Page 6
CHAPTER FIVE
Furious and shaking, Takara did her best to hold her temper as she entered her father’s study and forced herself to carefully slide the door closed. It was hard when what she really wanted to do was scream about the injustice she’d witnessed. To rail against her father for being so blind.
Normally, Hattori Hanzō had better sense.
Just not today.
Sitting in front of the low table on the floor, her father looked up at her approach and calmly pushed his tea away. “What is it, Daughter?”
She forced herself on her knees and bowed deeply, even though her ragged breathing betrayed her anger. “I’m sorry, Father, but you must know Ryuichi is innocent and that you unfairly punished him. Toshi lied to you. He was the one who insulted Ryuichi and Kato. They were standing up for their honor. Toshi’s the one who should be punished, not them.”
Sometimes Takara forgot how absolutely terrifying he could be. Her father was like a fearsome statue, the kind that stood guard at the temples, that could stare straight into the very soul.
How lucky she was that he’d never turned that ferocity on her. And that succeeded in calming her temper.
His gaze narrowed on her as he took in her carefully constructed composure. “I appreciate your restraint, Daughter. You do me honor.”
She bristled a bit at his subtle reminder that, in the past, she would have spoken up in front of the others and embarrassed them both with her misbehavior. To question her lord, never mind her father, in front of his retainers and others was the highest offense.
As a young girl, she’d been quick to forget that.
Now that she was a bit older, she appreciated what it took for her father to remain in control of his castle and clan. How much he sacrificed to be a leader so respected and trusted. The last thing she’d ever want to do was undermine his authority or dishonor him.
Or herself.
As she watched the light in her father’s eyes, she dreaded his words, because she already knew what he was about to say. “Takara... you’re a good daughter, and one of my most capable warriors. You understand our code even better than most of my retainers.”
She ground her teeth as her anger flared again over this injustice.
“I’ve handed down my judgment, and it can’t be undone.”
To do so would make him look weak before the entire school. Ineffectual.
“But, Father?—”
“There are no buts!” he growled, cutting off her protests. “Ryuichi has been sent to Night Patrol. My word is final.”
Tears pricked at her eyes, but she knew better than to let them show. “They’ll kill him.”
Night Patrol was the equivalent of a death sentence. Seriously. Students fighting demons under the supervision of a crazy drunk was highly irresponsible.
She’d never understood why her father had set up such a branch, or why he continued it when no student ever returned from there.
While it was one thing to repay whatever debt of honor her father owed to Koichi-sensei, it was quite another to just hand over their students to die.
“Father, please...”
“Not another word, Takara.”
She winced. Ryuichi was a fast learner, but he was woefully unprepared for the horrors of what was out there. “I just don’t understand.”
His gaze softened. “As I said earlier, the decision was made. To regret one’s actions is to show weakness. Once a decision is made, it must be followed. I will not have that nameless boy be a black mark on our family’s honor. He will fulfill his obligations, or he will perish while trying to do so. He’s meant to become a samurai, not play at being one. His training has commenced. You know our code.”
She did indeed. But never had it tasted so bitter.
If ever there were a time for an exception to be made, Takara believed this to be it. There was something about Ryuichi that made him special. Different.
She’d felt it the moment he’d first collided with her at Hiero’s stables.
Her father clearly saw the boy’s latent talent. The fact that he couldn’t sense the striking difference in Ryuichi showed just how dull he’d allowed his own senses to become.
“May I ask one more question, Father?”
With an irritated sigh, he reached for his tea. “Of course.”
“Is that my father, Hanzō, talking, or the head of the Hattori clan?” Sometimes it felt as if the man in front of her was no longer the father who’d trained her, but rather a mere vessel for the ghosts of the Hattori family.
Fury darkened his gaze. “That’s enough. Get out!”
Heeding that common sense, Takara bowed and quickly made her exit. She’d said her peace. All she could do now was pray for Ryuichi’s safe return. And hope for some miracle.
* * *
Night Patrol wasn’t at all what Ryuichi had expected. Though honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d thought it would be.
Definitely not this .
A light rain began as he stood with six other kids.
Seven total, including himself.
Misfits all, by the looks of them. Maybe I’ll finally fit in with this group . A pathetic thought, really, but it seemed to be true. Ichiro stood off to his left, a tall fellow with an upturned nose and a scar across his left brow. He was talking to Katashi, who had heavy eyebrows and was almost equal in height to Ichiro. They were probably around Ryuichi’s age.
Next to them was Masa. Short and thin, he had a ragged kimono and a broken wooden sword. Though why he’d carry around a wooden sword, never mind a broken one, was anyone’s guess. Shigeru, a stout, sharp-eyed boy with short hair and a quick wit, kept picking on Masa with the help of Toru, who was the sloppiest-looking of them all. Even his hair was unkempt and shabby.
That left silent, irritable Taka, who eyed them all with disdain.
Ryuichi only knew Taka’s name because Ichiro had greeted the boy when he’d arrived.
Taka’s response had been an incomprehensible grunt.
No one had spoken a word to Ryuichi, but that was all right. He hadn’t tried speaking to them either.
Mostly because he was still upset over what’d happened earlier. First, Masaru had completely vanished and refused to heed his summons, which made him furious to no end. Second, he had no idea how Kato was doing. And that made him sick to his stomach.
The last thing he wanted right now was to make any more friends he might endanger. The less said, the better.
But he was curious about one thing...
“Should we be patrolling?”
They stopped talking to eye him.
Ichiro burst out laughing.
Katashi shook his head.
Masa rolled his eyes.
