Chapter Text
Kagami untied the ribbons holding the kasa on her head and hung the damp hat from her saddle, tipping her face up into the sunshine. The clouds had moved off for the time being, but even though the warmth of the sun’s rays was pleasant, the brisk breeze was chill. Still, it would help dry them off.
They had left Mura no Mura behind that morning, heading further into the north-east of the province’s central plain, towards the rising foothills of the eastern mountains. This, Shiba Isiri had informed them, was where the stories of Crane neglect and disdain for their Phoenix subjects were coming from. The Northern Yoriki’s task was simple - or at least, simply stated, if not simply accomplished; patrol through the region to both reassure those living here that their safety was of concern to the Crane and also to try and establish where those tales had taken root, that further steps could be taken to correct the situation. The last thing the province needed was more festering conspiracies.
The Shadowlands sort of conspiracy was somewhat easier to deal with, Kagami thought wryly as they pulled up in a grassy glade for the midday rest. When you found those involved in it, you killed them. And, while you could do that with politically disgruntled heimin - and even politically disgruntled samurai - the consequences were far trickier to navigate.
She swung her leg over the back of her pony in preparation to dismount, but Tetsunotaka was there before she had time to jump down.
“Allow me, Kagami-san,” he said, placing his hands around her waist and lifting her to the ground, turning to place her down on a more solid patch of ground than the slightly swampy section of grass she had been about to splash down into. She made a face as she considered how unpleasant the water would have felt soaking through her shoes and then smiled gratefully up at him.
“Thank you, Tetsunotaka-san,” she said, trying to ignore the fact that her cheeks were pinking a little from the intimacy of his hands on her and the ease with which he had taken her weight. She glanced sharply over at Jiromasu, but he was busy removing food from his saddlebag and not paying attention to them. Mollified - she had thought she had felt a surge of amusement through their link - she turned back and let Tetsunotaka help her pick her way through the saturated field to a slightly more elevated patch of ground before he went back to settle the horses.
Goro went to a nearby copse of trees and came back with an armful of sticks, breaking them down to the correct size for feeding a small campfire and piled them on the ground. He held a hand over them, muttering a prayer to the kami. The waterlogged sticks released a great gout of steam, then burst into flames, quickly settling down to a cheerful crackle. The Kuni gave a satisfied nod, then hung their camp kettle over the fire.
“Useful folks to have around, shugenja,” Jiromasu noted as he made his way over to them.
Kagami bit her lip. Technically, such casual use of the kami’s power was… well, it was discouraged among the Isawa. Connecting with them, speaking with them, praying to them. All those things were expected on a daily basis, and encouraged. The use of magic for mundane tasks, however, was frowned upon. It diminished the sublime majesty of shugenja magic. Magic should be seen as rare and should provoke awe. To use it to light a simple campfire would have been seen by her tutors as worthy of censure. Crab, she supposed, were less conscious of their dignity. And it was true that lighting a campfire after so much recent rain would have been troublesome, even for someone of Tetsunotaka’s talents. And she wasn’t going to complain about a hot cup of tea to stave off some of the damp chill that was trying to lodge itself in her bones. So she wouldn’t make mention of it. It was ill-mannered to criticise those of another Clan to their faces anyways. Insulting even. And she didn’t want to insult her friend.
She drew a little closer to the fire, holding her hands out to its welcome heat.
“How much further to Kosei no Mura?” Goro asked as Jiromasu passed around the midday meal the inn had packed for them. The steamed buns were cold now, but they had been made fresh that morning, and they were surprisingly good.
“It depends on whether the rains have flooded any of the streams,” Jiromasu said. “Probably by mid-afternoon. Shiba Ruki-san is expected to be in residence, so we will go directly there and hope that she will offer us shelter, rather than encouraging us to stay at the village inn.” He smiled, a little grimly. “I will make it hard for her not to. That will give us the whole evening to get a gauge of her loyalties and her current feelings towards Doji Uki-sama’s administration.”
“She hasn’t raised any concerns in me when I’ve seen her at Doji Uki-sama’s winter courts,” Tetsunotaka said. He reached out to pour hot water from the kettle into the tea pot.
“Nor I,” Jiromasu agreed. “We will have to see how she reacts when unexpectedly facing Crane within her own home. Nami-san, I would ask that you remain constantly at Kagami-san’s side. I may find myself distracted by trying to assess the degree of threat, and there are places you can go with her that I cannot.”
Her other yojimbo nodded as Tetsunotaka poured out a cup of tea and passed it to Kagami. She accepted it gratefully, pulling it close and cradling it against her chest, allowing the heat of it to warm her hands and leech into her core.
They let the fire burn down after they had finished their meal, and by the time the horses were rested, it was no more than a few smouldering embers. While Jiromasu and Tetsunotaka gathered their mounts, Goro kicked the fire to scatter them, then stepped on the final glowing coals, pressing them down into the wet ground where they put themselves out with a sullen hiss. The two shugenja made their way down the rise towards where the horses had been gathered, Nami following behind, and Kagami once again found herself with Tetsunotaka’s large hands wrapped around her torso as he lifted her up and into her saddle. She bit her lip, glancing at him through her lashes.
“I hope you do not mind,” he said, a bit sheepishly. “The ground is very muddy, and I did not want to dirty my hands throwing you up into the saddle as I normally do. And lifting you down reminded me that you are small enough and light enough that this was a possibility.”
“No, I… I do not mind,” she said, glancing over at her cousin. He was already mounted, apparently watching a crow that had come down to investigate the place where they had eaten their lunch. “You have been kind enough to consistently help me mount when a mounting block has not been available. I would not want you to inconvenience yourself while doing so.” She quite enjoyed having him offer his hand as a step and the exhilaration of being tossed upwards so she could successfully swing her leg over her horse’s back. It was rather damaging to her dignity to be hopping up and down, trying to get the leverage to mount given how high her stirrups were hung in order to accommodate her short legs. When Tetsunotaka threw her into the saddle, it always felt a bit like flying. Being lifted and placed in the saddle the way he had today was, perhaps, a little less dignified - she felt somewhat like a child being put up on a horse for their first riding lesson - but she had to admit very quietly to herself that she didn’t dislike it. There was something thrilling at how easily he took her weight and the warmth of his hands that she could feel even through the layers of her clothing. And Jiromasu either hadn’t noticed, or didn’t object. So…
“It is no inconvenience to be able to aid you, Kagami-san,” he said. He glanced at the sky, then picked up her hat from where it was still hooked over her saddle and placed it on her head. “It looks like it is going to rain again,” he said. She tipped her head back to make a face up at the clouds, then laughed as he reached out quickly to stop her hat sliding backwards off her head. She straightened her head and he reached out to tie the ribbons under her chin.
“Thank you,” she said.
Goro cleared his throat and there was the very slightest of winces in Tetsunotaka’s expression. “Shall we get underway, then?” the Kuni asked. “We do not know yet if we will meet with swollen streams.”
“Yes,” Testunotaka said, striding over to his cob and hauling himself up into the saddle, pulling his helmet on and fastening his mempo across his face. “Let’s go.”
Kagami, without a mempo to use to hide her pink cheeks, urged her horse forward, studiously ignoring Nami’s knowing grin.