Moon and Star Episode Two: Book Two of the Moon and Star Saga (The Jakai Chronicles 1)

by Mike Bergonzi

  He had to tell Mayumi about Naomi. Perhaps she knew why her niece would want the sword. It felt right and he couldn't handle this on his own; not when Naomi's looks alone could melt his heart.

  His resolve found, Kaito opened the door to find Mayumi cleaning tsuki no ha-ken. She hadn't noticed him enter. He took a step forward, his foot barely touching the floor before Mayumi looked right at him and smiled.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  He could barely see her face or eyes. The shadows in the room were wide. The lack of moonlight from the window became all too apparent. There was no other source of light inside or out.

  He gasped. The moon was no longer visible in the sky.

  "What happened to the moon?" he asked.

  "It's gathering strength,” Mayumi said. “I used up a lot of it to get us here. It'll be back in a few days. Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen."

  Kaito stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

  "Naomi wanted me to take the lunar blade from you. Do you ... have any idea why she might want the sword?"

  She smirked. "Seems she still hasn't forgiven me."

  "Forgiven you for what?"

  "For killing her mother."

  Kaito's heart stopped and resumed a fraction of a second later. What did she say? She killed her own sister?

  "What happened between you two?" he asked.

  "Tsuki no ha-ken. This blade has a bloody past, far horrific than any war this world has ever been produced."

  "I thought Eiji was the owner before you?"

  Mayumi nodded. "And my sister was his apprentice. Unlike me, she was ruthless, unstable. She'd sacrifice her own mother to be able to wield that sword. She would have if I hadn't stopped her."

  "So that's how you came to wield it, despite the fact you were never Eiji's apprentice."

  "I know what you're thinking. I don't deserve this blade. Eiji certainly thinks so."

  Kaito shook his head. "I think you made the right choice."

  "You think a mother's life is worth more than a sibling’s?"

  "No, I just believe if your sister was as unstable as you say she was, then you probably did everyone a favor. If someone that cold-blooded still had tsuki no ha-ken, there's no telling what kind of damage they could’ve caused."

  Mayumi sighed.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing, just go back to your room and get some rest. I'll deal with Naomi."

  Chapter Five

  Naomi's hands and feet shook nervously as she waited for Kaito to return. Why wasn't it working? All the other boys would've jumped at the chance to sleep with her. Why was he so different?

  And why was she attracted to him?

  She let out a sigh and looked over at the door once more. Kaito should've returned by now. What's taking him so long?

  Naomi shivered in the cold. Her naked flesh spawned goose bumps all over her arms and legs. The inn was a dump, but at least, it was better than hanging on for dear life on a ship going head first into a tsunami. She still wasn't sure how she survived the storm her aunt had created. Thank the spirits she did. Dying without telling him how she felt would've been a pain far worse than death.

  The door opened and Kaito stepped inside. Naomi clothed herself, forgetting that he'd already seen her naked. Warmer now, she sat down on the bed and patted the area next to her. Kaito swallowed and took his time walking over. He was so cute when he did that.

  Naomi nestled up beside him. His hands stayed as far away from her body as possible while she hugged him, rubbing her chin against his face.

  "We should do this more often," she said in her seductive tone of voice.

  "Do what? We haven't done anything."

  Someone was getting serious. Naomi giggled and pushed him over, his stomach laying towards her. She slowly raised his shirt and felt her cheeks grow warm. Kaito made no comment. She wished he had. Then she'd know the feeling was mutual.

  After a moment of silence between the two of them, Naomi leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, as close to his lips as possible. He looked away and grabbed her shoulders, keeping her at arms length.

  "Look, Naomi. I don't know what your deal is, but I can't give you the lunar blade. Not after what Mayumi told me about your mother."

  "Don't associate me with her," she said. "I hated her. Always restricting me to follow her ideals and never my own."

  "And what ideals were those?" Kaito asked.

  Naomi looked away. "You talked to my aunt. You should know what kind of person she was."

  "Well, yes, according to your aunt.” He sat up on the bed and looked her in the eyes. “But my father always said that a good ruler needs to hear both sides before making any sort of decision."

  She looked back at him with the corner of her eye. His flustered face was both cute and charming. Perhaps it was why Naomi liked him: his innocence and kindness towards others. He didn't notice her staring at him, his eyes now stuck to the floor.

  "My mother was part of a cult,” she said. “They called themselves the Tsenzu. From an early age, I was branded by the cult to carry out missions. Missions I'm not too fond of and try not to remember. After my mother passed away, Mayumi took care of me. She's good, don't get me wrong. Much more understanding than my mother. It's just … she worries about me so much it's driving me crazy. I've accompanied her on missions, even saved her life a few times; yet she still treats me like a child."

  "What kind of missions did you go on with your aunt?"

  Naomi shrugged. "I wasn't allowed to come with her on most of them. She probably didn't even know I was there half the time.”

  ***

  Kaito retold Naomi the key moments Mayumi had explained to him. He left off the part about Naomi's grandmother. At the end, she nodded.

  "She also said your mother wanted to do something horrible."

  "Like what?" Naomi asked.

  "Kill your grandmother?"

