Whew! This took me a little while, it's 2 in the morning right now! I'm going to bed, I hope everyone enjoys.

The group had dinner at the town hall with the mayor, Rio. Then the younger four went off to explore the town a little more while Vega, Harial, and Rio conversed with one another. "So where are we going tomorrow?" Sakura asked.

"We get to go home!" Momiji shouted excitedly.

"Speaking of which Momiji. While you two were away some of the other guys snuck in to your room and ripped up your bunny." Neil told him trying his best not to burst out laughing. "OUCH!" Neil yelled when Momiji jumped up on his shoulders and began to hit him over the head with his magic rod over and over again.

"I know that isn't true! I took my bunny with me!" Momiji said as he kept hitting Neil. Nezz smiled as he watched the sight a little amused; Sakura, on the other hand, was shocked.

"Momiji-kun is being awfully violent all of the sudden." Sakura remarked as she gulped heavily.

"Neil had it coming though; you never joke like that about Momiji's toy bunny." Nezz told her, Sakura's only response was a small giggle. "What is it?" Nezz wondered.

"Momiji-kun is really cute. This toy bunny must be very precious to him." Sakura explained.

"It is, it's his most prized possession." Nezz added and walked down the street a little, stretching his legs. He blinked as he heard a whishing sound somewhere. Then he felt something fly right in front of his face and then heard a thud. He looked to his left and was shocked to see a knife stuck in to the side of the wooden house he was beside. He took a closer look; it wasn't any ordinary knife but a kunai. He jerked his head up and looked around but no one else was there. 'That's really weird. Who the heck threw this? Not to mention where someone would get a knife like this and...what's this?' He noticed a small piece of paper folded up and attached to the kunai. He pulled it out of the wall and unfolded the paper. "What!?" He exclaimed.

Back at the town hall Vega, Harial, and Rio were talking while they sat around the fireplace, "So, how have things been going lately Rio?" Harial asked.

"Everything has been fine aside from those Axis soldiers always coming in to town and causing trouble." Rio told them looking out the window at the setting sun.

"Has that become a normal occurence?" Vega asked.

"Unfortunately, I used to be able to keep them out of town but these days..." Rio said with a sigh, "I just don't know what to do."

After Momiji was done beating up Neil he called out, "Hey Nezz! What'cha doing?"

Nezz quickly stashed away the kunai and paper and replied with a stutter, "Oh uhh, nothing. Are you guys ready to go to the inn and wait for Vega and Harial?"

"Huh? Sure, whatever. Are you feeling alright man?" Neil asked as he and the other two walked up to Nezz.

"I think that's my line. You're the one who was almost given a concussion just a second ago." Nezz responded with a smirk.

"Don't remind me!." Neil requested lightly touching the large lump that had formed on the top of his head and winced at the contact. The group went to the end and settled themselves in for the rest of the night. Nezz and Neil shared one room, Momiji and Sakura shared another, and Vega and Harial took a third room. All of them had twin beds

That night Nezz laid awake in his bed looking up at the ceiling, it was impossible to sleep with Neil snoring like a bear. 'Geez, he's loud. Whenever he snores like that it means he's out cold...perfect.' Nezz thought with a sly smile. He silently moved out of the bed and slipped his clothes on. 'As a plus, Neil's so loud that no one will be able to hear me leaving.' He thought as he put his shoes on and crept over to the window. He pushed the window open and looked outwards, the entire town was asleep. Without hesitation he jumped out of the window and down to the ground.

Soon Nezz was a little ways outside of the Lunas in a flat field; it was a clear night with a large silver moon hanging in the sky. There were a few scattered trees that were all void of leaves. Nezz looked around slowly and gradually stepped more in to the center of the area. He stopped abruptly looking straight ahead at the shadow leaning against the trunk of a tree in front of him. "I guess this would be yours." Nezz said throwing the kunai at the figure's feet, "So what's the big idea calling me out here in the middle of the night?" The figure bent over picking the kunai up then stepped out of the shadows and smiled at Nezz who blinked in surprise.

"Awe, how considerate for you to come and return it to me, it's a shame I'm going to kill you." The one who had sent the note to him challenging him to a fight was a beautiful young girl. She had short black hair that went about and inch above her shoulders; and she wore a short revealing red kimono the went up to her thighs. She looked straight at Nezz with a strange smile as she held the kunai at her lips. Nezz was still stunned, he had been expecting one of the soldiers from that day, not a beautiful girl.

"What? You and I have never even met. What could you have against me? And just who are you?" Nezz asked the girl confused.

"Oh dear, you're a curious one aren't you? I am Hitomi, one of the only survivors of the shadow clan." She told him.

"Shadow clan?" Nezz repeated.

"Yes, and I will have revenge for their deaths!' She said glaring at Nezz with hate in her eyes. She pulled out a kunai with a long steel wire attached to it.

Nezz simply sighed, not feeling unsafe, and said, "In that case you've got the wrong guy, I don't kill other people, and I'm not going to fight you. See ya." Nezz turned around and began to walk away.

"There's no way for you to escape!" She yelled and Nezz soon saw why. There were steel wires strung all over the place intricately. There was even wires strung from tree to tree to create a high fence; Nezz turned around and saw her laughing a little. "Now you see, you've walked right in to my trap."

'This is impossible...unless...those kunai and wire must be a key!' Nezz thought to himself. Her key must have had the power to make the wire disappear from view. Hitomi jumped at Nezz with her kunai raised in one hand and a strand of wire that was attached in the other. Nezz released his sword and held it in front of him. "Don't do this, I don't want to fight you." He said as she sped closer.

