Ninja Love: Saizo Kirigakure

Chapter 51

We flew down the dirt road for a while before Musashi drove her off the path and sent us thundering into the forest. I had to cling to the back of Musashi's clothes to even stay on the horse, and my bones rattled frequently as Sakura kept up her clipping pace over the rough terrain.

As we rode, Musashi did not utter a word to me. Without a view of his face, I had no idea what he was thinking. Did he even recognize me? Maybe I interpreted his expression wrong, and he had no idea who I was. After all, we only met for a brief time, and that was months ago.

I abandoned my hopeless wondering about Musashi and let my thoughts turn elsewhere. I thought about Saizo and how worried he would be about me. I hoped he wouldn't do anything reckless. I thought about Hanzo and the others, and how they would manage to rally the troops even when I wasn't there. They had said that I was vital to the cause, but I was sure that they would be able to do just fine without me, I thought about Kuma and the way she watched, helplessly, as Musashi took me away. I sent up a silent prayer that she would not blame herself for this. I thought about the future I could have had, and the one I was now on my way to. I had gotten lost in the blur of the trees, but I was sure that I was not going somewhere where I would be welcomed as a friend.

Every once in a while, we rode past the outskirts of a village or town, and I found that I could barely glimpse some houses through the trees. I considered shouting for help, but I couldn't be sure if anyone would hear be, and I didn't know how Musashi would react to it. Ultimately, reason won over, and I decided to stay silent.

We rode for hours, and eventually Sakura started to fatigue and slow down. By the time that afternoon sun was falling lower in the sky, the most she could manage was a trot. I listened quietly as Musashi swore under his breath. "What the hell is wrong with this horse?"

Had his words been said under any other circumstance, I might have laughed. Musashi may have been an expert swordsman, but he definitely didn't know his way around horses. Even with being situated at her haunches, I could feel Sakura's labored breathing beneath me, an obvious sign of exhaustion.

"If I may speak..." I started meekly, continuing when Musashi nodded without facing me, "Sakura is tired, and needs food and water. She cannot run forever, especially while carrying two people."

My captor was silent for a moment, and I held my breath, worried that I might have angered him.

"Very well," he replied as he reigned the mare into a casual walking speed, "There is a creek nearby here. We'll make camp there for the night and continue first thing in the morning."

Sure enough, a little ways off of our course, a small brook babbled happily through the forest. As soon as we dismounted Sakura, she trotted over to the stream and began to eagerly guzzle water from it. Musashi gripped my arm and led me away from her, probably to make sure I didn't try to take her and escape. He seated me firmly on a fallen log and tied my feet together, threatening to hogtie me if I tried to escape. I rolled my eyes as he walked away to unload the saddlebags. Did I look as stupid as he must have thought I was? Even before he tied my feet, it would have been too difficult for me to mount Sakura on my own without making a ton of noise. Besides, he had my only weapons, so I couldn't cut the ropes that held me. Even if I could, I was almost completely certain that I couldn't outrun him. If he did catch up to me, I would be dead in seconds. A good piece of advice to live by is "know your limits."

I watched in silence from the log as Musashi set up a small camp near me. He rifled through Sakura's saddlebags, pulling out the sleeping mat and food that I had packed. Using his katanas, he quickly severed a few branches off of the trees and set up a fire just as the sun sank below the horizon. After loosely tying Sakura to the log I sat on and leaving her to graze lightly at the grass around us, Musashi took a seat next to me on the log, sighing heavily and passing me a piece of dried meat from the saddlebags. I took it from him cautiously, and subconsciously leaned away from him as I ate. He seemed like an honorable man, but I would not be the one to take that chance.