Chapter 6
"Is that . . . ?" I looked over at Brad's finger pointing at him, "Is he dead?"
"He has a blade through himself. Of coarse, he is dead," I told him, sensing his discomfort.
I hopped down off his back & knelt down beside the ninja. He was on his stomach & the end of his blade was torn through his drenched clothing & stood out of his back. I touched the end of the blade so I could get a sense of the death.
It was suicide.
And it was recently. But I wondered why.
"Don't tell me they're killing themselves if they come back empty-handed . . ."
Empty-handed?
I felt insulted by Brad's remark. He must have thought the clan I was raised in was harsh & inhuman! We are human! We have emotions just like everybody else! We feel things! And truthfully, it can be harsh at times, but never would the clan die over that.
"Hayate wouldn't be that coldhearted!" I told him, standing up, "He would let them try again!"
I didn't want to turn around to look at him. He must have felt bad, because I said that. And I usually didn't like to make people feel bad.
I heard his voice from behind me, "My mistake . . ."
I sighed.
There's nothing to do here.
I started to leave down the river when Brad stopped me.
"Don't we have to do something here?" he asked me.
I turned to look at him then the ninja, "Like what?"
"We can't just leave him here!"
"What do you suggest we do?"
"Haven't you buried somebody before?! Or do you just leave fallen companions where they fell?"
". . ."
He was doing it again. He thought he understood the way of the shinobi. I was getting angry by this.
I took his hand off my shoulder, "Yes, we do. He chose to die here."
Brad bent over to look me in the eyes, "But back where I come from, he bury the dead as a sense of gratitude & honor. And you, Kasumi, are no longer a part of the clan."
No longer part of the clan . . .
He had angered me for the last time. I wanted to insult him back, but I realized he was right. I wasn't part of the clan anymore. I ran away from the clan & the code says I should die. I didn't even bother killing myself for dishonoring the clan. But this ninja knew the code. He did something wrong therefore he got it done & there he was.
It should have been me.
My eyesight blurred. I was crying. I felt Brad hands against my cheek then he pulled me into his arms. My face was buried in his chest. I held him close, because I didn't want him to see me cry. He probably knew what I was thinking & how I felt. He wasn't ignorant of the world around him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was dark & me & Brad had been burying the ninja for hours. He was finally in his grave. I took the katana & placed it in his cold hands atop of his chest. As I stared at him from a few feet above, he looked peaceful. I found it odd, but it was what Brad wanted. Brad suggested that we take his hood off so we could see his face, but I said not to. It was the way of the shinobi: leave him as he dies. The ninjas wear hoods for a reason. But I didn't mind that we take his obi & tie it around the stick I found.
I was sitting down at the fire while Brad was patting down the grave. He dropped the rocks we used to dig & took the obi in his hands. I watched him crawl over to the stick that stood out the grave & tie the black obi around the stick. He left a few straps out so they could fly in the wind. He then turned to me with a smile on his face.
"He's a free spirit now," he said as he stood up & watched the obi fly.
I smiled at the fact that Brad would go through all the trouble just to bury someone he didn't know. He just wanted to free the ninja.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I awoke later on that night. I don't know what woke me up, but I was up. I tried to sit up in the jacket wrapped around me. I stuck my arms out of the sleeves & sat up to see a fire still burning. My eyesight was sort of blurred, but I could see someone else near the fire. I stretched to ease my bones then blinked a couple of times.
"Good morning!"
I looked over at Brad smiling at me. He surprised me by his sudden outburst. I just smiled back.
"Is it morning?" I asked him.
"Judging by the position of the moon . . ."
I watched him look up at the sky, searching for the moon. It wasn't there. The sky was black. It was usually dark blue.
"I don't know," he finally said.
He drunk from his flask.
"Brad, I thought you didn't have anymore left."
"Hmm?" he still had his flask at his mouth.
"I said I thought you didn't have anymore left."
He took the flask from his mouth, wiped his mouth with his arm, & then passed the flask to me, "Have some."
Have some?! What is it?!
"No, I thought you didn't know how to use herbs & water to make alcohol."
"What made you think that?"
"You . . ."
Is he kidding me?
". . . didn't even know what plants you could eat!"
"You'd be surprised . . ."
"I already am . . ."
"If it bothers you, have some. You should be thirsty."
"It's . . ."
I looked inside the flask to see the fluid moving around.
"It's alcohol, Brad. It's not particularly good for your health."
He stared at me for a while & I stared at him. Then he just fell back onto the grass.
"You don't have to drink it. You can drink from the river instead."
I was thirsty. And I never had alcohol before. Except the time when I was younger. It didn't taste good.
A couple of sips wouldn't hurt.
I had to smell it first so I could get a sense of how it tasted. Smelled like nature. So I took a sip. It tasted fine so I took a couple more. And a couple more. I didn't realize I was drinking it all until the last drop landed on my tongue.
That can't be all!
I looked inside the flask then tried dumping some of it out. It was empty. I sighed. I was disappointed there weren't anymore. It tasted pretty good for alcohol.
No wonder he likes it so much . . .
I looked over at him. He was still lying on the ground.
I wonder how he made this.
I went over to him & tapped him on the shoulder. He moved around then looked up at me. He looked drowsy.
I held the flask up, "How did you make this, Brad?"