Most of the next few days had Momo and Isane settling into a routine. The morning saw Momo washing clothes and gathering food, while Isane cared for her weapons and armor. The fruit was more often than not stored away for when it eventually came time for them to depart, however others they happily ate. Isane even managed to choke down some cooked fish once they got a fire pit dug. Later the samurai meditated and then rigorously trained her body, stretching and practicing with her weaponry. Her retainer watched and was always on hand with water.

Momo admired how Isane handled here weapons, watching as she moved them like they were an extension of her body. Her muscles flexed had quickly worked out a bit of the rust they had possessed once. Currently she wore her blue hakama and only bindings around her breasts, her torso on full display. The retainer felt her mouth go dry as she watched her mistress' form. Her muscles were corded and trained like steel, not too bulky as to make her appear overly masculine but certainly enough to grant her scarred form the look of a veteran warrior.

Her naginata sang through the air, shaft spinning in her fingers. The blade gleamed in the daylight, its fine edge more than capable of slicing limbs clean off. The butt of the spear possessed a red plume, which drew the eye away from the blade itself. A fine trick when one was facing off in a duel. Upon the ground however her practice held consequences. Scouts from neighboring villages had been sent out to ascertain the fate of Ika and ended up stumbling right upon the ground Isane used to spar.

Fellow samurai scrambled below as Isane's bare feet danced along the ground, struggling to escape the woman. The massive feet set down to block off one escape route and when they tried another, the other foot settled down there. It was almost as though the woman was toying with the scouts, dancing around them while never quite touching them. The leader of the group turned his horse sharply and rode out, attempting to outrun the woman's titanic feet. The last thing he saw was the peachy and calloused sole of the warrior woman speeding down to meet him. Her toes flexed and curled, the woman twisting upon the ball of her foot to complete her move.

The men saw their commander crushed and twisted into oblivion and watched the titanic woman in awe as she continued her dance of death. In actual combat most of her flourishes were impractical but she felt like testing her flexibility and poise. She stepped forward, casting the remaining scouts in shadow. They got a good long look at her foot arching above them, the flesh wrinkling and slightly and freeing clumps of dirt to fall upon the ground. In an instant it came down, flattening most of them much like their commander armor and all.

Isane finished, setting the butt of her spear onto the ground. Those scouts that had escaped between her sweaty toes ran from between the digits, coughing and sputtering from the intense aroma. Most were covered in the pungent liquid and some coughed it up. However they were quick to run as fast and as far as they could, running from the woman as she opted to take a quick break. Mercifully she walked towards Momo and away from them, placing her naginata against a nearby tree. Momo handed her a gourd of water and the samurai drank from it in long and greedy gulps.

"Ah! It feels good to be training again! Damn, I missed this. The sun blaring down above, a weapon in my hands, now all I'm missing is an opponent. Then I'd never want to leave this place!" The samurai said, dumping some of the contents of the gourd upon her head for good measure.

Momo giggled. "Just the one opponent, Kyoske-sama?"

Isane gave that some serious thought. "Hmm... maybe a handful. One for a different day so I'd have to change up tactics. I'd probably also want to fight more than one at a time on occasion, just to keep me on my toes..."

The fact the samurai put such serious thought into a little hypothetical amused her retainer to no end. She shook her head and rose, bowing slightly. "Well, if you'll excuse me I think I'm going to head out for a walk. Get some fresh air. You stink."

A wry grin met that. "Don't give me that, I know you like it."

"I like looking, touching and smelling is pretty disgusting actually."

With that Momo was off, leaving Isane to cool down from a bit of training. She left their little campsite behind and started walking upon the trail that led around the cliff. Her pink kimono and favorite pair of tabi were all nice and clean and her hair was no longer the greasy mess it had been. She looked and felt tolerably human. What a find this island had been, though she didn't look forward to having to sail back. Isane was going to be insufferable.

Along the rocky path there were the broken remains of villages here and there, crushed to splinters by Isane on one of her walks. The retainer hopped across the rocks happily, further grinding the ruins into the dirt and rock. Eventually she rounded the highest point along the path, giving her a good and long look out at the place where they had initially arrived. What she saw perplexed her.

There was another boat. Its looked a bit larger than their own had and was painted red and black and shaped squarely. Another arrival upon the island. Her immediate thought was concern that perhaps the Lord Testu had sent men after them after all. However as she squinted and looked at the sail and its sigil it wasn't possessed of the sigil of his clan. Instead it was simply plain, nothing special about it. Odd.

"Why hello there, little Momo, long time no see."

Momo felt her blood freeze as cold steel was pressed up against the back of her neck. The familiar cold tone and accented Syngarese sent more chills up her spine than any blade could. She dared not turn around, knowing full well that if who she thought was standing behind her was there she would be dead the moment she made a move that wasn't liked. She struggled to find her voice.

