The Cloaked Samurai

As soon as you heard Miyoko's words, your chopsticks fell from your hand. Images of Keiji flashed before your eyes, and you could still feel his lips on your neck and his hand on your thigh. You had been lucky; what if he had gone all the way? Miyoko had to endure that? She was barely a woman, closer in age to being a girl!

You stood up and ran from their house. You couldn't help Miyoko. Having her with you would just mean thinking about Keiji every moment of every day, having him fill your mind completely. You ran into the forest and stopped to catch your breath. You were almost hyperventilating. You tried to concentrate on your surroundings, but you were only reliving the memories of Keiji. What if Miyoko's child had his kind smile and cold eyes? What if her child acted exactly like him?

"Cloaked Samurai... sir?" a nervous male voice asked. You knew without looking that it belonged to Miyoko's older brother.

"I know you probably don't believe her, but it's true. Emperor Keiji and Prince Yasuo visited the town on a routine survey of the country a few months ago. Miyoko was asked to come before him as a representative of our people, and when she returned..." the young man hesitated. "I was so angry. I would never doubt her word, especially concerning something so serious. If you could have seen her face after it happened, you would believe her! Well, I wanted to kill Emperor Keiji, but I knew it would be a terrible act of treason. I wasn't... I wasn't strong enough. Please, you have to prove that he doesn't deserve to be emperor. You have to show people the truth whether they want to see it or not. You're the only one who can help. You're a legend. You're a hero. People will believe you. Please, sir. Help my sister... help her because I couldn't."

Maybe he was right. Maybe Miyoko and her child were the key to proving Keiji's terrible secret. Maybe people would believe you, the famous Cloaked Samurai and a girl pregnant with Keiji's child.

"I will do everything in my power," you finally promised, turning around. The young man's face lit up with a large smile.

"Thank you, sir! You really are the savior of the people!" he grinned. He ran back into the town. You followed, and as you slowly reentered the street, Miyoko and her brother ran from their house. They raced through the streets, each ringing a bell.

"The Cloaked Samurai is here!" they shouted. "He has finally come!"

People stuck their heads through their doorways at the commotion. A cheer filled the air as they saw you. Everyone began bustling about, running around the town as if in preparation.

"We have planned this for a long time," an old man smiled up at your surprise. "We knew you would come to avenge our poor Miyoko. You will save us from the corruption."

"But the ninjas... they will be here by sunrise," you reminded him.

"That is what we are readying ourselves for. There are places for women and children to hide. The men will take up arms if the ninjas don't believe us when we say you haven't been here. You are the protector of the weak; now it's our turn to protect you," the old man explained. Happiness bubbled up in your soul. After all this time of wandering the kingdom and running from ninjas and fearing Keiji, you found a place to rest. These people would take care of you, risking everything in hopes that you'd one day repay them by making sure Keiji was removed from power.

"Let me show you where you'll hide, Cloaked Samurai!" Miyoko said eagerly, pulling on your sleeve. She led you back inside her house. She took you to a room where several futons were laid out and a dresser sat in the corner. She took out the bottom drawer of the dresser.

"Can you fit?" she asked, pointing to the space left behind. You put your head inside the opening to see there was a hole in the ground. You squeezed through and came out in a large room dug underground. Miyoko followed, carefully dropping to the floor. The room was damp and dark except for the lantern Miyoko held, but it looked safe.

"It's impossible to move the dresser to reveal the hole. The only way in is to completely remove the bottom drawer," Miyoko explained. "Isn't it brilliant? We'll sleep in here tonight just in case the ninjas come earlier than expected. Don't worry; your curse can't harm us."
Miyoko climbed back out to grab a couple of futons and some food in case you have to stay there for a long time. Once everything you might need was placed in the room, Miyoko's brother replaced the drawer.

"I'm so excited!" Miyoko giggled. "I've waited so long for this day, and it's finally here!"

You were distracted and could barely pay attention to her words. You were thinking about the ninjas who would visit this town tomorrow. Would Takumi be with them? Would someone kill him to protect you? Those ninjas used to be your friends. It was hard to imagine the same men coming to kill you.

You noticed a dark shape in the corner of the room.

"What are these?" you asked, carefully approaching what looked like a small stack of papers.

"Oh, those are my letters!" Miyoko replied. She set the lantern down and picked up the paper on top of the stack. "I get them all the time."

"Who are they from?" you asked, seeing a glimpse of phrases like "captivating eyes," "gentle touch," and "unbearable yearning."

"I don't know. I have a secret admirer. I wish he would just tell me who he is," Miyoko sighed. "I find them on the table in the morning one or two days a week. I don't know who writes them. I try to get up early or stay up all night to see who it is, but he always manages to put them there without me seeing. I think he's embarrassed to tell the town that he's in love with a pregnant girl. Once I have this baby, I bet he'll reveal his identity."

Her story brought back memories of when love was a tingling sensation, a feeling of floating, a twitter in your stomach. Now it made you feel heavy, your heart aching whenever you thought of your lover.

