Chapter 12: YUKIKO


    <hr>


    Among our elite Samurai, I have seen brows furrowed with uncertainty. They value honor above all, yet the Jingozi’s gifts twist the very notion of duty. A few carry swords forged with Zii-infused metal—sharp beyond measure but perhaps severing more than flesh in time.


    ***


    Yukiko strolled down the practice lane, her wooden sandals clicking against the stone path. The young Samurai stood in a row, their smaller frames rigid with concentration as they drew their bows. The morning''s gentle rays filtered through the clouds, creating ideal conditions for teaching the art of the bow.


    "Remember, the bow is an extension of your Zii, just like your Jingozi cards would be if you are chosen." She paused behind a girl whose arrow flew wide. "Breathe through your center, Mika. Feel the target."


    The soft twang of bowstrings filled the air as arrows found their marks—or didn''t. Yukiko stopped behind a boy whose shoulders trembled with frustration. His arrow stuck in the dirt, well short of the target.


    "This is stupid." Hiro dropped his bow. "Why do we have to learn archery when we could be practicing Jingozi?"


    "Pick up your instrument." Yukiko''s voice carried the weight of centuries of tradition. "Your grandfather and generations of mighty Samurai warriors before him stood on these same stones."


    "But you''re a Jingozi dealer. You don''t need a bow." Hiro''s eyes lit up. "What''s it like? Using the cards?"


    Yukiko knelt beside him, her golden robes pooling on the ground. "Being chosen as a dealer is the highest honor. The cards become part of you, like..." She picked up his bow. "Like this string to the wood. But without discipline, without understanding our heritage, the cards are meaningless."


    "Did you always want to be a dealer?"


    "The path chooses us, Hiro. Just as the bow chose you today." She guided his hands back to proper form. "Now, show me."


    Hiro''s face broke into a grin.


    "When I become a dealer, I''ll make our family proud."


    "First, hit the target." Yukiko stepped back, watching as Hiro drew another arrow.


    Hiro''s arrow sailed past the target, disappearing into the grass beyond. His shoulders slumped after hearing a few snickers from his peers. Yukiko gave the onlookers a stern look to silence them. The students returned to practice, punctuated by the steady rhythm of arrows striking targets in the morning air.


    She flicked her wrist to summon a Jingozi card. Her fingers brushed against the familiar texture, its golden surface catching the sunlight.


    "Here." She placed it in Hiro''s hand.


    His eyes widened. He turned it over, examining the mystic patterns.


    "Hold it against the bow when you draw."


    Hiro nocked the card like an arrow. The bow hummed with energy, and golden light spread from his fingers through the weapon. The card transformed, becoming pure light.


    He released. The golden arrow streaked across the field, splitting into six more projectiles. The volley punched through the center of the target like it was made of paper. It continued, disappearing into the morning mist beyond the practice range.


    A chorus of gasps erupted from the other students. They abandoned their positions, clustering around Hiro.


    "Did you see that?"


    "How many arrows was that?"


    "They all went right through!"


    "Can I try next?"


    Yukiko couldn''t help but laugh at their excitement, their faces glowing with wonder. Hiro stood taller, his chest puffed out, and his fellow students patted his back and examined the bow that had felt so heavy in his hands moments ago.


    Yukiko scanned the line of students, her practiced eye noting each face. Somebody was missing.


    "Where is Aiko?"


    The children glanced at each other, shuffling feet against the stone.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Probably crying somewhere." Hiro snorted. "She always runs off when she can''t get something right."


    "Enough." Yukiko''s tone cut through the morning air. "A true Samurai shows respect for their fellow warriors. Would you mock your brother-in-arms on the battlefield?"


    Hiro''s face flushed red. He stared at his feet.


    The sight of them, so young and full of potential, stirred something in Yukiko''s chest. In another life, these children might grow up to lead everyday lives. She could picture Hiro and Aiko years from now, their mutual competitiveness mellowing into something more: marriage, family, and the continuation of Samurai bloodlines.


    But the Jingozi changed everything. Those chosen would walk a different path, leaving no room for such earthly attachments.


    Yukiko touched the wedding band she still wore, thinking of Kenjiro. Although her memory of his face had grown fuzzy over the decades, she remembered his hands—strong and sure when wielding a sword, gentle when tending his garden. The war had taken him as it had taken so many others.


    She straightened her shoulders. Their sacrifice would mean nothing if they lost this war. These children might be the key to victory, even if it meant denying them simpler joys.


    "Clean up your equipment and wash before the meal." She clapped her hands. "We have an important visitor coming, and I expect you all to represent our village with honor."


    The children scattered, gathering arrows and storing bows. Yukiko watched them go, her heart heavy, anticipating what would come.


    ***


    "There you are, child."


    Yukiko found Aiko crouched behind the stone lantern in the garden, her dark hair falling like a curtain around her face. Sunlight filtered through the cherry blossoms, casting dappled shadows across her innocent features.


