Koiojin Musou: Tales of the Armored War Goddesses

Chapter 1: The Orange Goddess

"Itai-tai-tai-tai."

Opening her green emerald eyes, Naomi Oda groaned and sat up. Her head was pounding and her vision was a bit blurry. Shaking her head, she checked her body for any sort of wounds to explain why she felt like a semi truck had run him over. Her blue and orange sailor fuku with a ripping, her blue skirt and shoes, and most importantly her head were all intact and clear of signs of blood or wounds. Scratching her head, she felt her black hair still in place with her ponytail.

Her personal check dealt with, he stood up with minimal amounts of vertigo and managed to see where he was. Around her he was in a field of some sort and the trees looked like they were blooming into cherry blossoms. Above her, the sky was clear blue, but she couldn't hear the noise of the city he was used to. In fact, she couldn't hear anything but birds and the breeze. For a girl who lived in the city for her entire life, it was a little strange. Not unpleasant of course, but still strange.

"What the...wasn't I in a museum before…?" Naomi wondered, now thoroughly confused at what she was looking at.

Scratching her head, Naomi tried to remember what had happened before being knocked out. She and her classmates had been visiting the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum for a field trip. She got separated from her class when she got distracted by terracotta warriors supposedly made for Sousou of the Three Kingdoms era. She spotted some kid in a white school uniform trying to make off with a mirror from the same era as the statues. Naomi chased after the guy, but he had some sort of mad skills in martial arts and either knocked Naomi back or outright clobbered her, in her opinion he sees her as an equal between the genres. Still, Naomi boasted serious stamina raised by her kendo classes and kept right on the kid. She remembered shouting for help and some kids from some of the other visiting schools jumped in to grab the would-be thief. Naomi remembered some girl in a black and red uniform actually tackling the thief and knocking him over. Sadly, the mirror broke in the chaos and the next thing Naomi knew…

"I'm all the way out here," She frowned. Looking back at the pink trees, she had to frown, "But the Sakura Viewing was a month ago. The blossoms should all be gone by now. Did some stick it out or what? But..." She move her hand as a petal landed on her palm. "...I don't really mind about it." Cherry blossoms flowers are her favorite flowers.

And then her stomach growled.

"Oog. Mom was right. I shouldn't have skipped breakfast," Naomi groaned, clutching her stomach. As she did, her hand hit something metal and pushed it.

"LOCK ON!"

"Huh?" Naomi looked down as a war trumpet began to play and he spotted a black belt buckle with a padlock in the centre which was decorated by an orange with the black letters L.S.-07 on the front. The edges around the orange were glowing as the traditional Japanese war trumpet went off. On the right side of the lock was a sword-like handle poised to cut the orange open. On the other side was a picture of a blue-helmeted warrior with a silver mouthplate and a rainbow-coloured visor.

"Oh yeah. Forgot I had that. Didn't know I was wearing it," Naomi chuckled to herself. She was a bit of a Kamen Rider fan and was a big fan of the new Kamen Rider Gaim and Kamen Rider Girls. She had seen the SengokuDriver for sale on his way to school and she just couldn't resist it. She had even bought Gaim's arsenal of Lockseeds from the store to complete it. Suika, Pine, and Ichigo were all crammed into her pockets. In the confusion of her surroundings, she had forgotten than she had it. She couldn't remember putting it on though.

As she tried to discern which way she should be going, several men started coming out of the trees. They were a bunch of dirty guys wearing drab and dirty clothes. They were all armed with medieval weapons from ancient China and none of them had nice looks on their faces. Other than that, they seemed rather non-descript save for the fact that one had a large nose and was short, the second was tall and chubby, and the leader of the bunch had a metal helmet on his head and a cleft chin.

"Man, what a letdown!" the leader with the helmet snorted, hefting his Dao sword over his shoulder. "We hear those war horns and think we're getting a front row seat to a battle and all we get is this girl."

"So much for getting swag from dead soldiers," huffed the shorter man with the big nose.

"That belt and her clothes look like they could be worth a lot though!" remarked a nondescript man, pointing his spear at an increasingly scared Naomi. "And also, she's a cutie." Said with a lustful smirk.

The leader blinked and looked Hiroto's image over, a greedy gleam coming to his eyes, "Hey, yeah. That material looks mighty strange. It might just be worth a lot! Including her! Let's take it all boys!" The whole group were thinking the same thing with lustful expression.

"Now come here girl, we're gonna take you to heaven." The leader said.

Naomi gulped, backing away from the men as she realizes that they plan on raping her or maybe worst, killing her. The bandits approaching the girl, when something more important took their attention.

"Stop!"

A black blur leaped from the forest and something struck at the bandits' weapons in a clash of steel and shower of sparks. The men halted their advance, becoming guarded. Naomi blinked but her vision was blinded when a sheet or cloak landed on her, blocking her sight. She struggled with it for a moment before tossing it aside. Able to see again, she looked forward to see who had joined them.

The new person was in fact a boy. He had long black hair which a fringe hung on the side of his face and tied in a luxurious ponytail on the back. He wore a black tunic with a green vest over it with purple cloud-like accents at the end of the sleeves and dark green pants. In his hands was a quan dao bladed staff which was green with the blade coming out of an ornate dragon's mouth. His face was pretty though, easily leagues above plenty of guys Naomi had met in his life. His skin looks tough and looked slightly tanned from exposure to the sun while his eyes were hard golden.

His also...handsome. Couldn't forget about that.

"Bandits!" the boy declared, pointing her weapon at the group. "I will not allow you to harm anymore innocent people! I have made it my duty to hunt down and exterminate your kind!"

The leader of the men snorted, getting ready for a fight, "Tsk! And just who the heck is this poser?"

Only the short bandit seemed to be holding some concern, "Hey, boss. We might be in trouble here," the boss stopped his optical examination and glanced to his comrade. "This might be that man everyone's been talking about. The one who's been wandering around the mountains and taking out bandit groups everywhere. He's got a green crescent blade, long dark hair, and an incredible martial artist from what I heard."

"Oh yeah? They said that guy's supposed to be a god of martial arts! This one may have struck our weapons but he's not so great," the leader huffed. The shorter bandit glanced at their opponent and nodded, something the other bandits agreed to with solidarity nods. That comment caused a bulging vein to appear on the guy's head as he grit his teeth.

"Do not underestimate my skills! I will stain my Green Dragon Crescent Blade with your blood!" Declared the boy raising his weapon.

"Tsk! Whatever!" the lead bandit huffed, losing his patience. "Even if you are the Black-Haired Bandit Hunter I'll just chop off your hair and use it for something nice on my head! Get him boys!"

Naomi flinched, but the boy charged just as the bandits charged back at him. Despite being severely outnumbered, he somehow managed to handle himself expertly. His weapon crashed against the ones of the bandits, somehow not even a hair on his head getting cut even though so many strikes were aimed at him from so many angles. Naomi was entranced, somehow the boy's beauty was shining through even greater than before despite being in the midst of battle. Despite the life-and-death consequences to the fighting, Naomi couldn't look away.

What was quickly apparent though was that the bandits were outclassed by the boy's skill. Despite how he looked like a simple teenage boy, he obviously was no damsel-in-distress. One thrust of his weapon caught the leader off guard and knocked him flat onto his butt, the tip of the boy's blade cut into his tunic. He hissed in pain, both from the impact and from the slight cut on his chest. Crab-walking away from the boy as his underlings continued fighting, he spotted Naomi out of the corner of his eye, still watching the fight.

'A bandit knows when to cut his losses,' the leader snorted in his mind before looking back at his men. "Forget that boy! Just grab the girl and we can profit off of her belongings!"

"What?!" Naomi gasped, but two of the bandits broke off from their fight and began running at them.

"No! Leave her alone!" the boy cried, but was cut off by the remaining bandit.

Naomi yelped and began backing away from the fight, watching the two bandits charge closer with greed in their eyes. she backed away as fast as she could, only to back into a tree as she tried to turn and run, smacking her head against the bark. The tree branches shook slightly from the impact and disrupted the things above in the branches. One particular object was a heavy nut which a particularly lucky animal had managed to hunt down for a meal. The impact to the tree caused the nut to wobble precariously in the nest it was situated in before it tumbled out. Falling down, it defied immense odds and struck the Cutting Blade lever on Naomi's SengokuDriver. The weight and the force from the fall pushed the lever down and thanks to the inner mechanics the device completed the cut once it went down far enough to strike the Lockseed. The orange device opened, revealing the inside of an orange in the lock, and an orange-themed scimitar in the bottom slice. The Lockseed flashed as an enlarged image of the slice was projected.

"SOIYA!"

Above Naomi, the air seemed to ripple as a zipper opened a circular hole in the air, revealing misty air and giant trees. From the hole emerged a giant orange made of steel with studs, shining with enough orange light to cause the boy and the bandits to stop fighting and begin gaping at the object.

"Eh?" Naomi blinked, looking up to see the orange. "EHH?!"

The Orange Arms then dropped, landing squarely on Naomi's shoulders, covering her head. When the item hit, waves of energy wrapped around her, covering her in a blue reinforced fabric with a quilted chest and gold bracers and greaves on her arms and legs, the bodysuit also shows how slender and curvy she is. On her side was a thin black sword with a hilt designed like a handgun.

"ORANGE ARMS!"

