Author's Notes
This story is set in my usual AU, about a year after Reunion. It was written for Cloud Clavell, who requested a Jinx story as prize for winning my little contest from a while back.
Chapter 1: Kimi Arashikage
The Blind Master chuckled as soon as he woke; he could hear Kimi humming merrily in the dojo from here. He got dressed and took the stairs down, intent on making sure his former apprentice was not so giddy as to forget to actually do her chores and exercises. He found her sweeping the dojo, just like she should have been.
She stopped when he came in and her feet shuffled as she turned in his direction. He heard the fabric move as she bowed, and her voice coming from waist-height confirmed it. "Good morning, Blind Master!" she said brightly. The sweeping resumed a second later.
The Blind Master chuckled again. "I swear, one would think it's your lover you're expecting to see today, not your cousin!"
The sweeping stopped again as the young woman startled. "Eww," she said pointedly. "And he used to be more of a big brother than a cousin, you know that. I… it wasn't fun when he… left."
The Blind Master sobered back up immediately; Kimi did not often talk about that period of time and when she did, it was with the same internal battle between reserve and a desire to confide that her voice revealed now.
"Difficult times," he said. "For all of you."
Kimi nodded and started sweeping again, in silence this time. The Blind Master left her to it; if the memories were so keen on gaining her attention today as to be so easily summoned, it was perhaps best to indulge them now and hopefully be done with it than to allow them to overflow once company was here, and ruin the moment.
- Japan, years earlier -
It was the dead of the night, and unbeknownst to anyone but themselves, the Arashikage clan was on the hunt. It was, like most things ninja, a quiet and secret affair; the groups moved through the city invisible to all but themselves. Also like most things ninja, it was dangerous business.
Their prey had been, up to earlier that night, one of their own: the third highest ranking member of the clan, actually. He was also among the most dangerous ninjas in Japan, the kind of warriors one prefers to have on one's side. They had permission to kill him on sight, from a safe distance, and nearly all of the hunters intended to try and do just that; engaging him, even with the advantage of surprise and the further advantage of numbers, was simply too dangerous.
Besides, who would argue that a man capable of killing the leader of his clan, his own uncle, deserved any better?
Kimi Arashikage was running along with the rest of her group more out of ingrained obedience than anything else. She most certainly didn't actually want to catch their quarry. Despite being told in no uncertain terms by the Soft Master that Tommy had killed the Hard Master, she was having a lot of trouble thinking of the man they were chasing as anyone else than her cousin. And her cousin would never have done such a thing as he was now accused of.
Except he had. Apparently. She didn't quite believe it, but she had been trained practically from birth to trust her elders' judgement, and the Soft Master was so sure that her own uncertainty felt like childish denial. Besides, it had been obvious for a while that Tommy had changed since he'd come back from the war. She didn't know how much of it was because of his service, how much because of his father's death, and how much because of having to serve as a wage earner, but even when he was around, he seemed colder, more distant, and above all, he was angry pretty much all the time. The Young Master was a very different person than her cousin Tommy had been; of that there was no doubt. Given that, it made no sense to try and guess at his actions based on old childhood memories.
Immature and unjustified as it was, though, the feeling that Tommy couldn't possibly have killed their uncle was hard to shake off. So much so that the fact he'd most likely be killed on sight if he was found turned her stomach. The idea that she might see it happen, if the group she was in now happened to find her cousin, horrified her.
It was therefore a great relief when they were called back to the compound for some rest. She didn't see how she could possibly sleep, but anything was better than being out here, chasing after Tommy with the intent of killing him for a murder she still couldn't quite believe he was guilty of.
She was intercepted in front of her house by her aunt, the clan's matriarch and the widow of the Hard Master. Kimi braced herself to hide her own doubts on Tommy's guilt, determined not to add to Obake Obaasan's burden by questioning how the clan was seeking justice for the shameful murder.
The woman was wearing her usual scowl, and gestured the teenager inside. Kimi followed her in, forcing a smile directed at her mother as she took off her shoes. The ghost did not react, although its posture changed slightly into a more relaxed position. The kunoichi in training suddenly wondered whether her uncle was also now wandering the mortal realm.
Obake Obaasan seemed to read her mind. "My husband has moved on," she said. "I can't pretend he is exactly at peace at the moment, but he is at least not trapped like your poor mother."
