Hi! Welcome to the pre-story to the huge many chaptered story, "The Lady of Akai." If that series was an anime, just pretend that this is an OVA or a small collection of shows about the characters before the series started. It may be better to read The Lady of Akai before reading this one, although it is not mandatory to be able to understand it.

This story will be written a little different than "Akai" but it will still have that RedLady humor in it. This will allow one to see the background and personalities of the characters and why they do what they do whereas in Akai, as it wasn't always prevalent on what the characters did in the past and what made them the people they are today. The chapters will be longer than those of "Akai" and will occur in two parts. But enough of my blabbering...

Let's welcome my newest story...

The prequel to The Lady of Akai...

Aka Baka, Bazu Kazu

The Red Headed Girl and Her Unusual Family.

In an open field, near a forest by the city of Ficte: This is where it all started…

Here, a teenage girl sat in the middle of the clearing chipping at a rock. She had long red hair, big blue eyes, and a big mouth. A small cute bow tied the bottom tips of her hair together.

She ferociously banged on a rock with a pick. “Grr! Break!” She yelled as she pounded on the stone. Little did she know that she was not alone.

A traveling merchant with an overstuffed bag on his back was passing by. He groaned and started talking to himself, “With the world the way it is today, you’d think everyone would want weapons! But no… no one listens to Merchant Kernie. Merchant Kernie must sale all his weapons or he doesn’t get paid. If he doesn’t get paid, he doesn’t eat. Merchant Kernie has a quota to meet for goodness sakes! And he’s hungry, so why won’t anyone buy my weapons!”

The sounds of banging, interrupted his thoughts. He looked over to see the girl banging on a rock. “Ah hah! A possible customer! Although girls usually aren’t interested in weapons! Oh well… Merchant Kernie has learned to treat all people as possible customers! Greetings Lady!” He stepped forward.

“Huh? Oh. Hi.” She said still chipping at a rock.

“Uh… I just had a question for you… uh… what are you doing?”

“Banging on a rock.”

“Uh… why?”

“I’m making amulets!” She said holding up a bunch of necklaces and jewelry.

“Huh? Are you a sorceress?”

“Nope.”

“A warrior?”

“Nope.”

“Adventurer?”

“Nope.”

“Have you ever thought about being any of those because have I got a deal for you! Genuine weaponry at half price!”

“Weapons?” She said scratching her head.

“Yep. Guaranteed to last a life time. I’ve got axes, swords, bows, sling shots, cross bows, throwing knives, kitchen ware, projectiles, catapults, firearms, cannons, shields, armor, bombs, firecrackers…”

By this time the girl’s eyes were in swirls.

“But I don’t want any of that…”

“I’m sure a young lady like yourself would need something to protect herself with. See? I’ve even got this knife here…” He said digging into his oversized bag as big as a house… He threw down a knife. “You tie it to your leg or arm so that it’s concealed and then when someone tries to attack you, you whip it out and they run away at the sight of your miraculous knife.”

“I have amulets to ward off attackers.”

“Excuse me?”

“And to wield off perverted men, rabid wolves, mosquitoes, sickness, smoke clouds, sleet and hail, ghosts, bats, paper machete, chain saw wielding ninja monkeys, and much much more…”

This time the merchant’s eyes were in swirls.

“You really have amulets to ward off all that?”

“Yep.”

“What about to ward off back pains?” He said patting his back where three little red squiggles came off of.

“I was just working on that one.” She said smiling.

“Really!”

“Yep. That’s why I need this rock.” She started to chip at it again.

"Why do you need that rock?" He said scratching his head as dandruff fell out of his hair.

"Cuz you see how it's colored?"

"Uh huh."

"And you see the position of the sun as it shines on it?"

"Yeah."

"And you see how I'm bending over as I chip the rock?"

"Uh... sure." He said watching her demonstrate.

"Well, it hurts my back."

"What does... that have to do with the color of the rock and the sun?"

"Oh nothing. I just figured I should make one that wards off back pains cuz my back hurts right now."

"How will it ward off back pains?"

"I don't know. I just made it up."

"How do you expect to sell amulets like that? You're a bad sales person!" He claimed having a fit.

"Huh? But they really work! 50 denari each is a decent price to pay for no more back pains!"

A noise was heard behind a bush and the Merchant smiled with glee. "Yes, another customer!" He thought to himself. But this was no customer. A snake-like dog creature burst out of the bush and into the clearing towards the girl and the merchant.

OO!!!

"AH!!! WATCH OUT GIRL!!" He said running away as it came to a stop before the teenage girl.

"Huh?" She looked up to see the growling beast. She blinked. It growled at her. "What do you want doggy?" She said. The merchant who was running away, tripped when he heard this question.

