Ryojin- the Bonded Blade

by Noah Ward

  Ichiro swallowed, nodded.

  “You and your bandits recently stole krystallis. Rare krystallis. How did you get it? Where did you get it?”

  Ichiro licked his lips, looked around like a rodent.

  “We targeted...targeted merchants out of Akimaru. They went through the Sea of Spears--yakura dealers. Had things they didn’t want Retsudan’s dogs--soldiers--finding. We took them after the forest.”

  “The krystallis,” Saito hissed.

  “We asked the merchant--it was rare. Pure. Said it was from some old bosan who lived in Akimaru. He was poor...needed the aians. They told us it was all he had left.”

  A shot of hope ran through him. It had been worth it. It had to have been worth it.“I need a name.”

  “They didn’t say.” Ichiro withered under the gaze. “I swear it on the shogens.”

  “Then give me something.”

  “He lived by the port, in the slums they said. Bozu...in a yakura den.” Ichiro looked at him hopefully.

  Saito took a calming breath and took a step away from the man. He looked so small and weak. Terrified. A shadow of the thug he had been when his bandits still lived. Death had a habit of striping away bravado. Good sense told him to kill the man, but he could not. Instead, he left Ichiro there, amongst the bodies of his people, to realise what his actions had born. Like once before.

  The strange, frail man with the cage on its head had not moved from its place close to the door. Saito picked up its chain-cum-leash off the ground, slick with blood, and wrapped it around his forearm.

  “To Akimaru,” he said. It offered an excited grunt in return that turned his stomach.

  26

  Omiyage

  Shay was trussed up tighter than the deer her village had wrangled for celebrating the harvest. When the hunters had confronted her in the forest, fleeing was only a fleeting thought. It was not as if she would have made it to the village or the keval. A vicious voice in her head had whispered that she could unleash her ability, but she was scared, didn’t understand. Like Kaz said, these people hated what they did not understand, and she was not about to fuel that fire.

  Both parties looking equally terrified, she had held up her hands and protested her innocence, even as they shoved her to the ground and bound her limbs. However, her sympathies were strained when they attached her to that carrying pole. If they hadn’t stuffed a stinking, sweaty rag in her mouth she would have contested that she was perfectly happy to walk.

  Shay had no idea what had awaited her in the village. Would they shackle her or just kill her? Kaz would have been so disappointed, but what other choice did she have? She’d done the right thing. This was the price for it.

  So when Kaz had spotted her arrival and froze, Shay was convinced that the woman would abandon her. A pit had open in her stomach. Left alone once again…

  But Kaz had fought like she was sworn.

  Maybe that’s because she is sworn, Shay.

  Suddenly, swinging from that pole, bound and gagged, the world somehow felt less scary. She fought like Shizanagi, shogen of eternal blizzards, traveller of the white wastes, harvester of souls, and saving Shay’s arse. In the flurry of blades and yelling, she expected blood to score the snow in great crimson lashes. Instead, the guards were busy nursing bruised skin and egos. Kaz escaped unscathed, her bonded blade held up to the throat of the one they called Tessho.

  “I hope I have your attention,” Kaz bellowed, a demon possessed. Though she tried to hide it, Kaz could sense the woman’s exhaustion.

  Then the fire died in an instant. Guards scrambled to stand, the villagers appeared too dumbstruck to move; others had poked their heads out of windows and doors to divine what had transpired.

  “If any of you move, I’ll slit his throat,” said Kaz. To drive the point home, she jerked Tessho’s chin upwards and pressed her blade to his flesh. “Tell them.”

  “Do as she says,” said Tessho. He held his palms out towards the guards, who looked like children who had lost a parent.

  “I want them to cut the girl free,” she said. “Then, they will all move off to the side, under the walls.”

  Tessho nodded to a guard who drew a knife from his belt.

  “And let’s not try to be shogens, shall we?” Kaz added.

  The guard tramped towards Shay, muttering under his breath. Her stomach churned. He could kill her out of spite. That was no way to greet the afterlife, all tied up with a slit throat.

