Chapter 11
Yuuma’s attack had been instant death for Ami. There was no conceivable way she would have been able to escape as the shock wave had consumed her and Noa. Following the attack, her body had practically been turned into pulp while Noa lay pinned to the ground.
“How bad is it?” Rei asked him.
“I think its crushed. That crazy guy just came out of nowhere.” Noa hissed while trying to move the broken appendage—he was not going anywhere soon. Rei had begun to make her search for Kai and Shugo who were still missing in action. She continued her way up and down the side of the hill for any trace. Near the top, she had stumbled across the bloody remains of Kai, who had been cut in two by Hiro’s attack. They were horribly underprepared. Yuuma and Hiro having the power to tap into the void known as the Deep, which contributed to their reign of terror over the valley. The team had to take solace in finally putting the psychotic group of renegades to rest.
“Shugo, are you there?” Rei hollered through the valley once more. There was no sign of a body nor a response. Something had happened to Shugo.
“This other guy is still here!” Nao shouted. Orochi had given up struggling as the noise of clashing blades and otherworldly attacks had seized.
“Please, spare me!” Orochi yelled at them after realizing he was alone. He was down one hand, his sight, and a plan to save himself in the final moments. Jin had approached him, still covered with Hiro’s blood.
“Where are the hunters?” Jin asked loud and firmly as he swiped his sword through the air, sending droplets of blood flying to Orochi. “I’ve lost a lot of people today, and I’m not going to ask again.”
“There were two of them. We were hungry. It was them or me, I swear!” Orochi could hear Jin stomping towards him as he spoke. He was willing to say anything in his situation.
“You ate them?” Noa interrupted them, horrified as he imagined Dan and Sara being devoured by this gang. Jin had hardly been surprised by their atrocities but instead only felt tremendous rage. It was undying.
“They were family to me.” Jin said to him as he lifted his blade.
“These were my eyes! She took them!” Orochi replied as he started to wave his only hand towards Jin’s voice.
“Sara,” Jin had stopped him, “and Dan. Their names were Sara and Dan.”
He screamed helplessly as Jin had finally taken a swing, splitting him in half. The execution had been brief as the weapon had gone in and out of the downed foe. Jin finally took a moment to catch his breath as he watched a red geyser of blood explode from Orochi’s chest. It was finally over.
“You alright?” Jin asked Noa once more.
“If we don’t start a fire, I might actually go crazy.” Noa said to him as the night air began to set in. The weather was far from freezing, but still much colder than the previous evening. It was just enough to be fatal.
“Rei, are you alright?” Jin continued. She had not been focused on the others but instead continued scanning for any trace of Shugo. She had to find something. As Jin watched her roam through the debris, he reminded her, “Rei, there’s a lot of dead, please stay focused.”
“There’s no body, he’s around her somewhere!” Rei shouted back to him. Noa and Jin held their words, keeping still as she moved on.
“Rei, he’s gone,” Jin finally had to bring himself to say it. “We need to get a fire going and get some help, or we’re going to die.”
“I’m still alive,” Shugo shouted aloud as he emerged from the trees. He had been drenched in blood from the battle. “I saw Kai fall and I hid. There was so much blood, I couldn’t. I’m so sorry.”
Jin had slowly started to become frustrated seeing him. Rei’s initial surprise as she darted over towards him began to fade into concern.
“Shugo, what happened?” she asked after getting next to him.
“I hid,” he replied, still ashamed. “I was scared, and I couldn’t keep my head together.”
“You coward.” Jin cut him off as his disgust had built. Shugo had been unable to collect his words. Nothing would have satisfied anybody. He raised his hand, stuttering as he looked for an answer. Jin had only grown angrier with his responses. He quickly slapped his hand across Shugo’s face, making a loud snap.
“I didn’t,” Shugo had lost his train of thought. Another one of Jin’s hands had struck his face again. The pain would never be able to overshadow that shame. “I’m sorry.”
“Ami would have still been here!” Noa added. Rei turned away from Shugo.
“I wasn’t thinking.” Shugo whispered once more, now appearing more lifeless by the second.
“No,” Jin had tried to try harder to refrain from striking again. He lowered his hand, softly inhaling before finally finishing with, “you think too much.”
