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Act III
A Sorrowful Price For Treachery
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Chapter Seven: Attack on the Eastern Clan
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Mission: Punish Lord Iekazu
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Ayame took up the stance of death-stillness, a position that allowed a fighter to betray nothing to their adversary. Ayame's muscles, so perfectly trained, submitted to this constriction with ease. But unlike her days of youth when she had first learned this stance, Ayame had long surpassed the strength of an ordinary fighter. Her muscles ached with an energy that was nearly inhuman. This great energy, now being held in check by the stance, created tension-tremors to course throughout Ayame's body.
"Ha! Look how you quake in fear!" the massive guard bellowed.
Ayame smirked.
The tremors were a result of restrained force. The greater the tremors, the greater the force. Ayame was now shaking so furiously that her twin blades were humming.
"Keep talking." Ayame said calmly.
The guard began the slow process of raising his club. Once over his head he held it there effortlessly and looked down upon her.
"Such a shame your life will be short." he said, then brought his club down with enough force to crack her skull.
Ayame closed her eyes and let go.
As if a dam had suddenly opened within her, strength overtook her body in one sweeping current. She moved forward with that current and took three swift steps forward and then jumped. She seemed to hang in midair as the club came down to the earth. Ayame felt, rather than heard, the impact. But suddenly the club was there, right beneath her, and she landed gently on top of it. She ran up the length of the club and up the man's huge arm. With a leap she then struck out with her right foot and put every ounce of power she had behind it. The kick connected right with the man's jaw and twisted his head around.
Ayame heard the snap as she landed back on the ground. The man slammed to the ground, causing the earth to shake for a third time that night. Ayame shook her head sadly.
"What's worse than a big stupid behemoth? A big stupid behemoth with a club." Ayame said to herself, laughing and turning away.
"What's more reckless than a ninja with boundless strength?" a high and nasal voice asked behind Ayame.
Ayame spun to find a tall and ugly man standing behind her. His clothing was rich and immaculate. He looked down on her with a smirk.
"An unbalanced ninja with boundless strength." said Ugaki Nagen.
***
Tomoyo ran through the woods, watching in awe as wave after wave of ninja poured out from it's depths and crossed the river. She hurried along, staying on the river bed, knowing she would be lost if she strayed from it. Ahead on the river's edge stood a tall man bellowing out orders.
"MORE TO THE EAST! WE NEED MORE TO THE EAST! WE NEED TO BLOCK ALL MEANS OF ESCAPE!" Taro cried, trying to direct his men to storm the eastern corner of the estate, which seemed to be bare of action.
All means of escape? Tomoyo thought to herself.
The man's word had stirred a sudden memory within her. When she had first been brought to the estate her guards weren't paying attention and she was able to take a good look around. This river had been filled with little boats, and she had gotten a faraway glimpse of a small harbor upstream.
"Excuse me sir!" Tomoyo cried. "But they have a group of boats upstream!"
Taro blinked. He stared at the girl for a moment, as if had never seen anything like her before. For a moment he thought that maybe she was one of his own ninja who had mistakenly put on a kimono and obi instead of their uniform.
"You're...one of the geisha?" he questioned, sounding slow.
"Yes! Well...no, I'm a Maiko. My name is Tomoyo. I can go get the boats for you. I run very fast!" Tomoyo said earnestly, also sounding slow.
There was another pause, but then the man nodded and reached within his shirt.
"All right, run to them. Stay as close to the river as you can. When you get there group all the boats together and destroy them with these." he said, handing her several bombs. "All you have to do is throw them inside the boats. Come right back as soon as you are done. If you meet up with trouble run into the woods or find one of us." Taro ordered.
Tomoyo's eyes widened as she looked at the bombs, but despite her fear, she took them and was able to tuck them safely into her kimono. She nodded curtly and then began her run up the river. Taro studied her as she did and was pleased to find that she was a very good runner. He doubted that the other Geisha were doing as well, and hoped that not too many of his men were tied up with escorting them to safety.
Taro glanced at the woods, frustrated. No matter how well they had planned this there were still areas of the estate that weren't being covered. It was simply too big, and his forces had to be split. Not seeing any more of his men coming from the woods, Taro spun his long spear eagerly and flew across the river into battle.
It did not take him long to find a fight. Bano and Atsutane were grouped together in a small area between two buildings. From their positioning they were at a disadvantage when it came to defense, and were being ganged up on by several guards.
Taro raised his spear and brought it down in a perfect half circle. Two of the men fell forward. Taro whipped back his weapon, spinning it smoothly.
"Azuma ninja finishing move. Strike of the half moon." Taro said calmly, smiling at Bano.
