Rooster 7th:
Unicorn delegates arrives and lets Haruto know about the upcoming wedding in the winter court. Haruto informs the Unicorn delegates about his Guest list which consists of Akodo Ochai and his family, Haruto’s family and his companions: Matsu Kagami, Matsu Hinata, Matsu Ryojiro.
The Unicorn delegates take note of his wishes and lets him know that they have planned activities for Haruto and his bride to be which consists of Horseback riding through the Phoenix lands and possible hunting in the Shinomen Forest which they have asked for permission for beforehand. Haruto lets the Unicorn delegates know that the Shinomen forest is known for supernatural events since the forest is spiritually charged and they say that they don’t believe in such things and everything would go along well. They also tell Haruto that there will be a series of competitions that they expect everyone to be participating in. They then continue to discuss wedding preparations and the design of the wedding, planned gifts and tapestries and even tracing the lineage of both families. Afterwards, Haruto departs to join the group at the House of Foreign stories where Akodo Kage is having his meeting.
Haruto arrives to see the end of a duel between Hinata and the crab samurai. Eta arrive to take the body away. Haruto approaches Mamoru and asks what happened. Afterwards, Mamoru shares what happened, Haruto asks to transfer Kage-sama back to the estate. He orders the servants to prepare the palanquin and caravan. Kagami checks Kage-sama and inspects that he has a weak pulse but it would be safe to transport him. Hinata asks the crab about the samurai he dueled and the Crab delegates tell her that they didn’t expect it and Hida Kisada formed the group and that he joined up back at the city before they came here. Kagami uses Reflections of Pan ‘ku on the body and discovers he carried a lot of knives, shuriken and is of the Shosuro family.
As they head back with the caravan, A group of 6 men armed with yaris are blocking their path and when Hinata asks them to move, they ready their weapons and charge. Hinata charges and attacks one of the armed men and cuts off his head with one swing. Ryojiro comes forward and shouts at them and they are dazed with Lord Akodo’s Roar. Haruto knocks an arrow on his bow and fires at the armed men and hits one of them and is seen bleeding badly. The armed men try to poke their spears at Hinata and Ryojiro and a few strike Hinata and scratch her. Mamoru strikes his chest to relieve stress and gets pumped out to fight and uses the Iron forest style to make sure no one approaches the caravan. Kagami calls on the kami and casts Path to Inner peace on Hinata to heal her of her wounds.
Beings in black garb on top of walls appear nearby and let loose arrows on Hinata and Mamoru and injure them. Hinata cleaves off the head of another one of the armed men and she orders the caravan and it’s men calmly to move ahead and run off. Ryojiro cuts down one of the armed men and continues to protect the caravan. Haruto fires an arrow at one of the archers on top of the wall and hits him. The men try to attack Ryojiro and their attacks miss him. Mamoru tosses his yari in the cart and takes out a yumi and shoots at one of the archers and kills him. Kagami prays to the kami to help her with Path to Inner Peace. The archers fire at them and hit Hinata. Hinata swings her Nodachi and wounds a nearby armed man. Ryojiro takes a swing with her Nodachi and slices down another armed man. Haruto knocks an arrow and hits one of the archers and wounds them. The armed men attack and one of them injures Hinata. Mamoru fires at the archer and misses. Kagami invokes the ancestors and calls on a fog to cover the caravan as it moves away. Hinata gets hit by an arrow and starts cursing at the archers and taunts them to strike her and she goes berserk but afterwards she calms down and she tries to attack one of the armed men and wounds him. Ryojiro wounds another armed men as well. The caravan enters the fog and the armed men run off as they are badly wounded. The caravan soon runs off to the Akodo Estate with the group on it. They see that they aren’t pursued by the armed men.
As they arrive at the Akodo Estate, they go around checking the place and take notice that a trained person who can sneak well may be able to enter. Haruto and Kagami stand watch over Akodo Kage-sama and Mamoru goes around with the patrols. Ryojiro is panting heavily and tries to stay awake and feels sick but she manages to pull through. Hinata takes a daito and cuts her flesh to remove the arrow heads stuck on her.
Orihime and her companion arrives and goes to talk to Mamoru and tells them of a possible plot on Akodo Kage-sama’s life. Mamoru talks to Orihime and confirms that it is possible that other scorpion clan are working with the Soshi cartel who plan to kill Akodo Kage-sama. She lets them know that the Soshi cartel may be working with Kolat. They depart soon after. Everything is quiet at night and the group resume their patrols of guarding Akodo Kage who is unconscious but still alive in his quarters.
