Ajax looks up and grabs one of the bounty posters off the wall. "Wow this guy's worth 2,700,000 Ryō." Ajax says shocked.
The bartender glances over at the bounty he was eyeing. He nods, a grim expression on his face.
"Aye, that one's been up a while. Some bigshot from Edo, they say. Powerful and ruthless."
He lowers his voice a notch, eyeing a figure in the corner.
"But you'd be a fool to go after 'em on your own, boy. There's a reason they haven't been captured yet."
"Yeah I'm no bounty hunter." Ajax says yawning and finishing off his drink.
The bartender chuckles, returning to his cleaning.
"Wiser words never spoken. Bounty hunters don't last long either way. Either a lucky shot or a better swordsman cuts 'em down. It's a dangerous life."
Another patron pipes up, a wiry man with a scarred face. "Hear the Shogun's offering a king's ransom for that one's head. Some merchant's kid got snatched for ransom a while back. Family's willing to pay anything for his safe return."
"Besides, I'm gonna be the one to find Nelazaru Kimmegona's sword before any of them." Ajax proclaims grinning.
The wiry man lets out a snort of disbelief, raising an eyebrow.
"You? You're gonna find Kimmegona's mythical blade? That's just a legend, kid. Ain't no way it even exists."
"Oh yeah? Why would the legend himself lie about where his sword would be?" Ajax says already zoning out the man.
The man looks at Ajax like he's a daft.
"You really believe every old story you hear? Legends are just that—stories. Ain't no proof that blade's real. Lots of people claim they've seen it, but how many of them actually have, eh?"
Ajax finishes his drink. "Yeah but this one's definitely real." Ajax boldly proclaims.
The man scoffs, shaking his head.
"You're a damn fool, kid. But go ahead, chase after your fairy tale sword. See if it gets you anywhere."
The bartender chimes in. "Don't take it personally, kiddo. Just... most folks 'round here have seen too much to believe in legends anymore."
"Yeah the kids in over his head Nelazaru was an idiot and I'm for one glad the idiots dead." A random person in the tavern says.
A hush seems to fall over the tavern as the words hang in the air. The bartender shoots the person a sharp look.
"Watch your tongue, stranger," he warns, his voice low. "Kimmegona was more than just a fool."
The person who spoke up, a burly man with a scar on his cheek, scoffs.
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you actually believe all that nonsense about him being some godly swordsman?"
Ajax stands up. "Watch your tone. Don't ever talk about Nelazaru like that again." Ajax says getting extremely fed up with the man.
The burly man sneers, standing up as well.
"Or what? You gonna fight me over that dead swordsman? You don't know him, son. He's long gone. Just an old tale folks tell their kids to make 'em feel better."
Tension crackles in the air like static. The tavern's patrons go quiet, watching the exchange.
Ajax quickly unsheathes his sword and immediately points it at the man. "He walked so the rest of Ronin could run." Ajax says with his glare not wavering.
The burly man's eyes widen as he sees Ajax's blade. He snorts incredulously.
"Oh, so you're gonna defend the honor of a long dead Ronin? Is that it? You got a hero complex or somethin'?"
"Yeah. Something like that." Ajax says.
The man laughs derisively.
"Hero complex will get you killed, son. You think just 'cause you swing around that sword, you're some sort of hero? You know how many Ronin have thought the same thing before?"
He looks Ajax up and down.
"You don't look like much."
"Hey get the hell out of my bar if you wanna fight then take it somewhere then." The barkeeper yells.
The burly man grumbles but relents at the bartender's shout.
"Alright, alright. Don't get your apron in a twist."
He glares at Ajax one last time before heading outside, muttering to himself.
The atmosphere in the tavern relaxes, but people are still stealing glances Ajax's way. The bartender sighs.
"Sorry about that, son. Some folks just don't know when to shut up."
Ajax flips the bartender a coin. "Yeah sure sorry about that."
The bartender catches the coin, giving him a short nod-no hard feelings.
"Don't go looking for trouble, kid. That sword of yours? It's not just steel. I can see it in your eyes... you carry something heavier."
He pauses, then mutters low: "Kimmegona wasn't just a legend to some. He was a warning... and a promise."
Ajax eventually ends up walking out the bar. But before he goes he grabs some circular charm like object that catches his eye. "Yeah I'll see you around and maybe next time when you see me I'll have obtained Nelazaru's sword." Ajax snickers walking out.
With that, Ajax exit the noisy tavern and step into the night. The door swings shut behind him, cutting off the sounds of rowdy patrons and replacing them with the quiet of the empty street. Moonlight casts long shadows across the cobblestones. Everything is still.
The wind carries whispers of rustling leaves and distant footsteps.
As he makes his way through the deserted alleyways, Ajax hears... something.
A faint clinking and rasping sound-like armor and chains. Coming from nearby.
"Help please you gotta help there gonna kill him! Someone help!" A extremely younger voice calls out.
Ajax breath catches in his throat.
The voice-high, panicked, desperate -rips through the night like a crack of thunder. A child.
End of Chapter 2