Untitled; Chapter 1: The Intro
**Stupid green outfit. Of all the colors in the world she HAD to pick green. Then again it's not a
bad looking outfit, and I'll at least be presentable for the meeting**
As the next successor of the Sho-Rushin school of martial arts, about to be confirmed by an
international council, he would have more to worry about than the wrong color outfit. In reality he
had already began taking on his duties as the next clan leader. Satoru was his adopted name and he
was a very unorthodox student, being black as well as exceptionally skilled even before his training
as the next successor. His only family was his clan, and they had adopted him. He had no real clue
of his origins. But that was okay. He had devoted his life to his art and his clan, and his path had
already been chosen for him.
Satoru was a handsome 19yrs old and was in excellent shape, at least 2x as strong as his size
indicated. At five-eleven, he was tall compared to most of his peers, but Japanese are, relatively
speaking, short, and so no problem there.
The Sho-Rushin was a small clan, and its art was nearly unknown. They had a great deal of knowledge,
and would have been very powerful, if not for their small numbers.
Tora sighed as she pulled on her dress shoes. **God, how I hate this kind of thing, ** she said to
herself. **Why the hell should I go? I'm just a fucking lowly third in command. Hippolyte could
have taken Jagra. She IS second in command. **
The eighteen-year-old sighed unhappily once again. **Then again, THAT is probably the reason she
took me and not Jagra. She doesn't trust me to be in charge. ** Wryly, she finished her thought:
**not to mention, I'm the only one in our whole tribe who can speak Japanese. **
Getting up and walking to the mirror, Tora looked around the hotel room. By the time she and
Hippolyte had arrived, every place in town had been filled up. It looked as though THIS
international council would have more attendees than last year's had. Last year had been just plain
idiotic. Well over thirty representatives had never arrived...either because of personal business
or foul play. The room that they HAD managed to secure was dusty, dingy, and downright filthy.
**I don't see why the Amazons should attend at all. We aren't martial artists. True, we can fight,
but we AREN'T martial artists. **
Looking into the mirror, Tora once again cursed her albinism. It made her stick out in people's
minds far too much. She was pretty, even beautiful, but she tended to make most people
uncomfortable around her.
Straightening her pale, white hair, she heard a knock at the door. "Tora, let's go! Meetings begin
in a half hour!" she heard Hippolyte call in the language referred to outsiders as 'Amazonian.'
"I'm coming!" the albino called back. Under her breath, she mumbled, "Yes ma'am, kiss my ass," in
Japanese.
**This'll be an interesting meeting, ** thought Satoru as he walked through the council exchanging
pleasantries and other small talk. He was trying not to make it obvious how much he hated these
gatherings. They were so boring, no matter how important they were to bad there were no sparring
matches to keep him occupied. Still, a few people stuck in his mind, some he had met before. He also
found the Amazon duo interesting. Not both of them really, because only one of them could speak
Japanese, but the really, really pale one. He knew most Asian people were not as dark as he, but she
was an albino or something. He wasn't stupid enough to ask, and so left at that. The important part
of the meeting was coming up.
"Everyone take their seats! The council is about to begin!" The only reason anyone paid attention
this old geezer was to show respect for the gathering. Anyway, it was time to get down to business.
"The purpose of this gathering is to confirm successive leadership of the Sho-Rushin Martial Arts
School and clan. The chosen successor, Satoru, has displayed fitting qualities as a leader in
previous gatherings, and has now reached age and willingness to carry out his sacred duty. I ask now
the delegates give their consent for this change."
As he finished his speech, all the delegates that had any personal knowledge of Sato raised their
hands. Sato was pleased at this. Though this meeting could have been by-passed it was required for
his recognition as a representative. He gave a quick acceptance speech and began to leave, he once
again noticed the cute albino girl... It was weird, because he felt as if he knew her from
somewhere. Not her personally, no way could he forget an albino, much less an attractive albino. He
felt as if he was familiar with her aura or something. So he moved toward her general area talking
to other delegates, politely moving toward her as though she was a passing thought.
