarting Kusanagis plans when I simply could have waited for a few days," he went on.

"And what about the attempt on my life by Lord Noriyuki?"

"I'm also responsible for this. I would like to ask you to spare him. He only did it to support my plan. We never actually wanted to succeed."

The shogun didn't comment this and ended the audience.

Interlude

Pau used his transportation spell once more and in this way, they quickly caught up with Kimi and Katsumi. Kimi was very relieved to see her again but she couldn't prevent crying out appalledly when she noticed the silver ring around Makikos neck.

Katsumi, on the other hand, was simply relieved but Makiko couldn't say if the slave was more happy to see her or Pau. Unlike Kimi, he didn't mind her ring.

"What happened?" Kimi asked when she could speak again.

"The Neko ninjas don't exist anymore," Makiko reported since Pau remained silent.

"And ..." Kimi trailed off.

"A trust-building measure," Pau replied before Makiko could.

"Come again?"

"One can only see the true character of a person when he or she isn't forced to do something," Pau explained. "As long as she wears the ring, she must follow my every order. When I don't abuse my powers over her, then she can still trust me after she will have passed the ring back."

Kimi didn't seem to really believe what she had just heard but Makiko had become very thoughtfully.

"Makiko?" Katsumi asked humbly.

She looked up.

"May I ask Pau Tai to give me my ring back?"

"Why?"

Katsumi thought about this. "Well, the ring does a lot more than just make one obey. It also protects me and when I wear it, my master will always know where I am."

"It protects?" Makiko asked and then remembered that the wooden beams had caught fire but she had only felt the enormous heat of the fireball. Her fur should have caught fire long before the wood of the house.

"There are limits," Pau Tai admitted. "If you would have been hit directly by the fireball, then the ring wouldn't have been able to save you. But arrows and swords can't get through it."

"Impressive," Makiko murmured.

Pau laughed. "I won't leave any rings behind. Give up your dreams of an invincible assassin."

Makiko smirked. "And what other hidden functions does it have?"

"The slave will understand what is expected of him or her and the master will understand the reply of the slave," Pau said curtly. "It doesn't matter if the two know the same language. It will also make sure that details won't get lost. Only this way, it can make sure that an order or an answer can't be misunderstood."

"And I can influence your body. If I want, then you are mindlessly happy or crushed. There is a way to find out where you are and what you are doing at the moment. That's it."

"It can tell you what I'm doing at any time?" Makiko asked.

"It reads your mind and it can influence it. This way, it can also tell me what you think."

Makiko swallowed hard. "That doesn't sound very reassuring," she said uneasily.

"Absolute power," Pau said smilingly.

Truth

Usagi was quite satisfied with himself. He had coped brilliantly with the situation, he thought, especially considering the short time he had had to prepare himself. So he was in a good mood when he returned to his tent with Hanshiro. On their way, they ran into T'he, who had been everywhere in the camp in the last few days and was taking notes, as usual.

Usagi said goodbye to Hanshiro and accompanied T'he for a while. He read some of the notes which T'he made and answered some of his questions.

When they were out of earshot, Usagi asked: "How was I?"

T'he smiled. "Quite good, I'd say."

"How did you like my solution?"

"Outstanding," T'he commended him. "Of course, Kusanagi had made most of the necessary preparations but in the end, it was your own doing because you used the abilities of the sword only very sparingly."

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked slightly confused.

"Kusanagi never knew for sure if you really wanted to rule or not. Therefore, it carefully prepared the way out which you eventually used to pull yourself out of the tight spot."

That damped Usagis mood quite a lot. "Kusanagi already planned to turn the old Lord Hikiji into a scapegoat?"

"No, no," T'he corrected him, "it just made it possible. In the end, it was you who made the decision. But if you would have asked Kusanagi instead of relying on your own wit, then it would probably have proposed something along the same lines."

Usagi was still disappointed. He had believed that he had solved this puzzle without any help. Now, he had to realize that Kusanagi had already planned it just as it had turned out. That was frustrating.

But he also had to admit that T'he was absolutely convincing. He couldn't quite say what had made him realize that T'he was in fact Pau Tai. Or Philmann Dark, as he called himself on the TAURUS.

Interlude

It took Makiko a long time to recover from this shock. "You still didn't tell me what your plans with me are."

"I don't have any," Pau said, "but your death would have been futile and so I offered you a reason to live. Now, you have to decide what you want to do with your new life."

"But you probably could give me some advice?" Makiko guessed.

Pau laughed. "Of course."

Truth

"What did you do to Khassar?" Usagi asked.

"I have annihilated his race and made him immortal," Pau replied.

Usagi waited for him to tell more details.

"The official version is that Khassar crossed my paths one morning and didn't greet me properly. My reaction was to annihilate all members of his race, to level their cities, to eliminate their culture and to erase every information about them. In the end, no one knew anymore that they did ever exist."

