Fuel to the Fire

Chapter 9


“How can I change the path that I'm on
this is my Destiny” - Syntax


Yume sat in the center of the room, legs crossed, contemplating her next plan of action. The smell of incense permeated her senses while it created a heavy atmosphere, reminding her of the burden now placed on her shoulders. Originally she was glad Tatsu informed her of the sudden change of plans, but she wondered what would have happened if she didn’t know. Too much weighed on tonight’s mission. And now the little voice in her head that she had managed to silence four years ago had returned. It told her over and over, ‘Death is a natural part of life. You are simply its shepherd.’

~*~*~

Tatsu laid low against the roof tiles. He listened intently for any sign of Yume in the room beneath him. He knew he could not let her walk into tomorrow’s meeting without full knowledge of the events playing out behind the scenes. The Council was surprised by the news Tatsu had brought to him. As protection, he immediately dispatched a small number of soldiers to the village. Of course they had strict instructions to only travel under the veil of night; they could not risk the conspirators discovering the village or whose employ they were currently serving.

As far as the meeting was concerned, their mission was still on schedule, only Yume would have to strike the fatal blow without any assistance from her men. But the Council also mentioned a rumor that had come his way from one of the women. It seemed the governors of Choshu and Tosa were at odds regarding the finality of their plans. The two men continued to meet privately at the bathhouse without the knowledge of the other governors.

Tatsu rolled this information around as he strolled through the streets of this city that was still so foreign to him. He missed the streets of Kyoto, and the quiet serenity of his home in Hikone. Maybe when this was all over, he could retire from this spy work that had engulfed the last fifteen years of his life. He had a family to think about, even though Yume specifically instructed that they could lay no claim to their children. He’d be damned if they would grow up to be the thing he was starting to loathe, the same thing that was eating away at their mother. This was no life to be raised around. Japan was becoming a part of the modern world, and no matter how they fought against it, a time could come when ninjas and their skills were no longer necessary.

The roof was cool against his cheek, the sensation seeping through his clothes. He wasn’t sure if Yume was entertaining clients tonight, but he couldn’t risk slipping inside and alerting the women. They would know something was wrong if they saw him before the appointed time. Tatsu hoped Miki returned to the village without incident. He was the only protection the women had until the imperial soldiers arrived. Then again, they were ninja. They may know how to protect their village and its children better than any outsider.

As the first glow of morning simmered under the horizon’s surface, Tatsu heard a door open and shut, then movement in the room below. A woman’s laughter penetrated the space between him and the room, Yume’s laughter. It was so good to hear her laugh again, but he was about to steal that small joy away from her. No matter how much he regretted it, she had to know that the outcome of the meeting was now entirely in her hands. To keep the people of this city, and maybe even this country safe, she needed to become the one thing she furiously fought to forget. She had to be Death’s hand once again, and send this vermin to the Hell that awaited him.

Tatsu slipped quietly onto her balcony. Peering in the open doorway, he found Yume bent over a water basin, the top-half of her robe tied around her waist. The flesh on her back was red, maybe due to the actions of men, or maybe the bathwater was just too hot. She was splashing water on her face, trying to wash away a long night of work. She didn’t jump at the soundless presence in her room, but her eyes displayed the shock of who was behind her.

“You’re not supposed to be here!” she frantically whispered, trying not to wake the girls sleeping on the other side of the thin walls. Pulling at her robe, Yume tried to keep her composure as she hid her bare breasts from Tatsu’s eyes. Yume rushed forward, trying to usher Tatsu out of her room via the balcony. “Where’s Miki? He was supposed to be here before dawn.”

Tatsu quickly wrapped her in his arms, holding her so tight that her ear was pressed to his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat. He rubbed his hand across her lower back, trying to keep her calm. She seemed rational enough, but with only bits of information at his disposal, he was uncertain of how she would handle the new developments. “Yume, something’s happened. We are on our own for the gathering,” he said, placing small kisses against her hair.

That was all it took. She had suspected that things were going too easy with this mission. Fear gripped her, making her body begin to tremble. Tatsu held her steady, wondering if this could be the same woman who had sexually dominated him last night. The same woman who needed no man to take care of her, hasn’t since she was a child. Now he was her rock, a pillar to keep her steady as they headed into an unpredictable future, a future that may only be as long as the next 24-hours. “Tatsu, you’re hurting me,” she whispered into his haori.

Tatsu released his hold on her body, but she kept a tight grip of his jacket. A small sob escaped her throat before she spoke, “Where is he, Tatsu? He wouldn’t abandon me unless there was a threat somewhere else.” Tatsu stroked the back of her head, following the long, straight lines of her raven hair. “He’s not coming, love,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head again. “He was otherwise detained, so we have to save the country on our own.” Yume looked to Tatsu, all of the color fading from her face. Without Tatsu’s arms to support her, Yume’s legs gave way and she slumped to the floor.

