Chapter Seven
Things were getting serious.
As Aoiketsu made his way back towards the Ri farmhouse, he bit his lip, thinking over the conversation with his Commander as he slipped through the still-silent trackways of the simple mountain village. It had relieved him to see the Meihi face to face, and to know that the man bore him no ill will for their encounter in Hokkan – but something in the man's quiet words and troubled expression had also cast a chill over the pleasure of the reunion.
It had never been a game, Aoiketsu had known that from the start. And yet now, somehow more than ever, what they sought to do seemed ever more real and frightening.
"Maichu is here too, though." He reminded himself. "Later I'll speak to him. Later I'll be able to tell him everything I couldn't tell him before. Now the axe has dropped, and it's becoming clearer who our enemies are. I never suspected Kikei-sama of treason – but I trust in the Commander's word. So if he says it, that's how it is. And that means…going back to Kutou just became all the more dangerous an adventure."
As he drew closer to the big sturdy building that marked the heart of the regenerated village, he was aware of someone yelling his name, and from the front of the property a figure accosted him, hair loose and flying in the wind and the ties of her dress carelessly and hastily tied as she grabbed him firmly by the shoulders, then hugged him as if afraid she would never see him again. There was a glimmer of desperation and relief in her indigo eyes, and for a moment Aoiketsu simply stared, taken completely off guard by this sudden display of raw panic in one who was usually so calm.
"Myoume?" He asked softly, disentangling himself gently from her grasp as he held her at arm's length. "What's gotten into you? And why are you yelling like that? It's barely past dawn and…shit, are you…crying?"
As he registered the glitter of tears on her lashes, Myoume muttered a faint curse, reaching up to dash the liquid away.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, her usually calm tones uneven and broken as she sought to fight her emotion. "But I was afraid…I thought…I'd sent you into…"
She faltered, struggling to compose herself, and Aoiketsu frowned, eying her keenly. The woman who stood before him had the unearthly glitter in her eyes of someone who was seeing pictures far beyond anything he could see, and from the tension in her body, he guessed that whatever had assailed her was not a pleasant sight. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Snap out of it, will you?" He begged. "I don't know what to do with crazy women…that wasn't ever in my training. I don't know what's wrong with you, but really, you're starting to scare me. This isn't like you – get a grip on yourself!"
At this Myoume started, as if his bluntly honest words had broken the spell, and for a moment she stared at him, as if trying to regain her bearings. Then she sighed, rubbing her temples.
"I was afraid." She murmured. "It hasn't taken me like that in…in ages, but…when you left…and…Miramu was…. He…I can still feel him, somewhere in the forestland surrounding this village. And you…when you'd gone…I felt the taint of blood on his fingers. I had a sudden impulse that he was…he was truly here to kill. Not to spy, not to speak…but to kill. And you'd gone off alone…Aoi, I can't let you be killed. If you had been…if I'd been wrong…"
She faltered, and Aoiketsu rested a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
"You already told me I wasn't going to die yet." He reminded her, and Myoume shrugged.
"It's easy for you to trust in my predictions." She said bitterly. "I'm the one who has to make them. And more and more I'm doubting myself. Right now all that I can see and hear in my head is his naked drive to kill – that my brother whose spirit is usually so closed and cold has a bloodlust about him that's resonating so wide he's not able to suppress it. And when I close my eyes, I see…blood. I thought…you might not come back."
"And Seiryuu needs me, I guess, so that'd be a bit of a problem, huh?" Aoiketsu asked. Myoume shook her head impatiently.
"Not everything that I think or feel has to be about that." She snapped. "What about Hikari in all of this? How would she feel if I let you be killed? Give me some credit for compassion too, Aoi…I'm not just a fortune-teller who twists time to my own advantage. Maybe sometimes I do sink lower than I should in order for things to come about in the right order, but I'm not quite as low as that. Hikari's been kind to me – from the first time she met me, she was kind to me, and she trusts me. I've pushed you two together and I know I have – I wouldn't willingly let anything happen to you now."
She sighed, eying him with undisguised relief, and Aoiketsu knew that she was not really angry.
"I'm becoming fond of you too, Aoi-kun." She added. "I'm glad you came back. Whatever errand Miramu's on, it isn't your blood that he's after. And that means I wasn't wrong after all. You came back safely…and all is well."
"Blood…" Aoiketsu faltered, his eyes widening as a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Shit…Myoume…where is he? You can sense him, can't you? Do you know exactly where he is?"
