KATANAGATARI 2

“So it wasn’t Soto the Twin that got them, but the cold.” Not like we should talk, Shichika added, since they risked the exact same fate.

“Well, they did manage to locate Soto the Twin and even confronted its owner…but we don’t know what came of that.”

“We don’t know.”

“That’s right.” Togame nodded like usual, but given the cold, perhaps she was just shivering. “I have verified that the Twin has been passed for generations by the House of Itezora─but what I have not heard is how the Itezoras beat them, or used the Twin.”

“Wait, were the troops wiped out entirely?”

“Seems so. Whoever survived would have been stranded in the snow. These conditions make a retreat impossible.”

“I see. I guess the backgrounds9 of the owners up until now have mostly been a mystery. Not much we can do about that. It’ll be that way from here on out, but once we meet whoever has Soto the Twin, we’ll know. We’ll learn what makes the Twin so special. All the owners so far paired well with their swords.”

The hardest katana in the world, Zetto the Leveler─the most flexible ninja, Komori Maniwa.

The sharpest katana in the world, Zanto the Razor─the fastest swordsman, Ginkaku Uneri.

The rifest katana in the world, Sento the Legion─the most blade-swapping miko, Meisai Tsuruga.

The weakest katana in the world, Hakuto the Whisper─the strongest fallen swordsman, Hakuhei Sabi.

The tightest katana in the world, Zokuto the Armor─the most barreling pirate, Kanara Azekura.

They were the owners.

A sword does not choose who to kill.

But a sword─will choose its owner.

Soto the Twin was one of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.

It must have chosen an owner perfect for itself─for its blade.

“But how do we know the Twin still belongs to the Itezoras? We’re in trouble if somebody else has taken it.”

“They have it, I’m certain. Ever since the Owari Bakufu designated this place as a Level One Disaster Area, they have been monitoring Mt. Odori non-stop… We would not even be allowed here, if only I didn’t work for the Shogunate.”

“…”

That “if only” spoke volumes as to her current state of mind, but in their six months on the road, Shichika had acquired enough human kindness to let such improprieties go unacknowledged.

“Sort of reminds me of Inaba Desert.”

“Inaba Desert is not a Level One Disaster Area…though dangerous terrain.”

“But does that mean the Itezoras have lived here all this time? What keeps them from dying?”

“I know about as much about the Itezoras as I do about the Twin, but I’ve heard that they’re odd ducks.10 Perhaps their blood can tolerate extreme cold… By the way, since everybody in their village is an Itezora, we won’t need to worry about casualties like last time─everybody is the enemy.”

“The enemy.”

“Yep.”

And enemies of the state at that─much like Ginkaku Uneri, squatting in Inaba Desert, the Itezoras were effectively outlaws who had hunkered down in a Level One Disaster Area despite the bakufu’s repeated warnings.

If necessary─they were okay to kill.

No need to hold back.

“Of course, the sword would be in the possession of a single member of the family. I would prefer a peaceful resolution, but they insist on holing up in this snow-covered mountain. A stubborn bunch…and not about to answer to the bakufu.”

“If they were, they probably would’ve surrendered the Twin to the Old Shogun during his Great Sword Hunt.”

“Likely so… Either way, this time we’re going in blind. Not a single clue to guide us, and no rehearsal.”

“So?” said Shichika fearlessly. “Business as usual.”

He figured this was a decent time to ask her.

“Hey, Togame.”

“What.”

“If we capture Soto the Twin─”

“Not if. When. You’re doing it.”

“Ah, right. Okay. So we’re going to capture Soto the Twin. And then we collect the remaining six─you’ll have all of the Twelve Possessed, just like you wanted. But once you have them, what exactly do you plan to do?”

“…”

Togame couldn’t respond. She wasn’t being coy; she simply had no answer.

The casual remark went far too deep─but maybe that was why they had to have this conversation halfway up a snowy mountain. In that sense, Shichika had been prudent with his timing.

The same could not be said for the remarks he had let slip when they were on their way from Satsuma to Ezo─

Togame thought back to the scene…

They had won themselves the Armor, and were still under the impression that their ship was heading for Owari, when Shichika said almost like an afterthought: I killed the Sixth Master of the Kyotoryu─my dad, with my own hands.

