Suenagaku na Aki

Chapter 5

Okina rubbed his bruised head and wondered what the women were so angry about. He was going to take his bath, not spying on them. He could not have known that Omasu was in there. He tried to explain to the enraged woman and Misao who was stoking the fire for the bath, but all he received in reply were burning sticks and anything else both women could get their hands on to throw at him.

A pigeon suddenly appeared on the window. A piece of rolled paper was tied to one of its legs.

Okina shrugged. He hadn't received such a letter for a long time. Of course, there was the time when he helped Himura, but that letter was more meant for Himura than for him. While gently holding the pigeon so that it couldn't fly away with one hand, Okina untied the roll of paper with the other. As his other hand released the pigeon, he opened the letter to read its content. While he was reading it, his silvery eyebrows raised themselves. After he has finished reading it, he slowly put it down, smiling.

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Misao blotted her hair with a towel, drying it. She hoped that Okina didn't get to so mad at Omasu and herself for over-reacting a little bit that he planned on running away from the Aoiya. 'Okina. So mad at us that he wants to run away? I don't think so. Wait. IT WAS I WHO RAN AWAY. To find Aoshi-sama' Misao didn't realize that her face turned crimson thinking about Aoshi.

"Thinking about Aoshi again, eh Misao? Or were you thinking about my manly body just now?"

Misao's body tensed. Okina sure hadn't learn his lesson. Then she noticed something strange about him.

"Why are you wearing the Oniwabanshuu's uniform? And the tonfas. Is there something I should know?" Misao asked while eyeing him suspiciously.

"Ehem. Aoshi was bored with meditating in the temple and wanted my help to smash his face to the ground. So that's why he sent for me"

"Are you sure he said that? That sure doesn't sound like him at all"

"Of course he doesn't sound like that. I purposely make the sentence longer and colorful. Or do you prefer 'I need to practice'? Anyway, I'm quite glad that now he has loosened up a bit. "

"I want to follow you to the training"

"NO!"

"Nani?" Misao couldn't believe Okina would raise his voice at her.

"No, er… I mean, after the both of us have trained, who is going to prepare tea for Aoshi and me?" Okina put his hand on his goatee, pretending to think. "Hmm… I suppose Omasu or even Okon can do it. Okay, go and tell Okon to prepare tea when we come back"

"Wait. Can't I prepare the tea for him now?" Misao protested

"And let me drink cold tea when I come back?"

"I don't see anything wrong with that"

Okina sighed. "Don't forget Aoshi-sama…"

"But…"

"Sometimes I swear Okon looks at Aoshi with a gleam in her eyes…"

"All right, all right, I get the message. I'll stay"

Okina smiled at Misao's pouting face and walked through the Aoiya's front door.

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Okina walked leisurely toward the waiting Aoshi. He then halted a few steps in front of him.

"Sorry I'm late. I got lost walking in this big forest. I'm getting old, you know"

"It doesn't matter", Aoshi answered. "Let us drop the acting part"

"Me acting? Cough! Cough! These days, younger people just don't respect their elders now. Just now Misao and Omasu hit me after I accidentally walked into the bath. And now I have you scolding me"

Aoshi ignored his reply. "I know you're just pretending to get lost; in reality you checked this area before appearing in front of me"

Okina raised his eyebrows. His face turned into a scowl. "You accuse me of acting; and here you're masquerading as Aoshi. You even managed to copy his handwriting almost entirely. Had I been less alert, I would have been fooled"

The fake Aoshi just nodded. "Although it would have been possible to duplicate your group's secret coded signals, I chose not to because of personal reasons. So I was sure you would have found out that I am an impostor even before you finished reading the letter"

"What makes you so sure you that you could duplicate the Oniwabanshuu's secret signals?"

'Aoshi' smiled mysteriously. "Does it matter? What matters now is that you're here. I have some questions I would like to ask of you before I kill you"

"Heh. Such arrogance"

"No, not arrogance. It is just that I have total confidence in my skill and power. But to be fair, I will let you ask me any questions you want to ask, so that you will not die an ignorant death"

"Is that so? Then my first question is what makes you sure that I would have come alone?"

