Ouroborus
The wind whistled through the tall grass plaintively. She inched
slowly forward, timing her movements to coincide with the susurrus,
careful not to move too much – or too little. It wasn't hard; she
could feel the wind on her face - gauging its strength, the way it
split the high grasses, was simply a matter of practice. And Mikage
had had a lot of practice. Not exactly three hundred years – but it
had seemed like it at times. Mick and she had known nothing else for
so long….
Mikage shook her head slightly. Those days were gone, and she had to
stay focused on what she was doing here and now. The wind picked up
again and she bunched her legs underneath her, ready to move forward,
but something made her stop. The sound was wrong, not the whistle of
the wind at all… Mikage threw herself to the side, just out of range
of the sword that would have cut her in half. Her cover blown, she
rolled to her feet and faced her opponent. Face and body were covered,
unrecognizable, but she knew who it was – and knew what she had to do
to defeat him.
Her sword became a blur as she struck. She shifted the blade,
reflecting the sun into her opponent's eyes, but he wasn't there
anymore. She stood her ground, casting about for any sign of movement.
She knew better than to move – he would have to show himself
eventually.
Mikage slowed her breathing, watching, waiting, above all, listening.
The motion was presaged by no more than the slightest noise, but it
was one second too late and her sword was already there. Her opponent
collapsed to the ground breathing heavily. Even in death he did not
speak, dying silently, face down upon the dry ground.
Mikage stood over him, her eyes cold. This would not be the last
assassin he sent after her…nor the worst. Sheathing her sword, she
walked away.
***
The shrine was directly ahead, a rotten corpse of a building
surrounded by a lake of detritus. The graveyard was overgrown and
choked with weeds, the garden long subsumed into the surrounding
woods.
The slithering noise she made was barely audible over the birdsong,
but her mutterings and curses were loud and insistent. Slither, curse,
mutter, groan, slither. One more slither noise and a soft "thump"
brought the birds to a stop. After a moment, neither slither, nor
curse, nor moans were heard and the birds took up their conversation
once again. She lay in the courtyard, still and quiet, while blood
pooled softly beneath her prostrate form.
***
The water was cool as it drizzled past her cracked lips into her
mouth. It felt so good that a shudder of pleasure/pain ran through her
body. She found her tongue and moved it experimentally around her
mouth before swallowing audibly and painfully. A coughing fit told her
that her lungs, though burning, were still working. She still couldn't
open her eyes, so she reached out to gain the attention of her savior.
"Sssshhh." The voice was soft and girlish. "You're safe. Don't try to
move or talk."
Mikage managed to lick her lips. "Danger," she said. "There's…danger."
"I know," the voice said sadly.
***
Mikage cracked open an eye. She had always assumed that that was a
figure of speech, but as her encrusted eyelids painfully and
reluctantly separated, she had a sense of unreality, as if all things
that were metaphorical had suddenly come to life. Raining cats and
dogs, cracking open an eye…she lifted a hand to assist with the other
eye, but the hand felt funny. What she was able to see was swathed in
bandages, looking mummified and clumsy. Her eye closed and she sank
into herself with a little whine of self-pity.
There was a noise and she could hear footsteps. "You're awake," the
voice said pleasantly. This voice was lower than the other one, older,
more mature. "Can you open your eyes?"
Mikage dutifully opened her one eye, but decided against nodding.
Something in her head warned her not to move too much. She couldn't
see her nurse, but didn't care much. If the woman had wanted to kill
her, she would have already.
"You lost a lot of blood and were covered in cuts and bruises. I've
had to bandage you up pretty thoroughly, sorry. You had two broken
ribs and one hand was cut pretty badly. For some reason, not one vital
organ was punctured…."
"Danger," Mikage whispered urgently. "Tell Jubei…"
The woman stepped around into her line of vision. She leaned forward
and put out a hand to steady Mikage. Yagyuu Jubei's reincarnation
looked down at her with sympathy and understanding shining in her one
visible eye. "I already know. Relax."
Mikage stared at the young woman in wonder. "How?"
But Jubei was gone again, her voice coming from behind Mikage. "Get
some rest, I'll be back with some food."
Mikage closed her eye; sure she would not be able to sleep. There were
too many questions to be answered, too much danger to fall asleep…
***
This time it was a cool cloth against her eyes that woke her. After a
few passes, Mikage was able to open both eyes. The face in front of
her was blurry, but she could clearly make out the eye patch, the full
lips, the brown hair of Yagyuu Jubei. The young woman's face was
serious as always.
