Sword Kissed Page 7

  Akari doubted that. The “archives” were not particularly well-stocked or useful. So much of the world had been destroyed during the Great Divide: homes, schools, libraries, databases. Much knowledge from before was simply lost as well. The archives only contained information that had been collected since the Great Divide. Initially, people had rushed to write down anything they could remember from before—The Tale of the Genji, The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Ronin, and the poems of Fukuda Chiyo-ni were popular even now. But everyone knew that most of the world’s knowledge had simply been forgotten.

  “I have a feeling that what we are dealing with is older than anything in the archives,” Akari said.

  Kaya kicked her horse into a trot. “But we don’t have anything older than the archives. If the answer isn’t there, where are we supposed to find it?”

  Akari urged her horse to keep up with Kaya’s. “Maybe Sera knows something. She…always seems to know things the rest of us don’t.”

  Kaya nodded. It was something everyone knew, yet no one talked about. Sera was a fixture in town, someone everyone knew and respected. Her knowledge and wisdom were unquestioned. But how she came to be who she was? That was something that no one could answer. Akari wasn’t sure she even wanted to know the answer. Part of Sera’s strength was in her mystique. To shatter that, to bring Sera down to the level of everyone else, wouldn’t help anyone. Who wanted just some random lady to be training the Sword Kissed—the women who were supposed to be protecting everyone from the dark evils of the world?

  “I’m still going to head to the archives,” Kaya said. “Good luck with Sera.”

  When they arrived back in town, Akari went to see Sera, and Takeo followed her.

  “What happened out there?” Sera asked with little welcome.

  Akari gave a quick explanation of the enenra and how they had been vanquished. She also told Sera about the drained body of the missing women from the villages.

  Sera crossed her arms and stood at a window. “What do you think we are dealing with?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” Akari said. “Kaya is going to the archives to try and find information, but I think that what we are dealing with is very, very old in order to be so powerful.”

  Sera looked at Takeo. “And you? What do you think?”

  “Akari is right that this thing, whatever it is, is powerful. Kaya is smart to look for more answers, but…I fear the answer has been lost to time.”

  Sera turned to Akari. “So what is your next step?”

  Akari shrugged. “I’m not sure. I feel like all I can do is wait for the next killing.”

  Takeo tilted his head, pressing his lips with a shake of his head. He might not like it, but he had no idea of what to do next either, Akari knew.

  “That’s unacceptable,” Sera said. “How many people are going to have to die before you are able to make progress?”

  The words felt like a sword to the stomach. She was doing her best, working as quickly as possible. Did she not just take down a whole warehouse full of enenra? What more did Sera want from her?

  “I’m sorry, Sensei,” Akari said with a bow. “What would you like me to do?”

  “Have you spoken to your partner at all about this?” Sera asked.

  Akari shot a glance to Takeo, who was standing stoically. “We…have been speaking and working together…” she started to say.

  “Have you?” Sera asked. “Because I’m not seeing much team work here. You’ve mentioned working with and talking to Kaya, and while Kaya is a competent Sword Kissed, she isn’t your partner. Takeo is.”

  “Yes, Sensei,” Akari said with another bow. “I will do better, Sensei.”

  Sera shook her head. “While you are waiting for the next death, I’m sending you on a training exercise. One designed to build teamwork.”

  Akari scoffed. “I know I have failed you, Sensei,” she said. “But this hardly seems necessary. And such a waste of time—”

  “You dare to question my methods?” Sera asked. Akari stopped talking. She wasn’t in a position to argue. She would have to do whatever Sera ordered her to do.

  “No, Sensei,” Akari said through gritted teeth.

  “Good,” Sera said, opening a drawer and pulling out a map. “Pack an overnight bag. This is where you are going. Bring me a nightbloom from the caves under the ruins. I expect you back in two days.”

  Akari took the map from Sera and then bowed her way out of the room. “Yes, Sensei,” she said. Takeo bowed out of the room as well.