"All people, whom I'd call well-informed, had to realize that I wasn't only able to annihilate a whole civilization but also all information about this civilization as well. A few years later, nobody could even remember the name of Khassars civilization. They only saw the gaps in their information which told them that there had been something but not what it had been."

"Setting an example," Usagi concluded soberly.

"Exactly. Many would-be villains of the universe were suddenly confronted with a brutal example of my power and most of them decided that their personal goals weren't worth that much trouble."

"And Khassar?"

"He is probably the last proof that his race ever existed. He doesn't remember anything, either, only that I'm responsible for it and why I did it. By the way, his immortality is of a completely different nature than yours. I just made sure that you will reach your maximum life span of roughly 120 years. You aren't really immortal, yet."

"Khassar, on the other hand, has to live in an artificial body that never changes. With the help of some other tricks, I made sure that he cannot die no matter what he tries. I force him to live an endless and meaningless existence."

"Didn't he fulfill his purpose? Wouldn't it be time to relieve him from his fate?" Usagi asked out of sympathy.

Pau smiled. "Not yet. But soon."

Interlude

They followed the path until it got dark and they had to stop to spend the night. In some distance, they could see a street.

Pau handed Makiko some supplies, money and two swords. "Follow the street to the southeast. In a few days, we will meet there."

Makiko passed one of the swords to Kimi and fastened hers to her belt.

"Anything else you need?" Pau asked.

Makiko nodded. "Give me Katsumis ring,"she said calmly.

Truth

On their way back, Usagi thought if he should tell Khassar what he had learned. He sighed. Khassar had been right; he couldn't help him. He would have simply touched sore points.

Back at the tents of the Geishu clan, he was received by the soldiers like a hero. They were openly relieved that the large battle could have been avoided even if they didn't exactly know the reasons. Neither the shogun nor one of the lords had cared to inform the lower ranks.

Usagi also avoided to say anything which could have helped to anticipate the decision of the shogun or, even worse, could have contradicted it. He let them cheer him and they were happy to have avoided todays battle. Tomorrow would be another day.

Of course, he couldn't completely withdraw from everything. Every soldier asked him if he knew anything about what was happening to their lord. Most soldiers thought that the attempt at the life of the shogun was an ugly rumor spread by a rivaling lord.

They were shocked to learn that it had really happened. Usagi tried his best to make them understand that it was the doing of the old Lord Hikiji but it wouldn't have taken much more and the soldiers would have marched over to the Hikiji clan and take revenge.

Usagi promised them to do his best to save Noriyukis life and the soldiers thanked him. 'They thank me but I'm the one who did bring Noriyuki into this situation in the first place,' he thought sheepishly while the soldiers took his reaction as modesty.

Interlude

As usual, Pau wasn't surprised in the least. 'No point in wondering; after all, he reads my mind,' Makiko thought sourly. Wordlessly, he offered her a small pouch and vanished after she had taken it. She opened the pouch and poured its contents into her hand.

Thoughtfully, she held Katsumis ring in her hand. When she had asked Pau for Katsumis ring, Katsumi had smiled but remained silent. And even if her hair still stood on end, she really felt that he wanted it back. He actually seemed to look forward to be a slave once more, having to follow every order.

"Why do you want it back?" she asked him.

Katsumi thought about this for a moment. "All my life, I ... strove for greater things, Makiko. I always wanted to be better then anyone else. To rule them. Power and control seemed so very important to me. I was so occupied with being better that I never asked myself what I actually wanted to achieve."

He broke off and stared at the ground. "It's hard to explain, Makiko."

Surprisingly, it was Kimi who helped him: "It's like swimming in a river. One can swim at a calm spot and enjoy it or where the water is wild and fast. It's exciting but one mistake and one drowns."

Katsumi nodded. "At the end of ones life, it has been filled with hectic activity but nothing has been achieved."

"You were the most powerful Neko ninja next to me," Makiko argued.

"I only supported you to be able to get rid of you more easily, Makiko," Katsumi openly admitted. "I sacrificed your happiness carelessly just to get closer to my own goals."

"My mind was occupied with this," he went on. "I was too busy to achieve it that I never found the time to think what I actually wanted. When I finally fell into the hands of Marena, it was as if I had been washed away. Frantically, I tried to get back into the stream. Starting again to struggle again."

He paused, remembering. "Marena just held me. Forced me to stop. I floated in a calm sidearm in an oasis of joy and happiness. But I didn't notice. It seemed to be the most horrible place to me. My own private hell."

"I didn't want to be happy. To enjoy something seemed dangerous to me. Doing something just for fun was unthinkable."

"Marena helped me to see what I had become."

"A monster," he said sadly.

Truth

T'he came back in the evening and they spent some time around a camp fire. Khassar enjoyed T'hes presence and chatted easily with him. Usagi asked himself what Khassars reaction would be if he knew that he was talking to Pau Tai.

