I own nothing!

Chizu stopped and lowered her blade staring over his shoulder. Usagi felt his heart stop as he lowered his blade in response. No. No not again. Please not again!

He slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder too. Kurokaze stood before the entrance to the cave under the tree, hands folded before him, bottoms of his wings touching. They along with the blades covering their edges crossed before his chest and stomach.

Chizu sniffed raising her sword slightly again as she stared at him. "It means nothing to me. A prize is a prize alive or dead as long as it is recognizable."

Kurokaze answered as Usagi felt his heart being shredded within his chest, "We both know the client will be most upset the prize is not alive to play with when he is delivered to him."

Chizu continued to stare and speak coldly back to her rival. "Something is better than nothing at all, coward."

"I am no coward, but you yourself must decide soon how courageous or foolish you are."

Chizu lowered both her eyelids and her voice. "What is the meaning of 'those' words you speak, Kurokaze?"

The old ninja raised a hand and placed it before his mouth. "Listen, Chizu. Listen."

The clearing fell even more silent. Usagi could almost feel the pain in the absence of sound roiling through the clearing from the Samurai, and from the small cave itself. Then, as he flicked his ears about, he could hear it too. Coming on the breeze, the metallic hiss of razor-edged wings on the wind, what sounded like hundreds of them. Usagi's eyes widened as Kurokaze's voice rose again. "You could not imagine, Chizu, my people would take well to me not arriving on time with our reward for delivering the prize."

The wings still sounded some distance away and Chizu took the opportunity by reaching into her robe and throwing stars of steel at the other ninja. "Give me the prize!"

With surprising speed, he raised his wings and angled them to block each projectile. Then he smirked at her. "Decide, Chizu."

Her eyes flashed and turned to look into Usagi's own cold eyes. A hiss seemed to come from her then she turned and in almost a blink each and every necko in white disappeared into their snow-covered surroundings. Usagi slowly spun his head in several directions trying to catch a glimpse of a disappearing feet.

Then he stood tall. He shifted his feet in the snow to better plant himself for an attack from above. He stared into the sky. Dark shapes with flashes of metal descended in an inverted cone. For a time that terrifying hurricane nearly blocked out the view of the sky. Then they were all hanging from the trees including the great one. The samurai had also shifted their weight, replanted their feet and raised their swords, but they were outnumbered nearly one to ten. Silence fell again as the ninja hanging upside down stood staring at the standing samurai and their standing Kashira.

And that silence stayed. For many, many moments it stayed. Usagi's once hot musles began to cool and stiffen. His breathing deepened, evened, and then grew shallower as he no longer needed so much breath with so little movement. While the Samurai's bodies were still, their eyes began to flick over potential foes and to their leader also standing still. Gennesuke puffed out a breath of his own and shifted his stance in frustration.

A moment later, Usagi finally turned, though he kept his sword raised and stared at Kurokaze. And still the Kashira only stared back. For another long moment they did so, and then, the Kashira stepped back and to Usagi's right three smooth steps even in the snow and held out a wingtip to point to the entrance of the small cave. Usagi walked by him staring and holding his sword out, before smoothly moving in.

In the light pouring in through the hole, he saw Tomoe Ame's strained face staring out it behind him Noriyuki's head resting in her lap, face turned into the folds of her robe, and one, black-furred hand was twisted up in its fine fabric gripping it with almost palpable strength. Usagi caught his breath as his eyes widened at the sight.

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes