Queenfisher

Nyaa, it has come to my attention that the names of some characters are a bit confusing? The surnames, most of all. So far, it's simple here: only two surnames are used in the story atm. Nagare (all the flying, lightning people), and Hisome (all the misty, "glamor"ous people ^^). I know the words Hisome and Nagare are a bit similar-sounding, sorry, but they have their own meaning, too. Nagare means "flux/change" while Hisome means "concealed". Which does represent their natures very obviously ^^.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Victim

Part 2 of 3

"Abihiko, Nekohiko! Don't!"

The layout of the guest houses wasn't much different from the disciple dorms. Usually, only the renowned guests and pilgrims stayed here, but since the Wayfaring disciples had abandoned their dorms to travel through the Empire for years, there was no other place to accommodate them other than in the guesthouses. And with all the temporary lodgings, these had tags with names on the gates and posts in front of each house.

Tonight, there were Hira, Towa, Nagare, even Utsuro Wayfarers staying, but finding the most prominent group of Hisomes wasn't a big challenge. Izumo Shrine stood on Hisome land, after all. So they had certain privileges, even if nobody wanted to say this outloud.

The lodging house where Morakata stayed was solitary, in a garden of its own, and was usually given to the honored Great Lords and Ladies when they came. However, it was small, wooden, simple, and unadorned. Precisely like the Shrine itself. A few courtyards ago, Nekohiko had noticed many people ambling in and out of the houses, sharing drinks and stories and playing matches with each other. Yet here, it was quiet. Not even a single sour-faced Hisome girl standing guard in front of Morokata's doors.

Good.

Abihiko stormed up the small porch and stilled before the door, listening in to what was going on inside the house. A feeble glow came from beyond the paper window screens, so obviously someone was there. And obviously not alone.

A peal of girly laughter came from beyond the doors and after it, a soft chuckle of a young man. His voice was slightly husky as though thirsty -- a very recognizable trait.

How... dare he. After what he'd done to Kotone!

Bitterness swelled and Nekohiko rushed forward, but Abihiko was faster. Instead of opening, he kicked the door in. The flimsy wood and paper screens smashed in and dashed against the floor.

Morokata was sitting by the small round table with served tea. On his lap, a girl from the sixth year sat, leaning playfully to his ear as though whispering. A smile was curving up Morokata's lips as he sipped from his cup. Both he and his girl turned, surprised, to the broken door and the two disciples above it.

The girl had a distinct face -- Nekohiko had seen her many times in the Shrine School. She wasn't very talented in Binding, wasn't very smart or efficient with her studies either. But worse of all -- she wasn't very lucky. She'd been born with bright red marks all across her face as though burned or flayed which made everyone who saw her remember who she was however much she tried to hide and dissolve into the background. For a moment, Nekohiko was simply too stunned to see someone like her sitting so close and intimately to someone like Morokata...

But then he remembered Kotone and all his confusion was gone in a flash.

"What did you do to Kotone! She's crying because of you!" he yelled, his eyes starting to sting.

Morokata's eyes slowly trailed from the door to Nekohiko's face. Not a hint of interest marred them.

"What did I do to whom?" he asked.

"You bastard," Abihiko said calmly as though only now realizing.

The girl on his lap hid her face from the intruders behind Morokata's shoulder. Long eyelashes down, Morokata thought for a bit, then swilled the tea in his cup before raising it to his lips. "I take it you want something from me?"

Oddly, that made Nekohiko pause. What did he want from him? Justice or retribution was easy to want but much harder to get. More so because he didn't know how to demand it. To go and tell the Head Priest? To shame Morokata into apologizing?  To trash Morokata's house which wasn't even his?

To beat Morokata?

Yes. To beat Morokata seemed what he craved to do most. But at the same time... he wasn't sure it was the right choice either. How would it prove to anybody that Morokata had done something bad? If anything, it would put Nekohiko on the same level as him -- people who didn't respect the Shrine and its rules.

