Metou wasn't inclined to exert herself with a quick pace at the moment, so the others that were headed outside managed to pass her. When the old woman exited the castle, Tarou, Yuudai, and Gin were already outside. Yuudai seemed like in such a rush to get out that she nearly hit Metou, and since she could still hear the whole conversation behind her, Metou knew why, and didn't blame her for it. The only thing she felt was a bit of jealousy. Nobody offered her a royal wedding just because she showed up to a search-and-destroy party.

Once past the castle walls, Metou gazed at the village they would soon be leaving, which she hadn't travelled far outside in many years. Shima had foreign affairs they needed a gun to attend, and in her prime Metou was often a participant in minor excursions, but for a long time she had been absorbed in living by herself and training others.

Metou sighed a bit and said, "Hope you're all ready to say goodbye to our village for a while. Searching for these thieves with barely anything to go on is going to take us a while." While she was out there, she started looking around, assuming their supplies might be nearby.

Once the group had said their goodbyes and gathered any additional personal items they needed, it was time to set out. They were informed they would be met on their way out by an additional companion as well as given their group supplies, meaning they would only have to carry important personal items themselves. Though it was possible that they would be back soon, most doubted it unless for a quick report if they had to loop back around. As such many were treating it saying goodbye before the group was gone for possibly years, with that thought in their heads everyone they passed bowed and said goodbye once more. Some thought they were being sent on a hopeless journey and would either die out there or come back empty handed, but most were given hope by them setting out and felt things just might end up alright.

Eventually they reached the edge of the town and were greeted by a young man whose robes had symbols on them that were similar to some of the Naji ones of nearby villages. While to most nothing outside of his symbols would stand out, there would be a slight spiritual tug on both him and Metou due to his connection with corvids (not enough to allow telepathic communication). Behind him were 4 rontu carrying a good amount of supplies for both setting up camps, feeding themselves, and various items that the clan felt would be useful on the journey such as protective charms and crafted items for trading. On all sides of the rontu were Shima guards, serving as escorts to discourage bandits from trying to steal everything. After a quick bow he greeted them.

"Hello I am Takumi, Young Wing of the Kunteki clan. My people don't settle this island so I'm unaware if you have met any of us. We are known for being great guides and as such your Lord has hired me to help you all find the fastest, safest, most traveled, or any other kind of path you desire as well as help provide info on distant locations. My people are technically part of the Naji clan but I don't consider myself such, so you don't have to worry about any issues you may have with them currently. This guards will accompany us for a short while before leaving us on our own, just tell me where you want to go, how soon you want to get there, and any other info of importance, and I will chart out the best path." He spoke with a relaxed tone, with body language that matched. To him this was mostly just another job so he didn't have the same passion or intense respect that a Shima guide would have had.

*Gulp - Gulp - Gulp*

"AH!"

Yuudai gave off a relieved sigh as she pulled the chilled sake jug from her lips, the refreshing taste of the fruity sake was just what she needed to calm down after what happened with the lord. Thankfully its alcohol content was pretty damn low, thanks to her making sure that it was given the stories that her mother always told her about Oni becoming addicted to it. However right now she felt like she needed a stronger drink seeing how everyone was treating them; bowing as they passed, saying goodbye as if they were being sent off to their deaths and even faces of worry that they would fail to bring back anything at all.

Thankfully she did not have time to dwell on the matter as it seemed their guide had shown up, and with their supplies in tow as well. He seemed pretty laid back when she first saw him, his style of clothing showing thta of pretty well, but all at once it seemed like he tried answering questions he got all the time. Given his relation to the Naji clan she suspected that he likely got that a lot. Attaching the sake jug to her side and lifting the hunk of iron she called a sword she moved towards the little convoy they had going. "First things first, I think we should head to the near by town of Uta or Ru to check the leads. They had to have stayed somewhere right?" she peered back to the others for their opinions but she did introduce herself to Takumi "I am Yuudai Wakahisa by the way."

Gin didn’t know if he was enjoying this yet when there wasn’t all that much talking going on in their first trek out, but then again none of them really talked to him so when he was not talking it may as well be silence. They probably should talk more given what they were supposed to be doing, but he didn’t really feel like talking to anyone anyway. Following after everyone he stopped when they stopped but didn’t see the reason for it, only hearing why they did until he moved out from behind the others. It was some strange man, it seemed, probably the guide they were told about. What a strange man, at least considering the guy talked a lot and seemed to ramble on about something probably important. He didn’t care much, he just wanted to keep going and finally get to the fighting part and show off how good he was with his blade.

