« You're ready ? » I asked Haruhi, kneeling in front of her with my hands on her shoulders.
« Yes. » she nodded vigorously.
I stared in her gaze for a while. I used children before for spying missions, little street beggars, but my own daughter... That wasn't the same. I was deliberately putting her in danger but that was the logical choice. As a kid, she wouldn't raise suspicion amongst the townsfolk and she would be able to recognize Chizuru without being recognized by Kazama. In light of my conversation with Amagiri, Koan was well-known and Mika was probably too. Haruhi would have to go alone.
« Give me your wakizashi. » I ordered her and she complied.
I put it on the side and went to my bag to get my tanto. I tried to hide it in Haruhi's obi but it was way too small to conceal the one shaku blade. I got back to my bag again and got out an even smaller kaiken that I brought for hunting. This time, it fitted.
« You be careful. » I told her very seriously « this blade doesn't have any scabbard and I'm going to make it very sharp before you leave. »
« I'll be careful. » she nodded.
« If you get attacked, do not try to fight honorably. You keep your blade hidden until the last moment. If you're on the ground, you strike here, on the inside. » I showed her on my thigh « that's the femoral artery. You strike deep and you run. Your assaillant won't be able to follow and luckily he will die from the rapid blood loss. »
« I understand. » she nodded.
« If you're lifted in the air, you go for the throat if you are close enough. » I continued with the same calm « If you're too far to do it with enough force, you go for the eye. It's easy to pierce. That will destabilize your adversary. If he drops you, you run. If he doesn't, chances are that he will still bend over due to the pain and that will bring him closer to you, allowing you to slit his throat. »
« Okay ! » she nodded seriously.
« You don't try anything else. » I ordered « no honorable duel, no Tennen Rishin Ryû and you don't strike in the stomach. You're not powerful enough to do real damages here. And if you are far enough and not restrained, you run. »
« I understand. » she nodded again.
« Stop nodding. Repeat what I said. »
« I run if I can. If I'm on the ground, I strike inside the thigh. If I'm in the air, I slit the throat, if I'm too far, the eye. And I run instead of fighting more. » she repeated very seriously.
« Good. » I nodded « if you fail to run or kill, you reveal your identity. You say that you are Saito Hajime's daughter. The demons will probably want to keep you alive to lure me into a trap. »
« But... That would put you in danger. » she objected.
« It will. » I agreed « but my safety isn't worth your life. So you tell them right away and you act like a scared little girl. They will probably not torture you if you tell them the truth. »
« Torture ? » she repeated, suddenly realizing how dangerous her mission was.
« Yes. If you can't fight and can't run, you scream your name and mine. That should ensure your safety. You do not waste time thinking about my personal well being. Am I understood ? »
« Okay... » she said, unassured.
« Are you sure you're ready ? » I asked again.
« Yeah. » she nodded vigorously « I'm ready. »
« Practice getting it out quickly. » I ordered.
I watched her getting the blade out of her obi repeatedly. After a few minutes, she was gaining confidence and was able to do it at the correct speed.
« Give it to me. » I told her and I gave her the tanto scabbard that was approximately the same length. « Attack me. »
She hid it in her obi and I took a straight branch to fake a sword. I came to try and catch her but she ran.
« Haruhi, I told you to attack me. »
« But I was far enough to run ! » she yelled.
True. She chose the logical choice...
« I see. » I smirked. « Yes, that was appropriate but I want to be sure you can strike where it matters so for this particular example, you will defend yourself and not run. »
« Okay. » she nodded.
I came closer, my fake sword in hand and I tried to catch her again. She took the tanto scabbard out of her obi and slid it across my thigh, on the inside.
« Good. » I said. « The closer you are to the groin, the better it is. Practice with the scabbard while I take care of your kaiken. »
I took her blade and whetted it, using a stone to ground it until it was as sharp as a razor blade. I then powdered and oiled it before handing it back to her.
« You be careful. » I repeated.
« I will. » she assured me.
« I will get to Hakone's border in the twilight. » I continued « you gather as much information as you can today and you find me when it starts to get dark. If you can't find Chizuru, find Kazama. If you can find both and give me intels about their whereabouts, it's even better. »
« What does he look like ? »
Like an arrogant worthless piece of shit.
