February 18, 1855 at the foot of Mt Fuji, Japan
"The other Templars have left, but don't worry," Perry paced before his captured Assassins, "I don't plan to kill you," he grabbed Azusa's mouth, "No, you are all much too pretty for that."
Azusa spit onto the Templar's hakama. Perry showed his appreciation by smacking her to the ground. Tsume had nothing to say to Perry. He had killed Tsume's parents just to get a warehouse. Anything Tsume had to say to him could only exacerbate the situation.
"You leave her alone!" Kennosuke yelled.
"You see," Perry ignored Kennosuke, "I need something from you."
"What could you possibly want with us?" Kennosuke questioned through clenched teeth.
"We have been aware of a temple under Mt Fuji for years, but no one has been able to even open the door. While I watched you fighting the samurai, I got an idea. Maybe what lies at the end was not meant for my hands. Maybe it was meant for someone else with a specific set of skills. Now, Charlton, did you not call this one 'Ishikawa?'"
"Ishikawa Azusa," Azusa returned to her knees.
"As in Ishikawa Goemon?"
Azusa's eyes narrowed, "What about him?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that he has seen the end of this temple?"
"Shut up and get to the point."
"Tiago Lopes' journal says that the descendants of his team would return here. Are you descended from Ishikawa Goemon?"
"What if I am?"
"Then you will have made me a very lucky man."
"And where do we fit in?" Kennosuke asked.
"Not you. Just the girl," Perry faced Azusa again, "I want you to go into that temple," he leaned closer to her, "and I want you to bring me whatever you find at the end. If you accept, I promise to spare your Mentor and your little friends."
"What if I told you to go fuck yourself?" Azusa gritted.
Perry stood again and motioned to Tsume, "Osamu?"
The shinobi in the heavy armor began to move toward Tsume. Each step paused Tsume's breath. Before he could try to think of any course of action, Osamu's fist struck Tsume's face, sending him to the ground again. He squirmed to try to get back up or do something to fight back, but it was hopeless. Osamu's foot rammed into Tsume's gut, causing him to spit the blood that already splashed across his tongue.
"Stop!" Azusa yelled, "Leave him alone!"
"Osamu!" Perry ordered, "That's enough," he motioned to Kennosuke. Osamu started for his next victim.
"Azusa!" Tsume yelled from the dirt with blood running down his chin, "Azusa, do what he says!"
Osamu's shin smashed into Kennosuke's jaw. "No!" Kennosuke cried out, "Don't do it!" Osamu hammered Kennosuke's face into the dirt.
"She'll do it," Sensei didn't yell, but his voice rang clear.
"Osamu, stop," Perry crossed his arms as he approached his old enemy, "Go ahead, Charlton. You have my undivided attention."
"I'm sure you remember the names of Tiago's team. Ishikawa Goemon, Sarutobi Sasuke, Kirigakure Saizo-"
"Kasai Yuzuru and Tiago Lopes. Get to the point."
"Maruya over there is a descendant of Kasai and Washio is a descendant of Sarutobi."
What? Tsume couldn't even summon words for that. Never in his life had he even dreamed that his own ancestor could have been the legendary Sarutobi Sasuke. Wait, how could Sensei know? He could be trying to pull a fast one on Perry, but Tsume had no idea where he was going with this.
"That's impossible. There's no way they could all be here."
"I specifically chose them because of their bloodlines."
"Then where is Saizo? Where is Lopes?"
"Washio also comes from Kirigakure and I'll give you three guesses for Lopes."
"I know for a fact that you do not come from Lopes. His kin in the States never moved further north than North Carolina."
"I'm not from the States, remember?"
Huh? Of course he was. He kept talking about New York and Massachusetts like they were the greatest places ever. Garen, Jack, Virginia, and the Kent brothers were all American and they came with him.
"Toronto is still further north than the Carolinas."
"It was York then. You should remember."
"Oh, I do. I also know that you will not see the inside of that temple because you," Perry drew a revolver from his side, "are my bargaining chip," he aimed for Sensei, "The three of you are going into that temple. You have until dawn to bring me whatever you find at the end or I will leave your Mentor's brains in the dirt," the gun cocked, "If you do not return, I will kill him. If you return empty-handed, I will kill you all. If you try to fight us back, I will kill him first, then the rest of you will join him. Are we clear?"
"What if we need weapons?" Azusa asked.
Tsume felt his wrist for his hidden blade, but only felt cloth. The shinobi must have taken it along with his kote while he was incapacitated. He glanced at his obi, but his sword and dagger were gone as well.
Perry shrugged, "Oh well."
Kennosuke joined, "You must not want… whatever it is… so badly, then."
"Yeah," Azusa continued, "No one has seen the end of that temple since the Sengoku. Who knows what kinds of things we'll need to get there?"
Perry's lip snarled, "Fine. Osamu will join you. Men, cut them loose."
Tsume felt someone lift him from behind until he could stand on his own with his feet bound. At the same time, he saw shinobi raise Kennosuke and Azusa. He felt a jerking motion between his wrists. Every movement inched toward his palms ever so slightly until the ropes fell off. A quick swipe from behind severed the ties on his legs.
