The road was a long and winding path, never-ending really. Not this road in particular, but rather the path of the traveler in general. It seemed to never really have a final place to stop, which suited Masako just fine. The world was a vast place after all and she enjoyed seeing all she could of it. The storm of the previous evening had cleared away and now the droplets of water shone in the light of the sun, thousands of little crystals all their own upon the grass and leaves.

Xing was a beautiful place. Lush countryside and fields upon fields of farmland as far as the eye could see. It reminded her of the southern lands back in her homeland, where she had grown up. Masako allowed herself a puff of nostalgia as she made her way to the river. She had a spear resting against her shoulders and on either side of it there was a pack. One carrying her food, and the other a waterskin. That one was growing rather light.

Masako definitely looked the part of the foreigner. Long blue hair was pulled into a rather long ponytail stretching down to her lower back. She bore rather bright and brilliant orange and white armor, its style quite different from that of Xing. She wore simple straw sandals with black tabi wrapping her feet. At her side were a pair of swords, one shorter than the other. The woman stood out like a sore thumb with her brilliant colors and weapons, very obviously a mercenary of sorts. Though those were perhaps not the most notable features most saw when they met her.

Her steps sank deep into the earth and the trees around the massive woman only came to about her shins. The ground shook ever so when she was drawing near, the warrior casting a long shadow in the light of the morning. The woman was a giant and carried herself as such. The road itself was little more than a thin path for her to follow to somewhere civilized really.

Eventually she reached the shore of the river and removed her packs from her spear, bending down and taking in gallons of water into the waterskin. She let out a little sigh, no sign of a town or anything since she left the last one. Any people she had happened across in the countryside tended to take a more run and hide approach to her presence, so getting directions was hard around Xing.

Masako turned her head as she finished filling up her waterskin and blinked. Lying upon the shore of the river was a woman. She wore brilliant silver armor and looked like was soaked completely. She was lying with her back upon the mud and dirt. The giant looked around before standing up and taking a long drink of her waterskin. She took a step toward the fallen woman and crouched down.

"Still alive down there?" Masako asked, poking the woman with her large pinkie. If not, hey, free snack for the road. No one around to see anyway.

To the blue haired woman's disappointment the poking of her pinkie sent water spraying from the human's mouth. She took in great gasping gulps of air as she turned on her side, coughing loudly. Masako let out a loud audible sigh. Should have just eaten the thing and had done with it while she had the chance, ah well, nothing for it now.

"Looks like that's a yes. I'd take a second if I were you before looking up. Get your bearings." The giant remarked as she took another drink.

After a few moments of hacking and wheezing the dark haired woman started steadying her breath. "Ah... ha... I'm alive." The woman breathed.

"Evidently so. Lucky, most people that take a dip with their armor on can't say the same." Masako mused as she scratched her cheek.

"Th-thank you stranger, if there is anything... I... can..." It was in that moment the woman looked up and took in the full scale of Masako.

 3... 2... 1... Masako counted down the seconds mentally until, sure enough, the woman let out a scream of surprise and scrambled back from her. Happened every time, honestly she was getting the feeling the people of Xing had issues showing manners. Regardless the woman below started searching for something, a weapon most likely but without one she just picked up a rock and held it up.

"Are you one of Zazia's ilk like General Fa? One of those bitches he super-sized? I won't go to him without a fight! I, Second Princess Hui Dan Rei, will battle until the end!" The woman called out.

Masako held up a hand. "Woah, woah, I think you've got me confused for someone else. I'm a Ronin from Netaru, got no idea who Zazia or General Fa are, but I don't work for them. So, uh, put the rock down before you hurt yourself."

The princess didn't lower her weapon and so Masako simply sighed and stood to her full height, setting a hand on her hip. Her full enormity was on display for the vastly smaller princess, enough to cause her to take a step back. The blue haired woman ran her fingers through her hair as she let out a snort.

"If just my standing up gets that reaction I'd squish you like a bug in a fight. Your body is aware of that even if you are too dazed to be." Masako stated. "Anyway. I have no further business here so if you'll excuse me..."

Masako turned on her heel and set her spear back on her shoulders with her travel packs on either end once again. With that she started walking away from the much smaller woman. Her sense of staying out of massive trouble was screaming at her to not have anything to do with said princess. Anyone with General attached to their name was undoubtedly bad news to get on the bad side of.

"W-wait! If you really aren't with Zazia then you have to help me!" Called the woman behind her, running after the giant. Every step Masako took at a walking pace was faster than Rei's running pace by a wide margin.

"Don't have to do anything. I saved your life from dying in the dirt of a riverside, should be enough." Complete accident mind you.

