The Wind and the Void (12 page)

Moments passed and the two of them looked at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The last time she had seen him she had been riding south into Azaria as he was preparing to start traveling north. It had only been a half cycle, but so much had happened. Moriko had thought she was going to die at least half a dozen times, but she found a strength she didn’t know she possessed. She came back a different person than the one who had left.

And she had no idea what had happened to Ryuu. He seemed fine, but there was a sadness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. As happy as he was to see her, nothing could hide the sorrow he was experiencing. And there was something else as well. She studied him closely. He was afraid. Of her?

Whatever was going through his mind, he stood up and approached her, cautiously. “I’ve missed you.”

It was both a statement and a question, and in a flash of insight, Moriko understood. He felt abandoned when she chose not to return to Akira’s camp. He had read her letter but he hadn’t believed, and he was afraid he had lost her. Moriko wondered if he was right. If not for him, she never would have gone into Azaria, and although she was stronger for the experience, she wasn’t sure she could forgive him, innocent as he was.

Ryuu took another tentative step, and for a moment all doubt was forgotten. Moriko stepped towards him and the two of them embraced tightly. Neither seemed to trust themselves to speak.

After a while they separated, and the words began to tumble out of Ryuu’s mouth. “Moriko, there’s so much I have to say. I’m sorry for everything that’s happened.”

Moriko didn’t believe her eyes. In front of her one of the strongest nightblades in the land was acting like a blubbering idiot. She took a step back. She saw how his weight was off-balance, how his head tilted forward. She wasn’t the only one who had changed in the past half-cycle. Ryuu had returned to her a different man.

Moriko’s first reaction was disgust. Ryuu had been strong. As long as she had known him, he had always been strong. He was the boy who always wanted to do right, no matter the cost. Even when he lost Shigeru and Takako, he never lost the belief he could help others. But she wasn’t sure the Ryuu in front of her believed in much of anything. He was weak and pitiful.

But all the same, her heart went out to him. Perhaps she had spent too much time among the Azarians, believing that strength was all that mattered. Maybe the Ryuu she had grown to love was still inside. He deserved a chance, if nothing else.

Moriko threw out her sense. She still didn’t notice anything unique about Ryuu. Perhaps he was as broken as he seemed. The hunters sat outside the hut, still deep in the old woods. Moriko shook her head. If anything, they were predictable. They would wait until nightfall to strike. They had grown used to prey that relied on sight, but they didn’t know, or had forgotten, that night was Moriko’s domain. The moon was near-full, but in the growth of the deep woods, that wouldn’t matter.

If the hunters weren’t going to strike, they had time. Moriko went to put on tea, one part of her sense focused on the hunters to ensure they didn’t surprise her. If her guess was right, Ryuu wouldn’t have the ability to fight them. It would be up to her.

That afternoon they shared their stories. Ryuu went first. He spoke about his journey to the island and what he had found there. He talked about the strength and knowledge he had gained, the power he had felt. But he also talked about the division on the island, how one faction wanted desperately to return to the Three Kingdoms and another wanted to stay isolated.

Ryuu’s story faltered when he reached the part about his decision to come for her. He told her how he had been able to sense what was happening to her, how he had originally left the island to come and rescue her. He spoke softly about Renzo’s attack and how it had changed his mind, how he had known his only course of action was to go back to Akira. Moriko watched him as he explained his decision. There were hints of the Ryuu she had known there. He knew she might hate him for his decision, but there was no lie in his voice.

His story caused a flood of emotions to crash over Moriko. She was angry and upset, but also sad for the ordeals he had gone through. After Takako had died, he had hoped never to kill again. It had been a peaceful delusion until the hunters had appeared. But what tore him apart, more than anything else, was that he had been forced to kill a nightblade. She knew it felt wrong to him, and it had been the final weight that broke him.

Even though it had been the right decision, she was furious he had chosen to help Akira instead of continuing to ride south. The rational part of her mind knew it wouldn’t have made a difference. According to his story, he wouldn’t have reached her until she was already back at Fort Azuma. There was nothing he could have done, but still it angered her that he had chosen against her.

