"I challenge you to a duel."

Akira Sendoh looked up, surprise written all over his face. A young man, perhaps even younger than he himself stood directly in front of his table.

The tavern wasn't very big actually. It was just a small little place, where you could get some decent food and like all the houses there, it was constructed of simple wood and iron. In a place like this, it was easy to stick your head down and lie low. Especially if you had enemies on your heels.

"Tomorrow dawn, at the field near the forest."

The young man looked strangely expression-less. For one with such a pretty face, it should have been a waste for him not to be a girl. But then, there wasn’t anything about him that was even remotely feminine. Looking at him, Sendoh wondered what it would take for this serious looking young man to smile.

"Why?"

Not that Sendoh didn't know who he was. He was too well trained to lag in the gathering of information and thus, he knew by the back of his fingers the names of fighters that were more or less near his level.

"I’ve heard that you are one of the best fighters in Kanagawa."

" ... ... ... " Sendoh stared at the strange young man before him then grinned. " Nah, I am not one of the best."

The young man looked directly at Sendoh's eyes as he continued, a look that was very much like a glare. So this is Rukawa Kaede.

"I AM the best ^_^"

The glare burned hotter then, another contradiction in the other young man’s icy demeanour. Sendoh smiled to himself. Its strange how cold he looks, when its so obvious to me how hot he burns inside. Where had this fire come from?

Rukawa didn't deign to reply to the last remark. Instead he just stood there, a hand resting lightly on the sword that hung from his belt. To the casual observer, he may seem like a young man who is engaging in light talk with a friend.

But Sendoh wasn't decieved. His sharp eyes noted Rukawa's slight clench of fingers and he recogised it for what it was.

A challenge huh? Its been too long since I last had a serious challenger anyway ...

He looked around for the waiter and beckoned him over.

"Another cup of wine please." The inn was usually busy during meal times and dinner was the worst. People crowded into the restaurant and the waiters were kept busy until late at night, since most liked to stay well past dinner time.

Sendoh had found this inn by accident. In his earlier years of wandering, he needed a place where he could just sit and drink to his heart’s content, without anyone recognising him. The inn was perfect. It was in one of those backward, unrecognisable areas that lay between the countryside and the city.

"Sit down and have a drink with me. I have ordered another cup of wine for you. " Sendoh smiled slightly, his hand gesturing towards the young man.

"I don’t drink with strangers."

What arrogance. Thank the Lord that I am already well past that kind of childishness ...

"I see ... "

The young man looked down briefly at the longsword lying innocently on the wooden table, then said," I will be waiting." The dim light in the inn didn't do him justice, Sendoh thought as he stared at him openly.

"My name is Akira Sendoh." Sendoh was trained to be polite, to anyone --- from the waiter in the little run-down inn that he was in --- to the high and mighty king sitting on the throne. But he reflected that it was perhaps in his character to be genial and pleasant, even to potential enemies.

"I know who you are." The young man’s icy reply didn’t annoy him. Sendoh decided then that this young man was the exact picture of what the rumours had painted. And there were so many of this particular young man.

There was a measured pause as Sendoh smiled quietly to himself. The other man turned as if to leave, then said in a low voice.

"I am Rukawa Kaede."

His name is almost as far travelled as mine. Its a wonder that we hadn’t met earlier. The only question I have is why now?

"Well met." Sendoh inclined his head.

The young man - Rukawa, ignored the greeting and walked off.

Definitely a fighter. Sendoh wasn’t blind. Even in the relative darkness of the inn, he could see that Rukawa was lean and that iron-strong muscles hid deceptively in his limbs. There was a certain grace that reminded him strangely of a cat.

A fierce cat with talons and claws.

An amused Sendoh fingered the cup and brought it to his lips. He loved the flavour of the wine here. It wasn’t too strong and it didn’t overpower the senses. It was delicately spiced and most of all, it reminded the wanderer of all the happy things in life.

I will worry about Rukawa Kaede tomorrow ...

"Would you like anymore, sir?" The waiter asked as he cleared Sendoh’s table.

