9. By His Will

Daichi heard the raucous laughter and talk long before they reached the hut and decided that he didn't like it one bit. 'This is weird,' he said. 'No-one ever goes there. Seems like we have to get rid of some vermin first.' His lips quirked. 'But gently. Let's keep the hut intact, shall we?'

'Hee-hee-hee.'

They were both guilty of being over enthusiastic with their destruction. Finesse wasn't really Kenji's strong suit, and Daichi would have to lie if he said his enthusiasm for causing devastation wasn't infectious. 'Let me scout those nutters out,' Daichi said and went ahead, silent as a feather. Peeking past a tree, he spotted a group of four people around a fire. For a few moments, he watched them.

Daichi was good at reading people. The clear leader was extremely young, barely a man. The other three, including one who could easily be his grandfather, seemed to accept this. It took a lot of charisma to have this kind of natural authority. He was probably the most dangerous of the group.

For a moment, the old man tensed, then leaned to the leader and whispered something to him. The mood of the young one froze and his eyes darted to a long item wrapped in fabric near the hut. Daichi knew he'd been made. He gave a shout for Kenji and stepped into the light. 'I'd invite you to have tea at my hut, but it seems you have invited yourselves already,' he called out to the group. They exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter. 'Really.' He scowled. 'You don't look like ordinary bandits, so I'll ask nicely. Who are you and why are you here?'

'No.' The leader stood and dusted himself off. 'This isn't how this goes. What makes you think this is your hut by any stretch of the word? It's Jakotsu's. Isn't that right?'

Daichi eyed the guy in the colourful yukata who bent his head in mock acknowledgement of his ownership. 'The hut belongs to the shrine back by the hill.'

'The shrine has been reduced to rubble,' Jakotsu drawled, looking incredibly bored. He hadn't before, so this was an obvious act. 'There's no-one there.'

'My mentor kept the shrine and the hut. He's gone, so both fell to me. The shrine … had an accident.'

'Well, then it looks like I killed your mentor.' Jakotsu's expression had gone distinctly nasty. 'He wanted to spit in my face. No manners.'

Daichi blinked, wondering if he should be upset. He found that he wasn't. 'Well, it hardly matters. Better that way. Saves him the heartbreak of learning that I blasted his precious shrine into oblivion.'

'Hee-hee-hee.' As if on cue, Kenji came up behind him. He had waited for a good moment to present himself and Daichi looked forward to seeing the effect he'd have on four clearly hardened men.

He watched their reactions. Or rather the one of the leader and the one in the yukata. The other pair was disappointingly unimpressed beyond exchanging a wary glance. The leader's eyes had gone wide and he'd made for the wrapped item. A weapon?

Jakotsu on the other hand had practically jumped to his feet and gaped, his eyes dancing with wild delight. 'What on earth is that?' he asked, coming closer. There was no fear in him. In any of them. Daichi couldn't help respecting that. 'Or … who?' He tilted his head. 'You're a person! You're a bloody person! Oooh, I'd like to see you in action!'

The leader's outstretched hand stopped short of the fabric. His fingers curled back slightly and a corner of his mouth slid up a notch. 'What do you want me to do? Invite them? Cut them open?' His half smile transformed into a huge grin and he continued in a conspiratorial but carrying voice. 'Or would you like that pleasure yourself? Our eavesdropper doesn't look half bad, does he? Just in case you want to do with him what you tried to do to me the moment I let my guard down.'

Jakotsu's lips twitched but his attention never strayed. He knew that Daichi and Kenji were dangerous, it just didn't bother him in the slightest. 'I wasn't trying all that hard.'

'I know. That's why you're still alive. Hey, Kyoukotsu could have a bite or twenty after you're done with him.'

The largest man's stare snapped to Daichi, but he forced himself to ignore him. He was still sitting and far enough away to safely count him out for the moment.

The real menace was right in front of him, almost within reach. Jakotsu's gaze crawled all over his body, predatorial and invasive, and Daichi wondered if his assessment about who was the most dangerous one hadn't been off. 'Hmmm.' Jakotsu licked his lips in a manner that could have been seductive but was clearly meant to be a threat. 'I like his voice. I'm sure his moans and screams could get me all sorts of hot and bothered.'

Daichi folded his arms and stood with his legs apart, making his stance a challenge. He wouldn't let these people know that the threat had got to him. 'I could light a fire under you if you want things to get hot,' he offered, fully prepared to do as he said.

Jakotsu threw his head back and laughed, breaking the spell of danger he had woven so easily. 'You're harder to scare than an average idiot. Good. One question, though. Can he talk?'

Daichi nodded. 'He can.'

'Does it hurt him?'

'No, it doesn't. He just has to enunciate every word very carefully to be understood and he isn't a very patient man. So he rarely does speak.' He shrugged and let a hint of a smile touch his face. 'Maybe he'll be more talkative if he warms to you.'

Jakotsu tilted his head, looking perfectly harmless, if a bit eccentric. 'I'm afraid I'm giving him a pass. No offence, but I don't want to be the one injured in the process.' He sauntered back to the fire and let himself drop at the spot he'd occupied initially. 'Well, I say we invite them.'

Bankotsu's looked pleased. 'Well, if that's what you want … Join us at our fire, you two. We'll tell you who we are, you tell us who you are and then … and then, we shall see if we want to work together. Sound good?'

Daichi looked at Kenji and heard his grunt of approval. He allowed himself to relax – a little, because the bunch of them seemed a bit crazy. But maybe they weren't in a good position to judge anyone's sanity. 'Very good.'