The Duty of War
Chapter 14
Winter, 1236 - Kuyden Hida
The small desk in Karasu’s room was covered with paper. Letters, reports, missives, petitions…he went through them, some just required him to read, others the use of his seal. Many of them were concerning the fate of Toshi Ranbo, almost as soon as it had been taken by the Legions the age-old dispute over who would control it was renewed by the Lion and the Crane.
Currently, the Imperial Legions were there for the winter. But a decision would need to be made, and soon.
He sighed, turning now to a letter Kyoumi had sent him earlier. It was short, but with minimal effort other than a few choice words and thinking on her feet, Kyoumi had managed to save the Empire. Again. Pinning all of their hopes on a former Spider turned ronin, Kanpeki’s daughter and the former Mantis Champion was not something he liked. But did they have a choice?
Daigotsu and Shahai’s great granddaughter marrying Crown Prince Kiseki was not something that sat well with him. But that was the price they had to pay for ending the war.
Karasu frowned, putting the letter down. Ends before means, I sound just like Harun…
The fact that Harun had been used as an intermediary was not something Karasu liked. He hoped the young man knew what he was getting into, but perhaps it was best if he didn’t.
There was a tap on the door and it opened. Karasu didn’t move, thinking it was perhaps a servant. But when the person who entered did not move or speak, Karasu turned around.
“Hitomi!” he rose to greet her. “When did you arrive?”
“Earlier,” she said, her tone strangely short.
“You never fail to surprise me,” said Karasu with a smile. “Come, sit. Have you eaten? Would you like some tea?”
“Perhaps later,” said Hitomi. Again the shortness in tone. “I came as soon as I got your letter, I knew I had to be here. For Harun.”
“Yes, the first meeting with the Nakodo and the Hiruma Daimyo is tomorrow,” said Karasu. “I am glad you are here.”
“I am here to support our son,” said Hitomi angrily. “Something that seems you have been unable to do. How could you, Karasu? Throwing Harun away to the Crab like that! I thought you would no better, it is no different to what the Phoenix did to me.”
“I am not throwing him away,” argued Karasu. “His actions at Toshi Ranbo put me in an impossible position. Besides, he wants to go. Every time I hear about him he’s been with the Crab Champion’s son.”
“He is leaving because he was driven there by you,” Hitomi said. “You are making a mistake.”
“The mistake is of his own making, Hitomi,” Karasu fired back. “You are starting to sound just like him! By defending him you defend his actions, and you place yourself against the Crane Clan.”
“For killing an enemy that we all wanted killed?” Hitomi asked.
“For destroying the traditions of Iaijutsu,” said Karasu. “Of course, I don’t expect you to understand…”
“No, I don’t,” rebuked Hitomi hotly. “I know about traditions, Karasu. The Phoenix had them, you remember? The Elemental Council, a tradition handed down from the Tribe of Isawa, whose every word we hung on? The Shiba, paralysed to do anything because of tradition? Well, those traditions not only strangled us, but destroyed the Phoenix itself. Destroyed our lands and people with a devastating war. Brought about the wrath of Lord Moon himself and his instrument.” Her eyes were like twin fires, blazing him with her anger. “Do you know what sort of future the Phoenix has now? The desire to change, to learn from past mistakes and not repeat them. Yet here we are, talking about tradition as if it had some value over what needed to be done.”
Karasu blared back at her, cold ice to her fire. “You are hardly a glowing endorsement for the Phoenix yourself,” he pointed out. “The traditions of Kakita have stood for twelve hundred years. I see no reason for them to be changed.”
Hitomi made a noise showing her disgust. “Do not tell me that things have not changed in twelve hundred years,” she said. “Or that things will not continue to change. I know you still have your mother’s gaijin pistol even if you have not fired it in years.”
“Do not equate my actions with his,” said Karasu coldly.
