Koji Hatanaka limped down the road between Jota, once the capital of the Empire of Keji, and Yonamura a market town straddling a mountain pass. One of his hands resting on his sword, while the other holding his wounded stomach. But his wounds weren't his biggest problem, his biggest problem was trailing five feet behind him. Rei Kasanagi had found him laying in a pool of his own blood two days ago. Luckily she was on her way back from picking herbs and fresh plants for her healing remedies. She patched him up and now wanted to travel with him but Koji had a strict policy of no partners, okay it really wasn't a policy but he didn't want her tagging along. He was out looking for trouble and she would only get in the way. " Please" she said again.
Koji turned and stopped. With the sunlight on her soft skin, her large perky chest pressing against her blue kimono, a very nice face, maybe she could be useful. " Well" he said.
Rei promptly slapped him, " I know what you were thinking" she said, " I will not."
Koji scowled, " Then take off" he said.
" No" said Rei, " you are out looking for trouble, and I want to find it. I can't live my life in that town, I want to see the rest of this land that I have read so much about. Please Koji, I don't eat much, I won't get in the way."
" Can you fight?" he asked sternly.
Rei stopped for a moment, " I've never tried" she said.
" I have no use for someone who can't fight" he said.
" You fight, I can patch you up" said Rei, motioning to the several bandages peeking out from around his kimono.
Koji shook his head, " It is a tough world out there, I don't need a big pair of tits to get me in anymore trouble, go home and make some rich man a happy wife" he said.
Koji walked away now confident he had told her off once and for all. He cross a small wooden bridge and turned around to make sure. There she was five feet behind him, he groaned, " How bout this" she said, " I get to follow you all the way to Yonamura, if you still don't want me I will leave. Deal?"
" Deal" said Koji.

The pair walked down the road all day, passing travelers, traders, monks. The day was pleasant and the fresh air and warm helped Koji forget about this wounds. He did have to admit she had gone an excellent job of patching him up. He hadn't been patched up any better. The pair came to the crossroads, a crowd was gathered around a large elm tree that dominated the road. Three men were hung from it, their bodies slowly swaying in the breeze, the only sound heard around the tree was slow groaning of the rope as it swayed. " Who were they?" asked Rei.
" Horse thieves" said a man, " they were hung yesterday."
" It is a violent world" said Koji, " no place for someone like you."
Rei ignored him, she had to escape her life, especially a horrible arranged marriage to the son of the town's biggest tea merchant. Fat fingered greasy troll, she was knew he didn't even know she had a head, his eyes never went above her chest. Rei was going to travel, she was going to see all the places she read about. " Come on" he said, tugging at her sleeve, " we have a long walk ahead of us."
The pair started off to Yonamura. They walked all day, Koji kept hoping she would get tired and he could leave her but she seemed to have more stamina for walking than he did. They finally decided to stop along the road to get some rest.

Rei lit a fire and went about using some of the herbs she had collected to spice up the rather dull dried rice balls Koji had with him. Koji was for the first time all day pleased she was here, not only could she make a good fire, her herbs actually made the food taste good. He was still decidedly against letting her tag along though. After they finished eating they laid down and fell asleep under the stars.

