Is it Fate?

Part 8 - Friends of Yours?

"What's this? Looks like we've caught something extra nice today." At this voice I scanned the trees. I noticed Yuki's eyes narrow as he watched the tree line. A group of men in tattered clothing stepped out from the shadows. They were also brandishing rusty, but still menacing swords. "Um, friends of yours?" I couldn't help the sarcasm in my voice as I asked it. I knew the answer. "Obviously not." Yuki stated. "I'm having the worst luck today. First I'm chased by a crazy lady, now I'm attacked by bandits." I decided to let the 'crazy lady' comment go for now, murmuring the confirmation softly to myself, "So they are bandits." If they expected an easy mark they'd be very much mistaken. I crouched down briefly, quickly undoing and tying my hem around each of my ankles after I'd gotten the two knives I had secreted there, keeping them hidden in my sleeves. Standing up I pretended to be at least a little fearful. The grinning bandits had us surrounded before we could even make a move. "The woman's a pretty thing. Bet she'd fetch us a high price." That did it. I almost growled as I glared at the bandits. "You just try it!" I remained stock still though the adrenaline surged through my system. My eyes scanned the trees, looking for any advantage I'd be able to use. I'd been through worse than this, I kept telling myself even though I didn't want to remember that worse time. I almost jumped when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about them." Yuki murmured reassuringly. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't worried for us but instead murmured back 'in character', "But we're outnumbered and--" Cutting me off he raised his voice a little, "She won't get you more than a couple of coppers. Don't waste your time." I took a deep breath, knowing by the way Yuki spoke that he had something in mind. Still, to keep them all unsuspecting of my skill set I muttered, "Come on, I can't be that cheap!" Yuki leaned a little closer to me murmuring, "Keep it down. I'm trying to help you out here." Again keeping to character I answered, pretending to be hurt, "You didn't have to say something so offensive, though." He sighed, taking my comment at face value, "Yeah, yeah, you're mad. I get it." I could have shaken my head - people in this time period, I swear. Yuki patted me on my head in a casual, jovial manner and showed me a confident smile. Somehow it did make me feel better so I added in a soft voice that wouldn't carry past him, "Not mad at you, but at them."

"Aw, you're just breakin' my heart there, mister." One of the bandits said, "But you'll be crying and begging your woman for forgiveness in a minute!" The bandit's words had me clenching the handles of my throwing knives hard enough to whiten my knuckles. I looked around just in time to see him swinging his sword -- "Look out!" I yelled at Yuki only for him to tell me to stay back. He stepped in front of me and I heard the clang of metal on metal. He'd drawn his own sword to block the bandits attack. I was relieved that Yuki could fight as I caught a glimpse of his gleaming sword over his shoulder. "You really want to fight me?!" He asked the man who's sword his had clashed with. The bandit laughed, the others making sure that there was still no escape. I turned my back to Yuki, keeping an eye on the other bandits surrounding us. "I don't want to, but you leave me no choice." Yuki stated. "I want to get this over with. All of you, come at me together." Yuki's voice was oddly calm as he glared at the gang of bandits. I acted as if I was looking around to see what Yuki was up to just so I could murmur to him, "I'm not defenseless," before I again turned back to back with him. A tense silence surrounded us, broken only by the faint howl of the chilly wind. Out loud I said, "That's crazy! What if you get hurt?" Yuki answered with, "I'll finish this before that can happen. So just stay behind me." He glanced over his shoulder at me, our eyes meeting briefly as I'd looked back over my shoulder at him. I was surprised to see a kind look in his eyes that caused my heart to skip a beat. Adjusting his grip on the sword, he turned back to the head bandit and his cohorts. "Come on. I don't have all day."

