"Wait, let me get this straight..." Yuzuha held up her hands the next morning as the group all drank tea and prepared for the day. "A statue... talked to you? And then it touched you and burned you? Am I getting this right."

"Yeah..." Sen watched her as she squinted at him.

"I... Do you even know how absolutely insane you sound?" She asked as she leaned forward and looked him up and down. "Because you sound absolutely nuts."

Sen went to protest, but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that she was right.

There was a commotion outside, and everyone quickly jumped up to see what was going on. Much to Sen's chagrin, their rather raucous neighbors were already out there making noise and in general being a disturbance. It was with that sort of thing happened that Sen found himself missing the little temples that got few visitors if any at all.

"Oi!" Aoi shouted, getting the attention of a few of the men, "Keep it down, will you?"

One of the men sauntered up to them and put his hand on his hip, "Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, old man..." His voice trailed off when he saw Sen.

At first, Sen was more confused by the reaction than anything else, that was, until his hand went to the man's. It was wrapped with a bandage, and judging from how the blood spread out on the bandage, it was a stab wound. Sen paused when he saw the man's hand, and he hastily shoved it behind his back and stepped away. "You're the bandits from last night," Sen slowly dragged his eyes up to the man's face and hardened his gaze.

"And what are you going to do about it?" One of then jeered. "Those old monks know exactly who we are, but you pay them a little coin and they shut their mouths real quick like!"

Sen heard someone take off behind him at a brisk walk, but when he turned, instead of one of the regular suspects, it was Emi of all people who had stormed off in the direction of where all the monks had gathered for preparation for their morning meditations.

"Oh no," Hachirou whispered as he rushed off after her, calling her name as he left. The rest of the group took off quickly in her direction, hoping to catch her before she did anything she would regret.

They did not get her before she reached the large central chamber and angrily slammed open the doors, prompting all of the monks inside to look at her in a mix of confusion, surprise, and mildly concealed anger. "How dare you!" She shouted, her voice rising in anger. "You are harboring criminals here!"

"You would be wise to even your tone, sister, lest you say something you regret," the abbot spoke, and the tone in his voice rubbed Sen the wrong way. That condescending tone was one he heard from all manners of people so many times before, but the deranged old priest was the first who came to mind.

"Those "refugees" you claim to be helping are bandits!" She snapped. "Bandits who, I have found out, are extorting your constituents who look to you and your sohei for protection and assistance!"

One of the senior monks snorted and crossed his arms, "Is this how you look upon good deeds, sister? We would not send away those who come to us for aid."

"If your "good deed" causes suffering, it is no longer a good deed!" Emi protested, looking astonished between the two senior monks, who, Sen noted as his fist tightened, looked down on her with the most patronizing, condescending frowns he had ever seen on two human faces. "These men are hurting the people of nearby towns and giving you money that they stole! You refuse to return it when you find out where it comes from! How can you call yourselves good monks when you act like thieves?"

"You are out of line!" One of the monks shouted from behind their seniors.

"Am I?" Emi never shrank, even in the presence of people who were her seniors. "All I see are deceptive snakes in the robes of holy men! Gluttonous animals who feast on the suffering of those to whom they should be offering everything, not pious, humble monks!"

"A good nun," one of the senior monks was barely keeping his anger checked behind a trembling voice and a bright red face, "should know when to speak and when to remain silent."

"I know all about silence!" Emi shot back, her own face blazing. "I know all about shouting, too! I will not be told to be silent in the face of suffering!"

"Remove this woman from our temple grounds at once," the elder senior turned to one of the sohei. Though Sen could only see his eyes, he saw the uncertainty there as he looked from the senior monks and back to Emi. He knew that she was right.

Emi turned an even brighter shade of red, one of indignation and frustration, "No need to get your dogs. I'll happily remove myself from this den of inequity. I pray that whatever befalls you, that you are forgiven for your transgressions, or better yet, that you see your faults before you choke on your greed!" She spun around and looked at Hachirou, "Come on. They're not worth our time or effort."

Hachirou cast a hard glare at the assembled sohei, "You shame us with your inaction. I pray that the villagers find it in their hearts to forgive you."

