Chapter 1: The Meeting

Geez. How did it come to this? Was this the best that I could really do? Being worked to death daily, beaten and chained for speaking out... yet they still expect me to help with demons and still offer me no freedom otherwise... at this rate it seems like no village will ever accept me - that is if I can even get out of this one to look for other villages...

I sighed as I leaned at the end of my shackles, my long golden hair falling to the floor... humans can be such cruel creatures.

The door opened from above to reveal a man. A brute to be exact. He and his brother were my "caretakers". More like abusers.

"Hey, brought you your food, Partial" He said, tossing a small bowl of rice my way and slamming the door shut.

It didn't matter that I had a name. All they saw me as was a Partial. When a half demon (or hanyou) lays with a human, they produce a quarter demon, also known as a Partial. Why would a quarter demon be so feared? For one thing, we are rare and little is known about us. For another thing, some of us can have some... interesting combinations of powers. For instance, my father was the son of a great dragon demon and a priestess, and my mother was a powerful priestess, herself. So, in a unique twist, I happened to inherit both spiritual and demonic powers - probably the only quarter demon with such devastating potential. I could have made out to been quite the beast - but I never did. Our village was so wonderful and accepting of our family. I eventually became a sword smith and left the village to work under Master Totosai, a very talented sword smith indeed, and the creator of the great Testuaiga and Tensaiga. Unfortunately, when I returned from my apprenticeship, I came back to find my village had been desecrated. My father had been killed by demons and his sword stolen, which then left the village defenseless to bandits, who laid siege to the town. As far as I know, nobody survived... For a while, I wandered the land with my two forged swords - a demon sword with an almost non-existent aura and a sacred sword for which I transfer my spiritual powers. But when I lost possession of my demon sword I realized that I longed for a place to call home, and started hopping from town to town, looking for acceptance - searching for a place that I belonged. Each and every time, when the truth arose - and with my appearance, it didn't always take long - I was rejected. Eventually, I landed myself in this predicament, which obviously I don't have much of a choice in leaving.

Well, that's not particularly accurate. I could easily escape this situation. I guess the biggest point is that I've given up on finding a better place. Out of the three years I've been searching for a place, this is the first town that hasn't tried to slay me. There weren't really any young women or children, though, so mercy wasn't at the top of the townsfolk's list. They'd rather control me than work with me. And yet, at this point, I felt like that was the best I could possibly ask for.

After my early morning breakfast, I started to hear some commotion outside. I struggled at the end of my chains to look through a crack in the wall. What I saw was terrifying and yet... almost liberating. It was a massacre. Fire and screaming danced around the battleground. Aw, hell. My stupid kind nature was getting to me. I have to help the townspeople. I look around for anything I could use to smash the chains but of course, all I had was a bowl and chopsticks. My priestess sword was too far away... Guess I'm gonna have to kick through the wall first. I start working at the wall where both my chains were fastened. After a while, I managed to kick through the wall all around where my chains connected. I then pulled the two chains away from one another, splintering the remaining wood that connected them so that they were split apart. I grabbed my blade and peaked out of the crack. Seven figures loomed amongst the fire and rubble. Damn. Am I too late? I struggled to listen in.

"Man, that was too easy."

"Don't say that yet, we still haven't found the girl." The girl?

"You'd think that a partial with gold hair would stick out like a sore thumb in a place like this." My eyes widened.

"Man, we won't get paid if we don't eliminate her." Damn it all.

"See, Jokotsu? This is why we don't slaughter everyone right away when we're looking for a specific target."

"That's not fair, brother Bankotsu. You know how I get carried away. Someone should have stopped me."

"Can't be helped now. Fan out men, anyone who might still have a breath in them is to be interrogated." Shit, anyone who lives here will give up my position in no time. Should I fight? I rolled the chains up around my arms so that they wouldn't be in the way.

The man with the large sword and long braid started heading towards my shed, a perplexed look on his face. Shit! Did he hear me? Hey, that sword looks familiar...

"Why would they chain this door shut like this." He began to undo the chains. My breathing quickened and my heart raced. This is it, as soon as he gets that chain off, I will be fighting for my life. I readied my sword. The chain thumped to the ground.

I burst out of the shack, swiping my sword at the man's neck, who, almost anticipating my move, dodged backwards.

