Ryunosuke's eyes close as it comes together for him. This old man was the reason. He opens his eyes. They are entirely empty. "I understand. You are sincere, but you have an interest. I will give you what you want." He draws his sword, which, as it rises into the sky, catches the moonlight and begin...

"It is not in my power to help him, except by continuing to live. Why do you not help him?"

"The clan samurai. They have tried to kill him with swords. They will continue to try. But the ones that promise him power will also kill him, in the end. He will not get what he wants. What he wants will get him death." Ryunosuke falls silent for a moment. Then he looks up. "We were dead when they ...

"He thinks he can make them give him the throne. It is not to their advantage. They will kill him. They have already begun. Two ways."

"Wherever I am, his happiness is fleeting. His desire is death." Ryunosuke stared at the old man, his eyes more hollow and dark than ever.

"Yes. My name is trying to kill me. Its accomplices are up there. What is the advantage to you, if I live? What is the advantage to you, if I go back?"

"Yes." Ryunosuke does not blink. He knows what he has done. "My father wants their Empire. I want to live. What do you want?"

Ryunosuke merely stared at him. "Where is your family?"

"I am those things." Ryunosuke said quietly, his wide eyes gleaming darkly in the gathering night. "I will need a new name soon."

"I am going where the waves take me. There is nothing else when the flood rolls in."

He turned to take in the old man. "Have you walked this path before?"

The wind had picked up in the night as the temperature dropped. Standing on the riverbank, Ryunosuke looked up at the Kyuden with those cold, wide eyes and considered the future.

Then, he turned. Hiking up his bag, he started walking down the bank toward the south.

"It was the riverboat 10 years ago." Ryunosuke is staring at the head from a respectable difference. He does not blink. "Nobu. He had mochi. But just this one, not the others. I do not know them."

Ryunosuke turns to face the sole remaining swordsman within the shrine.

Full Attack, 2 raises for feint. | 10k7 ⇒ 52 (TN: 33)

Damage | 7k2+12 ⇒ 36

He slashes low, cutting him a mighty gash in the thigh, though missing the femoral artery. [Voiding to 26/57]

Ryunosuke hears the clang as his father's sword deflects the thrust of Naughty Guy #1's spear, and he turns his terrible eyes, which seem to have begun to burn with some sort of inner fire, on to him. He steps within his reach and swings to kill. Full Attack. 2 raises for damage. | 10k7 ⇒ 38 (TN: 38...

Ryunosuke's dark eyes take in the spear-thrust, then follow the shaft to its source. Unfortunately, Ugly Dude with a Sword #1 stand between him and what is right. So, he must die. Silently, but with incredible speed and those terrible eyes, he surges forward and strikes with deadly force. Ryunosuke ...

"Thank you. I will inform my father." He offers a bow, but the way he holds his head is a little different, as though he is not quite prepared to actually offer his neck.

"Your Lord Hida. Will he kill us?"

"I understand. I will inform my father of your offer. Your advantage may be his advantage."

"I will die," Ryunosuke said simply. "The one who becomes important will kill me, or I will die on a job, or in some alley, but probably the first one." He looks up at Daichi. "I told my father that we were not running to safety, but he saw the now-danger, not the one that is coming. But so does eve...

Ryunosuke nodded once, slowly.

"I have learned from you, as I have learned from Ikoma Honoka. Thank you."