~Enjoy! If you see any mistakes let me know.

++++++Chapter 3+++++++

…ey…

….ake…..p…..

…EY!...ET…..

…..WAKE UP!...

I feel a strong slap to my face, and I rocket upwards swinging my open hand.

Someone catches it and snatches me up. "….Get…p….upid!"

I feel them pull me forwards at an alarming pace, and I stumble slightly to keep up.

"….ead…..ance…..ide…"

I try to clear my head, but sleep still coats it and the rest of my body.

"….ath…..eave….ow….upid!"

The person continues to practically drag me along, and I stumble to my knees. I feel them grip harder on my wrist as another force grabs me by the back of my collar.

They hoist me up with surprising strength and roughly shove me forward.

"…alk…..mnit!"

The person shoves and yanks me left and right before giving me one last thrust forwards and letting go.

The sudden stillness allows my eyes to droop again as I drift back to sleep.

A hard shove pushes me forwards, and I plunge in to ice cold water. The chill expels whatever sleep was left in my body, and I flail violently. Water slips in to my lungs as I struggle to grip anything and flail harder. Finally, my head breaks the surface, and I gasp, sputtering and choking the water out of my lungs.

"What the hell!?"

I slick back my drenched black hair as I glare at the man before me, but Jakotsu seems unfazed.

"Hurry up! We don't have all day."

I slap the water towards him, and he jumps back returning my glare.

"You almost drowned me, you jerk!" I make my way to the edge in an attempt to get out, but Jakotsu presses his sandaled foot to my face and pushes me back.

I fall back underwater.

"STOP!" I bark once my head reached the surface again

"You have to scrub yourself, stupid!"

I feel my face contort in to confusion, "Why?"

An irritated look bleeds across Jakotsu's face, "Because it's hard to pass by the guards when you're covered in their Lord's blood!."

I finally pay attention to the water around me seeing the faint pink tint. I bring some cupped water to my face and scrub it vigorously. I watch a more of the pink color oozes to the water below me. I stare at my arms seeing streaks of dried blood spattered around them, and I scrub that off vigorously as well.

"Where is the body?" I ask firmly as I continue to scrub as much of the blood off as possible.

Jakotsu sighs as if wanting to be anywhere but here. "Bankotsu is taking care of it, but it will only buy us enough time to escape, so HURRY UP!"

I make a face at his turned back before doing the best I can in washing with my clothes still on. Once I have scrubbed myself down to Jakotsu's liking, I climb out, and he throws a pale green kimono at me. I stare at the soft yet simple fabric for a moment before I begin shifting off the dress. I suddenly become aware of Jakotsu's eyes on me, and I quickly press the kimono to my partially exposed form.

"TURN AROUND, YOU PERV!"

He blinks a few times confused before realization washes over him, "OH, YOU WISH! Who'd ever want a gross cow like you?"

I make a hard offended noise as I glare at him, "Says the guy CLEARLY incapable of taking his eyes off me!"

Jakotsu shudders and gags in disgust, "First of all, I was staring because I was trying to figure out how someone as pathetically weak as you could do that much damage to that fat bastard. Secondly, EWWW!"

I turn my back to him and quickly dress, "So what, you're scared I'll do the same to you?"

A hear him snort as I finish tightening the robe around me.

"Hardly, I'm implying that it was an impressive task for someone like YOU! If you even had half of my skill, then you would know that what you did in there was a sloppy hack job! A hack job, mind you, THAT WE HAD TO CLEAN UP!"

I spin around in rage; fists clenched, "NO ONE ASKED YOU TO DO THAT!"

"Oh, ok, so what your plan then, huh? To just leave him there and rot!?"

"YES!"

Jakotsu groans rubbing his hands over his face, "You're such a fucking moron. Just how exactly did you plan to escape afterwards, huh?"

I chew on my lower lip, in frustration and embarrassment, failing to come up with an answer to his question. I exhale finally and cross my arms over my chest before rolling my eyes at him and sucking my teeth, "I…." I give him the proudest face I could muster, "I would have crossed that bridge when I got to it." I say simply before giving him a dismissive turn of the head.

From the corner of my eye, I see Jakotsu's face redden with rage as his whole body trembles.

He opens his mouth, and a sharp whistle sounds from somewhere outside the bathing room. Another whistle gives its response as we hear the quick footsteps of the guards as they begin to search for us.

"Damnit!" he barks before running to the doors and snatching them open. "You wasted our time!" He takes off running down the hall.

"COME ON, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!"

"Oh, fuck you, you ass!" I bark back chasing after him.

To be on the other end of Jakotsu's blade; to see him in action when I am not the target, is still frightening, but also….a bit….. awe-inspiring.

