Education

Saizō found them a shallow cave in which to spend the next night. He'd followed a line of hazel shrub to the base of the cliff. The bushes formed a small clearing, just wide enough to protect the cave's narrow entrance from unexpected visitors. The cave was wide enough for the two of them and their horses, the ground inside and out level and dry. When he found a spring emerging from the rocks only a short walk away, Saizō was content with his choice.

Kamanosuke had been quieter than usual during the day's ride, merely complaining about being hungry until they stopped in a village they passed through for bowls of udon and platefuls of dumplings. The redhead wasn't sulking, but he didn't respond to Saizō's attempts at conversation, either. He barely looked at his companion and every now and then, a deep blush would creep from his collar to his ears. As the day wore on, Kamanosuke began to favour his left shoulder, though he vehemently denied being in pain when Saizō made the mistake of asking.

"I want to train," Kamanosuke whined after they'd settled the horses and lit a small fire to sleep beside. "You promised to teach me!"

"I will," Saizō agreed, "but we don't need weapons." He raised both hands, palms out, to stop Kamanosuke's next tirade before it started. "Tell me who taught you to fight."

The flush that painted the redhead's cheekbones at that point didn't surprise Saizō this time. Neither did Kamanosuke's defiance.

"Nobody. I taught myself."

"Then you did well. But there's more to being a fighter than using a weapon. There are other skills you may find useful. Ninja skills." He looked up and caught Kamanosuke's gaze. "Tonight's lesson is stealth. I want you to surprise me."

"How?" The green eyes narrowed suspiciously and Saizō found the look far too enticing. Kamanosuke's glare was never just confined to his eyes. His whole body came to life when his temper flared and Saizō had to take a moment to breathe and remember what he was doing.

"I will sit here by the fire and prepare food for us." Saizō placed a senbon beside each of his hips. "I want you to remove at least one senbon without me noticing."

"That's all?" Kamanosuke squinted, still suspicious.

"It's not as easy as it looks."

And it wasn't.

While he watched over their food and Kamanosuke tried to get close enough to snatch a senbon, Saizō remembered his own lessons: the endless hours of learning to be quiet, to stay out of sight, blend into the background and move without attracting attention.

Kamanosuke's volatile temperament made it difficult for him. Being still was a challenge and he had never learned to move in silence or blend into his surroundings. Leaves rustled under his feet, twigs snapped, his coat caught on branches. He disturbed pebbles and cast shadows. For most of the time, Saizō could hear him breathing or swearing softly under his breath. But Kamanosuke was tenacious. Every time Saizō caught him, he started over. And with every attempt he came closer to his goal.

"Dinner is almost ready." Saizō moved from his position when he saw how pale Kamanosuke's face had grown. He had to be in significant pain, but of course Kamanosuke was far too stubborn to admit it. "Let me show you how it's done. That should help you cover the last few feet."

They traded places. Kamanosuke settled in front of the cave beside the fire while Saizō disappeared into the trees. He did the one thing Kamanosuke had not thought to do, even though it most resembled his usual style of attack. He approached from the front, keeping the fire between himself and his target.

The younger man stared into the flames and now and then stirred the stew with idle movements. The green eyes were hazy and Saizō was relieved he'd thought of some form of training that didn't involve more blood, mayhem and exertion. The redhead was heedless and there was always the chance that he'd be hurt worse before he agreed to take the rest he needed. Practicing stealth skills at least didn't carry the propensity for further injuries. And Kamanosuke really needed to learn how to move undetected.

Saizō didn't have Sasuke's level of skill, the Koga nin managed to all but disappear in a wood, but he used leaves and twigs to soften his outline and soil to darken the skin of his face and hands. Then he dropped to his stomach and slid towards Kamanosuke. He moved an inch at a time, all thought and distraction drowned by memories, until his fingers touched the senbon. He picked it up and retreated just as carefully until he was back under the cover of the trees. After he'd cleaned the dirt and vegetation off himself, he stepped from the trees well in Kamanosuke's line of sight and held up his trophy.

"There you go."

Kamanosuke started, looked for the two senbon beside him and then glared at Saizō. "I didn't even see you," he accused. "You moved too fast!"

"Wrong." Saizō settled himself beside the fire once more. "I moved very, very slowly. The trick with stealth isn't speed. It's concealment and patience."

"Which I don't have."

Saizō took note of the sullenness in Kamanosuke's voice, but blamed it on the pain. "You're a quick study," he said. A simple statement of fact. "You'll learn." He removed the pot with the bubbling stew from the hook over the fire and put a pot of water in its place. Kakei had handed him a small pack of herbal tea before they left. Seeing how pale Kamanosuke was and how carefully he moved, the healing brew might do him good.

"There's something I wonder about," Saizō said after they had shared a peaceful meal and he sat and watched tiny bubbles gather in the base of the pot. "How did you know we would be followed from the inn?"

It was the wrong thing to say. Kamanosuke stiffened and then turned his head away from Saizō's scrutiny. "I knew."

"Yes. But how?"

The redhead's reluctance to answer sparked a flash of irritation in Saizō, but he kept his temper on a leash. He wanted to know what he had missed. Starting an argument would be pointless when it was his aim to gather information.

"Kamanosuke?"

An exaggerated sigh was his reply. "You're a pain," Kamanosuke groaned, resolutely staring into the trees.

"You told me I wouldn't see a trap until I walked into it," Saizō prodded. "I concede that you were right. So tell me how you spotted it."

Kamanosuke finally spun around at that. "I just knew. Isn't that enough?"

It wasn't, but Saizō couldn't find the words to explain why he needed to know. He glared at the cups as the brewed tea and thought back over everything he'd seen the younger man do and say since they met. "The men you stood on the bridge with," Saizō said slowly, trying to work things out.

"What about them?"

"They looked similar to the lot that accosted us in the woods." He speared the redhead with a hard look. "Did you use to rob inns?"

"What? No."

"But you robbed people. You killed for money."

"So did you."

"I wasn't judging you. I'm trying to understand how you saw a trap when I did not."

"You're judging. You always do." Kamanosuke's voice grew quiet and unusually pensive. "And yet, when I wanted you to kill me, when I begged you to finish what you started, you let a girl dissuade you."

"Isanami isn't just any girl. If she'd not been there, I would have killed you."

"No. You wouldn't."

For an endless heartbeat or two, the green glare burned with an emotion Saizō couldn't identify. Then Kamanosuke turned away from the fire and stretched out on his blankets. Soon, the shuffling and rustling of him getting comfortable died away and the crackling of twigs snapping the flames was the only sound between them.

"Were you really so desperate to die?"

Saizō's question cut the silky darkness like a well-honed blade, silently and too fast to avoid. The fire had burned to embers and Saizō lay on his side, head propped up on his hand, watching the last tiny flames dance over deep red coals. The redhead's words turned circles in his mind. He contemplated them from all angles, but nothing in his experience matched what he thought he'd heard in Kamanosuke's voice. Even when he felt like an outcast, fated to wander without aim and suffer without cause, Saizō had never thought of throwing his life away. That Kamanosuke might have seriously considered it bothered him more than he was willing to admit.

"Were you?"

His voice was a mere breath on the wind and he didn't expect to hear Kamanosuke's voice rise in reply. When the answer came, though, it stopped his heart for a beat.

"Maybe."