We do not own Koihime Musou or Kamen Rider Gaim. They belong to their respective creators. We just thought this idea would be fun and decided to give it a try. If you like it then that's great. If you don't then we tried. Anyway, come along and let's see what you think.

Sangokuden Armored War Gods Saga: Legends of the Armored War Gods

Co-Written By: Ten-Faced Paladin and Kamen Rider Chrome

Chapter 7: Reclaiming Ryuubi's Sword

It was the following day after the attack of the Man-O-War Beastman and the destruction he had caused. That, and learning that the Genesis Riders were active, and were interested in conquering the land for their personal gain rather than helping people or a specific faction. It made for a restless night for Nagata as he wondered who and where the Genesis Riders could be. Apparently, they were eliminating anyone who saw them, which made listening for rumors or stories about them nearly impossible.

Still, the issue aside, the band of friends had to go meet Enjutsu to try and get Ryuubi's sword back. Personally, Nagata didn't have much hope for the ruler to return the sword. So far, no officials came to inspect the disturbance the Rinrinshi caused which meant that Enjutsu likely didn't want to spend too much on the military unless she had to. The fact her palace was top of the line and filled with a huge number of luxury items further enhanced the image of Enjutsu being a self-serving ruler who spent money only on herself.

Finally reaching her throne room, the group was met by Enjutsu and her servant Chokun. Chokun was a pretty girl with short blue hair, but oddly enough she wore a white stewardess uniform for some reason. Enjutsu was but a small child with long blonde hair which almost reached the floor and wore an extravagant orange dress along with expensive jewelry, including a silver tiara on her head. The girl obviously saw herself as a princess and expected everyone to treat her like one. The group immediately didn't like her upon seeing her and the aura of 'spoiled little girl' that she gave off. Still, they were determined to get the sword back and so went for the meeting. Immediately, they handed over Ensho's letter, hoping it would help them.

"...and so I ask you to return the sword to Ryuubi-dono even though I gave it to you. Signed your eternally beautiful cousin, Ensho," Chokun finished reading out loud, Enjutsu even having her servant read and hold the letter for her so she wouldn't have to.

"Hmmm," Enjutsu frowned, apparently not moved by the story her cousin told. She turned to face her guests with a childish grin. "Ryuubi-dono, you've come to me today so to get your sword back, correct?"

"Yes, please!" Ryuubi nodded.

"Well too bad!" Enjutsu sniffed. "I traded a splendid robe that idiots can't see for it. So I don't have to give it back."

"Oh please," Nagata muttered. "We all know that was a bold-faced lie so you could one-up Ensho and get back at her for being engaged to an Armored War God when you haven't even seen one."

"What was that?! How did you kno-!?" Enjutsu began, but Chokun managed to make shushing gestures to remind her what they were talking about. Recovering herself, Enjutsu stood up and her full height (which wasn't much) before pointing at Nagata. "What do you know? If you couldn't see it then you're probably an idiot!"

Nagata frowned at the spoiled little girl, "Little one, I am an Armored War God. You find that magic tends to have a hard time on us and there was no magic robe at Ensho's palace."

Enjutsu and Chokun paled, but the little girl remained steadfast, "Ha! I refuse to believe some boring-looking guy like you is one of the amazing Armored War Gods. I bet you're lying!" Nagata had enough and strapped on his SengokuDriver before whipping out his Orange Lockseed.

[ORANGE!]

Enjutsu and Chokun began to gape as the Orange Arms lowered out of the portal in the air. Nagata stood up, revealing his SengokuDriver before he put the Lockseed into the center.

[LOCK ON!]

"Henshin!"

[SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!]

The Orange Arms came down, donning Nagata in his suit and transforming him into Gaim. Once the armor was set, he crossed his arms and looked up to Enjutsu while tapping his foot. The tiny ruler and her attendant were now looking somewhat nervous, knowing for sure that their little scam on Ensho had been busted wide open. Ryuubi also had an Armored War God on her side, meaning that Enjutsu couldn't just ignore the rosette or bully her into giving up on her request. That would likely anger Gaim. They remembered the last time Enjutsu mouthed off at Haru and he took offense to some of her chosen insults towards him and Ensho. He was rather...displeased. Chokun had never seen someone get spanked with giant fists before. Enjutsu swore her rump was still sore sometimes.

