Chapter Forty: Blood Midnight
"He's going to be quite a young firebrand, that one, as far as I can see."
Kyouki perched on the window ledge of Tokutarou's study, casting her surrogate son a rueful grin as she watched him sorting through the final details for the wedding ceremony.
"I hope you don't mind me somewhat stealing your thunder - but I thought it better I stopped them, considering it was a matter of swords."
"In that regard, Kyouki-sama, you have far more experience than I do." Tokutarou paused to offer her a rueful grin. "Thank you. Though Ryousuke should know better than that, and as for Juushirou..."
He sighed, shaking his head.
"He's not going to be easily kept down, that's for sure. And in some ways it's admirable." He reflected. "But in other ways he's playing a dangerous game. He's already angered Seimaru over the border with his principles and his courage. Now he's flaring his District pride to stupid kin of mine that can't keep their mouths shut. I'm not sure whether to admire him or fear for him - since it's a dangerous world that he's starting to unlock."
"Well, part of the trouble is his sword, of course." Kyouki set the black-sheathed weapon down beside her with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Sougyo no Kotowari is young, untrained and full of eagerness to engage in battle. Juushirou is also very young still, without all of the grounding that most zanpakutou wielders have drummed into them at an early age. He will learn, providing nobody cuts him down in the meantime. But a chance to cool his heels won't do him any harm. He doesn't need a weapon while he's at your wedding, after all."
She chuckled.
"Gekkoushin has already had plenty to say about it." She added, amused. "My zanpakutou doesn't tolerate any nonsense from young fools wanting to blood their colours before they're ready. She'll soon put Sougyo no Kotowari firmly in its place - and it'll think twice then before letting itself be so easily drawn out next time. I guarantee it."
"Gekkoushin is a hard taskmistress." Tokutarou grinned, a sheepish look in his own eyes. "She disdained training me almost completely - but I remember the rough ride she gave Ryuusei-nii and Hakubei when I was growing up in District Five. If she's going to take Sougyo no Kotowari's immaturity to task, then I imagine you're right. But as for Juushirou's own..."
"I can do less about that." Kyouki admitted. "He's not an arrogant child, nor a heedless one. But he is naive and principled and even now is unlike any other shinigami that has ever been registered by the Council. I think...I will speak to Genryuusai-sama, when the new term begins. Clearly the boy needs further mentorship - and of a level higher than what he already has. Shirogane-kun seems to have trained him well, but there is still a lot for him to learn, especially given how dangerous that sword is. If I hadn't intervened when I did, Tokkun, I think Ryousuke would, at the very least, have been nursing a nasty wound. At worst..."
She trailed off, letting out a sigh.
"I know Genryuusai-sama has worked with him to some extent." She added. "But even though his control of his reiatsu is within better limits, Tokutarou...that boy is dangerous. To himself and to others so long as he can release this sword as he sees fit. There was lightning in his aura today - lightning and storm glittering across the weapon and even as I approached I could hear the roar of waves. There might have been a nasty incident. A very nasty one indeed. Hence I took the sword away...to give him a chance to think things through."
"Then probably it was the right thing." Tokutarou reflected. "I'd prefer it if my wedding went off without a hitch."
"Are you nervous?" Kyouki's voice became teasing, and Tokutarou shrugged his shoulders, offering her a wry smile.
"Isn't everyone, before they make such a commitment?" He asked. "Yes, to a certain extent. I believe it will go well, Kyouki-sama. My kin approve and there's no animosity between Rae-hime and I...nor between her and my brother, which relieves me. On the contrary, Shunsui seems to have quite taken to the idea of having her as a sister in law, which has been a huge weight off my mind. So yes, I think all will be well. It's just..."
He shrugged, shaking his head.
"A premonition, perhaps." He said at length. "Of something I can't quite pinpoint but which is there all the same."
"A premonition." Kyouki pursed her lips, looking pensive. "Relating to your unruly neighbours in District Seven?"
