"I ruled Akatsuki before," Kaito said, flashing them a smile revealing his canines to let them know he meant business.
"With the support of the eight." The Lord glanced around the rundown chamber. Unfortunately, this was the best he had to offer for entertaining. "Given the circumstances, I fear it would be an almost impossible task."
"I do not need the eight to rule."
The lord's smile was slippery as an eel. "I was speaking of your long absence. How can the people of Akatsuki believe in a ruler who abandoned them to the mercy of humans?"
Kaito had to hold onto his anger. Once again, the humans were brought into the argument. From the corner of his eye, he felt Ai's gaze upon him.
He ignored Ai's knowing look and said, "I am not concerned with a few humans."
"They are no longer few, dragon," the lord said in a drawl. "They number in the thousands, and they grow more powerful with each generation. There are those with exceptional power who can purify us. I have not seen the like since their creation."
"It's because our kind has bred with them. They’re more like that abomination!" the warrior said. She was holding so tight onto her teacup Kaito thought it would shatter to pieces in her hand.
"Please, do not get her started," the lord said with a heavy sigh. But he made no move to silence her.
"How can you let this go? Our kind have been hunted by him for centuries now. He killed all of my comrades!"
Kaito frowned at her statement. This was the second time he'd come across this same story. "Who is this half-breed?"
The woman was shaking with anger, her rage flared in her eyes like flickering flames. The legendary swordsmen were unrivaled in battle. He should know, he'd fought Noaki enough times. But unlike this warrior, Noaki was always in control of his emotions. Was this what it looked like when he lost control? He could only imagine how a powerful being unconstrained by rage might be on the battlefield.
"The rumors say he is the spawn of a powerful priestess and a dragon," the lord said, meeting Kaito's gaze, pinning him in place.
They couldn't know about the half-breed bastard Kazue had borne, very few knew of his existence. Was it possible his son had been the one causing havoc all this time?
"I saw him. He exuded yokai energy, but he purified yokai energy with spiritual power of a human. He had combined the power of both, and it made him unstoppable." She slammed her hand onto the table. "If you can find and kill that bastard, I would swear myself to you right here and now."
The lord's expression was unreadable. It was one thing for her to swear herself to Kaito, but it was another matter entirely for him to. And what was one legendary warrior? He needed an army.
"And what is your price?" Kaito asked him.
"You must know I have the backing of the Lady's subjects," he said, preening by brushing away imaginary dust from his clothing.
Kaito glared at him, impatient with these games.
"What would I want?" He tapped his chin in thought, though Kaito knew he'd had his price the moment he'd walked into this room. After an overlong, dramatic pause he said, "I want to rule the western provinces."
It wasn't unexpected. And it wasn't so high a price that he wouldn't pay. Without someone like this lord, he would never get control over the other warring clans. And yet Kaito hesitated.
Ai looked at Kaito with a pleased smile, perhaps sensing her triumph. She had brought him a powerful ally, just as she had promised. But it wasn't just his promise of marriage to her that kept him from making such an alliance. The western province was heavily populated by the humans and the White Palace was there. And if he was being honest, if it was Kazue's bastard that was causing this trouble, Kaito wasn't sure he could face him. Because he was certain now that was who had caused all this trouble in the first place. This fight meant going against two things he had hoped never to do, fight the humans and Kazue's son.
The man was watching him, assessing, and perhaps trying to have Kaito expose his weakness. He'd chosen this for the purpose of wounding him, just as he'd brought the warrior, to open old wounds. He could be a powerful ally. He needed someone cunning on his side. Someone who could sway people with words. But at what price?
Before he could form an answer, the door at the back of the room flew open and Jirou stormed in. Kaito rose up from his seat as his guest turned toward the interruption with a knowing smile. Kaito strode over to him, stopping him before he could make a scene.
"What are you doing here?" Kaito snarled at him, grabbing onto his shoulder and turning him away.
Jirou wriggled out of his grip, throwing his arms out. "There's been another attack," he said, not bothering to keep his voice down.
Kaito glanced back at his guests, before trying to direct his brother out of the room with a hand to his back.
"I will attend to it shortly."
"You should be dealing with it now! Our patrol went out and they were attacked by priests again. Arata was burned." His brother was seething. This was no play act, not anymore.
That caught Kaito's attention. "Burned?"
"A priestess among them had control of fire and she burned Arata. All he was doing was patrolling as you ordered."
Kaito balled his hands into fists. It couldn't be Suzume. It had to be Hisato's idea of a trick, trying to lure him out. This is exactly why you need their help. If he had an army at his back, Hisato could not stand against him.
"Tell the men to keep an eye out. We are not to engage."
Anger flashed in his brother's eyes. "Would you have us sit inside the palace like children and wait for them to come knocking on our door?"
Kaito grit his teeth, trying to keep his temper under control.
"I gave an order," he said through gritted teeth.
"You care more about humans than us."
Kaito lost control of his temper and punched him hard enough to send him sprawling on the ground.
