Bankotsu sat on a rock with Banryuu resting in the ground beside him. He'd taken the time to clean off his partner, and to make sure that they were far enough away from the village that Renkotsu's fire and Mukotsu's poison would prove no threat to them. He watched the sunset, letting his thoughts wander. Just as he was about to rise and go seek out the others, he heard his men approaching. He looked up with a smile, genuinely happy to see them. "Hey. Did you have fun?"

"Don't we always?" Suikotsu chuckled with a fierce grin. "We even got food and sake thanks to this brat." He gestured to the girl that was limping alongside them.

Bankotsu narrowed his eyes. Her head was lowered, so he couldn't see her face. What he could see of her was distinctly unimpressive, from her sloppy hairdo to her bare feet, which were dirty and had drying blood. His lip curled back instinctively in distaste, and he looked at Jakotsu incredulously. "This was the best you could find?"

"We found her too." Jakotsu pointed at the terrified old woman that Ginkotsu had unceremoniously deposited on the ground. Her hair was streaked with grey and she was crying softly. The girl too was shaking, but she was not weeping; she was just quiet.

Bankotsu made a face. He could not decide which one was more unappealing, the bedraggled girl or the old hag. Closing his eyes, he sighed. Upon opening them, he pointed at the girl. "You. Get me something to drink. As for the hag… I don't care what you do to her." He shrugged carelessly, a smile crossing his features. Despite his ferocity in battle, he could be quite easygoing other times.

Without looking at each other, the girl and old woman began to build a fire. Their hands shook so much that they were unsuccessful at first, and exasperated, Renkotsu finally lit one for them. "Incompetent women," he muttered to himself.

The old woman wept continuously, for herself and for the children and grandchildren she was certain she had lost. Afraid, she tried to focus her attention on preparing a meal, praying that she would survive. Her eyes went hollow as she wondered, to survive for what? With her family gone, it no longer mattered what happened to her. These monsters had stolen everything from her. Head ducking to hide the flare of hatred in her dark eyes, her tears finally stopped.

The girl disliked being insulted. She had been humiliated by the leader's remark about her, but was not stupid enough to show it. Keeping her gaze down, she warmed the sake she had taken from the town's brothel and poured it into a bowl. Her hands trembled and she concentrated very hard on steadying them. She was afraid what would happen if she spilled it. Rising to her feet, she limped over to where the leader was sitting, in between the man that looked like a beautiful woman and the man with a blue cloth wrapped around his head.

Bankotsu looked over and took the bowl from her. He lifted it to his lips to sample, and smiled in approval. "Hey! This is nice stuff. You're a woman with good taste in drinks. Maybe you won't die tonight." He laughed, his expression one of lazy contentment.

The girl lowered herself into a formal, shaky bow. She didn't dare speak to him directly, and hoped that if she could just keep from offending him that he would spare her life. No one else seemed to have any humanity in them… they were either frightening and twisted, or cold and indifferent. She wasn't ready to die yet. Maybe she didn't have a lot going for her, but that didn't mean she was ready to give up. Strength of will had carried her this far in life, and she wasn't going to die without doing everything in her power to prevent it.

Bankotsu lost interest in the unkempt girl and turned back to his friends. "I'm thinking we should head east to see if there are any jobs for us there. It's getting dull over here and we haven't encountered real soldiers in a while." He stretched, his muscles flexing. "I don't want to lose my edge."

Jakotsu laughed. "Like that would ever happen, elder brother. No one can beat you. You're the best. You can even kill big ol' demons."

"Have you given thought to the future, elder brother?" Renkotsu added. As much as he loved killing, he didn't think it was something he could do well into old age. By then he wanted to be comfortably settled somewhere – and incredibly wealthy, of course.

"Demons have an advantage with their powers and strength due to birth." Bankotsu frowned slightly at that. It was unfair that demons had it so easy. The frown faded as he cast a loving glance at Banryuu. He had his own power and it had never let him down. "The future? Well, sure. Who hasn't?" He gave an easy shrug. "I was born to kill, Renkotsu, and I'll continue killing until the day I die." His dark eyes grew hazy with the thought of future battles and he smiled to himself.

