Shinai sat in the corner of the inn observing his surroundings. He found that it was good practice for a ronin to be observant, for one never knew when the drunk samurai would wobble your way. And being a ronin meant that any insult - real or otherwise - could mean your life. So when the young monk walked into the inn he noticed every detail about her.

She was probably just past her gempuku, if a monk did those things, and she carried the six ringed staff. She also wore the jingasa so common among the orders, but this monk was a little different - and it wasn't just that she was attractive.

She had hair.

Looking closer, Shinai noticed that her long, dark hair was bound with a series of green cords - the sign of the order of Jade. The Order of Jade was a strange order that preached that the path of enlightenment could be found outside of the monastery if one pursued a path of purity. They would often hire ronin for one purpose or another, offering them room, board and sufficient pay. Most ronin found their restrictions to be untenable, and they eventually left their employ, but Shinai didn't care about that. It was rumored that the Order of Jade knew how to contact the Hidden Serpent - a secret order dedicated to the destruction of maho - and Shinai wanted to join their crusade. After all it was maho that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

For just a moment his mind flashed back to the days before he was cast out. In the days he could proudly wield the name "Shiba", his position was one of prestige. He was yojimbo to one of the Ishiken - Masters of the Void. It should have been an easy job for, as everyone knows, Ishiken do not need protecting. But there was something else that everyone else knew. Ishiken do not fall to maho.

Everyone was wrong.

His master had fought against maho-tsukai every day of his life. He remembered old "Dusty Isawa" rooting around texts for the secrets hidden in maho. "Just one more secret, and I'll know the answer." he kept saying. Shinai remembered the day his master turned on the council of elemental masters.

He was yelling about how they had kept the "great secret" from him. There was void-maho - blood magic that drew it's power from darkness and light. From the power of blood. He remembered as master dueled the great masters with his newfound power, and almost won. And he would have won, had Shinai not sided with the masters and killed the one he was sworn to protect.

And for his troubles they cast him out.

He had expected to be granted honorable seppuku, but the mistress of void denied him, and cast him to wander. "Your road to honor lies elsewhere" she had declared to him, but as far as Shinai was concerned it was just another excuse. His master had betrayed him and his clan, so he betrayed his master. And his clan betrayed him. It was all because of maho.

Shinai stood and straightened his kimono. This was probably as good of a time as any to ask of the Hidden Serpent. It was then that the monk turned and looked him in his eyes, and he noticed f her eyes for the first time - a green reminiscent of the color of jade - and he was frozen in them. There was something about them that was familiar, though he couldn't figure out what, and for the moment he forgot what it was that he wanted. Shinai watched in silence as the mysterious monk approached him.

"You are the ronin they call Shinai." It was not a question. She knew who he was - and she was looking for him specifically.

"Hai."

He felt her regarded him softly, but she continued in a polite tone. "I wish to hire your services, yojimbo."

Shinai's blood froze when he heard her call him that. He had not used the title of yojimbo since his master's death. He was not worthy of it.

"I yojimbo no longer" Shinai responded curtly, "you must be thinking of someone else."

"Quite true, quite true." came a voice from across the room. Shinai looked over and saw a masked warrior moving toward the pair. The warrior's mask was fashioned in the form of a hideous Oni in the colors of the deepest blood and the darkest coal.

"Perhaps you should consider a real warrior for your quest." Shinai was well aware of the insult, but he was also well aware of what would happen if he fell into the Scorpion's trap. Still - if he were to save face, he felt that he must respond in some way, but it was the monk who answered for him.

"A Samurai with a sheathed blade is still a Samurai, is he not?"

Shinai looked back to his would be employer and for the first time noticed that she had never taken her eyes off of him. He wondered if she could have fallen in love with him, but then quickly pushed the thought away. A monk could not indulge herself in such childishness, and a Samurai would do well to avoid it as well.

"Come now, Suishou!" responded the Scorpion quickly, "There are many Samurai in this inn that travel your road. Surely any of them could protect you!"

Shinai couldn't help but notice the worry in the Scorpion samurai's words. And he knew her by name, but the monk - Suishou - was still been watching Shinai. "True enough" she replied softly, "but how many of them could let me die."

The entire inn became hushed as the words escaped from her lips. Perhaps if she was a bushi this would have been unexpected, but a monk - why would a monk be so eager to die? Before anyone could say anything, she continued.

"I have seen your fate, son of Shiba. I have seen you standing over me - protecting my body. That is all I require from you today - to protect me when I have fallen."

Even as he heard the words echo in his mind, he thought he could hear his ancestors whispering among themselves. Had he fallen so far that even this monk would say such a thing? And why would she call him Son of Shiba? Surely she knew that he held no right to that name!

"I am the ronin Shinai!" he barked, but then he looked into her eyes once again and his heart softened. He wanted to walk out - to leave the inn and never turn back, to leave Suishou and her green eyes far behind, but he knew he couldn't.

"But I will do as you ask if you help me find the Hidden Serpent."

Suishou chuckled at the request. "You do not find the Hidden Serpent. They find you."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Shinai walked with Suishou down the dusty Lion road. Once he walked this plain with pride, knowing that even the proud Lion would never assault his masters honor. Now, he was a ronin who's sole charge was a young wandering monk. Even though she could not help him in his quest, he still felt responsible for her in some way. Somehow she had awakened the part of him that he thought dead when his blade pierced his master's heart. Shinai's awareness reached out and he discovered the Scorpion still trailing them.

