12 days until Christmas! I don't own Basara.
Chapter Nine: The Journey to Kiyosu
My legs managed to stay straight until I was inside my room, and then they buckled, my hand flying out to grab the nearest shelf to keep myself steady. I had maybe an hour, hour and a half tops before guards came to escort me away, so if I was going to leave with any semblance of dignity, I'd need to remove any excuse for Lord Oda to increase my punishment.
Untying my sash and leg armour, I examined the sheaths with a new kind of eye. Lord Oda would expect me to hand these over, as proof I would go without resistance. On the other hand, there would be any number of chances for bandits or assassins to make their move, and I'd be damned if I went without resistance there. Disguising a bokken as my sword was also out of the question, he'd had the steel forged specially and knew the blade as though it was his own. And yet, there was one sword he would never suspect me of taking… Grimacing slightly at the thought of it, I put the thought to one side, focusing instead on getting dressed.
Once my white underdress was on, I retrieved several of my old hair ribbons, selecting only the longest for what I was about to do. The sword in question was hidden from sight underneath a false bottom in my weapons rack, where I'd been trying to forget about it for ten years.
Sitting on the floor and laying my left leg out straight, I spent the next five minutes of my precious time securing the sheath to my leg, making sure to keep the straps on my upper leg so I could still bend my knee. However, if I got into the furisode properly then no-one would be able to tell, if only because I was still getting used to moving about elegantly in the thing.
As it was, my arms were barely through the sleeves before there was a soft knock at the door, Lady Noh opening it a second later. Freezing up, I managed a bow, praying that the sword wasn't obvious beneath the bright silk in front of it. If she noticed, she stayed silent, like on so many other occasions before now.
Lips firmly set in a line, her hands grasped at the material, firmly tying me into it without a word. Within a matter of minutes, Lady Noh had me seated in front of her, my mirror showing me every move she made. As she worked, I stared hard at my cheek, watching as my marks were camouflaged underneath the pink blossom there, where Lord Oda's gauntlet had caught me.
"Where are your hair ornaments?" She asked as she combed the day's tangles away.
"In that box, my Lady." Humming a response, Lady Noh's arm flipped the lid of the container in question, rootling around for something specific by the sounds of things. There was a light pause in her rootling, disturbed by her abandoning the tail of hair she'd been holding to actually bring the box down.
"My Lady?"
"I didn't know you still had this." Turning slightly, I frowned at the item in her hand. Every item had memories attached to it, and the memories sealed in that comb were far from wonderful, which was ironic, considering where I'd gotten it. "Turn back around; I have to finish your hair."
"Yes, my Lady." Sighing, I felt the comb repeat its journey with surprising tenderness, biting my lip to keep the lump in my throat. If even the slightest bit got out, then I'd be walking out of here with red puffy eyes and Gracia's eternal mirth following me.
Seeing the sudden tightness in my shoulders, Lady Noh gently touched one, meeting my gaze in the surface of the mirror. "Some of your men have volunteered to be your escort, and Ranmaru's already getting your falcon from the mews. You won't be alone in isolation, Sayomi."
Nodding despite the lump, I managed a smile at the implications. Lord Oda was making more loopholes in his orders, even ensuring I wouldn't totally be alone.
None came to bid us farewell. My men had made their peace with their wives, promising to be back before long, and Lady Noh had sought her bed, leaving me for her husband's company. A few of the maids had packed some of my clothes while I ate a very late dinner, and Talon was already in his travelling basket, squawking unhappily at the situation, but making no move to escape.
Maybe that was because he didn't mind the person actually holding the basket though. Some of the men were throwing suspicious looks at him, obvious nervous about this stranger in their midst. Shifting about nervously with his burden, Hanzo visibly sighed with relief when I came into view.
With a quick look to… Wakahisa, the young man glaring hardest, Hanzo carefully passed Talon over, hands lingering a little longer than needed. "I've fed him, put in his leash and hood, and there's some extra food if he goes for your fingers again." Finishing up his report with a grin, Hanzo looked between me and the palanquin that was going to take me to Kiyosu, "I know a little girl or two who'd be thrilled for a ride in something like that."
"Maybe they will one day." His smile was infectious, and it soon invaded my face too.
"Lady Sayomi, we should be going." Wakahisa suddenly interrupted, sending Hanzo away with another glare. "We hope to be on the road by the morning."
"Understood." As I approached, the palanquin bearers opened one of the doors, waiting until both Talon and I were settled inside. There was a brief shudder as the bearers lifted us up, but the sensation passed in a second.
However, before we moved, the other door opened up, one of the other soldiers (What was his name…Yakota!) standing there. He hastily passed me a cloth bag, giving me a small wink before closing the door again.