"Renkotsu wants to settle down with grandma here and read scrolls all day," Suikotsu suggested from where he was lounging on the grass. He laughed sardonically as Renkotsu threw him a swift glare.

"Suikotsu, go back to sharpening your claws and listening to your good self whine, hmm? I was – as difficult as this may be for you to understand – only thinking. After all, we aren't demons and we're going to get older and perhaps want to do different things. It was only a thought."

"You think too much," Bankotsu told him affably, reaching over to pat him brusquely on the shoulder. He missed Renkotsu's wince of pain. "Should ease up on it, thinking so much makes you all worried. Relax. Everything will be fine." He snapped his fingers suddenly. "Girl! Get me more sake. And god, woman, isn't the food ready yet?"

The girl obediently went to fetch his bowl. She had just finished serving the others their drinks and was surprised that the leader had finished his so quickly. He didn't seem like a drunk, but then what did a drunk look like, really? Distracted by the pain of her cuts and the mental reminder to keep her gaze downcast, she missed the old woman attempting to run away. All she heard was the leader's smooth voice say, "Jakotsu" and the whishing sound of swords flying through the air. Warm liquid landed in thin ribbons on her clothes and exposed skin, and she let out a little gasp upon realizing it was blood. The stench filled her nostrils and she gagged.

Jakotsu admired the pieces of old woman on the ground as he withdrew his Jakotsutou to wipe the blood off. "What do you think, elder brother?"

"I think it's good we're leaving in the morning. That's sure to stink soon."

Jakotsu giggled in agreement and then gazed at the girl that had gone absolutely still. "What are you, dumb? Bankotsu said he wanted more to drink!"

Terrified he would cut her again, she hurried over. "Forgive my slowness and foolishness," she begged, trying to hold back her tears. "I mean no disrespect, my lords, truly." Sinking on trembling knees, she offered Bankotsu the sake again.

He accepted it, while thinking that the blood on her from the old woman made her look even worse than before. "Finish the food," he answered her, and sipped at his drink. He watched her stumble back to the fire and yawned a little. "We can start heading east tomorrow, see if there's any work on the way."

"Very well, elder brother." Renkotsu nodded and then stood to sit beside Ginkotsu. They spoke quietly to one other, or rather Renkotsu spoke and Ginkotsu nodded or gave one word replies. It was not out of rudeness; Ginkotsu just was not a talker. Renkotsu didn't mind though, and the stretches of silence that developed in their conversation were comfortable ones.

Kyoukotsu watched the girl with hungry eyes. So did Mukotsu, but for a different reason. When the girl began to distribute the food, Kyoukotsu stopped her and leaned in to sniff around her neck. Her eyes widened and she began to shake uncontrollably. "Please, my lord," she whispered hoarsely, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Please… allow me to finish serving your companions."

Pleased at being referred to as a lord, he pulled back slightly and gave her a smile that did absolutely nothing to calm her fear. "Elder brother. Can I, Lord Kyoukotsu have her afterwards?"

"That's not fair!" Mukotsu blurted out. "I haven't had a woman in weeks and he had one just the other day!" He gazed at the girl lustfully. Never mind that she was thin, blood streaked, and dirty. It was a woman and one that hadn't screamed at the sight of him. For that alone, she was in favor with him.

"That one broke," Kyoukotsu argued.

"You were the one that broke her," Mukotsu retorted. "I can still hear you snapping off her bones for no reason at all! Really, if you're going to have a woman you shouldn't waste her."

"Yeah, you could have at least cut her up. Breaking bones is no fun, where's all the blood in that?" Suikotsu asked, with Jakotsu nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

"Breaking bones is boring," Jakotsu yawned. "It's so much more exciting to cut them…slowly…and listen to their pleas and screams." A dark smile lit his features. "If you do it right, they'll agree to let you do anything to them…just to stop the pain." He giggled and drank more of the sake.

The conversation had taken a terrifying turn for the girl; she was horrified. She didn't want to be taken by any of them. Holding another warmed pitcher of sake, she unsteadily made her way back to the leader.

