Chapter Four
The afternoon was pushing on towards evening by the time Tasuki made his way casually back towards the mountain, whistling absently under his breath as he strode quickly and confidently along the uneven, rocky path. As he did so, he reflected on the wisdom of his decision – that some time away from the memory of Jin's death had been long overdue.
"It ain't like me to dwell on shit, kid." He murmured, his gaze darting to the sky as he took in the faint wisps of cloud. "But I'm done with it now. You were a damn fine bandit an' we'll honour you, not whine about it. That ain't my style. An' Shishi, too – I should know by now that she's got the nine lives of a huntin' cat as well as the name of one. Kouji was smarter than he knew when he said I was goin' soft on the job – well, not any more. I've plenty of other things t'be thinkin' of than fussin' over kids an' their antics. I'm king of this mountain an' it's about time I remembered it."
He thrust his hands into the pocket of his jacket, idly wondering as he did so whether or not the young man who had been tracking him around Souun was still on his tail. For Tasuki, as bandit Kashira, it was not uncommon for Kaou-zan spies or troublemakers to spot him out as a potential target, and despite his impulsive temper he had long since learnt that all out confrontations in the city centre did nothing except damage the property and scare the wits of the people who he and his comrades had sworn to protect.
"But if he's still on my track out in open country, that's a different matter." He mused. "The little idiot thinks I ain't noticed – he must be green indeed if he thinks a bandit don't have the smarts to figure there's someone actin' as his shadow. If it's Kaou-zan he's come from, I'll soon send him packin'. None of their sad excuses have had any luck against Reikaku-zan since I've been full time Kashira an' dammit, it ain't gonna begin now."
As he set foot on the steepish mountain path that led directly to the bandit's strong-hold, he cast a sidelong glance out of the corner of his eye, nodding slightly as he confirmed the young man was still trailing him.
"Though I gotta be fair to the kid." He reflected, as he kicked idly at a pebble, watching it skim across the dusty ground. "He's kept pace with me for most the afternoon, no matter where I've been or what I've been doin'. He's persistant – or he wants somethin' in particular. But he ain't made a move…I wonder what he's about. I only noticed him after I left the inn…but I guess he could've been behind me for longer and I jus' didn't register till then that he was there."
He frowned, the tip of a fanged tooth protruding over his bottom lip as he contemplated the best move to make. On the one hand, he knew, he did not want to spill the blood of a youngster little older than Jin if he could help it. On the other hand, though, they were getting closer to Reikaku-zan's base and the last thing he wanted was to allow a stranger to run deep into his territory.
"So I'll have to stop him here, I guess." He told himself regretfully. "There's no helpin' it - this is as far as he goes."
He paused, turning around as his fingers brushed absently against the hilt of his sword. At first glance, he could see noone, but his sharp bandit senses soon picked up a faint shadow among the greenery and he pursed his lips, gesturing towards them with his free hand.
"You got a choice, kid." He said frankly. "Come out where I can see you an' we'll talk about it…or I'll go in for some tree cuttin' and you might just end up the worst for it."
There was a moment of silence, then a figure emerged from the trees, a defiant, resolute look on his young features. For a moment something in the boy's expression reminded Tasuki of his lost son, and his eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" He asked softly. "An' why have you been followin' me since Souun?"
"Following?" The youngster stared at him, but Tasuki could see through his attempted innocence. "I wasn't following you. I'm a merchant travelling through these parts and I became lost – that's all."
"Very lost, if that's the case." Tasuki snorted. "These paths lead to the mountains, boy…don't you understand what that means? In these parts, mountains mean bandits an' bandits mean toll. Are you tellin' me you're so much of a fool as that?"
"Toll?" The young man looked bemused, and Tasuki sighed, shaking his head.
"I ain't playin' games with you." He said quietly. "Who are you an' what do you want in these parts? This is Reikaku-zan territory – where are you from an' what is your game with me?"
"I don't know what you mean." The young man said evenly, and Tasuki saw the stranger's fingers twitch almost instinctively towards the glittering hilt of something at his belt. "I told you. I got lost. That's all."
"Nice try." He said frankly. "But you've been trackin' me all across Souun, so it seems your business is with me after all."