“I am not,” said Hitomi. “But this has hardly come out of nowhere, hasn’t it? We knew, all of us knew, by allowing in gaijin weapons, we were opening up to forces we could not control. By having them at all we were inviting change, and if we think we can just return to the way things were then we are utter fools.”
“Don’t remind me,” said Karasu. He sighed. “Hitomi, I hear you even if I don’t agree with you. But as far as Harun is concerned my hands are tied. The Daimyos want to make an example of him. This marriage…it could be good for him. The Crab already respect him and will grant him a great honour. The Crane fully support it and Harun could deal with much worse.”
“Such as?” Hitomi asked.
Karasu shrugged. “Exile? At least if he is here we may be able to see him sometimes.”
“Will he want to see us after this?” Hitomi asked.
“I don’t know,” replied Karasu with another sigh. “It is like I don’t even know him anymore.”
“Perhaps we are seeing his true self,” Hitomi suggested. “If what you say is true and Harun’s marriage must happen then we must do it in the right way. He cannot think that we are abandoning him..”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” said Karasu.
In the late evening, Kyoumi sat in front of a low table spread with matching lacquered wood combs, brushes and a mirror while a servant took her hair down. Taking out the hairpins and placing them in a small round box. The servant chatted idly, as she had been asked to by Kyoumi. This was usually a good way to get an idea of what was going on in the court. But tonight, she wasn’t really listening. Her thoughts whirled, quickly crowding and skipping over each other. Her tea with Harun…his impending marriage…Arahime waving from on board a ship as it sailed away…
“Leave me, please,” said Kyoumi, her voice tight and controlled.
It was only when the servant left that Kyoumi let her mask drop. Only here, when she was in complete privacy, could she be herself. The words she could speak were her own and she could allow herself to feel.
Arahime’s death…the wounds of grief were still so fresh, but she had had to push them aside in order to serve the Emperor. To be the Voice that Rokugan needed.
The role and the distance it gave her, it did insulate her somewhat. But even though she did not let the hurt affect her, it did not mean it did not matter.
And seeing Harun had not helped at all. Casually referring to his betrothal as if the past did not matter. As if what Arahime had felt for him did not matter and he had moved on with his life.
And yet…what she had seen was a young man, still very much a boy, trying to make sense of himself and the world he was in. Instead of being shown compassion, Harun was being shoved to one side. An embarrassment to be hidden, shunned. And while it was right, it certainly wasn’t fair.
The door opened and Kousuda entered. There was grew in his hair and beard now, more than there had been bust a few months before. Lines around his eyes as well. From worry and pain.
But when he saw Kyoumi, he smiled. She brightened as well. The room seemed a little lighter, the burden of grief from the death of their daughter felt a little less heavy. They could carry it together.
He kissed Kyoumi gently on the cheek and sat down behind her, removing his socks and rubbing his feet.
“I heard something about a ronin near the Imperial quarters,” said Kousuda. “I take that this was one of yours.”
Kyoumi nodded. “Do you remember Susumu Ketsueki?”
Kousuda frowned, thinking back. “Vaguely. He was one of the Onyx Spider at Shiro Mirumoto that year? I never met him but he did turn up at the Unicorn camp with threats and demands. I think Yamada managed to beat him up, so that was good.” He frowned again. “Wait…isn’t he dead? Didn’t he die when the Onyx Scorpion set Shiro Mirumoto alight?”
“I thought so too, at least for a while,” Kyoumi answered, carefully removing her hairpins. “But he has been serving Haihime for a number of years…as the ronin Kumo.”
Kousuda looked ay her. “Kumo? But he was…”
“At Shiro Moto?” Kyoumi asked. “Yes, yes he was.”
Kousuda’s face darkened. “But why would you meet with him? You know better than me what is like, tainted and twisted. Why?”
Kyoumi told him. Explaining everything thoroughly. The plan to eliminate Yuhimi, the betrothal with Haihime’s daughter that had been made in exchange, the prophecy. Everything.
