"Bit early to be going to war is it not, Hiroki-dono?"
The figure stepped out from the shadows and into the morning sun to reveal himself as another pony; a unicorn. His coat was the color of charcoal, an off-black with hints of gray and blue. The cutie mark on his flank was the shape short, angular knife with a loop on the end of the hilt. His mane was cropped short yet his tail was of average length. Both were wild, unkempt, and black as a raven's feathers. Like all unicorns, protruding from the center of his head was a horn that matched the color of his coat. A navy blue scarf was wrapped twice around his muzzle, obscuring the lower half of his face while the tattered end draped over his back and down between his shoulder blades. From behind the top of the scarf came the gaze of two narrow, angular, yellow eyes.
Hiroki froze with his hoof resting near the hilt of his sword, gritting his teeth at the casual greeting from the newcomer. Twilight frowned and gave an uncertain, worried glance between the two stallions as she noted the differences in their demeanor. The unicorn was relaxed yet watched the earth-pony like a hawk. He was far too relaxed compared to how tense Hiroki had become.
For over a month she had come to his little restaurant to chat and learn what the samurai was willing to share. Though he may not have appeared to be the friendliest of ponies at a cursory glance, he had only ever been calm, kind, and considerate to those around him. Twilight had to remind herself that one could hardly learn everything about somepony in a month, but she never thought she would see Hiroki so ready to fight. He looked surprisingly like wolf that was being forced into a corner...
It was then that Rainbow Dash saw fit to sweep down from her home, coming to hover beside Twilight while she clutched the two halves of her shattered bokken. Her lips parted to immediately interject with a demand to know what was going on, but Twilight quickly shushed her when the new pony and Hiroki began to circle one another. They wouldn't really fight... would they?
The newcomer gestured a hoof and rolled his eyes, a warm chuckle leaving his throat. Narrowing his eyes mischievously he tugged the scarf down around his neck to reveal the whole of his face with a broad smile. The unicorn appeared to be of similar age to Hiroki, but unlike the samurai he had no scars marring his face. There was a moment's hesitation before the one-sided animosity dissipated and the samurai lowered his hoof from his sword, once again standing with all four hooves firmly on the ground. The flurry of emotion shown on his face touched the entire spectrum. Relief, confusion, excitement, scrutiny, anger, further confusion, then finally something that was a cross between relief and joy.
Then Hiroki smiled.
It was a fleeting gesture with only one side of his mouth curling to show it, but it was sincere.
Twilight let out a heavy sigh now that the threat of a fight had passed, finally dawning a smile herself with Rainbow's perpetual flapping the only sound between the four of them. Snickering with great amusement, the unicorn strolled a bit closer before he turned his hawkish gaze from Hiroki to Twilight Sparkle and lowered himself into a deep bow. A kowtow. Similar to the gesture Hiroki had shown Princess Celestia and Princess Luna nearly a month ago. Yet something about it was different. It felt forced, as if it were given less out of respect and more from obligation. Either way she didn't like it so she smiled awkwardly and gestured for him to stand.
"Please, it's quite all right. You don't have to do that." said Twilight.
"Ah. Most gracious of you," said the stranger, bowing his head dramatically as he stood upright. From his accent it was clear he came from Neippon. "I am most honored to meet you Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. And your friend, miss Rainbow Dashu. Hiroki, are you not going to introduce me properly?"
Hiroki furrowed his brow, resisting the urge to scowl as the unicorn put him on the spot. It took a moment, but he managed to form the words in his mouth.
"Twilight-hime, Rainbow-san, this is Koga..." The samurai had to pause as he searched for an appropriate word with which to describe him. "He is a retainer of my Clan... and my friend."
Tilting her head, Twilight observed the two. Something was still off. While she didn't think the samurai had lied, she most certainly suspected there was more to it than what he was saying. Hiroki approached Koga, with the latter bowing deeply to the former. Twilight suspected it was due to Hiroki's status as a samurai, but he was having none of that. He pulled Koga up and the two grinned at one another, rising up to their hind legs so that they could each bump a foreleg together while the other went round to embrace one another as comrades. Twilight and Rainbow exchanged glances and snickered. Such display of brotherly affection waylaid any doubts she had about their friendship. If anything she'd learned about samurai over the past month was true then the two had to be very well acquainted for this behavior to be tolerated.
