The only good thing about being above the clouds was she couldn't see just how far she would plummet if she took a wrong step. That thought inevitably led to her imaging falling forever and anticipating smashing on the ground below. Don't think about falling, focus on moving one foot in front of the other. Up ahead, Kaito practically skipped along the narrow ledge, and when they reached a massive break in the path, he sailed over it in a graceful leap.
Suzume got to the end where the gap was and foolishly made the mistake of peaking over the edge. Sheer rock went downward, disappearing into mist and rocks at the bottom. Panic swept over her and she bent over gasping for air. The illusion of bravery was shattered in an instance. There was no getting around asking for help here. She just couldn't jump that far. Without a word, Rin transformed into a massive kitsune and Suzume scrambled onto her back, burying her hands in Rin's thick fur. As they sailed over the gap, Suzume screwed her eyes shut, refusing to look down, but the flying sensation shortly after seeing that drop didn't calm her nerves and her stomach felt like a bubbling bog.
On the other side Suzume slid off the kitsune's back and her legs gave out beneath her. Slumping against the stone wall, she closed her eyes. Her heart was slamming in her chest. The image of the drop was burned into the back of her eyelids. Visions of falling to her death kept replaying in her mind over and over. They had only just started, and she knew there was even more treacherous terrain to come.
"Say the word, and I'll carry you down the mountain," Kaito whispered in her ear so the others couldn't hear.
She hadn't even known he was beside her. His palm was splayed next her head, his face inches from hers. They'd hardly spoken since the day before, just a few perfunctory words as they got on the road. There was a strange look in his eye, this felt like more than his usual teasing. He didn't really believe me, did he?
"I don't need you to carry me," she snapped and ducked under his arm to get away from him. A part of her was still afraid he was going to find out. The two of them were caught in this dance, neither willing to admit they had been wrong.
Kaito chuckled behind her.
The remainder of the trek down the mountainside was harrowing and traumatizing. Once they were past the narrow cliff ledges and the steep stairs, it was back into the forest. The trail was covered in loose gravel and Suzume kept slipping and sliding. Keeping her balance was impossible when her legs were shaking from exertion. More than once she slipped and fell onto her rear. And each time Kaito stopped, turned and looked at her and without words seemed to say: 'offer still stands.' And each time she'd huff, get to her feet, and keep going. He would just love it if she admitted she was too weak to stand on her own two feet. Had it been anyone else, she would have gladly given up on walking, pride be damned.
About mid-day they had been walking for hours without pause. Suzume had pushed herself to the limit, not even allowing herself proper breaks to drink water, instead gulping water as she walked. Hunger frayed her temper. Then a rock jumped out of nowhere and caught her foot. It was several seconds before she realized she was falling. She crashed into the ground, her open water skin spilled onto the ground and splattered her face with flecks of mud.
She shouted a string of curses. Kaito who had been leading the group, while she fell behind, jogged back over to her. "Ready for a break?" he looked down at her with a grin. Not the usual condescending, teasing way he would have said it but almost as if he cared.
Suzume's palms were scraped and she dusted them off on the front of her clothes. "No." Are you stupid! She mentally berated herself.
Kaito looked her up and down and gave her a patronizing smile. "I can see your legs shaking from here."
"I know my limits." His concern bothered her, though she couldn't understand why.
The dragon crossed his arms over his chest, and raised a brow that spoke to what he thought of Suzume knowing her limits.
In a show of defiance, she climbed onto said shaking limbs and stormed past him. But instead of making a graceful exit, she slipped in the spilled water from her water skin and slid backwards. Before she could hit the ground, Kaito caught her around the waist and pulled her up and to his chest. On impulse, she grabbed onto the front of his shirt and their eyes met.
He chuckled. "What was that about knowing your limits?"
She pushed away from him, angry and embarrassed at her own apparent frailness. Kazue would not keep stumbling over her own feet. "I didn't need you to catch me."
"Apparently you do," he said with that damn smirk again.
