Jade Eyes

by Sarcataclysmal

Twinkling stars that cross the perilous fields; and hearts aflame that coalesce into a single ember burning evermore. Finding Kyou Kai's inner peace, divulging unto the world Karyou Ten's desires, and coming to terms with Shin's straightforward emotions as he wades through murky waters. Three who are blinded by mists and in search of each other.

2. Part 2: The Girl with the Green Eyes

Searching

Dreams of happiness, dreams of the past; dreams of distant lands, and dreams of home. Roaring thunder, and the waterfall; striking lightning, and the flash of light. The satisfaction of reminiscence, and the anxiousness of terror; arousal in the mind, and nightmares grasping at the heart.

He was in the water– it was dark. There was only the light of the waxing crescent, and the unsettling tremble of fear. Nothing else. Nothing at all. He gulped. He looked down. The water was up to his knees, but even peering beneath him he could see nothing but the faintest reflection of his own self and the illuminating moon above him. Forward, he walked. Slowly, he felt the ground– one leg, and then the other. The water rippled with every movement.

As he continued, slowly but in motivation, a figure slowly drifted towards him, moving at a sluggish pace through the murky water. The normally reactive Shin stood in hesitation as the gently illuminated figure crept towards his legs. It instigated an ominous feeling that latched onto his back and began to slide up his spine and towards his neck, yet he felt as though he shouldn't waver. As the light radiating from the water and on the figure changed from a mere rim light to a gentle glow, Shin saw Hyou. He was not in pain, neither contorted nor agonizing.

The look on Hyou's face was that of content. Content of satisfaction–a job well done–and not of bliss. Shin watched. His eyes peered. His nerves retreated. Although content, Hyou appeared to be cold. The water itself was cold, and his long hair was soaking in this endless sea.

"You shouldn't stay soakin' too long, Hyou," Shin whispered under his breath as he inched closer to his friend. His hands hung low and brushed past groups of populating reeds and ferns. No sooner than he started, he stopped, right in front of Hyou's still, eternally asleep body. He knelt down and saw the water envelop him more and more. The coldness took his breath from him, but only for a moment, as he placed his hands directly under Hyou's body and grasped him by the neck and legs. Shin did not pull Hyou out of the water, but instead cradled him closer to his chest, and looked down to his face as his hand supported his head. He then rested Hyou's head on his chest, pulled his arm away and cupped Hyou's shoulder, and sat his legs on his left thigh within the water. His left arm reached out, almost vehemently at first, but pulled away gently as it came to Hyou's face, and Shin proceeded with a gentle caress atop Hyou's forehead, moving wet hair away from his eyes and tracing from his eyebrow to his ear. The love of brothers.

Battles of wood-and-skin could still be felt. The shouting of names from beyond the trees could still be heard. The flavor of blood and leftover, cold rice could still be tasted. All of those years ago, and yet the connection between brothers bonded by a single dream remained strong and true. The loyalty of a promise, even after death, presided over the doubts of the mind, and the hardship of persistence. The weight of the promise was not heavy, it was the balancing factor in an era of turmoil and heroes.

Soon enough, however, the weight of Hyou's body began to feel heavier and heavier, even within the cold and buoyant water that had just been easily holding him up. Shin did not fight back, and he gave into the insistence of the water as it calmly dragged Hyou into its embrace. Small droplets fell as flashes of bursting radiance, and Hyou slowly disappeared, consumed by the shallow waters that had brought him.

Yet there was content. Not the contention of satisfaction, but the contention of reinvigorated determination setting the embers of the heart ablaze. Even with such contention, the dream of talking with Hyou again pestered the back of Shin's mind, and he waded his hands through the water and mud in search of his friend, though there was nothing there but his experience moments ago. He lifted himself up from the water, and looked down to his soiled hands. A few blisters here and there, crevices compacted with fresh mud, and callouses loitered the surface of his palms and fingers. Though at times irrational and difficult to reason with, Shin was a boy–a man–who earnestly pursued his goals, and worked harder than just about everyone to achieve them. Not everyone, though. And certainly not without help. Of course not.

What good is a leader without those who follow them? Though the tribulation of Hyou's death momentarily hindered the idealization he had conceptualized with his best friend, instead harnessing all energy and thoughts towards attaining revenge against the person who took away his other half, he didn't blame himself for Hyou's death. Rather than blame himself, he felt a sense of survivor's guilt. Hyou, who had worked harder than anyone, at times even Shin himself, had his life ended far too quickly. He never got a chance to partake in the grand battles of generals, and the grand plan of unifying the Middle Kingdom. Instead, political strife between half-brothers resulted in the premature eviction of Hyou's life. But as premature as his death was, his fruit had ripened to some degree. Hyou did not die a shameful death, nor a shameless death, or a death of cowards or self-sacrifice in the pursuit of somebody's else's goals. Certainly, his final moments were the causation of someone else's goals–the conflict of two brothers–yet if anything, Hyou had used them to serve his purpose. Although it wasn't the grand spectacle of becoming the greatest general under the heavens, Hyou, who had absolutely no experience in leading men or fighting aside from sparring matches with Shin, an orphaned servant to a middle family in a remote village in the state of Qin, led a valiant stand against those who wished to kill him. Against formidable opponents–soldiers and assassins–wishing to eliminate the king, Ei Sei, Hyou led the charge in the heat of battle. Hyou took up the sword and leaned forward with his horse. Hyou shouted out in the darkness of night, and carried away an army as a glimmering, bright star. Hyou may have saved the king and others, but there was no doubt that this was his moment. He was given a role to play, and he exited the stage as beautifully as he appeared on his own terms. Though the mirror between the two was shattered, the dream lived on through Shin. Hyou held the torch and sprinted all the way from the capital to hand it to Shin. It was in Shin's hands now. There was no reason to stare at his reflection in contempt, because he was entrusted with Hyou's dream.

Shin was going to be the greatest general under the heavens. Hyou's dreams intertwined with his own in a spinning wind of fire, but without his own strength, Shin could never pursue and accomplish such a goal. The treacherous terrain of lost friends, lost idols, and lost opportunities were harsh waves indeed, but even without Hyou there were those who followed Shin into battle, who rescued him from the pits of seemingly destined death, and who sat around the fire with him in the darkness of the day to laugh and drink and eat together. In other words, a family.

Still, as arrogant and straightforward as Shin was, there were some feelings he didn't share. Not out of distrust, or embarrassment, but a lack of his own acknowledgement or understanding of his own feelings. He didn't blame Hyou's death on himself, and he wasn't particularly sad about it anymore, but occasionally the dreams of his childhood would wash over his body and accumulate into his thoughts throughout moments of the day. Incertitude piled up, and at times he would disappear from the rest of his unit to think for a bit. They weren't difficult conversations with him, but they required peace to process. But at times the most pressing of questions came, a very simple question that simply halted him in his steps: "and then?" Becoming the greatest general was a hard and enduring journey, but what then? What after he becomes the greatest general? What after the Middle Kingdom is unified? In the time of legends, those who succeeded did so because of war, because of death, because of killing. The prosperity of one kingdom or one ruler came at the cost of another's pain and destruction. Yet, these ideas were not ideal to Shin. Proving himself against an enemy warrior, or another general, gave him momentous pride. To say there wasn't enjoyment or pride would be a lie. Even so, he wasn't a monster who indiscriminately murdered innocent people, or who massacred armies in the name of his allegiance. So what then?

Shin's mind ran rampant with ideas and possibilities during times like this. He did not want to continue fighting in endless wars, he wasn't like some of the other generals who idealized the battlefield as the place to build their images and where they would breathe their last breaths. Yet peace seemed boring. What was there to do? He was neither technically smart enough to be within the court, or a minister, nor interested in simply going about his days within a castle gifted to him from the king of all of the Middle Kingdom. He could live with his family, he could keep them well-fed and taken care of, but such a stagnation of existence–plateauing at what would otherwise be his peak–irked him. In these times, he would think about it on his own. He would never voice his thoughts out loud, but he would think about it. He knew what he was fighting for, and what he was living for, and he would certainly grasp what it is that he wanted, but the afterwards continued to plague the mind.

Without a doubt, however, Shin was going to reach out and grab the title with his own two hands. When the time was ripe, the apples would be plucked from their stems– not just for Shin, but for everybody in the Hi Shin Unit; that is, those who carried on the will of Hyou and Shin. Those who took on the mantle of supporting their dream. Those who added to the dream. Those who became a part of the dream. For Kyou Kai, life has been about revenge for Kyou Shou. Yet, she found herself finding comfort among the comrades. Shin knew this, he witnessed it, he saw the valiance in her fighting for her comrades, and the determination she had in becoming a great general just as he did. Her very presence, along with the other vice-commanders and lieutenants like En and So Sui, strengthened Shin's very foundations. Even more so through the tribulations he found himself entangled early on with Ei Sei and Karyou Ten– as if he could ever forget his longest-serving comrades in arms. Ten, especially, as the strategist of the Hi Shin brought about a bit of happiness to the unit that he might've been missing from before. A sense of familiarity from the old days, in a way; but she also held strong morals, and strong ideals– by all means, she and Kyou Kai represented the apex of women during this warring states period. Neither conforming to the ideals of man, nor allowing their flames to be whisked away by the turbulent winds that brushed through the valleys.

His own body started to feel heavy. His head started racing. He could feel his blood start to pulse faster. Gradually, he could feel himself sink into the ground. Like a nightmare, he tried moving forward, but could only feel himself slowly dragging his feet forward. The mud was too strong, or he was too weak, and he started to wear down sinking faster and faster. A discomforting pain engulfed his arms, back, and legs while the environment around him started to flood with water as it poured from the heavens above. He remained unmoving, and instead looked up and closed his eyes.

Although the water was cold, the feeling of its bitter touch did not last long, as a foreign warmth swept through the water, converging and swirling all around him in a battle for dominance. Exhilarating, but nonetheless suffocating to be thrown about left and right, up and down, in an axisless plane which held no right from wrong as a casualty of a fight between greater belligerents.

