House of Maxwell Productions
Presents

Samurai Banzai RELOAD
Volume 4 - The People We Are (Chapters 16 - 20)

Based on the webcomic Samurai Banzai
Copyright 2004 Briana Higgins

Written by
Elite Plushie

Chapter Sixteen
To the Endless Retreat

>>>Morning - May 7, 1583

Dawn had broken over the slopes of Mt. Gozaisho. Sunlight filtered through the treetops at broken angles, casting shadows that seemed to stretch far off into the horizon. Birds twittered in their daily chorus, their tunes accentuated by a strangely metallic beat: the sound of clashing swords.

Noriko grunted and yelled with each successive attack, putting all of her weight into each swing of the Amatsuotome. Unfortunately, Matsuda Jiro seemed to exert no effort when either dodging or blocking her strikes. The dance had continued for most of the night, despite Jiro's continued efforts to calm the rabid swordswoman. With the sun now sending stark rays through the forest, the Yaen Master could see the cascades of sweat that shook loose from Noriko's face at periodic intervals. An odd thought entered Jiro's mind at that moment; the swordswoman would have definitely benefited from the shade of the straw hat she had obviously left behind. At least the cumbersome bandages that had been covering the light wounds Noriko had received from her first confrontation with Jiro had long since fallen off from the strain of combat.

"Jeez . . ." Jiro groaned as Noriko continued to heft her stylized katana in his general direction. "When are you going to stop? Seriously, my arm is starting to itch real bad from all this."

"Shut up." Noriko spat back. "You'd better hope that I don't start taking you seriously."

"Seriously?" Jiro nearly laughed. "Don't think I can't see it; you're nearly exhausted! Can't you tell yet that I'm not here to kill you?"

"Real shame." Noriko responded dryly. "This won't be very exciting if you don't fight back!"

"God," Jiro moaned. "You just can't take a hint, can you? Here, allow me to demonstrate."

There was a sharp screech, a shower of sparks, and a loud whistling noise just before Noriko's katana buried its blade three feet into a tree trunk several yards away. Noriko looked dumbfounded for a second before a ringing pain began to echo through her arms. She clutched wildly at her shivering limbs, only to find her teeth chattering in response.

"What-what the hell?" she managed. "How-how d-did you?"

The Yaen Master leaned down into her face. "Didn't I tell you before? It is literally impossible for you to defeat me with your current skills." Jiro walked a few steps away from the swordswoman and sheathed his katana before continuing. "This should at least take care of what's been nagging you lately."

Noriko glared menacingly at the sword master. "What?"

Jiro grinned widely. "You don't fare any better against me when you're not babysitting a bunch of incompetent tagalongs."

Surprise crossed the swordswoman's face before she responded. "You bastard! You were listening in on us even then?"

Jiro shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, don't hate me for being the messenger. Your ego seems to have grown way out of proportion. That kind of thing won't do you any good against the guy who killed your father, and it most definitely won't get you off this mountain alive."

Noriko considered this for a moment. "What do you mean 'the guy who killed my father'?"

The Yaen Master turned toward the swordswoman with perplexity in his eyes. "I mean exactly what I said. What, you really think I killed him?"

"Of course!" Noriko shouted. "You have his necklace, and you said that you fought with him! Who else could you be?"

Jiro shook his head and did his best not to laugh at the swordswoman's confusion. "I said that I fought with him and that I knew his name. That's all I said. When did I ever say that I killed him?"

Noriko pointed toward the Yaen Master's chest. "Alright then. Explain the necklace; my father had it on the day that he died. Only the murderer could have taken it."

"Okay," Jiro responded. "Let me make two things very clear here. First of all, I didn't get this from your father. Second, do you even know what this is?" Jiro held out the triangular jewel, causing it to glint in the sunlight. "This is the right eye of Amaterasu's Mirror, stolen from the Grand Ise Shrine over nine years ago."

>>>

Awake.

Fuji's eyes snapped wide open and stared at the wooden ceiling supports. There was nothing out of the ordinary, really. The apprentice was still inside the large blanket of his futon, his head still resting on a pillow. Nothing in the room had moved, and warm sunlight poured in through the open screens and windows. However, something about this calm was out of place.

Disturbance.

Fuji sat upright. Something was nagging at his brain, something just beyond the realm of the tangible. Something had been forgotten, and the apprentice's sleepy mind was having trouble remembering. It was important, whatever it was.

