Chapter Text
CHAPTER 13
Home in the Snow
The change from one realm to another was instant, and the first thing that caught me off guard was the cold that I forgot about my exhaustion and shuddered intensely. The morning from the other realm had vanished; nightfall had come again.
I pulled Shikisha closer to me as if it would give me warmth. My breath let out puffs of crisp smoke as snow hailed down from above, landing on my lashes and thin sweater. I wrapped my tails around myself, feeling its warmth and fluffiness on my skin.
Thank the gods I had tails.
“You guys could’ve said something about this.” Jay’s voice rang from above as he banged on the bridge’s door. “Let me in! I’m freezing.”
I turned to face Miho who stood unaffected. “Why didn’t you tell us it would be snowing?”
She didn’t say something for a moment, staring at the storm as if there was a problem to it. “It is not usually this strong.”
I raised a brow. Strong? “What do you mean?” I looked around, watching the crying waves of the storm.
Miho shook her head, looking back at me. “It is nothing to concern yourself. As for the location, the destination is always distinct for each person who can travel from realm to realm. I did not know where we would arrive when you played the melody, especially you do not know this realm.”
She glanced down at me and said, “But it seems that the shamisen has guided us where we ought to be. It knows you better than I thought.”
The shamisen knew me? I glanced down at it, tracing the edges of the fox on the dō kakke. And then, I processed her words. “Wait, what do you mean it guided us where we have to go?”
Miho walked over to the railing, looking below. I followed, leaning forward on it and followed where she was looking at, trying to see what it could be. Below was nothing but pure snow, the mountain ranges barely visible through the fog.
It shook the sails, some melting when they touched the engines; the wind restless as that the whole ship shook and creaked that I caved in a little to myself from the amount of sounds coming all at once.
“Do you know any place we can take shelter?” Master Wu shouted, muffled by the gushing wind as he walked to our direction. Lloyd’s mother beside him while he held his straw hat down. “I don’t think it would be wise to fly around in this storm.”
He was right, even though I wasn’t as experienced as them, I could tell that this ship wouldn’t be safe with nothing to see.
In the bridge, I spotted the others crowded together, their faces contorted into worry and their waves going through fast spikes. Some had their colors (light blue, white, red, and so on) mixed with a bit of yellow.
From the way Nya pointed at the large screen where it glitched a little that it won’t give a clean reading, it was sure enough what it meant.
I turned back to Miho, seeing her still staring down. “Miho, is there any place we can land?”
She was silent, her eyes flickering around with purpose and sharp that a bit of her Kitsune came. Her pupils turned into slits and glowed gold through the gray skies. She seemed to search for something deep below in the snow. Then, she shifted, her hand resting on the rail as she leaned forward.
“Are,” she nudged her head below.
I squinted my eyes, trying to see what she was talking about. I saw nothing.
“Hime, let your Kitsune see through the snow.”
With a deep breath in as I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled, I opened them and tried again. I left myself open, letting my Kitsune to appear a little more.
Come on, show me what she sees.
After a few more tries of surveying what was below us, something finally caught my attention. I leaned forward, squinting as it got more and more visible.
There below, and a not so far from us and small, was a large buke-yashiki. In other words, a samurai residence from what I had learned from my used to be grandparents.
It seemed empty, no light or sign of life coming from it. Its sweeping roofs covered in snow, making it hard to spot.
Miho turned to Master Wu. “There is a clearing below where we may land and shelter. We may settle there and wait until the storm eases.”
He leaned to look below, but shook his head. “I don’t see it. You tell the Ninja of it.”
She nodded and went straight for the stairs to the bridge that I followed her. As I was going up the stairs, I spotted Master Wu guiding Misako below decks as she shivered a little. I pressed my lips together seeing it, but pushed on forward.
Miho and I entered the bridge, sighing as I instantly felt the warmth. The others were back to their places again, trying to figure out what to do. Zane worked on the navigation, pressing buttons that I don’t know what they do.
Lloyd noticed us enter and turned to our direction in an instant, leaving his station. “You two alright? Satomi?”
His eyes landed on me, looking up and down as if confirming whether I was before settling back to my eyes.
I nodded. “We’re fine.”
“Can any of you see a thing out there?” Miho said.
Lloyd shook his head. “Everything’s blurred. Our navigations aren’t responding. It began acting wonky when we passed through the portal.”
“A side-effect of our travel here.” She glanced over to me, and I looked away as a heat traveled up from my chest to my cheeks. “Do not worry, it was your first. I did not expect you to be able to make it steady. You had tried your best, Hime, but do keep it mind for the future.”