"No, thank you." Sendoh stretched his arms and yawned.

Ack, I better not forget my sword this time ... ... He groaned as he remembered the last time he did that. He had to go through a lot of trouble and people, literally just to get back his sword.

It has been so long when last he had accepted a challenge. It wasn't that he was busy, and it definitely wasn't because he was a coward. Sendoh was just not interested. It was as if he could gauge a fighter's level of competence just by looking at him and he wasn't interested in 5 minutes duels that ended with the other lying on the ground and him feeling cheated of a good fight.

Whistling softly to himself, he got ready to leave, but not before a whining little girl’s voice travelled from the other side of the room to his ears.

"I don’t want to go home! Don’t want to!" A small kid of perhaps 5 - 6 years old.

"You dare to say that? You had better come home with me now!" Anyone could tell from the mother's frustrated voice that she was almost at her wit's end as the tiredness seeped into her voice.

"I DON’T want to!"

"Fine then! Go ahead ... and see how you feel when the monster Darkangel catches you .. !" Having said that, the mother got up as the tiredness seeped into her voice and made as if to leave.

"... ... hmph ... it won’t dare to do anything to me ... "

"First, it will catch you in its talons and then it will tear you apart piece by piece with its claws..." The mother threatened.

"... ... ..." The little girl was silent as she contemplated the horrible situation.

"..then it will chew up your legs and arms and finally, it will chop off your head ... " The mother glared down at her little rebellion.

"... and suck up all your blood!" Sendoh had walked over to the small girl, got down on his knees and shouted right into the little girl's face.

A startled scream filled the inn, as the girl ran for cover behind her mother.

"... see, even this young man agrees with me - so now, do you want to come home with me?" The mother asked her little girl smugly.

A trembling nod as the little girl stared first at her mother and then at the open face that grinned back at her.

"Thank you for your help..."

"No, its no problem." Sendoh twitched the little girl's nose and she smiled back shyly.

"Then we will make a move first..." The mother held the little girl's hand and smiled by way of farewell.

They are honest people. They led simple lives, loved their close ones well and worked their land hard. What else is there to ask for? Sendoh reminded himself.

They are good people, and hence they need to be protected.

The old training came back to him then, the memories of training, long and hard into the unforgiving night. The smell of sweat and blood that mingled in his hair no matter how many times he washed it. The strain of his muscles and the pain of each wound ...

It never faded. The memories of that boyhood were painful, but they were what made him who he is now. The numerous challenges, the never-ending fights..

So why did I accept this challenge after such a long time? When I have rejected all the rest?

The fights had made him strong, strong enough to survive on his own after so many years.

I am pretty sure I will win though.

Sendoh gazed at the empty table where the mother and her noisy daughter had sat.

What a bloody challenge. Sendoh smiled to himself. Of course he had to accept the challenge issued by the man who's name was used to threaten small kids into obedience. He just had to see for himself his 'talons' and his 'claws'.

He remembered what he had heard about this strange young man. Although Rukawa was young, myths and legends already followed him wherever he went. Sendoh didn't envy him though, he didn't need this kind of fame. Heck, he would rather be a simple fisherman and sit by the sea all day long. But then that would be another story.

Sendoh fingered his cup of wine, leisurely trying to decide whether or not to order more wine.

It was rumoured that Rukawa's mother had fallen in love with the ki no bakemono * and Rukawa was the result. It was said that he took after his father. Cold and monstrous, he was frequently depicted as a ruthless killer. He vaguely remembered that even the High Queen wanted to kill him when he was born.

How drama ... a mother wanting to kill her own son ....

That legend was probably invented to explain his speed and skill anyway. Sendoh thought, as he finished his wine and got up lazily.

Myth or fact? He was a real person all right. Sendoh didn't care much for superstitions. So there... Rukawa can go sprout some wings for all he cared, and he could still beat him.

"Oyasumi..~"The waiter called from the wooden counter.

"Ah.. oyasumi~" Sendoh flicked the silver coins and the waiter kept them eagerly. Then he strolled out of the inn, hands in his pockets.