I hate it when I take longer than a week to update, I'm just obsessive like that. O.o But this time I had a good excuse (your all going to laugh). I "accidentally" backed into my grandma's brother's car. Bent the passenger door in. I'm such a dumb shit. AND PLEASE! Don't tell me any stories about how you or someone you know did the same thing. Everyone around me's been telling me stories like that. Fine, everyone does it, doesn't make me feel any less stupid. Man, they just don't get it. I'm glad you guys are here.

Rose Red2.0, Guardian of Azarath, x Tommy x S x, Realfanficts

Chapter Seven

My home is besieged

Their alone time was brought to an end however. The sound of a horse broke them apart. Lee stood up to see on of his officers approaching. He stopped before Lee and bowed his head. "Kurando?"

"My lord, we have just received word Dehuai's forces advance from the North."

"Their course and numbers?"

"Unknown as of yet, General Mistuhide has called a council for all ranking combatants." Lee nodded; orders from the Shogun himself were not to be neglected. He gave Kurando his assurances that he would be there and the Samurai rode back to the city. Shandrey stood up behind him.

"Lee?" he turned to her. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know yet, hopefully once the Shogun has passed on his knowledge of the matter we'll all be a bit more enlightened. But we must now return to the city." Shandrey owed her head somewhat in disappointment. "Shandrey." She brought her gaze back up. "It is what we must do."

"I know," she said smiling. Lee packed up the barely used training equipment and the two were soon galloping back towards the city walls. Little did they know their scenic moment did not go unnoticed. Nayia moved out from behind the cover of a thick shrubbery. She arrived not long after they did but chose a different route, one that would guarantee her stealth.

"Oh big brother, you bring this upon yourself." She giggled mischievously and began heading back as well.

An assembly of the higher ranking samurai had gathered in a council chamber situated on a higher point of the city. Scattered talking had spread out among them. Lee and his two friends stood against the wall away from the muddled cloud of talking and arguing. They exchanged looks of hopelessness at how quarrels could break out at such a critical time.

"To retreat into the forest would be to forever shame ourselves and our people!" Proclaimed one.

"Which would you rather have, a small bit of shame or a massacre?" The one sitting up front, obviously the shogun, grew impatient with the lack of progress. He turned an eye toward Lee who merely hung his head. "If pride and ego are all that matter to you perhaps you should be the first to lay down your life!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" All talking ceased upon the Shogun hitting the table they sat before. The samurai general turned away from the ruling council. "Moristu-San, you have not spoken yet." Lee knew the shogun wanted his input, he paused. He then stepped forward so all could hear him.

"Dehuai has crossed the Northern boarder, at the head of eight thousand strong." Their faces fell and their heads sank at the repeated news. "I believe sending skirmishes out to meet him now would only result in a quick death for our forces." He stepped closer to the shogun. "To be reasonably honest my lord, I believe it would be prudent to send the women and children away so that we may make our preparations for a siege."

"And if we should be overrun? What then?" asked one to his left.

"Send the women and children accompanied by a small contingent with instructions to make their way to either the nearest safe province or Tokyo should the battle go ill," replied Lee retuning his attention to the general. "That is, in my humble opinion, the greatest chance for our city's survival."

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Shandrey walked about the city constantly looking around her at the crowds of people leaving their homes with bundles over their shoulders. She carried with her a basket full of vegetables she gathered and was on her way back to the house when she finally noticed the commotion. She entered their home and set the basket aside. Shandrey found Lee looking over an array of defensive strategies he'd drawn up.

"Lee what's going on?" He responded without turning his attention away from his work.

"Dehuai approaches from the north, the women and children and are being sent away to ensure their survival." Shandrey nodded comprehensibly.

"Well I suppose that is the most sensible thing to do, after all they don't need to be caught up in-"

"You and Nayia will join them," said Lee abruptly. Shandrey mouth fell open.

"N-No I don't think we will."

"The matter is not open for debate Shandrey," said Lee turning to her. "If we can hold the enemy back you will all return, if we fail…then Arisie will live on in the rest of you."

"But I want to stay here with you," protested Shandrey. Lee set down the short stack of papers. "And I know for a fact Nayia will not take this sitting down." Lee nodded agreeably.

"Nayia, while a free spirit of her own class, is well aware of her place. And you will simply have to accept that this for the best." He stepped up to her front and took her hands in his. "I don't want you to go either." Shandrey's eyes grew big. "But I would rather you both be miles away from this carnage rather then suffer its horrors."