He examined his hands just in case he had checked wrong before. He hadn't. They had been stripped of both his armor and hidden blade. A torch was passed to him, which he accepted. Perry wasn't kidding about that whole 'no weapons for Assassins' thing, but at least he had some kind of something. Maybe he could set someone on fire, but that would take too long. No, this was too inefficient to be a proper weapon.
Careful not to make any sudden moves, Tsume walked cautiously toward Kennosuke and Azusa. His heart pounded louder with each step. The last thing he wanted to do right now was get everyone killed.
He contemplated on how this situation could be turned in his favor. Perry had a gun on Sensei, who was bound. The Assassins needed to retrieve something or risk losing him. Still, even if they did retrieve it, how could he be sure Perry was being honest? How much of any of this could possibly be sincere? There was only one way to get an answer to anything, and it was in that temple.
Tsume stared at the entrance which had no doubt been warped by previous volcanic activity. Why had it only been warped? How had it not been sealed off completely? Had the Templars been digging here? How would they know it was here? They obviously did, but how? The broken legs of a Shinto arch sat before it. What happened to the arch?
"So, are we ready?" Kennosuke asked.
"Dawn isn't going to wait for us," Azusa answered.
"Good thing it's a winter night."
Kennosuke had an air of solemnity about him. His hand pressed into his chest, no doubt praying with his mother's rosary. Still, something seemed different about this prayer. His eyes were open and his mouth did not move.
Azusa's demeanor was somewhat similar. For once, she didn't appear terribly thrilled to be an Assassin. Her eyes jumped around the area, calculating some kind of an exit.
Tsume took in a deep breath. When he released it, a small but thick cloud of breath appeared and evaporated before his face. He began walking to the twisted entryway, brushing Azusa and Kennosuke's shoulders as he passed them. From the sounds of the footsteps behind, they had chosen to join him, but another series of steps could be heard. Probably Osamu.
Something about the opening stopped him. It was bigger than expected, but that wasn't what bothered him so much. From here, the opening looked like the mouth of an enormous fish. He did not want to feed this monster much more than he wanted to obey these Templars. Not much more, at least.
A prodding came from behind. It couldn't have been Osamu. It was too gentle to be Osamu. Tsume didn't want to find out what Osamu would do if he got impatient, so he stepped into the sacred mountain's maw. What was the worst that could happen?
The initial appearance of the temple was that of a cave. Tsume had never been in one before, but this was not how he had imagined them. As bright as the night was outside, one would expect more of it to have seeped into this place. Instead all he could see beyond the torchlight was the dark.
"This is just a cave," Azusa said aloud, "This can't be the temple. Are you sure you have the right place?"
"Shut up and walk," Osamu said with a very deep but obviously disguised voice.
Normally, Tsume would make some kind of snide remark like 'So he speaks,' but the sheer bleakness of the situation had killed his sense of humor. Best not to argue with the only armed man around. Wait, the Assassins had been trained in unarmed combat against armed opponents before. Hell, he had done exactly that hours ago. No. Perry would want to see Osamu alive before handing over Sensei, assuming he planned on holding his end of the bargain in the first place. Even if he were to try to fight back, disarming an opponent requires two hands. Tsume could try fighting a skilled anti-Assassin, but that would just get him killed. He would need to get behind Osamu. Perhaps if-
"Wait, this is it?" Azusa asked.
They had come to the end of the tunnel. The only thing Tsume could see was a large unimpressive stone dead end. It reached to every visible end of the cave, but something seemed off about those edges. Tsume knelt closer to the bottom. There was no mortar, but this wall was too perfectly fitted to have been added into the cave. It seemed to be part of the mountain, but it was most definitely constructed here. If anything, it seemed like the wall had always been here.
"Good luck with that," Osamu added, "None of the samurai have found anything."
Tsume looked back again. Osamu stood still before the last trickles of outdoor light, forming a kind of otherworldly glow about himself. Kennosuke and Azusa examined the edges along the sides of the cave. If only Tsume had some way to just know what to- oh right.
Tsume shut his eyes and drew a breath for a moment to activate his gift. He could feel his senses drifting as the sounds of his companions faded away while also becoming clearer. When his eyes opened, the view became much clearer. The walls were now completely invisible even with the torchlight, but at least the other people were easily identifiable. Azusa and Kennosuke shone blue while Osamu was red; nothing out of the ordinary.
"Azusa is right," Kennosuke posited, "There's nothing here.
"Keep looking," Osamu replied.
Tsume turned back to the wall. Something sparkled on it like shiny new metal. It was a perfect diagonal line. Tsume's finger traced it upward until it split into two lines. He continued to follow one line until it bent and began moving downward.
He stepped back a bit to get a better view. It appeared to be a picture of Mt Fuji. Above the peak appeared to be a drawing of smoke. To the left of that was a circle. Possibly the sun? Something seemed a bit odd about it. A very faint hand print filled the circle. Tsume tried to reach it, but he was too short. His palm could only barely reach the edges.
"Kennosuke," he said aloud, "Come here."
"What is it?"
"I think I found something, but I can't reach it."
"Do you know what it is?"
"I don't, but I think I know what to do. You should be tall enough to reach it."
"Okay," Kennosuke placed his hand on the wall, "Show the way."
