30 Years Ago... [Inka’s Perspective - Flashback]

  Summer grasses... All that remains Of Samurai dreams.

  Time passed with lightning speed, as if those five years were but a blink of an eye in the book of history. I don't remember much of what happened, only the taste of blood and sweat during training. My relationship with Morito was silent; the language of swords was enough for us, and we didn't exchange words except when absolutely necessary.

  Morito left the mountain often, disappearing for days and sometimes weeks, leaving me alone on Mount Ryu, struggling against the loneliness of the icy peaks to find my food and water. Finally, my journey with that old man came to an end. I was finally out of that eternal winter.

  When my feet touched the base of the mountain, the world attacked me. Endless fields of colored flowers stretched before my eyes—a scene any eye might describe as paradise, but for the eye of a Kappa accustomed to gray and white, the scene was loud, intrusive, and chaotic. For some reason... I was cold. I carried the mountain's winter in my bones, a stranger in the midst of this spring.

  Where will I go now? I don't know. I wore a loose cloak and a wide hat to hide my non-human form from curious eyes. Morito stood before me.

  He spoke in his voice that sounded like grinding rocks: You have graduated, frog... you took a lot of time. He then added, eyeing the horizon with a mysterious look: But the road is still long until you become the Guardian of Nippon. Go, get stronger, and when you pierce the Legend Realm, come find me.

  I let out a dry laugh and said: The Legend Realm? That will take a century at least.

  He laughed in turn: And so? It will pass in the blink of an eye.

  I said: As expected from the immortal Morito, the old man will stay alive until the end of time to watch our failure.

  He replied mockingly: Oh, I haven't heard your sarcastic croaking in a long time, frog. I thought a cat had swallowed your tongue. Now go.

  I looked at his sword hanging at his waist, that blade carrying the weight of history, and said: Aren't you going to give me Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi?

  He shot me a sharp look that pierced my soul: Do you think you can protect this sword from theft at your current level? If you want it, take it after you defeat me, you fool.

  I looked at him and gave a defiant smile: It was said it took you a century to reach the God Realm... I will take less time. Don't die before I defeat you, you old lecher.

  He laughed loudly, shaking the silence of the place: You really are like frogs, narrow-minded. Now get out of my sight. Isn't your look at my sword enough after I gave you two good swords as a gift? Kozekiri and Yojiri.

  I waved my hand with feigned indifference: Fine, fine, don't hold it over me because you gave me a gift. I'm leaving now, goodbye.

  I turned and mounted the horse he gave me, and began to move, leaving the master and the mountain behind. His voice came from behind me, shouting: If you find good sake, come visit me! You'll find me at a tavern in Edo!

  I extended my hand in farewell without turning, and took off.

  The world below was boiling. Everywhere I entered, I was chased away like a mangy dog. Curse you all... you call yourselves Samurai? When I become the Guardian of Nippon, I won't protect your kind! I muttered with spite as I left a tavern I had just been kicked out of. I only wanted to drink a few cups of sake to forget the mountain's chill.

  While I was outside, my ears caught a familiar conversation. A name etched in my memory. Oi, did you hear? It's said that one of Matsudaira Hirotada's followers killed one of the Kina foxes!

  I froze in my tracks. What?! That madman... I heard he was reckless, but not to this extent! How dare he kill the messengers of the gods?

  A second man added in a trembling voice: We really live in a difficult time... if the Tokugawa family still existed, no one would dare touch the divine messengers.

  A third man listening cut in: It doesn't matter now, the messengers will be furious. Give them one night and Matsudaira Hirotada will be boiled in oil alive.

  I rushed toward the man, grabbed him by his collar, and screamed in his face: Where is Matsudaira's village? Tell me quickly!

  The man stuttered in terror: W-what? A Kappa?!

  I tightened my grip: I’m telling you, where is Matsudaira's village?!

  He pointed with a trembling hand: South... it's only two days from here by horse.

  I let him fall and jumped on my horse. I began moving immediately, not for his rescue, but for the truth. I will go and ask him... yes, I will look into his eyes and ask him... He sold me for a bottle of sake, and now he decides to die? He has no right to die before he answers me! Why? And why, Sensei, did you decide to graduate me at the same time this disaster occurred? Did you plan this too?

  Thanks to the horse and that strange energy it possessed, I folded the earth and reached the village at the dawn of the next night.

  The scene was an earthly hell. The village was burning, flames embracing the dark sky. All my memories of this place were bad, but seeing it burn awakened something vague in my chest. I ran toward the palace, driven by a single desire.

