Misao

Misao couldn’t say that travel through the Black Forest was a dream of theirs. The wilderness didn’t exactly appeal to their sensibilities, either through the Tsukisasuyama and its bitter cold or here in this forest. The trees climbed impossibly high overhead, hiding all but the barest hints of the Sun that they thought should be shining above their heads. The fact that they didn’t have a plan complicated matters significantly as well. Himari clearly didn’t know the forest, nor did she seem to have an innate connection to this supposed ‘Sakura’ she was searching for.

They counted the minutes of following Himari in what felt like circles for far too long. The two were wasting time, and they couldn’t let her get so focused on this task that she lost sight of what was truly important. So, finally, they cleared their throat. “As much as traipsing the woods is an exhilarating activity, Himari-san, I dare say we need to come up with a better plan or prepare to head on our way. I know you are eager to find your friend, but there are more important things at stake than a fox who may or may not be a spirit.”

Himari looked at Misao, a flash of confusion showing on her face. “We can’t just give up. We’ve barely started.”

“And I have seen that exact tree stump at least three times,” they said with a sigh. “Himari-san, I understand that this… Sakura… is important to you. But there are a lot of lives at stake. If we are to avenge your father and the Emperor, we cannot delay longer than is absolutely necessary.

Himari stopped and leaned against a nearby tree. Her eyes looked out into the distance. “I know, Misao-sama. But I made a promise to find her. And I can’t…” she took a breath. “I’ve failed so much in the last few weeks.”

“Failed?” An eyebrow shot up in surprise. “I suppose in the sense that we all failed to see the coup coming in time. But in that sense, arguably you are the only one who succeeded.”

Himari shook her head vehemently. “If I had been faster to recognize the danger, we might have been able to mount a defense and stop her. If I had pursued leads in the city, we might have found the hidden soldiers in time to round them up before the attack even started.” She took a slow breath. The pain on her face was becoming something of a default appearance to Misao. But then, they weren’t the one who had lost a father. “If I’d been better when fighting those bandits, we’d not need to be looking for Sakura in this forest.”

Misao let out a sigh. They could see the doubt creeping in on her. For a moment, they considered simply abandoning her. She was a liability in this state, and they weren’t sure they could afford to coddle her grief through the trials to come. That moment of consideration was left aside swiftly. “Himari-san, I think there are two mistakes you are making here.” They stated. They tried their best to sound older, more authoritative. How did the Captain always handle these moments? “First, you need to accept that outside of the confines of a Dojo, combat is chaotic. Getting hurt should be expected, and you should not see it as a failing on your part that you were wounded. That your friend Sakura cares about you enough to risk her safety to heal you says a lot more about her than it ever would about you.

“Second,” they continued with a short breath, “it is selfish and irresponsible of you to take the responsibility for what happened on yourself. We all failed, every single one of us who made those vows to the Emperor himself. Even your Father did, great man that he is. So as much as I understand that you want to, you cannot hold up the responsibility for that failure alone. You are grieving, and I do want to give you the space to do that. But I also need you to be present with us. And that means we need more of a plan than to wander around the forest hoping to find someone who may or may not even be able to help us.”

Himari fidgeted briefly in front of him. She was silent for a beat, then two. “Alright. I understand. I will… try not to lose myself like that again.” A pair of tears streamed from her eyes, and quickly she wiped them away. “I miss him,” she admitted quietly. “And I’m not sure how to continue forward without him there to catch me.”

“There are at least two other people you know now asking that same question,” they responded with a smile. “And one of them is here with you. It’s been six years since I have had to navigate a world where I wouldn’t have the Captain there to advise me. It is going to be hard on all of us.”

She nodded briefly. Then spoke. “Ok. I would still like to try to find her, but I won’t belabor the point any further. At the least, we should mark the area so we aren’t walking in circles.”

Misao considered for a brief moment, then snapped with a realization. “Have you tried calling out to her with your Aura?”

“Calling out to her?” The twist of confusion almost caused Misao to leap out of their skin in frustration. “I apologize, what do you mean?”

Misao quietly cursed Kosuke. They couldn’t say anything out loud, of course, they didn’t want to further upset a grieving daughter. But the fact that he didn’t even start on Aura made them wish to drag him out of the afterlife to strangle him.

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“Okay,” they took a breath. “We don’t have time for more than a quick lesson for now. But we can at least get you through this.” They turned to Himari. “How much do you know about Aura?”

“Just what Sakura-chan already taught me,” she explained. She held out her hands and summoned a small sphere of mostly translucent water. Their eyebrows rose into their hairline.

“How long have you been able to project Aura like this?” They asked.

“Only a bit over a week,” she explained. “Since Sakura-chan left, actually. Why?”

