Sensei Karurosa's katana was crafted in the 1820's by one of his ancestors on his father's side. It has a black and gold handle with the pattern of a "demon head", simply exquisite. The katana was passed down from generation to generation when the eldest son was deemed ready to own it.

In the early 1950's, Sensei Karurosa was a young boy. One night, around the age of six, he was awoken by his mother's scream. He crawled out of bed and grabbed his wakizashi sword that his father had taught him how to protect himself with. Karurosa didn't make it farther than a few feet past his doorway. His wakizashi sword was knocked from his hand and he was pushed to the ground. His small hands were bound behind his back and his mouth was taped shut. Karurosa could not see what was going on in his parent's bedroom but he continued to hear his mother screaming and his father yelling.

Eventually it was over. His father came out of the room, clearly beaten. He untied young Karurosa and held him for a long time. Karurosa asked, "Is mommy ok?" to which his father only replied with a soft "Yes". "What happened?" asked Karurosa. His father said nothing, put him down and walked back into the bedroom. Karurosa followed his father into the room, avoiding a small puddle of blood by the bedroom's entrance. His mother came to him and gave him a big hug. Karurosa noticed that his father's katana was missing from his parent's wall. He walked around the house and noticed that lots of other stuff was missing as well. His parents finally told him that some bad people had come but that the police had caught them and that it would never happen again.

When Karurosa was in high school be began to hear horrible rumors about what was going on in their small town and the surrounding villages. Rumors were that there was a small pack of ninjas who were terrorizing the people of the Tokyo suburbs, and occasionally Tokyo residents themselves. Word was that these ninja attacks had been going on for almost twenty years. Approximately once a month one of these attacks would take place, usually on a family's home. The women of the house were raped, the father was beaten, and their valuables were stolen.

Karurosa started to research deeper into these ninja attacks but there was very little information. Apparently, if the terrorized family reported the attack to the police they were guaranteed a more brutal return from the ninjas. Some families learned the hard way and a precedent was set. One sting operation involving the police resulted in 8 officers dead. The night after the failed sting operation, two police officer's homes were hit, resulting in the death of those two officers and all of their family as well, even their pets.

It got to the point where the people just accepted these attacks, they were rarely reported to the police and when they were they were ignored for obvious reasons.

Karurosa realized that his family was in fact the victim of one of these attacks. He wondered if these ninjas still had his father's katana. His father never seemed the same after that night. His mental and physical health spiraled downward and he died about a year after the attacks.

One night during the summer after his high school graduation, Karurosa was at a Tokyo nightclub with a few of his friends. Karurosa got very drunk that night. He also met a gorgeous young woman named Ayumi. Ayumi was above average in height with legs up to her neck and long, straight black hair. Ayumi was very drunk as well. Karurosa and his friends ended up going back to Ayumi's home with a few of her friends. Her parents had gone on vacation so she was left alone, her two brothers were rarely home.

Ayumi's home was huge. It was more like a mansion, there were probably sixty rooms. They hung out in one of the largest living rooms with lots of couches and pillows and continued to drink. Ayumi and Karurosa talked about martial arts at great length, both had practiced since a young age. Eventually Ayumi grabbed Karurosa's hand and took him away from the group. They walked down a long winding corridor, at the end of which was a large black door. "I'm not supposed to show you this", she said.

"In fact, my father doesn't even know that I have a key, I'm not supposed to ever go in here myself." Ayumi took out a big key and unlocked the door. Inside was the most magnificent, enormous collection of ancient Japanese weaponry. Hundreds of swords, knives, throwing stars etc. were present. Karurosa was like a kid in a candy store. He began grabbing stuff off the wall, pretending to slay dragons and ninjas. "Check this one out" said Ayumi. "It may be my favorite".

Holding a katana, Karurosa whirled around and clashed his katana with the one Ayumi was holding. Ayumi giggled, but Karurosa grew silent. For the katana Ayumi was holding was his father's katana, the one that was stolen that awful night! Just then the door to the showroom slammed closed. In front of it was Ayumi's older brother, Senzo.

