Disclaimer: I won nothing. Everything is the property of its original creator.
Author's Note-An Apology: I'm terribly sorry but I'm afraid that this chapter will be very OC heavy. I have a certain prejudice against OCs and try to only use them in moderation. However, for this fic to be interesting I need conflict and I don't see much conflict arising without throwing some non-cannon characters into the mix.
Why do I not just use Kisaragi Eiji as a romantic rival for Mai affections? Because contrary to popular belief, Kisaragi does not like Mai in a romantic way. Her text cameo in his character ending in Art of Fighting (English ver.) was a mistranslation and he is, in fact to old for her.
Thank you for reading this far and because I hate OCs I automatically assume that everyone else does to, so I will not be offended if you decide to flame me or stop reading this fic all together.
Sincerely, Renkon
…
Sore ga Ai, deshou?
Chapter Five: The Island
After a three hour boat ride, the small island of Hagi came into view, it started as a small dot on the horizon but then grew into a squat semi-circular bit of land with a line of white sand running the length of its shore line and dense vegetation crowning the rest. The boat circled around to what Andy decided was the back of the island where the sandy beach was replaced by dark sea-tossed rocks.
"What are we doing here, Chichi-ue?" Kazutaka asked when Hanzo cut the boat's motor. "Both Mai-chan and Andy-chan are still two young to start- whaoh!"
The middle-aged ninja's sentence was cut short when Hanzo suddenly booted him off the boat, landing him in the water with a laud splash.
"Mai and Andy aren't the ones that are gonna be running the Course." The old master explained, leaning over the side. "You've been far to 'laxed in your own training, Kazu. You need to toughen back up."
"But I'm a pacifist!" He protested, treading water.
"Well, then you're in luck because the Course doesn't require you to fight anyone." Hanzo-sensei said as he lobbed a wakasashi out into that water and Kazu had to dodge quickly to avoid getting hit in the face by its shiny red lacquered sheath. "Use that since I'm sure that concealed fan of yours is all water-logged now." The old master ordered. "Have fun, Kazu. And whatever you do: don't embarrass me in front of your uncle."
"Hai, Chichi-ue." Kazutaka sighed in defeat before diving under the water to retrieve the sunken short sword.
Once Kazu had swum a safe distance away from the boat, Hanzo-sensei kicked in the motor again and brought the boat around to the front of the island with its white sandy beach and creaking dock and that ran from the deep water all the way up to the front doorstep of an old looking traditional style Japanese villa.
"What's 'the Course'?" Andy asked.
"Its just a type of training we do every summer when we come here." Hanzo replied mildly as he pulled the boat right up to the dock and tied it off. Andy couldn't help but notice that they were not the first to arrive. A sailboat was also moored there, its sails wafting idly in the soft summer breeze.
"Damn." Hanzo-sensei muttered.
Andy couldn't quite figure why his master would be so upset over not being the first to arrive, he just assumed the boat belonged to his brother, Nagare and was afraid of being made to look bad in front of the rest of the family. This was one of the facets of adult mentality that Andy would never understand, putting so much stock in other people's opinions.
"Andy, would you be so kind as to carry Kazu's bag for him. I'm afraid it'll be a while until he gets back." Hanzo-sensei attempted a sweet smile but it seemed oddly strained to the fair-haired ninja in training.
"Uh, sure."
They climbed out of the boat and made their way down the dock to the villa. It was a charming building with solid wood beams supporting a red painted bamboo roof. The shoji screens had been painted with scenes of battles that seemed to span all of Japan's history and were set into delicate sliding wood frames that made no sound when opened.
A sweet looking elderly woman with a slight bend in her back came out to greet them. She bowed low to Hanzo-sensei, offering a formal greeting before politely nodding to Mai and Andy in turn. Andy returned her bow, causing one of the two travel bags he was balancing precariously over his shoulder to topple to the ground, landing on the weather beaten dock with a thump.
"Sumimasen." He apologized and rushed to pick it back up.
"He seems very eager to please." The woman commented. She smiled humorously but Andy had the sinking feeling that she was laughing at him and not his slapstick behavior, unintentional as it was. "I do hope he's a better ninja then he is a bell-hop."
