[IC] The Jade Stream

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Xin's kiai shout caught Xu and Nam-seon thoroughly off guard; the noise was close enough to disorient them both, causing Xu to accidentally fail to launch his next attack and Nam-seon to pull back outright. Feeling the danger in having his attack interrupted, Xu pulled back as far as he could, trying to generate as much distance as possible before trying to re-orient himself and shake away the ringing in his ears. He couldn't hear his own thoughts at this point, much less anything else.

"Well, can't say I didn't see this coming..." he muttered to himself, a grin on his face as he spat out a glob of blood from his mouth. This guy... He and Nam-seon could only have a chance of winning if they teamed up and rushed him down, but in an extended fight like this, any chance of victory was very rapidly slipping away. Shame; he had hoped to at least tie the score and force a mutual retreat.

Nam-seon, on the other hand, immediately took to the trees again, but only then did he notice that someone--or someTHING-- had cleaved clean through the trunk of the one he had just been standing next to, and a young girl with a katana unsheathed and ready to come to their partner's aid.

Shit.

"...So Chiu went down to an attack like that, huh?" Xu laughed bitterly as he noticed the spectacle. "Well, never really liked the bastard anyways. Oi! Xin!"

Calling out to his adversary, Xu took off his knuckles and tossed them aside. The fast-paced fight had warn them both down, and the extra weight wasn't helping him in punching or blocking any faster. And with two new adversaries joining the fray, victory was now naught but a pipe dream... Unless he could worm his way out of here somehow. But that, of course, wouldn't be fun; he'd hate to have to deal with the boss, after all.

"Call your friends over there off! I'll duel you, here and now; no more tricks, no more interference--on either side! If you win, we'll submit here; if I win, you let us go. Agreed?"

Nam-seon let out a sigh. of course his partner would try something like this; that kind of battle-mania was rare to come by, and he was a fool who let it define him. But, he had to admit, the man wasn't as much of a brickhead as he looked to be; if they tried to escape, it was only a matter of time before they were run down and killed anyways.

[Zeroth]

As Dai Xin's Qi attack forced his opponents to back off, he was able to quickly regroup...but before he could launch a counter attack, his companions joined into the fray. If this had been a free-for-all, like with the many bandits earlier, he wouldn't have minded. But Xu Lao called for a duel--and Dai Xin felt insulted that he even had to do such a thing.

"Miss Torako! Miss Kyang!" he called out, his voice still loud and more expressive than anything they'd seen from him thus far. "I am fine! Do not interrupt."

He turned back to Xu Lao, and with a derisive sniff, began folding his sleeves up around his wrists.

"Together, or separately; with weapons, or without. It was always my intention to defeat the both of you myself." he growled. "This one will show you...how vast the Sky is."

As his Qi rippled along his clothing, lifting it like an invisible wind, his fiery red hair began to float as well, trailing and waving behind him. If Torako's sudden change of mood from bubbly and cheerful to calm and icy had been frightening to see, this was even more so; the stoic, stone-like face of the martial artist who always spoke so properly, who always bowed whenever he spoke to someone...

His brow furrowed, and eyes blazing, Dai Xin's maniacal grin almost made it seem that he had fangs instead of teeth.

It was getting late, and the rays of the setting sun fell across the clearing. It tinted the translucent white fog of Dai Xin's Qi like blood and flame, as it crackled and surged around him.

"Decide whether you'll fight me together or one at a time. Then come at me with everything you have." he demanded, taking up his fighting stance once more.

[VitaVitaAR]

"..."

Torako's katana slid back into its sheath. Fine. Xin could fight them by himself, if that was how they wanted it. Her now-steely gaze laid squarely upon them, as she stood at the base of the tree she had cut apart. Her hand rested on Taketori's hilt, as blood dribbled down the fabric of her kimono, or trickled down one pale cheek. She simply stood and watched. And waited. After all, a former assassin was not one trained with so much stock in honorable combat. Oh, of course, Torako did not utterly ignore it, but if an ally was in danger of death...