The intruder's eyes widened, and Tasuki nodded.
"Yes, you need to work on your tracking skills." He said softly. "It ain't so easy to trail a wolf, you know…or did noone ever tell you that?"
"A…wolf?" The young man hesitated, then he seemed to make up his mind, as with a sweep of his right hand he drew his sword. "I don't understand what you're talking about, but I'm ready to take you on if you're going to get in my way."
"Shit." Tasuki tut-tutted, shaking his head as he leant up against the trunk of a nearby tree. "You really are an idiot. Didn't anyone teach you to gauge your opponent's strength before declarin' war like that? Mind you, like as not I'd have done the same thing as your age. What are you, kid? Seventeen? Eighteen, maybe? Young enough to throw yourself in front of someone's blade an' hope for the best. That technique kills people, you know. You shouldn't challenge folk that you don't know shit about."
"I'm not that easy to take down." The young man was indignant now, his dark eyes glittering with annoyance. "I'm not a kid and I don't need to be talked down to. I told you, if you want to get in my way, I'll take you on. You've got a sword – why don't you draw it an' then we'll see who's the stronger fighter?"
"I ain't takin' on a stripling like you." Tasuki said disparagingly. "You may or you may not be a whiz-kid with that blade…I don't know. But you wouldn't stand a chance if I fought you. An' I don't like killin' youngsters, not even if they have been sent by Kaou-zan or somewhere to cause me grief. Go home, boy. Go back to where you came from an' leave Reikaku-zan be. That is, if you like livin' – because there's a lot of men who wouldn't be so forgivin' as I am, considerin' where you are an' what you're wavin' at me."
"I'm not afraid and I'm not going back." The young man stood his ground. "I have to find Reikaku-zan, or…"
He faltered, his eyes opening wide in dismay as he realised what he had let slip, and Tasuki's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"To find Reikaku-zan." He murmured. "I see. Maybe you an' I should be havin' a bit more of an in-depth chat about that then, do you think? After all, you don't look like one of Kaou-zan's usual flunkies. You got a bit more spark in you than most of those cowards do. But even so…"
Before he could finish his sentence, however, there was a loud yell from the trees above his head and Tasuki gazed upwards just in time to see his young daughter launch herself from one of the branches and into the pathway between the bandit Kashira and his would-be stalker. Her blade was drawn, a look of indignation on her face, and for a moment Tasuki stared at her, realising as he did so that he had had no idea his cub had even been in the trees at all.
"Normally I'd know a mile away that Shishi's about." He muttered, as he hurriedly gathered his wits. "But this time…it was like she appeared from nowhere. Shit – have her stalkin' skills improved that much? Maybe she really is growin' without my noticin'!"
"Who the hell are you?" Oblivious to her father's attention, Shishi's gaze was locked on the intruder, brandishing her weapon as she advanced on him. "An' why are you drawin' a sword on Reikaku-zan?"
"Geez, how many of you people are there?" The stranger demanded. "Dammit, do you go around hidin' in trees as a normal rule, or what?"
"Answer my question." Shishi said darkly. "I ain't kiddin'. I want to know who you are an' why you're wavin' a blade at the Kashira…you better have a good answer, else I might find myself slittin' your throat for you."
"The…Kashira?" Despite himself the youngster faltered, and Tasuki frowned.
"Shishi, what the hell are you doin' here?" He demanded. "Are you trackin' me too? I thought you were on the mountain – or don't you think I can handle my own problems without your help?"
"You won't fight him, because you don't want to kill him." Shishi said flatly. "But I can. And I will, if he's comin' to mess with us. I could use the practice, anyhow. Enough shit's happened on Reikaku-zan already, an' dammit, I'm not lettin' anything else happen to any of my family."
"I don't fight girls." The stranger said bluntly, and Shishi snorted.
"That's unfortunate for you, then." She said evenly. "Because I ain't got a problem fightin' with boys."
Before Tasuki could react, she had raised her weapon, charging at the stranger who cursed, bringing his own blade up to parry the impetuous young bandit's strike. Tasuki opened his mouth to order his daughter back, but as he did so, he caught sight of the glint of resolution in the girl's bronze eyes, and he faltered, remembering what Kouji had said.