"He's just fine the way he is." Hanzo replied coolly.
"Well, you are the master." She shrugged. "I'm just the old bat that cares for your property as Nagare-sama was so kind to point out to me when he arrived."
"Nagare's here then." Hanzo said, more as a statement that a question.
"Hai." Said the Old-Bat-that-Cares-for-the-Shiranui's-Property. "And he's got that little rat of a grandson with him. They're taking refreshments in the tea room next to the garden." She turned her attention back to Andy. "You don't look much like a rat to me. Tell me: do you like to run up and down the halls opening all the screens and then slamming them shut again and making the floors squeak with that awful racket?"
"No, ma'am."
She scrutinized him for a moment longer. "He's very polite for an Amerika-jin." She said to Honzo. Then to Andy she said, "You strike me more as a puppy type."
"That's what 'Touchan and Ojisama call him." Mai piped up, unhappy with the lack of attention she'd been getting.
"They have good eyes." Nodded Old-Bat-that-Cares-for-the-Shiranui's-Property. Then to Hanzo-sensei she said, "Shall I announce you?"
"Please. And after that would you kindly show little Bogard-san round the island."
"Hai, Hanzo-dono." She bowed low and turned to lead them inside the villa.
Just inside they all slipped out of their shoes and the Old-Bat-that-Cares-for-the-Shiranui's-Property provided them with soft house slippers to wear on the tatami mats. She lead them down a hallway that squeaked the moment it was set foot on and continued to chirp the whole way down.
"This place must be very old." Andy commented. For the floors to creak this badly the building had to be practically ancient. He wondered why no one had ever thought to renovate it and put down new boards.
"It is." Hanzo-sensei confirmed. "But that has nothing to do with the 'song' of our little uguisubari, our nightingale floor."
"Huh?" The boy asked in dumbfounded confusion.
"I'll explain latter." The Old-Bat-that-Cares-for-the-Shiranui's-Property said, pausing in front of one of the shoji sliding doors and dropping ungracefully to her knees. From her position on the floor she opened the door for Hanzo and Mai to enter. "Hanzo-dono, head of the Shiranui clan and Mai-hime." She announced, bowing to the two occupants that were already in the room.
"Stay with Saichi." Hanzo hissed the order to Andy out the corner of his mouth before entering the room.
'Saichi' Andy assumed was the name of the old woman that was caretaker of the house here at Hagi, the woman that Nagare apparently calls 'the old bat that cares for the Shiranui's property'.
Saichi bowed once again before closing the door behind Hanzo-sensei and Mai. Andy was just barely able to catch Mai glancing back as the door was slid shut, looking forlorn and gloomy. He sympathized for her even if he couldn't sympathize with her. He'd never before been in a situation similar to this, heck, he'd never before been in a family similar to this and he'd had his fair share of families.
"Well, then." Saichi climbed awkwardly to her feet, the bend in her spine causing her to have to lean on the wall for balance more than once. "What say you and I take these things to the suits, eh?"
She indicated the two travel bags he still carried as well as the two that Hanzo-sensei and Mai had left out in the hall. Andy picked up Mai's bag (the smaller of the two) and slung it over his shoulder as well. Saichi attempted to lift Hanzo-sensei's bad but after Andy saw how the old woman was struggling with it, he traded Mai's bag for Hanzo's.
"You're a little to nice." She said, scrutinizing him suspiciously but taking the trade all the same. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing." Andy answered honestly. Didn't the rest of the Shiranui help her out when they stayed here? She was very old after all and had an obvious back problem.
She lead him back down the hallway with the squeaky floor, the nightingale floor to a flight of stairs that landed in a gleaming hallway of polished wood and paintings of flowers decorating the shoji screens, a different flower for every room.
"Hanzo-dono prefers the sakura room." Saichi told him, indicating a corner room with the delicate pink blossoms of the cherry tree painted across its door. The boy obediently strode over to deposit his master's travel bag in the indicated room.