"Everything is going to be okay now," Miyoko murmured, laying down on a futon. Within a few minutes, she was fast asleep. You stayed awake for a little longer, watching the flame dance in the lantern. You were once like Miyoko, scheming and planning and convinced nothing could go wrong. Now you just prayed that you could face what tomorrow would bring.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

You were standing alone on a mountain path. A large black bat flew towards you. The bat suddenly changed into Keiji. He was dressed in black, and he still has the vicious fangs of the bat. You tried to run away as he approached you, but he grabbed your left arm. You pulled out your katana with your other hand and sliced your arm off in your desperation to get away from him.

You managed to get away, but your path was blocked by a collection of ghosts. They were the angry spirits of Takumi's men, thirsty for vengeance.

You turned in the other direction to escape, but this time your way is obstructed by a white wolf. The wolf growled threateningly. You charged at the wolf and cut through its heart with your sword. You keep running past its corpse, but you reached the edge of the mountain and tumbled off. You fall through the air, knowing that any moment you'll hit the ground and die....

You woke up to the sound of Miyoko screaming. You immediately pulled out your katana and looked around for ninjas. You were still alone, but Miyoko's eyes were wide. She continued screaming, sitting upright.

"Miyoko, be quiet," you scolded softly. She didn't seem to hear you. She was shaking in terror as she shrieked. Just as quickly as it began, Miyoko suddenly stopped screaming. She closed her eyes and lay back down.

After this incident, you couldn't sleep. You watched as Miyoko slept soundly, as if the event had never happened. What happened? Was it a nightmare? Why did she seem like she wasn't even awake?

A few hours later, Miyoko woke up.

"Is it morning yet?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"I don't know," you murmured. "Miyoko, did you have a nightmare?"

"No, I slept fine," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Never mind," you shook your head. Why was she denying it? Did she honestly not remember?

"Someone will remove the drawer when it's safe to come out," Miyoko remarked more to herself than to you. "I wonder if the ninjas have attacked yet? I hope all of them are there so we can kill them all. We're really strong fighters, I think. Not as strong as you, of course, but our men have been training recently. Maybe the ninjas can't be killed. Are they just from the curse? Maybe they're evil spirits. How long is it going to take? I want to start our journey to Najo. Maybe we should wait until I have the baby. Do you think people would believe me if I was just pregnant? Maybe they want to see the baby themselves. It could be anyone's child, after all. They'll believe you, though. I know they will."

Miyoko chattered endlessly to herself until finally, light spilled into the room.

"It's safe to come out," Miyoko's brother called.

"Yay!" Miyoko cheered, but you held out a hand. You never have dreams like the one last night for no reason. It was trying to warn you of something.

"Let me go first," you commanded. Miyoko nodded, but she still smiled happily as you climbed out of the hole and pushed yourself into the room.

The first thing you saw was blood. There was blood smeared on the walls and covering the corpses of Miyoko's family. Blood was splattered all over the ground and the furniture. As you stood up, you saw Miyoko's brother was seeped in blood. His left eye was gashed out, and he had deep slices all over his body. His clothing was so cut up it barely hung on his body. Several fingers were missing, and he stood unevenly. He held a sword in his right hand. Its blade was dark red and dripping. His left hand pressed against a deep cut in his side. His breathing was labored and shallow, and the look in his right eye was furious and crazy.

"This is all your fault," he whispered. "You brought this upon us!"

"What happened?" you asked softly, standing in front of the dresser to make sure Miyoko stayed in the room.

"The ninjas came. They slaughtered everyone! They tortured us until we told them where every last hideout was, and they killed our women and children. They were going to kill me, but they decided to let me live as a witness and a warning to other people," Miyoko's brother explained, growing paler by the minute from blood loss.

"I... I'm sorry," you whispered, unsure of what to say in the face of this horror.

"Sorry doesn't mean anything!" he shouted angrily. "They were begging for mercy! I could only watch as children screamed for their mothers! Women spent their last breaths throwing themselves in front of their children to protect them! There was screaming and dying and pain everywhere, but you were hiding in a hole! You're supposed to be our warrior! You let innocent people die for your sake! You're not a hero; you're a demon!"

"I didn't know. I couldn't hear or see anything," you tried to explain. Your lungs wouldn't move anymore. Every swallow felt like you had a knife lodged in your throat. The cruel, harsh reality of this curse lay around you, flowing with blood. It was all your fault. You were the bringer of death. All this time, you had tried to tell yourself that Keiji was the criminal when truth was that you were the villain.

"I'll kill you myself!" Miyoko's brother shouted. Your face scrunched up in pain as you withdrew your katana.

"Please don't make me do this," you begged. "I don't want to kill you."

"Kill or be killed! That's all there is in this life!" Miyoko's brother yelled. He lunged at you, and you thrust your katana into his heart.

Behind you, Miyoko screamed. As soon as her brother's body went limp, you dropped to your knees and covered your ears. The sounds of her terrified sobs cut you straight to the soul.