Sen sat down and crossed his legs with a sigh as he watched as the group finished packing their things. The monastery was in an uproar with the assassination of their abbot, intentional or not, and Seizen's father was furious on several counts. Not that Sen could blame him, if he had to be honest. The entire affair had been a mess, and with a rather testy Ashura using the temple as its haunt, it was no surprise that he felt some serious changes had to be made. The Ashura didn't seem all too disappointed when the group had returned without the monastery's leader. If anything, he had seemed relatively relieved.

Sen watched as Emi flitted between the monks, her good nature forbidding her from being as angry as Sen believed everyone in the group had ever right to be. She eventually made her way over to where he sat after she quickly gave some instructions to Hachirou for the sohei. She plopped down beside him with a word, smoothing out her clothes as she did with a serene smile on her face. They didn't speak for a long time, letting the silence settle comfortably between them broken only by the talking of Seizen's father's men and the monks.

"Yuzuha said that we are not much farther from Izumo," Emi finally spoke, turning to look at Sen as she did. "She said that we should be able to head to the neighboring province of Nagato from there and be able to get a boat directly for Hizen on Kyushu."

"So we're almost there," Sen sighed as he nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Soon, we'll know how we can help heal Hashi."

Emi hesitated for a moment before her smile fell and she looked away, "Sen... have you considered what you will do if Hashi cannot be healed?"

The question made Sen go rigid as the smile left his face and e also dropped his eyes from the horizon. "I... I told myself that I would cross that bridge when I reached it. If I think on it too much..."

"But you should think about it, still," Emi reached out and laid one hand across his. "I know how much of your life Hashi has been, but you need to be ready to hear the worst. Do not let yourself succumb to melancholy since we do have hope, but if the worst is what we receive, you need to be strong not just for yourself but for Hashi, too."

Sen went to speak, but as he did, Seizen approached them both with a warm smile that prompted both of them to stand up. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, we were just discussing our travel plans. Is something the matter?" Emi beamed at him, all somber tone gone.

"We will be relocating the monks for a time and all of the children will be sent home. Some of the other monks and I arranged a transport for you heading for Izumo and prepared some food and medical supplies as thanks."

"Your people likely need it more than us," Sen replied, prompting Seizen to raise his hand and shake his head.

"It is the least we can do as an apology for our abbot."

Emi shook her head, "Simply continue to help people and ease their suffering in this time of war. That is the best way to repay any kindness and pay any debt."

Seizen smiled and gave a small bow, "We owe you a debt. I doubt that without your help we would have had the courage to challenge the abbot."

Emi smiled and took his hands in hers, "Seizen, you are a good monk, but you are also a kind man. If you always lead with your heart filled with compassion and conviction, you will never be wrong."

"And you are a good nun, but an even better person, sister," Seizen squeezed Emi's hands before he dropped them and stepped away with another bow.

Emi watched him go, folding her hands before her as she turned to look at Sen, "I knew him when he was younger, but I don't think he recognized me. I... used to be the nursemaid for his brother. His family was kind, even if our lord wasn't."

"You haven't spoken much of your secular life," Sen shifted so he could see her face.

"There is not much to speak about. My father was a samurai, as were my brothers - all four of them - and when the loss of territory fell in the lap of my father, he..." Her voice trailed off as she turned back to watch Seizen and his family. "Him and all of my brothers paid the price. My mother could not bear it and threw herself into the river near our home. I had the choice to join them or join a convent. That old life is filled with pain and sadness. It is pain I struggled with in my early life, but I found solace in helping others who were affected by the wars my lords and father fought. I help others to atone for their crimes. At its root, maybe it is selfish, but can it truly be horrible if the results ease the burdens of those who cannot ease them themselves?"

Sen watched as a smile came to her face when Seizen's little brother wrapped his arms around his waist in a big hug before the monk lifted him up to his father on the horse. "I think," he began, making Emi turn to look back at him curiously, "that your family would be proud of the person you've become."

