Chapter 5: Hanabi Katatomi
How had it begun? What had sparked this moment? Staring up at the cold stars peeping from behind the veil of branches, the sky seemed so small, and the world too large. The edges of creation would fall, sag away into infinity if something did not stop it. Alone, utterly alone, and watching the world swallow itself with no hope of salvation. What could one person do in a world that was destroying itself? Where could one person find the will to rise above the inevitable and cast a single thread to hold life together for one moment longer.
Misao sighed, the air in her throat turning into a strange groan. Swallowing hard, she shook her head. She would not feel sorry for herself. This was what she had chosen, a life of solitude until she understood fully who she was. No more leaning on anyone - instead, others would see that they could lean upon her. Sitting up on top of the carriage, she scanned the small camp. Each carriage had been positioned as part of a circle with the oxen penned in the center. The soldiers were presently cooking and talking amongst themselves nearby. She had watched and talked with half of the group, but all ten seemed to be honest men genuinely concerned for their eight wounded comrades.
Pulling the black scarf from across her nose, she took a deep breath of the night air. It smelled like rain was on the way, which meant that she would have to be extra careful about her appearance. Now that she was the official bodyguard of Hanabi Katatomi, she wore her uniform belted with a gray strip of cotton and her white western shirt she stained brown with forest dyes. The black scarf tightly wrapped her face while the skin around her eyes had been darkened with a mixture of grease and soot. She hoped that it was enough to keep her visibility to observers to a minimum at night since it was the most likely time to be attacked. Now she stretched out on the top of the first carriage, keeping a close eye on Hanabi as she spoke with her father at the foot of her personal carriage, Kitai still held in her arms. When Rikoteki left, Misao slipped into the shadows and circled around to crouch behind the four wheels.
"Lady Hanabi?"
The woman jumped and stood up from the step. "Who's there?"
"Jiei. I wanted to see how my pet was faring." Hanabi turned. "Please do not look for me. It will reveal my position if others are watching."
She sounded unsure. "Others watching?"
Misao shrugged, enjoying her mysterious masquerade. "Who knows what they might think, a lady and her bodyguard speaking alone."
Hanabi giggled and placed Kitai on the ground. The feline immediately danced over to Misao beneath the carriage. She rubbed her head against her mistress' knee and asked to be petted. Misao complied with a short laugh.
"That was devious, lady."
Hanabi sat back on the steps and opened her fan. "Well, I didn't technically give you away."
Misao leaned one shoulder against a wheel. "Lady, I know that many of the aristocracy teach their women how to defend themselves. Have you been taught?"
The fan drifted to her lap. "Yes, though it did not take very well. When that man grabbed me, all I could think of was how much it hurt and that it would get much worse."
Misao frowned. "Your life was in danger. Didn't that scare you?"
"Very much so."
"Yet you could not even attempt to do something to prevent it?"
A frown crept into the young woman's voice. "Jiei, how old are you?"
She couldn't decide on a proper answer, but Hanabi pushed on, "I am almost twenty, two years older than the proper marrying age. My entire life has been spent behind high white stone walls. I have been trained, but I have never been threatened until now. It was rather shocking."
Misao pushed Kitai towards Hanabi. "I am sorry to offend you, lady. I was only worried about your safety if I become hindered in some way."
"I assure you, sir, that I will not let myself be taken like today again - now that I know how brutal men can be."
For a long time they sat in comfortable silence. The fire of the guards danced merrily across the circle of carriages and illuminated the white cranes painted on Hanabi's fan. The air dampened with the promise of rain. Misao finally ventured a question which had been plaguing her since Rikoteki mentioned it.
"My lady, you are of the royal household, correct?"
Hanabi sighed. "My father takes great pride in our somewhat distant relationship to His Majesty."
"The man you are marrying - he is of the same status as you?"
She stiffened slightly. "He is a station above my own, but only by one generation."
"Is it such a competition that your life would be threatened if you move forward in status?"
Hanabi sighed deeply, her entire demeanor loosing its natural good-naturedness. "For some, any attempt to improve one's status is a threat. My father would do the same thing if he felt my chance to marry were under threat of replacement. This is the last chance for me to assist my family."
"Have you had no other proposals?"
She coughed lightly and Misao realized her mistake. "Forgive me, Lady Hanabi, it is not my place. I have never traveled with relatives of such high status and my curiosity got the better of me."
"Jiei, you must realize one thing." Hanabi stood and climbed the step into her carriage. "My life is not my own."
Kitai meowed with indecision between her new bed among the satin pillows, or her affection for her mistress. Scooping her up with one hand. Misao looked into the kitten's golden eyes. "You take care of her." Kitai only batted at Misao's nose and purred loudly. Setting her down on the ground, the she slipped back to her perch on top of the carriage across the circle.
The stars were hazing over. A black mass had begun to rapidly eat away at the limited view while the smell of rain grew stronger. The wind picked up and almost masked the next sound. Abruptly twisting herself to one side, Misao's instincts screamed as an arrow sprouted out of the wood behind her. Someone in camp cried out in pain. Misao rolled off of the roof and hit the ground on the balls of her feet. Tucking her knees under, she rolled forward under the carriage and shouted,
"They're back! Take cover!"
The soldiers immediately sprang into action as planned. Pushing the already wounded beneath the carriages, they took up defensive positions in the circle. Bandits emerged out of the forest in individual attack groups of eight focused on each carriage. They had reinforcements in comparison to the night before. Misao heard the distinct thud of arrows in hard wood and one body. Reaffixing the scarf over her nose and mouth, she took in the sudden change of environment. Two hooded men in dark blue ran for Hanabi's carriage.