Kousuda sat deep in thought for a while afterwards, when he spoke his tone was serious. “Before Ketsueki had nothing but threats and insults, now he has even less. How can we trust him?”
“I would never trust him,” answered Kyoumi quietly. “But I know his devotion to the Hantei line is beyond fanatical, this is something that can be used to end this war.”
“And then?” Kousuda asked.
Kyoumi shrugged. “I’m not sure beyond that. He got what he wanted with the marriage, if he knows what’s good for him he will keep his distance from Isanko. The Crane will make sure of that.”
Kousuda nodded, a smiled started to dawn on his face. “You have outdone yourself, my wife,” he said proudly. “I don’t think many could claim saving Rokugan twice in their lifetimes. It is a pity that no one will ever know your role.”
“I think it is perhaps best that no one knows,” said Kyoumi. “The things that we have done…the things that I have done.”
Kousuda nodded, knowing full well what she meant. He ran his hand gently over her hair and stood up. Kyoumi removed her last hairpin and started to comb her hair. Kousuda started to remove his court clothes, hanging them up.
“I saw Harun earlier,” said Kyoumi. “He is…troubled.”
“I thought as much when he visited us,” said Kousuda. “But he deflected any questions I had as well as he uses that blade of his. Is it true about his betrothal to the Crab girl?”
Kyoumi’s voice was tightly controlled and very small. “Yes.”
The former Ide’s head whipped around to look ay her. “Oh, my dear, I am so sorry.” He rushed over to her, his garment still open. He put his arm around Kyoumi, taking her hand in his. “I know you wanted it to happen, Harun and Arahime, we all did and after the war we would have found away to make it work.”
“But it’s like it all doesn’t matter,” Kyoumi said, a sob creeping into her voice. “Harun has gone cold and hard, as if he does not care how she cared for him.”
“Listen to me, Kyoumi,” Kousuda said softly. “Harun is looking forward as it is all he knows how to do without looking back. Yamada was the same, it is how she managed to stay strong for so long.”
“It broke her too,” Kyoumi said, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.
“Harun has had a very different life to what she had,” Kousuda said. “He had all of us growing up, our strength to draw on. And that was what she wanted for him.”
Kyoumi nodded. “He is still so young.”
“And he has his whole life still ahead of him,” Kousuda said, gently stroking her hair. “If this path before him is the one that he must take, then we must be prepared to let him go.”
She nodded again. Her hand found the scar on Kousuda’s side. Remnant of the gun shot wound he had been inflicted with long ago. Grievous at the time, it had almost killed him had Yamada not been there to get Kousuda to safety. But the wound had healed, leaving only the mark and the memory.
The next morning, Harun finished up a good session in the Hida dojo. He was beginning to get more acceptance with the other bushi that trained in the dojo. So, it was not just the Crab he sparred with, but a few from the Unicorn, Lion and Mantis Clans. Still, the Crane refused even to acknowledge him, Kakita Yashiro maintaining that aloofness as if Harun didn’t exist.
He tried to not let it bother him too much.
Just as he was leaving, someone came inside. It was Hitomi.
“Mother?” Harun put down the bokken he was holding and went up to her. “I didn’t know you were coming to court.”
“I would not have missed being at such an important occasion for you,” said Hitomi
“Oh yes, that,” said Harun flatly.
“You don’t sound very happy, my son,” observed Hitomi. She beckoned him to walk with her out of the dojo. “Don’t think for a moment you have to rush into this.”
“I am not being given much of a choice in this,” said Harun sullenly. “Maybe it is better for everyone if I just left the clan.”
“I am talking about you, not everyone,” said Hitomi gently.
Harun smiled a little at this. “Well, thank you mother, but you may be one of the few Crane who thinks this.”
“I see no reason to not to put you and your happiness first,” said Hitomi warmly.
Harun smiled again, but it made him feel a little uneasy. They walked along in silence for a while.
