There are no secrets.
There is not understanding.
Void is all and nothing. It is the dance of the elements.
- The Tao of Shinsei
When they knelt before Ataka, all three of them were given plates of steaming rice. Ginawa's was empty first. He leaned back, patted his stomach and took another cup of sake as Hijiko and Tadaka quietly watched.
After all three of them had finished, Atadak dismissed his council. He waited for them to slide the door shut, then he waited a moment longer. Finally he placed his hand on his knee and turned to Hijiko. "So, what of our cousins to the south?"
Hijiko bowed slowly, then spoke in a soft voice. "ataka-sama, on the road, we met with the magistrates of Bayushi Shoju. They They traveled with us to the sight of the battle. When we arrived..."
"When we arrived," Ginawa interrupted, "the Scorpion assassins put an arrows through the Crane commander's neck."
"YOU WILL BE SILENT, YORIKI!"
Hijiko's shout seemed to make the room's wood panels shudder. She turned to Ataka, her voice still booming. "Ataka-sama, you sent this man along with me. I have never questioned you judgement before, but I must tell you he is nothing but an unwashed, undisciplined oaf."
Ginawa shrugged. "Would you waste good water on an oaf, Ataka-sam?"
Hijiko stood, letting her hands fall to the katana in her obi. "I have had enough!"
"HIJIKO!"
The samurai-ko fell to her knees at the sound of her master's voice. "Forgive me, Ataka-sam. Forgive my outburst. I forgot my place."
Ataka said nothing to her. He turned to Ginawa. "You say Scorpion assassins killed the Crane general?"
Ginawa nodded. "Hai."
Ataka scratched his beard. "Curious. Very curious." He faced Tadaka. "Tell me, shugenja. Did you see what occured?"
Tadaka bowed low. "I did, Ataka-sama. I did not see who shot the arrows, but I can tell you that ir was guided by a shugenja proficient in the art of Air magic."
Ataka nodded. "Thank you, shugenja." He bowed his head for a moment, then looked at each of them. "Hijiko, I have considered your complaint against Ginawa, and..."
He stopped. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped.
Hijiko leaned forward. "Ataka-sama?"
Ginawa leapt to his feet, his wakizashi free from its saya and in his hands.
Tadaka didn't know what to do.
Hijiko asked again, her voice hinting at her panic. "Ataka-sama, what is wrong?"
Ginawa ran forward to the daimyo, just as blood began to drip from his lips.
Hijiko's scream rang in Ginawa's ears as he grabbed Ataka and pulled him close. He saw the shuriken and his teeth bit deep into his lip. His voice spoke low and guttural like a growl. "Ninja," he said.
Hijiko was next to him as he looked up. There was no time. Another breath would bring another shuriken.
"Ginawa, what's wrong with him? Tell me!" She was looking at her daimyo, her eyes filled with tears.
He looked at the shugenja. "Tadaka, where is my sword?"
Tadaka said nothing, his eyes glazed over with fear.
"Where is my SWORD?"
The shugenja pointed to the corner. "There, wrapped in cloth."
Ginawa's feet sliped on the panaled floors. "Protect him!" he called to Hijiko. He knew the samurai-maiden would do what he said. The shugenja was useless. His hands fell on the wrapped sword and with a single touch, the binds broke and the cloth slid away from the weapon as if whipped by winds.
His hands jerked back, but then he heard Hijiko screaming from behind him. He looked and saw a shuriken in her arm and another hit the floor at her feet.
"Ginawa! Where are they? I can't see them? Help me!"
He turned back to the Iuchiban blade. "I need you," he whispered. "Damn you. I need you."
His hand was on the saya before he could say anything else and heard the steel sing as it tasted the night air...