"Good morning," Jubei said. "Do you think you could eat something?"
Mikage searched in herself, looking for nausea from a concussion, or
weakness from injury. All she found was an achingly empty stomach.
"Yes," she said and ventured a cautious nod.
"Good. Here." Jubei took a spoon and a wooden bowl from a table and
placed them on her lap. Looking down at Mikage, she waited for the
other woman to struggle to a more upright position.
Mikage's head pounded slightly, but she felt no dizziness, so she
turned her gaze on the other woman. "What is it?"
"Rice gruel. Hajime-kun's mother made it."
Mikage reached out for the bowl, but stopped at the sight of her hand.
Rounded and blunt, the bandages precluded any kind of dexterity. Jubei
smiled slightly.
"I'm afraid you'll have to let me feed you."
Mikage did so, pretending that there was no wound to her dignity. The
gruel was soothing, bringing memories of a quiet moment in her
childhood. She was glad that it was barely flavored, gladder when the
ordeal was over. Jubei wiped Mikage's face one last time and took the
bowl with her as she stood.
"Jubei-sama," Mikage ventured, "why you? Why isn't Jiyu-san the one
nursing me?"
Jubei turned and looked down at the other woman. "It isn't safe for
Jiyu right now. That's why we came here." She gestured around her.
"We'll talk more later."
Mikage watched as the young woman left the room and closed the door.
She let her eyes droop and pondered her situation. The enemy had
returned, she knew that – obviously Jiyu, Jubei, knew that too, or she
wouldn't be there. But why would Yagyuu Jubei herself tend the wounds
of a minor soldier in a great war? There was something she didn't
know, something she was missing. With this thought, she fell asleep
once more.
When Jubei entered the room the next morning, she found Mikage awake
and standing. The woman was struggling into a light robe, but it hung
open and loose, since she was unable to tie it closed. Jubei glanced
at her and quickly joined the ties; her nimble fingers making small,
tight bows.
"Thank you," Mikage smiled. "I wasn't sure how I was going to do that.
I didn't know if anyone else is here."
"Not at present," Jubei said. "Hajime-kun and Shiro-kun come every
evening, but right now we're alone. Do you think you can walk?"
Mikage shook a leg. "A little, yes. I don't want to stay in bed too
long."
Jubei nodded with understanding and put out an arm to steady Mikage,
who took a few wobbly steps. She could feel the muscles in her legs
protest, but no more than exhaustion and the pain of mild contusions
met her efforts. Breathing softly, shallowly, Mikage leaned on Jubei
as they walked down a short passage.
"How is your breathing?" Jubei inquired.
"Fine, as long as I keep relaxed." Mikage said, pausing as she spoke.
"The broken ribs were the worst injury you received," Jubei confirmed.
"Here." She left Mikage's side and slid a door open. The two women
stepped out onto a veranda. The sun shone down on them as Jubei
assisted Mikage to recline.
Mikage could see dragonflies flitting through the overgrown garden,
hovering for a second, then moving off in a blur of color. She looked
up as Jubei's hand was laid across her forehead. The brown eye was
expressionless, as the swordswoman considered her findings.
"You feel fine, no fever. Are you up to talking?"
Mikage nodded. "I'd prefer it. There's no time to relax – you know,
you said, but you can't know everything."
Jubei nodded. "I know that Ryujoji is back and he has more power this
time than the last. I know that he is rounding up his former ninja and
killing them, I know he is absorbing their energy for some reason and
I know," she paused, "I know about Mick." This last was said very
softly.
Mikage closed her eyes. "He's dead, isn’t he? I haven't seen him in
months…" Her voice cracked and she felt as if she was slipping into a
dark well…she opened her eyes quickly, so that the light of the sun
and the colors of the garden would impress themselves against her
eyes. Look, not black and cold, colorful and warm, look….
"I don't know." Jubei's voice was cool. "Missing, presumed."
Mikage turned wounded eyes on the warlord.
"I know it's horrible, Mikage-san. I know it's painful. But you must
not dwell on it." Something flashed in the brown eye and Mikage bowed
her head. But she resented being told that mourning her husband was
unworthy. What was she, this young girl, who had never loved, never
feared, never lost….?
"Mikage-san," the voice was sharp. "You do not know what I have lost,
how much I have lost. I don't make light of this, rest assured."
