Chapter Eighteen
For a moment, nothing seemed to move in the forest clearing, as Commander and soldier faced one another in grim silence. As he surveyed Kayu's determination, Hyoushin felt a flicker of anxiety stir inside of his heart and he tightened his grip on his weapon, inwardly cursing the fact that he had never learnt to properly fight with his right arm.
"As all men do, I rely on the things which I am most used to." He berated himself, shifting his stance to steady himself against the dizzy rush that threatened to overwhelm his still fevered senses. "Yet in the end, such judgements can mean life or death. I should have striven harder...at least to disarm the boy. He is one I have trained, and I know his strengths and his weaknesses...but because he is one I have trained, I know he will not be easy to overcome. Has the poison been purged from my system only for me to succumb at the hands of one of my own men?"
Myoume's prophesy flickered across his thoughts at that moment and he frowned, brows knitting together as he considered them more carefully.
"One of you will lie dead, slain by one considered a brother or a friend." He murmured softly, and at the sound of his words, Kayu started, staring at him as if seeing him anew.
"Why do you quote that witch's words at me?" He demanded. "Do you think that, considering what you've done, I should see you in either light? You're not the Commander I thought you were...not the man I trusted and looked up to. You may have trained me, but you have become my enemy - not my friend."
"I will ask you one more time, Kayu." Hyoushin swallowed hard, as his vision wobbled and flickered in and out of focus. "To fight is not in either of our interests, and this deed is one you will regret. Submit your sword and let us talk...or did I not train you that fighting a wounded man was a dishonourable act?"
Kayu's eyes darkened, and he shook his head.
"In the Emperor's name, sometimes things have to be distasteful." He said softly, a dangerous edge to his tones. "Killing a wounded man is a sin against honour, perhaps. But killing a traitor, injured or not - that is forgivable. If it's in Kintsusei-heika's name, all is forgivable."
Before Hyoushin could react, the young man had darted forward, the blade glittering in the bright sunlight as he drove it towards his former Commander's throat, and more by instinct than anything else Hyoushin managed to parry the blow, gasping as pain shuddered through out his whole body at the impact. He stumbled slightly, only just managing to regain his footing as he focused his energy on pushing Kayu away. He was weak, he realised, weaker than even he had known, and there was no way he could survive this confrontation more than a few minutes if it continued in this vein.
He narrowed his eyes, gathering as much strength as he could as he pushed against Kayu's brightly polished weapon, somehow managing to break their contact as the youngster rallied for a second attempt. Kayu's eyes burned with purpose and determination, and Hyoushin knew that there would be no talking him around.
"This fight ends with death." He murmured in his native tongue, unconsciously slipping back into Meihi habits as he struggled to ready himself for the next attack. "And I am at a severe disadvantage."
"Don't think your tribal incantations can work on me!" Kayu exclaimed, anger in his gaze as he raised his sword a second time, darting forward to cast another sharp, resolute blow in his Commander's direction. As he did so, Hyoushin felt the world twist and sway around him, and he swallowed hard, afraid that he might be consumed by dizzyness or nausea as blackness touched the edges of his vision. He stumbled back, using his sword to steady him as he closed his eyes, half-waiting for the inevitable feel of Kayu's blade against his skin.
Instead of sharp pain, however, from somewhere in the disjointed darkness of Hyoushin's awareness there was a loud yell, followed by the clattering clash of metal on metal, and as the Meihi opened his eyes, he let out a gasp of surprise. In the gap between his weapon and Kayu's, a fresh figure had entered into the conflict, sword drawn as he fought to push his companion back.
"What the hell are you doing, you ape!" He exclaimed, casting the attacker a reproachful glare. "Have you gone crazy?"
"Maichu!" Kayu faltered for a moment, then lowered his blade, his gaze darting from the wounded Meihi to his former comrade. He frowned, shaking his head.
"So you are here." He murmured. "And you ask me what I'm doing? What about you? Running south - stealing that man's sword from Imperial custody...those things amount to treason, you know! Hyoushin-sama is an exiled outlaw to Kutou - why are you stepping between us? You know as well as I do what protecting a traitor means!"
"I'm not protecting a traitor." Maichu retorted. "I'm protecting the man who trained me. Who trained you, too. You must be an idiot, if you think he'd betray anyone. You should know better than that!"
Kayu frowned, tapping his weapon agitatedly against the ground as he surveyed the two men. At the sudden uncertainty, Hyoushin spied his chance to interfere and he gathered his wits, inwardly thanking his lucky stars for Maichu's opportune timing. He stepped forward, using his own weapon to support his shaking body then reaching out to place his right hand on Kayu's shoulder.
"I have not betrayed the Emperor." He said softly. "Things are not always as clear as they seem, Kayu."
"Don't touch me." Kayu shook the touch away, glaring at the Meihi in anger. "It doesn't matter what you say - I'm not as easily fooled as Maichu is, and I won't be taken in. You're in Kounan, and you came here on purpose...you can't pretend that's not treason."
He glanced at Maichu, an imploring look in his gaze.
"Why can't you see that?" He demanded. "Kintsusei-sama dispatched me here to find you and Aoi, and bring you home. Don't you realise that if you oppose me, it'll be death for you? I don't want that, you idiot - you're my friend, even if you are stupid. That's why I came...I want to bring you home while there's still a chance of sorting this whole mess out!"
Maichu tensed at this, his grip tightening on his sword, and as he saw the emotion flickering in the youngster's gaze, Hyoushin's own amethyst eyes widened with alarm.
"Toroki's prophesy..." He whispered, shaking his head. "Maichu...you should go with Kayu. Do as he says. Do not let me be the cause of your disgrace. I told you, I would not stand by and let you be so hurt...you would do better to do as your friend says, and leave this place entirely."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Maichu gazed at him in confusion. "Is that snake drug giving you hallucinations again, sir? Because you already know I'm not going anywhere. This is where I belong - for the Emperor's sake as well as yours. Do you think I'm going to turn my back on you just like that? I'm not the idiot - I'm not the one who's been duped. And I don't turn my back on those I trust so damn easily!"