But again, the truth wasn't valuable enough to ruin a life for it. Or just a short moment of happiness as Khassar felt it right now.

When they went to sleep, T'he stepped to Usagi. "She wants to see you know," he simply said.

He didn't have to mention her name; Usagi knew whom me meant.

Ookaa'h.

Usagi felt a great nervousness.

Even fear.

Interlude

"To stop being a monster, you became a different monster," Makiko said bitterly.

"One just didn't notice that I was a monster, Makiko," Katsumi replied. "Now, I'm only a monster because my behavior is ... unwanted. But now, no one has to suffer from my actions, anymore."

"Why do you want it back?" Makiko asked again.

"I'm afraid, Makiko," Katsumi said quietly. "I'm afraid that I won't be strong enough. That it could happen again."

"The ring protects others from me, Makiko" he finished. "That is why I want it back."

Truth

'Haven't been so nervous since my wedding,' Usagi thought and took a deep breath.

But he couldn't calm down his shaking nerves. He would meet a goddess. A real, actual goddess with unlimited powers. So different from him that he wouldn't be able to grasp the most simple word she could speak.

'What if I'm not worthy? What if I don't understand her? What if she sends me away?'

Thousands of questions swarmed in his head.

When T'he asked if he was ready, he could just smile weakly. The next moment, they stood on a wide, white beach.

Interlude

Tired, Makiko took a deep breath of the cool air to clear her head. She had suspected the treason of Katsumi for a while and asked Kimi to have an eye on him. Kimi had got his trust and had reported to Makiko regularly about his actions. Makiko hadn't had proof that he was involved into the death of her husband but she had already suspected it.

But now, when the murderer of her husband was in her grip, she couldn't decide. 'Should I punish him by keeping the ring or by giving it back?' she wondered.

But the great hatred that she had felt was gone, now. She had envisioned how she would avenge the death of her husband after she had found the person responsible in livid pictures.

But Katsumi was already dead.

At least the Katsumi who had killed her husband.

She pushed the ring back into the pouch and threw it over to Katsumi.

"Thank you, Makiko," Katsumi bowed.

With a happy smile, he took the ring out of the pouch but while putting it around his neck, he hesitated. Makikos face went grim but the reason was not what she expected.

"Before I put on the ring again, I would like to ask a favor, Makiko," he said and looked at her.

"What?" she demanded.

Katsumi put the ring back into the pouch and passed it to Kimi. Kimi hesitated to take the pouch.

"I want to do that before wearing the ring again, Makiko, because otherwise, it wouldn't mean anything anymore," he explained.

"I brought great despair over you, Makiko, and I'm willing to accept any punishment you might want to inflict on me," Katsumi offered.

Ookaa'h's Sanctum

Quietly, the waves washed over the gentle slope of the sand. A friendly sun stood high in the sky and it was pleasantly warm. Curiously, Usagi looked at the scenery. There were a few tiny clouds scattered over the sky and the view over the ocean went far.

"You're already dead, too?" a caring voice asked which Usagi hadn't heard for a lifetime.

He quickly turned towards its source. And there his goddess was.

Tomoe.

Pau stayed in the background while they hugged.

"No, I'm still alive. At least I think so," Usagi laughed. "If I had known that you were here, I'd have come much earlier."

"Earlier?" Tomoe asked who looked much younger than Usagi remembered her.

"Time and space are more ... personal, here," Pau threw in.

They looked at him questioningly. "You both arrived here only a few moments ago but for Usagi, five years have passed since your funeral."

"You really endured such a long time without me?" Tomoe teased him.

"Uh," Usagi made and remembered how often he had enjoyed his time with Karla. "I had help," he admitted but he actually wasn't ashamed. "You would have liked Karla."

As he had hoped, Tomoe didn't seem to mind. "I wouldn't have expected otherwise," she said gently.

"How come you are here since you haven't died?" she asked. "Or did you come to the realm of the dead looking for someone like a hero from one of the old legends?"

"Pau said that Ookaa'h wanted to see me, now," Usagi explained.

"Aha," Tomoe made, "he's again turning your life upside down."

Usagi laughed. "It seems that I'm now ready to become one of her priests."

"And why am I here, then?"

Usagi looked at Pau who simply shrugged. "This is the inner sanctum of Ookaa'h. Only she decides who is here and why."

"And who are you?" Tomoe asked, who had never seen T'he before.

T'he bowed. "My name is Tsuku Heramabitiano but just call me T'he."

"Or Pau Tai," Usagi added. "Or Philmann Dark."

"You always take all the fun out of it," Pau complained half-heartedly.

"Good," Tomoe encouraged Usagi.

"Just why is everyone so cruel?" Pau feigned desperation.

"Makes me wonder," Tomoe said unimpressedly.

Pau sighed. "Can we?"

"Where exactly are we?"

