Fire and Rain, Chapter 3

Part 3

Fuyugomori (Winter Seclusion)

(December, 1879)

It seemed scarcely a week before winter arrived. The snow soon began to fall, covering the scattered leaves autumn had left behind…

Extra blankets were added in each bedroom at the Sukura Ryokan, hot meals were ordered more often then not and a fire burned on the main hearth all through the cold nights.

Work at the Inn usually lessened at this time of year, as hardly anyone traveled or took long trips during the winter months, so the atmosphere at the Sakura Ryokan became more quiet and restful. Soujiro was glad he had accepted the invitation to stay until spring, and he, Kita and the others quite enjoyed the peace and warmth of winter at the inn…

Even though it was still quite early in the afternoon, the sky was cloudy and overcast. Kita and Soujiro were just on their way back from town after errands, and were both anxious to get back to the fire and warm tea that was waiting for them.

"Is it just me, or does winter come sooner every year?," the girl muttered as she adjusted her Chinese/Mandarin style jacket…

Soujiro chuckled. "Well, be glad you're not a wanderer. Even in winter I had to sleep outside more often than not."

"Ay ya!," Kita's teeth chattered at the thought. "You're joking!."

"No, I'm not. I didn't always have enough money to stay at any place, so I had to make do. I got a terrible cough that first winter on my own too."

She brushed a few fallen snow-flakes from her hair. "Then you would probably freeze to death if you wandered through Beijing in winter. It's twice as cold as Kanagawa."

"I've only ever been to Shanghai," Soujiro answered. "Anyway, China has Hakubai-kou(34) in wintertime, just like Japan, doesn't it?."

Kita smiled. "We called it Mei Hua in China. It's nice to know that some flowers still bloom, even when it's dark and cold, isn't it?."

Soujiro had never really thought about that before. "Hmmm, yes. I suppose it is," he smiled back.

At this, Kita laughed and began singing in that high, scratchy, off key, nasal singing voice again.

"Meihua, meihua, man tianxia

Yue leng ta yue kaihua

Meihua jianren xiangzheng women weiweidi da Zhonghua

Kan na piandi kaila meihua, you tudi jiu you ta…"(35)

To save his own ears, the boy desperately tried to change the subject. "Ummm… Miss Kita?..."

Mercifully, she stopped singing. "Mmm hmm?."

He breathed a secret sigh of relief. "You said that you changed your name when you arrived in Japan?."

"Yes, I did."

"Well… I was wondering..."

"What my name was in Beijing?," she nodded, finishing his question. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in that. It was Li Jun."

The boy smiled at that. "Li Jun?." He'd certainly never heard a name like that before!.

"Yes, that was my name before I came here, but don't you dare call me by it now, whatever you do!."

He grinned mischievously. "Alright then, I promise not to call you that… Li Jun!."

"Hmmph!. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Harumasa, but call me that again and I'll see to it you have Taro's chores, as well as your own, for the next two months!."

"Anything, just as long as you don't sing!." Soujiro continued to tease.

"Alright! That's it!."

The next minute, the wanderer found himself being bombarded with snowballs!.

"Hey! Hey! I'm sorry!," he chuckled. "I'm sorry!."

Thwack! Another snowball nailed his forehead!. "No, you're not!."

"Alright then," the boy said with a wicked smile. "if you can't accept a humble apology…" He gathered the snow in his hands and formed it into a ball, which he then threw back at Kita!.

Laughing, the two friends took off back in the direction that led out of town, Soujiro running and Kita in hot pursuit!.

Finally, exhausted from the snow-ball fight, they jokingly called a truce and continued on their way back to the ryokan…

As they neared the edge of town, Kita noticed a group of men in what looked like prison uniforms. They were busy clearing a large, empty area and setting up building supplies… and they were under the watch of five armed police officers…

"The prison gang," she sighed. "From Hokkaido."

Soujiro studied them. "Who?."

"Sometimes convicts are sent here in prison gangs," Kita explained. "They bring them out of the jail and put them to work where they're needed. It looks like they're getting started on those new houses for the town."

The boy was only half listening to what she was saying now… for he had caught sight of someone… someone who looked awfully familiar, in spite of the lack of darkness around his eyes and the worn, patched prison uniform…

"Mister Anji?," he whispered. Surely it could not be him... but he was just as large and powerfully built as Anji, and he wore that same cloth over his shaved head…

Almost as if the man had heard his whisper, he turned around to meet the boy's widened gaze… "Lord Soujiro?..."

The wanderer could hardly believe it!. He slowly approached the tall, muscular prisoner. "Mister Anji?. What are you doing here?. Last time I saw you you were going to turn yourself in."

"I did," the hakaizou(36) gave him a saddened smile. "But the government thinks we should make ourselves useful."

Useful?!. Because of that joke of a government Anji had lost the only home and family he had ever known, Shishio had been reduced to burns and bandages, and Yumi's status was considered lower then a dog's!.

"But, Mister Anji… dragging you all the way here to Kanagawa?... Making you work for no pay, and just as winter comes?..."

The former osha(37) shook his head slowly. "It's not exactly pleasant, but it's better then just rotting in that freezing cell back in Hokkaido."

Yes, he had a point. Hokkaido was ten times colder in winter then Kanagawa. So cold that all construction there had to be put off until spring. Soujiro studied Anji more closely. This was definitely not the revenge-driven zealot from Kyoto. "You've changed, Mister Anji... I don't know if it's for the better or the worse... but you've certainly changed..."

"Thank you," the larger man smiled warmly. "You've changed too, Soujiro, but I can see that it's for the better."

"Have I?," the wanderer asked. "How so?."

Anji reached out and brushed a few stray bangs from the boy's face. "Your eyes. I remember, even though you always smiled, they always appeared… well... empty… like mine must have looked..."

But before Soujiro could open his mouth to answer, Kita was suddenly appeared at his side. "Come on, Jiro," she urged, taking his arm, while eyeing suspicious glances from the guards... She didn't want him getting into any further trouble with the police. If they should decide to detain and question him…

But the boy stubbornly stayed put. "Mister Anji, where are... Where are the others?..." He knew this was risky, but at the moment, he didn't care.

