ROSE TYLER, NINJA ASSASSIN

Chapter Seventeen

When they were a few miles from the city, they stepped off the road into a nearby forest. They took the packs off the horses and transferred to Akira and Donna's horses.

"Keep your tantos," Akira said to the others. "They won't say anything about that since most people carrying them when traveling to protect against bandits."

When they finished their work and all the packs and weapons were tied onto the horses, the Doctor helped Donna mount her horse.

"Oi, be careful," he said to his friend as she settled down into the saddle.

"And you. Don't get reckless," Donna said.

"Me? Never!"

Donna rolled her eyes at that and gave her friend's hair an affectionate tousle. The Doctor stepped back and stood with Rose and Hattori while Akira and Donna rode further into the forest. Once they were out of sight, the others got back on their horses and rode back to the road. A half hour later they were stopped behind a half mile long queue of people waiting to pass through the gates into the city. From their vantage point, the Doctor could see Osaka castle rising up above the stone walls. The walls of the castle were white and the roofs were sloping in the style of pagoda roofs. The castle narrowed near the top and the Doctor looked at Hattori and pointed to the smallest section at the top of the castle.

"That's where Ieyasu lives?" he said to him.

"Yes. In order to get up there, you have to scale the walls or get inside and get through all the guards and attendants to get to him."

The Doctor nodded. Off to the left, the furthest corner of the wall was bordered by forest and the Doctor figured Akira and Donna would use the cover of the forest and come close to that wall before going over.

A wagon was waved through the wooden gates and everyone moved closer to the entrance. The wait stretched on while papers and cargo was meticulously searched by the samurai. All samurai were dressed in black armor with red sashes over their chests. Each one carried a katana at his side and a tanto tucked into the belt at his waist. One young man on horseback was turned away for some reason and one of the samurai unsheathed his katana and waved it threateningly at him when he tried to argue his way in. The man turned and as he rode, they could hear him shouting curses at the samurai over his shoulder for a few seconds before he turned his attention to the road. A scowl was on his face as he rode past the Doctor.

"I hope they let us pass," the Doctor said to Hattori.

"Me too. I hope Akira-san knows how to forge a pass because they'll scrutinize that before letting us in," he said.

The queue kept on moving and finally it was the Doctor's turn. He smiled amicably at the samurai who walked up to him but the samurai glowered at him while he asked for his traveling papers. The Doctor handed the forged papers to him and he watched while another samurai came up beside the first and both of them scanned the papers. The first samurai looked up and glanced at Rose and Hattori.

"Are they with you?" he asked the Doctor.

"Yes, this is my wife, Rose and my servant, Basho," he said.

The samurai grunted and his eyes went back down to the papers. While he did that, two more samurai walked in and among them, inspecting the horses and their clothes. Hattori kept his head down, praying he wouldn't be recognized. The samurai stopped when he saw his missing hand and pointed it out.

"Yes. We were ambushed by bandits the other day and my servant lost his hand trying to protect us," the Doctor said.

Hattori breathed a soft sigh of relief when the samurai accepted that and moved on to Rose. Rose gave him a haughty look when the samurai stopped and stared at her voluminous dress.

"Gaijin, always wearing bizarre clothes," Rose heard the samurai mutter under his breath when he moved away from her back toward the gate.

"Couldn't agree more," Rose muttered to herself.

She thought no one heard that but the Doctor's acute hearing picked up on that and she could see him smiling at that. To her relief, the samurai handed the papers back to the Doctor and they were waved inside the gates.

Once they were through, the slowed their pace and looked around. Most of the buildings were wood with the rice paper doors, similar to the ones back in the village. But no building was taller than the castle which stood in the distance as proudly as Ieyasu did, keeping an eye on the city surrounding it. There were also several temples and shrines and they noticed a few Buddhist monks moving among the crowd, their shaven heads reflecting the sun. They also saw a large number of samurai moving in and among the crowd, their hands on the butt of their katanas while they kept watch on everybody.

"Oh gods, please don't let them recognize me," Hattori muttered as he kept his head down.

"Just stay calm," the Doctor said. "Don't draw attention to yourself and they won't bother you."

Hattori nodded and did as the Doctor said. He kept his eyes down, careful not to look at any samurai who glanced his way since sometimes eye contact could be perceived as a challenge or an insult. He'd known several hotheaded samurai who beheaded peasants who had dared to look at them and he wasn't in any hurry to have his head end up like his head.

"Should we find an inn?" the Doctor said to Rose and Hattori. "Perhaps we can use it as a base of operations and a place to hide our equipment."

"I think so," Rose said. "It would look less suspicious if you did since we're supposed to be traveling."

Hattori, do you know any inns here?" the Doctor said.

"Yes. I know one that's close to the castle. Some friends of mine stayed there once and they liked it."

"Good. Let's do that and we can stable the horses and walk on foot, check out the surroundings before we try anything," the Doctor said in a low voice.

"Follow me then, I'll show you where the inn is," Hattori replied.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews and constructive criticism will be posted.