Shugo’s head slumped back down. His eyes had first fallen onto Ami’s lifeless body before continuing to the left towards Rei. It was not clear what she was feeling, but she spoke again, “That whole time, you could’ve helped me.”
Rei paused after the revelation. Shugo looked up and tried to reach towards one of her hands. Upon feeling his cold fingertips, Rei jerked her arm from him and turned away before uttering, “I had thought you wanted this.”
“I did.”
“I don’t want to hear your voice anymore!” Jin finally screamed over him. He had let loose and swung the back of his hand across Shugo’s cheek. Another loud smack. Shugo had no choice but to take it. “Do something useful and build a fire. Whenever you get that done, you’re building a litter. These two deserve a burial, and it won’t be in the middle of the woods.”
“Ok.” Shugo had barely spoken.
“How about, ‘yes sir’ or something?” The battle was over, but he had not switched off yet.
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Dawn had made its approach, bringing the morning sun with it as the light illuminated the foggy surface of the winter valley. The heavens above were covered with a calm and lovely gradient of pink, which had been a sharp contrast to the situation below. Shugo’s legs were entirely numb from the hike. His shoulders continued to burn. Every dozen or so steps, he would have to switch arms. For the last three miles, he had dragged the bodies of Ami and Kai in the improvised litter. It had been composed of the leftover rags of the fallen; all the pieces had been fastened together by knots while just behind him, Jin and Rei had taken turns helping walk an injured Noa.
“That’s far enough,” Jin said quickly. Shugo had dropped to his knees before he could release the two bodies. His body had bounced against the ground, leaving him shaking from the cold. “I’m gonna set you down now.”
“Thanks, I appreciate the help.” Noa spoke aloud. Rei and Jin tried lowering him to the ground as gently as possible. Even through the losses, she found herself staring back towards Shugo as he sat slumped on the ground. Although, fearing the possibility of being scolded, she refused to speak to him.
“I’ll go grab some help,” Jin said to her while starting to make his way for the village. It was just across the field. He turned back to them once more and quickly shouted, “Just watch them for a minute.”
“Will do.” Rei said back as she shifted her focus back to Shugo and Noa.
“Hey, do you have any water?” Noa asked her. Rei had a few mouthfuls left in her waterskin but had not hesitated to offer.
“Here you go.” She said as she passed him the container. Just as soon as he loosened the cap, he frantically began to inhale what was as they waited for help. Shortly after, Jin finally approached with the auxiliary force. Before they could get closer, Noa had tried to get Shugo’s attention again.
“Hey, Shugo?” Noa quickly muttered before taking another sip. Rei and Shugo both had turned to face him as Noa quickly spat the liquid into Shugo’s eyes. Shugo flinched, but still bore the same lifeless stare as drool and water ran down his face.
“That’s enough!” Rei said before reaching over to him. She jerked the waterskin out of his hand, spilling the last bit across the ground.
“Ami might have thought it was funny,” Noa said coldly. He turned over to Jin and the rest of the oncoming troops. Still feeling the pain, he stared down to his stub of a leg and muttered, “I’ll probably end up losing this foot.”
“Alright big man, let’s go.” Jin shouted to Shugo, cutting them short. There were around eight men with Jin, each fully armed. A handful of them had already loaded up Noa while the rest surrounded Shugo. Rei stood in silence, feeling an array of emotions inside of her seeing them starting to pull Shugo back towards the village.
“Don’t hurt him,” Rei said aloud, bringing Jin and the others to a halt. They remained silent as she rose to her feet with her head high, finally repeating, “Don’t hurt him.”
“I’m certain there’s nothing we could do that his shame hasn’t done.” Jin replied. Rei only felt disorientated standing alone in silence as they had made their way back.
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Over the course of the afternoon, many of the villagers had gathered for the funeral. Today, they would be burying Ami and Kai. However, there would be accommodation as the fates of Dan and Sara had since been sealed, but they had nothing to bury. Jin stood before the graves to pay his dues as a grief stricken Shugo sat behind him. Not a soul had spoken a word to him. By the time the word had gotten out, it spread like wildfire. The village all at once had seemed to turn his back on him. While the crowd had started to pass, Naomi and Toki had gathered at the gravesite. She had hoped to see Rei—who had since disappeared—and found Shugo, still by himself staring down at the ground.
