Kinaro's Story

The light sound of footsteps is heard in the distance as yet another newcomer joins the situation. It was the Vagrant, a recent folk legend around Losenji. He carried a sword in its sheath in one hand, slowly reaching for the hilt with the other. Upon reaching the group, he stood there in silence. He gauged the situation and determined that large man that recently showed up was not with the bandits. He looked at the bandits and the teenager they were robbing. "Robbing an unarmed traveler in a large group such as this? It is upsetting that such cowards exist." he voice was calm, but at the same time he had a menacing tone aimed towards the bandits. He drew his sword, which was a Chinese straight sword known as a Jian. It was in well kept condition, though it was very plain in terms of appearance.

Despite drawing his sword, he took no action. He waited for the situation to either resolve itself or escalate before resorting to any sort of violence. He tilted his head curiously "Now...you seem intelligent enough to realize that this is not worth the trouble you may find yourselves in if you persist. Please consider this, as I would rather not this escalate to violence." he says, again in his disturbingly calm tone. He spoke in Terran Common and he realized that not all of them would understand him. He had hoped that his presence alone would deter them from continuing further.

The man's eyes sneaked over to the newcomer suspiciously, eyeing him for a good long while until he gazed back at the robbers.

"Are you sure you want to try that?" he asked, a sliver of a smile appearing across his face. "You don't know what kinds of monsters could be around here. What if I was a vengeful yokai? In just a split second, able to crack your skulls open and carve them into bowls for your guts. Of course, that would only be if you choose to hurt me. I may be a child-eating yokai instead, who's disgruntled with the presence of humans interrupting a meal."

"A foreigner too?" One of the men muttered, turning to face Kinaro. "Don't like the look of him. Could be anything behind that mask. What's he saying?" Whilst many citizens of Loseji understood Terran common, in the countryside it was less common than in the cities, and bandits weren't typically the most educated of folk.

"What do you think?" the woman retorted, "He's telling us to leave, same as the other guy. Righteous assholes poking their noses into other peoples' business..." she grumbled.

"Isn't that the Vagrant? My brother was talking about a masked foreigner who could beat a dragonwatch guard with a sword."

"The who? Never heard of him."

"Stop yammering on, you two!"

Meanwhile, Seiji had successfully pried the bag off of his head. He took a moment to glance over at the masked stranger with a grin. "I think you'd better do what they say!" he exclaimed, "Give me my things back and go away!" He seemed entirely unnerved by Junwei's remark about potentially being a child-eating yokai.

The boy started to scrabble around collecting the scrolls of paper that had been tipped onto the road into his arms. This time, he wasn't stopped. The bandits were distracted by the blade of the masked man and the words of the other. "Alright, have your way." the woman, who it seemed was the leader of the band, said. "We'll go."

She waved her hand and the men started to move off away from the road.

"Aaah, hey!" Seiji protested, scrambling to his feet, "Give me back my compass and eyeglass!" he demanded. "You don't just get to walk away with them! Picking on people doesn't pay, you know!"

"Simmer down kid, or I'll take your tongue with me too." The woman pointed her blade at Seiji, halting him in his tracks. "We're taking the valuables. Don't kick up a fuss."

With perfectly smooth motions, the Vagrant quickly stepped forward, whipping his weapon to meet with the woman's with the intent of knocking it away from Seiji. "So petty...violence over trinkets that are not yours to begin with." he says, holding his hand out "Give them back. You have no use for them other than pawning them for coin. After all...what use is coin if it doesn't make you happy?" he asks. Two of the other thugs in the group pointed their weapons at his throat. "Foreigners should just stay out of it. This is....official business we're conducting, so why don't ya piss off?!" one of them shouts. With a deep sigh, the Vagrant quickly swung his blade in a sweeping motion, slashing open the wrist of the bandit to his right, making him fall backwards in pain. The other one's hand was visibly trembling as he began backing away, dropping his weapon. The Vagrant looked at the one on the ground "It's not deep...but look into getting it treated otherwise it may get infected. He returned his gaze to the female bandit, who seemed to be the leader of this little operation, getting into a combat stance. He figured she wouldn't scare as easily.