"Speechless? Can't say I blame you. Here, maybe you'd feel better if this was face to face."

The steel was gone and immediately Momo felt herself spun around and lifted up by the front of her kimono. She cried out as she was slammed into the side of the cliff, clutching at the strong hands holding her up. Her eyes gazed downwards and she saw her. Cold golden eyes, that long braid swaying lightly in the breeze, the unnatural and exotic beauty that queens would kill to have. There was no mistaking her for any other woman.

"D-Daiyu, urk!" She got out, her breathing cut off for a moment.

The woman's full lips curled upwards into a cruel smirk. "Lady Daiyu. Or Daiyu-sama in your crude barbarian tongue I suppose."

"H-How-."

"Did I track you? Easily. Isane left a bit of blood behind from our previous encounter. I wouldn't be much of a sorceress if I couldn't track her." She answered.

Momo tried to get out something else, to scream or shout to try and warn Isane however Daiyu was having none of that and jerked her further off the ground to cut her breathing off completely. "Uh uh, shhh, shhh, quiet down Momo, we'll surprise Isane in a minute or two I promise. She'll just love it I know. We shouldn't waste the opportunity for some quality time however; we have so much catching up to do. How long has it been?"

Momo could only choke in response. "Three months? Has it really been that long you say? By the Empress time really does fly. Hmm? Having trouble breathing? Why didn't you just say so?"

The woman held Momo up just a bit longer, long enough that the retainer started feebly kicking her feet at the woman to try and get loose. The corners of her vision started to darken until the woman released her grip abruptly, sending the young woman to the ground in a heap. She took in a great gasp of air, coughing and sputtering at the feet of the green clad woman. The woman lifted one of her slipper clad feet up and roughly kicked Momo in the stomach, knocking the wind she had just taken in right out of her.

Daiyo. The woman was about Isane's age though even Momo could see she far outstripped her mistress in terms of physical allure. She was perfect in every conceivable manner on the surface but for a few quirks only the observant might notice at first glance. Her features were those common to the lands directly west of the Syngaru Empire, the Hazinara Empire and her attire bore all the marks of a foreign traveler. Beneath her exotic beauty however, Momo knew Daiyo to be a demon in human guise.

The blade was back, a simple straight sword pointed at the throat of the prone woman. The message was clear enough, scream and it will be the last sound she ever made. Momo didn't doubt that, not from Daiyo. She twitched the weapon upwards, signaling for the young woman to stand. With a groan of pain the retainer hauled herself to her feet, swallowing hard as she was backed up against the wall by the point of her sword. Daiyo's long black lacquered nails gleamed in the sunlight malevolently upon her right hand; her left hung at her side. Momo caught a glimpse of milky green before it was concealed by her robes.

"What do you want?"

Daiyo actually chuckled at that. "The same thing I've always wanted. Isane broken and defeated at my feet. Really, Momo, you could do much better than that savage mistress of yours. Tell you what, behave and I might just let you serve me once I remove Isane's head. We could have such fun together, you and I."

"F-F-Fuck you."

The woman blinked. "My, my, my, such a filthy little mouth. Isane is such a poor influence."

There was a sharp sting upon Momo's cheek as Daiyo promptly back handed her. Tears stung at the retainer's eyes as she felt herself gripped and pulled in front of Daiyo. The blade was pointed at her back and lightly poked at her to get her moving forward. Hesitantly Momo did so, taking shaky steps back down the path towards the camp. Of course the woman would know where they had camped.

The majority of the walk was in silence. The blade had been poised that it would slice through her back and heart in she even sounded like she was going to start screaming. Momo wanted to scream and warn Isane, however unlike the samurai she still feared death. She feared the cold inky blackness coming to claim her. The woman behind her wouldn't hesitate for an instant to give her that feeling. That, more than anything, kept her in check. In her gut, Momo knew she was a coward and it shamed her.

She entered the camp and could see Isane going through a few basic motions with her sword. The samurai noticed her and smiled. "That was fairly quick, Momo-."

Her smile immediately vanished as Daiyo slipped the blade around Momo's neck and leaned in, her breasts pressing into the retainer's back. With some disgust Momo noted that her nipples were hardened with arousal, like she got off on this. She could feel her warm breath against her ear and saw the slow fury growing upon Isane's face as the woman slipped her free hand around Momo's waist to pull her closer towards her.

"Isane, always a pleasure. I happened upon little Momo during a walk and figured I'd return her to you. You should be more careful about letting your property walk off, never know who might snatch her up." Daiyo said with a smirk.

