Writers note: Hello Everyone, I am sorry that I am rewriting it again and again... I should maybe do that offline, maybe not. Please do comment, as only through feedback I do learn. It is my first published story and I hope that now I have time to finally update regularly. I do apologise to everybody who has been waiting years for updates and all that, but now that I have more time in my live I will update the existing 10 chapters and continue with regular updates soon after. please bear with me and send me any feedback you have
perifee2
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Both the victor
and the vanquished are
but drops of dew,
but bolts of lightning -
thus should we view the world.
Ôuchi Yoshitaka4
1507-1551
The village and estate were basked in darkness, all lanterns had been extinguished and an unusual silence hang over the area. Just above the eastern horizon a large pale red moon sickle shone like an omen for the things it had and would witness. A lone light of a burned down candle was all that was left casting long shadows on the two lone figures kneeling on the floor one staring at her hands in disbelief.
Blood covered the Tanto in her mistress hands, that lay now still in her own guiding ones. It covered the blade to the hilt and now started dripping down on her badly shaking wrists, leaving stains in the white silk below.
Suddenly a single night owls cry was heard over the land on this cloudless dark night echoing the anguish in her heart but also startling her out of her stillness. Her duty tonight was not done yet.
Akio let go and bowed a last time to her mistress who was seated before her with her knees tied up and her blood fast draining the live out of her. A faint smile played around her perfectly shaped lips as if she knew something that Akio didnt. Everything was perfectly set up from the hairpin glimmering silver in the candle light, down to the white silk with the family crest, her mistress kneeled on. Although it had been the hardest thing she every had done, assisting her mistress in her Jigai was an honor.
Shaking with tears streaming down her face, she took the blade out of her mistress hands, letting it fall into her lab while cleaning and positioning her hands perfectly according to ceremony. The blade followed after being wiped clean with the cloth, that had lain next to her. Akio positioned the Tanto in front of her Mistress Mikito Kagawe before bowing down to her one last time in a final farewell.
Akio slowly stood up still shaking but satisfied with having her duty done well. The bloodied cloth forgotten in her left hand she slowly went towards the open doors. One last look at her mistress and friend through her teary eyes was nearly harder than the ceremony had been. The single candle made her silhouette look like a dreaming girl rather than a woman, now back with her husband and ancestors.
Looking out into the garden, Akio mourned the good times she had spent with her masters. Over the beautifully landscaped garden lay an eerie silence when Akio walked towards the back wall, in a slow defeated march. The lone stone table set still with the Igo set on it, she reached first. Just two days ago they still had been playing. It seemed to Akio like a lifetime ago now. She walked slowly to the pieces on the board and put them back into the containers. Nobody would finish the match now. One black and one white piece she took and placed them into her inro, where already the jade hairpin resided, her mistress had given her as a gift. The board she left set, it didnt matter to her at all. Out of habit Akio avoided the beautiful arranged sand of the Zen area before she crossed the koi pond looking unseeingly forward, not noticing the occupants at all.
Soon she arrived at her favorite spot at the wall, that surrounded the little garden. In her mind replayed countless hours she had spent with her mistress there, playing go, watching her doing needlework or reading.
Akio sat down leaning against the wall. It was not very high and she had an inkling that they would come this way. Close to her was an old cherry tree that no longer bloomed but it still had always been her favorite ever since she had been appointed the guardian of her mistress Mikito.
She removed her weapons and laid them out beside her out of range in purpose but still aggressively visible to everyone that would come by. Soon they would be here. Soon she would be with her family and ancestors as well. Her eyes swept over the garden one last time blocking out the visions of the past that now only was painful to remember to. Closing her eyes, she hoped that she would soon not have to open them ever again. Listening to the silence, she noted that not even nocturnal animals were heard as if they knew the end was coming fast.
They were coming, everybody knew that.
Outside the house the servants were crying and ready to leave. They would join the villagers and Master Yukisama in the mountain hideout. The other guards motioned her to follow but she waved them away. She would not survive this night, she had always known. Soon they were gone and there was none but her and her dead masters left in the Kagawe family estate.
---
As far as she knew there was no living human soul around besides her. The servants and the villagers had fled to the mountains with her teacher master Yukisama to lead them. Her fellow guards had motioned her to follow but she had waved them away. This night she would not survive, she had always known that ever since then. Soon she would be free as well. Free to join her ancestors. Her teacher would surely take care of her body, as it was custom, when he returned from the mountain range. He had understood why she could not flee into the mountains with the village people. Not that he liked it, but he understood when she had spoken to him.
Her loyalty was pledged to her master and his wife, who were already free. Master Kagawe had also honored her with helping him to die. Her main duty had though been to assist his wife and sit with her, guiding her hands in the ritual, that would grant them an honorable death. Being not of the noble class she had not that privilege, but nevertheless it would be over soon. There had been no children, which was a blessing in disguise as they had been praying for some for quite some time but never were heard by the gods. Maybe they had known that this would happen and wanted to spare the little souls of being a pawn in the nobles game of politics.
---
Sighting, leaning back her head back on her wall for support, her mind wandered back to that faithful night when Akio was doing her duty as personal guard of her mistress. Standing out of the way of the servants but close enough to be of assistance she had relaxed watching her masters take her family evening meal. A knock at the door had interrupted them. A messenger was coming with an urgent message that needed to be opened by the master himself and only him. He had done so immediately after taking it from the messenger who did not wait for an answer but bolted away as soon as he had delivered the message. It was somewhat unusual as normally they waited for a reply and some reward before going off again.