Later into the night, there is a commotion outside and Ryojiro goes out to see that they are being attacked by a mob of armed men. Ryojiro goes with the guards to try and hold back the attacking men. As the guards that are protecting the room of Kage-sama are going around his room, a shadow from behind one of the guards comse up and grabs one of the guards and breaks his neck. It charges the other guards and the shadowy creature forms spikes on its arms and impales the other guard killing him instantly.
It tosses the dead body at the end of the hallway. Hinata and Mamoru see this and are shocked at this creature attacking the guards. Hinata charges and hits the shadow beast and dents it’s skin. Mamoru then strikes at the creature using Iron forest stance and hits it but shows little harm in doing so. Haruto opens the sliding door and sees the creature and closes it quickly after a few moments. he opens it again and fires an arrow at it and the arrow bounces off it. Kagami calls on the spirits to bestow the Courage of the seven thunders on her companions. The shadow creature uses it’s one hand to open and close it and energy soon emerges from it and it uses a maho spell, grip of anguish on both Mamoru and Hinata. Both are hurt and Hinata is dazed and dizzy. The beast attacks Mamoru with it’s spiked arm and hurts him badly and delivers a debilitating wound. Hinata uses her entire rage as she strikes the creature and wounds it. Black blood starts to spill out into the area and the creature delivers a shrill scream. Mamoru tries to strike the creature and it doesn’t pass it’s thick carapace. Haruto fires an arrow and it bounces off it’s carapace. Kagami casts path to inner peace on Mamoru healing him a bit. The spikes on his arm grow and the creature attacks both Mamoru and Hinata maiming them. Ryojiro arrives and uses a technique, heartpierce strike and hits the creature and it starts to bleed badly. With the creature flailing in pain, Hinata strikes it and cuts off it’s head killing it. The creature starts to dissolve into black liquid and mixes with the black blood all over.
The day starts with news of Lord Akodo Kage’s plans for the day. The assistant tells Mamoru, Kagami, Ryojiro and Hinata of Kage’s itinerary for the day. Lord Akodo Kage will be going around the different geisha houses for meetings with his friends. The group is to escort and serve as his protection detail. Given this, Hinata and Kagami set out to scout the locations and ensure that it is safe for the visit. They encounter a man standing outside the Akodo Estate who is looking repeatedly at the Estate. While Kagami approaches and tries to talk to the man Hinata circles the street and approaches him from the other side. When they talk to the man they find out that his name is Ryohei and he has a manuscript of tactics and battles that he wants Lord Akodo Kage to sign. Ryohei begs Hinata to give it to Lord Akodo Kage for he really wants his copy to be signed so that he may give it to someone he looks up to. After accepting the manuscript, Hinata and Kagami leave for the House of Foreign Stories where they see the Mama-san cleaning on the streets. They talk to her and she assures them that the House of Foreign Stories is safe and Lord Akodo Kage-sama has visited them before and is a known patron of their house.
Meanwhile boxes are delivered to the Akodo Estate and Mamoru is informed that it belongs to Kage-sama. Mamoru asks for permission from Kage-sama to inspect the contents to which it is granted to him. Mamoru checks the boxes to find out that they are large barrels filled with fine sake that are to be shared and gifted to Akodo Kage-sama’s friends and partners who he is about to meet later tonight. Right after that, Hinata and Kagami return to the Estate and Hinata gives the manuscript to Mamoru and explains the situation to him. Mamoru tells the group to practice and train and he goes out to talk to Ryohei. Mamoru upon approaching Ryohei asks for the intention of the manuscript and Ryohei tells him that he wants it signed so he can give it as a gift to a Unicorn Samurai who he fell in love at first sight. Mamoru tells him that his mission is a foolish one and returns the manuscript to him. He tells him that actions are more important than gestures. Ryohei begs Mamoru but to no avail. Ryohei leaves silently and the group return to the Estate to practice and train.