Misao hummed in consideration. That made them feel better about even being out here, at least. Someone who could teach Aura projection could be valuable indeed. “It’s just a bit rare, is all. Most people barely learn how to utilize Aura internally. Projecting it externally takes either a lot of practice, or…” they thought about it a moment. Then slapped their head. “Or a bloodline strong in magic. Like, say, the line of a Kami.”

Himari nodded in something resembling understanding. Misao continued. “If she has taught you even a little bit, I would guess that you’ve seen her Aura in some capacity before?” Himari nodded again quietly, clearly focusing very hard on simply maintaining the sphere. “Good. I want you to focus on what her Aura felt like. Push that sphere out, and see if you can feel anything akin to what her Aura felt like. Think of it like… reaching out with your hands, but with your mind focused on the energy instead.” It was clumsy, but hopefully it would work.

Himari closed her eyes, and for a moment seemed concerningly strained. They were about to push her to stop, but then they saw a thin, almost translucent line slip from the sphere. Himari’s eyes opened, and the excitement in her voice managed even to get Misao thrilled for the prospect. “I latched onto something!”

“Good!” They almost shouted, barely pulling their voice into something more calm. “Good. Does it feel right? Familiar?”

“I believe so,” Himari cheered. “It’s definitely similar. Too much has happened, so I can’t say for sure if it’s exactly the same. But it’s at least a thread worth following.”

“Agreed. So let us tug on this string and see where it leads.” Misao motions where the sphere seemed to point, and the two moved on.

As they traveled in the relative quiet of the forest, Misao took a slow breath. Unlike Himari, the Air Aura that flowed through their body didn’t have any external indicators. Instead, they closed their eyes and allowed their Aura to mix in with the air around them. The scent of pine tickled lightly against their nose, and they allowed themselves a smile. It didn’t surprise them that the feeling of nature was pervasive here in a forest of all places. What did surprise them, though…

“Himari-san,” they spoke, using their Aura to keep an image on Himari without needing to actually look at her. “Does something strike you as odd about this place?”

The sound of Himari’s footsteps ceased. Her kimono ruffled briefly, as if she were looking for something. “I don’t notice anything, no. What’s wrong?”

“Listen,” they said. “What’s missing from that you would expect to hear in a forest?”

Another long pause allowed Misao the space to keep searching for the missing presences. “The animals,” she finally commented. “We haven’t heard even so much as the song of birds in some time.”

“At least an hour, yes. I didn’t think much of it before, but something is off. This would be a good time to tell me that we’re close.” As their Aura reached the limits of their awareness, they frowned deeply. The lack of creatures was disturbing for a short distance. But they had pushed nearly a mile out and sensed… nothing save the trees and other plants. Even the humble presence of an ant seemed entirely absent from their awareness.

“We are,” she thankfully confirmed. “It looks like there is a glade up ahead. My Aura is pointing me there.”

Forcing down their own unease, Misao brought themselves fully back to the space they occupied. Their heart started to race. They thought that, perhaps, Himari had managed to attach to nothing, and this was just a waste of time. In some ways, they thought that might be for the best. If something was hiding every creature in an entire Forest, well… they weren’t sure that they wanted to meet a creature of that magnitude.

As the two entered the glade, the soft feel of tall grass against the top of their feet felt surprisingly comfortable. For a brief moment, they felt they could simply relax. Wait. Relax? No, that didn’t make sense. They should feel tense, but instead they felt themselves starting to fade, as if they were pleasantly tired from a long day of good work.

They became vaguely aware of something talking. A presence that didn’t seem to come from any direction. Or. More accurately, it seemed to come from every direction. “Humans in my Forest. How intriguing. I’ve not seen such a sight in… three hundred years, it must have been?”

The power suggested in the voice briefly panicked Misao, but the feeling was quickly tamped down by that oppressive feeling of relaxation. “Himari-san…” they muttered, but they couldn’t finish the statement before they found their legs and arms resting against the strangely comfortable grass. “Be… careful…” it was all they could do to say that much.

Himari, for her part, was still standing. “Where is Sakura?” Her voice carried a strange amount of tension. Didn’t she know how comfortable this grass was? They were sure she’d notice pretty soon.

“Sakura?” There was a barking laugh in the voice. “Such a human thing to demand. Here you stand, no power, no control, and yet somehow you have found me with your Aura to try and make demands. Although, hmmm…”

As Misao lost consciousness, they became vaguely aware of a creature walking into the glade from the far line of trees. It was a fox, but impossibly large for one. Beautiful white fur shone in the rising moonlight. And with the last of their consciousness, the last thing they were aware of was nine beautiful tails…