******************************************************************************Act III
A Sorrowful Price For Treachery
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Chapter Nine: Bringing Kenichi Home
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Mission: Prevent the death of the young advisor
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"Oh, another one unconscious? Wonderful. Just put him over there with..."
Hinageshi did a double take. Rimiko was already hurrying along and carrying the unconscious boy in her arms to a table on the other side of the room. Hinageshi was quick on her heels.
"Rimiko, why do I not recognize this boy?" she demanded.
Rimiko grinned. "Because you are losing your memory due to old..."
"Finish that sentence and even Lord Mei-Oh will pity you!" Hinageshi growled. "Who is he? He is not from this clan, that I am sure."
Rimiko gently laid him down on the table. "No, he is not." Rimiko responded mildly. "Oh, wait a moment. Seeing as how we just took over the eastern clan, I guess he actually now is a part of the Godha clan. Huh. I didn't even think about it that way. Thank you, Hinageshi." Rimiko said cheerfully.
Hinageshi stared for a moment, appearing ready to throttle her. "So he's from the eastern clan?" she said with greatly forced patience.
"Right." Rimiko said, nodding.
"And his name?" Hinageshi asked.
"Morimoto Kenichi."
There was a pause.
"The same Morimoto Kenichi that you were supposed to assassinate?"
"Yep. That Morimoto Kenichi."
"Rimiko, WHAT PART OF ASSASSINATE MEANS TAKE HOME!?" Hinageshi yelled.
"Please calm down!" Rimiko begged, looking distressed. "If you were me you would have done the same. I absolutely could not kill him. He asked me to do it."
"He asked you to do it? He asked you to do it? Does your need for rebellion really go so far as you not granting the death wish of a person you were SUPPOSED TO ASSASSINATE?"
"I am not rebellious!" Rimiko countered.
"Oh, Hinageshi, I don't need to go to sleep. I am going to stay up all night long and practice with my new shiny weapons no matter what you say!" Hinageshi mimicked.
Rimiko waved her off. "You all do such terrible impressions of me! Besides, that was my childhood."
"That was last week and you know it. Why must you always be difficult?" Hinageshi asked.
Rimiko suddenly turned away. She looked down at Kenichi softly and errantly brushed his soft hair from his eyes.
"I couldn't do it, Hinageshi." she whispered. "He was just standing there, waiting for someone to come along and kill him. It was the saddest thing I had ever seen. For someone to be so ready to die, to just stand back while their entire clan is under siege because they so greatly desire cessation, it was just so sad. I guess you could say my compassion got the best of me. Not exactly a beneficial quality to a ninja, huh?"
Hinageshi studied her solemnly. "No. No it is not," she finally answered. She looked down at the boy, an enemy now homeless, and felt her stomach twist. Things were about to get very complicated.
***
Sayako made terrible time. It took her nearly an hour longer than the others to return home. Halfway through the woods and with her anger receding Sayako realized what a puny horse she had been riding on. She was so ashamed that the entire last mile home she dismounted and walked beside the small creature, making it seem as if she were actually taking care of the little pack horse in leading it home.
It was an understatement to say that she was relieved when she finally came home and tied up her horse. She emerged from the stables, finally having a clear head, and thought about the events that occurred in the Iekazu state.
So even my mother's enemies know of her secrets Sayako mused.
Her mother's hurt expression suddenly burned her heart.
Oh mother, I did not mean to yell at you. But there are so many things I know you withhold from us. And what makes it all the more frustrating is that Rimiko does not even seem to notice. Rimiko is able to control her emotions, well all except her temper, and focus on her training and the task at hand. I, however, seem to carry this...this burden that I cannot even name...
So deep was she in thought that she did not even notice Shiro as he followed her down the street. The boy smiled to himself and shadowed her footsteps. Finally, boring with this game, he reached up and pinched her arm.
"WHAT!?" Sayako gasped, spinning around.
The boy laughed and stared up at her with his huge round eyes. He did not speak, though Sayako did not expect him to. Shiro only spoke occasionally, mostly to his father and mother. Sayako softened as she beheld his innocent face and drew the boy into her arms. Shiro held onto her with all his childish strength.
For some reason, Sayako suddenly did not feel so alone.
"Shiro!" A voice called.
Both Sayako and Shiro gazed behind them and noticed Agasuta running up the street, out of breath and nearly hysterical.
"Oh Shiro! Thank goodness you are safe! Sayako, I am forever grateful that you found him." the woman said, standing now beside the pair and panting heavy breaths.
