ARIZONA
1875.
Beneath the hot Arizonan afternoon sky rode a lone figure named Kai Takashi, with his shoulders stiff beneath a rough black coat, a straw hat over his head, and a katana hung across his back.
His horse, a black gelding called Jin, moved at a steady pace down the trail that led to the center of town.
"The Takashi name meant something, once." He thought. "We were fishermen, turned samurai. Our bloodline is as old as the first drops that flowed into the Kiso-gawa and made it a river."
Kai held the reins tightly as his mind drifted to a painful memory.
Years ago, back at the Takashi estate, Kai had awoken to the sound of screams. Someone shook him hard.
His eyes flew open, and he sat upright, facing his bride of only a few weeks.
"Kai!" cried Miharu.
His heart pounded as they both jumped to their feet, hurrying out the door.
"They've come for us!" Miharu gasped, her eyes filled with tears. "They're killing everyone!"
Even before she finished, Kai was already grabbing the katana from the rack on the shrine's altar.
The Shinobu. A clan that despised the Takashi name, stripped of all honor.
Raiding them while they slept?
He would kill every last one of them!
Someone crashed into the shrine. As Kai drew the blade, his eyes widened upon seeing his older brother, Kenji, holding his stomach, face twisted in agony, and blood poured from his mouth as he stumbled.
"Kai..." Kenji choked out. "R-run."
Miharu screamed as Kenji collapsed, dying before he reached the floor.
Takashi didn't have time to mourn. A masked man ran into the room. With fury, Kai sprang into action, their blades clashed. He punched Kai's face, sending him stumbling.
Kai felt dizzy for a second, he didn't know for how long. But when the man lunged for Miharu, Kai recovered, disarmed him, and slashed his throat.
He knelt and pressed a hand to Kenji's chest. He couldn't believe it—the man he'd looked up to since they were children.
Gone!
Miharu pulled his arm, breathing hard. "We must go!"
He turned to his wife in anger. "No, I'll kill them all."
"We can do that by surviving," Miharu's voice trembled as she grabbed Kenji's sword and a torch. "We'll send word to the Shogun."
Kai gritted his teeth but gave a stiff nod.
There was no time.
He remembered a tunnel under the shrine; the floor lifted with ease, revealing a trapdoor. They both climbed down and ran. He could hear a distant thud. Kai's lungs burned from rage. What honor did he have, running from danger like a coward?
"Almost there." Kai said.
They reached the old gate, and Kai groaned as he tried to pull the strong lever.
"It's stuck!" He found a rock and began to strike at it.
"Down there," a voice shouted. "Get them!"
Miharu gasped.
The lever gave out, and Kai unlocked the gate. The Shinobu were getting closer.
"You have to live," Miharu whispered.
Kai turned to her; her face was a mask of calm. "What are you saying?"
Then he looked lower and saw the deep red stain on her kimono. She held out her hand, now covered in blood.
His eyes widened in shock. That rogue must have cut her when Kai was distracted. "No!"
Before he could grab her, she pushed him through the doorway and slammed the lever; the gate came crashing down.
"No!" He gripped the iron, trying to push back in. "Miharu, what are you doing? Unlock the gate right now!"
"You have to live long enough to destroy them," She placed a hand on his cheek; he held back his tears. "I'm sorry, I cannot bear your children, beloved. It's too late for me."
They pushed their foreheads against each other, and she stepped back and turned around.
"Your blood won't be spilled in vain." Kai vowed.
He ran down the hills, as fast as he could, away from his burning home.
But he would never avenge Miharu, nor his entire family. He had to flee Japan, across the sea, for the New World.
America.
Ten years on, he still couldn't sleep without dreaming of the horrors he'd faced. A disgraced man, with no honor.
Someday, he will go back to Japan.
"But not today, my friend." He murmured to Jin.
He pulled his horse to a stop; a crowd gathered on Main Street. On the platform stood a sheriff.
"We gather here today," the man bellowed, "to bring justice upon this woman—a thief, a blasphemer, a devil, who dares call herself a human!"
The crowd shouted in anger, throwing rotten fruit at a woman standing on the platform with a rope tied on her neck and her hands tied up.
Her dress was torn, her curled hair wild, but she stood proud and unafraid. Kai would have called her beautiful, in a fierce, untamed way. Her skin was the color of caramel.
Kai's hearing cleared just in time to catch the words. "...accused of witchcraft and arson."
Kai began to applaud.
Every head turned to him.
The sheriff glared at the foreigner. "Are you mocking the law, foreigner?"
"You call this justice?" Kai called. "I've seen a pack of raccoons give better judgment."
