by M. H. Bonham
Kasumi nodded and her brow furrowed as she looked around. Akira suspected she was considering their options. “You cannot change form?”
Akira shook his head. “To do so would be my death.”
Kasumi chewed her lip. “It’s too bad. Maybe Tenko would have a better idea how to get you out.”
“Who is Tenko?”
“He’s a kitsune,” she said. “He was able to convince a dragon to take us to Shinobi-jima.”
Akira frowned. He had heard stories of the kitsune. They were wily creatures capable of much deceit, but they were also capable of much good. Still, it made him nervous that he was trusting not just one but two shapeshifters.
You’re a shapeshifter, yourself, Windspirit reminded him.
The thought did not cheer him. “Why is this kitsune helping you?”
“I needed help and he was willing to give it.” She paused. “Listen, the ninja now know that there is a tiger among them. It will not take long before they look for me. They know I’ve been looking for you. They will come here.”
“But they’ve already been here.”
“Use your brains or have the birds muddled them? They’ll come back and Shigeko will use her magic. I won’t be able to hide from her again.”
They heard a single chirp from the nightingale floors. Akira’s head snapped around, and he strained to listen. He heard soft footfalls approaching. His hand slid onto the no-dachi’s hilt.
Akira heard the soft rasp of Kasumi’s katana as she drew it from its sheath. He glanced once at her and saw her making a face. Her nose was wrinkled up, and her mouth was slightly open as she breathed through it. As he watched her, he could see her eyes widen a bit. The door began to slide open.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
An odd, musky scent permeated his Tengu-enhanced senses. It didn’t smell like ninja; it didn’t quite smell human. Kasumi lowered her weapon. “It’s Tenko,” she whispered.
The old man stepped in and looked from Akira to Kasumi and nodded. “I thought I would find you here.”
“You are that old man I met before I killed the dragon,” Akira said.
Tenko shrugged. He turned to Kasumi. “I see you found the boy. Let’s get out of here. The ninja will be looking for you.”
“How did you get through the door?” Kasumi asked.
Tenko shrugged again. “You broke the door when you charged in here.”
Akira stared at the old man. “You were the one who helped me out earlier.”
“I am called Tenko,” he bowed to Akira.
Akira stared at the old man. “You are a kitsune?”
Tenko nodded as he took a blanket to cover himself.
Kitsune are not to be trusted, Windspirit said.
But what other choice do we have? Akira said. Tenko looked harmless enough, but kitsune were known to be wily. He started to get nervous about his new companions. “What’s the plan?”
Silence ensued as Kasumi looked at Tenko and Tenko looked at the female samurai.
Akira frowned. “There was no plan?”
Kasumi shook her head. “I hadn’t planned that far ahead. You see, I really didn’t expect to see you here.”
“All right,” Akira said, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. “If we’re careful, we may be able to leave without the ninja seeing us. We’re all kami, in one way or another.”
“But so are the ninja,” Kasumi reminded him.
“We’ll just have to be better,” Akira said. “I’ll lead.”
With that, Akira slid the door open and peered down the darkened hall. Although it was dark, his Tengu vision told him that no one lurked in the shadows. He turned to his companions. “These are nightingale floors,” he said. “Do you know how to walk over them without making a noise?”
Kasumi nodded but Tenko looked worried. “I am an old man,” he said. “As a fox, I could slip by. But not in my human form.”
“How did you get here?” Akira asked.
Tenko changed into a fox, dropping the blanket.
Come on. Let’s go, Tenko said in mindspeak. The little fox stepped out into the hall and dashed toward the stairwells.
He’s a bit bold, isn’t he? Windspirit remarked.
Akira looked at Kasumi, who shrugged and gestured for him to walk ahead. He stepped carefully along the nightingale boards, willing his body to become light and soft footed. It was slow going. He glanced back and saw Kasumi almost directly behind him. He quickened his pace.
Don’t, said Windspirit softly in his mind. One false step and you’ll bring the ninja upon us.
