A plan begins to take shape
They made their return silently, pausing only to drink from the small creek, parched from training.
It started to snow softly just as they closed the door of the inn, shutting out the chill. In their small room, he stoked the fire, bringing it back to life, so it was giving off a warm glow and heating their tired muscles.
She felt anxious, her stomach tight like a bow pulled back and held in place. Surely the boat that she hoped would bring Tomoe to her would not bring the kage. That would be a cruel twist of fate. Blake had calculated that Nakano would not reach the island for a couple of weeks. Could he be wrong? She decided no good would come of thinking about it. So instead she concentrated on what she would ask Tomoe.
She felt instinctively that this old woman could help her. She would know something about the ronin that would be invaluable when they inevitably met again. She knew she was better with the jian than she had been that fateful night. She had even taught herself to recall the swords if they were torn from her hand and this she felt could be key to her success. But still she was still unable to fly without first running, and the messages she sought hard to read seemed still a foreign language to her.
Deep in these thoughts Blake interjected, "Is there anything else I can teach you, anything you want to ask me?"
"Yes," she nodded, "messages. How do you read them, or connect to them?"
He turned toward the fire prodding the embers aimlessly so she could not see his face. Strange how he offen did this, so much to hide.
"You take your focus inward, like meditating. The messages fly in smoke around you, many of them. You have to tap into what you are seeking otherwise you get lost in the noise."
"I can't see them. I heard them when I was very tired at the ravine, before I landed. It sounded like a hundred voices all talking at once."
He nodded but remained facing the fire. "I don't know much about how you learn to see them. I am not sure if you can. I have been able to do it since I was small. My father apparently had the same skill."
The first time he had spoken about his family. It was a moment that was not lost on her. She decided to probe. "Did your father give you the katanas?"
He turned deliberately as if preparing his countenance so that inspection would fail to pick up any telltale changes. She knew that expressionless face well. "Never knew him, so no he did not give me the katanas."
She decided to change tactic, perhaps it was better to give information and possibly he would reciprocate. "My father was a product of mixed marraige between a Scottish highlander and Japanese woman. My mother was Nordic. My father died at sea, and my mother came to Japan to settle, she sent for me later when I had finished my schooling. By the time I reached here she had died also."
He looked at her, the mask dropping for a moment, concern clearly painted in his expression. "So we both perhaps know little of our parents," she added, searching his eyes of any reaction. There was none, the mask returned and she knew the window of opportunity had closed.
"I intend on meeting him alone. This is a personal battle. I understand you wish to take him back to your employer to face justice. I don't see that is possible. It is my hope that I can bring some retribution for all the women he has harmed."
"I believe you underestimate his powers." His voice was controlled, flat.
"I think I am best positioned to know exactly what power he has in comparison to mine," she felt a flash of anger, sharp like stone on flint. "I have been thinking about what is best, and I have some idea of when he will be at his weakest."
This time his face was contorted as if someone had driven a spike into his side, and was slowly turning it and driving it deeper. His voice was breathless and gravelly, "No, not like that."
"My choice Blake," she said simply.
"Not the right one." He looked fierce, as if he was going to pick her up and shake her. But he stayed where he was, in front of the fire, blazing more than the small fire ever could.
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