Shadows of the Reborn

Chapter Fourteen

Shadows of Divinity

Kazuki about jumped out of his skin when Hayato returned out of thin air. “Your father will arrive once it is safe for him to do so.”

Kazuki nodded and felt that sense of peace again as soon as he lifted his eyes to Hayato’s. The elder furrowed his brow and then looked away as though he felt uncomfortable. He glanced towards the back of the barracks house and then sat down on one of the beds lining the walls. It was as if he knew exactly where Shinpachi was.

“Was my father angry?”

Hayato looked at him. “No. I’d say more worried and concerned.”

Kazuki sighed and nodded his head, keeping his back to the wall. “Are they still around?”

Hayato lifted a curious brow. “If you mean the twins, yes. Whether you wish to hide or not, they seem to know exactly where one is.”

“That’s comforting.” Kazuki groaned.

“If Shinpachi is worried for your safety to risk bringing you to the shadow realm in order to hide you, then it is a concern we all should share.” Hayato glanced back at the curtained door. “Seitarou has posted a few guards to watch the barracks, so fear not son of Okimoto, you are safe here.”

“Kazuki.” He mumbled.

Hayato smirked. “Kazuki.” He inclined his head.

They waited in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before the curtain at the back opened and both Shinpachi and Seitarou walked out. Kazuki felt a chill run down his back when his eyes fell on Seitarou who was fully armed as though he was ready for battle.

“Lord Kazuki.” Seitarou inclined his head.

Kazuki rolled his eyes at the title. He had no idea why everyone treated them so differently than the rest of the common folk when they resided in the regular quarters. They had no special privileges or advantages over anyone else. Even his brother’s who worked in the main house didn’t have any special treatment. In his mind, they were the same as everyone else.

“Your father should arrive shortly. Then perhaps you can explain why my shadow guard had to rescue you from someone the royal house trusts.” Seitarou lifted a brow.

Kazuki gulped. ‘How exactly do I explain that?’

Taizo’s mouth turned downward. ‘The truth.’

‘I don’t even know the truth. You’ve given me nothing to explain why the twins are so dangerous. Yet I can feel the fear from you.’ Kazuki grumbled.

Taizo turned to his host’s tree. Oh, he remembered everything the minute his eyes fell on the twins, even to the point of knowing just how his former host had died. Luckily, Hisato had come to the pools and had pleaded with Taizo for a very long time to release him. The illness that had come over Hisato had drained him and he had spent many nights discussing what he had suspected the twins were doing. To save them both, Hisato had requested the bond severed so he could pass to the underworld to meet with the family that had passed before him.

Upon doing so, Taizo had escaped to his pools, but not before the rage had been released by the twins as he slipped out of their reach. He had been flung through the rift by a powerful blast and knocked unconscious. Thankfully, Taizo’s tree of life had sealed the rift and somehow managed to gather Taizo in a protective shield, hiding him from the twin’s sight.

Taizo now suspected that the twins had been responsible for Hisato’s death. They had fed him a bitter liquid that seemed to have weakened him. Then they had hovered close to him as the illness took hold. Their prying fingers had probed and prodded his mind and even their soft words had seemed like poison.

Now Taizo remembered who had been hunting that family for several millennium. He also knew why the family was a huge threat to anyone. Taizo shook his head as the memories of his twin resurfaced. Keizo had been a gentle soul, but fierce when angered. His heart had been so big that he had fallen in love with a mortal and had accepted his fate of living on the mortal plane.

Now Taizo remembered the hatred of his eldest brother Susanoo due to the twin’s combined power of storms. Susanoo had been successful in destroying Keizo, the God Fujin, and now he was hell-bent on destroying his heirs. Upon doing so, he would destroy Taizo, the God Raijin. Because Taizo was in his twin’s heirs, their power could combine and be an unstoppable force. But, for it to succeed, both spirit and host would have to have the utmost trust in one another.

Now it would seem that Susanoo had employed the twins to do his dirty work. If that were the case, his parents would be blinded to what was transpiring, although, Taizo highly doubted his mother would neglect seeing what was happening to her children. It was either that, or Susanoo had been sent on his own mission, which now left all the sentient beings on the mortal plane in grave danger.

Taizo was confident his mother would know what his eldest brother was up to, but could she stop him? Especially if there were many of her children conspiring to rid themselves of rivals? The connection he felt with Hayato could only amount to Taizo having a close relationship with a handful of his brothers and sisters. He fully suspected that it was who he thought it was, but for the spirit’s protection, names had been erased from their memories. But he had a pretty good idea who it was.