Silence reigned over the hut as she paced. Ryuu had told his story and would say no more unless prompted. He wasn’t one to say more than was necessary. She glanced outside. Night was falling rapidly.

Ryuu broke the quiet. “I’d like to know what happened to you. You’re . . . different.”

Moriko glanced at him and glanced outside. She didn’t have time to tell her story before the hunters attacked.

“Not now. There’s something I need to take care of.”

A look of fear flashed across Ryuu’s face. “You’re leaving?”

Moriko hadn’t intended to tell him, but she was angry. “No, but two hunters followed you here.”

Ryuu’s look of fear was replaced by one of surprise. So it really was true. He couldn’t use the sense and didn’t know he had been followed. He knew if he fought them he would lose. But he stood up anyway.

Moriko shook her head. “You’re in no condition to fight them. I will kill them and return.”

Ryuu faltered for a moment. “By yourself?”

Moriko laughed. “I’m stronger than you can imagine.” Not waiting to get into an argument, she stepped outside and slipped into the darkness.

Moriko’s first hope was that Ryuu wouldn’t try to follow her. Even without his sense he was an excellent swordsman, without doubt one of the finest in the Three Kingdoms. But it was foolish to attack hunters without the sense. They’d kill him in a moment.

She was grateful that Ryuu realized the same fact. Perhaps it had been the tone of her voice, or perhaps he knew he would be more a hindrance than a help in the upcoming battle. Whatever the reason, Ryuu stood just inside the door. It wasn’t much, but it was the most defensible position around. If Moriko fell, it was the only place he stood even a hint of a chance at cutting a hunter.

Moriko strode confidently out into the woods. The moon was full, but in the shadows of the tall trees, her dark robes would be almost invisible. She let her presence seep out of her. She wanted their attention turned away from the hut. If they had been following Ryuu, it seemed reasonable to assume they had already figured out his weakness. If so, their first target would be her. Once she was dead, Ryuu would fall without difficulty.

But Moriko didn’t plan on allowing them that chance. She had come out of the caves of Azaria reborn, deadly. Moriko frowned as she felt the hunters begin to move. One came towards her, the other towards the hut. She cursed silently. Either these two hunters were very confident or they didn’t know who they were hunting. She guessed it was the former. Every hunter she had ever met had been proud. Despite all the hunters who had fallen to her blade, they still thought they were superior to her.

The decision put Moriko in a bind. She had hoped to lure both of them away from the hut, but if only one followed her it meant Ryuu was in danger. Fighting both at the same time would have been harder, but it would have guaranteed Ryuu’s safety. It also meant she didn’t get to fight the hunters on her terms. She would have preferred to creep up behind them and kill them silently, but if she tried that tonight, Ryuu would die.

It wasn’t her style, but it was her only option. Moriko suppressed her presence completely and sprinted straight at the hunter following her. She crashed through the trees and leapt at the hunter. As she expected, the hunter wasn’t surprised. His blade was drawn and the battle was immediately joined.

The hunter was strong, fast and experienced. To Moriko’s frustration, he kept pulling her back, further away from the hut. In a flash of insight, Moriko realized their plan. They knew exactly who they were hunting. It wasn’t the hunters who suffered from pride. It was her. The hunter in front of her was only to keep her busy, to draw her away from Ryuu. The second hunter would kill Ryuu quickly. They knew if he died she wouldn’t be able to focus. She wouldn’t be a match for the two of them. She had thought them prideful and headstrong, but instead they had planned their attack brilliantly.

Moriko was a stronger fighter than the hunter she faced. Her ability to suppress her presence, combined with her own strength, made her too strong for him. The problem was, he knew it. No matter what attack she tried, he was more than willing to give up ground. Every step he retreated was one step further away from helping Ryuu. Frustrated, Moriko attacked with renewed determination, her blade singing in the air.

The hunter didn’t even try to block her attacks. He just kept moving backwards and dodging. Even when Moriko reached out in a desperate attempt to strike him, he didn’t seize the opportunity.

