Chapter 16

Kaede was on her hands and knees, peering over the trio of bells laying on her bed, all pretense of her elegant training having left while she was currently alone in her investigation. She reached down picking up the silver bell, a crotal bell like one you would find on the reins of a carriage or sleigh, holding it by its equally silver thread. The bell made a clear and beautiful clink as she suspended it above the bed, the setting sun’s rays reflecting off its shimmering surface.

She shook it once more and the clink it made sounded familiar. “You’re what I heard back at the matsuri, aren’t you?” Something about the trio of bells made Kaede think of them as sentient objects, not inanimate ones though she wasn’t surprised by the lack of response from the object.

Taking care to place it gently on the bed, Kaede wrapped her hand around the handle of the second bell. It being made of gold was the only thing that seemed to make it stand out from a normal handbell, but when Kaede swung it to hear its chime, the most beautiful sound she had heard in her life resonated out. She even sat back on the bed, ringing it a few more times with her eyes closed to savor the sound.

Looking over the handbell, her fingers gently caressing the rim of the bell as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. For some reason, Kagura, the self-proclaimed princess of the moon came to mind as she gazed upon the golden object with an odd sort of affection.

Once again taking as much care as with the crotal bell, Kaede lay it softly on the bed, to the right of its shimmering silver brethren, before picking up the bronze counterpart.

The third bell was the most unique one Kaede had seen in her life. With the first two bells, she was intimately familiar with their shape and purpose, but this one was a grip attached to a large bronze ring with six different bells spread equally around its edge. She wrapped her fingers around the grip and picked it up slowly, expecting it to be far louder than the other two but when she shook it, she was startled to find it made no sound.

She sat back with it firmly in her hand and vigorously shook it multiple times, trying to make some semblance of a chime come from it but nothing came out. Not the soft echoing clink from its silver brother nor the beautiful all-enveloping chime from its golden sister.

Kaede furrowed her brow, lifting it above her head and staring up into the bells, expecting to see that the metal ringers were removed from each bell only to see them fully intact. She tried shaking it a couple of more times before placing it, for a reason unbeknownst to her, to the left of the silver bell before crossing her arms, falling into deep thought.

She was recalling her conversation with Kagura, wishing she could’ve gotten more from the beautiful princess before looking down at the bells once more.

“These are obviously the bells she was referring to…” Kaede was absent-mindedly poking at the bells in succession, as she spoke to the empty room. “...but, what did she mean by reflective windows? Those are mirrors, right? Like from the stories…?”

Kaede glanced out the window, in the general direction of the shrine, her finger running gently over the surface of the handbell. “There’s no way those are here. They can’t be.”

“It is said that this island itself is a part of the moon from when the thieves severed the reins of the great Serpent.*

Yurika’s words from earlier echoed in Kaede’s head as she abruptly pulled her hand back from the bells, her eyes widening before she shook her head rapidly at such an absurd thought.

“Surely, it can’t be…”

Gakuto had leaned the jian blade against a small boulder and had untied the hakamashita, sliding out of the top part, letting the cloth rest on his waist, exposing his undershirt. It was a common way for the guardsmen and the apprentices to wear their clothes while training. It also served a way for them to prepare for actual combat, should they be called to the frontlines.

He stood with the dagger he purchased from the mysterious merchant in his right hand, his left hand folded behind his back. This odd style, the hitodan, was something that his father had used and taught Gakuto when he was old enough to hold a sword. It focused on quick steps with a smaller blade, while making your body as small of a target as possible.

Gakuto hadn’t practiced it in a while, having opted to take up a two-handed sword during his training with Jiro. He was merely going back through the basic steps and simplest sword swings, losing himself in the motions. He had been right about the mysterious dagger being well made, as it already felt like a part of his hand as he thrust and swung with it. He even flicked and spun the dagger over his wrist, confirming it had good balance.

“Oh, wow, you actually look like an Imperial guard.”

Yurika’s voice broke Gakuto out of his intense focus and he sheathed the dagger in a fluid motion, turning to face her.

“Did you think I lied about that?”

Yurika held out a tray with some tea on it and offered a cup to Gakuto, who took it gratefully, gulping it down quickly.

“No, but hearing it is different from seeing it in action.”

He couldn’t find an argument with that, wiping sweat from his brow as Yurika took the cup back from him before she stepped over to the small boulder he had leaned his jian on, taking a seat upon it.

“I have to say, that style is interesting. Is it hitoden by chance?”

Gakuto gave her an incredulous look, never expecting anyone on this island would know that term, let alone the island girl who showed them around.

“How do you know about that?”

Yurika had her hands folded on her lap, confused at his shock. “My father used to practice like that.” She sat up straight on the boulder, tucking her left arm behind her back and extending her right arm as if she was holding a blade, pointing it at Gakuto. She had her left eye closed as if she was locking onto her target with the right one.

“‘The way of the one-armed warrior’ is what he called it. Meant to be quick with your strikes but evade your opponents by making your torso smaller with the folded arm and pivoting your body.”

Gakuto flicked the hilt of the dagger with his thumb, his hand resting against the sheath as he looked towards the setting sun. “It sounds like you’ve read the books on it, Yurika.”

She brought her hand back, her eyes wide with shock. ‘That’s the first time Gakkun has said my name!"

Gakuto let out an exasperated sigh, not even trying to correct her this time. “My father taught me this when we traveled after my mother passed. One of the earliest memories is him showing me how to stand while telling me it was a style that could be used to protect those closest to you.” He laughed, clenching his hand around the sheath tightly. “The old man acted like he invented it, but he didn’t have that kind of attention span. Though he was almost a different person when he was showing it to me. Focused, attentive, like nothing could get by him. Like he was unbeatable!”

Gakuto turned back to face Yurika with a lonely smile on his face. She was leaning on her hands, her elbows propping her head up as she listened to him intently.

“...but he wasn’t.” Gakuto flicked the hilt again and the soft click when the hilt smacked against the sheath seemed to echo loudly around them.

Yurika leaned back on her hands, gazing up at the sky. “I think he might’ve been. Just not in the way you think.”

She looked back down, a beautiful smile across her face. “Because what you just described is how you looked a few moments ago, Gakuto. And you looked really cool.”

Gakuto stood shocked, both by her smile and the fact she used his actual name. Yurika let out a slight giggle at his surprised expression.

“It sounds like he taught you well… with a blade. Doesn’t seem like he taught you how to deal with girls though!” She slid off the boulder before stretching her arms high above her head, looking back up at the stars starting to come out in the twilight.

“I’m sure he’s up there somewhere still watching over you.”

Yurika picked up the tray and turned on her heels, her long black hair fanning out behind her in a wide arch before she turned back, pointing directly at Gakuto.

“I’m also sure he would tell you that you need to turn your body more and not lift your front foot as high. The movement from the shorter steps is how the hitoden works so well after all.”

Gakuto stared after Yurika as she walked up the path back to the resthouse, wondering if all island women were as full of surprises.

Yurika closed the door and carried the tray back into the kitchen before starting to wash its contents, looking back out the window to see Gakuto turning back to his training.

“No wonder he’s never gotten his feelings through to Kaede-chan…” She mused as she glanced up at the ceiling, towards the rooms above.

“Mother might be right about guys from the mainland being dense…”