  Akari looked at the map. It was strange. She wasn’t aware of any ruins on the mountain that loomed over Nasu, but she had never been there before.

  “I must apologize,” Takeo said. “I have not been a good partner.”

  Akari waved him off. “No, I was the one who ran off without you. Don’t worry about it. Besides, Sera has always been harder on me than anyone else. I’m a constant disappointment.”

  “Why do you think that is?” he asked. “About her being harder on you,” he clarified. “Not about you being a disappointment.”

  “I’m not sure,” she said, stuffing the map into her pocket. “Well, I’m the only Sword Kissed she trained personally. She probably just has higher standards for me.”

  Takeo nodded. “I know what it is like to have an exacting mentor.”

  “I assume you succeeded at everything you ever attempted,” Akari said in an attempt at levity, but it obviously had fallen flat when she saw Takeo’s unsmiling face.

  “I do not know why you would assume that,” he said. “We all fail sometimes. But failure can also make us stronger.”

  “Take it easy,” Akari said. “I only meant…” She sighed. Maybe the fae didn’t have the same sense of humor humans did. “Never mind. I am going to go home and pack. Let’s meet by the east gate in an hour.”

  Takeo gave her a small bow and walked away. She watched him for a moment, and she noticed several other women in the area observing him as well. They blushed and quickly turned away when they saw her looking at them. Akari had to admit that by any standard, Takeo was attractive. But she didn’t imagine anything coming from it. They were making strides to work together, but nothing more. Besides, she couldn’t imagine trying to have a relationship with a fae. It would be too difficult, too much too overcome. Just look at Yoshimi. No other human would be better suited to marry a fae than her and even she had not attempted it. What chance would someone like Akari have? She shook her head and turned for home.

  It was nearly noon, so Yoshimi was there with Elwin, fixing a quick lunch of rice and steamed vegetables.

  “I didn’t expect you to be here,” Yoshimi said. “I’m afraid I didn’t fix enough. But there are some onigiri you can eat.”

  Akari placed some onigiri in a cloth and tied them up. Then she put them into a bag. “Yeah,” she said. “These will be good for the road anyway.”

  “The road?” Yoshimi asked. She fixed a bowl of food for Elwin and herself. “Are you going somewhere?”

  “Sera is sending Takeo and me on a training mission,” she said, pulling the map from her pocket and handing it to Yoshimi. “Have you ever been out here before?”

  Yoshimi took the map and studied it, her brow scrunching in confusion. “What did she say was out there? I didn’t know there was anything out that way except for trees and rocks.”

  “I thought the same thing,” Akari said, grabbing a few kinds of tsukemono and putting them in a small metal container and some fruit and putting all of it into her food bag. “But she says there are ruins at the top, and caves underneath where nightbloom grow.”

  “Nightbloom?” Yoshimi asked incredulously, handing the map back to Akari. She started to say something else, but then bit her tongue.

  “What?” Akari asked.

  Yoshimi shook her head and picked at her food. “It’s a training mission, so I shouldn’t say anything. I’m sure Sera has her reasons for sending you out there.”

  “Where the nig
htbloom grow

  Is where my heart will find you

  She waits there also.”

  Elwin uttered the haiku between bites of daikon.

  Akari and Yoshimi both looked at him.

  “What was that?” Yoshimi asked.

  “Nothing,” he said. “A poem about nightbloom.”

  “I’ve never heard it before,” Akari said.

  He shrugged. “A fae poem.”

  Akari couldn’t suppress a smile at the edge of her mouth. She noticed Yoshimi was smiling, too. For a little man of few words, he sure knew how to throw Akari some serious shade.

  “Who is she?” Akari asked when she had collected herself.

  Elwin shrugged again and looked at Yoshimi. “Can I have a mochi? I finished my rice.”