"She needs her own strength." He murmured. "If I keep pullin' her back – if I keep tryin' to protect her – she'll never find it. But shit, I wish she'd get a little common sense. She'd not forgive me, if I jumped in now an' hauled her out. But at least I got that option, if things get hairy. I won't interfere unless she's in trouble – but dammit, I didn't expect her to jump into a fight like this with a complete stranger. Does the little idiot really think she needs to protect me?"
At that moment, Shishi swung again, the clatter of metal on metal echoing across the landscape as the sun glittered off the silver blades. Again the stranger countered her, though Tasuki noticed that he seemed genuinely unwilling to attack her and he frowned.
"Not from Kaou-zan then." He muttered. "They ain't got any compulsion about fightin' a woman."
He eyed the young man critically.
"He fights with a particular style, too. Almost like he's been trained." He realised. "Not a bandit, an' definitely not a merchant. But what, then? There's somethin' in his speech that rings familiar, but I can't pin on why…who is this kid, an' why is he so determined to get to Reikaku-zan?"
He folded his arms, his gaze flitting to his young daughter as he watched her feint and dodge the stranger's weapon, and he chewed absently on his lip as he admitted to himself how much she had come on.
"Jin always said she was plenty good enough to hold her own, though there's still room for improvement." He acknowledged. "But that she'd got to be so decisive and so clever with her blade…I didn't realise. I guess I shouldn't worry about her quite so much. Even if she is a girl – she's holding her own."
As if to confirm his thoughts, at that moment Shishi gained the advantage, using the familiar rocky terrain as a weapon as she tackled the intruder from above, knocking his blade from his hand and pinning him to the ground with a whoop of victory.
"He's down." She announced unnecessarily, turning to send her father a triumphant look as she shifted her position to squat firmly across his torso. "What do you want me to do with him, Kashira? He ain't gettin' up from here 'less I move, so he ain't doing any more fighting."
"So I see." Tasuki moved closer to the young soldier, gazing down into the panicked yet still defiant dark eyes.
"Get the hell off me, you brat." The stranger managed. "You tryin' to suffocate me? What the hell kind of move was that, anyway?"
"I'm a bandit. I'm an opportunist." Shishi told him firmly. "And if you couldn't breathe you wouldn't be whining, so don't give me that. I know how to pin someone without killin' them, you know – I didn't start fightin' battles yesterday."
Her rival just looked mutinous, and from the resolve in his dark eyes Tasuki had the sudden impression that it wouldn't be easy to pry secrets from this stranger.
He bent to pick up the man's sword, glancing at it as he ran his finger over the blue and gold hilt. It was scratched and tarnished in places, and the insignia that marked it was dirty from being constantly in use, yet he clearly recognised the symbol, and he frowned, realising as he did so what the familiar note in the boy's voice had been. His speech was not as clean or as correct as Aoiketsu's, and his accent bore the faintest hint of a provincial dialect, as if he had grown up in rural country but adapted his speech pattern after time spent in Kutou's bustling capital city. Even despite these things, however, the similarities in their intonation were striking, and Tasuki knew he was right.
The eyes of the gilt dragon glared up at him as if reproaching him for his deduction, and his lips thinned.
"Seiryuu." He murmured.
At this, Shishi's eyes widened, and she glanced at the hapless prisoner anew.
"Shit." She breathed. "You're from Kutou?"
The young man merely pursed his lips, and Tasuki sighed. With a deft flick of his wrist, he had reversed the sword so that the blade now pointed directly at the stranger's throat. The boy flinched, then met his gaze stolidly, and Tasuki's lip curled into a grudging smile of respect.
"Your name, soldier." He said softly, and the young interloper stared at him. Tasuki nodded.
"Soldiers taken prisoner give their name an' little else." He said quietly. "You're Seiryuu's so you're from a regiment in Kutou. You don't need to tell me that – your sword already did. You ain't escapin' from here and I've got your weapon so even if you did shift Shishi's weight off you, you wouldn't be able to fight. So you might as well submit to protocol. You're Reikaku-zan's prisoner, now. An' we might just be bandits to you, but I've fought for my Emperor just as sure as you fight for yours."
