Chapter 08 | The Bandits of Kurata III
Izuna waited anxious and impatient. It had taken the thirty-minute commute into the snowy rest town for Madara to admit Mio's absence wasn't deliberate and leave with the intention of bringing her to the inn. He asked Izuna to keep the princess and her attendants ignorant, even though he wanted to find Mio himself. He thought of nothing else as he sat before a stone fire pit, the flames danced in his eyes as he stared deep within them in concentration—forgetting his surroundings and remembered the warnings he received about Kurata.
Chika rounded the bench and seated herself beside him, tugging her billowing sleeves onto her lap where she folded her hands. She peered at him with curious eyes, thinking of a way to disturb his meditation but not upset him. She shifted noisily, hoping the rustle of her clothes could have him turn in her direction, but it failed. She sensed something was wrong the minute the longhaired boy mentioned scouting the area because they already had someone for that purpose, a girl called Mio that was nowhere to be found.
Izuna saw something glittering in his periphery and followed it to Chika's slender wrist, an expensive gold bracelet crusted in tiny diamonds befitting of a girl her status. She wore lavish silk robes with the finest embroidery and gold jewelry complimented with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamond. She was already in danger of abduction, the excess of her lifestyle read in her clothing making her an easier target.
"Is there a reason we came here?" she asked politely.
Izuna stared at her long and hard. She has manners, he thought, incredulous. Of course she would, she's a daimyō's daughter. She's had people schooling her for that sort of thing, but still… He had never been around anyone with a proper (royal) upbringing. Even the way she sat was completely different, back as straight as a board. He felt uneasy. If Mio were sitting next to him, she'd probably be sprawled over the bench with her legs on his lap making faces at Madara's back. There would be hostility in the air as prominent as the warmth in the sitting room.
"Sen recommended this village," he answered. "Apparently, it's the only one still in the lord's jurisdiction after the Kuronuma clan retreated into the valleys. You should consider changing your clothes and putting away your jewels unless you want to be an easy target."
Her fingers trailed across the bountiful necklaces strung from her neck and looked down her front. "I thought it did not matter what I wore, but I did try to dress lightly," she admitted, nonplussed. "I do think I have something else I can wear."
She gestured to her handmaid and asked for her jewelry box and a change of clothes. She traveled light with a heavy trunk carried between her male attendants from where her shy handmaid provided a rectangular box made of black marble speckled in diamond dust. Chika took it onto her lap and started removing her rings, bracelets and necklaces, plucking them off one by one.
Izuna returned his attention to the flames, unsure of the outcome of Mio's absence. She was strong. He believed she was strong and obviously, Madara did to some extent. He himself had said she could avoid trouble. Mio had been working as a spy because Sachiyo knew this to be true, but something about the icy mountains and frozen valleys of Kurata felt dangerous. It carried the faint scent of death, masked in the winter and pine carried over by the forest, and felt as eerie as a room full of skeletons.
The snowstorm rattled the shuttered windows, wind slamming into the walls with a force that whistled so loudly it went on endlessly. Townspeople flocked to burrow themselves in their homes until the storm blew past. The innkeeper told him that many of the people amassed enough supplies to last them weeks, bought fruits and vegetables from merchant caravans with rose-colored permits and received fresh game from the Kuronuma Hunters that travelled as far as necessary to provide proper sustenance for the trifecta of Kurata. That's why the Kuronuma clan was feared outside its bounds and not in. The people lived peacefully among the rumored cannibals.
Izuna grew as restless as the winds outside, leaving his seat and pacing around the room. Chika left the bench to change into a simpler ensemble that wouldn't attract attention, though she owned no humbling clothes she made due with the plainest set of robes she owned that would keep her warm for the rest of their journey. He felt like shouting at her to buy traveling clothes with all her father's money, but he kept it to himself.
A clatter at the establishment's entrance brought him to the doors of the sitting room. He slid them apart. One of the guardsmen from the castle scrambled into the hall, red faced and covered in snow, looking from one end to the next before he spotted him. The armor-clad male rushed to him, breathing heavily.
Izuna saw the strange look the innkeeper shot in their direction. He gave him a slight smile and awarded the guardsman with his attention. "Did something happen?"
"Did you reunite with your spy?" asked the guardsman, looking over the shinobi's shoulder to the male attendants and the fire pit. Confusion filled his eyes. "Where is the older boy?"
"Mio went missing so he went to find her."
