Thanks for reading the story! Enjoy this next chapter!

I carefully picked the lock, and opened up the box.

There was a handful of jewelry in there.

I pulled it all out, shrunk it, and put it in my bag.

I headed on out, taking anything that money could replace.

Right at the end, as I was taking a fancy comb, I heard running around.

"Crap!" I whispered. "I thought I had it this time!"

I headed away from the running, and ran swiftly for the nearest exit.

Outside, I noticed the lamps being lit.

"Just a little farther!" I whispered.

I ran for the gate.

Right as I was running out, I felt a stabbing pain in my shoulder.

I gasped, fighting a scream as I staggered out.

I ran until I was safely hidden in a rocky place beside the mountain.

There, I put my bag of goods down, and reached over to my shoulder.

Someone had managed to put an arrow in my back.

I pulled it out, grunting, and groaning in pain as I did so.

I looked around, just in case.

"Hasume-chan." I said. "Are you there?"

She came flying around the rock, looking a bit sad.

"Why are you doing this?" Hasume asked.

"I want him to follow me." I said. "I have to leave some sort of trail, otherwise, he's never gonna find me."

"Mori..." Hasume said.

"I could be doing a lot worse." I said. "You know I could!"

She was silent. "I'll stop and return this stuff, just as soon as I have Kokoroha back." I said. "Just chill out, and I'll be done soon. I promise."

I hugged her.

Bankotsu's POV:

I passed by another panicked castle.

Tokimekikotsu had struck again.

"Seems he's gonna keep going this way." I said. "He strikes over night... Guess I'd better stay one step ahead of him."

I began running toward the next place in danger of being stolen from...

Mori's POV:

I began to stir. I had fallen asleep in a high tree at the break of dawn, and was waking up, now, at dusk.

"Time to go." I said. "Hasume-chan, my mask."

She handed me my demon-faced mask.

I put that on, and cast a glance at the sheathed sword's hilt.

I felt I needed it. I wasn't sure why.

"You won't replace Kokoroha." I said. "However..."

I picked it up, and tied it to my obi.

"Let's go." I said.

I climbed down from the tree, and headed for the next fancy house on my list.

Upon getting there, I noticed something wrong about the place, and a familiar aura.

"He's here!" I whispered.

I carefully made my way into the building, making sure to avoid the aura, as I went into the first room.

I was horrified at the sight before me.

A few of the guards were impaled, and hanging from the ceiling.

And a woman in nice robes was cut in half with each half set to face the other, on the floor.

I put a hand over my masked mouth, fighting a scream, as I backed away from the door.

Bankotsu's POV:

I watched as a figure made it's way to the room I knew it would go to first, smiling as it froze by the open door.

The figure backed away from the room, holding it's face in a terrified gesture.

"Like it?" I said.

The figure turned it's attention to me.

"I don't mean to brag, or nothin', but, I'm real proud of that, myself!" I said. "I've even planned out your place in this whole set... and you'll go there if you don't have a good enough reason for distracting me from my mission."

The figure raised it's hands, ready to fight.

"Believe me, I have a good reason!" it called to me.

The voice was boyish. A very young, male voice. Too young to be that big.

"Hmm. So, you're a woman." I said.

The figure didn't move.

"Yeah." She said, dropping her act. "What of it?"

I knew this voice. It wouldn't leave my head from the first time I heard it.

"Why are you calling my attention to you?" I asked. "You know I could kill you in an instant if I felt like it, don't you?"

The woman scoffed.

"You won't kill me yet!" She said. "I have something you want, and you can't get it if I'm dead!"

She took off. I sighed, and followed her out.

Mori's POV:

"Like it?" came a voice.

I turned.

Bankotsu sat on the pourch of the building across from me, looking amused.

"I don't mean to brag, or nothin', but, I'm real proud of that, myself!" He said. "I've even planned out your place in this set... and you'll go there if you don't have a good enough reason for distracting me from my mission."

Mission? I distracted him from something?

I took a battle position, knowing how frustrating it was to be distracted from something you were focused on.

"Believe me, I have a good reason!" I said, trying to sound like a boy to throw him off.

