Aya: Me here. Technically, I had not abandoned the fanfic (as with everything else I have written). I jus' got a very bad case of writer's block.. an' being lazy doesn't help.

Tasuki: Jus' say ya got bored of it.

Aya: Shush, you. Anyways, I also kind of forgot we were posting it on ; So... yah, mostly deals with the fact that no one ever reviews these things

Tasuki: Ya suck at draggin' 'em in.

Aya: You're gonna get smacked... :grumbles: Maybe I should change the summary. Come Tasuki, we got stuff to do...

Tasuki: Dammit, woman! Ya don' own me!

(As the truth goes, we don', so don' sue us or anything... they're Watase Yu's creations.)

Chapter 4

Morning was not as much as a blessing as they hoped it would be. Tasuki woke up with a back cramp and a bruised face, Aya with several sore muscles as well as her neck in pain, Cat was still a bit drowsy, and Chichiri…. As cheerful as he always looked. At least that was his appearance.

"'Morning," Aya mumbled as she rolled off the bed, Tasuki's side, and threw open the curtains. She had to go through this every morning when they woke up to do chores in the stronghold. She trudged to the grumbling bandit. "I think we've got to leave early" yawn "today." She nudged him with a foot to emphasize the getting up part, shrugged, and then left to go get dressed and refreshed.

"Good morning," Cat called as she packed up whatever she had out. She listened as her friend entered the room and began to go through her bag. "Had another good rest in Tasuki's bed?"

Aya turned weary eyes to her. "Um-hm," she said with a smile. She then proceeded to get dressed in jeans and a tank top.

When the two girls headed out, they were intercepted by the bandit leader. Tasuki was dressed in white pants, black boots, a yellow-black Chinese-looking tunic with a thick golden sash, and his belt that held his tessen. He told them that they were to meet at the mess hall, before any of the other bandits came to get breakfast, and they would then head out.

Seated at one of the round tables, they quickly ate their porridge, or "gruel" as the girls called it.

"I really feel like eating pancakes," Cat whined as she downed the last of her water.

"Waffles dripped in syrup, or a bagel… cereal, chocolate milk, a donut-"

"Ayaaa!" Cat cried, "You're starting to depress me with just food." She was already homesick.

"Sorry," Aya lowered her head to finish her food, and then suddenly remembered. "Hey, Cat, the guys said you had a symbol… like the seishi." Said guys perked up and looked at the two of them. Aya turned her attention to them. "How do you make it work?"

Chichiri set down his cup of tea. "Well, it's normally when we're using our powers, no da. Or an excessive amount of energy is being released."

Aya thought about it for a second. "Hey, how 'bout fixing up that bruise on Genrou's cheek?" She grinned. Said bandit gave her a glare.

"Oh! Ok… I'll try." Cat blushed and leaned over towards Tasuki, hand out as she had started to remember Mitsukake do. Soon enough, a soft glow emitted and the bruise disappeared. She then sat back and stared at her wrist in surprise.

"Tamashii," Chichiri commented. "The character for soul, no da. You might want to use your powers very limited, since it gets you exhausted, na no da."

Aya clapped her hands and beamed. "Oh! Oh! How about me?" She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. Soon enough, she felt two fangs poke the inside of her mouth. She then opened her eyes and tried to locate the symbol. "Where is it?" She whined, pulling up her pant legs, looking over arms, turning her head and… spotting a warm blue glow in the center of her back. "Oh! Cat! Help me here!"

Cat helped pull down her tank top slightly to reveal the kanji…

And Tasuki abruptly bursted out into laughter.

Aya blushed and the kanji quickly faded back. "W-what was it?" She looked at the monk seishi.

He seemed to hesitate. "Hen," he then said. The narrowed look the girl gave let him know that she knew that meaning. "Daaa… I think it might mean as transformation."

"Or tha' she's weird, or a hentai!" Tasuki continued to laugh.

Aya got up and picked up her chair, ready to toss it in the bandit's direction. Tasuki squeaked and ran behind Chichiri. She sighed and set the chair back down. "Why'd I get stuck with the stupid one?" She mumbled.

Cat suppressed her giggle. "I-It's still nice." She tried to help.

Chichiri watched the exchange, keeping a calm smile on his face. However, inside he was disturbed by the blue coloring of Aya's marking. Taiitsukun will know, he reassured himself.

