Hypocrisy

"Now that we dealt with that let's get to the point shall we?"

'Looking at the body only a meter away from him, Yasu felt his stomach turning and twisting, he didn't make a face or say a word, but inside he wanted to throw up, the arms were bent in unnatural angles, one leg was almost reaped off from the force of the blow and the tree that had been hit was on it lasts leg.

Carefully swallowing, Yasu spoke

"Why did you do that?"

He was very careful not to show any discomfort in his voice, showing one moment of weakness, no matter how small, was a dead sentence, he learned that from his fight with Denjiro, he needed all the focus possible if he wanted to make it out with the kids.

"HAHAHAHA! If he was so weak to be beaten by a kid then I have no use for him" His smug and cheerful tone after killing so easily someone just made Yasu want even more to vomit.

Holding his sheath with his left hand, slowly, Yasu unsheathed his sword, the blade shaking more than Yasu would have wanted.

"Look the little tiger cub has claws!" Someone from the decent of bandits yelled out mockingly to which the rest of his friends laughed at, even the leader of them all.

The laughs reverberated inside Yasu's ears, especially the one of the leader, louder and lower than the rest, with his enhanced hearing, the laughs felt like sledgehammers banging inside his head.

Gritting his teeth, Yasu tightened his sword, about to start slicing them down but the voices all went away leaving only the most disgusting one.

"You see kid, you have made me laugh a lot so I'm feeling a little bit kind, I'll let you leave so go while I'm still in a good mood"

Hearing those words, Yasu loosens his sword a little and takes a deep breath, if he loses his composure and falls into rage, it will only make things worse for him, he would have better chances facing all of this with a cool head.

Disregarding the opportunity given to him by the man, Yasu takes a step forward, sword in hand.

"You have guts, kid. I respect that! Tell me your name, it would be a shame if you were to die as a nameless bastard!"

Yasu doesn't stop walking toward the group of bandits before the subtle threat the man had just said.

"It's a lack of manners asking for someone's name without having said your own, don't you think?"

Yasu responds with a threat of his own making the man smile even more, his smile threats to tear his face and his eyes project a dangerous glimmer.

"I see, I see, my fault. My name is Juzo I'm the leader of the mountain bandits..." The man bows a little, enjoying this interaction, some giggles and mockery could be heard from all the bandits toward Yasu.

"...And if you don't want to leave then you only leave us the option of killing you" His previous tone had disappeared with that last phrase now replaced by one full of bloodlust.

"...Yasu Mochizuki, that's my name" The words came out of Yasu's mouth with complete calmness.

"Then that settles it...kill him" Raising his kanabo and pointing it to Yasu Juzo ordered the bandits to kill him just as casually as if he were entrusting them with an everyday errand.

Instead of running at him screaming at the top of their lungs, a few bandits just start walking to Yasu with grins on their faces while playing with their weapons, which had seen better days.

Turning his head to where Momonosuke and Hiyori were, both kids were looking at Yasu with tears on their faces, afraid for what would happen since there were too many bandits just for Yasu to handle.

"Momo, Hiyori...please close your eyes" The kids both opened their eyes in surprise, in Yasu's face was the sweetest smile they had ever seen, not even their mother could rival that smile, it filled them with a great sense of calm and relief so trusting him, they both closed their eyes.

Leaving behind that smile when he saw that the kids closed their eyes, Yasu turned again towards the bandits with a serious expression.

Before him were three of them in a semi-circle, the three of them smiling, not getting even close to Yasu's smile, it resembled more the putrid smiles of demons in the fantasy stories that Kyomi had taught him.

"Don't worry kid, you should be thankful that we are going to kill you...this way yuo won't have to see what we do to those kid's family" The one on the left spoke, baring his rotten teeth for everyone to see.

"Hahahaha! Yeah! I heard that the Daimyō's wife is gorgeous, a perfectly rounded ass and ohhh those luscious breasts, temping everyone that gets to see them..." The man in the middle had closed his eyes, daydreaming while touching the air as if he was feeling the perfect female body.

