The Steel Rose

Chapter Two:
“I Know Now What Shadows Can See”

--- January 13th 5:23 PM ---

One, two, t’ree... He counted off his steps as he walked along the freezing-cold, paved road. Four, five, six... The ice crunched beneath the thick soles of his black boots as he came to a sudden screeching halt, adjusting the tinted goggles covering his gray eyes and flipping the collar of his dark trench coat up to cover his furry neck.

He froze in his deft movements as an armor-clad lady in a billowing cloak swept past him. Crazy ‘obo... he thought at her. Of course, she didn’t flinch, but continued stoically on her way. She couldn’t read minds. W’ic’ is probably a good t’ing. S’e looks like s’e could kill me in a ‘eartbeat if s’e wanted to.

Suddenly an ear-piercing shriek cut through the light buzz of conversation that filled the twisting side streets of Jurai’s capital city. His curiosity tweaked, he altered his course for the source of the scream.

Scuffling sounds and pleas for help seduced his ears and pulled him ever forward. Suddenly the sounds increased and then were gone. Blaster-fire filled the air and he ducked agilely behind a wall to shield himself. The shots quickly ceased, and a voice cut through the silence that followed.

“Well that was fun,” a voice, a female’s, mocked. “You done yet? I don’t like wasting time on stupid games. When did you say you were gonna kill me?”

An animal-like roar echoed after those few comments, followed by a few more blasts from the gun and then the sickening crunch of steel upon bone.

He was frozen, literally, to the side of the wall. Had he not been stuck to the wall he still wouldn’t have been able to move; fear had taken over his body.

The loud noises died away and his sensitive ears picked up what sounded like someone pulling a blade from another’s body. Then the voice introduced itself as Hitasa, and another, weaker voice hesitantly spoke up.

“I’m N-Narika.”

“Pleased to meet you, Narika. If only the circumstances could have been more pleasant. C’mon, my house is close to here. My sister’s a good doctor, she’ll help you.”

The two people left and he sighed, unaware that he had been holding his breath.

“Jeez...” he uttered, managing to pry himself off of the wall and out of the darkness. He took a moment to brush the ice off of his coat. “I guess t’ere’s a reason s’adows don’t talk.” That said, he strode away, his silver, cat-like tail swishing in the air as the wind played upon his short whiskers.

--- January 14th, 9:46 AM ---

Narika yawned loudly and stretched as she walked down the finely-made wooden stairs. “G’morning, Hitasa,” she said cheerfully. Then she noticed that the aforesaid warrioress was wrapped in bandages from her stomach to a few inches below her shoulders.

So she gasped and said the only thing that came to mind, “Good lord! What happened to you?”

Hitasa sighed, having expected those very words from the moment she heard Narika’s footsteps coming down the stairs. “I got shot...” she replied, then added quickly, “yesterday...”

Again Samantha came out of the kitchen at those words, this time with several trays laden with all manner of breakfast foods, her mother right behind her carrying a teapot and several cups.

“Ah, Narika, you’re awake,” Sasami greeted.

Narika, still in mild shock at Hitasa’s condition, could only nod.

Samantha, noticing this, said reassuringly, “I fixed her up, she’ll be fine now.” She then changed the subject, “Have a seat, we were just about to eat breakfast.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Narika said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. She looked over the food as Sasami and Samantha began setting it on the table. “Wow, that looks good. Where did you get the recipes, though?”

Sasami shook her head in mock disappointment. “I thought you would have known the answer to that question. You’re supposed to be so well-versed in Juraian history and the cultures of other planets, you said so yourself.” She sighed. “Was my extended vacation even in one of those books you have?”

Realization dawned on the teen. “Oh, they’re from Earth. I should’ve known that.”

“Yes. I used to make this sort of thing all the time when I stayed there with Tenchi.”

Narika took in a huge breath, absorbing the scent the wonderful foods being set out. “Ahh, I can tell already that this is gonna be the best meal of my life!”

The former Second Crown Princess of Jurai grinned. “Why thank you, Narika.” She set the last bowl of sawmill gravy down on the table. “Guess I’d better go get Azaka now,” she said to herself. She then went over to a door leading from the kitchen to the forge and yelled out, “Azaka! Breakfast!”

The usual sounds of a hammer on steel suddenly stopped and the knight called back, “Be right there!”

Sasami nodded and left the hot forge to return to the dining room. “He’ll be here in a minute, so go ahead and start eating.”

“Oh, wow!” Narika began spooning various foodstuffs onto her plate, attempting to get a little bit of everything.

Hitasa, unusually silent, just grabbed a couple rolls and poured herself a cup of tea.

Samantha, noticing her sister’s sudden loss of appetite, asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing...” she replied, her eyes glazed and seeming to stare at something far away.

“You sure? You don’t look too good.”

Hitasa shook her head, pulling herself back to the real world. “I’m fine...” she insisted. To prove her point she snatched up a roll, dipped it in some of the sawmill gravy, and promptly popped it in her mouth.

Samantha rolled her eyes at her sister’s obvious lack of table manners and muttered, “Alright... if you’re sure...”

