Tora no Kokoro: A Tiger's Heart
Part 1: "Kokoro no Hono'o no Gekido: The Heart's Flames of Rage"
or "Tora no Ki: The Tiger's Return"
By Valse de la Lupe (SesshysSheWolf/Jessica Morris)
CHAPTER THREE
Agreements
I know that I'm living a lie.
Though I say I kill for the joy of killing,
I'm really just trying to prove that I'm strong.
But, in fact, the opposite is true.
Miyuko' Shizuyo' walked calmly into the dark room of the inn where she was staying. She saw the man in the corner, deep within the shadows, out of the corner of her eye, but pretended that she did not. She also saw the small knife he had out. Casually tossing her sakabatou down, she sat cross-legged on a futon' on the floor, with her back to the man. She disliked the man, a short, balding figure with a bagging haori top, before he even opened his mouth.
"I said that I would see you tomorrow. Sending men after me does not assure me of your trust." Miyuko said. She heard the man gasp slightly in surprise. "Put your knife away. I won't try to kill you, contrary to what the rumors say. I don't want to flaunt my identity, as you can probably guess - if you're not as stupid as your subordinates. I only dealt with them the way I did because they found it interesting to laugh at me. I do not take kindly to insults."
"You really are the Shizutora', then."
Miyuko nodded curtly.
"Good, good, I had to be sure." He bobbed his head in what she assumed was supposed to be a respectful bow. "I have a job for you: an assassination. I will pay you three times what I would usually pay for any other target."
"Before you tell me of it, I have a certain condition I follow," Miyuko said. "I never kill a man or woman who is to be wed in the near future. If you don't agree, I'll take my services elsewhere."
"Interesting. Is it based, perhaps, on personal experience?" said the man with a sneer. Miyuko found herself wanting to lash out at him - what right did he have to speak of her past, a past he knew nothing about? - but she forced herself to remain calm. He continued, "This job, however, does not break your little rule."
"You have a description of this person?"
"He is young-looking, with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek," the man said, his voice hard. "You cannot mistake him. He is staying somewhere in this village – in the old Kamiya dojo beyond town, I believe – but he is hard to keep track of."
"Very well," said Miyuko. "I'll be finished in three days' time, by dawn. I expect my payment then."
"Yes, yes, you shall have your yen'," said the man. "But I must warn you, he is dangerous. Here he is known under a different name, but in truth he is Hito-"
"Don't tell me," interrupted Miyuko. "I prefer not to know the names of those I kill." She stood and casually stroked her katana. "Now, I think it is about time for you to leave."
"I've heard that you've never been defeated when it comes to fighting," said the man, rising.
Almost true, Miyuko thought bitterly.
"...So hopefully you will be more effective than my last hired killer. If anyone can kill this man, I know it is you, Lady Battousai."
A flash of rage shot through Miyuko, and her katana was out and against the man's throat in half an instant.
"Never call me by that name unless you'd care to visit the underworld," she hissed. "I will not kill you this time. But speak that name in my presence again and you will not be so lucky."
"I see you dislike the name, and the one who owns it, too, perhaps?" he sneered again, and Miyuko pushed him away in disgust, afraid that she would actually kill him. She could almost feel the grime from all of his past underhand dealings and schemes. "You are more suited to this job than I thought you would be." He inclined his head in parting.
Miyuko was silent as he left, but she glared after him until he disappeared in the market. Miyuko hated that name. She was not like that cold-blooded killer, Hitokiri' Battousai' the Manslayer. She would have absolutely nothing to do with him! She was the Shizutora, nothing more or less.
Miyuko sighed. She should have killed the man - he was the first to call her that to her face and live - but then she would have had to find another job, something she really didn't feel like doing at the time. Besides, she needed the money - it was almost more than she could afford to keep this room at the inn for another few nights. Once she was paid she would have enough money to move on to the next town she was summoned to, and then she would be paid and move on to the next, and thus continue the never-ending cycle. Her few days of relaxation would not come until Spring, when she would return to her small residence in Yokohama to enjoy the cycle of the sakura'.
But what had happened to the man's previous hired assassin? Had he - or she - been defeated by her current target, the red-haired man? Well, surely he could not be as skilled as she. It was not boasting, just a simple fact. People had said she was second only to the Battousai in skill, if not, equal. But...no matter. There was work to be done.
