Chapter One: The Roadside Incident
"Hell on earth...", that's what my eldest brother had called this weather. And, being out directly in the sun, having traveled for miles nonstop, and having walked the entire way at a snail's pace, I couldn't agree more with him. This was ironic, because the times we had agreed on something were far out-weighed by the times we hadn't. Even now, we seemed to subconsciously disagree with each other. We were opposites in every way; he was cautious, I was reckless, he was calm, I was all over the place, he took the front of the caravan....and I had the misfortune of taking the ass of it. "Correction...”, I thought to myself, "...I had the GOOD FORTUNE of taking the rear, and in more ways than one would think." While he kept a close look out on what was ahead of us, I was assigned with the easy task of keeping an eye on whatever happened in the back. But to me, there was no real reason for this, as I was assigned to inspect what had already been reviewed from top to bottom (and subsequently approved) by the ever-vigilant eyes of my brother. So instead of this, I came up with my own, and in my opinion, far more lively assignments. While he was up at the forefront, I was fighting off nation-sized armies of mindless soldiers. When he was looking out for the safety of our cargo, I would be off attending to the various matters of state in the "Yodogawa no ōkoku". He was busy thinking of matters in the real world, and I was off living out my fantasies.
I'm not usually one to accept my inherent flaws, but I will say that I may, just may, have lowered my guard a little bit too much because of my...daydreams.
The most I heard was a crack and the sudden thump of the blunt weapon that struck me unconscious.
After what seemed like only a few seconds, I came to. But the face that hovered over mine threw me for a loop. She had pale skin, shortly cut black hair, and brown eyes. This was the first thing that registered in my mind; it would be shortly followed by, "...hottttttt....". My stupor was to broken by my brother's face appearing above me. The warmth that had started to swell inside of my chest was rapidly replaced by a mixed feeling of shame and fear. "You think he's okay?", stated the mysterious woman of around 17-18, "...he did take a pretty nasty blow." I felt another sudden change in my attitude when a sharp sting ran across my face. I lurched up rather suddenly, barking out, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!?" "You don't have to worry about him...", stated my brother in reply to the woman's previous question, "...he's not one to be ousted so easily by a mere bludgeon." Seeing that my brother had no intention of responding to my outburst, I turned to the woman and began, "Hi there, I'm sure you're dying to know who I am, my name is..." "There's no need...", she interrupted calmly, "...your brother has already been kind enough to introduce you to me. Since you were out cold for a little while though, I suppose I'll have to likewise introduce myself to you." She outstretched a welcoming hand and a warm smile that melted any traces of the anxiety I had shown earlier. "My name is Kinuko, of the Deguchi family. I'm the second daughter in my family, and I help run the inn that you're currently staying at." I was on the verge of accepting her handshake when my brother, yet again looking out for me with his...ever so comforting tyrannical-level of care, stopped my hand mid-course by grabbing it with his own. "That doesn't mean we'll be staying any longer than necessary." "Of course.", replied Kinuko with a somewhat less approving tone, "Stay as long as you have to." She looked at both of us, my brother with his eyes closed and a clearly disapproving posture, and myself with an annoyed look overall as I pulled my hand away from his with a sudden jerk. "Well, I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss, so I'll leave you alone for now.", stated the Deguchi daughter as she stood up and left the room, making sure to gently close the sliding door as she exited. When I was sure she was out of ear-shot, I turned to my brother and prepared to open fire with everything I had. A single glance from his eyes made my words stick in my throat, and I was again overtaken by a blanket feeling of shame. "Our father assigned you with our family's livelihood back there, and all you ended up doing was screwing up....again." I didn't have to reply, we'd gone through the motions before, and I knew all the words. Never the less, I was still deeply worried, both for myself and for my family. The trade hadn't been too good lately, what with the skirmishes breaking out between the Hokorigakure and the Okagakure. The weather had proven unfavorable to the inhabitants of the Dust, and famine had driven those poor people to their wit's end. With a constant demand of food, and too little of it left to be given out, the Dust had to resort to robbing caravans like my father's for supplies. The Hidden Hill had previously offered to aid the Dust, but the Kage of that proud village only assumed the Hill was offering such help in order to put the Dust at a disadvantage. With this in mind, the raids were almost guaranteed to happen, posing a greater threat than ever before to the workers of the trading business. My brother let out a sigh and said, "I know you're not listening, as usual, but you have to understand that the risks are higher this time. We're not exactly in a danger-free zone when we take these routes, we move slowly, burdened by our valuable supplies. If we lose too many of them, we'll only end up having to become the very people we despise. Try to remember that next time...for your sake if not for mine." With that, he stood up and left me to brood in my self-loathing.
It would be, for myself, what seemed like hours before I left the room. That's a funny thing time can do when you're thinking deeply on a certain subject, it seems to slow down everything around you. The sun, which I could have sworn would have set by the time I felt prepared to exit the space, was still shining brightly through the windows. As I stood up, that star's bright beams cast a shadow before me, and I was struck with the sudden thought that this must be what my family saw me as. A dark, wild creature, twisting and turning around the room, giving off an unsettling air wherever it went. It didn't do anything useful, all it seemed to do was mock those beholding it, and they in return cursed it and wished it would disappear before them. I cursed my own shadow before walking up to the sliding door and opening it. As I left the room, I quickly observed the new space around me. The inn was constructed with wood, of course, and like many others it was built with two stories. The first was designed as the entertainment area, though this design differed from the others I had seen in that it had thin, man-sized half-walls separating each table from one another. The privacy offered by this architectural choice, as well as the overall atmosphere of the place, made it seem quite inviting to the average traveler like myself. The second story, consisting of the bedrooms offered to customers, was reachable only by a single ascending staircase that ran up through the middle of the room, just in front of the inn-keeper's counter but also out of range of the tables. A quick guess left me thinking that inn must have been coming close to 2,500 square meters. For a roadside establishment fairly far out from any major settlement, it must have had a good reputation, as I scanned the room to see a host of customers ranging greatly in likeness. Descending the staircase, I headed outside for a breath of fresh air and the chance to relieve myself of the volumes I had "acquired" over our long journey. Like that of a ghost's, my brother's hand landed on my shoulder, a sudden cringe appeared across my face at the thought of being at my most vulnerable, and I very nearly emptied the contents of my bladder right near the door. "And where do you think you're going?", stated Koshiro. "Relax bro...", I began, "...I just need to empty my traveler’s canteen." I could feel his eyes burrowing through the back of my skull, attempting to weed out any hidden truths that I might be hiding. After a rather uncomfortable minute of this form of silent interrogation, during which my need to go steadily rose, he finally released me from his hold. "Don't take too long...", was all I heard as I bolted off, across the road, and into the forest opposite the inn.
