Fuel to the Fire

Chapter 8


“Mmm, Tatsu…”

Yume’s voice purred through Tatsu’s mind, waking him from the shadows of slumber. His dark world was quickly dispersed by the morning sun burning against his lids. Stretching his body to greet the sun’s rays, Tatsu realized that the ground around him was damp with morning dew. The memories of the previous night and their exploits helped to wake his body further, creating another heated need that only Yume could satisfy.

Reaching to his side, Tatsu only found flattened grass where his lover previously lied. Opening his eyes to search for his lover, he quickly discovered he had woken up alone, her passionate words still reverberating through his mind. Her clothes were no longer strewn amongst the thick grass, yet his clothes remained in the disheveled shape he had left them in. Well it was more like they stayed where they landed after Yume had stripped them from his body and flung them to the wind.

Judging by the sun’s height and the thinning fog, it was already mid-morning, and his stomach tried to overpower his current craving with its own form of hunger. Tatsu surveyed the area one more time, searching the water and the trees for any sign of her. There was no way for him to tell how long it had been since she left his side. The ground was already dewy when the need for sleep stole their consciousness away. Finding his surroundings barren of human life, Tatsu gathered his clothing and made his way back to the village

~*~*~

“I can’t do this alone. I won’t kill again.”

Her parting words haunted Miki. She had woken him early before the sunrise, saying that it was critical that she left for her mission now and her services were demanded in Tokyo. Miki was perched in a tree high above their hut, wondering why she so urgently needed to leave. The mission was still a couple of days away, plenty of time for the girls to prepare. He and Tatsu were also a part of this mission, however Tatsu was still unaware of his role. Neither of them had returned by the time he woke up in the road, his body covered in dirt and coughing up blood from their little scuffle.

Making his way back to their home and finding no one there, he knew what was happening. And he dared not follow where the two had gone. Even though he did not trust Tatsu’s intentions towards Yume, he knew the man would never physically harm her. Tatsu provided her with an inner strength that he had not seen from her in their five years together. She was always nervous before a mission, still unsure of her evolving skills as a kunoichi. There were always lives on the line, and no matter how indirect her role was, she would cry if any of those lives were lost. So many things depended on the information she received that she would get lost in her own pain and sorrow once a mission was over. Yet, when she left this morning, there was no fear in her eyes. She was only there momentarily, collecting items that she needed. She said that brief statement, kissed him on the lips, and ran outside and left on horseback. Her words completely contradicted what he saw on the exterior.

Movement in the direction of the river distracted Miki’s attention. Tatsu emerged from the forest, half-dressed and his hair moving loose with the motion of his body. Miki knew what had transpired the night before; he could smell it on Yume when she kissed him. She had made her choice. Though it was not of great shock to him, but he would have appreciated a short consultation before the final decision was made. Of course he was not pleased with her selection, but he knew he could no longer let this affect how he handled himself in Tatsu’s presence. The job was all that mattered. He felt sorry for Tatsu as he watched the man pause on the dirt path, stretching his body to the sky while he surveyed his surroundings. He had no idea what was waiting for the three of them.

“You gonna hide in that tree all day?”

~*~*~

The morning fog had cleared by the time Tatsu found his way back to the small hut. The surrounding area was quiet, and Tatsu wondered where the children went in the mornings. There were no sounds coming from the direction of the village, and Tatsu figured they were busy with their morning chores. Needing to make sure Yume was all right, Tatsu made his way to the hut, but he was stopped by the overwhelming sensation that he was being watched. Scanning the tree, he found Miki perched on guard duty.

“You gonna hide in that tree all day?” he shouted at his rival. Miki turned at the sound of his voice. In one fluid motion, he leapt from the tree to the roof. As Miki settled down again, Tatsu asked, “Is she inside?” Miki laughed, trying to decide how to answer her lover’s question. “She’s gone,” he simply stated, waiting for the barrage of questions that were surely forming in Tatsu’s mind. He turned to the man below, watching as his eyes wandered, his mind sorting through the events of recent days.

“She received another mission?” he asked. Miki nodded, slightly shocked that this man came up with the conclusion on his own. He left his rooftop perch to stand before Tatsu. Inwardly he smiled when he saw Tatsu’s busted lip, still puffy from his overnight assault. “We have our own orders. Suit up, and I’ll retrieve the horses,” Miki said, patting Tatsu on the shoulder as he left.

~*~*~

The men kept a decent pace on the path back to Tokyo. The beast between Tatsu’s legs breathed steady with the pace, the power coursing through its hard body. He closed his eyes temporarily, only to picture Yume riding him in the same manner. She threw her head back as she thrust faster and harder against his body, the sounds of her moans echoed through his memories. “Pay attention!” yelled Miki. Tatsu opened his eyes, and ducked quickly under a low-lying tree limb. Miki turned to look behind again, making sure Tatsu was still seated on his mount and no longer distracted.

Tatsu shook his head, trying to banish his naughty thoughts. The men had not spoke again until that moment. Miki hadn’t even disclosed the details of this mission. “Tell me about the waterfall,” Tatsu said, catching another glance from Miki. The white-haired man pulled up the reins on his horse, halting their progress. Tatsu stopped his horse next to Miki. “Do you really want to know? You will not be pleased with the answer.”

Tatsu watched Miki, unsure if he actually wanted to know. The last two days had provided more secrets and information than he was capable of processing or comprehending in that short amount of time. Yume was still alive, they had children together, she worked for a ninja clan…they had already discussed the biggest surprises, right?

