Like a Bull in a Tea Shop

Thiago waited at the harbor for the ship carrying Oda's men. Lady Rangiku had already been taken to safety, but he wanted to be sure of exactly who the Assassins would be dealing with. The letter from Yuzuru did not promise an exciting bout against them. Nonetheless, Oda was never one to send a small or less-than-overequipped force for any mission. The Assassin strode along the docks, keeping his eyes open for anything suspicious. He ignored the shops, booths, and crowds as they went about their daily busi-

He was jerked into an alley and thrown to the ground. His instincts rolled him to the side and onto his feet. His instincts were good, as a man assaulted the place where Thiago had landed. Without a thought, he extended his hookblade, ready for a fight.

"Are you working for Oda?" he noticed that he had three assailants. None of them answered. Thiago took this to mean yes.

One of Oda's men charged him with a sword, but was quickly sidestepped and stabbed in the chest. The next man attacked, but Thiago used the first man as a shield. Then, without hesitation, he took the dagger from the second man's sheath and used it to plant the blade into his throat. The third man began to flee, but was shot in the foot by the Assassin's crossbow.

Thiago neared, and the man cried in pain. The Assassin grabbed him by the throat, which seemed to hold him quiet, but still crying. "How many did Oda send?" he inquired, but the man just shook his head. Thiago raised the man up by his topknot, which now served as a handle for his head. He crashed the man's face into the wall, "Will you tell me now?"

"I can't. He'll kill me if I do," the man whimpered as blood ran from his nostrils.

Thiago bashed him again, "And I'll kill you if you don't. Right now, you have nothing to lose."

"Twenty of us. Half are samurai and half are shinobi."

"Less than half now," Thiago thrust the hookblade through the man's skull and fled for the hideout. His brothers must know.

Yuzuru cautiously looked around before smoothly entering the hideout. There appeared to be no one there yet, but waiting was not an unwanted option. It would give him time to gather his thoughts, as well as give him some peace and quiet. Quiet was a luxery he rarely got.

Removing his swords, he took a seat on an especially comfortable looking pillow to bide his time. While Yuzuru thought most of what Thiago had brought with him from other countries was pointless, he did enjoy the pillows.

Thiago nearly threw the door out of its groove when he arrived at the hideout. Only Yuzuru was to be seen, "Where are the others?! We need to get to Rangiku's shop immediately."

"A man of your age should have learned to take it easy by now," Yuzuru said as he slowly rose to his feet. Sticking his swords back in his obi, he gave Thiago a calm stare. "I know not where the others are, but judging by the urgency of your tone, there is trouble. Tell me what you have learned."

"They came better prepared than you warned me. Right now, we're looking at a force of 17: ten shinobi and seven samurai. They are extremely well-equipped and I don't trust what they may already know. Miss Rangiku is in hiding and Mei has a trap set for them, but now I fear neither of those will be enough. We need the whole familia."

He threw open all of the doors to everyone's rooms, not even bothering to check if any were inside, "Todos vocês {Everyone}! We need to move! The mongóis {Mongolians} are in danger!"

"I feel frilly."

Mei was dressed in a silk furisode*, pink with a sakura print, and all the appropriate accessories, including fresh sakura blossom adorning her hair. To an unobservant person she'd look all the world like a young Japanese woman, which was precisely the point. The only flaw was the right side of the kimono was over the left.**

"Come now, you look beautiful," Abagha commented with a smile. "And don't worry, those sleeves hide your weapons well, and our brothers will be here quickly when I give the signal.

"I still don't like this," Mei replied, sitting at a table. The teahouse was eerily quiet, with just the two of them there, as they waited. Word was only four drunken samurai were coming for Rangiku, which would be a good match for the two of them since they were Nobunaga's men. She gripped the handles of her sabres under those huge sleeves tighter, just waiting for those samurai.

"You'll be fine Khutulun," Abagha assured her.

As he said that, seventeen samurai entered the door. They were better-prepared than Mei and Abagha had been warned. The lead samurai scowled, "We are looking for miss Rangiku."

*A type of kimono worn by single women

** Typically the left side is drawn over the right, it would be reverse for dressing a body for a funeral.

The samurai drew their swords. The lead stepped forward, "Miss Rangiku, we have come for you, and don't expect your Assassin friends to help you. Our Shinobi have already tracked them down."

