Securing the sash across his waist to snug tight his clothes, a personal servant moved to his side to help and tuck a few parts he had forgotten. Manu made a note of how cute a face his personal assistant made, she was definitely shooting him a message to not forget next time. He reached out for and picked up his bags from the corner of his desk. The task of reviewing the morning requests and attending the early village meetings had finally ended. A break was in order, so he decided to set out to roam around the village.
Getting to know your people is important if you’re the village chief, and Manu wasn’t going to slack on that. Giving his personal servant a nod, she returned it with a tacit one of her own. She was such a stoic and upright character, that was part of the reason why he had chosen her to be by his side. He liked how she added a color to his day, and he hoped she liked him.. Though he’d never admit that aloud, not yet that is.
After doling out a few last-minute tasks to her, Manu left his abode and roamed down a few roads to the commercial areas of the village. It was a long walk, incidentally since he took his time to gaze and make small talk, mingling, so to say. On his way he grabbed a couple bites to eat, there was usually something fresh cooking at stalls during this time in the afternoon. He then turned from the bustling central markets, and headed north. It was a short walk, though well, that relative. The Empire’s capital was said to be so massive that it took two days to cross on foot.
As Manu approached the northern village gate, he caught sight of the guards standing at the ready on either side of the wooden pillars that marked the divide between the village premise and the forest. Pretending to be a normal guy, he detoured and walked along the constructed perimeter, which was more a less a high stack of crudely assembled rocks and wooden fencing. Quietly he settled next to one of the guards who had not taken notice of him.
“You want a bite?” Manu held out a wrapped snack, a baked tuber. “I have extra if your friend wants one.”
The guard, having finally noticed Manu, almost jumped in his skin. The compatriot at his side chuckled and snatched the offered snack.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Said the other guard. He bit into the steaming snack and gave Manu a wry smile. “But chief, don’t go scaring the new guy. He’s kind of all wound up since he’s a capital boy.”
Capital boy referred to the uptight and glory hungry soldiers amongst the Kujyurian army, who spent most their days training rather than fighting or toiling in the field. It was a slang term, one that the spooked guard took offense at.
“Oh come on,” The young guard sighed. “I’m not that bad. I just wasn’t expecting a noble to greet me like that.”
“Oh, I’m not a noble,” Manu said, then corrected himself. “Or well, not the typical kind of noble. I’m pretty low in levels of status, mainly because I’m young.”
“I see,” Said the younger guard. “But you’re still in high authority aren’t you. Common courtesy from soldiers like us is a must. I couldn’t..”
“Give it a rest,” The older guard interrupted and set a hand on his naive compatriot’s shoulder. “Manu here isn’t like that. In fact, I think he’s the epitome of what all nobles should be.” He scoffed, as if remembering a foul event. “Those other arrogant bastards in the main capital are a handful, I’d prefer being here rather than being anywhere near those wastes of air.”
The younger guard sighed, a sign of his silent, helpless agreement. Manu stifled a chuckle as he had read about the ongoing issues of the latest rumors about the current court nobles. Arrogance was on the rise, and so was pompous ignorance. There had been recent incidents of those who flaunted their power and got into trouble, but then got away with it because they had the coin to back it up.
It was Manu’s understanding that the noble’s use of coin, especially the coin taken as tax, to cover their own wrong doings was, in it of itself, the people paying for the mistakes of useless bastards. He could see the rebellion and smell the civil unrest on the rise, though that was only if the King didn’t act.
It’s going to be a headache down the road. Well, no matter. King Ozen will deal with them in time.
Swallowing another mouth full of his baked tuber, Manu started up a chat with the pair guards. Getting the younger one settled in would do the village some good. An hour passed and their conversation came to an end when a party of soldiers returned along the path stretching to the woods. Manu recalled that it was about time they were coming back as he eyed who in particular was leading the group. After a wave and getting a wave back, he could identify them.
