Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Ryuichi was the last one to be shown to his room. A few minutes ago, Katsu led the group outside to a separate building that was set to the left. When Katsu slid open the door, Ryuichi blinked rapidly, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
This was a former dormitory. Small. Sparse.
Dingy.
Hardly the kind of place befitting the son of a goddess and the Ryukage.
That was fine. Ryuichi never expected much. For most of his life, he thought he came from nothing. He wasn’t sure anyone even noticed him or remembered his name.
“Don’t look so disappointed, Ryuichi-san. This room isn’t meant as an insult.”
And here he’d thought he kept the disappointment from showing. He’d have to practice masking his emotions more carefully. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll need to be trained more to fight Orochi and his forces. I won’t have you distracted by decadent trivialities. This room will keep you focused.”
“May I have some food before we get started?”
“Of course. We have rice available.”
That was a good starting point, but he was starving. “And?”
Katsu looked confused. “And what? Rice is good for the body, mind, and soul.”
His stomach rumbled. “Just rice?”
“Just rice.”
“Katsu . . .”
“Yes, young master?”
“Would it be too much to ask for you to stick me with that sword of yours. Not a whole lot, just enough to kill me.”
The tengu blinked twice. “No.”
A beast of many words . . .
And with that, the stoic tengu left, thus ending their conversation.
Sighing, Ryuichi glanced about his barren room. He was just about to feel lonely, when a sudden shadow appeared in the corner.
Immediately on alert, he braced himself to fight.
The wispy smoke slowly solidified into a shape he knew well.
“What are you doing here, Masaru?”
“Thought you might miss me.”
He was sad to admit it was true. But he’d never let Masaru know it. The kitsune’s ego was large enough.
Masaru scanned the room, a look of disgust spreading across his face. “They don’t believe in creature comforts, do they?”
No, they didn’t, and Ryuichi knew he didn’t need to comment on the obvious. Instead, he had a question of his own. “How’s your room?”
“Not quite as bad as this, but not what I’m used to.” Masaru sat down cross-legged on the mat Ryuichi assumed was his bed. “There’s something not right here.”
“I noticed that.”
Manifesting a nashi with a wave of his hands, Masaru started to bite into it, until he caught the desperate look on Ryuichi’s face. “Hungry?”
“Starving.”
Masaru tossed him the pear-like fruit, then created another one for himself.
Ryuichi wasted no time biting into the sweetness. “Arigato.”
Masaru wiped at the juice on his chin with the back of his hand before he took another bite. “Why do you think your father disappeared?”
“You would know that better than I would.” After all, Masaru had served his father. He couldn’t think of anyone more likely to understand the Ryukage’s decisions.
“Maybe he was afraid he was weak.”
They both turned to stare at Ryuichi-kage as he came up through the gap underneath Ryuichi’s door. At first, he appeared to be a shapeless cloud, then he transformed into Ryuichi’s shadow twin, right before his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Ryuichi asked.
“It was weird that they’d put me in another room. Doesn’t quite seem right.”
He had a point. They were supposed to be together.
Though, to be honest . . .
“Lord Hayasaka acted as if he couldn’t see you at all,” Ryuichi said to his shadow. “Even when you spoke.”
Masaru paused his chewing to chime in. “I don’t think they can.”
That confused Ryuichi. “Why not?”
“Tengu eyesight isn’t as sharp and perceptive as humans. In my kitsune form, I have a hard time seeing shadows too. It’s only when I’m human that I see Ryuichi-kage.”
That was interesting.
But he’d think about that later. Right now, he was more focused on the question Masaru asked him. “I don’t think my father has ever been afraid.”
“Maybe he was kidnapped,” Ryuichi-kage tried again.
Masaru let out a sound of supreme annoyance. “Think in silence, Shadow. We don’t have time to unravel stupid.” He took another bite of nashi and chewed thoughtfully. “The Ryukage is a simple, complicated creature.”
“That’s an oxymoron,” Ryuichi pointed out.