Mikage turned smoldering eyes on Jubei and saw an answering fire in
the other woman's gaze. Mikage shook herself. Three hundred years…she
found herself speaking quietly. "He, Ryujoji, came back a year ago. At
first it was the ninja of the lower ranks. They had scattered when you
defeated him, so we didn't notice at first. But there were reports of
missing people, mostly low class criminals and the like. Then one of
Mick's friends disappeared, then another. Then Koshiro-kun disappeared
and we realized something was wrong." Mikage's manner became earnest.
"Six months ago he came for us. He sent a few ninjas – no one we knew
and we defeated them, but then…" Mikage paused. She took a slow
breath, trying to ease the pain in her side. "Then Mick disappeared.
I've been looking for him ever since. I have fought off a few
adversaries, but they've been getting stronger. A week ago, as I
approached this shrine, I was attacked and you saw the result."
"Another ninja?" Jubei asked, her eye searching Mikage's face.
"One of my childhood friends." Mikage met her gaze. "He and I were
trained together – we called each other brother and sister. But when
he attacked me this time, I could see it wasn't him inside. His face
was…well, evil. It was awful." She turned away to look out at the
wilderness that surrounded the shrine.
Silence fell. The ambient noises of nature sounded like a battlefield
to Mikage, with buzzing artillery overhead, punctuated by knocks and
whistles. She cringed from the noise.
"What did you do?"
Mikage whirled on Jubei, her nostrils flared with pain. "I killed him
– what do you think I did?" She breathed hard, holding onto her ribs.
Jubei considered and nodded. "I am sorry. I needed to know if I could
trust you."
"Trust me to do what? Kill my friends and family? Yes, you can trust
me." Mikage's voice was harsh.
Jubei leaned over, reaching out a hand. Mikage wanted to pull away,
but didn't. "No Mikage-san, I wanted to know if I could trust you to
love your friends and family enough to protect them from that evil
whatever the cost."
Mikage exhaled. She felt deflated, wrung out, weary in body and mind.
She turned away from Jubei, her eyes dark with pain. "If Mick returns
to me like that, then yes, I love him enough to kill him."
Jubei shot her a hard glance but said nothing.
After a long silence, Mikage said, conversationally, as if they had
speaking of this all along, "So, why is it that Jubei-sama nurses me,
feels my head for fever and brings me gruel? Where is little
Jiyu-san?"
Jubei shook her head. "She can't help you right now."
As Mikage watched the other woman a brief flash of pain crossed her
face. "You are too much like her mother."
Mikage's defiance crumbled. She remembered poor Nonohara Sai,
desperately attempting to look cheerful as his heart broke when she
walked away from him. She felt terrible, but she had Mick and they
were happy together. He was sweet enough but…she wondered idly if he
had ever noticed those two girls watching them from the road. They
were Jiyu's schoolmates, she remembered – she had met them at the
party at the sweet shop.
"Oh," Mikage acknowledged.
Jubei rose from her seat. "I have to go rest. Would you like to stay
here, or shall I help you back to your room?"
Mikage looked out on the garden and felt the sun on her face. "I'll
stay here and sleep. It's warm and pleasant."
"I'll be back in a little while." Jubei stood and brushed off her
pants. "If you wake and need me, call out and I'll be right here." She
turned and took a step, but Mikage's hand restrained her.
"Jubei-sama. Thank you."
Jubei gave her a small, tight smile and left her alone on the veranda.
Some time later, Mikage was barely aware of being lifted from her
couch and brought back to her room. She could hear several voices, but
she was unable to swim out of the well of sleep long enough to
identify them.
***
The next day Jubei removed and reapplied all the bandages on her body.
It took what seemed like forever, and Mikage was fidgety by the time
the warlord made it to her left hand. This was the hand that had been
cut nearly to the bone – she wondered that it hadn't been sliced off.
"I don't know why," Jubei mused as she applied the final wrappings,
"but nothing but flesh was severed. You should be able to regain full
use of it." She looked up, her eye flashing with respect. "You're very
good."
"Very lucky." Mikage demurred. "I missed my block and had to fend off
a close strike by hand." She pulled her hand from Jubei's grasp and
looked at it. "It was poor fighting. I was weak."
Jubei watched her for a moment, then stood, cleaning up the remnants
of her old bandages. "When you're healed, we'll make sure that you
never do that again."
Mikage looked up quickly. "What?"
"Practice." Jubei looked back at her. "Or will you abandon me as soon
as I need you?"
Mikage's eyes widened. "But…you, you can't possibly need me – you're
Yagyuu Jubei!"
"I'm not a fool, Mikage-san. I can't defeat him alone – I wasn't alone
last time, and I barely defeated him then."