The snake-like demon dog simply blinked. Then growled. Then leapt at her.

"NO!" Merchant Kernie yelled. Before both the Merchant man and the girl could blink, a flash of light shone upon a katana as it chopped through the demon. A samurai in black stood still with his sword in mid air as the demon fell down dead. Both the Merchant who had tripped and the girl, looked on in awe as the sun shone down upon the darkly clad warrior.

He lowered his sword and put it back in it's holder by his side. The dead body of the creature besides him seemed to melt into dust as Kernie and the girl watched in awe. He nodded at the girl and turned to go, but the girl jumped up pointing at him.

"Hey you!" She said her voice stopping him in his tracks. "Who are you?"

He turned slowly, but didn't make a sound. Finally, he said, "My name is not important. Good day to you, Madam."

"Madam?" She asked and ran after him. "But what about that dog?" She said pointing to the spot where the demon used to be.

"Dog! That was no dog!" The merchant yelled at her.

"That was a demon, Miss." The samurai said. "I'm sorry about that. I would have killed him earlier, but he got away from me. Sorry about that." He apologized and turned to go again only to find the girl and the merchant still following him.

"Have I got a proposition for you!" Merchant Kernie was saying to the samurai. "I can tell you're a warrior and today is your lucky day cuz everything in stock is half price! I've got weapons, armor, and more! Just name anything you need and I've probably got it."

"I'm not interested." The samurai declined.

"But just wait till you see what I've got!" He said skipping to the top of his rather huge bag. "This is my newest item." He said taking out a long cannon like weapon. "This bazooka here is said to be possessed by a great warrior and will leave destruction in any of your enemies path."

"I think you are holding it backwards." The samurai sweat dropped and turned to leave while the merchant looked down the barrel of the bazooka.

"Ok! Maybe I lied about that, but it did belong to someone who claimed to be a demon killer!" He said yelling after the samurai.

The girl jumped over the merchant who landed on his face as the bazooka weighed him down. "Wait! Hey you! Where did that dog thing go? It just disappeared!"

"Um... that was a demon. They disappear a little while after they are killed. There's no need to worry about it."

"That was kind of cool. So what are you? Some sort of samurai?" She asked measuring him up.

"Yes. A dark samurai. But I must go now."

"Why? Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Not exactly..."

"Is someone waiting for you?" She prodded.

"No... I..."

"Don't tell me you're a wandering samurai who doesn't know where he's gonna spend the night or even where his next meal is coming from..."

"Well..." He said looking ragged. As if right on cue, his stomach grumbled.

"Come on then." She said grabbing onto his arm.

"I can't..."

"You gotta tell me about that disappearing dog trick..."

"But it wasn't a trick... or a dog..." He mentioned.

"Yes, he's a warrior and I bet he knows a good deal when he hears one! Two-thirds off! That's my final offer! Anything in my possession. Just please buy something!" The merchant crawled up to the samurai and grabbed his leg. Now the samurai had a woman on his arm and a guy on his leg.

Oo?

"Please... sir... Madam..."

"Stop calling me Madam... my name's RedLady."

"Lady Red?"

"No... RedLady... though, I guess you could call me that too..." She said letting go of the samurai's arm and thinking.

"Well... I must refuse you both. A dark samurai always travels alone... And there are still demons out there..." He said shifty eyed.

"Ah... and that can get dangerous so maybe if you buy a weapon or two..."

"He's already got a weapon..." RedLady said clueless.

"Yes, well... goodbye." The samurai said. She watched him leave.

"How about you, Miss RedLady? You can't always depend on a passing samurai to rescue you from demons." With that her eyes went red and the merchant jumped back in fear. "What'd I say?"

She tore after the samurai and yelled at him. "Hey you!"

"Yes?" He turned confused.

o0

"You did not rescue me, ok?"

"What?"

"No one dares save RedLady from danger! I have amulets to ward off against saviors!"

"And you wouldn't need savings if you bought some of my weapons... which offer a great deal of savings for your pocket!" Merchant Kernie was at it again.

"I don't need savings! I'm not some helpless little girl who needs a big strong man all the time!"

"Do you have a weapon?"

"No."

"My point exactly." The merchant said.

"Why you!!!" She said glaring at him with kill written in her eyes.

"Aah! I'm just saying that you should buy a weapon... and I happen to have plenty to choose from!"

"Hey..." RedLady said. "Where did that guy go?" She said looking around for the samurai.

"I guess he left." The merchant said disappointed. "And he didn't even buy anything... You scared him away..."

"I did not!"

"With all your crazy talk about not being helpless when all you need to do is buy a weapon or two or three or ten..."

"All you talk about is weapons! Besides that samurai already has one..." She mentioned.

