Chapter 3: The Town of Flames
Three Months Later
The sun has just set over the mountains, the stars and moon rising just over the eastern mountains to take its place. Himitsu, Helena, and Leon stay at an inn room in a large town. It's a small room, the floor made of cool cobblestone, the walls made of dark oak wood. Two twin sized beds sit in both back corners of the room, a lone wooden table with a single chair sits against the middle of the left wall. A small lit lamp sits on the middle of the table, filling the room with a dim light. The cool air is refreshing after a long, hot, day. Leon sits in the left bed, Helena in the right one, both with two blankets and pillows.
Himitsu grabs his bag, which is sitting by his iron sword, and pulls out a rolled up map.
"How much longer till we get to Dusho?" Leon whines.
"I'm not sure Leon," Himitsu replies for about the fiftieth time that day as he sits down in the chair, unrolling the map out onto the table. As he studies it carefully, trying to figure out where they are, Leon makes a face at Helena. She grabs one of her pillows and chucks it at Leon.
"Ow!" Leon cries before grabbing one of his pillows and chucking it at Helena.
"Hey!"
They both grab another pillow and are about to throw it at each other.
"Both of you, bed, now," Himitsu says in a deep, aggressive, tone as he gives them both a stern look. They both know from past experience not to try and push him past his limits, especially when its nighttime, so they quickly lower their pillows and slide under the thin blankets. As Himitsu turns back to the table he lets out a tired sigh and rolls up the map, putting it back in his bag.
"I'm gonna go see if I can't get some work for a bit," Himitsu states as he puts a dagger in his belt sheath, "Don't unlock the door for anyone got it?" They both nod in response, "You two better be sound asleep by the time I get back, we're leaving first thing in the morning so you'll need all the sleep you can get," With that Himitsu leaves the room, locking the door before heading off to go do work. Leon and Helena both lay down, facing away from each other and close their eyes in an attempt to fall asleep.
Himitsu walks through the mostly baron town, enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. He heads off to the town's tavern. Upon entering, the smell of booze hits him in the face. The place is lit by several torches mounted to the wall. Four different groups of people sit around the bar. One of them stays in a back corner, cheering on two men having a fist fight.
"Yeah, show him whose boss!"
"Kick his ass!"
"You got this!"
Himitsu heads on over to the loud group of people.
"What's the cost to enter?" Himitsu asks someone. A nearby man with a mug in his hand glances at the boy, then turns to him with a look of amusement.
"Sorry, but we don't allow kids,"
"I'm probably raising more kids than you," Himitsu comments as he grabs a bag of gold from a small pouch on his side, "So, how much do I need to enter?" The man chuckles a bit at his confidence.
"Minimum is five gold," The man holds out a hand. Himitsu hands him ten gold pieces to his surprise, "You'll be in the next fight," He states as he puts the gold on the top of the barrel. Himitsu stands on the other side, watching the two men currently fighting. They're both average size, not scrawny but not really buff either. They look to be in their twenties, and are visibly exhausted with bruises all over their faces and some blood coming from their noses. They exchange punches to the sides and then one of them quickly socks the other in the side of the face. The dude falls to the floor, some people cheering and others crying for him to get up.
He tries to get up, but can't. The other guy raises his hands up in victory.
"Alright, alright, go get yourselves cleaned up," The guy by the barrel states as the two men leave the corner, "You," The man points to a different man whose slightly bulkier than the last two men with long wavy hair, "And you," He points to Himitsu, "You're up," Himitsu takes the sheath and dagger off his belt, placing it on the barrel as he heads into the open area.
"A kid?"
"He's gonna get himself killed,"
"Well, I know who I'm bettin' on"
"Alright everyone, cast your bets," The barrel guy states as Himitsu and the other guy head to opposite sides of the invisible ring. Once bets are made the people form a line going from wall to wall, making up the border of the ring. The man cracks his knuckles as he looks down at Himitsu whose simply standing there, waiting for the man to announce the beginning of the fight.
"All bets are in? Alright then. Let the fight, begin!"
"I won't go easy on you," The man states in a deep voice as he walks towards Himitsu, meeting him in the middle.
"Same here,"
The man throws a sucker punch towards Himitsu, but he steps back, avoiding it. He grabs the guy's wrist with his right hand, pulling on it, catching the man off guard. He then throws his left fist towards the guy, hitting in in the side. Though it's not enough to wind him at all, it certainly catches the man by surprise. The man steps back, Himitsu getting into a defensive stance, holding his arms up at his sides and looking up at the man without a hint of intimidation. The man gets into a similar stance, a focused look in his eyes.
