Odawara Castle: This is a picture of me and Ken standing in front of Odawara castle. The castle was torn down during the Meiji Era (1867-1910). In 1967, the Mayor of Odawara appropriated funds to rebuild the castle, which is now a zoo/museum. Inside, you'll find all kinds of interesting weapons, armor, and other relics from Japan's past.

Operation Enduring Freedom: I took this picture during the early part of the War on Terrorism. My ship, the USS O'Brien, launched several Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles at Taliban and Al Quaeda strongholds in Afghanistan.

The Aircraft Carrier, USS Carl Vincent: This photo was also taken during Enduring Freedom. The USS Carl Vincent was undergoing Replenishment at Sea (RAS) at the same time my ship was. RAS allows US and allied warships to remain at sea indefinitely.

My Hometown: This is a picture of the house I grew up in. Right now, I live in Yokosuka, Japan, and my parents are still living at that house.

Yours Truly:  This is a somewhat better picture of myself, taken in the Daibutsu temple garden in Kamakura, Japan.

Prologue

Chapter One

Character and concept sketches:

Captain Mitaki Tagalima:  Capt. Tagalima is the great-granddaughter of Captain Kakiro Tagalima, who made first open contact with the Terran race.  Possessing both high intelligence and good looks, she is popular among Jarofan and Terran starfighter pilots attached to Star base Jarofu One.  Many of her admirers keep their distance, due to the fact that she is also a martial arts expert, and takes extreme exception to unwanted violations of her personal space.

Reiteki na Sensou and Other Random Schtuff.

Hikaro Takayama: Hikaro is the hero of my manga, Reitekina Senso (The Supernatural War). Hikaro was the son of Takayama City's feudal lord. One day, while Hikaro and his friend, Kenji, were away on a training mission, 400 orcs from a local mountain tribe sacked the city, killing every person there. The battle lasted through the night, until about an hour before dawn. Since orcs hate daylight, the chieftain appointed 50 warriors to guard the loot, while the rest escaped to their mountain caves.  When Hikaro and Kanji returned that day to find the city destroyed, and their families killed, they slaughtered all 50 orcish guards in less than 50 seconds. After they took care of the dead, and heaped the heads of the orcs outside the ruined gate, Kenji and Hikaro became ronin and swore to hunt down the orc chieftain that destroyed their city.

Kenji Shumitto:   Kenji was the son of the General of Takayama City's defense force.  He is also a long-time childhood friend of Hikaro, and shares many of the same adventures.

Fukiro Ohbora:  Fukiro is a Tengu, and the last surviving member of the Ohbora monster slaying clan. He currently is a member of the famous, and honorable ronin group called the Rokunin Zoku.

Nobuhiro:   Nobuhiro is Hikaro's guardian angel, and has rescued him from the brink of death several times.

Sakura Tanaka:   Sakura Tanaka is the orphaned daughter of the feudal lord of Kaneka. When her parents were killed, she was only 6 years old. She ended up wandering the wilds for about two or three months before she was adopted by a wolf pack. After living with the wolves for three years, trackers from the Arashi Ninja-tai discovered her while trying to find the wolves that had been raiding their livestock. Fortunately, the ninjas were able to convince the semi-feral girl to join them, and within 6 years, her superb fighting skills and reflexes enabled her to rise to the rank of master ninja. When the old master retired, he appointed Sakura as the new leader of the Arashi clan. The other ninjas welcomed the appointment of the popular girl as their leader, and gave her the codename of "Inazuma" (lightning). Her wolf pack remains in the forests outside the hidden village, helping to protect it, in exchange for the leftover food and giblets that the villagers feed them.

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