The Hand of Death Ch. 20

I looked at him. He looked pretty serious. "What is it that concerns you?"

"When we were traveling back, all of us had seen it at one time or another..."

"What?"

"A white kitsune. I would see it lying next to you with its head on your chest and when I looked again it was gone."

"...It was probably just a trick of the eye."

He looked at me. "Tricks of the eye are usually black and without a specific shape." I really didn't know what to tell him. "What was it?" he looked at me. "Really?"

I sighed a little. "I met a Myobu once. She apparently felt like checking on me."

"How did you get her to like you?"

I shrugged as best I could. "I kidnapped a child she cared about."

He was a little surprised. "No wonder the Myobu do not like me."

I had been about to swallow my tea when the sudden laughter caused me to spit a mouthful onto my leg. He was apologizing as he helped clean me up. Once he had gone and collected another kimono for me, I asked him to give me some time alone. I changed clothes and sat back down with my left leg sticking out in front of me. It was still too sore to sit properly. After he had been gone for a few moments and no one was around I said, "Myobu Ainu? Are you still here?"

She slowly appeared sitting in front of me. "Hiro san." She smiled.

She was still incredibly beautiful. I remembered our first meeting in the woods and started to look away.

She laughed. "No tricks this time. I promise."

"Domo arigato. How have you been?"

She thought on that a moment. She had a cute habit of moving her head from one side to the other when she was thinking. "I have been better." I didn't expect that from a Myobu. "Seeing you this hurt has bothered me for a long time."

"I do not understand why you care."

She thought a little. "You honored our agreement." Apparently I had a look of unbelief on my face. "Alright. The cub liked you. You played with him and he enjoyed your company. OK?"

I smiled. "How is he doing?"

It was her turn to smile. "Very well. His father keeps him in the capital now."

"Always a good decision."

"And he is enjoying the city. He still talks about you."

"You should educate him about what I am."

She shook her head. "He knows. His father told him. Makes no difference to the cub. I would ask how you have been but..."

"About as bad as can be expected." She nodded with a smile. "I need you to tell me something."

She looked a little worried. "...What is it?"

"How did that archer kill her in one shot and not get a single arrow off at me before I went crazy?" She started to look elsewhere like she didn't want to make eye contact. "Ainu?"

"...I am not sure any of this will help, Hiro."

I nodded. "I could not get any lower."

"You are about to, Hiro san..." I motioned for her to tell me. She took a deep breath. "The arrow that killed Ketsumempo, was meant for her."

"...That is logical. She was obviously an onmyoji."

She shook her head. "No. The archer killed her because he knew you loved her. He knew you would go crazy... He knew it would hurt you."

I sat forward a little. "Who is he?" She shook her head a little. "Who?!"

"I do not know. Every time I try to see him I get nothing but a vague image... of a spear

wielding oni..."

I sat back. "Is the archer a demon?"

"No. He is protected by some base magic I cannot seem to pierce. When I try to see him..." She looked off at the wall and seemed to be reaching for something she couldn't quite get. "Nothing. I get nothing, Hiro san."

"Masao?"

She shook her head confidently. "No. I do not know what game he is playing but he did not do this. That much I can see clearly."

"Do you know what House he is from?"

"He has no House. Just the Oni and I am not sure what that means."

I nodded. "What else do you know?"

She made an odd face and shook her head. "Nothing." She smiled.

I looked at her intently. "Tell me."

"Hiro, it will hurt." She actually whined a little.

"Tell - it."

She looked down at her hands in her lap. "She was pregnant with your daughter..." I fell back the few inches to the wall and slumped there. Ainu had been right. I was lower. "You would have named her Ai-Akiko after your mothers."

I shook my head. "...I am beaten. I have an enemy to destroy and I can do nothing about it because I am mangled. Completely."

She raised her head and gave a quick nod. "Then it is time I did something about that."

