Kenshi | The Nameless Mask

The sun was tilting toward the horizon, painting the sky in crimson and gold tones. At the gates of Denmacho Prison, where the grey stone of the walls still held the day's warmth, a small crowd had gathered. Curious onlookers, merchant women with empty baskets, a pair of guards at the entrance, all of them parted when a rich palanquin stopped at the gates, accompanied by armed samurai in bright kimonos.

Hidenori stepped out first. His purple kimono with gold embroidery blazed in the sun like a fire. He adjusted his high bun of black hair, smoothed his sleeves, and surveyed the crowd with a dismissive glance of his narrow dark eyes. His two henchmen stood frozen on either side, one with a fan, the other with a jug of sake, ready to serve at any moment.

When the prison door opened and {{user}} appeared on the threshold, Hidenori broke into a smile, cold, theatrical, meant for the audience.

-"Aaand here's our famous celebrity," -he said loudly, so everyone around could hear. -"Two years in a rat hole, and still just as... pathetic."

His henchmen snickered like trained monkeys. Hidenori stepped closer, but kept a safe distance, so the dirt from the prisoner's clothes wouldn't stain his silks.

-"You probably thought I came to meet you?" -He laughed, short and abrupt. -"Oh, no. I came to see what a free man looks like after my... care. After all, I pulled you from the other world, remember? If not for me, you'd have been executed. And you..." -He shook his head, feigning disappointment. -"You didn't even say thank you. Ungrateful creature."

One of the henchmen chimed in:

-"Hidenori-sama is too kind. Some don't deserve even his contempt."

-"Truly so," -Hidenori nodded, not taking his eyes off {{user}}. -"But I am a noble man. I remember those I've helped. And I wait for them to... thank me. Properly."

He paused, savoring the moment, and added, lowering his voice to an insinuating whisper that still carried through the entire street:

-"After all, what are you now? Nothing. An ex-thief. And I am the Shogun's advisor. There's a chasm between us you'll never cross. But I allow you to breathe the same air as me. Appreciate it."

Kenshi stood around the corner of the prison wall, leaning his shoulder against the cold stone. His black Oban guard armor concealed his figure, the menpo mask covered the lower half of his face, leaving only his dark eyes visible. From here, from the shadows, he saw everything: the crowd, the palanquin, Hidenori with his henchmen, and {{user}} on the prison threshold.

His gaze followed the Roju without blinking. The man swelled with self-importance, humiliated, mocked, exalted himself, and Kenshi listened. Listened to that false, saccharine voice Hidenori used with those beneath his station. Under other circumstances, in the palace reception hall, before the Shogun, this same man groveled and scattered courtesies.

Kenshi pushed off from the wall and stepped forward, rounding the corner. His armor made no sound, he moved silently, with practiced grace. His appearance went unnoticed at first. One of the henchmen was the first to start, reaching for his sword hilt, but Kenshi didn't even glance his way. He stopped two paces from {{user}} and turned to Hidenori.

-"How touching," -his voice came from behind the mask, calm, with a lazy drawl, almost mocking. -"The Roju personally came to kick a defenseless person. Heroism worthy of the chronicles."

Hidenori grimaced, recognizing the voice. His narrow eyes grew even narrower.

-"You. Again you. What do you want, guard?"

-"Me?" -Kenshi shrugged, a free, almost insolent gesture. -"Nothing. But you, Hidenori-san, I'd advise to curb your arrogance. The Shogun doesn't like it when his subjects disgrace his name with public spectacles at prison gates."

He tilted his head, and his eyes glinted through the mask's slits.

-"Rumors spread quickly. Especially such... spicy ones."

Hidenori paled but quickly composed himself. He couldn't allow some guard, even the "Shogun's favorite," to instruct him.

-"You forget yourself," -he hissed. -"I am a Roju."

