The rest of that afternoon became a frenzy of activity, though subdued and anxious as Yoshida maneuvered staff around the house to keep anyone from seeing Ren depart- especially Sae. Yoshida knew where they were going, and he knew from Captain Akechi's earlier attempt to get onto the estate that Ren needed to get out of the city quietly. But as a veteran of high society subterfuge, Yoshida knew that anything known by the staff would eventually become rumored by the city at large.
None of the Niijima estate's staff were devious (that Yoshida and Makoto were aware of anyway), but they were people. They were people with family, people who could make a mistake, or let something slip, or trust the wrong cousin or aunt or anyone outside the estate. And then the secret was out.
Yoshida wanted to avoid that possibility, as Sae had assured Akechi that Amamiya Ren was not in the house today. A contrary rumor from the staff could substantially weaken the Niijima Family's standing with the City Council, which was already led by the passively hostile "Shido" Akechi. What few allies Sae and Makoto had amongst the other council members were older men who honored the memory of their Father, but that esteemed memory was fading, and the influence from it- a precious and finite resource.
Yoshida believed that Makoto's actions generally caused less of a stir because she was the younger daughter- a traditionally problematic member of any family. And what scandals she had caused by associating with a dhamphir had more or less been surpassed by the popularity she had gained from the Flaming-Head Parade. The now legendary carriage ride wherein she had held up Kamoshida's flaming head, impaled upon a sword, on a ride through the city.
The other rapidly growing legend was only half Makoto's, and that was Ren's slaying of the hidden vampire at the recent Niijima victory gala. If one collected every eyewitness testimony of that night, apparently everyone in the room had been standing right next to the disguised vampire when Ren stabbed it, and they had, to a person, thought for just an instant that the dhampir was coming for them instead.
But regardless- Sae, as eldest and as heir, would instead face harsher scrutiny. So she absolutely could not be seen as having lied directly to Shido's son, an officer of the law. And so, Ren in his fisherman's clothing and Makoto in her full suite of hunting gear, shadowed Yoshida through the estate as he ordered staff off to tasks in rooms that afforded no glimpse of their passage.
Getting them to the back garden went smooth enough, but getting Ren into the carriage proved tricky. Yoshida ordered some staff to bring it into the back court on the pretense of loading old cauldrons to take to the smithy, and then ordered them and all the kitchen staff to haul them away to the laundry house instead because, Yoshida said, he realized they would make excellent new bleaching tubs. When Chef objected, Yoshida invited her to a few glasses of brandy and the promise of a very light dinner service, and that had been the deal-maker. With passage clear and the kitchen empty, Ren was in and locked into the armored carriage with no witnesses.
Not a fugitive herself, Makoto was under no such obligation to sneak, though she wasn't eager for another confrontation with Sae. But she didn't think Sae would even bother. Makoto had always simply obeyed, and Sae would have no reason to think her little sister would do anything different now. So, as Makoto drove the armored carriage and four horse team down the drive and out the grounds; past the salute of Captain Dojima and his day-guards; and off toward the city gates; Makoto imagined how Sae would react to the news that Makoto was gone and no one knew where to. Sae's jaw would tighten and her teeth would pop and her eyes would stab like daggers.
Makoto laughed out loud at the mental image. The mid-afternoon sun was still bright in the sky and warm on her face. She was off on a grand adventure. Free of the authority of her sister. And Free of the responsibility of the estate and of the Sakamoto twins.
Ryuji had been disappointed to be left out, but he would never leave Ann, who remained unconscious- and he was somewhat mollified by Morgana's promises of more persona training (the symbiote/cat also remaining behind to ensure Ann's perfect recovery). And so Makoto was also free of the guilt she would have had from sneaking off onto this mission. Her conscious was as clear as the cloudless blue sky, and for her, that was a amazing feeling.
Their first stop was a secluded lot wherein Ren had stashed his horse and gear. The gear went into the carriage with Ren and the horse's lead was tied to the carriage under the pretense of it being a spare mount. The horse would follow automatically, lead or no, but that might be too much of a giveaway to its mechanical nature. The carriage was conspicuous enough on its own.
"What do you intend?" asked Ren, grimacing slightly in the glare of the afternoon sun.
"Head to the gate. Buy supplies. And then leave," said Makoto, with hands on her hips.
Ren looked at her silently for a moment, his expression unreadable to her.
"Are you sure you-" Ren began.
Makoto felt a surge of exasperated anger. "I'm sure! Get in and let's go!"
Ren looked slightly taken aback, but obediently climbed into the carriage, giving her one last gray-eyed glance before slipping inside and closing the hatch behind him. Makoto fumed as she climbed back into the driver's bench. Sure?! Of course, she was sure! They were already underway! And as Makoto sat back into the bench seat, took up the reins, and started the carriage again on its rumbling course, her irritation faded and that giddy excitement returned: They were already underway!
