Ten Shadows

Izumo's nights were nothing like Kyoto's.

There were no vendors drawing out their cries, none of the smoky bustle of a night market. The shops lining the streets had long since closed, leaving only the lanterns beneath their eaves alight, swaying gently in the night breeze and casting flickering light over the flagstone road.

The place might not have been much of a commercial hub.

But Kashimo liked it.

Quiet and peaceful. Just right.

Fenghua, on the other hand, seemed a little out of her element. Walking beside Kashimo, she kept glancing around, as though searching for something that ought to have been there but wasn't. Of everyone Kashimo had met, she was the most like a modern person, with a sleep schedule as backward as a nocturnal raccoon dog's. By day, she could barely keep her eyes open; come nightfall, she had enough energy to spend the whole night stargazing.

If Kashimo hadn't forced her to sleep, she could have lain on the roof watching the moon until dawn.

Still, Kashimo understood.

She was an eighteen-year-old girl. Having a few things on her mind and not wanting to sleep was normal.

The two walked down the empty street, their footsteps unusually clear in the stillness of the night. When they reached the middle of the road, they stopped at the same time.

At the far end of the street, someone was slowly approaching.

He wore dark blue robes that took on a deep hue beneath the moonlight. His frame was a little larger than before, his steps much steadier. As he drew closer, moonlight fell across his face.

A line of stitches snaked across his forehead.

"Sorry for the wait, you two."

Even his voice had changed, carrying an unfamiliar rasp, though that same hint of amusement remained.

Kashimo stared at him for two seconds, then raised an eyebrow.

"I was wondering how you could afford to send someone with a message."

He paused, his gaze settling on the stitches.

"So you've switched bodies, Kenjaku."

Fenghua stiffened.

What do you mean, switched bodies!?

She stared wide-eyed at the stitches on Kenjaku's forehead, some rather unpleasant images rising unbidden in her mind.

Switched bodies? How? By cutting his head open?

Could he please not be so creepy!

She instinctively edged behind Kashimo.

Kenjaku remained unperturbed. He stood there with exactly the same smile on his new face as before, as though he hadn't noticed Fenghua's reaction-or had noticed and simply didn't care.

"Judging by the information the Ten Shadows user previously released-"

He spoke with an unhurried air.

"He intends to subjugate Mahoraga in Izumo."

He paused.

"That is why I asked you to come."

"Hold on!"

Kashimo raised a hand to cut him off.

"What about the local culture?"

He stared at Kenjaku, eyebrows raised high.

"What about martial arts?"

He took another step forward.

"What about all those things you said would interest me?"

Another step brought him right up to Kenjaku, looking down at that new face.

"Weren't you just stringing me along?"

Kenjaku sighed.

The sigh rang particularly clearly through the quiet street, tinged with helplessness. He looked up at the blue-haired man before him, around whom arcs of electricity had already begun to dance.

"I don't believe he can actually tame Mahoraga."

He sounded so sincere that he might have been baring his soul.

"So I asked you here in the hope that you would intercept him beforehand-"

Kenjaku paused.

"And ambush him."

"No need."

Kashimo stared at him, his eyes with their purple markings looking ready to spit fire. Electricity crackled around him, brightening the night.

"There's no need for an ambush."

He pressed another step closer.

"You think I can't beat him?"

Kenjaku looked at the face mere inches from his own, then at the increasingly volatile arcs of electricity, and gave a helpless twitch of his lips.

"That's not what I meant."

His voice dropped a little.

"I'm afraid he'll drag you into the taming ritual."

Kashimo went still for a moment.

Watching him, Kenjaku suddenly found himself rather strange, too. When all was said and done, Kashimo counted as his friend. Even if that friend was constantly wringing money, techniques, and lessons out of him, he was still a friend.

Even if they weren't particularly close.

But in these hundred years of tedium, having a friend like Kashimo-

That, too, was something he had hoped for.

The electricity around Kashimo slowly faded.

He stared at Kenjaku for two seconds, then gave a derisive laugh.

"Then I'll just kill Mahoraga."

He said it casually, as though discussing what to have for dinner.

"All you need to tell me is when and where. That's enough."

Kenjaku watched that face settle back into calm and suppressed the complicated feelings stirring within him. He nodded.

"December 22."

He paused.

"Twenty days from now."

Kashimo nodded without another word.

He turned and walked away.

His footsteps rang against the flagstones, each one crisp and decisive. The tiger pelt draped over his shoulders swayed gently with his stride, its brown fur faintly illuminated by the moonlight.

Fenghua hesitated.

She glanced at Kenjaku, whose stitched face still wore a faint smile. After a moment's thought, she gave him a slight bow and a grateful look.

It was simply a matter of courtesy.

As far as she could tell, he had to be fairly old. After all, he knew her master and spoke with such a seasoned air. She ought to show her elders some respect.

Then she turned and jogged after Kashimo.

Kenjaku remained where he was, watching the two figures disappear into the depths of the night.

Moonlight fell across his face, illuminating his thoughtful smile.

Kashimo walked ahead at an even pace.

Fighting Mahoraga.

He wasn't actually confident.

Activating Mythical Beast Amber would certainly let him kill it. The power of that form was enough to tear any opponent apart. But the price was his own death.

He didn't want to die yet.

He hadn't spent these seventeen years desperately growing stronger just to leave Kashimo Number Two to clean up the mess.

I need to find a way.

More ways.

Stronger ways.

He stared down the moonlit street ahead, his brows drawing together slightly.

No other choice.

He silently murmured those words to himself.

Outside Kyoto.

The Zenin Clan's convoy had only recently set out. Hoofbeats sounded at a leisurely pace along the main road, while the wheels rumbled softly over its surface. Morning light slipped through gaps in the carriage curtains, casting strips of light and shadow across the interior.

Zenin Sawa sat inside the carriage, propping his chin on one hand as he watched the scenery pass outside the window.

It'll take at least a dozen days or so to reach Izumo, won't it?

He silently calculated the journey. For this attempt to tame Mahoraga, he had deliberately spread the news far and wide, letting everyone know that the wielder of the Ten Shadows of the Zenin Clan was about to subjugate the legendary strongest shikigami.

Few jujutsu sorcerers from those schools would dare come and interfere. He was confident of that much.

The one he worried about was someone else.

The man hailed as the Strongest of the Modern Era.

Gojo Arashi was dead. Of the Shogunate's two princesses, one was dead and the other missing. Even Kujū Jūrō, the master of Kyoto's foremost martial arts dojo, was dead. Although his daughter had reportedly returned to inherit the dojo, anyone could see that the girl was merely a front.

There was no need to guess who was behind it all.

Zenin Sawa's brows furrowed slightly.

Still, now that he thought about it, the new master of the Kujū Dojo was rather interesting. Apparently, she had not a trace of cursed energy, yet her hand-to-hand combat skills were absurdly good.

He suddenly realized his thoughts had wandered again.

He shook his head, clearing away those distractions.

Better prepare myself for anything.

He turned his gaze back to the window, toward the wooded hills steadily receding outside.