The sky was darker than the last time she’d been there. It was no longer clear blue, but clouded over with only one split between the clouds. It didn’t let sunlight through. Rather, it was a pitch-black tear in the sky. It gave Aoi the shivers.
Aoi looked around at the ancient Chinese town before her. A lot of it was the same as she remembered before. Wide dirt streets, vibrant paper lanterns fluttering in the wind, a stream gurgling under a high bridge. The streets were cleaner than before, as if someone had gone through the town and picked up all the abandoned toys and vendor goods Aoi had seen scattered last time.
She crossed the bridge tentatively, looking around herself. She was here for answers, but where to start looking? When she reached the bottom of the bridge she stopped short, horrified. She stood at the mouth of the village, on the edge of the dirt path. There in the center, starting at her feet, was a large black crack like the one in the sky. But it seemed wider and scarier than the one up there. Probably because Aoi was so close to it.
What am I doing here?
“Anyone there?” she called out, not expecting an answer. But there was one.
“Arisawa-chan, did it really work?” A familiar face poked her head out of a doorway. The surprise on her face soon turned into a smile. “It did! Thank goodness! I was worried for a second there it still might not work . . .”
“But it did,” Aoi said.
Mulan nodded. “Yes, it did.”
“We better get to looking for clues then,” Aoi said. No use wasting time. Aoi didn’t know how long she’d be allowed to stay in the inner world this time before she woke up and was forced back to the real world.
And so they searched. They entered houses, where Mulan greeted people Aoi couldn’t see. They looked in pots, on shelves, and behind doors. They looked and looked, but they couldn’t find anything.
Aoi groaned as she glanced through the scrolls and figures on a shelf in the tenth house they’d entered. At first she’d thought she’d be useless to Mulan when it came to scrolls—she didn’t know Chinese, after all—but she was surprised to find she could read everything in the scrolls. It must’ve had something to do with their link, much in the same way Mulan could speak perfect Japanese.
“What do we do, Mulan?” Aoi asked, hating that little whine that was in her voice. She didn’t want to sound annoying or needy, but it was frustrating not being able to find what she desperately needed to find. Lives were at stake here.
“I do not know,” Mulan admitted, as she opened the door to what appeared to be a storage room.
Aoi left the shelf she was looking at and went to help Mulan. Inside the storage room were pots and boxes full of food, drink, and scrolls. They looked through scroll after scroll but found no useful information. These were just records, lessons, and stories that meant nothing to the Linked. They were just Chinese folklore and histories.
Suddenly, a rumble shook the house, followed by a loud tearing noise.
“What was that?” Aoi asked.
“Hurry!” Mulan didn’t answer her question. “Outside!”
Aoi followed the woman’s commands and left the house. The sky was darker than it was before. It looked like it may begin to pour rain any second now, but it didn’t. The tear that was in the sky had spread further. Aoi had no doubt that the cracks in the village had finally exited its gates.
“Look.” Mulan pointed down the street. The ancient bridge had collapsed into the stream, ripped apart in splinters. Water rushed over its fractured boards, falling into the unknown depths of the lengthened crack.
“This isn’t good,” Aoi breathed.
She wasn’t sure just what had happened or why, but she had a terrible feeling about this.
“What do we do, Mulan?”
She looked to where her companion had been moments before, but all that was there was darkness, blotting out anything Aoi could see.
“Mulan . . .?” she asked again, looking around.
Aoi was surrounded by darkness. Her heart began to race in her chest. This was bad, bad, bad. And then . . .
She woke with a start.
Aoi placed her hand over her chest, feeling the quick pace of her pulse. She was still alive. Everything was more or less okay. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“What was that, Mulan?” Aoi asked.
Mulan shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t know.”
Chapter 27
A few days later, Aoi found a note in her shoe locker. She felt heat creep up her neck and face. Was Tatsuo leaving notes for her now? That seemed a bit silly, even for him. She picked up the note and flipped it over. “Shiroyama Kiyoko” was written on the back of the envelope in elegant writing. This was no love letter. It was a message.
