A/N I've had this idea for sometime now towrite a Buffy/Last Samurai crossover, and I haven't seen any others about.I don't know, something about the whole concept of destiny and the discipline of the samurai in the film really reminded me of some of Buffy and Giles's training especially at the begining of Season 5.And also it gives Buffy a chance to learn more about past slayers, to really understand her destiny, as she was beginning to in Season 5 before the whole Glory-Dawn-Dying thing. lol.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, there may be some samurai that i've created myself however. Everything else belongs to the show or the film.

Pairings: I'm thinking either Buffy/Katsumoto or Buffy/Nathan Algren, tell me which one you like more.

About this chapter: About a week after Chosen, from wherever the scoobs have rellocated (not important) Giles has literally pushed Buffy through a mystical portal taking her back to Japan in 1876. It isn't long before they run into Katsumoto and the rest of the Samurai...

To live with the Samurai

'I'd just like to say that I really, really, hate you right now,' grumbled Buffy Summers as she pushed her hair away from where it was clinging to her sweat-drenched forehead.

'Duly noted, I assure you,' replied her Watcher, Rupert Giles from ahead on the makeshift path.

'No, I'm being very serious here,' Buffy persisted, shifting her heavy backpack. 'Not only do you shove me through a mystical portal without telling me what the hell is going on, you send me to one of the most humid places ever and make me traipse through icky jungle for three days!'

Giles halted, gripping his wooden bamboo stick that he was using as an aid, and turned to give her a wry smile.

'You're a California girl Buffy, you should be fine with the heat, not to mention a Slayer, and you really should be able to cope.' Buffy shot him a death-glare and set off at a lumbering run to catch up with him.

'Yeah ok, key word there, A SLAYER, not THE SLAYER. Come on Giles, I defeated the First like what, a week ago? And I'm kinda wiped if that's all right with you!'

'Understandable.'

'Will you please quit it with the cryptic?'

'This is part of your training Buffy.'

That stopped her dead in her tracks, well that, and the fact that she'd nearly fallen over a cleverly concealed tree root.

'My what? I thought we'd just gone over the fact that I'm not the Slayer anymore; there are hundreds of girls who need training! Newbies! What more could you possibly have to teach me?' Giles gave her a strange look that she couldn't quite decipher; it was a mix of appraisal, doubt and a bright, shining hope.

'How to lead.'

Two hours later they were still moving at an agonizingly slow pace through the jungle, the air thick with humidity and the sound of bird cries in the distance. Giles hadn't spoken again since their earlier conversation and Buffy was content to leave it alone and stew with her own thoughts. She had to admit that she was seriously confused by what Giles had told her. After all, she'd just managed to lead a bunch of terrified girls against a several thousand strong army of uber-vamps and be successful. So what did Giles mean, teach her how to lead? She'd lead just fine without his assistance, the plan with awakening all the Slayers had been all her idea and she'd finally gained respect from the girls. Granted that was after she'd been kicked out of her home by her own sister after being betrayed by everyone she cared about, oh and replaced by Faith. That was the worst part. Her thoughts were broken as she was nearly smacked in the face by a vivid green plant leaf; her Slayer senses seemed to have deserted her in the irritating jungle. They'd been walking as she'd correctly stated for over three days and frankly she was getting sick of it. Giles hadn't brought much in the way of provisions probably due to the fact that she didn't even know what was going on until she was hurtling through a vivid red mystical portal. She'd never felt so indignant as when he'd unceremoniously pushed her in it, chucking a heavy rucksack in afterwards. She'd ranted on at him for hours straight and he hadn't given her any straight answers, just mumbling that it was necessary and to hurry up. All she could gather was that she was somewhere hot and humid. Whether she was still on earth or not was another matter. A violent cacophony of noises hit her eardrums, but before she could question Giles he'd already yanked her down to a crouching position and was gently moving some foliage aside to see what was going on.

'Right on time,' he whispered with a relieved smile. Buffy didn't even bother to question him, instead focusing on the scene before her.

Several petrified ranks of soldiers stood warily, peering anxiously into the mist before them, which was emitting strange and slightly unnatural noises. The soldiers wore a uniform of blue tight fitting pants and a black tunic, with oriental style helmets. From what she could make out, they were all Eastern; whether Japanese, Korean or Chinese she couldn't tell. All she knew for sure was that they were fixed to the spot in sheer terror. A few men on horseback were attempting to rally the men, one man in particular who seemed to be trying to order them into a firing line. They held guns.

