Honor Among Thieves
Chapter 1: White Woman

The sun rose over the little hut. Onigumo watched the light creep across the floor. The second it hit the hem of the Persian rug, he rose, shaking Abu next to him. His companion drooled and snorted, moaning some name. Onigumo blanched. He shook Abu a bit harder. "Hey, would you wake the hell up?" Abu gave a final snort and rose out of the puddle her had made.

"Let's go."

Abu held his head. "Not so loud…"

…

The two threw on clothes and escaped out the back door moments later, looking up at the incline behind the village. They knew just the path to take to take. The gang of thieves often found the route just outside of Musashi's domain to be swarming with goods, though why they brought their business through the little village was completely beyond most people, Onigumo included. In any case, the band positioned themselves on the mountain and waited.

An hour passed in boredom. Not a movement was made on the path below, not even the occasional village woman who might be abducted by the more uncivilized until after the heist, when they would send her back worse for the wear. The two friends made it a point not to engage. Abu, because there was no sport in it, he preferred wooing said woman. Onigumo simply found that half the girls were ugly and realized he wasn't that desperate.

Another hour. The path didn't stir. Finally, one of the bandits stood up. "Someone should go check with the village, see if he's coming today." Somehow, Onigumo and Abu were volunteered, probably because they looked reputable enough to be buying from the man, rather than stealing from him.

They ambled into town slowly, adding the strut that they had learned from passing nobles. A few of the young village girls gave them the same stares as last night's waitress, winking and giggling. Heads peeked out of houses to see the nobles walk by, everyone wondering who they were. Perhaps lord Musashi's underlings?

"Excuse us." Onigumo said with a flourish to one of the women. "We are looking for the horse merchant said to come through here. Would you know if he is coming through today?" The girl blushed scarlet, obviously ashamed of what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry sir, but simple peasants needn't know of when the merchant comes."

Onigumo must have betrayed how displeased he was, because the girl shrunk back before talking in an almost nonexistent voice. "But they might know up at the shrine. They have a horse."

Onigumo put on his best smile. "Thank you, young lady." And the two were off again.

They promenaded up the shrine steps and onto the main property where a houshi was drinking a cup of tea. "Ohayo!" He greeted cheerfully. Abu returned the greeting, but Onigumo was suddenly short on patience.

"Is there a priest here?" He asked curtly.

From behind him a soft voice answered his question. "No…" Onigumo turned to stand nose-to-nose with a black haired priestess. She held herself naturally in the same manner he had tried to emulate. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Something inside Onigumo jumped as he looked her up and down. Through her robes he could see her slender silhouette. She looked suspiciously at him, but Abu had already begun to answer, taking command of her attention. "Yes, excuse us miko-sama, but our lord is a trader. We wonder if the horse merchant has come through the village yet."

"He'll be through tomorrow morning, early." She replied. Onigumo nodded, disappointed that he would have to take the news back to the thieves. They would undoubtedly be displeased.

"Well… thank you for your help, miko-sama."

"Kikyo." She said silkily.

"Yes… well… Kikyo-sama." He corrected.

He monk stood and bowed to them. "I ought to move on. Thank you for your hospitality Kikyo-sama." Kikyo gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Very well."

"Yes… we should go as well." Onigumo strangled out, moving his eyes back to her face before she noticed. Damn his perverted mind.

"May the gods be with you." She bowed instinctively.

…

"You've got as bad a head on your shoulders as I do." Abu hooted on the way out of the village. The hem of his pants were pulled up around is calves, still dirty from the city streets.

Onigumo growled, his mood souring. "Now, listen to me, I don't have time to-"

Abu obviously wasn't listening, but running ahead to tell the band the bad news.

"Alright then." One of the larger bandits had begun to take command. "We come back tomorrow, same time, same place."

Onigumo and Abu returned to the house in silence.

…

"Well that gives us the day off. You should go see the priestess again."

"Come on, Abu… What a stiff that one was."

"But she wasn't bad looking, eh?"

"Touché."

A knock forced them to wrap up the previous day's haul to conceal themselves. As the final futon fell over the last bag of spice, Onigumo opened the door slowly.

"Hey boys!"

"Suzumushi…" Onigumo greeted him, tone less than friendly.

"Hey, Onigumo, don't leave him standing there."

The lanky, oily man stumbled clumsily through the doorway. He'd always been quite a bit less than attractive, his face was mousy, but the rest of him was too long. It reminded them of why they called him the weasel.

"What does the spy have for us today?" Abu asked greedily.

"Ahh… tomorrow, late in the evening. I will send you the address… such riches as you have never seen before. They will be hidden- in a small house by the cave in Musashi's territory." Suzumushi muttered feverishly.

"How many ways are we splitting?" The black-haired bandit asked from the wall.

"Just us three." Suzumushi replied.

Onigumo immediately rose from the wall, taking one stride to close the distance between himself and the taller man. Despite Suzu's size, Onigumo still looked down at his face. "What's the catch?"

'C-c-catch? N-n-no catch, Onigumo-s-s-s-an." When the weasel got nervous, he stuttered. Onigumo was pushing it to the point that he could barely speak.

"Why not go after it yourself?"

"H-h-have a rep-reputation in the v-v-village. Di-didn't w-w-want to sp-spoil it. M-m-might need it for l-la-later."

Onigumo dropped the collar of the robe he had been crushing between his fist. Suzumushi smoothed himself out anxiously. Even Abu looked serious at the prospect of so much.

"Well, what do you think Abu?"

The man scratched his chin. "We'd never have to work again. We could move into a room in the lord's castle if we wanted!" Abu's dreams of grandeur were coming straight out his mouth without a stop between.

At the look on his friend's fae, Onigumo turned back to Suzumushi. "What's the plan?"