"...what do you want brat...?"
⊱⎻⎻⎻♡⤽⤼◇❀◇⤽⤼♡⎻⎻⎻⊰
ONE YEAR AGO
It's so cold
I should've worn a thicker jacket.
On my way back to my cousin's house, I found myself lost in thought, thinking about the last six months of my life.
I really had no ambitions in life after high school. My parents wanted me to become a nurse, but I didn't even like science. I got good grades and all, but nothing pushed me to go further in life. I thought that maybe going in undecided would help me formulate some sort of path, but it only confused me more.
I kept walking down the long and windy road. Walking like this really helps to clear my mind from all the bustling thoughts. I hugged my chest, keeping my coat close to me, praying for some added warmth.
I decided to study abroad and hoped to find my calling—whatever that may be. I was sure it would find me instead of me searching for something to do. I finally convinced my parents to let me leave our small home in Sendai. They would only allow me to leave as long as I promised to stay in Japan and stay with my family members, instead of living in hotels or Air B&B's. Since we already lived in Northeastern Japan, I decided to start up North, and then make my way towards the South. But I'm regretting that now, since it's January, and below freezing.
The walk back felt extra long, but I didn't mind it too much. My cousin lives in a small village, with the nearest supermarket being a 30-minute walk. His wife needed some vegetables for dinner tonight, so I volunteered to get them. I needed to be in my thoughts for a little while anyway.
Spending time with my family has been great and all, but I still have no clue what I want to do. Some of my family members are doctors, lawyers, teachers, military personnel—you name it. I'm sure I could shadow some of them to find out what I was interested in, but that all seemed so boring.
I trudged down the path, seeing the village lights not too far off.
As I neared the entrance, I noticed a figure leaning against a rock.
Why would they stop to rest in a place like this? And while it's snowing this hard?
I neared towards them, a bit apprehensive, but nonetheless curious.
Once I was close enough to make out some features, I noticed he was an older man—maybe in his 40s. He had on a long white robe with a light green jacket over it.
That's all he's wearing? It's too cold for that.
There were white bandages adorning his forehead.
Is he injured?
I quickly ran over to his slumped body, placing my ear to his chest to hear for a heartbeat. It was there, but it was faint.
What can I do? I'm not sure if I can carry him. Nor do I think that by the time I run to get my cousin and come back, this man might not still be alive.
"Hello? Sir? Can you hear me?" I asked.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting. A response? Maybe. Any sign of movement from him would be great.
"Mmmm," he groaned.
"Oh my goodness!!! You're alive! Well, I knew you were but you weren't moving and I got really nervous. What happened? Can you walk? Can I take you to your house? Or maybe mine?"
I continued to ramble on, causing the man to let out a low chuckle.
His voice was soft, but hoarse, evidently from a lack of fluids.
"Can you please help me? I can't really walk too well and it's getting harder to breathe." he let out.
"Of course. Since I'm not sure where you live, I'll take you back to my cousin's house," I smiled, now helping the man to stand up and putting his arm around my shoulder for support.
My cousin lives near the entrance to the village, so it would only be about a three-minute walk, but at this rate, it might be ten minutes.
While we were walking, I continued to talk to the man, not expecting much of a response from him, but just to keep clear of any awkward silences.
I told him why I was here in the village and of my failed attempt to go to college.
His responses to me were non-verbal, consisting of some grunts and 'mmms'.
Once we reached my cousin's house, I placed the older man near the door, so he could have some additional support, and gave the front door a light knock.
My cousin's wife opened the door with a smile, awaiting the vegetables, but her expression quickly changed once she saw the older man leaning against the side of the house.
She gave me a concerned look, to which I returned a pleading one, hoping she understood what I meant.
"I found him right outside the village and he seems injured, so I brought him back here. It's just for one night and then we can find out where he lives tomorrow and take him back there. Is that alright Kitana san?" I desperately asked.
She eyed him suspiciously, but he wasn't paying her any mind. You could see the man was in pain and could hardly keep his eyes open.
"Fine. But he's gone tomorrow!" she exclaimed.
"AHH! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU!" I squealed.
"Whatever. But you have to be the one to tell your cousin. I'll help this man get settled in and try to tend to his wounds. Take the groceries to the kitchen, he's finishing up dinner," she replied.
"Ugh. Alright," I groaned.
I love my cousin but he's kind of a stick in the mud sometimes. And other times he can be really fun. The only people that see his fun side are his wife and me—rarely.
I walked towards the kitchen with the bag of vegetables.
"Yo. Levi," I called out to him.
"What do you want brat? Do you have the veggies or what?" he spit out.
"Yeah of course I've got them. But um, I need to ask you a favor..." I mumbled.
"What is it?" he asked, stopping what he was doing to turn around and glare at me.
He walked towards me to grab the vegetables and wash them off, preparing them for the soup.
This isn't gonna go well.
"Well um, I found this guy basically passed out on the side of the road so I was wondering if we could take him in for the night...?" I pleaded, not looking him in his eye.
"No." he said, returning to his place at the kitchen counter, cutting the vegetables.
"UGH! Come on. Take that stick out your ass and do something nice for someone," I complained.
"I said no. This man could be a serial killer for all we know," he exclaimed.
"No he's not," I emphasized.
"And you know this how...?" he turned around and asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I just do. I can tell he's a nice guy. Can we please just feed him at the very least? And tend to his injuries?" I begged.
He thought to himself for a moment before replying.
"Fine, but he has to be gone—"
"Ahhh. Levi thank you," I squealed cutting him off.
I ran off to find Kitana and the old guy. They were in the guest bedroom, tending to his wounds.