"Still think I'm lying, squirt?" Gaim growled, pointing his Daidaimaru at her. "Now then, we know you conned your cousin for that sword. You know how she'd never admit she was an idiot. I bet you were laughing when you got the sword in exchange for nothing. Well, who's laughing now?" Nagata's generals all shared looks of worry and so did Komei. They had never seen him this aggressive outside of battle before. Had the news of other Armored War Gods misusing their powers really upset him this much? Of course, the news upset him. They had been using their powers to wipe out whole villages, going against what the Armored War Gods stood for.

Enjutsu tried to cover up her nervousness and recompose herself, "You...you can't expect me to give away a precious treasure like that for nothing."

"If you don't, then I'll have to tear this place apart to find it," Gaim threaten as he took out his Suika Lockseed, his thumb running against the unlock switch. Realizing what her beloved might do, Kanu went and snatched the Lockseed out of his hand. "Huh? Aisha!"

"Gaim-sama, you're getting angry," she told him. "Please, let us not resort to violence." He stared at her for a second and then at the Suika Lockseed. He realized that he had nearly gone Suika Arms out of anger.

"Right, right," he nodded. "Sorry." He was glad he had Kanu to help snap him out of his rage and stepped back. Enjutsu still looked a bit fearful.

Komei decided to speak, "Enjutsu-dono, the sword is in fact a precious heirloom to Ryuubi-san's family and is also the last piece of proof of her noble ancestry. So, please, could you return it?"

"But-!" Enjutsu glanced at the Armored War God who was tapping his blade against his shoulder. Chokun stepped in close to her ruler and began whispering into her ear. Enjutsu smiled in approval of the plan. "I see...Ryuubi-dono, right?"

"Yes," Ryuubi responded.

"And you'd do anything to get it back, correct?" added Enjutsu. "Well, I'm having a bit of a monster problem in my territory. So, I want you to get rid of it for me."

"We kinda got rid of the monster already," said Gaim, referring to the jellyfish Rinrinshi from yesterday.

"No, not that silly thing hiding inside the city," Enjutsu waved off the comment. "There's an old shrine on top of a hill near the city. I want to build a villa there but whenever I send men to tear down the shrine a monster appears and scares them away. My soldiers do the same and come back talking about a terrible monster. Defeat the monster so I can have my villa and I will give you the sword in payment."

Nagata's group was given a guest room to stay in until they got rid of the monster at Enjutsu's request. Nagata, out of his armor, looked around and frowned.

"She's got really bad taste," he stated bluntly as he looked at the decorations. The art was downright terrible, with images and style which only a child would be interested in. It was obvious that she was wasting even more money on selfish pursuits than Ensho did. At least Ensho made sure her city's economy was prosperous so she could afford to pay for her whims. Enjutsu didn't seem to care and let it take care of itself, which obviously wasn't working out.

"Yes, the room's decor is so ugly it's distracting, Gaim-sama," agreed Komei. "However, Gaim-sama, I think we need to address your behavior earlier."

"I don't think I acted out of line," he denied. His face was set in a scowl and he was obviously very agitated.

"You were threatening to use your Suika Arms' powers to destroy her palace," Komei reminded.

"Is it really that powerful?" Ryuubi asked since she had never seen Suika Arms in action.

"It's a giant suit of armor, twice the size of a normal man with immense strength," Komei described. "While it moves slowly, it can fly and also shoot arrows made of fire rapidly. It is the armor Gaim-sama uses as a last resort."

"Even I think that it would've been excessive, Gaim-sama," Kanu scolded. "Is something wrong?"

Nagata leaned back and crossed his arms, "The Genesis Riders. They've been on my mind since yesterday. Then there's the way Chinkyuu looked at me. She thought I was a monster." He laughed without humor, "You know, there's an old saying that those who take the power of Armored War Gods are themselves monsters. I guess these guys decided to take it literally and acted like monsters because they have the power."

