UPDATE (1/28/2016): Additional edits and corrections.
Nobuyuki frowned at what he was seeing. At least, he was frowning at what he was trying his best to see.
The sky had stayed clear for the most part the rest of the day, right up until now. Of course, that meant it had been far colder. Even Akiko, with her boundless energy and enthusiasm, had to borrow some cloth from the others to keep her face covered or risk frostbite. However, hardy as the yokai were, they weren't much better. If they hadn't been marching uphill all day, going into thinner air and getting progressively more winded, they never would have been able to stay warm through the trek. As it was, the constant trudge was making things warm on all of them. About the only good point in their favor was that it got only a little colder as the day went from noon to sundown. Considering the temperature changes for most of the journey, they honestly expected a lot worse.
Unfortunately, as the day had drawn to a close, the sun had vanished, and the last bit of light with it started to fade and made way for the moon and stars, they ran into another snag. They had come to a large ice chasm that had half of a bridge made of solid ice spanning it. The other side, however, had nothing. The bridge that matched it had been torn down. It was a bit hard to make out in the growing darkness, but with the light of the moon to help, Nobuyuki was able to see it.
After a while, he sighed, turning and looking back to their assembly. Some of them were beginning to put their hands around themselves with the growing darkness and cold.
"No way across." He stated. "The bridge is down."
Osamu scratched his head as he waddled forward and tried to look across as well. "Huh…that's odd. I don't remember someone having ripped down the other side of the bridge to keep anyone from going across it once everyone had crossed back over it this morning…"
Takeshi, reaching up to grab his ears and warm them, walked up to the edge and looked in either direction, and groaned. "Wonderful. Near as I can figure, this goes for miles in both directions and then into mountains. Even if we can go around, we may never be able to pick our way back to this spot."
Nobuyuki glanced over the side, and saw in addition to being a dark chasm that rapidly vanished into blackness, the edges seemed to be lined with rather sharp rocks and bits of ice. "No way to climb down and to the other side, either…"
"Oh, don't worry!" The snowman cheered, already beginning to wander over to what seemed like a cliff edge. "Eiko made a path that goes down and to the other side before she built the bridge! Just follow it and we can cross to the other side, no problem!"
He looked forward and kept walking…and soon went right over the edge and dropped out of view. The others reacted in surprise, in particular Akiko.
"Osamu!"
She quickly ran to the side, as Nobuyuki moved in as well. When they did so, they saw, only about ten feet down, Osamu had been "vivisected" and had five of his different body parts each impaled on sharp ice shards. Each was now wiggling.
"Hmm…it's a bit hard to find in the dark." His head mused aloud.
Satoru, grimacing on hearing this, let out some chimes.
"What did he say?" Akiko asked, even as she began to try and climb down to get the body parts off of the ice shards that Osamu had ended up impaled on. Immediately, Nobuyuki seized her by the back of her clothes and lifted her back up to safety, before lowering the end of his longer blade and moving the body parts off himself.
"Basically that he doesn't want what happened to Osamu just now to happen to us and I agree." Takara answered as she rubbed her arms and blew on her hands. "We'll die trying to get across the chasm in the dark, especially since we're all already tired. We need to stop again for the night."
Takeshi frowned at this. "In case you haven't realized, Takara, we only had three days to get there and back. There's no way we can return to Arender-ken tomorrow if we stop now. We haven't even gotten to Eiko yet."
The Tooth Dragon frowned. "Takeshi, come on! It's suicide to try and get across this chasm tonight!"
"It's a death sentence if we don't."
"Perhaps not." Nobuyuki answered. "After all, they can't exactly come get us. And so long as we return with Eiko, do you think they will be so hung up on the time?"
Takeshi sighed and looked up toward the partially full moon. He groaned.
"Couldn't you manage just a bit more light? Then I could just get us all over there in holes…"
Akiko, still frowning from having been let up by Nobuyuki, who himself managed to start lifting pieces of Osamu out and back onto the cliff with the end of his sword, looked puzzled and turned to him.
"Huh?" She looked to the sky a moment, and then back down. "Were you just talking…to the moon?"
"Oh, don't bother doing that." Osamu's head said as it was dropped on the ground, and rolled itself to rejoin its torso a moment later when that was set down as well. "I've asked that rabbit for rice cakes for I don't know how long and he never gives me any*…"
The others, however, hesitated. They looked to each other for a moment, exchanging stares and glances. Yet after a time, they looked back to Akiko. Takara herself rubbed her arms a bit more and sighed.
"Well, you know so much about us already, Akiko. I guess telling you one more thing won't hurt. You noticed how we all adhere to the code of bushido, right? How we're even called ronin although we're yokai?"
The young woman nodded. "Yeah. I was kind of wondering about that, though. I've never heard of yokai being trained to be samurai before."
"Yeah, about that…" Takara rubbed the feathers on the back of her head. "Akiko, the truth of the matter is we all know about being samurai…because we were samurai once. Not ronin. Actually samurai; belonging to houses and pledging fealty to daimyo. The whole thing."
Akiko blinked. "Wait, huh? How could you have been that? You're yokai. I never heard of any yokai 'lords'."
"There aren't any." Takeshi added, crossing his own arms and walking away from the cliff edge. "What she meant to say is that we weren't yokai either. We were born just like you and Eiko, grew up, and became samurai. I'm originally from the coast. Nobuyuki's from a mountain settlement. Satoru's from the plains. Takara came from a fiefdom that got hit with such a bad plague they eased their restrictions and allowed more female samurai than any other region. They really didn't have a choice if they wanted to protect themselves."
"You…were all human once?" The young noblewoman asked in disbelief. None of them denied it. They simply stood there and stared back.
"Oh, you grow out of being human eventually?" Osamu said as he put himself together. "Maybe I'll grow out of being a snowman. I'd kind of like to be a cat…or a rock." Pause. "What? Have you ever seen an unhappy rock?"