Emi's eyebrows lifted before they lowered and one of her warm smiles came back to her face. "My eldest brother, Nobuyasu... He was my favorite. He should have been a monk. He was always so serene, always at peace, but he had the most wonderful wry sense of humor. You remind me of him more and more the longer this journey goes on." She smiled and patted his shoulder before joining Hachirou and the sohei nearby.

Sen turned and saw Hashi sitting on the veranda with a small bowl of cut fruit in his hand. He joined him, sitting down beside him and watching the rock garden, before the yokai offered the bowl to him. Sen just smiled and took a piece of the fruit and let it wash over his tongue. It was melon of some kind, and the taste was cool and refreshing on the warm day, washing over his tongue and bringing back memories of Myugou and Hashi-ji. "Remember when we used to sit on the steps like this with Myugou?" Sen asked as Hashi popped another bit of fruit into his mouth. "He used to set the melons in the water and let them get frigid before he'd bring them out to eat." He looked up at Hashi, who nodded as he finished. "When we go home," Sen began again as he turned his attention back to the garden, "we should invite Goemaru and his wife up for some. Do you think we could grow some? Start a garden?"

Hashi paused and seemed to consider it before he nodded enthusiastically at the idea. Lots of melons, he gestured emphatically, making Sen laugh.

"We'll be the Great Melon Makers of Hashi-ji!" Hashi chuffed out a laugh beside him before handing him the bowl again.

Everything would be fine, Sen told himself as he took another piece of the melon, once they returned home.

---

When the group was deposited in Izumo, Yuzuha looked around as they crested their first small hill to get their bearings, and when they did, her face fell. "Oh no..." She whispered as she looked out over the town they came upon.

"That... didn't sound good," Sen looked over to her.

"Out of all stupid prefectures, they had to pick my father's," she muttered with a long string of swears following her statement.

"You never mentioned him much," Emi supplied carefully as Yuzuha shook her head.

"Yeah... Yeah, there's a damned good reason for that."

"Care to fill us in?" Aoi asked, which prompted Yuzuha to turn and narrow her eyes.

"No," She replied, voice firm, and walked onward down the path.

Aoi paused and looked at Sen before he sighed, "Well... guess we have our answer."

They followed Yuzuha down the road until they arrived close to a town, but a sound from behind them made the group pause and look back. Sen rushed to Hashi's side where the yokai had collapsed, his pack lying next to him as he rested on his hands and knees with an apologetic look at the rest of the group.

"Can't he just power through?" Yuzuha looked back at him over her shoulder. Something about her face looked anxious. "At least until we get out of here?"

Sen was about to turn and ask when he heard a loud thump from behind him and saw Hashi collapse to the ground with a grunt again as he tried to stand. Hachirou and Sen were both helping him up as quickly as they could, and Sen looked back at Yuzuha, "Does that answer your question?"

The anxiousness on her face became apprehension as Emi turned and quickly hurried ahead, scouting out potential places where they could rest. "The town could be risky, but I see some old buildings down the hill. They look abandoned. That might be safer than trying to put Hashi up in an inn."

They followed her down the hill to the old buildings. It looked like an old section of the town, outgrown and forgotten about. The buildings were covered in moss and were barely seen under all of the brush and behind all of the trees that had long since reclaimed the space from people. He could see small animals scurrying through the underbrush and heard birds chatter excitedly in the trees. Emi slid the doors to one old building open as Hachirou and Sen helped the yokai inside. Aoi followed, carrying Hashi's things, and Yuzuha after them, quickly glancing over her shoulder as she slipped inside.

"Set him down gently right here," Emi's voice permeated the dark of the building as she laid out their sleeping rolls in a large square for Hashi. "What is wrong, Hashi? What feels unwell?"

The yokai shook his head. Don't know, before he gestured to all of his limbs and made a shaking motion, Feel weak.

"Alright, rest here," Sen rested a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Let us know after you've slept a while. We'll keep going when you're ready." Hashi looked around apologetically as Emi pulled some of the blankets over him before he went to sleep.

