Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai 7 or any characters affiliated therewith. I only own Aya, her family, and friends. Neither do I own Ran, whom I am using with the permission of Motokonobaka
"Ah, at last you're awake," Gorobei said to the three siblings, "And now you won't attract so much attention. You three have good taste in clothes too." Aya looked at the ceiling of Masamune's shop and rolled her eyes. She hated it when people made comments about her clothes, good or bad.
"The others will be back soon, and Kambei-sama wanted us to find out your skills. How well can you handle a sword?" Gorobei asked Aya. She shrugged.
"My handling… Moderate. I'm much better with a long-range weapon though. I can handle a wooden staff pretty well. Or something that was similar to a sniper's weapon… All three of us have basic training in kenjutsu (the art of the sword)…" Aya trailed off. Gorobei looked at Akio and Kai.
"What about you two?"
"I can handle a single sword-length weapon or something similar…" Akio muttered, folding his arms in his sleeves.
"Ooh! I can handle two swords! I've been practicing so that way I can be like K-" Akio clapped his hand over Kai's mouth.
"Ku-so!" came the muffled ending of Kai's sentence.
"Never mind him. But yes, he can handle… two weapons at a time," Aya replied. Gorobei and Masamune looked at each other and nodded.
"Follow me," said Masamune, turning away toward the back of the shop. The kyoudai and samurai followed. Outside, Masamune tossed a black metal staff to Aya, a blood red katana scabbard to Akio, and a pair of silver scabbards that contained two steel wakizashi (short swords) to Kai. All three children stared at their new weapons with amazement.
"Can you two handle a dagger without a hilt?" Masamune asked Aya and Akio.
"More or less," they replied. They caught the pair of blue-sheathed aikucchi that Masamune tossed to them. Then, remembering their manners, the three bowed deeply to Masamune.
"Endless thanks Masamune-san. But where did you find these?" Aya asked, straightening up. He shrugged.
"You never know what you might find in this scrap heap," he said, gesturing at the collection of assorted mechanical things in his shop.
Everyone laughed.
"You know, have you thought about how you three are going to get home?" Ran asked out of the blue. Aya felt like Ran had struck her. Home. She had forgotten about it since she found herself in Kougakyo. Now the memory of it made her heart ache. She looked over at her brothers examining their new weapons, and at Komachi, to whom Aya had made the promise to help her village. Shaking her head, Aya looked at Gorobei and Masamune with confident eyes.
"I- no- WE, will deal with that problem when it is imperative we go home," she said, slipping her new aikucchi into her obi.
"Do you mind if I test this?" she asked. Masamune shook his head, and Aya gently touched a button. Out flashed an extension of the metal staff, along with two curved blades, one long, and the other, shorter one, near the base of the long blade. Akio and Kai stared at Aya.
"Sister! You got a naginata!" They yelled in amazement. Aya slowly fingered the cool, dark metal.
"I guess so," she breathed, her naginata withdrawing. Suddenly, Ran snickered behind her.
"Taking three CHILDREN into battle? What was that old man thinking…" she said, referring to Kambei with an ironic smile and a slight shaking of her head.
"We may only be children, Lady Ran," Aya said, putting more emphasis on the 'lady' than was necessary, "But mere children can sometimes do what a full-grown adult cannot. Besides," she said, her tone growing warmer, "you're not much older than me, yourself, and already, you are a samurai." Now it was Ran who flinched like she'd been struck. She looked away from Aya's unyielding gaze that was filled with compassion, and stared at the floor instead.
"Thank you, once again, Masamune-san," Aya said, bowing one more time before she walked back inside with her naginata in hand. Kai and Akio followed her, slipping their weapons into their obis. Just before she got to the doorway, Aya gently touched Ran's shoulder, remembering a dream she'd had while Amaterasu's Messenger had spoken to the other samurai. In an instant, she saw the ronin's entire past.
"I am sorry for everything you've been through, Ran," she whispered, her voice breaking, "But you must always remember this: you are a samurai no matter what, and there will always be someone there for you. Even if you can't see them, they will be there." Aya's hand left Ran's shoulder and as Aya went back into the shop, Ran felt cold.
"Gorobei!" came Aya's sudden shout. All six people snapped their heads up, alert, and ran into the shop. Kambei stood there with everyone else behind him.
"No luck today?" Gorobei asked. Kambei shook his head.
"Ayamaro has ordered a city-wide hunt for samurai. Masamune," Kambei said, directing his attention to him, "Is there a way out of Kougakyo?"
A/N: Sorry for the delayed chapter update. I am now almost fully healed from my injury, but I've had a serious load of homework and tests this week. Also, sorry that I messed up the script from the series. I haven't watched the episodes lately, so I need to brush up on that. Chapters are going to go much faster, as I realized the story is rather slow right now. Still, I hoped you enjoyed the new chapter though!