Chapter III - The nomad

The righful samurai's journey meets a sudden twist after the trouble in Fujitama. Recent events begin to crush everything Asai believed in all his life.

Asai's horse grunted loudly and took a stop right behind the Ronin's.
Both of the men heavily stepped off their mounts, tossing each other a quiet nod.
Before them stood a repurposed tavern; its stained windows decorated with paintings of dragons, waves, and tigers. Outside of the tavern stood a cut-up training dummy. Before Asai could speak up, his savior opened the door for him.
"Make yourself at home, brother."

The Samurai cautiously passed the doorstep of the old tavern, taking a good look around and letting his new affiliate go upstairs to change. His deep blue eyes shuffled around through every object inside; from the shelves that held well-aged beverages, down to the stools and tables scattered around. Behind the bart op stood a couple of armor stands, some naked and some with beautifully designed armors tossed onto them. He smirked, tossing his clay mask onto the bar top and stepping out of the protection his plates have been giving him. With oh so much laziness, Asai let his butt drop onto a stool right by the bar top, unsheathing his favorite weapon of choice; the katana. It was scarred with the blood of his enemies, which has already dried up across the blade and almost covered the beautiful golden engravings trailing across it.
He grabbed a piece of cloth and wiped the blade carefully, yet to almost no success. Asai barked something out to himself inaudibly, continuing to slide the rag across his weapon, just to get interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

By him stood a young woman, clad in a white kimono with pink, decorative flower petals all over it. She caressed the warrior's tired body in such a calm manner, speaking softly right into his ear. He didn't think twice before laying back and letting the girl comfort him.
"Give me your hand, Samurai."

Asai just bobbed his head up and down, dropping his right hand onto the bar top and letting who seemed to be the Ronin's personal maid bandage it and patch it up in such a motherly manner. She was done with him in no time, patting Asai on the back and sending him up towards the tavern's balcony.


His savior just admired the beautiful landscapes around his tavern. Thick clouds of smoke blew out of his mouth and drifted far away with the calm wind, in the Ronin's mouth was a beautifully decorated wooden pipe. He held it in his yellow-ish teeth with such ease, awaiting the man who owes his life to him. And so he came; Asai stood there for a while before the man's speech ringed in his ears.

- "Come, brother. Isn't it all so beautiful? I'm sure we both could recognize every rock laying on those paths, every bush in those wild, green mountains... Every scumbag that stood in our way and betrayed us." The last few words came out of his mouth sharp like a samurai's sword, spiced up by the equally harsh smoke coming out of the Ronin's mouth. He gestured the Samurai to come even closer, both of them now rested against the wooden fencing.

Suehisa sighed, he had no time for small talk like this. Despite the betrayal coming from Fujitama's new leader, he still had hope in the emperor and fulfilling his orders, which was a really busy job.
- "Why did you help me? I don't even know your name." Asai asked.

In response to this, the ronin just smirked.
- "Pure kindness. We both were taught to help the weak, right?" He gave a gentle nod to his own past as a samurai, despite becoming an outlaw for who knows what reason, the smirk on his face clearly showed that he viewed those times as rather warm. Who wouldn't?

- "I'm not weak!" Asai barked out angrily, staring into the ronin's calm eyes. He was frustrated, all the stress building up since his arrival to fujitama had been slowly turning into a toxic cloud about to be blown out of his mouth any second now, yet he did everything to calm himself down.

- "I understand. Yet the proud life of a winner will never teach you anything, Asai. You have to learn to recognize each scar on your back and cover it with armor harder than anything your enemies will ever witness."

The tension between them built up even more. Those were the exact words of Asai's past mentor - Fuse Rai. The Samurai instinctively reached towards his waist - just to get reminded that his sword was left in the maid's hands. The ronin smiled to him heartfuly, smoke blowing out of his nostrils and soaking into his black robes, marking them with the pleasant, yet the sharp smell of tobacco smoke.

- "Who are you?!" The desperation in Asai's voice was heard with ease, his shout traveling throughout the green hills like a free bird. He maintained eye contact with the ronin, despite his conical hat throwing shade onto his eyes already dark eyes.

