Chapter 88 - Shape Myself

“I watched him from the shadows,” Okayu said, poking at the campfire with a stick. Ekyt was sitting freely, no weapons drawn on him. He didn’t make any attempt to escape.

Okayu continued. “I watched him learn and grow. I saw his hardships. Then I saw him leave one day with a nice family. I had always planned on adopting him myself, but when I saw him with a REAL family…”

“…You had to let him go…” Ekyt finished for him, looking at the man who was Yuushi’s brother.

“That’s right…I had planned to save him before his execution, but then you got involved. I was one of the guards your water trap took out. I saw you escape with him, and I heard him call you ‘sensei’. I couldn’t come back for him then, either. He had a real life. Who was I, someone who had let him be taken away, to say that I was best for him?”

Ekyt got up, looking at Okayu. His eyes bored into Okayu’s- a site all too familiar to Leaf Village prisoners. But Ekyt wasn’t casting some horrific genjutsu. He was gauging Okayu’s statement and mind.

…He’s speaking truthfully…

“Where will I be executed?” Ekyt asked, thinking to himself the best way to do this. He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to escape this. This whole thing stank of corruption. Why would the Mist want to wipe out one of their own heirs to the sword? And why was Okayu allowed to live?

“The same place as Katsuyori was to be killed, I would guess…” Okayu frowned, a thoughtful look creasing his brow.

Ekyt’s eyes shifted sideways to him. “Do you want to see him again? He’s been given a new name, since he turned fifteen, by the way. It’s ‘Yuushi’ now. But regardless…if you’re willing, you two should be reunited. And I will see it happen.”

“But mister, if you do that, you’re gonna get yourself killed!” Mimizu piped up, sitting on Ekyt’s shoulders again.

“That is of little consequence. When it comes to my student’s life, my own takes a backseat. I have no one waiting for me in the Leaf anymore. My sole duty has been to protect others. Four others. Three of them I’ve protected successfully, but the fourth…
I failed her. And I failed myself.”

Ekyt tightened his glove, looking up at the sky. “Maybe, in a roundabout way, helping to reunite two brothers would make me feel like less of a failure. At least then Yuushi’s life would be complete. I’m not a role model for someone with so much potential. Rather, I shouldn’t be. But that’ll mean squat until I finish my plan.”

“Plan? Whatcha gonna do, mister?!”

Ekyt put his hands behind his back. “I think it’s best if you restrain me. Take me to your village and complete your mission. After that, I’ll escape. And then- !”

Three kunai flew into the clearing, aiming for Mimizu. Ekyt grabbed her around the waist, plucking her off his shoulders in the process, and tossed her behind a tree for cover. Then Ekyt steadied himself for a fight. You can imagine his surprise when he found himself ready to tango with Shikamaru, Tenten, Neji, Hayate, and Yuushi.
--

After an explanation, everyone calmed down. The three swords met Ekyt’s…friends? Well, they were, minus Neji. In fact, Neji was downright hostile. He grabbed Ekyt’s arm and told him they had to speak- in private. Their conversation didn’t stay private for long.

“I never said you owed me! And I didn’t ask you to come ‘save’ me!” Ekyt growled, in response to something Neji said.

“Oh? Well, the Hokage seemed to think I owed you!”

“Well, she’s not me!” Ekyt shot back. “I did that for Tenten’s sake! I’d hate to see you die, Neji, but it’s HER I was saving when I took that sword for you. Make no mistake about it!”

“I didn’t need your help!” Neji yelled, trying to intimidate Ekyt.

“Then what the hell are you doing here? The others I can understand, but you? No matter what, you and I don’t see eye to eye. And we never will!”

The two looked close to blows. Neji gave Ekyt a shove. Ekyt didn’t do anything in response. He just shuffled away, muttering something back.

