Eighteenth Day of the Second Month, Year One Thousand Ten of the Reign of the Ichiya Dynasty

Himari

Himari had been able to put proper pressure on her left leg by the time she had gotten out of bed the day before. The trick to that was that she had to force Aura into her leg to be able to do much more than stand in a moderate amount of pain. Despite her efforts to hide this, the guard detail of Sakura and Misao forced her into one last day of respite so that Sakura could continue working to encourage healing in her leg. This morning, however, everyone knew that the group could not idle any longer.

So it was that she found herself in the common room of the nameless inn in which they resided. She ate her breakfast quietly, watching Chikao and Misao discuss their next steps.

“We have five hundred soldiers here, all loyal to you,” Misao considered, tapping his chin in consideration. “Right now we could at least do a decent amount of damage before we’re slaughtered to a man. Which is an encouraging start, I would say!”

Chikao rolled his eyes as he responded. “Five hundred is just a start, I would agree. We are fortunate, in that the Usurper has never been popular even among her own soldiers. There will be no shortage of samurai who despise her but have never had the courage or reasoning to speak out like I did.” He sipped his tea. “Right now, the most important thing that you and Sakura-san can do is prepare Himari-san for the battle to come.”

Himari had moved to take a sip of tea, and almost spit it out as her name was mentioned. She took a moment to recover before she incredulously responded, “I don’t see how that’s important, Chikao-san. Our battle aside, I am more than competent enough to contribute to the battle to come.”

“This isn’t a point where you should argue,” Chikao stated tersely. “Your level of skill would be enough if we expected you to serve as a frontline soldier. But you’ve inspired a fire in my soldiers. So congratulations, you’ve raised the bar for yourself.”

Himari stared down into her tea, unsure what to say. The feeling of fox fur on her feet brought her back into the moment suddenly as Sakura, having swapped back to her fox form, climbed into her lap. She smiled, scritching behind the lovely creature’s ear, as she took a moment to consider her words. “I didn’t… mean to inspire anyone. I just didn’t think I could afford to lose. I’m not a leader, Chikao-san. Just a bodyguard trying to do right by her Lord after the greatest failure in her family’s history.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Tenth,” Misao interjected. “Unfortunately, none of the Chosen have the luxury of just being soldiers. That was true before this incident, and it is especially true now. Besides, it is your fault that all of these people are ready and willing to kill the Usurper. You’re going to have to take some responsibility for that.”

Heat came to Himari’s cheeks. But it was Chikao who spoke next. “Himari-san. I get it, being pulled into leadership ya don’t want sucks. But it’s rarely something we get to choose for ourselves. I never wanted ta be in charge of this group of misfits. But when the time comes, you always got two choices. Stand up, or stand aside. However you choose, commit to that. Just remember: a lot o’ people are relyin’ on ya now. I know that’s a shitty thing ta put on someone yer age, but we don’t have the luxury of bein’ able to wait til you’re ready. It won’t take long for people to settle into allowing this to become the new normal.”

“So what? We’re just going to put all of our other needs on hold to make me better at using a sword?” Himari was skeptical of that. She was just one person, and didn’t see what sort of difference she could make besides building an excessive body count.

At that moment, Sakura rolled off her lap. Her body began to glow, and soon the beautiful fox woman was sitting next to her, a giggle on her lips. “Of course not, silly. Well, I assume Misao-san is going to work with you on your swordsmanship. But you have a lot of potential with your usage of Aura. You showed that when you were able to keep your broken leg functional just with Aura usage. At this point, it’s a matter of teaching you how to train it and use it far more usefully.”

“And,” Misao added. “Yes, we need to train up your swordsmanship. You are likely to be our best shot at the Usurper. So we need to fit you with every advantage you can get.”

Himari blinked in shock, mouth agape as she processed that. “Wait. Why wouldn’t Chikao-san be the best bet? Or you and Shizuku-san? I am not upset to be able to take my vengeance personally, of course, but we must be practical about this, no?”

Chikao shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not. I’m old and slow. The Seventh and Eight are known commodities. Our presence will be far more noticed off the battlefield than yours. And with your Assassin friend, I’ve far more belief in your capability to get in there and kill her than any of us.”

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Himari let out a heavy sigh, but nodded. “Very well. If you all think that this is the path forward, I’ll place my faith in you.” She slowly finished her cup, her attention returning to Chikao. ‘What will you be doing while we train? I assume you’ll be making good use of your time.”

He chuckled. “Well, someone has to make sure you have an army to lead, Himari-san. Don’t worry. I’ll be very busy spreading my forces out to find the people who are gonna help us win this war. We may be rough and tumble, but we know the people who are gonna get you the results you need.”

