Samurai and Ninjas Chap. 11
I do not own Persona or the character's likenesses, sorry everyone. Atlus does. Blame my lack of creativity.
This story takes place towards the middle of the Heian period of Japan. I am not being completely historically accurate with this, so do not get all over my back about it. I could, but I am not going to be. How much Personas will play a part in it, I do not know about that one.
A note, I will mainly use first names first, then last names. I know this is the one glaring difference that I am using in respect of their culture, but since I am writing in English… I will write as such.
Across from the Doctors' Quarters
Mid-Morning
Souji was finally succumbing to his own exhaustion. Kanji was still snoring away on the other side of the room, and it made sleep look like an appealing option to the samurai. The only that was keeping Souji awake was the idea that the doctors were probably still awake keeping a watch on Naoto and the others. If they were awake keeping a steady eye on the patients, then Souji should be keeping a watchful eye on Lord Tatsumi after the recent attempt on his life.
Souji shook his head and put his hand to his forehead. He needed to stay awake, but not only was he tired; there were so many new developments that were making him confused. He needed to try and find solutions to his problems.
Souji had a female servant that pretending to be a male servant. That was definitely going to be an awkward conversation when she was well enough to talk with again. Heaven forbid what it would be like when Kanji found out that Naoto was a girl. He would be either overjoyed that the servant was interested in was actually a female, or infuriated that she was hiding her gender.
As soon as Kanji learned of Tanaka's hiring of those assassins, he would probably try and kill him personally, but Souji could not allow that. Souji could probably take care of him with more subtly than Kanji could. It would also cause less of a stir because if it became common knowledge that an attempt on Lord Tatsumi's life happened because of Lord Tatsumi's personal execution of Tanaka… the lords would sense internal insecurity within Nara and more upheaval could occur.
Souji had a sinking feeling that no matter what, he would be marrying his cousin. Souji liking Nanako as a friend, and marrying her were two different situations that Souji did not want to deal with. With Lady Chisato Dojima passing, Lord Dojima would make it precedence to marry his daughter to a worthy man, such as Souji. It was a pain.
Now, Souji had the tough decision whether to wake up Kanji now. He could just wait till Kanji woke up naturally, but he would probably be pissed. Yet, it was not Souji's problem. Kanji was just so tired that it was probably best that Souji let the lord rest.
Souji did not have to worry about wondering whether to wake Kanji or not because he began stirring behind him at that moment. Souji turned his head for a moment at the rustling noises, and saw the rising figure of his liege. Souji took a deep breath for he would a lot of explaining to do.
Kanji rolled his shoulders and shook his head as he sat up. He had a nightmare while he was sleeping. His nightmare was a recurring event of the recent attack where he could not save Naoto. He was always one second too late to save his servant. It tore him apart as Naoto died in his arms again and again. Kanji was able to get Naoto to the doctors in reality, but he hoped he was not a second too late in bringing him here. If he had… it would be so painful that he could not speak…
As Kanji began to wipe his eyes, he noticed that sitting in the chair that was closest to the door was his samurai, Souji Seta. "He must be watching for anymore potential assassins," Kanji thought, "I can not believe he has stayed awake this entire time."
"Souji? Have you been awake this whole time?" Kanji asked.
Souji nodded, "I have." Souji tried to stifle a yawn.
"Get some rest, Souji," Kanji suggested, but it sounded more like a command to Souji's ears.
Souji shook his head and yawned. He felt a little more blood rushing into his brain as he said, "I have been making sure it has been safe, Kanji. I still do not know if is safe here."
"I'm awake, Souji," Kanji narrowed his eyes as he continued; "It is safe now."
Souji shook his head in response. Kanji was a little too confident in his abilities sometimes.
"If that's what you really believe," Souji sighed.
Kanji knew his friend was worried about his safety, but if he was tired… he was useless as a guard until he got some rest of his own. He appreciated what Souji did however.
As Kanji stood, he knew that he needed one more thing from Souji before he made sure that his friend got some rest.
"Do you know the condition of Naoto?" Kanji asked, both nervously and impatiently.
"I know the answer to that, and I also know the answer to much more," Souji nodded to Kanji.
Kanji's eyes widened. Souji must have learned about how Naoto was doing while he was asleep. Part of Kanji was extremely angry with Souji because he knew how Naoto was doing and did not wake his lord. Not only that, it was obvious that Souji had obtained other information, and saw fit not to wake him.
