Fan Fiction ❯ White Reflections ❯ Chapter 3

Series: Soul Calibur

Rating: R

Authors: Sephira jo (sephirajo@yahoo.com) and Cap'n Dampeal (capndampeal@lycos.com)

Story: White Reflections

Part 3/?? (the prologue counts as a part)

Archive: With Permission only

Disclaimer: We don't own this game! Namco does! If we owned it, the characters would be seriously fucked. 'Cause we like to mess with characters minds. Oh yeah. ^-^

Authors' notes: There's some serious angst in this chapter. But we both hope you enjoy it! Remember, it will all work out in the end.

Hong Yun Sung sighed into the flames of the campfire, breathing with the effort it had cost him to start. He'd never actually had to sleep outside and make a fire before. Come to think of it, he hadn't planned on camping outside during his quest for the Patriot Sword at all. He had assumed he would travel from village to village, but such villages seemed scarce in the desert. Well, sleeping outside would save him some coins, at least. He patted the pouch that contained his life savings and frowned. The coins suddenly seemed all too few. He let the pouch swing back into place. It clanked against White Storm, the sword he had stolen from the Seung dojo.

No! I didn't steal it. Seung Mina gave it to me! To borrow, at least. I'm not doing anything wrong by taking it. Besides, I'll use it to get the Patriot Sword and save my country! …and make Hwang acknowledge me as a warrior. He pulled White Storm from his belt and held it up to the firelight. It had the power to show his true feelings, Seung Mina had said. He had experienced that power and knew it to be true. Mina…. For an instant, he thought he saw her face stare back at him from the reflection in the blade. Then he nearly dropped White Storm into the fire when Kiri screamed from where she was tethered. As Sung's reverie shattered into pieces around him, a low growl erupted from just beyond the light of the fire. Sung rose into a ready, crouching position as the menacing ball of bristling fur and sharp claws leaped toward the fire. By the white crescent pattern on the creature's chest, he identified it as a Moon Bear-a cub. It was also dangerously mad, for no animal would approach a fire like that.

"Get away, bear," Sung warned it, waving White Storm menacingly. He suddenly felt as frightened as when the Japanese soldier had discovered him hiding in the tavern. The beat cub ignored him and began to creep around the fire toward him.

"I have no food," Sung told it. If the creature got too close, he would have to kill it. He had become a little more accustomed to killing since the events in the village. The villagers even considered him a hero after he'd recovered from his first kill and helped plan a counterattack that had saved the small farming community. But Sung had a weak spot for animals-killing this baby bear would be like slaughtering a child.

The little beat reared up on its back legs, extending itself from a ball of fury into a monster that was almost as tall as the crouching Sung. Its claws glinted in the firelight, as well as an extra claw protruding from the pad of its front left foot. No, it wasn't a claw, but a large splinter. Poor thing. No wonder it's upset, Sung sympathized.

Suddenly, the cub barreled toward him on all four paws. Thinking quickly, Sung grappled the cub as it lunged for his throat. He yanked the thing away by the thick scruff of its neck and pinned it down on the ground. It squealed in mad fury, and Kiri snorted and stamped in concern for her master. Sung then grabbed its front left paw and yanked out the long, thick splinter. The cub yelped, but no blood oozed from the wound. He continued to hold it to the ground as it thrashed and squirmed. It was a challenge to keep his hands away from the four slashing claws, until the cub finally calmed down.

"Are you alright, now?" Sung asked, releasing the bear cub from his hold. The bear bolted to its feet, but did not resume its attack. "It was just a splinter," he told it. Or was it? He held the thing closer to the firelight. It was long and sharp, like the claw he first imagined it to be. But it possessed a dull sheen like that of metal. If it was a shard of metal, however, it was unlike any metal he had ever seen. It was probably valuable. Sung slipped it into his pouch with the coins.

The bear cub looked patiently up at Yun Sung.

"What do you want now? I told you I don't have any more food. I ate everything I cooked tonight, and I don't think bears eat rice cakes." But it kept up the pitiful expression until Sung broke down and procured a rice cake from his travel sack. The beat took it into its two front paws and nibbled at it hungrily.

"You're a cute little one," Sung gushed. "Where's your mom?" The cub went right on eating, then curled up next to the fire as if to go to sleep.

"I suppose I'd best go to sleep, too. And you too, Kiri," he called to his horse. He put out the fire and banked a layer of sandy dirt over it. Dusting his hands off on his cloak, he then wrapped himself into its folds for warmth. "Maybe tomorrow I'll sleep in a real bed again," he wished as he drifted into sleep.

The bear cub was still there in the morning, and trotted behind Kiri all day as Yun Sung made his way through the desert. When it began to tire, he scooped up the little bear and let it ride with him in the saddle. It was rather heavy despite its small size. Kiri did not like this at first, but gradually warmed up to the idea as the day wore on. The mare didn't fidget at all by the time Yun Sung rode into the next village.

The village thrived with more life than the last one. The street was lined with tents and shops, and shopkeepers and traveling merchants zealously hawked their wares to passersby. The climate itself had more life, as a narrow river wound its way through the village to split off into thousands of tiny channels and reservoirs. Scattered farming plots were interspersed with gardens of herbs and flowers. Yun Sung gaped at the scenery. The village was an oasis compared to the dusty landscape he had traveled through until now.

The village had not one ramshackle inn, but too goodly sized ones. Sung started for the one surrounded by garden, but the all-too-slight weight in his purse directed him toward the shabbier of the two. Still, it was nicer than the inn in the last town.

The innkeeper seemed completely enthralled with Yun Sung and the bear cub. She offered him a free room if he would show off the bear in the common room. He was uneasy about the idea at first, and tried to tell the innkeeper that he was not a performer, but her insistence was backed by the "oohs" and "ahhs" of a growing crowd. Before he knew it, he was getting a free meal on top of the free room, and all he needed to do was hope the cub would act cute in front of an audience. It didn't seem to mind the attention it was receiving now, so how hard could it be?

It turned out to be even easier than Yun Sung hoped. The audience in the common room of the inn was totally enthralled by offering bits of their food to the bear.

"What's its name?" asked a woman as the cub took a chunk of chicken from her plate.

"Uh, just 'Bear'," Sung replied. The woman crooned to it, calling it "such a nice bear," and then other people wanted to feed Bear pieces of their chicken, too.

"You're going to get spoiled," Sung told it, but he was relieved that Bear was taking the attention well. So far, it hadn't reverted into the ball of fury that he had first encountered.

Not quite everyone in the common room was quite so amused by Bear, however. One woman watched Yun Sung sullenly from the back of the room. He kept catching her glare in the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but notice how heavily her large breasts rested atop her crossed arms. They just seemed to pop out of her green tunic. She also wore large shoulder plates, their black metal detailed in gold. A ninja sword peeked over the back of her shoulder. Sung blushed and looked away when he realized he was staring. She's not as pretty as Mina, though.

