Leaving the conference room Jin and Kanashi met up with Kenji who had been standing outside of it impatiently tapping his foot while looking over his Katana. Running his finger along the dull blade he frowned.

  His Katana [Ikazou] had been with him since day one, a dull prop Katana which he bought, despite Kanashis journey, Katana were difficult to acquire in Edoland. Unlike other countries where swords were considered toys and guns were the main threat in Edoland guns were nearly unheard of for those not with some kind of military or police profession. So things like Katanas were the next best thing especially for magic users who could pour reinforcement into their blade making it perhaps even more dangerous than a gun in the right circumstances. As such Katanas were nearly impossible to acquire for the average person so props and collectibles were the only thing the average man could get. And Kenji or Todotsune as he had been at the time could only get himself a prop. One which he’d poured his heart and soul into for nearly twenty years, a blade soaked in his aura and honed by reinforcement, a blade which could cut a steel pillar in half easily, yet despite that Kenji wondered if he was being limited by such a blade.

  While he’d been able to clash with Kanashis [Itachi] , a blade of the [Supra] ranked 2nd highest of mortal blades with only [Sidus] ranking higher, Kenji felt himself lacking in some regards. First it was Domushi, he could tolerate that from what he understood Domushi lacked in power and only used sorcery and trickery to make himself so powerful. But Jin, the very world itself seemed to distort and warp around him.

  “Alright let's get this show on the road then.” Jin said, interrupting Kenji's thoughts.

  “Hmm?” Kenji hummed looking up, Kanashi already gone leaving only him and Jin alone. “Where’s Kanashi?” Kenji asked with a frown.

  “He ran off to meet up with Akatora, I guess they had something important to deal with and he didn’t want to make him wait.” Jin said with a shrug and picking at his finger nail.

  “Hmmm.” Kenji's frown grew deeper, Kanashi having left without even so much as a wave.

  “Anyways~ you ready? You don’t need to piss or anything before we go right?”

  “I’m fine.” Kenji answered, sheathing his sword, though it pained him to do so he knew it made no difference to the man which stood before him, if the two were to fight he might as well have been bare handed even with a sword.

  “Ah, before I forget, let's do it now.” Jin muttered with a light bulb clicking on overhead.

  “?” Kenji tilted his head to the side but before he could ask what exactly Jin meant he’d already thrown a small pen sized scroll to Kenji. “What’s this?” Kenji asked, holding the scroll by the tip of its head with his middle finger and thumb.

  “A healing scroll, open it up.” Jin answered.

  “...” Kenji narrowed his eyes at the scroll and inspected it over in detail, the outside being a fine paper with a silk like quality while the center was a rich almost cherry wood colored.

  “Don’t worry it won't hurt ya.” Frowned Jin.

  “...” Kenji though still wary, unraveled the scroll slowly, the hundreds of small runes carved into it like the overlapping of fibers on a wool blanket shining a bright yellow before suddenly Kenji felt himself engulfed in a burning bright light.

  “!”

  Though it didn’t hurt it wasn’t a feeling Kenji enjoyed, a warm all encompassing sensation like that of a bear hug which covered you, from the tips of his toes, to his finger tips and the end of the hairs on his head he felt that sensation overtake him. But even more than the sensation itself, what caught Kenji's attention was the fact that the wounds which had plagued his body began to heal, closing shut with rapid speed and leaving not even a scar.

  “What is this?” He asked with a slacked jaw.

  “A [Healing Scroll] I only have a few so I gotta use them sparsely but seeing as you’re important I figured you’d be needing one.” Jin answered. Also Kanashi looked as if he was gonna beg me before I even answered if I would give you one or not. He thought, his lips a thin line. “Well anyways, you ready to go?”

  Kenji took a moment to answer, ripping the bandages off his body he found himself with wide eyes at the impeccable feat which had just occurred, he was healed completely not just on the surface but down to his bones themselves. The cracks which had run along them from strain, his joints which had been torn to shreds and the veins which had burst giving his skin the deep purple hue were all gone. Leaving him as pure as the day he’d meet Kanashi. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

  “Then let’s do this.” Jin said with a laugh, putting his hand on Kenji's shoulder.

  “!”