Blood coats the walls of the manor as his blade snakes through body after body. We quickly make our way down the halls-turning, slicing, running. Jakotsu's dark laughter seems to fill the entire manor, meeting us around every corner.

A part of me is suddenly jealous.

Jealous that there is no weapon in my hands. Jealous that I cannot partake of the blood shed as well.

Our pace slows tremendously, and I use this time to catch my breath. Shaking my head vigorously, I exhale slowly.

What sort of preposterous thought was that?

What Bankotsu does, what Jakotsu does….it's all wrong. They kill for fun…for sport….

My killing was necessary…..justifiable…..I did what I had to do. Not only for my family, but for my safety as well.

I look down at my hands clenching and unclenching them slowly. I regret nothing. I took a life, and it was a vile one.

The world is a far better place without him.

…..So why then, do I feel so…..guilty?...no…..empty?

I clench my fists again, struggling to find the word.

"I can't believe this."

I look up from my thoughts to see Jakotsu glaring at me, resting a hand on his hip, and his sword on his shoulder.

"Stuck in this stupid manor with YOU. All because Big Brother can only think with one thing at a time. 'Giver her time!' 'We need a sharp shooter' 'She could be useful' Feh! Look at how useful you are. I'm the one doing all the work."

"Boo hoo, Waa, Waa, waa. What do you expect me to do without a bow or arrows?"

"Tch," He turns on his heels and begins walking again, "like you'd use them anyway."

"Oh, I'd use them alright," I mutter. "Just not on the guards."

Jakotsu turns back around, "What did you say?!"

I stand a little straighter as I walk towards him, "I said, you look like a horse. An ugly horse with make up!"

"YOU LITTLE COW!"

I leap backwards and out of range from his punch.

Jakotsu trembles in rage that his punch missed, "Bankotsu said I couldn't kill you." He sheaths his sword, "But he said nothing about beating you half to death."

My lips twitch from a mixture of fear and excitement as I hear the blood pump and gush against my ears.

The muscles on my body twitch and tremble as a chuckle slips past my lips slightly startling me. I let another out. Then, another. Until finally, I am laughing, "I'm sorry, did I say ugly? I meant ugly and fat."

Jakotsu's eyes take on a crazed infuriated, "I'll fucking kill you!"

I leap back and away at his charging form and continue to laugh, "That's if you can catch me, fat ass!"

My movements are light and quick as I dance around the enraged Jakotsu. I watch in awe at his slow motioned movements relishing how easily I could get away.

I turn my body to dodge another one of his punches before reaching over his out stretched arm and thumping him hard on the bridge of the nose. I laugh as I watch his face scrunch up in pain and duck under his arm as he swipes it over to my directions. I hop back once to place some distance between his, and then again for good measure, but my foot lands in something slick.

The rush dissipates as I fall backwards slamming my back and head hard against the ground. All air escapes me as a sharp ringing sound fills my ears. Several seconds pass, before I am able to fill my lungs and as the ringing fades, hard laughter takes its place.

I finally manage to sit myself up, and my head throbs in protest at my movements. I look over to see Jakotsu rolling on the floor, gripping his sides, as his face grows in to deeper and deeper shades of red.

He inhales deeply and screams out another wave of laughter.

I feel my face redden as I roll my eyes and struggle to get to stand. My feet slip out from under me once more, and I land hard on my butt.

Jakotsu squeals kicking his feet. "I can't….breathe!", he manages to gasp between laughs.

I look down and stare dumbfounded at the pool of blood I had managed to slip in to before finally cracking up myself. It starts out low and increases in fervor until finally I am laughing as hard as Jakotsu.

Our laughter mixes together, growing in passion, and filling the corpse-ridden bloody hallway.

"What….happened to the two of you?" Bankotsu asks as he stands. The blood coated Jakotsu rushes over to him fists clenched cheeks puffed.

"She hugged me and ruined my clothes!"

I place my hands on my hips, "Damn right I did. That's what you get for laughing at me instead of helping me up."

"YOU WERE LAUGHING TOO!"

"I am allowed to laugh at myself!"

Bankotsu shakes his head giving up on trying to follow our conversation, "I thought I told you to get her cleaned up."

"I did!" Jakotsu pouts, "We would have been out sooner, but she was being stupid-"

"I'M NOT STUPID!"

"SHE WAS BEING STUPID, and I got distracted, and she wasted the time you gave us to escape. So I had to kill all the guards by myself-"

"I DIDN'T HAVE A WEAPON!"

"BY. MY. SELF. And then this dumbass slipped and fell in a pool of blood, which was fucking hilarious."

"Oh you remember that, but conveniently forgot the part where I called you a FAT, UGLY HORSE, which is a statement I still stand by!"

He finally spins around to look at me, "YOOOOUUU BITCH!"

A sharp whistle sounds, and we both fall silently.