'At least we're still on Earth,' Buffy muttered to Giles who didn't answer. Grotesque, monstrous shapes that were emerging from the mist and advancing very quickly on the soldiers once again recaptured her attention.

'Demons?' Buffy demanded of Giles and to her surprise he shook his head.

'Just watch Buffy.'

The fear seemed to have become too much for some of the soldiers and they began to fire at will, not taking account of the time needed to reload. By the time they realised their mistake it was already too late. The things were upon them.

Buffy could now see that the things were really men on horses, wearing elaborate armour, including headdresses that she was positive should hinder fighting. But in this case, she seemed to be wrong. The men galloped straight through the ranks of men, killing swiftly and accurately, as the ranks began to quickly disperse, men making mad dashes into the cover of the jungle. Some of the soldiers were trying to hold the broken ranks together, and Buffy noticed that the men on horseback who she assumed to be leaders were more than happy to turn tail and flee, leaving the task to one persistent white man and a silent Japanese rider. The Slayer felt her breath catch in her throat as another member of the infantry, also not Asian, was knocked forcefully to the ground and his assailant, magnificently powerful in full red body armour began to circle the fallen man, his weapon drawn.

'I can't just sit and do nothing!' She hissed to Giles before darting out into the field.

'Buffy!' He called out urgently. Ignoring him, she picked up a discarded weapon and sprinted forward just in time to intercept the warrior's blade with her own.

'Have you ever heard the phrase, don't kick a guy when he's down?' She drawled with a bright smile. The warrior's eyes that she could see through his mask widened comically and then promptly narrowed as he let of a stream of violent Japanese.

'Sorry buddy, don't understand you,' she said before smacking him around the head with the blunt edge of her sword, sending him stumbling with the force of her blow. After a quick inspection of the guy on the floor she grimly concluded that she would have been better off letting the Japanese fighter finish him off, he wasn't going to make it, that was certain. Her warrior had disappeared back into the dwindling fray giving her time to crouch down by the man.

'Hey, can you hear me?' She asked him gently. He focused his eyes before leaning to the side to cough up some blood.

'Perfectly well lass, I'm not deaf, I'm dying,' he replied with a Scottish accent, sounding strangely cheerful about it.

'No you're not, you're going to be fine,' she lied, trying not to flinch as she moved aside his tattered clothing to revel the deep wound.

'No need to pity me,' he said kindly. 'I'm old, I'm more worried about the American.' He spluttered more blood.

'Could you tell me where I am?' Buffy asked slowly, digesting the information that there was another American around here somewhere.

'Lass, don't you know? You're in Japan, 1876, but how you've ended up in the middle of all this…' he trailed off, his eyes unseeing. Buffy took a deep breath before gently smoothing his eyes closed. She was surprised to find her cheeks damp with tears; she would have thought that she'd be accustomed to death by now.

'Buffy!' Cried Giles suddenly, and she whirled around to see him being lead forward by two soldiers. He was struggling against them and her heart clenched. Just as she was about to fly to her Watcher's aid, however, a curved blade came into contact with the sensitive skin covering her jugular. The man spoke and she sighed in annoyance.

'Can't you guys speak any English?' The guy replied by grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her head painfully backwards to scrutinize her face. Giles was speaking rapidly in fluent Japanese and the pressure from the knife seemed to lessen as he listened to whatever the hell Giles was saying.

'Since when do you speak Japanese Giles?' Giles was staring pleadingly at her captor and the man gave a small incline of his head before hauling Buffy to her feet, the sword still placed warningly at her throat.

'Don't struggle whatever you do Buffy,' Giles implored. 'They are taking us to their chief so don't cause a fuss.'

'Me? A fuss?' She replied in feigned surprise and genuine irritation as the man dragged her along none-too-gently, Giles also being made to move by his two warriors.

Crossing the clearing that was now littered with bodies and discarded weaponry, Buffy gritted her teeth firmly to refrain from seriously kicking this guy's ass. He was whispering threatening nonsense in her ear and was keeping an uncomfortable hold on her. Giles had told her not to struggle but oh if this guy didn't shut up…

'Buffy,' Giles said warningly, guessing his charge's train of thoughts.

