Roni, Falynn, and Leonov waited patiently outside of the Guard Barracks while Taiki was escorted to retrieve her possessions and re-equip her armor. She emerged from the building looking far more like the Taiki they knew, though still with that cut above her eye and the bruising to her face. As soon as she appeared, Falynn stepped forward to heal her wounds. Taiki allowed that, but then quickly turned on her heel and began walking away. They followed, guessing that she wasn’t in the talking mood just then.
There were more than a few townsfolk around, the kind that followed the court’s events and wanted to see Taiki up close for themselves. They tried to make themselves inconspicuous, but they were easy to pick out, with their gazes heavy and unflinching. Falynn didn’t like them one bit. The attention was off-putting, even if it wasn’t directed at her. “Don’t they have anything better to do than gawk?”
“Probably not,” Roni said with a lazy glance toward the nearest spectators, a group of young women in fine dresses. They were talking to one another behind their hands, making no secret of their gossip. “There’s always flies around. Just ignore them and focus on the real target.”
“Which is?” Falynn asked, then realized what Roni meant. “Oh. Right.”
“Why are you three following me?” Taiki asked abruptly, stopping in her tracks and turning to face them. “I’m a criminal now. You don’t want to tarnish your reputation by staying with me, Leonov.”
“You’re not a criminal,” the former Attosian replied, crossing his arms and staring evenly at her. “We’re with you because we want to be.”
Taiki made no reply for a second, but she did meet his eyes. There was a resigned sort of pain there, he thought. In spite of her stoic nature, she didn’t want them to be hurt by following her down this path. She just couldn’t muster the strength to tell them to go away. At least, she couldn’t convince Leonov, the most honest and straightforward person she knew. So she turned to Falynn instead.
“What I’m about to do is very dangerous,” she said in a low voice. “We might be killed.”
Falynn’s lower lip trembled as she replied, but she kept her voice strong. “Not if I can help it. I’m not letting you go that easily.”
She tilted her chin up in a gesture of stubborn defiance. Finally, Taiki turned to Roni. “I’m sure there are better uses of your time.”
“There probably are,” the ranger agreed. “But I’m with you for now. I like the idea of hunting this mage.”
“You do know who he is, don’t you?” Leonov asked. “Grandmaster Tokugawa says that you’re the only one who knows his face.”
Taiki looked between the three of them, studying their faces. Something in her eyes dimmed as she realized the full import of what they weren’t saying. “He told you about my past.”
“He did,” Falynn said, her voice tremulous as if expecting Taiki to lash out at them. “But we were going to find out anyway. We’re helping you take him down. We’re going to bring him to face justice.”
“Capture him?” Taiki asked, her eyes narrowing. “There will be no such thing. I’m killing him.”
“You’ll need us for that as well,” Roni said. “Full offense, but you’re not the stealthy type. He’ll see you coming for miles if you’re alone. But if you have us to back you up, at least we can keep an eye out for things you’ll miss.”
Strangely, Taiki smirked at that. “So you want me to let you accompany me back home.”
“There’s no question of you letting us,” To Taiki’s surprise, it was Falynn who said it. The druid girl stated it boldly, without any sign of shame or hesitation. “We’re helping you whether you like it or not.”
The other two nodded their silent agreement of Falynn’s words, and Taiki let out a long sigh, seeing no way to get out of it. Well, she could try, but it wasn’t worth the effort. “Fine. But before we go, I have to do something.”
She turned around and began walking once more, completely oblivious to the stares of the people she passed. The three others followed, wondering what she was up to. Were they going to the Issho-Ni complex to gather the gear that Grandmaster Tokugawa had in store for them? But she wasn’t heading in that direction. She was taking a direct path toward the center of the city. Did she plan on going to the Noble district for something? She couldn’t be going to the palace, there was nothing left there.
It soon became clear, however, that she was intent on the Temple District. This was strange, as she’d never struck them as particularly religious. But she seemed to know where she was going, at least. Following curiously, they watched as she made a beeline for the temple of Shigeru, entering without a backward glance. But she did offer a quick word of greeting to the priest at the door. They couldn’t hear what was said, but the priest’s expression switched from friendly and welcoming to dour at once.
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“Are you sure about this, young woman?” They could hear him ask, once they were close enough. “That is a heavy request, and comes with a heavy cost.”
“I know what’s required of me,” Taiki replied shortly. “It won’t stop me. The cost is nothing to what it would be if I failed.”
Falynn and Roni looked perplexed at the exchange. Leonov might not understand the specifics, but he seemed to grasp the general tone. In a way, it was similar to their time in Sheran, when he’d traded a mark of debt for his weapon. He found himself wondering if a similar cost would now be asked of Taiki. There was a slight cough, and an attendant appeared beside the priest without being summoned and aided Taiki in removing her weapon, setting it gently to the side.
“What are you doing?” Falynn asked, clutching her staff nervously.