"EHHHHH?!" Naomi cried inside the orange before she felt her head being wrapped in a helmet. It was identical to the one on her belt before an orange samurai-seque helmet with metal studs, gold side decoration, and a green stem on the top attached to her helmet, giving her a visor colored and shaped like an orange slice. The metal orange then gave off a splash of orange energy before opening and wrapping around Naomi's body. The front portion folded together at the middle before connecting to her chest, fitting perfectly with the orange metal and black siding to accent it to form a breastplate. The two sides folded together before resting on her shoulders as protective plating. The top and back folded together onto Naomi's back, landing on her back but without the color. Another splash of energy allowed the armor to set, as well as summon the sword from his Lockseed into her hand.

"HANAMICHI ON STAGE!"

"EHHHHHHHH?!" the new Gaim cried, grasping at her helmet, daring herself to say it wasn't there.

"Wha-wha-what the hell is this?!" the leader of the bandits cried, breaking the spell of the transformation.

"Must be some kind of magic! Boss, we could sell it for a fortune and live like kings!" one of the bandits cried out.

"Read my mind!" the leader grinned. "Get her!"

The bandits forgot all about the boy and instead charged at Gaim with riches on their minds.

"Oi! Chotto! Matte!" Gaim shouted in protest. One of the bandits went to slash at Gaim and she screamed, "Kyaaaahhhhh!" By reflex she raised up the orange scimitar. The orange blade actually broke the bandit's sword. "Eh?"

She didn't have time to really consider what she did when more of the bandits lunged at her. She yelped and swung wide with her Daidaimaru, breaking their weapons with every strike, and rendering them unarmed. Even without their weapons, the greed was driving them like a force of nature at that point. They lunged to try and pin her down so they could take something, anything from the suit that they could profit off of. Gaim never gave them the chance as she punched one bandit in the face, sending him tumbling backwards into the dirt. The short bandit tried pulling at Gaim's belt, but got kicked away and landed against a tree with a groan. The fat bandit even tried a body slam, but Gaim actually caught the man before throwing him away into the dirt.

"Wow...sugei..." Gaim uttered in awe. She had never felt so powerful before. It was like a dream. "Then that means..." she drew the Musou Saber. "Then this can..." she pulled the hammer on the gun piece and a portion of the blade glowed yellow. "It works."

She got the chance to test it when the bandit leader tried charging him with his two cronies. Gaim took aim and pulled the trigger, shooting a single bolt which struck one bandit in the shoulder and left him with a smoking hole in his shoulder as he rolled on the ground in pain. The other two bandits left him as they continued the charge, but they were likewise stopped by several more shots which left them writhing in pain as well.

"Look, I don't want any trouble," started Gaim, still shaking after just shooting them, "But if you value your...your lives..." She was trying to sound confident, and slightly failing. "You'll get out of my sight!" She barked.

The bandits seemed to have been snapped out of their greed and their common sense returned. Grunting, groaning, and even yelping in pain the collected what was left of their dignity, their wounded comrades, and began to make a run for it into the woods. The only ones left behind were Gaim and the boy who was still staring in shock at her, his weapon pointing at the ground.

Once the bandits were out of sight, Gaim fell to her knees and exhaled, "Hah..." She then closed her Orange Lockseed and her armor vanished in a flash of light. She unlocked it from her SengokuDriver and studied it, trying to rationalize what had taken place, "But it's supposed to be a toy, right? This must be a dream. That could be the only way to explain it."

What the boy, one Kanu Unchou, had seen could only be called an act of magic. Somehow, this unimpressive young woman had summoned a suit of armor which fell from the Heavens themselves. Wait, the Heavens? He studied her better. She wore strange clothes and had strange tools that she used to adorn herself in that suit of armor. Her accent even sounded quite strange. She then fought the bandits and was able to chase them away with little effort. He had heard the legends. Could she be...?

Naomi looked up and saw the boy looking at her and blushed. 'Wow...' She couldn't help but admire. He was handsome! He had a great body build, and long black hair that made him even more. Not only that he was strong, he manages to take care of the bandits by himself, it makes her fell like she was in a fairy tale where a prince charming came to her rescue.

The boy got his senses back. Holding his weapon in a manner that showed he wasn't going to threaten her, he approached her. He opened his mouth several times, but instead kneeled in front of Naomi in order to look her in the eye which Naomi blushes by looking at him. Finally, he got the nerve to speak.

"Are...you the Messenger of Heaven?" He asked, almost quiet as if he feared that another was listening from someplace hidden.

"Huh?" Messenger of Heaven? "Ah...no. I don't think so. Sorry."

"What? But, your armor, your strange devices! No one else can do that! You must be the Messenger!" Kanu insisted.

"News to me," Naomi sighed. "If I'm a Messenger then no one told me the message. I just ended up here! I don't know what's going on or where I am!"

"W-well, you are in the Kei Province," The boy answered.

"Kei Province?" Naomi blinked. "That sounds like a Chinese province…"

"Well, we are in China so of course it would," The boy nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Naomi blinked...

and blinked…

and blinked.

"EHHHHHHHH?!" She cried out. "I'M IN CHINA?!"

"Ah! Um, y-yes!" The boy nodded, shocked at the outburst. "Um...is something the matter, Ojou-sama?"

"I got transported thousands of miles into China!" Naomi cried. "And I don't even know how!"

"Is it not obvious?" Asked the boy. "The gods must have sent you here as their messenger! The one who will end these turbulent times!"

"Huh?" Naomi blinked. "Turbulent times? Like with what, the government or something?"

"Which government do you speak? There are many in these times," The boy sighed. "With the Gi and the Go factions conquering lands by the day, and other minor factions and provinces scrambling to amass what power and territory they can, it is not the safest of times."

Naomi blinked, "Gi and Go? You mean the kingdoms led by Sousou Motoku and Hakufu Sonsaku? Two of the three great kings of the Three Kingdoms era?"

"Well, that is them," Kanu nodded, "But I would not call this era one of Three Kingdoms since there are only two."

"Uh…" Naomi frowned, now thinking she may have just hit her head and everything she witnessed this far was just a dream. "Excuse me for not asking sooner, but just who exactly are you?"

"Oh! Forgive my rudeness!" The boy bowed deeply. "I am Kanu, followed by Unchou. A mere humble man doing what he can to protect people from the viciousness of the bandits."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Kanu...Unchou..." Her eyes widened. "Wait, did you say your name was 'Kanu Unchou'? The Kanu Unchou?"

"Ah, you have heard of my reputation as the Black-Haired Bandit Hunter?" Kanu asked with some trepidation. He was truly tired of the rumors. Normally he wouldn't mind, but it had gotten to the point where people wouldn't believe who he truly was. His hair was more famous than the rest of him!

Naomi was in mental shock. 'W-w-w-w-what?! T-that can't be! That's impossible! Kanu Unchou was supposed to be much older than that, like a middle-age man and...' She look at Kanu again straight to the face. '...he supposed to have a long black bear and his face looks pretty smooth, like a baby's skin...very smooth' She snapped out of her thoughts. True to be told, Kanu Unchou was older man and being famous with his long beautiful beard, and yet this Kanu Unchou is young and doesn't have beard yet.

"..." Naomi blinked. Something wasn't right. Kanu Unchou was one of the Five Tiger General who served Ryuubi Gentoku of the Shoku Faction of the Three Kingdoms period. Then again, Kanu was a man but, still… "Wh….what year is this?"

"I believe the year is...two years after Emperor Han had passed on," Kanu replied with some though. "However, I do not keep up with such things in these times so I could be wrong."

Han, the Emperor Han of the Han Dynasty of China. It was the only name that came to mind since modern China did not have an emperor anymore. The age after the Han Dynasty fell was the Era of the Three Kingdoms which was likely one of the most well-known periods in Chinese history.

"Guess I've been taken back in time," Naomi realized. She pitched her cheek, hoping it was still just a dream and that she would wake up. When she felt a pitching pain in her cheek it finally dawned on her. "I'M NOT DREAMING!"

"O-Ojou-sama?" asked Kanu with concern for Naomi.

"Waaaaaah! What am I gonna do!?" Naomi panicked. "Everyone back home are gonna be worried sick about me!"

"Ojou-sama, please relax! You've been through a traumatic event!" Kanu began to fret. Oh he found the Messenger and now she was going into a panic over his prophesied duty!

"But I won't be able to go home!" She cried. "What am I supposed to do!?" She then looked at him, "And why do you keep calling me 'ojou-sama'?" Admittedly, she does admit in her mind that it feels rather good being call that by a handsome boy, but when it really happened most tended to question it. Reality tended to suck that way.

"Well...this may sound silly," Kanu scratched his cheek. "When...when I was told the legend by my father...I swore to myself that should I meet the Messenger I would swear myself to them so that I could help bring peace to our lands."

"O-oh," Naomi gulped. "Well...since you've given me your name then I should give you mine. It's Oda. Naomi Oda." She bowed and put her hand to her belt, "But I guess with this belt my more obvious name would be Gaim."

"I thank you for sharing your secret name with me, Gaim-sama," Kanu bowed respectfully. "Although I am unworthy of it so I shall refer to you by your more public name."

"Huh? Public name? Secret name?" Now Naomi was confused. What did he mean by that? Dropping it off as a question for another day she continued, "Well, Kanu-san, I am in your care." She bowed to him again. She really didn't have much of a choice, being a stranger in a strange land. Besides, travelling with a handsome guy like him was better than travelling alone.

