After a few more hours of walking they started seeing the symbol of an M with a circle around it spray painted on cave walls. M for merchant? Andrew thought of mentioning it to Yui but decided against it. They rounded a corner and almost immediately bumped into someone. Andrew grabbed Yui by the shoulder and took a long step backwards with her. The guy he walked into was taller than him and toting a metal baseball bat. Andrew moved Yui behind him with his elbow and grabbed his stick with both hands.

“Woah woah there kid!” The man held his arms apart as if to show he didn’t want to fight. “No need for trouble, unless you’re looking to cause it. We’re just out on patrol here.” Andrew relaxed his grip on the pole and nodded at him.

“So uh, this we, how many more of you are there?” He didn’t look so tough, if it came to it...

“Don’t get any ideas kid, there’s four more of us behind me and only one of you. The Merchant doesn’t like losing guys to bandits.”

“Oh that wasn’t what I was thinking at all! I was just wondering if you could spare a man or two to show me the way back to this merchant guy. I happen to have some things he might be interested in.” Andrew looked over his shoulder and saw another man approaching. He was maybe in his late thirties and carrying a wrench.

“Hey Dan what’s the hold up here? That guy giving you trouble?”

“Just some kid with stuff to sell. Seems like a new arrival.” Andrew kept staring over Dan’s shoulder, seeing another three guys come into view. Wait a second, was one of them…

“Ezra!” Dan looked over his shoulder and shouted. Ezra stepped into full view, wearing a leather jacket. Andrew’s eyes widened as he took in the familiar hooked nose and curly hair.

“What?” He asked in a nasally voice as he stepped forward. He gave Andrew the once over, then stopped, staring at his pants. Andrew stayed motionless, fixated on his nose.

“If you can show these two to the...” Dan trailed off, noticing the tension between them. He motioned for the men behind him to back up. Andrew heard Yui moving away behind him. Ezra stepped in front of Dan, then closer to Andrew. Andrew tossed the stick behind him and stood still. Everyone went completely silent, stifled by the tension in the air. Ezra balled his fist and Andrew glanced around, trying to form a plan. He took a few steps away from him as he approached and raised his hands to chest height.

“Hey Ezra how you be-” Before he could finish Ezra threw a punch at his face. In a practiced move he deftly stepped to the side and grabbed his wrist. Just like at the dojo, he put his leg behind his attacker’s and swept him off his feet. Ezra hit the ground with a sickening thunk, but managed to clumsily roll away from him. The people behind Dan tried to rush forward to help but he held out his arms to block them. Andrew rushed over to Ezra as he struggled to get back on his feet and kicked him hard in the ribs. He fell down onto his back with a yelp. Andrew stomped on his stomach, once, then twice. He was bringing back his foot for a third time when Yui cried out.

“Stop it! You’ll kill him, Andrew!” She ran back over to him, looking like she was about to cry. He put his foot back on the ground and turned so he could look at her and Ezra at the same time. He thought of saying “well that’s the idea”, but kept quiet. Ezra started to squirm on the ground. Andrew raised his foot, but Yui caught him completely off guard by grabbing him in an embrace. “Please, please don’t kill him. You’ve already won. Just take his things and leave him here. Please Andrew.” He looked at her in shock, then looked to Dan. He looked at them coldly, giving no indication that he would intervene either way. The men behind him were shouting in protest, but not trying to push through. Andrew took a deep breath, then forced a grin to his face. He held Yui by the back of her head then kissed her. Her eyes widened in surprise and she turned bright red. He gently pushed her off as she started to stammer in disbelief, then knelt down next to the wounded man. He unzipped his jacket and started to remove it. Everyone else seemed to breath a collective sigh of relief. Andrew stood up, jacket in hand, and rolled his head as if to stretch out his neck.

“Sorry about that boys. Now Dan, I still have some stuff I’d like to trade with The Merchant.”