Sayako's Story
By Nancy Wagner
Genre: L5R Fanfiction
Main Characters:
*Kiko/Sayako
Kakita Toshimoko
*Keiko
*Kirian
*Otaku Sejiko
(* = Original Characters)
(16 Years Before the Events in "The Crane")
It wasn't the most fortuitous of days that heralded the birth of the young geisha's bastard daughter. The clouds covered the nurturing rays that were the gift of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, to her mortal children and their servants. Normally, such a birth would have been caught before it had gone this far, and the fetus disposed of.
Such had not been the case. As the young geisha screamed in the pain of a childbirth, who signs had gone unnoticed until too late, she reflected briefly that she wished that she was one of those that showed the babe early. By the time it was noticable, it was too late.
"Now, Keiko-chan!" the heimin herbalist shouted as she reached out to grab the breaching head of the infant. Keiko screamed as she gave one final push, and delivered the tiny infant. Panting from the effort, her mind awash in pain, the geisha heard vaguely the tiny cries of new life, and suddenly, for Keiko, it seemed as if she had never heard a more beautiful sound. The herbalist gently laid the child in the weary mother's arms, and the young mother looked into her daughter's eyes, newly opened to the world.
"So beautiful, my little Kiko-chan..."
The babe known as Kiko grew slowly, her beauty apparent even from an early age. Easily the most attractive child in the lisenced quarter of the royal city of Otosan Uchi, Kiko brought great joy to her mother, who now owned her own tea house, and was no longer a geisha. Many lesser samurai attended the small but elegant tea house, and all remarked that the pretty little child with the strange Crane-white hair and the large, soulful blue eyes, was one of Keiko-san's greatest treasures.
The strange child that was the daughter of Mistress Keiko grew more beautiful day by day, until it was whispered among the patrons of the tea house that the child was as beautiful as the Lady Kachiko. Yet, such rumors have ways of making themselves known to those in question. The Lady of Scorpions wondered what could make the lesser samurai so awed of a simple hinin girl. Her dark eyes turned questioningly from the Imperial court into the direction of the tea house...
"Kiko-kun, put the tanto down and help your poor mother with the preparations." Keiko chided her strange daughter gently. The white-haired girl had taken the tanto and was playing with it, cutting at imaginary opponents. With a sigh, the girl stopped and put the knife into the obi of her kimono.
"Hai, mama-san," Kiko replied respectfully, albeit reluctantly. The 13 year old set about helping her mother prepare for the day's business, yet her mind wandered as she methodically swept the floor of the imagined dirt, for Keiko-san never tolerated any amount of dirt on her polished wooden floors. Kiko was a child of dreams, who felt a strange calling in her blood. The calling was especially hard to ignore when she had a blade of some sort in her hand. It felt natural to wield a blade, yet Kiko had also been told that only the samurai were allowed to wield the katana blades. Kiko held back sighs whenever she saw one of those blades in the obi of the noble caste of Rokugan.
Finally, Kiko finished her chores, and asked to go outside for a while. As her mother distractedely gave approval, Kiko practically ran out the door, the edges of her kimono flapping silently as she left. Outside, the day was glorious, the golden rays shimmering on the neat and tidy houses of Otosan Uchi. The ancestor's themselves must be happy with us, Kiko thought as she slowed down to enjoy the day. A smile curved her shapely lips as she basked in the warming rays.
At the tea house, Mistress Keiko was finally prepared for the day's clients. As the rice-paper door opened, she turned around and kneeled, touching her head to the floor.
"Welcome to the Silent Joy, honored guest. I am Keiko, your humble servant," she said, the ritual words coming easily to her lips after a lifetime of repetition.
"It has been a while, Keiko-chan," the familiar voice replied. Keiko gasped as she looked up, her eyes wide. "You haven't changed since all those years ago," the voice from the past continued. Keiko reflected that the voice's owner hadn't changed much either. A few more grey hairs in the fine white locks, more smile lines around the mouth and laughter lines around the eyes, eyes that held silent questions.
"I am honored you think so, Kakita-sama," Keiko whispered, looking into the weathered but handsome face of Kakita Toshimoko, master of the Kakita Iaijutsu School and advisor to the current Crane daimyo Doji Hoturi. Swiftly, Keiko remembered her station and bowed her head again.
The rustling of a hakama and a soft sigh was heard as the Gray Crane knelt down beside the former geisha. "Look at me, Keiko-chan," the voice gently commanded. Keiko raised her head to look dead center into the eyes of the swordmaster.
