"Hayate?"
He looked up, recognizing Kaze's voice, but from the look on the black wolf's face, Hayate suspected there would be no good news. "You didn't find her trail, did you?"
Kaze shook his head. "I'm afraid not. There are no prints to track, and the wind has long since blown their scents away."
Hayate's jaw clenched, and he glared into Kaze's yellow eyes, enunciating every word. "So, that's it? You're prepared to give up, after all we've gone through?" Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach, threatening to bubble up and out of his mouth despite his efforts. "The five of them can't have disappeared!"
Kaze was not in the least intimidated. He stood his ground, tail lifted proudly above his haunches. "I never claimed they disappeared, but I meant what I said. Their trail leads to one of the docks, as I told you before, but I can follow it no further."
Hayate turned away, crossing his arms tight over his chest. The sparkling green waves of the Jade Sea stretched out before him, glowing almost insolently in the low light. Hours of searching, all for nothing. They must have left some trace, some clue. I can't return to Setsuna a failure. She's counting on me.
"There must be a way to follow them," he muttered, his fingers clenching into fists. "You aren't trying hard enough."
Kaze let out a low, warning growl, showing the sharpened points of his fangs. "I love you as a brother, Hayate, but I will not allow you to speak to me this way. I have followed you against my own conscience simply because I care for you and want to keep you safe. It is because I love you that I am telling you this, even though you do not want to listen. Your loyalty to Setsuna has blinded you to your moral code. You have abandoned your warriors at home, threatened innocents, attacked your own cousin, and insulted me. This isn't the way of the samurai. It isn't your way."
Hayate started to speak, but something in Kaze's eyes made him swallow his words. Silence stretched between them, broken only by the low groan of the wooden docks in the wind.
"I understand that you do not want to disappoint your mother," Kaze looked at Hayate with stinging sympathy he knew he didn't deserve, "but chasing Kaede across the sea is not the way to win Setsuna's approval. If you truly want to make her proud, go back and stop her experiments. I respect her, but she has also taken a dark turn. Perhaps with your knowledge of the yokai, you can set her on a better path—one that helps her achieve her dream of a better world while preventing her from harming spirits in the process."
"You don't understand," Hayate said, with sadness rather than exasperation. His shoulders slumped, and his fists fell open. "Kaede is the one who walks with the yokai. I tagged along. They never accepted me the way they did her. They even changed her body because she asked. I'm not arrogant enough to think I can march back home and tell Setsuna she doesn't need Kaede because she has me."
Kaze padded over to him, nudging his shoulder. "Kaede doesn't matter in this. This competition is all in your head. I am wolf-clan, and I am telling you that you do have a way with spirits, just like your cousin. Kaede has never thought she was better than you, and I have never thought so, either."
"Then why did Setsuna always act like it?" The words slipped out before Hayate could think them through, but once they hung in the air, he couldn't take them back.
"We all put our parents on pedestals. Part of growing up is realizing they are not perfect. Perhaps she worked hard to build a relationship with Kaede because she knew your cousin had a falling out with her own parents. Perhaps she simply wanted to nurture the talent of someone she cared for. And perhaps she already had faith in your abilities, since she raised you from a pup. If she neglected you, it wasn't because she stopped loving you, or because she wasn’t proud of you."
Hayate sat down on the top step, folding his arms around his legs and resting his chin on his knees. He couldn't meet Kaze's eyes, and so he continued staring at the sunset, watching the last of the light fade. "All I ever wanted was to make her proud," he said, blinking back tears. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried. "I was never good enough."
"I disagree." Kaze sat down beside him, his bushy tail curling around them both. "The Hayate I know is good enough. Go home. Tell your mother how you feel. Forget Kaede, lance this wound, and let it heal."
"It can't be that simple, can it?" He turned to look at Kaze once more. "Besides, I thought you didn't want me to help Setsuna?"
"I disapprove of her methods just as I have disapproved of yours lately. But despite that, I trust you. Setsuna might take a gentler course with you at her side."
