Leaves fell upon the road as a strong, cold breeze blew against Kenji's face. He rode fast across the path, determined to reach Frostport as quickly as possible. The girl sat angrily in front of him. A week had passed since their departure from Manohara, and they are still in elven territory. This past week wasn't easy with the girl's constant tantrums and attempts to flee from Kenji. It's so bad that he's only had but a few hours of sleep since Manohara, as evident from his heavy breathing and wrinkled eyes.

  Kenji found himself nodding off a bit as he continued to ride past the trees. Suddenly, he felt as if he was about to fall off the horse, but then the horse itself collapsed, sending Kenji and the girl crashing to the ground. Kenji stood up slowly, his face scratched by the cobbled path. He looked over at the girl as she got up.

  Good, at least she's okay.

  Kenji turned his gaze onto the horse, only to spot a trail of blood leading up to its neck where an arrow had found itself notched.

  "Shit."

  Kenji saw two figures approach him – bandits. His gaze immediately focused on their crude swords. He looked past the trees, spotting one holding a drawn shortbow. Though Kenji did note, his aim wasn't steady, as if he was untrained. Kenji noted their defenses – mere fur rags they called armor.

  This'll be easy.

  Kenji drew his blade quickly, blocking one of the bandit's strike. The other bandit took a slash at Kenji's side, but Kenji delivered a quick kick to his groin, causing him to gasp in pain as he fell to his knees. Kenji swiftly swung his katana towards his neck, slicing his head off in an instant. The other bandit took advantage and slammed his sword down on Kenji, but Kenji's shoulderpad seemed to do more damage to the blade itself. Kenji grabbed the bandit and shoved them past him, causing the bandit to catch an arrow in the chest.

  "Ah, fuck, Rindel! Watch your aim!" He shouted, then he began spitting up blood.

  Kenji focused his gaze on the archer as he stabbed his blade into the wounded bandit, killing him. The archer took two steps back as he saw Kenji's gaze piercing into him – more deadly than any arrow he could fire. He turned and ran.

  Kenji turned to check on the girl, hearing her try to scream. He saw another bandit holding her in a headlock. She was kicking furiously whilst trying to scream.

  "Alright, don't make any sudden moves," he threatened.

  "Okay," Kenji laid down his weapon carefully. "Don't do anything rash. If you let her go, I promise to let you run free."

  "Psh, I don't want your mercy. I want your gold."

  "I have no gold."

  "Then that sword there. I want it."

  "I can't allow that."

  "Then it seems we're at an impasse."

  Suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain shot through the bandit's arm, causing him to drop the girl. She ran away as he noticed the knife in his arm. With an angry grunt, he pulled the knife from his arm, and then he noticed the tip of a katana mere inches from his face. He quickly turned to run, but he was slashed across his back, sending him into an agonizing scream. He fell to his knees as he attempted to reach his back with his hand, and then Kenji sliced his head clean off, sending blood shooting from the stump. It steamed as it lied on the ground – a scent of iron filled the air.

  The girl quickly bolted for the knife, but Kenji quickly snatched from the ground and held the hilt up to her face.

  "You see this?!" Kenji said furiously. "This is my knife! MY knife!"

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  Kenji sheathed the knife into his belt. He scooped her up with one arm, holding her by the waist. She, of course, kicked and screamed as they continued through the deciduous forest.

  A week later, Rombart and his convoy had arrived at the manor where Kenji had met the girl. His men got off and searched the house. There was some conflict with some elven soldiers that had already arrived there, but Rombart’s men managed to overpower them with only one casualty. The men stood over the two elves, their hot, fresh corpses feeding the soldiers' thirst for inferior elf blood. Their blood soaked the grass beneath them. The soldiers smiled.

  Rombart approached the manor and entered through the front. There, he saw two dead elven soldiers as well as an elven woman. She had a sword wound in the back, though it was more fresh than the wounds of the dead soldiers.

  "Commander Fugent, sir!" A regalis soldier approaches Rombart.

  "Yes?"

  "There are more corpses upstairs. Another soldier also found a few in the halls."

  "Intriguing. Any children?"

  "No, sir. Just adults."

  "Then it seems our target has already found his way through here. Very well, let's head to the capitol. I must gather forces, and Praestantia has plenty of men to give."

  "Yes, Commander!" The soldier stormed off, readying the carriage for return.

  Meanwhile, another week passed, and Kenji sat across from the girl, skinning a rabbit with his knife. A small fire was set in between them, granting warmth and light in the cold night. The girl sat in a fetal position, shifting uncomfortably as she watched Kenji skin the rabbit.

  I see. She must be one of those elves. Well, if she wants to eat, this'll have to do.