“Tell me about Toshi Ranbo,” Hitomi said.
“Father hasn’t told you?” Harun asked.
“He has, but I wish to hear it from you,” she said.
So, he told her. Harun had told that many people by now what had happened that he was starting to get a little tired of the telling. But somehow repeating the story to Hitomi was helpful, a cleansing in a way.
“You showed remarkable courage there, Harun,” Hitomi said when he was done. “Not many would have would have done what you did.”
“You talk as if that is a good thing,” said Harun stiffly.
“And you do not think it is?” Hitomi asked.
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Harun answered a little resentfully.
“Harun, if you truly do not want this marriage, I can put a stop to it,” she said.
“What about father?” Harun asked.
“Don’t worry about him,” said Harun. “Your happiness is more important to me.”
Harun nodded. “Thank you, but…if this is what remaining in the clan is going to be like then maybe it is better if I leave.”
He walked off, Hitomi let him go.
Several hours later, Harun was dressed in his court close and sitting having tea in Doji Nashikyo’s sitting room. He sat on his father’s right while Hitomi sat on Karasu’s left, Nashikyo sat on Harun’s right at the end of the table.
On the opposite side sat Hiruma Saito, Daimyo of the Hiruma family and next to him his daughter and heir Yosoko. The contrast between him and Karasu was quite marked, the two men could not be more different. Karasu, tall and elegant in his sky blue hitatare formal kimono with the white cord trim and emerald green obi. Saito was slightly shorter and leaner, he wore simple deep blue juban and hakama, his status as Daimyo of a Great Clan family shown with the gold-trimmed jinbaori he wore.
Doji Nashikyo served tea served tea from a teapot painted with scenes of mountains and trees, each cup was shaped like a flower and in a different colour. Harun drank some of his tea, something to do since he was not expected to speak at all during this meeting. He listened to the conversation, but most of his attention was focused on Yosoko who sat opposite him.
My future wife…
Nasu had told Harun that Yosoko was a few years older than him, but she did not look it. The way she sat was more indicative of a shy girl unused to social settings. She kept her head down and her hands in her sleeves, not touching her tea. Her hairstyle and dress was in the same subdued style as when Harun had seen her at the art exhibition, but there were little details he had not noticed then. The pale blue flower made of folded kimono fabric that nested in her dark hair. The pale yellow obijime around her waist that contrasted with the dark grey of her obi. The delicate sandalwood fan that was tucked under her obi, a silken teal tassel bright against the grey.
Sandalwood? Harun thought. Just like my mother’s, aren’t they very rare?
This shyness that she showed didn’t tally with what Nasu had told him of her, or what little Harun knew himself. Apparently she was no shrinking violet. Capable with the tetsubo, blade and bow, she had been part of scouting missions beyond the wall and had even led one herself.
But there was something else that could be the reason why she was acting this way. Nasu had told Harun that Yosoko had had three older brothers that had died. She had never been expected to succeed her father as Daimyo, and yet here she was.
She has had to step up, that’s not easy, thought Harun.
Karasu talked to Saito, talking about Harun’s time in the Legion. Harun tried to drown it out. This was the closest he had been to his father in weeks, and yet he felt more farther away from him than ever. Karasu did not even look in Harun’s direction, his on perfect.
Harun tried to look for some sot of sign from Hitomi, but she gave him no indication either.
He turned his attention back to Yosoko, but she still she had not looked up. What was she like? How did she feel about their upcoming marriage?
He found the enforced silence paralysing, it was like he was trapped in a nightmare where no one would speak to him or even look at him.
And this is my life they are deciding right here, he thought, feeling his anger rise, this is where they sell me off like a bag of rice…
Harun reached out for his teacup, bumping it with his hand and causing it to clatter against the tabletop. Everyone turned to look at Harun who felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. But there was a brief moment where he caught Yosoko’s eye, and saw she felt as trapped by this as he was.