"Most of my uneasy feelings come from that direction. Yes." Tokutarou nodded. "But I suppose we'll see. Perhaps I'm being too paranoid - time will tell."
"There's no such thing as too paranoid when dealing with that Clan." Kyouki said bluntly. "The young boy Shunsui is fond of is one thing, but as for his relatives..."
She shook her head.
"Put it this way. If ever the Council see fit to take action in that District, I will be heading the queue. And if they come here, Tokkun, demanding their missing boy...I will certainly stand at your side to repel them. They are an odious bunch and I would not cry to see them completely destroyed. Especially that young idiot Seimaru."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Although to finish Shouichi off with such ease suggests he's not an idiot after all."
"Yes. That concerns me too, providing the guilt truly is in his quarter." Tokutarou sighed, rubbing his temples. "But for the time being, I can only do what little I can do here. For the refugees and for my own Clan. I'll marry Rae-hime. I'll make the usual post-wedding progress around the District and pick up what information I can while on my travels. And I will defend my people as far as I am able. More than that..."
"More than that is beyond your remit as a Head of Clan." Kyouki assured him. "It's all right, Tokkun. If the worst comes to the worst, I'll shake Guren-sama until he agrees to deploy forces to deal with it."
"You would, too." Despite himself, Tokutarou was amused by this, and Kyouki nodded.
"Of course I would." She said firmly. "The Council is not a neutered body of officials and if it needs to act, it will have to act. I'm here and watching very carefully. The slightest step out of line, and I will be ready. Trust me. The moment Seimaru pushes too far, I will be there. And Gekkoushin and I will teach him and his sword a lesson he will be very unlikely to regret!"
"That sounds like a warm, objective attitude, Kyouki-sama."
Shunsui pushed back the door of the study at that moment, bowing his head towards the two Clan Leaders with a smile of amusement on his face. "I'm glad that we have such peace-loving allies to rely on in difficult circumstances."
"You pipe down, you young idiot." Kyouki grinned, getting to her feet and swiping the young nobleman playfully across the top of his head. "What are you doing anyhow, barging in here without knocking? Tokkun and I could've been hard at work negotiating some important treaty – it might have been top secret, for all you know!"
"Then you shouldn't leave doors unlocked." Shunsui was unphased, carefully sliding the door back behind him and leaning up against the panelled wood. "Besides, Tokutarou-niisama tends to tell me about things these days. So even if it was top secret, it probably wouldn't matter if I listened in."
"Why are you here, then, Shunsui?" Tokutarou looked quizzical. "I would have thought that with the Clan here and your friends too you hadn't any free time to spare on infiltrating my study."
"Well, possibly." Shunsui pulled a face. "I really just came to speak to Kyouki-sama, to be honest. About…well, that, if I'm completely blunt."
He gestured towards the sealed and sheathed Sougyo no Kotowari, and Kyouki frowned.
"I'm not returning it to him just yet, Shunsui." She said with a shake of her head. "He didn't mean any harm by it, but he could've caused harm all the same. In this environment, if his pride's going to be so easily sparked…it's too risky to let him have his head with his sword."
"Perhaps, but Yama-jii has never taken it off him even when he's been debarred from using it." Shunsui said earnestly. "And…"
"Yama-jii?" Kyouki cut across him, her eyes widening first with surprise, then amusement. "Oh, is that what you're calling Genryuusai-sama? To his face? Or aren't you quite that foolish yet?"
"I did, once, but he was kind and overlooked it." Shunsui looked sheepish. "In school I try and remember to call him Sensei. Out of it, he doesn't seem to mind Yamamoto-jiisama. But Yama-jii – strictly behind closed doors."
He shrugged.