She leaned forward and put her hands on my ankle. I felt an odd warmth. She paused there a moment and then slid her hands under my kimono up my bare leg. Normally, a beautiful woman doing this would have been extremely erotic, but the warmth was different. My leg was feeling good and the warmth wasn't like what I had with Ketsumempo. It was more like when you mother hugged you goodnight when you were little. She slid her hands across my wounds and everywhere she did, the pain and soreness left. She made her way up my neck and removed the bandage over my eye, slowly caressing my ravaged face. She ended by kissing me on the forehead. When she leaned back I looked at her and realized I could see out of my left eye again.

I said, as I touched my face, "Arigato gozaimasu, Ainu gozen." She smiled when I referred to her as princess.

My face was smooth again and I could tell by my arms and chest all that was left of the damage were faint scars. After a few moments of wonder, she stood and extended her hand to me.

"Come Hiro. We have much to do."

I took her hand and stood up. When I flexed my leg and arm there were a few pops but they quickly began working properly.

"Where are we going?"

"It is a surprise. You will hate it I am sure." She smiled.

Then everything went kind of blurry for a moment and when it cleared we were in the woods. She let go of my hand.

"What do you think?"

I looked around. "How much time has passed?"

She made a face. "Just a few moments."

"So, why is it you did not use that method the last time."

"You were a kidnapping murderer who tricked me out of my ball," she answered pleasantly. "Now, what do you think?"

I looked around some more. "It is quiet and peaceful. No one is watching us. I see several good places to hide until Amaterasu goes to sleep."

She looked at me. "This is why I have not had many Koga friends."

"Well, if I were an artist, I would paint the beauty of this scene. If I were a poet, I would write a poem about the grace of the foliage. But I am a Koga, and all I see is a good place to hide on my way TO KILL SHIT!"

She started walking away so I had to follow. "Tell me about Ketsumempo?" she asked lightly.

"She was a girl."

"What did you think when you first saw her?'

I retold all the things I could remember from my history with her as we strolled through the woods. She would prod me with another question whenever I faltered, but slowly she started getting all that I remembered of her. I was just telling her about how I flubbed dinner the time she came out and had blossomed, when we stepped onto a road and Ainu stopped.

To our right, a short distance, was a village. "Where are we?" I asked.

"I believe they call it 'Ninja's Grace."

"Never heard of it." I continued to cross the road. I heard her sigh and catch up to me.

"Where were we?" she asked.

I continued where I had left off. I am really good at navigating across land. You have to be in my line of work. So I know we didn't turn left or turn right by accident. There was no mysterious wind or odd blurry moment. I didn't look at her and she dazed me into a trance. None of that. I was just telling her about the first time Ketsumempo kissed me when I stepped onto a road. I looked to my right. Same village.

"I am not going in there."

"I really think you should."

And I continued to cross the road. I heard her make some kind exasperated sound and she

caught up to me again.

"Where were we?" she asked.

And I continued where I had left off. Same as before. I was just at the part where I rolled

Ketsumempo over and saw that she was gone, when I stepped onto a road.

"I am not going in there!"

"You! - really! - need! - to!"

"Unless there is a giant spider attacking those people I do not want to see them!"

"We can do this all day Hiro. If we stay here long enough I can get my fifth tail." She smiled.

I looked at the town. It was very busy with people moving everywhere and there were

decorations hanging and lanterns waiting to be lit. I could hear music as well and smell food cooking.

"I do not remember it being this big."

"Oh they have had a lot of growth since the attack."

We started walking towards the town. "What is going on?"

"Ah, today is the anniversary of the naming of the town. Last night would have been the attack but today marks the time when everyone returned to find the Yoriki and the Doshin still alive."

"No. It was a Doshin and a Komono. There was no Yoriki that night."

"No. There is now. When the Honshu Daimyo heard the story he came personally to promote the Doshin and give a daisho to the Komono. They still live here."

We walked on into the town. There was a large tori arch over the road as you entered. I could see the fangs of the Jorogumo mounted to it and a large Buddhist bell hanging between them. As we entered,

"DONG!""DONG!""DONG!""DONG!""DONG!""DONG!""DONG!""DONG!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at us. They seemed stunned.