"I understand how this offends you Gaim-sama, but to make threats to Enjutsu-dono…" Chou'un frowned.

"I know, I know, but everything about her does not help my mood," Nagata sighed. "She sits there on her butt all day, spending money on all sorts of ridiculous things while her city can barely seem to make ends meet. She is without a doubt the most unfit ruler I have ever seen since arriving here. Heck, even Ensho isn't this bad. It's like her parents just dropped her on the throne and didn't bother teaching her because they didn't feel like ruling or training her to take their place."

"Even so, we still need to do something to retrieve Ryuubi-san's sword," Komei said.

"But I can't fight a monster!" Ryuubi whimpered, scared.

"Who says you'd have to fight?" Nagata asked. "You got me, Rinrin, Sei and Kanu. We'll do the fighting for you."

"Indeed, Ryuubi-san. You are our friend and we swore to help you," Kanu agreed.

"That's right! We'll beat that monster!" Chouhi added cheerfully.

"I seem to recall a similar incident a while ago," Chou'un commented. "Didn't you both faint?"

"Because of your story, Sei," Nagata reminded. "Which reminds me: don't do it again."

"Of course, Gaim-sama. No more scary stories to pass the time. How about stories of my sexual exploits instead?"

"No! No! No!" Nagata crossed his arms in an X-shape. "Completely inappropriate!" Komei blushed at Chou'un's suggestion while Chouhi looked oblivious as usual.

"But you'd probably learn a thing or two."

"Request denied!" He then resumed the meeting, "Still, if this is a real monster, can you fight it?"

"Since nobody got hurt, then it could be a fake as well like the last time," Kanu stated.

"Yeah, if it was the RinJyuKen, they wouldn't do something like this. I mean, they aim to gather a large mass of Rinki. This just bothers one little brat," Nagata nodded.

"Enjutsu-dono might be a brat, Gaim-sama, but she does possess Ryuubi-san's sword," Komei reminded.

"I know, I know," Nagata sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I just really, really don't like her. Let's do this job fast so I don't have to deal with her anymore or else I'm going to bring her over my knee and give her the spanking that her parents and suck-up servants seem to be too lazy to give her. I'll even do it in Suika Arms for good measure."

"Yeah, give her a spanking until her butt splits apart!" Chouhi agreed.

"That could kill her," Komei sweatdropped.

"Maybe we should go before Gaim-sama actually goes through with his threat, OK?" Ryuubi suggested. Enjutsu was a mean little girl, but she didn't deserve that severe a punishment.

It was night when the group decided to set off in search of this elusive monster. Kanu led them with a torch in hand. Chokun had given them directions to the shrine so they'd know where they would be going.

"Come to think of it, maybe Ryuubi-san should've stayed back at the inn," Komei suggested.

"I can't do that. This is about getting my sword. I can't be the only one who's safe and left behind," Ryuubi retorted bravely.

"Sides, if anything were to happen, we'll protect you," smiled Nagata, causing Ryuubi to blush. She was always doing that whenever Nagata smiled at her.

"So, when we defeat this monster, how do we prove we did it?" Kanu asked.

"Chop off its head and deliver it to Enjutsu, I guess," shrugged Nagata. "She'd probably have it mounted on her wall or something." Considering her taste in art, that didn't sound too far off. Then she'd probably make up some lie about how she had done it herself or something just to stroke her own ego. She was Ensho's cousin, after all.

After a trek through a forest where the trees were smeared with some kind of glowing green substance, the group found themselves at the base of a huge set of stairs. It went straight up to a tall hilltop which was a tiring trek even for the experienced fighters.

"All the way up there, huh?" Nagata asked as he looked up.

"I can understand why Enjutsu would want to build a villa up there. It would have a nice view," Chou'un stated.

