Kyoto 1860
Usagi bent over almost doubling over, breathing heavily as she looked toward her reflection in the mirror, it had been two nights since the carriage fight, and she still was not at the top of her game. Makoto's father had been by her rooms, though he had not said much about the disappearance of his daughter, nor had he said more about Usagi's failure to complete her mission. At a light knock on the door to her room she lowered herself onto her futon and set her wakizashi next to her.
"Come in," she called.
A small serving girl slid the door open and rose from her kneeling position, a tray with fish and rice balanced on her arms. Usagi eyed the girl smiling softly; the child was about ten years old and had yet to grow into her body.
"Thank you Saiyuri please send your father my thanks as well," Usagi said picking up the tray from the girl's arms and setting it before her. She began to eat even before the child had left, so Usagi did not see her pause in the doorway.
"Usagi, you try too hard, your body has not yet mended," Saiyuri said softly.
Usagi looked up chopsticks pausing near her mouth and gave the child a look, then lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "Time grows short Saiyuri," she said then looked back to her food and began to eat once more.
Saiyuri left the room after bowing to Usagi.
Usagi finished her food and drank down a cup of tea before looking out at the mid-afternoon sun. Tomorrow…tomorrow she would have to make a decision, she still didn't know if she would continue to support her master, or follow after her friend. After a brief rest she rose to her feet once again lifting her sword in front of her and began her practice, raising and lowering the weapon until it felt like her arms were filled with lead and sweat creased her brow deeply.
Still she continued to rise and lower the blade, her mind going from one of her problems to the other. In her mind she could see herself and Makoto as young girls, playing together, holding the other's secrets close. Protecting each other when they could. Usagi saw the time Makoto had fallen in to the koi pond in the court yard after rough housing with a neighboring child.
Atsuo had been furious at the sight of his daughter's ruined kimono, when he had approached Makoto with the bamboo stick Usagi had thrown herself over her friends body, taking the first of the blows herself. Usagi had taking the beating from her master in place of Makoto, though she had found out later that Makoto had still received a beating.
Usagi stumbled in her down swing as she returned her thoughts to the present; her blue eyes were clouded with pain both physical and emotional as she leaned against the wall her chest heaving so deeply she thought that she would die on the spot. Her fingers were numb where they gripped the hilt of her sword, and the muscles in her arms shook involuntarily at the strain she had put on her body.
Ever so slowly she slid along the wall until she sat her back against the wall her knees to her chest her hands and sword dangling between her bent knees. What was she supposed to do? Who did she follow? She stared as the sun glinted off the polished surface of her blade, she felt the foreign sting of tears burn at her eyes.
"Father… tell me what to do…" she whispered in an anguished plea.
She slumped forward her head resting on her forearms as she drifted into a fitful sleep, the sword still held tightly between her clasped hands.
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Makoto lowered herself gracefully to the edge of the koi pond in the back of the Chiba's house. She tucked the dark green silk of her kimono around her legs and stared blankly into the waters smooth surface, it had been two days. Word of her father's search for her had reached her ears. She had thought to go visit Usagi at her rooms, but just a glance at her own wound that she had received stilled her thoughts in that direction. Makoto couldn't help wondering though, what was going through her friends mind. She knew how Usagi thought; she would see Makoto being with the Meiji officials as a betrayal. And perhaps it was, but it was in the end for a good cause. Makoto couldn't stand by and watch Usagi fight day after day for a failing cause.
"What is this? A lovely flower so wilted about the edges?" A soft masculine voice said from next to her.
Makoto jumped so badly she almost toppled herself into the fish pond, she looked up to see Shino, Mamoru's younger brother standing at her side.
"A flower? Sir I was convinced that you could do better than that," She said a smile playing about her lips.
Shino stared down at Makoto then slowly lowered himself to the grass next to her and nodded looking out over the pond to the small bamboo wall that surrounded the yard. He said as he watched her out of the corner of one eye, "I am sure you are right Kino-san. Forgive me I shall strive to think of a better comparison."
Makoto smiled and tossed a pebble into the pond, before looking up to Shino once more.
"One wonders what thoughts are going through your head Kino-san. I would like that you trust me if just a little with your thoughts," Shino said softly his green eyes shadowed with concern for the woman.
"Chiba-san, how can one trust another with their thoughts, if they are unsure of what these thoughts are?"
Makoto leaned back and stared at the setting sun, on a slight breeze the smell of cooking quid and sakura came to her. "How chiba-san, when you are not a solider like usagi and mamoru-san, do you try to explain to someone like them why I risked everything for a woman that is my sister in all ways but blood? A woman that will see my being here as betrayal."
Shino stared at Makoto's profile wondering just what would happen to this brave sheltered girl. He was not a solider, not involved directly with the war. But, he knew that he would protect Makoto with his if he had to. He didn't question his feelings, not yet at least.