He awoke. Peering sunlight showered down on him. One god seemed to be calling for the morning rise. His eyes adjusted to their new environment, one that he could barely process in his tired and groggy state, and one that was vastly different from the world he had just been consumed by. Though, this one was much calmer. He was surrounded by an unknown shelter on three sides, though he could only glance quickly with his eyes before they insisted on shutting and returning to their hibernation. Still, he felt he could not afford to fall back asleep, as he had no idea where he was. He opened his eyes once more to see the ceiling of a leather tent. It wasn't particularly big, perhaps suitable for three or four people as far as he could tell with all of the boxes and other things that seemed to clutter around; and portions of fabric ranging from that which might belong to a peasant's hemp, to bits and pieces of brightly colored and decorated reds and blues that seemed suited for royalty. He glanced down and was met with a sharp pain emanating from soreness in his neck and back. He tried to lift himself up with his arms, but was met with more pain, and decided to instead sit back and relax before attempting any other movements. He noticed he wasn't lying on grass, but rather wood; and that he didn't have his shirt, but that it had been neatly placed on his left side, along with his sword, and that he had bandages across his arms and chest, though he knew not the extent of his injuries at the moment. He noticed most of his armor was missing, besides his boots and wrist guards, which were neatly placed alongside his shirt. It was his first time waking up in days, though he didn't know when or where he was, so his idea of how long he was passed out amounted to, at the very least, "a little while."

As the drowsiness subsided, he became more and more aware of the pain throughout his muscles and flesh. His mind struggled to reattach itself to his body and his ears perked up to the gentle sound of dangling ornaments above him. Their distinct chirping whispered quietly in the soaring wind, and he focused on its sound for some seconds as he breathed in and out to gain a semblance of composure. He gazed around to view the little tent once more and noticed all of the little patches in some of the pieces of leather and the way they held tightly to the frame of the tent. As almost makeshift as it seemed to be, it appeared to have an impenetrable sturdiness to the disordered Shin. He moved his head towards his right side and noticed that what should have been a spot for another person to sleep was empty. Rather, he had noticed this prior but made no note of it until coming to the understanding that he hadn't noticed anyone at all. That is, until he looked closer into the creeping shadows beyond the realm of the desolate roughspun sack and saw a huddled figure dressed in white and red.

Of course, with a look as unperturbed–and even annoyed–as he could feel peering through the thick of a headband and scarf, said figure could only be one person and no other without a doubt in his mind. Staring into the leering thicket of hair and overgarments, he noticed the two faint, glinting specs observing him disappear for a moment. For a moment. For a moment. Eventually, it was no longer a moment, and it seemed as though the figure began to tilt and even fall from its upright stature. Quickly, he sprouted from his position to catch her with his head but was unfortunately caught by the unyielding pain he had forgotten about within mere seconds. No matter, as the screech of horror woke up the other and stared him down.

"Fool," she muttered, hitting him on the head with the wide, blunt side of her sword, Rokyu Sui.

"Yo," he uncomfortably coughed to her, "Kyou Kai, how've you been?"

Fool that he was. "That's all you have to say? Are you sure?"

He gave a half-hearted smile mentally trudging through his pulsating wounds. Kyou Kai noticed that his abrupt, strenuous movements had caused at least one of the sutures to have been torn and his wound reopened, as one of his bandages began to moisten with blood at a gentle pace. "Where's everyone else?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen them," replied Kyou Kai as she stood up and stretched as much as her own body would allow her with her own physical ailments to deal with. "Lay down, I need to re-stitch part of you. It's deeper than the others, and you might have to bite down on something if it hurts too much."

Shin slowly eased his way from a failed plank position and onto his back. He groaned and sighed in relief as his moment of hard work ended. "Oh, come on, it's just a scratch, a little something like this has never been too much for me, when have I ev-"

She poked him. Immediately he simmered down from his boiling hot-headedness to a rather lukewarm temperature. He insisted on not needing to bite anything, at least, but he paid little attention to the details she talked about as she spoke about maintaining his health outside of the battlefield. Instead, as her monotonous voice wandered off into the does and don'ts of arrogant brats like him, he watched her do her magic on his tensed body. Pulling bandages off, rubbing a bit of ointment from a container she had here and there–which stung like he never would have believed–and took out another container containing little bits of animal hair and hemp. Though the process looked less than enticing as he noticed the small, sharp, pokey needle that she unveiled from one of her sleeves, he understood that what was necessary according to his most trusted ally on the battlefield is what was necessary in absolution. However, as he watched her prepare by going outside and cleaning off the little needle in a small, boiling pot of water that hung over a fire, he couldn't help but notice the drowsy feeling on her face, and the barren expression she gave as her arms seemed to hamper on. She nonetheless continued, and though she seemed as though she could fall into an endlessly deep sleep at any moment, her hands and fingers moved as gracefully as she did on the battlefield, as if they were having their own dance. Small and slender, yet the ferocity of their appearance gave off a vicious, beautiful glow.

"You've been out for three days, you know."

His thoughts were interrupted as she sat in front of him and began to thread the skin and flesh of his abdomen back together, occasionally wiping the excess blood here and there, and moving forward with her procedure. As she finished, he sighed and rubbed a bit of sweat off of his forehead. Although he intended to ask for a drink of water, Kyou Kai already set her canteen next to him with. Truly, what a lucky man he was to have such a person by his side at this moment in time. "Sorry. For leaving you alone."

He drank, and he noticed the soft sound of a horse's neighing; though, as he raised his guard, Kyou Kai seemed to be unaffected by the sound, so he decided to follow in her reaction.

"You're here now. There's nothing more I could possibly ask of you." Kyou Kai returned to her initial corner, grabbed Rokyu Sui, which she had left unattended on the sack beside her, and returned it to her side as she sat sturdy against the wood. A horse's prance settled to a steady movement next to them, and the sound of a rope being tied turned into the sound of fabric and miscellaneous materials rustling, a man appeared from the open entryway of the tent and lifted himself into it. Immediately, Shin noticed the bright colors of the strings and the items which they held, which contrasted significantly with the rest of this man's ordinary presence. He looked Shin in the eye with a slightly open mouth and seemed to be inspecting him, and then gave an approving smile. He took his hat off with his left hand and placed it at the very head of his sack revealing his somewhat balding set of hair. He gave a big sigh; and in his right hand, he set down a pouch filled with rice.

"Afraid it's not much, but a little something is better than nothing," he scooped some with a wooden spoon and placed it onto Shin's own hand. He moved to grab another batch and hand it to Kyou Kai, but it seemed as though she had already drifted off. Instead, he took some himself and devoured it, leaving a few for Kyou Kai whenever she woke up. "I was surprised to see this one carrying someone your size all on her own, and with her wounds. I thought maybe she was carrying you for nothing and you were already dead, but you're a tough one, aren't you?"

Shin stared at the sleeping Kyou Kai but was mainly caught on the appearance of her hands, which were hidden behind the protection of bandages wrapping around them. "'Course. I'm lucky to have her. Things would be a lot harder if she weren't around, but I guess ya' can assume that much based on… well, how I am right now," he looked down and tried inspecting himself.

"She didn't explain much, and she doesn't look to be in the mood to talk, so…?"

"And just who are you?"

"A wandering merchant looking to sell and buy. Name's Dou."

"You a tailor's merchant?"

"I do indeed have cloth, but it's not what I explicitly deal in. I have a bit more variety than that. And yourself?"

Shin crossed his arms and did his usual arrogant scoff, "Me? I'm gonna be the greatest general under the heavens."

"Even though there's only two of you?" the man joked.

"Hold on now, let's not make those kinda jokes," he sounded a little dejected.

The man took out a waterskin pouch and took a gulp, "Good for you, I'm sure she can pick up the slack for the both of you."

"I didn't get this far leeching off of her."

"And next you'll tell me she's actually your subordinate."

In the first place, why was this random old dude beefing? "You're pullin' my leg, ain'cha?"

"You haven't answered my question, ya'know."

"I'm Shin, general of the Hi Shin Unit of the Qin Army. Mind tellin' me where we are?"

"Fortunately for you, you're in Qin's borders, up in the north. I recently passed through Zhao on my way here from Yan," he said as he reached into a box he had kept next to him, "see this?" He pulled out a slightly curved knife-like piece of bronze bearing a marking on the middle of what would be its blade. "A dagger used as money from the State of Yan," he said, holding it up where Shin could see it in a brief intermission before returning it to its box house, "Fascinating, isn't it?"

Shin turned his head towards the sky, though he could not see it. "Yan, huh? Just a little while ago we were fightin' them at Kankoku Pass…" he slowly raised his right hand up, reached, and gripped his hand into a fist, "and you're helpin' us why, if you're from Yan?"

"Not from Yan, just visiting. A simple wandering merchant– a nomad who enjoys the splendor of venturing to distant lands. I was just teasin', you have a particular air. Been through a lot, huh?"

Shin looked at the sleeping Kyou Kai and noticed that her clothes had stains of maroon and carmine aside from the bright red her outfit was already decorated with. He couldn't discern whether it was his, hers, or a mix of the two, but he didn't inquire either aloud or within his mind. As he stared, his eyes drifted to her face, and he saw her once irritated look replaced by a neutral rest. It was clear outside, and the smell of humidity prevailed. Her eyes seemed stuck as they were, and her eyelashes protruded out from the bottom of her eyelids as though they were blooming flowers; but the slight tint of a pinkish color swam from just beneath her eyelashes and down the shrouded mystery below her scarf; and as it wrapped around and coiled around her neck and shoulders as though it were a snake, so too did the tail of another beast that held her hair tightly together in a bundle from the back of its head. It was all dirtied, stained, and a mess; and though such was a part of the efforts of a warrior in battle. She, who on her own, toiled and pained through in an effort to save her commander, herself, and to move forward. In all senses of the phrase, she carried the weight and burden of Shin and Hyou's dreams all at once. As his greatest ally, she already shared to and added to this burden–the dream–but here, whether it was to continue burning its embers quite literally rested entirely on her. Still, she pushed forward through it at all, and she would continue until it broke her. Until her feet gave out, and her legs could no longer move, and her arms lay limp on the ground.

Shin sat up and carefully lifted himself to his feet. Ideally, he would not do such a thing, but he was always too stubborn to just sit back and rest. Even so, as obstinate as he tended to be, he was careful not to undo all of Kyou Kai's hard work. As soon as he was up, he tested his agility and ability to stretch to know how he probably should and should not move with extreme caution. For the moment, his range of motion was rather handicapped, and there existed a constant burning and deep-rooted pain coursing through his body, whether it be muscles or bones or his very spirit. He stepped over to the opening in the tent but did not step outside for fear of stepping down and damaging Kyou Kai's work.

