Chapter 9

It was late in the morning by the time Kato and two local villagers felt safe enough to venture towards the shed that hid the fugitives. Of the three strangers that appeared the day before, two had already been sent packing back to the mainland with the fake story that the assassin had killed Fuu, her two bodyguards and her father, only then to die himself in the battle.

All of the residents of the island were quite fluent in lying when it came to questions of Christianity, or the Christians that "used" to inhabit the island. In truth, all those who remained were believers and refused to run away from their ancestral homes. It was actually a good example of hiding in plain sight. The Shogun's subordinates could not comprehend that those who were guilty and being hunted would remain. So, to their logic, the remnants were non-Christians. It kept the residents safe for years.

Kato had been terrified that the three strangers would insist on exhuming the bodies to confirm the identities of the corpses. They had only been buried for a day. It would be a disaster, especially since Fuu's "grave" was empty. Still, several villagers gave the strangers a tour of the island and made sure to highlight the house where Seizo Kasumi had been slain, the cliff covered with blood where Jin had "died" and the beach where Mugen was "blown to pieces." It was not much of a stretch of the truth to state that Fuu had also been slain on the cliff. There was surely enough blood to attest to the supposed slaughter.

After the tour, the town had prepared a feast for these men to simulate a celebration for being "freed" from the curse of Christians in their midst. The object of the party was to get the men so drunk that it would be simple to place them back on the ferry to the mainland. Unfortunately, half-way through the night, one of the men disappeared. A covert search turned up nothing on his whereabouts, and left the village elders sweating over their possible unmasking.

The two hung over strangers were whisked away early in the morning with fake smiles and affection while villagers set out to scour the countryside in daylight for the missing official. Kato neared the shed and strained his senses to detect anything wrong. The younger men behind him trailed along with their swords hidden in the folds of their hakamas. It wouldn't do to alert the remaining stranger to the presence of swordsmen among the supposed peasants.

As their path took them closer to the shed, Kato noticed a shadowy object peeking out from the front corner of the building. He knew there was nothing left out there when he hurriedly camouflaged Fuu's hiding place the evening before. He had personally taken everything inside that could possibly be used to barricade the girl and her friends. His heart sped up and his breath quickened as they neared.

It became obvious from the shape, and color of the shadowy object that it was a man's arm and sleeve peeking out from the corner of the shed. The two younger men ran ahead of the old retainer to protect him from any danger that might spring on them. Both men gasped as they reached the front of the building. Kato watched the eyes on his companions as they grew huge in shock and wonder.

Kato understood as he moved forward so more of the body that was attached to the arm became visible. A large, ugly man lay on his back with his sightless eyes staring up at the sky with a disbelieving look on his face. Dried blood stained his ghastly white hand that was clasped to his neck, which seemed to be the source of his death. So, the mystery of the third stranger was solved. But, how did this man end up dead?

Kato looked about the grounds for a moment and noticed the wakizashi of his late master's daisho. It apparently had been dropped a few feet away from the corpse, and not even properly cleaned off. Blood had dried on the blade, and was sure to rust the heirloom if it were not cleaned soon. This simple fact made it clear that neither of Fuu's bodyguard, friends had been the executioner of this threatening man. No man who lived by the sword would abuse a blade in this manner. That only left Fuu or a villager. Surely, sweet, little Fuu could not have done such a thing. Yet, she was her father's daughter. Was it possible that she had found the courage to defend herself and her friends? And, if this were true, how would it affect the girl who had already been so traumatized in the last few days?

Fuu was awakened by the loud exclamation that could only come from Kato. Yet she could not actually hear the words the old man was shouting. At that moment she wondered when and how she had fallen asleep. She looked over to her right to see Jin and Mugen were safe and unconscious. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she turned her head to try and focus on the commotion outside the door.

"Lady Fuu! Oh Kami! What happened here" Other voices were shouting in alarm out front of the shed, and she tried her hardest to remember what was going on. Everything seemed distant and blurry. All she wanted was to run away and sleep for a week. It was just too tough to even think. Her mind wandered off to daydream about laying in a sunny meadow.

