Chapter 4
Tetsu gazed on the town of Nojiri, still bitter of his defeat. He had failed to retrieve the scrolls and wrestled with the thought of having to return to his family. Ever since his defeat at the hands of Rei and Shugo, he had sulked in his defeat. The thought of having to go back home stuck in the back of his mind, causing the shame to pierce it like a splinter. A few months in the field trying to cope with the loss had caused it to dig deeper.
Nojiri was his town, and he knew that it was always there as a last resort—but showing his face back at the Nojuro Temple had brought him anxiety. He had tried to take any small job he could in the last few months, but each failed. After spending days moving towards town, he would have to finally face the music. He and his dog Kona had barely managed to scrape by with the little rations in his possession. The light orange Shiba was his only companion and the only one he could rely on in the field. The town had been under his family’s rule for decades.
His father, Lord Nojuro, had been able to amass a fortune after decades of managing the trade routes. Nojiri had maintained a steady supply line with the surrounding towns, and more importantly the fishing town of Aiga to the north. The streets of the town had become desolate as the sun began to lower. The G.E.I. had arrived long before he could. Instead of a town policing itself, he had been shocked to see several troops in red uniforms making rounds. It had been off putting, but he tried to keep incognito while he approached.
The dirt paths that had gone through the several towns and buildings had been covered with tire treads. Up towards the edge of town, Nojuro Temple had been swarmed by dozens of townsfolk. The massive eastern-style castle was the main landmark of the town. It had only made Tetsu turn away, still feeling uneasy about walking back to his family so soon. The weeks in the field had been a relentless whirlwind of tasks and obligations, leaving him drained. As the sun had finally dipped beneath the horizon, he found himself at a crossroads.
With a heavy sigh, he finally mustered a resolve and began to walk towards Nojuro Temple with Kona following close. The approach continued to echo his internal struggle. Before getting near the crowd out front, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
“Nojuro Tetsu,” An elderly man said jovially. He had been seated on the front of a horse carriage, gripping the reigns tights to keep the steeds in place. His name was Minoru and he had been one of the many merchants that regularly travelled between the multiple towns. After brushing some fuzz lingering on his large brown cloak, he nodded to him and continued, “The valley hasn’t been kind to you, has it?”
“Not really,” Tetsu replied as he looked down at his black ninja yoroi. It had accumulated several rips and tears from his past encounters. Mud had caked up on the bottom of his baggy trousers while his leather shoes had started to break at the seams. “It was not quite the expedition one could hope for, but the adventure has been a character-building experience.”
“Still sounding formal like your old man,” he let out a soft chuckle after the exchange. “There’s no shame taking your father’s place, a lot of people would give their souls for that type of position.”
No question about that, Tetsu thought to himself. He had lived a wealthy and privileged life in Nojiri with his other siblings. Being the youngest of the three constantly put him on the receiving end of criticism and scrutiny. Staying in the town would have most likely granted him the status of a Lord in a few decades, but the thought of becoming his own man had burnt inside him. He did not want to have everything handed to him. Respect was not something that he felt should have been passed down, but instead something that had to be earned through struggle.
He stared back towards the townsfolk, taking notice of a few G.E.I. troops before asking, “Who are these people?”
“They’re our new guests. They call themselves the Global Eurasian Initiative. You’ve been out of the loop for a long time,” Minoru replied before giving the reigns another tug to keep the horses in place. “They’ve been here for a few weeks.”
“Outsiders in Nojiri?”
“A lot has changed around here. I would be careful trying to enter the Temple, a lot has changed. You’re more than welcome to follow me back to the orchard, curfew is approaching.”
“Curfew?” Tetsu muttered as the several thoughts began to echo in his head. He had never heard such an order in the history of the town being issued. The people of Nojiri had always been granted basic freedoms in exchange for safety. With the G.E.I. starting to establish a presence, he had been oblivious to the fact the power was slowly slipping away from them. Tetsu then asked, “Why did father let them come here?”
“They walked right in and took over. A lot of the town has been apprehensive, but they have advanced beyond us. He thinks they might be able to help the town,” Minoru started to ramble, stopping short as he noticed Tetsu beginning to storm towards the crowd. “Wait a minute, Tetsu!”
Tetsu only brushed off Minoru, letting his position in the town take hold instead. This is still my town, he repeated to himself before finally making the approach. During the walk over, a few of the other townsfolk had slowly taken notice, causing some to mutter his name.
“Curfew begins in twenty minutes; all citizens return to your premises.” A loud voice boomed in the distance, repeating the warning. The digitized voice had continued from a small aerial vehicle near the outskirts of town. The sky had contained a few large metallic drones that patrolled overhead. They had watched every their every movement—electronic eyes able to monitor any disturbance.
