Samurai Heart
A faint breeze rustled through a dense bamboo grove just outside the city of Kyoto. Warm, golden sun rays filtered through the shifting leaves, casting shadows across the young face of a figure standing among the trees. The figure belonged to that of a young man, no older than seventeen, with stormy gray eyes and dark hair cut short at the shoulders. His slightly tall, lean frame supported a deep plum colored kimono and white hakama, streaked three times across the hem's edge in violet. In his right hand was a katana stained with fresh blood. At his socked, sandaled feet was the body of a man, emmersed in the same crimson liquid.
"Kaze...." he whispered, feeling the cool spring breeze on his face and through his hair. Despite the deed he had just performed, the boy's face was calm, expressionless. It was not that he did or did not care about what he had just done, he just was not sure what to think, at least not yet.
"Oi! Shounen!" He turned at the voice, gazing at the man in a blue kimono bounding towards him. The man glanced at him with gold flecked brown eyes before turning to kneel and inspect the boy's work.
"First assignment?" he said over his shoulder. "Don't get ill now. Many people tend to get ill after their first kill."
"I'm not sick," the other replied, taking the paper offered to him and cleaning his blade. "I feel fine. I'm better than I thought I would be." The man, wearing a gray hakama over his kimono, turned briefly to gaze at him. His long raven hair fell over one shoulder, the white ribbon at the nape of his neck just holding the locks back. Though he looked and acted as if he were a high spirited teenager, the elder man was close to his thirties, but he often acted wiser than his years. His face tended to wear a perpetual smile, sometimes even at the grimmest of moments.
"What's your name?" he asked after giving the boy two glances over, noticing how the assassin kept his back straight and his shoulders squared.
"Ishikawa. Ishikawa Rei."
"Ah, you're Katsura's new hitokiri." Without a word of reply, Rei resheathed his sword. He watched with quiet fascination as the other man continued to inspect the corpse, gazing at it from every angle imaginable.
"Akizuki Shigure," he finally said as he stood, drawing out a piece of paper from his right sleeve, something written on it Rei could not make out. "That's my name. I've been assigned to help you."
"Help me?" Shigure grinned, pearl white teeth flashing in the sporadic sunlight.
"I'm the one who will tell you when and whom to kill. I'll get the orders from the Ishinshishi heads and relay them to you. Any time you get a black envelope from me, that's your cue." He drew out a black folded envelope from his left sleeve, giving Rei a few minutes to look upon it before withdrawing it from sight.
"I see." Turning back to the corpse, Shigure circled the body once again before setting the paper on the corpse's back, a sign to let anyone passing know which group had killed the man.
"I can easily see why Katsura hired you," Shigure said, a hint of admiration in his voice. "Just by looking at the corpse anyone can tell it was a skilled swordsman who did him in. His muscle and flesh are cut cleanly through; even his bones are cut in half. You've got one quick and deadly blade there, shounen. I'm glad I'm on your side; I wouldn't want to cross you in a fight." He turned to find Rei's slim form leaning back against a thick bamboo tree, eyes closed to the world while the sunlight played on his face. Shigure's eyes widened as sudden worry overtook him.
"Oi! You okay?" Shigure could not help the sigh of relief that escaped him when the boy assassin's eyes opened and focused on his person.
"I told you I'm not sick," Rei retorted, getting back to his feet. Shigure peered closely at him, noting the creamy white appearance of the skin on Rei's suddenly boyish young face.
"Your face is pale," he said.
"I'm not sick."
"So you keep saying. Come on, you need some sake. It'll make you feel better." With a grin, Shigure gripped Rei's sleeve, dragging him away from the killing site. They walked in silence for some time. The bamboo forest slowly faded behind them as they entered a garden of sakura trees in full, spring bloom. The faint scent of the pale pink blossoms danced around the samurai as they walked side by side. Suddenly, Rei stopped in the middle of his walk and spoke again.
"Am I doing the right thing?" he asked his companion in a small, timid voice, his gray eyes focused on the ground at his feet. Brushing some dark strands of hair out of his eyes, Shigure replied slowly as he turned to face him.
"You mean about becoming a hitokiri?" A nod was his answer.
"Why did you become one?"
"The shogunate is oppressing the people, living richly off the money the common people make," Rei said. "The eta are unhappy with the way they are living. They are unhappy with the way the upper classes are treating them. They deserve better than what they have."
