As Old As the Breeze…
"The Ambush"
Wind, gusting and swift blew throughout the valley, billowing through the eaves and the branches of the large maple trunked behemoths that lay scattered in an organized chaotic fashion throughout the plains. Springtime, the season left a familiar lingering odor in the wind and the breeze, one that never distanced itself from the list of favorite fragrances of one such individual whom sat beneath the largest and most majestic maple of them all, the 100 year-old tree. The tree stood at least a story and a half tall if not more, the wind gusted and blew as hard and as forcefully as it possibly could, but it did no more than disturb the towering giant in the swaying of a few branches and the detachment of couple of stem of leaf that once had been attached to the Godly tree. The year was 1867; the Tokugawa-Shogunate rule had lasted for over 250 years and there was finally a year of peace … They had crowned the Emperor Meiji in an official coronation and the era of peace was to begin. He did not really care all that much however on the topic of which name was used to describe the Era of Peace, mostly peace anyways, that had been raised from the chaos and bloodshed of the revolution so many moons ago … Ah yes. Now the fragrances and the wonderful nature of spring, were sideswiped from his thoughts, the only thing that filled them now was the screaming, the blood, the stench and the visions of horrific crimes, which had been both witnessed and committed by the one beneath the maple tree. Like a song of death, the notes discordantly made their progressions throughout his head, he bade them stop, begged them to disappear, but they simply lingered further, longer and in more detail, in a sort of sick and disgustingly cruel mockery of his inability to cast away the horrors of his life before this. A long sigh was all that emanated from the man, indicating both relief and pain in regards to the thoughts finally leaving him, for the time being and at the remembrance and reminder that he was no more than a killer … A killer through and through, the old saying goes, 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' and the saying that went in such a manner was nothing more than a complete and true fact. His apparel even gave some indication as to what his nature and his profession were, the white and beautifully ornate robes of which melded into intricate patterns of scarlet red and a rich deep brassy gold with the snow-white pigment that acted as a base coloring would have some guessing that he was an emperor or a noble at first, but they could only estimate further from the truth; He was no Emperor, no noble of any kind, not even an official of the government nor the old regime under the forceful rule of the Tokugawa-Shogunate and Bakufu. He was of the order and of the group(s) that fought long and grueling battles of both wit and skill of blade against such a 'wonderful' and 'good intentioned' foe. Perhaps if the eye or both of the eyes of another gazed upon the man's apparel, perhaps they would recognize the subtle decorations that indeed revealed his guise; the symbol of brass and gold tone which lay at the midsection of the man's waistline, a belt or fastening with an intricately woven metallurgy of craftsmanship which bore a single letter, an "A". The letter was nothing more than symbolic in two respects, one of which was the symbolism of the wearer's pride and dedication to his faction and the other being the fearlessness that he threw into the face of suspicion and the face of death, it was all a matter of deep, loyal and undying pride; he was an assassin, no mere killer mind you, but an assassin … A tracker, a thief, a trickster, a blender, a shadow, a whisper in the ever constantly flowing current of a breeze in the mid-day of spring, a tactician, an engineer, a mathematician, a scholar, a teacher and a man who would appear as any other walking down a dirt trodden path of which bore the footprints of thousands as they trudged endlessly and stupidly, without knowledge that a simple flick of a wrist would have the crimson essence that flowed with such grace through the blue tubular veins of their neck and entire body spilling unto the path before them … He was an assassin, cold and efficient, but he did not kill for the glory or the enjoyment. To be quite truthful, the man absolutely despised the smell and the taste of blood, whether it be his own or the blood and life of another … He despised it.
"Konnichiwa, Yoshikuni-San!" cheerful and glee-ridden was the voice that rang out above the overcasting shadowing thoughts of his past and the singing, chirping buzz of the cicadas in the branches and blades of grass around him. With a slow and gentle turning of his head to the left, the man that the voice had addressed as Yoshikuni bore a slight smirk on his lips, the right side of his mouth exaggerating and boasting a larger dimple than the other side of his half-hidden face; The woman who had called to him was Hayashi, a beautiful girl and woman of which Yoshikuni had the pleasure of growing up with and spending the full of his 19 years so far with her. There was not a sight nor a sound from her that did not make him smile or make him feel the sweet and loving joy that only that of one which holds the secret love of another's heart can bring, it was also her eyes … Oh, by the name of the Buddha himself, she was by far the most beautifully gifted woman on the face of Japan and the entire expanse of the world with regards to the deep and shimmering blue pools which held a resemblance to the shining and crystalline grace of a glacier in the far north of the world.
