BOOK TWELVE　ENTO THE BEAD

■　■

Before we begin, I must express how grateful I am to have been the recipient of such good company throughout this scant yet lengthy─or long yet scanty foray into history.

Grateful to whom?

To you.

My futile attempt to slice off, draw up, and otherwise pick out but a single year of a trivial chapter in a certain take on history, and to describe it in the manner now established, was perhaps not such a meaningful pursuit, but the good humor1 you have shown me all along the way is something that, in my view, has definite value in and of itself.

Value.2

To be honest, I am not such a big fan of the word.

Why? Because value, or any notion recognized as a value system, is the first thing to be turned on its head for convenience’s sake─and once turned on its head, it will not be restored.

Exclusive, but easily lost.

And once lost, never regained.

To render such a thing absolute is inarguably absurd. At least for me.

So with that in mind, let’s talk of something that has no value.

Or at least no value system.

Questions, or perhaps outright criticism, might have arisen to a certain extent regarding the history that I have described this time (this time indeed, though perhaps we’re talking about next time).

Criticism, and complaints.

While I do not have it in me to engage with, register, and otherwise answer for every instance thereof, I nevertheless feel a certain need, as we finish off this history, to offer some prefatory remarks.

So first, let me ask you something.

Just as Takahito Hida, sometime Kaoyaku of Oshu, once asked his own daughter─“What do you think history is?”

When I think about the way he must have felt when he asked his own daughter that question, it makes me feel no small amount of guilt─but putting that aside.

You obviously have your own version of history.

Your history.

Your history.

Something altogether different from the history I have described in this project, to the point where you, in perceiving your own version as exclusive, may even see the one I’ve described as no more than a fabrication3─though as I’ve underscored throughout, there is no such thing as an exclusive, irreplaceable4 history.

Or perhaps once again─history is exclusive, but easily lost.

Sad to say.

Your version of history, yours though it may be─is not yours alone.

Hypothetically.

Not like there’s anything hypothetical about it─but in the interest of a logical and ethical argument, let’s start off with the hypothetical.

They say─history is merely written.5

If you want to learn about events that happened prior to your birth, you must rely on the writings, or documents, left behind by your predecessors. Unless you are an omnipotent divine being, there simply is no other way to learn about the various things that people were responsible for doing in the past.

Failing such resources, we cannot unravel the past.

However, we do not actually have any way of judging the veracity of those writings─in fact, because any piece of writing is the product of an individual, it cannot but turn false.6 In the end, leaving a record means minding what other people would think.

A history that minds what other people would think?

Whoever heard of such a foolish thing?

The only point in time that we can label true is now.

Our past is laden with emotion, and our future is viewed with hope.

The only thing we can comprehend that has not faded, that is not colored, is this very instant, meaning the present moment.

Which means you cannot even trust the line before this─the only thing you can be sure of is each word, in the moment that you read it.

It is not unheard of for the historical treatment of a given person to vary widely from one document to the next─just as the reputation of a given person varies widely with the times.

Really, it’s nothing more.

Value, easily turned on its head.

Shifting.

Yes.

History will shift.

It keeps on shifting.

Shifting to no end.

In actuality, this manner of altering history─or revising it for that matter, is far from exceptional.

Everybody does this, without giving it a second thought. To put it in more personal terms, everybody will exaggerate to some extent when talking about their past.

Right?

Not saying this is simple.

Just that revising history is far from exceptional.

Hence.

Since any piece of writing about history, so long as it is written to be read, is doomed to be a lie, I have no intention of asserting that the history I have recorded in this project is impeccable.

Accurate. Factual.

Absolute.

These words are products of our fantasy.7

Nobody actually believes them.

Thing is, if all history is a lie, I have no qualms about submitting, as an equivalent, the history that I have described.

An unholy history full of holes.

A history that comes to an end with this installment.

The final curtain will soon be lowered on this tale that started on a desert island off the coast of Kyoto.

Soon enough.

This saga, which developed without necessity, will conclude without necessity.

Tying up, unfurling8─and now folding.

Considering the meanings of the word “Owari,” the fact that place is shaping up to be our final venue registers as something of a joke, which does not please me─but as you understand by now, after sticking with me thus far, not everything about this history was under my influence or control.

There will always be surprises.

All I have done, for the history to proceed, was lightly outline the course, and what flowed there was the will of the current.

I believe in the will of water.

Because in my view, this is the primary meaning of history.

Any secondary meanings are too trivial to bear discussion.

Therefore.

Here is my answer to the question Takahito Hida asked.

History─is about people.

About Shichika Yasuri, about Togame the Schemer.

About Princess Negative and Emonzaemon Soda.

About the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

That’s history.

My record may be a work of fiction9─but their lives are truths.

Exclusive and irreplaceable, and unlost.

In concluding what has been but one treatment of but one version of history, this is the one thing I would hope to leave you with, through these prefatory remarks.

History is about people.

Which makes you a part of history too.

Your version of history may be a total lie─

But your version of yourself is nothing of the sort.

At this juncture, I have no way of knowing who you are, or what sort of a history you are living through─as much as I would love to know, I have no way of knowing, but all the same.

If at all possible.

Never trusting history or hanging10 on it.

May you simply be yourself.

■　■

On that note, let’s get started.

Time to unroll the scroll of this war of katanas.

This historical parable of the changing of guards.

The last installment of the Saga of the Swords.

Katanagatari─finished, the end.11

1 酔狂 SUIKYŌ “drunk craziness” whimsy; eccentricity

2 価値 KACHI “cost and price”

3 嘘物語 USOMONOGATARI tale of lies

4 唯一無二 YUI’ITSU MUNI just one, no second

5 文章 BUNSHŌ writing (n.), sentence, composition

6 偽になってしまう NISE NI NATTE SHIMAU prove to be a fake

7 空想の産物 KŪSŌ NO SANBUTSU “product of empty thoughts”

8 結んで開いて MUSUNDE HIRAITE “close, open (a scroll)” or hands (in a widely known Japanese nursery rhyme that starts with those words, to music by Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

9 虚構 KYOKŌ “false structure” vs. 虚刀流 KYOTŌRYŪ Kyotoryu 構え KAMAE form

10 頼る TAYORU depend, rely, lean

11 おしまい、おしまい OSHIMAI, OSHIMAI “over, over” traditional “FIN” of storytellers

■　■

Gunshots.

Shichika had no hope of understanding these were gunshots. For starters, he had not encountered any sort of firearm over the course of the entire Sword Hunt─which meant that he had no chance of comprehending that those things were improved1 versions of the firearms of their day.

Emonzaemon Soda.

In both hands he held what looked like lumps of metal─but what on earth were they?

Granted, someone from the present-day would recognize them instantly.

In one hand a revolver.

In the other an automatic.

Indeed, these weapons should not, could not exist in this time or place─except this pair of swords was here, a clear and present danger.2

Hence.

“One of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki─the final masterpiece. Ento the Bead.”

Thus.

Emonzaemon─calmly intoned.

“Togame the Schemer. Shichika Yasuri. Together with the eleven swords that you have hunted down─this pair of swords completes the set, rounding out the Twelve Possessed.”

With that.

The sword which Togame the Schemer had fumbled─which Togame and Shichika had freshly prized from Hohoh Maniwa, its former owner, in New Maniwa in Iga─Dokuto the Basilisk, being the eleventh of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki, had been retrieved by Emonzaemon.

The lumps of metal already holstered inside his suit jacket.

“Job well done─Togame the Schemer.”

To this patronizing comment.

Togame the Schemer did not respond.

Could not respond.

Reason being─

The two blasts issued from Ento the Bead had pierced her abdomen, sending her flying─to where she now lay supine in the middle of the road.

Gushing.3

Incessantly─the blood railed from her stomach.

It would not stop.

The seemingly two dozen layers of brash and brilliant finery, her signature style─were taking on the red of blood.

Losing their brash brilliance.

Every detail choked with red.

“Ah…ah, ah, ah, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Shichika howled.4

Howled like a beast.

What happened?

What was happening?

This was more─than he could comprehend.

Not just the nature of Ento the Bead.

What was happening here─what was going on?

How had things come to this?

Too much─for him to understand.

“Wh-Why, why─is this─”

But he remembered.

Why this must be happening.

In a way─this outcome was predictable.

On their Sword Hunt for the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki.

Deep in the mountains of Iga, at New Maniwa, the stronghold of the Maniwa Ninja Clan, their rivals in the Sword Hunt─they had made a splendid show of capturing Dokuto the Basilisk from Hohoh Maniwa, one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa, effectively the head of the entire ninja clan.

This was the eleventh sword that Togame the Schemer had captured in her Sword Hunt.

While also settling her score with the Maniwa, her history with whom was fraught.

And so─for all intents and purposes, the Sword Hunt was now over.

Because Togame had deduced5 that the last sword, Ento the Bead, was in the ownership of her archnemesis, Princess Negative.

While Togame the Schemer served as Grand Commander of Arms of the Yanari Shogunate Military Directorate, Owari Bakufu─Princess Negative served as Inspector General of the Yanari Shogunate, Owari Bakufu.

The two she-devils of the bakufu.

Hence─one would think that military conflict was behind them, leaving them to parley.

And yet.

On their way back from Iga.

As they were heading home to Owari─

They found Emonzaemon Soda standing in the road.

The confidant of Princess Negative.

The former ninja─Emonzaemon Soda.

Dressed in a coat and trousers, wearing a pair of swords.

Face hidden by a mask, on which were scrawled the words “NON-NINJA.”

It had been a fair amount of time─since they had seen him.

Togame the Schemer declared that Emonzaemon must have guessed that they would capture Dokuto the Basilisk and was waiting for them to arrive, so they could have a conversation─to which Shichika tended to agree.

But they were wrong.

Emonzaemon─wasted no time attacking Togame.

Using those mysterious lumps of metal.

That fired bullets from their muzzles.

Bang. Bang.

The sound was hollow─but enormous.

“E-E-Emonzaemon!”

Shichika lost his mind─screaming furiously, to which Emonzaemon replied:

“Notwithstanding.”6

His mien underneath his mask─obscured.

“Quit barking, Kyotoryu─I’m only doing my job.”

“Wh-Why─do this to Togame!”

“Why? Didn’t I tell you? This woman─the daughter of Takahito Hida, former Kaoyaku of Oshu, and Mastermind of the Rebellion─is Princess Mercy.”7

“Princess M-Mercy?”

Togame the Schemer.

Whose actual name and origins were unknown.

Now everything─was illuminated.8

Not even Shichika had known her actual name─however.

It was imperative no one in the bakufu discover her to be the daughter of Takahito Hida.

And if Emonzaemon was privy to this detail─Princess Negative surely knew as well.

One way or another, the Inspector General.

Had sussed out her identity.

In which case.

“Right. In which case it makes perfect sense for me to put a bullet or two through the Schemer’s chest. With me, Kyotoryu?”

“Uh─no.”

Shichika was lost.

Fretting.

Seeing this, Emonzaemon explained.

“Honestly, though, the fact that Togame is a relative of Takahito Hida─is such a surprise that I can barely hide it with my mask. I was certain Princess Mercy had been slain in the midst of her escape─the idea that she wormed her way into the center of the bakufu is inconceivable. In the event─she had been able to complete her Sword Hunt, and been celebrated accordingly…the results would have been horrifying.”

“H-How did you find out?”

“Hmm?”

“How─do you know who she is?”

“I wish you hadn’t asked me that.”

Emonzaemon shrugged resignedly.

“This is a rather painful thing to have to tell you─but I have no reason to worry about your feelings, Kyotoryu. So here it goes. It’s all because of you─your deportment9 before Her Highness was suspicious. Her Highness noticed something was off.”

Oh, thought Shichika.

That time.

Their second audience with Princess Negative─

When she told them who owned Seito the Garland.

And when she told them─they could find the Garland at Hyakkeijo in Mutsu, Oshu.

Hyakkeijo, the site of Hida Castle─once home of Takahito Hida.

The hometown─of Togame the Schemer.

Hearing this from Princess Negative, Shichika was definitely agitated.

Except he could have sworn─he hid his agitation.

Had hidden it completely.

But the damage had been done.

Shichika had failed─the instant that he let himself experience agitation.

The eyes of Princess Negative.

The eyes of the archnemesis of Togame the Schemer─would never miss the nuances of his deportment.

“So─So what!”

“So what? That explains everything─Takahito Hida was the Mastermind of the Rebellion. As a rule, all his associates are to be killed, without exception. Anything less is tantamount to sheltering the enemy─which makes you an accomplice.”10

“…nkk!”

“I must say, this was a tough decision for Her Highness to make─Her Highness never wished for things between her and Togame the Schemer to end this way. A violent outcome is far from what Her Highness wanted,” Emonzaemon continued. “The internecine conflict between Her Highness and Togame the Schemer came to this─all because of you, Kyotoryu.”

“Th-That can’t─be.”

Moaning.

Shichika turned around─seeing the fallen Schemer.

Seeing her kimono turn a darker shade of red.

Seeing the earth puddle with her blood.

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

He tried to slug Emonzaemon.

No semblance of the methods of the Kyotoryu, a plain old haymaker11─it had no hope of harming Emonzaemon Soda, a former ninja and the confidant of Princess Negative.

Umigame Maniwa.

Oshidori Maniwa.

Pengin Maniwa.

One after another, Emonzaemon had assassinated these infamous12 Maniwa Bosses without even trying─how could a plain old haymaker work on him?

As to be excepted.

Emonzaemon declined to gratify Shichika with a response, but instead simply took one step backward. Certainly not using Ento the Bead, and not so much as raising Dokuto the Basilisk or either of the swords slung from his hips.

“Notwithstanding,” Emonzaemon repeated. “Kyotoryu. Under the circumstances, I must confess I always knew someday the two of us would fight─I knew that I would have the chance to fight the Kyotoryu with Ento the Bead, the final masterwork of Kiki Shikizaki. Or at the very least, I wanted to. No matter what Her Highness ordered me to do─I’ve had this feeling, all along, that fighting you would be inevitable. For reasons wholly separate from the Sword Hunt.”

“…nkk!”

“Still─my feeling13 was way off. At this point, there is no reason whatsoever for the two of us to fight. I now find your existence─inconsequential.”

“Eh-Emonzaemon─”

“Which is why─I showed remorse,” Emonzaemon said, pointing past Shichika─at Togame the Schemer, bleeding on the ground.

“I missed her vital organs─Togame the Schemer lives.”

“Ah…h.”

“She will die any moment─but she is still alive.”

With these words─Emonzaemon turned his back on Shichika.

Turning his back on him, in the middle of their fight.

This meant─that Emonzaemon did not actually conceive of Shichika as an enemy.

Thought nothing of him whatsoever.

Their fight─was nothing to him.

“Have that final conversation─lend her your ear. To Togame the Schemer’s─nay,” Emonzaemon said without emotion, walking away─slipping away from Shichika, “Princess Mercy’s last words.”

“…nkk!”

“To what she might have to say, as she breathes her last.”

Chasing after Emonzaemon─was more than Shichika could bear.

Hearing him talk like this.

He had no choice but to spin around─and rush over to Togame.

Togame the Schemer─had fallen on her back.

By now even her hair of white was taking on the color of blood.

“Togame! Togame─Togame, Togame, Togame, Togame, Togame!”

Shichika took her in his arms and sat her up.

Holding her─unfazed that both his hands were smeared with blood.

“Togame─”

“…I hear you, okay?”

Then.

Finally─Togame answered Shichika.

However weak.

She was herself─the response resolute.

“He shot me in the belly─feels like he tore through my intestines.14 Well, then─that must be Ento the Bead. Least we know how it works now.”

“To-Togame─hey!”

Togame calmly analyzed their situation, speaking in a lucid tone that betrayed nothing of her dire situation15─which served almost to frighten Shichika.

In her condition.

“Togame─get it together!”

“Later, I need for you to look around, behind me. There should be two bullets somewhere…or something like them, anyway. Listen, Shichika. We don’t have time right now for an introductory lesson on firearms─but when you see the bullets, I think your martial instincts16 will fill in any gaps. Sure these guns are handy─but the point is they can be fired rapidly and continuously.17 Why else make them that size─”

“Wh-Who cares!” yelled Shichika. “Enough about Ento the Bead!”

Yelling in her ear─as if reproaching her, in the final hour, for fixating on her motive, unable to undo her fixation.

“Too late─figuring out stuff about the Twelve Possessed won’t help us anymore! Now that the truth─is out!”

Togame’s ambition!

Togame’s motive!

Togame’s revenge─all was exposed!

“You’ve lost!” pronounced Shichika.

Emphatically─eyes closed.

“You lost to Princess Negative─lost to the Owari Bakufu!”

“…”

“All because of me!”

Shichika─forced the words out.

In a voice thick with remorse.

“Again─because of me, again!”

“…”

“Just like what happened─with Dad!”

Shichika Yasuri, Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu.

Responsible─for killing his own father, Mutsue Yasuri, the previous master of the school, and the Hero of the Rebellion.

Because─Mutsue tried to kill Shichika’s sister, Nanami Yasuri.

Fearing the absurd genius of Nanami Yasuri enough─he tried to kill his own daughter.

Which forced Shichika to kill him.

But in fact, Mutsue only resolved to kill Nanami after Shichika let slip that her genius was growing stronger by the day.

If Shichika had only been more careful─

Mutsue would probably never have tried to kill Nanami.

And Shichika would not have had to kill Mutsue.

And yet.

Or rather, yet again.

He had repeated─the same mistake!

“Forgive me, Togame─I’m your sword, I wasn’t supposed to hurt you─”

“Would you be quiet for a second?” Togame pleaded gently─so as to soothe Shichika in his distress. “For now…I’m trying to come up with a strategy.”

“Strategy─”

“I mean a scheme, per usual.”

Then Togame softly closed her eyes.

Closing her eyes, as if about to die.

She breathed a heavy sigh as if she were exhaling.18

Then opened her eyes.

“Hm,” she said. “We’re stuck. No dice.”

“Togame!”

“Just as you say─we’ve failed. At least…I’m the only one dying. Good thing you aren’t dying too.”

“Wh-What are you saying! You can’t die! I-I’ll get a doctor─”

Looking back on their journey.

Did any of the villages have doctors?

If Shichika ran for all he was worth, perhaps─

“Don’t bother,” Togame said. “I thought of that.”

Speaking no differently from usual19─the same Togame.

“This isn’t about timing─I’m mortally injured. I’ve thought of everything…but the state I’m in, it’s no use. Like the man…Emonzaemon said, he missed my vital organs…but the bleeding is out of control.”

“Th-Then you can use my blood!”

“If that was possible…I’d be standing,20 you idiot. What am I gonna do with you?”

Even at a time like this─Togame poked fun at her bodyguard.

“Shichika.”

“Wh-What now?”

“When I die─I want you to popularize ‘Cheerio’ as a battle cry, throughout Japan…”

“A-Are you serious?!” Shichika berated Togame. “Pull yourself together─stop sounding so weak. With these wounds…you’re barely wounded!”

“I’m done for─this is the end for me… Please, Shichika, I need you to save ‘Cheerio’…”

“You’re out of your mind! How am I supposed to get everyone to use ‘Cheerio’ the wrong way!”

“If anyone can, it’s you… That’s why I chose you, as my sword…”

“No way! Togame…without you, I can’t do anything! There’s no way I could popularize ‘Cheerio’ without you by my side. Togame!”

“Nonsense─in the past year, I’ve taught you everything I know… You no longer need my schemes. Popularizing ‘Cheerio’ should be no sweat for you, by now.”

“Snap out of it! There’s so much stuff you’ve gotta do, Togame!”

“Stuff I’ve gotta do…” Togame let her eyes fall shut and smiled wanly. “Who’s to say I have to do it though… Haha, oh dear, why have I been so hung up on that stuff? Going it alone─trying to avenge the slaughter of my family, the ruin of my family name…but in our travels together, I finally realized…that perhaps it’s all pointless…”

“Uh, Togame?”

“Tomfoolery21… True happiness is not found by turning to the past, but by creating a new life, with someone by your side… Somehow, all this time, I failed to realize it was about looking forward, walking together…”

“I-I’m telling you, Togame, you’re coming to that realization way too soon─”

“For twenty long years, I’ve walked this road alone…but in the one year since we’ve met, you’re the one who’s done the teaching…about how to live a life.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly have changed your outlook on life that much!”

