17. A Decisive Battle with the Leader (Patreon)

5.

Silvah and Miles waves Uncle off as he left the campus grounds and stepped into a black sedan.

‘Are you tired?’ Miles asked.

‘No.’

‘Good. There’s somewhere I want to take you.’

‘Take me?’

Silvah had already realised long ago that Miles was a man of whims. Whether his plans turned out good or bad for you were a true flip of the coin.

‘Just follow me,’ he said.

Thus, they walked across the deserted pathways. He took them up an incline, towards a path that curved around the building she had woken up in. The road ended in what looked to be a dojo of sorts.

A set of brown pillars supported the front roof of the building, which was in the same northern Ishwari style as the rest of the school. The gate was a sliding wooding panel. In combination with the pillars, when the door was slid back, the gap between them would appear as great windows that allowed you to see inside.

Miles reached for the door.

‘Are we going to train?’ she said.

Did they have to do so now? The night was already old, and she was starting to long for her bed. There was a month until the exam started as well.

‘I don’t have anything with me.’

Which Miles knew, of course, but Silvah felt the need to clarify. You never knew with this guy.

‘Almost correct.’ He grinned.

That’s not a good sign.

‘You’re going to meet someone,’ he said.

He opened the doors before she could ask who she was meeting.

The inside was very much what you would expect. A bare, tatami floor. Further in there was a tall statue of who was most likely Celestra: she was dancing underneath a waterfall, the water curving around her body like a piece of clothing as she did so. The moon shone on her from above. Literally. A single opening had been created in the centre of the roof of the dojo, which allowed the light from outside to filter through.

There was a girl seated in front of the depiction of the Ishwaran deity.

The girl’s neck craned up from the black book in her hands. Though she was seated, Silvah could tell they would be similar in height if they were standing. She must be Ishwari, for her skin was pale and her features sharp. But “pale” failed to describe her. More effective was…moon-coloured. Yes. It was as strange as her fully white hair—two thick, braided strands that fell in front of her face, both fastened at the end with a hair clip in the likeness of the moon. The rest of her hair was pulled back in a topknot she had wrapped in black cloth and fastened with a piece of rope.

She was unnerving, to be frank. When people met you for the first time, their gaze moved up and down as they took you in. Even if it was only once. Hers hadn’t. They were fixated on a single point: Silvah’s eyes.

The girl spoke, her voice as wavy as an ocean at dusk.

‘This is the one?’

Her eyes narrowed. For a fraction of time, Silvah thought the girl was going to rush and attack her. So heavy was the disgust she saw there.

‘What a waste of potential fates.’

Then the moment was gone, and the girl turned her attention back to her book.

Silvah turned to Miles, at a loss for words.

He shrugged.

‘Meet your new team leader. Celine’s little sister, Haku.’ He snapped his fingers and a black case plopped out of the air. He gave it to Silvah. ‘For you. I searched for it a little when you were out cold.’

Silvah gave the case a once over before looking up.

‘Team leader?’ she and Haku said in unison.

‘What is this about?’ Haku continued.

‘Ah,’ Miles rubbed a hand through his hair. ‘Celine didn’t tell you yet? My bad. Must be because it was decided only an hour ago. She’s taking the exam as well.’

His white teeth beamed at Haku, and he gave the girl a thumbs up, which Silvah was realising to be the man’s favourite gesture.

‘I don’t know what sister is thinking but she’s not taking the exam,’ Haku said. ‘I will not allow our school’s reputation to be tarnished under my watch by sending a green child to their death.’

‘First of all,’ Silvah said. ‘We’re the same age. Second, thank you for your concern, but what you think of it does not matter. I’m here to stay.’

Haku tilted her head at Miles.

‘Did you bring the ignorant whelp here to try to irritate me, Miles? Cease your effort. I’ve known you too long and grown too experienced for your antics to work.’

Miles sighed.

‘I know. I’ve tried. It’s a shame, really.’

