I'm sorry, what?

I've never met the owner of this new sword. He's middle-aged, with piercing gray eyes that match the color of his hair, which is pulled back. He wears an incredibly flashy red suit of armor and carried a shield in the shape of a cross. His expression is calm and collected, even though he just interrupted a murder. And he looks determined about something.

Ryoko's angry expression turns toward the man, and he bring his sword down full-force. The man raises his shield to block it, and they both back into the center of the ring. I scramble away, into Rin and Takashi's open arms.

"Haruko!" I can hear that Takashi's trying not to cry, but I still feel tears on my shoulders.

Rin squeezes my middle; she's too short to do anything else. "We're so glad you're okay!"

"Thanks. I'm fine, I promise," I say, then turn to look at the fight.

The mystery man already has Ryoko on his knees, begging for mercy. There are tears in his eyes as he looks up at the man's cold, unfeeling expression. Through all this, the man only says one word: "Leave." And Ryoko scrambles to get up and run for his life.

The man then turns to me. "I'm sorry about what happened; he's a bit of an instigator up here. Did he hurt you at all?"

"I'm fine," I say. "It's just a little scratch."

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling okay." The man holds out his hand. "I'm Commander Heathcliff of the Knights of the Blood Oath.