She was still there, glaring from the back of the room, when Yun Sung decided that Bear had had enough attention. The crowd laughed joyously when, by chance, Bear happened to raise his paw in what could be interpreted as a wave of goodbye. Yun Sung gathered the heavy little bundle, which now smelled strongly of chicken, into his arms and hauled it off to their room upstairs.

He was stopped in the hallway by the ninja in green.

"Um, do you want something?" he asked nervously. From the expression on her face, she seemed about to end his life right there in the hallway.

"You have the stench of the Soul Edge on you," she replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Yun Sung said, his hand dropping to White Storm's hilt. Bear hissed.

"Put that animal away, and we'll find out. Meet me by the bridge in an hour, or I'll take your life by sunrise," the woman replied ominously before stalking back into the common room. Yun Sung's fingers remained clenched on White Storm's hilt for several, throbbing heartbeats after she left.

A duel. Why? He considered just taking Kiri from the stables and leaving, but he was loathe to forfeit his free room in the comfortable inn. I've killed a dozen Japanese invaders. I can take on one little ninja, he tried to convince himself. Except that the woman wasn't so little. Her dark eyes had almost looked level into his when she challenged him. He had seen that she possessed not one ninja sword, but two, and she walked with a powerful stride that suggested she would be an equally deadly opponent had she only just one.

You're in over your head, Hong Yun Sung, he told himself. This whole quest for the Patriot Sword is beyond your abilities. After all, even if you beat her, there will be other opponents who compete to possess the Soul Edge. This thought, however, angered him and sealed him into action. He would meet the ninja at the bridge, and he would win the fight.

"Quit now, if you want to live!" Yun Sung declared as she stepped onto the bridge to find the ninja already waiting for him. She was not impressed by his show of bravado, however.

"I'm through with words. Just fight, pipsqueak," she commanded as she drew her sword from her back. Yun Sung unslung White Storm from his hip and assumed his fighting stance.

Don't be a fool and rush her, he told himself. Let her come to you. Watch her moves before you decide how to strike. They circled around each other on the wide bridge, before she finally closed in on him and unleashed a slashing vertical strike with a forceful cry of attack. Sung blocked it and spun to avoid her second strike while delivering a blow to her midsection. She stumbled back a little, and then appeared to reassess her dismissal of the "pipsqueak." She would not make the mistake a second time.

She attacked Yun Sung relentlessly from then on, all the while uttering short, high-pitched shrieks. It was all he could do to block half her blows and never seemed to get another one in on her. Finally, he saw an opportunity to free himself from her relentless rain of attacks. He grabbed her as she drew back from a brutal kick to his chest, throwing her to the ground forcefully as he took advantage of her off-centered balance. She leaped back to her feet as if she'd never hit the ground at all, rolling herself into a somersault that struck Yun Sung in the knees. He stumbled back, but slashed down at her head. She rolled free before he struck her, but she left a thick section of her long, black hair behind. He also managed to knock her on the underside of her chin with the flat of his blade as she leaped to her feet. The ninja growled and pummeled Yun Sung in the chest with both her blades. Blood blossomed on his uniform, the first serious wound inflicted in the duel so far.

"It's mine!" she cried as she wrapped a strong leg around his wounded chest and knocked him to the ground. What is? he wondered briefly as he rolled painfully back to his feet. The world was beginning to spin dangerously. If he didn't end the fight soon, he would never find out. The ninja spun toward him again with a roundhouse kick aimed for his chest. It didn't connect, however, for he couldn't quite manage to stand up before his body collapsed onto the stone-cobbled bridge. The kick whistled through his auburn hair. Dimly, she saw two blades flash toward his face. Somehow he managed to repel them with White Storm, and continue through with the strike to hit home in the woman's gut. She gasped and stumbled back, as blood stained through her green silk tunic.

"Nothing can stop me… from getting the Patriot Sword," he spat at her before her eyes closed and she lay still. She was still breathing. If he could stumble back to the inn in time, he might be able to get her some help.

The night was cold. Seung Mina sat in front of the fire she had built and stared into the dancing red and gold flames. In a game that had become too common since she had heard the news about Hwang's death, she tried to make out his face in the flames. She looked over at Kyung; the horse was tethered to a nearby rock, eating happily out of the feedbag Mina had given to him. She didn't speak.

Over the past few days the feeling of being followed had intensified. Had it just been a feeling, Mina would have ignored it. After all, there was nothing wrong with being alert. Being aware often saved your life, or so her father was fond of saying. But that wasn't the only thing. The trail was quiet. Way too quiet. Almost as if whoever was following her had swept the area around her clean of everything. Not even small animals could be seen on the trail. She could feel the eyes on her even now, and it disturbed her. Occasionally, while on the road, her eyes had caught a large black shape, like that of an animal. The weirdness of it all rang bells of alarm with Mina's senses and played havoc with her imagination. It was getting to the point where she didn't want to sleep, but had no choice. Staying up all night would just cause her to drop from exhaustion later.

Mina gazed skyward, looking at the clear sky and the countless stars. She choked down tears, suddenly feeling very lonely. A stray memory came to her, of the first time Hwang had dragged her home. At a makeshift camp much like this one, she had faked sleep under the stars while waiting for him to drift off to sleep so she could take off again. He never slept that night. He stayed constantly on watch and occasionally Mina could feel his eyes on her. As bizarre as it seemed, that night was special to her. Like his watching her proved he cared about her, if only enough to make sure she didn't run off. But then, less than a week later, Hwang had rebuffed her father's offer to have them married. Mina had likewise refused, not wanting to be tied someone who would always be leaving on some military mission or another. And at the time, both Hwang and her father were in the opinion that she shouldn't be allowed out into the world at large. They seemed to believe that even though she had trained since childhood with the men, she was still only just a girl.

Mina smiled. She had showed them all when she ran away the second time. Now, her father at least saw her as somewhat of an equal, though she suspected she would always be Daddy's little girl to some respect. But it tore her apart to know she had been denied the same respect from the man she loved.

Mina's smile faded and she swore loudly, slamming her fist into the cold ground next to her. She was doing it again. She shook her head fiercely to clear it. No grief, she reminded herself harshly, no tears. At least not while there was still something following her.

Mina took her zanbatou, Scarlet Thunder and crawled into the bedroll. Clutching both the weapon and Hwang's vest close to her, she resigned herself to the face that she had to sleep. The sleep that came, however, was light and fitful, and she woke many times to sounds only she could hear. Each time she sprang to wakefulness she found Scarlet Thunder in her grasp, ready against the attack she half-expected to come.

Seung Mina rode into the large village when the sun was setting the next day. She was sore and trail worn, having stopped two times to rest her horse and perform a strenuous kata. As much as to keep up her form, she had practiced the kata to warn any stalkers away by showing off the fact that she could defend herself. Besides, the wild, spinning kata gave her something to focus on. It siphoned her thoughts away from her grief and funneled them toward her goals-like how she was going to kick Hong Yun Sung's ass when she found him.

