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"Curious Circumstances" (Somewhere near Radat) “YOU!” “Who? Mei Lei?” replied the girl with ‘buns’ on her head, pointing to herself with her index finger as if to reaffirm if she was the one being referred to. The other woman, Kitsune is her name if Sasuke remembered correctly, was observing him and the girl with calmed interest. Sasuke was sitting up from the confines of a futon, laid and spread on the wooden floor of some homely structure. A house, but who’s…? Grogginess was settling once again after that invigorating slap he received earlier. He rubbed the affected cheek; the sting of that smack was now subsiding. “Did Mei Lei hurt you badly? Mei Lei is really sorry-” said the girl, reaching out with a hand to the boy in assistance. “Get away from me,” responded the boy hysterically, backing away from the girl as if she were some venomous snake. “You tried to kill me!” Sasuke suddenly experienced a chill from the chest, down to his navel. He looked and saw the reason. “ACK! I’M NAKED! WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES!” Both women flinched at the boy’s outburst. Sasuke immediately pulled the futon’s sheets to cover his exposed upper body. He then stared at them accusingly, waiting, demanding an explanation. “Ah? Ummm…” hummed Mei Lei, looking innocent as her eyes wandered about the ceiling. The girl’s cheeks were turning reddish. Blushing and smiling coyly, Kitsune offered an answer. “Oh those. They were soaking wet that I had them removed so they could be washed and dried. Besides, we wouldn’t want you to catch a cold would we.” Sasuke was shocked, like a deer caught in the rays of floodlights. They saw me naked. Strangers, saw me naked. And what’s worst, they’re women…H-how embarrassing …. The boy felt like crawling to some hole, never to emerge again. He laid back on the futon and covered himself entirely with the bed sheets to that effect. “Cheer up Sasuke,” smirked the girl. “If it helps, Mei Lei has seen boys with cuter bodies than yours.” Gee, that really makes me feel much BETTER!, thought sarcastically the boy, glad that he was covered, so that they wouldn’t see the sour expression on his face. “Mei Lei!” scolded Kitsune. “What!? Did Mei Lei say something wrong?” defended the girl, as she felt being badgered. There was a moment of pause in the room. Only the deafening drone of crickets in the background prompted the hostess of the house to break the monotony. “Now you two behave while I’ll go get the refreshments. Excuse me.” said Kitsune as she started to stand up. “NO! Wait! Don’t go.” Sasuke shot up from the beddings. …And leave me with this dangerous girl. Kitsune halted her rise, noticing the apprehension pasted on the boy’s face. Sasuke chanced to look on the reaction of the girl, Mei Lei. He thought he saw a frown. No, Mei Lei was indeed frowning. In fact she was giving the boy a ‘I’m going to kill you’ kind of look. Sasuke instinctively brace himself for pain. “FINE then! Kitsune-san, with your permission, Mei Lei would like to go out for some fresh air.” Sasuke inwardly sighed in relief. The hostess of the house thought for a moment, as if to consider. “Very well then Mei Lei. But promise me that you won’t wander away from the vicinity of the house. The woods can be…unsafe.” said Kitsune, in motherly yet ominous fashion. “Um, okay,” said the girl, baffled by the hostess’s request. “Mei Lei promise Kitsune-san.” and with that and after giving Sasuke one final cold glare, Mei Lei stood up from a kneeling position and left the scene. Kitsune gave a disapproving look on the boy. Mildly shaking her head, the hostess of the house finally got up and out of the room, presumably to attend to those refreshments. “What?” whined Sasuke as he was left all by himself in the room and made to feel guilty for his actions. “What did I do…?” “You know Sasuke, Mei Lei is truly sorry for what she did to you. Can’t you forgive her?” Said Kitsune in a pleading tone, while handing to the boy a hot cup of tea. “But she hit me! And to compound it all, I nearly drowned in the process.” retorted the boy, sipping the bitter, herby drink. “Yes…but it was also her that save you from drowning…” responded the lady of the house in a factual manner. Sasuke’s eyes went wide with surprise, causing him to unintentionally spew his drink to the side. “Oh, is there something wrong with the tea…?” inquired Kitsune, her expression showing concern toward the boy. “GAAKK…No…*cough, cough*…The tea’s…*cough*…fine…” Sasuke was clearing his throat and cooling his singed tongue from the tea and the shocked reaction he had. “Is it about Mei Lei