Ninja Chronicle
Part I
Things are always far from the simple black and white of right and wrong.
Many times, there is fault that must be spread between the parties involved,
making distinction between who is right and who is wrong that much more
difficult. Far be it a mortal's duty to try to declare who is right and who
is wrong in any conflict, be it mortal or immortal conflict - regardless of
how impartial that mortal may be. There simply is no man, woman, or child -
or eevn an immortal god or goddess - that possesses the ability to truly
seperate right and wrong and know who is right or who is wrong in all
conflicts.
We can only do that which we perceive is right and maintain our own beliefs
as such - regardless of whether we ourselves are right or wrong. To do so
is human nature.
---
Women were weeping along the streets and around the small village as Jubei
walked towards the array of houses by the shore. Women shed bitter tears
that trickled down their gaunt faces, followed suit by their daughters and
their sons as Jubei neared outskirts of the village. They seemed to line
the streets towards the giant shrine in the center of the village, and so
Jubai quietly slipped along the walk by the houses and paused for a while.
The women slowly filed along as a small casket passed them, moving along the
narrow street towards the center of the village, to the shrine. Jubei
quietly followed along, not wanting to disturb anyone, until a young boy ran
into his leg.
"Gomen!" the little boy cried. He fidgeted nervously and turned to run
off.
Jubei chuckled and shook his head.
"Don't worry about it," he replied casually. After a moment's pause he
added, "What happened here?"
The little boy's eyes opened wide in surprise. His face took the air of
'how could you not know?'
"Shinichi-san got taken by the water monster, mister," the boy replied
nervously. "'Kaasan says I can't talk about it. Bye!"
Jubei watched the boy run off into the crowd, to join his family in
mourning. The young boy looked rather thin for a boy his age. He frowned
for a moment and followed at the edge of the crowd until he arrived at the
grounds of the shrine. Around flowed a small moat filled with equally small
koi. The fish flitted back and forth in a bit of excitement as the people
filed over the small bridge over the moat, trying to pack into the shrine as
best they could. Jubei simply stood outside and waited.
A full hour went by before the people slowly filed back out of the shrine,
walking back to their houses, silent save for the sniffling and choked sobs
from the occasional person. Jubei simply leaned against the corner of one
house and closed his eyes, waiting for an opportune time to talk to someone.
It was a long wait.
"Excuse me, but you appear to be lost," a matronly voice stated.
Jubei opened an eye calmly. A tall woman with a willowly figure stood in
front of him in a long black kimono. A small band of pearls adorned her
hair, wrapping around the base of a small bun, held in place by two short
sticks thrust through the mass of jet-black hair. Intense brown eyes stared
at his face, scrutinizing him for some purpose or another.
"I seem to be a little lost," Jubei replied. "I'm looking for the a Zen
temple, where a master Eishin lives. I was told to follow the coast for a
few days, but I guess I'm no good with simple directions."
"Master Eishin's dojo is only a days travel from here, and is well hidden
in the trees. No doubt you missed the small path leading up the cliff to
the temple. It is not uncommon for travelers to miss it. Master Eishin is
lax on his maintainence of the grounds," the woman replied.
"Thanks," Jubei replied curtly. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for it."
He stretched slightly and lazily pivoted on a foot and walked away, moving
his sword from by his hip to his left shoulder with a small flip of his
wrist.
"You seek Eishin-sensei for training in iaijustsu, young man?" the woman
called after he'd taken a few steps.
"You could say that," Jubei replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I was
hoping to see him again after spending some time there. He's a funny old
man."
"How well can you use that sword of yours?" the woman asked abruptly.
Jubei paused in mid-stride.
"We will pay you if you are willing to do a poor village a favor," the
woman continued.
Jubei turned his head slightly to peer at the woman out of the corner of
his eye, over his shoulder.
"We can give you five hundred gold pieces if you will help us," the woman
said calmly.
"This is fairly sudden," Jubei said casually.