But it had also made her sore-she normally didn't practice that hard, and had never felt the need to practice to scare someone off. She had always faced her battles head on, but somehow this one seemed different. Mina really didn't want to face whom or what was following her. Everything about the weird situation guaranteed it would turn out badly. So tonight she would make and exception to her longstanding policy on inns and spend the night in town. Besides, I could also garner information of the patrons. Yun Sung would have stayed in an inn whenever possible; I doubt he even knew how to start a campfire. Mina snickered. For some reason, the image of Yun Sung sitting freezing in the cold desert night appealed to her right now. Maybe he'd realize what searching for the Patriot Sword would entail and give it up.

Mina was able to hold on to her mirth as she walked the streets of the small town, weaving between peddlers who called out their wares as they attempted to squeeze every last copper piece they could out of the day. She found the town's stable easily and, though the fee for the overnight care of Kyung was steep, the stable was nicer than many she had seen and she knew her stallion would be well cared for. After grabbing a bag of personal supplies off of Kyung, Mina managed to flag down on of the stable boys.

"Yes?" the young boy asked, his tone almost annoyed, as if he thought it was enough that he took care of the horses and that he shouldn't have to deal with the horses' owners as well.

"I'm looking for someone," Mina said gently, "He might have come this way recently, I want to know if you've seen him."

"I dunno," the boy said, eyeing her skeptically, "a lot of people come through here. What did he look like?"

"Well, um," Mina paused, trying to find words to describe Yun Sung that weren't too awkward. "He has red-brown hair, he is a little taller then me, and he has a sword of white metal that is so shiny you can see your reflection in it." The boy lit up instantly.

"You mean the guy with the bear cub? That was so great! I even got to hold it in the inn he stayed at, and it waved goodbye to everyone!"

"He had a bear cub with him?" Mina asked, surprised. She had always known Yun Sung had a soft spot for animals but adopting a bear cub seemed a bit much, even for him. The boy nodded.

"And that sword you described too," he said smiling, "but the bear cub was so much better than the sword." Mina found herself smiling back at the boy.

"You like animals more than people, don't you?" she observed. The boy nodded.

"I like the horses too," he said, grinning.

"Say, could you show me the inn where you got to hold the bear cub?" she asked. The boy nodded again and led her to the cheaper looking of the two inns in the village. Seung Mina grinned. Apparently, either Yun Sung was running out of money, or he was traveling as cheap as one who preferred to sleep in a bed could. When she turned to thank the boy, she found that the child had already left to return to the stable. She shook her head, faintly amused and, still holding her weapon, walked into the inn.

The building was old but well kept, something that set it apart form most inns of reasonable price. It might have had something to do with the innkeeper, an older woman with a warm smile. She greeted Mina on entry, not even taking note of the zanbatou, as most people did.

"Hello, and welcome, child," she said, her voice cheerful. "Do you need a room for tonight? Or perhaps some food? You look like you've been riding all day. We also offer baths, and everything at a decent price."

"Actually," Mina said, approaching the counter behind which the innkeeper stood, "I'm looking for someone who passed through here recently. I've been told he had a bear cub with him," she finished, and watched as the woman's face lit up.

"Oh, I remember him! Nice young man, and the bear was the cutest thing. He left a couple days ago, after seeing to the treatment of that hurt Japanese woman." Her tone turned sour with the last two words. "Don't see why he bothered with that, she is Japanese after all. But he paid for it, so I have to keep her here until she's well enough to slink on home," she sighed, obviously irked by the prospect of having to help care for the foreign woman.

"What hurt Japanese woman?" Mina asked, suddenly curious.

"Oh, just some traveler I'd wager. Maybe even a follower of the army… who knows? She spoke Korean well enough and her money was good so I let her stay in the inn for a night before that nice young man brought her back looking like she'd been in a duel and lost. In her current state she keeps rambling in her native language, so if you want to talk to her you'd better be able to speak that awful tongue."

Mina bit her lip. She did speak some Japanese, but her Chinese was a lot better, almost fluent. She also knew a couple of trade languages, but she doubted the wounded woman would be able to understand those, especially a couple of the more exotic ones, like the smattering of Portuguese she knew or a couple of the other European languages she had picked up bits and pieces of on her travels. But if she wanted to know what the Japanese woman knew about Yun Sung, she'd have to talk to her.

Mina nodded slightly and was taken to a room in the back of the inn. On a futon in the middle of the room lay a woman she recognized. The ninja had been beaten badly, as if Yun Sung had no patience to go for a knockout. Mina was impressed. If he had been able to beat her like this, he was moving into his talent. Maybe, Mina thought, he really is as good as Daddy thinks he is….

Mina quietly crossed the room to stand next to the futon, then started as the ninja's eyes shot open to encompass Mina within their wide stare. The ninja's breathing was heavy and it was obvious that, even though she was healing well enough, she was in an immense amount of pain. Mina winced-she had never been beaten this badly by anyone, although she had come close a couple of times.

"Who. . .?" the ninja asked in Japanese. Mina, putting together her sentences slowly, explained the best she could, stumbling in the foreign tongue. She hoped she got her message across, meanwhile wishing the woman was lucid enough to converse in Korean.

From the tattered answer she received, Mina pieced together that it was indeed Yun Sung who had delivered this beating, and her respect for the young man rose. But three other words she made out froze her blood. Soul. Edge. And Shards. Soul Edge Shards. What did that mean? Tired and confused, Mina left the room and headed back out into the common room of the inn, now crowded with people enjoying dinner and drinks after a long day. Mina walked dumbly back up to the bar, leaning against it, one hand clenching Scarlet Thunder. Did that baby have any idea of how much trouble he was in? she wondered.

"So," the voice of the innkeeper pulled Mina out of her thoughts, "did you find anything you were looking for?" Unable to answer, Mina just shook her head. The older woman sighed.

"I knew you'd get nothing out of her. Some of those Japanese," the older woman shook her head with disgust, "you'd think they weren't human." Her expression turned soft as she regarded Mina. "You look tired, would you like a room for tonight?"

Mina smiled, "Yes," she answered, "And a bath and a meal too, if that's okay," she said, pulling what little coinage she had from her travel bag laying it on the bar. The woman smiled.

"Certainly. Tomorrow you'll be feeling a lot better, that you will."

Mina smiled and silently hoped so.

The bath and the meal were almost heavenly, and although Mina felt guilty for indulging in the luxury rather than continuing her pursuit of Yung Sung, she couldn't deny that the rest was just what she needed-especially being able to bathe without the feeling of being watched. She washed off all the dirt from the trail and enjoyed the feeling of clean skin for the first time in about a week. The inn keeper also had her clothing washed for her, providing her with a traditional dress while her own clothing dried. While not her usual style and simply looked ludicrous paired with Scarlet Thunder, the clean fabric felt good against her clean skin.

