Ishawari bowed to Jin. As the last to leave the house, he double checked the back doors and windows, glancing around to make sure no personal items were out in the open, before making his exit. The sun was barely inhibited by the speckle of clouds strafing above, though a gloomy patch whirling from the north could disrupt all of that by evening. As he made his trek toward Ochi farm, he came across the usual traveling merchants that hailed from the port, but was in such a rush, that he only nodded to their familiar faces in passing. 

[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ba/4d/4c/ba4d4cad2245d933107aff16d3f7e626.jpg[/img][/center]

Ochi's farm was within a mile's distance to the rest of the village. It veered off its own private road west, a little ways from the main path that connected the port town with Hanowa. Most of its acres were set in a flooded, arable basin, filled with rice crop, while the elevated acres had a variety of fruits and vegetables. Ishawari noted the evenly spaced, little bushels, which replaced the fully ripe crop he harvested from yesterday. [i]They don't waste time, do they?[/i] He thought, nodding approvingly at their work ethic. The family of six were a salt of the earth kind of people, always busy doing something, so it concerned him when he didn't notice anybody working about. Ishawari approached cautiously, taking in the stillness of his surroundings as he advanced toward the family house. As he got closer, he heard what sounded like cheering, then, lots of shuffling that followed a loud [i]clang[/i]! 

Ishawari darted toward the entryway, his bodyguard instincts taking over. He slid the door open to see Toji Ochi wrestling Saito, the town drunk, in the main living space. The main eating table and chairs were cleared or this peculiar match. The four Ochi boys, each a year apart, were cheering on their father, as their mother, Masuka, was armed with her broom. 

"Would you two stop already?! You're going to break something!" Masuka yelled, waving her cleaning utensil in the air like a crazed warrior. She then noticed Ishawari at the entrance, and the angry lines on her face immediately unwrinkled to a soft marshmallow. 

"Oh, Takumi-san! Just the person I need!"

"Uh, what's going on?" Ishawari said, not sure what to make of the present situation. 

"Oh just two idiots trying to prove a point nobody cares about." Masuka rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath and yelled: 

"STOP THIS INSTANT YOU TWO! TAKUMI-SAN IS HERE!" 

The four boys turned, greeted Ishawari, signaling him to join in on the spectacle. Toji managed to put his weight on top of Saito, mounting from on top, and restraining the man's wrists. 

"Oh, Takumi-san!" Toji said in between exasperated breaths, "Welco-" 

Saito took advantage of the distraction, cut loose from Toji's hold, plopping him to the side to regain an advantageous position. 

"Ha, you fool! How can you be the better wrestler if you're so easily distracted!" Saito said, his slender face, drenched in sweat. 

Masuka had enough. She scuttled over, her feet quickly shuffling at speeds permitted by her tight, purple kimono that limited her gait. With her broom raised, she brought it down in a continuous arc, smacking both Toji and Saito with its sharp, bristled ends.

"Waste your energy on this stupid bet will you!?" Masuka raged, her boys laughing uncontrollably as Toji and Saito cowered, both trying to use the other as their shield. "Embarrass us in front of guests will you!?" 

"Well, then..." Ishawari looked around, slowly backing up towards the door. 

"No, Takumi-san! Please, help us get this crazy lout out of our house! He does nothing but distract from our daily routine, a routine we so desperately need to get back to!" Despite the room's disapproval, Masuka insisted. She grabbed Saito by his collar and dragged him towards the exit, throwing in a couple more smacks with her broom along the way. 

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry Masuka! No more!" Saito hid behind Ishawari, who held his own arms up in defense. 

[center]***[/center]

The two men made their way back with almost little to no small talk. Ishawari slung a bag with a ripe assortment of fruits and vegetables, Masuka's payment for helping them get rid of Saito. 

"So, I see that you're feeling much better." Ishawari said, breaking the ice. 

"Yes, I am. Thank you for helping me." Saito said, looking over his shoulder. 

"Well, I couldn't just leave you on the side of the road." Ishawari shrugged, noticing how shifty Saito was becoming. "Is everything okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah." he uttered, his pace now quickening. "I just need to get home is all."

Again, Ishawari shrugged. [i]All the better I suppose[/i].

"Oh, no." Saito's widened eyes stared down the path. Ishawari frowned at him, then turned, squinting down the road past his own house to see a group of men making their way towards the village. Ishawari sighed. 

"I take it you know those men?" 

"I, uh, might owe them some coin." Saito shamefully nodded.

"Some coin?" 

"A lot of coin. We should go back to Ochi's, I can't let them see me!" 

Ishawari sighed again. 

"No, get off the road. Stay low and loop around the bend to get behind my house. Hide there while I sort this mess out." Ishawari said, handing Saito the bag of farmed goods. 

"No, Takumi-san! Those men are dangerous! Let's just run." 

Ishawari glared at the man, and in that moment, Saito wasn't sure who to be more scared of. 

"And you've now endangered the village. Go. Now." Ishawari then bolted into a running jog.   

