Reunited – Chapter 38

Kentaro’s harsh whispers snap me awake. I roll over, and Usagi is next to me, lying on top of the covers and waking up as well. Did I sleep for more than five minutes? I glance out the window, and the sky is light gray, tinged with the pink of a rising sun. They must have switched places in the middle of the night.

Jumping out of bed, I land on my feet and sway. An unbeknownst-to-me-before-now hormonal switch inside my body was flipped a few days ago, and now I’m ill if I don’t eat or sleep. It’s a precarious situation for a fugitive on the run. I grab Osamu’s pants as they sink from my hips and tighten up the belt.

“What is it?” Usagi asks, buttoning up a shirt over the t-shirt he wore to sleep.

“Soldiers in town. They’re passing through on their way to Seki, but I think they may stop. I took a short walk around and heard someone outside of a restaurant gossiping about how Fujiwara is searching for a woman of Sanaa’s description.” He scans me from head to foot. There’s almost no way I can change my appearance. We have nothing here. I’m not much of a ninja, am I?

“Can you braid up your hair and tuck it in so it’s close to your head?” Usagi asks.

“Yes. I’d cut it all off if I needed to.” I reach up and work my fingers through my hair for a messy braid. When I get to the bottom, I pull the tail up and under.

Kentaro undresses quickly. “Strip now, Sanaa. You and I will switch clothes, just in case.” I do as he instructs, and Usagi looks away. Kentaro’s already seen me completely naked, so I don’t flinch, but we throw our clothes at one another and get dressed. His long-sleeved shirt covers up the harsh, fiery red bruises on my wrists.

“I need better shoes.” I look down at my broken feet, bruised and torn with blood caked on them and both boys wince in response.

Usagi raids the front genkan and steals some other poor person’s shoes. I feel guilty. Sorry. I’ll have to come back here someday and leave a pair.

We exit through the rear of the ryokan, having already paid for the night when we arrived, and use the back streets to move in the opposite direction of the soldiers heading to Seki. We snake through side streets and backyards, in and out of gates and side alleys until we come upon a stable. A man works out front, moving hay from one horse’s stall to the next. I hand my sword to Kentaro before he can see us, and we approach him.

“Good morning,” I say, bowing. “We need to get to Inabe early this morning. We’d like to hire two horses, if you have any available. My mother has fallen ill and needs me and my brothers home.”

He sets his pitchfork down and eyes me dubiously. “Who are you?”

“Travelers from the north. We’ll be back in two days, but this needs urgent attention.”

“What about your bags?”

“We’re storing them in town,” Kentaro interrupts, sliding in front of me. “We just want to get my sister to Inabe so she can travel on with our cousins.”

“Okay.” He shrugs his shoulders.

We convinced him! Our command of the dialect is improving.

“We own a sister stable in Inabe and another in Takayama. You can drop off the horses in either location. Pay the day rate for both. One day’s worth up front. All of the horses are rested. Choose two and I’ll have my stable hand saddle them up for you.”

Kentaro and the man walk off to the main office together to settle the bill while Usagi and I enter the stable. A dozen horses peek out of their stalls at us, and they all fall silent when we walk in. Which one should I choose? They’re all so beautiful, and I really know nothing about horses. How does a person decide which horse best suits them?

Regardless, I need to choose now. The smell of hay, horses, and manure is overpowering and making my head spin.

I walk along and look in each stall. A beautiful white horse with black spots comes forward and nudges my head with his. “Hey there, horse.” He lowers his head so I can reach up and scratch him, his ears twitching happily.

“Whoa. Kagemusha likes you!” A young man our age enters the stable from the opposite door, carrying a saddle, and stops when he sees me. “He doesn’t like anybody new.”

I cease rubbing Kagemusha’s head to bow to the young man, and Kagemusha huffs and knocks into my side with his head again, making me laugh and stumble. Usagi reaches out and rights me before I fall over.