"Yes, more or less." Myoume looked surprised. "But why – Aoi, there's no sense you running after him. We don't need unnecessary heroics, you know."
"It's not unnecessary heroics." Aoiketsu said darkly, his fingers slipping to the sheathed sword at his side. "Myoume, listen. Hyoushin-sama was in the woods. He…found me, and he told me some things that Chichiri and the others really need to hear. But he said that he thought if Miramu was in Kounan that it would be him…that there was probably a contract on his life. And…you said…bloodlust…"
"Hyoushin?" Myoume's eyes widened in dismay. "In Kounan? But why? And why did I not…?"
"Right now isn't the time to discuss it." Aoiketsu said urgently. "Miramu's dangerous, and if the Commander is in trouble…Myoume, dammit, tell me where Miramu is!"
Myoume stared at him for a moment.
"In the grove beyond the willow trees." She whispered. "In a clearing not far south of this place. But Miramu isn't your average enemy, Aoi. You know that. He's dangerous."
"I know." Aoiketsu said grimly. "But that's more or less where I left the Commander – which means that right now he's in trouble and I have to help him. Whatever you think of Hyoushin-sama – I'm not going to let him be killed if I can do something to stop it. Tell Chichiri and the others where I've gone – and make sure Hikari doesn't come running after me. Okay? I'm going to go chase that damn assassin out of the mountains before he can hurt anyone else!"
Without waiting for Myoume to respond, he pulled away from her, turning on his heel and hurrying back in the direction he had come. Behind him he heard the prophet calling his name but he blanked it out, feeling an equal mix of adrenalin and fear curling inside of him as he pounded across the uneven, grassy terrain.
"It seems very likely that, if the man is in the South, it is me he has come here to see. And if that is true, I will not bring other people into danger."
As if scolding him, suddenly the Meihi's own calm, reasoned words echoed in his head, and he muttered a curse under his breath that he had allowed them to be so easily parted.
"I left him alone to be targeted and I shouldn't have." He berated himself. "Hyoushin-sama's strong but he's a soldier, not a magician. And Miramu…of all people, maybe I could have talked him round. I shouldn't have abandoned him – but I'm not going to let him get killed!"
He brushed his fingers against the hilt of Hotohori's sword, half-wondering whether or not it was right to be contemplating taking a man's life with an Emperor's holy blade.
"I wouldn't have said it to Myoume, but if killing Miramu will save Hyoushin-sama, that's what I'm game to do." He said firmly, his resolve hardening in his heart as he remembered the faint flicker of weariness in the Meihi's amethyst eyes. "Myoume can hate me if she wants to – that'll be her concern. But if killing him is the way to stop people suffering more then I'll do it. Even if I stain Suzaku's blade with blood."
Almost as if it had heard what he had said, Aoiketsu felt a faint glimmer of something throb through the white and gold hilt and he faltered, staring down at it in disbelief.
"Do you want to fight?" He wondered. "Or are you telling me not to? But I can't wield Suzaku's power from this blade…can I? Surely an Emperor as gentle as the man Chichiri describes Hotohori-sama as can't want to go slaughtering people just on my whim? Or is it…shit, is it something else? Chichiri said that Hotohori-sama wounded my father with this blade - right? Did it just respond to me…because it's tasted Nakago's blood in the past, and has made the connection? Later, I'll ask Chichiri. So long as I'm still alive after this, I'll ask him about the sword. But right now…so long as it and me are on the same side…that's all that matters."
He pushed the thought aside, hurrying through the trees as he made his way to the place he and his Commander had had their impromptu battle. Briefly Aoiketsu recalled the slick trickle of blood that Hyoushin's strong sword-arm had drawn from his thumb, and he bit his lip.
"That was it." He realised. "My blood on the blade…somehow…my blood is Nakago's blood. Shit, that must be it. But Nakago was…is it really going to fight on my side, or does the spirit that lives inside of it want me dead in his place? Oh well – it's a bit late to start worrying about that now."
He reached the clearing, pausing as he realised it was deserted, and he frowned.
"Now where?" He muttered, then, "If I was the Commander, and I was going back to a town in a land I didn't know very well, what would I do? Would I wander around hoping to find a trail or…no. I'd go to higher ground and find a clearer space. Which means…he's over the rise. And if he is, that's where Miramu is too."