“You sure did.”

Togame the Schemer.

Coughing up blood─turned bashful.

“You’ve taught me more important things─than I could ever count.”

“…”

“The things I’ve realized, because of you. Understood, because of you. Discovered, because of you. Too many things to count… Whew, I’m getting dizzy.”

Though it made her wince─Togame smiled.

“I had fun, because of you. I was happy, because of you. I smiled and laughed and frolicked, because of you─like I was able to be someone else. Because of you─I felt like I could change.”

“Togame─”

“Thing is…”

She was still smiling.

But she added, sadly, “I finally realized that I’ll never change.”

“…”

“This is a fitting way…for me to die.22 I’ve taken this thing far enough. I never had a right─to own you. It turns out I was never qualified to be the owner of Kyoto the Diamond─the magnum opus of Kiki Shikizaki.”

“What the hell─what are you saying! How could that be? No one else─could ever be my owner!”

Shichika was screaming like crazy.

“What happened to making me your confidant─after finishing the Sword Hunt, we were gonna carry on the journey, and make a map together! I was there for you…but it sounds like you weren’t actually there for me! That was all a load of bull!”23

“Shichika,” Togame said. “I’m the lowest of the low.”

“…”

“You’ve taught me all kinds of things─but I’ve failed to put any of them into practice.24 I was able to change you─but you were unable to change me.”

“This is─”

“All a load of bull,” Togame insisted, dropping her smile. “When the Sword Hunt was over, I was planning to kill you.”

“…nkk!”

“Perhaps stabbing you in the back. Or maybe skewering you in your sleep, right through the covers. Or even just commanding you to go and off yourself─at any rate. Just as I have in the past─I planned to mix things up, once things were over. Sabotaging─any personal relationships.”

Making him her confidant.

Continuing the journey─all a lie.

That’s what she was saying.

“This─this can’t be.”

“My feelings for you, and learning from you─putting my trust in you, developing a soft spot for you, showing compassion towards you. Every single one of these─was no more than a tool, at the service of my schemes. For me, Shichika─even my own heart is but a pawn. Heart─feelings and compassion. These things are only tools─at my disposal. That is the sort of person that I am. Calculating by nature. I have abandoned everything─there is no heart inside of me. I trusted you. But the me who trusted you─was no more than a pawn.”

“To-Togame─what are you saying!”

“The methods of the Kyotoryu murdered my father─before my very eyes, the Kyotoryu chopped off my father’s head. Hah─how could anybody let that slide?”

Togame spat the words out, as if to push him away.

“My whim to let you get away with it because you represent a new generation, as the Seventh Master─just another piece on the board. Same goes for viewing you as more than a pawn─that too, a piece and nothing more.”

“B-But in that case─what do emotions mean to you?” Shichika raised his voice in anguish. “Think of all that I’ve experienced─what about the breadth of emotion25 I’ve experienced this year! What about─the feelings that you’ve shown me how to feel!”

“I told you─pawns. The joy, the anger, the sorrow, the glee26─they’re all just another piece to me. Trifling things too insignificant to bother governing.”

“…”

“And yet─it seems these things were quite important to you. Compared to who you were in your emotionless, unfeeling days─you’re a new person.”

“B-But─”

“Wielded in a certain way, emotions become lethal. It’s that simple. I’m sure that even you are well aware of that by now.”

“S-So what? How come you had to lie like that?” Shichika asked Togame, smiling like he was about to cry. “Your confidant. Your map. Why did you have to say those things─if you told me to die, I would do it on the spot.”

“So,” Togame answered Shichika─cheerlessly, “the words may have been false─but not the sentiment.”

“…”

“I simply thought that was the ideal time to say I had those feelings. Seeing as I knew that they would never come to anything─I felt no need to back it up.”

“B-But in that case─”

Shichika─reacting strongly.

Said exactly what he thought.

“In the end, didn’t you hurt yourself the most?”

“Sure I did.” Togame nodded, as if this was a matter of fact. “Otherwise─I never could have hatched my schemes.”

“Why─go to such extremes? Why do you need to be the one? No matter what you say─”

As Shichika spoke.

He imagined his father─Mutsue Yasuri.

“─He’s just your father.”

“…”

“How could revenge─be worth abandoning everything? You really think that’s all your life is good for? You’re not your father─you’re you.”

“You’re right─exactly.”

“It’s awful luck your father was murdered, and everyone you know was massacred! But you know what? That leaves you─and only you, in a position to be happy! And yet you beat the living daylights out of yourself, until finally, you’re shot dead along the way─what the hell is wrong with you! Are you a total idiot?”

“Like I said─exactly right. Except─”

Once again─Togame had turned bashful.

“At the moment─I’m really happy.”

With an air of joy.

With an air of anger.

With an air of sorrow.

With an air of glee.

She was bashful.

“I’m so happy─I was shot dead along the way.”

“…nkk!”

“Because now, I won’t have to kill you. Nothing could make me happier.”

This is what Togame the Schemer─had to say.

“Finally…finally, at long last…I can finally…let go of27 everything.”

“…Is dying the only way that you could stop?”

Shichika noticed─the huge28 tears flooding Togame’s eyes.

And began to bawl his eyes out29 in turn.

This.

Being certain proof─of the brimming fullness30 of their feelings for each other.

“Did you have to take things this far─before you could stop?”

“It’s not your fault,” Togame said─though crying a great deal. “At this point, I almost want to thank the Princess. By noticing that your deportment was suspicious, she has freed me─at last, I am free of this obsession.”31

“…”

“If you see the Princess─please send along my thanks. Although…”

Pausing midsentence─Togame turned her head, looking off to the side.

“Perhaps you will not have the chance.”

“T-Togame.”

“Shichika Yasuri─Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu. This is your final order.”

With this declaration32─Togame looked straight into Shichika’s eyes.

She may have been about to die─

But her gaze was anything but hollow.

Harboring a stark light.

“Forget about me─forget everything that ever happened, and live life as you please.”

“As I please…”

“Under no circumstances are you to carry out my mission─with my death, your contract will be terminated.”

“…”

“You are free to return to the island, as you wish─but nobody is forcing you. After all, Mutsue and Nanami are both gone─and I promised Nanami I would surface you, put you out there in the world.”

“Y-You promised sis─”

“Seems as though I won’t be able to make good on33 my promise to restore the honor of the Kyotoryu─although I doubt you will be punished as an accomplice to the daughter of Takahito Hida. They’ll probably decide that I used the Kyotoryu to my advantage, tricking you to carry out my schemes. Why else─would Emonzaemon shoot me and let you go? From this moment─you are free.”

“…”

“You might visit Triad Shrine, where you can be with Konayuki─or why not the Heartland School? Zanki Kiguchi let you be her follower before. She wouldn’t do you wrong. Thing is, you’re made for naive34 types like them.”

“Of all the times to start that up again!”

“This is the perfect time.”

What Togame said─made Shichika realize.

Her stomach.

Togame the Schemer’s stomach─which had caught the pair of bullets fired by Emonzaemon Soda.

The stomach wounds which had incessantly been oozing life─at some point.

Had stopped bleeding.

Almost as if.

All of the blood─had been bled from her body.

Togame the Schemer’s complexion.

By now─was whiter than her hair.

“You fell for me, but it’s over now. I don’t want to─hold you back.”

“Ah, ahh─”

“I am no longer your master, as you are no longer my bodyguard. I am shuffling off─this mortal coil.35 I die a failure, left to rot.”

“…”

“Forgive me─for my inability to wield a katana such as yourself.”

“Come on─without you, I’d have been dead from the get-go─bent and broken─rusted, done.”

On Haphazard Island, with Komori Maniwa.

In Inaba Desert, with Ginkaku Uneri.

At Triad Shrine, with Meisai Tsuruga.

Across Ganryu Island, with Hakuhei Sabi.

By Dakuon Harbor, with Kanara Azekura.

Atop Mt. Odori, with Konayuki Itezora.

Within Gokenji Temple, with Nanami Yasuri.

Anent Lake Fuyo, with Skytron.

Inside Shogi Village in Tendo, with Zanki Kiguchi.

Over Hyakkeijo, with Rinne Higaki.

Amid New Maniwa, with Hohoh Maniwa.

He had been fighting─all this time.

Only surviving thanks to Togame, by his side.

Togame was his reason for fighting.

Without her─he would have been long gone.

Bent and broken─rusted.

“You no longer need to fight for me.”

But now Togame proclaimed loud and clear36─

Though losing all the blood her body had─loud and clear…

“Forget all of my directives. Forget everything about me─who to the very end, failed to see you as anything other than a pawn. A disgrace of a stupid37 woman who, moreover, failed at using you as a pawn. Forget me─and live your life.”

“This is absurd… I loved─being around you.”

Shichika spoke through his tears, like he was talking to himself.

Sobbing─like a child.

“I loved you─so much.”

“Shichika.”

“What now─what am I supposed to do? I’m useless without you.”

“Skip the childish blather. You fool─looks like you’ll never grow up, will you? Honestly─I feel bad for you.”

It made Togame miserable─to see Shichika like this.

Then─she raised her hand.

And softly─stroked his cheek.

“Hey─Shichika,” she said.

Wiping away his tears.

Clear indication─of his growth.

Togame the Schemer─Princess Mercy spoke.

Saying the one thing she had never felt it necessary to think about, as she envisioned every possible eventuality and exercised an all-encompassing sense of caution─but these were parting38 words.

“I’ve done as I pleased, and behaved selfishly, unable to think of anything but my revenge. Death is the only cure for me. I treated you terribly, like you were no more than a tool. I’m an awful woman, without a saving grace, who deserves the grave I’ve made myself─but…”

Togame spoke her mind.

Without embellishment.

“Would it be okay if I fell for you?”

■　■

Gunned down39─her ambitions thwarted.

With that, the bloodline of Takahito Hida, Kaoyaku of Oshu and the Mastermind of the Rebellion─was extinguished.

1 進化した SHINKA SHITA evolved

2 厳然として存在した GENZEN TO SHITE SONZAI SHITA existed sternly, or grimly

3 どくどくと DOKU DOKU TO onomatopoeia for copious spillage echoes 毒刀 DOKUTŌ Dokuto

4 咆哮 HŌKŌ wail like an animal

5 看破 KANPA see through

6 不取合 TORI AWAZU not worthy of notice

7 容赦姫 YŌSHA HIME “Pardon Princess” vs. とがめ TOGAME blame

8 詳らかに TSUMABIRAKA NI clear, detailed

9 挙動 KYODŌ conduct

10 同罪扱い DŌZAI ATSUKAI “treated as (having committed) the same crime”

11 勢いに任せたこぶし IKIOI NI MAKASETA KOBUSHI fist relying on (nothing but) momentum

12 名だたる NADATARU renowned

13 予想 YOSŌ expectation

14 内臓を引っ掻き回された NAIZŌ WO HIKKAKI MAWASARETA got her viscera churned

15 瀕死の状態 HINSHI NO JŌTAI a condition near death

16 戦闘感覚 SENTŌ KANKAKU battle sense

17 速射性と連射性 SOKUSHASEI TO RENSHASEI able to unload quickly and repeatedly

18 深呼吸する SHINKOKYŪ SURU take deep breaths

19 平常時 HEIJŌJI “normal times”

20 苦労はない KURŌ WA NAI there would be no trouble

21 お笑い草 OWARAI GUSA “laughing grass” laughingstock

22 死に様 SHINIZAMA “death style”

23 全部、嘘だったのか ZENBU, USO DATTANOKA “was all of it a lie?”

24 生かす IKASU bring to life; let live

25 喜怒哀楽 KIDO AIRAKU joy, anger, sorrow, glee

26 喜びも怒りも哀しみも楽しみも YOROKOBI MO IKARI MO KANASHIMI MO TANOSHIMI MO unpacks the compound word employed by Shichika

27 やめる YAMERU quit

28 大粒の涙 ŌTSUBU NO NAMIDA large bits of tears

29 滂沱の涙 BŌDA NO NAMIDA flood of tears

30 満ち溢れんばかり[…]満ちている MICHI AFUREN BAKARI[…]MICHITE IRU full to overflowing

31 血道 CHIMICHI “bloody road” infatuation

32 前置き MAEOKI “put in front” preface, preamble

33 守る MAMORU protect; keep (pact)

34 純真 JUNSHIN “pure and true” simplistic

35 ただの−死にゆく者 TADANO─SHINIYUKU MONO “just─a dying person”

36 はっきり HAKKIRI onomatopoeia for lucid or cognizable speech, logic, sound, etc.

37 無様な[…]馬鹿な BUZAMA NA[…]BAKA NA “ungraceful dummy of a”

38 散り際 CHIRI GIWA “near scattering (like petals)” the moments before death

39 凶弾に倒れる KYŌDAN NI TAORERU “felled by evil bullets” usu. in a political assassination

■　■

One being Togame the Schemer.

The other being Princess Negative.

These women, whose actual names and origins were unknown, were often discussed in the same breath─and indeed enjoyed no small amount of political rivalry, but that does not mean their interests coincided or for that matter were in opposition.

The Schemer had her motives, to which the circumstances1 of Princess Negative were irrelevant.

So, too, did Princess Negative have her motives, to which the circumstances of the Schemer─were irrelevant.

Their interests coincided in but one arena,2 that being the Sword Hunt for the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.

Except the manner in which the Schemer and Princess Negative understood the Twelve Possessed could not have been more different.

To the Schemer, it was all only a ruse, no more than an expedient to her revenge, a view which applied to her own feelings and the Twelve Possessed in kind.

But to Princess Negative─the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki were objects having plenty meaning in their own right.

The fact that her adversary, the Schemer, had hunted down the masterworks on her behalf─was more than she could have bargained for.

To be sure, she saw it coming.

Just as Emonzaemon Soda saw it coming.

Acting on the assumption that the eleventh sword was captured─they would face off against the Schemer and the Kyotoryu, in a final showdown.

As it turns out, what they saw coming never came─but that did not mean Princess Negative was left sitting on her hands.

Princess Negative.

Princess Negative had her own motives.

Now that Emonzaemon had finished off3 the Schemer─there was no one in the bakufu who could stop Princess Negative.

Any potential threats to her supremacy─had already been wiped out, thanks to the powers of the Inspector General. Thus was the focus of her office.

All but the Schemer had been crushed.

But now the Schemer─would scheme no more.

Therefore.

At long last, it was time to make her move.

Finally, the time had come for Princess Negative, descendant of legendary swordsmith Kiki Shikizaki, who had reigned over the Age of Warring States─to bring this chapter of history, as she saw it, to a close.

■　■

At the center of which stood Owari Castle.

Whose immensity and magnificence4 set it a league above Gekoku Castle─and whose structure was both intricate and fantastic, making it a fortress to be reckoned with, so robust were its defenses.

Though things had not been this way forever.

In the twenty years since the rebellion─the bulwarks of the castle had been strengthened to what might rightly be called an excessive5 degree─to prevent even the slightest chance of harm to any member of the inner circle at the castle.

The keep of the same Owari Castle.

The uppermost chamber of which gazed upon Owari Town─and, one could be forgiven for imagining, at the entire nation.

A blond-haired blue-eyed woman.

Whose beauty was anomalous in this land.

But whose kimono, however Japanese, fit like it was made for her─

Princess Negative─had been summoned.

Of course, given the circumstances, Princess Negative lacked the status to occupy the seat of honor.

Before her─

Beyond the bamboo screen,6 there was a silhouette.

“Welcome. Lift your visage.”

The voice came from the seat of honor─addressing Princess Negative, whose forehead had been pressed to the tatami.

“You sit before none but─Masatsuna Yanari,7 Eighth Shogun of the Owari Bakufu.”

“Forgive me, Your Excellency, for I am much obliged,” said Princess Negative.

Raising her head─with the utmost caution.

This was the Eighth Shogun of the Owari Bakufu.

Top of the top.

That woman never gained his audience.

Surely, Princess Negative thought, this is what the Schemer always wanted. After all, the Schemer had only worked her way into the bakufu so she could gain this audience─and the last step in her plan had been to capture all of the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki.

The Schemer had failed.

Granted, Princess Negative had made her fail─

But her efforts were far from inconsequential.

As a result─her mortal enemy, Princess Negative, had now gained the audience of the shogun.

“But Your Excellency,” said Princess Negative.

Glancing at the figures packed into the room around her─which was not so spacious as one might expect.

One, two─counting eleven.

Eleven others.

Less Princess Negative and the shogun, Masatsuna, there were eleven on the floor.

These conditions did not favor Princess Negative.

“Your Excellency─I had requested to speak with you in private.”8

“Your reputation precedes you─for a woman, you have no compunctions about speaking your mind.”

Then.

Beyond the bamboo─Masatsuna laughed.

Judging from his voice, it would seem he was an old man, well along in years.

Princess Negative was unaware of the exact age of the shogun─but she figured that the Schemer must have known.

If she had not known at least the age of the shogun who held the reins during the late Rebellion─it would have been bizarre.

“Given what we are to discuss, I sympathized with your request to have my retainers9 take leave of the court, which I have ordered them to do, but the Guardians10 are my protectors. They refuse to leave my side.”

“…”

“Fear not. They come from a lineage of direct servants to the shogun─their bond is absolute, so there is no risk of betrayal. They are on a fundamentally different level from the other lords, who only see each other as rivals─one might say our hearts beat as one.”11

“Verily so, Your Excellency.”

Inside.12

Princess Negative─was cracking up.

Beat as one?

What an absurd thing─to say so lightly.

Perhaps he was senile,13 or maybe he had always been this way.

Regardless─as the Eighth Shogun, he merely picked up where the last left off, making this par for the course.

Shortly after arriving at court, Princess Negative had completed her estimation14 of Masatsuna Yanari.

And as you might expect, she did not think so very highly of His Excellency.

However─this was in fact a boon for Princess Negative.

─So, His Excellency thinks their hearts beat as one?

─He makes it sound like they’re as tight as me and Emonzaemon.

“Well then, Your Excellency─please allow me to address what brings me here,” said Princess Negative─getting down to business. “I am speaking of the origin and legend─of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.”

“Before we begin, I want us to be clear. You are the descendant of the so-called15 legendary swordsmith─Kiki Shikizaki, are you not?”

“Yes.”

So-called legendary swordsmith.

So-called, huh─thought Princess Negative.

As was the case with most in the upper ranks of the bakufu, and so too for the shogun, at the apex─that legendary swordsmith whom Princess Negative regarded as a respected ancestor was an enigma.

Nay, until recently, they probably never heard of him.

The Age of Warring States was one thing─in those days, Kiki Shikizaki was a living legend, but these were times of peace and order, when there were few battles deserving to be chronicled as such.

Hence─thanks to the Sword Hunt plotted and executed by Togame the Schemer, and the reports which she had sent back to the bakufu each time they rounded up a sword, the notoriety16 of Kiki Shikizaki had skyrocketed.17

─That nasty woman.

─Shameless18─fearless.

─Ah, to be her.

Of course, it was only thanks to Togame that she could craft this scenario─which meant that Princess Negative was not without her share of gratitude.

She forgot about the other eleven souls.

Rejected them.

And facing Masatsuna Yanari, beyond the bamboo screen─proffered a response.

“Indeed I am.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Proof? Only fools rely on proof when casting judgment─rather take heed of what I have to say, and judge accordingly.”

“Quite a claim. Well then, begin.”

“Much obliged.”

Nodding─Princess Negative drew her metal fan from her kimono and threw it open─snap!

“The man you know as Kiki Shikizaki─was not always a swordsmith.”

Here─is where she opted to begin.

She wasn’t aware, having stayed in Owari the whole time, that Togame the Schemer had come by this particular detail via Hohoh Maniwa, when he was under the influence of19 Dokuto the Basilisk.

However.

As the descendant of Kiki Shikizaki─Princess Negative knew so much more than whatever the Schemer learned in her limited exchange with Hohoh.

“Shikizaki─came from a long line of soothsayers.”

“Soothsayers, you say?”

Masatsuna sounded surprised.

Genuinely intrigued.

“Not a trade─you hear of every day.”

“He is variously called an alchemist20 and a sorcerer21─compared to which I daresay he was more serious than people realize.”

Princess Negative went on.

