A week had passed with surprising speed, and Katsumi had found herself at the end of another cold trail, her stomach growling and her head abuzz with a series of thoughts moving so fast and so furiously she was certain they'd derail on her and she'd crash. Guilt, sorrow and anger at herself had been interefering with her work all day. The oneset of ehr period had birthed, fueled and sustained her anger at Masamune for the duration of her cycle, but once it ended the day before and she calmed down she realized with a sickening abruptness that she'd been completely not herself and a total jackass to both him and Kojuro. Normally she was a kind, understanding and calm person, but then-righteous fury had driven her to ignore them and their plights and it made her feel terrible.

He probably hates me, she thought, feeling another wave of guilty nausea sweep through her as she walked up the lonely country road to another town nearby where she hoped to find a new lead.

Mostly, she'd learned only the name of the group that had been the cause of the upset: the Saica Group, reputed Oda haters and already friends in her book. But other than that, all trails about them were either rumors that ended up being false, or were being guarded closesly by tight-lipped individuals and it was adding to her frustration greatly.

I should call it quits and head back. I owe him an apology for my behavior, even if he won't apologize for his.

Being forgiving she'd always believed was a blessing, but most times she'd felt the return sting of forgiving the wrong people for the wrong reasons. She'd hoped he was different, but period or no, she was still doubtful. Unless it was jealousy... maybe... he does care? He seems like the type to lie and ignore his feelings... No, don't get hopeful! She hit herself lightly on the cheek. He's a lord, you're a rogue. He's of noble birth, you're an orphan from a kimono shop. It couldn't be when he can have any proper woman he wants. I'm sure there are plenty who'd kill for the chance to marry him. Just focus on tracking the rumors before you get all dizzy again, Katsumi. It's not worth the heartache to go overboard with fantasies. No more hopeful wishes.

Now where-

The low-slung spruce that grew beside the road gave no indication of going anywhere else and birdwalking little Katsumi figured it out too late that trees tend to stay put, even if they seem to come out of nowhere. Doubled over and squishing her palm against her forehead, she rocked, swearing quietly until the pain ebbed away, glad no one had been around to see her collide with the branch that stretched out over her side of the road.

"Note to self: pay attention dammit."

The next day, Katsumi reached a small town somewhere on the southern coast line-and in this case, small means small. She could probably spit from one end to another and there wasn't anything resembling an inn anywhere. There weren't even any smiths, except for the one elderly man that seemed to just sit and stare at nothing for minutes on end, which led her to believe that she'd taken a bad turn along the way to end up there. Still, she held her head high and walked the main road like she belonged; unfortunately, the curse of small towns followed her every step. In places this tiny, everyone knows everyone and newcomers always stood out like she currently was.

Walking through, she grew unnerved and almost appalled by the condition of some of the buildings: they were all old and worn down, some even had giants holes in either the roof or the walls, there weren't even paper screens for windows which allowed mother nature to come and go as she pleased. How anyone could live here, she didn't know. Even the rogue hadn't been in such rinkidink shambles, and that was saying something!

Villagers paused in their doings and watched her as she passed, some mistrustfully, some curiously, and even a few waved at her; she waved back and wore a pleasant smile, hoping to get away from this tiny place soon, as she knew best that small town people could get extremely protective and desperate under strenuous circumstances. Keep walking, don't make eye contact.

She'd almost made it too. Until a splotch of color caught her eye there up on a little rise north of the road. Katsumi paused and turned, seeing that one of the better-kept huts was teeming with flowers at its borders and that someone was up attending them diligently. Now, this wouldn't have seemed odd most of the year, but warm weather had only recently arrived in Oshu and with the unexpected frost that had come in only three weeks ago, planting had been delayed and blooming flowers had died or been put on hiatus, so seeing such vibrant foliage now seemed almost impossible-but which indicated a grower of exceptional quality and skill. Possibly even one to rival Kojuro.