"You know?" Keiko-chan whispered, a hint of moisture at the corner of her eye, fear reflected in her posture. The bastard daughter of a samurai of Toshimoko's status and a mere geisha-turned-tea house owner could only bring shame to the samurai. Many times such samurai had decided to destroy the proof of such shame, ending the life of mother and child. As if he could read her thoughts, Toshimoko shut his eyes, and continued speaking, his voice slightly strained.
"How could I not, once the rumors started flying? Many are beginning to believe that the child is Satsume-sama's, though I knew at once who the father was." The eyes opened again, and there was a hint of coldness in them. Keiko started to tremble.
"You are here for Kiko," she whispered, terror for herself and her daughter in her voice. Toshimoko's eyes widened as he realized what she was thinking.
"No! Keiko-chan, how could you beleive I could ever harm my own child?" he whispered forcefully, hurt on his lined face. Ashamed, Keiko touched her head to the floor.
"Forgive me, Toshimoko-sama. But it has been done before," came her tentative voice.
Suddenly, the door slid open again, startling both samurai and former geisha. The small figure that entered came to a halt, and automatically kneeled, her long white hair brushing the ground.
"Forgive me, honored one. My deepest apologies mama-san. My interruption and tardiness is inexcusable. Forgive my rudeness," Kiko rapidly said. Samurai were known for killing hinin on the slightest of reasons, even for an imagined slight, and would not be blamed. If she had insulted the samurai, Amaterasu only knew what he would do in his wrath. Silently, she said a prayer to the sun goddess, who was known for protecting fools and children.
Keiko's face reflected horror at the terrible breach of etiquette by her daughter, and looked fearful at Toshimoko before averting her eyes again. "Forgive my idiot daughter my lord. She is young yet, and is still quite thoughtless and rude."
Toshimoko could not reply, his stunned eyes taking in the appearance of the child, who could not be more than thirteen. The resemblence of the girl to him and Keiko was disturbing and painful. The Fortunes have mercy, there is no denying her parentage! he thought in shock. Originally, he had decided to blame her existence on a minor member of the Daidoji or the Kakita, for she was undeniably of Crane parentage. Yet, after taking in her face, which resembled her mother's, or the clear eyes and expressive features, it was clear that only one man could have fathered the girl. Toshimoko sighed and closed his eyes. Why did I expect this problem to be easily solved?
(The Present)
The young ronin's katana sliced into the decaying, plague-ridden body of the zombie, and turned to strike down another that had tried to claw her from behind. To her right, another of her fellow ronin destroyed four of the foul creatures with one stroke.
"Fall Back!" came the cry through the ranks, and the armies of the Shadowland-allied Crab Clan began to retreat. Sayako started to follow, as did other young warriors.
"Hold your ground, damn it!" came Toturi-san's forceful command. The ronin came to a halt, and watched the chaotic retreat of the defeated Crab forces. Around her, cheers came from many throats at the victory, but Sayako didn't add hers to them.
Merely sighing, Sayako cleaned her katana on the grass and returned it to it's sheath. The sword seemed to chime in satisfaction as it slid into the saya, as if pleased with itself and it's wielder. Turning her back, Sayako headed for her small tent, leaving the battlefield to the dead and the dying. Her midnight blue armor seemed to blend in with the darkening sky, her eyes blazing out from under her helm with the coldness of blue flame.
"Sayako-chan! Matte!" called a light voice. Sayako stopped and turned at the sound of the clear voice, and easily spotted the violet armor of it's owner.
"You wish to speak with me, Otaku-san?" Sayako asked wearily, her expression sour beneath the helm. Ever since the ronin army of Toturi the Black Lion had joined forces with the Unicorn Clan to battle the Crab, the young battle maiden had gone out of her way to draw out the intense swordswoman that called her Sayako. Sayako had no use for the Otaku bushi and made it clear with the subtle insult.
Too bad subtle wasn't in the Unicorn vocabulary. Her face grinning beneath the amethyst-colored helm, Sejiko looked at Sayako with expectation. "Aren't you going to join the celebration, Sayako-chan? We won!"
Sayako favored the Unicorn with a withering glare and turned her back and started walking again. "I really don't feel like it," she said, her voice cold. The young Otaku stood there, blinking, holding the reins to her mighty steed.
"What did I say?"
In the privacy of her small tent, Sayako removed the mempo which hid her features in battle and wearily began methodically stripping off her armor. Though it was plain, with no ornamentation, it was stained a dark blue, the sheathes of her daisho also stained the same color. Finally, clad only in a pair of silk pants, sandles, and gi, she shook her long, fine white hair free of the constraining bands that had held it during battle. Taking up a clean cloth, Sayako began cleaning the peices of her armor, returning them to the rich sheen that that marked her as apart from the rest of the ragtag army. As ingrained reflex took over, Sayako's mind thought back to how she had come to this point in life.