Looking to each side he let out a sigh as Jiang decided to take the lead in talking a whole lot not, his attention soon dropping away again as he went on with one of his long speeches. This was going to be a drag if he was going to do this every single time he met someone new. Letting him ramble on in his own dramatic way he looked back to him, waiting for him to finish up; however, instead of finishing up he instead decided it was time to introduce himself after so long. Thinking maybe he could finally introduce himself he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could so much as get a breath out Jiang decided to talk up again. Growling lowly he gave him an angry glare before huffing, looking away for a moment before quickly speaking up the moment Jiang stopped chattering. ”I-I’m Gin, by the way! There’s other people aside from him and…uhh…her”, he spoke quickly, looking quickly to Yuudai before sighing, ”I’m Gin the Halfling, or whatever. You don’t have to take his advice if you don’t want to regarding routes…”

Takumi smiled as he looked up at the Half-Oni, making sure to give a bow to her directly since she introduced herself. He made a mental note of where she wanted to go, and began to go over possible paths to each in his head, as Baji began to give a long explanation for what he thought of each location. This guy was talking way to much as far as Takumi was concerned, thinking way too hard about the possibilities of what they know or don't know. He was more used to people just quickly deciding where to go or already knowing beforehand. He was about to simply go introduce himself to someone else, when Baji had a question for him mixed into an introduction. It was a fair enough question, though he wasn't too keen on tacking paths specifically used by criminals.

"W-" he was about to talk when suddenly a smaller odd looking boy spoke up, causing him to look down and tilt his head some. The boy looked a bit young, but it wouldn't be the first time he had to escort a child to where he would later die so he didn't comment on it and just mentally sighed. "Hello Gin. Yes I planned to speak to the others as well but your friends happened to speak up to first, especially Jiang. As for the routes it's up to all of you really, whatever you decide is what I'll do. I'm here to take you where you need to go after all. If you have an idea of your own, just speak up and make your voice heard." He smiled before turning back to Jiang.

"Yes I do know of places such as those, paths used by various individuals and groups who I'd rather not run into. If we are searching those areas for whoever you are after, you may want to make sure with the others first. Many people wouldn't take kindly to you snooping around if they happen to be trying to escape from somewhere at that same moment. They often have scouts and stuff watching out to make sure the wrong people don't end up finding out about such places. Hell I'd be at risk at just taking you if I didn't check out the area ahead of time." He figured it was more likely to run into bandit gangs going down those paths, likely counting loot in a hideout nearby or watching out for bounty hunters and the like.

A quick-written farewell letter. That was all Lord Oja had to bid farewell to his vassal Kenji. The Yang was not at all displeased about this. His Lord was never a man of words, always keeping it forward and blunt in both oral and written. "Tell Lord Oja farewell as well." Kenji ordered the Oja messenger. "And to pray for our success." The messenger bowed and went on his way just as Kenji did along with his compatriots. The village also bid them farewell, some believing they were a lost cause while some believing they will return in one piece. Kenji really preferred the latter.

In time, the guide had appeared and introduced himself as Takumi of the Kunteki Clan. He was from Naji but assured the group that will not get in the way of his job. Yuudai was the first to speak up then Jiang then the halfling Gin. Their conversation was mainly about where to search first and the three routes include the Shima village Uta, the village of Ru or the bandits' route. The third one was no doubt dangerous and so Jiang and Takumi turned to the others for the group's decision.

"If I may," Kenji spoke up. "We already know the village of Uta may be helpful since likely everyone there would cooperate with our search. However, the thieves may know this and so might not go there at all... or they could and use magic to properly conceal themselves. The village of Ru, on the other hand, is their logical choice to flee since it is outside Shima influence. The villagers there, however, may require more to cooperate or they may be in agreement with the thieves' not to reveal their location."

"The third route, while dangerous, may provide the most information since it is bandits and vagabonds who are most knowledgeable in the latest gossips of plots and schemes." Kenji finished. "Or so I believe. I am merely relaying my thoughts and I could be wrong in everything I said."

Yuudai was picking through what Lord Shima had decided to give them in terms of supplies and she had to admit that she was rather impressed by what they had gotten. The food was what she was most interested in of course, making sure to pick through the assortment and try and wonder just what she was going to do with it in terms of a proper meal. For a moment she looked back to the sword on her back, the old hilt of the blade poking out from the clothe it was covered in, wondering if she should obtain a new better blade than the one she had now. S shook that thought out of her mind, she was sure she would not even have to use it.

