Genre

Rating

Spoiler Level

Absolution: Chapter 7 - Dance with Death

by Sakusha

It was well after midnight by the time we could make our move. The guard that was supposed to be watching us had finally decided to doze off. So much for his discipline. There were days when Shishio-sama had killed for less. I fell back on my training, watching, listening, and waiting. Quietly I twisted my wrists and the rope gave way, a trick I learned years ago. I nudged Youji, putting my hand to his mouth to keep him quite. He woke startled, but quickly remembered our situation and was thankfully silent. I opened the door and was about to usher Youji out, when he stopped and turned back to the desk, picking something up. He turned back and tried to hand it to me.

I looked at the object held in Youji’s hands. Tempered steel, wood hilt. It was a short sword. The weapon I had held as I child, though no child should ever touch such a thing.

I knew I should take it. I knew we would be at a disadvantage without it. But at that moment I could have sworn that I could feel the blood of every person I had ever killed dripping off of my hands. I shook my head at Youji. He looked at me questioningly, but when he saw that I would not change my mind he laid the sword against the wall and left as quickly and quietly as possible.

We went around the back of the office. I scoped out the escape route that I had been working on mentally for the past couple of hours. The office was located right beside the loading dock. Two warehouses on one side, and one on the other. Then some more offices and the bunkhouse. It would be easy to wind around these things, many places to hide, but there was a wide area of space before the main gate that would be hard to get across without being seen. We would have to sprint for it and I wasn’t sure how fast Youji could run. Then something happened that all my planning hadn’t counted on; while still sitting behind the office we had just escaped from, I heard a sharp metallic thunk. The sword that Youji had leaned up against the wall must have fallen over. That was then followed by a very loud “KUSO!!”

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Hurriedly I pushed Youji towards the warehouse on the left. “Hide outside the warehouse in one of the empty crate’s. I’ll find you. GO!!”

I checked to make sure he had listened and then I turned the corner to the front of the warehouse just as one angry guard rushed out of the office. He never saw me as I brought my elbow up to the back of his neck. Unfortunately he had already yelled loud enough to bring reinforcements.

I jumped up onto of the office roof keeping as low as possible. Miko-sama’s guards came running from three directions. They meet up right below me, and I listened to their plans. They were going to lock down the gate first which was fine with me because I had planned to go over it anyway; then a systematic search of the warehouses. That could cause a problem, especially if they started on the outside. I made a decision then: I would draw their attention, and Youji could escape. It wasn’t really a noble decision on my part; I had been living on borrowed time for quite a while anyway.

With ninja’s ease I got down and made my way to the warehouse that held Miko-sama’s secret cargo, being the farthest from the main gate, any aversion would give Youji plenty of time to make a getaway. As I made my way inside I noted that that was where Youji’s uncle had been spending his evening hours. They were going over shipping arraignments over land. I could not let this cargo of death leave the warehouse. A couple of the crates were open and I removed the remaining contents. A bag of explosives the size of a small child. I then pilfered one of the lanterns. I set the lantern in between two very large, very full crates. Then I set some of the powder underneath the lantern itself, with a trail of it going to one of the crates. Then I ever so slightly tipped the lantern, so that when the dripping wax inside got to be to heavy, it would tip over completely, the BOOM! The candle didn’t have to long to go, my guess would be mere minutes. Now to draw attention to myself. I walked around my crude little device and back to where Miko-sama had been counting his profits. I found that I could stand at the foot of his desk and he took no notice, involved with numbers as he was. What a fool.

“What are you planning to do with all those explosives?"
I asked, barely concealing my contempt.

Miko-sama jumped and gave a loud cry of astonishment. That was his personal guards' cue to come running. I heard them shouting at each other from the outside. Good. They would all come this way, and leave Youji alone. Silently I wished the boy luck, and wished that I could have done more for him. I made no more to back away as hands came down upon me pulling me to my knees.

“Where is the boy?” one of them asked, as he twisted my hair in an attempt to make me look at him.

I gave him a look of disgust and nothing more. They lifted me to my feet and asked me the question again, and again I said nothing. One of the guards, the one from the office, which we had escaped, came to stand in front of me. He looked over to Miko-sama, who gave him a nod. Apparently asking permission to strike me, which had been granted. The first punch stung a bit, the next three I didn’t even feel. When you train under Shishio-sama, you learn than pain is only a weakness, and weakness has no place in the life of a swordsman. Aside from that, I was too busy counting down the time Youji would need to escape, verses the time this whole warehouse was going to be blown to the other side of hell.

I guess they got bored because they finally stopped and threw me back to my knees. I then heard the faint scratching of metal, as one off them unsheathed their swords. It was only fitting that I should die like this, I thought faintly, like a coward on my knees.

