Ghostly Apparitions in the Abandoned Castle(Intro)

[Taishou89]

He was a tad surprised when he felt her hands touch his face and to find himself face to face with Koneko suddenly beneath the surface of the river. Much less he was surprised to hear her speak so clearly and unhindered by the surrounding water, but it was indeed a pleasant surprise. Gasping loudly for air as he broke the surface, coughing slightly as he bobbed and water found it's way into his mouth, but once there he managed to stay a float. "I just felt like a swim is all" He said as he wiped his hair from his face as it became apparent his hair binding had come undone in the impact of the water. His ears drooped slightly from the weight of the water but soon perked right back up as the water drained. He was partially joking but also partially trying to save a little face for under normal circumstances he'd have been able to dodge or counter the Hounengyo's strike if he hadn't paused long enough, or been in waist deep water.

"Sounds like plan! I got this!" He said as she let go of him and began to dog paddle back towards the river bank. Once in the shallows he got to his feet and made his way out of the water, pausing to shake of the water from his clothes and hair in almost the same manner as a dog or wolf would. 'Bring him right to me...' Mitsuyoshi thought to himself as he waited for the creature to break the surface. The river bubbled and swirled at times as Koneko fought the creature beneath it's surface but soon the river erupted as Koneko leapt through the air, the Hounengyo right behind her. Mitsuyoshi was in awe when she landed and seemed to be standing on the surface of the river as if it were land.  "Koneko! This way!" He called to her, as he stood waiting for her to lead the creature directly towards him. His sword's aura glowed as he held it positioned it in front of him waiting for the moment.

The creature's speed on the water was like that of a charging ox and just as the creature neared "Koneko Break off!" He shouted to her just as the beast had attempted to lunge towards her, exposing it's chest. Gripping his sword with one hand he slashed left, then right. At each move as the sword's tip would cross and line with the beast sending forth two blades of light in a boomerang like motion and struck the Hounengyo twice square in the chest, creating two deep wounds in the shape of an X, the following blast of wind striking the beast in that mark causing it to cave in it's chest in a mist of blood and water. As the Hounengyo was struck, Mitsuyoshi had to leap out of the way to avoid being struck and end in the dead creature's mouth by the forward momentum of the beast's body crashing onto the riverbank. As he landed on his feet in what looked like an almost a tuck and roll motion mid air, some 10 feet or so to creature's left. Quickly he squared up, facing the creature holding his sword in front of him ready to strike again just in case, but the creature appeared lifeless and the air reeked of fish, blood, and entrails.

[Koneko]

From her side glance, Koneko caught Mitsuyoshi's form standing at the edge of the river, 'he made it, good!' Then her ears perked as he called out to her, grinning at the creature between another leap out of it's next lunge, shouting towards it, "alright you over grown lizard, follow me!" Dashing fast across the surface of the water and staying well enough ahead of the Hounengyo, her eyes now stayed fixed on her companion, watching closely for his next order for the plan. Seeing the glow of his blade, her ears twitched again once he shouted to her, quickly ducking down and pushing off the surface hard with her feet to quickly dodge away to her right and letting the youkai barrel past her right into the trap they'd planned by ear.

Watching him make his attack with awe, she could tell the blade he held was quite powerful to do that kind of damage, but it was welcomed given this fight would have been much rougher without it. Making her way to shore herself from standing on the water, she observed it's lifeless husk nearly skid right into her friend, flinching in some concern, she barely caught sight of him flipping out of the way. As she stepped foot onto solid ground, the glowing of her eyes stopped and she continued her way around the front of the beast just to make certain all was fine. "Mitsuyoshi!" Seeing he was fine and catching whiff of the strong smell, she finally came to a halt once she was next to him, a discontent look on her face to the smell, but also a slightly sheepish expression crossed her face with her ears very slightly drooped. Finally also noting his hair was down, she considered giving him her hair tie, knowing she was at least slightly responsible he'd lost his in the scuffle.

"Th-thanks for helping me... If you hadn't come after me... I would've come out of that injured at the very least..." Koneko said with a humbled tone, then thinking to herself, 'I suppose it wasn't a great idea to dash off without my katana at least either, but I was over here earlier and it was fine... Where did this youkai come from...?' Staring at the corpse of the Hounengyo, she didn't know entirely what to make of it: it seemed like it was stronger than it should have been, but she really couldn't be sure, for all she knew it could have just been a more aged one. "That was an amazing attack to take in down so quick like that. Are you alright after it knocked you under?" She had caught his remark about 'just wanting to swim' earlier, a faint smile on her lips as she giggled in her head over it.

[Taishou89]

Smelling the foul contents of the creature's innards and see them trail and pool beneath it's body glistening in the moonlight, He concluded it was safe to say that the Creature was indeed dead. Sheathing his sword his first reaction was cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve, his own ears drooping at the displeasing odor. "Good heavens... I've smelled death on a summer battlefield before, but this..." He then quickly turned his attention to Koneko when he heard her voice. "Mitsuyoshi!" He was relieved to see she appeared to be well.

"Th-thanks for helping me... If you hadn't come after me... I would've come out of that injured at the very least..."