She would intervene.

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang used the opportunity of the various monologues to surreptitiously snatch up a crossbow and a quiver of bolts from a nearby bandit. The words exchanged seemed simply egocentric for a while, but the challenge of a duel against Xin brought Kyang to incredulity. The fact that Xin accepted was even more maniacal.

"Huh!? These guys rob caravans and murder people and you're stopping to uphold honour!?" Kyang protested. Her words fell on deaf ears as she observed Xin pump himself up for the sake of intimidation, or something. "Ugh!" Kyang stomped up beside Torako and planted the other end of her glaive into the ground beside herself. It wasn't as if she was powerful enough to stop them. "This is a waste of time," Kyang complained quietly.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Xu, ignoring his adversary's companions, took a deep breath and entered his own battle stance. So, as he had expected, Xin had accepted the duel. Good. Though the terms were never quite agreed upon, at least he could fight the combatant at full strength.

"I'll come at you myself; no need to let anyone else interrupt. If anyone tries to do so on my end, you can go kill them! No skin off my back!" he laughed heartily before tensing his legs and entering another ready stance, systematically applying pressure to a few, seemingly meaningless parts of his body. "Very well! Let's see if the rumored dojoslayer lives up to his reputation!"

A single moment was all that he needed to push himself forward, the wind carrying him to take on Xin head-on. Contrary to every other time he attempted this, however, Xu suddenly stopped a few inches away from Xin before flashing a toothy grin.

"Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be trying, either."

A sudden blast of wind shot out from Xu's body in all directions, blowing dirt and debris all over the place as it seemed to swirl around his entire body.

Xu, of course, only had rudimentary control over his qi; any more than covering his torso with it was a lost cause. But that technique, which he had found amongst the usual gold and silver from the day's haul (which the boss, as expected, kept to himself), allowed him to let nature take control. It'd eat up his life at a rapid pace, but if he was fighting for his life, what matter were a few less years?

Xu immediately moved again, this time using the energy of the wind to reinforce every strike he made and cushion every blow he took to try and wear down his opponent a little faster.

"...Two minutes--no, one minute. I have one minute to end this."
That was the only thing running through Xu's mind, strike after strike.

[Zeroth]

"This isn't for honor." Dai Xin said as Kyang figuratively threw up her hands. "Only...my own satisfaction."

Xu Lao seemed to be using some form of acupuncture technique. Dai Xin narrowed his eyes--then they grew wide as Xu Lao exploded with new speed, appearing only inches from his face. Dai Xin immediately put the Compression Step into reverse, and called up his defenses. The windstorm whipped at him in frenzy, blinding him with clouds of dust. As he screwed his eyes shut, he turned his legs inward and bent his knees, taking a tight defensive stance to protect his vitals. His arms were hunched in close and his shoulders low, protecting his head and ribs. Sudden blows rained down from every direction, as Xu Lao circled him so swiftly that a miniature tornado was forming around them.

What manner of technique is this!? Dai Xin finally managed to open his eyes, though the swift gale made his eyes water. It tore at his clothing and beat at his Qi shields with howling ferocity. Qi that channels the power of nature? Is this something attained by "harmony" or "one-ness?" Is it just some strange manipulation of his normal Qi?

With all of his energy focused on defending, instead of attacking, Dai Xin could whether this storm for a few moments...but if he didn't do something soon it would sweep him away. Xu Lao's speed continued to increase, and now Dai Xin's sleeves and pants leg actually began to split in places as the wind cut at him like a blade...

Wind...blades...

Wind is said to reside within Wood, in Wu Xing. Wood parts Earth. Earth dams Water. Water quenches Fire. Fire melts Metal.

And Metal chops Wood.

"Fist of the Sky...Hybrid Arts." he ground out. His Qi covered his body like a shell, then grew tighter, skin-tight. Denser, harder. "Originally of...Steel Spirit Fist."