    "Your beauty grows stronger each day near the nexus." Yukiko settled beside her on the moss-covered ground. "The Zii flows through you."


    Aiko''s hands darted behind her back.


    "Master Yukiko, I—"


    "What are you hiding, little one?"


    Aiko''s shoulders dropped. She brought her hands forward, revealing a perfectly formed emerald-speckled mushroom nestled in her palms.


    "Where did you find this?"


    "I... I grew it." Aiko''s voice barely rose above a whisper.


    "Do you know what this is?" Yukiko asked.


    Aiko shook her head.


    "This is called a jade nexus shroom," Yukiko took the mushroom, examining its pristine form. "Such a rare gift. Perhaps you should have been born to the Monk faction." She winked. "Though that would be terribly dull, sitting in a temple all day, would it not?"


    They shared a laugh, Aiko''s tension visibly melting away.


    "When your path becomes clear, follow it without hesitation." Yukiko placed the mushroom back in Aiko''s hands. "But for now, your duty lies with the Samurai. I expect you to train like the others."


    Aiko nodded, and they spent the next few minutes playing with fallen cherry blossoms and arranging them in patterns on the ground. Suddenly, Yukiko stiffened, her senses tingling.


    "What''s wrong, Master?" Aiko clutched at Yukiko''s sleeve.


    "Can you keep a secret, little one?"


    Aiko nodded eagerly, her eyes wide with curiosity.


    ***


    Yukiko approached the dark cave entrance, its maw obscured by ivy, which gaped into the mountainside. Ancient stone columns flanked the opening, worn smooth by centuries of wind and rain.


    "Stay here, Aiko. Keep watch from the entrance. I''ll return shortly."


    The girl''s face pinched with worry, but she nodded and took position beside one of the columns.


    Yukiko strode into the darkness, her footsteps barely a whisper. She summoned a Jingozi card, its surface gleaming with an inner light. Her voice carried through the chamber as she chanted in an ancient tongue. The card ignited with a green flame.


    She tossed it into a weathered bronze cauldron. Fire erupted, dancing across the metal surface before shooting tendrils of flame along channels in the walls. Torches burst to life, illuminating the chamber in a warm glow.


    The light revealed a Jingozi hovering in the shadows, its mask a grotesque skeletal recreation of some deep-sea horror. Behind the metallic surface, empty eye sockets flickered with rainbow lights.


    "What do you have for me?" Yukiko''s voice remained steady despite the creature''s unsettling presence.


    The Jingozi''s bony hand extended, offering a scroll bound with a black ribbon. Yukiko unrolled it, her eyes scanning the contents. She produced a Samurai token from her robes and then snapped her fingers. A golden Zii coin materialized in her palm, humming with power.


    Pressing the token and coin together against the scroll, she created a seal that pulsed with golden light before settling into the parchment.


    "I am grateful," Yukiko said. "But my gratitude is a small consolation, for you are now a traitor to your kind."


    The Jingozi nodded.


    "And this prophet, she is the one I am to train?"


    Another nod.


    "A Ninja, Golem, and now the Samurai," Yukiko continued. "A chain of three. But what of the next link? The Monks?"


    No response.


    "You may stay as long as you wish, as my guest," she bowed. "The nexus will obscure your presence as long as I live."


    A stone whizzed past Yukiko''s ear, cutting through the green-lit air. The Jingozi''s cloak writhed like a living thing, tendrils of black fabric snaking out to snatch the projectile mid-flight.


    Yukiko spun around to find Aiko in a pitcher''s stance. Another rock clutched in her fist. The girl''s eyes blazed with determination despite her trembling lower lip.


    Yukiko couldn''t help but laugh, "Lower your arm, little warrior."


    When she turned back to apologize for her student''s behavior, the chamber stood empty. The Jingozi had vanished without a sound, leaving only dancing shadows from the enchanted flames. But she knew it would stay close—there was no other choice now.


    Yukiko grabbed Aiko''s hand and hurried her toward the exit. The torches extinguished themselves behind them, plunging the cave back into darkness.


    In the daylight, Yukiko knelt before her student.


    "My child, were you frightened?"


    "A little." Aiko kicked at the dirt. "But I don''t care. I hate them. They''re monsters."


    "Many share your feelings." Yukiko pulled out the scroll, its golden seal gleaming. "But this secret may change everything. Even monsters can surprise us."


    ***


    Word spreads that even among the Jingozi, fault lines run deep—rivalries and power struggles hidden behind polished masks. Their foreign realm, like ours, contends with internal wars of faith and ambition. Whispers speak of a way to triumph over them if only our own factions could stand as one. Yet, I have seen how pride, mistrust, and vengeance keep us subjugated to our fear. United, we might prevail. Divided, we are destined to falter before the Jingozi’s machinations.