"Are you sure we should ignore him?" Shinai asked his employer. "Yes", she replied with a smile. Shinai wasn't sure why she would choose to trust a Scorpion, but he was not allowed to question her. He knew his place - even as a ronin.

Suddenly there was a rush of sound as bodies exploded out of the bushes - live bodies, with live weapons. A masked man boldly approached the pair. His robes showed his skills as a shugenja, but the scars on his body showed Shinai something else - his skill at maho. Shinai went to draw his sword, but he felt Suishou's soft hand cover his.

"This enemy is mine." she said softly, "you can have the rest." Shinai didn't like this turn of events, but he did as she ordered.

"You think I do not know what you are up to, Kinou-Kun?" cackled the shugenja. "Do you think I will let her take your message to the Hidden Serpent?" Wordlessly, Suishou removed her jingasa and handed it to Shinai. Shinai looked over at her to ask once again if she was sure, but was caught short at the sight of her hair ornament that was hidden beneath her jingasa - the head of a jade serpent. Calmly she removed the ornamental rings from the top of her staff and replaced it with the serpents head turning it into a spear.

Shinai watched the shugenja's eyes open wide with fear. Then, without warning, the shugenja struck out with a hidden sword shoving it into her stomach as hard as he could toward her heart. Then the shugenja's eyes grew wide with astonishment as her spear buried itself into his heart, releasing a bright light within the shugenja's body. The light grew brighter as the purity of the shugenja's soul exploded from within, killing him and releasing his soul to tengoku. Shinai watched as Suishou crumpled, a smile on her face.

Now he was alone, facing thirty maho-tsukai and his charge was dead. Still, he had made a commitment to protect her after she had fallen. Shinai drew his sword and stood over the fallen monk's body, knowing that this would be how he died. Still, this must have been important - and he would go out helping the Hidden Serpent.

There was only a moments hesitation, but when the maho-tsukai realized how badly they outnumbered the ronin they rushed him. Shinai's movements were a blur as he intercepted movement after movement trying to keep his charge safe, but he quickly began to feel overwhelmed. Somehow in the commotion he became aware of another bushi fighting - the Scorpion had arrived in time to assist him, but to late to save her. Soon they were defeated, and Shinai found himself awash in a sea of blood.

Just like before.

Shinai was still in shock when the Scorpion returned from the hunt. His sword casually swept the mask off of the defeated shugenja. The shugenja was none other than Seppun Shani - cousin to the Jade Champion.

From the roadside, a monk stood and Shinai spun to meet the monk with his sword. Where had this monk come from? The monk stopped and regarded Shinai, a large grin growing on his face. It was then that Shinai noticed his daisho. This monk was still a Samurai.

"Stand down, yojimbo" the Scorpion said quickly, "This is her daimyo."

Shinai looked at the monk's robes trying to decipher some clue to his identity. It was clear that he was not Dragon, but it was also clear that he was not retired. Who was he? The new monk stooped over Suishou's body and called upon the water kami to heal her. As he watched Suishou's body mend itself, Shinai realized that this was no ordinary monk - this one was a shugenja that studied at a monastery.

Or was he?

The newcomer stood as Suishou regained consciousness and smiled at her. "You came very close to death, Sui-chan."

"True, my lord", she responded weakly, "but the fates have spared me for a higher purpose."

"Rest, child. There will be time for this later." The monk watched her fall back into unconsciousness, and then regarded Shinai for a moment. "Normally", he said, "This is where we pay you for your trouble and let you wander. The money would be enough to live on for a year if you choose that option, but we have two more for you. The first is the option to rejoin your clan."

"The emerald magistrate", he continued nodding toward the Scorpion, "would testify that you had acted honorably and you would then be allowed to rejoin your brothers. The third option would not even be offered to you if it were not for Suishou's insistence."

The monk looked at Shinai for a moment longer. "Perhaps with Suishou's assistance we can ready you for our clan. You are Shiba, and as such could be expected to handle our meditative regiment, but be warned - there is more at risk here than you know. I am Chuda Shiraseru, Daimyo of the Snake clan - believed destroyed by the Phoenix and the Shuten Doji three and a half centuries ago. Our path is not one of glory. If you accept our offer, you will marry Suishou to give her your station. And your first duty would be to inform the Council that we intend to retake our ancestral lands."

Shinai looked over at Suishou, and in a flash he remembered where he had seen her before. The Mistress of the Void had locked away her face in his mind before he was cast out. "Here is your honor, son of Shiba", she had told him, "Here is your destiny." He saw Suishou fallen in a large castle studded with crystal and jade. He was standing over two fallen bodies, surrounded by a small group of samurai. "How is your mother?" asked the first. "Dead." came the solemn reply. "And your father?" "His spirit guards her." "Iuchiban has been banished", came an anonymous voice, "their destiny is complete."

Snapping back to the present, he found that Suishou had awakened and was staring at him once again. There was no choice, not really. The empire depended on them. And he loved her.

"I will be Chuda Shinai."