The guardsman looked distraught.
Izuna blinked. "What?"
"Our watchtower caught wind of a fight," he explained, brushing the snow off his shoulders. "The valleys are quaking and the black waters have risen from their depths. The Kuronuma are fighting someone and we think it might be the other Uchiha."
"Was there fire?"
He paused, nodding slowly.
Izuna returned into the sitting room to pick up his weapon pouches. "In what direction?" he asked quickly. "Can you stay behind with the princess?"
"Yes," said the guardsman, searching for her. "Where is the princess?"
A high pitch scream ripped through the hall. Izuna and the guardsman ran towards the sound. Many doors opened and curious onlookers peered into the wide hallway as a trio of large men burst through the window at the end. They wore boiled leather over thin armor and jackets lined with black fur, all of them were larger than he was, grown men with beards and beady eyes carrying sharpened axes.
The shy handmaid was thrown to the ground by the ruffian carrying the princess kicking and screaming. The young servant bled from a gaping wound on her neck, the blood pooling under her head as she made a choking sound and her eyes searched her surroundings blindly.
Chika's wide gray eyes found Izuna and tears burst in them. Izuna dug into his weapons, tugging free three kunai he flicked off his fingers with ease and ran after the men. His throwing knives scratched against the steel of one of men's axes when he drew it to shield his face. The guardsman fell behind to check on the handmaid and Izuna preferred it. He worked better alone in these type of situations.
He drew more kunai just as the bandits begun their retreat. The largest of the men smashed his massive axe into the wall and with a heavy kick, smashed a hole into it. Snow fluttered into the wooden floors as he tore larger chunks of wood before running straight into the middle of the snowstorm followed by the ruffian carrying Chika. She called out to him desperately, pounding on the man's giant arm, but the remaining two bandits intercepted his path.
Izuna rushed them fearlessly, dark eyes glinting. He knew from the moment he saw them that he was stronger than they were. These were simple bandits without any of the powerful jutsu he slaved to learn through all his years or proper training for that matter. He was the demon and they were his prey. He swept through both with ease and without mercy.
Tossing one kunai into his other hand, he ducked under the vertical swing of one's axe and threw the other knife at his largest foe. He watched it stab straight into his neck and felt the ground shake as he slammed into the ground, hands clumsily reaching for the handle as blood drenched his clothes. The remaining bandit grew furious and swung his axe fast enough to slice through the front of his coat as he threw himself back. He caught his weight with his hands, flipped and used his landing to push his speed.
The bandit barely felt when the kunai dug deep across his chest, least of all the finishing blow that left him a bloodied mess with a deep gash across his neck and his throat hanging out.
Izuna sprang through the gaping hole in the wall into the biting cold that snapped at his lightly clothed body.
The remaining bandits had not gotten far enough to cause worry and if they had, the echo of Chika's screams would have acted as a guide. He pursued them, feet crunching against the white floor and snow flurried all around his face. His kunai clinked as her drew a set of four, keeping his arms to his sides until he was precisely five meters from the kidnapper. He threw them and a burst of violent wind carried them deep into his flesh, ripping through his light armor and boiled leather vest.
He gave a guttural cry as he stumbled over his weakened feet and fell face first, pinning the princess under his arm. His companion turned back in time to see the shuriken a second before it embedded itself between his eyes. His weapon fell to the ground and then his body sank into his knees.
Chika kicked her feet, pushing against the heavy arm with puny arms. She blinked up at him with frozen tears on her cheeks and fresh ones peeking out the corners. She was breathing heavily, trying hard not to lose herself to the fear. She couldn't assemble words as he kicked the dead man off her body and she scrambled away, looking from one corpse to the next. She whimpered and held her wrinkled, torn clothes to her chest, shielding the thin white robe clothing her body.
The ground shook beneath his bare feet and the wintry winds carried the sound of destruction from further north. He wanted to run towards it, but leaving Chika wasn't an option anymore. Those bandits waited until they caught her alone without him and would have gotten away if they had at least been faster.
Izuna faced the trembling girl and offered his hand with the easiest of smiles. "Let's go back together."
.
.
Night unraveled beyond Kurata, spreading darkness that quieted the restless winds and brought forth the crackle of wood burning in the pit. It took hours for Chika to accept the death of her handmaid and many more for an entire guard to be assembled around the inn to prevent another attack. The lord of the castle paid for the damages and ordered his men to repair it, and while the innkeeper was thankful, his remaining customers were frightened, not of a potential attack but of the boy that killed them all.
