Fan Fiction ❯ The Birth Of Cain - Act I ❯ The Great Master - Genjuro! ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter V

 

Suddenly he felt something in the distance. Cain spun around, pondered for a moment, then began running.

 

--

 

The bandits peered through the dense woods. "Someone's coming," one of the thieves whispered to his comrades.

"Alright, prepare for interception," the chief of the band said. He could be told apart by a blue cloth tied on his right arm. He was also the only one that bore a sword. The others had daggers, chains and clubs.

The thieves took their places and waited for the reported traveler to come. There were footsteps. He was running. When the man came through the hideout, a wooden pole was released at foot level, to trip the target and, hopefully, harm his legs. But when the pole hit, it broke, and the target wasn't even slowed. Then three bandits with chains threw them at the passerby. The chains had hooks on the ends, which were swung around the victim and caught in the chains, constricting the target. The bandits jumped out of their hiding places to find a tall, strange-looking man, all dressed in black, opposed to his long snow-white hair.

Cain looked at his attackers not with anger, but annoyed. "I don't have the time for this..." Cain sighed.

"Good, then you can just give us your money, valuables, clothes and sword and keep running!" the leader said and the band laughed.

"...Whatever..." Cain said and effortlessly broke the chains. The bandits jumped back in shock. At first they were scared, confused, but soon confidence returned. After all, Cain was alone, against a group of nineteen bandits and their leader. Soon they began laughing quietly and their leader smiled.

"Quite impressive, traveler, but still, you are at a disadvantage. There are nineteen of us, and only one of you. The odds aren't in your favor," he said and laughed with the band.

Cain looked around, then suddenly slashed through the face of the bandit to his right with his nails, and kicked the one to his right, smashing him through a nearby tree. No ordinary man could have survived that. "Odds are looking up, only seventeen of you left now," Cain said and smiled slightly. "But seeing as you are the jolly band, you don't mind a challenge, do you?"

The bandits froze for a couple of seconds. Then the leader shouted and drew his sword. The others prepared to attack Cain, too. One with a chain, that had a large iron ball on its end, began swinging it in circles on his right side then, with a swift motion, launched the ball at a great speed at Cain. Cain caught the ball with his left arm, grabbed the chain with his right and tugged. The bandit was pulled forward, right in front of him. Cain punched the thief in his cheek, the impact making his head snap, and he dropped dead.

Another attacker threw his dagger at Cain. Cain caught it with only two fingers of his left hand. He then threw it back, the dagger sticking right between the attacker's eyes.

One attacked Cain from behind with a club. Cain caught it by the end backwards, then swung it over his head, taking the bandit over him and smashing him into the ground. Cain flipped the club, taking it by the handle, and cracked its owner's skull with it. He dropped the club and moved sideways just in time to evade the jab of a knife. He jumped backwards and avoided another swing of a club. Cain suddenly jumped up over the heads of his two attackers and kicked the one with the knife, knocking him and the thief behind him out cold, then turned while still in the air and slashed the face of the bandit with the club. Cain landed on his feet and stood up in front of the remaining bandits. Cain crossed his arms, tilted his head and looked them in the eyes.

"If any one of you curs dares to run, you'll have the entire Kizuato clan after you!" the leader hissed, looking over his shoulder at the remains of his band of robbers.

"Don't worry, at least you'll die quickly," Cain said, and his nails grew a bit longer. "Tosshin!" he said and in a matter of seconds killed every one of them, except for the leader. "What do you think about your odds now?" Cain asked.

The bandit just swore and swung his sword at Cain. Cain evaded the first two jabs, then caught the blade with his left arm. "Pathetic fool," Cain said, then snapped the sword in two and stuck the end of the sword into the bandit's neck. He fell dead at Cain's feet. Cain got down on one knee and wiped his bloody hands in the man's clothes. He stood up and looked around. Obviously not finding what he was looking for, Cain closed his eyes and bowed his head. The cross on his forehead shone for a moment. Cain opened his eyes and continued his run through the forest.

 

--

 

It was already dark, but Cain kept running. He reached another forest, although not as dense as the on before, this one wasn't touched by man, there was no path and Cain had to make his own way through.

In a while he arrived in a clearing, which was strange. He noticed a campfire that had just been put out. Cain stopped for a second to think. "Whatever..." he just said and jumped over the campfire, but before he landed a chain wrapped around his right foot and pulled him down. Cain landed and stood up on his right arm, then quickly freed his foot and jumped upright. Cain looked around and suddenly two chains wrapped around him. 'What's with the chains?' Cain thought and tried to break them, but couldn't.