Kanu escorted Naomi to the road where the pair of them began walking towards the next village. Naomi really had nowhere to go so she let Kanu lead the way, which the boy happily did after he reclaimed his travel cloak. A slight chill was in the air, but fortunately the spring weather quickly warmed it up.

"So where are we going?" asked Naomi.

"Wherever the wind or the rumors take us, Gaim-sama," Kanu smiled over his shoulder. "At least until we can find the fated path which will allow you to bring peace."

"Uh...okay…" Naomi sweatdropped. She really didn't get all the Messenger of Heaven talk but she couldn't convince Kanu otherwise. The Orange Arms had fallen out of the sky and given her armor, which was something that couldn't be explained logically. So, it could only be because he was Heaven's Messenger that she had such 'magic'.

"So how long until the next town?" asked Naomi, curious about where they were heading. The scenery was beautiful what with the mountains and cherry blossoms, a part of her was glad that she was transport here on the right to see cherry blossoms again.

"I believe from the last town I visited, we'll be able arriving a few walks away from here," Kanu replied.

"Oh, I see..." To Naomi it was a pleasant being accompanied with a handsome guy but going to a town by foot is not pleasant, her foot will be sore for a few walks.

After walking for hours, the pair walked towards the village, seeing the main gates in the distance. Naomi was glad that they have arrive, their walk was so long that she has to tell Kanu a few time for breaks, Kanu wouldn't mind he doesn't want to make his sworn master to suffer, especially a woman, he must always treat a woman with proper manners. As they got closer, the pair found what looked like a large rock with Chinese characters carved onto it with flowers and incense set in front. Obviously it was a shrine, but to whom Naomi couldn't tell since she couldn't read Chinese.

"Hey, Kanu-san. What does this say?" She asked her travelling companion.

"It is a memorial to the people who have been cut down by bandits," Kanu frowned sadly. "It is all too common for these times."

"Oh," Naomi looked sympathetic. "Think we should pay our respects?"

"Of course," Kanu nodded. The pair soon bowed to the stone and made silent prayers to the unfortunate souls who were robbed of more than their welfare by the bandits. Their means of prayer were different, the gap between Chinese and Japanese to be sure. Still, the message was the same; Rest in Peace.

As the two prayed, an old woman carrying an empty basket walked by and glanced at the pair. She sighed sadly before going on her way with a dark muttering, "This wouldn't be happening if the patrols just did their jobs. Nowhere is safe these days."

"Why aren't they?" Naomi questioned, although she may know the answer. Corruption, bribery, or simply put the people didn't pay protection money. It wasn't exactly new. In this era, there weren't exactly a lot of checks or balances to ensure the officials stayed honest.

"Ah, the magistrate is just a coward here and so are his advisors," the woman sighed. "He blusters and makes a show, but he avoids any real responsibility." Shaking her head, she continued walking. "It's best you and your husband keep going if you don't wish to be made a victim here."

"ERK!" the boy and girl choked as the woman's words hit them.

"We're not married!" Naomi cried out with a flush, but the woman just seemed to go on her way without a care. "Sheesh," Naomi scratched his cheek. "Well, let's go shall we?"

"Fine," Kanu blushed as the pair proceeded to go towards the village.

Despite how it seemed that the bandits victimized the place, it was thriving. All the buildings seemed to have been made to stay where they were, not be removed to be rebuilt someplace else. The people walked the streets, perhaps a little subdued but not downtrodden. Plenty of them talked about the important things, like rising produce prices, where to find the best fabrics, who was courting who, typical village talk.

"I really have stepped back in time," Naomi gawked at everything, feeling like she was in Cinema Village back in Kyoto, only she knew it was real. This was a problem since he didn't have any of the local currency.

"To think even a place like this can be plagued by the bandits," Kanu frowned, he grip tightening on his weapon.

"I guess bandits are a really huge problem here," Naomi sighed. "But how threatening can a few bandits be to a trained group of soldiers?"

"Exactly!" Kanu frowned. "Just what is wrong with the magistrate here?"

The pair fell to silence again as Kanu stewed over the injustice and Naomi just pitied the people. There wasn't much they could do about it at that time though. So they continued, just looking at the scenery when…

"There they are!"

The voice sounded enraged, like someone had stolen from him. Kanu was in a stance at the moment, trying to see where the bandits harming the people were found only for a chicken to flutter down from above and blind him for a few moments.

"What the-?!" Naomi blinked as Kanu cleared his face of feathers.

On the other end of the street were a group of kids running towards them, all having packs of eggs or potatoes. One kid was even waving a daikon like a weapon of some sort. At the front of the pack of the wild little ones was a large and rather cute pig and on its back was a boy who couldn't have been much older than ten or twelve. He wore a yellow jacket with a black shirt underneath with a red scarf around his neck. He wore black gloves with red leather gloves on top. He wore leather elbow protector. He even wore black shorts that ran to his knees. Lastly his feet weren't protected by shoes or sandals, but he simply wore some kind of leather which left his toes and heels exposed. He waved a stick around like some cavalry leader with him he had browny-red hair which was short and framed his face and deep-violet eyes, he even had stripes on his face, two in each cheek like a tiger.

"Make way for the Daidai Bandits!" the boy declared loudly. "We're making our getaway!"

Kanu blanched and Naomi couldn't help but giggle, "A...bunch of kids?"

"They're just playing. I really thought it was real bandits," sighed Kanu.

The two were interrupted from their thoughts when they realized that the self-proclaimed Daidai bandits were charging right for them! Kanu and Naomi stumbled to the side, falling on their butts while Naomi struggling to keep her skirt down. As the kids pass, they look at their side to see them out of the village.

"Gaim-sama!" Kanu helping Naomi to stand. "Are you okay?"

"Well...it wasn't an elephant it may have worst." She said. "At least...no one has seen under my skirt." She whispers.

"Pardon?" Kanu asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" Naomi blushed.

The two quickly located a restaurant to eat at. It wasn't incredible, but Kanu was on a budget and a strained one with Naomi riding along so they had to be frugal. Still, the hostess was happy for the business and made them a nice meal.

"Oh, those little ones!" the hostess giggled as Kanu and Naomi recalled their encounter with the Daidai Bandits. "They're at it again huh?"

"Just who are those kids?" asked Kanu. "They call themselves bandits of all things!"

"They're just who they say they are," the hostess replied. "They're bandits led by little Daidai. Oh you should have been here a few days ago! Someone drew a silly face of the magistrate on the wall of his own house! Oh it was so funny!"

"I take it the magistrate isn't a likable guy?" asked Naomi. She knew from history that the medieval people of China tended to take insults seriously and a mocking picture would have been a big one, both to the man himself and to the community if he was a well-liked person.

"Psh! Maybe if he did more than sit in his home and collect taxes," the hostess huffed.

"One would think this Daidai's parents would have more to say about her behaviour," Kanu huffed, not at all impressed by a boy emulating bandits and bringing his friends into the lifestyle. Considering his vocation, Nagata could understand why he didn't approve of it.

"His parents are dead," the hostess sighed sadly. "They were killed by bandits when he was small. His grandfather took him in and raised him out in the forests, but he eventually passed away too. He has no one now."

Kanu flinched and Naomi could only feel a wave of pity for the boy. The hostess sighed and continued speaking, "He's not really a bad boy. In fact other than a little bit of mischief he never causes trouble. Everything he takes is easily replaceable and we're hardly lacking. Heaven knows that boy needs the food herself since he's just too young to do any other kind of work. Even the parents of his friends can't blame him since he hasn't encouraged them to do anything truly harmful and even taught them that hurting people is bad. So please don't judge him too harshly."

"It's fine. Besides, we're only staying for a little bit anyway," Naomi told the hostess. "We'll be on our way pretty soon."

"Yes," Kanu nodded, "But in the meantime, my friend and I have a request."

"A request?" the hostess pondered. "What could it be?"

Naomi groaned as she and Kanu headed into the storeroom for the night. The hostess was most agreeable with Kanu's request. In exchange for helping with the chores, she would allow Kanu and Naomi to spend the night at her establishment. So Kanu and Nagata started on the chores of moving firewood and packages of food to the secure spots so people and animals couldn't get to them. Naomi felt her muscles protest slightly since she hadn't exerted herself so much since her last gym class. She wasn't really out of shape, but she didn't live the lifestyle the villagers were used to.

Inside the storeroom, there was a large pile of firewood and a pile of dried grasses and straw to use as kindling for the stove that the hostess would need to cook.

"Ah, this isn't so bad," Kanu smiled, sitting on the pile of dried straw. "It's better than sleeping out in the wild."

"No doubt," Naomi sighed, rubbing her shoulder. "So do you want the straw or the floor?"

Kanu waved his hands, "I wouldn't dream of making the Messenger of Heaven sleep on the cold floor! You my sleep on the straw. I will sleep on the floor."

"Uh...thanks, Kanu-san." Naomi lay down on the straw. She looks at her left to see Kanu lay down on the floor. After a moment of thinking. "Uh...Kanu-san..."

Kanu looking at Naomi in question as she continued to speak. "W-well...after everything you did for me and I wouldn't want you to sleep on the floor..." Naomi then blushing. "W-w-w-we c-could share t-t-he straw!"

Kanu blinked before his face turned so red, "WH-WHAT?!"

"I-I-I-I-I mean, everything you did for me I could at least repay you back," Naomi blushed. "B-but don't think this will a-allow you to take liberties with me!"

