Choices

By Peter Muller

Thanks to the power of a Goddess a bracelet is created with the capability to house souls inside it, making the wearer share his body with those in the bracelet. Reiken, Hokuto and John, three men with different ages, different life experiences and different perspectives, share the same body and strive together for their goals. They try to become a leader to the people, to correct a nation that is submerged in chaos where the people are divided by social status and everyone is fighting for their own survival. To become such a leader they are faced with many hard choices, but they learn that there is never only one right path, nor one right answer, there are many different beliefs and many different ways to live. Together they are able to make the choices that none of them could have made on their own. In their journey they have to accept their differences, learn whom to trust and what to sacrifice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peter Muller
• Release date: Nov 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310384141

Peter Muller

It's my dream and mission to create stories that can really entertain, but more than that, give food for deep thought about our lives and our perspectives.I believe that books, movies, games, stories in general, have huge importance in the person that we are capable of being. Stories share a lot people's personalities, they can make you feel things, think about different subjects, and this simple exercise of the brain help us evolve into better and more intelligent people.As such, I hope everyone will enjoy the things I write, and I hope that with everyone's help, I can get increasingly better at delivering stuff that is really worth the time spent reading.

Book preview

Choices

By

Peter Müller

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Peter Müller on Smashwords

ISBN: 9781310384141

Choices

Copyright © 2013 by Peter Müller at Smashwords.com

All rights reserved

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Choices

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Thank you for reading

About the Author

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Chapter 1

The awakening

The great moon bathes the battlefield in its intense light. In this big city built of wood and stone all you can hear is the sound of steel clashing and the screams of men and women fighting. But the battle is almost over. The Duke of Dorohoi has lost, and fled with what remaining forces he had while leaving some behind to stall the enemy. This marks another great victory for the Liberation Army, the end of the war for the Dorohoi territory is getting near.

The self-nominated Liberation Army is composed of strong men and women from the Slatina territory. They are not normal people, they have horns on their heads, shaped like a ram's. They are also slightly stronger and more resilient, and they never get sick. But there is one young warrior fighting for this army who has no horns. He looks like an average young man, with brown hair, blue eyes and a slender body. He doesn't look physically strong but this young warrior is fighting with a skill that nobody else around him can match. He wields a spear with smooth and precise movements, striking down his enemies with ease.

A big man in full armor and with horns noticeably bigger than the others approaches the young warrior. Hokuto, the man calls out to him, it has been a long day, but it'll soon come to an end, he speaks proudly. You have been a great instrument to the Goddess. We are just about to move in to capture the soldiers who were left behind, but you can leave this to us. Go help the others to capture the detached soldiers that are still resisting.

The big man moves away in a different direction followed by a big pack of more horned soldiers. The young warrior named Hokuto takes a different path. He finds a few more enemy soldiers resisting and he swiftly dispatches of them. While Hokuto walks around the streets, he catches a sound that feels awfully familiar. The sound paralyzes him, his cool face changes to one of desperation, his heart starts pounding. It's the sound of men laughing in pleasure... lustful, evil pleasure. He storms inside the house where the sound is coming from. The door was already broken. He moves fast but his steps are unsteady. He goes up a set of stairs and enters a room, finding two men having their way with a very young woman. The young warrior drops to his knees and without knowing the reason, screams as loud as his lungs allow him to. The two men turn in his direction startled by the scream, but before they could grasp the situation, the young warrior lunges towards them, spear in hand, and pierces both of them in rapid succession, leaving them no time to react. The two men fall to the floor in pain, and the young warrior keeps piercing them without pause, alternating between the two, while screaming in anguish. The powerful sound of thunder can be heard in the outside. The young woman, though now released from the men, is horrified from the sight of a young man killing so violently, having blood being spilled at her. The young warrior stops, staring down at the two butchered men, silent. The woman only slightly calms down when she catches a glimpse of the man's face, tears trickling down on it. He notices the woman looking at him with a scared look. He takes a few steps back until he hits the wall. The young warrior is feeling completely confused and disoriented, he feels that something is wrong, out of place. He can't make sense out of this situation, he isn't sure of where he is, who he is or what he was doing. He thinks he is hearing a voice speaking to him, but he can't see where the voice is coming from, and he can't understand what it says. He rushes out of the house to escape, but he doesn't know what he is escaping from. It's raining, hard. A horned soldier approaches the young warrior after having noticed him leaving the house.