"Then what do you intend to do, Maichu?" Kayu cast him a quizzical look. "Exile yourself and hide from the Emperor's justice? For the sake of one man who has betrayed his own teachings by acting thus?"
"You're really not as smart as you think you are, if you don't realise that what you just said makes no sense." Maichu's brows knitted together in annoyance. "Listen to yourself, Kayu. You and I were both taught values by Hyoushin-sama - values of honour and loyalty and when to fight and when not to. So why would you think that he would go against the things he instilled into us himself? There's no logic in it at all."
"You really aren't going to change your mind, are you?" Kayu murmured, and Maichu snorted, shaking his head.
"No, so you might as well do." He agreed frankly. "Either way, the Commander's hurt and there's no strength in fighting a wounded man. I can't believe that one of our regiment would even think of slaying someone who couldn't defend themselves at least a little...can't you see with those stupid eyes of yours that he can barely stand? What kind of fair fight would that be?"
"Fair fights against traitors aren't necessary." Kayu said flatly, and Maichu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Shit." He murmured. "You're friggin' serious, aren't you? If I hadn't intervened...you would really have run him through, sick or not? Shit, Kayu - what the hell kind of soldier are you? What has that fat old priest told you, to turn you into such a coward?"
"I'm not a coward!" This sparked Kayu's temper and he shook his head, drawing his blade up as if to support his point. "And you shouldn't talk like that about my patron!"
"Why not?" Maichu frowned, readying his own sword, and Hyoushin's heart leapt in his chest as he registered the changing stances of the two men, realising that they were both intuitively preparing for conflict. "He's the one doing all of this - sending people to kill the Commander just because he's a Meihi. If that's a crime now, we're fightin' for different Kutous. An' yes, I did take the sword, and yes, I did come South, of my own free will. But Suiko asked me to, too. She told me that your fat old Priest was a dirty piece of work and that Hyoushin needed help. So it's not just my delusion. It's Seiryuu's mage's, too."
"Suiko is a mad spell-caster with a crush on the Commander. She talks nonsense most of the time." Kayu snapped. "Who knows whose side she's really fighting on?"
"Seiryuu's, no doubt." Hyoushin said gravely, making up his mind as he forced his heavy body between the two men. "This stops now. I won't have you two act like this...lower your blades, both of you. If Kayu has things to ask me, let him ask them. I will not advocate blood being spilt - on any account."
"Stop saying things like that!" This seemed to upset Kayu further, for his eyes narrowed and he flexed his weapon in Hyoushin's direction. "I'm going to kill you, whether Maichu likes it or not. I know my duty...my duty to the Emperor who sent me here...and I'll make sure I carry it out!"
He swung his sword in Hyoushin's direction, and the Meihi only just managed to counter it with his own heavy blade, the force of the contact sending him tumbling to the ground with a heavy thud. The impact jarred up his injured arm and he let out a cry of pain, his composure momentarily shattered by the sudden shock against his senses. Kayu stepped forward, holding his weapon towards Hyoushin's throat, but before he could plunge it through his former Commander's jugular, Maichu had once more forced his own sword between them, pushing Kayu's back.
"If you want to kill the Commander, you have to go through me." He said thickly, some of his usual light spirit gone from his tones as he faced his comrade with a steely, black glare. "I told you. I am not going to let you do something so damn stupid. I fight for my Emperor and for my Commander. And unlike you, I don't think they're at crossed purposes. If you knew half the things we do, you'd understand - but you're so thick-skulled you're not going to listen to anything I say, are you? So if my sword is the only thing you'll pay attention to, lets talk with blades instead."
"Maichu, no!" Hyoushin exclaimed, reaching out to try and pull his young companion back, but even this faint gesture caused jolts of pain to rocket through his injured left side, sending his vision swirling towards blackness as he battled to stay conscious. At the sight of his Commander's struggling, Maichu's expression seemed to become even more resolute, and he shook his head.
"You said it yourself, sir." He said quietly. "That because I made this choice, it meant Kayu and I would be enemies now. So if that's how it is...I'm going to beat him and send him running back to his pompous fat master with his tail between his legs. I'm not going to let anything happen to you - do you think Aoi would forgive me if I did? I told them I'd take care of you - and dammit, I will!"
"Aoi?" Kayu's black eyes glittered with anger. "So he is involved in this conspiracy as well? I should have known he wouldn't be able to break his childhood loyalties so easily!"
"The same could be said about you." Maichu said bluntly, pushing his weapon against Kayu's as he readied himself for a proper exchange of blows. "You're doing as Kikei says because he was soft on you once upon a time. You're his puppet, Kayu, and it's sickening."
"I'm not the one who's sickening!" Kayu exclaimed, bringing his sword down hard, and Maichu deftly parried the blow, darting to the side as he launched another attack of his own. This Kayu met with equal strength, and as Hyoushin sank back against the tree, he felt his misgivings grow inside of him as he realised how little there was to choose between the two men.
"Both taught by me, and yet..." He murmured, loosing his weapon as he reached over to rub his aching left arm. "Oh, damn this arm! Damn Miramu's deeds..I cannot even stand up, let alone meaningfully interfere. It would have been better had you not come, Maichu - if Kayu had killed me, so be it...but this fight between you..."
He closed his eyes, Toroki's words echoing once more in his head.
"This is what she meant." He whispered. "The friend against the friend...the fight from which only one will walk away. What have I done, bringing you here, Maichu? What fate have I condemned you to?"
Across the grass, the clatter of blade on blade resounded once more through the trees as Kayu forced his companion up against the broad wooden trunk of the willow that only a short time before Hyoushin had been resting under so peacefully. For a moment it seemed that the older soldier had made his extra years count, but determination flashed in Maichu's dark eyes and he pushed his opponant away, jumping aside as he readied himself for the next attack.
"You're just as much the spider as ever." Kayu observed coolly, and Maichu snorted.
"I don't need to be the spider to escape your attacks, Hei Kayu." He snapped back. "You're not as good a fighter as I am, and you're going to see what I mean. I don't have any intention of running away from a coward and a traitor, after all. Not when so much is at stake."
