Kitsune sorted. "Or if a certain boy had actually woken up on time for once."
Tarou smiled as he watched the children tease each other as the three of them walked along the road. Well, not 'children' as they had grown past that point, but he tended to think of them that way anyway. Still, it was good to be able to see them act as what they should have been, two happy individuals who could needle each other, and still care about their sibling.
Which was especially good considering that they were heading back to where it had all started. Once there, things might not be so easy going, and they would have some hard times ahead. Plus, it wouldn't be comfortable to travel all that way being uncomfortable with each others' prescense.
But as they reached a dip in the road, men came out of the bushes and surrounded the trio. They watched as ten thugs in rough clothing surrounded them. Each bore some sort of weapon, all crude, but well cared for and with the stance of one used to using them.
"What's going on here?" Tarou asked.
"We're just country folk, here looking to collect a toll," one of the bandits told him.
"A 'toll'?"
"Yeah. A toll, and if'n you know what's good for you, you'll give us all you got."
"Though I wouldn't mind trying out the girl..," leered another bandit.
"EWWW! No!" went Kitsune.
"I don't think so," Tarou told the thieves.
"Then we'll just have to take it," the bandit 'spokesman' replied.
"Not a chance. Aoshi. Kitsune."
"Yes Sensei?" asked Aoshi.
"Deal with them."
"Really?" asked Kitsune.
Their Master nodded.
"Hah!" laughed the bandit that had leered at the girl earlier, "I'll get you girl and sample the mechandise!"
He charged at her low so that she could not manage to get him with her arms. But she didn't go that way and jumped to land gracefully behind him. Once she did, he froze in shock, giving her plenty of time to raise a leg up and hook it around his head. Using the shapely limb, she pulled him to the ground just in time to slam a punch into the gut of another bandit that had come to aid him. Punching the first one into unconsciousness, she got up and sent a kick into the jaw of the second that sent him sprawling to the ground.
At the same time, her brother was busy. One of the bandits tried to stab Aoshi with a knife, but found the wide strike blocked and returned by a hard jab to the chest. A kick to another bandit staggered him long enough to be kicked in the head. Then the first got his opponent's fists slammed into his temples, and went out like a light. The third to attack him with multiple quick strikes, but they were all dodged, and two punches to the jaw and a kick later, and he was out.
Kitsune was trading blows with another bandit, but each was blocking the other's. It kept her so busy that she didn't realize that a second one had caught up behind her until he had grabbed her. With the pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders, she was held still with her opponent advancing on her. She let him... and then used the grabber to balance so that she could slam her knees into the chin of the one in front of her. As he went down, she used the momentum to help increase the force of her blow when she slammed the back of her head into the holder's face.
While his sister was getting free from the man who had grabbed her, Aoshi was being attacked by two men working together. He blocked their blows, and then punched each of them in the gut. When the bent over in pain, he rammed his elbows into the backs of their heads.
Which left the spokesman all alone. He stared around wildly, wondering what was going on, until he saw the girl running at him. She leapt into the air, and her knees crashed into his chest, sending him to the ground, with her kneeling on him. A punch to the head later and he was out.
Getting up, Kitsune grinned broadly and put her right hand out with the fingers in a 'V' salute. "Yay! We won!"
"Like we could ever doubt that we would," commented Aoshi.
"Yeah, no bandit is strong enough to beat us!"
Their Sensei just shook his head with a smirk while:
(Posted Wed, 13 Aug 2003 03:07)
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