He sped up his pace, darting swiftly between the thick, gnarled trunks of the trees that seen generations of southerners pass their lives in Kounan's bandit-ridden south-west. As he drew closer, he knew his impulse had been right, as clearly through the trees he heard the familiar sound of his Commander's voice. And yet, though it was clearly recognisable, there was an inflection of something else in the man's tones. For a moment Aoiketsu could not place it, and then, with a jolt, he realised it was the lilt of a Meihi accent – the same lilt that Bakaru had had in his voice when they had encountered him in the northern temple. Something about this realisation unnerved him, and he gritted his teeth, knowing that whatever happened, to hesitate now might well cost the Meihi his life.
He burst through into the clearing, horror flickering across his expression as he registered the scene before him. In the grove, beneath the shade of a spreading willow tree stood the Byakko assassin, his bow cocked as he toyed idly with a fresh arrow from his quiver. Across from him stood the Meihi, sword in hand and a look like nothing Aoiketsu had ever seen in his glittering amethyst eyes. He took a faltering step forward, then stopped, unsure how to proceed as the assassin glanced up, seeing him for the first time. For a moment, soldier and Seishi met gazes, and Aoiketsu was surprised to see a flicker of something close to regret lurking in the depths of Miramu's odd gem-like eyes.
The effect was so contrary to the assassin's scornful, sardonic character that for a moment the young soldier hesitated, uncertain what he should do. Then, as he registered the spreading stain of blood that covered his Commander's upper half, his indecision became anger, and he took a step or two forward, pulling the shinken from its sheath as he prepared to engage the Seishi in combat.
"Stand down, Miramu." He yelled. "Or else you'll regret it! I mean it! Stand down!"
At the sound of his voice, Hyoushin turned, seemingly registering the presence of his young protégé for the first time. As he did so, Aoiketsu saw a look of alarm cross his features, then the Meihi raised his right hand, gesturing back in the direction of the village.
"Leave this place, Aoiketsu!" He exclaimed. "That is an order – return to the Eastern Village! Do not become involved in things that do not concern you – sheath your sword and let me handle my own battles. You have plenty enough of your own still to fight."
"Like hell am I letting that bastard assassin have his way." Aoiketsu's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but that's an order I'm not going to obey. He's a nutcase and he kills for the fun of it. I won't do it. Soldiers don't turn their backs on their Commanders, after all. If he wants to fight you, he'll have to fight me too."
"You are such a foolish boy." Miramu sighed, shaking his head in frustration as he sent Aoiketsu a reproachful look. "Why do you think I waited for you to leave before I dropped down from the trees? I had no intention to hurt you, and yet here you are, running back into my line of fire like a foolish rabbit baiting a fox. Do you want to die, Aoiketsu? Is that really what you wish for, to drop like a stone on Kounan's land?"
"I don't like people who attack my Commander." Aoiketsu said grimly.
"But Hyoushin's not your Commander any more, Aoi-kun." Miramu said reasonably, twirling his arrow between his fingers as he cocked his head on one side. "He's been ousted."
"Hyoushin-sama's my Commander until my Emperor tells me otherwise." Aoiketsu said simply. "I've had no orders from Kutou and as far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed. And that being the case, it's my duty to defend him. Whatever you think about it."
Miramu frowned, shaking his head in irritation. Then he faded and vanished from view, re-materialising in the trees above the soldiers's heads.
"This is inconvenient." He said frankly. "I don't like breaking my word. But here's my dilemma. I promised that I would come to Kounan and that I would take Hyoushin's life. And I also promised that I would not kill Seiryuu's boy when I came here. So now what would you have me do? Whatever happens, I stand to break my word. And I do hate inconsistency…it's not my style to be sloppy."
"Seiryuu's boy?" Aoiketsu's eyes narrowed. "Stop playing with me. Kikei sent you to attack Hyoushin-sama, didn't he? Because he wants the Commander out of his way. If he doesn't want me dead – why not? What does he think he can use me for? Because I'm not easy to manipulate and I'm not going to abandon Hyoushin-sama so easily."
"He doesn't want you for anything at all, as it happens." Miramu said glibly. "He was quite willing to dispatch you also. It was me who decided against it, Aoi. I told you. I rather like you. I really don't want to kill you at all."
"Aoiketsu, stop being reckless and get back." Hyoushin took a hand now, and as the Meihi pushed himself forcibly between the assassin and his charge, Aoiketsu was vaguely aware of the heaviness of his Commander's breathing. "I told you. Go back to the village. You are no use to Seiryuu no Miko if you are killed here. I don't need your help…you are being foolish and I will not allow it."
"You're hurt." Aoiketsu protested. "You're bleeding, sir, and there's a lot of it! You were the one who taught me not to abandon a wounded comrade – do you expect me to go against that now?"