"Alright, time ta go!" Tasuki sat up and headed out, followed by the rest of their group. He found Kouji outside, finishing practice, and let him know that he was leaving, letting his best friend take position as leader once again. "If Chichiri 'ere could teleport us there, I think it'd be quicker, though," he replied when the scarred bandit asked how long they'd be gone.

"I can't, na no da." Chichiri answered bluntly. "The demons starting to roam here will be drawn in by my ki, and they could locate Taikyoku-san that way, no da. Better not risk it."

"Demons?" Aya and Cat said quietly to each other. The remark was left alone and they said their farewells to the bandits, away from the stronghold.

"I sure am going to miss Kouji kun." Cat said as walked next to Aya. They were headed towards the stable to borrow a couple of horses for the journey. "I hope he finds someone soon."

Aya wasn't listening much, she was still brooding over the fact that Cat got the good kanji while she got 'Hen'. She had to endure Tasuki's taunting for quite a while and she knew it wouldn't stop after today... most likely just get worse and worse...

When they finally did reach the stable, Cat was overjoyed. She went from stall to stall looking at all of the horses. They only kept stallions and mares, no geldings. She then noticed the condition of the stalls and even checked to see how much dust was in the hay. After giving the stables an inspection she began speaking with the barn hands about the proper way of caring for the equine.

Aya on the other hand was looking for a nice and gentle ride. A large white mare soon caught her eyes and she instantly feel in love. "I wanna ride her" She said to Tasuki as he passed by. He gave the horse a quick look and then gave off a 'keh' sound. "Pick watever ya want, its not like I'm ridin it."

Aya gave him a cold stare. That's what you think...

Cat and Aya found a wonderful four year old chestnut mare. Cat had been quite found of her once she saw her and fell even more in love when she found her to be extremely sound. She had jumped up as quick as she could onto the horse once she fitted her with a saddle. She took the reigns in hand and smiled while she began walking the horse around for a bit while Aya and Tasuki had another argument.

Chichiri had been thinking quietly to himself the whole time. He was sitting under a large pear tree and pondering what Taiitsukun would say about the two girls. He seemed almost lost in thought as he looked up at the sky... Something's wrong, no da.

Cat noticed the pensive seishi and stopped her horse in mid turn. She then rode up slowly towards him, he didn't really notice her since he was so deep in thought. She quickly dismounted and walked right next to him before she said anything. "Chichiri san... are you alright" She asked softly as she looked down at him. She didnt know why, but seeing him like that nearly broke her fragile heart.

Chichiri snapped out of his trance like stage and looked up at the girl. Her eyes looked troubled over something... "Yes I am fine, no da." He said as he gave his ever present smile and stood up. There was something odd about her, the way she acted... but he didn't know what it was. It could just be that she's from a different world... they both are very... unique. He thought as he looked down on her, she was a lot shorter than him... "Well I think we had best begin our journey. It will take long to reach to reach Taikyoku san, no da." He then began walking towards Tasuki and Aya.

"Why don't you ride with me? It'll be more comfortable if a guy and girl ride together instead of two big guys" Aya screamed at Tasuki while he began to lose what little self control he had. She had been yelling this same statement over and over for the past ten minutes.

"I said no" Tasuki growled out as he jumped up on his black stallion. What was with this girl? Why was she so persistent!

Aya stomped back to where Cat was already mounted and ready to go. Cat could not have a bigger smile on her face.

"It's your fault 'cause you want to ride yourself," Aya blamed Cat, but she held a bright smile, then leaned forward once she was mounted. "Don' worry, I'll get the guys to take us separately. If it wasn't that we could only have two mounts, 'm sure the guys would rather have separate rides."

Finally after much delay, the group set off. The day lazily went by while they set off at a moderate trot through a heavily wooded area. The girls rode in front, Cat merrily smiling and enjoying the moment, while Aya sulked and wondered why Tasuki had to be such an ass...

At last it was time they stop for the day. Nothing had happened so far. The day composed of just trotting along the deserted forests, nothing else. They had made very good time, and the horses were very tired.

They lay out under the cool shade of a large pear tree while the sun set. Tasuki decided to take a nap while he muttered something about 'hentai girl', Aya, also napping, muttered something about 'red haired jerk'. Chichiri sat a little ways away from the rest of the group taking in the serene environment and nice weather.

