Chapter 14: Fright

Climbing into the branches, Ranmaru still wasn’t completely certain what he was doing. He’d slept barely three hours, and had nothing to show Asa from his planning efforts from the last week and a half. 

His heart demanded he take any chance he had to see her though.

From within the safety of the tree’s foliage, he peaked out into the yard. At first, he saw no one, and wondered what to do next. Trying to sneak into the house seemed dangerous. Not that sneaking into the yard wasn’t, but it was an extra level of danger he wasn’t sure he was able to risk. Trying to slink through the yard to see the other side of the home was an option, but there wasn’t much yard on that side, so the odds of anyone being there seemed low. 

He found himself trying to remember what little he’d seen of the house when he’d been inside, hunting for anything that might help him now, when motion caught his eye. A guard stepped out, prompting Ranmaru to freeze. He was preparing to run when Asa appeared behind the guard. The guard barked something at Asa that Ranmaru couldn’t make out from across the yard. She nodded, looking like she was apologising, before the guard shouted again and shooed her into the yard.

Ranmaru waited silently for her to move away from the house and the guard to close the door. Once the coast was clear, Ranmaru scrambled down from the tree. From ground level, he could see the look of annoyance on Asa’s face as she muttered something to herself in her own language and glared at the house.

Her grumpiness was adorable. Ranmaru couldn’t allow himself to enjoy it for too long, however, as his gut remained nervous about what had happened. As such, he called out her name, hopefully just loud enough to reach her.

After a second call, she noticed and turned to him, a perfect smile spreading across her face as she hurried over.

“You,” she said, her voice full of energy. “I wanted you to return.”

“I’m sorry it was not sooner,” Ranmaru replied, as the pair slipped back into the shadows of the tree. “Is everything okay? Why was the guard yelling?”

“I am okay. Mister Muraji’s old bonsai tree... it is not,” Asa replied. “He really loved it.”

“He left you in charge of it?”

Asa nodded. “Woman duties, he says.”

“He won’t punish you too much, will he?” Ranmaru asked, feeling worried for her.

“Talk lots, yes. But not...” Asa paused before miming hitting her palm with her fist.

“He won’t hit you?”

“Hit! That word... and, no. He says ‘beauty is why he has me, hitting only... blem... blemishes?” Asa replied. “Maybe no food one day. Easy. Chinese rarely fed me.”

Ranmaru felt his heart drop into his gut. On instinct, he found himself pulling Asa into a hug. Once he’d done it, he worried he’d crossed a boundary, and backed away nervously.

“S-sorry. I just... I should have asked,” he muttered.

Asa looked ready to cry, only worsening his panic, until she stepped forward and pulled herself against him. Gingerly, Ranmaru wrapped his arms back around her. There was a comforting silence between them for a few moments, Ranmaru half wanting to pick her up and run away with her then and there. He had no money with him, though, and he knew that both of them would be hunted. He also couldn’t just leave his adoptive sisters behind to be punished. He needed a better plan.

Finally, Asa stepped back, though she was smiling a gentle smile now. “That was nice. It has been too long.”

“Hugs are good,” Ranmaru said.

Asa silently mouthed the word ‘hug’, before having a more determined look fill her eyes. “You have also been too long.”

“I’m sorry. I... where I live, I can not leave easily. I want to get you out of here, but must also get myself out of there,” Ranmaru said, a weak smile on his face.

“You are a servant too?” Asa asked.

“Sort of. It’s... it’s complicated,” Ranmaru replied. He wasn’t sure how to explain it in simple terms, and he worried what Asa might think of him if she found out the truth.

He decided to get to work on teaching her more Japanese, so as to help with future conversations, the important ones and the little ones. He found some of his miming, and impressions of animals, were rather lacking, though Asa’s giggles when he attempted animal noises made his heart flutter. 

After running out of animals he thought he could manage at least a passing impression of, he felt it a good place to end the lessons for the day. He didn’t want to leave just yet though, and, at his heart’s request, tempted fate just that little bit more.

“Before I go, could... could I ask you to sing a song for me? Your voice is beautiful,” Ranmaru asked.

“I only have songs in my language,” Asa replied.

“The songs are beautiful, all the same. One day I will try to learn what they mean, but I can love them for being yours right now,” Ranmaru explained.

Asa smiled, before taking a few breaths. Then she began, this song happier than her last, though still as beautiful. The way she looked at him as she sang made him suspect it was a love song. The way she bounced and swayed as she sang also showed there was a confidence in her heart, and left him imagining what her home must have been like. A society where women had any opportunity... even Ranmaru hadn’t quite gotten that life, knowing some opportunities were dependent on his masculinity. As she continued to sing, he hoped he’d one day better understand.

“WOMAN!!” Muraji’s voice bellowed across the yard, interrupting Asa’s song.

Ranmaru silently cursed his heart for asking for an excuse to stay. He should have been gone already. 

Asa gave him a weak parting smile, before heading out into the yard. Ranmaru kept himself hidden behind the trunk of the tree, wishing he could help her more.

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“Yes, Master Muraji?” she asked, as she walked towards the building.

“I just heard about what you did to my bonsai! I gave you specific instructions on how to care for it!” the man roared.

“I tried remembering them all. Much sorry,” Asa replied, Ranmaru realising she was playing up her accent. 