"Anata wa koko de nani o shite iru no?" inquired Hiroki, raising his head so that his eyes could be seen under the rim of his hat.
Koga grinned broadly with amusement. "Sore wa akirakade wa arimasen ka. Ima watashi wa kyūka-chūdesu."
Hiroki rolled his eyes and shook his head, seeing the lie for exactly what it was. "Anata no tōchaku ga yosō-gaidesu..."
"Dakara anata no shuppatsudeshita." replied Koga, giving his friend a flat look.
They continued to chat in their native tongue for another moment until Hiroki glanced to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash watching them very closely, clearly trying to follow what they were saying. They both smiled at him sheepishly. He cleared his throat and bowed his head in apology.
"Please excuse, I was not thinking." Hiroki bowed his head again and began to speak before he was cut off by Koga. "I did not mean to be rude-"
"Shamefur dispray, Hiroko-dono." joked the unicorn, glossing over the fact he had been an equal participant. "Such thoughtlessness."
A glare from the samurai caused his friend to go quiet, but the impish smirk persisted. Hiroki furrowed his brow and snorted at being embarrassed in such a way. "Today is Rainbow-san's kenjutsu lesson. You are aware of the restaurant in town. I request you wait there until the lesson is concluded."
Both Twilight and Rainbow caught one another's eye. If they didn't know any better that sounded less like a request and more of an order. Koga continued to smirk in amusement, but he nodded in head in agreement.
"As you wish." replied Koga.
"Would you like me to show you where it is?" inquired Twilight, raising her eyebrows. "Since you're new to Ponyville-"
"That will not be necessary." interrupted Hiroki, an accusatory tone to his voice. "He knows the way."
With that the samurai waved for his student to follow and with one last look at Twilight, Rainbow Dash fluttered after him. This left Twilight standing with Koga who continued to look thoroughly amused with himself.
"My most sincerest apologies Princess... it appears my presence has ruffled his feathers a bit. He is correct in that I know the way, but I would be honored if you would show me all the same..." said the shadowy unicorn as he gave a deep bow.
Something about Koga was off. Twilight had seen enough of the sycophants that Princess Celestia had to deal with on regular basis to know when someone was putting up a front. All the same it was likely she would presently learn more from Koga than she would from Hiroki. Hopefully Hiroki wouldn't be too hard on Rainbow Dash during their lesson.
"Certainly, it would be my pleasure to escort you to the city center." Twilight gave a false smile of her own, deciding that if Koga was going to put on a front then she'd do the same. At least until she understood what he was really doing in Ponyville.
The walk back to the Red Apple Restaurant was uneventful save for a few of the morning ponies giving the newcomer curious stares. Idle chit chat was exchanged between the two. Mostly Koga complimenting how lovely a city Ponyville appeared to be, how lovely Twilight was, and how fortunate they were to share friendship and harmony with one another. At first she thought it was empty flattery, but when she stole a glance back at him she would have sworn there was something envious in his eyes. Judging by the way his all-too-friendly smile disappeared, envy was not something he was proud of.
"So you're from Neippon as well, aren't you?" asked Twilight.
"I am." said Koga. Unlike Hiroki, Koga did not appear to have any trouble speaking their language and mixed in none of his native tongue. "Hiroki and I even come from the same village."
"Oh, so I imagine you've both known each other for quite some time?"
"You are correct Princess. Since we were both very small." He pulled the scarf from the lower half of his face again, letting the cloth hang loosely around his neck.
"If you don't mind my asking... how did you come to be here in Ponyville? Or Equestria for that matter? Hiroki made it sound like it was very difficult for you to leave your home."
"Hm?" Koga had been momentarily distracted upon watching a certain gray mailmare nearly fly straight into somepony's mailbox. "Oh, yes of course. He was not exaggerating. A great spell was cast by the Eternal Empress that has kept our borders safe for generations. A veil of mist surrounds the islands of Neippon and divine winds prevent invaders from entering our lands. Of course it also prevents us from venturing too far. Usually."
Koga's mischievous grin returned at the look of awe Twilight's face. She considered the implications of casting a spell of that magnitude as well as the power it took to keep it going. This was only the second time this 'Eternal Empress' had been mentioned, but by the sounds of it she must be a powerful magic user. It occurred to her that if the 'Mist' was so hard to cross, how had Hiroki done it? How had Koga?
"It took the combined efforts of powerful wizards to guide me through the mist." said Koga, sensing the coming question. "How Hiroki has accomplished this is one of many things I must discuss with him..."