  “Of course, dear,” Yoshimi said, and Elwin happily ran over to the counter to pick out a mochi generously rolled in powdered sugar.

  “Do you know what he’s talking about?” Akari asked.

  Yoshimi shook her head. “The fae, like us, have many legends and stories about things, including nightbloom. Of course, a flower that blooms and glows in the dark is going to be credited with having supernatural abilities or meaning.”

  “I’ll be sure to bring one back for you,” Akari said as she finished packing her bag.

  “It’s just…” Yoshimi paused.

  “What?” Akari prodded.

  “Nightbloom is precious to the fae,” she said. “They use it for ceremonies. So they keep the places where the nightbloom grow secret. Protected.”

  Akari nodded and peered at the map again. “I know. Which is why I was surprised Sera said there was some out there. If there was a cache of nightbloom there, wouldn’t people know about it?”

  “Some people might,” Yoshimi said, but her meaning was clear. The fae might know about the nightbloom on the mountain, but humans wouldn’t.

  Akari ran her fingers over the map. It was crudely drawn. Primitive. It was also browned with age and the edges frayed.

  “Sera is friendly with the fae communities,” Akari said. “She probably got this from them.”

  “But why would she give it to you?” Yoshimi asked. “You’re not fae. The fae wouldn’t take kindly to you stumbling through one of their nightbloom fields.”

  “Takeo is fae,” Akari reminded Yoshimi.

  “True,” Yoshimi said as she cleared the dishes from the table. “But I doubt she is sending you out there for his benefit.”

  Akari sighed and put a few more items into her pack. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Just…be careful,” Yoshimi said. She ushered Elwin off to collect his gear, so they could head back to the school for afternoon classes. “That mountain will not be without protection.”

  Akari bit into an apple as she headed out the door. “Thanks for the heads-up,” she said. “I’ll bring you back a flower.”

  8

  As she approached Takeo, she thought she saw a hint of smile cross his face before he quickly pushed it away.

  “You were nearly late,” he said, heading out of town.

  “But not actually late,” she corrected. “I was talking to Elwin, and he said something interesting about the nightbloom. I was wondering if you knew of any faeish legends about them.”

  He shrugged his pack higher up on his shoulders. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said. She walked a little faster to keep up with him. “He recited a poem about the nightbloom. I can’t remember all the words, but it ended with something about ‘she’ is waiting where the nightbloom grows.”

  “Who is she?” Takeo asked.

  “I asked Elwin, but he didn’t know,” she said. They turned off the main road and headed up a trail into the woods and up a hill.

  Takeo was quiet for a few minutes. Akari thought he was just concentrating on the road when he suddenly piped up. “Oh, I know this haiku,” he said.

  “Where the nightbloom grow

  Is where my heart will find you

  She waits there also.”

  “Yes!” Akari said, a little too excitedly. “That’s the one.” They exited the town and headed off into the woods toward the mountain.

  “I think it is just a poem,” Takeo said. “I don’t think it means anything.”

  “Have you ever wondered who the ‘she’ in the poem is?” Akari asked, her legs already starting to burn a little. She looked up the mountain, and it hit her for the first time just how tall it was. She looked back, and it practically towered over Nasu. She wondered why she had never hiked it before. It would be a good place to hold training missions of all types, and it was so close. Usually if she wanted to go hiking, she would head to a different mountain to the south, a few miles away. She would have to start hiking here instead.

  “Not really,” he said, his eyes watching the trail ahead as it rose up the mountain. “I guess I always thought it was a romantic poem. That ‘she’ is a waiting lover.”

  “Makes sense, I guess,” Akari said. “I know the nightbloom is said to have aphrodisiac powers.”

  Takeo laughed, probably for the first time. “I think anything mystical is said to have aphrodisiac powers.”

  Akari went over to the side of the trail and picked up a long branch she could use as a walking stick. “That is probably true,” she said.

  “Yoshimi also had a few things to say. Concerns, I guess,” Akari said.

