shiroi_tiger | Japan, Spring 1877 (Reply)

Ah, the theatre. While Nathan had kind of failed at all aspects of it back before his time spent at Fandom, he could certainly appreciate the art of it from his viewpoint in the audience as the members of the village put on a rather entertaining kyōgen performance in the late evening, well after the sun had set.

Winter was now over, and the snow in the village had melted entirely. But Nathan's mind was on the play. Not on the possibility of being released to return to their lives elsewhere. Not on what would be waiting for them outside of the village, in Tokyo or Fandom or beyond. It was on the actors in costume, following one another across the stage.

.... Alright, fine, his attention was on Katsumoto's sister, Taka. She looked particularly attractive when she was laughing at the actors. So sue him.

Tony	Which you would need to be blind to not notice. Or maybe Tony had so little to do these days, he was forced to focus elsewhere. "If you don't make a move, I will and put us all out of our misery."
Nathan	He was so bored, he was focusing on Nathan? Nathan would have told him he was flattered, had he known. If only for the sake of being annoying. "Make a move, Tony? You almost sound like some of the students I've taught when you put it like that." Nevermind that he had been staring at her like he was in the throes of some sort of high school crush, really. And he was kind of grinning like a giddy schoolboy right now, too. Ignore that.
Tony	Tony just shot him a look that expressed just what he thought Nathan was acting like.
Nathan	Nathan chuckled a little at that look, rolling his eyes to the heavens. On the stage, Katsumoto had taken his place in the performance. On the rooftops, shadows stirred. Nathan's smile faded a little. He stood. And that's when he noticed that the shadows up above them were men, armed with bows and arrows. "Katsumoto!" An arrow hit one of the actors square in the face. And then all hell broke loose.
Tony	Arrows. Abso-fucking-lutely fabulous. Tony grabbed Nathan's arm before the idiot trying to run into the line of fire or something. "Grab Taka," He snapped, going to grab the children. His hero complex was getting to be a real pain in the ass.
Nathan	Nathan really didn't need to be told twice. There were bodies dropping in every direction, those of villagers, and those of the men in black outfits who had swarmed the village en masse. Ninjas? Ninjas? Seriously? Nathan was pretty much playing human shield for Taka as he led her back into her home. Some cover from those damned arrows was going to be a huge help if they were going to get out of this alive.
Tony	Oh yes, cover was wonderful. And, of course, still surrounded by fucking ninjas. "I think I'd prefer the Nazi bees over this," Tony griped, pushing the kids to join their mother in the corner and... standing there like he still had his damn armor to try and protect them.
Nathan	"The ninjas would probably look better in aubergine," Nathan allowed, and then gave Tony a look. One of the samurai dropped dead in the doorway. A shuriken to the throat as he attempted to close the door. "You're unarmed." Nathan was, too. This wasn't going to stop him from making a run to try to secure the other doors in the house, no.
Tony	"You're a master of observation," Tony replied, rolling his eyes and taking a step back at the noise of ninja-y feet on the outside porch. "Now go grab one of those swords before we end up as ninja shish-kabobs."
Nathan	Ninjas, Nathan noted, as he ran through the house, were far noisier than everyone gave them credit for. And more annoying. Yes. That was a good- He froze in his tracks as he rounded a corner, nearly skewering himself on a sword. Katsumoto's sword. Both men stared at one another in shock for a mere heartbeat. There were footsteps overhead. Katsumoto and his men followed them toward the-- --Wall. Which ninja promptly made quick work of with bodies and swords. Whoever the hell thought it would be a good idea to make houses out of paper in a village that was prone to ninja attack? Another one leapt into the house, kicking Nathan square in the chest, sending him toppling backward over a table, landing on the floor beside Taka, Tony, and the kids. The best he could do from there was kick at the short table he'd tripped back over, sending it crashing hard against the ninja's knees. And then up again. Reach for the sword. Wrestle him through the wall just in time to see another ninja bearing down directly on top of him.
Tony	You'd think with so many dangerous people around, they'd remember there was a weapon just laying there, dropped from a dead samurai. Tony was, sadly, unable to ignore these details and already scooped the thing up to stab the ninja in the back before he could kill Nathan. At least he didn't have to see the man's face.
Nathan	Nathan would remember to thank Tony for that one later, yes. Right now, he was busy kicking another ninja in the face. Nathan Algren: Ninja-face-kicker. It had a kind of awesome ring to it. Less awesome was the fact that he was still unarmed, and there was another katana headed his way. And so he blocked it with the table, the blade embedding itself deep into the wood. He made a grab for another discarded katana, but it was kicked out of his hand, and he was wrestled to the floor.
Tony	Right, they'd get him a cape later and together they'd fight crime. Moving on! "Hey!" Now Tony was katana-less and Nathan was covered in ninja. Clearly there was something wrong with this. So much so that, to fix it, Tony did the utterly brilliant thing and threw himself at said ninja to yank him off.
Nathan	It was a much appreciated yank, considering the ninja on Nathan's back was attempting to drive his face into the sword that had been planted in the table just moments before. Awesome save on Tony's part. Nathan was buying him the whole damn bar if they ever survived to see Caritas again. And it would be more awesome still if Higen, one of Taka's sons, wasn't making a run for the other room, where his late father's sword was sitting. And thus, a ten-year-old was attempting to menace a ninja with a sword, and not doing terribly well, considering. Naturally, this meant Nathan was going to have to grab the nearest discarded weapon, and stab that black-clad bastard in the back.
Tony	There was quite a bit of stabbing going on tonight. If all nights at the theatre were like this, it may be more interesting. "Where the hell do they keep coming from?"
Nathan	"The darkness?" Duh. This room was clear, and so Nathan was running into the next one, sword still in hand. Katsumoto seemed to have his hands full, and so he threw himself at it again, killing one, two more men, while Katsumoto took care of the rest. Somewhere outside, Ujio yelled, signalling that their battle was won. A hundred voices echoed after him.
Tony	Tony rubbed his forehead, really wishing he had his suit with him about now. ~~So they could fire magic missile and finish the ninjas off.~~ "Remind me to not go on a trip with you again, Nathan."
Nathan	Catching his breath. Nathan was catching his breath. "Next time, I'll just leave you on the ~~motherfuckin'~~ boat. Promise."

