To understand how things developed the way they did, let us turn back time a bit.

Back to when Lawkey disappeared from the Dojo.

“Where is Law?!”

Jun shouted as she looked around with no sign of the boy anywhere.

“Lulu was just here, w-where did he go?”

“Don’t tell me…!”

Emi and Yasuto voiced their thoughts, but everyone was quickly drawn to one person.

“Kojiro! Why did you say that?!” Jun raised her voice as she faced the boy hiding his eyes beneath the light brown bangs, “You didn’t have to say it in a way that would directly blame him!”

“That's not my problem.” Kojiro said coldly, “If he blames himself, then he should take responsibility for putting you, and this clan in danger.”

“Huh?! That wasn’t his fault!”

“Are you sure about that? Or are you blinded by emotions?”

“...”

“Kojiro, let it go, man.” Yasuto tried to step in, “It’s not for us to think about these things. We’ve spent the last few months together, he’s a good guy.”

Kojiro clenched a fist, but kept his body still.

“You are all easily fooled, he is nothing of the sort and we must get rid of him-”

“Stop it!”

“!!”

Jun grabbed Kojiro’s collar suddenly, interrupting him.

“Why does he have to leave?! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

Kojiro calmly grabbed her arms to take them off of him.

“Jun, it seems he has tricked you too much. Your feelings for him will prevent you from thinking straight for now, but you’ll see eventually.”

“No! He saved me, saved my dad!”

“Let me go, Jun…”

“He deserves to be here with us too!”

“I said, let me go!”

“He deserves to be happy too!”

“?!”

Just as the others were about to step in to pull them apart, the two suddenly fell down together after squabbling.

And then…

“W-what is that on your face?”

“...”

Jun’s eyes widened along with everyone else.

Having fallen on his back, Kojiro’s bangs had been forced out of the way, revealing his blackened red eyes, and a distorted skin layer on his face.

Hints of a birthmark began to appear behind the mask right above his right eyebrow.

“Tsk, you just had to push it…”

“?!”

Jun suddenly pulled away as she noticed Kojiro sinking into the ground.

“What’s happening to Kojiro?!”

“Maybe he’s entering the depth of darkness.”

Zenga and Mai were the only ones who could utter words from everyone watching in complete shock.

“You’ll all realize it soon, anyway. I’m doing this for you.”

“What is this?! What are you going to do?”

“Just wait here, this was part of my plan too. This clan needs a better leader.” Kojiro’s face was the only thing left as his body sank into the shadows under him, “First, I’ll start by killing him.”

“?!”

“You’ll never see him again…”

And with that, Kojiro disappeared into the shadows, his destination already decided.

“No, Koko and Lulu are going to fight?!”

“What should we do?”

“...”

As everyone panicked and tried to find a way to help, Jun clenched her fists and bit her bottom lip.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

And then, she decided. She would have to break her father’s instructions.

“There is only one way. I have to get to aunty Taiga!”

**👑**

“H-hey, are we sure about this? Isn’t it a bit too dangerous?”

“Not to mention we are definitely going to be punished for this…!”

“Just do it already!”

After Jun and her friends made it to the Royal Kage Castle, they were faced with hundreds of villagers rioting in front of the gates to force the Shadow Queen to go back on her decisions.

Seeing no way to get through, Jun decided to seek the help of the two guards she had found during the Kerberos incident.

Somehow, it wasn’t long until she ran into them and explained the circumstances, all leading to their current situation.

The two guards, Ichiro and Tsutomu, were both holding Jun up above their shoulders, readying to launch her into the Royal Castle like an arrow.

The other students were distracting the guards nearby, so their time was short.

“Aghh! Fine! But you better explain things properly to Her Majesty, or it’s our heads!”

“First, go save the boy you like!”

“W-wait, what?! I don-”

“Let’s goo!”

“Woaaaah!”

Not letting her finish her sentence, they gathered all the shadows they could and launched them towards the castle gates along with Jun.

The body of a twelve year old girl flew above the villagers’ heads, and crossed the Castle Guards standing in front of the gate.

“?!”

“Ahh! Fine!”

Jun ignored what they said and clenched her black Bokken tightly.

“Sorry, aunty! I know this is against the rules, but I have to do this no matter what!”

One Shadow Sword Style - First Stance!

Endless Night!

With a swing of her sword, shadows erupted to cut through the castle gate, allowing her flight to continue all the way into the throne room, where she crashed the party.

“!!!!”

“Jun?!”

Munisai and Taiga shouted in unison among the countless gasps and open jaws.

She made quick eye contact with her father, but then quickly turned to the Shadow Queen.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty! The clan is in danger! Kojiro is planning something!” She spoke fast, not stopping to breathe, “He tricked Law to go to the tunnel alone, but they weren’t there when we passed it on the way here! He could somehow sink into the shadows, so…”

“?!” Taiga stood in shock.

“What?! That…!” Munisai’s eyes shot up, he didn’t want to believe it.

“Kojiro?! Isn’t that your grandson, Hideyoshi?!” Hachi immediately questioned the old man who had been putting pressure on them this entire time.

Hideyoshi quickly stopped biting on his fingernails, and took a step back.

“W-what?! I had nothing to do with this!”

“I find that very hard to believe!”

As Hachi walked forward with a stomp of his glaive, Hideyoshi kept turning his head around the room.