The little wheels in Katusmi's head had begun to turn as she started to think, watching the gardener until they stood and dusted themself off; that's when she saw clearly it was a girl. Huddled up as she'd been, it was difficult to tell, but now it was clear as the girl's hair tumbled down her back. From this distance it was hard to peg what she looked like, but the girl went inside the shack and so Katsumi climbed the rise, tempting her luck.

The incline was fairly steep, and though the rogue woman was used to scaling castle walls and mountain sides, that was done so in her own clothes, and this kimono was regrettably a little tight around her knees, making walking up the hill difficult. She made it though and found herself at the front door, which was little more than a plank of wood tied into place. From this new vantage point, the rest of the country side came into view, and with a start the woman saw the rice patties had better houses nestled among them than what was visible from the road, as the dual hillsides helped block everything under a certain point, working a kind of simple camoflauge. Clever as it was, she wondered why the dilapidated shacks even existed in the first place if it was clear the villagers didn't even live in them. Well, most of them.

She knocked, three quick raps with the back of her hand, and waited, hearing shuffling around inside for a few seconds before the plank door was slid open only enough to allow a half-view of a woman with long, graying hair that was once rich chocolate and worn down so it swayed about her body, which was petite and compact and slender enough to be mistaken for a much younger woman than what she was. Doey, dark eyes that twinkled with wary alertness watched her as the woman said, "Yes? May I help you?"

Only now did the younger woman realize she had no idea what she was going to say. "Um..." She went with bowing, and bowing was always acceptable. "Good day, ma'am. I just happen to be passing through and noticed the flower bed around your home and it got me curious as to how you've managed to grow such beautiful blooms so early in the season."

Tension lined the woman's face even more than it already was and her answering sigh didn't help to relieve them. "My daughter happens to be an exceptional gardener," she stated simply. "That's all. Now if you excuse me, I have a husband to tend to."

Right at that moment a little voice inside called out, "Mother!" and the woman whipped around, trying to shut the door, but not wanting to give up just yet, Katsumi's hand flung out and caught the edge, which seemed to surprise the woman as she tried to shut the door but it refused to budge. "Wait!" she barked, her kind heart getting the better of her. "What's wrong with him?"

"Fever," the woman answered hastily, still trying to shove the door shut.

"May I see? I happen to be a healer."

The woman's dark eyes widened witha spark of hope, but they clouded over just as quickly, stress obviously ruining what otherwise appeared to be a cheerful demeanor. "We have no money for you."

Crude dismissal or not, Katsumi knew she'd gotten a hook in this mother and she tried to enforce that. "No money. I just wish to sit and talk with you and your daughter in exchange for treating your husband."

For the longest of moments the two women stared at each other, read each other, before another desperate "Mother!" cut the air and the woman huffed, stepping back and rushing away, leaving the door open. Hesitantly, Katusmi stepped in behind and peered around, slipping between the door and the wall, her hair catching on a stray nail for a second as her eyes adjusted to the dark interior that was lit only by the sun shining through holes in the walls near where the roof and house met, giving the single room a dim glow. It was only one room, a hearth to the right and bedding along the back with a makeshift wooden floor lifting up a few inches to separate sleeping and eating areas, the back wall crowded with blankets and bodies.

She approached hesitantly, observing. Mother and daughter sat side-by-side around the sickly figure of a man clearly plagued by a fever, the resemblance uncanny as the girl looked almost exactly like her mother, only much younger, not appearing more than fifteen, but if her mother was any clue, she was probably much older than that. needling that topic would have to wait as habit once more took over and she unhooked the small bag at her waist and sat down in a hurry at the husband's head, laying her palms on his cheeks and feeling a scortching fever before the wife lay a cool rang over his forehead, both women seeming distraught and tired.

"What happened?" Katusmi inquired while pulling out little packets of medicine, trying to avoid grabbing the bottles of poison and antidote that she always carried by accident.

