Bamboo Thicket

Leraje, the home too many who were considered low-life and money-grabbing bunch of thieves as many travellers described it to be. But Leraje was a village that contained strict rules upon its residents, every male older then eight was to prepare to become a soldier in war. There was only exception to those who had skills needed to help maintain life ----- funny how the wealthy always find a way out of things. Today marks the first day of spring, the aromas of the pink and angelic flowers and the day everything changed for me. Life never stays on one course, it throws different paths and turmoil as time flies. But that day still stays fresh in my mind, replaying the memory over and over again.

During the night, Haru wondered throughout the bare bamboo thicket in the grim moonlight that shined upon it. He shivered. He had been walking past these dreadful bared bamboos for at least an hour by now, and yet he was still lost in its maze. The map his Uncle Shigure gave to him was of no use here. The landmarks were drawn poorly and the paper was of cheap material that one splash of water would create a large rip into the paper. Haru paused to sigh and dug his hands into his sleeves of his black top.

"How the hell am I suppose to find this damn place if I’m reading a five year old direction!" He cursed out loud.

In a matter of seconds, he could hear some twigs snapping from behind him. There was noise coming from the south of the place he was standing, maybe there was someone there which could help him in finding his destination. But to his dismay, he discovered a seventeen year old teenager bounded by ropes around the wrists and ankles. The person's fingers still trembling as a low cough escaped from the person's mouth. Haru observed his surroundings and once he thought it was safe enough, he rushed to the person's side.

"Hey you! Are you alright?" He asked in concern, but the person avoided seeing him and turned to face the opposite direction.

"I'm fine!" The stranger replied rather bluntly.

"I don't have time for this bullshit," Haru began to untie the ropes as he pulled onto the stranger's slim hands to pull the person up. Once standing, he finally caught sight of the stranger.

The girl before him paused for a second and looked around. "They know we're here," she muttered under her breath that was loud enough for him to hear.

He heard a faint yell; he turned to see a couple of bamboo sticks break as a group of men came closing from behind them. One in particular who was riding a black horse jumped off his and approached the girl, "So the little kitten has brought a friend along too. Hmm... It'll be even more fun later on," the man turned to face Haru who was still supporting her. "If it isn't Haru, the bastard's brother... If I didn't know you were related to him, I would have spared you but now I don't feel so generous after what he did to us."

The Man signaled for his men to surround the two as the crowd of men began to grin. The man introduced himself as Tesshu; he was known to have a temper behavior and distrusted anyone whom he saw was a threat to him. The next thing Haru knew it was pitch black and he was struggling for breath. But he could hear the screaming of the girl crying for them to leave Haru alone. The screaming stopped, as Haru was about to lose consciousness, the black pouch around his head was released. He pulled it off and caught sight of a group of villagers with a torch in their hands, he quickly rushed to the girl's side. Tesshu and his men had retreated in fear of being caught but the question was what they wanted with this girl.

The next day he found himself sleeping in someone else’s room, a young woman around age twenty-two approached him and leaned on the border of the bed. "Morning cutie! Are you feeling lonely?" She seductively hissed into his ear before her hand began to crawl to neck, "Someone like you shouldn't be sleeping all alone."

Haru face became red as he rolled out of the bed and stumbled to the door, "haha... umm...wrong room, excuse me!" He said, embarrassed of how foolish he probably looked. Once opening the door he had bumped into his Uncle Shigure who seemed to be rather 'fond' of this place. "Shigure, you bastard! You gave me the wrong directions!" He cursed.

His Uncle laughed before falling silent once he caught sight of the women who had just exited the room Haru had come from. "I'm glad I did," He gleefully smiled as exotic thoughts came to his mind.

"Dirty old man!"

"Shut-up you brat! You're old enough to figure out how to get somewhere without an adult to guide you there. So quick complaining and get use to the idea cause if you don't kid, tough luck."

"Lecture me when you've become an adult then because all I see is a drunken horny old man." Haru walked off calmly as Shigure shrugged off his nephew comment.

Stopping to reflect about his current crisis, he noticed the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. It was the girl from last night, her head hooded this time. He turned around to face her as her eyes met his too. "You should've never have gone to help me! You could have got killed trying to help me!"

Haru sighed, "Not another one... You owe me for saving you last night and what's done is done. Nothing can change that, and look at me, I’m still alive so don't be so stressed out."

The girl looked down not knowing what to say other than thanks for saving her.

"I don't have any money if that's what you want," She said looking up at him.

"What's your name then?"

"Akane," She answered back curiously.

"I'm Haru, because I have something in mind for you." He grinned.