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Disclaimer: MINE.

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A/N: Well...erm...y'see, a while back, I stopped writing Yesterday's Mistakes for a while, and during that absence...this appeared...Yeah; if you don't like Yesterday's Mistakes, then maybe you'll like this. It's a rather LONG short story that I split into two parts. (Kind of contradicting, no?) It's EXTREMELY long, but I just couldn't get into it enough to make it into a full-fledged epic. If I get a good response for Part One, then I'll upload Part Two as well. The two stories (YM and T:TK) have a few things in common, but then have quite a few differences as well. I hope you enjoy. Even if you do like Yesterday's Mistakes and read it a lot, I hope you can still enjoy this for what it is. Arigato.

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Prologue

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"Catch me, Daddy!" the little girl shrieked as she leapt from the second highest branch of the short maple oak that stood in the front gardens of her father's estates.

The little girl's father caught her with a booming laugh and proceeded to swing her around in the air. The child screamed happily before throwing her arms around her father's neck.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Mai."

She clung to her father with an iron grip and was about to say something else but their loving moment was interrupted by one of her father's guards.

"Sir." He bowed quickly. "There's been an attack on the front gates."

Mai's eyes widened with fear. No one ever attacked her daddy's home unless there was a war going on. Was this another battle filled with loss? She didn't want to lose another person she loved. Her mother was already dead. Who would be taken this time?

"It's the samurai of the 3rd Division. They're breaking through our defenses much too quickly. We believe that they may have planted spies within the estate."

Her father's eyes clouded with anger and he abruptly lowered his daughter to the ground, trying not to startle her. "Why wasn't I informed sooner?!" he demanded, scowling. Mai gripped the cloth of her father's pants worriedly.

"I myself was only told of it minutes ago, sir. I came as quickly as I could."

After a moment Mai's father dismissed him. He sighed and glanced down wistfully into her wide blue eyes, then crouched down beside her and took her hands in his own.

"Mai-"

"You have to go fight, don't you?" she asked softly, averting her gaze. Her father was silent for a moment.

"Yes."

She sniffed once, trying to keep her tears from falling. The next time she looked up, her face was filled with a cheerfulness that could only be forced. "It's alright. I'll wait here for you to get back, Daddy," she told him, laying her hand on his cheek and smiling. "Don't worry."

Her father was unable to keep from smiling. "I'll return as soon as I can, Mai," he said, squeezing her hands once before getting to his feet once more. "I promise." With that, he smiled widely before turning around and rushing off.

That was the last time Mai saw her father.

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Mikka Tonbo: Tasukete Kudasai
((3rd Dragonfly: Please Help Me))
Part One

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The village wasn't that small for one that was so far away from Kyoto and Edo. In fact it was larger than most of the ones that I had seen on my travels so far.

I shifted feet and glanced around at the fields, wondering how people could manage to keep laboring at the same darn thing every single day. I got bored after walking for ten minutes, let alone farming and cooking and cleaning everyday like workers in the villages did.

"Geez these people work hard," I said, stretching my arms out high above my head and glancing around at the sweating male workers that spotted the fields. I was shocked by how amazingly tall and strong-looking they were. "I can't ever remember seeing anyone work like this besides Kenji. And he only worked when the lower servants were sick or over-worked or-"

"WELCOME!" a voice rang out merrily, cutting me off obliviously. "And who might you be, my dear?" An alarmingly happy-looking man suddenly appeared in front of me. To my great surprise he stood taller than any of the workers; he looked as though he might be seven feet tall.

As I surveyed him, he also surveyed me, and I wondered what I looked like through his eyes, with my kimono being made of strange black silk with red and yellow flowers. I had my hair covered by a dark blue scarf, and had tucked up my bangs and the short braid into the knot. The only way that they would ever see my head was if I died first. I was no longer going to go around revealing myself as a freak to all the good, normal people spotting the Japanese country-side. I was no longer that stupid.

"May I ask why you are traveling alone fair lady? What is your name? Do you have relatives here, perhaps?" The man was revealing himself more and more very second to be either a complete pervert that was mistaking me for a girl from a brothel, or a frighteningly well-meaning person (which was most likely impossible).