"So what happened?" Akiko went on. "How are you what you are now?"
"Simple." Takeshi answered. "We died."
Akiko recoiled a bit on hearing that. Nobuyuki, however, put up his hand.
"Now, now...no need for a face like that. Was painful, I'm sure…but none of us remember it. Just the moment when we were struck down in battle. And yes, we all died in battle. After that, a small moment of darkness…and then, a few years after, when all of the bodies had been cleaned up and the bones buried, we woke up just like this." He patted his chest for emphasis. "Only one difference. Moon was brighter."
"Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto** brought us back." Takara answered. "Us in particular, because he saw what was inside us. We all had one thing in common that you may have guessed by now."
The young woman didn't seem to know. "What?"
"We all wanted to protect children." Nobuyuki answered. "Spare them the horrors of war and living under cruel tyrants. Deep down, that's what all of us desired. That's what we believed the true meaning of bushido was: to guard innocence above all costs."
"Oh! That's so wonderful!" Osamu chirped as his arms and legs reconnected and he got up, wringing his hands in delight. "…Except for the dying part. That couldn't have been fun."
Akiko was in a bit of awe. "Really?" She paused. "It kind of makes sense, now that you mention it. Nobuyuki, you're wonder… Takeshi, you're hope… Takara, you're memory… Satoru, you're dreams…"
She paused again.
"Wait…what's Jiro?"
Takara grimaced a bit. Nobuyuki rubbed his beard, and then turned away from the cliff as well.
"Jiro is…a special case. I'll tell you while I dig our shelter for tonight…"
"…How does this help-"
"Shh. Just keep it up a bit longer."
Eiko was puzzled but did as she was told. Only one hand was raised right now and doing a rather simple gesture. A band of silvery-white snowflakes and ice crystals was currently encircling her. It took the form of a double loop, like a Mobius strip, swirling endlessly in an unbroken chain. She had been holding this position for nearly fifteen minutes now. While she had embraced most of Jiro's lessons easily enough, this one confused her, as did why she had to hold it for so long.
"This is more than an exercise." Jiro finally spoke up. "It's practice. You told me how your power feels like it's going to explode out of you when you hold it in too long or get to emotional, right?"
"Right…"
"So this is what you do when you have to have your power do something or you'll lose control. Think of it like a mantra."
Eiko continued to make the emblem, but looked confused. "But…how can I stop it all together?"
"In your current state, you can't. Like I said, you're too overwrought. Until you learn to calm your soul, you'll keep having outbursts. So this is what you'll need to practice until then."
The woman sighed before she made a gesture, dismissing the emblem in a shower of white flakes.
"Hey," He reassured. "Don't get upset. You're doing fantastic. You're already farther than I thought you'd be. You feel more in control already, don't you?"
She paused for a moment, holding up her hands and looking at them, and then looking up to examine her palace. It was still as she had originally intended it: clear and beautiful. It was dark now, but that was because the sun had gone down. The small ice lamps had progressively lit up more and more in order to make the chamber more illuminated.
"…I suppose you're right. So," She turned to him. "What's next?"
He snickered in response as he put a hand to his mouth and yawned.
"Next? Next we take a long break…as in the eight-hour kind."
Eiko's face fell. "What? I'm not tired. I can keep going…"
"That's nice. I can't." Jiro stretched. "You may be able to live without food and rest, but I need it. And since I'm not getting food I'll have to settle for rest. On that note, you should take a rest too."
She frowned. "I said I'm not-"
"Well, you don't know enough to 'move on' without me, and while you may be able to get by without sleep, you still get mentally tired as much as the next person, don't you? Sleeping for a few hours will help clear your mind about everything you're worried about."
Eiko hesitated, giving him a stare. After a time, she sighed and then held her hands out and began to make some gestures. It seemed she was calm enough to make what she wanted again, for in no time at all frost arose from the ground in a cloud, condensed, took shape, and formed a fully-made futon on the floor.
Jiro grinned as he began to approach it. "Glad that's working again. Where's yours?"
"Mine, if and when I decide to lay down, will be in another room." Eiko answered.
"Ah." Jiro went up to the side and bent down, touching it. Soon after, he paused and looked up to her. "Um, my lady? There's one thing wrong with this."
"What?"
He leaned over and rapped his knuckles on the top of the sheets, letting out a hollow thudding sound. "I can't exactly sleep in a sculpture."
This actually seemed to confuse Eiko. She blinked as she walked over to the futon herself. Sure enough, from up above, it looked like a regular, solid ice sculpture. However, when she bent down and grabbed it, it reacted just like sheets and covers. She was easily able to draw them back. When she pressed her hand on the pillow, it gave just like any pillow would. She released it soon after, and Jiro reached over to touch where she touched. Sure enough…solid ice.
Eiko looked even more puzzled. "I don't understand…"
"Seems like you've got some subconscious control over your power." Jiro responded. "I suppose it makes sense. I mean, look at your clothes. People normally can't just go around wearing ice even if it doesn't freeze them. You must be making it unfreeze and refreeze thousands of times in various spots so perfectly it behaves like it's fabric."
She frowned. "And here I thought since you're obviously immune to cold, you could actually sleep in a bed I made…"
"Well," Jiro stood up and leaned his hands behind his head. "Only one thing to do."
She looked up to him.
"Make a bed big enough for both of us to sleep in."
Eiko's eyes widened, and she went red-faced for a moment as her mouth loosened. She stammered for a moment, before her jaw clenched and she rose again.
"You can sleep on the floor. As for me, if you're not teaching me, I'll go relax in my own way."
She spun around and began to rapidly move out of the room, holding her head high.
"Oh, come on!" Jiro complained. He put his arms back to his sides and walked after her. "It was a harmless joke! A bit of fun! You know? Something you could stand to do? Loosen up and have fun?"
