Chapter warnings: ...None, actually! What a pleasant change.
Notes: Before anyone asks, no, none of the new characters introduced in this chapter exist in either canon. Sadly, both TMNT and UY (though UY less so) lack female characters. I'm sure nobody will mind. It is not an accident that I write about "them" regarding kame until a gender is confirmed. They look completely androgynous to Usagi. LAST BUT NOT LEAST Akemi and Usagi are NOT going to become a couple or flirt beyond friendly banter so please refrain from commenting along the lines of "nooo she will destroy my ship" (if I had a dollar for every time someone said that about a female character anywhere...) And now, enjoy!
Chapter Summary: It has been too long since he has met someone like her.
THE NORTHERN KINGDOM:
USAGI YOJIMBO
CHAPTER SEVEN
Usagi spends the rest of the day inside his chamber, not knowing where else to go and frankly unwilling to meet anyone else. In the morning he is woken from an uneasy slumber by a knock at his door. When he peels himself out of the clammy blankets, his stomach grumbles, a reminder that he hasn't eaten since the last morning. It is the last hour before dawn, no longer black but not quite daylight yet, either, and he fumbles in the dark, mindful of the low table in the corner. He can't help but think that spending time in a castle should not be like this.
Opening the door, he finds neither Raphael nor Splinter in the hallway. Instead, a kame of slender build is waiting for him, holding a lantern. "Miyamoto-san?" they ask, like he could be anyone else.
"The same," he says wearily. "And to whom do I owe the pleasure?"
To his relief, the kame grins at him. "Please call me Akemi," she says. "If it pleases you to join us, breakfast has been served."
On cue his stomach grumbles again, and this time she giggles before she quickly looks away. Usagi can feel heat creeping into his cheeks. With a mumbled apology, he hurries back into the room and into his clothes, then follows her outside.
In his half-asleep state, the wood-paneled hallways she leads him through seem to go on forever. Usagi quickly gives up on trying to memorize the way and instead concentrates on following Akemi's shell which is sharply outlined by the light of her lantern even under the creases of her clothes. She is wearing some bright color that is turned orange by the flame of her candle. Throughout the walk, she makes continuous attempts at conversation, not deterred by his monosyllabic replies. He soon learns that she works in the kitchen, though she is quick to add that "at this point we are all pretty much doing whatever needs to be done".
Usagi perks up at that. "You mean there are more people still working here?"
"Of course!" she says. "Well, it's mostly me and the other girls now, and Saburon who is responsible for burning our daily rice." She giggles once again, and at this point Usagi can't help but smile as well. Her positive attitude is truly infectious.
"The other girls" turn out to be three sisters who meet them in the dining room. It is large but dimly lit, and the figures of the kame on one of the elongated tables are dwarfed in comparison. Akemi points out Sayuri, who seems determined to hide behind her sister Takara, and finally Youko who pushes a bowl of rice towards him without a word. He makes sure to introduce himself properly before he takes a seat opposite them. Akemi sidles in next to him, and throughout the dinner shows an admirable ability to carry on a whole conversation seemingly all on her own. Takara is busy eating, whereas Sayuri appears to have lost her ability to speak along with her appetite. Youko finally looks as tired as he still feels, shoveling rice into her mouth with a quiet determination. Despite Akemi's attempts to include him in the group Usagi feels distinctly uncomfortable. As soon as his bowl is empty, he excuses himself and gets to his feet.
"Must you really leave us already, Miyamoto-san?" Akemi complains.
Usagi nods. "Donatello-tono will be expecting me later. I don't want to miss him."
He is shocked to hear Youko snort into her bowl. Akemi shoots her a disapproving glare, but ultimately relents with a sigh. "In that case you may well sit down again. The young lord is rarely in any condition to receive anyone before noon."
"And why is that?" Usagi asks, but he does sit down again. Sayuri, who has been inching towards her food, shies away once more and buries her head in the folds of Takara's clothing. He tries his best to ignore her, though he can feel himself tense at her reaction.
"He needs his tea," Youko says before anyone else can react. Her voice is heavy, much darker than Akemi's, and like Sayuri she is not looking at him when she speaks. "He always drinks it with Leonardo-tono. So he will probably be late either way."
"Youko!" Akemi scolds, but the other kame waves her off.
"Whatever," she says. "I'll have a look at that damp patch again. See you around."
Without another word, she departs. Usagi watches her go with growing confusion. But there will be time to mull over what she said later. For now he is more interested in the conversation at hand.
"That reminds me," he says. "Some tea would be lovely. Is there any chance of getting a cup myself?"
Akemi shares an uneasy glance with Takara. "I can probably find some," she says slowly. "But you won't want to drink it. It's not very good."