She pondered heavily on this as Koga opened the door to the Red Apple Restaurant only for them to be immediately met by the resounding, threatening barks from Isamaru. The canine was bounding straight for unicorn. With a brief gleam of magic from his horn, his entire form disappeared in a swirl of black smoke and Koga reappeared on the other side of the room. The wolf-dog was a blur of brown and red as he very quickly turned around and charged forward again, this time knocking Koga to the ground with a dull 'thud'. With Koga to the ground, Isamaru bared his fangs and gave the shadowy unicorn a fierce growl.
Twilight gasped and her horn shined, readying a spell to separate the pair yet the stallion remained unfazed. When the two locked eyes the wolf-dog ceased growling, showing his territorial display to be nothing but a joke and gave Koga and hefty slurp to the face, tail wagging. Meanwhile Twilight had been holding her breath.
"Looks like you two know each other as well?" she said, sighing heavily in relief. Isamaru gave a single bark and leapt from the fallen pony, moving to sit beside Twilight.
"Yes. Isamaru, his brothers, and sisters were bred to be guardians. He was a gift. From my family to Hiroki's." Koga snickered as he got to his hooves, reaching over to pat the wolf-dog on the head.
"Oh! Isamaru really -is- a warrior." Twilight found herself unable to keep from smiling. She too gave Isamaru a pat on the head, who leaned in to he oncoming attention, leg twitching happily. "Perhaps I got the wrong impression... I wasn't certain how friendly you and Hiroki really were, and for a minute there when Isamaru charged at you-"
"Hah. Isamaru was just trying to impress you. Pay no mind to his showboating. As for Hiroki, perhaps I could have introduced myself without surprising him..." he replied, though his tone suggested he would have had it no other way. "I suspect Hiroki fears I have come to take him home, but this is not so. I have come to find him, but also to meet you Princess of Friendship."
"Me...?" said Twilight, looking a bit taken aback. "Did you need help with a friendship problem?"
Koga let out a hearty laugh. "Perhaps... but I will speak of that no further until Hiroki returns. While we wait would you be willing to tell me what you think of him? After all he has unwittingly become something of an emissary between Equestria and Neippon. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Well," began Twilight, pausing to consider just how to answer. "I think he's fascinating. When we first met we were a little scared of him. We'd never seen a pony carrying a sword before. He came off as a little rough around the edges, but he strikes me as a very kind, very noble soul. This restaurant of his has proven quite popular, and he strives very hard to make sure those around him are happy."
"His decision to travel abroad was most alarming, but I'm relieved to hear his heart has not continued to harden..." Koga's gaze turned to the suit of deep red armor that had become little more than decoration against the wall. "Hiroki is one of the most noble souls I have ever known. Nopony was ever more deserving to be called samurai."
"You're not samurai like Hiroki is, are you?" Twilight found herself blurting out and regretted doing so almost instantly. To her surprise Koga merely laughed. "I apologize if I'm coming off as rude..."
"Very astute of you Princess. Like day and night, shinobi are the other side to the samurai coin." He snickered at her confusion. "I have seen young foals who play as them during your Nightmare Night. The word you might know is 'ninja'. Samurai are proud and noble warriors who exist in the sun. Ninja work from the shadows. Simply put, we are spies."
The explanation puzzled her, but the interaction between the two earlier suddenly made more sense. That's why Hiroki said Koga knew the way. He'd been watching them. "If that's true... why would just tell me? Isn't that completely counter to being a spy? Why would you bother to talk if you can learn from watching us like you have been?"
"Watching can help you learn a much, but I would rather have a good conversation. I wish to learn what Hiroki has learned and it would not do for me to lie to somepony I may one day call 'friend'." Koga smiled, but this time Twilight couldn't tell if it was true or false.
"Well, in the spirit of transparency I'd like to ask you something else. Something I've been wondering..." She looked down at Isamaru and gave him a few more pats on the head. "He's been here a month and I've been fortunate to talk with him often. Hiroki's opened up a bit about your culture, some of your customs, samurai, and even the lands of Neippon, but he avoids talking about himself. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, can you tell me why he left?"
Twilight did her best not to look too eager for these sorts of answers. To her surprise Koga suddenly looked rather uncomfortable and a frown creased across his face.
"So sorry Princess, but I cannot. That is only for him to say."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -