Underneath the Red Trees

CHAPTER 12: LOVELY CREATURE

All Ryogetsu remembered from his mother's burial was his grandfather. Lord Inoue had looked tired. The loss of another child was eating away at him. He had lost two sons in the civil war. And now he had lost a daughter.

Everything else had gone by in a blur.

Another thing he remembered from the time after Lady Hisako's death was how nonchalant and uninterested Noboru was. It was like Hisako had been a stranger to him. Yes, Noboru acknowledged her death, but he did not mourn her. He went on as normal. His wife's death made no difference in his life.

Ryogetsu was sad at this time. But he was also angry. Angry at himself for being useless. Angry at the mercenaries for taking her away. And angry at his father for feeling nothing. Resentment festered inside him. At only seven years Ryogetsu already knew that he and his father would never get on.

In 1529, a year after Lady Hisako's passing, Ryogetsu of Naguchi developed a new hobby that drove Noboru up the walls. Ryogetsu began picking up Wielders, like they were strays.

The Naguchi clan elders tried to placate Noboru by insisting the boy was just trying to fill the emptiness that was left by his mother. It did little to appease him.

At age nine, on a trip to the Hitachi province, Ryogetsu discovered something new about Noboru of Naguchi: Most people despised him.

They arrived in a city in the Kasama domain. The two sons walked behind their father. In total there were five samurai with them, their duty was to protect the three Naguchis.

As they strolled through the city streets, a young girl slipped between Ryogetsu and his father. The samurai did not notice her. Granted, the girl was small and frail, and to the onlooking eye she seemed unthreatening.

When she passed Noboru of Naguchi, however, she pulled out a knife hidden within her sleeve. She was—of course—only a child. The samurai moved fast to protect their lord.

Ryogetsu grabbed her.

Jinshiro held an amused grin on his lips. "What are you doing?"

Ryogetsu glanced at his brother behind him. Jinshiro was fourteen. Recently his height had increased rapidly. "She is a Wielder. I am taking her home."

Jinshiro burst out laughing. "You want to take home the assassin that made an attempt on Father's life?"

The commotion had attracted a crowd. The samurai stood frozen, watching like they were spectators, too.

Noboru of Naguchi was vexed by his son's actions. Since Hisako's passing, Ryogetsu had been disobedient and exigent.

The girl cowered behind Ryogetsu. She was dirty, with hair dishevelled. Her frame was thin and bony. Jinshiro looked at her with kind eyes. His gaze resembled that of his mother's. "How old are you, girly?"

The girl's eyes were filled with terror. "Please..." she begged, "please do not kill me..." she whispered in a shaky breadth, "my... my brother. He... he will starve." Her words fell over each other, tumbling together to create bad pronunciations that were hard to understand. She trembled with fear, clinging to the hope that she would be saved.

Jinshiro's gaze shifted between her and his father. Noboru's face was filled with bewilderment. "All right, I will help you."

Jinshiro grabbed the girl around her wrist with one arm and grabbed Ryogetsu with the other. He started to run, breaking away from the protective circle the samurai offered.

Jinshiro heard Noboru shouting orders. Three out of the five samurai chased after them. Jinshiro was faster than the samurai.

Laughter broke from his throat. The city was like a labyrinth. Many of the pathways were too small for the cats to squeeze through, giving the mice an advantage.