"I take it he got away from you again?" Sayako questioned with a smirk.
"I swear I must have had my eyes off the child only a moments time! I was tending to another of the babes and as soon as I turn round I find the door open. But all is well, thank goodness. I am glad I found you. Please tell me of the battle, I have been stuck in the nursery and have heard nothing." Agasuta asked.
Sayako felt a surge of pity for the woman. The healer women who tended to the nursery were not held in as high regard as Hinageshi's personal students were. They were also confined to the building and had much work to do.
"It was a wonderful victory! From what I saw there were few casualties. The entire estate was brought down within hours. Taro and the others are going to stay and secure the estate." Sayako reassured her.
"Papa?" Shiro asked, his voice timid.
"You papa's fine, Shiro. Perfectly fine." Sayako said.
The two locked eyes and smiled at each other for a moment. Agasuta looked at them both and chuckled to herself.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were brother and sister." she commented.
"Really?" Sayako asked, a little too forcefully.
"Yes. Same eyes you two have." Agasuta replied. "Well, me and the little man shall be heading back to the nursery now. Thanks again Sayako." Agasuta said, picking up Shiro and walking off.
Sayako watched the two depart, suddenly feeling as if she had just learned something of invaluable importance.
***
"And so she was unable to assassinate the young man." Hinageshi said, finishing her very long tale to Lord Godha.
First she had recounted to her Lord that the attack was a success, and the Godha clan was greatly victorious that night. She reassured him that his son-in-law, who over the years Godha had come to treat as a son, was indeed well. He seemed pleased by all this, and it broke Hinageshi's heart to spoil the good news with the story of Rimiko's failure. Lord Godha was not at all pleased.
"What is that girl thinking? Bringing an enemy here? She is endangering us all!" Lord Godha seethed, unable to understand the situation.
"It is grievous, yes, but please empathize with her my Lord." Hinageshi begged, putting a hand on Godha's arm. "The boy was simply standing there, asking her to kill him. Not even the most hardened ninja wouldn't feel compassion. Rimiko is young yet, and for being her first mission, she performed spectacularly. When the girl is engaged in battle she withholds nothing. But to ask her to kill a young boy who is just standing in front of her, harming her in no way, well, that is simply too much to ask. And who knows, maybe this boy will prove useful."
Hinageshi then leaned in closer to her Lord. "You can not fault her for caring about someone, my Lord. Even the best of us fall victim to that trap." she said softly.
Godha said nothing. He and Hinageshi simply looked upon one another's faces, both weathered with time, regrets, sorrows, and joys beyond imagining. The softest of smiles lightened his face.
"Yes. Yes indeed. It seems to be an extraordinarily easy trap to fall into. And not one that is completely unpleasant." Lord Godha said. "The boy shall stay here unharmed until our men return from the eastern estate. When they do we shall hold a meeting to decide his fate."
"And of Rimiko?" Hinageshi ventured.
"She will not be punished, if that is what you fear. Failure due to one's emotions is never truly a failure. Wouldn't you say?"
Hinageshi smiled so brilliantly that her face returned to its glory days of youth. "Thank you, my Lord."
***
"Look, its not even scuffed!" Rimiko said proudly as she handed Juriette her bracelet.
The girl inspected it and found Rimiko's words to be true. She replaced the delicate ornament onto her slim wrist. Matching the bracelet, she also wore a beautiful ring with intricate designs.
"Your jewelry is beautiful." Rimiko said.
The girl looked very sheepish. "Well, most of it is my mother's. I borrow them sometimes, and, well, not exactly with her knowing." Juriette giggled. "So tell me, who on earth was that boy you brought with you?" Juriette asked.
Now Rimiko laughed. "So you don't wish to know who won? You wouldn't at all like to know if the Godha clan suffered a terrible defeat and we are all doomed? Only you would ask about a boy, first." Rimiko scoffed.
"Oh, come on Rimiko! You're not being fair! I can tell we had a victory. Its written all over your face. Now tell me, who is he?" Juriette pushed.
Rimiko scowled, but she eagerly launched into the story, telling it with as much detail as possible. Juriette listened in awe. When Rimiko finished the girl whistled.
"That is one amazing story! I can't believe it. He actually asked you to finish him off? How odd."
"Don't I know it!" Rimiko said. "I racked my brains the entire way home, trying to figure out why on earth he would just give up like that. He's taller than I am! He at least could have tried to fight me." Rimiko stated.