“Manu?” One of them seemed to recognize him. “What in the world are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be wooing that girl you like?”
Manu shook his head and shushed the guy. “Come on Touma, don’t start with this.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Touma asked, a little cheekily. “I’ve known you since our time in the Imperial Capital’s academy. You used to be such a playboy, and now you’re fussing over one girl?”
Manu punched him in the back to try and shut him up. An uproarious laugh from the other soldiers rose and the younger guard was taken aback for a moment, but soon went with the flow as the banter became jolly.
Manu gave each of the returning soldiers a hug, they were all close, like brothers. He had made it a point to remember all of their names since they’d be stationed in his village. He then grinned at Touma. “I’m glad you all made it back, but I’m more impressed that you can all stand being with Touma. If I had to spend a night in the same tent as him, I’d just sleep outside.”
That got a discrete chuckle from a few, who had already been keyed in on the joke.
“So how long were you out there?” Manu asked, already changing the subject so that Touma had no comeback for that notable snore of his.
Touma rubbed his side, nursing a somewhat sore lower back and light blush. “Ahem! Was about two and half days.. I think.”
“Sounds rough.”
“Not really, the camping is easy, but the monsters are killer, literally.” Touma shook his head, there was a hint of shock, something must’ve happened if he was this shaken. “We got lucky since we have a lot of experience on the team.”
“So any luck locating the source of these new monster attacks?” Manu asked. “There shouldn’t have been any gengiri hives or habitats where you were sent.”
“No, but something is bringing them closer to the village. And there seems to be some pattern to this. So far, I think our new issue is coming from the nearby mountains.”
Manu thought about that. The mountains were the gengiri’s preferred choice of living environment, so new hives might have sprung up. He gestured for the party of soldiers to follow as the talk went on.
The recent peculiarity of monster sightings had increased ever since King Ozen’s last visit. The King’s initial visit had begun the investigation, though no solution was found, he had sent aid and established a direct line of communications through Lady Shizu. So now the issue stood concerning the packs of gengiri that had taken hold of the denser regions of the surrounding forests. The danger they present was that they would strain the flow of travelers and caravans, so clearing them up was of a high priority.
Hearing the tally from Touma, which was quite a number, Manu was sure that this recent monster culling would do some good and prevented a swarm from attacking the village. As they walked deeper into town, the soldiers peeled off, either to enjoy a drink and a meal or see their families.
How very wordlessly they departed was a show of how flexible Manu could be with them in his role as a village chief. There was no rigid code of command or operation. There was only camaraderie and unity. The starting color of sunset had Manu feeling that it was about the time for a drink himself. Before he could make an offer to Touma, a commotion got their attention.
“Do you hear that?” Touma asked.
Manu listened and heard that a notable clamor was abound. “Hmm? Let’s check it out.”
“What?” Touma asked. “You think it's trouble?”
Manu shrugged. “Who knows, but I can’t be too careful.”
Following along, Touma tailed behind Manu until they reached the outskirts of the merchant district. A stout man was standing guard at a shut gate with a few fellows. Touma and Manu recognized him to be the blacksmith, Ben.
“Ben? Why are you out here? And what’s that sound?” Manu asked as he tried to hear the noise behind the gate. “Sounds like business is good, but shouldn’t you be open?”
Ben, needing a second to sigh, spoke. “Oh, well. Business is going good. But there’s just a snag we ran into today though. But there's nothing to worry about boyo.”
A thud sounded. It wasn’t loud to cause concern, except it was noticeable if someone paid close attention and got curious. Manu did, and he didn’t like the foreboding it caused.
“It doesn't seem like it,” He said. “Is there a fight going on between your workers?”
“Nothing like that. There is a fight, but..” Ben paused, as if unable to put what he wanted to say into words. “It’s complicated.”
“Then do you mind if I have a look? I know it’s not my business to stick my nose in everything, but it’s what I do. I only want to make sure no one gets hurt.”
