Tsūribāzu Fields

"Aiee! I told you already, I don't have anything worth taking."

Along the roughly hewn road leading from Chūbāzu Township north towards Lake Yosai, a small group of rough-looking men and women were gathered around a disgruntled looking boy with mid-length black hair and a pretty golden hat sat cross-legged with his arms folded on the ground. Despite the fact that two of the men had blades out and pointed at him, Seiji appeared decidedly unfettered, with his nose in the air and his lip set in a disapproving pout. One of the others was rooting through the travellers pack that he had been wearing shortly before he was set upon by the little group of bandits. "You guys are real jokers. I don't think your mothers would be proud of you robbing a lone kid!"

"He's not lying, man. There's nothing but useless doodles in here." the man going through the pack said, turning the bag upside down and sending a flurry of scrolls tumbling out to scatter on the ground.

"Hey!" Seiji exclaimed, moving to scramble and collect them but being halted by the swords levelled at him. "Those aren't useless doodles! They're my const-"

"Shut up, kid." another of the men interrupted, "Or I'll cut your tongue out."

"Hey, what's this?" The man with the bag pulled a metallic object out from a pouch within it, a two-pronged device fitted with a small spike and some sort of screw. It shimmered in the light. Alongside it was a small eyeglass.

"No idea what the pronged thing is, but looks like it's made of gold. And the eyeglass looks antique. I count that as a score."

"No fair! I need those!" Seiji whined from the ground, scowling furiously. There wasn't really much he could do about it, unfortunately. "Aieee... I knew I should've waited for a caravan."

There had been a lone man traveling up that road.

He was not a small man, nor was he a soft-looking man. He had the composure of an ox, standing tall and firm. His features were striking and strongly masculine, and his gaze sharper than any blade crafted in Losenji. He had a black mane of hair that tossed to the side in a breeze, and fell back over his shoulders with a flick of his chin.

It had been a while since he had been to Losenji. He had taken his time to view the world, a world he thought more modern, more advanced, but also more ruthless and savage in its own ways.

Years had passed, and he had returned, shedding his t-shirts and jeans to replace them with robes stolen from someone's back yard, where they'd been hung to dry. Nothing was quite below him in a time of need. He did not, however, shed the many piercings that adorned his face, from his eyebrows to his chin, making him more exotic than ever before.

As he strode down the road, ever so patiently, he spotted the small group of men and women down the way. He did not pick his pace up too hastily, but he did feel a sense of curiosity tug him just a pace faster.

Once upon them, the man narrowed his eyes, brow so low they shadowed his face. His eyes twitched to the child that was defiantly chastising them, then to the people again. The thieves.

He cleared his throat, folding his hands in his sleeves.

"You're blocking the road," he announced in a voice like a deep drum.

The thieves looked nervously at the new witness to their crime. His confident posture and the weapon at his side gave them cause for concern. Seiji in the meantime, beamed. "Ahh, see what happens when you try to steal from helpless innocents? The spirits of your ancestors don't look too kindly on it! That adds up to bad luck!" The young man pointed towards the man who had approached them, "And I would say that he looks like bad luck for you guys!"

"For fuck's sake, will you stop yammering, brat?" The closest man to him snapped.

One of the women of the group waved a hand to Junwei. "There's nothing for you to see here, stranger. Just move on. We won't stop you."

"Aiee, I wouldn't get your hopes up, lady. You'd better give my stuff back and go away! I bet this guy could take all of you one hande-"

Seiji's words were cut off with a muffled yelp as one of the thieves decided enough was enough, and forcefully shoved his pack over his head. "Ahh, no fair! Now I don't get to see you all get beaten up!" he whined... or tried to. What was heard from beneath the pack was more of a muffled 'Mmmff fffmmm mmhhh!'.

The woman held her hand close to the weapon she carried, "So what's it gonna be, tough guy? You gonna keep walking, or we gonna have trouble?" Despite the imposing appearance of the man, there were five of the thieves and one of him. They could take him, right?

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!