As Sora put the leather armor on Tsubaki hurriedly explained the situation.

  "The Onmyodo is the name of the mercenary group we're a part of. We're delivering some gifts to the Kusakyu as a token of good faith. After that we're going to sneak away, and get you to your parents, and after that I'm leaving with the Onmyodo. Understood?"

  Sora simply nodded in response.

  "Good."

  The two stepped outside the tent, and saw soldiers running amok preparing for the meeting. Big Bowl was handing out breakfast, men were sparring in the dead fields, and the Rain Road was bustling with wagons full of booze, and treats for the Kusakyu Clan.

  "H-Hey..." Sora said, looking down. The boy picked up a sword that had been left by their tent.

  "I-It's heavier than it looks."

  "Be grateful. Someone somewhere here is frantically searching for that sword. You better capitalize on their misfortune; though you shouldn't need it anyway."

  Sora nodded in response.

  'Seriously, why is it so heavy?'

  The two then lined up on the Rain Road with the other soldiers. Tsubaki kept note of Sora's movements; they were slower, and more sluggish than yesterday.

  'Once I get you home you can start to really recover. Tch, I can't believe I didn't see this coming. Damnit!' Tsubaki thought, gritting her teeth.

  "T-The Onmyodo must've paid a lot of money to get an audience with Kuda," Sora said.

  "You have no idea kid. It's gonna be a whole parade. 90% of the Onmyodo band are gonna parade the streets all the way up into Kusakyu Castle. Okita wants us to make a big show of it."

  "Okita?"

  "Okita Kiriyama, he's the shinobi leading the Onmyodo."

  "I-I thought that Roji guy the guard mentioned last night-"

  Tsubaki shook her head.

  "He's in charge of this platoon, and this mission I guess, but he's not the leader."

  'That's what Big Bowl told me anyway.'

  Sora looked down at the shoes he was wearing.

  "What is it kid?"

  "Straw, and Aoi... They've never been inside a shinobi village before; I was thinking - It's going to be really sad they're not here to see this."

  "They'd just be disappointed anyway."

  "Maybe, but I want them to be disappointed. I want them to see it's not as great as it seems. Just like I did; just like I learned about what's outside of Ame. I want them to learn about what's inside of it."

  "And now you've come full circle huh?"

  The gates to Amegakure had finally opened, and the long lines of Onmyodo mercenaries began to enter the village; there had to be at least 200 of them marching inside with caravans full of gifts. As they made their way in there were dozens of refugees clamoring on the outside of the Rain Road desperately trying to force themselves into the ranks, and into the village, but Orange Men, Rain Soldiers, and Onmyodo men worked to keep them back.

  Once inside the village the gates behind them had closed. Walking along the main roads of Ame, now instead of refugees lining the sides of the street it was Ame citizens watching in earnest curiosity. They were better dressed, decently fed, and well protected by the Ame government.

  "Where's Roji?" Sora asked.

  "He's at the front of the line. He'll be the one talking to Kuda."

  "I've heard so much about her, but I've never actually seen her."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  "Huh? Oh, well that makes sense. You may be a part of a big family, but you aren't part of a shinobi family. Even seeing her is probably a once in a lifetime chance for you."

  "When my brother was younger my dad had brought him to the castle to meet her. He thought she was crazy, but in an exciting way." Sora couldn't help but smile."He'd go on and on about how he wished he could be like her one day, and he'd even practice hand signs in the backyard, but nothing ever happened of course. O-Oh, and another thing, he'd always want to play fight with me. I was always the bad guy though, and he was the super cool shinobi. He'd even get me out of bed just so we could play before mom had breakfast ready."

  "Sounds like you really love your brother."

  Sora's smile remained, his face fixed on the line of soldiers in front of him as he marched.

  "Yeah."

  Not wanting to interrupt Sora's remembrance she let him have that thought; and grew quiet herself.

  'I'll bring you back to your brother kid. I promise you that.'

  Tsubaki, and Sora both unintentionally listened in on a conversation happening in front of them. It seemed every soldier was talking about the Kusakyu in one way or another.

  "I-I'm surprised they didn't limit the soldiers we could bring," a soldier named Manzo said.

  "It's because we're soldiers that they don't care," a soldier named Koichi replied.

  "Who knew one clan could burn through this much alcohol in a week."

