by M. H. Bonham
The pack straps were taut against her skin, and she wondered if they would chafe her. Still, if she intended to walk in the world of men, she would have to have her clothes and swords. Normally the Neko carried specially designed packs so they could carry their clothes in feline form, but in her wanderings, she had lost it. That was the problem with being a shapeshifter in the human world. Being human meant some type of modesty.
Kasumi strode over to the door and hooked her tiger’s paw around the door panel to slide it back. It was dark now, but the paper lanterns hung from the overhangs, brightly colored and festive against the blackness. Kasumi knew that the ninja would patrol their compound, but she also knew that they would be looking for a human, not an animal.
Her smaller cat size would be far more inconspicuous, but she would be unable to carry her pack. She snuffed the breeze and, finding no nearby humans, silently slid from the room and moved like a tawny shadow in a world of shadows.
Kasumi stalked around the courtyard. Her superior cat senses told her that the ninja had not been entirely truthful with her. She could catch the faint scent of Tengu on the night wind. Akira was already here; she just needed to find him.
She saw no obvious way out of the small courtyard. Panels led to other rooms, but her sense of smell told her no one occupied them. She looked up into the darkening sky. The tiled eaves hung. They would be slippery to even a cat’s paw. But if she wanted to get out, she knew she had no choice. She hunched up her body and leaped, landing on the tile roof with a loud clatter as she scrambled to gain purchase with her claws.
As soon as Kasumi steadied herself, she hunched over, making herself as flat as she could. She knew this much noise would draw attention to the roof, and she knew she didn’t have much time. She scrambled over the roof to the other side and halted. Ninja warriors poured out of the long buildings, looking up at the roof. Kasumi knew they’d be able to pick out her tawny shape, even under the moonless sky.
She said a prayer to Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and hoped that the kami-blooded ninja did not have eyes as good as hers. Whether by luck or divine intervention, the ninja were looking along another side of the roof. She took a slow, steadying breath and studied the adjacent building.
Not all of the several stories had windows. The third story seemed the most promising, so she carefully made her way across the tiles, using her claws to grip between the cracks. The work was slow going, and she could hear her heart thunder in her ears, but she had to get off this building.
She was almost at the point where she could jump to an open window in the other building. She could see no one inside. Just as she paused to gather herself to spring, she heard shouts from below.
She turned with a snarl to see ninja rushing up to her side of the building. Their grappling hooks would soon catch along the eaves, and they would pull themselves up. On the slick tile, their numbers would give them an advantage. Without a second thought, Kasumi leaped.
She heard the whirl of shuriken as she jumped. The hiss of arrows followed, but she was already inside, running down the hall. She did not care whether her paws betrayed her on the nightingale floors, nor did she care if she ran into genin or servants. In her tiger form, she was unbeatable on steady ground. Still, she did not wish to make the Shinobi into her enemy. She hoped they might help the Neko against Nanashi.
She heard the ninja enter through the window she had just jumped through. For humans, they were silent, but to a tiger’s ears, their movement sounded clumsy and loud. She dashed down the stairs, only to see ninja coming toward her. She turned down another hall and almost came to an abrupt halt. The door at the far end smelled of Tengu.
Kasumi hesitated. She would be taking an awful chance entering the room, even if Akira were there. But she had no time. She smacked the door as hard as she could. The lock yielded and she was inside.
Chapter Seventy-Six
Akira leaped from his bed, Windspirit in hand. Being a light sleeper, he had heard the commotion outside. He didn’t expect a tiger to burst through his door. He raised the no-dachi to strike.
Suddenly the tiger morphed. Before him stood Kasumi, naked and with a pack tied around her shoulders. He almost dropped Windspirit in utter surprise. “Kasumi?” he began.
Kasumi shut the door and shrugged off the pack. “No time to explain,” she said and morphed into a tortoiseshell cat. She strutted over to his blankets and curled up in them.