If his spirit was now in a host, and the abilities that Shinpachi and Hayato were able to do, then they would be as much of a threat as Taizo and his host. Taizo remembered what his brothers and sisters were capable of, but now the twins had convinced the hosts to put their spirits asleep, there was no assistance in defeating them.

The twins were strengthening themselves by siphoning the power from the sleeping spirits, leaving the youkai vulnerable and weak. Without the guidance of the spirits, the youkai had no idea what kind of defenses they had to protect the ones they loved. The youkai who did have their spirits awake would need to be extremely careful, especially around the twins.

They were powerful. Taizo remembered the fight Hisato had had, and his host was given no other choice but to retreat, leaving his family alone and captured. That had been why Hisato had gone to the mountains to strike up a deal with the God Ryujin, also another of Taizo’s brothers. But one who had been on the mortal plane for thousands of years prior to his being sent there.

Thankfully, Okimoto had a large family, but if what Taizo had been told, the twins knew who held the spirit Susanoo was searching for. Unless Okimoto had been smart and had not allowed the twins to inspect his family, then Kazuki was in great danger. Taizo fully suspected the twins had everything to do with the deaths of the family during the great Youkai war, and even Genjiro and his father had been accomplices, even if they weren’t fully responsible. They had managed to take control over the lands Hisato had established for his family and had pushed them out of notice with everyone.

Taizo growled in frustration. ‘I will assist you with the truth, but it is imperative that the twins are watched every second. I cannot stress this enough.’

‘I hope so because my father is here.’

Taizo peered through Kazuki’s eyes and nodded. ‘Then ask Seitarou if he has someone available to keep an eye on the girls.’

Kazuki looked at Seitarou and cleared his throat with a cocked grin. “Um, sorry.”

Seitarou lifted a brow.

“Is there someone watching the twins?” He asked, not sure how he would explain the reason.

Seitarou frowned. “I have a few guards watching them. I do hope you will explain why.” Seitarou glanced in the direction Okimoto was coming from. “Lord Okimoto.”

Okimoto looked at his son and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the Gods you are alright.”

Kazuki flushed. “I am, thanks to Shinpachi.”

Okimoto gripped both the captain’s hands in greetings and held Shinpachi’s for a moment longer. “Thank you.”

Shinpachi nodded and sat down on one of the beds.

Seitarou crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against one of the large poles in the middle of the room, which held the barracks up. “Now explain, Lord Kazuki.”

Okimoto shook his head. “I think I have to explain something first. But in doing so, it places a great risk to my son’s life.”

Kazuki looked at his father gulping nervously.

‘You will have to inform them that I am awake. Just remember to keep my name a secret.’

Kazuki nodded.

Okimoto sat down on a bed. “Two nights ago, my son was called to his life pools.”

Seitarou’s brows lifted in surprise, but Shinpachi just smirked.

“It is as I suspected,” Shinpachi said. “His inner spirit is awake.”

Okimoto nodded.

“But isn’t that why the twins come to inspect us in the first place?” Seitarou frowned. “If his spirit is awake, it should be placed in the soul well. There is no need for the spirits to be up, at least not yet.”

“No!” Kazuki said firmly.

“What did you find out in the library?” Okimoto asked.

“My spirit found out a lot of information, but his memory was restored the minute he saw the twins.” Kazuki shivered.

“And what does your spirit say?” Okimoto pressed.

“He says they’re dangerous. I don’t mean in normal terms, like our wariness of the humans. It’s as though he is terrified.” Kazuki said.

‘Not terrified.’ Taizo protested, although his host was not far off.

‘Then what do you call the feelings I have from you?’

‘Not terrified.’ Taizo insisted.

“I also feel animosity, like he detests them in every possible way.”

‘That’s a gentle way of putting it.’ Taizo interjected.

“Can he explain why?” Okimoto asked.

‘Tell him that they were responsible for his grandfather’s death. Hisato did not just fall ill, they caused it. I also think they were responsible for his father’s death too.’

‘You’re kidding?’ Kazuki gasped. “He said the twins are responsible for his former host’s death.”

Okimoto’s face darkened immediately. “Are you telling me that the twins killed my grandfather?”

Kazuki nodded, “Also your father.” He continued to relay the messages to his father and the two captains and felt the change in the air as he spoke. He shivered with the intensity.

Okimoto clenched his hands together and growled low in his throat. “He has proof of this?”