"Ah, so this is where you've been hiding all this time." He said with a smirk. His eyes widened with recognition as a cocky grin broke out across his face. The man raised his eyebrows. "Are those chains on your arms?"

"Shut the hell up!" I growled. I ran towards him and connected swords. "What exactly do you want with me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He said with a cool smirk. He wasn't really putting up much of a fight. The sword, however... It alone pushed me back. I jumped back to regain some momentum.

"What the Hell is a human like you doing with Banryu?" I said, pointing my sword at him.

"You know about my Halberd?" He said, connecting swords with me again.

"Puh. What, do you call it that because you chop people's heads off with it? Tch. Fitting." I spat as I redirected Banryu to the ground. I reached for its handle, ready to tear it from the human's grip, and sparks immediately sprang forward onto my hand. I sprang backwards. So it still rejects me, huh? The young man's expression only grew more curious.

"My companion doesn't seem to like you all that much. Wonder why." He said as he pulled Banryu up and pointed it at me. I bet Banryu appreciates being referred to as a companion. "How exactly do you know about it? More so, how could you know I chop off heads with it?"

"It told me." I said, readying my sword, "I'd be pretty concerned if I didn't know anything about it. I created it, after all."

"Really? A sword that rejects its creator. Interesting." The young man said as we crossed blades once more.

"Tch. Save it. I'll be taking Banryu back, if you don't mind."

"Over my dead body!" He said, pushing me back yet again.

I sneered and dropped the chain on my right arm to the ground and swung it towards him. The man raised the sword to block and the chain wrapped around Banryu. I jerked the halberd from his hand and, as it flew to the ground, I lunged forward to slash away at him. He kept his cool, casually dodging each slash of my sword with simple steps and a straight face.

"You sure do like to swing that thing around. What is that? A priestess sword?" He said with a haughty grin as he continued to dodge me.

"Trying to get me to lose my focus? Get me frustrated? Heh, sorry, but that won't work on me." I kept slashing, knowing that he'd slip up eventually - no human could be faster than me. Turns out he hit a wall before I could out-speed him. Good enough. I lunged forward to deal the final blow, aiming for his neck. He grimaced. Damn. He opened his eyes, intrigued by the fact that he was still alive. The tip of my sword was held at less than a centimeter from his neck.

"DAMN IT ALL." I said, plummeting to the ground. "I can't do it." I put my hands on my face in shame.

"Interesting. You're fighting for your life and yet you can't finish me off." The man said, scratching his cheek. He walked over to Banryu and lifted it up out of the ground. I sat, shaking, my face in my hands as I cried in frustration. I pivoted around to face him, putting my hands on the ground.

"I won't beg for mercy. I cannot continue fighting. Do what you wish." I'm too hungry and tired to run, and I will NOT be any more of a disgrace than I already am.

"Very well then." He said, raising the massive sword above his head. I cringed, closing my eyes and dropping my head. *CLANG!* What?

I was still alive. I looked down at my hands, which were suddenly freed from my shackles. I looked back up at the man in shock.

"I like your style. My name is Bankotsu and I am the leader of The Band of Seven. I'd like to say it's the best team of mercenaries around."

"Aren't you here to kill me?" I breathed.

"Doesn't matter anymore." He responded. "Stand up, Misaki."

"How did you-"

"You think a mercenary would go to kill someone without knowing who they are?" He said, cocking his head at me. Then why did you all keep referring to me as the partial with golden hair? You know what? That's not important.

"Mercenary, huh. I'm curious as to why they'd send such an elite team after me." I said, standing up and brushing myself off. The entirety of the Band of Seven stood there watching - just as dumbfounded as I was with this whole situation.

"I don't see why, either. Other than the fact that we lobbied for the job. You don't exactly seem like the dangerous type, Misaki." The man stated lackadaisically, scratching his head as he rested Banryu on his shoulder. Is this guy serious?

"Gee, I wonder what gave you that idea. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't able to finish you off?" I sniped at him.

"Now now. No need to be hostile." He said, waving his free hand at me.

"How can I be anything else?! You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"What, do you want to die or something?"

"Of course not!"

"Well then, why don't you just shut up and join us in our travels instead?" Bankotsu said.