I felt a pleasant feeling of wholeness whilst emptying the contents of my "Traveler’s Canteen". The rising pain I had been feeling before now trickled away at a moderate pace, allowing me to relax my muscles and let out an, "aahhhhhhh....". I tilted my head back and started to hum a little tune out loud to myself, when I noticed I was being eavesdropped upon. The dam in my lower half closed up immediately as I heard a low growl coming from my left, and I had the inclination that the next turn of events would be either fairly smooth, or terrifyingly suspenseful. I turned my head to see the large...menacing....and terrifying form of a furry brown demon with eyes intent on claiming a future victim. Slowly, very slowly, I backed away from the bush I had been standing next to and used my peripheral vision to try and find a quick escape route out of my rather unpleasant situation. The door back inside was too far to reach without provoking the dog's intent to defend its territorial boundaries, and I no longer had a supply cart to hide in. This meant that I was left with only a few optio...
The dog, having sensed that I intended to make a run for it, acted first and charged head-on at my (then) motionless figure, barking out warnings of its own intentions the entire way. I did what any great warrior did in a situation where they were (quite literally) caught with their pants down...I ran as if the world itself were falling upon me. Of course, pulling my pants back up mid-sprint was no easy feat, and I ended up compromising with a half jogging/run that left me open to attack by my pursuer. Thankfully, years of experience running away from my problems had helped me to identify some key telegraphed moves that almost all attackers made when they assumed their prey were within range for a strike. This time, it was no different, with the dog giving out a vicious snarl just as it jumped, which in turn gave me the time to break off in another direction. I hadn't yet thought of yelling out a few cries for assistance, as I had previously been too terrified to think properly, and it occurred to me now that it might be beneficial to request some aid. Having thought it over within the few seconds I had before the dog reached the ground and began the chase again, I started up with a rather simple, "HEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!!! SOMEONE GET THIS BEAST AWAY FROM ME BEFORE IT TEARS ME TO RIBBONS!!! HEEEELLLP, HEELLLLPPP, HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!" Having said this, I heard an almost immediate reaction from the doors of the inn as they burst open with a loud "KRACKOOMPH!!!" I knew I had help on the way, but this didn't change the fact that the dog was still gaining on me at a rapid rate. The scars it might leave me with before my assistance could find me shifted my legs into a whole new gear, and I shortly broke the speed of sound. Despite the fact that fear was aiding me in my escape by increasing my speed (which was now at a full run) three-fold, I couldn't help but notice the ever increasing presence of the dog behind me as it rushed onward, thrilled at having a worthy chase for once in its life. I looked ahead and noticed that the area I was running through was made up of trees, which would actually have helped earlier had I noticed them. I launched myself at the nearest one I could find and started a mad scramble to gain sufficient height above the dog. Unfortunately, the dog was also aware of my tactic, and it promptly leapt over to, and chomped down upon, the one area that man hates the most to be bitten in...or second most, I suppose. I released a loud, and certainly blood curdling, yell which actually startled the dog so much that it let go for a second, giving me a moment of relief before the pain set in again. The animal didn't want to be left without a trinket though, and it decided that tearing off a rear section of my pants would be sufficient evidence of my defeat. I prayed that the tree I was hugging would protect me from any further assault, and it was at about this time that my rescue party arrived to see the chase coming to its end. They were able to restrain the mutt, which was owned by a patrol officer who did his rounds close to the inn. "Can't you keep that thing on a chain?!?", I yelled as an embarrassed female medic tended to my wounds. "I'm sorry sir, he usually doesn't attack anyone he deems unsuspicious...though you do have a rather odd look about you now that I think about it", stated the officer in reply. "I happen to have this look because of your wild bitch sir! And I'll have you know that...Oww! Be careful will ya?!?" "Alright, that should be all finished now..", stated the medic as she quickly retired from the scene. It was obvious even to me that she was new, and I hoped I wouldn't end up gaining an infection from her work. "On the other hand, worrying about that is the least of my problems...", I thought to myself,"...I won't be able to sit comfortably for the next few weeks...at least." My brother and a few of the others helped me as I limped back inside the inn where, once again, I was confined to my quarters. As he left, a smirk crossed his face and he stated, "Well, I guess this proves you really are a bit of a pain in the ass..." He exited before I could retaliate, and all I was left thinking was, "What a prick...since when have I ever been rude to him while HE was in pain? I really don't know what I did to deserve this..." I grumbled as I lay back and attempted to shift my rear into a more comfortable position. After several minutes, I finally found a suitable one and proceeded to place my arm underneath my head. “Nothing could be worse than this right now…”, I thought to myself. It was another one of those times when I hadn't yet realized just how bad “bad” could really get.
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