Useful

Useful is a fiction written by Nancy Sauer and edited by Fred Wan. It was first released on the Samurai Edition Website on the 27th of April 2007 as a part of a three short story release known as Vignettes II. 

Annotated Story


It opens upon Isawa Seiga, who is cursing his half dead horse while fleeing some unknown pursuers. He thinks about how his lady Kinuye does not tolerate failure, and that he was forced to abandon the ritual he was preparing. He believes that if he can loose his pursuers he can attempt the ritual again. As he follows the path through the forest, the horse begins to resist his control, and breaks free from Seiga. Seiga falls in the struggle, but becomes more absorbed by what he can see in the nearby valley below.



A short time later, Isawa Kimi and her yojimbo Shiba Yoshimi are looking at the Ruined Keep of Fu Leng. Kimi is torn between horror and admiration, while Yoshimi looks at the tower as if it were an enemy on a battlefield. Kimi questions why the Keep had appeared here. Yoshimi suggests that Seiga may have had a hand in the matter, but Kimi does not believe he even knew it was here. Yoshimi thinks they should return to Quiet Forest Village to allert the Elemental Masters, but Kimi says they must stop Seiga from taking control of the Keep. The two Phoenix enter the Keep, searching the dustless, empty halls for Seiga. Kimi can sense the kansen in the tower calling out to her and somewhere inside the spirit of Seiga. Kimi senses that the Keep is affecting Seiga, and Yoshimi sugests that Seiga must be killed. Just as Kimi is about to decide what to do, the two are attacked by a leathery winged creature with a long bushy tail. Yoshimi dispatches of the creature quickly. Suddenly Seiga reveals himself, laughing in a nearby corner with a bloody knife in hand. Seiga cuts himself, drawing upon a creature from within one of the nearby walls. Kimi turns the creature to sand, and Yoshimi charges Seiga. Kimi warns Yoshimi that Seiga must be captured alive and Yoshimi complies, knocking Seiga into the wall. Kimi then uses the void kami to alter Seiga's connection to the Keep. When finished she and Yoshimi fled the Keep. Just as the two exited the Keep, it began to rise from the ground and moved to the east, just skimming the tree tops. Kimi and Yoshimi look at the Keep as it moves, and spot Seiga in one of the windows, screaming. Yoshimi wondered how long it would take Seiga to jump, but Kimi said that the Keep had made too many changes to him. Kimi revealed that she had changed Seiga so he could never live within the Empire again, and as such the Keep would have to go with him.

Characters

 * Isawa Seiga
 * Isawa Kimi
 * Shiba Yoshimi

Not Present, But Mentioned

 * Kinuye