XenoMark's Note: Sorry for the really long wait people, last semester's been really tough on my schedule and I've been sick for a while. In any case, we get a good look at Shion's past in this chapter, all of it slowly leading up to Mina and Shion's reunion in the next chapter (which by the way, I'll try to get done by next month if time permits). Things will really begin to pick up in the next chapter, I swear, so in the meantime, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Crystal's Note: As XenoMark said, sorry for the long wait. I've been quite lazy, to say the least. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a Happy New Year!
Chapter 4: Reflections of the Past
(Shion's POV)
My arms were growing heavy at that time, my body drenched in sweat, and my breath weak. I remember the grip I had on my naginata, my fingers were growing sore and my palm filled with blisters. Despite the pain that was running through my hands, I continued to swing my spear once more.
"Well, well, what have we here?"
It was Hiroto and the others, coming by to do their usual bullying. I always hated those boys, back then, and even now, I still hate them. They would always laugh and make fun of me, teasing how I didn't have as much stamina as they did, teasing how weak I was, and teasing me just because I was a girl.
"You're tired already?" Yotoko, one of Hiroto's friends, taunted. "Man you're pathetic, I could keep going on like this for an hour and still not be tired."
"Weakling!" another one called.
"Baka!"
"Loser!"
The names would never cease, and they would always drive me to tears. Whenever they began calling me those names, I could help but drop my weapon and cover my eyes with my blistered hands. I would always try to curl into a ball, bringing my knees close to my chest hoping that my body would somehow able to drown their taunts. It never did, but...
"Hey, leave her alone! Stop it!"
It was the voice of my savior, Keisuke.
"Oh crap, it's Keisuke! Run!"
The bullies would always run away when Keisuke appeared. They knew he could beat all of them up if he wanted to, but he never got the chance. Instead, he would always lend me a hand and pull me back to my feet.
"Are you okay?" he asked me as he pulled me back to my feet.
"Hai," I would always nod, but with tears still streaming down my cheeks.
My darling Keisuke, he was always there for me. Whenever I was bullied back then, whenever I fell during my training, and whenever I needed some company, Keisuke was always there.
"Shion, stop it!" I would awaken a minute later with the sound of Misanagi's voice.
"Hm?" I suddenly found myself back in the dining hall of the Sanada Ninja base.
"Stop looking at me like that!" she continued as she took another piece of poultry onto her plate.
"Does it make you uncomfortable?" I winked, trying to joke with her.
"Nani?!" I couldn't help but notice a flash of crimson on her cheeks. "Of course not, you look weird, that's all."
"Ah ha ha ha ha!" I couldn't help but respond with my usual laugh. "Could it be that the Sanada Ninja leader has a crush on me?"
"Shut up!" she retorted, her face still red.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I assured her with the wave of my hand. "You don't have to get so upset."
"I'm not upset!" she practically yelled.
"Oh boy, you don't get teased very often, do you?" I sighed, taking my plate to the sink.
"I'd rather not be teased at all," she said, "...it brings back bad memories."
'...yes it does,' I thought to myself.
"Shion likes Keisuke! Shion likes Keisuke!"
That's what Hiroto and the others would tease me about the moment I turned six. It never brought me to tears when they chanted the same verse over and over, it just made my face burn with embarrassment.
"No I don't!" I would always respond.
On this particular day, Keisuke was sick unfortunately, so instead of crying, I ran from the scene. I ran into my house, not looking where I was going exactly, and the next thing I knew, I was in the living room. I took a few moments to catch my breath which I had lost from fleeing from the scene. Underneath all my pants, however, I could hear a conversation going on in the next room. The doors to the dining room were shut, and I could several shadows behind the shoji door. I couldn't help but listen to what they were talking about that day, I just had to know.
"Kyoto has been getting very dangerous these days," I heard one of the shadows speak from the other side. "I heard that the Shogunate is planning to send some of our men are being sent there to repress the rebellion going on."
"I don't see why they have to send people like us to Kyoto," another voice said. "It shouldn't be a real threat, the Tokugawa Shogunate has been around for over three-hundred years, I'm sure something as small as the Ishin Shishi can easily be eliminated."
"I'm not so sure," I heard the voice of my father after. "Ever since the black sails came to our country eight years ago, numerous rebellions have been appearing throughout the country. At this rate..."
"You're such a pessimist, Norikuni," a third voice interrupted, "just like your father."
"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Azumi-kun on this one," one of the shadows began to stand.
"You too, Gonji?!"
"With the exception of Norikuni and Keichiro, all six of us have fought together with Norikuni's and Keichiro's fathers and the Tachibana and Moritsune Families," Rikumari Gonji, the man who was standing continued. "Despite how strong our army was back then, I'm afraid our swords have no might against the Western weaponry the rebels have."
"Che, we can easily crush them!" another shadow stomped.
"Hyoma, calm down," my father ordered.
"I must agree with both Azumi-kun and Rikumari-san on this one," the final shadow spoke calmly, "however..."