Mikage considered. "Hajime-san, Shiro-san?" she asked.
"I don't like to include them, but yes – they are with me." Jubei's
eye narrowed. "He will come for them, sooner or later. Will you help
me protect them – protect Jiyu?"
Mikage's jaw set. Of course. How had she forgotten Jiyu-san, who had
saved her – not Jubei, but Jiyu, throwing herself into the maelstrom
of Mikage's self-deception….
"I will die for Jiyu-san." Mikage said firmly.
Jubei hmphed with quiet amusement. "I don't want to see it come to
that."
***
The days passed quietly. Mikage watched her bandages thin, then begin
to disappear. Slowly, she began to exercise lightly. Walking around
the shrine grounds helped her rebuild leg strength. Fighting would
have to wait until hand and ribs were fully healed.
She did not see Jubei very often. Mikage imagined that the girl left
her in the morning, transforming into Jiyu on her way to school,
returning in the afternoon to check on her. Once, while walking along
a densely grown path, she thought she saw Jiyu cycling on the road
below, but wasn't sure. Twice she had managed to catch a glimpse of
Hajime – or was it Shiro? She thought it was Hajime, his face was more
open than his brother's. Feckless, she thought, but didn't dwell on
it.
At last the hand had nothing but a light wrapping, more to keep the
wound clean than to hold it together. She would have a scar on the
hand, but that was a small price to pay for her ability to use it once
again. She worked on dexterity exercises during the day, waiting now
only until her ribs were fully healed. She woke up facing her sword,
cleaned and oiled it every day, contemplated it every evening. She
would use it again one day in defense of Jubei, Jiyu…and Mick.
***
Jubei entered after a short knock on the door. Her normally serious
face was lachrymose. Mikage's heart skipped a beat and a cold lump
settled into the pit of her stomach. The two women stared at each
other for a long while. Jubei put a hand gently on Mikage's shoulder
as she crouched.
"I'm so sorry," Jubei's voice was low and rough with grief.
Mikage stared at the single visible eye, feeling the cold spread from
her stomach towards her heart.
"I knew it," was all she could manage before the numbness spread to
her lips.
Jubei watched Mikage, but made no motions, offered no words of
comfort. Mikage wondered if any kind of heart at all beat within that
deceptively feminine chest.
"Do you want to be alone?" the ancient warlord asked. Mikage started
to nod, changing it at the last moment to a brief shake of the head.
Jubei, sensing the woman's ambivalence, seated herself where she
squatted. Within arm's reach, but no closer.
Mikage looked at her sword. Jubei followed her gaze, her lips tight.
Mikage forced the words from between clenched jaws. "I'll kill him."
Jubei nodded. "I swear you'll have your vengeance."
Mikage stared at the young woman with distaste. Jubei met her gaze
evenly and, seeing the pain the other woman was suffering, she slowly,
deliberately, reached up and removed the patch from her eye. Mikage's
vision blurred as the air around the woman bent and swirled. When she
was able to see clearly again it was Nonohara Jiyu that was sitting
with her.
"Mikage-san," the girl said, her eyes welling with tears.
Mikage's head drooped as the tears came. She could feel herself being
drawn forward into a comforting embrace, and the wails of pain began.
When the sobbing died down and only the soft sounds of a soul in
torment were left, Jiyu laid Mikage's head on her lap and stroked the
woman's hair softly. The older woman could hear Jiyu singing a soft
lullaby, the words barely audible, but the tune was familiar.
"What song is that?" Mikage asked. Her voice was strange to her own
ears – she sounded like a child.
"A song my mother used to sing to me when I was upset,"" Jiyu answered
simply. She paused. "You remind me a little of her." They both knew
that – it was just something that had to be said..
Mikage let the tears fall from her eyes onto her hand and the floor,
her chest hollow with an aching loneliness. This feeling was all too
familiar – she remembered feeling it for many long years before Mick
had come into her life. With a start, she realized something terrible.
Sitting up abruptly, Mikage stared at Jiyu. "You feel it too, don't
you?"
Jiyu tilted her head quizzically. "Feel what?"
"That feeling." Mikage laid a hand on her own chest and one on Jiyu's.
"That something's gone from here."
Jiyu looked down at the hand that touched her and back at Mikage,
nodding slowly. "But I was very young when my mother died – I feel it
more for other people than myself."
"For your father?"
Jiyu nodded again. "And for you."
Mikage's tears intensified. She removed her hand from the girl and
clasped it with her other hand , wringing and squeezing them together.
