The sun was dawning when Genjo Masahiro rode into Danlora, after presenting his papers to the men at the gate.
Halfway. He was halfway to Norema and the border.
But Mai could not continue the journey with him.
Genjo was not offended. The mare had tried her best. He would not make her struggle another day and night.
So now Genjo walked her down the main street of Danlora, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar village for a place where he could exchange his steed for another, hopefully stronger horse.
The search proved to be unfruitful.
That was, until Genjo caught sight of a carriage for hire–probably the fourth time he had seen it.
"Sir!" he shouted to the driver, who jerked the carriage to an obliging halt.
"Good day, kish'tar!"
So the driver had noticed his mask.
"Are you interested in a trade?" Genjo returned immediately.
The other man eyed him.
"Your mare looks tired," he observed.
"She is," Genjo admitted.
His hand emerged from his pocket, a full purse between his fingers.
"I need a new mount. Mai is yours–for six hundred kesh."
The driver's eyes widened unmistakably.
"Let me see that," he demanded.
Genjo passed it to him, then looked the horses over again as he waited.
Ugly, yes. Strong, also yes.
One of them could definitely take him to Norema.
Then suddenly the driver passed the purse back to him.
Genjo blinked.
"Sir?"
The driver hopped down from his carriage and began to loosen the reins of one of his team.
"You're a resistance man, aren't you," he whispered sideways as Genjo joined him on the ground. "Take the horse. I'll keep your Mai for you until you come back."
Genjo's forehead wrinkled.
"I can't promise I'll come back, sir," he returned quietly.
But the man only laughed as he handed over the reins and took Mai's.
"Then don't. It's all the same to me when it comes to Karun."
Genjo shook his head.
"What's your name?"
"Himura," the man grinned. "Himura Uno. Yours?"
"Kish'tar Genjo Masahiro," Genjo murmured.
His fingers tightened around the new horse's reins.
"Thank you. Karun will not forget you."
Himura laughed again.
"Don't need to be remembered. Oh, and his name is Enatsu!"
Genjo was still staring when Himura led Mai away with his other horse.
Then the kish'tar swung himself onto his new steed.
The guards likely wouldn't notice that his horse was different. And even if they did, too bad.
That was what Genjo thought, anyway.
The gatesmen thought differently.
"You again," one spat. "So quick, eh."
Genjo shrugged. "I'm traveling."
"Hm." The man stepped closer. "Papers."
Genjo handed them over, then frowned as the guard scrutinized them twice as long as he had thirty minutes before.
"This says you're from the old capital," the guard drawled. "Papers approved by Valoren Yazawa."
"'Tis so," Genjo affirmed.
"But they're from less than a week ago?"
Genjo's eyes narrowed in something between confusion and annoyance.
"Yes," he snapped. "And?"
The guard tilted his head thoughtfully.
"Valoren Yazawa came through here a week ago on his way to Norema."
The guard almost certainly expected a reaction, but probably not the reaction Genjo actually gave him.
He stared silently at the horseman as Genjo pulled his dagger free.
Then the guard crumpled to the ground while Genjo wiped the blood on a handkerchief and let the cloth flutter to the ground.
Dagger sheathed once again, Genjo grasped the reins.
"Enatsu–go!"
His voice was almost pleading.
"Fast!"
~~~
Arai bit his lip as he swung himself into the saddle of the horse he had ridden to Norema only a few days before.
Taro Zayasu was nowhere to be seen.
Of course he wasn't. He had no reason to be.
But Arai still wished he was.
"Well. Ride swiftly, and ride safely." Valoren Yazawa smiled up at him–then passed him a piece of paper.
"This is for the King," he explained, his voice somewhat quieter. "See that no one else reads it."
Arai grasped the wax-sealed note tightly, slipping it into his belt.
"Yes, valoren," he saluted.
Their eyes locked.
Then Arai grabbed the reins, and the horse's hooves pounded their way onto the street of Norema.
Perhaps Arai glanced towards the Zayasus' house as he passed it.
Perhaps it was an involuntary movement.
Then it was left behind.
He stopped at the gate and presented his papers. Then he was waved through.
Of course he was.
He was a messenger for the King of Hoshara, now.
