[Fic] k_x A Fool's Venture Part Three
When they returned to the Inn Jin pulled out the purple stone from a pack and wound his fingers around it.
“Ueda Tatsuya,” he murmured before opening his fist to let the stone sit on his palm. A few moments passed and then a Ueda about Maru’s size appeared just above the stone.
“I was wondering when you were going to contact me, where are you?” He peered around curiously.
“Xīng,” Jin sighed and collapsed onto his bed. “Sakurai says ‘Hello’ and they don’t have the sword here anymore. It’s gone back to Luò, as far as they know.”
“We’ve already stocked and we’re leaving tomorrow. Our plan is to go straight to the Tanaka Blacksmiths and hope they can tell us where it is or even give it to us.” Kame continued for him.
“Alright, just keep an eye on those wards. How is Maru doing?” Ueda asked and tried to find the fairy. “He’s been away from the forest for nearly two weeks, he might start getting weaker.”
“He’s already sleeping a lot more than before,” Jin gestured to Kame’s pillow so Ueda could look over and see him curled up asleep. “He’ll regain some energy when we get back to the wilderness, I imagine.”
“Right, well keep an eye on each other. You’ll most likely be heading straight through a forest like with my home. You’re more likely to encounter something dangerous and the trees may not trust you.” He told them in a low voice.
“We understand Ueda. I haven’t encountered anything too dangerous yet,” Jin grinned but Kame narrowed his eyes.
“I didn’t realize we had encountered anything,” Kame glared at Jin.
“Ah, haha,” Jin scrambled back a bit. “It was just a few fledgling dragons, nothing that needed both of us and you were resting.”
“On that note, I’m going to leave you to your little lover’s spat. Junno says ‘hi’ by the way,” Ueda muttered before disappearing.
“Jin, you have to tell me when things like this happen. What if you had gotten hurt or something else happened?” Kame demanded.
“But I didn’t get hurt Kame and I didn’t want to wake you, you’re exhausted after using magic,” Jin explained earnestly.
Kame’s anger died. “Just wake me next time.”
***
Late, every night, when the moon shone brightly through the dark, Takki would sit amongst Akemi’s branches. With the trunk steady at his back, he absentmindedly traced runes and patterns across the rough surface of the bark and murmured accompanying prayers under his breath. Now, all his could do was ask Seiryū to watch over his cousin on his journey to find any comfort.
If anything should happen on the road, out in a forest, anywhere on the planned route, he would have to wait long, agonizing days to hear any news, if any were to ever come. The boys and the mage had those stones for communication, but Takki, well he knew he had no comfort but the distant hopes that the gods would shine down upon them.
There had been many days where he had begged the air, late into the night, for any stray beam of hope. When even after the first, stray communication had long been shaded by decades of silence, he began to find hope in a single thought.
“Seiryū, you owe this to me by now, surely?” He murmured into the chilled air. He clenched his hands and pushed back thoughts that after over one hundred years of the same prayer and hope day after day, that Seiryū might not be listening. But that was what emboldened his hopes even more. “All these long, long years, all I have asked you for is one thing; to bring Jin back, safe, so we can both be free and that our loved ones might rest peacefully in their death as they are owed. I have never strayed from this or from you. Seiryū, you blessed Kamenashi with his magic when there was no precedent, no drop of magic or link in his family, and I don’t know if any of us can take a disappointment now. This venture has been over one hundred years in the making and I can only hope this meeting was blessed by you, but you owe this to me, to us, Seiryū. I hope you know this. Just give me a sign that this hasn’t all been in vain.”
He huffed and closed his eyes when nothing happened.
“Somehow, I don’t think gods appreciate being spoken to like that.” A amused voice floating up to him from the roots of the tree.
Takki smiled tiredly and looked down to his king. “Seiryū owes me.”
“Yes, Seiryū does,” Kimutaku murmured, sincerity filling the simple response. “Now come down, you need to rest. I doubt the prince will be pleased to return only to find you half dead from exhaustion.”
Takki nimbly descended from his perch and felt guilt spread through his conscience. “Perhaps these years I have not been the best of advisors or friends for you.”
Kimura merely began walking out of the garden and Takki followed. As they reached the archway and stone the king stopped and Takki followed suit. “You have never failed me Takki, do not worry for that. Your distraction has not been a detriment nor have I taken it to mean you cared less, as you seem convinced. Now, before you go to sleep, you may want to look back to the garden, because this was not my doing though I felt it happening.” Kimura flashed Takki a warm smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling, before he descended down a dark hall, maneuvering even without light as a guide.
Takki frowned and turned slowly, almost worried at what sort of destruction he had managed to wreak while his mind had been so far off. But instead of any worrying changes, what he saw had him staggering to a pillar for support but even then he slumped slowly to the ground, legs failing to hold.
A trail of new blooms had grown in the few minutes it had taken them to reach the outskirts of the garden. Surprised laughter bubbled up from his chest, bouncing through the air and growing as tears slipped through the fingers now covering his face in relief.
It was times like these, that he wondered if Kimura held more magic than any of them knew because while they were far and few in between, a scattering of incidents pointed to their king being more connected to Seiryū’s magic than perhaps any of them could imagine. He could only imagine it to be the truth, as his friend had felt Seiryū’s blessing being formed while he had not. The mystery remained whether it was normally illness that stifled such a connection or choice.