"I've been awful lately, haven't I?" Hayate whispered, thinking back. He remembered the terrified villager cowering before the point of his sword, the dying men in the snow outside the cave. He had blamed Kaede for their deaths, attributing them directly to her unwillingness to help. But that's not fair, is it? Kaede never hurt anyone. I wanted someone to blame. Blaming her was easier than blaming me.
"You know what needs to be done, don't you?" Kaze asked.
Hayate nodded. He closed his eyes, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders despite the painful realization he had just wrestled with. For the first time in months, his path was clear. It would not be an easy one to walk, but at least he knew which direction to travel in.
"Thank you, friend," he said, wrapping his arm around Kaze's shoulders. "I’m sorry. You've been trying to tell me this all along, but I haven't listened. I need to go home and see if I can reason with Setsuna. If that makes me ungrateful—"
"It doesn't." Kaze rested his chin on top of Hayate's head. "It makes you a good son. She raised you this way."
"She did," Hayate agreed. He opened his eyes once more, watching the last of the sunset fade. "Before she became obsessed with the idea of a united world, she would have expected nothing less of me."
Chapter Fourteen
BY THE TIME THEIR party reached the giant wave, stars were scattered everywhere and the moon was slowly dipping toward the horizon. Kaede gazed up in awe, craning her neck to see the top. Its crest curled over on itself thirty meters high, forming a loop that looked as though it were in constant motion. The rippled currents of its body formed overlapping facets, gleaming green in the soft light.
Countless small stones scattered at the bottom, broken-off pieces that formed perfect little teardrops. Without even being told, Kaede could imagine what had happened. The moment the sea had frozen over, these droplets had been spraying from the sides of the wave and had fallen to the ground as gemstones.
"It's amazing," Kenta whispered from a few paces back, sounding as astonished as Kaede felt.
"It's beautiful," Takeshi agreed, with a surprisingly sincere display of emotion.
"It's all right," Imari said. Kaede turned, looking at her in disbelief. Only then did she see that her friend was joking. "But really," Imari laughed, "this is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen."
Only one of the most incredible. Kaede tried not to read too much into it. Instead, she lost herself in the way the stars shone through the wave from behind. In some places, it was almost thin enough to be translucent. In others, it was opaque, a smoky green glass that held hidden depths. On impulse, she placed her palm against the wave. It felt very warm to the touch, and not as smooth as it looked. Her fingers found countless tiny wrinkles her eyes hadn't noticed.
"It is impressive," Rin agreed, snuffling at the jade stone, "but I would have liked to see it before, when it was water and creatures lived in it."
"No, you wouldn't have," Imari pointed out. "You'd be drowning."
"You're assuming I don't know how to swim."
Kaede ignored the playful argument. While everyone else was occupied, she dropped to her knees, sifting her fingers through some of the teardrop pebbles. They glittered in her hand, and she let them fall back onto the surface of the sea with a soft clatter. "These must be worth a fortune."
"Not to anyone around here," Bo whispered back.
Kaede nearly jumped in surprise. Sometimes, their guide wa
s so silent that she forgot about their presence. "I'm sorry," she muttered, sending more of the gemstones scattering back onto the ground. "I didn't realize you were so close."
"Jade carved from the sea is one of the few items the city of Yin has to sell," Bo continued. "Much larger pieces can be taken from near the shore without coming out this far. These little broken pieces aren't as valuable unless one wanted to keep them for sentimental reasons."
At first, Kaede wasn't sure what Bo was implying, but when their eyes slid over to Imari, she got the message. Her face flushed at the realization that Bo knew, but she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. They did seem to know other sensitive information about me. Maybe they're just one of those people?
"That's a good idea." Kaede selected one of the largest stones, tucking it into her fist "I'll keep it in mind."
"Kaede?" She turned to see Imari walking toward her, preparing to kneel beside her. "What are you doing on the ground?"
"Nothing," Kaede said, blushing harder at the concerned crease between Imari's brows. "Just playing with pebbles." She stood up, heading toward the large black tent. "Should we camp here for the day?"
