The Paragon of Honor and the Hunter of Shadows

Earlier that afternoon...

*****

The two samurai had bent their heads together as they walked in the gardens, whispering secretly in a way that made the older, wiser courtiers around them think fondly of their own long-forgotten youth. So when the courtiers could see Utaku Mai and Kakita Sojiro headed toward the stables for an afternoon ride, they hid their smiles behind their fans but ultimately said very little.

Like everything else at Kyuden Doji, the stables were superb. Ren was housed in a spacious stall usually reserved for the fine horses of Doji's Fan, with mindful hands and fresh victuals. Mai was hard-pressed to find any fault, and would scarcely have found better arrangements at her own estate. The Utaku mare paced the stall impatiently, eager to get out and move. Servants brought in the saddlry and other trappings for Ren as well as Sojiro's horse Shadowshine, as well as some more suitable clothes for the riders. Mai donned what she had accustomed to wearing for riding -- Tattsuke-bakama that allowed freedom of movement in the saddle, sturdy layers of kosode and quilted hitatare, topped with a fine fur-lined caftan to protect against the cold air. The fine silks, the memorial that they were for her honored mother, were put away carefully for later use.

While the Gardens of Kyuden Doji had several well-tended trails for riding, Mai managed to persuade her escort into the wild, empty fields on the outskirts of the castle. There, under the crisp, open sky, on an untouched field of white powder, Mai and Ren set into the horizon at a full run, Sojiro and Shadowshine following only slightly behind. The wind whipped hard at her face and hair, causing her nose and cheeks to go red and numb, her arranged hair now a mess of dark tendrils. But for perhaps the first time, she could be utterly at ease with her surroundings. The tension she had been carrying for so long seemed to ebb from her with each galloping step.

Once the horses were fully warmed from the exercise, the two steeds were set to a steady walking pace next to one another, their steps and occasional whinnies providing a parallel conversation to the one taking place between the duelist and the battle maiden in the quiet stillness of the field.

Small talk was made, about their respective memories of Kyuden Doji, of their respective childhood games and friends. Mai was full of questions, indicating the deep curiosity present in the hearts of all Unicorn. There was a riddle here, and she could not help trying to find as many pieces as possible. Finally when the time felt right, she asked the question that most fervently burned within her.

"Sojiro, when you first told me about your cousin, I admit I got quite a different picture of his personality. I imagine you know him quite well, but what made you believe he wanted to kill Battou? And how were you able to shake the branches to stop the attempt?"

"I understand that many of the defenders of Toshi Ranbo took the loss of the city very badly." Mai said quietly. While she'd never apologize for the role she played in taking the city, she understood well of the cost it incurred to both sides and was sympathetic all the same. "In that light, I can understand his coldness toward me. But his behavior toward Battou-san, one who should have been his friend and ally...it just doesn't make any sense."

As Sojiro peeled back another layer of himself to reveal his connection to the kami, Mai was taken aback. While she was learned somewhat in the ways of the spirits and elements in her training period before her gempukku, it was only ever enough to show proper reverence. Such a constant visitation by a kami seemed rare, definitely outside of her own knowledge.

"It is good that you have been so blessed. You were able to use this gift to see what no one else could, and use that knowledge to save the life your clansman. That is not a trifling matter." From what Sojiro had implied about his early life, she wondered if this gift had been the origin of some of his childhood grief.

Part of her wanted to reach out to him, to imbue in him some strength through her own hand to indicate her respect for him, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the things that made him different. Such an action was almost never done in Rokugan, though the Unicorn would often show affection through touch, influenced as they were by their long travels among the gaijin. Mai was of two worlds, and learned the hard way just how far the Crane's adherence to protocol and tradition went. She instead reached a gloved over the white flank of her steed, rubbing some unseen itch behind the animal's ear, until Ren shook her silvery mane in an obvious motion of contentment.

She laughed at Sojiro's recollection, feeling her own pang of memories burn through her. "The other girls at the Dojo -- most of us were cousins or second-cousins anyway, but we were sisters as surely as if we all had come from the same womb. The shiotome had gone through so much and so many of my mother's generation had fallen in battle, it really drew us together, clinging together in our shared loss. My mother, Yun-Li -- she was everyone's favorite aunt, but really she had become a parent to those who had none. She was...she was always making a place in her home for a lost Utaku maiden."

It was the first time she had spoken aloud a recollection of her mother in nearly a year, realizing that Yun-Li was almost the last of her generation before her death at Mountain Watch Keep. She had been a pillar for so many, and now that she was gone Mai had hardened in an effort to avoid facing her own feelings concerning the loss of that foundation in her life. In sharing the memory, it seemed to peel the tough facade from her like a snake's shed skin. She felt vulnerable and exposed, but also more...comfortable, more at peace than she had been in several months. And Sojiro sounded like someone who understood...who had suffered his own loss and still was able to move on...

So she was even more taken aback when Sojiro took her hand in his. She gasped at the gesture. It was so bold, so gaijin, so unlike anything that she had been taught in the rigid ways of the Crane...

...it was something she really should have done first. What had stopped her? What was she afraid of, anyway?

I'm not afraid of anything.

