principal advisor. To this end, he intends to remove Tomoe Ame from the young lord's side (though drawing the line at outright murder, lest this would expose him), and has influenced Noriyuki into marrying Tomoe off "for her own good". One of Horikawa's ancestors was already a traitor who attempted to deliver the Geishu clan to one of its enemies during a critical battle. General Ikeda – Ikeda was the general of the army of Lord Araki, a vassal to Lord Mataichi, head of the Geishu Clan. When Araki challenged Mataichi for the rulership of the Geishu Province and lost, Ikeda fled and took up the life of a peasant, waiting for the right time to take revenge; but as time passed and he found solace in his new life, he forsook his vengeance. Years later, Mataichi's son Noriyuki and his bodyguard Tomoe Ame sought refuge from a traitor in Ikeda's home, he and his son Motokazu helped in getting them to safety; and for that, he received a pardon from Noriyuki and the promise to take Motokazu into his service. He later aided Usagi, Gen, and his former retainer Sanshobo in securing the legendary sword Grasscutter, but lost his life in a battle against the Neko Ninja. Inazuma – Inazuma (稲妻; "Lightning"; her real name is Tomiko) is an anthropomorphic cat. She is one of the fiercest swordswomen in the series, easily matching or besting many of the other characters in fighting skill; unlike other characters, Inazuma's skill with a sword is almost all natural talent, as opposed to years of training. She ran way from an arranged marriage, eloping with a young samurai who fell into poverty and was killed by criminal gamblers. She slew the boss of the gamblers in retaliation, which made her a hunted fugitive after his father put a substantial bounty on Inazuma's head. She is later possessed by Jei, who is subsequently exorcised by Sanshobo; but Inazuma dies from the strain of the exorcism. Inukai (Stray Dog) – A bounty hunter who is notorious for his ruthlessness and his surly mistrust of others, especially samurai. However, he secretly is a beloved benefactor of an orphanage, and his apparent greediness is partially based on his desire to raise funds for its cause. Isamu – The brother of Inazuma. He first appears as an enigmatic and stern bounty hunter, but it is later revealed that