As usual, thanks to everyone who reviewed this. Here 'tis: the end.
***
EPILOGUE: Standing in the Road
***
There wasn't even time to contemplate how Uta had ended up in the arena. And later, when Jack had brought an exhausted Sankra back to her hut and left her in her bed, there were no answers. Until midnight.
Jack was squatting in Uta's hut, near her fire, lost in thought. He was rinsing the blood from his face and hair. A knock startled him. He toweled off his face and answered the door.
The village idiot was standing there, holding something in her quaking hands. She twitched and blinked at him. Jack motioned her inside and shut the door behind them.
"Ahhhngyu. Oo theh ahh," she said.
Jack stared at her, perplexed. There was another knock.
"Excuse me."
He answered it and Sankra came in, with dark circles under her eyes. She was wringing her hands nervously.
"Jack, I---" she began. Then she saw Kiki. "What's she doing here?"
"I do not know. She said something, but I could not understand her."
Sankra looked at Kiki, who repeated her statement.
"Thank you. You saved us," Sankra translated.
Jack smiled a little at Kiki. She, in turn, bowed as low as her twisted, broken body would allow and handed him something.
"Ohh eeyoo," she said.
It was a coin purse, made entirely of tiny, multi-colored beads, and thread. It had two pictures on it: An old woman on the front, holding herbs, and a young woman on the back, standing in a meadow. It was breathtaking.
Jack also bowed low and accepted it. Kiki, excited that he liked it, started babbling again. Sankra translated.
"I . . . have come here to . . . tell you that . . . I saw . . . who . . . pushed . . . Uta."
Sankra paled and stared at Jack. "Someone PUSHED Uta into the arena?!"
Jack was just as bewildered. "Who?" he asked Kiki.
"Ahh-hee," she said.
Jack had picked up her speech. "The Ashi?" he asked.
Kiki nodded emphatically.
The next day was a whirlwind of activity.
The morning was empty and cold. For Jack it was dead time, punctuated only by the tinkling of crystal funeral bells. Mourners cried. The pungent smell of incense hung in the air. He watched the shadows on Sankra's straight back as she stood and chanted prayers in front of the funeral pyre. It flickered and popped, turning Uta's body to dust. Her low, powerful voice carried on the wind as she ululated to heaven. He stared at the way her hair fell between her shoulder blades.
In the afternoon, Jack was working. He'd cleaned up the inside of Uta's hut, and now he was shoveling the show outside it. He stopped working to put one fist on his hip and laugh. A flock of terrified Crow Men were running away from the town, shrieking and squawking. A flock of angry women were pursuing them with yells, pitchforks, and torches. They wouldn't be back.
And in the evening, he stood in the town square with the rest of the village. Kiki gave her "testimony." There were wide eyes and dropped jaws. Immediately, there was a loud, angry revolution. The Ashi was driven out of town in a cloud of whirling pink cloth and noise. She stumbled along on her fat legs, running for her life. The villagers were throwing things at her and shouting curses. Errol, the baker, was immediately elected the new Ashi.
One look at Jack told Sankra that he would be leaving soon. She invited him to stay the night at her hut and leave in the morning. He accepted.
The next morning at daybreak, he awoke to total silence. Sankra's fire had nearly gone out. He could see his breath. But he absently felt his new cotton underclothes, looked down at his socks, and smiled. He didn't have to worry about the cold.
He looked over at Sankra, peacefully asleep on her cot. He knew he had to go. Saying goodbye to her was out of the question --- he'd never been good at that. Better to just disappear.
He fastened his sword and pushed the door open. It creaked. He scrunched his eyes in annoyance.
"Jack?" came Sankra's sleepy voice.
Against his better judgment, he didn't bolt. Instead, he turned around, nervous. Sankra was blinking to clear the sleep from her eyes.
"You're leaving?" she asked, getting out of bed.
"I --- I am afraid I must go," he said.
She nodded, then grabbed a small sack from where it hung on the wall. As she did, Jack noticed something around her neck. The pink bottle that had once hung between Uta's sagging breasts now hung between hers. Sankra saw his look.
"It's Uta's essence," she explained. "I'll carry it with me always."
"Ah."
They walked out into the cool dawn and reached the road. A hundred paces off, it dipped below the horizon, down into a valley. The first rays of the sun were peeking out.
