Life's Unexpected Turns -Toshiro

Toshiro’s walk across the property was soundless. He moved with his weight on the edges of his feet, never quite touching toe or heel to the ground -that was the secret. Like a prowling feline, just as hungry for first blood, it was easy work picking off the men on Rebel’s night watch without anyone taking notice.

The farm he’d come to had recently become an outpost for the traitors. Guard forces being tied up elsewhere for the time being, Toshiro had been sent by himself to handle the situation. It was unfortunate that farm families found themselves in a terrible dilemma, betting their lives on no good choice between aiding and abetting the enemy under threat of death, or paying for their high treason later, by penalty of death. Rescue was unlikely for the poor souls who unwittingly had their farms taken from them; it was more likely they’d all be killed alongside the Rebels. That was the law, though. There seemed no way to win.

Unfair as it might be, Toshiro didn’t question the law though. Treason was treason, after all. Nor did he question his orders to end their lives along with the lives of other traitors. At first, it was because he’d trusted implicitly in each call made by his superiors. All he needed to do was carry out their orders dutifully and to perfection so that he could make his own mark on world. So that he could make a difference.

The more rebels that died by his sword, the more loyal citizens he would be able to protect, and the sooner peace would return to Telgar.

After a while, struggling with how much truth that thought really held for him though, there grew a second reason. Questions only gave rise to doubt. If he had to ask questions, that meant he doubted. He second-guessed. And in situations like these, that was a sure way to get himself killed.

Hesitation. Doubt. He had no use for it. Instinct was all that survival called for.



A group of Rebels were exiting the house, making their way outside through the front door. Talking loudly, oblivious to the fact that their comrades were fallen, Toshiro closed the distance between them, hiding around the corner of the house.  Moments later, they were splitting up, calling for the men on watch to be relieved of their positions. But none of them caught on to the truth of their situation quick enough.

Stepping out from the uneven shadows, Toshiro grabbed the first unsuspecting man by the arm, twisting it painfully behind his back where the joint locked, disabling him long enough for Toshiro to drive his sword through the rebel’s back until the blade protruded from the other side. What little sound the dying rebel made in surprise before descending into the cold throes of death, was enough to alert the rest of them.

Rushing forward, the others had barely gathered their wit about them by that point, making them easy targets. Both fell to Toshiro’s sinister blade in short order, the brief commotion bringing attention from inside the house now.

Of course, Toshiro gave them little time to organize. The front door swung open, and just as fast, Toshiro side-kicked it closed, slamming the first man out the door in the face. Stunned, the man bowled over, making room for Toshiro to take his place. Using his own forward momentum to perforate the next rebel’s side, driving his blade between the man’s ribs, Toshiro pushed back, utilizing his enemy’s body as a shield long enough to enter the building and discover how many others were waiting for him.

A quick glance about was enough to drop the body from his grasp and send his sword into a whirlwind of attacks that effectively set back any of their advances and quickly felled all of them.

Toshiro had been about to head up the stairs to secure the upper level when a scuffle of steps came down instead. Making way for the descent, it appeared to be a rebel holding one of the farmers hostage. For a long, tense moment, the two of them met stares, but the rebel must have underestimated the baleful glare pinned on him. Unforgiving and far removed from sympathy, there was only one intent on the lone hunter’s mind.

Yet, the Rebel started his plea bargain, “Make one move and I’ll sli-”

Slit his throat? Toshiro’s sword arm swung, leveling at the neck. The heads of both men were severed before the rebel’s speech was finished. To some, perhaps it was a pity, but to Toshiro, it didn’t matter how either of them died. They were all going to die. They were traitors.

Unblinking, Toshiro stepped over the bodies to head up the stairs.



Taking time to search the upper level, he wasn’t surprised to find no one else at home, but there were still a couple of back rooms on the main floor he hadn’t checked out yet. There were beds here though, to rest himself for the night before returning to Southern Telgar Hold. In the morning, a patrol would probably be on its way to investigate the scene.


He’d been deciding which bed to settle down on for the night when the tell-tale creek of a door on its hinges drifted up faintly from the first floor. Instantly at the ready, Toshiro rushed from the bedroom he was in, back into the hall and down the stairs. Leaping over the dead life forms previously left behind, Toshiro glanced from the front of the house to the back, gauging where the noise had come from. There wasn’t anyone left in the house he could see so they had to have been hiding and escaped from it.

Taking his best guess, Toshiro headed for the back door to the house, finding it slightly ajar. His guess must have been right. Moving through it, it was under the light of Pern’s twin moons that he was able to see a single figure running through the adjacent field, headed toward the barn in the distance.