Hokuto! Are you ok? Is all the man says, or rather, is all he was able to say. In this situation, the young warrior isn't being able to tell the difference between friend or foe, and before the soldier could even notice it coming, the young warrior delivers a fatal stab in him. He continues walking unsteadily along the street, striking down others that come near him. He doesn't know what he is killing, he just does. But before long, his conscience suddenly blacks out.

***

Reiken

The young warrior is having a dream. In it he is many years younger, just a boy, crouched down in the corner of a room, crying hopelessly, hurt in several places. He hears sounds of men laughing in pleasure and painful screams coming from a young woman. Unable to cope with the situation, he musters what strength he has to get up on his feet and run out without looking back. The pain of abandoning that woman feels greater than the pain of his physical injuries, but he is convinced there was nothing else he could do. Just as he passes by the door, he sees something that feels out of place, a man standing outside, looking directly at him, watching him run. The man is handsome, with a strong built, long blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and the appearance of a thirty year-old, the prime of a man's age. This man has a face that shows pity for the boy. Then the young warrior wakes up with a gasp, feeling confused, his brown eyes opened wide. He puts one hand on his head and shuts his eyes tight, as if to deny the images inside his head. A few seconds later, he drops his hand and his face doesn't show any pain anymore, he is suddenly calm. He opens his eyes slowly, now with a clear blue color. The sun is already up, it has been many hours since that moment of rage in the city. He sees beams of light penetrating between the leaves of a tree he is sleeping on. In this place he can only hear the sounds of birds chirping and the wind blowing. The temperature is cool. It's a peaceful looking morning.

You seem to have gone through a very terrible experience, The young warrior says to himself.

Who is...? A voice is heard from within him.

My name is Hokuto.

What is this? What is happening?

I'm sharing your body with you. You've been 'sleeping' for the last month and I've been conveniently using it during this time. It was quite helpful I might say, being able to use the body without having to deal with its owner.

What are you saying? What is happening? How's this...

Calm down. Try to relax, I'll explain it to you. It's this bracelet, Hokuto lifts his left hand to his eyes, showing an intriguing bracelet on his wrist. The bracelet is what allows my soul to share this body with you. Try to make sense of it all and you'll begin to understand.

Ugh, I feel terrible.

You probably awakened because of a trauma.

The voice stays silent.

You don't seem as startled as I thought you would be, considering there is another person using your body.

The voice doesn't reply again and they both keep silent for some time. Hokuto looks up... a couple of birds are nesting on a branch above him.

It's weird, says the voice from inside.

What is?

Feels... peaceful... here.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It's funny actually, we are just a few minutes away from the city and it feels like a different world. It's like we never stop to appreciate these little things, the morning, the breeze, the trees. It feels like we can just forget about everything else for a moment.

The birds must have a good life. Just living how they want, not having to mind about stealing, murder, torture, or... the voice doesn't continue.

With me you can change things, I'm fighting for a future to our nation that should give peace to the people.

Peace? What peace? How?

I'll explain it to you later, Hokuto jumps off the tree. What is your name?

... it's Reiken.

Nice to meet you, Reiken. I hope we can become friends. You made quite a mess in the city yesterday. I had to bring us outside and sleep here to avoid more problems, you killed a few of my allies.

Reiken doesn't reply.

But that is past already, and considering our situation, there is no point in arguing with you about it. I just hope nobody noticed us, because that would be hard to explain. Anyway, let us return to the city now.

Hokuto starts heading back.

***

Back at the city

It doesn't take long before Hokuto gets back to the city, he hadn't gone far. Most people in it are still indoors and the place is rather calm, but the aftertaste of recent battle is still around, there are plenty of horned soldiers patrolling, organizing things. Hokuto decides to talk about them to Reiken as he walks, keeping his voice low.

Slatina didn't start a war against Dorohoi to gain more territory, power, or something of the sort. We are doing it to save this territory. Salvation was brought to our territory, and we are on a mission to share it with the rest of the nation.

What do you mean? The voice of Reiken is heard from inside his head.

A messenger appeared in Slatina talking about the existence of a goddess that was speaking to her, a powerful being that watches over our world and the people. A being that transcends our existence, and has influence over our souls, after our death.

It sounds ridiculous.