Fortunately, Abihiko's thought process was much simpler.

"Go out and duel me or I'll set this whole house on fire with you inside," Abihiko threw to him and walked out.

Morokata swallowed his tea, eyes set on Nekohiko who didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was seething, he was livid, yet he didn't know any good ways to vent his frustration. The moment Morokata raised an eyebrow at him, he lost it.

"Duel me too if you dare," he spat, then followed Abihiko out.

He meant every word.

However more adept at Binding than him Morokata could be and however naturally gifted all Lords and their children were -- no one could rival the Emperor's power. Even the fifth of it that he had access to.

Outside, he stopped side by side with Abihiko, waiting for Morokata to come out. That the other boy had never doubted his or Kotone's words and had taken their side in this so quickly filled him with a feeling of tranquility he had never known before. What Abihiko had said earlier as only a throwaway statement came back to him now.

...when you know each other's thoughts, when you are so attuned to each other, when you trust one another completely...

He wondered if Abihiko had truly meant it or was just blabbering, but then realized: it didn't matter. If Abihiko trusted him and his judgment to such a degree he would accept everything Nekohiko said as the ultimate truth, couldn't Nekohiko do the same for him? Why would he ever doubt whatever Abihiko told him?

"Thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have had the courage," Nekohiko slipped to him.

Abihiko winced, frustrated.

Waiting patiently wasn't in his habit, though, so Abihiko assembled a complex formation of a Hira technique to summon a personal object to him. Nekohiko had seen him do this quite a few times already, and every single time he was impressed.

The wooden sword called Maple Apple whistled through the air honing into Abihiko's hand. Since the first time he'd crafted this ridiculous little sword for himself, he was slowly improving it. Plating it with metals at the edge, working on its balance, making the handle smoother and a better fit for his hands.

A good, sturdy sword. Matter-of-fact, Abihiko clasped its scabbard to his belt, then crossed his arms on his chest to wait for Morokata to crawl out.

"What are you two doing?! Come back here now!" Kotone's cry tried to keep its volume down, but the people from the nearby houses heard anyway. Some had been drawn here simply from the noise of the broken-down door, others had become curious about a small pack of little girls helping an adept run through the gardens as though something important or at least entertaining was happening.

"What is this all about?" a rude voice of one of the bitter-faced Hisome girls blared from the side. Nekohiko turned to see several more senior Hisomes marching here, faces distorted with shock and indignation at such a distasteful commotion in front of their young Master's lodge.

Kotone broke away from the little girls and rushed to Abihiko and Nekohiko. She grabbed them by the shoulders and tried to push out of the garden. "Please don't cause trouble! Please don't say anything!"

She was so worried, her tears now seemed dry yet Nekohiko still saw the red trails they left on her dear face. He set his jaws hard and refused to budge. So did Abihiko.

"How dare you bother Young Lord Hisome!" the angry adept girl demanded.

"We will be going soon! Please don't pay us heed!" Kotone said, bowing and apologizing shakenly.

"Kaguya, let them be." Morokata's quiet voice reached from the porch. "These people have a grievance with me. I would feel responsible if they can't resolve it in a satisfying manner tonight."

Kotone went rigid. A palpable tremor passed through her as she dropped her gaze to the grass. She failed to steady her voice as she spoke out, "There is no need, Lord Hisome. It's only a misunderstanding..."

"What misunderstandings can there be between you and me after what we did tonight, my dear?" Morokata smiled innocently.

If Kotone could shudder more, she would surely faint. Nekohiko held her, afraid for her wellbeing and speechless at Morokata's obvious stab through to her heart.

Why?

Why would anyone be so cruel after hurting someone so much already? Then it hit him. The stab was not directed at Kotone, but at himself. And at Abihiko. To hurt them along with her.

Abihiko's voice rang. "Kotone, please move away. I can't aim at this scum when you're so close to him."