Steel Spirit Fist, famous for its "Iron Body" techniques. Many martial arts had exercises such as knuckle pushups, plunging one's hands into sand, and students striking each other repeatedly at vulnerable points. By callousing the skin, and building up tiny fractures in the bone that would heal harder and stronger, they sought to increase the hardness of human flesh and skeleton to become resistant to damage. Qi manipulation could also increase the durability of the body--it was a requirement, to be able to take attacks from another Qi user, as well as withstand the recoil of one's own attacks.

Steel Spirit Fist had refined these methods into something even greater--like the legends of the Rikokan swords folded over a thousand times and hammered until their blades were thinner than a leaf.

Dai Xin flexed his hands, straightening his fingers and tensing them like knives attached to his arms.

"Living Edge."

There was a flash as the two warriors' Qi collided, the wind howling and splitting to flow around them from the whip-crack of a sudden movement. Dai Xin stood with both hands extended, body leaning forward slightly, as stillness fell over the clearing. Along his arms, traveling from the point of his elbow down to the tips of his fingers, was a razor-thin line of focused Qi.

Two trees gave a sudden cracking sound; one of them was the one Torako had cut into with her superb swordsmanship. Slightly above her mark was another, not as long, but just as deep. The other tree had been dealt the same.

"The wind may be sharp...but the weight of a blade is a different matter." Dai Xin changed his stance, both arms--still glowing--held slightly away from his torso but partially crossed, so that his elbows pointed in either direction. A stance meant for snapping, chopping...cutting strikes. Then he lunged forward, Qi trailing behind him as he slashed out at Xu Lao...

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Things seemed to be going well enough for the Xu, having been able to force his adversary on the defensive as his fist delivered a flurry of punches laced by razor-sharp wind. The gale that had started forming around the two felt a bit... Well, exaggerated to him, but at least it helped add to the moment. He could feel his muscles screaming out in pain, begging him to stop; his heart, on the verge of collapse, was beating more rapidly than the winds around him were blowing. But this was one fight he couldn't afford to hold back on. With the last of his energy as his body was about to break, Xu cocked back his right arm, readying himself for a punch...

When Xin's counterattack struck him head-on. It pierced through the armor of wind he had set up, the qi underneath, and went straight through his torso. Though it wasn't necessarily fatal, the battle was more than over by then.

He... Had lost.

With a defiant smile, Xu coughed a few times, blood mixing itself in with his spit as the winds died down around the two fighters. So, this guy turned out to be the real deal in the end, huh?

"...Hm. I'll keep my word. Do what you wish." he stated, falling to his knees as the blood continued leaking out from the gaping wound across his body. "Nam-seon, you know as well as I do that we're damned regardless of what we do now, so there's no point in not coming down here. Move, you Daeyang blockhead; the sooner we get this over with, the better."

With a grunt, the bandit's companion jumped down from his perch on the branches above and landed beside Xu, a grim stare as he looked at Dai Xin.

"That battle... You fought well. Dying to such a skilled fighter... I have no regrets." Nam-seon sighed, taking off his katars and placing them to the side. "Do as you will."

[Zeroth]

As both men knelt before him, ready to die, Dai Xin stared at them for several long moments.

"I despise thieves and killers, especially those who prey on others that cannot defend themselves." he began. "Those who steal, and rape, and burn. Like those others back in the forest. I would rather see them die slow, painful deaths, regretting everything they have ever done, begging for release that is denied them. Fair trial for men like that--for most, in my opinion--is a waste of time. They forfeited the rights of humans when they committed inhumane acts."

He folded his hands into his sleeves.

"But good and evil are merely the notions of man, possessed by each in his own manner. So I act as I wish and disregard both."

He looked towards Kyang for a moment, thinking back to her reactions about his lifestyle of violence and extortion. Towards Torako. Her innocence had been merely a facade, hiding a no-doubt troubling past. Then he looked back at the two men.

"You are excellent fighters. You showed me a technique I do not yet understand, and gave battle with spirit, though I judged you as dogs earlier. To kill you would be a waste of talent."

He turned his back on them and began to walk back towards the two women.