  In the courtyard, I saw the Samurai... those who had kicked me out before and called me a monster. I saw them fighting desperately. Their corpses were scattered, but none of them were fleeing. Their dead faces carried expressions of ferocity and loyalty. They were putting their lives on the line for Matsudaira Hirotada despite their hatred for him. I even saw the people I had fought with.

  While I... who claimed dignity, was far away.

  At the heart of that hell, I saw him. Matsudaira Hirotada was fighting a man vastly stronger than him—Kenjin, the Sword of the Kina Goddess. His blade, Senju Muramasa, was white... a stark, holy white, shimmering with pure light amidst the smoke and blood.

  I saw the white blade sink into my lord's body. Stab after stab, with merciless, savage speed, red blood staining the holy whiteness. And finally, with a lightning-fast motion, Matsudaira Hirotada’s head flew into the air.

  Time stopped. Silence blanketed the courtyard. The orphans Matsudaira Hirotada was gathering and the remaining Samurai looked at the ground, their souls broken. And I... stood frozen. He died. He died without answering me.

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  Then Ieyasu appeared. He wasn't the child I saw last time; he was a young man. He threw himself onto his father's corpse and let out a scream that rent the silence. Then, in the madness of despair, he grabbed his father's sword and charged recklessly at Kenjin.

  Kenjin was ready, his white blade raised, clean of blood as if he had killed no one, ready to cut the boy.

  I didn't think. I didn't decide. My body moved on its own. Not this time!

  With lightning speed, my cloak fell from me, and I stood as a barrier before the holy white blade. The strike landed on me. Kenjin was shocked by the presence of a Kappa. The pain... I felt as if a mountain had fallen on my shoulder. Was he enduring this weight and fighting?

  I carried Ieyasu by force. He was kicking and hitting, wanting to return to death, but I kept carrying him, fleeing the courtyard. The loyal youths jumped before the monster with the white sword and shouted: We will protect your back! Now go!

  I ran... and ran. Bleeding covered my body, and Ieyasu didn't stop screaming in my face: Let me go, frog! I’ll kill him! let me go back!

  I finally stopped at the horse, threw him harshly to the ground, and screamed in his face while panting, blood covering my eyes: You want to kill him?! How? Tell me now and I'll do it! Look at yourself, you're just a child! Do you want to die for nothing? I continued my shouting: Take revenge when you are certain, you bastard, that you can kill him, and not today when you are a burden to me!

  I thrust the horse's reins into his hand violently and threw a bag of coins at his feet: This horse is yours, and this money. Go. I can't be with you, I'm a Kappa and I'll bring you trouble. I have saved you; my debt is finished.

  Ieyasu stood up. He wasn't crying. His eyes were dry, burning with a black fire of hatred. He kicked the money with his foot and stared directly into my eyes. He spat blood from his mouth and said in a calm voice: Your debt is finished? You call me weak? And you call me a burden? He laughed with contempt, a short, cracked laugh: You are the weak one here, Kappa. You are the real burden.

  I knitted my brows in anger, but he gave me no chance to respond, screaming with a voice that shook my being: My father, the lord of the Matsudaira clan, went down on his knees for a frog like you who has no loyalty. He went down on his knees and placed his forehead in the dirt before Morito!

  I froze in my place. The words struck me like stones. Ieyasu continued as he approached me a step, uncaring that I was a monster: He begged him! He begged him to accept you as his disciple! He told him: This Kappa has a heart, train him to become strong, train him to protect my son and my clan after me... He paid with all the dignity he possessed so that you would become strong!

  He pulled the horse sharply and mounted it, eyeing me with a look of disgust. His voice disappeared, and his specter vanished. I remained alone in the still darkness. His words were blades that tore what remained of my ego.

  He went down on his knees...? For me? The sake... the bottle of sake was a lie? And my lord... my lord died believing that I would be his son's sword... I looked at my trembling hand, the hand that trained for five years, and which could do nothing but flee.

  I fell to my knees, not out of sadness, but under the weight of a truth heavy as mountains. No one betrayed me. The world did not wrong me. I just... was weaker than their trust in me. I am a foolish Kappa... a bastard... and weak.

  [Kage’s Perspective]

  Since that day... the day of fruit and rain, something in the air changed. Little Yuta became intensely attached to me, as if he were my second shadow, but a heavy and annoying shadow. He began jumping lightly onto my shoulder and sitting there, dangling his small legs on my chest, clinging to my clothes with his small claws. Does he think I'm a horse? Or a climbing tree?

  I used to shrug my shoulder at first, but he would return with childish stubbornness. In the end, I stopped resisting. Perhaps... he is a little cute. Or perhaps his light weight reminds me of the equipment bag I used to carry. And not just him. My relationship with the rest of the foxes changed radically.

