Soon after waking for the third time, Takasa Irashida wallowed in the fruits of his misfortune. If he couldn’t manage to even take piss on his own, he’d never forgive himself.
Back when he’d first arrived in Agriculture, he’d fallen victim again to the terrible illness that plagued him. In a shrine tower of all places.
Aiya and Koji had watched him act out whatever strange behavior his illness produced. He’d been possessed by an overpowering tingling throughout his frame and down his spine that had sent his body into spasms. He hadn’t seen their faces, or much of anything at all while it was happening, but he knew they had watched him, horrified.
That was the digestible part. Ira had been through similar occurrences before, the bizarre sensations that suddenly overtook him before he quickly passed into unconsciousness. He always survived. This time, however, his ill fortune left him with a gift, a reminder of why he could never join his siblings on their missions: he’d woken in a dark room feeling terribly parched and sleep deprived, unable to speak through a straight sentence, and paralyzed in his right leg.
His caretakers, he came to find out, were Lord Tsugo’s siblings, one a portly bald man in gray robes named Gon. Equal in length to Tsugo’s was his beard, though noticeably thicker and interspersed with more of the black hairs of youth. His sister, Chunzun, was long and thin by comparison, with thin lips and a face always fixed into a motherly expression. She tucked the two ends of her magenta robes together. Sunlight spilled into the room through the window. “It’s morning, Irashida-shen. How are you feeling?”
Ira sat up, groggy. His pounding headache had mostly subsided, though movement failed to return to the leg on his right side. The room was sparse, as most Erru preferred them throughout the continent. There was his bed, the rice paper walls, and the window framed into ashwood. Propped up against the wall in the corner, opposite from the sliding door, was a walking cane.
“Like. I’ve just woke up with a headaaache aftor…how long…has it been again?”
“That sounds about right. But surely you can do better than that.”
Ira scoffed. “Like, the heavens were just. Dropped down, onto me. Like, an evil spirit,” he paused and furrowed his brows, “just came and stole my wight…my right leg, and llleft it with a fake. Like my tongue. It was cursed in a wrrretched temple for blaspheming the Oshidai. Like a fucking cripple.”
“Well, you will certainly look the part once you’re back into daily life. You need not worry though, we’ll have you feeling normal again as soon as possible. We do have an exciting task for you after all.”
“How looong have I been out?”
“You remember me from last night, don’t you? It’s only been half a day since then. First Day, second week of Fenn, nearly noon and it’s time we get you up and make some progress!”
Half a day. Now that he recalled, Ira had been told he’d been out for four days the previous night. Four days since his seizure, and the Republic’s departure for the Hijimata hills. “My siblings, have they returned?”
The woman gave a nod and a knowing smile. “They will be just fine, Irashida-shen. Have faith, like the Oshidai. My name is Tabeni Chunzun, in case you’ve forgotten. You may have heard of me, or likely not. Lord Tsugo has been too busy to give a proper welcome as of late.” She sighed. “Be that as it may, my brother and I will restore you to full health, rest assured. Why don’t we get out of bed and start the day?”
He wondered what Tsugo might be occupying himself with at this very moment. Tsugo trusted him, and seemed to view him as a special mind dropped from the heavens. Ira himself had been the key to setting the Agriculture High Lord’s long awaited plans in motion, and now, in some twisted turn of events, he was the only one not involved. The empire would come crashing down, and when it happened, Ira would be where he’d always been: bedridden and beyond useless.
Chunzun placed a hand over Ira’s arm.
There was a sinking feeling in his stomach. Somehow, he understood he’d just awakened from a blissful slumber. Blissfully unaware, anyways. Now he stared down the long, rough road he was to journey, and almost stayed put. But he’d gotten himself in this situation, Aiya and Koji too, and he wanted to be standing with open arms once they reunited.
He worked his way up into a sitting position, which took more strength than he suspected it should. Chunzun was patient with him, and didn’t seem to mind. Ira scooted his legs to hang off the bed’s edge, dragging his right with his arms. He looked over to the corner of the room again.
“Is that cane…for me?”
Chunzun grinned. “Just until you’ve gained feeling in your right leg, of course.”
His first attempt at standing, Chunzun had to catch his fall. “A bit heavy for someone who’s been without food or much water these past five mornings.”
She had to lead him to the cane, giving him time to find his own footing. He didn’t walk so much as hop on one leg. Though he could still move his arm and torso, his entire ride side drooped down like an extra weight he was carrying. His right foot dragged across the tile floor, which for some reason, created an intense nausea in the pit of Ira’s stomach.
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The cane itself helped. Placing the weight on his right side fully onto it, he could almost walk normally. “I’m a, Ginju. I shouldn’t…”
“Now, Ira, unless you’re one of the Shinti themselves, none are invincible. Listen to me and my brother. You will recover, in due time. Trust us. Trust yourself.”
Later he discovered that although he had barely eaten or drank anything in the period of time he was bedridden, his bladder and rectum were still very much functional. He’d gone in the padding under his sheets once, during his second day of rest. His caretakers cleaned after him and hadn’t told him. A servant tried to make a joke out of it, presumably to lighten his mood, but Ira burned in shame. He pushed aside his curiosity concerning their pasts and daily routines, and didn’t converse much with the servants after that.
