After the battle in front of Yuri and Kuyagu's house, the various men who had been injured in battle were administered to the village infirmary. Those who had died laid under white sheets in the morgue within the same building.
The injured were bandaged and splinted, suffering from their defeat and the loss of their leader.
Samurai A:... Damn it. Who would have thought we'd go up against an urban myth like that?...
Samurai B: More like a nightmare… the bastard killed at least three of us, excluding Lord Udo.
Samurai A:... See, that's what I find the most interesting…
Samurai B: Hm???
Samurai A: From what I've heard… the Bachijin was a ruthless ronin who slayed anyone who crossed him. But it looks to me that he wasn't as bad as I heard.
Samurai B leaned forward, interested in what his comrade really meant.
Samurai B: What are you sayin'???
Samurai A paused for a moment to remember the one sided battle with Jin that day.
Samurai A: If the stories are true… if he wanted us all dead, we'd all be laying in that morgue…
_________________
Meanwhile, back at Kuyagu's house…
Jin showered, washing the blood from his enemies out of his hair and off of his body. His black arm was revealed to have intricate markings on them. The extent of said arm's color was all the way up to his shoulder, fading as if it seeped to his outer pectoral. The scarred and battle torn young man exhaled in relaxation as the hot water washed away the day's battle.
*Wshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…!*
Jin:...
Thinking back earlier on that day, Jin remembered Yuri's words and allowed them to echo through his mind.
"The Jin I know is a good man who protects people who need it. That's the Jin Hiryu I know! Tee-hee~!"
Shaking off the dwelling of such words, Jin allowed her sentiment to sit within him and thought to himself.
Jin: (She really thinks I'm a good guy?... I guess I made a better impression on her than I thought.)
Turning off the shower, Jin steps out as hot water slides down his bare body. The young swordsman looked around for a towel to dry himself with, however, there was nothing around.
Jin: Crap… I forgot to ask for one.
Swallowing his embarrassment for his minor blunder, Jin called out to the matriarch of the household.
Jin: Ms. Kuyagu..! I forgot to ask for-
However, before he could finish his sentence, the door opened up suddenly. It was as if she only heard him call for her, and didn't think about the fact that Jin could be out of the shower.
Kuyagu: Yeah, what's u-
These missteps would lead to an embarrassing situation. Jin stood with his mouth agape in shock as a red blush spread across his face. Kuyagu however was simply surprised, her eyes widened for a second before they narrowed in a comically perverted way. Only to be paired up with a devious smirk.
Kuyagu: O-Oho..! Well hello there big guy~.
Jin on instinct covers himself up with his hands and turns to his side so he could hide his privates from her. In the same vein, Jin yelled out in mortification.
Jin: H-Hey! What the hell, knock first!
Kuyagu: I'll knock if I feel like it. It's my house hehehe.
Chuckling mischievously, Kuyagu looked the young man in the eye as if she was simply trolling him. The taller one of the two exclaimed yet again in embarrassment.
Jin: C-Can I just get a towel please?! N stop starin' at my junk!
Kuyagu waved it off playfully and jokingly, leaving the restroom with a wave of her hand.
Kuyagu: Yeah yeah, I've got you kiddo. Don't get your panties in a bunch, hehe~.
Jin stood there naked, continuing to cover himself while giving a comically annoyed and embarrassed expression.
Jin: Tch… perverted old lady…
____________________
After the bathroom incident, Jin sat at the table and ate some rice that Yuri had made. The young woman sat there and munched on rice as well, only at a much more accelerated pace.
Yuri: Aaaah nom! Nom! Nom~!
Jin: (She's got an appetite…)
Yuri finishes her meal before setting her chopsticks on the rim of the bowl she ate from. Letting out a satisfied exhale, the blonde smiled warmly.
Yuri: Ahhh~ that was tasty!
Jin: Heh, seems you were pretty hungry after all of that.
Yuri: Mhm! I was staaaarving! After using all of that energy creating all of those plants, I got really lightheaded!
"That's because you were overusing your Tao, idiot girl."