A small puff of air, considered to be a chuckle for his standards, Yoshikuni stood and bowed his head, leaning forward with his torso to further exaggerate and exemplify his respect and acknowledgement that she was in his presence, "Konnichiwa, Hayashi-Dono … What brings you here on such an early hour?" he asked with a surprisingly soft and gentle tone, which he did use to speak to all that he engaged in conversation with, it was surprising in the sense that an assassin would be thought to have a very demanding and assertive voicing, but he defied those stereotypes with the gentle and warm coo of his voice.
With a few more steps closer she stood now only a few feet in front of him, with the bow of his head and the dip of his form it almost brought Yoshikuni's head to that of her stomach. With a sweet and slightly playful giggle, the young girl, only the age of 17 stood before the man she had come to revere and admire as they had grown with each other through the years, her lips parted and she responded to his question with an equal grace and softness to her melodic vocal speech, "Yoshikuni-San, you know that I always come to see you in the morning … And plus …" she said, trailing off a bit to lift up his chin with her finger, giving a waggle of her head slightly back and forth she continued, "It is only 6:30 in the morning. How many times must I tell Yoshikuni-San not to treat me like I am of the nobility that is the Emperor?" her giggle had now turned to a soft chuckle, her eyes gazed beneath the cowl of his hood and deeper into his own, she could see them despite the wish that he had wished to hide them with the silken arrow-head shape of his overcasting cowling of hood.
His face and mostly his cheeks, lined and flushed with a red tone that bore resemblance to a dark red rose's petal, the smirk had faded and was replaced with the upward curve of lips and the chuckle that suggested his embarrassment towards the fact that she had placed her digit beneath his chin, though he enjoyed the soft touch of it nevertheless.
"This … This one does not recall such a thing being spoken, though, the Emperor would be more than blessed to have a daughter with the beauty of Hayashi-Dono." he returned the remark and the slight sense of a flirtation lingered and hung about the edge of his tone, though he could not help it … for such a man as he, cold, true and deadly in the art of killing, he felt the skip of a pulse and of a beat in his hearts regular rate of beating every time he saw her face…Saw her hair, long and black and luscious as it bounced about with each petite and elegant step that she took in her desired direction. The other thing that Yoshikuni admired so much about Hayashi was the ability she had to pick any sort of Kimono and look stunning in it, to have the rays of the sun or the shining light of the moon reflect and exemplify the beauty that she was. In other words, Yoshikuni found her to be the epitome and physical manifestation of perfection.
It was 6:45am now, the sun was beginning to rise higher and higher, to the point of which it peeked over the face of Mount Hei, an ancient and powerful work of stone, dirt and earth that had risen and formed the great giant of Kyoto's natural attraction. During the festival people came from all over Japan, even from Kansai to enjoy the marvelous wonder that was Mount Hei, but also, to partake in the festivities of which Kyoto was also famous for. Hayashi noticed the subtleness of Yoshikuni's gaze as it fell upon her and she hid her face in fear that if she did not he would see the immense blush that she held within her cheeks.
"Oh, stop it Yoshikuni-San!" she said with a giggle, she had tried her best to sound upset but she wasn't very good at it, that giggle always drew from her lips when she spoke to him. Hayashi had been fortunate, she had the nicest set of parents that any teenage girl in Japan could ever hope to have, most girls had to marry at the will and beckoning of their father and the father of a family that they wished to befriend. She was glad that they had given her the freedom and choice to wed who she wished, and she was having thoughts, only thoughts mind you … Of the possibility of her and Yoshikuni perhaps one day being wed … Or even just being around him for the rest of her days and his as well made her happy. She expressed this happiness with a soft and gentle sigh, a smile forming on her lips as she stared blankly into his hooded gaze, she didn't notice that she was gawking but he certainly did.
What she was staring at, he wasn't quite sure, but Yoshikuni thought it best to probably wake her from whatever daydream was floating about in her head, "Hayashi-Dono?" he said, softly at first before repeating himself, a little louder than the first time. "Hello? Hayashi-Dono! It is almost time for morning tea down in the glade." he couldn't help but chuckle at her, she was quite enjoyable to be around, and she brought him a joy he had never felt before. He was not at all oblivious to the fact that Hayashi entertained thoughts and wishes to be with him in the latter parts of their lives, and not to say that he didn't entertain the same thoughts as well … But one had to be realistic, more importantly, HE had to be realistic.
'An assassin…Is better left in the shadows…' the thought rang through his head like a bell that had been struck by a hammer. It was the truth, he thought now of the memories of old yet again, his gaze cast downwards as a result and his mind void and blank of his surroundings. The blood, the screaming, it was all there in a flash, this time the visions were twice as vivid and he felt his knee's nearly give in on him. He tried to steady himself by leaning against the tree with his palm, although it was more of a stagger that he performed than a lean into it, nearly tumbling into the tree.