Cat stood near the horses, bringing them bowlfuls of fresh cool water with Tama nearby. It was all so calm with a soft breeze rustling the golden leaves on the trees and causing Cat's loose wavy hair to fly into her face. She gave off a tiny laugh as she caught a mouthful.

After tending to the equine she went slightly out of eye sight from the group. She just wanted to be alone for a while. She lay on the soft grass and looked up at the sky. It had begun to change from its cheery blue to the lush shades of amber and violet. Tama softly purred on her stomach as she thought of her mom. How many times had she gone outside to watch the sunset with her? In her old home she had a large lake that reflected the colors of the sunset...

Mom... brother... Dad... She thought to herself as she watched the sky turn darker and darker before her brown eyes. Will I ever get back to you? She shifted in her position and felt something in her back pocket of her jeans. She then reached and pulled out her cell phone. It would soon run out of batteries... She had been listening to her saved voice messages every night since she'd arrived in Konan... She could hear her mother telling her to call her in the morning, that she loved her and good night. She held the phone to her ear one more time and listened to her mother.

She knew it was a futile attempt, but she tried anyways. She called her home. No service the phone said. She then looked back up at the sky and fell into a deep sleep, cell phone clutched in her left hand on her chest as the moon began to rise.

"Cat?" Aya called softly. She found her friend sleeping, and she poked her cautiously. "Wake up, you," she said softly. She really hated waking someone up. "Hey, Cat," she tried again, this time nudging her harder. "Din-din."

"Mrrf…" Cat muttered darkly, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?" She called, looking up only to find Aya with a torch and the sky a lot darker than she had remembered. "Oh, I guess I was sleeping too long…"

She returned to camp with her friend, finding a fire with stones built around it and four separate bedrolls spread across the ground. The girls were further away from the fire, given some privacy from the men's' bedrolls.

"Come get your fish, no da," Chichiri called out cheerfully. He held up the traditional "fish-on-a-stick".

The girls hesitated, but sat down and had their meal instead. They were too hungry to care. Aya kept her distance from Tasuki throughout the entire night, she had woken up early from her nap and busied herself with her pack, finding paper and writing when she got really bored. When the bandit woke up as well, she suppressed the urge to start a conversation with him… which would have most likely ended up in another argument. They stayed separate, the girls making small talk and the guys talking about their trip. Once the fish was finished, Chichiri announced that they should head to bed, and they all quickly obeyed.

The next day, the group awoke to more shouting. Aya had mysteriously shifted her entire bedroll just by Tasuki's. The bandit had actually tossed himself half on the short girl, one hand lost in her hair, which had been her pillow for the night. As soon as the morning light struck the sleeping bandit, he was awake.

The sooner we get there, the sooner we can figure out what these girls are about, He told himself. He stretched, and the shout of a female right next to him made him stop dead. That was when he realized that his hand was caught in something.

"Will you fucking let go already?" Aya cried as she tried to pull her hair out, her sleepy eyes still drawn tightly shut.

Tasuki stared at the girl, then yanked his hand back. "What the fuck are you doing again?"

Aya shrieked, and pushed herself closer to the bandit. She would have liked the position, having her head up against him, if it wasn't that she was getting a severe headache. "Leggo, leggo, leggo," she whined.

"You deserve it, hentai!" Tasuki shouted back as he tried to undo the knots that held his hand. It didn't take him long, allowing the girl to keep her hair. He quickly stood up and kicked his pillow away, sitting down on it as the others woke up.

Chichiri woke up to the first shouts. Cat followed after, but it took her a long time to actually get up. She whined, curled up into a ball, then stretched out.

"How can he cause such a fuss so early?" She said, looking over at her friend who was rubbing her scalp. "I thought you would learn by now…"

Aya straightened her hair out a bit more decently. "Hey, this time it wasn't my fault, I swear!" She sniffed, acting hurt at being accused. "The fire was closer over here, an' you know how easily I get cold at night! I kept moving closer… I had no idea where I ended up, honest!"

"Can' play innocent when you've 'ready made yourself a pervert, girl," Tasuki mumbled, picking up some wrapped rolls from his pack for breakfast.

Aya came closer and took one of the rolls away from him, unwrapping it to eat it herself. "Can't really be called a pervert when you're found in the same bed as a gay man. I've heard since the first day you hated women."

"A-Aya!" Cat cried, staring wide-eyed at her friend for her brave words. She saw the twitch in Tasuki's eye.