When Ishawari got within 100 yards, the details of the four men were more clear. The smallest of them turned, signaling the others of Ishawari's approach. The group turned in unison, and Ishawari could see the sheathed blades at their waist. He looked ahead, elated to see nobody else was nearby, then approached them with a carefully measured smile. 

"Hello!" Ishawari said, slowing his jogging pace until he was about ten feet away He noted their shifty hands reaching for the hilts of their swords. "Are you traveling merchants from the port?" 

"Do we look like merchants?" The biggest of the four stepped forward. Easily 6'7', built like a thick tree. They all wore sleeveless black coats, but his looked like it could tear at the seams at any moment."We're looking for a man named Saito. You know him?" 

"We know he's from here so don't lie to us." The second tallest man said. He was more slender, with hawk-like features, but had the longest sword. "Just give him to us, and we won't hurt anybody." 

"Oh, Saito eh?" Ishawari rolled his eyes, his acting, not far from the truth. "Of course you're looking for Saito. Heck, we all are. That drunk comes and goes as he sees fit. Can't say I've seen him around though." 

"Well, that's too bad." The third man said. He was the least athletic of the group, but his gaze was by far the most menacing. "I guess we'll just have to take what he owes us out on this village then." 

"Yes..." The fourth one said, the smallest of the bunch. His bulbous eyes inspected that Ishawari was unarmed, unsheathing his sword with a laugh. "Starting with you!" 

Ishawari calmed his mind, slowing his breathing until the falling leaves appeared to float as though they were underwater. He saw beyond the small man's advance; to the portly one's hand with a hidden dagger, to the hawk-like man flashing his long blade, and to the biggest of them all, standing with his arms crossed. These men were not foreigners to death dealing, and without his spear, could prove to be a handful. Ishawari recalled Jin's words at breakfast, her belief in his ability to handle whatever situation he'd come across. And as the short one's blade missed its illusive target, Ishawari couldn't help but smile, reaffirming that her confidence wasn't misplaced.


The short one frowned as he missed his target. The air close to his air was like a sharp gale wind as the blade from the portly one traveled toward Ishawari, who gracefully caught it by the hilt between his fingers. Ishawari nodded approvingly at the balanced weight of his newfound weapon, then brought its blade to parry the short one's second strike.

"This is a good knife! How much for it?" Ishawari said to the portly man, who unsheathed his machete in a fit of rage. 

The hawk man thrust his long blade at Ishawari, who nodded approvingly at his technique, but shook his head with disappointment after sidestepping with a blade parry, sending the hawkman off balance. As he did, the machete came flying at him with a variety of crude slices, which became even more reckless with every missed swing. Ishawari used the portly man's momentum to fling him off the road with a simple, one armed push with his free hand. The short one and the hawk then jumped in to attack as one, but then something caught his eye. The bald man, who was observing this fight like a spectator, noticed the slight distraction in Ishawari, and turned to see what it was. 

Prince Hotaru stopped in his tracks as he made eye contact with the giant man. 

"Run, Han!" Ishawari said, the loudness in his voice shook both of his attackers. 

He whirled around the short one, slamming the butt of the knife into the back of his head, crumpling him into the ground. The hawk man found an opening and brought his long blade down diagonally, nicking Ishawari's shoulder. Ishwari ignored the pain as he stomped the blade flat onto the ground with his foot, then lunged in close to deliver a hard right hand to the chin that sent him on his back. By the time Ishawari neutralized the threats, the bald man was already making his advance toward Prince Hotaru, who was running his hardest back to the school. Ishawari kicked it into gear, but just as he was about to break out into a full sprint, the portly man leaped at him from the side of the road, cutting off his path by slashing with desperation. Ishawari roared fists in between his clumsy attacks until he was knocked unconscious. 

"Come back here, runt!" The bald man yelled. 

Ishawari ran after the bald man, who was within twenty feet of Prince Hotaru. 

"Hey! You some kind of coward? Leave the kid alone!" Ishawari roared, but the brute didn't respond. Ishwari surmised the man knew he couldn't take him on, and resorted to going after Hotaru to exploit his weakness. Damn it! Knife still in hand, he waited until he closed enough distance to fling it at him, but when he saw that the bald man grabbed a hold of Hotaru, he altered its trajectory at the last second for fear of hitting the boy. The bald man flinched as the knife flew past his broad shoulder, but regained his confidence with Hotaru now as his hostage. 

"Not so tough now are ya?" The bald man spat, dangling Hotaru by his collar. "Could've made this so much easier, but you had to be a hero."  

"Let me go, you ugly ogre!" Hotaru kicked and screamed.

Many villagers who were within earshot ran over to the scene, yelling at the bald man, but his hold on the boy only tightened.

"You pay me the 10,000 gold I'm owed from Saito, and I won't snap this boy's neck!" The man's hands were as big as Hotaru's head. Ishawari clenched his teeth, holding back the rage he had for this coward and focused. [i]If I can just get the prince free from his grasp...[/i]

The bald man circled, threatening everyone to keep their distance.