Echoes of the Past

[JxSlaughter]

"I had a bad dream aswell. I think theres a bad vibe going on between us, either that or it's the meat we've eaten." He laughed a little and smiled back. Though, it wasn't long before the bad feeling came over him again. "I have a feeling that it wont be long before all this is over..." He looked away.

Jiru frowned. "Can we please get out of here?"

[laraine]

Echo nodded and gathered everything up, helping him put things on the ox and her horse. Both animals had their fill of food themselves and soon the two were ready to move out once more. She looked back at the camp one last time, then got onto her horse and followed Jiru and his ox out onto the path.

Again they seemed to be riding in absolute silence. Echo really didn't know what to say. There were many things she wanted to tell him. But knew she couldn't

Finally she decided on something.

" I like sweets..." She said.

"When we get to your town maybe you can show me a place that makes good sweet foods. Ever since I was little I wanted to make my own sweet shop. It was one of my dreams."

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru was utterly surprised that she broke the silence-- and in such a manner like this. He tried to continue the conversation, for the silence company really was started to take a toll on the two.

He grinned. "There are lots of yummy treats in town, I'll gladly buy you anything you want!" His heart sunk. It sunk low. It wasn't his town, his town had much better sweets. In his opinion anyways. They were more homemade and welcoming. He wanted to show her his real town, but... it was far too late now. They had to keep going.

He thought of his home town when he talked, but he meant for the town they were going to. "I want to show you so many things..." He thought about the dogs, the games, the food, and more. But he couldn't. He wanted to take back the last statement.

Sure he knew the town, but the town didn't know him. This town didn't like his company-- what a stingy town... The lies were eating him up, and he realized that when this was all over, she would definitely hate him and the town. Even though it wasn't truly his.

Jiru held his breath, then sighed. It was no good. Regret still lingered.

[laraine]

Echo smiled. then noticed him become quiet. She looked down, then back up and rode next to him.

"I'll do everything in my power to keep those demons from tearing the town apart. I promise you this. i know it must be hard for you to risk your town like this.Its hard for me too. I feel like its up to me to keep everybody safe. I don't want a repeat of the other town." She closed her eyes at this and sighed.

" I can only hope in the end I won't disappoint you.." At that moment Echo stopped her horse and frowned. "Stop Jiru..." She said quietly.

She didn't know what she felt, but something was wrong. Suddenly a arrow flew from a unknown area straight at Echo. Eyes widening, she attempted to dodge the arrow but it impaled her in the side. She fell off the horse and hit the ground hard.

[JxSlaughter]

At first instinct Jiru called her name. "Echo!!" He ran to her side. Blood. An arrow. Jiru's heart started beating fast. He held her, hoping to protect her from another hit. "Come out you monsters!!" He cried out. At any time he would kill any person he saw come out. He was enraged with fury. He looked down at Echo and was filled with sorrow, "Hang in there!!"

He tried to compose himself. He looked at the arrow, it wasn't large enough to kill her in one shot, but it would leave a deep wound that would most likely kill her over time if the pain wasn't enough. He whispered to her, "Everything is going to be okay."

He tore off the outter layer of his shirt. "Please hang in there..." Jiru slowly pulled the arrow out and wrapped the wound up in a few seconds, securing it tightly. The blue shirt Jiru was wearing underneath was now bloodstained, because he held her close in his arms.

[laraine]

"Dang it.." Echo hissed, looking down at the arrow and trying to stop the blood flow. She was breathing hard, but looked up at Jiru, panic and anger flashing through his one eye and Echo grasped his arm.

"Jiru!...calm down..they've hidden...themselves with magic. Some sort....of invisible....barrier..." Struggling to keep calm, Echo looked around and then saw something flying towards them.

"Darn it!" She formed a shield of air around them, the arrow was chopped into pieces before it got through to them.

Since she used her magic it made it weaker than before. Thankfully, Jiru by now had wrapped her with his shirt, slowing down the blood flow. He held her tightly to him, protective over her. He cared about her, her eyes widened at this statement within her mind.

The monsters themselves stayed hidden behind their invisibility.

[JxSlaughter]

"I can't compete with invisible!!" But soon an idea struck him, "Ginta!" Ginta was growling around in circles as if he was onto something. Jiru whistled loudly. The dog started to bite something in the air and it seemed to pick him up. It shook him off, but Jiru didn't see any blood that he could use to target them himself. Jiru decided to use the dog's senses to his advantage.

