by Kate Grove
“Why?” Takeru quickly caught up to him.
“That’s the only place she couldn’t check. And I’ve caught Ciara there once already.”
“Oh.”
They reached the pagoda soon. Both Katsuo and Takeru let go of the restraints on their powers to check with their senses if there was anyone else nearby.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I can only sense the guard over there.”
“Same here,” Katsuo said, heading for the guard. He yelled to him as soon as he was within hearing distance. “Have you seen anyone here?”
“Aside from you, Milord, and Takeru-sama? No. But I’ve just arrived not too long ago.”
“Who was posted here last night?” Takeru asked.
“Riku, sir.”
“I’ll go check with him,” Takeru offered. “Then I meet you in your office?”
“Meet me at Taiki’s.”
“Sure.”
By the time they had arrived at Taiki’s, the ninja already had some news.
“As usual, I’m amazed at the speed you work,” Katsuo said, sitting down.
“Hey, what did I miss?” Takeru asked, out of breath as he arrived.
“Nothing, we were just starting. What did you discover?”
“Riku saw no one last night.”
“Taiki?” Katsuo turned to his chief of security.
“She seems to have avoided most patrols. But the guards at the gate did say she tried to get outside after dark.”
Katsuo furrowed his eyebrows.
“Did she say where she wanted to go?”
“To town,” he said. “But the few guards patrolling town, as per your earlier request, didn’t see anyone like her.”
“So where did she go?” Takeru asked. “Or was she kidnapped? Like Ayaka?”
Katsuo and Taiki tensed.
“We need to investigate that possibility,” Katsuo nodded. “I hope not, but…”
“It is highly unlikely,” Taiki said. “It is known that she is to be wed to you. No one in their right mind would attempt to kidnap her. Again.”
“Taiki’s right,” Takeru agreed with the ninja. “It was a silly idea.”
“So no one has seen or heard anything, and she is not on castle ground?” Katsuo asked for clarification.
“That is correct, Milord.”
“If she fled, where would she go?” Takeru asked, contemplating.
Katsuo mumbled something.
“What?”
“Home. She wanted to go home,” Katsuo replied.
Taiki and Takeru exchanged a glance.
“Back to that strange country in the East that is West?” His brother asked. “Then let’s go to Nagasaki and—”
“No.”
“What do you mean, Katsuo?”
“I said no. She’s made her decision.”
“What if she’s in danger?” Taiki asked.
“I don’t care,” he said, standing up and leaving swiftly. Silence descended on the room for a moment.
“Hey, Taiki, do something for me, will you?”
“Anything you wish, Takeru-sama.”
“Find out where she headed.”
“Are you worried?” Taiki furrowed his eyebrows.
“Who wouldn’t be?” Takeru asked, standing up. “I’m sure brother feels the same way, but he’s too stubborn to admit it.”
The ninja inclined his head. “I’ll report to you as soon as I find something.”
“Good. See you later.”
56
Ciara awoke to a massive headache. She was lying on a rough and cold surface. She opened her eyes but could hardly see anything. She wondered for a moment if she had lost her sight until she saw a faint light trembling in the corridor before her.
Metal bars obscured her view, and she stood up too quickly.
“Ow,” she winced, putting a hand to her forehead. She could feel a bump that hurt when she touched it.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to remember what happened. After dinner and the fight with Katsuo, she fled. She couldn’t get out of the castle grounds, and Orihime had so kindly offered to help her.
She should’ve known better than to trust someone like her.
Her nose crunched up at the foul smells, mold and urine mixed together with the distinctive smell of soil. She could hear water dripping somewhere. It echoed in the empty corridor.
As Ciara’s eyes adjusted to the faint light, she looked around in the room. It was definitely a prison cell, somewhere underground. There were no windows, and she had no idea if it was day or night. She wondered how long she’d been out. She was alone in the small cell, and as she looked around, she found a blanket thrown in a heap in one corner and a basin in another.
She looked at it, disgusted.
“I hope that’s not the toilet. Ugh.”
Well, you got what you wanted. You got away from Katsuo. Now only if I could figure out where I am…
“Is anyone there?” a voice asked from the cell across from Ciara’s.
“Yura? Is that you?” she asked.
“Ciara-sama? Thank the Goddess you’re all right!”
“Are you hurt?”
“My ankle hurts a little, but it’s nothing serious,” Yura was quick to reassure her. “Are you?”
“A little bump to the head but otherwise okay. Do you know where we are?”
“In someone’s dungeons.”
So Yura had no idea, either.
“Do you remember anything? I think we were knocked out mid-sentence,” Ciara asked her.
“That’s the last thing I recall,” Yura replied. She shuffled around, then there was silence, which she couldn’t stand. “Don’t worry, Ciara-sama, Katsuo-sama will surely come and rescue you.”
“That’s the thing, Yura. I don’t think he’s coming.”
There was a heartbeat of silent tension.
“What do you mean, Ciara-sama?”
“We had a fight.”
Yura seemed to ponder over it.
“Was that the reason you wanted to leave?”
“Yes.”