"Leave the service of your master and pursue a life others would call just, or devote yourself to your arts. Let us clash again another day; at that time I will reconsider whether or not I will take your lives."

[Muttonhawk]

The fight that Kyang just witnessed left her glad to be a distance away from it. There were cuts coming from fists, deflections coming from the wind, a pouring of energy into a desperate fight that went beyond the naked eye. She had trouble keeping up, but it was clear when it ended. Xin's bare hand had impaled his opponent with such abrupt brutality that Kyang flinched.

What followed was something that caused more shock and confusion to Kyang than any bout of ki-fueled combat ever could. Xin showed mercy. It was not just the mercy that gave a chance to those forced to do wrong, not just blind mercy for absolute strangers, it was the worst kind of mercy; mercy that was giving something up in the process. There was no guarantee that these guys wouldn't go right back to being highwaymen. In the tumult of Kyang's immediate reactions, she believed that Xin didn't know what he was doing and acted accordingly.

"What?" She said sharply, throwing down the crossbow she had found. "Xin, what did you...? Why?" Things started to click together and Kyang began to shout, "You are impossible! You do not even know these people!" Kyang leaned forward on her glaive and gestured to one side, "You think they're going to suddenly turn their lives around because you spared them!?! Oh, talent!? Talent doesn't tell people to be virtuous! You're walking proof of that! What, is your brain made of the same as ochre dirt as the colour of your hair!?"

Kyang knew that she was not going to convince Xin grounds of morality, especially once she heard her own argument label Xin as guilty in the first place, so she threw up her free arm in futility. "Oh, have it your way then. See if the guy missing half his stomach is going to live anyway!" Kyang then threw up a finger towards Xin's face. There wasn't just morality amongst her protests, "But, so help me, if I find out that we don't get a bounty out of this - if those showmen start holding up caravans again - I'll find what makes you tick, Xin. I'll get to you. I'll find a way to make your life unbearable and I won't have to ever take a swing at you in the process!"

In the seconds that followed her rant, Kyang locked Xin's eyes with bared teeth and huffed out four short breaths. There was no way that she could fathom how to harm Xin, or whether it would make any good difference, but she was angry all the same. Venting seemed to peter her out to the point of settling down. She curled her lips, closed her eyes and began taking some deeper breaths, though they were forced and loud at first. "Alright..." Kyang said during one exhale, before breathing in again. "Let's just collect our bounty, then I don't have to deal with this any further." Kyang opened her eyes and looked to Torako, "What do we need to show as evidence. Heads? Weapons?"

[VitaVitaAR]

Torako chose not to comment on the decision that Xin had made, or the argument brewing between him and Kyang. No, instead, her attention was focused solely on the defeated bandits. Quietly, she approached them, one hand resting on the hilt of her katana. Her gaze was cold. The blood was drying on her skin and kimono. Her expression was set intensely, displaying a simmering anger deep beneath the frigid look. She came to a stop directly beside the one who had suffered the defeat from Xin.

"Let me tell you this," Torako began, eyes traveling across his body for a few moments. Her actions here were only natural to her, in the face of who these men were and what they did, what their path in life was and where it had taken them. Indeed, it only made sense to do what she was about to. "If you return to a life of pillaging after your defeat here, nothing will save you."

To illustrate, she quietly unsheathed Taketori, the blade gleaming in the light.

"You will die without understanding what has cut you. You will die in an instant. This is the vow of the Tiger Lily."

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

The two (now former) bandits were left speechless at the show of mercy their adversary displayed in front of them. Xu motioned to call out in exchange, but quickly decided against it. It was rude to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially if it was their lives at stake here. The ire that Xin's actions gained from his teammates, though, gave man-seon the time to prop up Xu, the blood still dripping from his wounds. Of course, the little bloodstained girl in a kimono didn't do anything but unnerve them even further. Given how the other girl's glaive seemed to be stainless, well... That could only really mean one thing.

