When the Ship Sinks...

[Toku Hirotomo]

The Rats start to jump ship.

The old Mantis proverb was Chiyuki's first reaction to the orginized chaos of the palace. Chiyuki had no idea why Kenpachi asked her to do this. The Sword of the Lion Champion was only given by the Emperor when the Lion warred on behalf of the Empire. Obtaining it would give an enormous morale boost to the Toturi supporters, and give the Monkey the favor of both Toturi and the Lion. That was the why of the sword. Why her though? She had little time to bemoan her duty, if she wanted to survive this, she had to move.

With the city in panic, and the Crane in full retreat, this seemed the best time. The Seppun were worried about the Emperor and his retinue, not a sword. Noise was in every part of the palace, there was panic, but not screaming, just the shuffling of papers, and the occasion Seppun shouting for them to hurry.

She hid in the shadows. Perhaps this was the moment. A small group of Seppun were guarding Otomo courtiers. It was amusing to watch the fat courtiers waddling in fear, but she had a mission.

[Toku Hirotomo]

Chiyuki hid in the shadows while the Seppun passed. She took a silent breath and began to run to the Throne Room. Chiyuki slipped past another evacuating party, and ran to where the sword was supposed to be.

In the empty throne room, a sight almost never seen, Chiyiki was painfully aware of each sound she made. She was almost there when a voice stopped her.

"We have to secure the sword! The Lion cannot have their ancestral sword. The Traitor's legions have enough strength without adding legitimacy to the Lion's attack."
Chiyuki took out a blowpipe. Her sensei's teachings were not all about the court. Kenpachi had allowed her to learn some things that no honorable soul should. There were two of them though. She carefully aimed at the first and with a careful shot she got him in the shoulder.

"Ow. Something bit me!" One Seppun said reaching for him back. When she fired the second shot, the other Seppun shouted "Attack! Grab the sword!" They reached Chiyuki and after a moment they had her struggling at the ground. Picking her up the Seppun looked scornfully at her.
"Traitorous scum. Did you think such toys would harm us? We are Seppun! We are the Emperor's personal guard! We are..." What else they were she never knew because at that point the poison set in. Their eyes rolled in the back of their heads and they collapsed. Brushing off her kimono, she muttered, [color-gold]"Toys? No. Poison? Yeah."[/color]

The ancestral sword of the Lion sang to her. She marveled at it's beauty, but a searing pain went throughout her body, it was as if the sword was burning in her hand. She dropped it with a shout, and looked at her hand. A clear Lion Mon was burned into it. She heard that it would not let a dishonorable soul use it, but she thought those stories were superstitious nonsense. She looked over at the Seppun. With a quick flash of her knife, she fashioned a cloth sheath. She carried the bundle and ran for her life. Another squad was coming and she hid in the kitchen. There was more men coming, she hid in a cupboard. There was crashing and screaming, and someone tipped over the cupboard. She was afraid to make a sound. She waited for what seemed like forever.

"Toku Hirotomo-sama." one of the magistrates bowed as he delivered his reports. Hirotomo was paying little attention. Chiyuki was nowhere to be found. She was supposed to be in the city, doing something for his father. "The commoners are growing worried about the availability of food, My Lord." The magistrate continued trying to get his Lord's attention. Hirotomo nodded. "Perhaps the Imperial Kitchen can feed them for awhile. I doubt the Lion will have much use for finer foods anyway, the Kami know it turns my stomach thinking about it.[/color]

A detail was formed, and Hirotomo thought it best that he accompany them. The Lion were already in the palace, getting things ready for the Emperor. Hirotomo looked into the store room. I looked as though a hurricane came through here. Hirotomo looked around and saw a few bags of rice. There was a storage cupboard that fell on its face. "Can you help me?" he said to one of the magistrates and together they righted it. Hirotomo opened the door and inside was a shaking Chiyuki holding a bundle. There were a few moments of silence then one of the magistrates laughed. "If you're not going to cook with it my lord, can I?" more started laughing. Hirotomo breathed a sigh of releaf as he helped Chiyuki to her feet. "I am happy you are safe." he said simply. She handed him the sword, and Hirotomo took it with a quizzical look.

"Hold the line! Hold the Line! Archers at the ready!"
"I will remember what you have done for the Lion."
"The Steel Chrysanthemum is our Lord, but he brutally murdered his mother. We have to stand by and let the Imperial Guard do what they must."
"ARG, Kami! WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN HER FROM ME?!"

A thousand voices ran through Hirotomo's head. Pain beyond imagining. He started to shake and his magistrates drew swords. Chiyuki looked terrified. Hirotomo finally collapsed after what seemed like ages.


"-Tomo-sama. Wake up! Hir-" OH Kami my head. That hurt. A lot. Hell, even the damn oni did not hurt that much. Did I die? No, I can still feel the pain. I'm still alive. Yay. What the hell was that? The sword did that too me? Such power. So old. I can barely hear what's being said. I can't open my eyes. This has to be an important sword. Is this what my father wanted? Lions. I know I saw Lions. I never studied sword lore as much as my sensei would have liked. Still, I should get up. I really don't want to. I open my eyes and Chiyuki is crying. I try to tell her that I'm okay, but my mouth just says blurrr. Can't talk, but she hears me. She calls for my magistrates and I tell them to get the sword. It still comes out nonsense. I start to swear, but then I see that I'm still holding on to it. "I'm fine" I finally manage to say. I take a deep breath and order them to set me down. I have to get this to the Lion Champion. It's not my sword at any rate. I'm sure the Emporer will be happy. I don't want to know what she had to do for the sword. I think it's better if I don't ask. I walk to the direction of the Lion Champion. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised. Now I just have to stop the ringing in my head.