"And if I decide that I wish to meet that danger anyway?" Lee smiled down at her.

"I wish you wouldn't. Please…." Shandrey looked down at the floor and nodded. "Then gather your things, and be prepared to leave within the hour." She quickly turned away and with a stifled sob glided off to her room. Lee's stare didn't stray from her wake until someone else spoke to him.

"She's right you know." Lee twisted his head around to find Nayia entering. She gave him a stern look. "I'm not going to take this standing up either." Lee shook his head and returned to his work. Nayia bit her lower lip with a smile. "Although, I think it's really sweet what your doing." Lee looked back over at her bewildered.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, you're going to stand there and tell me you don't love her. Especially after your little talk 'under' the tree." Lee's demeanor grew defensive as well as tensed.

"What were you doing there?" Nayia shrugged.

"Spying on you, duh." She skipped around him giggling as she went. "So would you like to come train with me? We can forget about training altogether and just-" Lee faced her with flaming eyes.

"Shut-UP!" He demanded in a horse whisper. Nayia whipped out a piece of paper, cleared her throat, and read aloud.

"I find your silliness to be quite charming." She spoke in a sweet and sappy voice. Lee's hands flew to his head as he recognized his own words immediately. "Oh Shandrey let's run away together and forget about everything except each other."

"I never said that!"

"Yeah but I could tell where you were going," replied Nayia with a smirk. "You are planning to elope aren't you?"

"That is IT! Come here!"

"I think you're taking this a little too seriously," called Nayia through a laugh as Lee chased her about the house. "It just some teasing, you knight in shining armor you."

"Come here you little genma!" Shandrey's sliding door cracked open just a hair to see what the commotion was. She smiled past her tears as the resulting scene amused her somewhat. The waterbender slid her door shut and returned to her packing. She didn't hear what was said only that Lee was either too afraid, embarrassed, or proud to admit it. Shandrey only had her bag, a single change of clothes, and her books for personal belongings. As she began stuffing away her things she slowly brought herself to a halt.

"No." she whispered. She would tell Nayia of her plan later, but the two of them were not going to join the others. Shandrey and Nayia would stay behind, whether Lee liked it or not.

LATER THAT EVENING…………..

The evacuation progressed a lot faster then one would expect. Oddly enough everyone, even the young minds of children, easily comprehended the situation. Just before nightfall the city was completely evacuated of all non military personnel. Atop the high walls guarding their small home Lee and the troops he'd been given prepared a fair defense. They saw a moving carpet of troops off in the distance moving into formation.

"How long do you think?" asked Masaji.

"It could be hours or minuets," replied Lee. "We must be prepared at a moment's notice. Do not open fire until they are well within range." Masaji nodded in agreement. Lee glanced at a spot along the wall. "Reassign a dozen more men to that area, I want things evenly spaced." Masaji walked away to carry out the order. Lee returned his determined gaze out toward the oncoming army.

Among the darkened and vacated homes sat two girls who shouldn't even be there in the first place, but were there nonetheless. Shandrey and Nayia huddle together fitting themselves with what weapons they could find. Nayia stuffed a few kunai under her belt. She noticed Shandrey had only equipped small dagger.

"I can't hold everything you know." Shandrey smiled.

"I have all the weapons I need here." With an elegant twist of her wrist she brought a sphere of water to life in her palm. Nayia nodded then held up her index finger.

"Lee mentioned your powers and I did some reading." Shandrey considered her a bit strangely. Nayia became aware of this and rolled her eyes somewhat. "What's someone who stays at home most of the time supposed to do? Anyway, I got you this." She pulled out a stick about eight inches long. Shandrey looked it over curiously then jumped somewhat as it opened into an ornately decorated fan. She fanned herself a few times.

"You expecting warm weather?" Nayia adopted a playfully no nonsense look. "Sorry, it's beautiful. I don't think I've ever tried using my powers with one of these. Although I have wondered…." Nayia's smile returned as Shandrey continued to examine the fan extraordinarily.

"Now might be a good time to test it." Shandrey closed the fan.

"Maybe we shouldn't be here."

"This was your idea," said Nayia.

"I know I know, it's just I've never really been in a big fight before and I guess I'm just a little nervous." Nayia nodded comprehensibly.

"Well that's okay; we're not even supposed to be here. Chances are we won't see any action."

"Well that would be a shame wouldn't?" asked Shandrey with a chuckle. "To go through all this trouble and end up not doing anything."

