Haruka’s parents didn’t say a word. They bowed deeply to Kasshoku-sensei then scurried off down the alley. That small bow took everything that made Haruka who she was. Halfway down, her mother glanced back and then faced forward again as if saying her final goodbyes in silence. Her mother was the only story of someone taken from the clan and returning. There wouldn’t be a second exception. This was the last time she would see her parents, and Haruka couldn’t tell how she felt. Empty was the best word for it.

“Kasshoku-sensei, are you really going to let them leave?” Saitou said.

He shook his head but stayed silent for a few seconds. Once they could no longer hear her parents, he nodded. “Keep an eye on them. They will fall in line like the swine they are. But we don’t let swine think they have a sword in their hand.”

Figures unfurled from the roofs of the buildings. She hadn’t noticed them before. The two men, one on each side of the alley, sprinted across without a sound.

“Don’t hu—” Haruka tumbled backward as Kasshoku-sensei yanked on the rope tied around her wrists. He didn’t wait for her and continued inside of the building with her behind. Saitou followed and placed a large plank of wood across the door to prevent it from opening.

Haruka blinked to adjust to the darkness. The only source of light belonged to a single lantern by the far wall. Saitou dissipated into the shadows, leaving Haruka alone with Kasshoku-sensei. She brushed her foot across the dusty floor, kicking up small clouds which refracted the light.

Kasshoku-sensei removed his cloak and sat on a small multi-patched cushion at the far end of the room. It sagged under his weight, struggling to not burst at the seams. He pulled a small blade from his belt and beckoned her closer.

As she shuffled to him, he grabbed her hands and sliced the ropes binding her. She rubbed at the raw skin underneath and cringed. There wasn’t a spoken reason, but something yelled at Haruka to remain silent until he spoke and hide as much of her fear as she could. Once she had the chance, she would let every tear rush through her.

“Can you dodge, girl?”

Haruka didn’t have a chance to ask what he meant before he flung the dagger at her. It flashed past her ear, slicing a few strands of her hair in the process. Ice pooled in her body as the realization flooded her. She opened her mouth, but closed it immediately, unsure of what to say. Not even her father threw a knife at her back home.

“Seems not. What of strength?” He pointed over to a bag of rice that stood to her knees. “Pick that up.”

Haruka shook her head. “I can’t!”

Kasshoku-sensei slammed his fist on the ground. Haruka recoiled at the sudden aggression. She didn’t wait for him to get up and scurried to the rice bag. Haruka knelt in front of the bag and dragged it toward her. It tipped halfway before her knee caught it mid-fall. She grunted and pushed it back into place but couldn’t move it. She forced more of her weight onto the bag. It fell backward with a thud.

“I can’t…” Haruka sniffed. She didn’t know what would happen if she couldn’t get it off the ground, but after the knife, she didn’t want to know.

Kasshoku-sensei stood up and grumbled under his breath. He hoisted the rice bag into the air and then shoved it into her chest.

“Hold it!”

Haruka took the bag, but the weight was too much. Her arms gave out immediately and the bag fell to the ground, barely missing both of their feet. Dust curled in small puffs around their ankles.

Kasshoku-sensei smacked her across the face, sending her to the ground. Her cheek burned and then tingled. The world spun around her, grasping at her mind to wretch it from her. His hand remained in the air, poised to strike again. She wanted to shrink in size and run away. Her breath caught in her throat as her chest heaved. There was nowhere to hide.

“I will find a use for you. Even if it means placing you in the same brothel as your damn mother. Someone will pay greatly to deflower you, brat.” He pointed at the bag on the floor next to her. “Pick up the bag.”

“But I-”

“Talkback one more time, and I will sew your mouth shut.” He strode to the door. “You have until I return.”

“What happens then?” Haruka squeaked out.

He shut the door behind him without an answer.

She rubbed her raw cheek. Likely what waited for her was worse than the pain she had rushing through her face.

Haruka slumped onto the ground next to the rice. Her fingers stroked across the rough texture.

"Otou-san...why..." she choked out between tears.

She sat there for what felt like forever, sobbing. It was impossible to expect her to move the bag of rice. Better to kill her before the night ended instead of taunting her with challenges she couldn’t complete. She saw others in the village take their lives when they couldn’t live any longer, according to the other adults. She couldn’t do it, but Kosshoku-sensei could. There was no chance to escape without possibly bumping into someone from the clan like the men that almost killed her parents.

"I’m going to die here," she whimpered.

Her hand slid across the wooden floor, and something sharp stabbed her palm. She recoiled, holding her wrist to keep her hand stiff in front of her. Small droplets of blood glistened in the dim light, trickling down her palm. Haruka shoved her hand into her mouth, muffling a scream. The thought of Kasshoku-sensei or Saitou coming back in terrified her. She drew her hand back out and winced as cold air brushed across the wound. Haruka bit her lip to hold in the painful screams then squinted to see what had sliced her palm. The metal glinted in the darkness.

The knife lay next to her. Haruka picked it up, wanting to throw it across the room. She wiped her palm against her clothes. The sliced skin tugged, opening wider. An impossible task meant for humiliation. There had to be more to the task than lifting it if he left her with the knife. She looked between the knife and bag of rice. He said to lift the bag. If she was wrong in her idea, she would be punished, but if she was right, then he’d be happy with her. Her mother was always happy for her cleverness.

