A War Not So Big

[streak101]

The Duke, a skinny man who despised the world and everyone in it, he had the most menacing laugh, and had the worst personality anyone could have. The only fun he could ever got out of his life was terrorizing the citizens of his little town. Yes, it was destroying their spirits that rose his.

Everyday, he would declare unreasonable laws and wait for one of the peasants to break it, then he would torture him or her until he was bored, tossed them into the castle jail, sit on his throne, and get drunk until he upchucked. Pit never cared about these laws since he never disobeyed them, until it became personal.

It was a regular day when Pit's brother was taken from him. They were on their own routine as usual. When the Duke declared a law. "The Duke hereby claims," his assistant said, "that all citizens may not leave the town without approval from him." Pit's brother, someone who did not take kind to the Duke's laws, spoke up.

"If your Duke believes he can tell us when to eat, to sleep, to leave or come to town, then he's in the wrong! He wants to restrain me from leaving? Then he can come down here and stop me himself!" Everything was silent only a pair of hands were clapping, the Duke's hands.

"Bravo sir, and as you can see I am right here. I agree with you too, and as a matter of fact I will stop you. I'll declare your punishment, I'll deal you the punishment with my bare hands, for the punishment is a hanging. Seize him!" He motioned to the guards and they obeyed.

Pit's brother came along without restraint, Pit himself being held back by two civilians. He saw his brother climb the steps and pull the rope over his neck, he heard the Duke's menacing cackle as he followed Pit's brother up the steps, he felt the shudder and the chill as the crate his brother was stepping on was kicked from beneath his legs, and before Pit crashed in a heap to the floor he heard his brother's dying scream.
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"So are you in? We need help sir, and right now your the best pick so far." Pit said. Banda, his feet on the table, was drinking a glass of ale, "Well, I guess I'll do it, I have a lot of time on my hands anyway, you got yourself a deal Pit." The two shook hands, and Pit continued, "I wish you would take that bandana off of your face I'd like to get a good look at you."

"Nope, sorry Pit, can't tell my name, and show you my face, it's part of my policy here." Banda was telling the truth, how could it be known that he, of all people, was part of resistance group against something from a country he protects? If Step found out about this they'd give him the boot and the Corone government would have a warrant on his head. Still, Banda liked to do good and this would fill the quota.

"So am I the only one part of this special little resistance or are there others?" Pit shuffled in his seat, "Well, I've found a few others that I'll introduce to you when the time comes." Banda continued, "Will I be given the troops you promised me? I've been wanting to be a general for some time." Pit smiled his funny smile, "Why yes! That's a definite to be sure!"

"Well Pit I'll see you there." Banda said and he got up from the table.

[Reiko]

Ki wondered why she was wasting her time with this rebellion. It seemed like the duke was a moron that would fall sooner or later. A man that would torture his subjects for no reason knew nothing about ruling anything and it would be guaranteed that that some other greedy yet more competent lord would waltz in and take the place or one of the Duke’s Generals would launch a coup and solve the peasant’s problem for them.

But it would take too long and too many subject suffered horrid deaths and or humiliation. Too long Indeed.

“We aren’t Paying You!” Said a loud thug stated bluntly as he looked at Ki. “You won’t be any help, women aren’t for the battlefield, and your worse, a silly cat girl.” Yup, Ki had about decided to walk out and leave the tavern and give the silly country and its plight the laugh. It was ridiculous, women and cat girls were perfectly good as men, better than this man and Doji was a Kitsune and not a cat girl.

“Fine you can lose. I’m sure the tyrant can pay much more than you’ll ever.” Ki said coolly, though it really wasn’t her style but she needed to get it through this man’s thick skull that she was worth at least 100 of the common rebels and since she was the wielder of the Onitachi, a powerful sword that she had fought for and won, wasn’t too much a stretch of the truth.

The oaf didn’t like the treacherous words of the furry girl, she might not be worth anything to him but he didn’t want anybody helping the duke out and made sure to teach the girl a lesson. He drew his blade.

Ki moved to her blade much quicker, even though she has to stand up in the process. Her blade came out and sliced right through the edge of the table was if it was just a reed and the tip of the Onitachi knocked the thug’s blade away.