"My name is Mai Yojimbo. I am on my way to Edo and have trav-"

"YOU'RE a YOJIMBO?" the man suddenly interrupted me, grabbing me by my shoulders. "Are you REALLY a bodyguard? Are you looking for a job? Please say that you are! Please grant us your protection, Mai- joshi!"

'Joshi?' I thought, shaking and blushing in embarrassment. 'San, maybe...but not joshi...Maybe that's going a little TOO far! I'm not that great! There are plenty of body guards for hire wandering around here!'

You are greater than you think, said a tiny voice in my mind.

I shook my head furiously to rid myself of it as the man continued to plead with me, now on his knees, hands clasped before him in prayer.

"-we promise that we will pay you well, in fact we swear it! Please, please, please say that you'll grant us your protection, Yojimbo-joshi! Please! Please, I beg of you!"

"Well, actually sir, I'm really in a hurry to get to Edo and-"

"OH PLEASE, Mai Yojimbo-joshi! Please stay here and protect us! Please, they said that they would come back for our winter harvest soon...we can't let them take our harvest, Mai-joshi...it's all we will have to feed our-"

I held up a hand quickly and helped the man rise to his feet. The immensely happy look that had occupied his face minutes ago was now replaced by complete desperation.

"Alright," I said, clasping him on the shoulder. "STOP...Why do you need me to protect you, why haven't you hired another yojimbo yet, and who the hell do you need me to protect you from?"

A look of great surprise flashed across the man's face, and I realized that maybe I shouldn't have sworn. But then suddenly the shock was replaced by respect; perhaps swearing only increased my "reputation".

"Please, Mai-joshi! I will explain it all to you, but only if you promise you let me invite you to my home! My wife makes wonderful rice cakes and we have plenty of sake that we have saved for a special occasion such as this! As the leader of this village, I insist that you come to my home and let me take care of your needs before explaining our situation! We shall let you get clean and perhaps my wife can help you with a new kimono or maybe fix your hair-"

"NO!" I burst out suddenly, and then clamped my hand over my mouth. "I...I mean...I mean, no, arigato, but no...my hair...is something I can...uh...handle for myself..."

The man cast me a strange look but then seemed to forget my outburst. "Then you will join my family in dinner tonight, Mai Yojimbo-joshi?" he asked eagerly, already starting to lead me down the dirt road farther away from the fields.

A hot bath, food, sake, a new kimono, AND a job? No yojimbo in their RIGHT MINDS would EVER pass up an opportunity like that!

"Alright, sir, you have yourself a deal! I'll listen to your job offer as soon as I get some food is my belly!" I said, grinning agreeably and nodding to finalize it.

The man cheered and began to lead me even more quickly towards the cluster of houses that made up their village.

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I sighed happily as I slid farther down into the water of the bath. I was surprised at the size of the village leader's bath house; considering how poor villages such as this usually were, people usually tended to share houses this size with at least five other families.

Anyway, it felt great to get all the dirt I'd gathered on the road off and get a new kimono on.

"Are you enjoying your bath?" asked the leader's wife, coming forward to hand me a towel. I nodded excitedly, and thanked her for the cloth.

"I am going to prepare dinner now," she said, and bowed, coming up with a smile. "I'm going to leave you by yourself now. Enjoy your bath, Yojimbo-joshi!" I watched carefully as she left the house, sliding the shoji screen shut after her and then listened intensely until her footsteps were no longer able to hear.

I let loose a great sigh of relief and finally reached up to remove the sash that covered my hair. Running my fingers through it felt nice, and I realized how long it had been since I had been able to remove the scarf...about three weeks, almost half of the time that I had been traveling to Edo. I took a breath and then ducked my head under the surface, letting the warm water swarm into my hair, removing most of the dirt and dust that filled it. I let out a gasp for air as I broke the top of the bathwater once more and shook my head a few times to release some of the water that still clung to it.

"Aahhh..." I sighed leaning back and grinning uncontrollably to myself, "now THIS is the life. Oops!"

I had almost forgotten! I reached up and opened my eyes wide. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I was finished and placed the covers on the side of the tub. Then I went under water again, and opened my eyes to let the water clear them up.

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I sat quietly as the food was served, breathing in the wonderful smells of sushi and rice cakes and other marvelous food that I hadn't eaten since I'd left Kyoto.