A wide window spanned one whole side of the sakura room and offered a beautiful view of the garden behind the house as well as the dense woodland that darkened the island. It was also, it seemed directly above the tea room where Hanzo-sensei and Mai were currently conversing with Nagare and his grandson, Koinosuke. Snippets of conversation drifted up to him but he couldn't make any sense of them and he thought it best no to eavesdrop.
"Hime-sama shall go in the nadeshiko room, I think." Saichi was saying to herself when Andy returned. "And you…" she turned to face the boy, "… you will take the chrysanthemum room, yes."
"And what about Kazutaka-sama?" Andy asked, still carrying the man's bag.
"Kazutake-sama?" Saichi seemed thrown for a moment. "Kazutaka can share a room with you."
"Okay." It wasn't until after Andy had laid down both his and Kazu's travel bags that he thought it was odd that Saichi, a servant, had called the son of her master by his given name with no honorific. Before he had come to Japan Master Tung had told him that it was very rude to call a person by their given name without an honorific tacked onto the end of it.
She seemed to show such respect to Hanzo and Mai referring to them as '-dono', a title of the highest status and respect and Mai as 'hime', which, as far as Andy had learned was equivalent to 'princess'. So why then not show the same level of respect for Kazutaka?
Come to think of it, Hanzo had also been a bit thrown when he'd referred to Kazutaka as '-sama' on his first day here in Japan. Hanzo had said it was something that he could tease Kazu about. Was it because he was a pacifist? Was that why everybody seemed to disrespect him? What kind of ninja was a pacifist any way?
"Oi, puppy! Are you gonna take all day?" Saichi stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. "Hanzo-dono ordered me to show you around the place, so c'mon."
Dutifully, Andy rose to his feet and followed the old woman out. She showed him the residential wing of the house along with the servants' quarters, the kitchen, the dinning hall, the gardens and the training field. She left him at the training field, saying that she was required to greet the rest of the family as they arrived and couldn't have a hakujin puppy under foot.
Andy took advantage of his time alone to practice the old stances that Tung Fu Rue had taught him and Terry. Again, he thought of his brother and where he was, what he was doing. Was he training as hard was Andy was now? How strong had he gotten?
Andy wished thoroughly that he knew where his brother was so that he could give him a call (assuming they had phones on this island) or at least send him a letter (assuming they got post on this island). He wanted to know just how much stronger his Terry had become, to measure himself against his big brother. A wicked grin spread across the boys face. What if, after these ten years Andy, the younger brother had surpassed and become stronger than his big brother?
'That would be awesome!' The boy thought.
…
Mai hated these stuffy and formal meetings with her uncle. He was a stuffy old man with stuffy old ideas and he was convinced that he was right and anyone and everyone that disagreed with him was wrong. He was convinced that he should be head of the family instead of Ojimasa and he was convinced that Mai would not be a good Clan Leader after him if she weren't married. Married, one might add, to a ninja that he deemed worthy of the position.
She was nine for cripes sake!
True, Mai did dream about one day finding and marrying her "Prince Charming" but that was a long way off. Right now she wanted to enjoy her youth, to run and jump and climb trees and most assuredly not act like a 'proper lady' should act.
Nagare frowned at her skinned knees and blue denim shorts. A woman did not damage her skin and a woman did not show her legs casually. A kunoichi (female ninja) did not allow herself to be injured unless her training had been deficient and her skills were lacking. A kunoichi did not display her body unless it was specifically meant to disarm an opponent. On both accounts, as a woman and as a ninja, Mai was inappropriate in Nagare's eyes.
Koinosuke wasn't too fond of Mai either. He was at that age where all girls had cooties and were just all around not pleasant. But in addition to that he resented the way the rest of the family and the few retainers employed by the Shiranui treated her like their precious little princess when his grandfather had told him that he deserved more honor and respect than "that irritating little vixen-in-miniature". He was none to happy with the idea of having to live with Mai (which to the mind of a ten-year-old was what marriage was).