Bano grinned. "So we're busting out the finishing moves already, eh Taro? Well, sounds good to me!" he said.
Bano carried a sword that was as tall as a man. He lifted it effortlessly over his head and brought it down in one long motion.
"Sweep of the dragon's tail!" he called out.
He swung the great sword with all his strength. The blade literally slammed into one of the guards and tossed him several feet. The guard hit a wall and fell to the ground, leaving a blood trail. In a continuing smooth motion, Bano kept the blade moving and slammed it into two other guards. The two men flew and landed upon each other, dead. The lethal blade came to a rest near Taro's right shoulder.
Taro jumped back. "Dammit! Watch it!"
Bano ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "Sorry."
Taro suddenly went quite and lifted his spear, holding it perfectly still in front of his face. He lifted his free hand in a praying sort of position and closed his eyes. Taro began to mutter something under his breath, then breaking his silence, he let out a fearsome cry and spun the huge staff above his head.
The slashing movements were so quick that the remaining guards did not even see their own fatal blows. They feel to the ground softly, as if laying down to sleep. Bano whistled appreciatively.
"What was that called?" the older ninja asked.
"Purification." Taro whispered, turning away from the guards.
"Yeah, thanks Taro! Don't leave any for me! Now I can't show you guys my finishing move." Atsutane pouted.
"And what would that be?" Bano asked.
Atsutane seemed to think for a moment and then grinned. "Why, fan sweep of the angry Maiko, of course!" Atsutane said casually.
The roaring laughter of Taro and Bano echoed through the night. Atsutane grinned goofily
"Someday you'll begin to take things seriously, all though that is a long time in coming. All right, we should split up from here. When you're done Atsutane, go back to the river. A group will be meeting there to return home." Taro ordered.
"But I want to remain here!" Atsutane whined.
"Absolutely not." Bano said. "We already spoke of this. Only the older ninjas are remaining."
"Fine." Atsutane said unhappily.
The trio spilt up, Atsutane lagging behind. He shuffled his feet and pouted, then realizing that there was no one around to see his pouting, he pouted even more. Finally composing himself, he looked up and wondered where he should head off to next.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw someone heading in the direction his father had gone. Moving cautiously, Atsutane quickly discovered that a guard was following his father. Rushing forward, Atsutane plunged both daggers deeply into the man's back with all his strength.
A minuet too late he heard the footsteps behind him. A second too late he pulled his weapons from the man's flash. A flash of steel and his world exploded in pain.
***
Sayako jumped from one rooftop to the next, making it into the heart of the estate. Rimiko ran along side her on the ground. A silent message passed between the girls and they both stopped and took in their surroundings.
"The Geishas all seem to have headed into the woods!" Sayako called from her perch on the rooftop. "But from what I can tell none of us have found the advisors yet or Lord Iekazu!"
"Maybe he's inside that building!" Rimiko said, pointing to the building that seemed to house the estates nobility.
"I'm going to stay on the rooftops and look for mother! You go inside and check for the advisors!" Sayako called.
"Right!" Rimiko exclaimed and headed into the large and ornate building.
Sayako continued along the rooftops, searching vainly for her mother's ki. The fighting already seemed to be dying down, and it was clear that the Azuma ninja were winning. Bano was right. They really didn't leave any for them.
In the distance she felt her mother's ki, and there was something strangely off about it. Her mother seemed...tense. She didn't know how to explain it, but suddenly she felt very concerned for her mother. She focused all her senses and headed quickly in that direction.
***
Tomoyo's breathing was only slightly hitched as she reached the small harbor that housed all the river boats. She was extraordinarily pleased to find that they were already grouped together. She had encountered no one along the way and this area seemed to be desolate. Thanking her good luck, she slipped off her delicate shoes and stepped into the river, enjoying for a moment as the water cooled her feet. Tomoyo waded to the middle of the river and grabbed one boat that was starting to float away by itself and tied it back to the others.
Her hands firmly grabbed the wet rope attached to the boat. She swiftly passed the rope over both ends of the adjoining boats and for the first time realized she was proud to be doing something to help the ninja. With the boats tied together she stepped out of the river and admired her work. All the boats were now floating innocently in a group. Her job would be easy.
She then spared a moment to study her kimono. The once glorious kimono was now damaged beyond repair. Tomoyo sighed as a hard intuition struck her.
I will never become a Geisha she thought sadly.
But if I can't become a Geisha, than at least I shall help in the fight Tomoyo consoled herself, and retrieved the bombs from inside her kimono.
"Haha! The boats!" a foul voice cried out.
