Story so far:
Put in prison for unknowingly robbing the Emperor, Aya awaits her death sentence. However, she is rescued by a talking cat, Kura who claims to be her guardian. Introductions turn sour, but he saves her anyway and they escape from the prison.
Aya tells Kura of her dream of becoming a samurai, but since she was a girl, no-body would let her join their dojo. She gets the bright idea of becoming a boy and orders Kura to help her.
After a small fight in the mountains, she leaves Kura and sets out on her own, only to run into Ishimaru, a young samurai. She introduces herself as Takeshi. Meanwhile, Kura searches for her, believing her to be ignorant and stupid. Eventually Kura finds her and gives her quit a shocking greeting.
Believing that she was a he, Ishimaru takes her to see Grand Master Hon, his teacher and owner of a small dojo in the mountains. Hon denies her her dream of joining the dojo, but suggests she go to the one in town and that Ishimaru accompanies him. Hon makes a comment about Kura being important to her. With his yet-to-be-seen dog, Yojiro, Grand Master Hon might know something about the Guardians.
At the arrival of the new doji, the group is greeted by Master Gongetsu, a close friend of Ishimaru and a student of Grand Master Gyuo. They are told a bit about Gyuo and that the "other income" happens to be demon hunting. Kura definitely has his work cut out for him. Aya and Kuro find out that Ishimaru has a phobia of women and had a similar feeling towards Aya when they first met. Aya is filled with dread at the news while Kura silently chokes from laughter.
Aya, wanting to have some sort of friendly bond with her guardian, asks Grand Master Hon for help. He shows up to take them up to the mountains for a week. Before he takes them, however, Aya and Kura play in a nearby river and actually have fun with one another.
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