Shi-Gatsu leaned over sheets of paper, eyes discerning the different handwriting as she poured over pedigrees of the various animals in the compound. She pulled some out, putting them to the side.

"We need to add some new blood to the stock." She commented to Hideyoshi, who nodded, writing things down. "This one, though." She tapped on the paperwork of a stallion. "He needs to be cut. That temperament of his needs to end with him. Thankfully he's not yet old enough to breed. Who was his sire?"

"Doesn't matter much, he's deadead." Hideyoshi said. "Saki-Sama tried to breed him with Yuki, and she kicked him square in the head." Shi-Gatsu knew it was wrong, but she laughed.

"Good riddance." She said, nodding. "I also think we should thin out some of the herd we have. They all have impressive bloodlines, and should be able to get a good sum for them. We should get some better horses for the wagons. The buffalo are great for the field, but are too slow. If the wagons were attacked, they would be decimated."

Shi-Gatsu continued on, talking mainly to herself, while Hideyoshi watched her, writing down notes. She would be an interesting person, even if she was not a Gaijin. She tucked a piece of her dark red hair behind her ear, eyes quiet and focused.

"There you are. What are you doing?" Hideyoshi turned to see Kotaro in the doorway. Shi-Gatsu smiled at him when she looked up. "Just going through the horses we have. Seeing what we can get rid of, what we need, that kind of thing." She gave him a wicked grin. "Maybe get Isamu a girlfriend." Hideyoshi had to keep his jaw from dropping when Kotaro laughed at her comment.

The older Mybrid walked up to them. "You might want to get rid of this guy." He said, pulling a chart from the 'Keep' pile. Shi-Gatsu took it, looking over.

"Why him? He has good lines and a good temperament." Kotaro laughed.

"Yes, but he doesn't like mares for some reason." Shi-Gatsu gave him an amused look.

"Okay, so wegeld him." She said, grinning.

"So this is what you've been doing Kotaro? Gossiping with the women?" The three turned, Shi-Gatsu pressing herself forward into a bow as Musashi appeared in the doorway.

"I was helping the horse trainer go over the animals." Hideyoshi replied, eyes matching his brothers. "Saki-samaasked her to look over the lines to see what we need to look for when we go to the sale next month. Unfortunately, some of our predecessors could have taken a few more calligraphy courses, and she requested my help to read through them. Saki-sama approved of it." Musashi snorted.

"So you have an excuse; what about you?" The eldest turned to Kotaro. The mybrid in red shrugged.

"I came to tell her that I'll be a little late tonight. Goemon wants me to help him with something." He explained as the woman nodded.

"It will have to wait until after the animals are in, some of the men are ill."

"You will do it when he says he wants to do it!" Musashi snarled at her. Shi-Gatsu bowed her head.

"Yes, Musashi-sama." She said, as Kotaro stood.

"When she is done bringing in the animals is fine by me. It will be cooler anyway." He said, looking at his older brother, he then turned to Shi-Gatsu. "I will see you then." He said. April bowed to them both as they left the room.

"He was not always like that." Hideyoshi said softly. The human beside him straightened herself.

"Kotaro-sama?" She asked, confusion on her face. The tall mybrid shook his head.

"Musashi. He was going to be a great leader under the guidance of our first father, but quickly took to Oroku's cruel ways when he took power." Hideyoshi sighed. "But we should get back to work."

To be truthful, Hideyoshi was curious about how Kotaro was acting around the Gaijin. He didn't think it was a bad thing that they were on friendly terms, but it surprised him that they were. Kotaro was not one to make friends easily, nor wanting to make any.

Later that evening Hideyoshi followed Kotaro to the stables, staying some ways behind so as to not catch his brother's attention. Peering into the area that held their horses, he watched as Takehiko stuck his head out of the stall and nickered to the larger mybrid.

Kotaro smiled and rubbed the horse's muzzle.