Time seemed to have fast-forwarded on her as she realized that there were strange men hustling about the shed, removing the supplies in boxes and barrels. Kato knelt before her with a worried frown on his face. Fuu didn't know why, but her left cheek stung like it was sunburned. Then she understood why when she saw the old retainer pull his hand back from its follow through from slapping her, and appeared to be ready to slap her again. She flinched and squealed in alarm as she prepared for the blow, but it never came.

The little old man rambled, "Oh, Lady Fuu. Please forgive me for striking you but I didn't know what else to do. You had me so worried. I thought you were dead when we came in and you did nothing but stare. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? What happened?"

Her eyes felt like she had not closed them for days, but she still managed to focus on Kato. Her voice was tiny as she responded, "I'm fine. Everything's fine. We're safe." But no matter how hard she tried, she could not seem to remember exactly what had happened that he was so upset about. She searched around the shed and seemed to vaguely remember that they were hiding. Her eyes returned to her two friends that were still sprawled out against the wall, even though someone had removed the hand wagon.

She remembered she needed to finish sewing some kimonos. She remembered traveling on their quest. But, for some reason, recent events eluded her. She simply shrugged her shoulders and stopped trying so hard. Her Mom had always told her that memories always came back when you stopped trying so hard to remember them. With that thought in mind, she turned to the retainer and stated, "I'm hungry." She didn't realize that her voice came out as childish sounding as it did, but she was too distracted to care.

Kato's mouth hung open in abject confusion at her responses. He had seen things like this happen to warriors after witnessing or experiencing something horrible. It seemed that their minds just either shut down or tried to forget the troubling memories. He could only guess what had happened to her from the blood on her clothes, and the dead body outside with her Father's wakizashi next to it. His beloved master's daughter had somehow killed a man and was now sitting before him in complete shock.

He smiled a kindly, fatherly smile and reassured the confused girl, "Yes, I have lunch being brought up, along with a lovely bath for you. One of the women in town remembered you from the other day, and agreed to help you wash up. I'm sure you'll feel much better when you are clean and in your own clothes. After lunch, we need to redress your friends' wounds, and feed them. Then you can come and inspect the fake graves that we created to see if they are as you desired."

Fuu just barely understood what was going on. Her eyes felt all dry and hot. There was an awful taste lingering in her mouth, and something stunk. She wrinkled her nose and hoped it wasn't her. She prided herself on staying clean, no matter how dire the circumstances. Men walked in and out, taking the boxes and barrels out of the shed that had been stored there to hide them. Soon, all that was left was herself, her friends, and the supplies that had been gathered days before.

A small smile graced her face as Kato brought her favored, pink kimono to her all neatly folded and smelling fresh. The pile of bindings on top of her kimono made her blush, as she remembered she was naked under Jin's new kimono.

For some reason, Fuu couldn't seem to move her body to help the little old retainer as he rearranged the supplies, or replaced Jin and Mugen to their previous positions in the middle of the room. It was like her body was no longer under her control, and she was simply a dispassionate observer. She realized this was something strange, but couldn't seem to do anything about it. If Fuu had lived in the twentieth century, a psychologist would have diagnosed her with a dissociative disorder resulting from post traumatic stress syndrome. But as it was, everyone simply thought she was acting strangely.

Finally, a middle aged woman approached the doorway carrying a large pot. The smell of stew graced the air and caused Fuu's stomach to growl in the worst way. The older woman was pale and seemed to be staring at something just outside the doorway of the hut, but she continued on in and knelt beside Kato. When the older woman's eyes glanced at Fuu, a look of shock and horror crossed the woman's face before the terrified eyes darted to stare at the floor.

Fuu didn't realize how awful a picture she made. The gray kimono she was wearing was stained all down the front with dried blood. Some had even splattered onto the girl's face and neck. Worst of all, Fuu's eyes were empty and blank, giving her the look of a corpse herself. It was quite a shock to this woman, since she was the one who had given directions to this same girl days before on where to find Seizo Kasumi. At that time, the girl had been vibrant, and so full of life. It was decided that the bath was needed more than the food at that moment.

