A New Year's Escape

Thud.

And another.

Continuous thuds and muffled moans filled the small room where Tsurumi lay with the innocent-looking gentleman. The gentleman's sweat and saliva covered her body; who would have thought that behind his rose-like words lay a lascivious man ready to release his desires on a 15-year-old Geisha.

Thud.

It was over.

The gentleman rose and started to put on his clothes; Tsurumi stared into the dark ceiling, feeling numb from what had just happened.

"A small piece of gold for a great night."

Those were the last words of the gentleman before he proceeded into the night outside.

Indeed, it was a great night. It should have been; it was almost New Year. Although the city had been suffering from poverty, the celebration must go on.

Tsurumi put on her kimono and strode off towards the lights. She should have felt the warmth and happiness oozing from the villagers around her.

But she was numb.

A store was selling sake for a cheap price, and she bought a jar of it. She strode off to a place where the lights wouldn't reach her, trekking her way to the top of a mountain while drinking the jar of sake; the only thing she had.

Finally, she arrived at the top...

An unfamiliar silhouette stood. A mysterious-looking armed gentleman heard her approach. Although the only light that illuminated the place was the full moon, the look of awe was evident on the man's face.

She saw blood.

She couldn't care less.

He thought it was going to scare her; Tsurumi instead asked him to join her for a drink. He complied.

The silence was deafening, the only sounds they could hear were the sake sloshing inside the jar every time they took a sip.

It was almost midnight, and they could hear the people below them cry for joy for the new year.

She stood up, looked at the blood-stained sword the gentleman carried. The light of the moon reflected from her soulless eyes, and the gentleman saw the beauty, but he was too late to see her swift movements as she grabbed the sword from its scabbard.

Tsurumi stabbed herself, just below her heart.

She immediately died.

The gentleman was dumbfounded.

Flashbacks of their last mission attacked him all at once—the heavy katanas, the bloodied walls, the desperate cries, the plea of a child for his life.

He looked at his name tag; his proud name "Yukio" was carved. He couldn't hide the shame and fear.

He was supposed to be living a happy and fortunate life just like how he was named. Instead, he found himself mercilessly killing a child hours before the new year and witnessed the suicide of a young geisha using the same sword he used to kill innocents under orders.

Yukio slowly pulled the sword from the geisha's body; he thought he was numb from death, but he found himself crying.

He dug the ground just enough for the geisha's body to fit in and buried her at the top of the nameless mountain where they spent a short time together.

The joyous crowd below them suddenly shouted in unison to welcome the new year.

Yukio smiled and looked up at the starless sky.

He was still at the peak of the mountain.

He took a step.

The joyous cries turned into fearful ones as a gentleman's body was found at the foot of the nameless mountain at the break of dawn.

The End