ToD: OMFG you gaiz! Two updates in one month?! That's unheard of for me! But I'm hella in the NaNoWriMo spirit! I also finished another chapter in my novel this month too! WOOOO!
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Chapter 5
Strength
I took Judar's words very seriously. I was up at the break of dawn every morning to train for the remainder of that summer. I submitted a request to Kouen for use of the other training grounds, and he approved. So after breakfast when the soldiers were running through their drills, exercises, and obstacle courses, I was right there with them, clad in my own set of training gi.
Most of the men laughed and scoffed at me, purposely out pacing me and tripping me up during the relay races. I'd hear jeers like "you're in the way little girl" and "shouldn't you be doing your makeup?"
I didn't care that I was the butt of jokes. I was already used to that. I was just focused on keeping up. All I cared about was getting my chance at obtaining a metal vessel.
I'd come back to my quarters in the evening slick with sweat and mud, my hair a nest of tangles and dirt. It drove Ka Kobun insane. I'd have to be bathed for more than an hour to be presentable for dinner.
Word traveled around rapidly about what I was doing. I'd hear the murmurs of the nobles and military leaders whenever I walked through the palace. Even Kouen's retainers were chiming in on the gossip.
"Who does she think she is? Why isn't she preparing herself to be married off like the rest of those girls?"
"At least the first princess is pure-blood. That little mutt of a child can't even begin to compare."
A prick here, a thorn there. A sidelong glance that would pretend it didn't meet my hawk eyes. Lucky for them I was still just a hatchling, or I'd snatch out their worm of a tongue with my talons.
Kouha caught wind of my activities as well. I guess it made him a bit jealous, so not to be outdone, he joined me. With him around, I didn't catch as much flak from the soldiers anymore.
The air began to chill, and the foliage presented its brilliant rainbow of warm hues again.
Maybe the colors stirred up a bit of creativity in me, because I got a crazy idea one day. I instructed Ka Kobun, Kouha, and Hakuryuu to meet me in the training yard in the afternoon.
"What's this all about, sis? Why'd you call us here?" Kouha asked.
"I want you and Hakuryuu to duel me."
"What?! Both of us?"
"I object! Absolutely not!" Kobun barked.
"Silence, Ka Kobun! I didn't bring you here to get your permission. You are to supervise, and nothing more. That's an order."
"...Very well, your highness. But I'm calling this off if there's even an inkling of you getting injured."
"I have to agree with Ka Kobun," Hakuryuu said, "this doesn't seem very practical. Kouha and I are a little more advanced than you in skill level. I know you've been improving, but this might be too big of a stride."
Kouha had already started leaving.
"Hey! Get back here you chicken-wuss!" I shouted.
"Call me names all you want 'Gyoku-nee. If you got hurt and I was partially to blame, En-nii and Mei-nii would never forgive me. Then there would go my chance at a metal vessel too. I think you've gotten too big for your britches. I'd have been happy to duel you one on one if you'd just asked."
"I've done enough one on one, Kouha! Real warfare isn't one on one! I need to take the next step in my training, so please just do this for me this one time! If you do, I'll uh...I'll bake you a peach cobbler!"
I clasped my hands in the salute to both of them and bowed low.
"Please, brothers. I need your help. No one else can do this for me, and I promise if anything goes wrong I'll take full responsibility. I'll be the one who gets punished and misses out. Please!"
They both mulled it over. I could see the beads of sweat on Kobun's brow as he fidgeted with the feathers on his fan.
Kouha sighed and came back over. "Fine, but you better keep your word on that peach cobbler." He trudged over to the rack of wooden training weapons.
"No Kouha, use Niyou Rentou!"
"What?! No way in hell!"
I drew my jian.
"You too, Hakuryuu. Use your guan dao."
"...Kougyoku, you can't be serious. We never use real weapons in practice sessions."
"That's right!" Ka Kobun hollered. "Now put your sword away, pick up a training weapon, and honor the rules of the training grounds, princess! Otherwise I will be forced to alert Lord Kouen and put an end to your privileges!"
I clenched my teeth and gripped my sword's hilt until my knuckles were white.