Mei's heart skipped a beat. Four drunken samurai they could handle. Seven sober samurai would be a challenge, but not insurmountable. Seventeen samurai, all well-equipped and ready for a fight, was suicide. Still, they had to give the real Rangiku time to hide properly, so she cleared her throat and stood up, a stern look on her face despite the flutter of fear she felt.

"This is my shop, I will not go. You can leave on your own two feet, or be carried out by your friends," she replied, her swords now raised and uncovered from her sleeves. She and Abagha slid into battle stances, facing the samurai.

The main problem with the Japanese fighting style was the over-reliance on the katana, a longer blade than the Mongol's sabers, meaning they had to switch to their wakizashi, a shorter blade for combat in confined spaces, but that was negated by their typical over-reliance on fighting in the streets. This would at least give the two a bit of an edge, hopefully enough for them to hold off till the other Assassins could arrive.

The samurai first threw kunai to distract the Assassins.
Then, without hesitation, drew their swords and charged.

As the samurai threw kunai Abagha kicked over a table, the knives sticking in the wood before the two Assassins jumped over it and charged as well.

As soon as they clashed, all hell broke loose. The samurai, as it turned out, were trained in indoor fighting as well, so Mei could't seem to get a hit in. The clash of steel rang out from the small shop, as each took turns blocking, parrying, and exchanging blows.

Mei was being driven back, and was getting surrounded. Grasping for anything, she grabbed an iron tea kettle and chucked it at a samurai. His head snapped back as it connected with his forehead, dropping him like a rock. That gave a few others pause, enough of an opening for Mei to drive one saber into one man's chest, and slash the other man. His friend behind him, however, was not pleased and drove her back till she was force on top of a table, at which point she kicked a hot glass of sake in his face, it splashing onto several open wounds onto his body.

"[Mei!]" she heard Abagha yell over the din, "[you must run! Go now, I'll defend you!]"

"[No father, I won't leave you!]" Mei yelled back, already backing up towards the rear exit. There was a scream and she saw a samurai fall, before the nearest one to her was bowled over by her adoptive father, cursing in Mongolian. "[Run Mei!]" he ordered, blood running from his face as he stood up to block the templars. Without another word, Mei turned and ran out the door, retreating from the still ongoing battle. where the hell were the assassins?

The lead samurai chased after the girl, fully confident that the rest of his men could finish the old codger. He glanced around to see where she ran. From the corner of his eye, he spied a girl running up a ladder.

He quickly scaled the ladder himself, reaching the rooftop in no time. Within seconds, he had pinned Rangiku to the roof and had begun dragging her back to the shop.

Back at the Den

Masumi watched as everyone scrambled to leave, retreating to the kitchen area to avoid the chaos. "Templars" were one of the words being thrown around. She tried to say it aloud, "Tempura," she ended up feeling tongue tied.

It would be quiet with everyone gone, but the young woman mused this would be an opportunity to thoroughly clean the public room, which was otherwise occupied by one person or another.

Yuzuru could hear the commotion from a fair distance away. Normally, he would have waited for his brethren to gather, but the situation was too dire to wait. It hardly bothered him. He was used to fighting alone.

When he rounded the corner next to the tea shop, the fighting had already broken out into the street. Judging by their colors, they would not fall for the "ally samurai" trick like the samurai from the other day. He would need better tactics.

Seeing a weapon shop nearby, Yuzuru smiled and calmly approached the vendor. Luckily for him, the vendor was a brother. "Lovely weather we're having, is it not?" he asked, giving a bow.

The vendor scoffed. "Raining dogs, more like. What can I do for you?"

"Help me stop the rain."

The vendor smirked and turned around, grabbing a naginata and a yumi. "One of them just caught Rangiku on the roof. Deal with him first."

Yuzuru plucked the yumi's string much like one would pluck a koto string. "And from the heavens came divine retribution." With movement as smooth as water, he put an arrow to his string, drew it back, and loosed it towards the Templar captain. Without looking to see if the arrow hit its target, he took up the naginata and threw himself into the fray.