  Naomi blushed, though it could've been a sign of anger. He wasn't sure which emotion she felt at the moment, but he wanted to comfort her regardless.

  "It's okay,” he said, “you can tell me what happened."

  "That is what happened," she shouted. "It still doesn't make me want to forgive her. My mother may have been a horrible person, but she wouldn't hurt anyone unless she didn't have a choice."

  "You mean like how she hurt you?"

  She blinked. "How did you …"

  "The reddish marks around your neck. They're too small to be from an adult's hands."

  She touched her neck and her face turned even redder. "That obvious, huh?"

  He nodded, then smiled. "You were naked after all."

  "Most boys wouldn't be looking at my neck."

  "Well, good thing I'm not most boys," he said. "Otherwise, I might do this ..."

  He pinned her to the bed and held her there, hard. It got to the point where she couldn't move her wrists. Her face showed signs of struggle, but he didn't relent, instead gripping tighter.

  "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice a whimper.

  He let go and smiled. He pointed to the bruises around her neck which overlapped the ones done by her mother or whoever caused them.

  Only, they were more or less the same size as his own.

  Age would certainly be a factor, but the red ringed impression around her neck was much too small to have been done by a grown woman.

  "Your mother didn't do this to you, did she? You did."

  "It's nothing," she said, "really. Just ... promise me you won't tell Mayumi, okay?"

  "I think she has a right to know you're harming yourself. She promised your mother she'd look after you.”

  "I hurt myself as part my training. I'm going to become a ninjobi, far greater than Mayumi could ever hope to be."

  Kaito raised an eyebrow. "And you think strangling yourself will make you stronger?"

  She nodded. "When you were choking me, I could still breathe. I've choked myself much harder than that."


  "You're something else entirely, Naomi. You do know that, right?"

  She smiled, then bowed.

  Even with her warped view, Kaito couldn't help but smile back. The laughter started soon after and then died down. They stared into each other's eyes and kissed, the world around them fading as their lips locked and their tongues eventually danced.

  ***

  The next morning, there was no sign of Naomi. Mayumi, however, was sitting at the inn's front desk chatting with the clerk. She handed him a small leather pouch. The man opened it up but did not release the contents on the countertop. It must've been payment for spending the night. But where did Mayumi get the pouch? It was the first time he'd seen it, and it looked familiar.

  That belonged to my father, Kaito thought. How did she get a hold of it?

  The man motioned Mayumi to follow him into the back room. She did and both were out of sight. Kaito's curiosity grew the longer he stood in the doorway of his room. The inn itself was crawling with drunks and warriors, bragging about last night's hunt. A group of men claimed to kill a den of bears, each one of them fighting a single bear. They had the pelts to prove it. He wondered if they would brag when war came to their doorstep.

  Perhaps he wasn't cut out to be a bushi-ama warrior, let alone ruler of all Jakai. There were nights he still thought about the crazed man in the woods. The one he had killed in self-defense. He thought killing someone would prove his strength. All it made him feel was guilt.

  "A good ruler must know when to fight, rather than how," his father had said to him, ever since he was a child. Kaito finally started to understand what he'd meant by it.

  Mayumi came out from the back room, holding a note in her right hand. She spotted Kaito instantly. Her eyes ignored everyone else in the room and went straight to him. They stared at each other for a few moments before she pointed next to her with a stern finger. He sighed and went over to her. He could still feel his gaze on her as he walked. When he reached Mayumi's location, she handed him the note.

  "This is for you," she said. "It's from your father. The innkeeper said he stayed here one night and left this for his son."

  "But how did you know it was here?"

  Mayumi blinked, looking confused as to why he would ask such a question. It was simple, though. The more she hesitated, the more suspicious Kaito became. She was hiding something. Something about his father. What wasn't she telling him?

  "Thanks," he said and took the note.

  Kaito, if you are reading this, then I can only imagine you are still safe. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but there are more important things going on in the world than your heritage. Please accept this apology and don't do anything rash. You may be the rightful ruler of Jakai, but you must first prevent the coming war. If you can stop blood from spilling, the people will follow you. And you will have become a greater ruler than I could have ever dreamed. Thank you, my son. Know that you were loved and may the Enlightened One guide you on the remainder of your journey. I hope to see you succeed where I have failed. I'll be with you, always.

  He folded the note and said nothing, feeling a sharp stab of guilt over the last thing he'd said to him. They'd argued about going away with Go-zhuk and his father to train. It seemed so long ago, but reading the note only made him remember what he'd said. Words he could never take back.

  Mayumi rubbed his back like a mother would to her child.

  "You knew my father for a while, didn't you?"

  "Yes, we were to be married, but my constant missions got in the way."

  "What was the last mission you were assigned?" he asked. "Before you found out my grandfather wanted me dead."

  "I was tasked to spy on the leader of the Yoritomo clan."

  "And? What did you find?"

  Part of him wanted to know what his actual father was like, but another didn't want to be disappointed or shocked by the answer. Jin treated him as if he were his son. Shouldn't that be enough, he thought.

  "I searched every rumor about your father I could find while here. One thing is absolute. He was a kind man."