"Please be quiet," Kotone pled. "This has nothing to do with--"

"Kaguya. Help this girl find her way to the side," Morokata told his aide, nodding at Kotone without even looking at her. "We wouldn't want this child's tantrum to harm her by accident."

Kotone must have resisted, but Kaguya was too forceful to argue with, especially with Kotone's haphazardly-tied robes that threatened to slip off her frail shoulders. More Hisome girls came to Kaguya's side to tackle Kotone away. But Nekohiko didn't see most of it. Anger made him focus solely on Morokata's abhorrent smiles.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Nekohiko threw to the girls who pushed Kotone aside. Then turned to Morokata. "Apologize to her. Now!"

On his side, Abihiko echoed him. "Beg her forgiveness or we will not spare you."

It might have sounded funny with two twelve-year-olds wanting to intimidate a sixteen-year-old, but nobody laughed. By the end of their second year in school, with Imperial, Nagare, and Hisome techniques under their belt, a child Binder could pose a threat to an unsuspecting adult. Two children, one of which was the most prodigious pupil far ahead of his years and the other -- a growing star in his class, would naturally have an advantage dueling against someone weaker in their Binding studies. And since Morokata had never been known for excellence in Binding, the odds weren't as obvious as it would seem at first glance.

Of course, everyone gathered here was below sixteen, so no magical harm could come to them even if they didn't mind it. The Spirits of the land would protect them regardless of what happened. Because of this, most duels of this sort used the combination of Binding to distract, deflect, or confuse the opponent while the actual fighting was strictly physical -- in case people wanted to throw a punch or two and actually hurt one another.

Which, in the case of tonight -- was exactly what Nekohiko wanted to do.

So the people on the side didn't laugh or hoot or mock the budding fight. Scuffles and duels between Binders were a common occurrence in School, albeit absolutely illegal outside of it. The School punishments for hurting each other, though, were common, and so was the people's enjoyment at seeing a drama of this sort play out.

And this one was so promising!

Yet almost nobody wanted to see Nekohiko in it. Some started shooing him already to not get in the way between the Hira Lordship's ward and Hisome future Lord and their awesome duel. Most everyone wanted to see what would happen, and Nekohiko, a small unfamiliar girl, was such an eyesore in comparison.

"It wouldn't look well on my part to either win or lose against two kids," Morokata told Abihiko. "Don't you think I am at a disadvantage whatever I do?"

"Don't worry. We won't be doing any kid stuff anyway. If you go against me or her," Abihiko nodded at Nekohiko, "expect nothing short of your nose being broken in. You'll be lucky to come out with only a broken arm or a leg if so."

Morokata squinted in a smile, putting his hands behind his back. "And if I refuse to engage with either of you at all, little ones? I can just go and tell the Head Priest Suminoe about you breaking the rules by threatening to harm another disciple."

Odd. He knew Suminoe's real name? Almost nobody did.

Nekohiko raised his voice to be heard over the petty callouts that still came from the side to make him leave. "You won't have to fight us if you apologize to Kotone and admit that you're scum for what you did to her."

For the first time in this conversation, Morokata fully fixed on him.

"How old are you, little girl? Are you sure you're competent enough to talk to me about what I supposedly 'did to your friend' over there?" He suddenly leaned in to Nekohiko's face. His smile was bewitching but his eyes were colder than ice. "Tsk-tsk, I believe it's too early for you to even know of these things. But come back to me in four years or so, and you and I can have a little lesson of our own."

Nekohiko's blood pumped in his ears. His breath caught from the sheer shock of such a vile statement.

Abihiko slid in between him and Morokata, arms spread as if to shield Nekohiko. "Don't pull her into this. You and I can deal with it by ourselves."

"Deal with what, little ones? Can either of you actually tell me what it is you want me to confess or apologize for?"

"You did something to Kotone!" Abihiko snapped. "Why is she undressed and crying unless you... hurt her?"

