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War Of Shadows	By : TurtleNinja Category: +S through Z > Samurai Jack Views: 3353 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Jack, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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I knew that I would not be able to follow Chimitsu no matter how hard I might try. She had a head start, the ability to fly, and the Elemental ability to locate Aku's fortress. Even if she had no intention of killing him as she had threatened, I knew I would not be able to follow.

What little I knew of the location of Hub Four was enough to tell me that I would have quite a journey ahead of me before I made it back to any place I considered safe.Extor's seemed the logical haven, but it was quite a ways from where I was now. Chimitsu's ability to fly and her teleportation made it so easy to travel long distances in such a short span of time. But without it, it would take several days before I made my way back. I began walking.

It was not even a half day's journey out of the city when a merchant driving a truck full of melons offered to give me a ride. It did not seem to matter to him that I was the most wanted man on the planet, and once I passed through my suspicion, I found I was grateful. I remained quiet the entire ride, speaking only to thank him and give him what little directions I could.

Once he had gone on his way, I headed inside the compound in silence, virtually ignoring the warm welcome I received from all sides. My thoughts were preoccupied, confused. With every new blow to hit my emotions, I realized that I could not concentrate on more than one thing at a time. At some point, I knew the magnitude of everything I was not feeling would come crashing down on me. But for now, there was only confusion over Chimitsu, and the way she had reacted to me. Clearly, it had to do with the spell that had been cast over the city, but how she could accuse me of being in the arms of another woman, that I could not figure out.

"Where angel?" the wildman asked, catching me before I could retreat to seclusion.

I forced myself to not wince at the query. It stung me to think of her.

"Chimitsu has taken off on her own," I informed quietly. "To find Aku's fortress."

"What?" Extor seemed shocked by that. "She went off on her own, you say?" Extor asked.

"Yes," I nodded, my voice controlled. "Off on her own of her own free will."

"That's insane!" Rothie cried. "He'll kill her for sure!"

I froze. I had known that, of course, but to hear it spoken sent a chill down my spine.

"I could not stop her," I managed quietly. "I cannot follow her when she has taken flight and much less when she has the advantage of using her Elemental powers to find Aku."

There was a moment of silence as they exchanged glances.

"My dear boy, what on earth are we to do now?"

"We certainly can't hide here forever."

I turned to face them fully, keeping my face expressionless.

"We wait for her to return," I informed them. "She has shielded this place from Aku. Unless she..." I choked on the word. "...expires...we will remain hidden long enough for her to return."

They exchanged looks again.

"If you're quite certain..." Extor hesitated.

"I am," I answered, sounding much more certain than I felt. "Please, excuse me." I bowed to them as I backed away. "I need to rest for awhile."

Without another word, I headed down the hall to a room that had been set aside for me. I could hear the quiet, hushed voices behind me, clearly concerned. They were wondering what had separated me from Chimitsu. I was wondering the same thing. My heart ached at the thought that she hated me now for something I could not remember doing.

That lingering consideration finally broke the surface of my thoughts, and I felt bile creep up in the back of my throat. Had the spell controlled me so completely that I had not even been aware of what I was doing? But no, as I considered, I knew that it was impossible. The panic and fear of being caught by those lustful women had been real. I had felt it clearly even through the haze of lust that threatened my own thoughts and emotions. No, I had not been controlled, which could only mean that she had mistaken another man for myself. But how on earth could she...?

I froze, dead in my tracks, as I suddenly realized exactly how she could mistake another man for me. There was, in fact, another man who looked just like me. And that man would certainly be the type to engage in such behavior. She had seen my twin.

I should have felt relief, but I did not. As I set my katana aside, leaning it against the nightstand, I realized that although it had been an honest and very convincing mistake...it did not make it hurt any less. It wounded me to think that Chimitsu would accuse me of such an infidelity. Had she not even thought to question the absurdity of it? Did she not know me well enough, even now, to realize that I would never do such a thing, spell or no? I sat down heavily on the bed, my head in my hands.

It was true that spell had brought out feelings I had denied, even to myself, for a very long time. But those feelings, while they had tainted my senses in the presence of women I did not know, were never so strong anywhere as they were with Chimitsu. Certainly there was no other woman that I would have even considered acting with. But the lingering thought of having her in my arms, the way I had acted in her presence... I suppose I could understand why she had misjudged me.

I swallowed hard as I remembered the effects on my mind and my body. The way she felt and smelled. How it had felt to kiss her... A slight blush crept into my cheeks as I realized that those same reactions came at the mere thought of her. And for the first time, I accepted it. Now I had acted on my feelings, and I could no longer deny them. In fact, I realized it had been some time now that I harbored such feelings. Ever since the day she had come for me in Aku's castle after she had lost her wings, I had known that I harbored feelings for her that went beyond friendship. I had wanted from that day to touch her and kiss her in the very way that I now had. But I certainly had not wanted it to be so...wrong.