"Making you the ideal customer cuz from what I gather you don't have any..."

"I DON'T WANT ANY!!"

The samurai slipped past the arguing people and shook his head. "I'm sorry Miss RedLady. But I must kill all the demons before I attend to my bodies needs..." He said his stomach growling. "I'll probably never see her again anyway..." He thought.

But, alas, he spoke too soon...

---

The girl known as RedLady skipped down the lane to her house where rumbling could be heard inside. The merchant trailed her dragging his big bag behind him.

"Uh... why are you following me?"

"So you can buy some weapons at fantastic prices!" He said cheerfully.

"Ah hah!" A boy ran out of the house. "You brought home someone to fight. It's not everday the Master of Many Weapons gets to fight someone new! I've already beaten everyone in town."

"No, you didn't." RedLady corrected.

"In denail, are we? Anyway, who are you and what will be your weapon of choice, challenger?" The little boy challenged haughtily.

"Weapon? I'm just a simple merchant. I don't come to challenge you, but to sell to you! I've got axes, bows, swords, knives..."

"Weapons..." The little boy thought stroking his chin. "I am the Master of Many Weapons and I shall challenge you! The winner gets to keep all the weapons."

"I'm not agreeing to that."

"How about you give them to me for free."

"How about not."

"I see... you're a tough one. Then I shall go ask my parents for money."

"They're gonna say no." RedLady droned.

--

"Mommy!" The boy ran into the house. He flung open the door of the rumbling house and ran inside. The merchant waited by the door rubbing his hands together joyfully.

"Finally, I can make a sale! Please, oh please let this be my lucky day!"

A book flew out of the house and hit him smack on the head. It was a book of plays.

"A salesman, huh?" A voice said from the doorway. An older man in a suit with a brown beard and mustache, stood at the door. The merchant twitched on the ground.

"Hey look daughter." The older man said. "It's death of a salesman!" He laughed.

"Daaaaaaaaaaddy!!!" She said moaning.

"So can I dad? Can I? It will only be a little money!" The little boy was saying jumping up and down besides his father.

"You didn't get hit with the currency guide, did you son?" The man rubbed his chin.

"No I dodged that one, remember?"

The older man picked up the book of plays and placed it in the crook of his arm. "The answer is no. Shall I throw a dictionary at you? I don't have a book of no."

"Sir, you seem to have a mighty strong arm. How about a sling shot or a boomerang?" The merchant said grabbing at the man's leg.

"Eh?"

"I'm selling weapons." He said standing up. "And I see that you, sir, are the lucky customer today. I've got weapons of all kinds..."

"Do you have books?" He interrupted.

"Um... what sir?"

"Books. The only weapon I need is knowledge and that's most likely found in books."

"Um... I have a knife that can also substitute as a book mark..."

"Hmm..." The man stroked his chin hairs.

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE!?!?!?!" A woman's voice yelled causing an earthquake.

The merchant fell over but the other three just looked toward their house to see a middle aged woman standing there with short black hair with silver streaks in it.

"Nothing dear. Just talking to a passing solicitator."

The woman marched up to the merchant and yelled, "No solicitator's allowed!"

"Oh but ma'am, you haven't even seen what I'm selling."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!! CAN'T YOU SEE THE SIGN!! IT SAYS NO SOLICITATORS OF ANY KIND!!!"

"Actually it doesn't say of any kind..." The boy pointed out.

"SILENCE!!!" The woman boomed.

"But ma'am. Surely a lady of your stature could use one of my products. And my gunpowder can be used as makeup..."

"I DON'T WEAR MAKEUP!"

"I've got a lasso and a whip if you're into that sort of thing."

Her eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Just what are you trying to sell here?" She said suspiciously with warning in her tone.

"Weapons!" He smiled happily.

"WEAPONS!" She shrieked.

"I know dear, he doesn't got any books... just book marks of some kind." The man said.

"AS IF WE NEED MORE WEAPONS IN THIS WORLD!!! THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN JUST FIGHTING!!!"

"No there isn't." The boy piped in.

"GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!" She yelled causing an earthquake. The boy jumped back but unfortunatly, he continued his ascent into the air and disappeared into a little sparkle in the sky. No one but the merchant seemed disturbed by this.

"It's men like you who influence my son TO WANT TO FIGHT SO MUCH!!!" She yelled at the scared merchant.

"Books are the best way, I always say..." The older man said.

"YOU'RE NO BETTER, HUSBAND!!!" She yelled at the man who dropped his book in the wind caused by her mouth. "At least I have my perfect most beautiful smart goodly daughter child to count on to stay away from all that fighting, weapons, and book throwing." She hugged her daughter, RedLady.

"Mom..." RedLady complained. "You're squishing me."