"However?" everyone else in the room repeated, puzzled.
"I do believe we can crush these rebels with the very same technology," the man continued.
"You expect us to just throw our swords away, Kagami?!" the fifth voice began to draw his weapon. "Our fathers and their fathers threw their lives away for our weapons, they are more than just tools for killing, they each tell a tale of our family's history!"
"Shizaku Kazuya-kun, you're always quick to anger," Kagami Nobunaga replied without losing his cool.
"What was that you old...!" Kazuya practically yelled.
"That's enough, all of you!" my father ordered. "I will have no blood spilled in my house! It's clear that we all have different views on the situation, but I'm sure all of us here will lend our sword to the Shogunate if they were to call upon us."
"Perhaps you will," Gonji said as he began to walk toward the door on the other side of the room.
"Gonji, are you turning back on the Shogunate?!" Kazuya yelled.
"If I must, then I shall," Gonji answered without turning toward his comrades once more. "The life of a ronin is preferable if I can keep my daughter, Madoka, away from this battle as far as possible."
"You fool, get back here!" Hyoma ordered.
"Leave him, Hyoma," Kagami ordered.
"Naze?!"
"It is apparent that he puts his family ahead of his lord," Kagami continued. "That man was never a true samurai to begin with, always putting his daughter and wife ahead of the Shogunate. It is a futile effort to try and convince him to stay. Suzuka Keichiro-kun, you haven't said a thing after this whole argument began," Kagami returned the conversation to its source.
"I'm not sure what to think," Keichiro replied. "I mean, I'm sure I want my sons to become fine samurai like me, but I don't think I want to have them suffer through a war. Still, I will take up my sword for the Shogunate."
"What about your eldest, Keichiro, the one named Keisuke?" Hyoma brought up. "The boy may be violent with the other kids, but we all know what a pacifist he is, always playing with flowers and the such with Norikuni's child."
"My girl has a name, Hyoma-san, it's Shion," my father retorted. "I would appreciate it if you called her by her name."
"Why should I?" Hyoma retorted. "The girl may be skilled with the naginata and sword, but she will never use them. A girl will eventually become a woman and then wed to a man where she will then focus on the kitchen and children instead of her weapon. I never really saw the point in training girls in weaponry, even if they are part of the family."
The words Hyoma said, I couldn't help but gasp at the sound of them. They were the same things those boys had taunted to me about, how I would not amount to anything. My eyes began to drop to the floor at the moment, and my eyes began to fill with tears. No one heard me cry that time, they had all begun to leave the room, each of them passing me by as if I never existed. Yet there was one who did stop, kneeling down and wiping my tears away with his finger.
"Shion, are you okay?" Father asked me. "What's wrong?"
"Daddy," I sniffed, "is there really no point in my training?"
"Of course there is," he replied with a smile. "I want you to become strong, Shion, strong so that when you do get married and have your own family, you'll be able to raise them properly."
"What about the war?" I asked after. "The one in Kyoto? Are you going to be shipped over there?"
"Of course not, honey," he answered, "the rebels will be crushed in no time, they're just giving us a little bit of trouble. Don't worry, Shion, no matter what happens I'll make sure you and your little brother, Kintaro, will live happy lives, despite the changing of the times."
"How false that was...," I said in the present.
My father did go to Kyoto however, is was eight years later, when I was fourteen. He and his battle companions traveled there together, following the orders of the Shogun. However, during that journey, Father had died, along with Keisuke's father. Our families had gotten a letter of their deaths a month afterward; it said that my father and Keisuke's were killed in an ambush by some bandits, and Kagami and his other comrades had disappeared during the skirmish. My family was then looked down upon the other families, even Keisuke's family, who had blamed Keichiro's death on my father. Keisuke, however, did not blame my father, in fact, he was the only one who stood by us. Again I would find myself crying because of the other families' taunts, but this time, my brother, Kintaro, was also picked on. Keisuke would still rush to our aid, but despite the fact that his family was also having rough times.
"Don't cry," he would always tell me as he wiped my tears, "crying doesn't befit a woman such as yourself."
Ever time he would wipe my tears, I felt like I was in a dream. I would lose myself just staring into those lavender pupils, I would nearly faint by looking into the curve of his smile, and his chocolate brown hair, I would just sink into the floor if I were to run my fingers through it. We were in love back then, although no one really knew about our affair. ...well, except for Kintaro, he would cling onto us as much as he could back then.
"What about me?" Kintaro would interrupt us. "Crying doesn't befit me either, right?"
"For a woman such as you, I'd say it does. Ah ha ha ha ha!" I would always joke after.
Keisuke would always break into laughter as well while Kintaro would begin to fume. He would always kick dirt at us or yell "that's not funny!" at the top of his lungs. Of course, he knew we were joking.
"You know your sister's only joking," Kintaro would assure him.
"Yeah," I would add, "come on, let's go get some ramen and forget about this whole mess."