And it was wrong. Under the influence of a spell intended for evil, I had nearly corrupted something that was intended to be very pure. I knew in my heart that I loved her. I also knew that I wanted to... I shifted a bit as images came unabidden to my mind, and force them back. Yes, I wanted to show her. But I certainly did not want to do it in a trash-strewn alley, motivated by a carnal, base drive that had been brought to the forefront of my mind. I loved her. She was beautiful, yes. But I would love her even if she were not. My love for her was in no way motivated by lust.

I loved her for her gentle kindness and compassion. For her ability to make me feel that perhaps everything really would be all right again someday. For her hope and support. For her strength, that even when I could not go on, she would stand by my side. But as much as it shamed me to think of it, I had been so afraid to admit what I felt. Fear. But for those fleeting kisses, she had treated me as kindly and simply as anyone else. And yet...should not those fleeting kisses been enough? Was I blind, for so long?

The spell had not affected her. I knew that. I also remembered, all too clearly, the way she had responded to my actions. She had not pushed me away. She had not rejected me. That she had withdrawn from my arms was a result only of where we were, and what we were facing. She knew it was not like me. But even so, she had not condemned me for the way I had touched her, the way I had kissed her. She had welcomed me in a way that I never would have suspected her to had I not been so glazed over by the effects of the spell.

I hung my head, knowing that I had failed in something so seemingly simple. For the sake of my pride and my fear, I had failed to say three simple words, to simply tell her what I felt. Now it was possible that I may never have the chance to say them. Now it was possible that she would never return, and I would never see her again. I knew that without her, there was no possible way I could ever defeat Aku. But my loss felt so much greater than that.

How could she have not known? I asked myself that same question, over and over. Every time, it became more and more clear. How could I have not known? If I was so blinded to her love and dedication, how could I ever expect that she would not be just as misguided?

"You look sad, samurai."

I jumped, startled, and my hand instantly shot to my weapon. But I did not lift it. Before I had the opportunity, my eyes came to rest on the intruder.

"Maeven! What are you doing here?"

A little blue faerie fluttered there before me. If I had not seen her there, I would never have recognized her voice. I had not heard the door open, but doubted she had even used the door in the first place.

"I saw that you were gathering people up for a rebellion against Aku in my water mirror," she informed me, her voice soft and melodic.

I blinked at that, confused.

"I thought you had lost your powers."

"I only lost the power to grant a single wish," she explained. "I didn't lose the rest of my powers."

I nodded, setting my hand in my lap again and leaving my katana where I had placed it.

"Where is the Lady?" Maeven questioned after a moment's pause. "I must speak with her on most urgent business."

"Chimitsu-chan?" I shook my head, a bit bewildered at her statement though I was quite sure that was who she was referring to. "How do you know of her?"

Maeven smiled faintly.

"All my people know about the Elementals. We don't make the knowledge common these days, but we do know of her." I watched as Maeven perched on the edge of the bedside table. "She was the one who visited the mortal realm the most out of all five of the Light Elementals."

I studied her for a moment, then looked away.

"I see."

"She loves humanity, Jack," Maeven went on softly. "That's why she sought you out to protect you on your quest."

I sighed and hung my head again, forcing back the bitter pain that seemed to come with that statement.

"I am sorry, Maeven, she is no longer here."

Maeven straightened, startled at that.

"No longer here?" She shook her head. "Where did she go?"

I sighed deeply, leaning forward and massaging my forehead with the tips of my fingers.

"From Hub Four she left to find Aku's fortress."

She was silent for a long moment, managing only a slight "oh" in answer. Finally, she fluttered up to sit on my shoulder.

"Is it because of what she saw there?"

My eyes slid closed as I sighed, realizing that it was possible for everyone in this compound to know what had transpired and to have their own ideas of how.

"Quite likely," I answered her softly.

"It was Mad Jack."

I nodded. I had known that, but it was good to hear it confirmed.

"Yet it changes nothing," I sighed.

"The woman he was with was another of the Dark Elementals, the one that rules over lust and jealousy."

"I assumed as much." I glanced at her. "From the very start, they were manipulating us, were they not?"

She nodded.

"They were."

I sighed as I looked away again, shaking my head.

"And I have no way to reach Chimitsu, to explain all of this."

For a moment, Maeven went quiet.

"With a little work, I'm quite sure I can find her." I glanced up, raising an eyebrow at her statement. "I didn't try before because I thought she'd be here with you."

