Sleeping through their connecting flight from Tokyo to Iwate had been a bad idea. It only lasted about an hour and made Jessie confused and groggy once the plane landed and she had to be functional again. Fortunately, Jimmy was well enough to walk and successfully direct both of them towards the exit.

Since they'd taken their pathetic luggage on board, they managed to avoid most of the crowd and find the exit. The air was crisp and much too cold for their current outfits, and the light of dawn had her longing for sunglasses.

She hugged herself, then shoved her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. Fortunately, it became very acceptable to have her head covered. Damn it, why didn't she think this through? California was hot, but that didn't mean it wasn't still winter in the rest of the world. And she and Jimmy were wearing shorts.

"What are we looking for?" Jimmy asked the moment they exited the building and wound up in the carpool lane. He didn't seem at all affected by the winter temperatures

"I'm not sure..." She cupped her hand on her forehead to protect her eyes from the sun and glanced around, her entire body shaking.

She could see mountains if she squinted hard enough. Fitting since they'd flown as close as possible to the coordinates provided by Kyle. But it also meant they ended up in a small airport somewhere in the east of the island. It made everything even more foreign than starting in Tokyo would have.

Phillip had mentioned a contact, but not what they looked like or where they would be waiting. And without a phone, it wasn't like she could call and ask.

"Have we been here before?" Jimmy asked, his gaze fixed on the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

"No. Not us." Tom and Angie had been to Japan before, but it had been in Tokyo and she really didn't feel like explaining the mess that followed.

The people around them shifted, and Jessie caught glimpse of a sign spelling out Josie and Jaime Callahan in messy cursive.

"This way," she said, taking Jimmy's hand and dragging him in the direction of the sign.

They came face to face with a short man with a white, thin beard and long hair caught up in a high ponytail. He wore a pair of large slacks and a windbreaker and looked pretty much bored. When they approached, she realized the man was shorter than her, even if not by much.

"Um, hello," she said, her teeth clattering. "We're Jaime and Josie Callahan."

He eyed them up and down, looking first unimpressed, then annoyed. Jessie would've waited for him to speak, but she was starting to freeze.

"Do you speak English?" she asked.

The man huffed and rolled his eyes. "Too old," he muttered.

Her eyes widened. This was something new. Never since starting to work for the Agency had anyone called them too old. Maybe this was what it was like not to work for them.

"Look," Jimmy said, impatience sneaking into his voice. "Do you have somewhere to take us or not?"

The man turned his attention to him and narrowed his eyes. Then, just like that, he turned around and walked away. The two of them looked at each other, not sure what that meant.

"Come on," he called, his accent thick. "Much work to be done."

"Work?" Jimmy asked as they hurried to catch up.

Jessie just shrugged. "I don't know."

She should've asked more questions, but when Phillip had mentioned a contact, she'd just supposed it would be someone with a car to drive them there and give them guns, not a cranky little local guy. But a cranky local guy it was, and he also happened to be driving an ancient looking grey pickup.

"Are you kidding me?" Jimmy asked once he reached the car, but he actually sounded impressed. "Do these things still work?"

The man narrowed his eyes at him, obviously offended.

Jimmy pointed towards the car. "It's a Briska, isn't it? An FG10?"

The stranger's forehead smoothed out some and he noded. "Hai. Now get in truck."

He obviously meant the back since the cabin only sat two and the passenger seat was taken by a large wooden crate. There were some crates in the truck bed as well, but enough room for them to fit. There was just one small problem.

"We'll freeze out here," she pointed out.

He gave her a once over. "So would my tomatoes."

At that moment, Jessie was convinced that the tomatoes were more important than them. It wasn't like they had much of a choice, so she hopped in the back. Jimmy tossed the duffle bag in and joined her, sitting across from her, near the cabin. In normal circumstances, he would've held her to keep her warm, but she was getting too much as it was. Also maybe their last conversation was just inside her head because he once again seemed completely uninterested in her.

