Those words seared him.
His father intended to kill Koichi.
No! He had to do something.
Ryuichi glanced to Masaru, who was out cold on the ground... or maybe dead. That last thought terrified him. Had his father already killed his guardian?
He looked at the others. Everything was still out of hand.
Then he heard a sweet voice... “Light is light. Dark is dark. If you wish to kill the beast, strike his heart.”
At first it sounded like Haruki.
But this voice didn’t laugh or mock. It was as gentle as a breeze and kissed over his body like a gentle caress.
“Mom?”
She didn’t respond, but he knew it was her way of trying to help him. And he understood what she was saying.
Like it or not, he had to kill his father.
And there was only one way to do it.
One stab through his back. It was the only way to reach his callous heart.
Only a dishonorable coward would strike from behind.
He felt his Ryuichi-kage shifting inside him.That’s why you have me.
“I won’t do it,” Ryuichi said between clenched teeth.
But did he have any choice?
His father headed for Takara. “I think I’ll get the girl first.”
One move. One kill.
Ryuichi might never have this chance again. His father thought him too weak and worthless to bother with.
Even with a surprise attack, his chances were nothing.
Do not falter.
His friends or his honor...
Shaking with fear and indecision, Ryuichi made the only choice he could.
He ran for his father’s back.
And just as he reached him and started to plunge his dagger through his rib cage, one of his father’s soldiers appeared out of nowhere.
Tall and dark, this one held eyes so white they were searing. Eyes like Masaru’s.
Without hesitation, the samurai struck a staggering blow that reverberated through Ryuichi. His entire being reacted to the pain of being cut across his chest.
One minute he was up... and the next he lay bleeding on the ground, a useless, broken thing.
A Kai-den.