“I.. suppose you can.” Ben reluctantly said. He pulled open the gate. “Just please try to understand our position.”
Now that was interesting, or it would be if the foreboding Manu felt didn’t increase. Passing the gate, as Ben closed it behind them, they were greeted by a shouting mob of spectators. The familiar clang of weapons sung in the air. So it was a duel, a spectacle. Manu had seen a few fights before, except he wasn’t expecting one to be going on here today.
It was rare that the blacksmiths of this workshop got into duels, usually things like this were only warranted by nobles or very scrappy sorts. Manu walked alongside Touma as they surveyed the situation, getting a brief glimpse of the two duking it out, except the crowd made it difficult to get a clear look. Touma on the other hand seemed to be studying the air, as if something was in it.
“What in the world has your attention?” Manu asked.
Touma narrowed his eyes, there was a brief flicker of light that passed over them. “I’m sensing magic energies in the air.. A lot more than usual.” He gazed over to where the shouting crowd was and made for an empty spot where he could squeeze in.
“Hey, wait up,” Manu, finally able to get a spot, froze when he finally recognized who the two brawling fighters were, he groaned. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Chief?” Another familiar voice called out to him, it was Bail, who trotted up to him. “Chief, what are you doing here? I thought I told Ben to not let people in today.”
“I have a better question.” Manu rounded on Bail, putting on his strict act to get some answers. “Why in the hell are Lady Shizu and her apprentice brawling? And in the middle of your workshop no less. You know how much commotion she makes, right? What if someone gets hurt?”
Bail, as clever as he was, couldn’t lie through this. “I-I’m sorry my lord, but Lady Shizu told me to not ask questions. This seems to be a personal matter of hers.”
That was making some sense. Manu didn’t like it, but that was no fault of Bail’s or Ben’s. No.. it was Lady Shizu’s. He’d question her about this later and he’d be sure to inform King Ozen of her antics. Be as it may that Shizu usually gets away with her schemes, there would be a point when the pot would boil over.
Manu heaved a sigh and let his expression slacken back into a small smile. “I see, well there is no helping it. You were only obeying a noble, as would any citizen. In any case, has there been any damage? Any issue?”
Bail wearily shook his head and turned to continue watching the duel. “No.. but the attention might not be good. I foresaw that this might escalate so I had Ben moderate on who comes in. Right now, only my workers will be seeing this and they’re somewhat used to the little Missy's trouble.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Manu knew that maintaining an image was part of being a noble, and causing a commotion in the village was not going to bode well for Shizu. Gossip would abound and the words slipped or the actions misinterpreted here could spiral into life-changing events. He wondered if Shizu had thought her actions through, on deeper contemplation perhaps she did.
Both Ben and Bail were well trusted confidants of the village, Manu himself thought so as well, so maybe that’s why she had done this here. But really, one can’t be too careful. To help with the situation he stayed to watch. If anything went awry then he could act on it.
“So long how has this bout lasted?” he asked. “By the looks of it, that boy Azi is going to get knocked out when Shizu gets serious.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Bail frowned up at him. “Mind my wording Chief, but are you daff? Look closer.”
Manu was for a second taken off guard by Bail’s reprimanding tone, but he did as Bail said. Watching closely, his eyes went to the kid. Azi was rushing forward in a single-minded charge. Then Shizu’s mace came up and Manu knew what was coming. A blow slammed straight into the side of the kid's head. Manu flinched and expected to see him crumble to the floor.
“Huh?”
He was struck dumbfounded all of a sudden. Azi was blocking the mace, except not with a weapon, but with his bare arm. He held both of his bandaged forearms up at the sides of his head as if they were shields and they somehow weren’t breaking. His bones should’ve been pulverized by how big of a swung Shizu threw. Azi then stepped into closer range and swiftly jabbed out a punch with his left. Fast as it was, Shizu was faster and leaned out of the way to return a counterstrike. The returning blow caught Azi in the chest and he was sent sliding back as snow sprayed up, yet he didn’t fall.