"I also taught you to obey orders." Hyoushin said flatly. "I told you. Go. It will be well. Go. I do not need you here."
"He doesn't want you to see him die, Aoi." Miramu reflected, a faint flicker of amusement in his expression. "Isn't that touching? He seeks to spare you the trauma of his final defeat and to protect your life, all in one sweeping, self-sacrificing gesture. I would not have expected less from a man of his calibre, however. Throwing himself into danger on others' behalf seems to be something of a habit of his, after all. You should follow his advice…your life is worth something still, whereas his has no purpose whatsoever. And no matter how hard you fight me – I will still kill him. Remember, Aoi-kun, that I cannot be killed."
"Nobody is going to be killed."
At that moment a fresh voice interrupted the conversation, and Aoiketsu turned around, seeing Myoume standing in the clearing, a troubled yet resolute look on her clever features. Her thick white hair was loose and wild around her face, teased by the gentle morning breeze, and the unearthly glint was back in her seiran eyes as she surveyed the scene that had begun to play itself out in the normally peaceful Kounan countryside. In that instant, Aoiketsu understood better than he ever had before the battle that his Western ally had been forced to fight with herself since the day Miramu had left the village.
At the sight of her, Miramu lowered his bow, a look of complete anguish crossing his face.
"Myoume." He murmured, and Myoume raised her head as the two pairs of identical indigo eyes locked gazes for a moment.
"Stop this, Oniichan." She said softly, and at the use of the familial nickname, Miramu's expression became even more distressed, the arrow slipping from his fingers as it fell forgotten to the ground below. Slowly he shook his head, and Aoiketsu could see the glitter of tears once more in Myoume's expressive eyes.
"Stop this." She repeated. "Nobody is going to die. Aoi's right. You shouldn't be here. And I won't let you hurt anyone else."
At this, Miramu seemed to jerk out of his daze and he bit his lip, his gaze flitting briefly towards the defiant, bloodstained Hyoushin. Then he sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's already too late to say that." He said simply. "Even you can't undo what's already been done, Toroki."
With that he closed his eyes, fading from view completely, and as he did so, Myoume let out a heavy, shuddering sigh.
"He's gone." She whispered. "It's all right, Aoi – you can put the shinken away. Miramu's gone."
At the sound of her words, Hyoushin's footing seemed to fail him and he stumbled to his knees, the distinctive, left-handed blade slipping dropping from his grip as he put out his hands to steady himself. As Aoiketsu watched in horror, his left arm buckled beneath him, and the young soldier darted forward, discarding the blessed sword as he focused on breaking his Commander's headlong fall..
"Hyoushin-sama!" He exclaimed. "Shit, you're really bleeding…what the hell did he do to you?"
Hyoushin swallowed hard, a flicker of pain crossing his expression. Then, slowly, he shook his head.
"Commander?" Aoiketsu murmured, and Hyoushin swallowed again. Then he took a deep breath into his lungs.
"Poison." He whispered faintly.
"Poison?" Aoiketsu's eyes became wide with alarm, and he let out an exclamation as the wounded man slumped against him, unconscious. "Shit…Hyoushin-sama…what has that bastard done?"
"We have to stop the bleeding." Myoume was by his side in a moment, concern in her blue eyes as she knelt down next to the two Easterners. "Lay him on the ground, Aoi. We need to stem it…he's already lost a lot, and if we don't, he'll bleed out and die."
"The…bleeding?" Aoiketsu stared at her, swallowing hard as for the first time he fully registered the presence of the thick, congealing red liquid that stained his Commander's upper half. He bit his lip, fighting against the sudden sense of nausea that threatened to well up inside him, and Myoume shot him a sharp look.
"You didn't notice?" She demanded, and Aoiketsu shook his head.
"I did but I…I didn't." He whispered. "Like I was thinking…about something else…shit, Myoume, I…I can't…"
"Pull yourself together, or he's going to die." Myoume snapped, forcibly grabbing Hyoushin by the shoulders and laying him out on the grass as she struggled to unlace the ties of his thick woollen clothing. "You can be squeamish later – you can vomit and faint all you like when we get back to the village. But right now, if you care at all about saving this man's life, swallow it and be a man, okay? Grab onto whatever it was that made you immune to it when you first wielded that blade in Miramu's face. Otherwise we'll lose him."
Aoiketsu stared at her for a moment, stricken. Then he set his teeth, resolutely nodding his head.
"I will." He said frankly. "At least…I'll try, Myoume. I can't guarantee…but I…I'll try."