"Way ahead of you," Kenta said as they ducked through the opening. He was already halfway through spreading his bedroll on the ground, and Kaede shared an amused glance with Imari as he flopped down onto it with a long sigh.
"I suppose I'll prepare a late dinner," Takeshi sighed. "Someone has to."
"What about us?" Imari asked, giving Kaede's arm a friendly nudge. "Should we help him, or follow Kenta's example?"
"Help," Kaede murmured. She turned the jade stone over in her hand, running her thumb over its smooth surface. Then, she headed over to where Takeshi unloaded his pack, tucking it stealthily into her kimono on the way. I just hope Imari thinks it’s as pretty as I do.
***
She is running through the forest again, crunching over frost and fallen leaves. The sound of ragged breathing tells her Hayate is behind her, and the high-pitched howl of a wolf means Kaze is close by. No. She can't let them catch her. She has to get away from the bodies, from the yokai corpses, from the blood on her hands.
She hears the hiss of a blade being drawn and stumbles forward with a fresh burst of speed—only to fall to her knees. A great green wave has risen out of the ground, spraying her face with small flecks of stone. It grows taller and taller, towering over her until she can see nothing more of the moon.
In a panic, she turns back, only to come face to face with Setsuna.
"I knew you would return," her aunt says, extending her hand. "Stop running and join me. Help me build the beautiful future you promised you would."
Before she can answer, Setsuna's face changes. It becomes paler, smoother, much softer and much more youthful. Her eyes are darker now, her lips fuller. "Kaede," Imari says, extending the opposite hand, the one she still has. "Trust me. Just trust me."
"Kaede? Kaede, wake up.”
At the sound of her name, Kaede rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her bedroll. Imari. Thank the Ancestors.
"Sorry," she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Bad dream. What is it?"
"Bo is gone."
"What? Gone?" Fully awake now, she climbed to her feet, heading over to the place where Bo had set their bedroll the day before. It was gone, and there were no other signs of their guide anywhere. "How long has Bo been missing? Do you think they ran away?"
"If they did, I don't understand why." Imari came to stand beside the bedroll as well, her brow scrunched in confusion. "When I woke up, there was a pouch of circles beside my head, the same one I gave them. If they'd wanted to rob us, they would have taken our supplies and turned around instead of giving me a refund."
By that time, the Hibana brothers were up and about as well. Kenta seemed sleepy and confused, while Takeshi seemed to share Imari's concern. He came over to join them. "Kaede, are you sure you didn't see or hear anything? A person can't disappear into thin air."
Kaede shook her head. The only thing she could remember was her dream, and even those images faded. She scanned the area beneath the wave before settling her gaze on Rin, who was still curled up next to their packs with her chin on her paws. "You didn't see Bo leave, did you?" she asked her friend.
Rin lifted her head, blinking her blue eyes. "You won't find them nearby. Bo's scent is long gone. They probably left right after the rest of you fell asleep."
"Probably?" Kaede gave Rin a suspicious look, but Kenta interrupted them before she could continue the interrogation.
"What are we going to do?" He sounded more than a little worried. "We can't stay out here. We should turn around and head back for Yin."
"Oh no." Imari shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. "I didn't spend all of yesterday drowning in a pool of my own sweat to turn back now. We've got the moon. We should keep going forward. Hongshan is only another night’s walk to the west, right? I bet we'll even be able to see it before too long."
Kenta looked far from convinced, and Takeshi frowned. "We only have enough water for two days. What if we get lost out here?"
"How can we get lost?" Imari said. "All we have to do is walk in a straight line, and we'll get to the other side."
"Let's put it to a vote," Takeshi said. "All in favor of going back?"
