The Hunted [Closed]

Jangbu saw that a man was lying unconscious on the ground. Surely the man who stood before him must have done this. The girl seemed very scared, and it seemed like the man in front of her was quite serious. Jangbu eyed the man. This man must be some kind of bounty hunter Jangbu thought while still observing  this man
" What you ask of me, I cannot do stranger. Please let the girl go, I will give you everything I have in return of her safety."  The area became silent, and nothing could be heard, besides the few crunches of leaves being stepped on.  This simple sound gave Jangbu, and the stranger in front of the girl notice of bandits slowly surrounding them. "Ah I see now. you are not an enemy"  Jangbu thought to himself as the bandits slowly crept around them. It seemed the stranger thought this as well about Jangbu. The girl began to freakout even more, screaming the whole time, as the bandits approached. Jangbu set  down his staff, and position him self into the Lotus position. "Stranger, It seems we are surrounded, and I cannot hold them off by myself. Please lend me your hand in this fight." Jangbu said  while tapping into the Qi Gong  meditation. The bandits came into  view, ready to attack.

Jangbu acknowledge the stranger as a friend, and quickly leaped toward two of the bandits.    Jangbu unleashed a series of blows, his movements were so fluid, and each attack added on to the on going chain of his attacks. To his surprise the two bandits held their own against his attacks. One of the bandits even manage to counter Jangbu, forcing him to back away.  The other four bandits seemed only interested in the girls capture.  They all rushed in towards Kei. One after the other rushed toward him, relentlessly attacking.  Little did they know that the masked man excelled at hand to hand combat.  Kei quickly disposed three of the bandits. Kei took a quick glimpse of Jangbu match, and had saw that Jangbu had defeated his foes, however the girl was missing, and so was one of the bandits.
Jangbu quickly air bended his staff towards him, and leaped towards Kei.
"He must have taken her, while we were fighting his comrades." Jangbu said while observing the unconscious bandits.

Jangbu was distracted by the previous skill Kei displayed to take out the bandit. "Did he just lightning bender ? Is he a fire bender ?. The question lingered in  his mind as he answer Kei question. " I would be glad to join you" In truth Jangbu was scared of fire benders, but seeing the action of this man had put his fear to rest at that moment. Jangbu walked in front of the stranger, and bowed before him, and the girl. "I am Jangbu, Air Nomad of the Western Air Temple."

Jangbu was surprised at the question at first. He always thought that air nomads always traveled wherever there interest sought. " I guess this is considered an adventure." Jangbu said while a smirk came across his face. " I go wherever the wind takes me..Kei."
Yune eyed the monk the whole time, trying to gain some sort of sign to what he meant. The walk was long, and Omashu was far from being close. The air grew silent, and Jangbu enjoyed the light breeze kiss upon his shaved head. "You displayed some skill back there. Where did you learn how to fight ?"

"I had a very skilled mentor who taught me the basics, then I gained much experience through fighting as a Freelancer in the War Of Tipped Scales." Kei replied. Jangbu could not help, but notice that a freelancer would participate in war, just for the gold. Blood money is the true statement of what Kei probably earned back then. Jangbu did not want to linger on that thought for too long, and quickly answered Kei question. " Does one must know another to give aid in dire situation. I offered my belongings, because I wanted to protect her, nothing more or less. To put it simple, I would help anyone in need, if i have the strength." Jangbu was shocked to know that the world outside the temples, might not be as he thought. Yune walked silently as the two talked, gazing upon the sky, as the sun began to slowly set. "What of you..Kei ? What was your reason for helping this child ? Are you a hired arm from the child parents ?"

"If I was a father of a daughter, I wouldn't want her hanging around with such guys" Kei replied.
Jangbu was surprised by his answer, and didn't expect a soldier to say such words. Sun had laid its shine to rest, and party continued to walk, and Yune showed signs of fatigue. "I am getting sleepy" said Yune.
"It seems the little one won't make it through the night." Jangbu whispered to Kei.
"If only I had a bison" Jangbu thought to himself, as Kei thought of the next step in their journey.

Jangbu saw this as the perfect opportunity to meditate, so he gladly accepted the first shift.
"There is no need for a second shift Kei, get some rest, and restore your strength" Jangbu said while positioning himself into the lotus position. "I fear when the sun wakes, we will need all the strength we have for this next encounter. The wind speaks to me, and we must prepare." Jangbu remain silent the rest of the night, building his chi for when it will be needed. The night went as fast as the sun arose. Yune was still sound asleep, and Kei stood waiting to see if what Jangbu said would come to past. Surely enough Kei spotted a handful of bandits, which from his view seemed like to be about thirteen of them. Jangbu still sat quietly mediating. He was in deep thought, and any response given from Kei would not touch Jangbu mind. In other words, Kei was about to handle twelve armed bandits by himself.