  But the guard sawed through the ropes unceremoniously, starting with her wrists, which sent her head thudding to the snow. Spitting dirt and snow from her mouth, her legs then dropped. She was quick to tear the rag from her mouth and spit out the foul taste on her tongue.

  “Get the blades and then go to the keval, girl,” Kaz instructed.

  Shay glanced at the faces around her. They were as terrified as she had felt when they strung her up. There was a bitter sense of retribution that she pushed away. No one would get anywhere thinking like that. Still, she wouldn’t have minded kicking one of them up the arse.

  Shay resisted and gathered up the smaller swords off the floor and then hurried over to the dainty keval while the villagers huddled under an overhang of the wooden walls. Other denizens still watched in awe; others had the good sense to hide.

  Kaz slowly shuffled with Tessho towards the keval. “Up,” she said to him.

  “You’ll gain nothing from taking me a hostage--” he began.

  “I will, for a little while,” she replied. “Now up, face the keval’s arse.”

  He frowned, but when Kaz kept her silence, he complied. She followed him, the animal whinnying its dissatisfaction at what it considered too large a burden. With the blade to his throat, she said, “Take the reins and lead the beast out of the village.” She then addressed the rest of them. “If any of you follow, he dies. If I think any of your are following us--he dies. You will have him back before dawn.”

  Shay murmured to herself, taking the leather in her freezing hands that had not quite regained their dexterity. Kirral’s people shot her frightful gazes; some averted their eyes. What did they think the two of them were planning to do? Cook and eat Tessho? To be fair, he was old and quite thin, so wouldn’t have been appetising anyway.

  Why would you think that, Shay?

  She shook her head and did as Kaz instructed. The three of them set off in silence down the rough dirt road until the village of Kirral became nothing more than a hazy blur in the distance. Kaz’s shoulders had slumped and her footsteps were unsure.

  While it was nothing short of amazing to Shay what Kaz had done--a feat that only could have been matched by her old instructor, probably--it was all her fault to begin with. But if Kaz had just told Shay she was sworn too then it would have somehow turned out better...right? What if Kaz hadn’t been able to stop them? What if they had murdered Shay in the forest?

  The cold set into her bones. In that moment she had found camaraderie and abandonment. If anyone in Zenitia discovered what she was, would they despise her instantly? Wish death upon her? It was easier in the south; it was also a life she could never return to.

  “That’s far enough,” Kaz said, shaking the girl from her morose reverie.

  Shay stuttered to a stop; the keval’s muzzle prodded her back as the beast failed to slow in time.

  “Off,” Kaz said to Tessho. He did as commanded and she hopped down after him. “It’s not worth your time to follow us. Forget your pride and ego--”

  “You meant us no harm, I know that,” said Tessho. He glanced at her over his shoulder.

  “You were just doing your duty.”

  He nodded.

  “You’re not from Zenitia.”

  “Did Saburo tell you that?”

  Kaz shrugged. “No, but I can always tell.”

  Tessho’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not like the south, not like Akimaru and the other cities here.”

  “Sworn slaughtered many of their family. They have every right t
o fear them,” said Kaz. There was no hate in it, simply resignation.

  He shook his head. “But it doesn’t excuse it. I knew some of them. They died all the same.”

  “The wounds are still too fresh to do anything about it. A generation from now, perhaps.”

  “I’ll be long gone to the white wastes by then…” he said through a chuckle.

  The silence hung there for a moment. Shay didn’t know what to make of it. He didn’t sound angry at Kaz--apologetic even. She must have fought in the war. But was it for Zenitia? She didn’t even explicitly admit she was sworn either.

  “Apologies,” said Kaz. Tessho began to open his mouth, but she whacked him over the head.

  “He wasn’t going to do anything!” Shay blurted.

  Kaz dragged him to the side of the road and then took a blanket from the keval to cover him. “But his people expect some theatrics around it. This will buy us time.”

  Shay held her tongue, not wanting to argue. Kaz returned to the keval and hopped up on the saddle.

  “C’mon,” she said. “There’s not much room but it’ll have to do.”