“Extending back thousands of years, this lineage of soothsayers─though not exactly noble, nevertheless boasts a long history.”

Princess Negative gave the word history extra emphasis.

That said, none of the eleven who surrounded her, or Masatsuna for that matter, understood its special meaning.

“In that case, do I understand─that you, too, are a soothsayer?”

“No. The family practice of soothsaying was brought to a halt with Kiki Shikizaki. Singlehandedly─he put a stop to that tradition.”

“And why would he do that?”

“Because of his mission─the mission of the entire clan,” said Princess Negative, waving her metal fan. “Our mission, if you’ll permit me to include myself in such a manner─being to revise history.”

“Revise─history?”

“Yes. A soothsayer sees the future. And our mission has been to change the future that we see─before it happens. Our mission─is changing history,” Princess Negative boasted. “Thus you have the Twelve Possessed.”

“The Twelve Possessed, you say?”

“Indeed. Forgive me, Your Excellency, but please allow me to explain─Kiki Shikizaki, the legendary swordsmith who effectively reigned over the Age of Warring States, created a set of swords known as the Mutant Blades, the number of which owned by a state was a direct indication of its power─”

Princess Negative paused.

For effect.

“─Which is precisely what Kiki Shikizaki had intended,” she said. “Whereby, his reign exceeds the figurative. One might say Kiki Shikizaki literally reigned over the Age of Warring States.”

“…”

“I will now apprise you of the twelve masterworks the Schemer hunted down.”

Zetto the Leveler.

Zanto the Razor.

Sento the Legion.

Hakuto the Whisper.

Zokuto the Armor.

Soto the Twin.

Akuto the Eel.

Bito the Sundial.

Oto the Cured.

Seito the Garland.

Dokuto the Basilisk.

Ento the Bead.

“Though all thousand of the Mutant Blades that Kiki Shikizaki forged were heterodox swords, distinctly different from what we normally envision when we speak of the katana, these masterworks comprise the most heterodox of all. One might even say the other nine hundred and eighty-eight swords were merely prototypes for these twelve.”

“Hmm.”

“A sword absolutely impossible to bend or break, harder than anything on earth─”

Zetto the Leveler.

“A keen sword, able to slice through any substance in a single swing─”

Zanto the Razor.

“A sword formidable for its disposability, with numerous replacements at the ready─”

Sento the Legion.

“A comely sword that is both light as a down22 and fragile as glasswork─”

Hakuto the Whisper.

“A sword modeled on a suit of armor, with an emphasis on defense, having immense armor class─”

Zokuto the Armor.

“A sword of such tremendously dense mass it cannot even be lifted─”

Soto the Twin.

“A wicked sword that will not let its owner to die, keeping them alive indefinitely─”

Akuto the Eel.

“A sword that is both weapon and human, in the form of a lovable, deadly doll─”

Bito the Sundial.

“A didactic,23 detoxifying24 sword, which corrects both heart and soul and makes you walk the righteous road─”

Oto the Cured.

“A curious sword, appearing differently depending on the person, so as to place their life philosophy upon the scales─”

Seito the Garland.

“The sword most potently endowed with Shikizaki venom, which makes its owner want to kill─”

Dokuto the Basilisk.

“A projectile sword, allowing for repeated and precise attacks from a great distance─”

Ento the Bead.

“These twelve swords are the masterworks, the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.”

“Am I to understand this so-called Schemer captured all of these─under your supervision?”25

“Correct,” she nodded.

This angle was considerably flawed─but by now had become something of a fact.

Stealing credit─had never been her goal.

However.

Princess Negative had bested the Schemer─and the rest was history.

And there it was again─the so-called Schemer.

Princess Negative had her own feelings about what happened.

But deeming it was best to hold her tongue26─she carried on.

“For the record, together with the nine hundred and eighty-eight other ordinary Mutant Blades, which have long been tucked safely in the Third Armory of Owari Castle─at this juncture, each and every one of the Mutant Blades created by Kiki Shikizaki is now in our possession. Something not even the Old Shogun was able to accomplish.”

“Well!”

Hearing this.

Masatsuna Yanari let slip a haughty chuckle─as if taking all the credit for himself.

Despite having done nothing for the cause, not even giving out a single order.

Acting as if His Excellency, Masatsuna Yanari, had now transcended the Old Shogun.

Of course, Princess Negative was in no position to rectify this misconception.

Letting it go, without contesting it─she continued.

“The Mutant Blades are gathered in a single place. An outcome─which Kiki Shikizaki factored into his grand design.”

“How now? What do you mean by that? Was not his mission─to foment chaos among the Warring States?”

“Please. Revising history amounts to no such thing. He did not venture to upturn society for larks.27 In a word, his mission─our mission, was to reform society.”28

“Reform society─you say?”

“Your Excellency. About the characteristics of the Twelve Possessed, as previously set forth─are you not puzzled about how Kiki Shikizaki could invest his creations with characteristics that outstrip the bounds of common sense?”

“Me?”

In answer to this inquiry from Princess Negative, Masatsuna Yanari shook his head.

“Why should I find it puzzling? Isn’t that the whole point of these things?”

“…”

Princess Negative affected a radiant29 smile.

So as to make herself appear smitten by “His Excellency”─the man’s caliber.30

─Isn’t that the point of these things?

─He certainly has a point there.

Now that he mentioned it, she did recall the Schemer saying as much at some point or another─or had she mentioned something to this effect in one of her reports?

Either way.

The fact that the same remark could have such a different impact coming from a different person─was rather remarkable.

The Schemer had a talent for not thinking about things that would be better left unthought.

Something altogether different from not thinking at all.

Different from tossing out ideas─as this occasion underscored.

─Kinda funny, really.

On the inside, Princess Negative was cracking up.

Humored by the critical comparisons she had been making between Masatsuna, enthroned before her, and the Schemer─

Though it was readily apparent─who was more fit to be in charge.31

That was without question─32

─Without question, the daughter of Takahito Hida.

Takahito Hida─Kaoyaku of Oshu.

“To put it simply, the Mutant Blades are swords that have been manufactured using methods from the future. Even that which seems impossible today─will become matter-of-fact in one hundred, two hundred, or perhaps a thousand years.”

“…”

“How much of our technology did not exist as recently as one or two centuries ago? The same goes for the future. And Kiki Shikizaki had the ability to perceive it─he had clairvoyance. One might say he was a most talented soothsayer─for his powers were the strongest in the history of our clan. His powers were so vast─they made him legendary.”

“Well. I must say I care little for the history of swords,” said Masatsuna. Perhaps the explanation had gone over his head. “What matters is the reason Kiki Shikizaki went to such great lengths.”

“Of course.”

Princess Negative nodded obediently. Without changing her expression.

“This talk of revising history─I fail to understand what would make such a thing necessary. Aren’t soothsayers normally disinclined to change the future?”

“Unfortunately─as I mentioned, changing the future is our mission,” said Princess Negative. “This sets us apart from the average lot of soothsayers.”

“Alright. But is the future, or fate, even open to change?”

“The future and fate aside─history can be changed for certain. In fact, my clan has been doing so for generations─though as I mentioned previously, Kiki Shikizaki bled dry our family stores of clairvoyance, so I cannot claim to have much of a knack for it.”

“What a pity.”

Clearly─Masatsuna was disappointed.

This probably would have been a decent time to fib─but it would never do to get his hopes up.

At least this way, she was not overselling herself.

“That said, history has the ability to correct itself─we can try to change it all we want, but it will push back, trying to stay on course. In an attempt to right itself.”

“To right itself─tell me, did you not just speak of reforming society?”

“I did, but that was just a turn of phrase. To be sure, we see ourselves as revolutionaries─but you might call the work we’ve done a kind of Antihistory.”33

“Antihistory.”

“Consider─Takahito Hida.”

Thinking immediately of the Schemer.

Of their history of rivalry.

And of the hardships Princess Negative endured thanks to her─she spoke.

“He was a righter34 of history.”

“…?”

“Twenty years ago, Takahito Hida instigated the conflict we now refer to as the Rebellion─but people seem a little too content not asking why.”

“Oh─Hida. Not a name I hoped to hear today,” Masatsuna groaned─making no attempt to conceal his displeasure. “You’re asking why he bothered instigating such a conflict?”

“Precisely. Takahito Hida was─well, ‘pacifist’35 might sound complimentary, but he was a man who hated fighting with a passion, so poorly suited for the battlefield he was unfit to be the ruler of a state.” To avoid offending His Excellency, Princess Negative intentionally slandered Takahito Hida. “The question is─what would make this man decide to instigate rebellion on the national scale, amid these times of peace and order?”

“Because he desired the world?”

“That would be the popular opinion─but in truth, it was an effort to right history. Takahito Hida,” concluded Princess Negative, “was trying to correct history.”

“Trying─to right history.”

“As you will recall from the reports of the Schemer, Seito the Garland was buried deep beneath Hida Castle, of which Takahito Hida was once the lord and master─although its actual owner was one Rinne Higaki, Hermit Magus─”

“What? Hermit Magus?”

“Oh─forget I said anything.”

Veering off into that territory would be hazardous.

Barring the exceptional cases of Hakuhei Sabi and Nanami Yasuri, the owner of whom Princess Negative was most wary was Rinne Higaki. She never meant to say that name again─

But that was immaterial.

Granted.

A hermit magus like Rinne Higaki, and a sword saint like Hakuhei Sabi, and a genius like Nanami Yasuri─had only ever been born because Princess Negative and her ancestors had revised history.

Though as with the Maniwa and the Itezora Clan.

…Things had not worked out as expected.

This too─perhaps an indication of the ability of history to right itself.

“At any rate─Takahito Hida understood the situation, albeit in an irregular manner. He knew the nature of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki─and was sharp enough to ascertain the mission of Kiki Shikizaki, and our mission for that matter. He ascertained─our Antihistory.”

“Sharp enough─huh?” intoned the shogun.

“Yes.”

Was even such a mild compliment toward Takahito Hida disagreeable to him?

If so, his caliber was low indeed.

Though perhaps─low caliber was an essential attribute of the powerful.36

Besides, Masatsuna had been shafted.37

Because of Takahito Hida, he would go down in history as the only shogun in this age of peace and order whose regime was marked by conflict.

─Go down in history?

─If you’re lucky.

“Or perhaps not sharp enough, so much as aided by the powers of Seito the Garland─since that sword gauges the balance of your deeds. That said, because he was not actually its owner, he could not have held the sword himself─which is to say, Takahito Hida was not so privy to the truths of history after all. He merely─tossed a stone into the proverbial pond of history, to see what kind of ripples he could make.”

“That man,” said Masatsuna, “could hope for little more.”

“…”

Princess Negative could care less about how Masatsuna saw Takahito Hida─however.

Now was not the time─to let him know.

Were Masatsuna to discover that the Schemer, Grand Commander of Arms of the Yanari Shogunate Military Directorate, Owari Bakufu─Togame the Schemer, was Hida’s only daughter, how would the man behind the bamboo screen react?

The Sword Hunt plotted and executed by the Schemer had turned out to be a happy accident38 for Princess Negative.

Far more than she could have ever bargained for.

And yet─her being the daughter of Takahito Hida added a wrinkle39 to the situation.

The stone that Takahito Hida tossed into the pond of history.

Created─ripples.

Which in the end─resulted in a complete recovery of the Mutant Blades, the first time anyone had accomplished such a feat.

Of course, this outcome was contrary to what Takahito Hida had intended─since it only steered a wrong version of history in an even worse direction.

However.

─Though we never met.

─I reckon he must have been a fine man.

Musing over this─Princess Negative couldn’t help but smirk.

“There’s one other important thing to mention.”

“Well?”

“The Old Shogun, as he is commonly known─was another righter of history.”

The first man in recorded history40 to unite the nation.

The man who lost his head over41 the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki.

“The Great Sword Hunt─that outrageous act of legislation which attempted to collect every single sword in the entirety of Japan. The official motive of the law was to erect the Katana Buddha at Seiryoin Gokenji Temple in Tosa, while the ulterior motive was to rid the world of swordsmen, but the Old Shogun’s true motive was to round up all the swords of Kiki Shikizaki─or so they say, but although all of this is true, there is another─shall we say, core motive─at play as well.”

“Would that be correcting history?”

“Sure, that would be one way of putting it─you see, if the Old Shogun was of a mind to, I doubt he would have been incapable of capturing the Twelve Possessed. Had he deployed all of his military resources, at the very least he could have captured Oto the Cured─which makes it odd he failed to do so. The only explanation is that the Old Shogun was not simply collecting swords, but acting on an imperative to correct history.”

“I take it─he succeeded?”

“No, I am afraid not. In the end, he was bereft of his military and financial wherewithal, and died in obscurity42─whereupon the current Yanari Shogunate took his place.”

“…”

Masatsuna fell silent, as if interpreting this as an assertion that the Old Shogun was superior to the current shogunate.

Oh well.

If his caliber is that low, there’s no use walking on eggshells.43

“That is, the Old Shogun may have failed to correct history─but he certainly was a hindrance to our master plan. He put us two hundred years behind schedule, while Takahito Hida set us back another twenty. The plan should have been completed by the generation after Kiki Shikizaki─but it has dragged on all the way to mine, a fact which frankly is a pox44 on our entire lineage.”

“I see,” Masatsuna knowingly asserted, though it was unclear how much of this he actually understood. “And has your family’s mission─been accomplished now, thanks to your efforts?”

“Not quite yet.45 The plan has yet to reach fruition─but as I mentioned earlier, now that all thousand of the Mutant Blades have been recovered, we are finally at the final stage.”

Unlike the Old Shogun.

They could gather them less systematically.

Nevertheless─had the Schemer not been the one responsible for the hunt, things probably would not have gone as smoothly, or as rapidly.

“Well, now. In light of your account, there’s one thing that I need you to explain to me.”

“Of course.”

She suspected there was more than just one thing, but could not say so.

“What drove you and your kin to mess around with revising history in the first place?”

“Ah─a vital detail,” Princess Negative conceded.

Certainly.

This could not have been surmised without an explanation.

“If pressed─I would say that we are doing it for the good of the country, for Japan.”

“What?”

“Your Excellency, have you ever laid eyes on the lands beyond the sea?”

Masatsuna─declined to answer.

Which likely meant the answer was no.

“Since I am not clairvoyant─I cannot say this with certainty, but in about a hundred years, this nation will be invaded and destroyed by a group of foreign powers.”

Without fanfare.

Princess Negative made this nevertheless outrageous declaration─smiling all the while.

“This prophesy46 dating back a few thousand years─was passed down from the first generation of our lineage.”

“Destroyed…you say?”

“Indeed.”

Masatsuna sounded genuinely surprised and shaken─but Princess Negative answered him like this was nothing.

“Destroyed.”

“Impossible!”

“Down the line, the Edicts of Seclusion which currently obtain will no longer be tenable─have you had a look at this device they call a globe? When you see how small this country really is─it takes your breath away.”

“S-Still─destroyed…”

Startled by some kind of an epiphany, Masatsuna’s voice went shrill.

“B-But hasn’t this prediction, this history, been revised already?”

Rather convenient a notion, thought an exasperated Princess Negative.

“No, hence why I said that we were only at the final stage. In practice─fortune has dug itself a fairly deep rut, which makes altering its course no easy task.”

“B-But─did you not say the Mutant Blades were crafted using methods from the future? How could there be new methods─if this country is destroyed?”

“The prognostications of Kiki Shikizaki were far from limited to this land─the methods used to craft the Mutant Blades were mostly devised overseas,” Princess Negative explained. “That is, all but the underlying insights of katana smithery47─the soul of the samurai, indeed.”

“H-Hence─reforming society?”

“Since I am no clairvoyant, I hesitate to say this with finality─but judging from the research performed by my staff,48 it will happen without question, in light of what is afoot overseas.”

“What will happen?”

“A war─and an invasion,” Princess Negative said softly. “This nation has been the agent and the object of no shortage of such wars─but the conflict a hundred years from now will be of an entirely different magnitude. After all these years of continuous isolation, our country will be overrun.”49

“And your clan…”

Masatsuna’s voice─had not yet settled down.

“They saw this a few thousand years ago─predicting our destruction, and have been working ever since to prevent it from happening?”

“That is what we live for,” Princess Negative insisted. “That and nothing more. I’m aware how high and mighty that must sound─but I say that all the credit goes to Kiki Shikizaki. Those before him in our lineage lived so he could be; those following him exist to carry out his mission.”

“What does that mean?”

“Think of it this way─as you can see quite plainly, foreign blood flows through my veins. This alien blood was added to our lineage from the outside at an opportune moment, for a specific purpose. In order to prepare us for the days sure to come─to allow us to deepen our knowledge of foreign ways, we resorted to that manipulation.”

“…”

“The clairvoyance fizzled out with Kiki Shikizaki─what were we supposed to do? This may or may not have been worth all the effort─but one way or another, I think it helped further our mission.”

“And that is why─you deemed the Sword Hunt necessary?”

“What I deemed necessary─was amassing the scattered swords in one location.”

“I see.”

“And now that we have gathered up all thousand of the Mutant Blades, what on earth will happen next? One legend has it he who collects all the swords will rule the world, while another legend claims that they will guarantee endless prosperity─”

Then.

When Princess Negative was in the middle of her thought.

“Princess Negative.”

The voice─came from the ceiling.

Throwing the room into a state of commotion─riling Masatsuna and all eleven of the Guardians, some of whom reached for their swords.

But Princess Negative was not the least bit surprised.

Did not so much as bother looking up.

The person hiding50 in the ceiling.

The voice which they had heard.

Was none other than Princess Negative’s confidant─Lieutenant Emonzaemon Soda.

“Hush.” Inexorably cool─Princess Negative pointed her metal fan toward the ceiling. “Late again, you imbecile.”

Their usual dynamic.

“Well─what is it now?”

“I have a report for you,” said the voice behind the ceiling─Emonzaemon. “Just moments ago─an intruder made it through the castle walls.”

“An intruder?”

“Yes,” the voice confirmed. “Through the main gate of the castle─forcing his way in.”

“And why are you reporting this to me?” Princess Negative closed the metal fan that she was pointing at the ceiling. “At the moment─I am in the middle of a very important conversation.”

“Yes─but the intruder,” Emonzaemon said, in the coldest tone imaginable, “appears to be the Kyotoryu.”

“Hm.”

Rather surprising.

And yet─Princess Negative connected everything in no time. Inside her head─all the parts missing from the plan passed down from the time of Kiki Shikizaki, all the gaps in the storyline, in that instant─coalesced.

“Hm…the Kyotoryu. Okay, so that’s what happened─Hakuhei Sabi, too…huh. Well, then. I suppose that makes the magnum opus…ah yes, of course…that’s what Yasuri means? Rather unexpected…or a bit spot-on…or a coincidence. Or wait, could this be fate? But then perhaps─this could all be a part of Kiki Shikizaki’s master plan.”

“You fool─what are you saying?”

Beyond the bamboo screen.

Masatsuna─did not sound happy.

“Forget this intruder. Kyotoryu? I know I’ve heard that name before, but no matter. The sentries will rapidly dispatch such a disruptive annoyance. Go on, you were saying?”

“Your Excellency.”

Princess Negative─

Threw open the metal fan.

Whereupon she stood─no trace of the affected smirk from earlier, wearing instead a maniacal grin that spanned from ear to ear.

And─in characteristic fashion, proceeded to reject His Excellency’s words.

“We are finished.”

