Chapter 5
None of us had ever been on a boat before, which was funny considering we lived on a beach. We were all a little bit nervous, but by everyone I mean just me, Kawaharu.
The most excited I had ever seen Takaharu and Kinuito was the day that we left Kiyoshima and sailed across the sea to another country, Nakoku. Specifically, to the capital city called Naaru. I had seen drawings of it in class with Sensei Shioseki, but I imagined it would be just like our island with more people and buildings, right? We packed some changes of clothes and brought bread to eat for the half day trip. Kinu showed me some fruit I'd never seen before and told me it was from Akafude as a special treat for us. I was glad she was coming with. She always seemed so laid back and nothing fazed her.
Hisanaga, the boy we met in The Circle was fitting in well. Nobody knew our secret, as far as I could tell. Kinuito was still getting used to having him around though. He followed her and asked if he could be of any help constantly. He picked up a huge sack of rice by himself for a moment and we all scrambled to get him to drop it before anyone saw.
That does worry me a little. He looks like an ordinary little boy, so I forget that he's some kind of machine. He doesn't seem dangerous, but I don't want to know what would happen to him if anyone knew what he was. That's why we all promised to protect him.
"Can I try steering the ship?" Taka climbed up the mast and shouted to Captain Tanefusa. He only grumbled to himself in reply. He's not much of a people person.
Shio double checked all of her belongings; she brought a lot of equipment and ingredients from the school house. It almost looked like she was moving away and wasn't coming back. I turned and looked back towards the island we all grew up on. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to it, not yet. So I promised myself that I'd come see it again someday.
"Shio," Akafude raised an eyebrow at her. "You aren't forgetting anything are you?" Shioseki lifted her head from her checklist.
"Wait, am I forgetting something?!" She panicked and Aka laughed.
"Anyone?" Her eyes squinted and she pretended to look up and down the docks. Shio saw her meaning and calmed down.
"I didn't tell Tsurumatsu. I do feel bad leaving without telling him, but I know he'll be okay. Besides, I know he would never abandon the island. It's become his home. All of our homes."
"He might abandon it for you though." I heard her whisper as she walked away with a smile. "Captain Tanefusa! We're ready to be underway at your call." She proclaimed with a commanding voice I'd never heard from her.
"You heard our fair lady boys. Ready up!" The replies came down the line as all the sailors and dock hands scrambled to untie the ship and pulled away the gang planks. The sails unfurled and cracked like whips as they tore white holes in the blue sky. If I didn't know any better, and I certainly did not, I'd say it was a good day for sailing.
The trip started uneventful. Kinu walked Hisa around the boat explaining things like he didn't know the water or the sky were blue, but he happily followed along nodding and smiling. Taka started off full of energy and stories. He retold every sailor's tale he knew to Akafude and Shioseki, who both had heard all of them probably a dozen times before. We started to hit some waves shortly after leaving port and the ship rocked from bow to stern, forward and backward. I held onto the rails to balance myself. Taka ran up and down the deck grinning from ear to ear until he had a sudden change of heart. I saw the color drain from his face and he patted his stomach. He swallowed hard and turned to look my direction. I smiled and he gave me the thumbs up, but then immediately had to cover his mouth as he frantically ran to the portside to feed the fish. He was like that the rest of the trip.
I noticed Akafude kept a small flask tucked in her belt and she constantly reached for it to drink. I even spotted Sensei Shioseki taking a couple sips and saw her promptly run to edge of the boat to spit. I'd never heard Akafude laugh so hard.
Kinu and Hisa stood at the bow of the ship with arms stretched wide in the blustering sea wind. The ship crested the biggest wave we'd seen yet and it had me holding on for dear life. I opened my eyes and looked toward the bow to make sure they were still there, but I couldn't see them through the thick spray of the waves. My heart stopped for a moment when they didn't reappear, but just as the mist dissipated they were there laughing hysterically. I wondered if maybe I had been worrying too much. Things seemed to be going well so far. Kinuito kept calling it our great adventure. I couldn't help but feel like it was a bad omen to call it so, but seeing everyone happy on the ship together gave me hope.
Later in the day, we finally arrived in Naaru and not a cloud was in the sky. We had braved a small squall on the way that made us hide below deck in the storage rooms, but it just helped us build character, as Captain Tanefusa put it. Taka was especially miserable during that. I rubbed his back and Shioseki gave him what medicine she could, but he couldn't hold anything in.
I had never seen a city so large. I wasn't even sure if I could see where it ended. I shuddered to think how much bigger Yamato actually was. The people moved like swarms of ants. I knew everyone on the island in Kiyoshima by name, but I couldn't imagine doing that here. It would be impossible. The ship docked and teams of workers flooded inside. Akafude raised her hand and signaled all of us to follow her lead. We wove our way through the docking area together and I saw Taka kiss the ground.
"I'm never getting on a boat as long as I shall live." He looked up to the sky and offered up his prayer. Kinu blessed him on the back of his head with a slap. "Hey! You want a better look at the sea water? I'll help you take a swim Kinu!" He shook his fist at her.
"No thanks Taka." Kinu plugged her nose. "But maybe you should. I think you need a bath."
"Har har har." Taka laughed like a pirate with a face empty of expression. Our eyes wandered the street vendors and bars. We smelled and saw food and candy of shapes and colors we'd never seen.
"The city is a marvel." Akafude turned to us as if reading all our minds. "You're free to explore if you wish. Though the city is large and I wouldn't go too far from the university campus. The city is still recovering from the war. It's left some of the unfortunate desperate."
"I just want a bed that doesn't sway back and forth." Taka raised his hand.