Later that night, the group leaves escorting Akodo Kage and bringing with them 7 servants and a cart to bring the sake with them. The group surrounds and creates a perimeter between them, the crowds and Akodo Kage ensuring no one would be able to reach him. While walking, Mamoru realizes someone who passed by has placed a letter in his pocket without him noticing. He reads it and the letter is addressed to him and the sender wants to meet with him tonight at the gardens located at the back of the House of Foreign Stories. Mamoru decides to keep the letter to himself. Soon as they reach the House of Foreign stories, they are welcomed by the Mama-san and are led to the top floor where the VIP rooms are located. None of the guards may stay near the rooms to give the people privacy. All yojimbo must stay at the first floor with their own tables. The House of Foreign stories is three floors tall. The First floor has the kitchen and one entrance and exit going to and from it, The main doors that lead outside, the stairs leading up to the second floor. The second floor contains private rooms and is separated into the west and east hall. The third floor is similar to the second floor but has much more space. Each room has a window that is overlooking outside the gardens to the back of the House of Foreign stories, a large bed with silk sheets, a table with sake cups and tea cups as well. Pillows to be used for those who wish to sit. Mamoru decided to stay at the first floor to guard the stairs going up. Kagami is seated on a table on the first floor watching the doors leading out and is joined by Ryojiro. Hinata is outside drinking tea and eating while staying guard. Mamoru tells everyone to be vigilant and no one should be drinking nor eating until they have ensured that Akodo Kage has returned home safely. The first floor of the geisha house are filled with samurai from different clans. Atleast 3 samurai from each clan are present: Lion, Crane, Scorpion, Crab and Unicorn. Each are minding their own business and seem to have come to serve as a yojimbo and protect their ward, while their ward is meeting with a friend or someone important.
They rush in the room to see that a shadowy figure is seen on the window as if climbing in. Hinata rushes in with her naginata and slashes at the figure and destroys the window frame at the same time. The figure lets out a shout and falls backward avoiding the slashing weapon. The figure is Ryohei and he falls to the ground three stories down from the window but he sustains no injury as he landed on a flower bed. Hinata then goes to fetch Ryohei and bring him to Mamoru. When confronted, Ryohei admits that he wanted to sneak in and present the manuscript directly to Akodo Kage-sama to have it signed. Mamoru then asks who the samurai that he wants to impress with the manuscript and it was revealed to be one of the unicorn yojimbo at the House of Foreign Stories, Utaku Sarangerel. Mamoru then tells Utaku Sarangerel all about the situation and tells her about compassion since what Ryohei did will most likely lead to his death. Mamoru gives his copy of tactics book signed by Akodo Kage to Ryohei to present to Sarangeral. 
Afterwards, Hinata questions the Crab clan samurai as who was the person that was at the first floor before the others. When one of their companions was pointed to, Hinata told the entire congregation about what had happened and the accused refuse to accept it and was angry to be accused of such a deed. He challenged Hinata to a duel to which she accepted. Hinata took up her Naginata against the Crab samurai who used a Tetsubo. During the duel, Hinata noticed that the Crab samurai wasn’t skilled in the use of the Testubo and easily beat him in the duel to which he was badly injured and he died shortly afterward from his wounds sustained in the duel.
Afterwards they approach and ask questions from the merchant and they gather that the Moment’s Edge Firemen are not the only firemen around there are a few others and each are fueding with the other. The largest gang is the Moment’s Edge Firemen who is feuding with the Fire eaters for control over Fisherman’s quarter. Daikoku’s Garden and Strong Arm Firemen are fueding with one another over control over leatherworker’s quarter. The rest of the other quarters have one assigned firemen to them. The leader of Moment’s Edge Firemen is Mutsui, a fortunist monk while the leader of the Fire eaters is Hiroi or as they call him Bigger due to him being a large man. They continue to observe and notice that the different firemen encounter one another on the street but do not fight instead it seems that fights are caused by arguments at night when they are drunk.
Mutsui starts praying to the kami for protection and suddenly he is engulfed in radiating flames that burn and daze his nearby opponents. Hinata catches the fire and tries her best to cut down Mutsui. Haruto taunts Mutsio and distracts him with his words. Mamoru tries to stab Mutsui and injures him in the abdomen. Ryojiro swings her sword and she misses and is starting to get angry. Hinata unleashes her rage and fury as she is burning and stabs Mutsui and then follows up by cleaving off his head in one swoop. The group then leave the scene and head back to the Akodo estate ensuring that they have cut off the head of the snake which is the leader of the Moment’s Edge firemen.
The next morning, the group receives news that the Moment’s Edge firemen has dispersed with their leader gone. They receive news that Uma has been killed by a flying oni that descended on him during the night and bit his head off and flew off and dropped his body a street away where he was taken. The group then start to think about how to proceed.
Akodo Mamoru spent his time during the journey’s travel preparing a gift which was a dissertation and critique of past battles that Akodo Kage has participated in. Afterwards, he would go on to remind his group of their mission and do their daily training. Their duty was to investigate on the geisha Irozumi, and as a cover protect Lord Akodo Kage from any dangers that would threaten him. The group arrived at Ryoko Owari and was surprised upon meeting someone unexpected that same day. After the events that have transpired, the group decided to go to the Akodo Embassy and present themselves to Lord Akodo Kage. When they arrive at the Embassy they are greeted by soldiers and soon one of Lord Akodo Kage’s advisors, Akodo Tsuri. They are then led to their mansion where they will be staying and they leave their belongings there. Afterwards, they were brought to the main building and made to wait at the great hall for a few moments as Lord Akodo Kage was meeting with a group earlier. The great hall is filled with ashigaru and all are keeping an eye on their traveling companion, Okura Oi. Not long after their arrival, the halls doors open and leaving the hallway are scorpion samurai who nod to the group as they leave. The group then enters except for Okura Oi who is told to wait for them in the great hallway.
Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro find themselves at the most popular geisha house, the House of the Morningstar, which was owned by the acting governor of Ryoko Owari, Shosuro Hyobu. They are greeted by the Mama-san and they inquire about the prices and each of them purchase a geisha and a private room. Akodo Haruto pours his heart and woes to the geisha attending to him telling her that he does not love his betrothed but is torn between his duty and his own emotions. Matsu Ryojiro decides to question the geisha about the opium and finds out that they sell opium made by the Shosuro cartel here and they have a lavish underground opium den underneath that is hidden to most but paying customers who wish to avail of the service. The geisha asks Matsu Ryojiro of what brings them to Ryoko Owari and he lies to her about it and is internally struggling with lying to the geisha. Afterwards, Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro head to the other popular geisha house, the House of Foreign Stories, owned by the Unicorn clan which caters to others who prefer their geisha to be foreign women. There they are greeted by a middle-aged blonde lady with blue eyes who identifies herself as the Mama-san of the geisha house. They ask about Irozumi and give a description of her but the Mama-san denies any knowledge of her but shows to be hiding something. They then question her further and she admits that Irozumi used to work for the house of foreign stories but she was fired because out of fear. They fear that she may be dealing in unsavory business because she had many clients who seemed shady and they are afraid to talk about it because they fear for their lives. Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro then spend the night drinking mare’s milk brought from the unicorn lands and they get drunk and start telling people in the geisha house tales of their journeys, adventures, their group and why they came to Ryoko Owari. They had a good night and fell asleep drunk in the geisha house.
Meanwhile, the others head to the Fisherman Quarter and approach the shop to see people coming and going. They notice that the shop attracts attention and they decide to go in and buy opium from the store and they managed to buy a red sachet of opium from the Soshi cartel. Akodo Mamoru, Matsu Kagami and Okura Oi then confirmed that the stores do sell opium and are owned by the cartels. They then head afterwards to the Noble quarter to confirm the presence of the store. 
Upon arrival, they see Shosuro Orihime standing not far from the store leaning back against a tall post. Okura Oi decides to head into the store to purchase opium and he receives a red sachet with the Shosuro symbol on it. Matsu Kagami prays to the air kami to disguise herself as a sickly woman who looks like a drug user and approach Shosuro Orihime. Upon nearing her, she notices that another woman in robes and a mask is standing behind Shosuro Orihime on the same post looking at the opposite direction. As Kagami nears Orihime, suddenly Orihime notices her and notices that it is an illusion surrounding her. Orihime asks who she is and why is she masked in an illusion while putting both her hands behind her back as if holding unto something. Realizing that something may have gone wrong, Okura Oi decides to act as a distraction and causes a commotion in the store. This alerts both Shosuro Orihime and her companion and Matsu Kagami runs away. Both Shosuro Orihime and her companion head to the store to contain the problem and Orihime draws a Kusari-gama from her back and throws the chain at Okurai Oi and misses. Okura Oi runs to the backroom of the store and it opens to a room filled with boxes and no exit. 
He turns to face Orihime and sees her companion come in behind her. Orihime’s companion releases folded paper figures out into the air and soon the figures fly on their own. They then ask Okurai Oi to surrender and Okura Oi does not reply but realizes that the paper figures are shikigami and he is faced with Shosuro Orihime and a Shugenja from the scorpion clan. Shosuro Orihime throws her chain again and manages to latch unto Okura Oi and Okura Oi simply falls down on the ground pretending to be unconscious. Matsu Kagami goes to Akodo Mamoru and she admits that she has made a mistake and they both look from a safe distance on what is happening. Soon magistrates arrive to the store and Okura Oi is bound by rope taken to the magistrates office and placed in a cell to await his trial tomorrow. Matsu Kagami and Akodo Mamoru decided to return to the Akodo Embassy to think of their plan on what to do. That night, Okura Oi slips out of his bonds and finds his cell not to be locked. The magistrate guarding him seems to have fallen asleep and he then runs out and heads to the fishermans quarter and steals a boat and starts rowing away to safety leaving Ryoko Owari. Soon afterwards, Akodo Mamoru and Matsu Kagami head to the magistrates office to find that Okura Oi is no longer there. The magistrate awakens and learns that Okura Oi is no longer there and assumes that someone else may have posted his bail and was taken care of by the other magistrates. Akodo Mamoru and Matsu Kagami head to the Leatherworkers quarter and see that there are ashigaru extorting money from the people that live there. They identify the ones extorting money as the Moment’s Edge Firemen. They are a group of ashigaru who serve as fire men and put out fires when one breaks out in the city. They go to the store and confirmed that it is a Bayushi Cartel owned store as they receive the same opium from before by buying it.
