Prologue. Like a cat, the dark assassin lept up onto the wall and scaled expertly. Who was his target? He steathily ran across the roof tops, not breaking his stride. What did he want? He drew his tanto a curved knife. Who's blood? He lept down onto a landing, graceful like a cat. Who's pain? He saw his target, daiymo takaturi. His target. He paced forward His death. And as the old man opened his deep set eyes the assassin slit his throat. "Cumi san, cuma son." He said, an assassin oath. His life. As the assassin lept over the edge of the wall the guards burst in. "Graul." one said, cowering.
Graul ran back to the bar and ordered sacha. He wiped away the blood with a cloth and threw it aside, watching carefully the people around him. When the japanese waitress came and poured his drink, he noticed a blade up her sleeve, and sliently drew his tanto. One by one he noticed that the people around him were samurai, a sworn enemy of the ninja, and he rose, only to see and samurai charge at him, he uppercutted the guy in the chin and slit his throat with the blade. As this was happening, the samurai encircled them and as the first one pounced, graul knocked the blade from his hand, and severed his free hand, sensing the gap, graul ran. As he cut into te bamboo forest he looked behind him, they were following, so he used his claws and began climbing the bamboo.
As graul watched his persuers walk beneath him, he judged the distance between the thick bamboo, and carefully lept from one to the other, making no sound, and as his attackers dispersed, he dropped to the ground and ran on, hoping to be at his destination by sunlight. As he ran he flicked the blood from his blade and sheathed it expertly, throwing down his cloak, his black lightweight armour glittered delicately, with red, that looked like blood splattered across his chest, as he opened his pouch, he had got what he wanted, his reward, Ten gold bars, five diamonds and the rutter. As he closed his pouch he slid the rutter close to his heart, as it was worth more than his life.
Graul smiled cruelly as he took the mans money. "Next week i want the two hundred and fifty thousand diamonds i came for, or you won't get your armys weapons." "Yes, here, take 10,000 as a down payment." Graul took the diamonds and ran to the nearest weaponsmith. "Is the tanto i ordered ready? "yes, this is a very evil blade, once drawn, it must draw blood, be wary." "How much?" said graul gruffly. "250 diamonds, one gold bar, and a manuscript page on daisho." Graul handed them over and sheathed his sword. "thankyou."
Graul awoke to a crack of glass and a crashing noise, followed by his wifes scream, cut out by the blade plunged into her throat, he ran quickly down the stairs and drew his tanto. The man had a katana to his childs neck. "Don't you dare" Graul Growled. And with that the mand slit the boys neck and vaulted the window cil. Graul ran to the window and whispered "I dont know who you are, what you want, but i will find you, and as long as i live, you will be hunted."