"There is a small spring through the woods," Shattori explained. She pointed towards a beaten path that disappeared into the shadows. "Miss Noriko, you can bathe there."

"Thank you, Shattori."

Noriko was almost past the first line of trees when Shattori called after her. "Miss Noriko, if anything happens, just yell for me! I will come as fast as I can!"

"No thanks!" She waved her hand. "You head on back! I'll be fine on my own!" Noriko quickened her pace, hoping Shattori would get a hint and leave. She was a kind woman, but Noriko couldn't deal with kind.

After walking for a few minutes, Noriko came across the spring. The water would have been clear in the afternoon, but at the moment only the moon reflected off the surface. The rest of the spring that surrounded the lit area looked as if it was darkness itself. A water wheel, about as tall as herself, was set up at the mouth of the stream that emptied into the spring.

A small torch was nailed to a tree near the edge of the water, under which was a white robe. Shattori had put the robe there so Noriko could wash her clothes, if she wished.

Noriko smiled.

Shattori was beyond kind. She was extremely generous and hospitable.

As Noriko undressed, she hung her clothes onto one of the lowest limbs of the tree. When she stood only in the linen wrappings that covered her chest and lower body, she edged into the water. The spring was warm yet still refreshing, unusual for this time of night. Noriko dove under the surface before beginning to scrub the dirt from her body.

Tonight was the night before the Bantouji brothers would supposedly arrive. Noriko had no doubt that she would be able to beat a few humans. They were weak and by no means special. She would bind them and drag them to a collection station. The bounty was enough for her trouble and time.

What weighed on her mind wasn't the end result. It was how it would happen, what would the damage be, and who else might get hurt. She couldn't openly use her abilities or she would be killed by the villagers. Persecuted. If she didn't use enough force, the brothers would no doubt harm innocent people.

Before she could debate any further, Noriko heard rustling in the bushes. It was directly behind her, near the tree by her clothes. Slowly, Noriko turned to look. No one was there. Whoever or whatever was there was either gone or still hiding. The bushes rustled again. Quietly, Noriko slipped out of the spring, her eyes still focused on the bushes. Droplets of water fell from her body, creating small pools of mud, as she crept towards the tree.

Noriko began to feel around inside her clothes, looking for her dagger. As soon as she felt the tip, she grasped the hilt, pulled the blade from its sheathe, and darted for the bushes. Noriko raised the dagger, ready to strike.

"Of course! She just can't be like any other woman! When you take a bath, you get naked! Everyone knows that!" There, sitting behind the shrubs was Kyoshiro, mumbling to himself. Noriko froze, the end of her blade was only a few inches from his head. "When Shattori told me she was bathing I hoped I would get a glimpse of something, at least. Geez, why does she have to be such a tomboy." He sighed.

She was going to kill him. Strangle him, gut him, and chop him into pieces.

"Kyoshiro, can you tell me what you are doing here?"

At the sound of her voice, Kyoshiro froze. Noriko did not attempt to hide her anger, so the question came out as a snarl. If Kyoshiro hadn't known her personality, he could have easily mistaken her for a beast.

"Um," he stuttered. Kyoshiro did not run. He knew it was pointless. She had hunted him down for tricking her about his bounty. Who knew what she would do to him for peeping. "I . . . I was about to take a bath, too." He turned to face her. "If you're not finished, I'll just leave."

She smiled. "That won't do." Though the grin on her face looked gentle, the snarl had not left her voice. "How about I help you?"

Before Kyoshiro could slip away, Noriko grabbed him. He began to scream, begging her to spare his life. She dragged him around the edge of the spring, grabbing the robe Shattori had left her. When she reached the water wheel, Noriko slammed him against the planks and began to tie him with the robe.

"Please forgive me!" Kyoshiro pleaded.

"Even if I did kill you, I still wouldn't forgive you!" Noriko sat on the edge after she finished tying Kyoshiro. Slowly, his feet began to dip into the water. "Don't worry, I'll just make you work more in our fight tomorrow. I'll leave everything to you."

"No! Please don't, Noriko! You know I can't fight!"

Noriko said nothing. Yes, the normal Kyoshiro, a cowardly man, could do nothing. However, when he had snapped during the ambush, he was able to make everyone in the vicinity freeze in fear, with only his aura. No, Kyoshiro could fight if he wanted. He just didn't.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Kyoshiro's worried face, which was now at her level, and slowly sinking. She didn't need his worry. "You'll fight whether you like it or not. Hopefully you have more luck in fights than you do with me." Now he was screaming again as his neck approached the surface of the spring. "Geez, just shut up already! You won't die!"

Noriko knew he didn't stop because of her words, but the fact that if he continued yelling, his mouth would fill with water. She sighed and cut the robe. Kyoshiro slipped off the wheel, plunging into the spring. He immediately came up, spitting water out of his mouth and nose.

As he waded towards the edge, away from Noriko, she laughed. "That wasn't funny at all, Noriko!" Kyoshiro pulled himself up, wringing out his clothes. "You can seriously kill somebody like that, you know!"

"Calm down." She had once again regained her composure. The serious look on her face startled Kyoshiro, causing him to take a step back. "My body won't let me kill someone, anyway. If there was danger, I would've helped you, even if I wanted you dead."

Kyoshiro scratched his head, completely confused. But he didn't linger on the subject. Noriko's cryptic words were enough to tell him off. He only turned towards the path that lead back to the village and started walking.

"Kyoshiro."

He stopped. "Yes, Noriko?" he said without looking back.

"Make sure you sleep well tonight. You'll be doing a lot of running tomorrow."