Why were they talking about it so loudly and in front of everyone? Nekohiko thought belatedly. This wasn't going to end well, for Kotone least of all.

Morokata appeared amused. "And were you there? Did you see what I did to her? Who are you to accuse me?" He stuck a finger at Kotone, still not glancing her way. "My dear, do you have any issues with what happened between myself and you earlier and to what this young... gentleman alludes, I assume?"

Vehemently, Kotone shook her head. In her eyes, there were tears. "No, Lord Morokata. It was all my fault," she sobbed. "You did nothing wrong."

Morokata smiled wider at Abihiko and Nekohiko. He spread his arms in a gesture of "see? solved it for you!" and turned to leave. But it only flared their tempers so much higher.

"You bastard!" Abihiko yelled. "Do you believe just because you're a Lord that everyone should be afraid to cross you or blame you for anything?"

He flung a condensed sphere of Nagare energy at Morokata, but immediately, from several sides, girls stepped in to put a deflecting shield around their Lord. Among them, was that burned-face girl from earlier even though Nekohiko could swear she wasn't of Hisome Lordship. Not all the girls who were protective of Morokata were Hisome, of course. But their fervent glares and their resentment toward Abihiko were too obvious to ignore. It was as though Abihiko had offended their god.

Morokata raised a finger.

"Do you know that a Nagare bolt can stop a person's heart if the hit lands unfortunately? And if I were sixteen at this point, no Spirit of the land would naturally protect me from such a strike? So, should I assume this was a strike that could have easily ended up lethal?" He appeared genuinely hurt. "Just asking for the future. Because now that you are flinging fatal strikes at me, I may and should defend myself accordingly. And you and that little girl beside you would be entering a duel with me with a thorough understanding of that. Yes?"

"Understanding... of huh?" Abihiko grimaced. "Fight without all your many girlfriends backing you up if you dare."

Morokata interrupted him. His voice took a sudden leaden tone.

"The understanding that not only may I kill you as an act of self-defense but that I will be in the right to do so now that you have attacked me with the intent to kill, first. And for what? For... an assumption? An allegation? A slander -- a dirty smear on my persona for something I did not commit -- according to the very young woman you claim had been harassed by me?"

Nekohiko felt less and less certain of what was going on. Did Morokata just say "I may kill you?" to then?

Huh?

But... the killing of the Binding children below sixteen was not only forbidden. It was impossible most of the time. Again, the Spirits would simply prevent it.

So what was Morokata even saying?

Oddly, the edges of the buildings in the distance seemed obscured by the oncoming nightly mists, and so even Nekohiko's vision seemed slightly wavering and confused. Then again, wasn't the Hisome House called the House of Mists, to begin with?

That he was so befuddled by Morokata's speech only made him so much more sure that something wasn't right.

Without noticing, he gripped Abihiko's wrist with his fingers and squeezed. Abihiko held him back through his sleeve. "I don't give a damn," he told Morokata. "Just apologize for making her cry and--"

"I will not!" Morokata gasped. "I did nothing wrong. That she feels regret, or that she feels hurt, or that she might even feel... raped, for the lack of a better word -- has nothing to do with me." He seemed to enjoy that he could say the name of the crime everyone suspected but was too afraid to utter. He cocked his head to the side, coquettish. "After all, I've never forced her, have I?"

Once again, he turned to Kotone for confirmation, but Abihiko's patience was long gone for that.

"Transparency Law!" Abihiko cried, and everyone in the yard held their breaths in anticipation.

Even the girls who had previously stood on Morokata's sides had to push back, which was perfect, actually. Now there really wouldn't be a matter of Morokata fighting with someone else's hands. The Law of Transparency was one of the very first things Binders were taught in the Hisome method.