And before anyone could answer or ridicule him for what must have been the dumbest question of all time, given their reactions, a loud snap sounded in the forest off to his right.
Ryuichi lifted his spear.
Shaking his head, Ichiro gave him an irritated smirk. “You won’t need that.”
How could he be so sure? That noise didn’t sound friendly.
At least not until a figure stumbled out of the darkness. “Excuse me for being late. There was a sale on sake, and I got distracted.” The tall, lanky man hiccuped and snickered. “And then I imbibed more than I should.” He grinned, then hiccuped again.
And wobbled before he staggered forward.
You’ve got to be kidding me...
Surely this couldn’t be their sensei.
But as the others bowed, his worst fears manifested. This was the man charged with training and overseeing them?
I have definitely messed up my future . Ryuichi felt like crying.
Their sensei almost fell as he came closer.
Ichiro caught him.
Scoffing, the man pushed him away. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”
After more stumbling—mostly in the wrong direction—he belched, then found his students in the darkness.
He began a head count by tapping them on their shoulders while he staggered between them. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six...” He stopped at Ryuichi and squinted. “Seven?” He blinked and felt Ryuichi’s face. “Seven?”
Their sensei leaned back to try and examine his face in the darkness. “Didn’t I lose you last week?” He smiled, pinching Ryuichi’s cheeks in a rough grip. “Ryota! You came back! But you’re taller! Doesn’t matter. You’re back! Oh, how I missed you!”
Shigeru cleared his throat. “Koichi-sensei, he’s not Ryota. He’s a new student. Ryota’s still missing.”
With a disappointed sigh, Koichi shoved Ryuichi back. “Crap, I knew that trip to the canyon was a bad idea. Always lose students on that trip. One day I’ll learn better.”
His face brightened. “Since you’re new, I’ll give you the introduction. Name’s Koichi, and no, I don’t have a family name, so don’t bother trying to figure it out—you’ll only make me angry and give yourself a headache.”
He gestured with a sake bottle toward the others. “Welcome to the Kai-dan, our ‘little broken group,’ as the others call it. Eventually, you’ll learn everyone’s name—if you survive long enough, that is.” He leaned in to whisper in Ryuichi’s ear. “I’ll be honest though. Recently our prospects haven’t been so great on that front.”
Clearing his throat, Koichi straightened up and clapped him on the back. “But who knows? Maybe you’re the lucky charm we need... or not. Either way, this is where they send the students who are too undisciplined... or the ones they just don’t want to be bothered with.”
Koichi leaned in again, right next to Ryuichi’s face. Ryuichi could smell the alcohol on his breath. “I wonder which one you are.”
With him so close, Ryuichi could finally see his sharp features clearly. Koichi wasn’t like any samurai he’d ever beheld. His haphazard and filthy blue kimono barely concealed his athletic chest, and it was full of holes. He reeked of sake and body odor, making even Ryuichi, who was used to shoveling manure, choke at the stench. He couldn’t understand how someone like this was allowed on school grounds, let alone given the honor of teaching.
It made no sense.
Koichi let out a sinister laugh. “I do hope you’re ready. We’re not like the other spoiled brats cooped up there in the big fancy school, with clean floors and basic insulation. No, sir. We here at the Night Patrol do things dirty, and we do things quick... and dangerous. So leave your faint heart in the barracks. From here on out, your training is going to be hands-on. Practical. The kind of stuff that’ll make you want to break the rules.”
Never.
The only thing on Ryuichi’s mind was how to get back so he could be with his friends, Kato and Takara. All he wanted was to be by Kato’s side as he recovered.
He owed him that much.
Instead, here he was with a smelly fake samurai and these poor kids who’d done who-knew-what to be punished.
Maybe they were Toshi’s other victims.
Or maybe they were like their sensei—dishonorable, undisciplined, and unworthy through their own actions.
Kegare!
If that was true, then Ryuichi was nothing like them. He’d been cursed, but they would have chosen to be here. By word or by deed. They would lack all honor.
There was a world of difference between the two.
He would never willingly be like this sensei. Honor was everything to him.
Koichi wiped at his red nose. “Any questions?”
His anger over being put into the Kai-dan barely leashed, Ryuichi shook his head.
I’ll get out of this . And he would too. He really didn’t belong here. With them ! By all the gods, he would not stay in this awful group.
I am a samurai!
Well, maybe not yet, but he would be. No one would stop him from achieving his dream. No one.
Not even himself.
Koichi smiled. “Good. Keep that anger, Ryota. You’ll need it here.” He took a drink of his sake. “And you might make yourself useful after all.” He snorted. “Then again, probably not. Students come and go. Most never make it more than a week.”
“Hey!” Ichiro bristled at those words.
With a smirk, Koichi gestured at them with his sake. “Except you few. Somehow you keep surviving. Good for you!”
Ryuichi frowned at that. Koichi’s tone definitely didn’t match those words.
Hiccuping, Koichi headed for the stables.
“Here.”
Ryuichi turned to see Taka holding a blue kimono out toward him that was the same color as the one worn by the other boys around him. “What’s this?”
“You’re one of us now. Might as well wear the uniform. It’ll help you blend in so that hopefully you won’t get eaten as quickly as some of the others did.”
Eaten? By what?
Surely it’s a joke.
Ha ha. Mess with the new kid.
At least he hoped so.
More shaken than he wanted to admit, he glanced down to see a screaming white monkey against the light blue. It was the same emblem on Koichi’s headband.
Great. They really were insane.
Worse? They seemed to be proud of it.
And that made him feel sick to his stomach. This isn’t what I want . But for now, he had no choice. He’d earned this by breaking his friend and breaking their trust.
