CHAPTER 17
The young stable boy was currently attending to a white mare when footsteps distracted him and he looked over his shoulder in interest, his gaze falling on the twenty four year old samurai walking through the entrance of the stable.
“Matsui-dono,” he said as he turned around to greet her with a smile, bowing at her courteously. “Momijimori no kami dono asked me to prepare her horse, I won’t be long.”
“It won’t be necessary, Akihira-kun,” Rena shook her head softly, “I’ll take care of my mare myself.”
Rena suppressed a laugh when she witnessed the lad’s stupor. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting her to suggest such a thing. “You don’t have to. I promise I’ll be quick.”
The kenjutsu instructor reduced the distance between them, amusement dancing on her lips when she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m merely going to the village.”
Rena could tell the internal debate going inside the boy’s head - probably wondering if he should insist or not - but this time, he kept quiet instead. “Come on,” she said when he didn’t make a move, patting his shoulder lightly, “Shinoda-dono’s horse is more important than mine.”
The lad jolted out of his thoughts at the reminder of the mare waiting behind him and he nodded quickly, focusing his attention on the white horse again.
The kenjutsu instructor walked away when she knew she had managed to convince the thirteen year old boy successively - though not without noticing his embarrassment and somewhat reluctance as she left his side - engulfing herself in the stable. A few minutes’ walk was necessary to find what she was looking for - considering the place held more than a hundred horses - her eyes lighting up at the familiar view of her calm chestnut mare.
“Here you are,” Rena murmured as she opened the door of her horse’s box, greeted immediately by a soft neigh and a tap on her shoulder.
The samurai replied to the affectionate gesture with a caress of her own, before moving towards the saddle and placing it carefully on her mare’s back. Just as she was attaching it a loud whinny distracted her attention and she looked over to the left, noticing a black head popping up from the box next door, and two ears raising in alert.
Out of the corner of her eye she noted her mare turning to look at the new presence, and Rena wondered briefly what they could be saying to each other as her mount replied to the stallion with another soft neigh. The kenjutsu instructor got back to the task at hand when it was obvious she would never be able to understand the conversation they were currently having, remembering suddenly a small incident that had occurred when the stallion had joined the stable of the clan months ago.
Apparently, her mare had caught his eye quite quickly, because he simply refused to be placed in the box that was originally planned for him, instead insisting to be by her mare’s side. When the young sister had been informed of his impossible behavior she had only laughed, stating that the stable boy should simply relent and let him have it his way. Rena was absolutely against such an idea but she had let it go nevertheless, not wishing to enter a fight with the girl. Their relationship was challenging enough at the time.
“Why won’t you just give up?” Rena sighed, gazing at the stallion when she was done harnessing her mare.
Horses were very sensitive animals, and she had been well aware of the gradual changes in her mare’s attitude, especially when the stubborn horse happened to be around her. Stress was the last thing she wished for him to inflict upon her docile mount.
“Are you telling my horse what to do?”
Rena turned around at the voice directed at her, startled when she witnessed her amused young protégée leaning against the door of the box, arms crossed over her chest.
“Jurina-san, I didn’t hear you approaching,” Rena admitted.
“Yes, you seemed awfully lost in thoughts,” Jurina chuckled a bit. It was uncommon for her protector to be so distracted, and to not detect her immediately. According to a conversation they had had not so long ago, she was - apparently - as discreet as her horse. Which said a lot about her capacity to hinder her presence. “What were you thinking about?”
“Your mount,” Rena replied, choosing to keep half of the truth to herself, and leading her horse by the reins out of the box. “l really wish he would stop bothering my mare. She doesn’t like it.”
“What makes you say that?” Jurina arched an eyebrow, straightening up and opening the door of her stallion’s box.
“She’s ill-at-ease around him,” Rena explained, staring at her in incredulity. She believed this small fact to be more than evident, and the thought that it had possibly escaped her protégée was inconceivable.
“Maybe she is,” Jurina conceded with a nod, while placing the saddle on her stallion’s back with expertise, “but it’s not for the reason that you think.”
When her words were met with silence Jurina looked over her shoulder in curiosity, noticing immediately her protector’s confusion. “Give me your hand.”
“What?” Rena exclaimed, startled by the awkward and out of the blue demand, and trying to decipher its meaning through the confident look of her protégée.
Jurina reached out for it when her protector didn’t comply to her wishes, feeling it tensing up a bit when their fingers met, and placing her palm against her stallion’s neck.