The matriarch's tone did not waver at all. She sounded, as she usually did, very focused on business. Kimi had no idea what to make of this. She followed her aunt to the table and made to sit opposite her before she caught herself.
"May I offer you some tea?" she asked. "I haven't had the chance to say, I am very, very sorry..."
"Thank you for your sympathy, but please sit. I'd prefer not to delay our conversation."
The teenager swallowed, nodded and sat.
"The Young Master did not kill his uncle," her aunt started. "The very thought is ridiculous." The statement was firm and did not invite any argument.
Her niece could not contain a sigh of relief. She would later wonder whether her aunt had been right or a victim of wishful thinking, but for now, there was no questioning the Goblin Granny.
"A fact which will not help him survive," the matriarch added, her lips pursing. "The Soft Master is blinded by grief, and I can only hope he'll figure this out before it's too late. In the meantime, however, I want you out of here. I will not have you made to chase and possibly help murder your cousin, and I will not have you branded a traitor for refusing to do so."
Kimi's eyes widened. The thought of escaping the obligation to hunt down Tommy was beyond welcomed, but had her aunt just said she thought the Young Master would definitely be killed sooner or later? And what exactly did she mean when she said she wanted her out of here?
"I don't know whether Tomisaburo will escape or not," Obake Obaasan said, once again seeming to read her mind. "I certainly hope he will, and I will do everything I can to ensure that he does. Sadly, in this case, 'everything I can' amounts to very little. Thankfully, I can at least get you out of harm's way. I am sending you to the Blind Master. Tonight."
The teenage kunoichi in training swallowed nervously. "Isn't he… in America?" she asked.
Obake Obaasan nodded. "It's best for you to be too far to be asked to come back regularly. If things degenerate, you will also be safest well away from here."
The newly widowed woman relaxed very slightly when her niece did not ask how things may degenerate. A ninja clan was trying to kill one of their own masters; one did not need to be able to imagine the exact way it would happen to know things could easily get extremely ugly as the other clans got involved. The question Kimi did ask didn't take her by surprise.
"What about Mom?" The girl glanced quickly towards the entrance, where the ghost was, as usual, standing guard. "She doesn't like when I go out. How will she take it if I'm gone for a really long time?"
"I'm sorry to say that I don't know. Because she continues to guard the house when you are not in, I believe she forgets that you're out shortly after you leave. If that's the case, she will not be aware of your prolonged absence and will be spared the stress she's under whenever she sees you leaving the safety of home. On the other hand, she will not get to see you and will therefore not be regularly reassured that you are well. But then, we don't know how she perceives time." The matriarch sighed. "The living must always be our priority, Kimi. Go pack a change of clothes, and be quick about it. We don't want to risk the Soft Master checking on you just as you're on your way out."
Kimi snatched her mind back to the present; despite her fears and apprehensions, she had been relieved to leave back then. Leaving meant she didn't have to try and kill her own cousin; it meant she didn't have to keep looking at her miserable, trapped mother several times a day; it meant she didn't have to see the clan fall apart; she'd had no doubt that it would and sure enough, there was basically nothing left of it now other than their core family. It had very nearly been even less.
She found she was staring at the closet, where she'd just stowed her broom, and gave her head a shake to displace the memories. She didn't want to be rehashing those things, there was no point. Nor was there any point in feeling guilty over the fact her 14 year old self had selfishly been glad to follow a direct order she'd have had to obey regardless.
These times were over; her family, or at least what was left of it, was slowly reuniting and was even starting to build a clan again since Tommy had advised them his apprentice was with him. The kunoichi chuckled; it had taken him over a decade, but her cousin had finally found himself a student. Chances were he'd have a few more by this time tomorrow: the Blind Master would only be too happy to pass over some of his less promising students.
Until, of course, they both left to rejoin GI Joe. Technically, Tommy was here to evaluate her and help his Commanding Officer decide whether she was worthy of the team. She knew she was, and therefore was confident she'd be transferred to the team, but she couldn't blame the brass for having a few doubts since she had spent quite a bit of time since enrolling doing far less than her best. The Blind Master called it self-sabotage, and she supposed he was right. She bit her lip and forced her thoughts away from the subject: this was a GOOD day. No time to be getting upset over the past.