Princess of Silver Sands

Book 01

Chapter - 06 - Shadow Quest

Written By: K. L. Seunnapha

Test Read By: N/A

Edited By: N/A

Chapter Six

Shadow Quest

Hitsumi and his group no longer prisoners but guests of the bandits, are seated at a large table with Hitsumi’s father and several of his men eating a meal in celebration of the father son reunion that had taken place not that long ago. Hitsumi’s father of course had been reminiscing since the recognition of his son and was talking all about old times back when Hitsumi was still with him, much to Hitsumi’s dislike and annoyance.

His father laughs as he finished telling another one of the many stories he had been telling that night. “-took me half an hour to catch him and force him to put his clothes back on.”

The table laughs while Hitsumi glares over at his father with an annoyed and embarrassed expression. “Dad come on! Not in front of everyone it’s embarrassing! Do you want me to start telling stupid stories about you!?”

His father waves him off not seeing why Hitsumi was so annoyed with the stories of him when he was young. “Aw come on, everyone at some point in their childhood ran around naked refusing to wear clothes!”

Echo looks up from his drink raising his hand. “I remember doing that too!”

Hitsumi stares at Echo in silence while the young wizard goes back to his drink, oblivious to any kind of embarrassment he had just bestowed upon himself.

Hitsumi’s father sighs as he looks over Hitsumi and the three other travelers accompanying him, ending his babbling on things that had happened in the past and instead commenting on Hitsumi’s current life and situation. “Hitsumi, the day you ran away from me and my gang I knew you weren’t going to do as well as me when it came to starting your own ring of bandits, but I didn’t think you would do this badly! This is the smallest group of bandits-”

Hitsumi interrupts him before he can say anything more as he quickly corrects the misunderstanding his father had. “Dad this isn’t my group! I told you I’m helping the princess out right now!” He holds his hand to each of his companions introducing them to his father. “This is Angel, the Princess of East, Echo her royal wizard, and Li the… random pervert.”

Li glares over at Hitsumi from across the table. “I am not!” She looks over at Hitsumi’s father informing him that Hitsumi still was a crummy little disappointment even if this wasn’t his gang. “And his crummy little group isn’t much bigger, only twelve people including him.”

Hitsumi jumps over the table coving Li’s mouth not wanting his father to start harassing him on this subject. “Don’t believe anything this guy says he’s a lying bum!” He nervously looks to the side. “My gang is much more impressive than just a mer’ twelve.”

Li pushes Hitsumi’s hand away from her moth. “What was member number thirteen sick?”

Hitsumi’s father interrupts the two’s scuffle when he continues to question Hitsumi. “What ever happened to that kid you where always hanging out with? You know that Ashton kid with that always carried around that stupid book of his? Is he dead yet?”

Hitsumi sighs as he looks back at his father, his dad having had a rather hopeful tone in his voice when he had asked the question. “No dad… Ashton’s not dead yet” He take’s Li’s seat at the table Li in turn taking Hitsumi’s seat on the other side of the table next to Hitsumi’s father.

Hitsumi continues on telling his dad a little about his friend, knowing that Ashton had changed since his father had last seen him. “He’s actually doing very well, he has a wife and three kids back in the mountain valley of St. David’s. Right now he’s taking over as leader for my group while I’m helping out the princess.”

Hitsumi’s father gets a shocked look on his face almost chocking on his food. “Married!? That geek?”

Hitsumi sighs at his father’s reaction to the information. “He’s not a geek dad… Ashton’s my best friend.”

Hitsumi’s dad nods his head remembering that Hitsumi always got mad when he picked on his nerdy friend. “Just because you know them doesn’t mean they can’t be geeks.” He smiles at Hitsumi more interested in the life his son had developed in the fourteen years they had been apart then he was Ashton’s. “So what about you son? Are you married?”

Hitsumi looks up from eating talking with his mouth half full. “Do I LOOK married?”

His father laughs reaching over and patting Hitsumi on the head. “I can see you still have some growing up to do.”

“What!?” Hitsumi points the chicken leg he had been eating in his father’s direction. “What do you mean I still have some growing up to do!? I think I’ve grown up plenty! I’m already twenty-four remember?”

Li gets a shocked look on her face. “Twenty four!?” She looks back to Hitsumi hardly able to believe this information. “I thought you were sixteen year old brat!”

Hitsumi growls under his breath, this obviously a common and disliked mistake people made about him. “Why is it so hard for everyone to believe my age!? Seriously! I’m a mature twenty four year old man.”

