Across the worlds

      Sun was slipping inexorably toward the horizon, painting the sunset clouds a soft peach color. Reina covered her eyes with her hand, squinting against the glare, and looked thoughtfully into the distance. The fleeting beauty, unnaturally frozen in the moment like a motionless icy figure, was distracting from everything else. Violet threads streaked across the sky, intertwined in some mad, supernatural dance, converging, twisting and diverging into dozens and hundreds of small ones, like the roots of an old tree.       Reyna sighed tiredly and turned her back to the amazing phenomenon of nature in the sky.       — It's been three years... you've missed lots of things, — breeze ruffled the long strands of her hair, and Reina smiled as she walked over to the tree. — Can you imagine, my father wants me to attend another public execution again… recently wrote a letter that my time for choosing a husband had come to an end. Now he will do it himself. But then my life will no longer be mine, but will belong to another man..... What should I do? Do my duty or follow my heart? It pulls me somewhere far, far away, beyond the boundless horizon… — she sighed heavily and closed her eyes, putting her palm to the tree where they had carved their names when they were children:       — I'm not sure I can be the person I should be...       Weightlessly touching her cheek, a gust of wind stirred hair again, ruffling it slightly, but the girl stood still, listening to nature's answer.       — Our favorite place, where we escaped from our father with his endless rules... and... I think this tree holds a piece of your soul. Oh, if you only knew how much I miss you. I remember your words the last time we met: "If you remember me, I will live forever..." — girl put one hand to her chest. — I thought you were speaking figuratively, as you always do, but... You will always be in my heart, sister.... Another rumble of thunder broke the monologue, forcing Reina to turn around — the orange disk had already touched the horizon, which meant that the lightning would soon awaken and strike frantically at the same point, as if trying to reach something hidden in the bowels of the earth.       — Why did you go there, knowing it would turn out like this? — girl stared at the strange phenomenon in the sky, trying to keep her anger at bay. The breeze no longer touched her skin, leaving her without answers, as it always did. Reina took a deep breath and placed the bouquet of flowers she had brought at the foot of the tree. The last rays of sunlight softly touched the petals and her fingertips. — I wish I knew if you were alive.... Girl sighed again, rose hastily, and headed down the familiar path toward home without turning around. She cursed the frozen lightning in the sky and everything connected with it.              — Ma’am, are you unwell? — one maid, as always, was already waiting for her at the gate, and bowing. — I made your favorite tea, brought your letters, and prepared the requested papers. Everything is on the table in Mr. Minamoto's cabinet.       — Thanks Koshi, go get some rest.       — Yes, ma’am, — she finally straightened her back and shuffled toward the servants' quarters.       Reina looked at her and sighed at the unfair treatment of servants by the other nobles. If a simple peasant didn't show respect to a samurai or a member of his family, he could be executed on the spot. She entered the house and soon froze at the entrance to the hated room, placing her palms on the wooden sliding door. Scraps of memories surfaced in her mind, when they were heading to the bazaar with all family. Father walked in front, wearing his full armor as always. Reina and her sister were near, and the servants followed behind. At the sight of a samurai of high rank, farmers around took off their hats and fell to their knees in showing respect. But one of the peasants, for some reason known only to her father, did not kneel down to bow and was subsequently executed on the spot. No one was allowed to look away from the scene, and as soon as it was over, Minori lowered her head, and Reina could see a barely perceptible tear trickle down her cheek. The sisters looked at each other and understood each other without words, but there was nothing they could do to stop the situation.       With a loud sigh, the girl opened the door and entered her father's study, surveying the mountain of papers on the desk with disdain. But suddenly someone called out to her:       — How about a dance with blades?       — Such a bad timing, Takeshi… — the girl turned around and shook her head faintly.       — The fights don't happen on time. Let's go study.       — You're supposed to address me ma’am, and you know it, — Reyna grinned. — I have to. But when I'm already facing the death penalty, it's easier to take risks, you know, — Takeshi smiled, but his gaze was full of sadness.       — Don't worry, — Reina left her shoes at the threshold of the training room. — Father won't know I'm paying you for private lessons. And no one will tell.       — Are you so sure? — man left his bag on the floor and took off his shoes as well.       — I trust Koshi, and she serves me, not him. Besides, I take my chances with wakizashi and tachi , — she grinned - she didn't want to live by the rules. Her father had forbidden to even pick up the traditionally masculine weapon, but Reina had secretly practiced with the ronin in defiance of father's orders.       — Asame wasn't saved by that trust, — the man tossed a wooden sword into her hand and immediately went on the attack.       — Don't remind me, — Reina kicked back, ducked and tried to hook her leg, but the man's bokken touched her back very soon.       — Slowly. You're walking like an elephant today.       — I'm annoyed with these wooden things, bring a normal weapon, — Reina twisted her wrist and grimaced as she looked at the hated bokken.       — It's not about them, it's about your clothes, those incredibly long hemlines are not appropriate for working out.       — Did you give me time to change into at least hakamas ?       — I've said many times that even a knee-length skirt is better than your hakamas and less restrictive, — he nodded his head at a bag nearby. — I brought some clothes. My wife made them for you as a thank you.       — You shouldn't have. I know how hard it is for a ronin to feed his family. It would have been better if you'd tried to sell. And also, I've said many times that you're weird, — the girl took a second bokken from the counter, a longer one, and continued. — Have you ever seen a girl wearing a skirt above her ankles?       — How ironic. But you wouldn't believe me if I said yes, even though I'm far away from here.       — Cheeky.       — But the only one who's being honest with you. So, focus. Feel the vibrations in the air. Control your breathing.       She stood still for a few moments, equalizing her breathing, concentrating on her heartbeat, feeling the familiar weight of the blade, focusing on her senses, and then Takeshi waved his hand:       — Attack.              Reina struck faster and faster with her two weapons, but Takeshi skillfully deflected them again and again.       — Keep your back straight! — he wailed. — Feel the blade. It's a deadly extension of the hand. Come on, hit it hard.       The girl lunged forward, but the wooden sword only poked the air and she ducked just in time. The bokken whistled over her head. Takeshi's skill never ceased to amaze her, and neither did his speed.       — Specifically. Focus. Don't flap your wings like a drunken rooster! Raise your sword. — man kept commenting on every move. — Okay. All right. I'm here, don't yawn. Keep it graceful! Graceful! It's a dance! — ronin did not walk on the floor, but glided through the air as gracefully as a cat, masterfully dodging every blow.       Striking back, Reina bounced back sharply to catch her breath and started to speak:       — In a way, it's good to be a wandering ronin — you see a lot, learn a lot. — she tried to steady her breathing and continued. — Life is an adventure, and it's not planned out literally by the hour, like mine.       — It's not as simple as it seems, — man replied and swiftly went on the attack.       Only a couple seconds passed and girl was already on the ground with opponent's wooden blade against her neck.       — Usually you fight much better than this, but today was like it was the first time, — concluded Takeshi, grinned and helped her to get up, then sighed. — You're not focused. What's on your mind, if I may ask?       — Lots of things. My sister's birthday, the inevitable marriage, and also.... I miss Asame, — Reina said thoughtfully, while standing up. — She always brought us tea and a couple onigiri around this time. It makes me angry that it happened this way, — she rubbed her wrist. — Koshi, of course, does all the duties properly too, but she's afraid of me like everyone else.       — I'm not afraid of you. Even without the wig.       — I know, — Reina shook head, and snow-white hair started flowing over her shoulders. — Isn't it silly that I have to wear it in public? It's even sillier that I have to wear it in front of my future husband. After all, who would want a wife so different from everyone else?       — I'm sorry.       — You shouldn't be. I was just unlucky enough to be born so different. I can hide the hair, but the eyes, — she shook her head, — I don't think so.       — Being different isn't a bad thing, — man tried to cheer her up, but Reina only shrugged, so he continued. — May I ask what happened to Asame?       — You already asked, — she grinned and continued. — As soon as my father found out how good and close my relationship with her became, he sent her away. I don't know where, — she sighed. — It's how he trains my resilience and willpower. And Asame was the friend I needed so badly, and in a way, she was even able to replace my mother, whom I don't even remember.       — I'm sure your mother had good reasons for leaving, — Takeshi said quietly, and Reina didn't answer, staring silently at the floor in front of her feet. The ronin continued. — I can come back another day if you'd like to be alone.       — Yeah, come tomorrow after sunset.       — Thank you, — Takeshi bowed and left through the secret entrance Reina had shown him long ago, while she stood there for a while, examining the wooden swords. The girl scrolled through her memories of their first lessons and grinned at the way she had flown around the training room at first. "Disgusting!" — the ronin wailed, pinning her to the floor once again. But each time Reina didn't give up, despite the bruises, abrasions, and pain throughout her body, panting and rose to her feet. She only rubbed the bruised areas and then got back into a fighting stance, never whining — the ability to complain had long since been beaten out of her father's warriors in regular trainings.       At first, Takeshi tested her reactions and strength and was frankly angry when she failed miserably, but over time he softened a bit, noting his student's stubbornness, determination, and success.       Sighing and leaving the weapons in their places, girl picked up the bag from the ronin, left in her room and headed to the cabinet. She sat down at a chair and began to go through the paper mail and documents: receipts from merchants, contracts for approval, letters of complaint from merchants trying to evade taxes, offers to marry under the pretext of "lucky batch", messages from government agencies, summaries of the latest city news.... There were always so many of them, all about the same thing, only the dates changed. Another letter was from her father, and Reina fidgeted with it for a long time, already knowing that it would once again a remind of family obligations. Sighing, she put it back in the drawer, adding to her collection of unopened letters. A slight smile touched her lips:       «It's a good thing he's far away, or I'd have a hard time...» — girl thought and shuddered at the unpleasant memories of the Minamoto clan head's dodgy punishments. Everyone had gotten caught in the hot hand without exception.       When she was done with all the paperwork, she began to study the data on the strange phenomenon in the sky again. Unfortunately, none of the people who had been sent there didn’t return, so there was too little of information.       It was night outside, the tea had long since cooled, and the white strands were still hanging over the papers. Reina tucked them behind her ear, but the pesky hairs fell back down again and again. Neither her father, responsible and unyielding in his goals, nor his men had found anything new, sending only a mountain of useless materials and facts. Eyes started to closing of their own accord from fatigue and she felt sleepy. It was understandable — calligraphy class, history lesson, archery exercises in the morning and training with wooden spear and naginata with ninjas and warriors of her father, after which the girl barely crawled out of the training room... and Takeshi... Kendo developed reaction, agility and coordination, strengthened the muscles of the whole body, and gave some hand-to-hand combat skills. The father did not want warriors to pity his daughters in lessons, since they were destined to carry on the family business due to the lack of a male heir. So, even in his absence, Reina continued to train according to all traditions, and in addition, she also secretly practiced with a wandering ronin of her own accord. Somehow he was much better with weapons than any of her father's warriors.       The moonbeam fell on the printed letter and slid down the columns of hieroglyphics, following the girl's gaze. There were distant peals of thunder from the street, but Reyna heard them muffled, as if they were from another reality, for her thoughts were occupied with pressing matters. She quickly began to write a reply, and intricate hieroglyphics appeared on the paper, forming meanings and images. After signing the letter, she put it aside and began the next one.       Hours later, once the letters were done, she dropped her head tiredly into her palm, scribbling on the corners of the drafts. Reina touched her temple, hoping to ease the headache that was coming on from the constant lack of sleep.       Noticing the lines written in neat handwriting, she took a quick glance at her notes: «Three years ago a purple lightning bolt pierced the sky and during daylight hours began to freeze motionless, as if it were an ice figure, until dusk. Every night, deafening peals of thunder shook the air and the lightning struck the same spot. Minori, on her father's errand, decided to go to the epicenter of the storm...»       