It was their home.
Leading the group was a tall, thin, elder man, his features covered by a black mask. He wore no Clan symbols upon his black clothing, and his two companions were likewise dressed. He had a long sword strapped to his back, the middle figure wore two swords, and the last man had his sword crossed by a bow held on his shoulder.
As the group moved in comlete silence, like fish in the water, they neared a hillrise. They would rest there, where they could observe the rest of the landscape and run if needed. As the clouds parted again, the lead man paused, and his two companioiosn froze completely in response. The man pointed to the hilltop, where a single figure seemed to have materialized from the shadows itself. Even from the distance, perhaps three hundred feet, they could see the figure's dimly glowing eyes.
"It is him," said the leader, turning his head to look at his men.
"Who, sensei?" Asked the second, the one who wore two swords.
There was a beat, and the one who carried a bow said quietly, "Chimizu. I had seen him once in the Dragon cells, but did not beleive he had escaped them. I had thought him dead."
The second man laughed under his breath and said, "Dead? Perhaps like the three of us?" Netheir of the others laughed, and the lead man furrowed his brow and moved towards the hilltop. The two others followed close behind.
As they neared the man, they could see details on his form. His frame was covered in a tattered robe of the Crane, but the way he wore it was wrong, as if he meant to mock the very cloth he bore. As the three approached, he did not move, but his silent, glowing eyes regarded them.
The lead man stood next to him on the hilltop finally, and to the north, the group noted a sparse gathering of trees and bushes. They all stood there at the hilltop for a time,. the tall grass swaying in the breeze. Finally, the leader bowed to the other man.
"I am Shosuro Kage," He said, not taking his eyes off Chimizu. "It is fortunate we have found you, Chi-"
The man in the Crane robes laughed bitterly, cutting Kage off. "Fortunate? Fortune is something that does not follow me, ninja." He looked to the two others and his eyebrows arched as he regarded the man with two swords.
Kage spoke, "The men beside me-"
"Need no introduction, Shosuro Kage-sama." He looked to the man with the bow and said, "Bayushi Tashiro, thought dead on the day the other Great Clans retook the Imperial Palace after Lord Shoju's failed Coup." He looked to the man with two swords, and his voice became low, "And I know who the gaijin filth is. He is not worthy of a name."
"Amadan is not filth, bushi." Kage spoke harshly at Chimizu. "He is my student, and has proven time and again his worth to our Clan and his own."
Chimizu laughed again, "His Clan, indeed. The one he has obviously abandoned, or been abandoned by because of his name."
Amadan could stay silent no longer, "You know your words are false, Scorpion. Your anger speaks for-"
"It is odd," Chimizu said loudly, "It seems the wind has been given voice, for I almost heard someone speaking."
Kage sighed, "Chimizu, the matter at hand." The bushi nodded as the ninja continued, "I am glad to have found you, for we had heard rumours of a wandering Scorpion bushi acting in vengeance. Some said you were a vengeful spirit, a ghost. I am glad to know otherwise."
"Why is that?" Chimizu asked.
"Because you are alive to aid our Clan, and our quest, samurai."
Chimizu's eyes narrowed, "Every day I have walked from that prison in the mountains, I have been aiding my Clan. Each Crane that falls beneath my blade is a service to the Scorpion. Each peasant and spineless Doji courtier that learns to fear the Scorpion still is another blow stcuk for the descendants of Bayushi." He paused a second, then said, "What do you do that is more important than that?"
Kage was taken aback for a moment by Chimizu's intensity, but quickly regained himself. "We seek the Emperor, Chimizu-san. That is more important. Only he can end this pain brought upon us."
"Only venegance can end my pain, ninja."
"Vengeance leads only to more pain, bushi." Amadan said lowly.
"HAS SOMEONE GIVEN THE GAIJIN DOG PERMISSION TO SPEAK!?!" Chimizu bellowed, his voice ringing over the plains.
Kage looked to Amadan, and Amadan's eyes fell upon Chimizu. Tashiro quietly tensed and tried to calculate how fast he could draw his bow and put down Chimizu if he had to. There was a long silence, and Kage quickly said, "Amadan, leave us." The gaijin looked to his sensei in understanding. His mere presence put Chimizu on edge, and he would not be reasoned with.
Amadan turned and whispered to Tashiro, "Stay with my sensei and the bushi. I fear Chimizu may have traded his soul for a dark strength. If he becomes violent, even Kage may need help stopping him." Tashiro nodded and stood at the ready, silent.
Amadan walked silently down to the bushes, croushing low in their shadow, watching the exchange at the top of the hill. At this distance, he could barely hear them speak, and even his trained ears could not discern what was being said. He waited, looking to the Moon, tensing his muscles periodically so they would not grow sore.
Then he felt something behind him. It was not a physical feeling, he was not touched, nor did the air stir. After spending nearly fifteen years as a spy and scout, he was able to simply _feel_ that someone was behind him. Without hesitation, he quickly spun and dove into the bush behind him. His eyes closed to avoid the small branches, and his right hand caught around a warm, human throat. As he stopped moving, he opened his eyes.
An ise zumi. No, Amadan thought. One of _her_ ise zumi.
Amadan pulled his black mask off and gazed into the stocky man's deep eyes, and a quiet udnerstanding passed between them. The scout took his hand off the other ise zumi's throat, and they bhoth stood slowly.
"Go home." Amadan said flatly.
"Our Lady sends her word, gaijin." The man spoke in low tones. He bowed, and said, "I am Hitomi Daitan, dead man."
