a/n: . . .oh funny. Don't review, then. -- (pleaseohpleaseohpleasereview!!!)

Okay, just to be clear on this. I took some poetic liberties. Yes, there WERE female samurai and they DID fight, BUT not very often. I broke a LOT of Bushido/SC2/medieval Japanese rules with this story—if it offends you, DON'T READ IT.

Chapter 4

A knock sounded on the door moments after I had fallen asleep. I pulled the blanket over my head and groaned. ". . .g'way!"

"You still owe me something!" Mitsurugi's voice sounded.

". . .lemme 'lone, sleepin'!" I shifted positions.

Apparently, the door opened while I was shifting and hand placed itself in the middle of my back. I jumped, reaching for my swords, which I realized too late that they weren't there. Seeing Mitsurugi, I glared at him and lay back down, pulling the blanket over my head. ". . .haven't we caused enough trouble today?"

"Not yet. We haven't finished our conversation." Mitsurugi gave me a look that was neither angry nor cheerful. "You want to start?"

I sat up, seeing I wasn't going to win this one. Damn, he's stubborn. "Not really, but fine. What do you want to know?"

"For starters, how you ended up on the battlefield."

Man, is THAT a long story. ". . .I was 15 years old, about ready to be married when a group of bandits attacked my wedding train."

It was all so fresh in my head. I was to be married to a lordling that cared more for gold than anything. His estates were lavish while his countryside was in ruins.

"The ronin killed one of my brothers. He was supposed to go to war the next day. Instead of taking the letter that he had been killed defending his family, I took his armor, the call to arms and went in his stead. No one found out that I was female until I was badly injured defending the general."

The scar running from navel to my right breast was barely visible now.

"So what happened to the lordling?" Mitsurugi asked.

I shook my head. "He was presumed dead. . .if he isn't dead now, he should be."

"Ah. Please continue."

I pulled my knees to my chest. "Father said he was extremely proud of me for taking the initiative, so he would not order my suicide. Instead, he had me trained by the best swordsmen the clan could offer. I could beat HIM when I was 18. So I was given the spot of executive general, about two positions under him."

"This is going well for you, then. He wouldn't kill his executive general."

I shook my head, a tear forming in my eye. "He demoted me after my first defeat, when I was 20. He told me that if I ever had another defeat, he would order my suicide."

Mitsurugi's face hardened. "Is that why you grew angry with me when I had them brought here?"

"Yes, but I was not angry with you. I was angry with myself." I was growing ashamed of myself now; I was beginning to cry. Mitsurugi put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched, but continued. "I had allowed myself to be captured instead of letting myself die. That is why I tried to commit seppuku. I knew someone would try and keep me alive and try and return me back to Father. As soon as I step outside your stronghold with my teacher. . ." I couldn't finish the sentence and looked away.

"It is better to die an honorable death—"

"Something which you denied me." I whirled around, tears streaming down my face. Warrior title be damned.

"I had no choice. If I would have let you die, that would have ended my contract."

My eyes widened. "Contract?!?"

"As you said, I am a mercenary. I may be a member of the clan, but I am not technically samurai—my father was a merchant. Had I let you die, my contract with the leaders of this clan would have been terminated." Mitsurugi stood to leave.

I stood up so fast that my vision turned white. "Wait a minute—contract?!"

"'Take prisoner the children of the general Matsudaira Gendo.' I had assumed—"

"That I—we would subjugate ourselves to live a life of dishonor?!" I was shouting now. "You kept me alive to fill a CONTRACT?! How much are they paying you—my weight in koku?" I asked sarcastically.

The next thing I remembered was a bright white flash, a pain in my cheek and returning to my senses on the floor. Mitsurugi stood over me, brown eyes flashing. "I live a life no one wants. I am a nomad, seeking work here and there. Getting you alive earned me three weeks worth of food. Where you are staying now I fixed up from an abandoned pile of wood and stone and it is now the government's. Be gracious that you are still alive and that I did not kill you then."

"Oh, I wish you would have." I instantly regretted saying that. Mitsurugi grabbed me by the throat and dragged me out into the cold night.