Later, when he retraced the path, he would realize the breathtaking irises, of all colours, had grown up from the very spots he had tread, spread apart like his footsteps. In the many years that remained of his long life and possibly even forever after, the flowers never faded or wilted and instead remained as a constant reminder. And until Takki’s passing, far along in the future, he would take to weaving around the blooms in times of worry or depression for comfort.
--
Their route to Luò, in central Huánglóng, wound around a series of perilous mountain ranges and through a narrow valley. With each day on their journey that had passed the scenery had grown greener and greener and here it was no different. With the greener landscapes came warmer and warmer temperatures.
On warm nights after long days of travel Kame became accustomed to being supported by Jin for brief moments. The magic took more out of him as the days wore on and he began to look forward to Jin’s cool touch.
It was after such a moment that Jin went to remove their horses saddles that Kame began to think as he watched him tenderly care for the horses and murmur comfortingly to them.
“Jin, why do you have no heartbeat?” He asked before he could help himself and wished he could take it back when Jin stiffened and didn’t turn back.
“It just stopped one day,” Jin mumbled. “I thought you hadn’t noticed.”
“It’s kind of hard not to,” Kame joked but Jin did turn around then sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that Jin, it’s just… not everyone ends up pressed to your chest on a regular basis so I doubt anyone else notices.”
Jin came back to the fire and sat next to Kame. “When I was first cursed it was still beating and my heart was the only warm thing left in my body. The cold isn’t uncomfortable, at least not now, but it took a while to adjust to it. But as the years swept by my heart started to beat slower and slower and began to lose its warmth. And then… one day it just stopped all together. Near the end I would do nothing all day and night but lie down and count how many times my heart beat in a day. I thought that as long as my heart was beating, even if just once in a day, it meant some part of me was still human and the curse may wear off.” He dragged in a shaky breath and fell into silence for a few moments.
And Kame, he almost felt his own heart was breaking at the way Jin clutched at his chest, where his heart should have been beating steadily, and the cracks in his voice. He quickly pushed aside his worries of upsetting Jin and wrapped his arms gently around him. Jin leaned into the touch and Kame felt his warmth being sapped but didn’t care.
“We’re going to turn you back even if I have to find the sword by myself, because it takes too long. Even if I have to search every country and follow every lead,” Kame whispered into his shoulder.
“On the day my heart stopped beating I thought maybe it had just slowed even further, that maybe it would beat the next day. I wouldn’t sleep, eat, or even move because it had to be there. Ueda eventually had to make me sleep and eat. When I woke up the next time it had stopped completely and was sitting like a block of ice in my chest. That’s when I gave up but then you wanted to help and I thought this could be it.” Kame just held on tighter.
“We’re going to find the sword. I’m sure the Tanaka Clan knows where it is, they would want to keep tabs on something like that,” Kame assured him. They had to find at least a lead in Luò otherwise Kame didn’t want to think of Jin’s reaction. He knew he should start distancing himself, because it was just as he promised Maru, once he was free he wouldn’t be staying in Keishi. But when they sat like this long into the night, even when Maru awoke and joined the hug, he couldn’t force himself to move.
--
The magic forest they encountered seemed like a black abyss from the outside, almost no natural light penetrated the thick canopy. Jin created some magic lights to supplement the faint green glow of the trees.
“Something… dangerous is up ahead,” Maru whispered and tangled himself into Jin’s curls to hide.
“The plants are uneasy,” Jin confirmed and Kame stopped.
“What do you mean uneasy?” Kame asked warily. Now that Maru had stopped murmuring to the trees he noticed the silence flooding the forest. He tugged on his reins to keep his horse from bolting when a shrill screech of a bird filled the air. An orange glow began to permeate the darkness ahead of them.
“I wouldn’t say uneasy anymore, I would say freaking out,” Jin mumbled and drew a bow from its hook on his saddle. “Kame, get your shield and sword. Maru, make sure to hang on.”
“What are Fire Birds doing this far into Huánglóng? They usually hate it in forests like these,” Maru asked.
Neither knight could give an answer before they had to jerk their horses out of the way of a stream of fire. “They’re going to burn the forest down!” Kame shouted.
The large birds swept over head, dispelling long streaks of flames from their beaks. When they turned back around Jin hit one’s wing with an arrow but his eyes began to water from the smoke filling the forest before he could take a second shot.
“Maru, hold on,” he choked out and held his left hand out and closed his eyes. “Come on you stupid dragon.” He began to whisper to the spirit holding his soul and heart captive.
“Jin!” Kame shouted as he knocked one bird away with his shield. The other sunk its talons into Jin’s arm.
Kame felt his heart clench for a moment before wind howled so strongly he couldn’t keep his eyes open. As quickly as it came the maelstrom subsided and he opened his eyes just in time to cut down the dazed bird. The fires had all gone out and the second bird was caught, branches of a tree curling around its form.
“How did the tree?” Kame breathed out.
Jin smiled faintly and reached out a hand to pluck Maru from a low branch of a tree. “Let it go.” He murmured and the branch untwined from the bird.
Kame looked at the two birds lying, motionless, on the group and breathed out a long sigh.
“Always saving the day,” Jin carefully tucked the now drowsy Maru into a pocket on his chest. “Maru used his magic to manipulate the tree into wrenching that bird off my arm so I could summon the wind. You’re not hurt are you?”
“Am I hurt? I’m fine but… Spirits, your arm,” Kame nudged his horse over to Jin’s side and began tending to the deep wounds. “This might need to be treated professionally. I’m not sure what I can do for it here.”