"Who ya callin' gay?" The bandit roared, jumping up. "I hate women but that doesn' mean 'nything!" He stalked over to the short girl, glaring down at her.

Aya turned around with a mouthful of the roll; she swallowed and smiled at him in a friendly manner. "It's alright," She said calmly. "Most of my friends are either homosexual or bisexual back home. I'm used to it." Her face was suddenly snagged by Tasuki, mouth pressed together. She stared at him in disbelief as he leaned down, as if he were to kiss her. He wouldn't!

"T-Tasuki!" Chichiri cried in shock as he stared at the scene. The other two members of their group were still there!

The bandit huffed and shoved her face away, frowning. "Doesn' prove a thing," he mumbled and walked away. Chichiri assessed the scene and then followed his friend, giving the two girls a moment to recuperate.

Once they had their backs turned and were not looking, Aya bent her body forward and pumped her arm and looked proud of herself, giving a silent cheer as she grinned at Cat.

"That was… wrong, Aya." Cat stated, trying to look stern. "He probably really hates you now."

The shorter of the two shrugged, still with a bright smile. "Doesn't matter. He'd have hated me either way. At least I get some fun tormenting the man." It wasn't unusual for Aya to cause trouble for the people she liked. She hated being vulnerable, and teased them as much as possible. Tasuki would be no different, even if he was a special case.

The solemn look Cat gave her ruined her mood. Aya sighed and bowed her head, looking torn. She shrugged her shoulders and began to clean up the campsite, rolling up what they had all slept on last night and packing it onto the horses. Cat began to help after a few minutes.

When the guys returned, Tasuki quickly mounted his stallion, took the reigns and came up beside Aya before she could start to mount their mare. "C'mon," he said gruffly, holding out a hand.

She blinked, stared at the hand, then looked at him. "What?"

"I said c'mon," he repeated. "Are ya deaf? We're never gonna get there if ya keep stallin', Chichiri will take yer friend."

Aya faltered a moment, her mouth dropping open without any words to express. Finally, she shut it. What the hell. She took his hand and was swung up, being seated in front of Tasuki. She tried to ignore him behind her as she turned her head to watch Cat, flustered as ever when she found out she was riding with Chichiri.

Cat happily hummed to herself as she tightened the saddle on her horse. She then brought the mares head down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Ride well today, kay" She told the horse as she smiled. This was heaven...

But her happy state of being quickly faded when she turned to see Aya riding with Tasuki... No... don't tell me... And then she turned to find Chichiri walking towards her, bright and cheery as always... Aya! HOW COULD YOU! Cat cursed at Aya in her head as she gave her a fierce glare. Aya was just able to watch this as she rode by her with Tasuki. Aya gave off a weak smile and winked, most likely saying 'have fun'.

But she wasn't going to have anything related to fun. She couldn't even look at Chichiri in the face when she spoke with him, and now she was supposed to ride with him? So close together! Cat stood still, she had her hands resting on the horn of the saddle.

"Do you need some help, no da" Chichiri asked from behind her. She must have looked like a newbie standing like that. Cat quickly composed herself and smiled. "No, it's alright." She then quickly placed her foot in the stirrup and lifted herself, bringing the other leg over.

Aya certainly seemed to be enjoying herself the entire day. Her face held a large smile and she seemed to congratulate herself over and over again for getting to ride with Tasuki. Cat on the other hand was extremely tense. She hadn't spoken a word to Chichiri since he'd asked her if she needed a hand.

Why can't I just act normally? She wondered as she let out a depressed sigh.

"Is your name really Cat, no da" Chichiri asked from behind her. He had been rather bored for the past hour and he was very curious about the girls.

Cat had nearly forgotten where she was, she slowly replied in a soft voice. "Well... my real name is Catalina. Cat's just a nickname..." That wasn't soo bad. She thought as she started to perk up a bit. Maybe she could hold a decent conversation with him after all"I really hate my name so I get everyone to call me Cat. I think it's nicer. Of course that doesn't stop my family from calling me Caty, which I cant stand... but...since it's them, it's okay." She smiled softly as she looked ahead. She just couldn't stop thinking about them.

Chichiri sensed her spirits fall slightly when she mentioned her family, she must have been very close to them... Maybe I should change the subject, no da?

