Midnite wasn’t often at odds about what to feel. Most of the decisions in her life were easy to judge.

This, however, was different. She was equal parts angry, impressed, and worried out of her mind. She was angry with Shitoro, that he had let his guard down knowing how mischievous and willful Kisaki could be. But she was more furious with her daughter, that she would steal his key and leave, despite doing so being expressly forbidden.

All the same, she felt a grudging respect that Kisaki had proven herself so resourceful. Shitoro was meticulous in his methods and not easily fooled. His early life, before she had rescued him, had taught him to be wary. That her daughter had gotten past him without his knowledge spoke of cunning on her part, a far cry from the complaining child who often whined about wanting to see what lay beyond her domain.

Cunning or not, though, Midnite knew she was ill-prepared for what awaited her outside her doors. The youkai who served the other daimao weren’t of concern, but if they learned of her existence, then so would their masters. If that happened ... she didn’t care to think what would become of her darling daughter.

And she was by far the most darling thing in Midnite’s life. Though Midnite knew she could be distant, something her station demanded, she deeply loved Kisaki and tried to show it whenever she could. Her very existence and that Midnite went to such lengths to protect her was evidence of that.

But now, she was gone. Her chambers had been thoroughly combed, both physically and magically, and there was no sign of her.

That in itself was bad enough, but what the girl had somehow done in the process of escaping was potentially catastrophic.

Midnite summoned both Tanaki and Shitoro to her audience chamber. She ordered all the others out and had the doors sealed so they might discuss matters privately.

Shitoro, in particular, seemed nervous about the meeting, probably rightfully so, but Midnite realized that nothing would be solved by unleashing her wrath upon him, even if he likely deserved it.

“We have a very grave issue at hand,” she said from her place upon the throne. “One that needs to be solved post haste.”

Shitoro bowed deeply, shaking ever so slightly. “Kisaki will be found, mistress. S-she cannot have gotten far.”

“Farther than you may think,” Midnite replied. “There have been three transgressions this day. I am not inclined to think they are unrelated.”

“Three?”

“The unexplained sending and the theft,” Tanaki said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Yes,” Midnite replied with a nod of her head. “First, there was an unauthorized sending to Earth, made with a crystal filled with my own power. Then we learned the Taiyosori had gone missing. Finally, there is the matter of my daughter. I would propose, that if one were to reverse the order in which I learned of these happenings, then one would have a very clear line of events which occurred.”

Shitoro’s eyes opened so wide, Midnite was certain they might come tumbling out of his head. “You don’t think...? Surely the girl isn’t nearly that clever.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Midnite allowed herself the ghost of a grin. “Are you saying my daughter isn’t intelligent? She did outsmart you, after all.”

“N-not at all,” Shitoro sputtered. “But for her to sneak out and make her way to Earth is unlikely enough. But to steal the great blade, too? That’s impossible. The sword cannot be stolen. She would have been utterly destroyed.”

“Not necessarily,” Midnite said. “The weapon can be gifted, won, or inherited.”

“But...”

“Do I not considered Kisaki my heir?”

“An heir who can never claim her birthright, my lady.”

“Yes.” Midnite nodded. “But an heir nevertheless. My blood flows through her veins. Though even I cannot claim to fully understand the power of the blade of heaven, I propose the possibility that the Taiyosori may have sensed her connection to me.”

“But why steal it?” Tanaki asked.

Shitoro nodded vigorously. “I have known the child ever since she was a babe. She is willful, stubborn, even infuriating at times, but evil? Never.”

Midnite folded her hands and contemplated this. “Let us not forget perhaps the worst flaw she possesses, a flaw that I myself am guilty of having instilled in her. She is ignorant.”

“But her studies...”

Midnite waved off the tiger demon’s concerns. “Yes, yes. I am well aware you have been diligent in her teachings, but she is ignorant of nearly everything outside of those doors.” She gestured toward the entrance to the inner chambers, locked up tight again. “Even her time in my audience chamber has been limited to moments out of the past several decades. The fault of this lies solely with me. In my desire to protect her, I purposely refused to discuss matters that she should have known about, matters of importance.”

“Then why take the sword?” Tanaki asked.

“Who can say? Curiosity, spite? It could have been any reason. Perhaps she simply wished to gaze upon the marvel of the blade, then panicked. All we know is that she somehow managed to grasp the sword without facing its wrath.”

“The weapon found her worthy,” Shitoro said in a voice barely a whisper.

“I would not go that far,” Midnite chided. “My daughter is neither daimao or mazoku. She is not even particularly formidable for a hanyou. That is, assuming no transgressions in her studies occurred.”

“Of course not, my lady,” he replied indignantly. “She has never even touched a weapon so far as I know. She only barely understands the basics of magic.”

Midnite raised a hand to quell her servant. “Be at peace, Shitoro. I know all of this. The Taiyosori is a mysterious object. There is no way of knowing why it allowed my daughter to handle it, save for us to know it did and she survived.”

“And Earth?” Tanaki asked.

“That I cannot answer.”

“The girl is fascinated by the humans,” Shitoro said. “I don’t know why. Perhaps she can sense her heritage.”

Midnite narrowed her eyes.

“B-but, that is only a guess, because I certainly never told her anything about it. The fact remains that she is. How she managed to get there, though, is beyond me. We covered the basics of trans-dimensional passage in her lessons, but that is all. The girl knew nothing of the sending chamber. How she even found it is a mystery to me.”

“As it is to me,” Midnite said.

After a moment, Tanaki spoke up. “Perhaps she had help.”

“One of our own?” Midnite asked, her tone growing dangerous.

“No, mistress. I would bet my life upon that. All of the servants within these walls are loyal to you and your wishes. But what if another...”

“That is a very serious accusation,” Midnite warned, but it was halfhearted. It wasn’t unknown for the daimao to plot against each other, whether to gain favor with the court or for other petty reasons. But that assumed her siblings were even aware of Kisaki’s existence, something she had taken pains to prevent. Even if they were, then why work this way? Why not just confront her openly in front of the court and demand that her child be executed for the transgression of being born of an unworthy human?

Unless...

“The Taiyosori,” Midnite said. “If one of my siblings is after it, then Kisaki would be the only way to accomplish their goal.”

Much as she didn’t want to admit it, that made sense. If Kisaki were killed trying to grasp the weapon, so be it in their eyes. One less half-breed to worry about. If not, then her daughter would be infinitely more easy to defeat in combat than she, one of the few other means of gaining the Taiyosori’s favor. The sword would have a new master, and it would all be accomplished without the potential for causing all-out war among the daimao.

Left unsaid was the name she thought most likely behind this ... Ichitiro.