Reclaimed – Chapter 34

The sunrise comes earlier each day as Yūsei moves further into the summer months, and I’m awake to greet it when the sounds of pots clanging echo through the treehouse. The IV is out, as well as the catheter. I went to sleep without both last night. I throw on a yukata robe and leave Jiro to continue his sleep as I make my way to the kitchen.

“Sono,” I say, breaking into his humming. He turns from the butcher block island and smiles at me. “I need to speak with you.”

“You could have stayed in bed, Sanaa. I know we’re leaving in a few hours. You should rest.”

He spoons sugar and flour into a bowl, his hands trembling as he levels each off. My chest constricts with worry, seeing him like this. Yet, even with his jerky movements, the flour ends up in the bowl, the counter spotless.

“I don’t sleep much as it is. It’s fine.” I stand behind him at the stove. “Sono, I want you to go back home to Yamato. Being on the road, well, it’s a lot of walking and sleeping on rocks. I honestly don’t think you’re up for it.”

He laughs as he wipes his hands on a towel. “I’m too much of an old man?”

I shrug my shoulders. “You deserve to go into retirement. You don’t deserve to go on a journey across a continent and get killed just because I need to eat.” I have no excuse to drag him through the countryside. If someone is going to poison me, they’ll find a way, like they almost did. I’ll consider getting a new dokumiyaku later.

“Don’t you think I should make my own retirement decisions?”

“You know I love you, dearly.” I press my hand to my chest. “But no. Sorry. That’s why I’m in charge around here. Please, make breakfast and some compact protein meals for our journey and then I want you to go home to Miko. She needs you.”

“But, Sanaa…” His eyes brim with tears and I will myself to stay strong. “I can’t let you go without me. I promised Oyama.” I feel like dirt for getting him into this situation to begin with. Just another failure to add to the others.

Instead of keeping my distance, I wrap my arms around his chest. “I know, and Oyama would understand. This is war, though, and I can’t have you along with me. You should be home taking care of Miko. She needs you. Her baby needs you.” I squeeze and let go. “If I return, we’ll drink together, like the old days.”

I try to eat the pancake breakfast and ham Sono makes for me, but I can only get down half of what’s on my plate. I’m way too nervous to get our crew underway.

“I don’t want to tell you your business, Miss Itami, but you’re in no condition to travel the countryside and fight in a war.” Cathy snaps her med kit closed with a flourish. I’m showered, dressed, packed and ready to leave with Himitsu settled onto my shoulder. Jiro taps his foot at the door.

“I know.” I glance at myself in the mirror. My cheeks are right angles now, and I have permanent black marks burned under my eyes. “But life must go on.”

“Or end abruptly. Whichever comes first,” she mumbles, grabbing her bag.

I grasp her shoulders and force a smile at her. “Thank you for everything. You got me across the stars to my new home. Now it’s my turn to make this place a home for everyone else. If I return to Yamato, I hope to see you again.”

“When you return…”

“Of course,” I say, brushing off her statement. “Save a seat for me at your favorite pub.”

I nod to her as I sling Kazenoho over my shoulder. I don’t expect to make it out of this alive. I really don’t. But the sooner I accept I have little choice in the matter, the more at peace I will be.

I wait with Sakai, Arata, Kentaro, Kumo, and Jiro at the retractable stairs, my stomach flip-flopping. I offer to descend the stairs first to greet the lions. I don’t consider anyone but the men with me as allies after being betrayed so many times. Lions are no different.

“Wait!” Namika calls, running towards us from the living quarters of the house, a bright pink and green scarf around her neck flying behind her. She drops her backpack on the ground and pants. “Don’t leave without me.”

Kentaro huffs and his eyebrows pull together. “You’re not coming with us. We talked about this last night.”

“Listen here, idiot. I’m coming. I know this place better than you do, it’s been my home for longer than it’s been yours, and I talk with cats, so I’m sure I can be useful.”

Kentaro shakes his head. His hair has been growing again, and it sways side to side, falling over his eyes as he reaches down for his bag.