Himari took a deep breath, letting the air blow through her nostrils as she thought. Her head rested against Sakura’s shoulder, and she closed her eyes to think. “Where do we start?”

Sakura smirked. “I’ve got a special place we are going to. Somewhere close to the spirits, where we’ll be able to train without fear of interruption.”

Himari couldn’t help but smile at the fox. Her fox. For the briefest of moments, her heart skipped a beat or two. And then she shook her head and brought herself back to reality. “Um, I say this with all due affection, but is there not a worry that we might distract each other?”

Misao shook their head, the smile on his face concerning Himari just a bit. “Trust me. It will be quite… out of your interest to allow yourself to be so distracted. And surely the Unstoppable Sato will have no issue keeping such a simple thing as a pretty face to stop her from doing her duty?”

“No one calls me that,” she deadpans in response.

“Oh, all of the soldiers are calling you that now!” Sakura giggled, bouncing as she replied. “You really did leave a good impression with your stupid stunt.”

Himari nodded, glad that Sakura was willing to make jokes about the situation. She had worried that the situation surrounding the fight from before would create continuing tension. That it didn’t made her heart swell. She leaned into the fox and bumped her briefly, giving her a smile. “Well. Then I suppose I better not disappoint you.”

“You won’t,” Misao assured. “Come. As I understand, we have a journey of some length to go on.”

After the trio said their goodbyes to Shippai Mura and made their way back into the Black Forest. Sakura took the lead, jumping from tree to tree with youthful exuberance. Himari couldn’t take her eyes off the fox for much of the journey, even as Misao tried to discuss matters with her.

“Himari.” The severe words from the Seventh Chosen finally caught her out of her reverie. “There is a difference between being excited for a new relationship and being distracted by it. You are coming dangerously close to the former.”

Himari jumped at the chastisement, her voice taking a contrite tone. “Apologies. You are right. I should not let her become a weakness.”

“Especially not right now!” Sakura calls down from above the branches. “Make no mistake, this may be a good place to train, but it is still very dangerous. Allowing yourself to be complacent could well kill you.”

The warning from Sakura caught her especially off guard. She grit her teeth, watching Sakura with a bit of wariness she hadn’t thought she could feel. Surely Sakura wouldn’t put her in a situation she can’t handle? “What is this place you are taking us to, Sakura-chan? Is the danger worth the risk?”

“Can’t tell you yet. Just a little farther!” The Kitsune picked up the pace, and the two Chosen rushed after her.

Their steps took them to a clearing in the forest. A small collection of stones were set in a loose circle, wherein a large variety of flowers were growing in seemingly random patterns. Sakura danced around the circle, grabbing Misao’s hands and pulling them into the circle. “Sit!” Her voice rang somehow more clearly than before. As Misao sat, she took Himari’s hands and pulled her in as well. “Both of you, sit. Clear your minds of doubt and fear. We are going to a place of clarity and peace. To bring your concerns and doubts into it could corrupt the place, and that backfire could be… dangerous.” Another giggle escaped.

Himari’s eyes widened at the explanation. “Wait, do you think this is a good idea?” But by the time she had asked, a gust of wind had pulled all sound away. The flowers lifted with the wind, the petals flying upward seemingly into infinite. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind of anything but the task at hand.

An image of Maiko showed in her head, and with it a flash of anger stabbed into her heart. All of the pain, the betrayal from everything she had learned burned to the surface. For a moment, she felt like cursing her name. Damning her for stopping her from being able to avenge her father those days ago. But then she saw a vision. Maiko guiding a young man. He had the same cheekbones as the Late Ichiya XL. The spitting image of what he must have looked like twenty years prior. As she realized that she was seeing a vision of something that was actually happening, she felt her heart lighten. Somehow, it was comforting to see that Maiko had seriously been attempting to help.

As she found that little bit of peace, a flash of light briefly blinded her. She rubbed her eyes gently, trying to force herself into sight. Once she was able to see again, the sight of a beautiful meadow had replaced the forest that they had been standing in only a few moments before. As she looked to her right, she saw Misao standing next to her. The look on their face matched how she felt, a wide eyed amazement as they took in the meadow.

A deer the size of a horse leapt into her view. The creature stared at the pair for several moments, then jumped away, bounding off towards a doe and their obvious children. In all of this, it took her all too long to realize that she hadn’t seen Sakura in several seconds. Her eyes looked around, and thoughts danced around her head. Had they done it wrong? Was she somewhere else?

Falling from the sky, Sakura landed in front of the pair and lifted her hands excitedly. “Welcome,” Sakura announced with a flourish. “To the Realm of Spirits.”