"No problem at all, I'm just glad I has able to be of some service." As he grinned from behind his sleeve. "I've never seen a yokai like this before. Akari had always told me that the reason for the lack of any major Youkai in the province had more to do with My father's governing abilities. Having been able to avoid a lot of wars and governing the people quite fairly, so there wasn't a lot evil and bitterness lurking for Yokai to feed." He mentioned just before Koneko complimented him. "Oh.. Heh heh, Thanks. I kinda actually learned that thanks to Akari a long time ago..." Before realizing that he had never actually told her whom she was. "... Sorry I guess I forgot to mention, Akari was a Priestess whom my Father brought on to care and manage me so I didn't cause any 'Chaos' in the castle. She was more like a mother to me than Lady Emiko." As he

Little did he know at the moment, but He would later come to realize and connect the dots that all of the Yokai reports and encounters in the province seemed to coincidentally lessen or cease after Akari arrived long ago, but for now he was just glad see that Koneko was showed no sign of injury as far as he could tell and he wasn't seriously hurt himself. "Are you alright after it knocked you under?" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Oh yeah I'm fiiine. Honestly, I thought it was kinda fun. It's been quite a while since I've been in battle, so it felt really refreshing." Mitsuyoshi's tone and nonchalant behavior, however, masked the fact he'd also likely have a huge bruise where the creature's tail struck and maybe he had just a little pain in his hip, likely just a sprain or something but nothing a good night's rest wouldn't cure. "Oh and I promise, I can swim..." Attempting to save a little face until his mood turned serious in acknowledgment "...But seriously thanks for helping me, for a moment I thought I'd run out of air down there." He bowed his head slightly. The sudden attack did leave him without adequate time to get a good breath in before he had crashed into the water. "How about you? Any Injuries? For a moment I thought it might have got you with it's fangs."

[Koneko]

Attentively listening to him as he mentioned there had often been a lack of youkai in the area during his youth, one of Koneko's hands also tracked a sleeve to cover her nose from the atrocious smell after a moment. 'So Akari was a priestess? The one I bet the visage of that paper doll at the castle was... But that doesn't sound quite right, youkai not being around due to impeccable human ruling. Maybe some, but there would undoubtedly be a fair few yet, perhaps a different presence kept them away? And the fact it was a priestess at all that taught him to use the blade... Hmmm... I suppose it's not worth too much concern in the end having been long in the past...' She put it aside, at least he'd had a mothering figure and mentor in his life as well. "From the look of it, then I'd say she really taught you how to use it well," the feline added in compliment, though the gentle smile was hidden behind her sleeve now.

Her faint smile widened to a friendly grin as he seemed invigorated and joked before he thanked her more seriously. "It wouldn't be very respectable of me to let you drown after all the insisting I've been doing tonight to keep you living and breathing," she joked lightly back, "since I don't need to worry so much about breathing and swimming in water, I wasn't going to let you struggle and leave you as an open target." Thinking for a moment, she remembered what she said to him before she'd darted off to hide the feelings that had overcome her. "How about you? Any Injuries? For a moment I thought it might have got you with it's fangs." Lifting up the sleeve of the arm she used to counterstrike with at the start, she noticed a few rips in it left by the teeth of the Hounengyo, but ultimately shook her head. "Nothing I'd consider worth worrying about. Thankfully I noticed it in time before it could try to get a hold on me, I wasn't so lucky with it's tail though." The place the tail had made contact still stung with some soreness, but it would ebb in a little while.

Turning her head to glance back towards where the tree, grave and the rest of their items were, she thought for a moment more before fully facing that way and moving off towards there. "We should go back. What's left of this thing doesn't exactly smell that great compared to the fresh air by the tree. Besides, I know you've been sleeping for a very long time, but maybe some rest after that attack isn't a bad idea. We can decide which direction to go and what we want to do with all of those items after that." There was a slight jest in her voice at the beginning, but she over-all was fairly serious in her suggestion, thinking over the gift she'd been given by Mitsutada once more as well as the faint pangs of hunger starting in her stomach. Then she finally found the words in herself to explain what she'd said before running off to hide fragility from him.

"Perhaps I should also be a little more forthcoming than I've been about myself... I'm not exactly a full daiyoukai like I come across: I'm a half dragon. That's why I too have some odd features like my ears and nose and, well... Everything just now in the river. When I'm close enough to water, it's like I become a part of it," Koneko finally explained a little, reaching up to her hair and taking the tie holding it up out. Holding it out in her hand, she offered it to Mitsuyoshi, "here, since yours got lost in the water."

[Taishou89]

"It wouldn't be very respectable of me to let you drown after all the insisting I've been doing tonight to keep you living and breathing,"  He chuckled lightly at the her remark realizing her healthy joke. When she showed him her ruined sleeve and he couldn't help but admire her courage as he recounted the instance. "You're skill and abilities are highly note worthy! I honestly am not surprised though after feeling your strength earlier." as the Embarrassing memory of being lifted and held by the back of his collar like a cat with such ease. 


"I completely agree, this smell is repulsive and I was about to suggest the same." He responded to her suggestion to return to their camp area by the tree. "This creature sure worked up quite an appetite as well." As soon as she turned around he began to walk away. His face turned to one of pain as he gently rubbed the spot where the Hounengyo's tail had struck before limping lightly after her, hoping she wouldn't see. Although his pain was now hitting him as the adrenaline subsided, he would likely be fine and fully recovered by the next morning after a goodnight's rest. As they arrived back at the old oak tree, Mitsuyoshi inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh air of grass moistened with dew and smoldering wood. It was undoubtedly a lot fresher and at least the wind seemed to be carrying the hounengyo's stench in the opposite direction. His eyes were wide in awe as she explained her blood. "Dragon's do Exist then?" as he thought upon that realization, he began to wonder what else might be out there. He was taken aback however when she offered him her hair tie, at first he intended to turn it down as to him it was just a little trivial matter, but decided to accept it as she seemed the honorable thing to do. "Thanks, I'm grateful." Her gifting him her hair tie had moved him greatly and he thought of a way to return the favor as he quickly gathered up his hair and secured it with her tie in it's old position and then it came to him.

Stifling a wince and groan as he stood back up he walked back over to the cart where he retrieved the sake from earlier and started rummaging around. "I know I saw it in here earlier..." He mumbled before finally "Aha! Here it is." He turned around and approached her again. "It is only fitting that I offer you a replacement for yours." He sat back down slowly, doing his best to show his pain. Smiling warmly, his canines showing as he held out his hand to her and opened his palm. "I guess they didn't have any feminine ones in their inventory, but this I thought would at least be neutral." In his hand was a black silk hair tied with a small golden Chinese dragon ornament. "... I thought the The dragon seemed appropriate."  