Kanu took a moment of silent before he broke "OK, we can share. I appreciate it. I'll take one side and you'll take the other." He then took his cloak. "We can use my cloak, to form a barrier between us." Kanu suggested

"That works," Naomi sighed, feeling mortified. "So do you want to be on the left or the right?"

"Right," Kanu picked, moving closer to her before placed his cloak down. It was coiled up so it would be thin as not to take up much room.

Naomi sighed as she lay down on the straw, feeling more awkward than she ever did before in her life. Sure, she wanted to one day sleep with a guy but not like this! One she was in a relationship with preferably. As it was now, she felt like she was receiving kindness from a stranger she didn't deserve. As they lay down, facing away from each other, Naomi spoke.

"Kanu-san, thank you," Naomi said.

"It's no trouble, Gaim-sama."

"No, not because of this. Not a lot of people would go out of their way to help a total stranger. You could've just left me alone to fend for myself but instead you asked me to come along with you. Offering you to share a pile of straw is the only thing I could repay you."

"It was my pleasure, Gaim-sama. I couldn't allow you to be left alone where someone could hurt you," Kanu smiled. "Although you do not believe yourself the Messenger of Heaven, I believe you are and will play an important role in things to come."

"Well, I don't want a servant," She replied as he turned to face him, only seeing the back of his head. "I could use a friend. Besides, I think I lucked out since I got a friend as nice as you." As soon as the words left her mouth, she blushed.

Well, if they didn't feel awkward before…but there was also some comfort mixed in. In Naomi's mind, that broke even for her.

The hostess quickly put Kanu and Nagata to work the next day. After Naomi chopped vegetables and Kanu swept up the restaurant, she sent them both out to collect wood and weeds which could be dried out to be made for kindling. The work was simple, but hard and Naomi found herself tired as she and Kanu trekked back into town with their spoils.

"So, you do this kind of work often?" Naomi asked.

Kanu told her, "When you're a travelling warrior like myself, you learn to do whatever you need to survive. If you need to work in exchange for a place to sleep and shelter from the rain, you do so. If you need to work in exchange for a good meal, you do so. If you happen to run into some bandits and capture them to claim a bounty, you do so."

"Ah," Naomi nodded. That he could understand. Nothing was free and Kanu was a man who didn't accept charity. He would rather earn his rewards than receive handouts.

As the two walked down the streets, they passed by the home of the magistrate. The front doors were open and a small group of soldiers were standing in rank in front of the magistrate. The man was wrinkled slightly, like he had never worked a laborious job in his life. The man next to him, a rat-nosed guy with a sharp moustache had a sneer on his lips like he thought that he was better than everyone else.

"Listen up all of you!" the magistrate snapped. "Even if she is a brat, that stupid drawing was too much! She may be small, but she's crafty so don't let your guard down!"

Concerned, Kanu and Naomi approached one of the few civilians watching the briefing going on. Kane found one woman who looked quite concerned, "Excuse me, but what's going on?"

"The magistrate is actually going to send out soldiers to arrest Daidai," the woman replied.

"What? Arrest a child?" Kanu gasped.

"Isn't that a little much?" asked Naomi.

"It's because he's too afraid to face the real bandits," an older woman overhearing them grumbled. "So he comes down heavily on other crimes to make it look like he's doing his job. Like any of us are so easily fooled."

"He was really upset by that drawing," the first woman frowned. "What do you think he'll do with Daidai?"

"Well, he won't be executed," the old woman reasoned. "But I don't think he'll get away without a whipping or a caning."

"That poor boy," the first woman sighed.

Naomi was disgusted by the magistrate. Here was a grown man who was supposed to be using his power to defend the village against bandits but he was using that power to go after some kids and all because they made fun of him. Talk about petty. Maybe if he actually did what he was entrusted to do then maybe people wouldn't make fun of him so much.

"I volunteer!" Kanu raised his hand.

Naomi whispered, "What are you doing?"

"If the soldiers get to her they'll rough her up," Kanu whispered back. "At least I know I won't try to hurt her."

"And then what?" Naomi asked.

"I'll make him apologize and maybe help him," Kanu replied.

"Who said that?" asked the magistrate, motioning his men to part so he could see. Kanu quickly saw his cue and stepped up so the man could see him properly. "Who are you?"

"Kanu, followed by Unchou. I am a wandering martial artist," Kanu introduced. "I heard you are having trouble with Daidai. It would make trouble for you if you had so many guards go out and get hurt. Why don't you let me deal with him?"

"You?" the magistrate muttered. "Well, you do seem dangerous with that weapon you've got there. Are you capable? Are you strong enough?"

"Well, I can't say that for myself. However, I do have some skills," Kanu humbly replied. "And he is just a child. Compared to a real bandit he will be quite easy to defeat."

"Ah!" the advisor gasped, recognition coming to him. "Aren't you the Black-Haired Bandit Hunter?!"

"Eh? Really?" the magistrate gasped, his men following suit.

"I guess Kanu has a reputation," Naomi chuckled weakly.

The magistrate continued, "The rumors say that his martial artist skill is that of a god though. I guess not all rumors can be taken seriously."

Kanu twitched, growling as he struggled not to bean the man over the head for his rather unflattering words, "I-Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Should we trust him, sir?" asked the advisor. If the rumored Bandit Hunter wasn't as gorgeous as people said, other things about he may not be true after all. "He may be unreliable."

"Eh, can't hurt to let him try," the magistrate shrugged before he turned back to Kanu. "Do what you can then. If you can bring the boy to heel and have him apologize, I'll let the incident go. But he has to be here in front of me to do it. Not letters or other messages, understand?"

"Perfectly," Kanu twitched.

"Good," the magistrate nodded. "My advisor will tell you the directions to where she lives. I wish you luck." He then turned and headed back to his mansion while his advisor quickly ordered one of his subordinates to bring him ink and paper so the directions could be written down.

"So, this is the way to her 'secret base', huh?" Naomi asked. The pair were walking down a forest path towards a simple hut which wasn't nearly as hidden as a kid would likely want to have a base be. Heck, even regular bandits were smart enough to hide their bases.

"That's what the directions say," Kanu confirmed.

"Well, here's hoping he doesn't kick up a fuss," Naomi sighed. Nothing was worse than hearing a kid throw a hissy fit in her mind.

The pair continued walking until they reached a sizable tree. They didn't do anything to stop, but something else did when a small boy with a ponytail crawled out onto a branch of the tree he was hiding in. In his arms was a basket of small rocks.

"This road belongs to the Daidai Bandits! Leave now!" he declared boldly before throwing rocks at the pair.

"Kyaa! Hey! Watch it!" Naomi cried, dodging the rocks. Kanu merely blocked the stones with his weapon.

"Stop that right now! That's dangerous!" Kanu chided the child. However, there was no stopping the child's attack.

"Take this!" the boy declared, throwing more rocks. "I won't let you arrest our boss!"

"We don't want to arrest him though!" Naomi insisted, yelping as she ducked underneath another rock. "Yipe!"

"I've had enough of this!" Kanu frowned. Bending his knees, he leaped forward and slashed wide, cutting through the trunk of the tree the boy was on with ease. The cut was actually so well done, the tree needed a moment for gravity to catch it before starting to fall.

"Waaaagh! I'm falling! Falling!" the boy screamed, dropping his ammunition as he tried to keep his balance while his platform collapsed. Fortunately for him, Kanu was prepared as he jabbed out with his blade, catching him by the back of his shirt while the rest of the tree fell to the ground. The boy struggled, but then came to the realization that he wasn't falling anymore. He couldn't help but heave a sigh. "I'm saved."

"Oh no, you aren't," The boy looked to Naomi's face which had darkened with dark power and her eyes glowed with righteous feminine fury. The boy could only cry out in fear before Naomi pulled him in and gave him one hell of a spanking which caused the boy to scream out in pain and terror.

"Good! Boys! Don't! Throw! Rocks! At! Ladies!" Naomi chided, spanking the boy with each word she spoke. When she finished, she let the boy go who yelped and ran for behind a rock to hide from Naomi's punishment.

"Feeling better?" Kanu asked.

"Somewhat," Naomi sighed. "Let's go."

The duo left the boy to tend to his rump, but they didn't get far before the remaining Daidai Bandits emerged. A large chubby boy, a short girl with ponytails, a tall girl with braids, and then a smaller girl with her hair done up in buns. She was so small her elder sister actually had to help her climb onto the path to meet their adversaries.

"Hey old man!"

"Old man!"

"Old!"

"Old man! Old man! Old man!"

"GRRR!" Kanu flinched. "Who are you all calling an old man?!"

"Uh, Kanu-san?" Naomi winced.

Kanu didn't listen as he began to stomp towards the children, but stopped himself when he saw that the ground between them was covered with a circle of leaves. It took him a moment to get it, but he then began to smirk, "Ah, I have to give you kids credit for being so clever. But I wouldn't be Kanu Unchou if I fell for something so simple!" He kneeled before taking a high leap right over the circle of leaves, landing in front of the group of children. "Now then, surrender!"

"Hee, hee, hee!" the children merely giggled.

*SNAP!*

"Huh?" Kanu looked down before the ground beneath he collapsed and he landed in a big heap. Beneath him, sticks and a sheet covered in dirt acted as a cushion. It was much better disguised trap which Kanu didn't see at all. Naomi was impressed. The first trap had been set up as a decoy.

"We did it!"

"What an idiot!"

"We got him!"

"Yeah!"

"I can't believe he fell for that," Naomi sighed. Although who would have expected a bunch of kids to put together such an elaborate trap? She probably would have fallen for it too come to think of it.