Izuna didn't mind the backlash so long as Chika was safe and she was, traumatized but safe. A mug of tea and medicine put her to sleep and she lay in a futon behind the bench in the sitting room where he could keep an eye on her. He kept his eyes on the flames in the pit, dancing away without need of wind. Bright orange, yellow and red licking up the wood sitting in the center until it was reduced to ashes. He added new logs every hour and it kept him from falling asleep. Even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to thinking about what happened to his brother and Mio.
The door rattled open and a youthful guardsman burst inside, wind burnt and breathless. "We see them."
Izuna jumped to his feet. "Both of them?"
"There's two," he said simply, but that was enough.
Izuna ran past him and out the entrance of the inn where six guardsmen stood vigilant, there were others all around the village. The lanterns hung from the wall provided little light in the heavily shaded street, but he could hear the crunch of snow under Madara's boots and in a matter of seconds watched him stumbling into sight with Mio on his back.
Madara was battle worn with fresh cuts and bruises on his skin. His clothes were completely tattered.
Izuna sprinted to him, searching for answer in his dark eyes. "What happened?"
"Get back inside, we can talk there," he ordered, voice low and fading.
Madara set Mio on a futon once inside, pressing his fingers to her neck to feel her pulse. He wore bloodied bandages over both arms covering a wound that peeked between the slits, oozing with a thick green substance. He used his throbbing hands to search for wounds on their spy's body, but she only suffered the ones on her wrists where a rope pinched the skin until it bloodied.
"An elder called Enya captured Mio," Madara started lowly, reaching into his bag for new bandages and a suspicious jar of green goo. "She was searching for a quick route when the road went out under her and she nearly fell. She would have had Enya not saved her, but it was an excuse to take her prisoner. He left an easy trail to follow, but it was one of his ploys. I was ambushed by fifteen of his clansmen…"
Izuna stared at him intensely, lowering his eyes only to see him lather the green substance on her wrists before wrapping them in gauze.
"They're strong, all of them, even the youngest ones," he said in a voice tinged with anger. "I couldn't stand my ground without using up nearly all chakra. Enya delivered Mio to me after calling off the others."
He didn't defeat them. They defeated him. The frustration burned in his eyes. Madara clenched his hands, wincing in pain.
"Why would they return her like that?" asked Izuna, confused.
Madara shook his head. "We need to leave Kurata immediately."
"I agree," he said. "I ran into some bandits that nearly stole Chika-sama."
"What?" snapped his brother. "Were they rose-eyed?"
"No, they were ordinary, big men with big axes and big falls. I wiped them out, but the guardsmen came to keep the townspeople safe from me." He gave a slight laugh. "We should leave."
As curious as he was to ask about his hands, Izuna didn't. He let his brother rest by the doorway while he took his seat at the bench once more. Mio slept soundly under heavy blankets.
"How long has she been unconscious?" asked Izuna quietly.
"Long," Madara replied. "I tried waking her, but she doesn't respond."
He checked her pulse to make sure she's still alive. Izuna bowed his head, no longer thinking it strange that Madara worried. It seemed natural. He, himself, was writhing with concern as he watched her restlessly, hoping to see her open her eyes before sleep took him. Maybe Madara felt the same. Maybe he hoped he did.
.
.
They left the inn as soon as daybreak and maneuvered through the twisting, perilous roads with the promise of peace. Whatever had happened deep within Kurata where the mountains split into icy valleys—crumbled under the force of the Uchiha and Kuronuma—had stayed a mystery. Madara didn't talk about it. Izuna took the leadership role once his brother offered it and watched everyone carefully, burdened with the safety of everyone and all the duties once distributed evenly between them. He prepared for that type of situation, training twice as hard, and knew nothing could be done to avoid it. Mio had yet to wake up and Madara couldn't hold a kunai properly. He needed to heal.
Three days into their journey to the Wave Country, they ran into the second assault. Madara signaled to Izuna that they were being followed and with that, the rogue shinobi suffered great loses. Izuna made sure he cleared the entire road. Madara was his eyes.