  "Was?" Kaito asked. "What happened to him?"

  "He was found dead in his quarters, no sign of forced entry or blood." She paused. "Where's Naomi?"

  "I'm not sure. When I woke up, she was gone."

  "By the spirits, she couldn't have ..."

  She ran to her room. Kaito followed at his own speed, wondering about Mayumi's sudden interest in Naomi. When he arrived, the answer became painfully obvious. Naomi's face was white. In her hand, tsuki no ha-ken was in its true form. When Mayumi took the blade from her hand, she collapsed on the ground, mouth open and eyes glazed over.

  "What's wrong?" Kaito asked.

  "I told her the blade was too powerful for someone at her level."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Tsuki no ha-ken has another power. It can drain the target's blood without having to cut them. The target can even be the wielder themselves. The blade knows only one master, the moon itself. As long as it stays among mortals, the blade will continue to feast on the blood of those who wield it and those who fall victim to its wrath."

  "If it's so deadly, how are you able to hold onto it."

  Mayumi transformed the blade back into its normal shape. "The power only activates when tsuki no ha-ken is in the form you just saw. It's why you don't see me use it very often. Only in times of emergency."

  She let out of a deep breath. Her eyelids fluttered until she collapsed alongside Naomi on the floor. Kaito stood there in shock, unable to move his body.

  Chapter Six

  Yuri knocked on the door to the inn. The inn keeper's daughter opened it and welcomed her inside. The place was less crowded than usual.

  She turned around to find several people who weren't there when she walked into the building, standing behind her. How did they? They sat down and enjoyed their sake, laughing at each other's comments. The scene would've been nice if it weren't so suspicious.

  "Good, you're here," Sesshu said. "We can begin the lessons."

  "Lessons?" Yuri asked, not turning around. "I haven't agreed to anything."

  "The fact that you are here means you have considered the offer. I will not claim to know the reason behind your decision, but I am happy you've decided to take up this wonderful opportunity."

  "And what kind of opportunity is that?" she asked, turning around.

  "A history lesson. You're going to teach us about Jakain history and politics so that we may better fit in with your society. Lord Kasaju's recent actions have made it abundantly clear that unless we give up our ways, we will never be safe here in Jakai."

  The words themselves weren't the issue. It was the context and tone of voice Sesshu used: calm and somewhat arrogant, as if learning this would be easy. She repeated the words in her head, trying to figure out the truth behind them, but came to no significant conclusion.

  So she did the only thing she could do. She smiled and agreed.

  "Wonderful," Sesshu said, clapping his hands together.

  Yuri fought back the urge to frown. Let the man have his fun, she thought. They're bound to give out information sooner or later. Whether intentional or not. Maybe this will be good opportunity to learn about them.

  Sesshu took her to the center of the stage. The floorboards creaked underneath her weight, but not his own. She looked down. The movement of his feet appeared normal, but somehow Sesshu wasn't making a sound. Yuri stopped to test her theory. Sesshu took a few more steps before noticing Yuri had stopped. He turned, raising an eyebrow. She bowed in apology.

  "Forgive me, Sesshu. I ... thought I heard something."

  "It's this old inn. We can't keep staying here. The sooner we learn to adapt, the sooner we can leave."

  They made their way to the center of the stage. A large group of Tsenzu chatted with one another. Alone, their soft voices barely registered in her eardrums. Add more and more conversations and the volume increased as each group started speaking louder
because of the noise. That was the problem with crowds and why Yuri hated them. She could barely hear herself think.

  A wooden lectern had been placed since the last time she visited. She approached it, clearing her throat. It was louder than she anticipated because the Tsenzu immediately gave her their undivided attention.

  "I'm told you want to learn the history of our great nation. Any ideas where we should start? How much do you know already?"

  No one answered. Most of them scratched their heads. They didn't know anything? Sesshu himself must've told them about the Kachaku. The only reason she could think of was improbable and downright foolish.

  There's no way they could be from the West.

  The borders had been closed for centuries, long before Jakai was considered independent. Yet there were so many of them in this room. For the first time, Yuri wondered how many other Tsenzu were out there in the world and how they managed to slip past borders and remain hidden.

  It hit her: the real reason they acted in secrecy. How they were able to move without making a sound. They were ninjobi, trained in the art of stealth and deception. And assassination.

  Yuri felt a sudden stab of nervousness in her gut. Did they know what she planned to do? Her attempts at being covert seemed trivial. It was foolish to think she could trick the people who were practically raised from birth to be spies.

  But when did the western world start training ninjas. Ninjutsu originated in Jakai. Their techniques secretive enough to be considered the stuff of myth and legend. These people didn't exist to the world outside.

  If such an infiltration had occurred. The Minamoto clan would have a lot more to deal with than simple civil war within Jakai.

  Yuri had half a mind to leave, tell Lord Kasaju about this potential threat, and be done with this mission. She wasn't cut out for this kind thing. The deception, it wasn't her. She felt slimy simply sitting there, pretending to be supportive of their cause. Yuri prepared herself to give a lecture. Good thing she had a lot of practice with Kaito. Something told her they wouldn't be as hard to have pay attention.