Akunin and Narazu collapsed in a heap near a tree.  They had 
forgotten how long they had been running.  About the only thing they 
were sure about was that they had lost those battlemadiens.  Where 
they had run to, however, was well beyond them.  It was wooded, fairly 
cold, and far from civilization.  They figured they could do worse.
	"So, do you want to find out where we are first, or decide where
we should go next first?" Akunin asked once he caught his breath.
	"I think... we should find out where this is... first," Narazu 
said in ragged huffs.
	"Alright, so we go find out where we are," Akunin said, getting 
to his feet. "Head down the road till we find a town?"
	"Sounds good, but at a walking pace please," Narazu said.

	After about another half day of walking they arrived at a small 
hamlet.  It had a total of twelve buildings that they could see, one 
that was obviously the heitman's house.  The heitman's house was the 
only building that looked sturdy.  The remaining buildings were simple 
huts with one room.
	"Looks a little insignifigant, don't it?" Narazu said.
	"Oh well, at least they'll know where we are.  No sense getting 
out of shape about it. At least has shelter," Akunin said, "And we can 
get some food and drink."
	Akunin approached the rice paddies where the peasants were 
working.  "Greetings, we are two ronin and we are lost.  We would be 
most appretiative if you could tell us where we are."  The peasants 
turned and looked at him with equal parts dread and surprise.
	"Akunin, I think we aren't supposed to be here," Narazu 
whispered.
	"Excuse us.  Sirs, um.  How have you come to, um, our village,"
one of the peasants asked hesitantly.
	"So where exactly are we?"
	"Um, Mura, um, Hanashi.  We're a farming village."
	"In the middle of the forest.  Nowhere near any major centers,"
Narazu said dryly.
	"Yeah."
	"Can I kill him, Akunin? He seems to be less than cooperative," 
Narazu whispered.
	"No," Akunin said, "Peasant..."
	"Kaite," the peasant interjected.
	"What?"
	"My name is Kaite," Kaite smiled.
	"Okay, Kaite, what are you up to?"
	"I'm not up to anything," Kaite said innocently.
	"I hate people like this.  Listen, we know you're hiding 
something so tell us what it is!" Narazu yelled.  At the same time, 
Akunin noticed that Kaite looked off past the heitman's house.
	"We'll go see the heitman," Akunin said nonchalantly.
	"Okay.  Wait!  No!  You don't want to do that!" Kaite said, 
stumbling after them, "He's a busy man."
	"Really?  I think he could make time for two samurai in his 
busy schedule," Akunin said and continued to march to the heitman's 
house.  The peasants suddenly started scurring to and fro in a flurry 
of
activity.
	Narazu opened the house's door and, stepping in, found the entry
room empty.
	"Three doors," Narazu glanced back.
	"Let us try the closest one," Akunin stated as he opened the 
door. "There is a girl in here."
	The room contained a young woman dressed all in white sitting
near the center of the room and looking very forlorn.
	"Excuse me, could you tell us where we are?" Narazu asked.  
	The girl looked up suddenly and looked about to say something
when her face paled.  Akunin and Narazu turned to see what was behind
them, finding a group of samurai in orange armour.  "This is bad."
	A man stepped forward, "Yes, this is bad.  Who sent you here?"
	"By the Fortunes!  I must be cursed!" Akunin swore. "No one 
sent us! We are simply lost."
	"It doesn't really matter.  Your fate is the same either way," 
the man said, pushing in a panel in the door. "Good-bye."
	A panel opened up underneath of them and Akunin, Narazu and
the girl fell.

	"Oh shit, that hurt," Narazu said, groping to his feet in the 
darkness. "Akunin?  You there?"
	"Yes, so is the girl.  Close your eyes; I'm going to get us 
some light," Akunin replied, then drew his sword and enshrouded it in 
flame.  The light revealed that the three of them were at the bottom 
of a long chute which opened into a crude cavern.  "Nowhere to go but 
forward.  Unless you know something we do not," Akunin said to the 
girl.
	She stared at him afraid and then slowly replied, "There is a 
demon down here.  The village was founded to make sure it stayed here.
I was to be a sacrifice to keep it appeased."
	Narazu looked angry at this and stooped down to look at her.
"What's your name?"
	"Ayane."
	"Hmm, Akunin, I don't like this demon sacrifice thing.  We 
should do something about it."
	"Fate always tries to get in my way," Akunin mumbled. "We are 
going to have to - we got made part of that sacrifice too, in case you 
are not aware."
	Narazu said a quick prayer to Osano-wo.  "This is just what I 
need.  Hey, Ayane-san - what sort of demon is this?"
	"It is said to be very alluring and vain.  That is why I was 
to be sacrificed - every fifty years the prettiest girl in the village 
is sacrificed to it."
	"I like it even less," Narazu said angrily.
	"The demon also is said to be able to rend a man limb from limb
with its serated claws.  That is all I know," Ayane finished sullenly.
	Narazu gnashed his teeth.  Akunin began to head down the hall 
calmly with his sword held loosely at his side.  "Aren't you worried?" 
Ayane asked as she fell in behind them.
	"The only way to get out of this is to go forward.  So we go 
forward.  Death from fighting an oni is better than death from
starvation," Akunin said coldly.
	The passage continued for what seemed like an eternity then 
began to grow damp.  Water drivlets trickled down the side of the wall 
which had grown a milky white coating of limestone.
	"There *is* an oni, right?" Narazu asked Ayane.  "People don't
just get shoved down here and stumble around in the darkness until they
die?"
	"We can hear its howls down in the village every so often," 
Ayane replied.
	"This is so boring," Narazu said.  As if in response, a beastial
roar echoed down through the passage moments afterward, a mist started
to rise.  "I guess it heard."