"Me," Kenta said. "We can still go to Hongshan, but maybe take a different way? We could ride around the sea…"
"That would take forever. Besides, we don't need a vote." Imari straightened her spine, taking on an imperious, commanding look Kaede suspected she had learned from her father. "This is my quest, and you all chose to come with me. I'm going on."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kaede couldn't help smirking. Although she wouldn't describe Imari as bossy, she was definitely stubborn when she put her mind to something. "Well, we can't just let her go on her own," she said to Takeshi, giving him a friendly nudge on the arm. He didn't smile back, but she saw his face fall into a look of resignation.
"No, we can't."
"For what it's worth, I agree with Imari." Rin lifted herself from the wave's shade, striding out onto the sea's glittering surface. "It seems sensible to continue the way we've been going."
"See?" Imari said, shooting Rin a look of gratitude. "It's three-two in favor of going. Thank you, Rin."
"You're not even going to ask for my vote?" Kaede asked, more amused than annoyed.
Imari gave her a soft smile. "Do I need to?"
Kaede sighed. "No." At Takeshi's scowl, she added, "Besides, Hayate might be waiting for us back in Yin. I think we're all agreed that we don't want to run into him again."
"That's true," Kenta said. "I mean, the guy scaled a wall with his bare hands. Let's not get in another fight with him."
“And Kaede flipped over my head,” Imari said. “She can take him.”
"Wait," Kenta said, "Kaede flipped over your head? When?"
A flush crossed Kaede's cheeks. "Um." She stammered, stumbling for words, but thankfully, Rin picked up on her discomfort.
"She watches and learns," Rin said, looking on Kaede with pride. "She has spent her whole life around the yokai. She was bound to pick up a few things from observing us and feeling our ki. Hayate is no exception."
"Wait," Kenta said, "so you're telling me you aren't just friends with spirits, but have awesome spirit moves, too? Why didn't you use them back with the bandits? I could have used the help when I was fighting off that giant guy with the club, you know."
Kaede rubbed the back of her neck. "Hey, I'm human. Doing that kind of stuff isn't easy on my body. It only happens when my instincts kick in."
"Like when you were trying to save me," Imari murmured. Unlike Kenta, she didn't seem excited by the revelation. Rather, she looked almost guilty. Their eyes met, and they communicated silently for a moment before Kenta began peppering her with more questions.
"So, what else can you do? Can you climb walls too? How high can you jump? What about�
�"
"Enough," Takeshi said, gripping Kenta's shoulder and pushing him toward their packs. "Get our supplies together. We need to start moving before we lose any more night."
"But—"
"They're having a moment," Takeshi muttered near his ear, so softly Kaede almost didn't hear. "Let it be."
Reluctantly, Kenta slouched over to their bags and began packing, with Takeshi and Rin following. That left the two of them in relative privacy, and Imari drew her lower lip almost nervously between her teeth. "I never thanked you for saving me, did I? Not that I would have needed saving if I hadn't rushed in like that."
"You were trying to help," Kaede said, but her stomach churned thinking about the cold shock of fear that had come over her when she'd seen Hayate’s blade at Imari's throat. "You remember your promise though, right? Not to do that again?"
"Well, since you have secret spirit powers you didn't feel like sharing with the rest of us, I guess I won't have to." It was obviously meant to be a joke, but Kaede could still see the hurt in Imari’s eyes.
"It's not something I spread around, and it's not something I can use often. Just in really desperate situations. It has nothing to do with not trusting you." She took a deep breath. "I actually trust you a lot more than I've trusted anyone else in a long time. And that's saying a lot, since the last person I trusted was my aunt."
"Who made you leave home," Imari finished for her. "I get it."
From her sympathetic look, Kaede believed her. “Anyway, about Hayate, it’s not that I don’t think you’re capable. You’re a great fighter, and you’re going to be an even better daimyo. But you don’t have to throw yourself in dangerous situations to prove it.” She glanced at Takeshi and Kenta, who were waiting for them a short distance away. “We already know what you can do.”
To Kaede’s relief, Imari seemed to take her words in stride. She gave a short bow, not of formality, but of genuine gratitude. “Thank you, Kaede. I guess I’m so used to people underestimating me I forget real friends know better.”
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