Emi sighed as she looked up at the group, "We need to be inconspicuous for a little while. Aoi, could you stay here with Hashi while we go out and check the town? He would be safer with someone like you."

"You all can count on me."

Sen glanced up and saw Yuzuha. Her hand gripped and ungripped her naginata shaft continuously as she looked around like she was ready to bolt out of the old abandoned house at the nearest opportunity. He stood up and moved to her side as Emi, Hachirou, and Aoi seemed to discuss their next move. He looked over at her, though she kept her eyes darting around nervously. "Yuzu," his voice made her jump, "what's wrong?"

She glanced at the pod of people and quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. They stepped out into the heavy mist and overcast sky as she quickly shut the door behind them, taking a deep breath and looking over at him. He was surprised to see her looking so distressed, and when she finally spoke, it all came out at once. "My father... If he finds me, I'll have no idea what he'll do. He killed so many people when I left - friends, family, servants - all because I ran away. I can't be back here, Sen. I just can't." She brought one hand up and brushed tears angrily away with the heel of her hand, "He'd beat me and my mother every single day. And I ran. I didn't stay and help my mother. I didn't stay and help Yasunori or Takamune or Mine. I ran away and all of them died for it. I just want to leave." Sen watched her carefully, unsure of what to do before he settled on reaching over and gently taking hold of her wrist. He just held it while she tried to gather herself, and after a moment, she moved her hand to move it from her wrist to her hand, holding it tightly in her own as she sniffed hard and began to frown. "I hate feeling like this. I'm an onna-bugeisha, not some-some simpering little girl."

Sen watched her before he freed his hand and reached up to take ahold of his kosode. He instinctively locked up when he did, prompting to Yuzuha to look at him questioningly, but he slowly opened the garment and lowered it from his shoulders as he slowly turned so his back faced her. "I know how you feel," he whispered, closing his eyes to try and pretend like she wasn't looking at the ugly mass of scars that crisscrossed his back, "but they all die someday, or there comes a day that you realize that you aren't afraid of them anymore." He felt her fingertips rest on his back and trace some of the scars with her fingers, and he tensed up at the memory of how they got there. His grandfather, drunk and angry, with his maple rod. He had tripped and dropped his millet again, and the beating went on for an eternity. He felt so small, so afraid, his back bleeding and numb after a time. Even now, the sensation wasn't feeling so much as it was faint pressure and tingling from ill-healed flesh. After a moment, he felt her whole hand rest over the scars. It was cool from the mist, and something about the sensation as she ran her hand up between his shoulder blades made him relax. "If we meet him again, he won't touch you. Not you, and not anyone else. I promise," he slowly pulled his kosode back up and turned to her.

Her expression had changed. It wasn't one of disgust or revulsion. Instead, she seemed calmer. "In all of my life, everyone who ever stood up for me either left me or got killed by him. So... thank you, Sen. If we come across him here, he's not hurting you or anyone else in this stupid little family of mine. If he does, this time, I'm not letting him get away with it."

---

The following morning, Hashi was up and about. It was an improvement from the previous day, but he still wasn't in the best shape. The mist that had set in the previous evening had also thickened, and going anywhere in it was going to be a task. With that, the group decided that hunkering down for one more day wouldn't kill anyone. Aoi had ducked in earlier and informed everyone of one thing he had found. "I don't know what's going on in this town, but these people see a katana and they get antsy. Whoever runs this town has these people scared."

Hashi glanced at Sen, who in turn looked at Yuzuha. She kept staring pointedly down into her bowl, and no one felt it appropriate to press her for further details.

Aoi cleared his throat, "In good news, no one seemed to have followed us directly here. If the Sayonakidori and his group are here, they don't know where we are."

Sen glanced again at Yuzuha and elbowed her, "Want to take watch and step out for a bit?"

She nodded and quickly jumped up, "Yeah. Let's go."