“If I hit you, I’ll only hurt my hand and Tenten’s heart.”
--

Ekyt was joined by Mimizu as he stopped to lean against a tree. His gut still hurt from a sword going through it. He wondered how he managed to survive stuff like this all the time. Maybe he was just tough?

“Hey, mister! Listen you’ve gotta get outta here! The leader’s coming! Mister!” Mimizu whined, tugging on Ekyt’s sleeve, trying to pull him back toward the group.

“I’m still a captive, remember?” he said calmly. “The others should leave. Me?…I stay. You’re not going to fail your mission because of me.”

“But the Mizukage! He’s gonna be really mad! What are you gonna do?! You can’t fight him!”

Ekyt’s smile had returned. But the question remained- had he learned something, or was there something bothering him? Or both? His words didn’t relax anyone who knew what the smile meant.

“No? I think I can. I can fight. Maybe I won’t win…I probably won’t win. But I can’t run. Not when your lives are involved, too. If I had been caught alone, I would have run for it. But now that there are others involved…I can’t run. I have to see this through. But you can help me, Mimizu.”

Mimizu stiffened her face. “How can I help?”

“Make sure that Katsuyori and Okayu get away, to talk. It’s important that they do. Katsuyori has had a difficult life. He can’t die here. He’s got a girl waiting for him. Now he has a family. The expendable one is myself- his ‘teacher’. And I can barely lay claim to that title.”

The silent observer, Haitsuchi, silently ran off. Or so he thought. He couldn’t see, hear, or sense Mimizu perk up as he ran away.

“…Mister, Haitsuchi’s gonna-”

Ekyt gave a sadder version of his smile. “I know. He’s going to tell the Mizukage we’re here. I guess it’s time to fight. If you’ll pardon me for a minute…I need to talk to Yuushi…er, Katsuyori…alone.”

--

Katsuyori contemplated Ekyt for a minute. Now in his sixteenth year, Yuushi was a man in samurai terms. Having talked with Okayu, he now knew so much more about himself.

“Do you remember how we first me, Yuushi?” Ekyt asked, not yet facing his student.

“I do. Of course. We had anxiety in common.” Yuushi frowned, wondering why Ekyt would bring this up now.

“Good. You know, a teacher is always supposed to see his student’s full potential. I knew you had potential with the sword, but life… I counted you out too soon. For that, I apologize from beyond the depths of my heart.”

“Sensei, I-” Yuushi began, but Ekyt raised his hand for silence.

“You have surpassed me, in life if not with the sword. So I have one final lesson for you. After that, we will cease to be master and pupil. We will even cease to be equals. With the sword, it’s YOU who is more powerful now.”

Ekyt spun to face Yuushi, his face set in his half-smile. A sincere one.

“Now, the last lesson: When a man must fight, and when a man must run. Do not let your ego, or your swordsmanship, blind you from what’s important. This battle…I must fight it, and I must bear the burden alone. But I have a favor to ask of you…should this be ‘it’.”

Ekyt’s smile was gone now, his face smoothed into a mask of indifference. Except to Yuushi.

Tears?

“The last lesson: Protect what’s important. That was, as you’ll recall, the first lesson. But that is a lesson by itself. Confused? Don’t be- it’s easy. Life is circular. We are born, we grown, then we shrink, and are ‘unborn’. Life is circular, then so is the sword. The first lesson is the last: Protect what’s important. And what’s important now is your future. We’re only four years apart in age, yet you’re much better than I when it comes to living. Your own future must be protected. That of yours, and your wives, and your children- We may be of the same generation, but it is YOU who is the future.”

Ekyt unsheathed Suitoru, contemplating it’s blade. He ran his thumb down it lightly, creating a small but steady flow of blood. Across a scroll, Ekyt ran the blood.

