Michiko wore a look of deep thought. "Is this how Lady Silk-Eyes runs the village?"
Sharp-Ear laughed. "Probably. Who knows? She's the oldest and craftiest of us all. No one but her knows what she knows, and she likes to keep it that way.
"For example, she knows that your father rarely leaves his tower. Does she know why?"
Michiko didn't answer, so Sharp-Ear went on.
"Probably not. Oh, she may know a few facts that could lead to an answer. She might know that the Daimyo keeps something in the tower that he won't leave alone. She doesn't know what it is, just that it exists and the Daimyo treasures it."
"Sharp-Ear," Pearl-Ear said quietly. "Do not speak to the princess of her father's secrets. They are for him to tell."
Her brother went on as if he hadn't heard. "Now, this valuable thing could be gold, or a magical scroll, or a shrine to his ancestors. It might even be his dog."
"Or his daughter." Michiko stopped. "Am I the Daimyo's secret? The thing he values most?"
Pearl-Ear's voice grew strong. "Sharp-Ear."
"I didn't say the Daimyo had a secret. I was speculating. But of course he treasures you above all things," Sharp-Ear said. "You're his daughter. He sent an entire yabusame company to retrieve you once he learned you were gone."
Mollified, Michiko nodded and resumed walking.
"But he didn't leave the tower," Sharp-Ear said. "I'm sure he has a hundred duties that keep him from traveling freely. But I can't help but speculate… what could keep him in the tower if you were not there?"
"That's enough, Sharp-Ear. She doesn't know. Nobody does. Why are you badgering her?"
"Now you are manipulating the truth, sister. You know what's in the tower. I'd even wager that you've seen it. Do you know what it is you saw? Can you solve this mystery?"
Michiko slowed, falling several yards behind Sharp-Ear. She turned and glanced back at Pearl-Ear, her eyes wet. Pearl-Ear's own face was hot and she fought the urge to growl at her brother.
"I cannot," she said at last. "But the next time we stop to make camp, I will tell Michiko what I do know."
"Oh, splendid. Because tomorrow, we may run into the orochi-bito. We should all pool whatever information we have, so that we ask the appropriate questions."
Pearl-Ear found herself staring at the back of Sharp-Ear's neck, imagining the feel of his scruff in her clenched fist. "You've said enough for now, brother," she said. "Save your breath for the hike."
*****
They continued on. Michiko kept her head down as she walked.
The sun had gone below the horizon, but the sky was still bright pink through the forest canopy. As the kitsune samurai scouted out the area to make sure it was safe for a night's rest, Riko and Sharp-Ear rested in the shade of an ancient cedar.
Michiko followed Lady Pearl-Ear away from the group. The princess had not spoken since Sharp-Ear's provocative lesson in falsehood.
When they were out of earshot, Pearl-Ear sat on a pile of dried leaves. She bid Michiko to join her, and the princess gracefully folded her long legs and faced her teacher.
"Do you know what is in my father's tower? Because it is not me. I am not the thing that he treasures."
"Michiko. I do not know." Pearl-Ear extended her hand, and to her great relief, Michiko took it.
"On the night you were born," Lady Pearl-Ear said, "Your father performed a ritual in the highest reaches of the tower. He was attended by wizards from Minamo and some moonfolk. When I came to tell him you had been born, he already knew."
Michiko's face was pale as wax. "What was the ritual for?"
"I do not know. He claimed to have achieved something important, as important as what your mother accomplished bringing you into the world." She squeezed Michiko's hand. "As important. Not more so. That was the first time I saw his eyes as they are now."
Michiko nodded. "To me, his eyes have always been like that. That's how my father sees."
"It was not always so. That is another thing that no one speaks of in Eiganjo."
"What else changed that night?"
Pearl-Ear inhaled, gathering her courage. She had dreaded this conversation for twenty years, and she would not forget she had Sharp-Ear to thank for it.
"There was a statue," she said. "A fetal reptile or dragon, curled in on itself. It was in the space usually reserved for the shrine to Justice. But the next day it was gone, and I have not seen it since."