“You think she's holding back now?” Bail asked sarcastically. “Because I don’t think so.”
Manu nodded. “So how long?”
“About an hour by now. It’s impressive that the kid has so much stamina,” Bail let out a laugh. “He really does want to be Lady Shizu’s apprentice, talk about crazy.”
Manu agreed, although he somewhat understood why Shizu had made Azi her apprentice. She only chose those worthy of her if she thought they stood a chance. It was unprecedented that she had given the kid the title of apprentice so prematurely. Something must have happened in the past weeks.
And now she was testing him, Manu had no doubt about that. So, if Azi could actually match her in this fight, then he’d be the first to cross a boundary many men had never been able to reach, and Manu was starting to believe what Ozen had said to him concerning Azi.
This boy was more than he seemed.
A sudden loud thud rang in the air as metal met fist in surprising equivalence. Azi let loose punch after punch and Manu could feel a massive momentum behind each one. Azi was repelled, flinching at the recoiling of Shizu’s strength. He then jumped up to come closing from above, his fist clenched so hard that his veins bulged. Shizu sidestepped to evade, getting some distance. Azi’s fist buried itself deep into the frozen earth, cracking the frozen top layer as if it were brittle chalk. A burst of flames erupted from the crack, softening the dirt as he pulled his arm back.
“Now that is impressive.” Touma was gawking in excited adulation, the corners of his lips turned up so sharply as the whites of his teeth shined. “I wonder how he’s gotten so quick at controlling that.”
Manu knew all too well the face he was making, this was how he’d get when thaumaturgy was involved.
“Touma?” Manu asked. “What exactly are you referring to?”
While not even looking, Touma explained, “A while ago I gave Azi a reading about his thaumaturgic potential. He tested pretty well, but his magic energy.. It's.. unique.”
“How so?”
“For starters he has a lot of it, and he’s somehow gotten down how to use physical enhancement.” Touma gave a wistful whistle as Azi again broke the frozen ground with ease using just his fists. “Talk about power, this is some advanced stuff.”
Manu turned and studied Azi’s movement. There was a simplicity to his style of fighting yet the deftness and form of his stance seemed like he had practiced this in his youth. Manu had never seen such a fighting style like this one, it was foreign. No one would think to fight with their bare hands, especially if they were up against a sword or blade. He had heard that a certain skilled clan in the north were deft in all martial abilities, except that they needed years of time to develop the needed skill.
So just how long have you trained to fight? Are you really not a spy, Azi? Or are you? Just who are you?
***
As soon as Azi was readied in his fighting, the duel felt as if it had started anew. Shizu was aghast when he came at her with only his fists. That was until she noticed the faint light blue glow coming off of his knuckles. It was hard to tell, but it told her everything she needed to know, thaumaturgy was at play. Swift like the wind, Azi had closed the distance between them in seconds.
He had infused so much magical energy into his arms and legs, that each step left deep prints in the snowy ground. Evidently his style of attack was still too straight forward and she evaded with ease. She noticed that when he moved, his face contorted in slight pangs of pain, but Azi was soldiering on and struck out with a flurry of punches.
Not to be easily caught, Shizu weaved between them and felt the fighting intent behind them. Now this was more like it. To test, she exchanged a respective blow with her mace and was stopped dead as Azi caught it on his forearm. Shizu kicked him away and he got up.
She laughed, “That’s the spirit my apprentice, now come.. Fight me!”
The back and forth went on and on. Shizu felt her heart race. Azi could do it; he could be her apprentice, he could be a knight she would be proud to stand with. With a mind like his and strength like this, he could go so far. He was strong, so very strong.