“I didn’t just sleep with you for no reason!” Namika blurts out. Her eyes are wide and panicked as she looks between us all.

“Oh no,” Arata says, turning away from Namika and Kentaro. Jiro also turns his back on them, a smile on his face. He mouths, “I told you so,” at me. I direct my eyes at the ground below. I’d give anything to be invisible right now.

“This isn’t the time for this,” Kentaro hisses at her.

“Fuck that! You said you loved me, and I love you too whether you’re an idiot or not.” I look up in time to witness Namika run her hands through her wild blonde hair in frustration. She balls up her right hand into a fist, and I think she’s about to deck Kentaro. I reach forward to warn him when she launches herself at him and presses her lips to his, her kiss catching him completely by surprise. He stumbles but she doesn’t give up. She wraps her arms and legs around him, taking the kiss by force until he relents and kisses her back.

Witnessing Kentaro and Namika’s kiss, I begin to cry. I’m sure Kentaro fears his own death is at hand, just like I do. We’re all in mortal danger, but he still managed to find love somewhere in the mess. Jiro holds my hand, smiling at me. I laugh and wipe away the tears before Kentaro can see me getting sappy over his love life.

Namika pulls away from Kentaro, smiles at him, and laughs, pressing her forehead against his. He squeezes her. “Fine,” he says. “It’s not like I can make you stay or anything.”

“Ah, young love.” Arata chuckles, and Sakai grimaces. He’s calculating the risks of bringing Namika along in his head and not saying anything, as usual. Kentaro is now the head of Minamoto Clan, and Rai Oda has only recently become our ally. Letting his daughter come along on a suicide mission is probably not the best way to cement our relationship, but what can we do about it?

From behind Namika and Kentaro, Rai appears with a deep sigh. “She doesn’t listen to anyone, least of all me. Good luck, Sakai, Sasaki, Miss Itami.”

With me in the lead, we descend the stairs, and lying among the short grass is a pride of lions, six strong. They’re so beautiful and svelte. Muscles ripple over their shoulders and hind legs, and their tails wag lazily in the early summer heat. My hands tingle with excitement. I’m excited to finally be face-to-face with them.

“Shhhh,” Namika whispers. “I wouldn’t want to wake them.”

“Hello,” I say, raising my voice. She rolls her eyes at me. “I was wondering if you’re waiting for me?”

“And they think I’m crazy,” Namika mumbles under her breath.

I push my greasy hair from my face and sigh. Everything about my body is shaky and disagreeable. I remember when I was in good shape, eating well, sleeping, and exercising regularly. A distant memory.

The largest lion of the bunch, a male with a giant mane, stands up and stretches, his mouth opening wide and displaying sharp, long teeth each more than twice the size of my fingers. I freeze. I shouldn’t show fear, but these animals are a far cry from the cats I sleep with every night.

“Stand very still.” Namika’s nails dig into the tender IV bruises at my elbow. I try to twist away from her but the lion saunters right up to us. Namika closes her eyes, a silent prayer across her lips.

The lion presses his snout against my chest, breathing in and out, the pressure of which is so strong it nearly knocks me over. I tentatively reach out my hand and stroke the fine fur along his muzzle and whiskers, certain he will tear my arm off. I would expect nothing less.

“I wish I could understand you, like I can other animals. But you understand me?”

He huffs on my chest, nearly blowing me backwards. I stare into his deep yellow eyes and find a person looking back at me. My scalp bristles with an awful sense of déjà vu, the foreknowledge I acquire when something is just not right, or maybe it’s too right. Destined.

“What’s the matter?” Jiro whispers at my ear. He presses up behind me and I let his warmth calm my chills.

This lion was once a man. I close my eyes, and a farmer with sun-darkened skin and dirty clothes stands in front of me. He’s knee deep in a field of rice, his pants rolled up and wet along the edges. He leans on a shovel, a smile on his face, his wife in a straw hat behind him bent over and planting new green shoots.

