Benitora looked down at what he was carrying.

"I pity the oni. I pity the oni who tries to find some trouble with us tonight."

"Are you all well?" Tsubasa's voice reached them and then there she was, Shizune close at her right side. Tsubasa had claimed her spear back from the little girl and had the other one held in her left hand.

"I gots me some jade. Any oni try to mess wid'us tonight, I throw him hella far."

Benitora paused.

"Damn. Forgive me. It must have been the ghost trying to possess me."

Tsubasa donned a weird expression, but not because of how Benitora talked. It was what he said. "Oni are affected by jade?"

"obviously you've had very little experience with the shadowlands," an unknown voice said.

"Well, I haven't really learned much about the world around me and..." Tsubasa suddenly stopped speaking and aimed her spear towards where she thought the origin of the voice was, reflexively nudging Shizune behind her. "Who speaks, now?"

Samoht grabbed his bo staff from his gunna, giving it a twirl as he did so.

"If you're man enough, show yourself."

Samoht paused for a few moments.

"Or maybe, the problem is that you aren't a man."

"Big words from a band of ronin. I like my neck, I think I'll keep it. It was a nice thing you did for that mother, but I don't know if that means I can trust you yet." A few yards to the south a rustling could be heard. The rustling started to grow more distant.

"Sir, please. We don't mean anyone harm, and if it's help you need, we'd be glad to help." Hideki was awake now, the group reaching for their weapons and the man rustling in the grass stirring him more than anything before. "Please, just show yourself. Information is something we could use as well, so any you might have we would be grateful to accept."

There was no response, the morning came with heavy rains, falling in sheets. Tenshi stirred and woke thr others.

"Time to go."