"Your group is not the only one that has reconnaissance capability"

Okina took a long breath. The man in front of him would be very difficult to defeat. "Well then, what's your name?"

"Watashi wa Orochi. As you can discern from my name, I am the leader of the Orochi group"

Okina noted that the way Orochi answered his question. It was clear that this man has been raised in an aristocratic way. "The Serpent. So, the hidden clan emerges at last. What does its leader want from an old man like me?"

"I will answer that one a bit later. As for what do I really want, actually I want revenge"

"Revenge?" Okina tried to think of any instance where both groups might have come across each other.

"Yes. To be exact, I want to have my revenge by conquering the whole of Japan" Orochi answered as if he was talking about the weather.

"Japan?" 'He's mad!'

Orochi laughed, not bothering to imitate Aoshi's voice anymore. "Perhaps you are thinking that I am crazy. It is of no consequence. I do not care much for what people say, anyway. Since I have already answered your questions, I hope you will now answer mine"

Okina remain quiet, neither agreeing nor disagreeing to the request.

"Were you in Tokyo during the rebellion in Satsuma which was led by Takamori three years ago?"

Okina could not understand why he had something to do with the rebellion, or why he was supposed to be in Tokyo at that time. "What do you mean?"

"It seems that you have more questions for me. Very well, I will answer you so that you can answer my question"

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Misao could see Aoshi walking toward Aoiya from a distance. She quickly ran toward the kitchen and boiled some water. Just as Aoshi entered the restaurant, a cup of piping hot tea was waiting for him.

"Okaerinasai, Aoshi-sama"

"Aa. Tadaima, Misao

"You must have been tired from training with Okina. By the way, where is he?" Misao said as she handed the tea to him.

"I didn't train with him" Aoshi said simply as he took a sip of the tea. Then his expression changed as he looked at Misao's puzzled look. Cup hastily put on the floor, he ran toward Okina's room. Misao followed him from behind, not sure what he was thinking. Aoshi quickly searched Okina's room, turning over everything there.

"Search for any kind of clue. QUICKLY!"

Misao spurred into action, although she didn't know what it was that she was supposed to search for. They searched the room thoroughly, but didn't find anything.

"What's wrong, Aoshi-sama?"

Aoshi turned toward her for a moment before looking around in case he may [might] have missed something. "He may have left a message or something"

Although still unsatisfied with Aoshi's answer, Misao suggested to him, "Maybe he left a message in your room"

Aoshi dashed toward his room while Misao followed. Once inside, he searched around quickly. But it was Misao who noticed a folded paper under his futon. She handed it to Aoshi who then smoothed out the paper to read it.

"BAKAYAROU!"

Misao rarely see heard Aoshi swear, but before she could say anything, Aoshi sprinted out of the Aoiya. Misao quickly ran after him.

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"To finish the story, the killing of my men has disrupted my plan. While I was surprised and very angry at the time, I realized that achieving victory by sneak attack would have been very easy. Even Shishio could have done it. No. What I need is something better than that. I want to openly declare to my enemies that I want to conquer Japan and challenge them to stop me from doing so. So, I would like to meet the killer and thank him for making me realize that. Also, if possible, I would like to have a duel with him to pit my strength and technique against his. So please answer my question, did you or did you not kill them?"

Okina smiled nonchalantly. "Hmm… I'm not sure… I do have trouble remembering what happened yesterday, so how can I be sure what I did three years ago?"

"It is obvious that you do not want to answer me. Very well, there is only one thing left to settle between the two of us"

"I was hoping you would say that. I was beginning to get sleepy listening to your story". Okina got into a defensive pose.

"Then let us wait no more" Orochi got into an attacking position after unsheathing his sword. "I, Orochi and user of Orochi Awasekagami-ryu (Serpent's reversed mirror principle) challenge you to a fight"

"Aa. I, Okina of the Oniwabanshuu accept"

Orochi changed his stance. "Gen'ei kagami : Gatotsu (Phantom mirror: Fang thrust)"

Okina's eyes became widened as he has heard about the attack's name and realized the speed with which it was executed. Not wanting to be skewered by his opponent's attack he blocked it using his left tonfa, changing the direction of the thrust upward. Orochi lost his balance, leaving a chance an opening for Okina to attack using his right tonfa. A precision strike to the stomach caused Orochi to retreat a few steps.