  Koichi shook his head with a scowl,while another man from the group stepped forward.

  "It's because the Kusakyu have really high alcohol tolerance; it takes a lot to get em drunk."

  Sora figured that was probably true. It was another odd fact his brother mentioned on more than one occasion. He said the Kusakyu were known for their extravagant parties. As they approached the castle they were met by a large drawbridge which slowly lowered to welcome their arrival.

  Then everyone saw them. Watching from the castle walls, and across the moat were the Kusakyu. To everyone's surprise what they saw were men, and women clad in expensive clothing. For what they lacked in elegance, and formality they made up for with style. The most common trait the Kusakyu demonstrated was their striking purple hair, and most of them had eyes the color of gold.

  "The color of their eyes isn't natural." Manzo said nervously. "I've never seen anything like it."

  "That's because they're not. A soldier said. You know, some call these Kusakyu folk demons."

  "W-Why is that?"

  "It's because they used to have horns stickin' out of their heads." Koichi said.

  "That's not the entire rumor by the way," Sora whispered to Tsubaki, "The Kusakyu supposedly have a huge stash of horns under the castle."

  "Fairy Tales," Tsubaki said simply.

  "Haha, not the superstitious type huh?"

  "Absolutely not."

  Koichi, and Manzo seemed to fall onto the same topic.

  "HORNS?!" Replied Manzo.. "Please Koichi, did you drink some of the booze we're supposed to be delivering? Must all be going to your head."

  After crossing the bridge the group was led into a large courtyard where they were surrounded by walls on all sides. Plants of all kinds aligned the edges of the inner curtain of the castle. Pinks, blues, reds, and yellows, and various combinations of the colors lightly decorated the walls giving the castle an exquisitely tasteful look.

  Both Sora, Tsubaki and the other guards looked around in awe, and wonder. It was like they were visiting some kind of forbidden place; the castle just had that wondrous aura about it.

  'So this is where my brother spent most of his time.'

  In the center of the courtyard, and beneath the mercenary's feet was hard white stone; the same kind that was used to build the bridge. There was also a surprisingly large drainage system fit with at least a dozen drains, and multiple gutters just situated evenly along the castle walls. In front of them was the keep; and on the balcony attached to it was the head of the Kusakyu clan herself – Kuda Kusakyu.

  "There she is!" Manzo said.

  The crowd of mercenaries grew even louder as they all looked up at the head of the clan.

  "She's so young." Sora said.

  "It's not that special; if it wasn't for Sejin refusing to step down, Mikan would be heading the Kosutta clan in her place. And my clan is the same way."

  Sora didn't know much about the Kosutta, but everything he'd heard told him they were bad people, and the worst clan in Amegakure. He knew even less than that about the Akinoyo.

  Kuda Kusakyu had a determined, callous face; her eyes looked drenched in murder and frustration; her hair was a dark purple, and her one eye as gold as the sun. The other eye was dressed with a black eye-patch.

  'Man why is this sword so freaking heavy?'

  As the group settled down Roji, the highest-ranking member of the Onmyodo mercenaries stepped forward, and nervously cleared his throat before kneeling before the head of the clan.

  "Oh, great Kuda!" He yelled. Roji's voice reverberated off the walls "My employer, Surudo the Body Snatcher, better known as Okita Kiriyama has sent me, Koichi his best mercenary here as a representative to offer you an apology for our most recent transgressions."

  The Onmyodo mercenaries began to talk amongst themselves.

  "An apology?" Manzo said, "What are we apologizing for?"

  Hush whispers washed over the group painting the Onmyodo with a sense of curious unease.

  He looked up at Kuda. "I... trust you'll accept," he then turned his attention to the Kusakyu who all seemed to be enjoying the alcohol the Onmyodo had provided.

  Kuda looked down at Roji with disdain.

  "The Kusakyu clan happily, and graciously accepts your gift Roji. It's clear a lot of thought, and consideration was put into this care package. We will never forget the Onmyodo's amazing gesture of goodwill."

  The Kusakyu cheered, and hooted, thankful for the gifts. The Onmyodo mercenaries all started to laugh along with the Kusakyu, thankful for a successful transaction.

  "But... The Kusakyu do not accept your apology Roji. In fact I intend to kill Okita Kiriyama with my own two hands. I will tear off his legs, and throw him back into the cold abyss he climbed out of."