Masato helped Taro up onto his horse, and then turned to the farmers once more.
“We’re most sorry for all the trouble we have caused!” He said, bowing to them.
The father waved a hand at him. “No. No. It is also our fault. If my daughter had not attacked you, then this would not have happened.”
Masato glanced around for Natsuko, but the spirited girl was nowhere to be seen.
As it turned out, the girl and one of her brothers had mistaken he and Taro for bandits, and it had been she who had attacked him while they hid their horses near the farm. The real bandits had come upon them shortly afterward, and taken advantage of the situation to tie the two boys up and imprison the farmers.
The girl had disappeared while he had explained where he and Taro were going, and Masato hadn’t seen her since. It was too bad, he had wanted to see her to say goodbye.
Getting onto his horse, Masato waved to the farmers and then started out in the direction they’d told him. It was still the middle of the night, but they had no moment to waste, and had already lost enough time here at the farm.
As they reached the edge of the farmland, and before they had passed into the forest, a shadow jumped in front of the horses.
Pulling his mount to a halt, Masato peered down in the moonlight at the figure with it’s arms out- it was Natsuko!
“Take me with you!” She shouted.
Masato was taken aback- what should he do?
“I’m sorry, miss. We’re going to war.” He told her, trying to sound as adult as he could. “You can’t come with us.”
“Do you want the bandits to get you?” She asked.
“Miss, a samurai isn’t afraid of death.” Masato told her proudly.
“Oh really?” She said, walking up next to him. “So you don’t want to know the secret way across these hills?”
Masato paused. “Is it faster?”
“Oh yes, much faster.”
He looked at Taro, who looked back at him impatiently.
“Fine,” Masato sighed. “But…”
He had barely gotten the words out when she had grabbed onto his jacket and was hoisting herself into the saddle behind him with amazing speed. He felt the warmth of her pressed against his back, and there was a sweet scent like flowers around him. The whole thing suddenly made him feel a little dizzy.
“Let’s go!” She told him when he just sat there. “Don’t make me hit you again!”
Masato did as he was told, for fear she might do exactly that.
* * *
The three of them rode as fast through the forest as the night would allow, Natsuko giving them directions and taking them through a series of back paths.
It really amazed Masato how well she knew the forest, even at night.
“Oh, I grew up hunting here with my brothers.” She explained when he commented on it. “The best time to catch rabbits and foxes is at night, and I see pretty well in the dark so they always take me along. Are you any good at catching rabbits?”
Masato admitted he was better at cooking them than catching them.
“You cook?” Said the girl, clearly surprised. “But I thought samurai had servants to do that.”
“Well, I’m just an apprentice.” Masato told her. “I’m not a full samurai yet, so I have to cook for my master sometimes.”
“Oh, I see.” Said, the girl, who clearly hadn’t considered this possibility.
After that, the girl began to ask Masato questions about himself, and that lead to his life in the castle. She seemed to want to know everything about the castle and what court was like, who was who, and showed quiet a good memory for names. It had taken him years to understand how the castle functioned, but she seemed to grasp it all as fast as he could tell her.
It was only when they were on the downward slope and the sun had crested the Eastern sky that he became aware of the passage of time again- so focused had he been on their conversation.
At last, they came to the edge of a long dirt road that extended out in either direction, and she told them to halt.
Masato’s back suddenly felt cold and empty as Natsuko slipped from the saddle and stood beside the horse looking up at him.
“This road will take you to the meeting place,” she said as she pointed to the left. “Just ride hard and you should get there by mid-morning.” Then she took the wooden fox spoon from her sash, and offered it to him. “Take this as a token of my apology for last night.”
Masato naturally refused it, but the girl insisted she had another and he finally relented.
As he took it, she said “That spoon is the boy fox. I have the girl fox. They were made by my father for me, and were always together before now. Come back and let them visit someday.”
“He will…” Masato croaked, then stammered. “I mean…I will.”
Then she smiled, and suddenly those large black eyebrows didn’t seem so ugly anymore, in fact they seemed to look quite nice on her now that he thought about it.
Taro made an impatient noise. “Masato-kun…” He hissed.
And that brought Masato back to reality- he had a mission to fulfill!
“Thank you for your help, miss!” He told her, and kicked his horse.
As the two riders shot off down the road, he couldn’t help but glance back. The farmgirl was still there by the roadside, watching them go. Unconsciously, he touched the wooden knife-spoon now tucked in his jacket, and made a promise to return it someday.
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