Looking up from their meals, Jin and Yuri's eyes landed on Kuyagu, who had a can of beer in her hand. She wore a loose tank top, short shorts and stockings, her hair in it's usual upstanding style.
Yuri: G-Grandma!
Kuyagu: When you overuse, your soul starts to take damage, and in turn, your body. It's like straining a muscle.
The woman sips from her beer before gazing at Jin, winking at the swordsman flirtatiously.
Kuyagu: Right, Mr. Jin?
Jin felt his face heat up before looking down at his bowl to avoid eye contact.
Jin: Yes…. That's exactly what happens when you overuse Tao…
Yuri: Hmmm so this Tao stuff…
The young lady looks at her grandmother with surprise.
Yuri: Is that what you've been trying to teach me the whole time??!
Kuyagu sips again, tilting her head with a raised eyebrow.
Kuyagu: Whaddya think I've been having you do??? Morning stretches???
Yuri thought back to her training. The moments plant life grew around her, the exerted energy from her meditation. It all came together for her.
Yuri: Tao… so that's what that's called.
Kuyagu: Mhm. And from that squabble with the samurai, you had quite a bit of it. Only problem was that your body couldn't handle the usage.
Yuri:.... Grandma…
Kuyagu: Hm?
Yuri: You… didn't teach me Tao just to carry on the divine teachings of our family… Did you???
Kuyagu: Of course not. I taught you the basics to prepare you for your little journey.
Yuri:!!
Seeming surprised, Yuri remembered that she had cried out about her dream when she was at Udo's mercy. The young lady hesitated to speak, but eventually she mustered up the courage to do so.
Yuri: Y-You…. Heard that earlier…
Kuyagu fixed her glasses in a matter of fact way.
Kuyagu: I knew about your little dream long before today, Yuri. Don't think you can just hide it from me.
Yuri looked surprisingly shocked.
Yuri: Y-You did?!!
Kuyagu: Of course I did. Your mother did the same thing.
Yuri paused for a moment, before gently repeating the person who Kuyagu referred to.
Yuri: M…Mama..?
Kuyagu nodded.
Kuyagu: Yeeees, that stubborn girl was always spouting about finding Amahara. When she turned eighteen, she struck out on her own to find it. Didn't even tell me goodbye, so I had to confront her at the village entrance.
Yuri: Oh….
Kuyagu paused for a moment, resulting in the room stagnating in silence. However, just as Yuri was about to break said silence, her grandmother beat her to the punch.
Kuyagu: With that said… at least I won't have to do that a second time.
Yuri gazed up at her grandmother with her big blue eyes glossed over in surprise.
Yuri: G-Grandma…
Kuyagu: If your dream's to go find Amahara… to go find your mother, then I'm not gonna stop you. In fact, I support ya.
Yuri looked into Kuyagu's eyes before starting to tear up. Eventually the young lady was holding back tears as she made a face that was on the verge of crying.
Yuri: G…Grandmaaaa…!!
Immediately, Yuri jumped onto her feet and quickly closed the distance between herself and her grandmother. In that split second, Yuri hugged Kuyagu, who stood with her beer hand held out to avoid it being spilled.
Yuri: Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!
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As the wide eyed grandmother stood for a few moments with her blonde haired granddaughter sobbing into her chest, Kuyagu eventually relaxed. The youthful looking woman used her free hand to hold Yuri close.
Kuyagu: Heh…. Yes yes, let it all out. You dumb girl…
As Jin watched the grandmother and granddaughter reconcile, he smiled at the sight. The young swordsman sipped from his tea cup, silently allowing the two to have their moment.
_________________
Later on that evening…
Jin sat outside with his eyes closed. On the front porch of Kuyagu's house, Jin was seemingly meditating. But, within his own mind, he was remembering the reason he was traveling to begin with…
…..
"Amahara???"
Back when his hair was solid black, Jin sat on the floor of a beautifully decorated living room, cleaning and ordinary sword with a swab. The young man had paused his maintenance, gazing up at a young woman that his memory cherished so well. He gave her a face of confusion, continuing his response to her words.
Jin: But that place is just a myth Saya. A fairy tale to make sure kids behave...
Saya smiled angelically as she teased the young man.