Juriette suddenly looked mischievous. "Well, it actually came of some good. He is pretty good looking."
"Oh be quite!" Rimiko said, fuming.
Juriette laughed heart fully. Rimiko was saved from further embarrassment by the sudden entrance of her sister. The furious look on Sayako's face was instantly noticed by Juriette.
"I'll be off now." the girl said, hurrying from the room.
"What is this that I've heard of you bringing back an enemy?" Sayako asked angrily.
Rimiko held her hands out. "Just hear me out, okay!"
For the third time that night Rimiko recounted her story, and from the looks of it, this was only the beginning. Rimiko hated to think of what would happen when her mother returned home. Sayako listened patiently, and by the end of Rimiko's story, seemed to have calmed.
"All right, I agree. You could not have killed him. Don't worry, mother will know what to do." Sayako said.
But for a reassurance, Sayako certainly seemed to be pained by her own words.
"Are you okay? And don't tell me that you are, because I know that you aren't. You've been distant lately." Rimiko said sadly.
Sayako let out a long breath. "I'm really sorry about that, but...there's just been so much on my mind, recently."
"I know, and that's what bothers me!" Rimiko cried, suddenly getting worked up. "Sayako, when we were little, it was always so easy to know what was going on inside your head. It was almost as if me and you were already having the same thoughts. And we still do that today, you know, with our weird way of communicating without words, but...there are so many things now that I don't know about you. I can't tell what's inside your head anymore."
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way." Sayako said in bewilderment.
"I didn't mean to explode all at once on you." Rimiko said. "I've been meaning to tell you for sometime now. I'm a little wound up, I guess."
"We're all a little wound up. We've had a long day today. By the way, you're a fantastic fighter. I don't know if you give yourself enough credit for your abilities, but you were really something today. Come on, lets go get some sleep. We can talk about this in the morning." Sayako said calmly.
"Sounds good." Rimiko said.
***
"So your name was Tomoyo, right?" Shoko asked, leaning over the young girl.
Tomoyo nodded. "Yes. Is he going to awaken any time soon?"
Tomoyo was seated next to Atsutane, who still lay unconscious on one of the many tables filling the large room. There was a clean white bandage wrapped around the cut on his head.
"Don't worry, Hinageshi said he will be fine. She expects him to wake up within the next few days. Atsutane is in good hands. Hinageshi is one of the greatest healers ever!" the girl said excitedly.
"I believe you. I saw her in action when I brought him here." Tomoyo said.
Shoko gasped. "You brought him here? By yourself?"
"Yes, no easy task. He weighs a ton." Tomoyo said, grinning. "Umm...I was wondering; would it be all right if I stayed. Just, for awhile I mean." Tomoyo said uneasily.
Shoko smiled warmly. "No harm done. Stay as long as you like."
Tomoyo nodded in thanks and Shoko left, going off to tend to another patient. Tomoyo looked over Atsutane again, wondering if the cut had hurt badly. She shuddered to think what would have happened if she had not come at just that moment. During all the chaos and with her adrenaline running high, she had not thought much of the event. But now in the calm of this place, with Atsutane lying injured, the seriousness suddenly struck her.
Atsutane's hair was even more mussed than usual and fell in waves across his closed eyes. Tomoyo resisted the urge to brush them away. She shuddered, thinking of how he had been one step away from death.
Atsutane, please wake up soon Tomoyo thought.
"No, I'm afraid that you can not come in here!" Shoko's cousin, Chiharu, suddenly exclaimed from across the room. Tomoyo's reverie was broken as there appeared to be a scuffle at the door.
"But I need to see if she is okay! She risked herself to save me! At least tell me if she is all right!" the voice called.
Tomoyo recognized the soft tone as belonging to Amana. Bikki had now joined Chiharu in the struggle to keep the girl out, but her voice kept ringing protests.
"Please." Tomoyo suddenly said. "She is a friend. Please let her enter."
Chiharu looked at her warily and let the girl enter. Amana stared around for a bit, bewildered that she was suddenly granted entry.
"She can only stay for a little bit. We've had many problems before with having too many people in here at once." Chiharu said firmly.
"Oh yes, that incident last year!" Bikki suddenly exclaimed. "When Princess Kiku sprained her wrist."
"Yes, that incident." Chiharu said blandly. "And all her guards insisting on accompanying her as it was wrapped. I've never seen so many grown men in tears."
