Emperor's Daughter
Prologue
The sounds of soldiers were all around him and knew they would be there soon but he didn't want them to be. He wasn't ready to face his fate; it was too much he still had to do. Using his upper arm strength he unsteadily pulled himself up. Sitting on his knees, he looked around at the men that had fallen today, his men. Seeing some of their body parts twitch should have been disgusting but it wasn't: it let him know they were still alive. This made him angry, "You'd rather lay here and die than get up and live?" Disgusted and frustrated, he hauled himself up and turned to look at them. Standing, he began, "Listen to me, all of you. We are not slim, filth or scum and we will not die by their hands today. So even if it kills you GET UP!" He watched as his little speech sparked their determination and fueled them to get up. Moans and groans came from various directions but it was worth it. He smirked at his ability to influence them and said, "We must move quickly. I don't want those bastards on our trail." And so, with pain running throughout their bodies, they began to jogging to a safer place. After a while of being wounded and walking, one of the men spoke up,
"Bankotsu, can I take these arrows out? They sting." Before Bankotsu could answer, another man did lowly similar to a growl, "Take them out and you bleed to death slowly." The man who asked the question's eyes widened at the answer and put his hand that was reaching for an arrow down. For the most part they walked talking here and there.
"Quiet! No use in wasting all your strength talking," The man known as Bankotsu said. Now it was quiet fully. They walked long and far. Every time they thought they had lost the army, a twig would snap.
Bankotsu heard two thumps. Turning, he saw two of his men fall, "This isn't damn nap time, get up!"
"Bankotsu, they've been injected with some type of serum," A man who was still up said.
"What type Suikotsu?" Bankotsu asked.
"I's not certain but it is temporary," Suikotsu knew his lack of information was infuriating to Bankotsu but he didn't feel like lying. Bankotsu accepted the answer none the less and began pulling the bodies to the side in some bushes.
"How long is temporary, Suikotsu?" Bankotsu asked impatiently once the job was done. Suikotsu simply looked away telling his leader he did not know. Four more thumps were followed up in those two hours they were sitting there and Bankotsu was by himself. Soon he felt himself get dizzy and the blackness.
BANDOFSEVEN
"Bankotsu, Jakotsu, Suikotsu, Renkotsu, Ginkotsu, Kyokotsu and Mukotsu; these are the men responsible for wiping out half my village and almost all of my army?" A man in the middle of a large throne room asked. The man before him simply smiled.
"How am I to know you speak the truth?" the man on the throne asked. The smiling man simply replied, "It's in the papers."
The other man began rummaging through the papers. On a piece of paper there were their names and skills as well as ages. "The leader is the youngest?" The throne man asked bewildered. "Yes my king. Amazing isn't it?" A man spoke. The king didn't speak, simply stared.
MAIDSAWAY
Hearing voices, Bankotsu jolted up and opened his eyes. Everything being too bright he closed them and rubbed his eyes sleepily when he heard giggling. Opening his eyes again he saw five girls, two women and one boy. They were smiling at him and he in turn glared at them and they backed off. He looked around and decided he was in some sort of medicine room. He looked around at his comrades whom were staring back at him.
"How long was I out?" Bankotsu asked and the simply shrugged. Sighing, he stood, only to fall back down on the futon.
"The emperor should be in soon. Then you could see our healing woman. She can fix you." The only boy in the room said. And soon came early because there was someone coming down the hall arguing. Renkotsu heard the man say: Damn it, come back here! He wondered what was going on. Not a minute later, a tall yes slightly pudgy man came in with a smile. He took in their appearances. The first one he looked at was bald and had pale skin with dark brown eyes. Next was a man that looked like he was too big for the bed. He was a red head with the same color eyes as the first. Then was a short midget that was old and wrinkly. The next man had his short hair straight back with deep brown eyes and the one next to him had girly features with his long hair tied in a loopy bun and chestnut eyes. There was a huge one outside he saw before coming in to see them; he had messy hair with black eyes. The last one was tan with ocean blue eyes and long hair tied in a braid.
He cleared his throat and spoke, "The healing woman will be back. She can be most insufferable at times but enough of that. Tell me what happed." Bankotsu thought over the pros and cons of telling this man anything. After a while he decided to say, "We were attacked."