"We offer you a prayer, Buddha," said Junei, as the leader had revealed himself. "We thank you for this meal and this day and we wish that you may help us reach eternal truth."

Unlike these people I wasn't Buddhist. In fact, I'd never really followed a religion that closely. As it was, I didn't agree very well with Buddhism, but I wasn't about to argue about religious beliefs with people that were sheltering, feeding, and clothing me.

I watched as Junei's wife, Keiko bowed her head once and then began to serve her husband and me.

"Mai Yojimbo-joshi," began Junei. "For the past five months our village has been ravaged by a pair of ronin who call themselves the Sword. Week after week they have demanded food and clothing of us and have threatened to destroy our fields if we do not concede. We are not warriors, Mai-joshi." A look of pain and sadness crossed his face and filled his eyes. "We are but simple farmers that work hard, full lives and pray that we may remain undisturbed; but as of late the Sword haven't let us have that peace any longer."

I nodded in understanding and reached forward to separate my chopsticks. "And you want me to rid you of this gang called the...the Sword was it? So what should I do? Do you want me to kill them or I could perhaps drag them to the nearest Bansho and see if there is a price on their heads. If you want them dead, I can have their heads on steaks here by the end of 24 hours-"

"No!" gasped Junei in horror, reaching forward suddenly but then drawing back. "No," he repeated, clenching his fists and looking into his lap. "We don't want to have them killed or anything...we just wish to rid ourselves of them. Perhaps taking them to a Bansho would be for the would allow you to keep both our payment and the reward if you wished. We can also provide a guide to Edo...I think you are headed in the wrong direction, for Edo lies that way," he said, pointing northwest.

I felt my jaw drop and my eyes grow angry.

"I've been traveling in the wrong direction the ENTIRE TIME?" I yelled furiously and then gasped and clamped a hand over my mouth. "I apologize, sir."

Junei laughed loudly and patted me on the back. "I guess that's a yes on the guide to Edo, then," he said and then raised his cup of sake to his lips.

Suddenly a call broke through the air, disrupting Junei's amusement. His eyes suddenly grew very wide and he dropped the sake immediately.

"Oh no," he whispered. "They're here!" He threw his eyes toward me and reached forward to pull me up from the table. "You must get to the fields and stop them! There's no way we can let them get a hold on our harvest!"

"But wait a second!" I yelled above the screams and shouts that arose from outside. "You still need to tell me what price you'll pay, and what weapons they hold, and where-"

"NO TIME! The smaller one who calls himself the Bent Blade has a long sword, a katana I think it's called; it's a lot like the one in the other room! The other one, the one that wears a bandana on his head that is much like yours hasn't been seen with any weapons yet, but he still seems able to destroy anything that gets in his way!"

I glanced urgently around but then stopped mid-swerve. "DID YOU SAY THAT YOU HAVE A KATANA IN THE OTHER ROOM?" I shouted, the noise from the villagers growing louder by the minute.

"YES, BUT-!" Junei shouted back, confused. Suddenly his face lit up as he saw the question in my eyes and he nodded, gesturing down the hall to his left. I nodded and then he went off to help the villagers calm down.

I sighed and stretched my arms out above my head. It had been a long time since my last good fight...and I was ready for another.

I ran down the direction to which Junei had pointed and slid open several shoji until I finally reached a big ominous room, occupied only by a katana and its stand. I rushed forward, sliding on the slippery wooden floor and grabbing the katana, kicking open a shoji screen opposite to the one already behind me. As I slid out onto the deck on the other side of the house, I heard a huge crash and threw my head back.

I watched in crazed amazement as a huge cloud of dirt rose up and through the house. I jumped to my feet and sprinted in the direction of the noise, sliding through the house one room after another. Finally I reached the last shoji screen; I threw it open, almost ripping it from its hold.

The villagers that I had seen working so hard and calm before were now running and screaming in panic, mothers clutching at children, men clutching at the women and the children.

Just as I stepped off the stands, I heard a loud, high, female shriek. "SOMEBODY PLEEASE HELLP MEEEEE!"