Jiyu simply waited and watched, her eyes bright and softened by
sadness. Night fell, and the room became dark.
Mikage moved slowly, as if pulling herself from a tar pit. "I want to
help you defeat him. Three hundred years is long enough."
Jiyu shifted uncomfortably. "I…I don't know what I can do…"
"You can't do anything," Mikage said shortly. "But Yagyuu Jubei can."
Jiyu sucked in a sharp breath and stood. Mikage could feel the girl
vibrating with emotion. Jiyu whirled around on her heel and left the
room without another word. Mikage collapsed where she sat and cried
herself to sleep.
***
Mikage paused, her foot hovering lightly over the trap. Stepping
carefully around it, she paused again and waited. There was no noise,
except for the ever-present birds, but she knew that she was not
alone.
The figure came at her in a rush from above. Mikage was ready and
easily avoided the clumsy attack, sidestepped the trap, and the
secondary snare that was placed where she should have set her foot
down. Leaping lightly, she used her attacker's shoulder as a foothold,
then flipped as she shoved him off-balance. Landing lightly on her
feet, she reached backwards just in time to grab her opponent's arm,
saving him from the large pit that waited below the deceptive matting.
She turned and patted the young man on the back as he whipped his mask
off and grinned at her. "Mikage-san, that was amazing!"
She gave him a curt nod. "Thank you Shiro-san. You've improved as
well."
He pinked with embarrassment. "This is very different from kendo…" he
deferred the compliment. "I still have a long way to go before I'll be
as good as you – or Jubei-sama."
Mikage gave him a hard look. "You'll never be as good as Jubei-sama."
The boy's face flushed, this time with something stronger than
embarrassment, but Mikage hadn't waited to see his reaction. Her body
was feeling good, primed, ready for battle. The adrenaline rush was
subdued but present. She chafed against the restrictions the warlord
had put on her, and desperately wanted to get the hell out of this
obscure place and onto the path of vengeance.
Gruffly, she made her way back to her room and closed the door behind
her. She didn't bother with a light, letting her eyes adjust to the
gloom.
Her ribs were long healed, her loneliness hardly noticed anymore,
except as a vague ache in her chest in the darkness of the night.
Summer had passed and autumn was approaching. Her heart burned for
vengeance, but she had sworn to serve Jubei, so serve she did.
Mikage looked into the little mirror that served as her vanity,
perched over the washbasin. She splashed some water on her face,
contemplating the cold visage that was reflected. Something worried
her every time she looked at herself, as if a little bit of her
humanity was slipping away, day by day. Her eyes were expressionless
and she couldn't remember the last time she had smiled.
A knock sounded on the door. Mikage made an affirmative noise and
watched as the door slid open. A figure slipped in quietly, almost
imperceptibly. Mikage kneeled as Jubei stood before her.
Jubei raised her to her feet, and regarded her seriously. "I wish you
wouldn't do that," the young woman said.
Mikage kept her head down. "Yagyuu Jubei should be used to it."
"I am not feeling myself, I've been told."
Mikage looked up at the young woman. Her voice had been wry – was that
meant to have been a joke?
Jubei turned away, hands clasped behind her back. "It's been months,"
she said suddenly.
"Yes."
"It won't be long before he comes."
"We're ready."
Jubei spun around to face the other woman. "We are not even close to
being ready."
Mikage bristled. "We train every day. Our…my senses are at their peak
– even those boys could hold their own against what I was capable of
in the past. And…"
"And he is one hundred times stronger than that now." Jubei shook her
head slowly. "And we have lost our ability to love one another."
Mikage said nothing.
"Do you remember the last time I fought him?" Jubei urged. "It was
love that saved me – not skill."
"My love is dead." Mikage said.
"But mine is not." Jubei stood very still, her hands still clasped. "I
have thought about this a very long time, Mikage-san. Why I was
brought back in *this* body and no other.
"I died an old man, one who had had a family, a clan, sons and
daughters. Koinusuke was not my best or most devoted servant – nor was
he my most competent. But he loved me, and I him. And I could see that
he would have that same love for me whether I was reborn into a
man-child, a horse, a cow, or a beautiful girl. I did not make that
choice lightly."
The ninja turned back to the window. The light was pale, featureless,
the sounds of the night loud in the background. Mikage could hear the
two boys preparing dinner, along with the few other people who knew of
this place.