Akira gave the no-dachi a mental nod and stepped slowly, letting the minute vibrations within the floor tell him where to put his feet. At one time, he would’ve marveled at the sensation, but now it was merely life or death—an instinct he could not have fail.
He made his way to the stairwell and looked down. The kitsune was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, swishing his tail impatiently. Akira smiled despite himself. He found the little fox amusing, even in this dire situation. He walked down the steps and gave the kitsune a nod before looking down the darkened hallway. He could see nothing in the hall, even with his Tengu sight.
He glanced behind and, seeing Kasumi right there, motioned her and the kitsune to follow him. He crept carefully through the corridor, listening for anything that might alert him to a trap. He made it to the door without issue, but before he could touch the door, Kasumi grasped his arm.
“There are two ninja guards beyond the door,” she whispered.
He cocked his head. “How do you know this?”
“I can smell them.” She snuffed the air, holding her mouth open in an unusual position, with her tongue lightly pressed against her upper lip.
Akira tried to smell the guards. His Tengu-enhanced senses were better than a normal human’s, but his sense of smell was nowhere near as sensitive as Kasumi’s. “I’ll take the guard on the left if you take out the other guard,” he said softly.
Kasumi shook her head. “We can’t kill them.”
“Why not?”
“If we do, then all hope for the Neko will be gone. We’re hoping for help from the Shinobi.”
Akira frowned. “I thought you said the Shinobi worked for Nanashi. Have the Shinobi promised their aid?”
“Not exactly...”
Akira hesitated. Without the Shinobi’s promise, he doubted they would help the Neko. He felt the no-dachi grow heavy on his shoulders.
The word of the Shinobi can’t be trusted, said Windspirit. Their loyalty lies with whomever gives the most gold.
Akira nodded. “Kasumi, you can’t trust the ninja. They do not follow bushido, and their word means naught. We need to leave here. If you want my father’s help—if you want my help—we’re going to have to fight our way out.”
Kasumi shook her head. “No.” She turned and walked away. “I can’t jeopardize the lives of my people because you killed those of the clan Shinobi. We’re going somewhere else.”
Akira stared as the little kitsune gave him the fox equivalent of a shrug and followed her. He glanced at the door then at Kasumi.
You don’t need her, Windspirit said in his mind.
Akira wasn’t so sure. He followed her, careful to be as quiet as possible. When he at last caught up, he saw that her jaw set and her eyes focused straight ahead. “Kasumi,” he hissed. “Kasumi!”
Only when he caught up to her and gripped her arm did he realize how angry she was. She turned on him. “I’m sure it doesn’t matter to you, the great Takeshi-sama, that a smaller clan would be wiped out by our daimyo. After all, internal affairs probably don’t matter to you.”
Akira was speechless. He stared at Kasumi, never imagining she could be so rude or so bitter. She was his age, yet she seemed to carry herself as someone far older. When he could at last speak, he looked at her in disbelief. “I want to help you, Kasumi, but you have to help me too.”
Akira expected more of her angry words, but
the fire in her eyes dimmed, and she slumped in resignation. “I know,” she said softly. “I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
He wanted to hug her but instead simply nodded. “Kasumi-san, I can’t leave this island without your help. I’m a good swordsman, but I can’t do this alone. Once we leave Shinobi-jima, I can talk to my father. He is a good man, and if the Neko are being slaughtered, I am certain he will come to your aid.”
She nodded slowly. “But there must be a way for us to escape without harming the ninja.”
Akira frowned. He didn’t have any true animosity toward the Shinobi, other than perhaps that they would kill him if he tried to leave their island. He did not want to become a ninja. That would make him ronin. As beautiful as Shigeko was, he knew she was very deceitful. She might have honor in her own way, but the ninja were assassins and mercenaries.
They have little honor, Windspirit agreed.
They exist because of the emperor’s lack of honor, Akira said.
Don’t believe everything a ninja tells you. They are deceitful and evil, twisted beings.
And yet aren’t the samurai to blame? Akira asked. If we had no need of spies and assassins, then perhaps the ninja would not exist.