Having had enough time to gauge him, Shizu decidedly chose to push the limit. Brandishing the katana in her other hand for the first time in this duel, she struck him with no intent to hold back. Azi made a face of pure exasperation, then cracked a smile as he threw out a punch to meet her in the middle. Instead of him being sliced in twain, Azi’s fist resounded with the sound of metallic screeching as if metal on metal had violently clashed. In the moments Shizu had to study what had happened, she saw that her blade had met a hard invisible barrier just on the surface of his fist.
The onlookers were gawking at the sight of the battle as the exchange of quick and heavy blows continued between them. A swelling feeling grew in Shizu’s chest, and it threatened to burst. She wasn’t holding back and yet Azi was still standing. Only men like her brother, older generals of the army, her father, or skilled mercenaries could hope to last this long. Most would fall to her in minutes, yet Azi held his ground.
Spectacular didn’t even come close to describing this. How could she?
He’s completely blocking my katana with his bare fists. Incredible.
“Eat this!” Azi shouted as he threw out a knife hand strike.
Shizu answered in kind and the two locked blades briefly. The sound of screeching metal rang out again. This wasn’t it though. Azi was slowly cutting through the refined steel of her blade. He grunted in exertion and Shizu backstepped in time to evade as he followed through. She then took a moment to look at her sword and noticed that the tip portion of her weapon was cleanly sliced away.
Azi held the severed blade tip between two of his fingers and rushed forward. Shizu lowered into a defensive stance and in response he threw the blade’s tip towards her. Reacting quickly, she deflected the thrown projectile with a swing of her iron club. Azi used the moments she was occupied to land a punch to her side.
***
Impact. Azi was sure he got a clean hit in. Something was wrong though. Azi quickly backed away in confusion as he thought that his attack should have at least pushed her back a bit. It hadn’t, he spotted a slight orange-red glow protecting where he had struck.
He should’ve guessed Shizu could do that too. Physical enhancement was the first thing he learned from Touma, so that meant Shizu could too. With her years of experience as a soldier, Shizu had predicted him and braced.
But I can’t give up. I need to win. I want to win. I’m not like who I was before, I can do this.. I can!
Shaking himself to focus, Azi again rushed forward to make another attempt at Shizu. Using whatever he could think of to slip in just a single successful strike, he trial-n-errored his way to find a gap he could exploit. Shizu’s skill was showing itself to be insistently impossible to overcome. Even using the boxing he recalled, Shizu was coming up with ways to counter. She made use of her weapons range and was keeping him at a distance. Whenever Azi tried to close in, she’d know how to time it, so he was caught at a disadvantage in range.
Arguably this was the best Azi could do. The motions and what he knew of boxing were still coming back to him. They were familiar motions, but foreign nonetheless. It was like trying to trace words, except these were actions, so there was a layer of complexity that hadn’t been there before. The hands moved, except every muscle needed to act a certain way.
As the fight continued, the apparent increasing signs of exhaustion showed themselves. As Azi flew back after blocking another one of Shizu’s devastating mace swings, they both faltered to keep their stances up. Azi was the first to fall to his knees, pain flaring as every muscle strained with soreness and fatigue.
No. He huffed. Not yet. Just a little more.
He had been warned by Touma that physical enhancement had its drawbacks, notably the drain it had on the user’s stamina. The thaumaturgic technique could also cause fevers due to how vigorously it kicked up his body and he’d been overworking himself for what felt like so long.
The heat of his very core chipped away at him. Azi heaved as he undid the straps holding his shirt to his waist. Unsleeving himself, he shed his top and then reached for the cumbersome bandages on his forearms. After ripping them off he plunged his arms deep into the snow to cool himself. Concentrating, he did what Touma had taught him, to circulate his body's magic energies. In doing so, he’d replenish his stamina slowly and, if he was doing this right, strengthen every part of himself.
Wisps of steam billowed as he groaned against the pain of his muscles. He shunted the bothersome pangs away. He’d taken worse before, though he couldn’t remember where from. The pain lifted and he got to his feet. Breathing deeply as he crouched low to spread his legs to take up a fighting stance.