[Koneko]

As he praised her courage and strength, Koneko held a look somewhere between proud and smug for garnering such compliments, the little ego boost welcomed though taking it over-all fairly gracefully. Though she couldn't resist agreeing with Mitsuyoshi as he more openly stated a bit of hunger, "you can say that again, that thing put up enough of a fight it made me a little in need of something to eat." As they approached the space by the cart and fire, she picked through some of the food available in the merchant's items and picked out some dried fish and pickled vegetables for them to at least have a little something to stave off complete hunger. Yet she kept her time at the cart short to make it back over to her previous seat quickly, wanting to bring as little attention as possible to the fact she'd just left her sword sitting there earlier and not wanting to seem irresponsible over it despite the spontaneity of the earlier incidents that night. She too then sat, seeming to soak in the fresh and open air around them, the smells of the fire and moist grass much more welcomed to the offensive smell of the youkai they'd taken care of.

Soon Koneko was a bit amused by how starry-eyed her companion seemed over the revelation dragons did indeed exist in this world, a hearty grin on her face mixed with a sincerity and relief as he also took the offered hair tie and offered his thanks. Watching as he tied his hair up, her look soon became one of curiosity as he got up and rummaged through the cart of items, looking for something until he found it and returned to sitting by her. Surprise then over took as he presented to her a new hair tie to replace the one she'd given to him, staring in a very quaint disbelief at the return gesture for her actions. Noticing his rather genuine smile as he presented it and hearing what he said with it, it would be but a short-lived moment a bashful look came across her face before she seemed to try to hide it behind her own return warm smile. "... I thought the The dragon seemed appropriate." Having an easier time trying to force away any traces of a blush on her face by placing her focus on the hair binding instead, she reached out delicately and lifted it up, feeling the silk against her hands as her thumb slid over the dragon ornament in admiration of it. "Th-thank you, you really didn't have to, but I really appreciate it - it's really pretty," she managed to say before moving to gather her hair back and tie it up, trying to make sure the ornament would stay visible. With the eye contact being broken long enough, she could better return the sunny grin now without struggling to keep more tender views of herself hidden.

Shortly after, she began trying to make a little space for them to more easily share a little bit of the food she'd grabbed out earlier, making it more accessible to at least share and partake in satiating any appetite they'd worked up. It gave her a moment to think too as the thoughts buzzing in the back of her mind rolled about in a dizzying frenzy. 'I think Mitsuyoshi's politeness is going to be the death of me, or at least keeping up my tougher, more masculine composure. I'm so unused to being treated like a proper woman anymore, especially with that damned fox when he was around, but that well-mannered way he has is going to draw it out of me if I'm not careful... I'm going to really have to put focus on getting a more casual air between us before it slips out of me without meaning to, it would be embarrassing to seem so delicate like that...' Finally feeling poised enough, she then spoke again, "ah, right, for what you asked before, dragons do exist, I suppose obviously at this point since I'm at least half proof. It's hard to find them since many stay away from the eyes of others, but often times near water is a good change to catch a glimpse. I've had my fair share of hiding in waters if I needed to quickly get away." Taking a dried fish, she began to eat and relax, letting the night air soothe the moment as she munched and swallowed. "These are pretty good, these merchants really did have some nice quality items! Maybe we can later sort what to keep and what to trade or sell, it would at least help cover there being more than just myself to look out for from here on out."

[Taishou89]

Sensing his action may have made her bashful, he backed down a bit, but never the less felt touched that she was moved. Figuring he'd try to put her mind at ease. "Think of it as a gift of serving under arms together." He started as he turned and made a fist while staring off into the distance. "... Our first Combat engagement together and I am definitely honored and proud to have met someone as skilled as you. For you to gift of me your own hair tie... I felt it only right to return the honor upon you." He continued, it was clear that he still thought and saw things as a Samurai would. The level of pride and code might never fade, but definitely wouldn't negatively affect his path of developing himself as an individual from beyond the social stratification of the Human world and Alongside Koneko, he felt a sense of invigoration at the possibilities of what the future may hold, almost as if he sensed the journey ahead was a kind of Karmic destiny. Although in his heart he would miss his Brother and all of his loved ones, he had to admit he had just made a new friend.


Mitsuyoshi spared her any further embarrassment by just smiling as she recomposed herself and shifted the conversation. "Dragons... I find that fascinating. In all the tales I've heard they seem to be wise and venerable creatures, worthy of admiration and reverence. Though if they exist, I can only wonder what other creatures or even yokai from tales are out there, especially after tonight." He pondered just as his stomach started to growl. The battle had indeed drawn quite a bit of an appetite after 90 or so years asleep. Taking one of the dried fish, he casually bit it's head of, crunching on it bones and all before retrieving some chopsticks and taking a generous amount of the pickled vegetables and stuffing it into his mouth while eating the fish's head. "MMM! Oishii!" He his words muffled slightly from the food in his mouth before swallowing to reply to Koneko's suggestion. "Well, I'd imagine they may come back when the sun comes up..." as he took a another bite into the fish.

"...but we could sort what we may need to take along with us and I would suggest we leave some of the gold coins my brother left us as compensation, I'm sure they wouldn't mind then. Speaking of which..." He leaned over and with one hand dragged the chest Mitsutada had left for them. Reaching in he carefully pulled out one of the scrolls and a book that was titled 'Yokai, Oni, Spirits, and other Creatures', being extra careful that he didn't mishandle these old text. He handed the scroll to Koneko to peruse. "These belonged to my father... I think these might have been from the time when I first turned human... I vaguely remember everyone in the Castle running around trying to figure out why I suddenly became normal." He handed her the book as well. "I don't know how this is going to help you though..." He wondered aloud, but little did he know the scroll that he had just passed to her would contain a list of all the Shrines across the region and even Kyoto, their locations, names of Head Priests/priestess' of the time, and a brief history of each. Reaching back into the chest he drew his father's Tanto and held it up to admire it with it's ornate handle and scabbard befitting someone of his status. He carefully drew it from it's scabbard and admire the well kept overall condition as memories of his father teaching him and Mitsutada to do archery.