Eiko didn't answer as she pushed open the doors with a gesture and went through them, rapidly moving on. Quickly, Jiro ran forward and slid through them before she could shut them again, which she did, nearly catching him inside. Still not turning she moved for the nearest stairs and began to climb them.
Jiro frowned. "And here I thought we were making progress… I've noticed something about you, 'queen'. You never stand your ground when it comes to your emotions, do you? You run and hide from them. That's something your parents taught you, wasn't it? To be ashamed of feeling?" By now, he was at the bottom of the stairs looking up to her.
Eiko paused to look down through the ice only a moment. "…And when my 'feelings' end up almost freezing my sister to death? That makes me a bit reluctant to 'wear them on my sleeve'." She looked up again and kept climbing.
"Oh, how many times does the average kid put themselves in mortal peril growing up from doing stupid things?" Jiro asked as he began to climb up after her. "That's another problem. You don't allow yourself to make a mistake."
He heard a groan from higher up. "I'm in charge of an entire fiefdom. I can't afford to make mistakes. Mistakes mean families starve. Mistakes mean rival lords invade. Mistakes mean rebellions get plotted. Mistakes mean people die. And in regards to my mistakes making people die, you haven't forgotten why I'm here in the first place, have you? Still think I can be allowed to 'make a mistake'? To 'feel'? The rules are a bit different for me, I'm afraid."
"There's a difference between allowing yourself to feel things like any normal human being would, which is what I had in mind, and holding in your emotions until they explode in bursts that cause these accidents, which is what you're doing. Look, I'm not going to press it because it's taken a good part of today to get you this calm and I don't want to ruin it agitating you again, but you have to master the rest of your emotions along with your fear."
A loud sigh came from overhead, but it sounded like it was fading. Eiko apparently had reached the top and gotten off. Soon after, Jiro found the top of the stairs himself and saw it leading to a side hallway. Eiko was already down in that direction, although she had slowed a bit while she approached the end of the hall, where moonlight was bathing the interior of the ice pagoda through a large window.
"Hey…" He said a bit softer, smiling as he followed. "Don't give me that sigh of exasperation. You told me yourself; you felt 'free' when you were out here, didn't you? That's because you allowed yourself to feel some emotions, wasn't it?"
Eiko kept walking but slowed more.
"You even let yourself feel happy, didn't you? And what was the end result?" He gestured around. "This beautiful castle. That elegant bridge. You think people are scared of you, but something tells me if you could keep yourself in a good mood around them, you could make a lot of beauty and wonder that they'd appreciate."
Eiko finished going up to the window and halted. She folded her hands and exhaled before finally turning back to him. "You know what I would appreciate?" She stated a bit sharply. "Being able to say or do something around you without you immediately criticizing my choices. Didn't you try to say I was a 'good daimyo' earlier? You would think that would mean, at some point, that I would make a good decision for myself."
"True, but that's because you're thinking with your head and not with your heart. There's an old yokai proverb Nobuyuki shared with me about humans. 'If they think with their stomach, they forget their heads. If they think with their heads, they forget their hearts. And if they think with their hearts…'" He gave a playful shrug as he neared. "'Then they forget everything.'"
The woman sighed and turned back to the window. She walked forward a bit more. Since it was one that reached all the way to the floor, she walked right outside. Once there, she placed her hands on the railing and looked out. Jiro himself got a bit closer and then ventured to stick his head outside even though he moved no closer. After all, there was only a small balcony, and he'd end up standing right next to Eiko if he tried to share it with her.
A rather impressive landscape greeted him. Numerous rocky peaks extending far and away into the distance, each one covered with fresh snow. The moon was nearly full, and although it was night now, it bathed the entire world that he could see with light, which, reflected off the snow, turned everything to a soft white. It was majestic. Even if it was so cold no human would be able to enjoy it without heavy cold protection, it was marvelous to Jiro.
"You make a good landscape."
Eiko hesitated, and then let out a weak chuckle. "Well, most of it was like this when I got here. But yeah…I added a few inches here and there."
"It's very pretty."
The noblewoman merely bowed her head. "It's icy and deadly. I'm the only one who can even survive in a place like this…"
"Well, not the only one…if I could get some food, that is. I'm sure it's nicer if you have some company, though. It is a bit on the hard side to visit, but maybe you and your sister can stay here during part of the winter…or maybe on really hot summers."
Eiko sighed and closed her eyes.
"Oh, come on. She likes snow…er, seems to." Jiro quickly added. "Have your delivery boys bring up a load of food, firewood, and blankets, and even she could live in a place like this for a while. I'm sure you'd be happier with her around."
The noblewoman turned her head and groaned. "…You don't get it, do you? At this point, the only reason I still have for being up here is just to learn to control my power enough to stop the winter. After that, I'm heading back down, and I'm going to face my punishment as an honorable woman."
Jiro's smile ebbed a bit.
Eiko looked back out. "You're right, Jiro…I am a smart woman. Which is why I know I'm not going to escape the most severe punishment they have. I'm already a witch and a monster. I attacked the daimyo's men…and I killed people. There is only one sentence for someone like me. So no, please do not try and cheer me up with talk about spending more time with my sister. The last time I am going to see my sister is when she's gazing at me in the midst of an angry crowd right before the sword comes down that cleaves my head from my body."
Now Jiro's smile was completely gone. A bit to his own surprise, it wasn't just what she was saying being depressing. He was actually…uncomfortable with what he heard. Even worried. He had barely known this woman that long, but something inside of him really didn't like the thought of that. After a moment, he shook his head and took a step closer.
"Don't say things like that."
Eiko let out another grim chuckle. "More 'not letting my emotions get the better of me'?"
"No…just…don't talk like that. Like everything is so hopeless. Things may work out."
Now the woman really did laugh bitterly. "I can't tell if this is weak optimism or just foolishness on your part." She paused a moment, her eyes lifting slightly to look out into the night. She breathed in and out a few times, as Jiro showed her, and in the end she was still...almost somber.
