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Isamu had to keep going.

A bounty hunter, the scum, is on his trail. And whoever it was, they have shot an arrow through his leg. Warm blood soaked his hakama and haori, staining both with a dark shade of crimson. Blood dripped onto the dirt behind him.

'Just a few more minutes.' He thought, pushing himself further.

He had to use his nodachi as an improvised walking stick to keep himself from falling over. The blade rattled ever so slightly inside the scabbard to help support him.

An arrow flew past his face, the arrowhead scratching his fur and skin and led to a small cut on his face.

He remembered how it all started.

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Flashback:

He finally made it to the border that joined Uslijan to Kespian. However, it wasn't the lush forest that was once told in tales.

It was a wasteland of death. A no-mans-land.

Bodies littered the space in between the two expanses of trees, feral vultures snacking on the carcasses and looters robbed those that were dead of their belongings, be it armour, arms or valuables. All manner of weapons were either in bodies, lodged in the ground, or in the dead hand of one of the carcasses. Clumps of arrows pockmarked certain points, indicating volleys of arrows shot out at the enemy.

And yet, everything was fresh yet stale.

Last he heard, the war was here. He came here so that, as a plan B, he could go down fighting, so that he wouldn't be subject to the mindless servitude of Lord Ichotsuke, since he couldn't afford any mercenaries to help him fight against the rogue daimyo. The various defensive structures were still here, although in pieces, so the war must've moved to a different battlefield.

However, that means that he can escape over the border.

Steeling himself, Isamu dashed across the open plains. Feral vultures were spooked by his careless dash, but the looters didn't care.

When he made it to the other side, he slowed to a stop. He bent over, panting. When he regained his breath, Isamu stood back up straight. However, an arrow came flying out of nowhere behind him and sunk through the back of his leg. Isamu screamed in pain and knelt down on one knee, clutching around the new wound. Using his nodachi, he stood and quickly limped away, hoping to lose whoever shot that arrow in the wilderness of Kespian.

End of flashback:

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The cougar kept on limping, the forest and trees not doing anything to stop whoever is going for his head.

Either due to the blood loss or just from pure exhaustion, Isamu collapsed on the forest floor. He stared up at the tree canopies, wondering if this will be his final sight before he dies.

He heard heavy footsteps, followed by someone taking an arrow out of a quiver.

A bloodhound walked into his sights, a large yumi in his hands. A skull sat on a thick rope on his hip alongside a shortsword.

"Good catch. Nice weapons. Shame I cannot kill you and take 'em." The bloodhound said, the voice masculine.

He pulled the bowstring back and aimed at Isamu's other leg. Said r?nin was dreading what the bloodhound was going to do.

When the bloodhound let loose, another arrow sunk into the side of the bloodhound's one and sent it sideways. One second later, the bloodhound received an arrow in the head, the bounty hunter falling sideways to never hunt another's head again.

Isamu never saw his saviour's face, since he soon fell unconscious.

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When he awoke, he was on a bed in a small room, illuminated by a lantern. Instinctively, he reached around for either his wakizashi or his tant?. Thanking all of the lucky stars, he found both and kept the unsheathed blades close by. No telling whether he was saved by a good person or just another bounty hunter.

The door to his room was opened, the hinges squeaking slightly, and a female newt walked in, bandages and a bowl of water in her hands.

It was then that Isamu struck.

He leapt out of the bed and threw the newt against the wall, forcing her to drop what was in her hands. He placed the wakizashi across her throat and the tant? tip against her stomach. Despite her predicament, the newt wasn't fazed at all.

"Good to see that you're finally up." She said, her voice betraying her youth.

Ismau bared his teeth in a growl. "Where am I? What did you do to me?" He demanded.

The newt raised her left hand and gently pushed the wakizashi blade away, her other hand doing the same with the tant?.

"No more hostilities. I just want to explain the situation."

It was then that Isamu stepped back and sheathed his two blades, placing them at his hip once more. It was there he realised that he was wearing a shirt of Kespian make. His hakama was still on him, although patched up and clean of any blood.