"You're not going anywhere, youkai bastard!" a young voice from the dark woods, where one of the chains had come from, said.

"You shall be defeated here, foul one," another said.

"Yeah, whatever," Cain said and quickly released himself from the chains. "I have no quarrel with you. I am in a hurry. Leave me be, and I won't kill you," Cain said, while thinking: 'How the hell do I get into this shit all the time?'

"We will never give up!" the first voice shouted, and the attacker launched his chain at Cain again. Cain caught it this time, and then turned, letting a kunai dagger fly by. He deflected four more with the right sleeve of his robe.

"Why do you attack a stranger passing through?" Cain asked.

"We know you're a youkai!" one shouted.

"We can see it," the other continued.

"Even more. Youkai are dangerous foes, especially ones that walk looking like humans. You can get killed," Cain replied.

"We won't!"

"We're too strong!"

"And we have to kill youkai, we swore we would."

"They killed our parents... our entire clan!"

"We are the only ones left..."

Cain looked around slowly. "Trust me, you won't be helping your clan by attacking me. You'll finish your clan completely."

"SHUT UP!" one of the attackers shouted and ran out of the forest, katana in hand. He wore red youkai hunter armor and a red mask. He quickly took three kunai daggers and threw them at Cain, while still running at him.

Cain drew his Sabre and deflected the daggers with ease. Then the hunter jumped and attacked from above. Cain blocked the attack, but the attacker kept pressing downwards. Cain held his ground almost effortlessly, because the hunter weighed surprisingly little. Then he understood. It was but a child. No more than thirteen years old. Cain felt somehow strange.

Suddenly the other hunter ran out of the woods, to aid the first. "Brother!" The other hunter wore blue armor and mask similar to, yet different from the first hunter's. It was a girl. She seemed the same age as the boy, probably twins. She bore two crescent-shaped blades.

Cain threw the boy back and immediately had to block five attacks from the girl. Then Cain grabbed her left arm and twisted it behind her back, and pushed her on the ground on her chest. "Who are you?" he asked, and then suddenly jumped back, evading the swing of the brother's sword.

"I'm Shinku no Ryu, the Crimson Dragon, and she's Shinu Mai. Remember these names, so you can tell your youkai friends in hell!" the brother said. The girl quickly got up and both began attacking together.

'Perish Song, huh? Bah, whatever!' Cain thought and dodged a swing of the boy's sword. "Sorry, I don't have any friends..." Together their attacks seemed stronger and a lot faster. But despite the fact, Cain parried all of them, then suddenly broke their weapons with his Sabre. The two jumped back and the boy drew another sword, while the girl took her chain, which also had a moon-shaped blade at both ends.

The girl launched her chain at Cain, but he caught it and pulled hard, pulling the girl forth. She tripped and fell. Then her brother attacked. Cain evaded three attacks, parried two, then was suddenly kicked in the left side by the girl, who had somehow appeared right beside him. Cain turned to face her, but kept parrying her brother's attacks.

He kept attacking, then suddenly appeared behind Cain. He swung, but Cain blocked the attack backwards. Cain took two steps forward, and then turned around, but both siblings were gone.

Suddenly ten of the boys and his sisters appeared all around Cain. The girl now had her chain again. The brothers leaped at Cain and the girls attacked with the blades on the end of the chains.

Cain moved out of the way and head-butted the boy, breaking the illusions into dust that also disappeared afterwards. Cain caught the girls chain again, pulled it from her hands and swung the chain over his head, sending the chain through the illusions and making them disappear also.

The two siblings suddenly leapt to their feet and stood right beside each other. They murmured something in unison, performed a strange mirrored movement, and a bright light appeared. Cain covered his eyes with his hand.

A strange double-voice spoke, just like that of Jin and the Kiba, only the voices were of the boy and his sister. "I am Shinu Ryu, the Perish Dragon, your demise."

'Heard that one before.' Suddenly a shinobi, all dressed in white, with a long scarf attacked Cain at an alarming speed. Cain deflected the attack and jumped back, trying to regain sight after the flash. He looked up and noticed a white blur approaching him rapidly. Cain quickly parried two swings and kicked the attacker, still trying to adjust to the darkness after the burst of light.