"Anyhow, he's always let Juu keep Sougyo with him. He's said things about the tentative nature of shinigami bonding with their swords in the early few months and so even when the sword was relegated to the dorm, it was still technically in Juu's care. I realise he did a stupid thing – he gave me an overview and from the expression on his face I think several folk have told him in no uncertain terms how stupid it was. But…"
He faltered, his gaze drifting to Tensonshin hanging on the wall over the desk.
"I think it's important they stay together as much as possible, else they'll never learn to work together as a proper team." He said at length. "And with Juu, it's important – that he can do that, with the amount of reiryoku he's packing into that skinny body of his."
"I see your point, but even so, for now I'm keeping the sword." Kyouki shook her head. "Gekkoushin will deal with the zanpakutou, I – and apparently, you too – have dealt with the boy. I won't hold on to it for long, don't worry – not long enough to seriously damage their connection's fragile development. But Shunsui, that zanpakutou is capable of killing people. And without training, that might accidentally happen."
She sighed.
"I'm protecting him as much as I am everyone else." She said heavily. "So I'll be the bad guy and I'll stay strict. Juushirou is a special boy. He has a special blade. It brings with it particular responsibilities."
Shunsui glanced back towards Tensonshin again, then he nodded.
"I suppose that's true." He owned. "An uncontrolled zanpakutou is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. I'm sorry, Kyouki-sama. Just…Juu's calmed down now, and he looks all folorn that you took his sword from him like you did. He acknowledges he did wrong – but even so, it's his birthday. I thought maybe you'd have been a bit more gentle on him, considering that."
"Shinigami life isn't tailored around birthdays, and nor is making big decisions." Kyouki shook her head. "Everything in perspective, Shunsui – everything in context. That was something your poor father didn't learn – sooner you do the better for your Clan."
Shunsui was silent for a moment, and Tokutarou noticed the boy's gaze flit a third time towards Tensonshin.
"Something wrong, Shunsui?" He asked softly, and Shunsui started, then shook his head.
"Not really." He responded carefully. "I just…don't quite think Tensonshin should be here. It just…doesn't seem the right place for it to be."
"Not here?" Tokutarou was startled, eying his brother in surprise. "But…may I ask why not? This was father's zanpakutou – a shell of that zanpakutou, and this place was Father's study. You know my reasons for keeping the blade here – why do you think it shouldn't be here?"
"Because Tensonshin doesn't like it, I suppose." Shunsui shrugged. "That's all. I'm sure it'd rather be somewhere else – not in the place where its master was cut down."
"Aren't you confusing your feelings with a dead sword's?" Kyouki asked gently. "I know this was where Matsuhara died, Shunsui – and that you witnessed it. But even so…"
"It's not my confusion. I know my feelings on the subject and if it bothered me, stepping in here, I just wouldn't come." Shunsui shook his head. "But Tensonshin lost more than I did in that fight, you know. So I think you should take that into account."
"What are you talking about?" Tokutarou's brows knitted together. "Father is dead. Tensonshin is dead. This is…"
"Wait a minute, Tokkun." Kyouki held up her hand, fixing Shunsui with a penetrating look. "Tell me, Shunsui – why do you think Tensonshin dislikes being here?"
Shunsui sighed.
"You'll think I'm crazy." He confessed. "But I thought I heard it crying once. That's all."
"A dead sword can't cry…can it?" Tokutarou protested, and Kyouki shrugged.
"I've never heard it." She admitted. "But then, I'm not a Kyouraku. Perhaps it matters."
"I've never heard it either, in all the time I've been in this study." Tokutarou pursed his lips. "Shunsui…you'll have to explain more clearly."
"Once, while you weren't here, I was looking at some old family documents in here." Shunsui moved across the room to where the blade hung on the wall. "And it started…well…glowing, I suppose. Although it wasn't really a normal kind of glow – it was like…divine light all around the blade. And when I touched it, I could hear crying. But that was all. It didn't speak to me…I just thought that maybe it wanted me to know it didn't like being in here."
Kyouki's eyes became huge.
