wandering woman

Part 2

Reincarnation is a tricky thing. There are legends in scriptures from different cultures where one dies and is reborn again, my situation was no exception. I had lived, I had died, and then I was reborn again. The only thing different was that I remembered my past life. I was born to two loving parents in a small village in Forest country, where I was given the name Akiko, which meant Autumn Child, due to the coincidence of my birthday being on the Autumn festival. I grew up carefree and happy, smiling as I enjoyed my life once more. When my fifth birthday had come around, there were several travelers had made their way to the village selling wares from far off lands and proclaiming the greatness of the Land of Lightening. There was a small niggling in the back of my mind but I had ignored it in favor of the aching in my chest, something small that seemed to pull me to them.

These men had the scent of ozone and laughed freely, and their spirit seemed as tame as the wind. I had approached them for a map and when I had finally seen the formation of the land, I came to the realization that I was in the elemental nations, something that I had seen in a show in the youth of my other life and spent the last few years of my previous life enjoying again. I had panicked, that I concede, wondering what I should do, but it didn't last long as I had made the promise not to interfere with the future as it had turned out for the better. With this in mind I let my worries pass over and the memories fade somewhat into the background.

Over time that aching in my chest grew stronger until it was explained that the women in my father's family were to wander the lands in search of something or someone that would stop the ache. I honed what skills I remembered from my past life and learnt new ones from my current, then and when I had left, it was with my family bidding me good luck and farewell.

Excerpt from the Memoirs of Akiko Hatake nee Reko

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Akiko left when the sun was high in the sky, and by the time she had stopped, it was dipping below the horizon. The night was warm with the scent of wildflowers in the air and since it was still summer, sleeping on the grass with a simple blanket was good enough to beat back the chill of the night. Akiko continued on this path for two weeks, living off the land and on foraged nuts, edible plants, and what small game animals she could catch. She had decided not to carry much since Akiko knew it would be years before she found the cure to the ache in her heart, so she only carried the essentials: a pot, a knife, one change of clothes, some small sum of money, a bag of nuts, and various medicinal herbs she had collected from the forests around her village. With no actual direction, she simply walked down the dirt path, following it until she reached something that would resemble civilization.

By the beginning of the third week, Akiko made it to the small border town of Yuni. According to the map, it had the unfortunate, or fortunate depending on how you looked at it, location of being in the cross roads of the Land of Earth, Swamp country and Forest country. It was only subject to the random visits of Shinobi rather than being an actual battle ground. Approaching the town had been an impulsive decision, but not one she regretted.

The town was alive with fever, the stall holders shouting their ware of fresh meat, warm foods, clothing and various other assortments. With a delighted laugh she rushed into the hustle and bustle of the day, there wasn't much that Akiko could buy but the atmosphere was enough. It was lively with the feeling of energy in the air, something that was contagious since she couldn't stop smiling. Milling around the stall, her eyes rest on a sign, a shop looking for a waitress. She made the spontaneous decision to get a job with room and board.

The small café that caught her eye held a warm a lively atmosphere, there were few tables but it held a large bookshelf in the back filled with various books and scrolls all in varying conditions. The owner was a short man, kind and firm. He had introduced himself as Sadao and while he had a cheerful disposition he was also not afraid to return sharp comments from either a patron or one of the staff.

'One would think that such behavior would scare off customers, but it just seems to endear them to the place more.' Akiko mused one morning after watching such a spectacle where one of the town drunks had lumbered in, reeking of alcohol and demanding service, which they had been provided without complaint. However it was this particular man's wandering hand and various lewd comment to many of the female staff that had Sadao up in arms as he considered many of his waiters and waitress part of some disjointed but functioning family. Akiko did admit to herself later, in the privacy of her room, that such a sight had been entertaining as she absently rubbed at her heart. The ache had lesson somewhat since she had first arrived in town two-three weeks ago, it seemed to remind her that she was still searching. With a tired sigh she settled in for the night, dreaming of the wind whispering in her ear.

Akiko ended up staying in town for the better part of a month, in which she got to know her work mates better and declared them friends. Akiko had also seen, from a distance, her first Shinobi. He wore the forehead protector for the Hidden stone village but he seemed different from how many of fire country had described ninja from the hidden stone, labeling them as cold as the stone that bore them and had little regard for the lives of their teammates, but from the smiles that he had brought out in the villagers with simple greets and the happy shine in his eyes, she remembered a saying her mother once told her. "To every story there are two sides, just as there are two faces of every coin." Akiko had taken this to heart in both her lives. She simply watched the man leave with a contemplative look on her face before going on her way.

By the end of her time in Yuni, Akiko had just got a good grip on the streets and side alleys and enjoyed the company the people there before she stocked up on food, her water canteen and added to her small amount of medicinal herbs and made her way out of town with many teary goodbyes, leaving with promises to write and of visiting should she swing by some time in the near future.