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“Temari, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Touko knelt on the paved ground and lifted Temari into her arms. The dog stared at her, black eyes wide with panic. Temari shook and whimpered.
“Her leg is broken,” Koushi said.
“How about her eyes? Do they look okay to you?” Touko asked.
Koushi stepped away from Kanata, then took a bottle of lightning fuel out of his bag. The fuel illuminated the dark passage. He was glad that Kun, Touko, Kanata and Temari hadn’t been killed by natural fire, but none of them were safe right now.
Touko bent over Temari and checked her hind legs, then carefully adjusted her hold that she wouldn’t touch them. She petted Temari’s head gently. Temari wouldn’t stop shaking. There was a piece of paper tied under the bandanna that served as her collar—another letter? Touko opened it and found a copy of the last letter Akira had sent to her.
Koushi looked down at Touko. He didn’t come any closer. He couldn’t help Temari any more than she could. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“I-I’m fine… Where is Hinako?” Touko asked, frowning.
Kun plopped down close to Touko, who patted him on the head.
“I don’t know for sure,” Koushi said. “She should be with Kiri in the industrial area. That’s assuming they didn’t get separated.”
Touko leaned toward Koushi. “Willow and Kunugi are looking for Kiri. They’ll find her, and then Hinako will be safe.”
All of this was just speculation. Touko and Koushi couldn’t confirm Hinako’s whereabouts from here.
Touko looked down.
Koushi stared off into space, not saying a word. He was thinking about something deeply, but he didn’t share his thoughts. The look on his face made Touko uneasy. What was he planning?
They were surrounded by corpses. One of the servants from Okibi Estate was among them, covered head to toe in blood. Touko remembered seeing him before that had happened—he’d worked at the estate. She’d seen him handing out food and blankets.
“Koushi… I saw Kira.” She struggled to form words. Her vision warped and twisted. She clung to Temari as the world spun around her, then dropped to her knees, skinning them both.
Koushi tensed in alarm. He knelt beside Touko and rubbed her back. Her skin was cold to the touch. He remembered Kira’s terror during her mother’s visit to her room.
Kun pressed his face silently against Touko’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry… I tried…”
“I know,” Koushi said. “You don’t need to apologize for anything. I heard from one of the Guardian Gods that Kira was taken to the shrine.” He kept rubbing Touko’s back, trying to soothe her and himself. He was helpless to save Kira. So was Touko. Events had moved beyond them and their involvement.
Koushi had wanted to save the people of the capital, but he hadn’t been able to save anyone at all. What could he have done differently?
“Do you think Miss Akira is at the shrine?” Touko asked.
“It seems so. Kun told me she got there.”
Touko took a deep, shuddering breath.
“But the Millennium Comet hasn’t been hunted by the Fire Hunters yet…” Touko pressed her bundle of blessed paper and the letter she’d written to her chest.
“Akira gave copies of her petition to Temari and I. In case she didn’t make it. So that we could deliver it to the shrine instead.”
A tic jumped in Koushi’s face. His expression tightened. He looked away from Touko, pensive and tense.
The Millennium Comet flashed into existence in the bright light cast by the bottle of lightning fuel. She shone with a silver aura. It was unclear where she had come from.
“There’s another underground passage beneath this one. It leads to the shrine,” the Millennium Comet said in a low voice.
“Another passage below?” Koushi asked. He blinked, but he didn’t seem surprised to see the Millennium Comet standing there.
The Millennium Comet nodded. “I can guide you. I saw a recent map and memorized it. I don’t think the humans have been told about this passage. It goes lower than the common passages most people use. Now, come.”
Touko’s mind was hazy and unfocused. She felt like she was suffering from smoke inhalation or oxygen deprivation. She shook her head to clear it, and then stood up straighter. They had to keep moving.
“Why are you telling us this? Wouldn’t it be inconvenient for you if we go to the shrine?” Koushi asked.
Touko looked between Koushi and the Millennium Comet. Had they met before?
The Millennium Comet cast her eyes down. “I am not a Guardian God,” she said. “I am also not human. I was created in the distant past for a specific purpose. Hibari told me that… that you might know what I should do now.”
Koushi nodded. “I think you should free our friend from the shrine. She’s being used by the Guardian Gods—maybe to control you.” His voice was sharp enough to cut.
Touko looked up at Koushi in alarm.
Koushi didn’t acknowledge Touko. He kept his attention on the Millennium Comet, who wilted under his stare.
“You are right, but you must wait. I know that poor girl has nothing to do with this. I promise I’ll return her safely, so please give me just a little more time.”
“Time? Time for what?”
“To decide. I possess fire—here.” Her slender fingers pointed to her chest. Her skin was so thin that her ribs were clearly visible through it. “I need time to decide what to do with this fire.”
“Give it to the Fire Hunters,” Koushi said coldly.
The Millennium Comet flinched and lowered her head. The ends of her silver hair swirled in tiny circles.
“We’re going to the shrine of the Guardian Gods,” Koushi said. “Lead us there. I’ll deliver Akira’s petition to the Guardian Gods—to Princess Teyuri.” Koushi took Kun’s hand and squeezed it, seeking reassurance. He started walking down the passage.
Touko gathered Temari close to her chest and followed after Koushi and Kun. Koushi appeared entirely untouchable like this, like a stone statue. Kanata guarded the rear.
The Millennium Comet slipped past Kanata, Touko and Temari, her head bowed slightly. She stepped in front of Koushi and Kun to lead the way like a guiding light.
Even with the Millennium Comet helping them, Touko wasn’t always certain about where to put her feet. She shouldn’t be here, should she? Akira would find out that Touko had followed her and then she’d be angry. Akira had told her to go home. She’d entrusted her petition to Roroku in case the worst should happen. Touko could easily imagine Akira’s face, her eyebrows raised in anger.
Temari narrowed her black eyes in concern.
Touko hoped that she would see Akira again soon. Whether that would happen or not depended entirely on the silver-haired figure walking ahead.
Temari shook in Touko’s arms. Her eyes were wide open. Her tongue stuck out as she panted in pain. She remembered to wet her nose at odd intervals. Her rapid heartbeat rapped a steady tattoo against the skin of Touko’s wrist like the rhythm of an artificial heart.
The passageway was very dark; there was little to see. Wastewater poured in from above and bubbled up from below, so the air was foul. Sometimes they passed a stairwell or a door that led into a factory. Koushi paused in these places and shone a lantern light over them, searching for any other people who might have gotten trapped down here.
The walk seemed to take a long time, though it was difficult to gauge either time or distance in the darkness. Touko knew that she was tired and anxious. Both her exhaustion and her anxiety grew with every new step forward.