"Kouha...Hakuryuu...I'm very serious. Do either of you think for a second that the dangerous creatures in the dungeons won't attack me with real weapons? Do you think that when I finally join the military, our enemies will show me mercy on the battlefield just because I'm a girl? Up until now, every single one of you has taken such good care of me. But it's time to take a step further. Otherwise I'll never be worthy enough to have a metal vessel. I won't be worthy of the title I want. I truly, deeply want to be a warrior...so I need a taste of real combat. Just this once, so I can see how much more I need to train. Please?"
"Wait a minute, I just got an idea!" Kouha exclaimed. "Hey, Meihou!"
Kouha's attendant had been standing idly by. "Yes, Lord Kouha?"
"Go to the armory and fetch the three of us some equipment, would you?"
Meihou obeyed and came back with full sets of armor and padding for each of us. The blades of our weapons were wrapped in a thin layer of cloth bandaging and leather straps so that there was less of a risk of them cutting or piercing.
"Wow, this is perfect, Kouha! Good thinking!" I cheered.
Hakuryuu sighed. "It would've been a lot less tedious to just use practice weapons. All this armor and padding is going to bog down my movements."
"That's not such a bad thing either," Kouha said, "think of it as a handicap for little sis here."
"Hey! You two better not even think of going easy on me, otherwise I might just mop the floor with you and have bragging rights for months!"
We all readied in our combat stances. Hakuryuu was to my left, and Kouha to the right.
"These are the rules," Ka Kobun announced, "If you are touched by a weapon in a vital area that is not armoured, you're out. If you take a blow to an arm or a leg, you must not use that limb for the remainder of the match."
He blew a whistle, and the fight was on. Kouha and Hakuryuu launched into action.
My strategy was to parry and dodge until I could either close into their threat range or wear down their stamina. Kouha's weapon was heavy and his strikes were slow, while Hakuryuu's strikes were swift and rapid. They both had a long reach advantage over my jian. So I kept my sword tucked behind me in folded wing stance, centered my balance with my chi fingers, and danced around their attacks on the balls of my feet.
"One more thing!" Kobun called, "If you fall out of bounds, you lose!"
"Smooth timing, Kobun" I mumbled. They had just managed to back me up to the edge of the arena. I barely managed to jump away from their joint strike, Kouha with the flat side of his sword and Hakuryuu with the butt of his spear, meant to push me over the edge. They were both eager to end the fight quickly and safely.
When I landed I was just to the left of Kouha with Hakuryuu covered by his right. With him trying to re-balance his heavy sword, I had an opening. I swung underhand in an upward arc for his armpit, a strike that would claim his limb.
Kouha parried just in time, knocking my sword away with a horizontal swing that put him in a crouch.
Hakuryuu sprang over him with a graceful jumping thrust. He struck my chestplate so hard that it knocked the wind out of me and sent me tumbling backwards. But my reflexes kicked in and I rolled back to my feet.
They were just too fast. Both of them had closed back in and were about to land a strike on either side of my helmet.
Just then, a huge whirlwind shot into the sky from another part of the training grounds. The air pressure was so forceful that we were all blown off balance and tossed around on the ground, our weapons skidding away from our hands. It dissipated after a few seconds.
"Wha….what the hell was that?!" I panted, picking myself back up.
Hakuryuu and Kouha groaned, clambering haphazardly back to their feet.
"That must be Hakuei," said Hakuryuu, picking up his spear. "That's her metal vessel's power. It's wind magic."
"Yeah, Judar must be training her still. She's probably doing really well if she can cast a spell that strong. Man, I can't wait to get my own metal vessel." Kouha said.
Ka Kobun and Meihou were moaning and climbing back into the arena from where they'd been blown to the ground.
"What happened? I didn't see who won." Kobun said, dusting off his robes and putting his cap back on.
"Er, well...do you two wanna start over?" I asked.
Kouha pulled off his helmet and massaged his scalp. "Nah. Me and Hakuryuu would've won anyways. Now my hair's all messed up and I've gotta have Jinjin, Reirei, and Junjun comb it out again."
He collected his sword, and Meihou assisted him with removing his armor.
"See ya around, sis. Don't forget about that peach cobbler you owe me."
Kouha left the training yard.
I pouted, unstrapping my chestplate and massaging the sore spot on my abdomen.
"Are you alright? I didn't get you too hard, did I?" Hakuryuu asked as he took off his armor.
"It's just a bruise. I'll be okay. I've had worse."
"I'd be more than welcome to spend more time training if you like. I could help you drill through some techniques I know for defending against multiple opponents."