Though she had been listening to the group and their talk on what to do she decided that just stating what each section would entail was not going to get them anywhere. Turning around she watched the silly poses that Jiang was putting on as he was thinking, she would never get use to that. Yuu decided to put the issue to rest "We are going to Uta to check up on some freindly sources, it will provide good leads and then we can head to Ru where they may have passed on their way out of Shima land. However if we must then we can go with the more shady areas, but I would like to avoid it as long as possible." Clearly she was not use to working in groups like this, as her indifferent tone was very much 'my way' about it.

It was against Metou's nature to jump into a heated conversation if she wasn't needed, and although she had an opinion, so long as the others were still discussing the matter of their next target she felt no inclination to voice it. It seemed like too much energy to involve herself in Jiang's theatrics, or to get in Yuudai's face. However, once the latter tried to put her foot down on the side Metou disagreed with, she felt the need to intervene.

"Going to Uta would be a waste of our time, and we don't have any time to spare," Metou said, looking primarily at Yuudai. "Whatever plans these thieves have for the stolen relics, they undoubtedly lie outside of Shima. Uta is perfectly capable of searching for the relics within their own borders, our skills are better used outside of Shima territory." After speaking, Metou felt her tone was probably more authoritative than necessary, but Yuudai acting the same to push everyone in a direction she disagreed with had made the old woman a bit defensive. She tried to lighten her tone a bit and continued, "We should go to Ru to look for clues and inform the leadership there of Shima's plight. Some den of thieves may hold more information, but considering the risk it should be a last resort." Metou felt flexible about that last part.

Gin thought he had done pretty alright with introducing himself, at least for someone who had never actually met someone in his life that wasn’t from Shima. He wasn’t a great conversationalist that was for sure. Staring up at Takumi he sighed lightly when the guy took his greeting well, staring up at the man as he spoke before gasping when Jiang’s voice suddenly raised up, his head immediately turning to him as he watched him all confused. “W-What? What are you-!” Before he could even protest he was suddenly lifted up in the air, his arms going out desperately trying to balance himself. Panicking at the strange action he kept his arms out in desperation, not wanting to touch him. ”Ahh! I-I’m Gin the Halfling of Shima with blacksmith-uhh greatest blacksmith of Shima and soon Baji now please put me down!”

Letting out a groan once he was finally placed back on his feet he dusted down his cloak and gave Jiang an annoyed look. He was not at all happy that he had been treated in such a fashion and was already starting to get sick of being treated like he was a little kid, even if he was short and young. All this guy seemed to do was pick on his height in different ways whether it was commenting straight out that he was short or trying to make him taller; either way, he hoped this wasn’t going to become a regular thing. Grumbling as he folded his arms he looked to Jiang as he spoke, wondering at first if he was looking to someone else when he nodded in his direction before feeling confused all over again. Frowning, being asked what the best way to go was going to be a pretty useless question for him when he had never been beyond Shima, especially considering what he was. Looking to the others as they gave their input he soon shrugged himself, shaking his head. ”I don’t know where anywhere is so I don’t know why you’d think I’d be able to give input too. Never been out this far before…”

Tarou would travel along with the group, quietly and peacefully. He had always enjoyed the great outdoors and would try his best to make a painting or two along the way. Of course, it would never last long since they had to keep moving, so it usually put him down quite a bit. Nevertheless, he was enjoying the journey that they were having, and made no complaints whatsoever. It was at this time that Tarou and the group met a guide.

The guide was quite nice, much to Tarou surprise. He was imagining some type of older gentleman who had issues or maybe just some kind of spiritual being that just knew the land very well, inside and out. He listened to the mans words, smiling. "I honestly trust you all in what decision you make. I will follow either way." He said, voicing his opinion. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a better answer than nothing.

Yuudai let the rusty slab of iron drop to the ground, its blunt tip digging into the ground from the sheer weight and causing it to stand upright. "Strange I thought I mentioned the reason why we should do to Uta first." Crossing her arms she had to think for a moment, almost as if trying to put it another way. It seemed like they may have misunderstood to Yuudai, after all more than one person questioned her so that must have been it. She didn't think that they were disagreeing with her at the moment. "It is the most likely place to get information, it is friendly and the closet to have been set up as a base."

She turned around to take out a piece of dried meat from one of the packs so that she could have a snack. "But-," She used her fanged teeth to bite and rip into the strip of dried meat. "-if you really want to go to Ru then let us hurry and leave."