The two went out on perimeter watch together, and Sen found himself wandering along somewhat ahead of her until his foot hit something and sent him careening to the ground with a yelp of surprise. He held his hands out to catch himself and was met with something shifting beneath him. As he got his bearings back, he squinted down at the ground and found that he wasn't on the ground. Far from it, he found himself on a pile of skeletal corpses instead. He shouted and scampered back out of the pile.

Yuzuha was with him before he could even call, and he heard her breath hitch when she looked down at the pit that Sen had stumbled into. "This..."

"It's a pit of bodies," Sen jumped to his feet and came to rest beside her with a shake of his head. "What sort of province is this?"

Yuzuha knelt down beside the pit and picked up the helmet from one of the armor sets and held it in her hands, her thumbs brushing across the brim. "This belonged to Takamune. He was... He was the only person in my family besides my uncle who believed I could be a warrior. My father killed him and his brother the night I ran away. He... never told him where I was hiding." She stood up, helmet in hand, and stared down at the pit. It was all bones mixed with clothing and armor, and she shook her head as she slowly lowered the helmet back down. "He left them all to rot in a pit." Sen saw her fist tighten before she spoke again, "The only person who will be left to rot in a shallow grave when we finally leave here is him."

"Yuzuha, anger and revenge are not healthy options here," Sen reached out and tried to grab her shoulder, but Yuzuha swatted his hand away.

"Just this once," Yuzuha growled, "keep that holier-than-thou spiel to yourself. My father is a horrible piece of shit of a human being. The last thing he deserves is mercy!"

Sen knelt down and sifted through the remains until he came upon a straw doll bound up with weathered cord. He held it in his hand, turning it over once before laying it back down beside the little skeletal hand that once clutched it. "Someone like this shouldn't be allowed to lead anything."

"Then we're of one mind on this," Yuzuha looked down at him.

When they made it back to the house, the attitude of each member was about what Sen expected. "Yuzuha, I understand your anger, but you cannot just barge into his house-!" Emi tried to stop her as Yuzuha began gathering her things.

"You have no idea what he did to me and the people who protected me, Emi! He killed all of them! Their families! That son of a bitch doesn't deserve to live!" Yuzuha snapped as she spun to Emi.

"Killing him will only hurt you!" Emi protested.

"But it will be damned cathartic," Aoi cut in. The only thing he got from Emi was a disappointed frown.

"I honestly don't care what any of you think," Yuzuha grabbed her naginata. "I'm going to his house and I'm killing him.

"Yuzuha-!" Emi tried to stop her, but the taller woman shoved past her easily and knocked her aside as she stormed from the house, grabbing her somen as she did. The nun watched the door slam and brought a hand to her face before she looked to Sen, "Please, try to stop her. She listens to you!"

"Did you miss the part where she was going out to murder someone?" Aoi asked, but before anyone could say anything else, Sen was already donning his armor,

"Help me get this on," he looked over at Aoi, who sighed and stood up to help him, and within minutes he was cutting out the door after her.

It didn't take him long to find her standing by the road, seemingly working on getting her nerve up. He fell in step beside her and looked at her before he slipped his mask on. The two of them didn't say a word for a long while as they stood alone in the fog together, side by side. Yuzuha was the one who moved first, walking across the dirt road and up into the woods, following the hill up with Sen close behind.

"Did Emi convince you to come?" She asked over the crunch of their feet on the leaves. "I don't need you talking me out of anything, Sen."

"I'm not going to try to talk you out of it," Sen replied, "but I am going to try to keep you from doing something you'll regret. If you think he needs to die, then okay, but I won't let you hurt yourself for someone who doesn't deserve it." He paused, "That, and I figured you'd need someone to hold the door for you if we ran into any fights."

"What? Can't I open them myself?"

"Yeah, but I figured you'd have your hands full with one guy in each. It's easier to ditch them if the door's open." He heard her snicker and a smile came to his lips. If he could keep her somewhat calm, then he hoped when she did finally meet her father, regardless of what she planned to do, that she'd make the decision with a level head.