"That's the spirit." Myoume sounded relieved, and somewhere in the haze of his queasiness, Aoiketsu realised that despite all she had said about Hyoushin, the prophet was genuinely worried. He frowned, remembering the hoarsely gasped word that Hyoushin had managed before he had lost his grip on his consciousness.
"He said he was poisoned, Myoume." He said softly. "I don't know what by – but is that what Miramu meant? When he said it was too late…is that what he meant?"
"Poison…" Myoume faltered for an instant, then she seemed to gather her wits, shaking her head. "Right now we can't focus on that. Poison or otherwise, Aoi, this man will die if we don't stop his bleeding. Look. He's wrenched the barb right out of there. He's likely left a gaping wound in his side – we need to stop it before he loses more blood than he can survive."
Aoiketsu swallowed the rising bile in his throat as the Seishi finally managed to unlace Hyoushin's upper garments, laying bare his pale, blood-soaked skin as she ran her fingers gently along the side of the wound. She bit her lip, tut-tutting under her breath at the still oozing blood, and Aoiketsu knew it wasn't good.
"He really has torn through something." She whispered. "Aoi, I'm going to need your strength alongside my own. It's going to take some force to tourniquet this wound…it's still gushing blood even though it should have begun to stop by now. Either he damaged something important, or whatever toxin Miramu flung into his system is making him bleed more…either way, we have to end this."
She closed her eyes, a look of frustration crossing her features.
"I've been so stupid." She whispered, clear reproach in her tones. "I'm truly so stupid, Aoi. You told me that Hyoushin was loyal to Kintsusei, and that they both sought peace for Kutou. Why didn't I listen to you? I've been so wrong...and now..."
"You said yourself that this isn't the time." Aoiketsu said thickly. "If you want me to help, Myoume, you better tell me what to do fast, before I lose my grip. I mightn't have registered the blood properly when I came onto the scene, but my brain's well aware of it now. And I don't know how long I can fight against it – so please, let's just do whatever you need me to do."
"Lift him up a little, would you? I need to get to the back of his shirt." Myoume instructed, and Aoiketsu nodded, slipping his hands beneath the man's torso as he did as he was bidden. As Myoume removed the last of the shirt, the young soldier let out a gasp, his eyes widening as he registered the deep, scarring weal marks on his commander's back, a legacy of a master's whip.
"Hyoushin-sama..." he murmured. Myoume cast him a quizzical look, and Aoiketsu looked troubled.
"I knew he was a slave, but I never understood..." He trailed off, and slowly, Myoume nodded.
"I saw it as his motive, but I've been wrong." She said darkly. "He's suffered so much, I thought that he must be like that Hin we've spoken about so much of late – the one who butchered his way through the nobility of Kutou on his twisted path to power. That he'd want revenge against his Emperor...but I'm wrong. Hyoushin's loyalty to Kintsusei is strong...even despite these scars. I've underestimated him - the man he is. Now I understand...but is it too late to matter?"
"That Hin happens to be my father." Aoiketsu said stiffly, a slight edge to his voice. "I could allow Reizeitei-sama to criticise him, but you've no grounds to do so. Nakago never did anything to hurt you. And even Chichiri says he wasn't evil – even though they were enemies. You've no right to judge the things he did – you probably don't even know all the things that drove him to take those steps."
"I suppose I deserve that." Myoume eyed him ruefully, as she gestured for him to lay the stricken man back down. "That the son would defend the father, just as the sister tries to defend the brother. Family ties bind...I'm sorry, Aoi. You're right. I didn't know him, and I have no personal axe to grind against Kutou's legendary blond haired Shougun. I didn't realise you'd developed such a bond with his memory of late – but you're right. I retract my comment. It's hearsay and it's off the point."
"I've learnt some new things about him. That's all." Aoiketsu said simply. "And I'm not ashamed to be his son. I don't think he was a monster…not any more."
"Then perhaps he wasn't." Myoume sighed, shaking her head. "It seems my judgement might be off on several levels of late, anyway."
She rested a hand against the patient's still form, eying Hyoushin's pale, scarred skin pensively.
"I'm starting to understand things from your side." She admitted. "That this man is Kintsusei's ally – the only one in whom he truly trusts. And therefore he's a precious individual – someone who might make Kutou's Emperor listen before it's too late to save anyone or anything. I think we need him, Aoi – I should have listened to you from the start."
"Maybe." Aoiketsu admitted. "But right now there doesn't seem a point fretting over it."
