Mizuki turned a tired grin to Kenren.

"If only I felt that well, Isawa-sempai." She brushed hair from her eyes and cracked her neck. She was still torn between nausea and hunger. On the one hand, she was so hungry, she could eat...well, a Lion, or maybe even natto, but she couldn't decide if she could keep it down or not.

Kenren and Raiden both spoke then, and she turned to Raiden, figuring she wouldn't be much help with the trees and rocks business. She was a priestess, not a lumberjack; hell, she didn't even go shopping OR have buttered scones for tea on Wednesdays. Pressing wildflowers had never even been a consideration.

"I suppose so, Raiden-sama...who should I take with me? I do not wish to impose on anyone..."

"Sadly I can not spare any of my men at the moment, I'd escort you myself, but I have to be here to help plan the battle."

Katsu could feel a cool flow over his body, as if water had cleaned and then mended his wounds. Even though he was down and the world was black, he could still hear everything that had went on. Someone had come to his aid, because he needed it.

He could feel sensation come over his body again as his eyes were forced open, seeing the new priestess healing another Dragon. He tried to get himself up, seeing no Lions around. "We... won, Raiden-domo?" However, no answer could be povided, for he was now busy talking with the priestess.

"Sadly I can not spare any of my men at the moment, I'd escort you myself, but I have to be here to help plan the battle."

He sat himself up, leaning on his hands, "I shall go with her. I fear that I may be too much of a burden here. Whenever it seems that I try and help, someone has to come to my aid. I am sorry that I could not protect you Kenran-sama..."

Taken stood and glanced around as Katsu volunteered to go with Mizuki, looking over the dead and injured laying about on the wet stone. Those lucky, or perhaps unlucky, enough to have survived, shivered from the cold and wet as their blood leaked, slowly, out of their wounds. He felt sick.

He felt like he needed to get away from the scene for at least a little while, and work things out in his head. He knew, as he surveyed the damage to the lion troops, that some of those laying dead now, had been killed by his arrows. In the heat of battle he hadn't had time to be sure every one of his shots hit non-vital areas, only to be sure they hit the lions. Taking that time would have cost his men their lives. He knew this... but it wasn't enough, now, to comfort him. Now that he could see the loss of life.

He finally turned to Katsu after a few seconds. "Yes, Katsu... we won. An empty victory..." He stopped there, for just a second, before continuing, "But, you are a healer, are you not? You should stay here with the wounded and try to save as many lives as you can. I will escort the priestess..." A flicker of pain passed over Taken's face and he reached down to the wound again, which, although mostly closed, was not yet completely healed. "...Besides, I would rather not exert myself too heavily, with stones and logs, until my wounds have had time to heal properly."

"Dammit, go easy on it!" Dai said as a medic yanked the arrow in his shoulder out, not really trying to be gentle.

"I would if you would stop squirming," the man responded, yanking a bit harder to get his desired effect. Dai stopped moving just long enough for the medic to pull the projectile out completely, a yelp of pain coming out of Dai. He treated Dai's shoulder quickly, mostly because he had to get to others that were in more serious condition.

"Thank you," Dai managed to get in before the man hurried off to treat someone else.

__________

Two hours later, Dai was sleeping during the little time he had that wasn't working. But it wasn't the most peaceful of naps he'd ever had. A figure had wandered into his dream and interrupted the pace of everything that was going on in his head.

"You're pathetic boy," the figure said, an obvious tone of hatred added to the short, but to the point, sentence.

"What do you want, ancestor?" Dai grumbled, getting annoyed quicker than normal.

"I've come to tell you," the figure responded, "that you are pathetic, like I said. You can't take an arrow to the shoulder. Pathetic. I could take five arrows to the shoulder if I wanted to."

"The same speech again. This is getting stupid," Dai mumbled, his great, great grandfather continuing the same, but slightly edited, speech was given to Dai for, to Dai, the thousandth time. This continued for about half an hour until Dai was woken up to take his shift at patrol. Finally, was all that went through his head as conciousness was forced onto him, his particularly annoying ancestor's voice fading into the back of his mind as he began his patrol.

The survivors found a small forest of bamboo.

"Good, plant two rows of 10 parralell to each other one reed width apart at a 30 degree angle to the ground."

The mountaineers went to work building the tilted wall

Raiden took several logs of bamboo and began to construct a device. He started by tieing a heavy rock to two logs 8 feet in length.

Turning his head to see the one who had answered his question, "We have? I am glad, but your skills are needed here in case the Lion attack. Not to mention, I owe her my life. She brought me back from certain death. I'm sure I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. If anything, I have to go with her to repay the favor."

Katsu looked down to the ground, "By the way... I thank you Taken-sama. I heard you defend me while I was down in the darkness. I hope that I can repay you the favor somehow as well."

Mizuki stood, watching Taken and Katsu, trying not to snicker. She folded her hands before her and just waited for them to sort it out. Putting up with her family and Satsume had done wonders for her patience. If she hadn't have had that, she wasn't sure she could stand so quietly while mud and water soaked her tabi and robes. She had retrieved Kenren's haori as well, intending on washing it and her clothes.

"Then we'll both go, I need to leave this place... but any of the injured who do not last the night will owe their deaths to you, for not staying with them." With that he turned to Mizuki and pointed toward the path Raiden had spoke of earlier. "That is the way, correct?"

(Lazy... just posting so no one has to wait for me.)

Mizuki froze. And here, her selfishness was about to cost more lives.

"Damnit," she muttered under her breath. "Never mind, Taken-san, Katsu-dono." She grumbled again. Okay, so he had a point; but did he have to put it so rudely and arrogantly? She sulked off to find bandages and medicine for the wounded.