Li looks to the side as she mumbles quietly under her breath. “Mature isn’t what I would call it.”

Hitsumi points in annoyance at Li not wanting to hear it. “I heard that you goat-monkey!”

Li looks more confused than insulted by Hitsumi’s words.

Hitsumi’s father laughs as he again pats Hitsumi on the head, Hitsumi trying his best to keep his father’s heavy blows from throwing him into the food. “So Hitsumi my boy, when are you going to tie the knot and carry on the family line?”

Hitsumi nervously looks over at his father the question surprising him a little bit. “Come on… you know I’m not interested in that kinda thing! I don’t like commitments like that.”

His father nods his head in understanding. “Ah, you’re like your old man. All you want is sex.”

“DAD!!!”

His father begins to explain further to Hitsumi. “Well sex is all good and fun but eventually you gotta settle down.”

Hitsumi waves his hands wildly in front of his face as he tries to forget every word he had just heard. “Geez dad… that’s it, I’m not talking anymore, people are trying to eat you know! You talk to yourself.” The last thing he needed was his father trying to discuss his sex life with him in front of the princess, a wizard that looked ten and the vile blond that would twist and use the information for nothing but evil purposes.

Hitsumi’s father laughs over his son’s nervousness of the subject. “So Hitsumi, are one of these two ladies my future daughter in law?”

Li shivers at the thought while the princess blushes a deep shade of red not expecting to have suddenly been thrown into the conversation.

“Okay dad no!” Hitsumi points to the princess trying to clear the entire matter up before things got even worse. “You see that girl right there is a princess.” He then points over to Li. “The other one’s … a man.”

His father swoons so happy he was almost in tears. “Hitsumi this is wonderful! When you where put in my arms as a little baby not once did I dream you would sleep with a princess.”

Angel’s face gets even redder while Hitsumi almost undergoes a heart attack. Angel nervously looks up at Hitsumi’s father as she tries to clear up the situation. “Uh sir… you’re mistaken… I … err…”

Hitsumi’s loud voice interrupts her as he yells at his father again. “DAD!”

Li looks the table of bandits over, every one of the bandits that were not in the conversation with Hitsumi and his father glaring over at her with a cold and untrusting look. She sigh to herself pushing herself from the table and getting up from her seat, “I don’t like it here.” She announces them in a low tone before turning and leaving the table.

Hitsumi watches Li leave not understanding why she had chosen to so suddenly leave like that. “What’s wrong with him?”

Hitsumi’s father pats Hitsumi on the back again this time catching him off guard and smacking him into the table. “Well enough kidding around I guess, listen Hitsumi that bridge you were trying to cross used to lead to Matheda, so I would be correct when assuming that Matheda is where you’re headed right?”

Hitsumi nods his head as he pushes himself off of the table. “I’m actually trying to get to the Castle of West, Matheda is just one of the stops on the way.”

Hitsumi’s father nods his head making up his mind. “I’ll escort you there with a few of my men, wouldn’t want you running into any more trouble. I have to tell you there are many bandits that follow me around these parts, if I go with you it should keep you from getting attacked and dragged back here again.”

The princess looks ecstatic with the news even if she was getting help from even more bandits, true they were not quit the help members of the royalty go looking for but Angel didn’t really have time to complain with the situation she was right now in. “Really!? That’s great! The more people protecting me the better! Seeing as how badly my protectors fell today when fighting you it defiantly wouldn’t hurt to have better guards.”

Hitsumi looks hurt and annoyed by Angels comment, he looks back at his father not really wanting to travel too long with him especially if his father was going to tell and say embarrassing things about him along the way. “Only to the next town… We’ll be fine on our own from then on.”

His dad nods his head fully understanding that Hitsumi didn’t want to be too depended on him. “Don’t worry my boy, me and my group ‘Shadow Quest’ won’t let you down.”

Angel tilts her head to the side. “Shadow Quest… I’ve heard that name before…”

Hitsumi’s father crosses his arms sitting up straight and nodding his head proudly, there being no surprise in Angel having heard the name of his group before. “It’s only the most ruthless and famous gang of bandits known to date! For forty years running now.”

Angel face fills with recognition. “That’s right! Shadow Quest!!! I knew I remembered it from somewhere before! The group is famous for its countless crimes, it’s near unlimited supply of stolen gold, of the number of people that fell when facing you! You’re the leader of THAT group!? That’s amazing!” She turns back to Hitsumi a smile on her face. “Hitsumi you never told me your father was the most famous bandit on the four continents!”