He throws a right hook at Himitsu. Himitsu jumps back to dodge it as the man suddenly throws a left uppercut. Himitsu swings his right arm, his wrist making contact with the man's wrist and pushing it just far enough away so it barely misses his face. The man doesn't stop however, and manages to hit Himitsu in the side of the face with another right hook. Himitsu stumbles to the right a bit, spitting some blood on he ground from a cut in his lip. He quickly dashes at the man, jabbing at his gut with his right fist.
The man blocks it, but doesn't block his left jab. Himitsu then throws a right uppercut, hitting the man square in the jaw, then a left hook to the side, then another right jab to the gut. The man stumbles back, almost falling over. Blood starts to seep from his tongue, which he bit when he got punched in the jaw. He spits out a large gob of blood onto the ground, then wipes his mouth with his sleeve. He glares at Himitsu furiously with a blazing fire in his eyes. He jumps towards Himitsu, throwing a right punch with all his might. Himitsu steps to the side, slamming his elbow down on the man's arm. As the man bends downward, Himitsu socks him in the face, breaking his nose and causing him get knocked back. He takes a few steps backwards before falling to the ground.
Everyone is left speechless as Himitsu stands over the man, catching his breath. The man slowly sits up.
"I, give," He says through winded breath. Most of the people throw their hands up in the air, upset that they lost what they thought would be an easy bet. "I must say, you impressed me, the man says with a smile as he gets up. He holds a hand out.
"Thanks, I had a lot of practice," Himitsu replies as he takes the man's hand, shaking it firmly. Himitsu takes his sheath and dagger, and his earnings, putting the gold into his belt pouch.
"You may be a bit young, but I could use someone like to help with patrolling the town," The man states.
"No thanks," Himitsu replies as he glances over at a board with wanted posters on it. One of the people on the wanted poster has a bounty for being a therian, "I'm just stopping by,"
"Ha!" The man chuckles, "Never thought I'd here that from someone so young. How old are you kid?"
Before Himitsu can answer, the man opens up the door, only to have flames and screaming welcome them outside. The man and Himitsu stand there in shock as they watch people running for their lives as buildings catch aflame. Himitsu quickly takes off for the inn.
"Hey, wait!" The man exclaims. He doesn't have time to chase after him though, and instead runs off in a different direction.
Reaching the inn, Himitsu spots a man with an axe breaking down the door to his room where Leon and Helena are. Himitsu pulls out his dagger. He runs through the doorway and up behind the man, grabbing their left shoulder, and plunging the dagger into their head. The man goes limp, falling forward onto the floor.
"Are you two alright?" He asks as he looks between a terrified Leon and Helena. They both nod, holding the blankets up over most of their faces.
"Alright, come on, we need to get out of here," Himitsu states as he walks over to the table, grabbing his sword and bag. As Leon and Helena scurry for the door, he pulls the dagger out of the man's head. The three of them head out of the inn into the burning town. Between leaving the bar and exiting the inn room, the temperature feels as though its doubled. Heavy clouds of smoke start to form in the sky, blocking out the stars and the moon. Glowing embers float through the air, looking for something that hasn't been engulfed in flames yet.
Everyone appears to be heading to their left. Himitsu turns in that direction, seeing an empty alleyway.
"Come on, stay right behind me," He states as they take off for the alleyway. The other end connects to a street. As they near the other end they hear several footsteps. Himitsu comes to a halt, putting an arm out to stop Leon and Helena. He pushes them to the wall as he presses himself against it. Two ruffians, both with bloody swords, go running by.
"Daddy!" A girl's voice cries out.
"Stay with your mother sweety, I got this!" A man's voice replies. Himitsu steps out of the alley way, seeing the two ruffians heading for man with nothing but a steel lance. It's the guy from the bar.
"Stay here!" Himitsu commands before he goes running out into the street. The two ruffians reach the man, both swinging at him without hesitation. He's able to block one swing, but gets cut in the side by the other. Himitsu grabs his dagger, throwing it at the ruffians. As he continues to run at them, he draws his sword. The dagger stabs into the back of one of the ruffians, making them howl in pain. As the other ruffian turns around, he's met with a sword cutting across his face. Before the other ruffian can react, the man stabs them in the gut with his lance. The two ruffians fall to the ground, dead.
"Thanks," The man says as he holds his side, "I never got your name by the way,"
"Don't mention it. Name's Himitsu by the way, now come on," Himitsu gestures for them to follow.
"My name's Derral, " The man replies as the four of them run back towards the alley way, the street leading out of town into a nearby forest.
"Leon, Helena, come on!" Himitsu shouts as he stops by the alleyway. They both quickly jump out into the street, joining them. The group of six run down the street, the edge of town not too far away. They all come to a halt when a ginormous man in a black shirt steps out from behind a building, a blood-rusted axe in hand. He turns towards them, blocking their way out of town.
Himitsu and the man both ready their weapons. The man lets out a booming laugh.