She growled low in her throat. Between sore muscles from training, a down hill walk, hunger and thirst, she was at her breaking point.
"Stop treating me like I'm Kazue!"
Her voice echoed through the forest and scared some birds roosting in a nearby tree. They squawked as they took flight. The others turned and stared at the two of them. No one moved. Akira looked in Suzume's direction, her gaze giving her a warning: 'don't expose yourself now.' But what Suzume hadn't considered when she agreed to Akira's plan was that her identity would become even more entangled with Kazue's.
Anger flashed in Kaito's eyes rimmed with blue, storm clouds gathered overhead to indicate his displeasure, and a vein twitched in his jaw as if he was biting down on his words.
"Just because she spoke to me doesn't mean I am her," Suzume said, her anger deflating. Risking the dragon's temper when he found out she lied was much worse than being treated like she might break.
Weighed down by the guilt of her lie, she could not face him. Spinning in place, she stormed off the path and into the forest where she couldn't be seen, where she could compose herself in peace. That's what he would expect anyway: for her to run away.
Suzume stumbled over to a nearby fallen log and sat down to examine the scrapes on her hand. The abrasions were shallow, just scraped skin. It was just one of many wounds upon her hands, arms, and legs. Her skin was getting darker too and her once plump cheeks were lean and bony from a strict diet and constant movement. Even her arms and legs were firm from growing muscles. Turning her hands over, she examined the callouses forming along her palms. Did Kazue have scars too? Had she given up on physical beauty in her quest for power?
Tilting her head back, Suzume sighed. It hadn't been her intention to make a scene. But damn it, it was nice to sit down, just for a minute. The shade was cool, with a light touch of breeze that ruffled her hair and sent a small chill down her spine. Then the chill changed to a prickle. Danger. In the band of her hakama something burned her stomach. Suzume reached in and extracted the fragments of Kazue's heart. She'd forgotten she'd stuffed them in a rush before leaving the mountain palace. They were glowing faintly and were warm to the touch. What does this mean?
Turning the pieces over in her hand, she traced a finger along the cracked edges, and accidentally cut her finger. It was a hair-thin cut but it stung and burned. Shoving the bleeding digit in her mouth, she squinted at the heart fragment. The fragment was throbbing, a stuttering beat. The blood that dripped onto the stone sank into it and a shock ran through her as if she had been struck by lightning straight to her chest. The pain left her doubled over unable to catch her breath.
Gasping, she stood up. Invisible strings had a hold of her, giving her a silent command to follow. It seemed insane but she could not disobey, as if her body was out of her control. What is going on? Why can I not control my body? Suzume stood and turned towards a narrow pathway through the forest. At first her steps were faltering but then she was running down the path away from the others, unable to even call out to them. Kazue is that you? But there was no response.
Fatigue was inconsequential, her feet moved fueled by unknown power, dragging her further into the forest. Kazue's heart fragments burned in Suzume's grip, the fluttering heartbeat like a small animal in her palm. Until just as suddenly it stopped. Suzume realized she had regained control of her body when she fell to her knees and her body was to weak to stand.
"What was
that?" she shouted at the pieces of Kazue's heart. They had returned to hollow pink stones, whose weight was almost nothing, as if they had not temporarily possessed her body.
But the heart did not respond. It was times like this that she wished Kazue hadn't given up her consciousness to save Kaito from Hisato. But maybe this sudden change in the stone meant she wasn't entirely gone. Had her lie not been a lie at all? The thought made her stomach twist in knots. If things were tense with her and Kaito now, how much worse would it be if Kazue could possess her body entirely? She shook her head. It wasn't possible. Kazue was gone. Which meant there was some other nefarious force at work here.
Suzume looked around. She was in the middle of the forest, not sure from which direction she had come. The tingling sensation of danger was gone, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched.
"Hello?" Suzume called out.
The only response was the rustle of wind through the trees. Though it was a struggle to do so, she climbed onto her feet and pulled her staff from it's sheath on her back.
