Act I - - The Wanderer and the Boy
The sun crept up behind the high bamboo, spilling golden lines across the woods. Cool air hung around, soft on your arms, waiting for noon's warmth to take over. In the leaves above, birds bickered like usual - quick noisy bursts - maybe because something in Kyoden had started changing, slow but sure.
Okuta stayed beside the fading fire from before, quietly scraping his knife along stone, steady as ever. Cross-legged on the ground, still as a statue, gaze low, muscles loose yet alert - never caught off guard. The blade rested on his thighs, catching thin light. Each pass of the sharpener hummed through the bamboo stand… shrrp… shrrp… shrrp.
Tari stayed across from him, arms around his legs, jumpy after last night's attack. Sleep didn't come easy. Each blink brought flashbacks - killers leaping out of shadows, steel glinting, Okuta slicing through them like weeds. The thud of falling bodies echoed faintly inside his head.
He kept his eyes off the blade resting on Okuta's knee - every glance brought back one hard truth. This guy wasn't some traveler passing through. Nope - he moved like fate with boots on.
Okuta kept his eyes down. "Didn't get any rest, huh?"
Tari's eyes flickered open - odd that he'd caught that. "Wait… how'd you even…"
"You breathe differently when your mind is unsettled."
Tari scowled - this guy was way too quick on the uptake, noticed everything, like he wasn't quite real.
"Are they still coming for me?" the boy asked quietly.
Okuta paused the whetstone, tapping it lightly against the blade's edge. "They didn't die for fun. They died because they were paid to take you. As long as their employer lives… yes, they will come."
The boy felt his throat close up. Nothing soothing around here. No gentle fibs either. Okuta only traded in facts - harsh ones, icy ones.
"But…" Okuta continued, setting the sword aside, "they won't come again today. That group was sent to test the water. Their master will need time to reposition."
Tari gave a slow nod, yet his hands wouldn't stop trembling.
A long hush came next. Just the woods made noise.
The kid took a deep breath - suddenly sat taller, like he was pulling together every bit of nerve still inside him.
"Help me," he begged. "Keep me safe."
Okuta stayed quiet. Then again, still no reply - not right away. Seconds passed without a word. His expression? Totally blank.
Tari clenched his fists. "I---I know you don't want trouble. I know. But I… I have nowhere else to go. They killed Elder Banu, and my village… if I go back, they'll kill everyone looking for me. You're the only person who can fight them."
"Tari," Okuta said calmly. "I am not a hero."
"I don't need a hero," the boy whispered. "I need someone who doesn't fear death."
Okuta's gaze rose at last. Since Tari had known him, this was new - his look changed a little. A dark flash passed over his features. Maybe an old thought. Some hurt from before.
The kid kept moving forward, yet he felt tired.
"You saved me twice now," Tari said, voice trembling. "You could have left me in that clearing. You could have walked away. But you didn't. So maybe… maybe you're not as heartless as you pretend."
Okuta got up fast, shoving the blade into the scabbard. "That's it."
But the boy didn't stop. "If you leave me, I will die."
"Tari---"
"Please." The boy bowed deeply, forehead touching the ground. "I don't have anyone else. I don't even know what these people want from me. I just want to live long enough to find out."
Okuta sucked air fast through his nostrils. That noise? Close to annoyance - just about.
"You never give up," he said quietly.
"I learned to be," Tari said without looking up. "Life never gave me soft hands."
Okuta watched the kid - just kept on staring. Minutes crawled by, slow and heavy. Bamboo leaves shook in the breeze, like they were holding their breath.
He let out a breath at last. "Get on your feet."
Tari did as told, brushing dirt off his brow.
Okuta moved near, eyeing the man like a smith inspects a cracked sword. He didn't blink, just took it in slow, quiet, steady.
"Shielding yourself costs something," Okuta stated plainly.
Tari flinched. "I…I don't have money."
"I don't want your money."
"What then?"
Okuta crossed his arms. "There are three rules."
Tari swallowed. "What are they?"
"First: you will listen to me. Every instruction. No arguments."
The kid quickly agreed. "Sure thing," he said
"Second: you won't ask questions I don't want to answer."
Tari paused, yet gave a quick nod. "Alright."
"Third…" Okuta paused, his voice lowering like thunder warming up. "If I ever say run, you run. Even if I'm still fighting. Even if the world is falling apart. You run because your life is more important than mine."
Tari just stood there, staring. "Wait - "
"That is not a negotiation."
The kid's breath came fast. "So... alright, I'm in."
Okuta glanced off, kinda frustrated at his own reaction. "Fine - so it's a deal."
"Thanks," Tari said softly, tension melting from his features.
"Don't thank me. I'm doing this because you're trouble, and trouble that walks alone tends to attract more trouble. I'd rather keep you close so you don't cause chaos behind me."
