Rushing Stream

Xiao exited the house, looking for the messenger girl. The girl, wearing her clothing bunched up at the hips, was leaping from rock to rock, allowing the water to splash against her heels. She giggled as a fish flashed through the water. Her hair was loose, twisting in the wind. Droplets from the gushing river sprayed her, causing her to move precariously on the slick rocks.

"Mei!" Xiao called, walking towards her.

She turned to him, balancing on her toes.

"Get over here before Yao really considers binding your feet."

She bounded over to him, not because of the threat but because of the importance in his voice. She let go of her commoner's dress and it fell to her ankles, flapping against the speed of her run. She stopped before him, panting slightly.

"Why do you insist on acting like a child?" Xiao asked.

She held her arms out, her pale fingers clean now. "I'm enjoying the freedom here." She said. "Don't you like it here more than stuffy old Shanghai?"

Xiao had no right to admonish her for being childish. He was only a few years her senior. He held a glove in his hand and shoved it towards her. "Go play after you fix this."

She stared at it. Water slid down her legs, spotting the stone path below her feet. She picked it up and examined a tear on the palm. The daggers had been removed. "Do you want me to go find a seamstress?" She asked.

"Can't you fix it?" Xiao asked irritably.

"No. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I was born knowing how to."

"You're a mouthy brat. Go fix it just don't tell them what it's used for."

Xiao turned away, walking back towards the small rented building. In truth, he would rather have been in China, for all its bustle and noise. He didn't like the openness of the Japanese fields here. The only thing he even came close to having a passion for was the watery-blue mountains in the distance. In fact, he thought suddenly, he would much rather have been on the crowded ship than here.

Mei went with a few coins and the glove. She easily ran from the outskirts to the village, her youthful energy hardly ever depleting. Xiao huffed as he entered the house, wondering what he should do next. He wasn't allowed to move from the injuries he suffered after his scuffle with Kiku.

He may as well have been strapped down to a chair and only allowed to move his eyeballs. Xiao moved towards the kitchen where a servant was preparing something to eat. He watched her work and plucked a handful of peanuts from a small bowl. He crunched on one, returning to the main room.

"You should be nicer to your sister."

Xiao paused at the abrupt command.

"She's hardly my sister." Xiao said rebelliously, looking towards Yao.

Yao wore a simple red robe as he bent on the ground. He did not lift his eyes. His long black ponytail fell over one of his shoulders, its end curled delicately. He held a brush before a page and marked another complex symbol.

"You live together and you are family." Yao said. "She is your sister."

Xiao huffed. "I suppose she is, sir, but she can be so annoying."

"So children seem to always be."

Yao kept his dark eyes pinned on the paper in concentration. His slim hand moved easily across the coarse material, his brush perpendicular with the board. He was taught by scholars and he refused to repress it.

Xiao munched on another peanut, rattling them in his hand.

"I would prefer that you ate elsewhere, Xiao. Don't get crumbs on this floor. I don't want my manuscripts and letters to be covered in a child's messy eating habits."

Instead of moving away, Xiao stepped forwards and made a show of eating the oily nuts. He even bent forwards. Yao replaced his brush on its stand and sighed. "Aiyah, have I taught you nothing? Must you always rebel at any given opportunity? The lack of discipline will hurt your future. Too much fire in your personality…" he continued to grumble, turning away from his work. His pointed face seemed to threaten Xiao.

With a defiant glare, Xiao turned away from the room, leaving Yao alone. He paused in the hallway. "What if I ate here? Will the Storm get to me?"

"I doubt the storm has time for foolish childish acts." Yao said.

"Oh? But I thought the Storm was all-seeing and omnipotent."

"Yes and if you're not careful the Storm will bite off your nose while you sleep."

Xiao tried his best to hide the glimmer of fear in his eyes. Yao tried his best not to laugh. He picked his brush back up and began on the next set of letters. He carefully described the beautiful mountains and lush grass surrounding him. He may as well write a memoir while he lived.

