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RAMSHACKLED

A WYVERN WARS NOVELLA

Erynn Lehtonen

ELW

RAMSHACKLED Copyright © 2019 by Erynn Lehtonen.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For more information contact at:

www.erynnlehtonenwriting.com

Book and Cover design by Erynn Lehtonen

Second Edition: October 2019

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FOR MARK

as this story would not exist without you

Contents

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

GLOSSARY

Acknowledgements

ONE

Masanori

SAPPHIRE and ivory paper dragons spiralled through the Tsukiko market, suspended within semitranslucent clouds of blue. They spun in tune with a procession of dancers who jumped through the dragons’ elegant coils, earning the applause of onlookers.

A small child wove through the crowd during the performance, procuring valuables from distracted festival-goers. She drew the attention of a city guard and made a run for it.

Masanori Genshu had the opportunity to stop the girl as she rushed past, but he couldn’t risk being recognized, not with a blade at his side. The unnatural warmth of the stolen katana made shivers crawl up his spine, and was enough, despite the cool afternoon, to make him sweat under his haori.

I shouldn’t have taken it.

He resumed pacing in front of the dragon fountain at the market’s centre. Water spurted from the mouth of the statue crafted of navy blue stone, a likeness of the Dragon Goddess, Shirashi. The tribute appreciated each graceful curve of her serpentine body, and the translucent fins on her back appeared to ripple in the water’s reflection.

Masanori hardly cast the statue, or his brother, a second glance, and was instead on the lookout for familiar faces in the crowd. Getting noticed by someone who knew him would spell disaster.

Nobles in vibrant azure and crimson kimonos strolled in and out of the gardens to the east of the courtyard and groups of teenagers in casual yukata robes crowded around stalls serving street foods. The musk of people, fried fish, and baked sweet potatoes wafted through the endless waves of people who came to town for the midsummer festival and fireworks later that night. Many moved between the local sweets shop, the stalls, and the weapons market.

Aihi is never late, Masanori thought.

His clammy hand closed around the sword’s hilt. The katana belonged to Masanori’s mother, a former warrior; it was an enchanted blade of pure gold engraved with dancing dragons, so fine it wouldn’t dull in a thousand years. He’d taken it from the mantelpiece in the entrance hall of his family estate.

It should never have been reduced to an ornament.

Mist from the fountain drifted over the bench, where Hidekazu, Masanori’s brother, looked up from his book.

“Stop that, or you’ll make me anxious,” he said, his voice almost drowned out by the market’s noise. His ebony hair was tied behind his neck into a neat pony, and his wiry frame was hidden by the oversized, sky-blue haori sporting the Genshu family crest of dancing ravens.

He waved his book in Masanori’s general direction to catch his attention. The gilded script of the title read: Basic Combative Ki Techniques.

“Says the one who—” Masanori cut himself short, his voice a little too loud. He leaned forward and whispered instead. “You’re not the one waiting around with a stolen relic.”

“You didn’t have to steal it,” Hidekazu said, his eyebrows raised.

“I didn’t have a choice, unlike you.”

Hidekazu snapped the book shut, his expression stern. “You talk about things you don’t understand, brother.”

Both of their dreams of becoming bushi had been stamped out when they were children. But when their father had decided to let Hidekazu train and study for the Majyutsushi Exams, that dream had been reignited. Or so Masanori had thought.

There’s something he’s not telling me.

He looked away, and his gaze lingered on the array of dragon-shaped paper lanterns hanging over the square. Still no sign of Aihi among the mass of early festival attendees. Where is she?

The few hours of training away from the palace had always been the best part of Masanori’s week. It was a respite from their parents’ too many rules and demands. Short but priceless. The arrangement could last as long as he didn’t get caught, but the chances of that grew with each minute they waited out in the open for Aihi.

Masanori glanced at Hidekazu to find him staring downcast and chewing on his bottom lip. There had never been secrets between them; he couldn’t guess what Hidekazu might be hiding.

Did something change between us and I never noticed? His heart fell. Like every other majyu, Hidekazu must have grown tired of associating with someone who couldn’t access a single strand of ki—the power of the Divine Goddess.

He thumbed the leather cord around his neck, weighed down by the pouch below his collar. Good thing I never told him about this, then.

A section of the square had cleared for a group of majyu wearing dragon masks with curled fangs, their silvery manes and cloaks of faux scales floating behind them. Scarlet sparked from their hands as they summoned the winged silhouettes of tengu and the hulking bodies of oni to frighten nearby children. And still no Aihi.

“We should go without her,” Hidekazu said.

The dancers and majyu had all gone, leaving the market to refill with excited shoppers who continued to move between stores and pop-up festival stalls.

“No.”

Hidekazu grabbed fistfuls of his haori. “She’s clearly busy.”

“Did you two get in another fight?”

At seventeen, Aihi was two years older than the twins. Although she wasn’t Hidekazu and Masanori’s real sister and was the Imperial Princess of Seiryuu, they fought like siblings did. Especially Aihi and Hidekazu, since they were the majyu.

“There she comes,” Hidekazu indicated behind Masanori with his chin.

Aihi’s raven hair was looped into a messy top knot, and she wore a masculine-styled kimono and hakama. Her obi sash was uneven and crinkled, like tying it had been an afterthought. It was unlike her, being late and her appearance less-than-perfect.

“I was beginning to think something bad happened to you,” Masanori said.

“Nothing bad.” She grinned, a little mischevious. “I was with Torra, attempting to convince her to sneak off with us.”

“I suppose she couldn’t come?”

She shook her head. “Her father needs her in town today. Something to do with the festival, I think, so it is only us three.”

Although Torra didn’t live in the capital, she was the only person Aihi was closer to than Hidekazu and Masanori. Because of the distance, they didn’t see each other often anymore.

“That’s fine. Hide doesn’t need a partner to practice with,” Masanori said, challenging Hidekazu with a glare.

Aihi laughed, but Hidekazu stiffened and began wringing his haori again.

Not a fight, Masanori thought, glancing at Aihi. What could possibly be the matter?

“Why would he need one when it is just as fun for him to watch you struggle to fight me?”

He grinned, almost faltering in the wake of Hidekazu’s half-hearted laughter. “I’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about...”

They left the market, but Masanori didn’t take his eyes from Hidekazu’s rigid body as he led the way north of the city.

TWO

Hidekazu

THE trio rode on horseback through the fields of soy and wet rice paddies, and toward the northern cliffs facing the Kin Sea. Although the ride was short, there was more than enough time for Hidekazu to catch his bearings while Masanori and Aihi raced toward their usual spot.

Hidekazu steadied his thoughts. It’s for the best if Masa doesn’t know why father insisted I take the Majyutsushi Exams.

What could he tell him, anyway? He would never understand. But he already doubts my honesty. Maybe it’s too late for an elaborate lie.

Beyond the fields to the west, black stone spiralled into the shape of two intertwined dragons and shadowed the city. The Hikari Tower was a beacon of ki and drew acclaimed majyu from all across the continent Shimensoka, including Tajida in the far east, just to walk within its sacred halls.

Ki buzzed through the air, brushing across Hidekazu’s skin and helping calm him. His death grip on Kiyo’s reins loosened a bit.

Hidekazu pressed on through the hills until the dirt road disappeared beneath his horse’s hooves and an enormous weeping cherry tree appeared in the distance. It grew in the crevices of the cliffside where grass faded to dirt and rock, its roots thick enough to crack and warp the earth.

The tree rivalled the height of the tallest cedars, its branches swooping from an impossible distance above. Bundles of pink and white blossoms that bloomed all year long covered the rope-like limbs that swayed not only in the wind, but with the rhythm of the golden waves of the sea below as they crashed into the cliffside. It was as though the tree danced to the very vibrations of ki in the air, the wind and sea coalescing into a silent tune only the tree could appreciate.

There were no other trees like it, as far as Hidekazu knew, in all of Seiryuu. Without dirt to provide nutrients, Hidekazu theorized that it must thrive off pure ki absorbed from the water below.

Hidekazu had fallen behind and Aihi and Masanori, who were already dismounting in the shadow of the gargantuan tree. They headed to the cliffs’ edge where Aihi tossed something into the water before returning to the tree’s shelter.

Their horses wandered toward the nearby patches of grass, snorting their approval when Kiyo joined their ranks a few moments later.

A flash of blue light appeared from between the strands of bright pink flowers. Aihi’s katana appeared in her hand and she danced with the sword, dipping between the leaves, her blade avoiding each petal with precision.

Next to her, Masanori attempted to replicate Aihi’s grace and failed miserably, managing to slice off part of a branch.

Aihi thrust her hands forward, her arms glowing crimson, and zapped Masanori with a bolt of energy. His sword flew into her hand, its sheath slipping over its length shortly after.

A flick of her wrist sent Masanori tripping onto his face. They laughed, and jealousy pricked Hidekazu’s chest. I wish I could be that carefree. Masa’s frustrated, but he should be thankful he’s not being forced into something he doesn’t want.

The crimson light expanded from Aihi’s palms and repaired the damaged tree. Masanori dusted himself off, but then lunged to retrieve his weapon. Aihi was taller than him, however, and kept the sword well out of reach.

“You are not disciplined enough to dance with a real sword,” Aihi said, her grin widening with each of Masanori’s failed attempts to take the katana. “I had thought you knew better than to cut the tree.”

“It was an accident,” Masanori said. He finally gave up and crossed his arms. “I went through all that effort to get Sachi’s sword, and you’re not going to let me use it?”

“I will not risk having that happen to one of my arms,” Aihi said. “You have a long way to go.”

“Not that he could get anywhere near you, mind,” Hidekazu said, finally reaching the tree.

Masanori snorted. “Seeing how long it took you to get here, I doubt you’d have much luck either.”

“I’d never presume myself capable of defeating the Exalted Dragon Princess.” His eyes were wide with mock-innocence.

“Enough, enough.” Although Aihi’s words were harsh, her eyes were alight with laughter. “We came here for a reason.”

Right. If I can finish reading my readings and start practical techniques today, maybe Aihi can help, Hidekazu thought.

Aihi wedged Sachi’s sword between some tree roots. Inky blue strokes lingered in the air while Aihi drew with her katana, flashing and disappearing once completed.

Two bamboo swords appeared in one hand, a set of bamboo armour in the other. First she tossed Masanori the armour, and once he’d slipped into it, she gave him one of the practice swords.

Aihi settled into an offensive stance, with the sword pointed at Masanori. But her gaze lingered on Hidekazu, not her opponent.

Their eyes locked for a moment too long before Hidekazu grabbed a book from his satchel and waved it at her. Aihi nodded and returned her focus to Masanori.

She doesn’t know anything, either. He breathed deep, allowing the scent of the sea to relax his entire body and uncoil the anxiety from his muscles. He wandered toward the tree and leaned against the broad trunk.

Masanori bumbled about and tried to imitate Aihi again. His grip was lopsided, the blade unsteady in his hands. Five seconds passed before Aihi attacked.

Her first swing aimed at his side, and he managed to deflect the blow. Aihi slid her wooden sword along his and in a broad sweep, smacked him in the belly. “How do you expect me to teach you anything if you are not awake?” She stepped back, waiting another five seconds.

Each of Aihi’s strikes were direct this time and gave Masanori time to get into the flow of blocking. “No slouching. This is not the lab, you must be straight and alert. Keep your feet further apart, too.”

For a while, they went back and forth. Aihi, more often than not, hit Masanori and told him where he went wrong. He didn’t complain; he listened to her suggestions and eventually stopped making the same mistakes. As usual, Aihi’s formality began to drop, and she talked to Masanori like they were equals, like siblings. Everything was normal.

Hidekazu rested against the cherry tree, nestling his back into a crook in the wood. The breeze rolled over him, and he watched the glimmering, golden waves. These bluffs had been their getaway location for years, and despite everything, coming here still eased Hidekazu’s mind.

Two gamishiro surfaced in the shallow water. The seaweed-coloured, scaly yōkai raced to the beach to claim Aihi’s offering of two cucumbers. One gamishiro scarfed down the first and half of the second cucumber before the other caught up to snatch away the rest. They disappeared beneath the waves.

Never thought I would see coming here as a real vacation, Hidekazu thought.

When he had agreed to come, it was under the expectation that he’d have to spend less time relaxing and more time practicing. His hope was that, by the time they returned to Tsukiko for the fireworks, he’d be finished with the first segment of his new training program. And by doing so, he’d muster the courage to demand something from his father in return for his efforts.

He closed his eyes and listened to the swaying of the tree’s branches, crashing waves, the grunts and clacking of Masanori and Aihi duelling. The sounds soothed the last of his worries.

They would inevitably return, but for now, he was at peace.

I’ve rested enough. Hidekazu grabbed his textbook, Basic Combative Ki Techniques, but hesitated to open it.

Fighting isn’t taboo anymore. I don’t need to be this stressed. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Though Hidekazu’s father expected him to study, pass the Majyutsushi Exams, and become a bushi, it still felt as though he was breaking the rules. There was also the matter with Aihi, but he didn’t want to think about that, not with her there in front of him.

She’s practically my sister.

Only an hour had passed since they’d arrived, and Aihi’s hair was already a tangled mess of sweat. Masanori wasn’t much better: his shoulders drooped under the weight of his bamboo armour.

A part of Hidekazu wished to join in, but for him, swordplay would be a wasted skill. Though he used to duel Masanori for fun, he didn’t have that luxury anymore. He needed to put all his time and energy into catching up for ten years of missed studies in four.

Assuming Father doesn’t decide I can do it in less.

Hidekazu flipped to a dog-eared page near the centre of the book. It was the tenth chapter, where discussions of theory finally moved to practical techniques for using ki to fight.

The book was beginner-level, and so the first half explained in painstaking detail how majyu could command ki using kigou. Hidekazu had mastered the concept by the time he was five, and most kigou associated with the utility and defensive branches of ki in the ten years since.

Despite this, the book was the first he’d ever read on using ki offensively, so he took the time to read through each repetitive description. He wanted to be sure there was no definitive difference between using spells for offence.

As far as he could tell, though, it was all the same. So long as he drew the correct kigou, controlled the flow of enough energy, and his intent was clear.

He fell into his usual study routine, not looking up until he’d memorized the first few spells in the book. Masanori and Aihi were laying in the grass, resting and laughing.

The sun began to fall, the sky darkening in its extended departure. They’d been away from the city for hours already. Have I done enough?

Hidekazu hadn’t made it through the whole book, just a few spells, and hadn’t tried using them yet. A heaviness grew in his chest and gut, but he endured, tucked his book back into his bag, and stood.

He tapped his left breast, where a little knob of wood rested beneath his kimono. Silver, flickering energy pulsed through his fingertips and into the rod; it grew in length when he grabbed it, expanding into a full-length staff of blue-tinged elderwood, an orb of ki encasing a gleaming sapphire at its head.

Aihi and Masanori were sitting up now, and Aihi was displaying some technique with her practice sword.

With the staff, Hidekazu drew tsuchi, the kigou for earth. A short horizontal line, struck through with a longer vertical line, finished with a longer horizontal line across the bottom. The earth beneath his feet released a breath, waiting for his command.

Hidekazu followed up with the string of kigou he’d memorized and the earth began to shift, slivers of stone lifting from around the tree and shaping into needle-like daggers.

The rare, musical chime of Aihi’s laughter distracted Hidekazu from finishing the final kigou in the sequence. His arms shook, ruining the last line. Each carefully drawn kigou fizzled out and the rocks around him crumbled and returned to their place as part of the ground.

Nothing’s changed. I can’t let this bother me.

Taking another deep breath, he redrew tsuchi. Even after memorizing the new kigou, his instincts were still to follow it with a string of symbols which would cause the rocks to settle and then rise into a barrier.

He re-drew the next three kigou, hesitating before beginning the final symbol. His mind wandered again, this time to the deal he’d made with his father. To Aihi.

The stones about him began to falter, their weight dragging them back to the ground. They bumped against the cherry blossom tree’s branches.

“Novices are taught to use chikara next,” Aihi said. Hidekazu jerked away, startled, but didn’t lose control of the earth. His hold on it strengthened and the shifting stones moved closer to him “The kigou for strength. But you are no novice, Hide.” She raised her wooden sword and sliced the air, leaving grey, inky strokes in its wake, forming two new symbols.

He leaned closer. I’ve seen her use those before.

“Ask your inner ki to interact with the elements on your behalf.”

Lifting the staff, Hidekazu replicated Aihi’s movements and called to the pebbles and dirt. Will you do as I ask?

The earth vibrated, its ki mingling with his. Waves of hot energy surged from within him and spread into the surrounding air. His arms tingled as needles carved from stone rose and flowed around him in slow circles. Now, he needed to direct them into an attack.

“It worked,” he said. His tutors had never told him to ask the elements for aid. Their spells were always phrased as demands. Yet the difference in how the earth reacted was irrefutable; it was light and eager to supply its energy, rather than cumbersome and stubborn.

“Now set your gaze on the field beyond the tree’s domain. Direct your attack in that direction, but ask the earth not to spoil the branches or flowers as they pass through.”

A bead of sweat dripped down the curve of Hidekazu’s neck. The floating needles trembled with his hesitation.

“Hidekazu! Aihi!” Masanori said, running toward them.

Hidekazu lost his concentration. He cursed under his breath, and the stones twirled about before returning to the ground.

“What is the matter—” Aihi started, but she stared past Masanori, toward Tsukiko.

Hidekazu shivered, waves of foreign ki prickling his skin. Smoke billowed from the city, flames licking rooftops. Screams echoed in the distance.

But the festival...

The ki buzzing along his arms sharpened and he almost hissed in pain. There was something unnatural about it, a sinister rigidness that he’d never felt before. His heart almost stopped when he connected the dots.

Someone used it to start the fire.

“We must help!” Aihi said, her hand raised to complete the strokes of a complicated kigou, a blue flash reclaiming the practice swords.

Her katana, still in its sheath, materialized in her hand. Her calm, measured control over her weapon and ki would have left Hidekazu in awe if he weren’t speechless from her suggestion that they, three teenagers, run into the city where some powerful majyu wreaked havoc.

But Aihi mounted her horse and galloped toward Tsukiko.

Hidekazu and Masanori exchanged glances. They mounted their horses and went after Aihi, toward the smoke and flames.

THREE

Masanori

THE fire spread fast.

Aihi’s horse glowed with the subtle mint green of a speed enchantment and approached the city twice as fast as Hidekazu and Masanori. Streams of frantic people flooded from the streets into the fields, slowing the twins’ progress toward the city. They would lose Aihi within the waves of panic and smoke if she didn’t let them catch up.

“Aihi! Slow down!” Masanori said, but she either didn’t hear him or didn’t care.

She’s always got to be the one to save the day, hasn’t she?

They watched, helpless, as Aihi jumped from Hyouku’s back and disappeared into the billowing darkness without them.

Most of the festival-goers had vacated the city by the time Hidekazu and Masanori arrived. They pushed through the remainder on foot, but the ache in Masanori’s arms and legs after sparring with Aihi became evident with each step. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

Smoke stung his eyes and tears blurred his vision as soon as they entered. Oppressive heat pressed down on him and stole his sense of direction. He grabbed Hidekazu’s haori with shaky fingers and used him as a guide. This is a terrible idea. Aihi, what are you thinking?

Even as a non-majyu, Masanori sensed the lingering, dense energy in the air; he almost couldn’t tell if it was the smoke or the ki choking him and filling his lungs.

Someone controlled each strand of energy. The ki scraped against his flesh, making his muscles convulse every time he moved. Whoever’s out there… we can’t handle them alone.

Black spots dotted his vision. Masanori tried to speak despite the thick paste of ash on his tongue, to warn Hidekazu of their mistake, but the words wouldn’t come.

A sharp pain wracked through him as he struggled for air. He could barely see Hidekazu’s face through the clouds of smoke.

Soft blue light pulsed between them. Oxygen poured into Masanori’s lungs and he gasped, almost collapsing onto the street in sputtering relief.

“I should have thought of that sooner,” Hidekazu said. His thin face was smeared with ash and sweat.

Masanori wanted to smack Hidekazu, but couldn’t gather the energy. “No kidding.” Everything spun and twisted together, smoke and stone and glimpses of splintered wood, but he attempted to blink it away. “Which way did she go?”

“Probably to the source.” Hidekazu pointed toward what Masanori thought was the market entrance. “Come on, it’s over there—”

A piercing scream echoed from that direction.

“Aihi!” they shouted in unison.

The pain in Masanori’s lungs and body disappeared, replaced by a surge of adrenaline. An image of a shadowy majyu trapping Aihi and incinerating her with golden fire seared Masanori’s mind, propelling him forward before he could think.

He stumbled and almost tripped over his feet, but Hidekazu was right behind him and kept him steady. Together they hurried toward the sound with the tendrils of smoke whisking around them.

A ring of black, floating cherry blossoms broke through the shades of black and grey. Smoke leaked from the centre of each flower, spiralling up and around, obscuring everything outside the circle.

It’s not a fire? Masanori jumped over the ring before he could stop himself. Have we been tricked?

He stopped short of running into Aihi. She stood with her katana pointed toward the centre of the square. Her hair and blue kimono were stained with splotches of grey and black.

Tsukiko’s marketplace had been destroyed.

Street stalls and stores had been obliterated or were ablaze all around the square. Strings of the decorative paper lanterns lay smouldering on the ground, with discarded food, folding fans, and festive toys scattered throughout the courtyard. Where the dragon fountain had stood only hours before were the crumbled remnants of blue stone.

Atop it stood a cloaked figure.

Their face was obscured by a ram skull with one chipped horn. A long, mahogany staff crowned with a sinister, purple eye that dripped blood rested in one hand. The eye moved, flicking between Hidekazu, Masanori, Aihi, and its surroundings. With every crimson droplet, another blossom sprouted at the creature’s feet. There was a pile of them; a thin, shadowy mist rose from their petals.

A rope of twined, grey and violet energy dangled a woman in the air by her throat.

Her once elegant kimono hung from her limbs in tatters, and what looked like the long blade of a naginata glinted from the piles of stone beneath her feet. Flashes of orange ki flared from her hands as she clawed at the tendrils of dark ki wrapped around her neck.

She was trying to speak but couldn’t.

Masanori’s heart stopped beating. He recognized the woman’s wispy, dark hair and the ferocious eyes despite being obscured by waves of translucent purple ki.

“Torra!” Aihi carved tsuchi into the air, and the earth beneath her quivered. “Free her or face the consequences.”

It was Torra. She must have tried to fight off the creature when the commotion started.

Masanori scanned the black flowers encircling the courtyard. Where’s the Tsukiko Guard?

At least fifteen minutes had passed since Masanori had noticed the fire. The city had already been evacuated and yet there was not a single guard anywhere near the market.

The ram-headed figure cackled, raising his staff to mimic Aihi’s stance. “Would rather not, thank you, thank you very much.”

“Then prepare to die,” Aihi said. Her grip tightened, but her katana trembled.

“Die? Oh, death, no, not today.” The creature waved its staff, and two more strands of dark ki swelled forth from the eye, snapping at Torra’s legs. Her struggling ceased. “We shall play, then I will go, and she will die, but oh no, not me, death will not come, not for me.”

Masanori inched toward Aihi, his mother’s sword in hand. At a glance, the skull appeared to be creature’s head, but it was only a mask; it failed to obscure all the wearer’s brown, matted fur. The figure’s robes fell short of its hooved feet and revealed it wasn’t a creature at all—but likely a kan’thir, one of the intelligent goat-men who usually lived to the far east, beyond the sea.

“You will regret that decision,” Aihi said.

She swept her katana forward, and the ground at her feet cracked. Earth fragments from throughout the market gathered to create spinning balls of debris and stone accented with sharp rocks. The orbs shuddered with crimson energy and flew toward the ram-headed figure.

The spheres made it mere inches from the kan’thir’s face before colliding with an invisible barrier. It gleamed violet with each impact, reflecting rays of scarlet light as pieces of rock and wood sprayed back at the teens.

Hidekazu manipulated the smoke and wind into a barrier to protect them from the shrapnel. Pieces hit the spiralling gale and disintegrated.

Taken aback by the creature’s strength, Aihi stepped away. “Who are you?”

Masanori wanted to attack the creature, to make use of the sword in his hands, to rescue Torra. But he didn’t dare move without Aihi’s say. She was the strongest of the three, and without backup, they needed to rely on her.

Stay calm, he told himself. Aihi will know what to do.

The knowledge and reality of his inexperience burned Masanori’s insides. He had never hated his parents’ rules more than in that moment.

“Have not heard of me, yes? Dear Ai-hime, oh-so-small in a world so big?” The figure cackled, but when Aihi didn’t move, Masanori wasn’t sure if it was because of the suggestive alteration of her name or because the kan’thir expected her to know him.

“Answer me!” Aihi said.

“Lacotl, the Companion of Death, at your non-service.” He mock-bowed. “Time to play, now, yes?”

The kan’thir raised his staff and violet spikes plunged toward Aihi. A beam of golden light emanated from her katana as she sliced, cutting the quills as they moved. She lifted her chin. “Save Torra, I will keep him busy!”

Masanori hesitated. I can barely use a sword. But, Great Warlock, I can’t leave Torra at that monster’s mercy.

He clutched his katana and rushed at Lacotl.

Inky lines of brown and black swirled around Hidekazu and elaborate kigou appeared as he arched his staff to draw as they ran to Torra’s aid. Thin needles formed from splintered stone as the earth ruptured beneath their feet. Hidekazu launched half of them at Lacotl, the rest at the tendrils keeping Torra prisoner.

The black vines were as thick as Masanori’s arms, wriggling with dark energy. His mother’s sword buzzed as he drew closer, the blade itself holding a breath of anticipation. One cut will do the trick. He wasn’t sure how he knew it, but he did. This sword was special; it was meant for this...

On his other side, Aihi swung at Lacotl.

Stormy blue currents swarmed around her in ribbons. They crackled with electricity as Aihi screamed her rage, and the steaming vines snaked toward the creature’s head.

Hidekazu’s rock daggers hit the darkness wrapped around Torra’s neck and exploded.

Clouds of black dust erupted into Masanori’s face as he swung his sword at the same spot. Warmth spread across his chest from the leather pouch at his throat, and ki thundered through his arms and katana to empower his strike.

