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"Sorry," she laughed. It was a dangerous situation, yes, but, being her, it was hard to to find a little bit of humor in it. Though, the humor quickly subsided, and the woman reached for the chest. It was very likely she would not need Shou's help in carrying it, and, as soon as she had it, she would slide it along the ground in front of her as she crawled back to the entrance.

Naotora paid little attention to what was directed to the group in the back. That was their problem, and Naotora and Shou had to deal with the traps all around them. She'd put a hand to the man's shoulder after he passed her and the pessimist addressed him so spitefully.

"Don't mind him."

She would watch as he threw his knives, curious as to whether or not the plan would work. If it would, she would wiggle in front of him and begin crawling across the small path. If not, she would step in front, urge him to step back, and proceed through the traps, spinning her ball-and-chain around her in figure-eights to block the arrows from all sides.

Naotora would push past the negative Nancy and make her way to Shou, remembering all of the safe spots with no issue. Hell, she uncovered them. So, she would catch up to Shou, hopefully without incident, and hop through the spikes as they were resetting, so she would not have to worry about catching her arm in the mess.

"Let's see how well this plays out..."

Once more, the woman would throw her ball as far forward as she could, repeating the process from before. She wanted to uncover as many traps as she could, here.

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Naotora was one of the many who'd heard the rumors of the treasure, and she sought some of it out herself. Now, her desires were different than most peoples', but the methods for getting wealth were very similar. Anyone and everyone who'd heard about these rumors seemed to flock to the places they originated from. This much was evident by the bodies that riddled the swamp surrounding the castle.

The woman entered the castle calmly, setting her large iron weapon down at her side as she observed the other people who were here at the time. One was that man from the Date recruitment, the one who called her a bitch, and the other was someone she had no familiarity for. It didn't bother her, but these two better make sure they could keep up with her.

"Naotora's the name. You?"

The question was directed more toward Shou than Maki. She wanted to get right down to business, and they'd need a team to get through unknown dangers, she was sure.

Naotora smirked. The guy was an unbearably cocky bastard, and he seemed to underestimate her own strength, not just her boss'.  He dashed toward her, putting the ball and chain behind him. That was a terrible mistake, especially when he was up against a woman who was throwing boulders in her youth. Naotora simply stepped back, yanking the chain as hard as she could. The ball would rip out of the ground, passing by her boss' head and whipping around the recruit in a circle. The chain would whirl, getting caught on his arm, and the ball would wrap around him and bring him to the ground because of it. Even if Maki somehow managed to avoid the chain wrapping around him, the iron ball would slam into his back faster than he could reach Naotora, and it would send him smashing into the ground.

"What kind of idiot rushes into battle without knowing their opponent?!"

Lord Masamune seemed to want his men to focus on stealth recently, and that was understandable. It seemed easy to slip by unnoticed, lately, since there were really very few people who paid any attention to anything besides what was going on with them at the moment. This was a common trait among the army, however, seeing as most of the men in this faction were mercs who finally found a banner to fight under. It wasn't entirely a bad thing, though she understood being more prepared couldn't hurt, especially when so many forces seemed to have ninjas on their sides recently.

Naotora was instructed to infiltrate Lord Masamune's castle and incapacitate his ten guards. She could not fight anyone directly, and she could not be spotted. This meant she had to resort entirely to stealth tactics, and, in turn, it meant she could not bring her trademark weapon. Not to mention that weapon would likely kill these people, and that was another rule: she couldn't kill any of them.

The woman managed to slip into the castle under the cover of darkness, since there were so few men on patrol, and they weren't very well-trained in the first place. As far as she knew, they were only told to look for an intruder, and it didn't seem like they really knew what they were doing. All in black, the woman would press herself into a dark corner once inside. A nearby patrol would pass her, not noticing because of the lighting, and simply because he did not look back. The woman reached forward, wrapping an arm around his neck and putting a hand to his mouth. She held him in a choke-hold, and he seemed to wiggle around a little, fighting it. She was stronger than he was, however, and he fell into unconsciousness. The woman would strip him of his armor and adorn it herself, dumping his body into a nearby barrel so no one would find it. Unless they were checking barrels, anyway.

Naotora proceeded in the opposite direction the patrol was headed, sure she would encounter another man and, sure enough, she did.  Two of them! The patrol stopped her in her tracks, one of the men raising a hand. "Hey, wait a second," he began. "You're messing up the patrols. What's going on here?" Naotora bowed her head in apology and began to speak in a deeper voice than usual, pretending to be a man. "I heard a noise coming from inside that room a few seconds ago. Might not be one of our guys." They paused for a moment, looking at each other and then her, but they just nodded. They proceeded into the room before her, and she followed. One of the men began looking around, while the other stayed near the doorway. She took the man who stayed behind by the mouth with one hand, and she quickly slammed the other into the side of his neck, taking him out in a single blow. She dropped his body quickly, running up to the other guy and taking him in a choke-hold before he could react. His body soon fell limp, and she would leave him in a dark corner, throwing the other guy's body on top of him.