Hayashi's face changed, the smile slowly faded and she slowly cocked her head, maybe she had embarrassed herself and maybe he didn't feel the same. With a misled but unhappy sigh she looked to the pendant around her chest that Yoshikuni had given her when she was but 5 years, him 7. The silver and smooth casing was in the shape of an oval, more of an elliptical fashion than that of an oval actually; inside were the contents of a poem, a poem that he himself had written only at that young age. It was the first instance of which Hayashi had begun to feel deeper feelings for Yoshikuni, at first it was nothing as serious and long-term as the feelings and thoughts that she housed within her mind now, but she always had admired him, revered him, adored him … Like a younger sibling always wanting to be as wise or as skilled as their older sibling(s). She heard a sound that brought her gaze from the pendant back up to him, it was the sound of his forearm guard smacking against the tree, she gasped and rushed forwards, making sure to catch him, just in case he did fall. With her palm, at least twice as small as his own she placed it against his chest, her right palm that is, the left moved in to intercept his arm that was free of the tree, tightly clasping his hand. With a soft sigh she smiled and was glad that he didn't fall, "Yoshikuni-San, what would you do without me?" she said with a chuckle, helping him to stand up straight, she didn't know that it was simply the wrongs and doings of his past demons that haunted him, not the affectionate nature that she had towards him.
Unable to help but blush again at her face, staring into her eyes for a moment as she held his hand, should he tell her the thoughts, the horrors and nightmares that ran a constant marathon of remembrance throughout his mind? He was at a standstill … He wasn't sure how she might take it, even if she did know he was an assassin. After a long few minutes of staring into another's eyes, he finally chuckled, the blush fading and his warm, familiar smile returning to his face.
"Come, Hayashi-Dono, let us go and gather the herbs for the tea yes?" he said and gave her hand a soft squeeze, like he always did when he held it.
She nodded and returned the smile that he gave to her, beaming with happiness and the cheery attitude that put the little bounce in her steps had returned to her. "Yes … Yes, let us go and do that, Yoshikuni-San …" she said, trailing off at the end as she returned the tender squeeze of his slightly larger hand. 'He has such small hands for an assassin …' she thought, and smiled to herself as she thought it, leading him on towards the small dip that led to the glade in which they gathered the ingredients for the tea.
The base of Mount Hei was the spot where the glade produced the best tea in almost the entire Kansai region and it was all because of the herbs that grew at the base of the magnificent mountain. It was here, for more than 1000 years, that the people of what is now and always had been Japan, gathered the herbs, making sure to never take too much so that they would always return, so that there would always be tea. Another perk was that since the start of the Meiji Era, the trading ports in Yokohama had increased the demand of tea from Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo, which is now Tokyo.
The couple walked down the valley, towards the spot that they had both taken the time to memorize, it was their own special gathering spot, not even Yoshikuni's assassin comrades had knowledge of where he and his 'lovebird' as they called her, gathered their herbs from. He was still holding onto her hand, letting the soft press of the grass beneath their sandals be the only sound that they heard, not including the continuous chirping of the jay's and the larks of which Japan housed with pride in their great island. They would be only another five or so minutes from the spot and the sky above them was as any other spring day's sky, blue, serene, and cloudless … The makings of yet another perfect day, or … So it seemed … Trouble, always lurking where the heart so pure and trustingly foolish and naïve, would least expect it to hide. Suddenly, a disturbance in the air, a slice of wind, splitting the very bond of which held the matter between the two particles of an atom together, had Yoshikuni's eyes widening with the realization that this was about to get very, very complicated … And it was going to get complicated very, very fast. Hayashi hadn't noticed anything but she soon realized that something was wrong as her gaze widened slightly, in synchronization with the slow and fearful turning of her head towards his, "Yoshikuni-San …? W-What is going-!" she was cut off mid-speech by the dismissing and silencing movement of his free hand and appendage, the finger of which belonged to the index joint of his knuckle, pressed swiftly, yet gently to her curvatures of the mouth, indicating he wished to have silence.
Yoshikuni stepped in front of her, drawing the blade of ebony and silver alloy that had rested peacefully in its blood-stained sheath, waiting patiently for the time of which its master bade it from its slumber, and that moment happened to be right now.
"Show yourself, heathen! This one would rather not have to make too much of a mess in front of the lady, so make this easy!" different from before he called out with a barking and demanding tone, his grip tightening the hilt of his death delivering crescent shaped tool.
Hayashi gasped and squeezed his hand tightly again, pressing up behind Yoshikuni, she wasn't used to the sight of blood … She had never seen anyone killed before and she wasn't sure if she was able to harbor the thought, "Y-Yoshikuni-San …? What is going on …?" her voice was nothing more than a quiet and frightened whimper as she pressed tighter to his back, her chin overhanging his shoulder blade.
