A humid day in Edo, as the Shichitou return back to the Inn. The streets were busy as usual, as mechants sold their wares, and kids ran around in the streets. Townsfolk shopped, another ordinary day in Edo...
Shichitou:
The Shichitou spread out 2 weeks ago in pairs, and are returning to Edo in the first post.
Takaya & The Bloody-one went to Kyoto

Murashige & Mio went to Sapporo

Sakurai and Yuji went to Fukuoka

Suzu stayed in Edo, and is currently waiting for the Shichitou back at Yamaguchi Inn

Akumu
Akumu stayed in Kyoto, and are just hearing about the Shichitou

Demon Head/Ninjas
All are traveling to the Yukimura village to meet up and dicuss. The Yukimura head is hosting the meeting this month.

---

The first thing that entered his mind, was that he was hungry, so naturally he had stopped by a shop for a quick sip of tea and food. He had wandered away from Takeshi a while back, deciding they would meet up later. After all, it had been two weeks since they left for Kyoto together...and honestly, he was to tired to deal with the man's blood-thirsty actions. On their way back, they had run into some bandits. Takaya wanted to negotiate with them,but his partner had other plans. He had just cut them down quickly. Then they continued on.

As he sat and waited for his order, a drunkard had wandered into the shop, much to his disgust. He wrinkled his nose slightly, and silently hoped the man would just leave or pass out. He was wrong though, like always. The man released a sigh and stood up and walked toward the drunkard who was currently hitting on the poor waitress.

The next thing that happened, the tatami door flew down and the one who knocked it over? The drunkard's body. The man stood up, wiping his mouth a flush still evident on his face as he looked up at Takaya. He walked out calmly, back into the Edo heat. Despite what most people thought, he was quite comfortable in his attire, despite it looking to hot for the day. The man spoke, a slur evident in his voice.

"Hey youz...W-why the hell didja' do dat for?!"

The shichitou member remained quiet, his blue eyes narrowing towards the man. He didn't respond, choosing not to waste his breath on people like him. With a sigh, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was just an intimidation act, since he wouldn't draw it for no reason. Using his other hand, it slid partly the katana, it's silver blade reflecting the light of the harsh sun toward the man.

The man paled, easily shown on his flush face. Quickly, he got p, before stammering a slurred apology and ran off the other direction. Takaya watched for a few moments, before turning back into the shop and returning to his seat. The owner thanked him, and he nodded in return before sipping his tea calmly. He was still hungry after all, and started to eat the mitarashi dangos that waited for him at the table.

---

Tucked into the shadowy corner of the small tea shop, there a peculiar girl sat. Dressed in a hakama, alterations made to forego pants, that defied any socially cultured expectation of women, this person was the definition of "enigma". If it was not the petite, doll-esque stature that drew attention then it would surely be the straw hat she wore, the brim titled downwards to shield her face from prying eyes... or it could be the foreign scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. Whatever it was, Rin was, perhaps, the most foreign object within this Edo-placed shop..yet it didn't bother her. Crossing her arms over her stomach, the half-oni decided to lower her eyelids, an attempt to block out the constant noise and humming of the patron's auras. How annoying.. mused her thoughts, slowly drawing out a breath.

However, that bliss didn't last long as an assaulting stench hit the Ronin, the owner's slurring confirming her thoughts. Drunk..of course.. how vile. However, the presence left as soon as it came, another following in close pursuit. Gently opening an eyelid, curiosity overtaking her being, Rin observed as a young man, a rather attractive one, came through the door and sitting back down. He must be the one who escorted the brash patron out.. Hooded gaze drifting over him, something made Rin freeze.. the katana. A high class one at that. Eyes narrowing in suspicion, the Oni female began to goes through the list of possible answers on who he was.

Amidst her analyzing, two young men had waltzed up to her seat, both rather ataken back. "Hey." Maybe a samurai? But wheres the crest of his daimyo? "Hey!" Hm..assassin? Wealthy clients perhaps..but why wear your katana in plain sight?" "HEY!" barked the growl of the older of the two, angry lacing each letter. Giving an impatient sigh, Rin finally gave the slightest turn of her head, face still tilted downwards. "Are you deaf or some shit? I said this is our seat! So get the hell up and move!" A slight frown painted it's way onto the Ronin's mouth hearing the vulgar language, awareness of how quiet the shop had become now full front. Finally tilting her face upwards, eyes narrowed with agitation, Rin finally spoke in her eerily soft manner. "How petty..claiming seats as if you were still in elementary."

Both men looked as if they were stuck in headlights, each one speechless and frozen. Quirking an eyebrow in questioning at them, a sinking feeling made it's presence known as the pair shared a knowing look. Even more so when the eldest turned back to her, a playful smirk appearing on his mouth. Frowning even deeper, the oni had to exercise immense self-control to prevent from breaking his arm as he inched closer, his body leaning down towards her and a mischievous twinkle appearing in his mocha eyes."Hm.. y'know, you are pretty cute.. Tell you what, you come back to our place and my friend and I will forget all about your blunder? Alright?"

Disgust flashed within Rin's royal purple orbs as she wordlessly glared up at his expectant face, her repulsion growing. Slipping under his outstretched arms, not even bothering to dignify his demand with a response, Rin absentmindedly yanked the brim over her face. Men..how disgusting. It was then, as she was nearing the front door, that someone had suddenly stopped her. Only giving a slight wince at the iron-tight hold on her wrist, the Ronin's body tensed at the sudden contact."Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?! Walking away from us like that?! Well you aren't leaving that easily, bitch!" fumed his voice, anger and malice lacing every sound. Narrowing her eyes in anger, Rin suddenly spun faster than humanely possible. With her wrist free of his grasp, the doll-sized girl darted forward before grabbing her captor's own wrist,effortlessly flipping him over her body and onto a nearby table.

Satisfied with the ear-splitting crack and groan, the half-oni turned on her heels to observe her handiwork. Reaching forward and grabbing the young man's collar, she jerked his body upwards before hissing out in ice. "Consider yourself lucky that you were only tossed." Letting go of his collar, the girl didn't even give a jump at the sound of his body hitting the broken table.. instead, her gaze wandered to rest on the figure at the head of the cracked wood. The man from earlier.