Neither Taiki nor the priest replied to her question. Before they knew it, Taiki was being led deeper into the temple, and the priest was gesturing wordlessly for them to stay where they were. Ignoring him completely, Falynn followed after Taiki, though she kept a respectful distance. Her brow was knotted in worry, and she stared intently at the taller girl as if worried about letting her out of sight for even a second.
“Do you know what she’s doing?” Falynn asked. It was clear that the question was directed at Roni and Leonov, even if she didn’t turn to face them.
Leonov shook his head slowly. “All I know is that a cost was mentioned. I believe she’s making a deal of some kind.”
The priest beside them stiffened as if offended. “Lord Tokugawa does not make deals. He’s not the type of god that trades power for favors.”
He said no more, letting out a scoff, and pointedly turned his head away, ignoring them. Several nearby attendants looked nervously between him and the visitors but said nothing. Roni approached the meekest of them, her face purposeful. “What is she doing?”
“She-,” The girl stammered with fright, looking as though she wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground and disappear. It was clear that Roni intimidated her. Not that it would take much to intimidate the girl, Leonov thought. “She’s swearing an oath, I believe. I don’t know anything else.”
“An oath,” Leonov said softly, his eyes widening with the typical look of sudden understanding. He turned quickly to look back at the priest. “She’s naming a mortal enemy, isn’t she?”
The robed man went completely still as Leonov guessed, telling them that he’d guessed correctly. After a short pause, in which he seemed to decide that the question wasn’t so insulting that he could ignore it, he let out a long sigh, making no secret of his irritation. “Yes. She is lobbying Lord Tokugawa for his guidance and blessing as she seeks to take down a mortal foe who has wronged her.”
“You mentioned a cost,” Leonov said. “What is the cost should she fail to do so?”
“The cost is not in her failure,” the man said dryly. The corner of his mouth tilted up in a partial sneer. “The cost is the weight of the burden being placed upon her. Seeking out a mortal foe is seen as a heavy task. If one is not mentally prepared, one will fall prey to their own rage.”
“So she’s praying for patience,” Roni said. It was a statement, not a question. “Do you really have to pray for that?”
The priest let out another snort and went back to pretending they weren’t there. For a follower of one of the kindest and most tolerant gods, the man was very supercilious, Roni thought. A humorless smirk formed on her mouth, and she switched her gaze to Falynn. During the exchange, the druid girl had continued to watch Taiki, who was now bare of her armor. She didn’t know much about the God of War and Peace, but she had heard that it was considered rude to present yourself to him while carrying weapons.
And indeed, Taiki bore no implements of war when she finally knelt before the large altar to the God of War. A wise and patient face carved from white marble, wearing elegant flowing robes. He sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed in meditation, his hands resting palms down on his thighs. Even the inanimate statue seemed alive with energy, conveying both power and restraint throughout the open space. Were she not so concerned, Falynn might have wondered at the identity of the large wolf, also carved of white stone, laying behind the warrior, it’s huge body curved so that its head rested to his right side. A name rushed to her mind, even though she’d never considered it before. Longfang.
“Can you hear what they’re saying?” Roni asked, coming over to stand beside the druid. She too felt the power of Shigeru’s statue, though she seemed a little more unnerved by it than Falynn was. She, of course, was unaccustomed to seeing such a potent source of power displayed prominently. She’d been raised in the wild, where such displays were reserved for marks of territory, or to scare a potential predator away. In Roni’s world, real power was fast, silent, and often lethal.
Falynn shook her head, still not blinking or looking away from her friend. “There’s too much noise in here. Besides, there’s an enchantment somewhere in this room that prevents us from eavesdropping.”
“Could you remove it?” Roni asked, wondering at the new use of magic. “We could learn some useful information if that enchantment weren’t there.”
“Even if I could, I wouldn’t,” Falynn said, her voice taking on an unexpectedly firm tone. “It’s disrespectful to use magic in another god’s temple. When you stand before a foreign god, you give respect. Anything else, and you might be attacked.”
Roni suck out her bottom lip in a thoughtful gesture, but the defiant tilt to her shoulders made it clear she didn’t care for such niceties. She was a direct sort of person, after all. Deciding not to push the issue and stress Falynn out any further, she settled into silence, watching Taiki as well. The prayer, oath, or whatever it was must have been a very quick process, for Taiki was already rising to her feet again. When she turned to begin putting her armor back on, they caught a glimpse of her expression. It wasn’t quite angry, nor was it in any way nervous. She had a sense of unrelenting determination about her. It wasn’t until she walked back toward the exit and passed the other two girls, however, that they understood fully what the ritual had done. They’d each felt this impression at least once in their lives, but never quite as deep.
It was rage. Pure, unadulterated, unflinching rage radiated from their friend. It was clear that her resolve had only strengthened. Good or bad, alive or dead, Taiki would not stop until her mortal enemy was dead.