I twirled my auburn-brown hair around my finger as I walked. I scanned the outskirts of the tiny village. My uneven gate told everyone that I had twisted my ankle.

I reached what seemed to be the center of the village and stopped.

I looked around me and scanned the crowd, if it could be called that. Everyone here kept the heads down and stumbled around, their clothes tattered rags; signs of poverty. I rolled my green eyes sky wards. This was the village we'd be sent to raid and destroy? Boring.

Finally, someone caught my attention. His clothes and way of walking told me that he was probably head of the village, or, judging by his young age, the village leader's son. His black hair was hooked back in a gold clip that matched a gold belt and designs on his kimono. It was fairly obvious what all the village's money was spent on.

I limped over to him and took a hold of his embroidered purple sleeve. "Please," I said my acting skills at their very best. "Sir, please, I tripped and sprained my ankle. Will you help me?"

He looked me up and down, slowly, and then smiled. Pervert. "Of course." He led me back the way he had come with an arm around my waist. I groaned inwardly. Why did I have to be the damsel in distress? Why didn't someone else dress up and limp up to a handsome man and beg for help? Jakotsu would love to.

He sat me down once inside the hut and looked at my foot. "I'm not much of a doctor; I'll find someone who can help." He disappeared back out the makeshift door.

I fiddled with the dagger under my over-sized kimono. This sort of thing was getting ridiculous. What was the point of a surprise attack if we already knew that we would win? I drew my hand away from my weapon as the man came back inside, followed by another.

"My father," he said motioning to the man behind him. "He should be able to help." He also wore a fancy kimono, even nicer than mine. His was a vibrant red with birds across the sleeves. Instead of gold, his was silver, that went nicely with his fading and receding hair.

His father, the village leader, lifted my foot and turned it slightly, I winced. "Are you sure you're in pain? I don't see anything wrong, it's not even swollen."

I started to lie and tell him that it did hurt when someone else stepped into the hut. A priest. "Sir, I came to tell you that-" upon catching site of me, the priest threw his hands in the air and cried: "A demon!"

The other two men took a step away from me and I rose to my feet. The monk made towards the door; I pulled out my dagger and threw it at him, missing him by a hair.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," I said. The three men watched me nervously. "I always find it so ironic how the people complain they can never find a good monk and then the villages I wander into seem to have one capable enough to sense my aura."

"Then you are a demon?" the young man asked.

I rolled me eyes. "Yes. And now that the cat's out of the bag…" I strode over to the single window in the hut and looked out and down. "There you are, Mukotsu," I said seeing the short poison master hiding in the bushes.

"Yes?" he said drawling out the E.

"Go tell the others that we've been discovered," I said picking him up by his collar.

"Why should I?" he asked.

"Because I'll kill you in your sleep if you don't," I answered and dropped him "Now go."

He stood up and disappeared into the trees. I looked back at my hostages. "Now we wait," I said.

"You're helping the Band of Seven," the older man said.

"Very good, though not quiet," I said. "I'm part of the Band of Seven."

"With you it would be eight, though," the youngest said.

"I'm the 'secret member'," I used the name that Bankotsu often called me.

"But you're a demon," said the monk. "Why help humans?"

"The idea of being a mercenary intrigued me."

"If you're planning on killing everyone, why keep us alive?" The boy asked. He had a ridiculous way of pointing out the obvious. The people of this village should be happy that we were killing them before he was able to take his father's place.

I gave him a funny look. "That's one of those questions you shouldn't ask if you want to stay alive a few more minutes," I said.

He glared at me and I sighed. I took his chin in my hands and turned his head side to side. "You really are cute. Too bad I have to kill you."

The first screams started outside. I looked up. "And the fun begins." Turning back to my hostages I asked. "Do you want me to kill you now, or do you want to try to escape? Which, by the way, won't happen."

They all made towards the door, I called after them: "Ten second head start!"

As they took off, I shrugged off my over-sized ugly kimono to the brilliant teal kimono underneath. It had beautiful white roses around the bottom and up my right side on either side of a slight that went up my thigh. The obi was a pale pink with miniature flying cranes. The kimono hid the fourteen daggers on my body. Two short swords on each hip, the size of my forearms, not included.

I jogged outside to see the three men already dead, Jakotsu standing not far off. "Jakotsu, I had dibs on them!" I cried.

He shrugged and raced off after another fleeing man, singing as he went. I turned down a side street and took off after one person. I grabbed the dagger that hung off my arm and threw it. With a thud, he hit the ground, I pulled the knife from his back and slit his throat, just in case. He gurgled helplessly.

A man jumped on by back, swinging a trowel angrily.

"Bitch! I will kill you!" He screamed.

I threw him over my shoulder and dug my sword into his stomach. He cried out and reached a hand out to stop me, but he was already dead. Blood bubbled at the side of his mouth, popped, and dribbled down his chin.

"Kaida!" I turned to see Bankotsu waving at me. "We're done!"

"What?" I yelled. "Already?."

He only shrugged. "Snooze you loose. Renkotsu," he called. "Burn it all."

"Yes, Big Brother," Renkotsu said. With that, Renkotsu took a swig from the calabash bottle and blew the fire to the buildings. Within seconds, the whole village was ablaze.