"Are you sure it's wise for you to not just rest? It's not as if there's any predators around."

"I can't let my subordinate carry my life in her hands the whole damn time, I need to use my own strength too, even if it's just a little," he opened his hands hanging by his side and faced his palms forward and extended his arms away from his sides slightly looking upwards into the distant blue, and closing his eyes as the gentle breeze caressed every facet in his body. He inhaled and let out a small sigh as he whispered something to himself and returned to his relaxed position.

"So? You got much of a plan? A general without his army is a rather rare sight in the wild."

"Can't say I know what the situation is, exactly; but I have a hunch that Kyou Kai intends to head to the closest village or castle… d'ya think you could help us with that?"

"It's no problem. Closest castle is a bit south from here, though there should be a nearby village. By 'nearby' I mean half a day in good conditions but considering the two of you… 'fast' doesn't seem to be an option. She carried you for who knows how long all the way here, so you best thank her sometime."

"'Course I will."

"Whatever the case, walking to the village should be about a half a day from here if this map the guards gave me knows what it's talking about, so I think we can get there by tomorrow if we take our time given your… situation. Kyou Kai agreed, so it seems we'll be in each other's care for a bit."

For now, though, Shin thought he should get some rest too. He returned to his spot, carefully lay himself back down, making sure not to rip anything open, and thought for a while until he napped. As he waited for the creeping haze of sleep to return him to its world, he thought about what he was going to do. He had no idea where the rest of his unit was. In truth, he knew nothing at the moment. So, for now, in a state that he could not help, he could do nothing but wait for his strength to catch up to him. The waves devoured him, and the world became momentarily silent once more.

Dou awoke Shin and Kyou Kai as the sun reached the evening sky having already slept for a couple of hours. Though there was not much daylight left, Dou had opted that they begin their journey and use as much time as they had. He wanted to let them rest for a little bit before starting and was afraid that they wouldn't be able to with the bumpiness of the oncoming ride.

Dou made his appearance before the opening of the tent and peered inside. Every little movement had Shin's eyes wandering towards the source of reflecting light that came from the jingling of the merchant's peculiar hat. The coins that hung down from it stayed silent, as though they had nothing to say in their fervorous movement. "I say we have two hours or so before having to set up again. I'll do my best to avoid particularly rough terrain, just for you: a special service."

Shin, still occupied with the dangling ornaments on Dou's hats, couldn't help but inquire about them. "Why do'ya wear that hat? Nothin' like I've ever seen." Such decorative ornaments were usually reserved for the royalty, especially with the brightness of the colors attached, and the coins which swung with every movement reminded Shin of the jade pieces attached to beads and strings that he often saw the court ministers and officials wear on their rectangular mian hats. Coins, however, were just coins; they were not as elegant or important as jade, and their only direct similarity to the rectangular headwear was the string that connected the ornamental pieces–which was likely not even made of silk on Dou's conical hat like they were for the royals.

"Good luck," Dou said, "it's said that some of these," he tapped one of the charms, "were inscribed by one the great scholars of Qi. I don't know if that's true, but they look cool," he said, chuckling.

Shin put a light pressure on his stomach as he started to feel pain from being up, "Good luck?"

"It's just some Ban Liang coins. I've seen people use them for good luck, so I decided I'd try them out," Dou explained. "I don't think they're very spiritualistic, but if they are, that's a property given to them by people, just like the value of money, right?"

"I'm not quite followin' but I respect your eagerness."

On the ride, Shin and Dou spent most of the time telling each other stories. Kyou Kai merely listened as the two went on about their life experiences and meetings with interesting people. However, Shin had more or less depleted everything that he had by the time Dou decided it was a good place to stop for the day and his exhaustion had taken over the talkative attitude he tried to keep up during that time.

By then it was already dusk, and the light from the sun had waned into a fragment. Dou and Kyou Kai worked to get a small fire started right outside of the cart and then helped Shin down so that he could warm up with them; though, Kyou Kai left seconds later and disappeared into the thinning light of the day. Under the light of the dimly glowing fire, he checked his bandages and wounds to ensure that they were healing or, at the very least, holding up. He noticed that a few places had bled throughout the day, but nothing of particular concern showed itself. Replacing the bandages and dabbing the areas with water sufficed, but it was clear to the onlooker that his body was crying to be left alone to rest. Unfortunately, the cold of the cart was not an enviable option either; and Dou did not have articles of clothing or materials that would keep him well-warmed.

Dou sat opposite of Shin and took out some containers with rice as Kyou Kai returned with a wild rabbit on her shoulder. Dou gave a look of amazement, whereas Shin gave a hearty smile and a thumbs up. Her eyes gleamed with impatience all the while. The fire raged, and so did the empty stomachs all around. Kyou Kai, of course, sat next to Shin as she prepared the rabbit for roasting. She was careful to ensure that he did not nick the meat unnecessarily, and that it did not lose its tenderness with his handling. It was a bit difficult given the circumstances of her body, though there was some amount of enjoyment in preparing a part of their dinner as the other two waited. Kyou Kai acted as the master chef of the occasion and carefully cleaned and removed any of the unwanted portions of its body. She gave a slight thanks to its life for providing them with food and then proceeded to tie its limbs to another piece of wood, had Shin cut holes into two other pieces and ensure they were of similar height, and carved her own piece's ends to fit with the others in a mortise and tenon-style bit of construction. Though this meant manually roasting the meat one side at a time, rather than rotating it, the method mattered less as time went on and the three became hungrier.

When it came time to finally chow down into the tender roast, each took as even of a portion as they could and began to illuminate their mouths with the flavor of a fresh hunt. To the man who had survived eating mostly from the greenery for several days, the meal became paradise; and to the man who hadn't eaten at all in several days, it was as if he had been spiritually saved; and to the woman who had been surviving on just about anything she could get her hands on and some water, the idea that there was anything more important in the world quickly faded away. Replacing every memory and every feeling with the satiation of filling the stomach with something more than 'nothing', feral instincts and animalistic tendencies caused her to devour her portion within seconds. As soon as she had finished, she returned to her neutral and monotonous appearance to the bewilderment of the other two. They spent time salivating over every piece that they had and enjoying every part that they could until there was nothing left for them to laud in discussion with themselves.

Twilight came and left; and the fire turned into a smoldering ember that was reignited by the addition of more wood and more material to burn. It was cold, and the three of them lay silently next to the fire. There was the moon, and the thousands and thousands of twinkling dots above the sky.

---

Reaching

"He's sleeping pretty heavily, isn't he?"

"Yeah…"

"Have fun." Moving away.

Looking down. "Heeeeeeeeey. Shiiiiiin."

No response. Sigh. She kneels. She pokes. Again. Again. Again. Faster. And faster. And faster. Still as unmoving as moments ago. But what if these attacks were combined?

"Shin," she said, poking, "Shin," she said, poking again, "Shin," she continued again and again.

Snore.

Sigh. And the watchful eyes.

Snore.

"Always like this." Observing.

Snore.

She punched him in the arm.

It was still bruised. Surprise! Pain. He died, but he came back. An "ow" sound.

"We're leaving," she looked through his eyes and into his soul.

In the face of this adversity, physical pain now meant nothing. He saw the greens of her eyes and then hesitated no more, "Okay, okay, I got it, I'm gettin' up now."

"Fu~ fu~" she gave a monotonous, fake laugh that left him perplexed.

He forgot about his chest, though. He sat up with only his abdominal force and was met by the power of a thunderous spear impaling him a thousand times over.

Needless to say.

Of course it would happen.

How could it not.

He died again, just for a moment.

She raised herself with her legs and held out her hand to him. "So?"

He reached forward and grabbed it, noticing her sarcastic tone, "Do ya' really need me to say it?"

"It'd help me to understand."

"That hurt a lot."

She pulled and he pushed, though a smidge of pain led to him almost falling backwards. Kyou Kai caught him with her free hand, though. He heard her blow a bit of air through her nose, and though her scarf was still on, he could tell from her eyes that she had somewhat smiled. "I wonder if your plan here is to hold back my dream of being a great general."

He laughed, and he smiled. He was still holding onto her hand, but she didn't pull away. It was an infectious warmth, one that prevailed against their circumstances. Standing, he may have been hunkier and taller than her, but neither gave off the appearance of being smaller than the other, and neither acted as though this physical comparison meant anything. These were equals on the same footing. "'Course not, but I remember someone tryin' to teach me not to push myself to death," he remarked.

A nod.

But as he bent down to pick up his sword, he was struck once more by the lightning of his forgetfulness. The great ancestors enlightened his soul.

Left to his own accord, it was likely that Shin would live. Likely. Probably. In any case, Kyou Kai moved to help him once more. She thought she heard him utter a thank you, but she couldn't tell as his eyes had gone blank. There wasn't any point in asking, so she opened his shirt to check on his healing, but it seemed that these movements hadn't done anything serious besides cause him immense pain, so she put it back to the way it was as Shin stood still for a few seconds more.

It was early in the morning, and Dou presumed that they could get there before the evening if kept at a consistent pace. Unlike before, the terrain became rougher and harsher on Shin and Kyou Kai, so every so often they decided to take small rests. Though this impeded on their time, it wasn't a particularly major issue. However, the fact that Shin was unable to rest inside the cart during the ride and would often break into a sweat simply laying there, confirmed the sentiment that he wouldn't be able to make it any further without more comfortable rest and care.

They reached their destination just before evening, as Dou had estimated. It looked as ordinary as any other village, but plentiful enough with the vibrancy of figures coming and going from their work to be friendly. When they approached, a couple of the women who were working in the fields approached them. They were wearing conical hats and had their sleeves up and waved at Dou.

One of the women dressed in a dirtied, white hemp led them further into the village. Over a wooden bridge that sat above an irrigation canal for the crops at the farm they reached the center of the village. It had been a while since Shin visited his own home, but he could feel the friendliness of the people watching and giving little greetings and bows to them. Here, in the center of the village, was a single house built two stories high.