There was more: And your dad, Mastermind of the Rebellion, Kaoyaku of Oshu─Takahito Hida, the one my dad killed. I know you’re actually his daughter.

Just like that. Shichika came out and said it.

Togame hadn’t foreseen, even in her wildest dreams, Shichika being privy to that fact─the possibility had never crossed her mind. Albeit for an instant, the keen woman was unable to process his words.

But after all, Togame was a Schemer. She grasped their sense in no time.

“The fact that you killed your father, Mutsue Yasuri…” Togame led with her analysis of the first of his confessions. The second was by far the more important to her, but for that very reason she was saving it for last. Discussing the first item bought her time to think. “It isn’t exactly unfavorable news for me─I hired you because you were Mutsue Yasuri’s successor, but you were stronger, were the sharper sword. This will be crucial to the future of the Sword Hunt.”

“Oh…good.” Shichika seemed reassured by her reaction; his bearing suggested that a load was off his shoulders. “Sis told me to keep it secret, then Meisai Tsuruga said the same thing─so I thought maybe there was a problem. But seeing as you think it’s fine, I’m glad I told you. Thanks, Togame.”

So naive… While Togame had spoken half in earnest, she’d kept the other half of her opinion to herself─and this other half sided with his sister, Nanami Yasuri, and with the Mistress of Triad Shrine, Meisai Tsuruga.

Patricide. There must have been a reason.

A living sword whose unarmed way of fighting was not kenpo, but an extreme form of swordplay─perhaps the secrets of the Kyotoryu were only bequeathed to one kin at a time.11 Perhaps the pupil only became the new master when he surpassed his teacher…

For a school with such a longstanding tradition, this would hardly be unusual. Even Togame knew as much despite lacking any proficiency in the martial arts. And she was not without her sympathy.

She had no intention of reproving or rebuking12 Shichika for killing his own father.

And yet─“?”

That blank look on his face bore no emotion.

No sorrow for murdering his father.

No remorse for murdering his father.

Nothing of the sort.

Shichika had absolutely no idea why Nanami and Meisai said to keep it secret─

He was a sword.

A sword incarnate.

Killed his father─without feeling.

Having witnessed her own father slaughtered as an ignominious traitor─and her family’s massacre, Togame felt hardly indifferent at hearing this.

“Phew…” She stared off into the sea and sighed.

She was the one who had asked.

Togame had asked if he was hiding anything. If that was all it took to make him talk, it was a wonder he’d kept his mouth shut until now. But it was those two women who had counseled restraint…and his sister’s advice, especially, had to matter to Shichika.

Meisai had taken his secret to the grave, and if Nanami had told him to keep his mouth shut, she was not about to tell it to the world.

The same would apply─to his second confession.

Togame the Schemer. Her origins were a mystery, yet─Takahito Hida, Kaoyaku of Oshu, the sworn enemy of the Owari Bakufu, by all accounts slaughtered along with his whole family, had left behind a daughter!

Why was his daughter in the bakufu? Why had she worked her way─into its upper ranks?

And why was she on this Sword Hunt for the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki?

“Who told you about my father?”

She wanted to know whose big mouth13 she should sew up. All would be lost if the bakufu learned of her origins─above all else, she could not allow that nasty woman to find out.

“Um…”

Togame had tried to keep a neutral tone, but her face betrayed her inner feelings, and Shichika was puzzled by the menace14 in her eyes.

Uh oh… She had to try and keep her cool. Mere mention of my father─and I go insane.

“That ninja who I fought back on the island…Komori Maniwa.”

Is that so, Togame said after a beat.

Komori Maniwa─one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Clan, and a bloodhound when it came to information.

“Well then. I wouldn’t put it past─that ninja. I spent more time with him than any other Maniwac. Now that you mention it, he did say something along those lines…and you must have heard him too. There’s nothing I can do now about him running his mouth. The real question is whether he told anyone aside from you. It’s safe to say he told the other Bosses, but then again, Hohoh Maniwa didn’t sound as if─”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one. He was stuck and had to buy himself some time… Since his plan was to kill me afterwards, I don’t think he expected the secret to get out.”

