CHAPTER 23
Churi placed her shaking palm over Jurina’s forehead, exhaling in despair when it was still burning under her fingertips. After a little while, Churi slowly retracted her hand, wondering worriedly how to help the unconscious girl laying on her futon. A couple hours ago, one of the prostitutes had passed the front door of the brothel in a haste, and at the mention of Nobunaga along with her look of terror, Churi’s heart had started to race, fearing something terrible had happened to her young friend.
Without wasting a minute, she had followed her to the nearby alley where Nobunaga had been seen laying unconscious, and they had brought her back safely to her room, although not without difficulty. At some point, the injured girl had mumbled a few words to her, however mostly incoherent. Now, she was unconscious again, and Churi found herself completely powerless. She had knocked on the door of a doctor and begged him to come to tend to her injuries, in vain as he simply refused to enter what he called a shameful place.
At the sound of footsteps, Churi looked up from the motionless girl to the door, noticing the annoyed guard staring at her. He had surprisingly stayed quiet when they had entered the place with a stumbling Nobunaga under their arms, but his displeased expression spoke louder than words. Churi knew it would be a matter of time until he would come to her room to broach the subject, so she wasn’t in the least surprised by his presence.
“She can’t stay here any longer,” he affirmed, pointing his finger at Jurina with determination. “She’s preventing you from working.”
Churi silently nodded, well aware that - despite his harsh words - he was quite right. Of course, she could try and buy herself more time, but it was useless if she couldn’t come up with a solution for her current problem. Contrary to the guard, her work was the least of her concerns right now: Nobunaga’s troubling condition was monopolizing all her thoughts. She could tell by all the bruises and her torn clothes that she had been involved in a very bad fight, and her injury at the back of her head had not been unnoticed. Moreover, she had a fever, most probably caused by the unfortunate and unforeseen bad weather. It had rained really hard the whole night.
Churi watched as the guard left her room with a deep frown, realizing she had to act fast. If Nobunaga was still laying on her futon by the end of the day, she guessed the man would not hesitate to shove her out of the brothel. And her pleas would definitely be useless against such a harsh treatment. Her fingers absently traced the pendant around her friend’s neck, wondering what could have been the reason behind her current terrible state. Yes, she had witnessed her being impulsive at times, but never Nobunaga had entered the house with such injuries. The few bruises sometimes observed on her skin had only been the result of her daily training at the clan.
At that thought Churi’s eyes lit up instantly, and she gasped as a solution finally emerged. Why had she not thought about it sooner? She got up on her feet at once, a smile falling on her lips in hope. Her unfortunate position as a prostitute prevented her from helping her friend as much as she would like, but it didn’t mean someone else couldn’t. A person the feverish girl had uttered the name a few times before falling unconscious.
It was already sunrise when Churi stood hesitant in front of the black stallion tied next to the front door of the brothel. He had been really agitated from the moment she had brought him back from the alley, and she had even doubted then that she would manage to have him follow her, considering how difficult he was acting. From the first day Churi laid eyes on Nobunaga’s horse she could tell it was a very impetuous animal, and she always wondered how her friend successfully managed to control him so effectively.
Churi tentatively took a step forward, approaching her hand to the horse’s reins. Just as she was about to grab them the horse made an abrupt movement backwards, and Churi pulled away in fear instantly. A sigh left her lips in concern at the animal’s behavior, trying to figure out how she was going to mount a horse who was obviously not ready to cooperate with her.
“I’m just trying to help your master,” Churi murmured, hoping her calm tone would ease the nervous animal. He was acting very suspicious today, and she knew it wasn’t only because of his wild nature. Obviously, he had witnessed early on something in that alley that made him keep his distance more than usual.
Churi made a second attempt, her eyes never leaving once those of the black stallion. Refusing to let fear take hold of her this time her mouth tugged into a reassuring smile, hoping her emotions would reach the animal. Her hand was not trembling anymore when she placed it gently against his neck, and she waited patiently for his reaction. The stallion’s eyes were still fixed on, as if measuring her sincerity, and Churi had to muster all her willpower to stay serene. If anything, Nobunaga’s proud stallion was a beautiful strong animal, but also very impressive to look at.
