Chasing Smoke

Hana

Part I

REBIRTH

"I had to wonder if men were so blinded by beauty that they would feel privileged to live their lives with an actual demon, so long as it was a beautiful demon."

― Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

Prologue

INHALING THE SMOKE, its gaseous tendrils invaded my lungs, snaking and coiling within me. It threatened to overpower me, to render me breathless, but I couldn't afford a moment's respite. There was no time to pause or glance back. Desperately, I clutched my robes, pressing them against my face, hoping to stave off the suffocating coughs and remain upright.

Aware of the futility of fleeing from the ravenous flames consuming my village, I berated myself for my lack of foresight. Ohashi, wise and perceptive, surely anticipated this cataclysm when the influential council members of Kemuri began their exodus. The departure of one affluent scoundrel could be disregarded, but the collective retreat of twelve influential families should never have been ignored.

I had to halt my escape, my hands gripping the sturdy walls of a nearby house, the rough wood biting into my palms. My coughs emerged hoarse and resonant, emanating from deep within my chest, reverberating through my entire being like a tormenting drumbeat. Leaning against the house, concealed from view, I shut out the cacophony of screams and the clamor of warfare, vaguely recognizing the neighborhood I found myself in.

I released the unwelcome and irrelevant memories, allowing them to slip away into the abyss. With a determined wrench, I tore my back from its resting place against the house, refusing to perish before truly experiencing life. Not here. I may not have been a nimble ninja, capable of bounding over rooftops or scaling trees with grace. Maybe I was nothing. Maybe I was no one. But damn everyone else if I couldn't, at the very least, run.

The suffocating smog encroached upon my vision, obscuring my hands as they struggled to clear the dust from my eyes. My feet pounded against the ground in a relentless jog. My heart thudded in my chest, while the prickling sensation crawled along the nape of my neck. In the distance, the screams persisted, piercing the air. The smoke enveloped the surroundings, and my disoriented breaths made it difficult to discern its origin.

Amidst the chaos, I caught sight of the woman who had once selflessly provided fruit to the little ones, ensuring they didn't resort to the desperation of thievery. I remembered her smile, as if she were not sacrificing her own means of sustenance for the sake of those children's hunger. Now, her body contorted at an unnatural angle, exposed and surrounded by a pool of crimson. I kept my gaze fixed ahead, suppressing the fatigue that threatened to shatter me.