The Grass Cutter Sword: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 3)

by C. J. Anaya

  Kenji also gave Katsu a formal bow, one which Katsu reciprocated, and then my betrothed exited the room.

  “Kenji—”

  “I know. Tell me what you want to do, my child, and we will do it.”

  I thought for a moment, not because I was hesitant to do everything I could to save my brother, but because—despite everything—I cared deeply for Katsu. My disappearance would absolutely break his heart. He cared for me on some level. My identity played a huge part in this, but he cared as much as he could considering who he was and what he expected from himself. Despite our angry words and his high handed ultimatums, he didn’t deserve this. After everything he had done for me, and all he had been willing to sacrifice to save people I loved, not because I was The Healer, in fact, but because he truly cared, I was still bound and determined to take fate into my own hands, save my brother, and seek out my own happiness.

  I readily acknowledged the error of this, but I wasn’t willing to change my decision. My brother’s life meant everything to me, and being with Musubi, whether he loved me or not, was all I truly cared about.

  I had never deluded myself into thinking I was a perfect individual. I simply wanted to be happy.

  I want to be happy.

  “We leave now, Kenji, but I’m going to have to heal Saigo before we do. If he is moved he’ll never make it to the ruins.””

  I turned to Yao.

  “Can you get a message to Akane and Musubi and have them meet us at The Holy Cherry Tree?”

  Yao nodded. “I will inform my contact immediately and return as quickly as I can.”

  “Thank you, and Yao, be careful. There are traitors, sympathizers to the demon god who will stop you if they learn of this.”

  Yao nodded and left the room in a hurry.

  “I expect a full summary of exactly what has been going on over the last forty-eight hours, Mikomi. But first things first,” Kenji said as he turned to Chan, “Can you get us the horses necessary for travel?”

  Chan didn’t have to say anything. He simply left the room as swiftly as Yao did.

  “Who is going to heal you and repair the damage to your ki once you’ve broken through the veil? Speaking of which, how is it that your ki has been restored to full power? Was I mistaken in my assumptions that Katsu is not your soul mate?””

  “Katsu isn’t the one who restored my ki. I think, though I’m not positive, that Musubi is responsible for this.”

  Kenji tried to mask the shock he felt at this revelation, but he failed miserably.

  “Musubi, your trainer? The man teaching you the art of the sword?”

  I nodded.

  “How is this possible?’

  “I don’t know. All I do know is that he kissed me and the next day my eyes returned to normal. He’s also capable of healing himself the way I do. That’s why he needs to be at the ruins with Akane. If my theory is correct, he is the only one who will be able to heal me once I’ve saved my brother.”

  “And if your theory is wrong?” he pressed.

  “Then Saigo lives, and I die.”

  He let my words sink in and had to swallow a few times due to the ball of emotion lodged in his throat.

  “I won’t disrespect you by arguing the point or telling you what to do. I think you’ve more than proved yourself when it comes to deciding your own fate. What’’s more, I believe in you, child. If you would give up your life for Saigo, I won’t stand in your way, and I promise to take care of him should it come to that.”

  I let a few tears escape before wiping them away. “Thank you, Kenji. Saigo could not find himself in better hands.”

  Yao and Chan returned within minutes of one another, and I explained the plan to them. “Once I heal Saigo, he will be able to make his way without assistance, but Chan, you are going to need to carry me to my horse and ride with me the entire way to the ruins. If any kami soldiers should follow us, the priority is Saigo. Kenji and Yao will separate from us and go directly to the ruins while Chan takes me to a different location.”

  “What makes you so certain they won’t follow after Prince Saigo?” Kenji asked.

  I gave him a wan smile. “I’m The Healer, Kenji. They won’t follow Saigo, but you must instruct Musubi to shield me from my betrothed. Let him know I will definitely be followed. Make haste to the ruins, and if we are separated you must send Musubi to the clearing we trained in the night he taught me how to correctly wield my sword. You tell him exactly that, and he will remember the place.”

  Kenji nodded and grabbed my hand. “We are ready when you are, Princess.”

  * * *

  I didn’t bother with any preliminaries once I connected to Saigo. There was simply no time to attempt to negotiate with his ki when I knew it was incapable of responding to any of my commands or pathetic pleas.

  I connected with Saigo, threw his ki into the foreground, and immediately began slamming myself against the veil with no thought for how much pain it caused me.

  The tearing sound reverberated through my cranium as I ripped my way past the veil and took control of his body. My window for healing was limited before the consequences of my actions began to manifest themselves in my own brain.

  Quick instructions on how to remove the small piece of cartilage were given and repairs were made. I stayed with him just long enough to ascertain the rest of the damage would be fixed with no problems. Once the last bit of damage to the brain and nose began to heal, I allowed the veil to close behind me and opened my eyes. The only thing I felt so far was an excruciating headache, but I didn’t fool myself into thinking that was the extent of the consequences.

  Chan wasted no time in lifting me from the bed while Yao grabbed an unconscious Saigo, and Kenji brought up the rear. Instead of heading for the door, Chan made his way over to the window where a small balcony with a staircase led down into the gardens. It had been designed specifically for Saigo so he could train as he pleased. A bit of freedom—I was ashamed to admit——I had been extremely jealous of. Fortunately for us, it was now available for an even greater purpose.