The girl sighed. “I’m sure as soon as Katsuo-sama realizes you’ve disappeared, he’ll come to the rescue. You might have fought, but he still cares for you.”
Ciara didn’t think so but couldn’t crush Yura’s hope.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am!”
Ciara felt a pang in her heart. She knew Katsuo was not coming, not after what happened between them. Did she make the right decision? Running away seemed like the only option at the time.
But what if Katsuo was telling the truth? She shook her head. No way was he that naive. She made the right decision. Ciara nodded. If only she wasn’t kidnapped, or at least if Yura was left alone! Why did they have to drag her here, too?
She was so lost in her thoughts that she hardly noticed the approaching footsteps.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
It was the voice of the man who had held her captive and wanted her to sing the aria. As a voice coach, Ciara had the uncanny ability to recall voices she’d already heard. He brought a candle with him, and Ciara stumbled as she recognized his face.
“You!”
He grinned, his canine teeth sharper and longer than usual.
“Now you see me. We’ve never finished our lesson, have we?”
Ciara gulped down a whimper.
“We didn’t even get started. You pushed me through a mirror, remember?”
She crossed her arms, her anger growing. She was starting to see a pattern. The new student with a shitload of money, asking her to come to his home. Then he pushed her through the mirror, she was sure of it. He appeared again, just a week or so ago, kidnapping and torturing her.
He chuckled darkly.
“That was quite fun, wouldn’t you agree? It set you off on the adventure of a lifetime!”
“Did you get your dramatic flair from watching too much TV?”
He hit t
he bars of her cell so violently that Ciara involuntarily took a step back. His eyes glowed red in the candlelight.
“Don’t mock me, little birdie. I can come in there and make you sing a song of pain.”
Yura whimpered in the other cell, making him look over his shoulder.
“Silence, little vermin. You’ll get your turn, don’t worry.”
A sob escaped Yura, and Ciara’s stomach clenched.
“What do you want from me? The aria, I’ll give you an aria!” She took a step toward him, wanting to protect Yura somehow. The girl was completely defenseless.
“Later, maybe. I just wanted to chat with you.”
“How generous of you,” Ciara replied. It took great effort not to roll her eyes. “Any topic in particular? Like why you kidnapped us?”
“I’ll do you one better.” He leaned on the bars, watching Ciara like a hawk. A sadistic glint entered his gaze. His eye color had changed back to black. “Aren’t you curious what I am?”
“An asshole?” Ciara blurted out before she could stop herself. She knew it was dangerous to provoke him, but she decided not to make his job easy. His eyes flashed red, and this time, they remained that color.
“Have you ever heard of youkai, little birdie?”
Yura gasped in her cell, but Ciara stayed quiet. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she didn’t like being at a disadvantage. He continued with a smirk twisting his lips.
“Oh, this will be good!” Anticipation shone in his eyes. “Youkai are demons. Monsters that come out at night and eat naughty children!”
Ciara raised her eyebrows.
“At least that’s what human mothers tell their children.” He shrugged. “But the demon part is true. Youkai are faster, stronger, and better at everything than mortals. To the human eye, they have eternal life and magical powers. But you know about magical powers, don’t you, little birdie?”
Ciara crossed her arms and glared at him.
“Is this your idea of torture? To bore me to death with folktales?”
Oh, she was intrigued, but he didn’t have to know that. So youkai was a supernatural species which lived for very long and had magic. She wasn’t as shocked as she thought she would be. Was it because of her witch heritage? Because she had magic, it wasn’t such a huge stretch that there would be others with the same skills.
“You don’t seem surprised,” he said, observing her and completely ignoring her jab. Ciara shrugged at him. “Here’s the fun bit. Most of them look like monsters, but the most powerful youkai can disguise themselves as humans.”
There was a brief silence.
“Like me.”
“Right.” Ciara’s voice was flat. She had been feeling something strange surrounding this man, but what he said didn’t make any sense. “Prove it.”
“Oh, I see you’re not satisfied with the diabolical eye color,” he said. He tapped his fingernails on the cell bars. They were long, like claws. “Don’t worry, little birdie, you’ll see plenty of youkai power.”
He reached toward the lock and froze midway as he looked up. “Damn him. It seems I need to cut our rendezvous short, little birdie.”
He turned around and withdrew, walking off, taking the light away.
“Just one more thing for you to think about,” he shouted from the end of the corridor. “Have you ever wondered how Katsuo saved you?”
“Hey!” Ciara shouted after him, but he had already disappeared. She turned to the other cell. “Yura, are you all right?”
“I’m so scared, Ciara-sama. I want to help, but I’m so scared.”
“It’s okay,” Ciara said, squatting down. “We’ll come up with something. We need to escape.”
Yura was silent for a moment.
“But we can’t. We are powerless before the youkai.”
“Yura, don’t tell me you believe his words!” Ciara gasped. “He talks nonsense!”
“Youkai… are real, Ciara-sama,” Yura said, her voice confident. “They are powerful. They eat people like us. We can’t escape.”
“Yes, we can!” Ciara insisted. “This is his game, don’t you see? To make you so scared, you wouldn’t even think of escaping! Don’t make his job any easier, Yura! Get a hold of yourself!”
