Chapter 1: Rumors and Whispers
--
Is it true what they are saying?
What?
The Wolves are descending to the streets of Edo before they head to Kyoto. They are searching for someone.
Do you know whom they are searching for?
Ano, we cannot talk here. Meet me at this location tomorrow night.
--
As the pair disappeared in the darkness, only the moon can see the paths each of them had taken. One man hurried off into the surrounding darkness of the buildings. Slipping quietly in between, using the night to shield his progress from unseen eyes. He mostly kept to the shadows, only discarding their cover as soon as he arrived at the riverbank. He moved slowly through the grass, in sync with the wind that blows the night air, until he reaches his destination. His horse was hidden among the tall reeds and carefully, he reached out to grasp its reins. He led the horse of the grass, carefully retracing his earlier steps as the pair made their way across the bridge and disappear into the night.
The other man shielded himself with his kasa and walked the opposite way. He kept to the dark as well until he reached the main road. Carefully, he crossed the bridge and hurried to the side of another building. He eyed the building at the end of the path he chose and made his way towards it stealthily. He slipped into the shadows again as soon as he approached the local dojo. The sign - Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Dojo - hung prominently next to the door. He eyed both sides of the road and once behind him for reassurance before passing into the shadows once again. The back gate was opened and he sneaked into the house silently.
"'Tousan!" Kamiya Kaoru jumped up from the front porch and approached her father. "Where have you been? I was worried." She ran to him and gave the older man a big hug as he smiled at his affectionate daughter.
He gently tugged at her ponytail. "Kaoru-hime, why are you still up? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping right now?"
"Ne, 'tousan." The fourteen-year old girl shook her head. "I was worried. You left right after dinner without telling me anything." She pulled away from him and stomped her foot. "You promised you would tell me!"
Kamiya Koshijiro couldn't help but smile at the scolding tone his daughter took up with him. She looked so much like his wife that he could almost hear her voice in their daughter. "Maa, Kaoru-hime. There's no need to get upset."
"Demo, you promised!" Kaoru said as she stomped her foot indignantly.
He reached out to brush a hair off her face. "Sometimes, it is best that you do not know what I do or where I go, Hime-chan." Seeing that his daughter was getting ready to put up another fight, he quickly changed the subject. "Ano, don't you have a big day tomorrow, Kaoru-hime?"
Kaoru's eyes went wide as she remembered what tomorrow was. "Its my 15th birthday!" And she also remembered what her father had told her about the tradition when a samurai turns fifteen.
Genpuku!
But she was not really a samurai, at least that is what the people in the market whisper when they thought she could not hear them. The whispers began when she was seven years old and her mother had died. They would talk amongst themselves saying that it was unfit for a young girl to be taught kenjutsu. Her father would ignore the talk and kept to teaching her early in the morning and in the late afternoons. She shook her head and focused on tonight as she banished the tears the memories brought to her mind.
She turned to her father with disbelieving eyes. "Ashita, 'tousan. Will I be tested?"
"Hai, Kaoru-hime." Her father grinned as the smile got bigger on Kaoru's face. "Now, get some sleep." He kissed Kaoru on the forehead and the young woman bowed politely, trying hard not to show her excitement and forgetting the cause of her earlier worries. He smiled as he watched her go and listened to the hurried slide of a shoji opening and closing.
"Tomorrow always comes too soon, Kaoru-hime." He walked towards the front of the house and stood on the front porch. He looked up into the sky and found that it was a cloudless night. The stars were shining brightly, possibly brighter than he has ever seen them. He sighed wearily, not for the first time, as he thought about Kaoru's mother, Hotaru.
Everyday, he could see a little bit of his Hotaru-hime in Kaoru. Every time her dark blue eyes light up in happiness or in surprise, she was there. He could see her in Kaoru's enthusiasm and her stubbornness. He could see her in every smile that Kaoru flashes him as he had watched her grow up. Tomorrow, she will turn fifteen.
Fifteen. Tomorrow, his questions will be answered. If Mibu's Wolves are on the hunt then they will surely be coming for him soon. He shook his head as he gazed into the stars once again. He wished that he had more time to spend with Kaoru. There was so much he wanted to protect her from. He wished that she would be strong enough to carry on if something should happen to him. Maybe he wished that she would find someone to share her happiness. He wanted someone that would love his Kaoru-hime for herself and not try to change her.
Maybe, he looked up at the stars, he was wishing for too much. "So many wishes for my Kaoru-hime and not enough time to fufill them."