He did take time in his recuperation to explore the Tabeni estate. Similar to his own in River, it was comprised of a large castle near the center of Shujukin, capital city of Agriculture province. The structure was grand, standing four stories high, consisting of white walls and green roof tiles. Surrounding it were lush gardens, and a circular hedge of bush off to one side which reached above Ira’s head, and was large enough to fit at least a hundred busying servants inside. The estate was walled in by trees, bush, and trimmed foliage. Directly in front of the castle’s entrance at the edge of the garden, a peculiar stout building, identical in structure to the Tabeni family’s castle, except this one was a mere story tall.
“The administrative building,” Chunzun explained. “Surely River is not so primitive that it neglects the governing of its body?”
“They…usually our administrative work was handled far outside ooour estate.”
The sun was out, shining in a cloudless sky, but Ira felt none of its warmth.
He refused to be helped when going to the bathroom. It wasn’t so hard after his first few tries, though during his second piss of the day, he somehow slipped and fell back, watching in disgust as he sprayed all over the floor. Even on his worst days, he’d trouble recalling being this helpless. Now he was sloshing around in his own urine.
His speech progressed marginally better. Gon helped him in his casual cheerful tone for the entire second half of the day. They sat in a room kept private for themselves. Ira took no interest in being the public subject of humiliation any longer than required.
“The pastime of speech is far more complex than we give it credit for,” Gon went on. “To communicate clearly and effectively, the mind must gather the right information for the right context. Information, like all things, is simply the energies of the physical and spirit realm. It’s translating that energy to the oral cavity that, for the mind, produces some trouble. We’ll perform a few exercises that open your inner gates and allow that energy to flow to your mouth with little resistance.”
Ira tightened his fresh green robes of fine silk, fighting down a tiny amount of anxiety. “Uhhkay. Let’s trite.”
“Now, we will start with tongue exercises. Do exactly as I say. Start by simply sticking your tongue out. Just stick it out of your mouth, as much as you can. Just like that.”
Ira strained his tongue as far as it would go, remaining hopeful.
“Now, swish it from side to side, right to left. Wiggle it.”
Ira did so.
“Now up and down. As vigorously as you can!” Gon chuckled. “There you go, your future wife will be quite pleased with you. Now we should move onto breathing exercises. Your breaths are too out of touch with your speech patterns.”
This lasted all night. After an hour, Gon suggested they retire and pick where they left off the next afternoon, but Ira grabbed his arm as he stood from his sitting position. “We. Will. Continue.”
He’d already given himself too much rest. His siblings could arrive back any second. There’d be no going easy on himself.
Ira retired to sleep when Gon refused to go further. Admittedly, Ira was tired too, and there was nothing he’d rather do than get away from all those staring eyes, to escape his horrid new reality. He slept, and dreamt of nothing.
In the morning, he did it all again. Chunzun assisted him with his walking therapy, though it had only lasted two hours when Ira lost his temper and threw his cane at the wall. Nothing to be gained from this exercise.
Gon went over various papers with pictures or phrases drawn onto them, each set becoming progressively larger and more complicated for the brain. Ira’s memory of speech and language was flawless, though he had to practice forming complex sentences. Written on the first set were the ten creatures representing each province. In River, of course, it was the gobi fish. For Agriculture, the crane. For Stone, the toad, for Forgery, the horned fox, and for Rain, the salamander. In Path, the dragonfly, in High Noon, the hawk, in Forest, the tiger, in Twilight, the racoon, and in Mountain, the bear. He hadn’t the slightest clue what a bear was, and could not recall ever seeing its depiction.
Ira repeated each of the words until he enunciated them perfectly. Only then was he allowed to move on. When Gon tired or was called away by duty, his wife Chinya came to replace him, helping Ira with the last set: principles and concepts within Engo, the official religion of Egaisha. She was petite with a face like a chipmunk, though unexpectedly attractive. Chinya was also enthusiastic in a far less animated way than her husband, but enthusiastic nevertheless. Sometimes Tsugo’s second brother, Tobirune, came by to check on Ira’s progress. Like Chunzun, he was unmarried.
“One has to marvel,” Ira said to himself, “This whole family seems a hearty bunch, despite a boundless plan to overthrow the sovereign Empress.” Courtesy of his practicing speech, he’d gained a habit of declaring his thoughts.
By the end of the day, Ira felt he’d come considerably far on his path to recovery.
“You’ve been far too stressed as of late, Irashida-shen,” Chunzun told him at the frame of his door. At nightfall, she’d helped him up the stairs, though he’d hoped she would let him be. Instead, she insisted on watching him tuck himself in before bidding him goodnight like a doting mother. “You’re the lordling that brought the Republic’s plans into fruition, and for that we all hold deep respect for you. Things are also bound to turn out well for your siblings. They are Ginju after all. At any rate, tomorrow you’ll be handed your task.”
Whatever it was, Ira hoped he was ready. Of course, he doubted he’d be competent at whatever they gave him. Lord Gon had mentioned Agriculture debts, or something along the lines. If Ira was expected to keep up tracking expenses in a room full of bustling, sweaty accountants, they might as well throw him out with their abacus.
Again, he slumbered.