by Noah Ward
We were never here. This was a fire set by yakura addicts. Take the corpse and dispose of it. No one must know.
She released her grip and pushed him backwards. Her leg relaxed around the junior guard’s neck. As he gasped for air, she nicked his forehead and impressed upon him the notion the two of them were never there.
“Come,” she said to Kuma a moment later while the two men stared dazedly ahead. “We must spin this to Saito.”
43
The Bear vs. The Flying Guillotine
Kaz had practically fled from The Yuzuu Tree after saying her goodbyes to Shay. The fear had almost strangled her, to know Shay was the reason why she had been so close to returning to that world. Even now, having simply been around the girl, it felt as if a scent had tainted her. It permeated her skin, a signal fire so they would find and kill her.
Deserters deserved no less.
But she was not that person any longer. She would not mindlessly kill. Now she charged for it. However ironic the turn of events had been, it was all Kaz was good at. Her attempted quiet life after the end of the war was a ruse. Money ran out. She was no carpenter, despite her expertise in the blade; she could not cultivate life in a field; run a stall or trade. Kaz could just about shift cargo to and fro, but even work like that did not agree with her. There was some vile thing inside Kaz that always drew her toward violence. It was like an addiction of the soul. Back on the road, not in one place for too long, safely anonymous. Mercenary work was all she was good for.
Even that may be in danger now.
What if Shay told them where she was--who she was?
It would be okay. She had aians, could disappear for awhile, perhaps go south or to the surrounding smaller islands. They couldn’t reach her there.
One thing was for certain: she could no longer stay in Akimaru.
They may even be watching her now.
Kaz took a protracted route to The Resting Swallow. She would not make the same mistake as before. She doubled back, keeping her senses sharp, casing the building before eventually returning to collect the rest of her belongings and ensure the owner would never hold a room for her again. It was a task made easier when she presented the old lady with more money than her room was worth. When she had gathered her meagre possessions to ensure no physical trace of herself remained, she made to leave the inn behind, purchase a keval, and ride to another city where she could hop on a boat.
“Excuse me,” said the innkeeper just as she was about to leave.
Kaz froze. Did he want to extort more money from her?
“This just arrived for you.” He held out a rolled up piece of parchment.
She licked her lips. They would not be so blatant, would they?
Aren’t you overreacting just a little, Kaz?
After calming herself, she accepted the letter but waited until she was outside to unfurl it.
Kaz’s shoulder’s sunk and a pang of guilt assaulted her. It was from Shay. The girl was rambling, saying Kaz could still join her, that they were heading across the river to some village.
But she couldn’t relent. She screwed up the letter and tossed it into a nearby brazier outside the inn that attempted to combat the chill.
Then she was off, marching towards the lower portion of Akimaru where she could secure a keval and be rid of this place. Still cautious, Kaz stuck to back alleys and areas that offered a reprieve from the choked streets.
And it was in one of these streets that he appeared.
Kaz had cut through the back of a decrepit warehouse, in small area on the lower side of Akimaru, its original purpose as grain storage long forgotten. Now it was merely a cluster of skeletal buildings that offered no protection from the elements and had been long since picked clean of anything valuable.
He appeared as a blur atop the squat buildings’ roofs. Then he was leaping towards her, like a falcon in a dive, intending to capture its prey in one fell swoop. Kaz reacted in an instant, managing to soften the blow by launching her sack at him. Her meager belongings exploded across the sleety ground in between the warehouses.
The force of the blow sent Kaz tumbling away; she rolled into it and leapt up, sword drawn, back against a rotten wall.
The one called Denjuro was in a crouch where he’d landed. The force of impact had forged a crater in the earth and blasted the snow away. While he may not have died from that distance, he should have broken a limb or two. And he certainly shouldn’t be cackling.
Sworn.
“The master wants you to come with Kuma,” he said.
The master? Saito?
“Never,” she said, and stepped away from the wall so the mouth of the alley was behind her. She’d rather die than go with this man.
A cackle wormed past his shattered teeth. “The master said you might resist Kuma. Kuma does not mind.”
Kaz tried to steady her breathing, keeping her eyes on him but aware he may have others doing his bidding.
Then Kuma advanced and demanded her attention. First he loped along like his namesake. Despite his brittle appearance, he resilience or strength must be blessed by Mudan himself. Kuma broke from his gallop and leapt up to a exposed beam to her right before propelling himself towards her.
She kept her body still until the last second. Breathed. Skirted to the side and brought her blade up in a clean arc.
Kuma dove over it, splaying his hands out in front of him. His palms braced against the ground and she was strafing backwards in retreat when, through sheer core strength, he managed to keep his balance. A small grunt passed his lips as he pushed with his hands, launching himself towards her feet first.
It was all she could do not to take one of his bare feet in her face. Kaz allowed her knees to buckle and send him veering over her head, but not before one his flailing fists walloped her on her right side.
Pain exploded across her forearm. It was like being stuck with a blacksmith’s hammer. Though only a glancing blow, her bones and muscles would bruise. She grunted, attempting to shrug off her hurt and turn to face him.