They were silent for a long while.
“But what if…”
Ciara waited for her to finish.
“What if he was right?”
“About what?”
“About Katsuo-sama. What if he’s youkai?”
Ciara sighed. “Even if he was, has he ever mistreated you?”
“No.”
“Did he ever wanted to eat people?”
“No, but he is very vicious in battle, or so I’ve heard,” Yura replied.
“Well, he is a warlord,” Ciara said. “Hey, why I am the one defending him? Weren’t you the one who wanted him to come save us?”
Yura didn’t reply for a long time.
“I’m scared, Ciara-sama. I’m scared if it’s not true because then he’d have no chance to rescue us. And I’m scared if it’s true because then that would mean Katsuo-sama is a youkai.”
“Katsuo is still Katsuo. That won’t change,” Ciara said with finality in her voice.
57
Taiki found Katsuo in his office after lunch. He was writing a letter.
“What did you find out?”
“All evidence suggests that Ciara-sama and Yura are headed toward Kawayuki’s estate.”
The brush in Katsuo’s hand paused, hovering over the paper. He looked at the ninja.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Milord.”
A drop of ink fell, ruining the letter. Katsuo put the brush into its holder with measured movements. The next moment, he crumpled the paper with all his repressed emotions.
“What do you want to do about it?”
“Nothing.” Katsuo’s eyes flashed gold for a second, but it was gone too quickly to be noticeable.
“Nothing? She might be a spy!”
A vein throbbed in Katsuo’s forehead. She might betray him, but a small part of him didn’t want to believe that. He didn’t want to kill her. At least she didn’t pull out a dagger on him. If they met again, that’d be a problem for another day, but he wasn’t going to pursue her.
“Katsuo-sama!” a new voice joined them. The men turned to the door, and Rui stood there. She bowed to them and greeted Taiki, too.
“While cleaning Ciara-sama’s room, I found this.” She held up a small pouch.
Katsuo held out his hand, and she put the pouch there. He opened it and saw grass.
“What is this?” It had an awful smell.
“It’s a lesser known concoction to induce nightmares and creates fatigue.”
“Where did you find this?”
“Among Ciara-sama’s bedding. It wasn’t hidden inside, so I assume it must’ve been used on someone else?”
“Maybe when Ayaka had nightmares a few days ago.”
“Right, maybe,” Katsuo gave the pouch back to Rui. “Did you find anything else?”
Rui blinked, her face passive.
“No, Milord,” she said after a brief pause, but her jaw was tense.
“This all points toward Ciara being a spy for Kawayuki,” Taiki summarized. “Considering Yura is with her, she might be—”
“No way!” Takeru had just arrived, hearing the last couple of sentences. “Yura has been working here for years, and I can’t imagine Ciara doing something like this. It’s a set-up!”
Katsuo wanted to believe that, too. But as daimyō, he was responsible not only for himself and his family, but his whole household, inclusive of servants and soldiers alike. Not to mention the townsfolk. If Kawayuki were to get information on his defenses or worse, military strategies, then it would be a disaster.
He decided to check if there were any missing reports or planners after everyone filed out of his office. He needed to know what to expect.
“We need to carefully
weigh all the evidence,” he told his little brother.
“I say our instincts are just as crucial! Like in battle!” Takeru insisted. Katsuo inclined his head. Their grandmother had used to teach them about that. What would Yuki do in such a situation?
“We know when Ayaka was kidnapped, they had help from the inside,” Katsuo said, before turning to the ninja. “Taiki, any developments on that matter?”
His chief of security shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“That’s unusual for you.” Takeru furrowed his eyebrows.
“Milord!” a new voice shouted down the corridor.
“What now?” Katsuo groaned, hurling the crumpled paper away. A moment later, Riku appeared in the doorway. He looked surprised for a second to see such a crowd in Katsuo’s office.
“What is it?”
“There is a man at the gates, probably looking for you, Milord.”
“Probably?” Taiki echoed. “You’re trained better than that.”
“Forgive me. They gave us a description of who they were looking for, and it fits you, Milord. He says he has merchandise for you?”
“Ah, I almost forgot!” Katsuo stood up. “I’ll go meet him now. Everybody else, out! We’ll have a strategic meeting in an hour. Gather everyone.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Rui.”
“Yes, Milord?”
“Walk with me,” Katsuo said as he marched outside.
The woman silently followed him. When Katsuo was sure that no one would overhear them talking, he looked at Rui.
“Here’s your opportunity to prove yourself.”
“What do you wish of me, Katsuo-sama?”
“Find out who is the mole.”
“You want me to assist Taiki to—?”
“No,” Katsuo said as he stopped in the middle of the corridor. He fully turned toward the woman. “Rui, I want you to do your own investigation. Leave Taiki out of it. I want to know what you can do.”
“Understood.”
“Good. Now, go.”
“Just a moment, Katsuo-sama.” Rui pulled out folded up note from the folds of her kimono. “I found this in Ciara-sama’s room. I believe it is for your eyes only.”
Katsuo looked at the paper as if it was on fire. Eventually, he slowly reached out to take it.
Rui sent him a smile before hurrying off.