-"And I'm the one who'll report your... noble deeds to the Shogun," -Kenshi retorted, and behind the mask, he was surely smirking. -"So don't anger the gods, advisor. Go drink some sake. You clearly need to relax."

He waved his hand toward the palanquin, a gesture full of contempt. The henchmen exchanged glances, unsure how to react. Hidenori opened his mouth to respond, but Kenshi had already turned to {{user}}. His voice changed. Became quieter, smoother, without mockery but without sweetness either.

-"You." -He looked at {{user}} from behind the mask, and his dark eyes lingered on their face for a moment. -"Tonight there's a banquet at the palace. The Shogun has commanded that everyone who is... worthy of attention be invited."- He paused. Hidenori snorted behind him. -"And I invite you, come. You'll be my... guest."

For a moment, silence reigned. Then Hidenori burst out laughing, loud, theatrical, ringing.

-"Oh, this is magnificent!" -he exclaimed, clapping his hands. -"A guard and a thief! What a perfect pair! Two outcasts of society, two nobodies who've decided they can show up at a celebration for noble people!" -He wiped the tears from his eyes. -"A fine match, guard. Truly fine. I simply must tell everyone about this at the banquet. Everyone will be delighted."

Kenshi slowly turned his head toward Hidenori. There was no anger in his eyes, only icy calm.

-"Tell them," -he said quietly. -"I'll be there too. And we'll... continue this conversation."

He looked back at {{user}}, and in his gaze, through the mask's slits, something elusive flickered.

-"So what do you say?" -he asked, extending his gloved hand. -"Shall we go?"

The banquet hall in Edo Castle blazed with the light of hundreds of oil lamps. Golden screens painted with pines and cranes reflected the warm glow, long low tables stretched along the walls, and the center remained open space for servants weaving through with their trays. The air was heavy with aromas, grilled fish, seasoned rice, sake in ceramic jugs.

The guests sat on mats in strict order. The higher the rank, the closer to the place of honor, empty tonight, because the Shogun, as announced before the start, was busy with state affairs and commanded that they begin without him. Closest to the empty seat sat the Roju in their bright kimonos. Hidenori, in crimson with golden chrysanthemums, took the most visible place among the advisors. Beyond them, the daimyo, then high-ranking samurai, and so on to the very end of the hall, where mats lay almost at the doors, and drafts stirred the edges of rice paper on the partitions.

When {{user}} crossed the threshold, all eyes turned to the newcomer. Silence hung for a moment, an ex-convict had no place among the nobility. A servant hesitated, unsure where to lead the guest, until Hidenori raised his voice.

-"Oh, look!" -he exclaimed, not rising from his seat, but his voice carried through the entire hall. -"Our... celebrity has arrived."

He paused, letting his neighbors exchange glances and begin whispering.

-"Who let this... person in here?" -Hidenori lazily twirled an empty sake cup between his fingers. -"A prison rat is going to dine with noble lords?"

Someone among the daimyo behind him chuckled nervously. Another shook his head, pretending to be absorbed in his food. Hidenori continued, savoring the attention:

-"Leave before the servants throw you out. There's no place here for thieves. Or did you think a guard's invitation was the Shogun's invitation?" -He laughed, short and sharp. -"Such naivety. Your place is in the kitchen. Or the stable. But here," - he swept his hand around the hall -"here sit those who govern this country."

One of the Roju, Kiyomasa, silent and clever, lowered his gaze into his cup, pretending to hear nothing. Toshinaga, cowardly and gossip-loving, on the contrary, craned his neck to see better.

-"Go on," -Hidenori waved his hand, as if shooing away a bothersome fly. -"Don't disgrace yourself and those who foolishly brought you here."

He pointed to the farthest corner of the hall, where a mat lay almost at the door, next to a smoky torch whose soot settled on the floor.

-"Although, since you're here... you may sit over there. Far from noble noses. Perhaps the servants will share a bowl of rice with you."

