Atsumaruno
Part Two, Chapter One
Someone had told him that overcast days were the best for fishing, and, for Kai and Chichiri, it seemed to be true. But Genrou had remembered why he just plain hated fishing: fish just plain hated him.
Chichiri was patient, as expected, and fish came to him in due time. But there was something almost supernatural about Kai's luck; the fish seemed to be fighting for the chance to throw themselves onto his hook. Maybe because Genrou was scaring them toward it, he supposed.
So the three found themselves faced more with the chance to take long breaks rather than to do any actual fishing. Genrou seized the opportunity to chuck his rod and take his turn at storytelling instead:
"Last time the world tried to wink out of existence, Mt. Leikaku started shrinking, you know? And after we saved the world, it came back, but we realized that most of the caves we stashed our goodies in had either collapsed or winked out of existence or whatever.
"Bandits don't deal too well with being hard up for cash, so we came up with a plan to rob from the rich and give to ourselves. We scouted all those seaside towns at the bottom of the mountain; plenty of shipping magnates there, we thought.
"And we found out pretty quick that the biggest, richest, meanest asshole of 'em all was a guy named Uda. Next thing I knew, I guess, I was tunneling up through the floor of his house."
Chichiri commented vaguely, "I thought you mostly stuck to highway robbery."
"Yeah. Guess we were just desperate enough to get creative. Long story short, we made off with every painting, antique, and ingot in the place. And then this girl shows up."
Halfway down the hole in the floor, Genrou caught a vase that one of his colleagues tossed him. Kouji stood lookout in the doorway, motioning the last bandits through as they prepared their escape.
Then, there was a soft noise from a sliding panel, and a voice whispering, "Excuse me." The light from a carried candle, though dim, blinded their night-vision, and the world blurred back into focus slowly.
She was small, with a dark net of hair that fell to her knees. It seemed they'd woken her; her sleeping robes were a delicate pink, undecorated. More unusually, she did not seem frightened; only nervously curious, as though she believed herself still dreaming.
"So we thumped her over the head and took her hostage. Always a good plan."
"Ok, so what did we agree on?" Kouji and Genrou stopped, conferring with each other quietly outside a guarded door.
"We're a couple of real mean tough badasses."
"Right. And we're not gonna take any fancy crap from Little Miss Rich Girl, either."
"And we're not gonna hold with any cryin'!"
"Ok. Let's go." They clapped each other on the back, energetic from the pep talk, and motioned the guards to open the door. They stepped in.
"Hajimemashite! Doozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Uda Chiyo to mooshimasu!" She pronounced each syllable very precisely, bowing with each polite introduction.
"Gosh, we were gonna give you the whole 'You've been kidnapped so no one can hear you scream,' speech and everything," Kouji said, striking a nonchalant pose as he leaned against the doorway.
"I expected so. But don't worry, I've been fully trained in the etiquette as regards being kidnapped." She bowed again. "Though I am only a very poor student."
"Wow. There's etiquette?" Kouji looked at Genrou. "No one told us."
"Oh, yes. I was sent to a finishing school whose curriculum was designed specifically to train young ladies of breeding in how to be proper kidnappees."
Kouji and the girl stared at each other. Her face was completely guileless, but, after several long seconds, a wry twinkle flashed across her eye.
Kouji dissolved into laughter. "You little minx! Kidnapping finishing school! This girl--!" He elbowed Genrou, who frowned a little harder. "Cracks me up. Seriously, no screamin' and no escapin', and we'll get along fine." He was still chuckling as they barred the door and walked away. After a moment, he noticed his friend staring at him. "Look, Gen, don't give me the 'What the fuck?' eyebrows. It was funny."
"It could not have been a worse hostage situation. Who wants to kidnap someone quiet and witty? Worse, freakin'...lovable. It's the first rule of kidnapping girls: they're supposed to want to leave!"
"But I don't. I'd really rather stay. And, well…I've come to love you quite a bit, Kouji." Chiyo blushed.
"Really?" Kouji blushed as well. Genrou felt certain he was about to throw up.
"Yes. You're not very good at being frightening and despicable." She giggled. "Might I stay here? It's such a beautiful place…though I might like a room with a window. And no armed guards."
By now, Kouji and Chiyo were talking into each other's eyes, and coming dangerously close to what Genrou suspected would be a nauseating storybook kiss. "What about the ransom?" Genrou growled.
"Oh! You're welcome to keep it. I don't particularly love my father, no one does." She paused. "I hope you're prepared for any possible complications?"
"Complications?"
"Well…I thought you knew already, but the Uda family has been training and hiring out mercenaries for five generations."
"Awgoddamnit." Genrou stormed from the room as some inexorable force swept the newfound lovers into each other's arms.
"Almost two months she was there, and it just got worse every day! I mean, Kouji was my best friend first…damn, Kai, how are we going to eat all of these things? I think you'd better stop."
"You're going to be cooking them, right?"
"I guess."
"So we're gonna need a lot extra while you get your aim right!"
"Shut the fuck up."
It had been a quiet night. The men played cards and sang the same drinking songs they always did. Kouji and Chiyo hid away in their room, doing whatever it was they always did. They. Genrou flushed in anger, stalking the halls.