  Before Kenji could try to pull away or slap Jin's hand off of him they were already somewhere else. A place far from where they had last been, the air smelling nothing like Tousen.

  “Where are we?” Kenji asked, looking around, his sharp blood shot eyes straining at the scenery with scrutinizing detail.

  “Shitajimas Takeshirou.” Jin answered lazily, they’d teleported to the lowest island of Edolands upper west corner, one of the largest cities in Shitajima. “You smell‘ em?” He asked.

  “No… nothing.” Kenji answered.

  “Next then.” Jin said, once more putting his hand on Kenji's shoulder.

  Then just like that they were somewhere else, another new scene, though still in Takeshirou, Kenji knew that much.

  “Here?” Jin asked.

  “Nope.” Kenji answered, shaking his head.

  This would surely take a while.

  # # #

  The pair had been hopping around Edoland for at least an hour at this point, they’d traveled all of Shitajima and now moved to the lowest end of Chushima the middle island of Edoland. Kenji couldn’t help but wonder if Jin had also set up his [Waypoints] in Joshima, the island to the north of Chushima.

  The whole time Jin and Kenji had only said the same two things over and over again.

  “Here?” Jin asked.

  “Nope.” Kenji answered.

  And with that Jin would grab Kenji's shoulder and the two of them would be somewhere else. Kenji had long since realized that the only way they could warp away was if Jin had physical contact with Kenji so he bit his tongue and let it happen.

  “Here?” Jin asked, standing on a beach, the area around them horribly warped by the Tsunami which had struck it at one point, an upside down car half buried in the dirt and hundred of stop signs buried into the ground like a field of fallen soldiers blades.

  “Nope.” Kenji answered once more.

  Then once more they warped somewhere else.

  “Say… Jin.” Kenji muttered, the name sounding prickly on his tongue.

  “What’s up?” Jin asked, looking at Kenji with his lips pursed.

  “How do you train?”

  “I don’t.” Jin answered with a shrug.

  “Huh?” Kenji asked with a slacked jaw.

  “I don’t need to.” Jin answered, “Anyways you sense ‘em here?”

  “No.” Kenji said, shaking his head.

  With that they moved onto the next spot.

  “How are… you strong then?” Kenji asked, using his thumb to scratch the inside of his palm.

  “I was just born this way.”

  Once more Kenji felt himself both in awe and feeling as if something slimy was crawling across his skin giving it goosebumps. How could he just be “born” that way? Surely there was no such thing as being born strong, all children no matter their heritage were born with a cry and their hand reaching for their mother.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Are they here?” Jin asked.

  “No…” Kenji answered with a mutter shaking his head as they moved onto the next location.

  “Alright I’m sick of asking you since we’re not getting anywhere with it, if you sense them just say “Here” alright?” Jin sighed.

  “Yeah sure.” Kenji nodded his mind still focused on how Jin could be born as he was. “Have you never trained in your life?” He asked.

  “Well I wouldn’t go that far with it.” Jin laughed awkwardly. “I didn’t get these muscles naturally ya know… well I did but I still needed to put in some effort.” He muttered.

  “How did you?”

  “I guess I just did the normal stuff, I was a teenager at the time so I don’t remember all that well but I did what anyone else would. I’ve had the basics down since I was a kid so I just needed to hone them to my own benefit.”

  “The basics?” Kenji asked.

  “Hm? Yeah I come from a long line of Magic users so by birth I was already naturally one, I just needed to figure out how to make them my own… Tempo I guess?”

  Kenji frowned and rubbed his chin in thought, as the two spoke they’d already teleported to half a dozen new places.

  “Have you ever killed someone?” Kenji asked.

  The question made Jin raise his brow but he answered none the less. “Of course, tons of people.”

  “Have you ever regretted it? Kanashi refuses to kill or let anyone else kill in front of him.”

  “He’s still on that huh?” Jin growled his brow with his fingers. “As for me, no, I only kill those who need to be killed.”

  Need to be killed. Such a sentence made Kenji wonder exactly what the criteria for needing to be killed was. For him he only killed if someone had threatened him, even if it wasn’t in a way that truly threatened his life the action alone meant they were willing to risk their life and to honor that he would take it from them. That’s how he thought of it at least. But for Jin that might be an entirely different concept.

