Chapter 13

Growing Pains

Katherine's eyes slowly opened, the blurred space pouring around her. She groaned softly and tightly shut them again. Her head was still hurting, and for some reason she kept visioning that she was still in her large house, back in London; her maid walking around the mansion gathering supplies to make breakfast, her father's jolly voice rang in her ears.

Reality was quite different, she opened her eyes only to realize that her back was sore because she had been sleeping on a bamboo mat on the floor. A wave of terror hit her as all the memories from the day before came rushing back to her. It was the worst day of her entire existence, but then again...she did live. However, that might be more of a curse than a blessing. The blood, the fear, the death...every single horrible thing that had happened was still fresh in her mind. She still couldn't get over how ruthlessly poor Gant had been murdered. Without warning the strong sense of nausea struck and she instantly started to fill sick all over again.

Doctor Takahashi probably handed the letter to her father, and he probably believed that his only daughter was dead...and blamed himself for it. Her eyes started to fill up with tears, and she was forced to close them once more. Even they pounded with pain; and the rest of her body ached agonizingly. Katherine wanted to cry but the sudden jerking motion of her sobs lit her very bones on fire. Of course this repeated a few times, as the sting worsened her sobs became more violent, and the cycle continued until she finally realized that she had to stop herself before she couldn't take anymore pain. Her bouncing chest finally settled; and her flailing limbs came to rest, as she lay still and waited for it all to stop.

Everything became dark; her fatigue was too much to resist, and she drifted off to sleep once more.

Nobutada walked towards his deceased uncle's house, that now fully belonged to his aunt, Taka. Part of him was still saddened with Hirotaro's death. He loved his uncle...he was a glorious fighter and one of the best warriors in the village. His death affected many, but none were so grieved like Taka and his two sons. Higen and Magojiro were only 9 and 4 years of age. They needed their father as much as they needed their mother. And Taka also needed her dear husband with her. Sure, it was an honorable death, and Hirotaro had died like the respected Samurai he was...but Nobutada couldn't help but think that it would be way better if he stayed alive. Who was going to take care of his beautiful aunt and cousins now?

He silently cursed himself when he remembered that he was expected to 'baby-sit' as Ujio had mentioned to him earlier, that westerner girl. This was such a disgrace and dishonor! What would the villagers think? That their Nobutada-sama was following some shameful gaijin woman around like a dog?! His poor aunt was in the same position. She had to degrade herself by nursing and caring for her husband's killer. He couldn't understand why his father decided to order them to care for the two captives. Of course, unlike the fiery Ujio, Nobutada didn't want to murder the foreigners. By no means! But he sure as hell didn't want to pass his precious time with them.

He neared the house and was greeted by a grim samurai on the porch, who had been appointed to guard the American soldier. Why couldn't his father find a guard like him for that girl as well? Why was he supposed to protect her?! Nobutada shook his head and sighed heavily, as he stepped inside. Even though, he was not happy about his father's decision, he still very much respected him. After all, Katsumoto was not only his father, but also his lord and leader.

Besides, despite his negative feelings about the whole situation, Nobutada was not hostile towards the two westerners. He wasn't about to admit it, but a tiny part of him was actually interested in these strange people.

When he entered the living-room, he found his two cousins already asleep in their own chambers, and Taka was busy attending to the wounded officer. Nobutada neared them and stood in front of the doorway that was now slid open.

Taka's eyes met Nobutada's as she nodded her head in acknowledgement. She gently continued changing the man's bandages on his right shoulder and arm. The American was in a very awful shape, his eyes were lazily closed, his whole body was shaking, sweat covered his forehead and he kept mumbling things in his language. Although, Nobutada suspected that even the English speaking person wouldn't be able to tell what he was bubbling about.

He slowly entered the chamber and knelt beside the man. "Sake" he mumbled, and Nobutada had to blink twice when he heard him.

"Sake." The man continued to murmur. That was probably his only Japanese word.

Nobutada's face broke into a wide smile. Was this foreigner serious? "Sake?" He repeated amused.

"Sake." Algren kept mumbling.

Nobutada laughed, but then realized just how serious this man was. He was in pure agony! Nobutada glanced at Taka and gave her an approving nod. The woman got up and in no time brought a saucer of sake. She gently lowered the cup to the man's lips, who drank it within seconds and asked for more. Nobutada gave his aunt an indicating look to comply, but before she could pour another saucer, Algren grabbed the jug from her other hand and gulped it down... almost choking on it.

Both Nobutada and Taka stared at the man pitifully. He was simply miserable and pathetic.

Golden rays of sun danced on the dark oak flooring. Kitty had no idea how long she had been out this time...What felt like hours could be days, or a mere few minutes. All she knew was that she was still in this wretched place; among the samurai. Her head throbbed unbearably. It felt as if someone had struck her with an axe as she sat up, wondering why she even bothered. Maybe it would be better if she just died in this place. It would end her ongoing misery.