She is a shapeshifter, Windspirit said. She may be kami.
Akira was perplexed but before he could say anything, several ninja came through his door. He looked at them, and they looked at him. They had their ninjato drawn, but Akira was sure he could take them on with the no-dachi. He didn’t know why Kasumi was fleeing the ninja, but at this point, having an ally here on Shinobi-jima seemed the wisest course.
“What’s going on?” Akira asked in his most haughty samurai tone. “Some creature just tried to break in.”
To his surprise, the ninja parted and Shigeko stepped in. “My men saw what looked like a tiger entering this building,” she said. “We’ve been looking for our guest Naotaka Kasumi Neko; she has somehow left her room.”
“Neko?” Akira said, feigning surprise. “She’s here on the island?”
Careful, Windspirit growled in his mind.
“Do you know her?” Shigeko asked him.
“Yes but not very well,” Akira said. “She visited my family’s estate some time ago.” Akira could not be sure how much Shigeko knew, but decided to not get trapped in a lie. “Is she all right? What has a tiger to do with her disappearance?” He sheathed the no-dachi, and the ninja put away their own blades.
Shigeko looked at him oddly then around the room.
Akira turned and peered around as well. “I don’t think anyone could hide here, certainly not a tiger,” Akira said. “That would be a feat worthy of the ninja.”
Shigeko smiled and nodded. “Indeed. Did you see where the tiger went?”
Akira shook his head. “Whatever it was that was outside my door fled when I leapt at it with the no-dachi. I do not know where it went.”
Shigeko bowed. “I am sorry to have disturbed your sleep.”
Akira bowed to her, and she and the ninja left.
Akira closed the door and listened intently. Although Shigeko and the other Shinobi moved quietly, he could still pick out the rustle of their garments, the tremor of their footfalls, and even their breathing with his Tengu senses. It was not until he heard them leave, that he dared turn around to Kasumi.
Months ago he would have been dreadfully embarrassed to have seen the woman naked before him. But since his time with the Tengu, he no longer had quite the modesty. Still, he reminded himself, Kasumi was samurai, even though it was obvious she did not belong in the world of men any more than he did.
Not true, replied Windspirit. She is samurai, but she is also Neko.
What does that mean? Akira asked.
“Thank you for not alerting them,” Kasumi said. She was kneeling on his bed with the blankets wrapped around her. “It would have been awkward to explain how a woman could turn into a tiger.”
Just as a boy could turn into a Tengu. Windspirit shifted slightly in its sheath.
Akira ignored the no-dachi. Instead, he cocked his head and scrutinized her. While he could not perform Tengu magic, he could let his extraordinary senses consider her. She had the musky smell of a cat, and as her eyes blinked, he could see that the pupils were not quite round. Kasumi was quite beautiful—just as he remembered her—but now he appreciated her for her kami powers and her otherworldly beauty.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“To find you.” She looked down at the sack she had dropped. “My clothes are in there. Can you hand those to me?”
Akira bent down and tossed her the sack. That had swords in it, Windspirit observed.
She could kill me turning into a tiger, Akira said. “Why were you trying to find me?”
“A
fter the Tengu attacked Tsuitori-jima, you disappeared. I went to look for you.”
Akira was nonplussed. “You came to look for me? Why?” Part of him was secretly pleased that she searched for him, but another part of him knew that she wouldn’t risk the Shinobi without good reason.”
It is said that the Neko are allies with the Shinobi, said Windspirit.
Akira gave Windspirit a mental nod. He could see conflict in Kasumi’s face.
Kasumi looked around as she rummaged through the bag. “Where is Ikumi?” she asked.
Akira bit his lip. Didn’t she know what had happened to Ikumi?
Unlikely, said Windspirit. I doubt the Neko had anything to do with you and Ikumi being captured by Tengu.
“The Tengu took my mother hostage,” Akira said softly. “As far as I know, she is no more.” He knew it was a lie, but he knew Ikumi was as unobtainable as the wind.