How fitting that he ended up with a broken group.
Pulling the kimono on, he left it open as he followed the others. They headed into the stables and went toward the sorriest-looking horses he’d ever seen.
His jaw went slack as they began saddling them. “Really?”
Koichi grimaced at him. “You want a better mount? Don’t screw up.”
That only confused him more. “I don’t understand this. Are you a teacher or not?”
“A teacher they don’t particularly like or want. Or even acknowledge.” Koichi pulled himself up into his saddle. “Like you misfits. They don’t know what to do with me, and they don’t know what to do with you. So here we are... demon fodder to keep the good students safe.”
“What are we supposed to be learning?”
Toru laughed. “How not to die.”
“Or get lost in the dark.” Masa kicked his scraggly horse out of the stables.
What? Surely they were messing with him.
“And if we get lost?”
Koichi gave him a lopsided grin. “If you find Ryota, bring him home.” He headed out.
Shigeru snorted at that. “You won’t find Ryota. He was eaten by a demon. Trust me. You don’t want that.”
Eaten by a what?
They’re kidding . They had to be. No one would be so nonchalant about being eaten by a demon.
Would they?
No. Yōkai were one thing. Demons were another. This was some kind of initiation. A test. They were just having fun with him.
Why did I come here?
Oh yeah—he’d had no choice.
What if they weren’t kidding?
He didn’t like that inner, ominous voice. Because if they weren’t, then his old school didn’t seem so bad. At least no one had tried to intentionally feed him to demons. They’d only acted like them.
Please let this be a joke.
With a tired sigh, he pulled himself into his saddle and chased after the others. Too bad he had no idea where they were going, or what they were really supposed to do.
Other than not get eaten by demons. Like anyone would really need to be told that. It wasn’t exactly on anyone’s to-do list.
Get up.
Get dressed.
Find a demon.
Offer yourself as lunch.
Yeah, that had never been something he’d aspired to. Not even on his worst days.
Well, maybe on his worst days only.
Ryuichi nudged his horse closer to Masa, wanting a real answer. “What exactly is the point of this?”
Masa smirked at Taka. “Not to die,” he repeated, as if that was their unofficial motto.
“Or get lost,” Shigeru added.
Masa snorted, then laughed. “Of course, everyone gets lost. It’s why we’re all here.”
Ichiro nodded. “True.” He jerked his head in the direction of Taka. “He’s the longest-surviving member of the Kai-dan.”
“Which is how long?” Ryuichi asked.
Ichiro shrugged. “He won’t say, but it’s longer than any of the rest of us.”
That was interesting. But it wasn’t what Ryuichi wanted to know. “How many students make it back to—” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before the others broke into laughter.
Except Taka.
Toru turned around in his saddle to give Ryuichi a sad, withering glare. “No one returns from the Kai-dan. You either die or go missing. Those are your only two options now.”
“I’m not staying,” he said resolutely. “I’ll be the first to go back.”
Koichi raised his bottle of sake in a toast. “Good to have dreams, Ryota! Aspirations are always important. Pretty sure I had some once. But I seem to have lost them.”
Along with his mind. Maybe it was taking up residence with Ryuichi’s, wherever it had gone.
What am I doing here? It was redundant, he knew, but he just kept circling back to that one haunting question.
While he’d always felt as if he didn’t belong, he definitely didn’t belong with this group. Nor did he want to.
And that was a first.
Now that he thought about it, Toshi didn’t seem so bad. Maybe they could make up and be friends. Ryuichi would gladly go back and kiss the ground at the dirtbag’s feet if he could just reset this catastrophe and get out of this mess.
Be there for Kato as he healed.
But there was no way to go back and undo what had happened. Think ahead, Ryuichi . That was what Yoshi-sensei had tried his best to teach him. He wished he’d been a better student.
Sadly, the only path was forward. Wake from death and return to life...
As they made their way through the woods, Ryuichi couldn’t shake the feeling that someone—or some thing —was watching them. He could feel it like a cold breath on his skin. Like a snake slithering around his bare feet. Wet. Cold. Scary.
He sensed it.
Every part of him was sure something had them in its sights, waiting for them...
Still, he saw nothing.
Only the creepy darkness.
Everything was quiet, except for the sounds of the horses’ hooves and the pounding of his heart.
Maybe what he felt was Masaru watching them. It would make sense for Masaru to be there. He was supposed to be with Ryuichi, to protect him.
Instead, Masaru had abandoned him and vanished. Ryuichi had heard nothing from his snotty companion, and he was mad about it. Leave it to him to have the one and only yōkai he couldn’t depend on in a fight.
Worse, Masaru had fought against him and aided his enemy.
So much for “choosing him.” It seemed Masaru had more important things to do than take charge of his charge.
Like sit around in a room full of yōkai-infested junk.
Or pick belly lint, or whatever it was Masaru did in his spare time.
Sighing heavily, Ryuichi turned his thoughts to the matter at hand. “What are we patrolling for? Lord Hanzō’s enemies?”
Masa laughed. “Yes and no.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Katashi moved to ride beside him. “Means he has a lot of enemies. They’re not all human.”
They kept saying that, but Ryuichi was having a hard time wrapping his head around it. While he knew that yōkai existed, he didn’t really believe in demons.
Maybe Toshi had hit him harder than he realized, and he was unconscious and dreaming all this. It seemed as plausible as everything else—certainly more plausible than glowing bricks with faces and people dissolving into clouds of crimson dust. Had all of that been an illusion too?