She was still wearing her soft dress, that had become all dirty from the mud. Part of it was even ripped. But she was glad that the fabric didn't itch her skin, after all...all of her dresses and clothes were expensive and comfortable. Well, except for the corset. However, that wasn't her biggest concern right now.

For the first time, Katherine noticed how clean and neat the room looked. Perfect; sickeningly perfect was how that room was. Like these people hadn't slaughtered innocent men.

Suddenly, Kitty jumped with paranoia as the paper sliding door opened. A beautiful Japanese woman entered, and even though she looked guiltless enough, Kitty couldn't bring herself to trust her. The woman was carrying a tray, and gave Katherine a very small upturn of one of the corners of her mouth in sympathy. She remained silent though, and gracefully sank to her knees beside Katherine. As she did this, the tray's contents were revealed; a bowl of rice, another bowl of steaming broth and an empty cup. At first, Katherine became suspicious of poisoning but quite soon, recalled Katsumoto's words. He had said that he needed her and Algren... Wait, Nathan Algren! Where was he?!

Katherine continued to watch the Japanese woman carefully as she picked up a small pitcher of something, and proceeded to pour hot tea into the empty cup. While she was bent, Katherine tried to look over the woman's shoulder and out into the rest of the containment she was in. However, all that was in her sights was a large room of some sort; or at least a portion of it.

The woman finished preparing what Kitty assumed would be her meal. She couldn't remember the last time she ate, and the aching pain in her stomach was reminding her of this fact. Kitty glanced at the Japanese woman for a moment, and then awkwardly reached for the bowl of rice. She noticed a pair of chopsticks, which she had only a little experience with. She contemplated on how to use them while taking an occasional glimpse of the silent woman few feet away from her. For goodness sakes! Why couldn't they just use forks and spoons like the rest of the civilized world! But then again, these people were barbarians that refused to accept the modernization of their country.

"Taka!" An unfamiliar voice sounded from the doorway, causing a cold tremble to run down Kitty's spine. It was a masculine tone, but not as deep and strong like that scary scout Ujio's has been. Part of her relaxed, knowing that it wasn't the black samurai approaching. Katherine couldn't help but look up to see the dignified figure of the samurai in the golden armor, Nobutada, who was now dressed in a blue kimono. She instantly looked away, not wanting to have any reminders of what had happened before. Apparently, this fella didn't care. "She's awake?" he asked, and stopped himself in the doorway.

Taka didn't answer him at first; staring at the tray with a look that seemed as if she were asking herself if Nobutada had any common sense at all. She finally acknowledged him and stood with poise. "Yes, she's fine." She said softly, and Nobutada stepped aside to create exit from the room. He stood silent for few minutes after Taka left, studying Katherine; before turning himself and leaving. Katherine finished her meal not long after. She didn't realize just how hungry she had been until she began to eat although, at the same time she felt nauseous. After a while, the same woman re entered and took the tray away, sliding the door and closing it.

Katherine collapsed back onto the bamboo mat and slept the best she had in a long time...she was unbelievably exhausted with everything and for some reason, her mind was shut down.

A blood curling screams caused her to jump awake; it was probably the middle of the night. She had managed to dream of nothing but darkness, until she heard the horrifying shouts and jolted awake. Her eyes widened fearfully; she didn't want to put up with terrible, darkening sounds of the world...ever again. The worst part was she recognized the voice entirely: Nathan.

His cries of terror echoed through Katherine's body, and she began to shake uncontrollably. "NOOO!" He shouted loudly. "I TOLD YOU!"

Tears ran down her face as she whimpered from beneath the blanket. She covered her ears but the horrid sounds wouldn't stop. Katherine wondered if any of it had to do with Algren's past. She didn't know what she'd do if Nathan died and left her here all alone. Although, she hadn't seen him, she knew that he was somewhere within the same house. She hoped and prayed that her friend would be alright...that he would survive, and the two would form a plan together and escape from the God-forsaking place that they were stuck in.

Yay! Thanks for the reviews and support! As you have noticed I have decided to underline Japanese dialogues.

Btw, this is a response to one of my 'Guest' reviewers. Thanks so much for your support, dear! And no, don't worry you are not weird. You can ship Katherine with whoever you want; nothing has been decided yet. I'm still debating and following the flow of this story. By all means, ship her with your favourite character! I might get inspired..lol.

Also, tell me if you guys like hearing the other characters' points of views, like Katsumoto, Nobutada...I might do more of those. You know, just to make things interesting. And again to my guest reviewer: YOU ARE NOT WEIRD! Lol