"Here," she said, handing him a small bundle of food and a gray feather cloak she'd brought with her. "For your journey. The town of Urugor is down the road, to the east. If you leave now, you should be there by sunset."
"Thank you."
He didn't know what else to say, so he tucked the parcel into his gi, fastened the cloak around his shoulders, and bowed low, preparing to leave.
"Jack, wait."
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to tell you to be safe, and . . ." She sighed, forlorn. "This is so hard. You've given us our lives back. You've been my friend. I don't want you to go."
Jack felt the same way. Bushido was momentarily forgotten. He moved forward, into her open arms. They embraced. But inertia conspired against them. He was looking down, she was looking up, and when their bodies touched, their lips kept going and collided in the middle.
The kiss was brief. Both backed away with pink cheeks.
Jack was the first to apologize, trying desperately to squash the blossoming feelings inside him. "I am so clumsy," he said. "Forgive me."
Sankra grinned, batting her lashes. "I don't want to forgive you. I liked it."
This was not the scared, drowning woman of a few days ago. This woman was strong and sure and loving. And she had more magic in her than she knew, because she'd gotten a stoic, exhausted warrior to smile at her. A lot. And here he was, doing it again.
"But you have to go."
His smile faded. "It is not my choice. My quest . . ."
"I know." She took his hand. "Go and fight, and be well. But may I ask you something?"
He nodded.
"When your quest is over, what will you do then?"
Jack thought for a moment.
"If I remain in this world, I will return to you," he said, his voice low.
He gently squeezed her hand, then let go. Sankra hunkered down under her shawl and watched him walk away. Her long black hair blew lazily in the wind. She stood there until his figure became a silhouette against the rising sun. He was almost at the dip in the road.
There was a sudden emptiness in her chest. Her mind and spirit were here, with her village, but this brave samurai had stolen her heart. She squinted into the blinding light, then smiled faintly.
Jack was gone.
***
Wa-JACK!
Back, back, back to the past, Samurai Jack . . . *Gonnnnnng*
THE END.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review if you haven't already.
Take care,
Kiki -[: ) (That's my happy Jack face.)
PS: If you're interested in seeing a picture of Sankra, please go to the Samurai Jack CDF site, lovingly maintained by Greek Honeybee, and check under Fan Art. :D You should find her under "Kiki."
***
EPILOGUE: Standing in the Road
***
There wasn't even time to contemplate how Uta had ended up in the arena. And later, when Jack had brought an exhausted Sankra back to her hut and left her in her bed, there were no answers. Until midnight.
Jack was squatting in Uta's hut, near her fire, lost in thought. He was rinsing the blood from his face and hair. A knock startled him. He toweled off his face and answered the door.
The village idiot was standing there, holding something in her quaking hands. She twitched and blinked at him. Jack motioned her inside and shut the door behind them.
"Ahhhngyu. Oo theh ahh," she said.
Jack stared at her, perplexed. There was another knock.
"Excuse me."
He answered it and Sankra came in, with dark circles under her eyes. She was wringing her hands nervously.
"Jack, I---" she began. Then she saw Kiki. "What's she doing here?"
"I do not know. She said something, but I could not understand her."
Sankra looked at Kiki, who repeated her statement.
"Thank you. You saved us," Sankra translated.
Jack smiled a little at Kiki. She, in turn, bowed as low as her twisted, broken body would allow and handed him something.
"Ohh eeyoo," she said.
It was a coin purse, made entirely of tiny, multi-colored beads, and thread. It had two pictures on it: An old woman on the front, holding herbs, and a young woman on the back, standing in a meadow. It was breathtaking.
Jack also bowed low and accepted it. Kiki, excited that he liked it, started babbling again. Sankra translated.
"I . . . have come here to . . . tell you that . . . I saw . . . who . . . pushed . . . Uta."
Sankra paled and stared at Jack. "Someone PUSHED Uta into the arena?!"
Jack was just as bewildered. "Who?" he asked Kiki.
"Ahh-hee," she said.
Jack had picked up her speech. "The Ashi?" he asked.
Kiki nodded emphatically.
The next day was a whirlwind of activity.
The morning was empty and cold. For Jack it was dead time, punctuated only by the tinkling of crystal funeral bells. Mourners cried. The pungent smell of incense hung in the air. He watched the shadows on Sankra's straight back as she stood and chanted prayers in front of the funeral pyre. It flickered and popped, turning Uta's body to dust. Her low, powerful voice carried on the wind as she ululated to heaven. He stared at the way her hair fell between her shoulder blades.