Bankotsu smiled, but said nothing as his men talked amongst themselves about what to do with the girl. She wasn't strong enough to be considered an opponent and so he was uninterested in fighting and killing her. For serving him such good tasting sake and treating them with respect, he was inclined to feel somewhat generous towards her. "Girl. If you can manage to entertain us through the night, then you can live. But the moment you make one of us angry…they are the one that can kill you."

"Do you mean it, elder brother?" Jakotsu asked eagerly. His temper was mercurial at best, and he was sure he would become annoyed by her. After all she was a woman and he had nothing but distaste for them. He had yet to find one worthy of being left alive. All women were the same, like his mother – bitches, in short, every last one of them.

"Of course I mean it, Jakotsu. That seems pretty fair, doesn't it?" He settled back on one elbow on the grass and tipped back his bowl of sake. Sniffing at the air, he was pleased that the food was finally ready and even more pleased that the girl was smart enough to serve him first.

"Very fair, Bankotsu," Jakotsu agreed, his eyes gleaming as he glared over at the girl. "She's sure to screw up soon. She's a woman, and all women are stupid."

Bankotsu cast him an amused look, well aware of his best friend's hostility towards women. He himself was much less aggressive. While a beautiful woman could catch his eye and he was not opposed to a night or two of pleasure with one, his job as a mercenary was more important and he would never give that up to settle down with one. There was nothing more pitiful than a great warrior giving up his life for some woman. It was a trap he was determined to not fall into. "Some women are more stupid than others. And some are more attractive."

The girl felt he was referring to her with the latter, and was stung. She would like to see just what kind of beautiful woman would still look beautiful after being through what she had been. Maybe a demon with the power of beauty, she thought scornfully. Am I supposed to apologize for looking hideous? Silently, she distributed the rest of food, though she dared not take any for herself. At any rate, she felt nauseous from the blood and the smell of the old woman's body. Heightened senses were often more of a curse than a blessing.

After making several trips to refill empty bowls of food and sake, she knelt in exhaustion near the fire. The Shichinin-tai were circled around her and the fire. Even if she had thought seriously of escaping, it would have been foolish to attempt it, because there would have been two men beside each point of escape. She could have leapt, but her ankle had not yet stopped bleeding and she was afraid of what a landing what do to it. It was strange. They seemed like monsters to her, but the way they talked and laughed amongst each other… they acted like a family.

Bankotsu looked up from sharing a joke with Jakotsu and raised his brows at the girl. "Well? Aren't you going to entertain us?"

She stopped tying a torn piece of cloth around her ankle and glanced up as much as she dared. "How would my lord like me to do that?" she asked carefully, a little afraid of the answer. Even if she wasn't a pure lady of virtue, she didn't want to be harmed by all of them.

"Can you sing?" he asked her after a moment of thought.

"Not well," she admitted, smoothing her ruined yukata unconsciously.

"Dance?"

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. They did not want to see her dance.

"Well, what can you do?" Bankotsu asked with a hint of disgust on his features. "What are you good for?"

She was quiet for a moment. "I can do tea ceremony and tell stories."

"Oh, please serve us some tea," Suikotsu told her sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He could hear his good doctor self begging for them to leave the poor girl alone. Unsurprisingly, Suikotsu told the doctor where to shove it and turned back to his food. He was in control and not giving it up.

Even though she knew he was not serious, she bowed her head in apology. "I am sorry my lord, but I did not think to bring tea." She turned in Bankotsu's direction. "Will it be all right to entertain you with stories?"

"Stories, huh? Sure, go ahead. But I warn you – if I become bored, then that'll be the end of you," he answered with a sly smirk.

I'm surrounded by a pack of wolves that I have to amuse, she thought in terror. Drawing in a deep breath, she made herself calm down. She too was a wolf at heart, human as she looked. "I understand, my lord," she answered gravely. "I thank you for this opportunity." Taking in another breath, she collected her thoughts, and then began to speak. "Long before any of us were born, there was a warrior of unsurpassed skill in battle…"