"Divine light. Heaven's Reverence." She murmured. "Matsuhara's blade in shikai form – it glittered and shone exactly as you just said. But Matsuhara…never released his sword for you, did he, Shunsui? He never showed you his weapon – he couldn't have."
"He didn't." Shunsui shook his head. "Tensonshin showed me itself. At least…"
He sighed, then tentatively reached out his hand to take the sword down from its display, removing it gingerly from the sheath. For a moment nothing happened, then the faintest prickle of light ran across the blade, and Tokutarou smiled.
"It looks that way." He admitted. "I don't understand, but I also know that dead swords don't glitter on their own. Perhaps I really don't know enough about swords after death – I didn't think that there was anything left."
"What is left isn't much. It's malformed and broken – it can't reach out and speak." Shunsui said sadly. "But it was sad when Father died and this place is a memory of that. So please, Nii-sama,"
He held the sword out,
"Put it somewhere else now. Even if it can't be saved or fixed, at least don't make it stay in the place it lost its master any more."
"All right." Tokutarou took the weapon, and the faint glimmer of light faded as he set it down on the desk. "Though perhaps it should stay with you, if it likes you as much as all that."
Shunsui shook his head.
"Tensonshin isn't my sword." He said. "It belonged to Father and I…I'm not him."
He smiled sheepishly.
"Besides, you knew him. Father. You remember him properly. Tensonshin should stay with you."
" It should probably hang in the mausoleum, near to Father's tomb, then." Tokutarou looked thoughtful. Somewhere near to Father, rather than me. But even so...Shunsui, it reacted to you, so..."
"I know. But that was all it was." Shunsui shook his head. "And I...don't need to have the sword to understand its message, after all."
"The message being that doing nothing is as much a crime as acting out evil?" Kyouki asked softly, and Shunsui nodded.
"I suppose…something like that."
Kyouki smiled, meeting Tokutarou's gaze across the desk.
"We should not mention this before your skittish Clan, else they'd take it as an omen of good fortune and sew Shunsui into the haori before he'd even finished his second year of studies." She said playfully. "But this is a good sign to me."
She stretched out her fingers to brush the hilt of Sougyo no Kotowari.
"This is the first zanpakutou belonging to that particular group of students, after all." She continued. "But I wouldn't be surprised…if it wasn't to remain the only one for very much longer."
Shunsui's features flushed with colour, and Tokutarou let out an exclamation.
"Shunsui? You mean…he…now…already…?"
"Not yet. No." Shunsui held up his hands. "I won't pretend I'm not aware of…of things changing, but right now…no. Please, Kyouki-sama. It's not like Juu and nor am I. I'm not ready yet…to summon my sword."
"But you've heard the spirit speak?" Kyouki pressed, and Shunsui sighed, nodding his head.
"The night after Tensonshin glittered." He admitted reluctantly. "Although I suppose…that was in a way both the first and the second time."
"And you didn't say anything?" Tokutarou rubbed his temples. "Why am I always the last to know these things?"
"Because like I said, I'm not ready." Shunsui said categorically. "It has to be at my own speed, Nii-sama. Juu has proven that. I'll tell you – when it's time to tell you, and when I know what I'm supposed to. But right now that time isn't here. So…let it go. All right? Let's not discuss it any more. I came here to ask about Juu's sword – not to speculate on my own."
"I suppose that's my bad. I'm sorry." Kyouki held up her hands in surrender, though to Tokutarou she didn't look particularly contrite. "Well, I'll stop causing you trouble and get back to my own quarters, I think. For the time being, Shunsui, you can tell your young friend that Sougyo stays with me. But if he behaves himself and doesn't get into silly fist fights in the meantime – I might be persuaded to return it in a couple of days time. We'll see."
"All right. I guess that's fair." Shunsui sighed, but nodded his head. "I'll tell him that."
He bowed his head slightly, then withdrew from the study, and as the door shut behind him, Tokutarou let out his breath in a rush.
