Copyright: AEG is the owner of Legend of the Five Rings, not me.
Author's Note: For those of you very familiar with canon, the Shiba are considered the family line of the governors of Nikesake. I don't believe that makes sense, believing the city of peace and friendship should be governed by the Asako family, with the Shiba always being the commander of the Provincial Guard. If you disagree with that view, kindly let me know.
The young samurai was grateful for losing his footing; if he had not tripped over he might have died. His opponent's weapon swung with lethal force as it narrowly missed his head, colliding instead with empty space. As it was, Asako Meiyuu wondered if any of his ancestors looked down on him with disgust whilst he lay prone on the grass, his broken shinai beside him. Slivers of wood bit into the soft flesh between Meiyuu's thumb and index finger. He knew touching it could only make it worse, but in spite of the sharp pain he found he could not resist the opportunity to flex the injured hand a fraction. Unfortunately, the movement shifted the splinters a little, causing fresh pain and fresher blood to emanate from the wound. Meiyuu winced.
"Asako-sama, are you alright?" Shigeaki's tone was laden mostly with concern, but Meiyuu's court training allowed him to detect guilt and a good measure of remorse, too. Not that he expected anything else.
Meiyuu tried to calm himself by inhaling deeply, but he found that his injured hand would not be ignored; the sharp pain was now joined by the dull throbbing of his pulse, as though his heart knew there was a leak somewhere and rushed to find out why. At least the splinters were plugging the punctures they had made. Mostly.
"Asako-sama?"
Meiyuu looked up now reflexively, surprised to hear Shigeaki so near. Had not only a second passed? "It is nothing, Kakita-san."
The Crane bushi crouched down beside the fallen Phoenix. His chest was bare, as Shigeaki never trained fully clothed, but the sky blue hakama pleated pants he wore were of exquisite quality for fabric familiar with sword practice. Patches where sweat still made the silk glisten brightly under the morning sun were evident.
"With all due respect, Asako-sama, I am certain that my Doji cousins taught you to accept the help of friends better than that. Assuming you still consider me a friend after that bout." It was almost a question, but not quite; more of an uncertainty in the faintness of Shigeaki's voice.
Meiyuu did the best thing he could think of to put the other samurai at ease: he laughed. Sure, it was not as elegant as an impromptu haiku on companionship, but rare indeed was the poet who could devise a witty masterpiece even as he lay on his belly with a bleeding hand. "Kakita-san, it is true that my Crane sensei have taught me to seek out alliances to achieve diplomacy. However, I think you forget that I have the soul of a Phoenix, and most members of my clan are raised with a strong sense of humility."
Shigeaki nodded and extended his hand to help Meiyuu up. "Apparently you take that to heart more than others, prostrating yourself on the ground and paying respects to the samurai who just defeated you in combat."
Meiyuu laughed again, then with Shigeaki's aid managed to stand up awkwardly. Meiyuu's own clothing had darkened all along his front, the result of the damp morning grass and dirt that carpeted the training grounds of the castle dojo. He instinctively began to wipe his hands down the fabric, only to wince again from his injury. "Kakita-san, having just sparred with you I am reminded as to why we courtiers call upon our yojimbo instead of wielding a katana ourselves."
Shigeaki frowned. "You might be used to the ink brush, but you are still samurai, Asako-sama."
"You have a point, but I doubt my duties will lead to the battlefield. Father seems to have other uses for me. I should get this tended to." Meiyuu bowed slowly to the Crane, wary of losing his balance after his fall. "I do apologise for interrupting your morning training, Kakita-san, I have caused you trouble."
Shigeaki returned the bow before replying, "No trouble at all, on my end, Asako-sama. I only wish you would practise more regularly. Danger does not wait for a yojimbo to be present."
"Misa-chan, please? I hate to mention it, but I am bleeding here." Meiyuu held out his hand, showing his little sister the wound.