--
Is it true what they are saying?
What?
The Wolves are descending to the streets of Edo before they head to Kyoto. They are searching for someone.
Do you know whom they are searching for?
Ano, we cannot talk here. Meet me at this location tomorrow night.
--
As the pair disappeared in the darkness, only the moon can see the paths each of them had taken. One man hurried off into the surrounding darkness of the buildings. Slipping quietly in between, using the night to shield his progress from unseen eyes. He mostly kept to the shadows, only discarding their cover as soon as he arrived at the riverbank. He moved slowly through the grass, in sync with the wind that blows the night air, until he reaches his destination. His horse was hidden among the tall reeds and carefully, he reached out to grasp its reins. He led the horse of the grass, carefully retracing his earlier steps as the pair made their way across the bridge and disappear into the night.
The other man shielded himself with his kasa and walked the opposite way. He kept to the dark as well until he reached the main road. Carefully, he crossed the bridge and hurried to the side of another building. He eyed the building at the end of the path he chose and made his way towards it stealthily. He slipped into the shadows again as soon as he approached the local dojo. The sign - Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Dojo - hung prominently next to the door. He eyed both sides of the road and once behind him for reassurance before passing into the shadows once again. The back gate was opened and he sneaked into the house silently.
"'Tousan!" Kamiya Kaoru jumped up from the front porch and approached her father. "Where have you been? I was worried." She ran to him and gave the older man a big hug as he smiled at his affectionate daughter.
He gently tugged at her ponytail. "Kaoru-hime, why are you still up? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping right now?"
"Ne, 'tousan." The fourteen-year old girl shook her head. "I was worried. You left right after dinner without telling me anything." She pulled away from him and stomped her foot. "You promised you would tell me!"
Kamiya Koshijiro couldn't help but smile at the scolding tone his daughter took up with him. She looked so much like his wife that he could almost hear her voice in their daughter. "Maa, Kaoru-hime. There's no need to get upset."
"Demo, you promised!" Kaoru said as she stomped her foot indignantly.
He reached out to brush a hair off her face. "Sometimes, it is best that you do not know what I do or where I go, Hime-chan." Seeing that his daughter was getting ready to put up another fight, he quickly changed the subject. "Ano, don't you have a big day tomorrow, Kaoru-hime?"
Kaoru's eyes went wide as she remembered what tomorrow was. "Its my 15th birthday!" And she also remembered what her father had told her about the tradition when a samurai turns fifteen.
Genpuku!
But she was not really a samurai, at least that is what the people in the market whisper when they thought she could not hear them. The whispers began when she was seven years old and her mother had died. They would talk amongst themselves saying that it was unfit for a young girl to be taught kenjutsu. Her father would ignore the talk and kept to teaching her early in the morning and in the late afternoons. She shook her head and focused on tonight as she banished the tears the memories brought to her mind.
She turned to her father with disbelieving eyes. "Ashita, 'tousan. Will I be tested?"
"Hai, Kaoru-hime." Her father grinned as the smile got bigger on Kaoru's face. "Now, get some sleep." He kissed Kaoru on the forehead and the young woman bowed politely, trying hard not to show her excitement and forgetting the cause of her earlier worries. He smiled as he watched her go and listened to the hurried slide of a shoji opening and closing.
"Tomorrow always comes too soon, Kaoru-hime." He walked towards the front of the house and stood on the front porch. He looked up into the sky and found that it was a cloudless night. The stars were shining brightly, possibly brighter than he has ever seen them. He sighed wearily, not for the first time, as he thought about Kaoru's mother, Hotaru.
Everyday, he could see a little bit of his Hotaru-hime in Kaoru. Every time her dark blue eyes light up in happiness or in surprise, she was there. He could see her in Kaoru's enthusiasm and her stubbornness. He could see her in every smile that Kaoru flashes him as he had watched her grow up. Tomorrow, she will turn fifteen.
Fifteen. Tomorrow, his questions will be answered. If Mibu's Wolves are on the hunt then they will surely be coming for him soon. He shook his head as he gazed into the stars once again. He wished that he had more time to spend with Kaoru. There was so much he wanted to protect her from. He wished that she would be strong enough to carry on if something should happen to him. Maybe he wished that she would find someone to share her happiness. He wanted someone that would love his Kaoru-hime for herself and not try to change her.
Maybe, he looked up at the stars, he was wishing for too much. "So many wishes for my Kaoru-hime and not enough time to fufill them."
