Chapter 06 – Who Are You

Ayane lifted her head up carefully from the smooth, woodblock pillow and looked across the room wide eyed at the old monk who had appeared in the doorway.

Amused by her puzzled expression, Old Joshu smiled and said,

"Ahh! You are awake! This is good. You also look surprised to see me. I wonder – what were you expecting?"

"I'm sorry."

She stammered,

"I'm Ayane – thank you for helping me. I was just surprised to see you because – You're not 'Young' Joshu? Roshi Alan said Young Joshu was coming to help me – are you… his grandfather?"

Old Joshu walked lightly across the straw mats that lay on the polished wooden floor boards below, to the center of the room where the fire pit was located.

He produced a long match from the sleeve of his robe and struck it against one of the hearth stones and lit the fire. From a side table he took up a plain, copper kettle of water and carefully set it on a thick, iron tray that hung from a heavy cross bar over the growing flames.

He looked into the flames and nodded to himself.

"I have not been called Young Joshu in some time… 'Roshi Alan' you say? He was a Roshi here for only a couple of years… 1961 to '63. I was just twenty years old then… quite young indeed."

Shaking his head softly to himself, Old Joshu got up and walked back to the side table and began arranging tea cups on a tray.

"1961?!"

Ayane was confused.

"He was here only a few moments ago – you must have passed him – you had to… when he left, you came in so soon after… I mean, right after he – "

"Alan died only ten years after he left our monastery, at the foot of the sublime Mt. Tamalpais. Perhaps you only thought you saw him. Possibly it was someone else maybe? You have been through great physical and emotional distress recently and it is possible that – "

"No! He was Alan – 'Roshi Alan' and he stayed here with me… all night. I touched him – he kept his hand on my shoulder…when – when I…"

"Was he English?"

Old Joshu interrupted.

"Yes…"

"Was he smoking?"

"No – but I could smell the tobacco… and, uh.."

Ayane trailed off and stopped, for some reason she didn't want to mention the smell of the alcohol.

"…and…?"

Old Joshu prompted.

"…and there was a slight odor of alcohol too."

"AAHHH hahahahaha!"

Old Joshu laughed good naturedly. Then turning to Ayane, he said with smiling eyes that sparkled,

"It was Alan you saw last night all right! Ah what a rascal – I haven't thought of him in years, but I should have known he wouldn't be able to resist coming back to help you."

Shaking his head Old Joshu swung the heating tray away from the flame and removed the kettle. Then he began to fill the teapot on the side table with hot water.

"He always had a weakness for pretty girls you know... and wine too. It is nice that you saw him. You are quite fortunate, he was a good teacher."

Ayane watched as Old Joshu expertly prepared the tea… Then he brought the tray over setting it on a small padded kotatsu next to her bed and handed her a cup. It was white porcelain and very elegant. There were small red and blue flowers painted around the center in a ring. Curious – she had to ask.

"Aren't you – surprised – I mean he was here. Last night… all night and I talked to him and that's… well, miraculous… right?"

"Right."

The old Roshi spoke absently as he carefully steadied her hand with the cup. Then, easing her head forward helped her to drink it.

"This is the first thing you've had other than water since you arrived here. Drink slowly. It is full of powerful herbs that will help your body overcome the outrages that were inflicted upon you."

"It is very good."

Ayane said quietly.

Slowly, she finished the cup – then another and a third. Ayane began to feel a little strength slowly return as she lay back down helped by Old Joshu.

"About what happened to me…"

Ayane began,

"I'm sure you have questions. It's hard to know where to – "

There was an urgent knock on the door.

"Come in."

Old Joshu called.

Almost immediately, a young monk not older than 28 or 29, came swiftly into the room closing and bolting the door behind him. He was calm and though he moved and spoke quickly, did not seem to be unduly stressed as he bowed to his Roshi.

"Master, the men from the mountain have come back."

He glanced to Ayane and she perceived a very subtle look of relief flicker accross his calm features. Then he turned back to the Roshi.

"They are getting impatient and demand the proof we promised them. They… Master, I am concerned that they will not fall for our ruse and will follow through on their promise to kill everyone here and burn the monastery down to find her."

Old Joshu turned to Ayane and smiled as he gestured towards the young monk.

"Aiko here, is my senior student. We told some men who came around asking about you, that farmers found you dead on the river bank and brought you to us. We made up a silly story telling them that we believed you were a divine servant of the Kami – and that we believed you had been slain by demons. We told them that we immolated you, sending you back to the gods you served on the hill top shrine a few miles from here. It was all nonsense, but we felt it was worth a shot… However, they have returned asking for more proof, apparently our diversion was not enough."

Then he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, at least our story bought us a few days, eh - Aiko."

Aiko nodded solemnly.