"I'm not the coward or the traitor!" Kayu exclaimed. "You should open your eyes!"
"You should shut your mouth." Maichu retorted smartly. "If you're not going to talk sense, don't talk at all. If you're so strong, damn well prove it with your sword. Because I mean it, you know. If you want to hurt the Commander, you're damn well going to have to get me out of the way first!"
"It can be arranged." Kayu snapped back, as the blades clashed together once again, and inwardly Hyoushin winced at the coldness in the young soldier's tones. "Just don't regret it, when I slit your throat in the Emperor's name."
"I'm too late."
A murmur at the Meihi's right hand made him turn, meeting the troubled indigo gaze of the prophet as she sank down beside him on the grass, resting her hand gently on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Hyoushin...I should have...sooner, I should have known..."
She faltered, and Hyoushin frowned, eying her beseechingly.
"Stop them." He begged. "Stop the fight, Myoume...before one of them kills the other."
"I can't." Myoume murmured, and Hyoushin's gaze narrowed as he absorbed her words.
"Can't? Or won't?" He demanded, and Myoume shook her head helplessly.
"Can't. Won't. What's the difference?" She said helplessly. "This fight has already begun. I can't change it any more than I can change the past. If I was to interfere, you might be hurt. I might be hurt. All kinds of things may happen...besides, it has already gone too far. To come between those blades...don't you feel it? This is a fight that noone can stop. Not even me."
"And that's your final answer?" Hyoushin stared at her incredulously, disbelief in his amethyst eyes. "You'll just let them...Myoume, this was your prophesy, wasn't it? What you said to us in the cave in Sairou - that one would lie dead at the hands of another. Isn't it?"
"Yes." Myoume agreed unhappily. "Yes, it is. But until just now I didn't know that Kayu was here...and that the time...was now. Until this moment, Hyoushin, I didn't know what was going to happen."
"But now you do..." Hyoushin faltered, then, "Myoume, they're young men with lives still to live. Will you not at least preserve that?"
"I told you. There's nothing I can do." Myoume shook her head.
"Not even with all the power Byakko gave you?"
"My power is not so convenient as you think." Myoume said bitterly. "I told you. I can't do anything. To interfere in someone's thoughts in the way I did with you, I need to make contact with them...and to not have them resist me. The only way I could use my power now would be to cause them to hallucinate - delusions which would definitely distress the two of them and more than likely result in the death of both, not just one. I have no other course of action - I cannot prevent the fight now it's begun. I can't use a sword...and my Byakko power is useless."
"I see." Hyoushin's eyes clouded as he absorbed this. Then he nodded, reaching out to grab his own sword once more. "Then I must...somehow, I must find the strength to..."
He tightened his grip, pushing the blade against the ground as he struggled to his feet, but as he did, a wave of dizziness and pain overwhelmed him and he let out a gasp, stumbling back. Myoume reached out to steady his fall, pulling him back against the tree as she wrapped her arms firmly around him.
"You I can save." She whispered. "So I will. There's nothing you can do in this condition except open yourself up for death. I told you...it has already begun. Neither one of us can change the outcome...it's already written in the stars."
"Dammit, let me go!" Hyoushin struggled against her grip, his usual impassiveness nowhere to be seen in his desperation to prevent tragedy, but Myoume held him firm, and with a groan he realised that his own weakened state made his attempts futile.
"It'll soon be over." She murmured, a slight catch in her voice, and as he glanced at her, he saw tears glittering in her indigo eyes. "I'm truly sorry for it, Hyoushin...I am just the one who sees. I cannot change those things...I don't have that power. Only Hikari has any power to change the future of this world...and this is a future that even she can't avert."
The weapons clattered against each other once again, and as he turned his gaze back to the conflict, Hyoushin could tell that both men were tiring from the force and speed of their battle. Sweat beaded their brows, as Kounan's unforgiving climate also took its toll, yet neither one of them showed any sign of faltering as they drove forward time and time again, clashing metal against metal as they struggled to break one another down.
"This is what they were trained to do, wasn't it?" Myoume murmured softly. "To fight for what they believe is right."
"Yes." Hyoushin said bitterly. "But not against one another. I will not have blood shed over me, Myoume...let me go. Let me intervene - I am not worth such a sacrifice on either part!"
"You underestimate yourself." Myoume shook her head. "You're much more important than you realise. Your life is as valuable as anyone else's...besides, Maichu is fighting to defend you, isn't he? His honour and his skill are coming to the fore to protect the man he trusts in. He thinks you're important. And so do I. He's not fighting in vain - he's fighting for something that matters to him."
"But if it costs him his life, then..." Hyoushin faltered, and Myoume shook her head, putting a finger to his lips.
"It ends now." She murmured. "I can feel others coming - Chichiri, Aoi...they are coming this way. It must end now...or not at all."
Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, Hyoushin saw the blinding glint of steel sweep across before them, a resolute cry filling the air as the two men collided for the last time. This time, one of the blades met its mark, piercing through the torso of the enemy as blood spattered across the ground below. Surprise glittered in the stricken man's eyes as he stumbled, falling back against the hard earth with barely more than a whimper. As he hit the ground, blood began to pool around his motionless form, and even from where they were sitting, Hyoushin could see the glitter of his dark eyes becoming glassy and opaque as life and spirit ebbed out of him.
Above him, breathing heavily and still holding his dripping weapon, the victor stared down at his opponent, a mixture of emotions flooding his gaze as he struggled to ratify what he had done.
For a moment, an eerie stillness fell over the forest, as nothing seemed to move.
Then, from the furthest corner of the clearing came a yell.
"Maichu! Kayu!"
Aoiketsu darted across the grass, and at the sound, the swordsman glanced up, a stricken look in his dark eyes as he met his friend's gaze. He drew a shaky breath into his lungs, glancing at his blood-soaked weapon, then tossing it aside as if it had bitten him. He dropped to the ground beside the still form of his opponent, reaching frantically for a pulse, and Hyoushin's heart clenched as he registered the genuine distress in the young man's eyes.