He saw Munisai’s furrowed brows, Hachi’s narrow cold eyes, and then Taiga’s glare.

Among the rest of the glances from the others, especially the ones who had supported him, he finally caved, cursing his grandson under his breath,

“Aghhh, screw it!” He dug his feet into the ground and pointed at the Shadow Queen, “This is a revolution, step down from the throne or we’ll make you! We’re done with the monarchy!”

“Yeaaaah!!”

As he declared, the ones behind him joined him in cheers. That quickly translated into hundreds of cheers from outside the castle too, making everyone stand on edge.

“You really planned this, didn’t you?!” Hachi bellowed.

“You bet I did! We’re done with listening to one woman deciding our fate! Everyone, get in here, we’re forcing our way!”

With that, the villagers began to push into the throne room, with some guards even joining them too.

“...”

Munisai and Taiga stayed silent, then made brief eye contact.

They both remembered Sasaki, the woman whose family was rebelling now.

She was their friend, her father Hideyoshi was one of Taiga’s subjects, as her son Kojiro was one of Munisai’s dear students.

Even so, they had no choice.

They took action at the same time.

In a split second, Jun suddenly found herself between them as they each crossed in opposite directions.

Munisai patted his daughter’s head as he walked towards Hideyoshi and his revolutionaries.

“Jun, go with Her Majesty.”

Taiga on the other hand, was facing the outside gate while fixing her Kimono over her shoulders.

“Let’s go, Jun. You need to help me find them.” She said, not bothering to turn around, “Munisai, Hachi, and the rest of my guards, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“...”

Hachi understood her intentions.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” He shouted with the rest of the guards.

“Are you running away, Your Majesty?! Is this how you treat our concerns?!”

“Hideyoshi.” Taiga slowly turned to glare at him, “This stopped being a discussion when you decided to put my clan in danger, to trick my people against me, to betray our customs. You’ll rot in a cell for the rest of your miserable life.”

“W-what?! Did you all hear that? She has no intention of hearing us out! Charge!!”

As both sides charged at each other, Taiga quickly crouched down while carrying Jun in her arms like a princess.

Then, in an instant, she kicked off the ground to launch herself out of the Royal Castle.

“!!!”

Jun was taken aback as her eyes shot up.

“I never knew aunty was so fast!”

“Heh, Jun dear, did you really think I was just a pretty face on a throne?”

“Ahh! I didn’t mean that!”

Cutting through the air, the two chatted as if nothing was happening.

Or perhaps they didn’t want to think about it.

“...”

“...”

“Jun.”

“Yes, aunty?”

“Try and find them.”

“What?”

“Focus your Sign, you should be able to do it properly now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ichiro and Tsutomu reported to me how you suddenly found them in a place far from the main road during the Kerberos incident. How did you do that?”

“I… I simply ran and found them…”

“You know that’s not true. You were able to sense their shadows.”

“?!”

“You might’ve not inherited Tori’s ability, that seems to have been Kojiro, but you still have a special ability of your own. Use it now to find him.”

“I… I didn’t know…” Jun paused, feeling a sudden warmth in her chest, “I’ll try!”

“Good girl.”

That said, something still doesn’t add up. How did Hideyoshi turn so many against the throne? He shouldn’t have been that confident either…

As Jun focused, Taiga ran at full speed towards the Shadow Valley, jumping above buildings like a cat.

She contemplated all the while.

As their queen, is it okay for me to leave that conflict and go? I promised the kid he would be safe and now this…

How pathetic of a queen can I be?

I worried so much about the Royal Curse, I never pursued the one I liked until it was too late.

I wasn’t able to achieve the power expected of a queen to protect this clan when the time came…

I couldn’t remove the fear and pain from my people after the last invasion…

I forced them all to go against me in my attempt to better this clan, to open it up to the world and its endless possibilities.

To end over nine centuries of hiding in this valley.

I can’t push myself to ensure the future of the throne if it means the activation of the curse…

I might just be the last and most pathetic Shadow Queen of this clan…

“Aunty, I think I might have found them… But I’m not sure…”

“... That’s okay Jun, we’ll check every lead. Keep focusing and tell me the way as soon as we enter the Shadow Valley. We’re getting close.”

“Okay!”

“Jun.”

“Yes?”

“Have you told him yet?”

“Eeh? T-tell him what?”

“Don’t play coy with your aunty now. I can see right through you.”

“E-ehmm…”

“Make sure to tell him soon, otherwise, you might lose him forever.”

“...” The girl red in the face paused for a second, “I’ll try my best…”

“Good.”

What am I even thinking?

This girl still needs me.

This clan still needs their queen.

Even though I’m incompetent in comparison to my predecessors, I still have a duty and responsibility to them, to my people.

I’ll do it.

I’ll open this clan to the world.

I’ll bring peace and prosperity to this clan.

I’ll save the boy, and this girl’s feelings.

I’ll ensure the future of the throne…

I’ll give up on you… to believe in myself.

“?!”

Jun was suddenly startled as shadows from all around them began to get pulled in.

“W-what’s going on, aunty?”

“Heh, to think I would reach it here and now… What Irony…” The Shadow Queen paused, then continued, “Watch closely, Jun dear. This is the power reserved only to Kings and Queens.”

“The Shadows have finally recognized me as their monarch.”

“It’s time to break out the tiger.”

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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]