"I had no idea." He murmured. "He really doesn't tell me half of what's going on, does he?"
"Well, probably it's for your own good, so as you don't fret or wonder about it too badly when he's away." Kyouki said wisely. "Leave it to him, Tokkun. This time – this Shunsui – you can trust in. He's grown up, now – you're right about that. He's an heir you can be proud of and in six months or so he'll come of age. Have faith in him. When it accepts him and allows him to summon it, his zanpakutou will be the strictest judge of all, I'm sure. Now he's reached this point, when and whether he ever receives the haori is now between him and that blade."
The sky was clear that night, despite the crisp chill of the winter weather.
Across the midnight horizon, the dark shape of an owl flitted across the moon, its eerie cries sounding almost ghostly on the faint breeze.
Kibana bit his lip, fingers resting tentatively on the hilt of his sword as he waited impatiently for his companion's signal.
It had been a simple plan to concoct in the end, he mused, relying on all of Keitarou's guise and skill to ensure that the maids usually on duty around Eiraki's chamber were otherwise engaged and that none of them would notice if the young princess managed to slip her cage. A spare maid's uniform had been sneaked into the room by the one maidservant who had shown Eiraki any loyalty, and though Kibana worried about her reliability should Seimaru put pressure on her, he had not had any choice but to accept it. Keitarou had told him that his job was not to worry - and to see to getting the two fleeing women away from the Endou estate. As for how they would slip through the security patrols, that would be his business, and he had laughed as Kibana had expressed concern for the dangers involved.
"I am useless with swords, but I know a little chemistry." He had said lightly, humour in his odd eyes. "Enough to make sure those who stand guard at Sumire-sama's apartments take a longer nap than usual. Seimaru-sama will be in Inner Seireitei till the day after tomorrow, and it could not be more perfectly times. We must act now, Kibana. Now or we never will. It will be tonight. Trust in me. All will be well."
The hour was upon them now.
Kibana sighed, forcing his attention back to the matter at hand. Outside the gates of the estate he had secured two horses, fastened only with loose loop knots so as to allow them a quick getaway into the night. He had taken every precaution that his soldier's mind could think of, yet even so he felt certain that, until they had reached the dusty back roads that led to District Eight, he would not be able to relax.
Inwardly he said a prayer to whatever deity had so far guided him, hoping that Misashi would approve of the choices he had made.
And if we never meet again, my Lord, I will hope that you have trusted your daughter and your wife well to my protection.
"Kibana-dono?"
A soft voice in the gloom alerted him to the fact that he had company, and he turned to see the slim figure of the young princess, dowdily dressed and unfamiliar with her long hair pulled back into a customary serving girl's style. Yet even without her usual adornments, somehow that evening Eiraki appeared more resolved and adult than Kibana had ever seen her, and he stepped forward to greet her, bowing his head solemnly before her.
"Eiraki-hime, I'm at your service." He said softly. "You managed, then, to safely slip your attendants?"
"Yes, I did." Eiraki looked anxious, Kibana realised, and as he raised his head, he saw her look over her shoulder. "I did exactly as Kei-sama told me, but even so...even so..."
She grabbed Kibana by the arm, pulling him further into the shadows.
"I'm worried." She whispered. "About the maid...the one who helped Kei-sama get the clothes I'm wearing now. This morning I saw her...she was talking to people and I...I worry..."
Fear seared through Kibana's heart at this and he swallowed hard.
Was it a trap, then? Had Seimaru laid the seeds and then left, so as not to be implicated in the bloodbath that was to follow?
But he did not speak this thought out loud, merely drawing his sword from his sheath and tapping the blade against his leg as he forced himself to calm down.
"As soon as we can, we will leave this place." He said gravely. "And as much as I can, Eiraki-hime, I will defend you. That is why I'm here and you can have faith in me. I'm no weak fighter and I am not afraid of guards wielding blades. But listen. If a fight ensues, you must clear the area. You're small and light and you know your way around - in the darkness it should be easy for you to slip away. That being the case, there are horses tethered outside the main gate. You must reach them. Understand? If we are attacked..."
