Chapter 512:
Shift
In the distance, I heard more voices shouting or screaming masking up my ability to tell if there was another person in the room as I suspected. I never knew what the plan was, but the most logical was killing the family. Perhaps it was naïve, but I didn’t imagine them killing Aya, maybe because she was a child still or the ruler of this world. I just figured she had plot armor as they called it. But the smartest play would be to kill everyone, then there was no chance of threats coming back.
But that wasn’t something that I could allow. She had to survive, my stubbornness wouldn’t let them kill her. My hand reached back for my concealed blade. ‘Not exactly a warrior in this world or anywhere else. I’m not going to be able to do much…’ It’s only made worse knowing that these were skilled assassins. What sort of chance did I stand against one?
It was too late for me to act once I heard the movement. Even being too slow, I tried to move to intercept, but in the darkness I was looking for shadows painted on black. I heard a wet slip, a hauntingly familiar sound that I knew. “Aya?!” I called out, needing to know what happened. In this blackness I didn’t assume it was immediately her.
“I-I’m fine,” Aya replied, sounding clearly shaken in a way that I had never heard before. It was quite a foreign sound to hear her lacking confidence and even frightened. Though also completely understandable to be feeling that way. I normally would be as well if I hadn’t lived through the ordeal in Atlantis.
Keeping the blade pressed up against my forearm, I wanted defense rather than offense. There was little chance I could do anything meaningful with my eyes adjusting still. Slowly sliding my feet over the mat, I worked my way over to where Aya should be, though she might have moved when the lights went out. “Was it you?”
“N-no, b-but they’re at my feet…dead…”
‘So there’s another in the room… someone that Nerine sent to protect us?’ Seeing the way she worked, I had to give a little bit of praise to the impressive way that she could manage people and put together a force to be feared. I didn’t know why she’s so good at it, but at this point I was glad for that to be the case. “The wind is like ribbons…” I began the pass code as a test that we set up for these sorts of scenarios.
“Wrapping like snares.” They checked out.
“Shinozaki sent you?”
“Yes, young master.”
“What’s the situation?”
“They got to the head of the Izumi Clan before we could stop them. She’s the only survivor.”
“Dammit!” My hand clinched tightly on the hilt of the short sword. The worst case scenario happened that still included Aya surviving. Judging from the way she acted, she knew nothing about this and wasn’t prepared at all. For being so intelligent, she lacked the cruelty of the world crushing down upon her. Nothing about it was pleasant and normally I would have liked to have enjoyed the moment of her in weakness and suffering, that wasn’t something I could afford with the attack still on. “We need to escape. Take us to a safe house.”
Chapter 512 – Black Stains
Night passed on into dawn leaving behind the bloody mess my parents caused. I didn’t know the effect it had at the moment and could only guess with the collapse of the Izumi Clan that the balance of power quickly started being redrawn, certainly in their annoyingly greedy favor. They very likely ruined any chance I had at fairly crushing her.
I looked over at her sleeping on the sheet covering a coarse cushion of thatching. A long day for her and one that left me with a strange feeling. I couldn’t feel the rage and anger towards her, not that I would act on it. Vulnerable as she was, there was no worth it in such a victory. It all felt hollow.
Strangely, I found myself in the middle of the night thinking about ways that she could salvage her Clan. As a survivor, she would be able to still claim rights as the only heir, though being a woman complicated it in these times. Her wit had propelled her as far as she had come with her gender being ignored. The reputation and favor she already earned would be enough.
Because she lived, that should be enough to pull things together from the brink. Aya had enough intelligence that this should largely just be a slight inconvenience rather than a massive setback, like it would be for someone else. Though managing the clan and those that served was a different story. She had such a commanding presence, I doubt that it would trouble her. She could order them around with ease.
I wasn’t even sure why I care so much now. My mind kept searching for what she could do to get back into the game. I should be pleased to see her broken. It was what I wanted after all. But it wasn’t something that I could enjoy.
It had to be me after all. I was certain.
A stirring nearby told me that she started to return to the living. Once she opened her eyes and looked over at me, I greeted her, “Morning.”
Aya looked around, clearly having forgotten a lot of what happened the night before. No surprise with everything that happened. Her mind probably still tried to process the pain. For as calculating and clever as she was, it was a bit of relief to know that she still was a child and human in the end.
