Bloodstained Rose

Chapter 9

The shrine at the center of the village received several visitors this morning; it was expected of the people to come and pray for the warriors before a big mission. Resting before the shrine was a very rough stone sculpture, it’s very rigid edges and rustic appearance resembled a soldier. Around the torso of the statue lay a holster completely faded from the sun and decades of wear. Rei knelt at the base, lowering her head to pray as Jin watched on from behind.

“Good morning, Rei.” Jin greeted her calmly.

“As to you, Jin-san.” Rei said after bolting to her feet to quickly bow.

“At ease, at ease. You don’t have to worry about the formalities, I think we’re past that,” Jin added with a quick but casual smile, only causing her more confusion from the change of tone. This side of him was rare. “I usually come here before the mission too. Father wouldn’t be happy if I forgot, and I think gramps would be disappointed too.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Do you realize who this statue is?” Jin pointed towards it, visibly alarmed by her answer.

“That’s your grandfather,” She turned away from Jin and shifted over towards the effigy. “And our founder, Hideo Jin-Ichi. I just wondered why you thought he would be mad at you.”

“It’s tradition. It’s as easy as that. I would be doing the tribe a great disservice if I did not.”

“You sound a lot like your father, but that’s why you’re Daimyo.”

“It does take a lot more than that to get here,” Jin had been conscious of his position and started to soften his voice as a few more villagers had come to gather. “If you were a few years older, I think he might’ve given the job to you.”

“That’s flattering, but I don’t think you mean that.” Rei said with a smirk.

“Well, you are a bit skittish sometimes.”

“I swear, Shugo has been talking to you all,” she said before chuckling to hide her frustration. Jin quickly glanced over to her and raised an eyebrow. I shouldn’t be talking about him, Rei thought to herself before trying to course correct, “Hideo-san always took time to teach me stuff, but I don’t know if he had any greater plans for me. I’m reliable, I guess.”

“You know, I’ve never said this to anybody,” Jin motioned over for her to start walking with him away from the shrine as he spoke. “But I think he has a little bit of favoritism towards you.”

“Now you’re just reaching,” she had to laugh. “He is a little bit too strict to assume that.”

“You don’t know him like I do, that’s how he is. He is a lot tougher on the ones that he sees the most potential in.”

“A few weeks ago, he told me that if I spent time writing poetry that I would put everybody in danger. I don’t think there’s any favoritism in that.”

“That’s exactly like Dad,” Jin had cut her off, “he doesn’t believe in indulgences like we do. The fact that he said that almost confirms everything. He was the same with me.”

“What was it that you liked that he didn’t?” she asked while trying to remain tactful, intrigued to see this new side of Jin staring at her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I told you that I liked poems, so it’s not that embarrassing, is it? So, what was it?” she pressed on, causing Jin to look off towards the trees.

“Cooking.” he said quickly, double taking to make sure that nobody was listening.

“What’s so embarrassing about that?”

“Like I said, you don’t know him like I do. It’s a little rough, but we have to do what we do. When you’re an elder, you and I can spend all the time in the world writing poetry and cooking.”

“You mean like cooking poems?” Rei quickly asked, only causing him to tilt his head to the remark.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Rei snapped back. Thinking of Jin being in the same spot as her had started to make him feel more human, and more like her. They were both in the same situation, both trying to fit a role that was chosen for them. Shortly after, the two parted ways to prepare for the night ahead.

◆◆◆

Shugo spent the last two days trying to prepare for the battle ahead. The first few days of officially being a warrior were not much different than usual. Gone would be the days of working under the blazing sun in the fields for the better part of a day and off to more mysterious ones—he did not know what to expect as a warrior. Sitting in the same lonely tree by the monastery, he began to feel even more anxious. It would only take one mistake for him to lose everything. As his head started to sink, the branch he perched upon followed as Jin had posted himself on the opposite end.

“Do you think this is what you want to do?” Jin spoke firmly.

“I don’t think I have a choice at this point,” Shugo replied as he straightened his back. “The village needs us.”