"I'm gonna enjoy watching your heads go flying!" The man says with glee as he cuts the air around him with his axe. The blade on it looks like the kind of blade on a guillotine. The man charges at them, and swings downward at them. Himitsu and Derral jump away from each other as the blade crashes into the ground,sparks flying off the ground. The man quickly pulls the axe up swinging toward Himitsu. Himitsu ducks, the blade flying over his head, cutting off a small piece of hair. Derral goes to stab the man in the side, but he blocks it.
Himitsu takes the chance to stab his sword into the side of the man. The man quickly swings his axe towards him, forcing Himitsu to pull his sword out and jump back, Himitsu's arm getting deeply cut in the process. The man swings his axe back at Derral, who brings up his lance to block the blow. He's successful, but his lance gets broken in two by the impact, the pieces flying out of his hands. The man raises his axe into the air. Flames shimmer off the blood on the blade. The man stands there, staring down at Derral, then tenses up. Derral runs out of the way as the man falls forward onto the ground, a large gash in the back of his neck. Himitsu stands there, fresh blood dripping off his sword.
Derral sees someone with a bow off in the distance. They aim at Himitsu and fire. The arrow goes flying through the air, stabbing through embers.
"Watch out!" Derral exclaims as he runs in front of Himitsu. Himitsu pushes him backwards before stepping back, the arrow flying between them and going into the forest, where even more ruffians can be seen coming from.
"Dammit, we need to find another-" Derral stops when he turns to see more ruffians behind them too, slaughtering villagers who try to run away. Himitsu walks past Derral towards the people coming from the forest.
"I'm gonna create a diversion," Himitsu states, fighting off the searing pain in his left arm, "Take Leon and Helena with you guys, alright? Keep going north, to Dusho,"
"What? No, I'm not gonna let you-"
"Shut up and get ready!" Himitsu interrupts him, "While I keep them busy, you and your wife grab the kids and run, you got it?!" He asks with a feral look in his eyes. He's not going to let the man talk him out of it. The man glances at Leon and Helena, then at his wife and daughter, all huddled together and looking at them with worried expression.
"...Alright," He walks over to his wife, "Grab our daughter, I'll carry these two," Himitsu charges at the group of ruffians blocking their path.
"Himitsu!" Leon and Helena cry out. They try to run after him, but Derral stops them, picking them up as his wife picks up their daughter.
"I didn't come this far, to be stopped by pieces of shits like you!" Himitsu exclaims furiously as he nears them. One of the ruffians leaves the group, running at him, lance at the ready. Himitsu jumps to the side as they swing at him. He quickly slices them in the side, then swings again, cutting them across the neck. As they fall to the ground, two more ruffians come charging at them. Himitsu goes on the offensive, swinging at the closer one. They block his strike, but he swings again, hitting them in the side. The other ruffian slices him in the back. He stumbles forward, before turning around and retaliating. The other ruffians start forming around him.
Derral and his wife take the chance, running past the ruffians and into the forest.
"Himitsu!" Leon and Helena cry out as their tears fly through the air. As they're carried away, Himtsu quickly disappears behind the wall of people, and then they disappear behind all the trees, and soon, the town is out of sight.
Himitsu kills the two ruffians, another cut on his right arm, his shirt is becoming soaked in blood. He struggles to stay on his own two feet, but refuses to fall. He grips his sword shakily, ready to take on the next guy. The sound of clapping can be heard.
"My, my," A calm voice states. There's a break in the wall of men as a slender man in a cape and a tight fitting purple shirt, parts of it made of a see-through mesh material, walks up to Himitsu, "I must say, you've, really, impressed me," Himitsu glares at the man, his sword still held up high, "Now, now, I'm not your enemy," The man presses down on the sword, making it go down with ease, Himitsu too weak to put up a fight. As the man smiles at him with a wicked smile, he can feel something starting to ignite deep within. The man holds a hand out towards Himitsu, glowing green light flowing out from his palm and slowly enveloping his wounds, healing them. The feeling inside Himitsu goes away.
"Now, normally, we don't leave any survivors, but maybe this one time, we'll make an exception, if you come with me, willingly that is," The man threatens calmly. His cocky smile makes Himitsu sick.
"Alright," Himitsu responds.
"Great!: The man says gleefully. He walks up to Himitsu's side, placing a hand on Himitsu's back and ushering him forward to walk alongside him, "You'll be perfect for what me and Getron have been planning," He says as the two of them walk back into the burning town, the others all following.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
TIWHimitsu
TIWHimitsu Hey everyone, the author here! Hope you're all enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it! Don't be afraid to tell me what you think, good or bad so I can improve as this story continues to unfold. :) If you like this story and maybe wanna help me out you could toss some power stones onto this book? If not, feel free to read any of my other stories, including the main one that this is a side-story for, which is The Infinite War, though I will be making changes to that one in the far future.
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