"So what should we do with him?" asked the tall girl.

"We should bury him!" grinned the chubby boy.

"No, let's pee on him first!" giggled the ponytails child.

"Okay!" the littlest girl giggled, lifting her skirt to do the job.

"I wouldn't do that if I would you." The group saw Naomi as she lashed out and captured all four of the children to begin their various punishments for doing something so mean to a person.

"Squeeze!" Naomi bellowed, getting the ponytails girl with Indian sunburns on her arm, causing the girl to squeal and try to escape.

"Brute force drill!" she continued, noogies planted on both the tall girl and her little sister, the girls unable to escape because of Kanu's legs pinning them down.

"Stronghold! Mount Tai!" Naomi finished with the chubby boy, pinching his cheeks and then pulling to enhance the pain. The boy cried out, tears splashing from his eyes.

Kanu manage to come out of the hole and witnessed his master's action. To an adult, the punishments wouldn't mean anything. To a kid though, they were the worst forms of torture to be conceived. Soon the four were at Naomi's feet, reunited with their rock-throwing friend and all looking on at Naomi with fear and disappointment in not keeping Kanu and Naomi away from Daidai and they didn't though of making a plan for Naomi as well.

"You did an excellent job to the children, Gaim-sama."

"Naughty children sometimes need to be reminded of their manners," Naomi huffed. So, since we got the subordinates, where's the boss?"

"Grr! You won't defeat our leader Daidai!" the ponytail boy declared, pointing at the duo defiantly.

"Yes, yes," Kanu sighed patiently. "To be honest, neither of us have any intention of harming Daidai. Instead of trying to slow us down, why don't you all go back to the village?"

The children all looked at each other, unsure before the tall girl spoke up, "If we do go back, you won't try to arrest Daidai anymore?"

"I won't arrest her," Kanu smiled. "I promise."

"What about her?" asked the chubby boy, pointing at Naomi.

"I'm just here to support Kanu. I don't have the authority to arrest anyone," Naomi shrugged, looking unconcerned about the group's 'banditry'. She could give them punishments again if they try.

The kids looked at each other before nodding, "Okay. We'll go back." The group of kids collected themselves and began heading down the path back to the village. Before they were gone, they turned around, "Stupid! Ugly! Old man!" They took off after that before Kanu could get angry at them.

"Always the last word with little kids," Naomi shook his head.

"Ugh," Kanu groaned.

"C'mon, Kanu-san. They're just kids. Just let it go," advised Nagata.

Kanu pouted, but gave up the indignation as the two followed the path towards the infamous Daidai's home. The path soon opened up to a clearing surrounded by rocks while patches went around the edges, one going higher onto the mountain while the other rose up a small hill to a simple hut on top of a ledge. Standing at the ledge was Daidai, holding a staff with a blue cloth tied near the end with a blade shaped like a flame.

"Seems he was waiting for us," Nagata smirked.

"Yes. Please stay back for this, Gaim-sama. There is no need for both of us to get involved," Kanu spoke, stepping forward to face the tiny terror on his own. Looking up, he stared down the boy, "You are Daidai?"

The redhead growled and snapped, "Daidai is my secret name! Only my friends and family can call me that! You are unworthy of calling me that!"

"Forgive me then. Let me try again," Kanu smiled. "Who am I talking to?"

"I am Chouhi, followed by Yokutoku!" the young boy cried out. "Even babies know to fear that name! I am the great leader of the Daidai Bandits!"

Naomi's eyes widened in shock recognizing that name. 'N-no way! That kid is Chouhi Yokutoku?!'

Kanu for his part was calm and composed, "I have already sent your bandits back to the village."

"What?!" Chouhi gasped, but then grit his teeth and leaped down the rocks lining the edge like a rabbit before landing on the ground near Kanu, pointing his spear at her. "What did you do to my friends?!"

"Just a little punishment," Kanu replied.

"Oooooh! I'll pay you back ten times that punishment!" Chouhi cried out. "I won't lose to you, a woman who looks like she's more talk than action!"

Kanu frowned, taking a stance, "So it seems you won't listen to me. That is fine. I will just make you listen by force!"

"HAIYAH!" Chouhi cried, charging at Kanu. The little boy lashed out with several strikes which Kanu blocked expertly with clashing sounds of metal that echoed through the clearing. Chouhi then made a surprisingly nimble move as the recoil of one strike being blocked hit him, he allowed his spear to come behind him, which he grabbed with him other hand and used the momentum to make another swing. Kanu raised his crescent blade to block and the weapon hit hard, but the force of the blow send Kanu sailing across the clearing before he landed on the ground, skidding another foot.

"Holy…" Naomi gaped. "How...how strong is this kid?!"

Kanu was likewise asking the same thing as he felt his arms tremble from the sheer force they had to endure, 'I'll lose when it comes to a contest of pure strength! Fortunately, I have other avenues of fighting!'

Undeterred, Kanu went on the charge again. This time he attempted to combat Chouhi's uncommon strength with speed and agility, to make him do moves which would cost his stamina and burn him out sooner.

Naomi just watched on in concern, hoping neither of the boys would seriously hurt each other.

'How long can they keep this up?' Naomi groaned inwardly as she watched Chouhi and Kanu take each other on for the sixth or seventh hour. The sun had already gone down and the moon was rising into the air as the pair continued to clash with one another. At one point they both leaped into the air and their strikes at each other just pushed them higher into the air from the recoil alone until they hit each other at the same time and came back down to the ground. It was like something out of a kung-fu movie to Naomi.

Chouhi finally seemed to be running out of steam alongside Kanu and as the Bandit Hunter came down from a leap, Chouhi made a quick sweep with his spear which cut clean through a nearby rock. Naomi was about to call out in fear, but Kanu proved he was more than just a pretty face and athletic body as he held his Crescent Blade behind his back, letting it block the strike and stop Chouhi's attack.

"Sheesh, unreal," Naomi sighed.

"What a waste," Kanu sighed solemnly.

"Huh?" Chouhi blinked. "What do you mean?"

Kanu glanced over his shoulder, "I have never seen a child as strong as you before and yet you just sit here and play bandits."

"That's none of your business!" Chouhi snapped, stepping back.

Kanu managed to get his breath back and stood up, but he didn't turn to face Chouhi yet, "I was told in town that your parents were killed by bandits."

"S-so what? What is it to you?" Chouhi huffed.

"Because I know what it's like. My family was taken by bandits as well," Kanu reflected. "That is why I hunt them now. So that no one will have to suffer the heartbreak and pain that I went through because of them!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Chouhi huffed.

"Haven't you wanted to change this world? The constant wars, the roving bandits, the deaths of innocent people?" asked Kanu, turning to the younger boy. "Aren't you sick of it? Don't you want to do something about it?"

Chouhi cringed, but then yelled out and charged at Kanu with an overhead swing. It wasn't as skilled as his usual attacks, but one filled with emotion and anger. It made Naomi worried as Kanu was forced to his knees from the strike. She plucked out his Orange Lockseed and was ready to transform to take on Chouhi if she had to. However, Kanu shook his head, looking over his shoulder at her before he returned him attention to Chouhi.

"Who could understand all this?!" He cried, striking the same spot over and over again. "I've-I've always been alone! I don't know what to do!"

"You have your friends, don't you? How can you say you're all alone?" asked Naomi.

Chouhi slammed down his staff one last time and Kanu couldn't deflect it anymore, losing his weapon. Chouhi reared back for another strike, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He was lost in his own world as tears began to drop from his eyes. Suddenly, he burst out into large sobs and dropped to his knees as he wiped his face. His weapon, and the battle, was long forgotten as he simply continued to cry.

"H-hey!" Kanu gasped. "Wh-why are you crying all of a sudden?!"

Naomi walked towards the pair as Chouhi continued to cry, Naomi stop in front of Chouhi then kneeled down in one knee and the next thing she did she embraced him into a hug.

"There, there." Naomi caressing the boy's head.

"How did this happen?" Kanu wondered to himself as he lay down inside of Chouhi's modest hut as Naomi took a bath in the homemade bathroom.

Once Chouhi calmed down, he admitted his loss by breaking down and crying in the middle of a fight. He insisted Kanu did what he wanted with him. So getting a promise to apologize to the magistrate the next day, Kanu and Naomi prepared to leave. However, Chouhi all but pleaded at them to stay the night with her. At first Kanu wanted to decline but with Naomi haven't had the experiences of going to the woods at night so for her own safety he and Naomi easily accepted, if only to make the little one happy. The smile on his face when they accepted sure seemed to brighten the night. Chouhi all but ushered Naomi to the bath while he told Kanu to make himself comfortable.

In the bathtub, Naomi was completely nude and having her hair covered by a towel, was realizing from the hot temperature of the water. Still, it was surprising to see how far Chouhi was working to ensure she and Kanu were comfortable. It seemed like the boy as opposed to before wanted to keep them away from his friends, now wanted them to stay since all of his friends had gone back home for the night. Naomi was a little curious, wondering if the boy really had been alone every night since his grandfather died. That was just no way for a boy of his age to live, much less any child. They deserved to be with their parents and have homes filled with that kind of affection.

"Those bandits have a lot to answer for," Naomi frowned to herself.

"Is the water hot enough yet?" asked Chouhi.

"It's just fine," Naomi's called back.

"Then let me take a bath too!" Chouhi cried as he rushed into the bath, causing Naomi to sputter.

