Post by Hida Tetsuko on Nov 28, 2018 22:59:13 GMT 10
It took Harun the better part of a week to get out of Crab lands completely, the road was improving and he could set a good pace. At the border into Crane lands, he presented his travelling papers. These authorised him to be travelling in armour and were authorised with Karasu’s own chop. He got a few questioning looks from the samurai at the magistrates post, but he was let through.
The road he took went between Akagi Mori and Kitsune Mori. The latter of course had been devastated by the Kaiu for firewood and their war machines. Harun’s birth-father Nakura had promised to help the Kitsune with the recovery of the forest in his retirement, something Harun had promised to do as Nakura’s death had prevented it.
After Harun left the city Ookami Toshi, he turned east and the journey got much worse. The road was full of ruts and holes, it slowed him down and it only got worse when he headed into the mountains. There were few villages in this part of Crane lands, the land was not very fertile and what settlements Harun saw were meagre and small. More than once, Harun had to shelter out in the open.
Finally, Harun arrived. He descended from the mountains to where Seawatch Castle stood on the high cliffs over the sea. It had been built solid long ago withstand the attacks of pirates that raided the Crane coast It had suffered much damage, not just from the tsunami but from years of neglect.
The castle was the residence of Doji Kiburo, the Senchou of the castle and the village nearby. He was a thin man with thinning white hair and a bad chest. But a pleasant sort and—to Harun surprise—rather pleased to see him.
“I won’t ask what you have done to get this posting, Kakita-Chui,” Kiburo told Harun when he arrived. “You will find all of us at Seawatch have stories that we would rather not share, but we always welcome new company.”
“I am here to serve the Crane, Doji-sama,” said Harun.
“I do not doubt that,” said Kiburo.
The damage to Seawatch Castle was more apparent on the inside. There were rooms that had leaks when it rained and an entire wing was completely unusable. The central garden of the castle was overgrown and wild, though Kiburo promised they would try to get it under control as it was beginning to compromise some of the stonework.
The barracks were in better condition than the rest of the castle but were built to house more than the twenty bushi that were stationed in there. Harun was installed in a room off to one side which had a window shade that stuck and smelled strongly of damp. But this was to be his home for the foreseeable future.
His second and the gunso was Daidoji Kitano, it was he who got the men onside when Harun brought in the discipline and techniques from the Imperial Legions. He drilled them daily and accompanied them on patrols, trying to make improvements where he could. What was even more difficult were the peasants they called upon for ashigaru. They would not make soldiers despite Harun’s efforts, and most of their time they tended their fields or fished in the sea.
Harun went even with them one morning, taking the steep path down the cliffs to where they hid their boats in caves, out of reach of the high tides. Watching the boats go out, enjoying the sea air.
As promised, Seawatch was quiet. Harun did his best to keep occupied as the spring days lengthened and passed. He kept up his training, he found a quiet spot on the cliffs which he went to each morning. He dined most evenings with Doji Kiburo who was a good conversationalist despite the breaks due to his persistent cough.
He wasn’t completely cut off at Seawatch. He got letters from time to time. From his father, Kyoumi and his siblings. The news was welcome, but didn’t remove how remote Harun felt from everyone he knew.
Harun’s sleep had improved since he had left Crab lands, perhaps to do with the calm and the sea air. But he still occasionally had nightmares. Standing ankle deep in blood in the throne room at Toshi Ranbo…Shimekiri’s mad eyes and laughter… He tried to forget, let them wash over him.
Until one night there was a dream that he could not ignore.
He stood on a beach, the white sand bright against the blue water, before him was an impenetrable wall of green. A jungle, dense and alien, like in Zogeku. The jungle parted, like a curtain, and a figure in white emerged. A woman, by the shape. She was tall, wore white garments of the softest silk that swirled around her in a cloud. She was adorned with jewellery from head to foot, bracelets, anklets, rings and two clasps either side of her head that secured a veil that hid her face.