It read, “Arisawa-san, my spirit and I have found some information. We can’t wait any longer. I don’t care if I have to skip out on helping my family with the shrine. This is important. Bring your friends and come to my house today. Please. We’re all in danger.”
All in danger? Aoi wasn’t sure what exactly this was all about. She was too scared to find out.
“What is it?” Tatsuo asked, leaning against the lockers. School had been over for less than a minute, and already his uniform jacket was nowhere to be seen. He crossed his arms over his chest, flexing his dragon tattoo.
She wordlessly handed the note to him. Tatsuo read it as she slipped on her outside shoes.
“What does this mean?”
“She must have found something on the legend,” Aoi said.
“Do we trust her?”
Aoi pulled out her phone. “She’s Linked. Of course we do. At least, I do.” She sent a group text to Asagi and Momoka to meet at the shrine, but there was still one more Linked she needed to find.
“I’ll meet you there,” she said.
Tatsuo frowned. “What? Why?”
“I’ve got to find Touya.”
She headed to the second floor, looking through the familiar faces, and eventually found Touya in the student council room. Of course.
“Midorikawa-san, we need to talk.”
“About what?” His tone was cold and his expression skeptical, but he seemed willing to hear her out.
“I found another Linked—”
“Even after what I told you?” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Yes. Even after that.” Aoi said, trying her best not to sigh in frustration. “Her spirit’s inner world is a library, and they were able to find some information together.”
“About the Linked?” Touya looked less skeptical and more interested now. “Like what?”
Aoi shook her head. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t say in the note she gave me, but apparently we’re all in danger.”
Aoi thought of Makoto again. Had they just realized he was Linked, he could have been saved. But it was too late for regrets. They knew more than they did before, and were about to learn even more. They could make up for his death by preventing others.
“What kind of danger?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I want you to come with me to find out.”
He sighed. “Fine. You lead the way.”
Together, they headed out into the warm September air.
It wasn’t long before they all met up in front of the Shiroyama estate. Tatsuo leaned against the gate, looking more annoyed than usual. Probably because Touya was there with them. Asagi looked mildly concerned, but Momoka and Pocahontas looked downright afraid.
“What is this all about, Arisawa-san?” Asagi asked. She had one hand on her hip, the way she did when she was bored, but she was clenching her dress’s fabric tight. She was worried too, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
Tatsuo spoke first. “She met another Linked, apparently.”
Aoi nodded. “She knows the whole legend but, more than that, she knows we’re all in danger.”
Momoka’s wide caramel eyes stared at Aoi in a mix of concern and awe. “Really? You met another Lin
ked?”
“Who is she?” Momoka’s spirit asked, as eager as her holder.
“Shiroyama Kiyoko, a second year at my school.”
Touya looked a little more eager to be here now, but Aoi didn’t have the time to ask why. Asagi spoke up before she had the chance. She quirked a brow and said, “You mean like this place—the Shiroyama shrine?”
Aoi nodded. “That’s right,” she said. “And I think her spirit knows more than all of us combined.”
“Has she told you anything?” Tatsuo asked.
Aoi hesitated, then shook her head. “No. Well, not yet.”
Asagi asked, “Then how can you be so sure?”
Aoi chewed nervously at her lip for a moment before saying, “Just a feeling I have.”
Aoi had faith that Kiyoko would tell them soon enough, now that she was ready. Or, rather, now that they were all in great danger for being Linked. Where was she?
“Welcome, everyone,” Kiyoko said as she walked up to the gates from inside the estate. “Follow me.”