"Kagero—my katana! And bring another."

My heart nearly stopped beating. Was he actually going to kill me--?

Mitsurugi flung me to the ground as a girl with a pair of katanas ran up to him. He took them and waved the girl off. Then he turned to me with anger in his eyes as he gripped the sword so hard his knuckles turned white. As I was getting to my feet—I will not die on my knees, begging for my life—Mitsurugi brought the katana around to point the tip at my throat. He flung the other at my feet. "You want to die that badly?! I will oblige you, then! Take the katana."

"Wha--?!"

"I will not fight an unarmed warrior; take the damn katana!" The katana at my throat was steady, but he voice was breaking.

No sooner had I bent down to take the katana then Mitsurugi unsheathed his and attacked. I unsheathed mine and blocked his attack barely.

My anger was up: he says he won't kill me, then he fights me?! I saw the seriousness in his eyes; he does mean to kill me. Kill or be killed.

I blocked, then countered with an attack of my own. Mitsurugi ducked that one and came up with a slash that opened up my thigh. I staggered back, katana held ready. He would come again, this time, low, I thought.

And he did. I jumped up and landed on his back, jarring my injured leg. He rose up, before I could plunge the katana into his back. I landed on the courtyard floor with a thump. Mitsurugi stood over me, katana along side of my neck. "You ungrateful bastard: I kept you alive, I saved you from Junko and THIS is how you repay me? By wanting me to end you life?!"

The katana slid along my throat, drawing a line of blood. I stared up at him, in pain from my earlier injuries and lifted my chin stoically. "Do it, then."

Mitsurugi stared down at me, the fire leaving his eyes. "You really want to die, don't you." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

I would have responded but for a slight movement on the roof behind him. I heard something whizzing and took immediate action; I reached up and grabbed Mitsurugi's wrist. His eyes widened as I pulled him down besides me.

A shuriken thudded into the frozen ground, flying right besides my head, so close, I felt the blood drawn and trickling down my cheek. It passed through the space Mitsurugi's head had been occupying. For a moment I thought I was dead and believed so until Mitsurugi grabbed me about the waist and slammed me into a pole. Dazed, I looked up into his face, then out in the snow. Three arrows were sticking out of the ground where I had been laying. "I may be wrong, but I think someone's a wee bit unhappy with one of us right about now."

"I think you're—down!" Mitsurugi pushed me down onto the porch as four shuriken flew over my head, one grazing his neck. "I think we should get inside--!"

"I think you're right." No sooner had I said that then Mitsurugi shoved me into the room.

Amazingly enough, I was still holding the katana Mitsurugi had forced me to pick up.

I rolled to a stop against a wall and immediately rose to my feet. Looking, around, I expected Mitsurugi to be the first thing I saw.

But the figure coming through the doorway wasn't him. It was a ninja, dressed completely in black and cackling. "My, I didn't think it would be THIS easy!" he laughed. He rushed me with two drawn ninjatou.

I blocked one, but the other ran itself across my stomach, cutting deeply. I collapsed against the wall, bleeding badly. The ninja came at me again, both ninjatou ready to rip out my throat. I ducked them both and ran the katana through the ninja's neck.

I rolled out of the attack, coming to my feet barely a meter from another ninja, this one wielding only one ninjatou. She jumped, then landed on my back, cracking a rib. I cried out in pain as she hauled me to my feet and slammed me into a wood pillar.

Fighting unconsciousness, I grabbed the other woman about the throat and brought my knee up to her stomach, side screaming in pain. Once, twice I kneed her, and she doubled over, vomiting. Not waiting for her to recover, I grabbed my katana (I had dropped it when she slammed me into the pillar) and smoothly decapitated her.

I turned around, finding three ninjas attacking Mitsurugi. He had a small dart sticking out or his neck—poison. I staggered into the fight, stabbing a ninja before he could run his ninjatou through Mitsurugi's side. The man already had three major wounds to his back and chest; another wasn't going to help him. He slashed open another's chest before turning around and blinking at me for a second before collapsing.

I grabbed him as he fell and gently guided him to the ground. I looked around: there were about ten ninjas still and one injured me. Mitsurugi was probably dying, and not of any help to me.

