KATANAGATARI 2
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Togame the Schemer would have to wait to learn the reason─but with wits like hers, there was nothing odd about her figuring out sooner, before the month was out.
The reason Konayuki, searching for Soto the Twin, had returned to the village alone…or, in other words, the reason she had not wanted either of them coming anywhere near the village…
It had happened the month before.
According to Konayuki─last month, an avalanche had buried their village.
But think about it.
How could a mountaintop village be buried by an avalanche?
And this thing about finding the sword in the buried village─even if she knew exactly where it was, could one night possibly be enough?
For all her youthful goodness, naïveté and innocence, and simple, artless disposition, Konayuki was by no means honest. Her lying went beyond finding the Twin a “worthy” owner.
She had lied about the avalanche.
But the village being wiped out was no lie.
It was a cold hard fact.
It happened while Konayuki was on a trek outside the village─in other words, she had no idea what wiped it out.
The Itezoras probably never knew what hit them.
Her arrival had upended their environs far swifter than an avalanche─precise, oh so precise, and devastating, oh so devastating─it blew through every member of the House of Itezora.
The Itezoras’ monstrous strength? Irrelevant.
Old and young, men and women and children.
The Itezoras─eighteen families and forty-six individuals, not counting Konayuki.
Every life was taken.
Without mercy.
Slaying total amateurs and seasoned veterans alike.
As if she were─a sword incarnate.
None of them could comprehend it, much less stop it, but one thing was clear─a cold and fleeting comfort.
At least they knew why she was here.
The Mutant Blade of Kiki Shikizaki─Soto the Twin.
The Itezoras were veritable sheaths, safeguarding the Twin throughout the Age of Warring States, not even surrendering the sword to the Old Shogun.
But once the sheaths were splintered, she picked up Soto the Twin, using the monstrous strength that she had gleaned whilst battling the Itezoras.
“Not the one,” she said.
Astounding─this was a Mutant Blade, one of the masterworks of Kiki Shikizaki, worth enough to buy a country, and she was being picky.
She had wiped out an entire village, all its people, just to leave the sword behind.
“I can’t use the Harlequin Butterfly, or this monstrous strength, for long stretches… This thing will drag me down. It’s not too pretty, either. Not the sword for me. That’s fine, I’ll just leave it somewhere obvious so Shichika can find it. Anyway, I’m glad I fought them all at once. That made it easy. I would have lost if I’d taken them on one by one─I hope things work out like that again.”
She muttered on, like it was nothing─“I guess I’ll forge ahead to Mt. Shirei, only who knows if I’ll get there, I’m so awful with directions”─and left the summit behind.
Soon after, Konayuki made it to the village and found her entire clan slaughtered.
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Togame the Schemer had been dead set on returning to Owari if and when1 she secured Soto the Twin─but her plans were derailed yet again. Whether or not this lead about the “monster” was legitimate, she had no choice but to pursue it.
She and the Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu waited for Konayuki to regain consciousness before going down the mountain─as a trio.
Level One Disaster Area. Homeland of the Itezoras, Mt. Odori.
This came as a result of painstaking “negotiations” between Konayuki, who did not want to leave the mountain, and Togame, who needed her to haul the sword back to Owari, but let us skip the details─out of necessity, since the negotiations dragged on for that long. It seemed to Shichika, listening in, that Togame had not relaxed her game simply because she was dealing with a child. In other words, the Schemer inveigled Konayuki with all the usual gusto, as the Schemer, engaging the girl with the utmost sincerity in her efforts at persuasion.
This wouldn’t be taking so long if Togame just came down to her level, thought Shichika, but he knew to keep his mouth shut.
The ploy Togame had in mind for swaying Konayuki was quite simple: she could live at Triad Shrine in Izumo.
A place for women who had lost their way.
Everybody there had baggage─an anomaly like Konayuki would not even stand out. Indeed, in the absence of Meisai Tsuruga, the abominably strong Konayuki Itezora would someday make a fine steward.
With one stone, they could kill two birds, or even three. This was a case study in thinking Togame-style.
Though we might say the prey were rabbits rather than birds.
Togame’s speech on Triad Shrine went over Konayuki’s head, but at the very least, she managed to convey that the girl would never be alone there. It took some time, but Konayuki finally agreed─and said she would be happy to deliver the Twin to Owari.
“I’m sorry for lying to you, Miss Togame and Mister Shichika,” she said. “But spending time with you the past four days was super fun.”
Escorted by government officials, Konayuki boarded a ship bound for Owari, carrying Soto the Twin in one hand and the burden of a lie left unconfessed─but castigating her for this would be too cruel.
While Konayuki may have beaten Shichika Yasuri, the Strongest Swordsman in Japan, she was only ten. Why would she want to talk about finding the bodies of her family?
“Think we’ll ever see her again?”