"Don't worry, we're done with this mess. It was fun for a while, but it got boring quickly. Teach the boss a lesson for us, will ya? We're tired of his greedy ass hogging everything, anyways." Xu coughed as Nam-seon lent him a shoulder. "Thanks for letting us go. It's been an honor."

And thus the two turned around and slowly limped off into the forest, away from both the town and from the bounty hunters. Their silhouettes quickly disappeared into the darkening forest, a small trail of blood marking their steps as they continued on.

[Zeroth]

"Talent is worthwhile regardless of virtue, Miss Kyang." Dai Xin said plainly. "The study of fighting is as the study of sciences and the arts. It must always be pushed further and refined." He walked over to the other bandits--the dead ones--and began nonchalantly dragging the corpses to the center of the clearing.

"You need not worry about the bounty, Miss Kyang." Though, like always, he hadn't reacted much to her accusations, he did seem somewhat concerned about her state of distress over their "job." He picked up one of the bandits by a leg, holding him up like a cat that has slain a mouse. "There are seven here, and I am sure master Fengxian has kept a careful eye on the live one. He can give us more information. The rest of them we can drag back to the magistrate's office."

He looked over at Torako, who seemed to seethe with her barely constrained killing intent now. As he had thought, she was much stronger than first glance might suggest.

"Miss Torako, where is master Fengxian by the way? I saw him hit with an arrow, but the wound did not appear fatal. Still, perhaps we should check on him?"

[Muttonhawk]

There was a moment where Kyang paused in her breathing. She could have retorted Xin's point, but it was clear to her that he cared obsessively more about martial arts than he did about justice. She continued breathing and filed that thought away for later. As for Xin's method of turning the bodies in, he could drag them if he wanted, but it would be cumbersome. Kyang was thinking over possible alternatives when a thought crossed her mind.

"So, where's the 'boss' in all this?" She asked no one in particular, "We should go see Liu first, but I have a feeling we could go further than these grunts. We could check around nearby to check for a hideout...or ask our new friend that Liu is entertaining."

Kyang left the bodies for now and began striding back in the direction where she last saw Liu.

[VitaVitaAR]

"... I will take you to Liu-dono," replied Torako, calmly. Her cold tone of voice was certainly a contrast to her previous attitude. It was a product of necessity. Once, she was always like this, but time had caused her to relax. Still, sliding back into a cool, calm, and utterly unconcerned with sewing death attitude fitting a trained fighter, no, a trained assassin, was sometimes necessary. And so, Torako simply cleared her mind and focused when she had to. The pale-haired girl turned on her heel and sprinted off into the forest.

She recalled the path back to her ally well enough.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

By the time the others had returned to his location, Liu was deep in meditation, his wound having recovered enough to at least stop the bleeding. He'd still require some medical attention, to be sure, but at least the worst it it was over. Reduced to a dull aching, Liu could feel the blood slowly pulsing through his shoulder. The Lightseeker apprentices back at the temple would probably love to take a shot at something like this, and the teachers were always happy about getting new... Well, 'test subjects' that weren't the usual town idiots.

Slowly pushing himself off the ground, Liu warily attempted to move his right arm around. The pain didn't seem to be increasing, at the very least, though it probably wouldn't do to move it any more than necessary. Though... Given how his arm wasn't exactly moving as well at it usually did, there was a possibility that something was still lodged in there. Fun.

"Hopefully the others aren't any worse off than I am. That was a lot of arrows I heard hitting the ground..." Liu sighed, glancing at the arrow at his feet before shaking his head and turning to the still-unconscious bandit that had been tied up earlier. Good. Bastard didn't get free.

His own comments were interrupted, however, when the sound of rapid footsteps came closer and closer to his location from where Xin, Torako, and Kyang had run off to earlier. Quickly moving behind the tree and out of the direct line of sight of whatever was coming to him, Liu's breathing hastened as he put his left hand onto his weapon's handle. Seeing that it was just Torako, though, Liu let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

At least, before noticing the giant splotch of blood on Torako's face and clothing.