"…It's peaceful at least." She turned slightly to him. "Talk to me."
Jiro blinked. "Huh?"
"Talk. Say something. You were right about one thing. I don't like being alone here with my thoughts, just fearing about the future. Talk to me."
The young man shrugged. "About what?"
"Anything. What was your family like?"
Jiro shrugged again as he put his hands behind his head again, this time leaning in the frame. "No idea."
"…Pardon me?"
"No idea. I don't remember anything before two years ago."
Eiko blinked, fully turning to him. "You don't?"
"Not a thing. All I can remember doing is waking up in a pile of snow in the middle of nowhere. I didn't know who I was or what I was. After wandering around for several weeks, finding out all about my powers, I ran into the other four members of the Jido no Hogu-sha, and they let me in."
"Did…did you say the 'Jido no Hogu-sha'? They're…they're actually real?"
Jiro grinned. "You sound so surprised, my lady. What? Didn't you believe in them?"
"Sort of, but…as I got older, I kind of stopped believing in myths…" She admitted, her face falling a bit, but then shaking it off. "You mean…you were running around with them? Does that mean you're one of them the legends missed?"
"Heh, not unless the legends are only about a year old. Nope. I'm a ronin amongst the ronin. No formal samurai training…nothing about 'bushido' other than what they lecture me on. They let me wander with them, though. They gave me companionship, and a purpose. I won't say I always get along with them, but they're honestly a great bunch. Even Takeshi…I mean, 'The Ghost Hare'."
Eiko bowed her head again. "I suppose it makes sense…as odd as it is. If you're going to try and go after someone like me, why not send yokai? I could deal with human warriors easily enough…"
"That you could. Not bad for a greenhorn." Jiro uncrossed his arms and looked back at her, his smile returning a bit. "You've got a lot of potential, Eiko. I'm really eager to see what comes of it."
She sighed. "Not that I'll get the chance."
"What if you did?"
The sharpness of the question made Eiko look up. Jiro, meanwhile, moved his hand over to one of the ice walls and traced his finger, beginning to etch frost patterns into it absent-mindedly.
"How about, so long as we're relaxing, just for tonight…nothing bad could happen. Only good things. What then? What if you did get the chance? What would you do? How would you like to live, now as a woman who was a daimyo and could command winter itself?" He smiled a bit. "Create a kingdom of ice and dominate Japan?"
Eiko grimaced, waving a hand at him. "Don't be ridiculous. If I hate hurting people with this power unwillingly, I definitely don't want to do it willingly."
"What, then?"
The woman hesitated. She looked ahead briefly, back out into the wilderness.
"I'd return to Arender-ken and resume being queen."
"Would you live in a palace of ice, just like this one?"
She looked around. "I wouldn't mind, but…" She trailed off.
"Go on."
"Nothing. It doesn't matter."
"Go on. What?"
She inhaled. "Well, if we're going to be pretending only 'good things' could happen, then I might as well pretend I'd never have to lock myself up again or hide from the world. And I wouldn't. I'd leave the gates to the castle open and allow whoever wished to to come and go as they pleased."
"Really? Heh, wouldn't that invite assassins and rival daimyos?"
"…Aren't you the one who said only good things could happen?"
"True. What else?"
"…I'd have a room with Akiko again."
Jiro raised an eyebrow and stepped a little closer, now fully outside and bracing himself on a railing. "A bit old for that, aren't we?"
"I'd be catching up on lost time." Eiko answered…a trace of a smile slowly beginning to appear on her face. "I really wouldn't mind. Even when I was younger…I don't think I minded it even when she shook me in the middle of the night and woke me up to play. It was fun…and I can't remember the last time I had fun. I know it won't be long before she does get married and moves away from Arender-ken, so I'd spend every hour with her, if I could. I'd eat all my meals with her, take her on any journey to a neighboring kingdom I'd have to go to, just play silly games with her that I'm too old for… I wouldn't care, because…" She paused, and then inhaled as her smile melted again. "…because I love her. I've never stopped loving her. Not even for an instant. The hardest thing for me as the years went on was that I know she thought I stopped loving her…that I stopped caring about her or thinking of her as a sister…"
She put her hands together for a moment, and looked back up to Jiro.
"When mom and dad died…she had to go to the funeral alone. My power was out of control because I was grieving so badly. I can still remember that day…when I was in my room, surrounded by ice and frost I had made unwittingly, and she came and knocked on the door. I was scared to death. That room had to be cold enough to nearly stop one's breathing. I didn't dare open the door. So instead…there I sat against the door, while she knocked on it…begging for me to talk to her, offering to help me…and needing my help too."
Her eyes closed.
"I would have given anything…anything…to open that door for five minutes, hug her as tightly as I could, and tell her that everything was going to be alright. Even my own life. To this day, I still dream about it…wanting so badly to open the door and let her know I was there…how much I loved her…" She inhaled deeply. "…That's what I would tell Akiko. I would spend every waking moment trying to make up for the years of loneliness and feelings of being unloved that I subjected her too."
A moment of silence passed. Jiro looked to Eiko as her head remained low, and finally spoke to her.
"You're a good person, Eiko."
The woman nearly snorted again, but before she could, to her surprise, Jiro was on her and once more placing his fingers on her lips. Again, she looked up in shock, and found the pale young man standing in front of her, smiling softly, holding the fingers there. As she looked him over, seeing him so close again, she couldn't help but stare a bit longer at his face and body figure…and turn a tad red again.
"Eiko…I've been telling you to do a lot of things today. But I'm pleading with you to do this: don't laugh at people who say good things about you. You deserve them. You're a wonderful woman. You have flaws…but everyone does, and these ones weren't your fault. Whatever happened back during that night…it was an accident. Even if it was a horrible accident, it was still an accident. You're smart, you're caring, and somehow in spite of the life you've had, you haven't been corrupted or tainted by this gift you've been given."