Masaru cracked a wry grin. “Not really. He’s motivated by the strangest things that are usually simple, and then he makes them complicated. Such as with your mother. Love is simple. He loved her, then he brought all these feelings and fears into it. That makes it complicated.”
“That’s called being human,” Ryuichi reminded him.
“Keep your humanity, then. It mucks up everything.”
Ryuichi wouldn’t argue that. It’d certainly complicated his life a lot. “My father’s not a coward,” he repeated.
“No,” Masaru agreed. “He’s devious and cruel.”
“Then maybe he went to cruelly torture something,” his shadow said.
Again, they stared at Ryuichi-kage.
His shadow held his hands up in defense. “Think about it. He might be raising a bigger army to take through the portal. Or creating another plot to kill Ryuichi.”
That thought sent a chill down his spine. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“But it would make sense.” Masaru tossed the nashi core into the air, where it vanished into nothing.
Ryuichi-kage inched toward them. “We should probably be thinking more about this Orochi. Masaru, do you know anything more about him?”
Masaru nodded. “Other than he’s been nursing a grudge against your family for centuries? What else is there to know?”
Ryuichi felt his heartbeat quicken. “And my parents trapped him.”
He nodded. “I’m sure he’ll want revenge on both of you.”
Now he was absolutely terrified.
* * *
Orochi shook all eight of his heads. Finally, his brothers were awake.
And filled with the same hatred.
Ryukage’s heir was in this realm. He’d felt it the moment Ryuichi had crossed over through the portal. As soon as the boy arrived, his last head, Venom, had risen and glared at him.
“We will not be defeated!”
Those words were now their rallying cry.
“Vengeance is ours!” Orochi bellowed. “Ryukage and his bloodline will be no more!”
Six of his brothers roared in satisfaction.
Water, however, wasn’t as enthused. “Brother, we are no longer in chains. Why can’t we just enjoy our freedom?”
Fire bit him.
“Hey!” Water returned the favor.
When Fire went after Water again, Earth wrapped around Fire to hold him back while Light did the same to Water.
“Enough!” Orochi growled. “The realm is for the taking, and if we are to seize it, we must stand united.”
Because if they weren’t, he knew it would be a lot more difficult to fight the enemy if his brothers were also fighting each other.
Water spat at Fire, then nodded. “Fine. Together. Then can we rest?”
“Yes. But we can’t let our army know that we’re not together in this.”
If they sensed any weakness . . .
Evil turned on evil. That was the only problem with being on the side of hatred. Loyalty was a foreign concept. Fear was the only way to keep others in line.
With eight dragon heads, Orochi excelled at instilling fear in anyone who laid eyes on him.
Fire continued to glare at Water. “Can someone please brush his teeth?”
Venom nodded. “As the one closest to him, I agree.”
Orochi shook his own head. Brothers . . . they were always annoying. “Can we stop terrorizing each other and save it for the humans?”
“I am hungry,” Earth said. “I miss the taste of human children.”
“Agreed.” Venom bowed to Orochi. “Lead us to victory.”
“That’s my plan.”
Clearing his throat, Orochi headed over to the edge of a cliff, where they stood over a camp of thousands of soldiers.
His army of miscreants contained oni, yōkai, and kaiju—many of whom couldn’t fly, so that would slow their advance a bit.
Haruki had banished them to a wasteland that was so far away their journey to the gate would take days.
But that wouldn’t matter much in the end.
Every one of those beasts craved human flesh. They were united under Orochi’s red banner, which bore his circular emblem of orange fire.
All willing to fight and die for him.
Orochi spread his wings, the heads of his brothers either roaring or breathing fire. He leaped into the air and soared, the massive size of his body casting a shadow over the landscape.
His recruits looked up in awe, then shrank back in terror.
Orochi was so pleased to see how frightened they all were. Controlling them would be easy.
Orochi circled the camp twice before he swooped down to land in a field.
He reared up on his back feet so that he was as tall as a mountain. “Soldiers, we are ready to march!”
The first order of business: “Find the Ryukage’s son and kill anyone who gets in our way.”