"I chose to be a woman, so that I would better understand loss and
pity and compassion. I have learned a great deal from this Jiyu…this
Jubei-chan. She is a very strong soul in a very soft body." Jubei
turned and smiled. Mikage thought that this was the very first time
she had ever seen Jubei smile like that. Something in her swelled,
something aching to break free, but she swallowed it.
"It hasn't stopped her from losing those she cares about," Mikage
protested.
"No. But she has gained a great deal of strength from that. More than
I would have – more than you have." Jubei took a step towards the
other woman. "Mikage-san, we *all* lose those we love eventually. I
have lost everyone in my clan, all my family and my beloved wife and
children. They are all dead 300 years."
"And my loss is mere months? Is that what you mean to say?"
"No, I mean to say this. You have not yet grieved properly for Mick –
and I am sure he would not want you to seek vengeance. I mean to say
that this sharp edge of hatred and need for revenge will be what
defeats you ultimately."
"So be it." Mikage's will was adamant.
"And," Jubei said casually, as if this was just something extra that
occurred to her as an afterthought. "I mean to say that if you die, I
will miss you terribly."
Jubei's face was shadowed. "I have come to care deeply for you,
Mikage-san. You alone on this planet I consider my equal." And with
that, the ancient warlord in the young body made a quick bow and
exited the room.
Mikage stood for a long time and watched the door.
***
Mikage knocked and slid the screen back. Stepping into the room, she
kneeled quickly, then walked upon her knees to the required distance
for a senior officer to her lord. Removing her sword, she laid it
beside her, and touched her head to the mat. "I humbly request a
favor," she said to the ground.
Jubei spoke without looking at the woman. "What is your request?"
"I request a duel."
This made the ninja look up sharply. "Against whom?"
"You."
There was a shocked silence, then, "Why?"
"If I win, you will grant me two favors. If you win, I will grant you
one."
Jubei's lips quirked. "That seems unfair."
Mikage lifted her head. "In light of what you will request, I do not
think it at all unfair," she said calmly.
Jubei considered her words. "I see," she said at last. She seemed to
withdraw a little into herself. "If it will make you happier and avert
this challenge, I will grant one of your requests right now. The
second and lesser one. I know what you will ask and now I am prepared
to answer the question."
Mikage shook her head, lowering it once again to the ground. "No. I
will win the right to ask you this question, or will go to the grave
not knowing."
Jubei's eyes narrowed. "Mikage-san, this is stupid. If you know what I
want – and I know what you want to know, then why should we not set
this charade aside and address the issue directly?" She took a breath
audibly. "And you clearly *already* know the answer to your question."
Mikage shook her head once again. "I will hear it from your lips."
"I'm prepared…" Jubei began.
"NO!" Mikage said, one had clenching in front of her. "I will win my
right to hear it."
Jubei glared at the woman. "Fine. When and where?"
Mikage looked up, her eyes burning. "Now. Here. Until one of us
yields."
Jubei nodded shortly. "Now."
And the two women simply sat, staring at one another. Time passed,
neither of them moved. Their eyes were locked upon each other, each
searching out a weakness, an intent upon which to act.
In a heartbeat, Jubei was up and moving towards Mikage, her sword
drawn, held behind her. Mikage moved as quickly, drawing her own sword
in a single motion as she stood.
Their movements were so fast they were almost invisible to the eye.
Swords moved in mere flashes of light, their footsteps practically
inaudible. Their breaths came quietly, soft, hushed noises, as they
moved time after time to strike and counter one another.
The door opened and Hajime entered. He ducked as Mikage's sword
whistled above his head and quickly, he retreated. Mikage could hear
the boy's voice crying out, but she couldn't pay attention to his
words, as Jubei had once again closed with her.
Swords and bodies pressed against one another, the two women swayed
momentarily, then parted with an outburst of heavy breathing. Mikage
retreated outside, trying to lure Jubei into a trap.
The fight was too evenly matched and Mikage found herself wondering if
she hadn't been wrong about this woman. Maybe Jubei's motive had been
as simple as…
Swords met, and were immobilized, arms met and were neutralized.
Mikage sought to gain a foothold, a lock, any position of control, but
always Jubei was right there to meet her, to counter her. Mikage felt
the hopelessness welling up within her. Tears sprang to her eyes and
the blackness filled her.
Her hair darkened as she stared at her implacable enemy, markings of
evil painting themselves on her face and her sword began to glow with
a dark energy that burned. She gathered her muscles underneath her and
shoved Jubei violently to the ground.
Laughing at his enemy's weakness, Ryujoji Daigo, head of the Ryujoji
clan, and implacable enemy of Yagyuu Jubei, stood over the girl,
gloating.
