Heavenfall

Ryoko still couldn't find peace, the events of the day still turning over in her mind, and so she had gone searching, hoping that there might be some semblance of beauty, some remnant of the peace they had found, just a week hence.

Not here. Not anymore.

Sitting on a rock, she gazed across the blighted landscape, turning over the journey so far in her head, asking herself... why. Why she was here, why she had changed... what she felt, and what she was... all of these things confused her. Frightened her. Her world was not what it had always been, and she began to think it never would be again.

It had been a long day. And with the call of destiny, Matsu had been scrambling to get away from everyone. So she and her father had left for a moment, heading into the jungle. She stalked ahead, polearm in hand, but within eyeline of the large man.

He, however, was already having racing thoughts. And soon, he and Matsu encountered her.

"Matsu. Stay near, but... let us talk, please." He spoke to his daughter, who nodded. She began to practice again, while the bandit king moved next to where Ryoko sat.

"Thank you, for your help."

"My help?"

Ryoko glanced up at Yamadono, expression wry. "I suppose you could call it that, standing there and getting clawed at by that thing."

Shaking her head, she continued, "Thank you... for killing it... or whatever it was that you did. I owe you my life." Her voice had a catch, unusually rough and unsteady, "I was totally powerless... I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"You could have run from it. You could have hidden. No one would have blamed you. You charged in and grabbed it, held it down. I doubt I'd have found it before it struck at Matsu without what you did." His words were soft, and then he shook his head.

"You don't owe me anything. When it lashed at you as well... I was consumed by rage. It dared to attack my daughter, and you. The two people I would say I care for most in this expedition." He looked away from her, to where his daughter was practicing.

"Had it killed you... I don't want to think about that as a possibility."

She shuddered, and said, softly, "I... was going to run, I think... when it struck me toward the end. I thought I was going to die, and the only thing I could think to do was to try and defend myself. I stopped protecting Matsu and just tried to save myself." I was a coward.

A damp sniff, and she added, "I'm just glad it's gone. I'm glad Matsu is ok. She's a good girl, and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her."

Yamadono didn't say anything for a moment. He simply stood there, listening. Taking in the words as she said them. "From what Matsu has told me, what she has learned over the years since these kami have stood with us, that Courage is that action in the face of fear. It isn't a failure to be fearful, especially when you believe that death draws close. Matsu... and I. We would have moved to protect you, and if we could not, we would have avenged you." A large hand came down onto her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

"I know. I can tell you care for her. That you want the best for her. It's part of why... why I feel the way I do towards you. That I know I can trust you with her. Especially now. It's... hard, for someone to tell a child that they have a great destiny ahead of them, and how people all look to her now." Yamadono looked back to his daughter, who's face had turned to a scowl as she moved through the polearm forms.

"She's angry. She doesn't understand. I don't understand, either. And now it feels like this great weight has been placed upon her shoulders, and all I want to do is carry that burden for her, to take it away so she... so she can still be my little girl."

"I... I think I understand that."

Ryoko took a steadying breath.

"On both counts... seeing you with her... it's very sweet. Handsome." Blushing, she added, "I also feel the same about wanting to spare her. It isn't fair to put that on a child."

Taking a moment to compose herself, she went on, "I don't know if we can, but if it's possible, I'd like to spare her that pressure."

His hat was removed, gently placed upon Ryoko's head, before sitting down next to her. "I think... all we can do is be there for her. To help her when she asks." A hand reached for hers as they looked to Matsu.

"I suppose I should be lucky she embraced Bushido, while not being so bound to it. Looking to those tenets... she makes herself seem older than she is." A nod as Matsu yelled a kiah and dramatically moved to an assaulting kata with her polearm.

"And I am grateful, to the Heavens and beyond, that you're here for her too."

Ryoko flushed, and pulled the hat down, so it flopped over her ears, but her horns kept it from falling over her face.

"I... appreciate that. She's a good girl... and I want her to have the best future possible."