Then he turned to Silvah.

‘You know we enter the exam in teams.’

‘I was aware,’ Silvah said.

They’d spoken about it at the end of their conversation with Celine.

‘Well. A team leader is chosen every year. Usually, there’s a contest, but since Haku is undoubtedly the strongest among the senior disciples, making her the leader was a unanimous decision.’

‘I’m following,’ Silvah said.

‘Great. To keep it short,’ Miles said, ‘the team leader gets to decide who they take with them on the exam.’

‘What?’ Silvah said, stunned.

She turned to Haku, who was watching this entire play unfold with a vetted disinterest.

‘If you ask me in a dark room, I don’t really agree with it,’ Miles said. ‘Everyone should control whenever they die. But. The college committee chose this form to encourage relationship building and politics. Two very important things in the world of sorcerers.’ He nodded his head like a well-trained yes-man.

‘That is to say,’ Miles continued, ‘regardless of what me, Celine, or anyone else says—’ he jammed a finger in Haku’s direction ‘—unless you win her approval, you’re not attending the exam.’

‘And you didn’t think this was important to tell me, because?!’

Silvah’s voice rose an octave.

‘I’m telling you now, aren’t I?’ Miles said. ‘The situation wouldn’t have changed if you figured this out an hour ago.’

That was true. She just didn’t like how these people were keeping her in the dark until the last moment. ‘It’s not relevant’ this. ‘You’re not ready’ that. Screw all of them. Really.

The problem was that she couldn’t get out from underneath their boot. Shisui had told her to join the school and take the exam. He had not offered her any other route to gain his aid. Nor did Silvah think he would appreciate her ringing his metaphorical phone without having accomplished what he told her to.

She had to go through them.

‘You heard him,’ Haku said. ‘Thus, I’ll repeat myself one more time. You’re not coming. Now make haste towards your home.’

‘That’s it,’ Silvah said. ‘Just like that?’

‘There is a way out,’ Miles said. He pointed to the box he had handed her. ‘Look inside.’

Its length was similar to her father’s dagger, so she had a suspicion of what it was. And indeed when she opened it, her father’s heirloom was there, sheathe and all. The sheathe was likely a thoughtful addition of Uncle Kenichi.

‘I know Haku appears gloomy,’ Mile said, raising his voice so Haku could hear it better, ‘lacking in generosity, entirely unkind and bitter—’

Haku gave him a deadpan stare.

‘—but deep inside she’s also selfish!’ Miles finished.

A pause.

‘Don’t you normally end on something positive,’ Silvah said.

‘It’s entirely positive, I assure you.’

Then he walked behind Silvah, shifted her feet and arms into a fighting stance and shoved her forward.

‘Now! Go and challenge the demon. Convince that evil fiend of your birthright and honour, young knight!’

Silvah remained in place, unsure of what to do.

Haku sighed. She clasped her book shut and stood, straightening the folds in her kimono, then strode towards a weapon rack at the side of the room. Her hands came to rest around the hilt of a wooden, thick and curved sword with a hand guard. That was Qatani-inspired. Used by the desert people.

‘Wood?’ Silvah said. ‘I’m using a real weapon.’

That. And Haku was wearing indoor sandals.

Silvah’s voice echoed through the dojo, the reverb making it sound shaky.

‘And I’m breaking a bone in your body for every insult you dare fling at me tonight. You’re already at one.’

Silvah frowned.

‘I didn’t say anything insulting?’

‘Your attempt at standing before me is enough.’

The two came to stand opposite each other, and Miles pulled back, leaning on the door frame of the dojo entrance.

Haku aimed the tip of her weapon at the mats.

‘A countdown if you will, Miles.’

Miles nodded.

‘When I reach three.’

In the silence that followed, the space around Haku held its breath. Silvah did, too. Haku’s shoulders were relaxed, and from what Silvah could see, the girl wasn’t trying to calm or prepare herself in any way.