  Our escape.

  Chapter Ten

  My nose gushed a torrent of blood by the time we reached the gardens, and with my head exploding in pain, I was having a difficult time keeping track of our whereabouts. I held enough of my wits about me to focus some energy on blocking out the pain, but the nausea and periodic moments of blackness made it impossible to impede the progress of my deterioration.

  I feared the ruins would never be reached in time.

  Some shouts ahead of our party caused pain to ricochet from one side of my skull to the other.

  I was transferred from Chan’s arms to the ground, and then another set of arms encircled me.

  A strange numbness settled in, and a desire to die and never be bothered again convinced me to give up the fight. From a great distance I heard panicked voices discussing my situation.

  “What the hell happened to her? Was it her father again?” Musubi sounded furious.

  “We can discuss the cause of this later. Right now we need you to shield her from her betrothed and save her if you think you can,” Kenji said.

  Musubi moved a cool hand to my forehead and pressed me against his chest. Then he reached for me, not in a physical sense, but in the way that I was accustomed to reaching for others when connecting with their ki. He found mine and held it within his, wrapping his essence about me and instructing the damage in my brain to begin its repairs. It was incredible to actually be conscious enough to witness the process, and observe my entire being come alive in his presence. Every cell and molecule, all of the intelligences that were a part of me, were infused with a blindingly brilliant light, radiating an intensity I’d never before felt. My ki recognized Musubi’s spirit and accepted it wholeheartedly.

  He hadn’t administered a kiss like Katsu had. I didn’t know if the damage hadn’t been as extensive as when I healed my mother or if he was simply more powerful, but it didn’’t matter.
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br />   In that moment I knew I had found my other half, and I waited for his ki to recognize it as well, but that awful darkness surrounding his heart blocked his ability to witness the truth of our connection, and my ki merely succeeded in chipping away at the darkness for a few, brief moments.

  I opened my eyes and beheld Musubi staring at me with an anxious expression on his face.

  “Did it work? Are you all right?”

  He wiped the blood from my face and pulled me closer. Could he not sense my ki? Couldn’t he feel that I was completely whole? Was that awful darkness blocking him from me?

  “I’m fine, I think. How on earth did you manage to do that?”

  He expelled a sigh of relief and rested his head against my chest as if assuring himself that I still lived and breathed by listening to the steady beating of my heart.

  “You’re a kami, aren’t you?” Kenji asked.

  His question surprised me while simultaneously making me feel like the biggest fool who had ever walked the face of this Earth. Of course he was a kami. Only kami could heal themselves completely, and only kami could heal others if they so desired. I had spent so much time considering Musubi to be human, I had been unable to see the truth as it stood plain as day in front of me. I had failed to use my “sight” to see the entire picture.

  Musubi was a kami.

  Musubi was also my soul mate.

  I felt slightly dazed by the revelations. Did he know what we were? Did he understand the significance of our connection? Would he accept it if he did?

  Musubi lifted me in his arms as he stood and walked me over to his horse, gently placing me up front and climbing up behind me.

  “I think it is time to tell them the truth, Musubi,” Akane said. She walked up to his horse and placed a hand on its neck to steady it. “It can only help them to know who you really are.”

  I felt Musubi shift behind me.

  “You are correct in your assumption, Kenji. I am a kami.”

  It looked as if Akane was waiting for him to reveal more, but after an intense staring match she gave up and shrugged her shoulders. Obviously there was more to his story, but he wasn’t interested in revealing it at the moment.

  I looked at Kenji, wondering what he thought of this latest development. His face was illuminated by the trickle of moonlight sifting through the silvery clouds. His eyes filled with concern as we stared at one another. He walked over to where I sat with Musubi and reached up, placing a hand under my chin and guiding it toward him.

  “What is it, Kenji?” Musubi asked.

  “I’m merely checking to see if her eyes sustained any damage like they did before.”

  “And?”

  Kenji took a moment to search for any lingering damage, though I knew he would find nothing.

  “They are perfectly fine.”

  He released me and stepped back, but I knew exactly what he was thinking.

  Katsu wasn’t my soul mate. This was something Kenji and I had already discovered, but what were the odds that Musubi was the kami who I was destined for? The prophecy held more errors than either one of us could have possibly imagined.

  * * *

  I paid little attention to where we were going after that. Exhaustion had taken over, and I was content to rest myself against Musubi, who likewise seemed content to let me. I must have dozed off shortly thereafter because the next thing I knew, sunlight streamed through a tented partition, awakening me from slumber. Tendrils of sleepiness beckoned me to continue my reposed and peaceful position, but a sudden movement to my left alerted me to the fact that I was not slumbering alone. I felt a strong arm encircle me as light breathing graced the back of my neck. I rolled over and came face to face with Musubi’s mischievous smile.

  “Finally awake, are we, wife? You sleep like the dead, except for when you snore.”

  I sat up quickly and gave him an outraged shove. “I do not snore.”

