Ayakashi: Pt. 01

"I'm tired," she said finally, rolling off him. "She's probably in her room; the room where we came out of. She said she'll be here after we're done. You promised to take us away safely, right?"

"Right," he replied. Secretly, Sentomaru wondered about that part of the deal. The platoon leader told them that no one was to be spared- either dead, or taken away in chains. He didn't know anyone who could smuggle them out either.

But that was a problem for later, he thought, getting up to leave. Besides, it wouldn't really affect him.

The maidens themselves lived in a little compound house, that divided into many little rooms with the help of sliding doors. They had taken the men there, and then divided themselves, one of the more courageous looking girls taking three with her, while some others just joined in to watch. That surprised him initially, but if the head miko was whoring herself out... then it all made sense.

Although that wasn't such a rare thing now, recalled Sentomaru, as he entered through the side gate the maidens had showed them.

Mikos were powerful- they were usually girls from important, wealthy families; they were well read, well informed, and were privy to many noble families' secrets. High priestesses could turn an entire village or city against their daimyo by spreading rumors of calamities, or by sowing the seeds of uncertainty, one oracle reading at a time.

And, he thought, knocking down the door of the head miko's room- they're human, with human desires.

This specific miko seemed to have a penchant for pretty things. For someone whose life was supposed to be dedicated to the Gods, she seemed to be very into acquiring material wealth. Ornately designed kimonos were spread across her bed, and various little coffers littered the rooms. He approached one, and found it full of gold nuggets, brooches, bracelets, ivory hairpins- he quickly pocketed as many as he could, then shut the box, and opened another chest, and found it full of letters. He read through one slowly, and then another, and gathered that this certain miko was trading secrets for her little 'luxuries'.

The room looked like it was in a mess. Had she run away?

Sentomaru almost jumped as he heard a door creak. He turned around, and from the doorway, he saw the Ayakashi leave the room. His robes were hanging off the sash around his hip, and he was tucking in his swords. Sentomaru quickly ran out to inform him of his discovery.

"The miko- she ran away!" he spluttered, and stopped, his jaw dropping open as he took a closer look at him.

Zuroh was dark skinned- darker than anyone Sentomaru had ever seen, so he hadn't realized it, until the scent hit him- Zuroh was covered in blood.

"Of course," Zuroh grunted, "brainless," he added, muttering quite audibly.

"You're covered in blood!" gasped Sentomaru. Zuroh looked back at, impassively gathering his hair to tie it in a knot.

"You utter one more 'observation' of yours and you'll be the next human sacrifice," warned Zuroh, covering his hair with his bandana. "I'm going to go clean up. Have fun with the lady inside," and by that, he started to walk away.

"But- but-" Sentomaru was at a loss for words or actions, and finally decided to do what Zuroh said. He turned slowly, fearfully, and stepped through the doors.

A decapitated body of a female lay on the floor. Sentomaru put a hand over his mouth, as nausea swept over him as the rancid smell hit him - a dark fluid pooled around her blood drained body. The bloodstain trailed to a covered canopy at the end of the room, its white hangings stained red.

His gaze fell on the bloodied hand prints all over the dress. Goosebumps ran across his skin as he put together what happened. The Oni had slaughtered her on the dais, then dragged the body to the floor-

Sentomaru vomited, not being able to hold it in anymore. He staggered backwards into the hall, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and pulling the doors shut.

Oh Gods, this was a terrible idea. The miko had run away, a girl was murdered- can things get any worse?

Yes, said his brain, as he heard a scream. It was coming from the direction of the girls' quarters.

Was that savage going to murder the other girls as well?

"Fuck this!" he screamed, and ran out of the hall.

Zuroh dropped the ladle back into the water trough as soon as he heard the scream. Hereally wanted to wash himself, but it could wait. This might be something...

The scream came from somewhere behind the shrine, so Zuroh leaped over the bushes that were beside the foot of the stairs, and entered into a clearing. In the shadow of the temple sat a simple house. He saw light illuminating the drawn paper curtains, and ascertained that the scream probably came from there, and continued on his way. His fingers instinctively wrapped around the hilt of one of his katana, and then decided on the second. He didn't feel like playing around tonight- a quick cut should do it.

