“I could have killed them all Control-sama.”
“I know Determination-san. I however didn’t want them dead. For the present they serve a better purpose alive.” Control walked on down a small dirt road. To either side the fields of tall grass swayed in the slight breeze. Behind him walked a man dressed in red and black. Upon his face was born a mask in the countenance of a howling demon.
“I do not see why you needed to pay those Ronin to just stand up. I could have intimidated the weakling.” Determination rested his hands upon the hilt of his daisho as the thought of lopping off an arm or a foot of the merchant would have put him in his place.
“It was cheaper to pay them not to fight. However our enemy didn’t know that. He merely saw numbers, and the fact that security in that village could be bought with enough money. Next time we go in it may be necessary for your skills to be used, but this time we held control for little cost, and set up what we can expect for the next time. These Armored Crane, from what we have seen so far, are an unimaginative group. They view the world in cost and expense. That makes them predictable.”
“HA!” Determination let out a loud laugh. “In that case they will all fall before me as the grass does to a farmers sickle.”
“I have little doubt of your abilities. In fact it is part of why we are headed in this direction.” Control pointed off in the distance. “I am trying to build a case for you to begin your school. I have arranged for you to participate in an upcoming Sapphire Tournament. Assuming that enough show up in this remote area, it will no doubt take place at the appointed time. Though given the nature of the Empire at the moment I would not be surprised if such a title held little draw for those outside of the Pheonix, Crane, and Dragon.”
“Am I to win, or to lose Control-sama?”
“If the event does indeed go off, you are to use your skills to win. Perhaps if we have enough skilled above your own, e can make a good case for your techniques and the need in these difficult times to teach them to others of your School. Insight-san will be there as well. No doubt you will have to face each other at some point if you do well enough.”
Determination looked at Control with doubt in his eyes. “I did not think that Insight wanted to hold a position who’s purpose it is to make peace.”
“He does not. We discussed things. Should he be able to win, he will refuse the position, in a manner that will cast doubt upon Miya-sama and his pursuit for peace.”
“If this happens, are we to expect a fight of some sort?” The barely restrained madness that was constantly at war with Determinations will crept outside for just a moment at the thought of cutting down Imperial yojimbo. The challenge would no doubt prove his skill.
“I do not expect anything to come from such an insult at that moment. He would have just won a tournament based on dueling. Who there could challenge him. No doubt his name will be known in infamy, but it is what he wishes. He wants to bring war to the enemies of the Scorpion. What better way that to refuse a position of peace he beat the others for. Also by doing such he will set a precedent for others to do as he did, if they so choose, to show their displeasure at the Miya interfering in Clan affairs. The Empire wants to fight each other. The Empire needs to fight each other. It is only in this constant fighting that we become strong. As the blade of a sword is forged in fires, it is tempered and beat constantly. Once it is cooled and cleaned do we see a finely edged weapon, where once there was lumps of cold metal from the earth.”
“Forgive me Control-sama. It sounds to me as if you are trying to take on the Miya. I know you think highly of your skills, but I do not think it is a fight we can win.”
“Who says we have to win? This is one of the little lessons I have come to realize. When going up against someone stronger than yourself, it is not always necessary to win. It is necessary not to lose. For example the Fall of Shiro Usagi. I know your duties kept you away from the fighting, but let me explain. We lost the fight, yes. In the end though we have laid seeds of war between the Crane and Lion and the Crab and Unicorn. Even the Imperial units will need to be justified in their loss on the field and will no doubt help the Hare. The Mantis seek to hinder the Tortoise which will spark a merchant war, of which as we just saw, the Crane will be involved in. The peace of the Empire is coming to a close… all because we provoked a fight. The fact we lost means we are not directly seen as a threat to any of these armies, and thus are not mentioned as such. If anything we will see others come to us for aid in their fights.”
The two walked on for several more minutes with their own thoughts. After a moment Determination came to a realization he had to share.
“You are a dangerous man Control-sama.”
“No doubt that is why you were assigned as my yojimbo. For only one trained in the Dark Sword technique will be able to take me down when the time comes.”
“I hope, for your sake Control-sama, that time does not come soon.”
“So do I Determination-san. It would be a pity for me to have to destroy a friend.”
They both chuckled and continued on their long walk.
~~*~~
Later that night….
The stream ran smooth and calm. Sitting on its bank, Bayushi Subudi relaxed his grip on the fishing rod as the lure bobbed in the small ripples.
