Ayame rose from her bed, feeling the warm sun on her face. This was the first day for many weeks that she has been able to rest. Lord Gohda had sent Ayame and Rikimaru on a number of small missions, that they had completed the last of, only three days ago, and with that they also had to train most of the time.
Ayame stepped out of her home, and into her garden where she watched the bird's fly by and the flowers blossom. Just as she was about to sit down to admire the view even more, a messenger from Lord Gohda stepped up behind her. She turned to face him as he handed her a piece of parchment, which read, 'you must come to the castle tonight, it is of great importance', and Lord Gohda had signed it. Ayame became worried about this message, 'what could it mean'. For the rest of the day Ayame could not think of anything else, she walked around the village, through the market and back to her home, but still she could think of nothing else.
As night fell Ayame grew more and more anxious. When the time came Ayame left her home and set off to the castle. On the way she had met with Rikimaru, who she told about the letter from Lord Gohda. Rikimaru had too received this letter and was on his way to the castle to find out what it was all about.
As the two anxious and worried warriors reached the gates of the castle, two guards approached them. They had told them that Lord Gohda was in the meeting hall waiting for them. They thanked the guards and entered the castle in search of Lord Gohda. As they reached the meeting hall they could hear load noises inside, a lot of people talking and what seemed like music. They both looked at each other, and as Rikimaru reached out to open the door Ayame grabbed his hand to stop him, and she said, "wait! Do you think that it could be another mission; the reason Lord Gohda wants us. I thought that everything was all right for now; I thought that we didn't have to kill anyone else, at least for now". Rikimaru simply looked at Ayame, keeping as silent as ever. He again reached out for the door, but as he did, the door flew open and a large crowd of people stood there, drinks in hand.
Rikimaru and Ayame walked over to Lord Gohda to see what this was about, and he simply answered, "it's a party, have some fun, you've been stuck in training, and on missions for too long, u need to relax a little", and with a huge smile on his face, he opened his arms and said, "go, drink, talk, laugh, have fun", and he turned away to greet his other guests.
As time past, the crowd of people kept enjoying themselves. They drank, laughed and had fun. All of a sudden a loud scream could be heard all around the castle. Lord Gohda feared that it could be his daughter Kiku, so he began heading for the door. As he got there, they heard another scream, louder and more terrifying than the last. Lord Gohda shouted for his daughter, "Kiku, Kiku, I'm coming, hold on", and he hurried out of the hall along with Ayame, Rikimaru and several guards. When they got to Kiku's room, Lord Gohda flung the door open just in time to a dark stranger climb out of the window with his daughter over his shoulder. They all ran across the room to try and stop him, but they were too late. As they got to the window, the stranger had reached the ground and ran off into the forest with Kiku.
Lord Gohda dropped to his knees, screaming Kiku's name, and as the rest stood on in horror, Lord Gohda turned to Ayame and Rikimaru and said, "I have a new mission for you. Bring my daughter back to me, and with the head of my new enemy".