As he moved toward her he realized that she appeared to be feeling the same symptoms, giving him a
gaze that communicated recognition and unfamiliarity at once. Because of her reaction he felt
confident enough to talk to her.
Sato smiled, "Hello."
Glancing at the new master of the Sho-Rushin, Tora replied, "Hello. Congratulations on your
succession." **I know him from somewhere...but where? **
"Are you enjoying the meeting?¡¨
The Amazon only smiled sardonically.
"Not enjoying being an interpreter?"
"Not in the least." **That¡¦s an understatement. **
Satoru cleared his throat. "Well hopefully we'll meet again. I'd like to know a little more about
you." **Attractive, and capable of intelligent speech! SCORES! **
Smiling patiently, the albino answered, "Yes, sometime later. Perhaps I can meet you at your
shrine."
At that moment, both heard a resounding crash as a huge table was thrown into the wall. A large
group of people...led by a rather massive man...stood where it had been, calmly surveying all of the
people as they fingered the triggers of their HK-5s. They smiled in unison...and pulled the
triggers in unison.
Gunfire exploded in the room. Someone screamed. Someone else gurgled. Blood splattered on a white
wall. Chaos was everywhere. Following her training as a bodyguard, Tora sprinted to her queen's
last known location. Finding nothing, she turned...and spotted Hippolyte.
The Amazon queen stood transfixed, staring at everything and at nothing. Her eyes bulged and, with
a small sigh, she slid to the floor, revealing her killer. The figure, clothed entirely in black,
held its murder weapon with the ease of much practice. Slowly, it raised its eyes from the body of
the dead Amazon queen, bleeding profusely at its feet.
Unthinkingly, Tora leapt at her leader's assailant, snarling like the tiger she was named after. In
a blinding rage, the albino pulled a short, curved sword from its place: strapped to her back. No
one had noticed it in its hiding place. Including the assassin. He/she was obviously surprised,
and sprang back from Tora's first slashing assault.
Satoru saw the two begin to fight out of the corner of his eye, but then realized that he had bigger
problems. MUCH bigger. The rather burly leader of the gunmen seemed to have abandoned his firearm
and was now headed straight towards the new leader of Sho-Rushin, looking as though he was VERY
ready to break some bones.
"Whoa, watch it big guy!" Satoru took great care in dodging the giant¡¦s powerful strikes, which
could do serious damage, even if blocked. Satoru's speed enabled him to parry a strong punch, and
having thrown his opponent off balance, used the opening to kick him across the room... Satoru used
the lag time to draw his weapons, sai, and pursue his recovering enemy. Satoru put him down
quickly, using the sai's blunt end to pound the thug into unconsciousness. He observed that only a
few others still fighting, the assassins had lost the element of surprise, and they themselves were
starting to be killed. The Amazon continued her struggle with the assassin, but it was kind of
obvious, who would win there, so he began to tend to the injured, when the big guy came down on him.
One punch knocked him into the wall, the impact stunning Satoru and shattering the area of wall.
When Satoru recovered he was more than a little frustrated...
"Stay down!" with this, he began a flurry of barehanded attacks that would have killed a normal man.
The giant could only block, and pray he could take the hits. But Satoru was becoming more enraged
as he fought :the sight of old friends being killed had finally gotten to him, and he began to
unleash his full fury...
He struck the man in the stomach, doubling him over. He quickly gained some distance and drew his
sai, fully focused, as his training dictated, on the killing blow...
He took careful aim, and, focused on his weapon, and his target, threw the sai. Satoru became fully
aware of his surroundings, noticing minute details, such as the fact that his opponent was bleeding
internally, and would have died no less than an hour later, the consequence of taking a hit at the
wrong time. The Amazon continued her winning battle, almost playing with her defeated opponent. He
saw the giant¡¦s chest explode outward, an amalgam of shattered bone, blood and tissue, then his sai
struck...
He realized that something was wrong. The giant¡¦s chest cavity had opened moments before sai
contact, and in such a way as to suggest being slashed open, in the same way as the sai strike...