The former destroyer frowned and lowered his voice. "You should not ask that, you could be discovered."

"I know, but I have to know… Please?..."

Anji sighed and shook his head remorsefully. "Usai is dead, as you know... and Houji killed himself in prison… He never got the trial he asked for..."

Soujiro's eyes widened slightly... "What about… the others?..."

"Well, Iwanbou just wandered off, but Chou, Henya, Saizuchi, Fuji and Kamatari are all working for the government now."

Now that was something he had never expected to hear!. The Juppon Gatana, working for the same government they had tried so desperately to overthrow?!.

It was then that Kita noticed the head guard approaching them. "Jiro," she hissed, gripping his arm again, and trying to lead him away. "We have to go now!."

But the warning came to late... "You there, boy!. What are you doing?."

Both Anji and Kita's faces clouded with concern, but Soujiro forced an unassuming smile and bowed politely to the head guard. "Yes, Sir?. Forgive me, I was only talking to Mister Yuukyuuzan. He's an... old friend of mine..."

"Is he now?," the head guard narrowed his eyes, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. His narrow, wolf-like features made Soujiro think of Saitoh Hajime. Then he turned to glare at Anji. "You're supposed to be earning your keep, Yuukyuuzan, not chit-chatting with every passer-by."

The hakaizou lowered his eyes respectfully and bowed as well. "I am sorry, Captain. It will never happen again."

Though his smiled remained pasted on, the boy could hardly swallow back a gasp. The Anji Yukyuuzan he had known would not take orders from anyone!.

"Good," the captain nodded curtly. "See that it doesn't. Now get back to work with the others, you dog!."

Soujiro could no longer contain himself. "He isn't a dog!," he snapped. "At least he had the courage to turn himself in and accept his sentence!."

The guard's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. "Oh, and how do you know about that, boy?."

"He... He just told me..." the wanderer answered quietly.

"Hah!. Anji The Destroyer should be more grateful. With his record, he'll have no work once his sentence is over, and he'll be to old by that time anyway. Noone in their right mind would hire him, and he'll have no other place to go."

At this, Kita spoke up. "Yes he does, Captain!."

The guard raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, little girl?."

Ignoring his remark, Kita turned to the large convict instead. "Mister Anji, I would be most honored if you would join us for dinner at the Sakura Ryokan tonight after your work-day."

"I thank you, Miss," he bowed and touched the cloth he wore over his shaved head. "But I don't think…"

"He is not going!," snapped the captain. "The prisoners are under tighter security at night, to make sure they don't try anything!."

The girl crossed her arms with a smirk. "Now, Captain. This man handed himself over, didn't he?. Why would he try to escape now, especially since the government has been so charitable and merciful to him?." That last part of the sentence was a compliment, but Soujiro could read the scorn beneath it.

Anji smiled, but the guard's hand only tightened on his sword. Finally, he shook his head in disgust. "Oh, very well. There's no real law against that, technically." Then he glared at the former osha. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, Yuukyuuzan. See if I don't!."

Anji bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Sir," he addressed the captain, but smiled at Soujiro and Kita.

"See you tonight, Mister Anji," Soujiro smiled back, patting his old friend on the arm.

Kita then took his hand again. "Come on, Shaiming. Let's go."

The boy looked back once to wave to Anji, then followed Kita on their way back to the Inn.

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand in silent thanks…

She smiled and squeezed his hand back, nodding, and gave him a knowing wink…

**********

"So this monk, Anji, was one of the Juppon Gatana," Kita said as she arranged the kotatsu and zabutons.

"Yes," Soujiro answered as he brought out the plates and bowls. "He used to live at a temple in Hokkaido until the Haibutsu Kishaku."(38)

Kita sighed as she took the dishes from him. "That's awful. First the Christians,(39) then the Buddhists. You'd think the Meiji government would have included religious tolerance among it's so-called 'reforms'."

"No." The boy shook his head as he gathered the cups and chopsticks. "And that isn't the worst of it. The Juuraku Temple was burned with five children inside it. Orphans whom Mister Anji took care of."

"What?!. But why?!."

The wanderer knelt by the kotatsu and neatly placed the last of the dinnerware before answering. "Because their father had been loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate, that's why."

"Ay ya," the girl shook her head sadly. "No wonder Mister Anji joined up with Shishio."

"Well, we all had our own reasons. But Mister Anji and I… we were probably the ones who were hurt the most... And in the end, he turned himself in and I ran away..."

Kita began gathering the main ingredients for tonight's dinner, Chow Gee Yok Har,(40) Su Tsai Tang(41) and Dow See Jing Pie.(42) "I don't understand why he would turn himself over to the police though."

Soujiro smiled somberly. "I don't know either, Miss Kita. Maybe he just got tired of running from his problems and decided to finally face them." He took out the rest of the ingredients for dinner.

"Maybe you're right," Kita agreed, smiling back and nodding. "After all, we each have to stop running at some point."

**********

Dinner was close to being ready when there was a knock at the ryokan's front door. Soujiro eagerly jumped to his feet to answer it.

"Mister Anji!," he smiled up at the towering figure in the doorway.

The hakaizou put his hands on the boy's shoulders, smiling back warmly. "How are you, Soujiro?."

"I'm alright, better then I expected," he laughed, taking Anji's arm and leading him inside. "But come in, come in, please!."

They entered the kitchen where they were greeted by Kita, who was just setting the first dish on the kotatsu. "You boys are right on time. Dinner is served."

Anji bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Miss Hoshi. This is very kind of you."

"You're welcome," she answered with a smile. "It was my pleasure. Now, Jiro, you'd better find Lieko and Taro and tell them to get their rears to the kitchen if they don't want to be stuck with the leftovers."

Soujiro chuckled. "They're just finishing cleaning the serving area. I'll get them."