Hitsumi frowns as he looks back at his dad, living in his father’s shadow not fun or enjoyable in the least. “It really wasn’t that important…”

His father chuckles causally, Hitsumi had run away from him due to disagreements they had when Hitsumi was only a boy, and although the two were happy to see one another after such a long time it was still pretty clear that Hitsumi still remembered and held those disagreements.

Angel doesn’t understand Hitsumi’s response. “Of course it’s important! Everyone knows about him!” She looks back at Hitsumi’s father. “But… in all the stories I’ve heard of you I’ve never heard your name… why’s that?”

Hitsumi’s father laughs to himself while Hitsumi answers Angel’s question for him. “He never tells anyone his name.” He holds his hand to his chest. “I don’t even know his name… I only know him by dad.” He looks over at the princess a little shocked that she was so casually talking to them about this, for a member of royalty she sure didn’t have problems trusting people. Of course there were probably very little people willing to help someone who happened to be targeted by demons.

The princess and Hitsumi enjoy a long conversation with Hitsumi’s father that lasts well into the night. Echo eventually wandering off from the three of them to explore the camp they were in, the wizard’s curiosity being spiked by many of the things that were in the camp.

Li having left the group a good while ago, is spending all of her time near the edge of the camp throwing her dagger into the crates of cargo, walking over to remove it, then walking back to throw it again. Li more venting her frustration with the situation she was right now in then practicing her aim.

Several bandits within the camp watch her from a safe distance, there was something about Li that they felt uneasy about and none of them trusted her enough not to keep someone watching her at all times. “The boss is too soft… letting people like this wander around our camp freely.”

Another bandit shrugs his shoulders there not being much that their leader could do. “She’s a friend of his sons what can he do? I’m sure he feels the same way we do about her.” He continues to stare at Li. “He’s not that stupid, especially when it comes to things like this. I’m sure that if she had not been associated with his son we would be dealing with her very differently.”

Another bandit shakes his head as he looks back to bandit that had spoken up. “I don’t mind his son or the other people that came with him. It’s just this one that makes me uneasy. What’s worse is that she managed to get one of her weapons back.” He looks back at Li as she threw her dagger into the crate none more, hitting the exact same spot she had hit before, her aim perfect. “Just look at her! If she wanted she could hit us directly between the eyes with that thing! I’ve never seen such impressive aim.”

The bandit next to him laughs. “It’s probably from doing this all day.”

Li pulls the dagger from the crate once more, this time looking over at the bandits that were watching her instead of walking back to the spot she had been throwing the dagger from. The bandits silently stare back at her, neither they nor Li seemed to trust the other a single bit.

Li points her dagger towards the men that were watching her and they quickly scatter out of the area her dagger was right now pointed in. She sighs as she turns away from the area the bandits had been in and looks back at the crate she had been throwing the dagger into, Li running her fingers over the deep cuts in the wood while repeating words once told to her before. “You were put here on this earth to kill those undeserving to live…” The voice from her past that she had remembered before finishes the sentence for her in her mind, Li unable to forget the sound of neither his voice nor the words he told her. “There is no other path for you.”

“What breed of man are you?” Echo’s sudden question startles Li. Li turning around to see who had spoken to find the small wizard standing behind her. Echo continues with his question hoping to get an answer from her. “I know it’s impossible for you to be fully human.”

Li walks past him towards the spot she had threw her dagger from, Li lifting her arm up and getting ready to throw her dagger at the crate once again. “What makes you think that?”

Echo walks along side her positive that he was right about this. “I may look young but I’m nine hundred and fifty one years old. Two hundred and twenty five of those years I underwent many kinds of schooling.” He looks Li over. “I know about the half-breeds from the country of Merlin, enough to know that you’re one of them.”

Li smiles as she turns around throwing the dagger over Echo’s head and hitting the crate behind him in the same spot she had been aiming to hit as before. “You’re mistaken. I’m not from Merlin I was conceived and born on the four continents, keeping that in mind you’ll realize that it’s impossible for me to be a half-breed of Merlin”

Echo watches Li walk back to the crate to retrieve her dagger. “Fine then, you’re not a half-breed of Merlin, but you’re still a half-breed. I saw it… the earth died when you touched it and you became stronger when you decided to use your true power, a frightening strength that you are hiding from everyone!”

Li pulls her dagger from the crate as she stands on spot before it, Li looking from the crate and to her dagger as she stared at the blade in her hands. “There are many humans that can learn magic if taught well enough. You don’t have to be born with it.”

