Gin lingered for a few moments about the body of Kondo, before turning west. In the heat of the battle, he had not heard the commotion coming from the north bailey. A great many soldiers seemed to be shouting, or so it sounded to him, though he could not understand why. He desired to understand it, but his mind was hazy in the aftermath of his duel with Kondo. He glanced down at his side. Warm blood soaked his skin and shirt, for he was cut badly. He was not mortally wounded, but he needed to be tended to soon, or eventually he would faint from the loss of blood. He needed to hurry.

  He proceeded westwards, hoping to avoid the clamoring soldiers in the north, but he forgot to account for how large the west bailey was. Within several minutes he was staggering down the path, weary from exhaustion, searing emotions, and blood loss. He was running out of time and hope when he heard a familiar voice ring out ahead of him.

  “Gin? Gin is that you?” It was Saru, and though he could no longer lift his head to see her, he shuffled forward with greater urgency. When he felt her strong arms around him, he collapsed, and she lowered him down.

  “He’s hurt!” she lamented, examining his injury. “Nō, do you have the pack?”

  Gin opened his eyes, and through his cloudy vision, he could see his student standing over him, with intense worry marring his young face.

  “Hand me the sake and the needle,” Saru commanded.

  “You came for me,” Gintaro said, forcing a smile. “Thank you.”

  She looked at him severely. “Save your thanks for after I patch you up. I was never good with my stitches if you can believe it.”

  He grimaced as he felt the sting of sake splash across the abdominal wound, and the needle going through the gash. Nō held his hands under his teacher’s head and gave him water to drink. At length, the operation was completed, and his wound was covered in cloth. Both Nō and Saru helped bring Gin to his feet, and then, supporting him with their arms, they continued slowly westward.

  His side still ached badly, but it felt better than before. “How did you find me?” he managed to say.

  “Don't worry about that now. We can answer all that when we are out of here,” Saru answered quietly.

  After what felt like an eternity, the three finally made it to what Gin thought was the western gate. Somehow the gate was already opened for them, and they were able to pass safely through. The image of the western side of the city opening up before him was the last thing he remembered, just before all else faded away.

  Gin woke the following morning, lying in a small room upon a comfortable down futon. The room was quite cozy, with a stunning variety of potted plants and various gardening utensils set upon wooden shelves against the walls. Across from him was a low table with a miniature bonsai pine set upon it, carefully manicured so that it spiraled upwards in an effortless manner. The room was bright and warm, for it had two windows shaded only by cream-colored cloth so that the sun could pour into the room with little hindrance. He slid over and peeked his head out of one of the windows to get an idea of where he was. It appeared to be one of the residential districts of the New Capital, for here the houses were small and tightly packed together.

  He then made to stand up but felt the sting along his side from the wound. He looked down at his side and was pleased to see that it was mending well. Someone had apparently been tending to it while he was sleeping, for the bandage was fresh. He then heard friendly voices coming from the room beside him, so he carefully rose and slid the shoji doors open.

  Gin entered into a considerably larger room, which was the primary living quarters of the house. He saw Saru, Nō, and an older man with wispy white hair and a smiling face, sitting around a hearth. When he appeared, they all turned to look at him, as if they were surprised. Tears welled in Saru’s eyes, but before she could say anything, Gin bowed low.

  This bow was filled with such sincerity that it caused an unintended moment of silence, which was then followed by a sharp burst of jubilation.

  “You scared us half to death!” Saru said first. “Getting carried off to the Shōgun in chains! It's a miracle we were able to find you at all!”

  “Come, sensei, sit down! Tell us what happened!” Nō said enthusiastically.

  Before doing so, Gin fixed his eyes on the old man, whose home they were obviously in, and bowed again. “I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused, and I greatly appreciate your help.”

  “This is Matsumoto-san,” Nō explained. “The one that Lord Usagi told us about.”

  “My family has been lifelong-servants of Lord Usagi-sama,” the man replied, his voice dry but friendly. “Any allies of his are likewise allies of mine. You are welcome to my house, Gintaro-san.”

  Gin felt a strange sensation hearing his name said so pleasantly that he smiled and sat down next to his companions. They were boiling a kettle, which turned out to be a mixture of miso, meat, vegetables, and tofu. They ate a hearty breakfast but remained quiet, as Gin intended to show good manners to his host.

  At last, when everyone had nearly finished, Gin finally spoke. “How was it that you came to enter the castle and know where I was?” He was still amazed that they were able to find him at his moment of need.

