CHAPTER 3: CONFLICT

"Mitsurugi!" Taki shrieked. "Calm down and compose yourself! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Oh, I do," said Mitsurugi, raising his blade. "I am ridding the world of this inhuman monster in the guise of a boy..."

"No, you are not." She reached out swiftly and pinned his hands behind his back, the katana clattering to the floor. "Siegfried is a friend. He will journey with us on our quest."

Mitsurugi's face flushed bright red. "He will WHAT?"

"What's going on there?" said a voice.

"Some wandering ruffian's messing with Siegfried," said another, carrying a tone of harshness. "I'll soon fix that."

"Let me go!" Mitsurugi broke free of Taki's grip and grabbed the frightened youth by the collar.

"Are you afraid of blades now, demon? Very well. I'll end your miserable existence with my bare hands," he seethed.

"Enough!" cried Taki. "Don't make me teach you a lesson the hard way!"

"Then allow me!" said the gruff voice.

From out of the blue a fist came sailing at Mitsurugi's jaw. It connected with a sharp crack, snapping his head backwards.

"Pick on our friend, will you?" said the attacker, a young Korean man in flowing purple robes. "There's plenty more where that came from, so don't hesitate to get some more!"

"Hyun! Stop this foolishness at once!" said Taki.

"Impudent pup," Mitsurugi snarled. "For that I'll pay you back double."

The Korean raised his fist for another punch. "That's assuming you can live through _this_!"

*STOP!*

A deep, powerful voice resonated throughout the tavern, strange and unearthly. There was a flash of pale blue light, and suddenly Mitsurugi and the Korean found themselves being pushed apart by some invisible force. Both of them toppled to the ground.

"That's quite enough, Hyun!" said Taki, helping the stranger to his feet. "You've caused enough trouble."

"First someone tries to pick a fight with Siegfried, and now sorcery!" he said. As he spoke, a small child dressed in a dark green cloak ran into Taki's arms.

Mitsurugi ignored them and gritted his teeth. "Good work, Guardian," he muttered. "Now go and kill that demon..."

His words were interrupted by a choked sniffle, which turned into a tiny sob. He glanced about the room and saw that it had come from the child, whom Taki was trying to comfort.

"Please, Taki, make them stop. Somebody make them stop," she said.

At once, Mitsurugi's heart softened. He rose to his feet, dusted off his clothes and approached the child gently, regaining his composure.

"What's wrong, little one?" he said.

"You were going to hurt Siegfried!" she replied accusingly, wiping away a tear. "Now you're fighting with Hyun!"

He paused, stricken by her words. He heard another sob, this time from Siegfried. The youth had collapsed to his knees and was holding his head in his hands.

"I don't know what to say. I know I can't even begin to apologize for all the harm I've caused," he said sorrowfully. "I was possessed by the demons of the sword, but I can't wash my hands clean of it and say that it wasn't my fault. I'm so sorry."

"Please don't cry, Siegfried," said the child. "You're a good man now, right?" She lifted her head to look at Mitsurugi. "Siegfried's good now. He did a lot of bad things, but he's changed. Please don't fight any more."

"She has a point," said an older girl entering the conversation. "There's no reason to fight him. We of this town are fully aware of the destruction that he has caused, yet we also know that it was because of the demons possessing him."

"Don't talk about it any more," said Siegfried, shaking his head tearfully. "Don't let it haunt me... please. I just want to put my past behind me and start a new life. That's all I ask."

"We have all forgiven him and accepted him as our friend and ally. I urge you to do the same," said Taki.

The Korean nodded. "He's not a demon any more, ruffian. He's Siegfried. Our friend. And mind you, he has the gentlest of souls."

"Thanks to you, Chosen One," said Siegfried. "I owe you my life for freeing me from the Soul Edge. You gave me back my humanity. I can never repay you enough."
 
The Korean's eyes widened. "He's the Chosen One?!"

"Yes," said Taki, scowling, "and if you don't make amends with him, I'll make sure that you are very sorry indeed!"

"My sincerest apologies!" He threw up his hands. "I'm very, truly sorry. Feel free to pay me back as you wish. You can punch me in the jaw to make things even."

"I am tempted to, but no... for the sake of the little one," said Mitsurugi.

The child's eyes brightened. "You're not mad any more?"

"Er... no." He forced a smile.

"Are you still mad at Siegfried?"

"Well..."

"Please don't be mad at him. Please."

He sighed. "All right. I suppose he can be trusted..."