“Ah, that makes sense. He was competing with the other Bosses─ leveraging his intel, so as to keep the upper hand… Well. That slimy ninja had some sneaky moves.”

While cursing out Komori─something occurred to her.

He heard it from Komori─before he chose me as his owner.

Indeed, he must have chosen me because he knew.

Because he fell for me.

He fell for me.

“Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad!”

Togame slapped his hand repeatedly. Really laying into him, so hard she nearly left a hand-shaped mark.

Shichika just sat there, but he spoke up.

“Hey, what’d you do that for?”

“Sorry. I was embarrassed, and trying to hide it?”

“That’s how you hide it?”

“Whatever, okay? So my situation hasn’t changed… Maybe it even improved. Now hear this, Shichika─from here on out, you are forbidden from discussing either of these points with anyone but me.”

“Got it.”

Quick answer. It could be seen as a sign of his obedience, just as he had sat there when she slapped him─but it could also be a sign that he had no concept of how serious this was.

He was a sword. He had no sentiment or feeling─and yet.

In Satsuma, he’d shown some quite human emotions toward Azekura…

So that was the crux of it.15

Since then, it had not come up once in conversation. Not aboard the schooner, before or after they discovered they were bound for Ezo, rather than Owari; nor in Ezo, when they were mushing toward the mountain on their dogsled; nor on Mt. Odori, before or after Shichika had piggybacked Togame─it was as if the two of them forgot it ever happened.

Until now.

But now, all of a sudden, Shichika had put the question to her: “So we’re going to capture Soto the Twin. And then we collect the remaining six─you’ll have all of the Twelve Possessed, just like you wanted. But once you have them, what exactly do you plan to do?”

Had he been dying to ask her this whole time, but waiting for a chance like this─the privacy of a snowy mountain, where there was no chance that anyone could listen in? Nothing of the sort, if it was privacy he wanted, there had been lots of other chances.

Of course─thought Togame, growing certain. What mattered to Shichika was her reason for hunting down the swords; he was relatively unconcerned with what she did with the swords once she had them.

He was simply curious, by no means dying to know. He barely cared.

What got him was her motive, not her endgame. The flip side being that Shichika would follow her lead, as her katana, regardless of the way she planned to use the swords─he wanted to be part of her life,16 whatever that meant, and would stand beside her come what may.

That was the Kyotoryu.

He could kill without an agenda─

Swords had nothing to lose from killing.

“I’m still not sure what I should do.”

“…”

“I’m not dodging the question,17 it’s just that I’m still figuring it out. I want to be ready to respond to whatever happens, in whatever way necessary. The bottom line is I can’t offer you a single, rigid answer.”

“…”

“You see, this journey is far from over. We’re not even halfway done. We have no choice but to keep on pushing. Until we finish the Sword Hunt for the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki, nothing else matters. No use counting chickens before they hatch.18 But when we come to the end of the trail, I suppose I’ll have to decide…”

“……”

“Shichika?”

He was being a bit too quiet, and wondering if she had said something to upset him, Togame leaned over his shoulder to try and see his face. No good─or good, insofar as she’d noticed. Shichika, who had been keeping his balance somehow as he trudged on, pitched forward thanks to that slightest shift.

He sank deep into the snow, and Togame was sent flying.

“Gadzooks! What the hell?” she lashed out in her usual fashion, but Shichika was unresponsive.

Face down in the snow─he did not move a muscle. In seconds, a barrage of white had covered him.

“Shichika? Shichirin?” Using the cutesy nickname for the first time in ages, Togame shook his prostrate body─but to no avail. At a loss, she tried to force him to sit upright.

“Ugh,” Shichika moaned.

He had a pained look on his face─but was conscious. Togame was relieved.

“I-I thought you died,” she huffed and took a deep breath. “What happened? Did you stub your toe on a rock buried in the snow?”

Shichika would not answer her question. He just sat there─wearing that pained look.

“H-Hey, Shichika?”

“My hands…” he said finally. “I can’t move my hands and feet.”