Just then Jiru caught the sound of another arrow and tried to dodge it in time. But it dragged across his forehead where the bandages were to keep his left eye shut. Immediately a black greasy substance started to fall from where his left eye was, and his head was bleeding. He quickly tried to cover it with his hand but it dripped quickly down his arms and was all over his hand. For a moment he was in a panic.

He looked down at the dark inky things and had an idea.

The ox was starting to run off on it's own in a panic but Jiru sliced at it's legs and and it collapsed. He placed Echo behind the ox. It was going to be her human meat shield.

He tossed off his rice hat and brought out his katana. All this time his eye was still dripping. Dripping on his shirt and on the ground. He spread his hand on the edge of the katana, distributing the matter. "Ginta!!" He commanded his dog to attack the unseen again. Ginta had a hard time, but Jiru had a general idea where one-- of possibly many-- were. He swung the sword horizontally and the inky stuff splattered on one of the beings. There was now a target Jiru could see.

He person tried to rub it off, but it only smeared, making it easier to see. The long ranged attacker didn't stand a chance at close range, so he tried to keep a distance. The stranger fired an arrow at Jiru and it hit his left shoulder. But Jiru kept running toward him and sliced the invisible body. He felt it, but he couldn't see it. Jiru intended to kill.

[laraine]

Echo was in shock, at first when his closed eye started to drip a strange inky substance, then when he put her behind the fallen ox and then started to attack the invisible man.

"Jiru!" Echo called, trying to sit up, but holding her side in pain. She couldn't see what was happening or what he was doing. All she knew was that he might be in danger because of her.

I have to help him... She huffed from the pain of her side.

Soon she heard the dying scream of a man. Her eyes widened.

Jiru had cut the invisible man as he swung his katana at him. The man fell to the ground, dead. Another figure appeared before Jiru, it was the green haired man he met before, now with one eye with a scar over it.

He swung his sword at Jiru rapidly.

[JxSlaughter]

"You...!" Jiru glowered at the man. He clenched his teeth, the blackness pouring out of his left eye with no end. There ia a stream of black stains over the left side of his body, it was still dripping, pouring down his leg. He stepped back in time, but the blood on his forhead, and his shoulder was stinging- especially since the black liquid was mixing into his wounds. Things were looking really messy.

"What do you want with Echo? Answer me!!"

He wanted answers, but he wanted to end the fight even more. Echo needed medical attention, and fast. Jiru kept trying to find an opening, but so far-- there was none.

[laraine]

The man looked disturbed by Jiru's appearance, but continued to fight him, at first not answering him.

Then all of a sudden he stopped. "You really don't know anything about her do you?" he asked. "The girl you protect isn't alive anymore. She died 6 years ago. The leader of the gang of thieves killed her when he destroyed the town of Olympia.."

Echo could hear the two talking, she closed her eyes as that was revealed to Jiru, Echo's heart ached. She grasped her wound and tried to stand.

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru didn't understand what he meant. Did he mean literally? People can die in many ways. But she was here, with him, even right now. How could she be dead? Jiru repeated himself.

"So what, she's dead-- what do you want with her?"

Jiru looked confused and still tense. He never left his left eye open for so long. He wasn't sure what would happen, but he didn't feel weakened by the flow of black stuff. It did seem like blood though, only much thicker. This... can't be right...

He covered the left eye with his arm and tried to wipe off clear but it continued to flow. Now his left arm was covered. Jiru cursed at himself and ran toward the man to attack him. He swung and swung but the man had a larger sword than his. If Jiru's sword wasn't of the greatest quality it had been, it would have been broken by now.

The man was starting to slow down a little bit, using the sword and all the fighting must have been weakening him a little. "Echo, I can handle this. Don't use your power!" He thought back to her being dead. Surely, she wasn't a corpse.

Jiru swung his sword to the left and was able to pin his sword down. He was using much of his strength to keep the man from getting away from him. While keeping him still, Jiru took out an arrow from his back and stabbed him in the opposite arm from his sword. The man yelled out in pain, and Jiru quickly released his sword from his, and sliced his chest again while the man was in shock. The man fell down in a slouch and Jiru stomped on the hand holding the sword. The man didn't let go, but Jiru had his own sword to his throat.