And they did. They followed her down the grand gravel drive into the large house and down several halls. They stopped at a plain-looking door, and Kiyoko led them into what must be her own bedroom. The room was white with hints of blue. It was like stepping into a cloud. Kiyoko took a seat on her bed and everyone else gathered around her, either sitting on chairs in the room or on the floor. Aoi chose to sit cross-legged on the floor. Tatsuo sat right beside her, his proximity allowing her to feel the September heat radiating off his body.
“Well?” Tatsuo said, trying not to sound impatient. He failed. “Tell us what you know!”
“Don’t rush her,” Touya hissed from his perch on the edge of the bed. He looked to Kiyoko with a pleasant smile. “But, please, we are very curious. Don’t keep us in suspense too long.”
Kiyoko was silent for a few moments. She closed her eyes, likely communicating with her spirit, before opening her mouth and beginning to speak. “This is the legend: Youth, holder of the gem, bring peace to the world. Protect those in need. Grow brave and wiser. Gather those like you and prepare yourselves. For evil gathers together, growing in numbers. Calling it ‘teamwork’, they only sew darkness. Only you can stop them. Grow in number with the good of heart. Be brave. Have heart.”
That was it. The whole legend.
Touya hung his head in shame. “I should have known I was missing something,” he mumbled.
“Yeah,” Tatsuo sneered. “You shoulda known, but you didn’t.”
Aoi shot him a look and he quieted down quickly. Then she looked back at Kiyoko. “I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“So it’s fine we’re working together?”
“Of course,” Kiyoko replied. “Linked should work together.”
Pocahontas spoke up. “And you’re sure that’s the whole legend? Oh.” She looked to Momoka. Kiyoko wouldn’t be able to hear her.
“My spirit asks if you’re sure that’s the whole legend.” Momoka smiled at Pocahontas. Aoi silently thanked her for not jumping at a chance to introduce her spirit to a virtual stranger.
“Yes.” Kiyoko’s response was firm, but she seemed troubled.
Asagi raised a hand lazily. “I have a question too,” she said. “Why should we trust you?”
“Because I’m Linked, just like all of you.” She drew the hair away from her forehead so they could see her gem, before letting her bangs fall back in place.
“I have one more question,” Aoi said. “Who or what exactly is evil?”
Kiyoko nodded gravely. “That’s the trouble. When Maria heard the legend, she—”
The door cracked open, and a maid peeked her head in the room. “Young mistress?” she said in a soft voice. “Your tea is done.”
“And I brought snacks for you and your friends,” a butler added, standing tall as he walked into the room.
“Excellent,” Kiyoko said, sitting straighter. “Start serving with them and finish with me.”
Momoka watched the scene with wide caramel hues. “Wow, Shiroyama-san! You’re like a princess! All you need is a commoner boyfriend, and it would be just like something out of a romance manga!”
Kiyoko laughed nervously. “Thanks, I guess?”
“You’re welcome!”
At last, the servants approached Kiyoko. “Thank you.”
Once the door shut again, Kiyoko sighed. “Maria heard the legend, and wanted to know more about the gathering evil. There have been many manifestations of evil in this world, but it concerned us that so many should be Linked now—” she gestured around the room “—without knowing why.”
Tatsuo glared at her. “Get on with it.”
Kiyoko fixed her stare on the angry boy. “There are Dark and Light Linked. The Dark Linked are the evil ones you’re supposed to fight.”
Aoi froze. Was it possible? Memories of Makoto came to mind. Was he one of the enemy? She wasn’t so sure. “I thought we all linked to protect others. How can you link for evil?”
“Are we the evil ones?” Pocahontas whispered to Momoka. Momoka shook her head no.
Momoka spoke next. “Why haven’t you told us about this before now?”
Kiyoko took a sip of her tea. “I only learned this last night.”
“But I thought your family has had the white gem for generations,” Aoi said. “How can that be without you knowing about Dark Linked?”
Kiyoko’s shoulders slumped. She was defeated. “It was not a mystery we knew needed to be solved.”
Asagi sniffed, obviously not believing her.
