China was nothing like I expected it to be. It was full of scam artists and people looking for a quick buck. The strain of day to day living threatened to distract me from my quest, but it taught me discipline, along with helping me make new friends. Every time that I saw Xiuying and Fangmei, I thought of Megumi and Tama, but when I tried to explain it to her, she was highly offended. It was just as well. I had never been very good at really telling people how I felt about them.

My quest led me into dangerous territory more often than not, eventually requiring me to befriend a notorious criminal named Ren. Only one year older than myself, he was years ahead of me in street experience. He was also greedy and impatient, which made our friendship rather tenuous at times.

I butted heads with an old nemesis of his, Dou Niu. The resulting fight ended with Ren and myself being handcuffed together and thrown into a cell. The next three days were trying, to say the least. I spent a lot of time meditating, to maintain my focus, but also to block out his whining. At last, we worked out a plan to escape, which was foiled when we took a wrong turn and ended up on the roof of the building that we were trying to leave.

We spent that night under the stars, and I opened up to him, a little. The release of my heart was not something that I took lightly, and I was cautious concerning how much I told him. He listened, barely, and we slept chained together.

The next day, I awoke to Ren's hand brushing my shoulder. It brought back memories of that night, so long ago.

So long ago…what if he had forgotten all about me?

I couldn't stand to think in that vein. I woke Ren, and we made our escape good.

A few days later, I was listening to wiretapped conversations, still looking for clues. They were few and far between, and I was willing to take any leads. One tape of sixteen proved fruitful, and we were onto the next target.

Later that evening, I finished listening to the tape, paying careful attention to the final conversation. A new friend of mine, Joy, had made a long distance call to Japan, and the call had been intercepted. I listened, somewhat enviously, as she spoke with Gui Zhang. He was just as stern with her as he had always been with me. The sound of his voice triggered so many memories, good and bad. I missed him so much.

"I met a really interesting guy. He's Japanese."

His voice slowed perceptibly. "Interesting Japanese guy?" Apparently they weren't too common in Kowloon.

"Yeah. He's real serious. Like a samurai."

His voice caught; his breath sounded forced. "A samurai?…"

The phone went silent for several seconds before Joy inquired as to his change in mood. He answered slowly. "It's…nothing." A sigh, and he went on. "I…knew someone like that. Once."

"Really?" Her voice was growing eager. "What was he like?"

"Uh…" He stammered, buying time. "I'm sorry, Joy, someone just walked in. I have to go."

The conversation was clearly at an end, and after sending salutations to Master Yobun Chen, Joy hung up.

I pressed "stop", and stared at my folded hands for some time. There was still feeling there. There was still hope.

That hope, combined with all the rest of the encouragement that I had received, strengthened me. I would keep my promises, and return to those who were waiting for me.

Every one of them.