“ Talk, boy, or you die now!”

Then I did something I knew would enrage them. I looked right up into Miko-sama’s eyes, and smiled.

“FINE!” I heard the guard bring his sword up for a strike, and really all I could think at that moment was how incredibly slow death would come. What a funny thought, really. Here I am one of the fastest swordsmen alive, and the guy that would claim my life had to be one of the slowest. Irony.

“NO!!” Shit! I opened my eyes but I already knew what I would see. Youji in wide-eyed shock, staying my death. Damn the boy for not fleeing here while he could.

Almost as soon as the words came out of his mouth, someone had grabbed him. They brought him to stand in front of his uncle just a couple of feet away from myself.

“Do you know,” Said Miko-sama, with an eerie calmness, “ Why it is that I do not have children of my own?” Of course no one answered him.

“It is because they are pestering annoyances that cause trouble where ever they go.” Miko-sama looked at Youji in utter disgust, “ I gave you an apprenticeship, against my better judgment. Feed you, clothed you, and let you learn a valuable trade, and in return,” Miko-sama then backhanded Youji, who made a valiant attempt to stay upright, but feel to the floor anyway, “ You almost cost me my entire business with your insistent questioning. Well, you will ask no more questions my dear boy, because both of you are going to take an extended trip to the west. In addition to smuggling some very highly dangerous and expensive explosives, I just had an offer to trade with a gentleman who is in need of workers for his railroad company in the America’s.”

“Slavery!” I snarled, “ You would sell your own nephew into slavery?”

“ Nephew? Ha! A always hated that sister of mine anyway, worthless little thing died giving birth you know. Weak. This world is made of the strong and powerful. Men, willing to make deals to rule the world.”

“You’re wrong” Youji said through his tears, undoubtedly caused by his uncle’s caules words about his mother, “ Being strong doesn’t make you better than anyone else, it just makes you a big bully!” Spoken in the words of a child, but with the guise of someone much wiser. I remembered similar words spoken to me not so long ago.

I also remembered that I had rigged this place to blow up very, very soon. My death was one thing, but this child’s was quite another. I had one alternative. I could not save Youji with my words, or with my fist. I would have to arm myself to save him. I would have to take a sword once again into my bloodstained hands to create a path of safety. Himura-san spent ten years looking for atonement, for absolution. Though his reasons for bloodshed had been quite different, the result was the same. There would be no such thing as forgiveness from the dead. There was the living that needed protection now. I hope that someday Himura-san finds what he is looking for. Right now I’m going to start fighting for mine.

In one swift motion I jumped up from my knees, turning, landing on my feet, and grabbing the sword out of the startled guards hand. I felled him with the wide side of the blade. At my left one of the other guards leapt into motion. I didn’t even give him time to unsheathe his sword. With both of them unconscious, I turned to grab Youji, but was attacked by a third and fourth guard. As I dispatched them, I realized that Miko-sama had grabbed Youji and was dragging him towards the middle of the warehouse. Unfortunately that was where I had set up the lantern. I followed through the maze. I got ahead of them easily enough, and snaked me hand out to grab Youji’s arm as they ran by. Miko-sama shrieked with the lose of his quarry, I shoved Youji back the way I had come.

“Run.”

Youji hesitated and I screamed at him this time, trying to get the importance across to him.

“YOUJI, RUN! GET OUT!!”

He looked to me, then to the sword in my hand and then he did what I asked. I could only spare the briefest of moments to watch his retreating form for Miko-sama had produced a sword of his own and tried to rush me. I reared back, and he ended up running past me, he turned again in fury as I took my stance. He took a few jabs all of which I easily dodged.

“ Miko-sama, you are wrong. Being strong does not give you the right to prey on the innocence of others. You have very little time until this warehouse explodes. I suggest you give up. You cannot beat me. Perhaps the authorities will be lenient if you turn yourself in now.”

“No way in hell. I’ve worked to hard to build my shipping empire for it to be brought down by a peasant and an orphan.” With that he charged again, and I brought my sword down full force, blunt side, on his back. That sent him sprawling, landing a few yards away.

I heard a shout sounding a bit muffled and far away, “ Soujirou, I’m lost. This place is a maze.”

“ Stay where you are, I’ll be right there.” I dropped the sword and started to run to Youji, praying I still had time to get him out of this mess. I got a few steps when I heard hideous laughter from behind me, followed by a slight click. Immediately I dropped and rolled away as shots were being fired over my head.

“ I may not be much of a swordsman, but I can still put a hole you, boy.”

Miko-sama was pointing his personal firearm in my direction, eyes wild, looking like it took all of his effort to stand. It probably did. For a split second we stood like that, looking into each other’s eyes, and then the world went white.