Both newt and cougar walked out of the tiny room, down the hall and into a central room, lit by a fireplace. A cauldron hung over the fireplace, something obviously being cooked at the moment. A dark grey longbow and dark leather armour with dull green cloak sat in one corner.

"Are you a-"

"-A Forest Darkbow? Yes." The newt interrupted, answering the question that Isamu was going to ask.

"Then why didn't you kill me on sight?"

"Although the Forest Darkbows answer to the King, we are basically granted individual autonomy. While most of us decided to go to war, the majority of the most pulled out. I am one of them. A lot of the Darkbows actually want peace, but we cannot sway the King's mind. I can only hope that, by allowing you to live, would allow the movement towards the war ending."

"So you didn't kill me..... because you want peace between Uslijan and Kespian?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"How come it doesn't make sense?"

"The answer's simple, really. Because my King and your Shogun don't make sense of their actions either."

Isamu didn't know whether to laugh at her statement or not. She basically offed the King of Kespian, which he liked, but also offed the Shogun of Uslijan, which he didn't like. The newt stood and took out two wooden bowls, pouring the broth into each. She handed one over to Isamu and sat down, prompting Isamu to do the same. Isamu questioned what was inside the broth to himself, but decided to ignore his thoughts and just eat it. His stomach was empty, and it needed to be filled.

When both were done, the bowls were set aside and Isamu just had to ask.

"What's the closest city to here?"

The newt's eyes almost popped out of her head. "You're crazy to go anywhere near a city." She near-screamed, harsh not even beginning to describe that sentence.

But then she saw the look in his eyes that told her that he was serious.

She sighed, deciding to relent. "The closest city from here is Cranta, to the south-west of here. However, do not think about going there on your own. By the time you come within sight of the city, you will be shot by about six crossbowmen in about two seconds. I'll come with you to explain the situation, but leave as soon as you're there."

"Cranta isn't safe?"

"It's the place to go if you're a well-standing merchant. It has that many guards to protect against outside threats like Raider attacks or inside threats like assassination attempts on other merchants. It's safer than a tomb locked in solid stone."

The newt looked outside at the sky. "It's late. Get some sleep. You'll need it for the walk tomorrow."

Isamu nodded, stood and walked back to the room he was given. He threw the Kespian shirt into the corner. He lied down onto the bed, but something was nagging him once again.

It was a feeling that he can be safe here, but not too much.

He decided to take his wakizashi off of his hip and place it next to his nodachi. He slid underneath the rough fur blanket and slept the night away.

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The next day:

Isamu hoped that he was walking behind her.

They have walked through this forest for the better part of the morning, and he's already lost her three times already, due to her cloak mixing in with her surroundings. And her longbow didn't help the situation, either.

It was tough work, but that also means that some of the legendary skills of Forest Darkbows were true.

"Isamu....." The newt began.

The cougar hummed, looking to where he heard the voice.

"How exactly do you plan on exacting revenge?"

Isamu sighed.

"Arleen, I hoped to get some mercenaries to help me fight. However, I don't have any money to do so."

Arleen, the newt, kept a look of stern coldness on her scaled face. Her eyes didn't betray her either.

"Things would work out, even if there isn't a way currently in sight."

After ten minutes of more trudging and losing Arleen six more times, they burst out of the forest and onto a crossroads. They immediately went on the south-west road, towards Cranta. The forests gave way to rolling grasslands, which soon gave way to farms.

They soon saw the city off in the distance, the sun glistening off the marble that it burned the eyes. Isamu, squinting, heard a growl of severe disapproval coming from Arleen.

"They must polish the damn things or something." She groaned. Isamu hummed his approval.

After twenty minutes, they finally made it to the gates. It was there that Isamu saw why Cranta was a safe city.

Even with the light being reflected back into his eyes, he saw guards patrolling the ramparts with crossbows in their hands. At the gate, there were three guards, along with countless more inside. When they got close, the three guards all drew their swords at their waists, an otter placing the sword tip close to Isamu's throat.

"What are you doing?" Arleen asked the otter.

"Making sure that this Uslijanian will not cause any trouble in Cranta." The otter answered.

