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"In Search of Someone" (Banner) “Shhh….” Cautious feet shuffled across a wooden dock, illuminated by the light of a tiny sliver of silver moon hanging from an ebony sky. Where were the shielding clouds this evening? Surely nature itself wasn’t plotting against them…. At least now, the pain of her soul had receded. At least now, her heart was not being ripped into pieces by the different possibilities that could be her future. At least now, she knew there was only one way, and that one way was to press forward and never regret what had happened. “I don’t see anyone,” a soft voice came from ahead. She squinted her eyes, searching through the darkness. Did she see formless shapes, or were they shapeless forms? “Are you sure?” she whispered. She stepped forward cautiously, feeling the ground with her toes before moving on. A mistake now could mean death to all. No answer came but the sound of an owl, calling in the distant, dark forest. She shuddered. She thought for sure that she wouldn’t, but she did, nonetheless. Maybe she was still scared. Maybe she hadn’t rid herself of that last bit of doubt. That was what really scared her. That last shred of doubt could mean the end. The end of her life, of her love, and her hope. Sonya must be feeling it too, she thought to herself. Sonya’s being is in much greater danger than my own. She glanced back at the towheaded general. Calm, like a real general should be. Well, then, I should be the same, if not more so. She bowed her head and carefully advanced her position, straining her eyes to see the path on this dark night. It was a lot darker than it had seemed at first; indeed, she tripped on a raised tree root and fell squarely on her face. The cautious feet suddenly became frantic and scuffled toward her, no longer seeming to care for stealth. “Shhhhh…” she tried shushing them from her position on the ground, but the whispers would not listen. “Yoshino, are you all right?” “Ms. Yoshino, you’re not hurt, are you?” “Yoshino-san!” “Shhhh! If we’re ever going to get you guys home, we have to keep quiet.” There was a collective sigh, and they were on their way again, groping around in the darkness. Yoshino wasn’t sure if she wanted the clouds to hide them from the sleeping town, shrouded in darkness, or if she wanted the light of the moon to shine upon their path and lead them on this seemingly hapless journey. She soon found her answer. Sonya spoke up. “I think the forest is past the house up ahead. I have a good feeling that we’re going to make i—” Just then, Henrietta (the first one) happened to pass by a garden rake and a shovel that were leaning against a wall. And as one might expect, Murphy’s Law was promptly carried out. Both items were knocked over right onto a wheelbarrow, which made a loud clanging noise that woke up the owner of the wall (and therefore, the house) and some neighbors. “Run!” came a loud whisper from Yoshino’s mouth. The command was promptly obeyed. There were sailor girls everywhere, knocking over things, tripping over various shrubs, and jumping over fallen sailor girls in an attempt to reach the forest. The citizens of Banner, after exiting their houses, all went to rub their eyes at once. Yoshino and Sonya were lucky and had almost been out of sight in the trees when the doors began to open. Almost out of breath, Yoshino and Sonya stopped for a brief second. “You were saying?” asked Yoshino. Sonya gave her an evil glance. “Never mind….” The two turned to look back at the chaos. Here came the sailors, running as quickly as they could toward shelter, and there were the townspeople, all standing on their front porches, dumbfounded. Sonya turned her back to the scene and put her head in her hands in the classic expression of frustration only to be hit in the back by the momentum of a quickly oncoming sailor. Sonya was just about to start cursing rather loudly when she remembered that she still might not have been seen. She got up, kicked the fallen soldier lightly in the stomach and began running after Yoshino, who had already continued on her way into the forest. If we ever get out of this alive, thought Sonya, I think I might run off and change my identity, just to get away from these idiots… As the last of the sailors disappeared into the woods, the people of the town of Banner stared at the mess in front of them, then returned to bed, dismissing the event as some sort of weird dream. Well, for now, at least. Rain… the tears of a thousand souls, a thousand spirits who cry out at the vices of mankind. The troupe slowly progressed through the trees as the leaves above provided a sort of umbrella for them. The drops of water came sparsely and did not easily muddy the ground, except on the main path where the trees had been removed to permit traffic. Sonya led the way, taking an unmarked path through the trees. The sailors followed in as close to a silence as they could possibly achieve. Yoshino trailed behind them, making sure their path was untraceable. And as they wandered, so did her thoughts. It’s so strange to be running away. I don’t ever remember having to run, ever having to hide from anyone. I was always there, always reliable, always willing to help, always obedient… but I know that’s why I’ve taken this path, this unprecedented journey to find someone called “myself.” Always “Freed’s wife.” Always “Daddy’s girl,” “teacher’s pet.” Always someone else’s person. Sometimes people wonder what would have happened if they had taken a different path in life. I don’t. If I had continued to be who I was, I would have been the same person every day for the rest of my life. And I wouldn’t have had any regrets. But now that I’ve embarked upon this journey, I regret the person I was, and I really hope to find the person