Miryu had been a woman skilled in the arts of the tongue and the sword, but Algren did not know that she was an amateur actor in Kyogen as well. Standing in the center of the make-shift stage near Taka and her house, she acted as a woman trying to repel off many lecherous men and their displays of affection. It was strange to Algren's eyes, but he was never a man for the theater, but there was a hint of humor in her acting, and the villagers who watched all laughed at her antics upon the stage.
However, her being on the stage was not part of the rites of the celebrations of the first spring plantings. It had a lot to do on her ability to sense Ki, just in case there had been any threats. And right now, she was sensing a lot of them, and judging by the fleeting appearances and disappearances of Ki from the buildings behind, she guessed that they would be dealing with shinobi that night. She did not know what organization they were from, but she knew that they came with a purpose. They were after Katsumoto. That, and her katana was not by her side… She needed to get off-stage and get it, but it would alarm the villagers… She looked towards Ujio, who shook his head, silently urging her to stay put with his imposing gaze.
Relenting, she continued to play her role, and Katsumoto came up as well, much to the surprise and elation of the villagers. "Katsumoto-san, are you mad?" she whispered, secretly hoping that the play would just stop right then and there. "I see shadows above the roofs, can you see them?" Subtly, Katsumoto nodded, and began to instruct his men to bring them their weapons just in case. Several samurai began moving towards Taka and the boys, while Nobutada was already ready with his bow. Even their acting parts had been coordinated in case something like this happened and if not for one single miscalculation, they would have been successful in staving off the attacks. These shinobi had with them, crossbows.
It was rare that shinobi had carried ranged weapons other than kunai, throwing stars and the other tools of their trade, crossbows were certainly not part of them. Algren saw them too, and just as he shouted Katsumoto's name, the one of the actors shielded Katsumoto with his own body, dying in the rebel leader's stead. Wasting no time, Ujio threw the former and Miryu's katana to them as they began to fight off the shinobi, who came in waves upon waves.
"Algren, take Taka and her sons out of here!" Miryu shouted, trusting that he would have already gained a weapon by then. It would be her duty to get the women and children out of the chaos, and she knew exactly what to do. Hacking and slashing her way to get them to safety, she told them to form a line behind her, and to stay as close to her as possible. Things had better go right, or they would all be dead…
To say that Nathan Algren was making his kenjutsu teachers proud would be an understatement. He had already entered the house with Taka's family, and the children had gone into the room where their father's armor stood, as if his spirit was in there, watching them… He had heard Miryu state before that the style of the shinobi, or ninja, as they were known by the Westerners were far different than that of the samurai, and he knew least what to expect from them. However, he reasoned that they would be tied to the same basic rules, and decided to build on that.
He heard the sound of footsteps before the shoji door and readied himself to fight of any enemy that might come, only to find that it was Katsumoto. Soon, after they had acknowledged one another, they heard scraping sounds upon the roof, and seconds later, more shinobi exploded into the house, killing two of Katsumoto's bodyguards. The bald man had been the swiftest to act, effectively killing one of them after a rolling across the floor…
Just as Algren was picking up the katana of the dying samurai next to him, one of the shinobi dove into the window and started to lunge at him with a shorter version of the katana that he had seen the samurai used. He quickly dodged the attack, but took a sharp kick towards his stomach, sending him off the edge of a low table. In response, he kicked the table back, catching the shinobi off balance.
Many, many more similar exchanges ensued, including one where Taka miraculously drove a dagger into one of the shinobi in order to save Algren from a deadly blow that he could have not seen. Higen, ever the brave child, rushed into his father's room and retrieved the short blade, determined to help in the efforts of resisting the attacks, much to his mother's distress. The bravado in that boy was astounding, if not foolish. He was able to fend off several shinobi, who were startled to see a child attacking them, but the element of surprise quickly wore off.
Algren was able to quickly dispatch the shinobi who held him pinned onto the tatami with a chopstick into his eye, and quickly rushed to Higen's rescue. Before long, he was able to fight his way towards Katsumoto, where they killed more of the dangerous enemy that came in the darkness of the night. Soon, he could hear the tinkling of a familiar bell, and Miryu's voice outside the house, saying that the women and children were all safely delivered into their houses. Indeed, the prime target was Katsumoto and no one else…
"Let none escape!" Ujio shouted, and began to kill more of the attacking shinobi. Miryu suddenly came up behind him, and he said, "Your man is getting better, Miryu-chan, what have you been giving him?"
Miryu chuckled, while slashing a shinobi across the chest. "I did not give him extra lessons, if that was what you meant, Ujio-senpai," she replied, always enjoying their lighthearted banter they would share in times like these. Nine years ago, those experiences would be were numerous, and it brought back many memories to both of them. "Perhaps you gave him some pointers instead?"
"Last I checked, I still cannot stand looking at him without beating him up," Ujio answered, piercing his katana through a shinobi with a deafening roar. "It could not be me…"
After what seemed like an eternity, every last one of the shinobi had been cut down, and the samurai participated in a customary victory cry, Miryu included. Rushing into Taka's house, she found it in utter chaos, with corpses everywhere, while Katsumoto and Algren were standing next to one another, silently admitting that they were now comrades in arms. She smiled, and walked towards him, congratulating Algren with a hug that he duly returned.