His brother wiped blood away from his lip.
"Do not question me," Kaito snarled.
His brother rose to his feet, head bowed but hardly defeated. "If you won't protect our people I will." He left in a fury.
Kaito turned toward Ai. "Follow him. Keep him from doing anything stupid." She nodded her head and followed his brother down the hall.
For a moment, Kaito watched the pair of them go. If it was up to him, he'd go and chase his brother down to beat some sense into him. But he couldn't expose his weakness, not during these negotiations.
"Problem?" the lord asked.
"Nothing that I cannot handle." Kaito turned around with a forced smile.
"Your brother is right to be concerned! The attacks have been increasing. The humans are growing bolder all the time," the warrior said, half rising out of her seat as if she would go join Jirou in his revenge.
"So I've heard," Kaito said as he took a seat across from them. "Now I am willing to negotiate on territory lines. I will be ruler over all and if you wish to govern the west-"
"As leader of Akatsuki, it should be you who is squashing this insurgence," the lord said calmly. But Kaito saw the accusation in his eyes.
"I have things well at hand," he said past gritted teeth.
"Do you? I heard that the dragon who fathered that half-breed menace was you."
The warrior did leap up this time, almost toppling over the table between them in the process. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her skull as she reached for her sword. The only thing that kept her from drawing it was a lazy hand in the air from the lord. "Is this true?" she asked.
Kaito glared at the man across from him who returned with a look of challenge, daring him to refute it.
"Believe me when I say I have no attachment to humans, whatsoever."
"Then you will have no concern with ridding us of him and the humans who rise up against their betters," the lord said, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"I will handle that if it comes to it."
The man laughed, mockingly.
"It has come to that now. With that half-breed leading them-"
"What?" Kaito interrupted him.
"The half-breed. He's their emperor."
Everything slowed around Kaito for a moment. The leader of the humans, the emperor, Suzume's father, was his son?
After leaving his guests, Kaito scoured every inch of the palace for his brother. But after tearing the place apart in his search, and half terrifying the dragons who were milling around the palace, he realized he wasn't there. Kaito flew into the air, searching out his brother by spreading out his senses and looking for a trace of his spiritual power.
He found him flying toward the village. Of course he had gone there. It was the closest human dwelling and the easiest place for his brother to exact his revenge for the attack. As Kaito pursued his brother however, he felt an immediate desire to turn the other way. He ignored the feeling, keeping his sights trained on his brother. But as he attempted to get closer to the village it went from a suggestion to a command. As if invisible hands were turning him, he was directed away from the village. He had to go anywhere but there. He could not get close even if he wanted to and any attempt to approach only resulted in extreme pain.
Despite that, he was closing in on his brother. They collided together in the sky, and he knocked him down from the air. They fell into the ocean together and dived down beneath the tossing waves, clawing and each wrestling for the advantage. The waves pushed them closer toward the village, and each inch closer pain shot through his body.
The pain grew so intense it forced him to let go and Jirou flew into the sky, and beyond his reach toward the village. He wanted to chase him but no matter what he did, he couldn't get his body to move. What is this?
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. There was only one thing that could keep him away. The command Suzume had put on him. Which meant his blood-thirsty brother was heading straight for Suzume.
24
Suzume awoke in an unfamiliar bed with a pounding headache. This is getting really old. The room was a fine one, with murals painted on the walls depicting mountains hung with heavy cloud cover and sweeping valleys. This wasn't just any room, it had to belong to someone of importance. This sort of thing happened to her so often she didn't even question it anymore. She shrugged off the silken blankets and stood up. Her legs were shaking beneath her but she managed to make her way into the next room.
An old man was sitting at a desk in the next room. He glanced up as she entered.
"You're awake then?" He stood up, his joints audibly cracking as he did so. "I was afraid I wouldn't have use of my bed tonight." He gave her a smile.
But Suzume wasn't in a smiling mood.
"Who are you?" She'd felt this sort of pain before, this aching fatigue. She tried to rack her brain to remember where she was, but the last thing she remembered was the dragon attack. Everything after that was a blank. Which could mean only one thing.
"Why don't you sit down." He gestured to a seat across from him.
Suzume's legs were trembling beneath her and she decided it wouldn't hurt to sit down.
"I am the governor of Osaka. But you can call me Souta. And you I am told are Princess Suzume."
The governor of Osaka had been the noble they were on their way to see when they'd been attacked. It seemed they had made it to their destination despite the attack, but that didn't explain why she'd woken up here. "What am I doing in your room?" she asked.
"After your little incident on the boat, Ryuu wanted to lock you up, but I thought we should talk first."
She'd almost forgotten she'd attacked the warrior priests in her attempt to protect Kaito. Suzume rubbed her throbbing head. "And I suppose you want me to thank you for that." Maybe she should be locked up. Just the slightest threat and she'd lost control again.
The old man smiled. "Not at all. But I thought I would understand your position better than most."
She snorted. "I doubt it."
"Are you sure about that?"
