Wolf and Keeper

Chapter 30: Beginnings of Reconciliation

Nagato Prefecture, Spring of 1555

There was silence over the field, two men locked in the deadly dance of combat, and little else save for the sound of the sea behind them. They circled one another without a word as they weighed and measured each other with the precision of skilled blacksmiths. Two opponents, equally matched, standing in a field of battle overlooking the sea. There could be no better sight.

Maru was the first to move, throwing caution to the wind as Sen readied himself for his attacks. The sound of steel on steel sang through the early morning against the sound of waves and the cry of sea birds over the choppy waters below the cliffside. Their companions watched as they moved around one another and met in the center of the field again and again, only to step away and change stances for another set of fierce attacks that would send one or the other stepping back.

It continued like this for what seemed like an eternity, but neither Sen nor Maru seemed to notice much of it. Their focus was so narrowly on the other that neither of them felt anything outside of that battle in that moment, just the two of them with the world but a distant memory of it all. Sen had lost himself in the fight. His mind had narrowed itself down to his blade and his enemy. There was nothing else. Maru had shrunk his world down to Sen, his movements, and his stances. There wasn't room or time for anything else.

Sen struck hard and fierce in a way that Maru had felt when they fought once before. The power... the raw energy... He fought like a yokai. Maru was quick and precise, each blow threaded like a needle on an embroiderer's cloth, and Sen found himself having to defend himself against precise thrusts more than once. Neither of them could deny the other's skill.

Even though the fight seemed like it would never end, both men felt their muscles beginning to smart and tighten, and they knew that had to end it quickly before one of them fell beneath the other's blade. The attacks quickened and strengthened like the surge of an incoming storm, and when all was said and done, the halted with heaving chests and allowed their allies to see what the outcome was.

When they finally stopped, each had their sword pressed against the other's necks.

A draw.

Maru was a good swordsman. He knew he was, and if this was how it ended, that meant that Sen was just as good if not better. Sen was even surprised by how he ended up there. A samurai trained warrior should have beaten him easily and yet...

"You're good," Maru breathed with a smile and stepped away. "That's a draw." He slid his own katana into its sheath and grinned at Sen, though the other man didn't return the smile.

"What happens now?" Sen asked, though he was not quite ready to sheath his katana yet. "A draw. Do we go again?"

"I suppose that's up to you, isn't it?" 

Maru watched as Sen slowly lowered his blade before turning to look at Hashi behind him. The yokai began making gestures with his hands that Sen nodded along to for a moment before turning to Maru with a frown. "Leave. We're going to Kyushu." He slid his sword into his sheathe and turned to walk away.

Something struck Maru, and for as insane as his plan was, he still had no issue with hurrying forward in an attempt to catch Sen's attention. "Wait!" Sen halted and turned back around, a small scowl on his face as Maru trotted up, "Wait, let me come with you."

That made Sen stop and slowly turn to Maru, looking at the demon hunter like he had grown a second head. "Are you insane?" Sen quietly asked as Maru held his hands up.

"I have an obligation to fulfill my contract, but!" He quickly backed up as Sen's hand went back to his sword, "But! I can also petition to have a contract nullified, too! I've followed you both for a while! People have stuck up for you in ways that surprised me, so I'm having trouble believing that this contract holds water!"