Tsume took Kennosuke's wrist, guiding it upward along the lines. When he had covered the hand print in the circle, Tsume let go. A white light began from the top of the circle and soon spread to the bottom. Kennosuke jerked his hand from the circle as quickly as he could.
"Nanda kore {What the Hell}?" Azusa interjected, "Do that again."
Kennosuke began to stutter, "I-I-I … What was that?"
Tsume grabbed Kennosuke's wrist to some resistance. Tsume grunted, "I don't know, but you do need to do that again."
"Okay, but … but … Okay."
Kennosuke relaxed his arm. Once again, Tsume guided it to the circle, this time not letting go before the light reappeared. Once again, it filled the circle. Tsume could feel Kennosuke trying to pull away, but pressed harder in response.
The light had begun to flow down the lines of the smoke. When those lines ended, it traced the peak of the mountain until it reached the base. Tsume's gift had shut off, but he could now see the drawing without it. Oddly enough, the light was illuminating nothing but the drawing itself.
The wall opened from the bottom with a massive grinding sound. The torchlight revealed a large wooden pillar in the center of a very tall room. Azusa stepped in first, slowly spinning to examine the area in astonishment. Osamu pushed Tsume and Kennosuke, who had apparently not moved the entire time.
"Iku ze {Move}," Osamu commanded.
Tsume complied. Inside, the wooden pillar supported a spiral stairway that reached higher than the torches would allow to be seen. Splinters and boards littered the ground, indicating that the staircase was not as sturdy as its appearance would suggest.
That same grinding sound from seconds ago appeared again. Tsume jerked around just in time to watch the giant stone door coming down into its place again. Apparently, the only chance they had to escape from this place was at the top of those stairs.
Tsume turned and advanced to the stairs with the intention of finding the exit as soon as possible. Hitsu needed his brother. Tsume would need to figure out some way to turn the situation to his favor. From behind, he could hear the others follow. Ahead, he could see a gap in the stairs. The flickering light of the torch made it difficult to judge, but he made the jump anyway. From the air, he watched in dismay as his reach passed so far beneath the lowest board that-
"OW KUSO {DAMMIT}!" Tsume landed a story below.
"Are you okay?" Kennosuke called from above.
"I'm fine. A few bruises won't kill me." His knee and left hand were scraped, but neither was bleeding very badly.
"Uh, Tsume?" Azusa pitched in.
"Yeah?"
"You're on fire."
"Huh?" Tsume checked himself for fire, but the heat that grew on his left arm gave away its hiding spot, "Chichichi {Shitshitshit}!"
Tsume batted the embers on the sleeve until they extinguished. As he took a relieved sigh, he realized that he had dropped his torch. He reached to the step behind him to pick it back up. To his horror, the stair had caught aflame. He stomped the fire to quell it, but only managed to break the board. His leg filled in the gap left by the board pretty well. While he pulled himself out, he couldn't help but to wonder how brittle the rest of the stairs could be if that one broke so easily. This was not his idea of fun.
Tsume took in another breath, "Alright anyone else have any bright ideas?"
"It looks like we're going to need two free hands to get anywhere. I could try throwing my torch across the gap and then climbing the central column," Azusa answered.
"Yeah, that's a great idea. Throw the fire onto wood. We all just saw how well that can work."
"Maybe you could get across and Kennosuke can toss your torch to you."
"Saiko {Great}, throw fire at me. That sounds even better."
Tsume shook his head. Azusa was right. It was really their best option. They couldn't risk abandoning their only light source and there was no way of knowing how big these gaps could be without them. Judging by how much wood littered the floor and steps, probably too big.
With his torch in hand, Tsume returned to where the others waited. To his dismay, Osamu kept his back to the wall. He obviously wasn't going to tolerate an Assassin behind him.
Azusa handed her torch to Tsume. "You stay here," she informed him, "I'm going to try climbing the column."
Tsume took the torch and Azusa began. She moved a few steps down and slid onto one of the column's arms which supported the stairs. It made a very uncomfortable creak when her second foot left the steps. She balanced herself very well as she approached the column. With a short jump, she latched herself to the center. She climbed the pillar about two yards and took hold of the next arm. She dangled for a while before switching sides. From there, reaching the stairs again was a simple matter.
"Alright Tsume, my torch please."
Tsume hesitated for a moment. This felt like a bad idea for so many reasons. Tsume didn't really want to imagine them all. Then again, he didn't really have any other choice. He launched the torch across the gap. Azusa tried to catch it, but missed. It hit the wall, bouncing off and rolling onto the stairs just above her. She managed to retrieve it without any trouble.
"Okay, we just need to do that three more times," Azusa said as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
Tsume looked to Osamu. That Templar was the weak link in this chain, even if he was the most experienced. It would be best not to leave him with a singular Assassin. Simple math would make that inevitable. As far as Tsume could tell, this was going to be tricky.
"Tsume, you go next," Kennosuke said.
"Are you sure? You'll be alone with him."
"I know, but I'd rather you not get stuck with him."
"Are you sure?"
Kennosuke snatched the torch from Tsume's hand. It was pretty hard to mistake that certainty. Tsume just nodded.