The woman's eyes burned. "Gift?" She spoke around his fingers. "You call this a-"
"Yes, it's a gift." He sharply answered, cutting her off. "Just like everything in nature, including human beings, it has its good and its bad side. You have power above and beyond that of any other yokai I've ever seen. One of these days you're going to do something great with it. I know because that's what you did when you got the authority to rule in Arender-ken given to you. Mark my words…one day, a day that will come after you've lived a long and happy life, your power is going to inspire joy, wonder, and admiration in people…not fear and hate."
Eiko held a moment. Hearing those words, and hearing how serious Jiro was, not his normal jovial or casual self but actually looking her in the eye and telling them…for a second, she began to believe he was serious as well. And for a moment, the thought of the thing that had filled her with fear and dread her whole life actually being something embraced by others besides herself…Jiro not only gave her that thought but made her believe it. As a result, her eyes actually began to shimmer a moment as her mouth hung slightly ajar…
Yet she closed it again after a moment, turning her head away again. She closed her eyes.
Jiro lowered his hand, and turned his head. After a moment, he let out a small chuckle and crossed his arms again.
"Don't listen too much to someone who's flattering you, right?"
Eiko said nothing in response. She kept looking away. Jiro held for a moment, but then smiled a bit again. He reached out and took her by the hand, and then turned and began to lead her. She looked up at that, blinking in surprise.
"What…what are you…?"
"Come on." He said. "If we're not sleeping, we're going to relax somehow."
"…You can't be serious."
Jiro snickered as he scooped up some more snow and set it on top of a wall he had been building. Even without his staff, he had enough power to pack the snow using the frost in his hands and setting it down.
"I am so serious."
Eiko, from where she stood, looked around in a bit of confusion. Jiro had already taken care of her; having built a similar wall of snow for her at a distance and even packing together a collection of snowballs and placing them inside. Now he was making one opposite her and nearly done. Although it was night, the nearly full moon was giving off a lot of light, enabling the two to see each other fairly clearly outside the front of the magnificent ice pagoda. A few of the snow ogres who stood guard were actually observing this scene curiously.
She continued to grimace. "A snowball fight? In the middle of the night? At a time like this?"
"Sheesh…loosen up!" Jiro answered. "Have some fun! You want to have fun with your sister, right? Well, how are you going to have any fun if you only know how to be a stick in the mud?"
"I'm not really in the mood for this…"
"Well, you should be!" The pale young man answered as he got behind his wall. "Enjoy yourself for a change! Your lessons will go a lot better! You know how to be in a snowball fight, right?"
"Of course I do…I just haven't done it in years…"
"Then get behind the wall already!"
Eiko hesitated, then sighed and went behind it. Jiro reached over and took the first snowball. A moment later, he inched his head over the top and looked out, searching for a target.
However, he frowned when he saw Eiko was standing behind the wall but not crouching.
"Could you at least try and get down?" He called out.
Sighing, she squatted a bit, with an impatient look, as if eager to get this over with.
A moment later, she winced as a snowball pasted her in the face.
"Still too high."
"You really want me to get that low wearing this kimono?"
"Well, change it into something better if you like! But come on! At least try to have fun!"
Groaning again, she lowered herself a bit more. "I hope this is over soon… Sorry, but I can't very well have a good time when I'm fearful for my life."
Jiro frowned as she got a bit lower. This wasn't having the effect he hoped. He thought she'd at least loosen up a bit by now, but he supposed she was so used to being worried and fearful that it would take another exercise just to make her relax… Well, he didn't have time for that.
But he did have his other power.
Smiling a bit to himself, he took up another snowball, placed his hand on it, and concentrated. A moment later, a bit of wintry mist streamed out of it and into the ball. It only took a moment, but once it was charged with it, he quickly went to work. Pushing himself low to the ground, he looked out from behind his wall and out to the opposing one. Eiko was crouched behind it now but not even looking. That would be perfect.
Immediately, he began to slide out from behind the wall. Although he had no memory, he was a pro at this sort of thing. Whatever he had been before he had to have done this thousands of times. And so, he was perfectly silent, even over the snow, as he snuck out and away from his fort and right up to hers. In moments, he was right outside the wall. He stood up just enough to look over the edge, and saw she had her back to him. He grinned a bit as he targeted the area above the collar of her kimono, showing bare skin. She didn't get cold but this would do.
Hefting his snowball, he flung it and pasted her right there on top of the head, letting bits of snow roll down her back.
"Ah!" She cried, her power spasming and letting two chains of ice spread out around her hands where she had them set. She whirled around in a flash, glaring angrily at what had happened, and saw Jiro's grinning face look over her. For a brief second, she seemed infuriated…
But the silvery mist that had been in the snowball now came out when it broke, and immediately spread around her face. When she turned to look at him, it quickly sank into her eyes. For a moment, her look was enraged, but then quickly gave way to puzzlement and confusion as the mist seeped into them, turning their already blue color a shade bluer. She blinked a few times, but then the color began to fade…and as it did, so did her frown. Instead, she actually smiled a bit, as if a good humor had come over her. A moment later, she looked back up to Jiro, no longer angry at all, and seeming far more enthused.
After that, she smiled a bit craftily.
"You…are so dead."
She held up her hands, and snow began to condense in them. Soon it formed a snowball, but it didn't stop there. It quickly began to grow larger than a normal one…and then larger than that. Jiro whistled as Eiko began to rise and stepped back as the snowball became a couple feet across.
"Uh oh. Looks like I stepped on someone's tail!" He joked, and then quickly turned and ran for it, trying to avoid getting pasted in the back by the now massive snowball. In the end, he managed to jump just in time to let the ball miss him and fly underneath his feet, breaking against the ground. He grinned and turned around.
"Ha! You mis-"
He was cut off a moment later when a smaller snowball got him in between the eyes. He quickly shook his head to clear it, and looked up only to see that Eiko was still craftily smiling…and now was balancing no less than eight snowballs hovering in mid-air by one hand.