"What the hell are you doing in here!" He growled. Ayumi looked terrified. Senzo grabbed her by the hair, tossed her outside, and closed the door. So there was Senzo and Karurosa, staring face to face with a gazillion deadly weapons surrounding them. Karurosa still held the katana, while Senzo had grabbed the one Ayumi was holding, the one that rightly belonged to Karurusa.

"I've called the police" said Senzo. "You've got about five minutes to get out of here or else you'll be arrested for breaking and entering. Your friends have already left, so you better too."

Karurosa put the katana back on the wall and left. Killing Senzo and stealing his katana probably wouldn't have been the smartest thing to do at the time, especially since Senzo most likely would have killed him rather quickly considering how drunk he was.

Karurosa did manage to get Ayumi's phone number though, and they started dating. He of course asked her where her father got all the weaponry from and she said he was simply a passionate collector with lots of money. Still though, Ayumi's reaction to Senzo that night left Karurosa wondering. Could Ayumi's father be involved in the ninja clan that had been terrorizing the Tokyo suburbs for so long? Was Senzo one of these ninjas?

After a few weeks of dating Ayumi, she invited him to her home for dinner with her parents. Ayumi had scared him by saying that his parents did not approve of her dating such a poor, "lower class" citizen. They had men in mind that she was supposed to be marry. Ayumi wanted to prove them wrong, to show how great Karurosa was. Karurosa knew that this might be his only chance to steal back his family's katana. This time he would be sober. Now all he needed was a plan.

Although Ayumi had her key to the showroom taken away from her, luckily for Karurosa she had made two copies of the key and still had one left. This one she kept in her bedroom. Karurosa's plan was to excuse himself at some point and get Ayumi's key. He would then hurry to the showroom and steal the katana, which he would toss out the window nearby and pick up after leaving. Not a great plan, but he really couldn't think of anything better.

The night of the dinner he showed up at six PM. He parked his bike outside and knocked on the door. Ayumi's father Fumio Hasimoto greeted him at the door. Fumio was virtually the same size and build as Karurosa, tall and thick. He did not seem pleased to meet Karurosa and scorned at his old bicycle.

The dinner was not exactly going well. Fumio clearly did not approve of Karurosa. Between dinner and desert, Karurosa excused himself. Fortunately the nearest bathroom, the showroom and Ayumi's bedroom were all pretty close. He entered Ayumi's bedroom and quickly swiped the showroom key hidden in her desk draw. He ran to the showroom and unlocked the door. He was in and out within seconds. Then he went to the window and dropped the katana behind some bushes. He had been gone a while now though so he knew he would have to return the key to Ayumi's room later on.

He returned to the dinner. After desert was served, Ayumi and Karurosa went for a walk out back. The Hasimoto mansion grounds were stunning. A huge fountain was surrounded by an enormous number of bushes and bonsai trees. At the center of the fountain was a large dragon that spewed water out of its mouth.

Ayumi apologized for the way her father had treated Karurosa that night. She told him that she didn't care what her father thought of him. For the first time, she told Karurosa that she loved him and he told her he felt the same way. They embraced and Ayumi rested her head against Karurosa's chest. "What's this?" she said before reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out the showroom key. "What…what are you doing with this?"

"Uh oh" thought Karurosa. Karurosa really did love Ayumi. He decided to tell her the truth. He told her about the katana and the ninja terror attacks. He expected that her father had simply purchased them second hand and wasn't really behind the attacks. He was wrong.

Ayumi broke down crying. She knew about the attacks. In fact, she knew more than anyone else about these attacks except for the ninjas themselves. She explained in great detail what she knew. She believed there were a total of nine ninjas consisting of three families. There were three fathers and six sons. Her two brothers and father were part of this hideous ninja clan. Twenty years ago the three fathers had begun these attacks and they still continued to this day. Ayumi didn't know what to do, the police wouldn't help and her family would probably kill her if they even knew she knew.

