Get ready to fight!It's Battle Month for the thirteen ancient ninja clans. A tournament where students represent their skill must prove themselves and their skills in the Ninjutsu Art. What happens when six new students have to compete and represent their own clan? Will the team known as Sector 7 be able to perform, or will the nerves of competition get the better of them?Get ready to fight, Sector 7!It's Battle Month for the thirteen shinobi clans spread across Shaaku Den. A tournament where students represent their skill must prove themselves and their skills in the Ninjutsu Art.The Kitsune Clan enters into the tournament, led by the second-in-command Akira Miyamoto, who grudgingly brings along Sector 7. Not only is Sector 7 one person short of a complete team, but five out of the six members are new students and ranked as fresh meat.Can the members of Sector 7 survive the tournament? Or will the nerves of competition and other shortcomings keep them from victory?

May 1564: When a samurai is brutally murdered in a Kyoto teahouse, master ninja Hiro has no desire to get involved. But the beautiful entertainer accused of the crime enlists the help of Father Mateo, the Portuguese Jesuit Hiro is sworn to protect, leaving the master shinobi with just three days to find the killer in order to save the girl and the priest from execution. The investigation plunges Hiro and Father Mateo into the dangerous waters of Kyoto’s floating world, where they learn that everyone from the elusive teahouse owner to the dead man’s dishonored brother has a motive to keep the samurai’s death a mystery. A rare murder weapon favored by ninja assassins, a female samurai warrior, and a hidden affair leave Hiro with too many suspects and far too little time. Worse, the ninja’s investigation uncovers a host of secrets that threaten not only Father Mateo and the teahouse, but the very future of Japan. Debut author Susan Spann delivers a riveting mystery filled with rich period detail and a fine sense of Japanese culture. Claws of the Cat boasts a detective like no other and a world never seen before in crime fiction.**

MM - BDSM - Will love be sacrificed when duty and honor rule all? The life of a shinobi is, at its best, a selfless devotion to duty. In modern day Japan, the ninja legends live on in a grim saga of political maneuverings, betrayal, sexual abuse, torture and homoeroticism. The Shinobi clans lurk in the shadows, performing services that not even the hardened Yakuza will touch. Takahashi Yoshi fulfills his duty with soul-stripping resolve, each assignment driving a nail into a coffin of lost faith. After years of sexual abuse and torture in the name of clan honor, Yoshi must learn to trust, but the man who offers him hope is himself flawed. Sasaki Makoto has spent a career in torture and interrogation, exploring not only the dark secrets of his clan's enemies, but also the darkness within his own heart. How far must Yoshi run to escape his shame and torment? And what price freedom when fear and self-loathing threaten to upend the hard fought struggle to find meaning and safety in a world fraught with danger. Yoshi seeks time and space, only to find himself once more at the mercy of power mongers and despots. When Makoto finds him, Yoshi is broken in more than body. Near death, his spirit recedes to find safety within, locking out all who care. They say time will heal but the path to acceptance is never easy, the roadblocks many, and none will emerge unscathed as Yoshi embarks on a struggle for balance.

Rileigh is ready to celebrate. Things have been quiet (as quiet as life can be for a reincarnated samurai), she's graduating high school, and her boyfriend, Kim, has finally regained his lost memories. But the urge to celebrate is short-lived when she realizes that if Kim can remember, chances are her (im)mortal enemy, Sumi, can remember as well. Sure enough, it's not long before the reincarnated ninja attacks Rileigh and her friends. But in the aftermath of the fight, Rileigh discovers that Sumi has performed an ancient ritual that allows her to switch bodies with Rileigh...and it's draining her ki. Hunted by the Network (who believe Rileigh is Sumi), Rileigh must track the vengeful ninja down before her own powers completely vanish.