Everyone thought it was ridiculous at first as well... until ridiculous things started to happen, that proved us it was true. The acknowledgment of the Goddess, and the decision to have devotion for her, to follow her teachings, changed the people. The horns you see on the soldiers is proof of this devotion. The horns grow after some time. At first people were frightened by it, thinking the horns were a bad sign, and the messenger was the cause of the transformation, but even after she was locked up, there were still more people learning about the Goddess and changing. And besides growing horns, people would also suddenly become more healthy, slightly stronger, and immune to diseases. Naturally, the people who were sick or wanted to get stronger were the first ones to want to learn about the Goddess and swear their devotion. After her Lady Bleaumenaux decided to change too, it didn't take long for the whole territory to follow.

Who is Bleaumenaux?

Her Lady Bleaumenaux is the duchess of Slatina, strange of you to ask.

Why?

Never mind, I suppose it actually shouldn't be strange to not know her. But continuing what I was talking about, there are also some conditions, rules you could say, that you need to follow to continue having the Goddess' favor. The Goddess teaches us to have compassion for all the people around us, to try leading a peaceful life, respecting others, never killing without justification, never stealing, and never hurting others if it can be prevented. There will be terrible consequence to the ones that don't follow those teachings, it is said you will be punished after you die. But those that lead a life of compassion, showing true devotion to her teachings, will be rewarded. These are words that were passed on to us by the Goddess' messenger. This act of trusting and following the teachings of the Goddess is called religion.

Religion?

Yes.

I still find it difficult to believe in the existence of such being.

Me being here talking to you, bound to your body, thanks to a bracelet, is proof of the Goddess' power.

While Hokuto is walking around talking to Reiken, he notices a horned soldier coming his way.

Captain Hokuto, General Albert was looking for you. He should be at the manor right now.

Thank you for the message, I'll head there right away.

The soldier salutes Hokuto, then returns to where he came from.

Captain? Reiken asks.

Oh, I still didn't introduce myself, my apologies. I'll make sure to do that later.

Hokuto starts heading towards the manor. When he approaches its entrance, a couple of soldiers guarding it step out of his way and give directions to the room where General Albert is. He arrives at the destination and another soldier by the door opens it for him. The man with big horns and another two men are looking at papers on a table inside the room, but they stop when they notice Hokuto getting inside.

Hokuto! I'm glad to see that you're well, your sudden disappearance was starting to concern me, the man says.

Good morning, Albert, Hokuto greets and walks towards him. The two men that were with Albert leave the room, then Hokuto continues talking. I had a little... problem.

What happened?

This boy here had a sudden, and disturbing, awakening.

That's troublesome, we can't have the boy disrupting our mission and putting you at risk. You also most certainly wouldn't want to lose that bracelet. Maybe we should kill...

That's not necessary, Hokuto interrupts Albert. This boy was going to awake sooner or later, we already knew that. Now that he has, I'll come in terms with him.

Hum... Albert is thinking with a troubled look in his face, are you really certain he won't get in the way? You know how important this is, don't you? We can get someone more compliant for you.

Is it really worth wasting his life like that? I told you, it's fine, I'll come in terms with him.

I'll admit his appearance has been very useful. Albert turns more serious. And speaking of which, I have a mission for you. Look at this map, with this city we are almost done conquering Dorohoi, we are close to ending this silly war with Duke Romero, he must have fled to this fort city called Rom, where he plans to make his last stand. He must be thinking he can hold us off at the fort city, but our victory is assured. In the name of the Goddess and Lady Bleaumenaux, we will free this territory from his tyranny. That fool was too stupid to not surrender Dorohoi, but now I don't even want him to, we'll show the people that righteousness lies on our side. We had really rough victories though, we should take our time to recover and prepare for this next battle.

Well yes, but what's the mission?

Look here, Albert points at the map, this is a city called Destonea, at a two days travel time, at most. I know that we just fought a big battle, but me and the others were looking at the maps and making some plans, and we decided we should check the condition of this city, so we called you to ask you to do it.

Why?

For supplies, and support. Besides, remember that our true role here isn't to conquer Dorohoi, it's to liberate it. That's why we call ourselves the Liberation Army. While winning the war is our main objective, we want people to look at us as saviors, not invaders. Since Destonea is nearby, we should take the chance to liberate it as well.

So, you want me to scout it first?

That's correct. Check the situation of the city, and depending on it, we should be able to occupy it with zero casualties. Send us a messenger after you're done.

Alright, Albert. I'll get to it.

Excellent. But watch out for yourself, Hokuto, don't act recklessly, we agreed you should keep that young body so you could walk around the territory without getting any attention, which is very useful. Besides, you and the bracelet are too important to us, so take care.