  Kenji began cooking the rabbit as the girl held her legs in her fetal position. Only her eyes were visible as Kenji turned the rabbit's body on a stick he had skewered through it. After it was done, he handed a haunch to the girl, but she she just recoiled, clearly not wanting to take part in the meal. Kenji shrugged and began eating the haunch. He ate in a focused manner as if he didn't seem to enjoy the food, but he didn't seem to not enjoy it. It was like he wouldn't even show joy when having a decent meal.

  The girl got up and walked towards a bush. Kenji couldn't see much past the fire, though he knew elves were somewhat keen in dark settings. She didn't walk far, and when she returned, she had brought some yellow berries from a bush. Kenji immediately got up and pried the berries from her hands as she screamed and fought back. He threw them into the woods and sat back down, continuing to eat his rabbit. He looked at the girl, noticing her pouting in disdain. He sighed and opened his bag, pulling out a couple of apples. He tossed them in front of her. She hesitated, but then her stomach roared for her to take them, and she did. She ate the apples as if she hadn't eaten in weeks, despite having been fed vegetables and bread by Kenji, though it had been a while since their last meal.

  Later that night, Kenji sat and kept watch as usual while the girl slept on the cold, unforgiving ground, the dirt coating her clothes further. Kenji ended up falling asleep himself, thankfully with no consequences, especially since he woke up before the girl just at the break of dawn. It was time to continue

  Later that day, as it began to rain, Kenji and the girl were walking when the girl stopped, turning around. Kenji noticed her instincts.

  She must be hearing something. Her perception paid off last time. We should hide.

  Kenji grabbed her and took her behind a tree and a bush. The girl tried to scream, but Kenji clamped her mouth shut. The rain began to transform into a heavy down pour, though no lightning fell. He heard a carriage approaching them. The girl suddenly went quiet as she realized who they were. It was a Regalis convoy being led by Rombart. Kenji saw him at the front.

  Shit. We need to go.

  Kenji pulled the girl into the woods, which now became dense with trees, and the mud kept grabbing at their feet. She managed to let out a brief scream as she was pulled away.

  Rombart turned to face the trees, then turned to his men.

  "Get in there. Go through those woods. Kill anything larger than a child."

  All ten men hopped off the carriage and ran into the woods, leaving only Rombart and the carriage driver behind.

  Kenji and the girl stayed hidden behind trees. The rustling of trees and whistles of high winds helped deafen their movement. Kenji pulls her behind a thick oak tree as he hears the sound of rustling chainmail. He tries to look through the forest, but a thick layer of mist blinded him under the forest canopy. One hand held onto the wrist of the girl while his other gripped his knife. He turned to her, pressing a finger to his lips. Kenji couldn't tell her intentions as her face looked defiant – eyebrows pressed down between her eyes, and her mouth stayed in a furious frown.

  Kenji attempted to step forward to another tree, but the girl fought against him.

  "Stop," he whispered angrily. "We have to go."

  She stared at him with that same defiant look. They both grunted heavily as they fought each other in different directions. Kenji eventually won, pulling her with him, but this caused him to bump directly into a soldier. Without a second to spare, he instinctively shoved his knife into the soldier's throat, then withdrew it. The noise of the rain masked his gurgles. Kenji turned to face the girl who seemed to have a look in which only an angry "I told you so" could be interpreted.

  Kenji thought for a moment, rubbing his stubble. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, pointed at her, then her ear, then to himself, and then his ear. She hesitated at first but eventually nodded. Kenji and the girl crept through the woods as the girl tugged on Kenji's belt to pull him in the right direction. They came behind a tree, and she pulled hard on him to wait. A soldier searched around the tree a bit, with Kenji and the girl moving just enough to stay on the other side. Eventually, she pushed on Kenji's back to urge him forward. They continued their travel through the woods. As they noticed more soldiers, then suddenly loud shouting erupted behind them.

  "Hey! I found a body! They killed one of us!"

  The girl pushed hard on Kenji, urging him to move quickly as if taking advantage of the distraction. Kenji snuck quickly past the trees till they eventually made it to grassy ground where they could move faster. Kenji turned to the girl, and she nodded. Immediately, Kenji sheathed his knife and scooped her up, dashing through the woods as quickly as possible, the rain blowing hard in his face.

  Eventually, the soldiers returned to Rombart with two holding the one Kenji had killed.

  "Well? Did you find catch him?" Rombart asked.

  "No, sir, I think he got away."

  "Grr... fine. Come. And leave that garbage. Food for the wolves, I'd say."

  The soldiers looked at each other in hesitation at first, but they decided to follow the order and left their comrade to lie on the path as they rode away.

  Rombart sat angrily in deep thought, clearly frustrated.

  Incompetent fools. I know I should have gone after him myself. You can run. You can hide. But know, Kenji, I'll catch. Eventually.