"You can come to the compound with me then." Aka offered, "I have never ending tedium awaiting me after all. I shall not keep it waiting. Is anyone else coming with?"
"I'll stay with Taka, I wouldn't want him to be alone." I put my hand on his head and he swatted it away.
"I'll escort Kinuito and Hisanaga then." Shioseki grabbed them both by the hand.
"I'll find you on campus later, but don't stay out too late. Oh, and if you do get into trouble Shio, please don't mention my name. It'll probably do more harm than good. Have fun!" I paused and thought for a moment. What was that supposed to mean? Akafude sure must have a reputation here in Naaru. She waved as she led Taka and I away. I heard Shio say something to Hisanaga.
"Why is your hand so cold? Are you sick too?" She put her hand to his head.
"Oh no I'm fine; I guess I'm just nervous about being in such a big new place." He laughed nervously. "Right, Kinuito?" He signaled her for help. I saw panic in her face.
"Oh wow, look at that candy stand over there!" And Kinu pulled them both away. I couldn't help but laugh at her attempt to distract Shioseki. She might already have known, she was hard to trick, but I couldn't be sure. Taka called me to catch up and we followed the lines of people navigating the grand streets of Naaru.
We arrived shortly at a grand building that looked different than the others. It had a round looking roof instead of a traditional pointed one. Akafude motioned us to follow her closely. We were greeted by the guards at the front gate. They saluted her respectfully as we passed. I wondered just how high rank she was. I couldn't tell if she was humbled or embarrassed by the formalities each passing student gave us as we walked through the courtyard. She was definitely held in high regard. It looked like it could hold a thousand people, so it looked empty with just a few students and us in it.
"We're short staffed with all the rebuilding going on, so it's mostly students studying to become scholars." Akafude gestured to the multiple floors of classrooms on all sides of us.
"Do they teach students magic here?" I couldn't help myself from asking.
"Oh yes, but we don't call it magic. It's called Thaumaturgy." She answered me matter-of-factly. Expecting a sarcastic response, I blinked and waited for her to laugh and tell me she was kidding, but she was serious.
"Whoa wait, so does Sensei Shioseki know magic?" Taka was just as surprised.
"That's a great question that you should probably ask her. I'm sure she'd love that." She smirked and gave Taka a wink. "The dormitories are this way. The rooms should be prepared for you. I'll come get you for dinner. If you need me I'll just be on the 4th floor." We continued down a long hallway lined with rooms. She stopped and opened one of them, seemingly at random, for us. "Enjoy!"
We entered and Taka fell flat on his back on one of the two beds.
"Tell everyone not to wake me up until dinner, Kawa. I think I'd sleep for a whole day if you let me, though." Taka pulled the covers over his head.
"No problem, dear brother." I teased him. "I do hope the medicine helps." Just then, two short knocks came at the door. "Oh, did Akafude forget something?" I opened the door and instantly my stomach twisted into knots. I only saw them for a moment. They wore helmets that covered their eyes with only small slits to see. A bag went over my head.
"Taka!" was all I managed to get out before a rope was forced between my teeth. My hands were quickly bound behind my back. I heard Taka struggling against the other intruder, but I couldn't see what was happening. I was shoved from behind into the wall and I heard Taka hit the wall next to me. I could hear he was already gagged as well. I twisted my hands to reach for him, but he was too far away. They pulled me from the wall and forced me to walk. My heart was beating into my ears. I caught myself losing my balance and my head felt light as air. When I thought I might pass out they would jab something sharp into my back. Terrified, I obeyed.
I tried to keep track of how many turns we look and how many doors we entered, but I lost count. I tried to listen for Taka nearby but I couldn't be certain where he was. They must have been communicating silently, because our captors said not a word the whole way. I thought we might have been walking down a ramp more than once. When we stopped they forced me to the ground.
"Is this them?" I heard the voice of an older man.
"Candidates for Kamunagi, sir. The ones from Kiyoshima."
"We haven't had successful fraternal twins in some time." The old man sounded pleased with himself. "Let's start with the girl."
They grabbed me by my hands and pulled me up. I begged in muffled pleas for mercy. My chest heaved and my breaths were quick and shallow. Two of them picked me up and pinned me to a long metal table. I felt cold bindings around my ankles and hands fasten tightly. Metal pins touched my temples and the top of my head. There was a small pin's prick of pain as it broke skin. My thoughts suddenly felt jumbled like I had words on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't find them. I tried to remember something important I thought I had forgotten, but it escaped me. Was this a dream? It felt like my head was trying to make sense of everything at once, shifting puzzle pieces together. Then the pain came. Scorching fire to the back of my neck and arcing down my spine and then I did finally pass out.
I awoke lying on my side. I felt a collar of metal around my neck. My clothes felt different. They definitely weren't mine. I looked around and still couldn't see a thing. I didn't have a bag over my head anymore, but my eyes and head were throbbing. Was I buried in a hole? I panicked and felt my surroundings with my hands.
"Taka?" I could barely whisper.
"Kawa!" I heard him yell. He must have been close by. "I'm here, right across from you!" I turned my head toward where his voice was coming from.
"Where? I can't see you?" I crawled forward leading with my hands.
"Look at me, I'm over here." Taka clapped his hands and I turned my head toward the sound. "Oh no," I could hear his voice crack. "Kawa, your eyes." he began to cry.
"What is it Taka? Tell me." I felt metal bars in front of me and shook them in futility.
"They're all white. I think they blinded you." He let out a scream of anger. I put my hands to my mouth, then touched my eyes. They were there, but I saw nothing.
"Taka," My mouth felt dry and mechanical. "What's going to happen to us?" My body trembled and though my eyes could no longer see, my tears could still flow.