Holding tightly onto his new responsibilities, he gratefully returned to the interior of the ship.
Chapter 6
Toshi went back to his room and found Miko waiting there for him. He smiled as she half-bowed to him in greeting, before returning the gesture.
“Did all go well, Toshi-san?” she asked.
He hurried to his blankets. “I—I think so. Though I don’t think the steersman is too happy to have me here.”
Miko’s silver bells tinkled softly as she nodded in understanding. “You should not take it personally. I doubt he really means to seem that way. Though he should know better, Kojiro is bitter, thinking Lord Asaka blames him for our inability to reach our destination.” For a moment she appeared as if she would say more, but she didn’t.
“Miko-san, do you have any spare paper, ink and brush I could borrow?” He asked with a little trepidation. “I’d like to make a partial copy of the map to track our progress on.”
“Of course, but only if you’ll let me watch you while you work.” Gracefully rising from the floor, Miko left the room to fetch the items in question.
As he huddled in his covers waiting for her to return, his gaze wondered over to the basket with Captain Valez’s instruments. He felt his shoulders tense. Perhaps making a copy of the map would prove a useless gesture. How would he get it into a living being’s hand? And if he somehow managed that, how would they help him? He had no ideas on that score. It seemed so futile, to hope he could somehow alert others of where they were going and perhaps get help, but there was nothing else he could try. And he owed the captain at least that much. Didn’t he?
Before long, the geisha came back and laid a number of brushes, an ink bowl and a bundle of wrapped paper at his feet. As he sifted through the different brushes, Miko cleared off the small table and brought it over to him.
“Thank you, Miko-san.”
Getting the geisha to sit beside him, he spread the map on the table. Hesitantly, he tried to explain to her the gaijin way of mapping—their concepts of longitude and latitude and how they made traveling from place to place easier. Seeing, as she asked a number of pointed questions, that her interest was genuine, he expanded on his explanations even as he copied part of the map. He confined his copy to the area from the point they were at now up to the chain of small islands that was their destination. With delicate care, he copied the section he’d chosen, his experience and technique plainly showing in his work. Time passed quickly, but it was barely noticed. Miko’s continued interest coupled with the comforting familiarity of the work drove him long past his normal stopping point.
Sometime during the night, Miko sought her own paper and, stealing only a small part of the table, attempted to emulate his work.
Eyes squinting in order to cut out the glowing deck’s glare, he missed the odd sensation signaling the submergence of the ship.
“Toshi-kun.” Miko’s bells rang softly as she lifted her head to look at him.
He didn’t return the glance until he’d finished the delicate stroke he was working on and had placed the brush safely out of harm’s way.
“The day began a number of hours ago,” she said. “You might want to think about eating and then getting some sleep while you still have time, no?” Her head tilted slightly to the side with the question.
Now that he’d stopped, he felt a satisfied weariness wash over him. He’d missed doing the work. It was hard and something not many of his countrymen knew how to do, but he enjoyed it. He rubbed at his eyes.
“Yes, I guess I’d better. I hadn’t realized how late it was.” He reached to clear his things from the table but stopped as his right hand cramped.
Forcing his fingers to straighten out with a grimace, he rubbed them with his left hand, trying to soothe his protesting muscles.
“Here, let me take care of that.” Miko took his hands in hers.
“It’s all right, Miko-san. This happens all the time, I can—” He gasped in surprise as the pain in his hand abruptly stopped and a cool tingling sensation spread from her fingertips to his.
“How?” He stared at the geisha in astonishment, knowing what he’d just felt was different from the deep cold he had felt from her kind before.
Miko’s brilliantly burning blue eyes looked away from him, even as her fleshless fingers continued dancing over his own. “I don’t know. There are many things we can do now that we could not while we were living.”
As she glanced back at him, he noticed her eyes had dimmed back to their normal intensity. Searching for something to say as she retained the light hold on his hand, he thought of their lord. He felt his blood grow cold.