"Answer me... you punk." His eyes burned with furry. If she was really dead, then why do they want to kill her so? He cut lightly below the man's chin to get him to speak.

[laraine]

Echo heard his words and closed her eyes, grasping the ox for support as she tried to stand.

But....this is my fight...not yours...Jiru...you might get hurt...

But she couldn't say those words out loud, she was scared for him, and of what he was becoming.

Still she managed to get the strength to stand up and look over the ox as the two fought.

"What I want with her?" The man huffed. "The boss only wants to finish what he started. He never leaves any survivors at the places he destroys...you hear me?! NO survivors! And she somehow is still able to walk! What do I want with her? I want her dead good and gone permanently! She needs to be put out of her own misery! A existence like hers cannot exist!"

[JxSlaughter]

At the man's last statement he sliced his throat. The man fell face down. To Jiru and his people, it meant going to Hell. Jiru said nothing, and looked over to Echo who was trying to use her strength. He ran over to her. "Echo, stop-- you need to rest." Jiru took her carefully into his arms and started to carry her. He tried to make sure that the black substance would not enter her body. He didn't know what would happen to her then. But with the shirt covering her wound it wouldn't enter. But she did get some on her.

Jiru called her horse, and tried to get them both riding it. He was leaving the wounded ox behind. All the legs on its right side was cut, and it laid there bellowing loudly. It tried to stand, but fell again. The horse ran off, with the two riding it. The dog ran after them.

The main gate was in sight, but he stopped. Staying far away from it. He didn't want them to be seen by anyone who didn't know him.


The knight from before, and another solider Jiru did not recognize was on their way to exchange shifts again at the camp. In the distance the minor solider was looking through a scope to see what was ahead of them and told the Colonel what he saw. "Is there a man or horseback bleeding? What is that black stuff.... oil fuel?"

The Colonel knew what he was taking about and demanded the scope. "Oh my Lord, it's Zhijiru."

"That's him?" They galloped quickly to their side.

"Lord, how may I be of service?"

"Shut up... Don't call me that... Echo needs help."

Colonel looked at Echo. She was covered in blood and her clothes were stained with ink in some areas. "Sergeant, bring the lad to the medial building in the main tower."

"Yes sir!" They carefully exchanged her and the man quickly brought her through the main gate.

"Let me in, I need to be there with her..."

"Her?" In a moment the Colonel realized. "Sir, your eye, come with me, we will fix this mess-- we cannot allow anyone to see you."

Zhijiru followed quietly.


After some time they were in the medical room. Echo's wounds had been tended to. Though in the time getting her there, she had lost a lot of blood. A bandage tightly wrapped her side. Jiru was across the room from her, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. He had bandages across his head and over his left eye again. He was wearing new clothes, because it had been stained from his left eye. His attire now matched those in Sen Sei. His collar was high, a vibrant blue sash around his waste. His clothes were now clean but he was bare foot and didn't have a rice hat.

The room was very clean, the floors were hard wood. The walls white and lined red. The furniture was black and paintings were lined up across the room. A marble statue of a deity in the corner of the room. The door had a family emblem on it, with flags dangling above it. There was food on a end table next to Echo. The bowls were elegantly made, and so did the food. The place seemed so high class, and Jiru didn't look like a low class farmer anymore. He stared blankly at the ceiling.

[laraine]

Echo had passed out once she knew that Jiru would be okay. She lay limp in his arms as they rode to the city. She thought she heard some conversation during her sleep, but couldn't make sense of any of it. Soon, however she awoke in a strange room and spotted Jiru sitting on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. She groaned and tried to sit up, but her strength failed her and she lied back down.

"Jiru? Are you there?" She asked softly, then spotted the food next to her and her stomach growled. She sighed and started to eat the food rapidly, all the while listening for anything Jiru had to say.

[JxSlaughter]

"I'm here. How are you feeling?" He saw her sleeve as she picked up the food. It made him feel uneasy seeing her in Sen Sei attire. His and her clothes were being washed, for they both had dirt, blood and ink on it. Jiru requested that she had men's clothing. Even though the women dressing her were confused about it, they followed orders.

He gently told her, "You should go to sleep and gather your strength." He didn't intend to leave the area until she did so. He needed to go upstairs to see someone. He got up from the spot he was sitting at, and walked to her side.