The Cloaked Samurai

It was more than difficult to concentrate on anything the ninja was saying. All you could think about was how awkward this was. As the Cloaked Samurai, you were the ninja's enemy. As a woman, you were his love interest. Then again, if he found out you were Lady _____, someone of royalty he had tried to kill, he would try to kill you. No matter how attractive you had appeared to him as a woman last night, his political interests most likely came first. What if he found out that not only were you royalty but also the one who murdered his comrades and the one he fell in love with?

"You seem tired," the ninja suddenly commented.

"Yes. I have a headache," you said, closing your eyes and rubbing your temples with one hand.

"We have nearly arrived at the camp. It is not much farther," the ninja assured you. You opened your eyes and continued to follow him. Was there any way you could escape? If you got out now, he probably wouldn't give a rat's gluteus. On the flip side, he might think you were going to betray him and come after you with his group of ninjas. You'd have to come up with some kind of plan; you didn't know how long you can keep up with all of your lies.

Soon, you could smell hot soup being cooked. You peered through the trees to see smoke and a fire. As you reached a clearing, you emerged into the middle of a camp. A large kettle full of soup was cooking over a bonfire. There were about twenty men, each doing something different such as chopping vegetables for the soup, sharpening weapons, or studying a map. Everyone stopped and looked up when you entered the clearing.

"A samurai?" one growled suspiciously.

"It is against the samurai's code to follow unlawful practices such as the ninja do, isn't it?" another said.

"This man will not harm us. In fact, he is running from the Prince's men," the ninja you were with said.

"Master, you have been acting strangely since last night. Are you sure this is the best decision?" one of the man asked.

"He is a skilled fighter and has no where else to go. You will treat him with respect. Is this understood?" the ninja referred to as Master asked loudly.

"Yes, Master!" all of them men barked in one voice. They returned to their tasks.

"You seem tense," Master said, turning to you. The hostility here wasn't doing much for your nerves. "Tense" was a bit of an understatement. You were so jumpy that you almost wanted to attack him and get the inevitable fight over with.

"You can trust them. They may seem unfriendly at first, but they will not attack you," Master assured you, leading you to the fire. You sat down and set your bundle beside you, keeping it close.

"I'm more afraid of you than I am of them," you blurted out before you could stop yourself.

Master laughed. "And why would you say that?"

"You have given me no proof to show that I can trust you. In fact, you attacked me. You hide your face under a mask, and you haven't told me your name," you explained, your mouth starting to water from the smell of the soup.

"It is a great and rare honor to see my face. As for my name, it is Takumi, but my men, as you have already witnessed, refer to me as Master," the ninja replied. "You haven't told me your name either, samurai."

"It's Akio," you answered. The men were gathering around the kettle as one of the ninjas spooned out the soup. You were handed a bowl.

"We will move out tomorrow in two groups," Takumi announced to his men. "One group, led by Rani, will meet in Heijo to discuss current political revolutions with the other clans of ninjas. They have undoubtedly heard of our success in murdering the royal family of Lord Natsu."

A cheer went up, but you continued to eat your soup, silently planning your revenge on all of them. It was hard to keep control of your anger.

"My group will search for the Cloaked Samurai and the woman I met last night," Takumi continued. The ninjas exchanged uneasy glances. "They are together, I am sure of it. We will kill the Cloaked Samurai and take the woman. The woman tried to persuade me to stay away from her, but this is a prize I will not lose," Takumi said in determination. This was more than you could take.

"Prize? Is this a woman or a pig?" you asked loudly, setting your bowl down angrily. Everyone stared at you. "If you really think she is special or different from other women, shouldn't you treat her as an equal? Do you want someone to bear your children or someone to spend your life with?"

"What else are women for?" one of the ninjas muttered.

"Treat her like that, and she'll despise you for the rest of your life!" you insisted vehemently. "If you just kidnap her and force her to marry you, she'll be miserable."

"Master can do whatever he wants. Who are you to tell him what to do?" a ninja said to you in a threatening tone.

"Once we find her, she'll belong to Master," another agreed.

"No, Akio has a point," Takumi said, watching you with interest. "You seem to be well accustomed with this subject," Takumi continued, still studying your face. "I like you, Akio. Your insight is extraordinary. Do you have experience with women?"

"N-no," you stuttered uneasily. "Not really. It's just a... principle, an idea I came up with one day while meditating on the subject." It was sort of true. When you were a lady, you would make formal appearances but remain completely still and silent for hours. The only entertainment you had was to think about things like that.