“Just help me wrap it; it’ll heal up by the time we get out of this forest. If I could control the wind then the spirit should heal that up,” Jin groaned as Kame began to dab a salve onto the tears.
“Would’ve been nice to know you could pull out tricks like that,” Kame grinned and began to pull out bandages. His grin widened when Jin blushed bright red.
“I-I didn’t think I could with the wards in place,” Jin mumbled, his voice a bit higher in pitch than usual. “I haven’t really been able to do any of the stronger things since you put them in place I had to… I had to ask the spirit for help.”
Maru grinned sleepily from Jin’s pocket. “Had to beg it to save Kame’s life is more like it.”
“Maru!” Jin whined. “If you hadn’t just saved my arm from that stupid bird, I’d thump you on the head.”
“It’s true,” Maru grumbled before curling up to sleep.
Kame felt his own cheeks heat a bit and smiled down at Jin’s, now bandaged, arm. “Thank you. Do you have enough energy to make it out of the forest tonight or should we set up camp?”
“It should only be a few more hours and the horses are fine, let’s keep going,” Jin cracked a small smile Kame. “You’re sure they didn’t knick you anywhere?”
“Didn’t even land a shot because of a legendary knight I happen to know,” Kame quipped and nudged his horse to continue north.
--
The next morning Kame woke Jin up as the sun was rising with a quick shake and a grave look. Jin immediately sat up and reached for his sword but Kame shook his head.
“It’s nothing like that just…” Kame held out the book he always kept safely tucked under his arm when he slept.
“But it’s not time for-” Jin stopped abruptly and reached for the book with shaking hands. Kame had it open to the page he always used and Jin ran his shaking fingers over it. The characters on the page were wrong. It resembled a scarf started coming undone. The very strokes of ink were beginning to unravel and fall apart though the characters at the centre stayed true and bold. The final difference he noted was the furthest of what was once writing, the ink looked as if it were being washed away.
“It wasn’t like that last night,” Kame whispered. His fists were clenched and his knuckles white. “We have to turn back, now.”
“But we’ll make it to Luò by nightfall,” Jin countered desperately. “I’m sure we can spare another two or three days. It’ll only take two days of travel back to Lavender Field from Luò. That has to be enough time.”
“Jin, we can’t risk you dying,” Maru begged. “We have to turn back.”
“We can’t turn back, we’re so close. Look, Ueda said we had to turn back immediately thinking we would be farther from his mountains.”
Kame unclenched one fist and revealed the communication stone. “Ueda Tatsuya.” After a few moments Ueda’s form flickered into life.
“What are you doing waking me so early? I was-” Ueda grumbled but stopped when he saw Jin’s head hanging low. “What’s happened?”
Kame gently took the book from Jin’s grasp and showed Ueda. “The wards are starting to unravel. Jin wants to keep going to Luò because we’ll be there by nightfall. Ueda, it’s only been sixteen days. You said we would have three weeks.”
“The spirit must be harder to bind than I anticipated,” Ueda bit his lip. “And… have you been doing any magic?”
“The spirit and I called on the winds when we were fighting two Fire Birds in the forest,” Jin mumbled. He looked up with distant eyes. “It took a lot more out of me than it should have and it must’ve weakened the wards because I wasn’t able to do it before. I have to ask the spirit to work with me to summon them.”
“That must be it,” Ueda sighed. “I warned you to not use magic if you could help it.”
“We would have suffocated if it had gone on any longer,” Jin ground out. “I might’ve been able to make it longer because of the spirit but there was too much smoke to risk Kame and Maru’s lives.”
“I know,” Ueda’s eyes softened. “If you’re only a day from Luò you should be fine. It’ll take you two days to get back here and so long as Jin doesn’t use anymore magic the wards should hold for another five days but you have to be back here by nightfall on the fifth night so if you can’t find any leads after a day come back. We will have other chances so long as you don’t die Jin.”
“Alright, we’ll keep going. We have to leave now,” Kame ordered and began putting their supplies away.
“Please be careful. Maru keep an eye on Jin,” Ueda reminded before disappearing.
***
Ueda knew Junno wouldn’t admit that he had hovered nearby all day under the pretense of boredom to keep an eye on him, but he knew anyway. His affection for the cursed knight may not have been obvious these long years but somehow he knew that Jin had seen it and appreciated the comfort. He also knew that Junno would have to be far more oblivious than he acted to miss it through the long years.
So connecting the dots wasn’t hard at all. Also, maybe he hadn’t hidden the way he always either hovered near or carried around the communication stone. That, in its simplest form, could be easily explained that, because they may need his advice and his help and he simply might not be able to hear or sense them if he were far enough away. But ever since that morning and he had seen the writing as if it was slowly being swept away by water, he had been clinging to the stone as an anchor.
So Junno had hovered and been underfoot, always trying to cheer the mage up even when his own smile didn’t reach his eyes because Junno, well Junno had never hid his affections for either knight. Junno could openly grieve, knowing that even if they found the sword it may be too late because Jin simply couldn’t handle one more failed attempt, not this time. And they could not lose Jin, not now.
But he had already lived far too long. Perhaps he was still a young man compared to the oldest of mages that had once traveled these lands, but it had already been longer than either knight could imagine or ever want to live. He had left behind civilization and come here simply because he could never fully escape contact because he would always be able to hear and see the spirits. What he could do was limit his contact to those who couldn’t leave him, at least hopefully not in his lifetime.