"So they pick on women, huh?" I asked nobody, my blood beginning to boil. "Whoever these Sword guys are, they sure aren't following the Bushido." I slowly pulled the katana from its sheath and blinked twice, clearing my sight so that I could see through all the dirt through to the Sword. "I don't care how tough these 'Sword' morons think THEY are, but I refuse to let anyone destroy the peace of the Tokugawa. How low can a former samurai sink these days?"

I shook my head and laughed grimly, then launched myself through the dirt cloud, sprinting at the first silhouette.

"I won't let you terrorize these people any longer YOU BASTARDS!" I bellowed, jumping and raising the katana high above my head, in a stupid, frontal assault. I couldn't help it. My heart was about to burst with anger and my head was about to burst with all the rushing blood.

As I swung the sword down, I felt a strong force fly at me. I quickly dodged mid-air, rebounding off of the force and landing with the katana right inside one of the Sword's chests.

Or at least...it should have been in his chest.

The first thing I saw as the dust cleared was a pair of emerald green eyes. My own eyes grew wide with shock.

I was looking up into the face of a man that stood at about 6 foot 5. But it was impossible...he couldn't be...he couldn't be...like me, could he?

"It...It's impossible!" I gasped. The man that was blocking one of my most powerful attacks with such ease was taller than many of the men in the village, but still young, maybe five or six years older than me at the most. His hair was not visible, because, like me, his head was wrapped with a bandana, his dark red. He looked so average at first but his eyes...his eyes were green.

"What's the matter, little girl?" he asked, his face emotionless. "Surprised that you are attacking a freak?"

The force with which he pushed me away was enormous, but it seemed that it was easy by the way he did it.

"And what do we have here?"

Suddenly another man walked forward from the dust, and I wondered quickly if he was also strangely colored.

"Ah, a girlie," he whispered, approaching quickly, and helping me to my feet. I didn't trust him for a second, no matter how kind he was trying to act. Whispering and "girlie" were immediate turn-offs towards the truth.

I glanced up at the man, and realized that he, too, was barely older than I, maybe five or six years at the most. "Get your hands off of me!" I snapped, whipping out of his arms.

The other man laughed and patted the first man on the back. "Not just a girlie; I think we have ourselves a little ninja brat, Rapier!"

The man that had the bandana, who was obviously the Rapier, said nothing, and his face showed nothing.

"So you must be the Blade or whatever stupid name you call yourself, then," I said. I raised the katana and took a step away from both of them. "Tell me; where do you ronin get off terrorizing innocent villagers, anyway? Is it some diabolical scheme or something to get yourself into power somewhere?"

Again the Blade laughed while the Rapier remained expressionless.

"Actually it's more like a hobby, little ninja girl," he corrected. "You see, when they're sitting around all day with nothing to do, former samurai of the 3rd Division get a little bored if they don't get at least a tiny bit of action every now and again." He grinned at the mixture of surprise, anger, and hatred that I was sure shone on my face.

"You are of the Tonbo samurai that charged Ieyasu Tokugawa once he allied with Nataro Jenshishi?" I assumed, expertly holding the tip of the katana higher than my waist. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something flash in the expressionless face of the Rapier. Recognition...

I had been correct in my assumption, then. These men were the former samurai of the Tonbo. And, if my second assumption was also correct, then these men were the ones that had tried to kill the Shogun personally...something I would never forgive them for. NEVER.

"Ah so the little ninja girl has some knowledge of a time before she was even born, then does-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

This got his attention.

I began to breathe heavily, and I slowly moved my sight from the ground up into the face of the Blade.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY COMPREHENSION OF WHAT THE ATTACK ON THE SHOGUN DID TO MY LIFE? DO YOU?" My anger was so controlling that by then I was struggling to suck in air. I felt as though my head was about to explode from all the blood pounding in my ears.

My words, although they were heard, seemed to have no effect on the Blade.

"Tsk." He reached forward, and grabbed the blade of my katana, the blade slicing the palm of his hand and the fingers surrounding it. I watched in shock as his blood ran down the blade, all the way down the sword until it slid onto my hands, turning them crimson. I desperately wiped them clean with the edge of my kimono. He then pulled the katana aside and from my grasp, leaning down to shove his face into my own.

"Little ninja girl," he breathed, eyes wide and terrifying. "Do you have any idea of what the attack on the Shogun did to our lives?"

