*1*

"There is no other beauty." A rising master of the Shinkage School, Yukinojo Yagyu was relatively young, but already had the ambitions of a shogun scale. For the sake of Yagyu, the gods bid him to be the protector of Edo.

There was a well-known tale - - the power to rule was within a gleam, the gleam of metal. The metals inscribed with the name Muramasa, and the ones whom possessed them could partake of the divine rights of Japan's families adopting gods as ancestry. It had been that way for hundreds of years.

"Momohime, daughter of Kagami. She is the only one. She must stay away from those blades. " Yukinojo evoked those words like a possessed being, someone who didn't have his own sense. He had a deep voice destitute of passion, his words evoking that there was no means of changing his choice of goal. Yukinojo turned and looked upon three kneeling bodies. He requested their presence.

They were known to be long time clients of Tokugawa – the Iga. The Dokurotani degenerates. Going by their name alone, the ninja of Skull Valley, it was expected for them to harbor dangerous practices. For dark purposes, they were useful.

"What is he rambling about?" Under a shag of hair, gray and black as shadows, the fierce eyes of young Kisuke looked onward at the Yagyu lord to determine something.

"Still your tongue, Kisuke," retorted a masked and cloaked ninja, his identity fully shrouded.

Anger was clear on Yukinojo's face. He will not admit it openly, but the first daughter of the Narukami turned his hand. It was his hand that wanted to escort her in marriage.

"I will press Kagami to accept me." Yukinojo raised his hand, a finger pointing to Kisuke. "Capture her and the sword. You must. Before it's too late!"

In Kisuke's mind, he thought Yukinojo was being a blathering mad man, and he didn't think how urgent it was.

Kisuke ran like the wind, a body over his shoulder. Behind him was the image of a castle, towering above the horizon, surrounded in bright light. Despite his youth, he had seen it many times before due to the current times: the flames of battle.

Damn that Shogunate. They would go that far. Kisuke wasn't the type to think too deeply on one thing, and instead of pondering on the why or what, his feet moved only with the desire to press ahead. Mino and Omi were adjacent were each other, and then further south was the mountains of Iga. Kisuke, known for carrying two-handed weapons on his backside, was able to reach at the far ends of Mino before taking a break. When he did, Kisuke placed the body next to him. The body's makeup lined eyes fluttered. The cargo was completely alive.

"W-what happened? Wasn't I torn apart?" It was groggy, but the first few words from her voice had this singsong delicacy. It forced Kisuke to listen. A young maiden in a pink robe, she held her head as she gradually regained her senses.

"What do you mean?" said Kisuke as she looked at the girl. "There is no mark on you. Today, a skull won't reach you."

"A skull? What do you mean?" Momohime's eyes had a noble sparkle and did not feign her feelings. She was genuinely confused, the words from her pink, puckered lips bearing fear.

"No, no, are you a shinigami?"

Kisuke said nothing. A dokuro shinobi, a boy from the Skull Valley, would strike any youth in the heart and slice a head from any woman's neck if needed to. Degenerates, indeed; Kisuke's dark clothing and morose appearance didn't help either, giving Momohime the impression that she was about to dragged to death's realm without her consent.

The sister of Torahime…

Kisuke remembered her so suddenly. This third daughter Momohime had her differences, such as being less rugged and her hair tied up like a primped up princess. Their faces were similar, but there was an obvious contrast. From Kisuke's point of view, the beauty of Torahime came from her resolute aura along with being a woman at the same time. He also recalled her defined breasts.

Damn…why did they attack so soon? If only I stayed a little longer, Kisuke thought.

"Am I dead? Or are you here to slay me?" Momohime shook her head in disbelief at both ideas.

"Momohime Narukami. Don't look back. " Kisuke said. It felt cryptic coming from him. He dragged Momo far enough to not witness the carnage. He found her faint on the ground as smoke billowed through the room. She was unconscious through the whole ideal.

"What do you mean?" Momo asked.

"Look, I don't understand what happened, but it makes me angry." Kisuke walked up and looked straight into the third daughter's eyes. "If you don't want the worse, it's best if you don't ask questions and come to Anya Castle."

"Anya? Why? Why should I oblige this?" Momohime was shaking. She thought of the worse: She was being ransomed by an enemy lord. Kidnapped.

Kisuke didn't want to say it directly as he didn't have any evidence. He didn't remain long to inspect the battle, and scooped her up quickly. In his thoughts, he recognizing her as Torahime and it was a hectic sight at the Kagami residence in Mino. That was where he saw the Lord Kagami lying face down in a pool of blood. He probably had his stomach slit.