But the sai had sliced him further open, the force of his throw impaling the giant across the room,
where his body hung from the wall...
"Oops." **Talk about overkill. ** ¡§I¡¦m not cleaning that up!¡¨
Almost to her disgust, Tora realized that she was not having many problems in her fight. As her
sword slashed at a recently vacated space, she analyzed her queen¡¦s killer. The assassin was
short, no more than four and a half feet tall at the most. A quick check had confirmed her first
impression that the killer was female. As she fought, a vicious smile had come over Tora¡¦s face.
Apparently, Assassin Girl hadn¡¦t known Big Guy and his cronies were also coming to the party. She
had only brought enough weaponry to kill Hippolyte¡Kand that was a couple of daggers. **Pathetic.
**
The fight was slowly becoming tedious, however, and Tora prepared to finish off Assassin Girl.
However, she was distracted when she saw a disgusting lump of blood and bared bones fly into the
wall to her right. Apparently, Assassin Girl was good at using all opportunities to her advantage,
for she charged Tora.
**Shit! ** The albino yelled to herself as she tried to sidestep. She managed to get out of the way
of the main force of the dagger, but a fairly decent-sized slice appeared on her left shoulder. In
a sudden cloud of smoke, the assassin disappeared.
Muttering curses in several languages, Tora slowly walked over to Hippolyte to survey the damage.
The Amazon queen¡¦s death was obvious with just a single look. **Assassin Girl must¡¦ve hit a lung,
** Tora reasoned. With a small sigh, she sunk to her knees next to the corpse, the blood from her
shoulder mingling with the blood beside her.
Though there were few casualties, they were all serious. Shinjo¡¦s second, Master Chueng, and
Hippolyte were all killed, Cheungs second had been injured taking revenge. Shinjo and his were
already beginning their mourning, and all of those connected with Chueng had left. Satoru wanted to
talk to Tora, to find out if she knew anything. He was still surprised at turning his 7ft foe into
wallpaper. He realized that he shouldn¡¦t have been able to do that began to wonder what had
happened. Death is one thing, but liquification? Overkill. He also remembered, with a start, that he
had left ¡¥her¡¦ at the hotel. He quickly rushed back toward the hotel, hoping ¡¥she¡¦ wouldn¡¦t be
too angry.
She was Fujiko, and she took her position seriously. The two had been friends since childhood, and
they'd been chosen for their position through birth, (or in Satoru's case adoption). Satoru as the
clan leader, and Fujiko as his consort. She had played his older sister, and filled several roles
besides the obligatory arm-candy. She was his best friend, trusted advisor and bodyguard, and she
would be most upset at his leaving her behind. Of the things he liked about her, beauty,
intelligence, fighting skills (she could beat him at swords, his 2nd favorite weapon), loyalty,
honesty, and many others, the one thing he admired and truly feared was her temper. Though she was a
very patient woman, some things made her MAD. This things could be as simple as leaving the cap of
the toothpaste (you'd need a new bathroom sink) or as serious as keeping her from her duty as
bodyguard (he was happy he'd killed muscle guy, cause if she found him...). However since he'd come
out all right (she was confident he could take care of himself, and actually felt her position as
bodyguard somewhat redundant) she'd get over it pretty easily. He was safe. No worries. Even so, he
increased his speed from 'pimp walk' to 'speed walk'. He was thinking about how Fujiko would react
to the news of the attack when he ran into the classic 'gang of thugs in the middle of the street at
night'. Instead of beating them all down, he acted as an ordinary pedestrian. The thugs followed as
he walked pass them, pulling out poorly concealed weapons. He went along with the charade, and when
they searched they found his sais, and they got a good scared look. The leader dropped Satoru's sai
and turned to run,along with the other four, when a blur of motion stopped the gang in their tracks.
