Kanji had a single moment to realize what was happening before the dragon unleashed its voice at him.
"Fus Ro Dah!"
Kanji felt the dragon's words blast against his back, cracking bone and sending him tumbling down the hill in a mess of pain.
Alduin moves closer to the creature that has peaked his curiosity. Not only does it not resemble any other creature he has seen but it has also survived a close-range shout of power. A basic one, true, but nonetheless impressive.
"Most curious, what are you?"
Struggling to get up, Kanji uses his sheer force of will to get on his feet and look the dragon in the eyes. He decides the best way to survive is to catch this beast off-guard. What better way than with his second language?
"Hi dreh ni zorox faas ko zu'u, dovah!"₁
Alduin backs up slightly, stunned by this turn of events.
"How is this possible? How do you know our tongue? Are you dovahkiin?"
Kanji shakes his head, "to my knowledge, no. I have always been fascinated with dragonkind, so I am self-taught. I can speak but I cannot use the dragon tongue, if that makes sense,"
"So you speak our tongue without power? Impressive for a mortal... A strange part of me wishes to see you live, I shall not give in to it. Farewell Dov Tinvaak."₂
Kanji grabs his bow and loads an arrow as Alduin readies for another shout. In the seconds before Alduin lashes out, Kanji makes a silent prayer. Azura, my Daedric Princess of the Night, guide my arrow and smite this creature of darkness!
Kanji shoots the arrow as Alduin lowers his head to finish the shout. The arrow pulses with electric force and lodges itself in the wing scales of the beast, causing Alduin to stop mid-shout and allowing Kanji to make a dash for the gate. Alduin charges up again and unleashes a different shout at the fleeing archer.
"Krii Lun Aus!"
As Kanji burst through the burning gates, he feels his body lash out at him. His armor cracks and his mind goes dizzy, sending him tumbling onto the road as Alduin launches one last shout.
"Fus Ro Dah!"
Alduin watches as Kanji's prone form rolls down the hill and stop at the bottom due to hitting a log. Alduin mumbles satisfaction as he flaps his wings to ascend once more. Despite his best efforts though, the arrow remained painfully embedded in his wing.
"What form of blessing did that Dov Tinvaak receive to cause that level of bravery and skill? This warrants further investigation... It is fortunate that it coincides with my plans."
As Alduin flies away, Kanji takes a sharp breath of air, "I survived a dragon... thank you Azura."
In Oblivion, Azura watches her faithful and speaks aloud, "you are quite welcome my Storm Slayer."
¹Translation: "You do not create fear in me, dragon!"
²Translation: "...Dragon Speaker."