“Shugo,” Naomi uttered while she approached him. Deeply saddened, she swallowed a quick tear and asked, “what happened?”
Shugo turned his head away from her. Naomi had been nothing but supportive, but he had been unable to face her. It was too soon. She continued again, “I don’t hate you. I know you did what you thought was right.”
“And I got Ami and Kai both killed.” Shugo said, finally breaking the silence. Naomi curled up inside. Her heart had wrenched seeing him defeated like this. Behind her, Toki stared towards him, but refused to approach or make eye contact. Shugo spoke to them, “You can go now.”
The positive reinforcement would soon cease. Naomi, still unable to face him, had stormed off towards the others. Toki looked back down on him once more, still holding his words before walking off towards his daughter. Even one as open and humble as him had turned his back. The berating from the rest of the villagers and those mourning their lost loved ones would only continue.
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Rei had not spoken to Shugo since they returned—even going out of her way to avoid interacting with the rest of the village for that matter. It was nearing noon of the following day and she had started to feel her stomach growl. With not much consideration, she began to make her way through the end of the village and towards the monastery. Inside, several of the warriors had gathered by Shugo, who had sported a ceremonial Gi as he knelt before them. The top half had been removed, revealing the several welts from Rei and Toki’s tutelage across his skin—albeit mostly healed. The atmosphere was different from yesterday as the men all lowered their heads and clenched their hands together in prayer.
“What is happening?” Rei asked. There was silence. Shugo stared on and past her, refusing to acknowledge her presence. Toki stepped towards her, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“When faced with exile, Shugo has chosen the honorable route.” Toki said proudly. Rei had gone cold.
“What do you mean?” She had tried to deny a thought lingering in her head.
“Seppuku, the honorable end—to be able to put the honor of the tribe above oneself is beyond worthy of praise.”
“Why?”
“There are many things that we will never understand.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Rei cut him off and yelled to Shugo, “why are you doing this? This isn’t you!”
Shugo kept his head high and stayed strong. Rei only continued, “You always have that attitude to do anything, and you’re going to throw it away for honor? Now? I know that you don’t believe any of this!” Shugo still looked on as Rei had begun to recall her week in the woods, and all the stories. She yelled, “The books, the writing, the library—they took all of that! Are you going to give your life too?”
Toki had tolerated much, but he would not tolerate this. He stepped in between her and Shugo, quickly apologizing before slapping her across face. The force from Toki’s open palm had let out a pop, knocking Rei off balance as she tried to keep her bearing.
“Nobody has the right to deny tradition, not even you,” Toki said firmly. Rei looked straight forward, with her hands still to her side as her cheek began to swell. The elder looked back down, gently rubbing his hand before saying, “You were chosen as Kaisha Kunin, and you have no right to disgrace him or the village.”
Rei could only laugh nervously at the thought. She only lowered her head, trying to confront the emotions currently building to avoid letting loose. The old habits started to kick back in—she started to bottle herself back up again. Were my emotions a weakness? Had my poetry gotten Sara killed? She thought of all the precious minutes wasted on scratching into the dirt, now unable to defend her people. Hideo’s words, he was right. She had stared on, aware that Shugo was not with her anymore. His fate had been sealed.
“He would choose me.” she whispered under her breath and to herself before finally speaking aloud, “very well.”
Defeated, she turned away from them and began to head towards her quarters. During the walk back, she ran into Naomi who had been struggling with her emotions all afternoon. The two had joined each other out in the open near the barracks. “What happens next?” Naomi asked after getting enough courage to finally speak. Rei thought about what was to come as she began to feel her face throbbing once more. Kaisha Kunin was a key part of the ritual. In Seppuku, one would use a tantō—a small dagger—to deliver two self-inflicted cuts; one horizontally across the navel, and a vertical slice down the abdomen to disembowel the person. It was the job of Kaisha Kunin to behead the one performing the cuts. It really is coming down to this.
“I'll do it. Its tradition.” Rei finally replied. Naomi had been paralyzed by the response as the forces inside of her battled. It was either accept this and go on or try to go against the grain and be pulverized—she knew the way it worked. As she opened her mouth to finally acknowledge Rei’s comments, she decided to walk away and hold her tongue, leaving Rei alone in the cold as the sun sat on the horizon.