The stars shone down on the battlefield in glittering spirals, adding to the moon that lit the earth as bright as day. The sparks of a thousand campfires mirrored their glow, scattered across the Lion camp in equal. intricate patterns. Lao-Tse stood at the center of them and sighed quietly, an enigmatic smile on his face. So far from the golden hills of his homeland, the stars were the only thing he truly loved about this place.

He stretched beneath his armor and stifled a yawn, cradling his naginata closer to himself. Guard duty was the most reviled shift a soldier could perform, and with an army as splendid as this before him, it seemed almost waste of time. Who would dare attack the forces of the Lion now? What could an enemy hope to gain from it? Better to rest and prepare for the battle tomorrow than stand on watch for an assault that would never come. Not even the Crab was foolish enough to strike in the dark.

Looking up from the camp, Lao-Tse turned his attention to the sky above, his thoughts wandering. When the war is over and his order claimed the Emerald Throne what would uld he do? Return home, of course, to serve the new Emperor at his ancestral palace. But what then? He remembered the Geishas he had visited the night before he left, remembered the charms they had plied on his willing body. Were any of them still there? Would any of them perhaps make a fit wife? He smiled at the thought. A pretty wife to hold him and care for him when his duties ended. A wife to stand by him while he defended the honor of the Lion Clan. How many women would jump at the chance? How many women would be honored to stand by his side? They were innumerable, he answered, in response to his own question. As many women as there were stars in the sky...

He was still studying those stars when the knife reached around him and sunk into his throat.

The general's tents were a buzz of activity, with pages and servants scurrying to fulfill their master's wishes. There would be no steep for the Lion's leaders tonight; Hida Kisada was too wily a foe to take lightly, and the coming battle would test their mettle to the limit.

In the center tent, the leaders of the clan stood around a scale map of the field. The golden sigil of the king of beasts marked the tokens of their own forces, while the Crab's troops were signified by a pair of chitinous claws. The enemy was spread out on a ridge to the north, ready to ride down and sweep over them like a wave.

Each lord and samurai pre.sent had an idea on how to circumvent Hida's forces, and all felt the need to share it with their peers. Tactical movements and strategies passed back and forth between the circle, animated assertions and testy arguments following in their wake. Not a man at the table was silent.

Slightly behind the heated debate stood Matsu Tsuko, the recently chosen Champion of Clan Lion. Tall and imposing, she could view the tactical display quite easily over the smaller generals. Her youthful face was still and unmoving, focusing completely on the conversation.

The leather of her armor creaked silently as she shifted from foot to foot, her dark hair brushed back behind the Lion's ceremonial helmet. Though only twenty- one, she had already distinguished herself in the arts of weaponry and tactics, and the older men around her were already deferring to her instincts. She followed the darting arguments with focused interest, waiting until they died down before voicing an opinion.

As she listened, she absentmindedly stroked her leather-sheathed shoulder. Beneath the armor, the golden tattoo of the Lion's crest began to itch slightly. The mark had been given to her when she was still a child, just before she began her training.

She remembered the pride she had felt when the old man stitched it into her, the pride that had overridden the tears of pain. Its presence meant she had been selected for something far greater than she could possibly have imagined. She was to be a warrior of the Lion, a defender of the noblest clan in Rokugan, and a protector of the Emperor himself. It was an honor few could dream of, and almost none could attain. But she had been invested with it and would happily die in the defense of its cause. The mark they gave her was irrefutable proof of that status.

The tattoo was there for her as she began her long years of training; it reminded her of what she was fighting for when she was tired and exhausted. It helped her strive farther and faster than her peers, to reach the fullest of her potential at an astoundingly early age.

The crest had watched when she stew her first warrior, had shined with satisfaction at her Victory. She was only thirteen when she first drew blood in combat and her battles since then had only grown fiercer. The Lion had been with her all the while, guiding her progress towards whatever destiny the fates had in store for her.

Its itch was a familiar comfort here on the eve of the battle.

Finally, the jabbering of the generals slowed, the debates around the table quieted. A dozen faces turned towards her, ready now to hear the words of their champion. She smiled calmly, and gestured at the table.