Not clasping his hands into fist this time, he held his palms facing upwards. Again, he channeled his magic energy throughout his body and concentrated. Shizu, keeping her distance, saw vein-like lines of a brighter blue light spread across Azi’s forearms and across his chest. Her eyes went wide, and she grew defensive.
Azi smirked. “Tired?” He mocked. “I’m not.”
Shizu only snorted as she readied her iron club.
So, you won’t come to me. Azi noted that and decided his next move. The color of the vein-like lines on his arms changed to red. With it, a small match sized flame appeared in each of his palms.
Shizu’s eyes narrowed, probably deducing what Azi had in store. He knew she wouldn’t let him get the chance. He was going to absorb the flames like he did before when he had met Touma and give his next punches more power. Shizu leapt into a sprint, her eyes focusing on the flames in his hands.
Perfect.
Meanwhile, Azi’s eyes followed her iron club as she approached. An indiscernible grin formed on his lips as she had fallen for his feint. Instead of gripping the flames to reabsorb them, he crossed his arms above his head as soon as Shizu struck down with her iron club. Timing it just when the strike was about to make contact, Azi gripped both his hands into fists and absorbed the small flames he conjured back inside of him.
A booming thud reverberating the air as Shizu’s club was pressed back by a woosh of flames that expelled from Azi’s guard. A loud bang and then crack resounded as the club shattered, spraying into pieces. Shizu flinched, gritting her teeth as her senses were rocked by the shockwave traveling through her.
Azi seized the chance and bent into a crouch to tackle Shizu in the stomach. Shizu fell on her back and was greeted by the sight of Azi taking a swing at her from above. Azi was inches from winning. Just a little more, and I’ll.. But then his neck felt cold and he stopped. A presence of steel pressed dangerously to the back of his neck.
"STOP!” Shouted Bail. “MATCH OVER. WINNER! SHIZU!”
There was no applause, Azi hadn’t thought he’d get any. This was the foregone result they had all been expecting. As best as he gave it, he still failed at the last step. Only a few millimeters separated his fist from Shizu's face, if he was a second faster he would have been able to land a single solid hit on her and might have knocked her out and won. He would’ve proved to himself that he could be her apprentice.. But it was not to be.
Seconds passed as Shizu and Azi looked at each other, pausing in this moment. Azi found how hard he was panting and how sweaty Shizu’s face was. It seems he had given her a good fight at least; he took comfort in that since it was better than before. They then withdrew their respective armaments away from each other. The then realized that he was straddling Shizu.
Noticing how compromising this was, he made to stand. Only, the ground under his foot was unsteady. A patch of earth was loose, and he slipped. Face first he thumped softly as he kissed the ground. Shizu went red and writhed a bit under him. This was beyond embarrassing, shameless even, for both of them.
"Hey, can you get up?” Shizu hissed. “I can't really move if you are on top of me, and don’t do this in public.”
A groan was all Azi could manage. "I ... can't move. So.. tired.. So.. hungry..”
Then silence. Shizu, worrying that he might have hit his head too hard, sat up and was about to call for someone. A snore reached her ears and she understood he was just asleep. Pouting, she wanted to smack him awake. Deciding not too since this was somewhat her fault, she let him rest. I guess I pushed you too hard today, sorry. She patted his head, a little delighted with how goofy and cute he seemed all asleep and unassuming.
Letting out a breath, Shizu carried him as she got up. And just as she had seen before, Azi reflexively hugged whoever was holding him as if it were natural. All Shizu could do was chuckle, Azi really was like a puppy begging for attention.
"I guess I am the pillow now.” She muttered. Seeing that Ben and Bail were coming over, she gave Azi one last discreetly pat on the back, then turned to face them, “Thanks again for today you two,” She said. “Sorry about bringing your workshop into my business.”
