by Ryan Kirk
The sudden knowledge surprised her. When had she stopped dreaming of leaving the monastery? It must have been around Orochi’s arrival. She had been ready to resist training until death. But he had shown her a new way, a path she had never considered before. She had never imagined she could become so strong.
But by being stronger, her desire to live had increased. She had the power to make change now, no longer helpless in the world.
Her train of thought led her to thinking about the type of girl she had been growing up with her parents, what type of life she had dreamed for herself back when she had only seen five cycles. Her dream had been to be in the deep woods, her first love. She wanted to be among the trees, sensing the mystery of life and death that was so prevalent everywhere in the wilderness.
A couple of moons ago, the thought would have made her chuckle at her foolish youthful ambitions. Today though, watching Goro leave on his task, it made her sad she had lost her dream. She searched her memory, trying to find the love of the wild she had once held, the desire to break all constraints and live within the Great Cycle. But she couldn’t find it, the memory erased by the slow passage of time.
In Goro’s absence, Moriko tried to forget the realization of her change. She threw herself into her training, focusing only on the task before her. It helped, but there was still the nagging feeling in the back of her mind she had lost something, a key piece of herself that had been erased so gradually she never knew it had happened.
Goro returned two days later. He wasn’t alone. He returned with a small girl slung over the back of his horse and tied down. His arrival made Moriko frown. There was rarely any reason to tie somebody up. It lacked a certain amount of confidence. It got everything off on the wrong foot. She observed the situation and threw out her sense.
The girl was boiling with rage. Moriko didn’t need her sense to understand that. But she sensed something wasn’t quite right with Goro. She opened her eyes and looked. He was moving with some pain and it dawned on Moriko that the girl had gotten the best of him. She had cut him somehow. The thought of a little girl getting the drop on Goro was funny enough she let out a full grin. She already liked the new girl.
The thought cracked Moriko’s fragile defenses. The girl was just like she had been, but Moriko had become a part of the system she despised. If the girl looked at her she would see just another monk, not someone separate or superior to the man who had stolen her from her family.
Events transpiring in front of Moriko brought her attention front and center. Goro wasn’t just injured, he was furious. He cut the rope holding her to the horse, but he didn’t untie her wrists or ankles. She slipped off the horse and tried to land on her feet, but they were well tied and she fell over, unable to break her fall with her wrists tied behind her. Moriko winced.
Goro laughed and Moriko’s hand went to her sword. Not today. She wouldn’t melt into the background and become another monk who let this happen. She could at least stand up for the girl.
Moriko scanned the monastery. Business was proceeding as usual, and no one was paying any particular attention to Goro and his cruelty. Moriko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She went deep inside herself, hiding her power, and crept towards him. Worry slipped away as her training with Orochi took over. She wasn’t going to be the one to attack. She wasn’t sure what her status was in the monastery, but killing Goro would bring things to their inevitable conclusion more quickly than she was prepared for.
Her only goal was to save the girl and remove her from Goro’s wrath.
Moriko reached Goro without him sensing her. She enjoyed the power over him as she cleared her throat. She smiled as Goro jumped. He spun around, realization dawning on him. He was about to reach for his blade, but saw she wasn’t there to fight, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. Prepared, but not threatening.
“Untie the girl, Goro.”
Goro didn’t respond. Moriko thought she could hear his brain running circles around the problem. He had rank on Moriko, but Moriko’s tone of voice indicated she didn’t care. It had been an order, not a request. If he was going to defy her, he was going to have to fight her, and he was injured. She saw his fear. He knew she was stronger.
He took the coward’s path.
“The girl is dangerous! She cut me. If I untie her now she could be a danger both to others and herself.”
“Untie the girl, Goro.”
“She needs to have an audience with the Abbot. You know the procedure. We can’t let her near him if she poses a risk to people.”
Moriko didn’t respond, her posture strong.
Goro looked frantically about for assistance from some corner, but the monks who had been so conveniently ignoring his cruelty were ignoring his current plight as well. He bent to her will. Orochi had taught her true power. Power was the ability to bend others through persuasiveness, charm, or threats. She felt like she had a preference for threats.
Goro untied the girl, and true to form, she attempted to strike him again the moment she was free. It was subtle, but Moriko caught it, and grabbed the girl’s arm.
“He’s not worth it. Trust me.”
The girl stared with hatred deep into Moriko’s eyes. She returned the gaze, hoping the calm pool of her soul would quiet this girl down. She had no malice, no hatred, and even some sympathy for this girl. The girl picked up on it. She relaxed, but Moriko could sense it was skin-deep. Her hatred still burned. Already, Moriko thought, she is working at hiding her true intent. Good.
When Moriko was confident the girl wouldn’t strike again she let go of the girl’s arm. Goro, clueless as to what had just transpired, started to whimper something about procedure, but was cut off mid-sentence by Moriko’s glare. She knew what had to be done and wasn’t willing to push the issue more than she already had. She had accomplished enough for today.