Emi and Hachirou stormed out ahead of everyone else, and Sen and the others wasted no time in joining them. He jogged to catch up with her and found her fuming, silently, but nonetheless. "You were amazing," he spoke quietly, prompting her to look at him with a glare that was directed at her anger. "You never even flinched."

"How could I not protest that?" She asked with an emphatic gesture back at the temple. "They take blood money from bandits! And for what? For material possessions! We are followers of Buddha, we have no need for simple worldly things! Money is one of the most potent roots of sin and vice, and it is even worse when taken from the innocent who need it to survive."

"And the sohei... How could they follow an abbot like that?" Hachirou shook his head. "If this was the Matsubayashi Temple, they would have left with or without permission to defend the people and stop the bandits!"

"Matsubayashi has the luxury of being small," Aoi muttered as he crossed his arms and joined them. "The larger the temple, the more corrupt it becomes. They dabble in wealth and politics and before long, the abbot is no different from any lord."

"No," Emi muttered bitterly, "he's not." Sen could see how much if was affecting her, and he wished he could think of anything to say that would ease her anger. No words came to mind, and he knew that she was going to plan some way to help the people. How she planned to, he couldn't even begin to guess. She slammed open the door to their room and immediately began gathering her things. "We'll find a way to get rid of these men ourselves if we must," she snarled. "I refuse to allow these men to benefit from the suffering of others."

There was a noise outside, and the group all turned to look at one another before venturing to the door of their room and slowly pulling it open again. Standing before several of the men from the night before was one of the sohei that Sen had seen in the central chamber, and behind him was a nervous looking Seizen. "You're going to-!"

"I don't care. These men either leave, or I'll make them," the sohei's voice was never anything other than level.

"You and what army?" The man that Sen had injured the night before asked rather smugly, and Sen saw the sohei's entire body language change in an instant. Apparently, Seizen saw it, too.

"Hego-!" Seizen rushed forward, but the sohei grabbed the bandit by the hem of his kosode and lifted him up so that his feet dangled beneath him.

"Leave this temple. If you and your goons lay one single hand on this village, all of the mercy of heaven will not be enough to save you from me," Hego's voice was dark and deep. There was no snarl nor shouting, just quiet, heavy, restrained fury. He dropped the thug, and the spindly man his the wooden floor with a loud thud and fell flat on his backside.

Seizen watched as he and his goons scrambled away and ran from the room. The monk heaved one long sigh before he looked up at the massive Hego. "The abbot will kick you and the other sohei out for this."

"I'd like to see him try," Hego looked down at him before looking to Emi, who had since emerged with Hachirou and the rest of the group, watching the large man from just outside the door to their room. "Forgive us, sister. We should have done that a long time ago. If we had more like you in this place, perhaps our temple would not have became a place of profane indignity.

Soon, more bodies of the men when flying from the room they were in with shouts and grunts as they were tossed out like unruly animals, their things flying out after them as more sohei emerged, all looking ready to fight if the bandits tried anything. Sen knew they wouldn't. It was the type of people these men were. Unlike previous groups, these were just bullies, thankfully, and when placed up against some of the finest warriors in the entire land, he knew that they'd be hard pressed to try anything.

"Take your filthy items and get out," another sohei launched some of their armor out and it bounced across the ground, breaking feebly like the cheap material it was.

In response to the shouts, the monks all filed forth from the central chamber, and the abbot looked ready to explode. "What are you doing?" He shouted and ran across the walkways, his feet slamming against the wood.

"Doing what we ought to have done months ago," Hego snapped back. "We follow the teachings that lift the value of life above suffering. If our actions cause this, then we are no better than thugs!"

Seizen took a deep breath and turned to the abbot with a frown, "This has affected both the people and the lord who allows you to remain here. When he learns of what transpired, he shall not be pleased."

"You-!" The abbot tried to start forward, but one of the young chigo pushed past him and wheeled to stand in front of him, the boy's face ripe with indignation.

"When my father hears about this, you're finished!" He shouted. "Those bandits have been stealing from him!"

"Young Master..."