"Kibana!"
At that moment an arrow seared out of the sky, the vibration of its sweep through the air catching Kibana off guard as it drove mercilessly towards where the young princess was standing. At the last minute he pushed her aside, then the next moment something small and silver came like a hunting bird of prey through the night sky, glancing the barb off course and sending it harmlessly into a nearby tree. The silver object also thudded against the unfortunate tree's lower branch, and half in a daze, Kibana realised that the missile had been a small, silver knife.
"What the hell are you doing?" Keitarou emerged from the darkness, cloaked and hooded and with the equally huddled figure of the anxious Sumire in tow. "And what is this? There are guards all around this place - I thought I told you that you must not let any in your barrack awake!"
"I did not. These are...others." Kibana pushed Eiraki hurriedly behind him as he realised the truth in his ally's words. From the darkness five, then ten armed men, each robed in the attire of Endou retainers emerged, some with bows and some with swords drawn ready to strike. Yet all of them were strangers to him - nonetheless. Had they been lying in wait for this to happen? The maid probably had betrayed them, in the end - out of fear or desperation, or maybe the lure of a reward.
Either way, it was not worth dwelling on it now. The threat was here in front of them, and Kibana realised that in their midst, one archer already had his bow cocked towards them, a second arrow idly clutched between his fingers.
So he had been the one to fire at Eiraki.
In that moment he made up his mind.
"Minazake-dono, take them! Take them and get them away from here!" He exclaimed, sword raised as he put himself between his charges and the advancing soldiers. "I at least have a blade to wield - if you get hurt, Eiraki-hime will never forgive me!"
"And leave you to sacrifice your life alone? It's noble, but I won't let you." Keitarou had already pulled his tantou knife from the tree, shaking his head. "I'm no sword fighter, but I can slash and carve with the best of them if need be and I'm not going to just run away and hide. I'm sighted here as much as you - I may as well fight alongside you as best I can. Two of us is better than one - and Eiraki-hime and Sumire-sama need you to navigate. Otherwise..."
Kibana bit his lip, then,
"Hime-sama, remember what I told you!" He called, even as the armed men began to close in on them. "Take Sumire-sama and do as I told you! If all is well, I will find you...but go! Go now! Before it becomes more dangerous - go!"
To his surprise and relief, the young girl did not hesitate, reaching out to grasp her bewildered mother's hand in hers before pulling her into the darkness. In that split-second he had seen her turn, glancing at Keitarou with a melancholy in her azure eyes, then the illusion was broken and as a couple of swordsmen struggled to break away into the night after them, he pushed it out of his mind, launching himself forward with a yell to clatter his weapon down against the advancing foe.
"So the wench Sakiko was right. There was treason afoot tonight." His opponent, a soldier he knew only by sight from Seimaru's armed retinue leered at him through the gloom, whipping his weapon around and driving it forward towards Kibana's fighting arm. Kibana leapt nimbly aside, sweeping his own blade from left to right across the other's chest, the tip tearing through the fabric of his upper uniform and slashing cleanly through the middle of the Endou insignia woven into the brown and burgundy cloth. The soldier swore, twisting his arm around to bring another strong swing of the blade across towards Kibana's ribs, and this time it was all Kibana could do to push him back. As he did so, he was aware of a swift gust of air against his back and he twisted around, striking his blade out just in time to whip the silver weapon through the gut of a young man who had tried to sneak up on him from behind. The juvenile fell with a groan, blood pooling from his wound, and Kibana found himself feeling faintly guilty for having cut down one so young.
Just following orders, like we all are. But this is beyond all rationality - a soldier fights and a soldier kills to defend an ideal. He does not falter.