“Miko-san! Lord Asaka.” He couldn’t quite keep a note of panic from his voice. “Weren’t … weren’t you supposed to … didn’t you need to … hours ago?”
Miko’s smiling mask stared at his obvious and sudden worry in tilted curiosity before straightening up as she figured out what he was talking about.
Guilt rose within him at the punishment Miko would surely receive because of him. He watched in alarm as the geisha tilted forward, her hand rising to cover her face.
“This is my fault,” he insisted. “I will say so to Lord Asaka. I won’t let him hurt you because of me.”
He couldn’t bear to lose the one person that had been kind to him aboard this cursed ship. His worry grew as he saw her lean even closer to the ground. He reached out for her, sure of the terror now within her, and froze as bubbling laughter suddenly filled the room. He stared at the geisha in incomprehension as she tried hard to stifle her overflowing mirth.
“Oh, Toshi.” Laughter overrode what else she might have said for a moment. “I’m so sorry.”
Concern flitted across his face as he wondered if he had inadvertently driven her to hysteria. Recently, he had felt close to that himself once or twice. The punishments dealt out by Lord Asaka must be horrible indeed.
“I’ll try to fix it somehow, Miko-san. Honest, I will. I won’t let him hurt you because of me.”
Miko looked up, her fleshless hands still trying to uselessly contain her laughter. She shook her head rapidly, making her bells ring frantically, but couldn’t gain enough control to speak.
Sure she was unselfishly trying to stop him from taking the blame, he worked himself up to go and set things right before he might change his mind by thinking of the possible consequences. He started to rise to his feet.
“Miko-san, I will go to him now,” he stated. “I’ll fix this.”
Before he could stand, she reached out and closed her hand on his arm. “Toshi, no, please wait,” she said breathlessly. “Give me a moment!”
He hesitated. He was determined not to be swayed from his decision but wasn’t sure he could break away from the geisha’s hold. Miko’s laughter subsided as she stared into his concerned face.
“Toshi-kun, please forgive me,” she said. “I hadn’t meant to mislead you so. You are such a dear, worrying over me. Who would have thought it? You’re so thoroughly delightful.”
He stood with his mouth open as it dawned on him he’d made another mistake.
“There is nothing to worry about,” she added. “Lord Asaka knows I’m here, Toshi-kun. I asked for his permission earlier. I have been in and out of this room a number of times. I guess you never noticed.”
Miko gently pulled on his arm trying to get him to sit back down.
He looked away, red-faced, knowing he’d made a fool of himself.
“Please don’t misunderstand me, Toshi-san. I’m quite flattered by your concern. There’s just no reason for it.”
He sat down with a thump. “Yes, no reason.” From the corner of his eye, he saw the geisha’s hand rise to cover her mask’s mouth again. Her renewed amusement made his cheeks burn that much hotter than before.
“I do have to be going, though, and you need your rest for this evening,” she said. “From what I understand, you’ll be staying above longer tonight than you have before.”
A slight chill coursed through him. He heard Miko move as she stood up, but didn’t look after her. She set out the food he had missed seeing her bring in earlier to the small table. She then poured him a cup of hot tea.
“I’ll come wake you when the time is near,” she said.
He barely nodded; still too embarrassed to say much of anything. He was almost afraid to wonder what kind of idiot she must think him to be.
“Toshi-san, I’m grateful for the honor you’ve shown me by your actions today,” she said softly. “I’m not worthy of them.”
He yearned to look at her, but forced himself not to. He wasn’t sure the sincerity he thought he heard in her voice wouldn’t be dispelled if he looked at her and found her hand lightly covering her mouth. He’d rather not do more injury to his already ruined pride.
He almost jumped as a soft, warm hand caressed his cheek. He looked up, but Miko’s back was to him as she started back to the door.
“Might I take the copy of the map you made?” she asked. “I’d like to attempt to finish mine while you sleep. I thought I would also show Asaka-sama the excellent job you’d done.”
