"Wait!" Umiko cried out "Stop!" It was taxing, but the fish girl managed to briefly use her powers of manipulating water to push the villagers out of the way frolm the the projectiles. She ran forward, still not used to her human shoes- or feet. It appeared that whatever blood shed had been happening, didn't have to. "Mister!" Umiko shouted to Kaji "You don't have to kill him!" Umiko ran as fast as she could, putting her arms out to try and hold off both Kaji and the bandit. "P-please?" she stuttered weakly.

Akio walked on the road, seemingly tired. In fact, he had just woken up an hour or two before. Earlier he had seen a woman traveling along it as well, but he had decided to take a nap and he had completely lost sight of her then. Bringing his hand up to cover a loud yawn, he opened his eyes again to see the town, his destination, in the distance further along the rode. He didn't speed up in anticipation, not feeling that it was worth rushing to it since it seemed fine.

Eventually, he found himself at the town gate where he watched the remainder of a fight unfold.

Bandits - Village entrance - Kaji, Kiryu, Umiko, Vosswald & Villagers

The bandit leader, realizing that he was almost about to shoot a child, suddenly noticed the full extend of the situation. He pulled away and raised his firearm to the sky.

"Everyone! Step back!"

His men halted their advance and were now looking back at their leader.

"But boss! He killed Saito!" "I'm not dead!" "And he also hurt Shiro!" "I'm getting better..."

"Haven't we seen enough death in our lifetime? We'll deal with him later! Now look after these two!"

The bandits reluctantly lowered their weapons but not before iiercing Kaji with an angry glare. The giantess voiced her displeasure about having to stop.

"Aww... But I wanted to fight!"

"You can do that later, Sakura."

She gave a pout and joined her comrades. The bandits tried to help their injured comrades. Unfortunately neither of them was trained in healing. Nevertheless they tried as best as they could, which sadly wasn't much.

"Kenji and Shiro are fine but Saito..."

The leader dropped his gun and rushed over. Saito was looking pale. Around him a pubble of blood was forming which became larger by the second. One of his friends was holding his hand. Shiro tried to cheer them up and assure them nothing was wrong.

"I told you... I'm fine..."

"Somebody do something! Help!"

The villagers didn't know what to think. Just moments ago these people tried to act tough and rob them. Now they just seemed helpless and frightened. They were suddenly reminded that these bandits were people just like them. Who knows what lives they lead before they became bandits and why they decided to follow this path in the first place.

Vosswald decided to use this opportunity to take the tanegashima the bandit leader dropped. He brought it to his face to compare it with his own much smaller flintlock. It was a little outdated and still used a fuse. Nevertheless it looked sturdy and he decided to hold onto it for now. He wondered if he could increase its effectiveness by modifying it to use a flint.

Meanwhile...

Ayame & Chiasa - Healer's Hut

Ayame was surprised to find out that Chiasa seemed to be more than she appeared at first glance. Not only was she beautiful, she was also a much better healer than herself. It took some time but together and with the help of her grandfather they managed to stabilize their patient.

"I hope you have learned a lot today, Granddaughter."
"Yes, I have. Thank you, Grandfather."

At this moment Ayame remembered something. She turned her head to address Chiasa.

"I have to apologize. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ayame. I live here with my grandfather. He is the healer of this village."
"Hello, young lady."
"I'm trying to learn the craft so I can take his place one day..."
"I'm getting old. It makes me glad that my granddaughter decided to follow my footsteps. Healers are always needed. Especially in these dark times."
"We could use another healer like you. Why don't you live here, with us? I'm sure nobody would mind, isn't that right, Grandfather?"
"Oh, not at all! I certainly wouldn't mind a pretty young lady such as yourself living under this roof."
"Perfect! So what do you think? The least we can give you is a warm meal and a bath. I'm sure there is still some left."

Kiryu took a few steps back as the bandits backed off, rushing to attend to their fallen comrade. They weren't killers, just brutes, he realized.

Unfortunately, Kiryu could barely set a broken bone, let alone fix a sucking chest wound. He took a step back. It would be up to the villagers or a passing medic to decide whether the man would survive. He'd attend to other things in the meantime.
"Oi. C'mere." he said to Umiko. "Didn't your parents teach you how to dress? You gotta keep this closed, like this. Where's your sash?" he said, pushing the youkai's kimono closed. Even if he wasn't a doctor, he could at least protect a fool's decency.

You've got to be kidding Kaji thought to himself as a small child defused the situation. This was absolutely pathetic. He rested his bloody blade on his shoulder, not wanting to sheath it just yet. As the band of bandits came to realize just how wrong they had been in coming to this village fate intervened. Regardless Kaji was far from empathetic, he was sickened by the sorry display. kudos to the kid for bravery and all but Kaji preferred to exist in reality. its a kill or be killed world, esspecially these days. those who threaten the safety of anyone weaker than them are trash and should be disposed of. Kaji had no issue playing that role, but it seems other people did. it was a good thing he never signed up to be one of their heros. At this rate as soon as the bandits left, assuming they left the way they came, they would be easy prey for the demons not to far from the village. The ones that were still waiting for him to come back with orders.

Chiasa introduces herself to Ayame and Grandfather

Chiasa had finished with the man and sat back with a sigh. She heard the young healers address her saying

"I have to apologize. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ayame. I live here with my grandfather. He is the healer of this village."