Pieces   of conversation crept into Jangbu ears while he meditated. "Shitty job", "Jangbu", rants about the girl getting away all came rushing through Jangbu mind. His chi was finally at its point, and his meditation session came to a close. When opening his eyes to view his fellow companions, Jangbu was shocked to see that they were gone, and have been replaced with thirteen angry bandits surrounding him.
"Where did they go !"  yelled one of the bandits. Jangbu knew his situation was one of many trials to come. With a smile Jangbu replied "Hello friends..of friends. Care for a tale ?"
"This guy is freaking crazy, said one of the bandits, as they all slowly began to close in on Jangbu.
"Stop acting like a idiot, and tell us were they are headed."  yelled another bandit.
Jangbu simply closed his eyes again, and began to meditate. The bandits grew impatient, and one of them decided to lunge towards Jangbu. As a blur, Jangbu leaped into the air while bending, a wind current from his left, sweeping three of the bandits into the air. He then landed, and continued to bend them into the rest of the group, knocking a total of two of them unconscious. Only ten remained, and Jangbu stood into his fighting stance, awaiting for their response. The bandits were smarter then they look, and decided to split into  two teams of five. Jangbu always had trouble with being aware of his surroundings, and still had the bad habit on staying focus on one object. The bandits all rushed in at once, and Jangbu was easily knocked unconscious. The bandits decided to take Jangbu to their camp, however five of them remained on the hunt for Kei, and Yune. While the other party hunted for Kei, and Yune, the other group stood, surrounded over Jangbu body. Holding a nice conversation amongst themselves over platypus bear wrestling. What the bandits didn't realized was Jangbu slowly awaking, and quietly bending his staff in a swirling motion. One of the bandits caught on, and quickly tried to pin him down, but was too late. Jangbu had already bended his staff towards him with lightning fast speed. The staff connected with the bandits head, and the result ended with the bandits life. Jangbu had never taken a mans, life, and even though the western air temple had lifted their views on combat, doing it was completely different. He could not think on it for long, because the other four were already approaching.  Jangbu quickly bended his staff between him, and a passing guard. The staff served as a distraction, and Jangbu quickly preformed a flying kick towards the bandits face, knocking him out cold. The single action made the other bandits reconsider the coming duel between them,and  decided to  run away. Jangbu grabbed his staff, and walked over to the man he had slain. With tears in his eyes, Jangbu stared, at the man. "I have failed you...Master Yamamoto."

Jangbu did not care where he landed, but he had to get away from body. Jangbu preformed a series of air bending techniques, and with the help of his stored chi, leaped into flight, fleeing the scene that has now  stained his memory.

The chi built up and stored from his earlier session was dwindling; he felt the augmented chi leaving his body. Soon he would descend, but where ? As he continued to fly amongst the thick forest, vision of the bandit emerged, and so did question. Did he have a family ? Was he really a bad man ? Am I a horrible person ?, all of these question ran through his mind as he began to fall. The speed of which he fell increased, if he wasn't an airbender the fall could have killed him, but he manage to bend into a tree, and climb down. Covered in bruises, Jangbu set down underneath a tree, and thought about his life at the temple.
"Did I make a mistake Master ?", he said while looking at the lush green leaves.
Jangbu closed his eyes, and began to drift into a dream. A dream of peace.

Jangbu hadn't really had a chance to rest, so when Kei woke him up. he was a little irritated.
Kei notice something different about Jangbu, and this difference seemed to hang within the air. Jangbu
decided not to tell anyone of what he did. "Its ok friend, as long as you and the girl got away." Jangbu strength was nearly gone, he needed something to recover. " Do you have any "Onion Banana Juice on you ?". Jangbu replied, before slowly getting up. Kei knew that Jangbu needed to sleep, otherwise he wouldn't make it to the end of this journey with him, and Yune.
Jangbu wasn't sure what Kei was going to do, so he sat back down and thought about the next step.
Jangbu waved his had towards Kei signalling him to lean into him, so Yune could not hear what he was saying. "Take the girl and continue on..I will rest here a bit. Don't worry about me. Jangbu firmly shook Kei hand, and nodded.

Jangbu knew that the girl would be safe in Kei hands. He watch as they made their way out of his sight. Jangbu closed his eyes and began to rest. He woke up several hours later, and had manage to get on his feet, however he was still in pretty bad shape. He used his staff as support, and began to lead his way out of the forest. He wasn't sure where he was headed, but thought about his little adventure with Kei. A smile emerged from his bruised face, as he continued to walk.
"Kei, may our path cross again someday" he thought while unknowingly heading in the direction of Chin village.