“I’m going to teach you the handsigns for a Summoning Jutsu. Use them with this scroll, and use a sign at the end. ‘Bird’ will summon my hawk, Taleo. ‘Dog’ will summon my dog, Holly. ‘Dragon’ will summon my water dragon, Umisu. And ‘Snake’ will summon my snake, ‘Shuurai’. Use whichever you need to escape. Wait until I’ve engaged the Mizukage in battle, then run. Take Mimizu and Okayu with you, and all the rest of the Leaf ninja that came with you. If you’ll insist on waiting for me, do so at the edge of the forest- away from the lakes where the enemy might get power. If I’m not caught up to you in an hour, report my death to Lady Tsunade. And…ask her to inform Azami.”

Yuushi was taken aback by the tone in his sensei’s voice. There was no hint of remorse- there was only a mix of fear and determination. It was the fear that offset Yuushi the most.

“You don’t think you’ll make it…” Yuushi said carefully, not trying to mess with Ekyt’s state of mind. Not least of all when he was smiling in that uneasy way.

“Probably not,” Ekyt agreed. “But what must be done, must be done.”

“I see…then I won’t talk you out if it. I’ll do as you ask…” Yuushi murmured, unhappy with the order. Deserting your teacher was terribly wrong, and went against everything he had been taught. But above that was one absolute rule: Sensei knew best.

“Thank you. Do it for the sake of your wife. You, Yuushi, will be missed. I myself…I am expendable. This is a senseless fight…but something won’t let me run. Call it bravado, or fate, or anything. But the fact is that something has planted my feet, and I can’t just let it go.”

Yuushi didn’t understand. But he wasn’t going to argue. It wasn’t his place.

“Goodbye, then. But know this, sensei: There is no doubt in my mind you’ll survive.”
--
[Ryouko]

I sat by myself, needing to think. I was up against a hellish force. I would be facing power greater than those of the three Swords from before. But this time, I did the right thing.

I saved no one’s feelings. I sent everyone away. I couldn’t bear the burden of having to protect someone. Not at this crucial moment.

They all have somewhere they belong. From the start, I was groomed to protect them. Shikamaru will become the greatest mind in the Leaf Village, among those who strategize.

Hayate and Yukao will someday pack the deadly one-two punch ANBU needs.

Neji and Tenten are already very good, but they’ll only get better. And their offspring…I wonder what happens if you combine weapons with the precision of the Byakugan?

And Yuushi…he now has his brother and a bride. What more could I teach him? His skill with the sword already eclipses my own.

Azami…Sorry, we won’t get to face off like I’d hoped. If I survive this battle, I may just be strong enough to take you down. No, I HAVE to be strong enough to take you down. I unleashed the plague that is you on my village. It’s my duty to end that plague. If our paths don’t cross…that might be best. My heart aches to see you again, but if you truly love another…
That is best.
Because my life has been about death.
My future is the blade.
My past shaped me.
I must now shape myself. Shape myself into the man I need to be, not the man I want to be.

…

Why must I fight this time? I know it’s nearly unwinnable, and I could just run. Why is something keeping me here? It’s not my honor as a warrior. It’s an irresistible feeling that tells me I have to be here. I have to be here, in this place, here and now. But what is it that’s supposed to happen?

Why am I here?

…

Really, I’ve failed at everything but my job. The girls I loved found better men. My student eclipsed me incredibly fast. And my peers…they’re stronger. But maybe I’m happy. Half the village still hates me, but the other accept me. That must be it.

It’s the sense of belonging that’s keeping me here. I’m supposed to be here because I belong here. I can’t leave because this is where I’m needed most. I’ll leave fate to tell me why, rather than keep thinking about it.

I hate leaving things to chance. But fate…

Well, I guess that’s a different matter…

-

Ekyt put the cigarette in his mouth, sure he’d need it’s help to make it through this fight. He would strike hard and fast. He couldn’t afford a prolonged battle. His best chance was to somehow show that he was too much for them to handle.

Well, I did that last time, didn’t I? Let’s see if I can add a few thousand more ryo to the bounty on my head.

The smile stayed in place. Something still niggled at Ekyt, something that told him to keep smiling that insipid smile.

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