Seki 3
The place was suddenly engulfed in chaos. I was roused from my sleep when I heard my tatami door open loudly and there stood, outside the room was my father. He was looking haggard and scared so I knew that it has something to do with his life being in danger.
"What is it chichi?" I asked as I tried hard to shake the cobweb of sleep from my eyes, "What's the matter?"
"You have to help me Kazuya," My father said, his eyes were wide and haunted, "You got to, you are my son and it is your duty to help me solve this big problem."
I frowned, it is usual for my father to be selfish but hearing him say things as if I owe him my life for seeding me was just too much to bear, "Haven't I helped you enough?" I asked and watch him walked inside my room, "What did you do to cause this chichi, tell me?"
"Shiho is missing...you have to show her to them. Bring her back." My father said. I don't know if I would be grinning or not, it would be a relief to not go through the wedding but I can't imagine what the Munakata would do to us if she isn't found. "Stop hiding her Kazuya and this will all go well, you would be marrying her anyway,"
"What?" I said disgustedly. Never in my mind have I thought of hiding the Munakata heiress, I'm not suicidal. Hiding the heiress I know would mean instantaneous death from her father's sword and having her with me is a death sentence itself. I'm not that stupid, "I don't have her chichi, what were you thinking to ask me that?"
"You must have her with you Kazuya! They would revoke my position if they don't find her...and...and...I will lose my head...literally!" My father said while pacing to and fro in my room.
"I don't have her chichi!" I said standing up
"I can't lose my position Kazuya, I have invested too much in here to lose it..."
"Will you stop it chichi? If the Munakata heiress is missing, that means she ran away, she's probably with some other guy, there's no way I'm going to hide her and put you in this situation..."
I was cut off from my speech when three men from the new government barged in my room, they were carrying a long metal thing that spurts fire and they were pointed at me and father. "Atsukugara Kazuya! You are under arrest for keeping Shiho-hime!" one of the men said.
"Just take him!" My eyes widened as I looked at my father pushed me towards the three men. My own father sold me to them for him to retain his position? I stepped back slowly at first and watched them follow my move. There's no way I'll let these people catch me alive. If my own father doesn't care about me...then why should I care about his ambition? Using my mere knowledge of martial arts, I fought the three men and successfully took them down before I ran away, making a hole on my room out to freedom. I thought "Natsuki, stay wherever you ran off too...don't dare come back!" then I heard a loud booming sound before I felt pain at my back. It was a mix of searing and burning pain, I have to block the sensation and keep on running, but then I heard them running after me, I knew then that I already have forfeited my life...
But nothing comes after that loud sound so I looked back to find a masked woman fighting the men off with red metal tonfa. It was not usually used in this area and time...who could be my savior? I asked no one but myself, amazed at how the turn of event happens fast before my eyes...and soon blackness took me. "Natsuki..." the last word that comes out of my lips before i felt myself hit...
-0-
The sudden booming sound stopped me from running, I heard of stories regaling about that kind of sound that was commonly used by the guards of the new Meiji era. Those who have witnessed have accounted how powerful these things are...so to hear it in the place very near her house would mean that something might have happened, "A burglar?" I asked myself. My question though was answered by my sensei's partner running towards me. She ran faster as another booming sound was heard and another...
"Natsuki," Youko-sensei said as soon as she comes close to me.
"Youko-sensei," I knew my face bore the expressions of worry and anxiety, "Do you have any idea what's happening?"
Dark blue eyes looked at me and a hint of the answer I am seeking was in them and then she nodded her head, "A clan member I asked to watched out from the outside relayed to me a message..."
"Tell me," I said fighting the urge to cry from the impending news
"Your father is dead..."
"Ani?"
Youko-sensei shook her head, "We got no sighting of him...he was wounded though..." I thought my world constricted on me. My father dying was a blow, I hate him for what he had put us through all these years especially when our mother left him because of his "ambitions" and what they do to us, but my brother being hurt and probably dead...I need to find him.
I was about to run back to the mansion but I was halted by Youko-sensei holding on my arms, "Let me go sensei! I need to find my brother!" I said loudly
"You are not going back there!" Sensei shouted back, "Midori went there to see what is happening and if she could do something, she told me to get you out of here. There must be a very grave reason why the prime minister had your father and brother killed, if they find you they will kill you as well! So be reasonable and keep out of the place!"
"I can't leave Ani alone to die!"
"And what if he's dead? You think he'll want you there to be killed as well?" Sensei said after pulling me hard and shaking me to my sense. You need to go...run away..." Her sentence was cut off when sensei pushed me down and she jumped over me. The action was followed by the same booming sound and I saw Youko-sensei's right arm bleeding.