Amana left the two talking girls and hurried over to Tomoyo. She looked terribly worried.
"Oh Tomoyo! You weren't with the others when we left! I thought something had happened to you!" Amana cried, throwing herself into Tomoyo's arms.
"It's all right. I'm fine." Tomoyo said, returning the girl's embrace. "Who really took a beating was Atsutane." Tomoyo commented.
Amana and Tomoyo turned in unison to look at the still unconscious Atsutane, but were startled to find that he was very much awake.
"My dearest Amana!" Atsutane cried. "I was awaken from the depths of my dark sleep by the beauteous note of your voice! Are you harmed?" Atsutane asked, sitting up and grasping a hold of her hand.
Tomoyo stared at the scene with an open mouth.
"No, I am not hurt." Amana said in her soft and feminine voice which Tomoyo instantly found herself hating.
"And were you waiting by my side? Were you waiting for me to awaken, my darling Amana?" Atsutane asked, his eyes wide and shimmering.
Tomoyo suddenly stood up and left the room without a word.
***
Night came and passed quickly, all the members of the Godha clan thankful for the rest. Rimiko awoke early and eagerly went to go see Kenichi. She hadn't realized it but she had hit him rather hard, and his frame, though tall, was lean and did not take to the impact well. When she arrived she noticed he was not where he had been the night before.
"Where is Kenichi?" Rimiko asked Hinageshi.
The woman smiled at her. "Yes, good morning Rimiko. He awoke last night and was escorted to a bedroom where he is being guarded."
"Sorry...good morning. Which bedroom exactly?" Rimiko asked quickly.
Hinageshi chuckled. "Why don't you take him his breakfast while you're at it?"
And so a few minuets later Rimiko found herself holding a small tray as a guard opened the door to Kenichi's room. She stepped in and listened as the door was slide shut behind her. She suddenly felt self-conscious.
Kenichi was sitting in a corner of the room, seeming to be lost in thought. When he finally noticed her a fleeting emotion crossed his features, but suddenly it was gone and he stood in a fury.
"Are you happy with yourself? You saved my life and only to bring me home as your little pet. How long do you plan on keeping me in my cage, or will I never see daylight again?"
Rimiko quite nearly dropped the tray from shock. And then, a moment later, she quite nearly threw the tray in his face. Who on earth was this? This was not the kind and gentle scholar who she had saved just last night. This was someone older and more bitter, someone who hated life so much that he cursed his own savior.
"I don't understand." Rimiko finally said. "I saved your life. I took pity on you, I didn't kill you, I couldn't kill you, I can't kill you! You aren't my pet! You aren't anything but some boy, some boy my own age who I didn't want to be a part of all this! I didn't want to see your blood!" she screamed, the tray shaking in her arms.
"That was not your choice to make! Everything could have ended last night if my blood had been shed! All ties to the Iekazu clan would truly have been severed! The clan could have made a clean start without me, under the rule of your Lord! But I still exist, the Iekazu clan still exists because I am alive!"
"You certainly think highly of yourself! You were only an advisor in training and you yourself said you never did anything! You just sat back and watched as your own clan was taken down. Maybe I was wrong in taking pity on you. Maybe you're just a coward."
"You fool. You little fool. You don't understand, you can't understand. You only did more harm by not killing me."
"Fine! In a week a council is going to be held to discuss your fate! I'll just go ahead and tell them to execute you!"
"Do that, if I am not already dead."
Kenichi turned away. Rimiko left the room, proud at least that she did not throw the tray after all.
***
And so a week passed. Rimiko hardly spoke a word through the longs days, instead keeping to herself and training with both her twin blades and her sword. Sayako respected her sister's needs and kept away from her, busying herself by helping the healer girls. When the clan finally learned that Taro and Ayame were returning for a quick stay there was an collective relief among them all. News from the former Iekazu estate had been vague and unhelpful. Everyone was eager to hear straight from Taro and Ayame exactly how things were going.
On Sunday mourn the pair came riding into the estate to find a large group already waiting for them. Taro leapt off his horse and went straight to Shiro, who he picked up and spun around. The boy howled with laughter. Kiku excitedly embraced her husband as he was doing this and nearly knocked all three over in the process. Rimiko noticed that Sayako and her mother exchanged a quick word, a look of apology on both their faces as they both embraced each other tightly.
