Takeo's Chronicles, page 121
They stopped but did not retreat.
“Damn you, Takeo,” Qing said, shaking her head. “I suspected you were hiding something, but this? I can’t protect you from things like this. Lady Zhenzhen is going to be furious. Do you have any idea what you may have threatened?”
“Hit me all you want,” Takeo said, rising up and wiping the blood from his lips. “I speak the truth.”
Tokhta frowned, then shrugged. He raised a hand, and Takeo braced himself, but then Borota took in a sharp breath.
Tokhta paused.
“I remember. He’s right. I did try to kill him,” Borota said, eyes wide.
Takeo sighed in relief.
“And I also remember why I tried,” Borota continued, eyes narrowing to a murderous slant.
Lord Yoshida shook his head.
“No, no, no,” he said, speech ranging from muttering to demanding. “This is wrong. Tokhta, whatever Karaoshi did, it’s none of your concern. We have laws. A ronin he may be, but we can’t have your oni going around and administering their own version of justice. I was there when our lord struck that deal. We stay out of oni affairs; you stay out of ours. That was the agreement.”
“He threatened our agreement,” Borota replied with a snarl.
“Then you should have brought him to us, and we would have dealt with him,” Yoshida replied, unfazed.
“Will all of you stop talking so openly in front of the rakshasa?” Tokhta said, voice deep.
They went silent, and all eyes shifted to Emy. Her face was as still as a morning lake without so much as a blink. Krunk looked at her, too, concern in his eyes.
“We just want to protect our friend,” the ogre offered. “The red one attacked first. We were winning.”
“Exactly my point,” Borota replied. The oni stood with some effort, though immediately regretted it and sat down again. “I saw a threat to our agreement, and I acted on it. I watched an army of less than fifty stand against a legion of thousands, all thanks to the efforts of one man—one human man. What use would the Hanu have of us oni with a man like that at their disposal? I stood by while it was certain he was to die, but when the tide changed, I made my move. Takeo threatened our alliance. He threatened our gift.”
“All you stood to gain,” Takeo whispered.
“Oh, well now, that just makes it worse,” Lord Yoshida said with a sigh. “You tried to kill him because you wanted to keep the tables tilted in your favor.”
“I see what Borota is saying,” Tokhta jumped in. “You’re missing the point, Yoshida. Without us, the Hanus are destined to lose this war. Faith in this ronin would be nothing but false hope. He would destroy you. Therefore, he must die.”
Tokhta turned to the ronin and reached for his kanabo.
“Wait!” Yoshida called out. “You fool! You can’t do that now. He’s the hero of this battle! Do you know nothing of human morale? Stay out of our affairs. We’ll put him on trial.”
“A trial,” Borota scoffed. “This is oni business, mortal. If I had succeeded, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Stay out of our way.”
“Please, please,” Nobu whispered.
A pause crept by as the attention fell on the meek lord. The shine of tears in his eyes, he sat almost motionless on his mount, quivering despite the heat.
“Please, there must be another way,” the lord begged.
“I am sorry, Brother,” Tokhta replied, “but we do this in your name.”
Nobu’s head dropped further, and he didn’t reply.
Damn, useless child, Takeo seethed. I’m going to die by his passivity.
“Wait,” Takeo shouted. “Just what exactly is going on here? What deal? I haven’t been given the chance to defend myself. I didn’t know I was threatening anything! At least let the rest of them go. Clearly, I’m the only one you’re afraid of.”
“They are guilty by association,” the oni answered, unsheathing his kanabo. “No one will miss them anyway.”
“This is absurd!” Takeo yelled, bracing to dodge just in case. “I don’t even know what I stand to threaten. What deal? Why can’t I help, huh? Why wasn’t I given that option?”
“He’s right,” Qing jumped in, both in words and in action, stepping in front of Tokhta. She stared up at the oni, though not in any defiant way. “By Borota’s own account, he saw Takeo as a weapon to be used against the oni. Yet he never stopped to wonder if Takeo could be used by the oni.”
Borota sneered. “That one would never join us.”