"This is a dream of Ookaa'h. Nothing around us is real," Pau explained, "at least not in your sense. But since Ookaa'h is a goddess, it seems to be real for us."

Usagi took a handful of sand and let it pour through his fingers. He couldn't tell a difference and Kusanagi also took the environment for real.

"But what's the difference?"

"Come," Pau said and took the lead.

After taking a few steps, they understood what he meant. With every step, the landscape changed.

Suddenly, they walked through a forest. Unlike teleportation, the change was smooth rather than abrupt. The sand and the sea seemed to flow away while the forest unfolded. Enormous trees and bamboo groves went for the sky. Somewhere, birds chirped.

Then they stood on the top of a hill where a wide road started out of nowhere. When they went on, the landscape near them became more stable and they stayed on the road. Only at the horizon, the landscape still flowed in strange patterns.

Then someone suddenly appeared on the road in front of them. When they got closer, he turned and looked at them.

"Katsuichi-sensei(12)," Usagi greeted him happily and bowed.

Interlude

When Makiko finally let go of Katsumi, her breathing was heavy. His features were limp and he hit the ground hard. Blood poured over his face from a laceration on his brow, his lips were a bloody mess and a thin trail of blood came from the corner of his mouth.

He had refused to defend himself with a sword. Therefore, she had attacked him with her bare fists.

He hadn't tried to defend himself.

Had just risen when she had hit him so hard that he had toppled.

It had driven her insane. No matter how much she yelled at him, how hard she hit him, he had endured everything without defending himself.

He was trained as a ninja and knew how to defend himself without a weapon and he could have countered her attacks easily but he hadn't done anything at all.

Eventually, she had been unable to hit him anymore.

She felt empty and exhausted; to abuse Katsumi hadn't brought her relief. When she stretched out her hand, Kimi threw her the pouch.

Without feeling victorious, she took the ring out and bent down to Katsumi.

Katsumi coughed and moaned. He rose half-way and then saw that she held his ring in her hand. Despite his pains, he sat up and bowed.

"Thank you, that I could do this for you, Makiko," he said.

Tears ran down her face when she closed the ring around his neck.

Usagis Path

"Ah, Usagi-sensei," Katsumi greeted him friendly. Usagi was very proud to hear these words from his former teacher.

"Well, how did you fare?" Katsuichi asked. "Did you complete the training of my pupils?"

"Yes, Katsuichi-sensei."

"I hope," Katsuichi said, "that they didn't trouble you too much."

"If the pupil is bad, it's the fault of the teacher," Usagi replied simply. "They were good pupils. I never had reason to complain."

Katsuichi arched an eyebrow: "Should I conclude from your words that all the trouble I had with you was my own fault?" he asked but a little smile played in the corners of his mouth.

"You did accept me as a pupil," Usagi replied.

"I see ...," Katsumi answered not completely serious. "And who is the pretty child?"

Usagi introduced the two.

"And you would be Pau Tai," Katsuichi said to Pau.

"How did you know?" Usagi asked amazed.

"You wouldn't believe," Katsuichi laughed, "how good it feels that I can still baffle you."

"Somehow, Katsuichi-sensei always recognized Pau," Usagi explained to Tomoe.

"This time, it was his inconspicuousness," Katsuichi explained good humored. "There was absolutely nothing outstanding with him. He was so average that I immediately asked myself why someone like him would be here. I was sure that there had to be something unusual about him but I couldn't make it out. That meant that he must be a master of deception. Which in turn lead directly to Pau Tai."

"I will remember this," Usagi answered amusedly.

Katsuichi got serious again. "You have got far, Usagi-sensei. Farther than I dared to hope. But you still fall for the obvious."

"Yes," Usagi admitted, "I know. I'm working on it."

"That is good to hear. I hope," Katsuichi said to Tomoe, "that he is a good husband to you."

"I died five years ago," Tomoe mentioned, "but when we were married, I was the most happy woman in the world. And I still am."

"I'm happy for you," Katsuichi said. "You are a warrior like Usagi. How come that you could bear the life as his wife that easily?"

Usagi told Katsuichi about his school and that Tomoe had helped him to train the pupils.

"A woman?" Katsuichi asked in surprise and Tomoe made an angry face.

"I apologize," Katsuichi bowed before Tomoe, "I didn't mean to insult you with an ill-considered word. It is most unusual that a woman can reach such a position."

Tomoe, who remembered(13) how her father had made her younger and much less experienced brother Tajima the leader of the Falling Rain Dojo, nodded grimly. When she had been sensei of Usagis dojo, she had been met with a lot of hostility and also their school had received a lot of abuse from other attendants at contests.

But her pupils, after having recovered from the first shock, had always been respectful and followed her orders just as they had done with Usagis. Only outsiders had not understood.

She had accepted her fate with dignity especially since Usagi supported her wholeheartedly but things had been much worse for other female pupils. Repeatedly, Usagi had tried to register them at contests or tried to honor their achievements in other ways.

