The rewritten reupload of Her Final Breath.
A small boy sat at the edge of a pond. On his right side was a pile of wet folded clothes. To his left, a shrinking pile of dirty laundry. To anyone who gazed upon him, he looked like a life-size bunraku doll. But to those that lived in his company, they knew he was more than a doll. The inside of his body was made up of futuristic technology and machinery. The large claw-like gauntlets enclosed around his lower arms could change shape and become weapons to aide his chief and master in battle.
He was a mechanical boy that embodied the purest idea of good, though he called himself a karakuri dôji. The boy's name was Ultimo.
A gentle breeze swayed Ultimo's voluminous red hair to and fro, his skin unfamiliar to the chill of the weather. His gauntlets scrubbed at the fabric of his master's wife's kimono. Soap suds gathered on the water's surface and popped on their own. He pulled the kimono out and gave it a tight wring before submerging it once more to get any remaining soap out. It didn't bother him that he was left to do his bandit family's chores. In fact, he loved doing them.
It gave him time to be left alone with his thoughts and plan for every meal for the day.
Ultimo pulled the kimono out and smiled. His smile faded as he stared at it. That's strange, he thought. I don't remember Lady Gekko ever having a kimono this nice. Not since Yamato-sama...
He scrunched his face to get rid of the thought and folded the article of clothing. That was in the past. Lady Gekko changed into a respectful woman. She's even said so herself. The good dôji's green eyes drifted back to the kimono.
It was so beautiful. Its beauty was almost insulting as it laid on top of other bandits' ratty and old kimonos.
Ultimo shook his head, a scowl on his face, and grabbed the last piece of clothing that was to be washed. Scooping a small piece of waxy soap from the block next to him, he dipped his master's loincloth into the water and scrubbed.
He tried to think of wholesome things, like what should be for dinner or if Saya would like to practice her flower crown making, but his thoughts were pushed to the side by the mental image of Lady Gekko's kimono. His scrubbing slowed.
Lady Gekko never seemed to wear the same kimono every day, or at least every few days like the rest of the bandits. The kimonos she had were almost as pretty as the one at the top of the washed clothes pile.
Ultimo huffed and scrubbed again. She's a woman, he thought. Of course she would have pretty clothes. She must want to look nice for Yamato-sama.
Swishing the loincloth around in the water to get rid of the soap, he pulled it out and smiled.
"What a hard worker you are, Ultimo," a familiar voice called out. "Diligently washing your master's loincloth again?"
Ultimo tensed. It had been a long time since he heard it, but he knew whose voice it was.
Vice, the mechanical embodiment of ultimate evil and his mortal enemy.
Ultimo shot to his feet and spun around, holding the piece of clothing close. "Vice?!" His eyes widened when he noticed the lanky man standing next to the evil dôji. The man Yamato had thought he killed, Kotsutsubo—the overthrown Emperor. "Is that...? Yamato-sa—"
"Easy now!" Vice said, throwing his hands up. "I didn't come to fight. I feel good 'cause I got a master, so I came to warn you."
"Warn me?"
Vice nodded. "Yeah, about Lady Gekko. The woman who stole your master."
The mechanics in Ultimo's chest clicked. His throat tightened. "Lady Gekko?" His eyebrows rose and his gaze dropped to the beautiful kimono.
"Don't look so glum," Vice said.
Ultimo's eyes narrowed and he took a step toward them. "I don't—"
"Don't sweat it," Vice cut him off. "You may not have noticed, but you've been jealous for some time now. Anyone would hate the sight of all that cuddling, not as much as Jealousy, though. And I hate to lose someone to fight." He grinned. "If this keeps up, your jealousy will make you bad."
Ultimo's eyes widened, his throat so tight that it was suffocating. "Me?"
"By the way, Vice," Kotsutsubo spoke up. "the other day, I saw Lady Gekko sneak into town and buy a pretty kimono." The man's eyes glazed over Ultimo and landed on the kimono on top of the clean clothes pile.