"Thanks, Hakuryuu. I'd love that. But maybe we should take a little break first."
"Awww, look at the kiddies all dressed up and playing soldier!" Judar taunted us as he strolled across the arena with Hakuei in tow.
As they approached, I noticed just how exhausted Hakuei was. A heavy sheen of sweat made her hair and clothes cling to her, and her skin was ghostly pale. Her breathing was labored and ragged, and it looked like the veins in her face and neck were bulging. She looked ready to collapse any minute.
Judar on the other hand, was his usual energetic self. He trotted up to us and put his hands on his hips. "So you kiddos have been hard at work training too, eh? That's what I like to see. You look pretty manly in all that armor, old hag. Heheh!"
When Hakuei caught up, he snaked his arm around her shoulders and pressed his cheek against hers. "We've been been having a blast...pun totally intended. Isn't that right, Hakuei?"
Hakuryuu lunged like a viper and shoved Judar away from his sister. "You keep your hands off of her" he hissed.
Judar clicked his tongue. "Well that was awfully rude. Look at the state she's in. I was just trying to help her so we could get some food. Poor girl nearly exhausted her magoi."
Hakuryuu put his sister's arm around his shoulder and held her by the waist. "Then I'll help her. We don't need anything from the likes of you."
Before anything else could be said, Hakuryuu carried Hakuei away from the training grounds.
Judar crossed his arms and bore his icy gaze into their backs. "I don't get that kid. What did I ever do to him?" he muttered.
"Judar-nii...what's wrong with Hakuei?"
Judar pursed his lips and huffed, making a sound halfway between a growl and a sigh.
"That's what happens when you try to wield a metal vessel without the proper physical conditioning first. You need to increase the amount of magoi in your body, or the djinn will consume every last drop until you're within an inch of your life, because the djinn needs magoi to grant you its power. It's like a feedback loop of energy. You have to give in order to receive."
He leaned over and gave me an exasperated look. "You see now, Kougyoku? There's no such thing as free power. Well...unless you're me, but I'm the exception, not the rule. That's why you've gotta earn it. Hakuei lets her brother coddle her too much, so she's not getting the hang of it fast enough. By the time I get to you, I expect better. Got it?"
I nodded.
His gaze darted to Ka Kobun.
"You hear that, you old geezer? You better not baby her this whole time. Whip her in to shape. Use an actual whip, for all I care. I'm not gonna tolerate weakness."
With that, he flew off out of reach again.
*
A few days later, I awoke at night to the sound of screams. A discordant fusion of Judar and Hakuei's voices.
"PLEASE, NO MORE!"
"SHUT UP AND DO IT AGAIN!"
I bolted out of bed and threw on a heavy robe, dashing into the cold night air. I pinpointed the sound of their voices coming from the courtyard and I ran towards it, my bare feet pounding on the frigid granite walkways.
Hakuryuu came barreling out of his quarters just ahead of me.
There was a mist clinging to the air throughout the palace that made my lungs ache. The moon painted everything in stark, ghostly silver. I could see the foggy whisps of my breath.
We rushed into the courtyard to find Judar and Hakuei locked in a magical duel, likely a training session that had been dragged on into the night. The both of them were hunched over and covered in sweat, with dark circles plaguing their eyes. Hakuei was crying hysterically into her feathered fan, and Judar was panting and growling like a wild beast.
"Neither of us is getting any sleep until you can do this, so DO IT ALREADY!" Judar roared.
"I'm--I'm t-t-trying!" Hakuei wailed.
"Judar-nii! Stop it!" I shouted.
Hakuyruu was about to sprint in between them, but Judar brandished his wand at us.
"If you two know what's good for you, then you'll stay out of my way!" He hissed.
Hakuryuu froze, but he kept poised like he was prepared to attack. I couldn't bring myself to move.
Judar turned his scowling gaze back to Hakuei. "Listen to me, you pathetic wretch...your magic isn't difficult at all! It's just air! Anyone can move air around!" He waved his arms about and made the mist roil. "See how easy that is?! Now why can't you do it? I'll tell you why! Because YOU'RE WEAK!"
Hakuei mopped her face with her sleeve, lifting her gaze to meet Judar's with equal ferocity. She gasped for air like she was a fish out of water, but she managed to calm herself down from near hyperventilation.