The sword made no comment, but Akira felt it grow heavy on his back. “Is there any other way out of here?” he said to Kasumi.
Kasumi began to speak when they heard the latch opening on the front door.
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Akira grasped Kasumi and pulled her into one of the adjacent rooms. It was dark and the sparse, low furnishings gave them nowhere to hide. They crouched beside the shoji screen, Akira’s hand on the hilt of the no-dachi.
“What now?” one of the Shinobi said as Akira heard the chirps of their footfalls on the nightingale floors, not bothering to hide their presence. He cocked his head to get a better reading on how many were there.
“Don’t know. Shigeko wants the Tengu. She says he may know something about the tiger. The Neko is missing too.”
“She knows…” Kasumi’s voice was hardly audible.
Akira motioned her to be quiet. He knew she could tell their numbers by their scent. How many? he mouthed to her.
She held up her fingers: three.
Akira nodded, biting his lip. He wasn’t afraid of fighting the ninja; he had bested Shigeko’s warriors. But if they were to escape without killing anyone, he had to be careful. Oh, for a metsubushi or other distractive device.
“Why does she want the Tengu?” the first asked.
“The Neko girl was looking for him,” the second said. “I heard her ask for him several times.”
Shadows of three ninja cast along the shoji screens and halted. In the oil lamps’ light, they flickered like giant wraiths. One man led the group, no doubt heading toward Akira’s room. Akira still gripped Kasumi and felt her shiver beneath his grasp. She was holding her breath. Akira forced himself to breathe, remembering Rokuro’s training.
I’m glad you remember something, the sword remarked.
Akira did not respond, his mind racing, and he could feel the sweat trickle down his brow. He wasn’t sure what to do if they were caught.
It would be better if you killed them now, Windspirit said.
The sound of heavy footsteps, someone running down the hall, reached his ears. One shadow came into view in a hurry. The man panted, “He’s gone!”
“Gone?” said the other ninja. “Fan out; search the building. He couldn’t have gone far.” With that, the door opened.
Akira was on his feet, the no-dachi in his hand. Windspirit screamed from the sheath, its unnatural voice and ghostly light filling the room. The ninja dropped back in terror as the sword bore down on him. The man’s scream was abruptly cut off as his severed head fell from the body.
“No!” Kasumi’s face was livid. She drew her katana as Akira spun around. “Look what you did!”
Akira stared. For a moment, the man’s death seemed unreal, almost as if not he but the sword had killed the man. The other two ninja leaped inside. One lunged into a skee position. Akira slapped the blade away, and the no-dachi slid inside the man’s guard and chopped off both his hands. The other man paused, and Akira heard the distinct sound of shuriken being thrown. He raised the no-dachi, and with speed he could not imagine, he parried the throwing stars. Sparks flew from the no-dachi’s blade.
“You weren’t supposed to kill anyone.” Kasumi looked as angry as a tiger caught in a trap. Despite herself, she partially morphed: her eyes and face looked catlike in the dark. Her skin had taken on a tawny glow.
“I know. What was I to do?” Akira did not say what he really was thinking. The sword had jumped in his hand and controlled the fight. She would never believe him, though, and he wasn’t ready to reveal all his secrets. “Come on, we’ll discuss it later when we have time. Where’s the kitsune?”
They ran out into the hall, but they saw no sign of the little fox. Akira felt the breeze run through the building, and he was about to pull Kasumi toward the entrance when the front door burst open and ninja carrying torches and ninjato came in. For a moment, the ninja and Akira and Kasumi stared at each other in wide-eyed surprise. Kasumi pushed her katana into Akira’s left hand. “Bring my things.”
Suddenly there was no longer a girl standing there. A ferocious tiger leaped at the ninja, her teeth bared and her claws extended. She took a powerful swipe at the first ninja, her claws tearing through armor and flesh. The man screamed as bright red blood spurted from his chest. He collapsed and the tiger lunged forward.