"Think you're funny, huh?" The head Bandit said. That seemed to be the sign as they all raised their swords and charged. "I'm not joking. Go ahead and do your worst." I took a step away from him to give him room as I added, "I don't either. Come on you bastards!" the last word said in English instead of Japanese. With those words my knives became visible. As one of the bandits rushed us, hoping to get at Yuki from behind I loosed the first knife, embedding the blade in his sword arm where it hit the nerves causing him to drop his short sword. I knew what the times were here... kill or be killed. I would if I had to - it wouldn't be the first time I had taken lives. As the bandit went to pull out the knife I calmly stated that if he wanted to bleed to death go ahead. He sneered at me as he yanked it out, rage in his eyes and continued to come at me with the intent of grabbing me. I met his attempt with an unexpected move - a hard kick where it hurt him the most. He doubled over clutching himself, my blade dropping to the ground. Since my move had brought me close to his fallen sword, I scooped it up, managing to intercept a strike from another bandit trying to attack Yuki from behind. I used the element of surprise to drop him. I now had the bandits short sword in one hand and a knife in the other. I glanced at Yuki and saw he had knocked back all of the enemy swords with one mighty swing. Whoa-- the guy's got skills! In that glance I noticed Yuki kept his feet planted in a low stance as he continued to swing his blade. Each sword that attacked him was sent flying and the bandits were soon sprawled out on the ground. "Retreat! He's no easy mark!" One of the bandits yelled. "Neither is she!" yelled another as they backed off. I'd thrown another knife, nicking another before it embedded itself in the tree behind him. Blood poured down his arm while I readied the sword in defense. I watched as the remaining bandits went pale with fear and ran. "Over already? Didn't even work up a sweat." He seemed disappointed as he sheathed his sword. It then caught up with him what the bandits had said as he saw the three bandits he didn't get. I gave a sigh of relief that the engagement had been brief and went to retrieve my knives since the bandits had all fled, taking their injured with them. I wiped off my blades and secreted them in their hidden sheaths. At least I pulled my weight. Now that it was over my hands began to shake. I had a feeling that tonight would be a bad, bad night. I sank to the ground and took a number of deep breaths. While I was doing this Yuki crouched down in front of me. "Whoa-- what's wrong?" I focused on my breathing a little more and knew the 'Nothing' answer wouldn't cut it. "PTSD" was all I answered with. "Huh?" His expression was puzzled. "This is why I hate dealing with women. You get scared and cry so easily." Anger flashed in my eyes as I answered defensively, "I'm not scared and I'm not crying! In case you hadn't noticed, I took my share of bandits down too." He just looked at me saying, "No?" Again I took another breath, "I'm just--angry." Being thrust into this unbelievable situation against my will filled me with burning rage. I was also furious at myself for letting the flashbacks influence my actions.

"Oh. Well, anger I can deal with." Yuki said, capturing my gaze once more. "I understand that more than fear. And I'm no good at comforting frightened women." I was surprised when he smiled at me. That was when I realised I'd let a few frustrated tears escape my eyes. No wonder he thought I'd been crying. He quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand. "Next time you run into bandits, try throwing a punch or a kick. That might make you feel better." A strangled laugh escaped me, "I did... right where it hurt him most... though I do prefer my throwing knives." Yuki winced when he realised where I'd kicked the bandit. It always amused me how men would wince when told of another getting kicked there. By the time he pulled back his hand from wiping my tears, my frustration had subsided. I was surprised at how easily he had distracted me from unwelcome thoughts. I met his now warm gaze. "Who are you exactly?' I murmured. Yuki's smile disappeared as he fell silent. Huh? Well, I had my secrets too which I was sure he wondered about. For a time we just stared at each other awkwardly. The memory of the night we'd first met... not even a week before came rushing back to me. He had been with the flirt, Shingen and the cynic, Kenshin. If I wasn't mistaken, both of them were Sengoku era warlords. I wasn't a history buff like Sasuke, but everyone knew the names of Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi. If he was with them... "Are you a samurai?" the words escaped before I realised what I was asking. "What gave you that idea?" Yuki asked me defensively and I could see he was suddenly wary. I tried to keep my answer vague, "You were with those men I suspect are warlords when we first met. Plus you have a sword and are really good at using it." I was tempted to ask him if he could spar with me sometime though his answer suggested he wouldn't be interested. "Don't be ridiculous." 'Okay, okay, I won't pry if you don't' I thought to myself. He gave an exasperated sigh and stood up. "My name is Yuki and I'm just a humble traveling merchant. When we met, I had just crossed paths with those great lords and was giving them directions." I nodded my head, taking his cover story but couldn't help but add, "Then, why do you have a sword? I thought it was illegal for civilians-" before I could complete my sentence he had broken in with, "These are troubled times. People need to protect themselves, especially traveling merchants like me." I nodded my head again. It did make sense though I knew he was more than what he seemed. "But anyway, you never gave me your name either." I gave him a sheepish look, "It's Alana." He gave me a smile that made me have butterflies in my stomach, "Well Alana, the sun is setting. You better get home before you're attacked again." Yuki bent down and offered me his hand. I took it and he helped me to my feet. "Heaven forbid that happening again." I rolled my eyes as my answer. We shared a smile and started back towards the town, this time side by side. I knew he was curious about me but he held onto his questions. Instead we talked about generalised topics.

Night had fallen by the time we got back into town. "See you around Alana." I gave him a bright smile, "I look forward to it, Yuki. But next time can we skip the fight with bandits?" My comment made him laugh and nod. I gave him a wave and we both parted ways. As I made my way back to the castle I realised I hadn't thanked him. I was sure that I would see him again so I figured I'd thank him then. He was a strange man, fairly tactless though he was charming in his own way. My emotions were still jumbled when I arrived back at the castle.