"Oh," Usagi says, trying to hide his disappointment. But then it is only natural that the quality tea leaves would be reserved for the lords themselves. "That is alright then. Thank you anyway. You are being very kind."
"Don't mention it," Akemi says, just when Sayuri finally bursts out, "Will you be the new guard, Miyamoto-san?"
Instinctively, Usagi's hands clench into fists beneath the table. "I am not sure," he says. "Maybe. I still need to think about it."
Her eyes are very large and dark in the dim dining hall, enlarged further by the purple shadows beneath them. He can feel it like a physical pull under his skin, another hook reeling him into the contract. Curse this place, he thinks, then immediately retracts the thought. The Green Lotus castle looks like it has been cursed a long time ago; it does not need any more misfortune added by his temper. "But I probably will," he says.
"That's good," Sayuri says. After a small pause, she pulls her bowl towards herself and starts eating.
"What happened to the old guards?" Usagi asks Akemi when she leads him back to his room. At first he thinks she hasn't heard him, but after a few moments she shrugs. The light in her lantern is dancing wildly at the movement, making it impossible to see her expression even though they walk next to each other.
"They left," she says. "Or deserted, if you prefer that term." Another pause. "Some of them died."
"That's comforting," Usagi mutters, and she laughs.
"I'm sorry," she says. "I'm not being very reassuring here, am I? It truly isn't as bad as it sounds. These days nobody really bothers us anymore."
Usagi wonders whether she knows about the attack in the pavilion, but he doesn't mention it. "You also have Raphael," he points out instead.
"Yeah, well, Raphael can be lovely when he wants to be, but…"
She breaks off. At first Usagi doesn't understand why; then he, too finally registers the footsteps that are coming in their direction. Akemi presses herself closer against the wall when another kame comes into view.
Their slow walk gives more than ample time for Usagi to muster them head to two-toed feet. Their skin is stretched taut over their skull but hangs in folds over their cheeks and down their bare arms. They walk in a slow swaying rhythm, pale eyes staring ahead without acknowledging Usagi's presence at all. Next to him, Akemi seems to have stopped breathing.
It seems to take a long time for the kame to pass them enough that Akemi deems it possible to push away from the wall and hurry down the hallway again. Usagi follows after her.
"Who was that?" he asks, when he is sure they are out of earshot.
"Nobu-san," she says. "He makes the lords' tea."
Usagi waits, but she does not elaborate, and so he doesn't ask. Only when they reach the door that leads into the guards' quarters Akemi breaks the silence.
"So what do you think?" she says.
"What do you mean?"
"About this place," she says. "About us."
Her face, now turned towards him, is inquisitive, but her eyes are earnest. Usagi realizes with a start that she is not interested in platitudes; she craves the truth from him, no matter how harsh it might be. The pain and, yes, fear inside him, a small hard lump in his chest, finally gives at the sight. It has been too long since he met someone like that.
"I think it's falling apart," he says, and when she waits, he adds, "the place, and the people too."
"There is a sickness in the land," she says slowly.
He shakes his head. "I have heard that one before."
"Splinter-san is right," she says, and then, abruptly, "will you stay?"
There is no judgment on her face, nothing like the rawness on Donatello's, the hope on Michelangelo's. For the first time, the question does not make Usagi's heart race. He takes his time to consider it, until they have reached the door to what could be his room, leaking and drafty as it is. Rotting tapestry and crumbling towers and weed in the flower beds. He can't do anything about any of that, and he knows it, but that has never stopped him before.
"I think I will," he says. "What do you think?"
"If you decide to leave, nobody will hold it against you," she says. "But some people might take it personal if you decide to stay."
Usagi thinks of the way Raphael's fists curled at his side when he looked at him. "Maybe it'll do them good."
Akemi grins. "It has been a bit uneventful lately," she says. At his raised eyebrows, a laugh escapes her. "You can only be jumped by ninja so many times before it gets old, you know."
"Yeah, right."
She laughs again. "It will be a pleasure working with you."
"Likewise," he says, and finds that he means it.
When Usagi enters his room, the first rays of sunlight have broken through the crooked blinds and draw bright patterns on the floor. It shows up the dust and dirt and, yes, blood on him in stark contrast to his fur. So he turns around and sticks his head out of the door.
"Akemi-san!"
She turns around, already halfway down the hallway. Even so he can see her grin flash white in the dark.
"Usagi-san!" she calls back, clearly teasing, and he laughs.
"Is there any place to clean up in?" he asks.
"Why, yes, there is." She thinks for a moment, then she comes back to the door. "I'd show you the big room, but I understand you are kind of in a hurry, and you really shouldn't rush something that nice. Come on, this way."
Usagi has half a mind to tell her that 'the big room' which is 'that nice' sounds perfect to him, but she is right – he is in a hurry, if only because he has no idea what is going to happen when. So he follows her outside and along the walls until they reach what he assumed was simply a collapsed tower yesterday.
