Siinji - Or, Ankūro and the City of the Golden Boughs

25

25

In desperation,
Foolish things are soon attempted.
Only to then fail.
- Momiji.

He moved without thinking, launching himself towards the nearest soldier and grabbing the hilt of the man's sword. Before he had tugged the sword half-way from the scabbard, the soldier had already grasped Tuccé's wrist and, with the slightest twist of the hand, sent Tuccé sprawling to the ground. The fall, however, had pulled the sword all the way from the scabbard.

With a flailing slash, he caught the soldier in the upper arm, forcing the grip upon his wrist to loosen. Even as Tuccé scrambled to his feet, he saw several other soldiers drawing their swords, heading towards him, but Tuccé had already begun running away from them, heading for Drellis, instead.

Drellis didn't move as Tuccé reached him, pointing the sword towards the man's throat. The look of amusement on Drellis' face infuriated Tuccé. He grabbed the unresisting man by the front of his jacket and moved to Drellis' rear, holding the sword at the man's throat. He soon saw the other soldiers hesitate as they saw the situation.

"What now, Tuccé? If you kill me, the soldiers will kill all of you." Drellis held his arms out to the side, showing compliance. "A threat is only a threat if you're willing to follow through with it."

"I don't know. I just know I'm not letting you hurt Yurivno anymore." From the corner of his eye, Tuccé saw Sakicho draw his own sword. It left its scabbard in a slow, deliberate movement and Tuccé forced Drellis to turn, shielding himself from Sakicho.

"Idiot Gochin." White Eye's growl caused Tuccé to look her way.

From nowhere, the old woman had produced a knife, slicing through the bonds around her wrists as though they were nothing. Before anyone could react, White Eye had cut the rest of the ropes and they fell to the ground about her feet. The soldiers guarding her reacted too slow, hands falling to sword hilts, but White Eye had already begun to move.

Dropping a palm onto the pommel of one guard's sword, she drove the knife up into the man's skull, penetrating through the bottom of his jaw. As he dropped like a stone where he stood, the old woman had already taken control of his sword. With two slashes, White Eye cut into the leg of another soldier and then her final guard, cutting deep into the back of his leg.

Then, she turned towards Sakicho, leaving those soldiers she had cut to writhe upon the ground, clutching at wounds that bled into the damp soil. Sakicho's face showed no emotion as the boy-warrior circled White Eye. She stepped with caution, lowering the tip of her stolen sword as she glanced towards Tuccé and Drellis.

Sakicho took the opportunity of that glance to launch his attack, bring his sword down towards White Eye's head, but the old woman whipped up her sword, parrying Sakicho's sword to the side and stepping around once more. She had come nearer to Tuccé and Drellis, now, her back to them as she watched for Sakicho's next move.

The boy-warrior, not even old enough to have shaved his pate or place his long hair into a slicked top-knot, moved his sword behind him, slow, with care, both hands holding the hilt of his sword as though born with it in his hand. His eyes narrowed as he watched White Eye's own careful movements, her foot shifting a slight to one side, sword still held high, in one hand.

Once again, Sakicho's sword swept towards White Eye, coming from low, aiming to cut White Eye from guts to throat, but the old woman's sword rolled in a long arc, down and around, catching Sakicho's sword near the guard, continuing the arc, forcing the boy to stumble to the side, even as White Eye skipped back again.

Tuccé expected White Eye to go on the offensive, the boy, still off-balance now showed emotion as he realised his failed attack had left him wide open. Instead, the old woman spun, turning her back upon Sakicho. In one movement, she had grabbed Tuccé's hand holding the sword, rolled her arm and Tuccé found himself flying through the air, to land upon the ground several feet away from White Eye and Drellis.