CHAPTER XII
The Beginning
"This way, Takatori-sama."
The Takatori first family head guard opened a narrow metal door of a narrow escape route. He stepped aside to let his master get a view. The path was enough for a single person to pass through.
"Let's go." Takatori Tanjirou motioned but his wife, Akina, jerked her hand from his grip.
"The children. We can't leave without them. Where are MY children, Kazuo-san?" Akina asked, panic written all over her beautiful face.
"I'm sorry, my lady. I hadn't had a glimpse of them since this commotion occurred," Kazuo replied.
The lady Takatori looked inquiringly at each of the other five escorting guards. They all shook their heads apologetically.
"No! We're getting the children first. I NEED to find them. I can't leave this place without them!"
She had started back their way.
"Akina!"
She turned to look stubbornly at her husband's uptight face.
"But… my children are still there, Tanjirou!" She was turning hysterical.
"Let the guards do it," Tanjirou muttered coldly. That seemed to be effective in restraining anymore unnecessary fits.
Taking the cue, Kazuo motioned to two of the escorting guards.
"Riku-san, take charge," Kazuo instructed to the second best swordsman of the Takatori guards.
"Yes, sir."
"Kazuo…"
"Riku-san will take you to safety, Takatori-sama. I'll find the children myself and bring them to join you. That way the lady Takatori can rest assured."
"Kazuo-san, please keep them safe." Akina was close to begging, no, she was begging for her children's safety.
"I'm counting on you, then. I won't tolerate even a small scratch on my princess."
When it came to his 'Hime-chan', the Takatori lord sheds off his mask.
"I will not disappoint you, my lord."
Kazuo motioned to Riku and was answered by a reassuring nod. He left immediately followed by two of the other guards.
"We should get going, my lord," Riku reminded his master.
"Right."
Tanjirou took his wife's hand. She hesitated for a few more heartbeats before she allowed him to lead her farther away from the mansion under siege.
"Kaasan."
The boy looked at his mother panting heavily. They had been under a desk in a study adjacent the entrance lobby where the clashing of swords of the guards and the intruders were taking place. The thick wooden desk wasn't the best of hiding place but it was enough for a cover for the time being while they wait for the right moment to get as far away from the scene as possible.
Umehara Daira wasn't sure how long they could keep refuge in this room without being caught in the crossfire. All she knew was that they really have to keep moving.
"Kaasan," the boy called again, modulate his voice to be heard.
"What is it, Toshiki?"
"Where's Otousan? Are we waiting for him to get us out?"
"I'm not sure if he would come. He had duties to attend to at a crucial time such as this." Daira's frightened eyes scanned the area for a possible escape.
"What about us? He had a duty to us, too."
"He is needed by the master."
"The master had hundreds of men. He even had elite guards. We only have ourselves. We need him more," Toshiki argued.
"Son, I told you a number of times what duty and loyalty meant for a man like your father. Don't make me lecture you again at a time like this."
"But…"
"Enough!" His mother's voice was sharp and rigid. "Just bear in mind that your father is an honorable man."
The boy's eyelids dropped disappointedly. He just couldn't comprehend the reason behind prioritizing someone else's family than his own.
"Ne, why don't you just help me watch our spot?"
"Nii-san? What are we going to do?" asked the seven year old girl.
"Keep still and be quiet."
"I'm scared."
"I'm here." The older brother felt his sister's fright in the cold small hand he was holding.
"I want to be with Kaasan and Otousan," her little face hinted worry and tears.
"Stupid. Don't fret. You'll draw attention. We're going to find them soon."
"But I'm really scared."
"Just don't cry or you're going to get us killed."
Little Izumi bit her lower lip to subdue her tears. She wound her short arms around her brother's waist.
Keishi felt his sister shivering and thus, placed his hand gently atop her head. His other hand held the katana tightly.
At twelve years of age, Takatori Keishi knew well what it means to be a first born and only son of a political diplomat.
"Izumi, we're going after Kaasan and Tousan."
"How?"
"We'll take the long route. We'll sneak to Tousan's study."
Keishi looked across the room. The said room was a few steps right from their spot.
"Then from there to the stairs," he spoke his thoughts audibly.
"Is it dangerous, niisan?"
He heard his sister asked but he didn't answer. He merely stared down at her.
"You're holding grandpa's katana. Is it dangerous?"