"Taiga! I have some guests for you!" the woman yelled out.

Dou stepped off of his cart and waited. Kyou Kai and Shin slowly came out of the back of cart itself, being careful to not injure themselves further; and as they did so, a brief pause left the air idle, but the sound of the door sliding open greeted the audience with a well-dressed man dawning a goatee and long, tied-up hair. He had nice shoes and a robe that hung to his knees, with a red trim design gripping the eyes of the beholders. Despite his somewhat pretentious appearance in juxtaposition to the villagers whom they had passed while reaching this house, he had soft eyes that seemed to glow seeing the apparent guests which he now had.

"It's rare to receive visitors here, welcome to my village of Ton. I am the chief of this humble land, Ryou Taiga," he gave a small bow to them, "and thank you, Mi, you may return to your work," he politely gestured to the woman, and she took her leave. Though he took notice of only Dou at first, Shin and Kyou Kai, in their battered appearance, made their way around behind Dou and caught the eye of Ryou Taiga.

"Good evening, Sir Taiga! If I may introduce myself, I am Dou, and these are Shin and Kyou Kai," Dou pointed the two out, "and while I am a simple trader, these two are the leaders of Qin's very own army, the Hi Shin," he sounded as though he was selling them as a product.

Ryou Taiga stepped down from his doorway, down a number of three steps that led up to it, and looked at the apparent wounds across Shin's body, but also the sheer strength and size he seemed to give off in his aura. Kyou Kai, as well, looked far bigger than she actually was. Both had sheathed swords and unwavering expressions, though he could only really see one. "I see, and while I can assume what you may ask of me, I will ask anyway: what may I do for you?"

"We were hopin' that we could have someplace to stay for a bit," Shin said. "A horse stable with some hay 'ought to be fine, if it comes down to it, but anythin' with a roof over our heads is better than nothing."

The lord crossed his arms, "For Qin's own, I will gladly provide you with at least something while you… pardon the assumption, recover. Just down here, my son's house is currently vacant," he gestured with his right hand in that direction, "if that would be alright with you. I might respect that someone as seemingly vulnerable as you would be willing to take the hay so as to not intrude upon my people: but the nights are cold, and you seem to have been given enough unwelcome favors. As the chief, I can allow no such thing."

Dou nodded his head in approval, "Thank you for your kindness. I plan to stay here only one night and leave in the morning. These two need me to find the rest of their unit. I've not been given the details surrounding their circumstances, but I hope another day or couple of days won't be too much of a problem."

"Just two or three days'll be enough; and some food, if ya' can. There're a lot of people countin' on us, so we can't relax for too long– just enough to get us movin' around good as new," Shin emphasized.

Ryou Taiga thought for a moment and then proceeded, "That itself is no problem. To be quite honest with you, the vacancies are from our sons and husbands who have gone out with the army. You said your name was Shin, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"The same Shin who was at Sai?"

Shin made an awkward smile. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel pride knowing a village all the way out here knew him, or feel dread given there weren't very many reasons why someone might know him for that particular battle. "You saved my son. He was there, as a soldier under the king, and he sent me letters about you afterwards. Even if you weren't "him", I'd still allow you to stay; though, since you are who you are, I feel personally obligated to thank you for my son, and for inspiring him."

"Sure thing, but I didn't do anythin' special there."

"I heard you were a loudmouthed brat too–"

"Just what is bein' said about me–"

"–so I'm just a little surprised by that humble statement."

Shin was leaning on Kyou Kai, and vice versa, and he adjusted which leg he was putting most of his weight on, "It ain't that. I'm glad that I could hear from you that I did somethin' for someone, but that whole battle was… nothin' short of a hell that we overcame. Rather, it might be better to phrase it as, 'we 'won, but it was hell.'"

Kyou Kai stared at his face through the corner of her eye.

"The fighting–"

"It wasn't the fighting. I've spent so much of my life by now on the battlefield that these men and women around me feel like more of a home than any home I've ever really had. Through the good times and tough times, we've fought through everything. That battle was tough, but so was the rest of the Coalition's invasion. So was the battle against Wei. And with Zhao," he lowered his head, "And I understand that it was necessary to save the kingdom, that it was necessary to save many more people than I can even wrap my head around, but at the end of the day that weight isn't lifted simply by having good intentions: we won, but we condemned half of those civilians to die."

"Sometimes, there aren't 'right' or 'good' decisions, youngster. How long have I been chief now… decades, I suppose. I'm not chief because I make the best decisions every time. I'm not the chief because I make good decisions every time. This village may not be the size of a castle, but all of these people still rely on me to sort things out. You have a good heart, and you don't let the fires consume you. Out there, on that field, you made a decision to stand up with them. Maybe a soldier doesn't have the right to ask a citizen to die on the field with him, maybe the king shouldn't have that power either–your choice wasn't a bad choice, and you may never get over it. You may regret it for as long as you live, but those people celebrated you, didn't they?"

Shin's head turned up and met with Ryou Taiga's eyes.

"You can at least assure yourself that those deaths were not in vain and that the people there had solace in you standing up beside them. Sometimes, that's the closest you'll get to your own solace."

Kyou Kai observed in silence.

Shin sighed, "You're right, you're right. Just need some sense knocked into me once in a while."

"Don't we all? I assume everyone is hungry, so I'd like to invite you all into my home for dinner. I'd like to know about your circumstances in more detail, too, as I do have my duties as the chief to uphold."

The three were treated to a meal cooked by Ryou Taiga himself. They all sat together at a table on a mat and had some rice porridge and chicken. When Shin explained the situation to Ryou Taiga, he took great care into thinking about the circumstances that they–and now he–were under. Of course, he had the same questions and thoughts that Shin and Kyou Kai did, in particular how such an army became so disorganized that two commanders, including their head, had become separated from the rest of the unit in their own territory.

The lord scratched his goatee. "I see, I see, I see. For now, I think it's best to let the others know to keep their eyes open. I'll introduce you to your lodgings. They're not particularly big, and our closeness to the river and irrigation canals gave us the idea of installing small bathing areas in most of the houses around here, which I think the two of you in particular may be most interested in. Of course, we would need to collect some water, and some wood for heating, but it will serve you otherwise."

Shin questioned "Personal baths? For peasants? Wait, that didn't come out right."

Ryou Taiga laughed, "It's quite alright. We constructed some large buckets to soak in and devised a method of using fires to heat them somewhat safely. A bit of a pain considering it requires bringing water in externally and managing the fire, but it's somewhat of a necessity during the winter months when the river is too cold for some or outright freezes."

"How convenient, I don't think I've come across any other villages with such a system," Dou remarked.

"I lived in the mountains, so we didn't have anything like that," Kyou Kai commented.

Shin added, "I lived in a nice little village as an orphan. Though, no one had anything like that either. Sure is convenient."

"Indeed, it is, at times," Ryou Taiga concluded.

As everyone finished their food and provided drinks, and Shin and Kyou Kai started to look increasingly exhausted, Ryou Taiga hinted towards the door, "It's dark, please allow me to escort you. Give me a moment while I gather up some lanterns." When he had gathered four from the depths of his larger-than-average house, he handed one to Kyou Kai and one to Dou, then carried one himself. Outside, he had the three wait as he went up to another house and spoke with its resident. He returned after a minute and led the way.

"Just over here. I've been keeping these clean for the most part, but by no means are they in great condition. We have at least five of these on this side, though only these three are right here; but since there are three of you–"

Kyou Kai spoke up, "I'll share with Shin so I can keep watch of his injuries. I don't think he could defend himself either."

Ryou Taiga eyed her, "If that's what you'd like."

When the group got to the first house, the chief opened the door and showed them in. It was bigger than the house that Shin had back in his village, though only slightly, but was made almost exactly the same as far as material. The interior was a bit nicer, however.

"Please, make yourselves at home.' It was a two-room area: a kitchen and general living area, and a small room with a decently sized barrel over a fire pit that served as a bath. The main area had a counter on the right side for prepping meals, a basket, and a table in the center of the room with mats under it for sitting that could double as sleeping mats. For two people, it would be more than comfortable enough. "I presume you'll want to wash those clothes… though you won't be able to wash those now, of course, but at least I can provide you with some clothes until you do," he said, "though I insist you keep it," he again singled Shin out while pulling up one of the mats and exposing a wood door in the ground. He opened it and revealed a box that he pulled out. "These are some clothes that were left behind. You can use them as you need. I'm not sure what's all in here, so I can't say if they'll fit–"

Kyou Kai interrupted him, "It's fine."

He was kneeling on the ground and looked up at her as though he was a bit disappointed, but gave in anyway. "Well, if it's fine with you. Here, this too," he reached into a pocket and pulled out two little sacks, "one of these is for your clothes. Ask anyone if you need help drying," he handed them off to Kyou Kai. Shin sat down and leaned against the left side of the wall. He didn't have a mat under him or anything, but he tried his best to pay attention to Ryou Taiga. "And the other one is for yourselves. I asked for some help in retrieving some water, so that should be here momentarily. Mr. Dou, I'll take you over here right next door. You said you'll leave in the morning, yes?"

"That's right."

"Is there anything else that we can provide you?"

"Just take care of the horses for the night. I'll gladly pay my share."

"I insist that you–"

"Lord Taiga, there is only so much that I can accept for free simply because I've become acquaintanced with these two, please."

Tiredly, Shin thanked Ryou Taiga with his hand.

A man called out and interrupted their thoughts, and then several other men could be seen carrying buckets towards the house. One woman carrying a smaller bucket of water was with the group, too; and a couple of others went next door where he had put Dou.

The others carried the buckets inside and left together, and then the door was closed shut. Kyou Kai turned her head from the door to her right, where Shin was laying on the wall, and gave a sigh. It felt so noisy just seconds ago, but so suddenly had the atmosphere become quiet. The world fell silent for the two of them. Despite the people going about their nightly lives around them in this village, and the chirping of birds as they went to sleep, and the singing of crickets as they awoke from their own slumber, the world seemed silent. Side-by-side, conscious of their environment, and unwavering. Eyes that watched, and feet that carried, and rocks that cut, and dirt that flew, and lanterns that dazzled.