  They began talking to me a lot. For some reason, even though they know I don't understand a single word of their barks and whispers, they don't stop chattering around me. They smile, point with their hands, and tell long stories. I used to look at them coldly, nodding my head occasionally just to make them shut up. What are they talking about? I bet it’s trivial things. The weather, food, or perhaps they’re mocking my appearance.

  The one who spoke with me most was Fox Number One. One day, while I was cleaning my daggers (which he returned to me as a gesture of trust), he approached me. He grabbed my hand suddenly. I flinched and pulled my hand back, but he looked at me with serious eyes, struck his chest with his hand, and said slowly: Maru.

  I looked at him with surprise. He repeated the action, striking his chest harder: Maru. Then he pointed to me with a questioning look. I understood. He was telling me his name. The time of Fox Number One was gone, and the time of Maru had arrived.

  Since that day, Maru began talking to me more than ever. He became somewhat annoying, especially since he talks very fast as if I understand him perfectly. One morning, a fox servant came and gestured for me to follow her. She took me to the big hut... the leader's hut. I didn't know why. Had I made a mistake? Had I eaten too much fruit?

  I entered. The smell inside was fragrant with herbs and ancient incense. Maru was standing there too, looking excited. The leader, Kinami, was sitting on silk cushions. In the leader's hand was something. A strange necklace, made of braided red threads, and in its center a glowing blue stone pulsing with a faint light.

  She approached me. She didn't speak. She took my hand, placed the necklace around my wrist, and tied it firmly. I felt a slight sting, like a static electricity sting, moving from my wrist to the back of my head. Is this a shackle? Do they want to bind me now?

  Well, not that it bothers me. I don't want to escape currently. The mission dictates that I stay here and explore Morito's relationship with this place, and how I can stop him from threatening my master Ling Gu's plan if he enters the island.

  Suddenly... the sounds in my head began to take shape. The hums turned into syllables. And the syllables turned into words. I heard the leader's voice—it was no longer a soft bark, but a dignified and clear female voice in my mind: ...The frequency is correct. It should work now. She looked at me and smiled: Welcome, Clara... do you understand me now?

  I froze. I opened my mouth to respond, and I felt my voice coming out, not in my language, but in theirs, as if the necklace were translating my thoughts instantly: Hello...

  Maru gasped and said in a stunned voice: I don't believe this! It really worked! How wonderful! He turned to the leader: It’s been a long time since we used the Tongue Stone for this purpose. I thought its energy had run out.

  Leader Kinami said calmly: Well, Clara... finally we can understand each other. As you know, or as you guessed, this is Maru, and I am Leader Kinami.

  The words stopped in my throat. One thing was ringing in my ears like an annoying bell. Clara. I muttered in a faint voice, my eyes looking at the ground: I am not Clara.

  Kinami said: What did you say, dear?

  I raised my head. I felt anger, jealousy, and insult. I screamed in their faces: I am not Clara!! I am Kage!

  Silence filled the room. Maru looked tensely toward Kinami, who seemed slightly surprised but maintained her calm. Kinami said in a soft, apologetic tone: Ah... yes. Forgive us, Kage. In fact... Morito told us when he brought you that your name was Clara. We thought he knew you well.

  Morito... that drunkard. Even he sees Clara when he looks at me? I said coldly, trying to regain my icy mask: Fine. It doesn't matter what he said. Do you need anything else? I'm going now.

  Kinami nodded her head: You may go, Kage. Rest.

  I turned and opened the wooden door with force. Boom! Someone who was leaning against the door from the outside, eavesdropping, fell in. It was Yuta. He fell on his face, then stood up quickly and brushed the dust off himself as if nothing had happened. Yuta looked at me with his wide, cunning eyes and said with a broad smile: Oi... you hungry old woman. He pointed to the necklace: Do you understand our talk now? Or are you still stupid?

  Hungry old woman? Before I could respond, Maru shouted from inside the hut: Yuta! You little rasal! how many times have I told you to speak politely with guests?!

  Yuta jumped lightly, bypassed me, then jumped... and settled on my shoulder. He sat there as if it were his throne, looked insolently at Maru, and said: What's it to you, ugly? She doesn't mind, right old woman?

  I thought of dropping him. I thought of hitting him. But he was... light. And warm. I sighed in surrender. Yes... he really thinks I'm a horse. I thought: I take back what I said... he isn't cute. He is a little demon.

  Then I looked at him on my shoulder and said: Fine...

  I walked out of the hut, with Yuta laughing triumphantly on my shoulder. Inside, Maru looked at Kinami in bewilderment: Did... did she just agree to let him stay on her shoulder after he called her a hungry old woman?!

  Kinami gave a mysterious smile and said: I think she is more interesting than I expected. This Kage... perhaps she possesses a heart somewhere.