Seizen stepped forward with a frown, "My brother is correct. Our father will be far from pleased when he learns of what you have allowed to transpire. Unlike you, he takes his faith very, very seriously."

"Seizen! You overstep your boundaries!" One of the senior monks shouted.

"I don't think I have," Seizen frowned before he turned back to the group with a nod. "If you would allow us some time to discuss their options, I would be grateful, but if Hachirou and Emi could remain here as witnesses, I would be even more grateful. Our father should be here to decide the fate of the abbot and this monastery shortly."

However, before they could leave, there was a loud slam as the door to the room where the Ashura was held slammed open. Emerging from that same room was a being that was one of the tallest humans that Sen had ever seen. The helmet it wore had a long red mane, its face obscured by a full mask save for two burning golden eyes, but what caught Sen's attention the most were the six great arms, two folded with palms together in front of it, and the other four armored and hanging with clenched fists. The abbot looked mortified. "Long was I languishing, bound to that statue, held by the vow that so long as an abbot held authority that I could not leave. Now, you have lost it, and I am of the mind to rend you limb from limb to satisfy this betrayal of the principles you claim to found. You pay lip service and preach from a golden throne built upon the blood of many innocent people. You are a worthless animal, not fit to walk in the grace of any lord of heaven or earth.

"An Ashura..." Emi's eyes widened, "I... A living, breathing..."

Sen watched the mighty creature stalk forward before Seizen shoved his younger brother to the side and stepped between the being and the terrified abbot. "Ashura, I beseech you to show this man mercy!"

"You are known to me, Seizen, and this move mystifies me greatly," the Ashura spoke, its voice resonating seemingly from every corner of the temple.

"We are taught to seek mercy and peace whenever and wherever we can. Would it not be better served to simply remove the abbot from his position and allow him to atone by giving service to those who he has wronged?" Seizen's impassioned plea surprised even Sen, but what was even more surprising was that Emi soon rushed from the group to join him.

"Please, Mighty Ashura! Allow him to atone by bringing goodness where he gave none before. To take a life is to remove the potential of good and change. Allow Seizen's father to remove him from office and grant him mercy to try again."

The Ashura watched Emi carefully, its head turning and amber eyes fixing her in their gaze. "You," one clawed hand pointed to her, prompting her to look up at it, "are of purer purpose than any I have seen. Your heart is weighted by many burdens, yet when you speak of mercy, you truly mean it. I shall grant this request and remain here to ensure he follows this."

The Ashura went back into the room where it had come from and closed the door, taking its oppressive aura with it and prompting everyone to heave a long sigh of relief when it departed. Hego stepped forward and took the abbot by the arm, leading him away past meek monks who dared not argue and ones who looked perhaps more relieved than they should have been.

As Sen watched them, he and Hashi slipped away and made for the room with the Ashura. When he opened the door, he saw the great being sitting with all six hands folded in meditation, but its amber eyes tracked to him when he opened the door.

"When I encountered you, I believed you to be someone much different," the creature spoke, its voice seeming too loud for the small space despite being oddly quiet. "I knew a man like you once, the one who bound me here to protect this temple. You feel the same."

"Who was it?" Sen asked, and the Ashura closed its eyes.

"His name was Katamune. He quelled my rage and returned me to my path through combat, and in return for this gift, I swore to protect this place where his dearest hopes were kept. We do not see bodies and faces like most yokai. We see spirits, the accumulation of karma. Your friend shines like a beacon. She is bright and good, and her sohei burns like fire beside her. Seizen is calm like a lake, Hego is like stone all quiet and solid. Your yokai, he runs like rivers, but his river is full of ash and tainted by the Rot. You... you swirl like clouds and lightning. You do, and so did Katamune. Your path is obscured to me like his was. It perplexes me." The Ashura lowered its hands and frowned, turning its head to face Sen, "When I reached out, I expected him, and yet it was you."

"Is that why you called to me?" Sen asked, and his response was a nod from the Ashura, who again watched him with those burning golden eyes. "Why is this happening?" Sen asked as he stepped forward. "I hear things, see memories... Onmyoji can't do that! What am I?"