Ayane tried to rise… The pain was excruciating, but she gritted her teeth and did her best to hide it with an iron discipline. Fighting to keep the pain from showing she spoke steadily.

"Was one of them badly scarred? He would have been their leader."

Fear for her new found benefactors was creeping into her voice.

"Yes."

Aiko replied.

"He said his name was 'Kouta,' and after telling us – he paused and waggled his guns menacingly, as if his name should have some meaning. We tried to act suitably impressed."

Ayane gritted her teeth against the enourmous pain – and sat up fully. She threw the covers back as the room spun. Fighting back the vertigo, she forced her legs over the edge of her bed. The pain was starting darken the edges of her vision. She weaved a little and tried to stand as she said thickly–

"I'm going to face them – you've done enough. I've - got this. Go now - hide somewhere… fast!"

Aiko quickly and gently restrained her as Old Joshu replaced the covers.

"No – you will stay right here." Joshu admonished.

Aiko also agreed saying.

"You must rest here Miss Ayane. We will find a way to discourage Kouta and those other men."

Aiko's grip was gentle but firm. In her extremely weakened state, she was easily held in place – not knowing what to do, Ayane could only plead.

"Listen to me – both of you – Kouta may be a bully and a coward, but he is also an incredibly cruel and powerful man."

She turned to the senior student and trying to impress upon him the danger of the situation.

"Aiko - this is a man who is capable of killing you without a second thought – please don't do this!"

Aiko responded, meeting her eyes with a steady, calm gaze that was gentle and sure.

"While I am a man who is capable of dying without a second thought."

Old Joshu nodded,

"Ayane, you need to reevaluate your ideas around the concept of what real power is."

Ayane opened her mouth to speak… and it just stayed open. Silence reigned.

It was Old Joshu that finally spoke.

"Fortunately, I have not wasted the time we bought with our initial ruse."

He stood and walked over to a cupboard on the wall and pulled out two stone jars. They were small and elegant with polished sides and well fitted lids. The items were old and very rare.

Ayane looked on curiously and asked.

"What are those?"

Aiko was also pulling something from under the counter. It was a large alabaster urn.

Placing the stone jars on an elaborate wooden tray, Old Joshu answered.

"Last night I went into town and behind the butcher shop I pulled a large pig carcass."

Then looking sideways at Aiko who frowned, demurred and added,

"Actually Aiko – carried it but it was my idea…"

Then Aiko took the lid off his large urn. It was full of ash as he said,

"We burnt it at the hilltop shrine and put the ashes in here."

Then Old Joshu took the lid off of one of his smaller jars and added,

"We filled this one with some of your blood, that I drew from you when you slept."

"Huh?!"

Ayane said, eyes widening.

Then opening the other jar Old Joshu showed her the contents. It was full of purple hair.

Ayane was dumbfounded.

"What th' – ? Holy F-!"

Aiko broke in, a pained expression of sympathy on his face,

"We had to do this Miss Ayane, please understand. We didn't take all your hair…"

Ayane's uninjured arm raised up fast and she felt her head and immediately realized –

Shit most of it is gone - !

Old Joshu continued.

"We will use these props to convince Kouta and his men that we kept these items as sacred relics. Mementos from the mystical servant we believe was sent from the Kami to us."

He placed the lids back on the jars and indicated to Aiko to follow him to the door as he continued to explain the plan to Ayane.

"He will certainly demand to take them as proof of your death. We will protest at first. But then, reluctantly, we will part with these 'sacred' items. Kouta will no doubt, have someone much smarter than himself run DNA tests on them. These DNA tests, of course, will come up positive and prove to him without a doubt that you are dead."

"…That's…pretty – good."

Ayane had to concede.

"No… Seriously…that might actually work."

Aiko smiled as Old Joshu scowled saying,

"Of course it will work! It is my idea and I'm very wise. Really Ayane – you should have more faith. I'm not the Roshi here for nothing!"

Ayane supressed a smile and looked down at her covers. Then looking up, she said respectfully,

"I am sorry, Master Joshu - I am also very grateful that you found me and thank you for bringing me here."

Old Joshu blinked and answered smiling.

"I did not bring you here."

Ayane lifted her head up and the covers started to slide off of her.

"Then... who did?"

Aiko answered as he replaced the blankets, tucking them in, to prevent them from sliding again.

"That person has asked to remain anonymous."

"I... see..."

Said Ayane thoughtfully as she pondered who could have aided her...

Then crossing the threshold into the sunlight beyond, Old Joshu called to his senior student who hurried from Ayane's bedside after him.

"Come Aiko – let's go tell some awful lies."

Then shutting the door behind them, they were off. Ayane could hear their footsteps crunching on the gravel path fade slowly as they left her small guest house at the top of the wooded hill for the monastery below.

My hair… shit.