It was no time before the older woman had strung some of the white fabric across a corner of the shed where the two villagers had positioned a fairly large tub of hot water. Fuu allowed the woman to lead her along like a small child with no will of her own. Which, was not too far from the confused state of her mind. Fuu could see what was happening and hear what was said, but she just couldn't seem to get a grasp on the meaning of anything.

An hour later, and several bars of soap later, Fuu was clean and dressed in her own kimono. She felt more like herself as she squatted next to the guys and retrieved the brown shirt that she was working on for Mugen. Somehow the idea of eating had slipped out of her thoughts and she no longer realized she was hungry. The old retainer gathered the grey kimono she had carelessly discarded and carried it past her on his way to the laundress. Fuu's eyes gravitated to the grey fabric splattered with reddish brown and she froze. In a flash, she could see a large, gnarly man holding his neck and gurgling as his life blood splashed towards her. Adrenaline coursed through her body as her heartbeat skyrocketed to a painful level. She threw herself towards the corner that had housed her bathtub, and heaved. Nothing came up since she had yet to eat anything since yesterday. Still, her body reacted violently.

Poor old Kato watched this with distress. He had seen the terrified look in her eyes after viewing the stained kimono. In a swift move, he tossed the material out the shed door, and scurried over to his master's sick daughter. He spoke kind, soothing words to the stricken girl as he ordered the older woman to carry the kimono away to be cleaned. If the stain could not be completely removed, it was to be burned.

After an eternity that passed in moments, Fuu collapsed into a shaking, sobbing mass against the retainer. The sobs lessened to a quiet cry, then to simple tears slowing on her cheeks. Her eyes returned to the lifeless, blank look that they held when Kato had originally arrived. Kato decided to simply allow the woman to heal and return to reality at her own pace. Until then, he was going to simply continue the routines that they had established over the last three days. He gently replaced her on the mat at the head of her two friends' sleeping places and busied about the hut. He spoke of mundane things and the condition of they guys as he changed their bandages.

The body of the slain bounty hunter had already been carted off to the cemetery. In truth, this was a godsend in that now they had an actual body to place in the fake grave for Fuu. If the Shogun should ever send workers to exhume the bodies, they would not know how petite the girl was, and would never question the size of the bones entombed in the ground.

An hour later, Kato noticed that Fuu was snoring quietly. While she was unaware, the little retainer proceeded back outside the hut and retrieved the bloody wakizashi. He sat in the corner with the other personal effects of her father's and polished the antique blade to remove the blood before it could rust the precious metal. No true swordsman would allow their blades, even the smaller wakizashi, to remain moist. They even carried special paper strictly for that purpose in battle.

Luckily, the rain had not deserted the island completely, as a steady downpour resumed in the early afternoon hours. Kato was grateful that the heavens saw fit to wash away the evidence of the bloody corpse that had graced the front of the shed. The men had pieced together the events from the body itself. For when they removed the ex-bounty hunter, they found a pile of tinder and a flint. It was not a stretch of the imagination to guess that the evil man had extracted Fuu from her hiding spot, then intended to use the tinder to create a funeral pyre for the injured bodyguards. If Fuu had not acted, the two men would be dead, and she would be long gone, in the hands of the Shogun. Kato shuddered as he imagined the horror this little girl would face at the hands of the Christian hating government. If the caliber of assassin that had been sent after her was any indication, the Shogun considered her one of the top threats in the country!

As the trio slept and the rain splattered outside, the wrinkled old retainer placed bowls to catch the leaks and set about painting grave markers. Couldn't have convincing graves without markers. Each picket was ceremonially painted and lettered with the utmost care. Although, it was an ancient superstition that putting a living person's name on a grave marker would cause their immediate death, he knew in this case, it would prevent their deaths. He scratched his head, leaving a smudge of white paint on his temple, as he thought, "Well, if it doesn't actually prevent their deaths, at least, it might delay them by throwing the assassins off their trails long enough to disappear."

