Akazukin Oritsu Ketto

Bandits

The wagon went on for a while until entering a rather forest-like area, it seemed like the one back at Akazukin's house, but, unlike the one she'd always observed, this one had red on its branches. Okami explained that they were called flamboyan trees and they weren't hot from the heat of the sun but could come in other colors like yellow. After a bit they passed by a blue one that amazed her.

It was already midday when the wagon stopped, she had grown tired of holding onto the wagon, but Okami made sure she didn't fall off. The man got off the horse and went to a tree looking both ways before sounds of water came from him, luckily Okami made sure they were on the other side of the wagon but then heard a large thud.

He went back quietly and saw the man lying unconscious on the grass and a person next to him tying his arms. There were three of them with weapons and Okami grabbed his own knife ready for the fight, but then looked back at Akazukin.

"Run to the tree with blue flowers we saw, I'll meet you there in 5 minutes," he said.

One had a sword and the other two curved knives, that was all she could see before turning back to run.

She eventually got to the tree and hid behind it. Everything was silent as she held her breath, not even the forest seemed to breathe for a while. Normally this didn't happen in the stories she'd been told, the heroes always beat the bad guys together with the power of teamwork, not separate.

Eventually she heard a twig snap, Okami was back. But when Akazukin revealed herself from her hiding spot it was one of the bandits. The bandit started to approach Akazukin with her knife pointing sideways and was reaching for a rope behind her. Just as the bandit was three feet from Akazukin's face she got slashed in the back. He fell to the ground revealing Okami behind him as he quickly went over to Akazukin and grabbed her from the site.

"Are you alright, comrade? The villain almost got you," he said.

"Don't do that again, next time you fight bad guys, we can use the power of teamwork ok?" she said.

"Alright then comrade, maybe next time," he promised.

They started walking back to where they were and Okami told her not to look back and she listened to him.

Okami carried her for quite a while until Akazukin noticed he wasn't going as fast as before, and she looked at his leg to see a red liquid coming out.

"Why is red ink coming from your leg?" she asked.

"One of the bandits cut me- wait do you not know what blood is?" Why was he not surprised?

"No"

"Well, this is blood, it's what's under your skin and if your skin gets cut it starts leaking out and hurts."

"So right now you're hurting in your leg?"

"Yes, you could say that."

"Then we need ice it can heal anything."

"And who taught you that."

"My... friend. If I ever stubbed by toe with my bed then she gave me ice put on it"

"Not all wounds can heal with ice, some need bandages like this one."

He had been smiling the whole time he was hurting, and she failed to realize it, but more importantly she was ground shook at this revelation that not all hurt could disappear with ice. However, she did know much about what bandages were other than cloth. She heard the maid describe mummies and how they're covered in a weird cloth, maybe she could use the piece of fabric from her basket to do the same thing.

She then proceeded to try to just place the cloth on it for it to heal.

"What are you trying to do?"

"You said bandages could stop the hurt."

He grabbed the cloth and tied it to his leg correctly saying "There, you stopped the hurt".

"When I grow up I want to stop all people from being hurt."

He chuckled at her and then said, "You're just like my little brother you know, he always wanted to heal people."

"Can I meet him when you deliver your package? Then we can be friends, and we can go on adventures together"

"I'm afraid not comrade."

"Why not?"

"He was... taken away from me."

They passed the place where the wagon was and there was more of the red ink called blood on the road, but the man previously on the horse was nowhere to be found. Okami said he had gone ahead to the city, but the bandits got the wagon. They had split into groups, one fought Okami, one went for the wagon after tying down the man and one for Akazukin. Okami, deciding to help Akazukin instead of the wagon when he defeated the bandit saying she was worth more than the wagon.