“Betrayal By Blood”
Part 7

“My days, you are pathetic,” the kitchen door slides open. Nori looks at who is standing by entrance, only to find Katana.

“Great, now you are here to cause me havoc as well, do you have anything better to do?” Nori continues to do the cooking. Completely ignoring Katana who is now standing right next to her.

“Well, you'd better be careful, otherwise something may just hurt you,” Katana whispers in Nori’s ear.

“Now is that a threat?” Nori turns to looks at her sister, her eyes fix on Katana.

“Well…” Katana starts to walk away from Nori and begins to walk around the kitchen; she flashes her sword as she walks past Nori.

“What do you want?” Nori questions her.

“Oh, what do I want?” Katana replies, “I want everything!” Katana adds. She stands in the middle of the kitchen and looks up at the ceiling. “You know, I never noticed how you had it better,” Katana starts.

“What the hell are you going on about?” Nori’s tone changed; she was beginning to get impatient with her sister’s rambling.

“You always had it much better then me and it is sad. I was always left to myself I never got the love you got.” Katana stops staring at the ceiling and faces Nori. Tears began to fall from her face. “And it is all you fault!” Katana steps towards Nori.

“My fault? You did this to your self Katana; you chose to pick up the sword you chose not to return when Mother and Father passed on. You have no one to blame but yourself for what your life has become.” Nori tells her.

Katana glares at Nori, “You see, ever since I was young, I knew that it would come to this one day, I cannot help it and the stupid thing about it is, that I did it for you and Father,” Katana now stands in front of Nori, her arm motions to get her sword that sits by her hip. “And I do not want to live like this…” Katana drew her sword and stood with it in front of Nori. She held the blade to Nori neck and lifted her chin up with it.

“What are you doing?” Nori questioned Katana.

“Something I should have done a long time ago.”

In one swift motion the blade sways past Nori skimming her neck drawing blood and glides into Katana’s stomach. Nori stood there, before her eyes, her sister had committed jisatsu.

“This is what should have been done and I was wrong for the life I chose and the way I lived. Father was so disappointed in me when I could not become the fighter you were, so I thought picking up the sword and becoming the best at that would make him proud of me, but...” Tears continue to fall from Katana’s eyes as she goes to her knees. “Father could not see that, he only saw that I was dishonoring the Mutsu name by picking up a weapon and you grew to hate me as well. Please, Nori do me this favor,” Katana handed Nori a small dagger. “I will only die by the hands of my sister.”

Nori sat next to Katana, her blood trailed around her body as she lay there, Nori lifted the blade, but could not find it in herself to take her sister's life, even though that is all she wanted for three years. “This is crazy,” Nori said lowering the blade.

Katana looks at her sister, smiling her last. “I knew you still cared.” Katana took a deep breath and exhaled. It was her final breath; Nori sits there holding the dagger that Katana handed her. Susumu stood next to Nori and then kneeled down to her taking the dagger from her.

“What she did was right and you know it.” Susumu tells her.

“How do you get that?!” Nori looked at Susumu; there was not a single tear in Nori’s eyes.“Katana was cried when she died but that was her choice. She has always been weak and her taking her own life proves that.” Nori stood up and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

“What…” Hijikata stood by the entrance, Katana’s blood was dressed around her.
“What have you done?!” Hijikata grabbed Nori by her neck and slammed her up against the wall. “Tell me!” Rage flamed inside of Hijikata “You killed her!” Hijikata slammed Nori against the wall again and let go. Nori collapsed to the ground, chocking for air.

“It was not her!” Susumu said.

“You lie, stop covering for her,” Hijikata said.

“She did it herself,” Susumu continued to speak even though Hijikata was talking.

“Get over yourself, you are like a child who has lost his playmate,” Nori says getting to her feet as she touches her neck, pulling her hand back to see the blood that Katana had drawn on her. “It is no big loss,” Nori did not have any feelings inside of her, she has now become like stone. She began to walk out of the kitchen at a slow pace; she swayed from side to side and left. Blood trailed from her kimono as she walked out.

“Now she will pay,” Hijikata says as Nori walks out of the kitchen.

“Nori did not do this Hijikata, it was done with a weapon, something Nori would never use, think about it.” Susumu tells him, as he walks out of the kitchen to go check on Nori.

Nori walks slowly to the well to wash herself. When Soji and Hajime saw her she had blood on her kimono, and she was drawing water from the well, Nori was thinking to her self, “That bitch, I cannot believe that she took her own life. She has taken my revenge and slapped me in the face with it.”

Soji broke her thoughts, “Miss Nori what is wrong?” Soji asks her.

Nori turned looking at Soji, “You're cut, Nori!” Hajime says putting his hand on her shoulder and sitting her down on the edge of the well. Soji lifts her chin to see the cut better.

“I am fine; it is only a flesh wound.” Nori says. Susumu walks over to them.

“Are you all right Nori?” Susumu asks her.

“I would be better if Soji would leave me be!” she says as she pushes his hand from her.

“Nori, this is not a flesh wound. You were cut deep.” Soji tells her.

“Leave me be, Soji.” She tells him turning her back to him.

Soji knows by arguing with her he would get nowhere, so he runs off to get the doctor. Nori leans down ripping her kimono to get a rag to wash her self.

Hajime turns her around and looks at her, “Sit down,” he tells her pushing her to sit down on the well again. Susumu lifts her chin looking she pushes his hand away.

“That is a bad cut, Nori; you will need to be seen by the doctor.” Susumu tells her.

“I have had worse,” She says as she cringes to the water that Hajime has used to wash her with.

“Soji went to get the doctor we will see what he has to say about it.” Hajime tells her as he starts to wash away the blood. Nori grits her teeth.

“So you do know pain?” Susumu says. Nori shot a look at Susumu.

“Pain is irrelevant, if you choose to let pain rule you, you become weak.” Nori tells Susumu in a hateful tone. Hajime grabs Nori by her shoulders.

“It is a sign of being human, Nori... and in the past three years you have let revenge rule your life becoming heartless.” Hajime says. Nori pulls away from Hajime walking away from him and Susumu. She spins around swinging her arm in a diagonal action in front of her.

“What do you know, Hajime? It was not your sister that dishonored your family.” Nori wavered stepping to one side. “You will never know what I felt inside, the pain I carried for three years knowing that my very own sister was the one that did this to our family.” Nori wavers again as the blood soaks the font of her kimono.

“Why… Why will you not forgive her, she took her own life to reach atonement with you and herself.” Susumu yells.

“Atonement… ATONEMENT!!” Nori yells back as she falls to her knees. Susumu and Hajime run toward her she puts her hand out to stop them, they stop just before they reach her. “Back away from me, do not touch me.” Nori says in a low hateful tone.

Just then, she feels someone picking her up into their arms. She tries to pull away but was too weak at this point, as she looks up to see Hijikata. “You know, I should kill you, for what you caused here today.” Hijikata tells her.

“Then kill me and stop the pain I…” Nori says as she passes out in his arms.