The broader, larger man stood by quietly, giving the rest of them a glare. If looks could kill...

"Retire your weapons and your loot," said the man. "They are not worth your safety at the moment. Leave." He drew his lips tight, but despite all this his stance was relaxed. His shoulders drooped, and he had his hands clasped in front of him.

"You have a warrior, a maneating yokai, and a child here against you. Do you think you can win?"

The woman grimaced. "Gah, this is pointless. Keep your trinkets then, brat." She reached into her pouch and tossed the compass and eyeglass to Seiji. The boy scrambled to catch them, snatching the eyglass from the air before promptly pricking his finger on the compass as he caught it, yelping. "Oww." he mumbled, sucking on the pricked finger briefly.

The bandit leader turned with a wrinkling of her nose and stalked away towards the treeline. "Someone stop Chen bleeding out on us, please." she instructed her companions as one of them clutched his wrist where Kinaro had slashed it.

"And don't come back, bastards!" Seiji yelled after them, bouncing on his tip-toes and sticking his tongue out at the retreating group.

He shoved his belongings back in his bag before turning to Kinaro and Junwei. "Aii, thank you strangers!" he exclaimed cheerfuly, "Obviously I had everything under control either way, but the help was very much appreciated!" His rapid speed of speech, and the fact that he was speaking Losenyu, meant that it was quite likely Kinaro wouldn't catch the entirety of what he was saying - something he was evidently oblivious of.

He half-bounded, half-skipped his way over to where Junwei was standing, bowing deeply with a flick of his hair, before turning back to do the same to Kinaro. "My name is Seiji Watanabe! You can just call me Seiji, though. I was on my way to Naseni Forest for the Festival of Spirits, when those bastards came out of nowhere!" The boy rubbed his hair beneath his hat. "So, what should I call my saviours?" he asked with a grin.

Sheathing his weapon, the Vagrant looked over to Seiji before pulling out a notebook from a pocket on his cloak. Flipping through it, he attempted to figure out what he was saying so quickly. "Ah...yes...you're welcome. I'm glad I could help." he said, the tone indicating he may be smiling beneath the mask. "My name is Kinaro. As you could tell I'm not from around here, but I've been here for a few months now. You may have heard of me being called the Vagrant. It's nice to meet you, Seiji." he says.

He hears something about the Festival of Spirits "Oh, I was actually on my way to see that as well. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I could go with you if you wanted, though I'd have to ask something of you. Please don't try to take off my mask or cloak...I get nervous whenever someone gets too close." he says nervously. He was definitely the talkative type despite looking like someone who would brood or angst over things.

There was a deep rumbling in the large man's chest as the thieves ran off, and a satiated smile. He may not have done it all on his own, but at least he didn't have to lift a finger to deal with them. No action taken, no suspicions raised. No people looking for dragon to hunt.

His eyes snaked down to the boy so easily dwarfed by his size, letting the corners of his lips drop. He surveyed him and let the other savior speak first before answering, himself.

"Junwei," he replied in the tone of a bear, voice raspy, perhaps even lower than it had been before. "What is this festival?"

"Aiiiee, have you been living under a rock?" Seiji tutted, pacing away a few steps with one hand behind his back and gesturing with one finger of the other, as he started to speak as though reciting from a book. "The Festival of Spirits is one of Losenji's most ancient traditional celebrations, timed around the summer solstice and lasting close to a month. During the festival the spirits are revered, out of the belief that the harmony between Losenji and the spirit world must be celebrated to ensure that the spirits usher in the coming summer, and don't return the island to the icy grip of winter."

He spun on his heel to turn back towards the pair, grinning. "People wear masks or face paint, and dance, and there are carnival stalls everywhere! And then there's the fireworks and the lantern releases! It's a lot of fun! Normally I celebrate it in Tianshi City, because of all the parades and the bigger carnival there, but this year I decided to go to Naseni! The focus there is a lot more traditional and spiritual, and it's a lot less overcrowded!"