 

[Koneko]

Seeing him so enthused by the simple knowledge she gave about dragons, the feline was bemused by his innocent wonder and desire to see more. It was odd for many she'd met among youkai kind to be so full of such curiosity and mixed with the gusto in his attitude he'd been giving off in this later half of the night, it gave her a very refreshing feeling. 'A gift for serving under arms together...? Honored and proud to fight alongside someone of my skill and returning the favor?' Koneko thought to herself as she picked up her own set of chopsticks to dig into the vegetables. 'He really does give the impression like that of many human warriors, but his eagerness is refreshing. 'Perhaps it really will be more pleasant from here on out than it has been with traveling alone again for so long.' Her tail wiggled behind her for a moment from her thoughts before coming to rest again, a pleased look on her face from the flavor and crunch of the vegetable she'd popped into her mouth.

As she chewed, she heard his comment about the merchants and swallowed quickly, "R-really?! They might return?! I'd no idea humans untrained in battle still could hold such bravery when so frightened!" There was a genuine shock in Koneko's words, seeming as if it was news to her anyone other than humans trained in battle could learn to face what they considered danger. Of course most of her experiences were humans running from the sight of anything they deemed a threat, herself included having become a main reason she took to disguising herself as a human in villages, though she'd never really seen aftermaths of return - and that was considering factors of if the humans had even survived encounters she'd been through. 'Maybe there's even better reason for Mitsuyoshi to be around, perhaps his better knowledge of humans and their behavior will be helpful in understanding their kind better rather than just imitating what I see to get by...' Considering what he had to say about compensating them, she felt perhaps that really was fair for helping themselves, and since they had been given means to so generously by the late lord of the area. Then she watched him lean back and grab the chest to glance through what was in it.

Leaning over as she munched another fish and vegetable quick, her ears pressing forward as she glanced over at the text in his hands in interest and stayed though as she processed what he said. "T-turned human? You turn entirely human?" It was a revelation she'd also never expected to hear despite the fact she occasionally lost her youkai powers as well, though she'd no reason to believe such a thing happened to hanyou as well having really never fully meeting one until now. Placing down her chopsticks down as she was handed the texts to look over, she started gingerly skimming over it. "This is... This is a list of shrines!" The feline's tail began to wiggle again as she continued to glance over the writings, there seemed to be a hope come over her. "I... I don't know where Yuzuki went, or why, but maybe... She wasn't exactly a priestess, but she seemed like one, was easily thought of as one, and just maybe... There's a chance one of these shrines is housing her or heard about where she went. I'll even take anything they know about her at this point..." There was almost a desperation to the way she talked and poured over the list and descriptions, absorbed in anything that seemed to stand out to her. 'This really is more than I could have every asked or hoped for, it might not lead me right to her, but it will lead me to anyone who might be able to help,' she thought to herself, trying hard not to let her grip tighten too hard on the fairly old manuscripts. "I hope... I finally find her..." Glancing over to Mitsuyoshi, there was a relief among the the heartache in her expression. "This is an incredible gift, more than I could have hoped for in all of my blind wandering, and a great help even if it doesn't take me directly to her... I just... Have to know what happened... Why she left me on my own..." She found a place to put the texts down that they wouldn't be ruined, intent that they'd be following after them likely by morning once they were ready to go.

[Taishou89]

"Well, from what I've seen of Merchants, they don't tend to abandon their goods for long even in fright. Their whole livelihoods rests on their merchandise, and especially from the items here, these merchants don't seem to be apart of a larger business. I'd wager they'll be back in the morning, either with the Magistrate or some armed Villagers, but most definitely it would be at day light as most fear going out in the dark." It was possible they wouldn't return, but one thing he was certain about is that Merchants, especially lesser merchants, wouldn't abandon their goods entirely unless there was a real threat to their lives unlike other commoners.


"Heh, yeah... There's at least one day out of the year that I turn norm-al" His ears went back as he paused when he realized that he used the term that many in his father's court referred to. "... Er Human I mean." feeling a tad awkward considering that Koneko was a Yokai half breed herself, but not a human-youkai half breed.Though as time went on it became less used, it still had some impact on him. In all honesty, he'd never thought turning human for a day was normal, It was one of the few times that he would get sick or suffer ailments without his hanyou healing abilities, but it felt shameful to be referred to as 'normal' when it was only one day out of the year that he'd turn that way.  "I vaguely remember it, but I turned into human for an entire day and my father summoned a priestess from far far away. Some lady who looked older than time... She  explained to my father that this would occur for Half breeds... "He paused as he gazed into the fire. "...They thought I was sleeping, but I remember... she encouraged my father to kill me." Pausing as the memory replayed in his head. "...But Akari stopped General Hayashi. She was able to convince my Father of another path. To tame me so that I would not become a demon." he perked up, realizing that the mood was getting down, and he didn't want to ruin it. "Anyhow, Anything in those scrolls that'll help you?" Trying to shift the conversation.

He was very pleased to hear Koneko perk up at the contents of the scroll, It definitely sounded like great news. "Yuzuki? Is this the person you mentioned that you were looking for?" He asked, as his ears perked up. He was very happy to see a ray of hope shine from her and if he had a tail of his own, it would be impossible to hide it's wagging. Although he sensed her relief, he also sensed a twinge of pain in her at the end of her exclamation. "She must have been really important to you ne?" as he noticed by her body language and tones. "Well, it's settled!" he perked up standing up suddenly. "I will accompany you and help you Find Yuzuki!" Forgetting the pain in his hip and thigh for a brief moment before it suddenly hit him. "Oooff!" as he rubbed his hip, forgoing any attempt to save face at this point since he just outed himself. "I'll be fine..." He chuckled as he tried to down play it.