“What happened to you?” I ask.

“Fujiwara took my land, killed my son, and left us to starve to death.”

I open my eyes and tilt my head, listening for the echo of his voice but all I hear is the deep rumble of a lion’s purr. A lioness sits not far from us, her eyes skirting over everyone in our party.

“You and your wife have a debt to call in. What about the rest of them?” The lion turns from me and trots to other members of his pride, prodding each up with his nose.

Himitsu, silent until now, nibbles on my ear. “The entire pride seems ready to go? I have never seen lions listen to people before. Usually people go into the Nogusa-hara and they never come back?”

“I bet they end up as either food or part of the wandering clans. Why would they go into the Nogusa-hara anyway?”

“Looking for long lost loved ones?”

Somehow that makes more sense to me than anything. Maybe no one has paired with the lions because the lions are not completely animal. I have no idea how to explain that to anyone else though. I glance behind me and pale faces stare straight ahead, sweat beading on their foreheads, sure they’re about to be killed.

I hold out my hand, letting the leader lion come to me and rub up underneath it. “You used to pray at a local temple, right?” The lion sits down and tilts his head at me. “You remind me of Shishi, the stone lions that guard the gates at a Shinto shrine. Can I call you Shishi?” Shishi bobs his head in the best imitation of a nod I’ve ever seen from an animal. I laugh, tickled I’ve made friends with something so large and dangerous.

“One more thing. I have a dog, Kumo, and he’s my best friend next to my husband on this entire planet…” My voice squeaks. I used to call Miko and Helena my best friends and now a dog has replaced them. A dog I love and cherish, but he’s still a dog. I can’t drink saké with him, talk about my life, or love him till I’m old and gray.

Back up the treehouse steps, Kumo waits beside Rai, his head bent low to watch me. Pursing my lips together, I make a kissing sound and call him down to my side, but he descends the stairs slowly and creeps up behind me.

“Don’t know. Scared,” Kumo says, his voice shaking.

“You’re not to hurt him,” I say to Shishi. “He’ll stay by me the whole time. I promise.” I cover my heart with my hand and Shishi nods again.

“Well…” I throw my backpack on. Kumo sticks so close to me, I trip on him. “We should get moving. No horses because obviously…” I wave at the lions. “They would be food for our new allies.” Jiro falls into step next to me and I lower my voice. “I miss my horse.”

Jiro strides along, quiet, while glancing around to keep track of the lions beside us and in front of us.

“Are we ready? Do you have the way laid out?” I ask.

“Yeah. We changed our approach plan. But I’m afraid Koga has left someone behind to follow us. I would, if I were him.”

“What do you suggest?”

Jiro and Sakai exchange a glance. They have obviously spoken about this plan this morning before we left.

“We have the lions now, and I don’t think it’s wise to trek them through the woods, out of their natural habitat. They live on the prairies and the scrub of the desert so let’s stick to the northern side of Zenyama. We’ll skirt the southern edge of the Kōbuchi Desert along the mountain range to a pass through the mountain and into the northern edge of Tsūka.”

“Didn’t Rai warn us not to go this way?”

“My father is a very cautious man,” Namika says. I turn and walk backwards so I can see her and the lions. “The Kōbuchi is hot but not unbearable. If we stick close to the mountains, we should be able to get water from the community of wells if no one is guarding them. The mountain pass I’m thinking of is one of three passes carved out — one my family has some claim over. We share it with the outcasts, though, so you never know who’ll be there.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Normally, they’re not too aggressive. They maintain the solar farm in the desert and trade goods with Tsūka residents. My family does business with them for electricity. We’re one of the only ones.”

Fascinating. This world is a lot more complex than I originally thought.

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Namika.”

“I’m glad to help, Miss Itami.”

“Call me Sanaa, please.”

She smiles at Kentaro, but he huffs and rolls his eyes before smiling back. “Look at you, on a first-name basis with the Empress.”

“Shut up, Kentaro,” we both say at the same time.