"Whoa, that's... That's something. Damn, what'd I miss?" Liu asked, looking behind the bloodstained girl for their other two companions. "Did you get the other bandits, too?"

[Muttonhawk]

"'Get' is one way to describe it," Kyang said, slowing to a stop beside Torako. "A couple..." Kyang sighed through her teeth, "...were released by Dai Xin. The rest of them were killed, by the looks. There was talk of a boss and a hideout, but we couldn't quite get it out of them before they ran off."

Kyang then walked to the unconscious captive and squat down to get a better look at his face. She frowned, he hadn't woken up yet. Kyang looked to Liu and pointed her thumb at the bandit. "At least we've got this guy. He might know something." She narrowed one eye at the makeshift bandage, "How's the arrow hole, by the way? You're looking pretty healthy for someone who was shot."

It was looking like Xin was following the pair back to Liu, so Kyang waved dismissively at him when he made his appearance. "I'll let this guy explain all that you missed. I'm afraid I might shout at him again if I try." Kyang glanced to the stone faced Torako and grimaced, "...And it doesn't look like the Tiger Lily is in a talking mood right now."

[Zeroth]

"I killed seven more of the criminals." Dai Xin said after Kyang gave him the floor. "But it would seem that their master hired two martial artists as well. I defeated them...but given the events of the day, I have heavily drained my Qi reserves." He looked down at one of the places where Xu Lao's wind techniques had cut him. The blood had crusted over, but a clean cut like that would take more energy to heal. "I spared them, though Miss Kyang disagreed, because they were talented fighters. To kill them would deprive the martial arts of their contributions. I...and Miss Torako, as well, made it very clear that they were not to enter the services of such men again."

He looked at the man who was still tied to the tree, unconscious. Walking over to him, he pinched the bandit's nose shut with his thumb and forefinger, and covered the man's mouth with his other palm. There were a few moments of nasal, honking noises...then the man's eyes snapped open as he reflexively struggled not to suffocate. Xin let him go, then nodded to Liu as the criminal struggled to catch his breath with a cough and splutter. Dai Xin stepped back, as he thought that his companions would probably do a better job of interrogating the man. He would just stand here and be intimidating, giving off waves of killing intent.

[VitaVitaAR]

"I killed one of the bandits," Torako replied, simply, one hand remaining on Taketori's hilt. Her eyes traveled quickly to Liu's injury. She had not attempted to tend to it largely because the preservation of the lives of others, at least when it came to medicine, was not her area of expertise. In fact, her skillset lent itself to quite the opposite far more readily. Instead, she remained silent. The only thing she could suggest was that Liu quickly receive some form of medical treatment, but it wasn't as if he didn't already know that. Quite simply, it would be redundant for her to do such a thing.

Instead, Torako turned to the bandit and stared, her eyes fixing on him. She wouldn't say anything to him. She felt that she would do poorly attempting an interrogation herself. Instead, she simply watched his every movement. Every single tiny motion. After all, if he attempted to flee in any way, her response would have to be quick.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

"...Oh. That's... Well, seems I missed a lot. Shame," Liu lamented half-jokingly before taking a moment to interpret Torako's behavior. Her usual happy-go-lucky demeanor had since disappeared into thin air, only to be replaced by... Well, a lily of few words and covered in lots of blood, which, while slightly unnerving, made sense given all the rumors being shot around at the restaurant earlier. Xin was covered in cuts and bruises, which probably meant that he must've certainly missed one heck of a brawl. And Kyang...

Well, she looked fine.

Nodding at the summary's completion, Liu took his jian with his left hand and turned to the bandit, who was now sweating bullets as he tried to escape. Great. A scared target. Those were always the most annoying to deal with. With Xin and Torako standing to the side threateningly, Liu took a deep breath and steeled himself. He wouldn't let Kyang handle this; that poleaxe of hers would probably do little more than bash his brains in. Xin was too roughed up, which meant he probably wasn't a good pick for this. And Torako? Well... She didn't look the type to be deliberate right now. Damn, was it on him to do this? Interrogation wasn't really his thing, but if everyone else wasn't fit for the job...