"What does it mean?"
Pearl-Ear was pondering an appropriate answer when footsteps interrupted her. They were heavy feet, but the tread was not clumsy. She quickly calculated the size of the walker and decided her conversation with the princess would continue at another time.
"Michiko," she said. "Get back to the campsite."
The princess quickly stood and turned, but before she could withdraw, a smooth but obviously annoyed voice called out, "Wait for me, you great lumpy ox."
A deep, throaty voice answered. "My apologies, oath-brother. I thought you were right behind me."
Pearl-Ear relaxed somewhat, but she still motioned Michiko behind a stout tree. These wanderers were certainly not sneaking up on them, but there was no way to tell if they were hostile.
Pearl-Ear folded her hands into her robes as the footsteps approached. She looked back over her shoulder, and to her relief Sharp-Ear and two of the brothers were quickly making their way to where she and Michiko stood.
As she turned back, a huge bald man burst through the dense undergrowth. He was dressed in the manner of the budoka monks and he wore a gigantic pack across his broad shoulders.
"Greetings, traveler," Pearl-Ear said. "Have you lost your way?"
The giant looked down at Lady Pearl-Ear. His misshapen face spoke of a lifetime of abuse, though his eyes told her he was hardly more than a boy. He stood rock-still, steady on his feet as if the pack on his back was filled with feathers.
Behind him, his much smaller companion stepped into view. "… don't know how we're going to get out of here even if we do find-"
The smaller man stopped in mid-complaint. He was clearly an adult, but next to his massive companion he seemed small and childlike. He wore samurai swords on his belt. His long black hair was pulled back from his face and tied behind his head so she could see his face and his sharp, clear eyes.
Those eyes widened and in a flash he drew a jitte from his belt and held it out to Pearl-Ear.
"Just passing through," he said. "Don't want trouble? Don't start any."
Pearl-Ear cocked her head. He was quick to take arms and threaten, but at least the jitte was a defensive weapon. If he had meant them harm, he would have drawn his sword.
"I am Lady Pearl-Ear of the kitsune," she said. "We are travelers, like yourselves." She spread her arms out, and the samurai brothers stepped out on either side of her, hands on their blades. "We do not want trouble. But as you can see, we are prepared for it."
Actual mirth crossed the man's face, as if two armed kitsune were amusing to him.
"Hello, Lady Pearl-Ear. I'm Toshi," he said, twirling his jitte around his finger. "And this is Kobo." He sheathed his weapon and smiled dazzlingly. "We seem to be a bit lost. Seen any budoka tribes lately?"
CHAPTER 17
Toshi wasn't sure exactly what to make of the kitsune party. He knew the foxfolk straddled the line between the forest and Towabara, two places he himself tried to avoid. They were little people, all in all, but he never took armed strangers lightly.
He kept one eye on the three warrior foxes because he understood the kitsune to be fast and agile. The other two, Pearl-Ear and the unarmed male, barely warranted a second glance. Their group was traveling light, food and weapons only, but it was clear that the foxes were there to guide and protect the humans. The tall girl in white was gorgeous, but she looked as nervous as a bird. The other girl wore student's robes, but Toshi spotted ropy muscles rippling on her bow arm. She stayed close by the pretty one, staring daggers at Toshi and Kobo both. Boss Uramon
often employed female bodyguards and assassins-perhaps the student outfit was a disguise.
Toshi fought back a sneer when he spotted the white-haired boy. Something about the student's expression put Toshi on edge. He recognized the look of anxiety and distress that only comes from privilege. The fact that it was draped in student's robes made it all the more galling. Here was an elitist, an academic, no less, who was put out by a hard day's slog and having to carry his own bedroll. Toshi's usual reaction to this sort of person was to dream of taking them into the depths of Numai and leaving them there. They would experience more real life in ten minutes than they would in a year's worth of academic lectures.
"What are you sneering at, friend?" The male student was clearly not happy with the two new arrivals.
"Not much," Toshi admitted.