"The Hida family is well named," she asserted. "Scuttling and chittering, they make a great show of power when threatened. But we will see how fierce they are when they no longer have their holes to crawl back to. Flank them to the east and we cut off their supply routes. Allow our forces in the valley to fade back, drawing them further and further from their perch. When they overextend themselves, we will order a counterattack. And they will be ours."

Her eyes swept the assemblage, as thoughtful nods and pleased grins met her words. The eldest general, a leathery old man whose armor was riddled with countless ribbons and medals, cleared his throat.

"It shall be done, honored champion. Our forces have the strength and the will to carry out such a plan, and come the dawn, Hida Kisada will be counting the cost. With the blessings of Osano Wo, the banner of the Lion will emerge triumphant."

A low murmur of assent followed his proclamation, the lords and samurai nodding their approval. Tsuko smiled and leaned back against a tent pole as renewed debate rose around the table. The marshaling of forces and tactical particularities were now the focus, their arguments geared towards the how and wherefore instead of the what. It was good.

Their discussion was interrupted by the appearance of a young boy, dressed in messenger's garb, at the entrance to the tent. He was sweating and out of breath, having apparently run here at top speed. The conversation died down as the generals turned to regard the child.

"Murder!" he panted. "Murder most foul. O noble lords, an assassin has struck our right flank and treacherously executed two of our number."

Instantly, Tsuko was standing. Whirling on her toes, she turned to face the messenger, towering above his tiny form. "Where?"

"The eastern edge of the camp, mistress. A guard was slaughtered while standing at his post, the local commander taken as well. The symbol of the Crab was left with both bodies."

"Assassins," Tsuko whispered, her voice like a razor. "Is there no depths to which Kisada will sink?" The other leaders clustered forward, the upcoming battle momentarily forgotten.

"What is being done to apprehend the killer?" the elder general inquired of the boy.

"The honored Matsu Yojo is organizing a search party, and all the local commanders under him have been alerted."

"And the killer?"

"No sign, although the bodies have not yet been examined."

"This commander who was killed... what is his station?" Tsuko inquired

"The leader of a single cadre, my lady," the boy replied dutifully. "His second in command has assumed his responsibilities."

"I see. A regrettable loss, but not one which will greatly affect the upcoming battle..." Tsuko appeared thoughtful for a minute, then regarded the boy again.

"Tell Yojo to have his commanders stand down. Tell him that the situation has been dealt with and further repercussions are unlikely. Have him warn the men on watch to attend to their duties and take extra care lest more assassins come slinking out of the shad. ows."

She turned to face the assembly.

"This is a bad omen. Unless the killer is apprehended, he will spread fear and doubt through our ranks. Without sleep, our troops will not perform well on the morrow, and our plan may suffer for it."

"Could this be the beginning of an attack?" one of the younger samurai queried.

"On a night as bright as this? We would have noticed any significant troop movements hours ago. No, this is but a single man or small group of men, sent to dull our edge before the battle."

She turned back to the men. "You honored gentlemen continue with your preparations. I shall remove this thorn in our side myself."

The lords started.

"My lady, is that wise?" The eldest asked.

"Your expertise is sorely needed here, and a skirmish in the dark may lead to a broken leg or worse. Surely, we can dispatch someone else to deal with this interloper."

The mask of her face broke in a darkened frown as her mark began to itch again.

"Am I not the new champion? Is not mine the right? The day I cower behind the lines while the enemy strikes at us is that day the Shadowlands claim my soul! I have faith in your tactical skills, honored gentlemen. Have faith in my ability to deal with a few crawling worms. Continue as you have. I will find this Crab assassin, this coward who skulks in the dark like a dog, and I will teach him what it means to cross the Lion. We will carry his head before us in battle as a warning to his scuttling masters."

She touched the hilt of her katana and looked down at the boy.

"Take me to the bodies, child. We shall see who holds their cost dearer this night."

The corpse of Lao-Tse lay as it was found, his head tilted upward at the glittering sky. His armor was stained with his own blood, his naginata lying useless as his side. A deep hole in the center of his throat gave grisly account of the cause of death, its pulpy core staring up like a third eye.