"Fuji!" Takashi's voice called from beyond the screen doors. "Get out here, quick!"

The apprentice hastily donned his clothes and sandals, not forgetting to pick up the Fan of Uzume. That was it; the chain of o-fude charms had been broken. Someone had crossed the barrier and ended the calm that the apprentice had bought for his companions.

Fuji emerged from the entrance to the Yunoyama Onsen a few moments later to arrive at a very strange sight. Of immediate import was the assassin Wild Card, standing at the edge of the forest and holding the blade of the Kamikaze-ken close to Gateau Ari's throat. Takashi, Yuki, and Megumi all stood in a group just in front of the mansion's entrance, Takashi attempting to reason with the assassin.

"What does this have to do with her?" the ronin shouted. "If you want to fight us, then let's do it!"

"You misunderstand." Wild Card uttered in a strangely quiet voice. "I only wish to battle with one of you."

"A duel, huh?" Takashi mused. "Fine then, I accept."

Wild Card shook his masked head, jet-black hair shaking left and right. "Hasty, too hasty, ronin. The one I wish to fight with is-" The assassin pointed a finger in Fuji's direction. "Him!"

"Fuji?" Yuki gaped. "What would you want to fight him for? It'd be over before it even began, and you know it."

"Irrelevant." Wild Card responded. "Either I am allowed to duel with Yamamoto Fuji, or this woman dies."

"That's a bit trusting." Takashi grinned. "How do you know that the rest of us won't interfere?"

"Foolish." the assassin grunted with great instability. "Your companions know the heights my skills have reached. If you intervene at any time, nothing can stop me from killing every single one of you faster than you can possibly react."

Takashi turned toward Yuki. "Is this true?"

The female raiju only nodded once.

"This isn't fair," Megumi interjected. "Fuji doesn't even have a sword. How can he fight?"

"Here." Takashi muttered, handing his wakizashi to the apprentice. "A katana would be too heavy for a first-timer. Did Jeffy teach you anything about how to use a real sword?"

Fuji took hold of the nearly unused blade, still resting in its scabbard. "I did train with his wakizashi from time to time, but there's no way that I could have learned enough to fight this guy!"

"Fuji," Takashi calmly stated. "I'm not going to force you to do this. If you want, we can all attack this wacko together right now. The only thing is, I can't guarantee that I'll save Ari in time. Once we have Ari, then maybe I could do something, but we have to get her away from that guy. You have to be the one to decide whether you'll take the risk of distracting him, though."

Fuji gripped the scabbard and handle of the wakizashi tightly, looking carefully into the frightened eyes of the mansion's tenant, Ari. "I don't stand a chance of actually defeating this assassin, but I'll do my best for her. She's done so much for us without asking anything in return; I can't let her die due to my lack of skill. I'll fight him Takashi, you just worry about getting everyone out of here. There's bound to be more than one of these guys around."

The ronin nodded. "I figured as much. Good luck, man."

Megumi took hold of the apprentice's hand. "Don't die, Fuji. You're my friend, remember?"

Fuji smiled warmly. "Of course. I won't leave you alone, Megu. I promise."

The apprentice could feel his heart race with every step he took toward Wild Card and his captive. His muscles tensed in anxiety and drew the wakizashi from its sheath almost against his will. The gleaming blade reflected the morning sunlight as Fuji addressed the assassin.

"I accept your challenge, Wild Card. Let Ari go, and we will settle whatever lies between us."

The assassin nearly threw Ari in Takashi's direction, dashing madly at Fuji in the same instant. "Whatever lies between us? You can't even begin to imagine what you promise, young apprentice!"

Fuji hastily brought up the wakizashi in defense, which was the only thing that prevented his life from ending right then and there. The force of the impact between his short sword and the Kamikaze-ken was so great, however, that the apprentice was thrown backwards into the air.

"Fuji!" Megumi cried.

"Kamikaze-ken . . ." Yuki whispered under her breath. "Kamikaze-ken . . ." Why wouldn't the sword respond to her summons? What force had Wild Card exerted over the blade to keep it from its master?

Fuji barely recovered from his flight, landing squarely on his rump but leaping to his feet just in time to defend against the next blow. Wild Card's current strike had been directed horizontally, resulting in a shower of sparks rather than another aerial ascent.