Nothing had seemed real since he’d left Hiero’s. Not the castle, not Masaru or the bloodbath on the training field. Definitely not this Night Patrol, where they weren’t really patrolling but traveling to some unspecified place that only their drunken leader seemed to know.
And still the shadows watched.
Those thoughts churned in his mind as they approached what seemed to be their destination—a well-kept country manor where a well-dressed, gray-haired merchant eagerly greeted them. His green kimono seemed oddly familiar, but Ryuichi wasn’t sure why.
The elderly merchant bowed to Koichi. “Thank goodness you’ve arrived. I was terrified that the monks had refused my plea.”
Ryuichi’s ears perked up at that. What did monks have to do with their being here?
“Ever since my wife was afflicted, I’ve been at my wit’s end. I simply don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t sleep. Can’t eat. All my thoughts are consumed with how much pain she must be in.”
Koichi straightened his clothes in an attempt to be presentable, or at least not offensive. “The payment?”
“Ah yes.” The merchant took out a small red sack and showed their sensei its contents. “Rare golden coins, straight from China,” he whispered.
When Koichi reached out to take them, the merchant returned the sack to his pocket. “Only after the job is done.”
Koichi sighed wearily. It was obvious he wanted payment in advance, but for whatever reason, he restrained himself from simply taking it from the much smaller man. “As you wish.”
Koichi ordered the students to dismount and go inside the merchant’s home.
That eerie feeling of being watched continued to crawl over Ryuichi’s skin. He followed the other students, but not before checking behind him.
Only shadows were there.
Why did the shadows innately creep him out?
Even weirder, there was a peculiar glint in Koichi’s eyes. Their sensei clearly had a secret. Ryuichi just didn’t know what it was.
Evil cause. Evil effect.
But those thoughts fled as he entered the massive home, only to find it completely bare inside. No furniture or much of anything.
Toru sighed at the sight. “Poor man must have sold everything to help his wife.”
Ryuichi scowled. “How do you mean?”
Masa drew his sword as he moved forward cautiously. “We’ve seen this a lot. Demon slayers prey on these people—they steal their money without doing a thing, and then leave them plagued.”
Shigeru sneered. “I say they’re worse than the demons we fight. Anyone who’d take advantage of someone during a bad time in their life... shame on them. They should be fed to the demons for what they do.”
Made sense. Ryuichi had never liked predators either... mostly because they usually preyed on him.
The seven of them worked their way room by room through the empty home. Koichi remained outside in order to make small talk with the merchant.
Their voices were faint through the walls, but Ryuichi heard their discussion all the same.
“They seem remarkably young. Do you think they can handle this?” the merchant asked. “All the ones before them have failed.”
“Them?” Koichi replied. “Sure... I mean, probably. They need the seasoning. This’ll toughen them up.”
Toughen them up? Just what had their sensei set them up for?
Ryuichi wasn’t a roast, and he really didn’t want to be seasoned by being fed to anything, least of all a demon.
What were they about to face?
To his deepest chagrin, they started fanning out to go off into different directions. Ryuichi hesitated. “Should we be breaking apart?”
After all, bad things always happened when people went their separate ways.
The only one left to hear his question was Taka, who laughed briefly before he, too, went off to explore.
Ryuichi was entirely alone. Awesome. Just what he wanted. Abandoned in a foreign house with who-knew-what on the loose—something that would either try to take his soul or eat his flesh while his sensei casually sat outside, sipping sake with the owner.
Sure. Feed the kids to the oni or whatever else was in here, hungry. Why not? After all, there were plenty more where they came from. If what the others had said was true, the Kai-dan were just another meal for the monsters.
After all, who would miss them? They were the broken ones.
Suddenly, Ichiro’s voice echoed through the house, and Ryuichi heard the others running toward the sound.
Ryuichi was a little more circumspect. He carefully made his way through the empty rooms toward the back garden, where his new teammate continued to call for them and their sensei.
Ichiro stood in the back garden, surrounded by moonlight and dark flowers. A woman was crouched by a pond, muttering between the strands of white hair that hid most of her wrinkled face.
She must be the merchant’s wife. Tiny. Frail. She hardly seemed to be some demonic creature. More likely, she was insane.
That was Ryuichi’s assessment, until he moved close enough to see where her red kimono had fallen away from her shoulder. There, the skin was blotchy from a peculiar blackness that seemed to be growing while he watched it, like an out-of-control weed in a garden.
It appeared to be eating her, crawling along her skin...
But that wasn’t the worst of it. A horrid stench permeated the air, and the closer he stepped toward her, the worse it became. “What is that smell?”
Taka pressed his hand against his nose. “Evil. Pure and simple. Unmistakable. You can’t miss it. And it’s strong with her.”
Masa waved his hand in front of the old woman’s face. She didn’t respond at all. “Shadow demon,” he said.
Shigeru bit his lip as he eyed her warily. “Should we get Sensei?”
Taka snorted and passed an irritated, knowing smirk to him.
Shigeru held his hands out. “Fine. I know he’s drunk. But we don’t really have the ability to handle this on our own. I mean... seriously. We go in or we pull out. Either way, I’m thinking it’s going to grab hold of one of us and make us its snack. I don’t want to be its snack.”
Katashi scratched his ear. “He has a point. Remember what happened to?—”
“Shh!” Toru interrupted. “We never, ever talk about that. Don’t even say that name!”
“I didn’t say the name. I’m just saying it would be wise to heed the lessons learned by the fools who preceded us.”
They all turned to stare at Ryuichi.
“What?” he asked nervously, not liking those speculative expressions in the least.
Masa screwed his face up as if considering something. “How strong are you?”