  “Oh…” said Shay, recalling she’d left the other one in the forest. “I can…”

  “Leave it. The beast will find its way to the village.”

  Head down, Shay swung into the saddle behind Kaz and the woman nudged the keval into action, surmounting a small, snowy ridge into the cover of trees. She wanted to say something, but instead kept silent as the keval trotted along.

  ◆◆◆

  When the darkness was well upon them, Kaz brought the keval to stop in a small clearing. Shay looked to the stars above, having no clue how far they were to Akimaru.

  “We’ll arrive in the morning,” said Kaz while she stoked their fire. “For now it’s best to eat and rest up.”

  She handed Shay a couple of rice balls stuffed with cold, spiced pork, along with some sweet bread, Until she took the first bite, Shay believed she was not hungry at all, having been dining on her silent guilt for the past couple of hours. However, that soon changed; she wolfed the food down and finished it off with a large pull on a gourd filled with cold water.

  Kaz didn’t eat much, just nibbled at bread and rubbed her chest every now and then. At one point she took some tobacco from a pouch within her armour and rolled herself a smoke. Then, she wandered over to the keval’s saddlebags on the ground and withdrew a weapon slightly larger than her tanto. Kaz approached Shay and held out the sheathed blade.

  “This is what you wanted,” she said.

  Shay looked between the weapon and the woman, not sure what to make of it all. Was she taunting her for what happened? If she reached for it, would Kaz yank it away?

  “Take it,” said Kaz.

  Without a word, and keeping her eyes on the ground, she took the sword and laid it across her lap.

  “I’m… I’m sorry,” Shay said. Her face was hot and she could feel tears welling. “I should have listened, shouldn’t have gotten captured--”

  Kaz’s sigh cut her off, the pungent smell of tobacco on the breeze. “It doesn’t matter, not any more. We’re not dead. Though I won’t be returning to Kirral any time soon.”

  Shay dared to look up from the ground. The woman stood above her, free of the cloth that covered her mouth and hair. She looked tired.

  “How long have you known?” Kaz asked her.

  Shay wasn’t so stupid as to not know what the woman was getting at. She dragged her thumb over the scabbard’s lacquered wood. “A few summers.” Taking a breath, Shay calmed herself. She’d never told anyone that was not her mother or instructor. “It was an accident at first. I was angry at my mother.” Holding her hand up to the fire, she curled her fingers into a fist. “At dinner. I wanted to go hunting with Senzen--my instructor--but mother wanted me to go to bed early because we had to go to the shrine in the morning. Then, it just…” Shay focused. She had promised them to never say. “I don’t know how. My mother...screamed.” Looking up to Kaz, she waited for the question. Shay sniffled and wiped away a tear. Of all the memories to dredge up with her in them, why did it have to be that one?

  “You don’t have to tell me what it is,” said Kaz. “That business is your own.” She took a puff on her rollup. “I’ll assume you have control over it. That’s all that matters.”

  Most people would want to know what her ability was. It was only natural. Shay only wondered for a moment why Kaz did not seem to care.

  Because she doesn’t want to talk about her ability, Shay.

  Purely selfish reasons, but she was contented with them. Instead, Shay found herself continuing to let the words tumble out. “I didn’t know what was happening. It went away just as quick. I told her I was sorry. I didn’t know what I’d done. But the way she looked at me.” Shay’s eyes met Kaz. “Like those people today. Like I’m some kind of monster.”

  “Mother said not to tell anyone,” Shay continued. “Knew I could keep my mouth shut but I didn’t know if it’d happen again. I didn’t even have to tell my swordmaster. It was as if he just knew.” She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. “He helped, made me feel like I was not a freak...not something to be hated.”

  “You’re not,” said Kaz. “Never think that.” She flicked the rollup into the fire. “It’s a pain in the arse simply being a woman sometimes. Being sworn is another blessing to endure.”

  “So...you’re not mad...with me?” Shay looked across the fire, expectant.