When they reached the gate, Iwai seemed influenced by Makoto's high spirits. Or it may have been the two mechanical horses she sold him, and for store credit, too. The man barely took his eyes off the two statuesque beasts in his garage while Makoto loaded up on ammunition and gadgets for the journey- fire starters, especially. Then she visited the provisioner and bought food for herself and large water-skins to hang from the saddles. Since the horses didn't eat and neither did Ren, save his little vials- there was not a whole lot to buy or make ready. In less than an hour, Makoto was ready to leave, and with an hour and more to spare before the great city gates closed for the night.
The gates were busy with arrivals as traders and caravans rushed into the safety of Tock-yo ahead of the impending night. No one was waiting to leave, and a few senior guards sat near the outgoing side of the open gate, playing cards. They were obviously of no concern, but the four men in black leather standing nearby took close note of Makoto's approach- and she was conspicuous atop the gleaming armored carriage. The two horses were mechanical, but it could be hard to tell if one wasn't looking at them closely- and these four leathermen were looking at her very closely, hands on their holstered pistols.
These were Medjed's enforcers- their 'paladins'. With their swords and pistols, they were notably better armed than the gate guards who all carried pikes and halberds, save the officer who had a rifle. And these leathermen were obviously very interested in this large, armored carriage leaving the city so close to nightfall. Makoto suspected they were looking for Ren; and if she were them, she would suspect a carriage as a likely means of smuggling a dhampir out of the city.
Makoto ground her teeth in sudden anxiety. She had not thought that the gates would be watched by Medjed themselves. They were generally a reclusive organization who deployed their paladins sparingly, so Makoto had not even thought of this possibility. But here they were, right in front of her, and with the press of buildings on her left and the stream of inward-bound wagon traffic on her right- she had no room to turn around. All she could do now was keep moving forward as if unconcerned- and hope these leathermen were not here for her.
A fools hope: the four grim men began moving to block the mouth of the gate, clearly intending to challenge the departure of Makoto's carriage. This was a problem. She had counted on being able to use the Niijima name to get her through and around any questions at the gate; but while that would have worked on the semi-retired guards giving annoyed looks from over their card game- it probably would not work on hardened zealots like these leathermen. It could even be a terrible idea, as her association with Ren was publicly known. They could also be looking for her as an associate who might know where Ren was- at best- or as an accomplice, at worst.
Makoto felt a buzzing dread in the back of her head as she realized these Medjed men not only had the power and authority to stop her and search the carriage where Ren was hiding- but they could also just seize her. It wouldn't exactly be legal, but the Church had rival authority to the City Council, and sometimes made use of it. If that were to happen, well- Yoshida and Sae would quickly have the political support to have her released- but that could take a day or more, and cost a great deal of political capital. And that was assuming they ever found out she was arrested in the first place.
Just beyond the challenging line of leathermen was the open city gate and the promise of freedom. Makoto could not be stopped here, and the most obvious solution to come to her mind was also the most obvious- she could just rush the gate. She was riding an armored carriage was she not? The driver's bench was very exposed, but there was an alternative…
Makoto stopped the cart about fifty yards from the open gate and the leathermen. She quickly climbed down to the ground and, sure enough, the leathermen were already slowly walking in her direction, obviously alert at her stopping.
"Please wait a moment, sirs!" shouted Makoto, forcing a smile onto her face and a cheerful tone into her voice. "I just need to get my papers! Then I'll be right there!"
She had the momentary gratification of the four leathermen stopping in confusion- three subordinates turning their heads slightly to look at their apparent leader to see what to do. Perfect. A moment of hesitation was all that Makoto needed. She walked to the carriage door and pulled it open. Gleaming ruby eyes stared at from within the dim interior. The hairs on the back of Makoto's neck stood on end as a jolt of instinctive fear went through her, but she cognitively knew it was just Ren, and when he reached out a hand to help her manage the high step into the carriage, she took it immediately and was effortlessly pulled into the carriage with him.
"What do you intend to do?" asked Ren. He was again dressed in his armor and combat gear- the tight, molded armor a formidable defense against blade, bullet, arrow and claw. His sword was already drawn and ready. The black of his armor melded seamlessly into the relative darkness of the carriage. There were not exactly windows inside, but there was thin slits in the side armor which allowed one to see outside while allowing a minimum of light through, and according to Ren, even these would be heavily curtained if a noble vampire was inside.
"We're going right on through," said Makoto as she shut the hatch behind her, sealing herself into the dim-dark of the carriage- just her and Ren inside a relic of a bygone era, the entirety of humanity left outside. "Just like how Kamoshida escaped Shujin."