A chill crept up Ryuichi’s spine. “I don’t know.” Mostly because he wasn’t sure what they were asking about—but his instincts said that it wasn’t about how much weight he could lift.
Toru let out a long breath. “She’s getting worse. When the demon takes her over, it’s going to eat us anyway.”
“We probably should do something.” Ichiro sheathed his sword. “Fine. Let’s try to pull it out of her.”
“And put it where?” Masa’s voice cracked.
Again, they turned to Ryuichi. “Um, no. Already got a demon inside me. I’m a little crowded.” Clearing his throat, he held his hands out and tried to summon Masaru.
Who, as usual, ignored him completely.
Awesome.
Ryuichi grimaced awkwardly at them. “Really, I swear I have a demon in me. He’s a crabby, nasty thing who doesn’t need or want company. There’s no telling what he might do with an accomplice. He could be for us or against us. It’s how I ended up here.”
One run-amok Masaru.
Taka growled. “Fine. My yōkai’s a demon too. He’s one step up from Koichi. Happy-go-lucky and tends to drink, which is what landed me in our group. I was supposed to be practicing when he went psycho and made me trip my former sensei one time too many. Maybe he’ll just cuddle with a shadow demon. Or he could go on a killing quest. I don’t think we should chance it.”
“Could we put it in a jar?” Shigeru pointed at a piece of pottery on his left.
Ichiro nodded. “That might be safer. I second his idea.”
Shigeru went to the jar. “Show of hands for this.”
Everyone agreed with him—especially Ryuichi, who really didn’t want them to put another demon inside him when he couldn’t control the one he already had.
“All right.” Shigeru moved the jar next to the old woman, whose skin was now almost entirely black. “Let’s try that stupid chant Sensei taught us.”
The original six started to intone the words. Ryuichi couldn’t believe it. “Isn’t that from a sake song for good weather?”
Taka smacked him on the arm. “Just do it. Focus on telling the demon to leave her and go into the jar.”
Sure. Why not? Made as much sense as anything else so far. As much sense as his life. Why should he question anything, no matter how ridiculous, at this point?
So, closing his eyes, he joined them in what had to be the strangest demon-fighting chant of all time.
Teru - teru bozu, teru bozu
Ashita tenki ni shite o - kure. Do make tomorrow a sunny day.
Itsuka no yume no sora no yo ni. Like the sky in a dream sometime.
Haretara kin no suzu ageyo. If it’s sunny, I’ll give you a golden bell.
Teru - teru bozu, teru bozu
Ashita tenki ni shite o - kure. Do make tomorrow a sunny day.
Watashi no negai wo kiita nara. If you make my wish come true.
Amai o - sake wo tanto nomasho. We’ll drink lots of sweet sake.
Teru - teru bozu, teru bozu
Ashita tenki ni shite o - kure. Do make tomorrow a sunny day.
Sore de mo kumotte naitetara. But if it’s cloudy and I find you crying
Sonata no kubi wo chon to kiru zo. Then I shall cut off your head.
They all opened their eyes and looked at the old woman.
Big surprise—it hadn’t worked.
“Crap. We forgot the offering.” Ichiro ripped off a piece of his kimono and quickly twisted it into a small doll, which he placed in the jar.
They began chanting again.
Feeling ridiculous, Ryuichi once again followed the others. He occasionally opened an eye to sneak a peek out of curiosity, because he really didn’t think anything would happen.
The others, however, didn’t look once. They believed emphatically in what they were doing.
Focused and intense, their voices became one. The chant flowed in a single, eerie rhythm that resonated through him. He could feel it all the way to his bones. As if a part of him wanted to follow them to the jar. Time seemed to slow down.
Then, ever so slowly, he saw the blackness on the woman’s skin begin to shift. Like a cobra mesmerized by a flute. It lifted from her skin to form a shadowy figure beside her. One that danced and writhed to their chant.
Separate, yet similar, it danced around each one of them as if it were sizing them up. Its bright yellow eyes glowed in the darkness.
Until it reached Ryuichi.
There it stayed, swaying back and forth in time with the chanting, eyeing him in a way that was unnerving... yet somehow inviting.
Ryuichi-chan...
It sounded like Masaru, and yet it didn’t.
My dear, dear boy...
That sent a chill down his spine. “Who are you?”
It didn’t answer his question. Embrace your fears. Let them consume you. Control you.
“Stop it!” Around him, the others were still chanting. Not only did he have to worry about a death demon residing inside him, but now something else was taunting him too. “Get out!”
Don’t be afraid, little one . The dark shape transformed into a beautiful woman. She reached out to him.
Breathless, he stared at her and her flawless skin. She held a smile more radiant than the sun. Her red kimono fluttered in a spectral wind. “My precious boy.”
Why did she seem so familiar?
She’s your mother.
No. Every part of him denied what Masaru told him. It was a trick. A delusion—or illusion.
And yet Ryuichi wanted nothing more than for it to be true. To be real. For her to be here with him.
Knowing better and yet unable to stop himself, he reached out to her. The entire time he heard Masaru’s laughter in his head.
I want this to be true. Please . But he was so afraid. What if this creature really was his mother? Was his mother a demon too?
He couldn’t bear the thought of what that would mean for him. The horrid consequences.
Closer and closer his hand came to hers, making Ryuichi’s heart pound harder. All his life, he’d wondered what a mother’s touch would feel like. He’d craved it more than the air in his lungs. The food that filled his belly.
To feel that warmth and love from someone who cared for him with all her soul.
Just once...
Her hand drew closer to his cheek.
