by Ree Soesbee
"Thank you, Kakita-san," Tsukune smiled, turning. "If you wish to eat, there will be food at my tent in an hour. You are both welcome to test Phoenix hospitality."
"No, thank you, Shiba-san. I've already seen your hospitality when you fought the Lion." Toshimoko laughed. "I'd say the Phoenix make keen hosts." He indicated her blade and the retreating Lion army and laughed again. "I'll eat in my own tent, thank you very much."
She bowed, laughing, and turned toward her tent. "If you will excuse me, Samurai, I will go to bathe. The day has wearied me, and I must rest." Tsukune glanced again at Hoturi before she walked away. Her eyes revealed nothing of her inner thoughts.
Watching her retreat, Hoturi smiled. Though she was wearing only a simple rose-colored gi, it clung to her body with the sweat of the day's fighting. Trimmed silver patterns gleamed among the plain threads as a reminder of the Phoenix's wealth and prestige among the clans. Her silver rings, sign of her oath of fealty to her clan , were absent from her hands, but Hoturi knew that they were with her. Most likely, they had been hidden in her obi to leave her fingers free to wield her sword. Once she had bathed, they would return—constant reminders of the blood she had shed to become one of the chosen of the Elemental Masters.
Hoturi paused to make a proper bow to Toshimoko.
"You knew the Phoenix were coming."
"Yes," Hoturi said, "But I did not know the command would be hers. The Fortunes have made me a lucky man."
"You know her?"
Hoturi smiled. "Once, I knew her ... well."
"And now?" The sensei grunted.
"Now ..." The champion of the Crane paused, his smile fading. "She is a tool to secure allies for our clan."
Toshimoko stretched his arm again, testing its strength. "Do not forget your position. It is dangerous to play these games."
"Dangerous to lose, perhaps, but not dangerous for me."
Toshimoko glanced after the Shiba, watching as she stepped behind the silk flap of her large tent. The silver and rose banners of the Phoenix were being lifted by a young soldier, placing the pole of the mon firmly in the ground before the samurai-ko's tent "Very brave. I approve." Toshimoko winked at Hoturi. "But never underestimate your opponent, Hoturi. Nothing is ever as it seems." With a somber nod, the old sensei lowered his arm.
It had been four years since Doji Hoturi had spent the winter months in the cold northern lands of the Shiba. He still remembered the beautiful mountains, covered with snow and ice, waterfalls trickling slowly down the slopes. She had laughed then, when he approached her, laughed with cheeks reddened by the bitter winter wind. Tsukune had been more than a dalliance. She had been a lover. Hoturi stared after her, watching lanterns within the tent cast shadows on the walls.
Ameiko knew about the others, of course. She forgave him for them. Marriage did not imply faithfulness. Only loyalty. Hoturi would never harm Ameiko—but he could never love her. She understood that his duty to the clan came first. Watching the shadow of Tsukune's body slide across the silk walls of the tent, Hoturi smiled gently. His duty to the clan was to provide it with protectors against the Lion, to ensure that the Phoenix would travel to Kyuden Kakita.
Hoturi bathed in the river nearby, washing the sweat of battle from his skin. Though the mark on his leg still bled lightly, it was only a slight wound. The scar would be faint, and his leg could bear the weight even now. He dressed in a clean brown gi and hakima, the casual dress of a ronin. Though the Phoenix knew his true name, there were no other robes to wear.
The guard at the tent door saluted. His armored helm nodded in a deferential bow. "My lady is waiting for you, Doji-sama."
"Yes," said Hoturi. "I'm certain that she is." Confidently, he pushed aside the flap and stepped inside.
The tent was clean and sparse, ornamented only by the gleaming suit of armor on its stand and the dai-sho in their holder to one side. Golden glows emanated from three lanterns that hung from the arched ceiling, and the coals of a small fire glistened in the center of the earth floor. The Phoenix were wealthy, but such a display was almost certainly designed to impress. The Phoenix had intended to meet with him—but not, he suspected, in a small village under Lion attack.