"You want a war? You got one. Thanks for showing me this trick yesterday, by the way."
Jiro blinked in astonishment, and even a bit of fear, for just a moment; before he grinned even more himself. "Never say die!" He shouted before he ran for his own fort.
The pale young man didn't feel a whole lot of guilt over what he had done. Technically, it was mind control, but only a little. All he did was temporarily cut off all of Eiko's feelings toward negativity and instead gave her more positive, upbeat, and fun-seeking ones. It only lasted for a minute. After that, whatever Eiko did would be "all her", and the result was the same as it always was for anyone. After having someone unwillingly have fun for a minute, they were eager to have more and continued to play without even knowing what had happened.
Jiro found himself rather outclassed when it came to powers now. Eiko easily dominated him in the snowball fight, even with his propensity to move and experience. So it wasn't long after that happened that Jiro suggest they go one better and try skating instead. There was a blank open room in the castle with the floor already almost frictionless ice. With a little guidance from Jiro, Eiko found she could make skates for the both of them and soon they were gliding about all over it. Eiko, again, was flawless, but the fact that she could manipulate both her skates and the floor to keep her moving may have had something to do with it. She even found she could shoot streams of cold energy out from behind her to propel her. Yet after they both had quite a bit of fun with that, the woman actually got another idea.
"Come outside." She said, clearly grinning herself now. "You're going to love this."
Jiro was a bit stunned that the woman ended up willingly doing so but he supposed he should have expected that, when Eiko was in a good mood, she could do anything she wanted. Once she had them both outside, she tightened her face, grinned almost fiercely, and turned both of her hands upward. To the young man's shock, she rose a mountain of snow out of the ground; steep and tall. Wondering what that was for, he got his answer when Eiko created a long flat surface, like a plank, out of ice along with a curve at the end for herself and Jiro, and jumped in and slid down the snow mountain. The young man had never seen something like that before but he enjoyed it immensely. What was even better was Eiko merely whistled for her creations to come over and carry them both back to the top when they were done, enabling them to slide down the huge snowpile repeatedly without having to hike.
Yet what Jiro noticed the most was Eiko while they were having all of these fun and games. When seeing her smiling, animated, fully in her element and reveling in her power, she went from being a confused, scared noblewoman to a glorious queen…a goddess, even, in Jiro's eyes. Her pale features almost seemed more alive than anything "warm" could ever be, and even the way she moved with confidence and poise accented both her regality as well as her power and freedom. He had never witnessed an individual seem so "one" with winter, as if everything around her was made for her glory and revelry and she was basking in it. And frankly, she looked dazzlingly beautiful like this. Jiro had never seen anyone look so beautiful in his entire life.
He was so captivated by her that he actually forgot himself occasionally. As a result, he didn't notice how Eiko smiled a bit more when he picked out a new activity, or how she seemed to stare at him from time to time as if lost in thought. Most of all, he didn't notice how she would stare at him for a while and then either quickly turn away, as if forcing herself too…or only doing so after turning deep red.
When they were finally done, it was still night, but both were exhausted as well as smiling and laughing. Any other human would be numb with cold after all that running around, but the both of them were almost feeling warm as they went back inside.
"That…was…amazing." Jiro stated as they went back into the palace. "You're amazing."
Eiko couldn't help but blush a bit again. "Thanks…"
"I never would have thought to do that before. But man, there's so many mountains around here I could do that sliding thing with… It would be fantastic."
"Um, aren't those ones covered with rocks?"
Jiro snickered. "Please. You should see me with my staff. I can fly like a snowflake around anything. It'd be more thrilling. I'd whip around every rock or tree in a snap."
Eiko actually chuckled as well. "I believe it. After seeing you earlier."
"Say…" He said with a bit of a smile. "That sounds like a good thing for tomorrow, eh?"
The woman paused, her demeanor dimming.
"You'd need your staff for that, wouldn't you?"
Jiro blinked, and then his own smile faltered. "Come on…you're not still hung up on that, are you?"
The woman continued to hesitate. Yet after a moment, her smile faded altogether, and she stood up more. She exhaled and looked away.
"Sheesh, I'm stupid..."
Now Jiro was truly confused. "Huh?"
"Here I am, lecturing Akiko on getting too close to a man she just met…and what am I doing?"
"Hey!" Jiro instantly protested, his tone turning genuinely upset. "All we did was have some harmless fun! And that's all I'm talking about…harmless fun."
Eiko turned to him with a stern look. "You're 'talking' about getting your staff back."
"Just so we can enjoy ourselves! Sheesh…I can't show you what I can really do without it!"
Eiko's gaze narrowed. "I'll just bet." She turned and started to walk away.
Jiro stood in stunned silence for a moment. He really hadn't meant for this. But more than that, he realized what was really upsetting him wasn't that Eiko wasn't trusting him, but that she was giving him the cold shoulder. Something inside him stirred at that…was actually pained by it.
"Alright, forget it." He said, soon walking after her. "Forget I mentioned it. We'll just get some shut-eye, and tomorrow we'll go back to practice, and we can do more of that sliding thing to unwind afterward. Alright?"
Eiko didn't answer. She kept walking.
"Come on! I didn't mean that! I promised I wasn't going to do anything!"
Still no answer.
"What do you want me to do to prove it to you? Anything! I'll do anything!"
She still didn't react, and he wasn't getting anywhere. Frowning a bit, really hating how this was ruining what had been a wonderful night, he finally groaned. He really hated to do this but he realized he wanted Eiko's trust even more.
"…Break it!"
This got Eiko to stop. She turned back to him. "…Excuse me?"
"Break it in two. There's no other trees around here. I can't have another one unless I go all the way back to Arender-ken."
The noblewoman paused. "You wanted your staff back so badly, and now you just want me to ruin it?"
