The Sword of Kaigen

by M.L. Wang

Last time, she had left Robin wounded. It had felt rather like breaking his wings and pushing him off a cliff to fall into the mists of memory. This time, with Daniel on his shoulders, it felt like sending him into the future. Like sending him off with wings.

With the last of the sun touching her skin on one side and Takeru’s cold on the other, Misaki found herself fascinated by the sheer scope of her emotions. She hadn’t been surprised to realize that she still loved Robin. What was strange was that she could love him and love Takeru at the same time. In the last year, she had been astonished by how much pain she could hold in her, but until she stood on that front deck with Takeru beside her and Izumo in her arms, she had never held this much love.

“Stay,” she said softly and tugged him in until their bodies leaned together. “Stay and watch the sun set with me.” Red seeped from the sky like blood washed out to sea, leaving only the blue waves of evening. Shadows nestled into the contours of the mountainside, and instead of stiffening against Takeru’s nyama, Misaki sank into it, letting it cool her, as daylight turned to dusk.