After that hunt, everyone in the Niijima estate had been granted an opportunity to gawk at the 'vampire carriage', from Yoshida on down to the most junior of kitchen maids. And it was that last curious girl who had unintentionally flipped a latch and revealed the carriage's internal drive mechanism. Makoto pulled that same latch now, and a thin slit of a window opened up at the front of the carriage. Another compartment opened and offered a second set of reins. She took them up and looked out between the two lead horses. The leathermen were still standing there, uneasy and unsure, but as she watched, the leader apparently decided something was obviously amiss and he started walking towards the carriage with his men following behind him.
Makoto felt a movement of air to her right. Ren was looking through the window next to her, the red of his eyes faded in the light and now they were their usual gray. He felt her gaze and he turned. They shared a long, close glance. Ren's eyes searched hers, but he didn't say anything- most likely having thoughts of his own about starting this venture with her. What was he thinking? Was he thinking about their kiss this morning, or the continuation of that adventure on top of her bed?
After they were outside, there would be many nights of just the two of them- alone, no other people for miles…
Makoto took a deep breath. She was really doing this? Busting out of the city where she was born to go with a man she met less than a year ago? Leaving behind Yoshida and Sae and the staff? To go off to what could very well be her death?
Yes. She was. She had to know what was out there. And Ren… well- he made what she wanted to do possible. And while he did it, he just so happened to save her life multiple times. And he could make her so strangely excited that, some small part of her didn't care about vampires or Shikoku or any of it. That small part was instead eager for all these nights where they would be alone… And the days, too.
Yes. She was doing this. And she was doing this right now.
Makoto flicked the reigns with enthusiasm. The carriage jolted forward as the two mechanical horses went from still to full gallop in three strides, churning up the mud and cobbles of the gate-yard. The approaching leathermen halted in surprise, then dove out of the way as the horses and carriage charged upon them.
"Stop!" shouted one of them. "Stop it!" shouted another.
POP! POP! CLANG!
Small-arms fire ricocheted harmlessly from the thick plating of the armor carriage and they barreled out of the city. The city walls gave way to the long acres of rice paddies and bean fields which circled Tock-Yo like a skirt. Meanwhile, a long line of wagons and people were queued to get into the city, and some had spilled over into the left side of the road during their wait, reasonably unsuspecting of anyone leaving the city at this time of day- and certainly not in such haste. People dove aside as the armored carriage careened down the rutted road, literally leaving them, and the city gates, in their dust.
Makoto was familiar with the near wilds around Tock-Yo. For the brief time Sae had agreed to bring Makoto into the field for minor hunting, they had filled several contracts clearing these perimeter farmlands. No one lived out here, but any land that was a two hour walk from the city was cultivated by someone. Industrious farmers with younger legs would stake land, travel on foot to their parcel once the gates opened, frantically complete as much work as possible, then hike back before the gates closed. Of all the adventurous types who ventured outside the gates, these farmers were the ones most often caught outside after dark- their gnawed remains found on or near the road the next day. Today, these few brave stragglers simply watched the armored carriage fly past them in wonder.
The roads were generally good this close to the city, and Makoto had toured them a few times on Johanna, her motorcycle. But landmarks were a little harder to mark when all you could see of the world was through a thin slit in metal armor, and the horses kicked up enough dust to make visibility poor. It may be a defensible way to travel, but it sure lacked in other areas. Makoto squinted through the dust in the effort to keep tabs on the borders of the road. There were irrigation ditches on either side that would halt their escape real quick.
"I'm going to switch back to the bench outside," said Makoto.
"No," said Ren, sharply. "We are pursued."
"What?!" Makoto had not considered that possibility. That anyone would chase them into the wilds? Again, she had been calculating as if it were the gate guards, who could barely be motivated to open or close the city gates- the Medjed paladins were as well equipped as vampire hunters, and now that Makoto thought of it, they were likely as comfortable in the wilds as vampire hunters.
Damn! Maybe she should have just tried to talk her way out the gate? Why had she immediately thought to just charge?
First, Kamoshida. Then Madrame. Then stepping in font of a loaded rifle. Then the the entire idea of this trip. Was she becoming entirely reckless?!
"How many?" said Makoto.
"All four," said Ren, who must be picking up the sounds of the hoof-beats. How he could hear them over the cacophony of their own horses and the rumble of their carriage wheels, Makoto had no idea. But one simply got used to wondrous things when Amamiya Ren was involved.
Ren pushed himself to the side of the carriage interior, scrunching his face up against the closed hatch to see out and behind them. He had his pistol in one hand, and the hatch handle in the other.
"Keep driving," said Ren, "I think they just have pistols and swords. They will try for the horses first."
Makoto turned her full attention to the road in front of them. A section of turns was coming up, and the horses would follow their course on their own- or at least organic ones would. She wasn't entirely sure how much of a real horses' instinct was put inside the machine ones- it sure felt like these clockwork beasts would charge right into a forest if one didn't steer them away.