“I read in a book in the Central Archives that the Millennium Comet was a symbol of hope,” Koushi said.
The Millennium Comet turned and blinked at him. Her eyelashes were unusually long. Then she faced away from him and kept walking.
“How did you survive?” Koushi asked. “Cast adrift, lost in space… how could you live up there for so long?”
The Millennium Comet sighed heavily, making her shoulders rise and fall. “I was made that way. Even if I go outside the atmosphere, I can survive. I don’t need to take in nutrients by mouth, nor do I excrete anything. An artificial metabolism takes care of any other waste from my hair or my skin. I can withstand extreme heat and cold and fluctuations in air pressure. Cosmic dust burns away before it touches my body.”
Her long hair fluttered in circles like a pair of wings. Her voice was as fluid as water, echoing in the enclosed space. There was something hollow in that voice, hollow and empty and very lonely.
“I was cast adrift to save a world that was near its end. War and pollution had ruined it entirely. My task was to search for the beauty still left in the world and share it with people, to comfort those who were left. From orbit, I would find those in need of help. Isolated settlements. Contaminated zones. Abandoned soldiers. Children and livestock buried alive. Wanderers who lost their homes along with entire cities. People cut off from water and food supplies. Oppressed people. Scorching heat. Hunger. Bitter cold. Floods. Fires. Looting. Sieges. Riots. Pandemics. Meaningless conflict.”
Touko had no idea what all those words meant, but she got the general idea. The Millennium Comet must have seen so many awful things. Touko couldn’t even imagine them. What she feared most were attacks by Fire Fiends, spontaneous human combustion, and never being able to leave the barrier again. She suspected that most children outside the capital were like her in that, and shared those fears. The Millennium Comet had a much broader experience of the world. Touko couldn’t relate to it at all.
“Why did you abandon that task?” Koushi asked, his eyebrows drawing down into a deep frown.
Touko got the sense that the Millennium Comet was being blamed or censured somehow. Her heart skipped a beat.
The Millennium Comet was facing away from Koushi when she said, “Because I was afraid. I kept trying to save people, and they kept dying despite my efforts. Those who should have gone to rescue others ended up killing someone else instead. It is like this planet is determined to destroy itself. I couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. There are hardly any facilities left that can receive my transmissions. Even if a rescue request came in from me, there was no one left who could respond. Everyone who had the means to help was dead, or injured, or just gone… I didn’t want to see it. I was all alone.” Her voice was full of deep sorrow.
Koushi was unmoved. “That’s not an answer. Why did you come here?”
Touko winced and looked away. Why was Koushi being so harsh with the Millennium Comet? He was pale and worn-out, but his cheekbones and the lines of his face were hard and uncompromising.
“My commands were rewritten wrong,” the Millennium Comet said. She turned around, tilted her head slightly, and then pointed to her own forehead with her index finger. “Or rather, the commands are out of order. I was designed to be sent back to Earth once my duties in orbit were complete. But the equipment for my retrieval has been lost. Even so, the command embedded in me remains. Honestly, I never intended to return a second time. After all, there’s no point in me coming back. I tried many things, but it’s all programmed so that I can’t change it myself. I had plenty of time, but I couldn’t rewrite any of my commands. That’s why I came back.”
Touko wasn’t sure if that was really an answer, either.
Koushi sighed, and then closed his eyes.
How much farther was it to the shrine? Touko’s legs were so exhausted that she’d lost all feeling in them. She felt like she was constantly on the edge of passing out. She steadied herself one careful step at a time. What had Koushi and Kun seen besides the bodies of the Spiders everywhere? So many terrifying things had happened before dawn. Touko and her companions had witnessed them all.
Despite living through such tragic events, they had come this far and were still trying to go further. The thought made Touko’s grief bubble up and overwhelm her. How far? How far, until we die?
Kanata’s even footsteps brought Touko back to herself.
No one spoke for a long while. Kun was the first to start dragging his feet. Koushi picked him up. Kun rested his head on Koushi’s shoulder and was asleep in seconds.
Koushi let out a short, exasperated breath. “Sorry, Touko,” he said. “You really shouldn’t have gotten caught up in all of this. If you’d stayed in your village, you wouldn’t be in danger now.”
Koushi was talking to her, but he sounded more like he was talking to himself. She didn’t know what to say to him. Her eyes stayed fixed on his face as she listened. He frowned at her—perhaps he could sense her discomfort and how hard it was for her to find her words.
Touko lowered her head, looking away.
Temari trembled in Touko’s arms. She sneezed, and then whimpered, still in pain. Touko pressed Temari closely to her chest to keep her warm. She mustn’t get cold. No one was allowed to go cold like Shuyu had.
“I have a friend who came with me to the capital. She decided not to return to the village where she was born, but to live here. The capital needs to be saved so that she can live in the city.”
“Your friend… You mean Kaho?”
Touko looked up at Koushi again. He no longer looked hard and unyielding and grown-up. The fear in his eyes was something she recognized. They were both children here, walking in the dark. The idea made her feel unusually defeated. Children couldn’t save the capital from all this terror. She wanted the more adult version of Koushi back.
“You met Kaho?” Touko asked.
“I did,” Koushi said. “And Shouzou and his parents, too. Shouzou told me to evacuate as many people as we could.” He paused, remembering. Then he reached into his hidden pocket. “Oh right, Kaho asked me to give you this. She said to take care of you.”
He held out a crystal necklace to her. It was Kaho’s Protector Stone—the one she’d brought with her from her village.
Touko looked at the stone and then at Koushi in surprise. She was holding Temari, so she didn’t take the Protector Stone.
“I wonder if everyone is all right now,” Touko said. “If there are people in the city who try to use fire like the Spiders did…”
She couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence. If fire was unleashed in the city, the flames would spread from person to person, and everyone in the capital would die.
Koushi’s expression darkened, but he responded to her fear with confidence. “I don’t think the Guardian Gods will let that happen. If there were no more humans, it would be a problem for them, too.”
Koushi’s stubborn confidence confused Touko. He put the crystal Protector Stone back in his pocket and stared intently into the darkness ahead.
“Um, Koushi, you stayed at Kira’s house, right? With Hinako?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“There was a tall, beautiful woman there that I saw… Was that your mother?”
“My foster mother. Yes.” His voice lowered in distaste. There was clearly no love lost between him and his foster mother. Touko had no idea why that would be, though.
“The man we saw before—the man who followed us down here. He’s her husband, and my foster father,” Koushi said.
Touko blinked. She’d seen that man leaving the estate while she was there. The servants had called him “master.” That bloodstained giant of a man was Koushi’s foster father?
