Or so they thought.
As the gaijin known as Togashi Amadan crept silently behind his guide, he contemplated the irony of the Scorpion's downfall. Some other force, unseen and unkown by the Clan of Secrets, had struck from the shadows, and taken the Emperor Toturi from the Jade Empire. That force had left the blame upon the Scorpion, and they had been exiled forever, banished from the Empire it was their duty to protect from such things.
"Here," whispered the other man, Bayushi Tashiro. The Scorpion pointed down from the rafters into the abandoned court hall. In the farthest corner of the room, Amadan saw movement. The gaijin nodded, and looped a rope around the wooden plank he walked on. In the garb of the ninja, Amadan worked silently and invisibly down the rope, until his feet touched the ground without even the slightest noise. The scout looked around a moment, and looked to the corner where he had seen the movement before.
"Sensei," The Dragon said aloud, "I have returned."
In a blur of motion figures seemed to form from the very shadows themselves, and threw themselves at the gaijin. Amadan had but seconds to ready his daisho, and defend himself from the whirling blades of the ninja who assualted him. Dull echoes of forged metal hitting poorly made ninja-to rang through the hall until the sound of an eggshell breaking caused the ninja to step back as Amadan was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Amadan grunted and pulled off his mask.
When the smoke cleared, a tall, lean man in the dress of a Scorpion stood before the Dragon. His face hidden beneath a smooth black mask, the Scorpion held a long katana in his right hand. The ninja circled around Amadan, and the gaijin thought perhaps he had made a mistake.
Two arrows flew from above, striking at the feet of the ninja, and Bayushi Tashiro leapt from the rafters, landing on the other side of the room. The Scorpion archer held his bow trained at the ninja as he walked forward slowly
"Kage," Amadan hissed, holding his mask in his hand, "Do you not recognize your own student?"
The Scorpion who stood before Amadan dropped his guard a moment, then placed his katana in it's saya. "Gaijin," Came a low grumble from beneath the black mask. "You are dead, or so I have heard it told." The ninja removed his mask to show the face of an older man, with graying hair. At this, the other ninja broke from their offensive positions, and dissapeared back into the darkness.
Tashiro lowered his bow and stood beside Amadan.
The Dragon bowed low to his sensei, "Shosuro Kage-sama. I am dead but a few weeks. Does news travel so fast?"
"Hai," Kage said, turning towards the exit, motioning for them to follow. "Aramoro-san would speak with you."
Tashiro and Amadan looked at each other for a moment. They had been correct. Perhaps there was hope for their futures, and the future of the Empire.
Nothing.
"I have returned in hope of aiding your quest to find Toturi, the only person who can bring peace to this Empire again." Amadan stared at Aramoro as he spoke, and saw the ninja flinch at the last.
Aramoro turned to Amadan. He wore no mask now, among the shadows, in the home of his Ancestors, he did not need it. "Why do you presume we search for Toturi, Dragon?"
"Your Lady," Amadan replied simply. "Toturi is the only one capable of lifting the exile imposed upon your family, and Kachiko." The Dragon stopped for a second and said, "Unless you wait for Yoritomo to take the Throne by force."
Aramoro's eyes flickered as he looked at the gaijin. Amadan had been his entire life to understand people. To learn from them everything he could. In the land of his birth, Amadan had been an adivsor to great lords, and was often relied upon to know the secrets of their enemies. In Aramoro's eyes, Amadan saw something where most would not have noticed anything. The scout's mind raced. What was the Scorpion thinking?
Aramoro turned to Kage, "Take him, Shosuro Kage. He is your student again." He looked to Bayushi Tashiro, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. "As for you, bushi. You will guard their lives with your own. They will need a yojimbo where they are about to go."
Kage bowed low to his lord, then asked, "Aramoro-sama, where would you have us go?"
The ninja turned back to the window and said, "You are to travel to the lands of the Lion and Otosan Uchi. Watch the armies of the Unicorn, Mantis, and the Crane. But first, you must determine what this new Jade Champion's true allies are. If they are of the darkness, it may well lead us closer to what plagues this Empire."
Kage's eyes narrowed in question as he looked upon Aramoro. The ninja turned to the Shosuro and simply nodded curtly.
"Come then, dead men," Shosuro Kage said as he placed his mask back on his face, "We have but little time."