"Now come on, Ren Hakuei!" Judar yelled, "if you're a warrior, if you're worth a damn as a king's candidate, then prove it! Show me the djinn equip!"
Hakuei let out a piercing howl and a torrential whirlwind enveloped her.
"COME ON! IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?! PATHETIC!" Judar bellowed.
Hakuryuu and I shielded our faces from the vacuous storm. After a few seconds, the winds died and Hakuei was crumpled on the ground again, crying.
Judar clenched his teeth and fists, trembling with fury.
"Just as I thought. What a waste of potential."
I saw him cast a split second glance at Hakuryuu. Then his face warped into a twisted grin.
"If you can't wield Paimon...if you can't be a proper king's candidate...then…"
He raised his wand above his head and gathered the fog into a churning mass of water.
"Thalg."
The water froze into a huge sliver of ice.
"...there's really no point in keeping you around, is there Hakuei?"
"NOOO!!!" Hakuryuu leapt towards Judar with an outstretched fist.
Judar hurled the chunk of ice at Hakuryuu's feet.
"STOP IT!" I screamed.
My eyes squeezed shut on their own. I didn't want to see what Judar had done.
When I opened them again, Hakuryuu was frozen mid-fall in a cage of jutting icicles. He could still move his head, but his arms and legs were trapped. He groaned with the pain of the freezing cold biting into him.
"Hakuryuu!" his sister cried, "let him go, you monster!"
Judar howled with maniacal laughter.
"You're right! Ahahahaha! That's exactly what I am! But if that's what I need to be to get results, then that's just fine!"
He hobbled over to Hakuryuu and grabbed him by the hair.
"I know exactly why you can't master the djinn, Hakuei. I know exactly what's holding you back."
Hakuei's face contorted into sheer terror.
Judar grinned and ignited a small flame at the tip of his wand. Hakuryuu stared at it like he might vomit.
"Why don't I make this even easier for you, Hakuei? Either you perform the djinn equip, or I'm going to finish ruining your baby brother's face!"
"NO DON'T!" I shrieked.
Hakuei let out a scream that could've split the heavens, and then she became a massive gale storm.
Judar extinguished the flame and called out to her. "THAT'S IT! NOW SAY THE WORDS! SURRENDER TO THE DJINN AND EMBRACE THE GIFT OF ITS POWER!"
"Spirit of Maniacal Love and Chaos! I order thee and thy sacred brethren to use my magoi and grant me your power! Dwell in my body! PAIMON!"
It was like the whirlwind became Hakuei herself, and when the twisters dissipated she was clad in ethereal white, hovering in midair and adorned with gold jewelry from head to toe. Her hair had become brilliant white feathers and her fan was now a long staff. It was my first time witnessing the transformation of a full body djinn equip, and it was unlike anything I had ever dreamed of.
She could only maintain the djinn's transformation for a few seconds. With a flash of light, she returned to normal and then collapsed.
Judar breathed heavily. "It's about damn time…"
He pointed his wand and melted the ice around Hakuryuu.
Hakuryuu repaid him by tackling him to the ground and pummeling his face.
I couldn't take it anymore. I was terrified, but I rushed in and tried to pull Hakuryuu off of Judar.
"Stop it, please! No more violence! Stop, Hakuryuu!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU BACK OFF, NOW!"
That was the roar of Kouen's voice. He and Koumei, Empress Gyokuen, a handful of priests, and our attendants and servants, had arrived to put an end to the commotion. Most of them were in their bedclothes like they'd been woken up the way Hakuryuu and I had.
Kouen marched over and jerked Hakuryuu away from Judar by the the scruff of his neck. Judar lay motionless flat on his back, huffing from shortness of breath, blood oozing from his nose and mouth.
Kouen went over to the unconscious Hakuei and scooped her up in his arms.
"Judar. From here on out, you're dismissed from training Hakuei."
Judar rolled over and pounded his fist on the ground.
"That's bullshit! I'm not even close to being done with her yet! She still hasn't mastered--"
"That's an order! Non-negotiable!" Kouen barked. "I will take over for the remainder of her training. I've mastered the djinn equip, so I can easily provide her with the skills she needs from now on. You are to shift your focus to preparing Kouha for the conquest of a dungeon. Understood?"
Judar wearily pushed himself to a kneeling position, spitting blood out of his mouth. "Fine."
