In the Kamiya Mansion's dojo, two Kendo artists have just finished their training for the day in the art of The Way Of The Sword. When they faced each other, the practitioners made a small bow to each other and knelt down on their knees. They put down their kendo sticks to their right side and carefully removed their helmets. One was revealed to be a beautiful, young woman with short, dark-brown hair while the other turned out to be a lovely woman with long, light-brown hair. Both women let out a sigh of relief when the Kendo session was finally over.

"Kari, you're doing better and better every day. I'm proud of you," Mimi said.

"Thanks, Mimi Sensei. T.K. isn't the only one who can handle a sword, you know? Speaking of which, I'm glad T.K. is getting much better from that duel he had with Ken. I think I should pay him a visit in his room," Kari suggested.

"You know that's forbidden, Kari. Tai said that nobody, and absolutely NOBODY is allowed to disturb T.K. or himself," Mimi stated.

"Oh, I can't believe this! I haven't seen T.K. in a week now! This is driving me NUTS! What in the world are those two doing that they claim is so damn important?" the frustrated Kari asked.

"I... I don't know, Kari. With the exception of Izzy, Tai refused to tell anybody what plans he's got for T.K. Not even Izzy would crack. This is driving me out of mind, too," Mimi said.

This made Kari raise a brow.

"Mimi... are you saying that you got a thing for my big brother?" Kari asked

Mimi let out a gasp. As her cheeks blushed a light red, Mimi laughed nervously.

"Well... yeah, you can say that. I felt so sorry for Tai when he mentioned he lost someone very dear to him. If only... if only there's something I can do for him," Mimi said. Kari knew immediately who Mimi was talking about, and that made her heart grow sick when she remembered how Tai's very soul shattered from his love's demise.

"You should go after him, Mimi. If you love him so much, then go for it! Seize the day! Besides, I saw signs of how bad Tai wants you ever since you started working for him..."

Mimi's eyes widened, REALLY widened.

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked slowly. Kari let out a giggle.

"I saw how Tai was checking you out every time you were at his office. Every time you got your back to him, his puppy-dog eyes kept pointing at your behind. I knew exactly what Tai wanted every time you bent over to pick up his files he 'purposely' dropped," Kari said. Mimi turned her face away and felt more blood rush to her face.

"Hey, Mimi. You helped me learn the art of Kendo. So why don't I help you? No offense, but most of the time you look like a stick in the mud. With my help, I'm going to make you so irrestable that not even Tai's will can hold him back! When he gets a good look at you... he's gonna go absolutely nuts!"

Slowly, Mimi's eyes returned to Kari.

"Kari, you're such a good friend! Thank you so much!"

"Sure thing, Mimi! What are friends for? When we get cleaned up, I'm gonna teach you how to really make guys drool. Your first lesson will be how to dance when swinging around a pole..."

****

"Yes, Mr. Ishida? No, I didn't get any word yet from Ken Ichijouji. Yes. Yes, I understand. No problem, boss." Davis hung up the phone and returned to his duties in keeping the Mt. Fuji Pub in shape. Knowing that everybody left the Pub at 1 in the morning, Davis let out a sigh as grabbed a broom and started sweeping.

"I hope he's all right. I'd be damned to Hell if anything happened to T.K. He's like a brother to me," Davis said to himself. Davis continued to sweep the floor when suddenly, he noticed a shadow in a dark corner of the Pub. Davis's heart jumped a bit when he noticed the unknown shadow, but he later on let out a sigh of relief.

"Man, T.K. You really had me there. You didn't think you were going to scare me the same way you did before, didja?" Davis asked, followed by a laugh.

No answer came from the shadow.

"Uh... T.K.? Hey, what's the matter? Cat's got your tongue or somethin'?"

Still, no answer. Davis started to feel his palms get sweaty.

"Look, T.K. This isn't funny anymore. SAY SOMETHING, DAMNIT!"

A pair of blood-red eyes glowed out of the shadow. Davis' heart began to run cold as he looked into the eyes of the trespasser.

".... I'm sending you straight to Hell right now, Ishida slime...."