"Ichiro was working in the fields, getting ready for the planting like every year," the wife said, her sob cutting through Katusmi's already worn heart. "But he slipped and cut his leg on a plow. He hasn't been able to work and when the fever took him, we didn't have any money for medicine or anything."

Without warning, Katsumi yanked the blankets off the man and bit into her lip to keep from making sound as memories of Masamune's arm came flooding back. How the man had lived this long she wasn't sure about, but it gave her hope. Not caring what was going on around her at the moment, she asked for a bucket of water and any scrap cloth they could spare and set to work.

Two hours passed in a blur in the dark hut, sweat trickling down Katsumi's face, the mother busy offering prayers to any gods that would listen and her daughter wiping said sweat from the strange woman's brow as well as her father's, her little hands shaking. Finally, after nonstop work and several scares, Arata Ichiro's leg wound was clean and stitched shut, his fever broken, and he slept though somewhat uneasily. His wife was thanking Katsumi profusely but the woman only waved her hand, trying to brush off the praise. "Don't, it wasn't any trouble. I just can never walk away from the sick or injured."

"No, no," she insisted, clutching one of the younger woman's hands tightly, joyful tears leaking down her face. "You've saved him, saved us. How could we ever repay that?"

Pursing her lips, Katsumi considered her reason for coming up to the shack in the first place and wondered if it might be too much to ask. "Like I said, I merely wished to talk."

"But what ever for?" Her husband's recovery seemed to awaken the courtesy within and for that, Katsumi was grateful.

"I think," she started, trying not to seem nervous, "we should introduce ourselves first, before we get too ahead of ourselves."

"Oh!" the wife cooed, touching her lips with her fingers. "Oh, you're right, how silly of me. I am Arata Amaya and this is my daughter Sayuri, thank you so much for your kindness." Bowing deeply, Amaya's daughter sputtered and followed suit behind her, mimicking her mother.

Katsumi bowed back, smiling kindly. "You're very much welcome, miss Amaya. My name is Reiko Katsumi."

Amaya sputtered and Katsumi's head shot up to see the woman had turned red. "R-rei... ko...? Reiko Katsumi... the lady Katsumi of Yonezawa...? Of course you are, you'r eyes are as blue as lightning, just as they said!"

She blushed. "Um... yes..." She didn't think her reputation had preceeded her this far into the countryside.

Immediately, Amaya scooped the rogue's hands up in her own and squeezed them, her eyes lighting up even more than before. "You're lord Date's savior! Oh, we've heard about you! His lordship helped free our village from the horrid lord that had been squeezing us poor for so many years! Because of him our fields and our money are ours to use once again however we please! I-if I had known...!" She released Katsumi's hands as if she'd been burned. "Oh, my, please forgive me! If I'd known who you were sooner I wouldn't have been so rude!"

Gesturing for the woman to be calm, Katsumi said softly, "No, no, I understand. I avoid telling people when it's unnecessary."

Amaya seemed to tune that part out and cut right to the chase. "What would bring you so far out here, milady? Oh, Sayuri!" The girl jumped, having spaced off some minutes ago. "Fetch her ladyship some water!"

"No, you don't..."

Sayuri was up and gone in a blur of brown hair and pattering footsteps.

"Um... Well,"-she wasn't used to such treatment, and Sayuri had returned in less than a minute with a cup of cool water and laid it beside Katsumi, her brown eyes wide and sparkling with adoration-"I originally came this way following some rumors of interest, but I came up here to your home today because of your daughter's garden, as I said before."

"Oh, yes yes, of course."

Sayuri uttered, "Mine?" in deep awe.

The hero worship was making the poor woman severely uncomfortable. Still, she pushed on, trying to work past the knot in her stomach and work rank on herself for confidence. "Being the left hand of lord Masamune himself, and head of the new intelligence force being developed, I personally oversee the recruitment and training of those individuals. As it were, I happen to require a gardener."

