Furikake slowly came awake. He found himself lying on a bed with a cold compress on his forehead. Looking out the window to his left, he saw that it was very dark outside. He noticed movement to his right and glanced over to find the doctor approaching him.

"Ah, I see you've come to. Can you tell me your name?" the doctor asked.

"Kusomaki Furikake."

"Good. Do you know where you are?"

"Am I in the infirmary?"

"Yes." They both heard some moaning. In the bed across of Furikake was the emperor. "He's in bad shape. I know it sounds stupid after being shot in the leg, but they hit a pressure point. Unfortunately, it's one of the lethal ones. He'll be lucky if he lasts the night. Anyway, I have to fill you in on the situation. Are you ready?" she asked. Furikake nodded.

"Good, now listen. The first priority is to take the palace back. With your skills it should be no problem. But in order to retake the palace, you'll need your weapons and some help. The woman who came with you as well as Princess Ming are in the jail two floors down. I believe the woman..."

"I believe her name is Tiffany," said Furikake.

"Okay. I believe that Tiffany is well versed in the art of firearms. There are two men guarding them. But first, your weapons." The doctor moved to the potted plant in the far corner of the room and brought out Furikake's swords. "I asked the guard if I could keep them. It's a good thing he let me. Well, with the acupuncture I gave you while you were recovering, you should be good to carry out my plans any time now."

Kusomaki got out of bed and found that he indeed was well rested. He took his sword and waited for the doctor to tell him more of her plan.

"Okay, the first thing we should do is increase the number of our fighting force. Go down to the jail and free the princess and Tiffany. I'll go about and see what the security looks like. We'll meet back here in about 20 minutes." Kusomaki was looking at her with a worried look. "Don't look at me like that. I can take care of myself. Quickly, time is of the essence."

She tapped a spot on the wall behind the plant and a secret door opened. "Remember, 20 minutes. The jail is two floors down. Try not to kill too many men. They'll get suspiscious." With that, she left, closing the door behind her. Kusomaki made his way to the door and peeked outside. There were two guards patrolling the corridor. He went to the window and looked out. The rain had lightened up a bit. There didn't seem to be many guards outside, just two or three. He went to the table and grabbed a vile of very concentrated hydrochloric acid. Then he made his way back to the window.

The rain is still strong, but I should be able to make it, thought Kusomaki. He opened the window and scaled the side of the building. I hope the princess will be able to make it up here, he thought.

It took him about five minutes to get to his destination. Unfortunately, he now was faced with the problem of getting in the window, which wasn't going to be easy considering metal bars had been placed on the inside. Luckily, he was always prepared. He took out the vile of hydrochloric acid and used it on three of the bars. When they were weak enough, he broke them off and made his way inside.

The two guards there were fast asleep. Just in case, though, he took them out, making sure to leave them in the same position that they were in when he first saw them. He moved toward the cell after taking the guard's key and unlocked it. Tiffany and Princess Ming were asleep. After quietly waking them, he told them where they were to go and how to get there. Princess Ming immediately objected stating that she was a princess and a princess does not scale a wall like a thief. Kusomaki rebutted by saying that she was welcome to walk out the door and get thrown back in the cell again.

Kusomaki made his way back out the window and up the wall. Tiffany Svendish quickly followed him after picking up an uzi and some extra clips. After a few minutes, Princess Ming hesitantly made her way to the window and up the wall.

When they all made it to the top, the princess ran to her father's side. Well, thought Kusomaki, at least we'll have time to prepare for the assault.