part.6 Kari o suru [hunt]

	Dan sat in the clearing and tried to relax as the events of the day soaked
in. "Perhaps meditation will help ease me." he thought sitting up and taking a
traditional meditation pose. He found his center instantly and was flooded
with images and power. He cried out and clutched his head as pain wracked his
mind as the flood of noise and power over whelmed him. Slowly he composed
himself, he felt like he was trying to stand in a raging river of chi. "What's
happening?" he said out loud to no one. He opened his eyes to find he hadn't
moved. He was still in his meditation position, and he was glowing a bright
blue. He looked at his arm in shock as blue energy seemed to radiate from it
like a fire. He was also floating several feet off the ground. "What the
hell?" he yelled when he realized his problem. "The chi in this
universe...there's so much. Our world is like a vaccume a few particles
floating around but here...its like being on the bottom of an ocean!" he
thought and willed himself to the ground. He concentrated and formed a large
ball of energy in his hands. "Its so easy." he thought in wonder. 
	He picked up his bokken and began his katta. His movements flowed easier than
ever and he slashed with perfect blows. "My skills are sharper my hearing
better even my sense of smell has improved. Its like I was moving around in a
swimming pool and I just got out of the water." he said looking around amazed
at all he could do. "I wonder..." he said to himself as he jumped thirty feet
into the air. He came down on the ground creating a  large crater. "This is
amazing." he said and sat down to think. After a few moments he decided to go
into the town and find out more about where he was the next day.

	In the darkness a few miles away the ninja followed the footsteps that seemed
to go on endlessly. "He isn't even trying to disguise his presence." she
muttered slightly annoyed at the man. "Oh well, it'll just make him easier to
find." she said to herself.  With that final thought she walked off the road
and set up camp. "I'll catch up to you." she muttered to herself as she
finished and went to sleep.
	The next day Dan walked along the road again. "Hm, it didn't look this big
when I saw it earlier." he said as he approached the great wall surrounding
the city. He walked up to one of the merchants entering the city. "What is the
name of this city?" he asked. 
	The merchant didn't face him but replied. "What are you stupid? This is
Sambika capitol of Josei." The merchant looked up and saw the terrified looks
on his wife and child�s face. He turned and paled. The way the man was
dressed. "I...I..I" stammered the man waiting for death for his insolence.
	The man smiled at him "Thank you old man." he said and walked into the city. 
	"I had no idea the prince was one of them..." he said wide eyed as the man
walked out of his view into the thickening crowd.

	Dan walked through the bustling streets and noticed the crowd staring at him
with fear and respect they parted before him allowing him to pass. He looked
around coolly. "Why are they treating me like this?" he wondered, is it my
kendo outfit?" he wondered to himself. Suddenly he was surrounded by several
men dressed in similar outfits. 
	The one in the lead had shoulder length aqua colored hair and wielded a Bo.
He held it like a staff and stood confidently in front of Dan smiling smugly.
The second man was a red head who had what looked like oversized Nunchaku, he
stood looking calmly at Dan with a calculating eye. "He's the most dangerous."
noted Dan seeing his calm and thoughtful manner. The last of the men was a
blonde who had a pair of short sticks. Dan eyed them all carefully and kept
his head low.
	"You know I don't recognize you." said the lead man "I know all of our men in
the city, you I don't know." he walked towards Dan with the bokken over his
shoulder with a strange smile. "Who are you and why do you dress in our
uniforms, spy?" the man used the term to address Dan. 
	"Well your right I'm not one of your men, nor am I a spy. I would think I'd
dress more inconspicuously if I was." said Dan holding his bokken in a
defensive manner. 
	"You will defeat us with a wooden sword?" said the blonde with a gleam in his
eyes. 
	"Of course other wise I may kill you." said Dan calmly.
	The red haired man stood back and looked at Dan carefully. "His voice sounds
familiar." he thought.
	"Tell us who you are then." said the Aqua haired man. 
	"Ryoko-sha" said Dan smiling slightly.[[A Traveler]]
 	"So Ryo-san what brings you to the city dressed in the uniform of its most
elite warriors?" said the Red haired man.
	Dan turned his gaze never moving out of his defensive position towards the
man. "So it was my robes that brought this trouble." he said more to him self
than as an answer.
	"Yes." said the blonde man. Dan was the only one who had yet taken up a
stance of any kind, but the men made sure that he saw their weapons.
	"I apologize then. These are the robes of a samurai. They are a band of great
warriors from my home." said Dan relaxing his stance and standing straight. He
looked at the man in front of him with a wry grin and the man stared back with
a look of pure terror.
	The three men fell to their knees and most of the crowd followed accept for a
few confused foreigners. "My prince, I apologize for my insolence." said the
men around him almost in unison. Dan looked around at the men confused.
	"Prince?" he said dumbly.
	
