There were two types of people in this world; morning people and... not so morning people. Barry was the latter. He used the excuse that his mind needed the extra rest to function properly, however, Mineko was the complete opposite. The second she saw the sun beginning to peer out of the distant horizon, she took out her sword and scraped it against a slab of metal.
The sound pierced through the small house, travelling straight into the next room and into Barry's eardrums. The man jumped up on the straw mattress, eyes drooping tiredly and searching for the cause of such an irritating noise. His entire body felt weak, and when he finally managed to shuffle into the next room, that same exhaustion was written in his slumped posture.
He didn't have to ponder what the sound was for long. Mineko hadn't even bothered to hide her Katana, and Barry almost wished that she had. He didn't need another reason to distrust her...
"We must continue our search." The woman spoke sternly. "We have already squandered enough time."
Barry gritted his teeth, almost hard enough for it to be audible. He agreed that they had to start looking again, but he figured that Mineko could have woken him up in a more civil manner.
"...Good morning to you too..." He grumbled, rubbing the back of his head sleepily.
Mineko's dark eyebrows furrowed as she sheathed her sword. "Every moment you stand there complaining is one we could utilise in tracking down your criminal. I hope you are prepared, if not you will be left here."
Barry rubbed his eyes, hoping that this would dull the stinging. "Yeah, whatever... you told me that yesterday."
"Then you have had ample time to ensure that does not happen." Mineko seemed wide awake compared to Barry, her stance was steady and there were no dark circles beneath her eyes.
She moved swiftly over to the front door and slid it open. She spared him one single glance, likely to make sure that he was going to follow, before stepping out. Barry groaned. He would have at least liked the opportunity to fully wake up before departing. It didn't look like he was going to get that option though...
The urge to stay behind was almost overwhelming, but Barry somehow conjured enough willpower to follow her. He shut the door on his way out, almost forgetting that it was a sliding one.
Thankfully, the bitter chill outside jolted Barry into complete consciousness fairly quickly. However, It did nothing to assist his general exhaustion. Perhaps the most surprising thing to come of this was that Mineko noticed his lack of energy. Not that she actually expressed it at all.
She did rethink her approach to the mission though. Mineko had been trained, both mind and body, to be disciplined. Sometimes it came across as blunt or harsh to others, but she had little care about their opinions on her. When it effected the mission though... that was a different story.
At the Monastery they had stressed the importance of success, and if that meant compromising then they had to be willing to do so. The monks always told her that she struggled with that aspect - that she was so rooted to the ground that she became a part of the Earth, both unmovable and unforgiving. This was one of the few times that she'd had to reconsider her approaches to a partnership.
It wasn't that Mineko was overly fond of Barry, in fact she harboured no particular feelings towards him at all neither positive or negative, but it was apparent that he was struggling to trust her. That had the potential to ruin their entire goal in the long run, and so she forced herself to alter her own mindset.
"Ser Barry." She forced herself to speak with some remnants of clarity. "You mentioned earlier that revealing more personal details outside of the task at hand would encourage further cooperation, is that correct?"
Barry shivered. He'd never get use to hearing his name said with a 'ser' before it, and he'd definitely never get accustomed to her strange patterns in speech. It sounded so professional whenever she talked, like she had never heard an actual casual conversation in her life. Still, he nodded his response with the hope that he'd finally get some answers. "It'd certainly help."
"Then you may state your enquiries, however I make no promises to answer them all."
To say that he was shocked wouldn't exactly cover it. Barry had assumed that their relationship as comrades would stay fairly tense until he left, but knowing that she had actually listened to his complaint brought a little more respect from him.
"Fair enough." Barry finally responded, unsure of what exactly he wanted to ask her. Honestly, he didn't expect her to comply so he hadn't organised his curiosities in order of importance. He knew that he'd have to ask soon though, or she might change her mind. "What do you do as part of the monastery?"
Mineko immediately grimaced. "That is confidential. Ask another."
Barry's expression quickly fell to resemble hers. He should have seen this coming... "Fine, how long have you been with them then?"
"That is also a topic I wish to avoid." She said sternly.
Barry gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "What was the point if you weren't going to answer any of my questions in the first place?... Just forget about it. I don't care anymore."
"I was under the impression that you would have more necessary questions, these will not aid in the missions success."
Barry's steps grew heavier, more in a reluctant march than a champion of the people. "Maybe I wouldn't feel the need to know this stuff if you didn't walk, talk, and act like some high tech robot."
"...Excuse me?" Mineko said in an uncertain tone, brows furrowing and nose crinkling.
At first, Barry didn't understand why she seemed so confused. He thought he'd made himself quite clear... Then his surroundings came back into focus and he remembered what century he was in.
