𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝔻𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

Chapter 2

Hours passed until the morning sun shone. Toshiko rolls onto her back as the sound of singing birds chirped near her window. Her hair was messed up from sleeping wildly; a habit she's always had when sleepy or extremely exhausted from childhood. "Another morning, another solitary day..." she mumbled while sitting up from the cushioned bed.

Today is one of the days she feels like walking outside and maybe go blueberry hunting. The thought always came an average of twice a week because she has a liking to them. While its the late summer, harvesting the blueberries was best; it was calming and enjoyable for the woman.

....

After about ten minutes of picking, the pouch on her side is full of berries. She didn't overdo it because of the needed space to tie the ends in order to prevent them from falling out. Pulling out a silvery-green canteen, she popped the top off to the side and took a few sips. The now lukewarm water soothed and hydrated my throat and cooled my insides, even if it has lost its coolness. Anyone would just, by all means, down it and be glad afterwards and didn't pass out from dehydration.

On the way back, Toshiko hummed a random song to herself, smiling as the birds up overhead danced behind the other. The end of the forest came into view as she spotted the open clearing where the cottage is located, sighing at last as the sun shone brighter without the hinderance of foliage. 'Finally, I'm back,' she sighed.

The ebony-haired woman trekked up to the wooden cottage door. She stood there at first, the looking around behind her to be sure she wasn't spotted. Not like she has a reason to be too cautious; she had put up perimeter traps every since she's been here. Once it triggered a couple of months ago by some bandits. They didn't last long dealing with her expertise in hand combat.

With a sharp tap of the toe of her right heeled boot, a small piece of wood panel teetered, revealing the key to the cottage. Squatting, she quickly plucked the key from there and shut the panel once more. The woman was used to dropping this key whenever she was outside the little home, so it called for a plan for her to improvise. By far, it was the best idea she's had.

Toshiko entered the key inside the narrow keyhole, not yet twisting the piece of metal as she set her limbs on pause.

This feeling... Someone is nearby.

She kept her left hand on the key and cautiously observed. "...." she was silent. The awaited surprise never came as she expected it to, but the clearing suddenly felt unwelcoming.

"Who is there?!" She yelled, yanking out the key to shove it into her pocket. The heels of her boots thudded on the wooden platform just inclined from the forest floor, her creamed colored hands fisting for a challenge that matched the look in her eyes. "Come out! Don't fuck with me!" She yelled vulgarly. Nothing still...which is definitely not good.

"Tsk..." she clicked her tongue went to unlocked the abode of a home to retrieve her katana. It was adorned with jade crafted hilt and finely forged silver as the blade. She twirled the sheath, drawing the blade as it metal sang from within. The woman vehemently stormed outside the home, pivoting to go back the way she came. But something collided into her chest the instant she stepped foot in the direction.

"Ughh!" she grunts and fell hard on her back. Her cobalt eyes trailed up in surprise as she tried to see what in the hell just hit her. Seeing nothing, she quickly rolled on her stomach and scrambled to her feet to grabbed her katana she didn't know she dropped from the fall. She reached for it. Suddenly one shuriken star grazed the cushion pad below her thumb, causing her to retract from it with a wince.