"I would like to say that all will be well Kino-san, but I do not know if that is the truth. However I came to inform you that your father has called off the search for you."
"So soon? I wonder what he thinks happened to me," she responded looking back down to the pond.
Shino remained silent wondering the same thing.
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Umino looked at Mamoru's arm curiously as his friend cleaned the deep stab wound, then he directed his gaze to the koi pond some distance away and the two people that sat talking by its shore.
"What are you going to do with her, Mamoru?" Umino asked glancing again to the deep wound on his friends arm.
Mamoru blinked up at Umino and lifted a shoulder in a shrug, "I do not know Umino, she is Kino-san's friend." He said not really paying attention to what he was saying.
Umino arched a brow slightly, "I meant with Kino-san, who did you think I was speaking of?"
Mamoru shook his head sealing his lips together in a line, of course Umino had been speaking of Kino-san, and not the strange woman from the battle days before. He was sure that the woman he had fought outside the carriage was the same that he had faced the night before in the ally. She was skilled, very skilled, he had gotten lucky. He continued to clean the wound as his mind wandered to the female assassin. She was beautiful, but more than that she was deadly, and he knew that she more than likely saw Kino-san being with the imperialist as a betrayal.
He began to wrap his arm tightly as he pictured the woman in his mind, her hair had been a strange golden color and her eyes like his a blue that was so strange to their people. He remembered the cloud of confusion in her eyes at the sight of Kino-san, then the rage. Mamoru dropped the bloodstained cloth he had used to clean his arm in the bucket of water in front of him and stared off at the bamboo well pipe a frown between his eyes. He would have to be wary of the woman, after all despite her sex she had managed to injure him.
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Usagi woke with a start to see Astuo standing in her door way, she slowly unfolded her body and stood lowering her eyes from her masters' face. She was tired, and still so weak she thought she would fall over than remain standing.
"Master, you bring news of Mako-chan?" she asked trying not to let her worry show through in her voice.
Astuo shook his head once, "No I have called off the search for my daughter. I come with news for your next mission."
Usagi lifted her pale eyes to her masters' face a moment then nodded almost bowing from her waist, "Yes master. I shall not fail you this time."
Astuo grunted and offered Usagi a piece of folded parchment, "This building is to be used as a meeting place for the imperialists tonight. I want it destroyed, no survivors Usagi, or you will face me."
Usagi's hand trembled slightly, partially from fear and partially from sheer exhaughtion of her body. She was to move to do her mission tonight? Could she of counted her days wrong since the accident? But no… she was sure only two days had passed since the night of the carriage.
"Master I thought the mission was to be tomorrow night," Usagi said in a subdued voice.
A slow twisted smile curled Astuo Kino's lips, "Indeed that is what everyone thinks. Including the imperialist spies that are amongst us."
Usagi felt her blood run cold for a second with a sense of foreboding, and then she nodded to Astuo again and bowed. She remained in her bent position until she heard her masters footfalls retreat down into the inns taproom. Then she unfolded the piece of paper he had given her, it was a map of Kyoto with a circle around one of the buildings. It was to be her target, she closed her eyes then moved to the doorway and called for Saiyuri to bring up a bucket of warm water in which she could wash herself.
A short time later Usagi had wrapped her stomach wound in thick clean linen and bound it so tightly it almost hurt for her to breath, she pulled a black cotton kimono over her head then reached for a pair of black hakama pants. She had made her decision, her family was honor bound to the Kino clan. For better or worse, she moved swiftly picking up her wakizashi and katana and strapped them to her waist before moving down the stairs of the inn and out into the cool night.
She moved quickly down the street keeping to the shadows, the long tail of blond hair braided down her back was secured with a black ribbon. She stopped at one of the supply houses and picked up the explosives she would need. Usagi hated explosives but to destroy a building she would have to use them. Usagi hefted the bag onto her shoulder and turned back onto the street staring for a moment up at the moon. She wondered briefly where Makoto was then shook her thoughts from her head and hurried down the street.
As she approached the building she was surprised to see that it was a home much like that of the Kino house. She paused a moment consulting her map once more before dropping the bag to the ground and pulling a set of small round bombs from it and a flint and tender box. She struck the flint and a spark set the wick on the bombs aflame, she sent a silent prayer to the gods and threw the bombs over the bamboo fence enclosing the house. She counted to ten under her breath then skirted around the side of the fence and pulled herself over just as the bombs went off in a deafening roar.
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Mamoru jerked awake as the ground rumbled beneath the house, he reached for his sword even as his brain processed the situation and he shook the remains of sleep from his brain. A series of explosions shook the house before Mamoru had gained the outside hall. What greeted his eyes left his mouth open for a moment before he turned and ran down the hall, he slammed open his parents room door.
"Mother, father! The house is ablaze you have to get out!" He shouted even as he stumbled after an explosion that collapsed the wall to his fathers forge.