"He said to pick up the bag. If I could just..." She found a corner where the fabric had gone thin and forced the dagger into it, tearing a small slit so the rice would fall out. The idea of wasting food made her uneasy, but it was better to waste food she couldn't eat than die because she refused to.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Rice spilled out of the hole. As it lightened, Haruka lifted the end so it continued to pour quickly. She wrapped the bag around her hand. The pressure gave relief to the aching pain. The rest lay limp, swinging underneath her arm.

Even with the pain, she couldn’t help but smile at her success. If Haruka didn’t live past the day, at least she could say she did her best.

She sat, listening for any movement outside of the building. Kasshoku-sensei paced in the other room, closer to the door than before. Haruka sat against the wall and shoved her trembling hands under her butt.

Kasshoku-sensei walked into the room and leered down at her. He glanced at the bag still half wrapped around her hand and then at the rice spewed across the floor.

"You lifted the bag?" he said and raised an eyebrow. Nothing like his mood earlier.

Haruka held her hand in the air. "I-I can c-carry it above my hea-head now."

Kasshoku-sensei smirked and sat back down on his pillow. "I see that. But did you lift it with the rice?"

Haruka shook her head, waiting for the punishment.

He waved his hand through the air. "No matter. You’ll pay it off soon. Most don't even bother lifting the bag before I get back. Leave a knife with a man and he slices his throat open. Floor's stained in blood." His gaze drifted down to the knife and her wrapped hand. "Yours joined the rest I see." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You pass, for now."

Haruka gulped. "Can I go home now?"

He shook his head and chuckled. "Of course not. I own your mind, body, and soul. This just proves you're worth the investment. If not, I would have let the men take you and get my ryo’s worth in a day. Might still happen, but for now, you're safe." He knelt and grabbed her hand. “Show me.”

Haruka squirmed and pulled the bag away. He called her an investment. Not something to be killed, but to be saved. Better than her fate earlier, but still trapped within the clutches of the clan. The cut was still sore. She held it to the light. Dried blood blotched her palm where the bag held the wound closed.

Kasshoku-sensei tapped his foot on the tatami mat. It sounded rhythmic, almost purposeful as he tapped twice, paused, then tapped four times. He didn't say anything, and his gaze never left Haruka. She stared at the floor to avoid their eyes meeting.

The door to the other room opened again. Another man stood in the doorway. Unlike Kasshoku-sensei and Saitou, his face was completely covered except for his golden-green eyes with black slit-like pupils. He wore loose-fitted black clothes that made it impossible to see where the outline of his body ended, and the rest of the room began.

He glanced at Haruka. When their gazes met, he snapped them away and looked directly at her captor. "Kasshoku-sensei," he purred and bowed low. "What is it you need from me?"

"The girl." He pointed over at Haruka. "Starting today, you all will train her into a true kunoichi. I expect you have the room prepared?"

The ninja's eyes flashed in the light's reflection. "Of course. But are you certain you want her to train with us? We kitsune are usually—"

"She is going to train with you. That is an order."

Haruka retreated into herself while they talked to one another about her fate. She tried to figure out if the word kitsune was just another phrase they used within the ninja ranks. There was no way they were referencing the yokai that haunted the forests. The person in front of her was a man, and the only kitsune she remembered from the stories were women with tell-tale tails. Except for the eyes, he looked human.

The ninja bowed once again. "As you wish, sensei." He bent down next to Haruka. He squinted as if he was smiling at her. "May I have your name, child?"

Something about the question felt off. The familiarity and calm approach made her want to run. All of her energy drained out of her body as if sapped by the ninja.

"Your name. May I have it?" His voice was growing more irritated.

"Ha—Haruka."

The ninja nodded. "Good. Now, Haruka, forget it. Forget everything you ever knew about your life outside of this room. Any happy memory, any sad memory. Even the pain before I spoke with you. Forget all of it."

He placed a hand on her forehead. It was warmer than she expected, building a fire deep inside of her core. The ninja pulled down the cloth covering his face and sneered, revealing a wide mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. She wanted to run. To scream. But any strength she had left was used to hold her sitting in place.

It wasn’t a man that stood before her. A yokai. A demon that Shizu knew to avoid, and yet she was trapped within his control. Everything she knew about her world collapsed in on itself as she grasped within her memories the stories of legends and reality that were mixing together. They slipped from her fingers as if the memories never existed.

"That's it. Now sleep. When you wake up, all of this will be a bad dream."

Haruka closed her eyes and felt the weight of the world release from her body. Visions flashed to show her mother and father standing together in the house. Tattered clothing wrapped around them, but they smiled and welcomed her with open arms. They smelled of the saltwater they caught fish from. They swirled away, replaced by children running around screaming in delight. She reached out for them, but it all melted away. She couldn't even remember who the man and woman were anymore. They felt familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. The only glimmer left was a mixture of hatred and love for the people. She grasped it, refusing to let go. She would never let go of that hatred.

The room blurred and faded until all she could see was a kitsune sitting a few steps in front of her. His six tails swished through the air lackadaisically. The visage of the ninja was faint, almost like a phantom, standing in the same place as the kitsune.

"That's it, child,” both the phantom ninja and kitsune whispered. “Forget. Just forget everything that happened. When you awake, you will be with your new family. You are no longer Haruka."

She tried to focus on the fox-man. "My name's not Ha—? What?" Her head screamed in pain as if clawing for something she couldn't identify.

"From now on, you have a new name. A better name."

"What's my name?" Her voice didn't feel like hers. It belonged to someone else. Someone who didn't have a name any longer.

The kitsune turned away. He walked into the darkness, leaving her to the visions that continued to melt from her mind.