The Ashura regarded him for a long time before it unfolded its hands. "I know for a fact that it is not my place to tell you. To do so would defy the will of Heaven. However, you seek Owari no Hoshiga? He is ancient and wise. It will be him who sets you on your path. Not I."

---

"Okay, but why in the hell is he being so friendly all of a sudden?" Yuzuha asked as the group all gathered their things to follow the abbot to a place where he said he would have a carriage ready to take them on to Izumo. Paid for by his own funds, he added proudly when he extended the offer. With Hashi's deteriorating condition, the group decided it best to take him up on the offer, even if Hashi didn't seem too fond of the idea of getting doted over like he was some frail old man. "Does anyone else think this is suspicious? I think it's suspicious."

Sen couldn't help but agree. Something about it felt off.

"He's probably trying to make himself look somehow less horrible when Seizen's father shows up," Aoi reasoned as he hefted his pack laden with armor onto his back. "I do agree that he's being too friendly, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves and just take a good thing where we can get it."

"Aoi is right," Emi nodded, turning expressly to Hashi. "With Hashi getting the way he is..."

The yokai snorted and rolled his eyes, prompting Sen to elbow him with a frown. He glared down at Sen and snorted as he crossed his arms over one another with a grimace as he bent the rotted arm into position.

"Listen, big guy, we don't like it any more than you do," Yuzuha tried to console him, but all it did was make Hashi squint at them even harder.

When he unfolded his arms and went to grab one of the packs, his arm seized and the rather heavy pack hit the floor with a thud. Hashi stared down at his arm and blinked in the closest thing to surprised that Sen had ever seen him look. Without missing a beat, Sen picked up the pack himself and tossed it over his shoulder. "I've got it. Rest your arm a bit." The yokai looked like he wanted to protest, but eventually sighed out of his nose and reluctantly nodded his consent.

The group left the temple and met with the abbot at his specified location, and as Sen suspected, it was as shady as he anticipated it being. It was in a small back area in the village where farmers would often bring their produce to be sold and where they would leave whatever carts and horses or spare baskets they needed to transport most of their things. The abbot and a small contingent of monks were there allegedly to see them off, but Sen noted that some of the junior monks looked nervous and hat the abbot was oddly fixated on Hashi.

Sen glanced up at the yokai and gave him a small gesture. Walk around.

Hashi caught on to what Sen was letting on and made a show of standing up and stretching, and then lumbering around as though he was stretching his legs. Hachirou also seemed to catch on to what was happening and stretched himself, "Abbot, that transport of yours is taking it's sweet time."

"It will be here," the abbot was trying his best to remain calm as Hashi circled the group looking blissfully nonchalant. He found himself standing behind the abbot, who kept nervously glancing around more and more frequently as Hashi dropped down to pick something up off of the ground.

Sen and Yuzuha exchanged a glance, and right before she went to grab her naginata from the wall, a loud crack made her start and sent the weapon clattering to the ground. There was a loud crack, and the abbot lurched forward as a plume of blood began to blossom out across his robes. Mortified, he looked down at his heart before he collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

"Well... that was karma if I've ever seen it..." Emi muttered before another loud crack rang out and this time something whizzed past Hashi's head and slammed into the wall behind them, prompting the yokai to jump and look over his shoulder at the large crack where something had hit it.

Sen saw Seizen snap his head to the senior monks, who all seemed horrified that the shots had, for the most part, missed. "What did you all do?" He shouted as the sohei formed a defensive barrier around the group.

Hashi grunted and pointed to a spot just beyond a row of buildings and walls, and Sen nodded. "He heard them over there!"

"Stay with the monks," Hachirou looked to Hego. "Make sure that they see justice."

"By our honor," Hego nodded as the group took off after the mysterious assassins.

When they rounded the final corner, they found who they were looking for. Leaping from the rooftops and down to the ground were Maru and company. Sen couldn't have been happier to see him as he readied his odachi when Hachirou sprinted past at full speed and slammed his naginata down so hard and so quickly that it made the dry earth crack beneath it and sent up a small spray of dust, narrowly missing Maru, who had just enough time to side step quickly away as Hachirou wheeled to him again.