The thugs were normal idiots, and so they continued to run. Even intelligence couldn't save them
now. The leader screamed, and the rest shortly followed, collapsing from the pain of many deep blade
wounds. Compared to what she could have done, though the gashes were light scratches. After all,
ever had your head scratched off? Satoru had watched all this with amusement and irritation at
having his prank foiled.
" 'Ko you spoiled my fun. Good job though, I bet they'll be scared for weeks."
"Shut up. Why'd you leave me? I wore the outfit you got me. Like it?"
"Well, it looks as good with you wearing it as you do without wearing it."
"Baka hentai! Thank you for the compliment. The next time your peeking is so obvious, I'll neuter
you and leave your balls in the street."
"So you caught me. How'd I screw it up this time?" She was a master of stealth, and had been
teaching him the tricks. His checking her out was a combination of him testing his skills, enjoying
watching, and her enjoying being watched. They knew they would get married eventually, and used that
knowledge as an excuse to play around. They were more than a little familiar with each other, and
they were that comfortable around each others naked bodies.
"Don't watch a sexy naked woman behind her back, when she's in front of a mirror bonehead!" She knew
he was pushing the envelope of their relationship, with such obvious peeping. He was smarter that
that when he was fifteen.
"Oh. Oops."
With his smirky smile he put his arm around her and they walked back to the hotel. He realized that
all the crap he was pulling probably betrayed his discomfort of the arranged marriage. He hoped that
he'd more time to think about it, but also realized that if he took to long he could loose her.
Fujiko knew he was scared of such a life changing commitment, barely out of high school, but also
knew she could wait for him forever. Despite the fact that in order to become clan leader, he'd have
to marry her soon. Too soon for either of them.
Untitled: Chapter 2: The Violent
His rage filled the room. He wanted to slit somebody¡¦s throat. You¡¦d think letting out a little
frustration would be easy for mid level Yakuza? But he had to watch his actions, or his superiors
would cause him trouble. He was smarter and stronger than most of them, they still had clout..
However, he was considered too cocky, and his superiors were constantly trying to put him in his
place. Despite this he was moving up through the organization. Strangely enough, his position was
not important to him. In fact, he didn¡¦t care much about the organization. He It was just a way
for him to accomplish his own goals.
At 6¡¦2 he was an imposing sight. His preferred style of dress was baggy jeans, beanies, denim
jackets and Fubu shirts. He liked to carry weapons, but rarely had cause to use them. He employed
the required hitman weapons, guns and light explosives, but his area of expertise was with the
sword. He also carried shurikens, because they were silent, and he had better aim with them.
At 22 he was still a little immature, but his fighting skills were uncontested by his peers. Leon
was considered unorthodox, but he did his job well.
He was angry because they¡¦d sent a bunch of trigger-happy idiots to do something he could have done
alone. Worse, they screwed up the job, and got themselves killed. It was a one shot deal, and they
blew it, only one of the targets was killed. His only clue had been the participants of the meeting,
and now that they were gone it would be difficult for him to accomplish his goal. He wouldn¡¦t be
able to find who he was looking for... Especially without at least a little support from the
organizations spy network. He knew it wouldn¡¦t be an easy search, but he enjoyed a challenge. But
first he¡¦d have to complete the assignment given him¡K
¡§ Here¡¦s the job. It¡¦s the usual hack ¡¥an slash. Kill ¡¥em an let em know who did it. Sarah¡¦s
got the specifics, so talk to her. If you do a good job, we might consider your request. ¡¨
¡§Sure whatever¡K.¡¨
He really didn¡¦t feel like dealing with Sarah, but he didn¡¦t know where he was going¡K
¡§It¡¦s in Yokohama. Yeah, I know small town, low rent. You¡¦re to ¡¥interrupt¡¦ a meeting in
10-story an office building. There¡¦ll be about 10 guards in the lobby, but you should be able to
get past them pretty easily. However after the first floor, the guard will become attentive. There
are metal detectors in the elevator from the second floor up. However the stairs are less guarded,
with 2 guards at each floor. They¡¦ll probably have radios or something. So you decide how to deal
with them. The 4th and 6th floors are filled with guards, decoy style. The 5th floor is your
location. There is a meeting between two leaders. They¡¦d usually be below our notice, but they
pissed off Lance. Kill ¡¥em both.¡¨
¡§Waitaminute¡K This is just an errand for Lance¡K. Oh well. He¡¦s cool I guess.¡¨
¡§Anyway, I have to go with you. I¡¦m really not sure why. I guess Lance thinks you need backup¡K¡¨
¡§You¡¦re kidding right? How will you be useful¡K¡¨
¡§Well, you KNOW I¡¦m good at distracting people. I guess I could help get you inside. And I¡¦m sure
better with guns than you are sword-boy.¡¨
¡§Guns make too much noise! And besides ummm , ummmm....¡¨ He wasn¡¦t a bad shot. He just wasn¡¦t
professional marksman. ¡§Aw shit! Fine! You can come. But don¡¦t get yourself killed. I¡¦d feel
guilty.¡¨
¡§You too.And guns make too much noise because you can¡¦t install a silencer properly!¡¨
¡§Good point. How are we going to get there?¡¨
¡§It¡¦s not like were strapped for cash! Train or plane. You pick. I pick hotel. One room one bed.