"I still do want it back, but if you'll trust me, if you'll realize that I only want to help you out…then fine. Snap it. I'll be a lot happier. All I want you to do is realize I'm not planning anything, I don't want to hurt you or trick you, and that I just want to teach you to control your power and help you unwind." He sighed. "If I have to give up my staff for that…then so be it."
Eiko's gaze narrowed momentarily. "I'll really do it, you know, if that's what you want."
"Go ahead." Jiro answered without batting an eye. "Just promise me that when I stay afterward you'll believe that I'm not lying to you."
The woman stared silently back. Then, she merely drew her head up and turned again. She kept walking, but slower this time; back toward the room they had been practicing in. Jiro followed right behind, not saying a word.
After a minute, they were there. With a wave of her hand, the ice receded off of the wall where Jiro's staff was, even while she walked up to it. She reached it as it uncovered and removed it. She turned and faced him afterward, bracing it out in front of her. He stared back at a distance, crossing his own arms. Realizing the position it was in, he looked uneasy but said nothing.
"Still want me to go ahead? I'm serious."
Jiro did actually pause that time, but in the end, he swallowed. "…You'll trust me afterward if you do this?"
"…More than before, at any rate."
"Then do it."
She stared back. She tightened her grip and brought it up. "Here I go. I'm really going to do it. Last chance."
Jiro swallowed again, and actually let out a groan from his closed mouth, but he still held. He didn't move and waited.
Eiko stared a bit more, and then put out a knee. The weapon began to lower, making him grimace, but still hold.
Then, right as it reached her knee, she stopped.
Jiro's grimace vanished, and he looked puzzled. As for Eiko, she looked down to the staff a bit quietly…almost sadly…before turning and going back to the wall. She placed it against it and covered it with ice again.
He blinked. "Why?"
"I don't honestly know." She answered. "Just…that it seemed wrong to take that from you… Besides, you proved to me that you're serious. You didn't try to stop me when I was going to do it. I don't think you could tell I was faking…because I wasn't until right as I started to bring it down."
Jiro cracked a smile. "If that's the case, how about giving it back?"
Eiko looked up to him, and actually smiled slightly herself.
"Don't push it. I'll tell you what: you'll get it back as soon as I've stopped the winter. Deal?"
"Aw…I was looking forward to some epic sliding…" He said with a hurt voice. "But deal."
Itachitoko woke up with a smile that morning. This was the third and final day that had been given the Jido no Hogu-sha but he was certain it would be the end of it. By the end of today, they'd be begging to go out after her. Then everything would be complete, and he would finally get his reward. As hard as it had been, he knew the payoff would soon be worth it.
He hated snow and cold (part of the reason he was glad for the powers that would be coming) but after getting dressed that morning, he was eager to look outside and see a snow-covered landscape. Thinking of everyone freezing and huddling in terror. Seeing no more sun to greet them; just frost and ice. He already prepared to bring out his full measure of loathing for it so that he could practically plead with Nakamura to send out another group. With that in mind, he exited his room, eager to meet up with the shogun's representative and Lord Hachiro to see the good news.
Soon, he had to fight not to show that he was practically horrified.
There was no snow on the ground this morning. What was there from yesterday and had been shoveled stayed in piles, and no fresh powder had come. What was left had small wet spots underneath it. It was still very cold outside, definitely not summer but not below freezing. The piles of snow were actually slowly melting. There wasn't any ice around the palace this morning either. While there had been frost covering everything again, it was definitely not as bad as yesterday. In fact, it almost wasn't as bad as two days ago.
Where before everyone had been growing progressively more anxious and nervous yesterday, now there was confusion and even a twinge of hope. No more were people stricken with panic. They gave pause now that they saw the winter was actually receding. It couldn't be dismissed as a fluke either. The weather had steadily been getting worse for days, but now was the first upturn. As Itachitoko moved through the castle halls, progressively making his way to the courtyard to see for himself, he even heard people speaking in terms of promise. Rumors were circulating that the Jido-no-Hogu-sha had succeeded; that the winter was ending.
That, in turn, only made the twisted old man more nervous.
He eventually made it to a window overlooking the courtyard and leaned out. He wasn't the only noble who was doing so either. He saw that many others, as well as the staff of Arender-ken castle, were looking around confirming the change in the weather themselves. Although early, it was already not nearly as cold as yesterday, and without the icy breeze either. Many of the castle staff members were using the opportunity to split more firewood just in case. Hachiro himself was out and marveling at the change. The clouds were even breaking overhead to allow more rays of sunlight to come in occasionally.
The onmyoji had to look away and quickly hide his face, lest anyone outside see his clear shock. He soon began to go for the lower levels as fast as he could, meaning to head outside too. All the while his mind was blazing.
This is impossible! This isn't how it was supposed to be! She was supposed to freeze Arender-ken and the rest of the surrounding lands until Nakamura was forced to take action! Or be incensed by that boy to the point of spiking her powers! Or at least be killed by them! But she can't have been killed… If she had, I would have already received my reward! I definitely don't feel all-powerful…which means she still lives!
Damn it all! That brat isn't actually teaching her how to control her powers, is he? He was supposed to make everything go smoothly…not ruin it all!
This is bad… If she does learn to control her power…then she'll be able to stand in the way of Shitakarahi when he revives…and if she does that, even if he kills her, he won't give me my reward. Far from it…he may decide he has no use for me…
I have to stop this! We have to go after that bitch now! But…but how? What can I say to make Nakamura change his mind?
Itachitoko was still racking his brains for answers when he reached the door to the courtyard. He took only a moment to smooth himself out and look innocent of everything going on before he pushed open the door and walked outside. Soon, he looked as awed as everyone else while walking about although, inside, he was equal parts furious and frightened…
He was only out for about three minutes before Nakamura himself finally followed, stepping out and regarding the air much the same as the rest of them. He looked around a bit before going over to one of the snow piles, and feeling down around the base of it. He touched the wetness as well.
