- Honey, run! - The woman grabbed her daughter by the arm and ran into the surviving building.
Everywhere there was the crackle of fire, the clang of blades, and the screams of outlaws. Smoke can be felt.
And so was the fear.
- Hush, my dear. Be quiet! - she whispered to her daughter and held her tightly, hiding in a dark corner, - Soon it will be over! We will be saved, do you hear?
It was an ordinary village with a port. Nothing out of the ordinary. There are many like it in Inazuma.
But today, for an ordinary village, an unusual thing was about to happen.
The thing was, the Southern Cross Fleet, led by Beidou herself, was sailing toward them. Even if the captain himself would not go ashore, much less visit the village, one of the ships of her vast flotilla would certainly stop by.
Everyone adored Beidou. She, a person from another country, had no qualms about protecting Inajuma from the pirates and asked for nothing in return. All she wanted was to punish outlaws and scoundrels.
Yes, everyone loved her. The villagers were no exception. They wanted to thank the woman with gifts and supplies. Everyone was in anticipation. Everyone was looking forward to meeting the captain of the great Southern Cross Fleet. But...
The day turned into a nightmare.
The villagers were gathering supplies for Beidou's gift and the bandits found this disguised themselves as God's Eye Hunters, infiltrated the village, and, with the villagers gathering all the resources in one place, they began ruthlessly pillaging the village before the fleet arrived.
It was the perfect plan - the ships would not have time to arrive at the ports, and the supplies were already gathered in one place. The bandits would be gone in time and nothing would happen to them.
- Hush daughter, hush! - the woman reassured the child.
The clang of blades could be heard everywhere. All the men who were able to hold a weapon were now fighting the bandits, and therefore no one could defend the defenseless woman.
At that moment, the door of the building in which the mother and child were hiding opens with a violent kick. It was an outlaw.
The man has no trouble spotting the hidden victims, points his blade at them, and yells:
- Give me everything you've got! - his eyes cling to his necklace..." "Give me the gold chain!
- N-no!" the woman cried out in a trembling voice. It's... it's the only thing left of...
- I don't care! Get it over here right now!
- Y-you can't...," tears welled up in her eyes.
The baby cried even louder.
- P-Please, not that! You already took everything I had in the store!
No one seemed to be able to help them. No one would protect them now. And the woman knew it.
She knew she had to sacrifice her only reminder of her mother in order to save her most important treasure: her child. She was ready.
The woman looked at the bandit once more in hope, her eyes begging him not to take her jewelry.
- I don't care! - he shouted, - I. say. Give. THIS NECKLA...
And then... he suddenly stopped talking. He lifted his head and listened to something. The woman didn't know what was going on. But then...
Yes, then the sound came to her.
A flute. It was the melody of a flute.
The bandit turns to the street and the woman looks over his the buildings, right on the road, stood a white-haired young man dressed in black and white samurai kimono with elements of red. As he passed, he stopped right in front of the entrance to the ruined building where the woman was now hiding and which the outlaw had entered. In the hands of the wanderer was a flute of green leaf. As the young man approached, a fresh spring wind blew on people's faces.
The woman immediately recognized him - she was the one who had sold him that flute a few hours before.
The bandit, enchanted by the song and the scent of spring, came to his senses after a few seconds. He shook his head, clenched his sword tighter, and came out to meet the wanderer.
- Hey, kid! Give me what you've got!
The lad paid no attention and merely tucked his flute into his pocket. On his belt gleamed a beautiful steel sheath of katana.
- Are you deaf?! - shouted the bandit, - I say, give me the sword!
At that moment the man's voice trembled as he became aware that the sound of battle going on around him had fallen to half silence.
- G-give me the sword! Quick! - The bandit gripped his weapon more comfortably and stepped toward the young man.
Time was running out. Beidou's fleet had accelerated and in a few minutes would be at a distance from which to launch the the robbers were to take off soon, there would be trouble for them.
- Hurry up!
The boy only sighed.
- The others were just as impatient," said Kazuha in a low, melancholy voice, "I wouldn't even need a sword to finish you off," he held up the big stick laying near his feet.
- Know your place! - The bandit snatches his one-handed crossbow and shoots the young man in the head.
Kazuha didn't even move - he just tilted his head slightly and let the bolt pass a millimeter from his head.
- They tried that too..." he sighed.
The bandit's hands trembled.
- H-how did you dodge?! I'm standing a meter away from...
A whirlwind rises around Kazuha. The bandit loses his balance, falls to his knee and rolls right up to the young man with a stick in his bandit, who has been through more than one battle after all, somehow jumps to his feet and grips his blade more comfortably for the coming battle, having no idea who he will have to fight.
The bandit, who has been through more than one battle after all, somehow jumps to his feet and grips his blade more comfortably for the coming battle, having no idea who he will have to fight.
The bandit swings his sword, to which Kazuha only steps back from the line of strike, swings his stick and punches it right through the enemy's wrists. The bandit screams and miraculously keeps holding his weapon. The man swings again and was about to put his blade down when the young man takes a header into the solar plexus and knocks all the air out of the bandit's lungs. The bandit clutches at his chest and wheezes, still trying to swing his sword.
Of course it didn't help him - Kazuha kicked the enemy's leg out, brought the outlaw to his knee, and ended the ridiculous and boring battle with a blow to the head.
The bandit rolled his eyes and fainted.
- Are you all right? - he asked the woman in the building.
- Y-yes! Thank you so much!
- Don't thank me. It is my duty as a samurai to protect the innocent...," he didn't get a chance to finish.
A man's high-pitched scream was heard from somewhere nearby. Deciding not to hesitate, Kazuha activates his god's eye, gathers a whirlwind around him, and flies over the rooftops of several buildings in a couple of jumps.
His intuition and hearing lead him to the bridge between the two banks of the local river.
The young man lands and sees that right at that moment a bandit has fallen in front of him. Unconscious, by the looks of it.
The boy looked up.
In front of him, at the other end of the bridge, stood a tall woman with dark hair and scarlet-black clothes and a scarlet-black eye patch. Not far from her, on the bank of the river, stood a strange-shaped boat.
- Ho-o-o-o, what a mess you made while we were gone! - The woman wiped sweat from her forehead with a laugh, "But that's all right, lads! Captain Beidou will sort you out in a minute! Just wait a moment! - She grabs a huge two-handed sword and points it at Kazuha," So you're a bandit too? So young! Amazing! Well, let's see what you're made of!
"Strange. The name sounds familiar, but I don't remember who it is," Kazuha thought, "She won't listen to me. Doesn't matter, though."
- Alright," he took a fighting stance and put his hand on his katana, "I, Kaedehara Kazuha, accept your challenge.
- Ha-ha, great! - Lightning flashed around the woman, and in a dash she covered all the distance between her and the enemy.
The wind rises, and the exiled samurai takes the blow without delay, dispersing the branches of purple electricity.
[Timed to the release of Kaedahara Kazuhi]