Chapter 2
2
K
enjiro’s robe—like
Yoroi
and
Hakama—
ruffled in the morning breeze as he sat, eyes closed, legs crossed, and body erect in his daily morning meditation at the base of his favorite oak atop Mt. Yamanake. A frown creased his forehead, and his eyes snapped
open
.
He took several steadying breaths while he reoriented himself. Something dark and incredibly evil had thrown him from his meditation, and the effect was jarring.
What was
that
?
He looked over his shoulder in the direction of the house he shared with his younger sister. Had she felt it? Kenjiro figured she must have. He doubted whatever that evil was that had snatched him from his serenity could be anything from this
world
.
He took his time, stretching out his legs and arms, then stood. He took a deep breath of the cool morning air and blew it out in a mist in front of his face. This wouldn’t be
good
.
W
est
of the hill where Kenjiro sat in meditation, a small house was nestled at the base of yet another hill that was covered in grass and towering, moss-covered trees. The exterior of the house was unremarkable, yet the interior was decorated with immaculately polished wood paneled floors and rice paper sliding doors connecting the various rooms throughout the
house
.
Akemi stood at the window of the living room, admiring the nightingale that lived in a tree outside her room. Although it usually sang to her at night, it sometimes perched outside the living room window, and she would sometimes throw a few bits of food to it in exchange for a morning
song
.
She stepped outside the house and filled her lungs with the crisp mountain air. Her smile changed to a frown when she felt a darkness creeping on her. She looked to the sky, as though the infinite blue canopy sprinkled with puffy white clouds held the
answer
.
“Evil energy,” she thought aloud. It had been some time since she’d hunted. Had that time come
again
?
She stepped out of the trees to see the familiar mated pair of swans floating across the surface of the nearby lake. Her smile at the sight of the beautiful birds was tinged with regret. The world was such a beautiful place, but it was colored with such horrible
darkness
.
She moved on, passing through the trees. The location of her home always left the opportunity to explore something new, for the mountains and hillsides of Yamanake were vast and plentiful. She came upon a large tree that looked to be at least thirty feet tall.
Nice place to have a look around,
she thought. The muscles in her legs tightened, and Akemi crouched then leaped atop the nearest branch. She continued to leap from branch to branch until she was at the very top of the tree where she surveyed the miles of land below, stretching into the distance as far as she could see. There was a village not more than a few more hours away that would be awake by
now
.
“You can’t move quiet enough that I cannot hear you, brother,” Akemi said, not bothering to turn and face Kenjiro as she
spoke
.
Kenjiro grunted. He’d spotted Akemi and pursued her until she had come to the tree. He’d waited for a more undetectable approach, slipping from branch to branch of the neighboring trees making little sound before he’d crept behind her. Just once, he wanted to catch her unaware. It was a game they’d played since they were children, and one he’d always
lost
.
“Today is strange,” he
said
.
“You feel it,
too
?”
“There are strange energies everywhere,” Kenjiro said. “Evil energy. I have a feeling we will see a bit of excitement
soon
.”
“Perhaps,” Akemi replied, and a heartbeat later, Kenjiro was gone as quickly and quietly as he’d come. The ninja smiled to herself. Samurai never traveled through the trees. As much as her brother claimed his disdain for the methods traditional to the ninja, some of Akemi’s methods had crept into his own, even if he wasn’t as proficient. She reached behind her back and drew out her sword,
Sekimaru
. “Perhaps,” she repeated as she analyzed her sword, remembering their past battles
together
.
She slipped the sword back into its sheath and made her way
home
.