"Captain Han. Kill them, all of them." King Hinaba said coldly.

Lo Bao didn't immediately move. A few of his men stepped forward and then there was an explosion of movement. The assassin the Ronin had brought in shifted in form, which allowed the man to escape his bindings. A Shrine Maiden, who had for some reason unknown to him come in alongside the Ronin, produced several knives and started throwing. The Ronin themselves seemed just as surprised as the King, but lacked the urge to help the monarch that had just told his men to kill them. It all happened so fast and yet Lo Bao seemed to understand immediately. The assassination of the King's cousin had been a set up. A ploy to get someone hired to take the assassin in and stand before the King himself. It was a clever ploy. It wouldn't have worked. However, the greatest asset the assassins had was the King himself. His order of killing the Ronin he had hired made said Ronin more likely to help the assassins instead of serving their monarch, drastically giving them the advantage. They would still fail, because of King Hinaba's guards.

"Hold!" The word that doomed him left Lo Bao's lips, sealing his fate. His men paused in confusion, one decided to ignore the order and help his king. He was a good man, Lo Bao would not hold his loyalty against him. That moment in hesitation gave one of the assassins time to drive a dagger into King Hinaba's gut, but the King himself was a worthy combatant and gave as good as he got.

"Bao?" The King hissed.

Lo Bao watched his King, truly frozen in indecision. It was a conflict of loyalties. Lo Bao had pledged his life to King and Country. That had been easier in the old days back when King Hinaba was known as Wise King Hinaba or Good King Hinaba. The man had changed after the death of his wife. Now Lo Bao served Mad King Hinaba. To serve his King he should sally forth and cut down the Ronin, dooming his country. To serve his country he should sally forth and cut down his King. As such, Lo Bao did nothing. Whichever side won this fight, he would not be going home tonight. With that single word, he was a deadman.

Another two of his men stopped looking at him and joined in on the fray, putting themselves between their King and a truly massive man. One of the assassins lay dead at King Hinaba's feet. Movement off to the side caught his attention. Prince Hinaba, the younger spitting image of his father, watched the fight with calm quiet concentration. He did nothing to help, but his presence alone was helpful. It allowed Lo Bao to give an order that both made sense and wouldn't aid the Mad King. "Protect the Prince!" He bellowed.

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Kotua would make a good King. That decided it. If for some reason the assassins and Ronin failed to kill the Mad King, then Lo Bao would do it himself. He was already a dead man and as suddenly as it started, it was over. The King tripped over the lifeless body of an assassin. An axe took him in the throat, blood spraying outward in pulses as his heart beat.

"Enough!" Shouted the Prince.

For a brief moment fear shot through Lo Bao, the Prince's voice so similar to his father's that it seemed the dead King would stand back up. Kotua pushed his guards away as nearly everyone froze. Both assassins were dead, one of the Ronin clutching the corpse of the Shrine Maiden in their trembling hands, a palace guard pushed themselves back onto their feet. The Prince stepped over his father and reached down, he didn't take his crown, or his sword. Instead he picked up a small mundane locket that had fallen to the floor, its chain cut with the King's throat. Kotua stood straight and glared at the room's still living occupants.

"It's too bad the guard showed up a full ten minutes after the King was murdered."

The Ronin stared at him, realization that he was giving them time to run, dawning just as another voice distrusted the eerie silence. The big one tore his comrade away from the dead Shrine Maiden as the Princess dropped to her father's cooling body screaming at her brother to kill them. The younger princess Junko. The elder daughter Noa had walked out the palace gates over a year ago and had never been seen again.

"Tomo, you are to give chase in nine and a half minutes."

"Yes Omo." The man in question adjusted his position so he could watch the mechanical clock that stood at the far corner of the Throne room.

Kotua stared down at his sobbing half sister. The eight year old girl was the only person her father treated with kindness these days. Only an innocent child could find the death of the King a tragedy.

"Someone find her mother. And get me a chair, I do not wish to touch that." Kotua said glaring at the Throne. "Captain Han."

Lo Bao bowed his head. "Yes Omo." This was it. He would now be punished for his failure.

"You have failed in your duty to protect your King. There is no redemption in life."

"Yes Omo. If you allow it, I will go to the dungeon and perform my final duty."

"Not the dungeon. The garden. Full rights. Thank you for your service to our country."

Lo Bao bowed. "Thank you, Omo."