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Tales of a Geisha

Chapter 5: Destiny

By Kchan Ferrier with help for The Fox Lady

After the tragedy that befell young Yuriko at the Geisha teahouse in Kyoto in March of 1868, the geisha turned ninja fled to Toyama where, according to her information, the long time friend and ally of her deceased sensei, Watanabe Toshio, had taken up residence. There, she did, in fact, find him and thus continued her ninja training with Toshio as her sensei.

During this time, the two fought heavily against the Ishin Shishi, traveling to various parts of Japan in order to keep in the fighting. Eventually, she managed to overcome the pain of what had happened at the teahouse and was once again able to find happiness in her “work.” During their travels, she would sometimes see those she recognized as members of Saitou Hajime’s specialized group of fighters, including Mikeru and Aoi. However, fearing that visiting with them would bring back the pain she had managed to bury, she avoid even her two friends until destiny finally called her back to that group…



December 5, 1873

“Argh!!” Yuriko growled in frustration as she lunged back from the man’s strike that nearly went through her stomach. Damn, she was tired. Already, she had taken down six ninja’s from this man’s clan. The man she fought and the one Toshio fought were the last ones standing.

The man snarled at her as he drew back to re-assess his opponent, “Is that the best you can do? Okesho wa doshitano, geisha-san? Hashi nimo bo nimo kakare nai wane!”

Yuriko’s eyes narrowed in silent rage. Lowering her sword, so that the point was aimed at his knee, her eyes turned to black ice and her voice froze the air as she spoke, “Anata no gosenzo sama ni kao o awase rare masuka.”

In one fluid motion, she swept forward- flipping her ninjato in her hand- slammed the palm of her free hand into the man’s chest and then slashed upwards with the blade. Blood flung across her as the man fell forward and she returned the blade from it’s previous swing to decapitate the villain.

With a heavy sigh, Yuriko flung the blood from her sword and smoothly returned it to its sheath. Blood covered her from head to toe, though little of it was her own thankfully. None the less, she was exhausted. Her last attack had drained almost all of her remaining energy. All she wanted at that moment was some warm food and tea and a nice, hot bath.

The sound of metal snapping broke the near silence.

“K’sou!!” Toshio’s loud curse filled her ears and she spun to see him and the last of the ninjas fighting on a near by roof. Toshio’s sword was in two pieces; one piece in his hand, one piece in his opponent’s. The opposing ninja grabbed Toshio’s right hand and twisted it with such speed that Yuriko almost couldn’t follow the movements. Suddenly, Toshio was falling, the other half of his sword protruding from his chest. Yuriko’s eyes widened in shock and horror as he rolled of the building and slammed onto the ground; his cold, dead eyes seemed to stare straight through her.

“Toshio-sensei...” she whispered, unable to move, “Not again...”

The ninja jumped from the roof and landed between the two. “Bring it on, bitch,” he growled at Yuriko, a cocky expression on his handsome face.

Yuriko slowly turned her head to face him and in the same slow manner, turned her body slightly, drew her ninjato and positioned herself for the fight. No weapons visible. She noted as he stood there watching her. Then how’d he break..?

Suddenly, he lunged forward, spreading his arms rather far apart. On reflex, she lunged her sword forward as well. As the sword sped towards his chest, a realization struck her, His hands!! He must break the blade with his bear hands!!

SNAP!!! Yuriko ran.



December 13, 1873

Yuriko felt miserable. She was tired and dirty, her stomach was growling continuously, her ankle was swollen from where she had sprained it while fleeing Toyama, and now that she was so close to Kyoto, she realized that she had no idea where to begin looking for the person she sought. With a heavy sigh, Yuriko slid down the trunk of a tree to sit on the edge of the dirt road. She had to think, where should she begin her search?

A sigh escaped her lips as the image of her second dead sensei flashed in her mind followed by the face of the man who killed him. How could I have run like that? I barely even fought... Toshio-sensei would be so... No. He wouldn’t have been disappointed. I knew that I couldn’t win that fight and I had important information that had to be delivered. He would have said that I did the right thing... Wouldn’t he? Another sigh escaped her as she stared at the road ahead and thus changed her line of thoughts. Five years and this road still looks so much the same. Five years since I fled this city and left all of my friends behind... At least those who were still alive. Oh Kiroi-san... Why must you still plague my thoughts? Hmm, perhaps I should turn my thoughts to living... Aoi-sama. He was always so kind to me. Ha, I probably would have been better off falling in love with him or perhaps Mikeru-sama. He was a good ally in battles. I wonder if I will see those two again now that I’m back...