She can’t be older than me. She can’t. So what was with this build-up of pressure? Silvah stopped herself from taking a step back and swallowed. This—she thought she was having a staring contest with a lion—not even Ryu and Asher had been this bad.

You have not even been a disciple for a month. Do you understand what we are saying?

Silvah took a deep breath. Uncle appeared in her mind. ‘Your father would’ve done it.’ Then her nerves and doubts vanished. Yes. Remember what you came here for. The tiptoes of her feet dug into the mats, she blew a strand of her hair out of her eyes, and she spun the familiar steel in her hands.

Haku hadn’t blinked once since their standoff.

‘Three,’ Miles said without having said the lower numbers he was expected to speak.

Neither of them charged. And it wasn’t because they were surprised. Silvah measured. She took a step forward and to her right. Haku did the same and moved opposite. Her movement is smooth, Silvah thought. Smoother than Aoki’s was, and she thought him to be well-trained—

The wooden blade swiped across the air in an upwards diagonal, aiming for Silvah’s throat.

—Fast!

She jerked out of the way, the tip of the sword nicking her lower lip.

Silvah didn’t do anything as amateur as stare in disbelief. Her backward step and shift of weight acted as a propeller, and she stepped inside Haku’s guard. The girl was impossibly deft—she spun her wrist and reversed her slash while she danced backwards, all in a fluid motion. Silvah was forced to duck and blindly parry above her head. She caught the blade. Barely. Her upper torso twisted, and her lower body followed the direction of the torque.

The long knife jabbed forward but Haku was gone, once more outside striking range.

What a short exchange. But Silvah was already sweating and breathing hard. Silvah stole a wary glance to where Miles was. If she wanted to do anything more than survive in this fight, she couldn’t hold back. Would that really be alright? She could end up seriously hurting Haku or killing her…

‘Why are you looking away?’

Haku launched herself. The sword came angling down and Silvah pulled on the cold within her on instinct, still hardly getting her weapon up in time. But the swing cut short as Haku sped up and intentionally aimed her weapon at the floor, using the momentum to spin and kick Silvah in the stomach. Air burst out of Silvah’s lungs, yet she forced herself to keep standing and dodge the follow-up swing. She couldn’t. The blade hit her square on the elbow. There was a crack. Silvah cried out and nearly dropped her weapon.

Haku didn’t chase her.

‘Take your stance,’ Haku said. She crawled towards Silvah—a predator closing in. Silvah raised her weapon with the greatest difficulty. She found her blade arm could only lift an inch.

Haku had broken her elbow. One bone, like she had promised.

Silvah was too late to react when the moonstone-skinned woman dashed forward—

And kicked her leg up, sending the sandal on her left foot flying, which caught Silvah in the eyes. Silvah’s head hit the ground before the sweep registered in her mind. It was with a bonking skull that Silvah opened her eyes on the barest of creaks and stared up at the point of Haku’s sword.

Silvah heaved for breath.

This wasn’t a difference in power—Haku was matching her, not using a shred of energy more than she was. This was a pure gap in martial skill.

To her surprise, Haku extended Silvah a hand. She took it. The girl pulled her up.

‘When sister first told me of you, she said you would have a use.’

Silvah stilled.

That last hit had sent Silvah’s blade flying. Haku walked over to the weapon and kicked it up in the air with her bare foot, catching it.

‘I disagree.’ She handed the sword back. ‘No matter how hard you train starting now, I can tell from your blade and your eyes: you’re not cut out for this, Silvah. You weren’t bred for this life. You merely got caught up in it.’

Haku strode towards the statue, retrieved her book, and walked back, past Silvah and out the entrance.

‘Heed my words,’ she said, sending one last look backwards. Her white eyes swallowed the small bit of light coming from the moon. ‘Return home while you still can and leave your sister to the professionals. There’s a lot of good you can do as a member of police in the mortal world.’

She was gone before Silvah could so much as respond, leaving her standing there in the darkened dojo, cradling her elbow.