But not today.
His eyes filled with tears as he placed a kiss on his son’s brow.
Life for life.
With a fierce cry, he recalled his soldiers and banished them back to the nether realm, where they could do no more harm. Then he placed his son on the ground as he found the human part of himself.
He heard his sword whispering to him, begging him to finish his child.
The one act he could never do. That was one blood bond he refused to break.
Tatsu rushed at them.
Ryukage grabbed him, and for the last time, he merged them together. He and his own shadow were one.
We are honor.
No, he was a father.
And he would give his life so that his son could live.
* * *
Transfixed, Koichi watched the most incredible sight. Ryukage became one with his lead samurai.
How was that possible?
Then it dawned on him...
Ryukage was split too.
The samurai, Tatsu, was his human half, and the Ryukage was the shadow self who he’d allowed to consume the lead role.
Like with Ryuichi.
But who had split his father?
And why?
A chill went down his spine as he realized they had a deeper threat at work here. Someone else had been in control. Someone who’d wanted Ryuichi’s mother out of the picture.
Someone who’d wanted to destroy Ryukage in the process.
In the blink of an eye, all their enemies were gone, and Ryukage was in a battle with his lead samurai, who was himself. Obviously, he was trying to merge the samurai back into his body, but the samurai was having none of it.
Hanzo let out a war cry before he started after them. He would have reached them had Keiko not tripped him. A very undignified move that infuriated the great Hanzo, but it gave the Ryukage time to wrestle his own demon down.
In one bright flash, the two of them vanished.
“Great,” Hanzo snarled at the fox. “You let them go free.”
Takara shook her head as she neared Ryuichi. “I don’t think so, Father.”
Confused, Koichi scowled until she picked up something from the ground.
With the same look of bewilderment he was sure he carried, she held it up to show them a bloodied sword. “I don’t think he’d have left his sword behind.”
Koichi’s jaw went slack as he recognized it.