"Come on, let's admire it later. We gotta get up there," Nagata ordered. It was a long climb up the steps but eventually, they managed to get to the top. Of course, considering how lazy he thought Enjutsu was, would she even care about the villa after it was done if it involved climbing these steps to get to it? Then again, knowing her, she would probably have her servants carry her up there.

"Finally, we're at the top," said Chou'un as she let out a sigh of relief.

"And there's the old shrine," Nagata pointed. A simple religious hut stood in the middle of the clearing, a lone structure in the night. "Really spooky, don't ya think?"

"Come on," prompted Kanu. Then an eerie, green glow started to seep through the cracks of the shrine's door. She took an involuntary step back. Then, there was a voice.

"Leave this place...leave this place...leave this place..."

"OK, the creepy factor just went up," Nagata quipped. The doors suddenly swung open and a monstrous creature came roaring out, looking like a giant hairball with a dragon's face and all the terror included. The sight of it caused Chouhi and Kanu to drop their weapons and grab onto the closest person in their panic. That person just so happened to be Chou'un. The sworn sisters squirmed, rubbing against Chou'un, and causing a really interesting reaction. After Kanu and Chouhi had thoroughly molested Chou'un in their panic, the two sworn sisters passed out.

"Hey, don't faint!" snapped Chou'un angrily. "You don't stop right in the middle!"

"Kinda saw that coming," muttered Nagata. "Girls, looks like this is my stage now!" He strapped on his SengokuDriver and clicked his Lockseed to unlock.

[ORANGE!]

"Henshin!"

[LOCK ON!]

[SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!]

He drew his Musou Saber and jumped at the monster before bringing his blades down. However, instead of flesh and blood, he felt like he was cutting through wood and straw. "Huh?" He stepped back to examine the damage he'd done. "It's a fake?" His cut had split the monster's face open, revealing wooden poles and mechanisms all covered in straw painted with the glowing moss from down below.

"Let's see who's inside then." Gaim grabbed the edges of the hole he made and pulled it open wider, revealing a trio of boys inside, all of them afraid and trembling. A lanky boy with long hair, a chubby boy, and a skinny red-head who were manning controls or mechanisms inside the machine. "Ah, another fake monster."

"Please, don't hurt us!" the trio of boys screamed.

Gaim sighed and closed his Lockseed to deactivate his armor, "Relax, kids. We won't hurt you. We just want to know what's going on and why you're scaring people away."

"A-ano…" Nagata and the others looked past the 'monster' to see a girl with her hair done up on ponytails in peasant clothes with a bunch of small children huddled timidly behind her. "If...if you promise not to hurt us...we'll explain…"

Kanu and Chouhi regained consciousness, feeling rather foolish at having been tricked by a fake monster once again. What kind of warriors were they if they dropped their weapons like that? Kanu felt humiliated for getting scared in front of Nagata. Really, she shouldn't have behaved in such a manner in his presence. She was his lover and retainer and she was expected to be courageous. They all entered the shrine where the children lit some candles so they could see. The three boys sat with the girl opposite of the others. The tiny children seemed to have taken a real liking to Ryuubi though and huddled around her, asking her questions and such.

"So, you're all orphans, then," Nagata concluded.

"That's right," the girl nodded. "We lost our parents because of bandits or disease and since then we've only had each other. It was a few of us at first but then we picked up a few more along the way. We kinda made ourselves into a family of our own. To survive, we eat wild vegetation or help out around the local farms."

"No relatives?" Nagata asked. She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"This shrine has become our home but now the local lord wants to tear it down to make a villa," the girl continued.

"So, that's why you made a monster to scare the builders away," Kanu concluded.

"Yes, we thought that if we did that then our home would be safe," the girl answered.

"Oh, I'm gonna go back and beat up that Enjutsu!" exclaimed Chouhi.

"Rinrin, that won't help anyone," Kanu scolded. Why was Chouhi always quick to resort to violence?

"You know, I'm pretty impressed that you kids managed to come up with a very convincing fake monster. I mean, with that skill, you could find work and earn a pretty good living in a theatre troupe or something," Nagata praised.

"Thank you very much, Armored War God-sama," the girl bowed, pleased by the praise.

