Chapter 1: Saito Hajime

Standing in front of the chief us never a peaceful moment. If he's not screaming at you like a banshee, he's sucking up to you like a leech. Right now, he's sucking up, but in accompaniment to that, he's begging like a little girl.

"Please! Please! Please, Hajime! You have to catch the killer on the loose or the magistrate will have my head!" the chief cried as he sweated all his nervousness out.

"Then why don't you and your force do it? It's a 500 to 1 fight," I said, obvious to what he would answer to me.

"That killer is a madman, Hajime!" he shouted back at me. "He can kill three times my force here in the blink of an eye!"

I was getting impatient with the spineless coward. I had no reason to kill him, though I had no reason not to kill him either. Hm...to kill or not to kill, that is the question.

"Chief, this killer mustn't be that lethal. Warriors like that aren't made in this era anymore," I said calmly, hiding my growing annoyance.

"Well he's an exception!" he shouted as his face went white. "And you're the nearest match to him that I can find! An assassin leader of the Tokugawa Era; you're unbeatable!"

The chief was after all, a fat old man who didn't know anything about that era. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. He doesn't even know why I'm so famous from the Tokugawa Era or what group I led.

"Chief, I'm not that Tokugawa warrior that you've heard about anymore. I can't go up against—"I tried to say, but the gutless swine cut me off.

"Then return to your old self!" he said desperately.

He doesn't know what he's asking for.

I quickly changed my expression from my fake smiling face to my serious face. I looked at the chief and held my sword, as I slowly got ready to take it out.

"Look, you gibbering useless excuse for a commanding officer. Don't you go telling me to go back to my Tokugawa days because I assure you, you don't want to see it," I said, slowly inching to the now shivering chief. He was leaning as far as he could in his chair, as if he could get away from me.

This was becoming less and less amusing. I withdrew my advance and stood once again before him.

"Fine, I'll catch your killer. But just so you know, I'm doing it for the challenge. Not for you or anything else," I said.

The man was frozen in his chair. He just nodded in response to my statement. He looked like he wet his pants.

I let out a chuckle, turned and left the coward's office. It made me wonder, how do gutless men like him get to their positions? This era had a bunch of shit-heads for leaders. But enough of that; right now I have a killer to catch.