Office of the Spiritual King, Great Village
The Spiritual King paced slowly across the room.
With a deep breath, he lowered himself into his seat.
"Mr. Taka," the Spiritual King began, folding his
hands. "Why did you request Uzuki?"
Mr. Taka adjusted the sword in his hand, his
expression unreadable.
"Oh, nothing serious. He hasn't come home lately. I
just wanted to see if he's gotten stronger."
The Spiritual King leaned forward, frowning.
"What?! I thought this was serious!"
"That's not serious?" Mr. Taka looked.
"Of course not!" the King snapped.
Mr. Taka tilted his head. "Well, I thought it was
serious."
The Spiritual King stared at him blankly. "Man…
what?"
Okata, leaning against the wall, sighed and placed
a hand over his face.
"Mr. Taka, you need to learn how to change the tone
of your voice."
"My tone?" Mr. Taka repeated.
"Yeah," Okata said. "You make everything sound like
it's life or death."
"That's just how I talk," Mr. Taka replied.
Okata sighed again. "Mr. Taka has no hope."
Inside the Carriage, Dirt Road Through the Forest
The forest canopy swayed above as the carriage
rolled along the dirt path. Inside, Team One sat in relaxed silence.
Kaji leaned against the window, watching the trees
drift past.
"I wonder when we'll get there."
The Spiritual King said three hours," Kenshiro
replied. "But I bet we'll arrive in twenty minutes."
"Oh right… he did say that," Kaji murmured.
"How did you forget that?!" Rei shouted.
"Who knows," Kaji replied with a smirk.
Rei rolled his eyes. "You don't even make sense."
"I do."
"So, what are we doing when we get there?" Ryju
asked.
"Who knows," Kaji said. "We'll let the wind guide
us."
Goro chuckled. "You sound like a wise old man."
"You got the 'old' part right," Shun said,
grinning. "Not the 'wise.'"
Kaji scowled. "I'm not old, you stupid bastards."
The boys erupted into laughter.
"Oldy! Oldy!" Rei and Shun chanted in unison.
Kaji's face twitched. "Shut up! I'm not old, you
weakling bastards! Weakly bastards! Weakly bastards!"
Rei frowned. "It's not funny when you say it."
"Yeah," Shun added. "It loses the punch."
"I probably just don't understand weak bastards,"
Kaji muttered. "You caught that? I said 'weak bastards' instead of 'kids.'
Funny, right?"
"We heard it," Rei replied flatly.
"But it wasn't funny at all," Goro said.
"Guess you're too old to make us laugh," Shun
added.
"I'm not even that old!" Kaji snapped.
The carriage shook from their laughter.
"What the hell is so funny?!" Kaji demanded.
"Your face," Kenshiro said.
More laughter.
"And your age," Ryju chimed in.
"Wait, wait—his hair!" Shun shouted.
"There's nothing wrong with my great hair!" Kaji
barked.
"Great hair… in your dreams," Rei teased.
The laughter reached its peak.
"Alright, shut up! That's an order!" Kaji roared.
Rei crossed his arms. "So bossy…"
Bridge into Jinkawa Village
The forest ended. The carriage rolled onto a long
bridge bathed in sunlight, stretching across a river with green fields and
roaming animals on both sides.
"It's so beautiful," Rei whispered, gazing through
the window.
"I know, right?" Shun said.
"That must be Jinkawa Village," Goro added. "It's
huge—looks just like ours."
"Their walls look brand new," Kenshiro observed.
They've got some nice animals too, Kaji thought as
he glanced outside.
Up ahead, the bridge split into three paths—one
straight into the village, and two veering off north and south.
We're ten minutes out!" the driver shouted.
"Got it," Kaji replied.
Jinkawa's Outer Village
Beyond the bridge, they passed a small, run-down village.
The people walking the fields looked thin, tired, and poorly dressed.
"Ah man…" Rei said, watching through the window.
"Look at those people."
"The village should treat them better," Shun
muttered.
"It doesn't work like that," Kaji explained. "These
Great Villages use poor workers to build up their wealth."
"But they work. Shouldn't they be earning
something?" Rei asked.
"They do," Kaji said. "But then the taxes take
everything. That's why Jinkawa looks so clean. It's built on the backs of
people like them."
"That's terrible," Rei muttered. "We don't do
that."
"Nope," Kaji said. "We're the only Great Village
that treats our people equally."
"How many villages does each Great control?"
Kenshiro asked.
"Twenty-five each. That's five percent of the world
for every Great Village."
"Unbelievable…" Kenshiro muttered.
Jinkawa Village Gate
The carriage came to a halt in front of towering
stone walls. Two guards stood at the gate, eyeing the vehicle suspiciously.
"We're here!" the driver called.
Kaji peeked out the window.
"You expecting a carriage today?" one of the guards
asked the other.
"Nah, doesn't look familiar. I'll call it in."
He reached for his walkie-talkie.
Kaji vanished in an instant.
When the guard could press the button, Kaji
appeared behind him and struck his neck, knocking him out cold.
"What the—?" the second guard said.
He didn't finish the sentence before Kaji struck
him too.
The walkie-talkie on the ground crackled.
What happened?" the voice asked, laced with
confusion and urgency.
Kaji picked it up calmly.
"Never mind," he said. "It was nothing."
Outside the Gate
Team One stepped out of the carriage.
"That was quick," Ryju said.
"Yeah, for real," Rei added.
"I had to," Kaji said. "If they found out who we
were, the mission would've failed before it began."
"Nice thinking, Sensei," Kenshiro said with a
smirk.
Kaji straightened up. "No matter. The mission
starts now."
Back in the Spiritual King's Office
The phone rang.
The Spiritual King picked it up.
"Yes?"
"It's the driver," came the voice on the line.
"They made it."
"Understood."
He set the phone down.
"What happened?" Okata asked.
"They've arrived," the King answered.
Mr. Taka stood and adjusted his suit jacket. "Then
I'll take my leave."
To Be Continued…