“So you are calling yourself Control now?” The anger in the voice was obvious. Bayushi Subudi turned to look upon the familiar visage of Bayushi Nishari. Her face was a scowl in both forms, young Unicorn maiden, and old Scorpion matron.
“Do you find the name is inaccurate?” Subudi turned back to watch the stream and the fishing lure.
“I did not choose you to help me teach the Empire honor only to have you flaunt the very abominations that ensnare so many. Shourido!” She spat the word like a curse.
“I do not think that you have any grounds to lecture me on my methods. I am not the failure here.” Subudi seemed to not be upset by the lack of propriety of the spirit who frequently spoke to him. “You were not born a Scorpion, if my assumptions are correct from the way your image changes. You were born a Unicorn and married into the Scorpion. You have no idea what honor is truly about. You need others help to even attempt to display true honor.”
Nishari’s rage vanished and she simply stared at him. The lame shugenja quietly began to pull in the fishing line.
“I was born a Scorpion, raised a Scorpion, and will die a Scorpion. Allow me to put this in perspective. You were banished to Maigo no Musha for your past sins and your failure at adhering to the code of bushido. You acted on selfish means because of someone you believed you loved. Breaking your oaths and obligations for the sake of yourself, you were trapped. But now you can reach the Realm of Dreams with the apparent ability to communicate with whom you desire. Any Scorpion would be willing to commit any atrocity to be able to wield the power you have at your disposal. You are a perfect agent, never aging, never dying. You can peer into the dreams of man and see truths that the best courtier could never uncover. You could help safeguard the Empire with information gained from this realm. Instead you seek a means to pass on from here by using others to perform what you lack. Again you make the mistake of acting out of a selfish need, when the greater good is at stake. Sacrifice is at the heart of what it means to be a Scorpion. We give everything to keep the Empire safe, even our honor and our souls.”
Bayushi Nishari shook her head gently. “You do not understand, Subudi-san. Do you think I possess such power? I fear I have failed with you.”
“Do not fear, Nishari-san. I know you have met others to try and spread this ideal of Honor about that you think the Empire needs. I give you my word that the Empire will see by my actions the true measure of honor. But I tell you not to attempt to judge me based on your fallible view of the concept.”
“I do not speak on behalf of my own… concept, as you call it. It is the will of the Heavens, not my own, which has sent me here to teach the ways of honor.”
Subudi shrugged. “So you say, yet you chose me. You could see when we first met that I walked a different path from others. I do not embrace the ways of Shourido, however. I use them as a mask to allow me to walk on the darker side of the Empire, where we Scorpion are commanded to tread.”
Nishari closed her eyes and turned away, an old woman bent by sorrow. “Then I have failed you, Bayushi Subudi. Failed to teach you the true meaning of Honor.”
~~*~~
Several weeks after the dream….
The rest of the group had gotten away safe. Shosuro Jin had left long before, running away with the crying Toturi Chisa from the tsuno. He had heard tales about the beasts and been told about them in passing among his training as a yoriki to his Jade Magistrate. At their appearance he knew it was going to be a hard fight. With the two elder Imperial princes leading the charge on the initial attack, it was his honor and duty to help aid in their order to rescue Chisa.
During that initial skirmish, his yojimbo had fallen to help hold the squad of tsuno while Bayushi Sinye, Bayushi Yamato, and Hitomi Kenji batled as best they could. That fight had been swift but costly with the life of his yojimbo and the lead tsuno disappearing.
“Curse me for a fool! I forgot that these beasts can move through the other realms as surely as we can from room to room! Be on your guard!”
The warning turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. As the princes, after some healing from the water kami, and the surviving members of their group were walking out of the tunnel, the tsuno arrived in greater numbers. The odds looked hopeless.
“We will clear a path for you.” Those words from the princes were more inspiring than any poem he had ever heard. Subudi had only met the princes a handful of times, and never for a great enough time to have them willing to toss themselves in harms way to save his worthless life.
With the fate of Chisa still unclear, Sinye, Yamato, and Kenji dashed through the opening in the throng of tsuno as the princes lunged into the swarm that began to close in from all around. Sinye looked back for but a moment and looked into the eyes of Subudi, unmoving. A slight nod from both and Sinye was off.