"Hayashi-Dono, please stay ba- …!" cutting off his speech he suddenly threw her to the ground and took a leap, landing in a curling position above her surprised and confused form, his back arched to keep the debris from hitting her. Suddenly, following his rather strange actions a large explosion blew through the valley, silencing the song of the birds and the buzz of the bee's, finishing off the spectacle was an enormous amount of dirt and of stones that flew in all directions, a few of such things slammed and pierced through the back of his robe, continuing to break the layer of his skin which had small trickling lines of his blood dripping down his backside, lightly seeping through and coloring the robe's white purity with the unnatural and sickly blood red.
A silence lingered about in the valley and the atmosphere while the misty brown haze of small particles of soil fluttered and drifted towards the ground. Hayashi's eyes lined with the threatening crystalline droplets of tears.
"Yoshikuni … Yoshikuni, you're hurt! Oh my … You're hurt and it is my fault …" she said, her voice cracked and she was unable to hold the tears back any longer, they flowed from her eyes, staining her cheeks with the running lines of her emotion.
All that Yoshikuni did was chuckle and slowly rise, turning to face the outline and shadow of a figure standing about 35-40 feet away … It was a man, hooded cloak donned his face and masked his identity, much like that of Yoshikuni himself, although the man guised himself to the basic apparel of an assassin, it would not fool Yoshikuni … Finally he parted his lips, allowing the words to flow and run off the edge of his lips, "This one is fine, Hayashi-Dono …" he said "Ti's but a scratch … And a reason for this one to get some answers, whether they be obtained with ease …" his smile faded as did his words and he glared at the other from beneath the cowl of his hood, his robes in were a bit dirty and tattered from the previous explosion. "… Or whether they must be obtained with … Persuasion … They will be obtained." finishing the speech, Yoshikuni swiftly brought the blade to a parallel position above his head, the sharpened edge of the crescent shaped steel, the dull edge curved downwards slightly and laid in line with the bridge of his nose; an ancient sword style stance, the tip of which gleamed in the light of the sun was aimed at the strange man's head, specifically, his forehead.
The only presentable problem in the scheme of things was the distance that lay between Yoshikuni and the target, a whole approximate 45 feet. Yoshikuni scowled silently beneath the cowl of his hood, he knew just as well as his opponent that he could not hit him from this distance. Seeming to sense this, the man opposing him smirked and let out a howling laugh.
"It seems that our little assassin cannot put himself in a strategically advantageous position!" the man said with a wider smirk. "Is that not what the teachings of an assassin have always been?" the man said mockery and taunt was clear evidence in his tone of voice.
With a sigh and a silent curse, Yoshikuni studied his opponent for the first time in full detail, ignoring the throbbing and searing pain from his backside. The man was large, at least six feet and five inches tall, heavily muscled. That would pose a problem in close combat, what Yoshikuni lacked in strength he made up for in skill of blade, although, Yoshikuni could not see a single hint of a sword on any part of the man's strange attire. He looked somewhat like a mock imitation of an assassin, what with the hood and all, but his outfit … It definitely was not from Japan, too modernized and strange. Yoshikuni abandoned his thoughts with a sudden realization, that the entire time he had been staring his opponent down he had not taken care to see if Hayashi was alright.
"Hayashi-Dono!" he cried with a slight panic as he quickly whipped his head around to the right, still keeping his blade poised and aimed at the stranger's forehead.
"I am alright Yoshikuni-San … I'm just … Frightened …" she was doing her best to sound alright but she knew that her tone was shaky and weak. She just hoped that he did not lose too much focus on his battle because of her, worse she hoped that he did not die because of her.
With a nod and a slow turn of his head to face the opponent once more, Yoshikuni steeled himself. He would have to kill this man, the creed be damned. He had openly threatened the life of an innocent and showed his will to do harm. For those actions alone, he must die. Surprise and shock overtook Yoshikuni when his eyes gazed upon the nothingness and the emptiness that swept the valley, the only thing present other than him and Hayashi was the swirling and slowly dissipating tendrils of smoke that spiraled upwards into the air from the bombs. Yoshikuni knew that the man was no longer in the valley because he could not feel the presence that he had felt moments before the attack. So what had his purpose been? Who was he and … What did he want with Yoshikuni? All the thoughts came in a rush and they ended when reality gripped him once more from the touch of fingers to his shoulders.
"Are you alright, Yoshikuni-San?" asked Hayashi in a gentle tone as she stepped closer to him, pressing herself gently against his backside, her chin lightly resting upon his shoulder.
Yoshikuni paused and slowly sheathed his sword, following the action with a gentle nod as one of his hands found hers. "Yes. This one is alright. Are you hurt?"
She smiled faintly and shook her head, taking the step closer until she fully had her torso up against his back, she felt safe with him close. "No, not a scratch, thanks to you. But you're hurt, Yoshikuni-San, we should take you to my father, he knows medicine quite well." she said and smiled in full this time, gently tugging him along the path through the valley back to her house.