"Tell me," Kanji demanded, "Tell me everything."
Souji wondered if he should tell Kanji about Naoto's hidden gender. It was obvious Kanji was going to find out soon enough, but was Souji really the one to tell him? It was probably something that would be too much of an issue if Souji did not reveal Naoto's femininity.
"Naoto is going to be fine," Souji told him. Souji added, "Naoto is resting and being watched over by the doctor."
Inside of Kanji's mind, he was breathing a huge sigh of relief. He wanted to see Naoto really badly right now, and he was going right now.
Kanji started to make for the door and was stopped by Souji before he could slide it open. Souji had stood up and put his body right in front of the sliding door before the lord could open it.
"What is the meaning of this, Souji!" Kanji yelled; "I want to check on Naoto's condition."
"I told you, Naoto is resting now," Souji responded calmly. Inwardly, Souji was hoping he would awake Kanji's terrible temper.
"I want to see for myself! Now get out of my way!" Kanji retorted.
Kanji had placed his hands on Souji's shoulders, trying to force Souji out of the way.
"The doctor said that he's taking care of Naoto, now let Naoto rest," Souji told Kanji.
"I just want to see him…" Kanji murmured, with his strength and anger starting to leave him.
"I know," Souji said, taking Kanji's hands off one-by-one, "I know."
Kanji sat in the chair that Souji was sitting on before. He may have been sleeping before, but arguing with Souji was tiring. If he could not see and check up on Naoto, it would probably be best for him to hear what else had happened while he was sleeping.
Kanji sighed, "What else did you find out, Souji? What happened while I was sleeping?"
Souji spoke, "I talked to the pair of assassins. With a small amount of persuading…" Souji emphasized the word "persuading" and continued, "… they told me their story, and who hired them."
Kanji's ears perked up and his eyes widened at Souji's proclamation of the news that knowledge had been obtained about the ninja that infiltrated the palace.
"Tell me what you found out," Kanji said seriously.
"The leader of the ninja… the one you crushed the body of was named Han'nya," Souji said. Souji continued, "He is… a legendary ninja from northern Japan that has performed at least a hundred assassinations."
Kanji had heard of Han'nya, but not to the extent that Souji had. He just knew him as a simple criminal.
"Who hired this… Han'nya?" Kanji asked.
Souji took a deep breath. What Souji was about to say next would probably set off a deep amount of anger within Kanji, and Souji would have to try and hold off a fire storm from erupting from Kanji.
Souji exhaled, "The pair of ninja… they were hired by Lord Tanaka to kill you."
The words that Souji spoke gave Kanji a second to digest what he heard. His own subordinate lord tried to depose him. He could think of no other reason why… but jealousy. That must be it. Tanaka must be jealous of his power. Tanaka obviously wants more of a pedestal to stand on. Tanaka was willing to use Kanji's head as a stepping stone if necessary.
Kanji stood up again. He needed more information from those assassins. This time… he would not be deterred by anyone.
Souji knew that the assassins were probably on their last breath, and that we're worthless to Kanji. There was nothing more he could ascertain from questioning the two of them, except maybe their age and favorite food.
Souji tried to move in the way of Kanji again to save him from disappointment. He felt himself getting shoved to the side.
"Out of the way, Souji," Kanji was angry. He made no attempt to hide it.
Souji could not match Kanji's strength and could only watch Kanji walk towards where the tall and short apprentices were standing.
Kanji guessed that were those two doctor apprentices were standing, that was where the two killers were being held. That's why Kanji had made his way to the pair of clinicians. They bowed at the sight of their lord.
"I want to see the people who wanted to kill me," Kanji commanded.
The short one answered, "Really? But… they just died…"
As the tall one nodded in agreement, Kanji took a step back. As much as he hated to admit it, Souji was right again. It just really aggravated him that Souji did not wake him when he went to question the two ninja. Did Souji not trust him enough to wake him when he was going to do something? All Kanji knew is that he had to have a few words with Lord Tanaka now.
Kanji turned away from the doctors. As long as he was in the hallway, he might as well try and visit Naoto. Why listen to Souji's incessant harassing if he is in residing in the other room?
Kanji headed away and went straight for the doctors' quarters. He was going to slide open the door and see Naoto, and nothing was going to stop him.
