Bloodstained Rose

Chapter 9

Tetsu’s first day back to the village proved eventful. His father’s power over the village had been slipping by the day now that the G.E.I. had started to establish its presence. The full moon hovered over the castle with the stars helping to keep the sky in place. He had grabbed hold of a small rock from off the roof, giving it a quick toss. The pebble spun freely through the air, soon starting to sail towards the ground. He had spent so long away from the town that he had become more disconnected with the people than ever before.

At this point, he was just hoping for everything to calm down just long enough for things to go back to normal. He gazed back towards town, seeing the drones overhead. Further in the distance, there had been some debris that had been scattered following the Dunham’s explosion. The entrance to the roof behind him started to open, revealing Kagome.

“I checked with Minoru and there’s no medicine,” Kagome addressed him. Tetsu had only responded by turning his head. “Tomo’s cough had been getting worse.”

“The supply route is closed, and everything is drying up.” Tetsu said, showing some concern.

“I tried to leave earlier, but you know the situation. Is there a way you can check to see if there is something somewhere? I can’t climb the fence.”

Tetsu agreed, giving her a quick nod. He painstakingly forced himself out of his comfortable position and navigated back up the edge of the roof. Kagome grabbed a hold of one of his hands, helping to pull him up and through the entrance.

“Is there nobody to help us?” he asked upon getting inside the castle.

“There’s a few guards outside the gate, but they aren’t going to stay here forever.” Kagome replied as she guided him back inside.

“We never had forever. We really are about to lose everything, are we?”

“I don’t know, but if we have to turn over the village to the G.E.I. to get these troops out of the area and to get the supply routes going, then let’s do it.”

Tetsu lifted his thumb towards his mouth, taking a small nibble. His thoughts continued racing while they moved down the steps towards the first floor.

“This is bad.” he said.

“Junichi has been gone all day and I have no idea if he’s alive or if he fled.”

“Junichi is gone?” Tetsu turned to face her. Kagome’s eyes started to water up from the stress continuing to build.

“I don’t know what he is doing, father can’t help, and Tomo needs help!”

“It’s ok,” he stopped and reached his arm out to her, “I’m going to make this right. The doctors in town probably don’t have any medicine and if they did, they will not help.”

He helped walk her down the final steps as he tried to think of the few options that were left. The many different avenues out of this situation were starting to vanish. If he went to the other towns himself, it was unknown if he would be able to pass. Everything outside of Nojiri was dangerous and any day now, the fighting would start to surge.

After walking downstairs, they had spotted Lord Nojuro sitting alone in his room, still not moving since the night before. His face had remained blank while he stared out the window. Tetsu released his grip from Kagome, making his way over to his father.

“What are we going to do about the supply lines? Have you talked to anybody?” Tetsu asked. Nojuro had been lost in his thoughts, hardly acknowledging his presence. He lifted a hand towards his mouth, letting out a cough. Tetsu spoke again, “Are you sick too?”

“I am, but I’ll be fine.” Nojuro replied before gently wiping his fist against his shirt.

“What are we going to do about the town? In a few days we might be out of food completely!”

“I know that, and I’ve talked to them! There’s a blockade to keep some other group out of the area,” He raised his voice to Tetsu. “We have some higher ups coming in a few days. They will offer some rations and they should open the supply routes to the other towns.”

“Some rations to hold us over in case they open the supply route,” Tetsu laughed thinking of his encounter last night. They were already getting violent, and he wouldn’t dare try to reason with them again. He turned back to his father and continued, “What happens if the townsfolk reach their limit? They’re thirsty for blood and we would be powerless.”

“And if that happens, the G.E.I. will keep us safe. We need to wait until they come to take over for us.”

“You’re going to give up the village and let them do what they want?” Tetsu asked him. “After all these years of wanting us to hold onto the mantle, you’re going to hand it over to these people we didn’t even know existed in the hopes they will keep us safe?”

“I am doing everything in my power to keep us safe.”

“And if the G.E.I. comes for us, what happens?”

Nojuro had refused to answer. He knew just as well as Tetsu that everything was starting to slip from his grip. Kagome stepping in between the two to break the tension. Her eyes had become bloodshot as tears poured from them.

“Please, we are running out of time. Tomo is very sick.” Kagome said as she dried her eyes.

“She will be fine.” Nojuro said as he peered back over his shoulder and towards his bed. Tomo had been curled up under the covers, still wheezing with every breath.

“She’s had some problems breathing for the last week,” Kagome said regretfully while lowering her head. “I didn’t really worry about it at first, but it's getting worse.”

“We have to keep it together,” Tetsu said with a quick nod. “We are having difficulties. The village needs supplies, but Tomo matters first.”

Tetsu instinctively reached his thumb back towards his mouth to nibble away once more. He stepped away from them, peering over towards the town below. The drones hovering overhead forced him to shudder as he thought of the people in Nojiri living under constant surveillance.

“Why not just revolt against them?” Kagome asked.

“We don’t have the power to do that,” Nojuro cut her off, turning his attention to her. “They will massacre this entire village! I have negotiated our safety, and we must honor our part of the deal.”

“The deal is terrible, and we can’t wait for them.” She finished, this time igniting a spark. Tetsu’s eyes had lit up as he began to pull his thumb from his teeth. He was not going to try and risk going to another town or trying to reason with the other. The G.E.I. had all sorts of technological advancements he could not comprehend.

“I’ll just go to them,” Tetsu said before turning to face them. He lifted his arms and smiled at the thought. “It's crazy, but I’ll just go hunt them down and make them help her!”

Kagome had let out a quick burst of laughter, “You’ll just make them?”

“I mean, they’re going to take over the village. We can focus on that when it happens, but for right now, why not just try to talk them into giving up some medicine? What choice do we have?” Tetsu replied. Kagome, still dumbfounded, had been unable to reply.

“It would not be wise to try and change the deal.” Nojuro said to him.

“Who said anything about that? I am just getting the medicine.” Tetsu said with a smile.

Kagome stepped in and said, “I wouldn’t do that. You’ve heard their weapons. If you try to mess with them, they might hurt you.”

“I’m not worried about that. Look, I don’t have any more time for this.” Tetsu said as he started to walk his way over towards the window.

“Tetsu, please be careful.” she said once more.

Tetsu had slowly stepped through, taking a seat on the rim before finally pulling his other leg over. He pushed off, dropping a good five feet to the gravel below. Both of his legs bent on impact before he lunged forwards, leaping over the moat.

“Kona!” Tetsu shouted before placing his index finger and thumb into his mouth.

He clamped down and blew into his hand, sounding off with a loud whistle from his lips. Kona had emerged from under the front deck, charging towards him with grace. After getting to his side, the two started to make their way into the woods. He had seen the troops retreat their previous and was certain that their base of operations lies beyond it.