10 days until Christmas (Still)! I don't own Basara.
Interlude
Something had changed in Sayomi's tone before she'd called the session to an end, barely waiting to say good night before she was gone in a whisper of black silk. Quickly instructing Kotori to stay with Ryota, Hotaka and Teruko had gone after her, and neither of them seemed set to return. Wearing a blank look each, the pair shuffled about uncomfortably, waiting for something to happen.
Glancing across at her, Ryota saw the worry in Kotori's frame, the neutral expression acting as a very good, if obvious façade. "She always stops there." She finally whispered, almost as if she was alone, with only her birds around her, "No matter how much we ask, she always stops there."
That haunted look…Ryota couldn't get it out of his head. Almost the second Sayomi had realised what she was coming to, every trace of colour had left her face, leaving her eyes staring out alarmingly. As her voice trailed off, Hotaka and Teruko had looked up from their corner, the weapons in their hands dropping as they scrambled to follow her. Now the sword and spear lay abandoned, the cleaning supplies open to the air. "She always stops there!" Kotori finally spat, ignoring the shocked look sent at her as she stormed out of the room. Torn as to what he was supposed to do, Ryota finally got up to follow her, only to crash into Teruko's chest as she returned.
Unswayed, the older woman simply looked down at him, clearing her throat, "Sayomi would like to apologise, but she would rather not continue."
"I understand-" Ryota started, only for Teruko to shake her head,
"That's not what I meant. She is willing to provide two of our soldiers to escort you and your guide to the border of Mino-"
"She wants me to go home?" Ryota whispered, feeling his heart fall at the nod. "But she-"
"Kotori badgered her into agreeing, promising that she wouldn't ever ask again. Sayomi didn't realise what she would have to disclose." Nodding again, Hotaka stepped back, freeing up the doorway, "Your guide will be back in two days. Again, I and Lady Hiroto apologise."
Lying awake, Ryota stared at the tiger, following its form as it hid from the warriors. What was it planning to do, he mused, launch an attack from above? Or was it merely watching curiously, wondering why these strangers in their armour had invaded its domain?
Beginning to sit up, Ryota sighed quietly, knowing that he wouldn't get to sleep by thinking about tigers and what may be occurring in their stripy heads. What he was more interested in was what was occurring in Sayomi's head. Thinking back, Ryota tried to look for any clue, any tell that he could use to guess.
All he could think about was how she'd frantically gripped her hand when she drew to a stop.
Scowling, Ryota threw the quilt away, gathering his brush and a stack of paper as he rose. Etiquette and politeness be damned, he only had two days to convince her to continue with the story, and he wasn't going to waste a single moment. Throwing his clothes back on, the writer's son crept into the hall, looking up and down it with no small amount of hesitation. Finally gathering his courage, he closed his door behind him and set off, his eyes never still as they searched for guards, while his feet carefully navigated the boards searching for creaks that would give him away.
Barely daring to breathe, Ryota only really felt safe once he was standing outside of Sayomi's study, staring at the lamp flickering behind the screens.
However, all of his courage deserted him, and just as he was turning to walk away, her voice rang out, "You're casting a shadow. I'm not blind you know."
"I wouldn't accuse you of being so, my Lady." The screen parted, Sayomi appraising him in the same manner as their first meeting. Forcing himself to meet her gaze without fear, Ryota manged it right up until she snorted, moving her eyes to the garden.
"It's funny actually, I was just thinking about you."
"You…you were?"
"Made a pot of tea too. Figured if you were as keen as I thought, you'd try to convince me to give up my secret."
Getting her meaning, Ryota allowed himself to be led into the study, taking his usual spot. But Sayomi huddled back in a cushion nest he hadn't seen before, and took a sip of her already poured cup, "I'll tell you, but only if you promise me a few things, namely that you don't put this in your father's book, or tell my children."
"I promise, my Lady." Ryota whispered, tucking his paper and brush far from his reach. Watching with another snort, Sayomi took another sip, but shrugged,
"Wait until Momo gets her claws in you. Anyway, did you know that an onna-bugeisha is not a samurai?"
"I know there's a distinction."
"More than you'd think. An onna-bugeisha could best every samurai in the land, but she'd still be just a woman who someone trained. Even Tomoe Gozen is remembered for her beauty before her skill." Silence hung between them, filled only by the sound of Ryota pouring his tea, "That's where Oda Nobunaga differed from others. From day one he addressed me as a samurai, and anyone who said otherwise could take it up with him. As far as he was concerned, as the only one of my father's children alive, I'd earnt the right to lead my clan in my own name instead of my husband's."
"Is that why you don't share your husband's name?"
"It is, and when I die, Kotori will inherit it too. But we're getting waylaid." Leaning to get a fresh cup, Sayomi continued, her words gaining momentum, "After Sasuke showed me to the bath house, I just wanted to soak before I went home or carried on to Kiyosu. Instead, I learned what my enemies wanted to hide from me, and why they'd been so fast to bind my hand."
Holding out her right one, the same one she'd been gripping earlier, Sayomi let the light catch it, the shine reflecting off of a series of scars on the back.
With a slight squint, Ryota was able to read the crude kanji, pulling back with a swallow, "Was that…was that Matsunaga?"
"I thought so at first, but it turned out I couldn't have been further from the real culprit." Pulling her hand back, Sayomi glanced at it herself, shaking her head, "I was branded as a traitor, and that hurt more than any physical blow Oda could've given me. Before he'd took me in, I travelled with my uncle, and the idea of becoming a ronin like him after being a true samurai for so long…it was too much. I only had one wish."
Finally connecting the dots, Ryota tried to keep the horror from his expression, "You tried to kill yourself?"
"You understand why my children can't hear of this. If my hands hadn't slipped from the tub's side, if I hadn't taken that breath, I would never have held those four precious treasures in my arms. They don't know about that dark day, Ryota, they don't know that I was abandoned in such a way, or that I was dangerously close to madness as a result of the shadows around me.
Nodding along to her words, Ryota gripped his cup tighter, "I won't tell them, no matter what Kotori does."
For the first time that night, Sayomi's face clouded with relief, her shoulders easing again, "Thank you." As Ryota got up to leave, she called his name again, "Teruko spoke hastily earlier. Tomorrow, I'll see you and Kotori in here after breakfast."
Smiling widely, Ryota nodded, bowing low before he left, missing how Sayomi sank back into her cushions again.
