• "Leave the girl alone!"
    "Huh? Who are you?!"
    "Let the girl go and I promise I won't hurt you."
    "Who do you think you are, Woman?!"
    "I'll give you one last chance. Let. Her. Go."
    "Heh! Come on boys! Let's teach this girl a few things!"
    "So you're willing to throw your life away... Pitiful."
    The mysterious woman drew her sword and thrust at the men attacking her.

    The last bandit fell to the ground with one last gasp for air. The female warrior sheathed her sword once again.
    "Men like you, are unforgivable."
    "Wh-who are you?!" asked one of the bloody men.
    "My name does not concern you. Now leave this place and atone for your sins." the warrior commented.
    The defeated bandits crawled away form the bloody scene and fled from sight.
    "Oh, thank you so much, Miss! How can I ever I ever repay you?" the young girl the warrior had protected, ran up to her. The girl looked endearingly at her.
    "Just stay out of trouble from now on." she replied.
    "Alright! I will! But, could I know the name of the person who rescued me?"
    "My name... Is Kaori."
    "Kaori..." the girl repeated.
    "Yes..." then the warrior turned her head to the West and listened. She ,then, turned back. " Now I must go. Please excuse me."
    "O-of course! Thank you again...!" the girl's gaze followed her rescuer to the East. "...Kaori..."

    Kaori traveled East on a dirt road headed for Japan. She was very determined to build more power. The source of this determination- An anger deep within her heart, burning a hole little by little. An anger to capture the one person who murdered her older brother.
    For years, Kaori had dreamt of the night her brother was killed. She saw the scene so clearly, like it was playing right in front of her. She saw all the people gathered around her. All the pained looks on their faces. But most clearly, she could see the crimson stains on her hands and on her dress. The crimson color everywhere, even on her beloved brother's face. She sat in a pool of blood holding her lost brother.
    'No! Stay with me, brother!' she would scream. 'Don't leave me! You can't go!'

    "...Brother..." Kaori stopped and stared at her feet.
    "Hey, Ma'am. Are you okay?"
    While Kaori remembered her horrible past, a young man had begun to follow her. "Hey. Are you lost?"
    "No. I'm fine."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Please excuse me, but I must go." Kaori started moving forward again.
    "W-wait! At least tell me where you're going!" the man insisted.
    "Why does it matter?"
    "Well, these roads can be kind dangerous when you travel by yourself. Maybe I could go with you until you reach your destination." Kaori looked at the young man with an unreadable expression on her face.
    "I'm sorry, but I must decline." Now she turned and continued East.
    "Wait! You could get ambushed at any moment! Look at your surroundings!"
    Kaori glanced up and down the road and noticed all the shrubs and trees surrounding them. "Some creeps could come out of nowhere!" the man added.
    "That may be true," she stated, "But I can handle myself."

    Now the young man stood frozen on the road, staring at the beautiful woman before him. Her long, brown hair swaying from left to right as she treaded down the road. He then, abruptly, saw a gleam of light in the shrubbery.
    "Hey! Watch out!" he shouted and ran for Kaori. At the same moment, five bandits jumped from the bushes and attacked the two travelers.

    Kaori drew her sword and guarded an attack made by a particularly large man. She then turned her head, only to see another bandit charging at her! Kaori tried to grab her sword with both hands, but it was too late...

    The young man, that had been following Kaori, had drawn his sword as well and countered one of the intruders. He thrust at the bandit multiple times, yet only caught his left arm onece. The man just snickered and attacked again. The boy jumped back and avoided the bandit.

    The boy was about to thrust his blade again, when he heard a woman's voice.
    "I wouldn't do that, Boy!" he stopped in his tracks and turned his head. "At least not if you want to spare this girl's life."

    The female bandit held Kaori in front of her- a dagger held to her throat and her free hand over her mouth.
    "Okay. Now if you give us all your money, we will let this little pretty go."
    "But, put your weapon down first!" called a short bandit.

    Around this time Kaori managed to pull the female bandit's hand away from her mouth long enough to get a few words out.
    "You fool! Get out of here! Don't worry about someone you don't even kno-!"
    "Shut up, Pest!" the bandit covered her mouth again.

    The young boy glanced at all of his enemies surrounding him. He closed his eyes and slowly bent down, dropping his sword on the ground. Kaori cried out from under the woman's hand, but it came out barley a muffle.

    "That's a good boy. You," the woman motioned to one of the bandits. "Grab his sword." a very slim man stepped forward and took the sword off the ground and backed away into the group again.
    "Now, give us your money!" the large bandit shouted.

    The boy looked at the group of thieves and the girl he had just met- the girl he didn't even know what to call her by.
    "Alright... Here it is." He threw a small pouch to the female. She caught the pouch and in return, pushed Kaori forward, away from the group. The unknown boy caught Kaori from stumbling to the ground. Now Kaori looked up at him and finally noticed what he looked like.

    He had medium length, black hair. His eyes, a dark brown that almost looked black. He wore a simple black shirt with a piece of red cloth tied around his neck. He also wore black pants with black boots- And he looked to her age or somewhere close to her.
    "Here. You can have your sword back now! We couldn't use such a dull thing anyway!" the female bandit threw the boy's sword at both of them. It landed only a few feet away as the bandits fled from the scene.