- "Fujii Tokisuke. I know your mentor from way back. His... Unexpectable death was what brought me back to this region. That, and his scumbag of a daughter, who really doesn't want me around here." All of this surprised Asai; he never expected the ronin to spill so much information so quickly. Perhaps he was lying? The samurai never trusted anyone outside of his clanmates, mentor, and the emperor himself. Traveling across the country to fulfill the emperor's wishes for almost his whole life, one could forget what a clear, straightforward human conversation feels like. He couldn't believe someone put an end to this lifestyle oh so quickly, with such a simple act as rescuing him. He even dreamed of coming back to it at that moment. After all, servitude was the only thing Asai knew.

"You had a great role model growing up. Fuse Rai was the last person that could open our eyes towards the window of lies we saw our world through. Or, you did.
Despite his old age, I believe he was assassinated." A smoke-filled sigh left his barely open lips. Tokisuke kept speaking, his thoughts slowly blacking out into a blind monologue.

"He had many of the emperor's affiliates around himself when he died. And now his daughter set out two of the emperor's dogs to kill you? The last samurai Fujitama will see in a long, long time? They're like wolves eating out of a dead body that Fuse Rai's legacy has become, and we interrupted their little dinner."


Tokisuke's eyes drifted out onto the sunset, its rays glaring through the tobacco smoke dancing in the air. The two men stood silent, Asai unable to spit a word out of his mouth, and the ronin buried deep into the dirt of his own, dark thoughts; trapped in his mind by a tombstone; the tombstone being the knowledge that all of his speculations were slowly proving themselves to be true.

"Please make yourself at home, Samurai. I have no intentions to slow you down on whatever journey you might be going through." With those last few words said, he looked down on Asai's ripped, battle-scarred clothing, then his gaze met Asai's bandaged right fist. The bandages were already soaking in blood from a couple of fresh scars, looking rather unpleasant, yet oh so dramatic.

- "I have some extra robes in the back of the tavern. Ask Kimiko whenever you need anything. I tend to... Travel a lot. She's in charge of the place when I'm away."

- "I promise I won't make my stay long." The Samurai bowed his head down gratefully. "Although I'm grateful you two welcomed me in here." He paid no mind to Tokisuke's speculations as if he was trying not to address them on purpose, or maybe he lost his train of thought during that awfully stretched out monologue? Who knows. The ronin just tossed his shoulders up in a careless shrug, letting Asai walk back into the tavern.


Asai stepped off the balcony and went downstairs, just to be greeted by Tokisuke's personal maid again. The woman bowed down with a pillow in her hands, on top of it resting the two of Asai's weapons of choice. He smirked at her gratefully just before taking a peek behind her shoulder; his eyes shining in excitement as he saw his polished armor laying on a wooden stand right by the door, away from all the other armor stands. It looked almost brand new, reflecting the sun's rays barging in through the tavern's windows.

- "Here, warrior. Master has told me to slip a little gift into your armor, please open it when you continue your journey." She looked up at him with a child-like excitement flashing in her eyes. What does the ronin do for his servant to be so eager and hardworking?

- "Thank you. Please call me by my name, I'm sure your master has spilled it out to you already." He just smiled down onto the petite woman, accepting the cushion from her and quickly resting it on the bar top, right infront of the armors. Before he could fully turn around, the girl was already there, standing in his way with a black and white kimono neatly folded in her hands.

- "It's a gift from master Tokisuke. Please wear it with pride, warrior!" She spoke while pretty much pushing the kimono against his chest.

- "Thanks..." The samurai stood there for a while, forcing himself to exchange smiles with the maid. It seemed like she paid no mind to his privacy, rocking back and forth infront of the samurai's eyes.

"Shoo shoo." Asai waved his hand in a dismissing manner, sending her upstairs like a trained dog.

He slid his shirt off with ease, letting his muscular physique appear in the reflection of his own, shining clean armor. Already used to the old scars on his chest, the samurai paid no mind to them, but he heard a quiet gasp behind his back. It was no one other than Kimiko - the ronin's annoying little subordinate.