“What have we here?” A man’s voice asked coyly.

Yuriko looked up at the man walking towards her. An Ishin. To be more precise, one of the lesser known hitokiri. She had seen him once or twice in battles, though, from the look on his face, he did not recognize her.

“A street urchin?” he asked as he eyed her, “No... A geisha who has fallen on hard times, ne?”

Yuriko slowly stood, leaning on the tree for support. Why did she have a feeling this was going to be bad? The man stepped closer, seeming to undress her with his eyes. Yes, this was going to be bad.

“Perhaps you would like to entertain me this evening. My home is not far from here,” he continued, “you could have a warm bath... with me...”

Yuriko felt sick. “Sumimasen, Hitokiri-dono, demo... I fear that I must pass on this offer.”

The man raised an eyebrow at her, “You know of who I am and yet refuse me?”

“Hai, sumimasen,” she answered, lowering her gaze and attempting to seem as docile as possible.

“How do you know me?” he demanded, eyeing her with distrust.

“It was my job to know who was who,” she answered as politely as possible.

He narrowed his eyes at her in silent contempt, “Well, no matter. Hmm, you are quite beautiful, you know. So, weather you like it or not,” Yuriko’s eyes widened and she looked up at him again. He smiled, “you will be mine.”

Horror welled inside her as the man drew his sword. Oh Kamisama, this was going to be very, very bad. The only weapon she had on her was her tanto and she had virtually no mobility with her ankle being sprained. Unsure of what else to do, Yuriko drew her tanto to defend herself.

The attacks began with the retched excuse for a man trying to slash her clothing off. Yet, she always managed to dodge or block these moves and thus infuriated the wretched warrior. Perhaps infuriating him was not the best of ideas, though.

The man snarled at her as she dodged yet another of his attacks, “You are no geisha but a ninja whore.”

“Oh, shove it,” she retorted in clear agitation, “It would be in your best interest to let me go before someone comes along.”

“Heh, you shove it, bitch,” he answered suddenly lunging forward. Yuriko immediately tried to dodge but couldn’t move fast enough. The end of his sword embedded itself deeply in her flesh above her knee, causing her to scream out in agony. Quickly, he drew his sword back and stabbed it into her right arm. It was all she could do to keep hold of her tanto and as the attacks began again, she hoped that someone really would come by. Otherwise, she was as good as dead...



Shirakawa Takashi had just turned the corner of the long, dirt road when he heard a choked sob.

That was nothing out of the ordinary. Kyoto had become the most dangerous place in Japan during those days. He sighed and let his thoughts begin to wander. Many unexpected things had happened in the past month. For one thing, he would have never expected to meet his cousin, Ninko, again. Then there was that incident with the men who offered him his former position back and the fire. So many things...

The sob suddenly turned into a cry of denial, breaking his train of thought. It was a woman.

Less than a month ago, Takashi would have most likely paid little attention to this but, now, when he heard the cry of the terrorized woman, he acted upon what his very being, the depths of his soul, ordered him to do. When he jumped around the grouping of bushes, he stopped dead in his tracks, his face going white in seconds. Not white from horror but white from fury. The loveliest, young girl was half naked and bleeding under a hideous Ishin who, laughing, was ready to thrust into her, his bloodied and sweaty hands gripping her legs like a dead animal’s.

The Kitsune released a scream of rage that surged from the depths of his stomach as he sliced the Ishin into pieces. Every stroke was vicious, filled with a thirst to make the villain feel the maximum pain and Takashi enjoyed the man’s agony as his eyes shone silver with hate. It was brutal seconds before he kneeled beside the girl, taking off his cherished, old, aquamarine gi and enveloping her carefully with it. Her naked torso and chest continued to bleed, turning his gi a sickly reddish-brownish purple. He lifted her in his arms, feeling the start of a sob in his throat as he cradled the girl whose wide, unconscious, open eyes scared him. They were the purest black, almost impossible to distinguish between the pupil and iris. But, now they looked like a dead demon’s eyes.