The truck came to life with a cough and started vibrating under them. Then the old guy pulled out of the lane and headed out of the airport area. The cold wind made Jessie's eyes water. She didn't even want to know what it would feel like once they caught speed.

"Don't worry," Jimmy said, as if reading her mind. "This thing doesn't go over 60."

That was a relief. Sort of. She hugged herself and did her best to focus on the loud sound of the engine or anything else but the cold. Once they left the airport area, she took her hands out of her pockets and accessed the GPS function on her watch to get the coordinates. She wanted to match them to Kyle's and see exactly where he was when he signaled danger.

The truck snailed forward as every other car on the road seemed to overtake it. Jimmy wasn't kidding when he mentioned a top speed of 60. The only bad part was, Jessie wasn't sure it was even going over 40. But she forces patience on herself and checked the surroundings, then the watch.

After what felt like hours, they entered the town of Tono. The scenery became more mountainous as they went, snow covering large patches of ground. Jessie felt even more inappropriate in her outfit and hugged herslef tighter. Jimmy on the other hand seemed completely enthralled by the landscape. She wondered what he was thinking or feeling, but it was hard to speak over the howling wind and the engine.

As they approached the outskirts of town, the car stopped. The silence was strange after the loud rumble of the engine. Jessie checked her watch, but even if close, they hadn't reached the coordinates yet. Their driver seemed to know that, because he didn't tell them to get down. Instead, he came around and opened the back of the truck.

"Want help?" Jimmy asked.

The man ignored him and, with impressive force, pulled a crate towards him and unloaded it on the sidewalk, in front of what looked like a convenience store. A younger man came out to help, and the two of them struck a conversation.

Jessie hugged herself again, wishing she could understand what they were saying. Kyle would. He spoke Japanese. The two of them on the other hand... Wildly unprepared, as usual.

No, we can do this. We'll find the others.

If only the old guy would move his ass. He did come back to the truck, but it was to unload more crates together with the younger man. Jessie wondered if they would also take the tomatoes and they could go inside. It turned out that the crate of tomatoes was just replaced with some groceries, so she and Jimmy were left in the back.

Fortunately, he started the noisy piece of crap again and they headed down a small road, further into the mountains. She focused on her watch, taking in the changing numbers, waiting. Waiting...

"Stop!" They were almost there. The old guy didn't, so she hit her palm on the cabin. "I said stop!"

The truck pulled over on the side of the road in a tiny refuge right in the middle of a curve. Jessie didn't even wait for the engine to stop before she hopped out of the truck bed. The coordinates were correct. Kyle had been here the moment he signaled danger.

But they were on the side of the road. There had to be something else there, maybe hidden. She walked towards the edge of the refuge. Since they were climbing, it was just a huge slope downward. Fog had risen over the valley below, making it impossible to see anything.

"Back in truck," the old guy said, coming towards her. "Still have long way to go."

Jessie ignored him. They had no long way to go. This was the place. Except... What was there to see here? Unless...

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Jimmy asked.

Kyle was also in a car and this was where he got the chance to send the message. It wasn't a destination, but an intermediate point, so the old guy could be right.

Something poked her in the back, nearly sending her tumbling down the hill. She turned and to her shock realized the old man had pulled out a battle stick from somewhere and was pointing it at her.

"Touch her again, and I'll shove that thing up your ass." Jimmy was still in the truck, but was crouching, looking ready to jump on their driver.

The man turned his attention to him and seemed to be considering him. Then, out of the blue, he turned and whacked Jimmy over the head with the stick.

She knew what would happen before it did.

Jessie rushed forward, but was too late. Jimmy hopped out of the truck bed, his frame tense, his pupils dilatated.

"Run!" she screamed.

Her voice distracted Jimmy for a few seconds, and fortunately the old guy got the memo and opened the car door. Jessie reached him and pushed him in, nudging Jimmy on the way. Adrenaline started pumping through her as her own tiny monster begged to come out and play. She didn't want to let it, not unless it was necessary.