Shosuro Orihime is already there taking a bath and greets them. The others are wary but they soon talk about clearing up the past event. Orihime explains that she disguised herself and went with the group because an opportunity presented itself to travel to the city where she was supposed to assassinate the informant which turned out to be the ronin that Akodo Mamoru met and got into an argument with. Akodo Haruto tells her about the night where she shot at him at the docks. Orihime explains that she was getting rid of evidence when she was pursued by someone she did not know, she shot back to discourage her pursuers but Haruto also shot back at her and she escaped. They then ask about why she ran when they first saw her at Ryoko Owari. She then goes on to explain it was her natural reaction seeing a group of people angrily running towards her and last they saw each other they tried to kill her telling them the events in Dragon Guard City where she was dodging the attacks of the group on the roof of the inn as they have correctly suspected that it she was the one who killed the ronin. She tells the group that it was not personal but it was a mission given to her by her clan and circumstances just made it look like the murder was framing Akodo Mamoru. She then clears her throat and tells the group that she has heard that they are looking into the Cartels and she needs their help in shutting down the Cartels. It happens that her mission is to assassinate the acting governor, Shosuro Hyobu.
Okura Oi is then directed to a large cave not far from the village where they say fearsome pirates under the command of Pirate Captain Anjin are settled. As Okura Oi travels bring him closer to the cave, he spots from the distance two ships in the cave and he doesn’t see anyone in the area. Not long after he spots A man and a woman carrying buckets of water from the pier area of the cave up to the second level of the cave. Okura Oi approaches the man and woman and decided to question them. The man stops what he is doing and puts his hand unto his katana at first but later on puts his hand away from it after introductions are made. The man identifies himself as Akodo Mamoru and is accompanied by Matsu Kagami. They are then asked by Okura Oi what they are doing with the buckets of water and as he looks at the area he notices there are many blood that have been spilled in the area but have dried up. Mamoru explains the situation, he tells Okura Oi that the pirate captain is in a room far above and not moving while wielding a cursed blade, Chukandomo. The pirates were spirited away by spirits and as for the water to ask Kagami about it. Kagami then clears her throat and tries to speak sa best as she can. She tells Okura Oi that she is bringing water in the room so that she can call on the water kami from the water to bring Anjin out and to safety. A few moments later as the group gathers in Anjin’s room. Kagami prays to the water kami and not long after the water from the buckets rise to coalesce and they formed a rushing wave which engulfs Anjin and pushes him out of the room and towards the entrance of the cave. Surprised by the wave, Anjin flails and screams out in terror shouting repeatedly that he does not want to be taken away. As Anjin falls to the entrance of the cave, the group follows him down to the entrance. 
Suddenly out of nowhere, an evil and threatening presence is felt by everyone in the area. The ground shakes a bit and from the ground bursts out two large demons who are covered in sand and seaweed. The sharp claws and jagged teeth are seen by the group and the red eyes of the demons fixate on Anjin who is wielding the legendary sword. Mamoru rushes to combat while rallying his companions. He brings out his yari and stabs one of the demon in the chest while shouting at it. He manages to pierce through the skin of the demon but he finds it hard and thick and he realizes that these demons are very strong and deadly. Kagami notices that there is a layer of seawater in the area they are in and it reaches ankle deep. She starts to pray to the water kami and soon the water starts to creep up Mamoru and soon cover his entire body with the thin layer of water and it takes the shape of a light coating of water on him. Okura Oi tries to call on the air kami for help to push back the demons away from them but the air kami did not respond to his prayers. Anjin shakes in fear still gripping the sword in his hand as the two demons walk up to him and each demon raising their arms with claws extended at him. The first demon takes a swipe at him and Anjin falls on his knees wounded by the assault and his blood spills unto the beach. The second demon takes a swipe at him and hits him on the face with such force that it twists his head to the side breaking his neck and instantly killing him. Anjin falls to the ground dead while still holding a tight grip on Chukandomo.