Cain finally began discerning shapes, but now he couldn't find the ninja. Suddenly Cain heard a quiet "poof" overhead. He jumped backwards just in time for the shinobi's falchion to get stuck in the ground and not his head. In a moment he was already right before Cain and attacking. The blows were amazingly fast.

The two blades clashing every second, Cain awaited the right moment, then punched the ninja in the face. He however continued the turn initiated by the punch and kicked Cain in the head. Cain dropped on his hands, but tried to kick the shinobi's legs, but he jumped. Still Cain raised himself up on his hands and kicked the shinobi with both feet. He fell on the ground. Cain quickly took his Sabre and tried to run the shinobi through, but he rolled sideways and kicked Cain hard in the side, making him drop back down on the ground too.

Both quickly jumped to their feet simultaneously and their swords met again. This time they held contact, trying to push each other, but neither of them moved.

The shinobi suddenly shouted and light flashed to blind Cain. Cain stepped back as the shinobi prepared to strike. He moved silently, without making a sound, around Cain. The shinobi drew his sword back and struck, but Cain parried the attack backwards. "Not quiet enough," he said, his eyes closed.

Cain suddenly turned around and began a series of attacks. It was obvious that Cain now had the upper hand. He was constantly advancing, dealing fast and powerful blows the shinobi had trouble parrying. The shinobi was blocking, stepping backwards, he evaded two blows, then kept parrying. Suddenly Cain did a fake maneuver and struck from the other side. The shinobi's sword fell from his hands, and with a vertical swing Cain cut him in two. White light burst from inside him and there was an explosion. The girl fell only a little bit away, but the boy was tossed far to the left side. Cain drew his Sabre back for the finishing piercing blow. Cain attacked. "Ryu!" the girl screamed.

"MAI!" her brother shouted and suddenly appeared in-between her and the tip of the Sabre. His hands were wide and his eyes - closed. Mai was crying behind him. His hands trembled as he awaited the cold blade to bust through him, casting him into the darkness. But nothing happened.

Ryu opened his eyes to see the pointed end of Cain's sword right between his eyes, shaking only slightly. Cain's right eye was twitching, a look of anger in his face, yet his eyes weren't evil. They didn't seem good either, but his gaze was clear, his eyes showed that Cain was true. Clearly he was now fighting a battle inside himself. The orbs of the Mithril Sabre began shining. Cain's eyes turned to it. He finally loosened his grip on the hilt and looked at the two children. His face showed no anger, but his usual undeterminable, yet seemingly sad expression. Cain sheathed the Sabre and extended his hand to help the boy up. "I admire your courage. You must be truly close if you are ready to die for someone else. I can respect a will that strong. Yet next time, do try and pick a foe less difficult to best," Cain said, crossed his hands and continued his way.

The boy hugged his sister tight, then quickly turned to Cain, before he left the clearing and entered the woods. "Sir, what's your name?"

Cain stopped, slightly turned his head, as if peeking over his shoulder, but looking at the ground. "I am Cain," he said and left.

"Thank you, Master Cain, we won't forget this!" they called after him and waved, as if saying good-bye to an old friend.

 

--

 

Two days had already passed since Cain's encounter with the siblings. He had spent one day running, but last night he had to take a rest. He was near the source of power he had sensed. Cain knew the power, and he knew its true strength. His plan was a long-shot at best, but it was all he had. 'Seems like I can't run from this fate...' Cain thought as he walked on.

Cain was in the great wheat fields of Sakura, when he realized, that he had found what he was looking for. He turned around. 'There, over that hill!' Cain thought and broke into a run, the long ears of wheat brushing against his legs and sides. The skies were quickly turning dark; it was going to rain soon. Cain reached the top of the hill and looked down.

In the ears of wheat sat a tall man, however shorter than Cain, though he seemed more muscular. He had long blood-red hair and a matching robe. He was smoking a pipe of opium and held a dish with sake just like Cain's in his right hand.

"What do you want?" the man asked, his back still turned to Cain.

"I come to challenge you," Cain replied. The wind was getting stronger.

"Why? Life is too boring for you? Or are you just curious about the Underworld?"

"I need your strength. Mine happens to be not enough."

"That has a tendency to happen when you're young and stupid. You get in something over your head, and then need to get out of by any means possible. You are making the same mistake now. Leave, I have no business with you."

"Yes you do, Genjuro, I have challenged you. You cannot decline," Cain said.