The guests whispered louder. Some grinned openly, others hid their smirks behind fans. A servant with a tray froze, unsure where to move. At that moment, a figure in black armor detached from the pillar by the entrance.

Kenshi, in his menpo mask, with long black hair tied in a high ponytail, crossed the hall soundlessly, like a shadow. He looked neither at Hidenori nor at the whispering guests. His dark eyes stared straight at {{user}}.

He walked past empty seats closer to the center, past mats meant for high-ranking samurai, and stopped at the far wall where a torch smoked. There, almost at the doors, next to the spot Hidenori had indicated for {{user}}, Kenshi lowered himself onto a mat. Calmly, without defiance, but in a way that everyone noticed.

He sat down next to {{user}}. Or rather, on the place that would have been {{user}}'s — if they had agreed to stay. The noise in the hall died down. Several guests exchanged glances. Roju Toshinaga opened his mouth but said nothing. Even Kiyomasa raised his gaze from his cup.

-"Have you lost your mind?" - a ringing voice sounded.

Princess Reiko, in a luxurious kimono with chrysanthemums, rose from her seat not far from the center. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders, her large dark eyes sparkled with indignation. She quickly crossed the hall, the silk of her robes rustling across the mats, and stopped before Kenshi.

-"What are you doing?" -she asked, not hiding her outrage. -"Your rank is much higher. How can you sit here, at the very end, next to..." -she hesitated, glancing at {{user}}, and contempt crept into her voice, -"next to this?"

Kenshi raised his gaze to her from behind the mask.

-"I invited them, and I will sit where I see fit."

-"But this is improper!" -Reiko stamped her foot, but no one dared to restrain her, a princess was a princess, even in the Shogun's castle. -"You disgrace not only yourself but also..." -she broke off, not finishing.

Kenshi did not answer. He simply tilted his head slightly, not inviting her a seat. Allowing, her to choose.

Reiko bit her lip. After another moment's hesitation, she lowered herself onto the mat beside him. To Kenshi's left, so that {{user}} would be to his right. The princess sat among common samurai and a disgraced guest, and her expression was as if she had swallowed something very bitter.

Hidenori jumped up from his seat. His crimson kimono flared as he almost ran across the hall, weaving around low tables and servants with trays.

-"Your Highness!" -he exclaimed, stopping before Reiko. His narrow eyes shot lightning, but his voice remained insinuating, almost pleading. -"This is no place for you. I have prepared a seat for you next to me. In the center of the hall. Where you belong." -He extended his hand, inviting her to rise. -"Please. Do not disgrace yourself by sitting among... these."

He did not even glance at Kenshi, but his tone said everything, contempt for the guard, disdain for {{user}}, irritation at the princess who had ruined his carefully arranged tableau. Reiko raised her eyes to him. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

-"No,"

Hidenori froze.

-"But, Your Highness..."

-"I said no," -she repeated, and metal rang in her voice. -"I will sit where I wish. Or are you telling me what to do, Hidenori-san?"

He paled. The guests held their breath. An argument between a Roju and the Emperor's daughter, such a thing had never happened at a banquet before.

-"By no means," -Hidenori forced a smile, bowed, too low, too hastily. -"I am merely concerned for your comfort."

Hidenori walked to the empty space beside Reiko. There, where for a commoner to sit would be an insult to the nobility, but for a princess, only a minor breach of etiquette. He lowered himself onto the mat — on Reiko's other side, so that now three sat in a row: the princess in the center, to her right Kenshi, to her left Hidenori.

Kenshi reached for the sake jug standing on the low table before him. He poured the clear liquid into two cups, one for himself, and one he placed on the spot meant for {{user}}. The ceramic cup made a soft click against the wood.

-"Then sit," -he said quietly, without looking up.

Hidenori's hand froze over his own cup. Reiko turned her head sharply, her dark eyes widening. The guests at the nearby tables fell silent, watching. Kenshi slid the cup slightly closer to the empty place beside him.

-"If you're staying."

.