He leapt from where he stood to the pillar in the center. His arms and legs wrapped around like a monkey on a branch. He hadn't lost too much height from that, but the scrape on his hand stung hard. He did his best to ignore it and climb above the next arm. Even a small injury like a scrape could doom him if he were to hang from it like Azusa had. Once there, he launched over the beam and onto the stairs. The board underneath him caved a little from the landing, so he stepped off of it as quickly as possible.
"Alright, Kennosuke. I'm ready."
Kennosuke threw the torch. Tsume managed to catch it upside-down. He was more thankful that he hadn't caught the flame.
Azusa got closer to the edge, "Kennosuke, your turn."
"Oh no," Osamu interrupted, "I'm not going to be the last one across."
Tsume leered at the shinobi. Of course not. That would only give the Assassins a chance to progress without him. As much they loved having a Templar watching their every movement, leaving Osamu behind would be ridiculous.
He shoved his torch to Kennosuke, who reluctantly accepted it. He dashed diagonally up the wall. As soon as a he had begun to lose elevation, he jumped toward the stairs. Somehow, he had managed to grasp the edge and pull himself onto the stairs. Kennosuke threw the torch without prompt. Osamu managed to catch it perfectly, placing his back to the wall the moment he did.
"Hey guys," Azusa said with a great deal of worry in her voice, "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Tsume responded.
Azusa pointed her torch upward. Wooden splinters and debris had littered their progression. It wasn't necessarily obstructive where it had landed so much as from where it had fallen. A good half of the next level had long ago collapsed onto the level where they stood. Still no sight of the end.
"Is something wrong?" Kennosuke called from below.
"Yeah," Tsume answered, "This is going to be a lot harder than we expected."
"Okay then. Someone catch my torch."
"I will," Osamu replied.
Kennosuke tossed it upward, once again resulting in a perfect catch. He then lowered to the arm Azusa had started from. He ran up the beam and latched on, pulling himself on top of the upper arm. Joining the others and reclaiming his own torch was easy enough from there.
Upon reaching the next gap, they stopped again. It was exactly as big as Tsume had expected it would be, but it was about twice as high as Tsume had hoped. His hand was not looking forward to climbing that.
Azusa stepped forward. She apparently was about as thrilled as anyone else. Kennosuke extended his hand to offer a place for her torch. She passed it over and turned back to the pillar's arm. She gingerly stepped upon it and wrapped her limbs around the beam. After climbing for a few yards, she came around until Tsume could only see her hands and feet. Soon enough, those disappeared as well. Tsume's only comfort was not seeing her fall.
"Okay, guys. I made it," Azusa appeared from across the pillar with her arms open for a torch. Kennosuke threw it her way, but apparently not far enough. It fell below, bouncing off of a wall and landing so far down as to make it irretrievable. The light was too dim to see Azusa's expression, but Tsume could guarantee that it was her that-did-not-just-happen face.
"Should I try again?" Kennosuke asked.
"Yeah," Azusa answered expressionless.
Kennosuke threw his own torch, but Azusa received the same result again. Tsume checked the floor below to see if the torches had stayed lit. They had stayed lit, but not quite in the way that they should have. The boards around them had taken very kindly to the fire.
"Uh guys, I don't think light is going to be an issue much longer," Tsume warned.
"Why not? Oh-" Azusa was frozen by horror.
As the fire spread, Tsume caught the scent of smoke trickling upwards. He crossed over to Azusa first, careful not to break any beams. When Kennosuke was halfway across, he called out to the others, "Go on! I'll catch up!"
Tsume nodded. By now, he could see the smoke rising faster than the fire. He checked the floor again. The flames had already swallowed the first level and were encroaching upon the pillar. Tsume was beginning to sweat from the heat. Waiting would only get everyone killed.
Azusa had apparently already taken Kennosuke's advice. She was good enough with thinking on her toes to be the guide through this impending death trap. The next few levels were fairly stable, though, so her skills were not an immediate necessity. He hoped that it would stay this way.
The smoke was growing thicker and filling Tsume eyes and lungs. He wiped tears from his eyes to clear his vision, but the coughing couldn't be stopped. At least the flames had finally unveiled the ceiling. The problem was that they were not yet halfway up and these stairs were only going to get more treacherous. Whatever awaited them at the end of this place had better be worth all of this effort.
Azusa bounded gracefully over debris from above and the pits that they left. Tsume followed shortly after, not checking behind for Kennosuke or Osamu. Kennosuke would almost certainly make it. Osamu definitely would and Tsume feared that.
The smoke was now thick enough that it was harder to breathe than it was to see, even through the tears. Tsume was beginning to have a hard time distinguishing where the sweat ended and the tears began, but that was more reason to push to the end. He wiped the moisture from his face with his sleeve so he could continue to the top,
Azusa ran along the wall to avoid a short gap. Tsume did he same, but the step collapsed beneath his feet upon landing. His arms instinctively grabbed the next board, praying that it would hold.
"Azusa!" he called.
She turned back in response. As she grabbed his arms, he got a glimpse of her face. She may have been tearing as well, but it was hard to see under the sweat. She was strong enough to lift him, but progress was slow. Tsume felt around with his feet for something he could push off of, but there were no support beams near him. He could see that she was trying just as hard as he was to find a way out of this mess.
