Chapter Two
Devil by Daylight
>>>Afternoon - April 30, 1583
"'Holy Fan of Uzume', he says," Jeffy grumbled as he and Fuji carefully continued to tread down the dirt path towards a junction with the main road running from Tado Town to Komo Town. "'Power to defend the faithful', he says."
Fuji still winced when he thought about the incident a few days past. He really hadn't believed the legend about the Light of Amaterasu contained within the Fan of Uzume until Jeffy-sensei had accidentally blinded himself by using the fan correctly. That, coupled with Jeffy's revelation that he couldn't travel long distances without a pair of old crutches, had gotten the young apprentice's journey with the sword master off to a rocky start.
Pacing himself to keep the partially blind swordsman on track, Fuji once again attempted an apology. "Again, I'm very sorry, sensei. I had no idea that the fan could-"
"Listen, quit apologizing to me." Jeffy interrupted. "I'm an old man, and I've earned the right to grumble all I like. You could best make it up by learning how to use that weapon correctly." There was a pause as Jeffy seemed to consider something very important. "You did say that this is temporary, right?"
"It should be." Fuji speculated rather innocently. "At least, as far as I know."
Jeffy gave the apprentice a withering look, at least in the general direction he assumed the boy to be. His vision had gotten slightly better since the day he had met his new protégé, but everything was still extremely blurry. That could be Fuji standing next to him. Then again, it could be a smallish tree.
"Thought you were some kind of high-level monk."
"I never said that." Fuji mumbled evasively. "Besides, at my age? That kind of thing's impossible."
"Really?" the swordsman replied. "That's the biggest problem with your generation, son. If you haven't seen it before than it's just got to be impossible, eh?"
Fuji sighed. "I'd like to think that there's a difference between skepticism and gullibility."
"Student!" Jeffy almost shouted.
Fuji cringed visibly. It was far too easy to forget that he had placed himself under this man's tutelage . "Yes, sensei?"
"Learn well from the words of one more experienced than yourself. Your analysis of my words would be correct if you wished to learn the art of debate, but in combat, the one who believes that anything is possible, and prepares for it, is the one who will emerge victorious." Jeffy's expression changed to a grin. "Remember: in battle, paranoia is a survival trait."
The boy's blonde hair wisped backwards as he put his palm to his forehead, peering into the distance in search of something that could change the topic of conversation. "Is that the crossing we're looking for?"
Fuji waited for several moments before Jeffy cleared his throat loudly and pointed at his eyes.
"Oh, sorry." the apprentice recovered. "There's a wooden signpost at a T-shaped intersection, and it looks like the other road is a lot wider and well-traveled. There's also some forests to the far left and some mountains in the distance. Is it the Suzuka Range?"
Jeffy smiled and hobbled forward on his crutches. "The Tokaido Road, at last. If we follow it southwest, we should hit Komo Town at the foot of Mt. Gozaisho in just a few more days." He stopped for a moment and turned toward Fuji. "Just be sure to check the signpost in case I'm mistaken. You gonna show me where it is or what?"
"Oh, hai." Fuji responded, directing the movements of the partially blind cripple. The apprentice was so diligent in his aid to his sensei that he tripped and fell flat on his face when Jeffy came to a sudden halt.
The swordsman mused for a second and then kneeled, running his hand through the dirt of the path. "Great. Just great."
Fuji picked himself up and nursed his hurt pride before responding. "What's great?"
"Tracks." Jeffy replied, still running his hand across the ground. "Four individuals; can't distinguish the footwear properly, but I'd bet on a group of ninja."
Fuji sat mystified as Jeffy continued to elaborate on his findings.
"Yeah, the direction and movement pattern definitely says ninja. Three are following the path and another tapered off on a different trajectory heading . . . southeast." Jeffy sighed heavily. "We're walking into a trap."
"What!" Fuji stammered. "Ninjas? Why would ninjas be after us!"
"You never can tell, kid." Jeffy mumbled as he ceased examining the footprints. "That's the way the country is right now. Doesn't take much more than an ill-placed insult to get assassins hounding your every step. I've seen this before though; it's a pretty standard maneuver. The three ahead of us are wearing a different kind of sandal than the fourth who's circling around. They want us to think they're just normal travelers, but the tracks are too neatly arranged for that. Besides, very few people travel the Tokaido Road these days without an entourage or at least some sort of carriage. Only samurai travel in groups this size unattended, and they leave heavier imprints. Even if I had doubts about the first three, the fourth is definitely a ninja; he barely touched the ground when he crossed here. They always move fast and light when there's no available cover."