The Samurai saw an arrow cross his path, but luckily for him, it was a miss.
He scaled down the ladder and back into the shop. Much to his horror, the Assassins had arrived. Then, he saw one in a dark hood running his way. He had been warned that the two dark-hooded assassins would provide the biggest threat, and opted not to stay. He ran back to the alley, still carrying Rangiku.

This alley was a dead end, she knew it. If she wanted to get away she needed to get to the roofs. Thinking on her feet she hopped on a ladder and climbed, seeing the lead samurai hot on her heels.

As soon as her zori (rice straw and wood sandals) hit the roof she was off. Nothing else mattered now, just a short gap to jump and she was home...

"Hey let go of me!" she screamed, feeling hands clamp down on her, dragging her away from the roof's edge. She started thrashing and kicking, but the man was far stronger than her, and quickly restrained her. At that moment an arrow flew close to him, but missed, causing him to speed up his escape.

As he carrier her back to the tea shop, Mei saw a glimpse of her brothers coming to save her... And Abagha, lying motionless in the corner. As the samurai began to fall the leader turned around and started running away.

Though she was restrained she was far from helpless, and seeing he father's lifeless body galvanized her. Mongols generally kept a sharp knife in their boots, but since she was wearing sandals she had stashed the knife in her sleeve. It easily sawed through the rope, and in an instant she was free, and plunging the knife in the samurai's shoulder.

"Insolent whelp!" he cursed, dropping Mei. She rolled to her feet, not stopping as she flung herself at the man, screaming "Die Templar scum!" Caught off guard, the man was toppled by the 100lb. girl who then stabbed him in the neck repeatedly.

When she finally wore herself out, her kimono and face were covered in blood, and she was breathing heavily as she finally stood up, looking at the mangled corpse. "Abagha..." she suddenly said to herself, turning to run back to the tea shop. "Abagha!!"

Thiago barged through the door and gutted the first samurai he could reach with his folding sword. The other Assassins poured into the room after him, and the battle ensued. Thiago hated these kinds of battles because of his allies. They tended to bungle or endanger one another, especially the novices. Regardless, this was not a mission he could handle alone.

Another samurai attacked, but Thiago sidestepped and broke his arm before slashing his throat. Yet another tried to stab Thiago, but he was also avoided and had his leg cut off at the knee. Then he saw half of the Mongolians he came for: Mei's uncle. Thiago ran to him, but it was apparent that he was already dead. Thiago closed his eyes, "Como você durma, seu legado vai continuar a lutar. Recquiescat em paz. {As you sleep, your legacy will fight on. Rest in peace.}"

He stood back to his feet, not ready to fight, but rather to flee. Mei had to be somewhere, and Thiago wanted to be sure that she was safe. As he began toward the back, he saw a samurai captain come through the rear entrance with Mei on his shoulder. He clearly was not expecting to see the Assassins here so soon.

Thiago took this as an opportunity to pounce. He dashed across the room, weaving between the samurai and Assassins in the midst of their fights. As he approached, the captain turned and left, but Thiago could not give a proper chase. Instead, he weaved around the fighting, trying to get to the other side. By the time Thiago had gotten to the alley out back, Mei was soaked in blood and running his way. He caught her and held her from running into the tea shop. "Desculpe {I'm sorry}, Mei. You can't go in there."

As Mei was running back to the teahouse, she was intercepted by someone. She struggled, too blinded by her need to make sure her adoptive father was okay, but she calmed down a little when she saw it was Thiago. However, she turned her anger at him, exploding, "Where in the name of Khan where you?! Took your sweet time! Where is Abagha? Is he okay?"

With that she pushed Thiago away from her, rushing into the shop. The assassins were mopping up the Templars, but she only saw the body of her adoptive father. She rushed over to him and collapsed onto her knees, searching vainly for a sign of life. "Abagha?! Abagha! No! No you can't leave me!" she cried, sobbing onto his body. The fight was dying down by then, the few remaining Templars either surrendering or running, but none of it mattered. The man who had raised her, cared for her, was now dead.

Yuzuru tossed the busted naginata to the ground and brushed himself off. The Templar Samurai had been tough, but he had not needed to draw his sword once. Noticing a fighting flaw early on, he exploited the Templars and overwhelmed them.