“There is no curfew,” Tetsu declared, carefully navigating his way into the small crowd. The townsfolk were an array of men and women, young and old. The only common feature between them was a trace of despair. “The outsiders at the end of the day answer to us.”
The only response he had received were either requests for food or demanding the end of the occupation. Many of the people had been stuck with rations while others had been forced out of work. The G.E.I. had slowly begun to cut off supply lines between the towns. Whether out of malice or incompetence, much of the town started to fear an imminent shortage.
“You and your father don’t have control over this.” A man in the back had shouted over to him.
“I’m going to go and speak to him. I’m certain that there is a reason behind all of this.” Tetsu addressed them again before starting to walk into them.
The only thing standing between him, and the front door was a crowd, a gate, and just a few of his father’s guards on the opposite end. As he started to push his way through, he had felt a few of the men starting to grab a hold of him while more started to pile on.
“We’re about to lose everything!” a haggardly man—Genji—hissed to him from the left. His unkempt hair, crooked teeth, and raggedy clothes had stood out. Tetsu took notice of a small dagger in the man’s right hand. He turned to defend but had felt a quick sharp pain run across the side of his head as a rock bounced off it. It was the second time he’d been struck in the same spot, causing his vision to blur for a moment. For a second, he had imagined himself back in Rei’s village and taking a strike from Shugo. Before he could drop, Genji closed in with the dagger in hand.
“Stop him!” one of the guards shouted as the chaos ensued.
Tetsu did not expect the pushback. He had come to lucidity just in time to see the gates of the Temple fly open. In one fell swoop, the guards had managed to grab hold of Tetsu’s blouse and pull him into the fence. A small battle had erupted between them only to be interrupted by the loudspeakers attached to the drones overhead. As it ended, Genji had slipped into the crowd, lying in wait for another opportunity. The words buzzing overhead had sounded muddy to Tetsu. As the blood trickled from his scalp, he had tried to put the pieces together. He had just been attacked in his own home—one that he could not recognize anymore. The G.E.I. had slowly begun to transform it. The people were not going to count on them anymore. The gates between him and the crowd had slammed shut, bringing his focus back.
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“Lord Nojuro, are you alright?” one of the guards had asked him. It had been so long since he had heard the name that the thought of a simple response had fled from his mind. Another guard softly took a knee next to him to try and lift him from the cold grass. The winter was ending, but the night air was still frigid.
“What happened here?” Tetsu replied while trying to get to his feet.
“These outsiders came from the mainland and have been building something to the north. They’ve come for the Cosmo Cradle.” The second guard responded.
“The Cradle?” He had been north to Aiga several times to see the landmark. The Cosmo Cradle and its mysteries had been puzzled the inhabitants of the land.
“This armada is more advanced than us, we don’t know if they can decipher it,” the first guard started to speak again while guiding Tetsu towards the Nojuro Temple. “Ever since they’ve arrived, they’ve shut off the supply lines. A lot of us tried to stand up to them but were forced to submit. We don’t know what they plan to do, but your father has not stepped in. There’s a lot of animosity towards your family.”
“You have said enough,” Tetsu cut him off as he lifted his hand to him. He started to walk ahead of them, still feeling dizzy from the strike. “I am going to talk to my father.”
“Yes, my lord.” Both guards replied in unison, almost robotic as they pressed their fists to their chests and bowed.
Tetsu made his way up the steps of the castle only to find himself continuing to wrestle with having to confront his family. He lowered his head, stopping short of the front door. Instead of going through the front, he began to walk around the side of the building. There were many nights that he had scaled the side of the Temple. It had been enough to get him chewed out by his siblings more than once. Despite spending years trying to become a noble to fill his father’s shoes, he had always found his stubbornness keeping him from accepting his destiny. He took a moment to focus on trying to channel from the Deep.
The pain and the cold air of the night muddied his thoughts, only delaying the next maneuver. After a few moments, he had felt the familiar chill from the Deep consume him. A gust of wind exploded from within his body, propelling him several feet into the air. He ascended upwards towards one of the balconies and reached out to grab hold of the ledge. Once he latched on, he started to pull himself over the edge. His stomach turned for just a moment once he looked back down towards the ground. The doorway leading inside had been composed of a thick, but waxy papyrus that had been surrounded by a wooden frame. After sliding off his sandals, he opened the door and stepped inside, again feeling a mixture of anxiety and paranoia upon entering.
It was his old bedroom. The inside had remained untouched since he had left—only a bed and his several dressers had remained inside. He walked over to the side of the mattress and took a seat to try and unwind. The only things he had bothered to take with him were a few kunai knives, an old leather satchel, and the clothes on his back. At that moment, he had been reminded of how good things were under this roof. There were many memories in this castle—some good, and others he wished he could forget.