The trees, especially the magic ones he lived amongst, would probably live far longer than he ever could and the fairies would outlive him as well, by far shorter than the trees but they would remain after he finally passed.
When he looked back on the past hundred years or so, he could say he didn’t regret their decidedly odd friendship and that if given the chance he wouldn’t change that fateful date. He knew though, that if he had been given that chance in the beginning, he would have taken it because of this. Failing to find the sword would bring Jin back to them, indefinitely, and guilt at his selfishness coiled around his heart whenever he let such thoughts dominate but it wouldn’t be the same.
When Jin’s heart had stopped beating they had barely kept Jin going and if Jin came back now, he knew it was impossible. Even if Jin still lived, in whatever sense of the term made sense for his predicament, he wouldn’t be with them and the worst case scenario made Ueda’s gut churn because he knew it was the more likely of options.
In the past he had wished, many times, that he could accompany Jin and cast the wards himself. Now more than ever he wished he could have gone with them to keep an eye on him. Somehow, even after such a short time, he trusted Kame to hold things together and keep his promise to bring Jin back to them, but that didn’t change how he felt he should be there with them but he couldn’t. He would have done so years before if he weren’t bound here. Nothing forced him to stay, not like the spirit had tethered Jin, but the forest depended on his continued presence to draw enough magic to sustain the spirits here. A few weeks could very well be too long to chance being away and so he had to remain.
After Junno returned to his tree to sleep through the night, and probably long into the morning if they were to be honest, Ueda crept out of his home, careful not to wake anything that may be sleeping. Instead, he curled up on his side between the fragrant blooms. He dug his fingernails into his palms and willed his mind to stop racing but even the peace of the slumbering souls around him didn’t work this time.
Long after the centre of the night had passed, he felt the odd flickering at the edge of his mind that meant someone was awakening.
“Have we news on our young knight?” a wearied voice asked, voice pitched low and quiet for the time.
Ueda opened his eyes again, knowing that before him would stand the translucent image of a warrior from thousands of years past but to nearly anyone else all that would be seen or heard was him talking to flowers. He had to close his eyes again at that thought, brow furrowing as he forced tears back down. Jin had been the only other one to hear and see the lost souls trapped in the lavender.
The spirit shifted to sit and a surprisingly warm hand came to rest against Ueda’s forehead. “It is not weak or wrong to mourn a comrade, especially not one as bright as that boy is… was.”
“He’s not gone yet,” Ueda whispered, curling up further but moving carefully so as not to dislodge the hand. “But the spells we placed are breaking and he doesn’t have much longer. He will most likely have to return here and that means…” He broke off as the first tears began to break free against his will.
“I see,” the soldier murmured and from his tone Ueda realized that he really did understand. “But young one, he is strong in both mind and body and I believe that even if they return unsuccessful he will persevere. He has spent many a night in this very spot keeping me company and he will not leave those he loves so easily.”
Ueda opened his eyes again and looked up into steady eyes.
A rough chuckle and smile followed. “Do not look so surprised, he loves you and the spirits here like his family. He will not leave you behind unless forced and definitely not by his own hand. Youth these days, so unobservant.” He huffed before sweeping some of Ueda’s hair from his eyes. “Now, where did we leave off last night?”
Ueda smiled faintly, at least he still held a few secrets. As far as he could tell, Junno still had yet to discover that instead of sleeping he spent most nights here, letting Yoshimitsu lull him into sleep with tales of his human life. Though they were millennia apart, when Jin had first arrived, something had reminded Ueda of Yoshimitsu.
There was always some spark in a warrior’s spirit that could be found in nearly every soldier but it wasn’t just that. Maybe it was the tales the young knight told, of fighting for his kingdom in wars, against dragons, and even when things seemed nearly hopeless, or the faint trace of royal blood magic he could still feel from Yoshimitsu, even this long after his death. But it was definitely in the way that their souls seem to resonate on the same frequency, prickling the edge of his consciousness in a way nothing else ever had.
In the beginning, Jin had reminded Ueda of Yoshimitsu, even though their personalities and appearance had little in common, but now, Yoshimitsu instead reminded him of Jin and during this absence, and the many to come in the future, he clung to this reminder. He let the feeling of Yoshimitsu’s soul and presence envelop him, so he could at least feel similarly to how he did when he friend was here and lighting up the forest.
--
Luò was situated on a mountainside in central Huánglóng. The Emperor’s palace, worked out of shimmering white material, rose at the highest point of the city. Its central pagoda tower climbed even high into the air, blocking the peak of the mountain from view from most points within the city.
But the clock was moving too quickly for their comfort so they took no time to admire the breathtaking views from the mountain. Instead they immediately located an inn and the gruff man behind the counter sketched out directions to the home of the Tanaka Blacksmiths for them on a spare scrap of parchment.
Early the next morning, they wasted no time in grabbing their map and making their way through the winding streets. A narrow side street brought them out onto a wide avenue of large storefronts. The sign they wanted boldly boasted the long history of the Tanaka family’s craft, supposedly dating back over five hundred years.
“Welcome, how can I assist you today!” greeted a slightly intimidating young man from behind the counter.
“We’re here to speak to one of the Tanaka blacksmiths,” Jin answered while Kame examined a jeweled sword.
“Well, I might be able to help you. Tanaka Koki at you services. I’m still learning the trade but unless you need a custom piece finished quickly I can help.” He smiled kindly and most hints of his rough exterior melted away.