1 立場 TACHIBA “standing spot” position

2 事象 JISHŌ phenomenon; happening

3 始末 SHIMATSU take care of (a problem); kill

4 荘厳 SŌGON solemnity

5 過剰 KAJŌ gratuitous; unnecessary

6 御簾 MISU rolling blinds of thin bamboo, used as a visual barrier at a shrine or palace

7 家鳴匡綱 YANARI MASATSUNA “Ringing House, Proper Rope”

8 人払いをお願いした HITOBARAI WO ONEGAI SHITA asked for people to be “swept away”

9 家臣 KASHIN “House attendant” vassal

10 護衛兵 GO’EI HEI escort soldier

11 一心同体 ISSHIN DŌTAI “single heart, same body”

12 内心 NAISHIN “inner heart”

13 耄碌した MŌROKU SHITA entered his dotage

14 値踏み NEBUMI determine value (of a person)

15 とやら TOYARA marks skepticism of the value or merit of a person or thing

16 知名度 CHIMEIDO degree to which one is known

17 跳ね上がった HANE AGATTA leapt up

18 自由過ぎ JIYŪSUGI too free

19 憑依された HYŌI SARETA possessed by

20 錬金術師 RENKINJUTSUSHI practitioner of the speculated ability to draw gold from other substances

21 魔術師 MAJUTSUSHI practitioner of magic

22 羽毛 UMŌ “wing feathers”

23 教導的 KYŌDŌTEKI instructive

24 解毒 GEDOKU “untangle poison”

25 指揮 SHIKI command military overtones

26 おくびにも出さず OKUBI NI MO DASAZU not even burping

27 いたずらに ITAZURA NI mischievously

28 世直し YONAOSHI “fixing the world”

29 にんまり NINMARI onomatopoeia for an exaggerated grin

30 器の大きさ UTSUWA NO ŌKISA “largeness of vessel”

31 人の上に立つ HITO NO UE NI TATSU “stand on top of people” lead a group

32 さすが SASUGA as to be expected (from someone as capable)

33 歴史の破壊活動 REKISHI NO HAKAI KATSUDŌ “historical sabotage” vs. 破壊活動防止法 HAKAI KATSUDŌ BŌSHIHŌ Subversive Activities Prevention Act law introduced in 1952 to suppress perceived threats of domestic terrorism

34 歴史の修正者 REKISHI NO SHŪSEI SHA amender of history vs. 歴史修正主義者 REKISHI SHŪSEI SHUGISHA historical revisionist (主義 SHUGI ism)

35 平和主義者 HEIWA SHUGISHA advocate of peace doctrinaire overtones

36 権力者 KENRYOKU SHA individual invested with (usu. political) power

37 煮え湯を呑まされている NIE YU WO NOMASARETE IRU made to swallow scalding water

38 幸運な偶然 KŌ’UN NA GŪZEN “fortuitous coincidence”

39 意味合い IMI AI nuance

40 有史上 YŪSHIJŌ as far back as we have history

41 取り憑かれた TORI TSUKARETA taken over, possessed by

42 凋落して CHŌRAKU SHITE withered away

43 気遣ってもいられない KIZUKATTE MO IRARENAI cannot be minding his feelings

44 敗北 HAIBOKU defeat

45 経過の段階 KEIKA NO DANKAI “passage stage” work in progress

46 予言 YOGEN a calque of “prediction” 予 YO pre- (before) 言 GEN -dict (say)

47 日本刀作り NIHONTŌ ZUKURI (the tenets of) making Japanese swords

48 部下 BUKA subordinate; those below you in an institutional department

49 蹂躙される JŪRIN SARERU stepped on and trampled down

50 潜む HISOMU lurk

■　■

As previously stated, the defenses of Owari Castle were extraordinarily robust.

The castle gates were gigantic and substantial,1 so much so that a charging army would have no easy time battering them down. Gatekeepers2 wielding pikes flanked every entrance, although their role was symbolic at best.

But at the main gate, securest of them all─

This man showed up out of nowhere.

A tall man.

Muscular and fit.

Hair tousled─clad waist down in a hakama.

Bare-chested─but dressed in what appeared to be women’s kimonos, a couple dozen layers of brash and brilliant finery.

Fists clenched at his sides.

No weapons on his person.

A sword─he carried not.

At first─the gatekeepers never suspected a man such as this of being an intruder. They figured him to be the sort of self-styled dandy3 who fills the streets of the Capital, if not so much Owari─in fact, he waltzed across the bridge over the moat up to the gate so nonchalantly that they almost failed to pay him any mind.

Once the man finally reached the gate, however, the gatekeepers turned their pikes on him.

“Who goes there─”

Spouting a stock line.4

Before they knew it─their pikes were riven, and their bodies flying skyward. One fell to the bottom of the moat─while the other chanced to flop over the parapet of the bridge.

Unclear as to what had happened to them.

Though something clearly happened.

Even still─despite things having gone this far, the gatekeepers doubted the man could make it through the castle walls.

The gatekeepers were symbolic.

Strictly a formality.

Breaking through the main gate of Owari Castle was thought to be impossible, and all the more so for a man working on his own─and yet.

The man took his position before the castle gate.

Bent deep at the knees, to lower his enormous body─he twisted his torso to the extreme, feet facing to the side, assuming his form.

And from this form─

“Fatal Orchid Four: Ryuryoku Kako.”

Thus.

In such a manner, his fist exploded─on the center of the gate.

It was unclear what he had done.

Though clearly─he had done something.

The gate itself fared as the gatekeepers predicted, entirely unscathed, except it opened with a modest creak5─swinging slowly inward.

It became clear after the fact─that somehow, the bar6 locking the gate from within had snapped. Almost as if the impact of the blow had traveled undiminished through the gate, shearing the bar that held it shut─

“Phew.”

Following this wild display─

Slowly, the man─stood himself up.

Lethargically.

Dejectedly.

And in a voice─laden with anguish.

He said these words:

“I’m sorry, Togame─but I don’t think I can follow your order anymore.”

■　■

Hearing this report from Emonzaemon Soda─Masatsuna Yanari, Eighth Shogun of the Owari Bakufu, was thrown into an utter frenzy.

“What on earth─is going on here!”

Perhaps this news had triggered memories.

Could be the shogun was remembering what happened twenty years before─when the Kaoyaku of Oshu, Takahito Hida, bared his fangs at the bakufu.

Painful memories─to be sure.

The sort of painful memories you wish in vain you could forget.

─Nah.

─This is worse.

“As you have heard, Your Excellency, a troublemaker─has barged into Owari Castle. Ten or more of the sentries have witnessed him─but have yet to apprehend7 him. Since they have fallen themselves in the process─we appear to have lost sight of him.”

“B-But how could that be! Overtaken by a sole raider?”8

“However solo, he is not to be discounted─for he is the valiant9 who was physically responsible for capturing eleven of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.”

“On─his own!”

Judging from the reaction Masatsuna registered when the Princess touched upon Rinne Higaki, the shogun had, at best, skimmed the report submitted by the Schemer─but it had surely been delivered to the court.

This sole intruder was much more than a name you think you’ve heard before.

His exploits─were surely in the purview of the shogun.

Komori Maniwa, one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

Ginkaku Uneri, descendant of the man who felled ten thousand men.

Meisai Tsuruga, Mistress of Triad Shrine and keeper of the Sentoryu.

Hakuhei Sabi, that wunderkind of swordplay, and Strongest in Japan.

Kanara Azekura, captain of a ship of pirates, a scourge upon the land.

Konayuki Itezora, child of a clan claiming outrageous, monstrous strength.

Nanami Yasuri, the Genius.

Skytron, queen of the trash heap of Lake Fuyo.

Zanki Kiguchi, wielder of the righteous sword that giveth life.

Rinne Higaki, the hermit magus whose form changed with the company.

And Hohoh Maniwa─one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

The man captured the swords─of every single one of them.

Besides─after all.

Masatsuna surely needed no reminder of the fearsome nature of the Kyotoryu.

Not when the late Mutsue Yasuri─hailed the Hero of the Rebellion, had basically saved the life of Masatsuna Yanari─

─Oh well.

─He must have forgotten that little detail.

While he may have saved the shogun’s life, he was but a lowly soldier10 to His Excellency─one of his subjects.11

“B-But do you realize how many sentries there are inside Owari Castle─must be over a thousand! You mean to say the Kyotoryu will blow through every last one of them?”

“I do.” This voice speaking was not Princess Negative, but Emonzaemon Soda, from behind the ceiling. “Sorry to say─but even trillions12 could not stop the Kyotoryu.”

“That might be going too far, Emonzaemon,” said Princess Negative, calling out13 this hyperbolic comment from her confidant, without actually disagreeing. “But you have the right idea. One thousand or even ten thousand men would make no difference, Your Excellency─because there is only one of him.”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“Though I have zero intention to disparage the sentries─it must be noted that they fight primarily as a group. Trouble is─a group has a surprisingly hard time fending off an individual.”

“…”

“One can take on several. And of course groups can fight each other. Either scenario can be handled quite easily, so long as you brace yourself, or assume the proper attitude─but when a group attempts to fight an individual, they bite off more than they can chew.”

The way Princess Negative sounded.

You might think she admired the intruder.

“An intruder on his own─is our worst-case scenario.”

That said.

The fact that this intruder was the Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu─made matters worse.

─Ah yes, that reminds me─twenty years ago, Mutsue Yasuri besieged a castle too.

Hida Castle and Owari Castle may be entirely different in scale.

Even so─as they say, blood will out.14

“Wh-What─what the hell! Why would the Kyotoryu besiege my castle! Is not the Kyotoryu─a member of your staff?”

“The only person in this world on my staff is Lieutenant Emonzaemon Soda. Besides, Shichika Yasuri worked directly under the Schemer.”

“S-Schemer─call for the Schemer at once! Tell her to order the Kyotoryu to stop!”

“I regret to inform you─that the Schemer died on the way back from the Sword Hunt.”

“What?!”

“Oh, did I not mention that?” Princess Negative tittered─playing dumb. “Well, it would seem the boy has gone berserk─after losing his master. All the same, Your Excellency. While this may be a worst-case scenario for us, it could also be said to be fortuitous.”

“Wh-Why is that?”

“Because the Kyotoryu is the ultimate key to fulfilling our dream, the grand design set forth by Kiki Shikizaki. He is the magnum opus.”

“M-Magnum─opus?”

Masatsuna sounded puzzled by this unexpected phrase.

Princess Negative continued, unperturbed.

“Yes. Though the particulars are not what we expected─the circumstances are exactly what we hoped for all along.”

“…”

“That this sort of thing would happen, once the thousand Mutant Blades had been amassed─was prophesied by Kiki Shikizaki, Your Excellency. And if things proceed accordingly─the Yanari Shogunate’s reign will be secured. Guaranteeing─a thousand years15 of prosperity.”

Princess Negative made this last part sound like an incidental detail─but her comment seemed to be more than enough to restore Masatsuna’s composure.

How so greedy.

Also, plain and simple.

Nice─and gullible.

“S-So─all we need to do is strike back against the Kyotoryu. A-And for reasons beyond me, doing so will bring this design of yours to fruition?”

“Yes. And in that sense, one might say it was inevitable that the Kyotoryu would turn traitor16 at this stage of the game.”

As daughter of Takahito Hida, the Schemer’s fate was sealed, but Princess Negative allowed for Emonzaemon to use his own best judgment17 when it came to how to handle Shichika Yasuri.

Ordering him to kill the Kyotoryu only if he posed a threat.

As it turned out, Emonzaemon executed the Schemer using Ento the Bead, before Shichika had the chance to intervene─in which case.

─It’s almost like you saw all of this coming.

─Was that─your ninja abilities shining through?

Princess Negative wondered.

Though she may as well grill18 him on this later.

There were more pressing matters at hand.

“Your Excellency─I’m afraid we cannot simply strike back and be done with it. First we must undergo a rather troublesome and obstreperous procedure.”

“Wh-What are you saying?”

“Allow me─to explain.”

Right.

This was her chance to use their unwanted presence─to her advantage.

“Although I may be the descendant of Kiki Shikizaki, I honestly don’t put much stock in fate or the like…but at this point, I have to admit I feel a kind of power in the room.”

“Hm?”

“The eleven guards, with whom Your Excellency’s heart beats as one, combined with my own confidant, Emonzaemon Soda, for twelve─will put the finishing touches on this history.”

■　■

Princess Negative’s conjecture hit the bullseye.19

In his brazen attempt to besiege Owari Castle from the main gate, on his own, Shichika Yasuri, the Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu─drubbed out the sentries within the castle walls by virtue of the fact he was alone.

The sentries, one thousand strong.

And yet, the interior of Owari Castle was mind-bogglingly expansive.

Places to hide galore.

The sentries never dreamt that a lone troublemaker would invade the castle from the main gate. Their ranks held no small number of musketeers─but they could serve no purpose if they could not find their mark.20

Still, the sentries must have been flummoxed.

How could a man his size be so impossible to find?

How could they fail to find this man who waltzed around like some kind of a dandy, in the gaudy costume of a woman?

He stood out like a sore thumb.

His appearance so memorable it would be seared into your memory after a single glance─so how could he be so difficult to locate?

Strange in a way that defied explanation.

And yet─such was the fighting style Shichika had acquired over the past year.

The island monkey who was once content with lunging like a wild boar─had focused his style not on fighting, but on winning.

Thus far, Shichika had visited Owari twice.

The first time in the eighth moon, the second in the tenth.

However, on both occasions, Togame the Schemer had visited the castle on her own, leaving Shichika to bide his time at Schemer Mansion.

As a result─Shichika had not seen for himself how the castle was constructed. Though even if he had, its intricate and fantastic structure would likely have been too much for him to comprehend.

As demonstrated by their unguided traversal of Japan─as well as by their rumble in the rubble of Lake Fuyo against Skytron, Togame had a knack for drawing maps.

At some point along the way.

For whatever reason─though probably knowing it would come in handy once the Sword Hunt was complete, Togame had drawn Shichika a map of Owari Castle to explain how it was built.

Including both plane and stereoscopic21 figures.

Unlike Togame, of course, Shichika had an unreliable22 memory─and had not memorized the details of the sketches that she had drawn him.

Nevertheless, this had been more than plenty─allowing him to nimbly fight his way around the castle.

For security purposes, the sentries had only been familiarized with their own posts23─but Shichika maneuvered freely, up and down and all around the castle.

Brushing off a sentry here.

Resting in the shadows there.

Shichika fought─onward and upward.

Who knows how things would have gone before Shichika Yasuri gained experience in battle, but after a year of solid experience, not even these select soldiers could hold a candle to him.

“Phew─whew, whew.”

He caught─his breath.

The above aside, besieging a castle on your own was ill-advised. At the moment, Shichika was hiding in the shadows─crouching low and taking a slightly longer rest.

In all that brash and brilliant finery.

Seemingly two dozen layers of gaudy robes.

Wrapping his body in Togame’s clothes─

Taking a breather.

“Whew.”

─When Dad besieged the castle.

─Some friends of his were there, if only just a few.

“Including the sentries, this place supposedly has what─twelve hundred soldiers? Wonder how many I’ve taken out…at least a hundred… I can probably handle fifty more.”

Shichika stood.

When was that?

Ah yes, barely three months into the journey─at Triad Shrine in Izumo.

Home to the thousand miko.

If Togame had failed in her negotiations, he would have had to fight all thousand of them himself─Shichika remembered what it felt like at that stage.

─For Togame, I would have fought a thousand people or however many more.

─But now, I’m not so sure I can go on.

─Because now─

She wasn’t here for him to fight for.

“…Oops!”

Sensing something behind him─Shichika spun gracefully around. He must have been pretty tired to allow someone to get this close─or so he thought, but he was off.

Before him was a single crow.

Black as lacquerware.

Yikes, thought Shichika, regaining his composure─

“Kyotoryu.”

But then.

When he heard the crow address him─he instantly braced himself.

“Was that you? Since when can crows talk? Wait.”

This can’t be happening, he thought.

Crows don’t talk─but if this one is…

“Unbelievable.”

Ignoring what Shichika had asked─the crow continued:

“You made it─is what I’d like to say, but since I don’t believe my eyes, I can’t bring myself to say it. After I let you go and spared your life─you turn around and throw it away. The Schemer would be spinning in her grave.”24

“E-Emonzaemon?”

The voice was wrong─but this manner of speaking was unquestionably Emonzaemon Soda.

“Aioi Ninpo─Vocal Craft.25 As elementary a piece of ninpo as it gets…”

Quoth the crow.

“But who cares about all that. Kyotoryu─we’ve called off the ordinary soldiers.26 No need to keep on fighting for no reason.”

“Huh?”

“Quit hopping around the castle. Go straight up to the keep. Her Highness and I─will be waiting for you.”

“Waiting? For what…”

“I assume you’re here to kill the Schemer’s nemesis? As you proceed, a fair number of extraordinary soldiers will be standing in your way─but Her Highness and I expect you to blow through the likes of them without hardship. Although I don’t suppose that this will be the pleasure of His Excellency─”

With that─straight off.

The crow took flight.

Shichika figured that he could have caught him if he tried, but realized that it would have been counterproductive. After spending so much time facing off against the Maniwa, he could venture a guess as to what the Vocal Craft was all about.

He reckoned that exactly as he said─Emonzaemon Soda was up in the castle keep.

Waiting there for Shichika.

Together with Princess Negative.

Her confidant wasn’t wrong about him having fended off the ordinary soldiers.

“He is wrong, though…”

Shichika─stepping from the shadows and stretching out his back, as if to limber up a bit before proceeding─fluttering27 the sleeves of his flamboyant finery.

Lethargically.

Dejectedly.

Muttered to himself.

“I didn’t come here to kill Togame’s nemesis─I came here to die.”

Then─like second nature, he mouthed the words his former owner had forbidden him.

This, too, so long ago now. When was that?

“Ah, what a pain.”

1 重厚 JŪKŌ “thick and dense”

2 門兵 MONPEI “gate soldiers”

3 かぶき者気取り KABUKIMONO KIDORI someone who affects being different

4 お決まりの文句 OKIMARI NO MONKU set phrase

5 ぎぃい GIIIH onomatopoeia for a tense sound, suggesting rotation under weight

6 閂 KAN’NUKI bolt (of a door)

7 捕獲 HOKAKU “hunt and capture” used with both animals and people

8 賊 ZOKU bandit vs. 海賊 KAIZOKU pirates

9 精鋭 SEI’EI “sharp spirit” elite

10 一兵卒 IPPEI SOTSU common soldier

11 下々 SHIMO JIMO “the (people) beneath” hoi polloi

12 兆 CHŌ 1,000,000,000,000 (one million million)

13 窘めて TASHINAMETE chiding

14 血は争えない CHI WA ARASOENAI “blood cannot be contested”

15 千年 SEN’NEN “millennium” symbolic number, evokes endlessness

16 謀反を起こした MUHON WO OKOSHITA mounted an insurrection

17 裁量 SAIRYŌ discretion

18 問い詰める TOI TSUMERU “question and corner”

19 的 MATO (archery) target

20 標的 HYŌTEKI (military) target

21 平面図 立体図 HEIMENZU RITTAIZU two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional diagram

22 あやふや AYAFUYA unsound, unsteady

23 持ち場 MOCHIBA “held place” station

24 草葉の陰で悲しんで KUSABA NO KAGE DE KANASHINDE “lamenting in the dark, under the grass”

25 声帯移し SEITAI UTSUSHI “vocal cord transfer” vs. 声帯模写 SEITAI MOSHA vocal mimicry

26 一般兵 IPPAN HEI regular troops

27 翻して HIRUGAESHITE flipping up vs. 翻訳 HONYAKU “turned-over sense” translation

■　■

There stood a man─baring Zetto the Leveler.

But then again─Zetto the Leveler had no sheath, and thus was always bare.

A katana boasting absolute hardness, impossible to bend or break.

Owned of late by Komori Maniwa “The Hell-Made,” one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

The first owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Hanyamaru,1 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Gaze uncomfortably keen─bangs swept messily across his forehead, the man thus gave his introduction and pointed the tip of the Leveler at Shichika.

“…”

Shichika eyed the tip of the sword a little wistfully─and responded to the man who called himself Hanyamaru.

“So far, I’ve been comfortable with going easy on you guys─and haven’t had to kill a single soldier, but from here on out, I won’t be holding back. I don’t know how strong you are, and I don’t really care─but as long as you’re using one of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki, I’m gonna have to go all out.”

“I’d say you’re still a little too comfortable,” Hanyamaru replied─smirking like he was the comfortable one. “I know the story─Kyotoryu. While I can’t speak to the other swords, it would be wrong to say the best sword won with this one. For the most part, your adversary Komori Maniwa brought about his own demise, letting you win by default─I’m afraid you don’t have what it takes to bend or break or even scratch this blade. Care to disagree?”

“…”

“I’m not sure what His Excellency is thinking, much less that dubious Princess Negative character─but their decision to call off the soldiers was correct. Know why? Because I don’t need any help to crush a goon like you!”

Issuing this battle cry─Hanyamaru lunged at Shichika without further ado.

