NI: THE ESCAPE

"Tadaima!" Heitchi called out when they returned to their home again. Saki and Heitchi found their mother working in the kitchen, busy preparing dinner.

"Okaeri-nasai." Miyoko turned as she heard the two come in. "Did you take your brother to visit the market today, Heitchi?" she asked.

"Yes, Mother."

"Good! Do you think your wife would mind if I borrowed you for another day? For Saki’s sake, of course."

Heitchi’s cheek twitched with annoyance. She had apparently touched on a subject that was somewhat embarrassing for him. "I’m sure she would not mind." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but stopped himself.

"That’s good to hear!" Miyoko turned to her eldest son. "How was the market festival, Saki?"

"I enjoyed it." Saki reached into the pocket of his pants and retrieved the necklace he had purchased. "I bought this for you, Miyoko."

"Saki…" Miyoko looked at the jade necklace, then accepted it with both hands. Carefully, she put it around her neck and fastened it. "Oh, Saki…" she bent down and hugged her son, kissing his cheek. "You do not know how much this means to me. Thank you."

"I…I thought you would like it."

Heitchi cleared his throat, putting a hand on Saki’s shoulder. But his eyes were on their mother "There is something we have to discuss, Mother." He gave Saki a look. "In private," he added.

Saki obliged at the unspoken suggestion, stepping out in the hall. Despite that he was in the hallway, he could hear the two speak even in their low voices.

"They know," Saki heard Heitchi say.

"No…" Miyoko rasped.

"It is true. One of their cursed Soldiers approached Saki today at the market."

"This cannot be… How did they find him?"

"I do not know. It is possible the capture of my brother did not go as undetected as hoped." Heitchi paused. "I attempted to take a side route to the house from the market but I fear they may have followed us. We should leave this place at once."

"We will do no such thing! But…does Saki know?"

"No. Not yet. More than he should, yes, but if they manage to find him again…you know as well as I what could happen."

"Guard him, then! Gather your friends, put them on watch!" Her voice quivered. "Do whatever you need to do to protect my son—your brother! This is all I ask, please…"

"Yes, Mother." Heitchi soon was back out in the hallway to pause by Saki.

"You should go to bed, Saki," Heitchi simply told him, before continuing.

Saki headed down the hallway and stepped up into the bedroom he had awakened in. He paused for a moment in front of the ovular-shaped mirror that hung on the wall. Stepping closer, he took a hard look at his face for the first time. His long black hair hung behind his head in a ponytail he had tied, his cheeks protruded below his eyes, and his sharp nose hung in the center. He stared into the void of his brown eyes.

"Who am I?" he asked himself.

There was no answer.

Oroku Nagi’s coffin rested before his family and friends, a smattering of roses and other flora placed on and about it. Rain drummed against their heads, hats, and umbrellas, and the thunder continued to rumble.

Appropriate, Saki angrily thought to himself.

He could not hold it in any longer. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he threw himself against the coffin, breaking free of his mother’s adamant grasp. "Nagi!" he cried out. He beat against the coffin’s side relentlessly until his mother dragged him off of it.

Miyoko was sobbing as well. "Nagi has gone to your father and sister, Saki. There is nothing anyone can do for him now. It is no easier for me than for you. Please understand."

"No!" Saki screamed. "I know his murderer! I know his name, his face! Hamato Yoshi shall pay for this with his blood!"

"You are only seven years old, child!" his grandfather, Ishii, said. "Do not make this any harder on yourself."

"I swear it! I swear it!" Saki stormed away from the coffin, pushing his way through the people. None pursured him. Alone and away from them all now, he went to lay against a tree.

One of the black-clad men gathered around the coffin approached Saki. It was not a man he recognized as one of their family, so he could only assume it was one of Nagi’s friends.

"I could not help but overhear you, Oroku Saki," the man whispered, as eerie shadows hung in his black eyes.