“Okay, okay.” I return to scratching his head, and he closes his eyes and snorts gratefully.

“If he likes you, you should rent him. He’s very loyal.”

I nod to Usagi. “Pick out another one, brother, for Kentaro. I’ll ride with you.” I think Kentaro is a little uncomfortable with all the close time we’ve spent together. I need to give him a break.

Once we’re saddled up and ready to go, the stable hand taps me on the knee and hands me a bag.

“Your brother asked if there was anything to eat so here’s some rice balls. Sorry there’s not more. My mother is sleeping in this morning.”

“Thank you so much. I’m starving.” I smile and take the bag. Usagi and I ride Kagemusha, and Kentaro is on another dark brown horse named Yojimbo. Both Kentaro and Usagi seem really pleased with these names, but I have no idea why.

“Another thing…” He looks around before leaning closer. “You’re going to Inabe, right?” I nod at him. “There was some commotion in the city last night and now there’s a roadblock on the way to Inabe. The soldiers can be really annoying. If you want to avoid them, you should take the trail here.” He points to a small opening with a dirt trail in the woods off in the distance. “Follow it for about ten kilometers, about an hour and a half ride with no breaks, and you’ll come to the road way past the block.”

“Thank you again. We’ll do that. I need to get to Inabe quickly. My mother is very sick.” I’m glad my ability to lie has improved.

He brings his hands up into prayer position and says, “Tennō ga mamoru yō ni.”

Well, I don’t need any other evidence that these people revere my ancestors. “May the emperor protect you,” said as a prayer. Goosebumps erupt on my arms, and my hearing rings, but I bring my hands up and repeat the prayer back.

Once we’re out of earshot, Kentaro starts to laugh.

“Wow, Sanaa. Maybe I should build a shrine and put a bunch of your photos in it.”

“Shut up, Kentaro. The whole thing gives me the creeps. And give me back my sword.” He tosses it to me with a laugh. If he were closer, I’d smack him.

“Here, let’s eat.” I open the bag of food and find six rice balls wrapped in nori, two for each of us. “You eat first, Usagi, and I’ll hold the reins. I know you’re a quick eater.” I wink at him, and he and Kentaro eat while I lead Kagemusha. He’s an easy horse, responsive to my directions even though I have no idea what I’m doing. I rode horses for days with Kazuo but was blindfolded the whole time, so I’m relying on what little instinct I have.

We ride in silence for an hour down the trail before I feel nauseous even with the rice in my belly. When I think back on what I’ve been through the last twenty-four hours and how little I’ve eaten, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. I wanted to make it through today without puking. I try to hold the bile in my stomach and concentrate on the woods around me, but I just can’t.

“We have to stop right now. I’m going to be sick.”

Usagi pulls back on the reins, Kagemusha comes to a stop, and I frantically slide off and hit the ground hard before puking at the base of a tree. My stomach can’t stop, and I wretch two or three more times before groaning and hugging the tree. Oh, tree, thank you for being cool and there for me in my time of need.

“Are you sick?” Usagi asks. Ugh. I was really hoping I could tell Jiro first before anyone else.

I remove my cheek from the bark of the tree and turn to him once I’m composed. “I think I’m pregnant. I may be six weeks along now? I’m not sure, but I think yes.”

His frown turns into a giant smile.

“Well, then it’ll be one hell of a baby boom back at the estate and Yamato. Your friend, Cathy, the hibernation tech, came by right after you were abducted to tell us that ninety percent of the birth control implants failed and there’s been a surge of pregnancies. Congratulations.” He bows to me from Kagemusha, and I laugh, wiping my mouth and eyes. That explains a lot.

Kentaro is silent, watching the woods. He squints his eyes and rises up farther on his horse. All the hair on my head stands up. We both draw our weapons at the same time. Usagi jumps down from Kagemusha as a dozen men wearing black from head to toe come fading into view from behind trees, bushes, and up from blinds built into the ground around us.

We’re surrounded.