Saya: Now now Jinny. If you keep thinking like that, you'll never get what you want~.
Jin: 💧You can't be serious…
Saya giggled, facing her companion with a gleeful smile on her face.
Saya: I am! I wanna go see it!
Jin placed his elbow on his thigh before leaning on said hand with a slight laziness to his gaze.
Jin: But why?
Saya: Hm???
Jin: Let's just say Amahara was real, why would you wanna go see it in the first place? I mean, you're rich, your father's a pretty sizable lord too. You've got everything you could ever want. So why do you wanna see some "garden"?
Saya kept her smile, gazing at the floor in response.
Saya: Well… you know how they say that the garden itself can make all worries just….disappear. A-And how the fruit can cleanse someone of ALL of their sins???
Jin: Hm? Yeah, I remember that being a part of the story.
Saya immediately gained a glimmer in her gentle blue eyes and exclaimed in a rather wholesome way. Like a little girl expressing her dream to a friend or crush, the young lady began to blush softly as she continued on with her side of the conversation.
Saya: Well, I wanna know what that’s like! To not have any worries, to not feel on edge! You know???
Jin tilts his head in confusion.
Jin: Wait, worry??? Whaddaya gotta be worried about???
Saya paused for a second, only to answer him honestly.
Saya: Welllll….
The dirty blonde brings her index finger to her bottom lip as she innocently gazes at the ceiling of the beautiful room. Her pink and black kimono shifted with her now risen hand.
Saya: There’s the worry of getting all old and wrinkly. And the other worry that my favorite dessert will be discontinued at some point. Oh! And the one about being eaten by a shark! Or being turned into a literal robot!!!
Jin: *sweatdrop* There’s that overactive imagination again….
A second after that, her entire demeanor shifts from a goofy/silly one, to a more genuinely sweet one.
Saya: And well…. There’s that one worry. The one about me losing you…
Jin’s eyes became focused as his ears picked up what she just said.
Jin: What???
Saya giggles wholeheartedly, putting her hands behind her as a way of softening her initial statement.
Saya: Silly, I know.. But…
Jin: Hm?
Saya: It’s just… you’re a swordsman… a samurai even. The shogun could call for your duty one day, and I feel like I could lose you forever… That’s my biggest worry.
Jin gazed at the young woman. A moment passes. A second one does as well, and from there, Jin understood how genuine she was being. In a matter of seconds, Jin stood up after sheathing his weapon. His deep brown eyes gazed at the beautiful lady before him, taking in her radiant beauty and angelic innocence. The young swordsman walked forward and spoke in a warm and comforting voice.
Jin: Look, Saya…
Saya: Hm??
The moment her big blue eyes looked into his, Jin gazed down at the floor to avoid flustering.
Jin: Y-You won’t lose me. Not ever. So… please…
Saya:...?
Jin: Just… don’t worry about me. I’ll always come back, you can count on it.
Saya smiles before stepping toward the taller man. In a swift motion, Saya wrapped her arms around his torso and spoke.
Saya: You silly goose…
Jin: Huh??
Saya looked up at the swordsman with a closed eyed smile and spoke in the warmest way possible.
Saya: There’s no way I can just not worry about you.
The young man began to blush.
Jin: Wha?? But Saya-
Saya: I worry about you because I love you. The only way I’d lose that worry is if you and I went to Amahara together.
In response, Jin's eyes softened.
Jin:... Saya..
Saya: A place without war or hunger. A place where everyone there can live in peace and harmony. Amahara… The Garden of Paradise.
_____________________________________________________
As that memory faded from Jin’s mind, he began to think to himself.
Jin: (A place of peace and harmony….)
“Yo, Jin.”
Snapping out of his train of thought, Jin’s eyes open to the present. Noting that the voice that called him was to his left, Jin looked in that direction. Soon, his gaze was met by the platinum blonde woman who allowed him to stay at her place.
Jin: Kuyagu…
Kuyagu: Mind if I sit with ya???