"What a liar I was back then," I scolded myself in the present. "I could never forget..."
I remember our final day together clearly, it was December 17, Western Year 1864. Keisuke had proposed to me on my birthday a month before. I was filled with joy in the short time, I would forget about the troubles we had endured shortly after our fathers' death. Mother and Kintaro were happy for us, however, Keisuke's family were angered. They did not want their son to hang around, much less marry, the daughter of a disgraced samurai. Regardless, Keisuke stuck by me despite his family's disapproval. In fact, they kicked him out of the house, so he came to live with us. We grew even closer together at that time, savoring every second we spent together, each one filled with delight and passion. But then that night, it would all come to sudden close.
The night was cold, but Keisuke and I were warm, holding one another in each other's arms as we slept. Yet in the middle of it all, a black cloud began to emerge, and the smell of ash and soot blew into my nose.
"Is something burning?" I asked myself as I tied the belt on my kimono.
The sound of crackling began to fill my ears afterward, and a hint of orange and red began to flash before my eyes. It was obvious what was happening, our home had caught on fire.
"What the?!" was my reaction.
My ears began to pick up the sound of creaking after, this one was coming from above. I did not know where it was coming from at the time, but when I finally realized where it was coming from, the image of lumber falling toward my head was already centimeters away.
"Look out!" I suddenly felt my arm tugged toward the futon again, dragging me into safety. "Are you all right?" Keisuke asked afterward.
"I'm fine, but...," I began to look toward the blaze which was on the other side of the door.
"Who would do such a thing?" Keisuke began to ask, only to get his answer in the next second.
"Azumi! You've disgraced the Shogunate long enough!" a voice called from outside.
"Hiroto, that bastard!" Keisuke swore, his hands balling into a fist.
"If you're still alive, then come out here so we can finish you off!" the taunting continued.
"Why this?" my eyes began to water. "Why now? Can't they see..."
"They don't see, Shion," Keisuke interrupted. "All the families care about are 'pride' and 'honor,' like how samurai should, or at least they pretend to uphold such things. We should show them, Shion, how true samurai uphold such things!"
The next thing I knew, we were bearing arms and running through the inferno that was once my home. I did not bother to look where I was going, my eyes were blinded by the black smog and my breath hacking. I relied on Keisuke to lead us out of there, our hands not separating for one second. The moment I had smelled fresh air again, however, was when I felt a weight pushing down on the spear in my arms.
"Ouch!" I had fallen to the floor in the first strike.
When I had opened my eyes after the fall, I found myself and Keisuke surrounded by several individuals, all sons of the local samurai families. Keisuke's mother was in the crowd as well, a smirk plastered on her face as she looked at us.
"Kill them," she ordered without a hint of remorse in her voice, "kill them all!"
"Yama-No-Ten!" several pieces of debris suddenly flew from behind, striking several of the men before us.
"Kintaro? Mother?" I looked to the source to find my younger brother and mother.
"Shion, you're all right," my mother gave a sigh of relief. "I thought that..."
Mother couldn't even finish her sentence when suddenly a volley of arrows began to escape from the back ranks of the crowd. Sharpened lumber began to rain that night, its first drop landing upon my mother's arm, piercing through skin and bone. Mother cried for a moment, but instead of dropping to the floor, she took her naginata once more and began to charge into the crowd. She did not get very far however, as another struck her leg, and then her arm, and then it all became random after that. My mouth began to drop to the floor as I saw my mother still standing with my eyes beginning to melt. My lips began to quiver, but they did not cry, not until...
"MOTHER!!!!" I screamed when the final arrow had met with her skull.
"Aim for the girl next," I heard Yotoko order.
"I won't let you!" Kintaro began to run forward.
"Stop it, Kintaro!" I quickly tugged on the child's arm.
Thwip! Thwip! That was the sound of the arrows being released from their bows. Another volley began to fall upon us, all of them raining down upon us. I knew that I couldn't let my little brother die at the moment, so I pushed him to the floor and lay my body on top of his. I held him as tightly as I closed my eyes, waiting for the feel of pierced lumber. Though I had heard the sound and felt the blood, I had not felt the pain. I opened my eyes once more fearing for the worst. I thought they had gotten my brother, but...
"Keisuke...?" I called his name as his body barely hovered over ours.
The moment I called his voice, his body began to drop. His legs became flat with the ground, but my arms were able to catch the rest of him. His entire body was nearly covered in arrows and blood, all of his limbs were shaking and his eyes wide open.
"Shion...," he barely called, a stream of ruby escaping his lips as he spoke.
"Keisuke...!" my voice cracked.
"...Shion, get Keisuke out of here," my brother suddenly ordered.
"Kintaro...?"
"Do it, I...I'll hold them off."
My eyes widened again at that moment and my breath had grown short. My fingers began to ball into a fist and my teeth began to grind. There was no way I was going to have my little brother sacrifice himself for me.
"No Kintaro!" I yelled. "I won't let you do it! I won't...!"