"Four years, Hoturi," Tsukune said. She was kneeling beside her armor and cleaning the plates with a small scrap of oiled cotton. She lost no time before leaping to the subject— there was no polite banter or solemn conversation. Only a soft bow, demanded by protocol, and the curious tilt of her head. Tsukune rubbed at an imaginary speck on the smooth plate of her do. Beneath her calm demeanor, she was angry, and that was all the information he needed. "Four years."
"My lady," Hoturi bowed gracefully. "You have not yet asked me why I have come." Hoturi watched Tsukune place the enameled plate down, reaching for another and beginning the ritual of cleaning once more.
After a moment, Tsukune looked down at the armor in her hand and indicated a nearby cushion on the ground. "Rest, my Lord Hoturi-sama. You must be weary from the fighting."
"No more than you, Lady Tsukune-san." Formal titles, formal poses, as the two samurai considered their opening moves. No, thought Hoturi. Not opening moves. The true game belonged in someone else's hands. This was merely a diversion, a test before the true contest of wills. That would come when he reached Otosan Uchi, when he saw Kachiko again.
Tsukune was still speaking, and her voice drew him out of his thoughts."... to be the greatest Shiba bushi of his generation, but now he spends his time creating armor for the simplest samurai of the clan." Her voice smoothly covered the distance between them. She had not noticed his lapse. His eyes had not wandered, despite his racing thoughts.
"But you are not the simplest samurai, Lady Shiba." As he spoke, one of the heimin entered through the flap, bearing cups of rice and a warm pot of tea with two cups. She knelt on the floor just inside the tent, bowing low before placing food in front of the two samurai. "Your beauty shines as brightly as your blade. You are cherished among your clan, and we Crane are pleased to have you in our lands."
The faint reminder was enough to furrow her brow. Despite the debt he owed her for her assistance, these were Crane lands, and he was lord of the Crane.
Using the heimin's entrance as a convenient distraction, Tsukune smiled and set aside the metal plate and laces. "Ah, the food." Tsukune was not a courtier but a bushi, and her movements lacked the simple grace of a woman born to the highest court. With callused hands, she poured tea into the two small cups. The heimin bowed and backed through the tent flaps, her eyes lowered to the floor. With no such humility, Tsukune caught Hoturi's gaze and offered him one of the steaming cups. "Your land is bountiful, Crane Lord," she smiled, "but your heimin are frightened."
Lifting the tea to sip, Hoturi responded, "They know that the Lion may return."
"And they'll be murdered if you aren't here to defend them."
"That stone has not been turned."
Tsukune smiled, curiosity in her eyes. "Yet you are concerned enough to dress as a ronin in order to sneak to the emperor's city?"
Damn the woman, but she was still clever. "My journey is a secret, my lady." Let the cunning of the Phoenix be their own trap.
"Secrets?" Tsukune set down her tea and lifted her chopsticks. "I thought secrets were for Scorpions."
Allowing the jibe to pass, Hoturi took a long swallow of the tea. "There are no more Scorpions, Tsukune-san. Someone must carry their burden." Tsukune nodded in approval, and her smile grew. Hoturi continued, "And their burden leads me to Otosan Uchi, as you have already guessed."
"You can defend only one land, Hoturi-sama," Tsukune said forthrightly. "The emperor's city, or the palace of the Kakita. It is certain that both are in danger. Where will you stand to fight?"
Lowering his cup, Hoturi stared at the samurai-ko. The game had taken a turn. "What do you know of Otosan Uchi?"
For a moment, Tsukune seemed trapped by her own cleverness. "The same as you. The emperor's health is not good."
"Not g
ood." Hoturi repeated, sipping his tea. "How kind of the Phoenix to take an interest in my cousin's well-being. The affairs of the court are, as always, widespread." He moved closer to her.
The memory of their past lingered in her eyes. She was beautiful, still as lovely as the day he first saw her, performing the dance of the sword among Phoenix snow. "Hoturi ..." she said severely. "Our clans have always been allied. Through ten generations, the Phoenix have stood beside the Crane—"
Hoturi grasped her hand. "Then stand with us now against the Lion."
"No." Tsukune attempted to withdraw, surprised into honesty by his forward gesture. "We cannot risk being drawn into war. Please believe me. If I could aid you, I would."
"For the sake of old times, Tsukune-chan?"