"Still, Enjutsu's expecting us to kill a monster but we can't just let her tear this place down for a villa she probably won't use." He addressed his strategist, "Any ideas, Shuri?"

"Well, I have an idea," Komei nodded. "We'll just need to persuade her that tearing down the villa won't be a good idea."

"Well, you could all stay here for the night before you return," the girl invited. "Just please help us."

"We'll do whatever we can to help you. That's a promise," Nagata swore.

Nagata couldn't sleep. With nothing else to do his mind drifted back to Chinkyuu and her story of how the Genesis Riders had massacred her entire village and burnt it to the ground. Obviously, news of an entire village being destroyed would've reached the capital but with no clues, they would just assume the village was the unfortunate target of a bandit raid. They did not know that the Genesis Riders had done it. Chinkyuu was the only surviving witness and had been traumatized by what had happened. Nagata sat up from his straw mat to gaze at his friends and the orphans before he stepped out of the shrine. Maybe the night air would do him some good.

Nagata sat at the top of the steps and sighed as he gazed up at the moon. "I always thought it would be just us." It was his hope that he and the other Armored War Gods would use their powers for good. However, it seemed that the Genesis Riders had let the power get to their heads. Such power to destroy lives was so tempting. It made them feel superior. Nagata put his hands to his knees and they trembled as they clenched tightly. "I have to stop them," he swore.

"Gaim-sama?" Ryuubi asked and Nagata turned to see the girl approach and take a spot next to him to sit down. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I couldn't sleep," he answered. "You?"

"Oh, well..." Ryuubi blushed. She couldn't tell him she had gone to take a leak. That was unladylike.

"I see. OK then," he shrugged as he gave out another sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Remember Chinkyuu from yesterday? Remember when she told us she saw an Armored War God kill people and was part of the destruction of her village? The fear she had when she looked at me. It's unsettling and I can't get it out of my head."

"But you're not like that," she reassured him. "You're good. You're a protector of the people and you fight for justice."

"I know, but I feel that the Genesis Riders should be my responsibility since they're like me," he said.

"Armored War Gods like you?" she asked.

"Yeah. Maybe I can convince them to stop or something but since Chinkyuu saw one of them murder 50 people with a single blow I doubt I will be able to convince them to just stop," he told her. "They're drunk on power and using that power to commit horrible crimes."

"Then you must stop them," she encouraged.

"Yeah, you're right. I have to," he said. If there was any other way, he would rather try to resolve things peacefully, but clearly, the Genesis Riders wouldn't be interested.

"But you're not alone," she said as she placed a hand on his tenderly. "You have us. We can help you fight."

"No, I'd rather not have you endanger yourselves," he declined.

"But you said they were stronger. You can't face them alone," she argued.

"I won't fight them alone. They're Armored War Gods so the only one who can fight them should be Armored War Gods," he stated. "I'm going to tell everyone we know about this threat and put a stop to it, one way or another," he sounded resolute.

"You will win," Ryuubi said, kissing his cheek much to his surprise, "I believe in you."

"Uh...right," he blushed.

"We should head back to bed, Gaim-sama," she smiled at him and he couldn't help but be taken in by that beautiful smile.

"Right...bed. Gotcha," he said, stumbling a bit with his words.

After a stiff sleep, the group returned to the city to report that they defeated the monsters and try to convince Enjutsu to give up her plans for a villa. A materialistic girl like her wouldn't give up plans for something big and expensive easily, but she was also superstitious so there may be a chance of scaring her into dropping the plan. They just needed to come up with a very convincing story. Fortunately, Komei had one in mind.

"Ah! You beat the monster?" Enjutsu asked with joy.

"Yes," Komei nodded. "However, it was only the monster's physical body."

"Physical body?" Enjutsu frowned. "What does that mean?"

"She means that the monster was originally a spirit," Nagata spoke up. "When we beat the monster's body, we were able to explore the shrine a little. To our surprise, we discovered that the monster in fact used to live on the mountain before powerful sages sealed it inside the mountain itself. The shrine was to be the seal. Your workers, in trying to tear down the shrine, broke the seal and unleashed the monster. We destroyed its current body, but I fear so long as that hill exists, the monster will not leave. Your best hope to be rid of the beast is to destroy the hill and turn it to rubble."

