Ayame knew she was being watched, and as the dark beauty walked briskly down the crowded Kougakyo street, she sensed there were at least two men following her. "As long as I stay on the main street," the yellow-eyed woman thought, "they will not dare to attack me."

"What manner of evildoers are these?" she wondered. "How many other people have they harmed before? Maybe I should lead them down a side street and terminate them."

Ayame deliberately slowed her step to allow her stalkers to overtake her so she could gauge their skill level first. Sure enough, a handsome middle-aged samurai abruptly cut in front of her, blocking her way. "He has very strong ki," Ayame thought as she evaluated the brown-skinned ronin standing before her. This might not be an easy kill.

"He's pretty bold to accost me on a crowded street," Kyuuzou's Third Sister mentally concluded as she shifted her stance to move out of Kanbei's range. "So, this is the manner of shameless villain who does not care if his misdeeds are witnessed by all under heaven."

Shimada asked point-blank, "Who are you? And what did you do with Kyuuzou's body?"

"Who in the world is this?" the dark woman thought, "I don't have to answer his questions!"

Ayame considered her options. It would not be fair to draw her swords on an unarmed man. But it had been a long time since she had the excuse to beat someone to a pulp, and the Wolf woman might just enjoy another all-out brawl. The veteran had kept in good training even after the Great War. Ayame would love to head butt this tall samurai into oblivion, but it wasn't a practical choice considering the height difference. Still, there were other techniques in her arsenal. Class strictures did not apply to the merchant's daughter, nor did she believe in samurai notions of 'honor in combat'. Biting, hair pulling, and of course, ripping other people's earrings off were all techniques in her arsenal. Oh yes! She'll make that tall man regret that he kept his hair so long and wore unnecessary jewelry.

The two dark-haired warriors glared at each other.

Shichiroji had only just managed to catch up with Kanbei. His friend was unarmed. The old samurai's sword was in Katsushiro's possession. Shichiroji thought his former commander must have gone mad to confront an armed fighter head on. And not just any common fighter. Shichiroji could tell that this woman was dangerous even if he had not met her before. He was sure Shimada Kanbei could also detect the strong ki level of a highly-trained warrior.

Kanbei took another step forward but the woman with brilliant yellow eyes did not back down. She looked askance at him with a cold haughtiness which reminded him of Kyuuzou. Shimada glared down at the dark woman and asked again in a stern voice, "Where is Kyuuzou's body?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. You must have mistaken me for someone else." Ayame replied calmly even as she saw two more people run up to Kanbei and Shichiroji. One was a man in his early thirties. The other was a boy in his mid teens. She would hate to kill them all. But perhaps it could not be avoided.

Rikichi, newly arrived on the scene with Katsushiro, chipped in, "It's her, without a doubt."

Ayame recognized the farmer. The game was over. In a flash, the fighter had drawn her twin swords.

With one quick step, Shichiroji moved in front of the unarmed Kanbei, keeping his walking stick between himself and the threat.

"This grave robber is also the enemy samurai who chopped my arm off!" the blond declared as he fixed his cold blue eyes on the dark swordswoman. A gasp rose from passers by as Shichiroji's stick extended into a three pronged spear.

Alarmed bystanders were now leaving the scene as fast as they could.

---

Kyuuzou despised grocery shopping. It was a mundane task he would rather not waste his mind upon. During his 5 years with Ayamaro, the silent samurai had been thoroughly spoiled by the free room and board in the governor's palace. He did not have to cook. If there was someone else around to do the shopping for him, the scarlet warrior would let that someone do it. Thus, Kyuuzou let Third Sister go off on her own to do the grocery shopping while he went into a bookstore. Ayame said she would return to collect him after she was finished with her shopping at the market.

The crimson warrior picked up a yaoi comic book and started reading it. It was not his type of pairing, but he was bored and the art was decent. So he idly leafed through the pages. He had almost gotten to the most likely not-very-exciting finale when he perceived danger. A killing aura. But it was not close by. A highly-trained fighter like himself could detect the presence of other people nearby even without needing to see them. But the odd warning of distant danger that Kyuuzou now felt was not the result of well-trained senses. It reached him on the level of the subconscious.

He knew it was Ayame. She was the only person who shared a mental link with him, as far as he knew. They could detect each other's locations within a one mile radius. Quickly, he left the bookstore and dashed down the street. Now he could sense Ayame's presence a few blocks away. But he also sensed someone else. Kanbei.

---

Ayame kept one sword in front of her and held the other one at a side angle in anticipation of fighting multiple attackers. The dark warrior had still not yet regained her full strength. She figured she could probably kill the blond if he was alone. But there were two other samurai with him. There was the child who had just drawn his sword. A weaker fighter, but still a potentially troublesome distraction. And there was the tall dark samurai glaring at her. The former soldier knew that this man should not be underestimated even though he was unarmed. Of all three samurai, this was the one she was the most concerned about.

The woman played for time. She spoke calmly to Shichiroji, "Well, I don't recall ever meeting you."

Ayame was telling the truth. She did not remember ever crossing paths with the blond samurai, not to mention cutting off his arm.

Shichiroji shook with fury. "You don't remember the Allied assault on the Sky Fortress in Genna 8?"

"Oh yes, I remember now," Ayame answered. "The battle in which we kicked your butt. You are the Allied cannon plane pilot who did those crazy aerial turns, right?"

Shichiroji's jaw clenched as he glared at Ayame.

"Well, many men cannot remember every woman they've ever kissed," Ayame added in an annoyingly flippant tone, "So it should not come as a surprise that a woman cannot remember every man whose arm she had cut off."

An incensed Shichiroji started forward but Kanbei put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "No, she has to answer my questions first."

Ayame ignored Kanbei and continued speaking to Shichiroji. "You should not take it personally," she told the blond. "It was war. You tried to kill me first. If I had not disabled you, I would be dead. What did you expect enemy soldiers to do? Just sit there and let you destroy them?"

Shichiroji bristled.

Ayame went on, "The Great War is over. Let's not start the killing again, all right?"

All this while, the woman was slowly moving out of Shichiroji's range.

"All right, but I'll settle for your arm!" Shichiroji yelled as he launched his attack.

Ayame smoothly side-stepped. Shichiroji's first strike went wide. He recovered quickly, spinning around to swing the spear at the woman. It was then a flash of red streaked between the two duelists.

There was a sharp clang of clashing metal as Shichiroji's spear met twin blades. But they were not the woman warrior's twin blades.