"I will have my revenge!" She yelled as she struck with her kunai, Nezz blocked it but Hitomi simply smiled and with a flick of the wrist she had wrapped the wire around his sword and pulled hard on it.

Nezz pulled back trying not to lose his weapon, the grinding againt his sword and the wire was creating small sparks, "What the hell? Even if that wire is steel, I should be able to cut it.' He thought as he pulled down on his sword slipping it out of her wire. However, Nezz had stumbled backwards and tripped on one of the wires near his ankle and fell over. He winced when he felt something run against his arm, cutting him. Nezz looked up and saw that one of the other wires she had placed had cut him. 'Those wires must be razor sharp, but if so, how does she handle them with out being cut.' Nezz wondered. He then saw a suttle glow coming from all the wires, 'That's mana! I see, so she feeds her mana through the wires making them incredibly strong and sharp but doesn't affect her. That's just great.' Nezz jumped to his feet and tried to gain some distance from Hitomi while having to avoid all the wire straps she'd placed. He used his speed spell for a little advantage but it didn't seem to help much. Hitomi could jump, run, and swing on the wires without harm; she also had amazing acrobatic abilities. Whenever Nezz did get a little away from her she would simply throw several kunai at him.

They clashed weapons a few other times, Nezz had a strength advantage but Hitomi would simply knock or pull his sword away from her kunai with a wire trick then try to use either of her weapons on him. The final time she swung the wire in a large circle making the wire circle the area around Nezz's neck, all she needed to do was tighten it and Nezz would have his head cut off. He ducked down just in time but Hitomi kicked him hard in the stomach knocking him against a tree. Hitomi took the chance and bound his whole body to the tree. She kept it from cutting in to him, it merely bound him. Nezz tried hard to free himself or atleast get some slack to slip out but his arms were bound tightly beside his body straight so that his hands faced the ground, plus he had dropped his sword. He kept struggling but eventually quit a breathed heavily. "I told you before, I have nothing to do with you clan." Nezz said to the Kunoichi.

Hitomi walked up to him smiling in triump. "You are a mana knight! Fifteen years ago they were the ones who slaughtered the shadow clan. Therefor, I will track down and kill every last mana knight for what they did to my clan!' Hitomi said as she walked closely to Nezz looking him closely in the face. She held a kunai between them as she stared in to his eyes, she came closer and whispered, "You will be the first of the mana knights to be killed by me, you should feel honored."

Nezz clinched his fists and said, "Don't you dare hurt the others. Why not just kill me instead for you revenge. Besides, there's no way you could take on any of the others. All of the others I was with are much stronger than me."

"Oh really? Even that weak looking girl?" Hitomi asked curiously.

"You leave her out of this." Nezz told her.

"Oh! I see, she's your lover. How sweet." Hitomi replied

"What? Are you crazy? The only reason I say that is because she isn't a mana knight; she became involved with us by mistake. She isn't even supposed to be here." Nezz said.

"That's fair." Hitomi said the frowned, "However, you are the crazy one to think that one life is enough to mend the suffering in my heart!"

Nezz's eyes sunk as he said softly, "I understand, I know how your heart aches when many people you knew and who cared about you are suddenly taken away. And how much you despise the one who caused that pain. But I didn't have anything to do with you clan."

"That doesn't matter!" Hitomi screamed, tears in hers eyes as she held up her kunai. Suddenly the pair heard a giant roar and were silent. A huge ani with a giant axe was crashing through all the wires, splitting them like mere sewing threads with his massive axe. He ran at the Nezz and Hitomi and backhanded Hitomi, sending her flying off and on to the ground. Nezz felt the wires loosen and then fall from his body freeing him. He looked up to see the ani standing over an unconcious Hitomi with it's axe raised with both hands over its head.

Nezz grabbed his sword and used his speed spell to dash over to them, "Third form! Wide sword!" Nezz exclaimed transforming his sword to it's third form, a huge sword five foot long sword with a foot wide blade. He ran with it in one hand simply letting it drag on the ground. Just as the ani brought down its axe, Nezz ran between it and it's target blocking it with his sword. The ani was incredibly strong, Nezz could barely stay standing underneath the sheer weight of the axe blade. Hitomi's eyes fluttered open to see Nezz protecting her from the ani. She tried to move but her entire body was in agony. Nezz was finally able to push away the ani's axe and began to tear in to its body with his giant sword. The Ani eventually fell back causing the ground to shake the faded in to black smoke with a green spell sphere left. Nezz changed his sword back in to it original form and the sphere was absorbed in to it.

Nezz kneeled beside Hitomi and asked, "Are going to be alright?"

"Don't patronize me! Go on and kill me, give me my honor." She said

"Like I told you before, I don't kill other humans." He told her,

"You mean you're just going leave me here? I've been defeated and lost my honor." She pleaded.

"What's more important? Your honor or your life?" Nezz asked as he picked her up and laid her against the tree trunk, 'I would take her to the town for help but she wouldn't accept it anyway.'

"If you let me live I'll just come after you again." She told him.

"Go ahead, since I'm the who has taken you honor away come after me before you try to kill anyone else." Nezz said as he turned away about to leave.

"Wait!" Hitomi exclaimed

"What is it?" Nezz inquired.

"Can you tell me your name?" She asked

"Nezz, Nezz Masamune." He told her.

Hitomi smiled and with all her strength grabbed at Nezz's shirt and pulled him down in to a deep kiss. His were wide in amazement. 'Damn.'

Hitomi pulled away and whispered, "I will come after you Nezz Masamune."

"Err...yeah." was all Nezz could say and then turned and left her there.

So what did you guys think? Stay tuned for the next chapter.