“I… after being taken to the mansion, I spoke with Kira. I told her what was happening outside. She was worried about you. Then, there was a sound like a thunder strike, and she ran outside, all the way to the cliff above the canal. And then… she fell. Her mother tried to go after her to save her, but she fell, too.”
A tic jumped in Koushi’s face near his jaw.
“Koushi, why is this happening?” Touko asked. “My grandmother always told me that the Fire Hunters made the world a better place. Long ago, there were no villages, and no houses. People hid underground, beneath the forest floor, living in fear of the Fire Fiends. With no fire, there was almost nothing to eat, and many people died of starvation. When she was a baby, my grandmother’s parents blinded her so she could work even in complete darkness. Has the world not improved at all since my grandmother’s time?”
“No, it hasn’t,” Koushi said. “Not really. Not in any way that matters. In the capital, there are many people like Hinako who are poisoned by the factories. They work every day, from childhood on, and then they die from diseases caused by the pollution. This is a terrible world, and I hate it.” The sound of running water carried his voice away into the darkness. “That’s why I wanted to do something about it. I thought maybe I could change things. But that was just arrogance on my part.”
Koushi’s voice was thick with some deep emotion that Touko couldn’t identify. Kanata glanced sidelong at him, but Koushi didn’t look back at the dog.
Suddenly, Temari gave a loud, wet sneeze. Touko checked her leg, worried that the sneeze might have jostled the broken limb.
“No matter what her parents did to her, that girl still tried to protect her family. I only saw her for a few moments, but I understood that clearly,” the Millennium Comet said.
Koushi felt oddly exposed as he lifted his gaze to the Millennium Comet. He glared at her fiercely. Her blank expression didn’t change.
“Kira chose to support her parents for her own reasons,” Koushi said.
“No, she didn’t,” the Millennium Comet said. “She did that because she was terrified. She’s worried that she isn’t important to her parents—that she never has been. And even though she’s scared, she never tries to run away. All children are like that. They rely on their foundation—what they know to be true. Unfortunately, Kira was going to be a sacrifice no matter what. Her parents would have sacrificed her on the altar of their own ambition… and the Guardian Gods will sacrifice her to achieve their own ends.”
Koushi clenched his teeth, holding in anger.
Where is Hibana now? Is she safe? Koushi thought. She’s terrifying and she hurt Kira… but she doesn’t deserve to die.
Touko likely felt the same way. She’d met Kira, so she’d seen firsthand how devoted Kira was to her family.
The Millennium Comet said no more. She kept walking forward, followed by Touko and Koushi. They were like Fire Hunters trekking through the Black Forest with their dogs.
The scenery in the underground passage was monotonous, but the path itself was a maze. If she were alone, Touko would already be lost.
“Aren’t we taking quite a detour?” Koushi asked. He gestured to strings of symbols and letters on the wall that looked like gibberish to Touko.
“Yes,” the Millennium Comet said. “There are a lot of passages that we can’t use because the Spiders have set natural fire in them as a trap. They’re trying to block the way to the lower levels. We’re avoiding dangerous routes, so it’s a roundabout way.”
How long had they been underground? Touko worried about the Millennium Comet because she was so pale and frail, but the determined set of her shoulders made Touko stay silent. Even if the Millennium Comet wanted help and rest, this wasn’t a good place for those things. The passage was dark, both ahead and behind.
Kanata lagged behind. His steps suddenly faltered and his tail drooped. He stopped behind Touko.
“Kanata? Are you hurt?” Touko crouched down in front of the dog.
Kanata panted heavily, taking huge gasping breaths. He curled up by the wall and let out a low whine. Being careful so that she wouldn’t hurt Temari, Touko leaned forward and touched Kanata’s head. He felt unusually warm.
The Millennium Comet stopped and turned around.
Kanata’s eyes rolled back in his head. He was still breathing heavily. He whined again, and it sounded like he was pleading for something.
“He’s tired,” Touko said. “Let him rest for a bit. You all should go on ahead. I’ll stay with him and then we’ll catch up.”
“We won’t leave you behind. You’ll get lost, Touko,” Koushi said.
Touko’s mouth snapped shut. Koushi looked as tired as she felt. They all needed to rest.
The Millennium Comet glanced over her shoulder. “If we go a little farther, there will be drinkable water,” she said.
Koushi sighed, and then he tapped Kanata on the back of the neck. Kanata stretched extravagantly, then stood up. They kept walking. Touko’s legs were numb and her movements felt clumsy. She was still holding Temari. Koushi carried Kun.
Before long, they came to the edge of a canal. There was a huge machine here beside a simple metal shed. Large devices were lined up near the shed, all built into the wall. The shed seemed to serve both as storage for tools and as a resting place for workers.
Koushi sat Kun down by the wall. He selected one of the many tangled pipes and turned a gear-shaped handle. Water flowed from the end of a thin, branching pipe. There was no spout. The water spilled onto the floor, where it ran back into the canal.
Koushi scooped some of the water up in both hands and drank it, showing Touko that it was safe to drink. Kanata drank directly from the end of the pipe.
Touko scooped water into her hands and offered it to Temari. She also brought some to Kun’s lips as he leaned against the wall. Kun was conscious, but his eyes wandered. He moved his lips, drinking a little.
The water tasted faintly metallic to Touko.
“You should eat something,” Touko said to Koushi. She offered a paper box from her pack to him.
Koushi opened the box, revealing hardtack. He took one out of the box and muttered an apology instead of thanks. He returned the box to Touko.
The Millennium Comet didn’t drink or eat. She sat with her back to the wall and hugged her knees to her chest.
“Maybe we should have brought Hinako with us,” Koushi said. “It’s hard not knowing where she is.” Koushi lowered his head, burying his face in his knees. He appeared to be in pain. Touko didn’t know what to say to make him feel better.
“It will be all right,” Touko said, but without conviction. “She’s with the Tree People. They’ll take care of her and make sure she’s okay. Please don’t worry too much.”
There was a splash in the canal. The Millennium Comet had jumped in. Touko and Koushi, startled, jumped up and looked at her.
Before either of them could cry out to the Millennium Comet, she vanished in a flash of light.
Neither Kanata nor Temari reacted. They hadn’t anticipated the Millennium Comet’s disappearance.
Kun suddenly raised his head, got on all fours, and crawled toward the water. Koushi commanded Kanata to guard Kun. Touko moved to intercept the Spider boy, but her legs wouldn’t move the way she wanted them to.
Kanata barked, setting all four of his paws down firmly.
There was a rush of water, not quite a splash, and a hand reached out from underwater. The hand gripped Kun’s ankle and pulled him underwater.
Koushi tried to catch Kun before the boy was dragged off, but he was too slow.