Lacotl swept his staff at the teens and sent out a wave of purple energy.

It hit Masanori square in the chest before his blade connected.

The wave upended his world and sent him flying, Hidekazu and Aihi tossed away like dolls behind him. They soared through the barrier of smoke and black flowers and crashed into the ruins of a burning building.

Splintered wood jabbed at Masanori’s side, his arms bent at awkward angles. The ache in his limbs from his training with Aihi returned, and he gasped at the sharp pain in his lungs when he attempted to sit up.

There was a numbness in his leg. Blood soaked his clothes, already covered in a layer of ash. He wiped sweat from his brow, but his hands came away crimson.

Masanori stood and staggered forward, searching for the exit through the smoke. The fight… Aihi… Torra... I can’t give in now. But Masanori couldn’t protect any of them. He fell forward.

Lacotl’s cackles echoed in Masanori’s head until he passed out inside the clouds of smoke, fire blazing around him.

FOUR

Hidekazu

RED consumed everything when Hidekazu he came to. Broken glass jars littered the floor, candies and pastries melting in the sweltering flames curling along the building’s walls.

The sweet shop. Still dazed, he lifted his head in time to see Aihi jump from a pile of burning wood.

She ran over to him and yanked him onto his feet. “Where’s Masa?” she said.

Hidekazu whirled around, but Masanori wasn’t anywhere in the front half of the shop, which was now filled with piles of smouldering wood and crumbled stone.

“We must find him—” Aihi started.

“Go after Lacotl. Save Torra. I’ll find Masanori,” Hidekazu said. The meaning of his words barely processed in his mind before he said them, but he knew it was the right call.

I’m not sure how much help I’ll be against that... monster.

Aihi nodded once, squeezed his shoulder, and raced through the nearest hole in the wall. Kigou glowed around her as she ran, and nearby debris lifted to support her. She pirouetted and directed the stream of rocks and splintered wood through the smoke, toward Lacotl. And launched herself after it.

Hidekazu wrapped himself in a bubble of air and crouched.

Fire wrapped around the ceiling like a halo, urging the structure toward collapse. Sweat covered Hidekazu’s brow, and he wrinkled his nose at the sulphurous smell of his hair beginning to melt.

His hands shook as he drew hi, the kigou for fire, attempting to anchor the ki controlling the flames. He followed it with the kigou to create a siphoning shield.

Wind gusted around Hidekazu. Green-tinged bursts glowed with accents of orange, gold, and red as it consumed the energy of the blaze, pulling its power to strengthen the shield instead of redirecting the ki elsewhere.

The energy flow stagnated and Hidekazu strained himself, using his own ki to conquer the flames and smother them. It was like covering the fire in a solid metal cage, cutting it off from the oxygen and ki it needed to thrive. The flames began to shrink and die away.

A burst of energy funnelled into the fire from within.

Hidekazu collapsed onto his back with the intensity of it, forced to abandon his attempt to kill the flames. His head spun, but he kept pushing ki into the hovering kigou in front of him. The flames were still contained within his kigou, but it wouldn’t last much longer. Its energy was thicker than before, caressing hm with its corrupted, sinister touch.

I’m not strong enough.

He could almost hear Lacotl in the energy’s mocking touch, as if each jittering movement was punctuated by the kan’thir’s laughter as it swelled and grew in Hidekazu’s failed attempt to tame it.

The kigou burst.

Red-hot tendrils lashed in all directions. Hidekazu rolled onto his side to avoid them as they swirled the room before dissipating, igniting the remaining paper walls decorated with flying cranes.

Hidekazu coughed, the fire momentarily disrupting his air bubble. He pulled himself into a crawl. I need to find Masa.

Fire had sprouted from the hole Aihi had left through, blocking his escape route. Clearing the flames long enough to flee wouldn’t be a problem, but he wouldn’t leave without Masanori.

If he’s not in front, he must have been thrown further back. Heat collected on Hidekazu›s back as a physical weight as he crawled deeper into the burning sweets shop. He leaned against the precarious threshold between the two rooms, scanning the heaps of burning bamboo and cedar.

A hand jutted from a pile of debris.

Hidekazu’s heart leapt. He clawed at the rubble with his bare hands, using his ki where possible to make the effort easier. His ribs and muscles complained as he strained to pull Masanori free of the wreckage.

Blood soaked Masanori’s face. He writhed in Hidekazu’s hold, falling over and coughing blood onto ash-smeared wooden floors. When he attempted to stand, he could barely rise from his knees.

Hidekazu slipped Masanori’s arm over his shoulder, supporting him on wobbly feet.

“Come on, Aihi’s all alone...” Masanori attempted to walk alone and stumbled, but Hidekazu caught him. His legs were also soaked with blood, too much to be just a scrape.

Oh Goddess, that looks bad. It was impossible to see the wound over the loose legs of Masanori’s hakama, especially when he tried to move like he wasn’t in pain at all.

Hidekazu had never been much of a healer; the practice was different from other powers. Whereas most could study and become majyu, healing was innate and honed, not taught.

And it was exceptionally rare.

Still, Hidekazu had memorized all of the healing kigou for emergencies. He steadied his hands and began to draw, grabbing hold of the stores of ki inside him and directing it into the symbols. Through sheer determination, he managed to squeeze enough power through to slow Masanori’s bleeding and ease his pain a bit.

The wound was far from healed, but it was the best Hidekazu could do. Masanori managed to stand on the leg, lessening the burden on Hidekazu while he drew more kigou to make a path through the blanket of flames blocking their exit. His ki fizzled inside him and followed his instructions, smothering the flames in a small line.

Needles jabbed into Hidekazu’s brain and he cried out, doubling over.

Masanori grabbed his half-burnt haori and kept him on his feet. The ache in Hidekazu’s head and limbs was typical of when he used too much ki, but he hadn’t thought he was anywhere near his limit.

Maybe I’m just not used to fighting. Hidekazu’s chest constricted as the ki empowering the flames flexed against his power and attempted to break free. Together they supported their weight and passed through the threshold of the building.

A wall of fire burst from the ground as they stepped onto cobbled stone. The brothers rushed away from the unbearable heat, slowing as they reached the circle of black cherry blossoms. Smoke still spewed from them in every direction, but it did not penetrate Hidekazu’s air bubble.

Masanori tried to step into the circle to rejoin the fight, but Hidekazu held him back.

“Give yourself a minute. If we go like this, we’ll get in the way,” Hidekazu said.

They made to sit down, but the earth trembled beneath them and they collapsed in a heap. Cracks shattered the courtyard, disrupting part of the circle of flowers enough to let Hidekazu and Masanori see the battle inside.

Aihi stood to the side of the gap, the cracked earth spreading from around her. Stone and rubble whirled in a tornado with her at the centre, lifting more debris with each rotation.

Across the courtyard, Torra hovered in an orb of purple light behind Lacotl.

Hidekazu’s heart squeezed. She wasn’t struggling anymore. I hope she’s just unconscious.

Blood spewed from Lacotl’s staff when he growled, thrusting it in Aihi’s direction. A spray of mauve energy leaked from the weapon, most of it blocked by the storm of flying chunks of earth and buildings, but his energy slowly dissolved the barrier of stone and wind.

Lacotl cackled when a section of it collapsed, leaving Aihi vulnerable. He began charging up another spell, swarms of flickering purple light collecting around him and his staff.

The massive buildup of energy made the air dense and difficult for Hidekazu and Masanori to breathe.

Watching the fight almost made Hidekazu forget to breathe.

Aihi extended her arms forward. The wind had ripped the sleeves of her kimono and her arms were bare, glowing crimson with the light of her irezumi. The ink pulsed as she controlled the flow of the earthen tornado, redirecting it toward Lacotl.

Its spirals grew quicker, whips of stone and wind lashing throughout the destroyed marketplace. At its peak, she flung it at the kan’thir before he could finish his spell.

She jumped back as she threw it, landing in a crouch. Her arms swung up to create the kigou for fire.

Flames sparked at her wrists and moulded around her biceps and shoulders, branching out like wings.

The fire from the surrounding buildings twisted and flew through the smoke walls toward her. Her power sucked away the flames, braiding them into a fiery storm under her control.

Aihi is truly a master of ki. Incredible, Hidekazu thought.

Hidekazu and Masanori burst through the smoke while she collected the lingering flames. It formed a volatile shield around her that thrashed about with amber tongues.

A defensive earth sequence flitted from Hidekazu’s staff. The spell was second nature—and as Lacotl fired another wave of his strange, lilac-coloured ki, shards of solid rock spiked forth from the remains of the courtyard to defend Aihi. The purple light fizzled out on contact, curling into spurts of smoke before it reached the growing spiral of fire.

On the other side, Masanori charged Lacotl. He limped forward, and the kan’thir spotted his advance before Masanori could raise his sword. A transparent shield blossomed around him, knocking Masanori away as soon as he neared the flowers.

Masanori rolled toward Hidekazu. And Aihi dropped her arms.

A fiery hurricane descended upon Lacotl.

Spirals of magma-like fire churned in the air, spinning like shuriken blades toward the throat of an enemy. The immense pressure in the air dropped, replaced by the cyclone of wind and flames.

Any debris that hadn’t already been destroyed was incinerated as orange whips burned everything it touched. The black flowers supplying smoke were ripped from the ground, and though they danced in the fiery gust for a few moments, they burned away in purple tufts of ki.

“Much fun, much fun! Goodbye now!” Lacotl said.

The kan’thir bowed, the black cherry blossoms at his feet growing into the size of horses as the rotating blaze approached. Black petals spun and clamped around ram-headed majyu and Torra’s prone form, devouring them whole.

Aihi’s flames landed on ruins of the dragon fountain in an explosion that shook the town, scorching the blue stone black.

Lacotl and his prisoner were gone.

The three shared a glance. Hidekazu felt the ache in his limbs at its full intensity for the first time, and he almost buckled over in exhaustion. He endured for the sole reason that Aihi was still standing.

Blood drizzled in a steady flow from Aihi’s cheeks and forehead, from her bare arms, soaking the ash a gross black-red. Hidekazu couldn’t pinpoint the location of any wounds, couldn’t figure where he might use his minuscule bit of healing to stop the flow.

The crimson glow of Aihi’s spiralling dragon tattoos began to fade until they were nothing but soot-covered ink.

Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

Hidekazu almost tripped running to her side and lifted her into his lap. Not like this, Aihi. Something stabbed through his heart. Not after we’ve just lost Torra. Not before I’ve told you the truth.

A groan escaped her lips. “Sorry...” she whispered, struggling to open her eyes. They were lined with dark circles. “I pushed myself too hard.”

“It’s okay, we’ll fetch a healer,” Masanori said, nodding as if to convince himself.

Hidekazu was speechless. She wasn’t wounded like Masanori, just exhausted from using too much ki in her attempt to protect them and fight Lacotl all at once. Her recovery might be slow, but she would be fine.

Aihi had to go so far because Masa and I are useless. If we were stronger, it wouldn’t be necessary for her to risk so much. Hidekazu tightened his grip on her arm, knowing that wasn’t entirely true. She had used everything because she needed to save Torra. To protect the city when no one else was around to do so. And still, we could not help her.

Three figures approached from the side of the square. Hidekazu and Masanori lifted their weapons, but once the shadows passed through the fading smoke, the half-moon emblem of the Tsukiko Guard was displayed clearly on their uniforms. They paused to take in the aftermath of the fight’s destruction.

One of them, an older woman, rushed to Aihi’s side and pressed two fingers to her throat. She was dressed in the flowing black and silver robes of an official city majyu.

“Great Warlock, what’s the Princess doing here?”

The majyu touched a green tattoo on her wrist. A dim evergreen aura flared from the ink and grew until it wrapped around Aihi and linked with the crimson tattoos curling around her bare arms.

Hidekazu paused at the sight of the majyu’s tattoo. It was an irezumi, created with ink of pure, concentrated ki. Only a select few were graced with the markings on their skin: the bushi, majyu and warriors in service of Aihi’s family, the Royal Furahau line.

If I pass the Majyutsushi Exams, I might get one, too. Hidekazu’s heart raced at the thought. Unsure if the lightness in his chest meant fear or excitement.

Aihi shifted in his arms. “I don’t think she’s injured, just overworked,” Hidekazu said.

The majyu nodded. “I will take the Princess to the infirmary.” She flicked her wrist, and Aihi’s limp body rose and floated over the majyu’s outstretched palms. “You two can walk? You would be best coming along, too.”

“We must speak with them first,” one of the other guards said. He was a much younger man with a full beard and a little too much confidence in his stance.

For a moment, the woman glared at the man, but seemed to think better about saying anything. She rushed off with Aihi levitating, still unconscious, in front of her. Once they were gone, the guards closed in on Hidekazu and Masanori.

“What happened here?” one said.

The men wore the kabuto helmets of city guards, simplified versions of those worn by the bushi at Nagasou Palace. Golden horns arched from the top, and scales of suspended, intertwined steel scales arched around their neck.

Yet their armour was pristine, with no dust or ash on them.

A sour taste developed in Hidekazu’s mouth. They weren’t anywhere near the city while it was burning.

“What do you mean what happened?” Masanori started, quickly broken off with a coughing fit. “It’s your job to defend the city and you left it to three teenagers.”

Hidekazu touched Masanori’s shoulder but didn’t speak against him. He was right. Attempting to rescue Torra and stop Lacotl from wreaking havoc shouldn’t have been their responsibility.

The guards sputtered, failing to find the right words in their defence. “We had orders to be elsewhere,” the second man said. “We returned to find the city like this. You mean no one else was here?”

Hidekazu shook his head and started explaining, but the soldiers stilled at the mention of Lacotl. They looked at one another for a long moment before interrupting.

“Enough.” The guard helped the boys to their feet. “You two best get to the infirmary.”

“But that’s not everything—”

“Worry not, everything is under control now.”

Hidekazu’s jaw hung open when the guards wandered in the opposite direction of the majyu and Aihi. They looked afraid at the mention of Lacotl. And yet they do nothing? Not a care for Aihi’s safety, nor a thought of rescuing Torra.

He watched the remaining cherry blossoms turn to dust.

FIVE

Masanori

MASANORI woke at nightfall, his head pounding as though he’d been smacked with his practice sword. His whole body ached in protest at the slightest movement. The dryness of his tongue rivalled that of the Blithe Desert, and no one would envy the cold sweat drenching his skin and sheets.

The infirmary was draped in shadows with a thin line of moonlight peeking through the not-quite closed blinds. I’ve slept too long. Lacotl’s still out there.

An involuntary hiss escaped Masanori’s lips when he rolled onto his side, masked by the futon’s squeaking. His leg burned as though it’d been wrapped in fire, and the pain didn’t subside when he stopped moving.

Footsteps sounded outside his room, and the door opened. “You should not be moving, Master Genshu.”

A spark in the woman’s palm doused the room in a warm glow. She wore a short-sleeved ivory and turquoise kimono, her dark hair twisted into a messy bun.

“I must see my brother.” Masanori tried to lift his head, wincing. “Where is Aihi?” he mumbled. The healer glared at him, likely for the casual use of the Princess’ given name. “Why have I not been healed yet?”

“We require our patients to be conscious during delicate operations. You have a fractured femur; it punctured your muscle and skin. You lost a lot of blood. It is a wonder you stayed in battle as long as you did.” She knelt next to Masanori’s futon. “If you sit still, I will finish my work.”

He nodded and guided his injured leg over the side. “But, how are they? Hidekazu and the Princess?”

“Your brother’s injuries were not as severe as yours. The Exalted Princess, however, required specialized attention. It may be days still before she awakens.”

Dread seeped into Masanori’s bones. Aihi pushed herself too hard. If only I could have done more.

A dozen different kigou appeared in front of the healer in quick succession. A blue light emanated from her hands, stretching until it wrapped around Masanori’s leg. One by one, each of his muscles went numb.

She rolled up his hakama and revealed a red bulge above his knee. Masanori’s breath caught. That explains all the blood.

“Your brother certainly doesn’t have the skill of a healer,” she said, inspecting the wound. Masanori flinched when golden strings stretched from the healer’s fingertips and connected to his flesh. “But perhaps he saved you from any permanent injuries.”

Masanori nodded absentmindedly, having not realized that Hidekazu had tried to heal him. He had thought... Well, I don’t know what I thought.

The healer controlled the golden threads like she would a marionette, rotating each piece with a twitch of her fingers and easing Masanori’s wound open one strand at a time. His broken bone had pierced through a segment of muscle and blood sloshed within the wrap of blue ki while the healer worked.

She guided the femur into the correct position; she mended the damaged muscles and veins and coerced his skin and flesh to stitch itself back together.

And he was good as new, not even a scar.

“Rest for the night. Tomorrow you may walk, but be gentle with it for the next few days.”

Masanori bowed his head in thanks. “Would you fetch my brother?”

She nodded and left, the warm glow leaving with her.

The battle against Lacotl appeared in his mind when he closed his eyes for a bit of rest. All the destruction left in the kan’thir’s wake. The missing Tsukiko Guard. How will Aihi react when she wakes, knowing the kan’thir escaped with Torra?

After the healer had been gone for a few minutes, he realized that sleeping would be impossible unless he moved around a bit first. He lifted himself up, body still throbbing, and planted his feet on the floor.

He hesitated to stand.

I need to find Lacotl before he hurts anyone else, but I’m not strong enough to go after him on my own. Masanori was adept at jujutsu, but he had no ki, and yesterday had been proof enough that he didn’t have enough experience with a sword.

He was an engineer, after all, not a fighter. Besides what his father deemed necessary for self-defence, he had no training that would be much use in combat. I’ll have to rely on Hide, Aihi, and the Tsukiko Guard for that. But there’s got to be another way I can contribute.

Warmth spread across his chest from the pouch around his neck. Masanori wrapped his fist around the leather, the metallic object within pressing into his palm. He held it until the warmth disappeared. It wasn’t much use against Lacotl. But I’m not ready to give up on it.

The door opened and Hidekazu entered the room, his brow creased. “You look awful,” he said.

Masanori scowled and wobbled to his feet. “And here I was thinking I was a good candidate for the Autumn Festival’s Warrior Dance.”

“At least you haven’t lost your sense of humour.” He watched Masanori inch toward the infirmary door. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I can’t stay here right now.” Pain clutched his chest, but his determination conquered the discomfort. He was almost at the threshold when his feet betrayed him and he stumbled, but Hidekazu was there to catch him.

The worst of his suffering would be gone by morning, but he couldn’t sit still that long. Masanori needed to see the market where they’d fought Lacotl. Something wasn’t right about how the guards came only after the dark majyu left, and even if he couldn’t stand up to the kan’thir in a fight, he needed to get to the bottom of that.

Maybe the guards we met did have duties elsewhere, but what about the two dozen others on duty?

Memories of Lacotl’s strange ki were burned into his mind. The bag against his chest warmed again, but this time Masanori ignored it. How dare a majyu corrupt Shirashi’s gift? Ki is sacred. As disgusted as he was about the perversion, his whole being trembled when he thought about Torra. Why did it have to be her? I couldn’t do anything.

He wanted to scream, to shout from the top of the vermillion gates in Nagasou’s palace gardens that he didn’t care about his parents’ rules anymore. That he would train and fight so he could defend all that he cared about. Nothing like this would ever happen again, not when he could do something to stop it.

But all that came out was: “Come on, you’d better escort me.”

Masanori placed his arm over Hidekazu’s shoulder, who supported most of his weight on their walk from the infirmary. The halls were lit with tiny, periodic flames of ki that cast eerie shadows on the paper walls. There was no hiding that the infirmary was a sullen place, though to Masanori’s knowledge, not many others had been harmed in Lacotl’s attack.

Small blessings.

Moonlight bathed the mosaic stone streets with life. Images of curled dragons worshipping the fountain of Shirashi at the centre of the town square unravelled beneath their feet. Most of the shops which had been destroyed before were already standing as though nothing had ever touched them.

It appeared uncanny compared to how Masanori remembered it during the fight.

Rubble had lain in place of the fountain, and shops and street stalls had been nothing more than piles of burning debris. Most festival stalls were now gone, others packed away and repaired but not yet moved.

“They cancelled the festival, then,” Masanori said, relieved. It would have been risky to keep so many people around with a maniac like Lacotl on the loose.

It hadn’t been a question, but the silence troubled him.

After a while, Hidekazu sighed. “No, they didn’t. After the attack, the festivities were put on hold while the fires were extinguished and the market repaired. They used illusions to mask the rest of the damage and continued as though nothing had happened, besides doing the fireworks early so they could send everyone home.”

A burning sliver of rage swirled from the depths of Masanori’s heart and into his consciousness.

“They put that many lives at risk for a stupid festival?” He couldn’t mask the hatred in his voice.

“I tried to stop them, but our names don’t hold the authority of the Imperial Princess,” Hidekazu said. He helped Masanori onto the bench where they’d been waiting for Aihi yesterday and sat in the light spray of mist.

Masanori scoffed. “That wouldn’t be a problem if we became bushi.”

“You’re right.”

The response sounded more reluctant than Masanori expected. Is his unhappiness related to the Exams?

“Did you change your mind?”

“No.” Hidekazu ran his fingers through his hair, which hung unbound past his shoulders, but was several inches shorter and thinner after the fire.

“Then I don’t understand why you’re not happy about Father’s decision.”

A black cat wandered into the market and began cleaning its forepaw. It stared at the twins with golden eyes between licks.

“Because when Father approached me, it came as a requirement for something else,” Hidekazu said. He paused, looking away from Masanori and at a laughing couple strolling across the courtyard. “The price wasn’t worth it. And I wasn’t permitted to refuse either.”

“I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

Hidekazu shrugged. “There’s nothing you can do.”

That’s all he’s going to tell me. Masanori smiled somewhat, wondering what requirement might ruin the prospect of becoming a bushi. Maybe Father wants him to replace him as the Emperor’s First Advisor. But why would Hide be upset about that?

He let the silence extend between them and watched the couple disappear toward the city’s eastern gardens. A group of drunkards wandered into the courtyard in their place; they stumbled about and scared the stray cat. Once they made it near the fountain, they cackled and made rude gestures and Hidekazu and Masanori before pretending to fly about like dragons as if they were schoolchildren.

Along the edges of the market, there were some buildings that had not quite finished reconstruction. Thin, silver strands of ki, illuminated by the moonlight, outlined reparations to-be; the roof on the local sweet shop, and the left-wing of the general store.

No other signs of a fight or destruction remained. None of the townsfolk showed any visible concern about the events from the previous day.

“It’s like no one cares,” Masanori said. The incident still disturbed him, especially the lack of guards, but returning to their former battlefield wasn’t helping with his unease. There was nothing he could use to explain what had happened. “What are they doing about Torra?”

He couldn’t imagine that they would let Torra’s kidnapping go unanswered. Even if the town didn’t fall into an immediate panic, her family governed over Tsukiko in the Emperor’s place. They would not accept excuses.

Still, the town’s reaction was unnerving. If Torra could be taken from the city in broad daylight, shouldn’t everyone be terrified that Lacotl will return for their children next?

Yet business in Tsukiko went on as usual.

“I’m not sure. I spent most of yesterday trying to have the festival cancelled, and the healers knew little on the matter,” Hidekazu said. “We should inquire tomorrow. Captain Tonkotsu should have answers.”

Masanori stared at his lap. The pain in his legs had faded into a dull throb. “We failed her.”

“We fought as best as we could under the circumstances.” Hidekazu placed a hand on Masanori’s shoulder. “We don’t have the training to match such a powerful opponent. Today we failed, but Torra knows we did all in our power to rescue her. Next time, we’ll overcome Lacotl, and rescue Torra.”

Masanori looked at Hidekazu. Really looked at him.

The rings under his eyes had darkened since yesterday morning; it was still questionable when he had last slept. But more importantly: when had Hidekazu become wise?

For the first time, Masanori realized that he was years ahead of him in maturity. Hidekazu considered the outcome of the fight for what it was, while Masanori complained about not being strong enough.

That solidified Masanori’s decision. I’ll learn how to fight whether our parents approve or not. But this isn’t just about combat experience or learning how to wield a sword anymore. Hidekazu is proof I have a long way to go.

Even if Masanori was stuck as a ki-engineer for the rest of his life, he would find a way to complement Hidekazu’s strengths. They would become a team—for real.

Masanori needed a way to contribute to a fight. He was confident in unarmed self-defence, but that wasn’t enough, and chances were he would encounter Lacotl again before he mastered the sword. The pouch hidden beneath his kimono began to warm, and Masanori pressed his palm to it.

This will have to be enough for now. But I won’t stop until I can protect the things I love.

Hidekazu. Aihi. His family. His country.

We’ll save Torra, and I’ll never let Aihi jeopardize herself for me again. Not without first doing everything I can to lessen her burden.

And next time I see Lacotl, he won’t escape.

“When Aihi wakes,” Masanori said, head tilted to the sky. The Goddess’ constellation twisted in glittering loops along its dark canvas. “All hell will break loose. She’ll do everything she can to rescue Torra, and the Tsukiko Guard will face her wrath for standing by, doing nothing.”

Hidekazu nodded. “But we will only get in Aihi’s way. Neither of us is useful enough in a fight; today proved as much.”

“We’ll fix that. Starting once we’ve recovered, we should begin preparing.” Masanori tapped his knee. “You won’t encounter any issues since Father gave you permission, but...”

“Your training will continue in secret. At least for the meantime.”

Their parents would not approve of Masanori’s initiative. But that disapproval was a consequence of a necessary action: Masanori would no longer stand for only defending himself.

I refuse to remain a bystander.

SIX

Hidekazu

ALMOST two days had passed since their encounter with Lacotl and Torra’s kidnapping, and Aihi was still asleep.

She lay motionless on a futon in the Tsukiko infirmary. The room was drab with none of the vibrant blues, reds, and golds of the palace, although they had brought her a mound of silken pillows and a comforter embroidered with the elegant, coiled dragon of the Furahau family crest.

Two guards stood outside her door at all hours, but Hidekazu did not trust their protection. Not after their display of incompetence.

Sections of Aihi’s flesh were pale and threadbare, with veins and blood vessels visible beneath. Much of her face and arms were torn and scabbed over or bandaged.

