The company continued northwards with the ninja, Kira, in tow. After she was stabilized and her wounds were dressed, Gintaro himself tied the knots that bound her hands behind her back. Kira was placed upon Nō’s steed, and he walked beside them holding the reigns. This was done to save time, and because Chikara was of the three beasts the most loyal and would not heed Kira’s command if Nō contradicted it. Kira, however, remained silent and spoke only when spoken to. She did not show any signs of rebellion or resistance and mostly slept during their northward trek.

  The plan was to proceed to the next village or town, drop her off, and have her cared for by the locals there. Gintaro reasoned that she would no longer have reason to pursue them any longer, having her vengeance satiated.

  “I do not think we will have to worry about her posing a direct threat any longer,” he explained. “She was utterly defeated and knows that she cannot, by herself, prevail against me. If she intends to do us any further harm, she will need the assistance of her comrades. This far north, and especially where we are going, aid will be increasingly difficult to find. Even so, I do not think that is what she will do. She gave everything she had in the attempt to kill me, which is a critical point. If she had not risked everything, guilt might one day consume her until she could bear it no longer, and once again she would be on our trail.”

  A few days passed, and the company continued without any signs of a village or town. Had they made the detour westward along the coastal road they would have passed many such villages of the Ryū, but only solitary homesteads and the occasional ramshackle hovels greeted them on their current road. Every day they expected to come to find a place to rest and relieve themselves of the ninja, but there seemed to be nothing but endless wilderness.

  They continued to ascend a mountainous path, and if they looked back, they could see a dense valley below them with the spurs of the mountains reaching into it like great craggy arms. Before them seemed to be an endless winding road leading to a split between two lofty peaks.

  “Soon we will begin to descend,” Gintaro explained. “And when we do, we shall be one step closer to Oboroshi.”

  “But first we must pass over these mountains,” said Saru, pointing towards the twin peaks before them. “We have been fortunate so far with this weather, but we must be on our guard.”

  Saru spoke the truth, for they had not had to endure any truly wretched weather along their way, though the higher they climbed, the more biting was the air that swept about them.

  Gintaro nodded, for he knew that one storm could at least threaten their progress, and at the worst, become deadly.

  That evening they came at last to a small village at the edge of the forest. The company was relieved to finally be able to take a rest, but the people of that village were distrustful and wary of strangers.

  Gintaro, in speaking with the village headman found out that the place was called Yasugi, and it had been in days past a waystation for travelers passing back and forth from the lands of the Ryū and those who dwelt in the lands beyond. When the War of Ashes first began, the path between the twin mountains became less and less frequently traveled, and in recent days it was unheard of for travelers to be coming or going over the mountain path.

  As a result, the people of that village were fearful of any strange travelers and would not permit them to stay among them. This included taking on captives, especially those looking as shifty as Kira.

  Fortunately, the village headman took an interest in their plight, and after many failed attempts to dissuade them from crossing the mountain, he spoke to them of a house higher up on the mountainside that they could use as a temporary lodging.

  The company thanked him and then continued upward. As they went, the trees began to thin and eventually failed altogether as the path became too steep and rocky for anything but small shrubs and wild grass to grow. After a few hours of climbing, they found the abandoned house beside the path, just as the headman had foretold. It was set upon a cliff overlooking the valley. It had not been used for some time, but it was still intact, and it would provide them with shelter from the elements for the first time in many days.

  Nex to the house was a small barn. No animals currently resided there, but there was room enough for all three of their steeds. The horses were stabled and well fed from food bought in the village. The beasts seemed relieved to be out of the elements and somewhere they could huddle together for warmth.

  Once that was done, the four returned to the primary residence. There was an old hearth set in the center of the room. Aside the wall there was a tall pile of hewn logs and spread about were various pieces of equipment used by former occupants.

  The company went about making a fire and sealing the openings as best they could to prevent any of the bitter wind from coming through. Then they ate a late dinner and settled down upon old futons that Nō had discovered in storage. Within moments all were asleep.

  The first to rise was Gintaro. He was roused by the noisy creaking and constant shuddering of the old house, which felt as if it could come down at any moment. There was also a howling wind outside, which seemed to whistle as it crested over the wooden roof. He assumed that this amount of wind was to be expected due to their precarious position on the cliff’s edge, but when he cracked open a shudder to get a better view of what was happening, he was nearly blown back by the storm that swirled about outside. He had never seen such a powerful snowfall, and though it was already morning, it appeared as dark as the middle of the night. He could no longer see down the mountainside, but only a little further than an arm’s reach away.

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  He hastily closed and locked the shudders and walked back to his futon.

  Saru had risen and eyed him warily. “How’s it look?” she asked.

  Gintaro shook his head dejectedly and sat back down. “It will be impossible to go anywhere in this storm.” He took a log and cast it into the hearth. “We may be stuck here for a while.”

  Nō then sat up and looked worriedly at the creaking support pillars of the old house. Kira, who slept across the hearth from Gintaro, opened her eyes but said nothing.