Chika, though jumpy, had grown used to the rising danger level by the fifth day as they entered the watery forests bordering the Waterfall Country. She struggled adjusting to outdoor camping even though she slept in a great tent with layers of tarp that kept the rainstorms from inconveniencing her. She had woolen blankets and a brazier to contain the coals that kept her warm throughout the nights whereas her attendants trembled in a humble papery tent with thin blankets to accommodate them. She didn't know any better and she never complained about any of it. She was grateful to them for undertaking such a mission and going on even though Madara and Mio were incapacitated. She thanked Izuna when she could and smiled at him sweetly.
Izuna liked her smile and how the shadows danced across her eyes when they sat by the fire. She expressed her worry for Mio, who had been unconscious and unresponsive since they left Kurata. Madara had taken it upon himself to carry her on his back for as long as he needed and wouldn't switch with him if he begged because he wanted him strong when danger came. It was hard to argue with Madara, so he stopped asking.
"Is she okay?" she asked on the seventh day. She took a seat beside him on a log before a roaring flame. The rain had subsided but her hair was tangled and glued to her face.
She wanted to know the same thing yesterday and every time she watched his brother change the bandages from Mio's wrists. Izuna held his hands before the fire, warming his hands. "Her heart is steady with life and she drinks water when she needs it," he answered, as low as possible to avoid a glare from Madara. "She ended and started a mission with only a few hours of sleep. I think she's tired."
"Seven days is long."
Izuna sighed, shifting in his seat. "Madara wants to detour to the compound and make sure a medic sees her, but we don't want to elongate our journey time."
"I don't mind," she piped.
"I hope she wakes up soon."
Madara reached for a roll of gauze and started bandaging his arms, the struggle evident. Izuna left his seat, excusing himself with the young princess and stepped over to the edge of the camp Madara claimed.
"Need help?"
Madara glimpsed at him, sighed in frustration, and tossed the roll of bandages at him. Izuna caught it and kneeled beside him, casting a look in Mio's direction. She was lying on her side with her bag under her head.
"Has she healed?" asked Izuna, taking his brother's arm.
"The wounds closed, but the markings are there."
Izuna took the jar of green ointment and eyed it. "What is this?"
"A salve of sorts."
"Obviously, but I've never seen it before."
"It's meant for black water burns," Madara admitted.
Izuna peeled away the bandages to the damaged pink flesh underneath. He saw bumps and disfigurement across his finger and forearms, but he had seen them before. It was worse then and after applying the salve from the jar for seven days straight it had become what it was now. Burns left permanent scars, but this healed sixty percent of his arms. It seemed once the healing process completed, Madara would have no scars.
"Black water burns?"
Izuna dabbed the ointment over his arms, spreading it evenly across his burns. It smelled strong, but sweet.
"Mio was right," Madara continued, eyes darkening. "The Kuronuma are strong and they use black water techniques that can burn the flesh from your bones." He saw the questioning look on his brother's face. "They don't use hand seals and fight without weapons. I could feel the difference between our strengths from the first attack."
"Don't let her hear you say that," Izuna joked. "She'll make it a weapon."
Madara frowned. "If she wakes up."
Izuna finished bandaging his brother up and rose to his feet. "Take care of her until she does."
.
.
Mio opened her eyes miles before reaching the Uchiha compound and was silent as she observed the sunlight streaming through the leaves. Izuna smiled at her, but she looked right through him with clouded eyes. She dropped her head back on Madara's shoulder and continued sleeping, but Izuna felt one worry lift from his shoulders. He went on merrily, the territory surrounding them was theirs and no dangers would befall them.
"Izuna, water," called Madara.
Izuna tossed him their water pouch and turned to engage Chika in conversation. He watched his brother uncork the water and bring it to his lips before Mio snatched it from his hand, taking the sip herself.
Madara dropped her instantly.
Chika gasped.
"Madara!" complained Izuna, running to lift the girl back onto her feet by the arms.
"How long have you been awake?" Madara yelled.
"Two days," she answered simply.
She took advantage of him; Izuna saw the honesty in her eyes.
Madara grabbed her by the shirt, pulling her to eye level. "Find a way to the Wave Country, now."
"Storm clouds are gathering, we won't be able to get a boat until it blows over."
"Do something about it."
Madara pushed her away and stomped away to cool his head, past the bulk of trees.
Izuna gave Mio a disappointed look.
"What?"
"Get along in front of Chika-sama at least," he pleaded.
Mio jumped into the nearest tree and disappeared beyond them to do as ordered, but not before waving to the young princess.
"That was quite abrupt," said Chika, fanning her face. "Will they be coming back?"