“Enough, Can I speak to Pit now?” The nine tails said to the stunned brawler, who pointed at two men, one hiding his face with a bandana. Well that worked out well. Ki was done with the oaf and sauntered to the pair. Normally she would have left as soon as talking to musclehead but she wanted to be a hero again and this tyrant would harm many more people if not brought to justice. And there was the fact that she was broke.

“Well, I don’t think you should get that much into the role of a radical. The bandit mask is a little cliché.” Ki giggled at her joke and smiled to the two. “I’d like to help, but a poor girl like me needs to make a living. So I’ll help if you allow me a large cut of the Duke’s treasury and if you lose, I’ll have to find another employer.” Damn that was smug, though she couldn’t help it after dealing with the ape, better smug than screaming her head off in rage.

[Ingenious]

Kichiro wandered about the island country of Corone on quite a regular basis. He had picked up the nomadic ways from his merchant parents and hadn't lost the habit but instead had amazingly enough taken to it. It kind of aggervated him how much of his parents was in him but there really wasn't much to be done about it. Father like son and other maxims of the similiar type.

This time though he had found him a real winner of a village or what not. This one was ruled over by a tyrant the passed brand new laws daily. What more is he strictly enforced them often leading to pain and suffering and the such. The newest law really took the cake though. Permission was needed from the duke himself to leave. Kichiro wasn't one to fight but a rebellion was seriously needed when a simple traveler couldn't leave a village he didn't live in. Also to add onto the tyrant's long list of horrible things is that he didn't care about that status of the victom. Man, woman, child, elder or anything else. All were treated the same with no sympathy. He decided it was beyond the time for him to act.

He had heard whispers of a rebellion brewing and that the place to be was a nearby tavern. Kichiro decided his best bet would be to head to that tavern and enlist or register or whatever it was that they did. He assumed they wouldn't reject him but he could never be sure whether or not they would do so.

He started heading towards the tavern when Kazuo decided to come out and chirp his opinion of the situation. "This seems to be our only course of action, rather your course of action, but in light of that, remember, it is still quite dangerous" Kazuo said cooly. "I'm not some punk kid, I know what i'm doing and i'm not going to take any big risks and anything that seems risky i'll fall back from and return later" Kichiro retorted. "I'm just telling you for the record, I have to make sure you survive, It'll take me forever to find anyone else worthy to talk to" he said sounding somewhat worried. "Oh, i'm so flattered that you think i'm worried. NOT! You would be lucky if some sort of crazy took you in. I don't even know why I bother to keep you around." Kazuo merely laughed at the statement which Kichiro ignored.

Instead of paying attention to the 'parrot', Kichiro decided to take in the beauty of the country side. Rolling hills of green seem to litter the ground about the town with farmers here and there tending to their farms. Luckily for him the sun was out of his face and not blinding him although it really wouldn't at this time of day. The sun seemed to be setting behind the foothills that rested to the west of him. It was quite beautiful because it seemed to paint several colours across the sky but he didn't want to focus on that. The cool crisp grass crunched under his every step which was somewhat annoying since he could hear it. Only a few yards in front of him stood the rundown looking tavern that held a sign swinging on an overhold. It seemed to have the wording rubbed off of it.

He made it to the tavern in another minute or two. He pushed the door open gently revealing himself to those inside. He stood in the portal for a second allowing for those there to take in his appearance and so he could look over the lot of them standing inside. He was making a cliche storybook entrance. He had his jetblack cloth trenchcoat closed mostly only revealing his black slacks and the leather boots from under his pants. His hands rested gently and limply at his side as though they were dead. His long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and he wore a black wide brimmed hat with a single blue feather sticking out of it seeming to never end. His hazel eyes were shadowed by the fact that the light of the sun was brimming behind him. On his shoulder sat the sillhouete of a ferret.

After a few moments of scanning the room he found the notable people quickly. There was some person with a bandana covering his face talking to some cat like girl. The cat girl seemed rather innocent, but if she was like any normal cat, she was self serving and helped others to help herself. He ignored the fact that the two people seemed shadowy enough and walked right up to the both and politely removed his hat with his right hand and held it over his chest and bowed before the two extending his empty left arm out. He smiled and looked up at the two from the bowing position before standing back up again and returning his odd hat back to his head.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kichiro. It seems to me a lot of us share a common problem, The duke. It seems like you are the kind of people who are going to take action soon. So simply allow me to assist you in your mission as you see fit."