  The four travelers, prisoners to the storm outside, went about passing the time in varying ways. Saru paced back and forth, occasionally inspecting the weather through small cracks in the wall, reporting even the most minute change. No went to a corner and did his daily swordsmanship exercises, and then sat down to carve his second bokken, which his teacher had asked him to make. Gintaro, after taking a short nap, went about the house and rummaged through the forgotten wares. It was difficult to tell whether he was searching for something of interest or merely doing so to occupy his mind. Kira remained where she was, reclined on her back with her hands behind her head, getting up occasionally, only to stretch.

  By midday, they were all growing bored, and the storm showed no signs of ceasing. Saru and Nō took up their regular banter, and this time the discussion focused on the courtship rituals, which Saru gave to Nō as advice to impress the Ryū daimyō. She had indeed noticed that the young apprentice, who had once been so unwavering in his celibacy, frequently and openly commended the virtues of Ryū Kurea. When confronted, the boy flushed scarlet but said nothing.

  “If you want my advice…” Saru began.

  “And I don’t,” Nō retorted.

  “If you want to impress a woman like her, you must take the lead,” Saru continued, “Especially if she is the strong, fierce type.” At this, she gave a sidelong glance and Gintaro. “The reason why is quite simple. She is a lord, a leader of men, and all day long she must be strong. If you can prove your worth, she will find great relief in being able to let her guard down, and trust in someone else for a chance.

  “You’re crazy,” scoffed the boy.

  “I’m not crazy. I saw the way she looked at you as you took that charge from that oni. I think she saw a flicker of what she wanted a man to be at that moment. Not that it diminished her prowess in any way. She was no damsel in distress; she was doing her part to save that family. But she saw in you someone who could be capable when the moment called. That is what I call a fair partnership.”

  “She is a noble,” Gintaro interjected. “It’s unlikely for daimyō to wed a commoner, even if he could win her attention. So, don’t set your hopes too high.”

  “I would not be so sure of that,” countered Saru with grave seriousness. “History is littered with examples of nobles and commoners intermingling.”

  “Perhaps that is true,” he said contemplatively. He then glanced over at Kira, who had not said a word during this exchange. Suddenly, a thought entered his mind that he had been dwelling on intermittently since he met her.

  “You said that Kondo Daisuke was your captain? What was your relationship with him?”

  The ninja did not look at him. “We were close,” she then said quietly.

  “There is a strange riddle that I would like your help with, that’s all.”

  This time Kira looked over towards Gintaro and studied him for a few moments before speaking. “What?”

  “If he was captain, then, perhaps there was someone who out ranked him.”

  “There is one above him, yes, the master of our order.”

  “And your master, what are they like?”

  Kira seemed taken aback by this question and seemed to consider it for several moments. “He is wise and powerful. I joined the Shin-Shadowhand to ensure that the War of Ashes never returns. He has kept his promise, and we have helped the fragile Shōgunate stay afloat.”

  “Why do you care about the war returning? Do not ninja yearn for violence?”

  Kira frowned. “My family was destroyed in the war, leaving me with nothing. You should then understand my motivation. The Shin-Shadowhand exists to do the difficult things, the things few can or will do, to stop ruin from befalling these lands.”

  “I do understand your motivations, as the war destroyed my family as well.” As he said this, Kira’s eyes studied him, searching for the truth. “Yet not your motivation but your methods I disagree with. However, those words, what you just said, I have heard something like it said before. I suppose it would be foolish to suppose that you would tell me your master’s name?”

  “Foolish yes, for I would not tell you, and impossible, for I do not know.”

  “But you must have your suspicions.”

  “I do,” answered Kira in a self-satisfied tone. “He is said to go by many names and has many shapes and guises. It is said that he can be in many places at once. I also know that he is the greatest swordsman of this age. Greater even than you, Raijin.”

  “If you say so, then you must have seen him fight firsthand.”

  “No, but Daisuke, I mean Kondo-dancho, had. In fact, he once challenged the commander to a duel and narrowly escaped with his life. Kondo-dancho was the best of us, and as you said yourself, he might have surpassed even you were it not his fate to die. Yet he was thoroughly beaten.

  Kondo-dancho once said that the master fought with an unusual style, one he had never seen before. Kondo was given the title of captain of our order and apprenticed under our master for some time. Yet the techniques of the master were shrouded in secrecy, and if Kondo had one complaint, it was that he felt that his superior was holding back what should have been passed down.”

  “How very interesting,” mused Gintaro. “I wonder…”

  “What are you thinking, Sensei?” Nō asked.

  Gin’s eyes flashed for a moment, and he nodded his head, as if to himself. “Since we have a bounty of time, I wish to tell you a story. It is about my past. In recalling it out loud, it may help me understand the answer to the strange riddle that has been haunting me as of late.”

  At this, both Saru and Nō drew closer and sat down intently around the hearth. They knew that their leader rarely spoke about his past, and this was a rare chance to understand him better. Kira did not move but closed her eyes as if to fall back asleep.