Another hand reached up from the water and pressed down on Kun’s chest. An old man’s head broke the water as Kun vanished beneath the surface. The water’s surface was white and agitated by thousands of bubbles as the old man ducked underwater again.
Koushi pulled Touko away from the canal sharply. “Get back,” he said. “There’s still a threat. You could be pulled under, too.”
“But what about Kun?”
The churning water was calming down now. Water in the canal flowed smoothly like normal.
Kun was nowhere to be seen. The water erased all signs of a struggle.
Touko moved toward the canal again. Koushi’s hand landed heavily on her shoulder.
“Don’t go,” Koushi said.
“But Kun will die!” She shook off Koushi’s restraining hand and leaned over the canal. She had no idea what she was going to do. Temari had a copy of Akira’s petition to the Guardian Gods, so she didn’t have to worry about losing hers. She had to find Kun and get him out of the water before he drowned.
Koushi was shouting behind her, but Touko ignored him. She remembered Shuyu, who she had tragically failed to save. She prepared herself to dive into the canal, and hang the consequences.
Just as her feet left the floor, something struck her shoulder, and she was flung backward. All the wind was knocked out of her. Kanata barked continuously in alarm. The clacking sound of wooden-soled clogs echoed along the canal.
Standing before Touko and the others was a figure dressed all in black, their face covered with a mask—a spy.
All the blood drained from Touko’s face. Her strength left her body. It’s over, something deep inside her whispered. One of the spies who had hurt Akira so badly was here. Would they all die?
Kanata ran along the edge of the canal, splashing water everywhere.
Touko’s shoulder throbbed painfully. She struggled to breathe. Koushi pressed a hand to her shoulder. Touko tried to shake him off, but she didn’t have much success. His hands were warmer than before.
Ahead, where Kanata was running, was a tall man. He was not the same man who’d pulled Kun underwater. He was significantly younger and dressed in rags. He stood in the middle of the canal—walking on water. He didn’t sink. His eyes fixed on Kanata.
The spy stiffened, and then turned to face the man. They seemed to completely forget about Touko, Koushi and Kanata as they launched themselves at the man with a drawn short sword.
The man ducked instinctively and thrust out his wet, empty hands. The spy vanished into the darkness. A paper doll, torn in two, fluttered down into the canal and was swept away by the current.
Touko watched as two more spies appeared behind them. Koushi turned and let out a short gasp of surprise.
“Interruptions,” Hibari said, “are so very annoying. I had hoped for some peace and quiet after the Millennium Comet’s return.” She followed the spies and then stopped, looking around at the canal and the machines with an expression of distaste. Her over-robe was a dazzling white.
Hibari’s spies had fought and nearly killed Akira before. Were they responsible for the Millennium Comet’s sudden disappearance now?
“Those people in the canal won’t hurt you,” Hibari said. “The Water Clan created them—they used test subjects from the slums. They’ve been ordered to dispose of any Spiders they find, with their relatives or loved ones taken as hostages to ensure obedience. Even the child Spider you were with was targeted.”
One of the spies threw a metal ball at the man standing on water. The ball broke into a hundred needles when it impacted his chest. The needles were so long that they passed through the man’s entire body. The man staggered, but he was still upright. He thrust his arm toward the spy, but he wasn’t close enough to change it back into a paper doll. The spy kept away from him, going back a step for every step the man took forward.
“Is that what happened to Kureha’s parents?” Koushi gasped out.
The old man who had dragged Kun away emerged from the water to face off against Hibari’s spies. Kun floated along the canal’s surface face-down.
Hibari’s spies kept their distance so that they wouldn’t be reduced to paper dolls. There was a brief standoff as the humans splashed forward to press the attack.
Koushi raised an eyebrow at Hibari. “What are you doing? They’re human! You can’t attack humans.”
Hibari shrugged. “Are they really human? I don’t think so. You can see for yourself that they aren’t normal humans anymore.”
“They are human,” Koushi insisted. “The Guardian Gods experimenting on them didn’t change that.”
“Oh?” Hibari asked. “So you want me to spare the ‘humans?’ They’ll kill your little Spider friend if I do.”
Touko forgot to breathe. The atmosphere was thick with tension. She jumped when she heard a splash, and then saw that one of the spies had managed to lodge a throwing knife in the old man’s shoulder. The old man staggered, but he managed to lash out. His violent flailing and the huge splash that accompanied it changed the spy closest to him into a paper doll.
Hibari snorted, then reached into her sleeve to pull out a new doll.
“Stop it!” Koushi cried out. He gripped Hibari’s arm and pulled it back.
Hibari bared her teeth in a snarl. A moment later, she composed herself and gave Koushi a cold smile. “If you think you can handle this on your own, go ahead. I don’t care if the little Spider dies.”
A man covered head-to-toe in needles like a porcupine was closing in behind Touko. Kanata leaped up to bite the man’s leg, but he was kicked away and fell into the canal with a splash. Just as the man was about to swing his arm, a woman emerged from the water and shoved him over her shoulder. He splashed head-first into the canal and was swallowed by the water.
The woman turned to face Koushi and Hibari. She held Kun in her arms. She made eye contact with Koushi, then tossed Kun out of the canal like a bundle of rags. Kun hit the ground with a muffled thump, then curled into himself and coughed up water.
“Kun!” Touko ran to him, but she slipped on the wet ground. She crawled to Kun the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Kanata jumped out of the canal and shook the water off him. He ran over to Touko and Kun, standing protectively between them and the canal.
The woman who had thrown Kun remained standing in the middle of the canal. She was quite young and looking down as if she were ashamed.
Koushi approached the woman. “Wait… Kureha?” he asked. The woman was familiar, but she was looking away from him, so it was hard to see her face clearly.
Touko’s gaze flicked between Koushi and Kureha. She’d never met Kureha, so she had no idea how Koushi would know this person.
Koushi took a moment to choose his words. “Kureha,” he said, “when all this is over… if it’s ever over… go back to Kira. She’s so worried about you. She really wants to know where you went.”
Kureha took a deep, shuddering breath and then turned away, putting her back to Koushi. Her shoulders shook and her knees buckled as she sobbed into her sodden clothes.
Kureha’s body had been transformed by the Water Clan in some way, but Kureha still remembered who she was—and she wasn’t an enemy.
Kun hugged Touko, coughing and sniffling. Touko hugged him back.
“Thank you for saving us,” Koushi said to Kureha.
Kureha had been standing on water in the center of the canal since her appearance, but now she started to sink out of view a little at a time. She was like a shy aquatic creature that had never shown her face to humans before.
There was a moment of silence after Kureha vanished beneath the water’s surface. No one else came out of the canal.
“Well, that was pointless,” Hibari said flatly. Her clothes were a brilliant white in the low light of the passage. She glared at the canal. “It doesn’t matter if we kill those things or not. They’ll never be human again,” she spat.
