Chapter 2 — The Witch's Gift
The night wind whispered through the trees of the Forest of Blue, carrying the faint howl of a distant beast. The moon was high, casting pale light over the woman who had once been Sue, Kazuki's cat.
"Izumi's sister…" Sanae breathed, her eyes wide. "You've been watching us all this time?"
The woman nodded. "My name is Ayame. When I was cursed, I thought my life was over. But the witch's magic gave me one purpose—to guard my family for eternity. When your parents died, I swore to keep you alive, even if it meant hiding in the shadows."
Kiyoshi stepped forward, his hand resting on his sword hilt. "Then why show yourself now?"
Ayame's gaze turned toward Kazuki, and something unreadable flickered in her eyes. "Because the Moon Glance's blessing is awakening in him. Soon, his strength will surpass even Yamaka's. But power without control is a blade without a sheath—it cuts down friend and foe alike."
Kazuki frowned. "I don't care about blessings. I want revenge."
"And you shall have it," Ayame replied calmly. "But only if you survive what is coming. Shashimaru has grown complacent. His greed is widening cracks in his rule. The time to strike will come sooner than you think."
---
For the next months, Ayame became their second master. Hiroshi taught discipline, precision, and the warrior's honor. Ayame taught something far older—how to draw strength from the moonlight itself, how to hear the sound of an enemy's heartbeat, how to weave magic into steel.
Training under her was unlike anything they had known.
Kiyoshi learned to move like water, each strike flowing into the next.
Sanae mastered speed so sharp that her blade became a blur.
Kazuki… Kazuki began to feel the pulse of the Moon Glance within him. In battle drills, the air would tremble when he struck. His eyes, once dark, would flash silver in the heat of a fight.
But with the power came something dangerous—a burning anger he could barely control. More than once, Ayame had to knock the sword from his hand before he struck too hard, too far.
"You are your father's son," she told him one night, her voice heavy with both pride and warning. "But remember, Kazuki—rage will not win you victory. It will only blind you to the blade aimed at your back."
---
While they trained, Hazadar Village began to change. Whispers spread in the market—Shashimaru's taxes had grown unbearable, his soldiers brutal. Traders were vanishing on the roads. And more often, patrols returned to the capital with fewer men than they had left.
"Someone is hunting his forces," Hiroshi said one evening, scanning a map lit by lamplight. "He will tighten his grip. That means fewer chances for us to move freely—but it also means he is afraid."
Ayame smiled faintly. "Fear is the first crack in a tyrant's armor."
Kazuki tightened his fists. "Then let's break it wide open."
---
The night before the Moon Glance's seventh anniversary, Ayame called them to the forest clearing. The moon hung low, silver light spilling over their blades.
"Tonight," she said, "you will face the trial of the Moon's Edge. Pass, and you will no longer be students—you will be warriors ready to take back your father's throne."
Kazuki's heart pounded. Revenge felt closer than ever.
But as the moon reached its peak, a horn sounded in the distance—deep, urgent, and wrong. Hiroshi's face went pale.
"That's no festival call," he said. "That's a war horn. Shashimaru's soldiers are coming… here."
And in the shadows beyond the trees, the glint of steel appeared.
To be continued…