She carried two swords, one of steel and bound in pale blue cloth. The other looked golden and was decorated with a red tassel.
But there was something familiar about her, about how she moved. She almost danced, yet in a way that Harun felt he had seen her before.
Can it be her?...No, no…it cannot be…she is dead…
But as he watched her approach him, his heart beat fast. He started to smile.
Can it be? Really? After so long? It’s too much to hope for…
“Harun-kun?”
Her voice was soft, silvery, as if it came from a great distance. But it was her voice.
Harun gasped. “Arahime-chan?” Still hardly daring to believe.
He stood still, frozen, afraid that she would melt away like snow if he even dared as much as move. She reached up to remove the veil and he saw her face.
“Arahime!” It was her. The grey eyes, the smile slightly mocking him. But she looked different. Thinner, browned by the sun. It was her, and yet she was nothing like he remembered. He still didn’t dare move.
She stepped towards him, reaching forward to clasp his hand. Her touch was warm, reassuring him she was alive. She smiled at him again.
“I am not dead, please don’t forget me,” she said, her voice sweeter than music in his ears. “I am alive! I promised I would come back and I will. I’m trying to get back.”
Harun reached for her. He wanted to hold her in his arms. Hold her close so she could not be taken from him again. But she seemed to dissolve in his arms, fading away like mist.
“Arahime!”
She smiled at him as she faded, her smile reassuring that all would turn out fine.
“Remember me!”
He woke up panting, his hands flailing at the air. He was covered in sweat, but had the first real smile on his face in months.
She’s alive!
Her touch, her voice, her different appearance…these were all clues, clearly to show him that it was not just a dream. But a message, to tell him that she was alive.
And he knew he had to tell someone, at once is possible.
He sat at the table and got out pen, ink and brush. But as he started to from the words in his mind, he stopped. How would he explain this? The certainty he felt? On paper it would just be unconvincing, easy to dismiss as his own desires.
And he had promised his Uncle Kousuda he would say nothing of Arahime to Kyoumi. It would only hurt her, distract her from her duties as Voice of the Emperor.
He sighed and put away the writing materials.
If she is trying to get out, then it could be a long time before she can tell anyone, he thought, they’ll send word as soon as they can, until then I can only wait…
The road he took went between Akagi Mori and Kitsune Mori. The latter of course had been devastated by the Kaiu for firewood and their war machines. Harun’s birth-father Nakura had promised to help the Kitsune with the recovery of the forest in his retirement, something Harun had promised to do as Nakura’s death had prevented it.
After Harun left the city Ookami Toshi, he turned east and the journey got much worse. The road was full of ruts and holes, it slowed him down and it only got worse when he headed into the mountains. There were few villages in this part of Crane lands, the land was not very fertile and what settlements Harun saw were meagre and small. More than once, Harun had to shelter out in the open.
Finally, Harun arrived. He descended from the mountains to where Seawatch Castle stood on the high cliffs over the sea. It had been built solid long ago withstand the attacks of pirates that raided the Crane coast It had suffered much damage, not just from the tsunami but from years of neglect.
The castle was the residence of Doji Kiburo, the Senchou of the castle and the village nearby. He was a thin man with thinning white hair and a bad chest. But a pleasant sort and—to Harun surprise—rather pleased to see him.
“I won’t ask what you have done to get this posting, Kakita-Chui,” Kiburo told Harun when he arrived. “You will find all of us at Seawatch have stories that we would rather not share, but we always welcome new company.”
“I am here to serve the Crane, Doji-sama,” said Harun.
“I do not doubt that,” said Kiburo.
The damage to Seawatch Castle was more apparent on the inside. There were rooms that had leaks when it rained and an entire wing was completely unusable. The central garden of the castle was overgrown and wild, though Kiburo promised they would try to get it under control as it was beginning to compromise some of the stonework.
The barracks were in better condition than the rest of the castle but were built to house more than the twenty bushi that were stationed in there. Harun was installed in a room off to one side which had a window shade that stuck and smelled strongly of damp. But this was to be his home for the foreseeable future.