Asako Misa, a year younger than her brother and a good foot shorter, did not bother looking up from the scroll she was reading, a treatise on the musical preferences of air kami. "Can't Isawa-san take care of it for you? I am not very confident with healing magic." Isawa Shota was the resident water shugenja charged with a myriad of roles at Nikesake Castle, among them overseeing the magical defence of the city itself, and just as importantly, advising Meiyuu's father on all matters relating to the kami.
"I couldn't find him, and after several minutes of searching I realised I couldn't feel the pain in my hand anymore. Is that bad?"
Misa sighed noisily, closing her scroll and looking up from her cushion at her brother. Judging by the furrowed brow and pursed lips, she was not impressed by Meiyuu's combat injury.
"Seriously, Misa, we're the same flesh and blood." To emphasise this statement, he waved his hand at her.
There might not have been too much blood visible, but it was enough to soften his sister's facial expression. She looked her brother up and and down before setting her sight on his right hand. "Ume, bring me a bowl of water," she commanded confidently, without looking at her servant who was kneeling in a far corner of the room, "and some sake, any quality."
"Hai, Asako-sama," the servant replied before leaving the room through a rear entrance.
Meiyuu shook his head. "I don't understand why you petitioned so hard for father to allow you to move into these chambers. Don't you feel exposed with so many exits? Besides, I thought these chambers were haunted."
Misa giggled dismissively. "I can protect myself from ghosts just fine, brother. The air kami like frequenting this area of the castle, which means so do I. Now hurry up and sit," she instructed, patting a cushion adjacent to her, "Or don't you want my help after all?"
He might be in his early twenties and have more authority in the city of Nikesake as the governor's third born child, but Meiyuu hurried to comply with his younger sister's wishes. He knelt down in a well-practised seiza position and placed his hand in Misa's open palms.
There was silence as she closed her eyes, and Meiyuu felt his body shiver, starting from his hand and ending with the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He shrugged uncomfortably, and watched his sister almost fearfully, not certain he liked whatever she was doing.
The rice paper door to one side of the room slid open suddenly, and Meiyuu flinched. The servant Ume entered through the open door, carrying a wooden tray with a bowl and two porcelain sake bottles.
"Relax, brother. You are harder for the air kami to read if you're all stiff."
"I don't recall asking for you-or the air kami-to read me, Misa," Meiyuu responded tersely.
His sister just laughed sweetly. "Isn't that interesting? I don't remember asking permission. This is my price for helping you. Ooh, the air kami thought your fall this morning was particularly amusing. They just wish they had thought of it first. Apparently it was an earth kami in the ground that made you lose your footing. Why do you think-" Misa gasped and opened her eyes widely, making direct contact with her brother's, although her gaze was filled with realisation whereas his were confused.
"An earth kami you say?"
Misa cleared some space on the low table in front of them for Ume to place the tray; the servant then moved back to her original position in the room as Meiyuu's sister poured a whole bottle of sake into the bowl of water gently, so as to avoid spilling. "First thing is first, brother. Let me fix your hand. The other bottle is for you to drink, if the pain increases more than I can control."
"But what happened with the earth ka-"
"Shh, let me work. If you distract me your hand might turn into water, instead of the water fixing your hand."
Meiyuu felt his On begin to slip through worry, but he managed to hold on tightly by mentally reciting his favourite tanka poem on bush warblers by Kitsune Harusaki.
Misa began muttering strange sounds under her breath as she immersed Meiyuu's right hand in the diluted sake.
He had cringed, predicting the fresh wave of stabbing pain his injury would bring when it made contact with the alcohol, but instead all Meiyuu felt was a tingling numbness from his fingertips to his wrist. He gathered up the courage to peer straight into the bowl, and was amazed to see the splinters of the broken shinai that had embedded themselves into his skin were dissolving rapidly. He stared at a sliver of wood, watching for the moment when he would see nothing but water where the wood used to be.
But then his whole arm was on fire, and Meiyuu could not help but scream in agony as his body trembled under the strain.
