Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Chaos was all around. The air was thick with black, acrid smoke. Flames torched everything in their wake.
On the ground, there was total carnage. Lifeless bodies splayed out, sometimes one on top of the other.
It was a sight that Ryuichi knew would never leave him as long as he lived.
Which might only be for a few more minutes, if he and his friends didn’t escape.
“We must get Ryuichi-san out of here!” Keiko shouted. Her kimono transformed into full-body armor as she used her powers to morph from a human into a battle-ready kitsune.
At the same time, Masaru grabbed Ryuichi by his shoulders and pulled him close.
Ryuichi groaned as Masaru materialized into a shapeless field of energy that swirled around him in circles before merging with his body. “I hate when you do that.”
True, but you love it too. Masaru unsheathed Koichi’s sword and spun it around their body.
Ryuichi hated to admit that it was pretty awesome to be able to perform that skill and not cut off a limb.
Not that it helped. Instead of rushing toward Orochi’s battalion and fighting, Masaru headed for the fortress stables, which were somehow still intact.
“Hey!”
Shhhhh, kid. We’re getting you to safety.
The rest of their side was retreating too. Orochi’s soldiers were relentless, pursuing and hunting everything that moved. They were a terrifying force with a viciousness that Ryuichi had never seen.
As they fled toward the stable, Orochi’s warriors were out for Ryuichi’s head.
They tried to bludgeon him from behind and stab him right in his heart.
Masaru used his cunning magic to perfectly counter each strike with Ryuichi’s sword.
It was the strangest sensation to be a passenger in his own body, but Ryuichi surrendered himself to Masaru’s expertise.
Scorching heat from the fires spread rapidly, devouring the entire castle along with the bodies of the fallen. Survivors were running for their lives, and Orochi’s dastardly yōkai would not stop until they obliterated everything standing in their way.
Masaru weaved Ryuichi through Orochi’s army.
As they crossed in front of the castle’s ruins, a gigantic gust of wind knocked him to the ground and sent everyone around him flying.
Ryuichi scrambled to his feet as a huge shadow moved in above him.
Wait, not a shadow . . .
His heart pounding, he looked up . . . and up . . .
And up some more.
All the way to the salivating, ferocious eight-headed dragon demon that had come here to kill him.
Ryuichi couldn’t breathe. He’d never seen anything so ghastly. Orochi’s enormous wings flapped, and another gust of wind sent Ryuichi tumbling to the ground.
Get up! Masaru’s voice echoed in his mind.
Easier said than done. But thankfully, Masaru had control and pushed them to their feet.
One by one, Orochi’s heads swung down from on high and lunged at Ryuichi, their jaws gnashing and snapping at his limbs.
Masaru was barely able to avoid their hungry mouths.
The World Eater let out an earth-shattering roar before charging and stepping on hapless tengu soldiers who screamed out in agony before being flattened like bugs.
Every one of Ryuichi’s muscles tensed.
“I’m so dead,” he mumbled.
His heart was beating so hard he was sure it would burst out of his chest.
Orochi opened his mouth widely to bite him. Or perhaps just swallow him whole.
Suddenly, Ryuichi felt lightheaded, like he was about to drift off to sleep. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, he found himself in the stable, which was now missing a wall and part of the roof.
Masaru had managed to teleport them out just before they’d been eaten, and the stable was a good place to hide for now.
“Thank you. That was a close one.”
It’s all part of the job. Now keep our head low and try not to get eaten by the dragon.
“Don’t plan to.”
Ryuichi glanced around, grateful they’d made it. Behind them was an absolute slaughterhouse. But as he scanned the destruction, he realized there was no sign of his party. Somewhere in that madness, they’d lost his shadow, Haruki, Keiko, and Koichi.
“Where did the others go?”
I was too busy saving us to pay attention. Last I saw, they were headed here.
They were nowhere to be found.
“We need to go back and find them,” Ryuichi pleaded.
Masaru scoffed inside his head. No. Keiko will kill me if I put you back into danger.
“We can’t leave them!” Ryuichi tried to force Masaru to leave his body, focusing his mind and willing it to take control.
His surly kitsune wasn’t having any of it. Ryuichi could feel him pushing back, as if he intended to stay there forever.
They would want you safe. We’ll find them when this mess calms down.
“What if they’re hurt?”
They would want you safe, Masaru repeated. We need to protect you. We’ll worry about them later.
Ryuichi wanted to argue, but he knew it was pointless. Masaru couldn’t be reasoned with when he was stubborn like this. He’d have better luck taking a bottle of sake away from Koichi.
He didn’t want to accept the fact that when Masaru possessed his body, there was nothing he could do to stop him. He was essentially powerless against Masaru.
He glanced over to the tree line, where a few ragged survivors of Lord Hayasaka’s forces remained, huddled together in fear. Those who couldn’t teleport or turn invisible ran into the woods, trying to disappear and escape their enemies.
Ryuichi’s lungs were full of smoke and fire. It really hurt to breathe. He hoped and prayed his friends were safe and didn’t die a painful death.
“What do we do now?” he asked Masaru, hoping for some wisdom from the kitsune, even though that was a stretch.
We look for our friends and find your father.
He liked the way Masaru said that—as if it were easy. But they had no idea where anyone had gone. Especially not his father.
Close the gate, said a strange, feminine voice inside Ryuichi’s head.
That definitely wasn’t Masaru.
“Who said that?”
I think it was your mother, Masaru answered.
No. It couldn’t be. Her voice was smoother and gentler.