	The passage was suddenly filled with swirling of light which
disoriented Narazu.  He grabed someone's hand and started to run.
Eventualy the mist dissipated, revealing a cavern wall that was lined
with moss which lit up the area with an errie greenish-blue glow.  It
was still dark but at least he could see.  Narazu remembered the hand 
he
held and turned to see whose it was and saw Ayane.  "Oh, it's you.  For
a second I was worried," Narazu said, exasperated.
	"Thank you for not leaving me behind," Ayane said, bowing.
	"Hmm, this doesn't look good. Akunin generaly deals with most of
the oni-slaying.  Well, let's keep going and hope he finds the oni 
first."

	Akunin swong his sword in an intricate kata, letting the fire 
from the sword burn off the mist.  "That idiot seems to have headed out
by himself.  Convenient that the passage widens and separates just as
that mist appeared."  Akunin looked at the three passages that the 
cavern opened into and sighed.  He began to look for any signs of 
recent
passage and found that two trails went one way and another down a
different route.  Akunin thought to himself that Narazu seemed rather
protective of this Ayane girl so he most likely fleed with her while 
the
oni that had obviously formed the mist had left the other tracks.  The 
fact that there were no tracks for the oni entering from one of the
passages was no comfort.  So, Akunin went down the remaining passage.

	Narazu stumbled into a large room a pile of bones was to his 
left.  "Do you think those are all human bones?" Ayane asked.
	"No, most look to be tanuki and deer.  Though I'm sure some 
human remains are in there," Narazu whispered.  He began to stalk 
forward, looking about the room.  There was another enterance to the 
room, and a large mound was to the rear.  There was no sign of the oni. 
"Let's see if there is anything interesting in here."
	Narazu soon found a large chest.  He pulled out his knife and
pried open the lock.  "This is odd.  Its full of clothing, make-up and
such not.  Not what I'd expect from an oni," Narazu said.
	"No it isn't, is it?" a voice said from the darkness.
	"Ayane, that's not you is it."
	"No," Ayane said meekly.
	The glow in the room flared brightly revealing the oni.  It 
appeared as a beautiful woman, clad in an ecsquite kimono.  The only 
sign it was inhuman was its two green glowing eyes.  "I wish you 
wouldn't go through my things.  For punishment I shall make you my 
slave, and your friend shall be my food," the oni said calmly.
	"I don't think so lady," Narazu said, rushing at the oni.  The 
oni reached into a pouch in its obi and tossed some powder at him.  
Narazu stumbled back as the oni laughed.

	Akunin approached a room and, hearing voices, killed the flame 
on his katana.  "That's it, string her up!  I shall eat well soon!" one 
voice exalted.
	"Yes, mistress," Another voice groveled.  Akunin could hear 
another voice wailing in the background.  He closed in to get a look 
into the room.   He saw Narazu in the back with something and an 
unknown
woman ordering him around.
	With a swift motion Akunin leaped out and sliced into the woman.
A swirl of magic filled the air and Narazu slumped to the ground.  The
woman's form began to distort and stretch. She let loose a piercing
shriek and then her form was rendered to shreds, the oni's true form
revealing itself.  The oni appeared to be a tall lithe and femmine 
form,
6-inch long talons came out of its finger tips.  Its head had three 
sets
of glowing eyes, with a rack of deer-like horns protruding from its
head. Beyond that it seemed featureless.
	"Blast you!" came a ringing in Akunin's head, "You have pierced
my magic!"  The oni swiped at him, poison dripping from the claws.
Akunin quickly cleaved the offending hand off.  The oni screamed in 
rage, renewing its attack with its remaining hand.  Akunin ducked the
attack and in two strikes cut open its midsection, then its arm.  The
oni lurched backwards, staring at Akunin in fear.
	Akunin cleaved the oni in half.  "Time to go back to Jigoku."  
The oni's scream echoed through the caves as it disolved into a pillar 
of light.  "I hate it when they die like that."
	"Um, Akunin-sama? Is Narazu-san alright?" Ayane asked from where
she was tied up.
	"I think so.  I will untie you before I check though," Akunin 
said, walking over to her, "I want you to look around the room for a 
way
out. the oni needed some sort of way out so she could feed."  Ayane 
scurried off to do as she was told as Akunin went over to take a look 
at Narazu.  "You okay?"
	"Mostly. That she-devil cast a spell on me."
	"I noticed.  Let us hope we will find a way out soon."
	Ayane pulled on a stone and an opening appeared, "I think I 
found something," Ayane yelled back.  The three of them left through 
the den and entered into a vast forest.  "Isawa mori," Ayane said with 
wonder.
	"What?" asked Narazu.  "Are you saying that we're in Phoenix 
lands?"
	"I would say we have for a fair bit.  That would at the very 
least explain those villagers," Akunin said. "The Phoenix like to set 
up
villages around dangerous things to make sure no one uses them."
	"Doesn't that seem kind of stupid?" Narazu said, perplexed.
	"Scholars tend to have the worst understanding of people.  
People are a chaotic variable, hard to account for," Akunin said. 
"That,
and they forget to eat, but I generally do not hold that against them."