"As for the rest of you," Kouen growled, "go the hell back to bed! I'm implementing a curfew, and there are to be no more midnight excursions of training! Do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes, big brother!" I cried. The other two said nothing.
"Judar! Hakuryuu! Respond, now!" Kouen snapped.
"Yes sir." Hakuryuu mumbled.
"Whatever." Judar hissed.
Everyone began to scatter. Kouen had a throng of servants take Hakuei to get medical treatment, and followed after them. Koumei put his heavy robe around the shivering and soaking wet Hakuryuu, guiding him with an arm around his shoulders back to his quarters.
I remained near Judar, who was fixated on the tiny drops of blood that were leaking out of his nose and split lip, splattering on the ground.
I knelt down, digging a handkerchief out of my robe pocket and holding it out to him. "Judar-nii...are you okay?"
He slapped my hand away. "Mind your own business, old hag. Don't ever get in my way again."
He staggered to his feet and shuffled over to Empress Gyokuen and the priests, who swallowed him up and escorted him out of my sight like they always did.
Ka Kobun collected me and ushered me back to my quarters, scolding me the whole way about being out too late and trying to involve myself in an incident when I should've gone to my elders for help.
What an awful memory. My stomach and chest were nothing but a tangle of knots for the rest of the night, and as much as I wanted to cry, I just couldn't. Instead it was bouts of cold sweat, and my thoughts were a hurricane that decided those veiled people must be real monsters.
When I finally did fall asleep, I was plagued by terrifying visions.
I dreamt of the priests lifting their veils to show me their bear jowls, crocodile jaws, shark's teeth, and lamprey eel mouths that they always needed to hide. I dreamt of Empress Gyokuen's impossibly long fingernails and glassy eyes with no light behind them. I dreamt of that cherry eyed, pink cheeked little boy surrounded by peach blossom petals dancing in the wind, who put a flower in my hair and smiled at me. But then all the monsters snatched him up and carried him off to a deep dark forest full of dead trees and brambles in the mountains. In his place they put a creaking little wooden doll with a cruel laugh, gleaming blood red eyes, and a face like an oni mask, as though I would never notice.
And then in my dream, the sky opened up into beams of sunlight, a refreshing breeze, and pillowy clouds. And Hakuei came out of the sky to me, dazzling and white with her glittering gold jewelry and feathers for hair. She smiled and laughed and took my hand, and we soared into the sky. We chased the birds, danced on the clouds, and spun around in circles with our hands clasped to make whirlwinds.
At the end of my dream, the bright sky became a dark thunderstorm, and Judar flew up to us on his magic carpet, laughing madly while he hurled lightning bolts and rained spears of icy hail. Hakuei transformed into Hakuryuu covered in black crow's feathers, and he leapt with his spear, piercing Judar's heart. Together they plummeted from the sky and plunged into the ocean's depths.
I awoke in the morning to beams of sunlight and bird songs, but my heart pounded and I was slick with sweat. And my first thought was how cruel fate was to me, that I should learn of the power I so desperately wanted to inherit in such a manner.
*
I continued to train harder than ever, pitting myself against the most grueling challenges the army's instructors could throw at me. Kouha did too. I told him all about that night in the courtyard with Judar and Hakuei, and what Judar said about being prepared.
Judar made it a point to watch us from the rooftops and monitor our progress every so often. We started performing more drills and duels with each other in the training yard, just to show him how serious we were. He never gave us any critique, or even a rare word of encouragement. He kept his distance like he was a mountain lion sizing up a kill.
And when he wasn't doing that, I began to take notice of Judar's other activities. Gaggles of handmaidens and concubines showing off hickeys and bruises to each other. Amphoras of liquor and peach pits strewn about on rooftops and in planters around the palace. One of the vassals always complaining that he'd ditched another war council. He was becoming quite self-indulgent, shirking his official duties to enjoy whatever he fancied in the moment. And he was almost never in the garden anymore.
It would be several more months, just after Kouha and I had turned fifteen, until Judar invited Kouha to conquer a dungeon.
Kouen insisted on accompanying them this time. Whether it was to make absolutely certain that Kouha would succeed, or to keep Judar's penchant for wanton cruelty in check, I had no way of knowing. I wondered if Kouen would do the same for me.
Regardless, they were successful. Kouha became a king's candidate, and the master of the djinn Leraje.