Ryuichi twitched as the spirit of Masaru jumped out of his body and appeared in his kitsune form. “No offense—it felt crowded in there. Gave me the buruburu.”
Ryuichi started to say something, then realized that Masaru was right. Something or someone else was within him.
And they were leading him to the portal.
“Masaru?”
“Let it lead, and I will follow you,” he said with an encouraging nod.
Don’t be afraid, child. This time it was a different woman’s voice in his head. Her tone was soft and comforting.
“Okay, what’s going on? Who are you now?”
That doesn’t matter. Trust me.
Easier said than done. Trusting others didn’t come naturally to Ryuichi. More often than not, it hadn’t gone well. And he had no idea who or what this spirit was.
Or what her intentions were.
Although he tried to wrestle his body away from her control in protest, the spirit swung him up on a horse and had him ride swiftly toward the gate before Orochi or his army could stop them.
What happened next amazed him.
As the horse quickly ran toward the portal, Orochi and his yōkai soldiers didn’t notice him at all. Ryuichi watched as the giant dragon and his men searched everywhere for Ryuichi. Some of them looked right in his direction, and it was as if Ryuichi was a ghost.
That’s when he realized he and his horse were completely invisible.
Ryuichi didn’t know if this was one of his dormant powers that came out whenever he was under attack, or if this magic belonged to the yōkai protecting him.
Trust yourself, Ryuichi. Find the part of you that wants to save the world.
Those words echoed in his head. Then he felt a familiar fire, stirring deep inside his heart. The sensation traveled through his veins, igniting his arms and legs with a jolt of electricity.
Now he knew without a shadow of a doubt.
This spirit was his mother.
You are my son, Ryu-chan. My powers are yours.
Once again, his mother was helping him.
“How do I control the gate?”
The powers are within you. You just have to believe in them. You’ve always been capable of anything, and you always will be.
But believing in himself was hard. He was getting better at it. Still, it was difficult to think of himself as the great Mahōtsukai Ryuichi, especially after the way Katsu had treated him during training.
The tengu had tried to tear down his confidence, and he managed to succeed a bit.
You are Mahōtsukai Ryuichi.
As soon as his mother’s words whispered through his head, he saw an incredibly beautiful golden kitsune appear by the gate.
Sunlight reflected off its golden coat with such intensity that it was blinding to look at. Ryuichi held his hand up to shield his eyes.
Without warning, the fox ran at him.
He barely had time to move before the kitsune launched itself at his throat.
Holding his arms up, Ryuichi braced for the impact. Only the impact didn’t come. Instead, her spirit joined him the same way Masaru’s had on the battlefield. Painful at first, and then the knowledge that he wasn’t in control.
The kitsune began whispering a chant he’d never heard before, in a voice like his mother’s but more playful:
Gods may come and gods may go.
It is only I who controls that flow.
Open and close goes the gate.
And only I control its fate.
Here I stand, your most humble one.
It is my will to see this done.
At first, Ryuichi thought the chant was ridiculous.
Until the gate burst into a cascade of flames. Only the fire didn’t give off heat or appear to destroy the structure.
Yōkai and oni screamed as they saw what was happening. More than that, Ryuichi’s blue gusoku armor began to glow. The dragon on his chest swirled and roared. Ryuichi could feel its movement all through his body.
“What’s happening?”
Shh, the kitsune whispered in his head. Let us take you where you need to go.
It wasn’t like he had any choice. She was completely in charge.
Ryuichi felt himself growing larger. Masaru teleported and appeared next to him, but he quickly took a step back with his jaw agape. Ryuichi had no idea what was causing him to expand like this, or if this was all some kind of mind trick.
All he knew was that he’d never felt this powerful before.
And with a bright flash of lightning, the gate slammed closed, instantly extinguishing the fire.
A screech rang out from their enemies. A few tried rushing into the portal and into the human realm, but when the gate slammed shut, it had cut all of them in half.
Those far enough back were able to get to safety.
All the yōkai survivors turned to face Ryuichi as if they knew he was there and that he was responsible for what he’d done.
His stomach sank at the sight.
They were all staring at him.
“I guess I lost the power of invisibility.”
Masaru shouted, “Run!”
But the kitsune inside Ryuichi wouldn’t let him. Instead, she lifted his hand toward the heavens and let out a kiai that split the air. Fire shot out of the ground at his sides. He couldn’t believe what was happening.
Until something tackled him and sent him careening across the ground. The blow landed so hard that it actually knocked the kitsune out of him. She went flying from his body to land on her feet in her kitsune form.
Meanwhile, Ryuichi rolled through the dirt until he came to rest on his stomach. His kabuto fell forward, onto the ground.
He laid there, trying to catch his breath as something growled in his ear. Unable to see what it was, he was paralyzed by fear.
What has me?
Just when he was sure the unseen, unknown creature would eat him, Masaru raised his arms and blasted it with a ball of fire that came shooting out of his hands.
“Get off him!” Masaru hit the beast with three more fire blasts.
Ryuichi rolled over to see a giant red oni. One with tusks, horns, leopard loincloth, and a massive club.
The oni started for Masaru. He threw more and more fire at the oni until it cursed Masaru and slunk toward the trees, where it vanished. The female kitsune returned and transformed into a beautiful girl around Ryuichi’s age. Her long black hair was held in a red tie at her neck.
“Come, Kage-taro! Hurry!”
They’d almost reached his horse when Lord Hayasaka flew from the sky, landed in front of them, and grabbed Ryuichi by the wrist.
A moment later, he felt that dizziness again. He stumbled back, and in a flash, he was no longer there.