“Milady...” he gasped, softly rocking her back and forth in his arms, her body like a dead weight. “Onegai, don’t die in my arms. Wakatushi wa...” His lips trembled and then whispered, “Gomen ne. Sumanu... sumanu...”

A sigh made him gasp. The girl blinked, and her deep, black eyes stared at him, confused, trembling and slightly unfocused.

“Why are you crying?” she whispered.

“For.. for all you have endured in your life. For all the times I... wasn’t nearby...” he sighed, his eyes full of shame as he reflected upon how much pain and indignity the poor street girl must have suffered. When he rose, he had come to a decision. She had fainted and he knew just the person who could help him. Tokio-sama.

Grabbing up her bag of belongings, he ran, with the unconscious girl very tightly embraced against his heart.



Mikeru sat silently engrossed in a book on the front porch of Saitou’s home as chaos reigned around him. A sudden crash drew his attention from the pages and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the site.

“Gimme that back!!!” Soushi screamed in agitation as Yuu stuck his tongue out and started running off with a rice ball.

“Come and get it, Soushi-CHAN!!!” Yuu answered while running.

“Shut UP!!!” was the reply as the two began speeding around the front yard.

Mike mearly shook his head and was about to return to his book when Aoi approached him.

“I need to speak with,” the man said in his normal, cold manner, “I believe that I have found Yuriko-san.”

Mikeru looked up at him in surprise. Normally, he didn’t like Aoi all that much but he was curious as to how Yuriko was and, for that matter, where she was. He carefully placed his bookmark in the novel and stood. Another thought hit him, why would Aoi be talking to him about this. The man most likely needed some sort of help in his search.

“As far as I have been able to gather, she is in the Ishikawa-Toyama area. However, I have been unable to deduce any more than that and so,” Aoi continued as the two began walking towards the gates of the property.

Suddenly, the icy man stopped short staring in the direction of the gates. Mikeru, slightly confused, looked first at him and then followed his gaze. Running towards the gate was Takashi with a bleeding, yet beautiful, young woman held firmly in his arms. As he neared the gate, he slowed to a walk, panting heavily. Recognition hit Mikeru as he finally got a good look at the unconscious girl’s face. It was Yuriko.

Aoi firmly strode forward and held out his arms to take the injured former geisha. Takashi, thoroughly exhausted from the run, handed her over.

“Please,” the Kitsune breathed heavily, “take her to Tokio-sama or Ayumi-san if she’s here. This woman has been bleeding heavily for the past half hour.”

Aoi simple nodded in return and when he turned to take her into the house, Mikeru was shocked by the expression on his face. Never before had he seen Aoi show any emotion other than anger, mockery and coldness but now his face was a portrait of worry and concern and something else that Mike simply couldn’t figure out. Shaking his head slightly, Mike turned back to Takashi as the other man took Yuriko inside and Yuu and Soushi came trotting up.

“What happened? Who was that?” Soushi asked, his and Yuu’s faces showing both concern and curiosity.

“An Ishin was about to... to rape her when I came across them,” Takashi replied shacking his head, “He had already ripped the top of her kimono to shreds with his sword. I... I just hope that she’ll be alright.”

“I hope you killed him,” Yuu growled under his breath.

Takashi nodded, his eyes flashing silver, “He deserved more than any pain I could give him for what he did,” he growled, “I pray that he pays for it in the afterlife.”

“But who was that?” Soushi asked again, “Do you know?”

“Kanamo Yuriko,” Mike answered, “A geisha AND ninja. Saitou was going to ask her to join the Kagetai but she disappeared after one of the battles here in Kyoto during the war.”

“You know her?” Takashi, Yuu, and Soushi asked in unison.

“Hai, we fought back to back a couple of times. Kitsune, do you remember the ninja that I told you I met when I was spying on the Ishin strong hold? That was her. She was also friends with Aoi,” Mike answered and turned to the house, “I’m going to see if any assistance is needed inside.”

“Shish...” Yuu said, scratching the back of his head, “I hope that she’ll be okay.”

Takashi and Soushi nodded in silence as they watched Mike enter the house.