  “Did she?” Takeo asked. He didn’t seem to be exerting himself at all as he went up the mountain.

  “Just that the fae are protective of the nightbloom, since they use them in rituals,” she said. Takeo didn’t respond. “She just said we should be careful. If the fae know the nightbloom are out here, they might be guarded in some way.”

  “True,” he said, leaping over some fallen tree trunks. Akari did her best to jump over them, but she ended up crawling as gracefully as a slug. “But it’s not like they will come at us with pitchforks if they see us. They might just try to send us away without letting you pick one for Sera.”

  “It’s just weird that Sera sent us out here,” Akari panted. “The last thing we need are more tensions with the fae.”

  “It does seem like a waste of time,” he admitted. “We need to be looking for the shadow monster.”

  “We finally agree on something,” Akari said.

  “I guess this building teamwork mission is working then,” Takeo said with a smirk.

  “Just don’t tell Sera,” Akari said. “She’d never let me live it down.”

  They walked for many hours, until dusk, following the map deeper into the forest and up the mountain.

  “We should camp here,” Takeo said when they came to a cave. “This looks like a safe place to spend the night.”

  “Does it?” she asked, peering into the dark hole. “What if someone—or something—already lives there?”

  “Are you afraid of the dark, Akari?” he asked playfully.

  Wow, first a laugh, now a joke? Takeo appeared to be letting his guard down. Maybe the brisk climb had been good for them.

  “Of course not,” Akari said. She pulled out a box of matches, searching for kindling she could use to make a torch. “But with so many angry demons wandering around, I don’t want to risk disturbing something that could kill us in our sleep.”

  Takeo nodded and handed Akari a short, stout branch. She wound some leaves around it and lit it with a match from her pack, which she then left outside the cave along with Takeo’s bag.

  “You are right,” he said. “We should be extra careful. No one is expecting us back until tomorrow night. If we went missing, no help would come soon enough.”

  “Geeze,” Akari said as she stepped into the cave. “Thanks for the comfort.”

  “My pleasure,” he said, and she wasn’t sure if he was joking or serious.

  As she stepped into the cavern, it quickly became apparent it was neither deep nor inhabited. It was more of an outcropping than a proper ca
ve.

  “We can sleep here,” Takeo said. He headed back out to grab their packs.

  Akari held her torch aloft and scrutinized the space. On the ground, she saw bits of white rock. She kicked them with her feet, and they sounded…hollow. She bent down to pick them up and noticed they were porous.

  “Bones,” she said, but then remembered Takeo wasn’t there. The ground was littered with the crushed remains of bones. The pieces were too small to identify what kind of animal they had come from. She looked up, but didn’t see any owls or bats, which could indicate that they had come from small animals like rats or rabbits.

  She stood and walked closer to the back wall. As her eyes adjusted, she realized there were old, faded images painted there. The paint was faint, and chipped away in places, but she saw what looked like small children with shaggy hair running with long sticks.

  “What’s that?” Takeo asked, and Akari nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “Geeze! You really need to learn to make more noise when you walk,” she said, gripping her chest.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I’ll try to remember to stomp toward you. Anyway, what are you looking at?”

  “Just some old cave drawings,” she said, holding her torch back up. “What do you think they are? Anything we should be concerned about?”

  “Such primitive drawings could be anything,” he said. “They could be real, or they could just be interpretations of something that couldn’t be explained. Or the artist could have just been really, really bad.”

  “You’re no help at all,” she said. She pushed past him and went to set up camp.

  They built a fire in the middle of the cave and used it to boil water. They used the water to clean themselves off a bit since they had gotten rather warm and dirty on their hike.

  Akari offered Takeo some of her tsukemono, and he offered her some of his mikan chuhai. The alcohol content was low, but enough to help her relax. She hated sleeping outside. It left her feeling exposed, vulnerable. She hoped the chuhai would calm her enough to get a bit of rest.