Asai was just about to turn around and bark at her to leave, but he never wanted to seem aggressive, not in the household of his savior, and at the same time his mentor's old friend. He bit his tongue and changed into the kimono, tying its belt tightly around his waist. The silky fabric laid on his body like a second layer of skin, yet gave him so much space to move and breathe in. It was clearly expensive, and yet the ronin gave it away oh so easily.

If the man's motives were to manipulate Asai with such acts of kindness - it was clearly working out. The samurai smiled heartfuly and felt at home in the repurposed tavern.

- "How long have you two lived here?" His now warmer tone broke the embarrassing silence in the room before Asai turned around - his deep blue eyes meeting Tokisuke's dark gaze. It clearly wasn't who Asai expected, but a samurai's path truly is full of surprises.

- "A couple of years at least. When I came here the place looked like it still remembers the old emperor. I cleaned up a bit and then Kimiko came around."

- "So you two didn't renovate this place together? She seems like she trusts you with her life."

The ronin just chuckled in response, shaking his head.
- "That's true. She owes it to me." Tokisuke paused for a second, his gaze glaring around the beautiful interior, scanning for the innocent young woman's presence before he spoke.

"Let's take a walk, brother."


Clouds of dust danced under their feet as the two warriors went out for a walk by a nearby lake. Sounds of bugs and smaller critters alike flowed into Asai's ears like a calming melody. The two walked in silence for a shorter while, letting their troubled minds succumb into the silky skin of the beautiful and oh so calm landscapes.
Yet the silence seemed a bit frustrating for the talkative ronin, especially now, when he had so much stuff to say to the younger samurai. He finally spoke up, breaking Asai out of his thoughts.

- "I've heard great things about you back when I served under the emperor. It's a pleasant surprise to meet you after all those years." He complimented the samurai with a proud tone.

- "It's all thanks to Fuse Rai's teachings. I never stood out from the rest of my clan." Asai replied, not letting himself get flattered by the ronin's words.

- "Oh you did. Considering that the emperor sent you out on a mission you were never supposed to come back from. You either pose a threat to him, or he's just killing off the last pieces of your mentor's legacy."

He paused for a second, sighing loudly. Tokisuke knew he wouldn't get an answer from the samurai anyway, so he just remained silent for a while before speaking once again.
"That would explain why the Fu brothers were in there. Both of them were sent out on a 'political' mission a few days ago."

This left Asai startled. The samurai stared right into Tokisuke's eyes, quickly releasing a nervous giggle.

- "How could you know that.. You're just an outlaw." denial was heard in the samurai's voice clearly. It was Tokisuke's time to strike. He had Asai's mental wrapped around his finger at this point.

- "How would you explain it, then? Two of your old friends, affiliated with the same clan as you. Overshadowed by you during their time under Fuse Rai's wing. And after everything, they come in and try to strike at you and push your memory into the dark pit of your own death."

- "An entanglement." He shortly replied, Asai tried to keep his calm really badly, but the realization that all of the ronin's words were slowly making more and more sense pushed him down onto the dirt.
Yet at the same time, he was pretty much brainwashed into believing the emperor's words. It was like he pushed the truth out of his mind subconsciously.

- "You don't just accidentally try to kill somebody, do you? That huge crest above your head must've been hard to see as well."

- "What about Suga? She preyed on her father's place as the head of the village since I first met her." Asai clutched onto his last hope of believing in the emperor.

- "It was convenient to have her as the head of Fujitama. She would clean the emperor's floors with her tongue if he asked her to. Fuse Rai was... A bit too smart for the emperor's liking." A smug grin figured on Tokisuke's face, he reached out to fix the kimono comfortably laying over his bare skin.

Stopping for a second, the ronin turned towards the beautiful lake, tipping his conical hat down and admiring how the water reflects the full moon throwing its light down at them. Asai quickly replied, looking up to his savior's eyes.

"No matter whether she worked alone, or under the emperor's orders, she's gonna pay for the fate her father met." It was made obvious Asai wanted to put an end to this conversation, not wanting to subject himself to hearing any more of the ronin insulting the emperor's name like that.

Tokisuke nodded down to him in agreement.
"You will learn, samurai. And I will be here to teach you."

He replied shortly, turning around without a word and heading back towards the tavern.