His second and the gunso was Daidoji Kitano, it was he who got the men onside when Harun brought in the discipline and techniques from the Imperial Legions. He drilled them daily and accompanied them on patrols, trying to make improvements where he could. What was even more difficult were the peasants they called upon for ashigaru. They would not make soldiers despite Harun’s efforts, and most of their time they tended their fields or fished in the sea.
Harun went even with them one morning, taking the steep path down the cliffs to where they hid their boats in caves, out of reach of the high tides. Watching the boats go out, enjoying the sea air.
As promised, Seawatch was quiet. Harun did his best to keep occupied as the spring days lengthened and passed. He kept up his training, he found a quiet spot on the cliffs which he went to each morning. He dined most evenings with Doji Kiburo who was a good conversationalist despite the breaks due to his persistent cough.
He wasn’t completely cut off at Seawatch. He got letters from time to time. From his father, Kyoumi and his siblings. The news was welcome, but didn’t remove how remote Harun felt from everyone he knew.
Harun’s sleep had improved since he had left Crab lands, perhaps to do with the calm and the sea air. But he still occasionally had nightmares. Standing ankle deep in blood in the throne room at Toshi Ranbo…Shimekiri’s mad eyes and laughter… He tried to forget, let them wash over him.
Until one night there was a dream that he could not ignore.
He stood on a beach, the white sand bright against the blue water, before him was an impenetrable wall of green. A jungle, dense and alien, like in Zogeku. The jungle parted, like a curtain, and a figure in white emerged. A woman, by the shape. She was tall, wore white garments of the softest silk that swirled around her in a cloud. She was adorned with jewellery from head to foot, bracelets, anklets, rings and two clasps either side of her head that secured a veil that hid her face.
She carried two swords, one of steel and bound in pale blue cloth. The other looked golden and was decorated with a red tassel.
But there was something familiar about her, about how she moved. She almost danced, yet in a way that Harun felt he had seen her before.
Can it be her?...No, no…it cannot be…she is dead…
But as he watched her approach him, his heart beat fast. He started to smile.
Can it be? Really? After so long? It’s too much to hope for…
“Harun-kun?”
Her voice was soft, silvery, as if it came from a great distance. But it was her voice.
Harun gasped. “Arahime-chan?” Still hardly daring to believe.
He stood still, frozen, afraid that she would melt away like snow if he even dared as much as move. She reached up to remove the veil and he saw her face.
“Arahime!” It was her. The grey eyes, the smile slightly mocking him. But she looked different. Thinner, browned by the sun. It was her, and yet she was nothing like he remembered. He still didn’t dare move.
She stepped towards him, reaching forward to clasp his hand. Her touch was warm, reassuring him she was alive. She smiled at him again.
“I am not dead, please don’t forget me,” she said, her voice sweeter than music in his ears. “I am alive! I promised I would come back and I will. I’m trying to get back.”
Harun reached for her. He wanted to hold her in his arms. Hold her close so she could not be taken from him again. But she seemed to dissolve in his arms, fading away like mist.
“Arahime!”
She smiled at him as she faded, her smile reassuring that all would turn out fine.
“Remember me!”
He woke up panting, his hands flailing at the air. He was covered in sweat, but had the first real smile on his face in months.
She’s alive!
Her touch, her voice, her different appearance…these were all clues, clearly to show him that it was not just a dream. But a message, to tell him that she was alive.
And he knew he had to tell someone, at once is possible.
He sat at the table and got out pen, ink and brush. But as he started to from the words in his mind, he stopped. How would he explain this? The certainty he felt? On paper it would just be unconvincing, easy to dismiss as his own desires.
And he had promised his Uncle Kousuda he would say nothing of Arahime to Kyoumi. It would only hurt her, distract her from her duties as Voice of the Emperor.
He sighed and put away the writing materials.
If she is trying to get out, then it could be a long time before she can tell anyone, he thought, they’ll send word as soon as they can, until then I can only wait…