“Look into his eyes,” Jurina instructed, keeping the older girl’s hand in place, “what do you see?”
Though very puzzled by the peculiar demand Rena did as she was told, trying to ignore the pleasant warmth emanating from the palm covering hers softly, to focus her attention entirely on the black animal.
Her touch had - at first - abashed the animal whose pupils had slightly widened in reaction. Now, after a few seconds, they had turned back into their original form, and the stallion was even tilting his head towards her, trying to reach her with his nostrils.
“You appease him,” Jurina murmured, amused lightly by her protector’s wonderment. “And I’m convinced your mare has the same effect on him. That’s why he can’t let go.”
Jurina wondered what could be crossing the older girl’s mind when silence surrounded them for a while. She could easily read her body language and see how agitated she now was, and she asked herself what could have triggered this whole behavior. Unconsciously, her fingers squeezed a bit the hand beneath hers, and the gesture seemed to stir something in Rena, as she immediately snapped out of her stillness.
“Maybe he should.”
Jurina frowned at her declaration, slightly taken aback when her protector gave her a serious look, the hand slipping away from her grasp instantly. Much as she wanted to prove her wrong and question her about her enigmatic words, it was clear the matter was already over. Indeed, Rena had now mounted her mare and was securing the reins - her eyes set on the entrance of the stable - in the evident intention of leaving the place.
“Where are you going?” Jurina asked, still confused by her protector’s discomfort.
“To the village,” Rena replied as nonchalantly as possible, her attention still very much in front of her. “I need to go to the market.”
“Me too, Churi wants to meet me,” Jurina informed, brushing aside her interlocutor’s awkward behavior and placing one hand on the saddle and her left foot in the stirrup, pushing herself up to mount her stallion.
“In broad daylight?” Rena blurted out without thinking, gazing at her immediately.
“She asked to see me for some reason but stubbornly refused to tell me why when I questioned her,” Jurina trailed off distractively, missing her protector’s perplexity. “It’s unusual for her to be so secretive. She never hides anything from me.”
I bet she doesn’t, Rena mused, before cursing herself for letting her protégée’s relationship with that woman impact unexpectedly her mood. What the young girl did on her free time should be none of her business - as long as it didn’t interfere with her daily kenjutsu training - and apart from a lesson she had missed that one time, she had always been very punctual.
“Maybe we can travel together?” Jurina suggested, already ordering her horse to move forward with a firm pressure of her heels, and entertained when her stallion’s head immediately went to brush the mare’s one when he passed by her. “This one will definitely not take no for an answer.”
Just as Rena was about to ask her protégée to keep her horse in check she observed her mare accepting the obstinate gesture and she stayed quiet, astounded by her unusual reaction. She raised her gaze from her horse to watch her protégée as she was walking away, a smile unguardedly falling on her lips when she threw her a playful look over her shoulder. “Of course.”
Jurina couldn’t fathom exactly why, but she was still thinking about her protector’s peculiar attitude when she followed Churi through the market a while later. Despite the fact the place was buzzing with noise and packed with people, she barely paid attention to her surroundings, hardly reacting when she happened to bump into a few people on the way, and received complaints in protest.
Her eyes were boring into her friend’s back and her left hand was leading her black stallion, but her thoughts were still on her protector and their recent conversation. The awkward meeting that followed between Churi and her protector had not been unnoticed as well, indeed not fooled one iota by her apparent composure and the polite greeting. She could tell the kenjutsu instructor was somewhat bothered by her closeness with Churi, even though no words had ever left her mouth to indicate so once. After spending months by her side, she could now better see through the collected appearance of her protector - discerning a few cracks here and there when she happened to let her guard down - but some of her reactions still remained a mystery. One she couldn’t help but want to solve.
“What do you think?”
Jurina snapped out of her musing at the questioning voice and she raised her gaze, noticing that her friend had suddenly stopped in her tracks and was now standing in front of a stand, studying an object in her hand carefully. The young girl paused by her side, looking down at the jewelry that had caught her attention. It was a small rounded pendant hanging at the end of a chain, representing the head of a horse. His mouth was opened wide as he was releasing a loud neigh, and his mane was drawn as if it was floating in the air. The true portrayal of a proud and fierce animal.
“It’s nice,” Jurina conceded, immediately noting the satisfied smile on Churi’s lips.