He knew that his beloved, deceased master had left enough to support all three of these for the rest of their lives. The only problem was how to use it. They could convert the land and personal property all into coins, but it would be bulky and dangerous. It wasn't like they could carry a fortune around in a wagon for their travels. They would be set upon by bandits before they could leave the ferry landing!

His weary old mind spun with possibilities and risks as he almost cursed Seizo Kasumi for leaving him with such a monumental task! But, then, he remembered all the sacrifices that great samurai had made for his sake, and those of the people of the island and felt guilt for such thoughts. Kato had sworn his life to the service of the great man, and that included serving his only child and heir. He scanned the room and took in the conditions of the two half naked men and chuckled to himself. That vow of service might even extend to these stray warriors who had risked their very lives for his precious mistress.

As he finished the five grave markers and stood them in the corner to dry, he heard whimpering coming from behind him. He turned to see Fuu thrashing on her tatami mat on the other side of the shed. Nightmares. He knew this would come. Every soldier he had ever met had nightmares after their first kill; whether in battle or elsewhere. Poor Fuu, didn't even have the training to know how to deal with these tragic events.

As far as the old retainer knew, she was just an innocent girl caught up in the intrigues of distant powerful men. He had personally heard every report that came in from time to time from spies sent to keep tabs on this distant daughter. Her life had not been easy, or simple. He knew of her time running with a gang and rolling dice for a living. It was horrible what children had to do to remain alive in this cruel world. Still, there were large parts of her past that neither he nor her father was privy to. There was only so much a spy could find out without climbing into a person's skin and living their lives with them.

So, he prepared to waddle over to the girl and soothe her sleep. But before he had a chance to even rise off the floor, one of the bodyguards opened an eye and looked towards the sound. It was the one she called Jin. This was the one that was a Ronin; a samurai without a master; a wanderer. Kato stilled to watch the interaction. This was the first time he had seen awareness in either man.

Jin shifted slightly as the sound of Fuu's distress bored into his unconsciousness. It roused him from the slumbering darkness that had held him away from his pain. One eye opened to look at the blurry world about him. He saw the wooden roof and heard the 'ploink' sound of water drops hitting standing water. His fuzzy mind realized that the roof was leaking. This almost made him laugh since it was the first thing he noticed; something so inconsequential. Of course, considering he had not expected to ever wake again, after the fatal battle on the cliff, it truly was not an inconsequential sound. It was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard in his entire life.

A quiet sob pulled his waning attention away from the sound of the rain and he shifted his head slightly to look above him where the sound originated. His eyes focused for a moment on the pink kimono that indicated Fuu. His dreamy mind shifted as he thought, 'I shall always think of Fuu when I see pink.' It took a few more blinks before he realized that she was crying in her sleep. His instincts were to go to her and wrap her in his embrace to comfort her, but he was incapable of such movements. Instead, he opened his mouth and tried to call her name, but only a rough croak came out. So, as the healing darkness dragged at the edges of his vision, he snaked his right hand across the floor and took hold of her little hand that was balled up under her chin. Under his caressing thumb, her little fist loosened and her body seemed to relax. His last thought as he drifted back off to sleep was, 'Fuu, my friend." A tiny smile graced his lips as his eyes closed.

Kato watched the entire interaction with a tiny smile of his own on his withered face. Could it be that the samurai without a master had found one? A master for a samurai was not simply someone to hand out orders. A true samurai devoted his life to his master, and was willing to sacrifice his life for the one true master. Some even believed in killing themselves after their masters died. Ronin were samurai who found no master worthy of their respect or their lives. They lived only for themselves and fought only for themselves. This tall pale man had protected Fuu and fought against seemingly overwhelming odds. The old man chuckled at the thought of the samurai swearing allegiance to this little girl. It was a strange world, and stranger things had been known to happen. Still, what were the chances that she had found such loyal and able bodyguards in a teahouse fire? In truth, he could not wait until both men awoke to see how the three interacted.