Moriko paused her attacks for a moment, and the hunter let her. He didn’t launch his own attack. It confirmed her suspicions. This hunter was in no rush to kill her. He planned on waiting for his partner to join him. Moriko’s mind raced. Every moment she delayed was another moment Ryuu was likely to die.

She started walking backwards. She didn’t dare turn her back to a hunter, but there was no reason for her to chase him. She could move back towards the hut, forcing the hunter into a decision. He could pursue or he could wait. If he pursued and attacked he risked exposing himself, but if he didn’t, there was a chance Moriko would get back in time to the hut.

The hunter made his decision without hesitation. He leapt forward to attack, but he couldn’t sense how Moriko would defend. She waited until he was close, then stepped inside his guard and cut. He tried to react in time, but without being able to sense her, he was almost blind. Her blade opened his chest from shoulder to abdomen. It wasn’t a fatal cut, but he was out of the fight for a while.

Moriko turned and sprinted towards the hut. She hoped she wasn’t too late.

Not since he was a young boy had Ryuu felt so helpless. He was five again, watching as his family and friends were killed all around him, unable to do anything to stop the massacre. If there were a pair of hunters out in the woods he was worse than useless. He was an added danger to Moriko. He stationed himself near the door of the hut, a place of cover where the cuts of the hunter would be hampered.

His heart froze when he heard the soft footsteps on the wooden steps. He thought back to his fight with Renzo, the technique he had tried to steal from Tenchi. Even though he couldn’t use his sense, the technique should still work. He did his best to intend to strike in multiple places, confusing the sense of the hunter.

When he stepped out from the doorway, he was surprised by how close the hunter was. The surprise broke his concentration, and the hunter blocked Ryuu’s cut with ease. Instinctively, Ryuu threw himself towards the hunter. Whether through luck or overconfidence, the hunter was caught by surprise. Ryuu tackled the hunter to the ground, dropping his own sword so he could get both his hands on the hunter’s sword arm.

They rolled on the ground, and with a sharp jerk, Ryuu managed to disarm the hunter. He got a foot between his body and the hunter’s and kicked him away from the swords. Ryuu knew he was no match for the hunter, but if he could make the match a fistfight, perhaps he would have a chance. If nothing else, perhaps he would live long enough for Moriko to come rescue him.

Ryuu had trained in empty-handed combat, but his life had been focused on the sword. He only hoped the same was true of the hunter. As the hunter recovered his balance, he went to draw a knife at his side. Ryuu charged him again, wrestling him to the ground and elbowing him in the face. They struggled against each other, but the hunter rolled and got on top of Ryuu.

The hunter lashed at Ryuu with a flurry of punches, knees, and elbows that Ryuu couldn’t withstand. Ryuu couldn’t respond fast enough to block the ferocity of the attack, and tried to curl into the fetal position. He got his arms up above his head, but the hunter kept his weight firmly on Ryuu’s hips, and he couldn’t raise them. Ryuu was being destroyed, the only good news being that punches alone wouldn’t kill him instantly. But he wasn’t sure how much longer he could last.

The hunter rose up to land a devastating elbow and Ryuu seized the moment. He grabbed the clothes of the hunter and pulled him down, rotating his hips at the same to get on top of the hunter. With a scream, he drove his fists furiously at any exposed part of the hunter he could. He lost all semblance of control, striking wildly.

The hunter collected his wits and lifted his hips, throwing Ryuu forward. Ryuu tumbled, coming to his feet in time to see the hunter pick up his blade. Ryuu’s heart sank as he realized he had done all he could. He braced himself for the inevitable end.

Moriko’s sense told her that both the hunter and Ryuu were still alive, but their presences were hard to separate. When she got within view of the hut she understood why. The hunter and Ryuu were rolling on the ground. Both of their blades were out of their hands, several paces away. They tumbled over each other, and for a moment Ryuu was on top, face bloody, fists driving into the face of the hunter. The hunter raised his hips and threw Ryuu forward, sprawling on the ground. The hunter scrambled away from Ryuu, grabbing his blade and standing. Moriko saw the hint of a triumphant grin on his face.