He stole a glance over towards Keitarou, making out the cloaked figure faintly silhouetted against the trunk of the tree. At his feet lay the crumpled form of another man, but Kibana did not have time to dwell on this for the first soldier had come at him again, this time cutting his weapon through the air towards Kibana's neck. Kibana darted back, managing to avoid the swing by a hair's breadth but in doing so he did not see the driving barb of an arrow speeding through the air towards him.
With a thud and a sudden shock of pain the metal point embedded itself in his gut, and he swore, a string of expletives that he would never have dared release in front of the two ladies. Grabbing the wood end of the shaft, he yanked it free, agony ripping though him as he felt the metal and wood divide beneath the torn flaps of his skin. Blood stained the fabric of his clothing, but he gritted his teeth against the pain, managing to use the pommel of his sword to first wind and then knock unconscious the guardsman whose sword had given him so much trouble.
Without a moment of hesitation he drove the sharp point of his blade home through the fallen man's heart, his mercenary instincts alive and alert to the danger of leaving a witness who had so clearly seen his face. Even as he drew the weapon out, shaking it to remove the residue of blood, he knew that the man had already stopped breathing and, for that brief moment, he had succeeded.
But even so, they had wounded him all the same.
He stood over the fallen form, breathing hard and clutching at his midriff with his left hand as he surveyed the scene around him. To his surprise, he realised that where there had been fifteen soldiers a minute earlier, there were now only heaped forms on the ground, and, shadowed in the moonlight stood a cloaked figure, something silver glinting beyond his grip. They were like tiny threads of a spider, Kibana realised with a jolt, drawing slowly back into the shadows as if summoned by some unseen force, and at his gasp, Keitarou turned, meeting his gaze across the ground.
There was a moment of silence, then Keitarou laughed.
"They are sleeping. That's all." He said softly. "I told you, didn't I? That I have some knowledge of chemistry. I have put them all to sleep."
Kibana was not sure that that was what he had seen, but the burning pain in his gut was too much for him to really focus on it and he let it go with a sigh, swallowing against the burning bile rising in his throat. At his lack of reply, Keitarou's expression changed and he crossed the ground swiftly, a murmur of dismay touching his lips as he registered the blood staining the other's attire.
"So they hit you, even so?" He asked quietly, and Kibana nodded.
"I was careless. Lost attention for a second." He whispered, wincing as he leant up against the trunk of a tree. "The head...is still there. I'll be okay - I think - but its bleeding a lot and...I....will frighten the ladies if I...go to them like this."
Keitarou was silent for a moment, eyes thoughtful. Then he reached across to loose Kibana's obi, glancing briefly at the wound beyond the ripped fabric before sliding his fingers into the folds of his cloak and removing a small glass vial. Pulling it open and tipping several drops of the liquid onto his hand, Keitarou's thin fingers deftly brushed against the tear in Kibana's abdomen. Something cold stung briefly against the soldier's skin, and then there was a sudden, dizzying burst of pain. He gasped, stumbling, and Keitarou drew back, looking apologetic.
"I didn't mean to make it worse." He said quietly, holding up his hand to reveal a blood-stained barb in the midnight moon's glow. "But if its out, it might stop bleeding. What I touched you with is a minor anaesthetic - it won't last forever, and it will take a moment to kick in. But I applied it where the arrow wound was - so it should help hold back the pain. I don't have time or knowledge enough to do more than that - but at least, I hope, this very little will suffice for long enough to get beyond Seimaru-sama's reach. After all, you need to be able to ride. And...if you can't do that..."
"I have to still ride." Kibana swallowed his pain, bowing his head towards his companion as he acknowledged the truth of his companion's words. He slipped off his obi, reversing it and retying it so as the blood stain was less visible and the torn fabric was hidden from view."And I mustn't frighten the ladies by appearing in pools of blood. Thanks to your help, I will make sure I succeed...we've both risked too much now to do otherwise."