Grimacing, she finished polishing the armor and started on the swords. The short wakizashi had been a gift, But the katana was a true nemurenai, a true sword whose spirit had been permanently awakened. As she slid the sword from the saya, Sayako felt the smooth presence flow into her mind.
*You are troubled, Say-chan.*
Sayako sighed and began polishing the blade, ignoring the sword's statement.
*So, you're gonna ignore me this time, ne?*
"It's not like I have much of a choice," Sayako finally muttered. Inside her mind, the sword's voice laughed.
*Why are you not joining the others?*
"Because I am not one of them," she replied, her voice gruff.
*Hmmm. Let's see. They have two legs, you have two legs. They have two arms, you have two arms. They are human, you are human. Sure, you're not one of them. Come girl, what's the real reason?*
Sayako stopped polishing the blade, and placed it back into it's sheath, ignoring the squawk of outrage. "You wouldn't understand," the woman once known as the child Kiko replied.
"Wouldn't understand about what, Sayako-chan?"
Sayako spun, her hand going for her tanto, her other grabbing the collar of the person's gi and bringing the tanto to the intruder's throat.
"Matte, Sayako-chan!" gasped Kirian, the young warrior from beyond the Unicorn's mountains. His face was pale as he stared dumbly into enraged eyes blazing with blue fury.
"Gaijin no baka! I should kill you right now!" Sayako hissed, withdrawing her tanto and shoving the young outlander to the floor.
"Damn, you're touchy this evening, aren't you?" he asked bluntly. Sayako wondered briefly if Toturi-sama would forgive her for killing the rude outlander, then decided that she really, really didn't want to have to explain why she had eviscerated the outlander nobleman.
"How dare you enter without my permission gaijin dog? Have you no manners?" she spat, looking at the figure with disgust as the pasty-faced man stood up and brushed the dirt from his unclean animal-hide pants.
"Well, I was worried. You stalked off the battlefield, didn't join the celebration, and then seemed to be talking to yourself. That's not very normal behavior where I come from," the red-haired man said jokingly. Sayako sneered.
"You're in Rokugan, dog. Are you implying that I cannot take care of myself or my own business?" she asked in a dangerous voice.
As if realizing he had stepped over a definite boundary and was on the verge of getting himself killed, Lord Kirian stepped back and held up his hands. "No no! Not at all, Sayako-san. Forgive me for the insult!" he apologized, bowing mockingly, then ducking out before Sayako could grab her swords and slice him into itty bitty pieces. Breathing hard, Sayako briefly considered chasing the gaijin down and killing him. It would be withing her rights, but she had no proof. Only her word against his. Of course, he was a gaijin, so Toturi-san would believe her, but she knew that without the small barbarian force that Kirian had brought in response to a request from the Unicorn daimyo, the ronin army would be in very bad trouble.
"K'so!" she swore, returning the small knife to her thin obi. Walking over, she fastened the lacings of the tent and then reached for her pack, removing a well-read scroll of the teachings of Shinsei. Though it was slow going, Sayako had been able to puzzle out the high language the scroll was written in. Though she was able to read normal kanji, it took her a while to learn the language of the nobility. Of course, she thought ruefully, how many half-samurai get the chance to even prove themselves? She was lucky, and she knew it. Truth be told, she relished being on the battlefield, pitting her kenjutsu skills against others, testing the limits of her abilities. To her, the times between battles were for rest and preparation for the next war. Sayako had little use for peace, and none at all for celebrations.
With a disgusted snort, Sayako stopped trying to read the scroll, and threw it in her pack and blew out the paper lantern that lit her linen tent. Her swords withing easy reach, Sayako sunk into sleep, dreaming of the next battle.
Across the battlefield, in the camp of the Emerald Guard, Kakita Toshimoko, Emerald Champion looked back across to the ronin camp. A small smile touched his face as he went back into the command tent and outlined the next day's battle plan. He had made the right choice in having the child removed from the mother and apprenticed to Daidoji Nagai, a samurai who had been kicked out of the Crane Daidojis for his extreme violence.
It had gotten rid of a potential embarrassement, yet provided his daughter the opportunity to rise in the world, and leave behind her low background. Perhaps, one day, he would be able to acknowledge to the rest of Rokugan that the girl was his daughter with pride. Shaking away those feelings, the Emerald Champion continued to outline his battle plan to Toturi and Yasamura, the young Unicorn lord.
Sayako was his daughter, the Gray Crane thought. She would survive.
END