Oland was walking down the street, when he heard running foot steps behind him. He didn't think very much about it, until he heard a voice calling his name.
He turned around and saw exactly what he expected, his cousin Kiyomi, the mighty swordmaster. As always, she carried her sword on her back. She always criticized Oland for never carrying his swords around with him, but he didn't see much point. Nothing ever happened. The rare problem that did come up, he could easily fight on his own. His father had trained him in martial arts. He was one of the best at that too. Oland was many things, and strong was half of them.
He realized how much of that his family had given him... training. Training for what? Kiyomi trained him to be an expert with swords, his father taught him martial arts, his grandfather taught him how to be an excellent survivalist, and when he was younger he used to sneak out and meet Kiyomi and his friends. He can walk across a stone floor without making a sound. Put all of it together, and where was he? 19 years old, working on a ranch his family had owned since before the 100 year war, sweating in the sun, and riding gemsbok bulls for fun. He was doomed to a stalemate for the rest of his life. He always complained about how boring Shao Ti was, yet he refused to go anywhere else.
Kiyomi had spent years training with a swordmaster. When she finally came back, she started to teach Oland. She will probably always be better than him, but that doesn't change Oland is pretty talented. Kiyomi only carries a single sword, while Oland prefers two. His cousin was his best friend. They grew up together, almost like brother and sister. They always had each other's back.
"I saw you're ride," Kiyomi hesitated, "It wasn't your best."
"It was a fluke," Oland said, "I'll do better next time."
"That's what you said the last four times." Kiyomi remarked.
"So I've had a few bad runs." Oland replied, "I'm still the best."
"Yeah, the best at getting thrown of your face." Kiyomi scoffed.
"Even hog monkeys fall out of trees every now and then." He said.
"You've been kicked in the head too many times." Kiyomi retorted, trying to end the conversation.
"Maybe you haven't been kicked in the head enough times." Oland replied.
Of course.. he always had to have the last word, "Maybe I'll kick you in the head right now." Kiyomi shot.
"Maybe you should try." Oland shot back.
"Maybe..." Kiyomi stopped, her eyes fixed across the street. "Who is that over there?" She said with a hint of nervousness in her voice, something that was unusual for her. She was usually pretty confident, never afraid of anything.
Oland turned around to look. As soon as he did, Kiyomi delivered a quick round-house kick to the side of his head and took off running.
"Hey!" Oland shouted as he took off after her. He should have seen that trick from a mile away.