Chapter 4: A Perilous Journey

"Byakuya-sama. Are you sure about this?" Sayaka asked, eyeing the manor's new arrival. The older man, sporting black hair on top tied in a tight topknot and the sides shorn close to his head, with one hand hanging in his black hakama and his other on the hilt of his sword, gave her a smug look in return.

"It is as I said, Sayaka," Father said, exasperated. "While Hyō-chan is still a child, he will need someone to look after him. I will not send my only son to live alone in that… village."

"I understand, sir," she said, bowing, "but -"

"Do you not trust him?" Father asked, brow raised.

"It's not that…" She glared at the man, who simply kept grinning.

At last, the man spoke. "Come now, Saya-chan," he said, his voice deep and gravelly. "This is about protecting the family you serve. You really ought to set aside personal feelings." He leaned in closer to her, just inches from her face. She looked like she wanted to cut him down. "I'd have thought you, of all people, would understand that."

"Kagemoto…" she growled.

"That's enough. Both of you," Mother cut in. She had an uncharacteristically steely look on her face. She turned to Sayaka. "There's nobody in this world I would trust more than you to look after my son. Please. Can you do this?"

"O-of course, Eri-sama," Sayaka stammered, bowing dramatically. Once again, though, she eyed Kagemoto.

The whole time, I stood to the side, running my fingers down the length of my hair. Sayaka had been the family's retainer for as long as I could remember. Somehow, it had never occurred to me that she had history with other people outside the village. This Moritaka Kagemoto was a samurai from Iron Country, as was Sayaka. I didn't know what their relationship was, but it seemed clear to me that she was struggling.

I stepped forward. "Sayaka-san," I said, craning my neck to look up at her. "If someone has to come with me, I'd want it to be you."

"Hyō-sama…" Sayaka breathed. She looked away. "Thank you, but…"

"If that's the Young Lord's wish, who are you to argue," said Kagemoto. I didn't care for his tone, even though I agreed with him.

Sayaka looked over the assembled family, eyes tinged with sadness. "I will come back to visit from time to time," she said at length. "But, for as long as he requires my services, Hyō-sama has me as his sword and shield."

"Thank you Sayaka," Father said.

"But I'll be keeping tabs on you," Sayaka said to Kagemoto. "Just so you know."

"You don't have to be so paranoid, Saya-chan," Kagemoto said with a shrug. "We're on the same side here."

"Hmph," Sayaka huffed. "Never thought I'd here those words out of your mouth."

"Feels good, don't it," Kagemoto sneered.

"Sayaka-san?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Whatever hang-ups I have about you, Kagemoto, I know you'll do fine. I don't like you, but I do trust you."

"Well, now it's my turn to be shocked," Kagemoto said. "In any case, I suppose I'd better start learning the lay of the land."

"Indeed," Father agreed. "I shall show you the grounds, if you'll follow me Kagemoto-san."

"Please," Kagemoto said, shaking his head. "You, of all people, needn't be so formal with me. Just 'Moritaka' will suffice, I think."

"Very well, Moritaka. Please, follow me." The two men entered the manner proper, leaving me with Mother and Sayaka.

Mother knelt down next to me, smiling as she ran a hand through my hair. "Don't forget your practice routines, Hyō-kun," she said cheerily. "Sayaka will tell me if you've been slacking off."

My spine stiffened. "O-of course, Mother."

Mother bent down and kissed me on the forehead. "Stay safe. I love you, Hyō-kun."

"I love you too," I said, a little sadly. I'd known this moment was coming for years now, but it didn't quite feel real until it actually happened. I reached for her hand, and she squeezed mine in turn. Her warmth was comforting.

But, at last, it was time to part ways. I turned from her and took Sayaka's hand. She led me to the edge of town, where a small company of shinobi hired by Father awaited us. A different group from before. I could only assume they'd all graduated from guarding civilians by now. As a matter of fact, I wasn't sure what shinobi did when there wasn't war, since the one I'd grown up in had ended a couple years ago.

