“Changed her? How?”
“She created this copy of the pawnshop from memory, but she does not remember much else. She remembers our family, but she cannot recall the circumstances that led her here. She does not know that she stole a choice, or anything about the day the Shiikuin came to the pawnshop and changed her sentence from a swift, merciful death to exile here.” Toshio looked at Hana. “But I am guessing that you do. You followed the same clues I did to get here. Haruto must have folded time for you too.”
Hana flinched at the mention of Haruto’s name. She hadcome all this way to find someone who did not want to be found, and it was Haruto who had paid the price for her foolishness.
“What’s wrong?” Toshio said. “Did something happen to Haruto?”
Hana squeezed her teacup. “His hands…”
Toshio paled and clenched his fists. “Tell me what happened, Hana.”
“The Shiikuin broke them when they found out that Haruto was helping me.”
Toshio’s hands trembled on the table. “This is all my fault. I should have never gone to him. Haruto is too good and generous of a man, and I took advantage of his kindness.”
“It was his choice,” Keishin said. “He said that he owed you a great debt.”
Toshio swallowed back tears. “He owes me nothing. What I did for him was only to try to right a wrong that would never have happened if…”
“If what?” Hana said.
Toshio’s chest caved in as though he were shriveling from the inside. He walked away from the table looking more feeble and older than Hana had ever seen him.
“Otou-san?” Hana stood up and followed him.
“I failed him, Hana.”
“How?”
“One choice. One soul. It is a simple duty and I failed it. The choice your mother stole…it was meant for Haruto.”
Chapter Fifty-one
Souls and Skin
Twenty-one years ago
The infant boy’s cry filled the Horishi’s home just as Toshio’s month-old daughter’s wail had done earlier that day. When Toshio laid Hana over the Horishi’s table, he had not given a single thought to how she would feel when her fate was carved into her small body. His blinding focus from the moment she was born had been to give her a soul. But when the first of countless needles pierced his little girl’s skin and made her cry, Hana’s pain became his own. That’s how he knew that the mother of the crying boy was suffering too. But he also knew that her pain far exceeded his. And that it was all his fault.
Toshio knelt on the ground with his head touching the floor, prostrating himself at Masako’s feet. The weight of his failure crushed him, pushing him deeper into the Horishi’s mat. He stayed silent. There were no words that could ever atone for the choice he had lost, the choice that was meant to be Masako’s son’s soul.
“Stand up,” Masako said, cradling her wailing baby. “I want you to look at my son and tell him how you have cursed him. Stand up!”
Toshio slowly pushed himself to his feet. “I…I am deeply sorry. My wife did not mean to—”
“Your wife has already paid for her crime. She is dead. Youare not. Tell me, what is your punishment for failing to keep Haruto’s soul safe? Who must I see for my revenge?” Masako wept, her tears falling on Haruto’s face. “You and your daughter will go on with your lives as though nothing has happened, but I will have to live the rest of my life knowing that you killed my son. You have taken everything from me.” She hurled herself at Toshio and pounded her fist against his chest.
Toshio braced himself, accepting every blow. Though it was Chiyo who had stolen the choice, it had been his responsibility to keep it safe. He deserved worse than Masako’s fists.
“It is time.” The Horishi approached them. “Give me the creature.”
Masako staggered back, clutching Haruto. “I won’t let you take him. He isn’t a monster. He is my son. His father is dead. Haruto is all I have left.”
“It does not belong to you.” The Horishi moved closer to Masako.
“No.” Masako backed into a wall. “Stay away.”
Toshio blocked the Horishi’s path. “Stop. Do not make yourself a liar.”