Awhile after that, a very similar scene to the one between Judar and Hakuei played out. Only this time it was in the scorching daylight of the following summer.
"What are you doing here, old hag? Didn't I tell you not to get in the way?"
"Hmph. I'm just here to observe. I'm next in line aren't I? Don't you think it'd be good for me to see what training with a metal vessel is like? Besides, with the way yours and Kouha's tempers are, it's probably better if someone were here to make sure one or both of you won't end up dead."
"Tch. Fine. Do whatever you want."
Kouha seemed confident as ever. "Don't worry your pretty little head, sis. Judar-kun's got a lot of bark, but not much bite."
"You're gonna eat those words, girly boy!"
Evidently Judar had already been spending time familiarizing Kouha with the djinn's magic, because they immediately commenced with a duel. Kouha was a fast learner and had already caught on to applying the djinn's power to his weapon. I was amazed by how he could change Niyou Rentou's size and weight at will.
But soon enough, Judar was able to wear down Kouha's stamina with his relentless barrage of ice projectiles.
"Come on now, Kouha. If you fight like that, you're not going to be able to do the full body djinn equip. You're too focused on that stupidly big sword. The real weapon should be you!"
Judar sent Kouha crashing to the ground with a powerful gust of wind.
"What a joke. You've wasted all that time doing physical training, because you were too concerned with your upper body strength so you could wave around your sword. It's not that big of a difference, but the old hag over there's got more magoi than you. She can run laps around you! I've watched! Hahahaha! How embarrassing is that?"
Judar knew exactly what nerves to work. Kouha never liked being compared to his siblings and feeling inadequate. He got back to his feet in the blink of an eye and charged in a fit of rage.
Judar simply repelled the attack with his borg. But Kouha started pounding away at the shield.
"Tell you what, Kouha. If you can break through my borg with your strength magic, I'll give you the most sincere apology I can muster. But until then, I'm gonna say absolutely everything that's on my mind about you."
A dark, purplish energy enveloped Kouha's sword, and the eight pointed star on the blade illuminated brightly. He let out a fierce battle cry and began hammering away at the shield as hard as he could.
Judar crossed his arms and slouched, sporting an exasperated expression. "Hmph. This'll probably take all day. Get comfy over there, old hag."
SMASH
He grinned. "...You know something funny, Kouha?"
SMASH
"I think it's utterly hilarious how Leraje was about to pick Kouen over you!"
SMASH
"Heheheheh! Just thinking about it cracks me up! Ahahahaha!"
SMASH
"What was it the old biddy said, again?"
SMASH
"She said 'if I were any other djinn I'd pick your ruggedly handsome brother in a heartbeat. No one bathed in the sun would choose a man like you as king. But your brother's already got three djinn, so he's just a playboy cheater!' What a bitter wench..."
SMASH SMASH SMASH
"In other words, it was just a stroke of dumb luck for you. Because that djinn happened to be some washed up old harlot, and you happened to be a scrawny, effeminate little pretty boy! Ahahahaha! Is that a gut-buster or what?!"
"RRRRRGH! SHUT THE HELL UP, JUDAR!"
By now, Kouha looked a lot like Hakuei did before. He was dripping head to toe with sweat, his hair stuck to his face, his veins were bulging and his skin was pale. He huffed and puffed and growled and roared as he swung his sword with all his might. But still Judar's borg showed no signs of giving out.
I made myself handy and brought Kouha a drink of water from a flask. He guzzled the whole thing down within seconds and then went right back to his assault, despite the glaring red blisters I saw on his hands.
Judar kept on with his verbal lashings. "You know something else, Kouha?"
SMASH
"It was pretty weak how you were about to just give in and let Kouen have another djinn."
SMASH
"You said 'it's fine if you can make me part of Kouen's household'. You were willing to settle for a mere household vessel? That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard!"
SMASH
"Why the hell would you work so hard if you were just gonna settle for what's second best, huh? You know what kind of a person does that? A spineless coward! A loser!"
SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH
"So tell me, Kouha! Why should I go through the trouble of making you worth a damn, if that's what your true nature is? You're just like Hakuei! The only reason you can be a king's candidate is because big brother Kouen is holding your hand! HOW PATHETIC!"
"Rrrraaaaaaagh!"
Kouha cleaved at the borg so hard that his sword slipped from his hands and went clattering across the arena. He dropped to his knees from exhaustion.