"HEY!" Naomi cried out. "Geez, couldn't you enter a bath a different?" She asked.

"But is more fun to jump into the bath." Chouhi laugh.

"You..." Naomi signed. "You really are a little tiger, even the marks on your face are disappearing." She stroke the little boy's hair with the stripe marks being erasing by the water.

After Naomi and Chouhi finish their bath and Kanu took his, they were all ready to get to bed. Naomi and Chouhi were both wearing sleeping clothes, looking much like yukata. However, while Chouhi's fit perfectly Kanu's was made more for a child like Chouhi so a lot of her legs were revealed as well as a sizable portion of her cleavage, while Kanu was shirtless since Chouhi didn't have any other sleeping clothes available so she was forced to sleep in just his pants which Naomi blushed and admired at Kanu's bare torso and muscles. Chouhi welcomed the pair to the shared futon happily, but the two older people had blushing fits over it for a moment before they decided to simply use Chouhi as a barrier between them. The little boy certainly didn't seem to mind all the added company.

"Sorry about taking so much, even if we are guests," Kanu apologized, moving to help Chouhi.

"Oh don't worry!" Chouhi beamed. "I lost the battle so its only right! Don't worry about me, Kanu, Gaim!"

As they all lay down, the limits of the futon reached, Chouhi couldn't help but beam with happiness, "I haven't had anyone to sleep with for a long time. It's great." He drew the blankets over his nose as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "When it's like this...it's like being back with Mother and Father again."

"EH!?" Kanu and Naomi yelped, sitting up. Naomi came to the fore first, "N-n-now don't be saying such things! I'm nowhere near old enough to be considered your mother! At most Kanu and I could be considered a brother and a sister!"

"Brother and sister?" Chouhi blinked.

"B-besides, I haven't done anything that could have gotten me pregnant," Naomi huffed, defending her age. But then Naomi's face to turn an even deeper red as she realized what she had just revealed to a man in the room.

Fortunately, it seemed to go over Chouhi's head, "So does that mean I can call you both big brother and big sister?"

"W-well, if you want to," Kanu mumbled.

"Sounds okay with me," Naomi laughed, glad for the change in subject.

"Yeah!" Chouhi cheered, throwing his hands into the air. "Then from now on Gaim and Kanu will be Daidai's big brother and big sister!" He grabbed both the hands of the people next to him, falling back onto the futon where both landed beside him. "Now I won't be alone at night anymore."

"Aw… How can I resist such an adorable boy?" Naomi sighed.

"Together forever from now on, right?" Chouhi asked, looking up to his new adopted siblings.

"You'll travel with us to change the world?" asked Kanu, sounding serious despite the heartwarming situation.

"Change the world?" asked Chouhi.

"Gaim-sama and I are on a path that we hope will change the world for everyone," Kanu explained. "Will you come along with us on this?"

The excitable little boy didn't need to consider it, "Yeah!"

Kanu woke up his new sister and master at the crack of dawn so that they could get an early start to the day. After Chouhi apologized to the magistrate, they would have a lot of travelling to do. Of course, part of that wakeup call wasn't because Chouhi had wrapped himself to Naomi around and having one hand on one of Naomi's breast during the night, having pleasant dreams about families. No, Kanu wasn't embarrassed by such an intimate gesture and in his struggles to get out woke everyone up. No, he didn't use the travelling excuse to cover his tracks. Nope, not Kanu Unchou!

"Fuwaaa," Naomi yawned as she exited Chouhi's hut to see the other boys. "So after we head back to town, where do we go next?"

"Like before, wherever the rumors or the wind take us," Kanu smiled.

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Chouhi cheered, excited to be off on an even bigger adventure than mere banditry.

"Okay, okay, we'll be off then. Do you have everything you need?" Kanu smiled, wanting to make sure they were all prepared for travel.

"Yep!" Chouhi grinned, hefting his shoulder pack. "So let's go!"

The joyous air however was soon dissipated by the terrified cries of "Daidai!" Bursting up from the path were the members of the Daidai Bandits, all looking scuffed up and terrified over something. They were all short of breath and the tallest girl was carrying her little sister who was sniffling, on the verge of crying.

"All of you?" Kanu blinked, approaching the children. "Didn't I send you all back to the village?"

"Boss, the village is in trouble!" the chubby boy exclaimed. "It's being attacked and they're beating up everyone and trying to take everything!"

"Bandits?" Kanu questioned, his eyes becoming hard and fierce.

The little girl cried, "Monsters! There are monsters attacking!"

"Monsters?" Naomi questioned in disbelief.

"Is this some kind of trick?" Kanu was skeptical. He knew the kids as the Daidai Bandits were known to kick up trouble for fun. Crying monster to his master who brought them down as payback wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.

"No, it's true! Please! The monsters are destroying everything!" cried the ponytails girl.

"Yosh!" Chouhi declared, lifting his spear. "The Daidai Bandits don't turn their back on their homes when they're in need! I'll crush those monsters!"

"Okay," Naomi frowned, turning to the children. "We'll go and see what we can do. The rest of you stay here and don't do anything that will let these guys know where you went. Don't light a fire, don't shout too loud, don't even try to do anything like bring animals or something since they might hear the calls. Got it?"

"Got it," the five children nodded.

"Let's go!" Kanu ordered, prompting Chouhi and Nagata to follow him, running down the mountain path back towards the village.

Kanu, Chouhi and Nagata ran into the village to see the chaos. The kids were right, monsters were attacking the village. They were shaped like men, but dressed in robes of brown and white with black sleeves and pants, looking like they were initiates of some kind of order of fighters or dojo. Their heads were pure white, but not just white but corpse-like white. The rest of their heads were concealed by black bandanas and blindfolds with silver markings on them. None of the men were armed, but they exhibited superior martial arts skills when they fought the guards, easily disarming them before brutally beating them down. They didn't kill, but seemed to savor the pain they were causing in civilian or soldier alike. When they weren't attacking people recklessly, they were instead collecting everything of value and taking it to a large pile of swag. Food, gold, silks, anything which could be considered valuable in any sense was taken.

Kanu and Chouhi began to growl, taking stances, but Naomi remained still as she couldn't believe what she was looking at, "Rinshi?"

"Gaim-sama, you know these creatures?" asked Kanu.

"Yeah!" Naomi continued to gape. "They're Jiang-shi! They're revived students of RinJyuKen Akugata! The thrive on fear and pain but...I thought they were just a story!" Well, then again her belt and Lockseeds were just supposed to be toy.

"Jiang-shi? Zombies?" Chouhi blinked, but then began to smile. "Oh wow! Just like a scary story! Amazing!"

"Not amazing!" Kanu frowned. "Gaim-sama, can they be defeated?"

"Just destroy the bodies and they go down! They aren't the hardest of opponents! It's the Rinrinshi you have to look out for," Naomi replied, his fangirl knowledge going on automatic as she continued to be in a whirlwind of confusion as to how Rinshi could exist in ancient China.

"Then we shall defeat them!" Kanu insisted.

"Yeah!" Chouhi agreed.

Finally one Rinshi seemed to take notice of the trio. Making a hollow rasping noise, it collected a group of its comrades and they began hopping towards them as Jiang-shi were known to do. Neither Chouhi nor Kanu were intimidated as they faced the zombies down.

"Prepare yourselves, Rinshi!" Kanu called, charging at the monsters.

"Hiyaaaa!" Chouhi followed with his own spear.

"Ah!" Naomi gaped. Se was rooted to the spot as she watched her two friends attack the Rinshi. Unlike the soldiers and civilians, the two seemed to be able to hold their own. Chouhi was batting the Rinshi left and right, taking them all by surprise with how strong he was. Kanu likewise was using his superior skill to strike at the Rinshi, some of them exploding into purple ash as he struck lethal blows on them. Despite how skilled the Rinshi were, Kanu was proving better with all his bandit-busting experience.

"Wow," Naomi gaped. However, she was suddenly caught in a headlock by a strong cold arm which caused him to choke. She grabbed at the arm, but the grip was just much too strong and she was at the owner's mercy. Fortunately, the owner just threw her to the side where she crashed into a pile of wicker baskets.

"Itai," Naomi groaned. Shaking his head, he looked up to see a Rinshi approaching him, hopping like the others. "Oh man."

Scrambling backwards, Naomi felt her body tremble as she was faced with an actual killer that likely had a lifetime of experience in a deadly martial art behind it. Still, the Japanese girl reminded herself that she had something which the Rinshi didn't have themselves. Reaching into her uniform, she produced her SengokuDriver and dug out her Orange Lockseed. Praying for the devices to work a second time, she pressed the SengokuDriver to her waist and a yellow belt wrapped around her, locking it into place.

The Rinshi paused, confused.

"Here goes!" Naomi grimaced, hitting the release switch to her Lockseed.

"ORANGE!"

A zipper opened a circular portal in the air above Naomi and the metal orange hovered as it slowly came down. All fighting paused as the nearby Rinshi noticed what was happening, even Kanu and Chouhi stopping in confusion. Nagata swiftly placed the Lockseed into the Drive Bay before locking it in place.

"LOCK ON!"

The SengokuDriver released a Japanese horagai music as Naomi prepared himself, gripping the Cutting Blade lever. It seemed that the appearance of the Orange Arms and the music from the SengokuDriver had caused all eyes to fall on Naomi. Kanu was actually starting to smile as he witnessed the event.

"What's she doing?" Chouhi asked, utterly confused why everyone was staring, even if there was a large orange hanging in the sky.

