Sunrise

I'm bored.

That is not to say that my new life is not exciting. I have come to know that things that I was so certain were impossible are the truth after all. I practice kenjitsu and iaido so that I can battle demons and goblins and the enemies of my Court. I consort with spirits and ghosts. My lover is four centuries old.

But my training continues as it has been for weeks, and perhaps months. I have learned the katas and rituals and sexual postures and read the ancient texts. Yet I have not been deemed ready to take undergo the trial of Fire and Water. Meanwhile, out there in Anjiro, my friends - the first I could call that since I met Miko - are fighting House Sohei and the Empire of Jade without me. Wraiths strike at them during the day and the Arrow of Steel Uji stalks them at night. I feel like a caged tiger.

Then Flaring Grin calls me as the sun rises. I smile as I answer the phone. Flaring Grin is always an exciting man, engaged in something new and interesting. I think that perhaps he can stay on the line while the sun rises and we can appreciate the sinrise together.

But it is not humor or encouragement that Grin-san brings me this morning, though it is exciting. Something terrible has happened and my friends are in danger. Blood Red Thorn-san challenged and fought Enforcer of the Way of the Arrows, yet lost. My first thought is that he has died and my Demon whispers that the time has come to take his place in the Uji. The thought is cruel and I despise myself for it, but I cannot pretend that it is not my thought. The Shadow speaks with its own voice, but it is just my own dark side. I ask if he survived the fight, mentally apologizing.

Thorn-san lives, and I am relieved. What ire there was between us was exorcised long ago and I wish him well. I am glad that he is part of the Thousand Ri Scouts, and it is only because of him that my membership will make us an Uji of five. But my guts freeze in my belly as Grin-san explains what happened.

To save Thorn-san from torture and death, Yuki-san gave herself up and took his place. Ah, Yuki-chan, that is so like you.

I have been forcing myself to stay awake after the sunrise to continue my studies so that I can be of use, so I am awake when Grin-san arrives. Seven Beasts is with a lover today, so if she is awake herself, I know she is busy. Since she would certainly stop me from doing what I am about to do, I am glad. Whatever punishment I must suffer for this, it is worth it. Before I sat idle while my friends needed me. I will not let the Uji down a second time.

Zhizu-san fought the sun as well and waits for us, but Blood Red Thorn was too weak from his battle and must remain behind. Grin-san hands me Thorn's black leather coat, the better to protect myself from the sun and to hide weapons. I trace the Yamabushi dragonfly stamped into the thick leather on the back of the coat. The lapel bears the character for "thousand." I slip into the coat slowly, feeling like a child who sneaks out at night and plays with his father's tools. I have not passed the Fire and Water test and am no more than a hin, but tonight I am one of the Thousand Ri Scouts. I reverently take a katana from Flaring Grin-san, the very sword that Igurashi-sama giften him after the Uji's defeat of the Kumo witch. With the coat and sword of my friends we leave to rescue Yuki-chan. I hope I do not dishonor these gifts.

Grin-san calls up the Amida family and has them send us a little firepower. We will not fight alone. At the hotel where Yuki has been taken there are a dozen people checking out in the lobby; men, women, and children going about their lives. But not everyone there is innocent. I see a dozen men in dark suits, so much like the Amida men behind me, sitting and talking casually, but wathcing for danger. I grin and push my glasses up my nose. We are touble.

Guns and swords are drawn, but Grin-san comes forward and stills the room with a single command. My heart pounds and sweat beads on my face as he speaks to the Arrow's guardians, giving them a chance to surrender that they cannot take. They tremble before my mentor, unable to resist his authority, but so soon it collapses. Mounting tensions break and frayed nerves send deadly impulses to trigger fingers.

I run. Gunfire rips through the air arround me, pounding in my ears. I move from couch to chair to table to collumn, dodging the lead, stuffing and marble dust floating in the air like falling cherry blossoms. I slide on the polished floor as I round a pillarand come face to face with a yakuza goon from yokohama. I don't even know the name of their gumi. He reacts first, turning to shoot me. It is only because I am faster that I strike first, lashing out with Flaring Grin's katana. I am proud that the stroke is proper, even though I strike in reflex. I cleave the man from hip to shoulder with enough force to lift him from the ground and throw him back. He is the first man I have ever killed in combat.

After that the blood flows easier. Bullets rip into me, punching into my undead flesh and I am grateful for the brutal teachings of Terrible Thunder Talons. I duck and run, spin and slash. In moments it is all over. Two amida men are dead, and twelve of our enemies are scattered over the floor in death. But we must still reach Yuki-san!

Moments later Yuki-san is on the phone. She managed to remain awake herself and defeat her guards and now she awaits us to route out and slay the Arrow of Steel. Ah Yuki-chan! She stands before us in her black leather suit, as close as skin, bullet holes revealing perfect white flesh. What a woman!

Grin-san and Zhizu-san fill the halls with the thunder of their shotguns while Yuki and I rush the yakuza. The fight is even shorter this time. Soon we stand on the top floor of the hotel listening to the distant cry of police sirens. We don't have long.

One by one we storm the suites. The Devil Tiger fails to rise and dies swiftly. The others stand and fight, weakened by the sun as they are. Now I see how much I still have to learn. Fighting gaki is nothing like the yakuza I killed only minutes before. The Arrow's are powerful and cunning; each of them with years more experience and supernatural might than I. Winter Morning Light's crackling blood lash and White Incense Breath's swollen demon form are more than I have ever faced. I circle and slash, hoping just to create an opening that the others might use, while the Sohei warriors fling me aside. I pick myself up when the fighting is done. Incense Breath and Shakuhachi are dead, Winter Morning Light is trapped in little death by a wooden shaft, and Enforcer died by his own power to evade capture.

I can almost feel Yuki-san's sadness, though she refuses to show it in her face. This day we saved her from the dishonor of capture and torture, slew enemies of our House, and took an important captive of our own. Yet the First Principle of the Fivefold Way troubles her. It was not without disagreement that the Scouts attacked and dispatched the Arrows. Each of these dead gaki, and the one who awaits the torturers of our own Court, is on the same path of enlightenment that we are. Each of them seeks the same release from this curse that we do. Yet we are on opposites sides of a great conflict. Though they must be honored according to the Way of Origin they have allied themselves to a concquering army of wraiths who enslave our ancestors. I am not sure what to think, or who to agree with. In the short-term, we have done what must be done - killed an enemy who would have killed us.

Tomorrow the sun will set again and I will have to return to Yedo and answer for my actions. But for today, I am one of the Thousand Ri Scouts and victorious! Yuki-san offers me her bed, sadly to sleep in alone while she mediates. However, my blood is too high to sleep. Zhizu accepts my invitation and she closes the door behind me. I am sad that Yuki-chan cannot accpet, but I understand that slaying another Crane - killing one who is on the same mission as her - has affected her deeply. It is a matter that I, too, must think about. But I am a Dragon, and today I must live.