Echo narrows his eyes not convinced by Li’s argument. “Humans that are taught magic are not skilled at all when it comes to physically fighting. Their bodies are not easily able to channel magic because they are not born with the ability to handle magic, even though they can be taught and will learn how their bodies will still become physically weak and sometimes very frail because of it. But people like you who are born with magic don’t have that problem because their bodies were made from the very beginning to channel it.”

Li looks back at him finally giving the wizard the answer that he wanted to hear. “No remorse for those who fall to me.”

Echo looks a little confused by her answer to him. “What?”

Li looks over at a group of bandits who are chatting among one another. “Of the countless number of people I’ve killed I feel no remorse for what I have done.” She looks back at Echo explaining this to him. “Because killing others is a natural instinct for me and is sometimes even necessary… I guess you could call it a craving.” She places her dagger away in a sheath attached to her leg. “If you can figure out the races with those characteristics, then you’ll figure out what kind of half-breed of man I am.”

Echo lowers his gaze to the ground not sure of if he were able to come up to an answer to her riddle. “I’ve never heard of a race like that.”

Li looks back over at the Angel and Hitsumi who were now making their way through the camp having finished up with their dinner with Hitsumi’s father. “I doubt that…” She turns from Angel and Hitsumi towards Hitsumi’s father who is staring back at her watching her from where he stands, he obviously as uneasy with her as the other bandits in the camp were.

Echo notices the uneasiness between the two, the wizard tapping the side of Li’s arm with his staff getting her attention and speaking to her before he left her be. “Don’t kill anyone here. They were kind enough to let us live, I think that you should do the same.”

Li spits on the ground turning back to Hitsumi’s father. “I’ll only kill them if they attack me first.”

*******

Echo soon rejoins Hitsumi and the princess who are now separate from Hitsumi’s father and the rest of the bandits preparing to get some rest in a tent that had been provided by Hitsumi’s father for them. Angel looks through the inside of the tent, there not being anything to cover the ground and only a single blanket for her to sleep with. “Why can’t I ever sleep in a hotel? It’s always in some dumpy place…”

Hitsumi laughs to himself not having thought about this place being ‘dumpy’ to sleep in, sure it wasn’t as comfortable as a hotel was but it was still a place to sleep. Of course he had always rested in such places when he was growing up so he was a lot more used to it then Angel apparently was

 Echo sits down on the floor next to Angel as she tried to cover herself with the small blanket she had, the wizard trying to cheer up Angel’s gloomy mood. “Don’t worry princess, as soon as we get to your uncle’s castle you will have a room of your own with a huge soft bead of feather filled sheets and many servants to tend to you hand and foot.”

Angel whimpers picturing the situation she was accustomed to in her mind a clean room, comfortable bed and of course servants tending to her every need. “I want to be there now! My neck gets so stiff not having anything to rest on…”

 “I’ll don’t think I’ll ever get to sleep in this place…” She looks back to Hitsumi questioning him on how he was able to do it. “How can you stand being a bandit Hitsumi? Not only is it filthy but it’s impossible to sleep at night with so many ruffians around.”

Hitsumi scratches the back of his head he having never found it uncomfortable at all. “Well… it’s different for me then it is you. I was born into it. So I’m completely used to sleeping in these places under these conditions. Kind of like how you were born to be a princess and live in pampered royalty, I was born to be a bandit that lives in packs and sleeps on the ground. If you think about it it’s just like royal bloodlines, if you’re born into it then you’re used to it because that’s your way of life.”

Angel turns towards Hitsumi. “Just like royal bloodlines? So then you’re a prince of bandits?”

“No no!” Hitsumi quickly corrects her that not being what he had meant at all. “Not like that! I meant to say that it runs in the family.”

“Oh…” Angel pulls the blanket over her as she again tried to get more comfortable. “Well prince sounds better.”

Hitsumi looks slightly annoyed. “Of course prince sounds better then bandit!”

Angel smiles to herself as she closes her eyes beginning to drift off. “Hitsumi, Prince of Bandits…” In no time at all the princess has drifted off to sleep, Hitsumi’s conversation making taking her mind off the hundreds of bandits that were in the camp she was in long enough for her to get to sleep.

Echo smiles over at Hitsumi as he waves at him signalling that it was alright to leave now that the princess was asleep. Hitsumi smiles to himself as he looks down at Angel. “Prince of Bandits hu?” He gets to his feet headed out of her tent. “It’s too bad she’s a princess. She probably would have made a cute girlfriend.”

He stretches his arms once outside the tent, Hitsumi starting to get tired himself after all the events of the day. He sighs as he looks around him unable to go to sleep just yet, there still being some things he wanted to finish up before going to sleep.

