We're at Chapter nine, already! This chapter is going to start out slow, but there will be even more action to come. The story will also start focusing more heavily on Eda at this point. Anyway, as always, please R & R! Also, to all of you who reviewed concerning swords vs. guns; I was thinking about the very same thing a few days ago. Don't get me wrong, I know firsthand just what it takes to use a fire arm proficiently; it isn't as easy as many who have never picked up a gun think it is, but the killing aspect does seem like it would be very impersonal as opposed to the use of swords.

Ch. 9: The Meeting

In a comic display, the trio stationed on top of the freight each removed their respective pairs of glasses and cleaned them as their own Japanese man threw the sword away. By all accounts, Rokuro Okajima was the very definition of a pacifist—probably the sole person in the city not to turn a blind eye to shameless bloodletting, even though he had adjusted well to it during his time there. The sight of him wielding anything that was made for killing, without the slightest hint of hesitation, came as quite a shock.

"Dutch," Benny placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, continuing to stare down at the duo on the ground with an expression of disbelief that mirrored either person beside him, "I'm not hallucinating, right? We really just saw Rock get into a duel."

"You're not crazy, Benny-boy." A smile spread across the former navy man's face at Benny's semi-hysterical tone.

"That's right, Benny." Eda spoke up, popping her bubble gum. Though Dutch had apparently taken this newest action from his employee in stride, the nun from the Rip-off church appeared to be the most nonchalant about it. On the inside, however, she was just as amazed as all of them. "Rock may be a pacifist, but he's got something most people in this city don't. Even the pope himself would take up a weapon and fight like Rambo if his life was threatened and he had a reason to keep on living."

"It looks like our friend is showing himself." Dutch said, calling attention back to what was happening on the ground. Both Revy and Rock were watching the entrance of the warehouse intently as a lone man emerged from the shadows. He was at least a hundred and fifty yards away, but they both knew without a doubt that this was definitely the man that they had encountered on the boat a few days ago. Revy kept both of her guns ready, but made no move to brandish them at the man.

"Well, well, well…" He spoke calmly as he approached, using a cordial tone that only annoyed Revy even more. "It's good to see you again. That was quite a show you put on." He turned his head to Rock with an expression of surprised amusement on his face, "Both of you." For all of Shinji's charisma, Rock could almost forget that he was standing in front of a highly dangerous man who wanted him dead. Why Shinji was standing there, attempting to carry out a pleasant conversation with the two puzzled the businessman. Still, he couldn't help but smile sheepishly and rub the back of his head at being complimented. "Please feel free to keep the sword as a souvenir, won't you?" It was yet another indication that the Yakuza boss didn't intend for them to die tonight. While Rock was mulling things over, Revy was somewhat less patient.

"Get to the point." Revy growled, leveling both guns at Shinji, causing him to smile rather devilishly at her display, drawing the gun from his coat and pointing it directly at Rock. "Do you really think that's in your best interest, Revy…or is it Rebecca."

Her eyes flew open with surprise and rage. She knew damn well that she hadn't been addressed by her full name in his presence. The possibilities of who he could be involved with that would know that information did nothing to inspire confidence. There was absolutely nothing that she hated more than having her hands tied, and it seemed for a fleeting moment that he had the upper hand. She could've gotten shots off, but Rock would've paid for it in blood with a bullet right between that "deer in the headlights" expression that he was currently sporting. Then it occurred to Revy; they had a trump card.

"No," She spoke darkly, "I don't think that's in your best interest." Her empty hazel eyes traveled down the length of his left arm to the gun that he held in his hand before she finished her thought.

"You see, we didn't trust you, so we brought back up." Her head flicked over her left shoulder and Shinji's eyes followed the movement, travelling up the freight until he spotted a glimpse of Dutch's green flak jacket. He looked closer to see what appeared to be a blonde woman in a rather revealing outfit pointing a minigun at him, as well as a blonde man in a Hawaiian shirt, with a rocket launcher cradled against his arm. This one was different from the other two on either side of him. Even at this distance, the Yakuza head could see that that he was not a fighter like the other two.

Shinji simply shrugged, "Actually, it was expected. Only a fool would've followed the instructions I left for you." His gaze turned more menacing and his voice cocky as he continued to speak, "That's why I've made my own arrangements." He waved left hand toward the row of freight containers to Rock and Revy's right. Rock had seen the men earlier, but had failed to get Revy's attention.

On that row of freight, there were five men, each with their own weapons. The first two had Remington sniper rifles aimed down at the two partners on the ground, while the other two had Browning Automatic Rifles aimed across the way at Dutch, Benny, and Eda. Dutch and Eda had both noticed and already had their respective weapons aimed right back.

Satisfied for the moment that he had, at least partially, secured the upper hand, Shinji decided to go ahead with what he had been about to say when Revy rudely interrupted him.

"Now, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Shinji Matsuzaki; head of the Matsuzaki yakuza and descendent of the ancient Hojo samurai."