« He's tall, blond, with crimson eyes like a Rasetsu. He has a very deep voice that sounds commanding and arrogant and he's probably wearing clothes made with very refined fabrics, like a lord. »
« Okay, should be easy to spot ! » she smiled genuinely.
«Take this. » I added, handing her money « eat sweets, go to tea houses... find places where people talk and listen to them. »
« Okay ! »
I looked in her eyes again. She wasn't ready at all despite everything she could say, but I didn't have any other option. She had to go. I just hoped she could do her duty with seriousness and abnegation. I will need every little piece of intels when I come.
« Go. » I told her « keep walking west and you should join Hakone in a bit less than an hour. You. Be. Careful. »
She nodded one last time and went off. My eyes followed her until she was out of sight and a rock of anxiety started growing in my chest. I stayed a while, looking in the direction she took and wondering if I hadn't thrown her directly into certain death.
I decided to calm myself and inspected my swords to verify they didn't need any oiling. I oiled my wakizashi since I put it in the hot spring water and looked at Haruhi's too, but the brand new blade was still in perfect condition.
Was Haruhi ok ? Maybe I should have accompanied her. She could break her leg on the path or get in front of a bear...
Bears are hibernating, Hajime. It's February. And she walked perfectly since the beginning of our journey, she's not going to do something reckless now.
Ok, maybe not the bear then, but accidents do happen.
« Would you mind sitting down, Saito-san ? » I heard Koan say, visibly annoyed « I'm trying to rest and you're distracting me. »
I didn't realize I was pacing and I apologized to the old fox before sitting down with human Mika.
« She'll be fine. » she said with a smile.
« I know. » I replied.
« You don't look like you know. » she chuckled and I turned, annoyed « she reached the village. I can scent her there. »
I thanked Mika for this information and felt a little bit more relaxed. Since it was daytime, my body was eager to sleep and I put my sandagosa over my head as I laid down on the forest floor. I managed to fall asleep easily and when I woke up, my body was fully rested contrary to all the times I slept at night. I looked at the sunlight to decipher the time of the day and saw that twilight wasn't that far away. I grabbed my swords, Haruhi's, and started walking on my daughter's tracks.
When I reached Hakone, I stayed hidden in the border of the forest, behind ferns. The village was more of a small town, wealthy because of all the Tokaido route travellers passing by and all the hot springs around, made into thermal ressorts. It was a very touristic place before. Now that the Sekicho controls were getting stricter, it wasn't as crowded as the last time I came.
I saw Haruhi coming my way before she could even notice me. I made her a small sign and she joined me. I didn't show her how relieved I was to see her safe.
« Chizuru's here. » she told me with excitement.
« Where ? » I asked her and she showed me a small house. « Alone ? »
« I'm not sure. I tried to find out who was entering and getting out and either she's alone inside, or there were people that I didn't see were in and didn't leave. »
I nodded. That was already valuable information.
« Did you find Kazama ? » I asked.
« I think so. » she nodded vigorously « He's with another man, very tall, auburn hair and blue eyes, maybe about forty years old.
« Amagiri. » I identified.
Good. That means it really is Kazama that she spied on.
« There are guards at the house where Chizuru is. Two at the front door and it looks like there is also a back door because there's someone else at the back. Or maybe he's just looking for the window. It's a two story house and I saw Chizuru at the window, she's probably upstairs. »
« Thank you, Haruhi. » I said « you're a talented spy. »
« I know. » she assured me proudly, straightening her back « I haven't been noticed once ! »
« You're sure of that ? » I asked her.
« I thought I had been by the auburn hair man but he turned away shortly after. » she goaded.
So Amagiri probably noticed you and decided not to tell anyone. I still do not understand where his loyalty resides.
« Perfect. » I told her, not eager to put her moral down. « Stay here, your mission is finished. »
« Can't I rescue Chizuru-neechan ? » she asked, visibly disappointed.
« No. You stay hidden and wait here. » I ordered, handing her back her wakizashi. « If you're in danger, you scream as loud as you can. »
« Okay. » she nodded.
The night was down already and I started moving silently in the shadows, keeping my objective in sight. I was finally getting to the aim of my journey. Now was the final act, either I would take Chizuru back with me, or I would die trying.
Or she will refuse to accompany you.
That was also a possibility but I prefered not to think about it. I rounded the house to get to the back and easily slit the throat of the guard under the window with my tanto, a hand on his mouth. When he collapsed, dead, I looked up at the window and climbed, quiet and resolved.