"We weren't aiming for the monk!" Maru shouted as Hachirou descended on him again.

"That's not why we're mad!" The large man retorted as he swung the shaft of his naginata straight into the side of Maru's head, sending him tumbling over himself as two figures slid down from the roof.

"I'm not shooting monks!" The mercenary called. "Screw this, rat man! I ain't gettin' paid enough to fight these big sons of bitches!"

"Stand and fight, mercenary!" Nobuhiko called over his shoulder as Sen saw the man with the rifle start running down the street... in the opposite direction.

"Fuck you, pretty boy! I'm not dying today!"

"Naoyuki!" When the samurai turned back around, Yuzuha slammed her forehead into his and sent him careening backwards and holding his nose as he did. "Fuck-!" Before he could recover, She gave him a swift punch to the face again and grabbed him with a shout and flipped him over her shoulder.

Sen watched her in amazement. "Whoa..." He and Hashi glanced at one another.

The other rather large fellow they had with them engaged Hachirou with a sheathed odachi, blocking all of his attacks as Emi rushed in to help her friend, "Hachi! I'm here!"

The man paused as Maru stood up behind him with a shake of his head and looking rather unbalanced all things considered. "Oh, absolutely not. I'm not fighting a nun." Hachirou and Emi stopped their advance and looked between one another in confusion at the man's strange language. "I have standards and that... that's beneath them." He turned and saw Yuzuha still beating down on their samurai friend and he sighed, "They make the women in this nation absolutely terrifying. Okay, we're out of here." He turned back to Maru and grabbed him like he weighed absolutely nothing, tossing him over his shoulder.

"Hey! No, wait! Put me down, we can..." Maru's indignant voice died off when he saw his samurai friend getting pulverized next to him. "How... what is she?!"

Yuzuha's head snapped towards them, her fist covered in the blood of their friend, "What did you say, you stupid little weaselly bitch?" She stood up, still bare-fisted, and turned towards them. "You show up in this town, hunting my friend, shooting my ride out, and thinking you can beat me!" She roared, prompting the large foreigner to immediately start running as she took off after them, "I'll kill you!"

Sen watched her and partially watched as the dazed samurai stumbled to his feet, clutching his obviously broken nose and groaning, before he looked up at Hashi, "She's amazing."

Aoi paused and slowly turned his head to look at Sen, "You... Her? I mean... I get it, but I didn't expect that out of you of all people."

Sen went rigid and looked at Aoi in mortification, "No- no! Not like that! I just- she's really strong and apparently fast and... she's just impressive."

They both turned their attention to the samurai, who looked over at them and held up a hand, "I yield, just... Just don't hit my face again."

"Yield accepted," Emi replied cheerily and walked back to the group with Hachirou in tow. "That was exhilarating!" She chimed and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"So he did really have a Saika?" Aoi asked as he looked past them and down the street, where he saw a frustrated Yuzuha storming back. "I didn't think they worked for the Sayonakidori."

"They work for whoever has coin," Hachirou snorted. "Soldiers of fortune - the worst kind."

"Stupid son of a-!" Yuzuha snarled as she stormed past them and snatched up her naginata and joined them in a huff. She turned to the group, a glare on her face, and frowned, "They got away."

"You were amazing," Sen turned to her, unable to keep the awe off of his face. "You beat him with no weapons at all. That was awesome to behold."

All of the rage dissipated from her features and was quickly replaced with absolute shock as she stared down at Sen. "I... Uh... Thanks?"

"Thank you for helping protect Hashi," Sen nodded, seemingly unaware of the absolute emotional distress he was putting Yuzuha in. "We likely wouldn't have been so safe without your strength."

"I..." Sen couldn't quite get why her face was so red or why she looked like she wanted to run away, but he was even more confused when she quickly said, "Shut up," before storming off down the road.

He couldn't understand why Aoi was cackling like a maniac or why Emi and Hachirou exchanged knowing glances, or better yet, why Hashi was smirking down at him. All he knew is that he was confused and that everyone was scaring him.