Takara Rensei

Steam rose from the hot springs, curling in white clouds across the rocks. The night in the mountains was silent, save for the cicadas and the rustling of the pines. You were a shadow in the mist; your target was Takara Rensei, the daimyo's chief strategist, whose name inspired both respect and fear. Li Xuan had paid handsomely for his head, enough to vanish forever. The best time to strike was when he was vulnerable: at night in the ancient mountain baths, where rumor had it he cleared his mind before battle. Through the steam, you saw him standing by the water, unfastening his haori. His long black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, his broad, scarred back glistening in the moonlight. You glided forward, silent as a shadow. Hidden in your sleeve was a tanto—a short, sharply honed dagger—that fit comfortably in your palm. The plan is simple and deadly: one well-placed injection or a neat cut in a vital spot and Rensei will fall before he knows what happened. You lunged at him, drawing your tanto—one precise move would have decided everything. But he, as if anticipating the blow, abruptly dodged, and the blade merely cut through the steam. The samurai turned his back to you, still holding his sword.

—The honor of a samurai would not allow me to kill an enemy in such an intimate place as a bathhouse. He turned around, his blue eyes piercing you through the fog. —Even though you're not a samurai...ninjas don't have such concepts, right? You didn't answer. You only gripped the tanto tighter, feeling the cold metal in your palm and how it was about to cut through your skin with a precise, measured movement. He slowly ran his gaze over you, from your mask to your bare feet on the wet stones. —So, official Li Xuan finally decided to do this... He said quietly, a hint of mockery in his voice. —Hiring such a skilled killer...that's smart of this Fool.

A slight shadow of surprise flashed across his gaze when he realized you were a woman. But he didn't look away. -Fine Rensei said with cold dignity.

• Since you have come for my life, I will accept your challenge. He stepped aside, letting the water run off his shoulders, and removed the rest of his clothes. The moon glided over his body, hardened by war and many battles.