  “Well,” Saru began, slurping up the rest of the broth. “It’s quite a story. Where should I even begin? I found Matsumoto-san almost right away, which was itself part of the problem if you can believe it. I was waiting in line if you remember when we first arrived and split up to get food. I overheard two men walking past me talking about herb cultivation or something like that. Then heard the name ‘Matsumoto’ enter their conversation. So, being the friendly, inquisitive kind of person that I am, I followed and interrupted them and told them I was looking for a Matsumoto who was a servant of Lord Usagi. I assumed that this would not yield anything in a city of this size, for there could be hundreds of Matsumoto. But the gentlemen seemed to know whom I was speaking of and gave me an address.”

  “Those were my sons,” Matsumoto said proudly. “For I am the head gardener of the outer baileys of the castle, and they are my assistants.”

  Gin looked over at the man with surprise. “You are the head gardener? I apologize if this seems rude, but why do you live outside of the castle grounds?”

  The old man gave a toothless smile. “My eldest son occupies that residence. Since my wife passed away, I found that residence too spacious for my tastes. This house is better suited for me, and it is much closer to my other children who live in this district.”

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  “Matsumoto is much like his lord, in the fact that he is rather, um, fruitful,” Nō interjected, trying to disguise his embarrassment.

  “I had twelve children all told,” he said, beaming with pride. “Three of them died in the war. The rest now live in this city and are all quite respectable and happy.”

  “That is all any father could want,” Gin said quietly. “To be near his children.” There was a short silence as the absence of Yukiana hung heavy in the air. His face fell, and his eyes seemed to wander.

  “Shall I continue?” Saru asked at last, unwilling to press on indelicately.

  “Please.”

  “As I did not know my way around the city, his sons offered to take me to their father themselves. I told them that I had two other companions who would need to come with me and that I had to reconvene with them first. I told them that their directions were sufficient for now and that we would find the place later on. I then left them to find you and Nō, and when I couldn't, I began to worry. Luckily, Nō found me, but he was in a rough state.”

  “I blamed myself,” Nō explained. “I blamed my weakness for them taking you.”

  Gin shook his head. “It was not your fault. They were out to get us, and the Shōgun had forewarned them to go after my companions first, which was very clever. They were far better prepared than I expected.”

  “We were both in a state of panic,” Saru continued. “We tried to find you, but you had already been brought within the walls, and without proper credentials, we were shut out. After considering our options, which were few, we decided to try to contact Matsumoto-san. We had no other choice. We quickly came to this house, owing much to your apprentice’s keen sense of direction.”

  Nō seemed to appreciate this rare commendation and sat a little taller. “We found Matsumoto to be a good man, a loyal servant of Usagi, and he let us in and provided for us. May your house always be blessed by the All-kami,” he intoned.

  Matsumoto smiled bashfully. “I was only doing my duty. Like my master, I have no love for the Shōgun, never have, but I serve him out of reverence to Lord Usagi who recommended me to the position.”

  “Matsumoto-san was incredibly generous to us, and not only that, he also gave us a way into the castle,” Saru explained.

  Gin bowed again. “I am in your debt, Matsumoto-san.” He was surprised that this Matsumoto had been so instrumental in his rescue. He felt a pang of guilt that it had been his advice to mistrust him.

  “As fortune may have it, two of his other sons work as guards at the gate of the west bailey. They also happened to be stationed there last night,” Saru said.

  “But then we put your sons at significant risk!”

  “We thought that as well,” Nō interposed, “And at first refused to do it. But Matsumoto-san explained that the west wall has not yet been completed, and in certain locations there are ways to climb over.”

  “You just need to know the right spots,” the old man said with a wink. “And the moat has yet to be filled.”

  “So, after that, we set out in an attempt to climb the west wall. Matsumoto-san went to visit his sons and gave them the warning that we may need their help to exit through the gate later on in the evening. While letting someone into the castle without leave is a grievous crime, letting one out is less troublesome. Few guards would assume danger from one who is departing, for once outside of the walls they would no longer be a threat.”

  Gin nodded, as he was getting a clearer picture of what happened.

  “It was still quite a gamble,” Saru admitted. “We had no idea where within the castle you would be, but we resolved to go anyway. When we came to the wall, it was not as easy to scale as we imagined, and it took some time to get over. But once inside, we heard the clash of swords not far away and were drawn to it, hoping it could be you. We crept through the west bailey, hiding in the thick forest nearby, and wandered along until we found you staggering as if drunk.”

  “You came just in time.”

