Free L5r - scroll 05 - The Crab by Stan Brown, Stan Page A

above her head and lunged forward, but six arms held her back.
    Three Dragon bushi, who had been among Toturi's troops, had stepped up to restrain the samurai-ko.
    "Hitomi-sama," one said, "what are you doing?"
    "Toturi has given the signal," another one told her. "The assault on the Scorpion has begun."
    "The assault started this afternoon," Yakamo grunted.
    "Of course," the third Dragon samurai said looking briefly over his shoulder. It was obvious he considered the Crab attack to he foolhardy. "Your diversion is what makes Toturi's plan work."
    Hitomi struggled against her brethren, but their hold was too strong. Suddenly the light of reason returned to her eyes.
    "Toturi has ordered the attack?" she asked.
    "Just now," said the first Dragon.
    Hitomi paused for a moment, considering her possibilities.
    "Let's go," she finally muttered.
    "Leaving so soon?" Yakamo called after her. "Is our fight over so quickly?"
    Hitomi whirled in place. The other Dragon samurai started to reach for her, afraid she had succumbed to her hatred again. But she did not attack the Crab. She merely pointed a single finger at him.
    "This fight is not over," she said. "And it will not be over until I have my revenge."
    "Or you are dead," Yakamo growled.
    "I'll be back, Hida Yakamo," Hitomi called as she turned and followed her comrades toward the River Gate.
    "You still know where to find me," he called back. Then he turned to his stunned troops and said, "Come on! We're not getting any rest anyway. Let's go breech that gate before they can finish their swim!"
    THE LADY SCORPION
    All this for nothing!" Kisada spat on the floor, heedless of the fact that he was in one of the most sacred rooms in all of Rokugan. The Great Bear stood at a wood-slatted window in the imperial throne room.
    Behind him, the chamber swirled with activity. Courtiers fawned over the new emperor.
    Kisada paid them no notice. Instead he stared through the slats at the night sky. There were no stars. The air above the capital was thick with black smoke, lit underneath by orange flames.
    Though the coup had concluded three days before, Otosan Uchi still burned. Soldiers from all the clans worked to put out the flames. The aftermath was almost worse than the coup.
    Bayushi Shoju was dead, slain by Akodo To-turi's own hand. The Emerald Throne—symbol of the beauty and unity of the empire—had been sundered in the fight. Most assumed it was Shoju's final act of defiance, that if he could not
    rule Rokugan no one would. Others whispered that Toturi's sword had carved the cleft. Toturi declined to say exactly how the damage was done.
    Whoever did the actual deed, this was a sign so powerful that even Kisada had to admit the significance. The coup was over, but the empire remained divided.
    In a strange twist of fate, while the Scorpion did kill Hantei the 38th, courtiers had spirited the emperor's son away before any harm could come to him. Already Hantei the 39th had returned to the Forbidden City. On the surface, this seemed a perfect ending—the rightful heir would simply ascend to the throne, and everything would go back to the way it was. However, after Toturi had defeated Bayushi Shoju, he had declared himself the new emperor.
    A samurai steeped in tradition and pride, Toturi immediately stepped aside once he learned that the heir lived. There was no question in anyone's mind that Toturi was better suited to rule than this sixteen-year-old boy, but it was a matter not of suitability. It was a matter of honor.
    Right away, Hantei the 39th began showing his lack of experience and wisdom. Rather than calling for the immediate death of the usurper's wife Kachiko, he announced that he would marry the witch. Then the new emperor ordered Akodo Toturi stripped of his rank and name. The single most revered samurai in Rokugan became a ronin. Masterless and nameless, Toturi was sent to wander.
    "A fine way to reward someone for giving up a throne he could have kept!" muttered