In any case, we were taking a horse this time instead of a carriage. It'd be faster and easier to maneuver, allowing the shinobi to let loose a bit more. I'd have to get used to their speeds if I was to become one of them.

~o~

My first trip to Kiri was largely uneventful, so I naturally expected my second to be as well. I couldn't have been more wrong as, on our fourth day out from Yukimura, we were attacked by Missing-nin.

We were walking along a paved highway that cut through a forested region, Sayaka guiding the horse as it clopped along, while our shinobi escorts alternated between sticking by our side and hopping through the trees. As such, it wasn't easy to tell when some extra bodies started hopping through the trees alongside them. They struck suddenly, and with force. I heard an explosion, and the next thing I knew, the toasted body of a boy only a couple years older than me fell from the trees right in the horse's path. Sayaka only just reacted in time to prevent the horse trampling the boy's body, reining it in and yanking it to the side.

"Keep going!" the group's Jōnin commander growled from above as he just blocked another attack. Sayaka didn't need to be told twice. She unsheathed her sword, which began glowing with chakra, and made the horse jump over the young Genin's body to continue down the road.

I gripped a small pouch in the folds of my hakama, hoping I wouldn't need to open it. I clung to Sayaka as the shadows above continued their pursuit. I couldn't tell which were friendly and which were enemies.

I saw the shuriken before even Sayaka did. With split second timing, my fingers wrapped around the shaft of a senbon, which I tossed with apparent carelessness. It careened through the air, striking the shuriken and knocking it off its path.

"Nice one, Hyō-sama!" Sayaka shouted. She still held her sword at the ready.

"Sayaka!" I screamed as a fireball approached from the tree line. She yanked the horse to the side, but it wouldn't be enough. Just as I thought I was about to die again, and so soon, a water spigot appeared from the opposite end of the forest, catching the fireball and extinguishing it just in time.

The Jōnin commander appeared on the ground for just a flash before vanishing again. I heard something snap, and the body of a Missing-nin fell into the road, his neck clearly broken.

There came a strong gust of wind, slowly at first, but it quickly built up to intolerable levels. I couldn't see a projectile, but I could feel it coming at us. Sayaka narrowly dodged as an invisible something crushed the ground to our left into a fine powder. There was another snap, and another Missing-nin corpse fell into the road.

That's when I understood the Jōnin commander's plan. These Missing-nin had some skill, but they were impatient, and their attacks exposed their positions. He was counting on that. We weren't so lucky with the last one, though. His attack didn't come from any particular direction. In fact, for a moment, it wasn't even clear what kind of attack it was.

All of a sudden, the horse whinnied as its front legs sank into the ground which had become slushy and muddy. Sayaka reacted instantly, grabbing me and jumping off the horse's back. She landed on the dirt road, but immediately started sinking into it just like the horse. Thinking on her feet, she tossed me bodily into the tree line, where I grabbed onto the trunk of a tree.

"Run, Hyō-sama!" she shouted. "I'll do what I can!"

"Sayaka!" I screamed as dozens of ninja emerged from the tree line, bearing down on her. I reached into my pack of senbon, but had to focus on regaining my balance as the tree I clung to started melting as well.

Wait. The tree, the ground, the ninja… My eyes widened as I understood what was happening. I pulled my hand out of my pouch and brought it up to my face, two fingers up like Granny Himiko had taught me. I concentrated my chakra into my head and whispered, "Release."

Just like that, the tree and ground stopped melting, and the dozens of shinobi vanished. I was clinging to the tree, watching Sayaka fight phantoms as she thought she was still sinking. I had to get to her. She hadn't yet realized it was just a genjutsu. I started climbing down when I felt a kunai press into my throat.

"Well, well. Aren't you a clever one," the Missing-nin hissed. "Even the Genin haven't realized the trick yet, but you did."

"What can I say?" I choked around the kunai. "I had an excellent teacher."

"Indeed. I'm sure your teacher would be happy to see you alive. No sudden movements now, y'hear? I don't want to kill you. A dead hostage means no payday."