One inch, and he wouldn’t have to wonder anymore.
Taka pulled him back. “It’s a trick!”
“An illusion.” Shigeru struck her down, right in front of him.
Ryuichi cried out as if the blade had run through his own heart. No! How could it be?
He’d come so close to feeling her touch.
Now he was vacant again. And it was their fault! Tears welled in his eyes as grief consumed him.
“Ryuichi!” Toru shook him. “Snap out of it! It’s not real.”
“But so very telling.” A twisted, black version of the merchant’s wife rested her hand on Ryuichi’s shoulder.
Ryuichi no longer had the will to resist. The sensation of utter defeat consumed him and deepened. He was tired of being played with. Of feeling like a pawn. Of being nothing. No one.
I have no name. No one will claim me.
“Ryuichi, you have to fight. She’s feeding off your pain. The worse you feel, the stronger she becomes.” Shigeru shook his arm.
It was useless. Ryuichi no longer cared to fight back. “Why bother?”
Life was pain, and it was miserable. There was nothing here except utter despair. He’d been fighting since the day he was born. And for what?
More ridicule? Shame? Defeat?
Every day was the same. Nothing changed. No one respected him. He kept waiting for things to get better, and they never did. It was just utter agony, and he was so tired.
He was stupid to have thought it would be different here. That he could stand up for himself for once. And what had that gotten him?
Kato was lying near death, and Ryuichi was a member of this awful group he didn’t want to be part of.
Broken boys.
Castoffs.
Like me.
All those awful, nagging doubts... all his soul-sucking fears... and all the bitter, mixed-up feelings he’d pushed down deep inside his entire life were beginning to resurface.
And they were bringing with them friends that had multiplied with the bitterness he’d been denying. He didn’t want to be this person, but the cruelty of others was making it impossible.
One by one, the Toshis in his life had killed all goodness.
There was only so much a human being could take.
Enough was enough.
No one should be held on the ground and treated like this, denied even a semblance of humanity or dignity. I am not garbage!
I am not worthless!
He’d tried so hard to follow the rules and do what he was told, only to be punished again and again... and again and again.
Ryuichi was done.
He was tired of hurting. Of being defeated. Having the taste of despair as his only sustenance. The demon touched his chin and lifted it until his gaze met her dark yellow stare. “Don’t think that, young master. You’re worth more than you could possibly imagine.”
Could she read his thoughts?
She smiled in kindness, warming him.
Only Keiko had ever spoken to him so affectionately. Ever treated him like this. Like he mattered.
But it wasn’t his place.
He hadn’t earned any standing, and he knew it.
“Let me die. I’m worthless.”
The shadow demon tsked. “Don’t say that, Ryuichi-chan. Humanity is worthless, not you. Look at them.” His friends went still and silent. She held up her hand, and in her palm, she showed him various times in his life when he’d been mocked and ridiculed. When they’d treated him like an animal. Showed him no mercy.
“Humans take. Their greed runs deeper than any ocean. It overflows their petty minds and floods their vacuous hearts, driving out any tenderness or reason. All they care about is themselves. No one else matters. They are the real monsters—yet we are the ones persecuted for their crimes. They cannot stand themselves, so they blame their behaviors on us.” The demon, Nekumo, leaned in close to Ryuichi’s ear. He had no idea how he knew her name, but it had appeared in his mind with utter clarity. “Not like you, my prince .”
Prince?
Why did that title feel so natural?
So right?
“Because it is,” Nekumo breathed in his ear. “Awaken, Kage-taro. For too long you’ve slept in this world where they hid you. The time has come for you to return home and claim your place.”
Confused, he scowled at the demon while his classmates remained frozen around him.
The demon smiled. “Keiko... kitsune. She stole you from us. Betrayed us. You were never nameless. Never worthless. Yorukaze Ryuichi. You are the Night Wind. The keeper of the sacred Kimon. More powerful than your own father. You are the prize we all covet. Come with me, my prince, and let me show you exactly how very valuable you really are.”
For the first time in his life, warmth filled him. It rushed through him like happiness.
Was it love? He didn’t know. How could he? But it chased away the cold he’d always felt and filled that bitter emptiness.
His head spun. The things she had told him... Were they true?
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us . That was the old saying his senseis had taught him.
Who was he?
Ryuichi didn’t really know. And that truly scared him.
When the character of a man isn’t clear, look to his friends.
The demon stroked his cheek. “You have no friends. Only betrayers. Humans will fear you, and they always attack what they fear. They will destroy you, my lord.”
She wasn’t wrong.
How many times had he been attacked for no reason?
Nekumo laughed in his ear. “Keiko betrayed you first. Stealing you from your parents to save these pathetic humans. For years she stood by, pretending to be old and weak, but secretly laughing while they hurt you. Watching them all abuse you when she could have easily stopped it.” The demon tsked. “Poor you, to think she was your friend while she mocked you behind your back.”
Like everyone else.
His despair gave way to anger over that thought. How could she have done that?
“Why?”
“She was jealous of your beautiful mother. Wanted to punish her and you.”
“I was innocent!”
Nekumo laughed. “Aren’t we all? But not for long. What is the old saying? To be brave, a samurai must have a bit of black blood?” She laughed again, caressing his cheek. “You have more than a bit. Revel in it and let it guide you.”
He felt the heat rising inside him. The world was stained. And he was stained most of all.
Nekumo smiled. “You can be anyone you want to be, my prince. A beggar. A samurai. Or king. Your choice.”
How easy she made it sound.
Anything I want . He’d never had a choice so big or even a choice at all. Where did one start when the world was so open?