Touko stood up, carrying Kun.
“You all should stop being so reckless,” Hibari said, gesturing vaguely to Touko and Koushi. “You’re just humans.” Her lips curled in a sneer.
Touko didn’t respond to this. She understood that Hibari was annoyed, or perhaps worse. She knew that Hibari would have killed the man covered in needles and the woman standing on the water if Koushi hadn’t intervened. It seemed like the danger was past now, since Hibari wasn’t making any more spies out of paper dolls. She didn’t understand why Hibari seemed so dissatisfied.
Koushi frowned at Hibari, then turned away from her and folded his arms across his chest in a forbidding gesture.
“The shrine is in chaos at the moment thanks to those friends of yours,” Hibari said. “The Guardian Gods will wipe out all the Spiders—every single one. You’d best be careful.” Hibari’s sneer vanished, her features going slack and expressionless.
Temari lay crouched near the wall of the passage. Hibari approached the dog with one hand outstretched. Temari growled at her, but didn’t bite.
Touko tried to rush over to the dog, but Koushi grabbed her arm and shook his head. “Wait.”
A few moments later, Temari’s broken leg was mended. Temari stood up, fur bristling, and barked angrily at Hibari.
Touko frowned in confusion. Hibari had hurt Akira badly. She’d tried to kill the people who’d emerged from the canal. Why was she helping Temari now?
“Where is the Millennium Comet?” Koushi asked.
“With the other Guardian Gods, of course,” Hibari said. “Where else? Preparations to make Kira her vessel are underway. The Millennium Comet was summoned back to the Guardian Gods. Well, not all of them. This whole plot was created by the Guardian Gods who want to maintain the status quo. All they want is to keep the world exactly as it is.”
A shiver went up Touko’s spine.
“The Millennium Comet is lost,” Hibari said. “Even if she escapes and returns to the world, she is still lost. She still hasn’t decided what she’ll do. It’s cruel to use her to achieve things that she never wanted. I think she should be allowed to make her own choice. I don’t want to see my sister sacrificed for the sake of the many.”
Hibari’s words unsettled Koushi. Even Touko, who lacked some context, understood some of the reasons why Hibari was upset.
“I think you’re right,” Koushi said, sounding somewhat reluctant. He wasn’t used to agreeing with Hibari. He looked down and fell silent, asking no further questions.
Hibari pointed down the passageway, then said, “From here, you can descend to the lower level. Go down, and then head straight upstream. You’ll come to a hill. Climb it, and you’ll be at the shrine.”
Hibari snapped her fingers and faded away into the darkness.
“Let’s go,” Koushi said. He patted Kanata on the head gently. Kanata was still out of breath from his exertions in the battle. “We’ll walk slowly. We’re almost there. No sense in hurrying now.”
Koushi soon found stone steps leading downward, just as Hibari had said. The steps led to another underground passage that connected factories to each other. There was another canal there, though it was more like a natural stream than a man-made waterway. Koushi wondered what purpose this shallow river served. It didn’t look like it fed into any of the city’s canals.
Touko, Koushi, Kun and Kanata walked along the bank of the underground river. Lichen clung to stones lining the bank. Algae floated on the water’s surface. There was no pavement here: the ground beneath their feet was soft, bare earth.
The water was clear enough that the shallow bottom of the river was visible. The river never got any deeper. Touko guessed that if she put her hand in the river and touched the bottom, she’d only get wet up to her elbow.
Small mushrooms grew densely along the shore. White blossoms drifted on the water between patches of algae. The deep roots of old trees marked the sides of the passageway. It was easier to breathe here, far away from the burning air caused by lightning fuel explosions and fire. There was no sunlight, no stars to see. This place was a dark, closed-off otherworld, but the air, at least, was crisp and clean.
I wonder how the fields are doing now, Touko thought. This season was a critical time for her village. Insect larvae and eggs hatched right around now, and the insects could devour all the crops. Even small children in Touko’s village knew where to find harmful bugs that would suck sap from trees or eat away at roots. Touko had learned all that herself, carried on her mother’s back. Soon, the rains would come and soak the earth, making all the leaves heavy. Fertilizer made everything grow so quickly after the rainy season ended. Touko had left all that behind her.
The river water was crystal clear. The backs of silver fish gleamed as they swam along the bottom in groups of two or three. Touko had never seen any fish at all in the city’s canals. It was surprising to see so much life here in this place with so little light.
The shining silver fish appeared very similar to the ones that swam around Hakaisana. They jumped and wove upstream, swimming against the current as Touko, Koushi and the others followed the river.
The Millennium Comet was gone. It was hard to believe that she’d ever existed. She looked human, but not: emaciated and wasted with unnatural silver hair. She’d spent so much time in the sky, circling the earth… and her body contained fire. How could such an unearthly being exist? Had the Millennium Comet really started this journey with them?
Koushi was holding Kun, who had fallen asleep. Temari was walking at the front now that her leg was healed, ears and tail raised.
Touko was unsure of the path. It wasn’t just that she didn’t know where she was; she wasn’t sure if what she was doing was the right thing. She glanced behind her many times. She saw nothing but the silver fish in the river. If the new humans that the Water Clan had created were here, they didn’t show themselves.
Would it be better to turn back? Should either Touko or Koushi return to the surface, back to the city?
Temari sniffed the moss-covered ground, then barked loudly. Touko hoped that meant Akira was near, but Akira never appeared out of the darkness.
Temari sniffed the ground eagerly, then spun and jumped into Touko’s arms. Kanata froze in place. Koushi stopped walking.
There was something there, or something coming their way.
A figure appeared in a flash of white light. Backlit, her hair appeared to be pure white like the blessed paper made in Touko’s village. Her eyes were a fresh spring green color. She was as small and slight as the Millennium Comet, but she was not the same person.
Warashi. This was the Guardian God of Touko’s village.
Kanata’s rough breathing sounded unusually loud in the stillness.
Warashi beckoned to Touko and the others much as the Millennium Comet had done. Her eyes passed over Touko, Koushi and the others. She blinked several times, confused or surprised.
Koushi gasped. He’d never seen Warashi before. Until the Spiders had invaded, he’d never seen a Guardian God up close.
Warashi tilted her head slightly. Touko had seen her sometimes at her village’s shrine, but Warashi had never said a word. She said nothing now. Touko remembered saying prayers and leaving offerings for Warashi at the shrine before the arrival of the black carts each year.
A surge of some indescribable emotion welled up all at once at the sight of the diminutive Guardian God. Touko knelt down before Warashi. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then removed a sheet of blessed paper from her pocket.
