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Part One: Chapter 5


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#1 Guest_The Blue Sorceress_*

Posted 10 October 2007 - 02:11 AM

Chapter 5







Morning came, and Yoshimo awoke to the sight of Kaede’s three maids staring down at him. He was groggy, and didn’t quite know what to say or do, so he just blinked and stared back for a while. At last the last fuzzy bits of sleep left him and he asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Watching you,” Ayame replied.

That was disturbing. “How long have you been here for?”

“A while,” Kurenai said.

“How long of a while?”

“Since dawn,” said Hana.

That was more disturbing. “And you just sat here and watched me the entire time?”

All three nodded and said, “Yes,” in unison.

Yoshimo shivered and resisted the urge to hide under his covers. They looked at him with dark, relentless eyes. “Why?” He asked, pushing his irrational discomfort from his mind. They were just trying to bother him. Of course, they were succeeding, but there was no reason to let them know that.

“To wake you up,” said Kurenai.

Yoshimo sat up. “You could have just woken me in a more… ah… normal manner.”

“That wasn’t part of the game,” Ayame explained.

“What game?”

“The game we were playing,” Hana told him.

“We wanted to see who could wake you up with her mind first,” Ayame added.

Yoshimo raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who won?”

“Kurenai did. She’s the best at that sort of thing.”

“Is there any particular reason you wanted to wake me?” The three of them nodded, but said nothing.

“Will you tell me what it is?”

They shook their heads.

“Why not?”

The girls just smiled enigmatically.

Yoshimo had an idea. “Is this another game?” he asked.

The girls nodded.

Yoshimo sighed. “I suppose I have to guess what you wanted me for, right?”

Three simultaneous nods accompanied the end of his question.

“All right, I’ll play along. Does it have anything to do with my training?”

Ayame, Kurenai and Hana exchanged glances. Kurenai shrugged, Ayame shook her head no and Hana nodded. They seemed to have a silent, three-way discussion and then Ayame agreed with Hana, and Kurenai joined them. They all nodded.

“What part of it?”
Ayame made sword fighting motions. The other girls caught on and followed suit.

“Sword practice?” he asked.

The girls nodded.

Yoshimo sighed again. “Where does Hiruma-san want me?”

The girls smiled and shook their heads.

“He doesn’t want me?”

They nodded.

“Then who does?”

The girls had another silent discussion and then pointed to one another.

“You want me? For what?”

The girls gave him a look that asked ‘Are you an idiot?’ They made sword fighting motions again.

“I know that!” Yoshimo exclaimed irritably. They were getting on his nerves, as usual. “But why you and not Hiruma? Surely you’re not giving me training with the sword!”

They shook their heads and pointed at him, then pointed at themselves, and then made sword fighting motions again.

Yoshimo frowned. “I’m training you?”

Three big smiles and three nods confirmed his suspicions.

“Then why not just say so in the first place?” he exploded.

“It wouldn’t have been as much fun,” Kurenai said.

“Hurry up! Get dressed! We want to use swords!” Hana chirped, smiling.



 



Much, much later Yoshimo retreated back to his room, exhausted both mental and physically. Never again, he said to himself, never again. It wouldn’t have been so bad if his three students hadn’t been Ayame, Hana and Kurenai, but as it was he hoped Hiruma would change his training regimen.

He heard loud, clumping footsteps outside his door, and knew instantly that Hiruma was there to see him. Had it been Kaede the approach would not have been noticeable, and had it been one of the three girls, or more, it would have been accompanied by giggling.

“Come in,” he called.

As he had expected, Hiruma slid the door open and entered. He took a seat on the floor and indicated that Yoshimo ought to do the same. When both were seated Hiruma said, “So, how went training with the trio of terror?” He seemed to be in a good mood, and his usual gruffness was gone.

“It… ah… it went,” Yoshimo said.

“What do you think?”

“About their potential?” Yoshimo asked. “They seem to catch on quickly, though I’m no expert, but to be perfectly honest I don’t think the three of them should be let near swords. Ever.”