Heh. Enjoy the floor!¡¨
¡§Train. Takes longer and you get motion sick¡K.¡¨
She made Leon nervous because she was different than everyone else he'd worked with. She acted as
if she really cared what happened to him. This bugged him because he was accustomed to not caring.
Previous partners were nothing but liabilities. He had to help them out when they got into trouble,
because they couldn't seem to take care of themselves. She was a little different. She never needed
his help. Maybe that¡¦s what it was...
They the got more than a few stares when they arrived at their hotel. Leon was looking thuggish,
while Sarah was looking gothic. Wearing black from hair to her shoestrings, her 5¡¦ll frame was at
least as dark as Leon¡¦s(she was pretty mellow after 8 hours of Crystal Teardrop and didn¡¦t dress
very responsibly). Their personalities were the opposite of their appearances. Leon was basically
quite answering Sarah¡¦s multitude of questions with ¡¥umhmm¡¦ and ¡¥uh-uh¡¦. Sarah didn¡¦t like
being so talkative, but the best way to avoid being suspicious is to stand out(in her opinion,
anyways; she wasn¡¦t exactly subtle). Once they had checked in, they started getting ready. Sarah
began by strapping, fastening, holstering, and otherwise attaching guns to herself. After a good 15
firearms, she clipped on 5 frag grenades (just in case) and a butterfly knife. Leon, however carried
his sword 24/7 and had in a small duffel bag. He then clipped about 30 shurikens inside the lining
and sleeves of his jacket. He also took a few concussion grenades and a gun. Despite all the weapons
they had on (including kevlar vests) they weren¡¦t moving any slower than they normal(6-7 years of
training and combat prepares you for this kind of stuff).
When they arrived, they matched each other a little better. Leon was dressed normally, only much
neater, with reflective blue sunglasses. Sarah wearing slightly baggy jeans, with a leather jacket
which hung about 4 inches below her waist, and a small purse. She was wearing reflective red
sunglasses.
¡§Excuse me. I have an appointment with Ms. Tanaka on the 5th floor.¡¨ The receptionist looked
nervous,¡§ Are you sure it¡¦s today? There¡¦s an important meeting going on right now.¡¨ And
besides, this couple looked suspicious, ¡§ You¡¦re not scheduled for today. Are you sure it wasn¡¦t
for next week?¡¨ Leon wasn¡¦t surprised at this, but It annoyed him none the less. ¡§Sarah, lets
get this over with. I¡¦ll call you if I need help, unless you wanna come along?¡¨ Sarah was already
ready, ¡§Nah. I¡¦ll do the decoy thing. You taking the stairs or the elevator?¡¨ Leon saw Sarah¡¦d
already drawn her guns, ¡§Stairs. Hold them off for awhile then meet me on the 7th floor. Escape
route. Have a good time...¡¨ He casually walked toward the stairs, while Sarah opened fire on the 5
or 6 guards, who weren¡¦t paying attention.