Takaya blinked as he heard more men talking. He glanced over behind him, toward the back of the tea house. A frown dancing on his lips as he watched a shorter figure dodge the two older ones. It was no doubt a woman, though she was dressed in a very strange attire. A cross between a shrine maiden and something else. Taking a sip of tea, he decided it would best not draw anymore attention to himself...though then again, he had already done so with the earlier action. Should he take his chances and try again to intervene? He was about to step in as the man grabbed the girl by her slender wrist.

Though as he watched the scene play out, the girl didn't need his help it seemed. He watched, before grabbing his dangos and tea, holding it right before the body hit his table. The splinters bounced harmlessly off his body, but some got into his tea though, much to his notice. He sighed a bit, as he watched the man groan in pain, the smaller girl spat out her threat before looking at him.

"..." He locked eyes with the girls purple ones, blue meeting the purple evenly. The girl's speed though was very fast...faster then most men he fought before. Blinking, he looked back down towards the man on his broken table and sighed. The hand that was held his now defiled tea was over the perverts head, and quickly poured out it's contents on to his head.

The man let out a yelp of pain, before jumping off of the broken table, holding his face. The man ran out of the small shop with haste. Takaya turned towards the other partner, and let out a icy cold glare. He stiffened and ran out, following his friend. Looking back down at the broken table, he glanced at the girl, before speaking.

"I believe you may owe the people and apology for this destruction." He said simply, before taking another bite of his dango.

The clang of metallic footsteps echoed between the buildings of Edo as the Takeshi made his way down the street, his blackish armor gleaming evilly in the bright sun light, his massive scythe resting upon his shoulder. Most laid eyes on him and retreated indoors, whispering rumors of "The Bloody Blade of The Shichitou". Some said he was an Oni that had decided to rebel. Others said he'd decimated an entire platoon of enemy soldiers single handedly. Actually, that one was true. He nearly smiled at the memory. Hundreds had fallen to his scythe that day, screaming in agony or for mercy. They had received none.

It was hot. Very hot. Takeshi hated alot of things, and summer time in Edo was one of them, mostly because he had yet to find a way to murder heat. It been two blissful weeks since he'd had to put up with this heat. Takaya and himself had been sent to patrol Kyoto on Suzo's orders, supposedly to look for potential dangers. Takeshi had been only too happy to comply. It'd been a fun trip, bandits and ronin abound. Hell, they had even been robbed on their way back to Edo! Naturally his companion Takaya had attempted to negotiate with the bandits. Takeshi had no intention of letting the scum live, so the bandits now lay six feet underground, cold as the stones placed above their heads. Unfortunately, there had been little to no sign of the Oni. Well, all he could do was wait, eventually the demons would rear their heads, and when they did, Takeshi would be there to take them.

As he made his way through the now abandoned street, he tended to have that kind of effect where ever he went, he noticed a pair of men running as fast as they could away from a small tea shop, one of which had tea covering their face and shirt. Takeshi stopped to watch as the two saw him, registered his presence, recognized who he was, then turned completely around and ran as fast as their fat little legs would carry them. He turned to the tea shop the two had originally fled from and quickly decided that whoever was inside could be an opponent. He took a better grip on his scythe and pushed aside the screen in the shop's doorway.

What he found was extremely disappointing. Takaya was already there, so it was likely he'd been the one to drive the men away. There was also a girl there he'd never seen before, but that didn't really mean much. It was quite well known that Takeshi was a terrible "people person".
"Oh, it's you..." Those were, shockingly, the first two words out of his mouth in the past two weeks. You didn't need to do a whole lot of talking when you're cutting a man in two. He sat at an unoccupied table and rested his scythe against the wall, simply pointing to "green tea" on the small menu with a metallic claw to order. It was surreal to see him sitting there, looking more like some kind of metal beast than a human being, ordering tea. He looked at the girl again, then Takaya. Then he simply waited for his tea like any normal patron would.

The wind blowing slowly around Aka, cooling the heavy heat of summer. Taking his right hand he runs it through his hair not used to not wearing his arm blade but knowing he needs to not to stand out. Rumors said the Shichitou were just in town the thought made Aka frown disappointed to have missed them, "would of been a good way to increase my reputation" Slowly thinking what do next Aka wanders back to the room he rented at a inn.

Grabbing his arm blade Aka takes out a whetstone and begins to sharpen his blade. "Kimiko needs to get back soon so we can leave hopefully she has a idea where they went." Aka says to himself, running his finger down the blade to test the sharpness. A drop of blood falls from his index finger splattering onto the floor, with a sigh he continues sharpening the blade not quite meeting his standards.

The sun was shining and today seemed like it would be a good day. Perhaps it was a little muggy, but that wouldn’t ruin Suzo’s good mood. But then something struck him, today the rest of the Shichitou would be coming back. Suzo sighed at the realization that the two weeks of peace and quiet would be over by sundown. Suzo readjusted the large basket on his back and made his way to the market.

By noon the once empty basket was full with a medley of vegetables, rice, and various meats. Suzo checked the weight of the once plump coin purse and approached one of the local merchants. “I’ll have three bottles of your finest sake.” Then Suzo realized how meagre three bottles was for his group especially with Yuji and Sakurai around. “On second thought, I’ll take seven.” The merchant gave Suzo a strange look and produced the seven bottles. “Big party tonight?” Suzo chuckled at the thought. “Something like that.” Suzo quickly counted out the payment and handed it to the merchant.

Suzo was delighted to find out that he had enough leftover to buy himself a nice cup of tea. As Suzo walked down the street towards to the local teahouse two men ran past him screaming about a demonic girl and terrifying metal man. "Sounds like Takeshi is back." Suzo entered the teahouse and found Takeshi siting patiently at his table and Takaya sitting at a very broken table staring into the eyes of a small girl. Suzo walked over to Takaya and stared at the odd sight. Suzo tapped the small girl on the shoulder "Excuse me mam I'm going to need to borrow my friend for few minutes, you can engage in eye combat with him after I'm done." Suzo turned Takaya, "Come, let's join Takeshi at his, non-broken table and get you a new cup of tea, I want to know how your mission went."