Darting across the small space between the only protection the traveling group had, Misao quickly climbed onto the loaded wagon and leapt onto one man's back. A double-fisted blow to the back of his head left him senseless. As his partner turned to see why he was suddenly alone, she sprang at his throat. The rain began to fall as she slashed a kuni across the man's jugular. Feeling strangely numb, she watched the man fall, hands clutched at his neck. Another killing with her hands. The whine of an arrow was covered by the rumble of thunder. A line of fire opened along her left arm and she rolled beneath the Hanabi's carriage to emerge in the protective shadows of the forest.
The hired soldiers were holding their own against nearly two-to-one odds. Even the wounded got a few pay back hits in with pieces of firewood on unsuspecting feet and shins. But arrows continued causing major damage. One pinned an already wounded man's hand to the ground. Another caught a struggling soldier's leg as he tried to keep a knife from taking out his eye. Misao traced the angle of the shots and began weaving her way through the trees.
The sniper archer was perched high up in a pine tree. He spotted Misao's approach and reached for his quiver. She growled,
"Oh no you don't!"
Lightening caught the razor edge of her kuni just before it vanished into the man's clothing. Thunder nearly burst her eardrums as she scrambled up the rough trunk and shook the needles out of her face. The rain made her footing slick but she doggedly climbed. The bandit pulled the knife from his chest and pulled one of his own. Dropping the remainder of the distance between them, the man landed on the branch behind her. Before Misao had the chance to react, the man had slashed her back from shoulder to belt. She screamed. The sound of a female voice shocked the bandit into hesitating. Misao lashed out with her right foot and caught him solidly in the stomach. He let out a scream of his own, only his was of terror as he fell to the forest floor far below.
Rainwater mingled with the blood running down her back. The wound was deep, cutting to her ribs along her spine. The world spun, but she fought the nausea of pain and blood loss. The others still needed help. The fire would be going out under the downpour, and fighting at night with limited visibility would lead to even greater casualties. Misao peered through the rain and frowned. The camp battle had paused, or had changed in nature. A white figure flitted through the darker companions. Cold steel moved gracefully among the grunts and meaty thuds of physical combat. One soldier exclaimed,
"My lady!"
Hanabi wielded her straight sword with the power of an experienced dancer. Each move flowing into the next, she seemed to hypnotize the bandits as she drifted through them. As she passed, they found themselves in their loincloths with sharp cuts to their face, chest, or legs. They took the hint and immediately scrambled off with the remainder of their dignity. Misao laughed to herself and half-climbed, half-slipped down the pine tree.
The soldiers were busy reevaluating their disabled and laying out the bodies of two of their own. Over half of the group was now on the injured list. Misao staggered into the circle, trying to hide the cut on her back.
"We drove them off. I found the archer, and since there was only one, he may have been all they had. First thing in the morning we must do is to simply leave." She bowed to Hanabi whose kimono was now soaking up mud. "Thank you, Lady Hanabi. Your appearance and method of defense was most efficient."
The ground abruptly rose up to hit Misao in the face. She heard a shriek of surprise and then sank into darkness.
The jolt of wooden wheels slowly and uncomfortably woke her. Her face pressed into something warm and silky but smothering. The attempt to roll over sent pain searing over her back and she remembered. Snapping her eyes open, she sat up and bit back a whimper of agony.
"Please, you will break open the stitches."
Misao turned her head to find Hanabi, hands folded and feet neatly tucked beneath her, looking calmly but curiously at her with dark brown eyes. Looking down at the clean white bandage that barely concealed her very feminine, though not large, chest, Misao grabbed a pillow to shield herself.
"Lady Hanabi, I -"
Hanabi held up her hand. "It is not something we women do not see every day. However, I am wondering why you choose to hide?"
Misao couldn't find the courage to lower her cover. "No one would take me seriously if they knew."
The young noblewoman smiled tightly. "A justified answer. But what is your reason for traveling alone as a man? How did you learn to fight?"
Misao frowned, considering. The best lies always had a bit of truth in them. "My parents died a long time ago. I learned from my second family, descended from a ninja clan. Then a little while ago, I decided I wanted to know what went on outside our courtyard and began journeying."
Hanabi turned her head to the side, considering. "You simply left? No on tried to stop you?"
Her thoughts turned to Aoshi. "Well, they would have, if they had known. That's part of the reason I travel as Jiei."
Hanabi sighed. "I envy you. You are free to become who you wish. I must follow my father's wishes."
"Is he alright?"
She opened and closed her fan in disgust. "Fine, only mad that his new suit was ruined by the rain. He hid in the ditch as usual."
"As usual?" Misao's interest peaked.
"Yes - he's a coward, every time we are attacked..." Hanabi trailed off and Misao narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"Lady Hanabi, how many times have you been attacked on the way to Tokyo?"
Dark brown eyes met sea-blue. "Four, too many to be a coincidence."
"Any reason why?"
Hanabi opened her fan with the dancing white cranes. "May I have your name?"
Misao blinked. "My name?"
"You travel as Jiei, but you are not he. So what is your real name?" She lowered her voice to the thinnest whisper. "Before I tell you of my own secret."
It was a fair exchange and Misao found that she liked the silently rebellious older woman. "My name is Makamachi Misao."
Hanabi bowed as best as she was able from a sitting position in a moving carriage. "Pleased and honored to meet you. And I am Hanabi Katatomi, daughter to the Emperor's tax collector and fiancé to the Emperor's advisor."
The pieces clicked together.
Misao's eyes widened. "Someone wishes to gain influence over the Emperor through you."
"So it seems."