He stared at Miko’s back when she didn’t turn around for his answer. “Yes, if you like. I’ll get it for you.” He scrambled to his feet, trying not to trip over his blankets.
Gathering his new copy of the map and her unfinished one, he clumsily handed them to her with a bow.
He felt her staring at him, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“Toshiro, please try not to misunderstand what I am about to say.” She hesitated for a moment. “I realize being here isn’t what you want, and that it’s been quite difficult for you to accept. But, I am still very glad it was you our Lord chose to come with us on this journey.”
Leaving his startled countenance behind, Miko left the room.
Toshi shook his head as he turned away from the door. Not sure what to make of all that had been said, he carefully rolled up the main map and placed it in the basket with his other tools.
Pondering her words, he drank the tea Miko had poured for him and ate.
Chapter 7
Toshi-kun! You must wake up. You’re going to be late.”
“Huh?” The word had barely left his mouth before his eyes were closing again. He hardly felt his body shift as Miko grabbed him on the side and shook him hard. Her urgent words meant nothing to him as his mind lay enshrouded in a deep, cold fog.
“Toshi!”
The sound of bells filled the room as Miko leaned down to look into his face and found it wrapped in sleep. Roughly, she pulled away his covers, exposing him to the eerily cold air. Pulling up one of the sleeves of her green-and-gold kimono, she slapped him on the shoulder. His eyes never opened, he just pulled up his legs and made himself into a ball.
“All right, Chizuson Toshiro, you asked for this!”
Kneeling close, Miko undid his sash and opened his shirt. Sneaking her hands over his bare skin, she began to lightly roam the area around his sides.
An odd sensation coursed through him and it poked small holes in the fog about his mind. As the sensation persisted, he became more and more aware of it. The closer he came to awakening, the more annoying the sensation became. He moaned, trying to get away from the bothersome feeling, but couldn’t get rid of it.
“Go away,” he mumbled.
When it didn’t, he curled up tighter. His discomfort grew as the sensation didn’t cease, and he also started to feel the cold seeping into his exposed skin. The fog around his mind dissipated. He opened his eyes in surprise, as unwanted laughter bubbled from his lips.
“Stop it!”
Miko didn’t stop. No matter what direction he tried to roll to get away from her, he found Miko’s hands always following him, mercilessly tickling the sensitive flesh on his sides.
“All bad boys have to pay the price,” she chortled. “You should learn to get up sooner.”
To his chagrin, the geisha suddenly doubled her efforts. “Please stop. Miko-san. I’m awake now!”
The geisha didn’t stop. He felt he might just die. His sides ached horribly, and he could barely breathe.
Laughter continued to issue involuntarily from his mouth. “Miko-san, please!”
She stopped. He instantly quit squirming and went thankfully limp. He closed his eyes, concentrating only on taking great lungfulls of air.
“There’s no time for that,” she snapped. “You must get up, Toshi-kun, and you must hurry. You’ve only got a few minutes before we surface. Lord Asaka will be waiting for you.”
At the mention of the samurai’s name, his eyes popped open. His body tensed as he fought to sit up.
Without any more prompting, he stood and took off his clothes, rushing toward his waiting bath water.
Shivering as he tried to dry off as fast as possible, he found Miko at his side holding out his clean clothes. He forgot to be embarrassed by her closeness, having at the moment only thoughts for what might happen to him if he were late. He never noticed the garment she held open for him as he slipped into it.
When Miko pressed a cup of hot tea into his hands, he drank it down, cursing himself for having forgotten to put on his sandals before moving over the cold floor to bathe. He rushed back to his futon and the warmth he would find there.
Miko took away his emptied cup as he rubbed his cold numbed feet with one of his blankets. The geisha took over the task after handing him a fresh rice cake.