Genjuro finished his sake, put out his pipe, stood up and turned to face Cain. "Well, well, young Master Cain," he said, then bowed slightly. "Last time I saw you, you were in no way in need of strength, even mine wasn't all-that-great compared to yours. Though, if rumors are to be believed, things have changed."

"They have," Cain replied.

"Come on, Cain, I know you. There must be another way."

"Nah, I figured that just asking you to beat the shit out of me would be too boring."

"Fine, I see what you're trying to do. But you do know that I could kill you. What if you die?"

"I rather die fighting with the great Genjuro than some ogre bastard."

"...So there's no persuading you?"

"No."

"Very well," Genjuro said and sighed. He opened his robe, but didn't take it off, letting it drop, the sleeves barely brushing the ground. Genjuro and Cain drew their swords. Cain took his usual fighting position, and so did Genjuro. His fighting stance was almost identical to Cain's, only he held the sword at eye-height.

Lightning struck and thunder rumbled, one of the many sakura trees in the field was set ablaze, its burning leaves falling and soon setting the field on fire. The two warriors began running at each other as the fire began growing wider.

The blades clashed, both fighters kept pressing on. Neither of them moved, then suddenly Cain jumped over Genjuro's head and attacked from above, but Genjuro parried the attack and both went at each other.

The fight was high-paced. Both of them were constantly swinging and parrying. Then Cain jumped back and launched a Judai Toranpu, but Genjuro broke it effortlessly and went straight at Cain. The fighting now changed. The two were now in constant movement. They were running through the fields, leaving narrow paths in the ears. The fighters passed a sakura tree, letting it go through the middle. After they passed it, the tree fell apart, being cut through in three places. Genjuro was pretty much just running forward, shifting between defending and attacking, matching Cain's pace. Cain, on the other hand, was not only moving forward, but also moving all around Genjuro, attacking him from every possible side. Cain again attacked Genjuro from above, but he deflected that and both continued the fighting. Cain kept attacking every way he could, but Genjuro was as stable as ever. He couldn't be touched; he was not to be shaken.

Suddenly Genjuro jumped and kicked Cain right above the right eye with his heel. Cain's body, still carried by the momentum of his running, flew forwards, legs first. Cain landed on his back, but quickly jumped up and cut Genjuro's left arm.

"You see, master, you're not untouchable!" Cain said with certain, possibly evil joy in his voice.

Genjuro only smiled in return. "I never said I was untouchable. What I said was I'm IMMORTAL!" Genjuro ran to Cain's right side using the Tosshin technique. Only his run looked more like a blur of red. Genjuro grabbed Cain by the throat and squeezed hard. Before Cain even understood what was going on, his was lying on his back, and Genjuro's foot was pushing his head into the ground. "Give up, Cain. I can't let you go until you surrender," he said, bending over Cain as he spoke.

"Sorry, I must have been sleeping the lesson when you taught giving up," Cain answered and suddenly his entire right leg lit up, just like his sword when using the Uchimakasu. Cain kicked Genjuro's side, the impact throwing Genjuro away. Cain jumped up and immediately attacked Genjuro. But as he approached, Genjuro punched him hard from below, so that Cain's feet left the ground. While Cain was still in the air, Genjuro kicked him in the stomach with such strength, that Cain dropped his Sabre and flew back over twelve feet. He landed on his back and rolled to his side, holding his stomach with both hands, eyes closed, and his facial muscles twitching. Cain got on his knees and supported himself with one hand. He spat blood and slowly stood up.

"You should stay down, Cain. You know I don't take challenges lightly," Genjuro shouted. He parted his legs and drew his sword back. "Sakura Toranpu!" Genjuro shouted, and, as he swung, a red energy card flew from his sword, just like Cain's Judai Toranpu, only this card was red and on it's sides was depicted a blooming sakura tree. The card also left a trail of light red energy petals behind it. They were blown away by the strong wind and disappeared just as they were to touch the ground. Cain looked up at the card flying at him. For some reason it was taking ridiculously long. He looked sideways. The flames had reached them here. The dark sky was now black from the smoke, yet also lit up red from the flames. He looked at the flames that were slowly flickering. It now looked more like a dance. The flames were very crooked, because of the wind, and also because of the wind they were spreading throughout the entire field. Cain turned back to Genjuro and now the card was right in front of him. Suddenly everything returned to normal. Cain hit the ground, and his right arm fell not far from his face.

"Shit..." Cain swore. His severed hand shook for a moment, and then stopped. It was cut off right at his shoulder. 'Damn... Precise as ever.'