"No need, Wandering Boy. We're here," came the familiar voice… and Lieko and Taro entered the kitchen…

To Soujiro's surprise, Anji's eyes widened in recognition when he saw the young woman… "Lieko?... Little Lieko Takara?... How you've grown!."

She stared back at him... Soon a look of understanding crossed her face. "Why, Monk Anji!," she cried, rushing over and taking his hands. "I don't believe it!. I almost didn't recognize you!."

"Huh?." Taro tilted his head in confusion and Soujiro and Kita looked at each other in amazement.

"You know each other?," the girl asked.

Anji nodded smiling. "Yes, Lieko's family used to live in the village near our temple in Hokkaido until they were sent away."

"My parents often liked to visit there, and I would play with Tsubaki and the children," Lieko added. "Speaking of that, how are they?. It must have been hard for them all to leave the temple when the mayor decided to take it down."

Once again, Kita and Soujiro looked at each other with uncomfortable, concerned glances... So, Lieko didn't know the whole truth about what happened…

Though Anji's eyes clouded with sadness at the question, he smiled kindly, and lightly stroked her hair in a fatherly fashion. "Buddha is always with them. They are happy."

"I'm glad," Lieko nodded, satisfied. "We Buddhists must stay together after all, but please, sit!." She gestured towards a zabuton. "It's so wonderful to see you after all these years!."

Happy to comply, the former osha seated himself down and was soon joined by Lieko, Taro, Kita and Souijiro, who began to serve everyone a good-sized helping of Su Tsai Tang.

**********

The rest of dinner, surprisingly, turned out to be more pleasant and comfortable then Kita and Soujiro had thought. Lieko had not asked anything more about the fate of the children, and she and Anji chatted for a long while about old times at the Juuraku Temple, amusing everyone with humorous memories and stories.

The only really tense moment was when Lieko asked her old friend how he had come to be in Kanagawa. Of course she had been appalled when Anji explained he was part of a prison gang assigned to manual labor in the town.

"But that's awful!," she had cried. "I know the government had it's blasted Haibutsu Kishaku, but you've never harmed anyone in your life!. How could they be so cruel?."

Soujiro's throat suddenly felt dry, and Kita's hand tightened it's grip on her chop-sticks…

Again, the hakaizou gave her his warm, patient smile. "I did other things besides stand by my beliefs, Lieko... You would not have approved of the man I became after the temple was taken down..."

"It's still wrong," she had insisted stubbornly, with a shake of her head.

**********

Later in the evening, after regular chores had been done and guests had all been seen to, Soujiro found himself heading towards the room Kita had given Anji for the night. Quietly, he knocked on the wooden part of the fusuma…

"Come in," came the pleasant voice…

The boy softly entered the room to see Anji kneeling by a familiar object, with a candle on each side of it. He recognized it as the wooden Ihai,(43) the Buddhist memorial tablet the former osha had always carried with him.

Slowly, Soujiro sat down beside Anji and gazed at the slightly cracked Ihai... He could see their names carved into it…

Tsubaki

Yoshi

Tasuke

Haru

Gorou

"You miss them, don't you?," the boy whispered…

Anji nodded. "Yes… Nine years… Nine years I wanted to destroy the world that had taken them from me..."

"What changed?." The fact that not only was the former destroyer willing to give up his vendetta, but had actually submitted to those who had caused it, was incomprehendable to the young wanderer. True, he himself had abandoned his notions that only the strong were fit for life... but had he been in the hakaizou's place…

Anji gave him a sad smile. "I realized I was being incredibly selfish, which is a great wrong. Do you understand?."

"No, no I don't." Soujiro shook his head. "How were you being selfish?. You were only thinking of those children."

The former osha regarded him with amused patience, like that of a wiser older brother to an awkward younger brother. "No, I was not thinking of them. I was thinking of myself, of all the grief their loss caused me, of how much I wanted revenge for their deaths. Instead, I should have thought of what my children would have wanted for me."

The boy said nothing in reply... He reached out to touch the names carved into the tablet... Anji was luckier then him, he decided… At least he had known something of love and compassion in his past… No, that was not entirely true… Even though Soujiro had very few memories of his mother, if he closed his eyes tight and concentrated he could still remember being held warmly, being kissed softly on his forehead, being told "I love you, Tenshi."(44)

Then the boy shook his head, trying to free himself of those thoughts of Kaiya Harumasa, because whenever he remembered her, he would remember them. Why, if she had loved him, did she leave him with them?.

"Soujiro?," came Anji's voice again. "Soujiro, are you crying?."

The boy wiped his eyes, smiling. "No… It was just something in my eye, I think..."

"I see," the hakaizou nodded, though the knowing look in his eyes told Soujiro he wasn't fooled. "You know, it really isn't such a bad thing to cry."

"Why not?," the wanderer asked. Didn't everyone dream of going through life without ever having a reason to cry?.

Anji smiled again. "Do you remember me telling you that your eyes used to look so empty?."

Soujiro nodded slowly…

"Well, they were empty because you distanced yourself from all but one emotion. You were almost like me in that way. While I permitted myself to feel nothing but hate, you let yourself feel nothing but happiness."

The boy lowered his eyes. "I remember... you said I looked like I'd changed..."

"Yes," Anji answered. "I can't say weather you look happier or not… you still have that same smile... but your eyes no longer seem as empty..."

Soujiro looked back up at him... "Why didn't you tell Miss Lieko the truth about… what happened?..." he changed the subject. He really did want to know though. At first everyone had only thought of Lieko as a slightly haughty and flirtatious woman, but the revelation of her long-time friendship with 'Monk Anji' showed a surprising new side to her... or at least he and Kita thought so...

There was that sad smile again. "I think you know why I didn't tell her, Soujiro. I wanted her to remember the children only with love and happiness, not with grief and anger like I did."

**********

Later that night, after his talk with Anji, Soujiro was heading back to his room for the night when he noticed a light coming from Taro's room… He smiled, that boy was lucky it was him and not Kita who'd caught him staying up so late past his bedtime...