___________________________
After a few moments, the older woman sat beside the warrior with a can of beer in her hand. Guzzling it, the woman couldn't speak, leaving a silence between the two. Jin watched her, waiting for her to say something. However, as the swordsman opened his mouth to speak, Kuyagu let out a delighted exhale after parting the tin of her beer from her lips.
Kuyagu: Aaaaaaahhhhahaaa! That’s some bbbbbbooommmbb peach beer!
The woman noticed the look of subtle exclamation on his face and held out her beer to the young man.
Kuyagu: Want a sip???
Jin: H-Huh?? Oh, no no..!
After a momentary silence that spaced in, Kuyagu asked a rather important question.
Kuyagu: Soooo… Mr. Jin. What brought you here to our town to begin with?
Jin remained silent, allowing the gentle pressure of Kuyagu’s blue orbs to remain on him. Jin however, after a second or two of silence, responded in a rather strangled and tired tone.
Jin: No particular reason… I was just making my way to my next lead… I just stopped here to rest.
Kuyagu stroked her chin with her index finger and thumb.
Kuyagu: Ahh, I see, I see… I suppose I should ask you a better question…
The woman looked at the two toned boy from the corner of her sharp and wise eyes.
Kuyagu:... What does the Bachijin want with The Garden of Paradise..?
Jin fell silent again, this time the pause was longer. Kuyagu kept her gaze on him, looking onto his face to see his expression. She looked to see if such an expression was murderous, twisted, or downright dark… However…
Jin: I….
The face that the older woman saw was something she didn’t expect. The infamous Bachijin, the Cursed Swordsman the rumors spoke of wasn’t grinning. He wasn’t staring at the ground with ill intent or twisted evil. His face displayed no human greed or selfishness… Instead, Jin’s face was that of a man who had lost something that he knew he could never get back. The face of a man trapped within a solemn labyrinth of sorrow and pain,but a face that had also run its course of grief. His tears had been shed, his anger had seemingly burned out. All that was left was a lone emotion that was a hell within itself. An expression that he had worn since the start of that day.
Melancholy.
Jin:..... I just want to keep a promise…and fulfill a dream that someone else can’t now.
Kuyagu was shocked by his genuine response.
Kuyagu: A man looking for Amahara for a selfless reason… That’s definitely a first for me.
Jin: Yeah???
Kuyagu looked out past her own porch and into the distance.
Kuyagu: Most people who try to look for the garden tend to do it for something as ridiculous as “eternal life”, or “ascension to godhood”. Never in my many years of life, have I heard an answer like that.
Jin sarcastically remarks to the old woman.
Jin: Sorry to disappoint.
Kuyagu: Watch it, smartass.
After a momentary chuckle shared between them, Kuyagu spoke in a much softer manner.
Kuyagu: I can see why Yuri’s taken fondness of ya.
Jin: Hm?
Kuyagu: She’s always been a scatterbrained child. Warm to everyone until she gets hurt. I’m thankful for what you’ve done for us Jin, I really am. But I need to know something.
Jin: Hm?
Kuyagu: You’re not going to hurt Yuri like the world has… are you, Mr. Jin???
Her rather serious question was laced with concern for her granddaughter. The grown woman looked into Jin’s dual colored eyes, awaiting a response. As she waited, Jin responded in a generally calm tone.
Jin: I won’t…
Kuyagu stared at the boy for a few seconds, before exclaiming in a goofy manner.
Kuyagu: Then you’ve got my blessin’ on y’all’s little graaand adventure!
Throwing her arm over Jin’s shoulder, Kuyagu knowingly squished her sizable chest up against the young man, causing him to blush.
Jin: K-Kuyagu!
Kuyagu: Just don’t pressure her into any freak nasty business. If I find out, I’ll hafta kill ya!
After realizing what she just said, Jin exclaimed in an embarrassed manner.
Jin: H-Huh??! I wasn’t gonna do stuff like that with her anyway! I just met her!
Kuyagu: Awwwww, then how about we do it right here and now??? Ya know, for good luck!
Jin: Huh????!!!!! I just met you too! NO!
Kuyagu: Pffft! Hahahahahaha!
Jin: The hell are you laughing about?!
