SCENE II

(Keeley and Rachael are STILL wandering the countryside when they come around a bend in the path and see five oversized ogre type bullies with clubs standing around a short red-head with a scar on his cheek)

Keeley: Hey Rach, do you see what I see?

Rachael: (Rachael pulls out her katana and grins) Now I can try out my new sword (Rachael smiles wider and starts forward)

Keeley: (Keeley hangs back) Ummm… Rach, there's five of them, and three of us if you count the little guy… don't those odds seem a little… uneven?

Rachael: Of course it would be more fair if they had a few more with them, but it's their fault for not thinking about it, now come on!

(Keeley sighs, rolls her eyes and heads after the now loudly yelling Rachael.)

Rachael: (Rachael takes flying leap and knocks one bad guy unconscious) Boot to the head! (Rachael then engages a second bully in combat.)

(During that the little red-head draws his sword and takes care of two more. Keeley comes up behind the last bad guy who's trying to sneak up on Rachael, she taps him on the head with her wallscroll and smashes him in the face with her purse when he turns around. Rachael disarms her opponent and swings her sword, barely missing taking his nose off. The bad guy notices all the others are kissing the dirt and runs away.)

Rachael: Hey come back! I wasn't finished!

Keeley: (Keeley has to throw herself on Rachael to hold her back) Rach! You can't kill him, besides the little guy's still here, remember?

Rachael: Oh right (Rachael does that cool "run your sword across the opening of the saya and then slip it in" thingy)

(Both of them turn back to face the little guy)

Rachael: Well, that was… interesting

Keeley: (Keeley rummages through her purse) If anything in here is broke, I'm gonna get really angry.

Rachael: By the way, I'm Rachael and that's my friend Keeley (Rachael bows politely and the red head returns it)

Red Head: Arigato, my name is Himura Kenshin.

Keeley: (Keeley stops rummaging for a moment and looks up) Hey cool, so you're names after the anime character then? I didn't know Japanese people did stuff like that.

Kenshin: Oro? (Kenshin blinks in confusion, the shrugs it off as Western weirdness)

Rachael: (Rachael rolls her eyes in disgust) It's a pleasure to meet you Himura-san, maybe you could help us out? We seem to be a little lost…

(Keeley lets out a muffled snort, gives up on her rummaging, sits on the ground and dumps out the entire purse.)

Rachael: (Gives the huge pile of stuff an amazed and fascinated look, but continues)And we were wondering if you could perhaps direct us to a nearby town and a place to stay?

Kenshin: I know a place you may stay if you like.

Rachael: That sounds great, is it far?

Kenshin: Not far at all.

Rachael: Great, come on Keeley put everything back and let's go.

(Still muttering, Keeley scoops everything into her purse, picks up her wall scroll, and follows along behind them.)

Rachael: So where are we going anyway?

Kenshin: The Kamiya Dojo, I'm staying there and I'm certain Kaoru-dono will be happy to let you stay for a while, especially since you helped me.

Keeley: Kaoru? Is everyone around here named after anime characters?

Rachael: (Sighs loudly and shakes her head, then decides to ignore Keeley for the next half hour as she walks beside Kenshin.,) So why were those guys after you anyway?

Kenshin: I'm not certain, but I believe they wished to rob me.

Rachael: That really sucks, you can't even take a walk in the country without someone trying to beat you up and take your money. By the way, that was a cool move you made, the one where you….

(The two continue down the road speaking about fighting technique while Keeley follows with a glazed look in her eyes)