"Hard to believe that's the same animal." Shi-Gatsu smiled as she walked in. "Are you ready for the lesson?" Kotaro nodded, and gabbed the rope, pulling Takehiko out to the ring.

Hideyoshi walked back, making a detour through the garden. It was hard to believe that his older brother was so friendly with the trainer. He was not one to willing converse with those that would be considered his equals, let alone the ones that were considered 'help'. He never even called on the women in the compound, preferring to go out to the local brothels.

Later that evening, Hideyoshi sat with Oroku-sama, going over the piles of horse papers. He turned when he heard a soft chuckle from the lord.

"She is quite fascinating." He hummed. "I am very impressed with her work so far." Hideyoshi nodded, having to agree.

"She has done wonders, my lord." He said, double-checking a few of the sheets with their list. "Yesterday during my ride through the farmlands to do my checks, Daichi was not even fazed by the many things that would normally set him off. Takehiko is much more well-behaved now as well." The older man nodded.

"She has gotten Musashi out his habit of spoiling his horse." The lord added. "She has been a good addition to the staff." He finished his stack and stood. "You and Kotaro will be in charge of watching over her while we are at the sale. While I do not fear her leaving, but I do fear someone else trying to take her." Hideyoshi nodded.

"Yes my Lord." He bowed his head.

"You are dismissed." Hideyoshi bowed, and left to prepare.

Three weeks later had Shi-Gatsu riding around the herd they were taking down to the sale. So far the journey had been a quiet one, though only trouble-wise.

Musashi scowled as his younger brothers laughed at something the horse girl said. In his opinion they were way to close to her, but Saki-sama had ordered him not to interfere, so the eldest held his tongue.

He turned around as Kotaro went into a long story about Musashi trying to sneak a brothel woman into the compound, claiming she that was a wonderful cook. The horse woman laughed as Hideyoshi joined in, telling her how he had almost died from food poisoning the woman gave him.

"I can cook a little, nothing compared to what Nanako and the others can make." She shrugged. Hideyoshi snorted.

"Explains why you were a twig when you got here." He teased her as Kotaro slapped her on the back.

"Were being the key word here." He grinned as the horse woman stuck her tongue out at him.

Musashi snarled softly as kicked his horse forward to the front of the line to his father.

"Are we sure we should be allowing them to be-" He frowned, looking for a word. "Fraternizing with the hired help?" The lord just laughed.

"And I can use their relationship with the kuso-hime to my advantage." He assured his eldest. "Do not worry, I have it under control." Musashi nodded, understanding what he was doing. It was a brilliant idea, to get the woman comfortable enough to be with one of the turtles in hopes she would get pregnant, and have to train one of the true-blooded stable hands to do her job, then dispatch of her and the half-breed creature she would bear.

Kotaro looked up to see his older brother scowling. To be expected. He saw Shi-Gatsu as less than even the man who cleaned the out houses for the mere fact that she was a Gaijin, even if the man had been a proven rapist. He shook his head, going back to the conversation that Hideyoshi and Shi-Gatsu were having about the area.

"There's a hot spring nearby that we'll stop to rest at." Hideyoshi was saying. "You'll enjoy it; it's supposed to have great medical properties." The woman smiled.

"That sounds wonderful right now." She laughed, rubbing her shoulder. One of the colts had tried to run off that I don't feel bad about using." Kotaro snickered. She had tried for a month to heat her own water for a bath, only to be shooed off by the lady in charge of it every time.

"Haruko is very protective of her 'domain', as she likes to call it." He replied. "If it wasn't for the fact that she knows you want to do it as not to bother her girls, she would be insulted that you didn't trust them to do their job." April blushed.

"I am not done my chores until late, and do not want them to stay up for me." She shrugged. Kotaro just laughed, shaking his head at how odd the little woman she was, trying not to notice how attractive her blushing was.

