Masters of Fate, Slaves to Duty

Chapter 9

“I know some things that you don't, I've done things that you won't,
There's nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home.” – Sixx AM


Tatsumaki had made his way back to Hikone after a short investigation. What had appeared to be a murder-suicide turned out to be a double murder with a jealous lover as the culprit. The case was fairly cut-and-dry, and the man was jailed without delay and now awaits sentencing.

A storm rolled in just as he was riding into town, one of those nasty ones that barrels through during the summer months, but the rain did not start until the horse was already tied up at the stable and he was walking home. The downpour was torrential, and pellets of ice clinked off the surrounding rooftops. Tatsu ducked under a short awning for cover, but the rain let up sooner than expected, and within a couple of minutes he was on his way again.

As he saw his walls come into view, Tatsu got nervous. He hadn’t realized how cold he had treated Yume upon their return until he was questioning a woman involved in the case. She was the wife of the murderer, and she was having trouble believing that her husband was capable of the crimes. But when she questioned his motives, he simply turned away and informed her that it was not any of her business. He also told her his love for her had died years ago, that he was tired of her sucking the life from him.

Tatsu only hoped that Yume had overlooked his indifference towards her. He was very tired from their long trip, and he quickly realized that diving right back into work was not the best of plans. Though, there really was no excuse for how he had treated her. She had just survived a turbulent ending to a long relationship that could have ended much worse than it did, and he was not helping by acting like a prick.

But in all honesty, he was afraid. There was no other word for it. He feared how she would react to him after so long apart. He had no idea if she knew where he had been the last two years, that he had spent those years roaming foreign countries either under a haze of opium or a whore’s body. He worried that he could not keep things together for her, that he would choose to avoid things again by smoking another pipe. The only thing he knew for certain, in his heart and his mind, was that he still loved her. If she wanted to pick up where they had left off years ago, or even if she wanted to start anew, he would do it, no questions asked.

So he had made a crack about marrying Matsuri, but that had been a running joke in the house for two years. Surely Yume would know he wasn’t serious. He could never handle a girl like her, especially at his age. And a girl like that needed someone younger, someone who could show her the world. Kami knows Kiyomi could use a break from her sibling.

Tatsumaki stopped at the main gate, pausing to take a slow, deep breath. It was time to choose the path he would take. He wasn’t letting fate steal her away from him again. She may not be ready for him now, but he needed to tell her how he felt, and still feels, about the mother of his children and the only woman he had truly loved. He needed her to be aware of what was waiting for her.

As he gathered his wits, he pushed open the gate only to hear a scream from the east side of the property. Instinctively Tatsu went for his sword, but realized too soon that he didn’t carry it anymore. Instead he went to the firearm strapped to his right hip, a requirement for most police officers now. He would only get one shot, and he had to make it count.

He ran to the twins’ house. As he got closer, the screams died down to only crying. He barged into the living room, shoes and all, and found no one inside. The cries were coming from behind the house. Tatsu left a muddy path across the floor as he ran through the kitchen. His thoughts went to the extreme. He knew he had not left a trail for the Chinese to follow, but that did not ease his doubts. What if they had found this place…

Tatsu threw himself through the back door, the rice paper sticking to his damp uniform as he tossed the remnants away. As he landed in a puddle of mud, he stopped just behind the twins. They were shaking. Kiyomi was holding her sister, rocking her to silence her cries. But he couldn’t see why she was crying.

“Girls, what’s going on here?” he asked as he lowered his gun and tried to catch his breath. “Did something happen?”

Kiyomi turned to see her benefactor, his uniform soaked through and a pistol in his hand. Tatsu could see she was calm, but there were tears in her eyes as well.

“I’m sorry, Fukuyomi-san, we just found her like this,” she whispered.

Tatsu couldn’t see anything until he approached them. Just beyond the girls, there was a body splayed in the mud. He could see bare feet below a sludge covered kimono, the color too stained to determine. He also couldn’t make out a face, but a shock of silver hair glowed from below the mud. Tatsu reached out and put a hand on Kiyomi’s shoulder, but she turned away from him, too ashamed to look him in the face.