Because Hisomes were known for illusions that could fool even Hisomes themselves, a Law had to be established -- a Binding principle with the truth and its reality as the only value. Under this Law, there could be no lying, no illusions cast, no treacherous spells and distractions used. It would be as though a fresh gust of wind came to a glen drowning in fog and sweeping all this fog away to see what it had been hiding. There was no way around Transparency. No way to trick it without everyone present being aware of the trickery. No way to lie one's way out of it.

Everything would become clear and clean under the effect of this technique.

Thus, however strange it was, the Hisomes were known both for conjuring the most devious lies and for discovering the best way to dispel them.

"Sure," Morokata said. "Fire away. I have nothing to hide."

"Somebody willing to participate in this mess?!" Abihiko barked at the transfixed audience that had somehow increased in size through the past few moments.

Abihiko wasn't in the mood for casting Transparency on his own. He was still young and maintaining control of such an important spell would be hard in the emotional state he was in. More than that, the Transparency Law was a spell that needed at least seven people to cast, so obviously it could only happen if many Binders agreed to participate.

On the sides of the garden, there had amassed such a huge crowd, really! People started prattling, trying to decide between all of them who wanted to be the arbiter to cast the Transparency. Obviously, the arbiter couldn't come from Hisome or Hira sides... then who?

Abihiko gave Nekohiko a dark look. "We split when we duel," he whispered. "Hisomes are tricky and always use underhanded tactics in Binding. You and I are only at an advantage if we pincer him from the sides and push on the offensive, you understand?"

Nekohiko nodded. The Hisome method was defensive and deflective, not very powerful. No doubt Morokata would try something dirty to win.

Out of the crowd, a diverse group of students from all the different Lordships stepped out. They talked to one another, defining the boundaries of the spell cast and who did what during the casting.

It took them about ten minutes to agree on every last bit, then create the area of the spell. The Law of Transparency took its effect on the small garden. All the spells in actions blew away with a lucid sweep of the Hisome dispelling energy.

Nekohiko's eyesight went dark after the glowing maple leaf pattern on his sight dissipated. For a few seconds, he had to get used to seeing without that charm. Out of the nearest people in the crowd, the spells of elation and merriness for those who were perpetually depressed, leached out. Beauty enhancers, skin-cleansers, make-up, cones of studiousness, hallucination and drunkenness charms, spells of soberness and light painkillers all snuffed out like never there, to begin with. A rush of groaning and displeasure accompanied the spell whenever it had been cast, but more so because the spell also removed politeness and faux-magnanimity out of people.

In many ways, Transparency made people into exactly who they were with nothing to hide under.

Nekohiko didn't feel any different than usual and as his grip on Abihiko's hand grew stronger, so did Abihiko's hold on his. Usually, such a small display of shared emotion would make Nekohiko smile only inwardly. But after the Transparency, he couldn't help but smile outside as well.

And Morokata...

His beauty glamor spell was off.

Yet... Nekohiko scowled, even more perplexed than usual. Morokata didn't look at all different from how he'd looked with the beauty enhancing spell over his face. If anything, he seemed somehow prettier now because his beauty must have been real all along.

But then -- why hide it? Why pretend something wasn't right with his face?

...

And why would Morokata agree to Transparency if he was in the wrong?

This is a trap, a tiny thought inside him screamed at him. But at the same time, he couldn't see how the spell that revealed the truth could be a trap. It simply wouldn't make sense!

"Your senior girl friend has indeed been harmed in my presence," Morokata said loudly and clearly. He didn't turn to Kotone this time, but probably because she wasn't here. Nekohiko couldn't find her in the garden at all. "But she did it to herself and with the full knowledge of what would happen to her. I had nothing to do with it," Morokata ended, smiling.

And the Transparency let him say it exactly as it was.

He wasn't lying.

"You aren't telling the truth either!" Abihiko yelled back. "You're twisting the truth to have the Transparency not react to your lies. Just answer 'yes' or 'no', Morokata! Did you..." Even Abihiko found it hard to voice it out. "Did you force yourself on her?"