Her bath and meal finished, Mina allowed herself to be shown to her room. It must have been one of the nicer ones in the inn, complete with a large futon and plenty of blankets and offering a good view of the river. Discarding the dress, she happily slipped between the sheets. For the first time in nights she didn't feel a need to curl up to her zanbatou and slept comfortably nude, cuddling Hwang's vest as she had done every night since she had heard the news of his death.

"Hwang," she whispered, snuggling deeper into the futon and blankets. "Hwang Sung Kyung. . ." she giggled, saying his full name before sleep took her, comfortable and worry-free.

Assassin stared into the darkness, watching the village lights slowly wink out by one by one. He dared not enter the area of human habitation, but knowing that the girl evaded him by hiding there was almost infuriating enough to invite him in. He stared angrily until but a single light twinkled in the dark and silent village. It was probably the village inn. The girl was most likely there, sleeping in a bed that had to be more comfortable than the cold desert ground. He almost remembered a time when he, too, felt the comfort of a futon mattress under his back. He placed his hand over the shard in his chest, desperately trying to remember.

Yes, it was an inn like that one, he thought as the shard pulsed under his fingertips. Dim memories flashed to life. He remembered stalking the girl at another time, in another place. Was it even a different life? It seemed so distant, foreign. He'd followed the girl across icy tundra and caught up with her in a village like this one. Only all the buildings had had steep, pointy roofs with eaves that touched the ground and the people wore fur from head to toe. Inside one of the pointy-roofed buildings, he had slept in a futon that was much too high off the ground. And… there was another thing wrong, too. The innkeeper had spoken in a strange tongue that Assassin had not recognized. She thought that he and the girl were husband and wife, and did not comprehend his protests when she booked him and the girl into a single room with only one bed. He'd been so flustered… he must have forgotten that the girl was his enemy. He remembered lying on the stiff floor at first, staring up at her as she slept on the towering bed. Her arm had dangled tantalizingly close to his face as her chest rose and fell in soft breaths. Then her voice was in his ear, muttering something about how he didn't have to sleep on the floor. "Practically promised," she said. What had that meant? Then there was the softness of the mattress beneath him, and the even softer sensation of her arm touching his under the quilt.

The memory faded away, though Assassin wished desperately that it would go on. "Practically promised." That's right… at that time, she hadn't been my enemy. She had been promised to me in marriage, hadn't she? Until…. Until her love had turned to that auburn-haired boy. Kyung, or whatever his name was. The sudden realization stung Assassin into rage.

That girl was mine! And she betrayed me! The light of the village inn blinked once, taunting him before fading into darkness. He had half a mind to go to the inn under the cover of the night and kill the traitorous bitch. However, the other half of his mind still lingered on the memory of her skin touching his. She was too lovely, too pure for him to mar her warm beauty with his blade. Even to brush her smooth skin with a mere fingertip would taint her…. No, don't let yourself think of her like that. She betrayed you! She is your enemy! Assassin thought fiercely. He pressed his fingers to the shard at the back of his neck until the unwanted visions went away. Then, resolving to get some sleep so that he could pursue her tomorrow, he wrapped himself in his dark cloak and drifted to sleep.

Assassin woke with a start in the middle of the night, feeling disoriented. His clothing had been stripped from him, including his veil and headdress, and a blanket was placed over him in their stead. His hand jumped from his bare chest to the ground beneath him and, to his alarm, found that he was lying on a firm futon. He sat up quickly in the dark room, his heart pounding with fear and confusion. Where am I? Where is my sword? A warmth pressed against him, preventing him from standing.

"You didn't have to sleep outside, you know. We're practically promised," the warm shape mumbled in a soft, feminine voice. She shifted again to rest her head against his chest, spilling her long hair all across his body.

"Mina," he whispered, remembering her name as he breathed in the faint perfume of her hair. She smiled and snuggled closer, sending waves of sensation coursing through his body. "Mina…" he repeated, testing the name on his lips as he softly traced the curve of her cheek. Her eyes opened in surprise. She whispered something, his name perhaps, but was too entranced by those dark, pretty eyes to hear what. Before he was really aware of what he was doing Assassin found himself touching her cheek with his lips in the softest of kisses. Mina muttered something in his ear-encouragement? Protest? He suddenly didn't care; he wasn't going to stop there. He trailed his lips to kiss the edge of her jaw, then the soft skin of her neck. She gasped softly, prompting him to kiss the spot a little harder, even knick it with his teeth in a playful bite. He moved on to the hollow of her throat, shifting the blanket out of way so that his hands could explore the rest of her while he tasted her warm skin. His fingers trailed blindly along the curve of her breasts and down to make circles around her bellybutton. She seemed to be as naked as he was, he noted with satisfaction.

A dim part of Assassin's memory told him that she should be hitting him, screaming, something. But, instead, she gently twined her fingers through his hair and pulled his face near hers.

"Practically promised," she reminded him before covering his mouth with hers in a kiss that took his breath away. She shifted on the futon to pin him down, as if he would try to get away.

"Yes, you are mine," he whispered. He moved his hands across her smooth back, thinking, Mine, all this is mine.

Fool, Assassin cursed himself when he awoke within the tangle of his own cloak. The desert ground was just as hard and cold as it had ever been and no womanly warmth pressed against him. His heart was racing and his mouth felt dry. But she was mine, and I will make her mine again. I will punish both her and her lover for what she has done to me.

He stared out at the village. The sky was slowly lightening with the dawn, and lights began to appear in some of the buildings. The girl… Mina would no doubt be leaving within the hour. He would shadow her as usual, and when evening fell again he would claim her.

The dress was heavy, not a sensation Seung Mina particularly enjoyed. Her only consolation was the color: a brilliant scarlet, her favorite shade of red. The headdress was heavy as well, and the entire garment had taken hours to arrange correctly. She cast a sideways glance at Hwang. He looked so different in the formal blue clothing he wore, elaborately embroidered and completed with a headdress. Mina almost didn't recognize him. Hwang caught her glance and Mina felt herself do something very rare-she blushed and quickly glanced away. Hwang also did something he rarely did-he laughed. The sound made Mina angry and she spun to slap him, an impossible task in the heavy clothing. Hwang caught her wrist easily and held on to the hand, his eyes were glowing.

"Nervous?" he asked, easily and calmly.

"Never," Mina said, hoping Hwang couldn't tell she was shaking.

"Liar," Hwang laughed and Mina glared at him, only to have her hard gaze softened by Hwang's expression.

"Oh really?" Mina asked playfully. "How can you tell?"

"Mina, when you lie, you're totally serious about it," he said, then upped the pitch of his voice, to mimic hers. "No Daddy, I won't run off. I'll stay right here, Hwang, you can trust me." He laughed again. "So as you can see, it's obvious when you're lying." Another soft smile and Hwang's hand caressed hers, adding to her nervousness in a strange and pleasant way. "There's nothing to be nervous about," he assured her. His voice was damnably calm but, then again, Hwang himself was always damnably calm. "It's just your father out there, with the students of the dojo standing in for my family. It's okay."

