One Bright Day in the Middle of the Night

Chapter 49: Dark Night

Yukimura and I headed out, and much to my relief, found several large willows near the outer moat of the castle. We cut and put several of the smaller, younger branches into a basket we had brought to carry them in, and quickly headed back to the castle. We went to the medicine room, and found several packages of a powdered substance set on a shelf along with a journal that Yuki said belonged to Sasuke.

I took a knife that was lying on the table and looked it over. It appeared clean, and was very sharp, so I started shaving the inner and outer bark of the willow branches into a bowl.

"Anything I can do?" Yukimura had been watching me and he looked antsy.

"Yeah, actually there is. I need a pretty good amount of sake for what I'm working on, and if you could get Sasuke's journal down also that would be great. I'm hoping he wrote down what he used in the powder and how to give it."

"No problem." Yukimura went across the room and grabbed a small keg sitting on a shelf and brought it over to me. "This has sake in it. Where do you want it?"

"Just pour it over the sticks in the bowl here. I'll tell you when to stop."

He pulled open the cork and began pouring into the bowl, the crisp smell of sake wafting through the room as he did so.

"That's good, thanks." He stoppered the keg and set it down as I continued to shred willow bark into the bowl, making sure to saturate the pieces.

Yukimura went over to the shelf with the packets on it and took down the journal, opening it up on the table in front of him. He stared at the pages for a minute, turning them over with a baffled look.

"Um...Alexis? I can't read this."

"Hmm?" I turned toward Yuki and he was staring down at the book in front of him as if it was going to bite him.

"It's in this weird writing I've never seen before. Some kind of ninja code maybe?"

"Lemme see it."

I held out my hand and Yuki walked over, setting the spine of the journal in my palm. I pulled it to me, opening the pages. I was more than a little surprised that it was entirely in English.

"Can you read it?"

At Yukimura's inquiry, I nodded, my grin back once more.

"Oh, yeah." I quickly read over what was written, my eyes going wide as I did so. "Sasuke found a plant here that his Grandmother used to use for lung issues."

Well, what do you know? In the states, we have a plant known as the orange butterfly milkweed, also known as Pleurisy plant. I wasn't aware of a Japanese version of it, but Sasuke was. The roots of the plant had been dried and powdered for use as medicine for centuries, and it was actually proven by modern science as an anti-inflammatory used to ease pleurisy, the inflammation of the lining of the lungs. Not only that, but it was also found to have antibiotic tendencies.

Leave it to Sasuke to not only find exactly what was needed, but write it in English. It might not be good for anyone else, but he put a lot of knowledge in his comments, including observations comparing things that have happened currently, to his memory of what he was taught in school about the history of the 1580's. Sneaky ninja.

"This is just what we needed." I grinned over at Yukimura, and what he must have seen in my face appeared to relieve his anxiety just a little. I looked over at the bowl of shredded bark soaking in sake, and started listing other things that might be a good idea.

"I need a pot of hot water, as if we were making tea, some honey, lemon, and ginger if we can get it."

"Lemon?"