Both girls refused to look at him as he knelt down beside the body of the woman he loved. Her left arm was at a bad angle, going all the way up to her shoulder. Blood and mud mingled with strands of her hair. He leaned forward and gently brushed mud away from her face, and traced his thumb across her damp cheek.

Then Tatsu was on automatic, his mind and heart shut down as he pushed hair away from her calm, translucent face. Right now he was not Tatsu the lover; this man was Tatsu the police officer who was potentially contaminating a crime scene.

Immediately he noticed that while her eyes were closed, there was an odd smile on her face. He looked to the twins again.

“I need to know what happened here,” he stated, trying to dam the tide of emotions threatening to break through.

Matsuri refused to speak, and only buried her face deeper into Kiyomi’s chest. “I honestly do not know, sir,” Kiyomi said, still caressing her sister’s hair. “She was coming to tell Yume-san about the Summer Solstice Festival coming in a couple of days. Matsuri wanted to know if she would come shopping with us for new kimonos. She….she wanted us to look nice for you.”

At the sound of her name, Matsuri started crying harder, and Kiyomi could only rock her sister to soothe her pain. She watched Tatsumaki carefully, and she was just as concerned for him as she was for her sister. She knew little about the past between him and Yume, but she figured coming home to find your houseguest dead would be troubling to anyone.

She looked back to the woman on the ground as the clouds cleared above and the moon cast additional light on the yard. That’s when she noticed something strange.

“Sir?” she said, leaning forward for a closer look. “I think she is still breathing.”

Matsuri stiffened in her sister’s arms, and Tatsumaki leaned towards Yume’s face. It was faint, but he could feel her breath against his ear.

With wide eyes, he looked back to Kiyomi. “Go now!” he yelled. “Get the doctor!”

Kiyomi left without hesitation, letting her sister fall to the ground. Matsuri gathered herself together, and looked to Tatsumaki. She could see the pain in his eyes as he smoothed more of Yume’s hair away from her face. She also saw relief, but she wondered if it might be too early for that.

As she tried to get up and leave, Tatsu shot her a harsh glance. “Who caused this?”

Matsuri wasn’t sure where to start, or if she could tell him what they had observed during his absence. Hesitantly she said, “Well, she was withdrawn after you left. She didn’t want anything to do with us. We only saw her when she came to the kitchen to get food. The rest of the time she spent either in your office or on the roof.”

“The roof?” he asked, confused. “Why would she be up there?”

Matsuri only shook her head, unable to answer his question. “I’m sorry, I wouldn’t know. But I can tell you that tonight, she did not go up until the storms rolled in, like she was waiting for them.”

Tatsu stopped playing with Yume’s hair to lean back and look at her face again. The serenity he saw in her smile disturbed him. “Are you suggesting she did this deliberately?”

Matsuri turned away, ashamed that she had even mentioned the idea. She decided that the best thing she could do was go back into the house, and leave him alone.

But Tatsumaki wasn’t ready to let the subject go. He quickly came up behind her, grabbing her by the arm and dragging back to the house.

“What are you doing?” she yelled, trying to fight against his grip. “You can’t leave her out there alone!”

“And I can’t risk picking her up when I don’t know where she is injured,” he growled in her ear.

Tatsu tread back through the kitchen to the living room with Matsuri in tow. There was a desk with a fresh inkstone and scrolls for calligraphy practice. Letting go of her arm, Tatsu immediately started to write a note on a blank scroll. Curious, Matsuri leaned over his shoulder to read it. But his scrawl was so illegible she couldn’t decipher it.

Quickly, Tatsu rolled up the scroll and sealed it with a wax stamp. He thrust it into Matsuri’s hands.

“Go to the stable and get my horse,” he stated, grabbing her face to make sure she was focused on him. “Take this scroll to the British Embassy in Tokyo, ask for Daven. Do not open it, and do not give it to anyone else. You do not stop until that letter has reached his hands.”

Matsuri was confused. She opened her mouth to protest, but Tatsumaki cut off her words.

“Go now! She needs your help!” he yelled, pointing to the backyard, to the wounded woman. “I know you can handle this, so go!”

Matsuri could feel her tears coming back as he yelled at her, but she simply nodded and ran out the door.