Amaya's face fell with confusion. "A... gardener?"

"Not just a gardener. A caretaker. A member of the force."

She gasped sharply.

"Nothing dangerous, of course, but seeing that miss Sayuri has a particular skill and I am not inclined to put just anyone in charge of it, she would the caregiver of the force's garden, which is the center of the techniques to be learned. It will be the source of the poisons and medicine we use in day-to-day activities and therefore it is of greater significance than just a simple flower patch." It was becoming easier and easier to explain as she went on. "Miss Sayuri would be the key to providing medical care and offensive advantage for the entire force, and would recieve training as my apprentice in regard to medicinal and toxic potions and any other field she shows specialization in. It is a paid position, and of course we can arrange to have part of her pay delivered directly here to you to supplement what you're losing while your husband recovers. She would travel with me to the castle and live and work there and be provided for, so you would never have to worry about her. Of course, it is work, as she will be the first recruit I've claimed and co-founder so she will need to aide in the initial set-up, but that is what I wished to discuss with you in exchange for healing your husband. I wish to take Sayuri as my apprentice."

The "discussion" didn't last long after that, as Ichiro was roused from his sleep by the noise and put his approval in, wanting his only child to have a fulfilling life since she didn't have a husband or family to provide for her. At that point, joyful dancing and praise went up as mother and daughter celebrated this momentous occasion; watching such an affectionate display brought memories of her own mother to mind, memories that lessened her good mood fractionally before she decided to push them away for later.

Now, with her good mood returning, Reiko Katsumi and her new charge, Arata Sayuri, bid farewell to the girl's parents and went on the road once again with a little food and water provided for them to make the next town easily. A hawk circled above their heads and cried out before flying off, and Sayuri was skipping along with her little bag of belongings swinging at her side, singing a little diddy about rice and rain while running in circles on the road ahead, clearly excited. Her antics made the woman smile and laugh, seeing how she was like a playful doll, so young and full of energy; Sayuri was very petite with little curve in her small body, denoting her to be no more than fourteen maybe, and flowing, brown hair that trailed behind her like a comet tail, her eyes an even darker, laughing brown that seemed to sparkle with the light of many, many stars, her cheeks always flushed with laughter and her skin a warm golden color from being in the sun tending to her garden.

She was a lovely young girl certain to grow into a charming lady should she ever get a grip on her vast stores of energy.

The girl finally stopped running and turned on her heel, her lavender kimono fluttering up and mimicking the movement of her hair. "So, so, so," she chirped, jumping backwards in place, "where are we heading to lady Katsu?"

Katsumi smiled, finding her adorable. "I'm cutting my mission short on account of too many false leads and we are heading back to Yonezawa straight away to make your recruitment official."

"Yay! What's it like? It is pretty? Lots of flowers? I love flowers, all kinds and colors, especially when they have butterflies. What about koi ponds? Is there a koi pond?"

"Slow down," the rogue giggled, keeping a steady pace behind the bouncing girl. "Yonezawa is a grand castle with a lovely town at its foot with forests nearby. Everyone within its walls have been very kind to me over the weeks, but it is a primarily male-dominated structure so in regard to beauty, it has a very Spartan feel to it. There is one garden that lies outside my room with flowers and a pond, but I don't believe it has any koi in it."

"Aw, poop, koi are so pretty!"

"Haha, yes, koi are lovely."

"I love feeding koi they go slurp when they poke their heads above the water." The girl turned forward, still bouncing. "Hop, hop, hop."

Katsumi laughed until her gut ached and it felt wonderful.

Several days later, as the duo neared the city surrounding Yonezawa, Sayuri's energy puttered out to a little sway in her walk, Katsumi suddenly stopped under a growth of trees near where the road forked ahead and waved her hand in the spring warmth, trying to recall which path lead to the city. She had to call out as the girl just continued on her way, watching her feet as she began to hopscotch along the road, taking the right-hand branch that led over a hill, but she apparently didn't hear as she continued to skip her way over the crest without any indication of stopping. With a sigh and a head shake, Katsumi went to follow the girl when abruptly she heard a piercing cry.

