Chapter 11
Two days later, Nirano was about back to his new home. He stopped by the stream to let Sari drink and to refresh himself as well. As he had his head in the water, he heard a twig snap nearby. He froze for a second, and then continued to drink, pretending he did not hear anything.
A few seconds later, he heard it again and this time he spun around quickly, drawing Halek as he did. He slashed but hit nothing. He looked around, searching desperately for the person following him. He sheathed Halek and took out his bow, notched an arrow and turned in circles, eyeing every bit of the earth suspiciously. Suddenly he heard the twang of a bowstring as an arrow was released behind him. He spun around to see it heading towards his and tried to launch himself to the ground, but to no avail. He was struck in the shoulder.
As Nirano gasped for breath, feeling pain like nothing before, he stood up, determined to survive. He knew where the arrow came from and he released his shot in the direction. The arrow hit a nearby tree harmlessly but he heard the Assailant move quickly to the tree next to it. Nirano notched another arrow and released, causing a flurry of birds to scatter from the tree and he saw a darkened figure jumping to the next branch. Nirano hurried to the trees and whipped out Halek once more, slinging his bow to his back. He could not use his left arm, as it was bleeding furiously. This was a huge disadvantage as that was his primary arm.
As he held Halek in his right hand, he felt weakened. It was not the same feeling he usually got when he used it in his left. It did not give him confidence. He snuck over by the tree he believed the Assailant to be hiding in. He circled around it, searching for the attacker when he heard another twang of the bowstring. This time, Nirano was ready for it and nimbly ducked out of the way, seeing the arrow hit the ground hard, and splinter. Nirano sheathed Halek once more and armed his bow. He shot where the arrow had come from and whooped as he saw a black figure fall from the tree and bounce on the branches, scattering leaves and other residue to the ground. Nirano approached the character, who was still alive, but breathing slowly and obviously had a broken back. Nirano picked him up by his collar and slammed him against the tree causing him to scream in agony.
"WHO ARE YOU? WHY DID YOU ATTACK ME?" Nirano screamed at the Assailant.
The hooded attacker simply nodded his head no, and went limp in Nirano's grasp. He was dead.
Nirano let the unknown assailant fall to the ground, and he went back to the stream. He lay down next to the river and wrenched the arrow from his shoulder blade, tears streaming down his eyes in pain. He tossed the arrow to the ground and ripped a piece of his clothing, and proceeded to tie it to his wound. He washed his face and walked back to Sari.
"Who wants me dead…?" he asked to the world.