Mina smiled and nodded. No mater how badly her nerves were strained, she would get through it. The entire ceremony wouldn't take long anyway, and then it would be just the two of them. Just the two of us, Mina thought, suddenly feeling light-headed as they entered the ceremony room. Just the two of us. The thought should've calmed her, but for some reason she felt more afraid then ever.

Sometime during the formal event, Hwang's hand found his way to hers once more as he leaned close to whisper something into her ear. It took a moment for Mina to comprehend the words. "I love you, Mina." Then the scene around her twisted and changed.

"I love you Mina." This time the words were different, passionate. She and Hwang were together in a room so dark that the only thing Mina could see was him. Hwang's hands roved over her body, slowly, lovingly, up her arms, around her shoulders and down to cup her breasts, kneading the sensitive flesh was his warm hands. She gasped as Hwang brought his mouth to her neck, kissing and nipping at the flesh there, her own hands exploring his body in turn. She almost couldn't believe that this was happening, that Hwang was touching her like this. She heard herself gasp his name and felt, more than heard, him chuckle.

"You can," he said, accenting his words with kisses that kept going lower, "use my given name now, Mina."

His words encouraging her, his lips and his hands spurring her on she called out to him again, "Kyung…! "

"Yes, that's it." The words were low, almost growling as he lowered her to the futon beneath him. "That's it, my Mina…." Seung Mina gave in to his hands, gave into the warmth of his body and the sensation it offered her until a voice intruded on their privacy.

"Little Seung, Hwang is dead."

No he's not, she thought. That's absurd, he's right here and so warm and so alive….

"Hwang is dead." Memory came crashing down on her once more, and Hwang was gone, replaced by a sea of black that stared at her with unblinking eyes. Suddenly devoid of warmth, Mina stood staring into the darkness, looking for someone, anyone, to be there so she wouldn't have to be alone. She spun around and spotted him in the distance. Hwang, not alive and warm as he had been moments before, but with wounds covering his body and his eyes cold and hard.

"Hwang!" Mina screamed as she stumbled toward him, her arms reaching out for him. She grasped his arms with her hands, finding cold flesh between her fingers. "Kyung," she sobbed, using his given name, trying to coax acknowledgment out of the cold face.

Suddenly his body was wrapped in black and he stared at her with the eyes of an animal. He broke her hold easily and grabbed her by the shoulders, shoving her back with a blow that robbed her of breath.

"Hwang is dead, Mina," he said coldly and sarcastically, his masked hovering close to hers before claiming her lips in a selfish and brutal kiss.

Hwang is dead.

Mina bolted upright on the futon before flopping back down on the mattress. The sun was rising, softly lighting the room through the window. She covered her face with her hands as tears welled up once again, chiding herself for waking up late and losing herself in a dream. She brushed at her teary eyes with her arm as she rose from her bed, feeling cheated by the nightmare. Even her dreams wouldn't let the love her life be alive. In the nightmare, although Hwang had had the voice of the man she loved, his eyes were those of a madman. Like an animal. Mina shuddered-there was another mental image she wanted to forget. The bodies of the bandits slaughtered as if by an animal, and the large black bird….

"Stop it, you!" Mina ordered herself, the sound of her own voice breaking the spell the nightmare had woven over her. She forced herself to begin dressing, putting on the clothing that the innkeeper had returned to her sometime during the night. Her muscles were waking slowly, her mind still lethargic as she braided her hair and finished dressing. She stretched her arms and legs before grabbing Scarlet Thunder and her bag, and then left the room. Since she had already paid for the room, she simply left the inn and headed toward the stable for her stallion, knowing that she'd have to make up lost ground. Yun Sung was still at least several days ahead of her.

Mina reached the stable and paid the boy who worked there. The fee seemed to have been reduced; the child must have thought of her as a friend of 'the bear man,' she realized with a smile. Wherever he went, it seemed Yun Sung touched the lives of the people there. He really was pure, almost sickingly so. Almost like Hwang had been sickingly calm and serious. Mina swore under her breath as she mounted Kyung and rode spurred the stallion forward, riding out of the town on a cloud of brown dust in her wake. She had to stop thinking about Hwang if she was going to get through this. The sun was rising quickly, and already she should feel the eyes of her stalker upon her.

It was obvious by midday that Mina had not lost her pursuer. A part of her hoped that spending a night in the town would have thrown off her stalker, but her wish hadn't been granted. Just like so many of my other wishes and hopes, she thought, before shaking her head once again to clear it.

Mina stopped at a small oasis, an ideal place to water Kyung, clear her mind and rest her body from the taxing journey beneath the hot sun. She dismounted easily, sliding off of the big stallion, who sauntered happily in the direction of a floodwater pond. Mina felt no need to tether the horse-she had learned quickly that Kyung was trained to come on command and would never stray very far from her. Besides, as with the days before, the trail was unnaturally quiet. She scanned the land around her, feeling the eyes of her pursuer even though the landscape didn't allow many places for it to hide.

"Come out here!" Mina shouted, knowing that whatever was following her was in hearing range. "I know you can hear me! Come out and face me! Why are you following me, damnit?!" she swore, half expecting someone to materialize out of nowhere. But no one did. Mina released a breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding, along with a litany of curses that would've given her father or Hwang a heart attack to hear from her mouth. It really was amazing what one learned when one traveled.

"Well, fuck you then!" Mina screamed at the open dessert, "You're not going to get me," she said, adding a few more choice words underneath her breath before plopping down on the sad next to the pool of water. The temptation to bathe was overwhelming, but Mina couldn't make herself take off so much as her boots if she knew someone was watching. She didn't feel like eating much either, so she just sat, watching Kyung the horse drink the water and eat his fill. Staring at her own reflection in the pond, she realized that she looked tired and trail worn already, even though it was only noon. She looked closer to a child right now than a woman of just around twenty years of age. She looked away from her reflection as tears rose to her eyes. Mina wanted desperately to pound on something, but the heat of the day made practicing out of the question unless she wanted to kill herself with a heat stroke. As it was, just sitting in the shade of the sparse vegetation was still extremely hot.

Mina took a cue from Kyung and tried to rest, Scarlet Thunder cradled in her arms. Her thoughts drifted back to the dream of the previous night.

"Practically promised. . ." she whispered under her breath, a half smile lighting her face. The simple phrase brought to live a plethora of memories. Hwang flustered, sleeping on a floor in a foreign inn before she could coax him on to the strange bed. Waking up still fully clothed, but snuggled securely in the crook of his arm. And even earlier still, Hwang comforting her when her brother and mother had died suddenly. Hwang's startled expression when her father had first expressed interest in the match soon after, when Mina was still 15 and he 24. Practically promised….

