"What in the hell is that?!"
Mugen froze up and stared off into the distance. The two were on a journey. Or rather, their journey had now met a wall... Literally. Looking past the dead trees in his path, Mugen spotted a massive wall, towering over anything he's ever seen before. It was a large stone structure with many words of a foreign language encrusted on it.
This wall seemed extremely thick and spanned across Japan for miles on end. "This? We call it 'The Wall'." Tsuki stepped forwards but kept his distance. "The foreigners built this." He gazed upon it's massive structure. "Think of Japan being split in two halves. The first half, now known as the Land Of Tasine is a desert wasteland."
He turned to Mugen with a wide smile. "Beyond this wall is where the grass and the forgiving sunshine lies! That's where you'll find villages, inhabitants, live men and women living happy lives..." He snickered. "This place? Well to give you some history... The Westerners couldn't overthrow the samurai of the Tasine area. So what did they do? They released their voodoo workers to curse the land. They summoned demons that would corrupt the grass and land, overwhelming us. As we got pushed further back into Japan, they built this wall separating our half from their half... Ultimately, they won over the land as we fought their demonic slaves. The innocent Japanese men and women of the Bishamon land are treated on a lesser pedestal than the Western ones."
Mugen sighed and placed his hands onto his sides. "So this is where you lost right?" He looked up at him once more, then the wall. Such a structure must've taken years to build. Hell, how'd they craft something that's approximately 60 metres tall with such little time? It was... Unbelievable. It seemed so fortified and strong, yet riddled with cracks and damage. "This is where you abandoned my father..."
Tsuki turned away from him and pressed forwards, "Yeah..." He moved to the left of the wall. "There are three ways to reach the Land Of Bishamon." He brought up three fingers as he took seat upon a dead, fallen tree.
"First! You can pass by the wall's gate. Chances are, if your Japanese, you'll be gunned down in an instant."
"Second! You can reach the bay of the island then swim around. Unfortunately, the sides are being watched by guards so that's also a bad route to take."
"Finally, we can tread Underground using a hidden path. Ofcourse, it's the most boring of the three but safest by far." Tsuki turned his attention to the tree he sat atop. Before pushing it to the side, one could see a steep manhole. It wasn't big. You'd have to squeeze through the narrow cracks to get underground. "Geez, that's gonna be a tight squeeze..." Mugen sighed,
"It's better when it's tight. If the hole's too loose, what's the point?" Tsuki replied, "We're talking about two separate entities aren't we?"
"Aah whatever! Let's just go!" Tsuki sat atop the floor then squeezed his legs inside before maneuvering into the cracks and disappearing. Mugen furrowed his brows before rubbing his temples. He drew his sheath from his waist and dropped them into the crack before following behind them.
Upon reaching inside, one could realize that it was oddly cold down there. Well, in relation to the soaring sun of the Land Of Tasine that is. They were in a somewhat cramped path of dirt and stones with large torches lighting the way. Unlike all other torches Mugen had interacted with, these were actually orange. They didn't carry the scent of the dead, nor were they blue.
"Alright, let's get a move-on shall we?" Tsuki says with a wide smile before proceeding onwards. "Really?! More walking?!" The boy complained with a lengthy sigh but finding himself following the man anyways. Their journey took them a good thirty minutes of walking.
*Slam!*
Emerging from underground, the two entered a small shack through it's trap door. "Damnit! My legs huuuurt!" Mugen hollered yet his complaints weren't heard by the oh-so focused Tsuki.
After Mugen crawled into the shack, Tsuki closed the hatch, allowing the boy to rest. The shack had many weapons latched to the wall. They were held up in display, yet rusted to the core. There was barely any space within the shack. The small table that did subside within the wooden residence contained rotting veggies and fruits that had already developed mold and a nasty texture.
"Someone left their lunch." Tsuki commented, passing it by and heading for the door. "No time to rest Muggy-boy. We have a job to do, remember? We're gonna get you a girl." Mugen sighed, "Oh come on, just let me rest..." He practically begged but the samurai wasn't having it.
"No..."
Mugen took a glance at Tsuki's fierce eyes and knew he wasn't joking. With an exasperated sigh, he took to his feet once more. "Oh... Leave your weapons here."
"What? Why?!" Mugen responded swiftly. "The land of Bishamon has outlawed any and every sign of katanas. Luckily for you, since you look just like a Westerner you won't be treated harshly." Mugen took a glance at his weapon and thought to himself.
'I have to leave you again?'
He frowned, not wishing to leave his prized possession behind. "Look, we'll get it back later. Kay? But as it stands now, if your seen in public with a weapon, you'll be surrounded and put down in seconds." He explains.
Mugen understood very well what he meant... But at the same time... "What about you? Leave your bow and quiver." Mugen pressed back. "No... Archery can be seen as a sport. Albeit, since I am Japanese, I may get some stares."
He left his kodachi, knowing it had to be the inevitable. "Right... Now onwards!" Tsuki opened the door, flooding the room with a wonderous breath of fresh air. It was much different from what Mugen had been raised in. It was the scent of wildlife, nature, plants... All of which, he hadn't experienced in the longest of times.
Mugen took a step out of the shack, following Tsuki's lead. That was when it happened... His eyes were assaulted by hundreds of vibrant colors. A gentle and vibrant breeze blew past his strong and capable body, leading the wondrous plants and flowers to tickle his ankles. He heard the singing of tree branches as the green leaves fell from above.
He was stunned to say the least. It took him a good moment of taking in the mystical flower beds of roses that stretched as far as the eye could see before he had payed Tsuki any attention. "Oi! Earth to Mugen? Still there kid?"
Tsuki hollered out, crossing his arms as another gust of cool breeze blew his black strands to the right of him. His blue robes leapt from side to side and danced as he watched over the boy. Yet again, he was simply in awe, now turning to admire the bark of the trees around him. They were in a forest of lilacs which enhanced his love for nature.
To the left of him, he could see 'The Wall' with a narrow dirt road leading off into the distance. The sun wasn't nearly as harsh on this side. If anything, it only made the colors of his surroundings dance before him. It was beautiful, a meal for the eyes and definitely something he'd love to savor.
*Bam!*
"Ow!"
Mugen stooped down and held his head. "The hell'd you do that for?!" Tsuki stopped him swiftly then turned around. He pointed deeper into the lilac forest, showing off the problem at hand. "That right there... Stop daydreaming and get to work."
"Tch, geez... Let me bask in my country why don'cha" Mugen responded, "Yeah? Well you can bask in it all you want once we take it back! Now isn't the time for daydreaming so let's get going." He states, focusing on the facility in the distance. It was a prison, that's for sure. It was fully black, perhaps tinted stone maybe? It also carried large banners of a white flag with a cross inside. It was a large building which had no windows, it didn't bare a second floor nor did it seem too lengthy for it's unnatural height.
"Fine-Fine... So how are we gonna infiltrate it?" Mugen asked, "Your gonna play the victim and get in...." Tsuki responds, "Play the victim?"
"Affirmative! As I've said earlier, you have your father's golden locks and even his blue eyes. You look just like a foreigner!" He sighed "I really hate looking at you..." He whispered to himself.
Mugen stayed quiet.
"Anyways, look at you... Your covered in scars, dirt, you kinda stink too... Hell your clothes are in bits. Just play the role of the lost and hurt child." Tsuki smirks.
"Alright then. So what will you do?"
"Absolutely nothing...."
ರ╭╮ರ (Mugen)
｡◕‿◕｡ (Tsuki)