Kasumi stared at him, and he met her gaze steadily. Akira could see she had many questions, but at this stage, she was too polite to ask. She lowered her gaze. “I am truly sorry for your loss.”
Akira nodded. “Why do you come? Why do you risk showing me your other form?”
Kasumi shrugged into her clothing. She slid the bedding off her and stood up. She took her obi and carefully wrapped it around her waist. Akira’s eyes followed her actions, entranced by her very smooth and lithe movements. The silk kimono flowed effortlessly around her, gently hugging her curves. He could feel Rokuro’s displeasure at his distraction, but Akira knew he could not help himself. “My people are in great danger,” she said at last.
“The Naotaka samurai?”
“No, the Neko.”
A silence ensued as Akira considered her words. Why would a kami race need the samurai’s help? What game was she playing? “Won’t your lord, Nanashi, protect you?”
Kasumi turned away. “Nanashi is our enemy.”
Akira stared. “I don’t understand.”
Nanashi’s grandfather waged a deadly campaign against the Neko samurai clan, Windspirit spoke up. The Neko chose to compromise rather than commit seppuku. There has always been an uneasy truce between them.
“Something changed?” Akira said out loud.
Kasumi turned around. “Nanashi has always been ruthless when it comes to the Neko,” she said, thinking he had spoken to her. “He has decided it is better for us to die than for us to live our lives on Neko-shima. He is bent on destroying my clan.”
Akira cocked his head then hesitated, realizing he was behaving like a Tengu. His movement wasn’t lost on Kasumi, who smiled.
“They have had a lot of influence on you,” she observed.
He shrugged.
“My mother, Naotaka Keiko Neko, knew we were in danger long before Nanashi decided to act. She sent me to beg Ikumi for help.”
“What could Ikumi do…” Akira began then fell silent. Ikumi was Tengu. Is Tengu, he reminded himself fiercely. She could’ve helped the Neko with her Tengu powers had he not been discovered. His father, Takeshi, could’ve supplied warriors to protect the Neko. The Neko had to have known that rule under the Takeshi daimyo was far preferable to utter destruction from Nanashi. Did the Neko know of Ikumi’s tie with the Tengu?
Unlikely that Kasumi knows, but I would guess the Neko daimyo would know, Windspirit said. We kept Ikumi’s lineage secret, but the Neko are kami. They would learn, just as the Shinobi did, of Ikumi’s bloodline. She was not limited in her Tengu powers, being pure Tengu. She could have helped them.
“We were there to ask for protection,” Kasumi said. “When the Tengu captured you and Ikumi, our hopes were nearly destroyed. I’ve been following you, trying to find you, to bring you back home.”
Akira stared at her. “I am to be rescued by a girl?”
Careful… Windspirit rasped.
Kasumi’s eyes grew golden, and her face shifted to something not quite human but not quite tiger either. She bared her fangs as a low snarl issued from her throat. “I would be very careful who you are calling a girl,” she said in a growl.
Akira stepped back, his hand on the no-dachi’s hilt. Kasumi returned to her human form, sat down, legs crossed, and folded her hands. She stared at him defiantly. For the first time, Akira noticed she was wearing loose pants and not the traditional kimono. She was dressed like a man, just as she had been on Tsuitori-jima. He chewed his lip. “I’m sorry, Naotaka-san. I spoke rashly.”
Good. She’s unlikely to kill you if you mind your tongue, Windspirit chided. The Neko women are not just ‘girls.’ They’re very deadly opponents.
Akira nodded inwardly. Kasumi’s gaze became less harsh, obviously mollified by his words. “Don’t forget that I, too, am samurai.” Her words were so low and soft that even with his Tengu hearing, he could barely hear her.
“I won’t.”
She cocked her head. “Why are you here among the Shinobi?”
Akira smiled mirthlessly. “They have discovered some, uh, talents that I have.”