December 14, 1873

The bright rays of sunlight slowly drew Yuriko from her slumber. She lay there for a moment. Kamisama, my whole body aches... What happened? ... ...oh yeah. Trying to repress the memories of the previous evening, Yuriko took a deep breath. Mmm, miso soup. Smells good. Wait a minute, where am I?! Her eyes suddenly open to stare right into the eyes of another woman.

“Glad to see you finally came out of your dreams, sleepy head,” the girl, who was leaning over her, said in a cheery voice.

“Who are you?” Yuriko asked in confusion as the girl stood and snatched the tray of food, “Where am I?”

“Ayumi,” the girl answered the first question as Yuriko sat up and the girl put the tray on the former geisha’s lap.

Suddenly a thought hit Yuriko and her eyes widened, “How long have I been out?!”

“Well, it’s late afternoon and the Kit brought you in near dusk last night,” Ayumi answered, “Why?”

“I-I’m looking for a man named Saitou Hajime. Do you by chance know where I can reach him?? It’s very important!”

“Ha! You’re in luck,” she replied, standing, “This is his house. I’ll go get him.”

As she waited, Yuriko wrapped a yukata around herself and tasted the soup. It was quite good and she wondered if that girl, Ayumi, had made it. Then another thought hit her. Was Ayumi his wife? She was so young!

“How are you feeling, Yuriko?” Saitou asked as he entered the room.

“Much better, Saitou-sama,” she answered with a careful bow, “Arigatou gozaimasu.”

“Don’t thank me. Takashi’s the one who saved you and Ayumi and my wife, Tokio, bandaged you up,” he answered leaning against the nearby wall, “Now, you need to speak with me?”

“Hai, she answered, “I have found out that there is a man by the name of Minamoto Bishuu who is planning to send assassins from Toyama after you. He claims that you have turned your back on the old ways and thus should pay for it with your life.”

Saitou’s brow furrowed at the news, “Do you know any more on this?”

“Hai,” she answered and told him Bishuu’s entire plan of assassination, how many men he had, and each of their fighting abilities.

With a satisfied nod, Saitou stood from the spot where he had been leaning on the wall, “You did very well as always, Yuriko. Before you ran off the last time you worked for me, I told you that I needed to speak with you. Seeing as how this is the first time I have seen you since, now would seem the best time for this. As I am sure you have already figured out, I have a small band of assassins, warriors, and spy working for me. They are known as the Kagetai and take orders from my wife and I only. Yuriko, you would be a valuable member to this group and so, I offer you membership. Will you accept or do you need more time to think it over? My wife, myself, or any of the members, including Mikeru and Aoi, who you already know, will answer any questions that you have.”

“Hai,” Yuriko answered with another careful bow, “I would be honored to work for you again, Saitou-sama.”

“Perfect. And Yuriko,” he added as he stepped through the door, “ your first order: don’t go running off this time.”

“Eh,” she replied blushing slightly.

As quickly as was possible in her condition, Yuriko finished her soup and dressed in one of the ornate kimonos that she had in her bag with the utmost carefulness. Pulling a mirror out, she gazed at her reflection in disgust. Her hair was a tangled jumble, her lip was swollen slightly, her left eye was blackened, and she was covered in cuts. With a heavy sigh, she carefully began working the tangles out of her hair with her brush, using only her left arm due to the other’s injury. With that done she pulled her broken sword from the bag and wrapped it in a piece of cloth. If she felt better later on, she would see about having it repaired or... or something. Finally, she stood and limped to the garden for a breath of fresh air, carrying the broken sword with her.

The sight of the well kept, beautiful garden brought a smile to the former geisha’s face. Silently, her eyes swept across the pond and greenery topped with snow in search of a bench or something to sit on. Finally her eyes landed on a familiar form, the man who had saved her. Timidly, she made her way over to him.

“Anou... Sumimasen, onamae wa Takashi-sama desu ka?” she asked in an unsure voice.

“Hai,” he answered looking up at her with a concerned expression, “but there is no need to call me ‘sama.’ And you are Yuriko-san, ne?”

“Hai,” Yuriko answered with a slight bow, “But of the title, you saved my life. To call you anything less than ‘sama’ would be disrespectful. Also, domo arigatou gozaimasu for helping me. I am eternally grateful and will gladly assist you with anything you need.”

