Don't Look Back, or Should You?

Scene: A day has passed since Jinko has arrived in Shirakawa-go. Jinko is right now present at a stable with his horse Saru.

"Phew" he exclaims, "you know Saru, almost everything I remember about this place is the same, minus the fact I don't remember it being so snowy."

A brief moment passes by where he ponders, and he continues, "Kind of in-between of whether I should go around and see if I can... find them.."

"No. I think I'm better off secluding myself from them before any harm comes our way again."

"But Saru, I... I've thought of them a lot all these years. Maybe I should greet them at least but I don't kn-"

He's interrupted.

"Uh, You're Jin-chan aren't you?"

𝔇𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪 𝔖𝔢𝔠𝔩𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 - Chapter 2

There's a few seconds of silent staring trying to recollect a face, the moment comes to an abrupt end.

"Y-Yeah I'm Jinko, Saitou Jinko."
"Oh I KNEW IT. That wavy long hair of yours is distinguishable from wherever, almost annoyingly so."

Jinko spends a moment weighing his eyebrows in. He collects his thoughts and gets up the courage to ask:

You're...

Tenmichi?

Tenmichi: Bang on, choir boy.
Jinko: Ah, long time no see buddy.
Tenmichi: Buddy who? I'm a girl you should use your terms right.
Jinko: Pretty sure its a gender neutral term.
Tenmichi: That wasn't what I- HEY I WAS TRYING TO ANGER YOU WHY ARE YOU DOING IT BACK.
Jinko: Oh was I? Oh I mean, were you? 
Tenmichi: Okay now you're just playing with me.
Jinko: Maybe I am, maybe I'm not.
Tenmichi: Okay whatever. I just thought I should come and meet you because I heard you'd be here, didn't expect you to look so gloomy though.
Jinko: Are you saying I've gotten ugly? Speak for yourself.
Tenmichi: Excuse you at least I'd have a fine man kneeling to me.
Jinko: Well I don't want a man kneeling to me so you can keep your boasting tactics to yourself.

The scene changes as we see Jinko and Tenmichi walking around the village pathways.

"Soooo how are you, what have you been up to and what are you planning to do coming back in Shirakawa-go?" Tenmichi asks, with a curious lean to Jinko.

"That's a lot of questions you're asking, as for the answers, I'm fine, I'm up to nothing as of right now and..." Jinko pauses inherently.

As Tenmichi brings about a face eager to ask questions, Jinko continues "I'll have to see for myself, right now I'm trying to find something."
"What are you trying to find?" Tenmichi asks immediately.

Jinko looks at her, for a brief moment his eyes speak a language Tenmichi fails to decipher.
He looks back at the road and up to the sky and sighs out the words, "Reasoning, Ten, reasoning."

"Reasoning for what?" Tenmichi continues her streak of questions.
Jinko explains, "I don't know. I think I just want to live in a world where running away, wars, rebellions are not all that we know. I think I'm trying to find a reason to keep going. Maybe I'm trying to find a reason to hold on, a reason to validate my existence that my life won't be a throwaway for the greedy powerful men at the top of the chain of command. Maybe I want to seclude myself from all of that, and I can't do any of it if I don't leave behind all that has made me who I am up until now, so I can be someone new."

"That's a loooot to process, you really talk to yourself a lot about this to rehearse, don't you?" Tenmichi answers.
"Oh nah my horse knows the end of that spectrum."

Both of them leave out a laughter which ends in an awkward pause as they keep walking.

"I'm sure you will." Tenmichi ends the pause.
"Hm?"
"I'm sure you will find your reasoning, maybe protecting your family will be your reasoning, maybe your reasoning will be a hot girl who makes you delicacies."

Jinko grins a little, he then says "Yeah I don't know. Protecting my family up until now is what I considered it to be, but now I don't know, I feel like they'd be better off without me."
"Why so?" Tenmichi asks.
"I'm a failure." Jinko answers.
"Shut up." Tenmichi replies.

Jinko gets a little startled, but he lets off another grin and adds, "You know a hot girl making me chocolate delicacies would actually be pretty cool."
Tenmichi replies, "Yeah yeah but if it was a mediocre girl you men wouldn't even look her way even if she was the best cook in the village."
"That's just not true?! A girl's worth is determined from character first." Jinko replies, slightly riled up.
"Yeah yeah, that's what they all say then they proceed to look at the girl with the biggest behind." Tenmichi replies.
"Oh if you ever catch me doing that you have all the rights to slice my head off." Jinko proudly acclaims.
"Bolds words dumbass, I will keep an eye out to take your head then." Tenmichi replies.
"Go ahead, you will have an eye out forever." Jinko remarks.

As moments go by with silence, Jinko breaks the silence:

"so.. where are the other 2?"