At this, the stranger's expression changed, and he sighed.
"Shi." He said quietly. "Shi Maichu."
"Maichu?" Shishi started. "Is that what you said? Maichu?"
"Yes – are you deaf or something?" Maichu demanded. "Why are you staring at me like I have an extra head?"
"You know this guy, Shishi?" Tasuki frowned, and Shishi shrugged, shaking her head.
"Never met him before." She said frankly. "But Myoume has. In Sairou. In the cave where she had the Shinzahou."
Maichu visibly flinched at this, biting his lip, and Tasuki knew it was true.
"In which case, that mad woman will probably want to talk with him." He reflected. "And I'm intrigued too, now. I think we should take him back to Reikaku-zan, Shishi. Get off of him, huh? Get him on his feet. We ain't carryin' him – he can walk."
Shishi hesitated, and Maichu cast her a glare.
"What?" He demanded. "You heard him – get your weight off me!"
"You're a real charmer, you know that." Shishi said scathingly. "How the hell you and he are buddies I don't know – you've got the greeting manners of a raging mountain bear."
"What the hell do you mean?" As she hauled him roughly to his feet, Maichu wheeled on her, fixing her with an odd look. "How am I whose buddy? What the hell do you think you know about me? We've never even met."
Tasuki's brow furrowed at this.
"Aoiketsu." He muttered, and Shishi nodded her head.
"This is Aoi's playmate. The dancing spider." She said derisively, and Tasuki saw the colour drain from Maichu's features a second time. "Which means it ain't no accident he's here, Kashira. He's here on some errand. He was one of the ones sent here to spy on us – like Aoi was. An' I bet he's comin' to Reikaku-zan because of Hisei – because of the relic."
It was impossible for Maichu to look any more aghast, and despite himself, Tasuki grinned.
"You need to work on that poker face of yours, kid." He said frankly. "That makes it interestin'. Is that your errand, then? You think you can find your way into the heart of my mountain an' raid Reikaku-zan for Hisei's relic?"
"I don't have to tell you anything." Maichu said obstinately. "You can kill me if you want to – I still won't talk."
"Be damn difficult to make you talk if we killed you, idiot." Shishi said disparagingly. "Besides, if we'd wanted to do that, we would've. Or don't you know who you're dealin' with, huh? We ain't your average bandit pack. An' Kashira ain't someone you want to mess with. You're lucky he doesn't want to fight with you – there'd be nothing left by now if you did."
Maichu eyed her for a moment, then his gaze shifted to Tasuki, who shrugged his shoulders.
"The cub's not wrong." He said softly, reaching down to roll back the heavy sleeve of his jacket. "Or did noone tell you that Reikaku-zan's Genrou has another name?"
"Tasuki." At the sight of the glittering red character against the bandit's skin, Maichu's fight seemed to go out of him and he sighed, rubbing his temples.
"I…came to find Aoi." He said quietly. "An' yes, I came to find the mountain too – but…it's Aoi I'm really here to find. That's all. Because he's my buddy an' shit's happenin' back home. But I can't tell you about that, even if you torture me or kill me or whatever you do. I can only talk to him about it. Because it's to do with Kutou an'…an' that's all there is to it."
"I don't think he's smart enough to lie about that." Shishi reflected, eying Maichu thoughtfully.
"I ain't lying!" Maichu protested. "What'd be the point? He's got my weapon an' his own – an' he's some kind of flame-throwin' demon t'boot, if all of our information is right! That's how it is an' that's all I can say! If you know who Aoi is…if you know…"
"We know." Tasuki said quietly. "An' I won't pretend I'm happy that Chichiri's taken to shelterin' an Eastern spy. But the Emperor seems to have accepted it, so that's good enough for me. Young Aoi seems keen to fight for this world, in any case. What about you, Shi Maichu? What's your motivation?"
"I came to find Aoi. That's all I can say till I've seen him – and I know that he's okay." Maichu folded his arms across his chest. "If you've found out who he is, then you might've hurt him. And maybe he's a squeamish idiot sometimes, but he's still my friend and that's how I feel about it. Till I see Aoi, I'm not saying another word."