"What word, Daitan?" Amadan's careful gaze moved along the ise zumi's body. A thick black snake tattoo was on his body. It's tail on his left, it continued up his arm, coild around his back, and it's tail ended on his right wrist. Amadan thought he felt his own tattoo start getting warm.
"She inquires of your safety. Of your progress."
They stood silently, staring at one another, the blood of old and the blood of new. "Say it, Daitan. I can hear your words screaming from your soul." Amadan nearly growled. He did not know why he was becoming so slowly angry, but he could tell the other ise zumi was reacting the same. "Speak now."
"You are not worthy."
Amadan felt his body move in anger suddenly. His feet shifted to the stance of attack, and his leg came up, to kick Daitan in the face. At the same moment, Daitan fell back and his palm struck out at the gaijin's face.
Then, as if held by another force, they stopped moving completely.
Amadan lowered his kick, and Daitan's hands fell to his sides. The anger washed away from Amadan, and he wondered a moment what had come over him. The ise zumi looked at each other, half-fiercely, half-apologetic. An akward moment passed.
"You are not worthy," Daitan repeated, "For you shun Lady Hitomi, and you embrace the past foolishly. You were ready to turn your back on us, Amadan, ready to denounce us with the others." He lowered his gaze to the ground, almost in shame. "And you are now her chosen emisarry." He looked up again, and a slight smile played on his lips. "In private, you are referred to as Hoshi Amadan, gaijin."
Amadan could not help but smile in return. The two shared a quiet laugh, and the gaijin nodded sagely. "I understand, Daitan." He turned to look back to the hilltop, where there seemed to progress to be noted. Amadan sighed, and sat on the ground, motioning for Daitan to do the same.
They both sat on their ankles in the dust and grass behind the bushes, and Amadan smiled again. "Who were you before Hitomi gave you her name and her blood?"
Daitan's gaze becamse somewhat distant, and he spoke almost reverently, as if remembering an old friend. "I was a scout, Amadan. A young Mirumoto bushi training in the ways of silence." At the mention of youth, Amadan suddenly realized the ise zumi next to him could be no more than seventeen summers. And a scout. Slowly, it began to dawn upon the gaijin why the young ise zumi was so angry at him. "I watched you," Daitan continued, "from a distance. I saw almost every time you left Mirumoto Sukune-sama's chambers, and dissapeared for weeks to months at a time. I saw how you moved in the shadow as if it were water. I watched you meditated at the side of Tamori and Mitsu. I can recall every time you crossed your daisho against Lady Hitomi, a youth then, like I am now."
Daitan's gaze fell directly into Amadan's eyes, and he said, "I saw you stand by the side of legendary men and women, gaijin. I swore that one day I might be as honorable and capable as you." The ise zumi's eyes dropped again. "You did not come back after the Day of Thunder. I had thought you dead." Daitan shut his eyes a second, then opened them again, and Amadan could see open pain on his face.
"I learned the truth, and that day I wished you _had_ died." He said quietly. "You were my mentor, every thing I wish I would have been. And you turned your back on us."
Amadan looked at the young man, who now seemed a little smaller. "Daitan," he spoke, "I never turned my back on our Clan." He sighed and looked to the hilltop again, where Kage was now pacing as he spoke. "I did not understand, you see. I had come to this land and the only one who would accept me was Togashi. It was he who breathed life back into my soul after I saw myself as a useless failure. He was the only one." Amadan nodded to himself. "I feel as if I did die on the Day of Thunder, Daitan."
"And then, to hear the things Hitomi did after she was named Champion. I felt as if she was destroying the name of Togashi. It made me feel as if I was without a home once again." The gaijin sighed as the memory came back to him, and shook his head. "Do you understand?"
Daitan nodded. "I do, Amadan." He rose to his feet and bowed low. "Forgive me, I was wrong about you."
Amadan also stood and bowed, "As I was wrong about Her." He reached onto his back and pulled his wakazashi, extending it to Daitan handle-first. "An old custom of my home, Daitan."
The young ise zumi scoweled in confusion for a moment, then slowly pulled his own short blade out. They exchanged the weapons, and Amadan nodded, "When this is over, we will stand by each other, and forge a bond between the old and the new as our Clan is reborn."
Daitan bowed low again, and said, "I will tell our Lady that your quest progresses well." He turned, then said, "Thank you, gaijin." And silently walked into the trees, seeming to dissapear.
Amadan stared in the direction of Daitan's leave, and nodded to himself again. He then looked up to the hilltop, where only Tashiro and Kage remained. Amadan quickly made hi way to them, fearing that they had provked Chimizu and laid him to rest. As he came to their side, he saw that nothing of the sort had happened. The two men gazed on the horizon, watching Chimizu wander off to the west.
"He refused," Kage said simply.
"Vengeance is a powerful force to refuse," Tashiro whispered.
Kage nodded, then said, "Lady Kachiko knew this, but she leanred well the price of blind revenge. I hope Chimizu does not have to lose so much as she did before he learns." Kage then turned to Amadan, and read something on his eyes. Kage was unsure wether or not to ask, and chose not to. The ninja remember well not to meddle in the gaijin's affairs when he did not have to.
Wordlessly, Kage turned back to the north, and began jogging low to the ground. Tashiro looked to Amadan and said, "Perhaps understanding is the only antidote for the poison of vengeance." and followed the ninja off into the black night. Amadan quickly pulled his mask over his face, then allowed himself a smile as he ran after the other dead men.