	The girl watched as the crowd bowed before the man she had been following.
"So he is the prince? Most interesting." she said as she lept back into the
shadows again.

	Dan looked at the men bowing before him and sighed. "Lets go talk somewhere
private." he said to them trying to look dignified. The men looked at each
other and nervously followed the man into a nearby bar.
	They all sat at the back of the bar around a table and the men looked at him
nervously. "First lets clear this up I am not the prince I'm not even sure
what country I'm in right now." said Dan looking at the men who looked at him
oddly. 
	"Not the prince?" said the red head staring at him dumbly. Dan shook his
head. Dan saw that they were very angry and most likely about to attack him
yelling expletives. "They don't know I'm not, and I'm willing to play along
for your prides sake, but only until we get clear of the area." said Dan as he
glanced up for a moment and smirked. The men visibly calmed and looked at him
hard. 
	"Very well." said the Red haired man. "I am Malkior, and these are my fellow
guardsmen."
	"Balthazar." said the Aqua haired man.
	"Caspar?" said Dan pointing at the last of the three.
	"You've heard of me?" asked the blonde hopefully.
	"I'm afraid not. Your names are the same as Three wise men from an old legend
from my land." said Dan as the three got up and headed towards the door. 
	"Where do you hail from?" asked Malkior frowning at the stranger. 
	"Its an Island called Japan." said Dan with a grin. 

	"So he wasn't the prince, even more interesting." said the young ninja from
her perch on the roof of the bar. She followed the men until they separated.
She then went after Dan once again. 

	Dan shifted the cloak he had bought and tightened the belt around his waist
with the small bag of fruits on it. He pulled the hood over his head and
smiled. The merchant had seemed suprised and almost afraid when he had asked
for a black cloak. He was suprised to find that both nickel and copper were
considered precious metals in this world. The few yen coins he had were worth
allot, he had even received a good amount of change in this worlds
denomination. he turned towards the bushes and smiled wider. "How long are you
going to hide from me ninja? tell me what you want." he said.
	The girl rose from her spot in the bushes with her sword drawn, her eyes had
an eerie glow. "Thats a neat trick girl but mine is better." said Dan as his
whole body began to radiate power making him seem to glow with blue fire. The
girl growled and backed up. 
	"You think you can intimidate me with a light show? I've seen parlor wizards
do better." she growled at him and stuck her sword out offensively. 
	Dan frowned and readied his own defense "What do you want?" he asked her his
eyes darting around his surroundings.
	"Why does a warrior like you look for a way to escape?" she asked him coolly.
	Dan smiled and relaxed a little. "Only a fool fights when he doesn't have to.
What do you want?" he said calmly with his Aura dying down.
	The girl crouched low and looked at him with a dark smile. "To find you,
after what you did to me and my little gang back there I had to." she said
with a little venom in her voice.
	Dan smiled and looked at her calmly preparing for her attack. "Well you have
me. Now what?" he said in a voice that seemed drained of emotion.
TbC...




A not entirely eventless chapter with some interesting revalations. How will
Dan deal with his new found powers. What secret is the little ninja holding?
What are her intentions? Seem like a no brainer? Mabey not! Find out soon!

How is Jun's group dealing with the revalation of never returning home? What
sort of dangers does the wilderness hold for them? What sort of things will
they discover about their powers when they test them? What sort of limitations
do they have? All this and more in the Next chapter! 
tasukaru koto. [Survival]
C&C welcome and Appriciated, please!
Send to :Catbert25@aol.com