3: Pride
A few years had passed once again in a flash, a few jobs and fights being but moments in Muramasa's memory. He'd heard rumors of course, mostly about the ninja world. Like how war seemed to be more apparent now with Konohagakure having fought off Sunagakure and some other village whose name he couldn't remember. Biggest of all was the death of the Hokage. Still though, Mura didn't exactly associate with that world too much, so it was of little concern to him.
Even Iga, who was younger than he, felt like everything had gone by too fast to show that the days had been more boring than they were used to. Well, at least until a day in early spring.
Muramasa was sitting on the walkway, his attire being nothing more than his black shirt and black pants. His feet were bare, tickled by the grass that had been buried by snow until a few weeks ago. He sat, smoke curling upward from his pipe as he thought about what Youko had talked about a few minutes ago. To say the least, it was something he wasn't prepared for.
"Damn it, I really didn't expect somethin' like this t' happen."
"I guess I shouldn't have told you then."
Muramasa jumped a bit, seeing Youko who wasn't wearing one of her elaborate kimonos for once. Instead she was clad in a plain pair of blue slacks and a white dress shirt left untucked. Muramasa took his pipe and quickly put it out, stuffing it into his pocket.
"Don't stop on my account, it's not like you haven't been doing that since I met you." Youko smirked as she sat, leaning against Muramasa.
"C'mon, it's not exactly courteous, y'know."
"You speaking of courtesy, now I've heard everything."
Muramasa glanced down at the woman against him, her ebony hair shining in the afternoon sun and her alabaster skin practically glowing. Her fingers were dancing on his hand, stroking his long fingers.
"Muramasa, did you ever think we'd be like this?" she nuzzled against his arm.
"I dunno, when I first came here I thought I'd just be travelin'. Never expected t' be limpin' around half-dead in some damn forest."
"You were so angry back in those days," Youko practically giggled at the thought "I still remember when you pinned me to the floor when you were in a particularly bad mood"
"…Yeah, it was one incredibly shitty experience."
"Well, excuse me for making you stop being a brat." Youko pouted.
Muramasa stood, walking on the lawn and looking at the trees which were just beginning to bud.
"What about you, did you ever think ya'd be stuck with an ass like me?" he looked over his shoulder at her.
"Better than my parents practically ordering me to whore myself to some snob nobleman." she hugged her legs, bringing them to her chest "I guess I had bad luck being the youngest of four girls."
"Try being the only child and the only son. I don't think I'll ever meet anyone who got nagged at as much as me."
Youko smirked behind her knees, thinking of Muramasa being bugged day in and day out. She herself had been subject to similar things, though she considered them far vulgar than her beloved's situation. In the end, she never really thought she'd meet someone who had a history as alike as her own.
Standing up, Youko stood alongside the platinum-haired man, his long mane being taken by a stray breeze and blowing with it. Muramasa just kept looking at the trees, as though in a trance.
"…'Wonder how that bastard Iga's gonna take this."
"Knowing him, he'll just shout "Banzai!" at the top of his lungs like he always does." Youko practically giggled "I swear that child is nothing but a basket of enthusiasm. Still remember when he was bowing before you like a warrior before his lord."
Muramasa rubbed the back of his neck, as though he was in discomfort. One person that hadn't been thinking about was Iga. He was a part of this, being that he and Muramasa had been partners for several years. As such, it was going to be as big to him as it was for Youko and Muramasa.
"Guess I better go tell him."
XXXXX
Despite Muramasa and Youko relative reclusion, Iga was quite well-known in the nearest town. He was somewhat notorious for going to the local bars and attracting crowds of women with his silver tongue and sharp wit. Because of it, he was thought of as a bit of an annoyance to men. With Iga having done a job some days ago, he was aon another of his escapades.
"Oh, Iga-san, are you really gonna buy drinks for all of us?"
"Damn straight."
Iga, as usual, had a group of no less than five women with him. The two who were closest to him practically draped themselves on his arms and torso while the others were sitting on the floor at his feet. Iga himself had a sake dish in hand and every now and then his small harem would fight over which one would pour him sake. The red-headed ladies' man was in heaven of course.
"I tell ya, I wish there were ten of me." he practically whined.
"Oh, why's that?"
"So there'd be ten times more women! HOHOHO!"
A lame joke indeed, though the women didn't care as long as Iga was around. The entire bar was in a bit of a party as Iga had a habit of buying the entire crowd rounds if he had sufficient money. All eyes were on him. Well, until a tall figure slid open the front door and walked in.
"I swear, if you hadda go into hidin', ya'd be found in a day."