It was decided to press on into the night to make it to the market before dawn, and were riding through the gates as the sun rose. April had those she had brought with her help her prepare the horses, brushing them until they gleamed in the early morning light. They all were ready by the time the others returned, and after Lord Oroku had left, Shi-Gatsu went off with Hideyoshi and Kotaro to look at the animals for sale.

"Here." The massive mybrid pressed something into her hands "Figured you'd be hungry." She smiled as she unwrapped the stuffed bread, biting into it with a relish.

"Goat meat." She grinned, looking at them. "Shankara used to make this for us when I was with the circus." She frowned slightly. It had been almost a year since she had left. She wondered how Ryo was doing. She missed his companionship in her bed.

Kotaro frowned at the look on her face. He remembered seeing the way a human male had looked at her as she left, almost as if he wanted to take her and run. As he reflected on it, he felt a stir of jealousy. He shook his head. He shouldn't be jealous of the man. Just because he had taken this feisty little horse woman to bed, having her call his name in the throes of pleas-

"Let's go over to this group." Hideyoshi spoke up, interrupting the confusing thoughts. Shi-Gatsu looked over to where he pointed and nodded.

"Looks like there are some nice plow horses." She walked over with him to inspect the horses. Kotaro stayed behind for a bit, clearing his head. He watched her from a distance as she inspected the horses, and made the seller walk and trot the animals while she studied the gait. Her blue eyes were sharp and intense, taking in the entire animal as it moved. She had Hideyoshi walk it around a bit, ready if the animal bolted. He wasn't sure what to make of what he was feeling right now. Perhaps it was just the fact that she was new and attractive that caught his attention, that she hadn't even tried to seduce any of them.

He shook his head, focusing on his brother and Shi-Gatsu. They had finished with that vendor, Hideyoshi going of the bill of sale and handing the man the money owed as two of the stable hands who followed them took the animals back to their area. The rest of the day continued on like that, Shi-Gatsu looking over horses, refusing some, taking others, until they had what they needed.

A couple of hours later, the brothers bought dinner, and they sat together, watching the crowds. Women of the night, from the local brothels, began to come in, going to the various men there to offer their own services. They stayed away from the brothers, with a warning glare from Kotaro.

"Not interested Kotaro-Sama?" Shi-Gatsu teased. He snorted.

"It's a port town; who knows what they've gotten from the sailors that stop by here." She hummed.

"Can't say I blame you there." She agreed. "A few of the ladies back home were shot for giving the men something. Hideyoshi looked over at her.

"By the men?" He asked, green eyes curious. She grinned and laughed in return.

"By the wives of the men." She told him. "After they had gotten to the men, of course."

A brothel lady that must have been old enough to be their grandmother walked by, Shi-Gatsu about to make a comment when a boar and rhinoceros mybrid came up.

"What do we have here?" The boar grunted. "The sons of the great Oroku-Sama hanging out with a Gaijin?"

"Hey now, she's a pretty little thing, even for a Gaijin." The rhino elbowed his companion. "I say we have some fun with her." He reached out, only to have Hideyoshi grab his arm.

"Do not touch her." The normally passive turtle growled, Kotaro looking to his brother in shock. Shi-Gatsu had the good idea to move behind the two mybrids, glaring at the one who tried to take her.

"What?" The boar laughed darkly. "She your woman?" Hideyoshi swallowed thickly.

"And if she is?" He managed to say, eyes not leaving the boar, but his face a vibrant red.

"I'd say you're a liar." The boar snorted. He went to step around the two turtles. "Come on baby, you have better people to be with than these two. Nothing but a clan of murders." Kotaro and Hideyoshi paled as the other two mybrids grinned.

"What does he mean by that?" She turned to them, blue eyes narrow. Hideyoshi sighed, rubbing his head.

"I guess we should tell her." He looked to his older brother. Shi-Gatsu frowned deeper.

"Tell me what?" She asked, voice cautious.

"We are shinobi." Kotaro replied.