"I seem to have underestimated you. I was hoping to kill you quickly", Orochi said while clutching his stomach. "Your age does not really affect your fighting prowess. No wonder you were elected to replace the former Oniwabanshuu's Okashira"

"Aa. But I assure you, there's a lot more where that came from"

"My words exactly"

They continued their fight. Even as Orochi attacked using techniques he had copied from other swordsmen, Okina defended and counterattacked, hoping to stall for time. Initially, he was reluctant to leave the letter under Aoshi's bed informing him of where he was going. But in the end, he decided to do so. As he narrowly avoided an attack to his head, he was glad that he did. Then all of the sudden, Orochi stopped attacking and stood his ground, as if waiting for something.

"What are you up to?" Okina asked warily.

Orochi just smiled and just closed his eyes as in response. Okina waited apprehensively. "Why don't we take a brief respite from our fight?" Orochi asked him. Okina wondered what his motive could be, but he kept quiet. A minute passed before Orochi opened his eyes and looked toward the sky. Okina followed suit and saw a red firework illuminating the dark sky for a moment. When he looked back at Orochi, he saw that his opponent was deep in thought. Then Orochi focused his attention toward Okina and smiled once more. The old Oniwabanshuu ninja found himself hating the that smile more and more.

"Let us continue our fight" Orochi said while jumping toward Okina. Okina prepared himself for an attack that didn't materialize. Instead, Orochi landed a few meters from him and executed a ground based attack.

"Gen'ei kagami: Kaiten Kenbu (Phantom mirror: Spinning sword dance)"

Orochi disappeared behind images of himself which surrounded Okina, while encircling him at great speed. Okina stood still.

"Are you having a problem attacking me, Okina?"

Okina kept on waiting. He knew sooner or later, Orochi would have to attack, as performing the sword dance technique for an extended period can exhaust its user's energy. Just as predicted, Orochi appeared from behind. Okina saw the sword and held up his right tonfa to block it.

The attack did not come. Instead a leg kicked his right hand, causing Okina's chest to become exposed momentarily. Orochi grinned and performed another attack. "Hatsugane (Forged iron)" Okina's face changed, as he could not believe that a sword had embedded itself inside his body. Then he gritted his teeth and tried to hold the sword, but it was not already there.

Orochi examined his bloodied sword. "You even managed to deflect my attack at the last moment so that it would not hit any of your vital organs. That is quite impressive. However, that attack has weakened you"

The injured old man tried his best to stand straight amidst the blood gushing out from his wound. Doing that was hard as he found his vision blurring and sense of direction beginning to fail him. "Stop talking and let's finish this!" he hissed.

"Pity. From our fight, now I am sure that you were not the one who sabotaged my plan. It would have been a waste of time for me coming here if I didn't have any other intention" He shrugged. "Well, I tried to give you a chance, but it seems that you made some errors in judgement"

"What…… do…… you mean?" Okina's voice was weak and hoarse.

"First, you miscalculate my strength. You think that I'm as strong as you are. The truth is," Orochi said while slashing a big tree on his right side, "I'm at least as strong as Shinomori, if not stronger" The tree he slashed came crashing down on the forest floor, shaking the ground. "Of course, if I had come alone, you would not have made that assumption. Second, you didn't take into account that he would have some difficulty locating us"

"You mean…"

Orochi laughed softly. "Yes. I was also waiting for his arrival. Unfortunately, I have to finish you now as I have an urgent matter to attend to"

"The red firecracker…"

"How observant. But now is the time for me to bid you goodbye. Gen'ei kagami : Ryusousen" Okina closed his eyes, realizing that was nothing he could do to stop that attack.

The attack never came. Instead, he heard sound the sound of metal clashing. Okina opened his eyes to see two Aoshis fighting. The only difference between the two of them was that one of them used two kodachi instead of a sword.

"Aoshi… What kept you?" Okina said while smiling weakly as he began to pass out from loss of blood. Misao hurried to him and used her body as a support to prevent him from collapsing to the ground.