"Thank you, Yagyuu Jubei, for training my weapon on my behalf. Had you
not been so meticulous in her training, I would not have the chance to
defeat you today." Ryujoji laughed again as he struck downward with
his sword. To his dismay, the little ninja girl was not there.
Turning, he barely avoided her attack from above and behind, managing
to catch her on the ear as she moved past him. Teeth bared he shifted
his grip on his sword. This time, he would have his victory.
He moved forward, his sword leveled at the staggering warlord's heart.
There was a scream, several voices crying out the hated name, as his
sword entered her chest. His cry of victory was cut short, however, as
his own flesh parted to let her sword enter into him.
Mikage could feel a tearing sensation as sword rent flesh, and the
tormented soul ripped away from her with a cry. Jiyu pushed Mikage out
of the way of the locked combatants, as they once again fought their
eternal battle to the death.
Jiyu rolled off Mikage's body, unconscious, and Mikage's vision swam.
Before she passed out, she had to know…"Jubei-sama?"
And all went dark.
***
Mikage was up and about before Jiyu was able to get out of her bed.
The former ninja met the young woman at the door of her room, and
assisted her onto the veranda to sit in the sunlight.
"How are you feeling today, Mikage-san?" Jiyu asked politely.
"I'm fine, thank you." Mikage smiled at the girl.
"I'm glad." Jiyu's voice seemed reserved.
"And you?" Mikage let a little worry slipped into her own question.
Jiyu looked away. "I feel…odd."
"Odd?"
"Mmmm." Jiyu looked back at the older woman. "Like I've been asleep
for a long time and am now waking up. Or just getting over a flu, or
just had a heavy period."
Mikage's eyebrows rose at this. "Oh?"
"Mmm." Jiyu nodded.
They sat in the sun and let the cicadas serenade them.
"I don't mean to be selfish, you know." Jiyu said as a non-sequitor.
"Selfish? You?" Mikage was amazed. "Who said that? Jubei-chan is the
least selfish person I know!"
Jiyu smiled. "I know you have unfinished business with her, with
Yagyuu Jubei - but I am so comfortable being me right now...I know I'm
being unfair."
Mikage laid a comforting hand on her arm. "It can wait."
The conversation strayed then, to what Jiyu's father was writing, what
the boys thought of the battle, of the Ruffians latest antics, of
anything except what concerned them.
Hajime and Shiro's mother had once again cooked and the shrine
demesnes were filled with light and song (courtesy of Bentaro) and
laughter. Mikage made her excuses early, feeling suddenly at a loss
among so many smiling, youthful faces.
She was patting down her sword in order to remove the accumulated oils
from the blade, when the soft knock came. Without looking up, Mikage
said, "Come in."
Jubei stepped in, her manner diffident and embarrassed. "I'm sorry,"
she began, but Mikage waved her words away impatiently. She slid rice
paper over the blade, wiping away the bran and dirt, then took the oil
in one hand. She applied it evenly to the sword, her motions following
a soft, insistent rhythm.
Jubei sat and watched her, her legs crossed comfortably. When Mikage
had completed her task, she sheathed the sword, cleaned up the
materials and at last, turned her attention to the other woman.
"You won," she said firmly. "You saved me from him, from despair and
death and I owe you my life – yet again." She scrambled to her knees
and touched her head to the floor. "I'm yours, body and soul. Ask me
for anything and it will be yours."
Jubei did not answer.
Mikage looked up. "You won. Ask."
Jubei said nothing. Angry now, Mikage lifted her head and leaned on
one fist, the other tucked into her waist. "Jubei-sama…!"
Jubei shook her head. "It was a draw."
"We had a deal." Mikage insisted.
"It was a draw. You ask first." The young woman's voice was
implacable, her gaze impenetrable.
Mikage pursed her lips.
Jubei's eye was clear as she said, "Fine. Then I'll answer your
question, as I would have before you challenged me. Your question was
– is – 'Why does the great Yagyuu Jubei tend my wounds, comfort me in
my darkness and train me personally?' The answer, as you must have
realized, is…"
"That you needed to spend as much time as you could in this form, to
be ready for him when he returned," Mikage said quickly. "I knew
that."
Jubei smiled a little. "Are you that scared of the truth, Mikage-san?