Bolstered by the feeling of the warmth of his hands permeating her own, Mai brought her hand over to his face, putting a stray hair behind his ear, brushing his cheek with her fingers. In a maneuver only manageable by a rider comfortable on a horse from a time she could barely walk, Mai hiked her left knee in the saddle, leaned far into the Kakita, and kissed him.

It was so freeing, standing there under the wide blue sky, free from prying eyes of chaperons, from the suffocating walls of the palace, and from the boundaries she had placed around her own heart. There was no hiding her intent behind poetry or fans, just the pure expression of...well, of love, so far as Mai could even claim to understand such a heady and strange concept. The feeling of absolute joy was matched only by his reciprocation, the feeling of his embrace, the sudden magic of their secret shared intimacy.

It was forever in a moment, but ultimately, it was as ephemeral as a fog of breath in the cold air.

When Sojiro spoke again Mai at first thought he was joking, some effort to get back at her for her previous pranks. She gave a look of mock dismay, hoping to perhaps lead into another kiss, but it quickly melted away when she felt the hoofbeats reverberating through the earth, heading toward them with military speed. Her combat instincts took over, and within a moment Mai had reseated herself in the saddle, clicked her tongue to Ren, and they both broke away to face the incoming traveler. The separation she felt was wrenching -- how had the air gotten so cold? But other than a lingering look in his direction, her focus shifted on the coming interloper, trying to determine his identity or intent. Within a moment, realization hit her, hard.

Sojiro had seen Mai angry. He had seen her tense, and had even witnessed her rage. But even those moments were a far cry from what he could see her expressing now. It was like she was consumed in fire, with every muscle in her body reacting strongly to the sight before her. Somehow (he was entirely not sure how) her katana had transported from its case at Ren's side into her hand. She kicked her knees inward, causing Ren to rear, and then charge toward the mysterious rider with all the fury of the most elite cavalry regiment in the empire.

OOC: More to come soon, after I get back!

Sojiro rode up and dismounted, taking in the scene with a sense of unease. If this boy came from Unicorn lands, then he knew what taking this horse would mean. And yet he had done so anyway, to get his message to Mai.

And it had to be for Mai. She was the only Unicorn anywhere near Kyuden Doji.

He walked over to the shivering boy, removing his haori as he did so.

"Come now, you're soaking wet, boy. Get up and explain why you are here. How did you even know where to find her?" He offered the boy a hand up off of the ground and threw his heavy winter haori over his shaking form, trying to at least keep the wind from biting into him now that he was soaked. His eyes met Mai's as she offered him the apple.

This was not going to be good news.

Sojiro listened to the boy's story with a growing sense of dread. His experiences left him with no doubt, given the details in the story, that whoever this murderer was, he had turned the tailor into an undead servant of some kind. Just the fact that she was able to restrain a magistrate by herself was odd enough, but her pursuit of the boy afterwards left no doubt in his mind.

His face turned grey as flashbacks flooded through his mind - fire, the fight with the maho-tsukai and his undead minions, the oni.... and her body, dead, with a hole burned through her throat.

He closed his eyes...

Be in the moment. Be present in Now. The past is beyond your touch, the future is not here yet and likewise can not be touched, except by the Now.[/color]

Is this how you center? By destroying yourself? Is this serving your family, your clan, or the son of heaven? Is this serving the Dragon clan dying at Swift Sword, or your clansmen dying at the hands of that bastard Alesha?"[/color]

Words remembered. His father's first, and then his cousin's, the night his sanity had slipped in Kyuden Doji.

No. I am not doing this. Not here. Not now.[/color]

He took a deep breath. Color slowly returned to his face as he fought the visions back.

"Haru, was it? Please, stand up."

"It's true that under normal circumstances, what you have done here would be a serious crime. But," he glanced at Mai as he spoke, "while I am not an Utaku and do not claim to understand their steeds the way that they do, I have spent a fair amount of time around them. Enough for me to think that, if this horse didn't want you riding him, he would have thrown you off before you had the chance to even climb on all the way. In my opinion, he obviously found it worthwhile to carry you this far, samurai or not. Added to this, is the fact that you knew the penalty for wearing these clothes and riding this horse, and yet you chose to face that fate to complete your duty. That is dedication to your duty that would make any samurai proud - willingly risking death to do what has been asked of you. This is just the opinion of one Crane, but.... I don't know your family's rank, but in this instance, you behaved with the heart of a samurai, and I think that should be taken into consideration. Bravery isn't the lack of fear, it is the act of feeling that fear, facing it, and doing what you need to do regardless. I think you are a very brave boy, Haru-san." He emphasizes the 'san' slightly, to make sure the boy got the point.

He looked to Mai. "I know you have to leave. When do you wish to depart?" There was a lot more in Sojiro's eyes than those simple words.

Sojiro was at Mai's side in an instant. He knelt down beside her, brushed her hair out of her face, pulled her close, and held her as she sobbed. He didn't say anything for a long time - he just didn't have the words - but eventually he found his voice.

"I understand why you have to go. Duty to your people aside, I don't think the fortunes could have sent a clearer sign to you than your mother's stallion carrying a strange boy to you, halfway across the empire."

Once she had calmed down a bit, he stood and offered her his arm so that she could do the same. His face was a maelstrom of emotions, but the one that was clearest was the one Mai had never seen on his face before - fear.

He was doing his best to hide it and to be strong for her, but Sojiro was scared.

"How long until.... how long do we have?"