1x1 Private

[Paniculus Farctus]

Once Reiko had called for her, the healer entered the room, bending over the stranger and tending to his wounds. Reiko hovered above her, watching him worriedly. After keeping him in her house for a week, she was rather attatched to him, and she didn't want him to be any more injured.

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Kayden remained silent as the healer tended to his wounds, and he only opened his eyes when she left so that he could look upon the girl once more. "So, where is this village exactly?" he said softly. He remembered that he had wandered for days after his last encounter with the army and he simply went in random directions to avoid them catching him, he wasn't sure how far from the capital he was or if they were even still following him.

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[Paniculus Farctus]

"You are in the village of Tokinawa," Reiko answered him, kneeling beside his bed as was customary. "We are located on the side of the Ichimen Mountain that is farthest away from the capital city." She kept her voice even and factual, but inside her heart was racing. She realized that she had never seen a man with red hair before, much less one who was not from her village, and it was exciting.

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Kayden smiled "I see, is the village large? How many people are here? I remember seeing thousands of people wandering the streets of the capital in my travels there." he said with a small cough, it was painful to even speak, his ribs must have been shattered badly to cause him this much pain. He was hoping though that the population was very small, if so, it would be unlikely that the army would come here searching for him and maybe he could lay low here for awhile and recover more fully.

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[Paniculus Farctus]

"We are only 150 at the most, sir," Reiko said, sitting up straighter to make sure he was still okay. "There are not many of us, but we work very hard. The boys complain about not being able to fight like the samuari in the East like most boys do, so we are quite normal."

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Kayden smiled "I see, I thought it was mandatory that every village have its boys taught to fight at a young age so that if ever the need arised they could fight, so I assume there is no Dojo here then?" Kayden said looking over to the girl again with a questioning look. Usually when a town became large enough the government appointed a Dojo to train the men to fight, maybe this town was small enough that it did not have one, this was very good.

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[Paniculus Farctus]

"We're so small that not even the Emperor knows of our existance," Reiko explained. "Sometimes criminals come here for refuge while on the run. It's beneficial for both of us, since they have money and we have space."

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Kayden smiled "Harboring criminals is never a good thing, but I suppose you must do what you need to in order to survive." his eyes closed once more and he let his head slip into the pillow, he still needed rest, it might be several more days before he can walk and he needed to buy all the time he could. "Thank you for helping me, by the way, what is your name?" Kayden opened one eye to look into her face.

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[Paniculus Farctus]

"My name is Reiko," Reiko said, smiling back down at him. "What's your name?

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Kayden smiled and rolled over facing away from her "I'd like to keep that a secret for now if you don't mind." he said nestling his face into his pillow. "However I do wish to thank you for nursing me back to health, Reiko." he said softly. He didn't want to seem unappreciative to someone who had spent all this time helping him get better.

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[Paniculus Farctus]

"It is my pleasure," Reiko nodded, smiling. She waited a few minutes before standing up again to continue with her housework. Ryuji, her nephew, entered the house a for a few minutes, and spent his time staring at the visitor. Reiko shooed him out of the house quickly, telling the boy that the man needed his rest.

Secretly, she was concerned about the man. That he hadn't told her his name perturbed her, as most other criminals had been willing to divulge that information. However, she knew that he had his reasons.

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Another several days passed and Kayden's wounds began to get better to where he could move without reopening his wounds. From the moment he was able Kayden reached and grabbed his sword, keeping it under his sheets at all times. Even in this far off village, his paranoia never left him. He looked out the window and saw the children playing in the grassy fields, and the men tending to the large rice fields, and the women doing the chores around the town. Kayden sincerely hoped that he could leave this town before he brought trouble to it, he wouldn't want to adversely affect such a kind group of people.

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[Paniculus Farctus]

The boys often congregated by Reiko's house, wanting to speak to the man. Reiko always chased them off, looking fustrated at their persistance, but also amused. Ryuji helped her out more, carrying water to and fro, but also a spy for his friends, whom he told a lot.

"I think they can sense your strength," Reiko told the man one day as she knelt at the foot of his bed, crushing some grains in a bowl. "They want a teacher."

[The Gamers King]

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Kayden Yamamoto

Kayden smiled at her, the sun shining through the window as he spoke "Why men wish to learn of strength, why men wish to learn to kill, why men enjoy the battlefield, is a mystery that to this day eludes me." he said softly, as he turned his gaze away from her. He stared out the open window for a moment before continuing "I have killed, hundreds, if not thousands of people in the last war and was once considered a man of great wisdom and strength." Kaydens bright smile left his face as saddening memories began to return. "I have watched men whom I considered brothers choke to death on their own blood. I have watched men who I thought wicked rise to power and claim this great nation as their own. I have watched as the respect I once had became overwhelming hatred turned against me, my pleas for mercy towards my friends thrown to the side. I am the last survivor of all the men in our army, the last survivor of the losing side, the last remnant of our ideals." Kaydens face was morbid but he shed no tears. "I have no desire to teach anyone to kill, or more specifically, teach them to die."

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[Paniculus Farctus]

"While I offer my condolences for your fallen comrades, I do not fully understand the pain you feel for them," admitted Reiko, her face turning downcast as well, "because I have only known this life of peace and solitude. So have these boys. They don't know how to properly use a weapon, or even what situations they need to use it in. We have not lost an army, but many older men have been killed accidentally by their sons not knowing how to use a weapon, though they thought at the time it was possible. My father was almost killed by my brother in a similar accident, but he recovered. She looked up at him, pausing with her activity. "We do not wish to fight other villages, only to keep alive and hunt and serve our families. That is why we need a teacher."