"You're a samurai, shounen, a member of those upper classes. Why bother yourself with helping the eta?" He did not answer right away. Instead, Rei turned, gazing up into the branches of the nearest sakura tree. His gray eyes focused on a single pink petal as it broke off and floated lazily towards the ground. Rei spoke again when the petal had hit the surface of a nearby stream, causing small ripples to form.
"A sword is a tool, a weapon. In the wrong hands, it can be a weapon of war. In the hands of a corrupt man, it can bring misery, suffering, and, ultimately, destruction. It will harm not only the welder but everyone around him, especially those lives he values the most.
"But in the hands of a good man, a sword can bring justice and freedom. It can defend against evil to help the common man. It can save and preserve the lives of many." Shigure watched silently as Rei drew his katana, holding it up to the sunlight. Bright rays danced and glittered off the now clean edge of the boy's blade before it receeded into the dark recesses of its saya once again.
"A sharp blade deals swift justice in turbulent times such as these," Shigure said. His voice was steady and clear as he spoke, breaking the silence that had momentarily evaded between them.
"Justice needs to be brought to the oppressors of the people. The people look to others to help them when they can no longer help themselves. Only the strong can help the weak. Only the strong willed can stand up against those that are stronger.
"Quick, sharp blades deal swift justice to evil. But it takes a certain type of man to weld such a sword. It also takes another person to be the driving force behind such a man." Turning to him, Shigure focused his bright eyes on Rei, watching the boy assassin's face as he looked out over the nearby stream with the sakura petals floating on the surface.
"Katsura is your driving force, shounen. He is the mind behind your blade, the force that propels you to be a hitokiri when the night's blackness ascends the sky. He is the mind, but you are the will behind the blade. You are the shining soul of the katana, the soul that shimmers when the blade catches the light. As long as your sense of justice and right is untainted, your blade will never falter." Gray eyes widened, turning slowly to face the assassin's companion. Wordlessly, Shigure took hold of one plum colored sleeve, gently tugging Rei back towards Kyoto. He stopped when they had reached the edge of the large city. Standing at one end of a long street, the two revolutionaries could see people going about their business for the day. To their ears came the sounds of people greeted one another, customers bargaining with dealers, and children playing in the dusty street while their parents completed their shopping.
"Look at them closely," Shigure said, leaning over to whisper into Rei's ear, long strands of his hair tickling the back of the boy's neck. Two young girls walked past them, their arms full of groceries from the market, their brightly patterned kimonos catching Rei's eyes as they glided by.
"Look at each of their faces," Shigure said again, breaking his thoughts, causing him to turn back. "Note the expressions they have. Tell me what you see, shounen." Rei took a deep breath before he gazed carefully at each face his eyes fell upon. Gray eyes focused on each man, woman, and child in turn, taking in their general appearence and the type of facial expression each held. Slowly, he began to speak.
"I see people going about their daily lives. I see smiles and hear laughter. But I also see a cloud in those eyes, as if they are wondering when they can live freely without being preyed upon." He stopped, looking at the faces of the people walking around him again before continuing.
"But there's hope in those eyes and faces as well. A hope that one day they will be free from all the suffering. A hope that one day they can live easy lives."
"Tell me something, shounen," Shigure said, his voice breathing into Rei's ear. "You became a hitokiri under Katsura's service, fighting on the side of the revolutionaries. Do you fight for them, the common people? Or do you fight for yourself?" It took a moment for Rei to gather his thoughts before he could make a reply.
"Them. I fight against the supporters of the shogunate for them."
"You're wrong, shounen." He whirled on Shigure, gray eyes gazing deep into almond brown ones. A faint smile crossed Shigure's features before he spoke again, taking hold of Rei's sleeve for the third time.
"You fight for the people you see around you, yes," he said slowly as they began to walk down the street. "They are the ones who need strong men like you and Katsura to free them from corruption. They are helpless without the aid of people like you.
"But they aren't the only ones you are fighting for. You are fighting for yourself as well."
"Myself?" Shigure silenced him with a wave as they entered a local eatery. The place was filled wth the sounds of people as the two samurai entered, choosing a table near an open window. A young waitress came just after they took their seats, setting two cups and a bottle of cold sake before them. The strong rice wine gave off a pungent oder even from the narrow neck of its container. The scent made Rei's already dizzy mind tilt a bit more. Shigure regarded him a moment before opening his lips to speak again.