Still, they were an unthreatening lot, albeit somewhat aloof and guarded. They offered to share their food, and while they did not invite them to use their campsite, they did propose to extend their night watch to include him and Kobo.
"Thanks," Toshi said, "but that's not necessary. No offense, but I think Kobo could eat the lot of you for breakfast and still be hungry. We'll take our chances on our own."
The fox party seemed relieved by Toshi's announcement, but also offended by his reasoning. Part of him wanted to dig a little deeper, find out why this odd little group was delving so deep into the forest. Their adventure might be profitable to a pair of rough-and-tumble hyozan reckoners, if it wouldn't take too much time away from their pointless quest to find monks in the forest.
He rejected the idea of tailing them when the smallest of the kitsune, the unarmed male, said, "And you? Have you seen any snakes?"
Pearl-Ear swatted the little male with the back of her hand. The samurai grew tense while they waited for
Toshi to respond. Interesting, he thought. But ultimately, not compelling.
"No," he said. "And I intend to keep it that way. If you are headed for orochi country, I wish you luck. You couldn't drag me there at swordpoint."
The little male shrugged. "We are forest folk," he said breezily. "We are not afraid."
Toshi pointed at the wizard boy. "He is."
The white-haired student reacted as if struck. "What did you say, lowlife?"
"Choryu," the student girl/possible bodyguard warned.
"I said you look as if you're about to foul yourself," Toshi said. "Or perhaps you already have. Good luck with the snakes, snow-cap. I hear they love the taste of soft muscles, unspoiled by hard work."
The boy rose, blue light flickering in his eyes. He opened his hands, but before he could do more, two of the fox samurai appeared, one on each side.
"We don't have time for this," one said.
"Why are you defending him? Look at the big one! He's dressed like a budoka monk, but he can't find any others? How do we know he's not leading us into an orochi-bito ambush?"
Toshi watched in mild amusement as Choryu the boy wizard's cheeks colored. Excitable fellow, he thought. Must have been spoiling for a fight.
"Settle down," a fox said. "He said he was going. Just sit still until he's gone."
Choryu was still struggling, almost frothy. "No mere ochimusha filth can talk to me that way."
"This one does." Toshi smiled. "No offense, foxes and ladies, but your friend here is one short push away from panicking. Cut him loose before he drags you down."
"Not a bad idea," muttered the fox on the boy's left. Toshi waggled his eyebrows at him as the wizard fumed.
"Sir," the fox woman said. "You are abusing our hospitality."
"Not at all. I'm abusing that cowardly streak of piss over there."
"I may be frightened," the wizard flared. "But at least I'm going. One mention of orochi-bito and you're ready to rabbit. You're just wandering bits of trash that gets blown about by the wind. Why don't you and that bloated, tree-hugging freak blow away now and leave us alone?"
Toshi's eye flicked over to Kobo, seated on the ground with his back against a sturdy tree. He looked back at Choryu and grinned.
"You're even dumber than you look. And with that hairstyle, that's not easy."
Toshi stepped back as Kobo set aside his meal and rose to his full height. He wrapped one meaty hand around the other clenched fist and squeezed until all his knuckles cracked. The muscles in his arms and shoulders bulged.
"Did you say something to me and my oath-brother?" Kobo asked quietly. "Little man?"
Toshi could tell that the kitsune did not want this to turn in to a fight, especially not over the boy wizard. But all he had to do was clear his throat and Kobo would pounce. Toshi paused, drinking in the delicious pre-brawl tension.
"Stop this." The knockout in white stepped in between the newcomers and her own party. Toshi liked the way her hair fell across her shoulders, and the starry sparkle in her strange, bright eyes.
"It's hard enough to survive in this wild and unfamiliar place," she said. "Without us all trying to kill each other. Why don't we all just part company now and go our own ways?"
"Ann, she's right," Toshi said. He nudged Kobo and said, "Let it go."
The huge youth grunted and slid back down against his tree. "I'm not done eating." As Kobo settled into the loose soil, the kitsune relaxed their grip on their swords.