Again I was struggling for air, but now it was from the ebbing fear that pulsated through my skull.

"There's no possible way you could," he answered for himself, his eyes never losing mine. "The only way you could know was if you were there; the only way you could know was if you saw how many of our friends died that night. Don't SPEAK of things that you don't know anything about, alright, little ninja girl?"

There was a long silence, interrupted by nothing but a strong gust of air from behind the trees. I whispered something into the wind to myself, and sunk to my knees.

"What was that?" asked the Blade, also bending down, sneering.

"Don't call me that..."

He smirked, and suddenly I felt another strong wind blow through the village.

"Call you what, little ninja girl?"

I felt the deep hatred inside of me begin to grow once more.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I wrenched the katana from the Blade's loose fingers and whipped it around, slicing the sash that held his own sword to his waist and then I shoved the blade up towards the man's neck.

"I am not a NINJA," I panted, sliding the blade even closer to his throat. "I am the daughter of a GREAT warrior, no matter how slimy a man he ever served. I refuse to be mistaken for a common-day brothel-girl."

The man's face remained calm and he said nothing, only glared.

"That's quite enough."

Another blast of energy came soaring at me and sent me flying backwards straight into the trunk of one of the trees that lined the path that led to the village. I coughed as the wind was knocked from me and my eyes were filled with dust. My head had hit the bark at full force, and I had felt the knot of the bandana loosen at the back of my neck.

My only two defenses were slipping out from underneath my feet. Before I had caught my breath and regained my judgment I reached up desperately and rubbed my eyes vigorously, clearing them of dirt and dust. I had only realized what I had done until it was too late.

"Oh no," I gasped, blinking several times as two thin brown layers came out into my hand. "My eyes...No...my hair..."

"Stand up."

I almost glanced up but before I could immediately thrust my sight at the ground. There was no way in HELL that I was going to let him see what I looked like.

"Tell me," the Rapier asked, raising me to my feet and grabbing the top of my head. I averted my eyes the entire time. "Why do you also wear a bandana?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and tightened the bandana's hold around my skull, not answering.

"It is not a wise thing to remain silent," he advised, reaching forward and grabbing my chin, forcing my face forward. I suppose he looked me over momentarily (I couldn't tell because my eyes were still closed).

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

I shook my head to indicate that I wasn't planning on answering but I felt a large wind grow at my side and I realized that he was the one causing it. "I suggest you answer," said the Blade. He sounded as though he was standing maybe two or three feet behind the Rapier.

"I...won't..."

The Blade sighed. "Not the right decision, ninja girl."

For a second or two I was released from the Rapier's iron grip, and I felt relief, but it soon disappeared as someone grabbed my arms from behind and forced them behind my back.

"If you won't tell us, then perhaps you wouldn't mind if we took advantage of curiosity," offered the Rapier.

I kept my eyes shut tight. "Actually I WOULD mind, you bastards," I snapped, struggling to release myself from the hold on my arms.

"Fine," commented the Rapier. "If you won't show us your eyes, then we'll have to settle for your hair then, won't we?"

I let out a cry of panic. "No PLEASE!" I said, forgetting myself and opening my eyes in fear. "DON'T REMOVE IT!"

The Rapier's face was still completely calm, but his eyes were filled with shock and he remained speechless as I realized my stupid mistake.

"Please," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. "Let me go..."

"What's wrong, Rapier?" asked the Blade. "She severely deformed or somethin'?"

He leaned down and peered into my face.

"Ho...ly...shit..."

He said it just like that, in three separate syllables.

He jumped away from me and let me to fall down on my back. He ran over and stood by his friend.

I sighed and fell back a few steps. No point in hiding now. For some reason, I didn't care who knew my secret now. The gig was up.

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" I asked no one, laughing a little at my horrible luck. I reached back to untie the knot of the bandana that covered my head.

Just as I let the final part of the cloth free and I drew the bandana away from my head, there was a large gust of wind, this time not the Rapier's doing, but natural. I didn't cough this time as the dirt flew up and whipped through my hair. I instead held my breath until it was over. As the dirt cleared, I saw the Blade cough and rub his eyes, and the Rapier shaded his own beautiful green ones with his right hand.