A healer had already corrected any life-threatening injuries, but they had kept her in stasis since. Something was wrong and they hadn’t told Hidekazu what, no matter how much he pestered them for answers.

Nothing about their situation sat well with Hidekazu. He had sat propped up against a cedar panel across from Aihi’s futon, nodding in and out of sleep, almost the entire time since she’d been brought in. And I can’t leave her alone.

He didn’t mistrust the healers or other workers at the infirmary, but Hidekazu would feel more comfortable if it were bushi outside that door, not city guards. Aihi chose not to travel with any because they reported everything to her mother and father; she did not yet have any of her own hime-bushi sworn and loyal to her alone.

Still, the Emperor and Shōgun, her parents, had been notified of her injuries and the healers’ desire to keep her in Tsukiko. If they hadn’t decided to demand her return to Nagasou, neither would Hidekazu.

That didn’t mean he needed to like it.

He only left Aihi’s side a few times to inquire after the search for Lacotl and Torra, of which there was still little news.

While watching over Aihi, Hidekazu continued his studies. He didn’t have much of a choice; he was nowhere near battle-ready. One week of study was not enough to match anyone in a fight, let alone Lacotl, and that inexperience had made him useless.

I’ll make up for it. Study in my dreams, if I must.

Often, the pages of ki-theory blurred and Hidekazu fell part-way into the realm of sleep. Lacotl's purple, unnatural ki flashed inside his head. His eye staff leaked crimson that blossomed those black, wretched flowers.

Torra’s silent screams.

And he would jerk awake, his heart racing, a thin veil of purple masking the world until he blinked it away. They’re just dreams, he would tell himself until his mind was his own again and his pulse calmed.

It was easy to succumb to nightmares with only a couple hours of sleep over the last week. He blinked away exhaustion.

But now he was determined to stay awake and keep watch on Aihi. She appeared tiny and vulnerable in the mass of blankets and pillows, the opposite of her usual intimidating radiance. The blankets rose and fell with her chest, the only indication she was still alive.

Hidekazu took her hand, lifted her fingers to his lips, and gently kissed them.

He had never displayed any affection for Aihi, not outside a typical brother-sister relationship. But now, since his father’s decision to make him take the Majyutsushi Exams and his clear intentions for Hidekazu’s future, he’d been conditioned to start thinking of Aihi as something more.

Even though he didn’t want to.

His face and neck warmed. Great Warlock, at least no one was here to witness my foolishness…

A woman cleared her throat. Hidekazu didn’t move at first, his head bowed, fingers wrapped around Aihi’s. He looked over his shoulder at the healer, expecting her glare, but she smiled and joined him next to the futon.

“We found the root of her sickness,” the healer said. “She has a condition called Kajoushohi, where her body’s natural limitations are non-existent.

“When she uses too much of her innate ki, instead of being unable to cast a spell, she will draw energy from her physical form. In short, if she uses power far beyond her limit, her organs will begin to disintegrate.”

Hidekazu shifted away from Aihi, examining her all over again. Her eyes fluttered beneath their lids, and her torn and patchy flesh seemed worse than before. Is that why her skin is thin, cracked, and bleeding all over?

His stomach flipped. She must have felt such pain. Hidekazu could only imagine how it felt to be eaten from the inside out.

The healer caught his alarm and continued: “The condition is rare, and thankfully not fatal on its own. But if she continues to push herself, her quality of life will decrease.”

Lacotl’s appearance and taking Torra must have been the first time Aihi had a reason to go beyond her limits. If she’d shown symptoms before, there would have been measures in place to prevent her from hurting herself.

It would be their responsibility to make sure she didn’t go too far ever again. Masanori had been right: it was time for them to become stronger. Not for themselves, but for Aihi and those around them.

Especially if Aihi and I are to… Hidekazu shuddered.

“When will she wake?”

“Now that we have the information we need, she will wake for the rest of her healing in the morning.”

Hidekazu nodded. The healer clutched her hands to her chest. A question in her stare. But she did not speak, only lowered her head and left the room.

***

When Aihi woke the next morning, the healers tended to her injuries and warned her about her condition.

Yet when they cautioned her to rest for a few days, her rage echoed through the entire infirmary. Only after she fainted two steps from her room did she agree to rest at Hidekazu and Masanori’s urging. She settled into recovery after updating her mother, the Shōgun, about her condition.

Worry persisted in Hidekazu’s mind. As soon as Aihi recovers, she’ll rip the Tsukiko Guard apart for not doing their job. And for failing to find Torra.

As Hidekazu expected, two days later and within ten minutes of the healers discharging her, she stormed out of the building and toward the Tsukiko Guard barracks.

On the northern side of the city, the Tsukiko Guard resided in a complex of three traditional, interconnected buildings spaced around a small training yard. There was a fence of old bamboo blocking sight of the yard, which contained a modest statue of the Goddess Shirashi in her human form.

Besides that, the barracks were militaristic in their lack of decorations or adornments. It was an anomaly compared to most of the homes and businesses surrounding it, which were encompassed by lavish gardens of wisteria and red maple trees.

Several guards were sparring and working out as Aihi rushed past and barged into the barracks in search of the guard captain’s office.

“Exalted Dragon Princess!” a woman in an elegant black and white kimono prostrated herself the moment she caught Aihi’s eye. “I did not know—”

Aihi ignored the attendant and rushed into the back. Although Hidekazu and Masanori had never been into the barracks before, Aihi navigated the building with ease only gained from familiarity.

At the end of a short hallway, she slid a latticed door open. An older man with strands of silver in his long, black hair and pointed goatee looked up at her.

“Captain Tonkotsu!” Aihi slammed her fists on his desk. Bottles of ink rattled, and stacks of papers shifted. “You have some explaining to do.”

Hidekazu and Masanori flanked her. From her voice, Hidekazu imagined one of her devilish, on-the-verge-of-snapping smiles. He pressed his staff into the tatami like a walking stick, ready to use it if either party became violent.

The office itself was plain like the rest of the building, save for one exception: a hovering, golden-brown crystal on his desk. Ki reverberated from it, but the energy felt strange somehow. It resembled the energy given off by the crystal—the aki—a few miles offshore of the Kin Sea, but that didn’t quite fit, either.

Captain Tonkotsu, who had been reading some kind of ledger, moved to the side of his desk to bow before looking up at her. But his bow was not low enough to be considered respectful, especially considering the circumstances of their visit.

“Exalted Dragon Princess,” he said, motioning for her to sit on the cushion across from him. “What a pleasure to find you in my office. I would be happy to explain the situation.”

She didn’t move. “Hurry, then. I am not fond of excuses.”

Captain Tonkotsu held himself with rugged alertness, a posture fit to jump into battle at any moment. But his cheeks twitched before he smiled.

“I presume you are here about the incident at the festival,” he said. When Aihi did not deny the claim, he continued. “And I regretfully must inform you that we have made no progress in discerning the location of Lady Torra or the majyu Lacotl.”

“Not only is that unacceptable, but abhorrent. Lacotl should not have gained entrance to the city in the first place, nor had the opportunity to attack Tsukiko without notice and kidnap anyone, let alone one of the most important women in the city,” Aihi said.

“There are—”

“Exonerating circumstances?” Aihi scoffed. She glared at Captain Tonkotsu with an authority that Hidekazu did not envy. “Why were there no guards stationed around the city during the festival? Why did not a single one arrive in time aid the citizens’ evacuation, let alone witness Lacotl’s presence or attempt to stop him?

“Why was a kan’thir granted entrance to the city at all?” Aihi said, breathless by the time she finished her stream of questions.

Captain Tonkotsu squirmed. “Dear Princess, this is not Nagasou. We have no regulations that would keep kan’thir or any other race from entering the city.”

Silence spread between them. Hidekazu shifted in place, uncertain how Aihi would react. Instead of exploding, she deflated a little.

“That is correct. I forget myself.” Aihi recollected herself before addressing Captain Tonkotsu again. “But you fail to answer my other questions.”

He folded his hands on the desk. “Most of our forces left to aid Nagasou with the Guanzhou representatives months ago; we are heavily undermanned as a result. Lacotl’s attacks have been more frequent in recent weeks, and we took preventative measures in advance of the festival to bolster our defences, but it was insufficient. Without the numbers to pursue him, or adequate information...” he trailed off, almost shrinking in face of Aihi’s ire. It radiated from her in waves that polluted the wavelengths of her ki.

Hidekazu almost felt guilty. He had given the guards a hard time for failing to do their duties, but if what Captain Tonkotsu said was true, then the Tsukiko Guard was indeed in a difficult position.

But if Lacotl has a history of terrorizing the city, he should have relinquished his pride and asked Aihi for help. Perhaps there was not much room for sympathy after all.

“It is true, then, that you are familiar with Lacotl,” Aihi said. Although her voice was softer, her posture was still rigid. “You realize, Captain Tonkotsu, that I was here less than two months ago, and had asked if there were any immediate security threats in Tsukiko that I should know about?”

Captain Tonkotsu lowered his head. “I did not think such minor disturbances were worth the time of the Imperial Princess or Honourable Shōgun.”

“Such affairs in Tsukiko are under my jurisdiction.”

“I—” he looked up, confusion clouding his dark eyes. “I have failed you, Exalted Dragon Princess. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”

This time Captain Tonkotsu prostrated himself completely, his forehead touching the floor beside his desk.

Aihi’s lips thinned to a line. “Your failure to report these incidents has put the life of my dear friend, the daughter of Tsukiko’s governor, at risk.” Captain Tonkotsu looked as though he would say more, but she silenced him with a hand. “Tell me everything you know of Lacotl. I would have him dealt with swiftly.”

Hidekazu and Masanori shared a glance and released a shared breath. There would be no beheadings today.

“Lacotl is no mere majyu. He is a kan’thir goatman from the Yaotlan Isles, suspected of twisting the natural form of ki into something darker,” he said, not fully rising from his bow. “His first appearance was about six months ago, although his attacks were infrequent until the last three months or so.”

“He has been attacking the city for that long?” Masanori said. “Have there been any casualties?”

His and Hidekazu’s thoughts must have been the same. Had anyone else been taken besides Torra?

“We tallied approximately twenty missing women during that time frame,” Captain Tonkotsu said.

“Approximately?” Hidekazu said with an unintentional rise in his voice. He swayed, using his staff as support.

Several female acquaintances of his from Tsukiko had stopped coming to Nagasou over the past few months, and they were never available when he, Masanori, or Aihi were in the city. But they still sent letters, and their families had never indicated anything was wrong. They couldn’t have been victims of Lacotl.

A chill passed through Hidekazu and he realized he was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Captain Tonkotsu’s eyes bulged as if understanding his mistake, but it was too late for him to correct himself. “It is possible some other disappearances within the city are linked to Lacotl... which leaves the total between fifteen and twenty-five.”

Aihi slammed her fists into the desk again. A bottle of ink tipped over and spoiled the papers spread on the surface. “Twenty-five missing women,” she breathed. “And you are not looking for them.”

Tears of rage or anguish threatened the corners of Aihi’s eyes, but she managed to quell her emotions and steady herself. “You have been covering up these disappearances the whole time, have you not? Even those of noble blood.”

“That has... has not been my doing, Exalted Dragon Princess. The families are each aware that their daughters have been taken. It is their shame of being unable to protect their families that has led them to cover up the truth.”

Hidekazu bit back a cold remark. As much as he hated it, Captain Tonkotsu was probably telling the truth. It was an archaic custom of the Seiryuu nobles not to talk of their failures, as it created a negative perception when they could not defend their own blood. Instead of banding together in times of need, they segregated themselves.

“You should have realized the gravity of this situation months ago, Captain Tonkotsu.” Aihi clenched her fists. “The consistency of Lacotl’s attacks without action taken against him as lulled the citizens of Tsukiko into a state where his terror is normal. They accept it as reality that any day, their sisters and daughters might be taken and never seen again.” Aihi stepped toward the desk, and Captain Tonkotsu froze. “Does that sound acceptable to you?”

“N-no—” he cut himself off. Captain Tonkotsu’s face grew red and he took a deep breath. “It was my pride that prevented me from requesting your aid when our city needed it, Exalted Dragon Princess. If you ask it, I will resign my post. My failures are too absolute to overlook.”

The teens remained silent. Finally, Aihi narrowed her eyes. “That will not be necessary... yet. I will give you one last opportunity to correct these wrongs.” She leaned forward. Captain Tonkotsu shook in her commanding presence. “If this had reached the attention of the Shōgun, you surely would have been executed.”

He nodded in quick, frantic bursts, unable to speak.

“You have two weeks. I suggest you begin searching for Torra immediately, even if that means entering the field yourself. If she does not return safe, and soon...” Aihi said. She waved a hand and sighed, gesturing to Hidekazu and Masanori. “I will send the Tsukiko Guard back from the capital when I return home. In the meantime, you will make up for your transgressions by training my close friends Masanori and Hidekazu Genshu. They will assist in defeating Lacotl.”

Hidekazu’s grip on his staff tightened. This is what I wanted; to find Torra and the others. But only two weeks to train? We’ll need more than that if we’re to do anything about Lacotl.

“With them, some of the Benevolent Emperor’s most reliable bushi, and the Tsukiko Guard, we should have no trouble eliminating this pest.” She turned away.

“E-Exalted Princess!” Captain Tonkotsu lowered his forehead to the ground again. “No disrespect intended, but they are mere boys! Our fully-trained men and women with years of experience struggle against the power of Lacotl. With no prior expertise, their lives would be... you cannot expect…”

Aihi’s smile was grim. “Have you any notion of the Genshu family?”

“Some, but—”

“Either it is enough to convince you they are capable, or you need to do your research.”

“Perhaps you overestimate what we can do in a mere fortnight?” Masanori said. “While I agree we are quick learners and fit enough for an accelerated program, that cannot possibly be enough time. We would spend every moment training, leaving us no time to locate Lacotl and the missing women.”

Captain Tonkotsu relaxed a little, seeming relieved that Masanori shared his opinion.

Hidekazu gulped. I don’t think we can meet Aihi’s expectations. We would be too exhausted by the end that we wouldn’t be any more help than we are now.

“There are others capable of conducting the search. That is not your responsibility; yours is to prepare to fight.” She looked from Masanori to Captain Tonkotsu. “I will return in a fortnight with whatever bushi are available. Lacotl will be discovered, and Hidekazu and Masanori will gain some experience. You cannot afford to disappoint me, Captain Tonkotsu.” Aihi held his gaze for a moment before she walked from the office, leaving Hidekazu and Masanori behind.

A solid minute passed before Captain Tonkotsu sighed.

“I believe her when she says you are capable, but a fortnight is unrealistic. Not for what we are up against.” He crossed his arms. “We will convene tomorrow. I need some time to think of a plan that will not put you in unnecessary risk.”

“I expect we do not need to make much progress, Captain,” Hidekazu said. “If the Princess returns with the Tsukiko Guard and a force of bushi, we may only need to provide support.”

Captain Tonkotsu nodded, but he pressed a finger to his lips in thought. “Indeed, you cannot make the progress she expects in that amount of time. Regardless of your innate abilities, it is impossible. But perhaps there is an alternative that could produce something nearer to the desired results.”

“And that is?” Masanori asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Tomorrow, I will introduce you to the instructors at the Tsukiko Academy. While I cannot train you boys at the speed our Exalted Princess demands—they may be capable.”

Tsukiko Academy. Hidekazu sucked in a deep breath.

The school’s prestige went beyond their borders. It was exclusive; renown for turning even the simplest majyu into masters of ki, for turning farmers into elite warriors. Many majyu who attended went on to pass the Majyutsushi Exams and become bushi at the palace. Masanori and Hidekazu’s father, Dano Genshu, had been a student there, although decades ago.

But there was one catch: Students under eighteen were rarely admitted. The twins were only fifteen.

Hidekazu’s father had implemented a training regime that would have left Hidekazu capable of studying for and passing the Exams by the time he was eighteen. But if he had the opportunity to study at the Academy instead, he might finish quicker than expected.

He didn’t approve of Captain Tonkotsu’s actions by any means, and he struggled with Aihi’s decision to keep him as Captain of the Tsukiko Guard. But if that meant he could train at the Tsukiko Academy and help find and defeat Lacotl, then he could help alleviate some of the damage that had been done. For now, he would not question Aihi.

If Captain Tonkotsu ever did anything else questionable, however... he would not find Hidekazu as amenable.

They left Captain Tonkotsu’s office to find Aihi in the courtyard swinging her katana in complicated katas. Her glare and demeanour had scared everyone else training to the opposite end of the yard. She did not glance at Hidekazu and Masanori when they approached.

“I must return to Nagasou. There are some other matters in need of my attention before I dedicate everything to finding Lacotl and Torra.” She sheathed her sword in a fluid motion. “It would be ideal for me to manage the search myself, but I was only expecting to be away for a single day. I must report to my parents and delegate my responsibilities for the meantime.”

“No need to strain yourself, Aihi,” Hidekazu said, bowing. “You can rely on us to act in your place. We will train, as you have requested, and aid the search where possible. Only one problem: Masa is still not permitted to learn swordsmanship.”

Aihi shook her head. “It is not right of Dano and Sachi to demand you waste your talents.” She shrugged. “I will inform them that I decided to train you both as my future bushi. If they refuse, my mother will issue a mandate.”

A weight lifted off Hidekazu’s shoulders. It really is that easy. Why didn’t we do this sooner?

Previously, he had been worried that if he opposed his father’s plans, he would lose his chance to learn how to fight with his ki. But if Aihi was set on training Hidekazu and Masanori as her bushi, he didn’t need to pretend any longer.

“Before you go, there is something we should talk about—”

“No time. When I return, perhaps,” she said, turning and running off. “Work hard!”

She disappeared down the hill and into the midday chaos of Tsukiko.

Hidekazu fell to his knees.

“Great Warlock,” he said. “She’s going to hang me next time we see her.”

Masanori raised an eyebrow. “Dare I ask why?

“I wager it’ll be more entertaining for you to wait and see.”

SEVEN

Masanori

THE Tsukiko Academy rested on the hills skirting the north side of the city; a collection of eight buildings surrounded by a natural wall of massive cedar and wisteria trees, giving the school an elegance that existed nowhere else outside of the Nagasou palace.

A traditional, single-story building with a front veranda, rice paper walls, and fusuma doors waited for the twins on the other side of the gardens. Watercoloured dragons shimmered silver and blue on the walls as they flew across the paper, their scales rippling like water.

The beasts slowed to watch Hidekazu and Masanori approach, their eyes narrowed to slits.

Masanori shivered. They’re only paintings.

They followed the cobbled path to the building’s entrance, where the doors slid open of their own accord to reveal a reception room made up of an expanse of tatami floors. Rice paper dividers painted with various yōkai including the blue, catlike raijū wrapped in bolts of thunder obscured one side of the room. Long calligraphy scrolls draped along the walls, black ink strokes appearing one by one to create unfamiliar strings of kigou.

This place is like a whole different world, Masanori thought as they moved further into the building.

The pouch against his chest warmed in response to the high concentration of ki. Although being surrounded by so much energy often made Masanori feel itchy, this ki didn’t irritate him at all. It didn’t attempt to intrude on his body as if confused about why it couldn’t mix with his essence; it caressed his skin like a warm summer breeze, welcoming him into its embrace.

A woman knelt on a cushion at the far end of the room. She bowed and lifted an arm, heavy with the sleeve of her crimson kimono, and the shoji door to her side slid open.

The boys returned her bow before entering the hall. There, they found Captain Tonkotsu waiting.

“Excellent. I expected you boys would be early,” he said. There were dark bags under his eyes where there hadn’t been any before.

Masanori resisted snorting. He deserves a little stress after the trouble he’s caused.

They followed Captain Tonkotsu through a long hallway decorated with weapons; Masanori eyed the old katanas, barbed naginata, and a dozen other blades. I hope I get to try some of those.

The hall eventually opened into a grand courtyard of worn stone surrounded by luxurious verandas. They were decorated with plush viewing beds of elaborately embroidered silks, satins, and cotton. In the centre of the yard knelt a middle-aged man and woman deep in conversation. Both wore simple, dark blue training kimonos and hakama.

Stepping off the wood, Captain Tonkotsu bowed before them. “This is the esteemed bushi sensei Kansai Totomo,” he said, motioning to the woman, whose jet-black hair was tied into two short braids. “And Barame Meki, Headmaster of the Tsukiko Academy, master majyu, and former bushi to our Benevolent Emperor Furahau.

“They graciously cleared their busy schedules to aid with your training over the next fortnight. They hope to meet the Exalted Dragon Princess’ high expectations of us.”

Barame’s smile created deep creases around his eyes. Though perhaps only a little older than Masanori’s father, Barame’s hair was snow white and flowed freely over his shoulders and back, pooling on the ground around him.

Even Masanori knew of Barame’s reputation; the Meki family was once a line of the greatest warlocks—dragon-blooded majyu—in Seiryuu. Although all the warlocks had died suddenly almost fifty years ago, Barame had been the only survivor. Now, although he had never manifested any warlock ki, he was famous for his former service as a bushi.

Introduced to the legend himself. Masanori was stunned into silence.

“Pleasure to meet you, young Hidekazu and Masanori Genshu,” Kansai said, giving an impassive smile. “Captain Tonkotsu told us about your situation. Rest assured we will teach you everything we can during our time together.”

Captain Tonkotsu excused himself, citing his need to begin preparations for Torra’s search party. Masanori and Hidekazu were left to the mercy of their new teachers.

“We had best begin,” Kansai said, bowing to Barame as he rose to leave. “Masanori, you and I will train in this courtyard.”

“Understood.”

Wildfire pumped through Masanori’s veins as he watched Barame and Hidekazu leave together. Maybe most people would have been jealous, but he was more curious and awed. If anyone can teach Hide what he needs to know, it’s Headmaster Meki.

A katana appeared from a translucent haze in front of Kansai, dropping into her outstretched hand. “Show me what you can do,” she said.

Masanori thumbed the cord around his neck before settling into an offensive stance, one fist forward, the other palm-down over his fist.

At this, Kansai frowned. “With a sword?”

“I know only the basics of swordcraft, so humour me.”

A smirk replaced her frown.

Kansai dashed forward, stabbing at Masanori’s side. He dodged and slammed his first into her katana. In the fraction of a second the blade was motionless, his knuckles brushed against steel and knocked it from Kansai’s hand. Masanori grabbed her arm and used her weight to break her balance, throwing her to the floor.

Her fingers scraped against the ground for stability midair, and she flipped back onto her feet and jumped away.

“Excellent work,” she said. “Where did you learn your technique?”

“My father brought tutors from Tajida to train us when we were young.”

Though his father had refused to let him and Hidekazu train in traditional combat, learning the kijaku style of Tajida had been a privilege. They had learned from several masters how to disarm an opponent.

But the Tajida style relied on ki as much as the flashy, explosive style of Seiryuu, still leaving Masanori at a disadvantage no matter what he did.

“Your knowledge will make learning the way of the sword much easier, but with only a fortnight, I cannot expect you to master much more than the basics,” she said, spinning her katana with a flourish, pointing it at him again. “But let us see what we can do. Combining your skill with some simple techniques may be all we need to satisfy our Exalted Dragon Princess’ command. Now, draw your weapon.”

His mother’s sword seemed heavier than before. All his practice sessions with Aihi had been using wood; never metal.

“Do not fear the blade. It is not steel which inflicts injury, but intent. Mediate your blows, take absolute control, as you would with your fists.”

Masanori breathed in the sweet wisteria surrounding the courtyard, listened to the breeze rustle the clustered flowers and maple leaves. Clanging swords echoed from somewhere nearby.

Move like water, not stone. A weapon shouldn’t weigh me down.

His sword was aimed at Kansai when he opened his eyes.

And Kansai was gone just as fast.

She blinked through the space between them. Masanori had no chance: he was on the floor, the wind knocked out of him.

He laughed, gasping. Aihi always kicked his ass, but she was gentle about it. Kansai’s immediate assertion of authority was almost refreshing.

“You didn’t say you were going to use ki,” he said as he climbed back to his feet.

“You do not have the luxury of learning in phases. Use everything at your command. You will refine as you practice.”

They fought again, and though Masanori expected Kansai’s speed, it did him no good. He couldn’t read her movements when he couldn’t see her, and he wasn’t sure how to react when she disappeared.

It wasn’t until their fifth fight that he began to recognize the tells in her style. He watched her feet, the direction of the wind indicating which way she would dash. From that, Masanori turned their ten-second fights into almost a minute each.

Regardless, his skills were sorely lacking; he wasn’t used to relying on his katana. When he knew where Kansai would attack, it was simple to dodge her attacks. But always evading instead of parrying meant he couldn’t fight back.

She’s not using all her ki, but she’s not going easy on me, either. I need to strike before she goes all-out.

Kansai came at him with a stream of wind-fast attacks from all directions, some which Masanori evaded, others that send him flying and bruising his arms against the ground. No matter what she did, Masanori failed to break away from his previous tutors’ training and risk blocking an attack.

They fell into a flow of attacking and dodging, and Kansai lulled him into believing he was becoming quick enough to dodge each of her attacks. She broke the rhythm and feinted, and Masanori couldn’t readjust in time to avoid her katana. The blade was aimed at his chest.

Masanori’s arm flew up and the edge of his blade rang against Kansai’s. Using his momentum, he pushed her katana away and sliced forward.

He missed, but it was a start.

“Now, stop holding back. Use your ki,” she said. She arched an arm over her head, pointing the sword at Masanori, her other straight in front.

He tried not to look away but failed. I can only use a few defensive techniques; nothing to stand against Kansai’s windspeed.

They fought again despite the growing ache in Masanori’s limbs. He refused to succumb so early, especially when so much was on the line. We’re coming for you, Torra.

Kansai jumped through the wind and attacked from angles where Masanori was half blind. He made messy attempts to parry, and for the most part, Kansai let him succeed. Then she blinked, feinted, and he fell for it again. She dashed behind him and slapped the blunt edge of her katana at his back.

Ki surged from Masanori’s spine and he drew a single kigou against his wrist, deflecting Kansai’s sword. The weapon bounced in place.

The pouch strapped around his neck grew hot.

She grinned. “Keep going! Once in the habit of using your ki alongside your sword, your capabilities expand considerably.”