[Koneko]

Koneko took into consideration what he had to say about the merchants, especially the fact they might come back with an attempt to be armed. 'Sounds like I'll need to keep alert and assume my disguise quickly or it could really cause us both some problems if they come across us without it,' she thought, not keen on the possibility of unnecessary additions to an already likely sticky situation. Then she noted how Mitsuyoshi spoke of turning human and then the change in him over it. The initial use of 'normal' as if his current state wasn't wasn't so - no doubt it was more a method of talking about it picked up from the humans that had surrounded him as the way he looked now was already normal by all accounts. Then she heard all else he had to say, even the notions he'd overheard that he should be killed or tamed like that of a beast, yet at least one of those had spared his life. "Seems the fate of half-breeds to struggle to find a place," she commented lightly before the conversation shifted. She wasn't nearly so keen to mention much about her father's clan or other struggles she'd faced in light of her own mixed blood, but a sense of kinship was there in having faced death and narrowly escaping it in some regard.

As the topic focused in on her elation over the manuscripts, Koneko began to answer his questions now that she'd clearly spurred a few from talking out loud in her hopefulness. With a nod, she responded with a look of melancholy, "Un, Yuzuki is the one I've been looking for she's... She is everything to me and I wouldn't be here right now without her." Flinching and nearly jumping as her new friend stood suddenly with such vigor, she looked up at him with bewilderment until she couldn't help but smile widely and laugh once it became clear he'd been hiding his pain from the earlier incident by the river. "A-are you alright?" she managed to get out between breaths and snorts, unable to contain herself as she at least tried to seem polite by hiding her mouth behind her hand. "M-m-maybe you should stay sitting d-down," she suggested through her gently slowing outburst, now little more than giggles as he confirmed he was fine and tried to down play his pain and embarrassment. Once she'd finally contained herself and wiped away some gathered tears from her roaring laughter she then made another proposition, "why don't we finish eating and then we can rest and keep an ear out for if you're right about those merchants. I'd think we'll need a moment before they can get close enough to take care of our appearances or it may be trouble." Glancing down at the texts, then back to him with a quaint smile, she added in, "come what may with the morning, once we're ready then we can decide which of the locations on this list we want to pursue first."

Picking back up her chopsticks she'd set down, she began to dig right back into the food, crunching a few more bits with a content look on her face before stretching and sitting in some relaxation when a yawn overtook her. "Seems all the activity today has caught up with me finally," the feline joked, glancing around for the most comfortable way to at least rest her eyes, "that youkai at the river was the second fight I've been in today, and that's not to mention everything with waking you up." After she mentioned it, she thought over the couple of moments she'd thought she'd need to defend herself, then once more to the unbecoming moment of being fallen upon by Mitsuyoshi, though she tried to brush off the thought of that awkward moment quickly with a slight shake of her head, and lastly thought over once again the incredible thanks she witnessed for her help. "If it's not too much trouble with your own current sore spot, I wouldn't mind taking the opportunity to be the first to get a little sleep." Scooting herself a little closer to the tree to use it to keep her back propped up, she nestled her blade against her in her arms and yawned again, curling her tail over her own lap. "If there's any need, please don't hesitate to wake me," she uttered tiredly as sleepiness began to take hold, "or if you hear anyone coming... I'd hate for my looks to cause trouble before i could... Do something about it..." With that said, her eyes drooped shut and she drifted off, only the faint sound of her breathing able to be heard from her and she seemed fairly peaceful.

A little ways into the morning, not too much time after the sun had risen, one of Koneko's ears flicked as it caught the sound of footsteps: familiar footsteps. Her head raising from how it hung and eyes just barely opening, she took a moment to process what she heard. 'The merchants? The footsteps seem familiar but I don't hear running like I did last night,' she thought, only really able to process the familiarity and main point she heard any since she'd slept harder than she meant to. 'Either way someone's heading this way, I should disguise...' Rubbing her eyes with one of her hands, she suddenly changed her look with almost a 'pop' and a little cloud of smoke that dissipated quickly. In that instant, her normally telling features of what she was were gone and replaced with a nearly completely human look, save that her ears on close inspection still had slight points to them and she looked and sounded masculine by comparison to what her new companion had been used to from her the entire night. "Sounds like maybe you were right about the merchants..." she managed to remark before they'd be encroached upon.

[Taishou89]

"R-really.. I-I'll be fine... 90 years is a long time, guess I'm just starting feel that age." Jokingly, as he attempted to downplay the pain before slowly sitting back down again. Although he was a little embarrassed that he had showed his hand, Seeing Koneko laugh reminded him of some of his more positive memories of Akari and Ayame so he didn't mind it really. In fact it was kind of relieving to see a new friend laugh. He certainly felt a lot lighter and refreshed about the circumstances of the evening and the future seemed a lot brighter than before now that he had at least one friend in this new world.


"I've had more than enough sleep, so please rest easy." Mitsuyoshi took his sword and let it rest against his body as he crossed his arms over it, placing his hands into his sleeved. Noticing her voice trail off as she fell asleep, smiling at the peaceful sight before turning his gaze out across the fields at the old castle as the earlier memory of Mitsutada's revelations of Akari's sudden disappearance came to mind, followed by the memory of Koneko mention how the water held a similar blood scent to his own. 'Akari... Why did you disappear?' These thoughts would occupy most of his thoughts as he stood watch through the night, but eventually fell into a light sleep, light enough to wake at the slightest sound or scent, but enough to at least recharge just a bit.

