𝐋𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐃 𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐇 || mizu

𝟎𝟑. 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭

˚ ༘ ·˚ ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ
⁺˚⋆｡° chapter three ⁺˚⋆｡°

┊͙✧˖*°࿐

❛ a haunting crest ❜
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊
∘₊✧──✧₊∘

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

"DO I KNOW YOU?" THE SAMURAI QUESTIONED, EYES narrowing at the dojo's two assailants. From behind their fierce glares, he couldn't seem to place any familiarity to them.

But Shizuku did. He saw it in her face when her expression slowly melted into a mixture of surprise and fear from staring a little too long.

Taigen. The village boy who had nearly killed Mizu and Shizuku that fateful night that they met. He was the leader of the group, Shizuku having many more run-ins with him when she stepped out into town to go visit Mizu.

He terrorized her and Mizu relentlessly, reducing them down to nothing more than a beggar and her dog. Even now, he scowled down at her suddenly small form on the floor.

"You've climbed some heights," Mizu said, tearing through the silence that was thick with tension. Taigen turned to him, quickly sweeping stray hairs from his face, "to be the prize of a miserable lot."

"Taigen has won 24 duels." One of the wounded Tengu growled. "How many have you two won?"

Shizuku kept her lips tight, aware of her rather vulnerable position where she lied on the dojo floor. Mizu began scanning all of the bodies the two had dropped, many of which were still groaning and nursing their wounds. "Should we have been counting?" He replied.

"Kill the son of a bitch, Taigen. Then the whore. Teach 'em to respect Shindo!" The same Tengu instructed, voice trembling with fury.

"We've come to speak with your master, and will go on our way once we have." Mizu gave one final attempt at a peaceful solution, although he was well beyond one. He spoke gently, but sighed when Taigen affirmed his hold on his bokken, and his scowl deepened.

"You two aren't going anywhere except in the funeral cart." He threatened.

Mizu huffed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Then raised his bokken. He struck first, lunging at Taigen.

Shizuku quickly got to her feet while everyone concentrated on the fight, drawing her bow in case anybody wanted to start anything with her. She followed Mizu as the fight progressed, watching him fight the boy who'd been hurting them both since little.

This match was definitely more evenly matched, neither of them landing any blows on the other for a while until Taigen managed to throw Mizu to the ground. Even then, he dodged Taigen's blade with ease. The two continued like this, throwing each other around, uncaring of the damage they did when they burst through the wall into the room where they were presented to the messenger.

Shizuku concentrated on the sounds of their bokkens clashing, watching each of them display their own techniques. Mizu kept up his slight advantage until Taigen grasped his arm and hurled him across the floor, throwing his bokken straight at his face.

The blow was softened by Mizu's, but it wasn't enough of a defense. It cut through the wood and knocked Mizu's yellow-tinted glasses off of his face and he hit the ground with a pained groan. Taigen basked in his early victory.

"With a naked blade, you'd be dead." He laughed.

Shizuku contemplated aiming her arrow at him, likely to strike him while he boasted. But if she didn't put him down right away, she'd have to duel him, too. She wasn't nearly as skilled as Mizu when it came to combat, that much was clear. And with the whole dojo aware that she was a woman, she dreaded what could happen if she were to lose.