Karurosa was shocked. He felt like grabbing his katana and killing Fumio right then and there. Karurosa knew he had to put a stop to this. If the police wouldn't do anything, he would. Karurosa left the Hasimoto grounds soon after these revelations, not before having to bow to Fumio one more time. And yes, he did leave with his katana.

Ayumi had done quite a bit of snooping and eavesdropping in her years. She knew where all the ninjas lived. Karurosa convinced her to provide him with this information. Over the next few weeks Karurosa planned and planned. He studied the lives of the ninjas and their abodes. The six ninjas not related to the Hasimotos lived in a total of three homes. One ninja father lived with his only ninja son, while another father lived with two sons. A third son lived on his own with his wife. Unlike Fumio, his wife Ema very much liked Karurosa. Karurosa had been invited back to the Hasimoto house for a Friday night dinner. This time both sons would be joining them.

Thursday night, the night before the dinner, Karurosa would strike at the ninjas. Karurosa killed all six ninjas that night. Most he killed in their sleep, stabbing them in the heart with his wakizashi sword, the same wakizashi that was knocked out of his hands by one of the ninjas many years ago. It was also the same wakizashi that Karurosa gave me the night of his death. Karurosa always wondered why the ninjas never took that wakizashi from him.

Only one ninja felt the sting of the katana. Karurosa had already killed five ninjas. He was in the final house, the one with just the father and son. The son was dead, and Karurosa made his way to the master bedroom. Karurosa was high on adrenaline and anger. Instead of sticking to his plan that had worked so well, he decided to treat this last ninja differently. Karurosa pulled out his katana, which had remained unsheathed throughout the night.

He approached the bed, holding the katana high above his head. When he reached the bed, he thrust the katana downward. The blade drove right through the ninja's abdomen. Karurosa was sure to push the katana all the way down, through the mattress and into the box spring. The ninja, of course, awoke. Karurosa placed his wakizashi to the throat of the ninja.

"Does this katana look familiar!" He screamed. He knew that the three fathers were the ones who had entered his home and brutalized his family. To a certain degree, Karurosa lost his childhood that night, he took up martial arts as a direct result and could never recall having pleasant dreams since.

Karurosa didn't really care what the ninja's answer was. He took the wakizashi and drove it through the ninja's eye socket.

The next day Karurosa showed up to dinner at the Hasimoto family mansion as if nothing had happened. He had absolutely no reason to believe that the Hasimotos would suspect he was behind all the ninja killings and he knew that eating dinner with them the next day would solidify his innocence in their eyes.

Fumio once again answered the door and brought him to the dining room. Already seated at the table were Fumio's two sons, Senzo and Juzo. Karurosa sat down in a chair between the two brothers and asked where Ayumi was. Fumio said that she'd be joining them shortly.

They ate some salad and then Fumio said that Ema was in the kitchen, cooking up some great roasted duck. Fumio went into the kitchen and brought out a large covered silver platter and placed it on the table, in front of Karurosa. "Do you like duck?" he said.

Karurosa did indeed like roasted duck, it was actually his favorite meal so he truthfully said "Yes."

"Good then" said Fumio, "Why don't you do us the honor of carving this duck. And with that, Fumio removed the cover to the platter. On the platter was the head of Ayumi. Now, in his martial arts studies, Karurosa was taught to be prepared for unexpected. Karurosa was a bit wary of sitting down to dinner with three ninjas after killing the six ninjas the night before so he was already on his toes.

When the cover was removed, Karurosa recoiled immediately and ran. The three ninjas probably weren't ready for such a quick reaction. Most men would have likely passed out at such a sight. The Hasimoto's chased Karurosa, wakizashis in hand. Karurosa headed towards the window where he had dropped the katana during his previous visit. The window was closed, but as Karurosa approached he flung a shuriken throwing star at it, breaking the glass. Karurosa dove feet first out the window and dropped about six feet to the ground. Behind one of the bushes was his katana, which he had placed there before knocking on the mansion door.

An instant after he picked up the katana, Juzo came flying headfirst out the window, wakizashi out in front of him. Juzo had no way of knowing though that he would be landing on a katana. It plunged through his chest and he was instantly killed. "Seven down, two to go", thought Karurosa.