Davis was frozen with fear as he continued to look into the red eyes that shined the darkness away in such an unholy manner. A purplish blue-haired man stepped out of the dark corner as his red eyes continued to stare right through the fear-struck Davis. As Ken closed his eyes and opened them again, his eyes returned to normal.

"Soooo.... I see you wanted me dead, you little piece of shit. Izzy may have been the one who squeezed the trigger, but it was one of YOUR shotguns they used on me! Did you really think that little toy could snuff me out that easily? DID YOU?!?" Ken shouted.

Finally breaking from the fear, Davis ran to his personal shotgun that was hidden underneath the bar. As he was a few feet away from his weapon, Davis saw a blur speed right in front of him and block his way.

The blur turned out to be Ken.

"What? How did you do that? It's as though... you were moving at the speed of sound. But how-" Davis' question was cut off abruptly by Ken's right cross to Davis' skull. Davis felt his powerful blow and got launched right over the bar and crashed into one of the tables. Davis's head was ringing with great pain, but Davis slowly got up to face the King of Blades. Breathing heavily, Davis put up his fists.

"... come on... I'm not afraid of you...." Davis whispered. Ken leaped right over the bar and walked to face T.K.'s best friend. With hands behind his back, Ken let out a smile.

"Do you really think a man of your stature can really measure up to a warrior of my level? Face it, Davis: you're an insect compared to the likes of me! I was given powers not even dreamed of, and nobody's gonna stop me from getting what I want!" Ken annouced.

Tired of listening to Ken, Davis unleashed a right hook to Ken's skull. Right before Davis' fist could connect to the target, Davis's head whipped back and his mouth let a stream of blood fly out of his mouth. The force sent Davis into a wall, causing a major crashing thud to echo thorughout the pub. Davis saw a black blur heading right for him. Davis tried to move away, but he was too late. The blur pummeled Davis' ribs, stomach and head with tremendous speed and power. Davis was helpless to do anything, for the blur was attacking him with unbelievable speed. As the blur halted its attack, Davis got a good look at the blur turning back to Ken. Ken grabbed Davis by the shirt and pinned him to the wall with his left hand, pinning him as though he was less than 20 pounds. With one good eye, Davis lifted his head up and took a good look at his nemesis.

What he saw Ken do next wasn't good, not good at all. Ken opened his trench coat and revealed over 2 dozen daggers holstered all over his chest! With a smile, Ken drew out one of his daggers.

"I got three rules you should have followed, little man. Rule # 1..." Ken grabbed Davis' right arm and raised it parallel to the floor. Ken rammed the dagger right through Davis' wrist and had it pinned to the wall. Davis' scream spread like wildfire throughout the bar as he felt the sharp metal eating through his flesh, bones and veins.

"... never stick your nose into another assassin's business. Rule # 2..." Davis tried to grab the dagger, but Ken grabbed his other arm and put it on the wall, raising it parallel to the floor. Ken grabbed another dagger and slammed it right through Davis' other wrist, having Davis nearly crucified. Davis screamed from the other dagger, wiggling his body around has he tried hopelessly to get his arms free from Ken's blades.

"... never get caught in sticking your nose in an assassin's business. And Rule # 3..." Seeing Davis won't be going anywhere, Ken drew out the biggest dagger of all. The blade was nicely curved, and the handle was designed to be a beautiful woman in a dress.

"... don't ever forget Rule #1 and Rule #2. For if you do, you're fucked." In a flash, Ken rammed his enormous dagger right through Davis' heart and right into the other side of the wall. Ken smiled as he heard Davis' breastbone crunch from Ken's mighty blade. In an instant, Davis' heart stopped beating against the blade, and everything before Davis' eyes turned black.

Ken smiled and did his best to memorize every agonizing moment Davis went through before he had him meet his maker. Letting out a chuckle, Ken took out a note and placed it on the wall next to Davis' head. With his fourth dagger, Ken ran it right through the note and into the wall. As his smile faded away, Ken left.

The dagger's note read:

'We're sick of letting you Ishidas breathe the same air we do. If you think you guys are truly Yakuza, then meet us at the Musashi Steel Factory. We're going to enjoy sending all to Hell.'


-The Kamiya Clan



.... to be continued