Iga practically froze since he was not used to hearing that voice while in town. Standing at the entrance to the bar was Muramasa, looking cranky as always with a pipe between his teeth. He didn't have his coat or hat, so his effeminate features and slender build were apparent. Unsurprisingly, all the women in the bar now looked at him instead of Iga.
"Iga-san, you never told us you had such a good-looking friend."
"Er, well, he doesn't show up too much so there's no real reason to say anything about him."
"Hey mister, come and drink with us!"
Muramasa didn't even really give the sake jug the girl was jutting forward. He brushed it away like a second though.
"Sorry, but I don't drink that piss with little girls. 'Sides, I'm taken."
"So, anyway," Iga really wasn't liking that his partner was getting more attention than him "Ya mind telling me what made you come into town?"
"Ta get yer drunk ass, ya halfwit. Now c'mon."
Before Iga had a chance to protest, Muramasa grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and literally yanked him over the table so high that his feet didn't touch a single bottle on it. He then reached inside Iga's jacket and threw a wad of bills on the counter.
"That should more than enough. Now c'mon"
"Hey, dammit! Grah! I'll be back girls!"
Iga knew trying to fight Muramasa wasn't going to do him any good. The first (and of course last) time he did that, he ended up face first in the dirt with a lump the size of an ostrich egg on his head. He went along with it until Muramasa finally let go of his jacket when they were outside. Dusting himself off, he raised his brow at Muramasa who normally didn't go into town.
"So, I take it you were having fun the past two days."
"Damn straight. A big job deserves a little down time and I had to spend it on a worthy cause."
"Tch, buying booze for hussies and staying at their homes ain't exactly noble."
"Well you would know about the word "noble", eh?"
Muramasa rolled his eyes, still astounded by his partner's constantly playful attitude. When he wasn't on a job, life was a party that never stopped.
"So, ya mind telling him why a hermit like you finally decided to come into town."
"Get yer horse, we gotta talk."
"? O…kay."
Those were some words Iga didn't hear very often. Last time this happened, he saw something so shocking his entire view of the world was changed. Mura was just so serious when something like this happened, it was something too damn big to contain.
They rode until they reached the dirt road leading to the forest where the house was. However, Mura stopped halfway and dismounted. He walked off the road, sitting down on the side and looking toward the east whilst leaning and propping his elbows against the grass.
"Well, ya gonna sit there all day or are ya gonna join me?"
Iga followed suit, dismounting from his own horse and sitting a foot from his partner, leaning forward with his arms on his knees. He didn't really get what was going on, but he just went with it as Mura sat in silence while looking at the horizon. They sat like that for a few minutes, Mura just looking in silence at the east.
"Go about fifty kilometers from here and you'll hit the eastern seaboard." Mura began "Head north along it and you'll hit a bigass scoop out of the land called "The Great Scar"."
"Ooooookay."
"If ya head south from here, ya'll come to the Village of Rock. Far north from here is the cold tundra where the Ainu live. Still remember when I met them the first time I came from further up."
"You're getting a bit reminiscent." Iga practically smirked "You're startin' to sound like an old man. Somethin' up?"
Mura didn't bother turning his head he just kept his posture and stared into the horizon. His eyes had a far off look in them, as though he was seeing past the seemingly never-ending plains or even the blue sky flecked with clouds.
"For some reason I'm remembering everywhere I've been. Like that time I went south and heard of some psycho cult or when I went east and heard about a dragon descending from the heavens."
"Seriously Mura, what the hell is bothering you?"
Mura still didn't turn his head, he just kept looking forward. Not giving a buildup to anything, Mura just said exactly what was going on:
"Youko's pregnant."
Iga's eyes rose, looking like it was about ready to pop right out of his skull. Muramasa finally glanced at Iga, as though he was expecting that reaction.
"Y-you're gonna have a kid together?"
"Yup."
"That's great!" Iga threw his arms up, giddy as a schoolboy "I mean, I know it wasn't expected and all, but you having a kid is a great, right?"
"…Yeah."
"Then why aren't you in a good mood?"
As though annoyed at Iga, Muramasa brushed his hand through his hair and stood up.
"Dumbass, o' course I'm happy that Youko's havin' my kid, but this means I can't keep doin' this mercenary gig."
"Uh, waddya mean?"
"Do I gotta spell it out for ya?" Muramasa was looking right at Iga now "Do you think I can afford to leave her for weeks on end by herself with the kid? Not to mention this is basically works than demands I risk my ass."