[ignore]

---

Rin merely watched in wary apprehension as katana-weilding man swiftly dumped the last bit of his tea, each drop soiled with wood chips and paint peels, onto the pervert's head. And judging by the way he screamed, it apparently wasn't very pleasant. Just as the half-oni was about to open her mouth to question his actions, only slightly confused by his sudden behavior, the man's blue eyes connected hers evenly. Locked into combat over unwavering concentration, Rin couldn't help but allow for her royal purple orbs to narrow in distaste. Who is he? pondered her thoughts as their contact was broken.

"I believe you may owe the people and apology for this destruction." rang out his simple words, the tone holding an ever-so-slight suggestion. Quirking a delicate eyebrow at his response, Rin merely replied with that same hushed tone. "Why?" Tilting her head to the side, that eggplant waterfall rustling with the movement, the Ronin observed the man with a gleaming curiosity. However, that focused gleam was broken when another man piqued up, his voice holding a certain gruffness and coarseness to it. "Oh, it's you...". Not even bothering to send a cat-eyed glance over at the new voice, Rin reached up to tuck the brim of the hat down further. Its time for you to go.. lingering in a place for too long is dangerous. chided her inner voice, truth ringing out in every infliction. Exhaling yet another soft sigh, Rin was about to excuse herself when a hand tapped her shoulder. Hm.. judging by it's weight and shape, it's a man. assessed her conscious, the baritone voice confirming her suspicions. Excuse me mam I'm going to need to borrow my friend for few minutes, you can engage in eye combat with him after I'm done."

Keeping her face hidden beneath it's brim, the Ronin merely slipped a delicate hand into a side pocket of the miniskirt she wore before pulling out a wad of 2,000 yen bills. Silently dropping them on the broken table, the girl wordlessly slipped past the three men before disappearing into the streets, not even once acknowledging them further.

---

At that particular moment the sound of water slipping back into its basin could be heard. Porcelain skin glided through the reflective liquid that was so essential to life. Long black hair that seemed darker than night itself swayed and floated in the water. Along elegant fingers danced in the water as it washed away any soap residue from her skin. Sliding one slender leg over the other the woman blew a couple bubbles that had formed in her hands.

Ayane sighed, ducking her head underwater before resurfacing as she stepped out of the tube. Black hair stuck itself to her body dripping with water and steam. If you looked past the screens and the steam one would see a rather beautiful woman with a slender body that suited her tall height. Of course no one would ever manage to get past her doors or through her guard at that.

Stepping behind a silk screen, Ayane slide into her kimono pulling her hair from underneath it. It didn’t take her long to get ready slipping a fox’s mask over her face. And as always she wore her customary hat with the clothe obscuring any view of her head. One would see her hair but that was about all she would allow them to see. Not even her trusted ninja have ever seen her face they only knew her as the head of the clan, whom was hauntingly beautiful and rather intimidating with her tall stature.

Sliding open her screen doors to her from, Ayane stepped out of her room not caring if Amaterasu was there or not. Let her scurry to catch up to me a smile slipped its way onto her pink lips knowing full well the girl was probably expecting her.

Walking to their carriage it almost seemed as if Ayane was gliding. Releasing an aura of superiority and elegance at the same time. Those she passed in the hallways of her home stopped what they were doing and bowed as they got out of her way, saying their greetings. Only a small handful followed her and Amaterasu. They were the Elders of the Miyashiro clan but none could ever beat the wisdom and knowledge she held within that mind of hers.

Stepping down onto the walkway Ayane paused looking at the bright sky before turning to Amaterasu, “Amaterasu, go get my favorite pipe. It looks like we’ll be having nice weather today but we all know all good things come to an end.” her voice sounded deep and beautiful as if each word was meant to be heard slowly.

Without waiting for a reply Ayane continued on her way to the carriage only waiting long enough to look behind her to catch one last look at her home. Stepping inside she sat down folding her hands neatly on her lap. “This should be an interesting meeting” she said aloud to no one in particular.

The sun shone brightly down on the streets on Kyoto, reflecting off the armor coating Kimiko. As she stood, leaning against the wall of a small Sake Den, seeming out of place from the common peoples walking by. Many shot questioning looks towards her, but today her normal red cloak was replaced with a larger hooded black one, draping over her head in case any residents had ever seen her before. She was waiting patiently for a certain man to come out, an off duty palace guard. Ever since knowing the famous Shichitou had been here two weeks ago Aka wouldn't shut his mouth about missed opportunities, personally Kimiko couldn't be gladder they missed each other.

The Shichitou, they had recently come to be and Kimiko had very little knowledge of them, something that was annoying her to no end. Well having no wish to confront the self-proclaimed, ‘Seven Strongest Samurai, Fighting for Justice’, it was obviously only a matter of time before she would have to, and the upper hand of knowledge was just what she needed. ’Seriously, what the fuck is taking this guy so long?’ Kimiko looked up at the sun, Aka would be getting impatient waiting for the info she set out for, and the last thing she felt like dealing with was a slaughtering in Kyoto.

Kimiko let out a sigh of relief as the guard finally walked out of the building, drunk like a pig of course, ’It’s only noon, disgusting cretin.’ As the man lumbered in front her, heading off to a destination he’d never reach, Kimiko grabbed his shoulder and tossed him into the alley she had been standing beside. ”H-huh, wadda ya want,” the man questioned in his stupor, righting himself up as Kimiko made her way to him, grasping him by the throat and slamming him into a wall,”The Shichitou that were here, where did they go?” The man struggled against her grip, ”Let go a me y-yah whore,” Kimiko was already getting sick of the stench this man produced, she slammed her armor gauntlet into his gut, making him cough and sputter, letting the word ‘Edo’ spill out in his stammer.

