“The blade’s name is Raiken,” Ryujin said. “A fitting weapon for someone of your namesake. It has the power to call downlightning.”
“Damn,” Shota said, sounding extremely impressed. “That’s prettybadass.”
“It is,” Raiden said, sheathing the blade. “I…I’m not sure I’m worthy of such a kingly gift.” The uncertainty in his voice knocked me off balance, and I stared at him. I’d never heard him sound sounsure.
Ryujin arched a brow. “Are you refusing my gift?” heasked.
Raiden straightened. “Of course not, Ryujin-sama.” He stood up and strapped the sword to his belt. “I will treasure thisalways.”
“Good.” Ryujin narrowed his eyes. “Denial does not suit you, Takaoka Raiden. And it will not serve you well in your fight against Kai. I suggest you stop pretending not to know who youare.”
Raiden hesitated. “I understand,” he said, bowing. Shota and I exchanged looks, and it was clear from the look on Shota’s face that he didn’t have any better idea of what Ryujin was talking about than I did. We waited a few beats for either of them to elaborate, but Raiden and the dragon king simply stared at each other, some kind of silent understanding passing betweenthem.
“Ryujin-sama,” I finally said, breaking the silence. “While I definitely see that the sword you gave Raiden is a powerful weapon, I can’t help but worry whether or not it will be truly effective against Kai. Surely Amatsu won’t be taken down so easily, even with a lightning bolt.” He was an ancient god, after all. I’d be very surprised if taking him out was thatsimple.
The dragon king laughed. “You are quite right.” He waved his hand again, and two more boxes appeared. “Which is why I have two more weapons here.” He floated one of the boxes over to Shota, and one tome.
“Holy shit!” Shota exclaimed, his voice filled with pure glee. I turned to see him lift a sickle weapon with a long chain attached to the end. The blade was wickedly sharp and appeared to have flames etched into the sides. “Akusarigama!”
“Damn.” Raiden moved closer so he could look at the weapon over Shota’s shoulder. He gave a low whistle. “That’s a thing ofbeauty.”
“Its name is Kasaiha,” Ryujin said. “The blade will summon flames when you wield it against an enemy, so be mindful when you useit.”
“That is badass.” Shota’s eyes gleamed. “Baiken is going to lovethis!”
“Baiken?” Iasked.
“My battleyurei,” Shota explained. “Raiden isn’t the only one walking around with a cool samurai at his disposal.” He stuck out his tongue atRaiden.
Raiden snorted. “Yeah, but mine’s an actualdaimyo. Yours is just aswordsman.”
I shook my head as the two of them started to bicker. Even though I’d seen Shota’s keychain before, I’d forgotten that he also had the power to summon spirits. He hadn’t used his shaman powers at all beyond paper magic, which made it easy for me to forget he had them. But then again, there hadn’t really been an opportunity for him to doso.
“Enough!” Ryujin roared, silencing Raiden and Shota. “Aika, aren’t you going to openyours?”
“Oh. Right.” My nerves tingled with excitement as I opened the box, but the feeling vanished, replaced by extreme disappointment. Instead of a weapon, there was a long velvet pouch nestledwithin.
“What is this?” I asked as I picked it up. It was stiff, with rectangular edges, as if there was a really big envelope inside, or a piece of thickpaper.
“Inside that pouch is anofudathat can be used to seal Amatsu and Kai back in the prison Amaterasu fashioned for them,” Ryujin said. “It is a very powerful ward, but it is not water resistant, so do not take it out until you are above the surface again. You will have to apply theofudayourself, Aika. Do you think you have the strength to doit?”
Oh.I swallowed. “I don’t have any experience withofudas,” Iadmitted.
“It’s fine,” Shota said quickly, surprising me. “I’ll teachher.”
“See to it that you do,” Ryujin said, his voice growing stormy. “I have enjoyed many centuries of peace since Amatsu was locked away, and I have no desire for that peace to be disrupted again. Humankind does plenty of damage to the oceans without that bastard’s interference.” His eyes blazed with anger. “You must notfail.”
“We won’t,” Raiden said, surprisingly calm in the face of the dragon king’s barely leashed wrath. The gravity of Ryujin’s words crashed down on my shoulders like an anvil, and I found myself painfully aware that my mother’s life wasn’t the only thing at stake if we didn’t get Kai back into that box. It wasn’t just one death we were trying toprevent.
It wasmillions.
19
“This is definitelynothow I imagined my first trip to Tokyo going,” I spluttered as Raiden, Shota, and I grasped the edges of the dock. A splinter dug into my finger, and I winced, then tried to find another spot to grab on. Dammit, why was nothingevereasy? Couldn’t we catch a break justonce?
Raiden only grunted, already halfway out of the water.He makes it look so effortless,I grumbled to myself as I watched him pull himself out of the ocean and onto one of the many docks outside the back of the Fish Market. Thankfully, Raiden was willing to share some of his strength—he got down on his knees, then grasped my hand and pulled me out of thewater.
“Thanks,” I panted as he set me on my feet. Shota was right behind me—he hauled himself up, then shook out his hair like a wet dog, splattering me with more water. A chill wind blew straight through my wet clothes, and I shivered. “We need to get the hell out of theseclothes.”