The room was not so big.

Affording him no opportunity for escape or evasion.

“Side Splitter!”

Faced with the furiously thrusting blade─Shichika deployed the same Kyotoryu move as the last time that he fended off the Leveler.

“Kyotoryu─Kiku.”

In this move, he used his spine for a fulcrum, catching the katana in a proverbial armlock─every aspect of his delivery the same as against Komori Maniwa.

But this time.

Zetto the Leveler pealed2 like a bell─and cracked in two.

As if the hefty blade─were a dead branch.

Snapping with a satisfying crack.

“Huh…huh?”

Hanyamaru looked astonished.

To which Shichika responded casually.

“In the wrong hands, even the greatest sword is just a hunk of metal─I’ll have to take back what I said. The swords of Kiki Shikizaki aren’t the least bit scary,3 when your enemy can’t handle them correctly.”

“…nkk!”

“Sorry─but I still won’t be going easy on you.”

Playing off the Kiku, Shichika segued into his next move─mercilessly deploying the Last Fatal Orchid of the Kyotoryu─Shichika Hachiretsu Redux.

Hanyamaru was powerless to stop him.

Of course─the fact that the Kiku was not merely meant for breaking swords, but was devised by the school’s founder Kazune Yasuri, working in concert with Kiki Shikizaki, specifically for breaking Zetto the Leveler, the hardest sword in all the land─and the fact that Shichika had only been unable to break Zetto the Leveler on Haphazard Island because his battle experience was nil, and his skills too green, were more than he could hope to understand.

“─One sword down.”

■　■

There stood a man─wearing Zanto the Razor on his hip.

The keenest sword in all the land, able to cut through any extant substance in a single swing.

Owned of late by Ginkaku Uneri, the Lord of Gekoku Castle, a master of iainuki.

The second owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Furachi Oniyadori,4 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Head shaved5 and cheeks bewhiskered, this man dressed like a monk offered his introduction─then crouched low, set his right hand upon the grip of his katana, and prepared himself to draw.

“Zanto the Razor, huh,” Shichika muttered─not looking at the face of the man who called himself Furachi Oniyadori, but at the sword, and spoke as if transfixed. “I fought this sword back when I could think of nothing except fighting─come to mention it, I never actually set eyes on its blade.”

“Nor will you ever,” Furachi told him─quietly.

Eyes closed.

As if in reference to the Danger Zone of Ginkaku Uneri─he took position in the center of the room, stock-still.

Definitely not making the first move.

That said, because the room was relatively large, Furachi would have had a hard time making the whole thing a Danger Zone─and at the same time, since the ceilings were so tall, Shichika had no hope of using Fatal Orchid Seven, Rakka Rozeki, like when he offed Ginkaku Uneri.

Although─this was not Shichika’s intention anyway.

Normally, as normal as can be─he ambled toward Furachi Oniyadori.

“I’ll tell you one thing,” Furachi said. “Before you came here, I killed five others with this very sword. Do you ken my meaning?”

Then noticing that Shichika had stepped into his range.

He drew the sword in the space of a breath─

“This means the time is ripe for Bloodlust─my sword outstrips the speed of sound!”

“I don’t need you to tell me that. I knew already.”

Shichika made this annoyed comment─only after catching the drawn sword barehanded.

“Huh…what?!”

“This sword might cut through anything, but its sides don’t cut at all─you know, when people think of mutodori, the first thing they imagine is a guy dramatically catching a sword midair, but what I just did doesn’t even have a name in the Kyotoryu. It’s too basic to deserve a term─just like your iainuki, too minor6 to spend time on.”

“A…Agh.”

“Still, since one false move with this sword could result in fatal injury─I can’t take any chances. Sorry─but I won’t be going easy on you either─”

With that─he unleased Fatal Orchid Three: Hyakka Ryoran.

Deployable even when both hands are otherwise engaged with a sword─this Fatal Orchid beat the living daylights out of Furachi Oniyadori.

After glancing at his prostrate body, Shichika gave Zanto the Razor a long, hard look─but neither its temper line nor any other detail meant anything to him.

Hence.

“Not what I was expecting. Looks like a normal sword,” he said dismissively, then snapped the blade in two.

Shearing through the sword designed to shear through anything.

He left the pieces on the floor, like they were worthless rubbish─and proceeded to the next chamber.

“─Two swords down.”

■　■

There stood a woman─armed with Sento the Legion.

Holding a piece of the Legion in each hand.

The remaining nine hundred and ninety-eight pieces─had been stabbed into the floor, into the walls, and into the ceiling of the room─filling it so completely that it almost made you woozy.

The grandness of the hall allowed for such a battle array7 to be achieved indoors.

Endless replacements at the ready, epitomizing disposability─the thousand swords.

Owned of late by Meisai Tsuruga, Mistress of Triad Shrine and keeper of the Sentoryu.

The third owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Akatsuki Tomoe8─one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Wearing an eyepatch9 on one eye, she gave her name─and raised both swords.

Mildly dismayed, Shichika scanned all thousand of the swords that studded almost every surface of the hall and heaved a sigh. “Togame’s reports weren’t just a bunch of lies, I guess…but that’s neither here nor there10─monkey around all you want, but it isn’t going to work on me.”

“Is that so?” Tomoe snickered at Shichika. “Do you even know the origins of the Sentoryu that Meisai Tsuruga used?”

“No, at least not any of the details.”

“It’s quite the venerable school of swordplay─not exactly famous, but also not without practitioners.”

“What’s your point?”

“I too─can use the Sentoryu.”

As she spoke─Tomoe inched towards him.

Closing the distance nonchalantly.

“Point being! I was born to wield Sento the Legion─but that’s not all!”

Howling now, Tomoe fired a sword at Shichika.

Seeing him dodge her attack, Tomoe drew one of the swords thrust into the tatami, so as to arm herself with two again─and hurried after Shichika.

“This isn’t some knockoff11 Thousand Sword Odyssey, it’s the real deal!”

“What of it?”

After dodging the projectile sword─Shichika had not bounced back from the dodge, but rather threw his whole weight into a spin─then, as if threading the needle between the two swinging swords, he planted a backfist into Tomoe’s chest.

“Ugh…”

When Tomoe groaned─Shichika doubled down.

“What made Meisai so difficult for me─why fighting her was such a struggle, was her devious personality. She had absolutely no qualms whatsoever about playing tricks on me. Now that I have some distance from it, I realize that all those swords were not the issue.”

“…nkk.”

Obviously.

Shichika doubled down with more than words.

Ending the match with Fatal Orchid One, Kyoka Suigetsu, the fastest move in all the Kyotoryu, the same move he had used to kill Meisai Tsuruga─perhaps Shichika’s attempt at a tribute to her.

In the process─the swords Tomoe had been holding clashed against each other, the result of which was that a huge crack formed in one of them.

“This sword may come with almost limitless replacements─but once even one of the thousand swords is lost,” Shichika muttered, “there isn’t any going back.”12

He looked at the crack in the sword.

“─Three swords down.”

■　■

There stood a man─armed with Hakuto the Whisper.

The blade so whisper-thin you could see through it.

A sword as fine as glasswork─to the point where it was hard to catch.

So light.

So fragile.

Hakuto the Whisper.

Owned of late by the young man who enjoyed a reputation as the Strongest in Japan and as the Sword Saint─Hakuhei Sabi.

The fourth owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Matsuaki Fugi13─one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

His head of hair swept back, he gave his name─and steadied his sword, holding it low.

“I really need to thank you, Kyotoryu,” said Fugi. “Hakuhei Sabi, who you waylaid on Ganryu Island─was my archrival.14 We helped each other hone our skills. Not exactly a friend of mine, but we worked together a fair amount when he was in the bakufu.”

“…”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out for vengeance─but by taking down the man who took down Sabi, I can finally leave Sabi in the dust.”

“This again,” said Shichika. “In the past year, twenty other guys have given me the same speech and challenged me to a duel─I’ve forgotten all their names, but I’ll remember yours. Fugi, right?”

“Bah─rubbish!”

Fugi ended the conversation─and ran full bore at Shichika.

His speed alarming.

Which made sense─since his absurdly light sword had no weight to it.

This was the maneuver that Shichika had seen on Ganryu Island─seen, or been shown, though was unable to view in its totality─Hakuhei Sabi’s Imploding Earth!

“Whisper Eureka!”

That falling sword promised to slice Shichika’s head asunder─but instead.

It glanced off Shichika’s forehead.

And Hakuto the Whisper─turned to dust.

“Huh…why?”

“That sword is so fragile that unless you swing it in a perfect arc, without veering even slightly, the blade will go to pieces─although, since after all, you are the archrival of Sabi, it seems that didn’t pose you any trouble.”

Taking his time─to the point where he was almost hanging loose, Shichika moved into Kyotoryu Form Two, the Suisen.

“But if I adjust the angle of my body─the power of Hakuto the Whisper is gone.”

This was not Shichika’s discovery, but a scheme that Togame had hatched two seconds after seeing Hakuto the Whisper in real life.15

Though using such a tactic would have made the sword impossible to capture, and probably wouldn’t have worked on the Sword Saint in the first place.

“You don’t spark joy. Goodbye.”

With that─Shichika laid into Fugi with Fatal Orchid Two, Kacho Fugetsu.16

“─Four swords down.”

■　■

There stood a man─donning Zokuto the Armor.

Full metal jacket, thick and gleaming─Western plate mail, outfitted head to toe with blades. If Shichika was giant, then the Armor was gigantic.17 A suit of armor─but a sword.

Owned of late by Kanara Azekura, Captain of the Armored Pirates, headquartered in Dakuon Harbor in Satsuma.

The fifth owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Kairo Iga,18 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Sealed inside that suit of armor, the man stated his name─then leaned toward Shichika, prepared to charge.

The sight of this─spooked even Shichika.

“I had no idea that there was someone besides Azekura who could wear the Armor.”

Kanara Azekura was a big man, standing over seven feet tall. How could anyone else be that big, much less a member of the bakufu? Togame had failed to mention anyone like him.

“Hahaha,” Kairo chortled. “There certainly isn’t─doesn’t my name explain things? I’m using ninpo, to make it fit me.”

“Iga? Oh, that Iga─”

Evidently─this guy was a former ninja, just like Emonzaemon Soda.

Shichika was unable to say for sure.

However─what he knew for sure was how this guy had put on Zokuto the Armor.

“Thanks to my Iga Ninpo─Muscle Mania.”19

“A way of puffing up your body. Sorta reminds me of the ninpo that Komori used─but at this point, I can’t exactly say I’m mystified.”

“Well, I’m not exactly trying to mystify you─though incidentally, I did read the reports. Well then, Kyotoryu─I hear your Fatal Orchids don’t work against this Armor?”

“…”

“I won’t make the same mistake as your pal Kanara Azekura and expect the Armor to save my life─before you can get ahold of me, I’ll blow a hole right through you!”

However.

This time─Shichika made the first move.

While Kairo continued his tiresome20 palavering,21 Shichika used the footwork of Form Seven, the Kakitsubata─to close the distance between him and Kairo in a flash.

“!”

When Kairo noticed, it was already too late.

Shichika had swept him off his feet.

“Puffing up your body doesn’t change your weight though, right? In that case, unlike Azekura, it’s a breeze to knock you down─”

“Wah!”

“And another thing…you think Togame just forgot about that? Think she saw a sword one of my Fatal Orchids didn’t work on─and just let it go? Well guess what, I have a pretty good idea by now of why Ryuryoku Kako didn’t work before.”

That detail probably wasn’t mentioned in the report.

While Kairo was still tumbling through the air, yet to land on the tatami─Shichika slammed him with the same move that he used to bust the bar of the main gate in entering Owari Castle. The move that sends its fury across barriers─Fatal Orchid Four, Ryuryoku Kako.

“Basically, Zokuto the Armor sheds the impact─when it gets hit, the shock is radiated outward from the sword, rather than through. Which is why─when you’re midair, and no part of the Armor is making contact with the ground or walls or anything, the impact has nowhere to go─and explodes inside the Armor.”

Which is exactly─what happened next.

Between losing his footing and hitting the tatami.

In that exact instant─the joints and seams of the Armor─spurted22 crimson blood.

“Am I right that once you’re in that thing, you can’t get out unless you open it from the inside? If so─Zokuto the Armor is as good as23 busted.”

Shichika looked down upon a fallen, motionless Kairo─or at Zokuto the Armor, and headed onward to the next zone.

“─Five swords down.”

■　■

There stood a man─holding Soto the Twin.

That inelegant sword of stone, so tremendously heavy it was difficult to transport─which, if dropped, would sink into the earth by virtue of its mass.24

Owned of late by the sole survivor of the Itezora Clan, who once lived in Ezo atop Mt. Odori, a Level One Disaster Area─a girl by the name of Konayuki Itezora.

The sixth owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Bofura25 Maniwa, one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Having given his name, this man in sleeveless ninja garb, whose whole body was wrapped with chains─turned the sword on Shichika and came forward.

“Holy mackerel!” Shichika could not hold back his admiration. “You’re not even some big guy like Kanara Azekura─how can you pick up that sword? That’s pretty unbelievable. Or even─inconceivable. Does this mean you’re one of the Itezoras?”

“You must be joking.” Bofura shook his head. “My roots are in the Maniwa Ninja Clan.”

“Hmm…”

He did give the name Maniwa.

First Iga─now Maniwa.

It would seem the bakufu was surprisingly well-connected with the ninja community.

“We’re talking over two hundred years ago, though, when my ancestor broke away26 from the Maniwa Ninja Clan─and pledged exclusive loyalty to the current shogunate.”

“Backstabbing the backstabbers, huh. Did those moneygrubbing Maniwa rub you the wrong way?”

“Hard to say, since after all, it was my ancestor who betrayed them─what I will say, though, is that you’re setting yourself up for trouble if you’re expecting me to be as amateurish as the Maniwa Bosses you’ve taken down.”

“You must be using Maniwa Ninpo. How else could you whip around Soto the Twin─like it was lighter than air.”

“Sure am─Harlequin Butterfly.”

“…”

Oh, Shichika remembered, that move sis was using.

Oh, wait, that means─

“Regrettably, this means I’ll wind up settling their score27 with you─I suppose that’s the way things have come to pass!”

The heaviest sword in all the land, Soto the Twin.

Bofura brandished it─as if it were its polar opposite, Hakuto the Whisper. When he had closed the distance, he tossed it to the other hand─

“Houndstooth!”

He tried striking Shichika over the head─but Shichika caught the sword like it was nothing special.

“Huh…what?”

“Harlequin Butterfly…eliminates the weight of things, right?” Shichika said. “But without weight, what good is this sword anyhow?”

For Soto the Twin─converted mass into offensive strength.

“D-Damn it all─”

“Look, I haven’t met all Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa─but in my experience, none of them were anywhere as weak as you.”

With that─Shichika wedged Soto the Twin between himself and Bofura and swatted his body with the heel of his hand.

Fatal Orchid One: Kyoka Suigetsu.

Destroying Soto the Twin, wedged between them, in the process.

Bereft of its weight, that sword was nothing but a flake of stone to Shichika.

“─Six swords down.”

■　■

There stood a man─stabbed in the heart with Akuto the Eel.

Small as a dagger, it sent the lightning it was limitlessly charged with surging through his body, like some kind of an electrode, that he may never feel exhaustion or fatigue, making the man an invulnerable28 warrior who could fight indefinitely.

Owned of late by Shichika’s older sister, Nanami Yasuri, Head of the House of Yasuri and a genius invested with every kind of talent.

The seventh owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Uron,29 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Wearing Western spectacles of an eccentric design, the man, whose veins were bulging from his skin, perhaps thanks to the effects of Akuto the Eel, thus introduced himself─and turned to Shichika, taking position in the style used in kenpo.

“I gather Akuto the Eel was last used by your sister─the sickly thing, but I’ll have you know its powers are far different in the hands of a healthy, first-rate warrior such as myself. Even that move of hers, Nanami the Heel, is manifest in an entirely different way through me. So much for your agenda30─it makes no difference to me whether you’re the Kyotoryu or Shikizaki’s magnum opus, because this is where you die.”

“I’ll admit it’s gonna be a little tough to take you down,” Shichika responded. “Since I have no other choice─I’ll do my best impression of my sickly sister.”

“Huh?”

“You may be inexhaustible, and you may be invincible─”

As if to catch him unawares,31 Shichika broke off midsentence and darted forward─leaping to the right side of Uron.

Then.

“So maybe you won’t die after one fatal blow─but what about a couple hundred?”

“Whuh…”

“A medley of Kyotoryu strike moves─from the Hinageshi to the Jinchoge.”

Just as Nanami had once done to Shichika, in their battle at Seiryoin Gokenji Temple─Shichika laid into Uron, pummeling his invincible body with two hundred and seventy-two strikes, unleashed at him from every direction.

Though unlike Nanami, Shichika was not able to use Harlequin Butterfly, and since he pulled none of his punches─each landed with incredible32 force.

As a result, Uron died two hundred and seventy-two times over.

At the very end─having expended all its lightning, bled dry, Akuto the Eel became a shell of itself, and slipped free from Uron’s heart.

“The wickedest sword in existence, huh─to be sure, that was a wicked way to die, closer to torture than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Shichika meant it as he said this to Uron’s dead body.33

“─Seven swords down.”

■　■

A woman awaited Shichika a short distance from Bito the Sundial─a.k.a. Skytron.

Bito the Sundial, a sword shaped like a doll─or like a human. An automated sword─engineered to operate its four arms and four legs almost indefinitely.

Owned of late by Skytron, the owner operator katana.34

The eighth owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Oh Haiga,35 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Gorgeous hair spilling over her shoulders, the woman said her name─and edged over to Shichika, moving in step with Skytron.

“I’ll have you know that Skytron’s settings have been changed─unlike when you saw her at Lake Fuyo, she no longer poses the risk of killing any and all humans. Now this pretty doll of mine will only act as I command her to─and for your information, her sole directive at the moment is to kill you.”

“Oh, okay,” said Shichika.

It appeared this explanation from Haiga─only served to reassure him.

Haiga eyed him skeptically.

“You know, I personally had a complicated set of feelings about Skytron─which made me hesitant to turn her into scrap metal, but now that you’ve gone and fiddled with her head,” Shichika explained, “I’m no longer on the fence.”

Kind enough, so far as explanations go.

But its condescension infuriated Haiga.

“Kyotoryu, you do realize─this is two on one! Two on one, two on one, two on one! You could barely cope with four arms and legs─how do you expect to handle six!”

From the left and right─acting in unison, Haiga and Skytron came after Shichika.

Haiga armed in both hands with weapons that looked like talons.36

And Skytron already lifting off from the tatami.

“BITO SUNDIAL”

Skytron had transformed into its ultimate form─

“ROBOSLAY─PAIN RAIN─”

“The Last Fatal Orchid of the Kyotoryu─Shichika Hachiretsu, Freestyle.”37

In this move.

Shichika unleashed the Seven Fatal Orchids all at once, but to the left and right.

Hitting Skytron with the first four Fatal Orchids.

Reserving the last three for Oh Haiga.

“Gakk…!”

Skytron─burst apart from the torso, flew towards a plaster wall, while Haiga, landing on the wall opposite, met the same fate as Skytron.

“K-Kh…ukk.”

Hit with one less Fatal Orchid, Haiga suffered a comparatively lighter beating─though perhaps this was unlucky.

Although she was mortally wounded, she did not die instantly, but muttered to herself38 in a voice fraught with blood.

“How…when it was two on one… I thought the first time you fought Skytron, you barely made it out alive…”

“Only because that time we were trying to catch Skytron…besides, this time,” Shichika said dismissively, “you got in the way, preventing Skytron from exhibiting her true potential.”

“…nkk.”

“That takes care of that.”

Nevertheless.

Shichika gave the wreck39 of Skytron a rueful look─before leaving the room behind.

“─Eight swords down.”

■　■

The man awaiting Shichika─had already raised Oto the Cured high in the air to fight.

A wooden sword of flowing woodgrain─a sword of wood that could not cut and would not withstand much abuse. And yet it had a power over the spirit of its owner. For this mysterious sword conditioned40 the spirit of whoever owned it.

Owned of late by the Twelfth Master of the Heartland School, Zanki Kiguchi.