	They began to try and find a way out of the forest, wandering in
a seemingly aimless fashion for several hours before it began to grow
dark and they were forced to stop.  Akunin headed out to find some food
while Narazu and Ayane set up camp.
	"This is the first time I've been away from my village," Ayane 
said, handing Narazu some kindling.
	"Really?  That is a shame, you've never seen the ocean.  I 
can't imagine it," Narazu said.  "Ha!  There we go!  The fire's up."
	"Great!" Ayane beamed as she sat down and stared at it.
	Narazu sat back and started doing inventory of his equipment: 
six aiguchi weighted for throwing, two more weighted for melee, a pair 
of tonfa, and his furoshiki sack, which contained 270 koku, a set of
sake cups, and a spining top.  "Time to get out of this blasted robe,"
Narazu said, throwing the heavy robe his wore over a tree branch.  He
stretched and adjusted the straps of the armour that he wore 
underneath.
"Ah, this feels much better."
	"Narazu-san, you were wearing armour this whole time!" Ayane 
said in astonishment.
	"Yeah, never did like taking it off.  After I went ronin I just
started wearing the robes to hide it.  The lads on the boats used to 
get
quite a chuckle out of it."
	"Boats?  Were you a sailor?"
	"What?  No, I was a mercenary commander in the Mantis armies. 
I used to be on boats when I was heading here and there to do a job."
	"So how did you meet Akunin?  He doen't strike me as much of a 
Mantis."
	"True.  As I understand it, at one point he was a Scorpion, but 
that was well before I met him.  Actually, he's the reason I went 
ronin.
Me and my unit-there was about fifteen of us at the time- were sent out
to kill this bandit operation.  Akunin was there when we got there.
Whether he had eliminated them as competition or if they had just 
gotten in his way I don't know, but he had just finished killing them when
we arrived.  We pulled our weapons on him and ordered him to surrender.
Akunin, of course, responded by attacking us.
	"I can't remember many of the specifics, but the two of us ended
up fighting one-on-one.  He said he'd let my men go if I could beat him.
Halfway through the fight I ordered my men to retreat.  They got away 
and Akunin spared my life after beating me within an inch of it.  I 
became a ronin for failing my mission and have been traveling with him 
ever since.  I'm not sure why he keeps me around, though.  And that, as 
they say, 'is my story.'  Not all that impressive, eh?"
	Ayane was staring at him teary eyed.
	"Hey now!  Don't start that!"

	Akunin picked his way through the forest, following some tracks.  
	*Thwack*
	An arrow had imbeded itself just in front of his face.  "Whoever
you are, you missed," Akunin said.
	A figure appeared from the trees, a diakyu grasped firmly in its
hands.  "Akunin!  You are under arrest for murder, extortion, banditry,
and numerous other offenses to the Emperor's law!"  Three other figures
appeared on horseback.
	"Ah, the Utaku.  A pleasure, ladies.  I am unfortunately
short on food but if you wish I am certain something can be made
up," Akunin said, completely disregarding the threat.  "You would
not, by chance, have some food would you?"
	The archer seamed angered at this, "I am Utaku Ketsu, a 
magistrate of the Empire!  I shall not be mocked by some ronin 
has-been!" she exclaimed.
	In a flash Akunin closed the distance between them and had 
pinned her against a tree with his sword at her throat.  "I am not a 
has-been, you little whore!" Akunin said angrily.
	"When did you--?" Ketsu said, dazed.  The other magistrates 
looked shocked and readied their yari.
	"Drop your food and leave.  Then I will let her go," Akunin 
threatened.  The magistrates steadied their yari, awaiting their 
orders.  Akunin growled irritatedly.  The battlemaidens charged him.  
Akunin tossed Ketsu to the side, waited for the three to reach him and 
in a whirl of motion set his blade loose.  The three women fell from 
their horses, the straps of thier saddles cut.  Upon rising they 
discovered that those were not the only straps cut.
	"I am taking your food from your packs.  I will leave you some.
Have fun traveling to the nearest village naked.  I wish I could see
your arrival," Akunin said over his shoulder as he left, laughing.

	"I just met some friends of ours, and they were kind enough to
give me some of their food," Akunin said upon his arrival at the camp.
"Sadly, I doubt they will come to join us."
	"Why couldn't they make it?" Ayane asked innocently.  Akunin and
Narazu stared at each other, then fell into laughter and could not stop
for several minutes.