However, there was now a small crack in the shield.
Judar put his hands on his hips and the borg dissolved. "Not bad. But nowhere near good enough. The only way you're gonna break through my borg is to do the djinn's full body transformation."
"Hey, that's not fair, Judar-nii!" I shouted. "He's not ready for that yet! Look how tired he is! What if he's too low on magoi?!"
Judar shrugged. "Then do something useful and go get him some food. But I'm gonna get a djinn equip out of this kid today one way or another. I'm fed up with waiting around for you brats to be ready. It's now or never. And if it's never, I can easily put that metal vessel right back into the dungeon. I raised it once already, so I can raise it again."
That's so harsh, Judar. Did your heart freeze over when the witch showed you how to play with ice?
That's what I wanted to say. But instead I sprinted off all the way to the garden.
Perfect. The fruit was ready to eat now.
I came dashing back to the training grounds with an armful of ripe peaches. I knelt down in the arena and handed one to Kouha.
I was a bit dejected by this. He wasn't the first person I was hoping to share these with.
Not that it mattered. Judar snatched a fruit for himself and greedily bit into it.
"Hurry up, Kouha. And get out of the way, old hag."
I begrudgingly obeyed and sat back down along the wall with my snack. Kouha finished off his fruit. It only seemed to help a little, but nonetheless he got back to his feet.
Judar tossed his peach pit aside and crossed his arms. "Let's go, baby prince! Do what I taught you and say the words!"
Kouha held his sword in mountain stance, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, entering into a meditative state. He began to exude a bright magenta aura, and purple crystals sprouted from his arms.
"Spirit of Grief and Retribution! I order thee and thy sacred brethren to use my magoi and grant me your power! Dwell in my body! LERAJE!"
There came a blinding flash of light, and then Kouha was adorned with red-violet crystal armor, levitating crystal wings, and flowing lavender hair. His sword had changed to a massive violet-red scythe with a hammer-head opposite the blade.
Even he dazzled me with the beauty of the djinn's transformation.
"Well, well…" Judar said with a slow clap, "maybe you're not such a wimp after all. Now let's see if you can keep it up! Come on! Break the borg!"
Kouha howled and flew with blinding speed at Judar, swinging the hammer-head into the shield. But the result was the same, and he merely continued to buffet against the shield.
Judar clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk. That's just too bad, Kouha. Even with all that power, you aren't up to snuff. You might as well leave that power to Kouen after all, you worthless little runt! Go back to being your mommy's mommy!"
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Kouha whirled around with the scythe blade and delivered a blow so crushingly forceful that the borg shattered instantly. Judar threw his arms up over his face and dodged, just barely missing the oncoming slash.
Kouha slammed his weapon into the arena so hard that the ground cracked and the blade stuck there. A flash of light and he was back to normal, leaning on his sword and panting before he collapsed, unconscious.
I ran to Kouha's side, gathering him up in my arms and making sure he still had a pulse. He was clammy and sweaty, but he was still breathing. Thank goodness.
Judar traipsed over and leaned above us, his eyes piercing into me and that fiendishly gleeful smirk upon his lips. Apparently he hadn't completely been missed by Kouha's strike. Blood trickled down his forearm and the bridge of his nose from small cuts.
He cocked his head to the side. "Looks like it's your turn now, Momoko."
I swallowed hard. "That's right, Judar-nii."
He crouched down in front of me, still staring intensely. I shivered.
"Tell you what, my little princess...I'm gonna be extra nice to you and make you a deal. So far except for Kouen, your siblings have been a huge disappointment. None of them were prepared to accept the role of king's candidate."
He reached out and gently cupped my cheek, brushing along my chin with his fingers and thumb. He smeared a little blood on my face. I felt my cheeks flush and get hot, but the rest of my body seemed to chill with his touch. I trembled.
With his other hand, he held up a finger. "One year, Momoko. That's all you get. You stay focused and get stronger for another year, and then on your sixteenth birthday, I'll give you the greatest gift ever. I'll give you a metal vessel. That's how old Kouen was when he got his first one, after all. What do you say, am I being fair now?"
I swallowed again, and my lips twitched into a smile. "Y-yeah. That sounds fair."
He took his hand off my cheek and stuck out his pinky finger. "Promise me you'll be strong, Momoko-hime."
I wrapped my pinky around his. "I promise."