Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue.
Prologue
Bright blue eyes narrowly surveyed the area. She watched the three men with their unsheathed swords slowly circling her and felt a fourth hidden up in the tree to her right. Morons, she thought, did they really think they could beat a mage so easily? She slowly examined their movements. The one directly in front of her was strongly built, with a chest as big as a barrel and dark black hair that was pulled high into a ponytail. He moved slowly because of his size, but each step he took was precise and controlled. He seemed to be the leader; the other two flicked their eyes to him every once in awhile obviously waiting for an order. The tall brunette on her right was about thirty and favored his left leg; he must have an injury that didn't heal properly. The third man was small in stature with sharp eyes and his gi bulged in different areas, presumably from poorly concealed weapons. Probably trained as a ninja, she realized. The man in the tree she couldn't see but she felt his presence and had heard the new silent shuff of a bow coming from his direction.
She saw the change in his eyes and watched the quick intake of breath of the man in front of her and remained impassive as his muscles bunched, preparing for a charge. She waited for him to come within arm's reach while discretely observing the other two. They apparently wanted to attack one at a time. Don't they know it's harder to fight a group? She gave an imperceptible sigh, this would be over soon. Ten feet away, nine feet, still she remained in the same spot. The man's sword was a few inches away from her body when she disappeared from view. He didn't have the time to be surprised as her katana pierced him from behind. She turned, dodged a sword slash at her neck and kicked out the taller man's left leg as he too charged her. He gave a cry of pain and fell down hard. She turned from him; if he ran she wouldn't chase him. She ducked to the right, an arrow whizzing past her ear. The smaller man, obviously noting her speed, discarded his sword and retrieved a few kunai from his sleeves. Smart, she thought, play up your strengths. He ran at her and she spun and jumped off a fallen log rotating midair to avoid his throws.
While she was busy engaging the ninja in battle, the taller man had gotten up and was joining in the fight. Sadness shot through her, I don't want to kill you all. The battle lasted no longer than a minute. An arrow blossomed from the smaller man's chest; she had positioned him so his ally would shoot him accidentally. The taller man's chest had been run through with her sword and the man from the tree was at the base of the trunk. He had a large dent between his eyes from the rock she had picked up and chucked at him while he was killing his comrade. Quick deaths free of magic, there would be no suffering today. The young woman knelt in the dirt and prayed briefly for the men that lay there. If her enemies didn't kill her, she would soon die from the grief.
Leaves crunched in the distance and she sprang up. Her eyes narrowed again and she sent out her ki to see who was coming. Just a villager, she sagged in relief. She dropped a piece of blue cloth on the ground and then the air shifted as her form disappeared from view.
Housekeeping notes: I'm ALIVE! I graduated, finally, and with the ensuing job hunt I find myself with a lot of free-time on my hands. Hence, new story! To ease your minds, I am considering continuing witchy woman, but don't get your hopes up. It's been so long that I don't even know where I was going with that story. Since this is so short I'm posting the first chapter too.
R&R : It doesn't mean rest and relaxation.