His bewildered expression was almost comical, like some bumbling sensei who had found enlightenment while voiding his bowels. Tsuko knelt and stared into that face for almost five minutes, her unblinking calm standing in sharp defiance of its madness.

"It's an end, you fool," she said to herself, "a perfectly normal end to one who watches the stars and not his duty. No need to look confused by it."

The small crowd of soldiers in the area had orders to stay back, lest their clumsiness destroy some bit of evidence. Tsuko had approached the body with an equal amount of care, and now turned her attentions away from the deceased and towards some sign of his killer.

For a tracker such as her, one wasn't hard to find. The footprints were planted firmly in the dirt, bathed in the brilliant moonlight. Their imprint was small but deep in the surrounding earth. He walked on the balls of his feet, she noted quietly. Silent and noiseless to all save the gods. The prints led directly into the commander's tent, then back out again, along the edge of the camps towards the no man's land of the battlefield and eventually the camp of the Crab army. No fool, this one. He had not dallied excessively here, content merely to wreak his havoc and return the way he had come.

Fortunately, there was quite a bit of distance to be covered before he reached the safety of the Crab's camp. He had struck on the eastern edge of the army, a good league and a half from the front line and a considerable ways from nearer and therefore more attractive targets.

Why exactly, Tsuko was not certain. Possibly to send the Lion commanders a false impression of troop movements. Possibly just over-confidence and a need to "strike with impunity." Either way it did not matter. The killer would keep to the edge of the camp lest he be discovered, and would need to move with caution in the brightness of the night.

She did not. Turning towards the footprints that trickled away like a glowing string, she smiled thinly to herself and strode off in pursuit. The soles of her boots left spaces twice as wide between them.

The stars wheeled and spun in their patterned dance as she followed the course, her step neither wavering nor slowing. As the trail continued, she found herself able to read the footprints much more clearly. They seemed to grow as time went on, to become larger and more pronounced.

Sloppier. The tracks led through bushes and around clumps of trees, always positioned so as to obscure their owner from the camp. Yet it still appeared odd that one so careful about his approach should be so careless in covering his retreat. Tsuko was challenged twice by sentries as she made her way along, which was comforting, but also deepened the mystery. Was this killer so good that he could just sprint by them without notice?

Finally, the tents of the Lion began to thin, becoming wider and less clustered. The glow of the campfires lessened, no longer strong enough to compete with the blazing sky. Her army fell away behind her, leaving the No Man's Land of the battlefield spread wide. The earth and grass were untouched here, stretching straight and level as far as the eye could see. In two days time, they would be crushed by bodies, the blood of countless men staining their roots.

Beyond them, several leagues away, lay the armies of the Crab, their own campfires just another set of stars from this distance.

Tsuko paused and surveyed the plain, crouching low like her predatory namesake. Not a thing moved between her and the Crab, not a bird, not a mouse, not a worm. It was as if the ground itself sensed what was coming, and was holding its breath in anticipation.

Only the footprints stained its canvas, an interloping Crab scuttling across the battlefield. She scanned back and forth with piercing eyes, looking for some sign of the man who made them. The moonlight lit her face with an ivory glow beneath the mane of her helmet.

From the corner of her vision, something stirred. A dark form, crouched low against the ground, began moving slowly and methodically across the plain.

"Still wary, little crab?" she whispered to herself. "Why the caution now? You are almost free of the Lion's jaws..."

With a single fluid motion, she leapt to her feet and sprinted after the form. The wind whistled through her ears and she felt her heart sing as she sped towards her prey. The man did not even turn at her approach; he leapt forward and began running madly towards the enemy camp. Tsuko cursed and drew her katana, intending to cut the cur down like a row of wheat. He was a small man, she noticed, barely high enough to reach her shoulder. She sprinted after him, covering three steps for each of his.

In a flash, she was upon him, the hilt of her blade striking between the shoulders. He went sprawling to the ground, a long knife falling from his hands.

"I am not some foolish guard to be caught unawares, killer." Tsuko hissed. "Turn and face me before I put you in your grave."