Quietly, Tatsu found his seat next to Yume’s body again. The moon was shining brighter now, making her damp hair shimmer in its light. Even as he touched her fine hair, she did not stir. He held her right hand in his lap since it was on the side that appeared to be less injured. Her skin was cold and damp, a sign that death may set in soon if help didn’t arrive.

So he closed his eyes and uttered a silent prayer to whoever would listen. He prayed for her to come back. It didn’t have to be him, but she needed to come back for her children. They would need her in the coming years. Her brother would need her for their friendly verbal battles and games of shogi. She still had much to accomplish in this life, and he prayed that she would choose to continue it with him. But as he squeezed her hand again, he knew that none of this was a guarantee. She would have to come back on her own terms, so all he could do was pray that help arrived soon. And while he prayed, one single tear slid down his cheek to land on her hand.

~*~*~

“There is nothing more I can do for her,” said the elderly doctor as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

He leaned heavily against his cane, and his assistant hoisted the medicine box onto his back. Tatsu and Kiyomi moved out of their way. The small assistant bowed his head as he stepped out of the door, but the doctor stopped before Tatsu.

Staring out the door, he said, “Her constitution has weakened. If her eyes do not open in the next few days, I suggest you send for a priest. Her spirit will want to see her body off into its next life.”

Kiyomi followed the two men to show them out, leaving Tatsu alone with Yume’s quiet form. The night had been trying for both himself and the doctor. Tatsu had managed to get her body into the house and settled in the living room. Kiyomi quietly stripped all of the muddy clothes from Yume’s body, and set her upon an old futon that could be thrown out when the doctor was finished. The doctor had sent his assistant out for bandages while Kiyomi heated some water for cleaning Yume and her wounds.

The most pressing injury was the gash at the back of her head, caused by a rock found underneath her body. The doctor said this had caused her comatose state, and stated it was the most fortunate of her wounds because she would not feel the pain to come.

While his assistant bandaged Yume’s head, the doctor settled himself at her left arm. He waved to Tatsu to join him on the floor. The doctor tested her arm, and found the injury to be a dislocated shoulder. As the doctor kept his hand on the joint, Tatsu forced her shoulder back into place. He then instructed Tatsu to bandage her arm to her body. If she moved around in her sleep, there was a chance she could injure her arm again.

“You need to get some rest,” Kiyomi said from the open door.

Tatsu was stood motionless over Yume’s body. He stared down at her still form as the thoughts ran through his mind. Initially, he wanted to assign blame, but to whom? Himself? Jonathan? But maybe it wasn’t that simple, maybe there was more to it. Why would someone with a life like hers want to throw it all away?

“Please Tatsumaki,” Kiyomi said, using his first name instead of his last. “I will keep watch over her.”

She reached out and touched his arm, but he still did not move away. “I fear I have caused her nothing but sorrow these last few years.”

Kiyomi was quiet to his revelation, letting it go by the wayside instead of consoling him further. He wasn’t ready for that yet. Blame still needed to be placed, though she did not understand why he assigned the fault to himself.

Behind them the sky was lightening with the colors of a brilliant sunrise. It was going to be another beautiful day, even though the summer’s heat would bear down before the sun reached its peak. It was the time of year to get out and enjoy the area. Inside, Kiyomi thought they should all be down at the lake together on a day like this. They would go early so Tatsu could get in some fishing, and the girls would wait for him on the beach, bathing their bodies in the sun’s warming rays. But now there was a chance that that dream would never come true.

Kiyomi patted his arm one more time, and turned to leave when Tatsu grabbed her hand. She turned to see his pained expression, a trail of tears glistening on both of his cheeks.

“Please,” he said, averting his glance back to Yume. “I don’t know what to do.”

Kiyomi gave him a slight smile. “You make sure to take care of yourself. You are no good to her recovery if you are not well yourself. That is one way to make certain you are here when she wakes up. She will need a friendly face, and I’m guessing that she is more than just a friend.”

Tatsu let her go and hugged his arms around his chest as he tried to ease some of his own pain. “I understand that part, but what do you say to the love of your life when she wakes to discover that she has remained on this earth to see the next sunrise? A sunrise that she had no intention of ever seeing again?”