The two of them dropped down nearby the brush at the edge of the forest and found themselves staring off over the grounds of an estate, hidden away from the town by trees and the perfect elevation. Before them was a rock garden shrouded in mist, and neither of them could see any signs of movement from the few doors that faced out toward the garden.

"Perimeter patrols are scarce," Sen whispered.

"Yeah, because everyone is too scared to attack him and his guards hate him enough to not try," Yuzuha replied just as quietly.

"Any idea where he is?" Sen asked. "I'm following you."

"I know exactly where he'd be," Yuzuha hissed as she slowly began to snake her way through the brush and toward the estate. Sen followed close behind her, snaking his way between sticks and twigs to avoid making much noise. Judging from her dedicated path, Sen figured Yuzuha meant what she said when she claimed that she knew where her father would be. They stepped up onto the wooden walkway, and she briefly glanced around before she looked at Sen. "Ready?"

"Ready," he replied and rested his hand on the tanto he kept at the small of his back.

She paused for a moment and then slammed the door open, prompting the man in the bed to shoot up, "Who in the-?" He paused when he looked up and saw the two snarling visages of their somen staring down at him. "Who-? Help!"

"I am the vengeance of the people you've slaughtered, Renjo, and I will take what I am due," Yuzuha began to stalk forward like a predator stalking its prey, ready to pounce for the kill. There was no hesitation as Yuzuha stormed forward and adjusted her naginata. The man scrambled backward, whimpering the whole way. She backed him against the wall and hefted up her weapon, poised to stab him straight through the chest, when someone caught her arm. She looked to see Sen holding her forearm. "Let. Me. Go."

"He isn't worth it," Sen whispered his response as both of them looked down at her father. "Look at him."

Yuzuha looked back down at the man cowering before her. He was a weak, frail old man now. He was all skin and bone with liver spots on his head and grey in his stringy hair. He looked up at her ready to cry, a far cry from the tyrant she remembered as a child. How, she considered as her fist tightened around her glaive, had she been so scared of such a pathetic waste of space? She reached down and grabbed him by the collar, hefting him to his feet and yanking him to her in one savage motion. "Remember me?" She asked, her voice a low growl as she threw down her naginata and yanked off her mask.

"Yu-Yumi-?"

She delivered one solid punch to his face, holding him fast and not allowing him to fall. "I threw away that name ages ago, old man. Do you remember the names of all of the people you killed for me running away? Do you?" She shook him as he grabbed at his bleeding nose.

"I-I-!"

"Wrong answer," she hit him again and he fell to the floor as she released him. She squatted over him, grabbing him again and forcing him to face her, "Do you remember killing them? The children, too? Do you?"

"I- No, I-"

"You what? You've changed? I heard the people of this town. They're terrified of you. Want to know something, otou-san?" She dragged him up to her face, "I kill monsters that terrify children."

The old man looked past her to Sen, "You, samurai, help me!"

"Sen, would you help this baby-murdering trash?" Yuzuha lifted him again, "Because I wouldn't."

"Whatever you decide to do," Sen crossed his arms, "if you kill him, you become the very thing that he is."

"Oh, I won't kill him. I want him to know what it feels like to be weak, afraid, and alone. None of your men are going to come for you, you old piece of shit, because none of them want to see you alive," she tightened her grip before she threw another violent punch to his face and threw him down as she knelt over him, punching him again and again.

The first few, Sen could understand, but when she didn't stop, he rushed forward and caught her elbow, dragging her away with an ease that he hadn't been expecting. Her hands were covered in blood and were shaking as her breath came in choked gasps as he realized that she was fighting back sobs while she was. "Yuzu..."

"You ruined my life, you old fuck!" She screamed at him. "You made me feel like I was nothing! Now, it isn't me who's lying scared and bleeding on the floor, is it?" Sen spun her around to face him and saw the tears sliding in small rivers down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes, "It isn't me..." She spoke in a shaky voice as she looked up and met Sen's gaze.

Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, keeping an eye on the man on the floor behind her. He felt her arms encircle him as well as she pressed her head into his shoulder. "It isn't. Now, you have to let this go. Your friends wouldn't want to see you become a killer."

"You're right," she sniffed as she stepped away and turned to look back down at her father. "This ends here. I'll let you live, old man, but the second I step foot back here and hear that you're still a sack of shit, I'll be back. This is your chance to atone, for what your miserable life is worth."

As she finished, the doors slammed open and several samurai stood on the other side in various states of dress. When Yuzuha turned to face them, face speckled with blood, Sen watched a few of them step back. "Yumigimi?" One of the older samurai stepped forward. "You're alive?"

"So is he," she jerked her chin back towards her father. "Though I go by Yuzuha now. You should find better employers, Kenzaemon."

Another door slid open and when Sen turned, he saw a woman that could have been Yuzuha's twin had she not been older. The woman stared at her and hurried into the room, "Yumi?"

Yuzuha rolled her eyes, "If one more person calls me that..." When she turned to see who it was, the annoyance died on her lips. "Hahaue?"

Sen backed away and let her mother take her daughter's face in her hands with a warm smile. He slipped out past the other samurai to wait while she reacquainted herself with her family, deciding instead to savor the cool misty night instead. He sat down on one of the rock garden's great stones and waited.

He had almost dozed off when he felt someone sit beside him, "He's in there begging for his life." Yuzuha's voice made him jump and turn to her. She had taken up a spot on the large stone beside him, seemingly much calmer than she was before. "I hope he chokes."

"You'll be happy you didn't kill him."

"I know. It leaves a stain when you kill people like that. Thanks. For stopping me." She looked over at him with a smile, "They, uh... They offered to let me come back."

"You gonna take it?"

Yuzuha snorted, "Absolutely not. Can you imagine me in a dress? Ugh!"

Sen chuckled, "I don't know. You might actually look better than you think."

"Better than covered in the blood of my enemies?"

"Well... okay, you do look great covered in the blood of your enemies."

Yuzuha smiled at him before she leaned over and placed one small, slightly awkward kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for being here," she added softly before she stood up and began to make her way out of the garden the way they came in.

---

Sen was already awake with the rest of his group when Hashi awoke and ambled forward from his room with a large yawn that flashed his mouth full of yellow fangs. "Morning, sleepyhead," Sen teased lightly as Hashi thudded down beside him and scratched his head with his long claws with another gaping yawn.

"Are you feeling well enough to travel?" Emi asked as she handed him a bowl of soup. "We're only a few days out from Hizen, and from there we can get a boat to Kyushu."

Hashi responded with an affirmative nod as he took the bowl and began to drink the soup hungrily, prompting Sen to snort a laugh as the yokai's eyes began to water from the heat.

Before anyone else could reply, there was a knock at the door. Aoi looked around before he grabbed his sword and stood up, making his way to the sliding door and slowly pushing it open to reveal the samurai from Maru's group that Yuzuha had fought. "Do you need me to get the girl again?" Aoi threatened, making the samurai step back.

"I'm just here with a message for the one they call Sen," he held his hands up. "Maru has an offer."

Sen glanced at Hashi before he stood up and stood next to Aoi, crossing his hands over his chest as he did. "Go on."

"Maru has an offer. He requests that upon reaching Hizen, you duel. If you win, he allows your yokai to go free. No strings attached. If he wins, he gets to fight your yokai and kill him, if he is able, to fulfill his contract."

Aoi looked over at Sen, "Kid... Be careful. He was a damned good duelist."

Sen hesitated for a moment. Aoi had a point. However, all it took was one look over his shoulder at Hashi. His friend had always been there for him, and had defended him from everything life had thrown at him. What kind of a friend was he if he could not say the same? He turned back to Nobuhiko and gave one nod, "Tell him that I accept and that I will see him in Hizen."

Nobuhiko nodded and turned to walk away without another word before he paused and briefly looked back. "I don't quite know what part of him you changed, Wolf, but... he respects you, I hope you understand that."