Gasps broke out.
The sheriff barked. "And just who the hell do you think you are? I'll have you arrested for trespassing."
Kai lifted his head slowly with a dark look.
He yanked on the reins, and Jin trotted forward; the crowd began to scatter in fear. The sheriff started to draw his gun; Kai grabbed a whip and struck the sheriff's hand. He howled and stumbled back.
Hoping the woman was agile, Kai grabbed a knife and tossed it at her; she caught it midair.
"Took you long enough." She said with excitement.
Kai drew his gun and fired at a deputy who aimed at him. The deputy shouted as his gun dropped upon impact.
The sheriff tried to attack Kai, but the woman grabbed her loose ropes and wrapped them around his neck.
"Oh no, you don't." She hissed.
Ten minutes later, Kai and the woman were riding out of the town.
She was laughing as they moved further away.
"You're an idiot!" Kai shouted. "I thought I told you to wait until we had the artifact's location, Mariana."
Mariana looked at him. "The townspeople were going to sell it at an auction. You were late."
"I was being cautious."
"Is that a new term for slow?"
He grunted in annoyance and shook his head.
They stopped by a river and dismounted from their horses. Kai held out his hand to Mariana. She shook his hand.
He rolled his eyes. "Just give it to me."
She glared at Kai. "Excuse me? I just risked my neck for you, China; I think I deserve a little appreciation."
"Japan." He groaned, grabbed a leather satchel of gold coins, and gave them it to her.
Mariana counted the coins, then turned around and lifted her skirt up. Kai looked away in horror.
"Here." Mariana said.
He looked again. She held out a jade stone in her palm; he reached for it, not bothering to think what part of her body she pulled it out from.
"At long last." Kai said with relief.
Mariana eyed him carefully. "Please tell me you brought spare clothes with you."
He looked at her. "Huh? Yes, I did."
* * * * * * * *
They reached an old barn near the Texas border, both exhausted from the journey. Excitement sparked in Kai's chest.
They reached an old barn near the Texas border, both exhausted from the journey."
"If this medallion's so special, why can't you sell it?" Mariana asked him.
"The medallion of Amaterasu is a family heirloom, passed down from father to son." Kai explained. "Legend says it contains great powers and could heal the wounds of war."
"Powers?" Mariana scoffed. "Why, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
"It is strange to you, yes, but you don't understand how important this mission is to me." Kai said. "You steal things; you wouldn't understand what family means."
Mariana answered smoothly. "That too," she replied. "Can't understand what you never had."
When they arrived, someone let them inside the barn. Kai noticed five men were in the room watching them.
Thomas Caldwell, the fifth man and a black market dealer, sat behind a desk carving a bear out of wood with a knife.
"Kai Takashi?" Thomas spoke with a smile.
"Mr. Caldwell." Kai said formally. "Do you have what I asked for?"
Caldwell tapped his left pocket. "Right here."
He frowned at Mariana and lifted a brow. "Who's the broad?"
"She's merely an escort." Kai replied coolly, setting the chest on the table.
"I see. Well, I won't judge a man for keeping a mistress." Thomas sighed. "Got two of them."
Mariana did not share his humor; she started to speak when Kai held her arm.
"The medallion." Kai demanded.
Thomas unlocked the chest and nodded at the coins.
"Five thousand," Kai asked. "Count them if you wish."
Thomas gave a low laugh and retrieved a blue cloth from his pocket, gently unwrapping it. "No I trust you. But it's an odd one. Not like anything I've sold before. You must have gone through hell to find it."
Kai frowned.
The man talked too much.
"Yes. I think I'll take it and be on my way." Kai said.
Thomas' eyes flashed. "I cut myself a few days ago; one touch of this, and the cut healed right up."
Kai narrowed his eyes at Thomas.
"Like magic." Thomas smiled.
The men chuckled.
The hair on Kai's neck rose.
Could it be?
"There's no such thing." Mariana scoffed.
Kai took the medallion from Thomas and bowed his head. "Thank you."
He turned to leave; Mariana followed, but Thomas's voice stopped them.
"You see," Thomas's voice turned low. "If there's one thing I've learned about thieving women and desperate foreigners—"
Click.
"... they're all scums."
Before Kai could react, a shot rang out.
Bang.
Mariana didn't scream. Her body fell to the floor.
"Mariana!" Kai shouted.
But it was too late.
Another shot exploded. Pain pierced his back, and he dropped beside her. He struggled to breathe.
He crawled to Mariana's body, blood spilled around her, eyes wide with shock. The medallion burned in his hand. He reached for her hand.
A faint green spark appeared at their fingertips.
Then—
Darkness.