“I cannot do much more than that,” Masanori said. He stifled a sigh: he knew what would come next.

“Of course you can. Our focus now must be on bladework, but—”

“I mean that is the limit of my ki.”

Kansai frowned. Her eyes flicked across Masanori’s features. “But you are of the Genshu family, correct?”

“Hidekazu is my twin brother; our parents are Dano and Sachi Genshu.” Masanori waited, but she still appeared confused. “I did not inherit the extraordinary abilities my family is known for.”

“I see.” She clutched her sword. “Still, you are an excellent fighter, with plenty of potential.”

“But not a majyu.”

Kansai nodded. “No shame. I have trained many without ki.”

“Any who became bushi?”

“Is that your desire?”

He laughed, ignoring the tightening in his chest. “The Princess’.”

The lie came out rougher than intended. Kansai arched an eyebrow, and Masanori couldn’t blame her for not believing him. His face went flush.

He’d all but given up on the dream and had been pursuing ki-engineering with his whole heart until his father gave Hidekazu permission to study and become a bushi. Now he was conflicted about what he wanted, especially with Aihi’s decision putting the position of bushi within reach.

But I’ve a talent for engineering. Maybe I’m not meant to be a bushi. Yet the thrill of wielding a sword sung a different song.

“Not in a fortnight.” She ran a thumb across her lips. “But someday, certainly.” She shrugged. “A discussion for another time. We are due for a break.” Walking away, she waved for him to follow. “And it’s about time you told me more about yourself.”

EIGHT

Hidekazu

HIDEKAZU knew Tsukiko Academy was large, but a single building seemed to stretch on forever with no end. No walls were visible at the end of each hall, but he would blink, a wall would appear, and he and Barame would change directions.

Scrolls of painted flowers, trees, and valleys ornamented the walls, mixed with images of dragons and other mythical creatures whose gazes tracked them as they passed. The occasional antique candelabra with wooden limbs filled with glowing white ki would illuminate the endless passages, though they seemed more for decoration than light.

They walked by a room with a group of people dressed in the same navy blue uniform as Barame and Kansai. Several younger people accompanied them, each dressed in pure black. There must not usually be summer classes. I wonder how often Headmaster Meki personally trains students?

“Your parents planned to end the Genshu family’s legacy with themselves,” Barame said after they passed the room. “I cannot help but wonder why the Genshu scion seeks a different path than that prescribed to him.”

Hidekazu almost tripped.

Not because of Barame’s question, but because his first thought was of Aihi. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Though she was the reason he was studying for the Exams, she wasn’t his primary motivation, unless training so he could become one of her first hime-bushi counted.

He cleared his head. “My father overruled his decision.”

“I see. You are still complacent.”

Barame’s dismissiveness pricked at his pride. Astounding reputation or no, that doesn’t give him the right to decide what kind of life I should lead. That my parents’ decisions were wrong.

“What does it matter to you?” Hidekazu said, struggling to remain polite.

“A person’s ki determines who they are. Not their parents, their upbringing, or their relationships. Their ki. And yours—” He stopped himself.

“And mine?”

Hidekazu’s heart raced in the silence. Though he didn’t necessarily believe everything Barame said—his family had an enormous effect on his character—he wanted to know what the legendary majyu thought about his ki.

The translucent rice paper walls turned to panels of solid, dark maple around them. It was as though they’d passed into a different building without Hidekazu realizing it. Ki rippled across his skin and he recognized that was exactly what had happened.

“And mine?” he repeated.

“You will learn the truth when you are ready. For now, just understand you must not squander this opportunity. Do not allow your parents to dissuade you from this path,” Barame said.

Disappointment seethed through Hidekazu. What is it with adults and withholding the truth? I might still be young, but that doesn’t make me a child.

But like always, he accepted he had no choice. Maybe that’s what he meant by my complacency.

A bitterness grew in his mouth. He ignored it. Does this mean Headmaster Meki knows why my parents are trying to erase our family history? That he disagrees with them?

They continued down the winding halls, passing identical closed door after closed door. Classrooms were his guess. If he won›t tell me anything about my ki, he won›t tell me anything about my family. Not yet, at least.

Hidekazu resisted smirking. He might not be trained in combative ki, but he was a quick study. Soon Barame would know that he was dedicated to learning, that he was more than capable of becoming a bushi. Then he’ll tell me everything I need to know.

After turning a few corners, they stopped at the end of a short hall. Barame painted a series of kigou in blood red ink on the wall, and they seeped into the wood at the completion of each stroke. Each panel turned a darker shade of crimson.

“We will begin your training immediately,” Barame said as flares of red danced from his fingertips. “It must be an extensive program if we are to have any chance of meeting the Exalted Dragon Princess’ deadline. You will be exhausted by the end.”

The stream of kigou seemed endless. Hidekazu was lost in the streams of light, barely hearing Barame’s words. Aren’t I already exhausted?

“I will do whatever it takes,” he said instead.

Barame’s lips curled into a smile. “Tsukiko Academy has a unique system for training majyu to fight with their ki.” The ink-stained wood began to glow crimson with cracks of white light. “The system is new and exists nowhere outside of the Academy, but it is suitable for situations like this; it will quicken your mastery.”

The idea of an exclusive training program nudged Hidekazu’s thoughts away from their previous conversation. Would there be a special room with absorption walls? Energy catalysts? Ki simulations? How much faster will I learn?

“What makes it different?”

The wooden panel, still glowing blood red, sunk into the wall. It spun outward like a blossoming flower, combining with other boards and staining them scarlet. Together the wood rotated and created a hole, a light appearing and thinning to reveal a door.

Barame pushed it open into a pathway lined with half-sized rice paper walls. On top were slender, wooden lattices.

“See for yourself.” He motioned for Hidekazu to enter.

His jaw dropped when he did.

They were on a raised floor of tatami mats overlooking a massive stadium. Pillars, floating platforms, and targets shaped like humans, animals, and yōkai filled the space below.

There’s no way this is inside the Academy.

“Welcome to the Majyutsushi Arena,” Barame said. “Allow me to show you around.”

Hidekazu glimpsed a duel between two majyu as they walked along the edge of the arena. One threw blasts of neon green ki, where thick vines sprouted on impact against different platforms, curling toward the ceiling like trees before seeking out their target.

The other contestant threw small, quick fireballs aimed at the plants. A string of tiny flames misfired and glided toward the walls near Hidekazu. He ducked, only for the fire dissolve against a transparent barrier.

“The arena poses almost zero risk of injury, your reserves of ki drain slower, and you still gain all the benefits of regular practice,” Barame said.

A majyu in a black uniform stood in an alcove of more latticed walls. Her hands were pressed against a floating, marble tablet with silver versions of the elemental kigou carved into its surface. White glows replaced her eyes.

It was the girl in the arena.

Down below, she vaulted over crumbling stone towers and dodged fireballs with the nimbleness of a fox. Black, feathered wings resembling a raven or a tengu appeared along her shoulder blades in a flurry of dark light, only to disappear after she glided to safety.

Hidekazu ran a hand through his hair. Shorter than before the fire, he had partitioned it to flow over near-bald patches where most of it had melted into clumps. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to measure up against someone like that.

“How does it work?”

Barame nodded at the girl. “The tablets create a projection of your body within the arena. You will experience pain, but there is no lingering physical or psychological damage once you leave.” He led Hidekazu into a room on the side of the arena. “But before you can enter, you must practice the projection.”

Walls and floors of pure white stone with shiny surfaces almost like mirrors wrapped around them. Their reflections appeared almost infinitely, and Hidekazu’s head spun until he focused on the tablet floating in the centre in the room. It was the only object occupying the space.

“Projection is simple enough, but takes discipline. I expect it should take no longer than a day or two for you to master,” Barame said, approaching the thin sheet of stone. “Watch.”

He placed his hands on the marble. Ivory lines twisted up his arms from the kigou etched into its surface, travelling to his face and illuminating his eyes.

A light swelled on the other side of the tablet, winding up from the floor and solidifying into a projection of Barame.

The replica raised its hands. “The tablet allows your body to rest while your mind uses its ki to create a physical form. Reaching this state is simple; the tablet is designed to do most of the work for you.”

Barame conjured fireballs and threw them at the wall, singeing the white stone. For a moment, all of their reflections disappeared, but the stone shimmered and absorbed the black marks, returning to its mirror-like, pristine surface.

The replica of Barame faded and the light disappeared from Barame’s eyes. When he looked at Hidekazu, his expression was blank as if his body was alive, but vacant.

A shiver wound through Hidekazu.

Barame blinked and his face transformed; it was him, not some empty vessel.

“I must program the tablet for you. What are your affinities?” Barame said. He flexed his wrists and wiped the light from the tablet’s surface.

Hidekazu hesitated. That brief moment of emptiness he’d seen in Barame made him uncomfortable, but he also felt as though his worries were unwarranted. Barame wouldn’t use it if there were any risks.

“I am most proficient with wind, water, and earth. I have had little practice with fire, but I do not struggle to conjure it,” he said.

“Shirashi has blessed you with her natural elements, and yet fire does not allude you?” Barame smiled. He touched each of the four kigou on the tablet, and they reilluminated with silver light.

Hidekazu nodded, reluctant to receive more praise. When he was younger, other teachers had said the same: Favoured by Shirashi, the dragon goddess. Benevolent but also cruel. As could water ripen their fruit and grow their rice, it could drown them in a torrent. Wind offered reprieve from the beating sun but may destroy their homes and steal their families.

I hope that’s not what they think of me.

He took Barame’s place in front of the tablet and pressed his hands into its surface. It warmed at his touch, but his strength waned, and his instinct was to pull away.

“Do not resist; let it take you.”

Hidekazu fell into the encroaching trance. Everything around him evaporated.

He floated, surrounded by white, his body going numb as his mind began to pull away. The space around him drifted, and he lost connection with his body; he was the white.

The snowy expanse around him darkened with splotches of grey, some deepening to black. Ripples of light pierced the holes, and Hidekazu observed the room from above. His body leaned against the tablet, curled forward as if in pain. It was different from how the girl outside and Barame stood tall and dignified as they projected their bodies.

Barame stood next to his limp form, the vision covered in the blurry, undefined edges of the grey holes peeking through the white. The colours were incomplete as if someone had painted over them with translucent ink.

This doesn’t feel right. Hidekazu shifted in his mind, but the holes into the world below moved with him, now focusing on the infinite reflections in the white walls. Perhaps I need more time?

The memory of the way Barame had looked after he cancelled his projection might have made Hidekazu panic if he were still in his body, but instead, he felt determined. Nothing would go wrong.

Barame’s voice echoed through the pale reflection. “Concentrate. The tablet needs to sync your ki, absorb, and replicate it; a process that cannot be completed if your mind is everywhere.”

Concentrate. Concentrate on what?

The marble slab tugged on the ki seeping through each cell of Hidekazu’s not-body. It beat in and out of his skin, his organs, his hands. His body and very existence had become a vast cloud of white.

His ki, which had been invisible moments before, appeared as violet threads dancing through his insides, slithering through his fingers and into the stone. It stretched through his universe of nothingness and his real body. Hidekazu focused on the pull, slipping his mind into it and letting it take him.

Everything disintegrated into a delicate mist as it filtered through the stone. And then it all disappeared.

There was nothing. No white, no black, no bodies or energy. Is this it? Did I mess up so bad I erased myself?

A pulse in the back of Hidekazu’s mind reawakened his body. The remaining violet energy pooled and wrapped around him, guiding ki through his limbs and into the tablet.

But when his mind reached the stone, a shock flushed him from the white space.

Hidekazu collapsed in front of the floating slab. He was on the other side, his real body leaning over the tablet, glowing eyes and all.

“Impressive,” Barame said, nodding. “When still learning the technique, it usually takes several attempts before developing a solid form.”

“What now?” Hidekazu’s heart raced. For a little while, he’d been worried he wouldn’t be able to do it at all.

“It is unlikely you managed to create all the correct mental connections on your first attempt, but try using your ki.”

Hidekazu patted his chest in search of his staff, but it wasn’t there. How strange. Everything else is here...

He retrieved the shrunken weapon from his real body, slipping it from a hidden pocket in the inner folds of his kimono. Connective energy bound both forms together, but he felt nothing when he touched it.

Now with his staff, he searched for the strands of energy connecting him to the elements. He willed them to return the staff to its full size.

Nothing. Not even the pulse of moving air.

Hidekazu drew mizu with the still miniature staff. The air crackled, but any ki he managed to call quickly fizzled out.

His shoulders fell despite there being nothing to be disappointed about.

“How do I go back and try again?”

“Close your eyes. Allow the ki that makes up your projection to drain away.”

Several seconds after following Barame’s instructions, Hidekazu was back in his body. His fingers shook at his arrival, and a chill wrapped around his heart, like a part of him was still missing.

But it disappeared after a moment; everything was normal. Since I completely separated my mind and body, I consider myself lucky to not return to an emotionless husk.

Over the next few hours, Hidekazu repeated the process until his mind passed through the tablet and into a new physical form as quick as a veteran user. And yet each time he settled in his new body, the wells of ki inside him that he had always taken for granted were barren. That space turned into hollow tubes, like a vibrant lake that had been drained of every last drop of water.

“I cannot say what the problem is,” Barame said. He tapped his knuckles against his mouth. “There should be no issue with your ki. That said, your connection is stronger than should be expected after only a couple hours of practice; your body may need to take a break. Let us try again later.”

Hidekazu nodded, but was no longer enthusiastic. “I hope you are right.”

The girl from the arena joined them in the white room as Hidekazu prepared to leave. She crossed her arms and Hidekazu stopped in his tracks.

“Is this the one I’m fighting?” she said.

“Indeed,” Barame said, placing a hand on Hidekazu’s shoulder. It had probably been meant to ease him, but Hidekazu stiffened. “But change of plans. Not today. There were some issues that we did not account for.”

I have to fight her? Hidekazu looked her up and down again.

A sense of dread crept through him. She had fought in that arena with ki unlike anything he’d ever seen before, and he had only caught a few glimpses of the battle.

She’s going to kick my ass. But that’s the best way to learn, isn’t it?

The girl arched an eyebrow. “So he is a loser after all. Not enough ki to use the tablet?” She scoffed, not of annoyance, but of disgust.

Hidekazu opened his mouth to object, but had no idea what to say. He had no idea why his projection wasn’t working properly, or even how to address this girl. For all he knew, she could be right.

“Now, now, Kira. You should know better than to assume such things.” Barame’s tone was light and on the verge of laughter. “After all, had we taken the same approach with you, you would not be here.”

Kira bowed low at the waist. “Apologies, Headmaster Meki. I have spoken out of turn.”

“It is no matter, child. I will find you when Hidekazu is ready.”

“Hidekazu,” Kira said, testing the name on her tongue. Her lips crinkled though she were resisting the urge to frown. “I look forward to fighting you.”

NINE

Masanori

THE dining hall was filled with low tables and cushion seats with arrangements of pink chrysanthemums. Masanori imagined each table turned into toasty kotatsu during the winter, everyone in the hall draped with multicoloured blankets.

Masanori’s heart twanged with the knowledge that his training at the Academy was only temporary. Once they recovered Torra and stopped Lacotl, Kansai would no longer be his teacher, and he would have to find another way to pursue sword fighting.

He and Kansai grabbed some food and found a table, where they spoke of Masanori’s abilities, lack of ki, and everything in-between while they ate.

“It must have been difficult to grow up in a family of magnificent majyu,” Kansai said, sipping her tea. “I cannot imagine it.”

Masanori shovelled some rice into his mouth. He tried to ignore the scent of fresh tuna and salmon while he thought.

His upbringing hadn’t been as difficult as most believed. When he never manifested any ki, his parents had been relieved, rather than upset. They thought if I couldn’t become a majyu, I’d pick a non-hazardous profession.

He had hated it when he was younger, forced to look up to his parents, Hidekazu, and Aihi with no hope of becoming their equal. Now, it seemed like a blessing to avoid all the studying Hidekazu dealt with every day and would for the rest of his life.

But though his family didn’t think less of him for it, others did. And he thought less of himself, too. What’s wrong with me, to have no ki while my parents are some of the strongest majyu in Seiryuu? A brother who will surpass them in time?

For some reason, the Goddess had decided not to grant him that power, and Masanori had spent too many years struggling to accept it. When he discovered ki-engineering, he thought he had discovered his purpose after long-last.

Now, having no ki bothered him much less than his father’s hypocrisy. All their lives he had preached about how they should never fight unless they had to, that they would never become bushi or regular warriors. And when Hidekazu and Masanori were born, their mother had retired as a bushi and became a high priestess to support the decision.

Their father changing his mind about Hidekazu hinted at some ulterior motive, one that seemed to make Hidekazu so uncomfortable he couldn’t talk to his own brother about it. Masanori still couldn’t wrap his head around what that might be.

“If not a majyu, or a warrior, what were your plans?” Kansai said, her head somewhat tilted as she watched him.

“I intended to become a kouhei,” Masanori said.

A military engineer; they were mostly aides during times of war. Not a flashy or prestigious career by any means, but at least I’d learn how to fight.

“I had the impression you would still need ki for that occupation.” Kansai finished her meal—a simple bowl of rice and pickles—and laid her chopsticks over the rim.

“In most circumstances, you would be right.”

“But? How is this different?”

“I was determined to make it work. And as it turns out, I am a capable ki-engineer.”

Masanori hesitated before digging beneath his kimono to find the leather pouch he kept strung around his neck. From it, he retrieved a metallic disk about the thickness of a katana’s blade. A dull, blue glow emanated from a transparent panel on its silver surface.

Turquoise light zapped Kansai when she tried to touch it.

“Careful. I forgot about that.” Masanori pressed a finger to the light and smothered it.

This time, Kansai picked up the object without issue. She spun it between her fingers, mesmerized by the glow.

“I call it a ‘tapper.’ The device syncs itself to the natural ki in your body and makes it accessible,” Masanori said. From Kansai’s expression before she put it down, she’d felt it analyzing her ki. “It is useless for most people. But for someone like me, it lets me use a few simple tricks.”

“If you combined this with an irezumi, you would not be limited to tricks.”

“Are the irezumi that significant?” Masanori said.

Kansai lifted the sleeve of her haori to show an intricate white tattoo inked over her olive skin. A dozen dragonflies danced around her forearm, gliding alongside patterns of multicoloured cherry blossoms.

Though Masanori didn’t know much about irezumi, he knew white was one of the highest ranks.

“As someone with substantive natural ki, the irezumi made an immeasurable difference.” Kansai traced the wings of a dragonfly before she covered the tattoo. “With the Exalted Dragon Princess’ support and this tapper of yours, you should face little issue becoming a bushi.”

If Aihi wanted Masanori as her hime-bushi, it would happen. He would be trained and given the position; he would accomplish everything he ever wanted. But at what cost? He could have it worse than serving Aihi for the rest of his days—she was one of those whom he desired to protect.

And with her condition, Aihi needed more protection than ever.

Masanori couldn’t shake the thought that he’d miss out on something by changing course now. It was true that he refused to sit on the sidelines any longer, but there were other ways he could contribute that didn’t involve the obligations of a bushi or wasting his skill as an engineer.

It didn’t help that Hidekazu was always talking about going off on grand adventures. To be a bushi is forever. Do I really want to give that up?

Even if bushi were not tied by permanent life-oaths like the imperial guards of Tajida and Guanzhou, the responsibility of an irezumi remained with them long after they retired from service.

Kansai gazed off as though she’d travelled to some faraway land. Masanori waited for her to return, and when she did, her eyes clouded with something indistinguishable. Rage? Fear? Disgust?

It was gone in an instant.

He knew he shouldn’t, but Masanori asked what she had been thinking anyway.

“I had imagined what might happen if your brother obtained an irezumi.” Kansai frowned.

And that was her reaction? Masanori shivered. “He would probably become the greatest majyu Seiryuu has seen since the time of warlocks.”

“Indeed. I do not doubt that at all.”

There was a dangling exception to that statement. Masanori waited.

“But until recently, your parents’ were set on that never happening,” Kansai finally said. She fiddled with her empty teacup. “I am surprised they changed their minds at all.”

Masanori’s fingers curled around his chopsticks to stop his hands from trembling. “You know why they decided to keep us from becoming bushi?”

For the first time since she had spaced out, Kansai looked Masanori in the eye. “There are few people privy to that information,” she said.

And she’s one of them.

“Tell me,” he hissed. The words were unvoluntary and desperate.

He needed to know. He deserved to know.

That piece of information might have been all he needed to understand why his father had changed his mind. Might give him an opportunity to accept it all over again.

Or pull him and Hidekazu further apart. But that potential consequence seemed unimportant in that moment.

“Even if I wanted to, I could not. I am spellbound to secrecy.” Kansai withdrew her hands from her teacup and folded them again. “And I could point you in no location where you might find the answers yourself. All records of those matters have been destroyed, save for a single copy within Tsukiko Academy itself; records which you will never find.”

Masanori deflated. Any hope he had of finding answers had been eliminated in a matter of seconds. Perhaps he had been too optimistic in the first place; his father always covered his tracks.

But what about our family history could warrant destroying all records and keeping Hide and I from pursuing our dreams?

There were a thousand questions he wanted to ask, but secrecy spells were difficult to crack. He didn’t know enough about spellcraft or ki to take advantage of any loopholes, but knowing his father, those would already be accounted for, too.

Any questions he asked about his family history would be near impossible for Kansai to answer. Yet Masanori could not leave it be. There had to be something she could tell him that might justify such extreme measures.

He tapped his chopsticks irritably on the table. A group of students entered the hall, their chatter fading as they ordered food.

The knowledge that it may be impossible to learn anything more unless his parents willingly gave up that information burrowed in his chest. That’ll never happen in a million years.

“Do you believe my parents’ decision to erase our history was warranted?” Masanori said.

Kansai pressed a thumb to her lower lip. “Considering the facts... Yes, I do.”

It’s that bad? Masanori focused on his empty bowl.

“But...” Kansai continued. “I do not believe it was right for him to make that decision for you and your brother as well.”

He wasn’t entirely sure what that meant and didn’t have the chance to ask.

Kansai bowed her head. “Headmaster Meki. Hidekazu Genshu. I trust your first session was a success.”

“Well enough.” Barame nodded. The sleeves of his haori were crumpled. “But if I could speak with you privately, Totome sensei?”

“Of course.” She gathered her dishes and smiled at Masanori before leaving.

“You two are dismissed for the day.” Barame glanced between the twins. “We will continue tomorrow morning.”

After their instructors departed, Hidekazu stood where Kansai had been a moment before. He appeared to be in a stupor.

“You alright?” Masanori waved his hand in Hidekazu’s face.

“A little out of it, I guess. Tired.” Hidekazu smiled, but it seemed stiff. He left for the self-serve portion of the dining hall.

The dark circles under Hidekazu’s eyes told Masanori he was certainly still sleep-deprived and distressed over Lacotl, Torra, and their father’s demands.

Hidekazu returned to the table several minutes later with a bowl of steamed rice, a hunk of tuna, and a side of cucumbers on his tray. He dug into it, not stopping to say a word. After eating most of his lunch, Hidekazu held his shoulders a little higher and stopped avoiding eye contact.

But there was still a shadow on his face, something that hadn’t been there when they parted ways that morning. Masanori thought about sharing what he’d learned about their family, but the vagueness might make Hidekazu’s mood worse.

Plus, Hidekazu had already resigned themselves to their situation, even if things had changed somewhat.

“How was training?” Masanori said.

Hidekazu looked up mid-shovel and gave him a crooked smile. “Fine so far. There’s this neat battle simulator they’ve made for majyu.”

He explained the basics of the tablet: how it synced a majyu’s mind, body, and ki to create a temporary clone.

“I managed to recreate my physical form after one attempt. Supposedly, it takes multiple tries for most.”

“You’ve fought with it?”

Hidekazu’s face reddened. “Not yet. I can’t get my ki to transfer, which means I can’t fight.”

There was nothing Masanori could think of that would keep Hidekazu from using the tablet. The tapper hidden beneath his kimono warmed against his skin. If Hide’s projection has no ki, there would be nothing for the device to draw from. It would be useless for him. But maybe there’s another way I could help?

Masanori’s engineering mind flicked on. “If I could examine the tablet, I might find the problem?”

“They won’t let you anywhere near it. The system is new, and I’m the first one to experience any problems. I’ll have to wait and see.”

Maybe Hidekazu was set on waiting, but Masanori was deep in thought. It must be an issue with the machine—what else could it be? Which means if their engineer can’t find the problem, Hide can’t use it no matter how much ki he has.

An idea struck him. “What if you have too much ki? If the tablet requires a certain amount to activate, technically there could be an overload threshold.”

Hidekazu’s eyes lit up as if Masanori had given him the answer to some complicated equation. But his relief came and left quickly.

“If that were the case, how would I get around it? The tablet would need to be redesigned,” he said. “Besides, that seems unlikely. I can’t have that much ki. Just more for my age.”

“If you discuss the possibility with Headmaster Meki, he might know what to do.” Masanori piled their dishes on his tray. “How about we head back to the inn and worry about it tomorrow?”

TEN

Hidekazu

ANOTHER day passed with Hidekazu unable to access ki in his projected body. None of the ki-engineers who had designed and created the tablets could determine the problem, and couldn’t offer any potential solutions.

Hidekazu lay on his futon staring at the ceiling in the room he and Masanori were renting at a local inn. Sleep had been a precarious affair,  and he’d hardly gained a wink for his worries about his inability to use the tablet.

He didn’t want to be an anomaly. Already Kira had taken to mocking him for it, and it was only a matter of time until it spread to the other students and teachers at the Academy. At least I’m only here for two weeks.

None of it made sense.

Hidekazu’s ki was beyond that of many skilled majyu. He hadn’t needed to waste years expanding his reservoirs and mastering the elements when the elements had already mastered him. Majyu with less ki than he had used the academy’s training program, passed the Majyutsushi Exams, and became bushi.

What am I doing wrong?

There was no reason for him to believe Barame would find an answer to his predicament. And despite Masanori’s insistence that the tablet was broken, the ki engineers believed that the problem was with Hidekazu.

Deep in his bones and as solid as ki, Hidekazu knew they were right.