"But the view is the whole reason why I want my villa there!" Enjutsu whined. "I can't just abandon it!"

"Well, there might be a way then," Nagata spoke as Komei nodded back to him, knowing the plan. "Currently your land is dealing with a lot of bad karma from all the overtaxed people, orphans, and all-around bad energy flowing through it from the woes of the people. If you fix the problems with your kingdom, stop taxing so heavily, build homes for the orphans, and bring back the bounty of your land, you can purify the negative energy and cleanse the mountain by extension, banishing the beast for good."

It took a lot of effort for the group not to snicker at the story. The plan was to use Enjutsu's materialism and superstition to their advantage. It was obvious she really wanted the villa and she was willing to do a lot to get it. So their plan was to trick her into becoming a better ruler thinking it would free the hill so she could build that villa she wanted so badly. That way, the children would have homes that they needed and the people would be able to live better and build their businesses instead of having Enjutsu's greedy taxation take away all their profits. Having Nagata explain it as a supernatural case would just make the story more believable to her since he was an Armored War God.

"Mou, but I don't like spending money on anyone but myself," Enjutsu pouted.

"Well," Nagata shrugged. "If you don't then you'll never get that villa. Then Ensho will brag to you forever and ever about all the villas she has and the one she'll honeymoon with her Armored War God in. You'll be stuck here with no villa at all, forever with the same old view of the city."

"NO WAY!" Enjutsu hopped to her feet, flushed at the thought of Ensho having something over her. "I won't let Reiha-neesan get something that big over me!" she looked to her servant. "Nanano! Send the orders! Lower the taxes on everything! Get city planners or whoever is in charge to begin building orphanages! I mean the biggest and best ones we can pay for! I want children to love my city! I want the merchants to fight to be able to sell here! This land will be filled with such good karma it will glow golden!"

"Yes, Miu-sama!" Chokun saluted before she dashed off to follow the commands.

"Now, I think you also promised to give us back Ryuubi-san's sword," Nagata reminded. "It would be a good start to bringing good karma back to the land."

Enjutsu frowned, looking like she didn't want to give up the sword since she managed to swindle it from her cousin, "I know I did, but I really like it. It's proof that I fooled Reiha-neesan. I don't want to give it up. Besides, you didn't really beat the monster! You just took out the body and now I have to do the job by making a lot of good karma!"

"Understandable, and that's fair," Komei nodded. "Fortunately, we have prepared a special item to propose a trade with."

"Oh?" Enjutus blinked. "What kind of item?"

"Why, this Mysterious Mug of Mystery!" Komei announced, bringing out a common clay mug she had bought from the gift shop in town. However, she was presenting it upside down so that the broad bottom was on top. "Behold its strange qualities! The lid is part of the cup and cannot be removed but the bottom is wide open. It is such a strange object everyone will be wishing to learn about it."

"Oh wow," Enjutsu gasped. What a weird object! "Okay! I'll trade for it!"

"Splendid!" Komei beamed, her friends struggling not to laugh out loud. "Thank you for your generosity!"

"I can't believe she fell for that," Nagata chuckled. The group was safely on the road again and once they were far from the city, they had a good long laugh at how gullible Enjutsu was. Better yet, as they were leaving, they saw a large number of construction workers were arriving, lamenting their good fortune at receiving such a huge order. "Guess those who call other people idiots are idiots themselves. Good job, Shuri." Komei blushed happily under the praise. She was always happy to please her lord.

"Indeed," Kanu agreed. "Wonderfully done, Shuri. Now the orphans will have a home, the people will prosper, and we got Ryuubi-san's sword back." They all looked to see that Ryuubi was now carrying her family's precious heirloom. Nagata had to admit it looked better in her possession than it did in the fake Ryuubi's.