Bankotsu looked me over.

"Hmm." He said. "So, you're a woman."

I was inwardly kicking myself for not trying to learn how to change my voice better.

"Yeah." I said, giving up. "What of it?"

He paused again.

"Why are you calling my attention to you?" Bankotsu asked. "You know I could kill you in an instant if I felt like it, don't you?"

He knows doesn't he? He knows who I am!

I scoffed, trying to sound brave.

"You won't kill me yet!" I said. "I have something you want, and you can't get it if I'm dead!"

I ran out of there. I couldn't let him catch me, yet, and, with everyone there dead, there was no point in stealing their things.

I ran for the river.

I could hear Bankotsu close behind me.

Crap! He was going to get me!

I saw Hasume ahead. "Use the blade!" Hasume cried.

"We don't know it's that one for sure!" I yelled. "What if it's just a hilt?"

"Either way, it will help, just use it!" Hasume screamed. "Hurry! Pull it! NOW!"

I groaned, grabbed the sword hilt, and pulled it off of the sheathe.

I spun around, and pointed the hilt at Bankotsu.

Bankotsu's POV:

She was headed for the river. I ran faster, and began to gain on her.

Ahead of her was a small, floating figure of a young girl, dressed in white and blue, with long dark hair.

"Use the blade!" She cried out to the lady theif I was chasing.

I noticed a sheathe hanging from her waist.

"We don't know if it's that one for sure!" The theif yelled back. "What if it's just a hilt?"

Just a hilt? She doesn't have a blade in that sheathe?

"Either way, it will help, just use it!" The floating figure screamed. "Hurry! Pull it! NOW!"

The lady theif let her head fall for a second, then pulled the hilt off of the sheathe. It had no blade.

But, as she spun around, a blade began to appear.

I stopped short, the blade just barely poking me in the gut.

She looked shocked to be holding it.

I grabbed the blade, intending to snap it.

"Careful, Mori!" The floating figure said. "He can't break it, just don't freak out!"

As the figure had said, I could not break that blade.

The theif nodded her head slowly.

"Now, you can fight him off." The floating figure said.

Almost carefully, the theif began to fight back.

I had no idea why she was so cautious.

The floating figure seemed to be coaching her through the fight the whole time.

Everytime she spoke, she told the theif to be careful.

"What the hell are you scared of?" I snapped.

The floating figure looked at the theif, and smiled.

"You want to tell him?" She asked.

"Gladly!" The theif said. "I'm not scared of anything!"

She flipped the sword over, and threw the hilt into my face.

I held my face in pain.

When I looked up again, I got another hit to my face, and fell to the ground.

The last thing I saw was her feet, running away from me, before I fell unconcious...

Mori's POV:

Suddenly, the hilt had a blade.

Bankotsu stopped short, my blade poking him in the stomach.

I was absolutely stunned. How had this blade come to be?

Bankotsu grabbed the blade.

I tensed up. "Careful, Mori!" Hasume said.

I looked at her. "He can't break it, just don't freak out!" Hasume said, winking.

Bankotsu wasn't looking. I see!

I turned back to the fight, and nodded slowly, as Bankotsu attempted to snap the sword.

"Now, you can fight him off." Hasume said.

Pretending to be careful, I started to fight.

Hasume coached me through each move like I didn't know how to fight.

Bankotsu was studying us carefully, unaware that we were playing him.

We were pretending that the sword was like a bomb. Trying to get Bankotsu distracted.

"What the hell are you scared of?" He snapped, finally.

Hasume looked at me, smiling.

"You want to tell him?" She asked.

"Gladly!" I said. "I'm not scared of anything!"

I flipped the sword over, and hit him in the face with the hilt.

He put a hand on his face. That wasn't going to be enough.

When he lowered his hand again, I kicked him in the face with all my strength, and knocked him to the ground.

With that, I ran off, and headed for the river once more.

"So, where are you going?" Hasume asked.

"He's found me out, I know it." I said. "I have to take time to heal before I go back to making a rukus! My shoulder is still healing!"

We went to the river, and followed it upstream until the morning came...

I think I'll be switching POVs more often! Please, review!