"There's still a fragment of metal buried in here." Myoume reported, as she examined the wound more closely. "I think I can get it loose with my fingernails – no doubt it's a part of Miramu's design in order to make sure the poison flows freely into the body of his target. But it might gush out again, if I pull it too quickly. I'm going to use his clothing as the tourniquet – but I'll need you to hold it tight while I do the removing. I only have two hands, so stay with me, all right? Your Commander's life depends on it."
"I understand." Aoiketsu murmured, closing his eyes briefly against a sudden wave of giddiness as he visualised Myoume's graphic description. "At least, providing we can find the antidote for the poison…"
Myoume sighed, spreading her hands as she looped the torn shirt around the unconscious man's body.
"Are you going to manage this all right?" She asked. "Because I want to move the arrow head now. If he begins to bleed more heavily, it won't matter how much poison Miramu used. We'll lose him much faster. I'm relying on you, Aoi...can you do it?"
Aoiketsu glanced at the commander's already seeping wound, and an incredible urge to be sick washed over him. Panic rushed through his senses, but he got a grip on it, forcing the sensations back.
"I'll do it." He said thickly, taking the proffered fabric in his hands as he pulled the two ends tight. "Even if I feel like this...I won't let Hyoushin-sama die. Myoume, you know that whatever I do for Kounan, I haven't turned against Kutou or the people I care about there. That I love Hikari is true enough, and I stopped spying for the East against her. But I think it's as much the prophesy the two of you share that's made me make the choices I have. Hyoushin-sama...he trained me, but it was more than that. No matter how much we talk about Nakago – even though I have his blood, he's still a stranger to me. A name of someone I can never meet or assess for myself. The truth is that I never had an actual father, just an Emperor and a Commander. But...to me, they've been family. Especially Hyoushin-sama – he's raised me since I was five and I've always looked up to and trusted in him because of that. I...I won't let him die if I can do something to help him live. No matter how much blood comes. I won't let you down."
Myoume smiled sadly.
"You really are getting stronger, if you can say such things." She said softly, fixing her grip carefully around the arrow. "Being a true hero isn't about charging into battle, Aoi. It's about facing your worst fears and overcoming them for the sake of someone else."
Aoiketsu nodded grimly, beyond speech as he prepared himself for the removal of the arrow head.
Myoume's fingers were deft and experienced, as if she had done such things before, and as Aoiketsu watched her in a detached kind of daze, he realised that there was every possibility that she had.
He voiced the question burning on his tongue.
"Have you ever...has anyone ever survived?" He asked falteringly. "When your brother..."
He trailed off, and Myoume bit her lip.
"I wouldn't know the answer." She admitted. "Miramu and I have been strangers. I don't know how his victims have fared."
"But you do that like you've done it before."
"So I have, but my mother and father work as Chichiri does – as apothecary in the village I grew up in." Myoume offered him a rueful glance. "I saw my Dad remove shrapnel and blade tips before. He taught me a little, too – when my head was clear enough to absorb what he was telling me. He had implements, of course – I only have my nails. But this is the best I can do."
"I know he's your brother, Myoume, but right now I want to kill Miramu more than I've ever wanted to kill anyone in my life." Aoiketsu admitted darkly. "Blood or no blood...for doing this…"
He faltered, beyond words, and Myoume sighed.
"I know you do." She admitted. "And I can't blame you for feeling that way. But…I think…my telling him that he might be an instrument of my death when we were children might have tipped him over the edge. I wish I'd kept quiet – he'd already suffered enough - but I was young and I spoke before I thought. His mind is damaged, Aoi. Damaged by pain of the past...in a way that I don't know how to heal."
"Hyoushin-sama suffered in the past, too. You said so yourself." Aoiketsu said flatly. "But he hasn't turned against anyone because of it."
"I'm realising that." Myoume agreed sadly. "Now. But different people are different. Hold it tight, Aoi. I'm about to pull this out of here and I don't want there to be a rush of blood when I do."
"A rush of..." Aoiketsu's mind was jerked roughly back onto the matter at hand and he swallowed, then nodded his head. "R...right. Okay. I'm ready. Just do it."
Myoume cast him a quizzical look, but she said nothing, focusing all of her attention on removing the offending arrow tip from the Meihi's pale flesh. At first it seemed to catch against his skin, and Aoiketsu fought tooth and nail against the waves of dizziness that threatened to engulf him as his companion carefully eased the fragment of the weapon from its resting place. As she did so, fresh blood began to bubble from the wound, and he swallowed hard as the world swam before his gaze.