Jeffy rose to his feet as he continued. "The first three will probably take up positions in that forest a ways on down the road, and the fourth will try to force us in if we don't take that path. In any case, that forest is perfect killing ground for a ninja: plentiful cover, and lots of natural weapons."
Fuji still couldn't quite believe what was being said. "You're really sure they're ninjas? Did you do something that could warrant-"
"Now, now," Jeffy interrupted, patting the apprentice on the back. "Don't you worry. If there's one thing I've dealt with all too often in my life, it's people trying to kill me. I've come up with so many different ways to avoid death that one of them has got to fit this situation. Memory's getting a little rusty though. How about we set up lunch over that next hillock and get some food for thought?"
As the two men moved toward the spot Jeffy had appointed for their next meal, Fuji remained pensive. "Sensei?"
"Yup?" Jeffy responded.
"How do you know that they're trying to kill you?"
"Well, you haven't done anything to piss somebody else off, have you?"
"No, well, at least no one who could affort to hire a ninja."
"See?"
"Well, maybe that one time . . . But her father didn't seem that angry."
"Fuji?"
"Yes, sensei?"
"You know what the second biggest problem of your generation is?"
"No, what?"
"Knowing when to shut up."
" . . . Hai."
>>>
The makeshift meal was nearly done when Fuji decided to review what had been said. "Okay, let me get this straight. I'm going to just sit around outside the forest while you go in, blind and crippled, to take on three trained ninja?"
Jeffy laughed. "You really underestimate me, kid. And no, I don't expect you to just 'sit around'. Remember, three ninja are likely to be in the forest, but there's a fourth waiting to rush in just in case something goes awry. I'm counting on you to take care of that one, or at least stall him until I can get done with the first three."
Fuji looked perplexed. "How do I know where the fourth will come from?"
Jeffy pointed a pair of chopsticks at the apprentice. "Remember the direction of the tracks? The Tokaido Road runs through that forest directly south. The tracks we found show the fourth individual heading southeast, so . . ."
"The east side!" Fuji responded.
"Right." Jeffy said approvingly while pouring green tea into a mug from a gourd he had brought along. "There's a lot of hillocks to the east, perfect cover for a ninja on approach. He'll be going pretty fast to avoid detection, so you'll need to get his attention and then use the fan, okay?"
Fuji took hold of the Fan of Uzume proudly. Even though temporarily blinded, Jeffy had taught him well enough to use the fan's special power on command. "I understand, sensei. But will you surely be able to fight those three ninja, even with your handicap?"
"If you're talking about the crutches," Jeffy sighed. "That injury has taught me to fight smarter and faster than I ever could have been with full use of my legs. As for the blindness . . ." The swordsman looked toward the signpost a few yards down the road. "That thing has two directional arrows on it, right?"
Fuji looked delighted. "Your sight is getting better, Jeffy-sensei!"
"Yep." the sword master commented as he rose and packed his culinary materials away. "It's been improving really fast today. Besides, I've been trained to fight in low visibility, so everything should be fine." Jeffy stuffed his travel sack into some bushes and straightened the blades on his belt. "You ready?"
"Sensei," Fuji questioned as he made to do the same with his travel bag. "Wouldn't it be better to hide the broadsword? Something that big will impede your movement, won't it?"
Jeffy looked surprisingly conflicted for a moment before answering. "Hmm, I wouldn't have expected a rookie like you to notice that. True, it would be more combat efficient to remove the darned thing, but I wouldn't leave something like this to chance. This blade . . . I can't even take the slightest risk that someone might find it and carry it off." The swordsman sighed heavily before his face expanded into an almost foolish smile. "Still, what are we standing around for? This'll be your first battle! Let's walk into it with some gusto, eh?"
Fuji smiled in return, even though he was beginning to feel uncertainty crawl under his skin. "Right, sensei!"
>>>
It was several long minutes after Fuji witnessed Jeffy venture boldly into the forest that he heard the first clash of blades. The pings and scrapes echoed from amongst the dense foliage accompanied by vicious battle cries and grunts of effort.