"KATSU!"

A bolt of speed took the woman over the hill where she stopped to take in the scene below her: Sayuri, her bag strewn across the ground with one dirty man going through it, being held in a half-choke hold, a knife at her throat by another who didn't have a shirt on and a third that looked up and smirked when he caught sight of Katsumi coming down the hill, her manner disturbingly composed and her hands tucked away in her sleeves. "Let her go," she commended, seeing Sayuri sobbing as the vile man that held her tried to untie her kimono while keeping his hold on her.

"Ooooh," the man that wasn't doing anything drawled, glancing at his buddies and mocking her with fake fear, shaking his hands and brandishing a crooked knife while doing so. "We's real scared thar missie. Watcha little blossom like ye gonna do t'us? Three big ol' brutes wif knives 'n' stuffs?"

Oceanic orbs turned into acrtic ice in a heart beat, and suddenly Sayuri was more terrified of the woman she'd been with than the men who'd tried to rob her. Her voice was low-pitched and smooth, deceptively calm even though she was furious. "You aren't the only ones with knives. I said let her go."

"Make us," the creep holding the poor girl crowed, laughing while his friends agreed.

"Very well."

Katsumi disappeared.

When confusion struck the big idiot that had detained the brunette and made his guard drop, she yanked his hand down and bit him, tasting dirt and man sweat and not caring until she tossed her, shouting, "Bitch!" She hit the ground jsut as Katsumi reappeared above her captor and gave a swift kick to the back of his head, sending him face-down into the dirt where she promptly landed square on his back with a deafening series of cracks and unleashing a barrage of needles at the one going through her apprentice's bag, most of them blasting him in the face and killing him instantly.

The third wasn't an idiot, but he still made the mistake of attacking her head on so she gave him a swift upper kick to the chin, feeling the painful jolt all the way up her leg from underestimating his weight against her foot and staggering when she set it back down, cursing her luck. He wasn't down yet, so she bolted forward and rammed into his gut, both of them sprawling into the dirt as she threw her weight at him, pulling a knife out and pushing it through his throat so blood sprayed into the sky, dousing her front but ending him quickly. Sayuri was whimpering incoherently about something, but as Katusmi turned to assess her, arms circled her chest and hauled her upward, crushing her and squeezing the breath from her body.

Sayuri had seen the man that had held her was still alive and she wanted to tell Katsumi, but shock and fear and awe had robbed her of her voice, dwindling it to a croak as he got up and began to crush her new friend in his massive monkey arms. Even though she was frightened beyond any means of measurement, the girl still ran forward and started beating on his back futily, telling him to "Drop Katsu you big monkey!" but he only laughed, squeezing until something in Katsumi's chest popped loudly, her body going limp and making the girl scream in fear.

Unfortunately, the sight of the spraying red blood had triggered another vision and Katsumi was helpless to it as she felt ribs flexing to their breaking point, though she was certain some just had.

A warrior in crimson atop a horse, weilding twin spears, rode into the clearing, his long hair flying behind him, a small battalion bearing the Takeda four-diamond crested banners of Kai hot on his heels. He halted, seeming baffled, and called out.

Air and life were fading out of Katsumi fast, her vision and the vision flash both prematurely fading to black as the crushing weight continued to squeeze ehr into oblivion.