Bankotsu runs a hand through his bangs as he sighs, "I don't care anymore."

Jakotsu pouts.

Bankotsu looks towards me and smirks.

I quickly look away.

"What I am still curious about is what happened between you and the Lord. You did quite the number on him, huh?"

I could hear the smirk twist into a broader smile, and I cross my arms suddenly feeling very disgusted with myself.

"I'm actually quite impressed. I mean, it was a bit sloppy-"

"Toooold yoooouuuu."

I throw a sharp glare towards Jakotsu, and he makes a face at me.

"But, still, not bad for your first time. With a little practice, you could be a very efficient killer, and at least you had fun, right?"

Unable to ignore him any longer, I look him straight in the eyes, "Nothing about what I did was fun. I'm not sick like the two of you. I don't take enjoyment in killing."

"That's not what his body told me." He walks up to me that twisted smile plastered on his face, "A clean cut to the throat would have been plenty, but you decided to stab him. Multiple times, I might add."

I swat his hand away from me,"Only because I missed his throat!"

Bankotsu begins to circle around me playfully, "So instead of trying again," he beings casually, "you decide to stab him 25 times? Come on, Yaruki." He stops behind me and leans closer to my ear, "You're among friends. Just admit it that you enjoyed it. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

I ignore his warm breath washing over the back of my neck and the chill his hushed voice caused down my spine. My arms cross over my chest defiantly, "I am not a monster like you. I did what I had set out to do, and the only enjoyment I took from it was in knowing that such a vile creature no longer exists.

"Ah! But you did enjoy it, see." He appears in front of me a broad smile on his face, "I knew you would come around."

I frown at him, "Are you finished?"

He chuckles, "No. In honor of your first kill, I got you a little gift."

I roll my eyes at him, "Keep it. I have not use for gifts from someone like you."

A genuine look of hurt crosses his face, "Really? But I was so careful in picking it out too." He moves back to where he was sitting and reaches for something.

I scoff glaring at something in the distance and trying to ignore the pang of curiosity growing inside me, "I don't care."

"You ungrateful…."

I shift out of Jakotsu swinging range and stick my tongue out at him, but something catches the corner of my eye.

I turn back towards Bankotsu and see a sleek jet black yumi within his grip. My mouth stands agape at the beautiful bow that I have only seen from images in my father's books.

A samurai's greatest weapon long before the katana was ever made.

"You like it, right?"

I blink coming back to my senses, "It's….ok…..."

Bankotsu smiles brightly, "I took it from one of the guards before I left. I'm not much of a bow expert, but I figured you'd like it. I think it's a bit long for you though."

"It's a yumi." I say quickly, but then clear my throat in an attempt to hide my excitement, "It's….it's meant to be taller than the archer." I eye it carefully but discreetly, trying to remember what kind of yumi it is and if it were the kind I needed based on my own height.

"It's got to be a Nisun-nobi..." I mutter softly to myself chewing on my nail. I suddenly look back at Bankotsu, "How tall was this guard?"

He shrugs, "Maybe my height if not taller. You wanna hold it? It is yours after all."

My eyes fall back on the slick bow as I cautiously step towards him. Quickly, I pull it from his grasp and turn away to hold it up.

The bow is well cared for and sturdy despite it being a bit too long. "Nothing a little practice couldn't make up for." I mutter softly to myself.

Unable to hold back my excitement any longer, a broad smile finds its way to my face as my fingers slide down its smooth curved body.

Oooooh, the damage I could do to these two men with this baby. My body trembles with excitement at the image of arrows piercing though Bankotsu's eye and Jakotsu heart with clear solid thuds. The power behind this bow at close range gives me goose bumps. How stupid was this man to equip me with a better means of killing him?

"The only catch to keeping it," Bankotsu's voice shatter my thoughts, "is you have to use it."

His words echo in my mind as the true purpose of giving me this "gift" becomes clear. "I can't keep my distance." I say turning to face him.

He smiles a response.

"If I fight you with this…"

"It would have to be at close to mid-range…if you want to do any serious damage, of course. Did you really think I would give you something that you could use at a distance against me? Plus, I still have to train you in hand to hand combat, so I figured this would force you to get closer to me if you tried anything."

I laugh a little, "I thought you said you weren't an expert on bows."

"The previous owner and I had a little chat."

"Before you killed him?" I ask quietly, and Bankotsu shrugs.

"Dead men have no use for bows, Yaruki."

I close my eyes as the disgust for this man grows, boils, and churns in the pit of my stomach.

"Enjoy it." He tosses me a full quiver, "It's to celebrate your first kill and all the rest that will follow." He lifts his large halberd and begins to walk. Jakotsu following close behind.

I look down at the now sour gift.

"And all the rest that will follow."