“This isn’t my room…”
“No. We fled from them.”
“…Them…r-right…” Her hand pressed up against her face with wrinkles of pain surrounding her eyes. What had been hazy for her seemed to start coming back. We didn’t even go look for her parents, though she wasn’t exactly in the right state. I could only make the call to escape. Lingering put all of us in danger. In time, she’d understand that.
This was the first time she had to properly absorb what happened. It shook her and paralyzed all her functions before in a way that she didn’t anticipate. She didn’t have the same calm and rational head. Knowing that she could be human gave me some belief that I could still beat her one day.
Though she was shaking and in tears knowing that her parents were dead and she remained alone. I didn’t have anything I could offer her. I merely sat down on the floor and waited letting things run their course.
Near noon, I could see that she stopped sobbing, but curled up into a ball. It was hard to tell if she was just focusing or still feeling the emotional weight. Aya just sat there on the bedding no longer moving and her eyes set to the distance between me and the horizon.
At that time though, one of Nerine’s spies showed up with some supplies. I stood up and stepped outside to get some more details. I hadn’t left the hut since we arrived, so I had little clue to the outdoors beyond that it was not in the city anymore. At least from the direction I faced, away from the town, due to seeing the reliable mountains as a directional marker, I couldn’t tell how far away we were. If needed though I think I could make it back.
“What’s the fallout?”
“Little is happening right now, it’s still early. Lord Komagata has heard the news, but made no official statement. At least right now, there’s nothing found to point back to the Hirohata Clan.”
“You found the clues. So it’s likely others will. Though even knowing that, unless Aya tries anything I doubt anyone will care about it. Life goes on.” A twisted and cruel world, this game of cutthroat politics wasn’t suited to the one they dropped all of these kids into. You had to be like Aya calculating, to survive, but even she had her weaknesses, ones she probably didn’t even know.
“When will you be returning, young master? Lord Hirohata is looking for you.”
“I’m not sure. But it won’t be long. Keep attention away from me until I return.”
“Yes, young master.” The spy returned to the cart and started pushing it back into the dirt road. I looked around at the open field before going back inside. Inside the packed bundle of food I pulled out a rice ball and started to nibble on it making it last longer. I offered up to my silent partner who didn’t acknowledge me.
It felt like a mirror of different material.
By the time the sun disappeared from the window I was able to get her to eat something, though responsiveness remained out of my reach. It hit her harder than I believed. Not sure why I continued to repeat my surprise, but I guess I still had trouble. This was the same girl that acted beyond her age in every situation I’d seen in her before.
Death couldn’t really be practiced in a literary sense, but experienced. So it did make sense and they were people she likely loved. There was finality to what happened and maybe not even seeing them dead only made it worse, preventing a way to find resolution.
If this continued, I was going to have to figure out a new plan. It wasn’t like she could come back with me. My parents would likely find the soonest opportunity to have her killed. Even if that didn’t happen, I’d be lectured at minimum and likely something more severe for bringing home basically the enemy in their eyes. Aya’s original solution started to feel like a better one considering the people I was dealing with. But I had nothing arranged for such a thing.
I needed a plan.
The next day I leaned against the wall looking out the window. There had been no threats so far and my paranoia about that started to fade. They would be interested in Aya rather than me, but they seemed to have given up on her or continued to search, unable to find her. ‘I should be getting back soon. Just need to do something about her…’
Behind me, I heard the shuffling of dried thatch as Aya moved. She hadn’t left the ball that she created yesterday, for as long as I remained awake. It seemed that she finally returned to reality, though in what state remained my question. I looked back at her, the teenage girl stood about two meters behind me with a focused stare. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” A very concise answer, though also vague, since I didn’t know what she defined as better.
“Things have calmed down. So it should be good to leave soon.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Keeping an eye on you.” She clearly had more focus and attention. My answers were being processed by her as I could see her mind turning on it. Though I still didn’t know if she was all there. “You should probably lay low for a while. If they find you…”
“I know. I’ll just have to see that they’re dead before me.” Her voice turned disturbingly lethal suddenly as I felt her focus build into resolve. Is this what she was thinking about yesterday? What did that mean for me or even my parents? Would I be facing her in a final confrontation right now?
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