It had been from the head of the Chōsokabe family, her master's liege lord. Her young master had only taken over the duties from his deceased father 2 years ago and so far, had not been able to end the feud between the Chōsokabe family and their worst enemy although not due a lack of trying. It just took time to undo a century old wrong doing.
The master had become very pale upon reading the missive. Mikito sensed something wrong and took the letter from his hands before he could hide it from her. Her shocked face was all that was needed to bring Akio to attention. Nobody else was shown this letter. Later that night Akio was called into her masters room. Upon entering she noticed that there was a change in the air, something gloomy looming in the shadows. With an unease she had approached her master, where already the heads of the household servants, her sensei and the village were assembled. Something was really off. That night she found out that the missive had contained his liege lords last orders. Mikito had cried but Akio could not shed a tear even though she wanted to drown in an ocean of tears instead of having to watch the people that she cared about die by their own hand. She knew it was something they had to do and that there was no way around.
The feud was over the enemy had won. He was ordered to commit seppuku for the beginning of a long-lasting peace. The option to swear fealty to the new lord was not given and would have probably not even been taken into consideration by her master. The enemy, so it said, would make sure he would follow the order, even though the liege lord was already dead. They also knew what that order meant, they had sent death bringers. There was no choice they would come and they would kill, if the order was not followed to the letter. It now made sense to Akio, why the messenger had not waited for a reply. None was needed. Akio was also not able to prevent anything, even though she wished she could, as she had fallen in love with the family, the kindness of Mikito and the deep ingrained honor her Master displayed as well. Unfortunately, being a minor noble, he was just a pawn in an awful game that they had no control over. Hopefully in their next live they had more luck and could live a happy, long and fulfilled live. She was wishing, now that she would follow them soon, that in her next live she also would get to know them.
The reason for all of this, the feud and even who the enemy was, did not matter to her as it all had started long time before she even came to the Kagawe family 3 years ago. Soon after her arrival she found Master Yukisama and began training with him. He knew of her, knew why she lived the life of a boy instead of her true self. She had to stay even though he wanted her to come as well and Master Yukisama had understood. Herr live was pledged to her masters as she cared about them and owed them for their kindness in taking her in, an orphan with nothing to call her own. So she would die tonight.
Akios teacher and the head villagers organised the evacuation of the villagers and servants to a hideout in the mountains where they would be safe until the death bringers finished their search and body count and leave the village alone again. Nobody wanted to meet them and the order did not include them either, so the death bringers should not come after the villagers, the servants or the guards in the mountains. Only the head of the guard and his assistant, as they were potential leaders, had to die, so they would not seek revenge or lead the guards to battle. Everyone was named in the order, so it was easier to body count for the death bringers, that were on their way.
Later that night she was ordered in the private quarters of her masters. Only a few candles were burning when she entered the room. Her master and his wife had sat at his table with papers in front of them. Still there was a lingering sense of doom in the room, as expected. Akio bowed to them and seated after being asked to do so. Mikitos hand was clutching her husbands and her eyes were read from crying. She was still beautiful and Akios heart broke for them. She was then asked to honor them by assisting in their demise. Not being able to say anything to this request, Akio only nodded dutifully while her hands balled to fists. It was so frustrating not being able to save them. First the master was to go then his wife, both following the official ritual. Akio nodded knowing it was an honor to help in their last hour. She left soon after to prepare for them, as the servants had already departed.
Lady Mikito was crying still when she did the ritual bath mourning the death of her husband, although Akio had made sure that she showed no signs of the blood before entering her mistress room. After finishing and dressing, her hair simply bound to not be in the way, Mikito confessed that she knew about Akios identity and never had told anybody about it, not even her husband. Mikito wished for her to live and be eventually happy again, something that Akio did not promise. Akio, so Mikito also said, was also now unbound of her oath of fealty. Mikito gave her a beautiful hairpiece, her favorite one, so Akio knew, and some money. Now they were ready to begin the ritual. Mikito had begged her to flee and save herself. Akio could not. There was nowhere else she could go anyways and grieving for them, Akio was willing to follow them to the afterlife. Mikito nodded and set down to bind her knees with a silk scarf. Akio took the tanto and set down behind Mikito. Her beautiful Mistress took Akio's hand and together they sliced the jugular vein. She sat with her until her Mistress was dead and then stabilised her in a sitting position with her face off the door. So the enemies would find her. She knew there had been no way around it but if she could Akio would have taken Mikito's place. They had been too good to her, so she wanted to honor them by accepting the same fate.
A single tear slid down her face now as her hand reached into her jacket finding what she was looking for, her inro and the silk wrapped hair piece, the last gift of her mistress. Her fate was close. The death-bringer...
They were coming, everybody knew that...
They would come any minute now, So far nothing had disturbed the silence of the night. In a way it was peaceful and serene. The moon was now higher in the sky and had gained is silvery pale white, while illuminating the surroundings only the slightest. Akio sighted and let her mind reach out as she listened intensively. Only a short while after, she found them. Only a slight whisper in the wind, a subtle sound, nothing more than a mere premonition of their presence close by. Akio smiled. Master Yukisama noticed her gift early and trained her senses. She regretted a bit that now there was still so much more but no time left to do so. She still knew not enough to save them, the only family she had since her own died. They were close now and her personal death-bringer even closer. What she sensed was a proud and just mind, a determined presence full of intentions. His strike would be swift and quick that much his determined steps did tell her. Patiently she waited.
As usual let me know what you think, so far a couple of readers but no comments. please please comment, criticise let me know what you think. Too dark, not dark enough, boring, interesting, might work, might not? :) yes i found Akio, finally :)