"You know," Toshi said casually, "you really are heading the wrong way. The orochi aren't as friendly as I am, if the tales are true. Unless you've got something they want, they'll probably just skin you alive and prop you up as a warning. You've been so kind to us, I'd hate to think of that happening to you." He leaned around the pretty girl and made eye contact with the boy wizard. "You, I hope they get."
Choryu merely grumbled and gestured dismissively.
"Listen, friend," the unarmed fox-man said. "Actually, we're not friends and we don't have to be. But we don't have to be enemies, either. If you keep needling the grumpy members of our troop, we're never going to be free of each other."
"Troupe? So you're performers, then?"
"You could say that. Every one of us has a role to play," the fox-man said. His eyes twinkled. "What about you?"
"Me? I'm an independent operator. Right now, I'm partnered with him," he tilted his head at Kobo. "It's an arrangement that suits us both." "Independents are very rare these days. So you're, what… searching for his budoka brothers? What happened, was he expelled?"
Toshi blinked. The little one was sharp. "Not really. He took a better job."
The fox-man made a high-pitched whistling sound. "Oooh, they hate that," he said. "Are you sure you're looking for them and not the other way around?"
"Tell you what," Toshi said. "If you find any monks, send them our way. We'll do the same with the orochi. Let's see who lives longer."
"That's no fun," the fox countered. "How will we tell who won?"
Now Pearl-Ear stepped in between the groups, alongside the looker.
"Enough," she said.
"Oh, let us boys have our fun," the fox-man said. "I just wanted to see if our new friend can take it as well as dish it out."
"This is getting us nowhere." The gorgeous girl tossed her head fetchingly.
Toshi cocked his head to one side. He liked her. She had a patrician air about her, but she wasn't afraid to step into the thick of things. If only he could convince her to drop this whole orochi business and come a-wandering with him and Kobo. Or better still, without Kobo.
As he mused, the girl wizard, the female fox, and all the armed samurai stepped closer to the knockout. Perhaps they didn't like the look of Toshi's leer. Perhaps, he corrected himself, he should learn to mask his thoughts better when looking at a pretty girl.
The mercenary part of Toshi's brain began to whir. She was important to this group, the central figure. Rich? Ransomable? He eyed the tall girl some more, trying to gauge her weight. He was sure Kobo could carry her, but he wasn't sure if there was room in the bald brute's pack.
Kobo shoved the last of the jerked meat into
his mouth with a loud smacking sound.
He spotted the hyozan brand on Kobo's breast and wondered if the angry red character would ever heal properly. Then Toshi sighed. Kidnapping rich girls would get the hyozan no closer to solving his soratami problems.
"Thanks for the food," Toshi said. "We'll be-"
Kobo suddenly sprang to his feet. His tetsubo club appeared in his hands, and all three kitsune samurai drew their swords, stepping in front of the tall girl.
Toshi opened his hands to show how unthreatening he was. "One step behind, Kobo, as usual. No more fighting. I was just-"
"They're all around us," said the ogre's apprentice.
"Who is? Who's around what?"
"He's right," said one of the samurai. "Something's out there. We're surrounded."
The little fox growled angrily. "How did we miss their approach?"
A low, menacing hiss rose up from the ground nearby. It was echoed on the opposite side of the camp. More hissing came, joining the chorus, until it was the only sound in Toshi's ears.
"Orochi-bito," Choryu muttered darkly. "The snakes are upon us."
Toshi looked at each of their faces, with expressions ranging from shock to fear to steely resolve.
CHAPTER 18
"Great," he said. "Just great."
The first orochi attacker fell out of the trees onto Kobo. Toshi saw only a wild tangle of reed-thin arms and legs clad in green scales before Kobo threw himself back and crushed the orochi-bito between himself and the trunk of his sitting tree.
Then the woods around the campsite exploded into violent action as the snakefolk attacked en masse. Toshi drew his jitte with one hand and his long sword with the other, spinning in place as the blade cleared the sheath. The tip sliced across the outstretched hand of an orochi behind him, and the snake-man fell back, hissing.
Outlaw:Champions of Kamigawa mg-1 Page 19
