Miroto sat in quiet contemplation in his room, still wearing his hakama. The room was cold this evening, it always was on the eve of battle. He pulled the corner of his small blanket more snugly around his shoulders. He rose and walked over to the small wood-burning stove in the corner of his room. He opened the grate and carefully placed another piece of wood into the small inferno.

This night he had learned that his lord Dozai Tori had come under threat of war by a neighbouring lord. In most cases Dozai-san would not have hesitated to simply crush another lord, however this was no ordinary opponent. This threat had come from none other than Kiroko Mishaba, the brother of his father.

Kiroko's family was known and feared throughout the region for his bloodthirsty imperialist manner. He had one of the largest legions of samurai and ninja warriors and would not hesitate to attack a neighbouring state to gain their land and resources. Until recently Kiroko had shown no indication that he would be a threat, but when Tori's father Dozai Miroburo had died last month a new era was born, one in which nobody would be safe in the region.

Miroto had been assigned the duty of selecting two other members of his legion to infiltrate and capture Kiroko Mishaba. Control the head, control the body... he thought to himself...

He had spoken with his six most trusted officers. All of them had been with him a very long time and he let them all know that two of them would be accompanying him on a difficult mission. The officers had all acknowledged the risk, but he was hesitant in who to choose. His best officer, and most able pupil, was Kitsui. She had worked with him since she was only nine years old and he was only an apprentice studying under his father. He wanted to choose her for this mission, but he feared for her safety. As he closed his eyes again, her face appeared in his mind. Her datk hair, pale skin and red lips burned themselves into his memory.

He decided not to make a decision, not until morning. "These things had a way of working themselves out," he told himself. A solution would present itself if he relaxed his mind and allowed it to come.

He removed and carefully folded his hakama, placing it in its proper place amongst all of his training equipment. He removed his obi and his gi, folded them as well and placed them beside the hakama. walking over to the far corner of the room, he splashed some water on his face and decided it was time to sleep. The moon shone brightly in the dark blue mid-night sky and it would not be long before the call to battle would come.