It had been a quiet night, until an armored man appeared out of a dark corner. "Surrender or d—" Genrou kicked him firmly in the chest.
"Rek-ka--!" The soldier's screams tore back at him through the flames, and he considered that he probably should have asked a few questions before getting that nice armor so hot. More worrying were the gentle foosh noises as the walls went up in flames. Genrou cursed, and ran for the fire bell.
"Burned down the whole damn place. That's me for ya."
"That's terrible!" Kai frowned.
"Nah. Happens every week. Nobody evacuates a building like the Mt. Leikaku bandits."
He was dimly aware of others running up along the path with him, well aware of where they were headed. One of the men called out, "Uda?" and he shouted back in agreement. He jogged only slowly, turning periodically to monitor the evacuation and the progress of the few foreign shapes milling around the rapidly burning buildings.
Kouji slammed into him from one side, panting wildly. "Chiyo! No one got her. Where is she?" He shouted her name, desperation rising in his voice.
"Keep yer goddamn voice down," Genrou muttered, ignoring his friend to focus on the shapes of the soldiers regrouping, moving in their direction. Kouji continued to shout; the last few bandits paused to see what was the matter.
"Kouji?" Her voice drifted out of the woods. Kouji ran, followed only reluctantly by Genrou and the others. Chiyo appeared, dodging through the trees, wiping soot from her eyes with the tail of her sash. Kouji barreled into her, sweeping her up in his arms.
She stepped back and cocked her head to one side. "I have to talk to you," she said, as though no one was in a hurry at all.
Peeved, Genrou barked for attention. "Pardon the interruption, but get in the fuckin' cave."
Sulky, he waited at the mouth of the cave as Kouji and the last bandits dashed in. The boy who stood just inside, holding a fuse in one hand and a match in the other, looked at him questioningly. Genrou motioned him to stay, and turned back.
The soldiers melted out of the trees. Unlike the first one he'd attacked, their armor had been blacked, cloths covering their moths and noses. He ran. The fuse was lit. But it was too late: in the last second of thunderous noise and light, he could see a few had made it inside behind him.
When the last few rocks had crumbled into place, there was silence, pitch-blackness. The others were safe. The only way further into the tunnels was a tiny chink, by now filled by a very pointy wall of bandits. They'd probably only let him up when they were sure he was alone. His feeling of sulky martyrdom increased.
Very slowly, he straightened up. Very slowly, he took a silent step forward. Very slowly, he reached out a hand.
And he touched metal.
Time went sluggish. He could hear the soldier's sharp intake of breath as he prepared to yell, and Genrou japed the sharp end of the tessen upward, hoping to catch something sensitive. He hit under the man's jaw, dull and soft. The world went back to normal as the man fell with a clatter of armor, gurgling.
There was a soft light. He realized his symbol was glowing, throwing pale red shadows. No on else seemed to be rushing out at him.
"You okay, boss?" They brought a torch. There were no other soldiers, only a helmet half-buried in the rockslide. Genrou went to kick at the rocks, then decided he didn't really want to know. He turned to the fallen man. There seemed to be rather a lot of blood.
"Can we patch him up or something?" he asked. The bandit with the torch poked the body with a toe, shrugged.
Genrou stalked up to a lookout room, feeling empty. Through the tiny window, he could see a small army collecting below. It was only a small consolation, then, when Kouji walked in looking as lost as he felt.
"We're surrounded."
"She's pregnant."
"Aww…!" Genrou stamped furiously. He peered at the burning camp below. "We're not gonna get out of this one, are we?"
"But you did," observed Chichiri.
"Hell, sure, I was just saying that to be dramatic. We could fight off those guys no problem. But we couldn't keep doing it over and over, forever." Genrou shrugged expansively. "You insult a powerful guy like that, he's not gonna stop coming after you. Because…"
"There are some things you just don't do!" Genrou waved his arms wildly as Kouji sat, head in his hands.
"I know, buddy." Kouji sighed. "Chiyo and I are leaving. Tonight. She's packing." Genrou goggled. "Don't look at me like that; it's not her fault."
"Why—you don't gotta go, man, I mean…there must be somewhere…all those safe-houses on the mountain?"
Kouji shook his head. "It wouldn't work. I thought you'd understand--look," he said, and stood up, "You've got two kinds of bandits, right? Young guys who're supremely angry at their fathers, and a bunch of useless old drunks couldn't hack it in real life, yeah? So where do all the other guys in between go?" He frowned at the confusion on Genrou's face. "Everybody's got to grow up sometime, Gen. We're getting too old for this."
"What about Hakurou? He was older than we are."
"Hakurou was different." Kouji looked away.
"See? 'S not that simple…"
"Hakurou was dying." His voice hardened. "I can stand here and tell you that one of these days you're gonna want more out of life than to get drunk and fight. But you're still happy playing King of the Bandits, aren't ya? I'm leaving so all that playing doesn't get you killed. You'll thank me later." Kouji slammed the door behind him as he left.
"Haven't seen him since. But he did throw Uda's men off of us; suppose I do have to thank him for that. Bastard."
"What did you do?" mused Kai, scooping the guts as neatly as possible out of another fish.
"What could I do?" Genrou lay back on the bank. "Got stinkin' drunk and got in a fight."