Tsukima struggled up from his futon and quickly turned to gather his wife into his arms, noting that she had yet to fully comprehend what was happening. He turned to see Mamoru running from the room, shouting at the servants as he went.
Mamoru threw open the door of his sister's room and moved to the futons that held both Makoto and his younger sister Susa. He roughly shook both girls awake even as he was thrown forward by another explosion.
"Kino-san get Susa out of the house!" he yelled shaking his head and running again from the room and toward his younger brother's.
"Shino! Shino wake up!"
Mamoru froze in horror as he saw that Shino's room was consumed by flames, he spun taking in the damage to his home. Rubble and large shards of wood scattered the yard, the bamboo fence was splintered in several places. From the corner of his eye Mamoru noticed a figure moving through the smoke toward him, he managed to pull his sword just in time to stop a downward swing.
Since he was off balance he fell backwards as the other swordsman rode him down to the ground. He blinked up into a pair of safire blue eyes in mild surprise until he remembered that his brother's room was ablaze just feet away from them.
"Why? Why did you do this?" He asked on a grunt as he planted his feet in his attacker's stomach and shoved the woman off of him.
Usagi stared down into the face of the man she'd seen with Makoto a few nights before; a wild thought that her master knew where his daughter was went through her head before she shook it from her mind and rolled to her feet after being shoved off her target. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps from the pain in her body and the smoke clogged air that made her throat and eyes raw.
"My master told me to come stop the meeting," she said simply as she withdrew her dagger and circled back from Mamoru.
Mamoru shook his head settling into a fighting stance as he stared at the woman in front of him, it seemed to be a common occurrence now to fight this girl. Her words played through his head as the fires raged around them, the sound of splintering wood could be heard from Shino's room.
"Meeting? What meeting?" he asked as his sword met Usagi's, the shriek of straining steel filling their ears almost as loud as the flames.
"Do not toy with me!" Usagi shouted as she took small steps forward pushing Mamoru back toward the wall that was aflame.
From the corner of his eye Mamoru saw his father standing beside the koi pond holding his mother in his arms, his sister Susa stood staring with terrified eyes at the flames, bells could be heard sounding through the city as their neighbors became aware of the fire and came to help contain the blaze. He noticed that Makoto was not with his family and frowned a moment.
Usagi seeing that Mamoru was distracted attacked with a vicious vertical slash of her sword while flipping the dagger to change her grip and drove her arm in a downward slash toward Mamoru's neck. Mamoru's hand shot out and grabbed Usagi's that held the dagger in a crushing grip, he felt the small bones squeeze together as he focused anguished blue eyes on her.
"The same trick will not work twice with me," he said and jerked her arm roughly hearing the bones crack.
Usagi bit back her cry of pain as her dagger fell limply from her hand, she saw a man approaching from the ally next to the house, sword in hand and looked around swiftly for escape.
Mamoru saw Umino come running into the yard and yelled for his friend to find Shino and Makoto. Then he looked back to the woman before him, seeing that she was looking for escape he swung his sword in a powerful thrust toward her leg, he felt the blade slide easily into her flesh and strike the bone.
Umino looked around at the chaos that was his friend's home then saw with a sinking sensation that Shino's room was completely engulfed in flames. He ran along the yard and paused a moment as the heat of the fire seared his flesh, then pulling his kimono off he pulled it over his head and rushed into the flames. He found Makoto attempting to drag Shino from the room toward the back door.
"Kino-san! Let me take him, the room will not hold much longer," even as Umino spoke the inside wall crumbled sending embers and new tongues of flame up.
Makoto looked with terrified eyes at Umino and nodded allowing him to lift Shino into his arms, all too aware that he was deadly limp in Uminos' arms. She moved at Umino's side and they emerged into the back ally just as Shino's room fell in on itself. She looked at Umino her eyes wide with shock, black ash covered her face and dirty tracks from tears showed on her cheeks.
"What happened Umino-san?" She asked in a rough voice.
Umino shook his head and looked down at Shino's still form, tucking the younger man more securely in his arms he led the way around the house and into the yard with the Koi pond.
Mamoru had the attacker on her knees next to a tree, he had found some rope somewhere and had bound her arms behind her, his sword blade at her throat. At the sight of Shino in Umino's arms and Makoto he resisted a shout of relief noticing that his brother was unmoving.
Makoto saw Usagi first and rushed toward her, a deep anguish filling her green eyes; she skidded to a stop at Mamoru's look and stared down at her friend trying to comprehend what had happened.
"Usa… what have you done?" Came Makoto's desperate cry.
Usagi looked at the still figure of the young man in Umino's arms then to Makoto, who was covered from head to toe in ash and soot. She closed her eyes against Makoto's confusion and the other peoples' rage and anguish.
"There was never a meeting in this building…" she said softly.