三

… It was dawn when the Shinzou stronghold finally appeared to our eyes.
Lord Shigeo's�"Shigeo's, as he had requested me to call him, although it kindled a small reprobation, for this way of calling even him seemed too intimate for me, whom men covertly disgusted�"mare jogged supinely, while my perpetually warranted Kurori ran with disinclination shown quite clearly in her tensed back. My back and legs ached from the strain. With a smile full of sardonic feelings as well as possible compassion, he straightened and indicated the correct posture on a horse. I chuckled lightly and copied him, the shift bringing relief to my muscles. I laughed together with him, but my drifting escaped his attention. After the Takahashi castle, I could not bear to be too comfortable around men, even though it had been months since manumission. As a shinobi, I could supress the feeling, and it brought great relief to me.

We were greeted quite warmly by Shinzou. They allowed us bath and a small amount of time before meeting, which I attended with quiet dignity behind an obedient mask of Shigeo's new helper. Lord Shinzou eyed me with flustered disapproval. In Iga clan, women were considered almost as worthy as men, but everywhere else in the Three Countries, women were not kindly received, to say the least. The prevalent rough patois here stupefied me, adding to Lord Shinzou's suspicions, although I had studied the manner of speech here. On the other hand, Shigeo was unbelievably fluent as he joined into the badinage mixed with seriousness of concordat. Despite myself, the grudging respect for him surfaced deep within. The irrepressible shaking of my shoulders unmasked by flexible clothes of the shinobi, I chuckled whilst looking down, for the lord's slight build end deep, thundering voice entertained me to no end.

"Master Shigeo, forgive me for asking you such an unimportant question, but who is your cheerful companion?" Lord Shinzou's sarcastic tone drew my attention, much like a fisherman hauling his net, blistering and sweating with effort.

Shigeo replied smoothly, amusement in the edge of his flowing voice, "This little thing? Kaori, my lord. Please excuse her rudeness�"she is new to our customs, and graduated only a couple of months ago."

"An oriental girl, correct?" Lord Shinzou grunted his approval. "The people of the East never fail me. Look after my daughter. Lady Karin is waiting for you in her chamber."

Karin. Pure.

He formally dismissed us. Shigeo and I left after yet another bow and a polite speech. I made sure we were within my hearing distance, and out of Lord Shinzou's ears' reach to erupt with volcanic laughter I had been holding back throughout the meeting. A small, satisfied smirk on his face was the signal for me to stop. Shigeo ruffled my hair, the physical contact delivering a small shock to my body. With a flinch, I immediately withdrew.

We followed our guide to Lady Karin's apartments, when Shigeo muttered with a whisper so quiet, only ones such as us could hear it, "As I said, seeing lord Shinzou truly costs your time."

Indeed, the reminder sent a smile to my eyes yet again. The rest of the way we walked in total silence, not one of us wishing to break the comfortable mood. Or, perhaps, Shigeo just was not the type for a small talk. Every now and then, I stole small glances at him, his calm, honey-skinned face, and the clever, cool dark eyes, until our gases met and hanged in an embarrassing weight of mortification. I hurriedly looked away, fighting the blush of being spotted on my face. He raised his brows with a smile that increased my humiliation, although I tried my hardest to appear insulted with his smirks. Thankfully, we were standing in front of the beige sliding door before long, saving me anymore unsolicited feelings.

A lone shadow practiced with a sword, long, straight hair tied back, every move emphasized on the door. I scrutinized with professional criticism, seeing the clumsiness in her movements and the awkwardness in her small, graceful steps. She was a woman, not a warrior, her breaths shallow and rapid as a bird's as she fought the strain in her trembling hands. I felt Shigeo's stare and smiled, not looking up. He was assessing her, too.

With a flick of his hand, he dismissed the guide, whose confused face turned into apologetic one whilst noticing my look. Shigeo opened the door and came first. I waited until he bowed and motioned me to follow his lead. Frowning, I prostrated myself on the floor, feeling ashamed, for he only lowered his head in a polite greeting, whereas I, a daughter of a lord, a qualified shinobi, had to obediently bend so near to the ground to another lord's daughter.

