Imprisonment will cool even the hottest tempers. In her barren cell at the border station between Lancester and Braighden, orange light of sunset breaking through the window slats, Nina sat silent and unmoving. Her rage at being thwarted had turned to apathetic acceptance in the hours since her arrest. The guards informed her the authorities from the capitol would arrive to take her away in the morning. During processing, they stripped her of her varied ninja tools; her grapples, knives, and throwing stars, and locked them away in the other room. Escaping and retrieving them would be no consequence for a Nijikana, but Nina made no such attempt.

More than their stealth or lethality, ninjas were defined by their pride. She'd failed her mission. She'd lost the handbook and now their clan secrets would be revealed to the entire world. In Nina's mind, her failure dishonored her as Nijikana, left her unworthy of the name. Taking her own life was the only course of action she considered.

Traditionally, a Ninja should plunge the chisel tip of her dagger into their own throat. But she would have to make do with hanging herself with her clothes.

As she prepared to slink out of her cuffs and do the deed, the door to the holding cells opened. Nina resumed her defeated posture and looked without interest at her visitors. If she weren't humiliated enough, they were Boyko and Sanna.

"Hello again stranger," said Boyko.

The ninja shot them a glare as sharp as her knives.

"Now don't give us that look," said Sanna. "You're a mercenary too. Appreciate the position we were in. Enchanted swords don't come cheap you know." She patted the sheathed Dolphin Arc on her hip.

Nina turned away from them and said, "Go away. You've caused me enough grief. My only consolation is that my clan will hunt you down for this... humiliation."

"Grim lass, isn't she?" asked Boyko, "And when we brought her a gift."

Nina's eyebrow lifted, her curiosity piqued. From a bag on his shoulder, the sellsword withdrew the Nijikana handbook manuscript and dropped it into her cell. She fell to her knees and picked up the book, despite her shackles. With a few page flips, she verified its authenticity.

"How? Iblo took this to Lancester, to the printers. You brought him there yourself."

"And he paid us for a job well done," Sanna explained. "But we pulled off one last bit of misdirection before we parted ways."

"I switched the manuscript with a cheap novel I bought off one of the guards here," said Boyko. "By the time Iblo figured it out, we were long gone."

Holding the handbook hit Nina with a tidal wave of emotions, none of which she showed. Relief, restored pride, gratitude, and a little professional envy for not thinking of such a simple scheme. All the work getting the elders to assign her to this mission had paid off. She would not be a disgrace after all.

"I..." the usually silent ninja struggled for words. "Thank you."

"Well you just tell the other Nijikana Boyko and Sanna Briars were the ones who helped you get your handbook back," He said pointing at the young shinobi. "We're going to need the goodwill once Mr. Iblo spreads around how we screwed him."

"Boyko!" Sanna slapped him across the head. "Now's not the time to be angling for new jobs."

"I could have told you the same thing a minute ago when you were acting like we were the victims in all this!"

Both of them sighed in annoyance at the other before folding their arms and looking away. But the argument soon faded and they exchanged loving smiles.

Nina rose, her shackles falling away. "Fear not, I will tell my clan of your service to us. The debt won't remain long. Now, you should go before I make my escape."

"One last thing," asked Boyko. "Could you tell us your name?"

The ninja blushed at the unexpected question. "My name is Ayeki."

She pulled up her facemask and the sellswords bid Ayeki goodbye. Moments after they left, her cell was empty and her locked up cache of weapons vanished. The border station agents wouldn't notice until the next morning.

Boyko and Sanna, for their part, headed back up the highway to Braighden. Both determined it best to put some distance between themselves and Mr. Iblo's company for the time being. But with the publisher's cash in their wallets and the threat of ninja assassination no longer hovering over them, the couple was in high spirits.

"So much for easy money, eh?" said Boyko.

"I get it," said Sanna, "Ask for more details and be more cautious about jobs in the future. At least we're one more payment down on these babies."

She patted the Dolphin Arc again.

"What were you thinking about for the next job anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know. Someone told me about an expedition heading north to explore the lands beyond the glacial winds that was hiring soldiers. How do you feel about fighting Gilazahl the Walking Blizzard?"

Boyko shot her a grimace of pure disbelief.

"You can't be serious."

"What, I thought you didn't want to take easy money anymore?"

Sanna smirked and her husband shook his head, wishing once more that he had gone home and become a carpenter.