Jimmt grabbed her hood and pulled her out. Her butt hit the cold, hard ground and she sucked air through her teeth. She was so frozen, it felt as if she'd shattered.

The old man managed to close the door of the truck. Jimmy wrapped his fingers around the handle and yanked the door out of its hinges without the slightest difficulty.

"Jimmy, no!"

She had no power over him. If she touched him now, he'd probably turn on her. But she couldn't let him do this. So she wrapped her arms around his middle and pulled as hard as she could. They both toppled over. The air wooshed out of her lungs as he landed on top of her. The pain stirred something inside her and a growl escaped her lips.

Before she could reason herslef out of the situation, her knee shot up and hit Jimmy in the side. He winced and rolled over, his face scrunched up in pain. Seeing him like this made the adrenaline fade. It only left room to fear.

Without even thinking it, she'd hit him where she knew it would hurt. His liver was still sore, fighting to flush out the drug. It couldn't help that it had been hours since he had any water.

She knew all this and still left him rolling around in pain because her own stupid serum decided she was more important.

"Come on." She scurried to him on all fours. "Let's get you back in the truck."

He opened his eyes when she touched him, and he was fortunately back to normal.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his voice laced with pain. "I just can't control it anymore."

"That's not true. You're weak and tired. It's trying to protect you." Just like hers. That had to be it. Because there was no other reason they'd both lose control at the same time.

"Did I hurt you?" He finally managed to sit up.

She threw a glance towards the car. "No."

He looked over his shoulder. "Ah shit. Sorry about that, mister. I'll fix it. Promise."

Jessie didn't think that was the issue. But it was shocking that the guy hadn't run for his life yet.

"No mister," the old man said, actually climbing out of his truck. He scanned them both as if they were some tomatoes that'd grown ripe. "Master."

"Um, what?" Jessie must've heard wrong. Did Phillip sell them into slavery or something?

The old man nodded. "Master Kato. Now get in truck. Much work to do."

Jimmy seemed fine with the idea because he stood and scrambled back inside the truck bed. Jessie followed, trying to compute what was going on. Once the engine rumbled back to life, she had to admit they were lucky this Kato guy hadn't just abandoned them in the middle of nowhere.

But as he pulled back on the road and continued up the mountain, her stomach sank. They had nothing. The coordinates led to a dead end, and she had no idea where to go now. Had the others been taken up or down the mountain?

Not that it mattered now. If only to find a place to sleep for a few hours and eat something, they were tied to Kato.

🏯

The winding road seemed to go on forever. They only passed a few lonely farms on the way which meant they weren't heading into complete wilderness.

After about an hour, Jessie gave up on sightseeing and hugged herself tighter. There was no point looking around since there was just one road leading to wherever they were going. So she settled for surveying Jimmy who looked half-unconscious. She wondered how much energy that bout of anger had taken out of him.

Finally, as the sun rose to the center of the sky, the truck slowed down and they entered a tiny village. Jessie had almost dozed off, but the sound of chatter put her back on alert. Once she riased her eyes, her breath caught in her throat.

The little village they'd reached was nestled between rocks and sparse vegetation. The road they'd followed wound its way between the rocks and to a pass which led to a massive castle placed on the top of the mountain. An impressive set of steps rose on the cliff side and towards the entrance.

The houses ended long befoere the pass began, and as Kato drove closer, Jessie noticed a number of things. First off, the castle seemed to be deserted, a ruin of its former self. Second, the peek it dominated didn't connect with the rocky platform they currently drove on. There was a long bridge made out of wood and rope that led to the base of the stairs. And third, they were heading right for it.

Kato left the village behind, and for one wild moment, she wondered if he owned the castle and was taking them there. It would explain the master nonsense. But long before they even approached the bridge, he veered to the right, between to cliff sides. Nestled under the shadow of the mountain was a tiny house.

Jessie straightened, relieved that they seemed to have reached their destination. The house was one story and seemed to be half-dug into the mountain. In front of it, on the oher cliff side, was a small garage and shed where piles of logs were visible. A dirt path led from the house further between the rock walls towads what looked like a greenhouse.