He had placed his sword beside him, to his left, and he lay limp with his eyes only watching Kyou Kai's movements. The normally outrageous, outgoing, and annoying man that broke eardrums with his yells now looked like a child who had expanded all of his energy in one go. She walked past him and set Rokyu Sui next to his sword. She was feeling just as worn out as him, but she couldn't let herself go yet. He still needed to get his bandages checked again, his stitches inspected, and she needed to make sure the both of them bathed to avoid sickness and general uncomfortability. She looked down at her hands and noticed the dirt, sweat, and dried blood. It was then that she felt bad for the two of them eating inside of Ryou Taiga's house in such a state, but he gave no complaints. An odd man, but very kind.

She walked over to the counter and lit a lantern, took off her scarf and left it on the counter, then walked to the buckets that were placed on the right side of the door and found the smaller one. She lifted up her sleeves the best she could before dunking her hands in the water and doing her best to wipe off whatever she could at the moment. She tried to pick up the buckets, but found them to be a bit too heavy for her to carry comfortably. Even so, she tried to lift just one of them up, and she started moving it forward towards the bathing area. Shin saw her struggle and decided that he, too, could not simply allow for himself to be cradled by his lieutenant once more. He grabbed it and lifted it. It was heavy, and it wasn't as though he didn't struggle with it either in his dizzy state, but he was capable of carrying it over to the bath as he needed. Kyou Kai slid the door open for him and lit a lantern inside of it. She looked up and noticed that it had a square hole that could be left open or closed depending on the needs of the user. As Shin poured the first of the buckets in, Kyou Kai checked below where the firepit was and noticed there was still some wood under it. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to probably heat up the water just enough. There was an opening that allowed the smoke to escape, which it would do against the cold air that the opening led to. Shin brought in all of the buckets that were left, though Kyou Kai only intended to use around half of them for him; and then she would use the rest afterwards. She, in the meantime, started a small fire beneath the barrel and watched as the embers started to burst and then satisfied into a warm ember. Shin finished pouring all of the buckets aside from the small one Kyou Kai had used and the ones that had been reserved for her.

He struggled to take off his boots, but his slowness caused Kyou Kai to decide to do it for him, and so she pulled them off as he lifted his leg. She removed his wrist guards and set them and his boots near their swords and pushed him into the bath. He took off his shirt and she spent a few moments going over her stitching work. Satisfied with the progress, she told him to remove his bandages and lay them out of the way but to make sure that he also wasn't dangerously bleeding or swelling from any of them. She then walked out and kneeled down at the box Ryou Taiga had pulled up from the ground. She opened it and looked around for something they could wear, and felt content with a blue hemp that resembled Shin's… not really at all, but they were both blue. She picked out a similar white version for herself and placed it aside. It was a man's hemp but that was no problem for her. She scooted over to the bathroom and placed what he would wear on a wooden rack on the right side of the bathroom, found a towel for him to dry himself off with, and then closed the door so that he could have his time. With her back to the bathroom door, she took a step to her right and quietly sat down against the wall, like Shin had earlier, and removed her shoes. She placed them next to her, and then stretched her legs out fully and cupped her hands together on her waist.

Through the screen door, she could hear Shin get into the water. The light splash of one foot, and then the other; and the slow swishing as the rest of his body entered. Light grunts escaped from his being as the water embraced him and his wounds. Light scratching and rubbing could be heard, too; and scruffling of the hair, and the little drops of water that fell from his body as he would dip himself in a little bit more, or splash some water on his face. She closed her eyes.

"You guys really did show me that I can have a family out here," she said out loud, eyes still shut, and body still relaxed. "Big sister Shou would be restless if I didn't move forward with myself– if I could never live happily in the outside world that we dreamed of without her. I think she'd be sad, mostly." Now she heard wet hair being scratched through. "I'm thankful to everyone for giving me a place to return, regardless of how much time I might be away for whatever reason," she opened her eyes, "you helped me get through the curse of living, and now I have the blessing of wanting to live, even if I am stumbling around. So, thanks, I think."

He took a sigh and lightly stretched his neck, rolling it from one side to the other and extending it as far as he comfortably could. "Recently, I've been thinkin' similar thoughts about everyone. You. Ten. Ou Ki, even. I was a kid. I took things for granted. Still do, probably. Bein' a general was always about bein' cool, makin' a name for myself, and tryin' to be something other than a servant. To have a name. But now… I'm beginnin' to understand war. Even though I lost my parents to war, fought in some campaigns, and vowed to never let a sacrifice be for nothin', I don't think I understood it much before. Maybe that's guilt. Thoughts like, I couldn't stop the war from happenin' in the first place, or I was waitin' for this war to happen so I could kick their ass, or I couldn't save everyone, or even that one person. Can't always make good choices, or even decent ones, huh? But I have this home. I have my longest friend Ten, and the unwavering Kyou Kai: the most irreplaceable parts of this u–" It was quiet. Just like before, there were the two of them, and silence. "of me. If I don't keep going, I won't get to see your smiles, will I?"

"And why would you want that?"

"Oh, well, y'know, it's just kinda comforting."

Although silence prevailed in the dead of night on this particular day, Kyou Kai heard the world thumping about. As if a woodpecker, as large as a great dragon, had decided to begin picking at the earth below, she could feel herself almost trembling where she sat. Instead, she found herself mazed with the particulars of her fingers. She slowly mashed them together, interlocking the fingers of one hand with those of another, and then wriggled them in their place. Perhaps she was too tired and simply couldn't think straight, but her mind drifted towards his comments and found itself even more bewildered by the provocation into his head that she now wished to embark upon. However, she refrained from doing so, and instead kept herself quiet whilst fiddling with her hands. This wasn't the first time she had had such a peculiar reaction to something, but it was a foreign feeling nonetheless. She didn't quite understand the peculiarities of what caused it, but it was always followed by a bewildering sense of trepidation and hollow elation, as though she was too scared to continue pondering it, but unsatisfied without doing so. The complexity of being thrashed against such opposing rivers was entrapping; or the idea of being caught at a crossroads of two paths that didn't seem to lead anywhere particularly interesting or–even more so–desirable.

Inattentive as she was to anything besides the careful poking of her own feelings without thinking too deeply into them, she didn't realize the brigade commander of the Hi Shin had stepped out of the room with the sliding door and was now towering over her holding his dirty clothes. He had changed into the blue shirt that somewhat resembled his prior in color. It had a different design on it that followed the rim of the bottom. It buttoned up along the middle and hung right below his knees, and the sleeves stretched to his cuffs rather than stopping at his shoulders and exposing the mass of muscle that coiled his arms. His gaze looked around and then down to his right side where he spotted his vice-commander.

In a way, she resembled a cat. She paid no mind to his existence, and simply spent the next several seconds lightly fidgeting with her hands. Still holding his worn clothes and uncleaned shoes in his hands, he took two soft steps over towards her and then crouched beside her. He was practically staring her in the face by the time that she slowly turned her head to face him and recognize that he, Shin Li, was in fact squatting beside her. His presence did not startle her per se, but to say that it didn't give her some manner of embarrassment mixed with surprise was factually incorrect.

She glanced at his face with her eyes dilating back into place and glanced around at him. He hadn't completely dried his hair and the formation of a droplet on one clump hanging around his forehead caught her attention, and within a second it had turned into a droplet that descended into the earth. As her eyes traversed the world with the droplet, they stopped at Shin's eyes. He gave her a silent stare almost as if he was attempting to look within her and find where her mind seemed to have gone.

"Kyou–"

She poked him in the stomach and he fell down almost as instantaneously as Ho Ken had brought him down during their first campaign against Zhao all those years ago. "What are you doing?"

"I– I'm supposed to be askin' you that, ain't I?"

She stood up, stepped over the incapacitated Shin, and walked into the bathroom. She opened a contraption and drained a good amount of the water out through the side of the house where it likely flowed through its own irrigation channel to some hill or something. She went back into the other room and picked out a white shirt for herself from the box, then left it in the bathroom.

Kyou Kai entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Just as Shin did, she undressed herself and set her clothes in a little pile, not taking too much care in neatness. Her body had a variety of different bruises across her arms, abdomen, and legs; and she could now feel the reality of blisters on the heel of one of her feet. It was uncomfortable, it made her feel tired, and it did hurt, but it wasn't the worst feeling.

When she dipped into the water, she found it to be slightly warm, but all of the firewood below had likely just burnt up and all that was left were the warm embers giving just enough warmth to comfort the girl's beaten body as she set herself in it. Enveloped.

---

Flying

Nighttime, and the stars were dazzling. A full moon did not bless the ground from the heavens, though there were obelisks and pillars that stretched far into the god's dominion above. They reached and they reached and they reached, as though they wanted to pierce the sky itself; as if those who lived upon the mortal sanctum of the ground decided to, with all fervor, make it to the heavens on their own; as if Houyi had designated a potential in rescuing Chang'e from her imprisonment on the moon thus giving implication to his rejection that humans and their power were beneath the gods themselves.

It was an unfamiliar sight of colorful lanterns and square structures mixed with the occasional familiarity of a siheyuan sitting amongst towering giants. Fences of metal gleamed and sparkled against the backlight of torches that rose high into the air and illuminated the world far more than it should have in the dead of night; and an ominous black sea sat between two walkways of a mauve, gray color. The towers themselves irradiated in more than just the orange of fire, but in the reds of blood and the blues of the sky; or the yellows of a wheatfield, or the greens of algae in a still river. A vast empire of red lanterns hung in the air above the gray and black. Across many of the surfaces to these large and long towers were many pieces of reflective surfaces that she would occasionally look into and see herself. She looked different, but she knew it was her. Wherever she was, it was her. Reflections of herself would appear, showing her life; and her friends; and her most precious moments. It was the same key moments she had seen in her dreams, or in the back of her head, over and over. For weeks, for months, and for years.

She fortified herself into absolving the regret of losing Kyou Shou, and the sadness of trying to bury or keep her memories alive, but she found death itself to be uninspiring. 'I will be a great general alongside Shin,' she thought. Just as he would continue Hyou's legacy by doing so, she wanted to form a legacy with him in a similar contrast. But Shin no longer did it just for Hyou, nor his own childhood ideals. He had found a reason that spurred him to go above and beyond a child's idealistic mind for the future, and now worked towards something that he felt was tangible and real. Perhaps he still had a childish sense in his idealism, but he had grown into someone befitting of the role of 'general.' He was someone who understood others and whose values would not be undermined even in the face of death. That was Shin.