That's three down, so far.

Continuing down the opposite patrol route, she would eventually find another group of two who would fall for the same story, allowing themselves to be ambushed inside of a dark room before anyone else could find or save them. The first five targets were easy.

The sixth man, Naotora would find leaning against a wall, coughing very loudly. It seemed he was sick, and was paying very little attention to his patrols, and what was around him. Naotora seized this opportunity to take the man from behind and choke him into submission, hiding this body into a barrel as well. These men seemed to be dropping like flies.

Naotora would not find the next patrol until she was on the second floor, overlooking the garden. The two men traveled with one in the front and one in the back, the man in the back occasionally looking over his shoulder. Naotora would position herself atop a ledge, waiting for the two to pass under her, when she would drop onto the man in the back, crushing him and immediately knocking him out. The other man quickly whirled around, and one hand covered his mouth and one took him by the shoulder. The woman's leg shot out and hooked behind his own and threw off his balance, and she slammed the back of his head into the stones into the garden. She would take the two bodies and hide them into a bush, where she would wait once she started to hear voices.

Peeking out from the bush, Naotora would notice two more patrols running into the garden, evidently having heard the cracks against the stone. They looked to each other and signaled they split up, which only worked in the woman's favor. One of the men happened to walk by her, and she shot out, wrapped an arm around his throat and covered his mouth, and pulled him into the bush. He would be out in seconds. The last man was across the garden, and Naotora had to get to him quickly if she wanted this to be over. Crouching and moving very slowly, the woman tip-toed across the stones in the garden, approaching the man from behind. In one swift move, she would take him by his side and mouth, lift him over her shoulder, and slam his head into the ground, taking him out in one motion.

The guys were all beaten, and Naotora did what was asked of her...

Now what?

While she was not an archer, Naotora found herself at the range, as per her Lord's request. Despite the fact she was a warrior made for close combat - made evident by her strength, and the weapon she wields - she held now a bow in her hands, with the simple task of improving upon her archery. The warrior was not too keen with the bow, typically, but any opportunity to grow with the arts of warfare was one she should not overlook. So, she adhered to her Lord's request, and would spend hours at the range perfecting her archery if that was as he wished.

Taking in a deep breath, Naotora nocked an arrow, taking aim down the range. She had to hit a target from 100 yards away, and, given she'd hardly used a bow in her life, even the 75% accuracy thing seemed to be difficult for her. Her comrades watched her from afar, ready to knock on her for any and every mistake, and she wasn't about to let herself fail. So, after a long moment of concentration, she let her arrow loose. It sailed through the wind, and looked as if it were about to hit her target. However, she failed to account for the wind, and her arrow strayed off-course, buzzing by the target dummy's head, and falling into the grass. Bad start.

Sighing calmly, Naotora nocked yet another arrow, and spent another few minutes just concentrating on her target. It was a little unnerving, finally finding something she might fail at, but she had to push through, else she would disappoint Lord Masamune. So, she steeled herself, exhaling as she released the string, once more causing the arrow to soar through the air. This time, luckily, her arrow hit her target, strike the dummy in the head. She smiled, and the men around her applauded her, some tauntingly so. It was rare for a woman to be seen in battle to begin with, and they expected just because she was a fighter she could not handle a bow. But, proving them wrong was going to make her ever so happy.

Taking another calming breath, Naotora would nock another arrow and aim downrange. Each arrow she would fire from this point on would take a good deal of concentration, but would prove fruitful because of it.  More often than not, she would hit her mark, and each hit rose her confidence. By the end of the trial, each shot would take less time, but still hold the same level of accuracy. She would have made 18 arrows hit the dummy's head, and that was what she wanted. She did not fail her Lord, thus far, and she had no plans to.

The next task was going to be a little more difficult. She had to hit running targets, soldiers with padding on their legs, and she had to get them in the legs. They would be running from one end of the field to the other, and she had to make sure no more than two got by. It was going to be tough, but she was sure she could manage.

Naotora nocked an arrow and watched as the first man made his run. She followed him, gaging how fast he was going, before she moved the bow and fired where she believed he was going to be at the moment of impact. She let out a laugh of happiness as the arrow struck the man's knee and he fell to the floor. She had no idea she would be able to make shots like that! But, her time to rejoice would be cut short as the next target immediately began sprinting across the field. Hurriedly, Naotora nocked an arrow and fired another shot, though this one was too far forward, and the man made it across successfully. Two people had gone, and she'd already wasted one of her shots... she had to concentrate harder.