Morokata was all charm. "No."

Abihiko faltered. "Did you trick her or manipulate her...?"

"...no."

"Did you threaten her afterward?"

"Noooo." Morokata clicked his tongue in disapproval when Abihiko wanted to ask more. "Haven't you had enough, you dirty little liars? How about I ask you to tell me the truth instead? Have you already decided to attack me regardless of whether I were guilty or innocent?"

Nekohiko preferred to keep quiet throughout this exchange, but the moment Morokata's question was uttered, an invisible force squeezed his very throat and jaws forcing the sounds out of his mouth against his will.

The sensation was horrific. Was this what Transparency felt like when used on a person?!

"Yes," Nekohiko and Abihiko answered in tune.

"Knew it," Morokata whispered with a dark smirk.

With a swift wave of his hand, the mist lifted off the ground it clung to and thickened around Morokata. The people around the clearing gasped and murmured in excitement as several figures began appearing within that mist.

"Fight! Fight! They're fighting at last!" somebody shrieked from the back, and many others caught on to the chant.

Fight? But--

Nekohiko wasn't ready to fight. He was too confused with the whole Transparency incident. Morokata hadn't been lying? But then what... and why...?

The figures in the mist became Morokata's doubles. Seven of them. It wasn't a hard spell to do -- it was clearly an illusion the likes of the one Abihiko had done on Nekohiko's eyesight this morning. More than that, the Transparency was still working, too, so all the illusions cast in the same spot were next to useless.

Among the seven illusory copies of Morokata, Nekohiko could see the real one so lucidly, he couldn't understand what the point of casting it all had been. Abihiko was also more baffled than scared of the duel. The two of them exchanged glances.

"Split like we agreed," Abihiko told him. "You can use this to fight with since you're not very strong."

He took out the Maple Apple sword and gave it to Nekohiko, then stepped to the side, keeping his eyes on the illusory Morokatas and one real one.

Nekohiko didn't even feel offended. He just took the sword, gripping the handle tight in his sweaty fingers.

Among the crowd, most people were also confused. And worst of all, those Hisome girls acted genuinely scared for Morokata's wellbeing as they covered their mouths with their hands, watching him in horror. Nekohiko studied their reaction, strangely displaced.

What was even going on? Was Morokata seriously so bad at Binding he didn't understand the basics of how two spells collided with each other and rendered his own spell useless? Were all other Hisomes of such a bad opinion in his skills that they were terrified now?

He had never felt more befuddled in his life.

But then it came to him. Everything Morokata had been doing made so little sense to him. Why was he going out with girls most considered unattractive? Why would he mistreat Kotone and then deny he did in such an obvious manner? How was he able to bypass Transparency with his answers?

Abihiko took his spot opposite Nekohiko's in the clearing and snapped his hands into the simplest yet most potent Nagare burst. All of the Morokatas rushed at him. No spells ready, no Binding gestures to deflect the strike. Just blind charge.

Nekohiko's heart grew cold. 

"Abihiko, it's a trick!" he yelled, out of his mind with fear.

This couldn't have been this easy, could it?

Abihiko swerved to direct his strike through all of Morokata's stupid copies. But then --

Morokata's heavy kick smashed into Abihiko's side on full swing. The boy jumped aside to avoid him but Morokata grabbed him by the hair. One smooth wring, and he twisted Abihiko's long ponytail around his arm like a rope and jerked him back and right into his arms.

Abihiko stumbled but still tried to slip out with some banal martial arts technique. He had abandoned all the Binding tricks, bent only on escaping Morokata's proximity.

But Morokata was too fast. He jerked Abihiko's head up with his hand and gripped Abihiko's elbow when the boy tried to strike him with it. In a single horrible wrench, that elbow cracked under force like a tree branch.

Abihiko's yelp lit Nekohiko's nerves on fire.

That bastard broke Abihiko's arm just like that...