"This used to be a guard tower, but we repurposed it when it fell to ruin," Akemi explains while she ushers him inside. The small room at the bottom is still mostly intact, though the stairs have been replaced with a rope ladder and there is a circular hole in the ceiling. "Now we call it quickrain. It's for when it gets too hot in the summer and your skin gets all dry and itchy." She eyes him critically for a moment. "Well, ours does, anyway. I guess you mammals don't really have that problem."
"Not really," Usagi says. He eyes the hole in the ceiling again. "So how does it work?"
"It collects rain water into a tank upstairs," Akemi says. "Don't worry, it gets cleaned regularly. You just pull this rope," she hands him a rope that is connected to the hole somehow, "and it douses you with water. Quick but effective."
"That is quite clever," Usagi agrees. He waits for a moment, but when it becomes evident that Akemi is not going to leave by herself, he clears his throat. "Is it, um, alright with you if I use it on my own…?"
"Oh!" She blushes, deep splotches of mottled red appearing on her cheeks. "Yes! Of course. I always forget… I'm leaving. I'll be waiting outside, that is. Uh. Call me if you need anything."
He smiles at her, glad that his fur hides his own blush. "I'll do that."
She turns away towards the doors; Usagi can hear her sit down further along the wall, her shell meeting the rock with a dull thud before she slides to the floor. No doubt still just as embarrassed as he is. Evidently appropriate behavior among kame is very different from what he is used to. Still, the entrance has no door, so he strips down as quickly as possible and places his folded clothes as far from where he estimates the water to come down as he can in the tiny room. Only when he is standing beneath the dark hole in the ceiling again he hesitates and takes a deep breath to steel himself against the cold water.
It's not enough. As soon as he pulls the rope, a thin but steady stream of ice cold liquid douses him head to toe, and he can't help the string of curses that leaves his lips even as he frantically rubs the worst of the caked dirt out of his fur. He has to stop the water twice just to catch his breath, and each time it gets worse to pull the rope again, until he finally can't stand it anymore and jumps to the side. He hops up and down for a while, trying to get the feeling to return into his icy skin, before he shakes himself violently to get rid of the excess water. He has to wring out his ears manually, which is the worst of it; by the time he slips back into his fundoshi and hakama, his fur is standing on end and his teeth are chattering.
He exits the tower with his upper body exposed, hoping that the morning sun will to a better job at drying his back before he soaks through the rest of his garments as well. Akemi is sitting not too far off in a small patch of light, her eyes closed and her face turned towards the sky. When she hears him approach, she opens her eyes and smiles up at him.
"Cold, cold, oh my gods what did I do to deserve this?" she repeats with a cheeky grin that Usagi returns. Her eyes widen, however, when she fully looks at him, and she quickly averts her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't – I thought you were ready."
"I am," he says. "I just need to dry off a bit. I can put my clothes back on now, if you'd prefer. I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't offend me." After a moment, she turns her head back towards him, and her eyes follow his movements as he squats down next to her in the light. "I'm just not used to seeing people without a shell on their backs, that's all."
"Ah." Usagi considers that for a moment. "I on the other hand am not used to shells, so I suppose I know what you mean."
"It must be weird for you to be here." Akemi winks at him. "Show you mine if you show me yours?"
Usagi laughs. "An old man like me? I'm sure you can find someone more your age. And with better back muscles, too. Give you something for your money."
His playful nudge is interrupted by a high voice calling his name from the main courtyard. He gets to his feet, and Akemi follows, still giggling. She tapers after him when he makes his way through the shrubbery to find out what the commotion is about. "That's Sayuri," she says. "Probably come to fetch you for your appointment."
Sure enough, the young girl is waiting for them in the yard. When she sees Usagi, she immediately averts her eyes with a squeal, and this time he gives in and throws his haori back on.
"Thank you for coming to get me," he says. "Is it time for me to see Donatello-tono?"
Instead of an answer, Sayuri simply nods; as soon as Akemi is within reach, the other girl latches onto her sleeve and all but disappears behind her. Akemi shares a sympathetic look with Usagi. "Will you be able to find your way on your own? I can show you the right door, and from there it's just up two floors."
When he confirms, Akemi takes him back inside, this time through the main doors. The right staircase is not hard to find, but Usagi makes sure to thank Sayuri especially before she hurries away, presumably back to her other duties. Akemi lingers for another moment. As soon as Sayuri is out of earshot, she leans over to Usagi.
"No matter what you've been told," she whispers conspiratorially, "your back muscles are just fine, Miyamoto-san."
Before he can do more than snort at her, she has followed Sayuri around the corner and disappeared. With a shake of his head, Usagi sets on climbing the stairs.