“We do. We only have a few weeks of supplies left. The harvest won’t last through winter, and we will need something else to get us through.”

“Very uplifting.” Shugo had forgotten to laugh. It felt like his pack just got twice as heavy.

“If you don’t do your part as a farmer, the village will starve. There’s just as big of a responsibility feeding everybody than there is protecting them,” Jin said as he took a seat down on the branch next to him. “I’d say it’s heavier than what we’re doing now.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I’m just saying, you have had bigger responsibilities than this. You can’t let this be something that holds you back when the time comes. You’ll always have something that you do that is part of something that is bigger than you and you can’t carry that weight by yourself. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“You sure that you want to be a warrior?” Shugo asked, alarmed at the new face of Jin.

“Hey now, I’m tough on everybody, but I have to be,” Jin said as he patted his legs. “Like it or not, most people need it. However, if you’re one of my troops and we have a mission, I’m not going to try and break you down. I need you focused. I need your head here.”

“It’s more than that.”

“I know, it’s dying. It’s scary,” Jin continued to tap away at the bark on the tree in silence for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. “Yeah, it’s scary, but you don’t get scared when you work the fields. You could die out there, you can die on a patrol, and you can die on a hunt. You just don’t think about it.”

“You know, I’ve never seen this side of you. You’re a pretty smart guy.”

“Well yeah, I have to be. Being the Daimyo is more than just being a good fighter,” Jin added before staring back at him. “I was raised for this role.”

“I guess not everybody can be one.”

“No, not everybody.”

“What about me?” Shugo asked jokingly. For once, he heard a chuckle out of Jin before becoming silent under the sun’s glare. Jin shook his head and pressed his hands against the branch to dismount.

“Why don’t you stop lounging around the tree and go talk to Rei?” Jin suggested before pushing himself off. Shugo nodded in agreement, following him to the ground.

◆◆◆

Naomi sat outside of the front of the monastery with a fresh bottle of sake. It was one of her presents for Rei. She had a lingering fear of the coming battle, constantly wondering if everybody would make it back safe. The wine was the best thing she could do for them. As Shugo started to approach her, she perked up, trying to look as elegant as possible.

“Is Reina—Rei, here?” Shugo stuttered a little. Naomi was entranced, staring off blankly for just a few seconds before shaking her head.

“Yes, she’s just getting dressed.” Naomi replied.

“Oh,” Shugo raised his hand and slowly coughed out of nervousness. He looked away from her, off towards the foothill in the distance and said, “I didn’t think there would be a celebration or anything.”

“I don’t think there was going to be one,” Naomi lifted the bottle up to him, presenting its white surface—streaks of blue running across. “I made this for you guys. The bottle was handmade too!”

“That’s really nice,” Shugo said as he reached out to accept it. He took a moment to inspect the craft and awe at such a gift. “This is really nice. I didn’t know you knew how to make glass.”

“Papa taught me when I was younger. Just try to take care of it.”

“Definitely,” Shugo said with a nod as he lifted his hand to reassure her with a quick pump of his fist. “I’m going to take good care of it.”

“Make sure Rei comes back.” Naomi added. Shugo repeated the same motions, opting for sincerity over trying to maybe crack a joke.

“If it costs my life.”

Naomi’s face had been filled with a mixture of joy and envy as she sighed in relief. Her smile had shined, bringing a sense of warmth and comfort to Shugo.

“She likes you.” she said again, this time making Shugo blush. Yeah, I’m crazy about her, he wanted to say it but held back.

“Have you ever had to try and do something important before something that is also just as important?” Shugo asked after shaking off some of the nerves.

“Well, I don’t think I’m clear on what either of those things are.”

“I wanted to tell somebody how I feel,” Shugo said bluntly, still feeling a little embarrassed. “And I’m worried about what she might say, and I don’t want to make things any more complicated before tomorrow night.”

Naomi stared into his eyes and locked her fingers, trying to stay humble and said, “If that’s what you think, then you need to tell her how you feel tonight.”

“You know, I just might.”