The solution may still be a simple one. I could be missing some essential knowledge those who grow up fighting take for granted.

But it was questionable that a device meant to train majyu would lock up because of some arbitrary requirement.

Masanori’s previous conclusion seemed more likely each time Hidekazu thought about it: perhaps the tablet couldn’t channel all his ki.

A pair of birds fluttered through the branches of some nearby trees outside the window. The sun was beginning to rise, a faint orange light painting the sky, and Masanori was still dead asleep.

Why should my ki capacity make a difference? I can’t access it all; I’m too inexperienced. But usable or not, the potential awaited within him.

Hidekazu almost chuckled at the idea. Accepting he might have too much ki was close to believing he was stronger than anyone who had ever used the tablet.

And he knew that wasn’t the case. Barame himself used it, and he came from a family of warlocks.

Regardless, he wouldn’t allow the fear of appearing too egotistic keep him from exploring the possibility. Because if he did have too much ki, there had to be a way to isolate some of that power—at least temporarily—so it didn’t interfere with the tablet.

Since he couldn’t think of any alternative solutions for the meantime, he had to try.

Is that the solution? Majyu could disassociate portions of their ki by attaching it to objects and creating artifacts. If Hidekazu did it right, he could still use the energy he removed.

Theoretically, if he bound some to his staff, his inner capacity would lower. But as long as he had the weapon in his possession, he wouldn’t lose his maximum output.

It wouldn’t be difficult to try. The only question is if I could still access the ki while projecting. But for training, that shouldn’t matter.

He sat on the edge of the futon. Masanori wouldn’t wake for at least a few more hours. He could go to the library, do some research, and return in time to go to the Academy as if he’d stayed in bed all morning.

Hidekazu slipped out the door.

***

The Tsukiko Academy’s library was open at all hours. It was on the far side of the school, hidden by the lack of signage and through passages that disappeared and reappeared at will, but Hidekazu found it after asking several early-rising students for directions. They had given him strange looks for his lack of uniform, but had helped him nonetheless.

When he finally turned the last corner to the library, he stopped in a threshold between invisible spaces. Much like how the atmosphere had changed around him and Barame when they seemed to move into a new building without leaving the first, the library seemed to occupy a space of its own.

Wild ki danced across his skin, each strand whispering sweet promises of power. He could have taken them, intertwined them with the energy already residing within him, but he refused their call. He waded through it toward the massive doors of the library.

The space around him shifted and the ceiling stretched to at least triple the height of the previous hallway. Weapons and scrolls decorated the walls, but also tapestries and paintings in gilded frames of battle scenes from some other part of the world. Eerie fog blanketed everything about fifteen feet above Hidekazu, making it difficult to discern how high the ceiling actually was.

Crystallized ki framed inside beams of solid brass made up the library doors; they shimmered each colour of the rainbow, darkening and spiralling within, urging the doors open as he approached.

Hidekazu peeked inside, his eyes widening as he scanned the ocean of books.

All other libraries mere puddles or lakes in comparison. Rows and rows of bookshelves were stacked on top of each other, reaching for the sky, as no ceiling was visible, just a grey expanse of clouds. Books flew everywhere like nesting birds, sliding into shelves or landing on stacks near the check-out desk, and study tables occupied some space near the library’s entrance, many stacked with hundreds of shifting tomes.

“Can I help you?”

A girl who seemed a little older than Aihi appeared behind Hidekazu. She had wild, curly hair so brown it was almost black. Her gold-rimmed glasses were lined with emeralds, matching her kimono. A stack of books floated in stasis in front of her, and two other books flew from the nearby table and joined her pile.

“Are there any books on ki transfers and artifact sealing? Temporary or otherwise?” he said. The girl nodded enthusiastically, then paused, eyeing him up and down.

“You haven’t stolen an artifact and plan to take its power, have you? ‘Cause that doesn’t work, and you should put it back before you get cursed or something....” She frowned.

Momentarily dumbstruck, Hidekazu started laughing. “Of course not. Do people actually do that?”

“Marvelous, superb, fantastic.” Her mood brightened again. “Stupidity shows no bounds. I could go on forever about the ridiculous things people come looking for.” The books in front of her flew off to different shelves, slipping into their rightful places. “But if you don’t have one, what possible use could there be for a book on artifact sealing?”

Hidekazu watched the stream of books flying above them. I can’t tell her the whole truth. It’s better if no one else knows about my little problem.

“I want to make one.”

The girl’s mouth hung open. “M-m-make one?” She looked him up and down again. “Are you crazy? You can’t—”

“Can you help me or not? I would like to avoid rummaging through the whole library myself. I am short on time.”

She recomposed herself. “Sure, I can find those books. But don’t come to me when those spells don’t work, no one can use those kigou anymore!” She huffed, waving her hand.

A shelf on the edge of Hidekazu’s vision shifted, and a book flew toward them. It stopped in front of Hidekazu and fell into his outstretched hands. It was titled Tsukumogami.

Tsukumogami were a kind of yōkai that were born inside objects one hundred years after their creation. But if there is no spirit in my staff, can I awaken one before its time? Would it accept my ki?

Hidekazu had never put much thought into yōkai, but objects possessed by yōkai were considered artifacts. There was potential in the idea, especially when there were few alternatives.

Any other artifact might take days or weeks to prepare; time Hidekazu couldn’t afford to waste. Torra might not have that long.

“Sufficient?” the girl said.

He opened the book and skimmed the text. There were mentions of a ritual where he needed to attach kigou to the object he wished to turn into an artifact. Since his staff was wood, carving would be quickest.

“I believe it will do,” he said, still reading. “You wouldn’t happen to have a knife on hand, would you?”

The librarian appeared disinterested now but flicked her wrist, and a rust-stained dagger flew toward Hidekazu. He snatched it out of the air as she turned away, back to sorting books. “Shirashi guide you,” she said.

Hidekazu wandered past towering bookshelves in search of a semi-private desk. Normally he would go to the very back to ensure he was alone, but this library looked more like a maze with walls of books than an actual library; he wasn’t keen on getting lost inside when he needed to be training.

I can get lost in here another time, he thought. Just not today.

Besides, there didn’t seem to be many people inside, if any at all besides him and the librarian.

Hidekazu settled for an ornate cherry wood desk with carvings of purple and pink dragons on the surface. It was higher than most tables, likely something from abroad, and had a matching chair to sit on instead of a cushion for kneeling.

After getting comfortable, he re-read the passage about carving kigou more thoroughly, but there were no examples of what would work. Over the years, he’d read dozens of books containing archaic kigou—most of which no longer had accurate translations. Likewise, he lacked the skillset or knowledge to translate them and make them useable.

Some older kigou, however, still had translations.

Hidekazu retrieved his notebook from his bag. He’d created a section for old kigou he thought might come in handy in the right context. One of which was kengen, a combination of kigou meaning ‘the power beyond what he could use.’

He had always thought it might be useful in a more philosophical or theoretical context, not for a practical spell. But it was exactly what he needed.

With it, he could alter the spell so he would lose ki he couldn’t use anyway. And if I lose my staff, it won’t matter since I can’t do much without it.

The sapphire head of Hidekazu’s staff shuddered with the addition of each kigou, steadying only when the last marking was put in place.

He placed the weapon on the desk and double and triple checked the required spell. After a deep breath, he chanted the words, drawing the correct kigou as he went.

Ki leaked from the gemstone, winding around the shaft like vines and filling the newly engraved kigou. They pulsed, glow fluctuating until it steadied with the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Light leaked from the staff and formed a light blue shadow.

Hidekazu’s knees wobbled, his exhaustion hitting him all over again. He supported himself against a nearby bookshelf to keep from toppling over. Strands of cerulean energy streamed from his fingers, swirling to solidify the spirit; almost like it was his ki in a semi-physical form.

The cloud whirled, manifesting into a transparent, winged snake. It stared at him with imposing, violet eyes, its body emitting an identical, dull aura. At first glance, Hidekazu might have mistaken it for a dragon, but there was no doubt in his mind as to its true nature.

Winged snakes were known as the shishajya, messengers who served the will of the dragons and warlocks. But they were gone, and there was only one shishajya left—this was a creature that had already passed into another world.

“Konbanwa,” the spirit said. “Nanika… irimasu… ka?”

At first, the words made no sense to Hidekazu. The tsukumogami reached out to touch his forehead and understanding flooded through him: Hello. What do you need?

The Old Language. It wasn’t taught to majyu anymore, which normally left his knowledge limited to the fragmented pieces of text he’d found in ancient books.

Hidekazu opened his mouth and then stopped himself, uncertain how to interact with any talking yōkai, let alone one as respected and revered as a shishajya. He acted on instinct and bowed low from the waist, not fully prostrating himself. «Oh great one, I seek a way to seal away some of my ki. Is that possible?»

The spirit’s energy flared, illuminating the whole library. “Mochiron. Demo...” Its light died away. “Mikaeri ni… watashi wa… tsue no naka… ni nokorimasu. Yoroshi… deshou… ka?”

The tsukumogami spoke in fragments, almost as if it wasn’t used to vocalizing its words. It took Hidekazu a couple of moments to piece everything together.

Of course, but... in return, I will remain inside the staff. Will that be okay?

Hidekazu had never had a yōkai in his possession before. Tsukumogami were not uncommon, but they were often troublemakers; his parents either locked the spirits away when they surfaced or sold them to collectors.

Will it become a nuisance? It was impossible to say. But Hidekazu knew, at least for the moment, allowing the yōkai to stay was his only option.

He agreed to the spirit’s terms.

Its serpentine form nodded, and like smoke disappearing into the wind, it was sucked back into the staff’s carvings. The blue light faded from the grooves, leaving the kigou void of the luminous ki.

Hidekazu didn’t feel any different, save for the cold sweat trickling down his spine.

The librarian came around the corner. “What’s that light? You’re not going to burn my precious books, are you?”

“Nothing.” Hidekazu smiled. He handed her the book, and she smirked.

“Finished already? Realized it was a dead-end?”

“Not at all. I got exactly what I came for.”

“What do you—”

“Shizukani shite kudasai,” the tsukumogami said. “Netai desu.”

“W-w-who was that?” the girl screeched, jumping away.

Hidekazu flinched. He didn’t understand the creature’s words, but he almost expected it to be something rude. Not a good start to their partnership. “Apologies. I’ve got somewhere to be,” he said.

“Wait a minute!”

He turned back to the girl, whose face was pinkish. “Your staff... your energy is different.” She fiddled with her fingers. “Did you actually make an artifact?”

A shrug. “Guess I’ll find out. Do me a favour; don’t tell anyone, alright?”

The girl’s mouth hung open like she hadn’t expected an honest response.

“F-fine... but you’ll have to come back and show me,” she said, looking away.

Hidekazu tilted his head. The girl had been adamant he would fail, and he hadn’t. She probably wants to know how I did it. Showing her might be worthwhile if it means she won’t breathe a word about it.

“I’ll come back. I can’t guarantee when, but as soon as I’m done my mission, you can examine it all you want.”

“Okay.” She adjusted her glasses, failing to hide her curiosity. But she seemed to realize he wouldn’t answer any more questions. “See you around.”

ELEVEN

Masanori

WHEN Masanori woke and Hidekazu wasn’t there, he’d thought he slept in. He shot out of bed, slipped into his clothes and strapped his mother’s katana to his waist.

He stopped in front of the window. The sun had begun to grace the sky; Kansai sensei would not expect him for a few more hours.

Where did Hide go?

The answer was obvious enough: Hidekazu had been frustrated by his inability to train in the Majyutsushi Arena. Either he had gone to get a headstart in practicing without it, or was still searching for a solution.

Masanori turned to leave the inn, but a pulse of blue light reverberated from the mirror across the room.

The mirror’s surface rippled over his reflection, another man’s shape forming inside. Is that… Father? Masanori touched the glass, and the rippling intensified, only to fall still.

A close-up of his father’s eye appeared, the rest of his face in shadows. “Can you hear me?”

“Father?” Masanori said, hopeful, despite his growing apprehension.

Dano pulled away from the mirror at the sound of his voice. There was a painted scroll of cursive, animated kigou that Masanori couldn’t read, but he recognized it from his father’s office in the palace.

“Princess Aihi relayed news of the attack in Tsukiko; your mother and I were worried. Where is Hidekazu?”

“He left early for the Academy; he is using these incidents as an opportunity to pursue other avenues of research.” Masanori bowed low. “I am sorry we worried you. We did not mean—”

“Quiet now, son.” Dano shook his head. “All that matters is that you are safe. After learning about Torra and the others, I...” He sighed, clasping his hands in front of him. “My immediate worry was that you and your brother were not adequately prepared for such an encounter. I knew you two would not leave the Princess to investigate the attack on her own.”

“That has always been an easy fix, Father. You would not have to worry had you given us permission to fight and train to defend others years ago,” Masanori said.

Silence stretched between them until Dano nodded. “We know you’ve been taking Sachi’s katana and practicing with the Princess and your brother.”

Masanori’s heart squeezed. That’s his way of saying he’s permitted me the bit of solace I’ve found.

“You knew?” His voice cracked when the words came out.

“We are not blind to the flame within you.” Dano tsked, but it was accompanied by a sad smile. “Your mother and I—we had hoped that by forbidding you from training, you would choose a different path, one safer than our family’s legacy.”

“But why? How can I make that decision without knowing about our past?”

“Our history is not up for discussion; what matters now is your decision. Do you desire to fight? Is glory worth it to you?”

Is what Kansai said true? That Father is right to be afraid of our legacy? Masanori’s gut twisted into knots. What role did he play in creating our legacy?

“It has never been about glory, Father. I only wish to defend others. And now, Aihi needs help more than ever. She’s asked Hidekazu and me to become her hime-bushi.”

“She told us about her illness, as well as her plans for your future,” Dano said. The mirror’s surface glimmered. “I wanted to ensure this path was chosen of your own volition and is not something she has thrust upon you. You are doing so well—”

“She would never.” Red flashed in Masanori’s vision as if he’d been the one insulted. He shoved his emotions away. “I assure you the decision was mine alone.”

“I understand.” But Dano was shaking his head. “I am glad you are well. We will see you when you return from your training in Tsukiko.”

Dano stepped away from the mirror and the silver and blue surface began to twist, its energies merging into a vortex before the surface returned to stillness. Only Masanori’s reflection remained.

He stormed out of the inn.

It was true Aihi could be difficult when she wanted her way, but she would never force something like this on him. Masanori couldn’t believe Dano, who treated Aihi much like a daughter, could ever believe otherwise. And by doing so, he implied that Masanori did not have the willpower to make his own choices.

Why can’t Father accept my decision? Why couldn’t he grant his blessings, as he had for Hide? He stomped through the streets, which were near empty save for some farmers moving to and from the fields surrounding the city. Why did he insist on trying to warp my resolve?

A sliver of doubt about becoming a bushi nagged at his insides. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t certain the path was meant for him anymore; if his father still didn’t approve, all the more reason for him to become a bushi.

Masanori grumbled his way to the Academy, crossed the cobblestone path to the main building, and stopped. The dancing, watercolour dragons slowed their spirals to gaze at him with storm-blue eyes.

His hesitation to go inside confused him. This was the place where he could overcome the limitations of his father’s rules. So why couldn’t he force himself across the threshold?

Cherry blossoms drifted through the sky with the breeze, a trail of them that looped through the air to the side of the Academy and flew into the gardens. Save for the tree on the cliffs north of the city, cherry blossoms were out of season.

Masanori followed them deeper into the campus gardens.

The petals fluttered through a wooden archway wound with vines and budding, snowy flowers. Masanori admired the shifting wisteria trees overhead, forming a pink and purple canopy over the garden within.

Trails of pink fluttered into sight again, and he stepped through the gate in pursuit. After crossing a slender bridge decorated with stone lanterns, the cobbled path split to circle around a pond with a small island at the centre. Scattered cutleaf maple trees leaned over the trail, and immature bamboo stalks obscured most of the pond.

Masanori followed the blossoms to the water’s edge, where they fell into the pond and scattered, floating between flat boulders that sat pronounced over the surface. He hopped across the rocks and passed under a small vermillion gate, watching the petals float around blue, red, and gold spotted koi chasing one another around moss-covered rocks.

A shrine sat beside the water: a humble, pointed red roof protected a statue of a curled dragon flanked with two everburning candles. Flames which would never die. The front of the shrine was covered in layers of dribbled, sky-blue wax.

He bowed his head out of respect, falling to his knees in prayer. “O, great Shirashi, grant me your guidance. I give you my body, my spirit, my ki—”

The ground rumbled.

Masanori whirled around, heart slamming against his ribs. Vibrations disturbed the stillness of the pond, the koi disappearing in its depths. Did the Goddess hear me? Have I angered her?

Smoke erupted from the Academy; an explosion of ki on waves of invisible fire.

Dark energy clawed at Masanori’s skin in search of a resource he could not provide. He shivered as it moved across his body and through the garden, corrupting its purity. It’s the same as last time.

He raced toward the blast and around the back of the school.

“Help!” a woman screamed from somewhere nearby, but the sound was muffled.

A massive hole mutilated the building’s wood and stone structure; splintered maple and cracked marble scattered the lawn. Rice paper turned to ash under swift-dying flames. Gripping his katana’s hilt, Masanori jumped into the smoke and through the gap.

Towering bookshelves surrounded him, reaching up and disappearing into clouds of lavender mist that also shrouded the floor. Masanori marvelled at how the building hadn’t appeared more than two stories high from outside, but its height seemed infinite from within.

Some of the giant shelves had collapsed, their contents laying in heaps ignited by purple fire. It wasn’t purple last time.

Dozens of books fluttered around in circles like paper birds, but they were disoriented, their flightpaths sluggish and wobbly. Other books tore through the air, almost hitting Masanori square in the face as they escaped to open skies.

The purple fog appeared darker further into the library, and Masanori followed it. He climbed over broken tables and couches until the bookshelves cleared to make space for an array of study tables near what looked like the front of the library.

In the centre, atop a mound of desks, stood Lacotl.

Another woman at his mercy.

She struggled against tendrils of purple energy, her gold-rimmed glasses falling from her face. Her hands came free long enough for jade-coloured ki to spark between her fingertips, only to be tamed by the fog coiling around her.

I won’t let this happen again. Adrenaline pumped through Masanori at the memory of Torra’s kidnapping. I’ve only had a few lessons, but it’ll have to do. I have to stop him now.

“Lacotl!” he said.

The kan’thir’s attention was already on him. “Welcome! Happy to see you again, young master!”

Lacotl lifted his arms, black sleeves drooping to reveal matted, brown fur. But Masanori’s focus was on the eye staff: the pupil flicked back and forth throughout the room, blood leaking to the floor with each movement. Dark blossoms bloomed between torn books and destroyed furniture.

“You’re not making it out of here alive!” Masanori pointed his katana at the kan’thir, but the majyu laughed and lifted an arm. The woman’s floating body moved between them, forcing him to lower his sword.

“Oh, silly Masanori, pretending to be brave,” Lacotl said, baring his yellow teeth in a mockery of a grin. “You cannot beat me, no, not yet, not ever; you are too afraid, too afraid to do what it takes.”

“You would use a human shield rather than fight me?” His grip on his katana tightened. What kind of monster is he?

The kan’thir’s grin widened. Ki trembled around the woman as she made another futile attempt to escape.

Masanori’s disgust thickened in his stomach. Whatever Lacotl’s intentions, it doesn’t matter. Today he falls at the end of my sword.

“Coward,” he spat, but he tried to keep his mind levelled. I can’t provoke Lacotl into a fair fight. And as soon as reinforcements arrive, he’ll flee to whatever hole he came from.

If Masanori were to save this woman, to rescue Torra, he needed to defeat Lacotl here and now.

The majyu laughed and jumped onto a table. “But I want to watch you squirm! Protect her, save her, fight me, kill her!”

A dozen kigou the colour of bruises appeared as translucent strokes. Spirals of dark ki seeped from the symbols, almost solidifying before spiking toward Masanori.

He ducked through the hole in a blown-out bookshelf, the frame wobbling when hit by Lacotl’s shadowy quills. His spells rotated as Masanori moved between the shelves, following him through the room with spikes of ki.

Lacotl’s attacks were too fierce; Masanori couldn’t get anywhere near him, not without putting his prisoner in the line of attack. I need a plan.

He tried to escape to a different part of the sprawling library, but a wave of ki pulsed through the air. The bookshelves began to shift into a ring around them, blocking Masanori’s path. There were only a couple of shelves left between him and Lacotl.

Masanori sliced the oncoming attacks with his katana, dark purple ki dissipating on the floor. The kan’thir cackled from somewhere out of sight, and more ethereal barbs and spears hovered above Masanori’s head. Rolling behind a destroyed desk to avoid the attack, he spotted Lacotl in a gap during the pause. Kigou illuminated with mauve fire appeared around his outstretched arms.

The needles flew quicker, firing toward Masanori at all angles. He cut more away, but they were too fast, appearing one after another in an endless onslaught. He jumped and rolled between the few intact shelves and tables within Lacotl’s circle, but he was running out of cover.

Two dozen quills appeared at once. Masanori swore under his breath and traced his protective kigou on his forearm—there were too many to run from.

He dodged and sliced what he could. But the rest hit him.

The blow destroyed Masanori’s weak ki-armour and sent him flying against the far wall of shelves. On impact, everything was shrouded in smoke, the wind knocked from his lungs. The tapper burned against his chest and he smelt the burnt copper of his singed, bleeding shoulder as it went numb.

In his daze, he heard voices somewhere in the building. Others were finally arriving. Part of him wanted to be glad he wouldn’t face Lacotl alone—but the rest of him dreaded their arrival. Lacotl will run if they come.

He pulled himself to his feet.

“Fight, fight, fight!” the kan’thir chanted, his laughter echoing through the library.

There was no way Masanori could beat Lacotl. Not like this, alone, without any ki to help him. But he couldn’t leave. That girl doesn’t deserve to be abandoned.

He still hadn’t formed a plan... We were supposed to have two weeks.

Masanori ran toward Lacotl. The kan’thir charged another wave of purple darkness, adjusting his aim as Masanori moved closer. He sliced away the ki he was too slow to dodge, jumping behind bookshelves and other displaced furniture.

“Clever, clever! But not good enough!”

“Lacotl!” a third voice said. Lacotl and Masanori’s attentions whipped toward the same section of the wall of glowing purple shelves, but there was no one in sight.

The library trembled.

Storm-blue cuts slashed through the enchanted bookshelves. Blue fire erupted from the fissures and spread across the shelves, consuming the entire ring of bookshelves and turning them to dust.

Hidekazu stood on the other side, his staff glowing with violet and cyan wisps of energy.

What kind of spell was that? Masanori stared at Hidekazu, wide-eyed.

That didn’t matter if Lacotl fled.

But the kan’thir remained, and no other reinforcements had arrived along with Hidekazu. They still had time to pin him down.

“Another little Genshu, what fun!” Lacotl said. He raised his staff and swirls of black and maroon light twisted around him like a slow vortex.

Purple circles illuminated the space behind Masanori. He jumped behind another bookshelf as the burning ki exploded his hiding spot. Little distance spanned between his sword and Lacotl. But this kan’thir will have another trick up his sleeve. Hide and I need to synchronize, somehow.

More lights appeared around Masanori, some above and at his sides. They were timed to fire as one, impossible to dodge and deflect all at once; perhaps Lacotl was done toying with him. But he used that to his advantage, fleeing as they all fired in the same spot. They created a brief opening, long enough to shorten the distance between him and Lacotl by all the desks but one.

On the other side of the room, Hidekazu was bombarded by a similar wave of ki, which he blocked with an earthen shield made up from the crumbled, marble walls and floors of the library’s skeleton. He dodged his way through the ruins and nestled by a mostly-obliterated bookshelf.

Masanori was about to signal for an organized attack when Lacotl fired another wave of ki. There was no time to coordinate. This is my chance. Dancing between the bookshelves, Masanori avoided almost all the light pink rays of energy. He ran for the kan’thir with his katana ready.

Three more beams came to life.

One between Masanori and Lacotl, and a similar one between Lacotl and Hidekazu. But the third was a lot different.

The lavender mist obscuring the ceiling darkened and flashed with multiple layers of magenta rings. It reached beyond the edge of Masanori’s vision.

Nowhere to hide.

He spun, searching for Hidekazu amongst the rubble, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Without Hidekazu’s shields, he jumped at Lacotl, sword raised.

Hidekazu burst from a pile of rubble on the opposite side of their opponent, lunging at him with his staff. They closed in, weapons poised to run Lacotl through.

The kan’thir’s head tilted with his maniacal laughter.

And he disappeared, his prisoner with him. Masanori and Hidekazu’s weapons passed through the space Lacotl had been half a second before.

No flash of light, no lingering ki—just nothing.

Nothing but the flaring ki circling the library’s ceiling. This is it; this is how I’m going to die, Masanori thought.

Hidekazu, however, wasn’t as keen to give up. He spun in place, replicating the strokes of tsuchi again and again until the space around them was filled with the single kigou.

Rubble and fragments of the floor swarmed toward Hidekazu. Masanori’s gaze was stuck on the light as it spiked toward them.

Hidekazu grabbed his shoulder and pulled him under the protective cover before the beam hit him.

Even in the darkness, the world exploded. Everything turned white, faded to purple, black, and then grey dust. The ray disintegrated the rock shield, throwing the twins into its clutches as the spell petered to purple sparks and died out.

When they looked up through the smoke, there was no fog around towering bookshelves. No hidden ceiling, just endless blue sky with patches of clouds and lingering smoke.

The entire library had been destroyed.

Masanori jumped to his feet, searching every which way, but there was no sign of Lacotl or the librarian.

“Damn it,” he said.

“Masanori! Hidekazu!” Kansai said from the remnants of the library’s entrance. She was followed by Barame and several other teachers that they hadn’t met yet. They all wore identical navy uniforms. “What’s going on here? Explain yourselves!”

Hidekazu turned to the others in a rage. “Explain ourselves? Lacotl just attacked the most defensible building in the city, and my brother was the only one here to fend him off. You ought to be ashamed! If Lacotl had wandered any longer, who knows what other damage he could have caused. What if he kidnapped someone else?”

“Actually...” Masanori cleared his throat. “He did take someone. The librarian, I assume.”