Koji opened his eyes, he had heard a branch snap. The fire beside him had died down to glowing embers and clouds were obscuring most of the stars making the night almost pitch black. He couldn't see who was out there but knew it wasn't just a wayward deer. Koji gently reached over and picked his sword up. He placed it on his chest and listened to the night. Ten, no fifteen men, they stank like bad sake and sweat. It was the bandits again, they had drank up their courage after the first encounter three days ago, now they were back.
Koji didn't like his chances, his body was tight and sore, his wounds had just began to heal. He looked over at Rei, her soft face illuminated by the embers, and he had her to worry about too, this was a bad situation. Koji readied his mind and waited for the attack.
It came quickly, men bursting from the nearby woods and from the field of tall grass on the opposite side of the road. Arrows, the tips wrapped in burning rags flew at the glowing embers. Koji shoved Rei with his foot rolling her away from the fire as the arrows landed around them, their burning tips illuminating the area. Rei had been awaken by the hard kick she had received in her side and saw men rushing at them from all sides. Her instincts took over and she grabbed the largest piece of wood that remained only partially burnt from the fire and swung the red hot end at the nearest attacker. She hit him in the side of the head, a great cloud of sparks jumped from the piece of wood as it came in contact with his head. The attack's momentum hurled him forward, knocking him into Rei. The pair tripped over her blanket and crashed on the ground. She rolled him off her but was struck hard in the face by the blunt end of a spear. Two men immediately descended on her, ripping her kimono trying to get to the soft skin underneath. Rei struggled hard as her kimono was ripped off but two more joined in and their combined strength made it nearly impossible to move. One descended, his long wagging tongue dripping with saliva. Rei lunged with her head, her teeth sinking into the soft cartilage of his ear. She jerked her head back taking most of his ear with her. He screamed his hot blood splattering on Rei's face, he leapt back freeing up Rei's right arm. She jammed her thumb into the eye socket of the man mauling her large breasts until her thumb broke through the skull in the back of the eye socket. She head butted the third man before a blade ripped through the fourth. She saw Koji, holding his wounded stomach standing over her with his blade soaked in gore.
Koji couldn't help but stare, her kimono lay in a tattered heap several feet away. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen even when covered in blood she was still without equal. " You're bleeding" he said.
Rei looked down and saw she had been stabbed, twice. Once in the lower stomach, once in the leg, with all the adrenaline pumping through her she hadn't noticed. She grabbed her kimono and tugged it over her although it didn't hide her nakedness anymore. She grabbed her satchel and took her medicines out.
The wound on her hip was superficial the blade had bounced off the top of her hip. The cut through her leg was more serious it had gone all the way through the side of her thigh. She took a deep breath as Koji relit their fire, using anything at hand to make sure it burned bright including the clothes of the five men killed in the fight. He watched a Rei took her needle and thread out. She whimpered a bit as she sewed her leg closed. She bandaged her leg and turned to Koji. He dropped a pair of large daggers in front of her. " Take these" he said, " learn to use them."
" Let me look at your stomach" said Rei, " you must have reopened the wound."
" It's nothing" he said.
Rei closed her ruined kimono and forced Koji to lay down. She saw the large cut in his stomach had reopened and blood was soaking through the bandage. Rei gently undid the bandage and closed the wound once again. " Maybe you should find a different line of work" said Rei, " would be easier on you."
Koji did his best to laugh through the pain, he was starting to accept her but still didn't want her with him.

Dawn broke red across heavy rain clouds. Rei had spent an hour trying to sew her kimono closed and had to use a lot of the extra material from the bottom and the sleeves. Koji watched as she strapped the daggers to her kimono sash. " Ready?" she asked.
She helped Koji up and the pair left the bodies in the field, this wouldn't be a strange sight in Itten these days.

Itten was a chain of islands surrounded by the Sea of Storms which had for centuries been ruled by the Nokota Empire but thirty years ago with the death of the last Nokota Emperor a civil war broke out between the competing factions for who would be the next emperor. The civil war ground into stalemate with both claimants to the throne dying in the same battle, now individual warlords ruled their own little kingdoms. They battled each other periodically leaving large groups of mercenaries to wander between kingdoms looking for battle, sometimes when they couldn't find it with a warlord they would simply fight each other, or if no other mercenaries could be found they would fight civilians they'd find on the roads. It was a violent world and the people often spoke of hopes for the return of the Emperor, even some dare to spread rumors of a surviving heir living on a remote off shore island but those rumors are dangerous and the warlords do what they can to crush those hopes.