"Henshin!" Naomi declared loudly before she sliced the Lockseed open.

"SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!"

The Orange Arms dropped on Naomi and her pre-Arms suit formed before the Orange Arms opened up and completed the transformation, the Daidaimaru materializing in her left hand. Chouhi was stunned and the Rinshi seemed taken aback. The newly transformed Kamen Rider drew her second weapon and took a stance against the martial arts zombies.

"Kamen Rider Gaim! Let's Dance On My Stage!" Gaim announced. She had heard the original Gaim use a pre-battle line so she came up with his own.

The Rinshi managed to recover their senses, and actually forgetting about Kanu and Chouhi, charged for Gaim en masse. The Rider, though afraid, remembered her kendo lessons and charged back. She struck out at the Rinshi, slashing through them or kicking them aside if they got too close. She struck several lethal blows, causing them to explode as they fell. Three of them leaped at him and knocked her back. Shaking her head, she pulled the Pallete Slide and charged up five shots before letting loose on them. The energy bullets crashed into the Rinshi, knocking them back and unlike the bandits the previous day the Rinshi exploded on the spot.

Kanu smiled, impressed that Gaim was able to handle the Rinshi. She was definitely the Messenger of Heaven. Chouhi, however, was awestruck. She hadn't looked like a warrior when he first met her but now he was re-evaluating his opinion of Naomi.

"Kanu-san! Chouhi! I could use some help here!" Gaim called to them as more Rinshi heard the commotion and came to investigate.

"Bring them on!" Chouhi cheered, running for the approaching Rinshi.

"Right!" Kanu nodded, running to follow his new young brother.

The three were quick to take on the footsoldiers, smashing them down with cuts and strikes. While stronger, the Rinshi weren't too, too much more durable than a regular human being. Soon, they were all exploding into purple ashes and soon the group was collecting together in ranks once again to make one more final charge.

"Ha! Too easy!" Chouhi bragged, preparing to charge at the group.

"I got them," Gaim spoke up, hitting the Cutting Blade once again.

"SOIYA! ORANGE SQUASH!"

Gaim lifted the Daidaimaru, the sections of the orange slice blade lighting up. Once it was ready, she charged at the group of Rinshi. Before they could break ranks to fight, she instead slashed wide, cutting through the Rinshi with a wide strike of orange power. It spread out like a slice of an orange which caused all of the Rinshi to explode in a shower of ash and purple smoke.

"And that's how it's done!" Gaim laughed, standing straight.

"Awesome!" Chouhi cheered, running over to Gaim. "You cut through all those monsters like they were nothing! Could you teach me how to do that too?"

"Maybe later," promised Gaim.

"Gaim-sama, that was very impressive," Kanu praised as he jogged to the pair. "It certainly rests any doubts anyone may have about you being the Messenger of Heaven."

"The what?" asked Chouhi.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Gaim rubbed the back of her head humbly.

"So this was why those punks didn't come back."

The cutting voice burst the happy bubble of the trio as they turned to see who had spoke. At the end of the street was another Jiang-Shi, but it was considerably different. It wore red robes with furry shoulders, a golden front, white pants, and red boots. Its face was revealed, but was just as ghostly white as the Rinshi with dark hollow eyes and red lining around them. Resting on top of his head was a metal cap which was adorned with a spider on his forehead.

"Looks like we missed one," quipped Chouhi.

"Oh no," Gaim groaned, taking another stance. "Careful, this one's a Rinrinshi. He's probably the leader of this bunch. He's going to be way more powerful than the others!"

"How much stronger?" asked Kanu, taking a stance.

"Well," Gaim frowned. "The Rinshi are just forced to use the common style of the RinJyuKen Akugata. This guy has earned the right to develop and master his personal Beast-Fist, granting him the body of a Beastman."

"Hnn," the Rinrinshi frowned. "You are oddly well-informed about us.."

"Let's just say I've spent a long time studying you guys," Gaim retorted, pointing her Musou Saber at the Rinrinshi. "You've got one chance to clear out! I suggest you take it before I put you back down six feet under!"

"Bah! I don't fear a human!" the Rinrinshi snorted before he took a stance, his body beginning to flow with a dark purple miasma, "Jujin Jashin Hen!"

"A spell?" Kanu tensed.

"Worse," Gaim took a stance.

The Rinrinshi's body began to warm and bulge in places before promptly exploding in a cloud of purple ash. Rather than dying though, the Rinrinshi had instead changed. Its torso looked like a large hairy spider had crawled across the front, the legs wrapping around the torso to the back where the abdomen bulged out. His arms had jagged spikes of hair with black gauntlets and greaves covering his arms and legs, decorated with more spiked hair. His waist was protected with black metal, protective but still mobile. The Rinrinshi's head was covered with protective steel, but the visor was open to reveal eight glassy insect-like eyes.

Kanu and Chouhi stepping back from the new form of the creature.

"RinJyu Spider-Ken! Gumokage!" the newly identified Gumokage took a stance. "Now you face me!"

"Bring it!" Gaim challenged before she charged towards the Beastman. Gumokage snorted and ducked to the ground before scuttling back much like a spider would. Gaim frowned and struck at the Beastman again and again, but the kaijin was able to leap back, actually landing on a nearby wall like a spider could stick to walls.

"Oh come on!" Gaim groaned, but pull the Pallete Slide and shooting off several rounds. The attack seemed to have caught the Spider-Ken user off guard as sparks flew from the impacts. Gumokage fell, screaming in pain before he crashed through an awning into the street.

"Ugh!" the Beastman groaned. "A gun?! You have a gun in this primitive era?!"

"Are you gonna whine?"

Gumokage snarled and picked himself up. "You asked for it! RinJyu Spider-ken! Ringi! Fukusu no Amufomu!" He then performed his technique and two additional pair of arms grew from his body. "Now I have three times the power!"

"And got three times more hideous," quipped Gaim. She then charged at Gumokage and swung his swords only for the Beastman to catch them in his hands. "Huh?"

"Gotcha!" the Spider Beastman laughed before he used his additional arms to punch Gaim repeatedly in the chest. One last blow sent Gaim flying, his weapons in his opponent's grip. The Rider was sent tumbling before she landed on his back, groaning.

"Now, what can you do without your weapons?" Gumokage asked tauntingly when all of a sudden he was slashed twice in the back. "Argh!" He dropped the Musou Saber and Daidaimaru before he spun around, only to be struck again across the chest, painfully. "GAH!"

"Huh?" Gaim then gawked. "Kanu-san? Chouhi?"

"I will not allow you to further harm Gaim-sama!" Kanu snapped.

"Yeah! He just agreed to be my big brother!" Chouhi agreed.

"Grrr! Fine! I was ordered to take down the brat and I can take Unchou with him too!" Gumokage growled as he took another stance. "Rinjyu Spider-Ken! Ringi! Hakai no Hachi Ken!" Gumokage leaped into the air before unleashing blazing punches and kicks from all of his arms and legs, striking at Kanu and Chouhi from an impossible number of angles for a single opponent. The pair tried their best to defend, but the strikes were too many and from too many angles, knocking them both back with cries of pain, landing on either side of Gaim.

"Kanu-san! Chouhi!" Gaim cried out.

"Ha!" Gumokage laughed, landing again. "So ends the legends of two of the Five Tiger Generals before it even begins!"

Gaim clenched her fists. How dare this monster beat on her friends then mock them? Gaim retrieved both her weapons and swiftly combined the ends of her Daidaimaru and Musou Saber together to form the Daidaimaru Naginata Mode.

"Gumokage! This ends now!" challenged Gaim.

"So it will!" the Rinrinshi laughed. "Only I will win!"

Gaim yelled, ignoring all fear, pain, and tiredness as she charged at the Rinrinshi with nothing but its destruction in mind. Gumokage raced at Gaim in return and the two struck at one another in a fierce clash of orange Lockseed power and purple Rinki. The two powers clashed before both sides passed each other before skidding across the ground. Gaim landed properly on the ground, but Gumokage landed with a scream, one of his arms a smoking stump while the limb itself landed several feet away.

"My arm! My arm!" Gumokage screamed, trying to keep the purple Rinki from oozing out of his wound like blood.

"For what you did of my friends, it won't end with just that!" Gaim shouted, standing up. Grabbing her Orange Lockseed, she unlocked it and removed it.

"LOCK OFF!"

Shee then put it into the Musou Saber's Driver Launch and locked it in.

"LOCK ON!"

"Taste my Hissatsu!" Gaim declared.

"1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000!"

"SEIYAAAAAAA!"

"ORANGE CHARGE!"

Gaim charged at Gumokage, but fired a beam of orange energy ahead of him. It struck the Beastman, trapping him inside of an orange field of energy which looked like an actual orange. Gaim dashed in close before she slashed wide, using both blades of her combined weapon to strike at the orange and Rinrinshi. The strike flashed and the orange was sliced into two, containing two halves of Gumokage. The Beastman screamed in agony before the entire construct exploded in a blast of purple fire, sending orange slices in all directions before they vanished.

"Show's over," Gaim sighed, standing up again. She was relieved when the Rinrinshi was destroyed and was about to cancel her transformation when she heard a loud scream. Adrenaline spiking again, Gaim and her recovering friends took off to the front of the village where they recognized the hostess of the restaurant pointing out past the gates of the village.