“Th-this is…” Touko’s outstretched hand trembled slightly.
Warashi stared at her, motionless, silent.
“Akira wrote this for the Guardian Gods—to deliver to Princess Teyuri. Please take this petition to the Guardian Gods.”
Warashi made no move to reach for Akira’s letter.
Touko unfolded the letter and showed Akira’s words to Warashi. She prayed with all her might that Akira’s petition would reach the Guardian Gods somehow.
Warashi leaned in, her warm breath tickling Touko’s chin. Touko kept her head down and her hands clasped together, still praying fervently.
When Touko finally looked up, Warashi was gone.
“She disappeared…”
Koushi stared in awe at the space where Warashi had been.
A silver fish spun dizzily along the surface of the underground river. It stopped moving suddenly, then drifted downstream.
“What was that?” Koushi asked, astonished.
Touko stared intently at the spot where Warashi had stood. Akira’s petition was gone. There were only a few blank pages of blessed paper in her hands now.
“Did she read it, I wonder?” Touko asked. She folded up the blank paper. It took all her strength to keep from dropping the paper. Her heart pounded wildly. Tiny sparks danced at the edge of her vision. “Can Warashi read? I don’t know. I’ll have to let Miss Akira know that we saw Warashi and tried to deliver her petition…”
Touko tried to stand up straighter, but her knees wouldn’t cooperate. She staggered and nearly tumbled into the river. Koushi caught her right before she fell.
“Calm down. We don’t know what’s going on. The letter disappeared the moment she looked at it.”
Touko was flustered. She had never heard about Warashi knowing how to read. She was stunned by the fact that Warashi had appeared here in the capital, so far from her home village. Touko wasn’t sure there was even a shrine to Warashi in the city anywhere.
They were in a hurry now. Warashi had appeared suddenly and Akira’s letter had vanished into thin air. Koushi and Touko moved down the passageway at the fastest pace they could manage. Temari kept up, and Koushi was still carrying Kun. The moss creeping along the floor and walls of the passage gradually grew denser. Grass grew in thick clumps and nearly tripped them.
The ground beneath their feet sloped gently upward.
This was the right path, according to Hibari. If they continued going this way, they would reach the shrine. Hopefully, Akira would be there.
The grass tangled up their legs and grew upward along the walls as they progressed. Koushi held up a bottle of lightning fuel so that they could see. The roots of the plants overlapped one another along the walls of the passage, and those roots were getting thicker and darker.
“Koushi, do you see this?” Touko whispered apprehensively.
Koushi looked around, and then gasped in horror. The roots they were looking at were the same type and color of the roots of plants in the Black Forest. They were so dark that they were almost black, and a faint scent of decay wafted off of them. But why were the roots of forest plants growing in the underground passage that led to the shrine?
With each step forward, the mass of black, slick roots became denser. The roots bit into the walls of the passage, intertwining into a messy dark interconnected sheet. Mottled leaves and twisted branches appeared at odd intervals. The passage narrowed as the roots pressed in ever closer.
“Touko, stop.” Koushi held out his hand in a forbidding gesture.
Temari sniffed the air around them. She was panting from anxiety. Touko was afraid that the little white dog might bolt, so she scooped Temari up into her arms.
The roots around them were all as thick as tree roots.
Touko placed her hand on Kanata’s neck. Kanata turned to look at her. He was tired, but the dog had no trouble holding her gaze. He wasn’t confused or panicked or scared.
The scent of decay was becoming cloying in the enclosed space. The odor clung to their skin and hair like a greasy film on broth. The roots extended all the way into the water of the underground river. The river itself was choked by leaves and debris and was flowing very slowly. Patches of mud and soil absorbed water from the river. There were no silver fish here or any other signs of animal life. The way forward was becoming more and more treacherous.
Touko’s straw sandals squished as she stepped on the slimy, rotting leaves. She felt like she could hear the roots spreading and growing all around her. All the plant life here was blighted and diseased. She couldn’t see very far forward at all, not even with the help of Koushi’s light.
Touko knew that they were walking through the Black Forest underground. There was no other explanation for what was happening. There might be Fire Fiends walking above them at this very moment. Her village had forbidden her to ever set foot in the Black Forest. She felt like an intruder here.
“Wh…why?” Touko asked.
Koushi tightened his arms around Kun.
Touko narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t see. The passage was dark, and so were the roots. Her eyes might as well have been useless.
Temari growled in Touko’s hold, and then the dog started barking.
“Temari, sh,” Touko shushed Temari. “We mustn’t be discovered. We have to be quiet.” They couldn’t risk making any noise.
Temari ignored Touko completely and kept barking. Her head bobbed up and down with each new bark.
Kanata started growling, too, a deep and cavernous sound that sent vibrations to Touko’s bones.
Holding the struggling Temari in her arms, Touko held her breath. Koushi kept his grip on Kun. He was encumbered by Kun and his pack and couldn’t move easily.
Kanata kicked up mud and dirt and started running. There were shadows moving beyond the tree roots.
Touko’s hair stood on end as Kanata raced away from her. Had he gone after a Fire Fiend?
A bestial roar from up ahead answered that question for her. Kanata was fighting a Fire Fiend.
I have to help, Touko thought. Kanata was hurt. He couldn’t fight as well as he usually could. But Touko had no sickle to hunt Fire Fiends with. How could she possibly help Kanata now?
The sound of branches swaying and snapping startled Touko. There was a wildcat Fire Fiend overhead, staring at her and ready to pounce. The black beast’s burning eyes fixed on Touko. There was no way for her to fight back.
Temari thrashed, trying to get free.
Koushi shielded Touko’s head, standing in front of her in a protective pose.
Not again. She didn’t want anyone to die saving her. Not now, not that day in the forest when the Fire Hunter had saved her, and not ever in the future. She couldn’t bear the idea of someone else giving up their life to save hers.
Kanata had lost his Fire Hunter because of her.
I can’t let any more of Kanata’s precious people die, Touko thought. But she couldn’t express such thoughts in words. All she could do was scream as the Fire Fiend jumped down to gore her and Koushi.
The Fire Fiend never touched Touko.
There was a brilliant flash, and then a golden gash tore through the clinging darkness. Flames burst from the Fire Fiend’s throat, and a thousand motes of light sparked in the dark. The radiance scorched the sickly-sweet air.
“Ah!” Touko cried out.
The sickle of a Fire Hunter had struck down the Fire Fiend.
Touko watched each glimmer of light eagerly as it faded away. In the oppressive blackness, these bright sparks and flashes were practically blinding. Touko blinked a few times, hoping she’d be able to see better soon, and hoping that she would remember this—the spreading spiral of sparks that had saved her life once again.
