Ayane stood outside the main worship hall. The miko’s words kept repeating in her head. Someone would die. Someone would be betrayed. Something was coming. Sure would have been nice if she could have been a little more specific. Was the betrayer Kenichi? It was certainly not something she ever thought he might do. Despite their age gap they were incredibly close growing up, and he had never once showed signs that he wanted to take over once their father died instead of Ayane. He wanted to go out in the world and be a hero like those in the stories he loved so much, not sit at home managing finances and listening to old men delivering briefings of how much rice they had grown and how much they expected to grow.

The voice that came out of the miko afterwards, however, shook Ayane to her core. Find the Raikiri. Only it can light the oncoming darkness. How was she supposed to find some legendary sword that she had spent her entire life thinking was only a myth? And what was this darkness that was supposed to be coming?

Find the Raikiri.

“Can I ask you something?” She walked back over to the miko, who was busy cleaning up the worship hall after her dance.

“Of course. I don’t know if I can be of any help, but if it’s within my power I’ll do my best.”

“What do you know about the Raikiri?”

“The Raikiri? Wakenaru’s sword?”

Ayane nodded. The miko frowned.

“I know the story, of course. All miko and priests of the Takama Shrine know it. When Wakenaru was just a youth he was playing in the forest when he saw something shining in the river bed. He dug it out and discovered it was a sword. He trained with that sword in the forest every day, until one day he heard about an oni terrorising a nearby village. Without consideration for his own life he ran out to meet the demon and faced it in single combat. He was small and he was strong but the oni bested him. As the oni was about to make his final strike with his kanabo, Wakenaru summoned all his strength and focused it into the sword. It was then he realised it was surrounded by lightning. He had the power to call it forth at will. He slay the demon, saved the village, and using his newfound powers dedicated the rest of his life to destroying yokai.”

It was the same story Ayane heard several times as a child herself, but that didn’t give her any information on where she might find this sword. She’d spent her life thinking it was just a work of fiction. She had no idea where to even begin looking for it.

“What happened to the sword after that?”

“Nobody knows. They say when Wakenaru ascended to the heavens he left the sword with his son, Tomotaka. Several Takama Shrines have claimed to possess the Raikiri now but most have been proven to be fakes.”

“How can you tell?”

“Shoddy craftsmanship is usually the first sign.” The miko smiled. Again Ayane couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew the miko from somewhere. She seemed familiar, she just couldn’t place where. Perhaps she’d seen her around the castle before. “A simple strength test on most blades find a great majority to be lacking. It’s very easy to forge a sword. It’s very difficult to forge a good one, and no swordsmith worth his weight in gold would want to be discovered creating forgeries.”

“Okay… so did any swords ever pass the test?”

The miko paused and scratched her chin. “Hmm. I’ve heard of two that exist. There was one in a rather small Takama Shrine in Azunari to the west. The other was in Muon, in the north. Both passed the strength test with flying colours. Since then very little has been done with them. Both sit locked away out of sight. There’s no real way to prove one way or another whether they’re fake or not. The priests claim they are so people come to visit the shrine and leave donations. It’s how they survive.”

So she could either go and find this tiny shrine somewhere out west, or she could find another tiny shrine somewhere up north. It wouldn’t take too long to find out exactly which shrines held the rumoured sword, but getting there was another matter entirely. How was she going to test it anyway? Just channel her lightning powers through it? Ayane laughed.

“Something funny?”

Whoops. Ayane didn’t realise she laughed out loud. “No, uh… supposing you had one of these swords, would there be another way to test if it was fake or not?”

“May I ask why you’re suddenly so interested in the Raikiri?”

“I’m just… interested. Our clan is supposedly descended from Wakenaru and I just wanted to learn a little more about him.”

The miko eyed her but said nothing. “Well, it has the power to slay an oni.”

Ayane laughed again. “So you want me to test it against an oni? I’m sure that’ll end well.”

“If your family is truly descended from Wakenaru, as they claim, then you should know the Raikiri when you see it. It’s in your blood.”

Even if it were true, Ayane doubted that this many thousands of years later any of Wakenaru’s blood remained in her family. It was just a claim they made to try and give themselves even more legitimacy. Like being descended from ancient emperors wasn’t enough. At some point someone decided they had to be descended from gods as well.

“Thank you,” she replied finally. “You were very helpful.”

“I can make some inquiries if you like? Find out exactly which shrines claim to have the Raikiri right now?”

“Really?” Ayane’s face lit up. She immediately tried to play it cool. “Oh, uh, yes, that would be nice, if you have the time. You don’t have to worry if you’re too busy, of course. It’s not that important or anything. Just a general interest.”

The miko smiled. Her smile was warm and comforting, like a mother’s. A mother who was only ten years older than her.

“I’ll keep it between just us, don’t worry.”

Ayane smiled, a genuine smile. “Thank you. It’s just… no, it’s silly. But thank you. I’ll come back next chance I get.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Bitou Ayane.”