She reached down and grasped the smock of his black shirt, flipping him over on his back. She could feel the fabric rip beneath her fingers as her quarry launched a vicious kick at her midsection. It careened harmlessly off her armor and she laughed.

"It will take more than that to..."

Suddenly, she paused, her instincts sensing something just beneath the wind. She released the killer from her grip and spun around in a flash, seconds before the whistling blade sped past her head. She lashed out reflexively, then ducked and rolled free of her quarry. Springing to her feet, she whirled to face this new threat.

A pair of soldiers dressed in the armor of the Hida family stood before her, their faces invisible beneath the painted sneers of leather masks. Weapons flashed in the silver light, their murderous intentions all too apparent. Behind the pair, the Crab assassin slowly clambered to his feet.

"HAI!!" Without pause, Tsuko charged into the fray, denying her opponents the opportunity to think. She parried the first thrust with deceptive ease, pushing herself past the soldier and back towards the killer.

The second Crab sprang towards her, a tetsubo club gripped in both hands. Without turning around, she reversed her free hand, feeling her elbow connect with the man's throat. A vicious kick brought the assassin to his knees again, knocking the wind out of him. That taken care of, she spun around a second time, ready to face her opponents on her own terms.

The first soldier rushed at her again, his katana spinning in his hand. She lifted her own sword to block the blow, feeling sparks as the steel connected and slid down to her hilt. They locked eyes and she smiled serenely, feeling the first hint of fear in her opponent's soul.

His expression stiffened behind his mask, and she felt the wind behind her grow thick. In an instant, he had given the game away.

She pivoted slightly and pulled her katana away from him while the second soldier came hurtling up behind her. She dodged beneath his blow as the tetsubo crashed into the first soldier's arm with a resounding snap.

Using the momentum of her turn, she brought her katana down into his midsection. It snapped through metal and leather alike, cutting deeply into his unprotected belly. The blade bit deeply and she felt a satisfying tug'as it pulled away, dragging bits of dripping gore from its unfortunate victim.

Tsuko stepped sideways and wiggled free as the second soldier lurched into his companion. Before the first man could react, she had turned again and with surgical precision, brought her scarlet blade down upon his throat. With her free hand, she produced her wakizashi and planted it firmly between the second soldier's shoulders. Releasing the hilt, she stepped away from their entangled forms and readied her katana for another blow.

It never came. The men fell away form her in a fumbling heap, their air of menace all but gone. The second soldier jerked spasmodically in a death rattle, as his hands tried feebly to hold in his intestines. The tip of Tsuko's wakizashi poked out from his armored chest, the strength of her blow driving it completely through him. The first soldier struggled to free himself of his companion, then staggered to his knees, his broken arm flopping like a rag doll.

"The battle comes with the dawn, little crawlers, not before." Tsuko spoke with a voice taut as wire. "Did you think you'd strike at us with impunity, then scuttle back to your dank little holes without retribution?"

The soldier could only gobble a reply as blood spat out of the broken cracks of his mask. He made one final effort to bring his sword around upon her, then fell backwards again, his form stilled. His katana stood straight up, wedged between his arm and his companion's shuddering corpse. It stabbed the night sky like a nail, spattered with blackened drops of its owner's blood.

Tsuko waited as their thrashing slowly subsided, then retrieved her wakizashi from the corpse. Quickly surveying the area, she allowed herself to relax slightly. No other Crabs would follow these. A pair of shallow trenches were visible a short ways off, dug just deep enough to hide a human form. They must have been waiting there for the assassin to return, she thought.

Her attentions turned back to the killer. Her blow had knocked the wind out of him, but he was staggering slowly to his feet. With easy grace, she bounded over to him, spinning him around to look upon his face for the first time...

And all the questions were suddenly answered.

"Lion dog! Release me!"

The youthful face glared back at her with vicious hatred, its skin unblemished with the perfection of a child. A long shock of hair, once tied back behind her head, blew across her face in untended snarls. She couldn't have been twelve years old. So this was the assassin Kisada had sent to sow destruction in their ranks. A girl. A skilled, silent, invisible girl. A girl without the experience or the patience to avoid leaving a trail behind her.