rescuing you…?” Sasuke wanted to say or at least nod an affirmative, but for some reason he didn’t do so. “Well, it took a lot of convincing her,” said the hostess, not waiting for any reaction from the boy, “but she eventually complied. But by the time Mei Lei brought you out of the river, I thought you were dead. You were not breathing…” Kitsune bowed her head solemnly, as if recalling something upsetting. Sasuke listened to all of this with sympathy. His own body seemed to shudder in remembrance of his near-death experience. If it were not for Mei Lei… Kitsune’s face brighten, “That’s when she…breathe life back into you…” Breathe life back…? Noticing the incomprehension in the boy’s face, Kitsune went immediately into clarifying her statement in a rather awkward manner. “Ah well, you see…she placed her mouth into yours and…and she breathe…” She was beginning to blush again. “Oh…I see…” Sasuke was feeling weird all over, unaware that he too was blushing. His hand touched his lips as if to sense for any traces of the said experience, assuming if such a thing really happened. But in the back of his mind Sasuke entertained the thought. “Anyway,” Kitsune quickly moving on, trying to avoid any further embarrassment for both of them, “she revived you, but you were still unconscious. We had to take you here to my home. And thank goodness that it appears you’ve completely recovered. Your faculties seem intact as well.” “Yes, so it seems?” Sasuke stared at his hand, flexing it as if to double check for any deficiencies. “But that doesn’t explain why she tried to kill me in the first place.” Kitsune began to narrate of everything she learned from Mei Lei during the ninja boy’s inactivity. What Sasuke heard made much sense to him now. Mei Lei mentioned being from Ni Jen Ping. Now I remember where I heard that place before. Ni Jen Ping is a village of amazons. Just like Rokkaku, its location remains a secret. The amazons have a standing feud with the ninjas of Rokkaku, which dates back to the ninja village’s early establishment. Two hundred and fifty years ago, two warring ninja-clans, the Izumi clan and the Ki clan, and their allies vied for the control of the lands between Banner and the Toran Republic (which was then the Scarlet Moon Empire). The fighting was intense and fierce, but neither side gained the upper hand. Wishing to see an end to the bloodshed, both groups agreed to unite their clans into one, through an arranged marriage between Yasuhira Izumi and Take Ki. Unfortunately, Yasuhira was already (unofficially) married to a gaijin (outsider) girl whom he met after rescuing her from monsters (For some reason the girl’s name is never mentioned). Yasuhira’s clansmen never approved of the union and implored to the heir of Izumi, for the sake of peace and unity, to marry Take of Ki. And so for the good of all, Yasuhira chose honor over the one he truly loved. The “girl” and the children she bore were forced out and were never seen again. The two clans eventually united and the village of Rokkaku was founded. Many years later, encounters of staff-wielding warrior women were reported seen by scouts prowling the forest trails. They would attack anyone without provocation, but hold a special hatred for the ninjas, especially those from Rokkaku. It was learned later (and Mei Lei’s tale confirms this) that the amazons are indeed descendants of Izumi Yasuhira’s first wife. They’ve dedicated themselves in the pursuit of seeing ever ninja dead and putting Rokkaku into ruin, in retaliation for the shame and banishment brought to their foremothers’. “And so Mei Lei was just acting out what is taught to her by her tribe.” Finally concluded Kitsune, give the boy the opportunity to let all of what he heard sink in. Sasuke just sat there, staring into space, lost in thought. He was not sure if should thank Mei Lei or prepare for the inevitable confrontation that would ensue between him and the amazon. “So the ninja village of Rokkaku really does exist.” spoke Kitsune, after a while. It was a statement, not a question. Sasuke broke off from his rumination. “Uhh…yeah.” said the boy, feeling uncomfortable of the topic. “Ah…Kitsune…is it true?” began Sasuke, suddenly changing the subject. “Those men that harassed you, they said that you were…a…slut. Is that true?” The hostess was taken aback by this but immediately composed herself. “Yes…it’s true,” she answered, “I am what the folks of Radat refer to as the town slut… But I’m not at all ashamed to admit it. I don’t blame them. If that’s how they perceive me to be…” “Kitsune-san?” “They just don’t understand,” lamented the woman. Silence. “Ah, Kitsune?” Sasuke