Rendezvous

(2 weeks ago...Sunday, Morning)

Kasumi never traveled by train before. But at least knowing about trains wasn't a recent first. As far as she could remember, the first time she ever saw one was when she strayed far away from her village during her free time when she was just 6. And it wasn't even a train, to her mistake. It was a summer morning when boredom made her to wander about throughout the forest, as she could recall, and when darkness fell, her brother Hayate was so angry that he had to drag her as they made their way back home. She didn't cry; she admitted that it was because of her mischief that she got herself and her brother in trouble. Contact with the outside world is strictly forbidden; such as the mere sight of people, roads, Western-styled houses, and public transportation and such.

She doesn't know much about vehicles; at most she knows the difference between a car, a van, a bus, so on. In her knowledge, trains are sleek, narrow, often shiny and white in color, noisy and are notably fast- such as the one she is in right now. She mistook the tour bus she saw as a train, thanks to her naivety at her tender age; during that summer morning years back. Well, perhaps at that time she was taught that a car is box-like and small, a bus is a bit larger and longer and a train being the longest. But knowing her idea of what's long and what's short, that bus was very long for her; and thus she thought it was a train. She giggled at herself remembering the time when her brother had to smack her head because of her foolishness. It was funny to think that a strong yet gentle woman like her was such an idiot once. No it's not her being naive. It is leaving the village in the first place that is deemed an idiot's idea. But that was a long time ago.

Now Kasumi knows the complexity of such things from the outside world. She marveled at the way things work outside her village. Here you really have to work for something in order to earn it, whereas back at her village people were united in a single communal spirit of generosity, honor and loyalty. Of course everybody still has to keep moving. But not to the extent that everyday poses a lot of, in her point of view, pointless things to do; with so little time. She would have been strained if she had to follow that norm. She remembered staring for a long at the time-table of the train station earlier. She wondered if everybody really has to stay conscious about time. It's not that she's a stranger to the concept of "schedules". But it is not just endemic to her notion of doing everything you can in everyday without worrying about time, as long as you're not a bum to just don't care at all. Much like one very simply life, so to speak.

Her stream of thought stopped for awhile. The quickly shifting images of light posts, houses, trees and evergreen as the train continues to sprint forward have finally subsided; the forests have finally gave away to reveal the beautiful mountains from the distance, with the highlights of the sunrise brightening their natural green silhouette. Kasumi sat up for a moment with her face closely leaning at the glass window as she admires the beauty of the glorious peaks from afar. She managed to smile a bit, reminiscing those days when she used to climb up trees as a little girl just to witness the sight of the sun protracting its golden rays as night slowly envelopes the sky.

Those moments remind her of her once joyful innocence. Those days when she used to fish with Ayane and her brother. Those times when she had not a care in the world. Those things that should have lasted longer. But those too were a long time ago.

As much as she would want everything back the way they were before, she really wants to know why did Hayabusa told her to pack-up and move into the city to a prearranged address; where she would be "safer" he said. His claim kind of contradicts her current situation; the stream of assassins sent to capture or kill her had ceased for almost a week. Kasumi wondered if Hayate has finally had enough. Every time his men return empty-handed he gets more stressed. Perhaps he's wondering about the point of wasting his time on such an "old matter", whereas he could be more concerned about facing the threats poised against the Mugen Tenshin. Both within and without. Or maybe his conscience overpowered his strong resolve, and now probably he feels an old friend calling him: guilt.

But she knows that Ayane's persistence to see her as a corpse might eventually pull through. Perhaps following Ryu's advice would be a proper course of action.

The countryside has finally given way to the first glances of the metropolis. The passing images of the forest quickly shifted to that of the industrialized world; outside the city is a leather factory with trucks and forklifts moving about doing their tasks. The highway parallel to the rail-line of the train has finally branched into different roads, each one pertaining to a different destination. Everything about this cityscape is almost the way she had imagined it. Kasumi could only hear about tales of the city from some of the villagers who had actually been there.

She glanced outside; city-dwellers are everywhere doing their routines, even at this time of the morning.

"So many people." She whispered to herself.

She never got accustomed being surrounded by masses. She hated to admit it, but being an extrovert is something she never had developed. Or did she even have wanted. The lineage she was born into demanded seclusion.

Still it would be easier for her to blend in with such a large population moving about every minute, she thought. Assassins would also think twice about taking her out in the open; there are a lot witnesses. Typical, for a busy metropolis such as this one. But even though it gave her a sense of security from her pursuers, there is still much she needs to know about the city. She doesn't have any assets in this place. Nor does she have any idea about the people here. Hopefully, Ryu does; since he gave her the proper address for the safe house he has arranged for her.

The train finally slowed down, Kasumi realized that they were nearing a station; which is where she'll drop-off. When the train grounded to a halt, she took a deep breath and grabbed her meager luggage from under her seat.

"Well, here I go."

She stood up and made her way out of the train, along with a few other passengers as well.

"Kasumi, I sure hope you know what you're doing..." she said to herself.

That would be something she'll remember. The moment she left her seat, she made up her mind that now there's no turning back. And if she regrets ending up here in the city, it would be too late. She might end up in nowhere if that's the case. Or worse, she might end up dead.

She shook her head, shaking off that horrible thought. There is much to see in the city. There is still much to learn. After all, this is not like a simple visit to the city. She should like it here for a while. Hopefully, when Ryu contacts her again; her stay here wouldn't be that much of a bad idea after all.