"Aoi! Tighter...now!" Myoume exclaimed, and Aoiketsu forced the lure of unconsciousness away, gritting his teeth as he obediently drew his hands across one another, stemming the flow of blood as his companion tore another strip from the soldier's shirt. She pulled her gourd from her belt, tipping some of the water onto the fabric, then pressing it gently to the wound.
"It's nothing but stream water, but it's all I have." She murmured sadly. "If we could get him back to the village, I'd be more certain of his chances. I don't think we can move him alone, though. And I don't like to leave him here alone, either. I'm not sure that, even if we both focused our energy, we could summon Suzaku's sorcerer. We just don't have the same connection to him as one of his brethren would."
She glanced at the patient, then,
"The bleeding is stopping, at least." She added. "But it's hot and dry out here. He needs proper care – and I can't even explain how frightened I am by the thought he might die. That I might have messed up so badly, when I thought I knew so many things."
"I'm frightened too." Aoiketsu admitted. "But not for that reason."
"All right. I think you can let go...I'll bind the wound up and then we'll think again." Myoume instructed, and with a measure of relief, Aoiketsu released his grip, sitting back on his heels as fresh nausea assailed him. Now the pressure was off, the bile rose in his throat and he bit his lip, swallowing hard.
"Myoume, if I pass out, will you promise not to tell Shishi?" He whispered, and Myoume glanced at him, then offered him a faint smile.
"You've helped a lot, even though it must've been rough on you." She said gently. "It's all right. I don't need you to do anything else right now. If you want to take a walk and clear your head, it's okay."
She scooped up the gourd, holding it out.
"Drink some of this. It might help." She added. Aoiketsu glanced at it, then shook his head.
"I think I might be sick, if I try." He murmured. "I might be...anyway. But I will walk...if you don't mind."
He stumbled to his feet, casting Hyoushin a final, troubled glance before retreating a safe distance from the blood and gore of the emergency scene. As the adrenalin rushed out of him, he sank to the grass in the copse beyond, his vision swirling as he contemplated the severity of his commander's condition.
"I wish we could send a message to Kutou. To Kintsusei-sama." He murmured. "But we can't. If Kikei-sama really is…then the game we're playing…I can't imagine the Emperor would ever order Hyoushin-sama dead. But that this could happen…we're all in danger. All of us. Till this is over, nobody is safe."
His eyes widened as something suddenly occurred to him.
"Miramu didn't confirm it for sure, but he didn't deny that his orders came from that man. And the pieces do add together - it was Kikei-sama who first brought him into our mission." He whispered. "It must be it...that's how Toroki's prophesy is going to come true. He's the missing link in the chain, just like the Commander said. But what I don't understand is what could the man gain from it? He's Kintsusei-sama's trusted ally and he has a hell of a lot of power – what benefit could betraying him have to anyone? Killing Kintsusei-sama would send Kutou into total anarchy – dammit, is that what he really wants?"
He frowned, as at length his willpower gave out and his sickness overwhelmed him. As he sat back, still shaking from the violence of his reaction, he felt a gentle hand on his arm and he turned, glancing up at Myoume with a question in his eyes.
"Are you well enough to walk?" She asked him gently, and Aoiketsu brushed his hand across his mouth, nodding his head.
"I guess so." He answered, although he was not certain that his words were the truth. "Why? What do you want me to do?"
"Go back to the village and get Chichiri. As quickly as you can, tell him what's happened." Myoume said quietly. "He can use his magic to bring the man back to the farm and hopefully safety. I will stay with him incase Miramu comes back – I don't think that my brother will attack again while I'm here. So it falls to you to get help, Aoi-kun – are you able to do that?"
Aoiketsu hesitated for a moment, then struggled to his feet.
"I'll go." He agreed thickly. "I'll get Chichiri. Don't worry, Myoume. Just make sure Hyoushin-sama doesn't die."
Damn.
In the shadows of Kahou's backstreets, Miramu huddled between the walls of two stone-fronted buildings, displeasure and annoyance mingled in his clever indigo eyes. As he ran over the confrontation in his mind, a rush of anger flooded through him and he clenched his fists, banging them down hard against the cool cobbles beneath his feet.
"Dammit!" He exclaimed, sending two scavenging rats scampering for shelter at the sudden noise as he glared at his now blooded fists. That the sharp stones had scraped his skin raw gave him little comfort, and he repeated the action, letting the burst of rage take over his body as he sought to drown the other feelings in his fury.
