“Of course.” Ryuichi reached for his sword, which was next to his bed.
Koichi stopped him. “Are you sure you’re ready? We don’t know how much of a hold your father could have on you.”
“Not me I’m worried about.” He glanced at his shadow, which he knew was watching him with interest. It was attuned to everything they said—and everything he felt.
How very disconcerting. He could almost feel it plotting against him.
Especially whenever it wanted to speak to him. He didn’t like that at all.
Koichi let go and stepped back to hone his attention on his shadow, Ryuichi-kage. “You’re not going to give us any trouble, are you?”
His shadow cocked its head and appeared to mock them.
Koichi tsked, then his shadow turned into a tiger that headed toward Ryuichi’s, low and crouching.
Ryuichi gasped as the two shadows circled each other as if looking for a weakness. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“There are a lot of things about me that you have yet to learn.” Koichi winked at him.
Apparently. Every time they were together, he learned something new about his sensei.
With a whistle, Koichi called his shadow back.
“Can you teach me how to do that?”
Koichi inclined his head to him. “I’d be honored.”
Ryuichi glanced to his shadow, which was now in a peeved stance. “Don’t get mad. Remember, you need me.”
He could swear his shadow rolled its eyes, even though shadows had no eyes.
Trying not to think about that, Ryuichi grabbed his helmet and headed outside, where the others were gathering.
A light mist had rolled through. In a way, it made their horses and soldiers appear as shadows too.
Everything was creepy.
Surreal.
He felt detached from himself. Not quite the same as when he’d lost his shadow. This was a different sensation. As if he was above himself, looking down. Like he was watching a puppet show. All that was missing were the strings.
Unsure of what to expect, given everything that had happened, Ryuichi made his way toward his horse.
Pim was there, along with Kato and Takara. For the first time, he realized just how young they all were. How much smaller they were than the other soldiers. They were kids, even though they didn’t feel like it most of the time.
How could they even hope to survive?
“You can do this,” Keiko said as she came up behind him. “Never doubt yourself.”
“Or me.” Masaru appeared at his side with an unconscious Haruki slung over his back. Was she ever going to wake up? At this point, he was pretty sure Masaru was doing something to keep her in that state. “I have no intention of allowing you to be harmed.” He smirked. “Or eaten.”
“You sure?” Ryuichi arched a brow. “Seems like every time I’m in a fight, you have something better to do.”
“Just me seasoning you up.”
Ryuichi snorted. “I don’t need any more seasoning. Call me mochi and be done with it.”
Masaru laughed before he headed to Koichi’s horse, where he draped Haruki over the saddle. Then he turned into a fox and went to join the others.