“How much?” Churi asked, showing the object to the man in his forties standing behind the stand full of different kind of jewelries.
Jurina frowned when Churi slipped the coins inside the man’s palm - obviously satisfied with the price indicated - wondering why she would want to buy such an object. She had not lied when she had answered her question, finding indeed the simple - but well crafted object - to her taste but somehow, she couldn’t imagine her friend wearing such a pendant around her neck. It simply didn’t suit her looks.
“Open your hand,” Churi required when she turned to look at her and Jurina did as instructed - though very much confused by the demand - until feeling the silver object against her skin when she placed it into her palm gently.
“What are you doing?” Jurina asked.
“It’s a gift,” Churi replied, suppressing a laugh at her friend’s confusion.
Jurina opened her mouth to speak but no words left her lips, too shocked by the revelation. No one had ever bought her a present before, and she couldn’t fathom why her friend would do such a thing. A part of her wanted to repeat the question in order to make sure she had not imagined it, but she could tell she had heard correctly when Churi gave her a kind smile.
“No, I don’t need it,” Jurina protested, holding the pendant by the chain and trying to give it back. “Keep your money.”
“I already bought it,” Churi retorted, in vain as the jewelry was placed into her hand forcibly a few seconds later.
“He’ll take it back,” Jurina addressed the merchant who was about to protest, before agreeing reluctantly at the intimidating look directed at him.
Just as she was about to walk away in order to make her opinion clear on the matter she heard the soft calling of her nickname, and she couldn’t help but pause in her steps at the pleading tone. Fingers encircled her arm gently but she refused to turn around, more than decided to not come back on her words.
“You’re the only person in this world who really cares about me,” Churi admitted. “Let me do this for you.”
Jurina noted the small tremble in her voice, and she could feel her own resolve faltering as the seconds went by painfully slow. Now, she understood better the reason behind her friend’s offer, but she still didn’t consider herself worthy of it. What did she truly do to deserve it?
Suddenly, Churi’s alarmed shout reached her and she turned around, confused, until seeing her staring at her right empty hand in shock. The jewelry was gone, and Jurina looked over her friend’s shoulder, noticing a man drawing away hastily, the pendant swinging by his chain in his left hand.
“Stay here,” Jurina indicated, not waiting for Churi’s reply to climb hastily on her stallion, “I’ll get it back.”
“No, it’s not…” Churi trailed off, her protest falling on deaf ears as the young girl had already ordered her horse to move forward.
She watched her in apprehension as she was making her way through the crowd, cursing herself for failing to react in time. Much as she wished for Nobunaga to accept her present, she certainly didn’t want her to put herself in danger for it. Unfortunately, considering the decided look she had witnessed upon her face before her swift departure, she was afraid she would do anything in her power to retrieve the object.
Jurina was already far gone when Churi felt a presence by her side, her eyes widening in surprise when she noticed the familiar sight, and the reassuring look directed at her.
After a few minutes’ chase, Jurina realized she was truly at disadvantage on the back of her horse. Indeed, the thief was making his way through the dense crowd with much more ease by foot, and the distance was growing between them. If only she could get out of the market square more quickly…
Relief filled her chest when she saw him turning in a street on his left, knowing she would have better chance to catch him now he had left the market square. However, her joy was of short respite when she noticed a horserider waiting at the end of it, holding the rein of another horse with obvious impatience. It didn’t take long for Jurina to understand it was probably his partner in crime, considering her agile thief was running towards his direction at full speed.
Jurina ignored the loud protests directed at her when she finally engulfed herself into the street, now hoping she could make it before he could jump on his horse. However, her own struggle to move forward into the market square had slowed her down significantly, and she watched in frustration the two men galloping away on their horses.
“I have not said my last word,” Jurina gritted her teeth, refusing to relent. She pressed her heels against her horse’s flank, receiving an immediate response as he sped up instantly.
For the first time, Jurina realized the luck she had had to stumble upon her stallion. His great shape and fierce look had immediately caught her eye when she had spied on the horse’s merchant back then, a theft she had not regretted once since that day. Indeed, it obeyed to each of her orders with great accuracy, enabling her to turn in the following streets without the need to slow down one iota, and avoiding a few horrified bystanders successively.
Jurina was starting to catch up when the two horseriders entered the main street of the village. She ignored the distressed cries of the people on her way, trying desperately to reduce the distance with the thief instead. His companion was apparently failing to match with his speed, as Jurina soon found herself by his horse’s flank.