"What did you get me into?"

She slowly stepped out of arms reach. "Sooo the most powerful Onmyoji in the Honshu may have come here and blessed the tori arch, so that if any of the eight ninja should ever return it would chime. Eight times."

"Why is no one looking at you then?"

"Because I am not wearing a ninja's hood." I looked at her. "He added that as well... In case two people walked through at the same time." She smiled.

Everything had stopped in the village. The people and I just stared at each other for a few

moments. Eventually I started to walk farther into the town. Then, the people started to approach. They were very quiet but when they got close they bowed and put their heads on the ground. To be fair, I guess I would have done the same in their place. I was standing there in a black Shotoku Kimono wearing a Ninja mask and a triple bladed daisho.

As I kept walking I said, "No. No. Rise Honshu."

They did but they stayed a respectful distance away. Very soon I saw a Yoriki and a Doshin approaching. They had been speaking to their men but they waved the others to stay where they were. They bowed in the same very respectful manner as everyone else once they were close. I returned it of course.

"Rise my friends."

The Yoriki said with a small smile, "Domo arigato for returning, Shotoku sama."

"Do itashimashite, Maebashi san."

"May I ask, what has made you return today, Shotoku sama?" asked the Doshin.

I looked around for Ainu but she was no longer standing next to me. I caught a glimpse of a white fox sitting on one of the far rooftops.

I looked back at them and said, "A friend told me about your festival and thought I should see it." They nodded happily. I looked at the Yoriki. "The last time I saw you, you were on your knees praying. Domo arigato, I assume?"

He smiled. "Would you have done differently in my place?"

I laughed. "I did the same on my way into the woods."

We spoke for a few more moments. I congratulated them both on being promoted and expressed how much they deserved it. We eventually walked farther into the village. The people seemed to relax more the longer I was there. A ninja is a frightening thing to normal people. Even one that has saved your village. Eventually the Doshin let slip who was visiting.

"The Honshu Daimyo, Utsunomiya Yamamaya is here, as well as several of our lords. He will want to meet you."

"Wow. What is he doing here?"

The Doshin shrugged. "The festival is a big event for us. It is not often another House risks themselves for our people."

I nodded. The Doshin must have caught a glimpse of the runner before telling me this because as I looked up I could see a Honshu Courtier coming towards us with that, "I'm on official business" look to his step. As he approached he said, "Shotoku sama, domo arigato for visiting our village again. Daimyo Yamamaya would very much like to meet you and give his thanks personally, if you would follow me?"

"Yamamaya sama is a great man. It would be my honor to be introduced to him, Kofu san."

He smiled. "And would it be acceptable if I had your name, my lord?"

"No."

"Very well, Shotoku sama." He smiled and led the way.

I touched my two friends on the shoulders and motioned for them to come along. It was not every day they got to meet their House Daimyo and I wanted to make sure they got the chance.

The courtier led us to a large gazebo at the end of the street. The street I noticed was much wider and longer than the little village we fought in that night. The food for the celebration was deep fried spiders with salt and spices. They smelled fantastic! But I would have to wait until after introductions were made. The lords saw us coming and you could see the pure curiosity in their eyes as they saw me approaching with my friends. The courtier bowed and introduced us.

"My Daimyo, I present to you, Yoriki Magome, Doshin Maebashi and of course one of the eight saviors of this village, Shotoku sama."

We bowed as we were introduced and Yamamaya returned each one with a somber smile. He was a large man in his forties and physically intimidating. He looked at me for a few moments and said, "Am I to just call you Shotoku then?"

"Yamamaya sama, a man of your station may call me whatever he wishes."

A few of them laughed at that. To his right a distance I saw a familiar face. Kokujin

Utsunomiya Nobu, lord of Honshu-ko. He was eying me as if he suspected.

The Honshu continued, "Will you join us, Shotoku san? I have so many questions."