"I agree, but let's try not to get ourselves into too much trouble deal?" Shandrey replied in the affirmative.

----

Lee observed the Oni troops below moving several large objects into position. Kurando and Masaji stepped on either side of him. Kurando pointed to the various machines.

"Chinese trebuchets, only recently have they begun adapting techniques from other cultures."

"It makes little difference," said Masaji. "But it appears our time of peace is about to end." Lee glanced at him.

"For the moment." A stiff and uncomfortable silence settled into the air. It was as if the gods that manipulated this scenario were taking a deep breath before colliding the two sides. One right after the other they saw the modified catapults launch their projectiles. They whistled through the quiet air creating a chilling harmony. "TAKE COVER!" At Lee's command they ducked down behind the ramparts. Over their heads flew heavy boulder after boulder. The ones that fell short of passing the wall smacked right into it throwing several samurai down to the ground. Some of the large rocks were too small and would simply bounce off the edge of the wall, but still threw shrapnel in every direction. Not far away Shandrey and Nayia watched and listened for any sign of invasion. Shandrey's eye caught a boulder coming in their direction and out of sheer instinct unfurled her fan. She performed a fluidic S movement in the air and the large rock impacted a barrier made entirely of water. The shield crumbled around them but the girls were unharmed.

"Looks like you've got the hang of it," muttered Nayia. It became clear to them that the bombardment not stopped because the Oni troops were now moving forward. Back on the wall Lee brushed some pieces of broken stone off of him and drew his sword. Answering to the prearranged signal the hundreds of samurai armed with bows readied them. Remembering what is said about waiting until you see the whites in their eyes, Lee held steady. The young samurai waited until they were a mere two hundred feet from the wall.

"FIRE!" At once the air above them was filled with a cloud of arrows. They rained down on the Oni troops like deadly drops of water. They fired another volley making the otherworldly army stagger and fall back. From behind the many ranks however, many soldiers bearing bows of their own opened fire on the stationary defenders. Lee ducked away to avoid the bolts. Beside him many fell backwards off the wall. As Lee straightened up he saw a ladder make contact with the wall. He quickly took the head of the first Oni warrior to climb to the top. More ladders like the one lee came face to face with attached themselves to the walls. All around them now Oni soldiers came over the walls onto the walkway. Their bodies were mostly a red and green gas covered in armor. Kurando took up a fallen spear and ran through five Oni in a straight line. They fell off the edge and he and Lee caught each others eye. Lee pretended to be mildly impressed which Kurando took in jest.

Down below the two girls looked about so as not to be taken by surprise. Nayia glanced over Shandrey's shoulder and quickly threw a kunai. Shandrey darted her eyes about to see a charging Oni fall to the ground. Likewise Shandrey commanded a house-sized wave to ram three oncoming Oni from behind Nayia. They nodded their readiness to one another and set to fighting off any that came their way.

"YAAAAAA!" Lee allowed a battle cry to escape him as he did battle with a rather stubborn Oni. He took both his legs but the demonic soldier simply hovered off the walkway. With five slashes that moved faster then lighting Lee reduced the warrior to a steel pile. "Masaji! Fall back!" His comrade nodded but he did not get the word out. As he turned to call out the order an arrow from below struck him in the side of the head. "MASAJI! ACK!" Lee took an arrow also and he stumbled down the long steps all the way to the ground. Their only fortune was that the Oni army began to cut its loses and decided to retreat for the night. Shandrey kicked over a fallen foe and made out Lee falling down the stairs. The rest of her world faded from view and she limply dropped her fan. Without even realizing that she'd begun to far earlier then planned, Shandrey sprinted toward the downed samurai.

"Shandrey!" called Nayia. But the Chinese waterbender tuned everything else out. She ran up to the dozens of fallen dead and turned over Lee. He coughed up a spurt of blood making Shandrey's stomach churn. She fiddled with her hands nervously trying to remember why she thought she could make any difference. It suddenly came back to her as a light bulb appeared above her head. She bent down but was pulled back up by the arm by a grunting samurai. She kicked at his exposed shin and pulled her arm out of his grasp. She soon found herself being surrounded by samurai. They kept pulling and tugging at her all the while rousing her temper. She finally waved her arms producing a rising fluidic wall to spring up around her. They jumped away taken utterly by surprise. Shandrey took advantage of their shock induced pause. She lay her hands palm down on Lee's wound and closed her eyes. She mouthed a single word none of them could make out nor recognize. Lee breath quickened from a slow pant. From the long wince it appeared Shandrey was sharing a small amount of the pain. Nayia, along with everyone else, stood in entranced awe. When Shandrey finally drew her hands away she held in them the rusted arrow head. It was unclear whether or not Lee's wound was life threatening, but that was the last thing on everyone's mind.