Meanwhile, standing on the other side of the door, Yuri smiled warmly as the conversation had come to an end. Her grandmother was approving of her own decision, as well as approving of Jin as a companion to travel beside. Things were set for their journey to Amahara.
___________________________________________
The very next morning…
Jin, Yuri and Kuyagu stood at the outskirts of town. Jin and Yuri were prepared to leave, while Kuyagu faced them with her pipe in hand. Yuri looked at her grandma with a nervous smile.
Yuri: Tee-hee, well Grandma… This is it..!
Kuyagu: Sure seems that way. Are you excited?
Yuri: Heh, well, I think I am. I'm a bit nervous though.. Tee-h-hee..
Kuyagu raised an eyebrow, causing tears to start welling up in Yuri’s eyes. Immediately, the young blonde began crying comical rivers down her cheeks.
Yuri: I’m not sure if I can do it grandma! I’m so nervous! What if I mess up?! What if I get lost?! Grandmaaaaaaa!
Kuyagu sighed in irritation before-
Kuyagu: YYYYOOOOU IDIIIOOOOTTT!!!
WHAMM!!
Jin blinked with his mouth agape in a comedic way.
Jin: (S-She hit her???!!!)
Yuri: Owwwwww, what was that for grandma???!
Kuyagu: That was to remind you of what you’re leavin’ to do in the first place. The hell are you cryin’ for??!
Yuri: G-Grandma, I…
Kuyagu: Your mother is waiting.
Yuri:!!
Kuyagu takes a drag from her pipe, blowing out the ashy smoke from her mouth.
Kuyagu: She’s at Amahara, Yuri. That’s if she found it. So the only way to know for sure is to find it yourself, right???
Yuri wipes her tears clumsily and responds in an affirmative way.
Yuri: Y-Yeah.. *sniff* You’re right.
In that moment, Yuri felt a warmth pressing against her, causing the young woman to freeze, feeling nothing but that warmth. That warmth was Kuyagu, hugging her granddaughter wholeheartedly.
Kuyagu: You’re strong, Yuri. You’re a special young woman. Use your gifts, and everything I’ve taught you to achieve your goals.
Yuri’s eyes gently softened, her thick eyelashes gently hovering to give a sense of understanding. In response, as if by second nature, Yuri hugged Kuyagu with just the same amount of warmth.
Yuri: Right… I will. Thank you, Grandma.
Smiling at the grandma and grandchild, Jin could feel the strength of their connection, and the tightness of their bond.
Jin: (Family… They’re one hell of one.)
After a few moments, Jin and Yuri were starting to walk from the village, taking their first steps down the path to their goal. Both Yuri and Jin waved to the smiling Kuyagu. Jin in a more reserved manner, while Yuri made large sweeping waves to her beloved guardian.
Yuri: Byyyyyeeeee Grandmaaaaa~!! I love yoooouuuu~!
Kuyagu waved back, repeating the phrase to Yuri in a heartfelt goodbye.
Kuyagu: I love you too, Yuri! Stay safe ya hear?!
Yuri: I wiiiiilllll~!!!
As soon as the distance grew, and the rolling hills of their path began, Yuri wiped any tears in her eyes with her thumb. Noticing, Jin checked in on his companion.
Jin: You alright??? You ain’t gotta head back, do you???
Yuri shook her head, a smile remaining on her face.
Yuri: Nope, I’m gonna keep moving forward! I’m gonna find Amahara, and find Mama!
Jin smiled slightly, looking forward to the path.
Jin: Heh, well alright then. Our next stop is gonna be a village east of here. Apparently there’s a monk that has information on Amahara.
Yuri: A monk???
Jin: Mhm. Apparently he’s seen Amahara in visions before. If we talk to him, we should have a better understanding on where exactly to go.
Yuri: Sounds like a plan!
Yuri pumps her fist into the air and shouts out in excitement.
Yuri: To the eastern village!!
Jin: Tokoya Village.
Yuri: Tokoya Village~!!!
As the duo made their way onward, they were unaware of a figure that stood in the trees, watching them. This figure hid themselves under a cowl, keeping their gaze on the swordsman.
“Heh, I finally found you….
Bachijin…”
To be continued in Chapter 3….