'Wasn't going to,' she replied moodily. She was forced to a stop and her captor's wariness suddenly seemed to disappear. Buffy guessed it had something to do with a white man on all fours who was crouching on the floor with an obvious injury, yet still determinedly still warding off the armoured men with a flagpole displaying a ornate picture of a tiger. A tall man in much more elaborate armour than the rest stepped forward, taking off his helmet to reveal a shaven head, and sharp defined features of a typical Japanese male to survey the stubborn man on the floor. Buffy took this man to be the chief. Her red-clad warrior from earlier, whom she'd effectively stopped from ending the elderly Scottish man's life, said something to the chief and came forward to dispatch of the man on the floor who was now kneeling unsteadily. The warrior let out a battle cry and raised his sword to decapitate the fallen man. Buffy let out a yell and began to struggle fiercely in protest, causing all eyes to focus on her including those of the chief. He looked at her with blatant surprise and obvious interest. The red-clad warrior seemed enraged at her for interrupting, but his eyes widened as the kneeling man shoved the broken end of the flagpole straight through the join in his armour and into the vulnerable flesh of his neck.

The man fell to the floor, his last look a one of pure shock, and another warrior ran to avenge his comrade's death only to be halted by the chief. He said something and instead the warrior reluctantly lifted the man to his feet and bound his arms. He was moved onwards and put up little resistance, only raising his battle-weary eyes to meet Buffy's gaze. His eyes were blue, vibrant like Spikes, yet dimmed by untold troubles of past deeds and things witnessed. Dark, slightly long and untidy hair framed his strong face with the tough jaw line, which was currently lax from something similar to sheer exhaustion. Their eyes only meet for a brief moment yet Buffy was intrigued. A near-dead hottie, she mused, well if I'm stuck in 1876 Japan I might as well have some fun.

Giles's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her tumbling rudely back to reality. They were both still captive, and fun seemed the last thing that would happen right now. Giles was speaking frantically, trying to gain the attention of the chief who was following the path of the white man's movement and seemingly not listening to Giles. Buffy's captor apparently had decided that she was actually a threat and she now found herself in yet another death grip. The men were still restraining Giles and one had drawn a dagger and brought it up in a wide arch when the chief's gaze fixed on Giles in sheer disbelief at something her Watcher had just said. He gestured with an impatient hand for Giles to be released and approached him asking numerous questions. Giles answered readily and the chief kept looking back at Buffy over his shoulder until at last he came to a conclusion and gestured for two horses to be brought forward.

'You will come with us now,' he told them in stilted, heavily accented English before walking off to speak with some more of his men. Buffy eyed the horses suspiciously before turning back to Giles and putting her newly freed hands on her hips.

'What the hell did you just say?'

'Chief Katsumoto!' Giles cried out. 'Please, we mean you or your people no harm! We beseech you; we have travelled a great distance to gain your counsel. It is for my companion, to help her to fulfil her destiny, only through living and working with you and your people can she truly learn what it is to lead!' His captors seemed to have had enough of his pleading and one reached for his dagger, menacingly bringing it up in a high and wide arch when Giles decided to throw all caution to the wind in a bid to stay alive. 'She is the Slayer!'

This certainly caught Katsumoto's attention. He turned to face Giles, eyes wide.

'The Slayer?'

'Yes!' Katsumoto's gaze flicked to the thin golden-haired woman. He raised an impatient hand and gestured for Giles to be released as he approached.

'This woman is the Slayer?'

'Yes, the longest living one in history.' Katsumoto looked at Buffy again and she met his gaze steadily.

'Why have you come?'

'She needs guidance and training in your people's ways, to help her become a better leader, a better warrior.'

'You are her Watcher? Her guide?'

'Yes I am, we have trained together for seven years now.' Katsumoto paused reflectively.

'I remember when the honour was granted to one of my people. She lived as a Slayer and died as one, I will help you.'

'Thank you Chief,' Giles breathed in relief. Katsumoto had two bay horses brought forward and addressed Buffy in slow, careful English before turning on his heel to tend to the matter of the shamed ex-Samurai captain. That was when Buffy placed her hands on her hips and demanded an answer from Giles, suspicion etched onto the contours of her face. Giles ignored her, instead choosing to lift her bodily into the saddle of one of the horses before mounting his own.

'Hey! Answer me! Where are we going?' Giles allowed himself to smile at his anxious Slayer.

'To live with the Samurai.'

There was a pause.

'WHAT?'

So what did you think? If you liked it, hated it, have anything to say please review!