But he didn't need to, once someone got the ball rolling it was hard to get Cat to shut up. "You know, this place kind of reminds me of my home. I mean, it's a lot more beautiful over here, but its so warm even in the autumn. It's just like Miami... even in the winter I could still go fishing without a jacket, even the ocean breeze wasn't too cold." She started to smile brightly as she thought of the Keys, she'd had so many great moments there.

"You like fishing, no da" Chichiri perked up as he heard her say this. He thoroughly enjoyed fishing.

Cat brightened up even more, she had forgotten that the Seishi enjoyed casting the reel every now and then. "I love it! My dad taught me a few years ago... I'm not that bad either. Do you like to fish, too"

But before Chichiri could respond something rather comical but very terrible happened.

Something small quickly crossed in front of Cat's horse. The mare spooked and wanted to run, as is the instinct of any horse when they feel they're in danger.

She bucked off Chichiri who was caught off guard. Then she continued to buck with all her might, in hopes that Cat would follow too. But Cat had had her experiences with bucking horses and managed to stay on. "Whoa girl" Cat said as the horse continued, finally she set off at a high paced gallop through the dense forest.

"CAT" Aya called after her as she saw her friend quickly vanish into the darkness. But soon after Cat had vanished the same small something spooked the stallion Aya and Tasuki were riding on. The horse bucked off Tasuki , leaving Aya on, and then setting off in the same direction as Cat at a gallop.

Cat knew that trying to pull on the reigns would only make the out of control mare go even faster so she let them go and instead grabbed onto her mane. After five minutes of going at the gallop the mare tripped over a log which she had not been able to clear. She tripped and sent Cat flying onto the floor.

After a minute, she managed to get up. The mare must have high tailed it out of there because she was no where in sight. "Where am I" She asked herself as she slowly got to her feet. Her body felt as though she had been lunging all day... Before she could take a step, though, she caught sight of a little girl. She was slightly shorter than Cat and appeared to be around the age of fifteen. Her hair was almost the same color and type as Cat and even her skin, which was darkened by the sun, resembled hers.

"Hey, are you lost" Cat said sweetly as she walked over to her. The girl's clothes were very thin and torn. She looked as if she had been wandering for quite some time. But before the girl responded her she bolted into the heavy brush. "Hey wait" Cat called after her, but before she could follow she heard a voice.

"Oi, I've found 'er" A gruff male voice said from behind her. Cat spun around to find a man dressed all in black giving her a large frown. "I thought I told ya not ta run off" He said to her as he advanced towards her. He than roughly grabbed her left wrist and began pulling her away.

"Let go of me" Cat said as she fought against the large man. He stood at nearly the height of six feet. He had a large scar down his right cheek and his teeth were very yellow. Without saying anything to her he slapped her across the face with an incredible might. The force was so strong that Cat fell back into a nearby tree. She moaned from the pain as she slid down the tree. What was going on?

"How dare a lil bitch like ya talk back ta me! Afta runnin off" He then grabbed her by the arm and dragged her after him.

"Let go of me, I said" Cat said through a bloody mouth. The man turned around and in a furry grabbed her by the hair and threw her into a carriage which she had not managed to spot before hand.

"Shudup... and if ya open that pretty lil mouf of yars agin..." He grabbed her chin and lifted her face to his. "I'll make ya regret da day you were born." He then shoved her away and began going towards a little village.

Aya meanwhile was experiencing her own problems. She too had finally gotten separated from her horse and she was now limping through the forest.

"Aw crap, where the hell am I" She asked herself as she limped towards what seemed to be a way out of the woods. As soon as she did manage to get out of the woods, though, she came across the carriage which held Cat.

The slave trader made an abrupt stop. This can't be good. Aya thought as she saw the man jump out of the carriage. But before either of them could speak, Cat poked her bruised face out.

"Aya" She yelled out as she tried to get out. But before she could another man had pulled her away from the door.

"Cat" What the hell, there are so many freaking slave traders! Aya thought as she watched the man approach her.

"So ya know each oder" He said with a sick grin on his face. "I wont hurt er if ya git in the cart too." This was his lucky day, two pretty girls for the price of one.

Aya bit her lip, narrowing her eyes at the dirty man. If he didn't have Cat hostage, I'd rip his fucking throat out, she growled inwardly, but did not dare say anything out loud. There's one thing that can piss her off real quick, other than Tasuki bad-mouthing her. That was someone hurting her friends. "Fine," she said through clenched teeth, giving the man one of her worse looks before jumping into the cart. Just as she expected, she was grabbed and tied down.