Liu sighed, a look of resignation on his face as he let his right arm relax at his side. Calmly strolling up to the bandit's struggling body, the young swordsman took aim and stabbed his jian a few millimeters away from the bandit's throat.

"Tell us where your boss is. Your hideout. Right now." Liu said, glaring at him with contempt. The bandit stopped squirming for a moment and stared at Liu's face before rapidly shaking his head 'no.' Of course. What would work to get the information out of him the quickest... Fear, maybe?

"Fine. Well, here's a quick question, then," Liu asked, a smile on his face as he squatted down in front of the bandit. "You know how animals go from the wild to your plate?"

The bandit stared at him for a good few second before struggling even further. Liu sighed again; this was definitely going to be annoying.

"Okay, then. Guess you don't know. Usually, we just kill them outright, but sometimes traps are pretty useful. Like ones that bind the feet, for example."

And, very slowly, Liu sent his blade through the man's right Achilles tendon-

"But those are kinda slow."

Then went the one on his left.

"Want me to continue?"

The bandit, biting back screams and tears, glared at him in defiance. God dammit, he had to keep going? This was making him sick, but playing with the mind was much faster than indiscriminately stabbing the guy; he could pass out from blood loss that way! And, to be fair, it was getting late, so they had to get him to talk fast.

"Alright, seems like we keep going. After the animal's caught and killed, we usually skin it."

And with a swift motion, Liu cut the right pants leg off of the bandit and, with it, a thin layer of skin and fat. For a moment, Liu could see the muscle. Gross. But he was pretty much the only person with the means to do something deliberate like this. Geez, why him?

"Usually the hide of an animal is durable enough so that we keep as much of it intact as possible. Usually sells for a bit. But in most cases, we start from the stomach, in the case of, say a rabbit, and work our way up to the ne-"

"OKAY! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK! JUST STOP!"

Thank the gods. This was making me sick; that was just about my limit without making me throw up. Urgh.

"So we've come to an agreement? Okay. Get talking, you piece of scum."

"O-okay! The bandit lair's to the northeast, in a large cave on Suilong Mountain! It's guarded by the boss' two most powerful henchmen, and the boss gives all his orders from there! Please, just stop!"

...
Well.
He spilled the beans fast. Convenient.

"That true?"
"Yes! I swear!"
"Alright, then we're done here."

With a scowl, Liu cleaned his blade with the bandit's shirt before sheathing it and turning to the others.

"My job's done. Please, for my sake, never let me do an interrogation again. Xin can handle this in the future, right? That was the creepiest and most disturbing thing I've had to do in my life," Liu complained before glancing back at the bandit and taking a deep breath to calm his slowly-fraying nerves.

People like him deserve no mercy. They rob. They kill. They rape. This was for the best. Surely, this was for the best.

"His legs are completely worthless now, and it's getting to be late. Soon, the tigers will be upon him--and us. We can go out and search tomorrow, but, again, that's tomorrow. Should we get going?"

[VitaVitaAR]

Throughout the interrogation, Torako watched. She didn't say anything, not a single thing, nor did she display the slightest reaction to any of the motions that Liu went through. She was simply dead silent as it occurred. She waited until the end, until he had suffered profuse injury. His legs, as Liu had stated, were now useless. Torako approached the bleeding bandit in silence, placing one hand on the hilt of her blade. Indeed, the tigers would be on him quickly, wouldn't they?

And he was a bandit, someone who robbed and murdered others for his own gain.

Taketori flashed in an instant. The bandit was surely in pain, but there wouldn't be any pain. It happened far too fast for there to even be any comprehension of what had occurred in that instant. Torako solemnly flicked her blade clean, as the bandit's head fell to the side with a thud. Her eyes drifted to Liu, and locked on the injured fighter. For a few tense moments, she simply stared at him in silence.

"... I never want to see that again."

With that, she sheathed her katana, and quietly looked away.

Torako was half intending on simply walking away, and dealing with the bandits herself.