Fuji hated this plan. Every fiber of his being wanted to be in the forest fighting alongside Jeffy, but he knew that his lack of skill in real combat would only be a hindrance to the experienced swordsman. Nonetheless, he shifted restlessly against the small, grassy overhang he had chosen for an ambush spot, keeping his eyes peeled on the hillocks to the east. Fuji had little doubt that the fourth ninja would appear just as Jeffy had predicted, but he found it hard to keep his attention on the peaceful sun-bathed plains with the sounds of battle echoing all around.
After what seemed like an eternity, Fuji noticed that the sounds of sword-clashing had become more infrequent. Had Jeffy taken out one of the ninja? That had to be it! The apprentice felt a great wave of relief. He really had underestimated his sensei. Jeffy must not have been joking that one night when he mentioned being one of the three masters of a certain sword art, the name of which Fuji found it difficult to recall at the moment. Yay-something?
The thought quickly vanished from the young apprentice's mind at the sight of a shadow-like movement. It hadn't come from the hillocks though; Fuji was sure that something was moving at the far south end of the forest. Something in black clothing . . .
Fuji pulled back into the shadows of his chosen overhang as his heart began beating uncomfortably fast. Was one of the ninja running away? He chanced another look. The figure had definitely left the cover of the forest, but was moving toward another entrance point. If this one managed to catch Jeffy by surprise, the sword master wouldn't stand a chance, despite his extreme skill.
Fuji readied his fan. This was the moment of truth. If he waited another few seconds, the ninja would already be inside the forest. Fuji felt an icy stab of fear enter his mind, but quickly banished it. There was no time for fear and no time to think of a way to come out alive; there was only time enough for one quick and decisive action.
The apprentice exploded from the grassy overhang at a breakneck pace, poising his hand for the proper movement to unleash the Fan of Uzume's secret power. He dared not slow down, since his survival instincts would grind him to a sudden halt if he relented even for a second. The ninja was a stark black target straight ahead, seemingly unaware of Fuji's presence until the apprentice shouted at the top of his lungs and prepared to strike. It was at that moment that Fuji's hand chose to lose it's grip on the fan.
The soft thunk of the fan hitting the ground was like a gong in Fuji's head. Of all the times to screw things up! But there was no going back. The ninja seemed to freeze at the sight of the charging apprentice, and that was all Fuji needed. He threw himself forward, both arms extended to go for the neck of his opponent. Despite the mist of battle that clouded his eyes, Fuji suddenly noticed something that caused him to hesitate and drop his arms. The ninja was a girl?
Unfortunately, though it was easy for Fuji to force his arms out of an offensive position upon this sudden revelation, he couldn't bring his legs to stop their headlong advance. The combatants' heads collided on impact with a loud thunk, and Fuji's world exploded into stars before becoming enveloped in blackness.
>>>
A short time after the ill-fated apprentice's extremely brief combative encounter, Jeffy Anakouji emerged from the forest and examined the scene of battle alongside two astounded spectators.
"Well," the sword master ruminated, taking care not to laugh out loud at what he saw before him. "Whatever happened here, it happened pretty quick."
Fuji and the girl he had mistaken for a ninja laid in an unconscious heap with painful-looking lumps protruding from their foreheads. The Fan of Uzume rested several yards away along with a few discarded kunai that had been dropped in the assault.
"You've been teaching this guy for three days?" the tall man to Jeffy's left inquired. "He just lost to Megumi, of all people. I don't know a single guy in the whole of Japan who could manage that."
"I hate to say it, but I agree with Takashi on this one." commented the woman in a straw hat and cloak on Jeffy's right. "The last thing we need is extra baggage. Letting Megumi come along was the only thing we could do for her short of a mercy killing. We finally find the one person in Japan who could lose a fight to her, and you want him to tag along?"
Jeffy put a hand to his forehead and allowed his own straw hat to cover the look of shame on his face. "You'll just have to trust me on this one. For the purpose of my objectives, at least, he's extremely important." A strange smile crossed the swordsman's face. "Besides, it looks like Fuji was the victor from here."
Takashi looked confused for a moment, but was suddenly struck by an epiphany. "Actually, he's right in a way."
Noriko's face was a mixture of curiosity and dread. "What are you talking about? At best this was a tie since both of them are out cold."
Jeffy pointed to Fuji's right hand that had come to rest on Megumi's chest. "True, but at least my guy got a decent boob grab out of it."
"Untz." Takashi stated in admiration while Noriko struggled to resist the urge to kill both of the men and move on.
(End Chapter Two)