The pace the pair had yesterday was slowed today as each step sent arcs of pain from their wounds. Rei had a harder time than Koji due to her wound in the thigh. Around noon Koji stopped and put his arm around Rei and started helping her.
Rei smiled, he was starting to weaken. The pair limped down the road until they encountered a merchant riding on a wagon. " Sir!" said Rei, " sir, are you heading to Yonamura?"
" I am" said the merchant.
" We were attacked by bandits yesterday, could we bother you for a ride?" asked Rei, making sure to part her kimono just enough.
The merchant was immediately enchanted by the sight and nodded, " It would be a shame to make a girl such as you walk" he said.
Koji and Rei climbed in the back of the wagon and it started off again. " Thanks" said Koji.
" Hatanaka" he said, " Koji Hatanaka.
" Well hello Koji Hatanaka. What brought you to wander, your lord die?"
Koji looked at the girl across from him, did she know him? Was he that well known even so far north. " How?" he asked.
" That sword, despite it needs to be cleaned in the worst way, it is still a good sword. No wandering mercenary has a weapon of that quality, let alone wields it like it is part of his arm" she said, " so let's here you tale?"
Koji shifted as he sat, he didn't want to tell her, but he owed her that. " I was born an orphan, my parents died in a tsunami but I was found alive. Lord Hasagawa took me in and trained me to be one of his samurai. When I became 14 I was put into service and saw my first war."
Koji rolled his sleeve up and showed a scar on his shoulder, " I got my first wound and killed my first man. For the next six years I became Lord Hasagawa's bodyguard. But he was an old man and when I was 20 he died, quietly in his sleep after seventy five years. Then his son became Lord Hasagawa."
He spit off the back of the wagon, " He thought he was too strong to have a bodyguard so he stripped me of my title and threw me out of the castle. I have spent the last six months wandering trying to find a new place."
" I heard Lord Hasagawa was assassinated a few weeks back" said Rei.
A bitter smile crossed Koji's lips, " Serves him right, was it the Leito Family?" he asked.
" No idea" said Rei, " I heard about it from a monk in Jota."
" Hm, no longer my problem" he said, " so tell me about you Rei, what are you running from?"
" Ichiro" said Rei, " he is the son of Jota's largest tea merchant. I'm supposed to marry him."
" That bad" laughed Koji, " I bet you could get a rich husband, spend your days in luxury with those breasts."
Rei was too sore to slap him but really wanted to. The merchant whipped his horses to go faster, hoping to out run the advancing storm. The wagon bounced down the road, tossing the pair about in the back.
It began to rain, at first only small drops but the drops became larger and larger as they fell faster and faster. Both Rei and Koji were thoroughly soaked as they saw the lights of Yonamura in the distance. " Finally" said the merchant.
The merchant whipped his horses faster as they started for Yonamura. Suddenly a great crackle of thunder echoed from the mountain peaks and the merchant slumped in his seat. The horses began to run nearly tipping the wagon. Without thinking Rei leapt for the merchant and grabbed the reigns. She fought with all her strength to stop the horses but another great crackle of lightning and a clap of thunder sent them into a blind panic. Koji wrapped his arms around Rei's waist and pulled with her praying to stop the wagon before it thundered through town. It wasn't working, no matter how hard they pulled the horses wouldn't slow down, they were going to crash in town.
Koji pulled his sword out and with a quick slice cut the horses free. They tore down the main road of Yonamura until they vanished from sight. The wagon slowly rolled down the paved road until it stopped just inches from crashing into a well in the center of a square. The pair took a long breath and turned to look at the merchant.
Rei pushed him up to check his pulse and then she saw it. In the center of his forehead was a jagged black rock, his face etched with an expression of pure horror. " God" said Rei.
Koji looked over, " Is that a bullet?" he asked.
" No, aren't bullets smooth, this it jagged" said Rei, running her finger over it but how did it get there, we didn't see anyone else on the road."
" Magic?" Koji suggested.
Rei gave him an amused but skeptical look, " For a merchant? Whose cart is full of clothe?"
" They think so" said Koji.
They looked up and saw that armed soldiers were surrounding the wagon as terrified onlookers looked from the buildings. " Don't move" said a soldier wearing a sword, " don't think we won't kill you."
" This isn't our doing" said Rei, holding her hands up, " we were passengers."
The soldier laughed, " Right, we don't take kindly to bandits" he said.
Koji surveyed the situation, there were too many, too well armed, and he was too tired. This wasn't exactly where he wanted to die but it was fast appearing it would be.