Sunlight spilled across him, warming his bare swan's neck and his pale lips.

. . .

"You speak Japanese very well for a foreigner," the seamstress told Mei.

She held the glove before her and poked the needle through. At Mei's instruction she left a slit along the top as she repaired the tears. She also made sure the hidden pocket, most likely for a weapon or a vial of poison, was secured well. From Mei's quasi-espionage, she could tell this was an important task. At least it was somewhat important. The owner wouldn't have sent a little girl otherwise, unless they were rash.

She wasn't far off with that.

Kyoko Koizumi, the village's top seamstress, was also the village's biggest gossip. She had pudgy cheeks that for some somehow translated as "I am very reliable. Do tell me all your secrets". Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Mei did not fall for it.

"I was taught by a scholar, Koizumi-san." She said proudly, sitting cross-legged on the soft floor before her.

Fabrics hung along the walls, giving the room a cozy air. Several kimono hung behind Koizumi, all with various designs. One of them had a crane on the shoulder, dipping it beak down. Mei eyed it in wonder. The fabric was a deep, ocean blue and the edges were white, like sea foam. The stitching was along the side and where the wearer's thigh would have been.

Koizumi wore a simple purple kimono. She placed the glove before her. Mei snatched it up and set a few coins in its place. "Thank you." She said with a quick bow, scampering out of the room.

Koizumi frowned. There was nothing a little girl had to say? Surely she would have heard some juicy gossip, especially due to the glove. Nonetheless, Koizumi had many tasks yet ahead of her. She stood and gathered the fabrics of a half-made kimono and set to work.

Mei went back to her home, holding the glove close to her. Now the fabric was better sewn, she noticed. It resisted more when she tugged and it even felt nicer. She slid it on to her hand as she walked. It was too big for her and went nearly half way down her forearm. Still, she felt a power emitting from it.

No wonder Xiao felt unstoppable when he wore it and his uniform, perched in a corner, waiting for an enemy. Mei doubted if he had ever hurt anyone aside from Honda before. If he had, he didn't talk about it. Which, Mei knew not to fit his personality. He would have boasted. Mei considered this until she reached the doorstep. She entered her house, still barefoot.

"Mei, go wash your feet." Yao said from his room.

"I already did!" She lied.

"No, you didn't. I've known you since you were an infant. Do you think I would fall for that a hundredth time?"

Mei pouted. Xiao walked past her, snatching his glove up with a mumbled word of thanks. Mei stalked back out of the house towards the stream and dipped her feet in it. A trail of rocks connected the stream to her house. She didn't feel it was necessary to wash in a basin.

Thud, thud, thud

Mei looked around. The hoof beats, towering over the river's gurgling, interrupted her thoughts. She looked around, squinting. In the horizon she saw a form on a horse galloping towards them. He seemed like a messenger, seeing as he lacked any ornamentation a samurai or warrior had. In fact, as Mei watched longer and as the figure drew closer, she noticed it was not even a man. A woman bounded towards the village, the edges of her dress flailing in the wind.

Mei scrambled out of the creek and went to alert Yao.

"Father! Lin is here!" She hollered.

Yao exited his room, his hands clasped before him. He smiled. "Child, rest for now. You don't need to here this." He told her. She nodded. When Lin came about there was always an air of secrecy. She also didn't like arguing with Yao, she respected him far too much. She went to her room, the door sliding shut behind her.

"Does Mistress Lin want anything to drink?" The serving girl asked, peering from the kitchen.

"No, she won't stay long. I sense urgency in her arrival."

Xiao frowned. "You can tell that from here?"

Yao shook his head. "I can tell because she should have arrived tomorrow. Something must have happened."

"Should I go, too?" Xiao asked, fidgeting with his dagger-less glove.

"Yes."

Xiao slid away. Lin terrified him and he was thankful for the opportunity to slip away. Yao watched him leave, knowing well why he wanted to be dismissed. Lin scared him sometimes too, but mostly out of worry.

He waited at the front door for her arrival.