"Are you satisfied now?" I asked furiously as the dust cleared.

The Blade literally fell backwards.

"What in the hell are you?" he demanded. "You can't have eyes that color...or hair that color either...Only...only Rapier has features like yours!"

My bottom lip trembled as tears filled my eyes. I said nothing, but fell to my knees and covered my face with my hands, crying silently. I felt so ashamed...to cry in front of men such as them...but the tears could no longer hold themselves back. They fell freely, sliding down my cheeks and disappearing as they fell into strands of my upsetting shoulder-length golden hair.

"Please just leave me alone...leave me alone and leave the village!" I burst out, lifting my head from my hands and glaring at him. "You have no right to be terrorizing villagers just on a whim! Just because you still feel sorry for yourselves about the attack on the Shogun, doesn't give you the right to make everyone else's life a living hell!"

"But your life is already a living hell, if I am not mistaken."

My glance shifted to the Rapier. He was standing with his arms crossed and his face still completely expressionless. I was beginning to wonder why it was that he never showed any feeling at all.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped, shaking my head in disagreement.

"Listen, girl. I know how it is to be discriminated against and it isn't pleasant. I have been called many things, from demon to angel, and not one of them are what I truly am. I don't know how it is that we both are so much different than everyone else, and truthfully I really don't care. But I know how hard it is to have people tell you that you are a freak and then try to kill you. My own parents tried to murder me when I was seven years old because they thought that I made the family name look bad. I don't know how much different the reactions to you have been, but I can sympathize. I know how it feels, trust me. It's a living hell."

I turned away, and began to raise my hands to my face once more, but suddenly someone caught them. I looked up into the eyes of the Rapier. He was still lacking of any facial emotions, but his eyes held understanding.

"Do you live in this village, or are you a traveler?"

Without any hesitation I replied shakily, "A traveler."

"Where are you going?"

"Edo."

"Why?"

"B...because my father's home is there."

"Why aren't you there with him now?"
Here I stopped myself from answering any further. I couldn't tell him that my father wasn't there. That he wasn't anywhere. It might sound suspicious. I clamped my teeth together tightly, trying to keep the responses inside, not out.

"I can't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

His response was immediate. He didn't wait to answer like many people I used to know did.

"Because...um...b-because I just can't."

The Blade gave his partner a glance, but I couldn't read anything in it. The Rapier glanced back, but as usual his face remained perfectly calm.

"Why are you asking me this?" I demanded, sitting up farther. "All I want from you is a promise that you will no longer torment the people of this village!"

"You know what, ninja girl, sometimes righteousness is sickening," said the Blade, sneering a little.

"Be quiet, Blade," ordered the Rapier and to my surprise he became silent. He turned back toward me. "Look if you want me to help you then you will have to tell me why you need to get where you are going, girl."

I gaped at him, my mouth wide open with shock. I blinked and shook my head a few times, and then glared. "I never asked for your help. I can get where I'm going fine on my own, thank you very much. All I want is one tiny little promise that you won't torment this village and then I can collect my due and LEAVE!"

I stood there expectantly, waiting for him to say something. At first, neither of them spoke, just glanced at each other.

Surprisingly I saw understanding run between them. The Blade smiled evilly and I gulped.

"Why, my dear, we only meant to help you," he said, smiling in a way that made shivers run down my spine.

"You freak me out," I snapped in his face, grabbing up my scarf and rushing to wrap it around my head once more. "All you have to do is say those two little words and you'll never see me again...hopefully ever."

"Which two little words?" asked the Blade, all innocence.

I growled and tried hard to resist the immense urge to strangle him on the spot.

"Look, you bastard, just tell me that you'll stop terrorizing these innocent people and I will leave you alone and never get in your way ever again, all right?"

"Ask nicely and I'll think about ninja-girl."

"I give up talking to you two," I said, glaring at each of them. I finished tying the bandana around my head - sloppily, but managing to cover all of my hair - and turned around back towards the village and began walking back to Junei's house. "Just remember - if you come back, I'll be waiting, and this time you don't have anything to use against me. I won't be merciful - especially to scum-ridden, stupid, low- life, traitorous-"

A hand on my shoulder silenced me.