But, in the end, he had failed as well. Keiko, the wife of Waytiki, had the best fate of them all because she had been able to retreat into the safety of the school like Tomoe. But the other female pupils had eventually had to face the harsh reality of the Japanese society where a woman just didn't mean much.

Fascinatedly, Master Katsuichi had listened to the reports of Usagi. He did actually praise Usagis efforts to train women. "But I would have expected the misery which will come from this. It's hard enough to change a single person. How could you hope to make the Japanese society to accept female warriors? That will never happen!"

"In about five hundred years, men and women will have equal rights in your culture," Pau threw in. "It will be men like Usagi, who initiate the change. Of course, neither he nor any of the next 20 generations will notice any difference. But it spreads like a disease. Some will be immune but others will be infected, making the thought their own, changing their life. Eventually, it will be as normal as the suppression of women now."

Katsuichi wasn't really convinced.

"Tomoe and Usagi know that I'm something like a shogun on another world. I'm in charge of the army, there. About 30% of the soldiers are females and 80% of the officers."

That even took Usagi by surprise, who had got used to treat anyone with respect on the TAURUS: "That many?"

"They think before they attempt something stupid, they make arrangements with each other and they are more careful. If I send a man with 1000 soldiers to achieve something, he will succeed and will return with 300 men. A woman will take longer but she, too, will succeed. But she will return with 900 men. It's obvious which unit is preferred by a soldier and in which unit soldiers perform better."

"Amazing. And that works?" Katsuichi asked. "Won't the men have their mind on something else when a woman leads them into battle?"

"When the dying starts," Pau smirked, "even the most manly man puts survival in front of sex. But the units are usually mixed and the men usually go after the female soldiers and leave the female officers alone."

"But then, they are usually occupied with something besides guard duty at night?" Usagi guessed.

"True. But many don't look for one-night stands but for dependable relationships. Attacking such a unit can get really ugly even for a much stronger attacker."

"Let's imaging, for example, that I'm an attacker and I kill Tomoe. A short time later, I will have you in my neck and you won't be happy at all."

Usagi could readily imagine that.

Interlude

Together with Kimi, Makiko had cared for Katsumis wounds. They followed the street as Pau had asked them to. Katsumi never complained but he openly admitted that he was in pain when they asked. Therefore, their progress was only a slow one.

He didn't even complain despite Makiko ordering him to speak his mind. He was the one who bore the greatest hardship, but still, he seemed to be the happiest of them all.

In a small village on the way, they went to a healer who had a look at his wounds. Except for a broken rib which had already started to heal, she couldn't find anything. So she just gave him something to ease the pains.

They bought themselves additional supplies with Paus money and set off, again.

When they stopped for the night, Katsumi spoke to Makiko: "Is there anything I can do for you, Makiko?"

"Why do you want to do something for me?"

"You are unhappy, Makiko."

Makiko sighed. "I refuse to beat you up, again," she turned his offer down.

"I thank you, Makiko, but is there anything else I could do to make you happy?"

Makiko, who knew exactly what he meant, shook her head. "No!" she refused his offer.

"Please, Makiko," Katsumi begged.

"Never!" she yelled.

Katsumi broke into tears. "Forgive me, Makiko! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please, I'm sorry! Forgive me!" he cried.

Horrified, Makiko saw what she had done. She hadn't spoken her mind but Katsumis slave-ring had made sure that he realized all the disgust and horror which she felt for what Pau had done to him.

"Calm down, Katsumi," she said soothingly and took him into her arms, "it's alright. Everything will be alright."

Helplessly, she looked at Kimi who could only shrug.

Usagis Path

They talked while they were walking and Usagi exchanged his experiences with Katsuichi about problems they had encountered with their pupils and how they had solved them. In the course of this conversation, Usagi realized that Katsuichi hadn't been as superior as he had always believed. Quite the contrary, many of his solutions seemed to be inferior to Usagi.

Katsuichi didn't seem to mind. "I hadn't had many pupils of my own," he openly admitted, "and I never thought much about how to respond to them. You, on the other hand, have never put yourself above your pupils."

He smiled satisfiedly. "The pupil has surpassed the teacher."

Embarrassed by this compliment, Usagi looked down and Katsuichi laughed: "As it should be."

They bid each other farewell and went on. Katsuichi stayed behind and after a few steps, they lost him out of sight. Instead, someone else out of Usagis life appeared.

"You," Lord Hikiji snarled and drew his sword.

Interlude

Katsumi didn't give up that easily. Makiko was tempted to order him to speak only when addressed, again, but she didn't want to do this to him.

So she came up with ever more excuses to turn his offer down but Katsumis slave-ring betrayed her words every time.

"I can't," she finally admitted. "Alone to think of what has happened to you is unbearable."

"I know, Makiko," Katsumi said gently. "But nothing has happened to me. It's the difference between what has happened and what you think what has happened that tortures you."