Keishi's gaze moved at the hand holding the weapon.
"Aa. Horrible."
He stoop down to her level and single-handedly secured her cloak so that it completely covered her head.
"Don't look sideways. Concentrate ahead."
"Why?"
"You can't look at what's going on without having nightmares afterwards."
"Oh."
She looked at her brother's face. He looked much like their father and he was trying real hard to be cool. However, Izumi could tell he was scared too. He had sweat drops all over his face. What really was going on at the entrance lobby, she asked herself. There had been clashing sounds of metal, slashing and horrible cries of men. And there's a distinct smell of something caustic, metallic permeating the air.
"No sideway glance, understood?" Keishi demanded.
She can't see anything anyway. Her cloak was obscuring her scope of vision.
"I really can't see anything except my feet," she whined.
Keishi chuckled. But even his own sense of hearing caught himself being betrayed by his own voice. His laugh was more nervous than amused. He watched Izumi's almond blue eyes blinked in confusion trying to fathom the conflict in his voice.
He rose to take a view at the lobby.
"We're moving now, Izumi. Are you ready?"
Izumi's head nodded. Her arms fastened around Keishi.
Keishi had one arm around her shoulders protectively as they emerged from their spot, carefully tracing their destination.
"Luck be with us," Keishi muttered to himself.
"Kaasan." Toshiki called his mother's attention. "We have company."
Daira's gaze snapped at the study entrance, quickly recognizing the newcomers.
"Young lord, Keishi," she called in a hushed voice.
Keishi immediately picked the direction of their nanny's voice.
"Daira-san?"
"Get over here, quick, before we're spotted."
Seeing her nanny, Izumi rushed on her embrace.
"Good heavens. I'm glad you two are safe. How's my darling princess?" Daira kissed her forehead.
"I'm scared, really scared. There are men shouting. Really scary."
"Hush, hush, darling. It's going to be fine."
"Izumi, I told you not to make unnecessary fuss or else they'll find us," Keishi reprimanded.
Daira noticed the sword Keishi was holding.
"Goodness, young lord! What are you going to do with that dangerous thing?"
"For protection, Daira-san," he answered breathlessly.
She eyed the silvery sharp edge of the weapon.
"Put it down, my young lord. It's giving me shivers to see you with that."
"No, Daira-san. We would be defenseless…"
"But…."
"I will put this thing down after we reached the theater room."
"The theatre room?"
"Yes."
Toshiki watched his mother and listening to their conversation. Young Izumi had settled at Daira's lap relaxing just a bit.
"We need to be in father's theatre room. I know of a passageway at the backstage. It's an underground escape route that would emerge at the grounds just outside the police headquarters," Keishi explained.
"How did you know about this, young lord?"
"I just know."
"But the stairs were a little farther away from here. It's risky!"
"Still, we need to move. Sooner, some of the aggressors will advance from the main lobby to other areas of the house. We need to get there before them."
Daira can't help but admire the determination in his face. So this is the Keishi now. In five years, he's no longer the little boy she had taken cared of since his birth. He had grown into a fine, well-educated young man.
Being born into a privileged family, he was sent to a private school at seven. Consciously humble of the advantages he had as one belonging to an elite family, Keishi is fiercely aware of the responsibilities attached to his birthright.
When he started school, Daira was left to care for the darling of the Takatori family together with her son, Toshiki. Izumi, the little princess of the prince was two years old by then and her son was four. She had always been aware of Keishi's protectiveness with Izumi which often time end up to fights with Toshiki who had been playful with Izumi, considering they are close in age. It was his little princess that Keishi always wanted to see first whenever he came back home from school. And although every year he gets older and less showy of his sentiments, the Takatori prince had always adored and protected the princess. That instinct, obviously, was why he took up such a weapon.
"Daira-san, are you alright?"
He assumed a more mature character, too, not to mention that he had quit calling her 'nanny' and Izumi 'hime-chan'.
"Yes, of course, young lord. I'm alright." Daira smiled.
"You seemed so spaced out."
"I'm fine, really."
Keishi eyed her then heaved a sigh of relief.
"You will become a fine man. Better than your father. And I will be proud of you, ne, Kei-chan?"
"Daira-san, not that again…"
"You take care of your hime-chan, ne?"
"Daira-san…." Keishi felt a chill at his nanny's choice of words.
"You, too, Toshiki. Make your father proud."
