Keiko scoffed. “You thought your shadow was harmless, too, didn’t you?”
She had a point. And it was one he really didn’t want to cede at the moment.
“The Kage-Onna,” she continued, “come from women who were so upset, abused, or angry that they banished their pain and anguish to their shadows. Pain that grew until it left them behind to dwell in the places that had made them so miserable. A permanent stain on the world that had done them wrong. Anguish and turmoil they could never escape.”
Her words haunted him, and as he watched, she took on the form of the old woman he’d known for all those years. “Remember, Ryuichi-chan, the most harmless things are often the most lethal. Never underestimate anyone or anything. For it’s in those times when you’re not looking that treachery makes itself known.”
“Are you telling me not to trust you?”
“I’m telling you to be careful where you lay that trust. For the deepest cut always comes from the sword of a friend.”
Those words stung all the more as he remembered Kato. What he’d dragged his friend into.
“Then perhaps I don’t deserve any friends.”
She tsked at him. “I’m your friend, Ryuichi. More than that, I’m your protector, and I’ll always be here to help you.”
Grateful for her loyalty, he drew a ragged breath. “May I ask another question?”
“Anything.”
“What are my powers?”
Keiko took his hand into hers and opened it so that his palm faced the ceiling. She traced his lifeline with her long, well-manicured fingernail. “You will have many. The ability to command shadows and the gates to all worlds... and in particular, the Kimon.”
The demon gate that kept the evil at bay.
“I thought that was the job of inari.”
She laughed. “My sister and brother foxes do well, but they are only servants to your mother—and now, to you. As such, you can summon them.”
He was amazed. “Really?”
“Yes. And the nio and koma-inu too.”
His jaw dropped. The nio were temple guardians, and the koma-inu were lion-dogs who, like the inari, kept watch over the gates at shrines to ward off evil. He couldn’t imagine having the ability to summon such things. “What else will I be able to do?”
She closed her hand over his. “More than worrying about what you can do, Ryuichi-chan, you need to be concerned with what you shouldn’t do.”
“Avenge my mother?”
“For starters.”
Those words hurt. “It’s what an honorable son would do.” To make sure those who harmed his noble mother paid for their actions.
Keiko’s grip tightened. “And sometimes the greatest victory comes from not fighting.”
How could that be? It didn’t make any sense to him. “Meaning?”
Keiko released his hand and met his gaze. “Meaning that wisdom must prevail in war. A sword is nothing but a frail instrument that can easily shatter and break. It’s the mind that will always be a warrior’s greatest weapon. It must be kept sharper and clearer than anything else you wield. If you let your emotions override your sense, you’ve already lost. What good will your honor be then?”
He wanted to argue that, too, but she was right. And a part of him hated her for it.
Ryuichi glanced around the small, windowless room as her words and warnings echoed in his mind. So much to think about. To remember.
To forget.
He’d never felt so lost before, which, given his background, said a lot.