The ninth owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Kokubo Sumigaoka,41 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Wearing a fierce expression, as if something had angered him, the man introduced himself without lowering Oto the Cured─and addressed Shichika.

“Kyotoryu─no, I think I’ll use your name. Shichika Yasuri.”

“…”

“A fight like this is pointless. If you’re thinking of surrendering, I need not tease you any further.”

When Shichika declined to answer him─Sumigaoka continued.

“I believe they call this Shangri-Oto? The second I picked up this sword, I was overtaken by an awfully peaceful feeling. So peaceful that even I, infamous for being the most savage man42 in all Owari, feel inclined to look the other way and let you go─so how about it, Shichika Yasuri. Interested in cooperating?”

“Nope.”

“I see. In that case─I’ll take you down in one fell swoop!”

Sumigaoka aimed straight for his throat─colliding with Shichika. The tip of Oto the Cured glanced off his hair─but Shichika marvelously dodged the attack.

Then.

“Fatal Orchid Six─Kinjo Tenka!”

He unleashed this secret move without remorse─literally reducing Oto the Cured to smithereens.43

“Hate to break it to you, but unlike Kiguchi, your words are all veneer, which I find totally unappealing. Yeah,” he said, “to be honest, you’re just irritating.”

Shichika landed the move, no looking back.

“I guess you can drain out the venom, but if there’s nothing there to fill its place, a hollow44 person will be as hollow as ever. Good to know.”

Shichika stood himself up.

Noting his hair, which had been grazed.

“─Nine swords down.”

■　■

There stood a woman who did not so much as turn around when Shichika came in, fixating instead on the hilt gripped in her hand─Seito the Garland.

A swordless sword, only a hilt and handguard─for of all the thousand Mutant Blades, which included no small number of unswordlike forms, this was the only sword that was no sword at all, lacking a blade of any kind.

Owned of late by Rinne Higaki, the hermit magus who had been alive over three centuries, and whose appearance changed depending on who looked.

The tenth owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Kosha Saraba,45 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Wearing a headband46 and a loose coat47 that made her look ready for action, she gave her name─and spoke without looking towards Shichika.

“Hey─what do you think I should do with this?” she asked. “What a miserable piece of junk… I mean, do you realize how I feel? Handed a weirdo48 sword like this and told to run along and fight. Loyalty only goes so far.”

“…The last owner threw the fight, on the basis of self-awareness, then ran off.”

“I’m afraid that doesn’t help me any.”

“I guess you could try tossing it at me?”

“Although I’m a bit hesitant to take your advice…I have no other option, so I may as well give it a try.”

As instructed.

Saraba threw the hilt─tossing Seito the Garland at Shichika.

Shichika kicked it up, sending it bouncing off the ceiling─which was enough to destroy Seito the Garland.

When Saraba made a run for him, Shichika transitioned into his next move─

“Fatal Orchid Five─Hika Rakuyo!”

Direct hit.

“Just my awful luck,” lamented Saraba, as she collapsed on the floor, muttering to herself rather than scream aloud.

Because she had not turned a blade on him, Shichika decided he could go a little easy on her. Hence why he had selected Hika Rakuyo, which for a Fatal Orchid was comparatively tame. If fortune favored her, she stood a chance of not losing her life.

Was this, too, the doing of Seito the Garland?

Recalling the unpleasant personality of the hermit magus─Shichika pondered these matters for a moment.

Then headed out.

“─Ten swords down.”

■　■

There stood a man wielding Dokuto the Basilisk.

Among the thousand Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki, which made you want to kill if you so much as held them, this obsidian sword possessed the strongest venom of them all.

Owned of late by Hohoh Maniwa, “The Divine Phoenix,” one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

The eleventh owner of a Possessed with whom Shichika had battled.

“I am Bangai Rogiri,49 one of the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate.”

Sporting a fine build, the man stated his name with a vacant glare, a vacant tone, and a vacant demeanor─then pointed the wobbling tip of the blade in the direction of Shichika─at least apparently.

“B-Bangai. Bangai Rogiri. Rogiri, Rogiri…Shikizaki? Shiki…Rogiri, Rogiri, Rogiri, Shiki…Shikiza, Shikizaki.”

“Hmm.”

Shichika watched Rogiri dispassionately.

“Alright…so even though it’s the Basilisk, the venom of the sword doesn’t devour anyone who owns it to the point where they start being Kiki Shikizaki. Although in keeping with the idea of Venom Despotism, it does seem like he’s gone off the deep end…”

“Rogiri. Shikizaki? Shiki-ZAKI, Shiki, Shiki, Rogiri, ROGIRI, SHIKI-zaki, Shi-KIZAKI, SHI-ki-ZAKI, SHI-kizaki, Kiki, Kiki, Rogiri, Rogiri, Rogiri, Rogiri, Rogiri─Shikizaki. Kikishikizaki. Kiki SHIKIZAKI. Ki-KI Shiki-ZAKI.”

“I’d been worried that I’d have another run in with that swordsmith─so this is kind of a relief…alright, hold on. I’ll put you out of your misery50─releasing you from this absurd battle between swords.”

Bangai Rogiri.

After calling his foe by the name that he had only just now learned─Shichika charged at the wobbling, bobbing body of Bangai Rogiri.

Then, at the last second─jumped.

Indeed, the ceiling in this room was high enough that he could do the move full force. Leaping upwards, he pivoted his body lengthwise, then came down with a foot strike, dropping his ankle like an axe─

“Fatal Orchid Seven─Rakka Rozeki!”

Landing on the crown of Bangai Rogiri─he embroiled the fidgety blade of Dokuto the Basilisk in the process.

Purging any remnant51 of Kiki Shikizaki that had been embedded in the Basilisk.

“─Eleven swords down.”

■　■

Each victory settled in the blink of an eye.

This is not to say that the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate were even remotely weak─but Shichika Yasuri was simply much too strong for them.

Shichika Yasuri, Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu.

After cutting his teeth fighting the oddest of the odd in all Japan─

His unfettered strength was inconceivable.

Before setting off on the Sword Hunt.

Togame the Schemer gave Shichika Yasuri an order.

“I cannot have you nicking up the swords.”

They needed to collect the swords─and Shichika had been ordered to do so without inflicting a scratch upon them.

This was a huge restriction52 for the Kyotoryu, and likewise for Shichika.

And yet─

At this point, there was no reason to honor this restriction.

Because his owner was no longer by his side.

“Ah…what a pain.”

Such were Shichika’s thoughts on his performance, winning eleven of eleven fights.

This─

The true potential of Shichika Yasuri, now that he was able to destroy the swords.

1 般若丸 HAN’NYA MARU “Whole Wisdom” 般若 HAN’NYA Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit prajña, and the name of a classic female devil mask in Noh drama 丸 MARU circle; suffix appended to ships, youth names, etc.

2 ぱきん PAKIN onomatopoeia for sharp splitting sound

3 まるで MARU DE at all pun on 丸 MARU the suffix in Hanyamaru

4 鬼宿不埒 ONIYADORI FURACHI “Demon Dwelling of the Miscreant” plays on らちが明かない RACHI GA AKANAI making no progress

5 坊主頭 BŌZU ATAMA “monk head” bald in the manner of a Buddhist monk

6 取るに足りない TORU NI TARINAI not worth taking (fighting over)

7 陣形 JINKEI formation (of troops or armaments)

8 巴暁 TOMOE AKATSUKI “Spiraling Sunrise”

9 眼帯 GANTAI “eye obi”

10 よかれあしかれ YOKARE ASHIKARE for better or for worse

11 付け焼刃 TSUKE YAKIBA “tacked on brand” borrowed knowledge

12 取り返しはつかない TORIKAESHI WA TSUKANAI irredeemable (situation)

13 浮義待秋 FUGI MATSUAKI “Floating Honor, Waiting for Autumn”

14 好敵手 KŌTEKISHU “favored enemy hand” worthy opponent

15 現物 GENBUTSU “the actual thing” vs. legends, rumors

16 花鳥風月 KACHŌ FŪGETSU “flowers, birds, wind, moon” splendor of the natural world

17 巨体 巨大 KYOTAI KYODAI “huge in body” “hugely big”

18 伊賀甲斐路 IGA KAIRO “The Availed Road of Iga” the same Iga famous for ninja

19 筋肉騙し KIN’NIKU DAMASHI “faking muscles”

20 ぐだぐだと GUDA GUDA TO onomatopoeia for aimless dithering

21 口上を述べている KŌJŌ WO NOBETE IRU offering one’s opinion; giving one’s spiel

22 どばあっ DOBAH onomatopoeia for onslaught of liquid or matter

23 同然 DŌZEN for all intents and purposes

24 自重 JIJŪ “self weight”

25 孑々 BŌFURA mosquito larva

26 離反 RIHAN defect

27 無念を晴らして MUNEN WO HARASHITE dispelling resentment; avenging

28 不死身 FUJIMI “deathless in body”

29 胡乱 URON shady (individual)

30 覚悟を決めるのだな KAKUGO WO KIMERU NODANA set your resolve “prepare to die”

31 虚を突く KYO WO TSUKU “stab the gap” vs. 虚刀流 KYOTŌRYŪ

32 非常 HIJŌ unusual

33 骸 MUKURO corpse

34 所有者は刀自体である SHOYŪSHA WA KATANA JITAI DE ARU the owner being the katana itself

35 灰賀欧 HAIGA Ō “Ashen Celebration of Europe”

36 鉤爪 KAGITSUME “hooked nails” claws

37 応用編 ŌYŌHEN “applied version” vs. 応用花 ŌYŌKA freestyle ikebana

38 ひとりごちる HITORI GOCHIRU talk to oneself

39 残骸 ZANGAI remains of a destroyed building, vehicle, etc.

40 律する RISSURU regulate

41 墨ヶ丘黒母 SUMIGAOKA KOKUBO “Inky Hill, Mother of Black” echoes 国母 KOKUBO “nation mother” empress; mother of the emperor

42 獰猛者 DŌMŌSHA ferocious individual

43 木っ端微塵 KOPPA MIJIN “wood pieces, small scraps” 木 KI tree/wood

44 すっからかん SUKKARAKAN bankrupt, broke; empty

45 皿場工舎 SARABA KŌSHA “Plate Place, Work House” echoes さらば SARABA fare thee well and カラバ侯爵 KARABA KŌSHAKU Marquis of Carabas (the con in Puss in Boots)

46 鉢巻 HACHIMAKI “pot sash” 鉢 HACHI can also mean cranium

47 法被 HAPPI short wraparound coat, often worn during festivals or, more recently, at sales

48 けったいな KETTAI NA bizarre

49 呂桐番外 ROGIRI BANGAI “Backbone Paulownia, the Bonus”

50 楽にしてやる RAKU NI SHITE YARU make comfortable; euthanize

51 残滓 ZANSHI the dregs

52 縛り SHIBARI rein; limitation

■　■

A grand hall, whose interior was expansive as that of the third chamber.

A blond-haired blue-eyed woman and a bemasked gentleman─awaited Shichika Yasuri.

Princess Negative─and Emonzaemon Soda.

“Look at you go─Shichika,” said Princess Negative, the second that1 she saw him.

Smiling wide─she praised Shichika for his trouble.2

“You sure surprised me, showing up like that─don’t you agree, Emonzaemon?”

Prompted thus by Princess Negative, Emonzaemon answered from behind her.

“Same here,” he nodded. “I’m nothing short of stunned.”3

“Really? Well, I suppose it does a body good to be spooked now and then─”

Come to think of it.

This was the first time Shichika had seen the two of them together.

By now, it goes without saying that Emonzaemon Soda played the same role for Princess Negative as the Kyotoryu played for the Schemer─but in polar contrast to Togame and Shichika’s inseparability, Princess Negative and Emonzaemon always appeared separately.

Not merely separated─by the ceiling.

While Princess Negative remained at Mansion Negative─Emonzaemon zipped all around the country. From the sound of it, he had been tailing Togame and Shichika since fairly early in their journey─

“Now then, Shichika, how’s about a proper greeting?” Hiding her lips behind her metal fan, Princess Negative made this impertinent remark. “Apparently that nasty woman has neglected to adequately educate her henchman─such a pity.”

“Didn’t you say that you’d be waiting in the keep?” Shichika broke his silence and spoke up, though not because she had provoked him. “If memory serves me, this place─is not the keep. I’m pretty sure it’s just beyond this.”

“I reject that notion,” Princess Negative replied. “When Emonzaemon spoke with you using his Vocal Craft, our procedure was still undecided4─but you can rest assured. His Excellency, Masatsuna Yanari, Eighth Shogun of the Owari Bakufu, is without question in the castle keep, up on the topmost floor─

“…”

“Or rather, I’m not letting him slip away.”

Princess Negative─turned on her heel.

Opening the fusuma behind her, she ascended the staircase beyond the threshold with the greatest of ease. Emonzaemon remained focused on Shichika, not looking back to watch the Princess go.

It would appear her time with him was over.

Makes sense.

For Princess Negative, this was just a cameo5─whereas the star attraction at this juncture was none other than Emonzaemon Soda.

“You’re right─Shichika.” Still turned away from him, Princess Negative paused on the staircase. “Since you stand a decent chance of dying─I thought I would lay eyes on you for old time’s sake. I may have hated the Schemer with a passion, but I never really hated you.”

“…”

“On the off chance you can take down Emonzaemon, come up these stairs and see me─it’s basically a straight shot. Once you’re that far, you may kill me.”

“Hey, Princess,” shouted Shichika. “Wait a second─”

“Emonzaemon.”

Interrupting Shichika, Princess Negative redirected the conversation toward her henchman, Emonzaemon.

“I hereby order you─to slay the Kyotoryu.”

“Your wish is my command, Your Highness,” Emonzaemon said meekly. “However─if I am to slay the Kyotoryu, Kiki Shikizaki’s master plan will be effectively negated.”

“Indeed─though in case you haven’t noticed, I am an exceedingly negative person,” said Princess Negative─doubtlessly grinning. “My desire for Kiki Shikizaki’s grand design to reach fruition─is only matched by my desire to see his grand design in shambles.”6

“…”

“I’m confident you’ll make one or the other a reality for me.”

With that─Princess Negative continued up the staircase. No sooner had she disappeared than Emonzaemon Soda closed the fusuma without a sound behind him.

“Uninteresting,” said Emonzaemon.

Speaking through that mask─on which were scrawled the words “NON-NINJA.”

“As I’ve said before…I knew someday that you and I would come to blows─but I never thought that it would end like this.”

“Like what?” Shichika interjected, perplexed at what Emonzaemon had said. “What are you talking about?”

“Like I’m being told to do a song and dance─that’s what. When I fight, I’d rather only do so to enact the wishes of the Princess. I don’t care if he’s Her Highness’s ancestor. Fighting to carry out the grand design of Kiki Shikizaki─is the nastiest fate imaginable.”

“Huh.” Shichika nodded.

Hearing that Princess Negative was the descendant of Kiki Shikizaki did not come as a surprise to Shichika, so much as it connected all the dots─

This certainly explained a lot. In fact, now that he knew as much, it seemed impossible for things to have been any other way.

However─in that case, what was this grand design of Kiki Shikizaki that the Princess had mentioned?

“Don’t you feel the same?” asked Emonzaemon. “I’m sure you’d rather only fight for the sake of the Schemer─which is exactly what you’re trying to do now. You’re so aggrieved by the murder of this one woman, you’re willing to do something as absurd as besiege Owari Castle on your own. Ready to take me down, as your direct adversary, along with Princess Negative, who issued the command, and the original target of the Schemer─the shogun, Masatsuna Yanari. But if this is all a song and dance for Kiki Shikizaki─”

“You guys must be making some kind of a mistake.”

“Huh?”

Faced with this most unexpected reaction─a befuddled Emonzaemon cocked his head at Shichika, a rare gesture for him.

“Mistaken? Well, you’re the one who’s wearing the Schemer’s old kimono. Is that not a symbol that you’re carrying out her will─or her last wishes?”7

Dejectedly─lethargically.

Or even sulkily─Shichika answered.

“I guess you could say…after Togame died, I finally realized that a person─or a sword, can’t ever really do something for someone else.”

“…”

“Like you said, this whole time8 I’ve been telling myself I was fighting for Togame, and I actually was─at first following orders without thinking, and eventually making following orders my agenda…but maybe that Kuizame Maniwa guy had it right all along.”

What are you fighting for?

If you have to ask yourself why you’re doing it─

Don’t even bother fighting.

“I mean, at the end of the day, Togame only thought about herself.”

“About─herself?”

“Selfish, to the very end─she ordered me to live my life. Only cared about herself─not sure how else to put it, really. But it’s no use, Emonzaemon.”

Shichika smiled─a faint and miserable smile.

The smile of exhaustion.

“Because that’s why I fell for Togame.”

“…”

“I loved that─about her. So in that sense─I think I was only ever fighting for myself.”

“Then why on earth─would you come storming into Owari Castle?”

“To die.”

Shichika answered instantly.

Instantly, to Emonzaemon’s question.

“Togame ordered me to live my life─but I no longer have a reason to abide. You see, Emonzaemon Soda─no one but you is capable of killing me. Only you─who killed Togame.”

“Unenthused,” Emonzaemon replied. “Don’t make me laugh─barging into the national stronghold like some child with a temper… If this is part of Kiki Shikizaki’s master plan, he sure had a sense of humor.”

Then─Emonzaemon.

Produced two lumps of metal from his jacket.

These were familiar to Shichika─weapons he would not forget.

The last time he beheld them, he had not felt any lifeforce─but now he felt it smartly.

He knew these lumps of metal─were masterworks of Kiki Shikizaki.

He knew they were Ento the Bead.

He knew they were the final sword─last of the Twelve Possessed.

“A revolver─and an automatic.” Emonzaemon raised each gun as he spoke. “Believed, at least at present, to be the last sword Kiki Shikizaki crafted in his lifetime.”

“The sword he made─so he could complete me?”

“Ah. I see you know your history. That saves us time,” said Emonzaemon. “Right─after all, you met up with Rinne Higaki. Not to mention…Kiki Shikizaki, the man himself, who possessed Hohoh Maniwa through Dokuto the Basilisk─”

“Is the Bead how you killed off all of those Maniwacs?”

“Not all. Things turned out differently with Umigame Maniwa─but with Oshidori Maniwa and Pengin Maniwa, the answer is yes. Like the other Mutant Blades, this weapon should not exist in this era─making even the most expert ninja powerless to stop it.”

“Pengin too…”

So things turned out─as Togame suspected.

The Maniwa─were now eradicated.

Shichika was at a loss─for how to process such a fact.

“Great weapons for catching people unawares. I suppose Pengin only died after grasping their mechanics─but what about you? Have you figured out what makes the Bead tick?”

“Togame told me right before she died. They’re some kind of a firearm─but unlike normal flintlocks, they can be fired rapidly.”

“Brilliant. Perceptive even on her deathbed─although, I’m not the least bit inconvenienced by her perceptivity.”

“The bullets punched through her belly.9 I found them on the ground way behind her. I’ve heard that flintlocks use round bullets…but these little guys were shaped like tubes. I guess that makes them faster?” Shichika said. “Anyway, I started thinking─how many of those bullets could those lumps of metal actually hold?”10

“You’re hoping I’ll run out of ammunition?” Emonzaemon shrugged─disappointedly. “I’ll just tell you─the revolver holds six shots, while the automatic is good for eleven. Needless to say, I reloaded after gunning down the Schemer.”

“…”

“Are you in despair? Trust me, there’s no way you’re dodging all seventeen shells─as much as I applaud the Schemer for identifying rapid and continuous fire as Ento the Bead’s chief characteristic, she missed another vital detail─precision. The accuracy of the Bead─is extraordinarily high.”

“Thanks, I realized that─which is why I’ve already hatched a plan for slipping by.”

“Hatched what?”

“You know, a scheme,” Shichika said─taking position.

Specifically, Kyotoryu Form Seven─the Kakitsubata.

A mobile form, showcasing his kaleidoscopic footwork.

“That’s enough talk outta you.11 Let’s get to it, Emonzaemon. I’m a sword the same as you’re a sword. No need for speeches.”

Emonzaemon Soda.

Trusty blade of Princess Negative.

Shichika Yasuri.

The katana incarnate.