Tasuki's expression became grave and he crossed the grass towards them, resting a heavy, battle-scarred hand on the young man's shoulder.
"You have a good sense of loyalty, kid." He admitted. "But listen to me, an' listen good. I'm a bandit, yes. I ain't a killer. I'm Suzaku's Tasuki, but I ain't usin' that power to settle my own grievances. Aoiketsu's come here an' he's done things I ain't happy about – true enough. I won't lie about that to you. An' I've fought Kutou enough in the past to be suspicious of your people when you come visitin' my mountain. But Aoi's barely older than a kid. Just like you are. An' my son was the same, too. The only man I want to see dead is the one who took his life. That wasn't you. An' I don't create unnecessary corpses."
"Your son?" Maichu eyed him in confusion, then, "Shit…the bandit who was killed really was…?"
"My brother." Shishi said flatly. "Kashira's son. In as much as he could be, without it being by blood. Yes."
"Shit." Maichu fell silent for a moment, and Tasuki eyed him quizzically.
"What's that look mean?" He demanded, and Maichu frowned.
"I was just cursin' that bastard Miramu." He said honestly, and something in his open, frank demeanour took Tasuki off his guard. "For puttin' us in this position."
"You won't meet anyone who disagrees on this mountain." Shishi said softly. "There ain't no need to swallow the thought on our account."
"Well…" Maichu hesitated, then he shrugged, offering her a rueful smile.
"That kind of cursin' ain't the kind of cursin' that should be done in front of a girl." He admitted sheepishly. "Even one who fights like a friggin' soldier…my Commander wouldn't settle for it an' my Ma'd've given me a black eye if she'd heard me try it."
Shishi's expression became dumbstruck at this, and despite himself Tasuki laughed.
"That's something that doesn't happen often." He said evenly. "Shishi lost for words."
"Shut up." Shishi glared at him, her cheeks red. "He said something stupid, that's all."
"What are you going to do to me?" Maichu asked hesitantly. "If you know about Aoi…and me…what…?"
"You're a prisoner of Reikaku-zan. I told you." Tasuki said frankly. "You might or might not be here on an errand to find your friend, kid – I don't know, yet. But I want to know more before I let you run riot around the south. It's gettin' hard to call the players in this game, or know what side they're fightin' for. So you're comin' back with us. I'm far more outta the loop than I'd like, an' it stops here."
"Do you want me to tie him, Kashira?" Shishi asked, and Tasuki eyed Maichu contemplatively.
"That's his call." He said evenly. "He can come of his own accord, an' we won't bother with restrainin' him. But there's nowhere to run on the mountain path, an' if he tries to escape, then I'll have to pull out the tessen. That's the way it is…it's up to you, soldier. Come without resistance or risk bein' flamed."
"I guess it's not much of a choice, put like that." Maichu admitted. "I'll come with you. But I won't tell you anything until I've seen Aoi's alive and all right - okay? Whether you believe me or not, that is the main reason I'm in Kounan. I want to find him."
"Aoi ain't dead." Shishi said frankly. "So that shouldn't be hard to prove. Get moving, huh? You heard the Kashira. You're Reikaku-zan's prisoner…an' you better keep it in mind not to piss anyone off on the mountain. If they find out you know the guy who killed Jin – you might find it ain't Kashira who's comin' at you with a sword!"
So the Meihi was alone.
Miramu clambered more securely between the rafters of the inn, perching from beam to beam as he settled himself more comfortably in an alcove beneath the attic window. Below him, oblivious to his attention, the ghost-pale tribesman was gathering together his belongings, and Miramu felt sure that soon he'd be making a move. Since his arrival in Souun earlier that day he had observed the other man as he had rented out a room in the busy city inn, and then withdrawn there, seemingly to wait out the day. Not that his wait had been a peaceful one, as Miramu had seen the man pacing across the floor and gazing out of the window to the streets below on more than one occasion. And yet, as the hours had passed, the assassin had realised that his first assumption that Hyoushin was waiting to meet someone was unfounded. Noone had disturbed him during the hours of the afternoon, and eventually the soldier had settled against the wall to write on scraps of folded parchment - clearly plotting something out but in characters that Miramu had never seen before in his life. Those scraps had since been shredded and discarded, but even if he had chosen to steal them, Miramu knew he would not make sense of the Meihi's thought processes.
