<div class="floatright">(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rxo-dVWeH5A/SfNiHU9i77I/AAAAAAAAGec/n2mgh_btPj0/s400/Satoshi_Tsumabuki_wallpaper_1.jpg)</div>Ikoma Sasuke strode down the road at a leisurely pace, tabi sandals making easy work of the mud that the road had been churned into, straw cloak taking the occasional splatter rather than the fine red and gold kimono bellow.  He looked to the right, with mingled admiration and dismay, at the enemy he was soon to wed.<br/><br/><em>What a curious fate,</em>he pondered,<em>That so much of my future--the mother of my children!--has been determined by a hundred acres of land.</em><br/><br/>He shook his head and shaggy, coal black hair spilled out from under his hat and whisked across his back.  "The mud is thick, Yamagi-san.  Would you like to slow down?"  He bit his lip the moment after he spoke it, suspecting the prideful Crane--a powerful warrior despite her slender body and shorter legs than he--would not be willing to admit weakness.  If he were truly polite,he would have slowed without saying anything.