But why did she want to become a general? Where was her strength alongside an idealistic commander like Shin? She had the strength of a warrior but did not know of her strength as a person intent on inspiring others. Although it had nothing to do with the memory of Kyou Shou, she couldn't simply rely on someone else's dreams and assimilate them into her own goals. That alone was unsatisfying, just as revenge alone had been. In a way, she found herself in a similar predicament to what she had been told about Ou Ki, and what she had witnessed from him: a powerful leader lost in the world of burning embers, none that lit brightly or largely enough for him to take flight across the open world. In this case, though, the fire was there: without a doubt, there was a fire amassing itself to warm her, and to light her into a soaring phoenix; but how could she mold herself using the furnace around her?

"Kyou Kai, what're you doing?" She heard a call from behind her.

She turned around. It was Kyou Shou with a raised brow. "Ky–"

"C'mon, this way," she began to walk to Kyou Kai's left. In the distance was a large bridge. She was left stunned for no more than a moment, and then started speedwalking to catch up to Kyou Shou.

"So?" Kyou Shou asked, her hands stuffed away in her pockets, with a small grin on her face.

Kyou Kai didn't know what her older sister was trying to ask her, so she questioned back, "So… what?"

"You been seeing anyone?"

The question was striking in that it bore no resemblance to any conversation the two had ever had, at least to Kyou Kai's knowledge, and that there was no prelude leading up to it, "'Been seeing'...?"

"Well, you keep going on and on about that guy– you know, always talking crap about him with such a passionate voice, occasionally complimenting him besides all of that, and most importantly: all that sleep talking~" she said in a playfully mocking tone.

"S-sleep talking? I do that!?" Kyou Kai blushed slightly. In her mind, she understood the subject of the conversation.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kyou Shou laughed, "so I take it that's a no?"

"Of course not– wait, in the first place, why would I!?" Kyou Kai fought back.

"Why not? Call it projection all you want: isn't that part of our (my) goal out here?" Kyou Shou responded.

Kyou Kai pouted, "Who has time for that kind of stuff anyway, there's no telling how any of that would work out."

Kyou Shou stopped her. "So… you've thought about it?"

"That's not what I– you can be so annoying sometimes."

"Ahahahaha, I hit the nail on the head."

Kyou Shou turned to Kyou Kai, lifted her up, and then wrangled her in a comical fashion. The dizzy Kyou Kai was let down, and Kyou Shou grabbed her hand, "You're so cute. Now come on, they'll get mad at me if we're late."

A large tower on the corner of one of those roads and a perpendicular crossing of the black sea and mauve pathway. Kyou Kai peered into transparent panes and saw people inside the various buildings they walked past enjoying drinks and meals or other commodities. At the crossing, rather than walk into the abyssal ground, Kyou Shou opened the door to their right for them to enter; and as she did, an exotic and earthy smell found its way to Kyou Kai's nose, where it intoxicated her with the desire to try whatever it was. Kyou Shou egged her into looking towards her left as Kyou Kai's eyes wandered across the unfamiliarity of the environment that she was in, and as she turned where she saw a great number of people that she recognized sitting together in a number of large tables accommodating the lot of them. There was Ten, and Shin, and Heki, and En, and some of her own former clan members sitting at their own table; and then Ei Sei dressed most fancily among them sipping from a white, porcelain cup next to Shin–who was giving Ei Sei the stink eye–with others of Qin's kingdom around here and there across the open space of the room. They were all alive and well, enjoying themselves and whatever life might bring.

Through the ordeal, Kyou Kai completely glanced over the fact that Shin and others were here in this place, too. Up from his own table, he stood and began to navigate his way out and towards her. His group sat at four square tables connected together, with little exclaves next to them in the corner of the building, whereas her group was nothing more than two tables side-by-side next to a window down from Shin's corner. Kyou Kai had, unfortunately, found herself seated on the aisle where Shin could eventually reach should the constant hammering by the other guests in his vicinity let him get to her; but through the trail of insults and tears, he made his way into the aisle. She took a few peeks and glances over towards him, though she had no idea if he could tell she was doing such, and honestly didn't care. Her talk with Shou had ignited something she didn't want to acknowledge for the time being.

He appeared behind her, suddenly. He stood over, unmoving. The others looked at him. She didn't move. She looked down to her cup. She stared at it. She didn't know him. She looked at the others. Some looked at her. Kyou Shou, opposite of her, stared. A snarky grin. Shou. Kai began to shake. She shivered. If she would've lifted the cup, it would've spilled everywhere– that didn't even begin to explain the tremble, she might just break the cup entirely.

"'Sup."

Indeed, it was. To approach a group of women, likely most of whom he did not know besides the one, and to open up with 'Sup.' It was him: the one and only. The troublesome man who would treat a king like a commoner; and the one who would open his mouth in the court to argue with a Minister if he had the power to do so; and the one who supposedly helped to convince the Mountain King of all people to aid in the retaking of Kanyou.

"Hey, Shin…" Kyou Kai muttered trembling with fear as to what was to ensue.

He was looking straight down at her head. "I was wonderin' when you were gonna come give us a greetin', but I figured I might as well try and take the time myself."

She could hear their whispers. One of them mentioned his twang–his dialect–and then commented to another and the other whispered something back. Sweat rolled down her face. "We just got caught up in talking," she put her hands up as if to give a shrugging expression since he couldn't see her face.

"Then since I've got your attention now," he grabbed her right hand as it was still in the air, "why don't I introduce ya'?" He asked rhetorically.

She was tugged out of the chair gently but forcefully. As he did so, she noticed the widest of smiles appear on the others' faces; but she soon forgot about them as she met Shin face-to-face for the first time in this place. Instead of being willfully tugged along by him, though, she clasped her own hand on his with a force to equal his and pulled– but not to stop him; rather, to slow him down and give him a compromise of proceeding at her pace. Without a second thought, he agreed as though it were an innate reaction. He started introducing her to his friends and those he knew; those who she already knew from… somewhere. Somewhere, she knew them. At some point her group decided to join in too and these worlds combined. Time moved so slowly yet so quickly. Here, there was everything.

When the echoes of talking and laughing finally came to an end, most of everyone parted through the doors they had first come into the building through. To the left, and to the right; crossing the street ahead and entering a vehicle or staying behind for just a little while longer.

When the echoes of talking and laughing finally came to an end, most of everyone parted through the doors they had first come into the building through. To the left, and to the right; crossing the street ahead and entering a vehicle or staying behind for just a little while longer.

Against the chilly cold–that which allowed the smoky breath to be seen with every deep exhale–she stood in the middle between two groups. She knew these people. She knew she didn't have to let go, but she had to move in one direction or another.

To her right, Kyou Kai noticed Kyou Shou and the others moving down the gray path up to a stop, and they waited at a red lantern where a number of white stripes in the black sea made paths forward. The red light enveloped all of them, and as Kyou Kai looked at them Kyou Shou looked back at her. Shou saw the hesitation in her eyes. The despondency of an exiled cat alone in the woods unsure of the correct direction to walk in. She smiled and mouthed something. Kai hesitantly moved forward and the lantern suddenly became a vicious, yet soft, green glow. They started to cross the sea. They moved over to the other side. Shou was already looking away. And Kai tried to catch up, but she did not know of the white path; and she tried to move through the sea all on her own. As the seconds went by, the green turned back to red; and she was certain, then, that if she ran up to them, if she crossed that sea fast enough and with enough strength, that she could reach them: they who had left her behind. As she was stepping into the sea, she was grabbed by the wrist. Those who had left her behind were going away, somewhere far away. Kai turned back, as if to scold whoever had stopped her from moving forward, but she found herself looking at Shin.

"Kai."

He never called her that. He had never called her that. Behind her, a light being chased by a loud and thunderous sound sped through the black sea before leaving the mind entirely.

"Kai."

There it was again. That vibrato and spunk that always filled his words with the utmost of confidence and clarity despite his supposedly improper speech. He didn't hold her as if to hurt her, nor was he meaning to hold her back, but rather to let her know that he was there. That she shouldn't walk into waters that she knew nothing about. So, she looked at Shin, as though to reaffirm her that she understood. And she closed her eyes. She could feel his calloused hand warmly holding the weight of her arm.

She opened her eyes again. Shin was staring her in the eyes. She felt the water around her and leaned forward asleep with her head resting on her hands up against the rim of the barrel. She was somewhat baffled by the fact that she had fallen asleep while bathing until she realized that Shin was kneeling on the floor in front of her.

"Sorry for… it's just– ya didn't look like you were having fun." Not the most elegant description he could have given, but it was the most accurate in his mind. He then thought that he should not have simply walked in on her while she was still bathing; after all, he didn't have a good track record with accidentally encroaching upon women (though, that was usually with Karyou Ten). Still, regardless of the possibility of his actions seeming to be of nothing but debauchery in the eyes of anyone looking in or to the girl herself, he had to make sure that she was alright. She was in the bath for quite a while without so much as even the sound of a water drop.

She looked at him, still slumped forward in her position, and then looked at the ground for a moment. Although some of her privacy had been knocked on, and there was that sense of embarrassment in regard to the fact that he was just there–Shin or not, he was a man–and she was nude, saved only by a simple barrel between them that he could easily bypass by just standing up, she didn't move with urgency to secure said privacy. It was fine. It was Shin. He was the person who grabbed her arm. He wasn't that kind of person. His eyes couldn't even look at her in this position, and they simply looked anywhere but at her. He refused to stand, but he also refused to move away until she responded. He could be respectful when it mattered. He was silly. "Ya' haven't answered… you feelin' okay?"

Her lips parted and her teeth were exposed into a foreign smile. She couldn't help producing it as a natural reaction. "You're a fool, you know," she said. There was no malice, no sarcasm, just a matter-of-fact statement said with a smile.

The smile caught him off-guard. He stared almost blankly but caught himself doing so and quickly exited the room, shutting the door along the way, and sitting himself on the mat facing away from the door at the table, followed by a muffled groan of pain as he lightly touched his stomach to console it from the preceding quick movements he had taken.