"I simply cannot think that you accept your fate just like that."

"Then allow me to prove my words, Makiko," Katsumi asked.

"How?" she asked despite of knowing the answer already.

"Order me to take off the ring, Makiko."

Makiko looked at the ground. She couldn't. As long as he wore the ring, he had to follow her orders and this way, she could keep him at bay.

Usagis Path

"You can die here," Pau reminded Usagi silently. Usagi nodded and drew his katana(14).

Effortlessly, he blocked all attacks from Hikiji. He actually felt sorry for the lord.

Hikijis face was a grimace of hate: "So for you, I'm not even worth to be killed by Kusanagi, anymore?"

"Only once in your life," Usagi replied.

The lord attacked again and again but Usagi had honed his skills for so long, now, that he didn't even have to resort to the technique of the Tai Chi to protect himself.

Eventually, Hikiji collapsed in exhaustion. It wouldn't have taken much and he would have cried out in anguish because he simply couldn't achieve anything against Usagi.

Full of sympathy, Usagi bent down to comfort the lord.

Hikiji almost got him with a poisoned dagger.

Interlude

Eventually, Kimi stepped in and relieved Makiko by looking after Katsumi. The two talked a lot while Makiko tried to bring order to her thoughts. They had left Pau four days ago and still hadn't seen him again. On one hand, she was sure that there was nothing to worry about but it got ever harder to stop brooding.

They also had to avoid larger cities and the possible patrol to prevent that Katsumi was recruited. Impossible to imagine what would have happened if someone had forced a sword into his hands.

But there was a price to pay for Kimi looking after Katsumi.

After some time, he had convinced her to accept what Makiko couldn't. She was about to order Katsumi to leave her alone but Kimi asked her to stay out of this.

In the night, her yells sounded through the darkness and that was maybe worse than having Katsumi trying to persuade her.

Because she could feel how her own resistance melted.

Usagis Path

It was humiliating but Usagi wasn't willing to show consideration for Hikijis pride, anymore. He had simply overpowered the lord and now sat on his back, pinning him on the ground. Hikiji struggled and yelled but couldn't get out of Usagis grip.

Quickly, Usagi went through the various pockets of the lord and revealed many other deadly instruments. When he was through, Usagi let got and stood up.

Hikiji was furious. He foamed and insulted Usagi. When Usagi didn't respond, the lord lunged at his enemy with his naked fists.

Just like Talia, Usagi somehow couldn't reach him. With regret, he killed the lord again. It almost felt like a defeat to him.

"You really have to show me how I can handle people like him," Usagi said to Pau.

"Sure," Pau immediately agreed.

Tomoe tilted her head. "Kusanagi?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, you don't know this, yet," Usagi said still feeling depressed by the events. He made the sword appear and handed it over to her.

Carefully, Tomoe took it. "Except for the fact that you can make it invisible like Pau can with his sword, it seems to be a normal, yet old sword."

Usagi asked the blade to glow and Tomoe almost dropped it by surprise. "Why does it glow?" she asked.

"Because I asked it to," Usagi replied and Tomoe made a sour face.

"Tell me in advance, next time," she snapped. "What's the glow good for?" she asked and went through a few attack and defense patterns with the sword.

"No idea," Usagi admitted, "it just glows when I want it to." He shot a questioning look at Pau.

"It's just light," Pau explained while Tomoe handed the sword back. "The sword can glow in different colors and communicate this way. You can tell it to glow red when it notices a danger or something like that. That is useful when telepathic communication is not possible or not advisable."

To allow Tomoe to see better, Usagi turned his back to her and let the sword vanish again.

"It has no charisma," she wondered.

"My weapon is much more powerful than Kusanagi and much more dangerous when used. Therefore, the scaring emanation is useful," Pau relied.

They went on and the corpse of Hikiji vanished. Instead, other people of Usagis past appeared; friends and foes. Sometime, they had a few words or they just passed by. Sometimes, they even stopped for a few days and had long talks.

And Tomoe was of course very curious about Kusanagi and he had to tell her everything about how he had found it and what he knew about it.

"So I was married with the tenno all the time?" she laughed in the end.

"Well, yes, to a certain degree, you're right," Usagi admitted and laughed, "but I didn't know myself."

But as time passed, Usagi began to worry: "I wonder what is happening on Honshu while we are here?"

"Nothing," Pau comforted him.

"Ah," Usagi said relieved, "in that case, Noriyuki and the others are probably on their way back."

"On their way back from where?" Tomoe asked.

"No," Pau said at the same time.

"No?" Usagi was surprised.

"No time has passed on earth since we have left the army camp. When we will return, then we will come back in the same moment at which we left. Therefore, nothing has or will have happened."

"Just as well," Usagi said and explained Tomoe what had happened with Noriyuki and the others.

"You turned my lord into a traitor?" Tomoe ascertained herself in a dangerously calm tone of voice.

