Chapter 3

In one of the lower chambers of the Kowatari castle.

'Please Mikoto. I beg of you no more!'

' I will cease when you tell me what I wish to know!'

'Mikoto, there is nothing!'

'Liar!'

Oda Nobuhiro nodded to the third figure in the room.

The fallen man, turned pained eyes to his tormentor. Protruding from his body were various short arrows penetrating various parts of his body like quills of a porcupine. None however pierced mortally but they all shed blood that dripped down their shafts. One of the man's hands was twisted at an extreme angle, clearly broken at the wrist, a useless waving limb. The fingers on the end mangled chubs of meat crushed out of proportion. He lay in a pool of his own blood.

He tried to move away from the oncoming foot but was too weak. The third figure brutally kicked him in the ribs. He cried out when three of his ribs cracked under the force. He fell forward onto the ground and screamed even louder. An arrow that protruded from his belly had been pushed through to the other side as he landed on it. It tore through him without mercy. He wretched from his lips bloody bile. A vital organ had been tarnished by it's passage.

'The pain will end when you tell me which clan you belong to. Assassin.' Oda Nobuhiro purred as he stood a little away from the carnage that was once a man.

All he got was a groan in return. Once again the third figure took charge. He pulled another arrow from his quiver. Using the crossbow he aimed and casually shot the sprawled man in the thigh. The scream was weak, used up. His voice a rangy whisper.

'I am of no clan. I swear. I know not who hired me only that I was told to kill you. Onigai simasu!'

'You still lie. Which clan do you belong to!'

'……none…..'

'Are you of the Iga clan?!'

'I am of no clan.'

'You disappoint me assassin. I would expect more fight from a killer such as yourself. You force this upon yourself. Oshii Motonari persuade the man personally.'

The third man dressed in the Domaru of the samurai bowed to his lord then pulled his tanto from its scabbard.

The fallen man eyes widened. Oda Nobuhiro watched dispassionately as his bodyguard did what he did best.

'….I AM OF NO CLAN! I AM OF CLAN!' The assassin cried but to little use, the Ronin did not care. 'I AM OF NO CLAN! I AM OF N… AHHHHHHHHHH!'

Oshii Motonari with practiced hands dug the Tanto under the fingernails of the assassin's healthy hand. He dug deeper and deeper until the blade reached the first joint in the finger. The nail was torn off as the pressure of the blade beneath it pushed it out. Blood welled where the nail should have been, boiling up from the fleshy meat. The thumbs he left until last. Instead of prying off the nails he dug deep the blade into the fleshy palm just below it, severing tendons. The metacarpus bone that connected the thumb to the hand proved to be tougher then the muscles. Not wishing to ruin his weapon the Ronin simply chose to stop at the bones and leave both thumbs dangling.

The assassin hoarsely wheezed through all of this until his voice was utterly spent. His passage way torn to shred's.

'Enough, now.'

The Ronin first cleaned then sheathed the tanto and backed away to stand impassive once more. The man pulled in his useless hands to his body, whimpering all the while.

' I ask one more time. Which clan do you belong to and who sent you? The pain will stop I promise.'

Silence was returned but for the bubbling of spittle and mewling. The Ronin prodded the inert body with his foot and at last got a far weakened voice out of the man.

'I

…

….

Am

…

….

Of

…

….

No clan!'

Oda Nobuhiro was done. The man would not break or truly had nothing to give. He had sullied his hands enough with this fool. He was tired of the chase. Oshii Motonari was the best man for the job and if the assassin had anything left to tell, the Ronin would eventually get it out of him.

'Ronin. Do as you please.'

Finally Oshii Motonari showed some emotion, he smiled. Oda Nobuhiro left him to work his wonders on his willing subject. The screams began even before he had left the room.

Some time later there was not much left of the assassin. The lifeless corpse was strewn about in many pieces, scattered amidst bloody pools. The Ronin had done his job thoroughly and enjoyed every minute.

Calmly he shook out a cloth from under the domaru he wore. The cloth an unremarkable white patch of silk material. For all the pleasure he would receive by sheathing the Tanto with the blood still streaming as a reminder, it would do neither the weapon nor the sheath itself any good. The fine metal would rust and the sheath would be tainted and decrease the speed of pulling the weapon free of its chamber. A warrior took care of his tools.

The Ronin took his time, even ignoring a fourth figure that faded out of the shadows to stand beside him. Only when the Tanto was cleaned thoroughly and returned to its place did he acknowledge the other man.

'He proved useful.'

'As I knew he would. An Ahou. He was incompetent enough to fail and foolish enough to be persuaded. A poor Shinobi. He deserved such a death. Oda Nobuhiro will suspect the Iga clan of course. You will need to show him this, as we agreed.'

The Ronin was given a bandana with the symbol of the Iga clan marked upon it and another mark next to it. He rubbed a thumb over this second one.

'That is the mark of the Hitokage of the Iga clan. My Ashi claimed it from our spy. The Hitokage have been putting their nose in where it does not belong. '

'Your old clan.'

The Ronin got a sneer in reply.

' I am not Hitokage! I am Ashi, always! I was never accepted. My methods were deemed unclean. A ninja's methods unclean? How pitiful they were. Yama the fool, sent the one man I truly had on my side to kill me. '

'You are now Jounin. Forget Yama. It is an old subject and I will hear of it no more.'

The Ashi dressed in the shinobi shuzoku took umbrage and pulled out his shuki and swiped out. Oshii Motonari easily deflected the attack with a swift attack and withdraw of his Wakizashi.

' Danpen, you waste your effort against me. I will take your token to his eminence and frame the Hitokage for your vengeance. Now hold your anger for your enemies but do not forget to balance it with temperance.'

The ninja returned his shuki to its place at his side. Knowing better then to pursue a pointless fight.

'I could never best you in battle anyway, ani. '

'No, for I am your superior in battle and will forever be.'

The Ninja gave no reply to that comment.

'Oshii. I will leave you to deceive that ahou mikoto Oda Nobuhiro with our plant. Whilst I and my Ashi deliver our impersonal message to the Imagawa. '

The Ronin gave his brother a shrewd look as the ninja faded into the shadows once more. He squeezed the bandana in his hand.

Danpen was never one for forgiveness, he held vengeance in his heart like a mother held love for her child. Anger was Danpen's child. He nurtured it. Oshii Motonari did not share his brother's penchant. As a Ronin samurai it was always in his best interest to hold composure, especially if he wanted to gain power. Power by any means,. Danpen was his brother but was also another tool for his purpose. Oshii Motonari used and refused to be used himself.

The Iga and Hitokage mark in his hand was a means to an end. It was the carrot to make a mule work. Oda Nobuhiro was his current mule. Time to dangle that carrot in his greedy face.

Mikoto - Lord

Domaru - Samurai body armour

Tanto - Samurai dagger

Ronin - Masterless Samurai

Onegai simasu - I beg of you, Please!

Ahou - fool

Shinobi - sneak thief

Ashi - Foot

shinobi shozoku - Ninja garb that fully covers the body bar the strip for the eyes.

Shuki - hand claws

Wakizashi - The shorter of the two swords that Samurai carry.

Ani - older brother

Danpen - Shred :D