“Akanishi Jin, Knight of Shōryō, Order of Kō,” Jin introduced himself.
“Kamenashi Kazuya, also Knight of Shōryō, Order of Kaku. I didn’t know you were of the Order of Kō,” Kame accused, narrowing his eyes at the cursed prince.
“I didn’t think it was important? It’s just a rank I held years ago,” Jin grumbled with flushed cheeks.
“Well then, Sir Akanishi, Sir Kamenashi, what brings you all the way to Huánglóng? It’s not that often we have visitors from Shōryō and almost never of such ranks.” Koki leaned against the counter and tried to get a closer look at the gilded hilt of Jin’s sword.
“We’re looking for a specific… artifact and legend says that it was created by your family. We thought your family might be able to tell us where it is.” Kame started delicately.
“I see, and which artifact would this be exactly?” Koki arched an eyebrow.
“The Sword of Ōryū,” Jin blurt out.
Koki furrowed his brow and sighed. “Why do you want the Sword of Ōryū? You had to have known that I couldn’t just give out information like that, even if our kingdoms are bound by a treaty.”
“We aren’t doing this for our kingdom or king,” Kame explained. “Jin he… you’re never going to believe us.” He sighed.
“Maybe we should just go…” Jin mumbled.
“Wait. At least tell me the story first.” Koki laughed. “If you’re not here by orders of King Kimura, why are you here?”
“It sounds really out there,” Jin started hesitantly. “But over a hundred years ago, I was Crown Prince Jin of the Akanishi family of Shōryō. I was also… the Blood Knight and I left on an adventure to find one of the last remaining mages to have a wish granted. But before my wish could be granted I had an accident with one of Seiryū’s Vases, and was cursed for the damage I did. I was trapped with that mage all this time but then Kazuya came and found me and Tatchan sent us on this crazy journey to try and locate the Sword of Ōryū because it may be the only way left to free my soul from the curse. King Kimura told us that he heard the sword had been lost, for good, but that someone who had had it might still be able to help. We’ve traveled south to Zhuque because that’s what it was last known to be but then the warriors didn’t have the sword and told us we should come here, because it was constructed by your ancestors so you guys might be the only ones who would know what happened to it.” His eyes practically pleaded with Koki to believe the story.
“You want me to believe you’re the crown prince of Shōryō from over a hundred years ago? And that you’ve been cursed?” Koki slowly asked. “How am I meant to know that this isn’t a lie? Only the rulers of the five kingdoms are allowed to know the true location of the Sword of Thieves. I’m sorry, even if you are cursed, I can’t tell you.”
“Then what about this. Surely you’d recognize your own family’s work,” Jin carefully extracted the circlet from where it was nestled and hidden in his hair. He held it out to the young blacksmith and Koki closely examined it and then pulled out a stone, which he placed against the piece.
The stone gained a steady glow once it came close to the circlet and Koki’s eyes widened. “This is surely the work of my family. No other blacksmith has this signature and it cannot be copied. And I know that only four of these were created and three of them are known to be with King Kimura and the Shōryō Royal Collection.”
“If you want further proof I’ll spill some of my blood, if necessary,” Jin offered quietly.
Koki looked down upon the circlet for another minute, “This may be impertinent, especially considering the differences in our status… I believe you because there is no other way you could come into possession of this circlet. The magic causes the fairy silver to tarnish immediately if anyone other than the appointed successor wears it… but I’ve always wanted to see an example of the blood magic…”
Kame blinked. “Surely you don’t want him to do that just for fulfill your curiosity?”
“It’s fine,” Jin interjected with a small smile. “Is there somewhere more private and outside we can do this? The reaction shouldn’t be as strong because Huánglóng has Oryū’s magic binds instead of Seiryū’s magic, but I don’t know how contained it will be. And I’ll need a basin of water…”
“We can go out back, we have a plot of generally unused land there,” Koki gestured them to follow him back. “Pop! Pop! We have royalty visiting us!” They followed him down a spindly hall further into the depths of the large building.
“What are you yelling about now, Koki?” an older man came into the thin hall with a sigh.
“Pop,” Koki held up the silver circlet for his father to examine.
The man turned sharply to the two knights. “This circlet has been missing for over one hundred years… I take it the lost prince has returned to civilization,” he smiled and then returned the circlet to Jin.
“How did you know?” Koki asked.
“Once you’re ready to be a full-fledged blacksmith, I’ll tell you the stories of our family’s most important creations and once I have you’ll never have to check again.” Koki’s father answered. “Tanaka Ken, at your service. What can we do for The Blood Knight, then?”
“They’re looking for the Sword of Ōryū, pop,” Koki explained. “The prince has been cursed and according to a mage the sword is the only thing that can free him.”
“I see, and have you told them why that’s simply not possible?” Ken asked. “If it’s the crown prince then we can tell him, of course.”
“First, he said he’d show me the royal family’s blood magic,” Koki exclaimed. “We’re going out back and we need a bowl of water!”
“Koki, I hope you didn’t request this,” Ken groaned.
“It’s alright. You’re helping us so I don’t mind,” Jin smiled lightly.
Koki collected a large bowl of water and directed them out into the clear area behind the store.
“Any type of tree requests?” Jin asked quietly as he withdrew the same dagger he’d wielded before.