“Did you ask?” Qing replied. “Because you’re sitting around contemplating killing the hero against the Nguyen, the only one to outsmart a rakshasa, and Lady Zhenzhen’s most favorite warrior. Seems there’s a fair bit on the line, don’t you agree? What is one question worth?”
“Like I said, this is pointless,” Borota replied with a snarl. “If I had killed him, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“You’re right, but not for the reasons you think,” Qing said, eyeing him. “You seem incredibly shortsighted for an immortal.”
A growl resonated up Borota’s throat, and he went to retort, but Tokhta shifted his kanabo to the side, bringing it close to Borota. The blood and dirt covered oni went silent. Tokhta squinted one eye.
“The creature may have a point,” Tokhta admitted, then shifted to Qing. “Be quick. In your opinion, what exactly is on the line?”
“Look around,” Qing said, spreading her thin arms wide and gesturing about. “Lord Nobu would be dead were it not for Takeo’s trick.”
Tokhta scoffed. “We would have gotten him to safety.”
“But at what cost? The entire Hanu army?” Qing bit back. “Seems to me that Borota is right: The Hanu can do amazing things with Takeo at the helm, but that doesn’t mean he should die for it. On the contrary, it seems to me that the oni dream is only obtainable with Takeo. Instead of viewing Takeo as competition, I think you should view him as a necessary asset. Just imagine what would have happened if he weren’t here today. Think about what has changed now that the Nguyen have a rakshasa in command. Suddenly you oni aren’t just facing regular humans anymore, and if that doesn’t concern you, then you’re all a bunch of fools. This war has changed, and so should we. You need him.”
Tokhta thought a moment and then swung his kanabo around to rest on his shoulder. His eyes drifted into the distance in quiet contemplation, and Takeo’s whole world was held in the balance.
“Explain this deal to me,” Takeo begged. “Give me a chance. There’s no harm in it. You were going to kill me anyway.”
Tokhta huffed, but then chuckled. A thin smile crept its way across his ugly, wild face.
“I suppose you’re right,” the oni said. “Move all the rest away, but keep them in sight. There are too many ears already. Then you may tell him, ninja, and we will watch his reaction.”
“No,” Gavin said.
He spoke low and softly, but the command in his voice made the words loud and clear. When the attention fell on him, it found a man shaking with anger. Gavin’s teeth were clenched tight, his ears were red, and his hands were balled into fists. He glared at the oni.
“Absolutely not,” the knight said. “I stay, too.”
“He’s right,” Takeo offered. “I share everything with this man. He stays.”
“Shut your mouth,” Gavin snapped.
Takeo went still, balked even, at the knight’s tone. He turned to face him, but Gavin refused to meet the gaze. The knight kept his attention on the oni and seemed barely able to contain himself. Beyond him, Yeira’s furious glance had lessened, and when her eyes caught Takeo’s, she smirked.
“Gavin,” Takeo whispered. “This isn’t the time to argue.”
“I told you to shut it,” Gavin replied. “We’re a hair’s breadth from dying yet again, thanks to you. I think it’s high time I spoke for myself. We could have avoided this if you hadn’t lied about it.”
“Take all but Takeo,” Tokhta said, ignoring them both and gesturing with his kanabo.
Borota and the other oni rose up. The latter grabbed Nicholas and Yeira roughly by the backs of their clothing. Borota went for Gavin and Emy, but the rakshasa was quick to raise up Krunk and walk them both away, showing there was no need for coercion. Her quick act of submission surprised Takeo as he didn’t think any rakshasa capable of that sort of humility, until she glanced his way but once with a meaningful stare.
She’s trusting me. I can’t believe it. She trusts me more than Gavin does. What is happening to us?
“Let the knight stay. I’m warning you,” Takeo said, as firmly as he could. “If you send him away, you’ll only hurt yourself. I couldn’t have saved this battle without him. I can’t stop Qadir without him.”
Gavin, fortunately, stayed silent this time, perhaps because he was too busy trying to dodge Borota.
Tokhta’s upper lip twitched, and his eyes half rolled. With a deep sigh, he shook his head.
“Ninja, is this true?” Tokhta asked.