Chouhi, Gaim and Kanu skidded to a halt at the main entrance of the village and saw an army of Rinshi hopping towards them. The group looked like there was enough of the soldiers in it to level the village twice over.

"Oh no," Gaim groaned.

"Tsk!" Kanu frowned. "Why send so many soldiers for one village?"

"We can take them! We can beat them all!" Chouhi cried, lifting her spear into the air.

"No, there's too many," Gaim spoke as she stepped forward. "But I think I have a way to take care of them." Attached to her belt were extra Lockseeds and he took hold of one. It resembled a watermelon, marked with the code L.S.-10. Unlike the original Gaim when he first used it, she knew exactly what this Lockseed could do. Stepping forward past the gates so to get some space she looked back at her friends, "Boys, you better step back to give me some room."

"Huh?" asked Chouhi, but Kanu listened and gently pulled the smaller boy back.

Once they were clear, Gaim sheathed the Musou Saber, still adorned with the Orange Lockseed as she lifted his newest weapon and unlocked it.

"SUIKA!"

This caused her Orange Arms to vanish before she locked the Suika Lockseed into her SengokuDriver.

"LOCK ON!"

The same music played and the zipper portal opened above her. This time it was several times bigger to accommodate the size of the metallic fruit which descended.

"A watermelon?" Kanu gaped.

"It's so big!" exclaimed Chouhi.

"Here goes," Gaim sighed, hitting the Cutting Blade. The Lockseed was split open to reveal the red insides on top, and a double-ended sword styled after a watermelon on the bottom half.

"SOIYA!"

The massive watermelon came down and, at first appearances, came crashing down on top of Gaim, removing her from sight entirely. It caused everyone who was witnessing it to gasp in shock, fearing that the surprising hero had suddenly ended herself.

"GAIM-SAMA!" Kanu screamed in horror.

"She got squished!" Chouhi cried, pointing at the large watermelon.

After several moments of being still, the giant metal watermelon spoke.

"SUIKA ARMS! ODAMA BIG BANG!"

"YOROI MODE!"

The Suika Arms jumped up and shifted, the shell of the watermelon shifting and sliding, reforming into the image of a large suit of armor with green shoulder pads, chest, and legs with darker green armor. Gripped in its hand was a double-bladed sword styled like watermelon slices. Gaim's body could be seen within the armor, controlling it easily. The head on top was dome-shaped with a large gold and red decoration like a samurai's helmet. A visor was on the face, but inside was Gaim's helmet with the visor coloured like a watermelon slice.

"Alright, here I go!" shouted Gaim as she charged at the army of Rinshi, leaving everyone gaping at the sight of the giant-armored warrior. In mid-run, Gaim's Suika Arms changed back into a watermelon.

"ODAMA MODE!"

It rolled on its side and slammed into the Rinshi, sending them flying like bowling pins.

"YOROI MODE!"

Now back in Suika Arms' humanoid configuration, Gaim swung at the Rinshi. With such monstrous punching power, any Rinshi that got hit by her fist was destroyed in an instant. Her Suika Sojinto was used as well to cut them down. They leapt at her but he spun and struck them down.

Despite the amount of them she took down in the charge, there were two more contingents left. Any number of them could slip around and head to the village. Not wanting to waste anymore time or risk innocent people, Gaim struck the Cutting Blade over the Suika Lockseed once.

"SOIYA! SUIKA SQUASH!"

Gaim gathered green energy in the Suika Sojinto and sent it at the Rinshi, gathering them up and trapping them in an energy ball shaped like a watermelon. Now immobilized and incapacitated, they were at Gaim's mercy. Mercy that she did not have as she charged towards the watermelon and slashed at it several times with her Suika Sojinto. The strikes flashed green, causing the watermelon to crack like at a beach game before it erupted in purple fire, taking all of the Rinshi with it.

"Ha!" Gaim laughed before turning back to the village. "I think that takes care of that." She closed the Suika Lockseed and the Suika Arms vanished along with the rest of her suit. Naomi then landed on her feet, completely winded as she stumbled a bit in her landing.

The villagers could only stare as she walked towards them before all of a sudden someone applauded followed by loud cheering. As she came back towards the village, she was met with adoring villagers, Kanu, and Chouhi as they ran out to greet him.

"How did you do that?"

"That was amazing!"

"Can I use fruit as a weapon too?" asked Chouhi.

Kanu was silent, but his smile was unmistakable, 'Just as I thought. You are the Messenger of Heaven, Gaim-sama.'

Of course it wasn't just the villagers that were congratulating Naomi.

"Step aside! Step aside! Make way!" It was the magistrate as he had his soldiers break the crowd apart so he could approach Nagata. "You!"

"Huh?" Naomi responded, pointing to himself. "Me?"

"Were you the one who defeated those wretched creatures?" the magistrate demanded to know.

"Well...you could say that..." answered Naomi hesitantly. She didn't like the look in the magistrate's eyes. The magistrate clasped Naomi's hand. "Oi!"

"Please stay! Become my personal bodyguard and deal with the bandits! I'll pay you double the amount I pay my men!" the magistrate bargained. Nagata opened her mouth several times, truly unsure of what she could say to get out of the situation without getting into some kind of trouble.

Kanu came to the rescue, "My apologies, but the Messenger of Heaven cannot accept."

The crowd grew silent, all of them beginning to gape.

"What?" asked Chouhi. "What's that mean?"

"According to Kanu-san I'm supposed to be some prophesied savior. I'm not too sure myself," Naomi answered honestly.

"Oh, cool!" Chouhi grinned. "So that's why you have that cool armor and powers!"

Someone then spoke up, "Messenger of Heaven. That means she's a goddess. A warrior from Heaven."

"And her armor...then she could be..."

"An Armored War Goddess!"

Naomi blinked at the title and looked to Kanu who was merely smiling proudly at her. For some reason, she couldn't help but think that the title was rather catchy. She just hoped that it didn't spread too far, but she doubted that it wasn't going to be the case considering how much people believed in the Messenger of Heaven.

"Then I'll pay you triple!" the magistrate raised his offer. Having the Messenger of Heaven under his employ would definitely boost his reputation. Maybe even make him an imperial magistrate. Or maybe...marrying him since she is a goddess.

"That's very generous of you, but like Kanu-san said I can't accept," declined Naomi politely. "Besides, we were on our way anyway. Plenty of places to go and all. The Messenger's duty is never done and all that."

The magistrate cringed, biting the hem of his robe as he tried to think of something, anything to convince the Messenger to stay and enhance his reputation but nothing came to him. What could one offer? She refused money and property and all that was left was something to offering her for an arrangement marriage.

"So then, we will be on our way," Kanu smiled, taking Nagata by the arm and turning back to the road. "Thank you for your generosity while we were here."

"Oh! Wait for me!" Chouhi cried, heading out to follow. "I want to say goodbye to the other Daidai Bandits first!"

"Of course we can," Kanu smiled. "I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise."

The goodbyes exchanged between Chouhi and her friends was rather touching and heartfelt as Kanu and Naomi watched on. Even the pig was crying, spilling tears from its eyes as Chouhi hugged it, promising to come back and visit someday.

"Still think it's a good idea for her to come along?" Naomi asked Kanu. "It could get dangerous."

"He has potential and he doesn't have any family here. So, I think it's best if he travelled with us," Kanu told Nagata.

"Yeah, I have to admit that I wouldn't feel right if we just left him here. He's grown on me," Naomi grinned in agreement.

"Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Let's go!" Chouhi called, running ahead of the pair.

"Yes, yes, we're coming," Kanu waved to Chouhi. While they walked, Kanu looked to his other travelling companion, "Well Gaim-sama. How do you feel knowing you truly are the Messenger of Heaven?"

"I dunno. Armored War Goddess kinda sounds way better than Messenger of Heaven, don't ya think?" Naomi replied.

"Hardly as dignified," Kanu said. "Remember, you are not here to wage war, but bring peace. We can't let you get caught up in conflicts lest we lose you and our chance for peace at long last."

"Gotcha, Kanu-san," saluted then pulled out his SengokuDriver and smiled at it. Messenger of Heaven or not, she finally had power to do something. Maybe this was the reason she was given this power. "Besides, who knows if there are still Rinshi and Rinrinshi out there?"

"You know, you have yet to explain to me what that object is," Kanu reminded, looking at the SengokuDriver. "Is it the vessel of your magic powers?"

"Something like that," Naomi nodded. "Using it and my Lockseeds, I can generate suits of armor and weapons to help me fight." She giggled. When Kanu says magic powers, she feels like she is some Maho Shoujou.

"An impressive power as proven earlier. Honestly, you had me worried earlier when that giant watermelon looked like it had crushed you."

"Sorry. I promise that it's the only one that does that," Naomi assured him, unable to help but chuckle slightly since she knew how silly it may have looked from the canon series. "So, where are we headed to next?"

Kanu chuckled lightly, "You seem hard of hearing. I have said before, we have no set destination. Simply wherever the wind or rumors take us."

"Guess that's a plan then," Naomi relaxed. "I doubt things will get boring."

She was right about that.

News had a habit of travelling swiftly in these lands. Much like Kanu's reputation, Naomi's own legend was just beginning.

Okay this is a recap of Koihime Musou; Tale of the Armored War God, where all the characters' gender change, okay some of you may say that the three kingdoms characters were already males in real life, but is a 'what if' idea, in this Koihime or Koiojin Musou all the male characters are young and handsome.

There might be some changes from the original AWG. Looking forward to it.

Ja Ne!

Please don't forget to review!