Nekumo reached for him. “Take my hand and avenge yourself! Avenge your family honor for what they’ve all done to you. They turned a prince into a slave and mocked you for fun. All of them should pay for their dishonor.”
She was right. What had been done to him was despicable. He’d been denied his birthright.
Lied to by everyone. He’d been robbed of everything, even his real name.
“Take what is yours!” her voice urged him, driving away all his inhibitions.
It was impossible to deny her.
The Kai-dan began to scream. He heard them. Some part of him felt as if he should care, but it was as if he was outside of his body. Disconnected. Everything felt numb. Hollow. His ears rang. The only sound was the incessant beating of his own heart.
It became louder until it drowned out everything else.
You are the Night Wind. The shadows.
He had no idea what that meant exactly, but for some reason, it was funny, and he began to laugh.
Ryuichi felt Masaru trying to take over. But the demon was trapped inside Ryuichi’s body and struggled there while Nekumo circled him.
“Arise, Kage-taro! Become who you were meant to be!”
Now he heard the Kai-dan screaming louder and louder. That sound amused him to the point that he reveled in it...
* * *
“What is that?”
Sitting outside the home of the old merchant they were helping, Oishi, Koichi turned around at Oishi’s question. His jaw went slack as he saw the smoke and lights inside the man’s home. What the ? —
“Is that supposed to be happening?”
Stunned, Koichi shook his head. “Here, hold my sake.” He thrust the bottle into the merchant’s hands, and like the fool he had once been, he ran toward the danger.
Last thing he wanted right now was to be sober. But...
The sake burned through his system as his instincts took over. This is why I drink...
Too many memories haunted him. Too many years of just this sort of thing.
Of lost innocence, friends, and colleagues. Of demons who cared for nothing other than carnage. Who preyed on lives, misery, and pain.
The more the merrier. They drank it up with a greedy, unquenchable thirst.
Koichi had once been all that stood between the realm of humans and that of the demons—the last of the slayers able to fend them off while the guardians remained frozen in stone. But rather than thanking him for what he’d done, the lives he’d saved, and all the sacrifices he’d made, the ones he’d risked his life and sanity for had mocked him too. Called him a charlatan and grouped him in with others who feigned his skills. Those who pretended to know the secrets of yin and yang.
In this modern age, people had forgotten all they’d once known. The onmyōji were no more. Neither was the bureau that had once protected Japan.
While others had played with the cute little yōkai in objects around them, they’d forgotten just how dangerous things could be. Forgotten what happened when signs were ignored, and innocence was left unguarded.
Thoughts were left unchecked.
A small breeze could quickly turn into a gale-force wind capable of utter destruction.
This new age of unbridled curiosity and conquest had breached gateways that should never have been opened. While it was good to quest and learn, it wasn’t good to give in to the baser side of man’s darkness. To let impulses override humanity.
That was the danger he was running toward.
I’m a fool.
Koichi had promised himself that he’d stay out of this. That his days of fighting were over. Yet here he was, rushing to help students no one else wanted to look at or bother with.
Because our scars make us beautiful. They add character to our lives and make our stories unique . That was what his sensei had taught him. There was no such thing as “broken.” Everything had a spirit and should be preserved. Those scars only added to the history and the beauty. The richness of life.
We love that which is unlovable.
His Kai-dan were special in their own unique way.
With that thought, he rushed through the empty house, seeking out the ghoulish green light that cut through the darkness. It guided him past candlelit rooms, until he reached the garden in back.
Strange. There was no sound from any animal or bird. Nothing of this world. Only the inhuman noises of those things that should never have been disturbed.
Smoke rolled through the garden, blacker than any made by fire or other natural means.
Instantly, he knew what it meant.
Shadows were escaping. They were learning to become their own, and that terrified him.
Darkest night.
Eating light.
Some are prey.
Some will stay.
But if your shadow leaves your heel...
Your fate and life it will seal.
That rhyme stuck in his mind as Koichi remembered the first lesson he’d been taught when they’d chosen him for his own mission. Shadows were never what they seemed. And they knew everything.
Koichi burst through the smoke and finally saw his students.
To his horror, a ghastly shadow held Ryuichi entrapped in its noncorporeal mist.
The boy babbled incoherently. His eyes were white, like bulging full moons.
Then Koichi heard the demon’s voice. “Do your father proud...”
Was the shadow demon implying what he feared about the boy?
Terror planted itself in his gut as he watched Ryuichi hold the others motionless around him. He wasn’t even using effort.
This was bad.
And I have to stop it.
An instant before the demonic shadow realized he was there, Koichi pulled his sword, and in one swift stroke, he cut her down.
She didn’t even have time to react before his katana sucked the shadow essence into its blade, which turned bright orange as the demon’s form was removed from this existence and returned it to where it belonged.
The clouds above slid back from the moon.
Sighing, Koichi turned around, wiping the blade with the sleeve of his kimono. He didn’t say a word, as he knew talk was worthless now.
Until he realized something else.
His Kai-dan weren’t moving.
Neither was Ryuichi. With the death of the shadow demon, the boys should have all returned to their normal states. But they remained frozen—and Ryuichi’s eyes were still white.
What the ... ?
Snarling, Ryuichi ran at him. Koichi held his ground. He’d faced worse before.
Or so he thought. He wasn’t prepared for the strength or ferocity of Ryuichi’s attack. The boy hit him hard, square in the chest. While he was able to deflect the power bolts of uncontrolled magic, the sheer number of them was overwhelming.
And they just kept coming, leaving Koichi no opportunity to strike back.
Which could only mean one thing...
