In the darkness of the hall, a woman suddenly speaks.

"I can sense her now," she smiles with crimson lips at the general. "She is alone."

Nobody seems to notice Reiko. Nobody recognized her. Why would the citizens of Kutou even care about their neighbouring country's princess? In this day and age where Kutou is experiencing great prosperity that had never been in decades, why would anybody care about a girl, dirty and alone, who looks like just another beggar on the streets? Nobody looks twice at her, if they even look at all. In a country like this, where the rich get richer and richer, and the poor get poorer and poorer, Reiko feels even much more alone, hungry and torn within.

With the coins she kept since leaving Mount Taikyoku, Reiko bought whatever she could to ease the hunger pangs. She washed herself the moment she found a river. In all her isolation in this unfamiliar city, she treads the city maze with a heavy heart, not knowing what to do next.

Nobody stopped him from leaving. Not even Chichiri. There was nothing left for him there, at Mount Taikyoku. Tasuki retreated back to Mount Leikaku. Back to Kouji and his gang of bandits.

"It's great to have you back, Genrou," Kouji pats him on the back with a smirk. "But you were away for only what? A month? I thought the situation was bad enough to keep you away for a couple of months more."

"Yeah, well. It's over," Tasuki says with seeming indifference. "Take over the boys for me for a couple of days more, will ya? I'm burned out from the past weeks."

"Sure," Kouji senses that his best friend was hiding something. "Take as long a rest as you want. Wanna talk about anything?"

"No."

"Surely this past month had something the least bit interesting?"

"No, not really."

"Get a chance to kick some bad guy ass?"

"I guess."

"How's Reiko doing?"

Tasuki doesn't answer.

"I said, how's Reiko doing?"

"LEAVE IT, WILL YOU?" Tasuki shouts. "Do you have to ask me so much shit?"

Kouji doesn't even flinch. He saw this coming. Sighing, he asks, "What really happened, Tasuki?"

Tasuki turns his back towards Kouji, his eyes downcast. "She's gone. I lost her."

"Gone?" Kouji repeats it in shock. "You don't mean she's d-"

"Not dead, Kouji," Tasuki answers him before finishing his question. "But she will be, all alone god knows where." He grits his teeth as a single tear escapes.

"And you left her like that?"

"No, dammit. She left. Because of me. I scared her, and she left."

"What the hell did you do?"

Tasuki hesitates. "I kissed her. And now she's off somewhere by herself and nobody back up there in Taikyoku did anything about it."

"Why didn't you? Why are you here, crying like some baby, but not even doing anything about it?"

"She wouldn't want to see me. Especially not me. Ever."

Kouji knocks him on the head, hard. "For a leader, you are incredibly stupid."

"What the hell do you expect me to do?!" Tasuki fumes.

"What else is there for you to do but to go find her?"

"She could have gone anywhere."

"Then start somewhere."

Tasuki turns to look at his friend. And he made the decision.

Reiko walked under the night lights, looking for a place to sleep. Turning into an alley, she starts to feel uncomfortable. About to turn back towards the main street, a hand grabs her by the shoulders.

"Hey there, little girl," a man's voice growls. "Where might you be going?"

Reiko screams and tries to break free from his grasp. He pulls her by the hair and pushes her to the ground. She can smell that scum's alcohol laced breath as he climbed on top of her. She struggles but the weight of his drunken body was too much. Reiko screams again as he pulls at her blouse.

Suddenly the man gasps with pain. And as he stumbles to stand up, he collapses at Reiko's side. A dagger sticks out of his back.

In the darkness, Reiko sees a glimpse of red.

She calls out, "Tasuki?"