She stood again. “Would those talents have anything to do with the Tengu smell?”
Akira froze. He hadn’t expected her to detect the Tengu on him. He couldn’t see any reason to lie to her. The Shinobi knew his secret; she would find out quickly. “Yes.”
“Really?” She considered him thoughtfully. “Then perhaps we can help each other.”
He nodded. “The Shinobi want me to join them.”
“Do you want to?”
Akira almost laughed but caught himself when he saw she was serious. “No,” he said. “I must get back to Tsuitori. My father will be looking for me.”
Kasumi studied him. “I can help you leave here, but I need your help. If you have the power of the Tengu, then perhaps you can help my family’s clan.”
Akira shook his head. “I don’t have nearly the powers you think I do,” he said. “In order for them to let me go, I had to promise not to use Tengu magic.”
“Then we are doomed.” Kasumi turned away. Akira started forward and put his hand on her shoulder. She pulled away and he could see the tears running down her face.
“Kasumi, I...”
Careful, Windspirit growled. Don’t fall for her trap.
What trap? Akira almost snapped out loud. All he could see was a lovely woman crying because he could not do what she needed to save her people.
She’s samurai and kami. Would a samurai show such weakness?
Akira hesitated. He hadn’t thought that this might be some form of manipulation, just like the tricks the Tengu played on him to get him to join them. He looked at Kasumi, biting his lip in indecision. Was she really trying to trick him? As a Tengu, he could use his magic to find out if she lied…
No, Windspirit said.
Akira frowned. It was much harder than he remembered to be human. Of course, that was before the Tengu and now the ninja captured him. “Kasumi-san,” he said softly, knowing full well her hearing would be better than a human’s. “There are some things I can do, although there are many things I can’t. If you help me escape, I will bring your request to my father, Takeshi daimyo.”
She slumped in resignation. “Thank you. You are very kind. But I fear we may be too late.”
“Why?”
She turned to him and buried her head in his chest. He could smell the sweet fragrance of jasmine flowers on her skin. “I received word from my mother. Nanashi is already gathering troops to attack Neko-shima. Our people will be able to hold out for a while but not forever.”
“With such powers, certainly you can thwart Nanashi’s attack?”
Kasumi looked up and smiled bitterly. “My people have dwindled in number. There are few warriors and even fewer who can change as I do. We’ve held off invaders for so long, but our people have inbred to a point where we’ve had to seek other mates. Hence, I am the daughter of Naotaka, just like Jiro. My mother is one of Naotaka’s wives.”
“So you came here to find me? Why didn’t the ninja kill you?”
Kasumi
sighed. “They respect the Neko.”
“Then why don’t they help you?”
“Because the Shinobi help only themselves—and whomever have their interests,” she said. “I asked. Shigeko works for Nanashi currently. She won’t betray me, but unless the Neko can counter Nanashi’s offer, they will continue to be his assassins.”
Akira frowned. This was not the way of bushido, the way of the samurai. And the Shinobi would force him to become one of them, to work for Nanashi, a rival daimyo? His grip tightened around her, despite himself.
They are truly without honor, Windspirit said.
Akira wasn’t so certain of that. He knew that Shigeko had been honest with him, despite being ninja. The fact that she worked for his father’s rival was of no consequence. When one sold oneself to the highest bidder, morality had little to do with it. Yet the Shinobi had been forced into this position because the other samurai had refused to acknowledge their victory.
Inconsequential, Windspirit said.
“No, that is the point,” Akira said out loud.
Kasumi cocked her head. “What?”
He looked down and realized that he was still holding her. Her warm body felt good against his, and for a fleeting instant, he longed to spend the night with a woman again. He released her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was just thinking.” He heard the no-dachi snort but ignored it.
“What?” she asked.
“Listen, our first step is to get out of here. I have a feeling that if we don’t escape, both our problems will be the least of our concern.”