  “What about you huh? Why’re you with us?” Jin asked.

  “To fight.” Kenji answered earnestly.

  “I should have expected that one.” Jin muttered with a smile.

  “Kanashi swore to me that I could challenge.. Yurius… to mortal combat if I helped.”

  Jin looked at Kenji with wide eyes. “Julius huh? That’s quite a promise.” He said with a huff.

  “What? You don’t think I could win?” Kenji asked with a bit of a growl in his tone.

  “Hmmm, no you’d lose.” Jin answered.

  Kenji frowned at that statement and felt the urge to grab his sword and swing it at Jin. Not to take his life but to show him how much he was being underestimated by him.

  “You’re pretty strong don’t get me wrong but Julius is something else, you might be able to get a good hit or two in but as long as he has [Gaius] you’ll lose.”

  “[Gaius]?” Kenji questioned.

  “Yeah, his sword, it’s an Anima like Kanashis katana, but an older and stronger one.” Jin answered. I’m sick of that word, “Strong”.

  “Sword huh?” Kenji muttered, running his hand along [Ikazou].

  “But you got a pretty good sword on you too, even if it’s not ranked it’s probably [Supra] graded in your hands.”

  “Is that so?” Kenji smiled weakly.

  “Anything else you wanted to ask me?”

  “ …” Kenji returned Jin's gaze, in truth there was a final question he wanted to ask but he wondered what the repercussions of such a question would be. “Why do you follow rules?”

  “...”

  At that question Jin went silent. His eyes hidden by his sun glasses were surely squinting. “Because I have nothing else.” He answered after a moment.

  “...”

  That answer was surely not one which Kenji had expected nor wanted to hear but one he understood to be honest and worthy of respect.

  “When you’re like us there's two paths.” Jin began, holding up two fingers. “The first is the fun one, you can just burn everything around you, turn the world to ashes and take what you want from others. But that kind of life only ends with someone better than you coming along and killing you as part of their own path.”

  “...”

  “The 2nd is to play along, you can bend the rules and skip some steps but it gives you something to be proud of. It’s fun to go with the first one, but it always ends in your misery.”

  “Which path makes you stronger?” Kenji asked after a moment of silence.

  “...” Jin seemed to question himself for a moment before answering. “The 1st path might give the best results the fastest, but the brighter the star the quicker it goes out. The 2nd path will take longer, it’ll be harder because it’s boring but in the end you’ll come out better than you could ever have been taking the 1st.”

  “Which path did you take?” Kenji asked.

  “...”

  Once more Jin paused though this time for longer, the two flickering in and out of various places across the country as they did so. “I haven’t picked yet.” Jin answered finally.

  “!”

  Just then and before Kenji could further question Jin's answer he felt it, that same nasty feeling which he’d felt two days before when walking to the Soutou estate. They’d found them. Close, they were close.

  “So they're here huh?” Jin asked himself aloud, "I guess we should have just started in Tousen after all.” He frowned. They’re only two streets over, and underground, probably moving in a tunnel of some kind but it’s hard to tell right now. If I had to guess it’s got a shit ton of runes carved into the walls to make it harder to find for anyone to find.

  Kenji also sensed them, though he couldn’t tell where, he knew they were here. His hand trembled as he reached for his Katana, his fingers running along its rough weathered black handle. He was fully healed, he was back to his peak, his full potential, right now he could charge out there and fight that man, the Komuso priest which he’d avoided before and the one which even made Akatora cower. He could challenge himself, he could take his head or have his taken. That thought filled his stomach with butterflies like intoxicating fumes from sweet sake. How long had it been since he’d fought someone truly worthy? How long had it been since the fear of death had run through his veins? How much weaker had he gotten? How much had he withered away from complacency, he could do it now. He could prove himself, not to Jin, not to Kanashi, not to the priest or the Kobe man, he could prove to himself that his blade has not rusted and dulled.