"Nah, it’s fine.” Ben said as he glanced at the state Azi was in. “The young lads got quite the talent, though make sure you give him a rest from time to time?"
Shizu nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be careful. He’s the first to ever get that far in a duel with me. So, I’ll treat him with care.”
"He goin to be ok?" Asked Bail. “He took some pretty hard hits.”
“I don’t think so?” Shizu glanced about to see if she had left a scratch on him. There was nothing, besides a little redness on his knuckles. "He should be fine, just a bit of exhaustion on his part. By the way, send me an invoice for the compensation I owe you. I said I’d pay you back, but don’t go overboard.”
Bailed nodded, though his merchant was coming out. “Pleasure doing business. By the way, Village Chief Manu came by since he spotted the commotion. He’ll want to talk to you about this, but not to worry, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
Shizu tried to play this off with a smile, she was not looking forward to explaining this with Manu. This was personal and was on a need to know only. She yawned, then said, "We’ll be heading out now. You two have a good.. huh? Night?"
The sight of the night sky caught her off. To her, the duel with Azi had felt short and the sun had been out the last time she checked. Did I really lose track of time? I must’ve been so excited. She shook her head, embarrassed.
"How long were we fighting?" she asked.
"You only notice now?” Bail said. “You and the boy have been fighting for the past few hours. There were quite a few spectators earlier, but they left when it got dark. Ben here was worried for you both, so we made sure to stay and watch after we locked up the shop and sent most of the workers away.”
Shizu was glad these two were around, and that they’d forget about this incident. She ducked her head as thanks. “I'll drop by sometime in the future with a few stiff drinks next time, think of it as a bonus."
"I look forward to it. By the way, what should we do about the stuff the kid bought?” Bail asked.
“We can hold onto it here.” Ben suggested. “Let’s not burden the lady anymore.”
“Agreed.” Bail nodded. “So, where are you headed now Shizu?
"An inn. It would take too long to get back to Kajima's house and I think I’ll treat him to a good meal. Please let Kajima know that we’ll be out tonight. I'll be on my way then, take care."
After Ben and Bail waved goodbye until Shizu was out of sight, they shuffled back into the workshop. Bail set to work in counting up the coins from today as Ben looked over their stock of items. An awkwardness pervaded the air since the same topic was on their minds. Neither of them seemed to want to speak openly about it and let loose that can of worms.
Ben was the one to start it off, it was no surprise to Bail. He knew that his brother was always the blunt type when it came to speaking his mind.
"That just happened, right?" Ben asked.
"Yes, I saw Ben."
"Let me just make sure, you saw the kid counter and deflect a sword? And with a fist of all things?”
"Yes Ben, I saw it." Bail loudly placed a stack of coins on the table, but Ben seemed to go on.
"And you saw how Shizu looked at the kid, right?”
"Yes! Ben!" Said Bail sharply.
"You sure it was our Shizu?” Ben asked. “She might be an imposter; I’ve never seen her look at a boy like that before.. I know it is strange but I..
"Ben?" Bail asked, interrupting his brother's train of thought.
"Yeah? What’s up?"
Ben’s reply was followed by Bail turning away as he threw a sack of coins into a safe. He then slammed it shut and stormed off.
"Just shut up, I want to get a drink and some sleep."
Ben, watching his brother stomp away, retrieved the liquor he received from Azi and followed him back into their house. "Agreed."
The night went on and the brothers tucked themselves away with some good drinking and food and had to explain to their wives why they had been out for so long. The bright side was that the tongue lashing stopped when they explained.
The next few hours were a haze as they all got black out drunk and complained about the day. The retelling of the events about Shizu and Azi had their wives shaking their heads. Relationships were flick and none were more troublesome than those made with nobles. They went on and on until they fell asleep from the alcohol. All in all, this was a pretty above normal day for them, with only a hint of absurdity thanks in part to Shizu.