She led the girl to the Abbot’s quarters to present her to him. Moriko could feel the Abbot starting to show off his strength, waves of energy emanating throughout the monastery. Moriko glanced at the girl. She couldn’t tell if the girl noticed the Abbot’s energy or not. Whatever the case, the girl was doing her best to hold herself together, and was doing an admirable job of it.
“What’s your name?”
The girl was silent.
“My name is Moriko. I want to get out of here too, but it’s very hard, and I’ll need your help. The people who are here, and the person you are about to meet, are very strong.”
It was a white lie. The girl couldn’t help Moriko escape the monastery, but if it helped her open up, to trust at least one person, it was worth it. The girl weighed the new information, debating whether or not she wanted to trust Moriko. She was young and desperate for an ally. She trusted Moriko despite her wariness.
“My name is Aina.”
“That’s a beautiful name, Aina. I have to take you to the person who runs this monastery now. If I don’t, I’m going to get into a lot of trouble. He’s not a good person, but he’s not going to hurt you, ok? I’ll be with you the entire time. It will only take a little while, and then you’ll be able to go find a spot to rest for the rest of the day.”
Aina nodded. Once she made the decision to trust Moriko, it was clear she would do anything Moriko said without complaint. Moriko went back on her own assessment. Maybe there would be a way to use someone who trusted her. She went through possibilities in her mind, but the only solutions she came up with involved betrayal of that trust, which she wouldn’t allow.
Her mind embroiled in thought, Moriko went through the procedure of introducing and presenting Aina to the Abbot. The Abbot, although happy to show off his power to a new student who could sense what he was doing, was otherwise distracted, and went through the formal motions quickly and without fanfare. Moriko had expected a small interview, similar to the one she had gone through when she had been presented, but there was none of that today. Aina was introduced, the Abbot welcomed her, and then she was let go.
; Moriko brought Aina to the quarters of the monastery and introduced her to a small room where the youngest of the monks lived. Her introduction to the rest of the trainees made her think that perhaps having Aina’s trust wasn’t such a good thing for Aina. The moment Moriko walked into the room everything became quiet, and the other students seemed to shy away from Aina.
Moriko took the hint and wished Aina well and left as soon as possible. Hopefully the other girls would look after her despite Moriko’s introductions. The girl seemed intelligent, so perhaps she would be able to make her own way. It took time, it always did.
Moriko was lost in thought as she wandered back to her own quarters. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Even Orochi’s training made her feel a little sick to her stomach, now that she looked at it through the lens of her childhood dreams. She wondered how she had become part of the system she had feared and hated so much as a child. Was she any better, or any different than the Abbot, or even Goro?
She had seen children taken and had done nothing about it. She hadn’t even cared. She had been too wrapped up in her own problems and her own pain. She had become that which she sought to destroy. She fingered the scar on her abdomen. She couldn’t lose her hatred of the monastery even if she knew nothing else.
Never again, she vowed. She had to think, to find her purpose. Orochi and the monastery had given her the training to harness an incredible power. Now she had to figure out how to use it. While she didn’t know her final decision, she was certain she would make Goro and the Abbot pay for their sins.
Late that night as the candles burned low, two men huddled together in the Abbot’s quarters. Goro was ecstatic. The incident with Moriko brought him closer to the Abbot than ever. Goro had long ago realized he did not have any special powers or abilities and consoled himself with the fact that no one else in his cohort did either. He believed the way to rise above was to befriend and be close to the Abbot.
For so many cycles he had tried, patiently listening to every command, every teaching, seizing every small opportunity to prove his worth to the Abbot, but the Abbot had never seemed to recognize him, never seen him as anything more than a loyal servant. But Goro maintained his vigilance and his dedication.
It all changed the day Moriko had bested him. It was strange that such an obvious, incredible failure would have been the gateway to the fulfillment of Goro’s dreams, but it was. Ever since then Goro was the person the Abbot confided in. Their conferences grew in frequency and duration, culminating in regular nightly sessions when Orochi arrived.
Tonight was no different. They thought Moriko was sleeping, but no longer trusted their own senses, even the Abbot, whose command of the sense made him unique among monks. So they huddled together, whispering about the day’s events, peeking around to ensure they were alone.
“Master, did you sense what happened today? Moriko, she . . .”
The Abbot interrupted. “Yes, Goro, I sensed the entire thing.” He didn’t feel the need to add he had lost his sense of Moriko when she went to sneak behind Goro. “What she did was unacceptable.”
“What will we do, Master?”
The Abbot flinched at the use of the word “we,” but kept himself calm. “I cannot allow this behavior to continue, but she is the favored student of Orochi, who has the ear of Akira. I cannot slay her for any minor transgression as much as I might want to.”
Goro hung on to every word. Perhaps he would have some role to play, something that would cement his worth in the Abbot’s eyes.
As he hoped, the Abbot looked at him, realization dawning as a plan began to form in his mind.
“Brother Goro, what we need is for her to commit a transgression, an act so heinous that we have no choice but to kill her.” He looked meaningfully at Goro. “I think that you will have an important role to play in this, Goro.”
“In the meantime, this will take me a while to put into place. Until then, Goro, I’d like you to individual take over the training of Aina. I believe she has incredible promise, and you are the only one I trust in this matter. Train her using whatever methods you deem appropriate.”