“Tetsu,” a womanly voice called out to him. He felt his heart jump, immediately starting to focus on trying to tap into the Deep. All at once, his body started to become shrouded with a dark cloud as it began to sink to the floor. Within moments, his body had started to contract before turning into a shadowy mass. It started to creep under the mattress before his bedroom door could open. The woman on the outside spoke again, “Tetsu, please tell me that’s you.”
He held his tongue as his body remained in the transformation. It was his sister, Kagome. She started to open the bedroom door to reveal herself. She had been dressed in a black robe with long sleeves that shimmered in the moonlight. Just like him, she had dark-brown hair—although much longer than his and draping over her shoulders.
“I know you’re the only one who can get in through here from the outside.” Kagome said aloud.
“It’s me.” Tetsu’s voice had a bizarre pitch as he spoke. He started to emerge from under the bed, still holding the transformation. Kagome’s face lit up for a moment, feeling calmed by his voice.
“It’s just me, change back.” She requested. Tetsu’s body started to slowly rise from the shadowy mass, revealing the blood on his forehead. After finally taking his original shape, the wooden floor beneath him had been stained by the fluid.
“Please don’t tell dad I got blood on the floor.” he said mournfully, keeping his face tilted towards the ground.
“Who did this to you?”
“The people out front didn’t want me coming inside.”
“Just wait,” Kagome cut him off and lifted her hands, giving him a sign to pause before starting to back off towards the door. “I’m getting some first aid.”
Tetsu took a seat back on his bed and dipped his face into his hands. His relationship with his sister was not always the best. Much had happened between the two before he had gone into the field. Before the long trek, the family had started to fall apart. His older brother Junichi had been next in line to take control of the town and had started to become weary of Tetsu’s ambitions. Filling the shoes of his father and being a noble had made him feel more alienated from the town. The many people he had grown up with were commoners.
Being a part of the Nojuro family and preparing for his eventual role had made it feel more difficult trying to be one with them. Shortly before his departure, the tension in the family had reached a breaking point when his mother had passed away. She had been a massive influence on him and losing her had been enough to finally push him away. Being as stubborn as he was, the loss had only reinforced his plans to try and find himself in the world. Before she had been buried, he had already chosen to leave the town. He let his mind wander and recount the events while Kagome had returned from her search for some supplies.
“We don’t have much,” Kagome said to him as she entered. In her hands was a bottle of alcohol from the pantry and a roll of gauze to put over his head. She pulled a small rag from out of her pocket to apply the alcohol before taking a seat next to him. “It’s been over a week since any of us have been able to leave the premises.”
“Have you tried to talk with whoever these outsiders are?” Tetsu asked. He gritted his teeth for a moment, wincing as she pressed the soaked cloth into the wound.
“Father did, and it hasn’t gone well,” she continued while trying to wipe away the blood that had started to trickle down his face. “It’s too complicated of a situation. These people are too powerful to just stand up to. We don’t have any leverage against them.”
“Why attack us? We’ve served the town for decades!”
“They’re afraid of these outsiders and feel resentment over us not being able to stop them. It’s not right to take it out on us, but everything they do is going to be blamed on us because we’re the ones who are supposed to protect them.”
“They should fight them, not us.”
“It’s easier said than done,” she groaned while tightening the gauze around his head. “When people are afraid, they don’t make the best decisions. Sometimes they take out their anger on the people closest to them, you should know that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he replied before turning to face her.
“Forget about it,” she started to pull away from him to try and pocket the supplies. Tetsu looked back towards the window and started to consider walking out again. After a few moments of silence, Kagome shook her head and faced him. “We really needed you when mom died. I know you were upset, but it really hurt all of us when you ran out.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Don’t walk out again,” she yelled as he started to walk towards the window. Tetsu had only made a few steps before letting the words sit. “I’m not here to judge you. I didn’t mean to bring up mom. We need you, please stay.”
He turned back to her with his face still pointed at the floor. Kagome approached him once more and reached out to place her hand on his shoulder, putting him at ease.
“Dad didn’t think you were coming back,” Kagome continued before pulling him back over to the bed. “Stay here and prove him wrong. I don’t care about what you did, we need your help now.”
Tetsu took another seat on the bed to collect his thoughts. He knew things were already spiraling out of control and he was starting to feel guilty again. Kagome sat back down next to him and reached out once more.
“I’m glad that you’re home.” She said softly while placing her arm around him. Tetsu rested his hand over hers, finally sighing before he could muster up the strength to speak.
“Me too.”