"What do you want?" Saki snapped.

"Only to help you." The dark man leaned closer. "Your brother Nagi was a member of the Foot Clan, an elite clan of ninja. Perhaps he told you of us in confidence. We have been operating for some time in secret, but I believe it just might have a place for you. If you are interested."

"What can it do for me?" Saki snapped, the tears still streaming down his face. "I want my brother’s killer dead! Dead!!"

"Hamato Yoshi was exiled to America for his crimes, where he and his wench still remain. The police may have not given them a second thought, but do not think his crimes will be so easily forgiven by his brethren. He broke the code. He killed another Foot. The circumstances are irrelevant." The man met Saki’s gaze. "The Foot Clan can temper you, Saki. Given time, under the tutelage of our masters, you shall become an unstoppable fighter, easily an equal to Hamato Yoshi. Then…vengeance shall be yours. Yours for the reaping."

His anger dwindled for a moment as he considered the man’s words. "You…you will teach me to fight like my brother?"

"Yes, and much more," the man assured him. "I trust by your question you are interested in my proposition…?"

Saki swallowed his fear. "I-I am interested. What do I need to do?"

"Do not worry. We will keep in touch."

Saki awoke to see his mother bringing a tray with breakfast. Setting it next to his futon, Miyoko poured a steaming cup of green tea. She held it up to his lips.

"Good morning, Saki," she warmly spoke. "Did you sleep well?"

Saki took a sip of the delicate tea. "No. I…I had a dream."

"A dream?" She seemed worried. "Tell me of it."

"I was at my brother’s funeral. I was a child…" He stopped, unable to go on. Saki looked meekly up at his mother. "I-I am sorry I left you, Mother."

"Saki…" She smiled. "It is all right now. We have a second chance together. As a family. That is all that matters." She kissed his cheek. "I love you, my son."

"I love you, too, Mother."

"Now eat your breakfast. I will take care of the tray later on." She left him with a bowl of steaming rice, topped with a raw egg.

After he finished his meal he slid open the front door and walked out on the porch, looking out across the valley before him.

Suddenly he noticed two American men standing on either side of the porch, brandishing the rifles they held in their hands.

"What are you doing here?" Saki turned to one with some alarm.

The first one, twice as burly as the second with a thick beard, spat to the side. "Guarding your sorry ass. Get the hell back inside."

Saki didn’t understand their strange foreign tongue, but he knew by their expression and tone that they weren’t being friendly. Frowning, he stalked back inside.

"My American friends can be a bit…anti-social at times," Heitchi said as he appeared out of the kitchen.

"Why am I being guarded?"

"That is not something you need to know either. Just understand that there is good reason."

Saki winced. "It is the Foot Clan, is it not?"

Heitchi’s eyes widened. "How do you know about that?"

"I had a dream last light…vague images…people…names… Pieces of a puzzle that I do not know how to put together," Saki said with heartfelt frustration. "Why do they want me?"

"You know better than that."

Saki felt anger creep up his spine. "Why can you not answer my questions? Tell me!"

"I would like to tell you, Brother, I really would, but it is a risk I cannot afford to take."

Saki frowned as he started for the back door. "If you cannot give me answers then I will have to find them myself!" he yelled behind him.

"Saki! No!" Miyoko called as she saw her son pass the kitchen.

Saki gave her a brief glance. "I am sorry, Mother, but I must know. I must know who I am. I cannot live another man’s life any longer."

"Hold it right there, Saki!" Heitchi boomed, running after him. "You are not going anywhere."

"Then stop me." Saki threw open the back door and sprinted across the clearing of their property before making a dash toward the trees.

Heitchi stopped at the guards who stood at twelve-feet intervals around the house. "Don’t just stand there, fools! Stop him!"

"Jesus, man, what do you want us to do, shoot’im?" one of them asked.

Heitchi grunted. "Komatta na!" he exclaimed, charging back into the house.

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