Kimiko smiled at the man, her mouth being the only feature of her he could see. Still gripping his throat he pulled the man’s ear close to her head and whispered into it slowly, ”Now, can’t let you spoil the fun for them.” She dug her fingers deep into his throat, crushing his windpipe then releasing him to roll on ground and enjoy his quite death, laughing as she got wondrous surge of energy and walked away. Kimiko quickly returned to the inn the Akumu had been staying at and entered the room of Aka, seeing him slowly grind his blade on a whetstone. ”They went to Edo,” she yawned, taking a seat on the floor beside the door.

"Oh!" Yuji exclaimed as he saw a beautiful looking sake bottle on a stand. It looked... well... authentic, just from the appearance. It was in a lovely black bottle with nothing but the name of the sake's brand circling around it. Yuji was a sucker for alcohol, especially for sake, and especially for pretty looking sake, "This one looks cool!" He said childishly.

While picking up the bottle, taking note of the owner staring at him the whole time, he turned and shouted, "Hey! Sakurai! Look! It's sake!" By the way he looked, anyone could tell how excited Yuji was to get that beautiful looking sake, and its bottle of course, since he had a whole collection he was beginning to make.

"Mister!" Yuji turned back to the man hiding behind his counter, hoping not to be seen as he watched Yuji. Though, after being called out, he jumped up and walked over to him with a nervous looking smile that Yuji could obviously see, but said nothing.

The man immediately, yet gently, took the sake bottle away from Yuji and said with that same anxious smile, "Well, it's a very expensive alcohol, so I'd prefer you not to treat it so roughly. And if you'd going to try and buy such a thing, I'd like to request for your brother over there," The man pointed to Sakurai, "You have to be older to drink alcohol, kid."

"K-Kid..." Yuji seemed to have lost his energy at the sounds of those words. He let out the greatest sigh and let his head hang for a while, his hair getting in his eyes as he pouted, "I'm an adult..."

"What was that?" The man asked, leaning in closer to hear what Yuji had said since his words before were just a murmur to himself.

"I'm an adult." Yuji frowned at the man, not in an angry or sad way, but in a way that he was just tired of hearing the same thing every time when he were to try and buy some sort of alcohol, or even other regular things. People kept on thinking he was a teenager, and he took that as an offense, even as the nice person he really is. Some thing tends to get old, and this was one of them, "20 years of age actually..."

"R-Really...?" The man asked, disbelief in his eyes and blinking several times at Yuji, but then frowning in return, but more like a frown that an adult would give to an annoying child, "Don't try to play that card kid... Go ahead and ask your brother over there, it can't be much trouble."

"Wah..." Yuji complained, sighing once more as he walked away from the stand and back to Sakurai, beginning to explain his situation and, for once, ask for help, "The old man won't let me buy it even though I say I'm of age.. He thinks you're my older brother, so you think you could buy that for me? Please? I'll pay you back! Come on!" He said childishly, putting his hands together as if begging super hard, which he really was.

---

---

"M-Miss Ayane!" Amaterasu began to shout as she ran throughout the large house that her mistress lived in, although she found no traces of her anywhere. She immediately began to dart to her room, holding her sword in her hand in case of emergencies. The woman nearly slipped a few times because of the hair getting in her face, "E-Excuse me." She said as she slid her mistress's bedroom door open, only to find out she wasn't there either, only causing her to become even more worried.

'Perhaps she's outside...' She thought to herself, hoping that she was correct as she sprinted outside now. Lucky for her, her search ended to see Ayane in her carriage, getting ready to head for the Yukimura territory for the meeting. A look of relief was on Ama after that sight as she let out the great sight of relief and said silently, "Don't scare me like that... Miss...."

“Amaterasu, go get my favorite pipe. It looks like we’ll be having nice weather today but we all know all good things come to an end.”

"Yes, ma'am!" Ayane said, taking any order without hesitation or questions from her mistress as she headed back to her room, saying the regular 'Excuse me' then entering and finding the pipe her mistress so desired and dashed back as quickly as possible, hardly breaking a sweat compared to when she was worrying over her disappearance.

Once getting back, she gave her her pipe and said politely as she would talk to her regularly, "Please enjoy the weather then, Miss Ayane. We'll depart immediately." Ama said before hopping up to where the driver was, shoving him over with a quiet and hostile growl as he let go and handed them over to her. After all, she'd be more comfortable if she were to direct the carriage instead of some random servant.

"We're off." She turned around to say to Ayane before slapping the two ropes down as the horses took off at a medium fast pace. Ama made sure that the speed was perfect for her mistress; fast to get there quickly, yet smooth so the ride could be enjoyable.

"Miss Ayane..." Amaterasu said quietly, putting the hood of her cloak over her head as she gripped the reigns to the horses tighter, "I'd prefer we not to go to the Yukimura, at least, I'd prefer you not to go there. If you were to allow me to say my own honest opinion, I think it's a terrible idea. In fact, I think it's just a terrible idea that those demons are even allowed to hold a meeting while we could, Miss." She growled at the thought, not liking the thought of other people making her mistress go so far just for a meeting.

'I should have gone in her place.' Ama thought to herself, frowning as she thought such. Yet at the same time, her eyes darted everywhere, scanning the area and every single inch of it. She didn't want any assassin jumping out to assassinate the Miyashiro head. Ama would never be able to live with herself if that were to happen.

"Miss Ayane, I really think this is a bad idea." Ama voiced her opinion again, walking in front of her and turning back constantly. Sometime she turned back every single five seconds just to make sure no one was behind them, and just to make sure that her mistress was in fine shape, "We have no clue what those filthy Yukimura scum could be planning to do with all demon heads in their own territory..."

Ama had nothing personal against the Yukimura. She was hostile to all demons clans except for the one she belonged to; the Miyashiro. All the others she had a neutral suspicion and hatred for, and that was just because they weren't her clan. Imagine what would happen if one were to get on the bad side of Ama. Things would be much worse than Ama just talking bad about them.