"Do it because I said so!" he continued. "I'm the eldest male in the house, right? You have to do as I say no matter what, is that understood?!"
"...hai," I nodded.
"This isn't the end, Shion," he said, forcing a smile on his face as he spoke, "I still have to get you back for all the times you and Keisuke teased me."
"Yeah...," I began to carry myself and my lover off the floor.
"We'll meet again, someday," he smiled.
"We will, Kintaro..."
With that, I began to run carrying Keisuke on my back. I did not bother to look back, all I could hear were the sounds of arrows piercing the air and steel striking against flesh. The sounds grew dimmer with every step I took, and before they had become deaf, the sound of a boy screaming was the last thing I heard. It was then that I looked back, but by that time, I was already far outside the city.
"Shion...," my love began to speak once more.
"Keisuke, hang in there!" I ordered. "I'll get you to a doctor in the next town as soon as I can, so..."
"Put me down," he ordered, weakly.
"Nani?"
"Please..."
I did what he said without question, laying his back flat against the hill. Keisuke did not look like himself any longer, his entire body was covered in arrows and blood. Still, I could not bear to turn away from him, I continued to stand by him.
"Shion," he began to speak again, "we all know I'm not going to make it, just leave me here."
"No, I can't do that, Keisuke!" I yelled. "I can't just leave you here and let you die!"
"I'm going to die anyway, it's useless to continue to go with me," he said, his breath growing weaker with every word.
"Don't say such things, you know that...!"
"Promise me, Shion," he suddenly interrupted.
"Promise you?" I repeated, puzzled.
"Promise me you'll take down the Tokugawa Shogunate," he ordered me, "promise me that you'll destroy the samurai class, but most of all, promise me that you'll find happiness once again in life."
"Keisuke, you know I can't find happiness with another," I told him with the tears sinking down my cheeks, "you're the only one I will ever truly love..."
"You must for my sake, Shion. Do you remember what I told you whenever you cried?" his hand began to rise toward my face.
"Don't cry," I remembered, my eyes burning warmer than ever, "crying doesn't befit a woman such as yourself."
"You mustn't grieve my death for eternity, my love. Find happiness with another, and perhaps I can continue to look upon your smile once more in the afterlife," he weakly smiled. "Please, promise me..."
"...all right," I nodded, "I promise."
"I love you, Azumi Shion..."
"And I love you, Suzuka Keisuke..."
Our lips met for the final time that day. Warm, they were warm until the very end, not once did they grow cold before our mouths were released. When his lips were no longer pressed against mine, I knew then that he was dead. For the rest of the evening, I removed every arrow from his body, cleaned the blood on his skin, and then buried him in that very hill with my own hands. I did nothing but pray for him the rest of the evening until the sun rose. I took a moment to stare at it, remembering the promise I made to Keisuke the night before. With my eyes still filled with tears, but with the fire in my heart as bright as ever, I began to make my leave from Edo.
"Farewell, Keisuke," I said as I began to walk away. "Though I may find another love, I promise you this, I will never love another man as much as I had loved you..."
"Have I really found happiness with another?" I asked myself.
"Mina, your skin is so soft....," I recall one of the many times I teased her.
"Ugh! Do you always have to make a scene, Shion?" my friend would always blush.
Himura Mina, or Hitokiri Kensai as many came to know her during the war, how I love her so. Even though we had a rocky start when we first met, the truth is, I always loved her. When I first looked into her eyes, I thought I saw Keisuke again in her, those luscious lavender eyes. Mina, she was always beautiful, so shy and timid when I would flirt with her. I loved the way she would always blush when I would stroke her skin or when I would compliment her. I knew it annoyed her, but I'm sure she enjoyed it on the inside, why else did she make me her best friend during the war? Despite the good times we had, I knew her heart belonged to another.
"Brother...," she would always call in the middle of her sleep.
Mina's heart belonged to the man that took her in, the man that taught her the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Himura Kenshin. I knew I could never take Kenshin's place in her heart, nor did I have any reason to try and tear her thoughts away from him. All I really wanted for her was to be happy, and I did my best to make sure that was so. She knew how I truly felt about her, but I knew at that time she only loved me as a big sister. As long as I was in her life, I felt happy.
"When do you think this war is going to end?" I recall a conversation she had with me.
"I don't know," I answered at the time. "But let's just hope things work for the better, unlike China."
"What's going on in China?" she asked.
"Back in Edo when I was still a child, one of my father's friends was talking about the situation there," I explained. "He said they were going through somewhat of the same thing there, just that there are a lot more rebellions and a lot of British troops stationed there. Western technology is used a lot more over there he said."
"Well that sucks," Mina said, taking a sip of her sake.
"Hai, if this keeps up, the same might happen to us," I continued. "The Chinese tried to rebel against the West, only to be crushed because of the Europeans' advanced weaponry. I think my father's friend said it was called the 'Opium War.' My father's friend was really interested in Chinese culture, he even learned Chinese. Kagami Nobunaga was his name, the name of my father's friend, he was the last person to see my father alive I heard."