And yet, despite the solitude, Miramu felt certain that the man had not always been travelling on his own. Hyoushin's distinctive left-handed blade stood propped against the door-frame, and it had not taken the assassin long to realise that Kikei's suspicions had been correct - that Maichu had most likely taken the blade and reunited it in secret with its owner.
"He looks somewhat haggard, though." He decided, stretching out across the wood much like a cat on a windowsill as he rested his chin in his hands. "And he doesn't even know that I've come to pay him a visit. Finding him was really a boringly easy task, in the end. The Meihi don't exist in Kounan, after all – it wasn't difficult to elicit information about a pale-skinned foreigner travelling in these parts. Even if he has somewhat changed his mode of dress – I guess even he's smart enough a man to realise wearing Imperial armour might jeopardise his chances of staying undercover."
It had been an easy journey south, since from his earlier visits he had become familiar with the terrain, and he had not been surprised to discover that his assumptions of the Meihi's destination had been correct.
"In search of Aoiketsu." He reflected, tapping his fingers idly against the blotch-painted wood as he did so. "I could tell you exactly where your little protégé was, Hyoushin. He's across the valley in the village that hides Suzaku's Chichiri – I'd lay money on that, if I had any to play with. Right in the same vicinity as my wretched sister – which makes things complicated. I wonder if she's found me out, yet. She might have done. While I'm in Souun, I might yet hide from her – but I need to be careful. I don't want to bring Myoume into anything that she's not a part of."
His gaze flitted down once more to the chamber below. It was small and simply furnished, and the Meihi had made no attempt to properly settle himself, making Miramu wonder if he truly intended to spend the night there, or if he had other things in mind. Odds and ends among the man's belongings also supported the idea that he had not made his journey alone, and Miramu's eyes narrowed as he contemplated this.
"The question is, then, where is Shi Maichu?" He wondered. "Clearly he really did leave Hokkan with Hyoushin. That's a no-brainer if ever there was one. But now…they've gone separate ways? Still, Kikei did say that I didn't need to kill the boy. That he'd be like a dog without a master, if Hyoushin was taken from the equation. I needn't worry about him – it's not in my orders to kill him. It's Hyoushin that I want. And it's Hyoushin that I'll take."
At this moment, Hyoushin paused in his preparations, glancing suddenly upwards as if he had heard Miramu's thoughts and the assassin froze, half-afraid that somehow the enigmatic tribesman had managed to see through his spell. However, at that moment a mouse scuttled across the beam opposite and Miramu bit his lip, cursing his own edginess.
"Of course he can't see me." He muttered. "Only Myoume can see me, when I hide myself from others' sight. Get a grip, Miramu. Your prey is right in front of you. Surely it wouldn't be so hard to do it here and now?"
His fingers slipped towards his dagger, then he paused, shaking his head.
"No." He cautioned himself. "That's not what I decided to do. Easy as it would be to take him unawares, I want to see the look in his eyes when he realises I've proven him wrong. And besides, there's another thing I want, too. I want to find out what's so special about this Sukunami Hikari. Maybe if I do that – or discover something about Suzaku's Shinzahou – I guess maybe I'll have some leverage to pry information out of that sly old Priest. His actions and his motivations are becoming erratic and uncertain. First he was loath to kill Aoiketsu because Kintsusei favoured him – now he's seriously discussed a desire to do so. That change in his manner worries me…I want to know how he is thinking before I agree to take on any more of his assignments. For money it might be, but my level of charge may rise if there's a considerable amount of added danger."
He chewed down on his lip, eying the Meihi disparagingly.
"And then there's his desire to be rid of you. Myoume's prophesy has evidently spooked him, or I can't imagine that he'd bother about you otherwise." He decided. "Dressed like that…are you claiming you still belong to your tribal roots, then?"
He smirked, amused by that thought.