"Maichu." Aoiketsu faltered, biting his lip. "Shit...what have you..."
At his words, Maichu seemed to stir from his daze, swallowing as he met Aoiketsu's gaze a second time. Slowly he shook his head.
"I didn't...he...I was..." He faltered. His gaze drifted across the clearing, registering Myoume's presence for the first time, and his eyes clouded as slowly he got to his feet.
"This is what you meant, isn't it?" He demanded softly, all usual fight and spirit gone from his tones as he faced her, anguish in his gaze. "One slain by a friend or a brother. Byakko have mercy. This was it...wasn't it? The terrible thing that would happen to me if I stayed in Kounan. Even then you knew, dammit...you knew that I was going to kill Kayu."
"I didn't know that for sure." Myoume shook her head slowly, tears glittering on her own cheeks. "Until now I didn't know what that prophesy meant, Maichu. I'm sorry...I wish I had been able to tell you beforehand. But I'm useless, it seems...I can't prevent any of the things I see at all."
Maichu's gaze rested on Kayu's cooling form once more, and Hyoushin half wondered if the boy might be sick.
"Myoume, let me go." He murmured, and without a word, Myoume released her grasp, helping the injured man to get to his feet. He took a step or two forward, but Maichu held up his hands, shaking his head.
"Don't." He murmured. "I can't...what I've done is...something unforgivable. Nothing you say...I can't be forgiven for this. Not when...he was my goddamn friend."
"Don't be stupid." Myoume said frankly. "You fought to defend your Commander...Maichu, you have to understand..."
"You don't get it." Maichu cut across her, shaking his head. "Coming back here, I knew, your prophesy...that I might die. But that was okay - for the Emperor, I was willing to do that. If it had to happen, so be it. But...but...I wasn't prepared for..."
He swallowed again.
"It would have been better had he killed me." He whispered. "There's nothing that could have been worse than this."
With that he turned on his heel, disappearing into the forest, and Aoiketsu let out an exclamation, darting in the same direction.
"Maichu, wait! Come back here, dammit...wait!"
"Let him go, Aoi." Myoume held up her hands, shaking her head. "He needs...to come to terms...with it on his own."
"But..." Aoiketsu cast her a glare. "Shit, don't you see how much this has hurt him? Maichu's straight down the line, dammit - to betray a friend is the worst thing he could ever do!"
"Kayu betrayed him first." Myoume said softly. "Maichu fought to defend Hyoushin's life, Aoi. He's done nothing wrong."
"He doesn't see it that way." Aoiketsu said darkly, and Hyoushin stared at him, momentarily taken aback by the glitter of something cold and hard in his seiran eyes.
"Kayu wasn't an enemy." He continued, dropping down at the corpse's side as he rested his hand on Kayu's chest, seemingly oblivious to the spreading pool of blood that soaked the ground around him. "He was a puppet...nothing else. Maichu knows that, too. And this...dammit, I've had enough of this! It's going to stop...it's got to stop!"
"Aoi-kun..." Myoume began, but Aoiketsu shook his head, blue fire burning in his gaze as he faced her angrily.
"Kayu was my friend. Maichu's friend." He said darkly. "All of this...this is Kikei's doing. First he exiles the Commander, then he sends Kayu here to do something like this. The men on the mountain, too - all of this is his doing. This is Kikei's fault, and damn it, I'm not going to let it go lightly. To hurt Maichu like this...to sacrifice Kayu like this...those things are the truly unforgivable things. And I am going to make him pay!"
"So, what news from the South, Kikei?"
As the Priest made his way slowly into the imperial chamber, Kintsusei got up from his desk, a mixture of anxiety and apprehension in his clever gaze. "I haven't heard anything much at all since the soldiers were dispatched South because of the business of resolving the new Provincial Guard - but I will hear it now, if I may - your protege's progress on the mission to recover our lost strays...and Suzaku's treasure, too."
"There isn't much to report, sire." Kikei bowed his head, raising his beady black eyes to meet his Emperor's own. "I heard from Kayu yesterday to say that they'd arrived in the South West. Since then I've had no communication with him...but then, I don't expect him to contact me at every passing event. It would draw attention to him, after all - and he's an intelligent boy. I'm sure he'll find Aoiketsu and Maichu - and without doubt bring Sukunami Hikari to the East."
"Good." Kintsusei sighed, rubbing his temples. "At least something will come out of all this. I have barely slept since you brought me the news of Hyoushin's fate...tell me, did Kayu mention anything about those responsible? I meant what I said - I want his death avenged, and I want the culprits strung up on the gates of Kutou's capital before the summer is out."
"Heika, you have to think more rationally." Kikei cautioned, shaking his head. "That could be tantamount to a declaration of war, when from the evidence we have, Hyoushin was a traitor himself...do you want to play directly into the hands of the Phoenix's people?"
"No." Kintsusei shook his head, his dark eyes hardening once more. "I want justice for a friend, Kikei. I have yet to see this evidence of yours of Hyoushin's disloyalty to me. Toroki's prophesy is the word of a Byakko witch and one who has never even graced this court...I need something more tangible before I will accept that he turned against me. Even if I cannot bring him back to life to answer my questions - I will have justice for him, and I will clear his name of wrong-doing."
"An admirable sentiment, Kintsusei-sama."
Miramu's voice echoed from the darkness, making both Priest and Emperor jump as the assassin leapt neatly down from the roof beams, offering them a faint smile at their surprise. "I suppose I should choose better places to take my naps, shouldn't I - am I interrupting something?"
"Why are you in my private study?" Kintsusei cast the Westerner a wary look. "Of all places, Miramu, surely there are better places to sleep!"
"I'm not exactly the kind of houseguest who can take a room and expect to rest peacefully." Miramu said ironically. "I'm a killer, and I stir up bad feeling wherever I go. It's safer to be near the men who are protecting me - your good selves - is it not? After all, if even one like Hyoushin can be slain...who knows what other dangers lurk?"