I know.

Well. Have a safe trip, may the Goddess be with you.

You too, take care.

They both salute each other, and Hokuto turns to leave. Shortly after stepping outside of the manor, the voice of Reiken is heard, and they have a conversation while Hokuto walks.

Destonea... that's the city where I was born, and grew up during most of my life.

Is it? How long has it been since you last were there?

I'm not sure, a few years.

Then this should be an interesting trip for you.

Yeah, I'm pretty interested in seeing how the city is doing now, Reiken goes silent for a moment. By the way, who are you? They all seemed somewhat respectful of you.

Right, I suppose it's about time for my introduction. I am Hokuto, former close protector of Duchess Lin Bleaumenaux. I was raised with the duty of becoming her protector, since I was only five years old I began to be rigorously trained in combat by two different masters. When I wasn't training, I was by her side, and I have watched her grow since she was three. But now I'm a captain in the Liberation Army, formed to liberate Dorohoi from Duke Romero, led by general Albert, who is both a great strategist and a formidable warrior himself.

If you're a captain of this army, why were you given this lone scouting task?

That's because of you. We made new plans after you got the bracelet and I started using your body. You're from Dorohoi and since the body is yours, it won't grow horns. I can go around without raising any kind of suspicion or concern. As a bonus, you also don't look much threatening, which is a nice advantage in combat.

So you plan to just use my body as you please?

Sorry, but you're stuck with me. We are both bound together by the bracelet's power now, it won't come off until you're dead, and taking it off forcefully would also kill you. There isn't anything you can do about it.

But why are you always controlling my body and all that I'm able to do is watch? Wasn't I able to take control of it yesterday?

I think it has to do with willpower.

... I see.

Don't think too much about it. I would appreciate if you just let me do what I need to. You should realize now how important it is.

This wretched territory has brought only pain to my life. I would love to see that stupid Romero fall.

I'll probably be there when it happens.

***

The city of Destonea

Hokuto makes a few preparations and starts his trip towards Destonea, still early in the day. He travels on foot, an inconvenience but part of the disguise as a normal citizen of Dorohoi. He finds only a couple of small villages on the way. He arrives at Destonea near dusk of the next day. Entering the city, both Hokuto and Reiken start feeling like there is something wrong with the place. It's too quiet, the people walk around with their heads low, not speaking to each other. It's much less lively than the standard city. A little later they find a small group of thug-looking men walking together, armed with weapons. Hokuto understands the situation immediately.

This city was taken by bandits. I better hide before they see me walking around with a spear.

Hokuto waits for the thugs to pass by and then continues to walk around the city, being careful to not get any attention. The people seem to walk around minding their own business, the city overall is pretty quiet. Hokuto notices that there aren't that many young able men around, probably because they must have been taken to fight in the war. The women seem to be making an extra effort to not be noticeable, covering their body in clothing. As Hokuto continues to walk his ears suddenly catch the sound of music coming from nearby. Interested in it, he follows the sound, finding a young looking man with a long hat playing a flute next to a statue. His tune sounds sad, very fitting for the environment, though unfortunate. Then he sees another group of armed thug-looking men walking by, laughing, in high spirits, the opposite of every other person in the city. The young man stops playing his music, his long hat covers his face, but for a moment the man tips his hat upwards and catches Hokuto staring at him. They just spend a moment looking at each other from a distance, Hokuto surprises himself as he sees the man's expression, it looks like someone with determination, but he isn't sure what to think about it, he may be just imagining things. Hokuto turns his gaze away from him and walks away. He continues to walk some more around the city, and then he notices a man laughing dragging a young looking woman into a small street, pulling her by the wrist. There are people nearby that notice this, but they do nothing but look at her with pity on their faces. For some reason that he can't tell, Hokuto is starting to sweat.

Is he going to... Hokuto, you have to follow that man, you have to save that girl! Reiken sounds desperate.

Reiken, calm down. I'm here to investigate, I can't risk myself just to save a girl.

Why? Why not help her? Why isn't anyone helping? Why nobody ever helps? Reiken sounds like he could start crying.

You must stay calm, Reiken. We still don't fully understand the situation with this city. Hokuto feels his body heating up, it seems Reiken's feelings are affecting him, even though he is not in control.

If you don't want to do it, then I will. Hokuto's eyes turn from blue to Reiken's original brown eyes.

Wait, Reiken. I'll do it, I'll go help her for you.