  Saru smiled bitterly. “You would not have made it out of the castle on your own, I think. Fortunately, we found you when we did, and Matsumoto-san’s sons were as faithful as he is. They opened the gate, and we went through unchallenged. One other thing aided our escape. There was some kind of accident that happened in the north bailey, and it drew a great many of the usual patrols away. News that has circulated this morning says that one of the gates in the north bailey was broken, but there is no clear consensus on how that could have happened. The Shōgun and his servants are attempting to dismiss it, which is strange.”

  “Something happened,” Gin agreed. “I heard it too.”

  “So,” Saru concluded, “Here we all are.” Her eyes then slowly fell, and her smile faded just as quickly as it came. “All but one.”

  At this grim reminder, Gin went quiet for some time.

  “Did you at least see her?” Nō asked, trying to sound hopeful.

  Gin shook his head.

  At this Matsumoto-san bowed and begged leave to depart. “I hope you will excuse me, but I must be getting on and make myself ready should my services be required. Please stay here as long as you need. You will be quite safe as long as you stay hidden.” He then stood up on his bony legs and disappeared into another joining room.

  Gin’s two companions looked at him with irresistible curiosity. They desperately wanted to hear his side of the story. After what they had done for him, he could not refuse, so he recounted, in full, the story of what happened when he met the Shōgun. He told them of the Shōgun’s elaborate plan to secure the sword of the Emperor, his plot to use Yuki as a bargaining chip, and the conditions in which he would see his daughter again. He also told him of his fateful duel with Kondo but left out many of the more personal details. When he was finished each of the three remained in contemplative silence.

  After a few minutes, Gin himself broke that stillness. “As I see it, I have no other choice but to do what the Shōgun commands, and search for the lost sword. I know that this mission will be perilous, and I do not expect that I will survive it. With that said, I could not go on living without her and without trying.” He paused and looked at his two companions with fondness mingled with sorrow. “You both have risked much in following me, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. But now that you know where I am going, I cannot ask you to follow me any further. I am afraid this is where we must part ways.”

  Both Nō and Saru looked at each other and then back at Gin.

  “We have been preparing for this moment for some time,” Nō said firmly, “Were you ever to try and abandon us. We have thoroughly discussed it…”

  “And we must politely decline,” Saru said, finishing his sentence. They both sat immovable and resolute.

  “I still need to complete my training,” said Nō.

  “And I am still on my way north. So, if you try to shake us off, well, you will leave us no choice but to follow you. And now that we know where you are going, it will be much harder for you to be rid of us.”

  “This is madness!” Gin countered. “There is no hope in this! Even if we do make it to Oboroshi, we will likely never make it out.”

  “We have come this far,” Saru said decisively. “We will not leave your side until your daughter is safe, or we all fall to that end.”

  Nō bowed his head in solemn agreement.

  Gin eyed them for several moments and then did something very unusual. He wept. As he wept so did his companions, each in their own way. Saru sobbed hard, while tears streamed down Nō’s face, though he was silent.

  After a few minutes Gin was able to compose himself. “Thank you,” he said firmly. Those two words contained the gravity of understanding that a new bond was forged between them. They would all give themselves to this quest and to each other. Nothing else needed to be said.

  “I suppose it would be more bothersome to have you following me at a distance anyway,” he said with a chuckle. “Without someone to interpose, the noise you two would make arguing would reach the heavens.”

  “That it would,” Saru agreed with a laugh. “You are the only one keeping me from spitting this one over a fire.”

  Nō’s eyes twinkled with delight. “Sensei, if you weren't with us, there would be no end to the vulgarities I would have to endure.”

  They laughed and filled their cups with tea, then lifted them to the sky.

  “To Yukiana!” Saru toasted.

  “To Yukiana!” they all repeated, clicking their cups together.

  They downed the tea in one gulp, and then Saru went about cleaning up. Gin could not help but feel relieved by the presence of his companions on the long road ahead. He had grown to care for them over the last few months, and his spirit had been grieved at the thought of going alone. But in the dark recesses of his mind, he considered the horrors that dwelt beneath the mountain and the grim final words of Kondo. Storm clouds were gathering indeed, and soon, their full fury would rain down upon the Islands.

  With this dark thought, he glanced over at Nō, who had noticed his teacher’s subtle shift in demeanor. “Do you still have the armor of the Tengu?” he asked quietly.

  His apprentice looked at him uneasily. “Yes, Sensei. It's in the other room. Why?”

  Gin forced a smile, but inside he felt a growing swell of fear. He swallowed and then spoke. “There may be need for it after all.”