A growl was Isane's answer as she took a step towards Daiyo only to stop as the woman pressed the blade against Momo's throat. "Might want to rethink your plan. One more step and poor little Momo here will have a second smile."

The samurai locked her jaw, however she didn't move with that threat hanging over her. "You are an honorless coward, Daiyo."

The sorceress let out a condescending tsk. "Name calling is so childish, Isane. We are both adults so do try to act like one."

Long fingers tensed around the hilt of her katana as rage burned behind her dark eyes. Momo felt helpless and wretched as she watched Isane remain where she was, knowing that if not for her straying too far and getting captured none of this would be happening. She was supposed to help make Isane's life easier, not be used to hurt her. She sniffled miserably as Isane lowered her weapon.

"Good. Very good. Now, toss it to the ground."

With some hesitation the blade was tossed aside, leaving Isane unarmed and at Daiyo's nonexistent mercy. "Honestly this little song and dance should have ended two years ago. It has been fun, however it's about time I finished this job and returned home. It has really been far too long."

The woman removed her left hand from around Momo's waist and lifted it to point at Isane, the sleeve pulling away enough to see her hand. Where flesh might normally exist there was instead smooth milky green jade, the glassy stone moving as naturally as any flesh and blood hand might. Green sparks danced before her stone fingers, the air itself seeming to crackle malevolently. Momo could feel the hair upon the back of her neck stand on end as a jolt of the foul energy shot through her.

"Do me a favor, Isane, and stay dea- argh!"

Daiyo's words were cut off as Momo promptly chomped down upon her wrist, the sparks upon her stone hand sputtering out as she struggled to shake the retainer off. This just prompted her to bite harder, her teeth breathing flesh as the iron taste of blood flecked upon her tongue. A cold and hard stone fist collided with her gut a moment later, Momo's vision exploding into black spots. She released her hold on Daiyo's wrist and was tossed to the ground, curled up upon herself as she clutched at her gut.

The sorceress raised her blade up high, her face a mask of fury. "You stupid fucking cunt!"

The blade swung down, clanging against steel before it ever touched Momo. Daiyo snarled as Isane's blade met her own, glaring at the samurai. She hopped back away from her, wincing as her abused wrist moved. Isane spat to the side as she spread her legs out and held her katana before her. The enemies stared each other down as the world melted away around them. They were the only two people left upon the island.

Daiyo rolled up the sleeve of her left arm, freeing the green stone arm from its prison of cloth. Inscriptions in the woman's native tongue spiraled up her upper arm and to her shoulder, foul words of power. She shifted her stance so that the arm was out before her, using the limb like it was a shield. Green sparks danced between her stone fingers as they flexed, the noise of stones grinding together sounding out.

Isane was the first to move, surging forward and slicing upwards in a rising arc. The weapon clanged against the stone arm and Daiyo stabbed forward. The samurai twisted away from the weapon and used her momentum for a more forceful swing of her sword, the weapon striking the arm before exploding into a series of quick cuts to drive Daiyo back. The sorceress growled, and backed up past the trees. Sparks flew from her arm as she pointed at Isane, crackling loudly in warning.

Diving forward at the last moment, Isane felt the green arc of lightning pass overhead and scream through the trees. The lighting flew past the campsite and through another series of trees, fast approaching a small village nestled against a large stone. Most people did even have time to register the approach of the lightning before the extreme heat of the energy vaporized them, exploding into the ground to wipe away anything that survived the approach.

Daiyo snarled as she blocked another swing of Isane's sword. "You know your brother squealed like a pig when I stuck him and your weakling mother begged for mercy on her knees before I showed her what her guts looked like."

"Shut up!" The samurai shouted, her nostrils flaring.

"You're angry, gooood. Harness that rage and hate and let it burn in your gut."

The sorceress stepped back, her slipper passing over a tiny settlement below. Dirt and dust kicked up by the combatant's feet shrouded the people in a choking cloud. They were caught between the two battling women, unnoticed by either as they only had eyes for each other. Most were awed by this seeming fight between deities though some had the common sense to start running as fast as they possibly could.

Isane took a step forward, her bare foot slapping down on the outskirts of the village. Buildings were splintered into rubble and the few people caught beneath didn't even realize their doom before it happened. Her titanic toes towered above even the tallest of the buildings, massive mountains of flesh almost incomprehensible to the villagers. Above her weapon clanged against Daiyo's arm. She jumped back quickly, kicking up dirt and pelting people with rivulets of sweat and filth that had clung between her dirty toes.

"Weak. Weak, weak, weak! Start showing me some of the fire of yours or I'm going to be very disappointed!" Daiyo taunted.

