Every inn and roadside shrine she passed through told a different story about who she was. A young woman traveling alone was rare enough, but one dressed in the garb of a wandering samurai and carrying a wooden bokken gave those she encountered plenty to talk about.
Some said she ran away from an unwanted marriage or going to join a lover. Others insisted that she must be out for revenge.
Some scoundrel had his way with her and then took off. No, her husband must have left her for some floozy.
The young stranger was lucky enough to only come across good people who looked upon her with concern. Surely the slip of a girl had friends and family who would be worried about her? But, she always gave a different name at each stop, so putting an identity to her description would be impossible.
The innkeepers and shrine priests forgot, as such well-meaning busybodies often do, that not every lost soul wants to be found.
All they could do was hope that the pretty ronin, as they began calling her, got where she wanted to go safely and found what she was looking for.
Musa was taking his daily walk along the river when he saw a crying woman standing on the bank's edge. She looked to be in danger of falling into the water, either by accident or her own volition. Her sobs tugged at Musa's heart. He'd always had a soft spot for distressed people, especially if they had pretty faces.
Fearing that the young lady might do something rash, Musa stepped in to offer whatever assistance he could.
"Please don't cry, Miss," he said. "Please tell what's wrong and how I can help you."
But the girl covered her face with the flowering sleeves of her white furisode and continued weeping. "You're wasting your time, sir. A worthless creature like me doesn't deserve your compassion."
"I doubt that." Musa offered her a handkerchief to dry her eyes. She blinked at him for a moment, then accepted it.
With her delicate, heart-shaped face and large, wide-set eyes, she was the picture of girlish innocence. So what unforgivable sin could she have committed?
"I abandoned my husband right after our wedding." The girl dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief. "And caused my friends great pain."
"I never heard of a woman leaving a man without a good reason."
They sat together on the river bank, and she told him her story. Her name was Kamiya Kaoru. She came from a high-ranking Tokyo samurai family. Miss Kamiya lost her mother at a young age and she was mostly raised by her father, a renowned swordsman. Her father spoiled her and allowed her to train in kenjutsu as his apprentice, neglecting the lady-like accomplishments that a young girl needed. When her father was killed in battle a few years earlier, she was left alone to run the family dojo and carry on its legacy. She was lonely and vulnerable until a dashing Rurouni came to her rescue.
The Rurouni possessed Miss Kamiya's heart from the beginning. But her love for him was so strong that it made a fool of her. Miss Kamiya's friends often teased her about her lack of feminine grace and charm. Though their taunts hurt Miss Kamiya, she knew they were warning her that the Rurouni would never love someone so undesirable and unloveable. It was all for her own good.
Musa shook his head. Some friends they were. If Miss Kamiya's disappearance caused them pain, it was what they deserved.
As the months passed, the Rurouni grew fond of Miss Kamiya but didn't show signs of thinking of her as a lover. She eventually came to understand his reticence. The Rurouni had been married a number of years before and lost his wife under tragic circumstances. His late wife was a lady who resembled a goddess in her beauty, grace, and virtue.
Miss Kamiya's descriptions of her predecessor's perfect made Musa laugh. Tomoe-San sounded like the type of woman men are told they should want but quickly grow bored with. The Rurouni would have tired of her after a year.
After having loved such a paragon, Miss Kamiya was surprised that the Rurouni would want to marry her. She refused him twice before finally accepting his proposal. They had both grown comfortable in the life they'd built together and didn't want to give it up, so marriage was their only option.
But Miss Kamiya went to her wedding with barely concealed reluctance, knowing that her husband-to-be didn't really love her. This is why she donned the clothes of a ronin and ran away after their wedding.
Musa took Miss Kamiya's hand. "You made the right choice, My dear." He waited with her until the next boat came to take people to the temple across the river.
Hopefully, Miss Kamiya would pray and speak with a priest at the temple and find the strength to continue with her journey.
On his way back home, Musa stopped to buy something to eat from a soba seller. The soba-man was speaking with a diminutive red-haired fellow.
"Can you describe her, please?" The soba-man said.
The red-head described Miss Kamiya perfectly. Musa tensed. This must be the no-good husband. At best, he would try to convince/force the poor girl to come back with him. At worst, he would hurt her. With his cross-shaped scar and the sword at his hip, this husband of hers was obviously a thug.
Miss Kamiya would be free of him if Musa had anything to do with it.
"I've seen her," Musa said. "She was walking along the river but then came back this way about ten minutes ago."
Miss Kamiya's husband bowed to him and then left in the opposite direction from the river.