“Not frostbite!” Togame cried into the sky. “You imbecile, why didn’t you say that you were freezing? Why did you have to act like such a tough guy?”19

“B-But I wasn’t cold… My body just stopped doing what I asked it to…”

“How dull could you possibly be?!”

Ignoramus! Togame cursed him at the top of her lungs, but her voice was engulfed by the blizzard.

“You stupid idiot… What’s a kenpo master without his hands and feet?”

“I-I told you, it’s not kenpo, it’s swordplay…”

“Fool! This is no time for semantics. You underestimate how lethal cold can be!”

“Look who’s talking…but yeah, I guess this is what ‘cold’ feels like?”

Haphazard Island, where Shichika was raised, was situated in the Sea of Japan where winter brought snow. Yet he grew up with a tenuous grasp of what it meant to feel the cold, wearing just his rags the whole year round even in that climate.

Dull as he may be, the cold had slowly but surely sunk its fangs20 into his body. On this snowy mountain, Shichika had gained a visceral understanding of what it means to freeze.

As he had said himself, they were past the point of no return.

Too late now.

“Okay, so…”

Togame was perplexed. This, indeed, was no joke.

She never thought Shichika would tumble, but he had piggybacked her the entire hike up Mt. Odori, serving as her wall. And the wall had crumbled, inevitably, one might say.

It was unclear how far they had to go to reach the village of the Itezoras─the distance could not possibly be gauged in the whiteout of the snowy mountain.

Trouble ahead─and trouble behind.

“This…is bad, really bad…”

She would have to let Shichika rest. If the frost bit any deeper into his extremities, he would cease to function as a sword. The need for refuge was immediate, but in these blizzard conditions, discovering a place to hide away could take forever. Meanwhile, Togame could soon expect to find herself in the same state as Shichika─not soon, but any moment, without him serving as her wall. When it came to physical endurance, she fell well below the norm.

Level One Disaster Area. Togame was learning the true meaning of the phrase.

“Uh…” Shichika─closed his eyes.

Perchance to sleep.

Forever sleep.

“No, no! Don’t fall asleep. You’ll die!”

While this may smack of mountain rescue melodrama, it was no exaggeration─Shichika was on the verge of dying. Togame smacked the hell out of his cheeks, but the fact that he just sat there was no longer a sign of his obedience.

Togame began to feel woozy herself. Already.

“No─not yet. What do we─what do we do now?”

Still she refused to give up. Even in these cruel conditions, where the temperature could surpass thirty degrees below freezing, circumstances anyone else would call a stalemate, Togame racked her brains─it went far beyond persistence.

It was abnormal.

She was obsessed.

Obsessed with avenging her father.

Obsessed with avenging her family.

Pressed about her plans, she’d said, I’m still not sure what I should do─but this level of conviction made it clear that she had long decided what to do.

To the Yanari Shogunate─to the Owari Bakufu.

To those who had murdered her father, and slaughtered her family.

She knew exactly what to do.

She would not rest until21 she reached her goal─by whatever means necessary, regardless of the circumstance.

Of course she played dumb around Shichika. She had no choice.

After abandoning everything else, all she had left was a single goal.

Call it her agenda. Her reason for being.

Her agenda was everything─but her sword had nothing of the sort.

All Shichika needed was a reason─but Togame valued nothing but the endgame, in the name of which she made her every move!

“Excuse me…”

Suddenly, out of the snow, through a blizzard that could swallow any scream─a voice, nondescript and quiet but unmistakably directed at Togame, landed in her ear.

Togame looked up.

To see a snow fairy.22

■　■

Togame was not mistaken in this observation about Shichika.

But he wondered about one thing.

He had to wonder: What exactly do you plan to do?

He was really asking about his own future─when the Sword Hunt was over, what would become of the sword known as the Kyotoryu? What exactly did she plan to do with him?

The perpetrator of the murder of her father, Takahito Hida─was Mutsue Yasuri, Sixth Master of the Kyotoryu. In which case, the entire Kyotoryu, including Shichika, son of the perpetrator, were subject to her retribution.

What would Togame do? When the Sword Hunt was over, what would she do about the sword whose name was Shichika Yasuri?

Regardless of her plans, he would stand beside her, come what may─but now he could not rid the question from his mind, unlike when they had started on their journey.