Fire and Water | A Blue Eye Samurai Story

Chapter 12

After about 5 minutes of Mizu waiting and watching over Akemi, Ryuu slides the door open to the private room. He's seen wearing his hat again, and Mizu glances up to see her own hat and poncho nestled up under his left arm. When Ryuu walks over to where Mizu is seated on the floor, she quickly stands up. He notices the short knife that Mizu is currently holding, and he stretches out the folded poncho and hat to her. Mizu takes both items and places them next to the door. Ringo, who is also standing, walks over to Mizu and Ryuu who are standing in front of Akemi. Ryuu steps off to the side so that Ringo is standing in between him and Mizu.

"Ringo," Mizu starts, pointing the knife towards Akemi who is sitting quietly on the floor. "This is Taigen's princess, and she tried to kill me." Mizu pulls Ringo's right arm up towards her, and she starts to slide the handle of the knife in the tool cuff. "If she screams, kill her. She moves, kill her." Ringo turns to Mizu and raises his eyebrows in shock with what he was just asked to do.

"What? I can't kill her," Ringo bites back, leaning towards Ryuu out of worry. Ryuu pivots to where he can see Mizu's face and watches as he leans a little closer to Ringo.

"What do you think an apprentice does?" Mizu challenges. She looks to the right of Ringo's head, and she notices Ryuu looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She looks back to Ringo for a moment as he collects himself. He inhales and closes his eyes for a moment, and then he takes a step towards Akemi with his other arm holding the knife in place. The sound of the bell tied around his ankle causes Ryuu to look down and see that he still hasn't removed it. Ringo twists his face into an aggressive scowl to appear more threatening to their captive. Mizu turns around and picks up her sword, hat, and poncho from a spot next to the door. She turns her head towards Ringo for a moment, and then she slides open the door to slip out.

Ryuu watches as the door quietly slides shut and Mizu disappears. "Do you have to stare?" Akemi asks Ringo. Ryuu turns his gaze back down towards Akemi and he looks over to Ringo.

"Sorry," Ringo quickly apologizes, tilting his head away from Akemi, but periodically glancing back down at her. Ryuu places his hand on Ringo's shoulder for a moment, and then he follows after Mizu. He slides open the door and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.

When Ryuu reaches the hallway, he notices Mizu already at the opposite end. He swiftly and quietly follows after him, and in about 20 seconds, he is at the end of the hallway where Mizu just was. He turns the corner and sees him halfway through the main seating area. Picking up the pace, Ryuu reaches the opposite side of the room in a matter of seconds. He peers through the entryway and sees Mizu adorning his hat and poncho. Mizu slides open the outer door to the tea house and steps out into the cold winter air. Ryuu rushes towards the door and catches the handle of the door just after Mizu had closed it. He sighs to himself as he watches his hand tighten around the handle.

Where is he going now? What's up with him today? He's been so quiet and hostile at the same time. Could he be angry with me? He probably doesn't want me to follow him, especially since he didn't even tell me where he was going. Should I follow him? He stares at his hand that hesitantly grips the door handle. He exhales hard and tenses his jaw. You know what? Fuck it. He pries the door open and sees Mizu starting to walk down the steps, but he turns around at the sound of the door opening. Mizu sighs at the sight of her companion that has seemingly followed her out the door.

"What are you doing here Ryuu?" Mizu asks, sounding exhausted.

"I wanted to talk to you," he admits, taking a few steps closer to Mizu. Mizu turns around and walks back up the steps to meet him.

"Now's not really-"

"Are you angry with me?" Ryuu asks, saying the question a little too quickly. Mizu's eyebrows shoot up at the sudden interrupting question.