"Damn you, Hwang Sung Kyung," Mina swore. Practically promised, indeed. Hwang had put an end to that girlish phrase easily enough. The dream was first shattered when her father had formally approached Hwang about their marriage match. Mina had listened anxiously behind the closed door of the room in which her father and Hwang met, expecting to finally hear a firm date set for her marriage to Hwang. She heard Hwang turn her father down, coldly, without feeling, and she spent the rest of the day crying in her room. Later, when her father had approached her about it, Mina only laughed and said that she didn't want to be married to an unfeeling bastard like Hwang anyway. But she hadn't meant it, and her father knew that as well as she did.

Mina had managed to corner Hwang later that night and demand an explanation. She had demanded to know what had made him answer her father the way he had. Hwang just stared at her, as calm as he always was. Everything he told her was engraved on Mina's memory forever. First he had announced simply that he couldn't concern himself with something as mundane as marriage when there was a threat as great as the Japanese warring against Korea. The welfare of the nation came before the two of them, he said, and she would have to get over it. Mina then accused him of having someone else and demanded a name, silently vowing to beat the shit out of the woman who had stolen her Hwang. Again, damnably calm, Hwang rebuffed her, saying although he had been with other women before there wasn't anyone now. If you don't love me that way, Mina had screamed, why couldn't you have just said something, you ass! She had shouted at him, before turning and running away, not giving him a chance to respond. He didn't follow her, but she felt that he had reached out to her as she stormed out of the room.

The next day, the marriage proposals had started rolling in. All were from families with sons she had never liked and had never even looked twice at. Most of them she knew, of course-they were students at the dojo whose parents hoped that their son would be the one to inherit the prestigious school someday. Mina had refused them all. Hwang just sat back and watched, giving no indication that he cared if Mina chose a husband, or who.

Mina had then run away from the dojo for the second time in her life, only to be drug back by Hwang once again. The experience was miserable-she couldn't bear to be in the company of someone whom she loved but didn't love her in return. In the few weeks before he left with the army the second time however, things changed again. She and Hwang grew closer than they had ever been before. Then he left, without either of them having acknowledged the blossoming love between then. And now it was over, permanently.

"Practically promised," Mina said, her tone bitter. "Yeah, right. You never wanted me, anyway."

Mina rode on as far into the cold desert night as she could, until she became so fatigued that she nearly fell asleep on her horse. She then reluctantly set up camp in an area that was more vegetated than even the oasis she'd found earlier that day. She was nearing the end of the desert, she realized, and a few more days of travel would bring her into plains and grasslands. Mina smiled and clutched Scarlet Thunder. Plains and grasslands meant more towns and villages and cities. Even though she normally avoided inns while traveling to both save money and stave off horny city men, the large settlements of people would offer ample chances to lose the person following her as well as offer sources of information about the path Yun Sung traveled in his search for the Patriot Sword. Cities would also mean inns to sleep in at night. She didn't think she could sleep outside while her pursuer watched her. Mina cursed herself quietly. I'm becoming as bad as Yun Sung, thinking I need an inn to go to sleep. If I don't sleep, I can't travel, if I can't travel I can't bring White Storm and the baby back to Daddy.

Mina clutched Hwang's vest and her zanbatou as she borrowed beneath her blankets. As she drifted into a fitful sleep, she imagined that she saw a shape form out of the darkness and stand over her….

When the rivers crisscrossing the land became so abundant that there was more oasis than desert, Hong Yun Sung knew he was in China. The thought excited him. China! Father went to China once, and now I'm as well-traveled as he was, he marveled, but could not help but feel a little sad. He wondered if his father would have continued his travels had he not died when Sung was still a boy. He patted his pouch of coins as he thought, suddenly remembering that he had only a few Chinese yuan among his life savings. They were, in fact, coins that his father had given to him after returning from his trip to China. I can't spend those, he groaned inwardly.

But when Yun Sung found an inn at the next village, the innkeeper hardly gave his Korean wong a second glance. Maybe he didn't notice, he thought with a smug smile. The innkeeper noticed Sung's tight grin, however, and returned it with a wide smile that displayed sharp gaps among his teeth.

"Welcome to Bordertown," he said. At least, that's what Yun Sung thought the innkeeper said. Korean was the only language spoken in both his home village and the Seung dojo. While he had learned Chinese, it had been years since he had actually practiced the language.

"Uh, thank you," he replied as the innkeeper swept a handful of coins from the pile Sung had shook out onto the counter. He felt the man might be ripping him off, but he had no way to prove it.

"The stable fee is included, but keeping pets in your room is an extra charge," the innkeeper replied to Yun Sung's quiet mutterings. "And there'll be charges for any damage he does to the furniture," he added.

"What furniture?" Yun Sung grumbled as he opened the door to his room. Aside from the bed, there was only a washstand with a cracked pitcher of water and a dingy-looking towel. The window offered a nice view, though, he remarked, as he crossed the room to gaze out at the street three stories below. Paper lanterns were strung across the wide thoroughfare, and lights from the other inns, taverns and restaurants shone like lightning bugs in a summer night. Well, it is summer. Almost. Wiping his hands on the towel-which turned out to be crisply clean, despite its mottled color-he decided to venture out onto the street and find someplace else to rip him off for a meal.

Bear shot him a piteous glance that prevented Yun Sung from leaving him in the room.

"Alright. Let's go find something to eat," he said to the cub. "All I really want is some kim-chee and rice," he stated, although his rumbling stomach had far grander ideas. Bear trotted behind him, his claws finding easy purchase on the worn floor as Yun Sung climbed down three flights of stairs and emerged from the building onto the street.

It certainly didn't sound like night. Groups of people moved up and down the thoroughfare, talking, laughing, drinking and occasionally buying hot buns or other midnight snacks from street vendors. I'll need to find a money-changer in the morning, Sung reminded himself. I doubt the street vendors take Korean wong, even if this is a border town. He bypassed the trays of steaming food at makeshift stands or balanced on bicycles, weaving his way through the throngs of people to the first restaurant establishment whose aroma caught his nose. He squinted at the characters on the restaurant's sign. They seemed to manage to avoid the light of any lantern by a scant few centimeters. The glow in the window was welcoming enough, however, that he decided it didn't matter what the place was called.

Upon entering the establishment, Yun Sung found every eye in the room focused on him over cups of sake or hands of cards. He froze in the doorway, staring back at the crowd of ill-shaven, oddly garbed men. Until a serving girl sauntered up to him, her clothes just as colorful and mismatched as the men's, and placed a hand on his arm.

"Don't pay them any mind. The regulars in this place are a safe crowd. But you, boy, why aren't you out enjoying the festival?" she asked. Her outspoken manner reminded Yun Sung of Mina.

"Uh, festival?"

"Yeah. Even in Bordertown, there isn't usually a drunken orgy in the streets unless there's a festival. I think tonight is the Festival of Stars. Or some shit like that. Anyway, foreigner, can I get you something?"

