Introductions and Murder [Arc Part 1]

Any claims implying that the cheering was unnecessary were promptly ignored. The samurai knew how important it was to support one’s allies. Losing one’s will to fight meant losing one’s life as well. No power nor sorcery could help when that happened. Just then the assassin proved her right. He lost the battle the moment his will faltered. Only when the foe fell for good the loud cheering finally stopped. Silence drifted over the vessel. Even the wind stopped whispering. It was a decisive victory for the Marines, but...

Without wasting a moment Yumiko tossed the fans aside and rushed to Anton’s side. “Captain! Are you alright?” She didn’t even wait for an answer before drawing her own conclusions from his slightly ruffled attire. Her gaze narrowed and teeth gritted. “No... That foul villain...” A haunting realization echoed through her mind, gnawing at her conscience. He was terribly wounded. Clearly. She should have been by his side... Taken those attacks on his behalf... Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she went to grasp the man in a supportive hold. Firmly. Insistently. Honestly expecting him to collapse any second now. “Sir, please lay down. We must tend to thy wounds quickly lest they worsen.” She cast an intense stare towards Julius.

“Doctor! Thou are needed!”

Once the samurai’s motherly sisterly fussing was either followed or rejected, she finally gave her superior some breathing room. Taking a couple of steps back, she gathered her courage.  With her resolve steeled, she prostrated herself before her superior. “I am sorry!” Without raising her head from the floor, she went on to clarify the sudden declaration. “I should have noticed the villains before they ambushed us, but I failed. My negligence placed you... nay... the entire crew and the ship in grave danger. For that I offer my deepest apologies.” But as any samurai knew, apologizing alone wasn’t enough. She raised her head slowly... “To atone for this unforgivable mistake, I shall cut my stomach open.” ...and started unsheathing her blade.

While lost in the fervor of fretting and then apologizing, the swordsman completely missed the arrival of the revered Commodore. His presence barely registered in her mind. Perhaps it was better that way... If she had realized how terribly, awfully she disrespected him... Well, the blade would’ve come out all the quicker. Likewise, she only vaguely acknowledged the new scents around her. Now her utmost focus was on the atonement. The ritual had very specific motions to follow.

However, fate had different plans...

Much to the samurai’s utter bafflement, her superior stopped the sacred act of seppuku. Loudly. Her blade was stopped in its sheath. She could only stare back in wide-eyed shock and stammer in disbelief. “B-but... I... Sir... T-thy honor...” Questions twirled around her head in dizzying patterns. Why would he stop her? Was he not angry? Did he not understand the gravity of her mistake? Her jaw dropped when the captain instead... thanked her? “I-I...” She released her grip on the sword only to bow down again. “I am not worthy!” With her forehead pressed against the rough planks of the deck, she tried to quietly gather her thoughts. To understand what was happening. Foreign ways were so very strange...

Several awkward seconds -and deep, calming breaths- passed before Yumiko raised her head again. Since the atonement had been denied by a superior’s order, she had no choice but to reluctantly obey. She turned her steely gaze towards the doctor who had offered to tend to her wounds. “I thank thou for thy kindness, but ’tis not necessary. ‘Tis merely a scratch.” The blood slowly trickling from her bruised nose told a different tale, but she was very adamant in her opinion. Any further offers would be politely but firmly rejected. A true samurai did not feel pain, fear or even hunger.

The samurai returned to her superior’s side, to act as his shadow once again. When she thought no one was looking, she pulled out a small, silver flash from the folds of her kimono. A quick sip filled her mouth with an intoxicating taste that reminded her of home. It extinguished the embers of shame burning inside her chest. ...Mostly. Quickly she slipped the flask back into hiding. The Marine code didn’t exactly approve of drinking on the job... Buuut she had always considered herself a Marine second. And she didn’t know how else to cope with her terrible failures...

The swordswoman opened her mouth with the intent to insist she was fine, yet she couldn’t get a single word out. The doctor’s argument was fool proof. Or samurai proof at least. Interfering with a man’s duty was dishonorable. But so was wasting the doctor’s valuable time when the captain’s well-being, nay, life was clearly more important... Ultimately she bowed her head. Any defiance vanished from her calm tone. “Very well. Do with me as thou wish.” It was easier to accept the help when she rationalized it as a part of her mission. In order to protect her new master, she needed to be in top condition.

Where Anton went, Yumiko followed. Always three steps behind, as quietly as a shadow. In fact, she didn’t say a single thing without being prompted. The captain would find that a running theme. There were countless questions she wished to ask him... About the crew, the ship and his particular animal sorcery... But now was not the time. He needed to rest. She could try to sate her thirst for knowledge some other time.

As the two walked along the ship’s corridors, the samurai scanned every single shadow twice. Her hand constantly hovered over the handle of her blade. Perhaps it was intuition, but something told her the danger was not yet over. The words of that strangely dressed assassin echoed in her mind. '...we were picked for the job...' Her gaze narrowed with suspicion. Someone had sent them here. And a snake who relied on assassins would not stop after one failure. Today’s mistake could... would not be repeated. Her eyes were drawn to the captain walking ahead of her. Tonight she would be sleeping by his door. Just in case.