Chapter 7: One Step Forward
Tamahome had been right. The air turned noticeably cooler as evening set in. For that, Miaka was thankful. They had been casting around for a suitable place to make camp. It did not help, that the third person in their party did not seem inclined to speak to them.
Maybe that's a good thing, Miaka reflected. She wasn't sure if she was up to making small talk with the man responsible for turning her best friend against her and killing her seishi. Her eyes darkened at the thought. She missed all of them terribly, especially Nuriko.
Miaka shook her head, trying to fend off the depression that had suddenly come over her. Her thoughts were interrupted by Tamahome handing her a stick of barbecued something which had been cooking over the fire. She decided not to ask what it was and just eat it. She hoped that whatever it was did not have more than four legs.
Exhaustion set in, not long after she had eaten, dulling her senses and numbing her brain. The ground was hard, but she was too tired to care. Yawning widely, she fell asleep within minutes.
Tamahome smiled gently at the sight of her lying in repose, her hair spread carelessly across her face. Her breath stirred the russet strands as she snored softly. He himself felt bone weary, and his eyes felt as if they were lined with sand. But he couldn't allow himself to sleep. He had to guard Miaka, especially with someone as untrustworthy as Nakago around.
"I'm not going to stab you in your sleep if that's what you're worried about," Tamahome jumped at the sound of Nakago's voice, which under the circumstances was perfectly understandable, since the other man had not said a word since that morning.
The Suzaku seishi must have looked sceptical, because Nakago stated flatly, "I'm a soldier and even I have my honour. Despite your inclination to believe otherwise, I don't kill people in their sleep."
"Well pardon me if I have difficulty trusting you!" Tamahome retorted, "You killed my friends! If I hadn't come looking for Miaka that time, you would have…" he could not bring himself to utter the words.
"I could have," Nakago corrected impassively, "but I didn't. She was with me a full half hour before you arrived."
Tamahome paled.
It had never occurred to him that Nakago could have passed up the chance to ensure certain victory for Seiryuu and himself.
Suddenly, Tamahome became exceedingly uncomfortable. He felt as though he should say something, but couldn't frame the words. The silence became oppressive, almost stifling. He could feel the piercing silver-blue eyes on him, unnerving in their intensity. Moreover, Nakago seemed to have developed the nasty habit of not blinking for extraordinary lengths of time. It was extremely disconcerting.
He was confused, to say the least. If what Nakago had told him was true, then it threw the question about whether to trust the man into a tailspin. Why is he even here with us? He made it perfectly clear that he hates this world. He looked up, only to see that Nakago had completely ignored him. The shogun was sitting with his eyes closed, his back against a tree.
Should I trust him? Nakago didn't look like he was lying about what happened with Miaka…and the fact that she had been able to summon Suzaku proved that she was still a virgin. Nakago twisted the truth to manipulate people, but bare-faced lies just did not seem like his style. That much, even Tamahome had to admit. He frowned speculatively. He knew that he was missing something important about the blonde man, but at the moment he couldn't figure out what.
He glanced at down at Miaka beside him, feeling the insistent pull of sleep. Finally, he slowly came to a decision. He allowed his eyelids to slide shut. Something Nakago had said, in particular, remained at the edge of his consciousness.
- -I'm a soldier and even I have my honour.- -
He hoped he was right, because if he wasn't…he would not even be alive to regret it.
Tamahome slowly came awake to the silence of the dawn occasionally shattered by the sound of the screech of a monkey in the distance. Beside him, Miaka snuggled closer for warmth.
So Nakago didn't try to kill us after all? He sat straight up, his eyes going immediately to the place Nakago had occupied the previous night.
It was empty.
It took him a moment to fully realise the implications of the situation. Nakago could have easily killed both him and Miaka while they were asleep if he had so chosen. So the man does follow some code of honour, twisted as it may be…He surveyed the area. Nakago was nowhere in sight.
Tamahome got to his feet carefully so as not to disturb Miaka. He thought he heard the faint sound of footfalls and someone breathing hard. Stealthily, he made his approach through a clump of bushes.
They were on a plateau, and Nakago was apparently working out. His armour lay on the ground as the blonde shogun swung the sword in clean arcs, alternating with various feints and parries. The first rays of dawn glinted off the sword as well as its owner's golden hair.
Now that he had the chance to observe from a distance instead of being at the business end of the sword, Tamahome noticed the sinuous grace of Nakago's movements. The swordplay looked almost like an intricate dance which took an immense amount of control. Tamahome frowned in concentration, trying to identify the style of swordplay Nakago used, but it was like none he had ever seen before. In all probability, Nakago could have come up with it himself.
Before he could ruminate any further on it however, the subject of his attention whipped around, pointing the sword directly at him.
"You might as well come out."
Tamahome slowly stood up from his hiding place, trying not to look surprised that he had been detected. "How did you know I was here?" He was puzzled. To his knowledge, he had not made any noise nor done anything that could have given him away.
His arch-nemesis looked aloof, almost…smug. "Ahou ga. Your chi practically screams out your presence."
Tamahome's jaw dropped open in shock, "You…you can sense chi?" He stared at the other man in consternation. But I thought only shichi seishi can sense chi…and since he's not Seiryuu shichi seishi anymore, how…?
Nakago regarded him disdainfully, "What do you think?" He sheathed the weapon.
Tamahome noticed the way Nakago flicked the sword before he slid it back into its protective casing. From the way he did it, the Suzaku seishi could tell that it was more a force of habit than a conscious action. Tamahome had seen other swordsmen use this method to rid their swords of unwanted substances that might have stained their blades…Like blood, he thought uncomfortably. He barely managed to repress a shudder.
He tried to remember what his Master had told him about chi. Chi is present in all living things. A person's chi is the energy of his spirit…A good warrior should be able to sense chi…it allows you to detect the presence of an enemy, know his intentions, and anticipate his attack. So that was it. Nakago as a soldier, and a warrior, had been trained to sense chi, with or without the benefit of his powers. His Seiryuu gifted powers had just heightened that ability.
Damn. Are there any more surprises he's hiding? Next we'll find out that he's got a talent for cooking as well!
Notes:
I got the idea about Nakago being a good cook off the Nakago Fan Club site. It was theorised that since he was waiting alone for Miaka to turn up and get the Genbu Shinzaho back from him, who else was going to prepare all that food?
