2. Found

There was a lesson to be learned here, Katashi decided: Don't get into a fight when you're so drunk you can barely walk in a straight line. At some point he'd lost his weapon, but the idiot trying to rob him was within an arm's reach. He could still …

A roar cut through his sluggish thoughts, his eyes widening as much as those of the man facing him. They were fixed at a point behind Katashi and he knew he was dead if he made a single mistake.

By pure instinct, he let himself fall and landed flat on his stomach. The next roar ended in a gurgle and he turned himself onto his back, his teeth bared at whatever had chosen him for breakfast. If he had to die, it would be looking at what killed him, damn it all.

Some sort of chain cut the air above him and sank into the huge demon that had somehow managed to sneak up on him. But then the upper half of the demon listed and fell towards him and Katashi scrambled out of the way. He noticed that he was scrambling over the sliced remains of his would-be robber. How had that happened?

Nauseous and dizzy, Katashi stayed sitting on the ground. On the way he had taken his attacker's sword so he had at least something. The falling demon had revealed another person, watching him with her head tilted and her mouth slightly open. Clearly, she found this situation as puzzling as he did. That was something. At least he wasn't the only one without a clue.

Katashi's sword was way too far away and the thing he had in his hands right now was very much sub-par. So he hoped he looked less aggressive than he felt. He was in no position to fight someone with actual skill right now and watched her sashaying towards him apprehensively, her sword on her shoulder, a hand lazily on the hilt. This was odd. It looked like a perfectly normal sword and was definitely nothing like the thing that had managed to kill a man and a demon with one strike from a huge distance.

The stranger bent down at the middle to look at him. 'You're welcome,' she said and Katashi nodded. He blinked. Up close, he noticed that she was, indeed, a he. It made no difference. He didn't look murderous and Katashi decided to get up.

He almost fell over his own feet and a hand steadied him. 'There, there. Did you hit your head?

He laughed. With a last glare at it, he tossed the dull weapon to the side and stumbled forwards to retrieve his own. 'No. Just got off my face.'

The stranger indicated the dead man. 'What about him? You have good instincts, other than this idiot. Sorry if he was a friend.'

He didn't sound remotely sorry and Katashi snorted. 'Hardly. Just an idiot. Now at least he's a dead idiot. You could have killed me.'

'If I'd warned you, I'd have warned the demon. I thought if either of you had any sense, you'd evade the demon – and me.'

Katashi scratched the back of his head. He couldn't help feeling that this stranger had simply not cared about collateral damage at all. Still … 'You saved my life, you know. Not from that lout, I could have handled him. But that thing … I didn't even hear it coming until it was too late. This is why I don't normally drink more than I can handle.' The world spun harder and Katashi's face grew cold. Knowing what would follow, he jerked away and spun to have his back to the stranger. He fell to his knees and emptied his stomach onto the earth. He noticed the other man was holding his hair back. He was starting to find this much kindness highly suspicious. Maybe this was the next guy trying to rob him. But calling him out was probably not a great idea right now. He just had to lose him. 'Hey thanks, but I'll be on my way now,' he said, wiping over his mouth with the back of his hand. He felt horrible and was royally disgusted with himself.

'I don't think so.'

Katashi sighed. There it was. 'Look, I might not be in my best shape, but I can still kill you. So trying to steal from me is a bad idea.'

'I can't say I didn't consider it, but I've just changed my mind. You don't look like it would be worth the effort. I'll stick with you until you're no longer in danger of breaking your skull against a rock. You'll just trip over your feet and won't catch yourself in time, and then that's it for you.'

Katashi shook his head. 'Why would you care?' he asked simply.

'I saved your life. I'm responsible for you now.'

For a moment, Katashi wondered about that. 'That's a lot of tripe.'

'Maybe. Honest answer? I prefer not to travel alone right now. Don't worry, I'm not on the run exactly. It's not like I'll bring down hordes of vengeful villagers after you.'

This seemed odd for someone who could clearly take care of himself, but his stance, the defiance in his tone, and the slight hesitation made Katashi think this was the truth. 'Fine. I don't get it, but I like you.' Eying the huge weapon the demon had carried, he shrugged. 'What's your name, then? I can't call you "oi".'

After a moment of hesitation, the man said, 'Jakotsu. Yours?'

'Jakotsu? That's not a name.'

'It is now.'

Katashi grinned. He swapped his blade for the demon's. For a moment he staggered – more because he was drunk as hell than because he struggled with the weight – and saw Jakotsu's eyes widen. He often had that effect. He was much stronger than he looked. Most people wouldn't be able to lift a weapon of this weight, let alone wield it. He knew he could. 'If you want it to be that way, I'll be Bankotsu,' he declared. Holding his prize in his left hand, he threw his right arm around his new friend's shoulder and tugged, nearly toppling the other man.

For a moment Jakotsu looked stunned, but then his face opened up in a smile and he returned the gesture, twirling his sword in his free hand. 'You know what? I'm starting to think it's a good thing I didn't kill you on sight.' He nudged back, earning a mild grunt of protest. But Katashi also noticed that Jakotsu's hand was clasping his shoulder firmly, making sure his antics didn't trip him in his still very drunk state. 'Now how about we go before more of these things show up?'

'Between the two of us, we'll be able to handle a lot of those. Hey, you ever thought of making a career out of this?'

If anything, Jakotsu's expression lit up even more. 'Now you're talking.'