"If anything comes out, or if you see anything, Miss Ayane, I'd like to make a request that you tell me silently where they are so I can take more precaution." Ama said, now looking around even more as she drew her blade slightly which would give her an advantage in defending her mistress if anyone were to jump out of the no where, "We're closer to the damned place after all..."

Takaya watched as the girl responded, by tilting her head to the side. Her dark colored hair flowing. As he opened his mouth to respond, another man came in. Takaya let out a sighed, as he heard the man's disapointed voice. Yes, he was probably looking for another victim to kill or get rid off. Most likely he came to the tea house to search for an opponent. Really now, did he really have to be blood-crazy all the time... if so, it'll be horrible to go on another mission with him....

He blinked, as another man walked inside. The leader, though as he came in, the girl left quickly, not even saying something back. Giving a nod of greeting to the leader,he stood up and gave another nod. He paused, before then saying "The table was not my fault. That girl decided to flip a man on it." Explaining it simply, and easily as if it was an everyday thing.

He took a seat at the new table next to the metal wearing shichitou member. The waitress came and collected the money from the broken one, then came with a cup of hot tea to the three men. Hearing his request of the mission, Takaya nodded before reporting.

"Nothing to report. Just a few bandits by Kyoto that Takeshi took down,as well as a few small fries running around...." He made sure to say Takeshi's name, and not "we". After all, he didn't want to get involved with needless killing.

Ren Tadashi

Of course with the heat, the demon was slightly annoyed. He absolutely hated the heat of edo, as it hit the blonde's back. It was annoying that most people found this a wonderful day. What. Utter. Bullshit. Annoyance clearly showed on his face, as a scowl found its usual place on his features. The reason why he was here? He knew it was the Yukimura clan's turn to host the meetings of the heads. He had long cast away the clans,but was curious to see if the new Kazama leader would show her face.

A frown pulled at his lips, as he felt something hit his leg. An annoyed look crossed his face as he looked down to see a brat had bumped into it. The kid looked up, before saying "Sorry...Ni-ch-" The boy cut himself off, as he noticed Ren's dark look. The kid ran off in fear. Ren's glare was then directed at a merchant, who had tried to call him over. Humans were as annoying as ever today it seemed. As he walked, a crowd seemed to come out of nowhere, and he bumped into a smaller human. Annoyance lit his voice, as he spoke.

"Watch where your going, you blind trash."

His red eyes hardened as he glared at the girl in front of him-a very short, purple haired girl. Though for some reason, he couldn't tell if she was an adult or not. He couldn't see any other humans that could be the girl's parents, but she seemed to short to be left alone.

The Ronin wandered aimlessly through the crowded streets of Edo, the blistering heat currently crisping the dirt paths not really bothering her as much as it should have. However, a slight frown did tug at the corners of her doll-esque mouth. The cause? The bustling crowd was easily tossing her around, a mere stray leaf, subjected to the wind's cruel treatment. Damn my height.. chided her inner voice, royal purple orbs glued to the stamped earth. Absentmindedly reaching up her slender hand, Rin pulled the brim further down to shield her exposed face from the elements and prying eyes, pace quickening.

Ow! What the-?! hissed her thoughts, annoyance leaking into them. Apparently in the rush, the Ronin had crashed into the body of a larger person, her head feeling the impact more than any part of her body. Giving a slight wince, the girl was about to open her mouth when the victim harshly spoke. "Watch where you're going, you blind trash." hissed his cold voice, agitation palpable. How rude. resonated that voice, her mouth instantly clamping shut and purple orbs narrowing.

"I suggest you hold your silver tongue and learn your place while you're at it, you snake." came the soft hiss from Rin, loathing and superiority colouring her tone. How dare he! Not even bothering to raise the brim of the protective straw hat, the Ronin merely gave a scoff of disbelief before maneuvering around him. With a small tch and a shake of her head, the half-oni was searching for an opportune moment to remerge with the crowd.

Having crossed the Tsugaru Straights, and having experienced her first ever ride in a rocking, unstable, sickening ship, Shinka praised the Eternal Buddha, all the Bodhisattvas, and all the masters of her lineage for the ground she now treaded on in Honshu. This exuberance to be on land after the admittedly short distance they had traveled by sea remained with her throughout much of her landbound travels to the lands of her southern friends and neighbors, the Yukimura's, the dread of the return trip occasionally springing to mind. She and Koemi had been trekking across the country without major incident for quite a while and had come within possibly a day or two's journey from the supposed meeting. Whether Shinka was early, late, or had completely fabricated the meeting in her mind didn't matter at this point. Hokkaido was filled with stress, as people who want one dead are wont to cause, and Edo was not only free from such things, but contained an actual friend.

Unfortunately, the uneventful travels of Shinka and Koemi had ended prematurely. While Koemi had been sent out on an errand of some kind, her master, meditating in the room the generous inn had provided for a traveling nun, had been stumbled upon by a drunk. Now the accidental opening of her door had not broken her concentration on the phrase floating about in her mind, and the slurred apology had mended any damage that had been done. What had caused the ruckus, at least from Shinka's perspective, was the drunk's friends coming after him who were interested in the nun's blonde, streaked hair. It wasn't that unusual of a quandary, as she had experienced many like it, but now was not the time for answering; she had put off these meditations for over a week now and didn't want her lack of discipline to continue.

Then one of them, curiosity overtaking caution, touched it, and so the unrest began. She would have forgiven it graciously, but she had received a cut on her palm from when she struck the man's face. And she would have forgiven that had she not broken her sandal on his hip. And, at that point, the group of men, sans the drunk who had continued on to his room, weren't exactly forgiving themselves, and she now had to overcome a mob before getting back to her meditations.

The first fell with a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs. The second was flung to the ground and experienced a rather debilitating backache from his impact upon the floor. The third was knocked unconscious by a palm suddenly striking the left side of his head and tumbled to the ground. The fourth tried to escape, but only made it out of the door before five fingers wrapped themselves around his calf and flipped his entire body, causing him to land in the courtyard spread before the rooms, several bits of gravel digging their way into his face and torso.