"Oh sorry." She saw the merchant and yelled, "YOU'RE STILL HERE!!!! How did you get here anyway?"

"He followed me home after we saw this samurai." RedLady explained.

"FOLLOWED!!?!?!?" She shrieked. "NOW LISTEN HERE MISTER!" She said shaking him by the collar. "I DON'T WANT SOME PERVERTED MAN HANGING AROUND MY DAUGHTER, SO UNLESS YOU PLAN ON MARRYING HER, THEN GO AWAY!!"

"Mom!!" RedLady complained.

"But you see... I have a quota to meet and your family seems like the perfect clients I've been looking for..." He moaned with swirls in his eyes.

"You should have stuck with the book business." The man in the suit nodded.

"What's that?" The woman pointed to a growling dog type snaky creature looking at them from the edge of the clearing.

"Ah! It's one of those demons again!" The merchant said rolling away on the ground scared. The demon ran at them. "Aah! Run away!" The weapon seller yelled.

"You're the one with the weapons. Do something." RedLady ordered.

"But I don't know how to use them!" He hid behind his big bag. RedLady traveled to the top of his big bag.

"Let's see here. There must be some sort of dog training instrument in here." She said rummaging through his stuff.

"It's not a dog!" The merchant argued.

"Oh my word." The man said. "I haven't had a chance to exorcise in a while. I suppose these plays will have to do the job..." He said throwing the book at the creature while yelling, "Play power!" It hit the creature which was stunned for a moment and shook his head violently. Now it seemed even violentler. It growled at the man and jumped at him.

"DOWN DOGGY!!!" The woman yelled and the demon flew backwards at the woman's forceful voice.

"It's not a dog." Both the man and ther merchant said.

--;

The snake dog demon was running back towards them growling. "How do you work this thing?" RedLady said a top the bag holding the bazooka on her shoulders.

"No! Not that one!" The merchant looked up scaredly. A big explosion then followed as RedLady demolished a section of the forest behind her. RedLady fell backwards. The noise caused the demon to stop for a bit. Then is slinked forward slowly.

"REDLADY, WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?!? YOU KNOW WE DON'T OWN THAT LAND!! THE CITY MAYOR IS GONNA BE MAD AT US!!" Her mom yelled.

"But I already gave them an amulet to ward off against forest fires." RedLady whined.

"I don't think now is the time to worry about that!" The merchant said huddling besides them. "I only wanted to sell weapons." He moaned. "Meeting a quota shouldn't be so life threatening!" He said shaking with fear.

But just then a black figure jumped in the path of the demon and off came it's head in a flash of lightning. "It's that samurai..." RedLady said.

"SAMURAI!?!?!" Her mother wondered out loud rather loudly.

"Ah yes, I've read about them." The dad said stroking his beard.

"I'm sorry if I have caused you any trouble." The samurai garbed in black said sheifing his long katana and turning towards them. "A portal has opened up causing demons to come into this world. I killed most of them but a few got away."

"This is the second time you've saved us!" Merchant Kernie said. "I thank thee master samurai... but about those weapons you wanted to buy..."

"Portal?" RedLady wondered.

"Ah yes, I've read about them too... in the fantasy section of the library." The older man said nodding.

"Was that dog the same breed of the other one?" RedLady asked.

"I wish you'd stop referring to it as a dog." The samurai sighed.

"The other one?" Her mother wondered. "There was another time this happened? Well now young samurai... I see you have made a habit of seeing my young daughter..."

"Not really."

"You must come to eat with us..." She ordered.

"I'd rather not."

"He wouldn't come when I told him to either." RedLady pointed out.

"It would make me happy if you... EAT DINNER WITH US NOW!!" Her mother yelled. The samurai jumped back. "Please?" She prodded.

"Madam... I must refuse."

"I wouldn't do that." The older man said. "Besides you look hungry."

"I'm fine." He said but his stomach grumbled at that very moment.

"Come on then mister samurai guy. Maybe we're having crawfish! My favorite!" RedLady said walking by him.

"YES, COME ON THEN YOUNG SAMURAI!!!" Her mother tapped her foot. The other two men looked at him waiting for an answer. His stomach grumbled again.

"I suppose no harm can come if I just eat one meal." He agreed.

"Yay!" RedLady said jumping up and down. "Then maybe you can tell me about that dog... I mean demon thing."

"Hmm..." Was his only response. He was in his own thoughts for a moment.

"Oh yes. I love dinner guests." RedLady's father said. "Then we can talk about books."

"And weapons." Kernie added next to him. They all looked at him suspiciously.

"YOU'RE NOT INVITED SOLICITATOR!!"

Next chapter: The Dark Samurai and the Merchant's Lament