It seemed that Ru was the place they were headed, which meant it was on Takumi to take them there as quickly as possible while also getting them in the least trouble. He hadn't traveled directly to Ru before but he had been past it and knew enough about it and the area to take them. With that sorted out they could get a move on, Takumi getting the attention of the Rontu so he could start to lead them.

"Ru is a few hours away by foot if you follow the main roads. We could cut that time down by an hour or so if we cut through Ing forest, there is a small path there that is mostly unused. It will take us straight to Ru without having to go around so much stuff, wild animals are a concern but we should be fine given the group size. Worst case the Oni just have to growl and it should scare whatever off without us having to kill them. Keep a look out though, sometimes wildmen hunt in that forest, unlikely but worth noting." He briefly explained as he began to lead them, following the main road for the time being. This was going to be a very long term job for Takumi and while the pay out in the end would be worth it, he did have to wonder if this group was capable enough to not simply get themselves and him killed when they eventually ran into trouble. After they got far enough away that the initial Shima escort stopped following them, he decided to just throw out a question he felt would be important info for him.

"Shima isn't known for engaging in many wars so I have to ask. How many of you have been in fights to the death, how many of you have actually taken lives? And if you have, are you confident enough in your abilities to actually kill the guys you are after?" He expected the old lady had, since most seniors who were brave enough to travel had taken several lives already. The others he was unsure of, even the two Oni seemed to humanized to assume they were killing machines. Sure some looked like warriors but plenty of people in Baji pretended to be samurai or adopted the look simply for the respect it would bring. Guiding such people was always a risk, since if they died he would have to rather quick to flee or work out a deal for his own safety. It would suck to miss out on the big reward promised, but his own safety came first so he needed to know how confident he should be in them making it even part of the way. As they walked and talked a pair of crows flew out from some nearby trees and began to fly overhead for a few seconds before speeding up and heading towards Ing forest to scout it for him, just in case a very quick change of plans would be needed.

Dealing with Ru was not bound to be an easy task, this much Tetsuya knew. The people of Ru and Kenzo had just about as little to do with the war as Shima did, and yet they were even more reclusive than Shima in many regards. This was the young Neko's first time here and he hadn't been entirely sure what to expect, only going off of the slight details he had been provided before making the trip out. It was proving to be... Interesting. The culture of Ru was very different from what he was accustomed to, and he wasn't used to seeing so many people dressed for battle. The citizens were nice enough he supposed, but it wasn't easy to fully relax when half of the people you saw were armed.

Much to his chagrin an audience with Lady Himiko Ru wasn't easy to get. For a woman who was supposed to be receptive to visitors there was very little opportunity for him to visit. It could perhaps be his appearance, clad in armor with a weapon strapped to his hip, or the fact he found himself in a slightly unfortunate circumstance. Though he did bear the seal of Lord Shima, albeit not openly, not every person he had encountered was wholly welcoming of him. Some people gave him a funny look but let him pass along while others had a few choice words, but that was the extent of their harassment. It wasn't until he moved along and went to the inn to ask questions that he got into a bit of a mess.

Tetsuya was busy asking the patrons of the inn how to seek an audience with Lady Himiko Ru, as he didn't even know where her palace was to begin with. In hindsight perhaps a tavern was a poor place to ask around, the majority of people in here were either too grumpy or too drunk to answer questions. Approaching the barkeep to ask him a few questions as well he waited patiently as the man went to ask other employees, feeling dejected when he returned emptyhanded. Letting out a sigh the Neko hung his head, shaking it before lifting his hand in thanks.

"I appreciate the effort, sir. I'll be on my way..." Tetsuya replied, taking a bow before turning to move for the door. Interestingly he came face to face with one of the patrons, a rather grumpy, disheveled looking man that was just a head taller than him. Furrowing his brow slightly he tried to step around him, sighing as his shoulder was grabbed and he was stopped in place. "May I help you with something, sir?"

"No, but I can help you leave this place," the man retorted, grinning as he gestured to himself, "I bet you're some spy looking for our Lady, aren't you? Well... No one's going to hurt her on our watch!"

This man was, quite clearly, drunk and well over his head. It was utterly absurd to think a guard of Lord Shima's would be involved in any such task, or that someone would be so blatantly obvious if that was their intention. Tetsuya couldn't even begin to explain how idiotic those accusations were, and the groans of other patrons seemed to voice his doubts. Seeing no short end to this he tried to walk away again, instead being pushed back by the man once more. Outside people would be able to hear the man shout a bit, and soon afterwards the sound of something smacking against metal. A few sharp yelps later and the door opened up, the man flying out a second later afterwards. With a thud he landed in the street below, groaning as he laid sprawled out, one eye puffed up and bruised and his nose red from being hit. Tetsuya would exit the tavern a second later, frowning as he slowly descended the steps and stood before the man.