Ren waited, peering out the armor slit, then suddenly opened the hatch and fired his pistol three times, the gunshots deafening inside the carriage interior even with all the other sounds. Ren then closed the hatch again.
"Got one," he said, lamely.
POP! CLANG! POP! CLANG! Return fire bounced harmlessly off the carriage armor.
Ren waited a few extra seconds, then opened the hatch once more, leaned out, but didn't fire.
"They went around back!" said Ren. "They are coming up the right side!"
"But the horses are mechanical!" said Makoto, "What can they do?!"
"A bullet in the right spot or at the right angle can damage them," said Ren as he shifted across the carriage seat to look out the other side. "Their armor is pretty light. But where are they? I might need to get on top."
Makoto turned the rumbling carriage around a corner in the road. They had entered a small wood and were galloping past thin, leafy trees.
"Oh, I see them," said Ren. "They are still behind us. They have some spears out, now. Not sure where they got those."
"Spears?" said Makoto, "What are they going to do with those?"
"I don't know," said Ren, "Looks like they plan to throw them, but I don't intend to let them get up to where the horses are and-"
The carriage shuddered and skidded sideways, the horses staggering as the weight behind them shifted. Makoto instinctively tightened her grip, but the skidding continued and they careened towards the treeline. Suddenly, Makoto was wrapped in Ren' embrace and the carriage tilted precariously onto one set of wheels and them went entirely over. There was brief moment of weightlessness and then they slammed into the earth, Makoto's head cushioned and tight against Ren's armored chest. She landed solidly, but she heard Ren's head thud hard against the metal siding of the carriage as his neck whiplashed with the landing- he had spared no hand from Makoto to protect himself.
They skidded to a stop, or mostly a stop- The carriage sounded like it was being dragged, and there was a evident vibration. Makoto realized the horses were still mechanically tugging away at the turned axle, oblivious to the chaos behind them, doing their best to drag the overturned carriage just the same as it was still upright.
Ren grunted and loosened his iron grip on Makoto's body. Then, he squeezed her again protectively. "Makoto? Are you all right?"
"Yes," said Makoto, and she was. She rolled off Ren to give him the chance to stand, which he did, awkwardly- the walls of the carriage were not exactly designed for even footing. "What happened?"
"The spears weren't for the horses," said Ren, looking around the inside of the carriage. "They were for the wheel spokes. Dammit! Where's my gun?"
Makoto's inner eye played for her a short scenario of what would happen if a sturdy pole of metal was thrown into the spokes of a moving carriage. It would potentially catch and halt progress of one wheel, which would- well, lead to an overturn like this, if the carriage was moving fast enough.
"Forget it," grunted Ren as he picked up his sword, which had been alarmingly loose in the compartment as they crashed. His gaze turned to the hatch now above them, but he gave her a quick glance. "Stay here. I'll deal with them."
"I can help!" objected Makoto. She was also in her hunting gear. And armor against vampires would work well enough against humans, too. She had her own gun and sword, and plenty of lessons in swordsmanship- standard human-style and Ren's style, too.
But Ren paused and gave her a strange look. "Are you prepared to kill your own kind?"
The question sent a blast of icy wind into Makoto's mind. She hadn't thought of that. And Ren seemed to read it in her face.
"Stay here," he repeated.
Frozen by hesitation, Makoto watched Ren throw open the carriage hatch, now the top-hatch, since they were on their side. Ren held his sword upward, as if ready to spear anything that might appear in the opening. When nothing did, he glanced around, snagged up his hat, and tossed it up out of the hatch ahead of him.
POP! POP! POP!
Then Ren pulled himself up and out in a billowing of black cape. She heard him tumble along the outside of the carriage and crunch into the dirt on the far side of the carriage. There was shouted words and gunfire sprung up from multiple directions; there was a patter of feet on dirt; a shout; a heavy, wet sound followed by a thud of something falling heavily to the ground; then two yells of greater alarm; more gun shots; more pattering footsteps; another meaty sound and a stricken scream; curses and gunshots; a clang of metal; then a third impact accompanied by a wet grunt, all the while a steady frantic screaming; another thud; screaming and more screaming; then one more meaty sound followed by very abrupt silence.
Makoto, still inside the steel cage of the overturned carriage, felt another chill as she listened to the deathly silence of a concluded fight to the death. Ren had just killed three men out there- lawmen. Churchmen. Human men.
God, forgive her. Was she doing the right thing, here? Or was she careening off to Hell, just like the priests had always sermoned when she was a child? Was she really in her right mind?
The carriage rocked briefly. Ren's head peered down into the carriage at her. He kneeled and extended an arm down.
"Makoto, its safe now," said Ren, "Take my hand."
Makoto looked up into his gray eyes and pale, grim face. Her once-again savior: Handsome, though disheveled and fresh from the fight. Flecks of blood dotted one of his cheeks.
She reached up and took his hand.