“Sorry won’t bring the tree back!” the man shouted, before glancing over where Ranmaru was hidden. “What were you doing singing over there anyway?”

“Big tree has spirit. Showing spirit respect,” Asa replied.

“Oh, you respect the bigger tree, but not the ancient bonsai!?” Muraji roared.

“Little tree never has spirit. Too little,” Asa explained, her tone like that one would use with a small child.

“I have no time for you nonsense superstitions! Go get cleaning. I’ll decide when you can eat or see the ‘big tree’ again,” Muraji shouted.

Ranmaru’s eye twitched as he listened. He had to fight against every fibre of his being not to charge across the yard and try to strangle the man. He knew that Muraji was a veteran soldier, however, and was larger than him. Any attempt to attack unarmed would be doomed, and so Ranmaru held himself in place while tightening his fists to a painful degree.

After a few moments of quiet, Ranmaru scrambled into the tree, ready to leave, only to freeze as he was halfway up. Muraji had stayed at the doorway and was looking towards the tree. Ranmaru held his breath, unsure if he’d been seen or not. Muraji’s eyes narrowed, but he then returned into the house.

His heart in his throat, Ranmaru hurried down into the street, unsure if he’d been seen or not. He thought that an aggressive Muraji would have hunted him if he’d been seen... But he wasn’t sure. Muraji might also be the sort to happily lure someone into a false sense of security, out of some strange joy in making others suffer. Maybe?

---

Returning to the ageya, Ranmaru claimed he’d done some shopping while out. Hunting for new fashions not yet available in Yoshiwara. He’d merely failed to find anything that caught his eye. The Yarite seemed sceptical, but accepted the excuse. He was glad to get out of the lobby as quickly as possible, still worried he was being followed. Even if he’d not seen anyone, he couldn’t shake the feeling.

He hurried his way up to Saki’s apartment, asking her for a little rice. After eating the onigiri offered, and returning to female form, Ranka felt a little calmer. She was surely safer now.

She also realised that had been one transformation too many, with how little sleep she’d had. Exhaustion hitting like a brick, she found herself fainting when she’d tried to head into the hallway, having hoped to make it to her own futon before passing out.

The sleep that followed was filled with nightmares. Dreams of Asa crying out for aid, the Yarite catching on and demanding she accepted the suicide clause of an Oiran’s contract. More amorphous dreams of being hunted mixed in. Then, worst of all, a dream where she rescued Asa, the pair making a break for the country... only for Asa to stare at her, no recognition in those midnight eyes, and, somehow, no rice so that Ranka could prove who she was.

That last dream, seeing Asa push Ranka away and call out for Ranmaru, jolted her awake. 

Her heart racing, Ranka pulled herself into a ball, and wrapped the blankets around herself. She only vaguely noticed she was in her own apartment, and that it was still dark. She didn’t really care either. All that filled her mind was the terror of everything going right, against all the odds, only to have Asa reject her, and, by extension, him.

She knew from experience that she could hide things for a while, but... forever? That was surely quite impossible. Mistakes happened. Or someone labelled a dish as tempura, when they’d really used rice flour. 

Closing her eyes, and wiping away a few tears, Ranka told herself that freeing Asa was more important. Leaving her locked away like that, just on fear of the risk of rejection, was beyond selfish. True love sought the happiness of one’s love, regardless of if the love was returned.

It didn’t make the fear sting any less however.

---

After assuring the Yarite she was in acceptable health, despite fainting the day before, Ranka was allowed to change and practice with the guards again. 

Ranmaru threw himself at them with maximum fury, wanting to make up for lost time in his training. It was, perhaps, not the most fair sparring, the guards seeming afraid to bruise an Oiran, no matter how aggressive he might spar, but Ranmaru’s lack of proper practice balanced matters. 

He worked himself to exhaustion, but felt satisfied by the end. He was getting back into the flow. A couple more weeks, and he might be able to stand a chance in a fight.

---

The next day brought the weekly visit to the shrine for the four of them. Ranka prayed for Ichi, the young Kamuro and her waiting in place after the prayer, just in case. Again they had to leave disappointed, however. Saki comforted the young girl as they made their way back to the ageya, assuring her that patience would yield results.

Ranka tried not to be too annoyed herself, but could help feeling guilty at how much easier things had been for her. She remembered the miko kitsune had mentioned that the world of the kami and yokai was full of regulations, and hoped there hadn’t been some change to prevent others from gaining the help she’d received.

Trying to dismiss the worry, Ranka froze. Predatory eyes were upon her, and she searched the crowd for the source, trying to still her fear. 

It was him. Muraji. 

Watching her intently, from across the large open street.

“What’s wrong?” Saki whispered, the other’s having returned to her side after seeing her freeze.

“It’s... Muraji, him. The man holding Asa captive... he’s staring at me,” Ranka whispered. “He can’t... he can’t know, can he?”

“You have silver hair and makeup to make you look supernatural. I rather suspect that’s why he’s staring. Just like half of the rest of the street,” Fuji replied. “Besides, people who know you barely recognise you when you switch from presenting like this to dressing for regular Edo. No way would a man who’s barely ever seen you piece things together.”

Ranka let herself breathe again and nodded. “Y-you’re right. Let’s get going again.”

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