"Taro," he said as he slid open the fusuma. "I think you had better turn out your candle before..."

He tilted his head in surprise at what he saw... Leaning against the wall, seated on Taro's futon, was the mistress of the ryokan herself, fast asleep, and with the boy, also fast asleep, on her lap…

Chuckling softly to himself, the young wanderer pulled the warm winter blankets over the futon and gently put them over the sleeping pair, tucking it securely over their shoulders…

It was then he saw the opened book on the floor... Kita and Taro must have fallen asleep while she was reading to him…

Soujiro picked up the book and skimmed through the pages... It was a collection of traditional Japanese folktales… There was even one he seemed to remember hearing before. It was about the fisherman who rescued a wounded sea-turtle that turned out to be none other then the daughter of the Dragon King himself. They married and returned to live happily together in a beautiful, shining palace under the sea for over three hundred years(45)…

Shaking his head with a smile, the boy placed the book on Taro's futon, then turned to blow out the candle in the holder on the dresser, closing the fusuma softly behind him…

**********

The winter night had become very still and quiet… Almost suspiciously quiet…

Kita and Taro slept soundly on the futon… but if they had been awake they would have seen the candle that Soujiro had blown out not long ago appear to re-light itself… The tiny candle flame on the dresser stayed still for a moment… then it began to grow bigger and bigger… brighter and brighter… hotter and hotter... until large sparks landed on the dresser… then the floor, dangerously close to the tatami mats… and the candle's flames reached way above the dresser, almost instantly catching onto the curtains…

If Kita and Taro had been awake at that moment, they would have seen a bandaged face appearing in the increasing flames… and heard the eerie, hellish sound of a man's satisfied laughter… "You can't run away from me that easily, my treacherous little prodigy. And you never will again. I'll make sure of it!!."

**********

The heat, and the smell of smoke woke Kita from her sleep... She let out a horrified gasp when she saw almost half of the room on fire!.

"Ay ya!. Taro!," she cried, shaking the child awake. "Taro! Wake up!."

His eyes flew open, and he screamed at the sight of the advancing flames.

Kita jumped to her feet and seized the blankets. "Come on! Help me put it out!."

Obediently, Taro grabbed more blankets off the futon and joined her in trying to beat down and smother the flames... but it was to late... The fire had grown to large and it was beginning to spread rapidly…

The girl brushed her hair from her eyes and seized Taro's hand. "Come on!. It's to late now!. We have to get everyone out of here!."

Rushing out of the room, they headed to the top of the stairway where the large emergency bell hung…

"I'll ring the bell, you get everyone up!," Kita ordered.

Nodding, the boy began running down the first story hall, banging loudly on the fusumas with his small fists.

"There's a fire!," Kita cried as she sounded the alarm. "Hurry!. Everyone out!. Now! Now!."

At once, Lieko, Anji, and the few guests at the Inn that night opened their fusuma and hurried outside at the warnings... However, Anji paused just as he was about to follow the others outside…

"Is this everybody?," he asked.

"Yes!," Kita called back. "Just hurry!."

Anji nodded and headed outside to safety…

"Now it's our turn." Satisfied that everyone had made it out, Kita took Taro's hand and they hurried towards the opened side door…

Just then, a beam in the ceiling, loosened by the spreading fire, gave way… The girl's eyes widened in horror as she saw it come crashing down towards them…

"Taro!," she screamed. "Look out!." Though Kita did not consider herself athletic by any means, she awkwardly lunged herself at the child, throwing him out of the path of the falling beam…

The boy landed, shaken, but unhurt, on his hands and knees. "Kita!," he cried, immediately turning around. He gasped when he saw her, pinned under the heavy beam.

In spite of her pain, Kita struggled to free herself. "Taro!," she cried. "You have to get out of here!."

Tears welled up in the child's eyes. "But… But what about?..."

"Don't worry about me!," she snapped, fear and desperation making her voice harsher. "Just go! Go!."

Reluctantly, Taro obeyed... He ran towards the door, the tears beginning to stream down his cheeks…

**********

Soujiro had been awakened by the smell of smoke and the terrified warning shouts... As soon as he realized it was a fire leapt from his futon, threw a robe over his nemaki and hurried out of the shed…

There were people gathered nearby the front of the ryokan… Nearly everyone was trying their best to throw whatever water they could get onto the fire… Unfortunately, it did little but prevent the flames from growing any larger…

"Mister Anji!," he cried when he recognized one of the men passing buckets of water from the well. He rushed over to him. "Mister Anji!. What happened?. Is everyone out?."

The former osha nodded. "I think so... If we can just keep this from spreading until it dies down..."

It was then that young Taro came running towards them. "No!. No, everyone's not out!. Kita's still in there!."

"What?!," Soujiro, Anji and Lieko all gasped in unison.

"A piece of the ceiling fell… and... and she saved me..." the boy sobbed. "She... she told me to get out..."

Before he had finished the sentence, Soujiro had taken off his kimono, thrown it into the water bucket and draped it over himself…

"What on Earth are you doing?," Lieko demanded.

The wanderer headed towards the burning Inn. "I'm going in after her," he answered, as if it were the safest, most natural thing in the world.

Anji Lieko and Taro all looked at each other in shock!. That was near madness!. But before any of them could protest, the boy was already entering the Inn…

Wide-eyed, Anji watched the flames in horror... Images of the burning temple ten years ago flashed before him... His own greif stricken cries, blended with the terrified screams of the children… "Tsubaki!. Gorou!. Tasuke!. Children! Children!..." His heart spinning out of control, then shattering, as his prayers for his family were ignored and unanswered… "Buddha, please. These children have suffered so much. Please, give them a happy future. Please, protect these children..." Tsubaki's burnt arm, prayer beads still on her wrist, visible in the wreckage… "Why?… Why did you abandon these children?..." It was happening all over again…

Soujiro coughed and pulled his wet kimono tighter around him as he ducked to avoid the flames and falling debris. "Kita!," he called through the smoke. "Kita! Where are you?!."

"Jiro?!."