"Ah, hell! You assholes don't have a clue what you're fucking doing!" Aya screamed, detesting the idea that her arms would not be free. It earned her a smack. With her sprained ankle, she was tossed beside Cat. "Yo," she tried to sound calm.

Her friend didn't reply, but looked absolutely terrified.

"We hafta hurry now, 'else we gonna be late, Heijyo." One of the men in the back informed the man hurrying to the front of the cart, ready to take off.

Late? Cat and Aya both had the same thought, and their eyes widened in fright.

"Ya think either of these lil girlies will fetch a good price?" Another man, with less of a rougher accent, asked his partner. He was holding a dagger, using it in a threatening manner towards the two otherworlders. His eyes trailed their bodies in a lewd fashion.

"Pro'ly not ta one wit' ta mouth," The first man replied.

The rest of the ride went by relatively silent, and Cat prayed that the seishi would find them soon. She knew that Chichiri must be looking for them at the moment, and should be able to sense where they were. Closing her eyes, she imagined the monk in her mind. Please! Get here in time!

When the cart came to a stop, the girls were snagged by the rope attached to their wrists and pulled out of the cart. They came upon a large hut that looked about to fall in upon itself. The smell of booze and urine hung around the place, and they knew that it wouldn't be a happy experience inside.

When they entered, their fears were revealed.

"Sold!" An Auctioneer said at the wooden podium at the front of the crowd. There were men from all types crowded in that room, tables surrounding the sides littered with sake. Some men cheered in one corner and one moved forward to claim his prize. A tall girl bowed her head in defeat, unable to watch as the man passed over a bag of coins and took her ropes away from the auctioneer.

"N-no way," Aya gasped. Her face grew pale at the sight. The smell alone made her nauseous, but the very idea of being brought in front of all these barbarians and… "Auctioned? You're gonna fucking auction us?" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Everyone in the room turned to them, just in time to see one of Heijyo's men punch Aya across the face. The girl, however, wouldn't take anymore. She snagged the fist in her mouth, fangs transformed, and bit down. HARD.

The man yelled and kicked her in the gut in response, glad to see her drop to the ground and release his hand.

"Aya!" Cat cried, but she was pulled away before she could help her friend.

"Heijyo, you're right on time! I hope you have someone better for us…" The auctioneer eyed the wild girl suffering from the kick on the floor. His eyes traveled to Cat, the tanned girl earning a really perverted smirk. "Men! Tonight we have an exotic girl for you all!" He took the ropes from the man and made sure he pulled Cat up to her full height. "Let's start at 10 mon!"

"30!" A middle-aged balding man said from the front.

And the auction started. Aya was pulled up, weakened from the blow, and brought to the front of the room. Cat and herself were the last two up for that night. She already had one eye slightly closed from a large bruise forming. The auction was escalating in a battle between two men.

"One silver ryo!" A man finally shouted, and the room died into silence.

"Sold!" The front called out, and the man came to take himself a Cat.

As he passed by, Aya growled, but did not have much the energy to do anything else. Their safety was more important, but she still would hate to see her friend sold to such a person. Her eyes watched him carefully, even when she was pushed up front. The room was still silent.

"Um… Let's start this girl at 2 mon." The auctioneer began, glancing around the quiet room. "She might have a mouth and might be a handful, but many find that sort of girl arousing. Are there any takers? How about 1 mon?"

Someone up front coughed and rose his hand. "Alright! That's one mon… Any other bids?"

Meanwhile, just a few minutes before, the two seishi were just entering the edge of a village, not in the best condition.

"Stupid horses! That's why I hate 'em!" Tasuki cursed his stallion, which they had found not far back. As for the mare, she was still missing. "Where the fuck did they get to now?"

"Calm down, na no da." Chichiri held the reigns of the horse, afraid that his friend will do something if he were in charge. "They are here somewhere, and their ki are troubled. They must have been hurt, no da."

"Knowin' 'em, they prob'ly have caused a scene an' were captured. They'd kill 'nyone 'fore they're scratched." The bandit was looking around anxiously, just waiting to find the brunette chasing someone and her black-haired girl trying to calm her. His eyes spotted the run-down hut. "Huh… 'm gonna look over there," he said, heading that way.