"Thank you." Siegfried planted his hands on Mitsurugi's shoulders. "You don't know how much that means to me. I'd give my life for you if I had to." He paused, then added, "I've done so much damage to this world. Now let me atone for my sins and help you save it."




"Yu Siek Hyun, glad to make your acquaintance," said the Korean, bowing. "No hard feelings."

"No hard feelings," said Mitsurugi, returning the bow.

"Akiyama Yukio," said the girl. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise to you."

"Siegfried Schtauffen, at your service."

"Your command of the Japanese language is impressive, Siegfried."

"Thank you. Taki's been teaching me."

"And you?" Mitsurugi knelt to face the child. "What might your name be?"

"Kayen." He met her gaze for an instant and noticed that her eyes were unnaturally green, greener than the hood that covered her head.

"You have very lovely eyes, Kayen."

"Thank you." She grinned. "Have you seen my ears?"

He heard the people around him chuckling. "No," he said, somewhat puzzled.

Kayen giggled and threw back her hood, revealing ears that tapered to thin, delicate points.

"You are a nature spirit!"

"Yes!" she laughed. "A forest spirit!"

"Upon my soul!" He scratched his head. "What are you doing at a tavern?"

"The bartender says I bring him good luck. He's our friend."

"She's quite popular here," said Hyun. "Keeps the customers entertained with her jokes and stories and dances."

"But I'm really Taki's good luck charm," she said, wrapping her arms around Taki. "Taki, shouldn't we introduce Heishiro to Kenichi and Lai?"

Heishiro? Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow. He was unused to being called by his first name, except by his family.

"Is it all right if I call you Heishiro?" said Kayen.

"I... er... " He noticed Taki smiling at him.

"Yes, you may call me anything you want," he said with a sigh.

"Lai! Kenichi! Over here," said Yukio, waving to a robed girl and a man with sunny blond hair.

"It's about time you introduced us," said the man, bowing in greeting to Mitsurugi. "Good evening, sir."

"Good evening. Mitsurugi Heishiro."

"Korimoto Kenichi. My friend, Jyu Lai."

"Are you a nature spirit?"

"Me? No." Kenichi flicked his hair away from his eyes. "I have a Westerner's hair and a Japanese face, but no, I am no spirit. Though sometimes I wish I was. You may call me a freak."

Mitsurugi chuckled. "Perhaps not. That would be too harsh a term."

"Call him Kenichi," said Lai. "It's much more pleasant."

"Care to join us at our table? You look as if you could use a hearty meal and a good drink," said Kenichi.

"Gladly." Grinning to himself, Mitsurugi followed them back to their table. He could almost taste that bowl of rice now.

Good ale, excellent rice. The fish, however, was quite bland...

"Tell me again," said Mitsurugi, taking a swallow of ale. "Why do the people of this town trust someone like Siegfried so readily? Why were you so quick to come to his defense?"

"I thought we were finished with that subject," said Yukio, frowning. "He already said not to talk about it."

Siegfried shook his head.

"It took me a long time to earn the people's trust, Mitsurugi. They didn't just forgive and forget. They knew what I'd done. I had to prove myself worthy of their forgiveness."

"He's spent a lot of time helping to restore villages and assisting in various infirmaries to atone for his crimes," said Hyun.

"Was that enough?" said Mitsurugi.

"It wasn't just that. After we realized that Siegfried was Siegfried, not some demon-possessed lunatic, we began to understand his pain. Later we learned to accept him as a person."

"There are still some people who would like to have my head on a platter, though," said Siegfried.

Mitsurugi smirked. "I'm not surprised."

"You'll learn to trust him soon," said Kenichi. "Just give it time. Relax..."

A sharp yelp cut him off in mid-sentence. He groaned, lurching forward in his seat.

"Kenichi! What's wrong?" said Lai.

"Yo..." he whispered. "Something's... happened... to Yo..."

"Yo is here?" said Taki.

"Yes." Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "Outside... hurry..."

Before Mitsurugi could ask any questions, his companions had scrambled from the table and rushed outside the inn. He looked at Kenichi, then at the inn door, then at Kenichi again.

"Help them... we have to help them," he mumbled.

Confused and curious, Mitsurugi peered out the window. He saw Taki and the others, a group of masked men emerging from the shadows, a stranger garbed in black, and... gods, no...

There was blood all over Taki's face.

"Damn!" He cursed and ran out of the tavern.

Where was that Guardian when he needed it?