As soon as he’d gobbled the first one down, Miko gave him another with a new cup of tea. He felt his insides warming up, as well as his abused feet. As he chewed on his new rice cake, Miko uncovered his feet and put warm socks on them. It was only as he watched her that he realized Miko had not given him his normal clothes. Surprised, he stared down at the brown kimono, realizing it fit him perfectly. Miko had just finished putting on his sandals when he thought of trying to protest. He had no business wearing these fine clothes. He was a peasant.
Miko took away his cup and the rest of his rice cake as he opened up his mouth to say just that.
“Hurry, Toshi-kun, get your things. We’re out of time!” Miko reached for his arm.
All his protests disappeared as his worries returned. Moving awkwardly in his newly fitted clothes, he rose to his feet while simultaneously trying to fix his mussed hair. He grabbed his basket and rushed for the door. Miko held out a bite of fish to him as he walked past. He stumbled out into the empty hallway.
Cool night air swept over him as he stepped out on deck. The ship’s sail was raised high, catching all the wind had to give. In haste, he sent a sweeping glance over the men rowing despite the wind, and headed for the ladder that would take him to his post.
Reaching the higher deck, he bowed to Asaka, who sat regally on a folding stool, his lacquered armor glinting with the ship’s permeating glow. The frowning demon mask turned toward him, two green flames filling up its eyes. Asaka said nothing to him, but gave him a slight acknowledging nod.
Toshi set his basket down and took out the coil of measuring rope. His eyes lit guiltily on the stolen cross-staff, and again he wondered if there was any way Captain Valez might return home without it. He had learned just recently how badly someone could miss a place once he was no longer allowed to return to it. He knew exactly how the Spanish captain and his crew would feel. He hoped never to inflict that on anyone, however long he might have to live.
One by one he took his readings and had already started doing his calculations as he stepped back to the basket to retrieve the map. He stopped in mid-step as he suddenly realized it wasn’t there.
Frantically, he sifted through his memories of the past few minutes, trying to recall where the map had been the last time he’d seen it.
“Is something wrong, boy?”
His neck prickled with fear as the samurai’s deep voice rose up behind him. “I seem to have left the map back in my room, sir.” He swallowed hard, his eyes rooted to the glowing floor, dreading the poss
ible reaction to what he had just said. “Might I be allowed to go retrieve it, sir?” He held his breath, not sure of what might come. He felt himself shiver as the samurai spoke again.
“Mitsuo-san, please go to the boy’s room and retrieve the map,” Asaka commanded.
With a touch of surprise, Toshi watched the bent skeleton as he bowed deeply and then proceeded to the ladder. Asaka remained seated, staring outwards, his demon mask impassive.
That he was being ignored gave him a measure of calm he’d not been able to achieve moments before. If something was to be done to him for so foolishly forgetting the map in his charge, it didn’t look like it would be immediate.
Hoping Mitsuo would return quickly, he folded his legs beneath him and sat down. Glancing behind him, he couldn’t help but notice the steersman’s dim yellow eyes boring into him. His never-changing, fleshless grin seemed to be trying to promise something. With a small shudder, Toshi turned away from the awful stare.
Time trickled along and Mitsuo didn’t return. He began to fidget, a feeling of doom tightening his chest.
The feeling was only made worse when Mitsuo finally did reappear, and he noticed the obvious hesitation of his pace.
Rising slowly onto the deck, Mitsuo walked to stand before Asaka and bowed almost to the floor. The voice that flowed from the bent frame was slow and soft, tinged with an almost palpable sadness.
“Asaka-sama, I searched the entire room, yet there was no map to be found there.”
It took Toshi a long stunned moment to realize what had just been said. With large eyes, he stared at the metal demon mask as it turned toward him.
“Boy, explain.”
He had no idea where the map was. He had no explanation to give. Forced to say something, he found his tongue lay like lead inside his mouth. “I can’t explain it, Lord.” He despaired and would have fallen if he weren’t already seated, knowing that by his admission he had just damned himself.
“What is there to explain, Asaka-sama? Isn’t it obvious the whelp destroyed the map to cover up his actual lack of skill?” The steersman grinned toward him.
Gloria Oliver Page 6