Rimiko made a note to question Sayako about this, but the thought left her mind as the entire group congregated in the main hall and interrogated the pair. Taro and Ayame were quick with their information. Yes, the estate was now under full control of the Godha clan. There were many guards who had hidden in the depths of the estate, but a full week's effort had flushed them out. As Taro and Ayame regaled the group with a funny story involving three cowardly guards and an outhouse, the mood of the group instantly lightened. Laughter rang out among them, and suddenly it seemed as if their victory truly was complete.
"The only misfortune to all this is that we did not catch the two advisors." Taro commented. Everyone in the room seemed to shift uncomfortably, much to Taro's notice. "What?" he asked innocently.
"Well, on that subject..." Lord Godha said.
Rimiko was forever thankful that Lord Godha recounted the story for her.
"Oh...my..." was all Taro could say after the story. "Well, this wouldn't be such a problem in Morimoto wasn't..."
"Taro," Ayame suddenly said, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence. "I believe I would like to have a word with you and Lord Godha."
The note of dismissal in her voice cleared the room immediately. Rimiko and Sayako waited outside the doors of the building, Rimiko pacing furiously. Sayako bit her lip, unsure what to say to her sister.
"So...so...it didn't seem that Taro was too upset. I mean...I don't think Taro will kill him. He's going to prove useful. Taro only seemed to think it was a problem because he was an advisor." Rimiko blurted.
Sayako frowned. "I don't think that Taro was about to say advisor." she whispered, wondering if her mother's timing had been incidental. But the more she thought about it the more she realized that nothing her mother did was incidental.
***
The final verdict came a few days later. Taro had located a few cousins of Kenichi, and the boy was going to be sent away to live with them. The news spread like wildfire. Nothing like this had ever, ever occurred in the Godha clan. They had a captured enemy and not only did they refuse to execute him or harshly interrogate him, they were sending him away to family.
Rimiko tried to seem unfazed by all this, but she ended up listening to all the gossip and rumors with a terrible fervor.
"I heard that Lord Godha actually has some sort of master plan. Some really genius reason as to why he's letting him go." Juriette had told her confidently.
But no one was as surprised by all this more then Kenichi himself. Every night Rimiko went to sleep, planning on waking the next morning to find that Kenichi had ended his own life. But that day never came. Rimiko, happening to pass by Kenichi's room one morning (which now happened quite often), noticed her mother exiting from it. Hinageshi was waiting for her mother outside, and the two shared a brief word together. Later that day Rimiko saw Hinageshi enter the boy's room carrying several small pouches.
Rimiko decided to casually question her mother on this.
"Whatwereyoutalkingtohimabout?" Rimiko said in one breath. Ayame's eyebrow quirked, but she made no comment.
"We were just discussing some of the reasons he has to live. I don't believe he is going to kill himself now." she said, but would comment no more about her conversation or Hinageshi's business.
At sunrise on a quite Sunday morning Kenichi stepped outside, escorted by several guards, and prepared himself for the long journey home. The guards saddled the horses and did not bother to watch Kenichi as they did so. Ayame had assured them all that Kenichi was now convinced and willing to go to the house of his cousin's. Kenichi looked at the horizon, admiring the first light of the day. The only thing he carried with him were the small pouches that Hinageshi held the other day.
Behind a bush crouched Rimiko, who was trying to think of a good excuse to be out there. When none came to mind she decided that hiding in a bush was beneath her, so she then hurried and hid behind a tree. When that became dull she summoned every vestige of courage that she had and made her way towards Kenichi. She was going to have one final confrontation with him.
"Uh..." she said as she was face to face with him, suddenly forgetting all those foul words she had thought up.
"Are you happy now?" the boy asked angrily, refusing to look her in the eyes.
Rimiko shut and open her mouth, her fists balled. "You know, I've never met a person who had so many faces to them. One moment you're resigned to you're fate and you're willing and you're gentle..." Rimiko's eyes widened as that slipped out, "And the next moment you're a complete and utter bastard! Why don't you make up your mind?"
"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? You truly are a fool." The boy spat.
Rimiko stared in astonishment as Kenichi turned away and mounted his horse. The guards followed in suit, all forming a tight circle around the young boy. Rimiko only caught one last glance of the boy, and she didn't know if it was her hope or anger that made her see regret on that face. Whether or not the emotion truly was regret she would never know, for with a cry from one of the guards the group set off, their figures being illuminated by the early light of dawn.
Rimiko stood there, silent. There was a funny itch on her cheek. When she reached up her fingers came away with tears.
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End of Act III
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