Izuna returned to her side. "Yes," he replied. "They aren't on the best terms."
"Why not?"
"I wish I knew."
.
.
Chika grew curious of Madara and Mio's relationship. She asked questions he couldn't answer and persisted in her quest for answers, observing their behaviors when they were near one another and alone. He tried to explain it was just how they got along, but she came to the same conclusion every time.
"…So, they hate each other?" concluded Chika, dropping a closed fist over an open palm. The note of skepticism remained on her tongue. Perhaps, she didn't completely understand the matter in the first place.
"No," Izuna started, wondering how many times he needed to explain it before she understood. "They don't hate each other. They just can't get along with each other. It's been like this since we were younger."
Chika quirked an eyebrow, lips twisting alongside what remained of her patience. "Izuna-san," she began, considering her words carefully as if not to offend him, "you do understand the meaning of hate, don't you?"
He frowned, affronted. "Just because I'm a shinobi doesn't mean I don't have an education."
She mirrored his distaste, and then pouted. "That's not what I meant," she said defensively. "It's just if they're not getting along and it's been going on since you were children it means it's always going to be that way. Some people just don't ever come to like each other, no matter how many people try to mend the situation."
"But it happened overnight, there has to be something I could do to fix it."
Chika rested her hands over her knees as Izuna pondered aloud.
"Well," she said suddenly, startling him mid-thought, "you could do that."
Izuna brightened in interest. "That? What's that?"
Chika's eyes traveled across the stretch of land between them and the two Uchihas in question.
Mio stood under the shade of a canopy of interlocked branches, taking cover from the sudden downpour. Her features were clouded with inscrutable emotion as her eyes stared listlessly at the crying heavens. Madara remained kneeled in front of a flat stump a couple feet away from the younger girl, marking different routes and reconsidering their entrance strategy into the Wave Country after she returned from scouting.
Izuna mimicked her actions curiously, thinking that whatever idea sparked in her head might appear in his mind. Their gazes met simultaneously, the action brought some color in the girl's cheeks.
"Put them into situations in which they have to work together or fail together," said Chika insightfully. "If they are as proud as you say, the word 'fail' shouldn't exist to them."
The suggestion hit him like a ton of bricks. Why didn't I think of this before? Izuna reached over to rest his hands on Chika's small shoulders and gave them a healthy squeeze. He looked at her straightly. "You're a genius."
As her face turned a dozen darker shades of red, he jumped onto his feet and sprang across the field, using his arms as an umbrella. The heavy rain beat down on his back, soaking into his clothes as quickly as he arrived to the shade that hooded Mio's expression.
She took a step toward him, quick to proffer a towel from their bags. He took it and used it to rub his hair dry.
Madara spared him a disapproving glance. If he ended up sick, he would be become a burden. Izuna read those exact words on his face and responded with a swift, but playful, "Everyone needs a bath. You should try it too, brother." His immediate reaction involved gauging at Mio's, who quickly averted her eyes in response, resisting the nagging urge to agree with Izuna's playful statement.
Mio tried keeping conflict out of missions for the same reason Izuna arrived to trick them into becoming a partnership rather than the bitter enemies they have been so far.
Izuna leaned over the map, dripping from head to toe. "So, I was thinking—"
Madara snatched the wrinkled map out of the way as droplets of rainwater splashed over the surface. "You're getting everything wet, go stand somewhere else," he snapped.
"I'm amazed you haven't noticed it's raining," remarked Mio, sighing full of disappointment.
"Nobody asked you," he retorted. "So be a good dog and stay quiet."
"Woof, woof, asshole."
Everyone in a ten-mile radius felt the temperature plummet.
Izuna found his place between them, grabbing hold of Madara before he took hold of Mio. She stared at him with an oddly pleased expression that only served to aggravate him further.
"We promised not to do this in front of Chika-sama," interjected Izuna strongly. "If anything, we should present a good image of the Uchiha like grandmother asked us to, so why don't we settle down and listen to my change of strategy."
"We can settle this later," spat Madara, heeding to his brother's words.
Mio folded her arms over her chest. "We can do it in the llama pen, your majesty."
"Mio!" snapped Izuna. "Stop giving him incentive!"
She frowned and apologized to Madara, as insincere as always, but he took it. Anything to shut everyone up.
Izuna let go of his brother once it was safe to assume neither of them would start another war and draped the towel over his shoulders. He cleared his throat to speak.