With a slow sigh, she added, "I want us all to have the best future possible. I guess that's why we're all here. It's a time of change and new beginnings, of things becoming something else entirely."

Hugging her knees, she added, quietly, "I hope my tribe future will open... opportunities for new things..."

He was quiet. Contemplating her words for a moment. "When we return... I would like to meet your tribe." Finally breaking the silence. His smile was serene, peaceful. His sincerity and honesty apparent in the words.

"So they, too, can know the heart of my thoughts." He boldly claimed, his attention now fully upon her.

"I... I'd be happy to introduce you."

She smiled faintly, and added, "In these changing times... maybe it won't just be the Noriaki who become something new."

Seeing her smile, he found himself feeling like he couldnl fly. The large man beamed, feeling quite inspired. "If I didn't already have reasons to make sure we all survive, I certainly do now, Ryoko."

Her continued words brought out a nod. "New, but familiar. With honor to where things came from."

"Aye... past and future need not conflict."

That was her naive, idealistic hope.

"Tell me a little about your home... or your clan... whatever you like. What things do you find most important about them... what memories most cherished?"

"The Spider," he began, taking a breath as he nodded, "appealed to me back on Seppun Hill because when I learned of the plight of Fu Leng, they had the same thought I did. One never leaves behind family. They seek, as I always sought," a smile as he nodded to Matsu, "to protect that which they care about most. To keep the ones we love safe."

The large man smiled, before chuckling.

"Maybe I'm a one note man. But ever since Matsu wss born, and especially after Hikarihime died... all of ky energy has been in protecting her, and her future. When I was welcomed by the Spider, it felt like they took the importance of that to me to heart. I've never felt like I was going through the world without friends, again."

Ryoko nodded, and then leaned gently against him, her fur hat covered horns resting against his arm.

"That's good. I know that without my tribe, I wouldn't know what to do with myself, that I wouldn't know what purpose I have in life. I very much hope I can introduce you and Matsu both, though it may be a shock... you'd meet my mother's people. Perhaps it would be your first time meeting someone taller than even you."

The idea brought a faint giggle, though there was no judgment in her voice.

He chuckled with her. The feeling of her resting against him sent a sense of peace through him, even as they drew closer and closer to their destination.

"It would be a pleasant surprise to see that. And I very much think we would like meeting your people." An arm wrapped around Ryoko's shoulders, large hand rubbing her upper arm.

"When we return, let's make that hope real, eh?"

"Yes."

She smiled, feeling, for the first time in a long time, safe.

"I think they'll like you. Do you have any questions about us, or about me?"

It was cozy, and she did not wish to move just yet.

"Tell me of your childhood. What brought you to love music?" His voice was soft, warm and inviting, even in it's low tone. The mountain of a man leaned in against her, letting his head rest against hers. "What was life in your tribe in the day to day?"

His curiosity was palpable, eager and wanting to know more. A reflection of the warmth that had grown for her in his heart.

Short as she was, he was, she hoped he didn't get a crick in his neck.

"Life in the tribe... well, I was left there by my mother - so I grew up as Ongaku - we are the ceremonial musicians and ritual keepers of the tribe - I grew up around music and dance, and once I showed an ability to play the morin khuuru, and to sing, they told me to focus upon those... I grew up being passed from caravan to caravan, so I never grew to view any one family as my home... instead I got to know the entire tribe."

She sighed comfortably, and added, "I liked the caravan of elders, the ogres, they had lived so long and knew so much - perhaps it was because they had been through so many things, but they were quiet and industrious during the day, only opening up in the evenings when we sang and danced. As I got older, I also learned how to protect the herds, as is custom, though I fortunately have never had to do so..."

"From day to day, we tend to the herds, and each season we migrate and spend many days riding or walking to new pastures. When festivals come round, we throw feasts - there is much drink, song, and dance. It can get overwhelming, but luckily, as a musician, I am not expected to become too boisterous for the duration."