“Yes, Miho-san,” I muttered, feeling a bit of shame for not being able to give us a smoother transfer.
With a nod from her, she went over to Pixal as the two began to talk. Their expressions were serious as Miho pointed something outside, almost like she was giving directions. Lloyd stayed by me, a silence between us before he cleared his throat and shifted a little from his spot.
“You doing good?” he whispered, feeling my ear twitch just to pick up his words.
“Fine… I guess.”
A small pause. “Honestly, it feels like we didn’t leave Ninjago at all,” he chuckled, shrugging a shoulder. “But it might be because we haven’t seen the changes. For sure it’ll come hit in later.”
I nodded, offering him a smile.
I was glad that Lloyd was trying to be cheerful at this moment. I wouldn’t lie, finally arriving to the realm where I was supposed to call my home was a little nerve-racking. We might not be able to see anything yet through the storm, but I could already imagine the possibilities of them all.
Everything from the architecture to the nature around us. Outside was nothing but constant waves of icy-white, a color similar to Zane’s aura whenever I glanced at him. But, unlike his calmed (that was often constant) waves, the outside was the opposite.
They hit the roof of the Bounty with much rage, almost as if they were trying to pull us away and knowing us as trespassers. Pixal, who was by the helm, stared up at Miho as her metallic eyes narrowed a little.
“Are you positive?”
“I know this realm like the back of my hand,” I heard Miho, her voice confident and sounded offended by the question. “This is my home for two millennium.”
Lloyd shifted a little beside me, almost as if he also heard the conversation as he released a heavy breath through his lips. I gave him an apologizing look for her behavior, but he shook his head and muttered an ‘it’s fine.’
Perhaps I would’ve understood why Miho reacted like that if I had lived here as long as she had. This was her home, after all, she knew this place than any of us and she served the Father—my grandfather—and my mother for that long.
The ship soon began to move as Pixal steered, Miho still beside her as her lips moved and voice muffled while she gave directions as the Bounty slowly but surely began to descend.
After a few moments of navigating blindly and only from Miho’s instructions, the ship soon landed. Thankfully, it was a smooth way down.
Jay was the first to bound for the entrance of the bridge, opening the door with a look of excitement. We were met with a screaming hail. Some of the snow blew inside, causing me to shiver as it slapped my face.
He shut it, recoiling. He turned to us, his eyes flickering from one person to another before landing on Zane. “How about you go out first?” he gave a meek smile.
Zane sighed, shaking his head as he opened the door again and went out.
He squinted his glowing eyes, scanning around. “Please, tread with caution!” he yelled through the wind. “The deck is topped with snow, and the floors are quite slippery.”
Miho went first, effortlessly walking through the covered steps without a sign of struggle or worry. She turned, staring right at me as if telling me to follow next.
I listened, swallowing while clutching the strap of Shikisha and carefully took a few steps on the snow. If only Miho had said something about having an area that would be nothing but this, I would’ve brought some kind of coat.
I slipped, letting out a yelp. Zane caught my arm, helping me regain balance.
Seriously? You really had to slip in front of these people. He already warned us!
“Thank you,” I said softly, hoping he would hear it through the chaos but also wishing that he didn’t notice how embarrassed I was.
After regaining my steps, I slowly walked over to Miho as she began to go down the stairs.
The others soon followed, heading to the deck while Pixal went over to where Master Wu and Misako retreated. I stood beside Miho, her form solid with her eyes narrowed and out into the distance. She was in her element, and it was noticeable
“Tell me what you see, Hime,” she began.
This was another one of her trainings. I looked forward with a squint. At first nothing appeared, but it began to clear as I focused more and saw the same structure from before in bird’s eye view in front of us. It was much more prominent with its paper screens and cedar walls; lanterns unlit as they flailed from where they hung.
“Shelter,” I answered.
“Good. We shall stay there until the storm ceases.” She turned to the others. “Grab as much needed supplies we will all need. We will take shelter in the structure ahead of us.”
“What shelter?” Kai shouted, hands covering his eyes as he looked ahead. “I don’t see anything out there.”
“Follow and you will see.”
They looked at one another. “You heard her. Let’s move it!” Lloyd said, heading for the lower decks as the others trailed behind.
“Help them,” she said to me, “I shall look around for a safe passage where the snow is not so deep.”