"Gomen nesai," Mina suddenly apologized.
"No, don't worry about it," I assured her, "it's all in the past now."
'Although I can never forget the past, I can always ease its pain thanks to you, Mina,' I thought to myself as I watched her pour another glass of alcohol.
"One more month," I assured myself, "one more month and I can finally see you again, Mina. I can finally see again at Nagoya."
By the time I was done reminiscing that day, it was already in the late afternoon. I had been depressed over the past since that morning, but remembering our promise returned a smile to my face.
"Nagoya, we will meet at Nagoya on September twenty-third, I'll stay there up to the twenty-fourth if necessary," I began to recall our promise that day.
On Shubun-No-Hi we were to meet once again. For her trip, I decided to give her a gift, a book of mine she read a lot during the Revolution, 'Crimson String and the Four Destinies.' Mina was always infatuated with that book, it always helped take her mind off the horrors of the war. I wanted to give her something else, something that meant a lot to me, but alas, I could not give it to her, instead she was the one who gave it.
It was quite a surprise what she gave me. Her arms wrapped around my waist suddenly, and her toes began to rise from the ground as her lips began to fall unto my own. The sweet taste of her mouth, I could never forget how I savored that ambrosia. Her lips, they were as soft as silk, and her body pressed against my own, it was as smooth as a baby's behind. For the first time in a long time, I truly felt like I was happy. It was then that I realized I had found my new happiness that Keisuke spoke of when he died, but that moment was not to last forever.
"Was that what you wanted?" Mina asked after we parted lips.
"Arigatou, Mina," I thanked her as I wrapped her around my arms once more.
"Don't read anything into it," she told me. "I know it meant a lot to you, so..."
"And I thank you for that, Mina," I smiled as my arms parted with her.
"I guess this is goodbye then," her lips began to straighten and her eyes watering. "Thank you for everything," she said before she vanished into the wilderness. "Goodbye, Shion..."
"Goodbye, Mina...," I said as I watched her disappear.
"Soon," I assured myself, my finger tracing down the cross-shaped scar that binds us, "soon we will meet again, Mina."
(Misanagi's POV)
Shion, she was always so carefree back then, always trying to make me smile. I'd always snap at her whenever she would try to make me happy, although I always felt like I had to apologize to her after.
It was about an hour after Shion left the dining hall, everyone else had practically left and I was all alone. Alone, that's how it always was when I was a child. I didn't care, at least that's what I kept lying to myself back then. I hated being lonely to tell you the truth, I hated the fact that no one had any good expectations of me. Being alone with my thoughts, just thinking about it almost drives me to tears, especially now in the present. But I wasn't alone at that moment, there was someone else still in the dining hall, hanging upside down from the ceiling. I put down my cup of tea gracefully on the table and looked at my uninvited guest with my eyes narrowed. He raised his eyebrow the moment our eyes met and then he left his current standstill, swerving his body around so that his feet would meet the ground. He began to approach me after, taking the seat across from me. He sat in a calm position with his arms crossed, no emotions whatsoever crossing his face. The two of us never got along back then, despite the fact that we were half siblings. I hated that man's guts, I knew he had the same passion about mine.
"She isn't strong enough," Jimmu suddenly spoke.
"And what makes you think Shion is not strong enough to take care of the Oniwaban-Shu problem?" I asked him in a sharp tone. "She is strong enough and I have confidence in her."
Jimmu laughed, "There is a certain boy... With the name Wataru that is infatuated with you who boasted about how strong you were. Look how wrong he was."
I glared at him and stood up, "What the hell do you mean by that?"
"For one, he was wrong."
"And how?" I asked, my voice laced with barely contained venom.
"You needed help to defeat that Chinese woman," He suddenly brought up.
The Chinese woman, I knew exactly who he was talking about, the woman who called herself Lu Wei Xiang. There was not an opponent I had faced previously with that style of fighting, nor power. Power, looking back at that encounter now, I realize that she was perhaps much stronger than Hitokiri Kensai, especially due to the fact that that woman was holding back when she fought both Shion and I.
"You were there?" I finally decided to speak.
"Indeed." He replied quite indifferently.
"And you didn't help us? You watched us as we fought and not once has it occurred to you that you could lend a hand?"
"The thought had occurred to me to help you, although I did not think you would want me to. After all, you are too prideful. And not to mention, it was amusing to watch you fight, halfling. It was also amusing to think that neither of you heard me as I watched the fight. I was unnoticed by any of you, including that Chinese woman that you fought." He chuckled.
"Shut up, Jimmu!"
"Your skills have gone down, Misanagi. You could not even detect me." He chuckled again, and then added, "Of course, you have never had the skills to begin with."
"Shut the hell up!" I gritted my teeth.
He laughed, "Of course, I'll leave you alone now." Without another word, he strolled off quietly out of the room.