Tari's lips curled up slightly. "Sure, if that's what you think."
Okuta grabbed his bag. "Time to go."
The kid rushed after him. "So, where's the destination?"
"Away from this forest. Toward the Silent Shrine."
Tari blinked. "A shrine? What's it for?"
"Because if enemies are chasing you, I must know why. And the only place that may answer that is the shrine."
"Do they know who I am?"
"No. But they may know what hunts you."
The kid kept his eyes down while moving alongside, wondering whether fear or hope made more sense.
When they walked into the bamboo thicket, light started filling the space. Rays slipped between the high stems, showing traces of last night's clash - cracked shoots, crushed ground, streaks of old blood on greenery.
Tari shook a little. But Okuta saw it.
"Fear is normal," Okuta said. "It means you're alive."
The kid glanced his way. "Do you get scared sometimes?"
The swordsman stayed silent. Yet he moved a bamboo screen away, then walked on a thin trail.
They kept walking - close to sixty minutes. As they got near, birds shot off in all directions. The land began dropping slowly, then opened up into a stretched-out valley. Through the center, a river curled along, tossing back the sky's glow like polished tin.
When they got near the water, Tari spoke up - "What made you agree to come along…honestly?"
Okuta stayed facing away. "Man, you're noisy."
"That's not an answer."
The swordsman exhaled. "Because someone once protected me too. Even though I didn't deserve it."
Tari's eyes softened. "And what happened to them?"
Okuta stumbled - just once. For a split second. That changed everything.
"They're gone," he murmured, voice low.
They kept on moving without talking till they got to the water. Okuta dropped down, topped up his bottle, then passed it over to the kid.
Tari drank gratefully. "So… does this mean we're partners?"
Okuta lifted a single brow. "Nah."
"Companions?"
"No."
"Team?"
"No."
Tari grinned. "But you'll protect me?"
"Yes."
"Then we're something."
Okuta nearly sighed, but didn't. Just barely.
They went along the river, heading into high grass mixed with bursts of wild blooms. A while later, Tari said:
"What is the Silent Shrine like?"
"Quiet," Okuta replied.
Tari sighed. "I can already tell traveling with you will be interesting."
"Your mouth will make it less peaceful."
The kid snickered quietly. Even though trouble was still close, the stress from yesterday started to melt away.
Yet calm in Kyoden never lasted long.
Midway down the riverside, Okuta froze without warning. He slowly reached for his blade.
Tari froze. "What is it?"
"Footsteps."
The kid glanced sideways, pupils huge. "Which way?"
"Too far to see yet," Okuta murmured. "But they're following our trail."
Tari's voice shrank. "Are they the same assassins as yesterday?"
"No. These ones are heavier. Soldiers, not assassins."
The boy's gut twisted. "Then we dash?"
"Not yet. They are far behind."
They shifted once more - quicker now.
The sun got higher, so it started warming up while the trees spaced apart. Bugs were buzzing around instead of being quiet.
Tari looked behind again, thoughts racing. "Okuta?"
"Hm?"
"You won't leave me behind, right?"
Okuta didn't slow down. "If I wanted to leave you, I would have done it before sunrise."
The kid felt more relaxed now - his chest didn't tighten like before.
Later that day, they stopped under a big cedar tree. Okuta let his bag fall, then looked around carefully. Meanwhile, Tari rested against a rock, catching his breath.
"You don't measure up," Okuta remarked.
"I'm twelve!"
"That's no excuse."
Tari chuckled softly - yet her smile faded fast.
"So… what happens now? Since we made the contract."
Okuta pulled his blade a notch, testing the sharpness. "Right now, Tari - our survival starts."
The kid gave a solid nod. "Alright."
"And from today," Okuta continued, "you learn to defend yourself."
Tari's eyes flickered open. "Hold on - huh?"
"I won't always be standing between you and a blade. If you want to survive this journey, you must learn."
The boy's eyes lit up. "You're going to teach me to fight?"
"Yes."
Tari nearly jumped with excitement. "But I thought you hated noise!"
"I do."
"And teaching me will be noisy!"
"Yes."
"So why---?"
"Because dead boys make too much trouble."
Tari cracked up - real laugh, full-on noise. Not quiet at all. Something he hadn't experienced lately.
Okuta slid his blade into its scabbard, then walked off - yet a quiet warmth flickered in his gaze.
Something almost… human.
When sunlight faded and hues shifted toward amber, the kid strolled next to him - suddenly feeling more secure.
The deal was done. So their paths were linked.
Even so, they didn't know it just then - yet this move changed things for clans, shrines, fights all over Kyoden.
The traveler stumbled upon a trail - yet kept walking.
The kid stumbled on a shield one afternoon.
Then life started unfolding.