“Do not worry my princes. I know my fellow Scorpion. If Jin-san has come upon and trouble in his flight with your sister, they will make it right. They will also be back with help, we only must hold.”
“I appreciate your words, Bayushi-san, but while they are well-meant I do not think help will arrive in time.” Toturi Hatsu smiled sadly. “This is not the end I would have chosen, but it is a good one. And the Empire will remember that even a cripple stood defiant with us against such beasts.”
His brother Kobashi, Lion-trained, did not waste time with words – already he was slashing at the beasts. “Indeed brother, a great shame to these beasts that they will die to but two swordsmen and a lame poet.”
The spirit of the Crane technique was displayed well by Hatsu as he took down a couple of the tsuno that charged, even as they landed cuts upon his armor.
The three laughed in the face of the odds. Slowly they backed up against the wall of the cave as the tunnel to either side closed with tsuno after tsuno. The two princes fought with a courage that made even some of the tsuno quake with fear.
Swiftly a thick mist filled the cave, blocking sight from all inside. Only those close to each other could be seen. The brothers took advantage of the fog to close with each other and limit the number of foes they had to face. Crane and Lion techniques combined to form a deadly whirlwind of steel and tsuno blood. A couple of the bodies splashed into the dark waters at the bottom of the ravine in the cave, hidden in the fog.
From behind the ranks of the tsuno the brothers heard a slight thud, and the roof of the cave shook, dropping flakes of dust upon them and the tsuno attacking them. “A few seconds bought,” was all Bayushi Subudi could think as he used the air kami, his closest friends, to carry him through the air around the room, using the fog as a mask while the Air kami spoke to him of where the many occupants stood.
Spell and steel clashed upon tsuno hide and armor. No sound of aid came from down the tunnel – only the roar of more tsuno as they approached.
The princes took turns now holding off the swarm of tsuno, having maneuvered into one of the tunnels. One fought while the other rested. Subudi had long ago lost the ability to call upon the Water kami for healing. His ability was only so strong in that field. He was trained as a magistrate and courtier, not a combat healer. Trained as a magistrate, a Jade Magistrate.
From behind the brothers, lobs of green energy blast past upon several of the assembled tsuno, searing their flesh and scorching their armor. The beasts let out howls of rage as the Jade blasts slammed into them. The princes used these distractions to cut down weakened foes.
Subudi called upon his last prayer to urge the Air kami into a familiar game. A fine mist of green exploded into the air around he, the princes, and the tsuno. The foul abominations bellowed in frenzy as the princes’ blades cut deep into their hides in the jade mist. The tsuno pulled back from the storm of jade, outside of its reach, snarling as they waited for it to disperse. The princes and Subudi leaned against the cave wall, out of breath, their armor and clothes dripping droplets of sweat and blood from the long combat and the many wounds they had.
“How long…..will this mist…….last?” The fierce lion had been fighting the longest, for his training afforded him the most experience of the three.
“Not….long enough……I’m afraid.” Even as Subudi spoke, the three of them could see the mist begin to fall from the air, and the tsuno began to move forward.
“It was a good effort Subudi-san. I’m sure we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have without your aid.” Kobashi hefted his sword. “Let us make an end of this.”
The first prince charged, letting forth a roar that rivaled the namesake of the clan he trained with. The tsuno laid into him with their twisted blades, cutting across his chest, slicing his armor from his body. Another tsuno grabbed the prince’s head as life began to flow from him, twisted, and pulled it clean off.
The second prince danced about the swarm as his brother fell. The tsuno felt the bite of his slashing steel, but there were too many for the style of the Crane to handle. Several tsuno found openings in the dance and stabbed into the prince’s flesh with their crooked swords. One of them pulled its blade out and hacked the prince’s head off with a couple chops of the weapon, made dull from the long fight.
Subudi dropped his scroll case and pulled his wakizashi. He slashed and cut, but the tsuno knew his weakness, and one of them swept his lame leg out from under him. Subudi’s left leg cracked in several places but he felt no pain. The world seemed to grow still, and he looked down.
Sticking out of his chest was the tip of a tsuno blade. His chest sprouted a couple more of these strange blossoms, and he felt a sadness come over him not of his own.
For a moment he seemed to hear a woman’s voice. “Perhaps I did not fail you after all, Subudi-san. Perhaps. It is Emma-O’s to judge, now.”
The world lurched swiftly to the left, the right. Then there was nothingness.