~*~*~

Daven stood outside the silent temple, knowing that his timing could not be worse. A rider had shown up on his doorstep early that morning with news of a dire nature from a small town on the northern coast. He had left an exhausted Matsuri back at his quarters at the British Embassy to deliver the disturbing news personally. He held the nearly illegible scroll in his grip as he walked up the stairs to the main entryway.

Inside, he could see Miki in his black robes as he kneeled before a white sheet. Beside him was a priest bowing his head in a silent prayer. The entire room smelled of incense, the scent sweet filled the space from the two sticks located on the alter.

As he stepped through the door, he found the Council standing at the back of the room. From the look on his face, Daven could tell that the advisor was only here as a formality. He was representing the royal family who could not attend a commoner’s funeral. The two men nodded civilly to one another before Daven continued inside.

Miki did not move or acknowledge the soldier as Daven sat on his knees next to him. The white sheet now had form. Below it rested the body of Miki’s wife, Sakiko. Daven had learned from the palace doctor that she had succumbed to death’s tempting grasp during the premature birth of their child, and the child ended up walking that dark path with her, leaving only Miki behind to grieve for the loss.

“I have news,” Daven said a short time later after the priest had left them alone.

Miki nodded once for acknowledgement. He knew only one person would make Daven interrupt his own wife’s funeral. Together with the Council, the men moved from the temple to one of the outer courtyards. Daven handed the scroll over to Miki, and hoped the man could decipher it. He read it in continued silence, scanning the document quickly.

Rolling it up, Miki said, “There’s been an accident. I must go to Hikone.”

He thrust the scroll at Daven angrily. When he looked again, Miki was already walking away. “What do mean by an accident?”

Both Daven and the Council trailed after him as Miki moved quickly towards the residential section. “Yume’s in trouble,” he said, responding more as justification for him rather than an explanation for the others.

Daven grabbed his arm, forcing to turn around. “I’m coming with you. The messenger can lead us.”

“Fine,” Miki said, his tone dripping with anger. Before proceeding, he focused on the advisor following them and pointed in the direction of the temple. “I need to you to personally take care of her arrangements. Her ashes will go to her family’s temple in Yokohama.”

The Council simply nodded, not understanding the source of Yume’s trouble but at least comprehending that it was bad enough for Miki to leave prior to his own wife and child’s funeral.

The Council spoke up before the men could depart. “The Emperor travels to Kyoto in two days. When your business in Hikone is finished, you will join us there. The threat from the continent has not lessened in recent weeks, and we fear an attack on the capital and the royal family is imminent.”

Miki did not give any indication of what his future actions might be. Both he and Daven simply ran for the stables so they could leave before the sun set on the day.

~*~*~

Two days later, Tatsu was asleep in the living room, his body propped up next to Yume’s silent form. She had given no signs of arousal since the doctor had left. He and Kiyomi had taken turns watching over her. Kiyomi made sure the man got rest, and always had food ready to keep his strength up. She had answered numerous summons from the Kyoto police department, and she had efficiently redirected all of them.

But today, there was a visitor of a different nature. And he was very insistent that he speak with Tatsumaki directly. Kiyomi escorted the gentleman to the main house where he could wait for Tatsu.

“Who is it?” Tatsu asked, angry that Kiyomi had not turned away the guest.

“I’m afraid I do not know,” she said, not deterred by his ire. “But he was insistent that he speak with you at once. He said to mention ‘Stronghold’. Does that mean something to you?”

Tatsu had stormed across the grounds after giving Kiyomi specific instructions to make sure she stayed with Yume. There were only a select number of people who knew about the Stronghold incident, and two of them were in this house. He was livid that Kiyomi let a potential enemy into his home, but his anger melted away at the sight of his guest.

Tatsu sighed in apparent relief. “You were the last person I ever expected to show up on my doorstep.”

At his desk sat a small Chinese man. His name was Jin Chun, his guide and companion from his journeys across the continent. The man had informants and friends across most of the Chinese provinces, and he had gotten Tatsu into many doors that otherwise would not let him in. And the young man’s looks and charms had gained them both women and notoriety in many brothels and opium dens.

“It is good to see you again, my friend,” said Jin, rising to greet Tatsu. The two men bowed to one another. “I see you got my message.”

“Yes I did, and how did you know where to find me?”

