“I knew you wanted a child”, a talking cat-like creature with two tails smirked while levitating after touching Aragami’s shoulder. He pulled out his sword.

“State your business Nekomata”, Aragami ordered.

“Ah, c’mon Aragami, you’ve known me for years! It's Mori to you”. It was true. This yokai, or specifically Nekomata, was an acquaintance of the ninja. Mori was also just one of the many yokai Aragami knew about. “I saw you training that girl…don’t you think you should’ve gone a bit easier on her?”

“She had the potential, and I had to be hard on her. There’s no reason for me to treat her like a princess”.

“Eh…I don’t know Ryo, that girl seemed a bit…off. Have you checked her aura?”

The ninja looked down, deep in thought then sighed. “I cannot answer that, but I know she needs a positive influence in her life”.

“Ah, so you are trying to play ‘daddy’ huh?” Mori chuckled.

“Don’t say it like that! Why do you have to say such vulgar things?”

“Hey, Ryo…that girl went in the opposite direction to your hideout”.

Aragami’s eyes widened in a mix of realization and fear. He knew that the girl still did not know her way around the area. And she went deep into the forest. And the kind of creatures in there could maul her.

He ran to the direction the girl went to and checked his phone. He tried calling her but she wasn’t picking up.

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Azula regained consciousness slowly. Her eyelids opened slowly. She saw an elderly woman. A dirty, withered old hag in rags. She tried to sit up but found that she was tied up in a rubber rope. Where was she? Did this old hag abduct her? What was she going to do to her? She looked around. The first thing she suspected was that this woman had malicious motives. Then she saw that the woman was concocting something inside a cauldron.

Evil cackling was the last thing I remember. Aragami only mentioned that Kage wanted me for something but is this woman one of the yokai he warned me about during training?

The woman turned to Azula and walked to her. She spoke in Japanese.

“Ah, you are awake. I was starting to assume you were weak, fitting the old stereotypes about princesses”.

“You are not a regular old hag. You’re a yokai”.

“Sharp mind. Exactly what everyone expects from a princess. But you. You aren’t a Japanese princess! You are one of the many beings who came out of those cracks in the sky. And you are of royal status from wherever you came from”.

“I see you and the other monsters can read my mind”.

The old yokai started cackling. “Oh, how I wish I had that power! But the truth is that the Kage are not skilled in secrecy like most yokai. If they want something for their master then that will draw that self-righteous Aragami’s attention. And if he meddles then the Nekomata will notice, then it is only a matter of time before every supernatural being in Japan, and the Ryukyu islands knows about it, and you are very important to them…and me”.

“…why?”

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The old woman held the princess’s chin. “Well since you won’t be around any longer, I will tell you:

The Kage demons work for a man who is a mutant/human hybrid. What yokai he is born from…nobody is sure though I think he is a demon from western mythology, he is slowly rising into power. But he is using them to hunt down that ninja who took pity on you instead of using you for his gain. I don’t know why he cares about you, maybe because right now, you have the biggest target on your back.

Azula narrowed her eyes, “That doesn’t answer my question”.

“Oh, you want to know why I kidnapped you? That is easy, I knew you were a princess. And the reason why is because I am a Yama-Uba, surely even you are aware of those children's stories about witches kidnapping princesses”.

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Aragami was getting frustrated with the search. The only clue he had was the girl’s phone that he found on the ground, along with a cloth with some sort of drug spell. Mori sniffed the phone.

“I think I can track them down, there’s more than enough of her scent on her”.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Start tracking!”

“What’s the magic word, dear ninja?”

Aragami gave Mori an irritable expression. The nekomata just sighed. “I don’t fully understand why you care about that kid, it’s obvious she was a bad person from wherever she came from”.

“…I can try to fix her”.

“Oh no, I smell the scent of an evil yokai. On the same path as the girl!”

“Which species?”

“A Yama-uba”. A girl’s voice called out. Aragami rushed to the girl and looked like he was about to panic.

The girl was wearing rural clothes and had short hair. Aragami recognized her as the maid of a crime family mansion.

“Did you see a teenage girl being abducted by one?”

The girl slowly nodded. “She took her somewhere in that direction, I kept hearing stories about young girls being kidnapped by an old woman, and then I saw a young girl being kidnapped by that same old woman”.

Aragami looked ahead to where the girl was pointing. She kept staring at the ninja. “Are you a demon ninja?” She asked in amazement but the ninja ran off to find the other girl.

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The Yama-uba went out of the room where Azula was tied up. The princess needed to find a method of escaping. Looking around, she almost found nothing. Except for a small crooked tool nail that was sharp enough to cut the piece of rope around her. The rope managed to be cut and she was free. She stood up and found the room had no windows. But there was a knife by the vegetables the old yokai was planning to cook. She grabbed it and hid behind the door quickly.

The yokai returned, humming in delight. Only to freeze when she saw the rope was cut and Azula was nowhere. “WHAT!”.

Now was Azula’s chance. With the knife in her grip, she stabbed the yama-uba in the back of her neck. The yokai screeched in pain. Azula ran out of the room and frantically tried searching for a way out of the prison of a house. The front door was locked. She saw the open windows. Climbing out she was finally outside.

She tried running as fast as she could. As far away from the old hag. But the woman was running after her. With her increased speed she grabbed Azula from behind. “Did you think a knife would be enough?! Well, I guess that is how I will end your life, Azula!”

Azula couldn’t believe this was it, that she was going to be killed by an old hag because she lost her bending.

Then there was a loud bang, blood was shot out of the yokai’s head. She completely let go of Azula and fell to the ground. The princess turned around and took a few steps back as she watched the old witch’s lifeless body.

“A witch abducted you? So are you a princess or something?” The witch’s killer asked. Azula looked to face a young girl. Seemingly her height. She wore a white top, a red jacket, black shorts, and laced ankle boots.

“Who are you? Another yokai?”

“Nope, I hunt them. My name is Miya. Come with me, I can protect you”.

Azula just stared at Miya suspiciously. “And why should I trust you?”

“Most of the evil yokai in this area are looking for you. It’s amazing how you’re still alive despite that. And you can tell what being is a yokai by the scent. They have a smell that reminds people of burnt food”.

This girl was telling the truth because burnt food was the accurate description of how the yama-uba smelt.

“I can offer you protection from other yama-uba and any other evil yokai. My people specialize in taking individuals from other worlds in to train”.

Azula looked stoic and the girl didn’t seem to be lying. She needed to be trained, she was able to avoid death out of ridiculous luck. That may not happen next time.

“What do you train?”

“We train numerous fighting styles”.

“…And who are these ‘people’ of yours?”

“We are The Hand”.