Then she heard a sound. Rather, she felt a sound building in her ears, a dull thrum that grew louder and sharper as if the source was drawing closer, eventually dragging out into individual beats that blended together into some single, raucaus sound that matched the pounding of the blood in her ears. She coughed, feeling the bohemoth's arms squeezing her even tighter so she couldn't breathe back in, and was at the very edge of consciousness when she heard a faint, "DROP HER YOU SON OF A BITCH" and the singing of a sword blade through the air before her captor's body jerked. Suddenly, she was on the ground, breath rushing into her deflated lungs, stretching out bruised and cracked ribs that sent pain shooting into her core and brought harsh gasps to her lips, everything weighted and numb as she fought the darkness.

A man in silver armor, bearing a torn, red cape, surrounded by darkness...

She groaned and strong hands clasped her arms and brought her up, the sound of sobbing and chatter swimming in her ears as the grip became rather familiar at last.

Masamune, completely underdressed and underprepared for fighting, leaped from his horse and hit the ground with an uncermonious thud, rushing to the fallen woman's side instantly and scooping her up, giving her a slight, panicky shake. "Katsumi!" he barked, reaching up and cupping her cheek, feeling that she was still warm. "Katsumi, stay with me, dammit!"

She groaned again before going limp.

Over the last week, the messenger hawks that Kojuro had sent out to their eyes in the countryside with Katsumi's description attached had been returning in a specific pattern that allowed them to track her movements. During this time, Masamune had been diligently memorizing her path and planning to ride out and cut her off, as he couldn't stand to wait any longer for her to come back when she felt like it; Kojuro figured him out just as he departed, but another hawk had returned that detailed that she was actually heading back toward the castletown with another girl that hadn't been mentioned before. Determined to inform his lord, the Right Eye had caught up on the southern trade road just as they heard an ear-shattering shriek from the fork ahead, which explains their presence here and now, completely underprepared.

Not wasting time trying to futilely wake the poor woman up, the young Date man stood and lifted her in his arms, bracing her over his shoulder as he swung himself back up onto his horse and then settled her in front of him, keeping her sagging body supported between his arms as he took up the reigns and turned his mount to face his second-in-command, his distress more obvious than usual. "Kojuro, let's go, I think she's hurt."

"Yes, my lord," Kojuro replied quickly, looking away from the whimpering brunette he'd been watching for the last minute-and-a-half. "Miss," he said to her, seeing her jump as tears flooded down her large, brown eyes, "were you accompanying Katsumi?"

Sayuri stammered, "Y-yes...! An-and then these ugly guys came and-and-and Katsu, she...!" Excited light suddenly entered her chocolate orbs, replacing her fear as she lept up, which surprised him even more. "Katsu was so cool how she saved me! She was all whoosh and then they were dead, but then this guy grabbed her and I was so scared! And-and," that excitement faded just as quickly as it had arrived and she paled almost instantly, "is Katsu alright?! I heard something crack and she stopped moving and I thought she was gonna DIE!"

The brazen display of emotion had Kojuro thrown for a loop as he scooped up the dirty bag he saw on the ground and handed it to the girl, noticing the bright blood spatter on it from the body it had been next to, helping her to gather the things that had been tossed so carelessly about, wondering why on earth this child was here in the first place. "Miss, be calm," he told her sternly, seeing her zip up immediately, her bright eyes turned on him as she took her bag back, tears still glistening there that only made her large eyes seem bigger. "Katsumi will be alright but we must return to the castle immediately." He glanced up quickly to see Masamune was already heading down the road to the castle at a brisk trot, wanting to move swiftly but not jostle the unconscious woman any in case she was hurt severely. "If you have reason to be with her, then please allow me to escort you there myself."

"Okaaayyyyy," she mewled, eyeing him as he gestured toward his horse. She stopped, being dwarfed by the large animal and unsure of how to even get on, as she'd never ridden a horse before.

Sensing this, Kojuro stepped forward and she faced him instinctively, staring up at him, her mouth popping open at how tall he was; she'd never seen anyone so big before. "My apologies," he murmured before reaching down and grabbing her around her waist and hauling her into the air, at which she squealed, before being set in the rear of his saddle, her face now only centimeters above his.

