by C. J. Anaya
He shook his head, worry lines creasing his face. “No. This is completely different. It’s as if I have no access to your soul. Damaging someone’s ki is difficult to accomplish. It only happened as a direct consequence of your breaching the veil, but soul mates are able to balance each other’s ki. We have access to one another’s souls and can heal the damage sustained on any level so long as we are connected with one another. Your ki didn’t respond to mine. It was as if your soul didn’t recognize me.”
I stared at him wide-eyed. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, but we must uncover the cause of this barrier, or you will never be whole again, and without the full strength of your ki, you’ll never become a full kami.” He lifted me effortlessly back on my bed, and it was then that I realized I wore only my undergarments. Katsu didn’t seem to sense my embarrassment. He was too distracted by his failed attempt at healing me.
He stood up and strode toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
He turned to look at me. “I must speak with Kenji and see if there is anything recorded on this matter. We must find out how I can breach this barrier. If you feel up to it, I would like to continue our practice sessions after breakfast.”
Without so much as a farewell, he exited, leaving me to wonder if he had even thought twice about the kiss we had shared or if it had affected him in any way. It saddened me to think that my first kiss had been given for the purpose of healing me instead of loving me.
* * *
I arrived in the gardens with my guards early. If there was a chance Daiki had left a note for me, I needed to be there to retrieve it without Katsu’s watchful eye hovering over me. I didn’t need to worry about what the guards did or didn’t see since they were loyal to Akane.
I walked straight for the fist-sized rock snuggled next to one of the trees. Lifting it up I stuck my finger inside the small compartment chiseled into the center. I smiled when I felt a small piece of parchment tickle the tip of my index finger. I gripped the end of it and slid it out, swiftly stuffing it within a pocket sewn inside my kimono. I then replaced the rock.
Footsteps approached, and I startled to see both Katsu and Kenji directly behind me.
“Kenji, are you here to watch me practice?” I gave him a weary smile he didn’t seem capable of returning. Worry lines creased his forehead.
“Katsu shared with me the extent of damage your ki has sustained and his inability to heal it. I am quite baffled by this, Mikomi, but I am even more concerned with your well-being.”
“I’m sure there has to be an explanation for the blockage Katsu encountered,” I said. I was putting on a brave face, but inwardly I was concerned. If my ki no longer functioned at full power, what kind of consequences would that hold for the future?
I wasn’t concerned about never becoming a full kami. My father may have unintentionally given me an out in all of this. I couldn’t fulfill the prophecy if I didn’t become immortal. On the other hand, I wondered what would happen if I were injured slightly or even seriously. If my ki couldn’t heal the whites of my eyes, what hope did I have that it might heal other injuries of a more serious nature? And what of the rebellion? How would I ever heal Akane’s men?
“Come here, child, and let us experiment for a moment.” Kenji reached his hands out and grabbed both of mine. “My hip is feeling poorly. I think it best if we see what your ki can do with physical pain.”
I looked at Katsu, waiting for permission to proceed and hating myself for doing so. He folded his arms over his chest and nodded, barely making eye contact with me before focusing on Kenji. I didn’t know what to make of his standoffish behavior but thought it best to simply comply with Kenji’s request, rather than analyze Katsu’s ever changing moods.
I let go of Kenji’s hands and placed them on the graying hairline of his temples. Closing my eyes, I connected to him, but the connection felt fuzzy, as if my mental sight had been impaired in some way. I continued forward despite the disheartening handicap and located the inflammation in the joints of Kenji’s hips. I instructed his ki to minimize the inflammation and block the pain and discomfort he felt.
He took several seconds to respond, and when he finally did, the healing progressed at a sluggish rate, as if it were unclear as to the specifics of my instructions. I found that I had to use much more energy to accomplish something as simple as relieving joint pain. By the time Kenji’s ki had completed the task, I could feel droplets of sweat parading down my hairline. I opened my eyes and shakily released my hold on my tutor.
Unfortunately, holding onto him was the only thing that had been keeping me upright. The moment I let go, I felt my legs buckle and would have collapsed backward into the shallow pond if Katsu’s reflexes had not been so quick.
I leaned against him, breathing heavily.
“Why, was that so difficult?”
Kenji studied me for a moment. The tension in his face and body made me nervous. “Katsu, connect to her now and see what happens when your ki touches hers.”
He was already holding me, so turning his head and pressing a gentle kiss to my lips happened before I was ready for the intimate contact. Entering my mind and connecting with my ki occurred within seconds. He moved to a specific point, in a place where my brain had been injured and folded his spirit over mine in an attempt to surround the fractured area. The minute he touched it, my ki writhed in agony and fairly flung his spiritual force to the background, severing the connection immediately. He didn’t even get a chance to produce that warm healing light I had felt before.
When I opened my eyes, I realized we were both sitting on the ground with him cradling me in his arms once again.
“Katsu, what happened?” Kenji asked, kneeling down next to us.
“I couldn’t even make contact with her. The minute my ki touched hers it instantly repelled me. I can heal her physically, but I can’t heal her spirit, and as her soul mate, this is something I should have access to.”
