by Ryan Kirk
But spring was coming and Ryuu could feel the renewal of the Earth. The quiet pressure on his sense which he lived with most of the cycle was returning, softly muted over the winter. Birds and squirrels were starting to flit throughout the forest again and there was an atmosphere of expectation as the Earth returned to life.
Moriko sensed the guards before he did, which only confirmed how distracted he was. For all of her skills, the monastery training was not as good as the training Shigeru had given Ryuu, and his sense was much better developed than hers. But there were two guards in the trees ahead of them.
Moriko gestured for Ryuu to follow her away from the guards. They met with Takako, who was staying as far behind them as she could and retraced their steps. Ryuu threw his sense out in every direction to search for others. Once they were satisfied they were out of earshot, Ryuu broke the silence.
“Are we there already?”
Moriko seemed uncertain. “Maybe, I would have guessed it was further away.”
Ryuu tried to contain his frustration. He wouldn’t have done any better. Neither of them had experience navigating these distances. It was testament enough they had even stumbled upon the camp.
“I didn’t sense anyone beyond the two guards.”
“Neither did I.”
Ryuu brought his hand to his chin and thought. The odds of running across two guards in a tree stand in the middle of the woods were pretty low. It indicated a larger, static force nearby. But they didn’t know which direction or what the force may consist of. If it was the camp they were looking for there could be dozens of soldiers waiting for them somewhere within a day’s walk. But there was also a chance the soldiers were there for another reason, such as being an advance lookout or rear guard for a company on the move.
Moriko was thinking many of the same thoughts. “We need to know more before we decide what to do.”
Ryuu closed his eyes and reached out with his sense. He could still feel the guards on the very outside of his range. They hadn’t moved.
“I agree. We need to move back and set up a place for Takako. Then tonight we scout.”
Takako glared at Ryuu. “I don’t want to be left alone anywhere near an enemy camp. I’ve been in one of those before, and I don’t care to repeat the experience.”
“We’ll move quite a ways back and we’ll hide you. You won’t be able to light a fire tonight, but other than that you’ll be fine. We’ll make sure we choose a safe spot.”
Takako nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. As they started to move back to find a campsite for Takako, she grabbed Ryuu’s arm and held him, waiting for Moriko to go away.
“Ryuu, I have a bad feeling about this. The two of you need to stop hunting Orochi now. I know he killed Shigeru, but if you keep this up, something bad is going to happen.”
Ryuu looked down at Takako’s lovely face, a tear streaming down her face, and his heart dropped from him. He knew he loved her, which only solidified his resolve.
“I know it’s dangerous. But it’s the only way we’re ever going to be free of him, free from all of this. If I thought there was any other way, any way at all, I would pick you up in my arms and run all night and every night after until we found a safe place where we could spend the rest of our days in peace. But I can’t do that knowing we’ll be hunted forever. I can’t live like Shigeru did.”
Takako’s shoulders sagged as she realized her arguments didn’t have any weight. “But I don’t want you to die like him either.”
They walked in awkward silence until they reached the location Moriko had chosen. Ryuu found his voice again.
“You know I will do everything I can to protect you.”
“I know that, but it doesn’t make my feeling any less horrible.”
“I’m sorry, but this has to be done.”
Takako couldn’t control herself any longer. She whispered violently, “I know that! I know we are stuck here on this path, but it will lead us all to ruin. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it’s what is in my heart.”
Ryuu held her like it was the last embrace he would ever be able to give her. He wanted to give her peace but didn’t know how. “I will be back. I promise it. We’re just going to go scout it out and decide upon our next steps.” He let her go and walked away. “I love you, you know.”
Takako nodded wearily. “I know you do. Please come back.”
Ryuu nodded and turned away. He wasn’t sure he could keep going if he stayed near her.
He met with Moriko and they moved through the woods towards the scout outpost. Ryuu was thrilled by the feeling of hunting with another nightblade. As they drew within visible range of the scouts they halted and whispered. They had sensed other outposts as well, each having overlapping areas of visibility. If they were going to sneak by they would need to wait until dark.
With nightfall near at hand they sat and waited. Ryuu took the time to calm himself and focus his sense. He crawled through the outposts searching forward. He lost the sense of his immediate surroundings in favor of understanding what lied ahead. He didn’t worry, Moriko was alert to changes in their vicinity. He continued forward and found what he was looking for, a garrison, a bright glow of life at the edges of what he could reach with his sense. It was small and seemed to hold less life than he had expected. But they were active, pacing back and forth. They were nervous.
He came back to himself and to the state of awareness which brought in information from nearby. It was a difficult transition to make, and he did it slowly. As soon as he had the attention to spare, the question came full force to his mind. Why would seasoned warriors be nervous when they were on guard duty?
The answer came right after the question. They knew Ryuu was coming. But did they know that he was here? If so, they had already walked right into a trap.
Moriko caught his excitement and raised an eyebrow.
“They know we’re coming, or maybe even that we’re here,” Ryuu said. He explained what he had sensed.