Chichiri did not follow. "I believe they were separated, no da. I'll go get the other one." And he left in a separate direction.

Tasuki walked into the hut, where from afar he sensed trouble, and came upon a sight that he will never be able to sort into his mind. It was confusing, frightening, comical, and… damn strange.

"…one mon. Any other bids?" The announcer shouted to the quiet audience, waiting for any takers.

Tasuki blanched when he saw what was up for auction: Aya, bruised and leaning heavily on one side in pain. He was about to jump up there and save the day, when he witnessed the strangest thing ever. He wasn't the only one in that room that was taken by surprise.

"One fucking mon? I don't even go up in price but I even drop down to the lowest bid?" Aya stood straight, even though she winced in pain, and tried to push ahead, closer to the crowd. "You fucking cowards! I'm not worth that little! C'mon! You can't fucking be serious! Anyone asking for a silver ryo? 80 mon? 10 mon!"

Tasuki's mouth dried out. That bitch is going to dig herself an early grave. He then raised his arm, half-hidden in the crowd of men. "Alright, five mon!" He said, loud and clear.

Aya blinked, and tried to find the owner of the hand. She spotted the red-hair, and it didn't take a moment for her to snap. "You asshole, y-" She didn't get anymore out as a man grabbed her ropes and pulled her back, causing her to fall to the ground and hurt her ankle once again.

The auctioneer stared in confusion, then finally picked up where he left off. "Y-yah. Five, then. Do I hear any other bids?"

"Ten mon!" Someone from the far back called out.

Tasuki sent the short man that tried to outbid him a glare, pushed past some thugs in front of him to get closer to the front, and called out again, "Fifteen!"

"Twenty!"

Tasuki grew irritated. "Twenty-fuckin'-five mon! I thin' that's 'nough already!"

There was a silence. "Alright? Going once…" The front was about to close the deal when—

"Fifty!"

A pause. A longer silence… And then, Tasuki stopped his forward momentum. "Ah, fuck it. Only an idiot would pay that much for that one," he dropped his arm.

"Sold!"

"I'll fucking kill you when I'm out of here, Tasuki!" Aya screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Didn' say a thing 'bout not savin' your ass," he said. He already saw that his seishi name drew in looks from all around him. He pulled out his trusty tesson. "Rekka shinen!" He shouted, making his way through the men.

In moments the slave traders were charred and Tasuki was outside with Aya, still in ropes.

"They should'a known they didn' have a chance 'gainst me." Tasuki sheathed his diamond fan proudly, and then turned to cut the bindings on Aya. The girl was shaking, and he felt just a quick pang of guilt for what he had done. "You're not cryin' now, are ya?" He had a weakness against women crying.

"I'm… I'm…" Aya tried to get out through her teeth. As soon as Tasuki leaned forward to listen to her better, she turned her head and fastened her glowing eyes at him. "I'm fucking pissed!"

Tasuki leapt back and brandished his tessen once again. "Oi! I saved your damn life!"

Aya, red with rage, was going to reply when she suddenly felt her sight go black. She heard Tasuki's concerned voice but was not able to do a thing about it. I'll hurt him when I'm awake, she was about to think right before she fainted.

"Ah, shit," Tasuki cursed at himself. He caught Aya right before she hit the ground. He should have known the beating and the stress would have had this effect on her. Luckily, she was light as he carried her off in search of the other pair.

Chichiri was having just a bit more trouble finding Cat. He began to grow anxious, sensing that he had to find the girl as fast as possible.

While the auction for Aya was taking place, Cat was forcefully being lead away from the hut and down a dark alley. She struggled until the man turned around and grabbed her by her shirts collar.

"If ya don stop that I'm gonna have ta do somein yer not gonna like."

He seemed to be around the age of forty and already had thinning gray hair. His face had many scars and was wrinkled. Cat behaved the rest of the way, turning every now and then to see if she could spot Tasuki or Chichiri with Aya. But no one was every there...

Maybe they won't come this time...

Finally they arrived at a rather nice looking house that was separated from the rest of the village. She was lead inside and taken to a small room that was filled with a great assortment of women. They ranged from young to old, skinny to plump.

"Alrig, luv." The man said as he took off the ropes from Cat's wrists and shoved her into the room.

"We'll come an git ya when its time." He then smiled wickedly and shut the door.