"Misao, take care of Okina's wound. I will cover you"

"That is not necessary, the REAL Okashira of Oniwabanshuu" Orochi said, imitating Aoshi's voice while sheathing his sword. He then turned to leave the battlefield.

"Wait, impostor!" Misao shouted. He stopped. "You will not leave this place" Hearing this, Orochi shook his head and smiled, but continued walking. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Kan Satsu Tobi Kunai (Piercing death flying kunais)"

Ten kunais sailed through the air toward Orochi. These kunais differed from the one[ones] she used when she was searching for Aoshi, as they were smaller in size, each one only 15 cm in length.

Orochi ignored the kunais flying toward him. Just as the kunais were reaching him, they were intercepted by twenty shurikens thrown from somewhere else. But four kunais managed to get through and continued flying toward their target. As if having eyes behind his back, Orochi moved his body and the dangerous weapons whizzed harmlessly pass him.

Misao was very angry and would have attempted another attack, but Aoshi put his hand on her shoulder while shaking his head. He'd already realized when arriving at the scene that there were two kenki aside from Okina's and Orochi's. And seeing how easily Misao's kunais were stopped, he knew that those two could be very dangerous and hard to defeat should they join forces with their leader to attack Misao and him.

Orochi stopped walking once more. "Oh, I've forgotten one more thing. Shinomori, I already know about you receiving the telegram"

Aoshi stared at Orochi's back.

"Aside from you, Saitou also has received one. When you arrive at Tokyo, tell him that I am the one responsible for those attacks"

"What are you implying by telling me this?" Aoshi asked quietly.

"This is more of a challenge to all of you. I want to see whether both Bakufu's and Ishin Shihi's best warriors combined are able to stop me from ruling Japan. Now that I have attacked and defeated one of Oniwabanshuu's members, I can now be assured that you are fully motivated to bring me down"

Aoshi's yellowish and piercing eyes belied their owner's anger. "If you want me to come after you, you only have to ask. Don't involve anyone else" he hissed.

Orochi chuckled. "Do not take it personally" He turned back to them, smiling. "If I really wanted to get to you, I would have attacked her" he said while pointing to Misao. "Do not you agree that Makimachi's death would have affected you more than Okina's injury, Shinomori?"

"KISAMAAAAA…" Without further warning, Aoshi attacked. Orochi just jumped away and landed near Misao. Misao turned to attack using her backhand, but he shifted to her other side. Undaunted, she twisted her body to attempt a roundhouse kick, but was stopped when she looked into his eyes. The young ninja became panicked as she realized that she couldn't move her body.

"Do not move Shinomori! As you can see, she has been rendered immobilized by me. Attack me and you may risk hurting her when I evade your attack"

Aoshi stopped and remained still, knowing that his enemy was right. Seeing that Aoshi has stopped his attack, Orochi pushed Misao's body and she started to tumble toward him. Aoshi quickly ran toward her and clasped her protectively.

"As I said, Shinomori, it is between the Ishinshi's and Bakufu's best swordsmen and me. You and Okina are among them; she is not, well… at least not yet"

"What do you mean, you… you idiot?" Misao asked, safe within Aoshi's arms.

"Ah, such a brave woman. I have seen men wetting their pants after being put into a dangerous situation such as yours. Makimachi Misao. Hmm… You certainly inherited Makimachi's blood"

Orochi walked to a tree and picked up one of Misao's kunais that had managed to embed itself on the trunk to examine the weapon. "Hmm… this kunai is smaller than the one your group normally uses. It is easier to carry and less susceptible to wind disturbance. But it is harder to throw it perfectly. This shows your mastery of the weapon. If I did not have my ninjas with me, it would have been a bit of a challenge to evade the attack"

Orochi turned his eyes to Aoshi. "There will be no more attacks on your friends, especially your woman. I hope this pledge will allow you to dedicate your full effort toward defeating me"

Despite being angry, Misao felt herself affected by Orochi's statement regarding her being Aoshi's woman. She glanced at Aoshi before looking back to Orochi to find that he had already gone. She turned back to Aoshi to see him already carrying the unconscious Okina. Aoshi started walking toward Kyoto. Misao followed quietly, knowing that Aoshi needed to think about what has had happened.

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This chapter was checked by Fujifunmum