Scott McGough - Guardian, Saviors of Kamigawa

“Good idea, oath-brother. Soften the blow.” He turned to Kiku and his smile widened. “That’s why he’s in charge.” Marrow turned back to the nest, where the most anxious of his fellows was just starting to emerge from the tunnel entrance. They blinked in the evening gloom and waited expectantly for him to speak.

“You’re on your own,” Marrow called happily. “Goodbye.” He waved, his tail swishing in the grass behind him. He stopped, tightened his belt, and turned to Toshi. “All done. Let’s go.”

As their new leader walked away without looking back, the hidden nezumi began to wail. Toshi stood uncomfortably for a moment in the growing chorus of mournful groans and gnashing teeth. He turned to Kiku and shrugged.

“That was easier than I expected,” he said.

Kiku had always hated working with the ratfolk. She spoke through a fine silk handkerchief she was holding over her mouth and nose to blunt the stench wafting from the hillside. “Quite. Very easy. In fact, extremely easy.” She sniffed. “Almost worth the effort.”

“True.” Toshi started after Marrow. “I still feel like I got off light. I didn’t even have to kiss him to get him on board.

“Don’t hit me,” he said without turning. “We’re still oath-bound.” Toshi tried not to smirk as he walked away from the rats’ nest. He could almost hear Kiku’s rage mounting. “And don’t take it out on the nezumi, either.”

Marrow stood waiting just out of sight of the hill. Toshi stopped on the path just before he himself would have dropped out of sight and looked back. Kiku was still seething outside the tunnel entrance, so Toshi waved for her to catch up.

Instead, the mahotsukai said something sharp to the rats in the tunnel and beckoned them closer. Still speaking through her handkerchief, Kiku gestured with her free hand until the rats nodded enthusiastically. Then she reached into her purse and tossed a few silver coins onto the ground. As the nezumi scrambled for the cash, Kiku turned and marched toward Toshi.

Toshi smiled, but Kiku stormed past him without speaking. Still grinning, he fell in behind her and kept pace as she went down the path.

“I hope you didn’t hire them to kill me after the oath is broken,” he called. “You’d still have to answer for it.”

“I did no such thing.” Kiku did not turn. She strode past Marrow without acknowledging him and continued on her way.

“So what was the cash for? Charity?”

“I told them how to spell your name. I gave them more than they could earn in a year.” The mahotsukai stopped, planted her hands on her hips, and tossed her hair from her eyes. “And in exchange, they’re going to write your name at the bottom of every nezumi latrine, chamber-pot, and cesspool in the area. Just in case we don’t survive this, oath-brother, I wanted to make sure that I left a fitting tribute to you behind.” She smiled coldly, her eyes daring Toshi to respond.

After a moment’s consideration, Toshi said, “Hmm. Okay, that is a good one.” He raised his hands. “I surrender, mahotsukai. For now.”

Kiku rolled her eyes and turned back down the path. Once she was clear, Marrow sniggered and pointed at Toshi.

“Let’s move, oath-brother,” Toshi said. “I’ll explain what we’re up to on the way.”

Still tickled, Marrow darted off after Kiku. Toshi waited for a moment, fought back the laugh he felt building in his own throat, and then followed. He’d have to remember the nezumi latrine treatment the next time someone annoyed him. That was, in fact, a good one. But that wasn’t the only reason he’d decided to let Kiku have the last word.

The hyozan was all but over, its two founders openly declared against each other. The future of the group and everyone in it now depended on Kiku and Marrow, though they did not have the slightest idea what that meant or what impact it would have. And the reason they had no idea was because Toshi hadn’t told them, would never tell them, and would in fact keep them ignorant for as long as he could. Because if they knew, Marrow and Kiku both would surely turn and tear him to pieces before he took another step.

Toshi unsheathed his jitte, spun it around his index finger, and then jogged to catch up to the others.

Outside Minamo Academy once more, Toshi stood with his allies. Behind him, the borrowed battle-moth still burbled happily, securely lashed to its tree. Kiku and Marrow both faced Toshi, listening closely as he spoke.

“And that’s it,” he said. “If we can get in and get out quietly, we don’t have to worry about Hidetsugu and his yamabushi. Once we’ve got the disk, we can leave. I can dissolve the hyozan oath from anywhere once we’re done here. But we need it in place until we’re done, in case Hidetsugu finds us.”

Marrow looked in annoyance at the glorious moth. “I still don’t see why you don’t just go in there and carry the thing off yourself. You brought it here alone, didn’t you?”

Toshi nodded. “I did. But that particular avenue is closed. My myojin doesn’t want this thing in her domain.”

“Then why doesn’t she leave it here?” Kiku had been especially sharp and penetrating with her questions during Toshi’s little briefing. She was also supporting Marrow whenever possible, which Toshi guessed was a way to force more information out of him.

“Because she wants it to exist. She just doesn’t want it to exist in her territory. If we leave it here, something bad will happen to it. Someone will eat it or break it or try to use it, and that’s not what Night’s Reach wants. She likes things as they are right now, and she’s tasked me with keeping them that way.”

Buoyed by Kiku’s support, Marrow was still skeptical. “And you expect us to fight off the ogre and his yamabushi if things don’t go according to plan?”

“I expect the hyozan oath to keep Hidetsugu in check. He can’t attack us without endangering himself. As for the yamabushi … yes, I do expect you to fight if it comes to that. There may also be the odd oni to contend with, but I don’t think-”

Marrow’s fur stood up straight. “Oni?”

“One in particular. Hidetsugu sort of put his dog on my trail, so it’s possible it’ll come running as soon as I show up.” He turned to Kiku. “That’s your main job, by the way. If anything with four legs and horns shows up, I expect to see a bouquet of flowers in its eye sockets before it comes anywhere near me.”

“But I still don’t-”

“Hush, vermin.” Kiku strode forward past Marrow, her eyes hard. “The more Toshi tells us about this job, the more I’m convinced he’s not telling it all. The job is to grab the disk, get away, and break up the gang. If we have to fight along the way, we fight.” She beckoned the ratman closer, and they stood shoulder-to-shoulder facing Toshi.

“Let’s do it,” Kiku said.

“Okay,” Toshi said. “But there’s one more detail I haven’t mentioned yet ….”

Captain Nagao was even less pleased to see Toshi the second time around. He drew his short sword and stalked over to the new arrival with Silver-Foot close behind.

“See?” Toshi held up his hands in playful surrender. “Told you I’d be back.”

It was broad daylight, so most of the survivors were awake to see Toshi arrive, but the windowless room was as gloomy and the mood as bleak as it had been in the dead of night.

Nagao glared at Toshi, clenching his blade tight. “Are you going to help this time, friend, or just talk?”

Toshi shrugged. “I can start helping right now.” Behind him, his foot was still immersed in the shadowed corner of the room. With his hands up as they were, it was an easy task to reach out, grab Nagao by the shoulders, and haul the heavier man backward into the darkness.