Trying to remain undetected as he entered through a cracked barn door, Toshiro didn’t hear any sign of animals within. Everything was quiet.  

At first, as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer interior lighting, searching for any sign of life, he wondered if the escapee knew he was being followed and left the barn from another exit already, heading into the field again or nearby forest. Since he hadn’t heard any such movement though, Toshiro was betting the best course of action would be to search the barn and assume the traitor was hiding.

Cautiously scoping out the barn as best he could in the current light, he resorted to stabbing his sword into piles of hay. But when that didn’t produce any results, there was still the loft to check out. About to reach for the ladder, there was a movement in his periphery.  Drawing his attention to the corner, amoungst the sheaths of hay, Toshiro’s muscles tensed at the ready.

Moving quickly to corner the escapee, Toshiro set himself to barricade path to get out, ready to defend himself and strike his foe down. But, his plan didn’t go as expected.

“Please don’t hurt me! I don’t have a weapon. I don’t have anything anymore. I never wanted any of this.” The voice was quiet but firm as it pleaded.






A female?

Toshiro’s devilish nature was undermined by the sweetness of that voice. He may have been renown for his swift cruelty when it came to dealing with Telgar’s traitors, but he’d never been faced with hunting down a woman before.

Truth be told, she was probably related to the farm family who’d been caught up in all this mess. But that shouldn’t matter. He was here to clear the area of threats -and there was no proof before him that would separate her from assumed allegiance to the Chorong Rebels.


In that moment of detested hesitation, having no other defense, the girl lunged forward pressing her lips to his.

A kiss?

Toshiro flinched, expecting to be impaled by some unseen blade, but no pain accompanied her touch.  

Breaking away from the kiss long enough to gasp for breath, the woman let herself gauge his response for only the briefest moment. Of course, she’d caught Toshiro off guard, but he wasn’t set back for long enough. The unsettling intent in his eyes returned quickly to what it had been. Able to glimpse enough of it in the faint moonlight filtering through the nearby window, the woman became even more fearful, so she kissed him again, eyes squeezed shut, hoping to stall any murderous actions. It was all she could do. And for now, it seemed enough to cause him pause.


Toshiro had lived a relatively sheltered life as far as girls were concerned and thusly, had never kissed a girl before. He tried to will his hand to put the sword in its grasp to use, but the smoothness of those lips made him prefer kissing over killing at that moment.

The woman’s hands had gradually come to rest on his chest, pleading with him again, “We had no choice. We would die either way. You can’t kill someone who’s innocent. Can you?”

Kissing him again and again, Toshiro could feel her entire body begin to tremble for fear, knowing that her life was in his hands. He could tell she was crying, too.

With each osculation, Toshiro found it harder to resist her, and soon, before he realized it, his body was responding in its own way to her advances. Toshiro was stubborn, so it took awhile to warm up to eachother, but it must have been inevitable. He finally let down his guard for her and then his light-armoured uniform with it.






The next morning, Toshiro woke to the sensation of radiant light on the other side of closed eyelids; light that was coming from a recently opened window along the broad side of the barn they’d fallen asleep in.

Sitting up onto his elbows, he was able to meet the young woman’s eyes whom he’d spent the night with. She must have understood the curious glimpse in his eyes, because she answered him with a knowing smile. The woman returned to his side, sitting next to him in the hay as she explained,  “Though we just met, you’re all I have left here. The Chorongthreatened us. If we didn’t give them free reign of our farm, they would have killed us. That doesn’t mean we’re traitors. I can’t protect myself against them -those thirsty for blood on either side. And now the farm is in ruins. All I know to do is ask for your help.”

Help?

Help.

That word echoed into the depths of Toshiro’s memory, bringing back thoughts of the day he’d left his home at the Guard Hall to join the Guard’s service. He could remember that time when his passion was for wanting to help others. Had his focus on simply surviving, and the thick emotional fog of his existence as a killer caused him to forget that? Mentally he had to disagree. He hadn’t forgotten his reason for joining the fight; at least not completely. Right?

It must have been without thinking that Toshiro spoke, because when he did, his own words surprised him, “Then you don’t have to worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”  

The woman had already had the opportunity to take his life if she’d so pleased, and her deep, chocolate brown eyes didn’t speak of any such intention. Anyway, why shouldn’t he be able to protect her? She hadn’t done anything to deserve death and Toshiro was certain she told him nothing but the truth.

The young woman kept on smiling, glancing down into her lap where one hand rested, the other was lifted to brush back a curl of wavy brown hair that shined with a beautiful, healthy glow under the sun.