Suzume had been distracted but now met the man's gaze. His eyes were the most peculiar color, gray like a storm. And there was this strange feeling when she looked into his eyes, as if they'd known each other their entire lives. But she was certain she'd never laid eyes on him before.
"Do I know you?"
"We haven't had the pleasure. If you don't mind, I wanted to ask you a few questions."
She narrowed her eyes at him. Questions had their own sort of danger. "What do you want to know?"
"Has this happened to you before?" he asked.
"Losing consciousness? More often than I'd like." She rubbed her throbbing head and looked around the room to avoid meeting his gaze.
All laughter and humor were wiped from his storm-gray eyes. "I meant losing control of your body."
Suzume shrugged in a dismissive way. She didn't know who he was but she wasn't going to expose that part of herself to him.
"I'll take that as a yes." He sighed heavily.
"What do you know about it?" she challenged.
His gaze pierced her to the core, but he did not answer.
It occurred to Suzume this could very well be Hisato's trap and she leaped to her feet. "How do you know anything about me?"
"Please, sit down, there's more we need to talk about."
"How did you know me?"
He sighed again and then with a low whistle, the wind picked up around her, ruffling her clothes and her hair. Suzume felt the power as it unfurled from within him. That deep-down ache was familiar, that sensation of finding a missing piece.
She covered her mouth with her hand. "You can't be."
The wind died down as quickly as it had appeared. "As I said, Ryuu brought you to me."
"Who are you?" Her fingers were flickering with flame now, she couldn't control it.
"I am the wind of Kazue's soul."
She could only blink in surprise for several moments. "But you're so old!" she blurted at last.
The old man chuckled and shook his head. "And a man, but I suppose that doesn't surprise you."
He knows about Hikaru.
"Did you make me this way?"
The old man blinked at her for a moment. "Ryuu said you were as fiery as your personality."
Suzume crossed her arms over her chest. "Answer the question."
The old man chuckled again. "No, I did not put Kazue’s soul inside you."
She relaxed, but only a little. "What does Ryuu have to do with all of this?"
The old man met her gaze. "That's his story to tell."
There was no use asking him questions about Ryuu, clearly they were allies. "Why did he bring me here?" she demanded.
"He brought you to me so I could help you get control of your powers. If you don't master it soon she will consume you."
"Don't you think I've tried?" Suzume shouted.
"I tried as well. For years it was as if I was two people. Until I stopped being two and became one."
Suzume's eyes scanned over his face. It was hard to look at him and think Kazue was staring out through those eyes. It was her worst fear confirmed as well. What if Kazue consumed her next?
"Then are you Kazue?"
The old man shook his head. "I am neither of the people I used to be but also both of them."
"How is that possible? You're either one or the other."
"I have all of both their memories, their attachments..."
Meaning Kaito. Suzume placed her hand over her heart. There was a longing part of her that still wanted to see Kaito, and that part of her was what had gone to such lengths to save him. It's part of why she'd run away, because she was so terrified of letting Kazue's feelings take hold of her.
"How do I stop it?" Suzume asked, her voice little more than a whisper.
"There is no way to stop it, only delay it."
A cold chill ran down Suzume's spine. "Are you saying I will be doomed to become her?"
"For you it may be different, you were born with Kazue inside you. I
t could mean-"
"That I was Kazue all along."
Suzume felt as if she were going to be ill. It was as if someone had taken her very identity and with the stroke of a brush taken it away.
"I'm not Kazue." She shook her head as if her adamant denial would change anything.
"For you there's a chance you can escape that fate. I can train you."
"To do what? To slow the inevitable of becoming her? I'd rather have my power sealed away than become her."
The old man continued to stare at her, while Suzume's entire body trembled. This was not the answer she had hoped to find.
"Your power was sealed your entire life. It didn't make a difference. She is a part of you, and you either must learn to control it or give into her."
Rage bubbled up inside her, rising up so hot and fast she had little control over it.
"So that's it. I'm stuck with this fate? Why am I this way, can you tell me that at least?"
"I'm sorry." He dropped his head.
"You've basically told me I am going to die and that's all you can say?"
"I know it's hard to accept."
She shook her head. "I will not accept it. I refuse to!"
Flames burst from her fingers as she threw her arm out toward the nearby wall, where it caught and spread upward.
The old man gave a shout of alarm and while he was preoccupied by the fire scorching his wall, Suzume stormed out of the room. A pair of soldiers were guarding the door, but when they saw Suzume encased in flame, they were too afraid to approach her.
She marched down the hall, her footsteps scorching the ground as she walked. The anger was all-consuming, it took over all her thoughts and feelings. There was no escaping this destiny. She and Kazue were inseparable, it seemed. Fate had led her here and she could not undo it.
When she reached the courtyard, Ryuu was there, his weapon drawn and his blue eyes blazing. There was something about his eyes that was so familiar but the rage in her wouldn't allow her to make the connection.
"Get out of my way," she growled at him.
"Where are you going?"
"It doesn't concern you."
The Song of the Wind Page 17