The violence─of sword against sword.

The cut-throat opposition12─of one sword against another.

“Indubitably.”

In turn─Emonzaemon braced himself, sinking at the knees and bending at the hips, the muzzles of Ento the Bead trained on Shichika.

“Alright─show me what sort of scheme a lummox like you is capable of hatching.”

“I’m more than happy to─but too bad you’ll be torn to smithereens.”

“I’ll end this in a heartbeat.”

“Same here.”

“Don’t you want to take off that heavy-looking finery?”

“Nah. I’d rather keep it on.”

“I am Lieutenant Emonzaemon Soda, formerly a ninja of the Aioi Clan─and currently under the employ of Princess Negative, whom I now serve as Counselor to the Inspector General of the Yanari Shogunate.”

“And I am Shichika Yasuri─Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu.”

May the best sword win─go.

While there was nobody available to give that signal to begin─both parties started at the same time as if they had signed off13 on it.

Kaleidoscopic footwork.

Using the Kakitsubata─Shichika Yasuri dashed about the room.

Never heading straight for Emonzaemon, nor trying to fake him out, but simply dashing every which way.

“Hmph,” Emonzaemon sneered at this performance from Shichika. “You think that I can’t hit a moving target? This is so pathetic that it’s painful to watch─that strategy could work, if I only had one or two bullets, but not up against seventeen─there’s no way that you can squeak by every shot. It’s physically impossible─not even Hakuhei Sabi or Nanami Yasuri could pull it off.”

“Sis…”

That got Shichika thinking.

As a matter of fact─the move he was about to try was just the sort of thing his sister would be apt to pull. Nanami Yasuri, that genius who counted death among her oldest friends─

“Wohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Switching gears.

Shichika saw his chance─and charged full speed ahead at Emonzaemon.

But Emonzaemon was unperturbed.

Immune to all diversionary tactics.

Instead─he calmly turned the muzzles of the guns on Shichika.

“It is an odious task to kill someone you once spared─but if you’ve come to die, there is nothing I can do. Die with your regrets, Shichika Yasuri. I’m curious what you’ll say─as you do.”

Bang.

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang.

Three shots from the revolver.

Four shots from the automatic.

Emonzaemon fired seven body shots─at Shichika Yasuri.

That sound, both hollow and enormous─reverberated through the room.

Echoing.

“Wh…ahh!”

And yet─this stupefied scream14 came from Emonzaemon.

No sooner than the bullets had been fired─Shichika Yasuri came barreling forth on his kaleidoscopic footwork, stopping right under Emonzaemon’s nose, a mere hairsbreadth away─practically inside his suitcoat.

And from there─Form Four: the Asagao.

Shichika took the Asagao.

For Ryuryoku Kako, the Fatal Orchid playing off this form─and for Shichika Hachiretsu Redux, which led off Ryuryoku Kako into the other six Fatal Orchids─

The circumstances were ideal.

“Da-Damn you, Kyotoryu. How could you possibly dodge─that many bullets?”

“I didn’t dodge them.”

Answered Shichika.

Clear as day.

“At least half of them─hit me.”

“…nkk!”

Though at a loss for words─it appeared that Emonzaemon understood.

Indeed.

Hence─the Kakitsubata.

Shichika was not trying to elude aim─nor trying to dodge the bullets. He was simply scattering15 the bullets as they came.

Rapid and continuous─and precise.

Collectively, for the worse.

Emonzaemon had ventured to unload his fusillade in such a way that Shichika could not evade him, casting a veritable net of bullets, whose trajectories would catch him from all sides─but this was exactly what Shichika expected.

Fact is, Shichika was not trying to evade them.

Catching as few─or as many bullets as necessary, he closed the distance to Emonzaemon.

And then─up close and personal.

Too close for comfort.

Emonzaemon could not fire Ento the Bead.

Even if he still had over half his bullets, it was not a useful weapon at such incredibly close quarters─they may have been compact and handy, but the whole point of these guns was to fire projectiles!

To make things worse, these close quarters─were ideal for the unarmed Kyotoryu.

If the Kyotoryu depended on some kind of weapon─say your run-of-the-mill katana, Shichika would have needed space to use it.

And if such space were available─Emonzaemon could have drawn the Bead.

Ento the Bead was fit for combat whether it was long-distance or short-distance, long-range or short-range─but since the Kyotoryu was an unarmed and swordless school─

These incredibly close quarters─corked up16 the two guns!

“W-Wait─I’m sure at least three of those shots blew right through you!”

“Four,” said Shichika, hanging his head. “One in the leg, two in the belly, one in the arm.”

“What! Then how come─you’re still moving!”

“Because I was ready─catching them was on my agenda from the start.”

Agenda.

Though somewhat unclear, considering the circumstances, whether Shichika should use this word in such a way.

“It’s best to take a hit that can’t be dodged. Simple as that. From the start…I didn’t try to dodge them.”

“…nkk!”

“Togame gave me orders…to protect myself.”

Just as he had been ordered.

To protect the swords.

Just as he had been ordered.

To protect Togame.

He had been forbidden to be injured─not a scratch.

And yet.

There was no longer any reason to obey Togame─whatsoever!

Now that he was licensed to destroy the swords, and licensed to harm himself, Shichika Yasuri exhibited his maximum potential!

“Urk…”

Emonzaemon had once reported to the Princess that the essence of the Kyotoryu was in its powers of defense─and while this may be so, it missed the heart of the matter.

What would happen if the Kyotoryu─forsook its powers of defense?

He should have taken this in mind!

The scheme that Togame the Schemer had chosen not to convey to Shichika Yasuri, in his encounter with Rinne Higaki at Hyakkeijo─!

“…You wanna die or what?!”

“For the last time, yeah!”

“Pshhh…”

Though unable, at such close quarters, to so much as take aim with Ento the Bead─Emonzaemon still clutched and pointed with them in vain.

“Non-Ninpo─Endlessly Unsparing…wait!”

In his desperation─truly so pathetic it was painful to watch, Emonzaemon Soda opted for the move of an old friend.

An old friend.

His best friend, who had been his everything, in the years before he teamed up with Princess Negative.

Blended with the special features of Ento the Bead─

“Decapitation Cyclone!”17

“Shichika Hachiretsu Redux!”

Blood geysered─then it was settled.

In an instant, this match between kindred spirits18─had been settled.

■　■

Princess Negative stood stiffly, in the middle of the room, as was her custom back at Mansion Negative─simply waiting. What made things different were the fact that she was in a different place, and the fact that the seat of honor─was occupied by Masatsuna Yanari, Eighth Shogun of the Owari Bakufu.

“Hey…you, over there.”

As if unable to bear the silence any longer, Masatsuna addressed her.

“Where exactly─do things stand?”

“No need to worry, Your Excellency─everything is going according to plan. Thanks to the allegiance of your Eleven Guardians, our plan will soon attain fruition.”

“Ah, alright,” Masatsuna, apparently relieved, hummed agreeably behind the bamboo screen. “W-Well then, when all is said and done, the Eleven Guardians must be rewarded.”

“…”

Princess Negative was well aware.

Well aware that the Eleven Guardians of the Yanari Shogunate had fallen at the hands of Shichika Yasuri─but there was no use apprising His Excellency of such a thing.

Doing so would only make this coward19 try to escape─exactly what the Princess was trying to prevent by staying in this room, essentially chaperoning20 the Yanari Shogun.

─Thanks to Shichika, those meddlesome Eleven Guardians have been eliminated.

─Things are happening so close to what I planned it’s almost scary.

More often than not21─this is precisely when an unexpected mishap hits you out of nowhere, so I’d better not indulge myself and simply exult─

“S-So we’re good? My reign─is the Yanari Shogunate guaranteed a thousand years of prosperity?”

“Sure─”

Princess Negative reassured him.

While privately rejecting him.

─How could this old man derive so happy a conclusion from what I’ve said?

─What a sorry fool.

And yet, the time had come.

A swift kick blew through─the fusuma.

Sending it crashing inward.

Beyond which─stood a man slathered in blood.

His tousled hair, his giant muscular physique─smeared incarnadine.22

The brash and brilliant finery that he adorned was bright with blood─looking pretty cool.

Here to join them, on the top floor of the castle keep─was Shichika Yasuri.

Not Emonzaemon Soda.

“…”

This must be─my unexpected mishap.

Princess Negative coolheadedly accepted the situation.

“U-Uhh… Who the hell are you!” roared Masatsuna.

In a panic-stricken23 voice.

However, as if ignoring him─Shichika tossed the contents of his hands at Princess Negative’s feet.

First came two lumps of metal.

A revolver.

And an automatic.

Ento the Bead.

The last of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.

The barrels of both of which were twisted to oblivion─beyond repair, unfit for any further use as weapons.

But Shichika then tossed her something else─a mask.

A mask on which were scrawled the words “NON-NINJA.”

“I have a message from Emonzaemon.”

Slathered in blood.

Covered with wounds─Shichika spoke in a low voice.

“These are his parting words─heed them with care.”

“Heed them I will. Well?” Fanning herself with her fan of metal─Princess Negative glanced casually at the mask tossed at her feet and nodded.

“Your Highness, please forgive me─for dying in your name.”

Shichika relayed the message faithfully─down to the tone of voice.

“That’s what he told me, just before he died.”

“…Miserable24 fellow, through and through─suppose he thought I’d find that moving?”

Speaking quickly─Princess Negative dropped her metal fan on the tatami.

The fan fell perfectly over the mask─making a sound.

A lonesome sound.

“Well then, let’s finish things up─Shichika, as promised, you may kill me.”

“Afraid not.” He walked slowly forward─befouling the tatami with blood, taking one step at a time, Shichika shook his head at Princess Negative. “I think one more is all I can face.”

“…”

“Those four shots from Ento the Bead were one thing…but that Decapitation Cyclone was a bastard. If the Bead had been a tiny bit stronger, I would’ve been the one left for dead…”

As he spoke─Shichika walked past Princess Negative.

Heading straight─toward Masatsuna.

“What…!”

Behind the bamboo screen─there was a clomping ruckus.

Leaping up and trying to escape and falling down.

Although at this point─there was no hope of escape.

“P-Princess Negative! What are you doing─will you not save me?”

“Save your breath, Your Excellency.” Without looking in his direction, the Princess threw her arms up, turned away. “I cannot even hold my own in battle─and besides, unless you’re killed, how is the tale supposed to end?”

“Wh-What?!”

“That bit about a thousand years of prosperity─was a lie. Merely a means for gaining audience with you. Last thing I want is for your regime to last that long─remember, I’m the descendant of Kiki Shikizaki. The collapse of the Owari Bakufu and the Yanari Shogunate are all part of our master plan.”

Princess Negative continued.

Stating the facts.

“Though strictly speaking, the plan involved a different25 bakufu, and for that matter a different shogunate─we might have thwarted them, but a similar man, you, taking over the nation and imposing the same state of peace and order, for the same end result, doesn’t do at all. I suppose history─corrects itself. Though you have the Old Shogun to thank for that.”

“Wh-What are you saying? What is this different bakufu?”

“I speak of what might have been. Or rather, should have been.”

“Y-You mean to tell me, this whole time─”

“In coming here, I planned to murder you─but the Eleven Guardians were in the way. Not even Emonzaemon, for all his skill, could tackle eleven foes like that at once.”

“Y-You mean that having them fight him individually─and calling off the rank and file, was all a way of─”

“Shichika was kind enough to wipe out the Eleven Guardians…hence, as a token of thanks, I will afford him the task of killing you. As preordained by Kiki Shikizaki.”

“Bah…”

By now Masatsuna lacked the composure to interrogate her.

For just beyond the bamboo screen─was Shichika Yasuri.

Paused there.

Appraising.

“S-Stop─”

However he appeared to Masatsuna─the man was begging for his life.

“Wh-What good will come of killing me─why would you want to do that? Did you not round up the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki for my sake?”

“Definitely not for your sake.”

Shichika spoke─in a subdued voice.

As if it even hurt for him to breathe.

“Because of someone like you─Togame threw her life away.26 But in the end, what goes around comes around.”

“Wait… T-Togame? Who is that? You mean─the Schemer? That was her name?”

“At this point, killing you won’t help Togame get revenge, much less help me feel any better─”

“Then why!”

“Because. I’m making an example outta you.”27

Shichika─gazed towards the ceiling.

Though he was not exactly looking at the ceiling.

His eyes closed─as if he were remembering something.

Princess Negative observed him from the corner of her eye.

Wondering─what kind of a reminiscence28 this might be.

She had to wonder.

─Figure.

─He must be thinking of that nasty woman.

“Hey, Princess.”

Quietly─while taking his position.

Taking Form Four─the Asagao.

Shichika spoke to Princess Negative.

“Togame said that if I saw you, I should send along her thanks.”

“Really? Hmm─I’m not sure I’ve done anything I should be thanked for.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything at all.”

“You actually liked Togame, didn’t you?”

“…”

In answer to this simple question─

“That nasty woman.”

Princess Negative offered not one─

“I wasn’t─”

Or two.

“─not─”

But three.

“─lacking in hate for her.”

A triple negative.

“Gotcha,” nodded Shichika─and as if this news had salved him, he twisted even deeper into the stance.

He could not miss─no matter what.

He could not mess up his final move.

He had to seal the deal─no room for error.

“W-Wait! Calm down! H-Hear me out! P-Please, don’t! Please don’t kill me!”

Masatsuna Yanari─yelled like the dickens.

“Wait, wait! My world is yours! Don’t you desire the world?!”

“Who needs it!!”

All told, the Kyotoryu had seven secret moves.

Fatal Orchid One: Kyoka Suigetsu

Fatal Orchid Two: Kacho Fugetsu

Fatal Orchid Three: Hyakka Ryoran

Fatal Orchid Four: Ryuryoku Kako

Fatal Orchid Five: Hika Rakuyo

Fatal Orchid Six: Kinjo Tenka

Fatal Orchid Seven: Rakka Rozeki

Optimally synchronized, the fastest possible deployment of these was the Last Fatal Orchid of the Kyotoryu, “Shichika Hachiretsu Redux”─spraying blood relentlessly, flapping the sleeves of his flamboyant finery, Shichika nearly tore his vocal cords, crying out at the absolute top of his lungs…

“Cheerio-o-o-oh!”

■　■

Is said to have been heard in every corner30 of Owari─resounding all over the city.

1 開口一番 KAIKŌ ICHIBAN “open the mouth first thing”

2 労を労う RŌ WO NEGIRAU “thank for toil” the verb and object employ the same character

3 意外以外の何物でも IGAI IGAI NO NANIMONO DEMO “nothing but unexpected”

4 不確か FUTASHIKA vague, in limbo 不 FU not 確か TASHIKA certain

5 顔見せ KAOMISE “show of face”

6 挫ける KUJIKERU falter; get sprained (e.g. an ankle)

7 意志 遺志 ISHI ISHI intentions wishes of the deceased

8 終始一貫して SHŪSHI IKKAN SHITE “from start to finish”

9 腹部 FUKUBU “stomach portion” abdomen

10 内蔵 NAIZŌ incorporate; house vs. 内臓 NAIZŌ internal organ (which adds the element denoting flesh 月 NIKUZUKI)

11 御託はたくさん GOTAKU WA TAKUSAN “too much oracle (bloviation)”

12 しのぎを削る SHINOGI WO KEZURU tense competition literally, the abrasive grinding of sword upon sword in a clash of blades

13 示し合わせた SHIMESHI AWASETA arranged beforehand vs. 合図 AIZU signal

14 驚愕の声 KYŌGAKU NO KOE shocked voice

15 散らそうと CHIRASŌ TO try to disperse same verb as petals “falling”

16 封じる FŪJIRU seal if pronounced HŌJIRU, enfeoff

17 断罪炎刀 DANZAI ENTŌ combines 断罪円 DANZAI’EN Decapitation Cycle 炎刀 ENTŌ the Bead

18 似た者同士 NITA MONO DŌSHI (very) similar people

19 小心な男 SHŌSHIN NA OTOKO “small-hearted man”

20 見張っている MIHATTE IRU keep an eye on, monitor

21 往々にして ŌŌ NI SHITE from time to time frequently a fatalistic comment

22 真っ赤 MAKKA “redder than red”

23 恐慌に支配された KYŌKŌ NI SHIHAI SARETA ruled by terror

24 辛気臭い SHINKI KUSAI “reeking of melancholy”

25 某 BŌ “a certain”

26 生涯を棒に振っちまった SHŌGAI WO BŌ NI FUCCHIMATTA squandered a lifetime

27 しめしはつけなきゃ SHIMESHI WA TSUKENAKYA ought to demonstrate (how to behave)

28 回想 KAISŌ the same word used elsewhere to tag flashbacks or exposition of the backstory

29 死力を尽くした SHIRYOKU WO TSUKUSHITA “expending mortal force”

30 八百八町 HAPPYAKU YACHŌ “eight hundred and eight neighborhoods” the whole extent

■　■

Across the waters from the Cliffs of Shinso.

There is a tiny island, only ten miles around.

A desert island, not listed on any of the maps.

On which once lived a family of three.

A father, a daughter, and a son.

Though at this point─not a soul.

The desert island was once again deserted.1

No one remained to call the place Haphazard Island.

■　■

The sole desert region in the entire nation.

And in that wasteland, but a single building standing─Gekoku Castle.

Left in abeyance with the death of Ginkaku Uneri, its only resident─abandoned to the sands of time, yet nevertheless remaining, not one brick out of place.

A natural fortress, surrounded by both desert and mirage.

And this fortress, thanks to its natural environs, went totally unnoticed─and would be there ad infinitum.

Though it may settle into ruin.

One thousand years hence─it would remain.

■　■

Where women from all over Japan, whose lives were marked by hardship, convened to live as Kuromiko, in the service of the gods.

After the death of Meisai Tsuruga, the bakufu had dispatched a chief priest to take her place, whereupon the shrine lost its militant character─though by no means compromising its capacity as a safe haven.

In fact, it became all the stronger.

Thanks to a girl subsequentially dispatched by the bakufu─Konayuki Itezora, who excelled in her role as protector of the Kuromiko. Exhibiting marvelous2 strength, she soothed the deeply wounded Kuromiko, largely thanks to her innate innocence.

■　■

One of the Two Great Holy Sites for swordsmen, where over two hundred years ago, a man bearing a greatsword fought another bearing two. And later on, it was the site of yet another epic battle─in which the Strongest fought the Swordless, carving a new legend into the history of the island.

And yet, the details of that battle─how the Strongest vied against the Swordless, and how the Swordless overpowered the Strongest, remain unknown to all.

But the fact that Ganryu Island shrunk to less than half its size as a result of their duel is testament to the ferocity of the battle.

■　■

Where the battles in the Basket never ceased.

A round arena set up in the middle of the harbor town.

At its center─a giant of a man cried out in victory.

A man by the name of Kanara Azekura.

Captain of the Armored Pirates, who ruled over the town.

Once always clad in armor─he now displayed his brawny body3 for all to see, baring his muscles for the crowd.

Things were no different from the days when he wore armor─he was still the shining star of the arena. In fact, because dispensing of the Armor had permitted him to vary up his repertoire, one might say that his popularity was greater than ever.

Henceforth, this nation would find itself, willy nilly, for better or for worse, in a new era where it had no choice but to turn its gaze beyond the surf─an era calling for none other than the talents of their kind, adventurers who crossed the seas with ease.

■　■

Level One Disaster Area─perpetually frozen,4 blizzarding nonstop throughout the year.

Though designated a disaster area on account of being unfit for human habitation, the place was formerly the home of the Itezora Clan; but after their entire village, save Konayuki, was annihilated, it became truly devoid of human life.

Nevertheless, the snow continued to fall unchecked─suggesting that this place’s status as a disaster area would never be repealed, for all eternity.

In the end, people can never win against the grandeur that is nature─whether that person be a human or a sword.

■　■

The second of the Two Great Holy Sites for swordsmen, and home to the Katana Buddha─the sole accomplishment of the Great Sword Hunt, that dastardly piece of legislation which became the legacy of the Old Shogun.

The epic family showdown that ensued between the Swordless and the Genius on these hallowed grounds only served, as with Ganryu Island, to boost the reputation of the temple.