"You must enlighten me, then," Takumi said, drinking some of his soup. "In turn, I can teach you the swift and silent techniques of a ninja. These are valuable skills, and you, Akio, will learn them."

"Thank you," you answered, not sure if you were happy with this outcome. You would be more satisfied if he had kicked you out, but by the way Takumi was talking, he expected you to stay.

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You couldn't sleep, and it wasn't just because you were on the cold, hard ground with no futon and only a thin blanket. You were worried about Farren and Farrah. How were they? Was the Prince going to find out the truth? Would they be killed for trying to protect you? You missed them so much already. You just wanted to go back to the safe comfort of their home.

Every time you closed your eyes, you saw the faces of your family: your father's wise eyes, your mother's kind face, your sister's cheerful smile, even Maemi's obedient look.... Their murderer was only a few yards away. Could you just forgive Takumi for killing them? This fault couldn't be overlooked.

You slowly sat up and grabbed your katana from where it was lying nearby. Everyone around you was asleep. You stood up carefully, creeping in the direction of Takumi's tent. You slowly drew back the fabric concealing the opening and stepped inside. Letting the fabric fall back into place, you unsheathed your katana.

Someone jumped at you from behind. You managed to turn to the side, but the man's hand caught your arm. His knife struggled to reach your throat. You tried to protect yourself with your katana.

"We take you in and feed you and offer you protection, and this is how you repay us?" Takumi, your attacker, growled in a low voice.

"You don't know the consequences of your actions, your 'political revolutions,'" you spat.

"Their tyrannical rule must be put to an end!" Takumi said, still pushing against your katana. You were both at a stand-still, equally matched.

"What did Lord Natsu ever do to deserve the death of his family, all of his servants, and himself?" you asked angrily.

"His taxes and laws were absurd! The peasants were starving to death!" Takumi answered.

"He did what he thought was right! You have no idea what it's like to be in such a position of authority or make decisions under such pressure! And why should his actions condemn his entire household?"

"None of them did anything to persuade him otherwise."

"And if they were kept ignorant to the situation?"

"The only ones who had a chance of being ignorant were his daughters, and I saved them from an unpleasant future."

"Saved them?! You murdered them both!"

"They were to be married to Prince Keiji. Yes, I know what you're going to say. He is kind and fair in his rulings. Everyone views him as a great leader, perfectly ready to become Emperor when his father dies, but there is a side of him kept hidden! I met one of his servants who disclosed certain information."

"Information about what?" You were both sweating heavily. Your arms were shaking from the force you were exerting. You didn't know how much longer you could keep this up, but if you faltered even one instant, you would be dead.

"The beloved Prince has a great taste for women, abusing and molesting them behind closed doors. Their virginity no longer intact, no one will accept them as brides. Many have killed themselves in their desperation and fear of him. If the daughters of Lord Natsu were to marry Prince Keiji, they would be unable to escape from him. Their lives would be terrible. Even their silk kimonos wouldn't be able to hide the bruises," Takumi answered. You fell silent.

"You see, Akio? We do not kill without good reason. Perhaps I shall show you some of the destitution caused by the royalty of the world, but you would need to surrender and drop your weapon," Takumi said.

"How do I know you wouldn't kill me?" you asked, feeling weaker by the minute.

"If I felt like killing you, I would have already called in one of the many men standing outside of my tent right now. They were awakened by our struggle, but they know never to enter my tent unless I call for them, even if someone has attacked me while I sleep. One shout, and you will find yourself covered from head to toe in knife wounds," Takumi explained calmly. You thought about this for an minute and finally dropped your katana, defeated.

"There, now. Isn't this much better than fighting against each other?" Takumi asked, sitting down and putting away his knife. You noticed that he was still wearing his mask.

"You wear your mask even when you sleep?" you asked in surprise.

"Still curious, I see," Takumi said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Despite tonight's happenings, I trust you more than I did when we first met. I don't think you'll attack me again, am I right?"

You shook your head solemnly, picking up your katana and putting it back in its sheath. Takumi gave a small chuckle as you left his tent. As he had said, all of the ninjas were gathered outside, ready to spring. You brushed past them and went back to your spot at the edge of the camp. You were embarrassed and confused. You wanted to hate Takumi, but at the same time, you couldn't help but see his point of view. You decided to wait a little longer. Another chance to kill him would come, and when it did, you would definitely seize it without hesitation.