WAP CH 6

CHAPTER 6

That week, she started her school. Aiko began gathering the children too young to work and teaching them hiragana in the mornings. Their minders were obviously interested as well.

She started holding classes in the evenings for adults. One night a week was open for anyone to learn the first syllabary. Two nights were reserved for Hana, Fumiko, and Shinji. She needed someone to staff the clinic and teach eventually.

It felt a little wrong to assign them a career path. But she wanted to invest time in the young adults of the village. She wasn't going to stay forever. Aiko needed to train them and then pass things off to long-term custodians of institutions.

So, the eager-to-please Shinji, reserved Fumiko, and heavily pregnant Hana had 6 hours of study per week. She started them off with the first phonetic writing system as well, and then interspersed sprinkles of kanji in with geography and lectures about hygiene.

It was relatively slow going. They didn't need to be scholars in comparison to the educated elite of Aiko's time. But it was rather like trying to impart the non-martial parts of an Academy education in a quarter of the time.

One night, Hana hung back after class while Aiko painstakingly cared for the brushes. Out of the corner of her eye, Aiko caught the motion of Hana wringing her hands.

'She's going to ask me something.'

"Yes, Hana-san?" Aiko asked, before Hana could work up the courage to ask for her attention. "Is there something I can do for you?" She turned to make eye contact.

Hana laughed weakly. She ran her hands over her hair, tied back and up in a demure knot. "You always know," she bemoaned. "Ah, it's just. If it's not too much trouble - it's about the horse."

"Ah," Aiko nodded. "Onigiri chan."

"Yes, Oni- what?"

"The horse's name," Aiko explained patiently. "What about him?"

Hana eyed her. "Right…" She seemed to rally her boldness. "I think he needs a better place to live," she said. "He's always indoors. I think it's sad for him."

Aiko blinked. She tried to remember about animal care.

That seemed… correct, Aiko decided. The horse needed a paddock to cavort in.

"I see," she said slowly. "I agree with you. Do you know where it should be?"

Hana wrung her hands again. "That's the problem," she said apologetically. "We don't have enough suitably flat space. And it would take so much time to accomplish with shovels and axes. Onigiri chan would have to wait months." Her big brown eyes were distressed.

'I made a good choice,' Aiko thought. 'Healer or teacher, either way. Hana is a good choice.'

Well. It was important to reward initiative and kindness. So she nodded briskly and abandoned her clean up efforts. "Let's go for a walk." Aiko smoothed a hand over her clothing, checking that it was in place. "Shall we?"

They emerged into the fading light of the village at dusk.

The oldest, most rickety old people in the white village were sitting outside with fruit and drinks. Aiko waved and felt them watch.

"I wonder if making a higher level is safer," Aiko mused, squinting at the mountainside that seemed most plausible. "If we cut too much at this level, the ground could be too unstable. We could have a rockslide."

Hana gave her a mildly distressed look.

Aiko shrugged. It was a real concern to address honestly. No point in coddling. "What do you think about that spot?" Aiko pointed. "I'd leave a smaller clearing of trees, so their roots will keep the soil stable. I'd cut a curved pathway there, maybe, leading up another level."

Hana hesitated. "It needs to be visible from the village, right? What if something happens to the horse?"

'Anything that could happen to a warhorse is over your pay grade.'

"I can make that happen," Aiko said instead. "I'll take down some trees."

"You will?" Hana eyed her. " You personally, priestess?"

'I probably shouldn't have thrown that samurai. They're getting all kinds of ideas about what I can do. It's not good for the cult.'

Aiko gave Hana her most beatific smile. "Izanami no Mikoto will work through me as she wills."

Hana pursed her lips, but she respected Aiko enough not to sigh audibly.

"Tell the Headman what we talked about," Aiko said. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she went back to her shrine. If Ichirou San approves, I would be pleased."

Ichirou the bald did approve, and therefore the next day Aiko tied up her sleeves and did a rather spectacular bit of landscaping.

It wasn't difficult for her, but it did use a lot of chakra. Aiko was relaxing with a drink when Hana's 7 year old brother came running to her.