"Okay," he started lowly. "I think we need to change our strategy. There are only three of us and three travelers including Chika-sama. The weather is already a bad sign and if things get worst, we need to think of a better defense strategy. We won't be getting paid if Chika-sama gets offed, so as reliable as Mio is at defensive strategies, I think we should switch places."
"No."
Madara and Mio's voices overlapped. A quick, disgusted glance was exchanged between them before one of the two spoke.
"I can switch with Mio," stated Madara. "You work better together."
"It's easier to travel with you at the front," Izuna disagreed immediately. "You're better at quick offense and we can use Mio to scout the area before moving forward, it's her specialty. She can pick up trails and predict better routes than I can. She's trained for this, not at being a bodyguard."
The questionable looks on their faces meant Izuna successfully planted the seed of friendship. Madara couldn't question Mio's capabilities as an experienced sleuth, scouring the darkness for light was her greatest gift. Mio couldn't deny Madara's place at the front of the pack or the importance of Chika's protection.
"We have to work together," added Izuna.
Madara sighed. "Fine."
Mio nodded in response.
Izuna caught Chika's gaze across the veil of rainfall and nodded. She looked as giddy as he felt.
Madara and Mio remained crouched around the stump with the map between them, discussing new plans.
.
.
Madara and Mio failed to do what he and Chika thought may permanently change their opinions of one another forever. It wasn't long before they reached the crowded port city they would use to catch a trade ferry to the Wave Country that they encountered a mixture of rogues and thieves threatening to take their belongings. They struck in the middle of one of their disputes, which paved the way for Izuna to pick up their slack and rid them of the dangers, but he was fed up.
"I don't like being like grandmother in any situation, but you don't get it!" shouted Izuna, standing like an authoritative figure in front of his brother and Mio. They were covered in scratches and bruises from the scrap he broke up when he pulled Mio off Madara while demanding he stop pulling her hair. He turned to the young spy, dropping his voice. "Mio, I want you to return to the compound."
Madara sneered, looking proud until Izuna rounded on him with a glare. "Madara, you go back to the manor and tell grandmother why I had to separate you both."
"What?" demanded Madara. "You don't plan to take the girl to the Wave Country without us!"
"I did just fine the past fourteen days," he retorted. "I can manage a trip from here to the Wave Country and back to the compound! I'll bring Mio to the manor once I'm done."
Izuna's mood was darkening with every protest his brother made and it was suddenly Mio's turn to intervene.
"I agree, we're useless to Izuna if we can't get along," she admitted softly, earning a furious glare. "Don't look at me like that."
"If you hadn't been captured by that Kuronuma bastard, I'd be able to help!" hissed Madara, holding his damaged hands in front of him.
"I didn't ask you to save me," she remarked. "Enya-san would have let me go if he wasn't so sure you'd be coming."
"Is that what this is about?" Izuna interjected skeptically. "That you returned with a wounded pride and burns on your arms for doing the right thing?"
"Forget that! Has she told you she's killed three Uchiha on this one trip alone?" added Madara, growing angrier.
"They were targets; Sachiyo-sama gave them to me—"
"You were talking about this at the onsen," Izuna remembered, feeling his stomach twist. He searched both their faces for answers. "Weren't you? And what do you mean they're targets? They're Uchiha, Madara said so, why would you kill your own clansmen?"
"I don't choose my jobs, Izuna," she replied with a cutting edge in her tone. "I only accept them."
"You can deny them?"
"She can't," said Madara snappishly. "Don't forget what she is."
Mio took her bags from the pile and pulled them onto her back. She glanced from Izuna to Madara, holding his gaze longer, before approaching Chika with a solemn apology. She left obediently, no arguments or complaints because that was what was expected of her.
Izuna felt regret as he watched her walk away in silence, but merely gazed at Madara, who had started gathering his things. There was no room for guilt. He did what he thought was best when he sent them off.
Madara patted his shoulder, looking him in the eyes as if he knew the doubts crowding his head. "You're a better leader than I am." He gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Go make the old hag proud."
He took the same road as Mio and soon disappeared beyond the bustling crowds. Chika found her way to him, peering at him curiously.
"Maybe they like each other?" she suggested.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to consider the option seriously.