Though it would take some time before the Gokenjiryu, which had been devastated by Nanami Yasuri, to restore itself─now and forevermore, the Katana Pilgrims will continue to arrive in droves from all over Japan, to behold Gokenji Temple on Mt. Sayabashiri.

■　■

Level One Disaster Area─a garbage dump, piled high with all the refuse of the world.

Or so it was, but once its steward, Skytron, had been disposed of, a plan was launched to rehabilitate Lake Fuyo.

Apparently, it was labeled a disaster area solely because of Skytron─and now that Skytron was no longer present, this development was perhaps only natural.

It would take whole centuries for the place to become the lake betokened by its name─but now it could be said, with some degree of certainty, that eventually that day would come.

■　■

If Ganryu Island and Gokenji Temple were holy sites for swordsmen, then Shogi Village in Tendo was the holy land of shogi players─and though there was a time when it was also known for swordsmanship, its reputation was a casualty of history.

And yet, at the heart of the village, there is a dojo where this all-but-forgotten legacy of swordsmanship has stubbornly persisted.

In the dojo of the Heartland School─whose swordplay was intent on giving life.

Only the master remains─stubbornly persisting.

The school’s master, the latest incarnation of Zanki Kiguchi, whose claim to fame was vanquishing, if only once, the man without a sword who had defeated Hakuhei Sabi, the Strongest, and Nanami Yasuri, the Genius─would for a time amass a modest group of followers. Yet, ultimately, no one could keep up with Kiguchi’s severe regimen, and before long, things regressed into the familiar solitude.5

However much Kiguchi shrugged at this turn of events.

Such an outcome was altogether unsurprising.

In any case, peace reigns over Shogi Village.

■　■

The site of Hida Castle, erstwhile homestead of the Mastermind of the Rebellion, and the Kaoyaku of Oshu, Takahito Hida, put to death here along with the majority of his associates, making the place a killing ground.

Reportedly, it was now home to a hermit magus.

A hermit whose appearance shifted with the eye of the beholder, and who would cause whoever met them, whether they liked it or not, to confront themselves─supposedly.

But this was no more than a rumor.

Once the hermit magus─Rinne Higaki, had bequeathed Seito the Legion to the Schemer, they disappeared from Hyakkeijo, apparently deciding that their work was done.

Where had they gone?

There was no way of knowing.

Perhaps they had set up in some town or another, taking on a new identity─unbeknownst to all those who beheld them.

■　■

This village, nestled in the mountains, originally the stronghold of the Onmitsu of the bakufu, had for a time served as a front for the Maniwa Clan, traitors to the bakufu─but when all was said and done, its tenure as New Maniwa was pitifully short, less than a year.

Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

Komori Maniwa, Shirasagi Maniwa, Kuizame Maniwa, Kamakiri Maniwa, Chocho Maniwa, Mitsubachi Maniwa, Kyoken Maniwa, Kawauso Maniwa, Umigame Maniwa, Oshidori Maniwa, Pengin Maniwa, Hohoh Maniwa.

Along with the innumerable civilians of the village.

Forty-seven souls in total.

All of whom were slain, embroiled into the Sword Hunt.

The Maniwa, a band of expert assassins─their name, like that of their sometime nemesis, the Aioi Clan, would vanish from the books of history.

An outcome all of them─accepted as inevitable.

■　■

Residence6 of the Yanari Shogun.

In accordance with the prophesy set forth by Kiki Shikizaki, the legendary swordsmith and the greatest soothsayer in history─the leader of the nation, Eighth Shogun of the Owari Bakufu, Masatsuna Yanari, had been assassinated by the Kyotoryu─Kyoto the Diamond.

And what happened as a result?

Absolutely nothing.

Unfortunately─or, perhaps fortunately─

This happening had not actually revised history.

Quite simply─the son of Masatsuna, heir apparent, assumed the title of Ninth Shogun.

The fact that a lone raider had snuck into Owari Castle had been covered up entirely, along with myriad other details. Meanwhile, the Kyotoryu was celebrated as a hero, who together with the Schemer had recovered the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki, the masterworks which not even the Old Shogun had been able to capture.

As a result, the promise that the Schemer made to Nanami Yasuri, in vowing to restore the honor of Mutsue Yasuri was for all intents and purposes fulfilled─for in the end, she had effectively made good on her word.

Ergo, the efforts made by Kiki Shikizaki─and his ancestors, and his descendants, to revolt against history, reform society, and otherwise engage in Antihistory─ended in failure.

And so─

■　■

At a teahouse on that coastal road, created not from dirt but hardpacked sand, a man in a straw hat9 snacked placidly on dango.

He was a lanky, giant man.

Head of tousled hair, body taut with muscle.

As if to cover up his scratched and wounded skin─the man wore what appeared to be two dozen layers of brash and brilliant finery, flamboyant kimonos meant for women.

The Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu─Shichika Yasuri.

He no longer openly used such a title─for though he had been publicly lauded as a hero, the fact remained that he had snuck into Owari Castle and assassinated the sitting shogun, for which he had been banished by the bakufu.

And yet, perhaps none of this bothered him at all. Maybe he really thought he could disguise himself by wearing that prop of a straw hat, or maybe he had no intention to disguise himself in the first place─he looked placid, calm.

Munching away on his dango.

“Hmm. Japan sure is a big place,” he said─and pulled what looked like a notebook from the furoshiki set beside him. Its pages were filled not with writing, but with drawings.

Crude drawings, rendered with a brush.

Looking them over─Shichika shrugged.

As if unsatisfied with the pictures─

“Ah, there you are, Shichika. Found ya.”

Then.

From the westerly direction of the highway, a woman trotted into the teahouse─and pointed unabashedly at Shichika.

Blond-haired, blue-eyed─and wearing a kimono.

A woman whose mere presence made her stand out in this country more than Shichika, lanky and dressed in flamboyant robes─this was none other than Princess Negative.

Although.

She, too, like Shichika─no longer openly used such a title. As if to conceal her appearance, she wore her hair much shorter than before─and opted for an even simpler kimono. In lieu of a straw hat, she wore a bizarre mask, strapped to the right side of her head, the way kids often do at temple festivals.

And on the mask─was scrawled the word “NON-NINJA.”

She could not openly use her name.

That said, Princess Negative had been a moniker, not actually her name─yet even with her hair cut short, wearing a plain kimono and a bizarre mask, she had lost none of the elegance10 one would expect from a princess.

“Come on─don’t rush so far ahead of me, Shichika. I’m not as fragile as that nasty woman who prided herself on being as weak as shoji paper, but I’m no athlete either. I spent most of my days cooped up in the mansion.”

“…I don’t recall asking you to follow me.”

“I’m not the sort of heartless creature who won’t help out until she’s asked to.”

“You know, I do recall asking you not to follow me.”

“Don’t give me that. Once you got a little ways ahead, you plopped down here and waited for me. Hey, I’ll have that tea if you’re not drinking it.”

Princess Negative helped herself to the seat beside Shichika, and to his cup of tea.

Then, glancing at the notebook he was holding.

“Huh? What is this rubbish? Rejected─!”11

She snatched away the notebook, tore out the open page, and crumpled it up in a ball.

This dramatic outburst was worse than any of Togame’s tantrums, but Shichika privately admitted he had been unsatisfied with the drawing and planned to do it over anyway. And so he did not protest.

“Excuse me. Don’t I get a thank you for culling your rejects?”

“Emonzaemon must have put up with a lot, working so many years for you… The thought of working under you gives me the shivers.”

“I reject that. I’ll have you know he was quite happy─although perhaps it’s about time I stopped rejecting things left and right. Besides,” said Princess Negative, sipping Shichika’s tea. “We’re guilty of the same heinous crime.12 May as well buddy up─I can help out with the map you’re making.”

Making a map.

When Togame the Schemer promised Shichika they would make a map─she had lied.

If her take on the situation could be trusted, the plan was genuine, though she had no intention of following through.

But now Shichika was following through with things himself.

Making his crude drawings.

And his first step had been to visit the Hokuriku area, one of the few blank zones in the Sword Hunt.

“Yeah, but since my memory of everywhere we went is kinda fuzzy, I’ll probably have to make at least another trip around Japan…although I guess that means I’ll get to hang with Kiguchi and Konayuki and Azekura, so it’s not like it’s a bad thing.”

“Not like I can’t relate, but you’re a pretty carefree guy─don’t you realize that you’re being followed? Well, I guess those guys would never suspect a grand traitor lost to history would be hard at work making a map.”

“I have a hard time imagining a good reason why you would want to join me.”

“Please. Not even I would think of trying to reclaim my position after all that. Especially without Emonzaemon…”

Princess Negative─sounded oddly content.

As if this result.

As if this outcome─was not the slightest bit unsatisfying.

“As it turns out, Kiki Shikizaki lost. His miscalculations─stem back to the Old Shogun. Then, Takahito Hida…and his daughter, Princess Mercy, made all the difference.”13

“…”

“Why do you think Rinne Higaki buried Seito the Garland underground? It must have been to foil the Old Shogun in his search─thanks to which Takahito Hida realized something was wrong with history. Which led to his daughter─becoming the owner of the magnum opus, Kyoto the Diamond. Though as far as I can see…it hurt when the Hero of the Rebellion, Mutsue Yasuri, took down Takahito Hida, only to be banished to that island along with Kyoto the Diamond─disappearing temporarily from history.”

“Banished is right,” said Shichika. “If you ask me, all that stuff about revising history is fantasy.14 I don’t believe in soothsaying or any of that junk. Far more likely this was all about avenging the murder of your parents, or what happens when love goes to your head. Maybe you’re right, and a hundred years from now, some people cross the sea and try to wipe us out─but all that means is that the folks living then need to find their resolve and fight.”

“It’s a pity your founder, Kazune Yasuri, didn’t say that to Kiki Shikizaki.”

Princess Negative broke into a wide grin.

“Well,” she continued, “we may have failed to revise history, but I think we’ve at least changed its course, so when those people come in a hundred years, they won’t wipe us out entirely. Let’s hope we see some spirit. Which reminds me. I totally forgot. Before I snuck out of Owari Castle, I doused the other nine hundred and eighty-eight Mutant Blades with saltwater. By now, they’ve probably begun to rust.”

“You sure know how to push things.”

“Since Zetto the Leveler was the only sword incapable of rusting, this just about wraps up the plot to revise history launched by my crazy ancestors.”

“Alright…”

“Though it wouldn’t surprise me if the Yanari Shogunate keeps bragging15 about owning all thousand of the Mutant Blades─including the twelve masterworks you personally destroyed. After all, they believe it guarantees the shogunate a thousand years of prosperity.”

“Yeah, but doesn’t that mean the Mutant Blades didn’t actually have the power to let whoever owned them rule the world?”

“Not in reality. But you must not forget the illusion,” Princess Negative insisted.

“You’re evil, aren’t you,” said Shichika.

“I try,” responded Princess Negative. “So, how’s about you and me head off together─on a vacation for the brokenhearted.”

“Vacation for the brokenhearted─”16

Shichika─remembered.

The year he sacrificed17 for the Sword Hunt.

In the first moon─he met Togame.

In the second moon─he walked with Togame, through a desert.

In the third moon─he carried Togame up many steps.

In the fourth moon─he and Togame deepened their bond.

In the fifth moon─he and Togame took in the hot springs.

In the sixth moon─he and Togame climbed a mountain in a blizzard.

In the seventh moon─he and Togame made a pilgrimage to Seiryoin Gokenji Temple, a holy site for swordsmen.

In the eighth moon─he ferried Togame on his shoulders18 in their survey of Lake Fuyo.

In the ninth moon─he and Togame sucked each other’s lips.

In the tenth moon─he and Togame visited her hometown.

In the eleventh moon─he and Togame spoke of the future.

And at year’s end─he and Togame parted ways.

“My heart isn’t really broken.”

“No?”

“Don’t tell me Emonzaemon hurt you any.”

“You’re kidding─him, hurt me?” Princess Negative laughed derisively, as if Shichika’s juvenile question was absurd. “Too bad you can’t say the same, with all those scratches that he gave you─if the Kyotoryu is to go down in history for its heroics, then surely Emonzaemon will be infamous for cutting you up.”

“Don’t forget that Konayuki broke my arm─granted, the blow she dealt me was not nearly as serious as the beating I got from Emonzaemon… For a minute I was sure that I was gonna die…but I suppose dying was my goal.”

“It’s a wonder that you didn’t die,” opined the princess.

“Thanks to this crazy getup.”

Shichika grabbed the sleeves of the kimono he was wearing─and fluttered them for her.

That brilliant finery─those flamboyant women’s kimonos.

“I’m lucky I was wearing Togame’s clothes─I used to joke about them being thick as body armor, but in reality, every layer of these rags makes an enormous difference.”

“Especially when you’re wearing what, two dozen layers? Ironically, the precision of those shots meant that the deflections curbed their impact, however slightly. Hahaha wow─those robes are like your take on Zokuto the Armor.”

“Yeah, but since Togame died when she was wearing the exact same clothes, the fact that I survived was definitely a miracle.”

Even if Emonzaemon had aimed his shots precisely, to avoid her vital organs─Togame had only been able to conduct such a lengthy exchange with Shichika, even after being gunned down, because her countless layers19 lessened the impact of the bullets.

But even that─was quite a miracle.

Shichika was sure of it.

“No way.”

True to character, Princess Negative rejected Shichika’s view.

Rejecting him, with gusto─

“Shichika, this is when you’re supposed to say, ‘Togame died so I could live,’ hamming it up and summing up20 the situation.”

“…”

“Forget every layer─every sheet of shoji paper makes a difference.”

“In that case,” Shichika said, releasing the sleeves of his kimono, “maybe I should follow through on one last order from Togame.”

“Huh?”

“She told me─to live my life.”

Neither love nor romance.

Thus had Rinne Higaki evaluated Shichika’s feelings for Togame.

And finally, he was beginning to see why.

Perhaps these were the naive feelings of an island yokel who misunderstood the world.

And yet─he remained confident.

Knowing, in all certainty─he had fallen for this woman named Togame.

That he had cherished her.

He was sure.

And so─as time went on.

He would continue learning about people and the world, maintaining a sense of purpose─and living life on his own terms.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said.

“Not going’s not an option.”

Shichika stood up and stuffed his notebook in the furoshiki, pulled out what he owed for the tea and dango and left it on his seat, and started off─with Princess Negative following close behind.

And so the two of them walked down the road of hardpacked sand.

“Shichika, what’ll we do next?”

“I think I’ve seen enough of Noto─maybe I’ll head to Kaga.”21

“Kaga is wealthy, you know. Perhaps it’s time you replenished your coffers.”22

“I’ll let you worry about that. If you’re gonna tag along, try helping out a little.”

“Harsh words. Sort of reminds me of someone I used to know.”

“Leave the fighting to me. If anyone comes after us, I’ll handle them─the wounds I got from Emonzaemon haven’t quite healed yet, but I’m strong enough to protect one woman.”

“Is that right. I’ll leave it up to you, then.”

“Sounds good. But it’s too bad you’ll be torn to smithereens.”

“Why?!”

Joking around with one another.

This giant man with tousled hair, caparisoned in brash and brilliant finery, and this blond-haired blue-eyed woman, dressed in a Japanese kimono, a bizarre mask strapped to the side of her head─probably the most conspicuous pair of outlaws23 you could ask for, departed Noto for their next destination.

Shichika Yasuri and Princess Negative.

The last person who could testify to having seen them was the owner of the teahouse─for thereafter, the two of them disappeared without a trace. Whether they actually headed for Kaga─or paid a visit to Shogi Village in Tendo, or Triad Shrine, or Dakuon Harbor, to call upon old acquaintances, has been lost to the sands of time.

Perhaps they died somewhere on the wayside, left in a ditch, or perhaps they finished off their map of Japan with flying colors, then set their sights overseas and continued their journey.

Regardless of what happened, there is no way of knowing now.

And yet, once everything was over─after the historically minded intrigue involving humans and swords ended in failure, the two of them lived on, for however long or short a period of time.

And surely─this is what anyone would hope for them.

■　■

Those who failed to reach their goals.

Those who died unsatisfied, those who could not carry out their will.

The defeated. The thwarted. The blighted.

To all of those who try as hard as they possibly can, sacrificing everything they have, but wind up getting nowhere anyway, every effort falling short, and those who die unreasonable, irrational, truly awful, truly humiliating deaths, drowning in regret─I offer you this buoyant tale, filled with dreams and aspirations, and hinting at the future─a story which I now bring softly to a close.

Ento the Bead: Check

End of Book Twelve

End of the Sword Tale

Thanks for Reading

1 無人島は無人島へ MUJINTŌ WA MUJINTŌ E “from unpeopled isle to unpeopled isle”

2 類稀なる TAGUI MARE NARU “of rare variety”

3 肉体美 NIKUTAIBI “meat-form beauty” physical beauty, i.e. of the human form

4 永久凍土 EIKYŪ TŌDO permafrost 永久 EIKYŪ eternal 凍てつく ITETSUKU freezing 土 TSUCHI soil shares character with 凍空 ITEZORA frozen sky

5 閑古鳥が鳴く KANKODORI GA NAKU “the cuckoo cries” excessive stillness; the doldrums

6 居城 KYOJŌ castle where a lord resides

7 能登 NOTO historic name for the northern region of Ishikawa Prefecture

8 星砂 HOSHISUNA “star sand”

9 編み笠 AMIGASA woven straw hat often associated with mendicant Buddhist monks

10 気品 KIHIN grace

11 没 BOTSU shorthand for 没書, a rejected manuscript; nixed

12 同じ凶状持ち同士 ONAJI KYŌJŌ MOCHI DŌSHI being fellow criminals (i.e. with criminal records)

13 決定的 KETTEITEKI crucial, decisive (role)

14 夢物語 YUMEMONOGATARI “dream tale”

15 喧伝 KENDEN propagate

16 傷心旅行 SHŌSHIN RYOKŌ “wounded-heart journey” usu. after a breakup vs. 傷ひとつ付けずに KIZU HITOTSU TSUKEZU NI without a scratch

17 殉じた JUNJITA devoted oneself entirely; gave one’s life (for a cause)

18 肩車 KATAGURUMA “shoulder wheels”

19 厚着 ATSUGI “thick wear” stacking oneself with garments (to stay warm)

20 格好つけ 決めつけ KAKKŌ TSUKE KIME TSUKE cutting a figure deciding one-sidedly

21 加賀 KAGA historic name for the southern region of present-day Ishikawa Prefecture

22 軍資金 GUNSHIKIN “war funds” bankroll for a (military, political) campaign

23 お尋ね者 OTAZUNE MONO wanted (by the law)

AFTER(S)WORD

This is the last book of the Sword Tale. I’m not sure what to say, except that we’ve made it to the conclusion. Some of you out there might not actually be so thrilled, or may be thinking, “Whoa, he actually ended the story, what the hell!” This tale of the journey of Togame the Schemer and Shichika Yasuri, Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu, has turned out to be different from any other story I have written thus far, unique from start to finish. I tried to wrap things up inside the confines of the story, and think the books speak for themselves, so I’ll be quiet now and leave it at that, closing out at least the last of the twelve books in the normal fashion, with acknowledgments. Even if it was my idea, there’s no way an author can carry out a plan like this alone. On the contrary. While I was constantly debating whether it was time to call it quits, the staff assigned to this epic novel offered stern, unfaltering encouragement throughout the year, for which I owe them a lifelong debt of gratitude. If our illustrator, take, is the star of the show, then the staff were the stage crew, the lead behind the scenes. So many people helped make this series possible that it’s impossible to list everybody here, but I’d like to offer extra special thanks to Katsushi Ota, Yuki Shibayama, and Kimihito Iwai.

And so this was Sword Tale, Book Twelve: Ento the Bead.

As always, my readers deserve the ultimate thanks, for sticking around to the very end.

Thanks to you, dear reader, another wonderful tale was born.

NISIOISIN

Palindromic NISIOISIN made his debut as a novelist when he was twenty. Famously prolific, he is known to publish more than a book per month at times and is a leading light among writers who began their careers in the twenty-first century.

Beloved illustrator take is also known for adorning the Zaregoto mystery cycle with striking visuals.

Sam Bett won Grand Prize in the 2016 JLPP International Translation Competition. With David Boyd, he is cotranslating the novels of Mieko Kawakami.