Through a mouthful of crumbs, Hitasa returned, “Never surer.”

“That’s attractive,” the miniature Sasami said sarcastically to the warrioress, attempting valiantly to force her sister to learn some table manners.

The sounds of steel on steel emanating from the forge, having died out long ago, were suddenly reawakened as a loud crash sounded throughout the house and Azaka’s angry roar could be heard all the way in the dinning room.

“What the hell are you doing in my forge?!”

A jumbled reply, barely audible, filtered through the wooden door.

“Get outta here!” Azaka replied; apparently the answer wasn’t enough to allow the invader a silent retreat. They could hear his aggravated, stomping footsteps before he entered the kitchen.

Sasami quirked an eyebrow. “And who was that?”

“Some damn hoodlum,” Azaka replied distractedly.

Tsunami-incarnate shook her head. “Sit down, dear. He’s gone now, and probably won’t come back any time soon if you scared him as much as I think you did.”

The knight nodded, taking his seat at the wooden table after muttering, “Damned Tuerians...”

Narika blinked, taken aback. Tuerian...? But isn’t Dagegar...? She shook her head and filed the information away for later use.

Hitasa broke the silence following her father’s exclamation. “Good morning... father...” she grunted.

Her father nodded distractedly before her voice registered in his mind. He quickly remined himself that she was injured and made a mental note to have a little chat with her later. He tsked but his impending worry was quickly subdued by a light touch on his arm. He looked over to see Sasami, who shook her head as if to say, “Enough already,” and returned to her breakfast. The others quickly followed her example.

“So, father,” Samantha began, trying to start conversation, “what are you working on in the forge?”

Azaka, his mood obviously brightened by his daughter’s question, replied with, “Well, I’m working on those orders from the Briggs’ down the road. They requested a new iron table; I’m about halfway through that.” He decided now was the perfect time to bridge the topic he had wanted to talk to Hitasa about earlier that morning. “Oh, Hitasa, meet me in the forge after you’re finished with breakfast.”

She nodded behind a mouthful of bread and sawmill gravy, her favorite breakfast combination.

After that the atmosphere of the table changed considerably. Light conversation buzzed from around mouthfuls of food and drink; Narika was quick to compliment Sasami and Samantha’s cooking... quite a few times.

Once they had finished breakfast, Hitasa and her father headed to the hot forge. He shut the door carefully behind them, and walked over to a wooden shelf. (I know it’s not smart to put a wooden shelf in a forge, but whatever.) The warrioress, ever curious, followed her father slowly. When he turned around, his daughter stood before him, clad in sweat pants and bandages, her long, fiery hair tied back loosely at the nape of her neck.

Azaka smiled proudly at his eldest daughter. Whoever captured her heart would be the luckiest man in the universe, he decided. Shaking his head and tossing his thoughts aside, Azaka began saying the words he had been waiting to say for years.

“I never told you what really happened that day, when Ryoko brought us all to Jurai, did I?”

The warrioress shook her head to indicate a negative.

“I didn’t think so.” Azaka grinned. “Despite that she was a space pirate, she was a really great person. Ryoko had the spirit of a thousand knights. She almost lost her life in an attempt to bring Lord Tenchi here. Her bravery astounded Kamadake and I. Unfortunately, we didn’t hear from her after she left Jurai for wherever.

“When she brought Tenchi here to defeat the false emperor, Ryoko was badly wounded--if it had been anyone else, the wound probably would have been fatal--but despite it all she pushed herself beyond her maximum and got past the orbital defense system, and the entire Juraian fleet, with a couple of loud yells and profuse bleeding. She dropped Tenchi off, and after a short tearful good-bye she left for no one knows where.

“If not for her bravery, Jurai would still be in the grasp of the evil Kagato, and let me say it would be a lot worse off than it is now.”

“Still, it must suck to know... after you risk your life, the planet... you risk it for gets taken over... by another force altogether,” Hitasa cut in.

Azaka nodded. “I’ll bet she’s fairly ticked off right know, assuming she’s still alive. But that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say is that I’m very proud of you--your courage, honor, pride, everything. I couldn’t have asked for a greater gift than to have you as my daughter.”

Hitasa blushed. “Dad...”

“So I want you to have this.” He extracted from his pocket a metal rose possessing a polished luster. It was of the most delicate variety, and if one stared at it long enough one would swear to have seen dewdrops gracing the fine metal.

“Wow...” Hitasa took the rose in her hand, cradling it in her palm.

“It’s steel, but it can break,” Azaka said, and she knew that he meant not only could the rose break, but so could she. “Something to remember me by when I’m not around anymore.” He ruffled her hair playfully, causing a few strands to come out of the ponytail.

Hitasa looked up at her father, a wistful grin plastered over her face. “I would hug you right now... but that would hurt...”

Azaka laughed. “It’s symbolism, kiddo. See, if you think of yourself as the rose, then you can find in it all of your qualities. Grace, strength, stability, beauty, all wrapped up in one little flower. It has a deceiving image; though the petals look dull enough, if you run your fingers across them you will get cut,” and Hitasa had the strange feeling that that, too, was symbolism.

To be continued...