Chapter 6

"Look at that castle!" Harukaze Ukizake pointed excitedly. "It must be ten stories tall!"

"Totally ornamental. All you have to do is set fire to the base. Then who cares how high it goes?" Jin Ukizake looked at Yoto's famous landmark.

"Get into the spirit. It's the capital! This is where all the gods live. See, there's the shrine to Tsukisama, and over there is Amaterusama." Harukaze pointed, grabbing his sleeve to turn him with her other hand.

"I've been here before, you know. I'm not like a certain underage naif." Jin tousled the hair on top of Haru's head.

"Well I'm going to enjoy my first time." Harukaze said firmly. "Over there is the wooden platform. They say if you make a prayer and then jump off of it to the ground below, the gods will grant it."

"That's a fatal drop." Jin pointed out.

"So? Do you think the gods grant prayers for free?" Harukaze replied.

"What's the good in a prayer you don't live to see?" Jin said, chewing on a nice new green shoot as he gauged the fall.

"The moment before you die, when you know, for just a split second, that your dreams will come true." Harukaze explained.

"What's the use if you only know that for a split second?" Jin asked.

"You don't get it, do you? A split second of accomplishment is better than an entire lifetime of failure." Harukaze put her hands on her hips.

"How about you make my life easier and jump off the cliff, then? You could ask the gods to strike Yahiko down with lightning." Jin suggested.

"I already told you it's pointless unless I do it myself. What's the use in Gods getting my revenge? I won't share my revenge with anyone." Harukaze said.

"You're sharing it with me." Jin said.

"You are me." Harukaze smiled.

"Fine, fine." Jin twirled his stem in circles with his tongue. "We're in Yoto. So where's Yahiko? Let's collect his blue sword and go home already."

"You're going to win, right?" Harukaze asked worriedly.

"If he relies on a proper swordfight, well, phantom blade has never failed me before." Jin said. "I'm more afraid of your brother, honestly."

"He's not going to come back from the grave to beat you again, you know." Harukaze teased.

"You know what I mean. Anyway, I have no intention to lose here." Jin said, spitting out his plant and walking down the street to pick another promising one. They tasted better fresh.

"The sword isn't really blue you know. Only the dappling on the edge." Harukaze pointed out.

"Is there anything you didn't lie about?" Jin sighed. So much for his treasure sword.

"You just never listen to me. I said my family caused the debt, right? I never said I didn't have a brother. I never said our third target wasn't said brother. It's not my fault if you don't connect the dots."

"Uh-huh." Jin said noncommittally. "So, where's Yahiko's place?"

"If he's really, truly out of your league, I won't demand you simply walk to your death." Harukaze said, her eyes looking into his. "You've killed four of the five people who destroyed my life. I didn't think I'd ever make it this far. There's no shame in quitting here."

"You'd never really accept that." Jin Ukizake said, staring back into her eyes.

"No, I wouldn't." Harukaze looked down. "I. . .think I'd hate you too, if you stopped now. I'm sorry."

Jin smiled. That was the Haru he knew. "There you have it. So, Yahiko's place?"

Harukaze pointed to the castle. "He's the captain of the watch, now. He's the king of the underworld, but even the underworld serves the Emperor. The Emperor gets his cut too, for staying out of the way."

"Heh. Typical. But if he's so high ranking a bushi, he couldn't very well turn down a duel of honor. It won't be a problem." Jin said, sizing up the building. He'd been on hits before, but never right under the Emperor's nose. He was getting a little excited. The fight to determine the best swordsman in Niron. He'd always wanted a challenge like this, at least once in his life.

It didn't take long to reach the castle gate. Compared to the month they'd been walking hither and yon, it felt like the blink of an eye.

"My name is Jin Ukizake. If you don't know, my clan owns ten thousand ri of land, and I'm their firstborn son. I'm here to see Yahiko Nomura. He's offended my wife's honor, and I demand a duel to settle the issue." Jin said to the guards at the front gate of the Emperor's palace.

"Jin Ukizake?" The guard asked questioningly. "Wasn't he disowned?"

"I apologized to my parents and they reinstated me. This is besides the point. Is your lord going to turn down a challenge or will he accept it?" Jin said with an edge of impatience.

"I'll inform the lieutenant." The guard shrugged, and went inside the castle.

"Your family's that important?" Harukaze blinked.

"Of course. Muriama blades aren't handed out like candy." Jin said.

"Are you going to apologize to them and get your lands back like you said?" Harukaze asked a little hopefully.

"Me? Apologize? To that old geezer? I'd rather die! Arrogant bastard, trying to tell me what a bushi could and couldn't do, going on and on about things that didn't matter, I'd like to see his face right now. . ."

"Okay, okay! Forget I mentioned it!" Harukaze said, grabbing his arm and pressing it to her bosom. "We'll be just fine either way!"

A higher ranking warrior stepped out of the front gate to take a look at the castle's guests. "He has the same face. He could be Ukizake's heir."

"I'm glad that's settled. Now the real question is, does this nation accept insults to the wives of bushi, or is there anything sacred left in this world?" Jin asked.

"What did he say?" The guard asked, still unconvinced.

"He didn't say anything. He just ordered her parents killed and her sister into a brothel. Is that good enough for you?" Jin asked.

"I. . .suppose that could be considered an insult. . ." The guard looked taken aback. "Very well, I will bring it to lord Nomura's attention."