From the distance they see a large farm area with a fence surrounding it, a small hut is at the end with a man drinking sake and looking at the field is seated. Mamoru, Kagami and Hinata decided to walk around the area and approach from behind the house while Okura Oi approaches from the front. Okura Oi talks to Mashiro and ask him if who he is and if he owns the land. Mashiro answers him that he is a simple farmer named Mashiro and the land is his. Okura questions Mashiro’s origins and asks where he is from to which Mashiro answers that he is from Rokugan, a land quite far from the islands of Silk and Spice and he is a wandering ronin. Okura Oi repeatedly questions him about this and this causes Mashiro to simply stare at Okura Oi with confusion and suspicion. The others, as they circle around his hut they notice from a shoji door at the back of the hut that the house is filled with Sake bottles and that there is a daisho stand near a bedroll by the floor of the hut. They then decide to go to the front and confront Mashiro. As the group approaches Mashiro, upon closer look, Mamoru recognizes Mashiro as Matsu Shindoku but a bit older and rugged looking as if he has not groomed himself for a long time.
The group arrives at Ryoko Owari Toshi and notice that the gates look ominous and that there are many samurai from the Scorpion clan here. There are Unicorn clan samurai and also Lion clan samurai but the Lion clan are the fewest in number here. As they approach the city, they notice guards talking to merchants and seldom do searches of their wares. As they head in to the city the first thing they notice is that the city is filled with lots of people. There are numerous merchants, peasants and samurai all talking and doing business in the streets of the city. It is packed and crowded. It feels like a trade hub but many know that many deal in illegal trades here in the City of Lies. The group leave their horses at the stables and ss they are making their way down the street heading towards the Lion embassy, Okura Oi notices that there are merchants selling small red packets of what seem to be powder to other peasants, merchants and samurai in the stalls on the side of the street. The dealings look to be quite shady. He informs others about this and they realized that the merchants are dealing in illegal goods: Opium. A drug that is abundant in quantity here in the City of Lies and they remembered that there are 3 factions currently in the city who are feuding for dominance in the business. The Bayushi Cartel, The Shosuro Cartel and the Soshi Cartel. 
Kagami while walking notices from a far distance a familiar face. She spots Orihime drinking from a bowl of noodles in one of the stalls two blocks away. She tells the others of what she saw. Suddenly Mamoru and Hinata start running down the street heading towards Orihime. They start pushing people to the side as they try to navigate the crowded streets. Orihime sees the commotion and squints to take a better view. She then sees Mamoru with an angry look on his face and Hinata along with him pushing the crowd away as they make their way towards her. She quickly puts down the bowl of noodles and grabs her mask from the table and puts it on. She then starts running down the street to get away from them. Mamoru and Hinata forcibly make their way down the street and manage to catch up to Orihime. Orihime climbs up a wall which looked to surround a compound or estate area and she runs along the top of the wall away from the crowds. Hinata climbs the wall and gives chase while Mamoru runs below the wall pushing the crowd aside and still chasing. Not long after, Orihime prays to the air kami and soon she starts to fade away. Upon seeing this from the distance, both Kagami and Okura Oi start praying to the air kami. Kagami does not get a response but Okura Oi starts to see the clothes that Orihime was wearing, revealing where is at the moment. 
He points to her direction and starts shouting but his shouting ends abruptly as he sees Orihime jump off the wall and into the walled compound area and disappears from sight. The group catch up to one another and discuss their possible actions. They then decide to head to the Lion Embassy and to remain vigilant for they are sure that Orihime is lurking around in the area. Hinata looks to the area where Orihime was last seen and mutters to herself. “Run as you might, Let the hunt begin.”
Afterwards they ready themselves to meet the Tortoise clan governor, Kasuga Kemmei. Kemmei greets the group in the court room of his castle and Haruto presents his gift for him. The Governor is pleased with the gift and asks what is their purpose to coming to his lands. The group explain their situation to him and Kemmei mentions that a different Lion group of samurai has taken the last free boat and has left earlier. The only available ship that can be taken to the Islands of Spice and Silk would be a Crane merchant ship that will be leaving in a few hours. Kemmei tells the group that they must go to the Islands of Spice and Silk to find out more about the pirates. Haruto and Kagami go to the Crane ship to pay their respects and they are approached by Doji Akihito who questions the belongings that they are bringing in and their intent to come with them. 