"For many things," she said evasively. "I've come with a message to deliver to you from the masters themselves." The Five Masters, guardians of the elements, were the empire's most powerful shugenja. Together, they ruled the enigmatic Phoenix, rarely traveling from their high mountain peaks. Instead, they sent their oath-sworn to deliver messages of importance—some written, some told through blood and visions. Hoturi did not pretend to understand their ways, but their power demanded respect.
"And after you deliver it, what then?"
"I... am to do as I am bid by the champion of my clan. The Master of the Void has said that my path will become clear to me in time."
"The Elemental Masters use their power to manipulate their clan. How will they use you, Tsukune?" He drew her hand to his face, touching it lightly to his cheek and feeling her pulse beneath his fingertips. "How will they grant you death?" On her right hand glistened the twin rings of the Phoenix oath-sworn.
"They command me, Hoturi-sama...."
"You, of all people, do not need to remember my title."
She leaned toward him. "Hoturi. I have a duty." Her voice was rough, tested by steel and desire.
"I know duty." He touched her lips softly with a finger, bidding her to silence.
"No," her eyes were haunted. "There is something else. I must deliver a message to you. The masters have made me their herald for a message they cannot trust to writing."
"Tsukune ..."
"You must believe the message," she whispered. "It speaks of danger and blood, Hoturi. I fear for you. I heard them speak, before they ordered me to leave the Shiba lands. They said that you must make a decision between duty and honor and destroy a part of yourself to face the future." Her eyes grew faraway, and he sensed the presence of an alien force. "It is time." Clutching Hoturi's hand, Tsukune leaned back and closed her eyes. "It is time."
Suddenly, Hoturi grew chilled. The Elemental Masters were watching, using their oath-sworn as a servant to their power. Her hand grew cold in his touch, and her heartbeat slowed. "Hoturi-sama, Crane Champion," she whispered, and her voice became the voice of the Five. Hoturi had seen it before, but only in times of great danger. Once, when Satsume's life had been threatened and once since then, on the day the Scorpion attacked the Emerald Throne. To see it again here chilled his blood and turned his stomach to ice.
Her eyes became as white as snow. Her pulse seemed to cease beneath his touch. Tsukune's features grew pale, animated by a celestial intelligence. The masters spoke with Tsukune's voice, and the echoes held five new tones. "Champion, you will be tested, as we all must be tested. The writings of Shinsei have long foretold your coming, and it is time that you learned of your future."
Hoturi swore softly at the sudden change. "By the Fortunes!"
"The Fortunes will not aid you. Your only resort is to destroy yourself. The stars have foreseen it. It has been told in the Tao. You, Hoturi, will be the death of your clan. Your men will overrun the land, and your sword will cut a bloody swath in the province of the Crane. The Lion are not your true enemy, Doji Hoturi. Your enemy is yourself." The Shiba samurai-ko shivered, her voice dropping to a low rasp. Another master spoke. "Follow the present, Hoturi, and you will destroy your future."
"I do not fear you, Phoenix. Keep your prophecies to yourselves."
"All men forge their own destinies, Hoturi, this is true." A third voice emerged. "But know that even jade cannot protect you from the burden of your soul. Forget your duty, and you will be lost. We tell you this as allies of the Crane, even as we foretold your father's failure on the day your mother died. He did not fear us either."
Snarling, Hoturi jerked Tsukune's nearly limp body toward him and stared into the empty white eyes. "I will go to Otosan Uchi, and I will face that future. And if 1 must die to defend my clan, then so be it. But I will not fail."
"The cost of arrogance is blood and dishonor. Remember that. If you are determined to continue, remember the price of friendship."
The samurai-ko's eyes began to flutter. Shaking, she clutched at Hoturi's shoulders. The brown of her irises gradually returned. The unseen power of the masters faded and as their presence receded, Tsukune shook violently.
"Have . . ." she coughed. A thin trail of blood formed a single tear from her eyes. "Have they gone?" Her voice was a bitter rasp.
"Yes, Tsukune-chan," he whispered, awed by the power of the transformation. "They have come, and they have gone."
"I have fulfilled my duty to my masters." Her eyes closed in relief, and her pale face began to gather some of its lost color. "My purpose is finished. Now my only duty is to await their next command."