Nathan	That was it, then. The ninja attack meant that the path through the mountains back to Tokyo was finally clear. Winter was over. Spring had sprung, and all of that good stuff. Nathan had gotten the news that it was time to leave during a conversation with Katsumoto in the courtyard, standing amidst the sakura trees in full bloom.
Katsumoto	"The perfect blossom," Katsumoto informed him as Nathan approached, "is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life."
Nathan	Nathan could tell that this was going to be another one of Katsumoto's roundabout conversations. He'd ask a question, and then Katsumoto would sidestep it, and around they'd go until someone finally managed to get useful words out of the mouth of the other. "Who sent those men to kill you?"
Katsumoto	"I'm writing a poem about a dream I had. The tiger's eyes are like my own, But he comes from across a deep and troubled sea." Yes, definitely one of those conversations.
Nathan	"Was it the Emperor? Omura?" And so the dance began.
Katsumoto	Katsumoto stopped in his musings, turning to face Nathan, replying in all seriousness, "If the Emperor wishes my death, he has but to ask."
Nathan	"So, it was Omura." They were falling into step again, standing in place while their words bounced back and forth. A conversation. Even Nathan was starting to grow find of these conversations, and he'd never been much for just talking, before.
Katsumoto	"I'm having trouble finishing the poem. Can you suggest a last line?"
Nathan	"I'm not a writer."
Katsumoto	"Yet you have written many pages since you came here."
Nathan	Nathan paused, then, giving Katsumoto a wary look. And then smiling slightly. Of course. He was still living with Katsumoto's sister, after all. Taka. "What else has she told you?"
Katsumoto	Katsumoto didn't miss a beat. "You have nightmares.
Nathan	"Every soldier has nightmares." Nathan's smile faded again. This conversation was taking an uncomfortable turn, now.
Katsumoto	"Only one," the samurai replied, his words easily parrying Nathan's own to the side with the same skill with which he wielded a blade, "who is ashamed of what he has done."
Nathan	"You have no idea what I have done." Nathan's words were all of a whisper, now, as he kept his eyes firmly on Katsumoto.
Katsumoto	There was a pause, there, as the samurai nodded to the American's escort, and he waited for the other man to leave before pressing on. "You have seen many things." A moment while he waited for Nathan to agree, and then he continued on. There was a point he had to make, here. "And you do not fear death, but sometimes you wish for it. Is this not so?"
Nathan	No, Nathan couldn't deny it. "Yes."
Katsumoto	"I, also. It happens to men who have seen what we have seen." Katsumoto turned away, then, walking past Nathan and casting his gaze around the courtyard, at the sky above, at the lush pink delicacy of the cherry blossoms that surrounded them both. "And then, I come to this place of my ancestors... and I remember. Like these blossoms, we are all dying. To know life in every breath, every cup of tea, every life we take. The way of the warrior."
Nathan	"Life in every breath..." Something about that statement had caught Nathan, and he found his eyes tracing over the trees around them as well.
Katsumoto	Katsumoto turned, faced Algren, and nodded. "That is bushido." A pause. And then a completely different tone of voice. No reverence, no conversation. Business. "The Emperor has granted a safe passage to Tokyo. We leave tomorrow."
Nathan	And just like that, their time spent in 'captivity' was drawing to a close. What do you say to something like that? What if you didn't want to leave when you were told you were once again a free man? "... Good."
Katsumoto	"Good." Katsumoto's man returned, holding out a small, beaded rawhide satchel. Katsumoto took it, and then held it toward Nathan. "When I took these, you were my enemy." And then he turned and walked away.
Nathan	Nathan stood in silence for a moment more, staring at the item in his hands. A relic of another life, before Japan, before Fandom. A bag carefully decorated in Native American beadwork, containing a book of Nathan's own writings, his research on the tribes back in America. Some other Nathan Algren owned those things. He wasn't that man, anymore. But he'd hold on to them for him, regardless. He turned, leaving the courtyard. He had one day to say his farewells, to ready himself for the trip. He supposed that Tony, at least, would be thrilled that they were going to leave. Back to Fandom to do whatever it was that they were supposed to be doing. Did Tyler still have to be knocked out? Had it been as long there as they'd spent, here? He had to say thank you to Taka.