They were on a ship to Shikoku─this time, without a doubt, honestly heading to Shikoku─when Shichika lobbed the question at Togame.
Despite the ambiguity of the pronoun, the “her” was clearly Konayuki Itezora, whom they had bid farewell at the harbor.
“I wonder how she’ll make out.”2
“Make out?3 With Konayuki?” Togame panicked at what she thought she heard. “D-Don’t tell me that you’re into little girls… Wh-What’s she have that I don’t… Wait, wait, are you still mad about what happened? If I did something that upset you, just tell me, and I’ll make it right.”
“Whoa, whoa. I mean her future. How things’ll go,” Shichika corrected Togame’s misunderstanding with a baffled expression. “Anyway, I may have beaten Kyoken, but as it stands, I lost to Konayuki. I know what you mean, Togame, about it being a good thing, but because I did beat Kyoken, I can’t let go of it.”
“Right…we’ve been through this, Shichika. That was beginner’s luck. Konayuki is a total amateur. It was no more than an accident, the collision of two very different skillsets. Don’t let it get to you. It doesn’t even count as a defeat.”
“I wonder, though. I have a hard time seeing it that way.”
“What I will say is we could have been more careful. No question there, so I’m glad you learned your lesson. But now I need for you to focus on recuperating. If what Hohoh Maniwa said is true, your next opponent is a monster. And by monster, I mean someone who can demolish a Level One Disaster Area.”
“Sounds like a bunch of hogwash. No one out there is that awesome. Although I was pretty impressed by Hakuhei Sabi… Come on, Togame, isn’t this another ninja lie?”
“Perhaps, but we must see for ourselves.”
“Fine. What about Owari and…Princess What’s-Her-Name?”
“It does trouble me…but when I think it through, I have to say, if I were in her shoes, I would lay low for the time being, no matter what I planned on doing next. I’ll bet anything that nasty woman is waiting on my doorstep.4 I’m dying to get back to Owari, but it’s so fun to keep her waiting.”
“Hmm. Sounds like a tough person to deal with. Anyways, Togame, now that we’re going to Shikoku, I’ll finally get to see that thing the Old Shogun put up when he was done with his Great Sword Hunt─the Katana Buddha.”
“I don’t need you acting like a tourist, but I suppose we can swing by… You could use a little break.”
“Hey, which do you think is heavier, the Katana Buddha or Soto the Twin? I know that the Katana Buddha was made from like a hundred thousand swords, but the Twin has gotta be heavier than that. To be honest, I’m kind of worried that Konayuki’s ship might sink before she makes it to Owari.”
“No need to worry. She’s on a man-of-war,5 the pride of the Owari Bakufu. The Old Shogun never saw a ship the likes of this. It’s practically unsinkable. But why bring up Konayuki again? Can’t we let her go? Don’t tell me that you really had a change of heart… Hey, it’s been forever since you wrapped my hair around your body. If you were so inclined…”
Togame seemed legitimately concerned.
But since the state of Shichika’s devotion was a matter of life and death, this should not exactly come as a surprise.
“I could never have a change of heart, Togame. I’m your sword.”
“Good to know, but seriously…” The Schemer eyed Shichika suspiciously and gave him a bitter smile. “If you absolutely have to settle things with Konayuki, you can do it when we’re done with the whole Sword Hunt.”
“Okay.”
By this, Togame was not making any promises about what would happen when the Sword Hunt was over─she was simply making conversation, no more than a flight of fancy.
Reading into it would be an error.
In the end─Togame sought revenge against the Kyotoryu.
Shichika knew as much─but nevertheless.
It was enough to fill his heart with warmth.
“Sounds like a plan, Togame.”
Shichika Yasuri, a sword incarnate.
His humanity was growing steadily stronger as the Sword Hunt continued…
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Next month─in the seventh month of the year, Shichika Yasuri, Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu, would be snapped in half.
A broken sword, or a broken heart?
Or both equally broken?
The showdown would take place at the greatest of all holy sites for swordsmen─Mt. Sayabashiri in Tosa, Seiryoin Gokenji Temple, home to the Katana Buddha.
But this monster that had plowed through two Level One Disaster Areas like they were nothing─was none other than Shichika’s big sister, Nanami Yasuri, head of the house. Unbeknownst to him, the two would have their showdown soon enough. So far, he had beaten two owners of a Possessed without them dying, first Kanara Azekura, and now Konayuki Itezora─but in the coming showdown, he would murder his own sister.
Soto the Twin: Check
End of Book Six
To Be Continued
1 暁には AKATSUKI NI WA “at daybreak” in the event
2 心残り KOKORO NOKORI “remaining in the heart” regrets
3 心変わり KOKORO GAWARI “change of heart” lose romantic interest
4 帰り待ち KAERI MACHI standing by until someone returns
5 大型軍艦 ŌGATA GUNKAN “large-sized military vessel”