Reiken closes his eyes and grits his teeth trying to suppress his anger. After a brief moment he decides to relax and leave it to Hokuto, who takes back control of the body, opening his blue eyes with a serious look. Hokuto moves quickly towards the small street where the man went with the young woman. Just as he turns a corner in the street, he finds the man standing up while staring down at the woman on the floor. She looks to be in panic, begging the man for something, and the man is just laughing it off. Hokuto calmly comes closer.

Hey.

The man turns to Hokuto, his face shows surprise at first but it quickly returns to his sneer as he takes a glance of the young man in front of him. What you want kid? Get lost.

Let the woman go, Hokuto takes his spear in hand and points it towards the man.

Huh? Ye wanna fight me? Ha ha ha ha ha, the boy wants to play hero! If ye'r looking for a fight, boy, I'll give ye one, the man picks up the axe strapped to his waist.

The man looks at Hokuto's spear for a moment, and decides to make the first move. He charges at him swinging his axe, but the battle barely lasts three seconds. Hokuto feints a thrust towards the man's chest, and the man tries to deflect the attack by swinging his axe at it, but Hokuto pulls the spear back in one very quick motion and thrusts it again, fatally wounding the man. The man takes his last breath with surprise on his face and falls flat on the ground. Anyone watching the battle would say it was just downright pathetic how easily the man lost. Hokuto wipes the blood at the tip of his spear using the man's own shirt, then he turns towards the woman, who is still on the ground looking amazed. Hokuto stretches his hand for her, he doesn't have a smile, but his eyes show kindness. She takes his hand and gets pulled up while staring intensely at his eyes.

Are you ok? Hokuto speaks in a soft voice.

Ah... than... thank you... thank you so much, that was... Reiken? Is that you?

Is she... Rosa? Hokuto hears the voice of Reiken.

It's Rosa, right? Are you ok?

Oh my, it really is you! Rosa seems completely surprised. You seem so different, very different, but I wouldn't forget your face. But... your eyes are blue. How's that possible?

It's... because of something that I used on them.

Why are you here back at Destonea? Why did you save me?

Is there something wrong with me saving you?

No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I don't know, I have so many questions.

Maybe we should go talk elsewhere then.

Yes, of course, you're right. Please, come to my house, we should hurry out of here.

Without wasting more time, they try to cautiously move out of the small street, taking a different way out. Rosa leads the way for Hokuto to her house. Hokuto wants to ask Reiken a few questions about her, but he doesn't want to raise his voice in her presence.

***

The house of Rosa

Hokuto and Rosa safely arrive at her house. She tells him to get inside after opening the door. He enters and lays his spear next to the wall. It's a decent place considering standard living, you can live comfortably in this house. A middle-aged woman shows up after hearing them.

Welcome back dear. Oh... who is the boy?

Mom! It's Reiken! He saved me from one of Roarch's men.

Oh dear! Are you ok?

Yes mom, you can thank Reiken for that.

Reiken? The woman approaches the young warrior and stares at his face. Oh my, Reiken! It's been years since you left this city. You look so different. What happened to the girl that you were always with?

Girl? Hokuto suddenly recalls Reiken's dream. She... passed away.

Oh my, the woman seems to feel really bad about it, that's terrible. You two were always so close together, and you had such a hard life, with the loss of your parents and all else. And now she passes away too? Such a pitiful life.

It's alright, you don't need to worry about me.

You seem to be a lot stronger. What happened?

It's a complicated story.

Oh my, where are my manners. Please, let us sit by the table and have something to drink while we talk.

The woman pushes Hokuto softly into the kitchen, and makes him sit by a small table, fit for four people. She sits down on a chair close to him. Rosa starts preparing some tea next to them.

Thank you so much for helping Rosa. I'm constantly fearing for her safety with all these bandits walking around, she is so beautiful after all.

Oh mom! Rosa says feeling embarrassed.

What? It's true. Did Rosa thank you properly, Reiken? Did she ask to repay you?

I don't need to be repaid, but I could use some information.

Just information? What kind?

About what is going on in Destonea.

Did you just arrive at our city? Then at least let us offer you some shelter. You need one, right?

Well, yes, that would be very helpful as well. But tell me, who is this Roarch that Rosa spoke of?