When the staff of the inn, understandably startled by the commotion arrived at the room, they found Shinka dragging the last of the bodies onto the veranda so they could be taken care of away from her. She glared at all the spectators that had emerged from their rooms to see what had happened, and then reentered her room, sliding the door closed behind her so that she may return to her task. She returned to her full lotus position, knees touching the floor with hands rested upon them, and attempted to block out all the noise from outside her room by chanting the mantra.

Ren Tadashi

As the short girl spoke, his scowl returned to his face again. Hearing her annoying response, as well as her tone like she was greater then he was. His eyes narrowed at the girl, what another annoyance humans were these days. He grabbed the girl's hair, pulling her backwards before then speaking again.

"You little brat...someone should teach you a few manners..." He hissed out, annoyance easily visible in his icy voice.

The demon harshly turned the small girl around easily, as he yanked off her hat. Along with the annoying heat, as well as the crowd of humans, he was far beyond the point of annoyed. More like mad. He looked at her face, eyes narrowing. He looked at her purple eyes, a bit in disdain. No human would have such eyes, yet he didn't sense her anything but a human.

Ren growled out again, and grabbed her wrists, hard in a iron grip. Enough to cause a bruise if she was a human.

"You crossed me on a wrong day, filthy dog..." He hissed out, as he clutched even harder. The man's eyes had something that can be described as blood-lust, as well as anger in the scarlet irises.

Rin was desperately scanning the mass of movement for any opportune moment to reconvene with the streets.. and luckily she found one. However, just as her small frame jolted forwards to make the transition, a hand suddenly shot out to latch onto her hair. And judging by the shooting pain in her scalp, the man's attempt was a success. Desperately trying to ignore the pain coming from the bitter taste of disappointment, Rin began to grind her jaw as she was jerked backwards and into the solid body once more.

"You little brat...someone should teach you a few manners..." came the stranger's hiss, the iced annoyance so tangible it made her shiver. What the hell is his problem!? screeched that inner voice, infuriated as her doll-esque frame was abruptly spun around. In fact, looking up into the wrathful face of this stranger, Rin couldn't help but have her attention direct to three thoughts: 1. Her hat was now being stomped to death in the bustling streets 2. No one was going to come help her, everyone was apparently terrified. And 3. This man, whoever he was, was surprisingly quite attractive.. if it wasn't for the scowl of disdain marring his features that was. However, that china doll worthy face didn't give away single emotion besides irritation as she trained her blazing gaze on his face, her tone easily matching his. "I could say the same for you.. grabbing a lady by her hair like that!" How much more vile can you get?!"

It wasn't until a few seconds later that those purple orbs traveled downwards, alarmed by the growl and sudden warmth near her hand, that the Ronin fully realized his hand overlapped on her wrist. And, by the looks of his white knuckles, was squeezing rather hard. Thankfully, Rin's oni blood kicked in and was busy at work healing the newly forming bruise, it's color and throbbing fading the moment it appeared. Well..at least it's useful now.. appraised her inner voice as her glare returned to his face, threat looming in the aura she dispelled.

You crossed me on a wrong day, filthy dog..." resonated the man's crossed hiss once more, this time sounding more powerful. Fear began to creep into the crevices of the girl's mind as her attention became mesmerized by the sudden shifting in his scarlet irises, the yearning for bloodshed quite evident. Kicking in her inhuman speed, the Ronin instinctively swung her foot upwards, catching him in the stomach. Seeing it was her chance to get away, Rin yanked her wrist out of his hold before sprinting off into the crowd.

What..what is he!? I mean.. I could always use my power to find out.. but do I want to risk it? contemplated the conflicted thoughts, not even wasting time to look over her shoulder to see if he was following. Instead, she focused on the task at hand; get through the crowd. The realization that her pace was slowed, however, kicked in rather fast, her eyes now darting to find a place to hide. Spying an alleyway off the main road, Rin darted for it's cover without a second heartbeat.

Ren Tadashi

Ren's mouth pulled into a cruel smirk as she responded back at him, questioning how vile he was. He opened his mouth to respond, and what came out was a simple sentence, filled with hostile intent.

"I'll show you how vile I can be, you little brat." Though as he was about to possibly attack her, something caught his attention. The purple discolored skin that was supposed to be where he held her wrists harshly was still the pale color of her usual skin. Though this gave her the distraction she needed to get away.

Her speed was quite fast, it even caught him by surprise. It was too fast for a human, but to weak to be a demon. Though it did take him by surprise, so he loosened his grip slightly, though that allowed her to make a break for it. He wasn't going to let her get away. No one attacked him and lived to tell the tale-not even a woman would escape his wrath.

Though it was quite hard to find such a small figure in a big crowd, he spotted her by the purple coloring of hr hair. A smirk pulled again, and he moved his hoari aside, fully revealing his sword to onlooker's eyes. In a cold voice, he spoke.

"Move aside!" He easily pushed people aside regardless of who ever went in his way. His trained crimson eyes easily spotted her as she ducked into an ally. That stupid girl...going in there wouldn't help her anyway. She was going to die today.

He easily got to the ally that the girl thought she could hide from him.

"You asked how vile I am right brat? Well...i'll show you now..." He drew the blade easily, and it let out a deadly hiss, as the sun glinted off from the blade. "Though...before I do kill you...which clan are you from?" He said, looking at her. He knew she wasn't human, she healed to quickly to be one...which meant she was a demon.

Takeshi watched idly as their leader, Suzo, entered the tea shop. He said something to the purple haired girl before she abruptly left small shop. She seemed quite odd, and coming from Takeshi that was saying alot seeing as his usual opinion of people amounted to either "to weak to bother with" or "meat bag that needs to die". Naturally his opinions concerning his comrades were quite different. He respected and admired all of them in varying degrees. Suzo, for example, he admired for his ability to lead and his combat prowess, though in a head on fight Takeshi believed he would come out victorious. The man had a terrible defense. On a side note, he enjoyed the man's cooking.