"This Uslijanian is under Darkbow protection. And I wonder what your Duke would do if he heard that you killed a Darkbow charge." Arleen said, glaring down the otter.

The otter removed the sword tip from Isamu's throat, but still kept it in his hand.

"You win, Darkbow. But I will not allow him to walk Cranta freely."

"And how do you mean to do that?"

Isamu was surprised at how well Arleen was handling the situation. Like the otter was continuously falling into her traps.

"I will accompany him throughout the city." The otter answered, shocking Arleen and Isamu. "But if he does anything more than a twitch out of line, I will not hesitate throwing him in a cell."

Arleen began to argue, but Isamu placed his spare paw on her shoulder. "I'll be fine." He assured.

The otter nodded and turned to one of his guards. "Fetch our Guard-Sergeant and tell him to guard this gate." He ordered.

The guard nodded and ran into the city, Isamu and the otter walking in behind. The gate closed behind them, the crossbowmen on the ramparts stopping to keep an extra eye out for the lone guard at the gate. Arleen, her work done, began to walk back down the path to her small lodgings in the forest.

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Bounty hunter POV:

She saw the cougar deserter, her target, enter Cranta. That is, if her eyesight never failed her. And the eyesight of a ginger cat is rarely wrong.

She was lucky to be able to get word of it beforehand, along with an actual poster for his capture. And considering the lengths she would have to go to in order to get that pay of hers, she was more than willing to do what was required.

She began to stalk him when the gate closed.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Considering that it was larger than the city he served in, Isamu was taken away at how many were able to fit inside the walls. But it was the courtyard marketplace which blew his mind.

From one end to the other, it was possibly as big as the Shogun's palace. Many species sold their wares around the edges, be it produce or clothes. A large stone fountain was in the centre. Isamu softly walked all around the courtyard, taking in the sights like when he was a kitten in his home-city.

However, his fantasy was cut short with a high-pitched scream from somewhere in the courtyard.

Isamu, along with the guard, a heavily armoured tortoise and a wolf in Raider armour, both of whom were talking with a frog merchant and not wearing helmets, looked towards where the sound came from.

While the guards were searching for other potential causes for the scream, Isamu, the tortoise the wolf all saw a fox slip past the guards' eyes. All three began to run after what they saw. When they turned the corner, the fox saw them, widened his eyes, and began to run away, prompting a chase. The tortoise, wearing heavier armour, holding heavier weapons and having a shell, lagged behind. Isamu, only wearing his hakama and haori and ditching his nodachi at the start of the chase, began to slowly catch up to the fox. It was obvious that he was holding something in his paws, Isamu just didn't know what.

Not wanting to prolong this chase any longer, Isamu lunged and tackled the fox to the ground. Both scrambled to get the upper hand, Isamu doing so by pinning the fox's arm behind his back and grabbing a pawful of the fox's orange fur. A blanket was flung out of his grasp during the scuffle, something inside of it clinking when it collided with the ground.

The wolf skidded to a stop in front of them and shoved the tip of his spear into the stones in front of the fox's muzzle. The wolf squatted down in front of the fox.

"Tell me, rat. What and why did you steal?" The wolf asked calmly, Isamu recognising the wolf's accent as Raider-tongue.

"I'm a fox, not a rat." The fox stated the obvious.

"I meant the other rat." The wolf replied. He stabbed a point between the fox's fingers, causing the fox to visibly flinch. "I'll ask you again, or I'll start making you talk in thousands of different ways. What and why did you steal?"

The fox crumbled. "I stole medicine, alright. It's the only thing that can help my son."

Both cougar and wolf looked at each other before looking back at the fox. The guards and the tortoise caught up to them, two guards taking Isamu's place and hauling the fox to his feet. One guard picked up the blanket bundle and unfurled it, revealing a vial of medicine. The guard looked around for any other vials, seeing only one, and ran back to the merchant who sold it. The fox was on the edge of breaking down, his eyes bloodshot and straining to keep his muzzle still.

The otter guard stood alongside the tortoise, holding Isamu's nodachi. The otter threw the sword to Isamu, who caught it easily and holding it over his shoulder in a practiced and comfortable fashion.