Seiji nodded his head to Kinaro, "I would be happy to travel with you! No doubt the journey will be a lot less dangerous, and a lot more fun with company, and don't worry - I won't touch the mask! I'm sure you have an important reason for wearing it." The boy then leaned close to Junwei to speak in a stage whisper, "Maybe he secretly has no nose. Be sure not to mention any smells in case it upsets him." he joked, managing to keep a straight face for all of two seconds, before he broke out giggling.

The boy turned then to face Junwei fully, "You should come too, Junwei!" he exclaimed, waving a finger, "You look like you need something fun to take the edge off of how serious you look." he stated, nodding solemnly. "And the fates would not have had you happen upon me for no reason! That's not how they do things - we must be meant to travel together! How 'bout it?" He laughed with a beaming smile.

Kinaro listened intently to Seiji's explanation of the festival. He was glad that the festival involved things such as wearing masks, so he wouldn't look totally out of place even if the mask he wears is nothing like the ones worn in the festival. He still had many questions to ask about it, but he decided it would be best if he waited for when they set up a camp. Despite his whispering, Kinaro heard Seiji's joke about him not having a nose and actually began to laugh pretty hard. At least he wasn't sensitive about people speaking about it "Seiji, out of all the gossip I hear, what you just said is probably the best. Some think I'm a foreign criminal here to get away, others think I'm one of the spirits, but you simply think I don't have a nose. I do have a nose, so don't worry about something like that." he said. Perhaps travelling with Seiji would prove to be helpful in easing his mind from his worries. He was glad he came across him despite the circumstances of their meeting.

Looking over to Junwei, he had a hard time determining his personality. He seemed to enjoy intimidation and fear tactics when dealing with adversity, but now he seemed stoic and quiet. He didn't know what to think of him exactly, but he wouldn't object to him coming with since more people would deter most bandits from attacking them.

"I admit, I've only come back to Losenji recently," said Junwei, a brow perking as the child fell into a fit of giggles. He let his eyes slide over to gaze at Kinaro briefly. Ah, yes. To bring fate into this would be the hook for the man. More so traveling in a small number, one of which who knew how to fight, would decrease the risk of revealing his secret.

He gave the two a narrow smile, nodding once. "Very well," he told them, though mostly he seemed to speak to the child. "I will come."

Junwei cast his gaze out to the horizon, frowned, and looked back at Seiji, then the strange warrior. "Where is it?"

"I don't think that many foreign criminals would go out of their way to help a kid like me with some bandits!" Seiji replied to Kinaro with a grin, "And I would know if you were a spirit." he added with a conspiratorial smirk, tapping his nose. "I have a good eye for that sort of thing!"

When Junwei spoke, Seiji turned to him with an excited clap of his hands. "Yay!" he exclaimed, bouncing upon the tips of his toes, "The festival is all across the island, but I am travelling to Yan'Xin village in Naseni Forest, which is a few days' journey to the north west." he explained. "We should be able to get there in time for the first day of the festival, if we travel quickly. Sooo..."

The boy swept one hand up into the air and pointed up the road, "Onwards!" he exclaimed, before setting off in a march with a spring in his step. As the trio settled into their pace, Seiji turned to walk backwards so that he was facing his two companions as he went, his arms folded behind his back. "You know, my brother is a warrior just like you two," he began, "He's a very important member of the Golden Phoenix guild! He used to be an arena fighter, and a town guard, but now he goes questing and helps people for a living! I think that you both and him would have a lot to talk about. You must have been on lots of adventures, just like him! Have either of you fought a naga clan? Or won a fighting championship? Or... or... chased a dark spirit up a mountain and then kicked it off the top? You should tell me all about your exploits!"