"Priestess, priestess!" The boy bounced on his heels. "A new lady came down the mountain!"

She wasn't surprised to get a visit after all that unsubtle chakra expenditure.

"Thank you, Tanjiro," Aiko said. She finished her sake and stood. "I'll go and welcome her."

Mayumi whistled when she saw the changes. The Inuzuka put her hands on her hips and craned her head back to look at the new pavilion. Onigiri was already there, spectacularly out of place.

'Maybe we should have riding lessons. It would be cool for some of the villagers to know how to do that. We could communicate with other villages much faster.'

"You did this in the morning?" She asked casually. It didn't really seem like a question. "Princess priestess, you're really stressing out my sensors."

"My apologies," Aiko said. She didn't put any effort into sounding apologetic. "I'm having sake now. Join me?"

Mayumi dropped her hands from her hips and straightened. "Yes," she agreed immediately. "Thank you." She started walking towards the shrine before Aiko could. "Maa, you're alright."

Aiko hummed an agreement and followed sedately. She tucked her hands away inside her sleeves.

With that clearly telegraphed relaxation, the curious eyes on them became a bit less intense. If Mayumi was at all bothered by the village scrutiny she didn't let on. She sprawled on Aiko's floor pillows and watched lazily as Aiko fetched more seating from inside for herself. Aiko grabbed another cup while she was at it.

"Thank you," Mayumi said gleefully, accepting the cup. "I'll pour."

Aiko made polite noises, but she didn't actually care to fight for hostess rights. So she accepted her glass and sank down to relax.

It was hot as fuck, even though it had to be September by now. Aiko breathed slow and moved the absolute bare minimum. Even in the shade, the heat pressed in against her from all angles.

"So." Mayumi threw her hair, and sweat glistened on her bare forehead. "I thought it would be nice to come and subtly probe you for information."

"It's only neighborly," Aiko agreed readily. Shouts from children playing in the streets cut the air. She didn't look, knowing the elderly sitting outside were keeping an eye out. "How long have you been head of your clan?"

Mayumi snorted. "Straight for the throat," she said approvingly. "3 years, now. How long have you been in this village?"

"6 months," Aiko batted back without thought. "What clans are active nearby other than the Inuzuka?"

She got a dry look. "I never gave you that name."

Aiko shrugged.

Mayumi made a tch sound. "The Uchiha are closer than I'd like," she said. "But don't worry over much, their shared border with the Hyuuga is the other way."

Aiko made an mm sound, wondering what that meant. Had the Hyuuga been the Senju's traditional ally and the connection point for their conflict?

"Are you related to any clans in the area?'

At the steel in Mayumi's voice, Aiko sighed. "No," she said honestly. "But I'm related to a moderately powerful clan on the other side of the continent. Have you told anyone outside of your clan about me?"

"The Aburame," Mayumi said easily. "Do you now or have you in past had any contract or conflict with a clan on this side of the continent?"

"No," Aiko said, lips curling into a smile. The thought was kind of funny. "Can I meet your ninken the next time you come?"

Mayumi gave her a look that was impossible to decipher. "I will think about it," she said. Her tone was closed off. "What is your goal here?"

Aiko downed her sake and went to pour another immediately. When Mayumi raised hers, Aiko poured that as well. "I want to found a cult to Izanami no Mikoto," she said easily.

Mayumi stared. She looked pained. After a moment, she cursed under her breath and shook her head. "Fair enough," she said wryly. She gestured at Aiko's clothing. "Fair enough."

Something prickled on the edge of Aiko's awareness. She didn't know what it was, so she just smiled at the other kunoichi placidly. "I don't suppose that you're interested?" She tried.

The other woman let out a long sigh, exasperated. "I can't help but think of a cult I heard about sometime ago, she said dryly. "The Ootsuki clan wanted us all to worship the rabbit goddess."

Aiko didn't see how that was relevant. They were obviously kooky. But -

'I know that from history class. That happened 8 years before the founding.'

She hummed, aiming for politely interested. "Oh?" She said. "How long ago was that?"

