JaccArlington
Black Swordsman
He shifted uncomfortably at the sound of her name. He hadn't heard anyone other than himself say it in years. It felt so strange to hear it now. "She was... a close friend. A long time ago." He looked up at the others, all staring him down now. "I really don't know that we have the time for it, but I'll go ahead and share what I can before landing..." He took off his hat, keeping his scarf elevated to cover his face. "We were young. Both of us. Best friends. Our parents had arranged a marriage once we were old enough, however, we didn't see that as a necessary motion to take. We were simply happy to be friends." He felt a tinge of warmth, perhaps happiness triggered by the memories? He couldn't remember the feeling, so he had nothing to gauge it on. "We used to go play in the woods out behind the village. After you travelled so far in, there was a beautiful open meadow. We would go there and spend our time staring up at the clouds. One day, when we were around ten or so, we went to the meadow. I remember having an odd feeling when we arrive, like something was wrong. I dismissed it, however. I had been recovering from a bout of the flu, so I attributed it to that. Looking back, I should have said something." He felt the blood rushing to his face, the hatred welling up inside. He stopped for a moment, taking the pause to breathe and calm himself. "The next thing we knew, there were arrows flying everywhere. We had stumbled into the opening of what would come to be a large war from an expanding army, their intentions to take over our village merely a way to see to it that they had a camp for their upcoming war. A scout troop, advance unit. They meant our deaths to prevent us from getting word back to the village. I was badly injured. Rika..." He shook his head. "They didn't make sure we were both gone. I carried Rika back to the village, telling everyone what had happened. We won the battle with no casualties, according to official records. But to our families, we had suffered the greatest casualty of all. I swore my vengeance on every person in that scout troop, however they were all able to get out of the battle due to trauma from killing 'two' children. I never tracked them down all the way, but I know now who their descendants are, and plan to see to it that Rika's death not be in vain." He subconsciously banged his fist against the wall, missing Odihiru's head by only mere inches. "Sorry... I'm a bit touchy about it... Anyway, several years passed, everyday a new opportunity to train in battle. I visited her gravesite every day, finally feeling up to the task of avenging her. One day, however, my training ran a bit too long, and I was unable to visit until night." He lowered the scarf, showing again his fangs. "The rest, as they say, is history."