Chapter 10: The Lion Temple

With the kabuki theater behind us, Masami and I made for the temple. Specifically, The Lion Temple, where Toshie and other assorted dangers awaited. I knew little and less about the shrine layout of this city—I couldn't even point out the brothels from the samurai mansions. Guess I had to rely on how much fun it sounded like they were having.

*yawn*

That particular sound belonged to my companion, who dragged her feet and made altogether too much noise to be an effective midnight prowler. Staying up past her bedtime did not do well for her temperament, which was uptight to begin with.

"Curtail your pace, Akio! Would you have me presented as begrimed, sweaty and disarrayed?" Masami halted and produced a handkerchief from her knapsack, which she used to wipe the sweat from her brow. Even this late at night the summer's heat was stifling. "We've slithered past our pursuers as would a serpent; now lets take a moment to recompose ourselves."

We were snakes all right—the rattling kind from all the noise she was making. Sure there were no lanterns on this particular street, but I knew better than to take any chances. This was the Capital and home to the Emperor himself. The two of us were a ripple in this stagnant pond, and I didn't care to know what lurked beneath.

"Shut up. We need—" I was about to get venomous when I heard footsteps approaching. Kuso! A thousand different scenarios danced inside my head. The clouds broke for a moment, the nearly-full moon shedding its light into our next opponent.

He was obviously a guardsman, sporting a laminar cuirass—body armor with layered plates—and a helmet that draped down the sides and back of his shoulders. More important was his spear, which he leaned against as if it were a walking stick. He was an older man, with a long, grey moustache that hung from his lips to down past his jawline. As atrocious as his facial hair was, it was his expression that unsettled me the most.

A smile and friendly demeanor.

"Good evening and well met. It is a beautiful night for a summer's walk, is it not?" The man's eyes hazed over almost like a drunkard's. He continued his greeting without waiting for a response. "Are you perhaps a tourist? Oh, I nearly didn't see the charming little lady there. Who is this young mistress?"

Those hazy eyes weren't fooling me. I'd have to answer before the kid spoke up and said something foolish. Or worse, something honest.

"She's my lover."

I put my arm around Masami's shoulder and squeezed. Her shock goes from her eyes to her feet, which she was now staring down at with fierce intensity. Embarrassment was putting it mildly, but that played into my deception perfectly. An older man with a younger girl...well, that can't be the worst match this guard has seen in his years of working the night shift.

The guardsman twirled his moustache, thought for a moment, and nodded. "You are a far luckier man than I, to have managed to pluck such a lovely little flower. But my dear..." He crouched to speak to Masami as he would a child. "...there are far better gardeners to be had! Don't be afraid to play the market, ha-ha!"

The only thing this asshole was in the market for was a black eye.

A blissfully cool breeze flew by, but I wasn't able to enjoy it. I was too busy evaluating the patrolman's stance. While he appeared to be leaning against his spear, the heels of his feet were flat solid against his sandals. His eyes were willing me to strike out at his weapon, to take advantage of the weakness he displayed openly. I was dealing with an experienced fighter.

This situation only grew more dangerous the longer we waited.

But we didn't have to wait long before he looked off into distance and started talking again. "...Ganji is that you?" His gaze returned to meet mine, and he nodded into a curt but polite bow. "Sorry, it's just one of my friends. He said he wasn't going to be able to take his post. Been awfully sick lately, you see."

What I see is a typical intimidation tactic. This veteran soldier-turned-watchman was signaling that he had boys watching every move we make. It could be a bluff, or it could be a warning. As I considered my options, the guard asked me one more question. This time with a tone that was a little less than friendly.

"So where are you headed tonight?"

I was getting seriously tired of all this talking. The kid and I must have been chatting in that kabuki house for over an hour, and now this socialite wanted in on it too. I had this itch in my right wrist—the familiar twitching sensation I get when I'm in the mood to let my katana out for some fresh air. Fresh blood, too.

I gladly gave into the sensation, and had my blade unsheathed before he could lift his polearm off the ground. Since he was an armored opponent, I slashed in an upward arc beneath his exposed underarm. I only managed to make contact with the tip of my blade, but it wasn't because I misjudged the distance. He had pushed off with his spear to create a life-saving bit of distance between us.

If old warriors were good at anything, it was staying alive. His posture no longer resembled that of a friendly, lazy watchman. His arms were raised yet far from stiff; his spear angled downward like a scorpion's tail. This wide and powerful stance was no doubt a foot-soldier's classic dueling stance.

The problem for him was, foot-soldiers didn't duel very much.

I lunged with a quick step, but only with my front foot. I didn't cover any real distance but I forced my opponent to react. Knowing his reaction time and tendencies were vital if I was going to close distance safely. He flinched back with a tilt towards his right side. A very natural tendency for any spear-wielder. He wanted to prevent me from coming around his back side.

And then suddenly, he lunged! I had thought his wounded right arm would keep him on the defensive, but I was wrong. I knew exactly what I had to do—and then a face popped into my head. Masami's.

The opportunity was too good to pass up. As the business-end of the veteran's weapon made for my innards, I sidestepped around to his weaker side. My katana wanted to go for his neck, but his helmet made even a strike for this angle difficult. So instead I directed my steel towards his already-stained armpit to finish the job.

The blood spurted and the appendage dangled, followed up by an ear-piercing scream. A girl's scream!

I looked over to see Masami's face full of terror, with a spearpoint just inches away. Instead of finishing my enemy like I would have—should have—I was drawn back to her side in a heartbeat. Maybe if the guardsman was ten years younger, maybe if his right arm wasn't already damaged...if things had been any different, then this battle could have ended with a spike through the kid's head.

To the old soldier's credit, he hadn't gone unconscious or screamed at the unappetizing sight of exposed bone and tendons. No, he had already dropped his spear and made for a full-out sprint towards one of the main roads. I was about to dash after him and cut at his heels when a hand latched onto my arm. There wasn't much strength behind it, but enough to stop me. I made the mistake of turning around and any chance of catching up to him was gone.

My undersized employer's face featured sadness, fear and worst of all—disappointment. I cursed at letting my enemy get away, but rushed Masami out of there as quickly as I could. Every squad in the city would be on top of us now! The kid just screwed us over big time, so why did I feel like the villain here?

We rushed up and down a few more unlit streets before I was confident that we had made enough distance to take a short break. The temple district was still a ways off, but I had to deal with the insufferable expression on my companion first.

"I know. That spear came close—I'm not used to fighting and defending at the same time. But you're not injured, are you?" My words came out cold as I tried holding back the irritation from earlier, when she let my enemy get away. Our enemy. Every man in the city with a weapon on his nightstand would be looking for us.

Masami couldn't look me in the eyes, and opted to reply to her feet instead. Her voice quivered with uncertainty. "T-that's not it. Did you have to assault him, Akio? He seemed friendly, like he wanted to help us."

She had an innate talent for making me feel horrible, to a degree that would make even the foulest of mother-in-laws jealous. I usually wouldn't bother to explain myself, but I felt like I had to. I owed the kid that much at least.

"Guards don't patrol unlit streets alone, especially not without lanterns. You only do that when you're in a manhunt. If he couldn't delay us long enough, he'd have tailed us until reinforcements came. That's why he had to die."

While this conclusion was obvious to someone who spent most of his life evading the long-yet-flexible arm of the law, it wasn't for a sheltered scholar like Masami. She looked up to me with determination, looking almost courageous. "I'd rather die than have an innocent man killed, for my sake."

"Did I say courageous? I meant stupid...."