On second thought, the girl wasn't like Seung Mina at all. She was much too forward, and the way she said "something" as she squeezed his arm was more than a little suggestive. Against his best judgment, he found himself replying, "Some food for myself and Bear. This is a restaurant, isn't it?" The serving girl laughed softly, and he heard some guffaws from the tables as well.

"You, uh, don't travel much, do you?" she asked mirthfully. "Alright, sit down, we'll get you and your pet something to eat." She led him to an empty table, then retreated to the kitchen before Yun Sung could order his kim-chee and rice. He sat stiffly on the low bench, nervously surveying the room. Everyone seemed to have returned to their drinks and cards, but he felt that they watched him just the same. He shifted uncomfortably, then turned his attention to Bear.

"Maybe they don't like bears, here," he said softly, stroking Bear's fluffy white mane. The cub yawned indifferently. The girl eventually returned with two plates of food, and Yun Sung was glad to shift his attention to the meal. There was half a chicken for Bear, and the other half seemed to be diced up in a spicy sauce with mixed vegetables. Yun Sung ate hungrily, deciding that he'd worry about the price later. He ate until he was stuffed, then pushed his plate back with a little discomfort. He hadn't been this full in a long time. It felt good, in a way, but it also made him feel incredibly sleepy. He stood up woozily.

"I'd better get back to my… room. How… much do I owe you?" he asked the serving girl when she returned for the empty plates. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his eyes couldn't even focus on the girl.

"Give me your sword," she said, pushing him down with an easy shove. "You owe us some answers." Yun Sung protested, but found his limbs would not obey him. His arm flopped limply on the floor as he tried to grab White Storm. The girl snatched it from his belt with a laugh.

"Well, he's Korean, like our wanted man, and fights with a very similar weapon. There aren't many swords fashioned in this style, or men who fight with this type of blade," she said, addressing a group of men who had gathered behind her.

"He's just a pup," Yun Sung heard one man grunt. "He can't be our man." How can this be happening? Yun Sung thought angrily. I've saved a village and defeated a ninja. I can't die now in the hands of these bandits! Another man grabbed Yun Sung by the front of his dojo uniform and gave him a couple of violent shakes.

"You obviously traveled through the mountains to get here, passing through at about the same time that my band of men there was slaughtered! From the mangled remains which the killer made no attempt to hide, we know that it was a single man who committed the deed with a peculiar style sword," the man spoke accusingly. To Yun Sung's blurred vision, the man was a wooden mask amid a swirl of bright, magenta robes. The sight was akin to something he had once seen in a nightmare.

"I didn't kill… anyone," he replied with difficulty. The girl had to have drugged his food.

"There was a girl, too," spoke another man. "Too close behind you to be a random passerby through the mountains. Give us the name of your accomplice, and we'll make your death a swift one." Yun Sung thought his heart stopped. A girl. No… not…Mina?

"I… di'n kill anyone!" he repeated, and he knew his words slurred together. "I'm trav'lin by myshelf. I'm jus' lookin' for th' Patriot Sword. Have you guyz heardofit?"

"Ling!" the masked man cried. "Did you have to give him so much poppy syrup?!"

"I didn't think you honestly thought he's the one we're looking for. I was hoping I could have my way with him after you stole pretty boy's sword and roughed him up a little, chief," she replied. The chief sighed through his mask and let go of Yun Sung's clothing after one last vigorous shake. Bear growled, but the poor animal seemed to have been drugged as well.

"Where'd you get this sword, boy? And why do you stink of the Soul Edge?" he demanded.

"I jus'… travlin'. Giv'n t' me. Mina. Mina gave…."

"Dammit, Ling," the bandit chief swore. "Alright. Get him out of my sight until he's coherent again." He kicked Yun Sung disdainfully, then slid White Storm into his own belt. Yun Sung was dimly aware of a slender pair of arms grabbing his legs and a stronger, rougher pair grabbing him around the midsection. He cried out, but the poppy syrup in the sauce had knocked him so senseless that he was unable to put up much of a struggle.

"You guys suck," he complained weakly. His head was much higher than his feet, and he felt like he was jouncing backwards up a flight of stairs.

"Yeah, what of it?" Ling sniggered. "Wang here wishes I'd suck his, but I wouldn't for all the yuan between the whole clan."

"Shaddap," growled the man who gripped his shoulders, a command that seemed aimed at both Ling and Yun Sung. He felt his body heaved onto a stiff futon and heard a door slam firmly behind him.

Am I alone? Yun Sung wondered. The room was dark. Either that or his vision was completely failing him. He felt ill.

"I'm sorry I drugged you so much," came a soft voice. "Now, I don't want you getting any ideas when you come to. I'd probably suck Wang before I'd ever want to 'have my way' with you. I need you to get me out of here, boy," Ling whispered.

"Me… help you?" Yung Sung managed. He realized the room was only dark because his eyes were closed, and he could not seem to summon the strength to open them.

"Shh, sleep now. I'll wake you when it's time."

Hong Yun Sung dreamed of Seung Mina. But she spoke with Ling's voice, whispering softly about a life he couldn't imagine Mina experiencing.

"My father died when I was eleven years old. In order to support my three brothers, my mother sold me into slavery. After my virginity was bought, no one wanted me anyone. I was turned out on the street from my master's home, left to prostitute myself or starve. Yoshimitsu's clan found me when I was fifteen and saved me from the street. I was still a prostitute, but the clan screened my customers and kept me safe from harm. They even let me keep most of the money. But, you see, this isn't the life I want to lead. I've been looking for a chance to leave for a long time, and finally that opportunity has arrived. In exchange for saving your life, I want you to take me with you. To… wherever you're going. Just get me out of here."

Mina. Mina, no. The sadness in her eyes lifted, and she laughed softly.

"You keep saying that name. Is she your betrothed?"

Mina. You're my… friend, my classmate, the woman of my dreams. But you're my master's daughter, and your heart belongs to a cruel man who refuses your love as he refuses to acknowledge me as his rival. That will all change when I bring back the Patriot Sword. I know you'll love me when I save our country and defeat Hwang.

"I understand, I think. And I think I've heard of this Patriot Sword. It's also called the Soul Edge, isn't it? Yoshimitsu is trying to find it so he can destroy it. So was a young man named Kilik, who passed through here a couple weeks ago. I thought about using him for my escape plan, but he was a real weird one. Kind of… dangerous. But I was glad to help him 'atone for his sins.' Men say the strangest things when they make love, you know? Sometimes I feel like I get paid more to listen to their problems than to fuck them."

Mina, I don't want you to disgrace yourself like that. I'll get you out of here. We'll go… get the Patriot Sword together. Seung Mina's face blurred. Her long, brown hair darkened into two black coils woven intricately about her head. Her eyes became more slanted, her lips smaller and rounder-like a red rosebud. Pretty. But not as pretty as Mina. The girl laughed.

"Alright, I'll let you sleep. I don't know why I just told you all of that," Ling said with a sigh. Yun Sung drifted into a deeper sleep, where even dreams did not venture.