The wait was painfully never-ending, but Churi knew she couldn’t rush it. Going to the clan by foot would take her too long, and the horse currently staring at her was unfortunately her only option right now. She absolutely needed to gain his trust if she wished to aid its owner. Her hand moved carefully upwards, sliding her fingers through its long mane. The gesture seemed to surprise him at first, as his ears raised immediately in alert, until she felt a little while later his nostrils against her arm when he tentatively approached his head.
Churi continued to caress his mane, noticing she was making some good progress, before untying the reins with the other hand. This time, the animal didn’t make any sign of protest, and Churi knew now was her chance. Placing her right foot in the stirrup she pushed herself up, securing the reins again once she was on the animal. Patiently, she waited for the stallion to get used to the new human being on his back, before releasing a small breath she didn’t even realize she was holding when he seemed to accept her presence.
The horserider looked in the direction of the maple forest visible from afar, her fingers encircling the reins. When was the last time she found herself at the back of a horse? Too long ago to remember, but she couldn’t afford to let her insecurity get the upper hand. With determination she pressed her heels against the horse’s flanks, relieved when he thankfully obeyed to her command and moved forward.
Churi couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous when she dismounted the horse and gazed at the very large house of the clan. It was the first time she happened to stand in front of the imposing mansion, and she took a moment to take in the impressive view offered to her, from the large garden to the few buildings the clan was composed of. Her fingers pulled gently onto the reins when she finally decided to approach the front gate, her eyes falling into the guard’s suspicious ones.
“I would like to see Matsui-dono,” she asked with a polite bow, but could immediately tell her request would unfortunately be denied by the man’s mocking expression.
“Turn around, woman.” He waved a dismissive hand at her. “Your services are not needed here.”
Churi wasn’t at all surprised by his attitude. In fact, she sensed her presence would be mostly unwelcomed, and her request would lead to such an answer. Prostitutes belonged to only one place - the brothel of the village - and were not supposed to venture outside, certainly not to such a respectable place as Momijimori no kami’s clan. Still, she had not come here to offer her services - as the guard obviously seemed to believe - so she needed to make herself very clear about the reason of her presence.
“Please.” Churi tried again. She didn’t want to sound too desperate, but her thoughts kept shifting to the last time she laid eyes on her young friend, and her preoccupying condition. She couldn’t afford to go back to the village empty handed. “Nobunaga is injured. She needs to see her.”
“Who?” The guard frowned.
The impatient and exasperated grunt that left his lips soon after told Churi that this conversation was going nowhere. Not only this guard was being completely uncooperative with her, it also occurred to her that she was missing a big piece of information: Nobunaga’s real name. Indeed, never once she had shared it with her. Until now, she had not really thought twice about it, as she was used to calling her by that nickname, but now she realized the problem she was facing because of it.
Churi tore her eyes away from the guard - deep in thoughts - searching her brain for the right words that could manage to sway him. When, after a little while, she still couldn’t come up with anything she looked up in despair towards the inaccessible building visible across the gate, noticing two women engaged in a conversation leaving the building. Her face lit up when she distinguished her friend’s protector, and her feet moved without thinking towards her direction. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to go very far as the guard immediately blocked her advance.
“That’s enough,” he hissed, pushing her away unceremoniously, “go away.”
Just as Churi was about to open her mouth to speak the loud whinny behind her back made her jump and she turned around to the stallion, startled when he pulled forcibly onto the reins she was holding and moved decisively towards the guard. Churi watched dumbfounded the improbable scene unfolding in front of her - the man trying desperately to stop the animal’s energetic attempts to pass the front gate - and she would have laughed at his helpless look if she didn’t notice from her peripheral vision a woman now moving towards the gate.