Leon ran up the stairs, slicing through guards now and then, with little difficulty. When he reached
the 5th floor, he drew his gun and readied his shurikens, ready for trouble.
Sarah was bored. She¡¦d killed off all ten guards in about 5 minutes. She didn¡¦t even need to
reload. So after another five minutes of waiting, she called Leon, speaking in a whiny tone of
voice,
¡§I¡¦m done down here. Can I come upstairs now? I¡¦m bored.¡¨
¡§ Yeah sure. And take the elevator. The stairs weren¡¦t hard at all.¡¨
¡§ Thanks. Later.¡¨
Sarah arrived a little late, and Leon had already finished. He was cleaning the blood off his sword.
¡§ I hate dealing with such pathetic people. An entire army of henchmen, and they can¡¦t defend
themselves. You¡¦d think they could afford a karate class with all that money. What a waste of
time.¡¨
¡§ At least it was easy. Let¡¦s get out of here.¡¨
After leaving their symbols on the dead bodies, they jumped out the window.
¡§Alright Sarah, find the most expensive car in the lot.¡¨
It was a red Nissan Z, with blue and white racing stripes. It also had bullet proof glass, and the
license plate had ¡§ichi-ban¡¨ written on it. Very swank. Very fast. Very gone.
A few days later, Leon was practicing in a park a few blocks away from his apartment. He decided to
intensify his training, realizing that his last few sorties had been rather easy. Lance had put in a
good word for him, and he was able to work independently, with limited assistance. He¡¦d already
procured Sarah¡¦s help, though it had cost him, and now he had to start searching. After a little
negotiating with Lance, he¡¦d managed to procure a few of the spy networks information resources.
He¡¦d heard about a group of women who showed extraordinary skills, and assumed them to be the
Amazons. Because they¡¦d been represented at the recent meeting they would probably know how to
contact the Sho-Rushin. It was the only lead he had, since most of the other groups had gone back
into hiding. And an entire village of attractive, violent women would be entertaining in itself.
He knew that the Amazons were present at the meeting celebrating the change of leadership of the
Sho-Rushin. He also knew that his younger brother was part of the Sho-Rushin clan. His parents split
them up years ago, when Leon was 8 and his little brother was 5. His father decided to send the two
of them to different martial arts schools, so that after they¡¦d trained for a few years, and had
developed adequate skills, they would go home and train with their father. The successor of their
family style would be the stronger of the two brothers, chosen by their father. However, about a
year after they began training, their parents dissapeared. Leon was adopted and trained by a high
ranking member of the Yukuza, a powerful sword master. His younger brother stayed with the
Sho-Rushin, and they never saw each other again. They both learned several family techniques before
being split up. They were taught different styles, so each brother specialized against the other.
That way they would also have to learn from each other to master the style. Leon¡¦s goal was for him
and his brother to revive the family style. But he had to find him first¡K
**This sucks,** Tora told herself as she stood before the assembly. **This truly sucks.** Failure
was never something the Amazon clan took well. Failure of a bodyguard to protect their Queen and
allowing the Queen to die were tantamount to sacrilege. A failure of such magnitude required action.
However, such action was greatly disputed, hence the assembly Tora now faced. Composed of eight
warriors and the new Queen, the council had been hastily formed to decide the albino¡¦s fate. Her
presence necessary throughout the duration, Tora had been standing in the same spot for well over
four hours without a chair, drink, or bathroom break. However, she bore the task resolutely, knowing
that weakness was also a serious fault in the eyes of her judges. Realizing that her left leg had
just gone numb, Tora was about to shift her weight when the new Queen of the Amazons...the head of
the council...rose from her seat. It was Amazon law that every Queen¡¦s name was to be Hippolyte.