Revy rolled her eyes, already getting bored with this conversation. She knew that he wasn't to be taken lightly—that much had been proven in these past few moments, but she found it difficult not to with a speech like that. "Hey, why don't you skip to the part where we give a shit?"

"Very well, I've brought you here tonight to test you."

"Test us?" Rock's brow furrowed and he began to think about the possible reasons this man might have for keeping them alive like this. He didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"Yes. These men that you've just fought," he waved his arms at the many dead bodies that littered their area of the freight yard, "are my worst squad. But, each of these swordsmen you see here could've made my brother break a sweat in a duel." As he said this, he stepped over and tapped one of the dead bodies with his foot. "It may have been by sheer luck that you managed to keep up with my man as long as you did," Shinji addressed Rock once more, "But, still, that is a truly impressive accomplishment."

"That's all interesting, Mr. Matsuzaki, but it doesn't really explain why you were testing us."

Shinji just chuckled, keeping his gun pointed at Rock and throwing a fleeting dark smile in Revy's direction. "I chose to test you simply because I wanted to know if my brother's death was worth avenging. After seeing you fight, however, it has occurred to me that you can be used to my advantage in the yakuza's impending war with Hotel Moscow and the 14K.

Revy scoffed, "And what if we have a problem with that? Stabbing those two in the back would be about as bad as stepping on a fuckin' land mine"

"Oh, I never said anything about you betraying them; quite the opposite, in fact."

As they continued their face off with the man, Revy's glare intensified while a look of deep curiosity passed over Rock's facial features. What did Shinji stand to gain from intentionally having them confront his men; especially in light of the fact that he wanted to kill them himself. Bearing Eda's words from the previous evening in mind, the businessman knew that having them go up against his forces suited Shinji's purpose, somehow.

"And as for you having a problem with this arrangement, well, you hardly have a choice. If you choose to accept these terms and walk away tonight, you may not even be aware that I'm using you at all. If you don't agree, well, let's just say that my snipers will make sure that you won't have to suffer through witnessing me putting a bullet between your friend's eyes." He adjusted the lapsed aim of his stainless steel firearm so that it was aimed directly at Rock's face instead of just in his general direction.

The fiery gunwoman growled internally in frustration and pent up rage. Her cutlasses were calling to her, begging her to pull the trigger; to hell and back with the consequences! Alas, she knew she would only be walking straight to her own cold, worm and insect infested, grave, and she'd be dragging all of her buddies with her.

With one final huff, Revy conceded, spinning her guns back into their holsters. "Fine; whatever."

Shinji gave a satisfied smile and placed his own gun back into its home underneath his coat, prompting his snipers and the rest of Lagoon Company to lower each of their weapons, as well. With that, it seemed that there was nothing left to say. With one final bow, Shinji smiled cordially at the pair, and even gave a slight nod of acknowledgment towards Dutch.

"Well, it would seem that this evening has run its course. You're all free to leave, and please, " His eyes locked with Rock's one final time, "keep the sword. I insist."

Rock politely gave in to the Japanese gangster's request, stooping over to lift up the graceful weapon. It was only then that he allowed his eyes to scan over the intricate details of the ancient sword. The hilt was adorned with a single golden dragon that wrapped itself around the handle with the tail pointing towards the blunt end, and the dragon's open mouth guiding the eyes toward the blade. From there, the polished steel appeared to have a series of loose spiral like shapes that reminded Rock of the fluid motion of smoke stemming from a cigarette. Without a word, the salaryman slipped the deadly piece of sharp, polished steel into his belt and turned to his irate partner.

To her credit, she was doing well to remain calm since they both knew what they were dealing with, but Rock knew better. He could sense her suppressed anger boiling beneath the surface….boy, was it gonna be a long ride back to the office. With that final thought, the meeting was adjourned without another word, and each person present was given their own bit of information to dwell on. The highlight that everyone seemed to be struggling to come to terms with was the fact that Roanapur's only pacifist had willfully picked up a weapon, yet underneath that, a certain nun knew that she couldn't continue this precarious balance between the "light" of the CIA and the "dark" of Roanapur much longer.

Eda had been given her orders when her bosses had learned of Shinji's presence in the city. Reconnaissance on behalf of Langley was nothing new to her. What was knew was that she had slipped for the first time. The agency didn't give a shit about the well-being of the Lagoon company. Her orders when she'd been given her assignment had been to play the part of a corrupt nun from the Rip-Off church and continue to feed them information, and that she had done well. Her orders for the evening had been to observe Shinji and his men and collect information on him. Apparently, various organizations throughout the world were in a race to capture him first and her bosses wanted to wait until the opportune moment to kill or capture him. It was there that she had made the slip, small though it might've been. She could chalk it up to playing the part of the vice ridden nun all she wanted, but she had slipped. She was never supposed to actually take a shot at any of Shinji's men, but still she had protected Rock, and she knew it had nothing at all to do with her job and everything to do with her friendship towards him and the rest of the Lagoon Company.

Okay, I just want to say that I'm sorry it's been so long. I haven't been able to get much done because my old computer crapped out and I just recently got a new one. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!