Roarch is a leader of a gang of bandits. He wasn't a very known man before, just the usual bandit, and he had some place he and his other thugs lived not too far from this city. But with this big war going on, they took the opportunity to attack Destonea and take over it, killing everyone that opposed them. There aren't many men around to protect us anymore, and now the bandits walk in groups, doing as they please, taking what they want, she pauses for a moment, showing some anger, and to make matters worse, more people started joining his gang, out of fear, or just so they could do the things they do.

I see.

They violate the women, take whatever they want from others, and there's nothing anyone does about it.

Sounds like a really bad situation.

Yes, you've returned to Destonea at the worst possible time. What did you come here for?

I came to check things out, to help this city.

Help the city? Rosa stops just as she was about to serve Hokuto a cup of tea. How?

I have friends that could help.

Oh, that's great!

They talk some more while drinking up tea, and after Hokuto is satisfied, he stands up.

You're leaving?

Yes, I'm going to go gather more information about this Roarch and his thugs.

Are you sure? It's dangerous out there, Rosa says.

I'll be fine.

If you're really going, then please come back after you're done, Reiken, no matter how late it is, and I'll fix up something delicious for you to eat, the woman says.

Thank you ma'am, that would be great. For now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving.

Please be careful, we'll be waiting for your return.

It's nice to see you again, Reiken, Rosa tells him in a shy manner.

Hokuto goes to the door, picks up his spear, and the two women see him out. Hokuto politely says goodbye and leaves. It's nighttime, but the moon is shining brightly. Hokuto starts talking to Reiken as he walks.

So you knew them, huh?

Yes, I knew them since we were kids.

We got lucky with their hospitality, it will save us some effort.

You were very polite to them.

I was taught to be very polite to others, after all I was the protector of an important noble. I had to know how to act properly around her Lady Bleaumenaux.

So where are you going now?

Going to try gathering a little more information before we call it a night, just take a look around the city.

***

An unexpected encounter

Hokuto walks around silently through the city, trying not to stay out in the open. The big moon brightens the night. If during the day you could say that the city was very quite, during the night you can say that it is dead. There is no one around, and not a sound is being made. He starts hearing noise when he passes by a bar, there seem to be men shouting inside, probably bandits acting like they own the place. Hokuto decides not to come too close and continues to walk. He is hoping to find out something about how the bandits are operating the city. Do they patrol often, do they always walk around in numbers? After some time walking he finds a couple of men walking around, and decides to follow them. The men seem to be just patrolling while talking to each other. After a few minutes, the two men suddenly stop walking in the middle of a small street. Hokuto stops and tries to look in the same direction as them to find out why they stopped. There seem to be a vague silhouette of a man hiding in the shadows. The silhouette suddenly moves and a man emerges from the shadows rushing towards the two men on the street. The man is wearing a long hat and a cape, and is wielding a light fencing sword. He moves swiftly to attack the two men on the street, giving them very little time to react. The first one only lasts two seconds, he got his weapon deflected and got slashed in the throat. The second one puts up a fight for a little longer, but he couldn't match the skill of the fencer and is easily defeated. The fencer stops and stares at the bodies of the two men he just killed, then he looks around at his surroundings. He quickly spots Hokuto looking at him, and as soon as he does he rushes towards him, sword in hand. Hokuto quickly picks up his spear to make himself ready for an attack.

The fencer stops for a brief moment, then lunges at Hokuto covering the distance between them very quickly, greatly surprising Hokuto, but he has developed amazing reflexes and is able to parry the fencer's attack. The fencer handles a fencing sword in one hand while using the other to keep his balance, it's obvious to Hokuto that his style is all about speed, moving gracefully to attack the enemy while dodging at the same time. The fencer's skills are impressive, but Hokuto is better, he deflects his attacks with just as much speed, and with such force that it throws the fencer's attacks off. The fencer starts picking up more speed. The fight is becoming quite dangerous, if Hokuto loses his focus he could lose. Hokuto decides to try disarming the fencer, he'll need concentrate hard on his move, if he puts too much force and fails the fencer can use the momentum to stab him back, but Hokuto is confident in his skills. The fencer is caught by surprise at Hokuto's bold move, he definitely wasn't ready for an opponent with so much skill and knowledge, his sword falls from his hand and Hokuto points his spear towards him. He lifts his hands up in surrender.

Wait! I wasn't planning on killing you!

Then why attack me?

I just wanted to stop you before you could think of running away and doing something inconvenient to me.

Who are you? Why did you kill those men?

The fencer takes a better glance at the young warrior in front of him. "You're the boy I saw this afternoon, aren't you? The one that was looking at me playing the