Usagi, who knew what was coming now, raised his hands in defense. "I will do my best to make sure that Noriyukis name is completely restored," he promised.

"Good," she said curtly and Usagi hoped that he would succeed. Otherwise, his afterlife could become very unpleasant because Tomoe still cared greatly for her former master.

Interlude

That she could have given Katsumi some money and sent him away, didn't help Makiko at all. Quite on the contrary: His helplessness against her just made her feel her responsibility much stronger. Her loyalty to those who depended on her, had gained her the trust and loyalty of her ninjas. But now, it was a great burden for her.

It had already been a burden when she still had been the leader of the Neko ninjas but she had got something in return. Now, she could get something in return from Katsumi, too, but she absolutely didn't want it.

Kimi was tired but also happy and satisfied. She didn't hesitate to praise Katsumis ... efforts. But at least, she tried to restrain herself when Makiko was close.

Still, Makiko had to realize that the days of her resistance were numbered. Soon, she would have to give in. Nonetheless, she fought the inevitable with all her strength.

Ookaa'h's Sanctum

The road ended and they arrived in a small forest which lay next to a gentle hill. The hill and the forest were surrounded by the foothills of a mountain range which formed a little valley.

Unlike everywhere else, the reality here seemed to be more "stable". Even the horizon was now without the smear-effect which they had seen while moving.

Without explaining anything, Pau lead them to the top of the hill where a circle of stones lay in the grass, maybe 3 ken(15) in diameter. The stones were pure white and rose only slightly above the surrounding grass. Despite the lack of weathering or anything like that, Usagi still had the distinct feeling that is this place was very old.

"A holy place," Tomoe spoke his thoughts. The stones and the surroundings radiated quietude and dignity. One almost could feel the presence of ... something.

"This is the temple of Ookaa'h," Pau said and pointed at the stone circle.

"What am I expected to do?" Usagi asked uneasily.

"Step inside the circle. If the goddess wants to talk to you, she will," Pau replied.

Hesitatingly, Usagi stepped closer to the stones. He was afraid of what would happen, now, but his inner restlessness was back. His drive. Which gave him the strength to go on when others had to give up. He knew, he would step into the circle. Eventually.

But he had stopped to postpone unpleasant tasks years ago. With skilled movements, he took off his weapons because he didn't want to step armed into this holy place. He made Kusanagi appear and put it next to his daisho(16).

Then he smiled at Tomoe one last time and stepped into the circle.

Interlude

Katsumi smiled happily and kissed her. And Makiko smiled back and returned the kiss with passion.

Katsumi really was as good as Kimi had promised. With an empathy which Makiko would never have expected in a male, he had made her happy. He would come up with ever new variations of making love with her and created a feeling of satisfaction in her which she hadn't known. Wouldn't have believed possible.

If he felt something similar, then she wasn't astonished at all that he wanted to be a slave of Pau. Even her controlled mind, always realistic and reasonable, had been washed away by the ecstasy like a leaf in a waterfall.

He was good a love slave. Enthusiastic. Devoted. Rough or gentle as necessary.

She was content but she also worried about the future: 'Will I turn into a mindless slut, offering myself to every male just to fulfill my longing?'

But Katsumis kiss made her postpone her thoughts for tomorrow. Soon, her cries yelled again through the darkness.

Ookaa'h's Sanctum

Usagi couldn't really say what he had expected but it was different. He couldn't see or hear anything. He didn't smell or feel anything.

But there definitely was something.

Using unknown means, it spoke to him.

It was overwhelmingly alien. Usagi couldn't understand any of the words it spoke but something in him did.

And that something helped him to understand. Not to care for the words but to feel them.

The words were a dream. A dream, not real, yet, but one that could become real.

Usagi dreamed the dream.

And the Other dreamed it, too. The other ... side of the dream.

Usagi dreamed that Noriyuki would be married. But the dream was only a small fraction of what he learned. He saw the woman. He didn't recognize her and still, he was sure that he would when he saw her. Then, he would know everything about her that he needed to know.

Just as with Jezko. He would remember when it was time.

And he felt how he was changed. How he died and the priest of Ookaa'h was born.

Without regret, Usagi let go what he had to loose and became what he would have to be.

He would spend a few milleniae with Pau and other priests and help them. He would learn and eventually stand on his own feet.

Usagi.

Owner of Kusanagi-no-tsurugi.

The 803th priest-line of Ookaa'h.

Then he stood in the circle again.

Curiously, Tomoe looked at him and he felt her. Now, he knew what Pau meant when he said that this reality wasn't real.

Now, he felt it, too.

The Way Back

"Well?" Tomoe asked curiously.

"She seems to like me," Usagi smiled.

Tomoe frowned.

Usagi laughed out. "I can't explain it. We talked and she gave me a task. And she changed me somehow. But I have no idea what happened."