"Stay down, Cain, or you'll never get up," Genjuro said and turned to leave. He put the top of his robe on, sheathed his sword and took a long drink of sake from his jug.

"Judai Toranpu!" Cain shouted. Genjuro turned, and Cain's card cut Genjuro's cheek, right under his right eye.

"That's it, now you asked for it!" Genjuro said so quietly, it seemed like he's talking to himself, and turned to face the half-dead Cain. "You never knew when to let up, Cain. You mastered stamina and being relentless, but you can't keep fighting if you're going to die!" he shouted and turned sideways, his right arm extended, pointing at Cain. His palm was upright and the thumb was bent in front of the palm. "I'm sorry, Cain, but you know I can't give up a challenge. Chikara no Sakura Ryuu!" he called and suddenly a twister of energy sakura petals appeared around him. The twister bent down and narrowed, coming together right in front of Genjuro's palm. When the entire twister had formed a small sphere in front of Genjuro's palm, light red beams shot out from it. Obviously there was too much energy to be contained in such a small sphere. "Forgive me," Genjuro said, and suddenly the ball exploded, releasing a huge red energy drake, that headed straight for Cain. Cain quickly turned his face away and tried to cover his head with his remaining left hand. The explosion was both blinding and deafening. The enormous burst could be seen from the Moon, not because of its size, but because of the light it created. In a one mile radius around Cain everything was destroyed, but nothing else was harmed. Genjuro had disappeared right before the explosion. He was now on the hill where Cain had seen him first. He took a look at the burning fields and sighed. "This used to be such a beautiful place..." He turned and left.

Cain now lay on the black ground without sense. His precious robe had been turned to dust, but it had kept him alive. Even his severed arm was whole and, just like Cain himself, still had Kyle's red under-robe on. Cain opened his eyes. He felt a sudden surge of pain in his entire body. Probably not a bone in his body was still in one piece. He turned his head, so it would be upright, but he didn't have the strength to raise it up. If it hadn't been for his Robe of the Black Drake, he would have surely been disintegrated himself. It had become a lot hotter now than it was before. Cain looked to his right. The flames were all around him and so close, he could hear them, not just see them. Despite the fact that the explosion had destroyed every grain of wheat around him, still, the flames were creeping at him.

 

He felt the flames beginning to scorch his feet and hand. He was weak. His under-robe caught fire. Cain was beaten and helpless. His eyelids grew heavy, his vision blurred. Cain just let it overcome him. The last thing he still noticed was the repetitious rumble of thunder and the cool drops of rain on his face. Cain's head rolled back to the side.

 

--

 

Cain awoke from shouts. He was in what seemed to be somebody's home. 'Again?' Cain thought, remembering his encounter with Kyle after his fight with Kitaeru.

"Either draw him out, or I'll kill each and every one of you!" somebody was yelling. The voice was loud, sinister, cruel and slightly familiar. "And then I'll burn every house down. If he doesn't come out then it's not my fault!"

"Please, sir, he is very badly injured. Only yesterday we found him almost dead. And he might never fully recover from those burns. Besides, he is missing his right arm, would it be fair to fight him in that condition? And if he is disturbed now, he might die." Cain now understood that he was the one argued over.

"I'm going to kill him anyway. So it's fine by me one way or the other!" the intruder continued. More people joined into the argument, and no clear dialogue could be discerned.

Cain got up and noticed that he had new clothes on. He had a new red under-robe and on top of that was a new robe, which was colored light silver, almost matching the color of his hair. The right part of his robe wasn't put on, probably because of his arm. His left arm and both legs were completely bandaged and so was his chest. He took the bandages off, leaving them only on his chest, covering his abdomen. Cain pulled the right side of the robe on, and left the house without his Sabre, which was still somewhere on the battlefield.

Outside were a dozen villagers and Kitaeru, who stood tall over their heads. "Don't concern yourselves over me," Cain said and looked Kitaeru in the eyes. In fact, he was quite surprised that the people were so concerned over his well-being. If he'd been found somewhere else, he'd probably be left there to die, not to mention be argued over with a giant.

A young woman quickly approached Cain. "Sir, you're awake! That's amazing, but you can't be nearly well enough to walk, not to mention fighting!"

Cain looked at the girl. "Don't be concerned about me. I can take care of myself, and I know my strength," Cain said and looked at Kitaeru. "Go to your homes. This won't take long."

Kitaeru sneered. "Yes, it certainly will not!" The girl and the others exchanged looks of concern and worry, but nodded and left.

