Samurai ↔ Nishimura Riki

one

The cold, steel blade glinted in the sunlight as the girl, no, the warrior, stabbed the straw dummy.

Her hair whipped around furiously as she slashed at the dummy, the katana fitting perfectly in her hand. Thin, weed-like straw poked out, but she did not give it any mercy, her eyes a steely dark brown as she faced the dummy, circling it. Her simple, white tunic billowed as she attacked the dummy gracefully yet quickly. Occasionally, small beads of sweat trickled down to her brow as she focused on the target in front of her. Raising her sword for one last slash, she unleashed all her fury on the lifeless dummy. She stood monotonously when she was done, sheathing the blade into the black leather case by her waist.

"What did that dummy ever do to you?"

She whirled around, not a pant escaping her mouth as she caught sight of one of her only male friends. Rolling her eyes at his sudden appearance, she crossed her arms, "Yeonjun, it's just a dummy." she said simply. "It doesn't have feelings."

Yeonjun approached her and cocked an eyebrow. "You attacked it quite aggressively, I might say, Hyewon," he noted, looking at the maimed dummy, behind her, feeling sorely sorry for the poor target that had been the dummy of his friend.

Hyewon snorted at the absurdity of his statement. "What am I supposed to do, gently assault the kingdom's enemies? Tickle them with a blade?" she mocked, emphasizing on the word 'gently'.

Yeonjun wrinkled his nose. "No, but it's not like the dummy killed someone or something."

"But our opponents may have."

"I guess there's a reason why you're one of the top warriors." he mindlessly flicked her forehead.

A sharp pain shot through her forehead. Hyewon froze before giving him a creepy smile. "So Choi, you want to play it that way, eh?" she asks, staring into Yeonjun's soul. Her eyes bore holes into his face.

Yeonjun gulped nervously once he saw the look Hyewon gave him. He had barely enough time to think before he found himself running from the training area.

"I'M SORRY!"

-

"I swear, I'm never messing with you ever again," he grumbled as she applied ointment on his arm, over the wound she gave him. He flexed his arm and groaned at the stinging medicine.

"Glad to know that you learned your lesson," she smirked in victory. Blowing on the wound, Hyewon brings her head to his arm. She pats it, "Better?"

Yeonjun swiveled his head towards his friend and scowled. "It would be if you didn't attack me like a savage animal," he mumbles under his breath.

She flashes a dangerous smile. "I wouldn't have if you did not flick my forehead, Jun."

"Whatever."

A head peeped out of the door just as the two were about to begin bickering. "Hyewon," he calls, causing the two to turn to him, "The general wants to see you."

"Me?" Hyewon pointed to herself in confusion. "Why would she want to see me, Taehyun?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't know, he didn't specify. I'm just the messenger."

Hyewon bit her lip. She had a bad feeling about this. She sighed before standing up. "Lead the way, I suppose."

-

Once she bid goodbye to Taehyun, she stood in front of the door in a proper posture. Hyewon paused, debating whether to just enter before knocking softly on the door.

A muffled voice called her in. "Come in, Warrior Cho."

Reluctantly, Hyewon pushed the door open, revealing a well decorated office. The office had an intricate interior filled with paintings of the past samurai. Scrolls were on the verge of toppling over on the mahogany desk. A dim candle was lit on the desk, providing a small amount of light.

She elegantly stepped into the room and bowed at the general. "Hello, General Kang, what do you require of me, sir?"

The general stood up and ushered Hyewon into a chair. "I'm afraid I have something to request from you," he said gravely.

Curiosity prickled Hyewon. "Is it a mission, sir?"

General Kang shook his head. "You will not be going past the borders," he stated.

"May I ask what this request is, General Kang?"

He sighed and beckoned her forward. "You have been reassigned to a new position."

"A new position?" Hyewon furrowed her eyebrows. Would she be on guard duty? Border watcher?

"Yes. I have picked you for this position and Their Majesties have agreed to this, albeit a bit reluctantly since you are a woman. You are a very capable warrior, and I persuaded them to let you take the job."

She frowned. "What position?"

General Kang sighed, knowing that the strong woman in front of him would not like it. "Before I tell you, I must ask you to put aside possible personal grudges regarding your past and do what is best for the people of this kingdom."

"I'm afraid I do not understand, sir. Can you elaborate more on this 'job' of mine?"

"Very well, I will cut to the chase," the general took a deep breath, "You have been assigned to guard the prince."

Hyewon shot straight up from the chair, temporarily forgetting her manners before resettling back on to the chair. She must've heard wrong. "Pardon? Did you say that I will be on guard duty with the prince?"

He raised his hand. "Hear me out, Warrior Cho. Our enemies from the West have been advancing on our borderlines recently. It seems that they are aiming to conquer the kingdom and to do so, they must kidnap the prince and Their Majesties. We cannot risk their safety or else the kingdom will crumble. Neither can we trust anyone else with this, you are the most capable of defending yourself out of many of my warriors. We need someone trustworthy that can ensure the prince's safety. You've been trained well enough to do this, Hyewon."

"I apologize in advance, but with all due respect, I must deny this position. I can serve the kingdom better by being on the frontlines than protecting some silly, pampered prince." Hyewon spoke firmly. "Yeonjun is more capable of this than me, General Kang."

"You must, Hyewon. For our kingdom. For Their Royal Majesties. For our future. If you do not protect the prince, we may not even have a future. The people from the West are barbarians, they will stop at nothing to take the crown and this land."

"Think of your mother. She wouldn't want you to do this. She would want you to lead the kingdom into a better future."

She sharply sucked a breath. "Do not bring my mother into this, General Kang. Do not bring my personal issues to this," Hyewon warns with fury in her eyes. She stood up and harshly slapped her hand down the desk. "Very well, General Kang, you've played your cards right. I will guard the prince as you wish, but do not expect me to be a nice, simpering fool to the prince. I will not be nice if the prince misbehaves in any way regarding his safety."

"I did not expect you to, Warrior Cho."

"Good. It seems that we understand each other," Before leaving, she bowed one last time, spun on her heel, and walked away, holding her head high.

No matter what, she will not bow down to a spoiled prince.

A/N: i started another story i will never finish, huzzah.