"Do you want to step into the circle?" Pau asked before Tomoe could utter a word.

"I could step into the circle?" Tomoe asked being taken aback.

"Only very few beings ever get the chance to see the circle at all. But everyone, who can see it, is allowed to step into it."

Now, Tomoe was very uneasy and Usagi felt with her. A few moments ago, he had felt the same.

"Give it a try," he encouraged her while he picked up his weapons again.

She stared at the circle. She had to fight with herself to put a foot into it. Ducked, she eventually stood in the circle as if she was expecting a flash from the sky to kill her for the sacrilege.

Then the circle glowed for an instant and she relaxed. When she stepped outside, a satisfied smile was on her face. Usagi didn't ask what she had experienced. Just like himself, she wouldn't have words to describe it.

As the last one, Pau stepped into the circle. The ring started to glow in a bright light, almost glaring but somehow, the even glare didn't hurt the eyes. It filled the circle for a while and then it vanished again.

"The glow was very brief with you," Usagi told Tomoe.

"I'm probably not that important," Tomoe suspected but there was no regret in her voice. "That was what I feared most: that nothing would happen," she admitted. "To step in front of a god; a chance given to only a few mortals."

"And then to be ignored," Usagi completed the sentence for her.

Tomoe nodded. "You were almost half an hour in the glow."

"That long?" Usagi wondered for whom it had felt like moments.

"The consecration of a new priest always takes long," Pau explained while they went down the hill.

They had needed two months to reach the the stone circle, but it took only ten steps to get back to the beach.

Usagi said farewell to Tomoe. "Will I see her again?" he asked Pau.

"I will wait until you return," Tomoe answered unexpectedly.

Usagi smiled. "I won't take long," he promised.

"You don't have to hurry," Tomoe said. "For me, no time will pass."

"But for me, it will feel like an eternity," Usagi complained.

The Bad Ones Go Into Your Crop ...

As Pau had promised, not a moment had passed in the camp since they had left. Usagi slept long, the next day. Or at least he tried but the hard beds in the camp did their best to keep him awake.

The next few days, the shogun sat in judgment on the lords. Witnesses were called, vows were given again and people were sentenced.

Usagi didn't pay much attention to these events. He was very relieved to learn that most lords which Kusanagi had turned into traitors, were found not guilty by the shogun. Noriyuki was among them.

The only sentence which Usagi did really regret was the one of Lord Hikiji. Usagi had really begun to like the young man. But he could also understand the shogun who wanted to put an end to the name Hikiji after it had brought so much suffering, harm and treason.

Hikiji accepted the decision unmovedly. Usagi knew that the shogun would have preferred to be able to spare this great man but the circumstances simply didn't allow it. Under all circumstances, he had to avoid the appearance that deeds like the ones committed by the Hikiji clan could pass without punishment.

"I accept this," Lord Hikiji told Usagi when they met the other day.

"I also wouldn't want you," the lord said seriously, "to try to save my life. My life really isn't that important."

Usagi, who had actually toyed with this thought, nodded.

"You changed since I saw you last time," the lord changed the subject.

"I've been consecrated as a priest of Ookaa'h," Usagi said with quite some pride in his voice.

"I thought that you have been a priest of your goddess for a long time, now?" Hikiji said slightly amused.

"Well, let's put it that way: I anticipated the event to save many lives. Ookaa'h didn't seem to mind. She at least didn't mention anything."

"She actually talked to you?" the lord asked obviously interested.

"Something like that, yes. She spoke and somehow, I could understand," Usagi said. "But I can't really explain it."

"I understand," the lord replied. "It's really a great honor for me to have known you." And bowed.

"You are not really his son, are you?" Usagi asked.

Hikiji looked at him in surprise and then laughed quietly. "There are many rumors about me," he openly admitted. "All I can say for sure that my father never was married."

Lost in thought, Usagi looked at him. "You are the son of a peasant," he said then with an absent voice, "who has been kidnapped by Hikiji. He planned to use you in one of the perverse games of his and his advisers. But Kaneda saw something in you and spared your life." He knew that this was the truth.

"This could be true," Hikiji shrugged. "While I grew up in the castle, I had to witness the games which you mention. I heard the cries of the victims and ...," he shrugged, "I was young and quickly learned to deceive my guards. I found out where the cries came from."

"And what they meant," he added sadly.

"Is there anything about which you would like to talk with me?" Usagi asked full of sympathy. "I promise that I will never tell anyone what you entrust to me."

Hikiji stared at the ground.

Usagi waited.

Then Hikiji told him about his childhood and Usagi listened.

As the law asked, the sentenced traitors were executed seven days later.

Hikiji was the last one to be led to the executioners block. Quiet but upright, he went. He died without a word and his head was put next to the others.

"Strange feeling, huh?" Usagi asked.

"Indeed," Hikiji admitted who stood next to him. No one recognized him in the uniform with the crest of the Geishu clan.

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