"Hey! Stop walking away from me, peasant! I order you to stop and help me! I am the Second Princess of Xing, you have to obey me!" The woman called out as she ran after Masako.

The giant was starting to think eating her when she'd had the chance would have been the best option. Too late for that. Well. She could always do it now anyway, live humans tended to squirm too much for her liking but if it shut her up. It was an option she considered as she very much didn't slow her pace for the woman.

"You are just going to leave a defenseless woman on her own? What kind of savages do they raise in Netaru? I can't possibly defend myself like this!" The princess was still running after Masako, persistent.

"Just wave a rock around, I'm sure it will intimidate any of the small folk." The warrior remarked.

Just as she was about to take another step, the air in front of her flashed a brilliant purple and streaks of light flashed through the air around Masako. Immediately in the path in front of her now stood around ten black armored warriors. At their head was a man with a half mask over his face, a cloak billowing behind him as he crossed his arms and looked up at Masako.

Rei had caught up as the giant naturally stopped walking with this armed and armored group in front of her. The princess stood between the sandal clad feet of the giant, a stricken look on her face as she looked at the man. "Gao Jiang! You treasonous cur! If not for you, we would not have been ambushed at the riverbend!" The woman called out.

The man chuckled. "My apologies, princess, however any smart man can see where the tides are starting to turn. Prince Zazia will rule Xing soon enough. There is no reason to die a pointless death."

"You know he's got a hell of a point. If the cause is lost, no reason to die for it." Masako pointed out.

Rei frowned and crossed her arms. "Well, just as well, as you can see I'm packing muscle that even General Fa couldn't touch. Unless you want to be crushed like bugs I suggest you back off." The princess said.

It took a long moment for Masako to realize she was the muscle being referred to. The figures on the ground looked up at the giant and drew their blades, a couple leveling crossbows up at her. Gao looked up at the distant face of the foreigner and snorted. He drew his own blade and pointed it up at Masako.

"She's a big one for sure, but no one can match General Fa. I hope you've made your peace with the gods, stranger!" He said as he ran his sword through a dizzying array of moves, pretty to look at but looked very impractical.

"Woah woah, I literally just met this broad." Masako held her hands up. She looked down at the woman standing between her feet. "Tell them."

Rei's smug look didn't leave her face. "She is a sworn hero to the cause to topple Prince Zazia. Why I heard her declare that she'd kill General Fa herself with one hand." The woman confirmed.

Gao let out a bark of laughter. "Well then! I will gladly face you, stranger! Know dread for I am Gao Jiang, the Raging Dragon!" He said before he and his men threw themselves at Masako.

"Okay, lady. You and I are going to have a long talk about lying." Masako said as she drew her spear and sent her gear falling to the ground. She twisted it around in the air before her before crouching low. Well, low for her.

The soldiers rushed at her, quite fast and aimed spears and swords at her ankles. Princess Rei had the good sense to back the hell up. Masako herself danced back, the blades never touching her. Arrows flew toward her and she swung her spear through the air, the gale caused sending the arrows spinning to the ground. One man jump up toward her and she swung her foot out. There was a sickening crack as he didn't so much as get sent flying as he did splatter into gore upon the top of her foot.

"Come on I just washed those!" Masako griped as she twisted around and swept her spear on the ground before her.

Five men were send flying as the earth was rent and torn asunder by the sheer force of impact. Bones shattered and were powdered. Boulders were sent flying toward the archers as well. By the end the only one left standing after by a few second was Gao himself, the man now looking a little unsure as to his odds.

"Now then, maybe we can be reasonable about this whole-!" Masako started before the man pulled out what appeared to be a purple crystal.

"I'll not forget this, stranger! You are known now, there is not a place in Xing you'll find that will be safe!" The man shouted before he vanished in a burst of purple light.

Masako stared at the fading purple light and ground her teeth so hard that they felt like they were about to crack. She placed her spear against her shoulder and used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. That... had not gone well. The exact opposite of well as she looked around at the bodies on the ground. The little skirmish had been but a few seconds really and in that time it appeared she had been made an enemy by a major power around her.

"Ha! Serves that traitor right. That was damn impressive, giant! I was worried for a second there." The voice of the princess came from below.

Masako was quiet for a moment before she reached down lightning fast and took up the princess in her fist. The woman was gasping and writhing as she found a very, very annoyed Masako staring her down. She tried to open her mouth to speak but was cut off into gasping as Masako squeezed ever so, her fine armor bending from the pressure and Rei's ribs creaking in warning.

"You've got thirty seconds to explain why I shouldn't squeeze you until you head pops off. Make it a good argument."