"Girl."

I caught my breath as I sensed something slip around my forehead and realized that someone was pulling the bandana away off.

"Hey - WAIT! No!" I whipped around, grabbing at the suddenly disappearing scarf.

Looking seriously down at me was the Rapier.

He really was very tall.

Clutched in his left hand, held high above his head was my bandana.

"Do you plan on hiding who you are for the rest of your life?"

Once more I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"It won't work. I know what you want. To find a nice village, settle down. Perhaps even get married. But let me tell you, girl, it won't work out. Eventually everyone will discover your secrets. Your husband will abandon you if he hasn't already. The entire village will either force you to live in a temple or run you out or maybe even try to kill you."

Stunned I fell back a few steps, my hair in my eyes. In pace with me, the Rapier took a few steps forward.

"There is little hope for people like you," he whispered, his voice still completely dispassionate. I wondered briefly why he had said "you" and not "us" considering the situation. "What do you expect to do once you are in Edo? Is your father also like you? Or is he normal?"

I was silent. My eyes were everywhere but the Rapier's face. They finally settled on the forest beyond him.

"...I thought so."

For some reason, I was entirely furious at his comments. Anger boiled inside me and was about to kill me if I didn't say anything. I opened my mouth to respond with a vicious come back, but to my horror nothing came out. My throat was stuck. I desperately searched for words, opening and closing my mouth in a vain attempt to redeem myself.

Finally I found something.

"Give me back my bandana."

A snicker rang out behind the Rapier and the Blade appeared by his side, a look of triumph clashing in his cold eyes. "He's right and you know it, little ninja girl. Hey Rapier," he laughed, turning his attention away from me. "Let's get out of here. We'll come back when the girl's gone." He threw me one last mocking glimpse and headed for the place where his sword had been thrown. Gingerly, watching out for his injured hand, he sheathed the sword and cast a glance back in the Rapier's direction.

"Are ya coming?"

The Rapier held up one finger, indicating that he wait a moment.

"Listen to me," he said swiftly, narrowing his eyes at me. "We will leave the village alone if you allow us to accompany you to Edo."

"What?!" I gasped, shocked. I took a few steps back.

What the hell was he talking about?

"I am not one to have much sentiment, but you must hear me out. You are the first person I have ever met that is like me. I have been searching for a long time, and for the first time in my life, I feel as though I can sympathize with another person." He paused. "Listen, I'd just like to try and help you if I can."

I knew my face was probably bright red. I held my breath and spun around, wiping my brow.

For several moments I was silent.

I whispered something under my breath that I knew was incomprehensible.

"Why?"

But it must not have been, because the Rapier heard.

"...Because people that are in bad situations do better with comrades. I know that even though Blade is entirely unbearable sometimes" [here the Blade growled] "I am still grateful to have him as my partner. It's nice to not be alone. When you have people with you to watch out for you, they can also help you.

"And I know that I can help you, if you'll let me."

His last words were too much. It touched me deeply that for the first time in my life...someone actually wanted me to stay around because of who I was. Even with my strangeness.

I felt the tears that had been threatening to immerge and spill out across my cheeks. I kept my sobs silent, and didn't let them shake my back or shoulders.

"How can you help me?" I asked, giving up on hiding my tears. My voice shook. "You don't know what I'm looking for. You have no idea what I'm looking for."

There was a pause before the Blade said, "You know what Rapier? She's right! Let's just leave her here! She doesn't want us to come, so let's just go already!"

"Blade."

I jumped. I'd had no idea that one word could be filled with such imparity and force. The Blade silenced immediately.

"I'll be fine by myself," I lied, smiling through my tears as I turned back around. "I-"

I was stopped by the look in the Rapier's eyes. It was filled with kindness and honesty, something I'd seen little of in my life. For a moment I thought that he was going to smile, but he didn't.

Silence overcame everything as I stared straight into his eyes, a blush spreading across my face. Just when I thought the silence would never end, the Rapier opened his mouth and spoke, just one word that was so utterly convincing and desperate that I was once again shocked and touched.

"Please."

-

'"We'll meet you at the edge of the road. Let us know it's you by taking off your scarf half-way down. We'll know for sure then."'