The defeated Fire Fiend fell to the ground with a dull, wet thump. Droplets of shining golden liquid stuck to its fur. Silence reigned.
Touko looked up at the Fire Hunter who had saved them.
“You never listen, do you?” Akira asked, exasperated. “I never thought you’d chase me all the way here.” She smiled. Her red hair was bundled up behind her head.
Temari wagged her tail, and then jumped for joy.
“Akira,” Koushi said. “It’s good to see you.”
Kun twisted in Koushi’s hold and held out his arms to the Fire Hunter. “Akira!” he called out.
Kun broke free from Koushi’s grasp and dashed toward Akira. He clung to Akira’s legs with all his strength, his filthy pants pressed against her legs. Akira patted his head.
Temari’s tail wouldn’t stop wagging. She bared her tiny white fangs in a huge smile and tumbled over to Akira, tripping over her own feet in excitement. Temari pressed her head and body against her master’s shin with all her strength, and Akira petted her and scratched her behind the ears.
The Fire Fiend that Akira had defeated lay on a pile of dead black leaves, golden blood oozing from the wound on its neck. It would never move again.
Kanata returned, breathing heavily. His fur was caked with black soil.
“Good, good, you’re not hurt,” Akira said to Temari. “You’re a good girl.”
Akira checked over Kanata next, touching her nose to the dog’s. After she was satisfied with her understanding of Kanata’s condition, she wiped the Fire Fiend blood from her sickle and tucked the weapon into her waistband. Then she faced Touko and Temari.
“You know, I went to all that trouble to make sure there were duplicates of my petition,” Akira said. “You two sticking together kind of defeats the purpose of that, but I guess it can’t be helped.” There was no hint of reproach in Akira’s voice.
Akira gave Temari a much-deserved petting. Temari’s tail kept wagging. “Can… can you see?” Akira asked, looking deeply into Touko’s eyes. One hand rested gently against Touko’s cheek.
Touko nodded firmly.
Akira nodded back, her face twisting as if she were trying to hold back tears.
Touko didn’t want to see Akira so sad. Fortunately, Akira pulled her into a hug, and then she couldn’t see Akira’s face anymore.
They were in the Black Forest, a forbidden and dangerous place, but Touko hadn’t felt so safe in a long time.
“Don’t cry, silly. You need to keep your strength up,” Akira said. She brushed Touko’s bangs aside.
“I… We’re all alive because of you.”
Akira nodded in a perfunctory way. It was Kun’s turn for a hug next. She gave him a huge, beaming smile.
Touko was crying, though not very much. She was just so relieved that everyone was all right. Seeing Akira again gave her hope. She was still worried about Kira, Hinako, Kaho, Shouzou and the Tree People, though. And all the people in the city.
“Roroku came and finally got me to the shrine, but then the roots of the forest trees started crawling into the building, and before I knew it, I was in the forest,” Akira said. “Before that, I saw the Tree People coming up from underground, so I thought that might also be a divine power of the Guardian Gods. Who knows?”
A faint rustling echoed ahead of them. A large, thin dog emerged from the underbrush.
Temari twisted toward the dog and wagged her tail tentatively.
“Mizore?” Koushi asked. He looked beyond the dog at the shifting shadows. Roroku wasn’t far behind his dog.
Roroku stepped ahead of Mizore, trampling the leaves on the ground. He noticed Koushi and nodded. “Hey, kid. You’re still alive, huh? Good job.” His long hair was tied back and his clothes were filthy from battle. The aura around him was sharp and clear and deadly. He made himself smile with some effort. Deep wrinkles were engraved into his face. He looked like he’d aged a decade overnight.
Koushi nodded heavily in response. The Fire Hunter walked over to him. His straw sandals left no trace where he stepped. His injuries were still bleeding, including the worst one: the severe cut to his right hand. The hand was firmly wrapped, but Koushi could see blood seeping through the bandage.
Roroku placed his hand on Koushi’s head.
Koushi wasn’t sure why Roroku was doing that, but he let his chin drop to his chest. Touko thought that the expression on his face was one he’d probably only ever shown to Kanata before.
“Miss Akira, I showed the petition to Warashi, the Guardian God of my village,” Touko said.
Akira’s eyes widened, but her expression didn’t shift. “Warashi?”
Touko nodded. Her stomach felt tight from nerves. Everything she had seen on her way here flashed before her eyes. She felt as if the countless eyes of the dead had followed her here. There were so many dead people in the city, unburied and unmourned.
“Touko, did you read the petition?” Akira asked. She grinned and tilted her head slightly.
“No,” Touko said. She would never think to read a petition that was meant solely for the Guardian Gods’ eyes.
“I’m glad I entrusted it to you,” Akira said. She lifted Kun up. Kun was already dangling his arms and legs loosely; he was half-asleep.
“Where exactly are we in the forest?” Koushi asked. The trees twisted in strange ways, making him dizzy.
“We’re just outside the capital. The place where they were torturing the Spider that we found is just over there,” Roroku said. He pointed over his shoulder.
“Let’s rest for a bit. We’ll have to return to the capital soon, so we need to save our strength,” Akira said, wrapping Kun up in a torn blanket that she wore in place of a cloak.
***
They slept, and did not dream.
Touko remained anxious, though. She wondered if she felt that way because she was trying to sleep in the Black Forest. It seemed like the worst place to try to rest.
Touko forced her eyelids open and came out of her fitful doze. Kanata was beside her, fast asleep with his head on the ground. Touko shifted slightly, nudging Kanata’s body without meaning to. Kanata didn’t wake.
Kun was sleeping behind Touko. He’d chewed on the branches of a young tree for water before sleeping, so there was a green ring around his mouth.
“It’s past dawn now,” Roroku said. He sat beside a large rock that protruded from the ground. There were fewer Fire Fiends near the city at the moment because of the Spiders’ manipulation of the creatures in the attack, but that didn’t mean that the forest was safe. Akira and Roroku had taken up strategic positions to guard the others as they slept. Roroku’s dog sat next to him.
Roroku had been the first to come to Akira’s aid after Fire Fiends had stormed the capital. He had a copy of Akira’s petition with him, too, just in case anything happened to Akira. His injured hand lay limp at his side. Touko had never met a person whose skin was so dark before, and she stared a little longer than she usually would have.
“I know it’s hard to tell night from day out here,” Roroku said. “When you live in the capital, the forest feels like a completely different world.”
Akira sat cross-legged, not too far from Roroku. They leaned their heads together and spoke in hushed voices.
Temari lay nestled in Akira’s lap. She hadn’t barked much since Akira’s return, and she was much less anxious.
“The underground passage was full of Spiders and the Guardian Gods’ experiments. We escaped and came up to the surface. I saw Tree People then, I think. My uncle told me a story when I was young that there were giant Tree People living underneath the city. I didn’t believe him until today.”
