On the other hand, Katsuo Kitayama treated Taiki as if he was his own brother and gave him shelter and purpose. He couldn’t comprehend such feelings, but he was grateful to Katsuo. Cue his inner turmoil when he was contacted by Juro after a decade. Just when Taiki was beginning to think the ground had swallowed his old benefactor, he showed up and required his assistance.

It was a difficult decision to make, but if it hadn’t been for Juro, he wouldn’t have survived back then. He wouldn’t have met Katsuo either.

In the end, he betrayed the Kitayama family and returned to his former master’s side. Taiki pushed the disturbing thoughts away and set off. His shape blurred as he sprinted back to the small shrine Juro was recuperating in. Just as the first rays of the sun peeked out in the East, he arrived at the building and quietly made his way inside. Immediately, a nauseating smell assaulted his nose, and he pulled the mask up again. He knew where it came from. Its source was the two bodies in the back of the house, the priest and miko who had lived there.

“You’ve returned.”

Taiki knelt before his master.

Juro didn’t seem to mind the smell or the shabby appearance of the shrine. He reclined comfortably on a cushion, sipping sake from a small dish. Black hair framed his face, too short to pull back but too long to keep it tidy. There was no sign of him having been injured by a magic spell and a pistol mere days ago unless Taiki counted his tense expression.

“How many were there?” Juro inquired. Naturally, he knew of the ninja’s pursuers.

“Three.”

“Hmm...” Juro seemed to be contemplating something. His red eyes settled on the shinobi. “Once we return to the castle, you don’t need to worry about them. They won’t be able to get close anyway.”

“I am thankful for your consideration.” Taiki bowed his head.

Juro ignored his words as he continued. “It’s almost time to get the other witch.”

Taiki inclined his head, listening.

“How long would it take to bring the mirror to the castle?” Juro asked.

“At least a day.”

“Hmm...” Juro tapped his chin. “Make sure it gets there before sundown. I’ll follow you in a bit. The solar eclipse is tomorrow.”

“As you wish,” Taiki replied and rose, turning around to leave immediately. It was easy to get used to being ordered around with such coldness. It was just like back when he was a child growing up in the hidden ninja village. He was a tool, a weapon for his owner. The years spent in Shirotatsu castle seemed like a dream, and now that comfort was out of his reach. That time was just a small detour in his life as a shinobi. Taiki silently berated himself for becoming too complacent while serving Katsuo.

“Oh, one more thing,” Juro said, making the ninja stop at the threshold. “I’ll need your cat.”

Taiki turned back with a question in his eyes. Juro smirked.

“You can’t allow your wounded master to go back to his castle on foot, can you?”

For a moment, rage engulfed Taiki, and he wanted to strangle Juro for treating his precious companion as a pack mule. However, he forced himself to calm down. The ninja nodded stiffly, and a small black figure melted out of the shadows in the corner. It hopped up, and Taiki caught the cat in his arms as she climbed to his shoulders and wound her two tails around his neck like a scarf.

“Take Juro-sama to the castle,” Taiki ordered his cat. “I’ll wait for you there.”

The animal meowed and bumped her head against Taiki’s cheek before jumping down and landing gracefully. She stalked over to Juro and sat in front of him, tilting her head to the side. Her ears twitched as the samurai chuckled.

“Good girl.”

Taiki exited the shire, leaving the stench behind. Thank goodness he had left some leeway when informing Juro of the timeline. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to make it by nightfall. As he sprinted off, his figure blurred once again. He had to use his maximum speed because the hidden location of the mirror was quite far. Taiki moved nimbly through forests and circled around villages until he arrived at a tall waterfall. There was a cave hidden behind it, where the mirror had been left for safekeeping.

As he walked closer, he meticulously deactivated the traps he had set. Thankfully, there was no indication of an intruder. His footsteps made no sound in the rocky cave, and he made his way in front of the mirror. Scant light filtered through the waterfall behind him as he stopped in front of the oval-shaped item. It was a bit shorter than him and gave off a silvery shine, probably because of the unusual lighting in the cave.

Taiki looked at himself in the mirror for a moment. He felt as if someone was watching him and turned his head to the side when a shadow moved in the corner of his eye.

But everything was still around him. He furrowed his eyebrows. He had always needed less sleep than the average person, but was he pushing his limits in the last few days? He’d been going on non-stop for three days now. He decided to get some sleep once they arrived at his master’s castle. Until then, he just had to bear with it. Juro wasn’t a person to take others into consideration, and Taiki was currently the only one he could depend on; so of course, he had to do his best.

He pulled a blanket out, and just as he was about to cover the mirror, he noticed his image in it seemed to be a bit delayed . Taiki’s eyes narrowed as he stopped mid-move. He eyed his image in the mirror’s silver surface, waiting to see something that would prove his suspicions, but all was back to normal.

Taiki frowned under his mask and threw the blanket over the mirror. Goosebumps broke out on his arms as he heard a low chuckle.

I really need some sleep. He was convinced it was sleep-deprivation, that his mind was playing tricks on him. The ninja lifted the mirror, which was lighter than one would first expect. It would still slow him down on his way to the castle, but he should be able to make it in time. Taiki set out immediately, putting the strange occurrence regarding the mirror away in the corner of his mind. He had a task to finish.