The truck pulled into the garage and the engine died. Jessie was so frozen, she could barely move, but the house held the promise of warmth.

She leaned over to Jimmy and shook his shoulder. "Hey, we're here."

He let out a pained moan. She shivered, suddenly realizing that he was a lot worse off than she'd thought.

"I'm sorry, do you have some water?" She asked the moment Kato stepped down from the truck.

He frowned at her again, but reached inside the cabin and pulled out a bottle he then handed to her. Jessie nodded in thanks and focused on giving Jimmy some water. He drank it, but just like the first time, the moment he was done, he leaned over the side of the truck and threw up. Fortunately Kato had rounded the car by then.

He watched them with a displeased snarl, and Jessie started wondering if that was just how his face looked.

"You," he said, pointing to her. "McLane told me about you. But him..." He nodded towards Jimmy. "I do not accept such things."

"Things?" The rage inside Jessie turned her words lethal.

"What is he even on?"

Her mind was so tired, basic conversation was proving troublesome. Of course the guy would think Jimmy was some sort of junkie. Her choice of disguise didn't help with that.

"He's not on drugs. He's going through withdrawal, but it's from medication, not the illegal stuff."

Kato huffed as if he didn't believe her, but moved to the edge of the truck bed. "Come. Let us bring him inside."

More than happy to get out of the cold, she let the short guy help her with Jimmy, and the two of them dragged him up the three steps and inside the house. The warmth almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Here." Kato moved towards the door that was across a narrow hall from the entrance.

The room was spacious and contained nothing but a very low bed, and ornate dresser and what looked like a coffee table. The bed was almost square, but large enough to fit both of them.

With a sigh of relief, Jessie lowered Jimmy on the mattress. His forehead was drenched in sweat again and he seemed unconscious.  She pulled his hoodie and sneakers off and lay him on the bed. God, how she needed sleep as well.

"You," Kato said, ruining her fantasy. "This way."

"Um, what?"

"Your room, this way."

Was he giving them separate rooms? "That's okay, we can share."

He shook his head and pointed out the door. "Not under my roof."

What the hell was wrong with this guy? He didn't even know them and he was already playing chaperone? She opened her mouth to point that out, but realized he might actually think they were married, which made his request even weirder.

"Come." He waved her out. "I explain."

This convinced her, so, throwing one last glance towards Jimmy, she followed him to the room next door which was identical.  After depositing the duffle bag, Kato motioned for her to follow him further down the narrow hall. It opened up into a living area and kitchen fitted with the same low traditional furniture.

"Sit," he instructed, shrugging off his windbreaker and placing it in a hook. He had a green turtleneck underneath. "I make tea."

That was nice, so she sat cross-legged at the table and looked around. There were a pair of swords hanging on one of the walls of the living area, as well as parchments with Japanese writing on them. A few paintings of cherry blossoms gave the place a little color. There was another door leading into a different room in the back.

"McLane told me you need help." Kato joined her at the table and put a tiny cup in front of her.

Jessie accepted the warm drink and nodded. "Yes, we need to find--"

"The castle," Kato said with a nod.

"No, not the castle--"

"The castle," he insisted. "It has been empty for centuries. Haunted. We do not like to speak of it. But a month ago, men came." He motioned with his hand forward, as if sliding on something. "Straight through village and up to the castle, no fear."

She wanted to interrupt, point out that her friends were taken a few days ago, but even with her numb mind, something about what he was saying felt important.

"They build things. Electricity. There is light in the castle at night now."

"Do you know what they're doing here?"

Kato shook his head. "They come down to village for supplies. Or move through to go down the mountain. Not many in village speak English. We do not understand what they want."

A suspicion formed in the back of Jessie's mind. "Do they give you trouble?"

The man hesitated, but ultimately shook his head. "Roudy, but no. They keep to themselves. But then, three days ago, many cars came. Went up to the castle. New people."