Kazuki swallowed. “It was all written down in the journals I found in the library. The only one I took with Masakuni’s permission was this one.” He pulled out Hisato’s journal and handed it to his father.

While his father read the journal, Seitarou seemed to be in deep thought. “How were they able to do this without anyone realizing?” He asked after several minutes.

‘Susanoo.’ Taizo growled.

Kazuki jerked slightly. “You mean the God of storms?”

Seitarou glanced up. “What about the God of Storms?”

Kazuki tapped his forehead. “He said the twins had help.”

“From the God of Storms?” Shinpachi frowned. “Why would the Gods care what happens to our inner spirits or even us for that matter?”

‘We are Gods sent to you from Kamimusubi. In order for us to grow, we were given this mission to help the creatures of this world find purpose.’ Taizo said. ‘Your family line is that of Fujin, the God of Wind.’

Kazuki blinked, dumbfounded.

‘Your ancestor Keizo was my brother, one of the fallen ones.’ Taizo said.

“He said that our inner spirits are Gods given to us by Kamimusubi,” Kazuki stated. “And that our ancestor, Keizo was his brother.”

Okimoto looked up from his grandfather’s journal. “That must have been long before even my great-grandfather’s time.”

Shinpachi furrowed his brow. “It would make sense why the twins seem to always be around when your family comes of age.”

“So what do they want from our spirits?” Seitarou asked.

“Their power,” Kazuki said. “But it seems as though they are after one in particular.”

“Yours?” Seitarou frowned.

‘For Susanoo to rid himself of any rivals, without disgracing himself in our parent’s eyes, he employed the twins to assist him. There would be no way for them to do this alone.’ Taizo said.

Kazuki passed the message to the captains.

“So which brother resides in you if Susanoo is searching for him?” Seitarou asked.

‘Raijin.’ Taizo said.

Kazuki felt his mouth drop open in shock. ‘Are you saying you are the God Raijin?’

‘I am.’

Kazuki felt his face pale and he felt slightly woozy. “Um, so the God Raijin’s spirit is the one living in me.”

Seitarou, Shinpachi and his father all looked up with mixed emotions.

Kazuki shifted slightly uncomfortable with the looks of disbelief, and surprise.

Taizo rolled his eyes and placed his hand on his host’s tree. ‘Don’t touch anyone or anything, and just trust me.’

Before Kazuki could respond his hand flared into a brilliant blue hue with arcs of electricity spiking outward.

Shinpachi hissed and leaned back while Okimoto and Seitarou inched back.

The power subsided and Kazuki quickly rubbed his hand against his pants. “That tingled.” He said.

The journal Okimoto had been reading fell to the floor with a dull thud and Seitarou shook his head. “So what do we do? If what your spirit says is true, our powers have been siphoned for a long time. The other spirits are asleep and who knows how many are even still alive in the pools. We don’t have the power or the numbers to stop them.”

Shinpachi rubbed his chin. “I think we need to preserve the journals that remain in the library. I know of someone who can keep them safe.”

Hayato nodded. “The historian?”

Shinpachi nodded. “We would need to keep all our spirits safe.”

“How?” Seitarou asked.

Okimoto spoke up. “They would all need to be placed into a sleep. Not in the soul well, but somewhere the twins do not have access to them.”

‘Inform them we have our own pools of life.’ Taizo said. ‘We can sleep there without being in danger.’

“The twins don’t have access to our spirits pools.” Kazuki said.

“Mine said he wasn’t even aware they could access their pools once they were assigned a host.” Seitarou furrowed his brow.

Taizo rolled his eyes, ‘Hmph. Maybe they should explore more.’

Kazuki grunted.

‘Tell them their spirits should be looking for a small tear in the pools. That is their access point.’

Kazuki relayed the message and within minutes Shinpachi was chuckling at himself, more than likely from his spirit’s reaction to this newfound knowledge.

Seitarou only shook his head with a soft snort as his own discovered his pools.

Okimoto picked up the journal and continued reading softly to himself. “Have you read this yet?”

“Some of it, but not all,” Kazuki admitted. “I got distracted when I went home to ask you about the Youkai war but overheard you fighting with Hisashi again.”

Okimoto snorted, “That little shit will be the death of me.”

“Then the twins showed up,” Kazuki smirked.

“Which is where I found you hiding.” Shinpachi nodded.

“There seems to be a prophecy here,” Okimoto mumbled. “Almost as though Hisato had a premonition before his death.”