"You have heard, then, of Hyoushin's fate." Kintsusei turned to the Seishi quizzically, and Miramu nodded, his dark braid of hair falling over his shoulder as he did so.
"It's unfortunate." he said softly. "But not even an Emperor can still time or turn it back. He is dead. You would do far better to let it go and move on - for the sake of Kutou's people, isn't that your best course of action?"
"What do you know about being an Emperor?" Kintsusei snapped, and Kikei held up his hands, casting Miramu a dark glare as he did so.
"Miramu, you speak out of turn to his Highness." he reproached, and Miramu smirked, shrugging his shoulders.
"So I cause offence yet again. Nothing new there." He said flippantly. "I speak as I find, Heika...I'm sorry if the words cause pain."
"How much of recent events do you know, then, Assassin of the West?" Kintsusei raised an eyebrow. "Of Kayu's deployment, too?"
"Yes, of course - because I refused point blank to go with them." Miramu folded his arms across his chest. "I will not be in the same location as Toroki is - I have already encountered her more times than I wanted to, and I will not do so again. So yes, I know where Kayu has gone...and why. To retrieve the girl, Sukunami Hikari...correct?"
"You were the one who first alerted us to her." Kintsusei nodded. "So I trust your judgement in this, Miramu - you believe that she is important to Kutou's salvation?"
"She is the one who guards the Shinzahou, no doubt." Miramu looked amused. "Possibly she is more than that. But Toroki is Byakko's prophet. I'm just a shadow who earns his coins with blood."
"Toroki again." Kintsusei's eyes narrowed. "Miramu, you seem to fear and hate this woman. Is she so real a threat?"
"A threat?" Miramu echoed, then he laughed hollowly, shaking his head.
"She is one who sees the past, the present and the future." He said frankly. "If you consider knowledge a threat, Heika, then yes. She is a threat. But she has not predicted your death. Only mine. And for that reason, I will steer well clear of her...I'm sure you'll understand that sometimes an assassin has to follow his own interests before those of his patrons, after all."
"Yes, I understand." Kintsusei's expression became thoughtful. "Your judgement then, also, on Toroki's sight. On her prediction that Hyoushin was a traitor to the East...do you have such faith in her visions to proclaim this truth?"
"Since the man is dead, it seems immaterial to me." Miramu leant back lazily against one of the chamber's immense marble pillars, shrugging his shoulders. "And I haven't spent enough time in Toroki's company to hear any prophesy. You are asking the wrong man, Heika. Kayu, Maichu, Hyoushin himself. They are the only ones who heard this famed prediction...I can't speculate on what I don't know. Still, it must not be forgotten that the prophet works for Kounan's interests...and her words may or may not be the truth of what she sees."
"Obtuse as ever." Kintsusei sighed, turning towards the window as he rested his hands on the sill. "To you, Miramu, it may be irrelevant. But he was a man I trusted a good deal. And I should like to know the truth...before I lay the matter to rest. Alive or dead, his soul still demands justice. And I will find out what that is."
"Heika, our concern now is the girl. Sukunami Hikari." Kikei said evenly. "And her connection to the Shinzahou of Suzaku."
"Suzaku's Shinzahou is an elusive beast, isn't it?" Miramu said cryptically. "I wonder...will the girl be able to tell you anything at all, in the end?"
"She is the one who protects the treasure, isn't she?" Kintsusei demanded, and Miramu spread his hands.
"So I've heard." He agreed vaguely. "But it's another rumour that interests me more. One that may not have reached Imperial ears yet - but one which may turn even a grieving Emperor away from the subject of a friend betrayed."
"What kind of rumour?" Kintsusei's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Miramu laughed.
"You have become unnaturally cautious these last few days, Kintsusei-sama." He observed bluntly. "Although I can understand why - it is never wise to trust anyone in this world except your own self...and even then with careful consideration."
"I asked you a question, Nishi no Kage." Kintsusei snapped, and Miramu bowed his head, a faintly mocking air in his gesture.
"My apologies, Heika. It seems I've stepped out of line again." He said, no sign of repentance in his tones. "But if you insist, I will tell you."
His gaze darted towards Kikei momentarily, then he smiled.
"I don't know if it makes him a traitor or otherwise." He said slowly. "But before he departed this place, I learnt something from Hyoushin that may be of some use to you now. He had the earnest belief that that girl was not just a child of Kounan born to protect the Shinzahou. He seemed convinced that she had come here with some other purpose."
"Hyoushin did?" Kintsusei demanded sharply, and Kikei's eyes narrowed at this.
"What do you mean?" He asked. "You have not told me this, Miramu."
"No, I suppose I haven't." Miramu reflected. "But Kintsusei-sama's authority outstrips yours, Lord Priest...forgive me, but I cannot refuse the questions of an Emperor who pays my fees."
"Don't play games." Kintsusei said softly. "What did Hyoushin keep from me - what did he tell you that he told noone else?"
"He did tell one other person." Miramu settled himself more comfortably, tilting his head on one side. "The boy. Aoiketsu. Why do you suppose he had such an urge to go south, after all? To find the boy, no doubt. Or maybe - to find the girl. What a shame he never got to meet with either one - a lot of questions might have been answered if he had. Still, I'm here, and I have the knowledge you seek. The truth is simple, Heika. Hyoushin believed that the girl - Sukunami Hikari - was not from Kounan at all. He believed she was Seiryuu no Miko - sent here to raise the God and save Kutou."
"What?" Kintsusei's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Kikei swallowed hard, grabbing Miramu by the shoulders as he stared at him in disbelief.
"Why did you not tell us this earlier?" He demanded, and Miramu shrugged.
"It seemed a stupid fantasy." He said casually. "But I discussed it with Suiko and she seems to agree. So it makes Kayu's mission all the more important - doesn't it?"
"Hyoushin...went South...knowing this?" Kintsusei murmured. "But...then he didn't...he didn't go to betray me at all! He went...to find...the Miko? To bring her to Kutou...and yet..."
He faltered, sinking down in his seat, and Kikei bowed his head, putting his hands together as if in prayer.