Hiruma chuckled. “And why is that?”

Yoshimo thought back to the training session, remembering how he had barely avoided several unexpected jabs from the three girls. “They’re irresponsible and untrustworthy,” he said. “I half expected them to kill me every time I turned around.”

“Well, nevertheless, you will continue to train them. Perhaps they will become more trustworthy as they progress”

“If I may ask, why did you want me to train them in the first place?”

“The best way to learn is to teach what you already know. It ingrains the training in your memory,” Hiruma explained. “Now, I have some things to teach you.” Yoshimo began to stand, but Hiruma motioned for him to keep sitting. “This won’t require us to go anywhere,” he said. “I merely have some of the basic rules of our trade to lay out.”

Yoshimo nodded. “I see,” he said. He settled in and did his best to make himself comfortable.

“There are three basic rules that I live by,” Hiruma said, “they form the backbone of the code I live by and the code you will live by. First, never take a job from a man you can’t trust. If he doesn’t trust you, that is his problem, but if you feel you can’t trust him then you won’t likely get paid, and since the point of being a bounty hunter is to get paid, it will be an exercise in futility to work for him. Second, never take a job where the mark is a woman. That can only lead to trouble.”

“I don’t understand. Women shouldn’t be any more trouble to catch than men.”

“That isn’t the issue. The issue is that women can manipulate you in ways that men can’t. How do you think I ended up with Kaede?”

Yoshimo considered that. He didn’t think he’d have any trouble with a woman if he had to catch one. “I still don’t think that I would have trouble,” he said.

“You might think so now, but wait and see. I’d bet you my life that the first woman you hunt will end up with you wrapped around her little finger in half a heart beat,” Hiruma warned him. “And that brings us to the third rule, which is never get too close. Sometimes you will be forced to travel long distances with a live target. Don’t become their friend. That’s the last thing you need. Any attachment to a target will only get in your way. As I said before, you’re not a bounty hunter for any other reason than to get paid. Everything else is extra and not important. Obey these three rules and you’ll live a long, happy life as a bounty hunter, break them and you’ll end up like me, with a bitch like Kaede harping on you and her three apprentices causing all sorts of trouble. Or worse yet, you’ll end up dead.”

“The girls are Kaede-san’s apprentices?” Yoshimo asked.

“They’re not mine,” Hiruma grumped, his good mood seemingly gone.

“If I may ask, what is it that Kaede-san does anyway?”

“Other than bother me?” Hiruma returned. He sighed. “She’s sorceress, and so are those thee irritating maids of hers. She of course, has her usefulness on some missions, especially when I need to capture a magic user, but other than that she stays here so that she doesn’t get in my way.”

“Where did she find Ayame-san, Hana-san and Kurenai-san?”

Hiruma looked at him sharply. “Nosy, aren’t you?”

Yoshimo flushed, embarrassed. “No, I… well, they’re obviously not your daughters and I was… I was curious.”

Hiruma grinned crookedly. “Of course,” he said, as if there was something Yoshimo was hiding. There wasn’t, but Hiruma could think what he wanted, and Yoshimo doubted he could change the man’s mind once it was made up. “Hana and Ayame we found training to be geisha. They’re twins, so well trained and working together they would’ve been some pair. Kaede wanted them, so eventually I relented and bought their contracts. The madam had a fit, but I knew some things that made her relent and give them up for a reduced price.”

“How long ago was that?”

“A couple of years.”

“And what about Kurenai-san?”

“We found her on the way back from a hunt. Her parents sold her to us to keep the rest of their family fed. She’s a twin too, but her sister died years ago. We’ve had her around for a year now.” Hiruma grinned crookedly again. “Any more asinine questions to waste my time with.”

“Uh… no.”

Hiruma stood. “Good. You’ll continue to train the brats tomorrow. Work on your archery until dinner, then Kaede will test your own skill with the sword. She’ll probably train you until you’re ready for me. We don’t want you to repeat that clumsy effort you made last night.” With that he walked out and shut the door behind him, leaving Yoshimo alone again.




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