"Shandrey?" She took his hand and smiled down at him. "W-What are you-" Before he could finish Shandrey was yanked away. "Wait!" But lee couldn't regain himself before Shandrey's hands were bound together. From the houses Nayia rested her head against a fence post.

"Shandrey, I thought we agreed not to get into trouble."

LATER……..

Shandrey sat not in a cell but under close guard within one of the vacated homes. She sat quietly eyeing the guards with a coy smile every now and then. They stared back at her stoically. The door slid open and Kurando entered.

"Who are you?"

"I…I asked you first." Kurando arched an eyebrow. She gave him a nervous smile, one that he did not return.

"What did you do to Lee?"

"Oh no, I-I didn't do anything to him," said Shandrey in a voice clearly anxious to answer. "I was helping him, I thought I could get the arrow head out and I was right." He didn't respond. "Wasn't I?"

"You are obviously someone of great power, why have you not tried to escape?"

"My art is purely defensive, I suppose it could be used offensively but I don't. I am not my sister."

"And that means what to me?" Shandrey dropped her gaze.

"Nothing."

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Lee ran a hand through his hair as he speed walked up to the shogun's chambers. The two guards outside his house bowed as Lee approached. He returned their greeting and entered through the door they parted for him. General Mitsuhide sat among burning incense.

"General."

"Leonidas I need to know right now just who this young girl is." Lee seated himself trying to release some of the tension that had come with him. "Why did she not obey the order to leave?"

"I don't know General," replied Lee. "What I do know is that there is no reason to hold her under guard. Shandrey has absolutely no desire to cause us trouble, she only desires a home."

"I do not recall you ever introducing me to this Shandrey when you first brought her into the city, whenever that may have been." Lee sighed uneasily. This wasn't going well. He did intend to reveal Shandrey to the shogun but always felt the time wasn't right, how's that for procrastination. "I must confess myself at a loss Leonidas. Why would you hide someone like this from the rest of us?"

"The day she arrived Shandrey experienced a disturbing vision, as though she were being watched. I kept her existence a secret because I feared Dehuai may be looking for her."

"If that is the situation then the Oni may be besieging our city because you allowed her to live amongst us," said the general warily. Lee's face fell and he nodded sadly.

"I suppose that is a possibility-"

"Dehuai is a man of many skills, should he manipulate Shandrey in any way she could be used to destroy us." Lee was seething within, this is just what he was trying to avoid. "We may have no choice but to force her to leave."

"No!" Lee suddenly rose to his feet. The General's face grew hard. He gripped the sword tucked at his side. Lee did not press his luck and sat back down.

"Do not forget yourself," whispered the General. "Your feelings for this girl are foolish and misplaced. And during this critical time you should not cloud your judgment with such things."
"My Lord," said Lee drawing closer. The General remained distant. "Father," pleaded Lee. Mitsuhide finally gave him his attention. "Please, leave Shandrey in my charge. You have my word she will cause us no trouble." The wheels in the aged man's head were definitely turning. Lee kept his silence so not as to interrupt something which may prove beneficial.

"She must learn her place." Lee's shoulders relaxed as the hard part was over. "The fact that she has disobeyed the order to evacuate the city gives me concern, however…" Lee waited to see if the other shoe was going to drop. "I believe that if she is going to find a home here it will be under your tenure." Lee bowed to his father and general.

"Thank you."

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Shandrey sat still in her captivity. Kurando had been called back to the wall to take up the watch. Shandrey long discovered the guards were not talkative and thus kept her thoughts to herself. She looked up when the opened and Lee stepped in.

"Lee." She jumped up and ran into his embrace. When she pulled away she began looking him over. "A-Are you okay, did I get all of it out?" He took her shoulders to steady her.

"You may be at ease Shandrey, I am fine." She nodded in relief. He led her outside. She glanced at him frequently and was unsettled by what she saw. His face while calm, was not happy. "Shandrey, you I need to talk about something." He gave her hand a squeeze but that only lifted Shandrey's dropping feelings halfway.

There! Part two of Rose Red's b-day present. I've wanted to update two stories at once forever but haven't been able to for a while. Well now I have! So HA! I did it! Next chapter will be up soon.

If I feel like it. XD

Laters!