"If this is so, Kintsusei-sama, it appears a great wrong has been done him." He said gravely, shooting Miramu a look of dislike as he did so. "If this Assassin had spoken sooner, perhaps his fate could have been prevented."
"Oh, I doubt it." Miramu's lip curled in derision at this. "Hyoushin may be a traitor or a martyr. But he was marked by death a long time ago. He may have escaped it when his village was destroyed...and in battle for his Emperor and his country. But the South is a notoriously hostile area for people from the East, is it not? Enemies long time since? As soon as he crossed the border...he was out of Kutou's hands. And death stalks the South."
Kintsusei's eyes narrowed.
"If you speak the truth, Miramu, then Iwill have Sukunami Hikari brought here, whatever the method used to do it." He said quietly. "I want her alive, and I want to speak to her myself about the fate of this country. If she is truly our Miko, she has fallen into the clutches of our enemy. And we must push forward in doing what Hyoushin clearly died trying to do - we must extricate her and bring her back to the country she is meant to save."
He glanced at Kikei, resolution firming once more in his eyes.
"Contact Kayu and tell him." He said frankly. "Aoiketsu and Maichu are no longer the prime focus of his visit to the South, and the matter of the Shinzahou can also wait. Sukunami Hikari is the one I want to see. We have treasures enough, surely, for her to raise the God...if she is truly Seiryuu no Miko, I must speak with her. Before it is too late and before more of my people are condemned to death in this land!"
"So that's what happened."
Chichiri sank down beside the chair, a troubled frown on his face as he cast a glance across towards the farmyard grounds. "I see. And there's no knowing where the boy's gone, either, I suppose...if he was upset, he might have ended up anywhere."
"Myoume's gone to look for him." Hyoushin said quietly, flinching slightly as the sorcerer carefully unwound his bandages, examining the wound on his side. "She said she thought she might sense his whereabouts, since she has encountered him before and at present his emotions are very strong. Chichiri, you should not pay so much attention to me. I am not the one who is worst hurt by this."
"But you're the one for whom I can possibly do something." Chichiri sighed, shaking his head. "Although I think perhaps you're more upset than you're letting me see, aren't you? You pushed yourself this morning, Hyoushin - you were determined not to let them fight."
"I trained both boys. They are both my men." Hyoushin said hollowly. "What else should I do? I didn't want this."
"No. Noone did." Chichiri's brow creased, and he glanced towards the farm grounds again, taking in the huddled form of the young soldier beneath the plum tree. Across from him, a noteable distance away, an anxious Hikari hovered, and from the tension in both of their demeanours, Chichiri knew that the events of that morning had struck deep.
"Aoiketsu has something different about him since he came back." He murmured. "I can feel it, prickling in his aura. You see it too, don't you? You know him as well as anyone - there's something else about him that's been threatening to show itself for a while."
"I've never seen that boy come so close to blood without flinching." Hyoushin admitted. "Although I knew he had helped me...I understood it was the influence of Suzaku's blade that prevented him from being weakened. But he did not have the shinken with him today...yet he was quite determined. And he would not leave Kayu's body until Myoume assured him that he would be properly buried, here in the village."
"He's lost a friend, another friend is suffering..." Chichiri looked troubled, sitting back on his heels. "Fortunately I don't think your own efforts have hurt you too much more - though you're not strong enough to start fighting with anyone, on any account. Myoume's right when she says your life is precious too - you shouldn't be so reckless."
"They are my men, Chichiri. I could do nothing else."
"Yes, I understand." Chichiri nodded. "But even so - take care of yourself a little, please."
"Do you think Aoiketsu is all right?" Hyoushin asked softly, and at the question Chichiri frowned, seeing the genuine concern flicker in the Meihi's clever amethyst eyes.
"That's a difficult question to answer." He admitted honestly. "The truth is, we know that he's in some ways connected to Seiryuu - and to Nakago. Myoume intimated to me that she felt Nakago in his aura, and I've felt it too. Aoi told me himself that she'd suggested his squeamishness might be Seiryuu's way of preventing him turning out like his father. But...I suppose, if enough were to press against his sense of right and wrong, that barrier might be broken. The shinken might have begun it - fighting with a sword belonging to someone for whom doing right was as easy and as logical as breathing in could have had an impact. Especially since Hotohori-sama once spilled Nakago's blood onto that blessed blade...but more, I think it's something within Aoi himself. Little by little he's starting to become Hikari's protector in all ways - and a soldier who fears blood can't fight. Today's events just capped it off...it was the last straw, to see one friend cut down by another in such a way. If there was a seal, he's broken through it. And if there wasn't, then finally, he's found the resolve to overcome it."
"But what does that mean for him?" Hyoushin frowned. "I do not want him to be harmed by this, Chichiri. I did not raise him to be Nakago's shadow, but his own self. And his nature...is not a cruel one."
"Nor was Nakago's, I imagine, before circumstances drove him over the edge." Chichiri reflected, and Hyoushin's eyes became grave.
"Yes. I believe you are right." He admitted. "In the short time I knew the Shougun, such was my own impression of him. It is easier to understand the actions of another when you have suffered similar circumstances, after all."
"But you are different from Nakago." Chichiri got to his feet, setting his ointment aside as he gazed down on his wounded companion. "You have taken a different path - you prefer to pursue peace, not revenge or chaos."
"Maybe my mode of revenge is the pursuit of peace." Hyoushin reflected, and Chichiri raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, surely it is the best form of vengeance, if you can squash the darkness with light." Hyoushin said pensively. "Allowing it to taint your actions only makes you complicit. Eradicating the things that hurt me is my form of revenge, if you like. Consigning them to oblivion forever...that is my way of avenging my past."
"I see." Despite himself, a faint smile touched Chichiri's lips. "Well, that's an original way of looking at it, I suppose. But whatever your motivation, the values are the same - positive ones, as opposed to the negative ones that seared Nakago's heart. And those values are the things you've taught that boy...it just remains to be seen if he's strong enough to hold on to those while Seiryuu's spirit swirls within him. Seiryuu is the God of fighting, after all...that can't be helped."