He smiled in relief when he heard her answer... He headed towards the direction of her voice... She was pinned under a fallen beam… fortunately, it's fall had been broken by hall-table, and the end of it was slightly propped against the wall, which had prevented Kita from being completely crushed...

Immediately, he set to work trying to push the beam off of her...

"Jiro, no!," she protested. "The whole place will collapse and go up in flames any minute!. You have to get out of here!."

But the wanderer only continued trying to release her from under the beam. "Now, is that all the faith you have in your best employee?," he answered with a grim smile…

Kita's eyes widened, but she said nothing in reply…

Soujiro kept pulling, pushing and kicking, but no amount of force would remove the obstacle that had trapped his friend… He wiped the soot from his face and shut his eyes in hopeless frustration…

He could hear Kita coughing, still pleading with him to get out while he still could… He too started coughing as the smoke entered his lungs…

It was then that the boy saw a familiar image, calmly gazing out at him through the flames… A shrouded, burnt face, and slight wisps of black hair showing through the bandages at the top… Burning red eyes, surrounded by blackened skin, pierced into his…

"Mister Shishio..." he whispered… He stood there, frozen in shock... So hypnotized by the image in the fire, he did not even notice the piece of burning ceiling falling towards him...

"Jiro!," came Kita's warning shout…

It was enough to get his attention, snapping him out of his delusion... but not enough to get him out of the way in time…

Just then, a large figure appeared… Quickly, he pushed the boy down... then, miraculously, he caught the heavy debris which had nearly crushed Soujiro…

"Mister Anji!," the young wanderer gasped in relief.

The hakaizou nodded as he tossed the debris aside. He was not about to let any more of his friends be taken away again.

Together, Soujiro and Anji went to Kita's side and continued trying to release the trapped girl…

"Are you two mad?!," Kita cried, though she struggled to pull herself from under the beam. "The whole Inn will be up in flames soon!."

"Then all the more reason to get you out quickly," the boy thought. He and Anji kept pulling and pushing the beam, trying to loosen it… but they were making slow progress…

Finally, Soujiro saw Anji's face harden into a somber mask and his eyes grow darker… an expression he remembered all to well… Maybe it was the soot or the smoke, but for a breif second, the boy could swear he saw Anji The Destroyer in those eyes…

Anji raised his hands apart over the beam… "Namu Amida Butsu!."(46) And with that, he brought his hands down hard on the beam… The Futae No Kiwami(47) shattered it into a million splinters!.

Hurriedly, Soujiro helped Kita to her feet and slung her arm around his shoulders, then the three of them, coughing through the black smoke, took off as fast as they could towards the exit as the Sakura Ryokan collapsed in flames behind them…

The fresh night air cleared their lungs and cooled their faces as they collapsed, exhausted, but unhurt, on the ground outside…

At once, Lieko, Taro and some of the others were by their side…

"Gods!," Lieko cried as she and Taro knelt beside Kita. "Are you three alright?. What happened?."

The girl coughed up a good amount of smoke and rubbed her aching right side, where the bean had pinned her. "All I can say is; I don't know weather to thank these two senseless idiots or bash both their heads together right now!."

"You're welcome," Soujiro gave her a rueful smile before he and Anji started coughing themselves.

"Spare me the sarcasm," she winced as she rubbed her side again. "You and Mister Anji could have been killed!."

The former osha gave her a chastising look. "So could you, Miss Kita."

Kita coughed up more of the smoke before replying ruefully. "Well, better one of us then three of us."

"Better none of us," the young wanderer answered, brushing his bangs from his eyes. "Kita, don't you think you're being rather hypocritical, especially after what you've done for me?… for Taro?..."

"Yeah, Kita," the child said, putting his small arms around her neck comfortingly. "You risked your life to save me. Why shouldn't they do the same for you?."

She gave no answer, instead she smiled, patting Taro's arm gently and fondly tousling his hair…

"You've already done so much for me... I... I couldn't just let you die..." Soujiro continued softly…

Anji nodded. "And I have already lost five young friends, very dear to me, to a fire like that. I wasn't about to let that happen again."

Unfortunately, the hakaizou had forgotten that Lieko was standing right beside him…

"What?," the young woman whispered.

Realizing his mistake, Anji turned to her. "Lieko. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out this way." He tried to touch her arm reassuringly, but she was to upset by this revelation and quickly pulled away.

"You didn't want me to find out at all!. Tsubaki and the others... They were all in that temple when it was destroyed, weren't they?... Weren't they?!."

"Yes..." Anji nodded, his eyes rimming with tears. "I tried… I tried so hard to save them, Lieko... but..."

Lieko's face was a mixed canvas of grief, anger and shock. "You lied to me!. All this time you've lied to me!." Before Anji could even reply, she had burst into tears and run away…

The former osha bowed his head remorsefully… Then he looked up again... "I wanted to much to avoid this... I should have told her the truth..."

Soujiro gave him a sympathetic look, and Kita put a hand on his shoulder. "You only wanted to keep her from being hurt."

"Yes," he answered slowly... then he shook his head with a soft smile. "Come, Taro," he took the little boy's hand. "We'll go find her and talk to her."

Nodding, Taro trotted off after Anji, stopping only once to wave to Kita and Soujiro.

"Some friends of mine own the Hakubai-kou Ryokan(48) near town", the girl waved back. "They can probably put us up for a while. Meet us there later, alright?."

"We will," Anji answered as he and Taro headed after Lieko…

Once they were gone, Kita turned her face towards the burning Sakura Ryokan… The flames were finally under control, and just beginning to die down... "Those poor children... Poor Mister Anji and Lieko..."

Soujiro just bit his lower lip... He wasn't sure what to say…

Then Kita looked back at him… Though she smiled, there were tears streaming down her cheeks... "At least everyone is safe this time… I… I just wish it hadn't happened..." She then turned away again…

Swallowing uncomfortably, the boy moved to stand beside her… "It wasn't your fault, Kita," he said softly…

They stood there for the next few moments… watching as the fire grew smaller and smaller, revealing a burnt, destroyed wreckage through the smoke…

"I know," the girl finally whispered. "But it was my home... Taro's home... We'll have to start all over now..."