Later, as she exited from the bathroom, Shin looked to his left at Kyou Kai. She was wearing the white shirt she had picked out–a robe that stretched almost to her ankles, comforted by a ribbon wrapped around her waist just as he had–and that she had untied her hair and let it flow all the way down. There was a small screen window in front of them at their left that let in just enough of the brilliant blue and white hue of light to counteract, mix, and fight with the orange of the lanterns inside. As such, a bountiful, cold wind occasionally invited itself in, and the air soon nestled or made its visit and its way out. She had her own clothes in hand and placed it next to his on the window side, opposite of where they had rested their swords, with slow motions. She was obviously tired, but she attempted to keep some neatness in her strides and how she placed her items. Just in front of the window, now, her hair waved and dangled with the slightly chilled breeze, and they reminded him of the curtains he had seen in the palace that did much the same. But against the blue backdrop, her eyes of green glittered. He again found himself staring, unable to say anything, and then turned his head when he realized that he was doing it again. She had a heavenly glow.

She sat opposite of him. While he kept his head in one of his hands staring outside through the window in a sort of pout, she held her head up with both of her hands as they were supported on the table by her elbows. Kyou Kai kept her face forward attitude while gazing upon him. In time, their tiredness coalesced into sleepiness, and in the warmth of the everlasting silence, they lay in content.

On his backside, as a turtle, Shin's arms stretched far and wide; his wingspan stretched across the mountains and through the valley of the table and lay barely hanging over the edge of the table underneath it. Curled up beside it was the young phoenix herself, laying with her head facing the window side of the house, her left hand against her face, and her right hand nestled into his extended hand.

---

Holding

Kyou Kai's hand lightly clutched one of Shin's fingers. Though he had moved about a little bit whilst in his sleep, the single constant factor was his unmoving arm that extended towards her. She herself had found uncomfortability in sleep due to her bruising; but just as he did, she had found a single constant by which to anchor her– the feeling of his hand against hers. Being separated by a table was of no issue.

Though the pouring of the morning light instigated that it was time to get up, neither was complacent in doing such a compulsive action. In a half daze of awake and asleep, they could feel each other's light touch. Neither recognized the other as being in this semi-conscious state, so neither moved an inch away from the other. Neither lifted their hand or rescinded it back to their person. Neither was in any rush to move. In that daze, feelings desiring that warmth emancipated Kyou Kai from the bondage of her usual inhibitions: she grabbed just a little bit harder. It was not a strong seizure of what she already had in her hands, but rather a mere reinforcement of the idea that he was there. A reinforcement to herself that he hadn't gone anywhere, and that he was there. Shin felt this slight increase in strength pressing his finger, but he didn't flinch or reciprocate. He permissed the feeling and opened his eyes to the morning yellow. The shadows created by the bars in the window painted the room, and the slight blue of the sky warmed the world. For a few moments, he simply lay there. He lay there and he stared at the ceiling. As soon as he was content with doing so, and admonished of his morning unwillingness to move, he lightly turned his head in the direction of his hand and the figure holding onto it. He could see her shoulder lift lightly with every breath that she took. Small particulates in the air seemed to envelop her in an atmosphere of heavenly divinity. Her long hair, still out of its usual binding, fell in place down her chest and neck. He traced it with his eyes as it slithered and crept along crevices and folds, all the way up to her head. He remembered the days of his first campaign when they had first met. It had been a while, quite a long while. She didn't have particularly feminine qualities, and never presented herself as such, but underneath all of that, he couldn't help but think that she had an unwavering beauty that surpassed meaningless ideas of masculinity or femininity–she was simply her, as beautiful as she was. That wasn't new, though. Their time alone during other battles exemplified her eyes most of all, a deep green color that could trap him if he stared too long. It was a long time ago, those days of the first campaign. Those days when she hid that she was a girl; but she seemed to be far stronger now, not only due to their growth, but because she didn't have to hide herself from others. She had undeniable strength, an undeniable reliability, and a beauty that was surpassed by no other weapon-swinging warrior.

She opened her eyes very gently and blinked twice. She thought about where she was. Then she remembered. Kyou Kai turned her head and saw Shin looking at her. He was doing it again, but he didn't have the power or confidence to turn his head away quickly enough, and so they silently locked eyes once more. She felt a slight heat around her hand and realized that she was holding onto his. But she too did not have the power or confidence to react with haste. Her cheeks flushed slightly, no more than a slight tint that covered a portion; but it was enough that Shin himself could see and mixed with his own form of embarrassment caused him to do the same.

She lifted her hand away from his, and he pulled his hand back. Then they turned away. Kyou Kai clasped her own hand. Shin moved himself into a similar curled position opposite of her. Oppressive.

"How… are you feeling..?"

"Uh…"

"How's your stomach?"

"Hurts. Better, though."

Feel.

"And… the rest?"

"Could be worse."

"You seem energetic, at least.."

"This is nothin'."

"Even though it's just us here?"

"Because it's us."

Blink.

"And that's supposed to mean?"

"I could conquer even the furthest castles as long as I had you and Ten by my side."

Chuckle.

"What's with that? I thought you were supposed to be the greatest of all generals."

"Not without my allies."

"And so, the three of us are somehow supposed to take on the whole Middle Kingdom?"

"You sayin' you can't?"

"Maybe I can, I'm not sure about you– and Ten isn't a fighter."

"But I think she could go farther than I could on my own."

Parted lips.

"Are you really saying that? Shin, admitting defeat?"

"It ain't defeat."

"Then?"

He thought on his own for a moment. His eyes glared to the floor at the right corners of his eyes. "All this time, I've been usin' other people's power. People might look up to me, and I can fight off a hoard of soldiers on my own… but I wonder if that's enough to be the greatest general. Ou Ki was smart. Duke Hyou was beyond strong and never pursued those titles. Ri Boku is strong and smart. Right now, that guy might be the closest to bein' the greatest general than any of us. So what does that make me?"

"No less of a general than any of them."

"How's that?"

"A general's power isn't just himself. Ou Ki had Tou, Duky Hyou had his lieutenants, and Ri Boku has the generals of Zhao… or something. Would you look at me and say that you're not stronger than you were before because I taught you how to fight more elegantly?"

Shin pushed himself up and sat with his back towards Kyou Kai and faced the wall opposite of the entrance. "But without the two of you, or Sou Jin and En, or– ya'know, back when you left, I–"

"Created the strategies with En and gloriously lost battle after battle without a single victory."

Silence.

"You didn't have to say it like that."

"But you've learned, haven't you?"

"How can I say that when I don't got the smarts like you and Ten."

She sat up too. "Since when has a general needed a strategists' smarts? You just named Duke Hyou."

"As someone who never tried to be the greatest."

"Yet his ferocity went up against the strategist Ri Boku and caught him off-guard. He came that close just on his intuition. You might be like that, but you have us too. Without you, I'm sure even Ten and I couldn't command this unit like you. I don't know how to explain it, Shin; but isn't that what makes each of us special?"

"So, you think we could conquer the Middle Kingdom on our own."

She laughed. He coyly turned his head to her– just enough that he could see her through his peripheral vision. "We just might have to try." His head turned back. "A general is the sum of themself, their strategists, and their followers."

"That's the sum of an army."

"Put together, the general is the army. The generals cause the currents of the ocean to push against each other and rip and sway from one side of the other. They're the embodiment of that force of power, aren't they?"

"Somethin' like that."

"You're more than enough. I'm sure Ten thinks so, too."

Silence.

"Sorry for bein' pathetic right now."

"Don't say that. You didn't pity me and I won't pity you."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Knocking.

She stood up and opened the door. Dou was there.

"I'm leaving and I thought I'd say something first. I'll head to the castle, it shouldn't take very long, but I'll see what I can do for you. Hopefully your unit is there, obviously."

Kyou Kai answered with a thankful voice, "We're grateful enough for what you've already done. Please take care."

"And to you as well," he took a peak behind Kyou Kai and saw Shin sitting with his back to him. "You're a good man, Shin. These old eyes know."

Dou went to visit Ryou Taiga and left thereafter.

In their room, Kyou Kai had closed the door and turned her body towards Shin. He still hadn't moved, "Are you going to sit there forever?"

"I'm comin'," he said as she put her hair into its usual wrap. She didn't bother to keep her bangs out of her face, though, and instead allowed for them to hang freely. They also took time to remove Shin's stitches, though he had to suffer through the unfortunate consequence of getting each piece pulled out one by one carefully and then Kyou Kai lathering more ointment on anything that was still healing, but he was glad that the pain was fading. Normally she would've re-stitched him or left them in for longer, but Shin's unrivaled regenerative speed proved to be more useful than expected.

A morning meal. Nothing big, just enough to fill.

Then trying to stretch and move about. Difficult because it hurt.

What about the soot-ridden clothes? To clean them.

Trees rose above.

And the thin clouds spread so far.

As the rocks watched.

The steps created a path.

Footprints that were there.

Memories that are there.

In the presence of greenery.

Below the bright blue ceiling.

And the flowing water through its channel–its cargo brought along with it wherever it went. Some leaves, some pebbles, some animal hair; and on they went. Their journey continued far beyond the reach of the eye, and started far before they ever thought about it. They sat up against the small bank. It sparkled and waved on its way. It sparkled, but he didn't think it was as enriching as another sea he had looked into. Beside them: a basket with clothes, and the remains of burnt ashes and shells emptied from its containment. The atmosphere was fresh. It was freeing.

They scrubbed with the ashes. They worked their hands through the fabric; through the stains. Not everything came out, but a new life breathed through these fabrics. The whites shone through as beautifully as they could; the reds were as vibrant as those found on corpse flowers; and the blue that struck as confidently as the one who wore it.

She would glance over at him doing his work.

"You missed a spot."

"Where?"

"Here," she'd touch the spot.

This life.

"Ya' just put that there," he'd claim dumbfounded.

"Really?"

"How else would I miss that?"

Wouldn't be so bad.

A hint of selfishness in having this time–faux, but not ersatz–of melancholic gaiety.

When the sun held its place in the middle of the sky, they were done. Scrubbed clean, back to as much of the original color that they could, but still full of the holes and cuts that would remain forevermore.

A walk back.

There, on the side, a post.

A wire, to hang, and another post.