"Maybe that girl will be the answer." Hyoushin sighed, and Chichiri could see the weariness in the Meihi's gaze. "Truly, I have never seen him form an attachment like this before. It does not displease me - all the more now. Maichu and Aoiketsu are very different beasts...and while Maichu will hurt most, Aoiketsu will hurt longest."
"Aoi won't blame Maichu though, will he?" Chichiri asked, and Hyoushin shook his head.
"No." He replied. "Maichu is his closest friend, and besides, Aoiketsu is a good judge of situation. I think from his own words he understands more what has happened than Maichu yet does...that is perhaps his failing in all of this. Maichu's shock has been great...but if he can be convinced the blame is not with him, in time I think he will forgive himself. Aoiketsu has already made the connection to Kikei and his manipulations - and his grievance is growing ever more complex."
"Perhaps I should talk to him." Chichiri suggested, and Hyoushin sighed.
"I don't think he will listen, yet." He murmured. "Not until Maichu is back here, in any case. Chichiri, this cannot continue - Aoiketsu was right about that. We must move, and quickly. Things are becoming serious. If the mountain has also been stormed, there may not be much time left."
"You're in no fit state to travel to Kutou." Chichiri said firmly. "We haven't saved your life for you to throw it away."
"My life and everyone else's will be forfeit if Seiryuu no Miko does not soon go to Kutou." Hyoushin said matter-of-factly. "Is that not true? Today I saw with my own eyes how Toroki's prophesies pan out. I will not argue with anything else she predicts. There isn't time for me to convalesce here. If Kutou must be saved, then it must be saved. And if I must go and speak to my Emperor, then so I must. Regardless of the risk or the cost - I must."
"Papa?"
Before Chichiri could reply, the door swung open, and Meikyo poked her head around it, ruby eyes big as she eyed the adults' expressions. "I'm very sorry to disturb you but Kaa-san said that I should give this to you. She said it might be important, so I..."
She faltered, biting her lip, and Chichiri sighed, beckoning for her to come in.
"It's all right, Mei-chan - come do as you've been asked." He said gently. "I'm sorry - this has been a confusing few days for you and your brother, hasn't it, with all this coming and going in the village?"
"Is Tenshi-san all right?" Meikyo asked anxiously, obediently slipping into the room as she trotted up to them. "He looks sick again, Papa...did he get poisoned again?"
"No, he just pushed himself too far in Kounan's heat." Chichiri shook her head. "And I've told you, Meikyo, about calling him that."
"Oh." Meikyo reddened, lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry, T...Hyoushin-san. I forgot."
"It's all right." Hyoushin held out a clumsy right hand to touch the girl's cheek, and Meikyo glanced up, eyes wide with surprise at his gesture. "I am no angel, Meikyo, but if you wish to call me so, I do not mind. After all, many people have seen my colouring and called me various things - a ghost, a man of snow, a statue of marble...even a demon. But you do not see that, do you? In all my life, noone has ever likened my appearance to that of an angel."
"Is it really all right?" Meikyo looked doubtful. "I don't want to be rude. If I was, Kaa-san would be angry and Papa would be disappointed in me. But it's so hard to remember. You...you're so pretty and you look like an angel to me."
"I'm not sure pretty is the right word for it, Mei-chan." Despite himself, a smile touched the edges of Chichiri's lips. "But I suppose if Hyoushin doesn't mind it, I won't try and stop you. Why did your mother send you, anyway? What was it she wanted you to give to me?"
"Oh!" Meikyo's eyes widened and she nodded, holding out her burden to her father. Chichiri took it gingerly, eying the bundle of cloth in some confusion. Slowly he unwrapped it, then paused as he realised the material hid a mirror, its surface glittering with something other than reflective light. He touched his index finger to it, then eyed his daughter questioningly.
"Where did she get this?" He asked softly, and Meikyo's expression became grave.
"From the Onii-san who died in the forest." She said soberly. "When she was cleaning his body so he could be buried in clean clothes in the village, she found this and thought you should have it. It's not a very pretty mirror, is it Papa? And the glass is all smoky...I don't understand why he had it with him. It can't have been very useful at all."
"A mirror?" Hyoushin's brows knitted together, and he held out his right hand, eying the sorcerer as he did so.
"May I see, please?" He asked, and Chichiri nodded, handing the implement over. Hyoushin set it carefully down on his lap, running his hand over the surface thoughtfully for a moment. Then he closed his eyes, murmuring something under his breath. He glanced up.
"This is a charmed mirror." He said softly. "One of Kikei's spells hangs over it like the stench of a dead rat, no doubt - I have carried a similar one, once before, as a medium through which to communicate directly with my Emperor. Of course, that was before my position became so tenuous and I was exiled here. But this is how Kayu was receiving his orders - part of the conspiracy and I was not even aware."
"Is it a bad mirror?" Meikyo looked worried. "Is it cursed, then...? With bad magic? Is that why the Nii-san died?"
"Kayu was killed by a curse all right, but not because of this mirror." Chichiri rested his palm on the surface, closing his eyes as he carefully disabled the magic that surrounded it. "There. Kikei's link to it has been broken - but I'm surprised. I hadn't realised that this Priest possessed some level of spiritual power...if he's merely inhabiting the post of Seiryuu's priest, I'm amazed he's managed to hone any kind of skills. But even though this spell isn't a hard one - it requires some latent natural ability."
"Meaning he's a sorcerer too, like you are?" Hyoushin asked. Chichiri shook his head, drawing his hand away from the mirror as he folded his hands together.
"I don't think so." He replied. "At least, his power isn't divinely given. I'm chosen by Suzaku to wield the magic I do, and I use it for that end. But there are people who have a natural propensity to spells and incantations. If a man truly seeks to awaken it, he can draw on his own strength to manifest some level of power. Kikei appears to be one such individual. If he is capable of this level incantation, we can't rule out the possibility that he might be capable of more."