Lady Karin's low arc calmed me, her wide, caramel eyes full of gentle understanding. She had taken a notice of my glare. Despite my first impression, I took a liking to the girl, who was barely a senior in age to me. She drank our appearance, characters, and manners immediately, her presence familiar and unperturbed, like Noemi's. Shigeo's astonished look and a small smile were reflected by Lady Karin's own red lips. Even though she had been practicing, several beads of sweat hanging above her brows and her cheeks flushed, the girl was quite lovely.
Tilting my head sideways, I paralleled our statures and assumed I was taller than Lady Karin. She looked gently at Shigeo, her shyness matching the kind nature, then faced me, her face alight with pleased surprise.

"Are you a girl?" she said, her eyes twinkling.

"Yes."

Lady Karin beamed softly, obviously satisfied. "I see. Forgive my bluntness�"your clan is a master of disguises, after all. It is auspicious that someone as young as you, and a girl, too, is already knowledgeable. I would be an incubus on a battlefield."

I was mistaken. Lady Karin was not shy at all. Judging by her feminine yet confident speech, she was brought up freely, obviously treasured by her family who considered her precious. Lady Karin's sureness and frankness screamed her amiability to everyone. I envied her a bit. It must feel wonderful to be cherished.

"No, lady," Shigeo said respectfully, so close to factual courtesy, she did not notice the sarcasm in it. "You are very skilful indeed."

I was about to ask whether he truly thought that, when he placed his hand on my shoulder, the touch effectively freezing my insides and blazing my mind in terror. This time, it was not an incident�"he knew about my fear, and he used it to make me supine to his decisions. Fighting my distress, I let this knowledge reside in me�"who knew when it would come in handy, using terror of others. Noemi told me often about this, but it was the first time I had actually experienced it. After several seconds, I did not mind the warmth of his hand.

"Kaori," Lady Karin said, hurling a long pole at me. I caught it with my hand, instinctively collecting my limbs in the fighting position. "Let us practice. It is my desire to see your capability of protecting me."

Shifting, I nodded and let her lunge at me, for she had no obvious experiment and lacked skills I possessed, especially those of the Iga. Her blows were foreseen by me long before Lady Karin executed them. My style muddled her with its novelty; after all, Noemi and I spent many years on developing it as unique as it could possibly be; there were many other water shinobi. It was created using martial arts and swiftness much more than handling of a weapon, since there often would be a time when I was bare-handed and weak. My speed, reflexes, and strength were all moulded into the fine style of river�"persistent, eternal and flexible.

Lady Karin thrust her pole in my face, knowing I would evade it effortlessly, and immediately put the pole beside my feet in hopes of tripping me. However, she was too hasty, and the brunt pole was far from me when it meandered. With a trifling flick of my wrist, I hit it carefully out of the girl's hands and caught the wooden stick with my left, leaving Lady Karin clasping her bruised palm. She laughed softly and blew at her hand, entirely tolerant to her loss. I looked around, searching for any danger to her property, but everything remained in order and the scratch on her palm was remediable.

Slow claps diverted my focus as I turned to face Shigeo's amused face. Withstanding the wish to laugh, I huffed and looked back at Lady Karin as her pain gradually subsided.

"I apologise for getting you hurt." My voice was a flat monotone, as required of a shinobi, but her smile was genuine as ever.

Sighing, she responded, "It was my fault for ever challenging you. I should have known I am a bad fighter."

"You are not, Lady Karin," Shigeo said, charmed as I was by her leniency His cold eyes reminded me about his nature, and I realised it was a play. "I can teach you, if you wish."

The girl replied, her cheeks slightly dusted with pink. "I would love to be your student." She paused for a moment. "Please call me Karin."

 

 

"Why can't we tell her?" Noemi inquired from her minion. She raised her eyes to the dark night sky, her mind full of possibilities of what her pupil was doing now. Descending rain did nothing to disassemble her fretful worry if not intensify it with its extraneous sounds. Kaori could be cold, wet, starving now, and she could do nothing to help her distant niece despite her numerous skills. The thought of her little girl in trouble killed Noemi, although Kaori tended to avoid her or address the previous comrade with cold graciousness.

The black-haired man passed a bottle of rice wine to Noemi, his actions familiar and heartening in their own reassuring way. With an exasperated sign, she allowed him to pour the liquid fire in her cup. He then placed his own to the lips, hiding a small smile as he drank, feeling warmth spread to his chilled bones.