“Every word,” she answered. “They are a bit of a package deal. I mean, think about it. You don’t really think one lone ronin accomplished so much, do you? He needs the knight, and if you want to stop Qadir, you’ll need them both.”
And now the ninja is helping me. I know her secret, yet she’s making every effort to save me. This world is getting stranger by the second, and it’s only going to get worse.
“Fine.” Tokhta clenched his jaw. “Take the others. Cover the rakshasa’s ears. Leave the ronin and his companion.”
Nicholas and Yeira were dragged off, despite their protests that they were capable of walking. Emy walked Krunk in their direction, and Borota made no attempt to haul either of them, though Takeo couldn’t be sure whether that was out of intelligence or laziness.
Meanwhile, Gavin still hadn’t looked in Takeo’s direction, although he seemed less angry. Takeo contemplated saying something to him, but now was not the time.
Tokhta cleared his throat.
“What I am about to tell you is not meant to be shared by anyone other than an oni,” he warned. “It is difficult to describe the pain that awaits you if we find out you’ve betrayed our trust. And yes, Takeo, we oni are capable of trust.
“Some time ago, when you both were nothing but children, we oni sensed an air of change in the world. It was felt by other powerful beings, too, but we were one of the few to do anything about it. For the first time in existence, we oni came out from the shadows and met with the Hanu shogun, Nobu’s grandfather. We offered to lend our insurmountable strength to his war efforts, and in exchange, he would provide us with what we needed in the afterlife: a champion.
“As I said, oni are not born. They are created. It requires sacrifice on a level that is difficult to comprehend. It is unfortunate that humans come to regret such deals as it is in their nature to be weak and indecisive. They lack the ability to estimate the cost when they’re presented the reward first, as the jinn know well. As expected, Nobu’s grandfather was not much different. He eventually agreed to our deal when faced with destruction at Lord Katsu’s hands. We wanted his kin, his son, but he was too close to the boy and couldn’t commit. He instead offered the soul of someone less familiar to him, his grandson.”
Takeo and Gavin snapped their attention to Lord Nobu, lips parting. The prince’s head hung over, lower than a servant’s bow, yet he was still seated atop the komainu, and so Takeo could see the hollow look in the boy’s eyes, the frown on his lips, and the trembling in his throat.
A faint ring sounded in Takeo’s ears, which he at first thought was a gashadokuro, but then he realized it was simply his mind being stunned with disbelief.
“No,” Gavin whispered. “He wouldn’t.”
“He did,” Tokhta replied, “and for good reason. With one blood rite, Lord Nobu’s fate was sealed. He is destined to be the most powerful entity to walk the world. Born a shogun, already a ruler of men, he will one day be granted immortality. Lord Nobu will rule as an oni.”
Tokhta paused to let his words sink in, although neither Takeo nor Gavin needed it. They sat stunned with mouths open, blinking in disbelief. Takeo found it difficult not to glance in Nobu’s direction, trying with all his might to imagine that fragile, weak boy as an oni. Nothing came to mind. Why would the oni want him in the first place? Surely after knowing Lord Nobu for any length of time, they would have cut off their deal. This boy? A world leader? Nonsense. And yet wasn’t Takeo trying to do the same? Wasn’t that his aim? To put the reins of absolute tyranny into the hands of this boy who could do no harm.
Wasn’t that a good thing, even if he was an oni?
“No,” Gavin said. “I won’t believe it. No man would sacrifice his own grandson.”
“He had to, Sir Gavin,” Qing replied, using soft tones that Takeo had never heard before. “If he’d lost to the late Lord Katsu, which seemed an inevitability at that point, then his entire family would have been killed.”
“It’s true,” Takeo joined in. “Ichiro had no room for sympathy in his merciless heart, and his underlings knew it. I told you once before about one of Katsu’s generals slaying a young boy impersonating Lord Nobu. Do you remember? Nobu’s grandfather must have realized he wasn’t choosing between victory and defeat, but rather life and death.”
“By the angels, Takeo, do you always have to agree with them?” Gavin snarled. “We’re talking about the oni here. The oni, ruling the world. What is it about them you said? They don’t see humans, but livestock. You would put such a creature in a position over our entire race? What nightmare could be worse?”