"Tsume, kick off the wall!" she yelled.
Tsume's let foot pushed off the stone wall, giving him just the momentum needed for Azusa to lift him out. Tsume crawled to his knees as Azusa sat for a moment. Even with the fire several stories below, the cave was getting too hot to handle much longer. Azusa sprung to her feet and began moving upward again. Tsume decided it best to keep pace with her.
Two stories up, a part of the staircase hung precariously low. Azusa ducked under it and turned about. Her feet had disappeared by the time Tsume had crawled under it. She was now about halfway up this- Wait. Tsume jumped back as it collapsed on top of Azusa.
"Azusa!" he knelt down, "Are you okay?"
The thing had completely covered her. Tsume tried to free her from under the wreckage, but he wasn't strong enough. He made another attempt, straining every muscle in his upper body.
"Azusa! Can you hear me?"
No answer. Tsume grabbed the wood again, this time pulling up from his legs instead of his back. He needed to throw it into the pit. It could screw up a lot of things, but Azusa needed to survive this.
"AZUSA HANG ON!"
It flipped over too easily. Tsume looked up to see who had assisted him. Kennosuke had saved her. That wasn't important. Tsume landed to Azusa's side. He gently raised her head with his hand on her stomach.
"Are you okay?"
Azusa's eyes pried open. Already, she was staring at Tsume and Kennosuke like they were madmen for their concerns. She sat up through gritted teeth.
"Keep moving!" Osamu yelled. He must have just caught up to them.
Tsume lifted Azusa by the shoulders. The way she hissed announced the pain she was suffering. Tsume wanted to know how much, but Osamu apparently didn't have the patience to wait for him to find out. Then again, patience is no virtue when one is escaping fire.
Azusa managed to balance herself on her own feet. With her arms crossing her ribs, she once again led the way. The others followed shortly after. She crossed a small gap with the same grace that she had all along, but the landing appeared to be too much stress on her. She would fall on her knees and pause for a moment. Even with the smoke filling his lungs, Tsume had not needed to do that.
Soon enough, they had ascended to the same part of the stairs that had crushed Azusa earlier. No hesitation. She ran the wall to get to the other side. This time, her legs collapsed under her causing her to give a very pained grunt upon touching down.
Tsume crossed the gap and knelt over her, "Azusa, we need to keep moving."
First, she began to crawl forward by her arms. Then, she began crawling from her knees. Then, she returned to her feet, clutching the sides of her chest again. She had an admirable drive, but Tsume feared it wouldn't be enough. She may even have just indirectly killed everyone in this room.
Azusa fell again. Tsume knelt over her again. Her face was turning as white as her robes; at least as white as they were when the mission had started. All of the wetness on her face made it hard to tell if tears were running or if it was just sweat, but Tsume had felt both coming from himself. Whatever his assumption, it wasn't important. Azusa needed to breathe. He checked around the room in a vain attempt to find some hope he fully expected to have long abandoned this fiery Hell. Much to his surprise, they were now near the top. Only one gap a few levels up remained in their path.
Tsume rolled Azusa to her back. With all of his -apparently unnecessary- strength, he lifted her into his arms. "Azusa, can you hear me?" Tsume said before he pulled her hood off with his teeth.
"Yeah, I can hear you just fine."
"We're going to make it. Okay?"
"I know that." She was obviously trying to be sarcastic, but her dazed demeanor made it hard to believe.
As they approached the gap, Tsume laid Azusa down. It was too wide to jump with her in his arms. Tsume checked behind. Kennosuke and Osamu were fast approaching.
"Hey!" Tsume called to them, "Could one of you carry her across?"
"I can do it myself, you baka {idiot}," Azusa weakly pulled herself to a sitting position.
"I don't trust that."
"Ugh. Trust me. I'm fine," Azusa jerkily propped herself back up by using the wall to support herself.
"Hey," Kennosuke slowed to a stop, "Azusa, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Azusa blatantly lied.
"I can carry you."
Tsume shook his head, "You wouldn't make it. Osamu, could you carry her?"
Osamu crossed his arms, "No. No Assassin gets behind me. Besides, this armor is heavy enough. Just leave her. She's a burden by now."
"No," Kennosuke shoved him, "She's coming with us."
Osamu grabbed Kennosuke's hand, "Don't you dare touch me again."
A redness began to spread from Osamu's hand where he held Kennosuke. Tsume's eyes widened. Was Kennosuke bleeding? As Kennosuke pulled away, Tsume could hear the sound of cloth and flesh tearing. Kennosuke pushed his hands against the wall to kick Osamu into the burning pit. Tsume looked to see where Osamu landed, but pulled away once the smoke had gotten into his eyes again.
"Why the Hell did you do that?!" Tsume yelled, wiping tears which had become indistinguishable from the sweat on his brow.
"He's a Templar," Kennosuke removed his hood, "he was going to kill us."
"Okay guys, I have an idea," Azusa interrupted, "First of all, Kennosuke, that was awesome. Tsume, you jump across first. I'll jump after you. You catch me, okay?"
"Okay," Tsume was relieved that Azusa had already come to terms with her current state.
"Also, Tsume, you'll need to guide Kennosuke again."
"Why?"
"Look at the door."
