Reunited – Chapter 37

We’re five blocks from our rendezvous when a team of eight soldiers emerges from a tunnel right in our path. The three of us pull off into an alley to stay out of sight.

“Where are we going again?” I ask Usagi, and he scans the area to get his bearings.

“Four blocks that way…” He gestures in the direction of the soldiers. “And then two blocks to the right. We’re supposed to meet at a coffee shop.”

“Okay.” The alley dead-ends against a building but a fire escape hangs one floor up. “We climb.”

“Sanaa,” Kentaro says, striding towards me. “I don’t think you’re in any condition to climb. What if you get dizzy?”

“Then you both climb underneath me. Besides, it’s just a fire escape, then over the buildings for a block or two until we find another fire escape. Try not to be too dramatic.”

“Jiro’s gonna kill me,” he mutters under his breath.

“What’s going on?” Usagi’s head swivels back and forth between us, and I narrow my eyes at Kentaro in warning. Don’t snitch on me, Kentaro. I’m not ready for everyone to know before Jiro.

“I’ll fill you in when we get there. Give me a boost.” I hold out my hands to where I want Usagi’s shoulders to be, and he hesitates for a moment before crouching down and making a step of his hands to boost me up.

He’s strong, and his lift is so swift, I fly straight at the ladder, grab on, and climb up with both men right behind me. The rooftop is vacant, but several buildings away people stand and stare off towards the castle, watching it burn. Their backs are to us so we quietly hop roofs and make our way in the direction of the coffee shop.

“It’s that building right over there,” Usagi says, pointing to a rooftop two over. “Let’s go down this fire escape here and come at the coffee shop from the side, just in case.”

Once we’re on the sidewalk, we carefully sneak around buildings, in and out of doorways, until we’re across the street from the coffee shop. Usagi’s hand tightens on my forearm.

“Soldiers inside,” Kentaro whispers. The lights blaze in the shop, and Fujiwara soldiers tear the place apart, but I don’t see anyone I recognize.

Kentaro points to the floor above the shop. A window facing us winks with two lamps lit in it. “One lamp, they’re captured. Two means they’ve gone to the alternate rendezvous point.” He sighs and rests back against the wall.

“What?”

“The alternate rendezvous point is thirty kilometers out of town, Sanaa. I don’t think you’ll make it on foot.”

“But…” I press my lips together and look sadly at Kentaro, putting as much feeling into my eyes as possible. Please. I want to see Jiro now!

“No buts and don’t look at me like that. You’re tired, most likely in shock after what’s happened to you, and you’ve been throwing up.” He shakes his head at me. There’ll be no arguing with him anymore. “We’ll get farther out of town, find lodging for the night, and hire horses tomorrow morning. I have money.”

As we walk away from the center of town, the streets empty and more buildings are dark with people asleep and unaware of what’s going on at the castle. After forty-five minutes, we exit the city limits, over a small stone bridge onto a dirt country road. We’ve been steadily walking uphill the whole way, and when we turn around, the castle continues to burn, a bright orange ball of flames, one building completely consumed but the main pagoda rooftops unharmed. I’m sure everyone I hate that lives there is still alive, and once they figure out I’m gone, I’ll be a target until they’re dead.

The late night is cool and quiet, and both moons have risen up in the sky overhead. In front of us, a three-way fork in the road is marked with a signpost: Seki, Mino, or Takayama.

“Seki is the closest town to the southwest of the city. Mino is the farming town in the middle of the continent I stayed in a few days ago when I was tracking down my father. Takayama is in the mountains to the northwest of here. It’s the farthest away.” Kentaro said Takayama is where Arata Sasaki lives and where Sakai and Jiro have been, so I start walking in that direction, but he grabs my arm.

“Not tonight, Sanaa. They’ll be waiting for us in Inabe which is on the way to Takayama, but there’s an inn a ten minute walk towards Seki we can lodge in tonight.”

I’m exhausted, my feet so heavy they scrape the ground, stinging with raw blisters and bleeding, when we finally make it to a little village. The houses are dead quiet except for a ryokan on the opposite edge of town with its front porch light on, a vacancy sign out next to lounge chairs. Kentaro enters and explains we need a room for the night. I only hear half the explanation, but supposedly, I’m his sister and Usagi is our cousin, and our inn in Tengoku had a rat infestation. Where does he come up with these things?

“You’re freezing,” Usagi says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. The night has grown cold, especially now that we’re not moving, and I think I’m finally in shock over what happened today, the longest day of my life.

“How’s Helena? Is she back in Yamato?”

“She is now. Once she realized who Kazuo was, she left Takayama and went back to the estate.” Usagi rarely shows extreme emotions except for happiness. He’s very middle-of-the road and relaxed, but talking about Kazuo tenses him up. I stare down at my feet. How do I tell them all that I’m ready to listen to Kazuo? To possibly forgive him? How could I? He did horrible things in Nishikyō, and he stole me away from my family. I know he regrets his decisions, and he’s turned on Miura, but how can I be sure he’s turned around?

The ryokan is clean but small, with only one room and a double bed.

“We’ll sleep in shifts, but Sanaa, you’ll sleep all night.” Usagi leads me to the bed, squeezes my shoulders, and lets go. “I’m going to sit outside. I want to make sure I’m awake in case anyone comes.” He nods before leaving. I wish he’d stay in here with us. I don’t like having him out of eyesight.

Kentaro and I look down at the bed, and I sigh. “Don’t make this any more awkward than it needs to be.” I point at the bed. “Get in.”

“I can sleep on top of the covers.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m freezing.” Just to illustrate my point, my teeth chatter.“You’re not going to let a pregnant woman freeze in bed, are you?”

“Fine. Already playing the pregnancy card, huh? You’re not even sure.” He sets his jō by the side of the bed and gets in.

“I don’t care. Look,” I say, loosening the belt on the pants and getting under the covers, “you will keep me warm tonight because that’s what friends do. I promise there will be nothing romantic about it.”

“Okay, okay.” He rolls his eyes, exasperated. I give no room for argument. “Another thing we won’t tell Jiro about.”

“Hell no. If you value both of our lives, you’ll keep your mouth shut. Now roll over.” I push him to face away from me, and I snuggle into his back and breathe in deep. “I’ll need to eat first thing in the morning or I’ll be sick again.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can get you.”

“Night.” And without so much as another thought, I fall asleep with my cheek pressed against his back.

My eyes close for a brief moment, exhaustion taking me under, when the bed is jostled.

“Get up, Sanaa, Usagi. We’ve got to go now!”