"Your duty demands that you deliver your message. You have. But it says nothing of your men or of their duty. Their duty is to you, Tsukune—and they will go where you lead them. The masters cannot argue. They have sent them with you for this purpose. Kyuden Kakita is not far, and the snows have already begun in the north. In all they had to say, they did not tell you to return." His roguish smile returned for a moment as her brows furrowed in understanding.
"Hoturi—I have no reason to remain here, either."
"No?" He lifted her hand to his lips, his gray eyes holding hers. "Then let me give you one."
Her dark hair fell like a shadow over her face, touching the high cheekbones and brushing lightly against shoulders that trembled beneath her silk kimono. The muscles in her arms tensed, uncertain whether to reach for him or to move away.
"Tsukune," he whispered, "you have become a commander in the Phoenix armies—a leader of honor and of courage. But still..." His touch raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Gently, he breathed on her hand, not quite touching the palm with his lips. "Still you are a woman."
"And you are champion of the Crane."
"Not tonight."
She smiled, at last allowing her hand to travel to his cheek. She touched the smooth, pale skin and felt the soft bristles of a day's growth of hair. "Who are you tonight, Hoturi?" Her voice was low and full.
"Only a samurai. Only a man."
"And if I stay with you tonight, where will I be tomorrow?" she murmured against his forehead as he bent forward to kiss the hollow of her throat.
"You will be safe, Tsukune-chan. Safe within the palace of Kyuden Kakita, where your men can rest from their wounds, and where you can rest from your burdens for the long winter."
"The night is cold this time of year, Hoturi," she whispered softly, a lock of dark hair falling into her brash eyes. "Do you remember how the Phoenix keep warm in the winter?
"My lady," he smiled, kissing her lightly, "I could never forget the warmth of the Shiba fires."
She smiled as he drew her close, and the shadows of the lanterns played upon the silk walls of the tent. For a while, the entire world was empty of all but warmth and the pleasure of two souls, glad to be alive.
deadly ground
The chill of winter had filled the city of Otosan Uchi with travelers, some preparing for the emperor's Winter Court and others merely sheltering from the cold. Heavy ocean rains washed through the city, bringing its river to torrential heights. The waterfall that sparkled down the inner wall was filled with long icicles. The black marks left by the Scorpion Coup had nearly be
en erased over time, and the walls were white with frost.
The southern gate to the city, known as the Gate of Dawn, shone in the noonday sun. Golden kanji, enameled into the highly arched stone, protected the city's inhabitants from ill luck and bad fortune. Above, the sun shone sporadically between the thick clouds, peeking through in long, slender beams that dotted the city's elegant streets. Heimin, covered in thick cotton cloaks and heavy straw hats, roamed through the city, enjoying a day
without rain. The ocean roared in the east, crashing against the wall of the city, and the banners of the palace snapped above curling rooftops. Their enameled shingles gleamed green above bare trees and icy ponds.
Riding his pony down the southern road to Otosan Uchi, Hoturi looked over the seven hills of the city. From this distance, he could see the faint indentations in the northern mountains where the palace of the Emerald Champion stood. It was uninhabited now, empty of all save a few Sep-pun samurai and heimin. The emperor had not needed a champion since the Scorpion had been destroyed, since Satsume had died.
Hoturi grimaced, feeling his pony stumble over rivulets caused by the heavy rain. To him, the city was not beautiful. Though it looked white and clean beneath the sun's bright gaze, he could not forget how it had appeared when he had last seen it, surrounded by the tents of the six clans. Nothing could burn that image from his mind. The white walls had been covered with the blood of Scorpion bushi. High banners had burned. He could still see the city smoking and in rubble.
Opening his eyes to the bright morning, Hoturi drew in a long breath of cold air and tried to see the city as it truly was. Now, Otosan Uchi was the home of the 39th Hantei, Favored Child of Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun. The Seppun, servants of the emperor, boasted that Otosan Uchi had become a city of renewal, reforged since the blood and rage of the Scorpion Coup. The city belonged to a new emperor—and his chosen bride.
Kachiko.
"Come on, boy!" Toshimoko called. His pony cantered ahead toward the city. "You're falling behind. This trip is your idea, remember? At least try to look as if you are excited to be here!"