To hand, and dry, and allow the warm breath of the wintering sun to lay upon it; and thus to obnubilate the cold, dirt ground they walked upon.

Then a thought. A thought to look around and see if anyone needed help. They were outsiders, they might not be so accepting without the word of the good-hearted chief who seemed to care for all equally; as though everyone was a member of his village without discrimination between outsider and insider. Even so, there is nothing else to do than try to help. For the hospitality of receiving them, and giving them enough to be somewhat comfortable here in this unknown land; a land that they did not know, but that belonged to their country. A land that they never needed to know, but a land that was worth protecting– or rather, a people that were worth protecting. The Middle Kingdom was large. So large that traversing every piece of it seemed impossible, but there were people here. And there were people there. And over there. All around.

Though some looked at them, and greeted them kindly, it seemed that no one wanted them to do work. At first, it was thought that the people were simply suspicious of the two Qin leaders; but then the reality set in: most of the villagers themselves simply did not want the two to overwork themselves. The clear bruising across the young girl's face, and the slowed, labored movements of a young man who was doing nothing more than walking, urged the locals to decline the two's request for work.

Through their exploration of the village, Shin needed to sit and rest several times. It was not a particularly big village, but his body was not particularly fanatic of the fact that he was moving around. To his body's detriment, however, he would be far too bored sitting around and doing nothing.

"I'm bored," he gave an obvious and needless complaint.

"At least you can rest without worrying."

"Can't help feeling a bit anxious about the others."

Ah.

Two men carrying baskets walked down the dirt road they were sitting by. They took notice of Shin and Kyou Kai, and one of them spoke up, "So you're the two I've been hearing about. You really are kids, what a surprise."

Shin answered, "And where are you going with those baskets?"

"Just about time to eat so we're taking these over to the ones on farming duty today, care to join?"

"Sure, we'll follow, don't wait up."

They didn't understand, but as they crossed with the two, they saw Kyou Kai pull up Shin and the slice wince that he made with his face. His abdominal muscles tensed and recoiled, or so they thought. And she held onto him the entire time.

The two soldiers were taken to a place where some of the other villagers, including the chief, were plowing away at the ground and attempting to make some sort of terrace to use at the coming of spring for rice. Though it was not ready, and wouldn't be for some time, water channels and leveling of the land were laborious processes that required planning ahead of time, especially when keeping them from collapsing as the rains and snow would eventually come by.

"We've come with your scraps!"

"It better be more than that or you're getting scheduled for two days," another jokingly replied.

Brandishing conical hats, the group of four turned to their backs to see Shin, Kyou Kai, and the two others approaching them. They rinsed their hands and feet. Together, there was a hearty meal on a sheet of fabric laid across the ground– the eight of them sitting around and enjoying themselves discussing various sorts of things. Though Shin did not indulge himself in any more than a snack, Kyou Kai ate as though she had not eaten in the morning. A meeting between old friends and new friends, one that lasted for as long as they wished for it too.

The shadows had traversed their own path along the ground, first starting in the west and slowly converging to the east opposite of the bright star's own trail across the azure sky. The land kept them safe. The land fed them. They were enjoying the land. In order to continue to sustain the land, they must work within that field. Shin looked at his empty bowl. As those who were working prior refitted their hats to their heads and stretched to continue the activities of the late-afternoon–or was it now the early evening?–Shin looked towards the field.

"Would ya mind if I helped some?" He asked them.

"Yes," Kyou Kai said.

"Yes," Ryou Taiga said.

A pincer.

"I'd just like to help–"

"If I so much as even push you, you might just die."

The three ladies Ryou Taiga had been helping in the field laughed.

"But I'm great at this work, I grew up–"

"Then you know you'll hurt yourself. I've seen you feel around your stomach several times now," Ryou Taiga said, "it's not happening, my guest or not."

One of the women collapsed her hands together, "Now might be a good time to just listen, hmm?" They gathered their materials and went to work.

"But compared to these women–" It was a rather obvious mistake. He learned that years ago. An obvious mistake, yet one that he carelessly made in an attempt to seem like the bigger man.

"Want to finish that, Shin?" Kyou Kai rhetorically asked.

The same lady, who was in the indented field with water up to her ankles and continuing to tend to her work, looked at him, "I'm sure you mean well, but with how the miss seems to be itching to temper herself, I think you shouldn't."

"Then you do it, Kyou Kai."

No response.

"Hm?"

"I said you should do some."

Ryou Taiga laughed. It was a little bit of disbelief.

"I don't know how to do this kind of stuff."

"Oh. That's easy: I'll teach ya' how. I'm surprised, though, I thought you would've done a ton of this kinda work in the mountains."

"We didn't cultivate our own agriculture…" There was a hint of shame in her voice, "And animals weren't hard to come by, so…"

Shin was excited and got up, "Perfect! I'll teach you!"

"Miss, please rest yourself. Like I've said, guest or not, neither of you should push yourselves."

But for some reason, the idea didn't sound too bad. Somewhat.

"Lord Taiga, what if I just learned to do it? It might be useful in the future. We won't push ourselves," she was interested in being taught by Shin, rather than the other way around. More so the idea of their roles being reversed once in a while, even though he was technically her superior in rank anyway. But she wanted to experience a little bit more of this life too. She never had this. She didn't get the opportunity to just work like this. It was always about training and killing, and the Hi Shin reminded her of the different possibilities in the world; and this was one of those. It couldn't hurt to step into the shallow waters of that possibility with Shin next to her.

"If you're so adamant, I don't mind taking a bit longer of a break myself," they had come to a compromise, and Ryou Taiga walked over and placed his conical hat atop Kyou Kai's head.

Shin's feet carried him a few steps over to her. As he was taller than her by a significant enough margin, most of her face was obscured by the sun hat from where they stood relative to each other; and his uncertainty of the expression that lay on her face due to this act was soon extinguished as she raised her head to allow her face to greet him. Her face looked as though it was in the pursuit of some sort of knowledge. Her eyes drifted around and watched the villagers working. She didn't want to get dirty after just bathing, but she was intrigued enough to remove those hesitations from herself.

Changing her attitude, she looked down so that Shin couldn't see her expression anymore. "Hoh~ so the Young Shin believes that he can teach me something, is that right?" She scoffed.

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"And when else have you taught me anything?" She slipped off her shoes and exposed the slightly calloused and bruised feet to the fresh air.

He didn't respond. He just smiled. Silliness. The absolute silliness. A silliness without resolution. It was a bit too silly. Though, he might've been right, just a little bit. She couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle. Quiet as it was, he heard it, it reaffirmed that thought. She knew what he was talking about, but playing ignorant in the moment was a little bit fun.

"So?"

There really was happiness of some kind.

On this day.

It was a day unlike any she had had before.

There was life outside of the Hi Shin too.

She wouldn't retract her devotion to them, but there was this.

And this was nice.

He was nice.

Eyelashes.

When the night began to slowly stroll into the room, and the villagers had all vanished to their residences; and as the night absolved the sun of its daytime duties, Shin and Kyou Kai were given a pot, bowls, some water, wood, and ingredients to make themselves a little dinner as well; and their dried clothes, now cleared of stains and most indications of their hardship, sat folded neatly on the ground. Inside of their temporary abode, against the waning calls of the daylight's dimming dominance in the sky, they thought about who would cook. The needy Kyou Kai desired a warmly cooked meal, delicious enough to feast upon until the very bowls they had were wiped and licked clean of any possible remaining food vestiges; however, she was a connoisseur of the yummy things that entered her mouth, and not so much an expert on creating that plentiful goodness. On the other hand, Shin could "cook", but whether or not it would turn out to be edible was an entirely separate matter. In the first place, did Kyou Kai have much room to complain after investing in two whole meals throughout the day already?

"Maybe we should've asked for help…"

"That's a bit shameful."

"But… food…"

"Don'cha worry, I can cook somethin' right up."

She watched him. He knew he couldn't hide his lack of skill, not that he needed to given that she already had a taste long before.

Shin glared at her, "Well, do you wanna?"

"No," she lazily said.

"Then what's the big deal?"

She acted as though she was sick and vomiting.

"It's not that bad, is it?"

She lay on the floor in a comatose state.

He groaned.

"First you make me work, then I have to deal with starvation, what a terrible fate the gods have decided to put me through."

He got a fire going. She lit the lanterns, making sure they wouldn't go out anytime soon.

"You didn't say no to the work," that was true, she wasn't totally honest. "Can I try?"

Her unwavering stare caused him to tremble a tiny bit. But he recognized that it wasn't a gaze of disappointment, or one that attempted to pierce his character and drag him out, but rather a simple, soft gaze that seemed enamored. "Go ahead."

It was surprising. "Huh? Really?"

"I could always stea– beg others for some leftovers."

"I heard that."

"What?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna do it."

She wasn't able to get a response out. Or rather, she wasn't allowed to, as the thunderous her rumbling stomach interrupted any thought she had.

"If it was just some meat, I could just cook it, but all this…" He lit a fire and set the cooking pot they were given over it, then thought about how he would go about concocting a potion of nutrition for the two of them.

Kyou Kai suggested an ingenious idea, "You do the meat, and I'll do the rest.

The idea hadn't even come up in his head until then. "Really!?"

So they did. When it was finished, it didn't appear to be very appetizing. In the first place, it wasn't just cooking over a fire, so Shin hardly had any idea what he was doing. Somehow his days with Hyou had not had a positive effect on his cooking skills aside from hunting and eating what he caught then and there. On the other hand, Kyou Kai's attempt at porridge came out bland. Inoffensively so, at least. She took a bite of it. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. Edible, but not particularly satisfying. Nonetheless, they tried. It was their attempt together. Neither was really a cook, but they tried. To that end, she could be satisfied no greater than to simply enjoy this time with him, and to see him in his natural state of trying his hardest to do something–to get better at something. On the other hand, Shin himself felt displeased with his attempt. It wasn't delicious, but it wasn't something that he'd be yelled at. Though he had thoughts like that, he felt a wave of contentment observing the quiet Kyou Kai silently enjoying with him what he had made. That itself was enough for now. Even if it wasn't great, it was enough.

A strand of hair that forms a shadow from the base of the hairline to the base of the chin.

Roughened hands that feel as soft and caring as any others.

Smiling in the clouds.