A Waste of Time

The unceasing, harsh rain still fell as the Nameless Wanderer roamed the everlasting empty paths before her. Not a soul made themselves known by her, continuing to hide away when they caught wind of the bleeding kyber crystal-wearing ronin crossing through their town with a trophy to her hip.

With her lone hand resting on the hilt of her blade that remained sheathed at her hip, the Wanderer continued forward, smoking tobacco from a pipe that was held between her lips.

However, those who watched the Wanderer quickly noticed that she was not alone in her travels. There was another warrior tailing behind her, not too close, yet not too far.

He wore black and silver armor, along with a black cape that trailed behind his back, flowing with the wind. He too wore a hat made from straw, shielding his scarred, bearded face from the rain.

He'd been trailing the Wanderer through several villages, though she acted as if she didn't take notice. However, her patience was tried, prompting the Wanderer to stop in her tracks, using her single hand to remove the pipe from her mouth before speaking to the man following her.

"You gonna tell me why you're followin' me? I've got bigger burra fish to fry." Her accent had a farmer's drawl to it, displaying where she must have originated from. Her feet remained planted, not even turning to face the man as she spoke. "If it's a date you're after... I got some bad news for ya', I ain't interested."

"Don't flatter yourself." the man spoke with a gravelly voice that displayed a sense of superiority and confidence. "I'm here to collect a bounty, nothing more, nothing less."

Though unseen by the Wanderer herself, a sly smile grew on the apparent bounty hunter's face. He'd heard of the rumors but was one of many who thought they were just that, solely rumors. "Those almost look like real kyber crystals, one's made bloody by a Sith. However, I of all people would be able to sniff out a fake from a parsec away."

Just as he spoke, the hunter pulled the hilt of his very own lightsaber from his hip. The handle itself was plain in design and was nearly double the length of the average hilt of a lightsaber. It had a cross guard, giving the hilt a T-shaped design. His lightsaber then ignited, sounding as if two suns had collided while his face became illuminated with a red glow.

Feeling the heat from the blade, along with seeing the scarlet light illuminating from behind her, the Wanderer raised a brow. She hadn't seen a Sith in a long while; a pleasant surprise and perhaps a challenge.

Slowly, the Wanderer turned around to face her enemy, placing her thumb on the guard of her lightsaber's hilt. Her eye then locked onto her opponent's uniquely shaped lightsaber, though her face hid any sort of surprise that may have resided deep within her.

Her enemy's crimson blade was thick and lengthy, impaling the ground as he held it to his side. Just above the hilt, the crimson blade itself housed another cross in its design, presenting a T-shaped blade.

Due to its weight, the man was forced to hold his weapon with both hands, seemingly going against the idea that lightsabers were supposed to be swift and elegant weapons.

"My name is Zrisnos, and I will be the one to defeat you, she who has many names!" He then lifted the sword, holding it at chest height and pointing it at the Wanderer. There was, however, something peculiar about the man's grip on his weapon. One hand was holding onto the metallic hilt itself, while the other was holding onto the blade of his lightsaber.

'Beskar gloves?' the Wanderer thought to herself. 'What's he and the Mandalorians have to do with each other? Or maybe it's stolen.'

Beskar was one of the only things capable of protection against the blade of a lightsaber. However, Beskar was only found on the planet Mandalore. Nonetheless, it was not impossible for one to obtain it through other means, as some Mandalorians who went against their creed would sell it through various markets.

"Tch." the Wanderer scoffed, finding this to be a waste of her time. Though she'd never seen anything like what was in front of her before, she was convinced it was all pointless theatrics. "What a disgrace." she muttered.

Using her thumb, the Wanderer pushed her hilt forward, compelling her colorless blade to hum and scrape against the inside of her scabbard.

With her single hand, she grabbed her lightsaber by the hilt and removed it from her scabbard in one swift motion, holding it to her side.

As the rain struck her blade, an intense sizzle was accompanied by steam emanating from the blade itself.

As her lightsaber crackled in the rain, the Wanderer's kimono tattered in the wind, along with her torn, armless sleeve. With one foot in front of the other, Zrisnos remained still, pointing his weapon at the Wanderer with a poised expression on his face.

Slowly, he began inching his way over to the Wanderer until he was within attacking range. With a quick thrust, Zrisnos attacked the Wanderer, though using her speed, she twirled to the side and struck his blade with hers.

For a moment, Zrisnos found himself with a broken guard. The Wanderer knew far too well that this was her opportunity for attack, stepping forward swiftly with her blade trailing behind her.

However, due to the length of Zrisnos's weapon and the range of his first attack, he was able to recover in time to guard her attack with the cross formation on his blade.

Lightning struck, though the only sound heard by the warriors and their hidden spectators was the clashing of their blades. The Wanderer clenched her teeth, using her single arm to attempt to match the power of her two-armed opponent.