"Who are you, shounen?" he asked.
"Ishikawa Rei," the boy replied slowly.
"Where do you come from?"
"Miyagi Prefecture, near but outside the city of Sendai."
"Who taught you swordsmanship?"
"Date Ranmaru, member of the Date family, master of Sendai's Date Kendo Dojo."
"Who is your employer?"
"Katsura Kogoro-san of Choshuu."
"When did you come into his service?"
"One month ago."
"What is your job under Katsura?"
"Hitokiri."
"What do you believe in?" The last question caused Rei's mind to come to a sudden, abrupt half. Up until that point, Shigure had asked him questions easily answered, ones he probably already knew the answers to. But the last question stunned Rei. His hands, which rested on the table, clinched into fists as he gazed at his still empty cup, trying to come up with an answer. Shigure, again, already knew the answer.
"You believe in fairness," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but Rei heard him clearly even in the noisy eatery. "You believe each person has a right to decide who they want to be and what they want to do with their lives. You believe justice should be dealt to those who harm others either physically, emotionally, or financially. You believe that unless someone steps up to correct a problem, the problem will persists and, possibly, get worse with time. What you believe in constitutes your sense of justice.
"Am I right?" Rei nodded slowly in response, eyes still focused on the table. He heard Shigure sigh and shift in his chair; when he looked up, he noticed his companion gazing out the window. Across the street, a young boy of about six stood before a vendor on the tips of his toes, begging his grandfather to purchase him a red pinwheel.
"We all start out like that," Shigure said, his eyes never leaving the young boy's face, now radiant with joy as he accepted the pinwheel. Rei also stared, remembering his own carefree childhood.
"We should always be like that," Rei's voice suddenly rang out. Startled by his voice and words, Shigure turned from the boy to the boy assassin. Rei felt his gaze on his person but did not turn to meet it.
"We should always be like that little boy, carefree, happy," Rei continued. "People should not have to feel confined by social classes. They should be able to choose what they want to do, choose from the heart. Birth into a social class shouldn't have to determine what type of person you are. When you're a child, you never think of such things; you shouldn't have to ever think about such things.
"Katsura-san is the force that drives me to help free these people. I hope to use my blade to free them from the oppression they feel and have felt from being confined within a specific social class, a specific social status." He closed his eyes, gathering the last of his thoughts together. When he opened them again, Rei's previously stormy eyes were clear and bright, less clouded than they had been.
"My will is the blade, and all I want to do is what is right, what my heart tells me is the right thing to do. As long as I follow what my heart says, everything, everyone will be all right. Everyone will be saved." Silence came between the two samurai yet again. Neither spoke nor paid any attention to the waitresses bustling past them to welcome new customers while seeing old ones off. Instead, Shigure had his almond eyes focused on Rei; the assassin's stormy orbs still gazed out into the street. But his eyes were clear, bright, determined; he knew now what he had to do and he would do it.
Suddenly, Shigure's face broke out into a smile, one much broader than any other he had flashed that day. A laugh escaped him as he reached across the table, giving Rei's lean shoulder a few hearty pats. The assassin turned, his eyes blinking twice in utter confusion at his friend's sudden action.
"You, shounen," he said, picking up the sake bottle and filling Rei's cup nearly to the brim before filling his own. "You are a real samurai. You truly have the heart of a warrior. May it help you to free this country in the coming days.
"Now drink up, Ishikawa. The liquor will do you good. Kanpai!" A faint smile tugged at the corners of Rei's lips as he raised his cup. He felt better after having spoken to Shigure. The cloud of turmoil and confusion that had been brewing in his mind for the last month since he was employed suddenly seemed to lift. It had taken him this long to realize that, as long as he did what he thought would help the people, then what he was doing was right. Rei had always been taught that helping the people was what everyone who had the capability to help others should do. Since his employment, he had often wondered if becoming a hitokiri was the right thing. But, now he was convinced it was, and he was satisfied.
He took a long, slow drink. The liquor was cool and sweet, pleasing to the palate. The experience was nothing like Rei had thought it would be, and he rather liked it. Shigure watched the transformed assassin as he drank the rice wine and smiled, raising his own cup. Around them, the people they had both vowed to protect paid them no mind as they went about their daily duties.