“How about a cherry blossom tree?” Kame requested quietly. A few moments later he experienced the electric sensation for the fifth time personally. Even now that’d he’d had to stabilize the wards it hadn’t even come close to this sensation. The tree spread out across the yard in a flurry of pink, delicate blossoms and the Tanaka father and son gasped at the sight. Maru fluttered up to explore the tree and the blossoms he hadn’t encountered before. As Kame looked at the beautiful scene he couldn’t help but think of home and closed his eyes against the grip that always clasped his chest when he did. He knew that once Jin’s curse was broken he wouldn’t be content to stay in the capital, where he could see him.
“That’s beautiful,” Koki whispered in awe. “Will it stay? It won’t die or anything like that?”
“No, no it shouldn’t,” Jin chuckled. “I can leave it if you want, but if I do you can’t get the bowl back.”
“Leave it,” Koki requested immediately. “Please.”
“Of course, but could you please tell us about the sword now?” Jin asked.
“Come back into the building,” Ken suggested and herded them all into a backroom and offered them tea. “I’m afraid you’re too late, about the sword that is.”
“What do you mean too late?” Kame chewed on his lip. He glanced worriedly to Jin who had paled slightly.
“You see, the sword was too powerful and nearly fell into the wrong hands many years ago. Our king and my father spoke and agreed that it was too dangerous to allow something like that to ever happen. Reluctantly, my father agreed that more desperate measures had to be taken and so… the sword was taken far out to sea into deep waters and then thrown overboard.” Ken explained gravely. “I wish we could help you, I really do but nothing will bring that sword back anytime soon.”
“Are you completely certain?” Kame demanded. They’d already come so far and now all color had left Jin’s face and the excited glint had faded from his eyes. He wasn’t sure he could bear such an ending to their journey. He wasn’t sure Jin could survive such an end after he’d finally regained hope.
“Thank you for your help, really,” Jin gave the apprentice and blacksmith the slightest of smiles. “We should get going, we’ve already bothered you enough.”
“No problem. Are you ok? You don’t look too well,” Koki asked concernedly.
“He’s right,” Maru hovered by his head, checking his temperature before settling back on his shoulder. “We’ll figure something out, Jin. Don’t worry.”
“I think he’s just a bit tired, probably needs to rest after such a long trip and all. Thank you again,” Kame cut in and began pushing the other knight out the door. He paused and mumbled. “I might be back for that sword before we head back to Shōryō.”
“We should head back to our kingdom… back to Tatchan’s soon… immediately,” Jin mumbled briefly once the door shut behind them.
“Right, let’s rest first,” Kame suggested carefully.
As they walked back to the inn, the cursed knight didn’t utter a single word and let Kame lead him there.
“Jin, we can find something else,” Kame suggested quietly. “There must be some way to retrieve it.”
“Like what Kazuya?” Jin’s voice was hollow
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t end here! It can’t,” Kame shook his shoulders, trying to get Jin to look at him.
“What do you expect to do? Search the entire ocean floor? How would we do that? I doubt even an army of mages like Tatsuya could do it and it’s just us. What else can we do?” Jin turned back to the window and rest his head on the cool glass. “If there were any other solution he would have told us. He would have told us there were more options before we went off on this… this…”
“But Jin,” Kame started but was quickly cut off.
“Please, Kazuya please. Can we just leave it alone for now, please?” he whispered so Kame did just that. Kame grabbed the communication stone and left the room to tell Ueda that were coming back, unsuccessful.
--
When they had already packed up their things and left the city, Kame couldn’t hold back any longer. “We’ll find another way. Surely Ueda could manage some research for us or…”
“Why does it even matter? I’m ok, I’ll live even if I have to spend the rest of eternity in that pond. I may not be able to experience the world as I wanted but at least I can catch scraps of it from the water’s visions. I’m okay, Kazuya, you don’t have to push for me anymore. You can go home and return to your life, like you’re meant to.” Jin smiled sadly and knew that his journey with Kame was nearly over. Soon he wouldn’t be waking up to Kame’s morning greetings or fighting by his side. Instead he would maybe catch a hint of Kame’s life in a vision. He may have to pull forth visions constantly day and night to even see a bit of Kame but he could do that. He could do that if it was the only way to see the other man now.
“So what if you’re okay with just giving up? What about me? What if I’m not okay with this?” Kame demanded, tugging his horse to a stop.
Maru quickly dived into Jin’s hair, peeking at the incensed Kame from between curls.
“But Kame,” Jin started slowly. “I know that you wanted to free me from the curse and finally get your wish granted-“
“Is that what you honestly think this is about?” the younger man jumped from the horse. “You idiot! It was never really about that. I could’ve just asked Ueda to grant my wish and left you to fester in that stupid pond forever!”
Jin froze, “Then why? You should just let it go.”
“How am I supposed to let it go when it means someone I care about suffering?” Kame shouted, his arms swiping violently through the air. “What do you expect me to do Jin? Just stand by while you condemn yourself… to this stupid fate you don’t deserve? Well maybe you deserve it for being clumsy but it’s a bit of an extreme punishment for something like that. Don’t tell me to stay out of it!”
Jin clenched his fist and willed himself not to take that the wrong way. He wasn’t sure he could keep their friendship, as Kame no doubt wished, if he kept hearing such things. He may be in love, but he wasn’t completely oblivious. Kame had had his future planned out to a T and that future didn’t involve a cursed prince.
Kame froze when he heard a strangled noise and Jin crashed to the ground. He scrambled from his own horse to find Jin curled up on the ground, face pinched with pain, and clutching at his chest. Maru hovered around him worriedly.