"I know you brought me here. Show yourself."
To her left the bushes started to rustle, and Suzume's entire body clenched in preparation, waiting for some horrifying creature to burst out and attempt to part her head from her shoulders.
And then it leapt out at Suzume, and she shouted and swung her staff which was knocked from her hand effortlessly. Sparks leapt along her skin and Suzume lunged at her attacker, prepared to use her flaming body as a weapon. But before she could land a blow a hand caught her wrist, stopping her in place.
"If you wanted to practice you could have just asked," Tsuki teased.
Hearing a familiar voice all the fight drained out of her. "Why did you leap out at me?"
"In my defense, you attacked first."
Suzume scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"What are you doing out here anyway?" he asked.
"I need Akira, there's something going on with the heart." She held up the now faded heart in front of her.
"Looks the same to me," Tsuki said as he peered at the pale and empty heart. "I didn't even realize you kept it."
Akira shifted into view, despite her brother's dismissal.
"May I?" Akira asked Suzume, gesturing towards her hand.
Suzume lifted up her hand for Akira's inspection. Her own heartbeat was rattling around in her chest. It felt like she had a hundred ants crawling all over her skin. She felt restless and anxious and had been since they left the palace, as if something horrible was about to happen. Had it really been Kazue's heart that had brought her out here? Akira grabbed Suzume's hand that was holding Kazue's heart and brought it closer to her face. She turned Suzume's hand to examine the heart but did not attempt to pick it up herself.
"It looks the same as before," Akira said a note of disappointment in her tone.
Holding the stone fragments away from her, as if getting too close to them would cause them to take over her body again, Suzume said, "But it got warm all of the sudden, I cut myself on it and then it sort of absorbed my blood and I lost control of my body for a few minutes."
Akira's brows pulled together in a frown. "I wonder," Akira murmured to herself.
"What?" Suzume said not bothering to disguise her fear.
"We don't know much, but we know you absorbed Kazue's heart when she possessed you. Perhaps the heart is acting as a conduit for Kazue's will," Akira said and she gave Suzume a long thoughtful look.
Suzume's insides squirmed. She didn't like the idea of Kazue using her. It was a hard enough pill to swallow to think any part of Kazue was inside her, let alone her heart. What would Kaito think if he found out?
The squirming feeling turned to a sick bubbling up inside her gut. Then a pressure rose inside her chest. It was the same feeling she had felt the day she had broken Kaito out of his seal. Something was coming up her throat, and Suzume threw her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from throwing up, or accidentally breaking some other seal nearby. The pain in her stomach was intense as the fragments burned against her skin and the contorting sensation writhed inside her, forcing her to her knees.
"Suzume, what's wrong?" Akira asked.
She looked up at her with a wordless plea for help. Akira reached out a hand to comfort her but flames were racing over her body, forcing Akira to keep her distance.
"The heart," Suzume rasped, hardly able to expel a breath.
"What about the heart?" Akira asked.
Something had a hold of Suzume's heart and was squeezing it. Whatever it was, it was coming closer and with each step the pain increased. She had to let it out or she was going to explode. Suzume's mouth was wrenched open and a burst of light poured out of her body and into the air. With it the pain receded but Suzume collapsed onto her side, curled in the fetal position, panting for breath.
Suzume slowly uncurled from a ball on the ground before reaching for the heart fragments. It pulsed lightly, dark red but fading to pink.
"What just happened?" Akira said.
Before Suzume could explain, a dozen men in black descended from the tree tops, surrounding them.
7
The air crackled with spiritual energy. It clung to her skin and raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Thankfully it no longer left her doubled over feeling like she was about to vomit, but the threat of it still lingered as if something was alive and wriggling inside her stomach. Tsuki took back control of the body he shared with his sister and drew his blade. He stood over Suzume who could not stand, let alone defend herself. The men dressed all in black surrounded them on all sides, but she could see nothing of their faces but a small sliver revealing their eyes. Tsuki held his blade in front of Suzume in a defensive pose as the group crowded in around her.
