As the four travelers walked along the path, Anzaria kept mostly to herself. She usually walked in front of the other three, but when they came in reach of other people, she would walk with them. She was smart enough to know that when travelers did not walk together, it looked strange to other people.
Most the time they would stay in small villages that were along the way, but sometimes villages did not come, so they would make camp sometimes. One night they made camp along side a small river. She watched as Mugen, Jin, and Fuu made themselves fishing poles to fish. Fuu asked if she would like one to try to get some fish, but she told them that did not need a fishing pole to get fish. Fuu, Mugen, and Jin looked at her strangely, they had no idea what she meant by that. They watched as she took off her cloak and walked into the river. Thirty seconds later Anzaria stuck her hand in the water and came out with a fish, she then threw it on the bank by their feet.
Within five minutes, Anzaria had gotten five fish. Mugen, Fuu, and Jin were amazed that someone could do that. They had no idea that someone could do something like that, but then again they were not the best fishers in the world.
"Do you think you could teach that to me?" Fuu asked looking at all the fish on the bank.
"I am not sure if I could teach something like that to someone. It has taken me along time to get that good." Anzaria said getting out of the river. "I could teach you how to be a better fisher though."
"How do you think we could become better fisher?" Mugen asked not sure she knew much more then what they knew.
"It is easy, do not shack your pole." Anzaria said with a smile. It was the first time any of them had seen her smile, and it was a nice thing to see.
Anzaria watched as the others tried to fish. Fuu and Mugen were not that bad. They did get some, but Jin was the worse. It made Anzaria laugh, but she would never show that.
After Jin finally gave up and shared fish with the others, everyone seemed to be happy. Anzaria listened as the rest of the group made small talk. It made her happy to listen to people talk among themselves, fight, and argue.
"Anzaria, can I ask you something?" Fuu asked looking from the fire they had made.
"Of course," Anzaria said looking to Fuu.
"Where are you from?" Fuu knew that she was not the only person wondering where Anzaria was from.
"I do not know." Anzaria said looking to the ground.
"How do you not know where you are from?" Mugen said with a huff.
"I do not know how old I am either." Anzaria said looking to the fire. She knew that it was strange, and she wanted to tell them why she did not know these things, but her life is a strange one to tell.
"Has your life always been like this?" Jin asked coming into the conversation.
Anzaria looked at him. They had not said much since the journey had become, but there was something about this samurai that was different. She knew that he came from an honorable family; you could tell by the way that he dressed and acted, but she wondered why he was on his own without a master.
"No, the life that I remember is very different." Anzaria said knowing that there were going to be more questions.
Fuu looked at the woman that was next to her, she wanted to ask her questions, but Anzaria left them before anything could be answered.
Jin watched as Anzaria left, he knew that there was something different about this woman; she held a certain sadness about her that made him sad for her. To him Anzaria was perfect.
That night while Fuu and Mugen slept, Jin stayed up and kept watch. He kept thinking about what Anzaria had said. She had not returned to the camp yet, and he hoped that she had not run off, but before he could think of anything else, she came into the clearing.
"Hello Jin, why are you still up?" Anzaria asked taking a set across from him.
Jin looked into her dark blue eyes. He had never felt like this before and it scared him. Even Shino, the woman in the brothel had not made him feel like this. Anzaria was sad, but not helpless, and that is what made the difference.
After a few seconds Jin looked to the rest of the group and answered, "Keeping watch, making sure nothing happens."
Anzaria looked at Jin as he watched the fire. She knew that even though there was nothing said, there was enough going on in his eyes to be heard.
They sat in silence for the rest of the night. Anzaria knew that in the next couple of days, they are going to be meeting up with her friend; she only hoped that everything was going to go well. She knew that most of the time when they got together nothing went right, but that is what made everything exciting. With that she fell asleep knowing that for the first time in a long time she was safe to sleep without worrying.