“I think I may have an idea of what is blocking your connection, though I can’t be sure until we give this situation some time, but I think the more she heals the less capable her ki is of receiving light or help. Her energy is used to doing this on its own, but it takes a certain level of energy for spiritual connections between soul mates to take place. The answer, hopefully, is that she must stop healing long enough for her ki to retain the strength necessary to accept you.”
“You think it is as simple as that?” Katsu asked.
“I certainly hope so. Only time will tell at this point, but might I suggest that you suspend her veil training for a week or two? I can continue with her educational outings in the meantime.”
“Yes, Kenji. I think it a very good idea.” Katsu sounded a bit relieved, even felt it. I sensed that before he threw the walls back in front of his emotions. Kenji’s were just as disturbing. He acted as if he had just solved all of our problems, but his emotions bounced from worry to fear to outright panic. I needed to talk with him but didn’t know how to end this session with Katsu. Fortunately, he did it for me.
“I must take care of some business matters with your father, Mikomi.” He easily stood, taking me with him and gently setting me on my feet. “In the meantime, I want you to rest for the next week or so, and we’ll try again.”
I nodded, and hoped for both our sakes that Kenji’s prediction became a reality. Katsu lifted his hand and tenderly brushed his fingers against my cheek. I shivered slightly at the contact and gave him a smile I didn’t feel. Then he dropped his hand to his side and walked swiftly down the path and around the bend.
“We have a serious problem here, Mikomi,” Kenji said the minute Katsu was out of earshot.
“You don’t think I will have recovered enough to accept his healing?”
“Worse. Everything I told him just now was a complete and total lie.”
My mouth flew open in surprise. “What do you mean you lied? Is there no way for Katsu to heal me?�
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“Absolutely none, I’m afraid. Your ki is damaged, and you tire more easily. If Katsu had waited to have you practice on me later this evening, you most likely wouldn’t have struggled as much as you did just now, but when he told me what happened when he tried to heal your spirit, I knew I needed to come up with a plausible scenario fast.”
“Kenji, I still don’t understand. Why would you lie to him? What is it you’re not telling me?”
Kenji worried his cane in both hands before answering. “Katsu’s inability to heal you has nothing whatsoever to do with your ki needing rest in order to accept him. Your ki will never be able to accept a healing from his.”
“Why on earth not?”
Kenji swallowed hard. “He isn’t your soul mate. The prophecy is flawed. ”
I stared at him in stunned silence, having no idea how I might respond to such an unbelievable declaration. I might have rejoiced at the thought that I would no longer be forced into a marriage with Katsu if what Kenji said was indeed correct, but the look on my old tutor’s face gave me pause.
“How do you know this?”
“Your ki would never have rejected a healing from your true soul mate. It shunned Katsu because it doesn’t recognize him. Your spirits do not belong to one another, and as a result, he can never hope to heal you.”
“What does that mean for the future, Kenji, for the healing of the veil?”
Kenji shook his head, his eyes wide with worry. “We’ve missed something in the prophecy. If you and the warrior god are not soul mates, then you can never become a full kami. Your soul mate is the only one who can help you complete the full transformation.”
My thoughts swam with questions. “If Katsu is not my match, then who is?”
“A very good question, but there is another I must pose that is far more troubling. How will you and Katsu heal the veil if you can never be united?”
Epilogue: Tie Hart
Present Day
The heart monitor attached to Hope Fairmont beeped slow and steady. Her breathing remained regular, and her MRI had come back normal. Any impartial onlooker would have assumed she was sleeping, but Tie knew better.
All of the monitoring was unnecessary, yet Tie had agreed with James Fairmont, Hope’s father, that it was better to allow their group to believe her unconscious state was due entirely to breaching the veil, though this was far from the truth.
He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows against Hope’s hospital bed. He tenderly took her hand in his own and brought it to his lips. She stirred ever so slightly but showed no other signs of awakening. Soon she would remember everything, and that knowledge filled him with equal parts of excitement and dread.
He had waited a millennium for this!
She would know him as he was a thousand years ago, but would she wish to be near him once she remembered everything that had transpired? He didn’t think so, and that thought, more than anything, terrified him.
He thought of a simpler time, a time when he stood in a clearing surrounded by cherry trees and taught a mysterious, beautiful woman the art of the samurai. He would’ve given anything to have those moments back.
He closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. “Angie, you should go home and try to get some sleep.”
“Like hell!”
Tie opened his eyes, surprised at the look of indignant outrage on Angie’s face. She sat in the chair opposite him on the other side of Hope’s bed, clinging tightly to her hand.
“Angie—”
“Save it, Cupid.” Angie pointed a finger at him in warning.
Her emerald eyes gleamed a bright green as she glared at him with a ferocious intensity. With her flaming red hair tousled about her head, back-lit by the setting sun coming through the windows, she was an intimidating figure to behold; a beautiful, fiery goddess in her own right.
He tried to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up in amusement and thought it best not to correct the “Cupid” remark she’d just thrown at him.
She poked her finger in his direction again. “If you get to stay, then so do I.”