Hanzo was exasperated to no end by the whole affair. He and his brother had been close at one time, but their separate and very different experiences during the War had made them into different people. Nagare had become stubborn and stiff, set in his ways and convinced that traditions were the life's-blood of the country as well as the family and had to be up-held at all cost. He was set in his belief and feared change. While Hanzo, after seeing what his own people had done in Manchuria, had become a forward thinker, putting old feuds between counties and cultures aside in favor of progress and change.
Both wanted what was best for their family but both had very different ideas of what that was. The debates were long.
"I see your points, Nagare." Hanzo lifted a hand when his brother paused in his speech, a signal for quite. "But I think that this is a discussion that should wait until Kazutaka returns from the Course."
Mai brightened when her grandfather said this. Her father was adamantly against the idea of her marrying her second cousin and would do all in his power to argue for her against the marriage contract.
"That worthless pacifist." Nagare said the word like a curse. "He forfeited his right to inherit years ago. He has no say in how we conduct our affair."
"Even so," Hanzo insisted in a tone of deadly calm that warned that he had already been insulted and that Nagare should tred softly, "he is still my son…" this word was stressed to remind Naga that an insult to Kazu was still a slight against him, "… and although he has been removed from succession he's still Mai-chan's father and should have a say in her future. No terms will be discussed until he is present."
"T'ch, you've gone soft, Ani-ue. I hear you've even taken a hakujin as an apprentice."
"News travels fast." Hanzo commented dryly. "As I recall many of our Axis friends were hakujin. In fact, they seemed rather proud of it and never missed a moment to rub it in our faces, as I recall." Hanzo reminded him coolly.
"I've heard you've taken an Amerika-jin hakujin as your apprentice." Nagare spat the word 'Amerika-jin' as if it were something vile and despicable. "Have you forgotten what they did to us? Need I remind you of all the innocent lives that were lost thanks to their monstrosities of war?"
"I remember quite well. But I also remember that we were quite monstrous ourselves back in Manchuria and at Midway. The only difference between the Americans and us was a matter of scale. Besides," Hanzo folded his arms and adjusted to a more comfortable seating position, "you cannot blame a single individual whom wasn't even born yet at that time for the actions of an entire government."
"You've invited a wolf into your home, Ani-ue."
"Maybe, but its snakes one must worry about, Naga." Hanzo shot back, intentionally leaving the 're' off his brother's name.
…
The day wore one, evening soon fell and Kazutake still hadn't returned from this mysterious 'Course' that Hanzo-sensei had sent him into. Andy wanted to ask, since it seemed that he and Mai would eventually have to go through the same thing. He wanted to know what he'd be getting himself into and how he could prepare for it.
Saichi returned and informed him that formal wear was required for dinner tonight, the first evening of the retreat was always a formal occasion, apparently. Andy bowed to her in a thank you and rush back up to his room to change. Now he understood why Kazutaka-sama had packed a silk hakama and haori for him, he supposed it would be very embarrassing for Hanzo-sensei to have his foreigner apprentice to show up to a formal Japanese dinner wearing jeans and a t-shirt, or worse, his sweaty, stinky training clothes.
The nightingale floor chirped and squeaked as he passed on his way back upstairs and Andy wondered why such an irritating thing was ever created or why anyone would ever want one in their home. Granted, the Shiranui didn't live at Hagi most of the year but Andy had been here only a day and the constantly creaking floor was getting on his nerves. He made a mental note to also ask about the floor when he asked about the Course.
Half way through struggling with his hakama Andy started to wish that Kazutaka-sama were there. The last time Andy had tried to wear traditional Japanese clothes he hadn't been able put it on without Kazu's help. Now here was struggling with a more complicated outfit completely on his own. Why did everything the Japanese wore have to be so darn complicated? What was wrong with normal western pants and a pullover shirt?
There was a knock on the wood frame of his door and before he could respond the door was slid open and Saichi entered. "Ojama shimasu." She said. "Hanzo-dono tells me you don't know how to dress yourself."
"I can dress myself!" The boy protested. "Just… not in this stuff."
Saichi sighed and knelt down to help him tie his hakama. "I suppose you'll learn after you've worn them enough."
"Uh, I guess." Andy agreed half-heartedly. "Hey, Saichi-san, you've worked for the Shiranui for a while, right?"