I nodded, taking her permission as I followed the others down the deck. Everyone was bustling around, Zane and Pixal going through the storage as they filled empty bags with water and food while they others gathered their clothes and weapons. All of them working in sync, not needing to say a word and already knowing which one needed which.
I watched for a moment, unsure of what to do and not wanting to intrude to break their momentum. As I was about to step aside, I spotted Misako and Master Wu tending through the scrolls they had brought. He noticed me, giving me a smile as he gestured over.
Squeezing the strap of the shamisen to calm my pounding heart, I walked over to them and bowed politely.
“How are you fairing, Satomi? Quite the sight of them moving together, hm?” Wu started, gently tying the scrolls shut as he put them inside his satchel.
“I’m doing fine. Are you two well?” I said, checking on them as Misako gave a gentle smile.
“Don’t worry about us, we’ve done these things before and been through worse.” She shouldered her backpack, walking over to me as her voice softened. “Are you sure you don’t need anything? It must be a bit daunting being here now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t feel any different yet. Just like Lloyd told me, maybe it’ll kick in later when the storm stops.”
She nodded, patting my shoulder. “You’re handling this well. Not a lot do in your place.”
I simply gave her a respectful smile, my eyes trailing over to their bags. “Do you need help? I can carry some of it.”
“Oh, no, we can handle it.”
“Please, I insist,” I went over, taking some of the bag she was carrying.
After a few back and forth, she finally let me carry two.
Some conversations came from outside, making my ears twitch as my head snapped over to the entrance of the room that we were in. I heard the voices of Kai and Cole, saying something about Cole carrying the heavier loads, which the said man didn’t seemed to mind. I listened carefully, focusing on their voices.
“You guys go up, I’m going to call Sensei and Mom.” It was Lloyd, footsteps heading our way as the rest began to fade away.
“Don’t take too long,” Kai called.
Lloyd soon appeared, popping from the corner with his bag behind him and two other on his arms. “You guys ready to go?” His eyes flickered over to me instantly and he gave a smile. “You need a hand there?”
I shook my head, adjusting the bags in my arms. “I’m okay.”
His attention went back to his mother, going straight to them as he took the rest of the satchels that were on the table. Misako tried to stop him, giving him a look as she held onto them. Lloyd tugged at it.
“Mom, please?”
After a second of silent stares, Misako sighed and let go of the satchels as Lloyd took them with him, readjusting everything in his arms to be able to hold them all at once. I’m surprised he can still walk with how much stuff he had with him, he almost looked like he could topple over. He gave a nod and went out, hearing his footsteps recede up the stairs with long strides.
“He reminds me of his father with that attitude,” I heard Misako.
“But he has your stubbornness,” Master Wu chuckled as I stepped aside, letting them go first. “Come, child, we don’t want them to keep waiting out in that cold.”
I followed behind, going up to the upper deck again as I blinked rapidly and shivered. We spotted Miho standing on the same spot almost as if she hadn’t moved an inch since we disappeared.
The others were a few distance away, hesitant to go near her from how she glared out as if she was ready to pounce.
With a couple of excuses to go past them, I stood beside her again and looked up at her. A few snow had stuck themselves onto her tail and ears, her lashes almost covered in it as her eyes kept flickering around into the distance, slightly glazed. She blinked, her focus now coming to me.
“I will lead. You all follow and do not lag behind. Do not go past the path I will take unless you desire to be buried in snow,” she said to us, her voice a bit muffled but enough to be heard. She focused on me again. “Junbi wa?”
With a nod from me, she stepped out of the ship and into the snow—taking a few steps forwards before glancing behind. A sign that it was my turn. I pressed my lips together that began to become numb, gripping the satchels a bit more and made sure that Shikisha was still there.
After a second of hesitation, I went with her.
From my weight, the snow sank, reaching below my knees as the cold past through my shoes. I shuddered, teeth chattering as I wrapped my tails around myself.
This was not how I wished to be welcomed.
More crunch came from behind me, knowing that one by one they began to follow us as Miho waited for a moment before continuing on forwards. She rested a hand on my shoulder, causing me to walk beside her while dragging my buried legs onto the snow.
Until now, she wasn’t affected by it, walking with ease on the snow even though her own legs were inches deep in. How does she do it? I wished at that very moment I had her experience.
“How do you know which ones are better to walk on?” I said through chattering jaws, trying to have a conversation to get my mind off the cold.
“The depth. You will discern it when you see snow constantly and the path shallower than the rest.” She looked around for a moment before gesturing at something in front of us. “See the path we are taking?” she began, making me follow that direction. “You see how this path is sunken than the ones around it?”
