Blackness of Death

Eien Akagawa

I guided Kizuna down to the deck, her body limp and lifeless. Her golden eyes were still open and looked at me still. Those golden eyes that I had found unsettling, for a reason that wasn’t her own. They weren’t even the same color as the ones in my memories.

Years ago a mansion burned and my family died with it. I had held my sister in my arms amid the crackling of flames. Her eyes had often held that same resolve and determination that Kizuna did.

Here I knelt again, with someone dying in my arms, their blood draped across my body. She should have been safe, we had escaped. So why was she dying?

The future was everchanging, which was why I never trusted seers. You could act on all the parts correctly but if someone deviates from that script, then it would all come tumbling down.

Even now, there was only gratitude in her eyes. They searched mine and she raised her hand to my cheek. Her hand was soft and covered in blood. Her lips parted and she whispered, “Thank you.”

She held her hand to my face for a moment before the light in her eyes dimmed. Then her hand fell lifeless to the deck. With a trembling hand I shut her eyes, so that they wouldn’t look at me anymore.

Iroha was screaming and Norihisa was trying to say something behind me. If I focused, I would be able to understand them. Instead I looked up from Kizuna’s lifeless body as the divinity inside of her left her body and began to puff away like smoke.

I looked up into the endless blue sky as the golden energy vanished. I tried not to think of how I failed her. If she hadn’t changed then she would probably still be alive. She had done it to save my life and that was unacceptable. It was the same as last time, when my sister died.

A sword entered my vision and I focused on it. A black katana with blood still on its steel was pointed at me. My eyes traveled along its length to the man holding it. He was a fair skinned man with white hair. He wore a white kimono meant for the deceased. His face was unfeeling.

“Stop the ship and turn it around,” he said in a dispassionate voice. Was this the assassin that Extli and Masa had mentioned?

“Norihisa, take her.” I gathered Kizuna in my arms and stood. She was far heavier than a normal human and I could barely carry her. Without taking my eyes off the assassin, I gave her to Norihisa who came up from behind me. He grunted and staggered back to the magic circle. I heard Iroha come out of the yacht but I ignored her calls.

Rage began to fill me, like fire burning through my body. This man had killed Kizuna right in front of me and I hadn’t been able to do anything. The least I could do was send him along with her.

“We’re not bringing you back to Edo.” I pulled out my gun and fired without aiming at the man. As quick as lightning he sliced through all the bullets. I jumped back to gain room and quickly reloaded with a speed shooter. He stood there calmly as I aimed at him again.

“Take me back to Edo,” the assassin said. “This will be your last warning.”

I put away the gun and pulled out my katana and jitte, setting into my stance. “You’re not going anywhere unless it’s in your funeral shroud. And what do you know, you’re already dressed for the occasion.”

He sighed and pointed his katana at me. We met in a clash of blades, sparks emanating from where our weapons met. He looked bored as I went on the offensive. I tried to get through his guard but he blocked and parried without effort.

I gritted my teeth and I tried to break through his guard. His blade met mine and it sheared straight through it. The top half of my katana flew off over the side of the yacht. He reversed his blade and I barely managed to parry him. He pulled his katana back and before I could do anything, he thrust it towards my face. Then all I saw was black.