  This priest guy isn’t half bad… Jin thought, ruffling his light blonde hair. He might be able to give Julius a bit of a challenge. Jin flexed his hand, letting his aura flow into it. Like he’d dipped his hand in warm honey it overflowed with power. If I just took them out now it’d save a lot of time, and effort. But would that solve anything in the end? Would someone else just take Kobe’s place? Would the cycle continue? I’m not sure, me dealing with him now might just make it harder to do our job tomorrow if not impossible. No, Kobe is just one head of the Hydra, if we cut it off it’ll just grow more and we’ll have a harder time cutting the others afterwards. We need to cut them all at once, all of the Hachibuto (Except Akatora), Sanjougou and Joshin, we need to make sure they all go down at the same time as him… With his mind made up though begrudgingly so he placed his hand softly on Kenji's shoulder.

  “?”

  Kenji felt his shoulder feel warm and soft, as if a puppy had been laid across it, yet it was the hand of the man who Kenji had been so shaken by before one who had made him question everything up to that point. Somehow that sensation calmed him, it felt good. Like the embrace of a mother when you’re a sick child.

  “Calm down?” Jin asked.

  “Y-yeah…” Kenji answered by pulling his shoulder away from Jin slowly. “How’d you do that?” He asked.

  “Do what?” Jin frowned with a bit of grimace.

  “Never mind…” Kenji growled, letting his half-drawn Katana fall back into its sheathe at his waist. “Are we just going to let them go? What if they get away?” Kenji asked with a frown.

  “They won’t.” Jin said calmly with a shrug.

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “I just know they won’t.”

  “...” Kenji frowned but his urge to argue was something he didn’t have the chance to act upon before the pair had teleported back into the basement of the Karatino Casino.

  Jin, seeing Kenji's sour face, twisted an awkward smile and waved his hand in the air. “I’ll make sure they don’t leave, don’t worry about it too much though. It’s out of your control whatever they do anyways.”

  “What if we killed them then? There would be no chance of them escaping.” Kenji argued with a bit of a growl in his tone. Though he knew exactly why they didn’t attack, it would have been a bad move no matter how you look at it.

  “Seem’s like you already know the answer to that question.” Jin smiled weakly, patting Kenji on the shoulder. “I understand you’re roaring to go, but if you wait until tomorrow you can have all the fun you want. Believe me on that.”

  “I don’t think it's a choice…” Kenji sighed, turning his back to Jin and scratching his chin before beginning to walk away. His hand hovering over his Katana still slightly trembling. My blade has not become dull. He thought, biting his lip.

  Jin watched Kenji's back with his hands in his pockets and let out a deep sigh shaking his head slightly. “Man, how do I always get into trouble with people?” He asked himself under his breath in a mutter. “I’m just too cool I guess.” He laughed weakly.

  “...”

  “Hey wait.” Kenji said, suddenly stopping and turning around to face Jin.

  “Sup?” Jin asked with pursued lips, surprised that Kenji would speak to him again so quickly.

  “What’re you gonna do after this?”

  “Hmm… good question.” Jin said, nodding his head. “I think I’m gonna attend a family reunion.” He finished with a snap of his finger.

  “When you come back, let’s fight. One on one, not to the death, I just want to see it.”

  “See what?” Jin asked.

  “The gap between us, how much farther do I have to climb before my blade can reach you.” Kenji answered with a wide grin.

  Jin couldn’t help but let own grin out at Kenji's bluntness. “Don’t cry when you get an ouchie.” He huffed with a smile.

  So it might be confusing how Jin was able to tell who Kobe and Kyoso were / where they are so I’ll explain it here. Since Jin could tell that Kenji had “sensed” them by his spike in aura as well as his reaction Jin quickly scanned the area with his [Pure Eyes] and picked up on the most notable aura signature he found, that being Kyoso and Kobe.

  Kenji has a unique skill in his ability to sense aura naturally, like how Tanjiro from KNY can smell if someone is a demon or their emotions that’s sorta like Kenji with auras. It’s just something he’s picked up and is very good at. So to Jin who would normally have not noticed Kyoso because he’s one of possibly a million souls in one area he was able to fine tune his search and found Kyoso because of his iris strength. Yes Kyoso is suppressing himself of course but Jin with his [Pure Eyes] is able to tell when someone is or is not suppressing themself so he could tell that Kyoso was heavily suppressing himself. I might be making it sound over complicated so

  TLDR: Kenji has a good nose and Jin has good eyes.