"If so, you're more deluded than I am." He reflected. "You're a killer, Hyoushin. An executioner. A puppet for your Emperor. Even now you pursue this – even though you believe he's forsaken you, you know no other path than this one. Dressed as a member of a fading tribe, struggling against an enemy who's more than matched you for wits at every turn so far. And being stalked by an assassin…whose presence you can't even trace. I will speak for you yet, you know…once I've learnt a little more about your motives to come here. Aoiketsu must have discovered something useful – and much as it's foolish to become involved in Kutou's political upheaval, I'm curious to know what it is."
Hyoushin got to his feet at that moment, moving to the basin of water that stood by the chipped old wash-stand in the corner, and dipping his pale fingers into the cool liquid as he splashed it onto his face. In an instant Miramu understood the Meihi's languid behaviour and his delay in acting, and he smirked, amused.
"So the snowman melts in the hot sun, does he?" He murmured ironically. "That's amusing. It may yet work to my advantage, too – after Sairou, Kounan's heat has no impact on me at all."
For a moment Hyoushin eyed his own reflection in the smoke-glass mirror, and Miramu found himself wondering what the older man was thinking. Then the moment had passed, and, scooping up his sword, the tribesman pushed open the door, stepping out into the hall.
Once he was gone, Miramu dropped deftly down from the beam, dusting himself off as he considered his next move.
"You're going after Aoi. You must be." He decided. "That boy would follow you through hell and high water and you're running out of options. Even Kikei realises that you'll want to make contact with him…but it's not my business to interfere in that. I am here only to kill you. Not to prevent the passing of information from one man to another, after all."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Aoiketsu is my weakness." He realised ruefully, glancing at his hands. "Myoume aside, I've never felt strongly about not wanting to end someone's life. I don't fully understand it, but I know that I would regret it, if I killed Seiryuu's surviving son. Perhaps it's that fact, after all. There's no doubt in my mind that he must be Nakago's son. It's the only explanation I have for the oddness that surrounds him. His father was as perverse a demon as my own – and he as oblivious to it as I was until my step-father laid the information at my door. He is weak and pathetic – he vomits at blood and yet…inside of him…a stronger man exists. I sense it about him – that he is, in essence, no different from me. We are reflections…the same."
He faltered, frowning as he considered this fact.
"Do I really believe that?" He wondered. "That inside of Aoiketsu, a Nakago lurks? A man ruthless enough to kill without compunction – a man angry enough to seek vengeance without regret? And do I want to bring that man out, or am I really trying to prevent that…by warning him, by leaving him alone? I wish I knew. It isn't like me to think this way…but he is so like me. So like me…the way I was."
He frowned, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"There's no place in this world for naïve fools, and Hyoushin's death will teach Aoi that lesson as clearly as anything else." He decided. "It's the cruelty of life – in the end, all that matters is whether or not he'll be strong enough to face up to it. If he isn't, well, maybe then I will kill him. For his own good - I won't put on him this twisted life I lead. But if he is strong enough…if he can fight it and still move forwards without crumbling…then perhaps I'll see a way to find that path, also. A way out of this…whatever way that is."
He glanced at his hands, taking in the rough black gloves that covered his fingers from view.
"These hands have taken too many lives for me to find that kind of path now." He reflected. "But even to know one exists…that would be enough. It's foolish of me, but I like that boy. And I want…him to stay…as he is now."
He clenched his fists, bringing his hands slowly together as he focused his energy on the outside of the inn. As he re-materialised in the busy street, he threw up his shields once more, melting into the surroundings as he observed Hyoushin making his exit from the ramshackle white-fronted building. He nodded his head, making up his mind what was to be done.
"Follow him, and he'll lead me to Aoi and the Eastern Village – the source of the knowledge everyone seeks." He decided. "Kill him, and take the information I can take back to Kutou. I'm fully committed to a life of chaos, and it's too late to change that now, even if I felt the desire to do so. That's my task, after all. It'll be Aoi's test, perhaps. His first test, I imagine, of many yet to come. Men like him – men like me – that's how life is, after all. I suppose in the end, maybe it'll be a kindness – taking him out of the shadow of that soulless, unimaginative ghost."