[streak101]

“Well, I don’t think you should get that much into the role of a radical. The bandit mask is a little cliché. I’d like to help, but a poor girl like me needs to make a living. So I’ll help if you allow me a large cut of the Duke’s treasury and if you lose, I’ll have to find another employer.”

Banda stared at the person standing before him, A cat girl? Nah, something's different...And what does she mean by bandit? This is the best disguise I could come up with! Before Pit could speak Banda stopped him, "I'll take care of this," he put on a serious face, the kind you would see on a war veteran.

"Are you sure you could handle this? Someone asking for a huge cut of the treasure should be worth just as much. Here's the deal, you prove to me that your worth the loot, maybe while we seize the place, and then we can negotiate something make it quick." Come on! Come on! Banda didn't need to turn around to know that law enforcements were here looking for Pit.

As if things couldn't get worse another man came up to Banda which created more attention. Aw man...I better think quick The man was first to speak, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kichiro. It seems to me a lot of us share a common problem, The duke. It seems like you are the kind of people who are going to take action soon. So simply allow me to assist you in your mission as you see fit."

Banda could tell the authorities were looking at the four of them and sooner or later they'd recognize Pit, "Alright, you want to earn the treasure? Take him with you and take out the two guards behind me, and then we'll see if your worth it." Banda grabbed Pit by the arm, "Let's go somewhere else before those two lug heads notice your-" Banda glanced behind him the two 'lug heads' were now walking their way, "Run!"

[Reiko]

Ki’s tails writhed like a nest of angry serpents as she listened to the ‘bandit’s’ speech on the nine tails to prove her worth. These kinds of words usually meant they didn’t trust her or they couldn’t be trust and probably both. After the battle, they could easily say how she didn’t prove her worth and just leave Doji out to dry. This left the ronin not too happy.

But then the new face arrived, also a samurai by the way he carried the katana, properly unlike the usual adventurers that just bought the weapon because they heard how good the blades were. Also his introduction was something that Ki liked and she found herself rather embarrassed that she didn’t do the same with such politeness. “Well met, I’m Doji Ki.” The vixen bowed to the fellow samurai and she smiled.

But the kid in the mask was being really jumpy and started to lead the rebel leader away while saying that she and the newcomer had to take care of the lawmen coming after them. Ki sighed as she saw the men in blue and white uniform with shining steel breastplates, if the kid didn’t panic then everything might be ok but now the guards were interested and started after the pair that bolted.

“I guess it’s up to you and me, Kichiro.” Doji said as she nodded to the other samurai companion. “I’ll take this one and you take that one.” The vixen pointed to each of the guards as she spoke and then jumped onto a table and ran across each one to close the distance then tackled the guard to the flow, knocking the wind out of her and the lawman’s lungs. After recovering from the impact, Doji tried to pin the guard but to no avail and was thrown off by the more powerful human. The guard was up at the same time as Doji with his saber out while Ki had Onitachi out, ready to meet it.

The guard came on strong as he lunged a thrust to pierce Ki’s heart but the vixen stepped aside and swiped with the katana, sure it was over because of the failed lunge. But the guard made a wise move and moved to collide with the fox ronin. “You know we torture people to death for treason.” He whispered into Ki’s ear as he pulled the girl tight. “And I’ll so enjoy your punishment.”

Ki flushed as she felt the tight bear hug of the guard. How could such a sadist become a uniform officer? Then there was the fact that if she didn’t get away that horrid fate that the guard predicted would come true. But damn he was a strong guy, stronger than the fox girl. But Ki had one idea, to bite and bite hard on the exposed neck. The officer yelled out and slackened his grip just enough for Ki to slip out and jump away, sending a ball of foxfire to burn the face. Yet the man was still up and the fire did not blind the man like Ki hoped. Well Doji wasn’t down yet and the vixen jumped onto a table, landed on all fours and sheathed her demon before she stuck her tails up at the man in a taunt while turning her head to stick her tongue out. “Only if you can catch me!” The vixen giggled despite the close call earlier.

