Wolf and Keeper

Chapter 23: Unusual Motivations

"Do you know what I'm saying?"

"What is the grammar structure of this language? I still haven't figured it out... Maybe it's the dialect?"

"Do. You. Understand. What. I. Am. Saying?"

"I... I still have no idea what in the... I... I think that word was "you" but..."

Maru groaned and fell back onto the grass. "This is hopeless!"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic!" Shoda snapped from beside him as she peered out from behind the old wall they had taken shelter behind. "We need to get to Otsuki. He should be able to point us a safe road out of here."

"Otsuki?" The gaijin paused and looked over at her, "I know him!"

Shoda smiled, "Ah ha! I knew that old codger would be involved in keeping this guy!" She scooted closer to him and furrowed her brow before Maru watched her begin making small motions with her hands as she talked, "Do you like him?"

The man nodded and did the same, "I see what we're doing here. Now... I do. He was a... Hm, a friend."

When Maru watched her work, Shoda smiled over at him... Though it was more of a smirk, "I had a friend once who couldn't speak, so in order to figure out what he wanted to say, we made little gestures for certain words. Might even help him pick up our language a bit." She turned back to the man again, "What is your name?"

"Oh! Okay, now that I did understand," the man nodded and then patted his chest lightly, "Avery."

"Avery... Okay," Shoda repeated the gesture, "Shoda." She gestured to Maru, "Maru."

"We need to stop sitting here asking him questions and start finding the old man," Maru peeked over the old wall as the frustration began mounting. Becoming public enemy number one in the span of a few hours wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

Shoda slowly turned to look at him and shook her head in disbelief, "Are you- do you understand that without being able to speak with him that we will be unable to do anything with him? If he can't help out, we'll all be in trouble."

She had a point, Maru knew. He glanced back at Avery, who was watching him with a look on his face that Maru couldn't quite figure out. If they could at least communicate with him, then they stood a chance of at least having a third person to help them out if things got hairy. With Ran gone, having more hands would be better than having none.

"What are you three doing here?" They all looked up to the voice to see Otsuki staring down at them, shaking his head in shock. "You all need to leave! If Kubara finds you, he'll have you drawn and quartered!"

"I'd like to see him try," Shoda replied as she stood up and looked around. "Otsuki, I need one last favor from you." Maru watched her reach into her jinbaori and produce a letter that she handed to him. The old fisherman looked down at the letter before looking back up to her in confusion.

"This is..."

"From Gyoubu Rokujo. He asked me to give it to you on behalf of our mutual friend."

"Is it about... about Hanbei?" He asked as his eyes fell back down to the letter with a small shake of his head, "Is... Has he...?" Shoda lowered her eyes and cast them elsewhere as Maru and Avery stood up to join her. "Then... Oh..." Otsuki brushed his thumb over the name with a shaking sigh, "He never got his pardon."

"He didn't, but that wasn't all that was in the letter. Umemaru reached out to him and wanted to find everyone. Something has come up, and he needs all hands."

"My lady, I'm old and washed up..."

"We all are."

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Maru asked as he looked between Shoda and Otsuki as Avery crossed his arms beside him.