“Taniya,” Barame said. His face had gone pale and he shifted from one foot to the next. “She has been taken?”

“Yes, sir... we tried to stop him.”

There was a mutual pause. Hidekazu met Masanori’s gaze with wide eyes at first, then he looked away.

“He is getting bolder with his attacks. If he is not handled soon, he will become an issue,” Barame said.

“Lacotl is already a huge threat!” Hidekazu said, stepping toward Barame. “He has taken at least fifteen women and caused countless families hardship and distress! It is embarrassing that he has operated this long without punishment.”

One of the teachers, an older woman, lifted a hand toward Hidekazu. Energy bloomed at her fingertips. “I advise caution with your selection of words toward Headmaster Meki.”

“Quiet, Ashite,” Barame said. The woman’s ki quivered and disappeared. “Hidekazu Genshu is correct. It is deplorable how we have ignored Lacotl, letting pride and fear rule us. But that changes now.”

“Sir?” Kansai looked at him, as did the other teachers. Barame had already turned and started walking away.

“Clean up this mess. In the morning, we will offer all our aid to Captain Tonkotsu and organize a team to scout for Lacotl’s base. We are prepared to act on the Exalted Dragon Princess’ command.”

TWELVE

Hidekazu

HIDEKAZU’S arms buzzed with ki as he approached the tablet overlooking the Majyutsushi Arena. His staff was minimized and pressed into the folds of his kimono, but ever since he had let the tsukumogami live inside it, the weapon always felt like a stick of solid energy. It empowered him, made him feel more confident in ways it never had before.

And yet he was nervous now.

On the other side of the arena, Kira stood adjacent to a similar tablet. She pressed her hands to its surface, her eyes glowing white with the stone’s energy. Moments later, her replica appeared on the uppermost floor of sprawling marble slabs.

Today, the arena was split into three floors cut down the centre by a set of stairs, and the usual targets were gone. Interconnected holes and tunnels provided alternative routes between each layer, scattered and hidden throughout the arena. Crushed beams of metal and wood scattered the floors and blocked sections of the central stairs, providing potential cover for the upcoming fight.

She stood with her arms crossed, staring at him.

Hidekazu took a deep breath. I’ve done this hundreds of times now. Why should this be any different?

His fingertips touched the stone. The tablet’s connection to his ki was weak, like frayed strings unable to wind back together until Hidekazu pressed his hands firmly against the surface.

Jolts of electric power rushed through him, sending his mind into that strange white place. He blinked and found himself on the lowest floor of the arena, right in front of the stairs. Ki surged through his veins and every fragment of his being. It was as though the barrier between his body and ki had been erased.

Barame had said it was a testament to the power within Hidekazu. He stood overlooking the arena from a floating tatami mat far above the latticed walls where the rest of the spectators waited. Masanori was not among them; he was off training elsewhere.

Like I can believe anything he says when he refuses to answer my questions, Hidekazu thought.

He steadied his breathing, claimed his staff, returned it to its normal size, and then nodded to Barame.

This fight would make him look the fool. Everyone gathered there didn’t care about why Hidekazu was training, they were just there to watch Kira pummel him into the ground.

Hidekazu scanned the lowest floor, searching for a way up that wouldn’t leave him vulnerable. It would be suicide to use the stairs. Mostly obscured by shadows, there was a tunnel to his side that would at least get him to the second level.

“Begin!” Barame said. He dropped a red light into the arena.

It touched the ground and Kira disappeared.

Hidekazu dashed for cover beneath the second floor, set on the tunnel leading up. Since Kira had the high ground, it was unlikely she’d abandon it right away to pursue him. He would have the chance to close the distance between them, even if he couldn’t see her.

A glimmer moved through the air high above him. It could have been a trick of the light, but Hidekazu knew better.

His staff moved to summon a protective gale around him. Thick, green vines curled around a nearby chunk of stone, whipping toward him and getting sliced to bits on razor-sharp wind. The plants shrivelled and turned to brown muck when they hit the ground.

The shield disintegrated and Hidekazu kept running. He reached the tunnel, bounding up the steep incline to reach the second floor. More vines shot toward him, climbing up the shaft from behind and snapping at his feet. Hidekazu jumped and rolled away, knocking the air from his lungs as he landed.

Kira was nowhere in sight, but the earthy tendrils were still on his tail.

Wind coiled around him when he found his footing. He focused the energy into a shield, but this time, a simple barrier wouldn’t do; he needed something more.

The vines struck the whirlwind. Green goop spattered the stone walls and debris surrounding Hidekazu, but the shield devoured its raw ki and flared neon green. More plants exploded against it, but the shield held strong, twisting with each strand of new energy. It darkened to a navy blue, flaring like flames about to burst.

Hidekazu no longer needed to draw on his own power. The vines’ energy crackled at his fingertips and morphed into sparks of blue fire. It sprayed across the incoming tendrils, burning most of them to ash and dust, withering away the remainder to dried husks.

Applause echoed through the arena. And for a moment, Hidekazu grinned while he regained his breath. The fight was far from over, but the spell he’d used was one that was considered impressive by most standards.

The plant husks collapsed from their invisible anchor somewhere in the sky, hitting the stone structure to Hidekazu’s side. They latched onto the building, separating into hundreds of seed pods that sprouted along the walls, ceiling, and floor.

I’ve seen this before. He had made a grave error. Kira had used a similar trick in the fight he’d witnessed a few days ago.

The seedlings exploded with dozen more grasping vines per pod. Hundreds of them struck through the air toward him.

Hidekazu whirled around, desperately scanning the grey, undercover landscape for another tunnel or stairs to the highest floor. There was nothing in sight.

He cursed under his breath and summoned another shield, and blue flames blazed to life in time to disintegrate each vine as it reached him. Sparks flashed from the flames in search of the source, but the tendrils turned to dust before the electricity could find Kira.

The shield fell away when most of the vines died, and Hidekazu continued his search for the third floor. All around him the ash of the burned plants vibrated and lifted into the air, seeking each other out like lost puzzle pieces and solidifying into more seed pods.

Vines sprouted quicker this time, lashing at Hidekazu before he could create another barrier. A vine sliced his arm, tearing the sleeve of his haori.

Hidekazu hissed. The wound stung, but he didn’t have the chance to look at it. A tapestry of interconnected green spiralled toward him from all directions.

I’ll never win if I can’t find Kira. Having never encountered or read about stealth spells, he had no idea what to do. For all he knew, she could have been somewhere nearby.

He ran in search of a passage to the third floor, summoning more shields to block the onslaught of vines. They came so fast that Hidekazu never had the chance to attack, his heart almost leaping out of his chest each time his barriers appeared in time to cut another to shreds.

A knocking sound reverberated through the arena. Hidekazu froze, and the vines hesitated in their pursuit.

Barame’s voice echoed around them. “Hidekazu. This is not the time to show off your defensive capabilities. You are here to fight: so fight. Shields are now unusable in the arena.”

The shield around Hidekazu evaporated. Frantic and disbelieving, he redrew the kigou and nothing appeared despite the symbols tugging at his ki.

Green tendrils continued their pursuit. Hidekazu stood his ground, unable to flee without defence to fall back on. He summoned fire blades to cut at the coming plants, flames ricochetting between spiralling lengths of green and burning them to crisps.

It wasn’t enough.

One wrapped around his ankle and yanked. His chin slammed into the ground and pain zigzagged through his skull. Vines curled around his legs and arms, ripping his staff from his hands and suspending him midair. Hidekazu struggled against their grip, attempting to draw on the power inside him without his staff, but the energy would not leave his body. He didn’t have the training.

Hidekazu fell limp in the tendrils’ hold, admitting defeat.

Damn you, Barame. His jaw clenched with annoyance that Barame had taken away his only advantage.

A few feet away, a bright blue light shot out from his staff. It vaguely resembled the shape of a winged snake.

The shishajya. Hidekazu gasped despite the pain in his head.

The tsukumogami triggered a wave of blue fire that obliterated all of Kira’s vines. Hidekazu collapsed and hit his head against the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he was pulling his hands from the tablet. He staggered back, a dim memory of a headache lingering in the back of his skull for a second before disappearing.

“You’re pathetic.”

Kira stood next to Hidekazu. Though she was shorter than him, she held her chin high with an air of superiority. He wasn’t sure what to say to her.

“How are you planning to fight Lacotl if you can’t beat me?” she said.

“At least I’m trying,” Hidekazu said. He pointed to his chest. “Me, the one who’s been kept from fighting his whole life. Until last week, I was one of two people in this building who cared about stopping Lacotl.”

Kira’s eyes widened, but she didn’t move. Hidekazu continued: “Maybe you should stop worrying about who’s stronger and focus on taking down the majyu threatening the safety of the students in this damn school.”

He stormed away before she had the chance to respond. Even though he was fuming, it felt good to call her out.

And it felt even better to know the tsukumogami had somehow helped him.

THIRTEEN

Masanori

A windsweep knocked Masanori off his feet and sent him flying into a stone pillar. His spine jolted from the impact, but he barely felt the pain when he rose to his feet and charged Kansai again.

She swung her blade and met Masanori’s golden katana. Baring his teeth, he leaned all his weight into her, but she was much more skilled than he. The moment he pushed too hard, she spun her blade and hooked Masanori’s sword from his grip, tossing it aside.

It clattered to the ground behind him. He staggered back, the tapper warming against his chest, and he raised his arms to draw the kigou for a minor barrier. I’m done playing this game of yours, Kansai.

The lines came out wobbly and ineffective; Kansai’s sandal connected with his gut before he finished the first symbol.

He tumbled into a patch of blue and purple hydrangeas, groaning. Petals covered his aching body, the flowers looking down at him as if disappointed in Masanori’s lack of grace.

Kansai’s shadow loomed over him and the ruined plants. She crossed her arms instead of offering a hand.

“What’s the matter with you today?” she said.

A snarl twisted Masanori’s features. “Oh, I wonder.”

“Do not avoid the question.”

You’re one to talk about avoiding questions. Masanori bit back the remark. “You thought Hidekazu and I were responsible for the library’s destruction. You took one look at us and decided it was our fault instead of thinking maybe there was a reasonable explanation. Like, oh, you know, that kan’thir who’s been terrorizing Tsukiko for months?”

He paused, but Kansai’s expression didn’t change. “Even now, you doubt Headmaster Meki’s decision to trust us. After a week of beating me to the brink of death, you should know better; I’m physically incapable of that kind of destruction.”

Songbirds chirped from the branches of a nearby maple tree. Masanori took the opportunity to pull himself to his feet and dust himself off. Rage boiled through him in waves bordering uncontrollable; he struggled with the emotion, uncertain whether it was justified or not.

I did nothing to deserve this loss of trust.

“Your brother is another story.”

It was true that Kansai only knew Hidekazu in passing, but Masanori didn’t want to believe she had such a negative perception of him. “The library was half destroyed before Hidekazu arrived. He saved my life when I thought it forfeit.”

“No one else was there to corroborate that,” Kansai said. She sheathed her sword, the scraping sound startling the birds. They chirped and fluttered out of the courtyard.

“I’m sure Taniya would have loved it if someone else had been there to help her.”

“You are correct,” Kansai sighed. “I did believe you responsible. Is that what you want to hear? I believe Headmaster Meki made the wrong decision to become further involved in Lacotl’s pending capture.”

“Then why do you bother?” Masanori gestured to himself. “If that’s what you believe, training me is obviously a waste of time. Half my reason for doing this at all is because of Lacotl.”

“Training you is only a waste of time when you wallow in self-pity like this.” She made a sound of disgust and turned away, taking a few steps toward the centre of the courtyard. “There are many things you are not ready to know, Masanori, and this is one of them.”

“On the day we met, you said you thought our father was wrong to keep us from making our own choices about our future. What changed?”

“That was before I saw what your brother is capable of.” Kansai wrung her hand around the hilt of her katana. “You both should have died.”

But we didn’t. Masanori knew what Hidekazu had done was incredible; they had survived while the whole library was destroyed. Any master majyu could have done that, couldn’t they?

“Why does that make a difference?”

“Power like that—it comes at a price.”

Masanori recovered his sword and took a moment to steady his breathing. None of what Kansai was telling him made any sense. He was certain it had something to do with his family legacy, the secrets he and Hidekazu had been kept away from since their birth. But since he only had a few fragmented pieces of the whole story, talking to Kansai was like trying to grab a ghost and pull it back into life.

There was nothing for him to hold on to.

“Hidekazu will use his power for good. So will I,” Masanori said.

“You are fifteen. You want to be good. You think you are good. But a lot can change in a few years, Masanori, in that short span it takes for you to grow from a boy and into a man.” She gestured roughly in the direction of the library. “And you have a long way to go before you will convince anyone who does know the truth that you are any better than the creature you are after, or the future your father wishes to avoid.”

Masanori jerked away. Lacotl? How does this have anything to do with him?

“Maybe you should tell my father that the wise learn from history, not hide it so their children make the same mistakes.” He pointed at Kansai. “Maybe you should guide us away from what we could be, instead of fearing us and leaving us to prove you right.”

“Behaviour like this does not make your case any better,” Kansai said. She turned and sauntered from the courtyard.

How little does everyone think of us?

FOURTEEN

Hidekazu

FIVE days after Lacotl’s attack, Hidekazu and Masanori were pulled into Captain Tonkotsu’s office. He knelt at his desk filling out paperwork and did not immediately acknowledge their arrival. The golden crystal bobbed above the mahogany surface, and Hidekazu was still uncertain about the strange ki radiating from it.

“How goes your training?” Captain Tonkotsu said.

The twins shared a glance and shrugged. “Although we will not be the masters Princess Aihi expects upon her return, our progress has been swift,” Hidekazu said.

Since he started practicing in the Majyutsushi Arena, his fighting prowess had increased tenfold—an impressive feat, considering he only started with a bit of knowledge he gathered from books.

But Hidekazu’s exhaustion was starting to show; he needed a day of rest—there was no getting around it.

Masanori bowed. “As for the hunt… any sign of Lacotl?”

“We believe we have located him.” Captain Tonkotsu motioned for them to sit. “If it is the right place, he is uncomfortably close to Tsukiko.”

“Still unconfirmed?” Hidekazu said, fidgeting with his hands.

“We only received word this morning; we need more information before we act. As of now, the location is under constant surveillance while additional scouts search for other potential hideouts.”

“We will be ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” Masanori said.

Captain Tonkotsu nodded his approval. “I sent a messenger to notify the Exalted Dragon Princess of our plans and requested her return to Tsukiko as soon as her schedule permits. We will attack once the location is verified.” He shifted some papers on his desk. “Your training has only persisted for a week and a half, but I hope it will be enough. We cannot afford to waste any more time.”

With less than two weeks at the Academy, Hidekazu was uncertain of his abilities. But I don’t need to be strong enough to defeat Lacotl on my own. Masa will be with me, as will Aihi, and some of Seiryuu’s strongest bushi.

Plus, there was the tsukumogami. It had already helped him in the fight against Kira, even if it hadn’t changed the outcome. Hidekazu wanted to believe it would help him again if necessary. I’m not going to risk my life on that, though.

“One more thing.” Captain Tonkotsu cleared his throat. “It appears you made an impression on the instructors of the Academy. Last night, I spoke to Headmaster Meki, and he asked me to extend a formal invitation for you both to attend the Academy in the fall.”

“I am at a loss for words, Captain,” Hidekazu said, a lightness rising in his chest. But while his elation grew, he was confused. Why didn’t Barame tell me himself?

Hidekazu bowed at the waist. “As much as I would love to accept the offer, it would be wiser for us to make a decision after Lacotl has been dealt with.”

“Take your time. Your spots are reserved until you decide,” Captain Tonkotsu said.

The brothers left Captain Tonkotsu’s office light on their feet at the prospect of returning to the Academy. Attending full-time was undoubtedly a prestigious opportunity. It would ensure Hidekazu’s success in the Majyutsushi Exams, and Masanori would master multiple weapons before graduation.

They’d barely made it out of the guard’s barracks before Hidekazu’s chest grew heavy with the worry of the implications of it. The practice and study regime of the Academy was legendary for its brutality, and they had only had a taste of it. There would be absolutely no time to do anything else, and they’d be stuck in Tsukiko for at least a year, probably more.

I’ve got an advantage going in with near-mastery of utility and defensive ki, but even the schedule Father set for me allows a measure of freedom.

Hidekazu stared at the cobbled path and his feet as he and Masanori walked toward the Academy. It felt as though all of his choices had been taken from him. Either by his father’s demands or Aihi’s request: he would become a bushi.

He wanted to become a bushi. But the price tag attached to either route was unfavourable.

By all accounts, giving up his freedom for two years wasn’t a bad deal. Once Masanori and Hidekazu graduated, they were basically set for life. Still, that didn’t change how his ideal was to travel for a few years, learning from masters across the continent.

Masanori’s opinion was more important in this case. They stuck together no matter what. If he wanted to stay and attend the Academy, Hidekazu would find a way to make it work.

The wisteria, cedar, and bamboo boundaries of the school grounds came into view. Hidekazu breathed in the pleasant aroma, allowing it to calm his mind.

Despite all his worries about the Academy and becoming a bushi, there was a more pressing concern: Lacotl. Even if they attended the Academy full time and Aihi succeeded in appointing them as her hime-bushi, that could all disappear in an instant.

Lacotl’s been terrorizing Tsukiko for months. He’s had at least a dozen victims, none who’ve been seen again. Taniya has been gone for five days. By the time we find Lacotl, what are her chances?

Hidekazu didn’t want to consider what might have already happened to Torra and Lacotl’s other victims. Despair would take him if he did. If this is how I feel, Aihi must be mad with worry. His heart ached for her; Torra was her closest companion besides Hidekazu and Masanori.

They had almost reached the Academy’s main building when Masanori diverted his path and went deeper into the gardens, toward the nearest courtyard.

Where are we going? Hidekazu slowed as they approached a narrow trail.

“We should duel,” Masanori said. “It might be nice to show each other what we’ve learned before we face our inevitable demise at Lacotl’s hand.”

“You shouldn’t joke about that, brother,” Hidekazu said, despite his growing excitement. They hadn’t fought since they’d started training at the Academy. “Your demise is inevitable, not mine.”

They approached a little creek that disturbed the path, but half of a massive oak log acted as a bridge across. Before stepping onto it, Masanori laughed and turned to playfully punch Hidekazu’s shoulder. “Two days. We’ll be fine, right?” Masanori balanced on the log, his sandals squishing into the damp wood. “I heard you can practice with the tablet now. What was the problem?”

Behind him, Hidekazu shut his eyes. It had only been a matter of time before Masanori asked.

“It was as you thought. Kansai and Barame found an engineer to adjust the power settings, allowing it to transfer more ki,” Hidekazu said. He played the long. “That’s what they told me, at least.” He hesitated, knowing Masanori wouldn’t accept such a clean solution. “I imagine there’s more to it.”

“Seems a little fishy.”

Hidekazu jumped off the log. The thickets of bamboo parted to reveal the courtyard of blue stone. Different shades swirled together to shape a dragon curled around the Academy’s emblem at the centre in place of a statue.

“I’m just glad I can use it—training would be a lot slower otherwise,” Hidekazu said.

The lie tasted bitter, but he took solace in knowing it wouldn’t last forever. As soon as I find an explanation for the tsukumogami, I’ll tell him. But if I’m not quick, I risk the little yōkai revealing the truth first.

Masanori shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay in the dark about these things. But, honestly, we’ve got enough to worry about.”

“Lacotl is the priority. And training.”

The sapphire light of Hidekazu’s staff darkened as he continued to the other side of the courtyard. Within it, the spirit roused as if it had heard his worries, but it only observed, its presence flickering with the blue ki at the head of Hidekazu’s staff.

Masanori moved into an offensive stance, his katana pointed at Hidekazu; who responded with his staff, ready to draw a defensive kigou.

“Why didn’t you say anything about the Headmaster’s offer?” Masanori said.

Hidekazu’s mood soured in an instant. “He didn’t tell me.”

Masanori held out a hand, and after a moment, dropped it to signal the beginning of the fight.

He dashed forward. Hidekazu drew kaze in response, and the light breeze trickling through the courtyard strengthened and whooshed around them. Green energy flashed through the wind and slowed Masanori’s advance.

Emerald ki solidified into blades that sliced through the air when Hidekazu finished the kigou for cutting. Masanori cut two of the blades in half with his sword, but one skimmed his arm, tearing his uniform, but not stunning him as Hidekazu had hoped.

Hidekazu still wasn’t sure what he thought about attending the Academy full-time. There were downsides to the arrangement, but it was difficult to ignore the guaranteed opportunity to train under masters of ki, which might not be possible if he travelled and sought out individual teachers.

Attending the Academy might help me solve some problems, like my predicament with Aihi, but everything else...

Masanori cleared most of the distance between them and sliced at Hidekazu. His staff rose to block last second, and the barrier protecting the wood flared, keeping the katana from chopping it to pieces.

Earthen spikes cracked along Masanori’s feet and he withdrew, spun beneath Hidekazu’s staff and around him, attacking again from behind.

Wind solidified into a shield and stopped Masanori’s blade. The force of it knocked him back.

More wind knives solidified from green energy and flew behind Hidekazu toward Masanori. One hit Masanori’s arm, shocking him with electric bolts and sending him rolling across the courtyard.

Hidekazu was victorious in their first duel.

He stopped and supported his weight on his staff to catch his breath. Fighting Masa is much more satisfying than fighting Kira. He had always wanted to have a proper fight with a majyu other than Aihi, but Kira hadn’t been a respectful opponent.

“You’ve come far. I’ll have to work hard to keep up,” Masanori said, picking himself up from the ground. He dusted off his hakama and inspected his torn sleeve.

Hidekazu couldn’t ignore how his ki gave a massive advantage over Masanori, but he was impressed with his attitude. Even without ki, Masanori had put up quite the fight, and his skills with a blade had improved significantly since they’d come to the Academy.

“Kansai has taught you well,” Hidekazu said.

Masanori scowled. “Yeah, but I don’t think she’ll be teaching me anymore. We had a disagreement.”

“But there are two days left. What could have been bad enough to jeopardize that?”

“She knows something about our family history but couldn’t say anything. It’s a spellbound secret,” Masanori said. He fidgeted, scuffing his sandals against the stone.

Barame knows something, too. Can neither of them tell us because of the secrecy spell?

If that were the case, then it made sense why Barame had been vague before. Hidekazu felt a little guilty about being annoyed, but Barame still could have said something.

For now, it seemed as though they would have to find another way to learn more about their family. If Barame and Kansai can’t say anything, it’s safe to assume none of the other professors can. And if our parents won’t tell us anything... who else can we turn to?

Hidekazu’s eyes widened. The library. After seeing how huge it was the two times he’d gone there, it must have something that might tell them more about their family history.

But its size would work against him, too. Finding the right information in that massive space would be near impossible without help, otherwise, he’d spend years wandering aimlessly.

There was no time to dig into the dregs of the library, either. Aihi would arrive soon, and they would leave when Lacotl’s position was confirmed.

“So? About the offer?” Masanori said, breaking Hidekazu from his thoughts.

The breeze had died away, and Hidekazu ran his fingers through his hair to stop it from standing on end. He said the first thing that came to mind that had nothing to do with the Academy: “You might be better off fighting with a naginata. The katana lacks reach, which might further hinder you without ki.”

Masanori touched his thumb to his lip, hiding a wry smile. “I like the suggestion, but that’s not enough to get you out of making this decision with me.”

A pause. Some sparrows twittered nearby, swooping between the bamboo skirting the courtyard. “Right. Well. I think it’s our best chance at overcoming the challenges of learning combative techniques later than most students…”

“...but?”

“I’m not sure how I feel about being stuck here for a few years,” Hidekazu said.

He had been planning, upon his and Masanori’s sixteenth birthdays, to request a trip to the Tajida capital, Najadu. The city was said to have the best majyu library in all Shimensoka, and Hidekazu was determined to visit it.

After explaining this, Masanori nodded thoughtfully. “That trip would be impossible if we accept the offer. But there’s no guarantee Father would ever agree to let us go to Tajida in the first place.”

“He would have to. It’s the least he could do when he intends to steal the rest of my life.”

Masanori’s eyebrows raised, but he didn’t ask the obvious question. Not that Hidekazu would have answered.

“Regardless, if we attend the Academy, we’ll come out stronger. We could explore the world with just the two of us.”

“I know you’re right, but...” Hidekazu sighed and watched a pair of beetles crawl up a nearby bamboo stalk. “If we go to the Academy, even if we graduate in the next two years, we’ll lose our opportunity.”

“Why do you say that? It might not take that long. For you, at least.”

“I think Father and Aihi would insist we begin working right away. And I doubt there’s the option to refuse,” he said.

He left unsaid everything about his situation with Aihi, which he found more troubling than the work itself.

“Aihi would be our boss. We could always ask for a vacation. Or, she might come with us.” Masanori readied a defensive stance. “Come on, let’s go again.”

Hidekazu faked an amused laugh at the idea, when really, his gut twisted. A month ago, he would have loved the prospect of going on an adventure with Masanori and Aihi. But now…

He steeled himself for another fight. As soon as Aihi returns, we’ll talk. It won’t be a problem. We’ll laugh at my stupidity and move on.

The brothers spent the rest of the day duelling, burning away their extra energy and forcing their anxieties away.

FIFTEEN

Masanori

A flurry of raps on the inn door had Masanori and Hidekazu rolling over on their respective futons, still half-asleep. They shared a stare from across the room.

Masanori rubbed his eyes and walked toward the door. Who could it be at this hour? The knocking came quicker. A feminine voice sounded from the other side, but he couldn’t understand a word.

He opened the sliding door to a young woman about his build, but several inches taller. It took him a long, sleepy moment to realize it was Aihi. Two days had passed already—seems she found the time to come back to Tsukiko, after all.

She was dressed in a chestnut wool cloak and slim riding pants rather than her signature hakama and armoured kimono. The shadows under her eyes and the lack of powders and other beauty products made her appear older.

“Aihi,” Masanori breathed, taking in the sight of her. “I wasn’t expecting—”

She pushed past him, her fists clenched at her sides. Her glare dug into Hidekazu. “Why did you not tell me?”