"So, now that we've finished our quest, how about we head back home?" Nagata suggested. They managed to get Ryuubi's sword back, as promised. So, it was time to return. It would be nice to be back in Touka Village. Hopefully, everything was alright with Iori and Kochu left in charge.

Meanwhile, in To, Marcus Date had been summoned to Totaku's palace. News of his talent had reached Kaku's ear and she wanted to see if this man could truly deliver. Greeting him at the gate with the guards was Hideyoshi.

"So, you're the painter?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Oui, that's me," Marcus smiled.

Hideyoshi did a double-take, "Wait, was that French?"

"It might've been," Marcus shrugged.

Hideyoshi decided to let it go, "Well, come on in. Ei-san and Yue-hime are waiting for you." Marcus whistled as he followed Hideyoshi inside. Once in the throne room, Hideyoshi was down on one knee to bow in front of Totaku with Marcus doing the same out of respect. Kaku stood next to Totaku.

"Yue-hime, this is the artist who will paint your portrait," said Hideyoshi.

"So, you are Date-dono?" asked Totaku. Kaku had told her that she had hired a traveling artist who had gained quite the reputation in the country. Many lords and nobles hired him to do portraits for them.

"Oui, that is moi. Bonjour, Totaku-sama," greeted Marcus.

"That is an odd greeting," Totaku blinked. Hideyoshi approached the ruler of To to whisper into her ear.

"It's called French. He's a foreigner," Hideyoshi told her.

"I see," Totaku nodded. "I heard that you are talented."

"Well, I do not like to brag but I can attest to my skill," Marcus claimed.

"Well, we want you to paint a portrait of Yue," Kaku commanded. "Can you do it?"

"Oh, I can," smiled Marcus as he made a frame with his fingers. "Yes, I can. I know I can. I just need her to pose for me."

"OK, tell us what to do," said Kaku.

Marcus instructed for Totaku to pose and then he winked, "OK, done! You will have your painting tomorrow."

Hideyoshi blinked, "Wait, that's it? You're not going to paint it here?"

"Monsieur, do you not know? I have a perfect memory. I just simply need to see something only once and the image is ingrained in my mind. Do not worry. The painting will be perfect or you may have it for free," said Marcus.

"Well, it better be worth it," Hideyoshi crossed his arms skeptically.

"Hideyoshi-kun, I trust him," Totaku smiled.

"Yue-hime, you trust people way too easily," he sighed.

The following day, Marcus returned with the portrait. He handed it to Hideyoshi and the bespectacled man unrolled it for Yue and Kaku to see. Hideyoshi's glasses nearly slipped off his face and so did Kaku's. The portrait of Totaku was superb. It showed her posing like she had the previous day, with every detail perfect as it was. In fact, Totaku's smile in the painting was just as radiant as her real smile.

"Oh my!" Totaku gasped, amazed.

"OK, I was skeptical before but now I'm convinced," said Hideyoshi as he fixed his glasses.

"I told you. When I am contracted for a job I always deliver," said Marcus proudly.

"Thank you, Date-dono," Totaku thanked him with a smile and Marcus blushed. It was so cute. "Ei-chan, pay him," reminded Totaku.

"Oh, right," Kaku held up a money pouch filled with coins. "Here is your payment. Not a coin less." Marcus accepted.

"Thank you and I hope you will hire me for my services again," said Marcus before he bowed. The guards escorted him out of the estate. Hideyoshi was fixing his glasses as he examined the portrait. Marcus had indeed captured Totaku's image.

"Hideyoshi-dono, have this portrait framed," Kaku ordered.

"You got it, Ei-san," Hideyoshi bowed before rolling up the portrait and taking it away to be framed for Totaku.

KRC: A short chapter, compared to most, but this was focused mostly on getting Ryuubi's sword than anything else. So, since they've done that, we can return to the journey home. Though, I hope the fight in the next chapter can make up for the lack of action here.

TFC: And the group has finally managed to get Ryuubi's sword back! They also managed to trick Enjutsu to better her ways even if it is out of her own selfishness instead of the goodness from her own heart. Well, whatever works.