Nekohiko hadn't expected such a foppish young man to be able to fight. And to fight so lowly and so gruesomely. Against children! He hadn't used any Binding to fight at all, but belatedly, Nekohiko realized he didn't have to. Yes, in Binding, two twelve-year-olds could be on par with an adult Binder.

But physically, Morokata was still at a clear advantage. Except that no self-respecting adult wouldn't resort to such methods in fighting with children in the first place!

Abihiko flailed, trying to reach Morokata with his other hand, biting his scream of pain in.

"Get off him!"

The rage filled Nekohiko to the brim. In a flash, he forgot about his restraints in never using his murderous powers again. His hands formed the signs on their own as he directed a Nagare impulse toward Morokata, then threw the Maple Apple sword right into the center of his spell.

The spell itself wouldn't be able to hurt Morokata, but the sword would.

As though sensing it, Morokata spun around. Abihiko, still squeezed in his arms, turned too. With the same calm, abhorrent smile, Morokata leaned lower to keep Abihiko's body in front of himself like a shield.

"No, wait!!!" Nekohiko diverted his spell only in the last moment. The beam of condensed light with Maple Apple stark in its center like a perfect Nagare lightning -- burst through the garden and into Morokata's house, blasting a giant hole through it. The sword lodged into the door frame with a harsh slam, splintering the wood from the impact.

Morokata made big eyes but didn't shift from behind Abihiko.

Shit... no...

Nekohiko's hands shook before him as he pictured in his mind that he could have actually hit Abihiko with his own sword!

Gods. Anything but that, please.

The second he glanced back at Abihiko as though begging him for the answer on what to do now, a heel of a boot flew into Nekohiko's face from the side.

What?

When?!

A cruel hand grabbed him by the hair. Through blood gushing out of his nose, Nekohiko saw Morokata's face up close. His calm, even icy stare as he studied Nekohiko's features as if wanting to remember them.

"Poor little girl, did you not know you could have killed me with that flying knife of yours just now? Because now that you attacked me personally, I may -- and even should kill you in retaliation, no? Don't you think it would be fair of me? Even educational?"

Panic spurred him to move and assemble another Binding gesture to cast but Morokata's hand was already on one of Nekohiko's wrists. Nekohiko never even noticed how it happened, so fast the motion was.

A crack thundered through his marrow all along his shoulder and into his spine. Something shattered inside him; he felt it. Pain blossomed with a delay.

But how harsh the agony was once it hit him.

"Get off her!" Abihiko's cry came from the side. "Leave her alone or--"

He was casting a spell of his own? A Hira spell to summon his weapon back to him.

The Maple Apple hummed as it sliced the air, ripping out of the door frame toward Abihiko's fingers. The next spell Abihiko assembled was an attacking one.

He wanted to do the same exact thing Nekohiko had done moments prior.

Nekohiko's vision swam in tears and sweat but he yearned to look at Abihiko back and tell him -- not to. Not to even try.

Because Morokata swiftly positioned Nekohiko as his shield against Abihiko now.

Of course he would. Throughout this evening, Nekohiko felt like he understood this person just a tiny bit better.

"Oh please, my young man," Morokata urged Abihiko. "Please do finish that spell. Your girl and I are very interested in what it would feel like when you throw it at us, yes."

Silence in the garden was that of a deep, dark well.

"Cast it. Now," Morokata repeated. One of his hands softly landed on Nekohiko's throat, finger by finger, all of them icy cold. "Cast that Nagare shit you like so much at your little friend or I'll snap her neck anyway for nearly harming me a moment ago. What are you waiting for?"

How... how was this possible? Nobody in the Empire could kill a Binding child just because they said so! It should be impossible...

Yet Nekohiko believed Morokata one hundred percent.

This person could kill him. Absolutely. And no Spirit or the law of the land would stop him.

Nekohiko trembled, swallowing blood and heaving through pain and guilt.

"Proceed," Morokata ordered. "Or I will."