“Umm... huh... You’re welcome but really, all of that isn’t necessary,” Takashi answered, a blush touching his cheeks, “Anou... Should you be out here? I mean, shouldn’t you be resting or, or... Are you feeling better?” he finally managed to get out as she smiled and giggled in the cutest manner.

“I’m much better, arigatou gozaimasu,” she answered and motioned to the bench, “May I?”

“Oh! Oh, yes, by all means,” Takashi exclaimed and scooted over to make room for the former geisha. As she sat, he bit his lip slightly and stared over the pond, “Anou... Mikeru-san told me that you are a ninja and geisha?”

“Hai,” Yuriko replied staring over the pond as well, a bitterness starting to seep into her voice, “I was sold into the geisha houses when I was three. I’ve been the unwanted child all of my life.”

“I’m... I’m so sorry,” he replied, staring at her. He never would have imagined something so horrible could happen to someone so beautiful. “If you don’t mind my asking, how did you become a ninja?”

Yuriko sighed heavily, wincing from the pain one of the cuts in her side shot through her.

“Sumanu, I shouldn’t have asked,” Takashi said after a moment of silence, ducking his head slightly.

“Daijobu,” she answered, finally pulling her eyes from the pond, “I was just trying to decide if I could trust you or not. But, considering that you are friends with both Saitou-sama and Mikeru-sama, not to mention that you saved my life...” Yuriko took a long breath before she began. “I was born into a poor family so, when my father saw that I had the potential to grow up pretty, he sold me to the local geisha house in Aichi, or Owari as it was once called, for five hundred yen. I lived there until I ran away at the age of twelve. I... I over heard my geisha mother speaking with a customer who was interested in me. They were... They were discussing how much he would be willing to pay for my... mizu-age. I refused to be sold again so, I ran.

“Later that year I met my first sensei, Makachito Satoshi. I trained under him for about two years until he was killed. I came to Kyoto and found work as a geisha and eventually, I met Saitou-sama and worked as a spy for him. That’s also when I met and became friends with Mikeru-sama and another man named Aoi-sama. That summer there was a battle that erupted from within the geisha house. During the battle, a fire broke out and... only a few of my geisha friends survived. To top that off, the man that I had fallen in love with died in that battle. I couldn’t stand to be anywhere near that place after those incidents. There was just too much pain, so... I ran away again.

“I ended up going to Toyama, where one of former sensei’s friends lived. Watanabe Toshio took me under his wing and became my second sensei. He... he was like a big brother to me but just less than two weeks ago... he was killed,” Yuriko could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes and she quickly pushed her emotions down. “I tried to fight his murder but...” carefully she pulled the remnants of her sword out of their wrapping. “After just one strike, he broke my sword, just as he had done to Toshio-sensei’s. I didn’t know what to do and I had valuable information that needed to get to Saitou-sama so... I ran. Again. And in running I sprained my ankle. That’s why I had such a hard time fighting that Ishin. I primarily rely on my ability to dodge, jump and run. After that is when you and I met.”

A long moment of silence spread between the two as they both stared at the pond once again. Finally, Takashi looked over at her, sadness etched across his face, “I’m so sorry...”

“There is no need to be,” she replied, “However, I am sick of running. No matter what happens, I refuse to do it anymore. ...I’m sorry. I must be boring you with all of this.”

“No! Not at all!”

“Ehh? What’s this? The Kitsune’s already putting the moves on the new girl,” a voice asked from behind. “Not gonna let Aoi or Mike or Tenrou or anyone get first dibs eh?”

Yuriko watched with curiosity as Takashi turned a very interesting shade of red and looked over his shoulder at the boy. “Soushi...” he almost hissed, “You know that I would never, and, what, and, uh…”

Yuriko couldn’t help but giggle, “Who is your friend, Takashi-sama?”

“Already have her calling you sama, too??” the boy questioned teasingly.

Trying to calm himself, Takashi cleared his throat, “Yuriko-san kochira wa Shirobana Setsuna, or Soushi as we all call him. Soushi kochira wa Kanamo Yuriko-san.”

“Hajime mashite, dozou yuroshiku,” Yuriko said with a slight bow from her sitting position.

“Hai, hajime mashite, dozou yuroshiku, onegaishimasu,” the energetic youth answered with a bouncy bow. Suddenly, the glint off the broken sword in her lap caught his eye, “Sword? Oh it’s broken... what happened? Was it broken in a fight?”