“Jin!” Kame called out. He shook the older man but as quickly as it had come on it had gone. Jin opened one eye and looked at Kame warily. Kame placed a hand on his forehead as if to check his temperature but he froze. He felt heat. “Jin?”
The smallest of smiles cracked on the older man’s face as he slowly reached up, pulling Kame’s right hand into his own and bringing it to rest his chest.
“I can feel it,” Jin’s voice was small and hoarse but that was the least of their concerns.
It was barely there at first but as the seconds swept by Kame felt it, growing in strength and rhythm. Soon, Kame could feel the steady and sure beating of Jin’s heart against his ribcage. Heat radiated off of the older knight, just as Kame had thought he would as a human again and the greatest proof of all was working below his fingertips, now a constant reminder of what the other had regained.
“Kame,” Jin whispered his eyes still wide and unsure but he couldn’t continue as the communication stone began to glow faintly, building in strength until Ueda appeared.
“What the hell happened? Jin didn’t die did he?” He looked around before spotting the two. “What are you doing?”
“His heartbeat,” Kame whispered, staring at the image of the mage with wonder.
“Oh,” Ueda paused. “Right then, come back home you idiots, we’re done here.” He was about to close the connection when Jin stopped him.
“Why did you think I had died?” Jin croaked.
“Hm? Oh, I was outside when the wind suddenly picked up. The next thing I knew, all the water in the pond was gone. I thought it was a sign. Come back.” He commanded before disappearing.
“I guess this means we’re going back?” Maru cried and hugged Jin’s neck. “You’re back to normal!”
Jin could only grin while Kame stared at him in shock.
--
When they finally arrived back in the magical clearing, they found very little had changed in their absence. Taguchi’s tree still stood as vibrant as ever, Ueda’s home still looked as cozy as before, and the lavender blossoms were still as full of wonder as always.
Jin dropped his horse’s bridle and slowly crept his way over to the pond to which he’d spent over one hundred years bound. True to Ueda’s words, the pond looked as if it had simply dried up. Junno’s tree shook and suddenly Junno stuck his head out of the trunk.
“Welcome back!” He cried before fully extracting himself from his tree. He stopped suddenly, staring at Jin who smiled back. “So Ueda wasn’t lying… you’ve turned back then?”
Jin nodded. “We don’t know how but… one moment I was cursed and then the next… my heart was back.”
“That didn’t take you as long as I thought it would,” Ueda commented. He nodded to Kame and held a hand out for Maru to land on. He finally joined Jin at the side of the pond. “I was always rather fond of that pond… it’s a shame.”
“Can’t you refill it?” Kame suggested.
“I’ve tried, it just dries up too quickly,” Ueda frowned.
Jin reached under his shirt and unclasped a necklace from around his neck and held it above the pond. “You can go back now, thank you.” He pulled his hand back when the pendant cracked and a wisp of water turned into a small torrent until the pond was once again filled.
“Wait, what just happened?” Kame tapped Jin’s shoulder. The older man turned slightly and smiled brilliantly up at him.
“The spirit that had, when he suddenly lost his hold on my body, had to go somewhere. I could feel him in the pendant, he had taken refuge there.” Jin explained quietly and smiled when what might’ve been a pair of reptilian eyes looked up at him from the water.
“I see.” Kame murmured.
“And he no longer has the Seiryū Vase to return to, as he normally would. The pond will have been its last home, other than Jin’s body…” Maru continued.
“Ueda, why did I turn back?” Jin gestured between himself and the water. Ueda remained quiet for a minute or two, only the rustling of leaves cut across the quiet.
“So when did you two start fucking?” Ueda cut across the silence bluntly.
Jin’s jaw worked soundlessly for a minute before he sputtered, “Tatsuya, what are you talking about? We haven’t- we wouldn’t…”
“Oh. So that's how it is then,” Ueda stood back up, dusted off his pants and made his way back to the front door of his home, “I wish you both the best in your futures. Try not to knock over anymore magical vases, Jin.”
“But that doesn’t answer anything!” Kame called before Ueda could get inside.
Ueda paused, “with things how they are at present, I don’t think I can tell you.” Ueda sighed. “It’s a shame the Sword of Ōryū is gone but I can see why they did it. Now, don’t you boys have a kingdom to save or some dragons to slay? I’m sure you’d be best off returning to your capital.”
Maru floated back over and landed on Kame’s shoulder. “I guess you’re both going home then?”
“Right,” Jin mumbled watching as Ueda quickly tended to some lavender blossoms before locking himself inside.
“What the hell just happened?” Kame asked, looking between the two spirits and Jin.
“I think he’s avoiding us asking more questions,” Jin mumbled. “I guess… are you up to heading back now? We don’t have much of a reason to stay and… I suppose we can always return and see Tatsuya Junno, and Maru…”
“Do you promise to come back? It will be so lonely with just Ueda and the Forest Fairies visiting only once a month, without you to keep me company.” Junno bit his lip. “You’ll have to come back because I want to hear all about your journey these past weeks.”
“Of course I’ll come back, you can be sure of that. This was my home for most of my life, I won’t leave permanently.” Jin grinned. “Well, how about it Kazuya?”
“I guess we can head back now. King Kimura and Duke Takizawa are no doubt waiting to hear about the results… but how are we going to get back through the forest without Maru?” Kame asked quietly.
“I know the way,” Jin mumbled. “Back when I first came here, I didn’t need the fairies to find my way.”
