Friends or Foes?

[Takina's POV]

"Urgh.... Sora.... sama...."

My head.... It hurts so much....

I opened my eyes and was greeted by the sight of a ceiling.... I'm lying on a hard floor with a blanket covering me.

My head was wrapped with a bandage that covered my right eye, and my right arm is hanged to my neck with another bandage for support.

"!!!" That's right, my right arm is...!

It's.... it's still here?

I tried to move my right arm and gripped my hand into a fist, but I was suddenly hit by a wave of sharp pain as if my entire arm was bruised. "Urgh..."

It hurts a lot more than I anticipated, but somehow it's.... It's still here...?

"You're finally awake." The familiar voice of an old man was heard to my sides.

It was the familiar toolsmith who was sitting

"Takahashi-san..." This place is Monkey's workshop. "What in the world is-"

"What do you mea-" I tried to stand up, but immediately falls down when my knees couldn't even support my weight. "..!"

"Watch it there kid," With a simple dash he stepped towards me in great speed and caught me in his arms. "Enna just patched you up, don't want to get hurt more than you should."

"....Sorry."

"Sit down and rest here, I'll bring some water."

Monkey got up from the floor and went over to the counter where he grabbed and poured out from a pot of water.....

"....Where is Sora-sama?"

"I don't know."

"...."

"However, what you need to focus on right now is healing your body and recovering as soon a possible. Here, hydrate yourself."

"Thank y-"

When I reached my hand to grab the water, my hand bumped into the cup and spilled the water all over the floor.

"Easy does it kid, you can't see properly now so take it slow."

"What...?"

"The bandage that wrapped your right eye...."

That's right, Genji's arrow glanced me on my eyeball....

"...Am I blind in one eye now?"

"...I have some rice balls ready, eat up and then rest here. Enna made some medicine to heal your wounds, but you have to take it after a meal."

Monkey tried his best to deflect my question but I don't need an answer from him.... I AM blind in one eye.

Well, shit....

"I have some clean clothes for you to change into, as well as your gears. Sadly there isn't a bath in the workshop, so you'll have to clean yourself at the bathhouse next door...."

"My things are still here...?"

"Of course. I took your things when I stole you from the soldiers in the castle."

"That's oddly.... considerate of you."

"A Shinobi would need his tools to get the job done.... I trust you'd be using these things very soon, it makes sense for me to take them for you."

"Thank you, Monkey-san.... For rescuing me out of Shibata Castle. I'd have been kept prisoner if you didn't do it."

"....Nah, don't read too deep. Enna asked me to save you, I'm only doing this for her favor."

"...Liar."

"Whatever. Either way, you should eat."

______________

Without depth perception, everything I do is much less accurate now. I have to carefully judge the distance just to take a rice ball and eat up, or change my clothes.

I woke up at noon, the same day as when I was ambushed by Genji. But I couldn't do anything with the state of body, and with Monkey insisting me to stay and rest up....

After eating, I cleaned myself and got dizzy-headed after I took the medicine.... Going to sleep at 5 p.m. made me wake up the next morning after sleeping nearly 13 hours.

____________

(Morning)

There wasn't anybody in the workshop when I woke up, and it is still dark outside. I decided to walk out the yard and breathe in some fresh air.

"Hrgh...!" I streched my body out trying to loosen up the muscles that laid dormant for an entire day.

When I woke up I felt so much more better than yesterday. The medicine that Enna-chan gave me let me recover so quickly it's insane.

"You look much better now." Monkey walked through the front gate, and into the yard. "Isn't it about time to take off the bandage now?"

"Hmm...."

I took the cloth off my head and then closed my healthy left eye in order to focus on the damaged right eye.

Everything is extremely blurry to the point that I can't even make out Takahashi-san's shape.... I'm actually blind in this eye.

"....How is it?"

"....Blurry."

"I see... I bought us some breakfast, you should eat up."

"....Monkey-san, I need your help. I want to ask for information."

"Do you have to ask...? I wouldn't have rescued you if I don't intend to help."

"Well that's true..."

"I'll tell you what you want to know.... But first, breakfast. I've got some udon noodles, lets eat before they go cold."

"...Alright."

We went into the workshop and sat there eating with our bowl of noodles....

"So, what will you do now kid?"

"I'll take him back.... but I can't do it alone. Going against the Genji and in essence the Uesugi Clan is suicide."

"Indeed. It is crucial for us to act wisely from now on, because one mistake might spell the doom of us both...."

"Tell me... What exactly happened when I was gone?"

"Under Genji's orders you were marked as a criminal. From what I've heard out of Enna however, it seems that he wanted the dragon's blood from your body.... Otherwise there would've been no reason to keep you alive."

"Yeah.... Kenshin's grandson is a fucking dastard. With how the war is going on it is normal for a Lord to want more power, but it's unthinkable for him to act upon allies.... and a child.

Such disrespectful behavior I will not tolerate...! I'll make him pay for this, I swear."

"And I'll be here to assist you in teaching my apprentice a lesson...."

"Your apprentice...?"

"Yes. When they were small, I rescued Genji and Enna from a burning castle.... Kenshin took the kids under his care, but Genji was first sent to train under me before he practised swordsmanship with Kenshin-sama."

"So that's why he's so sneaky all the time.... he has formal ninja training."

"It's not formal by any means, I am but a rogue Shinobi.... I had a partner long ago but that doesn't make us part of a clan.

Anyway, Genji is highly skilled in both the arts of Ninjutsu and also Kenjutsu. He is a formidable opponent for you to face...."

"Yeah.... His bow is extremely dangerous, and it is what blinded me."