Karurosa ran along the edge of the mansion and went back in through the front door. He knew if he left he would be killed at some point in the very near future. He slowly entered the dining area where Ayumi's head was still sitting on that platter. Now was not the time to grieve, not yet. Karurosa thought that the last two ninjas were probably better arming themselves. He ran towards the showroom, katana out in front of him. As he approached the showroom he saw that it was slightly ajar. He kicked the door open and there was Senzo. He was holding the same katana that Karurosa was holding when he first met him. This time Karurosa was drunk with rage though, not beer.

Karurosa attacked. Katanas clashed and sparked inside the showroom. Karurosa was much bigger than Senzo, but Senzo was quite fast. Karurosa backed Senzo towards the rear of the showroom. Karurosa knew he didn't have much time, that Fumio was somewhere close. The showroom wasn't very wide, only about seven feet, but it was very long. Near the rear of the showroom, up against one of the side walls was a large glass display case filled with smaller weaponry. Senzo was now backed all the way up against the hind wall. Karurosa stepped back, grabbed the side of this display chest, spun it out towards the center of the room and tipped it over right on Senzo. Senzo had nowhere to go. Glass and weaponry crashed down upon him. The top of the case hit the back wall and slid down crushing Senzo. Senzo was still alive but bleeding badly and pinned under the case. Karurosa jumped up onto the case, further crushing Senzo. He then thrust his katana down through the case and through Senzo's chest. Eight down, one to go.

Karurosa slowly made his way out of the showroom, blood dripping from his katana. Fumio may have heard that glass crashing, unless he was outside looking for Karurosa. The mansion was huge, so Fumio could be anywhere. Karurosa decided to make his way towards the window that he and Juzo had plunged through. He looked out the window and noticed that Juzo's body was gone! Footprints were leading from a pool of blood towards the fountain area. Karurosa jumped out the window and followed the prints. As he approached the fountain area he saw Fumio carrying Juzo's lifeless body.

Fumio's wakizashi appeared to be sheathed on his back. Karurosa had a katana. This was a mismatch, thought Karurosa. He made his way as close as possible to Fumio. Fumio probably figured that Karurosa had left the grounds.

Karurosa jumped from bush to bush until he was only about forty feet away from Fumio. Fumio had laid Juzo's body down at the foot of the fountain. The glorious dragon was still spewing crystal clear water. A full moon sprayed moonlight along the surface of the rippling water. The dragon's large red eyes seemed to know everything that had happened that night.

Fumio appeared to be praying over Jujo's body. Karurusa wouldn't get a better chance than this. He felt no trepidation or remorse for what he was about to do next. Karurosa charged at Fumio. Fumio, hearing Karurosa's pounding steps, turned and reached for his wakizashi but his eyes were filled with tears and he just wasn't quick enough. Karurosa sliced his katana down between Fumio's neck and shoulder. The katana drove almost to Fumio's heart. Fumio stumbled backward and fell into the fountain. His body drifted slowly towards the dragon head. Blood poured out of his neck and was sucked into the dragon fountain. Red water spewed from the dragon's mouth.

Karurosa watched as this blood water, spewing from the dragon head, became lighter and lighter in color. Eventually, the water was clear again. Karurosa made his way back into the house. He called the police and told them everything, including the six ninjas he had killed the night before. Technically he had committed murder, but the police would sooner make him Captain than arrest him, they were most grateful for what he had done. The government seized possession of the ninja's ill-gotten treasures and returned most of them to their rightful owners.

Karurosa was awarded the dojo in which the nine ninjas had trained. Ninjitsu would no longer be taught at that dojo, the primary goal would be to teach students how to defend themselves. Sensei Karurosa had done so much good for the citizens of Toyko and the surrounding suburbs. But he still felt an enormous amount of guilt over the death of Ayumi. He couldn't help but wonder if there was a better way to end the ninja terror. Not a day went by when he didn't see the head of Ayumi on that platter. And he never ate duck again.