Either she wasn't quite subtle enough, or the other woman was just very good. Because there was something questioning in Mayumi's eyes when she answered. "More than 2 years ago, but I don't think it was three," she said thoughtfully. "Yes, I think I heard about that in the winter."

That was good information. That meant she was misplaced five or sixish years before the village founding. That was right about the time that the previous Clan heads of the Uchiha and Senju had passed away, one of whom under seriously suspicious circumstances.

If you read between the lines of the historical record, it seemed that the Senju clan head had probably been assassinated by one of his sons. That was less than a year before his warmongering counterpart had died on Tobirama's sword in the spring. If she knew who the current leaders were, she could pinpoint the month in relation to village history.

'I have to find out another way, or at least ask at a different time. I don't want her to have any hints about what I'm figuring out.'

It seems very unlikely that she would figure out that Aiko was from the future, but it was stupid to be careless about gathering information.

Her ears perked.

She saw Mayumi tense as well.

'I'm not imagining things, then.'

"Is that metal?" Aiko asked. "Metal jostling, like heavy armor in motion?"

The Inuzuka shot her a wry look. "Good ears," she commented. "Yeah." Her lips twisted sourly. "I think so. I think the Daimyo is unhappy with you."

'I have to get up to deal with this. It's gonna be so sweaty.'

"Fuck," Aiko said with feeling. She looked up at the horrendously sunny sky. "I better go and meet them outside of town. Will you join me?"

"I would love to watch," Mayumi said regretfully. She watched as Aiko stood and brushed off her pants. "I can't be seen with you, unfortunately. The Daimyo would be angry if I didn't interfere on his behalf." She followed Aiko at a distance. "I can tell your villagers to evacuate." Her tone was a little more serious than Aiko thought the situation warranted.

Aiko resisted the urge to snort. She was a little too dignified for that. She inclined her head politely at the crowd of elderly people they passed on their way out of town. "That won't be necessary," she said dryly. "I'm sure we can talk this out."

"Aiko-san." Mayumi's voice was hard. "That's what, twenty samurai? The Daimyo sent them to make an example against rebellion. That's a tenth of his retainers. They're not planning to leave survivors, unless it's to spread the word of why everyone else was killed."

'As long as they're not near the civilians, I can handle them. I'm immortal and I'm a kage. This is not a big deal for me.'

Of course, she'd sound delusional if she said any of that. Aiko sighed. "I'm not worried," she settled on.

She could feel Mayumi's bafflement. "I see…." There was a rustle of clothes as Mayumi rushed past her and into the treeline. "Good luck on your negotiations," she called quietly, doubtfully.

So Mayumi would watch from the trees. She'd probably run back to town if she felt that they needed an evacuation. Aiko felt her lips twist wryly.

An evacuation wouldn't be necessary.

She tucked her hands into her sleeves, ambling along at a steady clip. She probably wasn't going to be able to convince Mayumi that she was relatively harmless, then.

'Maybe I should carry a blade again. But it's just so dissonant with my image here. A holy woman can't carry iron.'

She crested the first hill and caught her first glance of the visitors. Mayumi's guess had been good- she counted 22 mounted men. They were kicking up a cloud of dust despite traveling at an easy walk.

'They probably think the horses will need their energy for chasing down screaming villagers.'

Aiko hardened her heart. She couldn't let any of them get past her. It would become a mess that she couldn't control, and her days of reviving the dead were behind her. As far as she could tell, Death hadn't noticed her here yet.

She caught movement as they neared. She frowned and narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what was catching her eye.

"Ah," she said, when she saw it. One of them had hefted a bow and was drawing on her.

Aiko kept walking, waiting lazily. She'd jump to the side if the arrow was aimed well at her.

Two things happened at once.

The bowman drew his arm back.

And she heard the scuff of a foot on the path behind her. Aiko twisted her head to see that little Tanjiro was tripping up the path, grinning at her. He opened his mouth, probably to chirp "Priestess!" at her.

She heard the whine of something sharp cutting through the air.