((Yoshi: *helicopters in* Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of the good fortune to be in my presence! I regret to inform thee that Lucky Flip and Cervantes could not join us today. Lucky is... otherwise occupied... *pounding and shouting from inside closet door*... and I believe Cervantes is polishing his longsword Acheron. Again.

Anyway, this is my chapter! Do enjoy, and thou shouldst review. Lucky is unable to tell whether or not people like it, with all the views and only two people thoughtful enough to leave a review. Please, tell her what thou thinkest of this work, so she will know whether it is even worth her time and effort to continue.

On a side note, this chapter contains some slight references of the suggestive variety. But 'tis me of whom we speak, is it not?

And without further ado, the pure, unadultered amazingness that is me shall commence! *pogo-sticks away*))


On the other side of the world, off the mainland of the continent of Asia, there lay a land that few European men had ever trodden. It was a land of legends. Legends of mighty warriors, of mythic creatures, and of hidden secrets and treasures.

One such secret treasure lay at the base of a semi-active volcano surrounded by thick forests. It was a small village, seeming rather typical at first, but few knew of its existence, for good reason.

The Japanese daimyo known as Oda Nobunaga was attempting to 'unify' the country of Japan, and if any decided they disliked the idea, they were crushed beneath the growing empire's might. The small village would have been a huge asset to Nobunaga's empire, due to the unsurpassed warriors who called the tiny hamlet home.

"Aniki-san, where is our father? I have wondered for a long time now." A little girl walked next to a sixteen-year-old boy, not far from the rest of the village. The child was named Naoko, for she was indeed an honest child.

The teenager was her elder brother, Yoshimitsu. He knew better than to explain just how their father grew to be absent from his and his siblings' lives, as Naoko was far too young to understand death.

"He has left on a great journey, Naoko. We will see him again one day. Do not fear," Yoshimitsu replied, smiling softly at his youngest sister. His other two sisters, Yuki and Sadako, were back home, taking care of their aging grandmother.

"Oh. All right. When will we get to see him again, Aniki-san?" Naoko was now more intrigued than ever, which was the exact opposite of what her brother wanted.

"I do not know for certain, Naoko-chan. But I do know that wherever he may be, he is most likely thinking of us."

With that, the two siblings made their way back to the village.

~Present~

"Yoshimitsu-sama? Your orders?"

The leader of the Manjitou shook his masked head, brought back to reality by his second-in-command Sakon's query. He had been reminiscing far too often lately. Those days were gone. Over with. Finished. Lingering on the past would do no good for anyone, especially not while on a heist mission.

"Oh!" He looked at the map laid out before himself, Sakon, and Sakon's twin Ukon, completely forgetting what the conversation they were having was even about. "Er..."

"My lord, we were discussing a raid on the palace at Osaka. I believe the last thing you said was to keep the party that goes in small, before you drifted off," Ukon supplied.

"Oh yes! Arigato, Ukon." Without missing a beat, the last living Manji clan member sprung into tactical discussion of how the raid was to be conducted.

After the plan was decided, he returned to his tent to think. Why had these memories been haunting him so? They had never really bothered him since he started the Manjitou. Perhaps he should rest, he had had all of three hours of sleep the previous night. He felt if he stayed awake much longer he would go mad.

Removing his helmet, his long midnight hair fell, unbound, down his back. He was grateful to be rid of the encumbering piece of armor, and began to work on his mask. The silver ceramic visage was soon removed, revealing a handsome, clean-shaven, and shockingly young face. It was true; the legendary Manjitou leader, the Laughing Demon, was a tender twenty-two years old.

Removing his haori and breastplate, he finally succumbed to the temptation of the bedroll a few feet away from him and went to sleep. He even left his greaves on.

~The Next Day~

Yoshimitsu knew that Osaka would be different from anywhere his group had heisted before, seeing as they rarely ventured south of their headquarters on Mt. Fuji. But just how different, he had no clue. For one thing, rather than pines and evergreens dominating the landscape, there were sakura trees filling the air with their sweet scent... and their petals.

"How do these people live here?" Ukon complained, plucking several petals from his hair and armor. "They are like cicadas in the summer!"

Sakon wasn't doing much better, trying to kick them off the bottoms of his zori sandals. "I know! It surprises me that one of us hasn't accidentally eaten one yet."

"Cease thy complaining! Thou art grown men, now start behaving as such!" Yoshimitsu admonished, growing irritated with his group's constant whining. It had been near-nonstop since about two hours after they left, mostly among the newer recruits. As they went along, however, the griping soon became contagious. Although the leader of the Manjitou wouldn't admit it, he was irritated with more than just the complaints coming from his men.

Yoshimitsu was young, male, and of strong body. Unfortunately for the women of Japan, he had a libido just as strong, if not stronger. It had been more than three months since a woman had graced his bed, and this amounted to a rather cranky Manji.

He hoped and prayed that he would hold out until Osaka.