Taizo frowned. ‘I’d like to read that.’

Kazuki reached out for the journal and began reading, while the two captains, Hayato, and his father began discussing a strategy.

After several hours, Kazuki shook his head as he closed the journal. “Geez. If this is all true, the twins have been messing with our family for centuries.”

Okimoto nodded his head. “Even my father felt it. I had no idea that the twins were responsible for his death.”

‘It was the situation leading up to his death that was not normal.’ Taizo said.

“Those little bitches better stay far away from my family if they know what is good for them.” Okimoto snarled.

“Who have they inspected for the probing of our spirits?” Kazuki asked.

Okimoto shook his head. “Manami, and Hisashi. I was curious at first why they never asked to inspect Chinami’s spirit, but now it makes sense.”

“So Kihachi and Isami weren’t inspected?” Kazuki asked.

“No. Neither has Akiara.”

“Now that I think on it, your family has always been their main focus. They spend much more time with you and your sons than they do with any other family.” Seitarou said.

Shinpachi furrowed his brow. “They have also been lingering around Hayato’s family and my own. Is there another spirit they are searching for?”

‘Only spirits who would be a greater threat than a few others is my guess.’ Taizo said.

“He says that it would be any spirit who is a threat to them,” Kazuki said.

Shinpachi nodded and Hayato remained silent.

Hayato then looked at Shinpachi, “Perhaps it would be wise for us to keep our spirits a secret due to what we can accomplish?”

Shinpachi nodded in agreement, “If the twins ever gained knowledge of our abilities then your family wouldn’t be the only one targeted.”

Seitarou looked at his lifelong friend. “Then we need to keep you and your guard hidden.”

“I was alive during the youkai war, why do I not remember any of this?” Shinpachi asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Probably the same reason why Kazuki’s spirit had his memories erased,” Seitarou said as Shinpachi shook his head.

“I was there, and I don’t even remember any of what my grandfather wrote in his journal. I barely even remember my own brother.” Okimoto growled. “Yet he wrote about all my brothers who died in that war.”

“So, if our memories were erased to keep their movements hidden, what else have they been up to that we have been blind to see?” Hayato asked.

They all looked at Hayato in silence as they let that thought roll around in their heads.

“We must inform Masakuni and Masamichi of our findings. They also have their spirits awake.” Okimoto said.

“What about Manami?” Seitarou asked.

“I believe his is asleep,” Okimoto said.

“Do you wish to bring Manami into this knowledge?”

“Maybe it might be a good idea. Yet it places him at risk.”

“We are all at risk,” Shinpachi growled. “I will have to go to the library and hide as many of those journals as I can without being detected.

“Allow me to do it,” Hayato said. “If you are discovered, it would be more damaging losing you, than it would be if I were captured.”

Shinpachi growled and clenched his teeth. “Dammit. Without knowing the extent of our abilities with our spirits, this is an extremely dangerous task. I cannot leave this on you, Hayato.”

“You aren’t. I offered. I can slip through the shadows as well as you can-” Hayato and Shinpachi both turned their attention to the doors when a soft hoot of an owl filled the room. Immediately, Seitarou looked at Kazuki, but within seconds, Hayato had jumped to the youth and both vanished into thin air.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Seitarou pointed to Okimoto and Shinpachi had him gone from the room before anyone entered the barracks. Turning around, satisfied that both Kazuki and Okimoto were safe, he waited for the girls to slip through the doors.

“Greetings, Seizou and Seiya.” Seitarou nodded. “What brings you to the barracks this late at night?”

Both girls inspected the room before turning their eyes to the elder male in the space. “We had heard that Lord Okimoto was here along with his young son.”

Seitarou lifted a brow, “Oh? Heard from whom? I fear you were misinformed, as you can see, I am alone.”

He stood there fueling in his anger. His little brother was elusive and now his other was within a mortal. Years ago he had given power to another who failed in his task to rid him of that nuisance. Now, he had promised them this power and he was losing control of them. That small bit of power he had given them, now spurred them on, seeking more. They were power-hungry and if he wasn’t careful, they would have more than enough to kill even him.

Snarling with rage, he turned from the well his mother used to keep an eye on her children and he threw his fist through the solid stone wall. “Curse those little shits.”

Storming out of the room, he walked down the halls to meet with them to have them reset their game board. At this rate, his whole plan would be exposed before he succeeded in ridding himself of his irritating brothers. His mother was always one step ahead of him and if he wasn’t careful, she would find a way to dispose of the girls before they became a real threat.