His allies joined him at his undamaged table and tea was brought. Takeshi very carefully picked up the fragile cup in his metal plated fingers and took a sip of the tea while Takaya summed up the past two weeks in exactly two sentences. He placed the tea back on the table and made his "I should say something now" face, which looked like an average person would if they were deep in thought. Then he spoke, his voice as monotone and distant as it always seemed to be when he wasn't surrounded by people that needed to die. "Attempted robbery. Justified. Buried them." He rested his chin in his left palm and stared out one of the shops windows. "Don't like bandits." This time there was audible disdain in his voice. Just thinking about them made him furious! After he'd left home with a quarter of his family's fortune, he'd been attacked by countless bandits, sometimes even in broad daylight.

His sheer anger at the thought of bandits was easily visible, his body tense like a steel spring and his lips drawn back in a snarl. He took a deep breath to calm himself, he didn't want to cause his comrades any trouble, and stood very slowly. "Will go for a walk. Watch scythe." He felt that if he brought his scythe he'd be liable to kill someone. Well, it might happen anyway, but it wasn't quite so likely. He stepped around Takaya and quietly exited the tea shop.

He started walking down the baked dirt road when he noticed something odd. The crowd was dispersing quite quickly, and not because of him. Curious, he kept walking down the street. There he saw the odd girl from before, now with another strange man grabbing her by the wrist. Then the girl deftly kicked the man in the stomach and ran off.
Well that was odd. Perhaps it would be best if refrained from involving myself? Besides, any man that lets little girls kick him in the stomach isn't worth any of my time.
Having reached a decision, Takeshi sighed and kept walking, his heavy foot steps echoing down the empty street. That was until the strange man pushed his hoari aside and revealed his weapon, commanding what crowd remained to move aside as he darted after the small girl. Takeshi stood there for a few moments, his hands shaking slightly until the balled into fists, a mad, almost evil grin slowly spreading across his face. Three... two... one! He bolted after the strange man, eyes alight with mad glee. Even in a full suit of armor, he ran faster than most men could run normally and it wasn't long before he found them again. They were in a small alleyway, the man now with his weapon drawn. Takeshi almost started laughing, but managed to refrain from doing so, though the pure joy he felt was quite evident. He slowly stepped into the alley, his heavy footsteps echoing deeply in the small space.

He slowly dragged his metal clawed fingers against the wooden wall of the alley, leaving deep gouges in the wood. He finally spoke, his voice filled with a bizarre mix of barely contained excitement and raw anger. "This will be more fun than walk. Will fight you instead."
He might've been at a slight disadvantage without his scythe, but it would only get stuck in the cramped alley. His fists would be more than enough. He slid his feet apart, left foot out in front right foot back with his feet at 45 degree angle and parallel to each other, hands slowly clenching and unclenching in anticipation.

Ren simply blinked and turned, as he registered a new opponent. It was only a white haired human, in some type of armor. As the man scratched the ally way's walls, he simply sighed and turned. To him, the newcomer just reminded him of a cat puffing up its fur-nothing more of a threat. After all, this man was only human-creatures he barely thought were strong enough to bother with. This was a human, no matter how dressed or under dressed he was, or how he feigned to be a sort of demon.

Ren simply turned around, though blocking any escape the other girl had. He spoke, his voice even, and cold.

"Unfortunatly, I have no interest in fighting weak humans." He paused, before adding "Especially one who tries nothing but to seem greater."

With that said, he simply had a bored gaze,as he continued to stare at the shichitou. He wasn't interested in anyone but this demon girl at the moment. He could care less what the other man did. By his observation, he had no weapon, except that sorry excuse for armor he wore. The spikes on it looked sharp, yes but wounds by slashing was not a real threat when you could heal instantly and quickly.

Noticing Kimiko arrive into the room Aka gives a slight pause in his sharpening to give her a chance to speak They went to Edo Kimiko says before yawning and sitting down beside the door. "Edo eh? what do you think we should do" Aka asks Kimiko for her opinion knowing in the end it was up to him to make the call. Looking at his blade finally satisfied with how sharp it is he sets it down and puts away the small whetstone he used for sharpening it.

Tossing open the window Aka looks around the sun beating down hotter then earlier. "We should take the rest of the day to get some supplies for when we leave" Aka thinks to himself surveying the streets beyond the window. A smile slowly creeping onto his face with the thought of catching the so called saviors with there pants down.

She had just sat down when Aka asked her opinion on the matter at hand. She didn't know why he cared, he usually solved his problems the same way, but maybe even this idiot knows his limits. Aka stood from his seat and walked to the window, swinging it open allowing the muggy summer winds to dash through. While she thought of the best course of action she took the black cloak off over her head, sending her unfortunate hair into a frizzy shamble of knots. The heat was really getting to her, she loathed to take her armor off, but the heats of Kyoto were much greater than her hometown.

The Shichitou, honorable men of the people, up holding order in place of this corrupt government. Sounded like a godsend to the citizens in this catastrophic time, but ultimately the group would prove a nuisance to Kimiko, so removal was required. Smirking as an idea came to her, Kimiko rose from her seat with slight assistance from the wall, ”If these people aim to protect people, the obvious goal would be to make the citizens of Edo hostile towards them.” Walking to the other side of the room she grabbed her red cloak and flung it bunched over her shoulder, ”For now let us try to summon them, not throw ourselves at them. Unless of course you have an idea of your own Aka?”

---

Ayane shifted her weight while sitting so to take the pipe from Amaterasu. Who as politely as she assumed the girl to be spoke, "Please enjoy the weather then, Miss Ayane. We'll depart immediately." Nodding Ayane took a match and lit the pipe moving the cloth and her mask aside just enough to take a puff of her pipe.

And as always the girl chose to direct the carriage even though it would have been better if she weren't occupied by it if they were to be attacked. With the slap of the reins the horses moved off and the carriage lurched forwards as gently as it ever could. She took another puff from her pipe this time releasing a circular smoke ring.

"Miss Ayane..." Amaterasu said quietly.

"mmm"

"I'd prefer we not to go to the Yukimura, at least, I'd prefer you not to go there. If you were to allow me to say my own honest opinion, I think it's a terrible idea. In fact, I think it's just a terrible idea that those demons are even allowed to hold a meeting while we could, Miss."