Tie shook his head. “I’m her soul mate.”
“I’m her best friend.”
“I think soul mates trump best friends.”
“In what realm of ridiculous would that ever be possible?” Her nostrils flared in anger.
Tie wondered if he should continue pushing her buttons. It was better than sitting here, thinking about the unknown future they were headed toward. He decided to try reasoning with her instead.
“I just think it would be best—”
“Stop talking! Unless you can sit here and tell me what it was like all those years after Hope’s mother died. Unless you can talk to me about her hopes and dreams, her favorite color, her favorite movie, whether she likes pepperonis or Canadian bacon on her pizza, every performance she ever gave at Expresso, every tear she ever cried and every horrible outfit she ever had to be talked out of, you do not get to sit there and tell me what you think is best in regards to my best friend.”
Tie studied Angie intently, acquiring a new respect for the girl. She reminded him of a sweet, stubborn, courageous friend he’d once had a very long time ago.
“Fine, but please remember that what you’ve heard discussed between James and myself cannot be shared with Victor or Chinatsu.”
Angie’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “Like I could ever be that stupid.” Her eyes narrowed. “How do you think Victor will take it?”
Tie quirked an eyebrow at her. “Why? You worried about his feelings? Are you starting to like him?”
“Just because I admire the way his rear fits into his blue jeans doesn’t mean I like him personally.”
Tie had to chuckle at that, though he noticed some tension around Angie’s mouth.
“We just have to keep this quiet. I’m fairly certain that Hope and I aren’t legitimate soul mates.”
Angie gave him a shrewd look. “Legitimate? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He pulled his hand from Hope’s as he heard the door to her room open, but relaxed a little when he saw James step in.
“Is it your turn to guard her, then?” James asked.
Tie studied Hope’s father, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the worry lines surrounding his mouth.
“Yeah. This is my shift.” Tie gave Angie a meaningful look, but she leveled him with a challenging glare. “I told Victor I would take over for the rest of the evening since he has more veil strengthening to do somewhere in England. To be honest, I don’t see any nekomata returning for a while now. Not with Victor traveling as often as he can to strengthen the various weaknesses in the veil.”
James nodded but kept his eyes on Hope. “Do you know how much longer this is going to take?”
“I know she has a lot to remember, and she has to do it gradually. The shock of her first life colliding with her present will take some getting used to. I continually check her progress, and her life force always lets me know how her vitals are, far better than the technology you have around here.” Tie nodded to the heart monitor and IVs attached to Hope’s body.
James gave him a rueful smile. “Habit, I suppose. I just want to know she’s okay, and it makes it look as if she’s really in a coma. I’m assuming you still want Chinatsu and Victor to believe that.” He walked around the bed and sat down in a chair next to Angie.
“I do.”
Tie studied him carefully, worried James might fall over from the exhaustion plainly etched upon his features. He knew Hope’s father had slept very little since the latest nekomata attack at the football field.
“Where’s Kirby?” Angie asked.
“He’s staying with Ms. Mori right now, refusing to go back to his own mother, although I’m sure we’ll have a fight on our hands when his mother realizes he no longer has leukemia.”
“That mother of his best not mess with me. I will go postal on her worthless a—”
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�Angie, have you had anything to eat yet?” James asked.
Tie stifled a chuckle. Angie, whether at her best or worst, was always entertaining.
She gave him a sour look. “I see both of you are trying to get rid of me.”
James patted her shoulder. “Hope would never forgive me if I allowed you to miss a meal.”
Angie rolled her eyes and stood. “As if the doughnuts in the food dispenser could ever be considered real food. Any takers?”
“I would rather have something from the cafeteria,” Tie said, knowing it would take her much longer to get there. He needed some time alone with James.
“Oh, would you now? Why don’t I just dash down to the local Olive Garden and pick you up some Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo while I’m at it?”
“If you don’t think it would be too much trouble.” Tie gave her an innocent smile.
“Unbelievable,” Angie grumbled. “Who knew kami could be so high maintenance.” She stalked out of the room, leaving James and Tie to their conversation.
“I need you to explain to me again what you did to Hope and how this process works.” James looked at his daughter, and Tie thought he saw a small tick jolt at the base of the man’s jaw. He was not handling this well.
“When Hope healed Kirby, she damaged her brain just as she did the first time she healed him. It’s lucky I got to her first. I was able to heal her easily enough, but she was beginning to slip away mentally. Her life force was trying to travel to the other side of the veil. When my life force connected with hers it created an anchor for her, a trail for her to follow back.”
“Then why hasn’t she done that yet?”
“It’s not that simple, James. You have no idea what Hope is up against once we go back to Kagami. She has to remember her previous life. She has to remember how she felt, what she experienced, the customs, the culture, the people, the…relationships.” Tie swallowed a tight knot forming in his throat. He took a moment to compose himself and continued. “There are many things she will not be able to fight against if she doesn’t have the necessary knowledge backing her choices and decisions. I guided her back from the veil, but I instructed her ki to open that other part of her mind that stores memories, even memories of past lives.”