Their attackers moved as one unit, converging on Tsuki who swung his blade, knocking them back before they could close in and pass him. Until now, she had only seen Tsuki in mock battles, but when he was focused, the humor was gone from his eyes. The blade moved through the air, an extension of his own body, a glittering deadly blur. The masked men moved too fast to be human, and as quick as Tsuki's swing was, they were that much faster. Suzume reached for her staff, though she couldn't imagine what she could do in this condition. Whoever this group was attacking them, they were unrelenting and unafraid of Tsuki and his sword who wandered further and further away from Suzume to pursue their opponents.
In a few heartbeats, Tsuki was no longer guarding her front and she was exposed. One of the masked men saw an opening and slithered behind Tsuki's back, facing Suzume. In his hand he held a single short blade, which he raised above his head, ready to plunge into her chest.
Suzume clutched onto her staff. The fire had died down inside her, as if whatever energy had burst from her had drained her of it all. Holding the staff in front of her like a shield, she prepared for the blade to fall.
But before he could finish the maneuver, a body was inserted between them. There were too many trees surrounding them for Kaito to change into his dragon form, but that didn't stop him from half transforming: his hands tipped with claws, his face was covered in blue scales which caught the light. When he moved the colors refracted and shifted into a rainbow of hues. Power framed his body, his shoulders were wider and he had a muzzle full of razor sharp teeth. Suzume had never been more entranced and terrified in a single moment. He was both monstrous and beautiful.
"Stand back," Kaito snarled as he stepped in front of Suzume shielded her from the black clad men that surrounded them.
Two little words and the spell was broken. "I can take care of myself," she countered as leaned upon her staff, using it to climb to her feet. She held it up in a defensive pose in front of her.
Kaito did not deem a response necessary, and instead launched himself at their nearby assailants. They moved as one, like the flow of water. Kaito lunged for the nearest one and they jumped out of the way to avoid the dragon's swiping claws. Kaito spun to attack them as the group closed
around him. Tsuki joined him, swinging his sword at those along the perimeter. Suzume raised her staff, ready to join the fight when Rin in kitsune form burst from the surrounding brush. She must have been following Kaito, but instead of joining the fight she blocked Suzume's path, keeping her from fighting.
"I can fight!" Suzume shouted at her. She didn't have a reason to argue. It's not like she wanted to fight.
The kitsune in her real form was a head taller than her and covered in white fur, with numerous tails whipping behind her. She turned her head towards Suzume - one golden eye on her, the other on the fight. Though Rin's true form wasn't capable of diverse facial expression, Suzume sensed a hint of doubt in her gaze. Or maybe that was her own insecurity.
"Kaito ordered me to protect you," Rin said in a voice that was between a growl and a rumble.
A black clad figure broke from the group surrounding Kaito. In the few moments that Suzume had looked away more had arrived, it was as if they were appearing out of thin air. The man raised his sword, swinging it at Rin who reared back to swipe at him with a massive paw. Teeth bared Rin attempted to clamp down on the man's shoulder, but before she could get a hold of him, he jumped backwards just out of reach. Rin did not pursue and instead stood feet apart in defense of Suzume. The man circled them and Rin's gaze followed him in a slow dance. Staff held in position with trembling arms, Suzume watched the man as he inched closer. It wasn't like Suzume wanted to fight, she knew she was terrible at it but she didn't want to appear weak either.
Tsuki shouted, and Suzume forgot about their stalker for a moment and turned back towards the sound. Noaki had joined the fight, and somehow he had planted himself in the center of half a dozen of the black-clad warriors, his sword moving in a silver blur. Tsuki had been shouting in premature celebration it seemed, because he was grinning madly as he continued to parry attacks from his own opponents. Noaki struck like a wasp attempting to impale the nearest attacker through the chest. But they moved too quick. Blink and you would miss it entirely.
The Dragon Saga Box Set Page 42