Well, crap. I might be able to knock him back if I could get off a water ninjutsu, but he would see my hand seals and respond with immediate violence.

Only one thing for it, short of waiting for the Kiri nin to realize what had happened. In one fluid motion, just like Mother taught me, I reached into my half open pouch of senbon and flicked it behind me, praying it would hit something vital.

"Gah!" the Missing-nin yelped. I only just reacted in time as his kunai hand twitched to catch it and stop it from accidentally slitting my throat. The Missing-nin reeled back. I turned and was shocked to see blood running down the side of his face. I hit him square in the eyeball.

"Nice one, kid," I heard the Jōnin commander grunt. I couldn't tell where his voice came from, but the next thing I knew, the final Missing-nin dropped to the ground, a deep gash across his back leaking blood like a broken faucet. He stepped out of the trees, grabbing me by the neckline of my hakama, and strolled up to Sayaka. He touched her shoulder and she blinked, dazed as she looked for more enemies that weren't there.

"What. Where'd they go?" she asked frantically. She let out a yelp when she saw the Jōnin commander holding me and turned her sword on him, only realizing a moment after that he wasn't the enemy. She visibly relaxed. "Hyō-sama. Are you okay?" She sheathed her sword and took me from the Jōnin commander's grip. Nearby, two Genin touched down, looking somber. She hugged me tightly to her chest.

"Damn," the Jōnin commander swore. "This was supposed to be a C-rank."

"We'll pay you for a higher rank if we must," Sayaka said, not looking directly at him. "Thank you," she muttered.

The Jōnin commander nodded. "Sara, Kōichi. Go set up camp. I'll retrieve Daisuke's body and clean up the mess."

"Yes, Akito-sensei," they said in unison, unenthusiastically, leaving to fulfil his orders.

The Jōnin commander shook his head. "If it's not one thing, it's another. Missing-nin have increased in number and ferocity since the war ended. Lucky for us that they haven't also increased in skill or intelligence." He glanced at me, a look of intrigue on his face. "And lucky for us that our clients can handle themselves."

With that, he left to go "clean up," whatever that meant. I clung to Sayaka for a while after that. Even hours later, my hands trembled from shock and adrenaline. My first personal experience of real combat went better than it by all rights should have, but the aftershock wouldn't leave me for a long time.

~o~

Sayaka was out of sorts for the remainder of the journey, barely speaking aside from basic pleasantries. When we arrived at our new apartment in Kiri, she stayed much the same. She didn't even seem to want to look at me.

Far be it from me to deal with someone else's emotional problems. At least, that's how I would normally respond. I found the very idea of it exhausting. But, in this case, I couldn't help but think it was related to me, and what had happened.

I was still thinking about it myself. I hadn't even joined the academy yet, and I was already starting to second guess my decision to join. The boy who died, Daisuke, was only eleven years old. He probably wasn't far out of the academy. In fact, for all I knew, that could have been his first mission outside Kiri. It was hard for me to imagine such a thing. For Sayaka, it must have been unbearable.

So, once we settled in and Sayaka started cooking dinner, I approached her, though I didn't really know what to say. So, instead of speaking right away, I started prepping the rice. She watched me curiously as I worked with clumsy hands. I'd never been much of a cook, in this life or the last. But even I could handle some rice, surely.

She giggled as I worked, prompting me to turn a questioning gaze on her. She smiled.

"No, Hyō-sama," she said, shaking her head. "Not like that. Like this." Credit to her. She didn't simply take the implements out of my hands. Instead, she took my hands in hers and directed them. Once she was sure I got it, she let me get back to it.

"Thanks," I said, returning to my task.

"Hyō-sama…" She cleared her throat. "You don't have to do this, you know. It's my job to take care of you."

"I know," I said. "I want to."

She sighed. "Very well."

After that, we worked together in comfortable silence, me with more confident hands thanks to Sayaka's help. Eventually, we had a workable meal between us.

