Kyuden Bayushi, End of Summer, 1502 IC
"It is unjust, father."
Bayushi Tenkai finishes tightening his obi, making sure it is
perfectly arranged. "What is unjust, boy?"
His son's face is pale, muscles bunching in his jaw. "It was a
nemuranai, magic. How can they punish you for that?"
"A general who flees the field is not going to be welcomed back with
open arms," Tenkai says mildly. He checks his garments one more time
before he turns and gestures to the servants. They slide the shoji
open soundlessly. "Ours is not a Clan known for its forgiving
spirit." He steps into the hall.
The boy follows him out. "But... but you did nothing wrong! They
set you an impossible task, and the Crab cheated and used some magic
trinket, and now Lord Tamoru demands your death! It is not right,
father. It is not fair!"
"Not... fair?" Suddenly Tenkai's voice is the whip-crack of
command. "When has a samurai's life ever had anything to do with
what is FAIR?"
The boy drops to his knees, pressing his chalk-white face to the
tatami on the floor. "Forgive me, father--"
"Be silent." Still the whip-crack. "I have done what I must to
protect our family line. You will do the same, samurai." He waits,
two beats, then allows his voice to soften. "Look up, boy."
His son's face is streaked with tears, but otherwise rigid, showing
no emotion. Good. "You will be the lord of our family now. Do not
let this sacrifice be in vain. Now, go to your mother. Lord Tamoru
has spared her from jigai, and she will need your comfort."
The boy nods, rising to his feet, then bows, jaw clenched to keep
from dishonoring himself with any further outburst. Tenkai watches
him leave, then turns and strides in the opposite direction, down a
long empty hall. After a few moments, a shoji slides open and
another man joins him, walking in pace. A slim figure in black
courtier's robes, his face concealed by a blank white mask pierced
only by a pair of small eye-holes.
"A tempestuous boy," he observes in a soft voice.
"His mother's father was a Lion, Adoka-san. I fear he will not be
well-suited to serve the Clan in the courts."
"How fortunate, then, that your family traditionally serves the
Scorpion on the battlefield," Shosuro Adoka observes.
"Indeed." Tenkai pauses a moment, then continues. "Convey my thanks
to Hido-sama for protecting my family."
"Of course, Tenkai-san. Lord Hido-sama offers his regrets that he
could not protect you personally. The circumstances, you understand,
did not allow for more."
"I would not expect anything else," Tenkai says calmly. After a
moment: "I don't suppose you have learned anything about the nature
of that nemuranai?"
"Apparently the Crab recovered it from the City of Empty Dreams. We
were unaware of its powers until your... unfortunate encounter."
"Unfortunate indeed," Tenkai murmurs.
For a moment he is back under the walls of Shiro Usagi, staring at a
field of water the color of earth and blood. Figures covered in mud
stagger and howl and lurch, hacking at each other by the light of a
setting sun, while the chant of the distant Kuni rises to a howl of
triumph. The battle is almost lost, but there is still a sliver of
hope if he can get the reserves into position to break the flank...
...the masked Crab lunges at him, paw-like hands spread to grasp and
rend, and sudden impossible terror clutches Tenkai's heart with claws
of icy steel...
He almost misses a step. Adoka is speaking. "--Lord Hido-sama
wishes you to know that he is pleased with the results of your
efforts."
Tenkai's eyes narrow. "Pleased? We lost the battle, Adoka-san. Was
it not our intention to win the battle? To sting Hida Gojiro with
the bitterness of defeat, so that he would lash out and tear the
Empire's peace asunder?"
"True, of course, a victory would have been greatly preferable."
Adoka's pale mask bobs. "But this result can serve our needs as
well. The Crane have broken their non-aggression pact with the Crab,
and Gojiro will surely seek vengeance. The Lion and Dragon have
clashed on the battlefield, and already their border is aflame. The
Empire's peace is shattered. All these things work to our favor."
"Indeed?" Tenkai's voice is cold. "A pity we could not have
accomplished such great things without losing so many of our bushi."
"The Crab lost more than we."
"From a far larger army. The Crab lost, perhaps, 1 in 100 of their
fighting men. We lost 1 in 30, perhaps more. A high price to pay,
for a few political gains."
Adoka's mask cannot show any expression, but his voice turns slightly
waspish as he answers. "I am endeavoring to offer you some comfort,
Tenkai-san, in the thought of what you did manage to achieve."
"Ah, my apologies, Adoka-san. I accept your comfort in the spirit of
compassion with which it is offered," Tenkai says with bland
sincerity. He glances up, noting the doors impending at the end of
the hallway. "Ah, I fear we must part, Adoka-san."
Adoka nods. "Of course, Tenkai-san. Go with the Fortunes." He bows
and glides away through another sliding door. Tenkai watches him go,
and then steps through the door.
Early morning sunlight slants across the gardens of Kyuden Bayushi,
blazing on Tenkai's white garments. He squints against the light as
he makes note of who is present. Enemies from the courts and the
army, come to silently gloat in his defeat. A handful of allies,
loyal officers staying by his side to the end. And the Clan
Champion, Bayushi Tamoru, his narrow face set in an expression of
refined disappointment and judgment.
His family is not here, of course. They are on the far side of the
palace, distancing themselves from the shame he will cleanse.
Tenkai bows to his Champion, his face blank. "Fool," he thinks. "The
Clan has slipped through your fingers and you do not even realize it."
He kneels on the white cloth. His hands move automatically,
unsheathing his wakizashi, wrapping the blade in paper. "I had no
choice. My family had no future unless I aligned myself with Hido.
And if he fails, we are lost."
He pulls open his kimono and lifts the foreshortened blade. The
second takes position, silently, as Tenkai closes his eyes and
recites the final haiku from memory.
"Warm summer breeze
Lifts prayers to the Heavens
The future is clear."
He sets the blade against his stomach. Three cuts, and darkness.