Jin smiled, his chocolate eyes glimmering with underlying humor. “Well, I came ashore and worked the brothels in Osaka and Kyoto until I found some young lady who knew your name. Seems you were real popular at a particular house in Kyoto…”

Tatsu wanted to laugh, but instead he looked back to the girls’ house, and Jin sensed the worry coming from the man. “Look, I don’t have a lot of time, but I’ve heard about some bad things, some which are coming this way. I knew if I could get to you, you could probably put a stop to it.”

Jin was also very popular in political circles. He never chose one particular side or party, always leaving his options, and his ears, open. This was how Tatsu learned all that he had brought back to the Council.

“Tell me what you know about the Stronghold,” Tatsu said, turning his attention back to his guest.

“Ahh, so you do know of it,” Jin said, glad that there was no need for explanations. “It was last seen coming back to Japan, and not with its original crew. An informant of mine on the peninsula told me of a group of men that were searching for a crew for a new battleship. It was only at port for a couple of days before it set sail for the south.”

Tatsu knew something like this was going to happen eventually. “And the original crew?”

Jin shook his head. “A mass grave was found outside of Songjin. All of the bodies were stripped of their uniforms.”

Tatsu moved to the window facing the lake, taking his attention away from his ailing woman long enough to process his thoughts. The ship would be coming back, but where would it make port? It would be too obvious to dock in Tokyo or Yokohama with key members of the British and Japanese militaries aware of its missing status. If their course kept them to the south, Osaka was easily accessible. Or they could bypass that all together and come around to the east coast and dock at Nagoya.

“That is not all that I have heard,” said Jin as he walked to the same window. He looked Tatsu directly in the eyes. “Word is an assassin has been sent out, looking for the British officer who escaped and his wife that helped with his release.”

Tatsu’s face did not give away the apprehension he felt building inside. Even fewer people knew about Jonathan’s capture and subsequent escape. “Why does this information concern me?”

Jin stared out the window, watching the summer sun glaring off of Lake Biwa. “It seems that the officer’s wife is of great import to the Emperor. And if trouble were to befall her, it is possible he may give in to the continent’s demands.”

“I do not understand,” Tatsu said, playing the fool. “Was she his mistress?”

Jin shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said as he continued to watch Tatsu blank stare. “From what I’ve heard, they believe she is a relative. However, it was my understanding that the Emperor has no siblings. Is this not true?”

Tatsu had no reason not to trust this man, but the information Jin had made him very suspicious of his intentions for coming to Hikone. Jin had been his companion through a very dark period of his life. The man had made him live life while he was on his journey across China. Tatsu was thankful for the days that they had laughed together, drank fine rice wine together, and slept out under the stars discussing women and war together. But if there was one thing he knew about Jin, information always has a price.

“The wife is safe. She is on tour with the Empress,” Tatsu said, choosing to neither confirm nor deny the truth of Jin’s information. “And last I heard, the officer was about to be shipped back to his homeland, so with his targets unreachable, the assassin will be looking for new employment soon.”

Both men stood in silence for a moment, both going over all of the details in their heads. Tatsu was no strategist, nor did he have any information regarding the enemy’s demands. What was their actual purpose in stealing the British naval vessel? To what resolution? More questions filled the list when there were still previous questions without answers.

Jin cleared his throat. “I hate to cut our conversation short. No one knows that I am here, and I fear if I am found, it could be the death of me.”

“I understand,” said Tatsu as he extended his hand to Jin, who took it graciously. “It was good to see you again, old friend, even though it has only been a few months. Take care on your journey home.”

Jin grinned at Tatsu’s comment. “Oh, I’m sure I will find some form of trouble to get into. And I hope she has long legs and luscious lips.”

Tatsu escorted the young man to the gate, and saw him off. The news was indeed disturbing, and he didn’t want to know how Jin had come about the information. But now it was time to prepare. There was an assassin looking for Yume, and in her current state of unconsciousness, he was the only one who could protect her.


A/N: I apologize for the delay with this chapter. There were several "GRR, ARGH!" moments,
and once I started to get it on paper, the direction disturbed me. So, here is the finished product.
I'm not pleased, but hopefully I can get things back on track now that this particular chap is done.