United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 20 - Shintaro

There was no saying that Shintaro didn't appreciate Amy's determination to help him, but he knew that, fast or not, she would merely get in his way. He hoped he hadn't offended her when he'd told her that, but it was truth that she needed to hear. Even if she wasn't injured, he probably wouldn't have let her come along. She would only slow things down, no matter how fast she claimed to be. If anything happened to her, Shintaro would have to put his time aside and assist her. He was pretty sure she could take care of herself, but he didn't want to take that risk. 

Shintaro wasn't sure where the tracker was now or what she was doing, but his mind was on other things. How many undiscovered Shadowbeasts were lurking around the abandoned fortress, and who was their master? Was there more than one Shadow residing there? Even if there wasn't, what was the point in gathering Arielians? Were the Shadows hoping for another land dominance? 

The only thing Shintaro wasn't worried about was his ability to fight them off. He knew that made him sound somewhat overconfident, but he was sure of himself. He'd fought Shadows before as a teenager, before they were put in their rightful place. His knew the limits of his magic, which meant he knew how much he could handle. Sure, if he were to be caught, it would be difficult to fight the Shadowbeasts off - if there were more than one, as Shintaro suspected - but he knew that he was plenty capable. 

So he wasn't sure why everyone else was so worried over him. The king and queen had seen him in action once, when several men who tried to assassinate Queen Ruby during the night. He'd seen them sneak through an unguarded section of the gate and suspiciously followed them. He remembered losing them in the castle halls - he had only been there for a year, and the castle was quite a maze, even to him now - but when he'd found them again, they had been second away from murdering Ruby in her sleep. The poor king and queen had woken in a startle to a fight taking place in their very room. 

Shintaro noticed that Marcus held more respect for him ever since that day. Although Shintaro trained in solitude most of the time, Marcus would sometimes accompany him and watch curiously from a distance. The look of calm, revering curiosity on the king's face was almost amusing to Shintaro. 

The guardian usually trained with swords, but there were several occasions where he would practice with his magic and hand-to-hand combat. He had been told that he was skilled in most martial arts, but he'd taught himself most of what he knew almost out of instinct. He'd been a teenager when he'd learned how to fight with swords, and he hadn't given up the art since. 

With a small sight, Shintaro slid the said swords into the scabbard that was resting on the seat of the chair. He was prepared to sneak in silently and return without being noticed, but he would need the swords if he was caught. Though he knew he could simply use his magic, it was best to reserve his magical strength for whatever was coming next - so he wore a belt of daggers and sharp, throwing tools in case he needed them. His golden eyes and white hair would stand out quite a bit, which was what the dark cloak that was laid on the back of the chair was for.

Kneeling down, Shintaro slid on his boots and began tying the string absently. As he worked, he glanced up at the window in the corner of the weapons room. It was nearly dark, which was when Shintaro had arranged to teleport to the kingdom discreetly. 

Shintaro sighed shortly through his nose and straightened up, grabbing his scabbard and pulling it onto his back. A moment later, he pulled the dark cloak over his shoulders and clasped it loosely around his neck for free-range movement. 

As he was adjusting the straps of his scabbard under his cloak, there was a knock on the closed door behind him. He tugged on the left strap one last time and crossed the room, opening the door and stepping aside to let the person in.