“A rumor?” the monkey king boomed, lifting himself up on his massive arms so he could lean forward. This time his robe fell off his shoulders to reveal the biggest pair of man boobs I’d ever seen in my life. Or was that monkeyboobs?
He shoved himself off the bed with a massive heave and landed on the carpet with a heavy thud that shook the floor. My palms grew sweaty as he plodded toward me, and I surreptitiously wiped them on my thighs before allowing him to take my hand in his. His own flesh was hot and sweaty, and everything inside me screamed that I should run. But I let him drag me toward a massive window on the left wall, hoping that his plan was to show me the liver and not toss me out the window for daring to ask to seeit.
Huffing, the monkey king grabbed the silver curtains and yanked them aside. I gasped as a beautiful grove of persimmon trees was revealed. The trees were a deep, vibrant green, and the orange fruit sparkled like the fish I’d seen flitting through thesea.
“Wow,” I murmured as we stepped through the open window and onto the balcony. The air outside was surprisingly cool against my flesh, and as I stood there next to him, the king pointed to the closest tree. Its trunk was as thick as a rhino and its bows hung low enough over the balcony that I could have reached up and plucked a persimmon if I was soinclined.
“There,” the king said, pointing to the branch with his free hand. As I followed his finger, I saw what looked like a sliver of brown encrusted with gemstones that glowed with preternatural power. The thing was so large, I had a hard time believing it would even fit into a monkey, even one as big as theking.
“Your liver is truly splendid,” I said, smiling at him and batting my eyes. “I wonder… no… I couldn’t ask that…surely…”
“What is it?” he asked, raising aneyebrow.
“Could I, well… could I touch it?” I asked, my cheeks heating as the king watched me carefully. “It’s just so big, and I’ve never seen one thatnice…”
“I don’t know,” the king said, taking a step back and looking me up and down. “Do you really wantto?”
“Yes! I’ll be gentle, I promise,” I said, excruciatingly aware of how this conversation would sound to anyone listening from beyond a wall. God, I was so glad that Raiden wasn’t within earshot, or I would die ofembarrassment.
“Well, I suppose it’ll be fine as long as you’re gentle,” the monkey king said. I blinked, and the next thing I knew, he’d reached out and plucked the liver from the branch. He held it out to me, and as I took it from him, I was surprised by how firm it was in my hands. Heat radiated from it, and as I lifted it up to get a better look at it, I knew this was exactly what Ineeded.
“Your liver is amazing,” I whispered, taking a step back and reaching into my pocket. My fingers closed around theosuzumebachicharm, and as they did, I jerked it free from my pocket and focused my power. “Maji!”
As I spoke the word, a cloud of two-inch hornets exploded from the palm of my hand. I was immediately overcome by the presence of what felt like a billion tiny voices in my head all asking fordirections.
“What are you doing?” the king cried, taking a step backward and throwing up his hands to protect himself. That turned out to be a big mistake, because the hornets interpreted the motion as an attack, and they swarmed him instantly. The king screamed as they dive-bombed him, their huge stingers striking repeatedly, and he fell back against the balcony railing, flailingwildly.
“Why are you doing this?” the king wailed, and for a moment I feltbad.
Huge welts began to swell all across his body as he railed uselessly at theswarm.
Your pity is wasted on this useless lump of flesh,thekyuubisneered in my head.He is greed personified, and must pay for hissins.
Thekyuubi’swords strengthened my resolve. “I’m doing this for the crabs,” I said, taking a step forward. “You’ve stolen their land, killed their brethren, and in general you’ve conducted yourself with dishonor.” I touched my chest with my thumb. “We came to your island peaceably and you attacked us with stones. Now you will feel the pain of that inhospitality a thousand-fold.”
And with that, I spun on my heel, shoving the liver into a hidden pouch inside my clothing. The monkey king bellowed from behind me as I raced out of the room, and a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. But I refused to look back. Heart pounding, I flung the bedroom doors open, and ran straight into the two guards positioned outside. Their faces creased in confusion, and one took a step forward, as if to stopme.
“Get out of my way!” I snarled, pulling my fist back. Fire wreathed my fingers, and I plowed my flaming knuckles straight into the monkey guard’s face. Pain exploded through my hand, and I cried out—I’d never actually hit someone in the face before. But from the way he flopped backward onto his butt, screeching and clawing at his burning face, I knew he had to be hurting a lot more than Iwas.
“How dare you!” the other monkey screamed, baring his fangs. His hand went to thekatanaat his waist, but before he could draw it, I blasted him with more of thekyuubi’sflames from both hands. The monkey managed to dodge the first blast, but the second one hit him in the chest, and he went down screeching just like hiscompanion.
The blast the monkey had dodged hit the wall, and flames began to race across it. Cursing, I spun on my heel and raced back into the main room, wanting to get out of there before the place went up in flames. I had a feeling I’d be burning it to the ground on my wayout.
“Aika!” Raiden cried as I burst into the hallway. He grinned at the sight of the flames wreathing my fingertips, and without missing a beat, he drew the swords at his belt. Thekatanasglinted in his hands, flashing through the air to disarm the closest guards, and Katsu’s aura blazed all abouthim.
“Can you do something about that door?” Raiden shouted, pointing toward the sealed door with one of hiskatanas. He used the other to lob off a monkey’s head, and I grimaced as it went flying across the room, spraying the floor withblood.
“Got it!” I summoned more of thekyuubi’sflames and blasted the door with both hands. The sapphire flames hit it with an explosion of light and sound, blowing it outward across the courtyard and startling the guards outside. Raiden and I began to run toward it, but I stopped short as theosuzumebachibuzzed in myhead.
“What is it?” Raiden grabbed my arm. “We have togo!”
“The hornets knocked the king from the balcony,” I said quickly, my heart hammering. “He’s coming around the side of thepalace!”
“Shit,” Raiden swore. More guards converged on us, and he slashed at them with his swords. I lobbed more fireballs to drive them back, but after a little while, I began to feel faint. Borrowing thekyuubi’sflames was starting to tax me in a way I’d never expected. My vision darkened around the edges and I began tosweat.
“If you drop the illusion, it will be easier,”mykyuubisaid, her voice strained as it rippled across mymind.
“Okay,” I said, allowing it to shatter. Our forms reverted to normal, and as they did, the king came running toward us, the hornets still chasing him. He was swollen to kingdom come, but that didn’t bother me nearly as much as the look of rage on his face. His eyes bulged as he sawme.