At Tatsu’s nod, the men moved again, the horses walking at a slower gait. “It’s a purification process that she goes through after every mission,” Miki said. “When she was no longer sick from childbirth, a sadness set in. She disappeared, and we had no idea where to until she returned some two seasons later. Yume had found her way to a Buddhist temple. She prayed every day for her sins, seeking forgiveness for the lives she had taken. She was required to purify her body and spirit every day that she was a resident of the temple. Yume once told me that there was even a point where she no longer had nightmares.”

Miki took a deep breath. “She was dream free until our first mission together. The two of us went back to Yokohama, and her job was to pick up a particular foreigner who was causing some illegal trouble. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but when it came to the point where her life was in danger, she froze. She refused to kill the man. There were fifty women chained aboard this man’s boat, all ready for shipment to foreign shores. To save them, all Yume had to do was slit his throat while he was enraptured between her legs, but her body froze, her mind shut down. I dropped from the ceiling just before he plunged a sword through her chest.”

Tatsu stared at the road before them. This was all his fault. He originally placed the urge to kill within her. The first time had been for revenge, though at the time he didn’t approve of it. The second time was another betrayal, but it was life or death for the two of them. He remembered the torment she suffered at night when her mind was free to roam her darkest side. She was not built to kill. She had been a creature of pleasure, a slave for man’s whims. He thought he had saved Yume from a terrible life. Instead he forced bloodshed upon her, stealing the last innocent part of her life that she had left to grasp.

“She doesn’t blame you, Tatsumaki,” Miki said after seeing the pained expression on his face. “She has come to understand that without you, she would still be in Kyoto, working off a debt that she did not accrue. You see, she and I have a very symbiotic relationship. She is very capable of performing the duties required of her. However if death is a requirement for that duty to be fulfilled, that is where I come in. She gives me the opportunity to suppress my swordsman’s need for slaughter. And she rarely has a mission where I am not there.”

“She said you weren’t part of this clan, but I never imagined you were samurai,” Tatsu commented. Miki kicked his horse, sending it into a stead gallop again. Tatsu spurned his mount on as well, trying to keep up with Miki. “My past is not your concern, her future is.” The remainder of the journey was spent in silence. The sun was glowing under the horizon before the streetlights of Tokyo came into view. As the edge of the forest lay before them, Miki suddenly halted his horse. Tatsu watched him carefully as he dismounted his horse, and began to sniff the air. Tatsu left his mount to stand with his back to Miki, both bodies tensed in defensive stances.

“I smell death, and it’s near,” Miki murmured so low that Tatsu barely heard him. Miki removed his facial covering, and smelled the decay in the air. Both men moved through the brush to their left, and about eighteen meters from the road lay a bloody massacre. Three bodies, defiled and beheaded, were strewn around a small clearing. Tatsu turned his head to hide his body’s repulsion, but turned back when he heard Miki curse. Tatsu approached the small body near him, and understood Miki’s cause for alarm. All three bodies were women, wearing the same ninja garments as he and Miki.

“They were relieved of duty when Yume and Ayame arrived this morning. I was beginning to wonder why we did not encounter them during our journey. But there’s one missing, there were four heading back this morning,” Miki stated, prompting both men to do a thorough search of the clearing. A length of time passed before both men gave up. “If you knew they were coming, do you know who is missing?” Tatsu questioned.

“Emiko, she was supposed to take over the kids’ training tomorrow morning,” Miki sighed. Tatsu watched as the man dropped to the ground and beat his fists against the grass. Tatsu walked over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Miki, there’s a chance that she is still alive, and there is a chance that this is betrayal. Either way, the girls are in trouble. What was our missions, all three of them?”

Miki closed his eyes to the encompassing carnage. “You have a meeting tomorrow evening with the governors. They are ready to mobilize their warriors, and just need to finalize their strategies. Yume was to draw away the attention of the Choshu leader, and my blade was supposed to relieve him of this life.” Miki stood again, making his way back to the road, leaving the bodies behind. Tatsu understood the man’s thinking. If this was betrayal, then to remove the bodies would send a signal to the enemy that someone was aware of their transgressions.

“Tatsu, I need you to go ahead without me. Keep Yume safe, but don’t blow your cover. Please communicate to her that she has to work through this one alone, that we are unable assist her. Inform the Council of what we know in case something fails tomorrow evening,” Miki said, mounting his horse, turning it back towards the village. “What will you do?” Tatsu asked, finding his own horse.

“I don’t want to think about one of our own betraying us, but I can’t ignore this feeling in my gut. I’m going back to the village, if there is still one to return to.” With that Miki kicked his horse, leaving only a dust cloud in his wake. Tatsu made his way back to the city’s border. He, too, couldn’t shake his sense of dread that caused his body to shake. His first instinct was to check on Yume, but he knew she was not in impending danger this evening. The second was to rush back to the village with Miki. His children were there, and he’d be damned if he let someone take them away after he just found them. But he had to put them at the back of his mind; Miki would take care of them, he had up to this point. Focusing on this mission, he knew the spy wouldn’t reveal himself until all of the governors were together. Then again, even that was a complete assumption, but it seemed the most logical at the moment. There were just too many open-ended questions and not enough answers to go around.

‘Please forgive me, Yume. Your soul may be in danger of falling into the darkness again, and there is nothing I can do to save you…’

I apologize for the wait, minor bit of blockage.