"How weak!" the assassin nearly laughed. "How incredibly weak!"

"Dammit." Takashi cursed as he tended to Ari. "There's no way that this is going to last."

"Daijoubu." Ari said to the ronin in a near-whisper. "Fuji will be alright. Don't doubt him yet."

Takashi looked strangely at the tenant. "What makes you so sure?"

Wild Card engaged in a rapid series of stabbing motions meant to whittle down his opponent's already unstable defense. Fuji attempted to keep pace with the assassin, but he still sustained light cuts all over his body, his white keikogi slowly ripping apart.

"No good!" the Wild Card shouted. "You have to be faster, Fuji!"

"Faster!" the apprentice managed. "What are you talking about!"

Wild Card ceased his attack and shook his head wildly. "Great things lie ahead for you, young apprentice. If you hope to survive, you have to be stronger, faster than you are!"

The assassin whirled his blade in a circular arc, clashing again with Fuji's wakizashi in a shower of sparks as their weapons locked together.

"What is this!" Fuji questioned fearfully as the grapple continued. "Why do you care about my future? Aren't you here to kill us?"

"Make no mistake." the assassin growled. "If you falter, I will kill you. If they interfere, I will kill you. However, as long as we fight, I can speak."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Fuji shouted, bowing low against the force of his opponent's blade. "What could we possibly have to talk about?"

"Your parents." Wild Card responded flatly. "What do you know about them?"

"My parents?" Fuji questioned as he nearly lost his balance. "What do they have to do with-"

"Their names," the assassin interrupted. "Were Argus and May Pilazzo. Argus owned a Portuguese trading company and has a mansion at the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. May was an Englishwoman he met on one of his travels. They married and had two children before they came to Japan."

Wild Card broke the grapple and quickly reversed his direction into an overhead strike. Fuji brought up the wakizashi in both hands, for the first time blocking the assassin's attack with relative ease.

"Good." Wild Card commented. "You're beginning to get the hang of it."

"How do you know all this?" Fuji inquired. "What's so important about my parents?"

"Quiet!" Wild Card instructed, initiating another grapple with the apprentice. "I have learned much in my travels, you have only to listen! Argus and May Pilazzo were summoned to Japan by a man named Raijin. When they arrived, carrying a certain good which Raijin had requested, they were betrayed by the client. Their daughter was lost, and Argus was wounded, but May escaped with their son. She entrusted him to the head of the Grand Ise Shrine, Yamamoto Genji!"

"You've got to be kidding . . ." Fuji mumbled as he fought against the overpowering strength of the assassin. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"There was nothing to tell." Wild Card responded. "May left just after surrendering her child to the shrine's care in order to save her husband."

"Why tell me this!" Fuji demanded. "What good is it? Aren't you going to kill us all for your master's sake anyway!"

"Fool!" Wild Card shouted, breaking the struggle and slashing wildly at the apprentice. "I am trying to open your eyes! Do you not understand that this has all been a trap? Gateau Ari is a servant of Raijin as well!"

"What?" Yuki exclaimed upon hearing Wild Card's statement. "Is this true, Ari?"

Tears streamed down the tenant's face. "I'm sorry, everyone. If there were any other way . . ."

"Any other way?" Takashi questioned, attempting to hold back his anger. "You mean to tell me that you took us in so that Raijin would know where we are? Just what kind of person can-"

"Gomen." Ari sobbed. "Gomen nasai."

"Screw this." Takashi growled, rising to his feet. "This duel is jacked; Fuji shouldn't even have to fight for the likes of you. It's high time that I taught this Wild Card who he's dealing with!"

Fuji's battle with the assassin had come full-circle, back toward the entrance to the mansion. Takashi had almost made it into the fray when Megumi let out an earsplitting scream. Both Yuki and the ronin turned in surprise as the former kunoichi doubled over, seemingly in pain.

"Megu?" Yuki questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Yamete!" Megumi shouted wildly. "Stop! Please! Stay away!"

The screaming stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Megumi calmly rose to her feet and straightened her hair.

"Megumi?" Takashi asked tentatively. "What the heck is the matter?"

"Don't worry." Megumi smiled. "Go help Fuji before it's too late."

"Got it." Takashi responded, turning again for the battle.