"So it was Vortex Arrow that got you huh...?"

"You knew about that...?"

"Of course I knew. I was the one who taught him those wind-magic tricks, even though I actually used the same trick with shurikens in the past.

These guided-arrows and shurikens are almost impossible to dodge and packs a lot of punch. You have to swing and parry them correctly or else they'll hit you through your guard.... remember that."

"Understood.... But it still doesn't change the fact that I don't know where they are."

"One thing is for sure, they're not in the Shibata Castle. It's highly likely that they left the city already."

"I don't know where the boy is kept at but there is someone who does know."

"Someone... Is it Kenshin-sama?"

"Yes."

"But Kenshin-sama is Genji's grand daddy, isn't he an enemy?"

"No. Kenshin may want to win the war but he in reality couldn't care less about the state of the battles.... He's just doing his job, so to speak.

This means one thing, he wouldn't be on the same boat as Genji's power hunger, and that makes him a neutral to you and Genji's drama."

"I see...."

"Besides, do you think he's someone who will betray his allies so easily? You've worked and helped him out, and he invested a large chunk of effort into making you a better swordsman. He'll help you out, I'm sure of it."

"You have a point.... So my objective right now is to go speak with Kenshin-sama and find out Sora-sama's location...."

"Indeed. Kenshin just came back from the battlefields yesterday, he should be at the Shibata Castle. But the problem lies elsewhere...."

"It's that I am a criminal?"

"Precisely. Even just wandering the streets can be challenge for you now, much less going to the Castle.

Like it or not, you're famous. From your time in teaching students Kenjutsu, and also from your status as a bodyguard of Kenshin-sama. Of course, there's the matter with your obscure appearance as well...."

"Gaijins like me do have it tough huh..?"

"Fret not kid, I have an answer to your dilemma though it may not be to your liking...."

"What is it?"

"A magic item.... Specifically, a veil."

From his pocket he took out a white colored piece of cloth and gave it to me.

"What does this do?"

"It drains quite a number of mana, but it can create a physical body of a human. You're a human of course, but you're not Japanese and you're easily recognizeable. This should help disguise you."

"This is odd, I've never seen anything like it before even back in the magic school of my country.... Where did you get it, and what is it used for?"

"It was an old invention of the magic sect in the city and I got it from.... the Red Light District."

"Hah?!" The prostitute district?!

"This is why I said you may not like it.... The device was created by a rather questionable person in the magic sect of the city, and it will give the appearance of a perfect beauty.

I'm sure you don't need an explanation to know what this body is used for...."

"Yeah.... Does it even feel good having sex with this on?"

"Don't know. Maybe you should try it out with some guy from the streets?"

"What are you saying, not in a million chance I'd do that shit...!"

I looked at my body again, and started touching the skin of this fake body. Somehow it feels like it's my own body.

"...Does this mean that the disguise isn't actually an illusion, but a real body?"

"Correct. It actually generates a physical body for you to use, think of it like wearing a doll.

However if the veil is damaged or taken off the body, the spell will fade away.... And it'll also happen if the puppet is damaged sufficiently. Be careful with this and try not to get into any fights wearing it."

"I see...." I took the veil and worn it over my forehead. "A perfect beauty huh...?"

I have to pour a large amount of mana into the veil, but once I did that there were light particles which formed around my body, covering my entire form and turning it into someone else.

"Woah.... This is some big milkers."

These are at least E-cups.... No wonder it's the perfect beauty.

"They sure are."

"Don't stare. Do you have a mirror or something?"

"Here."

"Hmm...."

My hair is changed to become black color, and my skin color is the same tone as the usual Japanese now, though on the fairer side.

But most importantly my face remains unchanged even though my body was changed. My eye color is now hazel though, and both of my eyes appears to be fine.

"What... Why is my face the same?"

"Figures. Must be because that your face is already perfect?"

"...."

"Bad joke huh...? Anyway, I think the disguise works. Unless it's people that know you personally, no one can recognize that it's you now. With the look of a random Japanese woman you can now walk without being arrested."

"Right...." I took the veil off my head, my body soon releases a blue aura and reverts back to my normal body.

I looked in the mirror once more.... I have no scar on my face, but the right eyeball itself has the scar of a cut in it.

It's usual Aqua Blue color is now so pale to the point that it's almost white.... This is why the eyesight of my right eye is now so blurry.

"And here is your katana."

"You sharpened it for me?"

"Yes, and I also tempered it with some heat, making it harder to break. It's battle-ready now."

"Thank you..."

I took the blade and inspected it myself. There were no dents or any chips in the edge, it is now a proper war-sword.

"Though you should definitely take a larger sword if you were to partake in actual battles... The extra range help a lot more than you think."

"It's hard to use my unsheathe techniques with a longer weapon, that's why I stuck to swords of this size - reaching to just below my chest."

"Fair reason. Regardless, it's about time for us to move."

"Wait, you're coming as well...?"

"Indeed I am. You have permit to carry a sword everywhere so you don't know that it is illegal for a woman to carry a weapon in the city.... it has been this way since the start.

We should avoid drawing attention to you by all means."

"You didn't say why you were coming."

"If I played the disguise of a swordsman, I can take your weapon for you until we are at the Shibata Castle. Is that good for you?"

"Hmm, good enough. Alright, now that we are all rested and well-fed...."

I got up on my feet and donned the veil over head. "Disguise on!"

Once again my body was covered in magical aura, and turned into the voluptuous form of a prostitute girl.

"Here." I handed Monkey-san my katana.

"Right. Let's go find Kenshin-sama at the castle, and get him to help you."

(Chapter end)