The young boy stared and nodded at his mother's words.
Staring at the battle down the lobby, Kazuo started to make plans to retrieve his master's children.
"Minamoto-san, Otsuki-san, you'll go right, I'll go left. If you find them, go straight to the theatre and lock the door. This would be the indication. If you arrived where I already had locked the door, cut neatly through the hinges. Make sure you are not followed. Lock the metal door securely. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
With that, they parted ways.
"Where are you?" Kazuo whispered. "Young lord. Hime"
Kazuo turned right to the sleeping chambers of the family.
"Where are you?"
He felt for the hilt of his sword, breathing heavily with his pace.
"Daira. Toshiki."
He felt sweat drops ran from his temple to his cheek falling to the floor.
"Please be safe."
Daira heaved a sigh when they finally reached the stairs leading down to the large leisure chambers of the mansion. The first door was the music room and across it was an empty room where Keishi usually practiced any sports he learned. Adjacent the music room was where lady Takatori kept her collection of paintings and artworks arranged in a way that mimicked an exhibition. Farther to the end would be the theatre room. Left to it, the hallway would lead to a slightly sloped garden and pond. At the bank of the pond stood two pavilions leading the stone steps as bridge to a gazebo at the center of the pond of lilies.
This western style mansion really, was the manifestation of the Takatori's wealth. This is the kind of life her half-sister's daughter, lady Akina, was married into. If only she could have this kind of life, she'll do anything for the sake of kindness. If only she had been in her half-sister's place. Yet, the Takatori family had always been kind and never abused their prominent position. But fate had decided for them, had played and decided on them only for a single Takatori mistake. Decided for Hisana to be Takatori Kano's illegitimate daughter and Tanjirou's half-sister. Fate had played and laughed at them when Tanjirou married his half-sister's daughter without realizing the truth. In spite of all these twists and turns, however, Daira learned to love the family she was serving especially the children. They are after all Hisana's grandchildren, her own too.
Unfortunately, Hisana felt the other way. She harbored deep grudge against the family who denied and abandoned her as the first born of Takatori Kano, Tanjirou's father. Takatori Kano had actually promised marriage to Hisana's mother before he finally met the woman betrothed to him since childhood. He fell utterly in love with the daimyo's daughter at the very first meeting, and had forgotten the promise he made to the daughter of one of Takatori family's housemaids. The act of denying, forsaking and dumping one year old Hisana and her mother away to protect Kano's name was too much for her mother to bear but she bore it all anyway for her daughter. The day Hisana learned and was old enough to understand the truth and the reason of her mother's suffering, she desired nothing more than revenge and to ruin the Takatoris. The root of hatred was deep within Hisana's heart for even if her mother had married another man and had her own family, Hisana could still see the pain in her mother's eyes from such heartbreak. And she swore to do anything to crush the Takatoris the way they crushed her mother's heart.
"Run. Daira-san. RUN!"
Daira's attention snapped back to reality when Keishi's urgent order resonated in the quiet of the cold concrete walls of the ground floor.
She watched in horror while Keishi restrained an assailant's sword. The boy's strength could not equal that of the larger man.
"KEISHI!"
"Niisan!!"
Daira and Izumi screamed in unison. Izumi's shriller voice almost drowned Daira's.
"Run!" Keishi shouted once more, more urgent than before.
Daira scrambled to her feet but her legs refused to inch away from her position. They had already landed the plain floor while Keishi was still about ten steps above them. Her fear about the outcome of Keishi's struggle against their attacker had immobilized her whole body. She can't even tell if she was still breathing.
Finally, Keishi's restrain broke, sending him down the steps, earning bruises, not to mention possible fractures from his gradual fall.
The assailant took sinister steps down the stairs following the boy, like a predator to his prey.
Izumi's innocent eyes watched, mouth gaping, as her brother struggled to his feet, holding at the banister for support. He was dazed from the fall but was swinging his sword blindly just to keep the enemy at bay. In an almost slow motion, Izumi saw the large man raised his weapon and in one breath, slashed through her brother's flesh. The child's pupils dilated in utter terror as her brother's unconscious body landed at her feet. The moment was followed by an echoing, shrill scream from the terrified small girl who lost consciousness afterwards. Her body limped and fell just beside her brother.
END OF CHAPTER TWELVE
A/N : Edited and reposted…