Tiger Kunoichi: The Two Dragons

Chapter 5: Hunted

Shikari took out her katana and made her signature Ametiger battle stance readying to fight the bandits. She cautiously waited for one of them to make a first move while she thought, The bandits. How could they follow me without even knowing it? Is it because I created footprints unknowingly?

Either way, she knew she had to fight the bandits off in order for her and Shituku to continue their journey. She can hear one of them battle crying from her left. She looked and what she saw was a bandit who's going to strike her with a spear. Unfortunately for him, she moved her hand up and used her two fingers to hold up the spear. Then, she kick-boxed his chin taking him down, thus unexpectedly taking a spear in her hand. She never expected herself to do this skill just like that. You can hear a groan from the bandit you saw at the center when you suddenly encountered them.

They charged in and the battle began. Shikari used her katana to take several bandits down, then she forward-kicked another coming to her front, then she back-kicked another's stomach, who's coming behind her. Suddenly, one bandit raised the staff and tried to use it to strike her head, but since she sensed it, she whipped around and raised her katana to block it.

But unlike any bandits who usually steal and kidnap in a sneaky way, this one kept pushing the staff really hard. It's like he's being a vicious type of villain that no one cour beat him. For Shikari, she felt like she's being pushed down, but she kept persevering. She pushed her katana from the bandit's strike, but the clash kept on going.

Just then, he was pushed off by a person holding a familiar staff. Shikari turned and saw Shituku with a staff on his hand. And his tough and serious expression turned into a smile.

"Thought you might need some help," he told her.

This time, she smirked impressively at what he did,"Impressive." Then, she made a concern look on her face,"I'm sorry I misjudged you. I think we should call it a truce."

Once Shituku heard the last part, his eyes widened in unexpected surprise. But then, he snapped out of it when he heard several bandits coming for both of them.

"Thanks, Shikari. We should, but there's no time for handshakes," he said as they both fought bandits alongside each other.

All of a sudden, they felt a rope being tied around them and their backs were pulled against each other. Shikari can feel herself and Shituku struggling to get free as the bandits kept pulling the rope even tighter until it became so tight that the duo could not escape.

They couldn't see what the bandits were doing because they kept focusing on struggling to get free. Soon, they felt like they were floating. Then, they found themselves sitting inside the carriage. A dark wooden brown carriage with colors that matched the bandits' personalities.

And so, they took the duo in an unknown place.

Soon, chants like "Hurrah!" were heard. Even the tapping of their weapons especially spears. Shikari wanted to know where they were taking them, but she couldn't due to the rope being tied with Shituku. They could hear what they assume was the gate opening for the carriage to come in. They didn't know if a place behind the gate was something like another one of the bandits' bases or possibly one of the evil kingdoms.

Shikari heard the gate closing and it ended with a bang. Soon, the carriage stopped. She managed to pick up the words from one of the bandits.

"Listen up, Shadow bandits. Today is the day we finally caught two prisoners!"

The cheering was heard.

"And what's even better is that one of them happens to be Tiger Kunoichi, who had been foiling our plans since she defeated our loyal inspiration: the Shadow Dragon."

Shikari knew that the booing from the bandits was going directly towards her.

"But tonight, we'll challenge them into the battle tournament and if we win, we'll finally have a feast and the Shadow Dragon will be proud of us!"

There was the loudest cheer from the bandits. Well, it's more like a battle cry. Well, if we win, you have to let us go, she thought.

"We'll begin the tournament first thing tomorrow morning and if anyone else isn't ready—" She can hear a threatening expression. "—you will be fired! Got that!"

"Yes, commander!" they all said.

"Good. Now, one of them must guard the two heroes while we eat dinner."

Wait, it's night?! she thought. Suddenly, she could feel the ropes falling off. She turned to see Shituku untying the ropes with his mouth pulling one of the ends. And that end of the rope had lead their bodies to be free.

"Thanks, Shituku. I owe you one," she acknowledged him.

"Anytime," he smiled at her.

Then, Shikari made a little wider smile at him back. They heard chattering in outside and when they peeked out the window, they saw a familiar basket and bag taken to the house. They also saw a familiar staff and the exact same case Shikari had.

Then, they realized. Those were their things! They had taken them to a wooden, medium-sized house and the food must be taken for either their dinner or a feast. Either way, they must do something to escape the bandits' base. They must do something to take back their weapons and survive the rest of their journey.

They sat back in the dark and—

"Hmm." Shikari can hear him thinking.

"What is it, Shituku?" she asked him.

"Don't worry, Shikari," he turned to her with a smirk on his face. "I have a plan."