As the sun rose over the rolling hills of the countryside of the Kai Estate, Yuki groggily rolled out of her bed. The night’s sleep was anything but restful, as it was plagued with nightmares of her father. Various scenarios viciously tormented the young kitsune, showing hundreds of ways her father may have met his fate. Getting dressed and stumbling down to the dining area, Yuki was met with two faces that must have had similar experiences during the night. There was one shining smile to break through the gloom, her Mother, humming the same familiar tune as she worked on breakfast for the three disheartened individuals. Yuki sat next to Igris, his face turned to the floor trying to hide the huge bags under his eyes. I’Kira sipped at his steaming mug filled with what smelt like lavender tea, his eyes betraying that not a wink of sleep was had. They sat in silence for a while, only the sounds of Hiromi’s cooking occasionally prompting them to look up. Hiromi sat plates filled with fruit, bread, meats, and jam on the table, breaking the three out of their stupor.
“You three must’ve had quite a night. It’s never been this quiet at the table.” Hiromi said, studying the faces that occupied her dining table. “What happened to make you three so stoic this early in the morning?” she asked, while turning to get the teapot off the stove. She poured three cups of the tea, placing them down in front of Yuki, Igris and her seat before sitting down at the table.
I’Kira cleared his throat and glanced at Yuki and Igris, both at a loss for words and unable to answer Hiromi’s question. “Igris here,” I’Kira started, tilting his head towards the young man, “Thought It would be a good idea to see the new bard that had arrived in town last night and decided Yuki’s company was required. I agreed and we all went to see the show at The Kindled Hearth.”
“Well that sounds like fun, however I fail to see why this prompted all of you into this sour mood.” Hiromi jested.
“Most of tales the bard told were full of fun and jokes, but the last tale he spun sent worry through the entire town.” I’Kira trailed off, letting silence engulf the Kai Manor. Hiromi’s smile faltered and she looked closer at her daughter and Igris, both unable to meet her eyes. I’Kira continued recounting the night to Hiromi, ending his retelling with a summary of the last tale the bard had in his act. Hiromi’s face fell, now understanding why gloom had settled over the residents of Kai Manor.
“If a bard’s tale can be considered true, we must do something! We must let the G.U.I.L.D. know!” Hiromi cried out, tears welling in her eyes.
“I plan on just that Hiromi, I’ve spent all night preparing. I will be going across the sea to Maketi, the closest academy location, and filing a report. As well, I will be applying for expedited accreditation so that I may begin my search.” I’Kira declared, adding under his breath, “I never should have let him leave by himself.”
“You cannot blame yourself for something out of your control, I’Kira. You would have gone with him, and he would have had you too, if not for the stupid rules they have to follow.” Hiromi stated, her voice cracking as she held back sobs.
“Yuki. Igris. I will leave your training in the hands of my second, Nobri. She will be able to continue the regiment that has been left in Iskra’s sted. As well as the modifications I have made that include the two of you training together.” I’Kira said as he stood from the table making his way to the door of the manor.
“If you think for a second I’m staying here and not coming with you to Maketi, you best think again!” Yuki roared. “I will not sit by and let father go unfound!”
“Yuki, I understand your outrage, but you are nowhere near ready for this. I will find him, I swear this to you as the leader of the Shadows of Kai.” I’Kira responded, bowing to her with his hand across his chest. He turned to Hiromi replicating his actions and without letting Yuki refute his declaration I’Kira left the manor and headed to the stables.
“Mother, this isn’t right! I should be going with him! Is it not my duty to find Father?” Yuki shot up from her seat and pleaded to her mother.
“No! It isn’t!” Hiromi exclaimed, the words sending Yuki back into her seat. Realizing her voice was raised, Hiromi calmed herself and continued, “It is your Uncle's duty, that is what the shadows were formed to do. Continue your training like he instructed.” Hiromi switched her attention to Igris, “Igris, with this new information, I believe it is time for you to move to the estate. You are to be Yuki’s shadow, yes? Please inform your family of this transition. I know you help around the smithy so we will be sending one of our family smiths to help lighten the load now that we are moving forward.” Igris replied with a nod and moved to leave the manor. He looked back over his shoulder at Yuki, guilt and sorrow written across his face. Yuki noticed something else there, a strong determination, almost like the news had given Igris the motivation to move forward with his training in earnest. Yuki wondered if he felt responsible for the change happening on the estate. As the door to the manor closed, Igris could still hear the two women arguing inside and with a sigh he slowly walked back into Matari to inform his family of his fate.
The next week was filled with excruciating training for Igris and Yuki. Nobri was cut from the same cloth as I’Kira, unforgiving and ruthless during training, but caring when it was over. The days were longer now, starting training before the sun had risen and ending well after it had set. The pair worked on their coordination with each other with Nobri instructing them how to cover each other, how to use their individual strengths to bolster their weaknesses. The training was extensive and grueling. They spared with each other, against pairs of shadows, and against groups of shadows. Every day the number of opponents increased, so far they had bested a group of six as a pair. During the week, Igris and Yuki had discovered how to work together, sharing an innate sense of where the other was in combat. They no longer needed words to communicate during their matches, instead they had hand signs and glances that told them what they needed to know. Every night they spent their last waking hours journaling the day’s training session and incorporating each other’s notes on how to perform better. The determination of the pair was fueled by the bard’s plea for help, pushing them past their limits, helping them grow.
