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WHAT HAPPENED NEXT was destined to go down in history as one of the wildest and most violent battles in the history of the Robojama server. When Hideki and I came back out from the building we found ourselves surrounded by no less than fifty members of the Yin Clan. They were arrayed in a battle formation that was shaped into a crescent around the entrance of the restaurant, effectively blocking any means of escape that we might have had. Each one stood silently, with their katanas drawn, staring fiercely at us. This time, there had been no traps laid to impede us from battle. The message was clear, they intended to kill us.
Neither I nor Hideki had time to speak up. We simply prepared for battle.
The first wave of Yin ninjas was on us in a torrent. I and my companion responded in exactly the same. Rather than reach for our swords, we grabbed the shurikens stored in our belts and let them fly through the air. The tiny blades cut through the air with that familiar whistling sound and into the bodies of the oncoming ninjas! I was now grateful that I had taken the time to master this skill, and I watched with satisfaction as several ninjas fell to the ground dead. But there was no time for reveling in this feat, as the rest of the enemy soldiers fell upon us. I barely had time to pull out my razor sharp katana before the first man brought his sword down towards my neck.
CRASH!!
Our swords collided in a shower of sparks. I deftly stepped to the left and arced my blade underneath his, cutting him in half at the waist. Another enemy had fallen. Two more stepped up to take his place, and I dispatched them with one violent, graceful slash of my sword. Behind me, I could hear Hideki fighting also. He was wielding his sword with terrifying grace and skill, killing any Yin ninja foolish enough to approach. And yet, they were still charging forward!
They swept over us like water flows over rocks. Despite our valiant efforts to hold them off, it felt as if there was a never-ending supply of them. Finally, I heard Hideki's voice call out to me.
“Raz! Let's get back inside the building!”
I did as I was ordered, moving back into the restaurant while viciously swinging my sword at our attackers. It seemed to make sense to try and bring the fight indoors since it would force our enemy into a bottleneck at the entrance, where their numbers would count for nothing. The strategy worked, at first. But slowly, the sheer volume of attackers pushed us back from the door and they rushed inside. The room descended into a chaos of crashing tables, swinging swords, and angry ninjas.
The battle continued for quite some time, but as it progressed the outcome became more and more apparent. There were simply too many of them. And try as we might, for every man we cut down, there were two more to step in and fill his place. In a straightforward sword fighting contest, Hideki and I were superior, but finally, the ninjas of the Yin Clan just swarmed over us and dragged us to the floor, kicking and screaming.
But it was no use. Hideki and I had been captured and were now at the mercy of our enemies.