Heirot

Failure wasn't a completely foreign concept to Kyosuke. It's not like he hasn't failed in his duties before. There was a reason he had been a ronin before he met Shinobu. However, it's harder to accept when the fate of entire countries are on the line. Still, there was nothing better to do than to return to Ongoreth and report. For now, the cheerful samurai was split off from his lord. They had different things they needed to take care of. Kyosuke was restocking their supplies, getting ready for their trip back.

...And that's when all hell broke loose. It came out of nowhere, screams and the sounds of pandemonium echoed across the city. That, of course, wasn't what alerted Kyosuke. The samurai had been flirting with a random shopkeeper, a random male shopkeeper, trying to get a little more to their rations, when his finely tuned senses kicked in and he suddenly had to duck a knife throw. That ended negotiations quite well, the storekeeper shutting his stall, as the samurai turned and saw his attacker. The man was dressed like a typical traveler, but he had the look of someone from Arken about him.

Kyosuke's reactions were quick, as he just barely ducked a second knife, receiving a nick across his cheek for his troubles, and drew his sword, slicing in the same motion. The battle was quick, having killed the man before he could get his own blade fully drawn. And that's when he heard all the noise. For a moment, he had a feeling of calm realization settle upon him... then one of dread. "Shinobu!" Wasting no time, he ran back towards the hotel, hoping she was still there.

Shinobu pulled her bag over her shoulder to descend the steps into the common room of the hotel when the screaming started. The door burst open with people fleeing the streets, only to be followed by men with weapons drawn.

It startled her, and at first she was frozen as they came running towards her. Logic kicked in and she ducked as a sword came flying at her. She stumbled, twisting and falling over onto a table. Bodies were dropping like flies, and women were scooped up as trophies.

Shinobu fled for the back exit, two brutes bounding behind her.

Unfortunately, Kyosuke was closer to the front of the building than he was the back. He was also the slightest bit too slow. By the time he got to the hotel, the only sight that greeted him was the slaughter. For a few moments, he scanned the bodies on the floor, his eyes wide, his heart stopping, trying to catch a glimpse of Ongoreth black hair amongst the dead guests. Thankfully, there was none, and while the samurai had a bit of regret for being unable to help these people, he was glad that Shinobu wasn't among them... yet.

Unsure where she actually was, he ran up the stairs looking through the rooms. He managed to save a few more people, cutting down two more... infiltrators before reaching Shinobu's room. There was barely any time, and he charged in... only to find it empty. "Dammit, where are you?" Kyosuke asked aloud. Nearing the window, he looked down at the streets... and by some stroke of look, he saw flowing black hair.... flowing black hair that was being chased by two brutes.

With no better leads, the samurai decided to take the shortest route, backing up, then charging at the window, leaping through it with a loud crash. He landed not on the street level, but on the nearest rooftop before making chase. He had some catching up to do and he hoped that it was the right person he was rescuing.

Shinobu looked behind her at the two gaining on her. A third joined from ahead after slitting a man's throat. She slid, changing course, but the laps in her running caused the two chasing her to catch up. Arms grabbed around her waist and hauled her off her feet.

Her back shuddered against the earth when he threw her down. No time to think, react, find safety. He fell on her, knocking the wind from her lungs. Shinobu struggled to reach behind her for the dagger. Her finger tips wormed their way under her own body, which was crushed into the earth.

She found the wood handle of the blade and pulled, bring it around.

His arm shot out with predatory quickness, the quickness of a well trained soldier. This wasn't a raider, she thought panic. He caught her wrist and forced it back against the earth. She did the only thing she could. She angled the blade and shoved it up into his arm.

Kyosuke kept running. There wasn't anything else he could do, but his heart jumped as he got closer and realized that it WAS Shinobu... and then it sunk as a third person joined... and then more when Shinobu was grabbed. He was almost there though. the struggle she put up was enough, and he could hear the man's cry of pain as his arm was run through by the dagger.

By the time he caught up, the three men were already gathered around Shinobu. They didn't have the swords out, not yet, though the one man was struggling with a dagger through his arm. The samurai knew very well what they were most likely planning to do. He had saved a woman from that fate back in the inn.

And that's why, for the first time in a very long time, Kyosuke's vision went red. A growl of anger was the only warning one man off to the side got before he suddenly found himself cut from shoulder to hip. He didn't even have time to hear the thud of Kyosuke's feet hitting the ground, bouncing back up again to slice a second raider, or soldier, whatever they were. It didn't really matter to the samurai at that moment.