Ayane had already gone over this with Amaterasu the day after announcing the meeting. But it seemed the girl had yet to understand the situation. mm let her talk, she's being so polite about it might as well hear her out seeing as I have nothing better to do at the moment. Thinking to herself Ayane sat up straighter and took another puff of her pipe.

Looking around trees surrounded the road on both sides. Meaning they could be surrounded and attacked in a moment. The horses would go wild at the sight of blades and the sudden appearance of strange men. Which meant Amaterasu would have a slower reaction time to defending her mistress. Frowning a bit Ayane said nothing waiting for Amaterasu to speak her mind.

"Miss Ayane, I really think this is a bad idea." She spoke up again. Watching her behavior Amaterasu was being a bit paranoid but it was better than her being relaxed. Ayane didn’t mind it too much the not knowing as there was no need for her to fear the unknown. Having died about 8 times this was easy as walking through a meadow. with hidden creatures that would do you harm if provoked. Ayane shook her head laughing silently so as not to disturb Amaterasu's voices of concern.

"We have no clue what those filthy Yukimura scum could be planning to do with all demon heads in their own territory..."

Yes indeed they could but it wouldn’t be wise to do such a thing. Not with who the current heads as they are now.

"If anything comes out, or if you see anything, Miss Ayane, I'd like to make a request that you tell me silently where they are so I can take more precaution." Amaterasu said. “We’re closer to the damned place after all..."

"Amaterasu calm down and relax a bit. Don't you think I've thought of all the possibilities before making the decision to come here? Being the clan of the South we are to travel the farthest than the other Heads." She spoke softly and with a teasing voice that portrayed annoyance and hurt at being doubted.

Taking a puff from the pipe Ayane blew a dragon that just for a moment flew into Amaterasu's solemn face. Watching her reaction Ayane continued speaking.

" Amaterasu, think about it. Do you really believe I would be wasting my precious time with this trip if it didn’t mean something? Everything has its purpose and this is no exclusion of it. Even if things were to go wrong as long as I am able to get away everything will be alright. Besides I wish to see how the others are doing and this is a rare chance to do so."

Ayane knew what she was doing and weigh the pros and cons of her decision. She did everything for a reason and this was simply so she could see who the new head of the Tenzou clan was. She had yet to meet the girl face to face but Ayane knew what was needed from her intel.

The trip took longer than Ayane but it mattered little to her. Soon enough the scenery around them changed but not so much as to startle the senses. And soon within the next hour or so they would arrive before the manor that was known as the Yukimura Household.

The tuck and roll of the ship was somewhat soothing in a way, not being entirely familiar with traveling on the ocean this was a comforting experience to say the least. The sound of the wave splashing against the ships hull, almost lulled Koemi to sleep. However she was sure that the Lady Tenzou's experience with sea travel was not as enjoyable as hers. When they landed on dry land once again, she made a mental note of Shinka's reaction. The prayers and praises to Buddah were more than enough for Koemi to see if there might be a better way, so that the return trip would not be so traumatic for the the Tenzou Clan Head. But that would have to wait, they had to press forward in order to make it to the gathering of the clans in time. Despite the Tenzou's gratefulness to be on land, Koemi was more uneasy now that the hardest part of their journey had begun. She was not so naive to believe that they were so safe in this land, peace was not always what your allie was seeking. So her fears for the Lady Tenzou's life grew, because she knew there was more likely to be a problem now that they were on land and traveling on foot then it had been before on the ship.

Despite her suspicions and worrying the first two days of traveling the lands on their way to the meeting at the Yukimura's was quite uneventful. When they reached then inn Koemi was looking forward to a much needed rest, sleeping in a real bed was almost a dream to her after camping for the past couple of days. One would think that the Lady Tenzou would prefer to stay at an inn each night, then to set up camp out in the elements. But that was quite the opposite, Koemi supposed that is why she and Shinka seemed to get along quite well, neither one of the liked to conform to the standards of most females around them. Koemi made sure that the Tenzou clan leader got a decent room in the inn and when she heard what was to be on the dinner menu that evening from the inn keeper. She was sure she could find something more to Shinka's liking somewhere else. When she made her way to a nice restaurant not to far from the inn she was sure things would be alright long enough for her to run in and get Shinka something to eat. Besides what harm could come to the lady sitting in her room meditating.

When she returned, happy with her choice for the meal not only for Shinka, but herself; she was met by a distraught inn keeper and his wife. They were raving on and on how The Lady Tenzou had made a complete mess of things and had bested some of the finest warriors in the town, also not to mention some of the inns best customers. Koemi gave a sigh and asked pardon after pardon from the inn keeper who was on the verge of telling them both to gather their things and leave. But after some more apologies on Koemi's part and a few extra coins, they agreed to let them stay.... as long as the were out, by the morning. This was immaterial to Koemi because that had been the plan from the beginning. But the fact that she couldn't leave Shinka to her own device for more than ten minutes was a bit aggravating.

With a sigh of regret she made her way through the corridors of the inn till she made it too the door of the Tenzou head's room. She gave a gentle knock, announcing her entrance into the room. As expected Koemi found Shinka meditating the room filling with the sounds of the mantra.


"My Lady I have brought you your dinner for the evening, it would have been warmer. But I was stopped by the inn keeper and his wife on my way in. Seems there was a bit of a ruckus involving a group of patrons that had drink a little too much saki..."

She sat the carefully wrapped food on a small table in the room as she bowed respectfully. She didn't see the point in bringing up the confrontation anymore than needed. The men had been in the wrong for drinking themselves into a stupor so much so that they where unable to get themselves into the correct room and even more in the wrong that they had lingered long enough in the Lady's room to raise her ire.

"I managed to get you some peaches as well"

Koemi smiled gently as she started to untie the bundle, and neatly arrange the meal on the table. The little bamboo boxes sat in rows, all filled with various dishes that Shinka was more familiar with and accustomed to eating.