Assassin's Creed by Olivier Gay

Author:Olivier Gay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags:  
Publisher: Titan

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It was amazing how quickly routine was re-established. Atsuko had lived through the most terrifying night of her life, fought against adversaries who were more determined and skilled than any she’d faced before, saw men killed in front of her eyes, slipped in the blood of the daimyo whose life she’d sworn to protect… and yet nothing changed.

The next day, the army continued its march as though nothing had happened. Soldiers had removed the bodies, but no one had thought to clean the huge pools of blood that still lay on the ground, the last souvenir of the violence that invaded the camp the night before.

The only difference, in the end, was the soft spot for the ashigaru Mori Taisuke, which disappeared at the same time as the death of the daimyo, and she had been unceremoniously reintegrated into the regular troops—where she had to endure non-stop questions.

“So, what happened? The officers won’t tell us what happened!”

“Is it true the camp was invaded?”

“They say there was over a hundred of them!”

“What did they want, exactly? They had no chance!”

“Did you fight?”

“How did you manage to survive?”

“Come on, admit it, were you scared? Did you piss yourself?”

“What about Shiba Ibuka? Is he as impressive as they say?”

“They say he fought against four by himself!”

“He decapitated one like this, slitttt, and then another, slafff!”

Atsuko had gritted her teeth, smiled politely and recounted what happened the best she could. When she mentioned that she’d finished off two samurai, they stared at her, commiserating, before nodding, yeah, yeah. She stopped trying—no one believed her, and it didn’t really matter.

But the rumors that spread through the camp about her brother only served to annoy her. Of course, she had to admit that he’d looked impressive while blocking the attacks of that gaijin1 like a demon, but once again, he hadn’t mastered his fear or escaped his paralysis, and had been useless. Yet still, everyone admired him and thought he’d acted like a hero. His legend only grew, and his name was on everyone’s lips.

The daimyo Matsudaira Katamori had reclaimed the Masamune and now wore it on his side. No one had contested his right to wear it, even though he insisted on meeting with Shogun Tokugawa for his blessing. He had no idea it had belonged to Musashi, but the simple fact that it was a Masamune made it precious enough. Katamori was no Kayano—he had real authority, more men, more status, and a better sense of tactics. No group of samurai would succeed in infiltrating the camp to take it from him.

Now that she had found her place in the army again, Atsuko rarely saw her brother; though she did spend time with Takeko, away from the watch of the others. The feat of meeting up with her without being spotted was one of her daily training exercises.

She became better and better at making up excuses for slipping away during breaks, passing through to the other side of the convoy and disappearing into nature.

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