"You seem to be a skilled swordsman," the woman said with a small smile.
"Not really. I just dabble, ne," Jubei replied with a grin.
"No man that merely dabbles would call Eishin-sensei a funny old man," the
woman countered.
"I'm not much of a man. I just like to look like one, ne," Jubei replied
and began walking off again.
"Please. We need help desperately, and we have nobody else to turn to."
"Why not go to Eishin's dojo Surely there are enough manly men there to
help you," Jubei said with a sigh.
"Eishin forbids his students from helping us. He doesn't believe that we
are worth his help."
"And the Daimyo?"
"He cares nothing from us now that we can not provide his people with food
from the sea."
"So why me?"
"Because you're standing there with a sword and you called Eishin a funny
old man."
"That's because he is a funny old man."
"We need help desperately and nobody else will do it."
"I'm not for hire."
"Why?"
"Bad experiences, you could say."
"This will be easy for any skilled swordsman."
Jubei shook his head.
"You must help us. I will do anything to help my people. Name your
price!"
"I rea-"
"Please!"
"Look, I do-"
"We are starving to death. Have you no compassion?"
Jubei stared at the woman for a moment.
"What's the problem?" he asked turning around slowly.
"Our village is a humble fishing village, but we used to know a bounty that
kept us fed and made us the envy of our neighbors. Now we are starving as
the sea keeps from us the wealth we knew before. Our men have tried to go
fish, but those that leave rarely come home. Our people are afraid to fish,
or even go near the waters that gave us life before. We can barely manage
enough food to survive this season, let along when winter comes," the woman
explained sadly.
"And it happened just this year?" Jubei asked quietly.
"Yes. At the beginning of the fishing season, our men left to fish, but
every time they leave, something goes horribly wrong. The men that left
first never returned. Our daughters that left to wash their clothes said
they could see brothers and husbands trapped beneath the waves, struggling
to free themselves."
"Oi, oi! You said this was going to be easy!" Jubei said abruptly. "Why
couldn't you have some thief stealing your food?"
"Please let me explain," the woman said hastily. "For years our people
have maintained a friendly relationship with the gods of the sea. We leave
them a feast at the beginning of the season, and in return, we are allowed
to fish the waters near here,and are blessed with an amazing bounty. I
think that someone has attempted to poison the food that was left to keep us
from pleasing our daimyo."
"What would be gained by doing that?" Jubei asked archly.
"Everything, of course," the woman said in exasperation. "Our daimyo gives
us extra gold for the extra fish we bring him. We used it to construct the
shrine you see in the middle of the village. We buy the food that sustains
our village. Without the fish, we will not be able to please the daimyo,
and my people will not see the prosperity it knew before."
Jubei sighed.
"Let me get this straight," he said while scratching his head idly. "You
want me to find the person who poisoned the food, that upset the gods of the
sea, that give you your bounty, so your village can live another season?"
The woman nodded emphatically.
"I think you're out of your mind," Jubei said with a laugh.
"Please! Can't you see my people are starving?" the woman asked, a hint of
anger in her voice.
"Oi, oi! No need to start screaming," Jubei said nonchalantly. "Just tell
me what you know and I'll see what I can do, ne."
The woman thanked him profusely, promising him the gold and something extra
for his time. Jubei could have cared less. It was the images of the thin,
nervous boy and his family slowly starving to death that bothered him.
Jubei sat in a small makeshift hut that stood at the edge of the village.
He leaned againt one of the wood walls, his eyes closed, wondering just what
he'd let his heart lead him into this time. He'd been duped into helping
someone before, and he'd let his heart take control of the situation. Now a
woman he'd loved was dead, his pride shattered, and his normally
compassionate outlook on life hardened to stone.
"Excuse me," a soft voice called into the hut. "Are you Kibagami Jubei?"
Jubei casually opened an eye to look to the side. A young woman in a plain
blue kimono stood just outside the doorway.
"Oi," Jubei called out from the wall to the right of the doorway. "I'm
here. What's wrong?"