Yun Sung awoke to a dim blue light filtering in through the room's narrow window and Ling's urgent but softly spoken words.

"Get up, it's time to go."

"Where's my sword? And Bear?" he demanded in a whisper, scrambling to his feet. He almost stepped on the bear cub in doing so.

"As you can see, your friend is just fine. But, uh, getting your sword back will be a different matter. I think Yoshimitsu still has it stuck through his belt. He's asleep, but he won't be for long if you take it and you won't get away alive if you try. I can get you another sword from the storeroom. Granted, it won't be as good as your shiny white blade, but…."

"No, I have to get White Storm back. Show me where it is," he argued. Ling sighed in exasperation.

"I didn't save you from bloody death so that you could kill yourself in a brawl with the boss. But I see you're as stubborn as any man. Fine, I'll show you," she hissed.

"I'm not going to get myself killed," Yun Sung growled. "I've beaten a ninja and…."

"You killed our band of men that was waylaying travelers in the mountains, didn't you?" she whispered, pausing mid-stride to face him. "I didn't think there was any way, but…."

"I never killed anyone! Well, I… but I didn't kill any bandits! Just some Japanese invaders. Just take me to my sword!" His voice was on the edge of cracking from a hoarse whisper into a shout. He remembered Mina being as exasperating as this sometimes. Were all women like this?

Ling spun around again with a sigh and led him down the stairway back to the common room. No one sat around the low tables now. Bear sniffed under some of them for scraps until Yun Sung caught his attention with a quiet hiss. The cub lifted his head and trotted after his master as Yun Sung crept into a nearly invisible hallway. A pair of screened doors stood at the end, barely discernable in the dim light.

"No, wait. It's in there, right?" He whispered to Ling. She nodded. "Good. You go to the stables at the Wayfarer Inn and get my horse. You know where that is, right? She's a dun mare and she answers to 'Kiri.' Oh, and grab my stuff from my room. It's on the end of hallway on the fourth floor." He dug in his money pouch and procured his room key. Ling snatched it from his hand.

"Good idea. I'll be waiting for you out back," she whispered, then took off without a second glance back. For a fleeting moment, Yun Sung wondered if she would simply take off with his stuff and his horse. No, Kiri wouldn't leave me in this godforsaken border town. Besides, I think I trust Ling. It was only after this thought that he realized he was holding a small dagger in his hand. Ling must have pressed it there when she took the key. Yes, I trust her. But what does she want me to do with this? It's too small to seriously injure a man, and I doubt she'd want me to kill Yoshimitsu anyway. He slipped the tiny weapon into the folds of his empty belt and crept toward the end of the hallway.

Yun Sung reached slowly for the paper screen door, only to find that it resisted movement. Locked, somehow? His other hand reached for the dagger in his belt as he pressed an ear against the door. Although the thick paper admitted light, he could see nothing of the room beyond. The door did nothing to dampen sound, however, and he hardly needed to press his ear against the door to hear the snoring emanating from the room. It was a disturbing, whistling sound-almost mechanical. Wha… does he sleep with his mask on? He ran his fingers along the short hilt of the dagger. It might be just the thing to pick the lock. Or cut through the special paper. Inserting it into the lock, he found that the blade was a bit too wide to go in all the way. He removed the blade and slid it into the corner of one of the panels in the door. The wooden partitions would prevent him from slicing a very large opening, but all he needed was a space big enough to reach his arm through.

Yun Sung winced at the sound the blade made as it sawed through the paper, although it was still quieter than Yoshimitsu's snoring. He sliced open one of the panels as carefully as he could, finding that the blade sliced more cleanly and produced less noise when he used swifter strokes. Then, returning the dagger to his belt, he reached his arm through the opening he had made and fumbled at the other side of the lock. With a sharp click, the mechanism came undone. I can't believe I'm sneaking around and breaking into things like a common thief. Yanking his arm back, he slid the door open and passed into the room beyond.

White Storm shone brightly in the dim room, sitting on low table near the futon on which the bandit chief slept. It shook lightly as the table vibrated with the grating snores that emanated from the masked man. How can he sleep through that raucous noise he makes? Yun Sung crept closer, his footsteps muffled by the plush rugs layered over the floor. Even in the dim light, he could see that they were brightly colored. In true light, they were probably bright hues of magenta, yellow, and green.

"It is I, Yoshimitsu!" crackled a voice from the mask. Yun Sung nearly jumped out of his skin, but the bandit merely rolled over and flung an arm toward the table. It landed next to White Storm, fingers brushing the hilt. Yun Sung stared in confusion until he realized that the chief must wear a mask on both sides of his face. So which way was he facing, now? It doesn't matter. Just get the sword, he prompted himself.

However, the man's fingers gripped White Storm more tightly than Yun Sung had thought. When he tried to lift the sword from the table, he brought the arm with it. Yun Sung stared in horror at fingers that looked like they had been fashioned out of wood. They gripped the hilt like a vice while wooden gears spun slowly along the length of the arm. Just what is this guy? Some kind of machine? Suddenly the mechanical arm jerked as its master lurched to life.

"Namu namu namu namu namu!" Yoshimitsu cried, causing Yun Sung to drop the sword with a startled shout. The bandit lord snatched it close as he bolted upright on his futon.

"What the hell are you doing here? Pretty boy looking for a quick end to his short life?" he demanded. Yun Sung swallowed.

"Give me my sword back," he said, trying to force confidence behind his words.

"Where'd you get this sword, boy? Did you thieve it from your master as you try to steal it from me? Ling and Wang were right-you cannot be the swordsman who killed my band of men in the mountains. I would have set you on your way, but now I see I will have to assist you in your suicide."

"You're right-I didn't kill your men. But I will kill you if you do not hand over White Storm," Yun Sung growled. Hell, or Mina will kill me when she catches up to me! I can't believe she ran off after me!

"Kill me with what, boy? Scratch me to death with your fingernails?" the bandit lord retorted, then bowed his head to turn his attention to the weapon. "Such a pretty sword," he crooned to the shining white blade in his arms. Yun Sung clenched his fingers around his hidden dagger. He's pretending to ignore me, waiting for me to make the first move. But I can't. Not with just this tiny dagger when has White Storm.

Yun Sung didn't know how long he stood in the dim room, white-knuckling the dagger and standing ready for a fight. A million thoughts raced through his mind. Is Ling back already? Did she find Kiri? Maybe I should just get out of here. No, I need the sword. Is Mina here in Bordertown? Does she know I'm here? How close behind me is she? It could have been hours, or minutes, but suddenly the bandit lord erupted into noise. Yun Sung startled and reflexively whipped his arms into a position to block the incoming blow.

"It's not true! I tell you, it isn't true!" Yoshimitsu wailed, bowing his head and banging his wooden fist on the table. Yun Sung slowly lowered his arms. What the hell is going on? he wondered. Streams of water poured from the eye slits in the man's mask, making dark spots of moisture on his magenta robes. He's crying!