It was barely first light when the door to the cell was thrown open. Mugen groaned as he was jerked to his feet and his hands were tied tightly behind him. Jin grunted with pain as he was subjected to the same treatment. There was no point in struggling, but the Ryukyuan still resisted as he was shoved towards the door. One of the guards raised a fist.

"Don't bother," said the man in charge. "We want them wide awake for their execution." He shook the Ryukyuan, grinning at the look of pure hate he received. "Something you want to say?"

"Anything I say to you will be with my sword," Mugen snarled. There was an angry hum of voices from the guards, then the prisoners were hustled out to the courtyard and forced to their knees.

The Ryukyuan blinked in the bright sun. Two dozen guards were scattered around the courtyard and there had to be at least a hundred spectators. He wondered idly if Fuu was among them. He hoped not. If she had gotten away safely last night, she should stay away. Far, far away, where she would never have to see something like what was about to happen here….where she could live in peace and quiet….Mugen sighed. Maybe it was time to die if he was going to go this soft over a skinny girl who had brought him so much grief.

"Are you at peace with yourself?" Jin's voice broke into the Ryukyuan's thoughts.

Mugen chuckled. "Every day I ask myself if this will be the last time I see the sun."

"Vagrant Mugen! Vagrant and ronin Jin!" The governor had approached and was holding up a large roll of paper. "You are hereby ordered to be executed by decapitation and your heads will be put on display. If you wish, you may now apologize and beg for forgiveness."

The Ryukyuan raised himself as tall as he could on his knees. "If living means bowing down to the likes of you, I'd rather die on my feet with my head held high."

"Well said." Jin smiled approvingly. "I agree with him."

The governor's face reddened with rage. "Very well. I will grant your wish and send you straight to the afterlife." He nodded at the executioners and they raised their swords.

Mugen turned his head and met Jin's eyes and as the blades came down he lunged to one side, knocking the weapon out of one of the executioner's hands. The samurai threw himself backwards, pressing his bound hands on the sharp edge and slicing through the ropes, then grabbed Mugen and cut his bonds. The Ryukyuan dodged a vicious slash from the other executioner, dropping the man with a well-placed kick and seizing his weapon. He set his back against Jin's and grinned over his shoulder. "Yo. We put our fight on hold until we get out of here, agreed?"

The samurai shook his head. "You intend to kill them all, don't you? You really are the lowest of the low."

The governor cowered behind his guards. "You men are fools if you think you're going to get out of here alive!"

The resulting fight left several guards dead and the remainder milling around, trying to find an opening against the two condemned men. The governor shouted threats and invective, then sputtered to a silence, watching in horror as more guards were cut down and the pale samurai approached, contemplating him silently. He looked around wildly, then threw himself to his knees in front of Jin. "You can have whatever you want!" He was still holding up his hands in a plea for mercy as the two halves of his body fell to the ground.

Jin backed up to Mugen. "I killed the governor."

"Great, but these cockroaches keep coming." The Ryukyuan was panting for breath and wondering if they were going to die after all when the samurai nudged him and nodded at the roof. Mugen's eyes widened at the sight of Fuu, perched on the highest point of the building. She was holding a couple of large balls and as he watched, she struck a match and lit them, throwing them down to the courtyard. His reflexes took over and he ran, trying to get to safety before the bombs went off.