He pauses for a moment, him mentioning a cute girlfriend reminding him of things that not only his dad had mentioned this night, but of things that Ashton was constantly bringing up with him throughout his life.

Hitsumi is sitting down on a chair with his right leg propped up onto a footstool, having obviously broken a bone as he had a wooden splint tied to his leg. He looks around him impatiently not sure of what to do, the bandit sighing very loudly and moving on spot unable to keep still. “This is so boring!”

Ashton frowns as he looks up from a book he is reading and back to Hitsumi. “And what do you expect me to do about it? You already conned me into taking care of you, I am not going to be conned into being your personal entertainer.”

Hitsumi stops wiggling as he looks over to Ashton. “Do you have any idea of how torturous this is for me!?”

Ashton nods his head yes. “Yes I do actually, because every time you manage to break something and make yourself immobile I have to stay here and listen to every second of your whining!” He looks back down at the book returning to reading. “Why do you have to break so easily? If there’s one thing I absolutely hate about you it’s the fact that you keep breaking!”

Hitsumi frowns in annoyance. “There’s nothing I can do about that you know.”

Ashton looks back to Hitsumi. “Uh, yes there is, and it’s also a very simple thing to do. Something I like to call ‘Not doing stupid things” He points to himself. “Take me for example. I don’t do stupid things like you always do, therefore I have never broken a bone in my body.”

Hitsumi glares over at Ashton. “The only reason you’ve never broken anything is because you’re boring!”

Ashton frowns as he raises his voice to Hitsumi. “Do you actually need me to do anything for you right now or are you harassing me for no reason?”

An annoyed expression fills Hitsumi’s face. “You want something important to do? Fine then! Go cook me food! I’m starving here!”

Ashton groans as he looks back to Hitsumi. “I’m helping you out of the goodness of my heart here! Don’t force me to abandon you.”

“You wouldn’t abandon me, you love me too much.”

“Our bounds of friendship are weaker then you think.” Ashton returns to reading his book. “You know what I think you need Hitsumi?”

Hitsumi smiles back at him. “A punch in the face?”

“Yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now. I think you need to find yourself a wife.”

Hitsumi frowns at the information. “What the hell?”

Ashton nods his head as he looks back to Hitsumi explaining to him why he thought this. “That way I won’t have to take care of you every time you get yourself hurt, and who knows, maybe I’ll actually be able to have some time to myself.” He smiles giving a delightful sigh. “Time to myself, what I wouldn’t give to have that.”

“How the heck is a wife supposed to solve anything, she’ll probably just whine as much as you do about having to take care of me.”

“Yeah well at least I wouldn’t be doing it.” He looks back to Hitsumi. “Besides… if you get yourself a wife then she’ll want kids, and then you’ll have no choice but to settle down.”

Hitsumi gets a horrified look on his face. “What? Kids?”

Ashton smiles as he pictures the scenario in his head. “Then we can go back to St.Davids and I’ll be able to live with my wife and kids again.”

“You could always go back without me you know.”

Ashton sighs as he looks back to him. “Yeah right… if I did that then who’s going to help you when you break your leg again? If I’m not with you then who’s going to help you when you get caught up in another mess that could have been avoided if you had only been a little more intelligent?”

Hitsumi sighs not really thrilled about the idea. “I don’t want a wife or kids. You have any idea of how much work that would be.”

Ashton looks annoyed with the comment. “Actually…. Yes. I’m married and I have kids remember?”

“I guess you would know then.”

“Think about it Hitsumi, it’s about time you started to at least look into it. It’ll do you good I promise.”

“Maybe Ashton and dad are right… maybe I should settle down…” He pauses to think over what he had just said. “NO WAY! Dad can’t be right!! That old geezer!?” He tries to get the thought out of his head. “What a stupid thing for me to even consider!”

Hitsumi stops talking to himself when he spots Li walking past him, Hitsumi quickly grabbing onto her shoulder and stopping her in her tracks when he realizes that she was headed towards the boundaries of the camp, stopping her from going anywhere. “You! Hold it.”

Li looks back at Hitsumi with a frown not really in the mood to be talking with him or anyone right now. “I’m not running away if that’s what you’re thinking.” She rudely brushes Hitsumi’s hand off of her shoulder. “I’m just going to sleep outside the camp.” She takes her eyes from Hitsumi as she looks over to the bandits who had been watching her closely since she had arrived. “I don’t like it here.”

Hitsumi seems a little confused. “Why? I settled everything with my dad, so we’ll be able to spend the night here without any problems.”