He was competing with the endless stamina of something not born of this world.
In other words, Ryuichi wasn’t human—at least, not entirely.
How could this be?
But it happened, and he knew that too.
Unnatural and unclean things entered this world and didn’t belong here. He’d learned that lesson better than anyone. They were capable of doing unspeakable things.
Just like now...
Time hung suspended as the reality crashed through him. This wasn’t supposed to happen . Nothing like Ryuichi should be here, in the body of a boy. It broke the natural order. Brought chaos...
And explained so very much.
But right now, Koichi couldn’t think about that. He had to stop the boy before he killed someone.
Especially him.
Had to stop him before Ryuichi did something that couldn’t be undone.
He moved fast and decisively.
Koichi dodged straight into one of the arcs of green light. It cut into his shoulder. Blood gushed like water as he grimaced in pain. It was a small price to pay for victory, and he hoped that was the only blood he would be forced to give up tonight.
Moving as fast as he could, he hit Ryuichi in the head with the back of his katana.
Luckily, there was still enough magic in his blade that it reacted to Ryuichi and pulled the power out of him. Draining him.
But it wasn’t as easy with the boy as it’d been with the shadow demon.
Ryuichi fought him, cursing and snarling like a beast.
The other students began to choke as they came out of their trance. It was a race to see if he could pull the powers out before the demonic energy killed the others.
A part of him wanted to ask Masaru for help, but he didn’t dare risk it. That lunatic might very well finish off Koichi’s students.
Just for fun.
No wonder Masaru had chosen Ryuichi. Had he known, or just sensed this power?
Koichi felt the sweat roll down his back as he wrestled with the weight of energies he hadn’t gone up against in years. He wasn’t prepared for this.
His katana grew hotter and hotter. So scalding, he could barely hold on to it. The heat blistered his hands.
Don’t let it go , he chanted to himself.
If he did, the darkness would take Ryuichi, and he’d lose them all.
Grinding his teeth, Koichi held his ground over the boy and forced him to his knees. Finally, he saw color beginning to return to the white eyes.
Taka was the first to break free of whatever had been holding them prisoner. He ran at them, but Koichi knocked him away before Ryuichi fell.
Furious, Taka glared. He gestured at Ryuichi, who was now on the ground, panting. “Kill him!”
The first answer to everything.
Sometimes it was the logical answer. Sometimes it was the only answer.
And other times it was just a stupid answer.
Luckily for Ryuichi, this fell into the third category. Especially when no one really knew what they were dealing with.
Never go up against something until you know exactly what you’re dealing with. For that matter, don’t tangle with someone unless you know who or what they are, and what they’ll do . This was the first rule of combat, and the quickest way to die painfully if one failed to heed that wisdom.
Demons didn’t always die the way one thought they might. Sometimes “death” meant “unleashing,” and that could become an even bigger nightmare.
Something could grow even fiercer and eat you when you tried to run.
Again, Koichi blocked Taka from reaching his target. “You trust me?”
The boy scoffed. “No!”
Fair enough.
That would have offended Koichi more had he not deserved it. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t exactly given the Kai-dan a reason to trust him.
None of them knew his real skill or his background. Why he was really at Hanzō’s school. All they saw was a drunken loser. A failure.
And for the first time in years, it sickened him to know that he’d earned that reputation.
That he deserved it.
Beware the mirror. The truth shown there is often hard to face. And even harder to swallow.
“Fine.” Koichi sheathed his enchanted blade before Taka realized what it was and asked questions he didn’t want to answer.
The other five Kai-dan were now coherent, except for Ryuichi, and no one needed to know anything about what Koichi had just learned regarding the kid. “We have to keep this a secret.”
Masa shook his head. “He’s unclean!”
Normally true. Those like Ryuichi were to be shunned. However... if Ryuichi was what Koichi suspected, he wasn’t demonic, like they were thinking.
He was worse.
“We are the Kai-dan. When things are broken, they should never be cast away. The cracks and scars add character. They become integral to our stories. Ryuichi is one of us. He’s our brother and part of our family. Kai-dan doesn’t abandon Kai-dan.”
Those words haunted Koichi. He, too, had forgotten their message. For too long he’d been on the sidelines. Hurting. Aching.
Absent.
No more.
Evil things were on the move to harm the innocent, and now it was time he taught his ragtag students how to defend themselves from the powers that had broken Koichi himself. How to battle the nightmares that were determined to bring them all down—not just in this world but the next.
If the gods want me back in this fight, fine. They have me.
Kicking and screaming. Probably bleeding too.
He just hoped that the students could appreciate the weight of what had fallen onto all their shoulders. The responsibility.
Koichi tried to wake Ryuichi, but it was useless, so he inclined his head to Ichiro. “Help your brother.”
Ichiro screwed his face up in distaste. “I don’t know what’s happening. Did we win?”
Koichi wasn’t sure how to answer that. “The demon we came to fight is dead. Yes.”
But they were going home with a whole new problem. Hopefully, this one wouldn’t try to destroy them.
Again.
Life... it was ever surprising. Never what anyone expected. And never once was it what Koichi had signed up for, even when he thought he knew what he was doing.
He definitely didn’t know what he was doing right now. Or even what he was really facing.
I picked a bad day to give away my sake.
But as he looked into the face of a boy who had no idea what was inside him, he was torn. This wasn’t the case of a yōkai taking over someone. Using them.
This was a child born of an unholy union of some kind.
Maybe this was his own redemption. If he could save Ryuichi...
Maybe there was hope for him. Maybe he wasn’t what others thought of him.
And if you can’t?
Simple. They would all die.