The tortoise walked up to the wolf. "Did you get to know why?" He asked.

"His son needs the medicine. Must've been unable to buy it, so he resorted to stealing it." The wolf answered, treating the tortoise like a friend. Which Isamu thought was strange. Raiders don't usually make alliances with the other countries.

Isamu saw a talisman on the back of the tortoise's shell. A paladin, no doubt.

The tortoise walked up to the otter guard and had a small conversation with him. Must've convinced him of something.

"Can you lead us to where your son is?" The guard asked softly.

The fox nodded, guided the group, including Isamu, to a lodging behind a forge. They entered, seeing a fox kit under blankets with a damp cloth on his head. The only way they could tell that the kit was sick was the extremely shallow, laboured breathing and the odd weak cough.

The tortoise removed his two weapons, placing them with the Raider wolf, and took his talisman from his shell. He moved the cloth out of the way and placed his hand onto where the cloth was. He held the talisman up high, glowing with a soft white glow.

After two minutes, the tortoise removed his hand and placed the talisman back. The rest could tell that the kit was better than before was the deeper, more relaxed breathing. The tortoise near collapsed, kneeling down and obviously tired. Isamu wasn't thinking, since he went down and assisted the tortoise back to standing up, placing one of the tortoise's arms around and using his nodachi to help them stand.

"Fidel, you alright?" The wolf asked, sincerely concerned.

The tortoise, who must be Fidel, raised one of his hands up to his head.

"I'll just need a rest, that's all." Fidel answered, swaying a tiny fraction.

The wolf picked up the strewn weapons and led Isamu and Fidel through the streets, the otter guard leader following them. They came to an inn close to the large courtyard, going inside. They guided Fidel to a chair at a table, placing his weapons by to lean against the side and allowed the tired tortoise paladin to sit. The wolf sat down at another chair, Isamu taking yet another. The otter guard stood a small distance away, but kept a watchful gaze over the cougar. The tense atmosphere around them never reached beyond them as bards kept the rest occupied with songs.

The wolf dropped his shield, keeping the axe on his hip and leaning the spear against the table, similar to Isamu and his weapons, leaning his nodachi against the table and keeping his wakizashi and tant? on his hip.

The wolf stuck his right paw out, causing Isamu's left paw to jerk closer to one of his smaller blades. When he quickly realised that the wolf was thanking him, Isamu raised his right paw and shook the wolf's.

"I've got to say, that was a good catch of the rat back there." The wolf said, smiling and twisting the scar over his eye.

Isamu looked around, not seeing anyone who was listening in on their conversation. "I did what needed to be done." He responded.

The wolf's ears pricked upright, and the sound of shifting armour reached Isamu's ears.

The wolf leant in closer, their paws no longer contacting. "Are you from-" The wolf whispered.

"-Uslijan? Yes." Isamu responded.

Suddenly, a knife lodged itself into his left paw, pinning it to the table since it was on the edge to help him lean in. Isamu roared in pain, gripping his wrist. The wolf picked his shield up and leapt over the table, standing between whoever the assailant is and Isamu. Fidel held his mace and searched for the assailant, the otter guard doing the same with his sword.

Isamu ripped the knife out of his paw and, pushing through the pain, unsheathed his nodachi, staining the grip with crimson. The wolf pulled the axe off of his belt, holding it close to his body.

They all heard a chuckle coming from one of the dark corners of the inn. A female ginger cat was the one who was giggling, tossing a knife up into the air so that she held it by the hilt, then the tip then back to the hilt. And the knife looked similar to the one which impaled Isamu's paw.

"You're going back, kitty cat." She said, still tossing her knife.

Isamu cracked a vertebrae in his neck, prompting a flick in his tail. "You're one to talk, as well. And I'd rather die than go back."

The cat chuckled further. Two others walked out of the dark corner, a lion and a salamander, taking their spots on either side of the ginger cat. Isamu stepped forwards, past the other three to face the obvious bounty hunters.

"Don't worry. They'll be dead in mere seconds." Isamu reassured, taking his one man stand against the three.