Name

1404, early-Muromachi Period, late Summer, Shanghai

Had she lost weight? She'd lost weight. Kuroihi bemoaned her shriveling form in the reflection of the river as she bathed. Surviving in this place was a trial, and every time she thought she'd finally gotten used to it, she would encounter another creature or custom that pulled the rug out from under her. To be honest, she was getting fed up with it.

At least they have dragons here, too she thought as she pulled her recently repaired armor back on and slipped into the set of hanfu she'd acquired. There wasn't too much difference in the manner of dress between this place and home, thankfully, though it did take some getting used to. She'd had no luck so far tracking down this 'father' person or finding anyone else who had black fire like she did, but this province was enormous, and almost every demon she'd approached had met her with violence of some kind when she'd asked about her quarry. Whoever this 'father' person was, she was beginning to suspect he was not well-liked here.

She decided to push further inland, and in doing so came upon a fortuitous happenstance. Truly her ancestors smiled upon her.

There in the road before her was a cart and pair of panicking horses, the driver for which was busy beating away at a band of thieves helping themselves to the spoils inside. The bandits were human, clearly, but Kuroihi could recognize that the driver was not.

'Not my problem.'

She stepped off the path to go around them.

"Help me! Please, I beg you! My master will kill me!" the driver cried.

Kuroihi could feel the frantic thrashing of his youki as he continued to struggle. She paused, her inner demonic and human natures clashing viciously for a moment. Finally, she sighed.

'Goddamnit..'

She turned back around, lamenting at how the last thing she needed was yet another confrontation in this place. She drew her tonfa striking a couple of the thieves into unconsciousness before considering the rest of the band. Seeing their comrades fall seemed to earn her their undivided attention. That or it was her ears; one of the two.

"What the hell? Who the fuck are you?!" demanded the one with the fancy mismatched armor.

'Probably the leader, at least in strength,' she figured. 'Either way, he's the most aggressive and fills the alpha role here. Perfect target.'

There weren't too many of them, about seven now, and judging by the state of their attire and the condition of their various weapons, they were getting desperate. She didn't want to waste any more time on these pests than she had to. Silently, she bounded in, felling the man-who-would-be-king in two solid strikes to his head and back, perching herself on the edge of the cart to look down on the ragtag group as he fell face first in the dirt. She let her jyaki swell, pressing down on them, the edges of her eyes bleeding just enough red to communicate her absolute sincerity.

"Drop what you've taken and leave, or you can find out what a stuck pig feels like."

It took them a minute to process what had just happened, but one by one they did as she commanded, sprinting for the trees and calling back that she 'didn't frighten them none'. Kuroihi sighed, dissipating her excess jyaki and looked down to the demon that had called for her help. He was well-aged, with discs the size of her palm wedged into the lobes of his pointed ears. She wondered for a moment if there were demons that subscribed to human religions, for she'd seen similar decorations on some of the more spiritual humans she'd encountered here.

"You have all my gratitude, young lady, and that of my master."

He said, calming his horses before bowing to her in the way that was customary here. She hopped down from the cart and returned the gesture in the manner she was used to back home. She caught her mistake too late, cursing silently, but the man just chuckled.

"You're a long way from home, I take it."

"Something like that."

Kuroihi slipped her weapons away and helped him gather and arrange the scrolls, hunks of jade, and jars of lacquer in his cart again. He started dragging the unconscious bodies of the three bandits over, struggling to add them to his load, and Kuroihi cocked her head quizzically.

"Are you planning to sell them?"

It was common to see human slaves in the holds of demon lords and ladies, and she was sure these men had done far worse than they had today to much less deserving people than this man.

"Oh, no no, nothing so wasteful; I was thinking they'd make a nice stew for the road, wouldn't you agree? Plenty of lean meat on those bones."

Kuroihi barely contained her grimace.

"I...suppose..."

She'd eat human if it was given to her and she had no other choice, but it most certainly wasn't her first option. He brushed his hands off as he finished strapping the men down and gagging them, looking quite pleased.

"Tell me, islander, where are you off to? You must have a destination in mind if you've bothered coming this far inland."

Kuroihi contemplated what to tell him for a moment, something inside urging her to take the chance. Her hunches hadn't been wrong yet.

"Indeed. I am in search of someone; a greater demon, I'm assuming."

"Oh? I know of many of the great demons here. In return for your kindness, perhaps I can point you in their direction. Who might they be?"

"Unfortunately, I know only his reputation. He is referred to as 'father', from what I understand, and has some sort of affinity to fire. I've had no luck finding any rumor or clue to his whereabouts."

Recognition flashed across his features.

"I see. I believe I know who you speak of. He is, in fact, the master I serve."

'Blessed fortune, please stay by my side.'

"Is that so? Is there, perhaps, any way you would be willing to make an introduction? I was extended an invitation, but given very little more to go on than the city of Shanghai."

She couldn't quite place the look he gave her, something akin to suspicion perhaps.

"Invitation, you say. If I might ask, who extended it to you?"

Kuroihi paused a moment, contemplating whether or not to tell the man of Shoucheng's fate.

"A female with black fire in her hands; I believe she said her name was Shoucheng."

"I see."

He seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, I would be happy to introduce you, however, that is a far greater effort than swatting away a few bandits, and I have not yet completed my task. I would ask for your continued assistance until I return to his fortress in return."

"How much more need you to do?"

"Just a few stops along the road to collect his due tribute. From here to the castle is perhaps a few days."

"Are you expecting resistance or further assault?"

"Entropy abounds here, and one must always guard against the unknown as best they can."

She cocked her head for a moment. He planned to employ her, in a manner of speaking, as a traveling detail. More fighting...just what I was looking for. She thought bitterly, but she couldn't deny that this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Alright, then. If you can secure me a civil and speedy introduction to your master, then I will guard you and your wares until we arrive safely at his castle."

"Ah! Wonderful!"

He clapped his hands and hopped back onto the bench of his cart, taking up the reigns again and offered her the space next to him, which she took. With a snap of the reigns, they were off, and she was glad for the break from all the walking.

"Please, sir, might I know your name and the name of your master?"

"You may call me Jian, miss. My master's name is for him alone to speak, I'm afraid."

'That could explain the reactions I've been having. Though, if he is a greater demon like I expect, I can understand him being so controlling. Power through fear; not unlike another I know.'

There was a sudden pang in her heart, though she couldn't quite place its meaning or cause.

Jian smiled at her. "And what of yours, miss? May I also know your name?"

'My name?'

She was faced with a choice now, and she blinked, not sure how to answer him. She was still 'Kuroihi'...right? She had always been such. It wasn't a name, though, and other than for her human days she hadn't needed to rush into finding a new one. No, she decided, she was no longer that thing, that moniker. She had changed so much, was hardly the same demon she'd been before; but there was so much in a name, from the sound and feel of it to the way it was written and the significance therein. Her mind raced from one idea to another that she'd been kicking around over the years, and she kept coming back to the same one; but was it appropriate? Was it a name worthy of her; was she worth of it?

She'd been silent too long, she supposed, for Jian cleared his throat politely to get her attention again.

"Miss?"

She gave him a side-long glance.

"Kintsuke. My name is Misturigou Kintsuke."

"Kintsuke."

He tried the strange sounds on his tongue. It was clear this man hadn't studied the island languages.

"Hmm... I think I like the sound of that."

And he repeated the name several times.

Kuroihi smiled, shifting her eyes to the bright horizon.

"Yeah, I do, too."