Or so the Hosharans thought.
Arai's eyes drifted towards the distant mountain range as he smiled and rode on.
~~~
Taro walked Sakue to school–only to run home with such speed that not a few of the villagers glanced at him in something very much like concern.
That Zayasu boy. No one knew what was going to become of him next.
The Zayasu boy didn't care, though, as he pounded his way up the stairs of his home and disappeared into his bedroom.
It didn't take him long to glance around the room–and it took him even less to wonder why he had come back in the first place.
He wasn't hungry. His mother had packed a lunch for him, and he had it with him.
But, for some reason, he had come back.
Muttering to himself, Taro pulled open the top drawer of his dresser to grab his cloak.
He didn't need it. It wasn't going to rain.
But…maybe it was.
How would he know, anyway?
Fastening the cloak around his neck, Taro reached to shut the drawer. His hand gripped the edge and then went still for a moment.
There was a sketch he'd drawn years ago, of himself and his family. Taro laughed at it now. He'd forgotten it was there.
He laughed, but then he picked up the scrap of paper and tucked it into his belt.
Stupid. It was going to get lost.
Taro slammed the drawer shut before he had time to change his mind.
His friends would be waiting for him.
Taro's boots thumped on the stairs again as he raced for the door, lunch in hand, sword banging against his legs painfully.
"Huh." His mother looked up from the counter. "Thought you'd left."
"I'm leaving now," he gasped, his hand on the door as he began to push it open.
Runa smiled.
"Have a good day."
"I will!" Taro called cheerily.
The door blocked her from view as he shut it, but Taro was already running down the street.
Sunlight chased him. But he ran faster.
~~~
Josuke Chikanari glanced around the space that the rebels called the "Valley." It was open to the elements, and the grass provided carpeting, but this was where they held their largest gatherings. It wasn't nearly too crowded today, though, as only resistance leaders had been summoned for this morning's conference.
"Is everyone here?" the kish'tar questioned bluntly.
Rii scanned the perimeter.
"Everyone except Mino," she murmured to her husband.
His eyes widened. "How do you know?"
"Because there are only ten of us here, and Mino is always late."
She didn't laugh. Neither did he. But someone else's face twitched.
They all waited. Finally Mino appeared from around the corner of one of the makeshift buildings that dotted the eastern side of the slope.
"Am I late?" he stammered as every pair of eyes trained on him like an assassin's.
"No," Eguchi drawled. "You're overdue."
Mino's weak smile shattered.
"Anyway." Josuke stepped forward, a stick in his hand. "We have eleven days before we declare war. More like, eleven days before we need to be advancing on the castle."
No one interrupted him. They had long been expecting this.
"Group A will leave tonight and ride through the southern expanse of Hiyashi. Your journey will be the longest. You know what you're doing–free the smaller villages along the way, ignore the larger ones. We'll meet you in ten days outside the walls of Hoshara's castle.
"Group B will attack Hoshara's border villages in seven days–adjacent to the unmarked border. Eguchi has the map.
"And Group C–my group–will leave in four days for northern Hiyashi. We'll cut through the forest and pin the castle between ourselves and Group A."
Josuke scraped the dirt one last time with his stick. An X over the approximate location of the castle.
Then he stepped back.
"Any questions?"
No one had any.
Except his wife.
"Who's going to take the powder?"
"We are, of course." Josuke blinked.
She looked at him, her gaze steady.
"What happens when we get cut off?"
Josuke bit his lip.
"We can't let any of the powder fall into enemy hands," he pointed out. "One stray spark and they'll find out exactly what it's for."
Her eyes narrowed.
"We have more than enough. We can send some with Group A."
Scowling, Josuke glanced at Mino.
Group A's leader was supposed to have been Genjo Masahiro.
But Mino Harai would have to learn how to work without the veteran.
"Mino," Josuke said quietly, and the younger man turned to look at him.
"I'll talk to you later about the powder," Josuke finished.
Mino nodded, and Rii let her shoulders relax slightly.
Eguchi's eyes settled on Josuke.
"Is that all, Commander?"
The man caught his breath. Commander.
Well…yes. That was what he was now.
Josuke managed a small grin beneath his mask.
"That's all."