I am a big fan of happy endings

If Kurenai had time to reflect on her accomplishments at this time she would have had cause to celebrate. She had successfully infiltrated a large iron works building and avoided getting burnt or falling into large vats of molten metal. The building was still heavily guarded, but the lack of screams of alarm told her that the dead soldiers that she had left behind have not yet been discovered...




She was about to enter a large shooting range within the building when she felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder from nowhere. Remaining mindful enough to stay quiet she spun around into her fighting posture to face this man out of nowhere. Being able to sneak up on her most likely meant that he was a Ninja as well. Most probably a Black Lizard...

The man she saw did not stand in any fighting posture at all, but motioned for her to stay quiet. He was a Westerner, the first that Kurenai had ever seen in her life. Had she seen any foreigners before she would have known that the chino pants, running shoes and black Babymetal T-shirt the man was wearing were actually clothes that were not going to be seen anywhere in the world for the next couple of centuries to come...

"I don't have much time..." the man began whispering. "Ginbei is a traitor. As soon as you exit that building he is going to try to kill Akemi with that gun. You will also have to fight a very large man who has been waiting for you to release Ginbei..."

"So..." Kurenai whispered as her mind raced to a conclusion. "This is a trap..."

The man nodded.

"That gun won't work, though..." he said, holding up a small metal pin. "I have managed to sneak into Ginbei's workshop earlier while he was out and removed this."

He held it out for Kurenai to take.

"So- this is a vital part of the gun..." she whispered in amazement. It was strange to think that a machine that big can stop working for the lack of something so small. The man was not certain whether Kurenai was going to be able to grasp the function of a firing pin in a gun and decided not to waste time trying to explain it to her.

She took the firing pin and pocketed it in one of the pouches on her Ninja suit.

The man held up a finger and whispered again: "Be ready to kill Ginbei when he strarts trying to fire the gun. Oh! And be careful. The firing range is now occupied..."

Then he walked out the door through which Kurenai had entered the room...


A while later Kurenai had just managed to get Ginbei and Akemi out of the room. She had managed to dispatch the soldiers that were busy with their target practice and met no resistance until she reached a long bridge that led to her exit from the building.

She felt the bridge shake under her feet as she heard heavy footsteps growing louder...

She knew... this was the moment...

Still- she felt that it was necessary to see if everything came to pass as the mysterious man had told her. 

When she heard the mans words "Ginbei! Now is the time to test the gun." she barely registered Ginbei aiming at Akemi. Her blade slid in between vertebrae in the gunsmith's neck before she even knew she was moving.

She did not take any notice of Ginbei's falling body and shot towards the cannon wielder, only to see him collapsing in front of her...

As the large body fell down to the ground the mysterious man was revealed standing behind him, holding a wakizashi with its blade still dripping with blood...


It was a while later in the woods when Akemi, Kurenai and the strange man sat together under a tree to get fully acquainted.

The man introduced himself.

"I am the Author" he said. "What you call me is of no consequence as I am not here as far as this world's history is concerned. I need your help to help somebody else the same way in which I have just helped you..."

"Why did you help us?" Akemi asked before hastily adding "... not that I am ungrateful or anything..."

The Author smiled.

"I guess..." the man sighed. "I am just a big fan of happy endings..."

Kurenai earnestly nodded her head. "I am indebted to you... we both are... How can we help you?"

"Well..." the Author said while looking at Akemi with a serene smile. "Akemi can go find Semzo and tell him that Ginbei was a traitor and that the gun has a malfunction."

Then, looking at Kurenai, he said: "You will accompany me to Vietnam in the year 1966 AD...."