It’s okay, he said to her silently, we are in this together…
Chapter 14
Winter, 1236 - Kuyden Hida
The small desk in Karasu’s room was covered with paper. Letters, reports, missives, petitions…he went through them, some just required him to read, others the use of his seal. Many of them were concerning the fate of Toshi Ranbo, almost as soon as it had been taken by the Legions the age-old dispute over who would control it was renewed by the Lion and the Crane.
Currently, the Imperial Legions were there for the winter. But a decision would need to be made, and soon.
He sighed, turning now to a letter Kyoumi had sent him earlier. It was short, but with minimal effort other than a few choice words and thinking on her feet, Kyoumi had managed to save the Empire. Again. Pinning all of their hopes on a former Spider turned ronin, Kanpeki’s daughter and the former Mantis Champion was not something he liked. But did they have a choice?
Daigotsu and Shahai’s great granddaughter marrying Crown Prince Kiseki was not something that sat well with him. But that was the price they had to pay for ending the war.
Karasu frowned, putting the letter down. Ends before means, I sound just like Harun…
The fact that Harun had been used as an intermediary was not something Karasu liked. He hoped the young man knew what he was getting into, but perhaps it was best if he didn’t.
There was a tap on the door and it opened. Karasu didn’t move, thinking it was perhaps a servant. But when the person who entered did not move or speak, Karasu turned around.
“Hitomi!” he rose to greet her. “When did you arrive?”
“Earlier,” she said, her tone strangely short.
“You never fail to surprise me,” said Karasu with a smile. “Come, sit. Have you eaten? Would you like some tea?”
“Perhaps later,” said Hitomi. Again the shortness in tone. “I came as soon as I got your letter, I knew I had to be here. For Harun.”
“Yes, the first meeting with the Nakodo and the Hiruma Daimyo is tomorrow,” said Karasu. “I am glad you are here.”
“I am here to support our son,” said Hitomi angrily. “Something that seems you have been unable to do. How could you, Karasu? Throwing Harun away to the Crab like that! I thought you would no better, it is no different to what the Phoenix did to me.”
“I am not throwing him away,” argued Karasu. “His actions at Toshi Ranbo put me in an impossible position. Besides, he wants to go. Every time I hear about him he’s been with the Crab Champion’s son.”
“He is leaving because he was driven there by you,” Hitomi said. “You are making a mistake.”
“The mistake is of his own making, Hitomi,” Karasu fired back. “You are starting to sound just like him! By defending him you defend his actions, and you place yourself against the Crane Clan.”
“For killing an enemy that we all wanted killed?” Hitomi asked.
“For destroying the traditions of Iaijutsu,” said Karasu. “Of course, I don’t expect you to understand…”
“No, I don’t,” rebuked Hitomi hotly. “I know about traditions, Karasu. The Phoenix had them, you remember? The Elemental Council, a tradition handed down from the Tribe of Isawa, whose every word we hung on? The Shiba, paralysed to do anything because of tradition? Well, those traditions not only strangled us, but destroyed the Phoenix itself. Destroyed our lands and people with a devastating war. Brought about the wrath of Lord Moon himself and his instrument.” Her eyes were like twin fires, blazing him with her anger. “Do you know what sort of future the Phoenix has now? The desire to change, to learn from past mistakes and not repeat them. Yet here we are, talking about tradition as if it had some value over what needed to be done.”
Karasu blared back at her, cold ice to her fire. “You are hardly a glowing endorsement for the Phoenix yourself,” he pointed out. “The traditions of Kakita have stood for twelve hundred years. I see no reason for them to be changed.”
Hitomi made a noise showing her disgust. “Do not tell me that things have not changed in twelve hundred years,” she said. “Or that things will not continue to change. I know you still have your mother’s gaijin pistol even if you have not fired it in years.”
“Do not equate my actions with his,” said Karasu coldly.
