Christian heard it first. The small ticking of the clock. The birds chirping. A cricket here and there. Then, human voices.
"Ac! I hear the Genovesans. Tell Sara,"Christian whispered into Acran's ear. He saw him wiggle towards a growing tree 5 meters away. Sara, a young Ranger's apprentice who had trained with a sword, was planning on helping them. She treated their wounds and insisted that she helped. Christian heard the quiet words and heard Sara's reply as well.
"Should I shoot him?"
"Yeah, Aim for his legs. We have to make sure he can't walk."
Sure enough, Sara's first shot missed. They were alarmed and took out their bows. Christian did the same. Two shots flew at Christian as fast as Christian shot his two. Christian hit the henchman's heart and the King's upper knee. Sara almost yelled, wondering why no one else reacted like her. She looked over, seeing Acran kneeling over a wounded and dying Christian.
"Christian!"
Christian woke up, not sure where he was. It was surrounded by grey walls, more like a prison. He looked and saw Sara and Acran bleeding endlessly, pinned together by a long crossbow bolt.
"Ac! What happened? Why aren't we on Sovani?"
"We are on Sovani, Genovesa. About one hundred Genovesans and warriors with katanas came and invaded. Probably Nihon-Jan, I should think," Acran explained weakly.
"Are you and Sara okay?"
"Not completely. I'm sorry Christian. Healers that tried to help said she would die."
Christian let out a loud, pained cry. Many guards came pounding in, and Christian noticed Senshi warriors.
"Are you okay, atabi?" the guard asked, using the Temujai word for 'the green ones'.
"You...not...Senshi..."
"No, we are a clan you outsiders would call 'hazard'."
"Help my friends, please."
After a couple of hours of waiting, Sara woke up. She was exhausted and fell asleep.
"Thank you, what is your name?" Christian asked politely.
"Atabi Christian, I am Kiroki Atikura. I am originally Temujai, but I moved to Nihon-Ja."
Others in his group smirked at Christian. They were Temujai and long ago, lead by Rangers Halt and Will, led Skandians against them. Now they felt superior to the atabi. They opened the cage, drawing their swords, much like longer Genovesan daggers. Much to his suprise, he just then realized he had his weapons. Or someone else's. There was a katana, smaller than the one the 'hazard' wore. He drew it, holding it in a ready stance. The man charged, thrusting his sword where Christian was standing. He quickly thrusted with his own sword, killing the guard. Kiroki took his own katana out and walked in, other men following him. Christian saw a quick wink. He aimed a thrust directly at him, quickly turning it so it hit another guard. Kiroki spun, hitting a man with his sword hilt. They quickly struck all the men down and released Acran and Sara.
"I'll carry Sara," Christian said immediately. Acran and Kiroki shrugged. They slid out, Acran and Christian keeping their heads down as Kiroki instructed them to. They walked to the nearest inn, one called Warrior Tiger. As they walked in, they quickly understood why it was called that. Two men were fighting with their hands, trying to force the other into a pit of bright fire. The taller one seemed athletic, moving swiftly but still seeming to have plenty of force. The smaller of the two men seemed blinded by rage. He charged directly at the taller man.
"The taller man is Koka. He is my cousin, and also a Senshi warrior. By the way, we are actually both part of the Emperor's clan of Senshi," Kiroki explained. Koka seemed to easily evade the charge, using the man's momentum to throw him into the pit.
"Last person to come in has to fight! It's our new rule!" the innkeeper bellowed. Of course, the last one to come in was Christian. He couldn't walk up and kill Kiroki's brother.
"It's okay, Atabi Christian. He is disrespectful, kill him if you must."
With that, Christian walked up. The fight was short. Neither moved. Then, Christian seemed to disappear in his new cloak, one that was a dark green and red. He suddenly appeared behind Koka, shoving him into the fire.