Yuki continued to search for a sign of weakness in the assassin, Wild Card. She was paying so much attention to the battle that she didn't even see Megumi draw a tanto from within her dark blue gi.

"Poor Takashi," Megumi whispered, taking aim at the ronin's backside. "It's already too late!"

Yuki heard the last part of the phrase just in time to shout out a warning.

"Taka-kun! Abunai!"

>>>

"Here," Jiro said as he offered a steaming mug of tea. "This should calm your nerves."

Noriko accepted grudgingly, pulling her brown cloak tighter to her body as she sat on the trunk of a fresh-fallen pine tree. Her other hand toyed with the her father's necklace, the jeweled surface turning end-over-end in her fingers.

"If what you say is true," she reasoned. "My father had the right eye of Amaterasu's Mirror in his possession ever since it was stolen."

Jiro smiled. "Kind of questionable, isn't it?"

Noriko shook her head. "I know he didn't steal it though. We lived in Mutsu Province, and he never left for an extended period of time. He was never anywhere near Ise Province."

Jiro took a sip from his own mug as the small campfire he had constructed issued a loud crackle. "It's quite possible, then, that he simply got it from the original thief somehow."

Noriko stared intently at the flames. "In any case, that's not what I want to know. What happened between you and my father, and how did this necklace come into your hands?"

Jiro shrugged. "It's all kind of simple, really. I did some traveling around the Mizusawa area several months ago. I assume that's where you're from?"

"Yeah," Noriko answered simply. "Go on."

Jiro nodded complacently. "During a stop at the local tavern, I got into a scuffle with a drunken man who was apparently of some repute. As it turned out, he was a good friend of your father, who challenged me later that day. I sensed that he too was inebriated somewhat, so I went easy on him and simply gave him the same treatment I had to administer to you earlier this morning."

Noriko wrung her hands at the thought of attempting to remove her sword from that pine tree a few yards back.

"That was the last I saw of your father," Jiro continued. "Though I didn't notice this necklace on him. Thing is, the very next day I caught a ninja sneaking through the roadside shrubbery. He had this very necklace in his possession. When I recognized the jewel for what it was, I snatched it from him in order to return the Eye to its rightful place."

"This ninja," Noriko inquired, her eyes wide with recognition. "Is he the one who . . ."

"It didn't occur to me at the time," Jiro mused. "Since I didn't know who the necklace belonged to. However, now the solution seems like simple arithmetic."

Noriko bowed her head low. "Do you remember anything about the ninja?"

Jiro's eyes narrowed fatalistically. "Actually, I do. He wore a long red scarf and made sure to tell me his name, saying that I should remember it when I die by his hand. His name was Kumo, Shisho Kumo."

>>>

Takashi turned and raised his katana scabbard just as the tanto left Megumi's hand. The blade spun rapidly toward the ronin, who made a hasty block. The tanto twanged off the scabbard of The Greatness, but instead of simply falling to the ground, the force of the throw and the odd blocking angle caused the tanto to ricochet right toward the oblivious Fuji. The apprentice saw the spinning blade just a few seconds away. He didn't even have time to be surprised before Ari threw herself between Fuji and the tanto, which buried its length deep into her chest with a crunching squelch.

The entire group ceased their actions and stared in stupor at what had just happened. Wild Card was the first to react, however oddly.

"May?" he whispered just loud enough for Fuji to hear. "May!"

Wild Card clutched the sides of his head and began to yell hysterically, as if in severe pain. Yuki reacted quickly to the assassin's pain.

"Kamikaze-ken!"

The green-tinted blade rocketed out of Wild Card's grip and returned to its rightful owner.

Yuki turned toward Takashi. "Do it now, Taka-kun!"

The ronin had already sprung into action. Drawing The Greatness from its sheath in an effortless motion, he struck toward the assassin's body with a downward stroke. The katana cleaved open Wild Card's backside without so much as a sound. Blood had not even had the chance to issue forth from the wound before Takashi altered the direction of his strike and stabbed with all his might into the assassin's left shoulder. Wild Card howled in pain as blood sprayed from both wounds, however . . .

"Blue?" Takashi exclaimed. "Blue blood? What the hell?"

The assassin lashed out wildly with twin cards, nearly catching Takashi in the face. The ronin vaulted backward, allowing Wild Card to disappear into the foliage. Takashi paid no heed to the retreating assassin, immediately turning his attentions to Megumi. In fact, all eyes had turned on the former kunoichi.