And yet, just as suddenly as the pain had begun, it ended, Meiyuu's arm again mercifully numb.
"Uh, sorry, that was my small mistake brother. I had to direct the water kami to a splinter that was rather firmly stuck in the muscle of your hand, and I forgot to remind the kami about taking on your pain. The water kami are very generous; they are happy to withstand the burden of someone's pain through the infinite power of the ocean, but they'll only remember to do it if you constantly ask it of them. Anyway, your hand is all better now. It might smell like sake for a while though...Brother? Meiyuu, can you hear me?"
Meiyuu rubbed his forehead with his left hand, before nodding slowly. "I understand. Thank you for taking the time to help me." Meiyuu wiped his right hand on his still dirty clothing and examined his sister's handiwork. "Looks and feels as good as new."
Misa smiled warmly. "Happy to help. I do recommend not lighting any candles with that hand until you have washed thoroughly though. Just to be on the safe side." She waited for her brother to laugh, but after a few seconds of awkward silence she sighed. "I am sorry for that, Meiyuu. When it comes to the kami, my only true affinity is with the air kami. The spirits of the other elements usually ignore me or have difficulty in hearing my prayers."
Meiyuu tore his gaze from his repaired hand to look at his sister. "I appreciate your effort, Misa-chan, thank you. To show my gratitude, I will give you the very next painting that my rejuvenated hand creates. I think I have some inspiration for it already. How does that sound?"
Misa nodded, relieved that she had not harmed her relationship with her elder brother. "Sounds like a fair exchange to me, although if I don't like the painting I will have to take my spell back!" She laughed gleefully. "Now, do you want to know more about the earth kami who made you trip over this morning? I can throw that information in for free, without expecting payment of a second painting."
Meiyuu made a show of considering the offer, as though he would potentially reject it. Then he grinned. "Of course! What would convince an earth kami to pay attention to my existence? I wasn't wearing my lucky netsuke when Shigeaki and I were sparring this morning."
"Luck had nothing to do with it, brother. I think that what happened this morning was-"
Another rice paper door slid open, and Shiba Junbi stepped into the room. "Please forgive my intrusion, Meiyuu-sama, Misa-sama," the elderly samurai intoned, bowing lightly. He had retired from service as their father's yojimbo a decade earlier, but his confident bearing and broad shoulders made it easy to imagine him still wearing his resplendent orange lacquered armour that stood on display in the castle's court chambers. Junbi had not stopped serving the governor of Nikesake however, taking on the role of karo, and as Meiyuu's father's chief attendant secretary he had many duties to fulfil.
"Of course, Junbi-san, I'm sure you must be on a mission of great haste to enter my chambers so unceremoniously," Misa replied, bristling. "Tell us, what is so important that you had to barge in here unannounced?"
To his credit, Shiba Junbi did not get flustered by the words of a girl a third his age, although he did nod again in apology. "It is as you say, Misa-sama. A servant has just brought a missive from your cousin Kazuo-sama, summoning your father and Kamen-sama immediately to the Blue Tiled Room, but the governor is elsewhere in the city carrying out his duties, and Kamen-sama accompanied him. It seems rather urgent."
Misa looked at her brother, concerned, but Meiyuu ignored her. "Thank you Junbi-san, I will attend to the matter in father's stead. As for the commander of the Provincial Guard, some of his subordinates will have to do. Send a servant to gather the first two guardsmen they can find. They are to meet me at the castle bridge immediately, armoured and armed. Hopefully there will be no need for them to find glory in battle today."
"Hai, Meiyuu-sama." Shiba Junbi bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Meiyuu in turn stood up, moving to exit his sister's chambers via another door.
"Brother, where are you going? That isn't the direction of the castle gate." Misa's confused tone matched her one raised eyebrow.
He just turned back to face his sister and gave her a coy smile. "This is a matter of urgency, Misa, and I can't go outside in my dirt-smeared training clothing. The reputation of our family is at stake; I simply must get changed!"