"Such a thing is unusual?" Hyoushin looked surprised, and Chichiri shrugged.
"Those who awaken these powers usually do so because they have chosen a spiritual life." He responded. "Kikei must have manipulated his lifestyle to suit his ends. He's learnt the skills of a Priest and more, by the looks...an ordinary Hin he may be, but I think he might prove to be a sinister opponent if we met him face to face."
He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"But not a match for my own sorcery." He added, holding the mirror out. "Mei-chan, take this back with you to Aidou. It should be buried with Kayu in the village...there's no other use for it here, now the spell over it has been broken...and considering its provenance, it's not something I want around here."
"All right." Meikyo nodded. "If it's not a bad mirror any more, I'll take it and tell Kaa-san what you said."
She cast Hyoushin a wide grin, bowing her head towards him.
"Feel better soon, Tenshi-san." She said sincerely. "I like that you came to stay here."
Then she was gone, and Hyoushin shook his head slowly.
"Your daughter is such an innocent." He murmured. "In the streets of Kutou's capital and in the courts of the Emperor both I have encountered many remarks on my appearance...being a Meihi in such a place and in an Imperial uniform does draw attention, after all. The comments are not all pleasant - often they are quite the opposite, although I have never let it trouble me too greatly. Yet noone has ever likened the visage of a Meihi to an angel sent by some divine force. Your child's thoughts are automatically to good things, not bad. Her innocence is something I'd like to bring to Kutou - but more, I'm finding I'd like to be able to preserve it here, too. I'm coming to realise what it is the East fears about the South after all."
"Fears about the South?" Chichiri eyed him in surprise, and Hyoushin nodded slowly.
"This sense of solidarity that they can neither understand nor break down." He agreed sadly. "I am a man of Kutou and I will always be - I have no intention of staying in exile here or in Hokkan with my sister. But I am not blind to my nation's flaws...given my history, how can I be? There are truly good souls in the East, and yet many of them are too afraid to bridge age-old rifts and join together. It is this reason that has prevented Kutou from finding salvation - of this I am sure."
"Hisei said the same thing, in the cave beneath the mountain." Chichiri sighed. "That Kutou had marked its own fate by allowing things like genocide and betrayal to take place. It's a long term pattern in their history, so it seems - your people, Nakago's people, but also other peoples, too."
"Kayu and Maichu's conflict is almost symbolic of Kutou's state of being." Hyoushin's eyes clouded over. "Friend versus friend in a battle for what is right."
"Well, we'll have to do something about that." Chichiri reflected. "I'll have to think this over...and see what our best course of action is. Once Kayu is laid to rest, and once Maichu has been retrieved...then we'll talk about what we're going to do next. But for the time being..."
He paused, brushing his fingers against Hyoushin's brow, then nodding.
"Meikyo isn't wrong." He owned. "You are warmer than you were, and that's thanks to your exertions in the sun. I think the best thing would be for you to rest - sleep, if you can, and try not to worry about these things. We're on the same side, after all, and Maichu and Aoi are both as much my responsibility now as yours, since you asked Hikari for help. So you don't have to take everything onto your shoulders any more. At the moment, you're not fit to do that - and we don't want to lose anyone else."
Hyoushin sighed, but Chichiri saw the flicker of resignation in his gaze. Slowly he nodded.
"I am hardly fit to do anything but obey." He admitted. "But I am not happy about it. Had I been full strength, I would have stopped the fight before it had begun...Miramu also has much to answer for in Kayu's death."
"And we won't let it go unavenged." Chichiri assured him gravely. "But listen - this hunger strike of yours also needs to stop. You couldn't have stopped that fight no matter what this morning - but if you continue not to eat, you won't be strong enough to travel anywhere. You're hampering your own recovery, Hyoushin - this isn't your time as a slave and you don't have to survive on nothing but water and scraps. I realise you're feeling unwell and that your arm hurts - I know the herahisa made you nauseous yesterday and I've held off on you till now because of it. But almost forty eight hours have passed since you arrived here, and Maichu said you barely ate anything on the journey South, either - a journey which must have covered three or four days at the very least. That can't go on - I won't let it go on. If you really want to help your Emperor, you have to eat."
Hyoushin's eyes widened at the stern tone in the sorcerer's voice, and for a moment he did not answer. Then he let out a rueful laugh, a faint flicker of wry acceptance in his usually impassive amethyst eyes.
"Perhaps I am not the only one used to being in a position of command." He reflected. "You are quite a force yourself, if you want to be, aren't you, Chichiri?"
"If I want to be, perhaps." Chichiri agreed lightly. "But you know I'm right."
"Yes, I do." Hyoushin agreed. "And I will take your words on board. When we left Hokkan, I had much on my mind other than food, and since we crossed into warmer territory my appetite has gone completely. Thanks to Kounan's humid air and blazing sun I have been tired and fighting just to move forwards. But it cannot go on, I realise that. I must force myself to overcome it. This morning's conflict has told me that as much as anything - even if I could not have stopped that fight, it may come to it where the difference between life and death is what little strength I can muster."
He glanced at his left arm, then sighed.
"I do not know if this will heal, but since you are giving me every help you can, I must also help myself." He added. "I will follow your advice, Chichiri-sensei...you need not badger me any further. This evening, when the sun has gone down and the air is cooler - I promise I will eat."
"Then that's one less thing for me to worry about." Relief flickered in Chichiri's heart. "Good. Then you get some rest, and let me worry about our next step. We'll talk again tonight - all of us, I hope, if Myoume and Maichu are back by then. And then maybe we'll know what we're going to need to do."
Author's brief note:
Kintsusei calls Miramu "Nishi no Kage西の影) which means "Shadow of the West" in Japanese. Kage 影or "shadow" is the character Miramu wears on the collar that hides his celestial mark from view. Nishi no Kage is therefore the name he goes by as an assassin, in mockery of his Celestial identity (Byakko no Amefuri or Nishi no Amefuri).
Usually I write it in English but somehow it just slipped out that way this time around...and it sounded good...so I thought I ought to footnote :)
Sorry about that...
Vraie :D