Kuma lashed out at her, a mass of unpredictable limbs. He swiped like a bear one moment, and then was windmilling his legs the next. While Kaz occupied herself with dodging attacks, knowing she had the reach of a blade on her side, he was relentless in his pursuit.
He swiped with his right; Kaz hopped back and then lunged. His ragged clothes gained a few new holes, but she did not cut flesh.
Kuma laughed horsley and then leapt backwards. Again he sought refuge across the exposed rafters of the warehouses, jumping between beams. Kaz did her best to follow him, but he was lithe and small, so it was like tracking a deadly fly.
He jumped across the alley to the opposite building, grabbed a beam, spun and twisted along it before using his momentum. His thin body flew towards her like a javelin.
That was her opening.
Kuma was going so fast that he could not arrest his speed nor change direction. So Kaz stood her ground, held her blade, and prepared to sheer him in twain.
No more than fleshy blur, she struck.
Her blade fizzed. The ground beneath her shook. Snow pelted her face and clothes.
Kuma cackled.
She opened her eyes.
He’d stopped the blade between his palms, grinning up at her.
“She wants to make sure Kuma takes you alive, ryojin,” he said.
Kaz attempted to yank the blade free, but it was as if the katana was interred in stone. Like plucking a toy from an irritating child, Kuma snatched her sword away with one swift tug and tossed it to the side.
Her hand reached for her wakizashi. Kuma was too quick and slugged a fist into her stomach. Kaz saw stars as air vacated her lungs. The man’s skeletal hands wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the ground.
Gasping for air that would not come, her world began to darken.
“Sleep…” he whispered. “Sleep for Kuma.”
No. No. Breathe. She wouldn’t go back. Couldn’t. Kaz had
been free for so long, now the noose was tightening around her neck once more.
Then don’t let it, Kaz.
“You will tell her where the girl is,” he said. “Yes, tell Kuma. Then she will be ours…Asami will praise Kuma...”
Asami?
Her blood went cold. Retsudan’s butcher wanted her? Kaz doubted altruism was involved.
Shay’s face appeared in her mind.
“No…” Kaz croaked. She reached out with her hands and battered his arms as best she could. It was futile. Kuma was too strong. She couldn’t even reach his neck to throttle him.
Her hand slapped weakly across his face, which only caused him to laugh harder.
Her world dimmed further.
Asami. Shay. This wasn’t right. Who knew what that woman would do to her.
You know all too well, Kaz…
Oxygen starved, world turning into a mush of colour and sound, she resolved her last ounce of fading strength and placed her palm against Kuma’s laughing face. In the far reaches of her fogging mind, her bonded blade answered.
As Kaz tore her hand away, Kuma laughed no more. The vice around her neck relented and she collapsed to the snow in a choking heap.
Gulping in lungfuls of air, world spinning, head pounding, she tried to orientate herself. Kuma was on his knees; his body was juddering. Her blade jutted out of his mouth, driven straight to the hilt at the back of his skull. Blood poured out of his ruined mouth to soak into the slushy earth.
Kaz hauled herself to stand. She wandered around the back of him, put one foot on his back, grabbed her sword in both hands, and pulled. A long squelch accompanied drawing her blade, ending with Kuma prostrate on the ground, very much dead. Still gasping, she wiped off her blade before sheathing it, then began the futile attempt of gathering her scattered belongings.
Shay…
Her mind had been playing catch up in the aftermath of the fight, but the girl’s name managed to cut through her disorientation. She slung her sack over her shoulder and ran to the mouth of the alley.
Stopped.
Was she really going to do this? Follow the girl to Saito? To Asami and the others?
No no no no…
She didn’t have to see them, just stop Shay from doing so, tell her the truth. They were not to be trusted. Then she could leave. If she were quick, Kaz could reach them before they boarded their ship.
If they hadn’t already gone…
Kaz knew she should have practiced more caution in her scramble towards the docks, but she did not have that luxury. Upon reaching the curvature of land, home to dozens of ships all shapes and sizes, she knew she was too late. At the stern of one of the ships already a ways out, staring back towards Akimaru, was Shay.
Too late, Kaz.
44
Falsehoods
Shay stood at the stern of the boat, the chill, salted breeze catching her face and clinging to any morsel of exposed flesh. There were, perhaps, around fifty people aboard the relatively small, blocky ship, which had no krystallis-powered engine and was propelled by sails and oars. Most of its passengers were minor traders from across the river and workers that travelled to Akimaru each morning before returning home. Most were smart enough to head below deck and out of the cold.
Shay held on to the coarse wooden railings and squinted back at the docks, trying to pick out Kaz. That stupid, childish part inside of her still held out hope the woman would join them. In her desperation, she even believed she had seen the woman at the dock in between a mass of people and vessels.
Just your mind playing tricks, Shay. Grow up.
It was when she hung her head in defeat that Gin sidled up beside her. The kamen had kept a respectful distance from her since rushing from his safe house and to the docks. Half of her was thankful for the time allowed to stew; but the other half was irritated that he knew she was so obviously upset.
“I know you may not want to hear it,” he began, “but it’s probably for the best--for her.”
Shay didn’t respond. Didn’t want to tell him to shut up.
“She clearly has...reservations about your father.”
That got Shay’s attention. Gin reflexively held his palms up to placate her.
“I can’t tell you if that’s true or not. Only that she believes it to be.”
Her shoulders sunk. “She seemed so…”
“Scared,” Gin said with a sigh, and rested his arms on the railing as the boat rocked on the timid waves.
The journey across the river was not a long one, and they would be there within the hour it seemed. Already she could make out the lights and vague outlines of the buildings. The village did not seem large by any means.
“But…” Gin looked around. “I’ll be truthful with you. I did not mean to eavesdrop but I did hear a little of what you spoke to the ryojin about.”
Bastard. Her cheeks heated. “That was private.”
“My apologies, but information is what I thrive on and I can’t trust just anyone. If it makes you feel better, it was why I’m helping you.”
“You...you--”
Gin waved her protests out of the air and took her by the shoulders. “That ryojin. Kaz. She claimed to have been one of Retsudan’s sworn. It was a lie.”
Shay’s legs became unsteady; it could have been the boat, but she knew that was a lie. “What...I…”
“There was a warrior whose skills are awfully similar to Kaz, but she was a couple of heads taller than I, and, by all accounts, had rather distinctive scars across her face and person. Plus, her, erm, assets were known.”
Shay felt sick. “Are you saying Kaz is lying?”
“I believe that she believes it’s true.” He put his hands on his hips. “Could there be a sworn out there that can somehow warp what people look like? Maybe. Do I think that’s what happened? No. The simplest explanation is that she’s lying; or, as I said, thinks it’s truth.”
“How would that even happen?”
“I don’t know. The point I’m trying to make is that she appears to be a troubled woman. I know you wanted her to accompany you, but you have to think of her position in all of this.”
“I didn’t...urgh.” Shay folded her arms.
“There are some people in this life you think you know. You trust them. And then, one day...they’re simply...gone.” His hands tightened around the boat’s wooden railing.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion on anything.” She stormed off below decks, wanting to be rid of him. Were all kamen so nosy, thinking they knew everything? Well, if they sat in the shadows listening to every word uttered then of course they’d believe they were omnipotent.
Her temper matched the cloying heat and musk that encapsulated Shay when she’d clomped down the wooden steps. The space valued function over form, being little more than plain benches attached to the floor, where people huddled. Some chatted, some stared at the floor, one threw up into a bucket in the corner. Lamps swung from the rafters and small, covered braziers filled with hot coals offered warmth.
No one paid Shay any mind as she muscled past people to plonk herself at the furthest end of the space, hopefully out of sight of Gin and his “insights”. The boat rocked gently, reminding her that she was tired and hungry and would happily fall asleep if her head wasn’t such a mess.
Was Kaz lying to her? Part of Shay wanted it to be true because it meant what she claimed about her father was false. But the conviction in her words was no fabrication. It was the only time Shay had seen her scared. She never got scared...It seemed when the shogens created Kaz they left that part out. Maybe she was just troubled. After the war, the mental ramifications of those in and out of battle were profound; Shay had seen grown men cry in her village and women drink their sorrows away…
Is that what Kaz suffered through?
“Brrrgh,” proclaimed a voice as they sat down next Shay. “I’m freezing my tits off out there.”
Shay’s eyes widened at the bundle of furs huddled next to her.
It was girl under a mountain of striped swaddling. She wore a hat crafted from the pelt of some woodland animal, and she was busy rubbing her mitten-clad hands together. Her face looked tanned and healthy, high cheekbones, small mouth, with big eyes. Shay could just make out strands of black hair under her hat. If she had to guess, Shay reckoned the girl had a few years on her.
Shay drummed her fingers on her knees and chanced a glance at the girl. She felt obligated to respond.
“You are, er, going home?” Shay asked.
The girl rocked her head from side to side. “Sort of.” She pointed towards one of the benches further along where a man was similarly wrapped in furs, huddled by one of the braziers. “I’m here with my cousin--we’re traders.” The girl shuffled around on the bench and proffered Shay a quick bow. “I’m Hachiko.”
Shay returned the bow, a little timidly. “Shay.”
“So, Shay, as I was saying, we came all the way from the south. Thank Juzo--my cousin. He managed to convince me that there’s money to be made trading up here, but the only thing I’ve found so far is frostbite. Shogens I never knew how cold it gets in Zenitia.”
Shay smiled. “Yes, I wasn’t prepared for it, either.”
“I saw some of the girls walking around Akimaru with nothing on their legs!” Hachiko let out a sigh. “I don’t know how they do it.”
“What do you trade in?” Shay asked, hunching forward a little.
“Spices from the south mostly.” She pointed to a large, oblong case that was secured in a net across the back wall, along with other people’s belongings. “It’s easy enough to transport, and because they’re high quality, you don’t need much.” Hachiko leaned in conspiratorially. “I don’t know if you’ve tried the food around here but it’s quite…”
“Unique?” Shay offered.
“I was going to say bland and shit, but I guess what you said is true enough.”
“To be honest, I’ve not tried a lot.”
Hachiko frowned. “You do look a little thin, but you’ve got to eat.”
