Chapter 43: On the Ship
The ship sailed peacefully in the ocean, headed to the east, towards the Isles of Kenshin – a little country situated on many islands bound together. People there ate fish as the main dish.
Blade Warriors were an ancient order of Kenshin – one of the oldest orders of the world – founded by Yoko Matsumoto, the first-ever swordswoman in Kenshin who was disguised as a man for almost her entire life before she got gravely injured in the chest area and was discovered to be a woman. But due to her loyalty to swordsmanship rules and her work on founding the order, the ruler of the district preserved her life, married her shortly afterwards, and had a son with her. Thus, the long-living order of Blade Warriors was born, the main rules of which were called the Code and were to be preserved and followed by all the members.
In Kenshin, there were many Blade Warrior Groups, but the Matsumoto Group was the greatest, as it was the main branch and the head order of all the other groups. The Matsumoto Blade Warrior Order building was situated in the town of Matsunoki, the exact same town where the friends were headed now, and where the Shadow Ninja Order operated and harmed the population.
“Ah, I’m so excited!” Tamie exclaimed once the girls gathered in their common cabin, while Shiba had taken a separate one as a boy. “We’re heading to Kenshin, and in Matsunoki, where the Blade Warrior Order originated and exists even now! I guess I can finally continue my novel of Byakuya the Blade Warrior! Oh, by the way, my number one fan from Kenshin lives there. We’ve got to know each other by Computer-gadgets. I publish my stories worldwide, and he contacted me via my signal, which is attached to the books in case someone wishes to talk to me. His signals are a Snake, a Sword, and a Tailed Goat (many people from Kenshin put the Sword as a code signal). His code-name is Matsumatsu. He’s told me he lives in Matsunoki. I hope I meet him!”
She opened up her Computer-gadget and typed to some guy under ‘Matsumatsu’ code-name she talked about, that she would soon arrive in Matsunoki in Kenshin.
“Maybe he’s not trustworthy? Why are you alerting him right away?” Riza raised an eyebrow.
“But I want to meet my fans! I don’t have that many of them”.
“It would be awesome to meet your fans!” Tiger got excited too, playing with her pets at the same time.
Soon, Tamie got a signal back:
“Looking forward to it, Tamie-san[1]”.
She brightened – he answered, and seemed excited too! She began typing anew. She wrote to him to meet up when they could. But now she got a different answer:
“My sincere apologies, Tamie-san… Things are not well settled in Matsunoki these days. I would advise you to not stay in the streets for long, especially in the evenings. The Ninja lurk everywhere. But I do hope we can meet up while you stay here. Please alert me of your arrival, so I could review my schedule. I would really love to see my favourite author, Tamie-san. Arigatō gozaimashita[2]”.
“Hmm, that’s sad…” Tamie turned off her Computer-gadget and stood up. “I guess I’ll go take a walk on the ship”.
She left her surprised friends and exited. When she walked out on the deck, she widened eyes in surprise – a familiar tall guy with a long black ponytail and light blue eyes, dressed in a black-to-purple kimono, stood at the bulwark of the ship, with his gaze set on the horizon. Once Tamie took a good look at him, she brightened – it was Byakuya von Drachen from the Cherry Blossom Festival back in Rosenweld, the same guy who alerted her of the dangers from Erik and Jan! Her lips formed in a broad smile as she ran up to him:
“Mr. von Drachen!”
Byakuya started and turned around. Once he caught the sight of Tamie, he beamed and waved a hand:
“Tamie Wingfield, such a pleasant surprise! It is nice to see you again!”
“Hehe, same here!” Tamie shook his hand, “How are you?”
“Thank you, I’m fine. I see you’re alright too. I heard your order defeated Erik and his brother. I am glad everything turned out fine. I admit I was worried”.
“Oh, yes, it was one scary experience!” Tamie trembled upon remembering that gruesome fight. “But I’m glad it’s okay now. We received the news from our member at the final moment, that if we destroyed Erik’s four clones, it would be over”.
“Yes, I know. Goldmund Steinbock, right?”
“H… How do you know?”
“We operated together,” Byakuya smiled. “My order of the Blade Warriors had allowed me to come to Rosenweld to settle my family matters of the von Drachen Clan, which included destroying Erik and Jan. So, I teamed up with Goldmund Steinbock, who worked on the same mission given by his order. I destroyed Erik inside the seal so that only his clones could remain, and informed Goldmund of my action. What happened next, you know”.
Tamie gasped – so back then, it was he to destroy Erik inside the seal?!
“Amazing…”
Just destroying Illusionary Clones of Erik was hell, and he had destroyed the real one inside the Bearer Seal?!
This guy is a beast…
“So…” Byakuya broke the silence, “I assume you too are going to Kenshin? For a mission perchance?”
“Yes. I’ve become a Grandmistress after the fight with Erik’s clones, so I’m going to Kenshin on a Grandmaster job, to defeat the Shadow Ninja Order”.
Byakuya grew confused:
“But, in Matsunoki, my order – the Blade Warriors – control the town. Matsumoto-sama, my magister, won’t be too pleased to hear that some people from another country have come to interfere in their matters. I am actually summoned back to my order on behalf of the Shadow Ninja too”.
“Oh, but, we’ve received this request from the Matsunoki Prefect…”
“You don’t understand, Tamie. Matsumoto-sama, my magister, is the owner of those lands. He is a strict man who operates according to the Blade Warrior Code and cannot stand foreigners. He doesn’t even respect me much due to my being only half-Kenshinese. The only reason why he permitted me to stay in the order after the Crimson Flame was destroyed, is because he loves me as his cousin. I warn you, you shall have problems with Matsumoto-sama if you operate independently in Matsunoki… I guess I will have to explain the situation to him and present you to him. Are you here with a group or alone?”
“Um… I am with my three partners”.
Tamie grew frightened – who was this fearsome Matsumoto-sama?!
“Alright, let us stay together when we arrive in Kenshin. I hope we can make things work…”
“Um, okay. Thank you for helping us, Byakuya”.
“Do not worry,” Byakuya put a hand on her shoulder, with the intent to encourage her, “I’m sure we can pull it off. I hope…”
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[1] San (さん) – is a Japanese honorific. It is the most commonplace honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analogues in English are the honorifics “Mr.”, “Miss”, “Ms.”, or “Mrs.”, -san is almost universally added to a person’s name; -san can be used in formal and informal contexts and for both genders.
[2] Arigatō gozaimashita (ありがとうございました) – Thank you very much (Japanese)