Almost timidly, the wanderer reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder…

Instead of brushing his hand away, as he'd feared she would, Kita leaned her cheek against it…

Soujiro could feel her tears flowing freely on his hand… He leaned his cheek against the top of her head with a sad smile…

"It's all right, Kita," he thought. "You cry... Cry and let those tears loose, or they'll build up inside and consume you, like they almost did me..."

They soon felt a cold winter rain dripping from the overcast sky… The next moment it had turned into a freezing shower, pouring onto the smoking wreckage of the inn and extinguishing the last of the flames…

**********

Soujiro, Taro, Lieko, Anji and the others were all welcomed warmly by Kita's friends at the Hakubai-kou Ryokan, just as she had said, in exchange for doing odd jobs and helping with it's upkeep. As the five of them really had nowhere else to go until the Sakura Ryokan was rebuilt, they gratefully accepted the offer...

Of course, It took time and patience, but eventually Anji was able to reconcile with Lieko, explaining that he hadn't told her the truth of what happened at the temple because he did not want her to be unhappy, or lose herself in grief and anger as he had done for all those years. After listening to his story, of how he had killed the mayor and those responsible for the burning of the temple, of how he had joined the Juppon Gatana in trying to overthrow the government, and of how he had eventually come to see the error of his ways and turned himself over to the law, Lieko shook her head, smiling through her tears, then she had thrown her arms around his neck, saying that no matter what had happened, no matter what he had done since the burning of the Juuraku Temple, or how phsyically strong he'd become as Anji The Destroyer of the Juppon Gatana, to her he was still that same kindly, gentle monk who had played with her, given her treats, and taught her her lessons as a child. That was the only Anji she had ever known...

As for Soujiro, he was grateful to have survived, and that everything had worked out well for everyone, in spite of the fire. Yet, even weeks after the the Sakura Ryokan had burned down, he still couldn't get the image of Shishio, staring back at him through the flames, out of his mind…

The afternoon sun shone faintly down on the work crew as they toiled at re-building the skeletal structure of the inn. The mid-December snow sparkled. Soon it would be time to begin the preparations for Shogatsu, and they wanted to get as much of the ryokan finished as they could before then…

High up on a beam, Soujiro and Kita were busy hammering away, starting on the frame of the new roof…

"I don't know why I'm doing this," the girl muttered as she nervously glanced down.

Soujiro chuckled, casually swinging his legs over the beam. After ten years of scaling over walls, climbing through windows into buildings, and spying from trees, heights were nothing new to him. Kita, however, was terrified of them, but, as the owner of the Inn, she had insisted on helping as much as possible with the re-construction.

"Really?," the boy grinned mischievously. He leaned way back over the side. "But what if I started to fall off?... Wouldn't you save me?..."

She closed her eyes and looked away. "Oh no!. Stop it!. I'm not watching!. I'm not watching!."

"Wow!. Look!. It's really high!. It's really high!," he continued to tease.

"Ay ya!. No! No! Jiro!." Now she covered her eyes completely, while trying to keep a straight face. "Stop it!. I told you, I'm not looking!."

Soujiro laughed. "I'm sorry!. Forgive me!. I shouldn't tease you like that." His eyes then became serious. "Especially since this whole thing was my fault in the first place."

"What?," Kita tilted her head in surprise. "What do you mean it was your fault?."

The young wanderer ran his fingers through his hair with a sad smile. "I must have forgotten to turn out one of the lamps or the candles. That's obviously what caused the fire."

Kita was about to shake her head and protest, when Soujiro held up his hand in restraint. "It had to have been me. I was the last one up that night and all the other candles and lamps were out except for the one in Taro's room."

Kita remembered her and Taro falling asleep while she read to him that night. If she recalled correctly, the candle in the room had still been going. "It had to have been my fault then, Jiro. I probably fell asleep before I could put out the light."

"No, I told you, I was the last one up that night. I came into Taro's room to put out the candle myself… but I must have forgotten..."

The girl shook her head with a sigh. "Does it really matter whose fault it was, Shaiming?. It happened, it's over, and there's nothing we can do now but make a fresh start."

"I suppose you're right," Soujiro answered. After all, who would know more about fresh starts then him?. As he and Kita continued hammering the planks for the new roof, he wondered how many more fresh starts he had left in him…

**********

(Shogatsu,(49) December 31, 1879)

"We have some good news for you all," Lieko announced after dinner on the night of O'misoka(50)…

The five had long finished the cleaning and decorating of the inn, including placing the Kadomatsu(51) and Shimenawa(52) at the entranceways, and had gathered in the Hakubai-kou Ryokan's kitchen for dinner, as had been their ritual at the Sakura Ryokan. Guests ate in their own rooms or the serving area, and employees each took turns taking their meals, but Kita, Soujiro, Lieko, Taro and Anji enjoyed eating together.

Soujiro finished off his toshikoshi soba(53) and dabbed his chin with his oshi bori.(54) "What is it, Miss Lieko?," he asked, smiling. It was refreshing to hear some good news at New Years, especially after the recent disaster.

The young woman smiled at Anji, who smiled back, nodding his approval, then she turned to everyone seated at the kotatsu. "Yesterday Monk Anji and I went to the police station. I explained to them all about what he did to save Jiro and Kita from the fire."

"That's good," the young wanderer agreed.

Kita nodded as she finished her ocha. "Mister Anji's a hero now. We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him."

"No, no, Miss Kita," the hakaizou shook his head slowly and touched the cloth that covered his head in modesty. "I don't believe in heroes. Our hearts tell us each what we must do, and it is our responsibility to decide weather we will do it or not."

"You haven't changed a bit." Lieko patted his arm kindly. "You still think to little of yourself." Then she smiled at everyone. "Yes, Monk Anji is a hero, and, praise Buddha, the police finally acknowledged that… but there's something else too."