I squinted my eyes, trying to see it. Only to find…
Nothing.
They all looked the same to me. All covered in snow and high up like miniature hills. I shook my head.
“As I guessed, you would not notice.” A smile came to her face, small but there. “It is difficult to detect for someone who is new to it. You will learn over time.”
That was all our conversation, after that was utter silence. Jay, however, had new things to say about how cold it was every two drags—telling Kai to use his fire or something to warm us up. That ended with an argument through the storm that I’m surprised that they can argue at such a condition.
At the end, Miho warned them if they do so, we all would get caught.
They went quiet after that.
It took a few minutes of struggle to go past the snow and in front of the buke-yashiki. And here we were now—standing in front of the sealed gates, all of us looking up at it.
“Great, closed!” Jay said, throwing up his hands. “Good. We walked in this storm for I don’t know how long and ended up standing in front of nothing!”
Miho sighed, muttering under her breath. “Kare wa damatte inai no ka?”
I gave a smile, chuckling softly at how she questioned if he can’t just stay quiet. It was quite entertaining seeing her this annoyed with Jay’s constant yapping, I could still hear him from the background even. I wouldn’t blame her, some silence would be nice as well.
Miho took her attention back to the gate, putting her hands on it and pushed. It creaked ominously, everything around us suddenly hushing as if the storm had shut its mouth and listened to the gate’s command.
Jay’s words halted, blinking as he stared at it. Miho turned to face him with her eyes squinted.
His mouth opened and closed. “Right. Of course, it’s open. I know that.”
Miho muttered something under her breath, going inside as we followed her. Just as I observed from before, the place was deserted. No lights, the sliding doors closed, the garden covered in snow and unattended.
She made her way to the terrace, leaving her geta outside as she slid the doors open. We trailed behind, taking off our own shoes as we stepped into wooden floors. She stood aside, waiting for all of us before closing the door shut and muting the noise from outside.
Finally, some peace.
I unwrapped my tails around myself, but the cold still seeped through as I breathed out smoke. It was dark inside, barely anything evident except the outlines of furnitures. I blinked a couple of times before everything began to clear, thanking my Kitsune quietly. But even so, it was still difficult to see properly.
Miho walked forward, standing beside me again. We locked eyes before she clapped her hands twice. In an instant, the candles burst into flames that I winced at the unexpected brightness, illuminating the whole room. I heard hisses behind me from the others as well.
“A warning would be nice,” Kai said with a restrained groan.
“Follow me, please,” Miho turned, walking deeper into the house.
I went along, glancing behind as I spotted some of them looking at one another then following. Miho went through the halls with familiarity, turning from corner to corner before getting us to the zashiki (or the guest room).
We all placed the satchels and bags we were carrying on one corner of the room while Miho sat on the tatami floor in front of the small table. The others took their own spots. I kept the shamisen close to me, too afraid to leave it alone as I explored around.
It was a home like any other buke-yashiki that I had seen. The blue flames illuminated past a few paper screens, letting me catch a glimpse of what was behind it. It was a simple room, nothing too extravagant with a few trinkets here and there of wakizashi. A few paintings were around, as well as some ornaments, and ikebana on a shelf not so far away.
I can feel Miho’s eyes following me, making my tails twitch. I stopped in front of a painting of a man, his hair pulled up in a chonmange. His expression sharp and calculated with his shoulders rolled back. A few facial hair were evident, but it was clean and trimmed just enough to show his well structured face.
His ears were present as well as his tails—nine, I counted; the colors a shade of blue, just like the tips of my tails and ears.
Most people would’ve feared him, maybe they had by the coldness of his eyes; colder than the weather outside. He appeared like a proficient and experienced samurai.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he were a general and led his own troops—or maybe the whole samurai troop. But I do wonder who he was and how Miho knew this place.
A shift came from behind made me turn around, watching as Master Wu sat down with a sigh. He rubbed his hands together. “A fine place you have found, Miho. We thank you.”
“Do not thank me,” she said, posture upright. “You should thank the spirit of the latest Shōgun. This is his home.”
“Who’s that?” Cole asked, blowing onto his hands and rubbing.
“Lord Ichiro Fuyuhiko. Satomi’s father.”
My gaze snapped over to her.
Miho’s attention now faced me. “This is your father’s abode.” She gestured something behind me. “You were just staring at his portrait.
I turned around again, my lips parting as I came face-to-face to the painting of my father.