Zrisnos, using his unmatched power, pushed the Wanderer's blade to the side, breaking her guard momentarily. With a wide swing, Zrisnos aimed for the Wanderer's neck, though his attack would only whiff as the Wanderer bent her body backward, allowing the blade to pass over her, illuminating her body with a crimson glow.

Using her backward momentum, the Wanderer flipped backward, landing on her feet before glaring at her opponent with that fox-like eye of hers. Though Zrisnos's weapon was large, he moved with such speed that he may as well have been using a weapon as light as a feather.

"What's that I sense? Is it fear? Fear of the unknown? Fear of death? Do not worry, I shall end this quickly for you!" Zrisnos then stepped forward with yet another thrusting attack from a distance, smiling like the confident demon he was.

Swift as a fox, the Wanderer pounced to her right, avoiding the attack before she began running along the wall of a wooden building beside her. After just three steps, the Wanderer kicked off the building and slashed downward at Zrisnos, who once again blocked her attack with the cross-section of his blade.

This time, however, the Wanderer did not waste her time attempting to overpower her opponent, this time opting to quickly dash to the side, kicking up mud and rainwater before finding herself behind her opponent.

'She's fast!' Zrisnos thought before quickly turning around to block a vertical strike coming from down below. Due to having to react so quickly, Zrisnos found himself off balance, only halfway facing the Wanderer as he blocked her upward strike.

Seeing her opponent's stance failing to respect her, the Wanderer twirled clockwise around her opponent once more before delivering a downward slash with the intent to kill.

The sound of flesh being cut and cauterized was heard, along with the agonizing screams of Zrisnos as he stood with just a single arm holding his massive blade. His other arm, the one with the Beskar glove, was seen limp, resting on the ground beneath his feet.

To the Wanderer's surprise, Zrisnos was still able to block her attack, though it cost him his left arm.

Seeing Zrisnos writhing in pain, the Wanderer placed her blade back in its scabbard before walking away from her opponent. Clenching every muscle in his body, Zrisnos regained his fighting spirit and shouted at the Wanderer.

"You dare turn your back on me!" he bellowed, gritting his teeth and standing up straight with his colossal sword in hand. Being left alive after losing a battle was more humiliating than death itself, which was something Zrisnos would not accept.

"You no longer are a threat to me, nor would there be a reward for killin' you. The only reward I'd get for finishin' you off would be a waste of time. If you ever learn to wield a lightsaber with a single hand, you know where to find me." the Wanderer's words were chilling and condescending, cutting down Zrisnos better than any blade could, only infuriating him even further.

"I already have." Zrisnos spoke with a grimace before lifting his gargantuan sword above his head and resting the hilt on his shoulder. "Now face me."

The Wanderer stopped in her tracks, turning only her head to side-eye her opponent. "Hmph." the Wanderer exhaled turning her body to fully face her opponent once again. "If you say so."

Zrisnos then ran toward the Wanderer. Using his entire body weight, he began performing a wrathstrike, using a single arm to gather momentum by swinging the blade a figure 8-shape, ending with the blade high above his head.

Due to the weight of his blade and the amount of momentum behind it, blocking this attack would mean certain death for even a two-handed opponent.

Knowing speed was her only option yet again, the Wanderer pushed her thumb on the hilt of her blade before taking a swift step forward, digging her foot into the mud and pushing off of it.

There was then yet another bolt of lightning, one that flashed so brightly, those who were watching the battle had their vision obscured for only a fraction of a second.

By the time the battlefield was visible once more, the Wanderer and Zrisnos were seen at two arm's length away from each other, their backs facing one another.

Standing up straight, the Wanderer placed her blade back in its scabbard before reaching into her kimono to grab her pipe.

Meanwhile, Zrisnos stood with his blade pointed downward, his eyes wide. All at once, Zrisnos's other arm fell to the ground, along with his lightsaber and the then two halves of his charred body.

"Just as I said. A waste of time." the Wanderer said quietly to herself, lighting the pipe between her lips before approaching the corpse of her opponent.

With her own lightsaber, she cut Zrisnos's in half, revealing his bleeding kyber crystal to her. Sheathing her blade, the Wanderer kneeled and grabbed the kyber crystal, putting it in her pocket before walking away, leaving her opponent's corpse to be cleaned up by someone else.

Once again, just as she arrived, the Wanderer strolled down her muddy path as rain fell onto her straw hat from above. Those from within their homes and shops watched as the Nameless Wanderer strolled with conviction in each step, her trophy in her pocket.

The Nameless Wanderer.

The Kiyohime.

The Grey Ronin.

The Bloody-Eared Raven.

She went by many names, though her true name was unknown.

However, just as the legends spoke, the Wanderer appeared and disappeared just as quickly.