“Careful, Matsui-dono,” the guard warned when he saw the long, dark-haired samurai approaching him, “this animal is out of control!”
As soon as the alarming words left his mouth the stallion calmed down instantly, and the guard watched in stupefaction the animal completely disregarding his presence in favor of the kenjutsu instructor, reducing the distance and pressing his head against her shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“What is going on, Matsuda-san?” Rena addressed the young guard just recently appointed to the watch of the gate, while moving distractedly her fingers towards the animal’s neck when he happened to rub her arm gently.
Her eyes flickered back and forth questioningly between the man and the woman staring back at her completely speechless, while trying to figure out why her protégée’s stallion - which she had recognized its distinctive loud whinny from afar - was out of the blue being so affectionate with her. Apart from that day in the stables where the animal had responded to her touch positively under the influence of the young Watanabe, never had he taken such an initiative. But most of all, she was wondering why its owner was nowhere in sight. Her absence, coupled with the improbable presence of the familiar woman in front of her, was starting to unease her.
“Matsui-dono,” Churi intervened when she noticed that the guard was about to speak up. “Please follow me to the village. Nobunaga has been injured and needs assistance.”
Rena’s hand that was until now caressing the calm animal froze, and she widened her eyes at Churi’s declaration. Her steady heartbeats accelerated slightly at the revelation, questions piling in her head one after another. Although she discerned footsteps approaching from behind and heard Yuki’s voice calling her she did not utter a single word for a while, her eyes never leaving once Churi’s worried ones.
“Kashiwagi-san,” Rena finally said, tilting her head right when she felt her friend’s presence by her side, “could you please accompany me to the village?”
Yuki was surprised by the sudden demand, having unfortunately arrived too late to eavesdrop the conversation, but as she distinguished the slight - but perceptible - tremble in the usually controlled kenjutsu instructor’s voice, she knew she would leave her questions for later. “Of course.”
“I still don’t understand why the young Watanabe comes here so often,” Yuki addressed Rena in a murmur, sweeping the room with a glance as they stepped this early morning in the quiet brothel.
To be honest, she was feeling a bit ill-at-ease standing for the first time in such a place, but she chose to keep her discomfort to herself, instead following her friend who had barely uttered a single word on the way here. And her latest declaration didn’t stir much a reaction either as the kenjutsu instructor didn’t reply, instead keeping her eyes glued on the woman leading them up the staircase.
When it became obvious Rena wasn’t going to satisfy her curiosity with an explanation Yuki diverted her attention to the woman wearing a green yukata in front of them, who had definitely not been much more talkative herself. She knew almost nothing about her, except for the fact that she was somewhat close to Mayu’s younger sister, and seemed to care a lot about her. Indeed, the deep worry she had witnessed upon her features at the clan was still much present in her eyes when she happened to turn to look at them.
Churi paused in front of her bedroom and slid the door open, stepping aside and inviting the two women in with a polite bow. Rena entered, before freezing when her eyes fell on the unconscious girl laying on the futon. She caught Yuki’s shocked gasp behind her back, but her attention was still drawn to the motionless girl when the kyudo instructor happened to move past her.
Rena vaguely registered Yuki asking a few questions - as she was seemingly trying to find out what had caused Jurina to be in such a bad shape - and Churi’s helpless voice as she confessed her ignorance. Both women were now kneeling next to Jurina’s form - Yuki checking the young girl’s injuries - and Rena could feel her heart pounding fast inside her chest without her consent.
Unconsciously, her fingers started to circle the tsuka of her katana, before squeezing it into a tight, painful grip. Rena ignored the hurt completely, instead listening to the chanting mantra of the voices that were sneakily slipping inside her head. It had been two years since she last heard them and, thankfully, they had never once resurfaced again. Until that precise moment.
“Rena-san, are you alright?”
It was only at the third calling of her name that Rena finally snapped out of her dark thoughts, and she glanced back at Yuki who was watching her half in worry and confusion. As she noticed her friend’s eyes moving downwards to her waist she suddenly became aware of her hand over her sword and she released it at once, finally leaving the doorstep to approach the futon.