For the rest of this trial, Naotora would take time with her shots, learning she needed to concentrate if she was going to pass. As each target ran across the field, she tried to measure just how fast they were, so when she fired the distance would be appropriately measured. Taking her time helped a lot, as her shots were starting to hit, and, like before, it would take less and less time to actually prep each shot. By the end, the second runner was the only one who'd made it across, and Naotora had completed her task, hopefully proving she was a capable warrior to her Lord.

Katsumi's enthusiasm was amazing! Even for a girl Naotora just met, she felt good being able to see this kind of happiness in a person's eyes. It was a huge contrast to the fear she showed earlier, that was for sure. Maybe this woman had never known what it was like to have some freedom in your decisions. If she stuck around Oshu, though, she was bound to discover what it was like, experience life how it should be.

"I imagine it must be a lot to take in," Naotora laughed, supporting Katsumi's excitement. "But I can assure you, if you were to find yourself with the Date, you would find yourself among kind souls." The woman smiled a friendly smile, then addressed Katsumi's clothing. "As soon as you're comfortable, you could try putting on women's clothes."

A giggle of sorts would follow. The girl didn't need to feel restricted, here.

So, Lord Date had recently decided he wanted his soldiers to compete in a tournament of sorts, as a means of building their endurance. The best fighters were even going to be rewarded by his Lordship himself. Because of this, Naotora felt an irregular urge to prove herself. Normally, she was content with her position, and felt no real desire to go out of her way. Though, this was a tournament in front of Lord Date, and a lot could come from performing well in front of him.

When the ring of soldiers formed, Naotora would be the first to step in. Upon her entry, some of the men would back off, intimidated, while others lurched forward, seeking to break the woman who'd made her way among their ranks. But then, some men just wanted to see how they faired against the strongest woman they'd met. Whatever their reasons, Naotora stepping into the ring seemed to motivate and deter a large number of people.

Her first opponent stepped into the ring. He was a smaller man than her, a man with a woman's stature, just a little more meat on his bones. Without much warning, he charged the woman, raising his right elbow and knee in a strike that would numb her left arm and leg upon contact. Though, he was quite predictable. The woman stepped to her left, watching the man pass by, and she sent her right fist sailing toward the man's jaw. His own speed mixed with her powerful punch sent him spinning to his left, before he fell on the floor. The punch seemed especially effective, having gotten his join, just under his ear, and he was pulled out from the ring.

That's-a one.

Another man stepped into the ring. He was bulky, bigger than the woman by a lot. He slowly approached her, throwing a right straight for her face. She sidestepped it, approaching under his striking arm and slamming her right knee into his stomach. His right elbow came up, striking the woman's back, momentarily deterring her. Naotora quickly recovered, however, catching herself and sending a heavy punch into the man's stomach, the two strikes causing him to double over from pain. While his body was bent, the woman put both hands together and slammed them into the side of his head, knocking him to the ground as well.

That's-a two.

A third person entered the ring now. A small man, Naotora's size. Though, he pulled out a dagger from his hair, letting it down and tossing the blade aside. He smiled, quickly revealing that he was a she. Brow raised, Naotora was quite surprised. Though, this was going to be interesting.

The woman charged Naotora, sending a right power side kick to her stomach. Naotora responded by catching the foot, pushing the girl, and then tugging on her foot and throwing her to the ground. The woman lost her balance, and Naotora rushed forward and got her in a chokehold. The woman hammered her elbows into Naotora's side, causing the warrior to let go, and she rolled away. Naotora followed, raising her leg into the air and slamming it down upon the woman, though she blocked the blow by bringing her forearms above her head. The woman lifted her body, catching Naotora off guard, before she swept her leg out, catching Naotora's and bringing it out from under her.

On the ground now, the woman put both hands to Naotora's neck. She quickly reacted, chopping her hand at the girl's throat, causing her to momentarily lose her breath. In that moment, Naotora brought her legs up and around the woman's neck, reigning her in for a triangle choke. She would fight for a moment, but all the while, Naotora rained blows in on the top of her head, and soon she was unconscious.

That's-a three.

The woman didn't keep track of just how many fights she participated in that night, but it's safe to assume there were a lot. Like, a lot.

So, she was right. Naotora's smile changed a little, only to become more warm. So the woman before her had experienced some sort of prejudice in her life because of circumstances similar to Naotora's, and that was completely understandable. Never before had it been okay to fight, for a woman. Were one to masquerade, they would very likely be executed on grounds of treason should they be found out. What's more, the vast majority of men seemed to think of women as nothing more than suitors, whose lives were valued less, simply because of gender. Whatever hardships this woman faced in her life, Naotora felt she could relate - maybe not entirely, but still.

"Come, you seem unsure."

A kind hand would fall to the woman's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. If the woman new the struggle, she had to be, herself, a warrior. In this case, why not show her a place where she could be her, and not pretend to be a man? That seemed to be no life to live, even if it was the only one you knew.

"I can show you the city that's welcomed me." If the woman would come, Naotora would lift her weapon off the ground and lead her into the city.