Hidekazu appeared feverish, sweat clinging to his skin “I tried before you left—”

“To save yourself! Why not earlier? Months ago, when the plan was hatched?”

Masanori watched from the sidelines; he didn’t dare interrupt. What in Shirashi’s name happened? I’ve never seen her so worked up before. It’s definitely not something about Lacotl or Torra.

“I was unsure how to bring it up. What to say. And…” Hidekazu ran a hand through his hair, the movement barely visible in the room’s darkness.

“Do not tell me it is what you want?” Aihi sounded confused, but her fists trembled.

“You’re my damned sister! I never thought about you that way until my father brought it up! I didn’t know what to do.”

Hidekazu and Aihi seemed to forget about Masanori’s existence. I should leave them alone. This wasn’t meant for me to hear.

The sliding door’s cedar panels scraped against each other in a loud cacophony. Aihi whirled around, seething. “You are going nowhere, Masanori.” She bared her teeth. “Did you know anything of this? Planned to make me a fool, did you?”

Masanori thrust his hands together and bowed. “I-I know nothing, I only thought this was private—”

“He didn’t know, Aihi. I didn’t know what to tell him, either,” Hidekazu said. He looked straight at Aihi now, a shadow of despair looming over his face.

She glared at Masanori again, but her narrowed eyes softened with her waning anger. Finally, she refocused on Hidekazu, calmer than before.

“And now? Months later, how do you feel?”

“At first, I said nothing because it was an opportunity. Father told me I needed to become a bushi.” He clasped his hands together to tame trembling arms. “Then I was afraid. For a while, I thought I felt something. And when Lacotl attacked… I realized that was not it at all. I just need the power to defend my family. You and Masanori.”

As Aihi relaxed at Hidekazu’s response, Masanori realized what had happened. Years ago, he’d overheard his mother and father discussing a possible arranged marriage between Hidekazu and Aihi. And from the scene unfolding before him, at some point, their parents had tried to go through with it.

It never would have worked for the simple reason that Hidekazu and Aihi considered each other brother and sister.

Masanori almost laughed. This is what Hide’s been all worked up about? There was never anything to worry about.

“Good.” Aihi straightened. “It is settled; I will make sure our parents understand our position.”

Hidekazu closed the gap between them and embraced her. From the other side of the room, Masanori couldn’t help but smile, knowing it all could have been avoided.

“If that is everything, I would love to get a couple more hours of sleep…” Masanori faked a yawn.

“I am afraid not.” Aihi seated herself on one of the cushions next to the fireplace. She reached for the kindling, flames erupting from the wood without her drawing a single stroke.

“Lacotl has been found.”

Hidekazu and Masanori shared a look. There’s more to it, else she wouldn’t insist we sit and talk about it… Masanori thought.

“What else?” Hidekazu said.

Firelight flickered eerily through the room, illuminating Aihi’s solemn face. “Three scouts dead; they went too close. He knows we are coming.”

“He would have already anticipated our arrival, I think.”

Aihi shook her head. “I believe he was too arrogant to think we would ever find him.”

“The fight would have been difficult regardless, but now that he knows for sure...” Masanori said, rubbing his chin, where flecks of stubble were starting to grow.

“Captain Tonkotsu believes we should pull back and wait.”

Hidekazu nodded slowly. “He’s not wrong. We’ve lost our advantage... but we can’t ignore his victims.”

“I cannot stand the idea of leaving Torra with that monster any longer.” Aihi’s fists were wrapped in her cloak, wringing the thick fabric. “And I doubt we will find a better opportunity.”

His victims aside, Lacotl must know he would not escape an organized attack. If they gave him the chance, he would relocate, taking all those women, including Taniya and Torra, with him—if he left them alive at all.

They’d have to start the hunt all over and it was possible he’d disappear for good. But it was unlikely he would stop seeking prey.

Yet, cornering him in his lair when he knew they were coming was inviting disaster. Aihi had the manpower to defeat one majyu, but at what cost? How many more lives are worth losing to take Lacotl’s? Death is inevitable, and at Aihi’s command, her bushi will charge in without question.

It couldn’t be an easy decision for her. To risk losing Torra and all those other women for good, or jeopardizing the lives of the honourable royal bushi, many whom she would have known since birth. As much as she wanted to eliminate Lacotl, the bushi were also part of her family. She wouldn’t ask them to sacrifice themselves unless it was necessary.

No wonder she looked dreadful.

Masanori’s head spun. How do I comfort her?

“Withdrawing and waiting might be easier, but the cost will be high no matter what you choose. You need to decide which price you are willing to pay,” he said. The corners of Aihi’s eyes bloomed with tears.

“Would you rather sacrifice innocent lives or bushi who have sworn to defend others? If we hold back now, we might find Lacotl again under better conditions. But everyone under your command has pledged themselves to your family, to defend Seiryuu. And it is undeniable that without sacrifice—if Lacotl remains unchallenged—the death toll will rise until he has taken more than we ever imagined. That is evidenced enough by the most recent kidnapping... he will not stop until we make him,” Masanori said.

Aihi rested her forehead in her palms. “It is not right of me to make that decision,” she said. Her hair was a tangled mess against her cheeks. “My intentions are not entirely selfless.”

Torra. An ache expanded in Masanori’s chest. “It’s not entirely selfish, either. It’s not just about Torra. Many others were taken, too.”

“I would persuade you not to listen to your inner doubt,” Hidekazu said. He rubbed Aihi’s shoulder, but it didn’t seem to do her much good. “We know you are capable of weighing your options: we have seen you do it a thousand times before. Personal stakes change nothing; this is yet another challenge you must face and overcome. I know you will make the best of whatever happens.”

Several fat tears streamed down Aihi’s cheeks when she blinked. They glistened in the firelight, making them almost appear like liquid silver.

Masanori had never seen Aihi cry.

Even as a child, when she hurt herself learning how to use a sword or wrestling, she never shed a tear. She had always been one of the toughest people Masanori knew; it was almost impossible for him to look at her in front of him, vulnerable and crying, and process how the strength she always showed took its toll on her as a person.

Although Aihi’s personal affairs must have made the mission a burden, the task at hand also had to be overwhelming.

Militaristic decisions were left to Aihi’s mother, the Shōgun. But since military control over Tsukiko had been passed to Aihi when she turned seventeen earlier that year, Aihi was expected to act on that power, not wait for orders.

This was her first time commanding bushi into battle.

“You are right,” she said, nodding. A flicker of resolve reappeared in her expression. “I have been foolish.”

She pursed her lips and wiped away any evidence of her tears. With her eyes and cheeks dry, she appeared almost emotionless, like she had pushed all emotions out of her being.

“What will you do?” he said.

Aihi spent a moment warming her hands against the fire. “The time to remove Lacotl from our minds is now. Whatever the consequences of that decision may be, I will bear them.”

Though her expression was grim, she appeared resolute. I hope she is truly ready. Regardless of what happens, Hide and I will always support her.

Hidekazu lowered his gaze, his shoulders slumped. Just looking at him made the weight of Aihi’s decision feel like Masanori could fall to his knees at any moment.

Not only were the lives of a dozen bushi on the line, but theirs as well. They might not survive the day. But like Aihi, Masanori raised his chin high. He would do whatever was necessary; his life was inconsequential in the grand scheme of the world.

I will make the best of my life and death.

“Let us go. We must prepare,” Aihi said. She left the room, Masanori and Hidekazu right behind her.

SIXTEEN

Hidekazu

THEY waited in a grove near a cliff face that fell into the Kin Sea. Golden waves crashed against the jagged edge which stooped behind the bluffs, forming the path toward the hidden back entrance to Lacotl’s lair.

It was only a couple miles east of Hidekazu, Masanori, and Aihi’s getaway spot; the shadow of the massive cherry blossom tree swayed far in the distance.

The twins flanked Aihi on horseback and overlooked the attack squad hidden throughout the surrounding hills dotted with trees. They were set to cut off Lacotl if he decided to flee through the back when the others entered through the front.

It’s unlikely he will run right away. Seems to me like he’d be more interested in killing more people first, Hidekazu thought.

From their vantage point, the massive cave entrance out as a black welt on a landscape of lush green. Twisted stalagmites and stalactites rose and fell within like the maw of an oni or another vicious, fanged demon. The hideout itself was within a network of tunnels extending from the ocean and through the rocky hills northeast of Tsukiko’s city limits.

They plan to keep us away from the fight as long as possible. Hidekazu couldn’t argue against the logic; he and Masanori were neither bushi nor skilled enough for a real battle, and Aihi could not risk herself on the front lines.

Despite all their preparation, it was possible that Lacotl would simply disappear, as he had many times before. Aihi was intent on making that as difficult as possible, however, and had one of the Shōgun’s most trusted bushi enchant the area so that teleportation spells would be near impossible to use.

The sun began to fall beyond the horizon and waves of purple and pink light filtered across the sky and clouds. With it went the sun’s warmth, but sweat clung to Hidekazu’s palms all the same. He wiped them on the hem of his cloak, twining his fingers in the fabric to quell his nervousness.

Tonight, they would find if they had learned enough.

Aihi gauged the horizon and the progression of the sun’s descent until Captain Tonkotsu approached on his horse.

“Are you ready to proceed?” he said.

When she nodded, Captain Tonkotsu signalled to the troops lying in wait. They appeared as nothing more than shadowy patches of grass as they slunk toward the cave entrance. Ten bushi and ten of the Tsukiko guards in all, each disappearing inside one by one.

Aihi faced Hidekazu and Masanori. “I hope you have no reservations,” she said.

“It is time to eliminate Lacotl for good,” Hidekazu said.

Masanori nodded. “The Goddess will not suffer such a creature to prey on her people any longer. We will not fail.”

“Let us finish this.” Despite everything, Aihi smiled.

They dismounted, left their horses hidden in the trees, and Hidekazu replicated the stealth spell the other bushi and warriors had been using. He tried not to think about how it was similar, but not the same, as what he’d seen Kira using in the Majyutsushi Arena.

Keeping low to the ground, they navigated the goat trail leading to the side of the cliffs. The rhythmic crashing of golden water across the grey-blue stone grew louder with their descent, masking all other sounds. Salty mist stung Hidekazu’s nostrils and dampened his cloak, but he kept his back against the cliffs and his gaze up so as not to see their height above the sea.

He strained his senses for any indication they weren’t alone. No sign of Lacotl or any yōkai. Strange.

The path widened after a sharp turn, opening toward another cave entrance. Aihi signalled toward it with two curled fingers, and Hidekazu went first, casting a spell to detect traps. A dull, blue light pulsed from his staff’s head, beating against the rocks and reflecting toward him.

All three scouts that had died when they first found the cavern had walked into traps. The whole area had been rigged with them: explosives, poisons, demon lures, and sadistic, mundane traps that pinned a majyu in place until they bled out.

Most had been disabled since—all, I hope, but I’m not about to leave my life to chance.

Stepping toward the cave, Hidekazu held his staff high to maintain the spell. The glow illuminated only their immediate surroundings, but this entrance was narrow, and there was not much more than stone walls, pebbles, and assorted fish and small animal bones littering the ground. A musky, underground scent assaulted him and he wrinkled his nose.

If any traps remained, Hidekazu was sure to find them.

They walked slow, careful not to scuff their feet. Stealth was not imperative, but they did not need any unnecessary attention. Trickling water echoed from somewhere further down the tunnel, compounding with the crashing waves outside.

A faint pulse of ki from somewhere within the interconnected tunnels brushed against Hidekazu’s body. It didn’t share the eerie darkness of Lacotl, but it was still strange enough to make him pause.

It could be anything; maybe Captain Tonkotsu found Lacotl. But… I think it’s something else.

Aihi touched his shoulder. “Did you sense a trap?”

He shook his head and continued forward, the unusual ki hanging in the back of his awareness. It was still far away, but it grew in intensity the further they went, like a tap, tap, tap against the back of his skull with increasing weight.

The tunnel widened into a grotto with a pool of dark water in the centre. A steady but slow drip of water fell into the centre, permanently disturbing the surface with tiny ripples. There was no room to move along the edge because of crumbled stone and sharp-looking stalagmites.

Hidekazu knelt next to the pool and peered through the surface. The water was clear and shallow enough for him to see the bottom a few inches below, and his spell didn’t detect any traps within.

Crossing to the other side wouldn’t be a problem, but the path split in two directions. Hidekazu turned to ask Masanori and Aihi which way they should try but stopped halfway through the motion.

A surge of ki pulsed through the tunnels. The warmth of fiery spells and electric bolts surged against his skin, but the heat was tempered by soothing waves of ice water right after.

Vile strings of energy caressed the outskirts of each wavelength. They’ve found Lacotl. The hair on Hidekazu’s arms stood on end at the eager, intrusive energies that scratched at the surface of his ki.

Aihi crept toward him. “We need to get over there.” She stepped into the water, disturbing the gentle ripples with violent splashes and moving toward the path that branched in the direction of the fight. Hidekazu grabbed her shoulder.

“We can’t,” he said. Aihi scowled at him as if he was insane. “There’s something the other way. I don’t know what, but it’s important. We need to find it.”

She hesitated but nodded. “We need to be quick—this could be our only chance at Lacotl. You’ve got to remember that.”

Hidekazu’s chest tightened, but he shoved away his self-doubt. The ki from the other passage drew him forward, and he followed, trusting his instincts.

The concentrated ki thickened in the air, the energy that was once a subtle tap in the back of his skull morphing into a constant pounding. It was so intense that Hidekazu almost stopped perceiving his surroundings, feeling only the draw of the mysterious power.

His staff throbbed beneath his fingertips and drew Hidekazu back to his senses. The tsukumogami in his staff had stirred in reaction to the ki, but it hovered within the weapon and did not manifest itself.

Sweat clung to Hidekazu’s skin and his feet were soaked. His breaths came slow and shallow from the strain of resisting the ki’s pull, but focusing on his discomfort made it easier to remain focused.

“Do you feel that?” he croaked, forcing out the words. Aihi shrugged and Masanori shook his head.

The tunnel curved, thinning so only one of them could fit at a time. Hidekazu blinked sweat out of his eyes, missing the crimson line marking the floor right before the tunnel opened into another cavern. He almost stepped over it, but managed to withdraw his foot in time to save himself.

A trap.

He flicked his staff in its direction, detecting the energy attached to it. A frown creased his lips when he found that it wasn’t meant to harm anyone, rather, it would just warn the owner of their presence. Why wouldn’t Lacotl kill anyone who enters through here?

Hidekazu cancelled the enchantment and drew the kigou for light instead. From the tip of his staff, he thrust a glowing orb into the cavern.

Black and purple crystals shimmered along the ceiling, but the entire room was empty save for a dais in the centre. A silvery blue light pulsed from the top, but they couldn’t see what it was from the entrance.

Whatever it was, it was responsible for the powerful ki barrelling against Hidekazu’s defences, almost driving him to insanity. If he hadn’t been resisting ever since the tsukumogami woke up, he might have disregarded the danger of alerting Lacotl and run straight for it.

“If we pass this point, Lacotl will know we’re here,” Hidekazu said.

Turning to Aihi, he froze when he noticed her blank-eyed stare. It shifted into something frantic and crazed, and she pushed past Hidekazu toward the trap. Masanori grabbed for her, but she slipped free of his grasp.

“Wait!” Masanori hissed, but Aihi crossed the line and raced toward the pedestal.

Hidekazu pursued her and, in his panic, stopped fighting the light’s pull. He ran toward it half out of mad fervour, half to stop her from getting herself killed.

She stopped in front of the platform, not resisting when Hidekazu grabbed her arm.

An icy blue gemstone rested on the dais encased in frost. Its facets were layered with multiple shades of blue, speckled with streams of silver, almost like a translucent iris. A frothy white mist drifted from it.

“What is it?” Hidekazu said, his eyes following each flicker of movement.

“A Dragon’s Eye...” she said, reaching for it.

A flash of purple beamed from across the cavern.

Hidekazu reacted quickly, drawing mizu and creating a shield of water from a nearby trickle. Thin streams crisscrossed in front of them but died the instant it was touched by the malevolent ki. The water and purple light sputtered out and disappeared.

Aihi pocketed the gem and jumped away from the pedestal.

“Oh dear, my friends, why steal from me?” Lacotl said, surrounded by dying mauve light which illuminated his ram-skull mask. Both horns were chipped. He held up his staff, the bleeding eye blinking. “You desire death, yes? Early it will be, you know, if you do not return what is mine... ”

“This does not belong to you, thief,” Aihi said. She and Masanori drew their katanas.

This is it. Us versus Lacotl, the bushi and guardsmen left behind. Hidekazu prayed to Shirashi that their brief training was enough for them to prevail.

Purple flashed.

Hidekazu drew a string of protective kigou. A reinforced barrier of rock and water lifted to defend them against Lacotl’s barrage of violet needles. The kan’thir anticipated this and launched a secondary attack behind them, where Hidekazu’s shield didn’t reach.

Water spread behind them, but not fast enough. They scattered to avoid the violet energy.

Masanori dashed to stab Lacotl, but his sword’s first strike was deflected the kan’thir’s invisible barrier. The blow knocked Masanori a few feet away, and a trace of turquoise energy wrapped around his body, a minor spell that kept him on his feet.

Whips of electrified water extended from the walls, pulling from the streams trickling underground. Aihi directed the thrashing energy around Hidekazu and Masanori with her katana, the water swooping toward Lacotl and dividing itself into delicate spirals.

They were met with near-identical tendrils of dark energy. Purple currents coiled around Aihi’s water, pulsing with violet rings that wrapped around and crushed the vibrant swatches of blue. Their power evaporated and reverted to millions of droplets that rained over Hidekazu and Masanori.

Not so fast, Lacotl. Spinning his staff in an arc around him, Hidekazu drew ki from within himself and took control of the water as it fell.

Meanwhile, Masanori regained his bearings and ran at full speed with his katana ready to make another attempt at Lacotl’s head. Lacotl cackled and jabbed his staff toward Masanori. What had been droplets of blood turned into splashes and waves of the crimson liquid, steam rolling off it in hot bursts as it spattered toward Masanori.

The blood of the people he’s killed? Hidekazu thought. It was a wild guess, but something about its wrongness gave him the idea.

The water he’d collected from Aihi’s failed spell twisted through the cavern around them, ready for his next command. He would ask it for help, not demand its power.

Masanori leaned away from the blood and it landed in the space between him and Lacotl. Black cherry blossoms burst from the puddles, blooming into large buds. Steam rose from them, their copper scent almost overwhelming the stench of corrupted ki. He moved to jump over them and have another go at Lacotl.

The floating water churned and combined into one solid force. Hidekazu directed it to Masanori’s feet, forming a bridge over the flowers. Something tells me we don’t want to touch those things.

Vibrant blue water splashed beneath Masanori’s sandals, guiding him toward the kan’thir. He slashed at Lacotl’s invisible barrier again, this time meeting the shield and not bouncing back. It flared purple and black with the pressure of Masanori’s sword, little wisps of energy flying everywhere in hot flashes, but he wasn’t breaking through.

Lacotl touched the tip of his eye staff to the barrier between him and Masanori. Clusters of corrupted ki circled him, recombining with the shield, solidifying it into translucent purple. The shield didn’t weaken despite Masanori slamming his golden blade into it again and again, it didn’t budge.

The sword’s enchantments weren’t enough to break it.

Beneath Masanori and the flowing water, the flowers began to grow. Hidekazu directed the current to rise and increase its speed to keep the flowers at bay. Vines of purple and black reached from their petals, cutting through the water in search of Masanori’s feet.

Behind them, Aihi recovered and ripped crystals from the ceiling. Ki sharpened their edges, glinting like silver bullets as she sent them flying at the black flowers. They collided with petals beneath the water, exploding crystals and flowers in tufts of purple static.

Lacotl and Aihi wrestled over control of the new electric power, but its pull was skewed toward Lacotl because of its corruption. Flashes of purple electricity zipped through the water, zapping Masanori’s legs. For a moment, it seemed like Masanori would topple over, and his blade faltered.

Water spurted up Masanori’s back at Hidekazu’s bequest. It wrapped around him and Lacotl, supporting Masanori as he continued to hack away at the kan’thir’s shield.

Lacotl cried out and turned in his barrier to flee, but the orb of spinning water trapped him with Masanori.

The tsukumogami’s presence thrummed through Hidekazu’s staff. All of the energy he had stored in the weapon flooded into him, and with the yōkai ‘s help, they directed it into Masanori and his sword.

He sliced the barrier one last time. Its light flickered and dulled.

And then shattered.

You’re not going anywhere this time, Lacotl.

Lacotl collapsed against the wall of water, scrambling away from Masanori’s sword, but there was nowhere for him to go. The sword struck the kan’thir’s chest.

He shrieked.

The water surrounding him and Masanori vibrated with the intensity of the noise, its brightness fading. Blue waves shook and flashed purple as its ki was drained and absorbed by Lacotl.

Masanori wobbled over the faltering bridge, toppling off the side rather than touch the black flowers beneath. He hit the cavern floor with a pained grunt, rolling with his momentum and struggling to get back on his feet.

He and Hidekazu held their weapons out toward the kan’thir as he struggled to get to his feet. Lacotl clutched the wound on his chest, his hands coming away smeared with blood.

Aihi dashed to keep him from getting up, but he was not defeated.

He roared and met her sword with his staff. A fluorescent pink shockwave shuddered through the room, knocking Aihi, Masanori, and Hidekazu prone. The light persisted, trapping them against the ground while Lacotl found his footing.

“No more time for play, sillies...” he said, glaring down at them.

The eyes of Lacotl’s goat-skull mask glowed burgundy. Black cherry blossoms sprouted from the pink energy at his feet, blooming in unorganized lines toward Aihi and Masanori. Some of the flowers grew suspended midair, hovering along strips of quivering pink.

“Little Princess, oh, making me hurt you, so soon, when we have only just met...” Lacotl said. He raised his staff, pointing it at Aihi. More blood leaked from the eye and fed the constant stream of flowers.

The blossoms sprouted quicker, reaching Aihi first. They surrounded her, creeping close as she tried to crawl away. A flower popped up between her ankles, brushing her legs.

She screamed.

Her irezumi flashed with their crimson light under her kimono, flooding over her in response to the flower’s touch. Veins of purple light spread across Aihi’s skin, battling against the protection of her royal tattoos while she writhed on the cavern floor in agony.

Energy buzzed along the staff in Hidekazu’s grip. He pointed the sapphire head at Lacotl, the tsukumogami tugging at him from within. With its help, he fired a storm-blue ray of light toward Aihi, destroying the blossoms closest to her.

Translucent wings of ki fluttered from Hidekazu’s back. The tsukumogami’s serpentine form curled around him, making his entire being glow with its blue, ethereal light. His perception of self almost evaporated within the power, almost like how he had lost himself in the pull of the Dragon’s Eye. Hidekazu cocooned himself in his own ki within the depths of the yōkai’s energy, keeping himself separate.

Allow me, Hidekazu-sama. The tsukumogami’s voice echoed in Hidekazu’s head.

Lacotl jumped into the shadows of the cave walls at the sight of the creature.

Hidekazu and the yōkai’s energies mingled. He detected no malicious intent in the creature, and so he gave it full control over his body.

“Kuro Hana-san ... nani o shimasu ka?” the lizard said through Hikdazu’s mouth, using a tongue Hidekazu barely recognized as the Old Language. They stared into the shadows where the kan’thir hid. “Netekudasai.”

His elderwood staff swayed in front of him and the sleep kigou appeared, stroke by stroke in dark blue ink. It zapped through the darkness and hit Lacotl, forcing the majyu to his knees.

The light faded and Lacotl toppled over, his staff clattering to the ground, causing the surviving black flowers to shrivel away.

The tsukumogami’s power began to drain from Hidekazu’s form. Wait! Hidekazu protested, but the creature had already vacated him, its blue ki seeping back into the staff in his hands.

Masanori tried to grab Lacotl’s weapon, the massive eye on top flicking about all unfocused. A mouth with at least a hundred razor-sharp teeth appeared as he reached for it, snapping at him and hissing before wrapping itself in waves of dark purple ki. It twisted in on itself, shrinking and disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

It was a tsukumogami as well. Hidekazu stood there, stunned.

Aihi took a set of ki-sealing cuffs from beneath her cloak and locked them around Lacotl’s wrists, who was slumped against the cavern wall. The majyu roused a few moments later, laughing.

“Little tsukumogami, little pest...” Lacotl said, head lolling until he met Hidekazu’s eyes. “I will get you...”

If Lacotl recognizes it, will Aihi?

Aihi ignored Lacotl’s threats and tore the ram-skull from his face. Beneath was as they expected: a kan’thir sorcerer, inhuman with his goat-like face and horizontal pupils.

She shoved the gem she called the Dragon’s Eye into his face. “Where did you get this?”

Lacotl cackled, blood and spittle foaming on his lips and teeth.

“Answer me!”

“Not yet, little Ai-hime, soon, yes, you will learn.”

Aihi smacked Lacotl, but he only continued his cackling. She made a sound of disgust. “We will get what we need from you one way or another.”

She stuffed the Dragon’s Eye into her robes and scanned the rest of the cavern, seeming satisfied that there was nothing else within.

“Masanori, take him, if you would. We must find Captain Tonkotsu,” Aihi said.

With Lacotl captive, all that was left was to confirm the fates of Taniya, Torra, and the other victims. Hidekazu’s breath caught. I hope, at least, that Torra and Taniya will make it out of here alive.

Lacotl laughed as he was pulled to his feet and dragged through the tunnels.

SEVENTEEN

Masanori

THE central cavern of Lacotl’s lair was a sight to behold.

Enormous crystals jutted from every surface, surrounded by stalagmites, stalactites, and massive black cherry blossoms. The biggest crystal was in the corner of the cave, towering over nearby bushi and reaching from the floor to ceiling. Most of the flowers in the cave congregated around it, ones with solid, obsidian-like petals resting at the base. Strands of deep purple and grey energy swirled around and through the crystal.

Masanori gaped, his grim joy of having Lacotl as his prisoner sagging with the kan’thir to the cavern floor. These crystals were not the average gemstone; they were aki, crystals of pure, solidified ki, raw as the earth itself.