"Of course my lord. May my friends come with me? They are the two that deserve the most honor for their actions."

He looked at them and smiled, "There are very few men in this world that I admire, but Aoi and Jirou are two of them."

He motioned for us to join him. We bowed and accepted. He wasn't lying, they all had many questions. I gave them a not too exact explanation of what happened that night and how we came to be there. I gave the story of what we did and why.

I asked, "What did happen to the man that came and begged us to help?"

Yoriki Aoi replied, "What man?"

"There was a man in torn clothing that begged us to help. He was the only reason we came. He was gone by the time we got back so we just assumed he came back to the village."

Doshin Jirou shook his head, "No one entered the village after you left until the morning,

Shotoku sama."

"And the side you came from lies between the village and the Jorogumo's lake. No one would have run that way for fear of any children she had." said Yoriki Aoi.

After a few moments of dead silence Yamamaya said, "Maybe the story is true, Shotoku san. The spirit of the woods sent eight ninja to save the town?.."

...So the conversation eventually picked back up to less surreal topics. Soon there were

performers taking to the streets with various acts to entertain and many of the lords and courtiers went to enjoy themselves. While on my way to the acrobats Nobu approached me.

"You remind me of someone, Shotoku sama."

I looked at him. "We Koga are trained to act the same, Nobu sama."

"You sound like him as well."

"I am sure it is the mask. It has that effect on the voice." I smiled.

He nodded. "And I was never introduced to you, so I am not sure how you knew my name."

"...I call everyone "Nobu sama," Nobu sama." He still looked dour but I could tell he was

fighting not to laugh. "How is Honshu-ko?"

He smiled and nodded. "It is good. We have had several attacks from the chasm but so far we have held. I should not admit this but I worry a little."

"Why so?"

He thought a moment. "I have all of the mononofu we can spare and many peasants to support them. My Daimyo has been very supportive but our clashes have been too close for my taste."

"You would prefer more samurai to be safe."

"Very much so. I have tried recruiting ronin and have had some success with the people of Morijunin being just a few days to the south, but..."

I thought a moment. "I know the Honshu are not fond of arming peasants, but if I were in your position, I would draft every heimin and hinin you had into ashigaru." Those are armed and armored peasants.

He grimaced a little. "That is generally frowned upon. I doubt I would stay my Daimyo's

favorite after that."

"What I know is that in Giapan, the victor gets the honor. If you lose the fight for the chasm, you will lose your honor."

He nodded. "What if it is just my fear making me act like an old woman?"

"Then you will still have the best trained and motivated military force in the Honshu. Your peasants will look forward to battle because they may distinguish themselves and be awarded a daisho... Think of what that means to an eta..." He grimaced again and I laughed a little. "It may make you uncomfortable to think of it but I know a strong dedicated man can accomplish a lot on the battlefield."

We discussed it for a long time and when the other lords, his Daimyo included, came by they would offer their own opinion. The discussion was exactly what I needed. My idea was not their favorite choice but it prompted them to think about their options and led to a good lively conversation. I finally got my hands on several of the fried spiders. They were exceptional with sake. Night had fallen and the party was still going when I saw Ainu waiting for me near the exit from town. I was sad but I had to go.

"My friends, this day has lifted my spirits more than you can know. I am truly grateful to have met each of you, but I am afraid it is time for me to leave."

The Honshu were sad to see me depart as well but they understood. A Shinobi can easily overstay his welcome. It had been a great day though.

"Did you have fun, Hiro san?'

"You were right. I had a wonderful time."

She smiled. Things went a little blurry again and I was back on my porch. I could hear my men sitting on the front porch just around the corner. They were discussing where they thought I might be but they didn't sound too worried yet. Myobu Ainu was gone.

"Domo arigato, Ainu sama." I whispered.

I sighed a little and prepared myself for all of the questions I knew would follow as I walked around the corner to my friends. They had many questions. Not least of which was about my eye, though they were most pleased at how renewed I seemed.