As the eastern horizon started to lighten, Mitsuyoshi found himself waking just as the sun began to crest. His ears suddenly caught a faint sound of footsteps against the dirt road. "Hmm..." he opened his eyes and yawned, stretching out his arms, before slowly rising from his position. As the morning mist kept him from spotting anybody, it was undoubtedly so that someone was heading this way on the road when the thought suddenly hit him 'My ears!'. Rushing over to the merchant's cart, he quickly started looking through the crate of clothing and cloth. 'There must be something I can use!' he thought as he frantically searched until his hand brushed a lacquered case near the bottom of the crate. Pulling the case out he opened it up, finding much to his relief something that he could use.

He quickly undid the hair tie that Koneko had gifted him, allowing his hair to fall and cover where his 'Human ears' would be before fixing the tall Tate Eboshi atop his head, gently stuffing his wolf ears pointed upwards into the hat and tightening the draw string of the leather band to ensure a good fit. It was the more formal version of headwear that a noble or someone in a higher position might wear, but it would have to suffice. Hearing Koneko pop into a cloud of smoke and suddenly appear as a human male. "Intriguing!" he blurted out as he witnessed her transformation. "I believe so, but-" He stopped, squinting across the misty field he was able to make out the sight of a small group of human like figures approaching. There were approximately 6 or 7 of them and they did indeed seem to be wielding make shift weapons. "Our Humble benefactors seems to have returned with company " He said before climbing down from the cart, he fixed the Kazega in his Obi before walking to Mitsutada's chest and retrieving one of the stacks of coins and broke it's wrapping to separate them, before stuffing them into his old coin pouch fixed to his obi.

As the group got closer and closer, Mitsuyoshi could make out that they were led by an older, slightly fatter man dressed too nicely for a farmer, but much more less formal than a Noble who walked with a passion as if he were on an important mission. "I'd wager the fatter man is the Merchant..." He said loud enough for Koneko to hear as his eyes moved on to the younger looking skinnier man dressed similarly, his attitude seemed a bit skittish. "... The nervous skinny one behind him must be one as well." As he scanned the group following them, he counted 6 making 8 men in all. The 6 other men were obviously men in their prime, but dressed as they were, Mitsuyoshi was certain they were all just farmers and much to his relief they weren't Samurai from the Magistrate's office. 2 of the Farmers were armed with proper Yari spears, likely taken from dead Samurai, while the other 4 were armed with a combination of Kama and wood splitting axes. 

"The rest seem to be farmers, thankfully they aren't with the Magistrate's office." Mitsuyoshi gave a sigh of relief. "If they were with the Magistrate, we would face much more scrutiny and inquiry. I think we may be able to talk our way out of this. How would you like to proceed?" Mitsuyoshi looked to Koneko as if she were a superior. Although he saw her as a friend, he couldn't help deferring to her as the the senior of the two. It would take some time for him to overcome that urge which had been indoctrinated into him. "Hey there!" Murada, the senior Merchant, called out to them. He and the group were still some fair distance away, but well within range to call out. This gave the two a brief moment to formulate their plan on how to deal with the group.

[Koneko]

Looking up, it became apparent to her that Mitsuyoshi had scrambled to disguise his own appearance with what he could find, a small bit of amusement on Koneko's face between that and his comment about her appearance change as she got up from the ground and replaced her sword through her himo (hakama straps) finally. Glancing over to see what she could make out of the approaching men and seeing what he saw, she began to think of how they were going to get out of this while quickly scooping up the texts and hiding them within her kimono to avoid them getting left or damaged. "Those men I imagine aren't very skilled with those weapons, but I think you're right that we could talk our way out of this before it gets that far..." Then her eyes quickly tracked around the area and pondered over the events of the previous night. "That youkai's corpse..." she trailed off for a moment before softly smacking a balled fist against her other open palm as an idea came to her, "I got it! Maybe we can use our little issue from last night as an excuse, say we thought who might've owned these items got eaten because no one was here when we found this and we almost did ourselves. The freshly dug grave was for a third with us that fell to the creature before we could end it, perhaps then they'd be willing to just take compensation." She may not have had the best knowledge of interacting with humans aside from the means to get by, but she did at least understand fairly well most humans tended to view others more favorably between acts of heroism and decently fair trades.

Her eyes then gave a side glance to her companion again, and another thought came to her from seeing the Tate Eboshi on his head mixed with hopes maybe he had more of a silver tongue talking to humans as their time to plot was inevitably running short. "And maybe I'm just your hired hand for extra protection, so was our 'third' until he got killed... Err... That is if you think you might be able to smooth talk them a little bit..." She wasn't necessarily keen on putting him on the spot either, but formulating a plan was an entirely different thing from coming across the right way to these humans to pull it off. Short conversation for necessity and putting up either a polite or threatening aura with the depending situation was more her strong suit - at least when it came to holding a human disguise. "From what you mentioned they aren't likely to question us too hard, so that might do it... Besides, I only overheard them as they ran, never went out to talk with them, so there's no real reason for them to recognize me either," she added, trying to sound a bit encouraging to her off-the-cuff plan.

Seeing the farmers a bit on edge with the weapons they held despite them being called out to, time was growing short before they'd have to start fighting with words to avoid a physical altercation. 'I'm not keen on getting skewered by panicked humans, getting their blades in me is more of an inconvenience, but exposing what we are and letting them run away to tell others about us could cause trouble for passing through anywhere nearby to here... I don't want those kinds of rumors getting out or my search and occasionally having a prepared meal and warm place to sleep may be in jeopardy...' Shifting to at least seem more like a body guard at the ready, she questioned one last time with a serious look, "Think you can hold to acting like my superior? 'Cause I'm relying on you to wordsmith our way out of this with only a little bit from me here or there as necessary." Observing to see once he was ready, she then called out to the group of eight, her currently masculine voice holding a defensive tone in a body guard act, "who approaches?! State your intent!"