A samurai on a magnificent white mount slowly rode through the soldiers, one look at the soaked and half naked Rei made him decide they weren't the ones committing these attacks. " Hota, take them to my castle" he said, " we need to discuss these events in a dry setting."
Soldiers helped the pair down and started to remove their weapons. " No need" said the samurai, " they are harmless."
The pair were walked under heavy escort through the town. From every doorway, and window faces peered out, some looking with curiosity but most in total fear. Something was definitely not right in Yonamura.

They were marched out of town all the way up to a large castle on the side of the mountain that gave ample views of both sides of the pass. They passed through the gates and were surprised by the large number of soldiers stationed about. Rei had never seen so many expect when the army would march past her father's herb shop heading off to war. Koji knew war was brewing, the castle was preparing for a siege, soon blood would flow down the sides of this mountain, no army could take this fortress, the road was too steep, the battlements too thick, it would be a massacre.
They were lead into the central keep where servants stood waiting for instructions. " Tea" the samurai said snapping the servants into action.
He turned to the soaked pair, " Where are my manners, please let me introduce myself, I am Lord Oji Saito, lord of Yonamura."
" It is an honor to be in your house" said Rei, bowing a little extra very aware he could see down her kimono.
" Now please tell me everything about your trip" he said.
Oji led the pair into a sitting room where a large fire had been built. The aura of warmth felt wonderful to the pair, soothing their wounds and driving the stinging chill from their bodies. They sat close to the fire and Koji decided to let Rei tell the tale, it would be easier, Oji couldn't take his eyes off her. " We met him on the road from Jota, he offered us a ride after we had been attacked by bandits. We road most of the day in the back of his wagon, he never spoke to us, we never spoke to him. It had been raining for sometime when there was an especially loud clap of thunder and he slumped over with that black rock in his forehead."
Oji was looking into her eyes for the first time since they met. There was a burning intensity, he was trying to mill every ounce of truth from the story. " Where did you hear the thunder?" he asked.
" About two miles outside of town on the road where it is just rocks and grass" said Rei, " we hadn't seen another traveler since the rain got heavy, we were alone on the road."
Oji was so intently devoted to this thoughts he didn't notice the servants enter and set the tea set directly in front of him. " Did you encounter any unusual travelers on the road?" asked Oji.
Koji shook his head, he couldn't even remember one person he passed on the road. " There was a man, missing an eye, had a large stick to walk with" said Rei, " I was surprised for his missing eye, there were no other scars upon his body or face. He was elderly but the stick didn't look like it was for walking, the bottom was un-scuffed."
Koji looked at Rei with a look of surprise, she had noticed everything about him. " Right" said Koji, " the man with the gold necklace, we passed him just outside of Jota, crossing the bridge. I remember him."
" Towards Jota you say" he said, " hm, no matter. Tea?"
" Please" said Rei, " may I ask what is going on?"
" There have been a string of attacks in town in the last month" said Oji, " men and women found dead with jagged black rocks in them. We have had seven victims so far, a blacksmith, a geisha, a child playing in her home, a jeweler, one of my soldiers, an old man, a wine merchant, a known pickpocket, and now this clothe merchant. We can't find any leads, I won't ask for help from Lord Keiyo in Jota. I don't want to be in his debt. May I hire you to act as investigators, most of the people in town know my soldiers and I can't infiltrate the less savory areas of my city to see if they have any leads. I can pay handsomely and offer the hospitality of my castle while I am away."
" Where are you going?" asked Rei.
" My wife and I have to attend a feast for Lord Keiyo's birthday" said Oji, " I will be taking most of troops with me so the castle will be mostly to you and my sister."
" My ears are burning, someone call my name?" came a beautiful soft voice.
Both Koji and Rei looked up at the beautiful woman who entered the room. She was delicate, yet strong, tall and slender, her eyes warm and inviting. " I am Lady Asuka Saito" she said, " are these the professionals you hired to look into the problem?"
" I have" said Oji, " they haven't agreed yet but I was about to offer two Ryu a day."
" 2?" asked Koji.
" Ryu?" asked Rei.
" It is a serious problem" said Oji, " I am putting you in charge of looking after them."
" It would be an honor" said Asuka.
Koji and Rei looked at each other, " We're at your service Lord Saito."