text: Bustling was the village under the moonlight. Children giggled as they chased each other past the *Shōji* walls of *Minka* houses towards the *Sakura* forest where velvet blossoms flow with the wind. Under the vibrant blue sky, unaware of the giant mechanical Sparrow flying above them, the farmers continue their meager task in their garden pavilion harvesting sweet-smelling glow-fruits that only bloom at night. Though several golden lamps illuminate the village, the villagers were too busy chatting with each other to notice the several shadows jumping from one *Kirizuma-Zukuri* roof to another, making their way to the *Harashi* Palace at the edge of the valley. The chirping of crickets fills the chilling air as the leader of the shadows sneak past several *Samurai* patrolling the courtyard before leaping several stories onto the palace roof. With a few hand gestures from the Shadow Leader, the mechanical Sparrow circled the sky while the other shadows retreated into the darkness, awaiting further instructions. Using a *Kunai* from his pocket, the Shadow Leader pokes a hole in the palace’s slanted roof and peeked inside. The light of several lamps pierced through the white *Shōji* paper walls. The shadow could see a family of three in the wide living room. There’s Yan, a young girl with a robotic dog, watching her sister, Lin, and her father, Harashi Saito, training in *Kenjutsu*. As the shadow continues his observation, he notices that their stances are different from the other *Sonjen* clans. Normally, only a single Bokken is used in sword-fighting. However, Lin and Saito are armed with two wooden swords in both hands. Even before the Nuclear War, dual-wielding was rarely practiced by the ancestors of the *Sonjenese* swordsmen. So seeing a clan practice such a technique is very rare. Nevertheless, the Shadow Leader needs the Harashi Clan dead. By eliminating Harashi Saito and his entire extended family, only **one** political super-power will remain. The shadow locked his eyes on Lin, a beautiful girl with pale skin and a petite frame. She’s the eldest daughter and has just begun her training in *Kenjutsu.* Lin starts with two side strikes only for her father to parry both her ‘blades’ and knock her down on the *tatami* flooring with a short flurry of strikes. Lin gets up, feeling a bit dazed but she returns to a combat stance. Yan’s robotic dog wagged its metal wire tail and barked playfully. This time, Lin charges in. She parries Harashi’s *Bokken* with a heavy slice then transitions to an overhead slash. Harashi blocks the attack, pushing Lin back with both weapons, knocking her down again. This time, Lin gets up, gripping her ‘swords’ even tighter. She proceeds to strike overhead, quickly transitioning to a combination of several slashes from every direction. With a swift movement of his weapon, Harashi delivers a heavy upward strike. Lin blocks the attack but her incorrect footing causes her to slip and fall down on the floor. Harashi goes back to a formal stance as Lin lifts herself back up. Knowing the training is over, she bows down as a sign of respect, prompting Harashi to do the same. After that, Lin hugs her dad and gives him a sweet smile. The three proceeded to eat dinner. Yan is munching on *tempura* while Lin is chewing on *sushi*. Lin turns to look at her younger sister. She sees that her plate is arranged in a smiley face with two *Maki Rolls* serving as the ‘eyes’ with single *tempura* serving as the ‘smiley mouth’. Yan laughs jokingly, only for Lin to stuff her mouth with a large sushi roll which Yan cutely chewed. Harashi continues sipping hot soup as his two daughters enjoy their meal. Meanwhile, the Shadow Leader gestures the mechanical Sparrow to create a loud robotic screech. In an instant, all the shadows stepped out of the darkness, revealing themselves to be demonic ninjas. One by one, they killed the villagers with their blades, alerting the *Samurai*. Only for the *Samurai* themselves to get dragged into the darkness and stabbed to death. Those who survived grouped up at the palace entrance and readied their *naginata* for battle. Harashi senses the commotion. He stops eating and tells his daughters to hide. He takes a katana from his armor rack and-- The Shadow Leader bursts from the roof and lands in front of Harashi. The giant mechanical Sparrow crashes into the room and blocks Lin and Yan’s only escape. The Shadow Leader unsheathes a katana with a glowing red blade. The blade’s light reveals the Shadow Leader’s face as the Red Swordsman. Harashi and The Red Swordsman quickly collided blades. Slashing and parrying each other. Meanwhile, Lin fights off the Sparrow with her *Bokken*. The machine bird quickly destroys the wooden sword. While the palace falls into utter chaos. The Gutrot Witch emerged from the darkness and burns the whole village with green fire. Some villagers tried to flee, only for ninjas to emerge from the forest and eviscerate them. As the witch approaches the palace, the surviving Samurai charge towards the witch, only for her to release death beams from her hands and slice the soldiers into pieces. The witch blasts her way into the living room. Harashi kicks The Red Swordsman down and turns to slash the Sparrow’s mechanical face off. The Witch charges her death beams, only for Harashi to slice her fingers off. The Witch shrieks in pain. Her scream echoes into the night. Left with no choice, Harashi and his daughters run away towards the riverbank away from the village. Yan and Lin jumped on a boat docked at a small pier. Harashi cuts the rope, sending the boat moving with the river’s current. Then he turns around to see The Red Swordsman standing behind him. Yan and Lin’s boat move further and further away as the current carries them. The more distance they gain, the thicker the fog gets. And when the fog fully blocks their view, the last thing they saw was The Red Swordsman’s blade about to slice Harashi.