Kanji slid the door open, and in the doorway was the head doctor. The wavy haired doctor must have heard Kanji coming and stood in Kanji's way. He was not letting anyone see Naoto.
"I want to see Naoto," Kanji told the doctor.
"The patient needs sleep," the doctor replied.
"I just want to see Naoto," Kanji continued.
The doctor remained steadfast in his position, "Naoto needs rest."
"I'm your lord. Let me pass," Kanji commanded. He took one more step towards the doctor, trying to see his servant.
The doctor said to him, in a calm voice, "I am this patient's doctor. I am telling you to leave this patient alone."
If there was anyone more stubborn than Souji, it was this doctor. It looked like this doctor was not going to budge either. Kanji used his taller frame to tip-toe over and try and take a peek at Naoto. All he saw, however, was Naoto's blue hair, and cloth sheets covering Naoto's top half of the body.
"Lord Tatsumi!" the head doctor yelled, "I need to watch over the patient!"
Kanji was disappointed that he could not get a very good look at Naoto. He needed to get to Tanaka. If he was willing to try and kill him, he needed to confront him and be willing to take him down. Kanji would do it himself if he had to.
Kyoto
Mid-afternoon
A certain messenger that had departed from Nara had just arrived in the city of Kyoto. The only reason he had arrived so quickly was the proximity of Kyoto to Nara. He headed straight for the palace, which was the command of his liege. His orders had come from a samurai, which came from a lord.
Kyoto was even more complex, hectic, and civilized than Nara. It was very difficult for the messenger to navigate his way to the palace. It was not the Imperial Palace, but it was the home of the highest Fujiwaras.
As the black and gray clad messenger arrived in the palace, he found himself stopped by ten archers and ten footmen waiting at the gate.
"I have a message for a lord in the palace," the messenger announced.
"Alright… you can pass," one of the guards said after the messenger flashed his letter and showed his proof of being from Nara.
The messenger started walking through the crosswalks as he went through the gate. He passed gardens filled with flowers of all colors and all sorts of trees, such as oak. He went through another red gate, while reaching a hall. He was looking for Lord Tohru Adachi of the Fujiwaras.
As the messenger walked through the hall, he was searching for an unkempt man wearing gray, blue, and green robes. He was having no luck finding him in the hall, so he began scouring the other hallways to find Lord Adachi.
He began hearing a lot of noises as he made another left turn. He followed the noises until he came to a room with very elaborate patterns on the door. The messenger had to believe it was Lord Adachi's room. The moans and grunts were obvious, but it did not stop the messenger from calling out to the inhabitants.
"Who's there!" the person inside the room asked. "One minute!" he yelled.
The messenger waited patiently for the man to come out. The man that did come out was indeed Lord Adachi, but his hair was rather unkempt. His robes, the same color the messenger was looking for, were blue, green, and gray. The messenger also saw a woman with light brown hair in a bowl cut behind him, hidden in the sheets.
"What do you want!" the man who was obviously, Lord Adachi asked.
"Lord Adachi?" the messenger decided to try and confirm what he already knew.
"Yes, that's me," Adachi nodded. He asked again, "Now what do you want?"
"I have a letter for you… it is from Lord Tanaka of Nara," the messenger bowed and held out the letter.
Adachi took the letter and opened it in front of him. He began to read it silently.
"Lord Adachi,
I, Lord Tanaka, am here to inform you of Lord Tatsumi's treachery. The lord of Nara is refusing to tax the peasants, which will soon lead to starvation of the land. He and Lord Dojima are obsessed with finding him an heir instead of solving the bigger problems within the land. He also refuses to punish those who harm the people in Nara. They run free without any retribution. With Lord Tatsumi in control of Nara, there will only be instability in this land. We need a new leader, or else… Nara will fall.
Lord Tanaka"
Adachi closed the letter and said to himself, "Interesting."
The messenger kept his eyes down. He did not want to stand back up to look at Adachi, because his eyes would stray from him back to his "guest".
"You can go," Adachi said to the man in gray and black.
Adachi had a lot to think about. He was not sure if what he read was really true or not. He could not pay attention right now, anyways. He turned around… for it was time for round two. Who cares if she was not really the most willing…? It made it that much more fun.
Okay… I wanted to get something out to you while I had a small amount of free time. I know it's a little disjointed. Technically, not even a messenger could make it from Nara to Kyoto in that short of time, but I want to… you know… make it a story.