Moriko listened and took a moment to think. “It doesn’t change the situation. We still need to get close enough to know what we’re up against. Orochi is the only one with the sense in this area besides us and I haven’t felt his presence at all.”
“Would you?”
“Probably. It seems more likely he anticipated you coming after him and is set up in a defensible position, or is using it as a decoy to attack you from behind. Either way, he’s around, and we need to know what’s in front of us.”
Ryuu reluctantly agreed with Moriko. A part of him wanted to go back to Takako, to ensure she was safe. She might be in greater danger than he had thought. But the facts were still the same and their decision had to be carried through.
Fortunately, as the sun fell the clouds rolled in, and the almost-full moon was covered by a blanket of darkness. Moriko and Ryuu moved like ghosts through the woods, passing between guard posts without raising an alarm. They moved into a short clearing where all the tress had been cut down. Ryuu pushed forward with his sense and felt a second ring of guard posts on the other side of the clearing.
Ryuu approved of the simple genius of the plan. Whoever had designed this outpost knew their strategy. They needed wood for the building, and cut it all down in a perimeter around the outpost, creating a clearing that archers could see through. Any attacking force would have to walk through a potential rain of arrows with no cover.
The clearing was filled with tall grass which Ryuu and Moriko knelt in and crawled through. The grass wasn’t tall enough to hide a man, but it provided sufficient cover on the pitch-dark night. Moriko and Ryuu made it through and found a concealed place in the forest. Both of them could sense the number of guards around them, but no one seemed to have noticed them.
They slipped into their roles. Ryuu pushed his sense outward and Moriko focused on their immediate surroundings. There were no surprises and plenty of information. Ryuu’s sense traveled up and down the outpost, making quick calculations as to the
number of people present, the size, and the layout of the fort.
But where was the snare? Ryuu continued questing with his sense and found it in the middle of the town. Or more accurately, he found nothing. In the middle of everything he found a hole of nothingness, an emptiness and a blackness against his consciousness.
Ryuu retreated back to himself. “He’s there, right in the center.”
Ryuu related everything he had sensed. “Why is everyone so afraid? Who do they think we are?”
“It’s not who they think we are, it’s what they believe about us. You attacked a monastery and killed a fair number of the monks inside. I’m sure the story has grown by now. I don’t think you understand the reverence the common people hold for the monks. They probably view you as a monster.”
“Well, that’s comforting.”
With just a trace of regret in her voice, Moriko responded. “You haven’t spent much time in the world. I haven’t either, but I am familiar with the power of the monasteries, having seen it firsthand.”
For a while the two sat huddled together whispering about a plan of attack. They couldn’t reach an agreement, but every so often Ryuu would return to his meditative state, focusing on the fort. The pattern of the guards was a standard army movement with about twelve day watches and twelve night watches. With the limited number of soldiers it felt like many were pulling multiple watches, which would make them less observant.
The sun was just beginning to rise when they decided they had enough information, and Ryuu was focusing his sense one last time on the fort when he felt the disturbance. Violent actions by the gate. He threw out his sense as far as he could and just barely touched a white-hot ball of anger and fear. His sense collapsed around him as he lost focus and he felt like throwing up. It couldn’t be true, yet he was certain.
Takako was down in the fort. She had been found and captured.
There wasn’t any way.
Ryuu’s mind raced. It could be a trap of some sort. He didn’t know if it was feasible, but perhaps he could simulate the sense of someone else. He wished Shigeru was alive to tell him what was possible, what was logical.
The whole army was up and drilling in the pre-morning light. Orochi was awake, the darkness deep in the center of the town. They couldn’t attack now. They would all be killed, and Ryuu didn’t know if it was even Takako. He was unwilling to believe his own sense. He needed to know.
“We need to get back to the camp right away.”
Moriko didn’t question him, even when he got up and began running with abandon. He ran right up to the nearest tree stand and climbed up in three graceful paces, pulling himself up smoothly even as the archers were beginning to react, startled by the presence of another person. His blade flashed twice and all three people dropped from the tree. Two bodies struck lifelessly on the ground while Ryuu landed softly on his feet and sprinted through the grass.
Moriko followed him. One archer in a nearby stand attempted to take a shot, but Ryuu and Moriko were moving fast at a difficult angle, and the arrow passed harmlessly between them. Within a handful of breaths they had fallen into the second ring of trees, pursued only by the sound of alarm bells ringing throughout the forest. If nothing else, Moriko thought, they had lost their element of surprise.
Both Ryuu and Moriko noted the guards in the trees in the second ring had disappeared, but Ryuu did not stop to investigate. He charged forward, fear for Takako lending him a speed he didn’t know he possessed.
They reached the camp and Ryuu dropped to his knees. The camp looked orderly, but it was deathly quiet.
Takako was gone.
27
Takako was at a crossroads, torn apart by indecision. Her feelings towards Ryuu were complex. He was a good man and she knew he always meant well. He could be trusted to take the action he believed was right. Perhaps there wasn’t much more she could ask for in this world. Perhaps there was a future with him.