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Although the training was rough, especially for Igris, the pair used each other to lean on. Igris hadn’t had the upbringing that Yuki had endured. His childhood was full of wandering the town and getting into mischief with his friends. The care free life of one who didn’t have responsibilities looming overhead in the future. When he got older, his father, the town’s smith, had made him into his apprentice and Igris began his training in metal work. His muscles grew every day, along with his endurance for the heat. By chance, he met a young Yuki on a sunny summer day. She was following her father to a town meeting and their eyes met for just a moment. That day he skipped out of his work and snuck into the meeting to have a chance to talk with her. Also on that day, Igris met I’Kira, who more proficiently took Igris by surprise. I’Kira took Igris under his wing, seeing the potential of a new shadow for the family. Since then, Igris had been working towards the goal of being Yuki’s Shadow when she came of age.
The end of the week came fast, and as the two were headed back to the estate after ending the day’s training early, they found no one was out on the estate grounds. It was eerily quiet as they approached to front door to the manor. Igris and Yuki looked at each other, questioning silently with their eyes. Yuki took hold of the handle and pulled it open to the shouts of “SURPRISE!”
Knocked back into Igris with the sheer volume of the cheers, Yuki peered inside to find all of the manor’s staff, the different shadows, and her mother clapping and welcoming them inside. The foyer of the manor was decorated for a celebration, but Yuki’s mind couldn’t remember what the celebration was for. The pair walked inside just as Hiromi snuck off into the kitchen and retrieved a cake with an 18 written out with fruit on top. Right, it's my birthday… how could I forget? Yuki thought, mentally slapping her forehead. There were cheers and congratulations from all in attendance; however, Yuki painfully noticed the two figures lacking in the room, her Uncle and her Father. Putting on the mask of a gracious hostess, she continued the celebration, and even so, her heart wasn’t in the festivities.
Many of the manor’s staff brought gifts for her, leather equipment from the armorer, a new bag from the seamstress that had engraved runes, flowers from the gardener, and other gifts that would just sit on a shelf somewhere in her room. Yuki didn’t mind the non-useful gifts, but she was always more of a pragmatist, enjoying the gifts that could be put to use and not just decorative nonsense. All in attendance drank merrily and ate of the buffet that was supplied by her mother, telling stories of Yuki and her upbringing, reminiscing the growing pains that she and all those in the manor held in their memory. She thanked everyone for coming to her last adolescent birthday, and excused herself outside where she found Hiromi staring off into the sunset. Yuki sat next to her mother and put her head on Hiromi’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Mother. It was a very nice party. I appreciate the work you put into it to show me a happy time.” Yuki sighed, letting her weight fall onto her mother.
“Of course, dear. If only your father was here to see you come of age, I'm sure he would have a wonderful gift for you, and some words of advice for your future.” Hiromi said as she placed her arms around Yuki and gave her a gentle hug as they both closed their eyes enjoying the embrace. After the long embrace concluded, Hiromi looked behind Yuki and spotted all the gifts she was lugging around. “Let's take a look at the Loot you have accrued.” she suggested. The two of them sat and inspected the items Yuki was given. “Looks like you have your first oversized bag… I wish I had one when I was your age.” Hiromi said with the bag the seamstress had given to her daughter in her hands. Hiromi traced the runes with her fingers and said, “It needs an activation word still. Personally, I’d go with ‘Store’ and ‘Retrieve’, but it’s up to you. The leathers you got from Treck also have a few hardening runes on the back. These will last you a while if you take care of them. Ooohhh, and what's this?” From the pile of items that Yuki had deemed useless, Hiromi grabbed a quill and inkwell. The inkwell was completely empty and the quill looked like the one Yuki already had in her desk upstairs. “Someone gave you a ‘Never-Empty Well’ and a ‘Remembrance Quill’, do you remember who?” She asked her daughter. “I cannot say that I do.” Yuki muttered back. “What do they do?” Hiromi placed them down and drew out a piece of parchment from her bag, “The inkwell may look empty, but if you open the lid,” she said while performing the action, “The ink will start to appear in the vial. As for the Quill, it will remember anything that has been written with it.” Hiromi dipped the quill in the ink and wrote a quick note. I love you very much, my daughter. She gave the page to Yuki and said, “Now the quill will be able to write that back out on any surface. You can, of course, remove remembered lines from the quill by focusing on it and using the ‘Forget’ activation.” Yuki looked at the writing devices with a new sense of appreciation as she took the letter from her mother and placed it in her new bag. “I think I will follow your advice, Store.” As the words flew from her lips, the letter was sucked into the bag, disappearing from this plane of existence and into wherever the bag had placed it.
Ka-Thunk. The sound in the courtyard brought them out of their inspection of Yuki’s new possessions. Standing straight up in the dirt of the yard, a sword sheathed in pitch black scabbard was waiting. It was familiar to both of the women sitting on the stairs of the manor. The hilt, made of silver steel, the pummel housing an onyx gem, and the sheath itself wrapped in a silver tie-cord. Is that Fathers sword?! Yuki internally screamed. Yuki bolted to the sword, gingerly retrieving it from the dirt and wiping it clean. She barely unsheathed it, seeing the obsidian black blade that rested inside. Her eyes darted to her mothers, “Why? Why is this here? How did it get here?” she asked her mother, dread coating her questions like a venom.
“I… I don’t know…” Hiromi breathlessly replied.
I have come at the will of my master. He has entrusted me to you, Yuki. Now I give my allegiance to his next of kin. I am yours and yours alone. My name is Osada, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.