The sun had barely risen, painting the sky in streaks of grey and amber. Jin awoke early from his disturbed slumber.
His sleep was not much, but it was sufficient to keep going.
The wind was loud, the trees rustled along the road to where their journey lies.
Jin looked at the trees and then turned around to the other side of the river where there were barely any live trees. Only those that were blackened by the endless smog that filled the land.
He was still on high alert so he listened for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing. Not even crickets dared to sing.
He got up and grabbed his sword to take laps around the perimeter to make sure nothing suspicious was there.
He then found a secluded place with trees to train with his dual wielded daggers.
"In moments of urgent danger, a sword takes too long to draw."
He trained basic strikes. Alternating daggers. Hitting weak spots in the bark to mimic hitting vulnerable points in opponents.
"Why do you train so basically, samurai" A voice spoke
Jin turned and saw the woman.
"What do you mean?" he questioned.
"In that fight yesterday, you demonstrated some skill. So why do you train so simply?"
Jin chuckled. " Would you be scared of a man who practised a thousand different kicks once , or one kick a thousand times?"
"So you believe mastery comes from repetition, not variety? I suppose that makes sense... but isn't there a risk of being predictable?"
Jin smiled faintly, eyes sharp. "Predictable? Maybe. But when mastery runs deep, even a single move can adapt and break patterns. It's not about the number of kicks—it's about making every strike count."
The woman let out a smile. It looked like it was the first time she did in years "Is that so?"
Jin slashed at the bark of a nearby tree "Basics build the foundation. Without that, everything else falls apart."
There was a brief silence that settled between them.
"Tomorrow," Jin said quietly "We train together. I'll show you"
Her eyes flickered with determination "I'd like that."
"Wake Koichi up" Jin spoke with a soft voice "We can't stay here for long"
The woman turned to leave, Jin sheathed his daggers.
Daybreak was approaching and along with it came their journey.
The woman knelt beside Koichi, shaking him gently. "Time to wake up, we have miles to cover"
Koichi groaned, his eyes fluttering open but he forced them shut again. "I'll get up in a bit"
The woman placed a firm hand on his shoulder "We can't stay here for long,otherwise they will find us"
Koichi muttered "I'm tired"
Jin stepped closer, his voice calm but resolute " We, all are. But rest won't keep us safe"
Koichi finally opened his eyes, meeting the woman's steady gaze.
The woman offered a small, encouraging smile. "Come on. Let's get moving before the sun's too high"
Koichi sighed, pushing himself up with effort. The weight of their journey settled heavily on him.
He rubbed his eyes and slowly stood up.
"We go through that road into the next village" The woman pointed
"Lets hope that village hasn't been ransacked" Jin scoffed.
They began their move.
The road was narrow,surrounded by trees on each side.
"How far is it" Koichi cried out "My legs still hurt from yesterday"
The woman gave a little smile "Not that far"
After a while of walking, Jin glanced to the woman at the side of him. "You never told me your name"
She paused, then met his eyes "It's Aiko. What about you?"
"Jin Kanzaki and the little one's Koichi"
Aiko continued walking "I see"
Koichi tried keeping up "My legs hurt. Are we nearly there yet?"
Aiko turned around. "I can carry you if you want"
Koichi's eyes brightened "Really?" he ran to her.
She picked him up and carried on walking.
"What village are we going to" Jin asked
"Dragon's Haven"
"There's stables there" The woman said
"That's good. I really need a horse so that dipshit doesn't complain about his legs hurting" He glanced at Koichi who took his opportunity to sleep while being carried.
Aiko questioned Jin "Your journey seems to have no clear end.Where is your destination "
"The Golden Temple" Jin responded. "It's a concealed place and on the way to Rindou"
Aiko coughed "Rindou. What business do you have at the capital?"
"It's the only place without Jorntur soldiers. All thanks to that huge, impenetrable wall. They haven't managed to breach it"
Aiko nodded ""We could take other routes to Rindou, but from here Inchesan is the quickest path. "
Jin chuckled "Inchesan would be heavily guarded by Jorntur due to its nature"He cast a wary glance ahead down the narrow road, the trees seeming to close in tighter. "It's the choke point—anyone trying to reach Rindou quickly has to pass through it. No wonder it's called the Land of War."
Aiko's eyes darkened slightly. "Many who enter never come out the same... if they come out at all."
Jin's voice lowered "We will find allies there, to aid us in our quest for liberation"
Aiko responded dryly "Yeah, after all the people of Inchesan do not play around"
Jin spoke clearly "We stock up supplies at the golden temple before stepping foot in Inchesan"
Aiko nodded "Good plan, we need everything we can get before we even think of entering the land of war."
They were stopped in their tracks by a group of bandits that emerged from the dense trees on the sides of the path.
"Oi, Oi a fresh batch of travellers" One of them sneered, stepping out of the trees with a crooked grin on his face.
"One man, a child and a woman -it's a freebie"another added on.
"Get out of my way" Jin spoke, his voice like steel wrapped in ice.
"Woah.. We got a fighter here guys. A swordsman I see" They mocked him.
"Surely, you know you're at a disadvantage here.We can kill you before you even think of fighting back" They snarled
"I'm curious to see what you can do with that sword of yours"They kept adding onto each other , taking Jin for a fool.
But Jin wasn't one to be mocked.
His hands moved but not to the sword instead to the daggers.
Twin blades flashed free.
His voice was low and deadly.
"It's a good thing I'm already warmed up"