The old man Ayame indicated smiled saying "Hello, young lady."
"I'm trying to learn the craft so I can take his place one day..."
"I'm getting old. It makes me glad that my granddaughter decided to follow my footsteps. Healers are always needed. Especially in these dark times."

Then Ayame added quickly "We could use another healer like you. Why don't you live here, with us? I'm sure nobody would mind, isn't that right, Grandfather?"

To which the old man agreed "Oh, not at all! I certainly wouldn't mind a pretty young lady such as yourself living under this roof."

And Ayame quickly added "Perfect! So what do you think? The least we can give you is a warm meal and a bath. I'm sure there is still some left."

Chiasa smiled covering mouth with her right hand to prevent giggling like a young girl but could not hide the amused sparkle in her eyes.. She took a deep breath and bowed formerly to the two an said "I am Takenaka Chiasa and it is my pleasure to have assisted you this day"

Chiasa's tone was formal but her wide smile displayed her affection for her two fellow healers. Her accent was strange but Chiasa's skills as an experienced healer unmistakable. Why she was not already the Healer of another village or practicing in a city a stranger mystery.

Leta was just about to charge into the fray when suddenly the bandits wanted them to stop because of their injured comrade. She did a few slow confused blinks, and just stood there dumbfounded in her attack position. She wouldn't fight people who cried for mercy, but this behavior was confusing her greatly. She was going to go,and help with the giant lady, but then the fighting had just stopped with this confusing show of cowardice. She asked the other warriors "Well what do we do here?" She was feeling a little out of her depth.

Chiasa discovers that she has more work

Chiasa looks around herself and thinks a moment before saying

"Ayame what :happened to the exhausted man who brought our patient in?l

Chiasa stands and adjusts her dark gray yukata looking about herself

"First as Ishi (Healer) I'll see to the sick an injured then I'll see to my own needs." she says as she fixes an onlooker with her eyes and asks

"Would you be so kind and fetch the man who brought this one in and any other sick or injured?" she asks in a sweet an melodic tone of voice

She turns and smiles at Ayame
"A Healer must never rest while there are those in need"

Ayame & Chiasa - Healer's Hut

Ayame was asked in the most gentle and polite way imaginable about the patient that decided to have better things to do than rest. How could she refuse such a sweet and bewitching voice?

"Well.. We better look for him then. I didn't expect him to just stand up and move off. I couldn't even do anything to stop him. He must be quite strong to pull that off... Ah.. No matter, when I find him he will definitely have to lay down and rest even if I have to force him. I won't take no for an answer."

She was about to stand up when suddenly the door slammed open.

"Taro? What's the matter? You look distressed."

"There has been an attack. Bandits!"

"Oh no! Is everyone alright?"

"Yes. No! I mean... nobody of us got hurt. But the bandits... They stood down after some of their guys got hurt. It looks serious."

"Where!?"

"Still at the entrance but... Should we really help them?"

Ayame starting feeling a little faint all of a sudden. She was not used to this level of stress. Before the war most injuries were sprains, minor cuts and the occasional animal bite. She did not like this. Nevertheless she was eager to try her best in order to ease the pain and suffering of fellow humans.

"It doesn't matter who they are. Lead the way!"

"Alright. This way..."

"Wait for me, Granddaughter! Ah.. Damn these old bones!"

Pretty much everyone - Village entrance

It didn't take long for them to find the location. A thick crowd had formed, in the middle the wanna-be bandits surrounding their dying friend.

"I don't feel so good. I think my head is bleeding."

"Ugh... my shoulder..."

One had a shoulder cut. Another one had a wound on his forehead. Their earlier patient also lied on the ground. He was unconscious but otherwise did not seem to beat up. They would survive. The one bandit bleeding on the ground however did not look too good.

"Don't worry, Saito. You'll be fine!"

"I-it's gettingg c-cccold..."

One did not need to be a doctor to see that only something short of a miracle could help him now.

"Oi. Come on." Kiryu said to Umiko. "You don't need to see this stuff. It's for adults only."

Akio - Village Entrance

Akio stepped closer to where everyone was clustered around a wounded 'bandit' to get a better look at the injury. After seeing it he commented, "I may not be a doctor, or a surgeon, but the fact that he's alive right now is a miracle in itself. That's where his heart should be." He took a few steps forward and asked, more like noted, "Since you haven't got blood coming out your mouth, your lungs escaped damage as well. Lucky, anything major hit and you'd never survive." He backed up a few paces then looked around, "He just needs patched up, is there a doctor or someone with medic skill around here?"

Leta shook her head, and sheathed her blades snapping back to reality. She asked the healers "Do you need any help moving bodies off the street?" She thought she might as well be of some use. She wanted to make a good impression so she might be able to stay in one place for awhile. She wrinkled her nose at the blood smells, but she would suck it up and do what was needed. She saw that one was close to death. She knew from experience when they complained of being cold they had lost an enormous amount of blood. She had no healing abilities, but she looked closer at the bodies.

Kaji didnt say anything. he simply moved to a spot where he could see everything and watched. no wonder this town was so screwed over, they helped the people that attack them. and these bandits weren't even real bandits. he felt like he needed to get out of this area as soon as possible. Screw his original plan, this was just twisted, confusing and all around wrong. Who does that kind of thing?