Li answers him simply and plainly. “Bandits are no companions of mine. It’s bad enough I have to no choice but to travel with you, there is no need for me to be in their presence while I sleep.”

Hitsumi falls silent as Li turns away from him and continues on her way headed towards the edge of the camp site. Hitsumi watches her leave a little hurt by her attitude, he being a bandit after all. “Hates bandit’s hu?” He yawns even more tired than before. “I’ll deal with him later… right now I need some shuteye.”

“Hitsumi my boy!” Hitsumi’s father calls over to him as he waves his hand through the air. Hitsumi lifts his hand in response and his father walks over to him nudging him with his elbow and talking to him in a lower whisper. “I see you just finished tucking your two ladies in.”

Hitsumi elbows him back also talking in a low yet sarcastic whisper. “You’re old… you should be in bed by now…”

His father laughs, it was still hard for him to believe that he had managed to run into Hitsumi after all these years. “You know son, I really didn’t think you would live till this age, what with your impossible ideas and all.”

Hitsumi smiles proudly of himself glad that he had outlived the age his father had pegged him to die at. “I guess I surprised you, but hey what did you expect? I am your son aren’t I? Only greatness can come out of me.” He looks back at his dad a more serious look on his face. “But really, what the hell are you doing all the way over here? I though your territory was in the Diachi forest, that’s all the way in the continent of South.”

His father became quit as he crosses his arms, a difficult expression on his face as he begins to tell Hitsumi the reason for him being here. “It was wiped out.”

Hitsumi is silent unsure of what to say, after a long moment of silence he finally speaks up. “Wiped out?? As in killed off? Completely?”

His father nods his head as he lifts his arms and motions to everything around him. “Notice how I was the only one you could recognize, and how only I recognized you? Everyone here, they’re all new members to replace the ones you used to know. I was the only one able to make it out alive.”

Hitsumi is shocked to hear this information. It wasn’t as if his father and his gang were hard to bring down, from what he knew they were the toughest people alive. “But you and your group were the most famous bandits in the four continents! You’ve never been able to fall to anyone! Our family has been controlling that place for years how could that have happened?”

His father shakes his head not sure how to explain it to Hitsumi. “It just happened… I don’t know how to explain it to you. Caught us off guard, took us down one by one. No matter how hard we fought back we couldn’t win.”

Hitsumi silently listens to what his father was telling him, he knew that his father’s group had been attacked by the king’s army before and had not fallen to them, they had even been attacked by members of the famous Zimiko knight family and had still managed to survive. Hitsumi doesn’t back at his father, although he was sure of the figure responsible for this he wanted to hear what his father’s answer was. “Who did it?”

His father is about to say a name but stops, he pauses to think before finally answering Hitsumi’s question. “It was the work of a lot of people.”

Hitsumi looks back at his father crossly that being a blatant lie. “You’re lying! It was him it had to be! There’s no way you would have fallen to anyone else!”

Hitsumi’s father shrugs his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter now, that’s all in the past.”

Hitsumi looks completely shocked to hear this. “How can you say that? Someone killed off the people I grew up with! Most of those guys had been following you for longer then I’ve been around! Hell some were even older then you because they were followers of your dad!”

Hitsumi’s sighs well aware of just who it was that had been kill. “What matters is that I at least managed to live through it. I didn’t let it stop me and I started out all over again. So don’t worry about it, what’s done is done, it’s unfortunate that so many people died but you can’t go around changing bad things that have already happened. I looked passed your people in killing off a fair share of my men today, the least you can do is just forget about an incident that happened years ago.”

Hitsumi frowns not sure of what to say at first, it was true that he and his group were getting off easily considering what they had done. He sighs nodding his head and agreeing not to talk about it anymore even though he didn’t think the situation should be buried yet. “If you say so…”

Hitsumi’s father could tell that Hitsumi wasn’t done thinking over the topic just yet, but didn’t want to talk to him about it anymore knowing that he would only deny Hitsumi the information to the questions that he would be asking him. He pats Hitsumi on the back once more before walking away. “Get some sleep. Don’t let my problems worry you.”

Hitsumi turns away from his father the problems that were his father’s weren’t necessarily his alone, especially for something this important. Hitsumi waves his father off heading to bed his father stopping him one more time before he leaves to sleep. “One more thing kid.”

Hitsumi looks back at him, not sure if what he had to say this time was worth hearing. “Yeah?”

His father turns to the edge of the camp in the direction Li had gone in. “Be cautious of Li.”