"Thank you. We'll be waiting." Jin gave a slightly polite bow. Then he sighed and sat down, propping his back against the stone wall to stare at the sky.

The door closed again, and Harukaze sat down beside him.

"I love you, Jin." Harukaze said, their collective die cast.

"I love you too, Haru." Jin replied, closing his eyes and looking at the sky in his mind. The purest, deepest blue he could fathom. A reason for being. This was probably good enough.

Neither of them said anything more. There wasn't anything more to say. They must have waited an hour sitting against the wall before the guards came again.

"Yahiko Nomura remembers ordering something like that. He has accepted your challenge. You may both enter, if fighting in the open courtyard is acceptable?" The guard asked.

"It's acceptable." Jin agreed, and the two entered the Imperial Palace's front yard. Harukaze squeezed his hand one last time and then retreated to the outside circle of any reasonable swordfight that the troops had collectively formed.

In a few more minutes, Yahiko Nomura walked out of the palace, wearing a brilliant white kimono decorated with golden cranes, with his katana and wakizashi likewise sheathed in gold-chased white scabbards. He had long hair that floated a foot above his head in a top knot that floated back down to his shoulders and a clean-shaven, cold-eyed face of a hawk. The man's walk seemed to imply that he had never been afraid of anything in his life, nor had he met anyone in his life who wasn't afraid of him. Jin saw those eyes fasten on him and forced himself to meet the gaze and not look away. He'd be damned if he shamed himself in front of this many people, greatest swordsman in Niron or not.

"Jin Ukizake. I've heard good things about you. You're a hundred man slayer, correct?" Yahiko said, his brisk pace coming to a halt.

"That's probably true. I never kept count. How about you?" Jin asked.

"Unfortunately, my duties keep me away from the front lines, most of the time. But it's always a pleasure to cross blades with truly skilled opponents. I've walked away from a strategy meeting concerning our future deployments in Qin. Please make this a bit entertaining for me."

Jin stared at Yahiko Nomura, a little disquieted. All of his opponents had been confident. But this was over the top. Did Yahiko truly think he was of a completely different species than the people he daily murdered and stole from? He didn't seem happy or sad about his crimes, it was like he had some sort of diplomatic immunity from them, simply because he was strong. He wasn't even in the same league as the previous four. Jin felt like his courage would just dribble away the longer he bandied words with this man. Never mind trying to get this man to reflect on his sins. It was enough if they could simply win and put this matter to rest. It was time to close the book.

Jin drew his katana.

Yahiko nodded, and drew his own. It sparkled in the sun's rays, a wavy pattern on the first quarter that really did look like morning dew. The sword and the man matched each other. Jin calmed himself down and approached his opponent in a descending spiral, his sword held in a normal defensive overhead posture.

Yahiko Nomura held his sword in front of him with both hands, the tip following Jin's footsteps as the holder pivoted carefully to stay in line with his opponent. Every sword duel, no matter how many circles you made, ended up being a battle of straight lines. Sidesteps were impossible in a battle where hands were quicker than eyes. All you could hope for was getting a tiny advantage before that one linear strike that determined it all. Yahiko's stance wasn't unprecedented, just unorthodox. Jin had fought this type before. With the phantom blade, Yahiko still wouldn't manage to block. It was okay. If he could just get in range, it would be okay.

Yahiko's body flashed forward, his sword aiming for a killing thrust as his arms straightened out to their full extent.

Jin peddled backwards furiously, striking his sword down to knock Yahiko's thrust clear of his chest. The two swords met and Jin's cracked in two, the top half flying away into the dirt a couple feet away.

Yahiko twisted his wrists and struck again, his reflexes faster than a scorpion's sting. His blue sword stabbed straight into Jin's unprotected chest.

Jin gaped at his broken Muriama sword haft in bewilderment. "No fair."

Yahiko ripped his sword clear of his opponent by cutting all the way back out again, and then kicked the corpse to the ground.

"Honestly. What a waste of time." Yahiko stared coldly at his opponent's corpse, flicking his sword clean of blood.

"Did you really think you could challenge me?" Yahiko asked, looking at the dead sellsword with indignance at such a meaningless fight. Then he wiped his sword clean and returned it to his sheathe. A piece of paper wrapped around his foe's wrist caught his eye, and he knelt down to strip it off. He unfolded the piece of paper and cleared out its wrinkles to read what was written.

"How stupid." Yahiko said, tossing the paper on top of the dead man's corpse. It soon became illegibly soaked in blood.

"You, woman." Yahiko Nomura said, looking at the paralyzed Harukaze for the first time. "What will you do?"

"I. . .I ask that you bury me with my husband. I too am an Ukizake. I beg the right to harakiri." Harukaze whispered through emotionless lips.

"Granted. See that it is done." Yahiko nodded with a bit of respect towards the shattered woman and then walked back into the palace doors.

Harukaze drew a knife from inside her sleeve and knelt down to the ground. A guard drew his sword and stood behind her.

"I ask to have the honor to send you on your way, bushi." The man said formally.

"Granted. Thank you, sir." Harukaze whispered. Then she stabbed herself in the stomach. The pain didn't last long. The man behind her followed it up with a decapitating strike that sent her head rolling nearly to the body of her husband.

The strip of paper twisted and curled with its maker's blood, the ink slowly running off its appointed place. The death poem was simple and short.

"A snowflake. . .falls.

A frozen heart. . .thaws."