“Do you think she provoked a fight?” Yuki asked hesitantly when Rena kneeled by her side, her previous strange behavior all forgotten. It is true that she had witnessed in the past the young Watanabe sister’s impulsive behavior, but this was definitely a first. Her thoughts went worriedly towards her own protégée, and she feared her reaction when she would see her sister in such a terrible state.
“She most definitely got involved into one,” Rena affirmed, covering Jurina’s sweating forehead with her hand gently, “but I’m convinced she wasn’t at the origin of it.”
Yuki found herself taken aback by her friend’s assurance, wondering where her sudden faith was coming from. Yes, she had seen Rena’s relationship with her protégée improve greatly these last few months - witnessing them talking to each other quite freely during and after the training lessons - but all this progress seemed to have vanished into thin air these last days. Yuki had seen the distance Rena was now putting between them, but she still couldn’t figure out why Rena was seemingly trying to avoid her protégée at all costs.
Out of curiosity, she had asked her about it during one of their recent talks but her friend had been quite obscure about it, and cleverly changed the subject in the end. Did the young sister find a way to offend her again? The thought had crossed her mind a few times after that, but Rena’s current caring attitude told her there had to be another explanation. One her secretive friend was refusing to provide.
“Why hasn’t she seen a doctor?” Rena snapped. Jurina’s terrible state was not reassuring, and her lack of care more than obvious. The injury at the back of her head was nothing but worrying, and she had a high fever. As a result, she couldn’t help her tone from rising when she gave an accusing look to the owner of the room, failing to notice Yuki’s astonishment at her sudden outburst.
“I’m sorry,” Churi stammered, avoiding her intense, angry stare. “The doctor refused to follow me here.”
Rena realized by Churi’s guilty expression that she had gone too far, and she immediately regretted the harsh tone she just employed. It was unusual of herself to get carried away by her emotions and, to top it all, her interlocutor was not at fault. “Forgive my impoliteness. You did the right thing by seeking help from the clan.”
A small smile grazed Churi’s lips which Rena reciprocated a bit awkwardly, before turning towards Yuki decidedly. “We have to bring her back to the clan at once.”
“I’ll carry her to the horses,” Yuki offered immediately to which Rena agreed with a nod, helping her lift up the unconscious girl from the futon carefully.
Once Jurina was well secured into her arms Yuki made her way out of the bedroom, followed closely by Rena. The kenjutsu instructor was about to pass the door when she paused, turning hesitantly towards the owner of the room. As she studied her she could see worry still written all over her face, and she pondered over what to say next. Her relationship with the woman standing silently a few feet away from her had always been quite complicated, and although her protégée had mentioned her a few times during their conversations, she had barely spoken to her.
If truth be told, she felt slightly uncomfortable in her presence and, after denying the truth for so long, she was now conscious that this uneasiness was triggered by the woman’s close bond with her protégée. For a while, she stubbornly refused to acknowledge this pain she would feel inside her chest each time the young Watanabe happened to talk about her, alongside with that very unfitting feeling of jealousy. It was quite childish of her to behave this way and it had unsettled her at first, considering she never had let such a negative feeling enter her heart before in her life.
Rena could feel the tension enveloping them progressively as none of them spoke, instead merely facing each other silently. The thought of turning on her heels and leaving without a word did cross her mind at some point, before realizing she simply couldn’t do that. It was true that she knew practically nothing about that woman, but they had one thing in common: someone they were currently both concerned about.
“I’ll send someone once we know more about her condition,” Rena stated confidently, surprising herself by how naturally the words left her lips. “Thank you for sheltering her.”
Rena noticed the surprise flashing through Churi’s eyes - although it faded rapidly - and she received a genuine, broad smile in return. “Thank you, Matsui-dono. I know she’s in good hands.”
TO BE CONTINUED