"Mura, you're a friggin' god in battle. I haven't seen ya touched yet and I doubt I'm going to."
"Tch, even I can be killed Iga. I came to that edge once and it's somethin' I can't do again, especially now."
Muramasa walked down the incline, still looking to the east. His expression was sullen.
"Is it over then? Everything we've been doing together?"
"…Maybe, it's not like we can keep doing this while I have a family waitin' for me."
"What'll ya do then?"
Muramasa brought his hand to his chin, stroking thoughtfully.
"Maybe go back home. I bet they'd shit a brick when we got back, but at least I can stop worrying about Youko all day long."
The person who was most surprised at this was Iga. So filled with shock, he leapt to his feet and yelled out his response.
"What the HELL are you talking about!? I though you became a merc because you got sick of your family shovin' all that shit down your throat!"
"Well, duh dumbass, but now it looks like I'm up a creek without a goddamn paddle."
"This is bullshit! Youko was the exact same way, she got tired of people telling her to live her life they way they wanted to, not how she wanted. And…" Iga clenched his fist "And I was the same too."
Muramasa just smirked sarcastically at Iga's passion, not the least taken aback by the fact that Iga was breathing hard from yelling. Sighing, Muramasa came back to the road.
"Pride, eh? Yeah, I remember when I left because of that."
"And so did I. That's why I joined up with you, because you didn't get to live your own life until you left. And that's why this is friggin' dumb for you to go back to those snobbish aristocrats that you have to call a family."
Sick of his partner's complaints, Muramasa turned on his heel and glared. Even Iga couldn't really stand up to his own partner when his eyes had that look in them.
"Then tell just what the FUCK am I supposed to do, eh!? If I had to choose between the safety of the only people that have ever meant something to me and pride, I'll choose their safety over these goddamned pride every damn time. You got a better plan Iga?"
It wasn't exactly something Iga could answer so swiftly. Mura always made things harder than they had to be, often because of his frank, obstinate personality. Still, Iga wasn't going to let the man he thought of as his better be forced to bow to a bunch of idiots he couldn't stand.
Iga knew what that was like, he knew too well. Having been born into a samurai family, he knew what it was like living in a prison of vanity. "Do this, learn that, watch your manners, listen to your betters, plan ahead, come to this." All that crap was the only thing Iga had ever heard growing up. Day in and day out he was treated like some machine that was expected to keep up his family's image and lineage. And now Mura, who had lived in that prison, was thinking of going back? Hell no.
"I'll…I'll look after them." Iga responded firmly.
"…What?" Muramasa brow rose as though he wasn't quite sure of what he heard.
"You heard me, I said I'll look after them. I'll watch Youko and your kid while you're away."
"Iga, have you lost it?"
"Hell no, you're the one who's lost it."
Before Muramasa could object, Iga was on his knees and his head was bowed solemnly. Muramasa grit his teeth, knowing what he'd hear.
"I've never paid you back, not once. In all the time I've known you, I've still never been able to pay back that debt."
"I never said you were in debt, ya dumbass."
"I swear on everything I am I'll look after them." Iga's head rose, his gaze showing that wasn't going to back down "If this is the only way I can pay you back then I'll do it."
Muramasa sighed at Iga, his head having bowed to the ground once again. Muramasa was obstinate, but Iga was like a goddamn wall that stood in your way saying "Just try and get past me". Whenever Iga bowed his head, Muramasa knew he had lost in an argument.
The tall man promptly walked over to Iga and shoved him down the incline with his foot. Iga fell on his back onto the grass, his expression showing annoyance at Muramasa.
"If yer gonna talk about pride, don't bow yer head, dumbass." Muramasa tossed a stand of his hair over his shoulder "Stand tall and say it like ya mean it."
Iga took the advice, standing up and looking at Muramasa who towered over him. Not intimidated, Iga stood as tall as his frame would allow.
"So, you'd sell your pride to keep mine intact?" Muramasa's brow quirked.
"…Yeah, I would."
Muramasa did something rare, he laughed. Not one of his usual chuckles, but a full, hearty laugh that was very unlike him. Iga frowned, thinking Muramasa was making fun of him (though he was). Muramasa's hands clutched his sides as though to keep them from splitting.
"Goddamn, yer one grade-a moron, ya know that?" Muramasa wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Not as much as you, dipshit."
Iga came level with Muramasa on the road and extended his hand. Muramasa smirked and took the hand, giving it a firm shake like he did so long ago. His hand covered Iga's with his fingers giving the redhead a serpentine grip.
"Once again, eh?"
"Yeah, this is a promise, Mura."