"We may well not meet again." Keitarou spoke pensively. "Though I'd like to think otherwise, this is a dangerous business after all. So I will trust it all to you from this point and focus my own attentions here on Misashi-sama and covering your tracks. It may cost both my life and Misashi-sama's, in the end...so don't let me down - all right?"
"I understand." Kibana nodded, realising that the nobleman understood the danger better than any of them of his having chosen to remain behind. "I won't betray you or them - you have my word!"
With that he turned, tracking his way painfully into the darkness.
The path was not a difficult one, and though the wound stung and throbbed, he found that by focusing his attention on the task ahead he could put the majority of the unpleasantness out of his mind. Little by little Keitarou's unknown potion began to dull the immediacy of the pain and, by the time he drew close to the place he had stationed the horses, he found that he could walk with only the very barest of dull aches hindering his progress.
Relief coursed through him at this - with the arrow head removed, after all, the wound would surely heal quickly and they would be able to make good progress. He had been careless, but in the end, it wouldn't make any difference. He had shed more blood today - he would at least make sure those sacrifices hadn't been in vain.
I will ride, not walk, after all. I should be able to manage that, at least. If they are where I hoped...if so...and if they are not caught then...we will make it. I will make sure of it, Minazake-dono. We will escape.
Well, it had been a little more messy than he had hoped.
Keitarou sighed, wiping the specks of blood from the surface of his tantou knife as he walked slowly between the fallen bodies of the unfortunate Endou-ke retainers. Despite his words to Kibana, they were all dead - necessary sacrifices set aside by Seimaru for the purpose of making the escape as believable an event as possible. All wars had casualties, after all - and in this case, they were not of a level where anyone would miss their inferior power.
Just tools, in the end. Puppets. Stage dressing.
A faint, humourless smile touched Keitarou's lips at this thought, pausing over the body of the young soldier Kibana had downed. He was still alive, groaning and clutching at his wound, and Keitarou pursed his lips, staring down at the young man with no remorse or sympathy in his pale eyes.
This one is a child still - probably the same age as the hopeless whelp Kibana and his companions have gone to flush out. A boy of sixteen, perhaps - no more than that. New blood in the armed forces conscripted to fight for his Lord in the name of the Endou Clan.
"Well, you fought bravely, didn't you." Slowly Keitarou knelt at the young boy's side, putting a hand on his shoulder and the youth's eyes slid towards him as a shudder ran through his body.
"Mina...zake...dono." He managed, and Keitarou's eyes narrowed.
So the whelp knew his name - or at least, the name he had taken to using.
"Seimaru-sama would be most proud of you." He said gently, slipping the tantou knife carefully from his sleeve and moving his right arm so that it was out of the youngster's line of sight. "You fought like a man, even for one so young. You should be happy, you know. You did exactly as he ordered you. It was well done."
"But...Mina...zake...dono. What...you...now..."
The boy was tiring - weakening, and Keitarou could already see the shadows creeping across the young eyes. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Your final duty remains undone, however." He murmured softly, and with a deft flick of his wrist he brought his knife forward, slashing it deftly and quickly across the child's throat. His swipe was so quick that the soldier did not even flinch, his eyes glassy and cold even before Keitarou sat back to regard his fallen form once more.
"Your final duty was to die for your Lord, boy." He said frankly, wiping the fresh blood on the brown sleeve of the young boy's shirt before standing. "And now, your work is complete. Rest, wherever it is you spirits go when your bodies turn to dust. You have no further orders now."
He turned, heading slowly back towards the manor building. At the back of his awareness, he could feel the faint buzzing of Eiraki's fear and anxiety, and he knew that, somehow, Kibana had managed to reach them. They would now be travelling far from this place - in search of Seimaru's prey.
And also, in search of mine. The District boy with the sword that will help to turn reidoku into a stable form and make my plans for revenge against the Clans a step closer to becoming reality..
Keitarou pursed his lips.
Well. Let the games begin.