"Are you ready to tell her about Shigeo? His three bloods can repel her." The man's deep voice resonated across the space between their bodies. Noemi longed to feel his heat and touch on her skin, but she needed cool head to reason for this moment, for she distinguished the border between want and need well. Her desire was a need too, right now, she considered with a small cordiality in her heart.

"It won't. You do not know her as well as I do, Kagenaka."

"What about our warring clans? Your betrayal? She is still unaware of being an important piece in the game."

"Kaori knows she is a pawn. She is clever," Noemi protested.

Kagenaka countered calmly, "There are many pawns in our game. We should know- we were the ones who originally set this all." After another sip of the wine, he continued, "Besides, I don't think they would be happy to know their birth and fates were planned."

"Trust me; Shigeo is fully aware of his role." Noemi added bitterly, "He strayed from it."
After a small pause, the man drew her to him, the warm weight of his arm bringing her comfort as always. Her head rested on his strong shoulder. "We do what is the best for our clan. Remember it, Noemi, if you want to live."

She met Kagenaka's eyes, her look probing him. "Would you follow Iga's orders if they told you to get rid of me?"

"What do you think?" he answered with a smile whilst his hand crept voluptuously across her skin. The night became their cover for the many things that were prohibited since birth amongst the members of the Iga clan.

 

 

Days did not bring much entertainment to me. During day, Shigeo would tell Karin of war art, leaving me alone and slightly lonely albeit he spent his nights with me. In here, he was my only friend. But at nightfall everything changed. Karin would fall asleep behind the sliding doors, either Shigeo guarding her slumber for several hours before the shift, or me. However, we would always stay together�"if it was I that stood by the doors, Shigeo would come and sit beside me, never once speaking. And I would always join his watch, trying to talk but always limited to short, curt phrases.

Rain was hard and merciless, raging for the lack of our presence, but we were far from the outside and the absence of stiffness that came with slick heat raised my spirits. Rich golden pictures on the screens glowed with delicate beauty, speaking of thoughtful feminine design and not of cruel power of lords. A moth sat to rest on the wall, its shadow distended by the flickering light of the candle, splitting my attention. We leapt to our feet.

The intruder was clothed in dark blue clothes akin to ours to hide in night. A hiss of steel and a flash of the blade screeched in the silence of the hall. I flung several four-pointed stars at the enemy shinobi, but he caught them with ease only to reflect their deathly flight at me. Turning, I collected all of them and dropped the weapons back in my pocket, unsheathing the sword as I spun. By the time I attacked him, Shigeo had already hit the shinobi with the hold of his sword in the throat. The man coughed and a poison pellet dropped from his mouth.

A quick slash took a par of fingers from his right hand. He let out a yell, involuntarily grabbing his palm, but was silenced by Shigeo's quick hit in the neck. As if hesitating, he fell whilst losing the consciousness and collapsed in my arms. Grunting under his weight, I laid him on the floor before removing his mask.

A middle-aged, peaceful face of man appeared. The sight made me flinch away from him, momentarily forgetting of his inability to move and cause me harm.

"A Koga," Shigeo observed composedly, as though he was not fighting for his life merely seconds ago. "A talented one at that. I heard him only when he was meters away."

I sent him a curious look, which he quickly perceived. "Koga are another shinobi main clan. They are the rivals of the Iga."

This was an auspicious night�"it brought me the name of the second clan as well as Shigeo's attention. I wondered whether he was a Koga or an Iga, for I was sure of being the second. My question only brought me the information I had already held.

"I am neither," Shigeo replied quietly, turning to the approach of guards. "I am a part of the Hashiji. And if you prize your life, be careful with the questions you ask."

The clutter of feet was still far away when it reached our ears; I was silent. Guards bound the intruder tightly with several thick ropes and stuffed a dirty cloth in his mouth, so far that it nearly suffocated the man. By dawn, he was awake and ready for interrogation, but as expected of a shinobi, he gave out nothing. Lord Shinzou ordered for torture once sure the Koga would not answer. The screams of the man rang in my ears. Shigeo's eyes were closed and his hands crossed on his chest, his head turned away from the gore. Now rain did not seem at all like men. They were so much more ruthless than anything else in nature.