But she could not shake her anger at Ryuu. She knew he was doing his best, but his decisions had brought death to her family. As much as she understood, she couldn’t bring herself to forgive. She wasn’t sure she ever could.
Takako had stayed with Ryuu because it was the easy way out. All she had to do was follow. But this wasn’t her life. She had loved adventure stories growing up, but in reality they were brutal and dark, not as great as the stories made them sound.
She was laying down against a rock which provided a solid back rest. As her thoughts ran away, the evening sun came out, warming her cold body. It brought her thoughts into the light again. She had always been optimistic, but her time with Ryuu was ruining her.
In a single moment she knew she was going to leave. There wasn’t any need for doom to follow her. She was a beautiful, well-educated lady. The last cycle had been a cycle of change, but there wasn’t any reason she couldn’t start her own life anew. She didn’t owe Ryuu anything.
Her mind raced with possibilities and she felt lighter than she had in many moons. She wanted to leave the Southern Kingdom, there wasn’t anything for her here. Maybe she could start a restaurant. Everyone liked her cooking.
Takako packed up what little she possessed. In a moment of hesitation she decided to write a short note. It read, “Thank you, Ryuu, for everything, but this isn’t the life for me. Please don’t search for me. This is what I want, and I will always be grateful.”
It wasn’t all true, but it was a kindness she could leave him. He deserved that much at least.
With one last glance at the camp, Takako took off, her footsteps light and her heart excited. Ahead of her lay a myriad of options. She chose to go north. If her understanding of their position was correct it would send her to the Western Kingdom. There she would start a new life.
The moon was high in the sky when she walked across a wide path, paying little attention to her surroundings. She heard the shouts of recognition and turned … and there was a squad of soldiers walking right into her.
Takako moved to run, but the soldiers were well trained. Despite her rush of adrenaline, she was apprehended before she could take three paces. The soldiers found two leather straps and tied one tightly around her wrists and one connecting her ankles. She would be able to walk without problems, but she would not be able to run. Without a word they started marching towards the fortress.
The soldiers did not seem to bear her any particular malice. They kept their pace slow so Takako wasn’t stumbling over the roots and bushes in the last light of the evening. She was grateful for that much, but wasn’t able to focus her emotions on much of anything. Fear churned her stomach and made her legs numb, threatening her ability to walk. There was only death within the fortress, which made taking every step up to it that much harder.
When the fort came into view, she finally lost her determination, her pride. She fell to the ground, and although part of her wanted to have the spirit to walk into the fort on her own two feet, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t will her legs to move, and she began crying, hot tears running down her face, oblivious to anyone who might see or might care.
She couldn’t see the pained look on the soldier’s faces, but she did feel the strong hands lift her and place her on a soldier’s shoulder. She was carried like a sack of rice into the fort. She couldn’t summon the strength or the will to resist, but she did leave a trail of tears and rage behind her.
Once inside the fort the soldiers took her to a short, stout building with thick, solid walls. She deduced it was a prison of some sort, built to hold deserters and criminals until justice could be dealt. She was deposited in a small room, her bonds left on. A sturdy door was shut behind her and Takako could hear the sounds of a thick bar being shut behind it. It was almost enough to make her laugh. They were afraid enough of her to make sure she wouldn’t escape. Or, she supposed more hopefully, they were more afraid of who might come to get her.
The hope buoyed her spirits. If Ryuu was scouting the fort he would come for her. But what if he wasn�
��t? She had been walking for quite a while before she’d been captured. If he went back and saw her note, maybe he wouldn’t search for her. She couldn’t bear the thought that she had doomed herself. Ryuu would come. It was the only hope she had.
That thought, Ryuu will come, became her mantra. She repeated it to herself, over and over, and was repeating it when she heard movement on the other side of the door. She couldn’t hear any orders being given, but she could hear the bar being lifted and the door being unlatched.
She didn’t expect to see Orochi standing there, his large frame filling the entire doorway. He stepped in and motioned for the guards to shut the door. Takako did not hear them latch it or put the bar down, which made her wonder what Orochi intended. The fear began to grip her again, but she kept it under control by continuing to think about Ryuu coming.
Orochi looked at her, studying her for a couple of moments. It was as though he was in her head. “It is good you think of him. If you plan to live, you must keep your hope. It will be what keeps you alive in here.”
Takako blinked away her surprise. She had never heard Orochi speak before, and although he had a deep, booming voice, it sounded more like he was trying to comfort her than threaten her. This from the man who had killed Shigeru in cold blood.
Orochi continued to peer into her thoughts at will.
“I suspect there is more to me than you realize. When we are confronted with an enemy, we often seize the opportunity to dehumanize them. I know Shigeru was a friend of yours, but he wronged me.”
Takako found her voice. “So he said.”
Orochi tilted his head in interest. “Did he? I would have loved to hear his accounting of events.”
Takako decided that retelling the story from Shigeru’s perspective wasn’t in her best interests as a captive, and so she remained silent.