Daiyo's slipper clad foot stepped forward, narrowly missing the town however it did come down upon a few fleeing men and women. Some collided with the wall that now rose from the ground, staring up at the monolithic slipper and stumbling back. A few cried out as limbs were pasted under her mighty tread. She slashed out and jumped back, holding her arms out wide to give an enraged Isane an opening.

"Once I'm done with you I'm going to take Momo as my trophy back to the Empire. I'll present your head and her to the Empress and hailed as a hero. Not without teaching her some respect of course."

With a roar the samurai surged forward, her foot slamming down upon the village below as she ran. The speed of its fall was thus that most barely got a look at the grimy underside of her foot before being compressed against the dirt. Her weapon flashed out, a wide arc aimed directly for Daiyo's neck. Her vision was red from seeing the hated woman once more. The calm that normally came with battle was forgotten at her smirking face.

Daiyo caught the blade with her left hand, curling stone fingers around the weapon. Sparks dancing around the fist was Isane only warning before she felt her muscles seize under a constant assault of electricity. She screamed in agony as the lightning coursed through her body, paralyzing her and burning more than she ever remembered. The sorceress laughed as she watched her adversary twitch and scream as a constant flow of electricity was poured through her body. She could have just pumped enough in her to cause her heart to give out but Daiyo had other ideas.

She cut off the flow of electricity and watched Isane fall to her knees, her blade falling from her fingers. Daiyo looked at the weapon in disdain and tossed off of the shore and into the shallows. With any luck the ocean would carry the weapon away. Insult to injury. The woman then raised her left hand and backhanded the samurai, knocking her flat on the ground. She kicked and stomped upon the fallen woman, drawing increasingly desperate cries of pain however that only seemed to keep her going. Her face was one of rapturous elation as she beat Isane over and over into the dirt.

"Stupid! Weak! Cunt! Did you really think you could get away with slaying the brother of the Empress without paying for it with your life!?" Daiyo demanded, a half crazed look in her golden eyes.

She raised her blade high in the air and stabbed down, slicing through Isane's shoulder. The samurai screamed as blood immediately welled up around the wound, bone and muscle being cleaved aside by the weapon. The sorceress teased at her lips with her free hand, staring down at the pain on the battered samurai's face. A loud moan escaped her lips as she leered down at the woman. She twisted the blade just a bit to draw and inhuman howl from the woman. Black spots were dancing before her eyes and her breathing was coming out in short labored gasps.

"Mmm... Ohhh, that felt good. Come on you can scream louder than that! Your weakling brother did so it's only the least you can do to match him, brave samurai!" Daiyo said, twisting the blade more.

Isane was not ashamed to admit that tears of pain sprung to her eyes as Daiyo tortured her and that she screamed her throat raw. She writhed upon the ground, slowly being driven mad by the sheer pain of it all. She had failed. Failed to avenge her family. This never would have happened if not for that stupid duel. None of them would have died and she wouldn't be wailing in pain beneath the cruelest person she knew.

Daiyo withdrew her weapon finally, growing tied of her game. "Ah well, a pity the Empress only wants your head. I could think of such fun we could have in the dungeons of the Jade Court. Momo will have to make due I suppose."

Isane feared glared up at Daiyo as she raised her blade high, golden eyes gleaming with the purest glee. This was it then. The great Kyoske Isane, killed on some unknown island by an assassin of the Hazinara Empire. What a way for her story to end. She supposed after all the lives she had claimed it was only natural one day she would find herself on the wrong end of a blade. Few samurai died of old age. She locked her jaw and waited for the blade to fall.

Daiyo suddenly jerked forward, a wet choking noise escaping her throat. Her golden eyes widened in pain and shock. As she turned Isane saw her wakizashi sticking out of her back and behind her was Momo. Her retainer stared at the still standing sorceress and down to her hands, as though unable to believe she had actually just stabbed someone in the back. The sorceress growled and tried to raise her sword to slice the frightened woman in half, only to find her other opponent was not quite as down for the count as first expected.

Isane surged forward, running on nothing but adrenaline and gripped her wakizashi with her good hand, tearing it out from the sorceress' back. She slashed across the small of Daiyo's back, a cowardly move though this was not a duel by this point but a nasty and no-holds-barred battle. The sorceress stumbled forward and let out a cry of pain. Her blade fell from her fingers and she fell to her knees, her blood pumping from her newest wounds.

With a grunt the samurai raised her blade up and prepared to stab down through the woman's head, only to be blocked by her stone arm. The arm swung out and both Isane and Momo found themselves blow backwards by a gust of wind, thrown from their feet and onto their backs. Daiyo took this opportunity to beat a hasty retreat, picking up her weapon and summoning another gust of wind to carry her away from the battle. Her departing form was the last thing Isane saw before she lost consciousness.