It was a perfect replica of the door that led to this room. Although Tsume had never mentioned his gift to anyone other than Nariko, Azusa must have been able to determine that only he could have seen the opening before. He would have stopped to ask questions, but it was getting harder to see through the smoke. Wasted time would get them killed.
Tsume leapt the gap. It was just short enough to catch the ledge with his whole arms instead of his fingertips. Azusa was next. She jumped. Tsume reached for her right hand, but missed. He did, however, catch her left by the wrist. Her right arm reached out again. Tsume caught it and pulled her from the inferno below.
Azusa's face contorted in agony he raised her over the ledge. She must have broken her ribs. Once her knees were high enough, she pushed forward. She had landed on Tsume, but quickly rolled off with her hands seemingly trying to keep her chest from flying off of her body. Her grunts were, by the stretch of no one's imagination, still extremely disconcerting, but at least the Assassins were near the end.
Tsume managed to clear enough space for Kennosuke to cross. He didn't stop to watch him, but Kennosuke's sounds indicated that he had managed his trip alive. Tsume activated his gift. As Azusa suspected, it was the same kind of door as in the cave before.
Kennosuke, shrouded in blue light, offered his clean left hand to Tsume. Tsume looked back at the image on the door. It was Mt Fuji again. Just as before, it requested a left hand in the sun.
Tsume didn't ask to grab Kennosuke's bloody left arm, but that didn't stop him. Kennosuke grimaced a bit. Tsume expected as much from grabbing an open wound, not that either of them was enjoying this, Tsume could feel the blood and flesh in the rips on his arm, but ignored them as he led Kennosuke to the sun in the picture.
Once again, the lines filled with light. Tsume motioned for Kennosuke to go ahead as the door roared open. He didn't have time to admire the pretty lights again. The fire was getting closer, and Azusa couldn't be left behind.
With Azusa cradled in his arms, Tsume followed Kennosuke into the next room. It was cool and the air was not smoke. Right now, those two virtues made it paradise. Tsume gently set Azusa with her back to the floor and her head against the wall before falling himself. He could already feel the fresh air rushing into his body and cleansing his mind.
February 19, 1855 inside Mt Fuji
Tsume's eyes came open. He was still covered in sweat, but not nearly as much as before. A dryness had filled his mouth. His eyes were only slightly irritated now. He rubbed them anyway as he sat up.
The room was a bamboo forest. Tsume stood up to examine it. The feel of the leaves said that it was definitely real. Somehow, in the back of his head, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been here before. Light came down from the sky. Wait, the sky? Something felt off about this sky. Perhaps the fact that Tsume could see the sky through the snow-capped mountain without feeling the wind was so odd.
"Welcome back," Kennosuke said from behind.
"What just happened?"
"You passed out."
"How long?"
"Not very long. Maybe an hour at most."
Kennosuke appeared to be inspecting a makeshift bandage on his arm. Judging by the look of his kimono, he had torn the hem so he could have something to close the wound. Tsume never would have guessed that it was ever part of the kimono because it had been completely stained red with blood.
"That looks bad," Tsume pointed to Kennosuke's gash.
"It's just a flesh wound. I've had worse."
"I doubt that. It looks pretty rough."
"Only a scratch. It'll scar for sure, but I doubt it'll hold me back."
"Say, how the Hell did he do that to you?"
"I don't know. It felt like he had claws. Like a ... like a tiger."
Tsume couldn't see how that was possible. Osamu's fingertips were always visible, and he had no claws to be seen. Regardless, if this place were the end of the temple, then the Assassins would need to find a new exit and hopefully have the world's best excuse for the death of Osamu. Then again, Perry would not have much reason to keep them alive anyway.
"So, any ideas for exactly what kind of place this is?" Kennosuke asked.
"Not a clue."
"I have an idea," Azusa grumbled, "I think it may be a legend, but I need a better look."
She tried to push herself from the floor. Her strained grimace did not inspire much confidence. Kennosuke took her by the arm to raise her from the floor.
"Are you familiar with the tale of Princess Kaguya?" she asked. Of course she would be the one to relate this situation to a story. In many ways, stories defined Azusa's life. The only reason she even left the life of nobility and joined the Assassins was so she could be like her heroine, Tomoe, or people like Sarutobi Sasuke and Hattori Hanzo.
"You know I never cared much for old stories," Tsume answered.
Azusa rolled her eyes, "Well, the story goes that Kaguya was found in a stalk of bamboo."
"That would have to be some big bamboo."
"She was only this big," Azusa held out her thumb, "Urusai {Shutup} and let me finish. Anyhow, the bamboo cutter decided to keep Kaguya. She eventually grew into a beautiful -normal sized- woman with silver hair. Now, word spread about how pretty she was and this caught the attention of five princes. She gave each prince an impossible task to bring back some item, and they set out to achieve them. The first three princes returned with very expensive fakes. She was neither fooled nor amused. The next two died on their quests."
"So, what does that story have to do with this place?" Kennosuke asked.
"May I finish? Please?"
"Yes, I'm sorry," Tsume wasn't really sorry. If he knew Azusa, and he did, she was going to start using her dramatic pauses again.