Kakita Renka approaches the group and assures them that the Lion samurai may come with them and she makes fun of Akihito for his behavior earlier. Mamoru and Ryojiro however head to the tavern to see sailors drinking at the tavern. After a few moments, Mamoru shouts out to the tavern. “We are looking for sailors that have gone to the islands of silk and spice and we will offer them a round of sake for information.” People look to their direction and laugh among themselves. After a few minutes they are approached by a group who tell them that the mantis cities are filled with regular people while the outer villages are not welcoming of outsiders. There is a village for pirates called Tokigogachu and they say that throwing rice out of the ship and into the water will ward off evil spirits. Mamoru and Ryojiro then leave to buy 8 days worth of rations so that they would have enough for the trip. The rest of the group arrive and introductions are made between the Crane and the Lion samurai onboard the ship. Akihito and Haruto get into an argument over who must take care of the inventory for the trip, both insist that they should be the ones to take care of it. Renka decides to have both of them help with the taking of the inventory and accompanies the group to below deck. Hinata and Mamoru end up talking to one another during the trip about their duties to the group. The group notice that Renka is unlike most of the cranes that they have met. On their trip Haruto plays his wind flute to pass the time. On their free times they train on both days while on the ship. They are joined by Renka. The entire trip to the Islands of Silk and Spice take around 2 days.
The group arrives at Tokigogachu at night and wear cloaks to hide what they are wearing that night. They wander through the streets and notice that the place is filled with peasants armed with swords or yari. There are a lot of fights, shouting, screaming and crying. Almost everyone in the city is drinking, talking loudly with someone or even fighting with someone. They head to a local ryokan to ask the locals. They ask the inn keeper about pirates and soon are under the suspicion of being outsiders. The inn keeper and a few peasants notice their katanas and soon they back off out of fear. Out of fear, they tell the group about a known pirate called Anjin who controls numerous pirates under his command. They attack Crane and Mantis ships and the man who produced the testimony that the Crane are the pirates works for him as his first mate. He also tells the group that Anjin and his crew hasn’t been seen for quite some time and their ships are docked at caves not far from where the city is.
The group arrives in Dragon’s Guard City and they are greeted by a long line of merchants and samurai going into the city. The guards of the city inspect the papers of those going in and along their belongings. Haruto asks why is this from the guards and they tell him that someone smuggled in opium a week ago and because of that they are now stricter in letting people in and they check their belongings. After they enter the city, Haruto heads to the House of the smiling carp, the largest ryokan and in the city. He is approached by the owner and he tells the owner that he will be renting 2 rooms for his group. The owner calls on heimin to help prepare the rooms and while Haruto is waiting he sees Akodo Mamoru’s brother, Akodo Takeshi seated on a table in the lobby area of the inn. Soon Takeshi is joined by two other Lion samurai, Ide Daisuke who is a fellow schoolmate of Haruto and Kitsu Goro. There are other samurai within the bar, some from the other great clans. In a table not far from the Lion clan samurai’s table, are seated two samurai-ko from the Dragon clan.
Kagami goes to the Shrine of Suitengu to pray for blessings and luck on their endeavors. While there, she notices that there are many merchants praying to the fortune for blessing and protection as well. There are monks in the area and one phoenix samurai-ko who is praying in the area as well. Wishing not to disturb any of them. She quickly goes to the altar and claps a few times and clasps her hands together to pray to the fortunes. While praying, Kagami feels at peace because the shrine is surrounded by waters and it feels like you are standing by the ocean and you hear the peaceful waves and movement of the water all around you. Suddenly she hears a voice warning her to be careful and not to trust them. She is suddenly awakened by this voice that she heard and asks to herself what was it all about. She quickly hurries back to the group with this feeling that something bad may possibly happen.
They head to the port area to see that the area is filled with Mantis clan ships and most of the people here are mantis clan samurai. They ask the harbormaster about information and he tells them that the ships coming and going are mostly Mantis clan. Kagami communes with the water kami and finds out that there is a crane ship docked here but it has never left the area. They also get information that the pirates are said to be organized and uses two ships to attack merchant ships of the Crane and mantis. The few that survive have already left but no one was able to identify the leader of the pirates. Kagami asks permission from Mamoru and heads out into the market in search of a library. She does not find one seeing as the city is mostly a trade hub and is filled with market stalls and houses. She manages to get books that give her insight into the culture and history of the Mantis clan. Ryojiro then heads back to the house of the smiling carp and decides to join a group of mantis clan sailors in drinking. While drinking with them heavily he decides to ask them about the pirate attacks and he manages to get information in regard to the ivory isles and uncharted islands not far from the mainland that may possibly house caves that could be used as a hideout. Haruto along with Orihime head to the Governor’s estate and they notice that the governor’s estate is guarded by mantis clan samurai. Haruto asks to see the governor and the mantis clan tell him that the governor, Kasuga Kemmei is currently busy but tomorrow he will be available to meet with Haruto and his group. Haruto agrees and sets the time for the afternoon tomorrow where they will talk to the governor.