"Sensei..."
"Get out Natsuki, run away from here I'll take care of the rest here," Sensei said before she agilely lifted herself off me and using her ninja skills threw kunais I had no idea where she took from, "Run now Natsuki! Get out!"
My eyes were watering and I can't stop myself from crying. These are important people in my life...I was happy being with them and in a blink of an eye, they all will be gone from me. "I...I can't..."
"Get out now!"
I scampered away and was in the bushes before I heard another booming sound. I didn't looked back...all I did was ran as far away as possible...
-0-
This is the fourth village I've been in since I walked away from my previous life.
I was with the Matsudaira's since I was at the tender age of 16. I had learned the way of the samurai at a very young age, a skill I learned from my late father. My father was a renowned samurai in our little village at the outskirts of Kyoto. He had been injured when I was 8 in an internal war in the village that also caused the life of my mother and having no son to pass his legacy, he decided to train me instead. At 15 I had my first kill. A group of rouge young adolescents of my age were roaming around our area one night and they decided that they should give my father a visit. Without his complete set of arms, my father has no way defending himself from 6 young men who have been trained for war. The katana that took the life of my father was still embedded in his chest when I arrived from an extra worked I get for extra money. The 6 young men then looked at me with lust in their eyes. It was the first time I felt rage...I was a trained samurai, and I was trained by the best, how dare them looked down at me. I ran towards my father's body, took out the still embedded katana and slashed my way through.
It was a well known story that circulated around the village until it came to the Matsudaira's ears. A year after the event they took me in as one of their warriors. They trained me more and I hungered for more...but somewhere in my life I realized, I need to change.
I've had a task given by the head of the Matsudaira family. A man owes him a debt that can only be paid by death. I gathered 10 of the Matsudaira's greatest warriors including Takeda Masashi. We raided the mansion of the man, killed every warrior they have. The order was that we are not to spare anyone. The man named Masaki Katsuhito died at the end of my blade like a warrior he is. His five daughters had fought gallantly which surprised my men but they were no match to the Matsudaira's well trained rounins. We were about to leave the house when Masashi brought a little girl to me. She was about 13, she had long cyan hair that was put into a twin pony tail. A triangular mark was on her forehead and her eyes were green...like emeralds.
"What are we to do about this? Matsudaira-san clearly ordered that we are to kill everyone."
I looked at Masashi then at the girl, "What is your name girl?"
"Tsu...Tsunami!" She said before bowing her head and crying softly.
I sighed and said, "Leave her,"
"We can't...if the Matsudaira knows..."
"They don't have to know Masashi..."
"They will surely send someone here to inspect and..."
I frowned, "Take her then, bring her to our unit," I said before I turned my back at him.
And it was a mistake. 13 years was such a close age to adulthood, and sooner than I expected, she had grew to be a beautiful woman. her cyan blue hair had flown like waves and her emerald green eyes had sparkled a lot. She had lived in our warrior unit as servant to the soldiers but none of the men had tried to touch her, for they know my wrath would be insurmountable if that happened. Then that thing I dreaded came...Tsunami had come to me and offered herself...and I am but human. I am not new to the call of the flesh, I had women on my bed numerous time, but Tsunami was different. And soon...there was no one to share my bed but her.
A few months after...Tsunami disappeared.
I looked for her, asked everyone but no one was able to tell me where my precious Tsunami was. It was Masashi who had broken the silence and in a secluded place he told me that the Matsudaira had learned of the origin of Tsunami, someone in the group I had taken in that task had spread the secret. I tortured my men until I get my answer from them, and I found out that one of them was gotten drunk by a servant who used to share my bed and spilled.
I looked for that servant girl...Tomoe but I didn't find her. She was released from the mansion in return for the information, it was also Masashi who had come to me to inform me that there was a high probability that my Tsunami was still alive and was hidden somewhere. And I promised myself I would find her...I would get her back.
I didn't regret it...but Masashi's death at the end of my own sword had been a scar in my heart. He had been a good follower, he was a good warrior but he just can't turn his back to the Matsudairas. He could still be alive if he'd just let me go.
My thoughts were in too deep that I didn't even anticipate a girl snatching my bag of coins from my side.
-end Seki 3-
How ironic that Kenshi Himura's first love was named Tomoe and here...Tomoe is a wanted woman. (Well Tomoe in Samurai X OAV 1 was a wanted woman too but well...this ain't gonna turn out like that right? Cannot be!)