"Don't you ever insult my Lord like that. He would never wish for undue harm towards your lady," Tetusya said, frowning as he heard footsteps behind him. Glancing over his shoulder he saw a few other men coming out, but rather than confront him they hurried to the fallen man, grabbing hold of him and pulling him away.

"Sorry for the trouble, kid! Jishi has a big mouth when he drinks, don't mind him!" one of the men said, smiling apologetically as he bowed his head.

Of course he did, most people did. No harm was done though, he was fine for it and the words spoken, while insulting, had ultimately done no harm. Only nodding his head in slight reply Tetsuya sighed, walking back down the road into Ru proper. So that was fruitless, there had to be someone he could speak to about the Lady's whereabouts. Or he could just wander until he stumbled across it, though he did hate to waste time. What a bother this was turning out to be...

The people of Ru weren't the type to cause trouble when it was avoidable, them not making a big deal about the fight Tetsuya had been in or that he kept asking questions. But the people who could tell him how to get an audience with their leader stayed silent about the whole thing, no one wanting to just give that info to a stranger before they knew what was going and instead they just left him to wander about. Ru didn't have a massive castle like most places and Lady Ru didn't exactly stay in the village itself, so it would be pretty hard to find her by simply wandering around with no leads. While people coming to attempt to kill her was rare, it wasn't uncommon for some so called hotshot warrior to come seeking her out to stake some claim to her womanhood. People often felt because they were some sort of hero that any place with an unmarried female leader should belong to them, something that never went over well for the guy in question when he tried to take what he wanted via combat. Her people would rather not bother her with such things again if avoidable, so a few of the village guard followed him around from a distance making sure he wasn't trying to cause trouble and to see if his real intentions would show themselves. Until then the Neko would find himself continuing to have very little luck within the village of Ru unless he decided to do a change of tactics regarding how he was approaching the situation, gaining nothing but an asked for escort and lots of people staring at him with skeptical eyes.

While Yuudai recommended going to Uta, the old Tengu Metou insisted on going to Ru. Jiang agreed to the latter while the others, including Kenji, left it to them to decide and so with two votes on Ru and only one on Uta, the group was to head to the independent village of Ru. The half-Oni let her blade drop to the ground and crossed her arms, grumbling about why they should have headed to Uta but eventually resigning to the group's, or rather Metou and Jiang's, decision while munching on a snack. Kenji let out a light chuckle. "Well not everyone gets their way all the time, Miss Wakahisa." He said to Yuudai.

With the party heading out, Takumi explained that there were two routes that they could take. One was the main road while the other was through a forest that would be faster. He then asked a most surprising but not peculiar question, if the group had been in a battle before and if they had already killed anyone. Jiang was first to answer and seemed to be quite confident in his fighting skills.

"I admit I have not killed anyone nor had I been in any fight to the death." Kenji went with the truth though his training with Shinja seemed very life-threatening. "But I have witnessed death. Many times." Being a close survivor of the Oja clan's last stand, Kenji was no stranger to the horrors of war and battle.

"Royal women like no other. As selfish as she tries to be, I guess I'll have to love her selfishly~"

Yuudai muttered out part of a song as they traveled, her face showing a hint of boredom as she stared off into the line of trees known as the Ing forest. It reminded her of the times she would accompany her mother on many of her trips, though she noticed a big lack of little spirits around, they use to swarm her mother and her as if the youkai master was a beacon. Maybe it was just how she saw things when she was young or the fact this was a serious mission but it felt oh so different. When Baji mentioned crows Yuudai peered down towards Metou at first, though soon followed where the man was looking to the clear sky above. "Maybe they are just looking out for us. Either way it is going to be so damn hot soon so lets keep up the pace to Ru" She had a feeling that was the way it was going with the lack of clouds and the sun still rising.

Takumi asked a difficult question of the group, well that is what Yuudai thought at least since it was always a touchy subject for some if they had taken lives or not. As for her? She had never taken a life with her own hands, nor had she let anyone die because of their own stupid actions. "No, I haven't taken a life" She didn't look towards the others as she did not want them to think she was judging those that had killed before, though in this day and age it was much more likely she was the strange one. "I have never needed too before, nor do I hope I ever truly will, it's too easy."