I recalled what the Rapier had told me as I headed along the dirt path back to Junei's house. This time I was returning not with one sword but two. In my right hand I held Junei's katana, and in my left I carried the Rapier's, my source of comfort. I rubbed my thumb along the edge of the sheath, marveling at how beautiful the cover was. It was not, as I had thought before, a katana, but in fact a tekio long sword. There were hardly any around any more, and very little had ever been recorded of them, making knowledge of the sword type very rare. I was amazed at how beautiful the blade truly was.

As I neared the villagers' houses, I blinked a few times to make sure my eye covers were in place and shook my head to check my bandana.

Suddenly a cry rang out.

"SHE'S BACK! The Yojimbo's back!"

I took a deep breath as people began to swarm around me. Among them was Junei's wife, who was almost immediately at my side.

"Yojimbo-joshi," she addressed me, pulling desperately on my shoulder. "Come, please come. My husband wishes to talk to you!"

I nodded agreeably and allowed her to pull me through and then away from the masses of villagers and lead me in the direction of a very large building that I hadn't noticed before. A few of the villagers, noticing that we had left, began to follow us, but it seemed I was the only one who was aware of it.

We entered the big building from one of two doors that stood at the top of a short stair case. There was only one room in the building, and, as far as I could see, it was completely empty except for a table that sat in the very middle of the room, with the chair at its far end, in which Junei was sitting.

"Oh, Yojimbo-joshi!" he exclaimed in pure excitement, rising so quickly to his feet that his chair fell over on its side. "You are back! Were you victorious? Are the Sword gone?!"

I abruptly nodded, and held out the tekio blade. "This is the sword that belonged to the Rapier. I took it from him once I defeated him." I apologized quickly in my mind for telling such a lie. And then I scolded myself for asking forgiveness from a Buddha I didn't believe in.

"Oh, Yojimbo-joshi!" he cried out, his eyes and face grateful. He bowed deeply. "Are they both really gone?!"

I nodded again and then smiled slightly at what I was about to say. "The Blade ran away once he realized that I had defeated his partner, but only after he gave me his word never to return. I believe he was sincere."

Again, Junei bowed. "Oh thank Buddha, we're saved! Yojimbo-joshi, will you please stay here another night so that we can justly show to you our gratitude? We will of course pay you and send you with a guide off to Edo this very moment, if you wish-"

"Ah, about that," I interrupted. "I will no longer be requiring a guide to Edo. I have made other plans. I respectfully ask that I may receive my payment and leave." I bowed.

Though slight disappointment flickered across Junei's face, he smiled and boisterously nodded, grabbing my empty hand and shaking it with such great force that my teeth chattered.

"We appreciate all that you have done very greatly, Yojimbo-joshi," he said, voice sincere. "You have my gratitude along with the gratitude of the villagers. If you are ever in this area again, then it would please us greatly if you would stop in for a visit."

I grinned.

"That would be great."

-

I gave the last few workers one last wave as I disappeared from sight of the small village, sighing in a mixture of relief and happiness.

As soon as I was sure that no one that would recognize me could see me, I untied the back of my bandana, unsure of how I was supposed to put it half-way on.

But then lightning struck and I was hit with an idea.

After three or four minutes of fumbling, the results:

The bandana was twisted around my head almost like a turban, but there was hair visible and I had it firmly tied in the back. The piece of cloth I'd used was too long to completely tie, though, so I had the end of it hanging around the side of my face.

At least it was out of my eyes.

I felt a burst of wind at my right side and I instinctively grabbed the Rapier's sword close to my chest.

"Nice hair."

I spun around into the smirking face of the Blade and glared.

"Shut up."

"No thanks," he grinned, and his eyes redirected to something behind me. He nodded and turned to walk on down the path. My eyes followed his and saw that the Rapier was standing maybe four or five feet behind me.

"Are you ready?"

Hesitantly, I took a step forward.

"Y-yes."

"Then let's go."

-

And that's it. Like it? Hate it? Tell me! Click the beautiful button below and tell me what you think. I had fun writing the first ten paragraphs in the middle of YM, and when I found this on my computer almost a year later, I couldn't resist finishing it. I love the way this is going, and I hope you do as well. Please tell me if I should go ahead and upload Part Two, ne? ^^