Kitaeru was happy. The days he had spent searching for him had come to some use. Now that Cain was weakened, Kitaeru would surely kill him and avenge his brother. He drew back his enormous sword, ready to attack. Kitaeru was confident. He couldn't lose. Not now.

But then there was Cain. He was unarmed, only yesterday barely surviving a near-death experience. But his facial expression was illusive, as always you couldn't really tell what he was thinking. Only something in his eyes hinted of a smile. Like he wasn't afraid, like he knew more than Kitaeru, and what he knew changed everything.

Kitaeru attacked, Cain stepped sideways and the attack missed. Kitaeru swung again and again, and again, and again, but no matter how many times or how he attacked, Cain was still a step ahead and obviously a little amused.

"You laugh at me?" Kitaeru shouted, wild with anger over his ill luck. "I'll show you! UCHIMAKASU!" he shouted as loud as he possibly could, and his monstrous blade lit up green in its movement downwards. Cain just extended his left arm and caught the sword.

"You aren't going to show me shit," Cain said. Kitaeru's eye twitched. He grabbed the Kaibutsuken tight with both hands and tried to free his sword from Cain's grip, but it couldn't be moved. "I think you have overestimated your chances of coming out of this affair alive," Cain said, his voice cool, sending chills down Kitaeru's spine. Kitaeru pulled with all his strength and Cain let go. Kitaeru almost tripped backwards, but then attacked with another Uchimakasu. Cain caught this attack just like the one before. "You don't learn. Now it's going to cost you," Cain said and suddenly broke Kitaeru's Kaibutsuken in two. He dropped the blade and began slowly approaching Kitaeru.

In shock Kitaeru looked dully at his sword, then began stepping backwards. The wind blew harder for a moment, but enough to uncover the right side of Cain's robe and his right arm. Suddenly Cain appeared in front of Kitaeru and, bringing his fingers together and lengthening his nails, stuck his hand into Kitaeru's chest. Kitaeru seemed to be trying to say something, but instead he coughed up blood, spilling some of it on Cain's face and robe.

Kitaeru's jaw dropped and eyes opened wide as Cain turned his hand inside Kitaeru's chest, then raised his palm, just like Genjuro did. Kitaeru dropped to his knees, and Cain leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Chikara no Shiro Ryu."

White beams of light shot out from the hole Cain's hand had made. Kitaeru screamed as he was rapidly carried away by the white ball of energy Cain launched inside him. Kitaeru flew straight over the nearby lake and hit the hill on the other side. The explosion was somehow similar to Genjuro's attack, yet different. The energy ball inside of Kitaeru suddenly expanded, engulfing the hill and part of the lake. A strong wind rose, and the lake was storming. The skies immediately turned black. The great white sphere remained for a moment, then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Instead of the hill there was now emptiness, precisely the size and shape of the explosion. Since it had included part of the lake, too, the water was now flowing into the crater, forming somewhat and addition to the lake.

Cain laughed. "There's not even anything left for me to absorb. Pathetic." 'No wonder he was so weak - he had a tail! Figures, a youkai that weak can't have human form. And his family isn't anything special either, just a band of ape-men.'

Cain looked at his right arm, flexed it and grinned. 'I love being a youkai! Especially a White Dragon. Hah! Kiba, I'm ready for you!' he thought. Cain looked around and noticed the people coming out of their houses.

Cain saw a person that seemed to be a merchant, because of all the junk he was carrying. 'Rich men only wish to keep their wealth...' "Hey, you!" Cain called him.

The man looked around, as if looking for somebody else Cain could be calling. He looked at Cain and pointed at himself with a questioning facial expression. Cain nodded and the man approached.

"I'm looking for some things, and I was wondering if you could help me," Cain said.

 

--

 

Cain approached the scorched wheat fields where he and Genjuro had fought. Cain walked around, smoking opium in his new pipe, then crouched down and picked up the sheath of his Sabre. He walked all around the destruction area and soon found the Sabre itself. As he took it, its orbs lit up. Cain smiled. "Yeah, we're going for him," he said and sheathed the sword and tied the sheath to his belt next to his new sake jug. His robe was now clean too.

Cain closed his eyes and slightly bowed his head. The cross on his forehead began shining. Cain opened his eyes, which were now shining too. Cain turned his head to the right and looked into the distance. "Hold on, Kiba, I'm coming for your head!" he said and once again began running.