Kita leaned eagerly across the table. "Well, don't keep us in suspense. What else?."

Lieko grinned. "Well, the police sent word to Hokkaido, and it was decided that Monk Anji will be serving the remainder of his prison sentence here in Kanagawa instead of going back to jail!."

At this news, Soujiro, Kita and Taro's faces brightened with joy as they turned their gazes to Anji!.

"Wow!. This is fantastic!," the boy cried. "Just think, you're practically free!."

"Not entirely," the former osha smiled gently. "The police will still be here to see I don't try to escape… and I don't really have anywhere to go..."

At this, Lieko clasped her hands together. "Yes you do, Monk Anji!. Kita, please say he can stay and work at the Sakura Ryokan once it's finished, please?!," she begged.

"Of course!," Kita laughed. "Anji, you're welcome to stay with us any time you like, and there's never enough extra help."

"Yeah, Mister Anji!," Taro piped up. "Jiro says he's leaving when spring comes, so we'll really need you to stay!. Please?!."

The hakaizou chuckled warmly, looking at everyone with gratitude. "Now, how can I refuse an offer like that?."

Soujiro, Kita, Lieko and Taro all laughed together, overjoyed that their friend would be staying on!.

Anji then turned his gaze towards Soujiro. "But, is it really true that you aren't planning on staying here?."

The boy lowered his eyes with a soft smile… "Yes..."

"And why is that?."

Everyone's faces soon grew somber at this sudden change of topic…

"Mister Anji, I decided to become a wanderer, just as Mister Himura did, and I don't intend to change that decision."

The former destroyer shook his head with a gentle sigh. "First you follow Shishio's path, now you follow Himura's. What about your own path, Soujiro?."

The young wanderer's hand tightened on his chopsticks. "I am following my own path, Mister Anji. I made my own choice to wander for ten years, nobody made it for me. It's only been one year now."

"And you think that a decade as a wanderer will erase those ten years in Shishio's service?."

"I don't know," Soujiro answered truthfully. "But I think it's just the time I need to find things out for myself."

At this, the atmosphere at the kotatsu became uncomfortably quiet... Even the air began to feel heavier...

Kita, disliking this sudden tenseness at the dinner table, as much a sacrilege on O'misoka as it was on Yuan Tan,(55) finally decided to take charge of the conversation. "Well, we're all honored to have you staying with us, Mister Anji. You've been a good friend."

The former osha was about to answer when the mistress of the soon to be completely rebuilt Sakura Ryokan, stood up from her zabuton. "And what great timing!. I just finished making a special dessert in honor of Shogatsu, so now, with Mister Yuukyuuzan practically being given his freedom, we have two reasons to celebrate!."

She went to one of the larger cupboards, and, to everyone's delight, pulled out a large, beautifully decorated kasutera(56) and a whole plate of yatsuhasi-senbei.(57)

"Wow!," Soujiro laughed. "How on earth did you make all that?."

Kita grinned. "Oh, I have ways."

"She sure does!," Taro piped up. "But she couldn't have done it without my help!."

"Yes, what would I do without you to lick the bowl?," she teased, tousling his hair.

Everyone laughed as they felt the initial tenseness at the dinner table dissolve away.

Smiling, Soujiro poured Anji and Lieko a small glass of ume-shu(58) while Kita poured ocha for him, herself and Taro.

Kita then raised her own glass. "And now, a toast, to Mister Anji and to the new year!. Kan Pai!."(59)

Happy and at ease again, everyone raised their own glasses and cups in response. "Kan Pai!."

**********

Much later that night, it was time for the Joya no Kane(60)… Kita, Soujiro, Lieko, Taro, Anji, and nearly everyone else at the Hakubai-kou Ryokan left the inn and made their way to the town's temple for the tolling of the Tsuri-Gane(61)…

"Tell me," Soujiro asked Kita. "What's Shogatsu like in China?."

The girl did up her mandarin jacket over her furisode, fumbling with the buttons, as she answered him. "Well, it's pretty different in allot of ways. For one thing, it's called Yuan Tan, and it goes on for about fifteen days."

"Really?." Soujiro's eyes widened with interest. That was certainly a change!. Shogatsu only lasted for three days!.

"Mmm hmm, there's special foods and rituals, just like here, of course," Kita nodded, smiling, "But there's also tons of fireworks and firecracker displays, even better then at the Enoshima festival, then there's dragon and lion dances and all kinds of parades!."

Soujiro laughed. "Wow!. China sounds like an excellent place to be on New Years!." He hoped he might be able to see Yuan Tan someday!.

Kita nodded. "It is." Then she gave him a mischievous grin. "You solemn workaholics in Japan don't know how to celebrate!."

"Oh, really?," the boy grinned back, playfully tugging at her loose bangs. "I guess I set myself up for that one, didn't I?."

She chuckled, poking him teasingly in his side. "Yes, you did, Shaiming!."

Laughing and at ease, they continued on their way to the temple…

"This is supposed to be the start of the Year of the Dragon, I think," Lieko said. "It supposed to be the luckiest of all the years."

Anji, who had just given Taro permission to join a group of his friends, smiled sadly at her. "Really?. I suppose I haven't been keeping track.".

Soujiro caught the sadness in his eyes. "Neither have I," he offered. "To tell you the truth, I've never really celebrated Shogatsu until now."

The hakaizou looked back at him and nodded. Then he smiled again. "Well, our first Shogatsu in ten years, and at the start of the Year of the Dragon too!."

"Yes," the boy smiled back at his old friend. Then he chuckled. "Maybe this means we'll have extra good luck this year, to make up for those ten years of bad luck!."

Anji covered his mouth to hide a grin, and Kita and Lieko laughed warmly.

"Look," the mistress of the soon to be rebuilt ryokan suddenly pointed. "There's our local temple, boys."