Tsuko could see a dark splotch along the skin of her shoulder, visible beneath the torn cloth of her sleeve. With a grunt, she ripped the rest away, revealing the bare skin of her side to the glow of the stars. Unobscured, the splotch now took fixed form, explaining away the hate that welled up in the girl's eyes.

It was the blue tattoo of a jointed crab. The symbol of the Hida family.

Tsuko's eyes softened at the sight, and she felt the skin beneath her shoulder itch. The murderous intentions she harbored mere moments before smoldered and died within her breast.

"So the honored Hida Kisada sends a child to perform his killing for him. Who are you that would attack us so?" she asked quietly, her grip never wavering for an instant.

"Only a loyal servant of the True Emperor, performing the orders of my general as given to me!"

"Kisada's daughter? His niece? A cousin of the family? Or just some peasant girl seduced by dreams of glory?"

"It matters not, Lion fifth! Where I have come, many will follow, and on the morrow we will soak the ground with your heart's blood!" She continued to struggle beneath Tsuko's hold.

"No doubt as bravely and fiercely as you have, little crawler," she whispered, trying hard to quell the emotions building within her. "Is this the way the Crab trains its youth? To skulk in the dark like grubs?"

"All means are honorable if victory is the result. My knife has tasted a Lion's throat tonight. Tomorrow, my fellows will do the same with yours."

"Is that so? Did your general tell you that when he sent you off? Or just your wetnurse?"

The comment brought another round of kicks and curses from the girl, but Tsuko's grip never yielded. She hoisted the flailing assassin up beneath her arm, and began moving back to the Lion camp, all thoughts of murder forgotten. Battling children was not the way of the Lion, she told herself. Best take her back, and decide what to do with her after the battle tomorrow.

"Come, girl, back to the warmth of my fire. Perhaps I will allow you to view our army in action when we destroy your general."

"Cur! You have no idea what you face tomorrow! We are the Crab! We are legion! And when battle comes, you will know how terrible your enemies truly are."

Tsuko's eye clenched shut at the fervor of the remark.

"Your belief in your cause is... touching, child," she replied at last. "Perhaps... perhaps when the battle has ended I will teach you its value more fully."

The child sneered from beneath her arm.

"You do not understand. None of the Lion has ever understood. Tactics is nothing. Planning is nothing. We have faith in our cause and our cause is just. We have powers and allies that you could not imagine in your worst nightmares. When the battle commences, we will wash over your toy soldiers like a wave. Then you will know the terrible strength of the Crab!"

With a flash, she twisted around and sunk her teeth into Tsuko's wrist. The champion cried out - more in surprise than in pain and loosened her hold for an instant. The girl scampered free, landing on her feet and scuttling back towards the battlefield with a speed that belied her size. She turned toward her captor as she ran and laughed.

"Watch and mark, Lion dog! Watch the power of a Crab's faith!"

"WAIT!"

Tsuko cursed under her breath and turned in pursuit, confident that she could run the child down. The girl flew on, heedless of her captor's rapid approach behind her. She sprinted straight to the deceased soldier, whose body lay broken and bent like his spindly namesake. His katana struck upward from his twisted hand, braced and pointed to the sky by his shattered body. The girl launched herself towards it, springing upward in a great leap as she impaled her form on its unbending shaft. She did not scream as the blade pierced her chest, did not twitch as she sunk down upon it to the hilt. The only sound was the swish of Tsuko's boots as the champion rapidly closed the distance between them.

The girl was fading when she reached the bodies, crimson dripping from her nose and mouth. She turned and looked at the Lion, a hideous smile breaking across her bloodcaked lips.

"I... am... but... one of many..." the girl hissed weakly. "One... of a legion... and when we come... we will bury you beneath us..."

Tsuko stood there in silence, watching the child's body shudder and still with unblinking eyes. She looked at it with a calm that belied the unease she felt, the disturbance that rose from the depths of her soul.

The girl's words echoed in her ears as she slowly turned her face up towards the Crab camp, dotted ominously on the ridge beyond them. Far above, the timeless stars matched her gaze.