"It's incredible," one of his brothers commented, picking up a broken sword. "I've heard rumors of swordsman skill enough to cut through blades, but I've never seen it before today."

Yuzuru smirked, giving the assassin a pat on the back. "I did not cut their swords. I merely broke them. The katana has one vital weakness, and that's an unskilled wielder. These men used their swords as shields, blocking powerful attacks and chipping their blades. A sharp enough rap on the flat of the blade was all it took to take advantage of their mistake."

He left the assassin to take hostages as needed. Yuzuru needed to find Thiago.

Thiago held still. He would have turned back to help her, but he was never good at comforting people. Instead, he contemplated on why there were no Shinobi at the tea shop. Oda was never known for being a prankster, so his men wouldn't mention Shinobi if no Shinobi were present.

The sounds of footsteps reached his ears, Thiago turned to see Yuzuru. Before he had a chance to say anything, but Thiago interrupted him, "Senhor, you and I have much to discuss, but we will discuss it later. I fear for miss Rangiku. Kill the survivors; Oda needs an example. Tell the rest to return to the hideout. I'm going to find miss Rangiku."

The Shinobi creeped through the halls of the Assassin hideout. They had been guided here by a foolish older man, thinking he was saving his brothers by rushing here. As far as they could tell, the Assassins had already left to battle the samurai at the tea shop. Easy. Next, if he lives, he would guide five Shinobi to miss Rangiku's location, but these Shinobi were not among them. The Assassin hideout would soon be awash in blood and belong to the Templars.

Then, one Shinobi heard a door open, leaving him face-to-face with the housekeeper.

As Thiago rushed off, Yuzuru felt the need to go with him, but orders were orders. One by one, he went through the Templars and slit their throats. "Lord have mercy on these men. They were only following orders."

The Templars wrote:The Shinobi creeped through the halls of the Assassin hideout. They had been guided here by a foolish older man, thinking he was saving his brothers by rushing here. As far as they could tell, the Assassins had already left to battle the samurai at the tea shop. Easy. Next, if he lives, he would guide five Shinobi to miss Rangiku's location, but these Shinobi were not among them. The Assassin hideout would soon be awash in blood and belong to the Templars.

Then, one Shinobi heard a door open, leaving him face-to-face with the housekeeper.

They moved like shadows, much like the others Masumi knew to dwell here. But their body language did not add up, they were too tense, too alert in what was supposed to be their home. Strangers.

Her mind reeled. She was in an interior room, which meant she couldn't flee, and one of them was looming close to her hiding place. And all she had were some scrolls, some expensive looking pots, a broom...

She slid open the door with her foot, both hands hurling the pot down toward the stranger's head with as much force as she could manage. Smash! As soon as she felt the pot fall apart in her hands, she grabbed the broom and made a sharp turn right. She didn't need long, just long enough to reach the window. Then she could climb down to the ground like she did when she was a beggar who fell asleep on roof tops. Masumi forced her scrawny body forward, like the rabbit fleeing from the fox.

Upon his captain's orders, only one shinobi pursued the housekeeper down the hall. The rest slid into their positions, setting up traps for their assassin targets.

Meanwhile, a small team of two shinobi tracked a white man in a brown hood to miss Rangiku's location. The other three had gone searching for the one they called "Mentor." Rumor had it that he would be in a brothel.

The Templars wrote:Upon his captain's orders, only one shinobi pursued the housekeeper down the hall. The rest slid into their positions, setting up traps for their assassin targets.

Masumi ducked through the open window, sitting on the window sill before swinging both legs onto the slanted roof tier that separated the first story from the second. She started crawling to the edge, hoping to dangle and simply drop the rest of the way in absence of a ladder or tree to help her climb down.

She didn't look back, but her ears caught the soft movements from another person behind her.

Thiago checked behind himself. He knew that if miss Rangiku was safe, then the Shinobi would be following closely behind him. If she were already killed, they would be keeping their eyes open for him. Either way, he didn't want to take risks. There was only one way he could ensure her safety, and that was to draw the Shinobi into the open and kill them. The only way he could guarantee that would be to find her actual location. If she were safe, then they would expose themselves. If she were dead or harmed, they would be waiting to dig their claws into him. They had been wanting to do that for years now.

He quickened his pace to the cottage where miss Rangiku was hiding.