“Hai,” Yuriko answered sadly, “All I have left now are my tanto, blowgun, darts, and poisons.”

“Poisons..?” Takashi muttered under his breath, cringing.

“Hmmm, well, seeing as how you’re Kagetai and all—“ Soushi was suddenly cut off by Takashi.

“You’re Kagetai??” the Kit exclaimed in shock.

“Hai, Saitou-sama asked me to join less than an hour ago. Why does this surprise you so much?” Yuriko asked in return.

“Umm... I, uh...” Takashi stammered. How could he tell her it surprised him because he had just saved her last night? Well, Mikeru said that she was a good ninja...

“Ah, don’t mind the Kitsune there,” Soushi quickly covered for him, “He’s just really protective of women and has trouble imagining them fighting.”

“Oh, okay. Now what were you going to say, Setsuna-sama?” Yuriko inquired with a smile.

Soushi’s face turned a shade of red to match Takashi’s, “Ah, ahahahaha, ah you don't have to use ‘sama.’ Soushi is fine, you’re Kagetai, which makes you a friend right?”

“Ah! Um, gomenasai. Oh course we’ll be friends,” Yuriko answered, a slight blush covering her nose and cheeks, “Gomenasai, Soushi-san.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Anyway, I was wondering if you would like me to build you a new sword based off of your old one,” he inquired with a huge grin, pointing to the broken ninjato in her lap, “And since you’re a friend and Kagetai, there’ll be no charge!”

“Oh that would be wonderful! Domo arigatou gozaimasu,” Yuriko exclaimed with as deep a bow as she could manage with her injuries.

“Suge! I’ll go get to work on it right now!!” and with that, Soushi was off.

Takashi chuckled slightly at the effervescent youth as Yuriko shook her head, “Is he always like that?”

“Pretty much,” the Kit answered, “It’s rather chilly out here. Would you like to join me inside for some tea?”

“That sounds lovely,” Yuriko replied, with a slight bow, “I’ll be inside in a few minutes, if it is all right. I’d like to finish admiring the garden.”

“Of course,” Takashi returned with a smile and bow, “If you will excuse me.”

Yuriko nodded in response and watched silently as he left and Aoi come out of the house, approaching the garden. As the two men passed each other, Yuriko could have sworn that for a split moment Aoi almost sneered at Takashi. However, she simply passed it off as a trick of the eye or something of the sort. Finally, the samurai made his way over to her.

“It has been a long time, Aoi-sama,” she said quietly as he sat beside her.

“Yes, too long, Yuriko-san,” he answered, watching her from the corner of his eye, “How are you feeling?”

She sighed and lowered her head slightly, “To be honest, my entire body aches, I’m light head and... There are many things plaguing my mind and heart at the moment.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Aoi answered, “If you wish me to leave...”

“No,” she returned patting his hand, “Keep me company, onegai. I am not so bad off that I can not sit and converse with an old friend.”

He smiled slightly and nodded, “What have you been doing since the geisha house?”

“Fighting and training,” she answered solemnly. “Yourself?”

“Fighting with the rest of the Kagetai, primarily,” he answered before allowing his voice to trail off, “I have been searching for you ever since the geisha house,” he said quietly.

A long span of silence spread between them before Yuriko finally spoke, “Naze ka?”

More silence. Finally, Aoi asked, “Why did you run away?”

Once again, silence. Yuriko could feel tears trying to come but pushed them back, “Kiroi was dead, my home was destroyed and the majority of my friends were killed in the fire... How could I have stayed? There was...” she could feel herself choking up, “to much pain...”

Aoi turned to face her only to see tears marring her injured, yet beautiful features. “Yuriko-san...” he whispered and pulled her close to him, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. The answer was obvious...”

Yuriko shook her head against his shoulder, “No, it’s okay. It’s just that... The sensei I was training under was killed less than two weeks ago... Why... why is that when ever I get close to someone they die?”

“Shhh,” he replied softly, “I won’t let that happen to you anymore...”

Slowly, the sun set, turning the sky to shades of rose and lilac. Silently, Yuriko wondered if maybe, just maybe, Aoi-sama really would protect her. In her heart, she knew he would.

*******OWARI*******