"So, Kaguya was greeted by the Tenno {King} of Nippon {Japan}. He immediately fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. She turned him down because the Tenno can only marry someone from Nippon whereas she was from … the moon! The Tenno kept trying to win her affection, but she kept refusing because she would eventually need to return to her home on … the moon!"
"No impossible task for him?" Tsume interrupted.
"Erm, trying to win her affection. That was impossible."
"That's stupid. Your story is already ridiculous," Tsume began to wonder what Azusa would do if he started to fall asleep during one of her dramatic pauses.
"Well, if you let me finish, I can get to the important part."
"Fine. Fine."
"Okay, so Kaguya was a princess on the moon, but had been sent to Earth as a form of punishment. Now, before you ask, I don't know what she did. The story doesn't elaborate. I didn't write it."
Tsume was going to say something, but shut his mouth to allow Azusa to continue.
"So, she asks the Tenno which mountain is the closest to … the moon! TSUME WAKE UP! He takes her up this very mountain. Yes, Fuji-san. Before she leaves, she gives the elixir of immortality to the Tenno. He throws it into the crater because he doesn't want to live forever without her. The smoke from the mountain was supposed to symbolize his eternal love for her, but Fuji-san has long since stopped smoking. It's a really old story. Anyhow, that's why we call it Fuji {Immortality}."
Words failed Tsume. That was one of the dumbest and most pointless stories he had ever heard. How that could possibly relate to this place, Tsume didn't think he could ever understand. Bamboo and Mt Fuji were extremely normal things.
"I think what Tsume wants to know is how that story connects to this place," Kennosuke commented.
"That's what we're going to find out," Azusa said, "Tsume, how did you know how to open that door?"
"I … saw a picture."
"No one else saw the picture until Kennosuke touched it."
"It had a hand print in the sun, but I couldn't reach it."
"What if that wasn't the sun, but the moon?"
"That would mean that … are you saying that story is true?"
"No, but I think it's related to this place."
"Good, because it was stupid."
Azusa glared at Tsume, apparently not fond of his cynical remark.
"Alright Azusa," Tsume spoke up, "What does your wonderfully gripping story suggest we do?"
"Call me crazy, but I think we're supposed to find Kaguya."
"You are crazy. How are we supposed to cut bamboo without blades? Osamu had blades, but Kennosuke had to go and kick him down the fire! Now we're like... thirty kinds of fucked and no one has any ideas!"
Kennosuke cracked his knuckles, "Akiramenai {Never give up}."
He punched the bamboo, but nothing happened, much to Tsume's lack of surprise. He punched again with his other fist, this time causing the bamboo to flatten on its side. He punched again with his first fist, causing the bamboo to fold. He then grasped the top half and pulled the stalk apart. Nothing inside.
Tsume shook his head, "Great. That means that we just have to do that again FIFTY THOUSAND TIMES!"
Azusa's palm covered her eye, "I don't see you coming up with anything!"
"Oh! I have something! I have something good!"
"Fine, then show us!"
Tsume popped his neck and loosened his arms. He shut his eyes to activate his gift. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes to-
"Gah! Kuso {Shit}!"
Tsume clutched his head to try to relieve the pain of comprehending what he had just seen. It was unlike anything of this world, but its malice could not have felt more real. Tsume wasn't even sure if his eyes had actually seen anything, but he had certainly sensed something spiteful.
"Tsume, are you okay?" Kennosuke's voice sounded.
"Yeah," Tsume lied as he returned to his feet. He had apparently fallen to the floor. His head ached as if an axe of pure hatred had been lodged into his skull.
"You sure? Your nose is bleeding."
"Yeah, what just happened?" Azusa joined.
Tsume was incredulous, but wiped his face anyway. He was a little surprised to feel something wet under his nose. Kennosuke was not wrong about the bleeding. How the Hell had that gotten there? Tsume felt his nose again with his other hand. Yep, bloody again. Tsume could no longer feel the hateful presence, but he knew it was still here. It had to be. Wherever it was, Tsume did not want to be.
"I don't know. It was definitely something," Tsume answered, "and it isn't happy."
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind. Let's find this princess," Tsume tried to mask his fear, "Azusa, what does the legend say about the bamboo she was found in?"
"Not much," Azusa answered with a worried tone that sharply contrasted her earlier frustration, "Just that it was mysterious."
Tsume was not pleased.
"The room isn't that big," Kennosuke responded, "It can't possibly take us very long."
Tsume was a bit relieved. Any bit of information that he could use to create some distance from this angry room was beyond welcome. Tsume wiped his bloody nose onto his sleeve and proceeded searching for an oddity among the bamboo.
Two hours later
Tsume had grown tired of searching for an oddity among the bamboo. He would have used his gift, but he felt that anger run a chill on his spine whenever his eyes closed. Frankly, he wanted to avoid that thing as much as possible. In fact, the only reason he was still here was because of some stupid-
"Hey guys, I think I found something," Kennosuke called.
"Oh, already? Well, you were right. That didn't take very long at all," Tsume responded.
"Tsume, you maybe should try spending less time with Joseph," Asuza commented. Tsume just ignored it.
Apparently, Kennosuke had found a swollen bamboo stalk. It was something Tsume had seen earlier, but had overlooked. The fact that some slightly deformed bamboo stalk mattered only made this den to be even more stupid and horrendous than it already was.
