The Samurai That I Loved

第28章

Eliza lulled awake from an uncomfortable sleep from the strange, repitive movements of Shojiro's body against her own. Blinking her eyes for clarity in the darkness of the night, she tried to focus on the shadowy silhouette of his prescence.

Although his upper torso and hands were bound tightly behind him, his fingers were busily knotting and twisting clumps of straw behind his back while his head remained lowered as if he were sleeping.

Eliza looked past him to see the group of men had set up camp and taken rest by a nearby fire. It was as if they had completely dismissed her and Shojiro's existence entirely, she thought to herself with mingled bitterness and relief.

A half moon was barely visable from up above through the spiraling trees of the forest, shrouding the whole campsite in near total darkness.

A small grunt came from Shojiro as he sat up straighter and moved his hands faster, prompting Eliza to look back at him in curiosity.

"What are you doing?" She whispered quietly. His hands paused and his chin lifted as he turned to face her from his bound, uncomfortable state.

He frowned slightly, although she could hardly make out his face. He looked perplexed to formulate the proper words for his actions, however he finally answered in quiet, soft English,

"Eh...umm. Like...your hair."

Eliza's brows furrowed at his response, tilting her head slightly with a lost expression. He gazed back at her with a slight squint as if he were gauging her face with uncertainty.

"You know...hot. Whoosh. Whoa." He tried again to explain himself, but paused and shook his head at his own words. Eliza bit back a veiled smile of mirth as she grappled with his broken English.

"Oh. Alright." She remarked quietly when he suddenly turned away once more and continued to twist the straw together quickly.

After a moment, his voice invaded the silence with a curt,

"Get back."

"Wha--"

"Eliza-chan, get away from me." The harsh tone he used was slightly louder in volume and all at once, he was suddenly shouting in Japanese.

"HI, HI, HI NO TASUKE!"

(Fire, fire, fire, help!)

Eliza shrieked and scooted away from him in shock just as a milky stream of smoke began to rise from the back of his ropes. He ignored her as he angled his head and instantly began blowing puffs of breaths upon the source of the smoke.

A sudden flame sparked to life upon his ropes and Eliza realized in that moment what exactly he was doing.

Kamikaze attack of self-immolation.

The fire ignited from the dry straw, the flimsy old ropes immediately burst into flames engulfing Shojiro inside.

The group of men erupted into chaos as several ran towards the burning cart and Shojiro trapped within the flames. The leader shouted as he approached, yanking Eliza off the back of the cart and reaching for Shojiro.

A couple of the men held Eliza back as she screamed in terror at the engulfing flames surrounding him until the leader suddenly unsheathed the samurai blade, slicing it down the back of Shojiro's ropes.

While the oxen roared and reacted from the rising flames in the cart, and the men were holding back Eliza in stunned apprehension of the sight they were witnessing, the next moments would all happen in flashes of terror and bloodshed.