“I am not,” said Hitomi. “But this has hardly come out of nowhere, hasn’t it? We knew, all of us knew, by allowing in gaijin weapons, we were opening up to forces we could not control. By having them at all we were inviting change, and if we think we can just return to the way things were then we are utter fools.”
“Don’t remind me,” said Karasu. He sighed. “Hitomi, I hear you even if I don’t agree with you. But as far as Harun is concerned my hands are tied. The Daimyos want to make an example of him. This marriage…it could be good for him. The Crab already respect him and will grant him a great honour. The Crane fully support it and Harun could deal with much worse.”
“Such as?” Hitomi asked.
Karasu shrugged. “Exile? At least if he is here we may be able to see him sometimes.”
“Will he want to see us after this?” Hitomi asked.
“I don’t know,” replied Karasu with another sigh. “It is like I don’t even know him anymore.”
“Perhaps we are seeing his true self,” Hitomi suggested. “If what you say is true and Harun’s marriage must happen then we must do it in the right way. He cannot think that we are abandoning him..”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” said Karasu.
In the late evening, Kyoumi sat in front of a low table spread with matching lacquered wood combs, brushes and a mirror while a servant took her hair down. Taking out the hairpins and placing them in a small round box. The servant chatted idly, as she had been asked to by Kyoumi. This was usually a good way to get an idea of what was going on in the court. But tonight, she wasn’t really listening. Her thoughts whirled, quickly crowding and skipping over each other. Her tea with Harun…his impending marriage…Arahime waving from on board a ship as it sailed away…
“Leave me, please,” said Kyoumi, her voice tight and controlled.
It was only when the servant left that Kyoumi let her mask drop. Only here, when she was in complete privacy, could she be herself. The words she could speak were her own and she could allow herself to feel.
Arahime’s death…the wounds of grief were still so fresh, but she had had to push them aside in order to serve the Emperor. To be the Voice that Rokugan needed.
The role and the distance it gave her, it did insulate her somewhat. But even though she did not let the hurt affect her, it did not mean it did not matter.
And seeing Harun had not helped at all. Casually referring to his betrothal as if the past did not matter. As if what Arahime had felt for him did not matter and he had moved on with his life.
And yet…what she had seen was a young man, still very much a boy, trying to make sense of himself and the world he was in. Instead of being shown compassion, Harun was being shoved to one side. An embarrassment to be hidden, shunned. And while it was right, it certainly wasn’t fair.
The door opened and Kousuda entered. There was grew in his hair and beard now, more than there had been bust a few months before. Lines around his eyes as well. From worry and pain.
But when he saw Kyoumi, he smiled. She brightened as well. The room seemed a little lighter, the burden of grief from the death of their daughter felt a little less heavy. They could carry it together.
He kissed Kyoumi gently on the cheek and sat down behind her, removing his socks and rubbing his feet.
“I heard something about a ronin near the Imperial quarters,” said Kousuda. “I take that this was one of yours.”
Kyoumi nodded. “Do you remember Susumu Ketsueki?”
Kousuda frowned, thinking back. “Vaguely. He was one of the Onyx Spider at Shiro Mirumoto that year? I never met him but he did turn up at the Unicorn camp with threats and demands. I think Yamada managed to beat him up, so that was good.” He frowned again. “Wait…isn’t he dead? Didn’t he die when the Onyx Scorpion set Shiro Mirumoto alight?”
“I thought so too, at least for a while,” Kyoumi answered, carefully removing her hairpins. “But he has been serving Haihime for a number of years…as the ronin Kumo.”
Kousuda looked ay her. “Kumo? But he was…”
“At Shiro Moto?” Kyoumi asked. “Yes, yes he was.”
Kousuda’s face darkened. “But why would you meet with him? You know better than me what is like, tainted and twisted. Why?”
Kyoumi told him. Explaining everything thoroughly. The plan to eliminate Yuhimi, the betrothal with Haihime’s daughter that had been made in exchange, the prophecy. Everything.
