Breeg continued to run across the landscape until sunset to try and make up for the time he lost in the forest. But unfortunately it was already late in the day, and he hadn't gained as much ground as he would have liked. Soon the time came that he usually would start to hunker down for the night. He slowed his running to a stop, and wondered if he should keep running, or just stop and rest now.

"I don't feel all that tired, but that could change pretty quickly if I keep going." Breeg thought for a bit more on this, but soon decided it would be best if he kept moving and just slept later. After he made this decision, he began moving again. Slowly at first, but he slowly picked up speed. He went from a walk, to a trot, to a jog, to a run. He continued on well into the night. Every now and then he would hear an animal in the dark, but he kept moving and didn't stop. He wanted as few delays as possible, if any at all.
He continued to run all through the night, not stopping for anything. He didn't think he was gonna run all night, but he was thinking about home all while he ran, and that gave him the energy he needed. He hardly even realized how quickly the time passed as he ran, because before he knew it there was a light on the horizon.
When Breeg saw the sun rising he slowed to a stop. And suddenly realized how tired he was. He looked around to see if there was somewhere suitable for him to lay down and rest, and after a bit of searching he saw a large rock he could rest against for the better part of the morning without being in the sun. So he made his way over to it so he could rest. He plopped down on the ground and leaned against the rock. He was too tired to think about eating. He just wanted to sleep. He didn't even care if he slept all through til next morning, he had made more than a days progress in just those few short hours.
So he leaned back against the rock, and let sleep overtake him...

Breeg suddenly awoke to clashing noises. He lazily blinked open his eyes and yawned. He sat there for a minute, wondering why he was awake at this hour. He squinted with one eye and looked at the shadow of the rock. He'd been asleep a little more than an hour.

"Not near long enough." He grumbled to himself. But then he heard it again. Clashing sounds. He cocked an eyebrow and stood up slowly. He popped his back and shoulders, then stretched as best he could. Then he lazily grabbed his sword and walked around the rock. He leaned on the side of it and shielded his eyes from the sun with his free hand. He looked out but couldn't see anything. He leaned his sword against the rock then wiped his eyes with both hands. After that he looked back out over the landscape. After a bit a group of figures came into focus.

"How many... two maybe? However many it looks like they're-" He yawned. "-chasing someone. That's not nice." Breeg said. He looked a little closer to see if he could make out any details. "Who would wear that much clothing in this heat?" He wondered, referencing the one being chased. He began to walk over there, his sword in it's sheath dragging the ground as he held it. As such he trudged over, not thinking clearly because it was too early too be thinking...

"Oh great, I thought the bandits in this region had moved on!" Kisune thought to herself. "They're probably chasing me because they think I look cute, because I sure don't look like I have any money. Augh, men!" Yes, she was a fairly attractive young woman. She was a little shorter, around 5' 7" with mid-back length purple hair, green eyes set in a slightly rounded face, and she had a nice figure to round it all off. But no one could really have known that for all the robes she was wearing. The bandits were chasing her because they thought she looked like a monk, and the monks in this region always have a little gold on them. Whether it be for luck, or as a religious artifact. They could care less if she was man or woman.
So in case you haven't guessed by now, Kisune is a bit of a narcissist.

"I'm not sure how long I can run for. But if I can make it into the next town, I should be safe." She assured herself. But these thoughts didn't last long as she tripped over the hem of her robe. She cursed as she fell, driving surprise from her pursuers, as the monks were supposed to live clean lives.
Kisune tried to get up, but it was difficult underneath all the robes. She could hear her pursuers getting closer. She gave one last ditch effort to get up, and succeeded. Not that it mattered, because they grabbed her before she could start running again.

"Alright, monk. Give up your gold nicely, and we won't have to rough you up." the one that grabbed her sneered.

"Monk?" Kisune thought. "So they weren't chasing me because I'm cute?" She thought, slightly disappointed. But she was snapped back to what was happening as she felt her arms being pressed against her back. She yelped slightly when they did.

"Hey, did you hear that, Naru? I think it's a woman!" The one holding her said as he reached for her hood. But before he had the chance, Kisune had already raised her leg up, and slammed her heel down onto the man's foot. It worked well enough, the man let go of her with a howl, but he still managed to pull her hood back. She tore away from them, but turned around to face her attackers. She looked down and saw the man who's foot she had stomped had been wearing sandals, so his foot was mostly unprotected. She smiled wryly. "That's why you shouldn't wear sandals." She stated.

"Ow! What are you wearing, lady? Heels?!" The man yelled back.