"That is assuming she has not reached Aku yet," I answered her, feeling the tightness in my chest at the suggestion. "That he has not...killed her."

"He hasn't," Maeven assured me. "If he'd done so, I would have felt it." She was quiet, her eyes closed for a moment. She smiled as she opened them. "Come. I know where she's at."

I did not have much of a choice as to whether or not I wanted to come. By the time I had opened my mouth to answer her, the walls of my room had melted away. I found myself at the foothills of a mountain, Maeven still on my shoulder. Just ahead of us was the entrance of a cave, and my eyes immediately locked on the battle there. Chimitsu stood in the center of it, weapon drawn against more than a dozen of Aku's minions. Without thought, my own weapon was drawn, and I rushed into the fray with Maeven in flight behind me.

Chimitsu looked mildly surprised to see us, but did not stop to ask me what I was doing here so suddenly. At the moment, there were more pressing matters. But once all of the shadowed figures had either fallen or disappeared back into the cave, she sheathed her nodachi on her back and turned, immediately raising her hand to strike me again.

I closed my eyes, waiting for her palm to connect with my face again, only it never came. Opening my eyes, I saw Maeven fluttering there, struggling to push Chimitsu's hand away from my face. Chimitsu slowly allowed it, eyes still locked on mine. The hurt and anger was very visible in her blazing emerald eyes.

"My Lady, please! It wasn't his fault!" the faerie's melodic voice cried.

Chimitsu blinked, and lowered her hand as she stared for a moment at Maeven.

"Why do you say it isn't his fault, little one?" She raised her eyes back to mine and glared, eyes narrowed into slits. "I know what I saw in that alleyway."

"But it wasn't Jack!" Maeven protested on my behalf.

I did not speak, only watched Chimitsu, reading the pain in her eyes.

"I know what I saw," she shot back.

"It was his double, my Lady! And the Dark Elemental." Chimitsu's eyes left mine to stare at Maeven in shock. "I saw them go into the alleyway with him dressed as Jack. They wanted you to see them so you'd become jealous and attack the real samurai. They wanted to tear the two of you apart!"

I could see the mix of emotions on her face as she comprehended this. This was very intense, but far too confused to understand. Maeven nodded as she read the shock and confusion.

"I would not lie to you, my Lady," she whispered reassuringly. "They didn't see me there or they likely would have killed me."

Very slowly, Chimitsu's eyes turned to me. No longer apprehensive, her look was one of guilt and embarrassment. She did not have to say a word. She had fallen right into their trap, played right along with their plans, and I knew she had to be feeling very foolish right now. I wanted to speak, to reassure her that it mattered very little to me now that she knew the truth. I was well aware of just how devious and tricky the Dark Elementals could be. But in the lingering silence that followed, I was not sure I should interrupt her thoughts.

Finally, she took a deep breath and looked to Maeven.

"Little one, would you mind excusing us for a moment?" Her eyes lowered to the ground. "I have some serious apologizing to do."

Maeven's head lowered as well. When she spoke again, her voice was so low, it was barely audible.

"Normally I would, my Lady, but that's not the only reason I sought you out."

I blinked, confused. Chimitsu's reaction mirrored mine, and both of us stared at Maeven.

"What?"

A long hesitation followed.

"I'm sorry...my Lady...but..." The words seemed very hard to form. I watched in dreadful expectation, without a clue as to what Maeven was going to say. "...the village you protect..."

The words struck a chord deep inside of me, and I choked back my own forming grief to look to Chimitsu. I could see the dread creep into her eyes and moved closer to her, ready to comfort her once whatever horrible news Maeven had to give was spoken.

"What. About. My village?" Chimitsu whispered, her voice choked and words clipped.

Maeven looked up, eyes filled with sadness as she continued quietly.

"It's been attacked, my Lady," The words hit dead on, and Chimitsu staggered a small step back, into me. "By the same man you saw in the alley and a number of those red and black minions."

I did not breathe. The eerie silence lingered for a long moment as the words settled deep inside of us. That all too familiar feeling of guilt and grief choked me, and I could not have said anything if I had wanted to. With Chimitsu having been gone for so many months, Aku had found her village and struck. All this time it had been unguarded, just ripe for Aku's pickings. How had we not thought to pay it heed?

"Oh my..." Chimitsu finally stammered. "My..? We...we have to go." It was spoken so weakly, it almost sounded like a question. But it filled her with determination that I could clearly see and she stood up straight. "We have to go now!"

Quickly, she wrapped her arms and wings around me, just barely giving Maeven time to get in the teleportation field before the energies swept us away. I ignored the dizziness I felt upon rematerializing, and my eyes scanned the village I had brought Chimitsu to when we first met.