"Almost all my life, puppy."
"Can you tell me what the Course is? Hanzo-sensei never explained it to me."
"Its just another type of training we do here at Hagi." She answered matter-of-factly. "Ninja navigate their way here from the other side of the island whilst dodging traps that have been set all over the island."
"So it's like an obstacle course?"
"I s'pose so." Saichi nodded. "It's supposed to improve your survival skills as well as cunning and adaptive problem solving skills. Kinda like the nightingale floor is meant to improve your stealth."
"That's what its for?" Andy asked, happy that Saichi had volunteered the information without his prompting it.
"Hai, ninja try to cross the floor without making a sound." She smiled. "Its sometimes very funny to watch."
Andy could just imagine, the idea of a grown man slinking on tiptoe through the hallways in bowed daylight with an audience would be funny.
"Well, puppy, I think you're all set." She stood and led him out the room.
…
Mai looked thoroughly miserable in all the layers of robes she was wearing, Andy's heart went out to her. If he felt as uncomfortable as he did in his simple hakama and haori then she must be truly suffering under her five layered robes that she wore over her kimono. Andy cast his eyes about the rest of the party.
The Shiranui family was rather large, he noted. And, judging by how they held themselves, comprised almost entirely of fighters. There was the odd "trophy-wife" here and there. One didn't need to be told that that was what they were, it was apparent by their magnificent beauty, dim expressions and shallow conversations.
Andy once again found himself wondering about Kazutaka-sama and how he could have ever become a pacifist with a family such as this, where children were taught ninjitsu almost as soon as they could walk.
The whole affair of dinner was rigid and stuffy. They all asked each other pleasant questions and all gave polite but expected answers.
"How was your trip?"
"Oh, it was fine. Thank you."
"I've noticed that so-and-so is missing. Is he/she finally running the Course?"
"Oh, yes. We're very proud of him/her."
"Lovely weather this summer. Don't you agree?"
"Yes, quite."
Everyone was smiles and nods and to Andy's eyes it was all fake. But then he had grown up expecting to see lies whenever adults spoke. It could be that he was just being bias and that this was how the Shiranui family truly was, it wasn't fake, it was impersonal, like every one in the family treated one another like business associates rather than family.
And then the topic turned to that of Mai's betrothal to Koinosuke…
"I heard a rumor, Hanzo-dono, that our little Hime-sama might be wed to cute little Koinosuke-chan. Am I right?" One of the women asked. Andy couldn't quite remember her name, they had all been introduced to him but there were so many of them for him to meet and all of them at once, their names had just gone in one ear and out the other and then piled on the floor next to him to be swept out the door by Saichi latter that evening.
"Nothing is for certain." Was Hanzo-sensei's diplomatic answer.
Andy could tell by the tightness in some of the faces of those gathered that not everyone in the Shiranui family was keen on the idea of Mai's betrothal. The subject seemed to die there and Mai seemed to finish her dinner whilst under a cloud of gloom. The family seemed to laps into an awkward silence after that, until it was broken by one of the "trophy-wife" types asking after Kazutaka.
"And how is your son, Hanzo-dono. Kazuhito? I noticed he's not with you."
"Kazutaka." He corrected impassively. "He's running the Course right now, he should join us in a day or two."
"That confident in him, are you." Nagare commented. "That no-account hippy will be lucky if he can get here before Obon. He's grown weak, Ani-ue. You never should have let him marry that woman. Now he's just a waste of space and a bad influence on your granddaughter. If he were my son-"
"But he is not your son, Nagare." Hanzo snarled. "Neither are you head of this family or in any other position that allows you to dictate his life. And, you should know better than to speak ill of the dead so close to the Lantern Festival. Do you wish to bring ill fortune down upon the whole of this family?"
A deadly silence followed this. No one dared speak, their eyes flicking from Hanzo to Nagare as the two glared at each other.
"Perhaps I spoke out of turn." Nagare finally conceded after a prolonged pause.
…
(I told you it would be OC heavy. You are now free to flame. –holds fire extinguisher close-)