As he sat there, breathing heavily, he flexed his hands, watching the thin trickle of his blood run onto the cobblestones below. They hurt, but not enough to drive away the real pain that simmered inside of him, and he closed his eyes, trying to force away the image of his sister's reproachful face.
That she had been there was bad enough, and that he had been engrossed enough in his confrontation with the Meihi to let his guard down had made it even worse, but the killer blow had been the way she had called him brother.
"Even after everything." He whispered, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of tears dampening his lashes as he struggled to keep his feelings in check. "Even there, seeing me in the midst of slaying someone…she still manages to call me Oniichan. Even though I have told her I'm no longer that…even though I've cut myself off from her and forced her to accept my absence. She still…feels that tie. She still…I am still…her brother."
He groaned, burying his head in his hands as he fought with his emotions. He had travelled light, he realised, fumbling at his belt for the pouch of Ma Huang that normally hung there. He had left without acquiring additional supplies of the drug from the black market that thrived in Kutou's uncertain alleyways, and as a result there was barely enough of the herb left to take even the edge off his anguish. He slipped it between his teeth anyway, chewing the stem as the bitter taste of the weed began to spread across his tongue.
He sat back against the wall, trying his best to detach himself from the situation as he watched the rats re-emerge cautiously from their hiding place, their need for food greater than their appreciation of danger. Something about their twitched noses and beady, black eyes sent a chill through Miramu's body as for an instant he imagined that even they were reprimanding him, eying him disdainfully for the way in which he had botched his mission. He grasped the dagger from his belt, and before he knew what he had done he had tossed it in the rats' direction. There was a tremendous squeal as the blade skewered the nearest animal, sending the second haring back into hiding as fast as his small furry legs could carry him.
Despite himself, Miramu smiled hollowly, getting to his feet as he retrieved his blade. With a shake, he discarded the rat's bloody body, eying the redness that now stained the weapon.
"Bitter herbs and blooded blade." He murmured. "That seems to sum up my life, doesn't it? And I only fall deeper into this hole Byakko dug for me twenty four years ago. There's no salvation for one who'll dirty his weapon to kill a rat just because it happened to look at him. Or is it simply because I couldn't fire that dart into Hyoushin's chest? But with Myoume there…what else could I do but retreat?"
He sighed, wiping the blade clean as he returned it to its hidden sheath.
"Still, as far as things go, my job is done." He murmured, pushing the stem of Ma Huang against his teeth as he felt the buzz of the herb's allure tingle at the edge of his senses. "Hyoushin is a dead man, even if I didn't manage to finish the job with my usual classic ease. I did take special care in choosing my weapon, after all – back in Kutou, where everything seemed so rational and clean. Herbs are fine, but often there are other herbs to counter them – I learnt enough about that when I was still at home, after all."
He sighed, shaking his head as childhood memories threatened to well up inside of him.
"I was wise, in the end, to use a paralytic snake venom instead of more traditional weeds." He decided, forcing the bittersweet nostalgia back into the recesses of his mind. "Even if it was more trouble to snare a beast from the borderlands and strip it of the poison manually – it seems that extra effort will not go to waste. After all, a good apothecary would neutralise a herbal toxin, and Aoiketsu is here – he is in the company of Suzaku's Chichiri, and such a thing would be child's play for him to remedy. A snake-bite, on the other hand…that isn't so easy. Especially this particular snake – I don't believe it even hunts in the hot and humid south, so chances are noone in Kounan's ever even seen one, let alone discerned what it can do. Thank goodness I had a moment of wisdom in all of this. It wasn't professional – but I can go back to Kutou and tell Kikei I got the job done."
He grimaced ruefully.
"Going back to Kutou seems the best idea." He admitted to himself. "I don't seem to have even the vaguest grip on my senses anywhere else in this wretched world. Kutou is cold and full of plotting, treachery and betrayal, so quite the kind of place a creature like me belongs. I won't come to Kounan again – not so long as my sister makes her base here. I won't face her again…no matter how much gold Kikei waves in my direction. Even the information I gathered here wasn't worth this…next time he can find some other puppet to send in my place."
He glanced at his hands.
"More blood on your conscience, Byakko." He murmured. "I wonder if you're satisfied, now you see what you've made me become. Will you finally realise your stupidity and let me die? Or are you just going to continue to punish me by forcing me to keep doing this, over and over again? Maybe if Kikei does destroy this world, perhaps then I'll be able to find some peace. Maybe then you'll finally realise what a stupid cat you are…in expecting a man like me to do your Seishi bidding!"