I waited until I was sure we wouldn't be stopping before opening it, clasping a hand to my mouth in shock. My black dress and sleeves were inside, (without the armour plates going by the weight) along with a small note covered in shaky kanji that I recognised clearly.
I grabbed this before the maids or Nohime did. Write as soon as you get to Kiyosu.
Ranmaru.
Unable to stifle my giggles, I closed the bag again, securing it on my back with the cords attached to it. Then with a sigh, I outstretched my leg as far as I could, untying the ribbons securing the weapon to my leg. May as well hide something else in there, after all, it's not like I'd be searched upon entering Kiyosu, and even then I could bribe Yakota or Wakahisa into taking responsibility for it until I could retrieve it from them. Feeling proud of myself for remembering their names, I leant back against the wall, letting my eyes flutter closed. With any luck, by the time I was woken up, Kiyosu castle wouldn't be far away.
Of course, my luck tends to be very different from other peoples, because no sooner had I entered limbo, than a loud yowling sound made my brain leap to attention again. My hands leapt to my waist, closing around empty air instead of a hilt, and I cursed loudly, the noise gaining the attention of my escort.
"Remain here. I'll investigate." Wakahisa's voice ordered, the clink of his armour passing the doors to my left, and carrying on until he was behind us. A few seconds passed, before his voice travelled back on the wind, "What in the name of Raijin's thunder?!"
"What do you see?" Unfortunately for the curiosity of the guard asking that question (Matsuda?) and mine, we didn't get to find out what Wakahisa saw, because we felt it. The yowling sound halted, just as the ground shook horribly, and the palanquin lurched suddenly, landing on its side just as fast.
The door that had become the roof opened, and two of the soldiers were yanking on my arms to pull me out. Once safe, I looked around; blinking at the dust surrounding us, gulping to see the palanquin was halfway over a steep drop. Thank heavens for quick reflexes.
"What happened?" I queried, reaching back in to grab Talon's basket. Something told me he was going to be slightly annoyed at what had just occurred, but the rage of a falcon was nothing compared to the fact that our rear guard were unconscious, having taken the brunt of whatever had attacked us.
Looking back at the mess, Yakota could only shake his head. "It was a giant bomb on someone's back. Then he just ran off."
"This stinks." Matsuda (?) murmured, eyes narrowing. His hand never moved from his sword as he looked over the men. The unease he radiated passed to the rest of us, until another round of howling could be heard.
"If I maybe so bold, General…" One of the men whispered, drawing his sword in preparation, "I suggest running." As sensible as the idea was, especially considering the situation, I didn't move from my spot. There was nowhere for me to run to, and I doubted whoever had chosen to attack us had waited until we were clear of Gifu so that they'd have more range. No, this was a planned attack.
The howls grew louder, getting closer and closer with every passing second, and matching them was the sound of ten swords leaving their sheaths, along with the screech of a falcon as his basket was kicked open. Losing no time, Talon shot upwards like a bullet, comically taking his leash and hood with him. Clearly Hanzo had been more than thorough with his preparations, especially considering he was just 'doing a favour for a friend'.
With him free, I went to tug on the hilt of my sword, but Yakota gave a subtle shake of his head. Another sensible idea, these samurai couldn't report a weapon to Lord Oda if they didn't see the weapon. While the men kept their eyes on the horizon, I watched the bird, smirking when he suddenly dived behind us, tucking his wings in to streamline himself, "Behind us!"
It was a clever tactic, the first bomb to dwindle the numbers and disable the palanquin, the second to kill off the rest. Twenty five, twenty six if you counted me, had left Gifu, and now only eleven were left. Not our best odds.
A flap of wings later, Talon was flying for the horizon, eager to escape, leaving us completely on our own. As the men steadied their grips on their swords, the new bomber came into view, toting the colossal explosive in a wooden cradle on his back.
The next five seconds may as well have taken five hours. In the time it had taken for the bomber to crouch down, and launch the projectile, Matsuda had grabbed my arm, and flung me behind the overturned palanquin. No sooner had I landed than the bomb hit, the ground giving the largest shudder in protest that I had ever felt, the sound of dropping armour accompanying it.
Too heavy to be shifted much, the palanquin hadn't moved, but before I could risk a glance over it, to ascertain whether the threat was dead or my men still alive, a thin pink mist began to envelop the area, the smell extremely sickly, like some of Ranmaru's sweets.
Eyes furrowing, I took a quick sniff, gagging at how suffocating it was. So this had been what was hidden inside the bomb. But at the same time…it was so soothing and heavy…almost like a blanket.
Fighting to keep my eyes open was a battle I soon lost, my head falling back against the ground, just as I heard footsteps approaching, light and familiar ones that I couldn't place yet. Maybe if I slept on it…