"Wait, what?" The entire Band of Seven chimed in. Bankotsu sent a look to the group that silenced them immediately.

"Okay, you can't be serious right now." I said.

"I am being serious." He said, pinching his forehead in frustration. "Look, I don't want to kill you."

"Why not? It's what you came here to do."

"Call it a whim." He said evenly.

I cocked my head at him. Why the Hell is this guy changing tunes? What's his game? "How can I know that I can trust you?"

"You can't know for sure unless you try. But just so you know, I despise betrayal."

"Okayy, I don't know how that even BEGINS to explain -"

"Look, it will be good for you to have some people who can protect you while you look for a new home, won't it? We can help you out with that. Besides, I'm curious to learn a little more about my companion."

"I... I guess..." So that's his game, huh? He wants to learn about Banryu...

"Ah, yes. You're a fine girl indeed. Well then, Misaki - in that case - I'm going to make you my woman!" He said with a big cheeky grin, throwing his arm around my shoulders. My eyes widened. Heke?

"I am NOT something to be OWNED!" *smack!* Right on the cheek. I huffed at him for a moment. Where the Hell did that come from? He took a few deep, brooding breaths as his face became distorted in frustration. His nose wrinkled.

"Well girl, you're going to regret that if you don't apologize." He said, coolly.

"I have nothing to apologize for - you deserved it, you pig!" I huffed, turning a bit away from him.

"Why you... what was that, WENCH?" He growled, grabbing my hair and yanking my head to him.

"Whoa, take it easy there, Bankotsu. This isn't how-" The feminine one began to say. I quickly cut him off with a hiss.

"I've lived enough of my life being owned. Lay one more aggressive hand on me and I definitely won't go with you!" And with that, he quickly released my hair.

"Okay, I won't." He sighed, showing me his hands submissively to calm me down. Well that was easy. "Look, I'm not intending to hurt you or kill you. I just want to help-"

"And why the Hell is that?"

"Well, for one thing, you've got amazing combat skills - and it would be such a waste to just kill you. On top of that, you are my companion's creator, so I can get some extra info. You are also rather intriguing. For instance, Banryu - it rejects you. You also seem to be completely incapable of killing another human being, even if it costs you your life. BUT you have a priestess sword, which probably means demons are ok for you to take out - and that expression tells me I'm right... Your are rather beautiful as well, in fact... Shall I go on?"

"Not much of this makes sense as to why you, a mercenary, would be interested in me."

"She has a good point Big Brother. Why are you pressing this? I say we kill her and get the money that we -"

"-Renkotsu!" Bankotsu shot a glare at Renkotsu - who backed off - then took a step toward me, changing his expression to something more... gentle. "Look, I have my reasons. That's all you need to know." he said, opening his arms welcomingly.

I glared at him suspiciously. "I cannot kill humans. I cannot help you."

"I could tell. I'm not asking you to kill anyone. Though, I bet you could kill demons just fine."

"What will you do if I decline? I do not wish to be forced into any decision."

"I'm inviting you to travel with us, not threatening you with your life."

"And what if I join you all and then decide to leave? Can I do that?"

"You may come and go as you please." Bankotsu answered, completely calm. That's odd.

"And what of this 'making me your woman' thing?"

"You just made it pretty clear that you are not an item to be owned."

"So?" As if I'd believe you'd give up that easily.

Bankotsu lifted his chin, closed his eyes, and grinned. "I'll just have to earn your love while you stay."

My face grew red, "You should probably worry about trust first!"

"Ha ha, does that mean you'll join us? I mean, we sorta left you without a home - if you want to call being shackled in an old hut, home"

I thought quietly for a moment.

"I suppose I do need to at least look for a new home. That point has already been made..."

"At the very least, we could help you find a home that accepts you for you. Promise we won't pillage whichever one you pick." Bankotsu said.

I thought for a moment, then confidently put my hands on my hips. "Alright, you're on. So uh, who's who?"

And thus, began a new adventure for me to embark upon. How was I going to deal with these mercenaries when my own heart was oh so soft? What was I going to do about Banryu and this Bankotsu fella? This would be the first time in a long time that I was free. I could just leave but... will my fears chain me down? I guess the real question is, am I really actually free?