Rebel Encounter

Chapter 4

The day was slowly fading into night. I was sitting next to the pond, staring at my reflection, dark eyes looking into the dark water. My long ponytail draped over my shoulder, the tips of my hair dipping into the water. “You won’t find the answers you seek in those depths,” I heard Tatsu say. I knew he had been watching me, but I wasn’t sure why. I turned to see him standing next the large tree, the same one I had used as a hiding place from Shinra. I saw he was carrying a sake bottle and two saucers. I patted the seat on the ground next to me, inviting Tatsu to drink away his woes.

It had been a most enjoyable day. Tatsu was taking some time off from his investigation; ‘searching for clues in another case’ was the excuse he gave his supervisor. They spent the day working on the security of the compound. (I called it the “compound” since it was a prison I was not permitted to leave.) Tatsu and Shinra made sure every room had some form of weaponry, in case of emergency. I got to spend the day quietly enjoying the steam and minerals of the outdoor spring, uninterrupted. Speaking of Shinra, I learned that he would be taking up residence here as well. It turns out that the Yakuza had put a bounty on my head. I did not understand why they wanted me, though. They had left me on the street after Chief Nanaka had his way with me. I would think if they wanted me that bad, knowing what city I was in, they would have just went door to door. Something just didn’t make sense. What had changed in that short amount of time? Why was one whore so important?

I took the saucer Tatsu offered me. The warm sake warmed my insides just like the bath warmed my skin. I watched him drink, and found that he was a wonderful specimen to observe. The sleeves of his yukata were tied back from his earlier workings, and he had slim, muscular arms. A thought ran through my head, ‘I wonder when I will get those arms around me.’ I instantly regretted that thought, and started coughing to flush it away. Tatsu jumped to my aid, patting me briskly on the back. “Don’t drink often?” he asked, laughing at my misfortune. My face was blushing when I tried to push him away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me up against his body. His lips quickly found their way to mine. The pressure was light and pleasant. It was just as before when he leapt from my balcony, only there was no urgency, no need to run in fear. I placed my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, opening my mouth to his. I was enjoying his touch, when I suddenly felt his body stiffen, and he released my lips and body. Ducking out of the circle of my arms, he turned his back to me and started to walk away. “I’m sorry, it’s too soon,” he said, and continued his way toward the entryway.

‘Too soon? For who?’ I thought. ‘Damn it, I haven’t been touched in months! Granted the last time wasn’t by my choice, but it’s not like it hasn’t happened to me before!’ I stomped my foot, and started to march toward the dining room when a hand caught my wrist. I turned to see Shinra shaking his head. I looked back in the direction Tatsu had left, but he was already out of sight. “He blames himself for your misfortunes,” Shinra stated. “He feels he still owes you a debt that he cannot pay.” Looking toward the sky, I could see the blanket of stars beginning to flicker. “Shinra, my problems are not his to shoulder. He owes me no debt of gratitude,” I said, looking to my sensei. “My life was never perfect to begin with. He knows nothing.”

I headed back to the pond, and sat down at its edge. The bottle of sake was where Tatsu had left it. Ignoring the rules of etiquette, I took a long swig from the bottle itself, forgetting to use the saucer. There was only so much rejection a girl could take, and I really thought I had met my limit. Shinra took a seat next to me, and removed the bottle from my lips. “Drinking will never make the pain go away,” he instructed before taking a drink for himself. I laughed out loud at his statement, “And what pain is that?” “Everyone has a story to tell, Yume. All you have to do is see it in their eyes,” Shinra lectured. “You are not used to being treated like a proper lady, not like a device used for pleasure. You’re feeling dismissed by Tatsu, but you know everything that has been done in the last few months has been for your safety.”

“Who asked him to do this, Shinra? If I had known what was going on when he first found me, I would have insisted on dying in the street rather than living like some prisoner. I was a prisoner in my home where my father and his friends forced themselves on me every night before I was old enough to know what was going on! I remained a prisoner in my own home until my father traded me to pay off his debts! I’ve been a prisoner in that brothel for the last seven years of my life! The scenery never changed, but at least the company did. The only satisfaction I get now is to see the sunrise and the sun set. I still start and end every day as a prisoner, nothing has changed,” I was crying by the time my discourse was over. I have never cried for my misfortunes, and that wasn’t the case now. I was angry at how things had turned out; knowing that as a woman, I had no power over my past, present, or future. I could blame my father for all of the horrors he put me through. I could blame the Yakuza with leaving my father only two options of payment, death or my body. I could definitely blame Tatsumaki for climbing to my balcony that night, shoving himself in to my life. But how can you blame fate for the trials that life puts you through?

Shinra collected me in his arms, and I continued to cry, sobbing into his chest. I could feel his head turning as if he was looking for something. I didn’t know it, but Tatsumaki had heard my entire outburst. He had stationed himself in the old tree, using his shinobi skills to move undetected. My sobs turned to whimpers, and I pulled myself away from Shinra. I stood up and turned my back to him. “I’m leaving tomorrow,” I said. When he started to object, I glared at him. “No, sensei, I will not remain in this place any longer. Whatever business the Yakuza or Chief Nanaka feels they have with me, I will settle it. If it’s my death they wish for, then they can have it.” I continued the path to my room, never looking back at Shinra. Once I was past the tree, I could feel Tatsumaki’s presence, but I disregarded it.

I put on a clean kimono and placed my wakizashi inside my obi. I piled my hair on top of my head, and was preparing to put on my shoes when I felt Tatsu’s presence in my room. “They don’t want you dead, Yume,” he said, trying to prove a point. I continued to ignore him, bustling around the room as though looking for something. Tatsu grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him. When I looked into his eyes, he continued with his point. “Chief Nanaka will no longer work with the Yakuza if he can’t have you. You were the bribe he accepted for ignoring their business dealings. He will not accept any of the other girls in that house.”

I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “I am no bribe to be passed around by the Yakuza. I am not a ‘thing’ they can control. Other girls may take it, but I won’t anymore. Now if you’ve made your point, please leave. I don’t need another controlling man in my life.” I continued moving around the room, and around Tatsu. I could hear his breathing elevating behind me as he got more than pissed with me. “Yume, I won’t begin to say that I understand what you’ve been through in your life, “ he said, but stopped when he heard me gasp. “You eavesdropped on a private conversation? Kami! You are no different from the rest of them!” I ran out the bedroom door and down the walkway. Just when I was going to make it to the front gate, I broadsided a wall that turned out to be Shinra. Swiftly he threw me over his shoulder and carried me back into the compound. “Miss Yume, this is for your own good,” he said. We ended up at the gate to the springs. Kicking down the door, he proceeded down the walkway and stopped at the edge of the spring. Hoisting me into his arms, he pitched me into the warm water. “Now, you’re going to stay there until Tatsumaki says otherwise. You even think about leaving that water, and I won’t even begin to say what awaits outside that gate.” Shinra then stormed off toward the house.

I sat in the water, fuming from my rage. Looking down, I realized my kimono was now ruined, my sword was wet, and overall, I was pissed off. Pulling off my obi, I set my sword on the ledge and removed my wet and heavy kimono. My hair had slipped from its bindings when I hit the water, so I removed the ties and let my wet hair fall loose behind me. I dunked myself under the water, not caring that someone was watching my now nude form. I knew Tatsu was going to show up, it was just a matter of when. I re-surfaced in enough time to hear the splash, but I couldn’t tell where it came from. It seems my windstorm had arrived.