"Still quite cold…but not enough to snow… It's melting…"
"Do you think the winter is receding, my lord?" One of his aides asked him.
"Possibly… This is definitely an improvement, but there's no way to tell for certain yet… Not unless it's even better tomorrow. Then I'd be forced to conclude that."
"Those monsters actually succeeded?" One of the guards voiced aloud as he looked around. "I suppose I shouldn't have doubted them. Even a yuki-onna couldn't stand against them."
Itachitoko tried not to show his unease as he heard all of this. He racked his brains trying to think of something. There had to be a way around this; a way to convince them to move out. But he could think of nothing. What could possibly be said? Perhaps he could claim this was a trick or a reprieve. Perhaps he could say that they should go and confirm in case it got worse again. But Nakamura and his damned "honor"…he'd make sure to give them the full three days as agreed first. And by tomorrow, if it was better, he'd forget the three day head start and let them succeed. He looked around, desperate for something…
"Lord Hachiro!"
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted. He looked in the same direction the young noble did, toward the main gate. They saw the sentry posted on it, and he was looking back inside the castle and motioning.
"Lord Nakamura! Lord Itachitoko!" He shouted. "A beast has run up to the gates! It's Lady Akiko's horse!"
The other two noblemen looked up at this, and both registered surprise although Hachiro was far worse than Nakamura. After a moment, the guards grabbed the chains for the heavy doors and slowly drawing them open. They had only managed a crack before the animal ran in, snow on part of its saddle and frost tinting parts of its body. It had obviously been out all night. And as it ran in, it limped and wheezed, as if both hungry and tired as well as cold. The animal managed to stay up as it came inside, but it looked on the point of collapse at any moment.
Hachiro readily moved out to the horse, taking the lead. Nakamura, however, was right behind him, and with him were a number of his personal men as well as the Arender-ken guards. Finally, after a pause, Itachitoko brought up the rear. However, while the others went up to the horse and Hachiro even took the bridle, the onmyoji kept his distance.
The horse seemed to relax when Hachiro took the bridle, but even then kept wheezing, looking like he would fall at any moment. Hachiro looked at the animal and back to the saddle on it. However, as he looked, Nakamura was stunned.
"What's the meaning of this? What is Lady Akiko's horse doing out here? Where is she?"
The young noble winced, almost cringing, before he exhaled and forced himself to stand up straight and fully turn to Nakamura.
"She's gone to see her sister."
Nakamura whirled on him in an instant. "What?"
"She insisted, my lord. She believes that Lady Eiko is innocent, and she went to try and talk her out of this before the yokai we dispatched could kill her."
The man's fists tightened as he glared at him. "And you knew of this. In that case, how did she know of our plans to begin with? How did she know we had dispatched them to kill her?"
"My lord, Akiko is not a prisoner in her own castle. She was able to freely move about it. No doubt, she learned from the Jido no Hogu-sha. When she told me of it…I had to let her go." He swallowed and bowed his head slightly. "I'm completely taken with Lady Akiko, my lord. I love her. Knowing how much grief it would bring her if I didn't let her go…knowing how much she would hate me if I didn't assist her…"
"And yet you betrayed me, a representative of the shogun, to do so." Nakamura darkly answered. "Your first loyalty is to the emperor, not to any woman, Lord Hachiro. If I hadn't already been placed in a good mood by the change in weather, I would be enraged. Perhaps even mad enough to make you answer to the shogun himself for omitting this from me. For endangering my life and that of everyone else in Arender-ken if Akiko should agitate Eiko into wrecking more havoc or, worse yet, meet some unfortunate end in the wilderness and leave Arender-ken without an heir; something that the shogun charged me to ensure at whatever cost, even my life."
"My lord."
Nakamura looked up, and found himself staring at Itachitoko, who was now advancing on him and Hachiro as well. After a moment, the latter looked to him as well. The onmyoji took a moment to choose his words carefully. This was his chance to make up for his mistake so he had better not waste it.
"As upset as you are, I must beg that you place your anger aside for the time being. We have far more serious problems to worry about. Here is Lady Akiko's horse, taken out by her, and now covered with frost and snow and without a rider. By now, Lady Akiko has been gone at least as long as the Jido no Hogu-sha. And while it may be growing warmer here, if she went to the north she has been enduring blistering cold and a harsh wilderness without the aide of a retinue or any support. The fact that her horse comes back to us riderless means that she is likely in grave danger. My lord…I know you are an honorable man and gave those yokai three days, but circumstances have changed. Even if the winter is lessening, she could be injured or freezing to death in a pile of snow right now, especially after that storm yesterday. I must insist that men be dispatched to her aide as quickly as possible."
"I agree." Hachiro answered, immediately turning to Nakamura. "My lord, I will indeed answer for whatever punishment you have in mind for me, even to the emperor himself. But we must go and make sure that Lady Akiko is safe. If you are sending out any men as Lord Itachitoko suggests, I will gladly go with them. Barring that I will go myself if need be, with my own men and whatever volunteers are willing to come."
Nakamura hesitated. He looked to the two, and seemed to mewl the matter over for a moment. However, Itachitoko was already smiling on the inside in victory. He knew he'd go. Of course he would. If anything happened to Lady Akiko, it would be his head, after all. He had to do something whether he liked it or not. In the end, he'd agree and men would be dispatched to deal with Eiko once again.
He only hoped no more "mishaps" happened…that the rest of the plan was what Shitakahari was intending.
Finally, he exhaled. "Very well. I suppose we have no choice, as dangerous as it might be. I'll go myself this time. We depart in one hour. Hopefully, this reprieve in the weather will last…"
To be continued...
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Since I'm confusing people with some of the wording and phrases I'm using, I thought I'd explain a tad more for some of it.
* - In European culture there is the "man in the moon", but in Japanese culture the figure the craters make appears to be a large rabbit.
** - "Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto" is the moon god in Japanese mythology.