Yes, at first I determined that this was the only way to gain the
strength I needed to fight Ryujoji. The last time I was unable to
defeat him in this form because I was weak. But as we trained, as we
talked, ate and lived in this place, I realized that I was never going
to be able to defeat him. Not in this form, or any other. It was
Jiyu's father that defeated him last time. And it was Jiyu herself
this time who stopped him from killing us both. I will never, no
matter how long I train, be able to defeat the 300-year old Ryujoji
grudge. I will never be strong enough."
Mikage met the warlord's gaze with her own.
"Many lifetimes ago, I was a young man, and I fell in love. She was as
beautiful and sweet smelling as a tennyo, as mild as a doe and not of
my rank. She knew perfectly well that we would never be anything but
lovers. And we were content with that." Jubei smiled. "She did not
look at all like you, but she had your fire – your spirit. I loved
her, all those hundreds of years ago, Mikage-san."
Mikage felt the world swim behind her eyes. Of course, she had known.
This Jubei was not just a young woman whose name was coincidentally
Jubei – this was the great warlord himself Yagyuu Jubei, chief
retainer to the Shogun, who had been brought back to life to finish
fighting a battle begun three centuries ago. A battle she herself had
been drawn into.
"You don't have to…" Mikage began.
"I want to." Jubei said with finality. "I am not Nonohara Jiyu, nor am
I Nonohara Sai, who fell in love with a woman who looked too much like
his late wife. I am Yagyuu Jubei, and I love you." Jubei passed a hand
over her brow. "There, that was your first request and by far the
harder. Your second, well, I'm sorry I couldn't allow you to do that."
Mikage stared. "Was I that predictable?"
Jubei's face softened and she smiled broadly. "Yes. You were so hungry
for revenge and obviously chafing at my restrictions on your
movements."
"So you used me? Kept me here to draw him here?" Mikage asked, full of
deeply conflicting emotions.
Jubei shook her head. "No. It was a risk, of course, that your
unhappiness would draw him to you – but I was more concerned for you,
and Hajime-kun and Shiro-kun. They had both been his pawns and I was
unwilling to let him get to them, or you, outside my control. For
better or worse, I find myself now bound by the feelings Jiyu has for
her friends." She hmphed. "Mixed with my own emotions, of course. I
feel strongly that Shiro-kun and Hajime-kun are *my* responsibility,
as well as caring for them for Jiyu's sake." She paused deliberately.
When she spoke again her voice was dark.
"I also kept you here because of the magical wards on this place. 300
years ago this shrine was a place where exorcisms were done as a
matter of course. If Ryujoji attacked us here, there was a good chance
to dispel him forever. Unfortunately, I don't think that is what
happened."
"Why not?" Mikage asked.
Jubei gave a sharp, little laugh. "Because I am still here."
"Oh."
"It will take time of course, but he will be back."
"And we will defeat him again," Mikage said confidently.
"We?" Jubei's one eyebrow lifted.
Mikage nodded. "You've answered my question, and granted my request."
She looked up at the young woman, her face kindly. "It's your turn,
since we had a draw."
Jubei turned away. "I can't."
Mikage reached out, but pulled her hand back before she touched the
other woman. "You are an old man in a young woman's body. It must be
hard for you."
"You have no idea," Jubei said dryly. "But more than that – I am
myself, not Yagyuu Jubei, not Nonohara Jiyu. I am somewhere in between
– and it is my own emotions that confuse me the most."
"I'll grant your request," Mikage said softly, invitingly.
Jubei looked at the other woman, her eye dark with emotion. "Then I'll
make it. Stay here. Stay with me for six months. If, after that time,
you want to leave, you'll be free to do so."
Mikage let the surprise show openly on her face. "That wasn't…"
"Six months," Jubei repeated. "And then you can leave me."
"And what if I don't want to leave after six months?" Mikage asked, a
small smile forming at the corner of her lips.
Jubei watched her carefully, as she answered. "Then we can have
another match to determine whether you stay or go."
Mikage was smiling openly now, as was Jubei. The older woman nodded,
as if coming to a final decision. "Fine. Six months."
Jubei gave a short bow, then stood quickly. She turned away, sliding
the door to Mikage's room open, then turned back to address the other
woman.
Mikage held up a hand to stall her. "We'll talk about it in the
morning. Right now, Jiyu-san should probably go home."
Jubei nodded, and stepping out through the door, closed it behind her
without a word.
Mikage sat on the floor and listened to the sounds of the night fill
the darkness. Without light, there was still life, but with light,
there was also hope.
She laid herself down on her bed and for the first time in months, was
asleep within seconds, sleeping a dreamless, peaceful sleep.
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