He opened the door and found the men and the girls, all of them half clothed, standing around the body of a man. He had multiple stab wounds over his body, and the weapon- a small dagger- was buried hilt deep into his throat.

That probably killed him, thought Zuroh. But the other stabs were useless- whoever did it didn't know how to kill...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a girl being bought in by two men and a woman. She was naked, bound at the feet, dragged along the floor by her arms, struggling and shouting despite the gag around her mouth. Her skin was covered in specks of blood.

"We got her!" said the girl behind her, dropping her to the floor, face front.The bound girl tried to roll over unsuccessfully, as her hands were tied behind her back. She threw her head back, as though trying to get the hair out of her face.

"Why the fuck did she do this?" yelled a man angrily, pointing to the dead man. "Sakamoto was a good kid!"

The girl literally growled.

"Why Hina?" sobbed another girl. "We were gonna be free, we were going to be safe-" she stopped, covering her mouth, looking at Zuroh. Zuroh ignored her, and walked to the bound girl. He pulled her up by her arm to a sitting position, against the wall. She shot him a venomous look, and Zuroh pulled out his blade.

Everyone gasped- and some yelled, as he thrust his katana down. The girl closed her eyes.

His blade slipped past between her skin and the cloth of the mouth gag, and he pulled away, cutting open the fabric.

"Speak, and you better make sense," said Zuroh coldly, stepping away from her.

The girl looked relieved for a moment, and then regained all her bile. "How can you say that Momo.. how dare any of you! You whores! Don't you realize-" and now she choked up, "don't you realize these men massacred our families? Our friends? Our life is no more! We have nothing because of these people, and you spread open your thighs-"

"That's great coming from you Hina, you were Himeko's favorite bitch!" yelled Momo, now angry. "You spread your fat thighs loads of times, how is this any different?"

"It is different... It is very different! These people are our enemies-"

"They were planning to help us you fool, you fool, now we're done for-"

"You were all done for," cut in Zuroh angrily. "These men don't know shit. Yourmiko fucked her way out before the battle began, and left you. You were actually stupid enough to fall for her tricks? I thought you girls lived with her?"

"Hey, hey," said one of the men. "We have a plan! Sentomaru said he talked to the area patrol guards- we can sneak them through the forest- and just four girls-"

"You have no plan. Sentomaru's not around," and as Zuroh said this, everyone looked around them, realizing he was right. "Tomorrow we move out. And you have a dead man to account for. What do you do?"

Everyone was silent. Zuroh walked over to the man, to inspect the body closely. He turned to face the men.

"Do I kill this one now?" he asked, pointing his katana to Hina.

"No!" yelled a man.

"You brute!" hissed Momo, and Zuroh just rolled his eyes. All this stupidity and emotions were dulling his brain.

"Wait, wait," said another guy. "He's right. We have to do something. We'll get into trouble! And you know how Tadaaki-taichou is- he'll make us commit seppuku!"

The men nodded slowly, and looks of horror crossed upon the girls' faces as they realized the men would definitely try to save themselves first.

"We can make it like Sakamoto and the girl were together," he continued, "she stabbed him, and maybe the other girls tried to stop her... we can ask for pardon for these three-"

"No pardon for them," said Zuroh. "You all will get beaten black and blue for not catching them before. They'll be taken in as prisoners, then later executed or worse." Zuroh pointed at Hina again."She's definitely getting worse."

Everyone grew quiet again, and one of the girls started sobbing quietly.

"Our fate was sealed when you entered our village," said Hina quietly, raising her head to look at Zuroh. "I heard about you. We were all going to die anyways..."

Zuroh stood silently, watching everything around him.

"There's a body upstairs," started Zuroh. "Say you chopped off her head because she was homicidal."

"What-body?" gasped one of the men.

"Tsu-chan..." cried the girl standing behind Hina, and fell to the floor on her knees. Now the girls wailed loudly; even Hina looked away, trying to blink away her tears.

"Wait, and the head?" asked another man.

"Fucking make up something, I'm not pulling all your asses out all the way!" yelled Zuroh angrily. He turned to the girls. "I'm going to leave through the forest soon, so if you cunts can get dressed quick, you can come with me. I'll be at the south-west exit. The second we pass the patrol line, we part ways. If any one of you follows me after that, you will die. Understood?"