“I think you and Rei have a bright future.” Naomi said finally. Rei had eventually revealed herself from behind the doorway, dressed in a crimson-colored yukata. The fabric shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, captivating Shugo.

“You look great.” he said eagerly. Rei just as usual took a moment to accept the positive reinforcement, and then smiled back.

“Thank you.” she replied. Shugo had struggled to find something to say as she stepped towards him. Naomi immediately looked up to him and started to mouth out the word “walk” repeatedly. Shugo did not take too long to catch on. He smiled at Rei.

“Do you wanna go for a walk?” he asked her as pleasantly as he could.

“Ok.” Rei said warmly.

◆◆◆

Today, they had decided to rest by the hillside in the open. The summit was a flat grassy patch that stretched several acres. From the base to the top was a steady incline that only went up around ten feet. It was a popular spot. Shugo had decided against the same tree by the corner of the monastery because he had wanted to make tonight different—it was the first day of winter. Despite it being a time of year to expect a chill, the weather was humid at dusk. Things could not have been better. They had been amid some small talk with Rei trying talk about anything but the battle ahead.

“The past few days have been a little rough. I didn’t write anything at all,” she said while twirling her fingers through the grass.

“We’ve had other stuff to worry about,” Shugo had already placed the bottle of sake on a small sheet of metal. Its flat but dull surface provided an excellent tray. Sitting on top of it were two small cups already prepared for a night of many a toast. “Sometimes it makes sense to not indulge yourself too much when something big happens.”

“Good point.” Rei said as she eagerly watched him fill the two cups with the cloudy-looking wine.

“Now,” Shugo quickly placed the cork into the bottle, “that doesn’t mean we can’t have a couple drinks.”

“Just a couple.”

“We might have enough for a couple dozen!” Shugo exclaimed as he took the two glasses in his hand, presenting one to her. Rei carefully lifted it from his fingers and tested its light scent. The two choked back their drinks to be greeted with a rather unpleasant taste on top of an equally painful burn. Shugo looked back to her, curling his lips down to his chin as he said, “We’ll make sure to tell Naomi it was fantastic.”

“Definitely. At least the bottle looks nice!”

“Oh yes!” Shugo blurted out while reaching for it. He had to take a few seconds to look at the random blue streaks, wondering if there were a deeper meaning. He lightly shook it, listening to the wine swoosh around inside. “It’s definitely neat.”

The two sat quietly just for a few moments before Shugo went on to pour a few more. They slowly began to feel the sense of inebriation as they continued to make progress with the bottle. He hesitated to take another drink, and started to ramble, “I used to come here with my mom when I was a kid. She really liked the scenery. It's even better on a full moon!”

“I see.” Rei said before placing the glass on the tray.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s not too personal,” he hesitated for a moment, thinking about how to put his feelings into words, but instead asked, “have you been thinking about tomorrow night?”

“Oh, that,” Rei felt her heart skip a beat before shaking it off. “No, I don’t like to think about it. It’s not productive. Well, that’s what Jin says. He’s usually right.”

“Yeah, he is,” he stopped again and started to think, is this it? “Well, um. Since we’re talking about that, I wanted to say something.”

He had cut his words short—there was a right and wrong way to do this, and he could not help but second guess himself. Rei turned to him and lifted her hand, softly placing it in front of his mouth.

“You should wait. Tell me after.” she said finally. Shugo had felt a chill at the response. Still nervous, he reached back down to the bottle and popped out the cork.

“Yeah,” he muttered before filling the glass, “drink?”

Rei shook her head and turned the cup upside down on the tray before turning back towards the blood red moon staring at her. Shugo had felt cold in more ways than one, so he poured the rest of his drink out into the grass beside them.

“Don’t tell Naomi I did that.” he said while placing the cup back onto the metal. Before he could stand, Rei grabbed hold of the back of his blouse and pulled him back down next to her.

“I wanted to look at the stars for a bit, it’s nice out,” she said. “I know you’re not in a hurry.”

“Naw,” he leaned back, “no hurry.”