The name was always inherited, and none were ever born with it. The new Hippolyte was none other
than Jagra, the ex-second-in-command...and she didn¡¦t look happy. Taking this to be a good sign, as
Jagra would have been happy to have seen her executed on the spot, Tora straightened, stood at
attention, and then executed a swift, barely recognizable bow. She would show respect for the title,
if not for the woman who now held it. "Warrior Tora, now Second-in-Command of our clan, Bodyguard of
our dead Queen, you are under trial for allowing this death to occur. You have pleaded guilty and
offer no excuse for your actions. Now, as your Queen, I will pass judgment on you." Frowning,
Hippolyte continued, "You are no longer a member of the Amazon Clan. You may not claim it, you may
not return to it, and you may not tell others of it. You are no longer ruled or protected by our
laws." The Queen turned to the gathering of Amazons who had come to witness the trial. The whole
clan had turned out, and the three-dozen or so women stood totally still, awaiting their new
Queen¡¦s next words. "Let it be known that from this day forward, the one known as Tora relinquishes
all rank and protection! She is fair game for any to hunt and kill, without penalty! However, she
will be given a three-day grace period to allow her to leave our borders. She may not be hunted
until that day, and she may remain in our village until then." Finished with her speech, Hippolyte
sat down. **No wonder she looks unhappy,** Tora mused. **She doesn¡¦t get to send assassins after me
for three days. Poor thing. The tension must be killing her** With another stiff, barely
recognizable bow, Tora turned away and began to walk to her tent. They all lived in tents, not out
of any liking or preference, rather out of convenience. The Amazon tribe was always moving, never in
the same place for very long. Right now they were in the jungles of Africa. It would be next to
impossible for anyone but an Amazon-or ex-Amazon? to find the tribe. There were certain ways to
track them, but they were known only to the Amazon Warriors. Even though she was now an outcast,
Tora would always be able to find her way back. On the other hand, coming back would be stupid, she
knew, and not worth the risk. Certain well-liked Warriors had been kicked out before and had
actually continued to travel along with the clan. Tora knew better than to try, though. Too many
hated her and wanted her dead. Now that she was no longer protected by Amazon law, she was as good
as dead if she stayed longer than her grace period. Having been Third-in-Command when she left, she
had been entitled to a decent-sized tent that allowed her stand within it. She had never been big on
possessions, and what she had could be carried in the large, dirty backpack sitting in the corner.
Sitting down cross-legged on her sleeping-bag bed, Tora smiled. "I¡¦m free now. I can go wherever I
want. Do whatever I want. Be what I want to be." She always spoke in Japanese when she was alone,
partially to make sure no one knew what she was saying; partially to make sure she never forgot how.
At the sound of her voice, a large black thing undulated, stretched, and meowed. The large
Burmese-looking cat walked over and jumped up onto his mistress¡¦ lap. "Kuroi, we¡¦re leaving.
Tomorrow." The cat looked up at her balefully. "Don¡¦t worry. I¡¦ll find us someplace nice to live."
The big, black furball grunted and curled up into a new ball, this time on Tora¡¦s lap, and drifted
right off into sleep. "I wish I was as untroubled as you are," Tora smiled. Jet-black cat, albino
human...Tora sometimes wondered if there was some sort of symbolism there. The two of them were as
different as day and night. Kuroi was calm, comforting, and never worried about a thing. Tora was
sarcastic, cynical, and prone to lash out when angry. They had formed the perfect relationship:
Kuroi calmed Tora down when she was angry and Tora fed Kuroi. **A positively blissful bond,** Tora
thought jokingly. Alone, with nothing to do, Tora couldn¡¦t help but think of the home that, in all
likelihood, she would never return to. When most people thought of Amazons, they pictured vicious,
blood-loving, wild-women man-haters in bearskins and tiger fur. In reality, they were only partially
correct. Amazons WERE vicious, blood-loving wild-women. However, coming upon them you would never
realize they were anything more than normal people. The tribe contained all sorts of wardrobes.
Everything from jeans to leather was represented. Tank-tops, tube-tops, and t-shirts were visible
all-around. And not all of them hated men. Still thinking, Tora slowly drifted off into sleep.