“He wouldn’t do that me! We are a team. He wouldn’t leave me alone unless…Tatsu! The children! Did something happen to them?!” she whispered louder before covering her mouth with her hands. The first signs of her weakness slipped out of her eyes, a trail of tears streaking down her right cheek. Tatsu slipped to the floor next to her. She couldn’t look at him as he told her everything that had happened the previous morning, and everything that he knew to be fact up to this point. The floodgates opened when he recounted the news of the three dead kunoichi in the forest, and of Miki returning to the village to secure the remaining clan members.

“Yume, I need your help, can you look at me?” he asked, wiping at the trail of tears with his thumb. This was too much to throw on her at one time, then again he understood how that felt. Yume covered his hand with her own, nodding that he had her full attention. “Miki said there were four women returning yesterday morning, but we only found three,” he said, leaving the statement open for contemplation. Yume looked away for a moment, thinking back on who she saw when she arrived the previous morning. Her eyes opened wide in her moment of realization, and Tatsu watched her as things seemed to fall into place in her mind. “Emiko was still here when Ayame and I arrived. Said something about some business in town that she needed to take care of…” Yume let the words drift off when she saw the concerned expression on Tatsu’s face. “Tatsu, you don’t think she…”

He leaned forward and grabbed Yume’s shoulders. “Yume, I need to know. The private meetings between the Choshu and Tosa governors, who was serving during their sessions?” Yume pulled away from his grasp, getting up from the floor and moving to the open air of the balcony. Running her hands through her loose hair, she looked out on the budding morning. The sky was on fire with the impending sunrise. ‘Red in the morning’ she thought, the bad omen resurfacing again.

“Yume, is Emiko still here?” he asked, getting to his feet. She simply nodded without looking his way. Memories of past events played out behind her closed eyes. Shinra assaulting her body, choking the life from her, his blood on her hands. They had been betrayed again. This woman who claimed to be a friend and a trusted colleague had sold out her clan and country, but for what? Yume turned to Tatsumaki, understanding and comprehension now breathed fire through her tempered soul.

“She is on schedule with us tonight, the same as before, per the request of the Tosa governor,” she spat, the words filled with hatred. The thought of even sharing the same room with this woman sickened her. Tatsu watched as Yume went through a complete reversal, from the woman weeping out of fear to the raging vixen that stood before him now. “Yume, we are all the Emperor has now. The Council guaranteed that soldiers will be within our general area, but they won’t move in until the Choshu governor has been disposed of. Only then can they reveal the Emperor’s knowledge of their treasonous actions.”

Yume closed her eyes, only to feel Tatsu’s arms enclose her body again. In a strained effort to keep her anger from boiling over, she pushed away from Tatsu, from the support he wanted to provide for her. “I have preparations to make,” she said coldly. “You need to disappear before the sun breaks the skyline I can’t have this mission ending early because you got caught.” Yume moved to her hidden weapons closet, and began sorting through the various items stashed inside.

Hearing the rustle of clothing, Yume assumed Tatsumaki had left her quarters, only to be proven wrong when he grabbed her arm. Before she could fight back, Tatsu bent down and claimed her lips, forcing his tongue past her barrier. Yume fought back with her own, matching his passionate need for reassurance with her desire for retribution. With a quick nip, Tatsu pulled away before his suddenly excited body required him to stay. Kissing her hand, he said, “I’m sorry it has to be this way. Believe me when I say this is not what I wanted for you.” When Yume opened her eyes again, Tatsumaki was gone, fleeting the morning’s sudden arrival.

~*~*~

With her sword in her lap, Yume finally decided that the little voice was right. It would make her job easier if she would just listen to its advice again. With her mind in the right place, she could guarantee that the governor’s death would be swift and just. Even if she had to enslave him with the bounty of her moist center, she would make that man submit to her, then finish the job that she was hired to do. However, killing Emiko would be a bonus, and she’d happily do it for free. Her heart cried out for vengeance, for herself, her children, and her clan. That bitch would endanger them no longer. Yume couldn’t wait to hear the woman scream as she sliced her small body into unrecognizable pieces. That would be the price of her deception.

~*~*~

The fires raged throughout the night. The morning light only brought truth to the devastation that was once a ninja village. The remnants of buildings only smoldered now, puffs of smoke lingering about. The village was completely destroyed. Miki felt the weight of death heavy on his soul. Bodies lined the roadway, scattered about with broken pieces of wood and various weaponry. They did not give up this village without a fight, and every one of them had died a warrior’s death while fighting off the swarm of enemies infiltrating their home.

The soldiers were still searching the charred buildings and the village’s outskirts for survivors. Unfortunately most of the bodies were already accounted for. Crouching to the ground, Miki ran an ash-covered hand through his hair. His samurai spirit howled for revenge. His clan did not deserve death from a deceiver, but he knew who would pay dearly for this act of betrayal. He had sent word to Tatsumaki through one of the soldiers, telling him of what he found upon returning to their wasted home. But he didn’t have the heart to tell him what was missing. So far, there was no sign of the children…

Yup, I think we're almost there! I smell the end coming soon!