  Kaz expelled a lungful of air. “We won’t have far to go. Akimaru is close. I’ll be mad if I don’t get what I’m owed.” She raised her eyebrows, and Shay couldn’t tell whether she was being serious. “For now, just rest.”

  Shay swallowed. About that…

  Don’t think about it. Just focus on getting there, that was always the plan. Deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.

  Expelling the niggling guilt from her head, she thought it would be difficult to find sleep, but playing deer for an afternoon had tired her out more than she imagined. Her eyes closed, burning an image of the fire and woman beyond it onto her retinas.

  27

  A Tightening Noose

  Kaz couldn’t help herself from dropping off soon after Shay. Extending herself after hardly any rest at Kirral had left her more drained than she expected. She woke with a start just as the light of dawn began exploring the forest canopy.

  She reached under her armour and withdrew Shay’s necklace. The girl was still dozing, wrapped up in furs beyond the long-dead campfire. A thrill attempted to race down her spine but she killed it: they hadn’t reached Akimaru yet. There were still potentially a band of killers who would attempt to hunt her down.

  “Hanza…” she whispered. It had been more than five winters since then. It didn’t make any sense. Why now? She was a yūrei--a ghost.

  Despite the chill in the early morning air, sweat misted her brow. She wiped it away with the back of her sleeve, then fished out her tabacco. Stopped. Looked over at Shay. Soon, she wouldn’t be Kaz’s problem any longer.

  After huffing while she got to her feet, Kaz wandered over to Shay and crouched by her. The sword she had purchased for the girl was clutched tight between her hands. Reaching for the blade, Shay’s eyes snapped open and she attempted to draw the sword in her confusion.

  “Let’s see if you’re all talk,” Kaz said as her hand snapped around the girl’s wrist. Her eyes widened in fear, but then Kaz released her grip. “The blade. Get up.”

  “Err… Oh,” Shay mumbled. She took a breath and wiped her eyes before getting up. “Okay.”

  “We have some time before setting off, but you never know if the roads are dangerous,” said Kaz as she drew her katana. In truth and in normal circumstances, the route would be relatively safe given the fact they were closer to Restudan-controlled civilisation, as much as the fact irked her. “Stand over here.” Kaz indicated a small space where the trees were not so densely packed.

  Shay dutif
ully followed and stood a few strides before the woman.

  “Draw your weapon,” said Kaz.

  The girl kept her left hand on the scabbard as she drew the katana. She shuffled her left leg forward, bending it slightly at the knee. Her back foot turned ninety degrees and slid along the snow. She carried the blade loosely in her right hand, tip pointing to the ground.

  Kaz’s eyes narrowed at the stance. She’d seen its like before; though where exactly, she failed to pinpoint.

  “It’s southern,” Shay offered in explanation. “My swordmaster said it was inspired by warriors from the islands of the coast.”

  Kaz nodded. “Go through your drills.”

  Shay appeared a little nervous or self-conscious at first, glancing between Kaz and the blade. Her movements started off stiff: a flowing arc upwards from her right to the centre; a lunging strike to an imaginary midriff--overstepping somewhat on her front leg; a better pirouette to horizontal slash. Shay soon shook the rigidity out of her bones and was flowing between stances and strikes, peculiar to a fighter not trained in the south’s traditional schools. It appeared her tutor had been an admirable warrior and his pupil no less astute.

  Would it be too much to admit you’re impressed, Kaz?

  “That’s enough,” Kaz said some time later.

  The trance Shay had worked herself into vanished. Her eyes widened and she appeared to retreat into herself.

  Kaz took a few steps forwards, blade in hand. “Let’s see how you do now.” Holding up her katana, she said, “Left, right, head, thurst,” indicating each move with her own sword.

  Shay nodded, took up her stance.

  “Attack,” said Kaz.

  Left. Right. Head. Thrust. Steel reverberated with each hit.

  “Again.”

  And again Shay complied.

  “Again.”

  Left. Right. Head. Left.

  The girl checked her step and batted Kaz’s sword away, following with a slash for her neck. Automatic. Kaz slapped it away, lunged, Shay countered. They fell into a rhythm for several seconds until Kaz was satisfied.