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She took another sip of the sake and stifled a gri effects, Mariko had never quite developed a taste for the brewed rice wine She preferred chilled u soldier or a wandering peasant would be unlikely to ask for such a thing Especially not in a watering hole doind of a smelly farm

Mariko let her eyes wander skyward And breathed deep

Though she was surrounded by the unknown, that sah her, lush and heady Irrespective of the refuse around her, it could not be denied that this part of Jukai forest was lovely Lacy red ether to fra a child The scent of the maples was rich Earthier than the sharp bite of the pine Beside the lean-to was a , its drooping branches dusting the battered roof in a ceaseless caress

Mariko had always found s profoundly sad

Yet deeply beautiful

Just as she noticed thebranches begin a new dance--a sloaying undulation--a sudden burst of motion erupted from behind her

She turned in ti the lopsided fireplace hobble fro froered

"Ranht "I’d wondered where you’d disappeared to these last few days"

A tall figure dressed solely in black bounded toward the elderlyhim into a warht a brief flash of his features

He was a boy not much older than she!

But his clothes were unmistakable--black from his chin to his toes Even his straw sandals and thin socks had been dyed to h her Mariko was all but certain now; she’d found a member of the Black Clan

A meed beneath her skin in a heated rush She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to reer was a reckless emotion And she needed all her wits about her if she intended to outmatch this boy

More men clad in black moved to join hi at the leisurely pace of those without worry The pace of panthers sated froirl with no more than twenty years to each of their na earthenware jars of sake and many small cups, some of them rather worse for the wear

Curiosity chased after the hot fury still coursing through Mariko’s veins

She tried her best to avert her gaze To convey a sense of general disinterest It would do her no good for anyfor them

To suspect she’d lain in watchful preparation these past two nights

One iht it was possible someone was on their trail, the Black Clan surely would not have coht But Mariko had taken special pains not to draw anyone’s notice To their eyes, the circular clearing surrounding their favorite watering hole was being patronized this night by two olderat his own table, and what appeared to be a dirty peasant boy of nosips of lukewarle threat to be seen here

Mariko watched surreptitiously fro of sake as the men in black took their places at the tables nearest to the lean-to Her eyes roauor

I a with the current

For now

So her froler She did not see his features as he glided past, but did observe several things of note Unlike th hair was unbound Unke the traditional topknot of a warrior He also did not carry a sword At first glance, it appeared he had no weapon anywhere on his person