My father, was a samurai—no, not just a samurai. A Shōgun. The highest rank and title in the military. That was my father’s title, and it truly said a lot about him.
He really lived in this mountain alone? A place constantly covered in snow and no sign of a close village anywhere?
His home proved enough of his rank and status through its largeness, but I never expected to have a father that was a fighter and with such an important role. Yet again, my mother was an Emperor’s daughter. What else did I expect?
Lloyd pushed himself up, walking over next to me as he inspected the painting. His attention stayed there for a moment before moving to the scroll beside it with writings and inked pictures. They were images of a man holding a katana, seeming to be doing different forms and tilting the weapon in different angles. He squinted his eyes, almost as if trying read what was written.
He got a few words right, muttering them, “Shizu… Yuki. What is this?” Lloyd asked, turning around to face the others again.
Miho stared at it with a stern look. “Shizukana Yuki. In other words, Quiet Snow or The Silent Snow. It is Lord Fuyuhiko’s special move. Deadly fast. Quiet like snow that gently falls to the ground.”
“If it’s his special move, why keep it up there where people could see and try to copy it? That’s just dumb,” Jay made a face, almost judging.
“It may seem so, but one can not master it without precise practice,” Miho said, smoothing out the folds of her hakue. “Many had tried, but the origin of that deadly strike rooted from the Fuyuhiko Kenjutsu. Only the Fuyuhiko lineage knows those attacks. And since the Shizukana Yuki originated from him, no one knows the full detail of it and no one else is taught of it.”
She turned back to me and said, “Your father’s family were strict with passing what has been taught by their blood. They will not teach another who is outside of the family name—unless none is left to teach it to, and they find someone worthy enough to teach.”
I glanced back at the hanged scroll. Only my father’s lineage were taught this move by their elders. But who would teach me if I’m the only Fuyuhiko left?
A silence loomed over us, a sudden shift in the room’s atmosphere caused me to look back at her. She stared right into my eyes. They narrowed a little, but they were soft as if trying to reassure me.
After a few moments, Kai spoke, “So, what do we do now? What’s the plan?”
Mine and Miho’s eye contact broke to regard him. “Our plan for now is for all of you to rest. We will wait until the storm ceases and we will walk to the village here.”
“Wait, walk?” Jay said, his voice cracking a little. “In that who-knows-how-deep snow?”
“Yes. We are going to walk in that ‘who-knows-how-deep’ snow like we did earlier.”
Jay groaned, his head banging on the table as he sulked.
“Why not take the Bounty?” Nya asked.
“Too risky. If a neighboring region hears and see it, we are doomed. One of the team would be alerted and reported back to either Satomi’s aunt or uncle. I do not trust any of them as of now. Thankfully, the storm covered our arrival. This region is the only place I trust.”
She turned to me, her expression critical. “They are loyal to the Fuyuhiko Family. They will not say a word even with our current situation of having two Oni with us. They know me and trust me. They will trust you too, Hime, as you bear your father’s name.”
Another silence came from all of us as Miho stood. We watched as she headed out of the room and flicked her wrist before turning a corner. The azure flames dimmed as if listening to her words of letting us rest. Neither of us dared to say a word, Kai’s hands clenched into fists while glaring at the floor.
“Let’s all get some rest,” Lloyd said finally. “We have a lot of things to do tomorrow.”
“Agreed,” Master Wu followed. “No time for arguments. We shall discuss all of your concerns tomorrow when we all are well rested.”
The others began to lie down on the tatami floor, worried expressions written on their faces. Lloyd put a hand on my shoulder, making me tense at the sudden contact.
His eyes were gentle, almost worried with the whole conversation about my father. I caught sight of his waves again, and that hint of gold in them. That made me ease up a little.
Lloyd, seeming to have noticed me calm down, gave a little nod before heading close by the entrance of the room. He sat on one side of the door and leaned back on the wall, a hand resting on the weapon beside him as if ready to grab it and fight.
I sat as well, looking up at the painting of my father for a moment. I wonder if I bared any resemblance of him and my mother, except the whole Kitsune features?
I squinted my eyes. Well, I do kind of have his face structure.
Soon enough, I lied down—resting Shikisha beside me, while facing the painting. At the thought of it, I suddenly remembered the song in my dream, how I planned on asking Miho about it and whether she would recognize it. But today’s events finally settled in as the fatigue hit me hard, and I could feel my eyes drooping to a close and I couldn’t fight it anymore.
Maybe some other time.