She appeared truly innocent, but Toshiro could also recognize fear there, and seeing her that way was unpleasant to him. As odd as that may seem. She must have known that at any moment she could have been cut down; death was always lurking near, and that only furthered his masculine desire to protect her.

Sitting upright then, Toshiro looked for his weapons and clothes, making sure they were still where he’d left them just before their lovemaking. When he found nothing misplaced, his eyes returned to the young lady at his side. “What is your name?”

Seeming a little surprised he would ask, she was already shaking her head before she could answer, “Let’s not. I mean...” Turning her gaze aside, she seemed to realize then that her request was a bit odd sounding, even to her own ears. Then again, it seemed to make sense for them, “let’s not tell eachother our names. If we speak eachother’s name, we might begin to know too much about one another and grow attached. Then, if something were to happen...”

Indeed. Toshiro understood her reasoning, and it made sense in a way. Still, they’d have to be able to call eachother by something. “What about another name then? If I made one up?”

Seeming to think about that for a moment, the girl’s mouth twisted into a curious expression until she finally agreed. “Alright then. Whatever name you like. I’ll take that name, but you have to remember it’s not the real me.”

Toshiro found himself nodding agreeably. “Alright.” And after giving himself a moment to ponder over it, he offered, “Kesa. If I have a need to call for you, it’ll be Kesa, as long as we’re together.”

Watching her expression, wondering if she approved of the name, Toshiro thought that he should know what she would call him, in case such a need should arise. So he decided to ask, “What will you call me by?”

The girl sat back on her heels, considering the question while chewing her bottom lip a little. “I don’t know. I guess...What if I call you Husband. Then no one will question why we’re together. And name-calling will be easier.” Maybe she seemed ashamed at the whole suggestion of avoiding names, but her eyes turned down to her lap again, going silent.

It didn’t matter either way to Toshiro, so, clearing his throat with a breath, he started to get up, moving to put on his clothes. He didn’t say anything in reply, because there wasn’t a need to and it actually gave him an idea. Giving people the idea they were married would make it easier to protect her theoretically.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Toshiro was urging her to follow him then, figuring they should head back to the main house before the patrol arrived.

He’d started toward the door ahead of her, but just then, cast a glance back over his shoulder at her. “It’s a good idea to stay close. A patrol will arrive to investigate. You should know they may consider you just another traitor. So, do what I say and follow me.”  As long as he was keeping her alive, Toshiro was right, it was in her best interest to go along with whatever he said.






Striking out with his left hand, the scabbard of Toshiro’s sword was thrust between them -he and the leader of the patrol who’d just arrived. Leveling the weapon with the ground about waist height to create a clear barrier, there would be no moving beyond it without eliciting the full force of his wrath.  “No one touches her.”

The small group of guardsmen standing across from him glanced curiously amoungst one another, as if anyone had an answer as to why. The woman was living on a farmstead that had aided the enemy.

“That’s not true." He quickly corrected their train of thought. "After clearing the house, I decided I should check the barn for any other Rebels. When I got there, she seemed totally unaware of what was going on, and said she’d run away from another nearby farm who’d recently been under siege by the same group. She was hiding here when the rebels took this farm as well, just a couple of days ago, and had been able to stay hidden.” It was a lie to protect her, and he didn’t know why.

The looks on the faces of the patrolmen  seemed only half-convinced, though there was nothing particularly wrong with his explanation. They still wanted to consider her just as traitorous as the rest. But Toshiro disagreed. She’d simply been hiding with nowhere else to go.

Before any of them could argue, Toshiro realized he was going to have to stake a better claim on her to get them to stop eyeing her like they were going to boil her for dinner. “She isn’t a treasonous dog like the rest of them. And I’m taking her as my wife.”

Again, his own words surprised him, though they were just words to his ears; yet hardening his glare to meet the eyes of the men who stood before him, they each individually began to back down, knowing that if Toshiro was keen on keeping her, then they’d have to accept it.

Finally, their team leader stepped up, giving a rueful grin and a friendly clap to Toshiro’s shoulder. “Well congratulations, man. You’re lucky to have found a woman to settle down with, in times like these. If that’s what you want, I’m sure she’ll make you happy.”

The words seemed strange to Toshiro, having them directed at him.

He might have managed a smile, but he felt as though he was in a foggy haze of some alternate reality. That had been the case frequently over the past few short turns. He’d learned to live life in the Now. Day to day. Hour by hour. Never considering what might happen if he outlived the war. It never seemed to have an end. So, certainly, he'd never honestly considered before, what life would be like if he took a wife.

And though he didn't think of it in that way quite yet, maybe this time life was offering up some new hope to him. Hope for a better future?