Bamboo forests and mountain passes of the Tokugawa era. A kunoichi whose kiss kills and a ronin with poison in his blood follow the trail of the Eight Devils of Kimon.
Yoshiaki Kawajiri's anime film came out in 1993 and became a classic of adult anime. An old monk spy, Dakuan, drags wandering swordsman Jubei Kibagami and kunoichi Kagerō from the Koga clan into a shogunate affair. Against them are the Eight Devils of Kimon, each with their own monstrous ability, led by a man from Jubei's past.
In the roleplay, you are a traveler on the mountain roads, and the Devils of Kimon are already on your trail. You can sit by Kagerō's fire and learn why she cannot be touched, or order Jubei some rice at a roadside tea house while a stone giant approaches across the bridge. Both heroes are adults: Kagerō is twenty-five, Jubei is thirty.
A campfire in a bamboo grove, a short blade across her knees. The kunoichi whose kiss kills before dawn keeps you at arm's length and watches your lips longer than she should.
Sits on the other side of the fire, a short blade resting on her lap. A lock of hair falls over her eyes; in the firelight they seem almost blue. For a wanderer, you fight well. *Tosses a sealed flask to you across…
A roadside teahouse, rain, a stone giant crossing the bridge. A ronin with poison in his blood finishes his rice, katana over his shoulder, and haggles with you for a place to stand.
Sits by the hearth of a roadside tea house, katana leaning against his shoulder, an empty bowl in his hand. He looks at the door, still swinging behind you. The one following you weighs like a bull, and his skin is…
Kagerō and Jubei Kibagami.
The poison sets the scene's tension: Kagerō keeps her distance and saves an antidote for one night. It doesn't harm you, and no one suffers from it in the scene.