Shinobu vaguely saw a flash of Kyosuke out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes looked wild, and she struggled to get away. The man she'd stabbed saw red as well, her ripped the dagger from his arm and raised it high over her. The blood dripped across her silk blouse, her eyes catching the glint of metal as he motioned to bring it down.

If his companions were still amongst the realm of the living, they would have doubtlessly stopped him. But one of them was still falling into two pieces, while the other just barely managed to block Kyosuke's attack, crying out for help, whether from the injured man on top of Shinobu, or from anybody else that may be nearby. Safety in numbers as it were.

Still, help wouldn't come fast enough for him, as Kyosuke's left hand dropped to the other katana at his belt. In his rage, he couldn't see the other man, dagger poised to strike. His rage made him single minded, and he first drew to kill the man he had his blade locked with, then sliced down neatly separating the last man's head from his shoulders before he could give the finishing blow to Shinobu.

Shinobu clenched her eyes shut as the blood rained down. The head dropped over to the side, and the dead body sagged against her. Blood soaked her clothes. She gasped, struggling until she'd finally dragged herself out from under him. She felt dazed, and it took her a second to realize that there were other dead bodies, and one standing.

Her eyes fluttered up to look at Kyosuke. "Thank you," she breathed, stumbling to her feet. "What's going on? We need to get off the street?"

Kyosuke was breathing a little hard. Not from exhaustion, but from the effort needed to calm himself back down. It took a few moments, but he looked back at Shinobu and grinned, glad she was safe. "You're welcome," he said, his grin turning wider, but then he nods as he realized the seriousness of the situation.

He shrugged in response to her next question. "I dunno. One moment I was uh... buying supplies," he doesn't have to mention how he was trying to get a little more out of the vendor. "The next I was ducking a knife, then another. Then I found the inn... and well..." he trails off, motioning to the bodies. No need to say anything more.

Of course, it wasn't the best time to talk. He nods in agreement and takes a step. The wince is slight, but if Shinobu was watching, she might have noticed it. It might not have been the best idea to jump off a roof.

Shinobu narrowed her eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked as she tugged on his arm to pull him down an alley behind some crates so no one would see them. "Are you wounded?"

Screams came from everywhere, and Shinobu glanced around fearful of more attackers. "We have to get out of this town," she muttered. "Whatever is happening we can't stay here."

Kyosuke just gave Shinobu a reassuring smile. He had meant to hide that, but the first shot of pain was unexpected. "I can walk," he responded. "You don't have to worry about me." Of course, if she continued to insist, he'll take a seat. It's just his knee, or maybe his ankle. He probably jostled it a little in the fall, but nothing serious. "I think it might be Arken. The first guy that attacked me had some very Arken features. Those three too." He motioned back to the alleyway the three lay dead in.

"Arken?" Shinobu breathed, crouching down between two crates when people ran passed the alley. "So they are invading... What do we do? Do we go warn the next town or go to the Queen?"

"It makes sense." Kyosuke pointed out, frowning. A rare expression for his pretty face. "We were looking for the Shogun to help out in case Arken invaded." Left unspoken was the fact that they couldn't get his help in time. Where WAS he anyway?

The samurai's mind raced as he tried to figure out their next course of action. "I think the Queen will get news of the invasion before we can get to her. Then she'll probably alert the other towns. I think we should just get out of town as soon as possible." He took another step... and had to hide his wince. He jostled it much worse than he thought, but if Shinobu wanted to try and leave town, he would too. Now would probably be the best time to do it too. The soliders were still disorganized. In a few days their organization would be up, and there would probably be patrols.

Shinobu looked side to side down each end of the alley. "Damn, we don't know this town well enough to know the fastest and most concealed way out. We could just make a run for it, but that would mean going out in the open."

A soldier ran past, and she flattened herself against the wall as he slowed his pace. She grabbed Kyosuke and pulled him behind the crates with her, hugging him as she listened to the soldier continue past. "You're a samurai... how do you think we should do this?"

Kyousuke snickered a little and looked back at Shinobu. Unfortunately he had to shrug. "Exactly, I'm a samurai. I'm not a ninja. I'm better for announcing my name and challenging all the soldiers to try and take my head on the field of battle." Of course, at that he fell silent, turning around to actually face her and return the hug. "I can do that actually. It would probably give you enough time to get away." Before he served her, he never would have imagined giving up his life just to get his lord out of town safely. ...But then again, there was more than lord and samurai between them. With his leg as it was, he'd only slow her down.