Cat slowly looked around the room and found that everyone was staring at her. Finally a tall and thin woman of about thirty made her way up to her. She towered over Cat as she spoke.

"She must be for the boss... How much were you worth" She asked her while the other girls began coming closer in order to inspect Cat.

They grabbed her hair and smelled it, examined her skin and looked into her eyes. Cat felt as if she was up for auction again.

please stop." Cat said as she got free from their prying hands. The woman who had initiated the examination gave out a hardy laugh.

"If you can't even get used to us looking at you, how are you going to handle the boss" She asked Cat as she took a few steps forward.

"Besides... you do look funny. What with that weird clothes and all..." The rest of the girls agreed. They all wore rather elegant yukata and some even wore expensive kimonos.

Right after this the man who had led her to this damned place came back in. He didn't say anything; all he did was grab Cat by the arm and dragged her out. She knew what was coming... how could this possibly be any good? This was Konan; rape was the norm for girls.

Chichiri... where are you? She thought to herself while she was lead to a large and extravagant room. The man then pushed her inside"Have fun, sir" He said in a perverted voice and then closed the double doors.

Cat tried to grabbed hold of the door knob and tried to open it... but of course it was locked... She then felt someone place their arms around her waist. Oh no! Cat screamed in her mind while she stood paralyzed.

"There's no way out." A deep voice said in her ear.

Cat's heart beat as fast as it could possibly go without giving her a heart attack. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have any strength like Aya or the Seishi... all she could do was help others. She couldn't even heal her own wounds.

Before she could even say anything the man had already thrown her onto a very large bed. She was about to jump off when she found herself face to face with him. He was very handsome, around the age of twenty-five with black hair and green eyes. He was already dressed for the occasion... wearing only a robe. He leaned towards her and tried to kiss her but before he could Cat had squirmed her way from under him. She was half way towards the door when he tackled her to the floor.

Why did I have to be born a girl! She screamed in her mind as she felt the heavy weight of the tall man on her. She tried to get away from him but before she knew it she was in his arms again.

"I enjoy a fight..." He said wickedly as he stared into her terrified eyes.

Damn I knew I should have bought that pepper spray! Cat then began to fight back as best as she could, throwing her arms around wildly and kicking. But this only made the man laugh and become even more intrigued. It was all useless. He easily held her down, strong hands on her wrists and then he began to have his 'fun'.

Before he could go too far though, the door swung open. Both Cat and the man looked up to see who it was.

"C-Chichiri san" Cat cried out in joy. Thank God! She tried to get the man off of her but instead he grabbed her and drew out a rather large knife. He held it to her neck and smiled wickedly.

Chichiri stood still, he didn't want to risk the girls life. He had easily defeated the bandits that guarded the entrance but now he wasn't sure of what to do. Before he said anything, though, he found that he was surrounded by a group of men. They all held a weapon of some sort and did not look too pleased that he had made it all the way to the chamber of their master.

"Get out of here and I'll spare your life. I already bought her, she's mine" He stared at the monk with his eyes full of rage.

"Go find another one." The man who held Cat said fiercely. The knife made its way closer and closer to her neck until it finally grazed her skin at the last remark he made. A tiny stream of crimson blood trickled down her neck as she let out a small cry.

Chichiri knew that even if he stayed calm, things were going to get bad quick. So he began to concentrate all his ki on the bandit leader... causing him to be paralyzed. The knife dropped from his hand and Cat was then able to get free from his strong grip.

After this everything ended quickly. The men didn't have a chance against the Seishi. His main strength lay in his magical abilities, but he was still physically strong. His attention soon turned towards the girl who was kneeling on the floor, motionless. She was very pale and her eyes were filled with tears.

But before he could say anything to her she to her feet and softly said"Thank you, Chichiri san... I-I'm sor..." She couldn't finish. She began to fall to the ground, the last thing she remembered was someone calling out her name in concern.

When Cat awoke, some twenty minutes later, she found herself in Chichiri's arms. He carefully carried her as he walked towards Tasuki who held an unconscious Aya. Cat also found that a piece of cloth had been placed as a makeshift bandage around her neck to cover the cut she had received.

So, Cat, I guess I kind of let ya down. Sorry 'bout that. I was surprised to see a new chapter posted! So here's another from me . . .

Hope your Holidays suck like mine always do... or rather, jus' like every other cursed day. (As if anyone reads here )

Aya, out.