The girls exchanged quick looks, and nodded, wiping away their tears.

"Good," he drew out his katana again, and with a another stab, tore open the cloth tying Hina's hands. She stared at Zuroh, rubbing her wrists. He caught her looking, and swooped down to grab her by the chin. Hina was too shocked to react, and she sat frozen, stuck in the grasp of this powerful man.

"And you... never push your luck," he warned. Just as quick, he let her loose, stood up and left the room.

The moon hid under a blanket of dark clouds, scattering the newborn shadows across the yard. A guard yawned, leaning against the wall. He looked up, and saw his partner in the rooftop of the boundary wall nearby; they nodded to each other, and he turned around to patrol the other way. Suddenly, he spied a figure walking towards him, and in the dim light he saw four others behind him.

"Announce yourselves," said the guard. No one was supposed to be passing by now.

It was a tall man, bearing a large rucksack. He was followed by four hooded figures, who stood silently behind him.

"I am the Ayakashi," said the man."My job is done. I am going to leave now." He held up a piece of paper, bearing the seal of the field marshal.

The guard looked at it, then at the people behind him. "And you four?" he asked.

"They're with me," said the Ayakashi gruffly. "They are my reward."

The guard gave him a questioning look, and reached out a hand to towards one of them. The person stepped back, and unhooded themselves- it was a girl. The other three did the same.

Four girls... They're his- reward? thought the guard, and realization dawned on him.

"I can't let them pass without their permit," said the guard, remembering his orders.

Literally- in a blink- he felt a cold blade push against his throat. He smelled blood, and looked up, directly into the eyes of the demon swordsman. It was the sharp edge, he thought, feeling it. One swipe, or a little more pressure, and he was a goner...

"My permit should be enough. They are my possessions. Not people," whispered the swordsman.

"Yes," croaked the guard, and the swordsman stepped away, by the next blink.

The guard hurriedly felt for his keys, and opened the small door leading out of the city walls. He watched the group pass by quickly, and disappear into the woods.

Poor things, thought the guard.

Once in the shadows, the group stopped, and Zuroh turned to look at the girls. They looked up back at him, wondering what was going to happen next. Zuroh turned around, facing away from them.

"Run," he commanded.

He heard their soft footsteps fade away into the background, until all he heard were the sounds of the forests. All except-

He turned around, and saw Hina still standing behind him.

"Take me with you," she whispered, coming closer.

He pulled out his katana and slit her throat, in the same stroke.

"I told you not to push your luck," said Zuroh coldly, as he watched her fall to her knees, clutching her neck in futility.

He wondered if he needed to cut her again, then turned away, deciding against it.

His cuts never missed.

A/N: I'm back! And I wonder if I'll find my old readers around here... hmm... but if you are back *mwah*

For the new readers, welcome! I hope you enjoyed the story. There's more to come.

There is a lot of Japanese vocab to cover today, so lets get to it!

Terms:

Names are presented as surnames first, then name, ending with a suffix if being addressed.

Shogun: the highest military leader (dictator really) During the feudal times, he was actually more powerful than the emperor.

Daimyo: a Lord, who holds lands in his name, usually has their own mini-army.

Karo: they work for their daimyos, usually taking care of their lands and businesses. Kunigaro is a subtype of this, who takes care of a part of their daimyo's land.

Miko: a shrine priestess- there might be many in a big shrine.

Things:

Kotatsu: low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits.

Kami: God/Gods.

Katana: a type of sword

Oni- general term for monster or spirit.

Ayakashi: a humanoid type of monster, usually appearing around seas. Here it's more like a title.

Seppuku: you know, where the samurais disembowel themselves out of dishonor?

Honorifics: suffixes added to names used between two people to show respect, and the relationship between each other.

-sama: Usually reserved for someone of high standing, like the Shogun, or a Priestess.

-dono: Lord, or Master; the one you're speaking to is a few steps higher than you.

-san: used between equals, or family members of the same age, or just a polite way of referring to someone you don't know very well who's your age.

Please leave a comment. Adoration, flames, I can take it all. Just comment, damnit!

(pretty please)