As the duel is ongoing a figure approaches the crowd forming and is puzzled by the duel. The figure is Matsu Hinata, who has been sent by Matsu Tsubame to assist the lion clan group sent to Dragon’s Guard City with their assignment. As the duel continues, it becomes more intense as both Mamoru and the Ronin feel the stress building up from the duel. Until at the last moment the Ronin decides to anticipate Mamoru’s attack and as soon as Mamoru swings his sword. He dodges and counters with his strike. However Mamoru sees the incoming strike and manages to dodge it at the last second. Afterwards the Ronin lashes out in anger and manages to scratch Mamoru with his katana drawing a bit of blood. The match is finished and before the ronin is announced the winner, Mamoru out of anger drops his katana and walks back to his room not saying a single word to anyone. Orihime catches up with Mamoru and tries to cheer him up by offering to take care of the ronin but Mamoru ignores her. The ronin laughs to himself and walks away staggering while laughing repeatedly at himself, amused that he has won.
The group follows and hears sometime later a splash in the water, they see the figure running down the docks and Haruto chases after the figure. The figure climbs up the wall and stands on top of the city wall. Haruto shouts to the figure asking them to identify themselves. The figure then tosses a shuriken at Haruto and he dodges it. Haruto uses his yumi and shoots an arrow at the figure and scratches their arm with a small wound. The figure then jumps off the wall out into the wilderness and disappears. The group then decide to discuss what they have just seen. Kagami then decides to use an invocation to identify the item and who owns it. The shuriken seems to have a symbol of a scorpion on it and identifies the owner to be Bayushi Danzo. The group returns to the inn to rest for the night and think about the events that have transpired.
Kitsuki Minami and Agasha Aya approach the crowd and tell them that this must be investigated thoroughly and they proceed to check the body. The people tell them that the last person to have seen the ronin was Mamoru and they had a big fight where Mamoru lost. Kagami decides to talk to the spirit of the recently deceased and ask how he was killed. She hears the spirit tell her that he was minding his own business when he suddenly was pulled up into the air and he blacked out. The group discuss the event, when Orihime asks what is going on and she appears behind Haruto. Haruto notices that Orihime’s arm is bandaged. The part of the arm where his arrow scratched the person from last night. The group becomes worried for Mamoru and decides to look for him to tell him of the news. Minami and Aya follow them so that they may question Mamoru on his whereabouts. Soon they spot Mamoru meditating at the docks area. They approach him and disturb his meditation to tell him of the news. Minami tells Mamoru that it is important that they should find the culprit or else the governor may think that Mamoru did the crime and he may either be turned to the magistrate for sentencing or most likely asked to leave the city. Haruto then tell Minami about what they saw last night and the item recovered. Kagami then tells them that the item belongs to Bayushi Danzo and the story of the spirit of the victim. Kagami then confirms based on what she has seen on the body with the accounts. She explains that Gummei was sitting alone when a chain was wrapped around his neck coming from above and he was pulled up high and his neck broken by the strangling of the chain. Afterwards his body was stabbed by a knife repeatedly. Since he was already dead the blood coming out of his body was different compared to blood coming out of a body that is still alive. They also noticed marks around his neck of a chain-like object. The group then decides to head to his shop and talk to Bayushi Danzo. At the shop they ask Bayushi Danzo about the shuriken and he confirms that it was his, as it is crafted and gifted to him but he never uses it and keeps it in storage. Danzo also has a wound on his arm and is bandaged up. They check the storage room to find that his belongings have been touched. 
Kagami asks the earth kami on what they saw and the earth kami tell him that they saw someone small, woman and fast. The group then checks the boxes to see a black suit and a mask of an oni in one of the boxes. The outfit match the description of what the person was wearing the night Haruto encountered them. The group then decide to head back to the house of the smiling carp. They begin to suspect Orihime as the culprit and they see Takeshi, Daisuke and Goro at the lobby eating and talking to one another. Minami decides to ask them questions about their whereabouts. She asks Goro if he is familiar with Kitsu Orihime and if he knows where she might be. Goro simply replies that he knows a lot of people but there is no such person as Kitsu Orihime.
The group then afterwards decided to head to the training grounds to start training and resume their duties. They participate in a mock skirmish where they all fight out in an open fight where only one can be the victor. The skirmish commences while Orihime watches from the sidelines and cheers her peers. In the end, Matsu Ryojiro comes out victorious in the contest of physical prowess. The group then decides to go about their duties and tomorrow they depart for their week long journey to investigate the piracy at Dragon’s Guard City.
Light After Dark 