"Daijoubu desuka?" she asked the man. (Are you okay?)
"Hai...daijoubu. Arigatou gozaimasu Kitana san." (Yes, I'm okay. Thank you very much Ms. Kitana)
Noticing me come into the room, she turned her attention towards me.
"What did Levi say?" she asked.
"He said it was alright. And dinner is almost ready, so let's get going. And we can talk about why you ended up on the side of the road," I said to the man.
"Okay, not a problem," he nodded.
I smiled.
It was nice to see Kitana speaking Japanese with the man. My Japanese isn't the best, but I manage. We all usually speak English to one another since it's our first language.
My family moved to Japan when I was about 15, so we speak English at home and with our other family members. Levi is from Europe, but speaks English. Since I started learning Japanese late, I'm not as fluent as I would like to be.
I returned downstairs to help Levi set the table and finish the last of the cooking. Once everything was done, we were all set and ready to eat. It was a simple soup that my cousin made, passed down through the family. It was so good on this extra cold night. We ate in silence, and once we were finished, we had a hot cup of tea and questioned the man in front of us.
He said his name was Hizashi. He went on to talk about his life in his village with his family. He only had one son, as his wife died very early in the child's life. He worked under his twin brother, Hiashi, but wasn't satisfied with that lifestyle. He wanted his son to move on from the family and be better than he ever could be. He explained that one night something happened in the village and a war was going to break out because Hiashi killed an ally that attempted to kidnap his daughter. Hizashi took the blame for his brother and per request from the allying village, was due to be executed. The village leader informed the allies that they would take care of it, but instead of executing him, they banished him from the village, meant to never return. This was fifteen years ago. Now he said he works right outside the village, but didn't specify what that work was. All he said about his current situation was that he was on a classified mission—whatever that meant.
Levi allowed for him to stay the night and we would accompany him back to his village tomorrow.
The next morning we all got ready to leave, but Levi had to stay behind to do some paperwork—as he's apart of the police force and Kitana had to stay behind to work a shift at the hospital. So it was only me accompanying Hizashi, which I didn't mind. He's a nice guy, but very reserved.
It wasn't a long walk, but it was mostly spent in comfortable silence.
Once we reached his village, I noticed there was one central building with about 100 other smaller houses surrounding it.
"I guess whoever lives in that house is really important," I chuckled.
"No...it's not a house. It's a training center," he said.
"Training? For what?" I asked, but he ignored me.
We kept walking until we reached his home. It was a small house, nothing really special about it.
He welcomed me inside and offered to make us some lunch, to which I graciously accepted—I can never say no to food.
I helped him prepare the food, encouraging us to talk more and get to know each other. I told him more about why I was here with my cousin and how I had no clue what I should do in life.
"Why don't you help me here in my village?" he asked.
"Well Hizashi san, I don't know what you do. Remember? You never told me," I shrugged.
That was when he told me all about his profession. How he was the head of a spy village here. That after he was exhiled from his home, he traveled north and stumbled across this village, that welcomed him with open arms. He went on to tell me that his family was apart of the mafia and that he never wanted his son to be apart of that lifestyle, but once the incident with Hiashi happened, he couldn't shield his son from that life anymore.
I was completely in shock. This wasn't what I expected him to say—at all. And why did he trust me with this information?
"And now, I'm the head of this village and currently leading the spies in missions. When you found me, I had just finished a mission myself, but I was badly injured and lost my way back to my home. So, thank you. How can I repay you?" he inquired.
"Aha. It's no problem at all. It was the right thing to do," I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head. "But why did you tell me all of this?"
"Because you are kind. I can tell," he said with a closed eye smile.
This man is too kind. I can't believe he was in the mafia.
"Well you said that you are not sure of what you want to do. Maybe you can work for me?" he simply said.
"WHAT? NO WAY! I COULD NEVER BE A SPY!" I shouted, shaking my hands.
"I can teach you," he said.
"But I—" I began.
"Please. I will help you to become stronger," he assured me.
"Why do I need to be stronger?" I wondered.
"Because life is tough and there are bad people. Plus, you have a caring nature. Being a spy will help many people. Please consider it."
"Okay, I will let you know. I will come back tomorrow with my decision," I stated.
For the rest of the day he showed me around the village and introduced me to the other people that lived there, all of whom I assumed to be spies.
Everyone was really nice and encouraged me to stay, which I really wanted to do now. But I have to go talk to my cousin first and let him know of my decision.
I departed from Hizashi's village and made my way back to Levi and Kitana.
"Tadaima!" I shouted. (I'm home)
"Okaeri nasai!" Kitana exclaimed. (Welcome back)
"Where have you been brat? You've been out all day," Levi deadpanned.
"I was talking with Hizashi. And...um...I want to go to his village," I said nervously.
I spent the rest of dinner explaining to them what Hizashi told me and his plans for me. They were really skeptical, but were finally okay with it. I let them know that since the villages are only a 30 minute walk from each other that I would continue to visit them and let them know how I was doing—more like Levi demanded I do that.
"Are you all set to leave?" Kitana asked the next morning, helping me to put my bag over my shoulder.
"Yep! And you guys know there are phones there right? I'll call you guys and keep you updated, alright?" I let out.
"You better kid," Levi said flatly.
I exited the little house and made my way to Hizashi's village, determination filling my steps.
Is this what I really want to do? Become a spy? It's the only plan I've got right now, and the only thing I've been this excited for in a long time.
⊱⎻⎻⎻♡⤽⤼◇❀◇⤽⤼♡⎻⎻⎻⊰
*a/n hi friends. so this is a little backstory about miss y/n. office scene next ;). maybe some spice?????