Her heart jumped into her throat. "Prisoners?"

"Perhaps," he answered, sipping his tea.

She meant to stand, but he placed his hand on her forearm.

"You stand no chance."

"Gee, thanks, old man," she mumbled.

"Listen." He removed his hand and squinted at her. "You are irrational and lack energy. You need rest. Then, you need training."

The last bit froze the protest on Jessie's lips. "Training?"

Kato nodded. "The castle can only be reached by the bridge. How will you manage to go in and rescue the people on your own?"

He had a point, damn it, but she didn't have time. "We have to save them. They're my friends." She looked towards Jimmy's room. "His family." Her family.

"Agreed. Which is why you cannot fail." He stood and headed towards his ancient looking refrigerator from where he took out a pot.

Jessie watched him putting it on the stove, her heart thumping in her chest as she tried to take everything in. They were in the right place. This man had seen her friends being taken to the castle. It was still a little confusing regarding the identity of the kidnappers, but she was sure she'd figure that out once she had some proper sleep.

What shocked her was that she was starting to warm up to Kato. Maybe because he'd accepted them into his house, had given her tea and seemed to understand the importance of their endeavor. When he put a bowl of steaming soup in front of her, she liked him even more.

"Thank you." There was no spoon so she just picked up the bowl and took a sip. It was a little spicy, but very good.

"You and the man must rest. Then, training."

"Do you usually train people?" she asked between sips of soup.

"Not anymore." He shook his head and looked towards the exit.

Something suddenly dawned on Jessie. "Did you train Phillip?" That would explain how they knew each other and why he'd sent them there.

"Hai. Him and..." Kato's voice trailed off as he glance over his shoulder in the general direction of the castle. "Others, " he finally said, turning back to her.

"Who is in the castle?" she asked.

"Bad men. And ghosts."

The answer sent shivers down her spine. Not that she believed in ghosts, but he seemed to and it made it more real.

"You should go rest," he said the moment she placed her empty bowl on the table.

"Yeah, about that, why can't I just stay with Jimmy?"

He glanced from her face to her fake wedding ring. Gritting her teeth, she pulled it off. No use keeping up the game and the thing made her uncomfortable.

"You care for him," Kato said, obviously seeing past their fake marriage. When she nodded, he continued, "Your training will be difficult. You need to fully focus on that."

She huffed. "Look, I don't knwo how much Phillip told you, but--"

"Your training will be meant to harmonize your energy. Your body and your mind. Your chi." He closed his eyes and hummed. "Energy is very important. Copulation has a negative effect on that. It drains the resources you need. So while you're under my roof... My rules."

She stared at the serious look on the old man's face. She needed sleep because there maybe was merit to this idea and the explanation. At the moment, all she had was frustration.

"He's not well," she whispered.

The man nodded. "I will look after him."

"You don't understand--"

"If he gets... difficult, I will come for you."

So maybe he did understanding. The way he looked at her spoke of his good intention and the fact that he wasn't an idiot. He'd seen what Jimmy could do. The door of his truck was still in the bed after all. And the prospect of rest, real rest, sounded too inviting.

Jessie nodded and retreated to her room. Kato was right. They didn't stand a chance to get to that castle, so any advantage he could provide them with was more than welcomed.

For that to work, they both needed to be in the best possible shape. She'd work out all the details afterward. She had a feeling there would be time. After all, at least she had a way of knowing if anyone was dead.

As long as her watch stayed silent, she still had hope.

🏯🏯🏯

I'm updating a bit earlier because why not? Just a few hours earlier.

I know this is mostly a transition chapter, but it was needed to get people from point A to point B.

So, are there any chances they're in the wrong place? 😅 That would be hilarious, wouldn't it?

What are your feelings on Kato? And the training he suggests? Poor Jimmy losing his shit like that though...

Anyway, things picking up a bit starting the next chapter. For now, Jessie really does need to rest.

Vote and comment for the goat. I mean support 😅 Or do I? 🐐