It was pretty enough in daylight at every other time of year, but now, fully decorated, with it's candles and lanterns shining in the darkness, surrounded by newly fallen snow, it looked almost like a painting. Nearly everyone in the town had come for the Joya no Kane… Soujiro smiled as he gazed around… There were husbands, wives and lovers, holding hands and embracing each other happily… friends, chatting and joking easily together... parents trying to discipline their rambunctious, excited toddlers, while Taro and the older children played nearby... All were gathered together in this one spot to hear the Tsuri-Gane… Then he looked at Kita… He was happy, he decided, as the bell began to sound, genuinely happy to be here with her, and with everyone, tonight…

Kita smiled back at him. "Do you know why the temple bell is rung one hundred and eight times, Jiro?."

"I thought Buddhists believed it was to get rid of the one hundred and eight sins or something?," the boy answered.

"Well, not just sins," Anji said, joining in the conversation. "The bell is also rung to drive away all the earthly desires and feelings, good or bad, of the past year."

"That makes sense," Kita replied with a nod… then she took Soujiro's hand and squeezed it warmly. "Happy New Year, Shaiming."

The young wanderer squeezed her hand back. "Happy New Years, Kita." A sense of contentment washed over him... Yes, he smiled as he recalled his earlier thoughts, he was happy, and probably for the first time in his life… True, he would be moving on come March or April, but for now, he planned to enjoy this feeling as long as it lasted…

Together, Soujiro and Kita remained holding hands, listening to the Tsuri-Gane as it's rich, haunting sound drove the old year away...

(34) Plum blossoms.

(35) "Plum Blossom March", actual Chinese folksong.

(36) A fallen priest or monk who has lost his faith and renounced his vows.

(37) Buddhist monks in charge of their temples.

(38) In Keion 4 (the first year of Meiji), the Meiji government, in the name of accord between church and state, decreed that Shinto and Buddhism be separated to reduce Buddhism's influence. However, as the general public embraced this form of anti-Buddhism, it resulted in a storm of Buddhist oppression and the destruction of countless temples, altars and texts. It is known as the Haibutsu Kishaku.

(39) A reference to the Shimabara or Christian Arc in the TV series.

(40) Pork and Shrimp.

(41) Vegetable soup.

(42) Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce.

(43) A tablet made of wood (usually in a shape similar to a tombstone) created once a family member passes away, the ihai bears the name of the deceased. It is usually something that is kept in a shelf (called a butsudan) and not carried around, as it was believed to carry the soul of the deceased whose name is written on it.

(44) Angel.

(45) The story of the Dragon King, one of the most well known folktales in Japan.

(46) Initially meaning to return (especially one's faith) to the Buddha of Amida (Amitabha). It is the stereotypical six letter Buddhist chant known commonly to the Japanese people (especially those with little or no faith). Because it is a phrase of prayer, it can mean that the one who chants the said phrase is either seeking help from Buddha, restating his faith in Buddha, or wishes that his deceased lie in peace. For most usages of the term in common Japanese society though, it's the last one that counts (and works for this case), therefore the line has been translated as thus.

(47) Upon first inspection, the Futae no Kiwami simply looks like an extremely powerful punch. However, there is more to the technique than just brute strength. The first step is to hit an object with the middle knuckles of your hand, breaking down it's natural defense and reducing the resistance. The second step is to hit the object again within milliseconds with your main knuckles to destroy the object totally. Anji is able to perform the Futae no Kiwami with any part of his body.

(48) Plum Blossom Inn.

(49) Japanese New Year, celebrated on January 1, same as in the West.

(50) Japanese New Years Eve, December 31, same as in the West.

(51) Decorations made with assembled pine branches enhanced by stems of bamboo and sorays of plum trees. During the New Year period, a pair of them, one for each side, are placed in front of the house gate. In Japan pine, bamboo, and plum trees are taken as good luck, and pine in particular has been valued since ancient times as meaning longevity. Originally, kadomatsu were for receiving the year god, but in recent times they are mostly considered as just another set of New Year's decorations.

(52) A rope made by twisting together strands of rice straw. Shimenawa is used to mark a place considered sacred and cordon it off from the realm of the profane. It is traditionally thought to ward off evil and sickness. At Shinto shrines, shimenawa is hung in front of the main worship hall, before the altar, and across the entrance gate (torii). It is also hung on New Year's Day over the doorways of private homes. The paper shapes hanging from the shimenawa are one of the most noticeable things in Shinto. They are intended to keep out evil spirits and to signify that this is a holy place.

(53) Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve. This custom dates back to around the Edo period (17-19th century). Buckwheat noodles are very long and thin, which has led to the belief that if one eats these noodles they will have a long and prosperous life.

(54) A hot (or sometimes cold in the summer) damp, white towel. In Japanese restaurants today it is wrapped in plastic or is often served on a small oblong tray. You use the towel to wipe your hands.

(55) Yuan Tan, the Chinese New Years festival, follows a lunar-solar calendar and occurs between mid-January and mid-February. People start preparing for it 22 days before and it lasts 15 days.

(56) Correct spelling is "Castilla." A relatively dense chocolate covered sponge cake usually made with flour, sugar, eggs, and millet jelly. It is said that the origin is a sponge cake baked in Spain's Castilla region that was imported into Nagasaki by Potugese merchants, this is backed up by the fact that some of the best kasutera in Japan are made by companies based in Nagasaki.

(57) A sweet that is a specialty of the Kyoto area. It is basically an alternative from of mochi/ricecakes, though the ingredients slightly vary (with the main flavors being cinnamon and green tea). The "raw" nama yatsuhashi resembles cookie dough in texture (though not sticky), and the baked yatsuhashi (yatsuhasi-senbei) is much like, well, a cookie.

(58) Japanese plum wine.

(59) "Cheers!."

(60) A New Years event in which the temple bell is rung to drive away 108 forms of earthly desires and to pray to welcome the New Year with a pure heart. Both Nara and Kyoto boast a large number of old and noted bells. It is believed that joy and sorrow, love and hatred that people have had in the passing year are rung out with the sound of the temple bell.

(61) A large bell shaped gong which is struck 108 times at midnight. According to Buddhism, man has 108 sins, which by listening to the bells toll that number of times, can be relieved of them all.