"Kennosuke, you know what to do," Azusa posited.
Kennosuke punched the stalk above the bulge until it flattened and folded just as it did earlier. When he ripped the bamboo apart, something fell from the bulge. It was a... giant gold mon? It was circular and had a circular hole in the center, just like a mon. Tsume picked it up and examined it. It was about the size of his palm with five lines reaching from the center to the edge. This place just kept getting weirder.
"Azusa, any ideas?" Tsume asked with the ring held to her.
Azusa took it with the hand she wasn't using to hold her ribs. She carefully examined the coin by rotating it between her fingers. She bit onto it before handing it back.
"Yeah, I have no idea, but it's probably important," she said as she resumed to both arms nursing her chest, "You guys should check the walls. It's our best shot."
Kennosuke nodded and followed along the wall. Tsume did the same in the opposite direction. As he proceeded around the perimeter, he couldn't help but to look up at the stars again. They seemed to be moving with him. He paused. His eyes traced up the wall to where it ended and... these were not real stars. They were the ceiling, but somehow the ceiling had managed to create its own starlight and moonlight. Tsume no longer pondered what manner of place this was, but rather how any place so impossible could be. Could the kami {gods} be responsible? Could that have been what hated him so much? No, Tsume couldn't think of any kami who could have a grudge against him.
Tsume slowly started to walk a-
"Tsume, I found something," Kennosuke said.
Tsume came to Kennosuke's location, eager that it could possibly grant an escape. Kennosuke's finger traced around a small depression in the wall that circled around a smaller relief. It was about the size and shape of the giant mon, so Tsume placed it in.
A light much akin to the Fuji doors shone around the ring. It took a different shape than the mountain, though. It began to look like... Nippon {Japan}? The lights continued to spread until a map detailing the shapes of other places Tsume recognized from his studies as the shorelines of Kan-Koku {Korea}, Chuugoku {China}, and Indo {India} had covered the wall. Strange symbols were scattered seemingly randomly about this map. Tsume was unsure of what they could mean, but Azusa probably knew.
"Those symbols must represent the challenges Kaguya gave to the princes," Azusa posited.
"How can you tell?" Tsume asked.
"Look at Indo. It has a bowl symbol. Kaguya asked one prince to retrieve the Buddha's bowl. Now look at Chuugoku. That must be the cloak of the fire rat and the jeweled branch of Horai {Beijing}. So the two in Nippon must be the dragon's jewel and the cowrie."
"So, what do we do now?"
"I don't know," Azusa shrugged.
"Wait," Kennosuke spoke up, "Where is the Tenno?"
Azusa pondered for a moment, "Fuji-san."
"I have an idea," Kennosuke put his fingers to the giant mon and twisted it until the lines illuminated. They shot from the center to the five symbols of the princes' challenges. The Assassins all stepped back as the map faded into the wall, leaving only the five lines and a ring of light.
The wall soon began to silently and smoothly tilt away from the room until it landed flat and became part of the floor. Before the Assassins waited another staircase, this time straight, short, and made of stone. Tsume would need to thank the Kami later. Halfway up these stairs was a small altar. At the top was … sky? Snow seemed to have piled along the bottoms of the walls as if this place were recently opened. Tsume could once again see his breath and feel the bitter chill of the wind on his face. He never thought he could be so happy to see the winter like this.
Not wanting to stay in this room with whatever vengeful spirit dwelled within, Tsume was the first to the stairs. His first step illuminated lines that flowed upward with the same strange light. His next step lit the face of the stair before him. His next step did the same as the second. It continued like that until he had reached the altar. Atop the altar must have been his prize. A sheet of parchment? That was it? This was what Perry wanted to badly?
"So what is it?" Azusa asked over Tsume's shoulder.
"It's bullshit."
"What does it say?"
"You read it," Tsume tossed the parchment over his shoulder, "I've had it with this place."
"I think it's in English," Kennosuke said bewildered.
"Let me see," Azusa stepped in, "Are you sure about that? It doesn't look like any English I've ever seen."
"I'm pretty sure it is. Look at the letters. They're English letters."
"Yeah, but these words don't make any sense."
"Maybe it's a code."
Tsume threw his head back, "Codes are great and all, but we really need to be leaving so Perry can kill us."
Kennosuke tucked the mysterious parchment into his kimono, "How are we going to explain what happened to Osamu?"
"'Oh, we're so sorry Mr Perry. We didn't mean to kill your shinobi, but he kinda made us do it.' Yeah, that's a perfect answer. He's going to kill us anyway and we can't fight back because Osamu was the only one who had any weapons and Kennosuke ruined our chance to take any from him."
"We'll put up a fight anyway," Azusa chimed, "We can fight unarmed."
"Azusa, look at us. You can barely breathe and Kennosuke has a bad arm. I'm the only one here in any fighting shape. We are royally fucked no matter what we do. Besides, we don't even know where we are on Fuji-san."
"Then why don't you check?"
"With pleasure."
Atop the stairs, Tsume realized where he had come. He was not just above stairs; he was above the mountain. The whole world lay below him. Somewhere down there, a dangerous Templar awaited their return with Sensei's life in his hands.