Mirai looked at Suki who nodded and she agreed. Suki sat on the horse as Mirai walked behind her horse. Mirai was able to find out that they are merchants that are transporting precious silk to sell to a buyer. She also found out their names, the red haired guy is Akiyama Juji, the brown haired guy is Fuji Naoki and the guy in the carriage is called Yamashiki Kazuki.
"What are your names?" Juji asked.
Mirai and Suki looked at each other, although they have traveled as a boy multiple times, they did not bother to think up of boy names since no one asked for it. So Mirai said the first name she can think of, her brother's name.
" Shiro-uh- Shiratori Yuki." She quickly corrected herself.
"I'm Kota Touya." Suki said calmly.
"Shiratori and Kota, quite common household names." Naoki remarked.
"Uh yeah." Mirai said as she cleaned the sweat on her brows.
Except for this incident the ride was enjoyable as they told stories of their travels.
During the ride Suki did the talking while Mirai did the investigating. They do look like traveling merchants. With their cargo packed in a space behind the carriage that the merchant, Kazuki, seems to be sitting in. Naoki and Juji are dressed in an attire that is only a little better than a commoner but Kazuki is dressed from head to toe in silk giving off the aura of a wealthy man.
"What do you think of them." Juji whispered to Naoki.
"Hmm. Capable people and I am sure that Kota has something to do with ninjas." Naoki answered.
"Why would you say that." Juji asked.
"The way he throws his daggers and his stance are all similar to ninjas, I believe I don't have to talk about that smoke bomb."
"I see. What about the other one, Shiratori." Juji continued to ask.
"He is diligent with the sword and I can see that he must of learned from a master. To be able to handle the sword like that requires a lot of time and practice." Naoki described as he studied the two males.
Both are wearing quite common clothing for a swordsman. He eyed the sword tied around Mirai's waist, the scabbard of the sword is dirty and seemed a bit scratched but he can still tell that this is not the common sword you will find anywhere especially in the hands of a commoner. During the fight before, Naoki has seen the blade in all its glory, it is a good blade, fit for royalty and yet both of these people do not look like they are royalty. This questions him as he turned back and continued to talk with Juji.
He then remembered the skill Mirai has performed, the one that took out a wave of the bandits.
'That skill looks familiar.' He thought.
Although he could not remember what it was there is one thing he remembers. The movement Shiratori Yuki did when the bandit decided to ambush Kazuki.
Shadow Steps, is this skill's name. It is done with great speed and requires the individual to be light on their feet and presice where they land. This creates the illustration that the person teleported to a certain position. The strain on the body is tremendous and requires constant excersicing and years of training. To master this skill means that this person must have spent multiple years practicing.
That night they setted up camp near an abandoned shrine, Mirai and Suki gathered wood for a fire while Juji went out hunting. Naoki helped prepare supper as he took out an iron pot from the carriage and set up a little spot as a kitchen. Kazuki sat in the carriage reading as he waited for supper.
"Let me help." Suki suggested as she came over, these people may be nice but she still needs to make sure that they weren't adding something that they weren't supposed to.
"Uh no it's okay." Naoki said as he fiercely sliced a carrot. Suki sighed and couldn't bear seeing him cut the carrot into irregular shapes.
"Let me take this." She said as she forcefully took the knife out of his hands and perfectly sliced the carrots. She also minced the onions before pouring them into the soup. Juji came back with a bunny and he cooked it over the open fire. Mirai took this time to sit down and clean her sword, Naoki noticed this and walked over.
"That's a fine sword you have there." He said as he sat down.
Mirai scooted a little away from him and nodded as she continued polishing her sword. This is a fine sword, it used to belong to her teacher but he passed it on to her when she successfully finished all his teachings. He was a retired samurai and is known far and wide for his swords skills. Naoki continued to study Mirai as she polished her sword until it was sparkling clean.
Naoki studied this Shiratori guy with suspecting eyes. He gratefully took his bowl of soup and drank half of it in one gulp. Out of the corner of his eye he saw how the two guests are huddling close to each other like girls. They were sitting on rocks while Juji and him were sitting on the floor, Kazuki is in the carriage since he is wearing the highest quality silk. Kazuki is what you can call a block of ice, the cold but smart kind of guy. Juji is the lively and sport lover guy while Naoki is more normal, well in his eyes he is considered normal.
Although these two are peculiar but it isn't exactly out of the normal since there are guys that tend to be more feminine. He has seen others that can act more like a girl than a male he sighed as he went back to his soup. His eyes fell on the sword again, now that he has polished it Naoki can see the sword shining from the light of the flickering flames. The blade is made from a type of metal that looks to be sturdier than tamahagane*. The handle seems to be made a special type of wood and covered in a high quality leather, he is impressed by the blade.