[Taishou89]

Mitsuyoshi smirked as he heard her proposal, it was a clever plan and it would make perfect sense and the creature's body would be convincing proof. He was a little intrigued that she would ask him to do the talking, but remembered the head wear he had on and his armor. It made sense for him explain their situation appearing to have a more ranking appearance. "Well, talking to commoners shouldn't be a problem, and I used to lead a company of conscripts long ago, so you can leave your faith in me." He spoke to her just after she called out to the approaching party.

"I am Nishiyama, Murada! Chief of Nishiyama Trading Company." The merchant called out before stopping the group from approaching, recognizing that the two men at their campsite appeared to be warriors, likely Ronin. In his own mind he hoped that these Ronin weren't malicious and intent, it was hard enough trying to get the 6 farmers that he could to accompany them unless he offered to pay them extra, they'd hardly be willing to fight skilled warriors and he could already sense their anxiety as it was. "Mr. Nishiyama, this is a bit beyond what we agreed to." one of the farmers spoke up in a hushed tone. "Shh! I will talk to them, I promise that you will get your pay." He quickly retorted in a hushed voice thinking the two Ronin couldn't hear before turning back to the ronin. "These items belong to the Nishiyama Trading Company. Who are you?" He called out. "B-but Murada-san, what if they are demons though?" the skinny one spoke hushed. "Not now Jiro... Spirits and demons don't come out in the day." Murada retorted quietly.

"Good morning to you Nishiyama-dono. It is pleasing to find the owners of these items to be in good condition." Mitsuyoshi started in a formal tone of voice and speech, as he stepped forward from behind the cart. "We thought that the owners were eaten by the demon that we ran into not far from here, and I apologize that helped ourselves to some much needed supplies from your goods. Please Approach and we can share our story with you and perhaps we can come to an accord for the use of your goods, though please have your men stand down. We mean none of you any harm." His smile warm and welcoming as he gestured for the Merchants to approach. As the two merchants approached, Mitsuyoshi could sense the apprehension from the older man's companion. Murada looked between both ronin before bowing and introducing his skittish companion "This is Nishiyama, Jiro... My apprentice. May we ask to whom we are speaking to?" as Jiro hesitantly bowed as well.

"I am Nagano, Mitsuyoshi and this is my companion Koneko." Mitsuyoshi introduced them before suddenly realizing he introduced Koneko as herself despite her appearance as a man. 'Ooops..' He hoped that she would be able to forgive him. "Koneko? What an unusual name for a man..." Murada responded as the gears of curiosity started turning in his head as to how a man could come to be named such, much less one belonging to the warrior class.

[Koneko]

The disguised feline smirked internally to keep her fierce look as Mitsuyoshi not only agreed, he gave an air of confidence to talk them around this group. Then hearing him speak she knew this plan would work. 'Perfect,' she thought, 'we'll be out of this and on our way in no time.' She could already hear the farmers nervousness at their skill, feeling the plan to get them through this was fool-proof. 'No doubt they see what's left of that youkai by the river and they'll realize they can't best us and take the compensation, they're already practically ready to come to an agreement!'

Pleased with how this was going, she relaxed her stance, acting as if standing down on behalf of a master she served. Standing tall and proper, but with a hint of being at the ready, she continued to think smugly until a few moments after she heard it. "...and this is my companion Koneko." It took a moment for it to sink in, taking every ounce of herself to keep the composure one she realized the mistake, the one thing they forgot to determine - what they should say for her name. First it was a moment of panic, would they question such a name as suspicious?! Then the way Murada inquired his skepticism clicked a little switch of rage in her mind. Unusual. Unusual?! Certainly it wasn't a 'wrong' question, but it still angered her that the name her own father had chosen for her was called 'unusual.' Giving a side-eyed glare to Mitsuyoshi, wordlessly indicating she'd have words after this was over, she fought with all her might to hold back the rage that threatened to seep out, knowing that getting out of this predicament without blowing cover had to remain the priority.

"A-ah, yes... You see, my father was slain in battle before my birth and it drove my mother mad with grief. In such a sorry state, she gave me a girl's name and refused to see me as a boy until I was removed from her care, and I've had to prove myself on skill alone to reclaim some form of dignity for my family in the wake of her madness ever since," Koneko lied on the spot, trying to twist her rage into sounding distraught, or at least use her frustration over the slip-up to sound as if it was something that brought her great shame. 'M-mother... Father... I'm so sorry for having to besmirch your love, care and name you gave me like this... I hope you both understand and don't think ill of my actions just to get out of this situation.' On the outside she was barely managing to keep poised, but deep down she was between sobbing and a roaring inferno.

[Taishou89]

'Be calm Koneko, please be calm.' He pleaded in his mind right after Murada's statement of how unusual her name was. It was almost as if Mitsuyoshi could sense her anger, almost as if she radiated an Aura of insult and he felt as if her eyes were piercing him and he dared not turn to look and confirm it. "You must have really loved your Mother to have kept it even after turning into a fine man, I can respect that." Murada replied calmly as he shifted his attention back to the one who seemed in charge, much to Mitsuyoshi's relief it seemed they had avoided any further suspicion and Koneko had seemed to contain herself and keep her composure. "I can see that you've made quite good use of our inventory..." as his thoughts grew to concern that there might not be anything worthwhile to repay the farmers with, but he was more intrigued to know more about the 'demon' that this young warrior had mentioned. "We are prepared to compensate you for your goods, and we do apologize for helping ourselves, however we are glad to see you are in fine health." Mitsuyoshi mentioned to ease the Merchant's mind.

"... You mentioned a demon?" Murada suddenly asked, more intrigued about confirming what they had witnessed last night. "Yes, a large water reptile of some kind, it is just lying down this path on the riverbank. If you'd like to see, we can show you, but I must warn it's smell is atrocious." Mitsuyoshi pointed down towards the riverbank as he stood up to escort the group. "We were very grateful to find your camp last night, as we had been traveling for quite some time. Unfortunately the circumstances were suspicious as to why someone would abandon all these goods, until we were attacked by the demon." He paused to let the story sink in as they approached the river. They hadn't even made it half ways down the path before it's smell had hit them. Wrinkling his nose and covering it with his sleeve as the farmers and merchants all recoiled and gasped at the sight of the corpse.