  “Oh yes, you do. Like an old man with a respiratory condition.”

  “What are you doing in my…” I looked around, trying desperately to place my whereabouts. “...my tent?”

  Musubi’s smile widened.

  “Your tent, my lady? I’m afraid you’re quite mistaken.” He reached for my arms and pulled me down, snuggling my body closer to his. He softly kissed me on the forehead, and then pulled back to stare at me. “This is our tent, dear wife. Are you ready to play the part you agreed to? We can’t have anyone besmirching your virtue.””

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Except for you, I would imagine.”

  “Is that a proposition? Is my wife offering to sleep with me?”

  His playful banter made my heart feel lighter than it had been in weeks. I didn’t know why he was in such a wonderful mood, a rarity to be sure, but I was content to bask in it for as long as possible.

  “You saved my life, you know, and from what you’ve told me, kami do not usually risk their immortality to heal mere mortals.”

  Musubi’s small smile slipped away and was replaced with a pensive expression.

  “I did say that, and in most situations that is correct. A kami will not risk a healing for a mortal.”

  I held his gaze as I formulated my next question. “Then why did you risk it for me?”

  I hoped to hear him say what I was sure he had been feeling for the past few weeks now, but if I had been expecting a declaration of love I was soon to find myself disappointed. The anger that had been absent during our talk, slowly began to take root, almost as if he had called it forth on purpose in order to strengthen his resolve. I felt him bury the most important parts of himself, the most basic and sustaining emotional needs, as his rage took over and he pulled away from me.

  “I’ve already told you that as your teacher, your safety is my number one concern, and now you seem a bit indispensable as our healer and…friend.””

  I noticed it was hard for him to admit the friendship part. I considered sharing with him what I knew about our souls, the way we belonged to one another. He didn’t have to continue fighting what he felt for me when we were meant to be together, but I stopped short as I considered the possible ramifications.

  Informing him that he had a soul mate, and that his soul mate was me, would be like the emperor telling me I had no choice but to marry Katsu. In the end, I wanted Musubi to choose me, not because he felt he had little say in the matter, but because he recognized his love for me without the idea that we were fated for one another.

  In truth, I was almost certain that plenty of couples in this world were happy together, whether they were fated for one another or not, simply because they had made the choice to love one another and committed themselves to that union. Even Musubi, at one point in his life, had loved Edana, so much so that he still mourned her. Soul mate or no soul mate, the decision had to be Musubi’s, and he had to make it without the added pressure placed upon him by some soul mate ultimatum. Forcing him to choose me and give up his original plans for vengeance would lay the ground work for future resentment and bitterness.

  Even a kami like Musubi had the right to choose whom to love, and he had the right to decide if that love was worth more than the pain he had carried for so long.

  I afforded him that opportunity to choose by remaining silent.

  “I had better confer with Akane and find out what is on the agenda for today.”

  “Please, tell me how Saigo is doing?”

  Musubi smiled. “That troublemaker you call a brother has already succeeded in finding our food supplies and helping himself to all of our rations.”

  I had to chuckle at that.

  “I imagine we’ll be eating bark within a week’s time, long before that bottomless pit is ever satisfied.”

  “Before you start rounding up bark for breakfast, would you ask Akane to come see me at her earliest convenience?”

  “Of course,” he responded, barely making eye contact. “We have training within the hour. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because
you almost died last night.” He flew through the tent door without a backward glance.

  I smiled at his attempts to be gruff and indifferent with me. Though he continued to waver between his desire for me and his own personal vendetta, I thought I was beginning to see cracks in his well laid plans. More time spent together might very well break those cracks wide open.

  When Akane arrived at my tent a few minutes later she rushed over to me and embraced me. “You nearly died last night,” she whispered.

  I squeezed her small frame. “I know, but I suspected Musubi might be able to save me.”

  She pulled back. “You weren’t certain, though, were you? You had no idea he was a kami.”

  “No. I didn’t leap to that obvious conclusion, but I should have. He was the one who healed my eyes the first time, when we were chased by my father’s guards and had to hide ourselves within the forest. I also saw how his body was capable of healing itself the way mine does. I didn’t know he was a kami, but he was more in tune with his ki than anyone I had ever before encountered.”

  “Musubi performed a healing on you for something as small as that?”

  “He didn’t know he was doing it. The healing took place when he kissed me. He was the one who was able to heal my ki, at least I suspected that he was. I didn’t know for certain until last night when he did it again.”

  Akane’s broad smile could not be contained. “He is your soul mate.”

  I gave her a shaky smile. “Yes.”

  “We have to tell him.”

  “No!”

  Akane let out an exasperated grunt. “Why not? We are dealing with far too many secrets as it is. Let’s cut through all of this confusion and help him make a decision already.”

  “He has to choose me on his own, Akane. He can’t know that we are soul mates. It will simply cloud the issue.”

  “Why do I get the awful feeling that this plan of yours will go terribly awry?”

  “It has to be this way, my friend. Please don’t say anything to Musubi.”

  She gave me a reluctant nod. “I suppose we may as well add one more lie to the list we’ve already told since last night.”