The guard came on and tried to grab the girl but Ki jumped to another table and the guard came again but Ki simply leapt again, thanks to her connection with the void the acrobatics were fairly easier and then the soldier tried to skewer the iterating furry girl as she jumped again. Then when the soldier charged for the last time, Ki lashed out with the Onitachi in iaijutsu to kill the guard.

“Well I think they’ll have to pay us plenty now, eh Kichiro?” Ki smiled and looked to see how the other samurai fared.

[Ingenious]

The masked kid had welcomed him to the group but decided that they should be off before they draw attention to themselves. It was too late to escape the unwanted attention though, for a small group of guards were heading their way. All of them had smug looks on their faces announcing their confidence in being able to capture them without error. They thought that their shiny plates would make a difference in the battle but Kichiro would show them better. He gave them a smile fueled by the thought of removing that smug look from their faces. He hoped that removing the smug look from their face didn't mean killing them but he wasn't too sure if he was going to be able to manage it.


“I guess it’s up to you and me, Kichiro.” Doji said as she nodded to the other samurai companion. “I’ll take this one and you take that one.”

His smile didn't lesson any. Smiting one of the guards pride and showing him a lesson in humility was more than enough to keep his spirits light. The guard seemed to have a similiar vision in his mind for he charged forward with murderous intent. The guard was preceded by his spear of course but that mattered little to Kichiro. The thrust was quite simple in nature and in a flash of an instant Kichiro's sword now stood between him and the guard, and the spearhead took a break on the floor. He noticed that the guard was somewhat sweating now, uneasy because of his predicament, especially because of the wide grin Kichiro wore it seemed.

The lack of a spearhead had only deterred the guard for a moment for he was already dropping the remainder of his severed weapon and drawing a dingy longsword. Kichiro would be more than obliged to lock blades with some country bumpkin guard. They rush towards each other and blades collided, or would have if Kichiro didn't duck aside the swing. He had originally planned to lock blades but at the last moment remembered that his blade could chip if he locked blades, something that he didn't want. He replied to the swing in kind though but because of his awkward position it failed to slice flesh. As his failed swung continued it started making him fall but he recovered by turning it into a roll.

He saw this as an oppurtunity to strike and cripple the guard but it wasn't his day. As soon as his blade went towards the joint under the kneecap, it was met by the guard's dingy blade but he did have some luck. He was able to move his blade just right to make a small cut on the joint anyway. He was happy for his luck but the fight was still to be won. The now angered guard lumbered towards him but at a strained pace though due to the wound he had just suffered. This would be over in a matter of minutes as long as he didn't make any mistakes. His grin returned to his face knowing that he was winning the match at this point.

The guard's sword lunged towards him, aiming for somewhere near his heart but the swing was clumsy. Kichiro took advantage of the clumsiness and brought his sword down the outside of his arm creating a gash on the guard's arm. The blood started to drip out of the wound but the soldier seemed to ignore the wound except for the fact that the guard's grip seemed to loosen due to the gash. The guard still held the dingy sword tightly though and tried for retribution. This time the swing was set to cut Kichiro's head down a few inches. He hadn't expected the sudden attack and would have been killed had the guard's arm not given out Instead of getting a trim he recieved only a minor gash on his arm. The swing seemed to have lost it's potency in the fall and Kichiro was thankful for that.

The guard paused a moment seemingly because of the pain and Kichiro wasn't going to let the oppurtunity go to waste. Whatever the reason of hesitation, it now cost the guard the fight. He brough his blade up quickly and made a deep gash starting from the armpit going all the way out of the top of the guard's shoulder. Blood oozed out of the major gash. The longsword rang out at as it hit the ground and there it rested in front of the guard who was now on his knees, holding his shoulder. Kichiro stood over him looking down on him with disdain and contempt. He shook his head and wondered whether to let him live or leave him to the others. The one decision he did make was that he wasn't going to kill this man for following orders from a cruel lord. Orders most likely followed because of fear.

Kichiro turned to Ki. "What should we do with him?"