Leading the group back towards the Campsite, His tone got serious and dark as he tried to keep his composure. The thought of how he was just about to use brother as part of this white lie of a story bothered him slightly. Although He knew in his heart Mitsutada would have forgiven him, it still didn't seem right. "... Unfortunately... One of our other comrades taken and slain by the demon and we had to bury him here." As he maintained his composure, but relaxing it just enough to let a little sense of loss and grief. The Farmers seemed to be taking it and especially the skinny merchant who seemed to suddenly be thrilled slightly of such bravery. Murada, however, seemed not so easily convinced. "It's kind of funny but the 'demon' we saw last night didn't look anything like that one there... It was a woman dressed like a priestess and it had an army of spirits."

Mitsuyoshi was taken a little aback, having underestimated the merchant as he kept his facial expression unsurprised while he formulated what to say next. "Well, in our experiences with Demons, they tend to be crafty creatures and can conjure up illusions, some even pose as humans." Murada seemed to take it in a little until he responded. "How do we know you're not demons posing as humans?" at this response the anxiety that plagued Jiro seemed to return as the thought crept back into his head. Mitsuyoshi felt a little concerned that the old man had saw right through their act, but maintained his cool. He was confident enough that if things turn for the worse, both he and Koneko could probably make it out of there alive and hopefully without an angry mob on their tail once word got back to their village. "You're very right! Maybe we are demons..." Mitsuyoshi started, surprising everyone for a moment. "... But maybe we're just warriors of skill that have turned our ways of service to ridding the land of Demons. It's good of you to question that because you never know who may actually be a demon! For all I know Perhaps you are one!" he pointed at Jiro which caused the man to fret further "M-M-Me?" the fearful merchant pointed at himself as the farmers started to grip their weapons. "... Or even you..." he then casually pointed at Murada whose facial expression turned to surprise.

Before the Farmers could begin to express their own concerns or turn on their employers, Mitsuyoshi interjected again. "... Don't worry. We know neither of you are demons... We are specialists and we can tell but enough of our glories." He cut the conversation short, wanting to hurry up and get out of this situation before any more inquiries arose. "So you're demon slayers?" Murada spoke up, before Mitsuyoshi could change the topic. Glancing at Koneko then back to Murada "Why Yes, yes we are." Mitsuyoshi responded, much to Jiro and the Farmer's delight who all started to butt in with their hands clapsed as if in prayer and began to tell of their ailments back in their village which they thought were caused by demons. "I think my Mother in law is a demon! can you help me please?!" One of the farmers exclaimed while another pushed his way in "I think my wife has been possessed, Is there anything you can do?!"

 "Ehhh??? Um... People! Please, We only handle demons, your local Priest or monks can probably help you with all of those issues, our specialty is more combat related than excision!" Mitsuyoshi attempted to calm the farmers just when Murada exploded. "Be Silent!" He exclaimed as he waved them away annoyed at their crowding. "We are grateful that you've ridden the world of the demon, but perhaps we should discuss our compensation now." He spoke as the rest of the humans nodded in agreement, including the farmers. 'Thank the Gods...' Mitsuyoshi thought to himself, he'd been trying to steer the conversation to this point since he showed them the Hounengyo. "Very well, he reached into his coin pouch and withdrew 2 of the gold oval shaped coins and placed them on the floor in front of Murada. "Would this be sufficient?" Mitsuyoshi proposed, although knowing that this was more than sufficient for the food and sake they consumed and he thought the generosity would go a long way at getting them out of there quicker. Murada picked up the coins and appeared to inspect it before waving to Jiro and pointing to the cart. Jiro, almost instinctively, rose and climbed into the cart and began conducting a kind of inventory.

In no time Jiro stood up and promptly held up the number 8 to Murada. "8?" Mitsuyoshi sat back shocked at the estimation. "The tate eboshi is worth 2, and the Sake is a special recipe from the South and worth 2, and the Hair tie with the golden dragon on Mr. Koneko's hair is specially imported from Ming China and worth 3, Bringing the total to 8." The skinny merchant said nonchalantly, a total change from the anxious feeling he was giving off most of the time there. Mitsuyoshi glanced to Koneko with a surprised look that both of their head wear would cost so much, but sighed and reached into his pouch and withdrew the last 7 coins and placed them on the ground with the other two. "We'll give you 10 if you don't mind letting us provision ourselves for our own journey. We'd also like another bottle of that fine Southern Sake." 

With a big grin on his face, Murada couldn't help to exclaim "Deal! Pleasure doing business with you. Jiro will see to your provisions! And thank you for slaying the demon and doing the country a great service!" As he waved to Jiro bossily before standing and Taking a sack of rice and one of the bottles of Sake and handing it to one of the farmers as payment. "Thank you for your service as well, safe journey back to the village!" Mitsuyoshi couldn't help but feel like they may have just been swindled, but was relieved the matter was over and it wasn't like they had lost all of their gold coins, as there were 4 more stacks of gold coin, each bundle holding 10 in their wrap. Jiro placed a small basket with straps down in front of Koneko. "There's more of the dried fish, picked vegetables, Onigiri, Sake, and as a thank you for slaying the demon I've even thrown in some red bean rice cakes we had picked up just yesterday. Thank you for all you've done Mr. Koneko!"

Mitsuyoshi stood up, gathered everything from the chest his brother had left, not wanting to leave any of it for the Murada, suspecting that he'd as soon take that as well to turn a profit. Placing the empty chest at his brother's grave, he bowed his head. "Thank you Mitsutada and sorry for this... Rest easy" He bowed again before approaching Koneko with a nervous smile hoping she forgot his little slip up earlier. "Where to?" He could feel a sweat drop on his forehead as really hoped she'd forgotten it by now.