[b]“Oh, Little Prince, where are you!?!”[/b]

Jin felt her stomach drop to her knees, as the assassin's cry echoed through the mountains around them. She heard the faintest whisper from inside the basket. Bless the Prince's little heart, he was trying to be so brave for everyone. She kept moving, her normal running speed split nearly in half as she made their way in the dark.

"Oh, Little Prince..."

Was it her imagination, or were the assassin's taunts getting closer? Jin started to hustle, stepping on a rather large rock at one point and feeling her balance waver. But she could see the widening path just ahead, and took her chances running for it. That turned out to be the right choice. Not sooner than she put one foot in the grass, did the masked female assassin simply walked over the side of the mountain, onto the path. 

"...I hate magic users." Jin muttered, shifting her weight to slowly set the basket down. "You're all cheaters, making up for what you lack in training." 

"Better a cheater than a traitor." The woman Asana hissed in a mocking tone.

"I'm sure you know plenty about both." Jin shot back, pulling her twin swords. Without any further ado, she struck forward, her body light and nimble without the weight of another person on her back. Sword and sai clashed in a ring of metal, as Jin was parried again and again. 

"Hm. Not bad. It will be such a shame to kill you." Jin grinned fiercely, her eyes blazing with fury. In that simple pattern, she'd determined a few things. One - her opponent was left handed. Two - her opponent was just as tired as she was; perhaps the magic took something from her? And three - there was just the slightest hesitation in her right step. That meant an opening.

Jin started to pour on more speed, her strikes coming faster and with more rhythm. As soon as she felt the assassin falling into step again, she changed things up in a snap. She darted forward on the left side, feinting a hard swing. The assassin fell for it, thank the gods. Jin went to the right side with everything she had, forcing Asana to dodge on her right foot. The woman wobbled, and Jin took her chance. She shoulder-checked the other woman right in the stomach - a benefit to being shorter. 

"No- no!" Asana tilted, and then started to tumble from the side. Jin could see the magical glow starting up, and knew she had to do something quick. So she simply and unceremoniously stabbed the woman in the foot. 

A scream of pain burst from the woman's lips as the Jin yanked her blade free. Then she coolly watched as the woman fell down, and down, and down the mountain side. The screaming cut off abruptly in the dark.

"...whew..." Jin had not come out unscathed. She was covered in slashes and shallow stab wounds from the woman's sai. She really had been skilled. If only she'd been on the right side of things. 

Jin jogged back to the basket and peered into it. 

"Prince Hotaru, are you alright?" 

"Yes, I think so." The boy's face was streaked with tears, and Jin realized he must have heard the whole thing, maybe even seen it. Jin sighed, and reached in to hold the boy's hand. His fingers were shaking. "I was so scared."

"Oh, it's alright to be scared. I was too. The thing is, you don't let the fear keep you from doing what's right." She offered a little smile to the Prince, who grinned vaguely in her direction.

"Now, where is our Ishawari?"