Facade of a Hermit

Kenji tumbled through the garganta which opened facing directly at the floor.
"Woah!" Kenji bellowed as his face nearly met the floor.
Kenji twisted his head and turned the mishap into a roll which brought him back to his feet. For an instant, the clumsiness was gone and Kenji's eyes scanned his surroundings in that time. Before anything or anyone could notice the change in movements, Kenji tripped over his own cloak as it had been trapped beneath his foot and fell flat on his face with an odd sounding, "Baguh."
Kenji sighed into the ground before picking himself up. He recognised the place and although details were a little sketchy, he roughly knew the way home. He was stood on a plateau in the smaller mountains East of his cave, knowing this, Kenji peered at the Sun and discerned the time as well as the direction in which he should head. The Sun was beginning to fall from it's peak and indicated mid to late afternoon, knowing that he had to head West, Kenji followed the Sun's path through the winding mountains.
As Kenji headed along the sparsely-used mountain paths brushed with sanddust, he peered down to the forest that sprawled beneath. The foliage was a deep green and healthy, a river ran down from the mountain opposite Kenji and cut through the forest. Kenji's mouth was dry and he knew that the river would be the only water source for a long while as his path took him away from the greenery and into the deserted outlands before reaching his cave.
Kenji did not particularly want to detour and stall his journey as he longed for the comfort of his cave but knew there was nothing else for it and leapt down the mountain, plunging downwards until he reached a protrusion from the rock wall. Kenji pulled his legs in and tilted forwards so that his feet now faced the mountain wall. As the protrusion fell beneath his feet, Kenji pushed out hard and flew away from the mountain down towards the trees near the river.

Kenji hurtled through the air, his travelling cloak billowing in the wind. The trees came up fast as thought they wanted to pummel him with their branches. Suddenly, as Kenji was twenty feet from the tops of the trees, he disappeared into thin air.
Kenji reappeared on the ground, startling a deer that had been grazing on the grass on the forest floor. Kenji soothed it with a few murmured words and strokes before turning his attention to the river once more.
As Kenji entered the riverside clearing, the world was beautiful for an instant. The glistening leaves of trees threw glimpses of rainbow light across the ground and the vivid greens of the plants drew a sharp contrast to the brown bark and made them stand out all the more. The audible rushing of the river was music to his ears, each drop a part of the whole and the whole only possible by effort on the part. The path of the water was like the channel of Fate, guiding each droplet of water towards a fate known only to those who can see that far. Each drop screamed their will to be free, to be independent again and yet to stay with the whole. How could such miniscule beings wish for something so unreasonable?
Kenji scooped up a handful of water and gulped it down before producing a canteen and filling that also before tying it to his waist and, just like that, so many drops of the river had been taken from their life and wiped from the knowledge of the remainders. Yet, there is always more water to take the place of a single drop in this cruel world.

Kenji appeared back on the sandy mountain path and continued on his way. The Sun was beginning to set now and the sky was tinged with pink. Kenji cringed, he despised pink.
As Kenji rounded a corner, he stumbled upon a man who had nought left to him but briefs. His hair was a matted black, coated with the sand of the mountain and blood that fell to his shoulders covering his face. Beside him stood another man who was searching through a pack tied to a mule who seemed to be greatly enjoying herself by twitching every now and then to move what the man wanted out of his reach. Honsetly, it amused Kenji as much as it entertained the mule but Kenji kept a completely straight face as he approached the man and mule.
"What happened to this man?" Kenji asked as he prodded the prone man with his foot.
The man next to the mule jumped as he had not heard Kenji approach, "Bandits probably, I would aid him but I can't seem to get this cloth from my pack."
Kenji barked a laugh before standing in front of the mule and talking to it, "I find it just as funny as you do but there's a limit to how far you should push this situation you know."
The mule's ears flattened against her head and she finally allowed the man to retrieve the cloth. The man promptly wrapped the victim in the cloth and bundled him atop the mule.
"Thank you for your help good Sir," He said to Kenji when he had finished.
"No problem at all," Kenji replied. "Although, you may want to consider turning back and going left if you intend to care for him. There are no places to stay within three hours walk ahead and it will be nightfall soon."
"Then what about you Sir?" The samaritan asked.
Kenji flipped open his cloak a little to reveal the hilt of his zan and his tattered shihakusho then grinned in reply, "Don't worry about me."
They bid farewell to each other then and Kenji decided that it would be best to up his pace if he intended to reach home before nightfall and flickered away instantly.

Kenji reappeared in a clearing later into the evening, the rock walls were thick but Kenji sensed prescences and stopped moving. The sensation was slight but it was there, killing intent was strong but the sense of reiatsu was very faint. They were very likely the bandits that had attacked the man earlier and were looking for some more prey. Sadly for them, they picked the wrong one.
"Hey you! Stay righhht there or I'll have to get my guys to shoot you." Kenji heard a voice say from the top of the rock walls.
Glancing upwards, Kenji saw twenty or so men sliding down the steep slope half with bows in their hands and the other half with swords. Kenji could easily eliminate them all instantly but he decided to play along for a while.
Kenji stood completely still and observed the men as they came down, none of them seemed like complete amateurs as they hefted their blades with a certain confidence and familiarity. Likely they had been trained a little or had been bandits for so long that using their weapon was second nature to them.
"Good decision," The presumably lead bandit said, he hefted two swords unlike those around him but was perfect for Kenji. "Now, give us everything you have."
Kenji raised an eyebrow at him, "And if I don't?"
"Then we'll be forced to take it from you." The leader replied with an absolute confidence.
Kenji laughed and replied simply, "No."
The men loosed their bows at Kenji but when they reached his place, he was no longer there. Kenji moved quickly, keeping his pace barely human. A man took a swing at Kenji and caught a fist in his gut before taking one to the chin as Kenji stood rapidly from ducking under the slash. Kenji kicked the man in the stomach again and into a couple of other bandits by which time he was already in front of a bowman. Kenji punched the man across the face and snatched the bow from him then span and kicked backwards, loosing the arrow into leg of a charging swordsman who then tumbled in to another man. Kenji span again and the end of the bow struck a bowman across the temple and knocked him out cold instantly.
Kenji span the bow around him and deflected several arrows before launching it like a lance at the leader. The leader barely parried it and a cut was traced along his left temple.
The bandits backed into a half of the clearing and all aimed at Kenji.
"What? No more?" Kenji asked mockingly.
The leader's face was deadpan and the word that followed echoed in the clearing, "Fire."
All of the men loosed their arrows at the same time, all trapping Kenji between the wall and the arrows. It was bad. At least, it would have been if Kenji wasn't a Shinigami.

Kenji looked back at the pile of unconscious bandits. It was too bad that they didn't put their talents to better use, they weren't the worst fighters in the world.
Kenji shunpoed away from the scene and finally arrived in front of the familiar gap in the side of the mountain.
"Oh, how I've missed you!" Kenji rushed into his cave and the darkness with joy.