Their eyes met, earth to olive, and little Sayuri felt her heart skip in her chest as she took a long second to look over her new escort. He was tall, that much she had already surmised, and very strong as he lifted her with all the ease of breathing, and his hands were large at her waist, gripping her middle almost fully; sure, he was scowling and his brows were drawn together like he was angry over something, but she found it an amusing look that was only punctuated by the single scar on his left cheek that made him look like an awesome badass. All-in-all, little Sayuri found him very good-looking in a cut, rugged way with his square jaw and tough expression, but thoguht he'd look even better if he smiled. Kojuro was aware of his momentary hesitation, having gotten caught up in the glint in her eyes as she so obviously studied him, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought about how strange she was before letting her go and carefully swinging into his saddle, wondering if she actually knew how to ride on a horse and whether or not she should hold on to him.

There was no need for him to ask, though, for as soon as he nudged his mount into motion, slowly building into a canter to catch up to his lord, she squeaked behind him and tossed her arms around his waist as she bounced in her seat, clearly an inexperienced rider. He shook his head slightly, feeling how tight her grip on him was, even when he finally slowed the pinto mare as they pulled up alongside the distraught young man. Everyone was silent and grim-though "grim" may not be an accurate way to describe the bubblehead in the backseat-as they maintained a steady trot to the castle, Katsumi's head bobbing against Date's arm helplessly in time to the bouncing mustang below her.

Just outside the city, the rogue swam back into consciousness slightly, faintly lifting her head and peering bleary-eyed at the shadow above her. Croaking like a mushed frog, she muttered, "Lord... Mas... amune...?"

Masamune started, glancing down as she struggled to sit up and seeing her wince as breath hissed through her teeth. "Katsumi, don't move," he scolded her, instantly adjusting to accomodate her apparent need to shift.

"What..." she whispered, slouching against him after a second, too hurt to keep trying, "are you... doing..." Breathing itself was already becoming too painful for her as her ribs continued to flex, unable to help themselves, and talking only made it worse for her, making her yearn for blank unconsciousness once again.

"Shh," he hissed sharply, more out of mindless worry than aggrivation, "I'll tell you later. Just don't push yourself, dammit."

"Sai," she still murmured, baling her fist weakly against his chest, wanting him to listen. "Sai... uri..."

Masamune stopped glaring at her worriedly for a second and looked over at Kojuro and his steed, spying the little brown bundle behind his second. "Hey," he snapped at them, noting Kojuro didn't acknowledge him because the older man knew he wasn't the one being spoken to, "kid, is your name Sayuri?"

Said kid turned her head, her cheek squeezed against Kojuro's shoulders. "Yes," she mewed, having twisted herself against her rider so she would stop bouncing all over the place, her bag nestled between her back and the saddle's, heairng her things clinking around with the horse's bumpy stride. "Katsu is awake?"

But he ignored her in favor of assuring Katsumi while she was conscious. "She's fine, she's right here," he said gently, leaning back in his seat slightly so she would lay against him rather than be draped between his arms like laundry.

"Oh... good..."

Sayuri cried, "Don't ignore me!" but Kojuro hushed her and gave her a repremanding glare to which she puffed her cheeks out at him, trying to be quiet anyway; Katakura just shook his head a bit at her behavior.

Feeling sick with how much his heart was aching for the injured woman, Date released the reigns with his right hand and reached down to lay it on her hip and give her a gentle squeeze, trying to watch for where the road forked once again back to the path to the city, whispering softly to her, "Don't worry, Katsumi, you'll be alright."

"Thank... you..." she replied before the darkness she wanted reclaimed her, her fisted hand falling into her lap, laying on top of his as her head dropped against his shoulder, which he lifted so that she would be tucked safely against his neck and not slide off, giving his mount a swift kick in the side to speed it up.

"Screw this," he announced, riding straight into the city with Kojuro and Sayuri right behind.