“Let me read something to you.” Kiyoko closed her eyes, likely to search the inner world for a moment or two, before reciting a passage. “You Light Linked youths carry a heavy burden, however, for you must protect the weak against a great evil—the Dark Linked. Even in the future, keep your eyes ever on others. Preserve that future for them, not for yourselves. For Dark Linked have eyes only for self-preservation, ignoring the safety of others in order to protect their memory from fading in the sands of time.”
That seemed fairly straightforward and simple. How could Kiyoko’s spirit only just now found this in her library?
Kiyoko kept speaking. “Be careful, o chosen youths, for you are now outnumbered, with the passing away of the Clear Linked. There are now six Dark Linked to your . . . five.”
Worry set in over the group.
“That can’t be right,” Momoka said as she counted the Linked in the room on her fingers. “There are six of us, and Shiroyama-san said we’re the good guys.”
“And Makoto was a total prick,” Tatsuo added.
“This just can’t be right,” Aoi agreed. “There must be some mistake.”
“It’s no mistake,” Kiyoko said. She didn’t dare look at anyone. “My spirit made sure she made no mistakes in order to protect the Light Linked.”
“Then there can only be one other solution.” Touya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Tatsuo rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure of that, O great and wise student council president?”
“One of us must be Dark Linked. If five of us are Light, then one of us is a traitor.”
Chapter 28
If things were worrisome before, they had just turned into full blown panic. With Touya’s words, the room fell silent. None dared speak. None dared move. They simply exchanged anxious glances.
Finally, Aoi spoke. “Who do you think the traitor is, Midorikawa-senpai?”
“I have my suspicions.” Emerald hues bore into Tatsuo with those words.
And that was enough to set the bomb called Tatsuo Akabori off. In moments, he was at Touya’s throat, tanned hands tightly gripping the white collar of Touya’s shirt. “You think I’m lying to Arisawa?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“He is a delinquent,” Asagi chimed in. “How else do you explain his gang? His tattoos? His eagerness to fight?”
They were ganging up on
Tatsuo without solid reasons. It wasn’t fair at all.
“Senpai had a rough childhood!” Aoi cried out.
“And you believed him when he said that?” Asagi asked. “Arisawa-san, people lie.”
“Not Senpai.” It couldn’t be him. Aoi trusted Tatsuo with her life. He saved her. He protected her. He was her best friend.
“Think clearly, not with your emotions,” Mulan told her.
Are you also saying Senpai is a traitor?
“Of course not. I’m just saying you need to keep an open mind.”
Mulan might as well have just said it was him. She clearly had her doubts. But she was wrong. Aoi just didn’t know who the traitor really was.
“It could be you.” Tatsuo jammed a finger into Touya’s chest. “You blew Arisawa off and you know the legend. What more proof do we need?”
“I was thinking logically,” Touya insisted with a growl.
“Then, logically thinking, it could also be Shiroyama-san,” Asagi suggested. “We don’t know her at all.”
Momoka’s eyes went wide. “Is that why she didn’t want to tell us the truth?”
“Could be,” Touya agreed.
“I’m not Dark Linked! Please believe me!” Kiyoko begged. “The Shiroyama have held the white gem in our family for generations, just waiting for the Light Linked to show up!”
“I thought you said you didn’t know there were Dark and Light Linked,” Tatsuo hissed.
The others opened their mouths to question her more, but Aoi spoke first. “I believe her.”
“Me too,” Momoka chimed in. “If the Linked are based on colors, there’s gotta be a black gem too. Azuki-kun was just special and got clear.”
Aoi saw where she was going with that. “And if there’s a black and a white, black is usually the evil one.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Tatsuo admitted with a tight shrug.
Kiyoko mouthed her silent gratitude to Aoi, but things hadn’t settled yet. With the target off of Kiyoko’s back, Asagi and Touya turned on Tatsuo once more.
Linked: The War of the Gems - Book 1 Page 26