Damn it, Gavin, will you shut up? I wasn’t saying this was a good thing, only that I believed it to be true.
“Listen to me. This is the best thing for us,” Takeo whispered. “You need to think about your daughter.”
“Screw you! I am thinking about my daughter!”
“No, Gavin! Listen to me. You need to think about your daughter, right now, and about your wife, right now. Do you follow me?”
Don’t you dare kill us, you self-righteous prick. And don’t you dare kill yourself with your senseless do-good nature.
Gavin, red in the face with teeth gritted and hands balled into fists, glared at Takeo with a layer of fury Takeo hadn’t seen for many years and hadn’t expected to see back, but Takeo’s words appeared to have penetrated the knight’s thick skull. The anger slipped away in terrible realization and mortifying defeat. His head dropped and shoulders slumped. Gavin breathed hard and shook his head. He seemed to be struggling with this a lot more than Takeo had realized. Gavin whispered something under his breath and sighed.
“I’m sorry, Takeo. You’re right. You’re always right. I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Takeo cocked an eyebrow. That didn’t sound very Gavin-like.
“Well then, it’s done,” Tokhta said.
“And if he lies?” Borota shot back.
Tokhta shrugged. “We can always kill him later. We will be watching.”
From out of the corner of his eye, Takeo saw Lord Nobu’s head sink further, and a fresh flow of tears fell from the boy’s eyes.
Chapter 18
Few places in the world could claim to be more comfortable than Lady Zhenzhen’s bed, especially when she lay naked in it.
Layers of thick cloth and silken sheets lined Takeo’s skin as he lay half propped up on a mound of pillows. His eyes were transfixed straight ahead, though there was little to see beyond the thinly veiled canopy that shrouded the massive bed. His beautiful shogun clung to his side, wrapping both her legs around one of his, pressing his shoulder between her breasts, and purposefully entrapping his left hand between her thighs. She hummed quietly as she traced a finger up and down the many scars etched into his body.
“Hmm, and this one?” she whispered, touching a small, curved scar on the right side of his chest. “Some fair maiden, perhaps, tried to steal your heart?”
She giggled. Takeo swallowed.
“A mercenary in Savara,” Takeo replied in a monotone. “He tried to get fancy with his scimitar, which cost him his life, but saved mine.”
“Well now, aren’t we lucky.” Her fingers traced lightly down his chest to another scar. “And this one? Seems deep. I’ll bet it hurt. Was this in a fight with one of those Lucifan creatures? Minotaurs, you called them.”
“No, that one was my brother.”
Lady Zhenzhen stopped and pulled back ever so slightly.
“Your brother did this to you?” She tisked and then cuddled against him. “Well now, that wasn’t very nice of him. What about this one?”
She found a second deep one, this time further down his body.
“Also my brother.”
Zhenzhen gasped, though to Takeo’s ears, it sounded mocking in nature.
“What a naughty man,” she said. “Did you two fight often? That’s common among siblings.”
“No, it was a lesson.”
Lady Zhenzhen paused, but when he didn’t elaborate, she ignored it. Takeo got the impression she wasn’t interested in where his scars came from. She was after something else as her hand moved further down his body.
“Surely this one here was from a battle,” she said. “It feels gnarled, like from a beating as opposed to a samurai blade.”
“I’m afraid you’re only half right. It was indeed from a beating. I was almost bested once by another warrior as we fell to the ground and he started to pummel me. Okamoto came just in time and killed the man. However, he was disappointed I was so easily bested, in his mind, so he dropped his sword and went down to finish the job. He beat me into unconsciousness lest I forget how narrowly I’d escaped.”
Lady Zhenzhen’s hand jerked from his wound, as if she could feel the barbarity. Her body tensed against his, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her blink and part her lips. Then she shook her head and tossed the shock away.
“Well, forget him,” she said. “He’s dead anyway, and I know just the trick to help you forget.”
She grinned and thrust her hand beneath the sheets. He grabbed her wrist just before she could grab ahold of him. Her eyes went wide.