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the sharp tanto in the man’s hand, avoiding it narrowly when he tried to wound her. Jurina took out her own knife swiftly, injuring his arm in retaliation with a sharp cut. A scream escaped his lips at the pain and he dropped his tanto, enabling the young girl to focus entirely on the man who was escaping her.
Jurina tensed when she saw the thief exiting the village and galloping towards the wooden bridge crossing over the river. In the distance, the maple forest could already been seen, and she knew she had to stop him before he could reach it. Indeed, her chances to catch him into the dense forest would then be greatly reduced.
The young girl was well aware that what she was about to do to be
a tiny bit risky, but she couldn’t come up with another solution when she finally managed to catch up. She didn’t know when another opportunity would present itself, and she surely didn’t want to take the risk of losing him in the fast approaching forest. If she had to act, it would be on this bridge.
She waited until their horses were finally galloping flank by flank - briefly leaning to her right to avoid a threatening tanto coming her direction - before releasing her hold on the reins in one swift movement and throwing herself at the other horserider. Just before their bodies came into contact she noticed the shock passing through the thief’s eyes, who was unfortunately too stunned to react in time.
They crashed violently against each other and the horse rider lost his balance, the reins of his horse escaping his grasp when he got unhorsed, and they both fell into the river below. Thankfully, it was only a five meters fall, and Jurina held her breath in preparation, not releasing her hold on the thief one moment.
Water surrounded them completely as they dived it, and Jurina had to avoid another threat directed at her when the man tried to injure her with his tanto anew. Thankfully, his moves were substantially slowed down by the water, enabling her to react in time and deliver a strong punch in his face.
The action stunned him effectively and Jurina took advantage of his disorientated state to retrieve the pendant at his waist, before preparing herself to regain the surface when it was finally secured in her hand. Unfortunately, her escape plan was put to an halt when she felt a hand gripping her feet tightly, preventing her from moving any further. It seemed her thief had not said his last word.
Jurina tried to free herself from his strong hold, but the furious man was holding tight. A few punches were exchanged when they came face to face, and - for the first time since she had plunged into the river - Jurina was starting to fear the issue of their confrontation. Indeed, she could now feel herself lacking some air, and she knew it was a matter of time until she would completely run out of it. Her opponent seemed to have the same problem, but none of them wanted to give up.
The young sister suddenly noticed her opponent’s attention drawn to something over her head, and her eyes widened in surprise when a tanto appeared from her peripheral vision, slitting the thief’s throat accurately. Blood blended with the water as he held his throat in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, much in vain. Jurina stared into his lifeless eyes as he fell deeper and deeper in the water, before diverting her attention to her right at the touch on her shoulder.
She didn’t even have time to look at her savior that lips were pressed against hers hastily. Jurina was about to push away the person responsible for this unexpected act, until freezing when she realized who was facing her, and feeling air engulfing her lungs gradually through her partially opened lips. Shock washed over when she stared into her protector’s eyes, questions piling up in her head one after another at the unforeseen help. However, all vanished into thin air when their lips finally parted, and the kenjutsu instructor pointed at the top of the water. Jurina gave her a small nod in reply - knowing she could now indeed reach the surface thanks to the welcomed exchange of air - and she swam towards it.
Jurina had never been so happy in her life to feel the earth under her feet. As soon as she reached the edge of the river she slumped on the grass, her heart hammering inside her chest while she tried to catch her breath. Her hand squeezed the object still secured inside her palm, relief filling her chest that she had not done all this for nothing. Her attention got drawn to the woman sitting by her side, and her eyes widened in surprise at the look directed at her.
“Why would you take such a risk?”
Her protector’s voice was calm and steady, but Jurina wasn’t fooled by it one iota. Indeed, she could well identify the anger burning inside her eyes, and she sat up - an explanation already forming on her lips - when she suddenly felt two arms embracing her.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
Taken aback by the unexpected gesture and slight tremble in the kenjutsu instructor’s voice Jurina failed to come up with a proper retort, instead feeling the hold tightening around her. After a little while, Jurina raised her hand and buried her fingers in the damp hair of her protector, pressing her cheek against hers. She could feel the older girl tensing up a bit in reaction but she refused to let go, hoping to convey as much as possible in the simple gesture.
TO BE CONTINUED
Topic: Warriors - Chapter 29 [WMatsui] (01/07/2020) (Read 112141 times)