That was terrifying.
Not wanting to think about it, Ryuichi looked over his shoulder, and he saw the shadows following after them. They seemed to be leaning toward him, as if reaching.
Hefeltthem now.
It was really beginning to mess with his head.
“You spoke of Shadowlings earlier. What exactly do they do?”
“They can talk to the shadows and learn their secrets. Find out what others keep hidden. Learn the darkest shames and sins of a human heart.” Koichi paused to give him a piercing stare. “However, you, my young Ryuichi, are something far more powerful than that.”
His heart began to pound. “What could be more powerful?”
“The Kage-Mori.”
Shadow Guardian?“I don’t understand.”
“Everything in life is balance, yes?”
Ryuichi nodded. Everyone knew that. Amaterasu was the goddess of the sun, forever pursued by her husband Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. They split the day in half, a perfect balance that was eternally maintained.
“Your mother was a goddess of light who protected the worlds with her gates, and your father was the right hand of Tsukuyomi, until he fell to the darkness that corrupted him. You, my little friend, are born of your father’s total darkness and your mother’s light and supreme need to protect this world. Do you understand?”
Not really.
Koichi smiled at him. “You walk in both worlds, Ryuichi. You are tied to both. While all of us feel the call of darkness, you were born to it. And you have the bitterest choice of all to make.”
“Which is?”
“To be the Kage-Mori or the Kage-Taru. You can’t be both. Either you serve the darkness, or it serves you.”
The power of life and death was in his hands.
“But I’m just a kid.”
“And Jounetsu Jigoku is just a hot spring. Kid or not, you have to be ready. The shadows are coming for you, Ryuichi. Either you stand and fight, or they’ll disembowel you.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
Koichi breathed a sigh of relief as they finally made it to the camp in the mountains where the monks lay hidden. He wasn’t exactly sure why they preferred living this way, but who was he to question anyone’s life choices, given the mistakes he’d made?
As they neared the camp, Keiko took the form of a young monk. Something that was a bit unnerving. It’d been a long time since Koichi was around benevolent shape-shifters. He’d grown too used to things that tried to eat or kill him over the years.
Ryuichi had remained uncharacteristically silent for the last few hours. He wasn’t sure if the boy was trying to come to terms with everything or if he was simply tired.
Either way, Ryuichi hung back and watched quietly.
“What do you think, young master?” Keiko was surprisingly chipper, given the amount of time it’d taken them to get here.
“They don’t appear to be very productive, do they?” Ryuichi finally said.
Koichi arched a brow at the strange comment. “Neither are you.”
“Because we’re riding.”
The boy completely missed the point. But he wasn’t in the mood to argue. Reining his horse to a stop, Koichi dismounted and waited for Keiko and Ryuichi to join him. They surrendered their horses to the monks at the well-kept stable before Koichi went searching for Master Yamato.
Which was good, as it gave him time to see many of the faces of the students he’d managed to save. Honestly, he’d forgotten how many he’d helped.