Hitsumi doesn’t understand this warning. “Li?” He laughs at his father’s worry it being unnecessary. “Come on Dad, I know he’s a weirdo and everything but don’t worry about it, everything’s fine.”

*******

Late within the night Hitsumi’s group as well as his father’s gang of bandits have fallen asleep. Echo, in the form of a white owl is lying down at Angels feet with his feathers fluffed and a most comfortable look too him. While Hitsumi lay sleeping on his back with his arms crossed, his head rested on them.

Li slept far away from the group and the bandits in the forest outside of the camp, her body propped against a tree and he arms crossed in front of her as she slept. Li looking to be sleeping rather well considering the situation she and the group were right now in. Suddenly a worried look fills her face as her sleep become less than normal, her arms and leg slightly twitching in her sleep, another nightmare having interrupted her dreams. She bites onto her lower lip in her sleep the pain startling her and waking her from her sleep.

She slouches over holding her hand over her face as she tried to calm herself down, her eyes right now wide in fear. She slowly pushes herself back up trying to catch her breath not understanding why she continued to allow herself to be so frightened by these things. She had been haunted by these dreams all her life so how was it that she still wasn’t able to get used to them?

She lifts her head up just in time to catch sight of a blade from a sword being swung towards her face. She gasps as she quickly dodges out of the way the blade flying past her and digging into the tree behind her.

She looks up from the blade towards the swords wielder to find that it was being held by Hitsumi’s father. “You!”

Hitsumi’s Father pulls the blade from the tree and again slices the sword down at her, Li jumping to her feet and quickly getting out of the way.

She pulls the dagger from her side and quickly dashes forward attacking him slicing her blade into his shoulder and cutting a long gash down his right arm and through his hand causing him to drop the weapon he had been attacking her with and hold his arm in pain.

Li jumps back from him pulling her arm back and then swinging it forward, letting go of her dagger she had been holding and hurling it towards his head.

Hitsumi’s father throws himself to the ground the dagger barely missing him and lodging itself into the tree behind him that Li had once been resting against. He looks up from the ground towards Li to find her standing over him. He smiles at her having actually expected things to turn out this way. “Not bad, you haven’t weakened over the years.” He pushes himself to his feet his height towering over hers once more. “In fact you’ve even improved, greatly might I add.”

Li turns away from him making her way past him to retrieve her dagger, ripping it out of the tree and returning it to her side before sitting back down upon the ground. She stares up at Hitsumi’s father not pleased with that fact she had woken up to him violently trying to kill her. If the nightmare she had been having hadn’t have woken her up like it had she probably would have gotten her head sliced off by him. “What are you doing here?”

Hitsumi’s father walks up and sits down next to her as he begins talking to her in a friendly manner despite having just finished a nasty attempt to kill her. “I remember the first time I encountered the Slayer of Bandits” He places his hand on Li’s head messing her hair. “You where younger back then, and you looked very different.”

Li doesn’t respond to his comment, this topic was something she didn’t like talking about or even remembering.

Hitsumi’s father continues to speak to her explaining the differences he noticed in her from the last time he saw her. “You looked like a girl, long hair, sexy outfit, your breasts were more noticeable.”

Li weaves her hands in front of her and closes her eyes. “That was a long time ago…”

Hitsumi’s father continues the conversation, curious as to why there were so many drastic changes in how she looked. “Why did you change your appearance? I could hardly recognize you when I first saw you, if it weren’t for your eyes I wouldn’t have realized it was you at all.”

Li frowns turning to the side, the colour of her eyes always alerting to people that something was wrong with her. “Do you always talk to your enemies so casually?”

Hitsumi’s father snaps his fingers. “I know! You changed your appearance because no one took you seriously, because your sexy appearance was so distracting!”

Li shakes her head the way her figure might have looked once before having nothing to do with it. “I’m running away from it…”

“Running from what?”

Li lifts her head looking up at the night sky that was barely peeking through the leaves of the trees. “Everything…” She turns away from the dark shadows above her and looks down at herself, she looking nothing like she did before. “When I look like this… my past and what used to be my future cannot recognize me… it leaves me alone.”

Hitsumi’s father lets out a short laugh. “Running from your life are you? That’s not an easy thing to do.” He nudges Li in the side. “You know what they say, ‘The past will eventually catch up to you’ and all that stuff.”

Li brings her legs up to her chest as she curls up rests her chin on her knees. “I’m not the person you remember… and I’ll never be who I used to be… never again.”

Hitsumi’s father shakes his head. “Somehow I don’t believe you. I also don’t believe that you’ve retired.”

