Ronin, that is my name. One I've worn with pride, and at times, one I've worn with sorrow. White fur coated my earth pony body, while a dark red mane tied in a ponytail streamed behind me. A straw hat lay on the table, within reaching distance. Some griffon gloves lay folded underneath; it is to be used in emergencies. On my flank, there bore a straw hat overlapping a katana, my chosen weapon.
"Welcome to Men's Noodles!" A pale yellow mare called out from behind the counter. I lazily drifted my gaze to the entrance and saw a pink filly who looked very lost. She didn't even have a cutie mark. I took notice of this, then went back to my ramen. As I contemplated on why this particular ramen was so good, I heard in the background, "are you lost?"
"N-No...maybe?" The other patrons started to look up at the filly with newfound sympathy. I couldn't care less, these ramens were criminally good. I was almost done with slurping down all of my noodles when the doors came crashing down. The sudden violence caught me off guard; I started hacking up the ramen that got stuck in my throat.
"Hey hey hey! Look what we have here, boys! A lost little filly that our boss just so happens to want. What do you say, little pony? Want to come with your best friends, the Chainers?" A raspy, slightly foreign, voice chuckled. After I stopped coughing, I slowly looked up while rubbing my sore throat. By the wreckage of the poor rice paper door, there stood five stallions, all carrying various weapons. They looked aggressive, but it mattered not to me. The Chainers are a group of bandits that don't know when to stop. They raid defenseless caravans and capture souls for bounties, just like this filly.
I put my hat on and stashed away my griffon gloves in my saddlebag. I quickly slurped down the rest of my ramen, then got up, my tail putting some bits on the table. I slowly trotted towards the bandits, keeping my head covered by the brim of my straw hat. My gait was slow as I moseyed my way to the door.
"Hey, you. Stop moving or we'll gut you." A different voice this time, but still the same amount of viciousness.
"Pardon me, I need to get to my daughter's birthday." I tried moving through the Chainers, but they didn't budge. "Surely you can understand?"
"What part of 'stop moving' do you not understand!" By now I could feel terrified eyes penetrating my hide. Without even looking up from my hat, I knew the pony in front must've drawn his sword and was poised to strike. Using the wind, I maneuvered out of the way right before the katana struck. Gasps of shock came from both the Chainers and the patrons.
"Maybe you don't understand, it's my daughter's birthday and I don't want to miss it." I slowly raised my head, my bright red eyes boring into his gray ones. The pony, that the eyes belonged to, took a step back.
"Nopony cares if it's your daughter's birthday!" Another pony this time. I whipped my head to the voice, scaring him back as well.
"What's the matter with you foals! He's just another lowly peasant!" The leader of the group stared at his scared troop. His raspy voice laced with anger that I, of all ponies, scared the Chainers.
"S-Sir, he's no lowly peasant!"
"He's...he's the Ronin of Yama!"
"The Hundred Slayer!"
"Spare me!"
"Bah, he just looks like him." The leader kicked a couple of his pones before facing me with a sneer. "Everypony knows that the Ronin is long dead. Now get him so we can finally get back to our jobs!" With his words, the rest of the gang drew their weapons and faced me. Behind me, I heard the bartender whispering to the other patrons to leave while they still could. As the tavern cleared out, I stood there staring down the Chainers. The brutes still held the filly, keeping her from escaping.
"Looks like I'm not going to make it." I grumbled, leaning on a nearby chair.
"How dare you!" The leader charged, a katana held in his mouth. As he charged, I took note of his grip, a wooden one laced with gold. I simple side stepped, letting the blade whoosh beside me. Before he could recover, I kicked him over with a single hoof.
The others, five in total, excluding the one I kicked, gaped at me in shock. Then, one by one, they snapped out of their stupor and charged at me as well. With a quick flourish, my mouth pulled out my katana from my scabbard and blocked the first attack. The sudden appearance of my sword made everypony stop and stare in wide-eyed fear. I took advantage of this and quickly wove between them all, dispatching the bandits of their weapons. Within seconds all of their belongings lay on a floor behind me.
I opened my mouth to speak, but got interrupted by a guttural roar. One filled with anger and shame. I turned around and barely dodged the reckless attack by the leader. "I WILL NOT LET SOME PEASANT DEFILE MY HONOR!" He quickly wheeled around and rose up on his backhooves before crashing down with his katana. I stood there, sword in mouth, not moving. I waited for the right moment, then put all my force with my block. A loud clash of metal on metal rang out in the tavern. The two of us stood there for a second, then my opponent's handle shattered in his mouth.
"Wood and gold. Pitiful materials for handles." I scoffed at him, sheathed my sword, then trotted up to the filly. The other Chainers didn't do anything, even shuffling away if I got near. "Alright little filly, you're safe now. Let's get you home." The air was driven from my lungs from her bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, thank you!" The pink filly's white mane bounced with her hug. Bright rose-colored eyes glistened with not-yet tears. After she got herself under control, she smiled sheepishly. "My name's Sakura!"
After I paid the bartender some more bits for the hassle I caused, we made our way out of town. A hardened samurai and an energetic filly.