"Megumi?" Fuji finally gasped, cradling the fallen Ari. "What is this? What the hell are you doing!"

Yuki leveled the newly retrieved Kamikaze-ken at the accused. "Answer him, Megumi!"

The former kunoichi simply began to laugh, at first snidely, then hysterically. "You-you people really are easy, you know that! Fooled both by the Iga and by Raijin? What a laugh!"

Takashi began to walk calmly toward the laughing girl. "Megumi, I don't understand what's going on here, but you need to be straight with us right now."

"Straight?" the former kunoichi leered from beneath hanging locks of hair. "Haven't you gotten it yet? I never left the Iga, you fools!"

"Impossible . . ." Fuji mouthed. "How could you have stayed with us for so long? How could you have been that convincing?"

Megumi looked toward the apprentice arrogantly. "That's my job, isn't it? In any case," the kunoichi pointed toward Takashi. "Your life is mine and mine alone to take. When you killed Izumi, you signed your own death warrant, ronin!"

Takashi was about to rush forward when Megumi detonated a smoke bomb and disappeared from view.

"Fuji?" Ari moaned softly, her lifeblood spilling out from the tanto wound over her sides and all over the apprentice's lap. It was as blue as the assassin's.

Fuji turned his face downward toward the woman slowly. "The assassin, he called you May. That's my mother's . . ."

"You're right." Ari coughed in reply. "My name was once May Pilazzo."

"This can't be . . ." Fuji sobbed. "Why? Why did you work for Raijin against us?"

Ari extended a frail hand toward Fuji's face, caressing his left cheek. "Fuji, I know you have questions, but I don't have much time left. Please, please just listen to what I have to tell you."

The apprentice nodded silently as Takashi and Yuki gathered around him.

Ari looked up toward the group, desperation in her eyes. "You all saw the color of Wild Card's blood, and mine as well. This is how Raijin controls his followers. He gets someone to drink of a foul liquid when he wants them as a servant. When the stuff gets into your system, there's no going back. Whenever he wears the mask of cursed bone, Raijin can control anyone who has partaken of the liquid he calls "Ryuketsu". This is how he was able to control my decisions. If it had been up to me, I would have never gone along with this, Fuji."

"Insane," Yuki mumbled. "To think that he's taken things this far."

"Our family was the one originally in possession of the liquid," Ari continued. "Found as it was at the Cape of Good Hope. Raijin contacted us with the intent to buy the urn that contained the Ryuketsu. We had no idea what we were dealing with. When we arrived at Ise Province, we were attacked. I took you in my arms and ran for the Ise Shrine. When I was sure that the monks would take care of you, I went back for Argus."

Tears continued to stream down Fuji's cheeks as the apprentice began to lose composure. "I thought . . . This is . . ." Suddenly, something important crossed his mind. "What about my sister? Wild Card mentioned that the Pilazzo family had a daughter."

Ari's eyes had begun to glaze over. "Daughter? Sister?"

Fuji's face had become red with grief. "Please, I have to know!"

Ari turned toward Fuji again, her eyes nearly blank. "She died, Fuji. Raijin killed her in the attack."

Fuji lost his control at that point, bursting into cries of anguish and hanging his head low, his tears dropping all over Ari's face and chest.

"Fuji?" the tenant whispered. "I know it's selfish, but can you do me one service?"

The apprentice barely managed a coherent answer. "Of course."

"Please, allow me to call you by your real name, the name your father and I gave you the day you were born."

Fuji simply nodded.

Ari smiled warmly as death took hold of her tortured soul. "You were always my son. Goodbye, Rafael."

Fuji collapsed over his mother's body, clutching at her limp arms and sobbing into her shoulder. Takashi simply placed a calm hand on the apprentice's back and stared off into the rising sun. It was true, no matter how far you run, or who tries to save you from it, the painful past will always catch up to you.

"No more running." Takashi muttered just loud enough for Fuji to hear. "No more retreat, for either one of us, Fuji."

(End Chapter Sixteen)

Japanese Dialogue and Terms (in order of appearance):

daijoubu - literally means "safe" or "O.K.", but is often used in the same context as "don't worry".

yamete - an extreme version of the "stop" command. Not often used unless in dire and immediate peril.