According to Aihi, they recycled ki into a form that majyu could use to fuel their powers. The only other one that Masanori knew of rested in the depths of the Kin Sea.

Several majyu stood around the aki, examining the energies, careful not to touch the flowers. Hidekazu kept glancing at the crystals, clearly dying to investigate them himself. But he followed Masanori and Aihi to meet with Captain Tonkotsu, who observed the aki from a distance.

Captain Tonkotsu looked up at them as they approached, then at their prisoner. His face brightened, but only a bit.

“You return with a prize,” he said.

Masanori hauled Lacotl in front of Captain Tonkotsu, and the kan’thir sneered.

“Oh, you again,” Lacotl said. He gazed at the girl in a heap behind Captain Tonkotsu. “My poor little pet, set free before her time….”

The girl’s hair was matted and bloody, her clothes torn. A bushi knelt next to her, working away her chains with bright flashes of ki.

That must be Taniya, Masanori thought.

Aihi raised her hand. “Silence.” A kigou formed in her palm, flying toward Lacotl’s lips. He tried to speak again, but no words came.

She knelt next to Taniya and felt her forehead.

“P-princess...?” she murmured, sitting up. “Where...” She glanced around and her eyes widened.

“Do not fear. We are here to take you home,” Aihi said, brushing a stray lock of hair from Taniya’s face. “But I need you to tell me what you can of the other women. Of Torra.” Her added emphasis to Torra’s name made Masanori believe the girls were familiar with one another. “Have you seen them? Are they caged somewhere?”

Taniya’s face darkened. “I’m the only one...” She paused, pursing her lips. “No... Torra was here when I came, but she’s gone now...” She lifted her face to the enormous, pulsating aki that gave the walls an uneven glow.

Ki tingled against Masanori’s skin, and he glanced at the crystal to see several bushi still examining it. I thought this invasive ki was Lacotl’s. But it’s that crystal.

Aihi must have understood what Taniya meant, because she nodded even though her lips quivered. After a few moments, she helped Taniya to her feet and passed her into the care of one of the bushi.

Torra is... gone? Masanori and Hidekazu shared a look. Both unable to say anything.

“Get her out of here,” Aihi said. The bushi nodded. “She needs to see a healer at once.”

Lacotl took Taniya’s place on the floor, and they shared a moment of silence. Aihi would not meet Masanori’s gaze and instead stared at the cave wall.

“He was using his prisoners to corrupt the aki—likely why it is flaring up; it has grown lusty for the taste of humans.” Captain Tonkotsu shook his head. “But I fail to understand why he only took women.”

“We will find out soon enough, whatever it takes.” Aihi kicked Lacotl, but he made no sound. “Besides his victims... were there any casualties?”

Captain Tonkotsu glanced away, and Masanori followed his gaze to two pale figures on the ground. “One bushi, and one of my men. Less than we expected, more than we hoped.”

“At least you saved Taniya,” Aihi said. She glared at their kan’thir prisoner, pure hatred manifesting in her eyes.

“I will personally escort Lacotl to Nagasou on your command.”

“Depart immediately. We must secure his imprisonment.” She studied the cave, lingering on the bundles of obsidian flowers and the aki. “My bushi will scour this place and learn what else we can about his motives and activities.”

“Would you like us to help investigate?” Hidekazu said.

Her lips twitched to conceal a smirk, despite the anger and sadness lingering in her expression. “It would be best if you returned to Tsukiko for the meantime.”

Hidekazu didn’t veil his disappointment. “As you wish.”

Captain Tonkotsu bowed, turning to go, but Aihi stopped him. “Captain, wait outside for Hidekazu and Masanori before you leave, if you would. I will send them out after you shortly.”

He left with Lacotl in tow. Once he was gone, Aihi sucked in a shaky breath.

“Aihi...” Hidekazu started, but she waved a hand to stop him.

“Not now.” Her voice broke, but she did not pause. “I will deal with my feelings in my own time. Now, there are other matters of concern...” She leaned in, making sure no one was close enough to hear them. “Do not breathe a word of the Dragon’s Eye.”

Masanori’s pulse quickened. Why does she want to keep it a secret?

“You can trust us. Whatever you need,” he said, and Hidekazu also nodded. Aihi smiled at them, one that gave him hope she’d explain everything later. She held her gaze on Hidekazu for a moment longer before speaking again.

“What was that spell you used, Hidekazu?”

Hidekazu sighed. “It’s a bit of a story.”

He explained everything about the tablet, going to the library, and the tsukumogami. At the end of his story, to Masanori’s surprise, Aihi didn’t seem too cross with Hidekazu.

“You understand, Hidekazu…” Aihi hesitated. “Those kinds of spells… you should not be able to use them. Not at your skill level.”

Hidekazu nodded slowly, not revealing his thoughts.

“A more in-depth conversation on the matter must wait until time permits it,” Aihi said, sighing.

“If you believe it necessary.”

“Attend to Taniya in town. And when Captain Tonkotsu returns from Nagasou, I will send a message your way.”

Masanori and Hidekazu bowed and left to find Captain Tonkontsu outside the tunnels.

***

Tsukiko’s atmosphere was different when Captain Tonkotsu, Hidekazu, and Masanori arrived with Lacotl in chains. People gathered along the streets as they passed, some staring in awe, others relief, and more with fear and hatred. The kan’thir sorcerer sneered at them, his lips twisting with muted laughter. People spat at him, threw rotten fruit and stones.

They reached the centre of town where the road branched toward the infirmary or continued toward Nagasou.

“Thank you for your aid, boys. As much as I would love to celebrate our victory with you, I must haul this wretch to Nagasou,” Captain Tonkotsu said. “In the meantime, you will find Lady Taniya in the infirmary. She will be left under your supervision until I am back.”

“We are glad to be rid of Lacotl and aid this wonderful city. Taniya will be safe with us,” Masanori said.

He did not voice his concerns that, perhaps, Captain Tonkotsu would not return from Nagasou. Not after he failed to recover Torra.

“What will happen to Lactol?” Hidekazu said.

“His punishment will be severe, fit for his crimes.” Captain Tonkotsu kicked the chained kan’thir. “He deserves pain beyond imagination and execution. But that corrupted aki will extend his life for a while. It is a mystery the Exalted Princess and the bushi will wish to understand. In the end, his fate is in the hands of our honourable Shōgun.”

Hidekazu and Masanori left for the infirmary, glad to be away from the crowds of people watching Lacotl being dragged from the city. While happy they eliminated the plague of Tsukiko, Masanori couldn’t get the fight from his mind. He replayed everything from Hidekazu taking down Lacotl and the kan’thir’s capture to the discovery of the Dragon’s Eye.

The Dragon’s Eye—whatever that was. I don’t like how Aihi avoided talking about it. I hope that once it’s safe within the Nagasou vaults and Lacotl is behind bars, she will share what she knows.

Masanori was hurt that Hidekazu hadn’t told the truth about how he’d gained access to the Majyutsushi Arena, even if his caution was justified. Still, he couldn’t be too upset since he hadn’t yet told anyone but Kansai about the tapper.

A chill ran through him. What if Kansai was right about Hidekazu’s power? Aihi herself had said that he shouldn’t have been able to do what he did.

No. I won’t let Kansai get to me. She wasn’t there for any of the fights. Hidekazu would never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.

Still, the night could have ended in disaster. What if the yōkai hadn’t interfered? And why did Aihi want to talk about it? Are they that difficult to awaken?

They passed through the western square and into the market, the stores and stalls practically deserted as everyone was still watching Lacotl get shipped away. The dragon fountain in the centre seemed to glow a bit brighter, as if the Goddess herself was pleased.

Despite Lacotl’s capture, everything seemed more complicated than before. Besides the newly discovered crystal, there was only one known aki within the Seiryuu borders. It rested in the depths of the Kin Sea, protected by layers of wards, barriers, and constant surveillance.

Masanori might not know much about the crystal, but he did know it was a source of natural power, easy to corrupt in the wrong hands.

Lacotl was a prime example of that.

I’ve never heard of a primary aki becoming corrupted before. Smaller crystals, sure—even Hidekazu experiments with those. But a large one? Masanori wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself.

The purple ki wasn’t natural in any circumstances. Whatever Lacotl had done, the power associated with the aki had changed. I hope Taniya can tell us more about what happened.

Masanori led the way through the city, Hidekazu lagging a bit behind. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since departing Lacotl’s cave, and for once, Masanori didn’t feel tempted to fill the silence. He needed the time to think, to keep himself busy with other tasks that needed his attention.

Torra’s gone.

A healer scurried past Masanori and Hidekazu as they entered, but Masanori managed to get her attention for long enough to get directions to Taniya’s rooms.

Masanori paused outside the door, took a deep breath, and then slid it open. The room was plain, decorated only with a simple calligraphic scroll, but bundles of flowers were piled against the walls. His heart warmed at the sight. She is loved by many.

He didn’t want to think about what might have happened if they hadn’t saved her.

Taniya rested on a simple cot and perked up when they entered. “Thank you…”

“We’re glad you’re safe,” Masanori said.

She nodded absentmindedly and squinted at Hidekazu. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“I came into the library the morning you were taken,” he said, his face a little red.

“That’s who you are...” she mumbled, staring at his staff. “Guess I underestimated you. One of the hime-bushi? Impressive.”

Masanori laughed and patted Hidekazu’s shoulder. “Hime-bushi in training; we’re just close friends of hers.”

“Still...”

Hidekazu cleared his throat, as if to signal he didn’t want to talk about the subject any longer. “I’m sorry to approach you so soon, but I was hoping you might be able to tell us more about what happened.”

“I-I don’t know...” Taniya closed her eyes. “My head… it’s so cluttered.”

“He likely used a confusion spell on you,” he said, running a hand through his tangled hair. “Unfortunately, we can’t reverse it without ruining your memories. But maybe he said something that stood out?”

She frowned. “There was some weird incantation. Torra was still there, but... when he spoke the words, the crystal...” Taniya covered her face. “Great Warlock, the screams...”

Masanori’s hands twitched. Lacotl corrupted it on purpose.

She explained in more detail, but the more horrific her descriptions, the less Masanori wanted to remember it all. Hidekazu will have to be the one to tell Aihi about all this. I can’t do it.

“We will leave you to rest, Taniya. Thank you for your help. We’ll be around every day to make sure you get everything you need—” Hidekazu stopped when Taniya grabbed Masanori’s haori and tugged.

Her lips trembled as she spoke. “Please don’t leave me alone. At least for a few days. Please, I don’t want to be alone...”

Masanori knelt next to her and took her hands in his. I barely know her, but she knew Torra... He closed his eyes. We can’t leave her. This is our responsibility, too. Maybe we couldn’t save the others, but we can do our best to ease her through this pain.

“We’ll remain here until you’re ready to go home,” he said.

Tears welled in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around Masanori’s neck. She sobbed into his chest.

“There’s nothing to fear anymore. You’re safe.”

I’ll make sure of it.

***

One week later, Captain Tonkotsu returned from Nagasou and called for Hidekazu and Masanori. His shoulders seemed lighter, the exhaustion in his face had faded, and his permanent frown had been replaced with a half-smile. Aihi must have decided to let him keep his job. And his life.

They knelt across from him at his desk, and he slid a letter across the wooden surface. It had the Furahau family crest stamped on the front, but it was crafted from Aihi’s energy. “The Exalted Dragon Princess had me bring this for you. Said it should answer some of your questions.”

“Thank you for bringing this.” Masanori slipped it into his haori to read later.

“How is Lady Taniya?”

“The healers say she should return home within the next few days. It was a tough recovery, but she’s strong,” Masanori said, but he hesitated when it came to what Taniya knew about Lacotl. Hidekazu spoke up to fill in the gaps.

After a brief silence, Captain Tonkotsu stood. “I assume you two will be returning to Nagasou to confer with the Princess on these matters.”

“Within the next day or so. We must also speak with our families about the recent events,” Masanori said.

“Have you boys put any thought into attending Tsukiko Academy full-time?”

Hidekazu smiled. “We have decided to accept.”

“Headmaster Meki will be pleased.” Captain Tonkotsu’s expression lifted all over again. “You two have earned quite the name around here.”

Masanori laughed. “I think most of the credit belongs to Hidekazu, but it’s good that people will remember the Genshu family name.”

Maybe then Father will think twice about hiding the truth from us again, and people like Kansai will see their foolishness.

The brothers left Captain Tonkotsu’s office, and Masanori ripped open the seal on Aihi’s letter the second they were outside.

Hidekazu peeked over his shoulder, devouring the words.

Dear Masanori and Hidekazu,

Lacotl is safely in prison, but he offers little information. We recovered the corrupted aki from the tunnels and have had more success examining energy samples than interrogating this wretched kan’thir. Hopefully we can find a way to reverse the effects of the corruption and return the aki to its natural state.

As for the other object we found in Lacotl’s lair, we must discuss the details in person. I assure you, it will be worth the wait. But I hope you are prepared to spend another two months away from home to travel with me—more information on that when I see you. For now, wrap up your affairs before leaving Tsukiko. It will be a while before you may return.

Yes, do not worry, we will be back in time for the academy’s next school semester—assuming you accepted. And if you did not, I recommend reconsidering the offer. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I expect to see you again within the next few days.

- Aihi

Masanori groaned when he finished reading. “She expects to drag us off again, after putting us through this whole Lacotl mess?”

“Come on, she said we’ll get to travel! I’m sure you don’t want to listen to my complaining about being stuck in Tsukiko every day for the next two years.”

“You’ll complain whether we go or not!”

Hidekazu laughed, not bothering to argue against the truth.

But it didn’t matter—Masanori was excited. Not only would they officially train within the Tsukiko Academy’s walls and travel with Aihi, but Masanori was also certain about his choice.

Maybe he was good at ki-engineering, but it wasn’t his passion. And though he’d dreamt of being a bushi all his life, he didn’t need to give up one for the other.

No, he could use his engineering knowledge to inform his future studies; use every skill at his disposal to make up for his missing ki. Maybe I’ll become a bushi after all.

GLOSSARY

PEOPLE

Hidekazu Genshu – A young man with mastery and understanding of ki beyond his years. Although he is adept in jujutsu and using ki for utility and defence, he is not a fully-certified majyu because he has spent most of his life forbidden to learn how to use ki offensively. Now, he is training to become one of Princess Aihi’s hime-bushi and pass the Majyutsushi Exams. He is Masanori’s twin brother.

Masanori Genshu – A young man who wants nothing more than to become warrior, but like his brother, has been forbidden from fighting outside of self-defence for his whole life. He planned on finishing his studies as a ki-engineer and becoming a kouhei (combat engineer) so that he would still receive formal fighting training, although now he is being trained alongside his twin brother, Hidekazu, to become one of Princess Aihi’s first hime-bushi.

Sachi Genshu – A former bushi who is considered one of the greatest warriors and majyu ever to exist in Seiryuu. She is not native to the continent of Shimensoka has fair skin and blonde hair, which are uncommon physical traits to the area. However, she has not talked much about her past before she came to Seiryuu. Married to Dano Genshu, mother to Hidekazu and Masanori.

Dano Genshu – The leader of the long-lived Genshu family. He grew up with Takeha Furahau, the current Emperor, and their families have been close for generations. Dano currently works as the First Advisor to the Emperor. He is married to Sachi Genshu and is father to Hidekazu and Masanori.

Aihi Furahau – A skilled majyu with unrefined manners, her grace as sharp as her katana; she can explain her feelings and thoughts eloquently with her ki, sword, and her words. As the Princess of Seiryuu, she is training to become the future Empress of the nation. She was raised as a sibling to Hidekazu and Masanori.

Takeha Furahau – The current Emperor of Furahau; he inherited the position from his father, Daichen Furahau, twenty years ago. His goal has been to repair relations with Nanryuu, south of Seiryuu, who they were previously at war with, although with little success. He is married to Mika Furahau, and his daughter is Aihi Furahau.

Mika Furahau – The Shōgun of Seiryuu. Formerly of the Aochi merchant clan. As the military leader of the country, she manages the distribution of bushi throughout the country and the defense of Nagasou.

Lacotl – An evil kan’thir majyu with a well-hidden reputation for terrorizing Tsukiko and kidnapping women. Little else is known about him. He was apprehended by Aihi, Hidekazu, Masanori, and others and now moves between the Nagasou dungeons and different interrogation chambers to gather more information about his motives and the corrupted aki found in his lair.

Akihiro Tonkotsu – Also known as “Captain Tonkotsu,” the head of the Tsukiko guard.

Barame Meki – The Headmaster of the Tsukiko Academy. He is the only survivor of the Meki warlock clan, theorized to have survived because he never manifested any warlock ki. However, he was and is one of the greatest former bushi of Seiryuu. Now he trains young majyu to reach their potential and pass the Majyutsushi Exams.

Kansai Totome – A former bushi, now an instructor at Tsukiko Academy, specializing in swordcraft and training those with no or minimal ki to become bushi.

Torra Benri – The young heiress of the Benri political clan, a close friend of Aihi, Hidekazu, and Masanori. She was murdered by Lacotl.

Taniya Mezan – The librarian at the Tsukiko Academy. She was kidnapped by Lacotl, but survived and was rescued by Aihi, Hidekazu, and Masanori.

PLACES

Hikari Tower – A massive temple dedicated to Shirashi outside of Tsukiko city, built in the shape of two intertwined dragons. Majyu from across Shimensoka come to marvel at its beauty and study the ki within.

Kin Sea – The sea north of Seiryuu, which does not extend far East toward Tajida. The water is a shimmering gold, a phenomenon that is explained through a story that claims Shirashi herself swam in the northern sea, the water turning gold where she passed.

Nagasou – The capital city of Nagasou, settled on the shores of the massive river which divides Seiryuu and Nanryuu. It is the home of Aihi, Hidekazu, Masanori, and their families.

Nanryuu – The nation south of Seiryuu. They used to be the same country, but divided because of differing philosophies regarding ki and religion. For many years, they were at war, and Seiryuu occupied Nanryuu until the warlocks died abruptly and the war was forced to a close. The inhabitants of Nanryuu believe in Ozeki, the God of Wyverns (Shirashi’s brother), who dictates that ki is evil and should not be used.

Seiryuu – The homeland of Hidekazu, Masanori, and Aihi, in the northwestern corner of Shimensoka. The Seiryuu people worship the Dragon Goddess Shirashi, dragons, warlocks, and often ki itself. Nanryuu used to be a part of Seiryuu and together they were called “Aoryuu.”

Shimensoka – The main continent of the Wyvern Wars universe containing Seiryuu (Northwest), Nanryuu (Southwest), and Tajida (East).

Tajida – The nation to the far east of Seiryuu and Nanryuu, on the far end of Shimensoka. Often associated with fighting styles that incorporate unarmed combat with ki.

Tsukiko – A small city northeast of Nagasou, not far from the Kin Sea. Home of the Tsukiko Academy.

Tsukiko Academy – A renown school for majyu and warriors, famed for producing masters from nothing. The Academy’s reputation spans across Shimensoka, accepting students from everywhere. They are known for their rigid and brutal training schedules and expectations.

Yaotlan Isles – The group of islands east of Shimensoka, inhabited by the kan’thir.

WORLD

Ai-hime – Literally “Love Princess,” a disliked nickname sometimes given to Princess Aihi, especially by those who aim to belittle her, her political power, and her skill as a majyu because she is a young woman.

Aki – A type of crystal which generates pure ki associated with a specific element. There is a mizu aki (water crystal) in the Kin Sea, heavily protected by majyu. The only other known aki in Seiryuu—the tsuchi aki—was corrupted by Lacotl.

Bushi – An umbrella term given to all majyu and warriors in the service of Seiryuu. There are teams of bushi assigned to specific duties or people, which are identified by a prefix. I.E. Shōgun-bushi.

Dragons – The children of the goddess Shirashi, gone from Seiryuu for centuries.

Emperor / Empress – The absolute leader of Seiryuu. They mostly handle political and domestic affairs, although they have final say over everything unless they delegate that power to someone else. The current Emperor is Takeha Furahau, Aihi’s father.

Fusuma – A type of sliding door or room divider covered in cloth, usually painted with sceneries or animals.

Gamishiro – A sea-dwelling yōkai which are fond of cucumbers. Described as having cavities in their heads that contain water, claw-like limbs, sometimes with turtle shells, and are usually some shade of grey or green. There are two gamishiro north of Tsukiko city that Aihi is particularly fond of, and she always brings them an offering of cucumbers when she visits.

Hakama – A traditional type of trousers that are worn over a kimono. They are tied at the waistline and extend to the ankles, usually with wide legs.

Haori – A traditional hip or thigh-length jacket, sometimes worn over armour. Can display family crests.

Hi – Literally “fire,” a type of kigou used to direct ki into controlling fire. Not used very often in Seiryuu because fire is seen as inferior to water, wind, and earth. There are two reasons for this: first because conjuring fire from nothing is impractical and takes a lot of ki, and second because not one of Shirashi’s favoured elements.

Hime-bushi – Bushi in service of “hime” (the princess). Aihi does not currently have any hime-bushi, although she is training Masanori and Hidekazu to fill two of the six positions.

Irezumi – Literally “inserting ink.” A tattoo traditional to Seiryuu where ink of pure ki is threaded into the skin, usually along the forearms. Only bushi and some exceptionally skilled healers receive irezumi; they cannot be removed. There are five different ranks of irezumi: green (for new bushi and healers), blue (skilled), white (masters), red (royalty), and purple (warlocks).

Kan’thir – A race of goatmen who live on the Yaotlan Isles far from Seiryuu, east of Tajida. They are humanoid, completely covered in fur coloured anywhere from black to creamy white. Kan’thir do not grow their horns until between thirty and fifty years old and often wear the skulls of their ancestors until theirs are fully grown.

Katana – A traditional, curved, single-edged sword with a longer grip for two-handed use.

Kaze – Literally “wind.” A type of kigou used to control ki in the form of wind and thunder. Alongside mizu (water) it is one of the Dragon Goddess Shirashi’s favoured elements.

Kengen – A combination of kigou which mean “the power beyond what one can use,” i.e. inaccessible ki or energy.

Ki – Literally “energy.” Ki is the material which makes up all things, and majyu can use it to manipulate the elements to their will. It can also be used in its raw form, which is not associated with a specific element. It is also said that some majyu can use ki to manipulate much more than the elements…

Kigou – Literally “symbol.” They are written characters that, when drawn with ki, can compel the energy to an action. They are the fragmented remains of the Old Language.

Kimono – Literally “thing to wear.” A traditional form of full-length clothes, like a robe, which usually has long sleeves. There are many types of kimono, some for men, some for women.

Ki-studies – An umbrella term to describe educational fields which use ki for purposes outside of fighting techniques and for war.

Kouhei – Literally “combat engineer.” These are usually non-majyu who still use ki in the creation and mobilization of weapons and aid in the logistics of war.

Majyu – Short for majyutsushi, which literally means “conjuror.” Majyu are people who can use ki to control the elements of water, earth, fire, and wind.

Majyutsushi Exams – A certification examination where, once passed, a wielder of ki is officially recognized as a majyu. There are no restrictions on who may enter, although it is a difficult series of tests which involves using ki for offensive, defence, and utility.

Mizu – Literally “water,” a type of kigou which directs ki into manipulating water and ice. Used often in tune with Kaze (wind) as a representational element of the Dragon Goddess Shirashi.

Montsuki – A men’s formal men’s kimono also worn by martial artists. They bear a single crest.

Naginata – A traditional pole weapon with a single-edged, curved blade at the end.

Shirashi – The Goddess of thunder and storms, mother of Yōkai and dragons. Centuries ago, she came to Seiryuu with her dragons to teach them how to use ki. She is the deity of Seiryuu, said to be both benevolent and cruel.

Shishajya – Literally “messenger serpent.” They are the messengers of the Dragon Goddess Shirashi, the dragons, and the warlocks. There is only one left in all of Seiryuu.

Shōgun – The title given to the military leader of Seiryuu; they are usually the spouse or child of the Emperor or Empress, and are the second most powerful person in the country. The current Shōgun is Aihi’s mother, Mika Furahau.

Shoji – A type of door or window made of rice paper and a latticed, wooden frame.

Tapper – A round, metallic device made by Masanori. He keeps it in a leather pouch draped around his neck.

The Dragon’s Eye – A blue, gemstone-like object recovered from Lacotl’s lair. Aihi seemed to know what it was, but did not share what she knew.

The Old Language – The language of the dragons, most of which has been lost over the centuries since they left Seiryuu. For the most part, the only fragments of the Old Language remaining are the kigou majyu use to access their ki.

Tsuchi – Literally “earth,” a type of kigou which directs ki into manipulating rocks, ground, soil, etc. Usually used for defensive spells, although it is versatile in the hands of a skilled majyu.

Tsukumogami – A type of yōkai that appears within inanimate objects naturally after one hundred years. They can also be summoned to live within younger items, but only by skilled majyu.

Warlock – A powerful majyu—male or female—with the blood of dragons running through their veins. All the warlocks died out almost fifty years ago for unknown reasons during a war between Seiryuu and Nanryuu.

Yōkai – An umbrella term for supernatural creatures, ghosts, spirits, and unexplainable occurrences. In the Wyvern Wars universe, Yōkai are found in all shapes and sizes throughout the world.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I must thank Mark Mulvihill, who this novella is dedicated to, for his creative contributions to Ramshackled and the overall Wyvern Wars universe. In particular, his inspiration for my protagonists Masanori and Hidekazu Genshu, as well as their families and other supporting characters who debut later in the series. Without his input and support, this world would simply not exist.

I would also like to thank my beta readers and dear friends Serena, Carlo, and Tenchu for taking the time to read an early, ugly version of the Ramshackled manuscript and providing invaluable feedback and suggestions that have transformed the story and writing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ERYNN LEHTONEN is a student at the University of British Columbia: Okanagan, where she is studying for a Bachelor's in Creative Writing. Her love for Japanese culture, history, and folklore led to a desire to learn the language, which is an ongoing struggle. It is her goal to introduce readers to the complexities of mental illness through the perspectives of lifelike characters in fantasy worlds.

WWW.ERYNNLEHTONENWRITING.COM

Table of Contents

Cover

Special Offer

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Glossary

Get The Sequel

Acknowledgements

About The Author