Kousuda sat deep in thought for a while afterwards, when he spoke his tone was serious. “Before Ketsueki had nothing but threats and insults, now he has even less. How can we trust him?”
“I would never trust him,” answered Kyoumi quietly. “But I know his devotion to the Hantei line is beyond fanatical, this is something that can be used to end this war.”
“And then?” Kousuda asked.
Kyoumi shrugged. “I’m not sure beyond that. He got what he wanted with the marriage, if he knows what’s good for him he will keep his distance from Isanko. The Crane will make sure of that.”
Kousuda nodded, a smiled started to dawn on his face. “You have outdone yourself, my wife,” he said proudly. “I don’t think many could claim saving Rokugan twice in their lifetimes. It is a pity that no one will ever know your role.”
“I think it is perhaps best that no one knows,” said Kyoumi. “The things that we have done…the things that I have done.”
Kousuda nodded, knowing full well what she meant. He ran his hand gently over her hair and stood up. Kyoumi removed her last hairpin and started to comb her hair. Kousuda started to remove his court clothes, hanging them up.
“I saw Harun earlier,” said Kyoumi. “He is…troubled.”
“I thought as much when he visited us,” said Kousuda. “But he deflected any questions I had as well as he uses that blade of his. Is it true about his betrothal to the Crab girl?”
Kyoumi’s voice was tightly controlled and very small. “Yes.”
The former Ide’s head whipped around to look ay her. “Oh, my dear, I am so sorry.” He rushed over to her, his garment still open. He put his arm around Kyoumi, taking her hand in his. “I know you wanted it to happen, Harun and Arahime, we all did and after the war we would have found away to make it work.”
“But it’s like it all doesn’t matter,” Kyoumi said, a sob creeping into her voice. “Harun has gone cold and hard, as if he does not care how she cared for him.”
“Listen to me, Kyoumi,” Kousuda said softly. “Harun is looking forward as it is all he knows how to do without looking back. Yamada was the same, it is how she managed to stay strong for so long.”
“It broke her too,” Kyoumi said, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.
“Harun has had a very different life to what she had,” Kousuda said. “He had all of us growing up, our strength to draw on. And that was what she wanted for him.”
Kyoumi nodded. “He is still so young.”
“And he has his whole life still ahead of him,” Kousuda said, gently stroking her hair. “If this path before him is the one that he must take, then we must be prepared to let him go.”
She nodded again. Her hand found the scar on Kousuda’s side. Remnant of the gun shot wound he had been inflicted with long ago. Grievous at the time, it had almost killed him had Yamada not been there to get Kousuda to safety. But the wound had healed, leaving only the mark and the memory.
The next morning, Harun finished up a good session in the Hida dojo. He was beginning to get more acceptance with the other bushi that trained in the dojo. So, it was not just the Crab he sparred with, but a few from the Unicorn, Lion and Mantis Clans. Still, the Crane refused even to acknowledge him, Kakita Yashiro maintaining that aloofness as if Harun didn’t exist.
He tried to not let it bother him too much.
Just as he was leaving, someone came inside. It was Hitomi.
“Mother?” Harun put down the bokken he was holding and went up to her. “I didn’t know you were coming to court.”
“I would not have missed being at such an important occasion for you,” said Hitomi
“Oh yes, that,” said Harun flatly.
“You don’t sound very happy, my son,” observed Hitomi. She beckoned him to walk with her out of the dojo. “Don’t think for a moment you have to rush into this.”
“I am not being given much of a choice in this,” said Harun sullenly. “Maybe it is better for everyone if I just left the clan.”
“I am talking about you, not everyone,” said Hitomi gently.
Harun smiled a little at this. “Well, thank you mother, but you may be one of the few Crane who thinks this.”
“I see no reason to not to put you and your happiness first,” said Hitomi warmly.
Harun smiled again, but it made him feel a little uneasy. They walked along in silence for a while.