I stared at his retreating back for quite a long while, all the time thinking back to the fight. How could I have not detected him? Not at all. I had not even suspected there would be someone else watching us. How could this be? How could I be so careless? If Xiang had a partner, they could have killed us easily...
Slowly, I sat down to think again. Within a minute, I was back on my feet again. I couldn't stand sitting down anymore, so I walked out the room and down the halls and outside. I breathed in the fresh air, hoping it'll clear my head. Fortunately, after a while, my thoughts disappeared into thin air.
I felt my hand ache for some training for the oddest reason and without myself knowing, I was already walking towards the training area. I listened to any sounds coming from around me, but all I got was my light footsteps hitting the ground and some random nature sounds.
As I stepped into the training area, the scene shocked me slightly. There on the ground was Shion in the corner, alone, tracing her cross-shaped scar. I felt myself frown.
"Soon," she said in a trance, "soon we will meet again, Mina."
"Mina?" I asked.
"Oh, Misa-chan!" Shion jumped the moment she heard my voice. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I thought I told you not to call me by that name," I sighed, crossing my arms in the process.
I lost any itch to pick up a sword at that moment, just the sight of Shion being at the scene made me feel awkward. Still, that awkwardness made me do what I did next; I sat next to Shion. My eyes began to scan the floor for a moment, occasionally turning to my toes and their twiddling. For some reason, there was a part of me that wanted to say something to Shion, anything. My mind began to scan for things to say, bringing up numerous topics and questions I could possibly ask or talk to her about. She did propose to me after all that if I ever needed to talk to anyone, she would be the one I could talk to. I finally chose a topic to talk about, but for some reason, my mouth became dry before I could ask it. I could feel my face beginning to sear at the moment and my heart beating fiercely against my rib cage, I was getting nervous at that moment, and I didn't know why. I decided to keep the topic to myself at that moment, hoping it would calm me down, but before I could forget about asking, Shion's words came.
"Is something on your mind?" she asked in a serious tone.
"...I guess you could say that," I answered uneasily. "Jimmu was there when we fought Xiang," I finally brought up the subject.
"I know," Shion answered calmly.
"Nani?! Why didn't you say anything?!" was how I reacted.
"It didn't matter at the time," she answered with a smile, "I knew he wasn't going to help nor hinder or situation, so I thought it would be pointless to acknowledge his presence."
"You like to keep a lot of things to yourself, you know that?" I grumbled.
"Like what?"
"You've been here for eight months and you still haven't told me anything!" I suddenly exploded. "Why were those Ishin Shishi chasing you back then? Just what is your connection with them? That fighting style you use, what is it exactly, it's similar to the one Hitokiri Kensai uses. And your scar, what...?"
"One question at a time, please," she interrupted with a raise of her palm.
Instead of answering my question, she turned to the naginata at her side and placed the spear's pole against her shoulder. A smile began to grow on her lips again as she sat there, her eyes closing so as if she were bringing herself into her own little world. The very sight of her sitting there ignoring my questions only infuriated me more. Instead of asking again with words, my fingers wrapped around the tanto at my side and quickly brought the blade forward. Before the steel slab could make contact with her neck, the naginata's blade suddenly fell before my weapon's path. The block had caught me by surprise, the weapon had blocked at the last instant. Shion's eyes began to open at that moment, and her smile now melted. Her mahogany pupils were narrowed for the first time and her lips no longer arched.
"If you wish to know then show me your eagerness with a sword," she spoke, her voice cold for the very first time.
Before I could say anything more, I found something suddenly pushing against my abdomen and my feet falling backward. The scenery was falling backward for a moment until I had regained my balance. My palm fell to my stomach afterward, taking hold of the bruise the pole of her naginata had inflicted. Shion's figure was nowhere to be found in the room however, at least for the first few moments. I felt a gush of wind coming from above after and the sound of steel whistling against the wind. Out of instinct I rolled to the side, my shoulder meeting with the floor for a moment before I could regain my composure. I then looked back to where I had been previously standing to find my opponent landing perfectly on the floor. Within the blink of an eye, her left arm swung to the side and the image of a shimmering object fell before my eye. My head then swerved to the side to avoid the incoming weapon, but my right hand quickly raised itself upward a moment after its blade passed so that it could wrap around it's hilt. She had thrown me a ninja-to and upon closer inspection, it didn't look like she threw it so that she could injure me.
"Oh dear, I'm still a bit rusty after all those months of recovering," she began to boast, "please forgive me if I don't knock you out within two seconds, ah ha ha ha ha!"
Just the sound of her boasting made my blood boil, there was no way I was going to take this. Out of rage I was the one to make the first move this time. My sword's blade took the lead of my charge, piercing the atmosphere with ease. Again my weapon was aimed perfectly, this time aiming for her shoulder. Just like the first time, her figure disappeared before my eyes before the hit could register, but unlike the last time, I was able to find a flash of mahogany circling behind me. With a quick turn of my arm, my blade met with hers before she could counter. Clang! The two steel slabs met for a mere second before they sliced through the air once more. Again they crashed, and then a third. Right and left, up and down, wherever I swung, I struck nothing but her naginata. Each swing was faster than the last but not once did either of our blades strike flesh nor fabric. Finally we both decided to jump away from each other so that we may regain each other's composure.
