Chapter 9

(A/N: I got a pretty negative reaction to my last chapter from most reviewers, so here's a little retroactive continuity: Last chapter, Danny and Sam engaged in heavy petting, but didn't actually have sex. Also, at the request of several readers, I will be making Sam just a little bit more kick-ass in the future.)

At the sake stall, Danny, Katsumoto, Tucker, and several other samurai raised their glasses. "A toast," said Katsumoto in a hearty voice, "to Fenton Daniro and his new girlfriend, Samantha Manson. May the gods forgive you for falling in love with a gaijin."

"Konpai!!" yelled everyone as they drained their glasses. Danny, usually not one to over-indulged, happily accepted a second glass of sake from the serving wench. But just as he was about to drink, his intuition began to twitch. Standing, he walked outside and gripped the hilt of his sword. Casting his warriors' senses about, he knew that something was amiss, but couldn't identify the who or what. Finally dismissing it as fatigue, he went off to the food stall where Jazz and Sam were eating udon.

"Mind if I join you, ladies?" said Danny as he sat down beside them. "Please," said Sam, discreetly inching closer to him. "So tell me," said Jazz, "how many children are you two planning to have?" Almost choking on her miso, Sam stuttered for a minute, as did Danny. Fortunately, they were saved by a call from the center of the clearing.

Standing next to a small cart was an old man with a number of paper slides with ornate drawings on them. As he handed out sweets to the children, everyone sat on the ground to watch him. Sam leaned over to Danny and said, "Who is he and what is he doing?"

"It's called Kamishibai," replied Danny, "a form of storytelling."

As the storyteller related the tale of Akira and the Dragon, Danny's intuition began to warn him again, only this time it was stronger than before. Standing and casting his senses about, he suddenly turned and saw Katsumoto, standing by the sake stall, with a ninja about to stab him in the back!

"Katsumoto!" yelled Danny. Whirling around, Katsumoto eviscerated the ninja with a quick slice of his sword. All the ninjas jumped into the clearing, ready for battle. The samurai drew their own swords and held back the ninjas while the others escaped. Sam, however, picked up a fallen ninja's sword, snuck up behind another ninja, and stabbed through the chest. Coincidentally, this one was about to kill Katsumoto while he was otherwise engaged by three other ninjas.

"Thanks, Sam," said Katsumoto as he ran off to aid Tucker and several others. Suddenly, another ninja appeared in front of Sam. She tried to fight it off, but the ninja was more skilled than she was. With a shift kick, the ninja disarmed Sam and pinned her to the ground. Before he could drive his sword into her chest, however, Danny suddenly appear like a clap of thunder, using the flat of his sword's blade to uppercut the ninja's chin, which subsequently knocked him out.

"Sam, are you alright?" said Danny as he helped her to her feet. "I'm fine, Danny," said Sam as she kissed him on the cheek, "but thank you for saving me." "You're welcome," said Danny, blushing slightly. Tucker chose now to make his appearance. He was perspiring slightly, but seemed otherwise alright.

"Well, it may not be the best way to a end a festival, but people will never forget it," said Tucker, almost cheerfully. Suddenly, the ninja that Danny had supposedly knocked unconscious jumped up, pulled out a blowgun, and blew at Danny. Tucker, reacting almost instinctively, pushed Danny out of the way and the took the dart in the neck.

"TUCKER!!" yelled Danny as he rushed to his fallen friend's side. The ninja, realizing that the mission had been compromised, dashed into the woods. Danny, his heart burning with rage, ran after him.

For several minutes, the ninja believed that he had evaded Danny, and almost ran into him! Quickly realizing that Danny had overtaken him, the ninja drew his sword and lunged. Danny leaped into the air and brought his sword down upon the ninja's head with such force that it cut through his protective helmet.

Dragging the ninja back to camp, Danny ran to where Tucker's still body was laying. "What happened to him?" said Danny, voice breaking. "The poison on the dart was curaré," said Katsumoto softly, "There was nothing we could do for him." Hearing this, Danny lay his face on Tucker's unmoving chest and cried the bitter tears of someone who had lost a brother.

Finally regaining his composure, Danny walked over to the slowly dying assassin, saying, "Tell me who sent you and I will ease your passing," in a dark voice. The ninja took a while to reply, but finally rasped, "Masutatsu Varada."

1.) Samurai - Not, as most people believe, a noun, the Japanese word samurai is actually a verb meaning, "To serve."

2.) Gaijin - A (generally) pejorative term meaning "foreigner." Used to describe any non-Japanese.

3.) Konpai - An interjection meaning "Cheers!"

4.) Udon - A thick Japanese noodle made with wheat flour, usually served in soup or broth.

5.) Miso - An edible paste from soybeans.

6.) Kamishibai - A form of storytelling with picture scrolls used by Buddhist monks to teach moral lessons and to entertain. Traditionally, the youngest children were allowed to sit up front and eat sweets.

7.) Curaré - A South American plant toxin that kills very quickly, derived from certain bamboo-like plants.

(A/N: I hope you guys liked this one better than the last one. I know I don't have much of a way with words, but I think the chapter comes across very nicely. Please review.)

TO BE CONTINUED.