Kinaro quickly followed Seiji's pace down the road, content with the company he is currently keeping. To answer Seiji's question, he thought about what the bandit said "The bandit mentioned me fighting something called....oh what did he say...a dragonwatch guard? I don't know exactly what that is, but I did fight a pretty intimidating man who looked sort of like a guard. He was a challenge to be sure, but I did defeat him." he said casually, not knowing if what he did was good, bad, impressive, or all of the above. "I've never fought any demons or participated in any kind of tournament...and I've never even heard of naga clans..." he said, further cementing his status as a foreigner. He wanted to learn about these things though in case any of these things ever happen. Aside from idle conversation, Kinaro occasionally admired the local plant and wildlife in the fields. "Losenji feels like a completely different world...it's almost like it's disconnected from the things going on outside of it."

Smirking, Junwei followed the pair at his own pace, which allowed him to keep up with them just fine. He recounted all the experiences he'd had in the last few years, trying to bring something up that wasn't very revealing, but amusing nonetheless.

"Subdued a small gang using a power line in Wing City," said Junwei proudly, lifting his chin. "Strung them up like laundry for trying to steal elysium." His eyes slithered down to the boy. "I am sure you wanted something with more substance, but that will have to do for now."

He paused to listen to the masked stranger, nodding. "One would think the technological plague would have touched Losenji by now. Perhaps not."

Seiji nodded, "I've read a lot of books that talk about things from far off lands, and I've even been over to the Taiyou Shogunate where they have space-ships and robots!" he exclaimed, "But for some reason they don't seem to get brought here. I don't know why, but we get along just fine without them."

The youngster's eyes drifted, as though looking between the two men at something - though there was nothing out of the ordinary there to be seen, and nodded with a grin that didn't seem to be directed at either of them. Then, he spun on heel and carried on walking - Naseni Forest awaited them!

The trail leading through Naseni forest was winding and in places overgrown, though it was obvious it had seen a boom in traffic lately. Plants that looked to have recently extended onto the track were pushed back and trodden on, others had been trimmed. Even with this increase in travel, however, the forest remained largely untamed, encroaching on the paved path in new places or from beneath through cracks in the stonework.

Seiji, who hadn't seemed to lose a mite of energy over the course of the entire journey, continued to lead the way. The journey had been, by and large, uneventful. Aside from a detour to avoid the road along the edge of Lake Yosai after some locals warned them of dangerous kappa activity, things had gone smoothly. They had spent nights in Tsuribazu and Yosai townships along the way, setting off from the latter a few hours ago. Now it was just gone midday, and the sun shone down brightly through the cracks in the trees (though those cracks were swiftly dwindling as they pushed further into the forest).

Along with Kinaro and Junwei, Seiji had picked up another pair of companions since entering the forest - a brown and patterned fox that trotted along parallel to them just off the trail, and a field mouse that dozed upon his hat. It hadn't been clear exactly why the animals started following them, but apparently Seiji's infectious enthusiasm wasn't limited to humans. He had run up to the critters as one might expect a much younger child to, and rather than fleeing, they had started to follow. He occasionally spoke to them, though they showed no signs of understanding.

"So anyway," the young boy was saying, "Yan'Xin village is a veeery spiritual place." he nodded his head solemnly, "The people who live there are very strict about people respecting the forest spirits, and spirits in general. That's why the festival is so important here. They have their own shrine and everything! I came here once before with my brother, and almost got lost in the woods wandering, so you two be careful! If I can get lost, then you'll definitely get lost. The forest spirits are tricksy, and like to tease travellers who go off the beaten path."

Seiji's expression betrayed no humour - it was clear that he believed every word he was saying. Whether it was true or not was another matter. After all, he'd never mentioned how long ago it was since he was last here. And children do like to make up stories to explain themselves getting lost.

Kinaro followed close behind, staying rather silent. He spent a lot of the journey not saying much of anything, in fact. Occasionally he kneels down to pet the fox that had followed them if it would let him. He looked side to side, taking in the forest surroundings, smiling beneath his mask. The beams of sunlight that pierced the treeline were beautiful and relaxing to gaze upon. Their travels, while uneventful, gave him a peace he's been longing for. Someone to listen to and someone to travel alongside with. He was a little disappointed, however, that they skipped past the lake. Kinaro was actually curious to see the kappa.