Reyna didn't want to read any further, so as not to indulge in memories of her sister too much, so she slammed the notebook shut. Because of their high position in society, they had never had any friends and all the sisters had was each other. Even though Reina was her half-sister, Minori had never spoken of it, but had treated her as her own. Now Reina was alone with her fears and sorrows, so she tried to occupy all her free time with her emotions. It had been a busy day, so she laid her head down on her hands and didn't even notice how she had fallen asleep.              Darkness and emptiness... Alone again in the pitch black. And there was not the slightest ray of light to illuminate this impenetrable darkness. Her legs felt woozy, her senses strained to the limit from the sense of impending danger. Reina turned around and saw her sister's silhouette nearby, recognizing it by her hair alone. She immediately took a step towards her, shouting her name as hard as she could, but no sound was heard. But with each step, Minori grew farther and farther away, and she was so cold it made her blood run cold. — Don't leave me! — girl shouted, but the silhouette only grew farther away faster as Reina shifted to a run. — Wait! — Reyna reached out her hand, but felt the hard surface beneath her feet turn into a viscous substance, preventing her from moving, pulling her deeper and deeper. A panic attack from the fear of suffocation came over her head, filling her consciousness with a chilling fear of death. Shel tried to get out of the unknown substance, rushing from side to side, but it did not help, but only pulled deeper and deeper, soon covering her head. As if underwater, she paddled upward toward the shimmering light, and when she was almost to the surface, something clung to her ankle, trying to pull her down to the bottom. Jerking her leg, trying to shake off the invisible thing, Reina struggled even harder to get out and get a breath of air. Panic crept inexorably into her mind, chilling her blood, and the fear of suffocation filled her lungs. She dove to the surface, her fingers digging into the nonexistent earth and pulling her body up with her, greedily inhaling the life-saving air. Minori's silhouette appeared in the distance again, twenty paces away. Reina was no longer restrained, and she stood up, heading toward her sister, who was getting farther away with every step she took. — Don't you need me anymore? — her voice broke, and she stopped, collapsing to her knees. The heartbreaking pain of fear of being alone again dug its fingers into her soul, severing the thin threads of hope. Her sister had always been the only person truly close to her, and when Minori disappeared, everything in Reina's life turned upside down. Loneliness plagued her soul and there was no one to fill the void. There was no one who was capable of understanding... And now, at such coldness from her sister, her heart did a flip in her chest, and something inside her shattered, shattering into a myriad of tiny shards and hurting more than anything. Scalding tears ran down my cheeks in complete silence, rolling, falling, and crashing to the dark floor, woven of gloom. Not even a sob could be heard-the pain was so great that Reina had no strength left to make any sound, and she just stared silently at the receding silhouette with her hand outstretched. But suddenly a hand gently touched her shoulder....       Girl nearly fell off her chair, waking abruptly to a deafening roll of thunder.       — What the... The remnants of the visions slipped into the darkness of her subconscious, stripping away the memories of the nightmare, as after any awakening from sleep, leaving behind only the bitterness of the aftertaste and the emotions that tormented her soul. Trying to distract herself from the lingering feeling of longing in her chest, Reina glanced out the window, but she couldn't see the sky or the stars behind the shadows of the trees. Only occasional flashes of lightning appeared, reminding her of the night's lightning.       Meanwhile, in the pile of letters was also one of the old letters from father, who had been "forced" to stay at the Imperial Court and could not come home the day before.       — Minori's birthday and you didn't show up again... Just like always. It's like we're just figures on a political board to you. Puppets, not your own daughters. One more, one less! — she started screaming. — No, I've had enough, father!       He had been "searching for his daughter" for too long, sometimes sending people straight to the strange apparition, while at the same time putting all the responsibilities of the family on Reina to prepare her for her future life in marriage, as he said. With anger, the girl swept all the papers off the desk and barely restrained herself from screaming in anger and jumped out of the cabinet.       — Koshi! — she shouted and, a couple minutes later, a maid appeared in the hallway, bowing immediately.       — Yes, ma'am.       — You haven't slept yet?       — No, ma'am.       — I'm leaving. Alone. Write a letter to your father on my behalf. I should have done it myself a long time ago! — Reina went to her room to change her clothes, and Koshi nodded apprehensively and went off to fulfill everything without further questions.       She wanted to choose clothes that were the least conspicuous to outsiders, without distinctive symbols, so that it would be impossible to recognize by the family kamon , but she could not find such clothes. Everything was embroidered with the Minamoto clan's family crest, a motif of silver-colored gentian and bamboo leaves on a blue background. She closed the closet in annoyance and turned around to leave, but her eyes caught the bag containing the ronin's gift.       Reina rummaged through it and found the clothes and tried them on. Surprisingly, it was a black cloak with gold embroidery, the upper part covering her shoulders, the lower part going down to her ankles behind, but the front partially covering the scabbards from prying eyes. Nothing would prevent her from pulling her blades out of them in time to meet any enemy with full readiness. She was uncomfortable and out of place in these clothes, but at least it would help to remain unrecognizable. There were some other clothes inside the shoulder bag, but Reina decided not to go through them, but to trust the choice of Takeshi's wife, and only took out a kaiken knife , which was at the very top, as if it had been put there at the last moment, as if he had known that she would decide to leave.       Reina remembered that usually kaiken were given to the bride at her wedding so she could defend herself or slit her throat in a ritual suicide — so as not to dishonor herself or her clan. But this time it was different — the dagger was for self-defense only. It was a straight, short-bladed kaiken that could be worn comfortably in an obi belt without anyone seeing it, but in the clothes she was wearing now, she could only slip it into a loose belt at the back and cover it with her cloak, which she did without even looking at the gift.       Already in the armory, looking at the reflection of bright garnet eyes in the blade of a long, narrow tati, she said:       — I have to find out for myself. I have to bring her home.       She tucked the blade into the scabbard on her belt, where she already had a vakizashi. Carefully handed down from generation to generation over the centuries, all these skillfully engraved weapons held a special appeal because of their tangible history, and the legends of the living spirits of all their former owners inside the blade. She secured the swords with a cord around her waist, threading it through the brace on the front of the sheath, leaving her torso free.       — I won't leave you there like he did... — she said quietly, glancing over and touching her sister's empty longbow stand. Reina once again pondered her choice to use a military weapon instead of a pair of daisho of katana and wakizashi. But Minori had taken them with her and never returned. So there would be no peace for those who had caused her disappearance, and then pulled out the dagger she had been given. Now the unusual hilt drew her attention and only now she realized that it was made in the shape of a dragon. Fangs open, predator's eyes, wings folded — girl stared into the ruby eyes of the metallic creature that was clearly calling to her.       A shiver ran through her body, but her fingers closed around the hilt, and it suddenly became impossible to breathe. As soon as the blade emerged from its sheath, her eyes began to darken. Her palm burned, and the air was blown out of her chest. Reina gasped, but clenched her fingers tighter. The heat from the kaiken seemed to melt her skin, creeping beneath it, an unknown force that seemed to pour into her bloodstream and rush through her body at breakneck speed.       The girl turned the blade slightly. It was as if a strange flash ran along the blade. Whether it was the way the light fell, or whether the master had made it that way, but the blade seemed to "float", bending as if alive and so that it was impossible to look away. Reina stared at the kaiken as if mesmerized, forgetting how to breathe, and soon the new sensation faded to nothing.       She had heard stories that there were things of the sort that waited for their master or mistress, but she didn't believe it. Until now. Sighing, she slipped it behind her belt again, mentally thanking her mentor for such a gift. Fully collected, and putting on the illusion of invisibility that her kitsune had taught her, she was determined to figure things out for herself and go where Minori had gone the last time they met — to the very epicenter of the storm.