A loud click sounded off in the good dôji's throat and Ultimo took a step back. Early that morning, Yamato had been complaining of missing money before he left to wash clothes.
"What an awful thing to do!" Vice said. His grin widened. "She took what the bandits gave their lives for and exchanged it for clothes." He looked Ultimo directly in the eye. "If you don't do something, they will all fall."
The evil dôji laughed and shoved Kotsutsubo along, saluting to his opposite. "Ta-ta, Ultimo."
Ultimo watched the two walk off until they disappeared in the distance and dropped to his knees. Tears welled up in his eyes and he released Yamato's loincloth. Vice has to be lying, he thought. He's trying to break me down. Me? Jealous of Lady Gekko?
He smiled for a moment until he thought it over. He did speak to her rather unceremoniously and wasn't happy on the day she and Yamato got married. Saya had even pointed out why he treated Lady Gekko so cruelly.
He couldn't help it. Nobles were such greedy creatures. Always dressing fancier than others just because they were wealthy.
Ultimo slowly looked to the pretty kimono. If he had to guess, it was made of silk. Silk certainly wasn't cheap in this time. In fact, all of her kimonos were of pretty material and color.
Tears trailed down his cheeks. She hadn't kept her promise of living for the people. He knew she wouldn't—why would a noble keep a promise like that?
No matter what she said, she would always be a noble. Greedy, uncaring, and ready to flaunt whatever she had in the unfortunates faces.
He stood and looked down to his gauntlets. Looking back to the pretty kimono, he kicked the pile of clothes into the pond and stormed off.
Targets set on the last noble that needed to be eradicated.
The first sign to show that something was off was that Lady Gekko was jogging alone behind the village huts.
The second sign was the bundle of fabric in her arms.
Ultimo narrowed his eyes and quietly followed her. The village was empty. Yamato had everyone out looking for the lost money. Most bandits had gone to town. He didn't know when they were due back, but he believed he had plenty of time to remove the thorn in their sides.
He stopped behind a hut and peered out, watching Lady Gekko slip into her and Yamato's hut. He growled and followed her. She shouldn't be acting so strangely. Not if she was hiding something.
Ultimo peeked through the beaded doorway. Lady Gekko sighed. "I thought someone caught me for a second there," she muttered to herself.
"But you have been," he said, stepping into the hut.
Lady Gekko gasped and jumped, turning to him. "Ulti! You scared me."
The hardened look on his face remained. "Why were you sneaking through the village?"
"I didn't want to wake anyone up if they were sleeping."
"Oh? Have you found any sign of the missing money?"
She tilted her head. "Missing money? No, I haven't."
"Of course you haven't," he said. "That's because you already used it yesterday."
A hurt look crossed her face. "What're you saying? You're acting weird, Ulti."
"Don't call me that!" he shouted. She flinched. "You stole Yamato-sama's money and bought that new kimono of yours with it!"
"I-I didn't buy anything yesterday!" she said.
"You're such a terrible liar. I can't believe you'd take advantage of the people who took you in."
"I'm not taking advantage of anyone! I told you, I'm living for the people!" She stepped back when his left gauntlet shaped itself into the weapon he called Crane Sword. "E-easy now, Ultimo. Wh-what're you doing with that thing?"
The darkness shrouding Ultimo's eyes cleared and he smiled at her. "I'm going to kill you with it, Lady Gekko. And I'll see to it that your body is buried in that new kimono of yours."
She dropped the bundle of fabric and screamed. The good dôji lunged at her, not a single second thought on his mind. Lady Gekko barely stood a chance against his speed as his weapon sliced her nearly in two.
Shouting came from outside but he paid no mind to it. His smile widened as he watched the blood staining her clothes spread. A soft gurgle came from her before falling silent.
Footsteps thudded up the stairs and a man burst into the room, shouts of concern coming from behind him. The man looked from the robot to his wife. "Ultimo, what've you done?!"
"You said nobles were evil, Yamato-sama, and she was one of them," Ultimo said. He looked back at his master, the smile still on his face. "She possessed their greedy nature."