started. “Yes Sasuke?” “What’s slut?” The hostess of the house fell over, twitching on the floor in a silly outstretched pose. “Kitsune-san? Kitsune-san, are you all right?” “WHAT! HOW DARE YOU ASK ME SUCH THINGS, WHEN YOU YOUSELF DON’T EVEN KNOW THE MEANING OF THE ‘WORD’?!” Kitsune was up all of the sudden, facing the boy in fiery rage that Sasuke thought seeing a flaring aura emanating from the hostess. The word “scary” registered in the boy’s mind. “Ah…GOMEN! GOMEN! GOMEN!” Sasuke was frantically bowing apologetically. Like some pathetic worshipper, Sasuke tried to appease an angry Kitsune, who had a semblance of some demon-goddess, by rambling the origin of his curiosity. “It’s just that, I-I heard it from someone…from the village.” Sasuke was stuttering in trepidation. “…I asked around…b-but I didn’t get a straight answer. I asked my guardian Mondo once…but he got all serious and told me I’m too young to know of such things.” Kitsune had simmered down a bit at this point. She felt rather sorry and embarrassed for the boy’s display of antics, especially in the attempt of explaining all this fuss. “That was very unusual for the old coot since he’s usually a kidder…especially at my expense.” Memories of those embarrassing moment crept into Sasuke mind. He quickly dismissed them, returning to his tale. “I asked my friend…Kasumi…but she just got all fired up and whacked me on the head…” Sasuke unconsciously touched a spot on his skull, remembering the reaction he got from the ninja girl. “…I can still remember what she said to me…She said: Don’t ever mention that word in front of me Sasuke!…” Kitsune was giggling. It was a girlish laugh at first, which then gradually became hilarious bursts of laughter. “What’s…so…funny…?” Sasuke had a funny and confused look on his face, worried of what Kitsune’s bizarre behavior portended to. “You are. You’re a funny kid Sasuke.” Said Kitsune, her fits of mirth finally subsiding. “But I like that.” She said finally, giving the boy a serene smile. “I am not!” retorted the boy, crossing his arms on his chest and facing away from the hostess, feeling indignant. “I’m sorry,” bowing her head as if in shame. “It’s just that…” The sliding panel to the room suddenly slammed to the side, revealing an overexcited Mei Lei, ready to jump into action. “KITSUNE-SAN!! Are you all right?! Has this BOY hurt in any way?!” Mei Lei rushed in, making a thrusting move with her staff, going for head of the boy-ninja. Sasuke countered by leaning and backing away that the butt of the staff which ended a couple of inches from his face. Or did she mean to miss me? Sasuke just sat still, eying the hostile girl in shocked anticipation. “Mei Lei! Stop it! Sasuke didn’t do anything to me.” “Really? But you screamed…?” “Sasuke and I…were having an exciting discussion.” Kitsune turned to face the boy, giving him an amused expression. “Yeah, that’s right. So why don’t you just lighten up a bit. You could kill somebody with that attitude of yours.” Mei Lei glared at him in response then looked at Kitsune. The older woman just gave her a reassuring smile. The amazon then turned again to face Sasuke; her expression is that of disgust. “Hmph!” uttered the girl before storming out of the room. Was that a misunderstanding…Perhaps? Or did I sense an air of jealously here? The boy-ninja pondered. Bah! A Highland soldier dashed into the command tent of the 21st Company, which at the moment was filled with officers (mostly sergeants) whom were in the middle of some war conference. “Sir!” briskly declared the soldier, stopping and saluting before a particular officer, who must be highest ranking in the group, a captain in fact. “Message from the Main Army, sir!” The soldier finished by trusting out to the officer an enclosed scroll case. The captain - a tall and lean man, advancing in his years yet seeming still fit and determined - took and opened the medium and began reading the piece of parchment contained within. He casually waved his hand, signaling the soldier to leave. The messenger was stunned by the gesture but immediately saluted and took his leave. The other officers just stood there, eying their commander, waiting. “Gentlemen,” he finally said, facing his subordinates. “The Mercenary Fort has fallen.” There was a collective cry of triumph among the officers. The jubilation lasted for a while until the commander got their attention again. “We have new orders. Have the men break camp. We’re moving out.” “Excuse me sir. But where are we heading?” asked the captain’s second in command, a young and no-nonsense kind of a man. “Radat Lieutenant.”
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