He huffed in slight frustration as Mineko's eyes remained affixed on him. Barry pondered how else to explain it but nothing else came to mind. The use of the term 'robot' to describe man-made automatons hadn't been coined until the 1920s... And the root word, 'robota', meant something along the lines of peasant labour, Barry remembered. Saying a Czech word to a Japanese woman was probably the stupidest thing he could do right about now. He shook his head and threw up his hands in annoyance. "Ugh forget it... Let's just keep going."
Barry paced ahead, not exactly wanting to hang around his newfound 'comrade' at the moment. She was a bit too stubborn and obnoxious for his liking.
"Stop." Mineko hissed.
Barry rolled his eyes, sighed and spun around. "What now? Another fortune cookie proverb?"
His words turned to ash in his mouth when someone yanked him backwards. They held a hand firmly over his mouth and it quickly became hard to breath. Barry strained his eyes to look around and discovered that they had been ambushed by four men. It took every ounce of strength that he could manage to attempt a connection to the Speed Force, but he was still drained. He knew that a link may be established over time but his last outburst still weighed heavily on it.
Barry twisted in the mans grip but he had no power. Suddenly, he found himself inwardly cursing Thawne for disrupting the Speed Force. He had never felt so useless in such a dire situation.
He tried to wriggle out again, now realising just how massive the person restraining him was. It was the leader... the one he had seen Mineko fighting not too long ago. He remembered how massive he was, he looked like a fully grown bear compared to Mineko which was no small task. She was probably about an inch taller than Barry, who was around 5'11.
Calculating the height of whoever was holding him captive finally brought his attention to Mineko again. Up until then he hadn't even considered that she could be of help. When his eyes rested on her he noticed that she hadn't even reached for her sword yet. She seemed to be surveying the terrain over which they would battle.
It was a poor battlefield to say the least. Houses enclosed the area and limited the space in which Mineko could manoeuvre. She was painfully aware that a fight here could endanger the lives of innocent villagers.
"Kaze." The mans deep voice boomed from behind Barry, his hold tightening. "Anata no dōtoku wa anata o mekura ni suru."
Mineko's eyes narrowed. He spoke of her morality, and that it blinded her. He was obviously aware of her reluctance to draw her sword in such a public area. She knew they wouldn't hesitate to slash through anyone that wandered too close to the scene. Mineko wasn't willing to risk that.
She immediately told them to let Barry go, that he was of little use in their plans. They refused. The Ashikaga clan were convinced that he was of some value, especially if someone from the Monastery was with him. If nothing else, they knew that taking him would inconvenience her just as much as she had to them.
She saw the look on Barry's face when she straightened her posture and stepped back, signalling her defeat before even trying. He hadn't understood what their conversation was about, nor had he tried. He did, however, comprehend Mineko's body language. She was letting them take him... and honestly, he wasn't even surprised anymore.
Faster than the wind could blow through nearby trees, the clan had forced him away. Soon he found himself in a large room, hands tied behind his back so tightly that he could already feel it cutting into his skin. The place smelt of dried blood and dirt. It clung to everything within and refused to let go.
He wished that he could say that he felt betrayed, but he had expected it. As far as he was concerned, she had planned this all along. Suddenly he missed the people of his own time. They took care of one another... They never would have let this happen.
Once he had gathered a clear picture of his almost hollow surroundings, he was faced with a small man with a large scar trailing across his nose and left cheek. His breath wreaked of rotting meat and his teeth had decayed beyond even modern repair.
"What plans did the Kaze woman have for you?" He demanded in an accent much stronger and less practiced than Mineko's.
Barry's jaw sharpened. "I don't even know who this 'Kaze' is."
"The one of which you travel with." He spat back impatiently.
His brow furrowed at this response. Barry wouldn't have been surprised if Mineko had simply lied about her first name but it was more likely a surname or a group. "I barely even know her. If she has any plans then I certainly don't know about them."
The man observed him. His dark eyes watched Barry's every movement, but more importantly, every shift in his expression. The entire situation was unnerving, but the man eventually moved away. He spoke in Japanese to the person behind him - a girl with one eye completely frosted over by a ghostly white mist. She glanced to Barry and scoured. He somehow got the impression that her breath was even worse than the other guys.
"Do not concern yourself. If he is lying, I will find out." She said in English, as if she took pleasure in knowing he understood. She wanted to scare him, and though admittedly he wasn't the bravest of the heroes, he wasn't going to be intimidated by her.
He never broke eye contact with her, keeping his stare defiant. She apparently found it amusing as her lips quirked upward in a mixture of a smirk and a sneer. Barry could already sense the pain that was going to be inflicted upon him, but he was determined to avoid giving them any more knowledge than they already possessed. Even if it was on Mineko. She could turn him in but he was no traitor.
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