'She's good,' I thought to myself as I tried to recover my breath, 'just as good as Kensai.'
My brow was covered with sweat and my breath heavy. My muscles were beginning to ache and my blood still boiling, but despite my condition, Shion had still not broken a sweat. Instead, she stood there calmly with her naginata at her side, the blade parallel with the ground. Something wasn't right, I could easily tell at that moment. The look on her face, it was as if she wasn't taking this fight seriously. Regardless, I knew the next move was going to end the battle.
My legs began to sink further into the ground and my sword's blade pointing toward the floor at an angle with the guard touching the bottom of my pinky. My left hand drifted toward my cheek, stopping inches away with my fingers open. Shion then began to move, her naginata at her side but her right hand resting above it. The next thing I knew, I found her image growing larger, growing with every step we took as we dashed toward on another. The air began stinging my face as her pupils met with mine and my arm began swinging forward. Her right hand began to reach for her weapon after, and in that moment, both of our weapons rose. A gust filled the entire hall as our weapons swung and our legs suddenly came to a halt. My blade was already meeting with my opponent's neck but at the same time I could feel Death's cold steel kiss barely touching my throat.
"Not bad," Shion was the first to break the silence, returning her lips to their usual position.
"You're pretty good yourself," I complimented.
'Damn,' I thought to myself afterward, 'she's good, perhaps even more so than Kensai. If this fight had gone on, I would've...'
(Shion's POV)
'Not bad,' I thought to myself as we began to pull our weapons away from each other's throats, 'I wasn't serious, but...'
"I've done what you asked," the ninja returned to her usual stoic self immediately after, "now answer my question, why are the Ishin Shishi after you?"
"Very well, a deal's a deal," I sighed. "The truth is that I once worked for them."
"I'm guessing you're one of the few ex-hitokiri survivors," she asked. "I've heard about the movement shortly after the Ishin Shishi had taken over the government, it's pretty obvious that you had been some sort of assassin with your skills."
"Hai, I am one of those survivors," I nodded, my eyes turning to the floor, "to my knowledge, there is only one other. Her name is Hi...," my words quickly came to a stop before I could say the rest of her name.
I had just remembered at that moment what Mina's alternate persona had to Misanagi back then. I knew that if Misanagi were to find out that Mina was still alive, she would not rest until she had hunted her down. I wanted to protect Mina back then, and I still do, but then there was also Misanagi whom I would also give my life to protect. Both women had saved my life at one point, and I owed both a favor, but I also... I also...
"It's her, isn't it?!" the shinobi began to fume once again.
Silence was the reply I gave her, trying to keep my cool as her nails dug into her palms with the fist she made. I heard her teeth beginning to brush against each other at that moment, her eyes narrowing once more and her entire body beginning to quiver.
"Tell me," she began to order, "tell me where Kensai is!"
Again I answered with silence, but this time my response was returned with another action. The blade in her hand suddenly swung forward, its tip barely stopping at the base of my neck. I had not moved an inch the moment her blade stopped at my throat, nor did I bring my breathing to a halt. Instead, I simply stood there, with my arms at my side with my weapon touching the floor. Her sword began to inch closer, the blade's edge moving toward my neck while the tip slid to the east, barely gliding against the air before my neck. Again I did nothing, simply waiting for her to strike.
"Well, say something!" she spat moments later.
"I do not know where she is at the moment," I answered calmly, "nor do I have any intention of telling you if I did know."
"Do you realize the situation you're in?" Misanagi seethed. "You're at Death's door, and I know that you plan on meeting her again somewhere. So tell me, where do you plan on meeting her?!"
"You won't do it," I said, closing my eyes as I brushed her blade away with the back of my hand, "I know those eyes, they're just like hers back then."
"Are you mocking me?!"
"I'm not mocking you, I just know your conscience won't allow you to kill me, possibly because I have some sort of use, or possibly because..."
"Shut up!"
The edge of her blade began slicing the air once more, and like the time before, I did nothing to retaliate. Just as I had predicted, her sword had stopped again before it could touch an inch of my flesh.
"I knew you couldn't do it," I smirked, "in the state you're currently in, you can't defeat her," I said as I began to take my leave.
"Is this how you repay after me after all I've done for you?!" her yelling brought me to a stop. "Think about it, Shion, I could've let you die out there two months ago. Seeing the situation that you were in, there would be no chance that you would have survived if I hadn't come along. That Ishin Shishi patrol would've found you and do you know what they would've done to you?! I bet they would've ravaged you on the spot," a jolt suddenly shot up my system with her last sentence. "Yeah, that's what they would've done, over and over again, gagging your pleads with their mouths or genitals, clawing against your chest and abdomen, their fingers rubbing against..."