Suddenly the room filled with flashes and bangs. Akira wheeled around to see three ninja where none had been before.
He raised the no-dachi and charged the nearest ninja. The ninja moved quickly and used Akira’s momentum to fling him down to the floor. But Akira rolled and bounced back up to his feet, swinging Windspirit. The sword came to life in his hands and guided his thrust into the first ninja. The other two ninja attacked, throwing their shuriken at him. Akira parried the throwing blades and dodged others, rolling toward the ninja. With a flash-bang, the ninja disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Come on! Akira heard Kasumi’s mindspoken voice in his head. We have to get out of here! Climb aboard!
Akira stared at Kasumi, who stood in her tiger form. Climb on? You?
You’re nothing in weight. Get on now. Kasumi roared to emphasize the urgency.
Akira sheathed the sword, grasped her clothes and pack, and climbed on her back. He clung to her shoulders, feeling the short, tawny fur and rippling muscles. Kasumi shot through the yard and, with a snarl, jumped over the ninja guards and through the gate.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Outside the ninja compound, Kasumi ran until her paws became slick with sweat and she was panting hard. As a cat, she couldn’t sweat except through her paw pads, which made it easy to overheat. She had no idea how far she had run when she crossed a stream and tumbled into it, changing as she did. She heard a shout from Akira as he tumbled off her and she splashed into the water, naked. She drank the cold water, half transformed from tiger into a human.
“Come on! We have to go.” Akira’s feet splashed along the rocks next to her. He stared at her as her skin shivered with the exertion. “What’s wrong with you?”
Kasumi looked up from the cold, sweet water, and a growl burbled up from her throat. “Don’t you know anything about tigers?”
“No, but I know enough about ninja,” Akira replied. “They’ll be after us, and we’ve got to keep moving.”
“I can’t do it in this form. Get me my things.” Kasumi straightened and changed fully into human form. To her surprise, she saw in the dim light that Akira’s face flushed and he quickly turned away. “You can see in the dark?”
“Yes.” Akira splashed over to the bag that lay half in, half out of the water. He picked up her dripping things. “Sorry about that.”
“Great. Hand it here.” Kasumi grabbed the bag from his hands and began dressin
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Akira tried not to gawk at the slender woman as she put on her clothing. At once, he was reminded of the exquisite Tengu women bodies and the nights he had spent with them. Kasumi was clearly not Tengu, but a shapeshifter who could turn into a deadly tiger faster than he could even think about sex.
You shouldn’t be thinking about that anyway, Windspirit said in his mind.
What would you know what I should think about? Akira snapped. You’re a sword.
I was a man. And I was your age at one time.
Akira immediately regretted his remark. Of course Rokuro had been a man. Akira tried to imagine Rokuro at his age. He tugged at his hair, shaggy from the weeks of being out in the wild with the Tengu. Had Rokuro been as unsure as he?
The sword didn’t reply. Kasumi finished putting on her belt. “Come on,” she said, shouldering the pack. The ninja will be out looking for us.” She started forward, across the creek, away from the ninja compound.
Akira trudged behind. “I’m surprised they haven’t already found us,” Akira said under his breath.
Kasumi shot him a look. “I had to change. I can’t keep up the pace in my tiger form.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t—oh, you wouldn’t understand.” She shook her head. “This was all so very stupid. I don’t know where Tenko is, and I’m here in the middle of Shinobi-jima with no help at all.”
“In case you didn’t notice, I managed just fine with my sword.”
“You killed Shinobi. They won’t help us now.”
“I saved our lives.”
“You?” She whirled on him. “I don’t recall you turning into a tiger and getting us out of there. If anyone saved our lives, it was me.” She paused. “If I didn’t need you so badly, I’d leave you for the ninja. I haven’t a clue why the Tengu would even be interested in you.”
Akira grimaced. He wanted to argue the point, but with ninja looking for them, the discussion seemed ludicrous. “It’s because I’m half Tengu,” he said.
Kasumi’s eyes widened. “You’re a Karasu-Tengu?”