I stood up, katana in hand: if I was to die, it would be on me feet, my destiny. "You want a piece of me?!"

The lead ninja waved a hand; the others stood down. "Matsudaira Miyuki, I presume?"

Surprised, I nodded. ". . .the hell do you want?" I wheezed.

"To take you home." The ninja answered simply.

"Two of your ninjas just tried to kill me; I'm not falling for it!"

Something moved behind me. I turned to see Taki leaned over Mitsurugi, checking for a pulse. "Get away from him, you traitor!" I shouted, swinging the katana downwards.

I have no idea what happened next, just that she pulled me down next to Mitsurugi and ran her ninjatou through the one who had spoken to me, who had been about to attack me. "I'm not on their side! They're after me--!"

"What do we have to do with you?!" I blocked a ninjatou intended for my head. Taki and I pressed our backs together, protecting each other while I opened the throat of a ninja trying to get between us.

"You're in their way: they leave no witnesses—GET DOWN!" I didn't see the second ninja—Taki did, and that may have saved my life. She pushed me away, then fell away herself.

Now separated, the remaining eight ninjas could gang up on the weaker one—me. I picked up a ninjatou to use as my off-hand weapon and parried one that was aimed for my throat.

There were too many of them, and I knew it. Even with Taki helping me, I knew there was no way I would survive this.

Perhaps my desperation reached out. As I cut down a third ninja, I felt something behind me. I turned to see my uncle Takeshi standing over a fresh casualty. "Need some help, child?"

"Yes, that would be appreciated." With the bond that was only between a student and teacher, I flashed him a fast signal; he moved his head and I stabbed the ninja behind him between the eyes. "Where are they COMING from??"

"I don't know—watch your back!" I stepped to the side, easily evading the thrust. I grabbed the wrist, twisted it and elbowed the owner in the face.

Using the ninjatou as coverage, I turned so that Uncle and I were back to back. Taki was over in a corner, surrounded by four ninjas. "These guys just keep coming!"

"It's how they attack: first one wave, then another, then another until their objective is completed."

"What's their objective?!" I slashed open the ninja's chest. "Never mind that; where are the elders?!"

"Probably fighting in the bedrooms! They came after us as hard as they did to you—It looks like they're stopping!"

I looked around; it was true. The ninjas had all stopped and were glaring at us sadistically. Three had Taki on her knees, ninjatou prepared to slice open her neck. She was bleeding from the chest, a shallow, but painful wound.

"Remain where you are." The voice came from up above, on the roof. I looked up—there was a man dressed in black, holding a struggling figure—the kid! "I have something of yours!"

"Let him go!" Man, was that a stupid thing to say.

"You must give me something in return, then." The ninja flipped down with the boy still in his hands, ninjatou at the back of his head. "What's your name, little boy?"

". . .Shinjiro. . .lemme go, mister!"

"Shut up, boy."

I'm not his mother, I was tempted to say, but then stopped. This could work in my favor. "What do you want?"

The ninja grinned evilly. "You and the ronin and the samurai are in the way. . .you shouldn't have interfered."

"You attacked us!" I pointed out. The ninja started, obviously caught off guard.

In that moment of indecisiveness, I made eye contact with Shinjiro; he promptly bit the hand of the ninja that was holding him. The ninja dropped him and he began running back to me.

"OW! You little brat—come back here!"

"Takeshi—get him!" Uncle ran forward and scooped up the boy while I rushed the ninja. He saw me coming and ducked the horizontal slash.

Then he grabbed me across the throat and slammed me to the ground, jarring my broken rib. I looked up to see a ninjatou aimed for my left breast. "That was a foolhardy thing to do. I would have loved to kill every last one of you samurai dogs, but you and the ronin will have to do."

I heard Takeshi's shout as he put down the kid and picked up his katana. "MIYUKI!"

He wouldn't make it.

A searing pain erupted from my chest as the ninjatou passed through flesh and bone. It went so far through my chest that I felt it pass through the ground, pinning me like an insect to the cold, snowy ground. I remember gasping in pain, then coughing up blood, then nothing more.