Li stares back at him. “It wasn’t a job to retire from…”

Hitsumi’s father looks down at her in an overprotective manner, he not to happy to have her always hanging out so close to his son considering what it was Hitsumi happened to be. “What are your intentions with my son? Are you thinking of harming him in anyway?” Li was the fabled Slayer of Bandits and Hitsumi was a bandit so them traveling along side another wasn’t exactly uplifting.

Li leans back onto the ground laying down so that she could start trying to get back to the sleep she had been interrupted from. “I’m not going to do anything to him… I am just helping him protect the princess.”

The uneasiness doesn’t lift from Hitsumi’s father’s face. “And after the mission with the princess?”

Li shakes her head not assuring him that if Hitsumi managed to live through such a suicidal quest he would still be just fine. “I won’t kill him.”

Hitsumi’s father laughs proud to hear her say that about his son. “I’m impressed with Hitsumi. He’s must be doing something right to be able to keep the legendary Slayer of Bandits under his thumb.”

Li rolls onto her side turning away from him. “It isn’t the Slayer of Bandits that he’s dealing with, just the Slayer’s feeble shadow.” She closes her eyes as she thinks over the title that was constantly being mentioned. “The Slayer of Bandits… you know… I never really cared for that name…”

Hitsumi’s father looks down at her. “Why? You don’t like what you do?”

Li smiles slightly to herself. “No, I have no problem killing people off, I just think it’s a corny name.” The smile leaves her face as she thinks back. “It also keeps me from living the life I want to… Someone like the Slayer of Bandits is nothing but a murderer… a murderer as well known as that can’t live the way they really want to live.”

Hitsumi’s father laughs at Li’s response before he continues with his questions. “Well since I have a chance to speak to you without you trying to kill me, I might as well ask if the rumours are true.”

Li doesn’t look that willing to answer any more questions. “What rumours?”

His father looks Li over trying to see if he could maybe figure out the answer himself. “Is the Slayer of Bandits really half-human, half-demon?”

Li is silent and for a while doesn’t respond. She picks up a stone that is resting by her and begins looking it over in the dim light not sure of how she was going to answer that question at first. “How should I know for certain? I never knew who either of my parents were. Probably better that way anyway… especially if one of them was a demon.” She throws the stone she had been looking at to the side. “That is what my master called me though… a demon. He said that he could tell from my eyes. Only demons have eyes the same hideous colour as mine.”

He pats Li once more on the back before finally getting to his feet and preparing to leave to let her finish sleeping. “Well Li, you need not worry about Hitsumi if you ever feel the need to kill him.”

Li frowns sure that her restraint would eventually break and she would end up killing Hitsumi at some point in the journey. It was going to take a miracle for her to not jump up and kill him especially when he acted like a complete idiot. “Why’s that?”

His father smiles as he begins to explain what he knew to her. “There’s no need for the Slayer of Bandits to take his life. From what I hear the Slayer of Bandits is a haired hand, you only kill when you’re told to kill, and you will only take the job if the bandits you are being asked to target are worth killing.” Li is silent while Hitsumi’s father reaches into one of his pockets pulling out an old tattered letter and holding it out to her. “When Hitsumi ran away from me he left behind this note. It will help explain to you that he isn’t a man worth killing.”

Li takes the letter he is handing to her, Hitsumi’s father leaving as soon as the note left his hands. “I’ll leave you to sleep now, as I have similar business to attend to.”

Li silently watches him leave before she begins to slowly unfold the letter he had given her, the small yellowed scrap of paper holding the handwriting of a child on it. She gets up walking closer to the lights of the camp so that she would be able to read it.

Today I watched our group overtake five carriages on the road. They were filled with gold but also filled with people. You had to kill them all because they saw your face. One the same age as me. I felt sad for all of them, like I always do when you kill people.I decided I didn’t want to be like you. I didn’t want to kill people.

I buried their bodies not far from the road. I hope you don’t get mad, don’t worry dad, I’ll still be a bandit. I’ll carry on the family name. But I won’t kill. I’ll be a bandit that doesn’t kill.

- Hitsumi “the GREATEST river bandit in Fynta”

 

P.S: I’m bringing Ashton with me. I don’t think you’ll miss him.”

Li takes note of the writing. “The writing is too clean to be Hitsumi’s… he must have had Ashton write it.” She refolds it looking back to the camp she knew Hitsumi was in right now. This person much different from anyone she had ever met before. “A bandit that can’t kill people? He really isn’t worth killing.”

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