As Seiji spoke of the festival and Yan'Xin Village, Kinaro kept in mind to respect the local customs and beliefs, even if they seemed far-fetched. He couldn't wait to see what the shrine was like, or what the whole festival was like. Not wanting to get lost, he stayed close to Seiji. "What do these spirits look like, if they have any sort of form at all? Are they humanoid? Do they look like animals? I'm very curious." he says, walking along the verdant trail of the forest. Occasionally he would brush his hand along a tree trunk. Kinaro had a certain respect for nature, and this journey was not at all tiring for him.

While he waited for Seiji's response, he reflected on the last few days. While he may have been quiet, he still spoke enough to Seiji and Junwei in an attempt to know more about them. Seiji was the more talkative of the two, but he and Junwei shared a couple of conversations together, usually during meals.

"The forest spirits should learn that tricking certain wanderers would be a mistake," growled Junwei, peering through the woods for the fox. Once he found it, he let his gaze carry to the small mouse atop the child's hat, then, finally, to the child himself. With narrowed eyes, he swept his gaze forward, just peering over Kinaro's head. He had been silent for the bulk of the trip, pardoning a small comment here or there.

"Indeed. What does one consider a spirit? I've met many on my travels," he inquired, alongside Kinaro.

"There are all sorts of spirits," Seiji said, "Some like to take physical forms in animals or plants, or even people! Others you wouldn't know were there unless you reeally knew what you were looking for, all you might notice would be a subtle tug in one direction or another." As he spoke, the boy hopped onto a mossy log and stuck his arms out to either side for balance as he walked along it. "Animal spirits can range from as lowly as a real mouse, or they might be powerful and wise, and be revered by animals as a god. Often-times their powers are limited to being really tough and scary, and being able to talk, but otherwise they can be just like animals. They just happen to be able to hop over to the spirit world! Or, I suppose it's more like they hop over to our world, since the spirit world is their home..."

Seiji mused on that thought for a moment before continuing. "Then there are nature spirits, those can be the spirits of specific trees or plants, or they might be spirits of air, water, things as broad as that. The broader their domain, the more powerful they tend to be. So a tree spirit might not be able to do much away from their tree, but a forest spirit might have influence over a whole forest, and an earth spirit would be even stronger! The more nature powerful spirits can take pretty much whatever shape they feel like, but usually prefer animals, 'cause they're closer to nature than us, what with all our factories and chopping wood and stuff."

He paused in thought, "Then there are the most powerful spirits of all, celestial spirits. They're the spirits of the stars, and they normally take the shape of dragons! Nobody's ever seen one in person, though, at least nobody in our lifetime. There are lots of stories about them though. Oh! And I almost forgot, as well as those spirits, there are some that people would call demons, but are actually just another sort of spirit. Yokai is one word for them, and they come in all sorts of varieties. Big ogre-things called oni, shapeshifting foxes called kitsune, and more different types than I can name! They tend to be much more dangerous than normal spirits, since they're darker and interact more with humans for entertainment or other reasons."

It seemed that the boy was a positive well of knowledge on spirits, certainly an odd field of expertise for one so young.

Kinaro listens with great interest to Seiji's tale of spirits and Yokai. He thinks about what kinds of things could possibly show what one is despite how subtle the difference is. Now more actively looking around, Kinaro wants to meet one of these spirits, or even a Yokai "Do you think spirits and Yokai can be comparable to us? People, I mean. Who's to say a Yokai is necessarily dangerous or evil? Maybe misunderstood or maybe subject of dark tales of them? If so...that doesn't seem very fair at all now does it?" he says, now looking up at the sky. If there was anything Kinaro wants to think he is, is that he is one who sees the best in others unless he doesn't have a reason to. Those subject to bad circumstance...those held down by prejudice...he hated the idea of others being in those situations.

He leans down to pet the fox again before continuing his walk with the others. Occasionally he would brush his fingers against his mask before letting out a solemn sigh. Even he doesn't know why he wears it, all he knows is that he's terrified of the concept of anyone seeing what lies beneath it for one reason or another. Try as he might, he can't remember what his face looks like. After his question, he remains silent as he walks alongside Seiji and Junwei.