Tomoyo spun and found Lord Iekazu standing on the harbor, rubbing his hands greedily together. The short and hideous man leapt from the harbor and into one of the boats, which rocked dangerously. He pulled a dagger from his robes and began to hack away at the rope that Tomoyo had just carefully tied.
"STOP!" Tomoyo cried, holding up the bombs threateningly.
Lord Iekazu squeaked and looked up, not having seen the petite girl. He took in her ruined kimono and upheld bombs with a scornful look. He then shrugged off her threat as though it were nothing.
"Quite you stupid girl. A pathetic Maiko does not have what it takes to kill a man." he sneered, then began to hack away at the ropes once more.
Tomoyo watched the twisted Lord with disgust. She heard a great rushing in her ears, but was sure it was not the river. A pure rage filled her heart, and for the first time in her life, she was sure of just this one thing.
"No," she whispered fiercely. "I am not a Maiko. Not anymore."
And with that she threw the bombs.
***
Ayame was only merely distracted by the distant explosions. She kept her eyes trained on the cool and calculating man who stood before her. He held himself in the same death-stillness as she, but he carried no weapon and was clearly not a warrior.
"Let me introduce myself." the man said briskly. "My name is Ugaki Nagen, and I am Lord Iekazu's main advisor."
"It seems that puppy has strayed far from his master." Ayame sneered. "Tell me, did it anger you that you did all the work but Lord Iekazu reaped all the benefits?"
"Yes it did." the man said mildly. "And I had been waiting for just the right moment to take over this estate, but you Azuma ninja, you simply do have a way of ruining everything, don't you?"
"Of course. We have a reputation for spoiling people's days, as I am going to show you now." Ayame laughed, slowly stretching her blades forward and holding her muscles in check.
The man watched her warily. "Constricting your muscles so that you can build up power? The same trick twice in a row? You're losing your style, Ayame dearest."
Ayame was slightly disturbed that he knew what she was doing, and held herself still for longer than necessary.
"Yes darling, keep holding it, keep waiting to see if I shall talk more and reveal to you what I know." the man said, clearly not fazed by the fact that Ayame was about to kill him.
"You don't even know when to run for your life. How could you know anything important?" Ayame demanded.
"Never show your vulnerabilities, do you Ayame? Well, I expected nothing less. The eastern clan has been keeping tabs on your little southern clan for some time now. And out of all the many reports I've received there was never anything that interesting, except you, my dear."
Ayame did not speak.
"And in all these reports," Nagen continued, "There was only one constant. Do you know what that constant was?"
Nagen smiled as Ayame glared at him. He tsked.
"You're lying. You know damn well what I speak of."
And for the first time in as long as Ayame could remember, she felt uncertain.
***
The noise of the battles suddenly faded as Rimiko headed into the largest and most decorated buildings of the estate. The building with its huge and beautiful hallways were eerily quite. Rimiko moved slowly, expanding her senses to their fullest. It seemed oddly peaceful compared to what was happening outside.
I've never seen so much artwork in one place Rimiko thought, eagerly taking in the sights of the many beautiful wall scrolls. Elegant women dressed in flowering kimonos, warriors fighting losing battles, and the demons of hell were all portrayed in those varying scrolls. She smirked. When this battle was over she just might have to alleviate this accursed estate from some of its priceless artifacts.
She was stunned out of her thoughts but the sudden presence of a ki. It was distant...and strangely calm. This person was obviously not participating in the battle outside. Rimiko ran through the desolate hallways and entered a long corridor, deciding on and drawing her sword in the process. The many polished doors whirled passed her as she hurried, her eyes keen on the one that was second to last. She kept her eyes pinned on that door, her heart hammering in her chest as she pondered who it could be. The ki was so strong, and yet non-threatening. She grit her teeth and realized that there was no way to enter the room without notice, so as soon as she reached it she slide open the door with such force that it crashed against the wall.
A boy turned and gazed at her with serene eyes. He was standing alone in the room, no older than she, beside a large and open window. A half moon shown down and threw window, its light illuminating his silhouette. It seemed as if he had been expecting her.
And somehow she was sure she knew who he was.
"Are you Morimoto Kenichi, the advisor in training?" Rimiko asked harshly.
Please say no! Rimiko thought even though she already knew. Please don't be him!
The boy nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I am Morimoto Kenichi."
Rimiko's heart plummeted, and for the life of her, she could not explain why.
"Well," she said, sucking in a deep breath. "Then I am here to kill you."
There was another pause, and the boy again nodded his head. Rimiko's breath caught in her throat.
"Please be quick." the boy whispered, and closed his eyes slowly.