“What do you mean you didn’t need the fairies?” Kame frowned.
“The ‘lights’ can mean a few things I guess. If you’re strong enough and have the bare minimum of magic to make it into the forest you probably won’t see the fairies still, even if you can make it in without being tossed out. You have more magic than that by far, so you were able to see the fairies even during the day. I… can see magic in the air, if I try to. It’s like silver glinting lights in the air. In most places the patterns are random because there isn’t much using it because most humans, even those with the gift, can’t use it anyway. But it’s not always like that. When I was a kid I found that magic is drawn to people who can use it. I don’t really know, I’ve not been around enough humans with strong magic to really find out. Takki… it’s not huge amounts but a decent amount of magic is drawn to him. I was always able to find him in the castle because I just had to follow the currents of magic that led to him. Even you draw enough magic to make a very distinct flow.” Jin explained while turning red. “Sorry, I feel like I’m always explaining things badly to you.”
“And Ueda is probably the strongest user of magic in this whole kingdom,” Kame said, catching on with a faint smile. “So you followed the trail of magic to him?”
“Yeah, it’s a magic forest so there were a lot of different things drawing magic in. Like with Maru, he pulls a certain amount of magic, so fairies and even the trees themselves, they glow for a reason, draw magic. But with Ueda, Junno, and even the lavender here, huge amounts of magic lead here. I did catch up to the fairies halfway through the forest though. Maru was just a little newborn fairy back then,” he grinned and gently poked Maru who smiled at the memory.
“Is that how the fairies come here?” Kame asked Maru.
“No. We know that magic is attracted to strong magical blood and spirits but only some fairies can actually see it. In my clan, we make the trip so often that most of us can make it without any guidance but if we need to we ask the trees to direct us,” Maru explained.
“So that’s it, Maru can finally return to his clan. I bet they’ve been worried. I can lead us home,” Jin smiled at Maru.
“But you won’t have a strong current to follow,” Junno interrupted.
“Like Maru’s clan does, I can ask the trees if I need to and once we get out of the forest it shouldn’t be too hard to find a town if need be and even then the castle is built upon a large collection of Seiryū’s shards, I can follow those trails.” Jin explained.
“I thought you could only talk to trees and things because of the spirit,” Kame mumbled. “You mean this is something you’ve always been able to do.”
“A lot of the trees back at the capital are actually magic, they just don’t glow for some reason. When I was five I was climbing that huge tree, Akemi, even though my tutors begged me all the time not to do stupid things.” He grinned at the memory of his tutors shouting at him from the ground. “I was about to climb up onto a higher branch when I heard someone say, ‘that branch is too damaged.’ I nearly fell out of the tree when I realized it had come from the tree itself! Most won’t talk to you unless you prompt them or unless they have to. The tree’s spirit always knew I would hear if she decided to talk to me but she’d kept quiet because there hadn’t been any reason to talk before. She really liked the quiet and solitude because she was the only tree in that plot. I talked to her all the time after that, or well as often as I could. When I got older she kept me up on all the gossip going around the castle because no one thought it necessary to keep quiet about things when the only witness is a tree.”
“You really must have been the weirdest child. Your parents must not have known what to do with you,” Kame shook his head.
Jin blinked, “that’s kind of true I guess. We should get going now. I promise to come and visit Junno, Maru…”
“Actually, I wanted… to go with you,” Maru whispered. “I want to explore the capital and spend more time outside of this forest. But only if it’s ok with you both.”
“Of course you can come with us!” Kame laughed. “You needn’t have even asked.”
“I guess this is it,” Junno mumbled forlornly. “All three of you are leaving…”
“We’ll visit,” Kame promised and grinned at Junno. “Besides, I’m sure we can find some way to send messages. We still have the communication stone after all.”
“And besides, I think I can still see things and probably send messages through water,” Jin winked and Junno frowned. “Seiryū’s shard may be gone but he’s left some things behind.”
Junno jumped forward and hugged Jin. “That will do then. Take care of yourself you idiot. Don’t do anything too stupid. You’re human again so you’ll be able to get sick and all those other things.”
“Don’t worry,” Jin smiled and clutched Junno tighter. “If my magic manifests like Takki’s then I will be around for many more years to come and bother you. Thank you, for everything Junno.” Junno made a particularly wretched noise.
“Don’t cry Junno,” Maru flew over and pat Junno, ineffectually, on the head to comfort him.
“I’m not crying,” Junno denied even though his voice had taken on a new pitch. “Kame, take care of yourself too and don’t let this idiot talk you into anything stupid. I listened to his ideas for over a hundred years, I know how they tend to go.”
“Of course, Junno,” Kame smiled but was shocked when the sprite swept him up in a hug.
Soon the trio set off, yelling goodbyes at Ueda through the window before disappearing into the forest. All three were silent until many hours later Kame broke it.
“So, are you going to take the throne?” He asked suddenly. The thought had been bothering him for a few weeks now.
“What?” Jin sputtered and nearly hit a branch he hadn’t watched carefully enough.
“It seemed that King Kimura was planning on naming you as his successor if you were able to break your curse. And well… being King must be pretty appealing.”
“I… no. You must realize by now that I’m not suited to being King,” Jin laughed. “I don’t think I ever really wanted to be the king it’s too… stifling. My younger brother was always better suited for it and I always imagined he would become king somehow because I just wouldn’t be able to manage it. I hope Kimura won’t be too disappointed when I refuse but I have an idea of who he should appoint.”
Part Four