"Ano," the voice hesitated. "My name is En. Kai En. I'm here to show you
around the village. Akogi-sama said that I was to show you around the
village."
Akogi. The matriarch of the village. Jubei'd seen it before. The leader
of the village dies, leaving his wife to take over. Some took the
responsibility with apathy, letting others below her do the work. Other
women in the same situation took a headstrong position and led the village
with a great flourish of office. Akogi Haruko was one of the latter.
"And you are?" Jubei asked.
"My na-"
"I already got your name," Jubei said with a chuckle. "Are you her second
in command or something?"
Kai blinked.
"No," she replied slowly. "I'm one of her servants."
"A servant?" Jubei asked with genuine surprise. "I had no idea Akogi-sama
was that pretentious."
"Nani?"
Jubei quickly waved his hands in defense.
"I don't mean you any offense, miss," he quickly amended. "It's just that
I had no idea that Akogi-sama actually had a house big enough for a
servant."
Kai nodded. She idly watched Jubei slowly stand up and stretch lazily.
"So you're supposed to show me around the village?" he asked casually.
"Hai," she replied.
"Well, isn't that a little silly?"
"Excuse me?"
"I got a good look at the place when I stumbled in from being lost," he
replied.
"Oh."
"Oi, you wouldn't happen to know a Eishin-sensei, would you?"
Kai smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
"Hai! Eishin-sensei stopped by every so often to say hello to Akogi-sama's
husband before he passed on."
"So he lives around here?" Jubei asked.
"Yes. His dojo is a little hard to find, since Eishin-sensei doesn't
really take care of the grounds now, bu-"
"Sou ka," Jubei interrupted. "I'll have to stop by sometime."
"Do you know him?"
"I hear he's good with a sword," Jubei said, feigning sudden interest.
"Oh yes," Kai replied. "He's one of the best! I was fortunate to see him
giving a lesson to his students. He's quite good."
"So about that tour?"
"Yes?" Kai asked.
"I didn't really get to see the shrine," Jubei replied.
"I'll take you there right away then!"
The inside of the shrine was less that ornate. The only thing Jubei could
see was a stone rotunda set on a circular stone wall that stood inside the
small moat. Two doorways connected the shrine to the outside world, one
facing the sea, and another facing into the village. A small shrine to the
sea and to the men from the village that had been claimed by the ocean
currents sat between the two doorways. Opposite the shrine was a partially
pieced together set of armor, made of something that looked like snakeskin.
"What's that?" Jubei asked curiously, pointing at the armor.
"That? It's the unfinished armor made from the King of the Eastern Sea,"
Kai replied.
"Really?"
Kai replied with a curt nod.
"So those are?"
"Dragon scales."
"I don't believe it. What could they be possibly be fastened to?"
"The King's beard."
"And held together by?"
"His own blood."
"Why wou-"
"They say it was a gift. Akogi-sama says it was a gift, a gift of trust
and friendship; but I think it's because he was poisoned," she interrupted.
"What?"
Kai blinked at him curiously.
"Didn't Akogi-sama tell you?" she asked. "She said you knew that the
poisoning was what caused the famine we're experiencing."
"But the King of the Eastern Sea?" Jubei asked incredulously.
"Apparently so," Kai replied. "When I awaoke in the morning, we found his
body by the shore. Akogi-sama - ano, her husband - prayed that it was an
accident. For two days he prayed by the sea asking forgiveness and in the
end, the armor was made. At least they tried to. This is as far as they
got."
"And then the famine came?"
"Yes. Then the famine. Akogi-sama's husband was the first to leave, but
never returned."
"How do you know so much?" Jubei asked.
"Ask anyone in the village. Word spreads quickly, and there's little you
can do to hide anything from anyone here. There are eyes and ears
everywhere."
Jubei glanced out the door. He could barely make out the shadow of a young
child quickly scamper off.
"Sou ka," he mumbled.
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