Ninja Love: Saizo Kirigakure

Chapter 13

Spring. Flowers in a meadow. Two young children laughing. A promise being made. A falcon flying away. The road to a village. Darkness and fire. Pools of blood. Screaming children. People crying and running around. A little one searching frantically for her parents. A carriage ride. Darkness.

I bolted upright, breathing heavily. That dream again. The one I first had at the hot springs, but worse and in more detail. It was all so hauntingly familiar, but I couldn't quite place where or when I had experienced it before.

Almost instantly, Saizo was at my side.

"Is everything alright princess?" He looked at me with genuine concern.

Still breathing rather rapidly, I tried to shake it off. "Yeah, I'm alright. It was just a bad dream..."

I looked towards the entrance of the cave. It was still very dark and rainy, but I could tell it was close to sunrise.

"We should get going if we want to get to Iga in a timely manner." I quickly stood up and started packing the few things we had brought. I could feel Saizo's emotionless eyes on my back. It amazed me at how easily he was able to change his demeanor from caring too distant in a matter of seconds.

I guess that's why he's the master of disguise... I thought as he helped me finish packing up.

Soon after a quick breakfast of leftover fish, we buried the fire in attempt to erase traces of our presence, and we went on our way.

We walked through the torrential rain in silence. It couldn't be helped if we wanted to get to Iga in a timely manner. It had only about an hour after we left the cave, and we were both knee deep in mud and soaking wet.

Lunchtime came around, so we found a small outcropping in the mountain face and settled down for lunch.

I was only halfway through my dango when Saizo practically tackled me!

Before I could protest, he clamped his hand over my mouth, silencing me.

"Quiet! Someone's coming." He whispered, his warm breath blowing down my back and making shivers run down my spine, but I did as he asked and remained quiet.

Sure enough, I soon heard what sounded like hoofbeats over the sound of the heavy rain. I looked at Saizo, surprised. We had both thought this path would be too rough for any soldiers, let alone horses.

He pressed some shuriken into my hand and motioned for me to hide behind a bush near the edge of the outcropping as the hoofbeats got closer.

Soon, a few figures appeared through the fog, the rain obscuring my vision. There appeared to be four men, dressed as samurai, two on horses and two on foot. They galloped up to Saizo, who was now standing a little ways in front of the outcropping.

"You! What is your business way out here in these mountains?" The first samurai hopped off his horse and approached Saizo with his sword drawn.

From my 'vantage' point in the (rather uncomfortable) bush, I saw Saizo open his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

"Don't answer that, baka. We know who you are. We also know who's hiding in that bush over there." He swept one accusing finger in my direction. My eyes widened as one of the foot soldiers dashed over and grabbed me before I had a chance to move.

I struggled to break from his grip, but he forcefully dragged me over to the leader and shoved me to the ground pointing the end if his katana at me. I looked up helplessly at Saizo, but he appeared to be completely unfazed.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you." His face remained expressionless as he gave out a low warning, a glint of danger in His eyes. That bastard. He was enjoying this!

The samurai that had grabbed me scoffed. "What can you do? We have a hostage!"

With a burst of wind, I was standing behind Saizo. I smirked at the samurai, who was now pointing his katana at nothing but the rain soaked ground. Knowing that Saizo could easily handle this, I busied myself with the task of trying to clean off my muddy kimono.

Not even bothering to look up, partially because I was afraid of what I would see, I tried with all my might to wipe of the mud, but to no avail. I looked up to see the five men fighting a little ways in front of me, so I stepped out into the rain, hoping it would help clean me. Apparently, that was a huge mistake.

While I was preoccupied, one of the samurai had come up behind me and clamped a hand over my mouth. I tried to scream for Saizo  but he was too busy with the two samurai that were left.

"Well, what a pretty princess." I heard a gruff voice whisper in my ear. "No wonder Nobunaga wants you alive."

I struggled in vain against this disgusting creature. His armor clanked together as he dragged me farther away from Saizo and safety.

The shuriken! I suddenly remembered the shuriken Saizo had handed me. They were tucked in a small pouch around my waist. If I could only reach them…

An idea hit me, and I stopped struggling, pretending to pass out.

"Huh?" The samurai, momentarily taken aback, shook me and then laid me on the ground. I could feel his presence standing over me, pondering what to do next. This was my chance.

I jumped up and, before he could react, I firmly planted two shuriken between his eyes and one in his chest.

His eyes widened in surprise. He coughed, a little blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth before he toppled backwards.

Then, it hit me.

I had just killed a man.

This man could have had a family! A life! He was most likely one of the many pawns Nobunaga had rallied together for the sake of their country. He had probably done nothing wrong! He only wanted to serve his country!

I started hyperventilating. I tried to run from the body, but I stumbled, the tears I didn't even know were there obscuring my vision. I fell to my knees and vomited. I sobbed and vomited some more, nearly choking myself. The horrible smell of blood and bile mixed in my nostrils, only causing me to heave some more.

I kneeled there, my hands on the ground, being anything but a princess. I lost track of how long I was there, and the rain drowned out my sobs and heaves. Soon, there was nothing more and I was left in the ground, crying.

Suddenly, I felt warm arms encircle me. I was lifted off the ground, my wet hair sticking to my face and shoulders. I couldn't speak, only cry. For the soldier. For grandfather. For my parents. For a lost childhood.

---

When I woke up, we were back under the outcropping. The sun was close to setting, and if anything, the rain had gotten worse than before. I could hear the sounds of horses neighing just outside. I was lying on my side, facing the forest. A warm hand placed itself on my shoulder.

"I'm proud of you. It must have been terrifying." I could hear something different in Saizo's voice. Sympathy?

Rolling over to face him, I spoke as tears threatened to spill over again. "I didn't mean to... I just wanted to escape! I wasn't thinking about..." My voice hitched and Saizo shushed me.

"Its alright. I understand. He was the one at fault for dragging you away." He sat cross-legged and pulled me into his lap. This was new. I cautiously rested my head on his broad chest and listened to his heartbeat. This felt so safe... And I liked it. He gently stroked my hair and we sat in silence.

For the first time in a while, I fell into a dreamless sleep, surrounded by the warmth of... a friend.