The Guest's Tea Room

Aiko entered the guest room and and examined it. She could smell the tea being made and was eager to try it. "Thank you for the help, Isao," she said. "Some of the tea would be nice, if you don't mind," she asked Isao.

The Swordmaster cleared his throat and spoke up, "perhaps after we receive our tea, I could tell you of mu flight, Isao."

Aiko squinted her eyes in curiosity and looked at the old man. Apparently, not even she knew why she had to be on the run.

"No," the Swordmaster said, shaking his head in response to Isao suggesting he save his words. "You are a good man, a noble man, an honorable man. I could not ask for a better friend for Aiko." Aiko blushed a little and looked down, hiding her emotions. "And if Aiko should serve alongside you, then you should know her flight."

Aiko swallowed and looked at the old man. Was he really about to tell why they were running in the first place? Her whole time spent with him he never revealed why exactly they were running.

"As I told your sensei, Omura," he continued, "I once served Kagen Uesung as a blacksmith and a samurai. When I realized that what I was doing was wrong... I left. In solitude I lived, even after Kagen was killed. I was relieved to know evil had been vanquished from the land, but still I isolated myself and contemplated all the death and misery I had helped create."

Aiko cleared her throat and interrupted. "Sorry, master, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Quiet, young Aiko," he said calmly. "Not all the Uesung died that day. It would seem that Kenjin Uesung, the seed of evil, was whisked away to the dreaded Isle of Bishonton. There, I have no doubt he was raised to be more brutal, more harsh, and just as evil as his father, Kagen. Now he has returned, and he seeks what is rightfully his. He wants land, and people to work his fields; he seeks surpluses of food for which to feed his armies. If he is allowed to succeed in this... he will bring about war and chaos to Katashima."

The Swordmaster then closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "I cannot let him to corrupt his sister."

Aiko looked down in deep curiosity and then turned her head to look at the Swordmaster. "What?" She began breathing hard and was afraid to hear what came next.

The old man shook his head sadly. "I knew one of the Uesung children survived. She was taken by one of the other samurai who participated in the Uesung's extermination. Little did I know that Kenjin also survived. I sat in isolation, but I would often check on the young Uesung... who was given the name..." the Swordmaster looked at Aiko. "Aiko. I had to make sure she was given a proper upbringing, to make sure she was not like her father."

Aiko shook her head, not wanting to accept the truth. Tears began to stream down her eyes. Any and all restraint was gone. "What... I'm... that can't be! I'm not a Uesung! Kenjin is not my brother!"

The Swordmaster, still shaking his head, continued. "It is true, Aiko, I am sorry. You are a Uesung, and Kenjin is your brother. And you must stay away from him, lest he corrupt you like the warrior-monks of Bishonton corrupted him, and all of your ancestors. That's why I must give you away to one of the Daimyo, so you can serve them faithfully, and not your brother. Stay here, with Isao, and train under Omura, serve Genji..."

(Fixing to post as Aiko)

For all of Kawakami-sensei's teachings, he was not prepared for that moment in time.

Ashikaga Isao sat in silence as the elder Swordmaster shared his harrowing tale of the Uesung family. He was not unfamiliar with the story but like Aiko he was young and those events were a faded memory told by those who came before him. So, Isao looked on unsure of what to say, of what to do, of what to... Anything. His eyes quietly moved from the Swordsmaster as he contemplated the sincerity of his words and the young Aiko whom he could not help but sympathize with. He masked his own interior confusion with a stoic mask of stone; he tried not to let neither his eyes or face betray how conflicted he felt on the matter.

He wished he had some wisdom to offer in light of the revelations.

However, he finally found words.

"I cannot in good conscience allow you to stay here and share my Lord's hospitality if either of you pose a threat to Lord Genji," Isao flatly spoke, his tone even.

"I do not understand the breadth of the Uesung's evil or the atrocities they committed in their time, but as samurai we must answer for our father's crimes. Their dishonor is a stain on our own souls. Dishonor can only be cleansed with blood. So, you put me in a precarious position..." He paused and took a deep, labored breath before he looked up to the Swordmaster, then Aiko. "If you stay here, you must swear off any allegiance to this Uesung family. I cannot bear a threat within this house. We need not the eyes of a rogue warlord on the Hizashi. But..."

For all his nobility, his strength of Honor, his dedication to duty... He was weak for a pretty face.

"I do not know any blood relatives of the Uesung. Do you?"

It was a rhetorical question.

Isao watched as the Swordmaster departed as quickly as he arrived, much like a spring wind rustling through the pines. He quirked his mouth, betraying his stoic mask, and just stared blankly at the door. He did not follow nor send any retainers to track the man. In the very least he understood by the will of fate Aiko had been left in the care of the Hizashi and he was no accountable for the girl. Uncertain eyes looked her way as long moments passed. He had no immediate words for her and he struggled to find them. When she looked to him he tightened his hands into fists on the kusazuri of his do and the lacquered, silk thread plates shifted.

"I do not know," he quietly admitted. "But... You will have to wait until Lord Genji is available to receive you. I will testify private to your circumstances and recommend you be allowed to swear fealty to his Lordship. You... Carry yourself as a samurai so you will have to take a samurai's name, Lady Aiko. I will ask you be allowed to take the Hizashi name... But if that is too bold, perhaps my Lord father would offer you a family name in exchange of your fealty. But for now... We wait."