And there he was, wandering aimlessly across the green-plated fields. All sparks of hope was lost for him and inside the deepest corner of his heart, he began to even doubt that he will survive to see another day for he had gone a few days without water and pratically a week without food and neither of these requirements of life were to be seen. All he could see was a seemingly infinite plain stretching hundreds and hundreds of miles. He had lost his energy and willpower and suddenly collapsed to the ground. It was there and then where he recalled the incident that has caused him so much pain and suffering…..
He was having a normal day in front of the village training and honing his swordsmanship till suddenly, he was called to the village square. Upon reaching the village square, he was surrounded by the villagers. Everyone was wielding a weapon of some sort and looked at him fiercely. He began to worry if he had done something wrong to provoke such anger from his fellow villagers, the ones whom he had sworn to protect till his last breath. The night before, there was a string of killings in the village while he was away on patrol. Then he began to remember some of his friends whom he has not seen all day.
He was falsely accused of a string of serial murders for he was the only one who had a weak alibi and his masterful skill with the sword was used against him. The other warriors had a believable story to their alibies. His story was the most untrusted one. But nonetheless he told the truth yet no one believed him. Nobody believed that he was out on patrol for there was no witnesses that saw him. He pleaded innocent again and again and again and yet no one believed him. There is even a growing loop of faith in his father’s eyes about his alibi.
Many of the townsfolk suggested to give him a death punishment and public humility. Yet, the elder saw that there was still insufficient proof of him doing the act. And the elder was not convinced enough that his most trusted soldier will do such a thing. Yet he cannot go against democracy. At the end of the day, the elder issued that Jinnei Inoura was to be banished from the village and was not allowed to come back until he found out who was the real murderer. And should he ever come back without any proof, he will be attacked without hesitation.
He was only given an hour to prepare himself to leave the village, and he did so with his heart full of sadness and anger. Those two feelings were the only ones he could remember upon leaving the village of his childhood….
Suddenly he woke up, only to realise that he was in a warm and comfortable bed. A piece of furniture which he has not touched for months. Confused, he tried to get up. He grabbed his clothes and to his demise, his sword was missing. He quickly became alert and began searching for his sword. He then decided to leave the room to look for his sword. Just as he was about to exit the room in search of his sword, his face was slammed by the door and he fell backwards. Then he stood up and wanted to start to shout when he saw a figure of a female just outside the room, just as surprised as he was.
That embodiment quickly entered the room and began to check his face for any injuries and she repeatedly asked for forgiveness while he just sat there staring at the girl’s eyes. Those eyes were the purest eyes he has ever seen before, so innocent… so fragile… so….. calming. The girl then noticed this and gazed at his eyes too. Suddenly a punch came out of nowhere and snapped him out of his gaze. The girl then looked at him and shouted "PERVERT!!" . And slapped him so hard it left a bright red mark on his left cheek.The girl then ran outside. Then he forgot about everything and went back to sleep….
Upon waking up, he was awaken again by the same girl. The girl apologised for her rude behaviour earlier. He said "No, no. It was my fault. I was the one who stared first. So I deserved it". Again, these two complete strangers stared at eachother’s eyes. The gaze which seemed to last for an eternity was broken by another presence in the room. Now it was the figure of an albeit old man. The old man quickly started a conversation by saying "Ah awake already? I’m sorry for my daughter’s reaction to you this morning." He then replied, "No sir, I DESERVED it, after all, it WAS me who was rude in the first place." The old man then laughed rather loud and asked the young man, "Oh, we haven’t introduced to eachother yet, my name is Reid and this is my lovely daughter, Ciel." The young girl then smiled and said " If I may ask, what is YOUR name, sir ? in a rather sarcastic voice. The the young man answered, "My name is Jinnei, Inoura Jinnei….."