Calm, he needs to maintain a cool head, they were just saying that to rile him up and make him commit a mistake, he wouldn't fall for that...and still Yasu's blood was boiling, it was burning his veins screaming at him to tear the man to pieces. No, he needs to maintain his cool, he needs to...

"...Ohhh, I bet she's a whore, that when the Daimyō turns around she loves to take inside her mouth all the dic-Blurgh!"

A mouthful of blood spits out of the man's mouth, confused he looks down, the blade of a sword is embedded in his chest

Yasu is in front of the bandit, gripping his sword with such force that the wood under his hands was splintering, making his hand bleed. His mouth was fully closed but his eyes...his eyes were wide open, bulging veins surrounded them, threatening to burst at any moment, the eyes, usually an endless white sea, had streaks of red from the capillaries carrying blood.

"What?" The shaky voice of the bandit comes out as barely a whisper, blood soaks his lips, his club falls to the ground, and with trembling hands, he slowly grabs the blade coursing through his chest, pushing with all the strength of a dead man standing, trying to get the sword out off him, cutting more and more his fingers against the edge of the blade, but not stopping.

With a swift movement, the sword goes up from the middle of his chest up to the shoulder, cutting the fingers clinging to the sword and splitting open the man's body shooting a stream of blood into the air.

As if time had stopped, no one moves or talks, not anymore, the two men at Yasu's sides are still looking at where he was seconds ago.

A raindrop falls from the sky

Then another one

And another

Rain falls over everyone's heads

Yasu stands still, eyes wide open, the body of the man at his feet. The raindrops soak his hair. Drops run down his face reaching his clothes.

Drops of blood kept falling from the sky for a few more seconds before stopping.

One of the ladies that was brought for pleasuring them felt something falling on her hair, taking it and bringing it close to her face to see what it was, she opened her hand revealing a finger.

Droops of blood kept falling from the sky for a few more seconds before stopping.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The lady let out a blood curling scream

Brought back to reality by the scream, the two men at Yasu's sides turned around to face him, seeing the mutilated body of his friend who was just alive seconds prior, his eyes shot open.

"YOU BASTARD!" Gripping tightly his club, he swung the weapon aiming for Yasu's head.

Ducking under the blow, Yasu brings up the sword cutting the inside of the man's thigh making him fall to the ground in crying pain. Before he can finish off the bandit, the third had already gotten behind Yasu, with his sword over his head, he snaps it down, aiming for Yasu's back.

With a simple sidestep, the blade passes soaring by his side with the bandit following right behind, and with a swing of his sword at the man's back, his body falls to the ground.

Looking at the lifeless face of the man mere inches away from him, the bandit, bleeding out from his thigh, starts crawling back away from Yasu.

"Don't come any closer! Stay away!" Tears and snot come out of the man's face, he digs his nails into the ground trying to push himself away from the kid that killed his friends, ripping and tearing some of his nails out in his desperation.

Grabbing his sword in a reverse grip, Yasu starts making his way to that excuse of a man. Dirt and rocks hit Yasu, thrown by the man trying to keep him away, but he doesn't stop, he continues walking towards him. The man's cries get louder and louder with each step Yasu takes, seeing that he is getting closer and closer the man even goes as far as to beg, but his pleas don't reach Yasu's ears. Close enough, raising his sword, he plunges it deep into his chest.

You could hear a pin drop, everyone just stared at how a kid, not even seemingly older than some of their own had just brutalized three of their own. Pulling the sword out of the man's body, Yasu turns to the bandit group, 'looking' in the direction of the leader of them all. Juzo, despite having just seen his men getting killed, had a grin on his face.

"..."

"KILL HIM!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"RIPP HIM TO PIECES!!!!"

As an avalanche, the dozens of men surrounding Yasu, all started running towards him in an inferno of screams, at the back of it all, Juzo just looked at the scene unfold opening his arms wide while looking at Yasu.

"Show your strenght kid! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"