Warmth flooded through Goro. After all of these cycles, being treated just the same as everyone else, not being unique or special, here was a task he could do. Someday, when the Abbot was ready, he would help get rid of Moriko as well. He left the Abbot’s company feeling excited and thrilled.
As he left the Abbot laughed softly to himself. With his hand free to train how he pleased, Goro would attract Moriko’s attention. She would kill him quickly and then the Abbot would be left with the perfect excuse for killing her himself. Then he would be rid of Goro and Moriko. Two heads would roll with one strike.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ryuu, Takako, and Shigeru did not stay much longer at the farmhouse. After Shigeru finished his story they prepared to leave the next day. They no longer bothered to travel at night. All time was valuable to them now. The one who was hunting them could track them day or night.
Shigeru rested and healed for one last night while Ryuu kept watch. Through the entire night all he did was stretch out his sense to detect anything that felt like Orochi. It was a new experience. For the first time in many cycles he felt powerless, naked without the protection his sense afforded him.
That someone could track him, use the same gifts he possessed, and he couldn’t do the same, was humbling. He knew what fear was. Enough knowledge to realize what he was up against and how dangerous his opponent was, but not enough knowledge to do anything about it. Ryuu was unable to sleep the entire night.
He came to two decisions through the long hours of the dawn. The first was that if he was ever given the chance he would visit the same terror on those who sought to harm him. Orochi was teaching him how to hunt man, a skill Shigeru had never taught him. Shigeru was a man of honor and principle. He fought in a straightforward manner, always attacking his opponents and challenges head on. But now Ryuu knew a different way. A man who survived and thrived based on his ability to hide, to blend, to be non-existent.
He also vowed that he would continue to train, study, and be diligent. He needed to seek out all kinds of warriors to become a complete fighter. He felt like Orochi was better equipped, better trained and more dangerous than him. He needed to learn more so he could fight Orochi on equal terms, to never be caught off-guard again, to understand everything about the world.
They traveled and they trained. Despite their best efforts they made slow time. Takako was weak and Ryuu was all too happy to plead her case. When they rested Shigeru healed. They were good days. They hiked while the sun was up. Ryuu pestered Shigeru with hundreds of questions, trying to dig out every last piece of knowledge Shigeru held. At night he learned how to prepare food from Takako. Shigeru had taught him, but Takako’s skills surpassed both of the men she was traveling with. They would sit around the fire and tell stories.
For a while it felt like they might it out alive. But Orochi found them again.
Ryuu had been sitting watch all night. It had been his practice as Shigeru continued to recover from his injuries. He couldn’t do it every night, but he could and did more often than he should. As the dawn began to brighten the sky Ryuu knew. He couldn’t sense anything, but he knew.
Shigeru awoke and saw the look on Ryuu’s face. There wasn’t any need for words to understand Ryuu’s expression.
"You could have woken me."
Ryuu stood up, stretching his stiff legs. "I wouldn't have slept anyway. You needed the rest to recover."
Shigeru didn't deny the truth of the statement. "Did you sense anything?"
"No."
Shigeru arched an eyebrow. He knew there was more.
"I know he is on his way here. I can’t explain how I know, but I’m certain.” He glanced over at Takako, “I'm afraid we can't outrun him."
Shigeru nodded. It seemed to Ryuu that Shigeru had already made a decision and was just waiting for the right time to tell him.
"We aren'
t going to run from him. He's got our scent. We might evade him for a day or two or experience another narrow escape, but he will never stop. There is no point in trying to prolong the inevitable. We’ll wait here and take turns on watch. With his retainers dead, I suspect he will have collected reinforcements, and is on his way back. Fighting him is our only way out of this."
Ryuu wanted to protest, to claim there had to be a better way, but deep down he knew Shigeru was right. This close to his target, a man like Orochi would never stop, would never give up pursuit. Ryuu wished he had never rescued Takako. That he hadn’t brought this upon all of them.
Shigeru, as always, seemed to be looking right into him. "Don't blame yourself. It’s true these are the consequences of the actions you took. But it’s more important that what you did was right. You stood up for someone who needed help. It’s more than I can say I’ve done. If we die, it’s as proud warriors. There is no dishonor in that."
Ryuu wanted to scream at Shigeru for talking that way. All he wanted was to go back to the old cabin, to run in the woods and spar with Shigeru. He imagined the spring breeze on his face and the freezing beauty of the nearby waterfall. It felt like he would never go back again.
"What if I'm wrong? What if Orochi isn’t on his way and we just sitting here instead of being on the move?"
"You're not wrong. I've trained you well, and honestly, you are and will be a much stronger nightblade than me. I've known for a while now. I can only teach you two more lessons. The first is to trust your instincts. Your mastery of the sense is superb, and if your instincts are telling you something, believe them, because I can guarantee they are right. Second, don’t let consequences deter you from what you feel must be done. Saving Takako was the right thing. I won't sit here and lie to you and tell you life will be better for you doing the right thing, but you will be a better person, and that's all I've ever wanted."