Enjoy!

"This is where I fought Koga." Jakotsu said. "That wench got distracted with something, while I scared Koga off. I told her to catch up when she could, and started away. I was sure she followed me most of the way at least."

I looked around, and spotted a youkai corpse.

There were rotting stab wounds in the creature's back. A little too blunt for Jakotsu's style.

The brat had to have done this... unless that Koga guy had time to break away from Jakotsu, and kill a youkai for no particular reason.

I looked up at the sky.

A trail of smoke ran across it, back toward the fields we'd seen along the way. Probably from a nearby village.

Hmm. Guess they're burning bodies.

"Let's go see about that fire." I said. "I get the feeling she may be there."

"Hai." Jakotsu sighed, exasperated.

We both headed back up the road, and down to those fields.

Not many people were actually there yet.

Mostly women and older children.

Something big must've happened.

We made our way to the village, where they were burning a pile of neko youkai bodies.

There'd been a battle here, huh?

The brat's probably dead, then. I can only hope they're not burning human bodies, too.

I approached an old woman, and grabbed the front of her kimono.

She gasped as I lifted her up to my eye level.

"I'm looking for a girl. Short hair, bitchy, and a scowl to kill." I said.

The old woman calmed down a bit.

"You would be wise not to speak of her that way." She said. "That dear Ojou-san saved us last night."

I scoffed. "Never mind. Where is she?" I asked.

Villagers began looking at us, some getting weapons out.

"You'd best not disturb her." The old woman said. "She has worked so hard, and just lost a dear friend she didn't know she had."

Geez. Why can't I ever get a straight answer?

I tossed that old woman to the ground, and started through the village.

People came at me, trying to stop me.

They only led the way for me, as I cut them down, and headed straight for the place they were keeping me from.

They began screaming for a girl, as they realized they couldn't stop me.

The constant screaming was annoying, and kinda made me wanna turn, and kill them before I continued.

But, I spotted the brat before it crossed my mind.

She was crouched in a field, over freshly turned dirt.

Her kimono was blood-spattered.

I made my way out to her, and found that her entire aura was different.

Something had changed about this brat. It couldn't be all that big, though... right?

"Oi." I said.

She was still for a moment, watching that dirt, as though she actually felt it was worth watching.

Slowly, she turned to look at me.

Though the gesture was small, and only meant to answer me, there was... grace in her movement.

And her eyes... curious, and... pitiful.

What happened to her?

"Let's go." I said. "We have somewhere to be."

Disappointment grew in her eyes, as she turned away from me once more.

One of those youkai possessed her, didn't they?

"Hey, I'm not fallin' for any 'innocent' acts." I said, reaching out to her. "Let's go!"

Just as my fingers touched her arm, she raised her head.

In a second, she was up, two swords out, and coming at me.

I had Banryuu up in half that time and her blades collided with mine.

Her eyes met mine... and I have to say... I don't think I've ever seen eyes like hers were then.

She had a protective glare on her face, with so many different emotions behind it.

What did this village do to her?

The brat pulled back, and tried to attack again.

Using Banryuu, I spun those swords out of her hands, so that I could catch her by the neck.

Both of her hands wrapped around my wrist, but, she didn't fight, as tears streamed down her face.

"D... d-doushite... kanashiku?" She stuttered through her broken voice. "I came out of that with the fewest injuries. They consider me their savior... why am I upset?"

I felt... strange. She was asking me this... like she wanted me to console her. I started feeling weird about holding her there... her tears soaking my hand, and that question lingering in my mind.

I dropped her.

The brat fell to her knees, still crying.

I wasn't really sure what to say. She was so broken right now... not that that had a factor in this. No. I just wasn't sure if I could say something without sending her right back into her usual hell-raising rage.

After a moment, she began trying to rub away her tears, and pick her swords up.

"W... Where... where are we going?" The brat asked.

I watched as she re-sheathed her swords.

She was... careful.

Had the battle in the village taught her this much?

"Hakureizan." I said. "We're going to meet somebody there, and then I'll take you back home."

She looked up at me, a questioning look on her face.

"Just to check." I continued. "We're gonna see if your old man's lookin' for that treasure. We'll probably leave again if he doesn't have it."

She frowned, slightly, as she rose to her feet.

"I haven't much choice in the matter." The brat said. "Ikimashou."

She came to me, and waited on me to start moving.

Going back through the village, we found Jakotsu enjoying himself, killing villagers all over.

The brat pitched a hissy fit about having worked too hard to protect this village, threatening to kill him if he didn't stop.

I had Jakotsu stop just to... shut her up. Yeah. She was annoying...

The brat walked out of the village quietly, from there on.

She took all of her orders without fuss, and even put in a little effort to get them done quickly.

While shocking, I didn't complain. I kept a close eye on her, though. I didn't know how good her acting skills had gotten, and couldn't be sure if she was trying to pull a fast one on us...

Hai - Yes.

Oi - Hey (another call for attention).

Doushite kanashiku - Why sadness?(Why am I sad?).

Ikimashou - Let's go.

Lovin' this! So glad I got it in at last! Please, review!