“Tell me about Toshi Ranbo,” Hitomi said.
“Father hasn’t told you?” Harun asked.
“He has, but I wish to hear it from you,” she said.
So, he told her. Harun had told that many people by now what had happened that he was starting to get a little tired of the telling. But somehow repeating the story to Hitomi was helpful, a cleansing in a way.
“You showed remarkable courage there, Harun,” Hitomi said when he was done. “Not many would have would have done what you did.”
“You talk as if that is a good thing,” said Harun stiffly.
“And you do not think it is?” Hitomi asked.
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Harun answered a little resentfully.
“Harun, if you truly do not want this marriage, I can put a stop to it,” she said.
“What about father?” Harun asked.
“Don’t worry about him,” said Harun. “Your happiness is more important to me.”
Harun nodded. “Thank you, but…if this is what remaining in the clan is going to be like then maybe it is better if I leave.”
He walked off, Hitomi let him go.
Several hours later, Harun was dressed in his court close and sitting having tea in Doji Nashikyo’s sitting room. He sat on his father’s right while Hitomi sat on Karasu’s left, Nashikyo sat on Harun’s right at the end of the table.
On the opposite side sat Hiruma Saito, Daimyo of the Hiruma family and next to him his daughter and heir Yosoko. The contrast between him and Karasu was quite marked, the two men could not be more different. Karasu, tall and elegant in his sky blue hitatare formal kimono with the white cord trim and emerald green obi. Saito was slightly shorter and leaner, he wore simple deep blue juban and hakama, his status as Daimyo of a Great Clan family shown with the gold-trimmed jinbaori he wore.
Doji Nashikyo served tea served tea from a teapot painted with scenes of mountains and trees, each cup was shaped like a flower and in a different colour. Harun drank some of his tea, something to do since he was not expected to speak at all during this meeting. He listened to the conversation, but most of his attention was focused on Yosoko who sat opposite him.
My future wife…
Nasu had told Harun that Yosoko was a few years older than him, but she did not look it. The way she sat was more indicative of a shy girl unused to social settings. She kept her head down and her hands in her sleeves, not touching her tea. Her hairstyle and dress was in the same subdued style as when Harun had seen her at the art exhibition, but there were little details he had not noticed then. The pale blue flower made of folded kimono fabric that nested in her dark hair. The pale yellow obijime around her waist that contrasted with the dark grey of her obi. The delicate sandalwood fan that was tucked under her obi, a silken teal tassel bright against the grey.
Sandalwood? Harun thought. Just like my mother’s, aren’t they very rare?
This shyness that she showed didn’t tally with what Nasu had told him of her, or what little Harun knew himself. Apparently she was no shrinking violet. Capable with the tetsubo, blade and bow, she had been part of scouting missions beyond the wall and had even led one herself.
But there was something else that could be the reason why she was acting this way. Nasu had told Harun that Yosoko had had three older brothers that had died. She had never been expected to succeed her father as Daimyo, and yet here she was.
She has had to step up, that’s not easy, thought Harun.
Karasu talked to Saito, talking about Harun’s time in the Legion. Harun tried to drown it out. This was the closest he had been to his father in weeks, and yet he felt more farther away from him than ever. Karasu did not even look in Harun’s direction, his on perfect.
Harun tried to look for some sot of sign from Hitomi, but she gave him no indication either.
He turned his attention back to Yosoko, but she still she had not looked up. What was she like? How did she feel about their upcoming marriage?
He found the enforced silence paralysing, it was like he was trapped in a nightmare where no one would speak to him or even look at him.
And this is my life they are deciding right here, he thought, feeling his anger rise, this is where they sell me off like a bag of rice…
Harun reached out for his teacup, bumping it with his hand and causing it to clatter against the tabletop. Everyone turned to look at Harun who felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. But there was a brief moment where he caught Yosoko’s eye, and saw she felt as trapped by this as he was.
It’s okay, he said to her silently, we are in this together…