In the afternoon, Jack was working. He'd cleaned up the inside of Uta's hut, and now he was shoveling the show outside it. He stopped working to put one fist on his hip and laugh. A flock of terrified Crow Men were running away from the town, shrieking and squawking. A flock of angry women were pursuing them with yells, pitchforks, and torches. They wouldn't be back.
And in the evening, he stood in the town square with the rest of the village. Kiki gave her "testimony." There were wide eyes and dropped jaws. Immediately, there was a loud, angry revolution. The Ashi was driven out of town in a cloud of whirling pink cloth and noise. She stumbled along on her fat legs, running for her life. The villagers were throwing things at her and shouting curses. Errol, the baker, was immediately elected the new Ashi.
One look at Jack told Sankra that he would be leaving soon. She invited him to stay the night at her hut and leave in the morning. He accepted.
The next morning at daybreak, he awoke to total silence. Sankra's fire had nearly gone out. He could see his breath. But he absently felt his new cotton underclothes, looked down at his socks, and smiled. He didn't have to worry about the cold.
He looked over at Sankra, peacefully asleep on her cot. He knew he had to go. Saying goodbye to her was out of the question --- he'd never been good at that. Better to just disappear.
He fastened his sword and pushed the door open. It creaked. He scrunched his eyes in annoyance.
"Jack?" came Sankra's sleepy voice.
Against his better judgment, he didn't bolt. Instead, he turned around, nervous. Sankra was blinking to clear the sleep from her eyes.
"You're leaving?" she asked, getting out of bed.
"I --- I am afraid I must go," he said.
She nodded, then grabbed a small sack from where it hung on the wall. As she did, Jack noticed something around her neck. The pink bottle that had once hung between Uta's sagging breasts now hung between hers. Sankra saw his look.
"It's Uta's essence," she explained. "I'll carry it with me always."
"Ah."
They walked out into the cool dawn and reached the road. A hundred paces off, it dipped below the horizon, down into a valley. The first rays of the sun were peeking out.
"Here," she said, handing him a small bundle of food and a gray feather cloak she'd brought with her. "For your journey. The town of Urugor is down the road, to the east. If you leave now, you should be there by sunset."
"Thank you."
He didn't know what else to say, so he tucked the parcel into his gi, fastened the cloak around his shoulders, and bowed low, preparing to leave.
"Jack, wait."
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to tell you to be safe, and . . ." She sighed, forlorn. "This is so hard. You've given us our lives back. You've been my friend. I don't want you to go."
Jack felt the same way. Bushido was momentarily forgotten. He moved forward, into her open arms. They embraced. But inertia conspired against them. He was looking down, she was looking up, and when their bodies touched, their lips kept going and collided in the middle.
The kiss was brief. Both backed away with pink cheeks.
Jack was the first to apologize, trying desperately to squash the blossoming feelings inside him. "I am so clumsy," he said. "Forgive me."
Sankra grinned, batting her lashes. "I don't want to forgive you. I liked it."
This was not the scared, drowning woman of a few days ago. This woman was strong and sure and loving. And she had more magic in her than she knew, because she'd gotten a stoic, exhausted warrior to smile at her. A lot. And here he was, doing it again.
"But you have to go."
His smile faded. "It is not my choice. My quest . . ."
"I know." She took his hand. "Go and fight, and be well. But may I ask you something?"
He nodded.
"When your quest is over, what will you do then?"
Jack thought for a moment.
"If I remain in this world, I will return to you," he said, his voice low.
He gently squeezed her hand, then let go. Sankra hunkered down under her shawl and watched him walk away. Her long black hair blew lazily in the wind. She stood there until his figure became a silhouette against the rising sun. He was almost at the dip in the road.
There was a sudden emptiness in her chest. Her mind and spirit were here, with her village, but this brave samurai had stolen her heart. She squinted into the blinding light, then smiled faintly.
Jack was gone.
***
Wa-JACK!
Back, back, back to the past, Samurai Jack . . . *Gonnnnnng*
THE END.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review if you haven't already.
Take care,
Kiki -[: ) (That's my happy Jack face.)
PS: If you're interested in seeing a picture of Sankra, please go to the Samurai Jack CDF site, lovingly maintained by Greek Honeybee, and check under Fan Art. :D You should find her under "Kiki."