The dynamic was impossible. The way he saw it, they were two people with contradicting personalities. His grandmother described it as something cumbersome but childish and that they needed years of maturity to leave their differences behind. He believed that after watching them argue back and forth over nonsense for the last four years. Madara would be sixteen in five months, but he was still acting like a nine-year-old. He liked to believe his grandmother's sagacity, but it wasn't something childish. Something changed between them. Madara had always been curious of her, but he changed his opinion of her overnight.
"Boys always bully the ones they love."
"Madara promised to choke her to death."
Chika looked unfazed, as if those last two weeks had been enough to readjust her mentality to the harsh reality of the shinobi. "Has he tried it?"
"Well, yeah, but he failed because Mio hit him between the legs."
Remembering Madara on the ground writhing in such pain made him shudder, but Mio's eyes were wide and wild as she breathed heavily. It reminded her of when Hiryuu threatened to kill her and shook her. She didn't talk for an entire month and suffered nightmares where hands sprung from the darkness, tightening around her neck. She told Izuna because he pestered her enough, sure that if she talked to anyone, it would be him and it was. He was right to assume.
She sat with her back to the wall and her head on his shoulder, staring into the stretch of night sky from one of the open-side walkways. He let her hold his hand and felt as the tremors slowly abandoned her body. It was the first time he was ever fully aware that she was a girl and that her hair smelled of oranges and mint. He promised she would always be safe with them because they were family. Mio hugged him so tightly he could have suffocated and kissed his face in affection before running off to her room.
Mio's kisses were nothing like Sachiyo's were back when she pecked his cheek or his mother's, which he remembered less. Her mouth was soft as a feathers and silk and left a behind a tingling wherever she planted them. They were sweet and he enjoyed the feel of them.
Izuna noticed the princess' odd expression. "We were training," he tried to explain, but knew it wouldn't matter. "Mio needed an opponent to test out a new style she learned from one of the clan's elders and I was too hurt, so Madara took my place."
"But outside of training, he doesn't?" she persisted.
He was staring at her mouth a bit too keenly; he noticed and averted his eyes. "No, but he swears he will. I don't believe him."
"You know, I used to pick on my childhood friend," she started, watching the crowd near the port dissipate. "I had the biggest crush on him and I guess I did it so he would pay attention to me, but I did horrible things. Maybe they like each other but have no other way of expressing it."
"I could understand Madara, but Mio wouldn't."
"She's got a fiery spirit, why not?"
Izuna laughed. "You noticed?"
She nodded smugly. "Oh yeah. It's not hard to miss."
"Yeah, but that doesn't matter. It isn't against the rules for Mio to like someone, but it is if that someone is her master," Izuna told her. Deciding enough time had passed without nuisances, Izuna gestured to her attendants and grabbed his things, leading the group towards the boatman Mio convinced to take them to the Wave Country. Chika followed him quickly. "Mio is a special spy. She's not a part of the community in the compound, which automatically diminishes this. She works under my family and will serve us until her death."
"That sounds dreadful."
"You should try telling her."
The boatman jumped out of his ferry to aid the princess' attendants with her luggage as they lagged behind to finish their conversation.
Chika smiled. "Perhaps, you three can come to visit," she offered. "The castle gets horribly boring once the festivities end." She clapped her hands. "Oh, you should come for them! They start in two months and last until the seventh week! Bring Madara-san and Mio-san, I'm sure they'll find something to enjoy and we can probably dump them together so they can start getting along!"
"Or kill each other?" he proposed.
She chortled into her hands. "Or kill each other."
"Ready?" called the boatman.
Izuna led Chika to the end of the wooden walkway, and helped her up the boat ramp and onto the ferry as it swayed in the calm waters. She thanked him over her shoulder.
Once the anchor went up, no more talk of his companions rose. He simply thought about the Wave Country, what it would look like and how the people were, and if his grandmother would let him come for the festivities. He forgot about the bandits and rogues that intercepted their path the entire journey as well as all the fights Madara and Mio had with each other and Kurata's icy domain that he swore would freeze his very core.
For the first time, he felt himself relax.
The Bandits of Kurata | End
xl note: I quickened the pace to things to try my hand at it and will be slowly things down in the next chapters. I am debating between jumping straight into the action (which comes with the introduction of the next story-relevant clan) and the Wave Country festivities. POV will change between Izuna and Mio for now. Madara will be added in later.
I'll go into better detail about my thoughts on these chapters on my LJ, feel free to read if you're interest. It should be up in a couple hours (if I don't forget). Thank you for reading!