Touko guessed that Akira had seen Kunugi, who was the most gigantic out of all the Tree People. Touko had encountered Tree People in the city, too. Had the Tree People managed to avoid the Spiders’ fire? And was Hinako all right?
“The letter Touko showed to Warashi vanished,” Koushi said. “Does that mean that Princess Teyuri and the other Guardian Gods read it?”
Akira scratched the back of her head in irritation. “I don’t know. Warashi is like a copy of Princess Teyuri. Every village has a Guardian God, though they don’t all look the same. I’ve lived as a wanderer, so I’ve seen them in many villages. They exist only to maintain the barriers. I don’t think Princess Teyuri is directly watching over the villages through her copies. I’m not even sure if it’s possible for her to do that.”
Akira thought for a moment. “No, I’m sure that Princess Teyuri can’t do that. If she could, there would be so many more villages that get charged with rebellion, for example. And just as many villages where epidemics wouldn’t have spread and major accidents wouldn’t have happened. There is no village shrine in the capital, of course. The Guardian Gods are present in person here, so there’s no need for them to create avatars for copies of themselves.”
“Does that mean…” Touko trailed off. Had she seen Princess Teyuri herself in the underground passage?
“It could still have been an avatar,” Akira said. “Guardian Gods use them for all kinds of reasons. That happened right after the Millennium Comet disappeared, right? I imagine that the Guardian Gods are busy right now, what with the Spiders and the Fire Fiends and everything. Maybe Princess Teyuri sent out an avatar as a scout, or a messenger, or to intervene in some conflict.”
“It sounds like your petition did reach the Guardian Gods, then,” Koushi said.
“I sure hope so,” Akira said. “Roroku and I ended up in the forest the same way you did. We were moving underground, and then we were here. We noticed odd roots and trees growing where they shouldn’t be, even when we were underground. It seems like the Guardian Gods interfered to grow this part of the forest suddenly so that we wouldn’t be able to reach the shrine.” She frowned. “Y’know, I was mad at first. We were there—we were right there—but we couldn’t move forward another inch. I thought the Guardian Gods were trying to keep me out no matter what, but there could be another explanation. This whole area is unsafe right now. I kind of feel like I dodged an arrow. Maybe it’s better for us all to be here at the moment. There are hardly any Fire Fiends around.”
“But we’re outside the capital,” Koushi said, his voice hollow.
Akira clapped Koushi on the back as if she wanted to transfer some of her strength to him. Caught off guard, Koushi lurched forward and caught himself on his hands.
“We can always return. We’re Fire Hunters. Proper channels and red tape don’t do a great job of controlling the movements of people like us.” The brightness of Akira’s voice was swallowed up by the gloom of the forest.
“But the tunnel through the cliff is closed off,” Koushi said.
“Yeah. I went to check it just in case, but it’s no use. The tunnel collapsed in a landslide. There’s no way through. The cliff is high enough that a fall would be fatal. Roroku can’t climb with his hand like that, anyhow.”
“Then what do we do?” Koushi asked.
Akira replied with a mischievous smile. “We’ll go back by sea. It’s a detour, and it’ll be pretty exhausting, but if we move before the tide comes in, we can return to the capital via the canals. The dogs can swim, and we don’t have too much to carry, for better or worse.”
Koushi grunted, clearly dissatisfied, but he didn’t have any better ideas.
Akira brushed aside Koushi’s attitude easily. She looked up at the sky.
“I can’t quite believe that you actually met the Millennium Comet, and she’s a real person. Is it possible that it’s just a mechanical doll made to look exactly like a living person?”
“I don’t think so,” Koushi said, though he sounded a bit uncertain. Many unbelievable things had happened over the past few days. It was hard to know what was real and what wasn’t anymore. “It looked like she was alive to me. I couldn’t think of her as being a robot or something.”
Akira shrugged. “We don’t have time to worry about the Millennium Comet at the moment. We’ve got our hands full with the Spiders, the people that the Guardian Gods modified, and Spider sympathizers in the city. I can’t believe there are so many idiots who’d follow the Spiders. They must be crazy. Or they fear combustion more than anything else in the world.”
“And then there’s all the infighting that the Guardian Gods are doing,” Koushi cut in. “Some clans are trying to remake humans so that they won’t need fire. Others want to make the Millennium Comet their next leader. Kira was kidnapped, according to Touko, so that she could become the Millennium Comet’s vessel, whatever that means.” His voice was dull and emotionless. He was too shocked by everything he’d witnessed to pull any emotion out of himself.
“You should be braver,” Akira said. “Your foster sister’s in danger, yeah? That’s your family. And Kira trusts you. I think we should try to save her.”
Temari gave Koushi a defiant snort, then snuggled into Akira’s lap again. Her tail wagged back and forth.
“If the Millennium Comet is a living person like you seem to think, then at least one of our problems has resolved itself,” Akira said. “She has regrets about not saving people in the past. Maybe now, she’ll choose a better path for the future. Maybe the point was never to hunt her, but to have her make a choice. She’s supposed to determine who the King of the Fire Hunters will be.”
Akira leaned back, squinting at the clouds far overhead. It was hard to see much of the sky because the leaves grew so thickly here.
Touko thought it was strange to be in this place of death. The Black Forest covered the world beyond the barriers. It was a no-man’s-land where life couldn’t thrive. When she’d been very small, she’d thought that even stepping foot inside the forest would mean instant death. But that wasn’t true. There was life here, even in the heart of the Black Forest where Fire Fiends reigned supreme. Otherwise, the forest would have disappeared long ago. Life was different here from what she knew, but it still existed, twisted and ominous but very much alive. Her aversion to this place lessened by slow degrees as she accepted this idea.
Kanata was asleep and breathing peacefully.
“How do you expect the Millennium Comet to choose a better path for the future?” Koushi asked. “For all we know, she’s been captured, too, and the Guardian Gods will do what they want with her.”
Akira had written her petition to the Guardian Gods a long time ago. Koushi believed that she’d asked to hunt the Millennium Comet. If Kira became the Millennium Comet’s vessel, would Akira have to hunt her?
“In my petition, I asked the Guardian Gods to lead the Millennium Comet to the southern edge of the industrial area inside the city,” Akira said.
Koushi looked up at Akira.
Akira brushed her hair over one shoulder. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. She sighed. “Go back to sleep. We’ll be leaving soon. If you get too tired to move when we’re swimming back to the city, I’ll leave you in the water.”
Koushi’s gaze fell on Touko. Touko had nothing to add to this conversation and she was still exhausted. She lay down next to Kanata and closed her eyes again.
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