"... maybe." Kisune said, blushing. The men stared at her in shock. Why would anyone wear heels while traveling? On foot no less!
Finally, the man stood back up straight. "Well, what are you waiting for?" He shouted to his men. "Go get her!" They all nodded, then grinned as they approached her, weapons drawn.
At this, Kisune pulled a dagger out from the folds of her robes, prepared to fight. The men laughed when they saw that was all she had. But just before they were all about to close in, suddenly everyone heard someone shout "Hey!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and what looked like a drunk was trudging towards them, dragging a sword in the dirt behind him.

"That's not very nice." The stranger said, raising a hand to his mouth. "Is he burping, or yawning?" Kisune wondered.
She looked him over as he approached. He wore a maroon shirt under a plain white long sleeved button up shirt, which was undone. He wore jeans, and black sneakers. He didn't have anything else, not a travel pack, not even a sword belt to mount his sheath on. He continued moving toward them. As he got closer, she could see he had rings under his red eyes, and she wasn't sure if his flaming orange hair was that messy all the time, or just because of the state he was in. Either way, it looked kinda like a lion's mane, she noted.

"Oh yeah, I'd say he's drunk." She concluded. "Why else would someone in such a state challenge five men alone?"

"Oi! You've got no business here, stranger," the one she assumed was the leader called. "So why don't you turn around and march yourself right back to where you came from."

The stranger stopped at this point and looked at him. "What? I'm sorry, I'm having trouble understanding words right now."

"Definitely drunk." Kisune said with all finality, accidentally out loud.

The stranger looked over at her. "What? Did you say I'm drunk? I'm not drunk. Just tired, is all." He stated matter of factly, followed by a yawn. Kisune rolled her eyes. That was the fakest yawn she was sure she had ever heard.

"Tired, you say?" The leader laughed at this. "Then you should be easy to dispatch. Bilga, Bulgo! Restrain the woman." Before Kisune had time to react, two men, who looked surprisingly alike(she assumed twins), had grabbed her arms and restrained her. Meanwhile the other two, plus the leader, began advancing toward the stranger.

"They're gonna clobber him!" Kisune thought urgently.

The stranger squinted in their direction as if to put them into focus, but he never moved from his position. After taking a few steps, the three other men stopped. The leader gestured towards the stranger- "I'm just gonna call him Kazu." Kisune thought to herself- The leader gestured toward the newly named Kazu with his sword, and the other two charged at him. Kazu saw this, and stood up straight. She noticed his sword was still in his sheath though. "You idiot, take your sword out!" She yelled. Kazu didn't do anything though. He still stood there. Finally the two men got close, and Kazu moved. He somersaulted to his left out of the way, and swung his still sheathed sword backwards at them when he landed. The heavy sheath flew off and hit the one closest to him in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious from the blow. The other looked astonished as Kazu got into a ready stance. The other man quickly regained his composer, and attacked Kazu, but at a slower rate so he wouldn't be moving too fast so he couldn't react.
He charged Kazu, and leaped, trying to overpower him with momentum. Kazu raised his sword, and the blades struck solidly. The other man then slashed in every which way, trying to break through, but Kazu was fast and blocked every strike. Kisune watched from her restrained position, and noticed that Kazu had raised his left hand. Suddenly he shot it forward and caught the other man's sword arm. The other man tried to break free of his grip, but before he could, Kazu quickly reared his own sword up, and hit him in the shoulder with the butt. His opponent fell to the ground with a thud, clutching his left arm that had gone limp from the hit.
Kisune was surprised at Kazu's fighting, especially since he was drunk. She smiled seeing how proficient he was with a sword. She looked over to the leader, and her smile quickly faded. He was furious. She saw his face harden at the sight of his men falling. He shouldered the curved scimitar he was carrying, and lumbered over to Kazu. She began to shout a warning, but Bilga slapped her to shut her up. She looked back up, her cheek stinging. Suddenly she was being gagged so she couldn't warn him anymore.
When she looked back she could see Kazu had turned around, and the two men stood facing each other. They didn't do anything, they just stood there. If they were saying anything Kisune couldn't hear. She was examining their mouths to see if either of their lips were moving, when suddenly the larger man swung high at Kazu's chest. Kazu ducked and swung his own sword at the other man's ankles. Kisune was surprised when the other man back flipped out of the way. She wouldn't have thought he could do that by just looking at him.
When the larger man landed his back flip, he charged forward toward Kazu. He planned to throw all his momentum and weight into his next hit. Kazu stood there in a defense stance, sword raised high. Kisune looked on wide eyed.

"There's no way he's gonna be able to stop a hit like that!" She thought anxiously. "Move you idiot!" She screamed through her gag, but it didn't do much good. All she could do was stare on in horror as the man quickly approached Kazu.
And then swung...

Hey guys, sorry if the fight scenes seem a little long. I promise, they're gonna get to Magnolia soon, most likely in the next chapter or the one after.
So what do y'all think of the story so far? I hope you're all enjoying it, 'cause there's still plenty to come.
But yeah, have a great read guys. Cheers! ;)