I hope to be. She smiled to herself and bowed her head, watching the ground as she went. The rain had stopped, but Yoshino had a feeling that the tears would never end for good. That is what life is, an intricate tapestry of joy and sorrow that is never quite finished. She hadn’t really been living until now. Her “life” was a robotic routine of cooking, cleaning, and waiting, waiting for the day that something new might come along. Now there was mud on her socks and the hem of her pants, but for some reason it didn’t bother her, and the fact that it didn’t bother her didn’t make her wonder at all. Up ahead, Sonya stopped and turned around. “I think we’ll have to turn to the main road for a little while,” she said worriedly. “But we’ll have to be quick about it. It’s going to be difficult, but it’s the only way up the cliff.” Jennifer spoke up at this time. “Well, can’t we stay here until it’s dark?” Sonya shook her head. “We’d better get as far away from Banner as we can before dark. We don’t know how they’re going to react to our being there or if they even knew who we were. They might have seen me, you know, and I’m a pretty familiar face.” Some heads nodded in agreement. Yoshino stood silent, staring at the ground behind them. “Yoshino, if you’re going to leave us, now might be a good time. It’s going to be really tough from here on out.” The dark-haired woman looked up and turned her head to face Sonya. She stood there, silent, for a few seconds, then moved forward until she stood directly in front of the general. Her voice came as a whisper. “You really think I can’t do this?” Sonya didn’t answer, didn’t change the stern expression on her face. Yoshino spoke again. “I’ve come this far. I think I can stand a little more. Besides, you still owe me some lessons, remember?” With that, she walked right past Sonya, heading straight for the main path. Sonya didn’t move for a little while, then a slow smile formed on her face. “Quickly, let’s go,” she said. The travelers had been walking for about an hour after having passed the cliff when it began to get really dark. It was decided that here was where they would stop to make camp, since they had been walking for almost 24 hours. They were a good ways away from the main road, but they wouldn’t risk building a fire. First of all, the smoke would tell any bounty hunter exactly where they were, and second, they already knew how accident-prone they were. And so it was here, in the cold, dark night, that the weary soldiers laid themselves to rest. They decided that Sonya would be first on lookout. About three minutes after her shift began, Sonya fell asleep. She awoke in the early hours of the morning and silently cursed at herself for having drifted off to dreamland. She should be more responsible than that—she’s a renowned general… A rustle in the distance caught her attention. Sonya’s eyes narrowed, and she readied her trusty weapon. She slowly crept toward the sound. It was coming behind some nearby bushes. Woosh, came a noise, like a blade through air. Sounds like a clean cut, thought Sonya. It’s gonna be a good fight. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then pounced like a lioness. She landed directly in front of her victim, who turned calmly to smile at her. “Good morning, Sonya. Up bright and early, aren’t we?” Sonya dropped her spear and nearly fainted. “Yoshino, you really shouldn’t scare people like that. I almost killed you!” Yoshino just kept smiling. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to get back into practice again, sensei.” “Huh?” Yoshino swiped her naginata, startling Sonya. “I took kendo practice when I was a child. Later, I switched from the sword to this. It has been ten years since I was formally trained. I’ve probably lost most of what I learned.” Sonya watched her. Yoshino’s form was really very good. She was doing a sort of routine, a series of thrusts and swipes of her weapon while still seeming to keep the form of a dance. She was elegant, yet strong at the same time. All of her movements appeared simple, though Sonya knew that a lot of it was much harder than it appeared. “Beautiful, Yoshino,” said Sonya, as the routine came to an end. Yoshino bowed. “Thank you. I seem to remember more than I think I do.” “Very well, too. I wonder what there is that I could teach you…” “Well, how much did you learn?” Sonya smirked. “I taught myself most everything I know. Do not forget that I am a woman, and being such, I had little importance in the military. They considered it a joke that I was among them at all.” “I’m sorry,” said Yoshino. Sonya wasn’t listening. She continued talking, almost to herself. “In a way, I regret being a woman. The military refused to put me under the harsh, uncompromising training that all the men went through. I could have been that much stronger if they had…” Yoshino smiled. “You are more powerful than any of them now. You are one of their five greatest military leaders. You should be proud of who you are.” Sonya managed a grin, too, then looked up into the sky. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I am lucky to have what I have.” She closed her eyes. “Well, I guess we better start training before the others wake up. Right, Yoshino?” No answer. “Yoshino?” Sonya whirled around to see a whimpering Yoshino being carried off into the woods by a scantily dressed girl with a staff held firmly under Yoshino’s chin. “Yoshino!” cried Sonya, running after them. “Don’t come any closer!” commanded the girl, tightening her grip on Yoshino’s throat. “Damn…” Sonya muttered to herself. “Damn…” She fell to her knees, watching as the two disappeared into the forest. A ways away, another scantily clad girl waited with a knife, ready to slit any throats if necessary.
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