That is all we could think of. Our dream of wanting to be in the Capital are coming true.
Our image of the Capital came only from the stories often told by the adults in the village. No one within the village have ever been to the Capital, so most of their stories are based on rumors and the words of traveling merchants.
"I bet the Capital has its streets made out of gold and its people living in mansions." exclaimed an excited Ieyasu. Ieyasu had short unruly, dark brown hair. His hazel eyes filled with anticipation of how the Capital would look like ever since we were told go to the Capital.
"Don't be stupid, Ieyasu. There is no way the streets of the Capital would be made out of gold. Are you sure you aren't dreaming too much of money?" Sayo teased. She is the only girl that hangs out with the two of us. She has long black hair and always seen wearing a white flower pin. Her reply was enough to irritate Ieyasu.
"What do you mean it's not possible. The one thing I am certain of is that the Capital is a place full of riches and hot bab-" Before Ieyasu could even complete his sentence, he found his head being knocked to the ground by an angry Sayo.
"Come on guys, we don't have to fight over things this trivial, right? Sayo, there is no need to resort to violence."
I tried to break up their fight, and calm the angry Sayo. Ieyasu would always do things that would often get himself, with Sayo and me included most of the times, into trouble.
"Also, we can't have him injured before we depart. We wouldn't want to postpone our departure, right?" I added, hoping that Sayo would listen to reason and not beat Ieyasu senseless.
I was told that I had the kind of look that everyone would think of me as innocent, even though I tend to disagree. There are other things about me that I don't agree with. One of it was people think I am kind. That is true when I am out of combat. I found out that I have the ability to push away my emotions when in combat. This started when I lost my parents, who died when I was eight, from an accident. The backlash of this isn't comfortable. Eventually, the guilt and pain of what I had done would catch up to me, and since I never want other to be worried about me, I would make an effort to not show it in my face. Our mentor had once commented that this ability could bring about more harm than good. Other than Sayo and Ieyasu, the only other people who know of his ability of mine is him.
"I guess you're right." Sayo replied, mentally reminding herself to not land another hit to Ieyasu if he says something inappropriate again.
Since we are now teenagers, we were requested by the elder in our village to earn some money in the Capital for their village, a request that all three of us readily accepted. Our village had been heavily taxed by the Capital, which keeps increasing every year. Having no other solution, the elders decided to send us to the Capital to make some money, hoping that this would allow the village to tide over another year.
The sun was almost covered by the horizon. The three of us got up from where we sat and begin making our way towards the outskirts of the village. There is a small but located on the outskirts and it belonged to our mentor. He was a soldier from the of the Imperial Army and would teach us about all kinds of things about surviving in the wild. Though the way he teaches us are somewhat risky. Some of which, he claimed, actually saved his life on a few occasions. We would constantly bug to tell us stories about his time in the Capital, which he willingly obliged only on some occasions. Most of the times he was hesitant to tell us anything, avoiding our questions whenever they were raised.
We pushed open the door and walked in. Embraced by the usual scent of smoke upon entering the house, we found our mentor seated on the couch, anticipating our arrival. He had asked us to meet him upon hearing the news regarding us going to the Capital, saying that he had something important to tell us.
Seeing that his students have arrived, he extinguished his cigarette and began his final lecture.
"Since you guys are going to set off tomorrow, I'm going to give you an important piece of advice while you are in the Capital. Trust no one. Even if someone came to you with the intention to help, do not let down your guard. The Capital isn't as nice as what everyone envisioned it to be. Most of the people there are dangerous, even more dangerous than the Danger Beast that you use to hunt as part of your training. They are much more cunning and opportunistic." our mentor paused and took out another cigarette and light it. He took a puff out of it and slowly exhaled, releasing a small cloud of smoke.
"Enough of this dark topic. Like I said before, since you guys are going to the Capital, I will impart you guys with new equipments. For Ieyasu, I got you a battle axe. I made sure it was made to fit your style of fighting."
Ieyasu was filled with joy and as soon as he laid his hands on the axe and he even started giving it a few practice swings.
"Aww man this feels perfect, thank you thank you thank you!" Ieyasu kept thanking repeatedly as he hugged him.
"For Sayo, I made you a crossbow. It isn't as good as a bow, but deals just as much damage as one. If ever you run out of darts, you can make new ones using the method I have taught you before." Upon receiving it, Sayo heads toward the window and aimed at a nearby branch. She released a shot and moments later, the branch snapped and fell to the ground. "It's perfect!" she exclaimed as she thank our mentor for the gift.
"And finally, Tatsumi. I got you a short sword. This sword is more suited for people who are swift and I think it fits you perfectly. Another item you shall receive would be throwing darts, considering how your fighting style was pretty….unique, yet efficient." I silently accepted my gift and gave the sword a few test swings and thanked him. He then proceed to place a pouch into each of our hands. "Inside this pouch contains all sorts of tools that you may find handy when you are in a tight situation."
We began investigating the contents of the pouch. There was a vial of green liquid, a thin wire bent at some places, some small knifes and a small pistol.
"What's in your hands are my common travel kit whenever my unit and I in the Imperial Army were dispatched to fight on the front lines. The green liquid is actually a synthetic poison made from the venom of a Basilisk which I hunted long ago. This venom can kill someone within 5 minutes. There is no known cure for this venom so be careful not to cut yourself. The wire is used for lock-picking, you never know when you might need it. The small pistol you see is a flare gun. Shoot at the ground and don't look at it. It would blind the enemy and allow you to escape should you encounter trouble. There is also a piece of paper in there on how to make the ammunition."
The three of us marveled at the contents of the pouch.
"Oh, one more thing. If you ever need help, you can approach one of my friends in the Capital. He is about your age and has plenty of experience. You can learn much from him. He always hangs around in pubs. His name is Hikari. There is a scar on his arm in the shape of a cross if you need to verify. Just be careful. He can be quite dangerous sometimes." Our mentor added. "With that said, you are dismissed. Have a safe trip to the Capital."
With that, the three friends said their farewells and head towards their respective homes, preparing for their long journey towards the Capital.