"Stop it!" I yelled, bringing my hands to my ears and my knees falling to the floor. "Stop it, please stop..."
The memories of what happened that night were beginning to flood back into my mind at that moment. The brush of their nails and fingers, the unwelcome touching, the smell of their forms, everything, it just... No, I don't want to say it, I don't want to recall what happened, even now I can't...
Her words came to a sudden halt after my pleads, the only thing that echoed throughout the hall at that moment were the sounds of my sobs and whimpers. I found myself lying on the floor at that moment, my arms wrapped tightly around my legs and my tears drenching my cheeks and the floor. So pitiful I was back then, and even so now, just the thought of it brings me to tears.
"Gomen nesai," the ninja suddenly apologized, "I went too far."
"Please, just stop it...," I cried, "I'll do anything you want, just don't..."
"...where do you plan on meeting her?" she asked after a moment of hesitation.
"Nagoya," I answered between my cries, "Nagoya, on Shubun-No-Hi."
"I see," she said after.
With that, she began to leave the hall, but not without muttering a few words to herself as she left.
"God I'm such a horrible person," were the words she said to herself, "if anyone is to go through that, it should've been me."
The entire hall was quiet again at that moment, and I was still laying there on the floor curled into a ball. The tears would still not cease, not would be whimpers be silenced. An eternity seemed to have passed as I laid there crying, but the next thing I knew in reality, a hand had fallen upon my shoulder a second later. The touch was warm and welcoming, as were the eyes of its owner. For the first time, Misanagi had removed the stoic mask from her face, instead replacing it with a look of worry.
"I really am very sorry," she apologized again. "Come on, let's go to the village for a bit, let me buy you some tea and dinner to make up for what I said."
"Hai, that would be nice," my tears began to dry at that moment.
I never wanted to tell Misanagi where Mina and I were to meet, but I always believed myself to be strong with the sword (or rather spear) but weak in the mind. Still, if Misanagi had not done what she did that day, I would have never seen this softer side. Even so, I knew that Misanagi would confront Mina that day and that she had no intention of backing down. Misanagi and Mina, both were women who saved my life and whom I loved, and even now, I can't decide between the two.
Chapter 4 Liner Notes
Shizaku Kazuya, Rikumari Gonji, Tachibana, these names sound familiar, where might I have heard them?- If you read the second chapter of "Crimson String Book II: Siblings of the Sword," then you probably remember that Shizaku Kazuya was the name of Ryosuke's father. As you can see, Shion's family has some connection to Ryosuke's, as well as Rikumari Gonji, who was mentioned to be one of Mina's followers in the prologues of both "Crimson String" books. We will meet Gonji once again later in both this story and "Crimson String Book II: Siblings of the Sword" as he will be a link to the overall conflict later on. As for the Tachibana family, it is true that Tachibana is Mina's true family name, but whether or not she is a part of this family will not be revealed yet. The family name "Tachibana" is usually given to powerful heroic samurai in many tales and books, but a majority of the time, these members also suffer from an incurable disease (or at least incurable back then), in most cases, they suffer from tuberculosis (Tachibana Ukyo from the "Samurai Showdown" video game series is an excellent example).
What are the "black sails" that Shion's father mentioned?- The black sails are what the Japanese referred to the American ships that landed in Japan's harbors in 1850. These ships were lead by Matthew Perry (I believe he was a naval captain [not the same Matthew Perry who plays Chandler on Friends]), basically Perry ordered Japan (along with several other Oriental countries) to open up their borders to foreigners for trading otherwise they will attack. China refused to give in, and they were easily defeated by the Western countries due to their superior technology (i.e. guns and cannons). Japan decided to give in, and this action is what started the entire Meiji Revolution.
Why does Shion have to obey Kintaro when he orders her to leave?- It is Japanese custom that the eldest male is the head of the house when the father (or whomever is the male head of the house) is away. So even if the eldest child is a girl, she must still take orders from her younger brother without question.
What's the Opium War?- The Opium War was the first Chinese and Western conflict, it lasted for 1839 to 1842. The war was not just about stopping opium, but also stopping Westernization altogether, it obviously failed. Lu Wei Xiang, who was introduced in the last chapter, is a victim of this war, details will be given later on.
Next time: "I'm such a horrible person; returning her to memories no one should be allowed to experience and then taking advantage of her afterward. Even more pathetic, I send her in first for my own personal ambitions, for my own revenge. I send her to help me kill her best friend, and that's not all, I send her to relive the nightmare that is her memory once more. Shion, I'm so very sorry..." -Misanagi the Flying Arrow
XenoMark's Note: Well, I guess we're kinda rusty after not having written this fic in a while. Tell us what you think with a review, but no flames as usual. It might take me a while to get back to the same level I was back when I wrote "Crimson String Book I," but I guarantee that this tale will become just as (if not more) dark than "Crimson String Book I." Well that's it for now, later people.
Crystal's Note: Once again, Happy New Year and I hoped you all enjoyed it.