It had been completely obliterated.

Buildings were gone, either completely flattened or in splinters with only the foundations remaining. Some of the other remaining structures had been burnt to the ground, others still aflame. Everything had been completely, utterly destroyed, leveled to the ground...and nothing moved save for the flames still flickering in a few of the buildings.

Bodies littered the plaza, some burnt beyond recognition. Others you could hardly tell were human remains. My breath caught, and for an instant, I was spared the smell of destruction. I felt as if my feet had grown into the earth right where I stood. I could not move.

Maeven buried herself in my hair and neck, hiding her eyes from the destruction and carnage that lay out before us. Chimitsu, on the other hand, stepped away. Managing a breath, I followed after her, remaining some distance behind as she walked through the destroyed village. I was not entirely sure it would be wise to approach her. It was one thing to see this sort of destruction at Central Hub- and that had been horrible enough- but to see the smoldering remains of the village she had come to protect, its citizens like her own children.

Almost every window of what few buildings remained standing had been shattered to pieces, the insides ransacked and tipped over, spilled about. One foundation in particular caught my eye, and I suddenly felt the air squeezed from my lungs.

"Fear not, samurai, she will be fine."

The memory hit me square in the chest, and I stepped away from Chimitsu to approach the smoldering remains of hte doctor's office and home. It had been burned so badly that we could not even tell if there had been bodies in there. Bodies. Corpses. No longer human beings...

"You don't know our Chimitsu like we do. She's a survivor."

I hesitated, not knowing any of these people or even if they could help Chimitsu as they said they would.

"Are you certain you can mend those injuries?"

He turned toward a metal table strewn with instruments, chuckling softly as he began to carefully arrange them.

"She's in good hands and so are you. Rest, samurai, all will be well by morning."

An aborted sob behind me cut through the eerie silence, and through my memories, jerking me back to the present. I turned just as Chimitsu slumped to her knees on what was left of the boardwalks that passed for a sidewalk. Her wings drooped over her shoulders, the sobs coming unbidden. For a long moment, I stared, watching as Maeven fluttered over to rest on her Lady's shoulder. I could feel that cold grip of death closing around my heart again, and without warning, my mind was assaulted with grief of my own loss. Not only here, but everywhere.

Father, Mother, my entire kingdom, Himoto, Chame, Asagi, Hirame, the children of Central Hub, members of the Tribe, the Woolies and Canines, the Triseraquins...Duncan...

I realized I had walked to where Chimitsu was kneeling, though I did not really remember moving. I knelt down and pulled her close, letting her sob into my chest, as I stared past her at the flames that licked along a gutted building.

"I'm sorry, my Lady." The words seemed to come from nowhere as I stared blankly at the death and destruction that had become a part of my life. "I didn't see what happened here, just passed by in time to see Jack's dark twin leaving."

Somewhere deep inside of me, hate sparked. Pure, unadulterated hate for my twin. But it was drowned by the grief and the overwhelming feeling of emptiness inside of me.

"I had been hurrying to find you after the incident in the alley that I knew I shouldn't try to stop him."

Even with my arms around Chimitsu, I felt as if I were dead.

"I doubt...any of us could have stopped this." Even hearing her voice, choked with tears and mourning, there was nothing but cold emptiness inside of me. A part of me wanted to speak, to comfort her. But there was nothing inside of myself from which to draw on. "By the goddess...all those lives, gone for no reason whatsoever but for MJ to cause us pain and suffering."

Us. Me. My eyes slid closed, a bitter, sad resolve washing over me. This had to stop. And it would not for as long as I was alive.

"We know about your sisters. I saw it in my water mirrors. Others saw it in the flames, heard it on the wind, in meditation... The moment Aku killed the first of your sisters, everything was set in its path, on its course. This was all meant to be, as unfortunate as it is."

I had spent all these years trying so hard to change what was meant to be. I had to destroy Aku, to avenge my parents and my people... Maybe even find a way back to my own time.

"And it is our duty to set it right, to make certain these souls did not die in vain. For my sisters, for the children, the tribe, everyone."

For so long, I had believed that I could do that. I had believed that if only I were strong enough, determined enough... If only I dedicated my life and every breath I took, then I could avenge them. Surely it was my duty, and the very reason for my existence.

"We will find a way to stop it."

But my existence meant so little in the larger scope of things. And in fact...it had only brought more destruction.

"Minamoto-chan, gather up some shovels. I will see what I can do about the few that are left here."

She was gone almost before I had realized she was speaking to me, and I stared after her blankly. A tiny faerie fluttered beside me, but did not speak.
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War Of Shadows