Mikito laughed as he clapped him on the shoulder. “No fears. They don’t bite. Worse thing they can do is hold you in place until you miss your dinner. But don’t worry. They usually get bored by dawn and let you go.”
Ryuichi wasn’t so sure about that. There was something very eerie about those hands. Something eerie about this whole place. “What kind of yokai are these?”
“Benevolent.” Mikito showed him how to correctly place his reins in the stone palm. “Most yokai here are good to have around.”
He didn’t like the sound of that.
At all. “Most?”
Mikito saw his expression and grimaced. “Some... have attitudes.”
Great. It wasn’t bad enough he’d been picked on by the boys at his old school. Now he had worse pests to contend with.
Belligerent yokai. Just what he’d always wanted.
Like a hole in his head.
“How many yokai are we talking?”
Takara joined them and grinned so wide that her dimples flashed. “Enough to ensure no one ever threatens our castle.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
She squeezed his arm. “Pay attention, Ryuichi. Once you find your place here, you’ll understand.”
That made no sense to him whatsoever.
But before he could say another word, Hanzo-san came up to them. “Miki, show the boy to the yellow barracks. Make sure he has a uniform and is ready to begin his training tomorrow.”
Mikito snapped to attention. “Yes, sir.”
Ryuichi waited until the samurai had gone, and they were alone again. “Yellow barracks?”
Takara nodded. “It’s where everyone begins. In the center, where you can be grounded and learn your ki. Once you master the basics, you’ll be assigned to one of the other dojos, and then another, and you’ll keep going until you’ve learned all five principles of the Godai.”
“If you’re lucky,” Mikito whispered.
A chill went down Ryuichi’s spine. He knew he should probably ask about that, but he was more intrigued by thisGodai. “What are the five principles?”
Mikito pointed at the white tiger embroidered on his sleeve. “Each of the five is its own dojo, and you’ll wear the mon of the one you belong to.”
Ryuichi looked to see a vermilion bird mon on Takara’s sleeve. Obviously, she was in a separate dojo from her brother. “How are we assigned our dojos?”
They led him from the stable. “You’ll earn your place. The beginning level is yellow.” Takara pointed to a building with a blue roof. “Azure Dragon is where you’ll go after you master everything your sensei has to teach about standing your ground and centering your focus. The next level after azure is mine, Vermilion Bird.”
Mikito took over. “Once you’ve mastered everything in those practices, you’ll become a White Tiger, like me.”
Takara shoved him. “You know, I was a White Tiger too. Until the accident we won’t discuss right now.”
“So you canloseranking too?” Ryuichi felt sick.
They both nodded.
Mikito pointed to a black-roofed building on their left. “That’s the dojo you really want to be in.”
Ryuichi arched a brow. “Why? What’s so special about that one?”
Mikito’s tone turned reverent. “Black Tortoise. They’re the best warriors we have. And there’s only six of them.”