She still did most of the actual cooking. I was basically just there as an assistant. Regardless, I was glad to see Sayaka a little more cheery.

After we finished eating, we sat at the table, still silent. She clasped her hands together on the table, not looking directly at me.

"Listen, I -" I said.

"Hyō-sama -" she started.

We stared at each other, then laughed, realizing we'd spoken at the same time.

"You first," I said.

Sayaka nodded, still not quite looking at me. "I… I'm sorry. I failed you already, before we even made it to town. I'm a terrible retainer."

"That's not true, Sayaka. You were willing to die for me."

"It wouldn't have mattered," she waved it off. "The only enemies I actually fought weren't even real."

"That's not important," I said, pounding my fist on the table. "Real or not, you still risked yourself for me."

"I put you in more danger. I put you right in the enemy's hands."

"You couldn't have known."

"I should have. It's just like…" She hung her head. "Never mind. Just… I hope you can accept me, even as disappointing as I am."

"I don't think of you like that. I asked you to come with me, remember? Not Kagemoto. Not any of the ninja in town. You. I won't regret that."

Sayaka smiled wanly. "Thank you, Hyō-sama. I promise, I shall find a way to redeem myself."

I narrowed my eyes, then grinned minutely. "If that's what you want. I think I have the perfect thing you can do."

"And what's that, Hyō-sama?" she asked, looking up with watery eyes.

I stood, walking around to her side of the table. "Look at me."

"Okay?" She turned and faced me.

"Lean down."

She looked uncertain. "What's this about, sir?"

"Just do it."

She rolled her eyes. "Very well." She leaned down. Once she was in arm's reach, I put both hands on her cheeks and squished her face, contorting it so she was smiling. "F-Fyō-shama!"

"Stop beating yourself up, Sayaka!" I commanded. "It's fine! We're both fine." I let her go, and she rubbed her face, brow wrinkled. "Listen. If you hadn't thrown me into the trees, I might not have figured out so quickly that it was a genjutsu. So, if anything, you were a bigger help than you realize. It's not all about fighting, you know?"

"Is that true?" Sayaka asked, taken aback.

"Of course! You did great!"

"But -"

"No buts."

"I… Okay, Hyō-sama." She turned away, her face bright red. Her smile became wider. More genuine. "Thank you." She glanced back me out of the corner of her eye. "So, what was it you wanted to say?"

My eyes widened. Right. That. I worked my jaw, trying to figure out how to put my concerns into words. In the end, I shook my head.

"Nothing. Never mind. Just… Don't beat yourself up, okay? I hate to see you like that."

Sayaka exhaled sharply. "You know, Hyō-sama. Sometimes I wonder about you."

"What do you mean?"

She eyed me for a moment. "It's just, sometimes, you seem much older than you are. I don't…" She shook her head. "No. Ignore that."

I cocked my head. Should I be… concerned about that? She couldn't know, could she?

No. Definitely not.

"In any case, you'll be starting at the academy the day after tomorrow. You should start preparing yourself, Hyō-sama."

"Right."

She smiled parentally. "That means you should go to bed early."

"Don't wanna."

"Now, Hyō-sama…"

"No." I turned up my nose at the idea.

She stared at me for a while. At length, she said, "Would you like me to read you that book again? What was it called?"

That book. Tales of a Gutsy Ninja by Jiraiya of the Leaf. I nodded. "Yes, please."

"Alright. Well, c'mon then. I'll find the book in our luggage. You get ready for bed."

"Okay."

I wondered, momentarily, if Sayaka would still have been willing to read me that book if she knew what else its author had created. Hm. It was probably for the best that she didn't.

Probably.

-0-

AN: I made images of the Yuki clan members using AI software. I'm pretty satisfied with them, but there is a little AI weirdness. imgur . com /a/ZQxuXmN (close the gaps)

Character names are as follows:

Moritaka Kagemoto - 影本 盛隆

Sara - 佐良

Kōichi - 光一

Daisuke - 大介

Akito - 秋人