
**_Fight for Love. Fight for Destiny._**

**__**

Born into warring clans, wind ninja Sakura and fire ninja Temujin walk paths that couldn't be farther apart. But their separate worlds are thrown into chaos by the theft of Belshazzar's Scroll, an ancient relic that grants its possessor the divine right to rule over all the clans. To bring back peace to their lands, they must learn to fight together against a new breed of mystical half-human, half-demon warriors.

# Also from the Author

_When Earth ended, three worlds began. _

Get Free E-book

Elemental Ninjas

Mon D Rea

# Contents

Book Description

Also from the Author

Title Page

Prologue: The Unseen Ones

BOOK ONE: Wind and Fire

Chapter I: An Intruder in the Palace

Chapter II: A Story from the Mines

Chapter III: How a Princess Should Act

Chapter IV: Homusubi and the Eagle

Chapter V: The Plan

Chapter VI: The Next Clue

Chapter VII: The Journey North

Chapter VIII: The Showdown

Chapter IX: Daybreak

Chapter X: Visions

Chapter XI: Roots

BOOK TWO: Wind and Ice

Chapter XII: Onwards

Chapter XIII: A Cold Welcome

Chapter XIV: Fire vs. Ice

Chapter XV: Memories

Chapter XVI: A Ninja Mission

Chapter XVII: The Labyrinth

Chapter XVIII: Of Cats and Water

Chapter XIX: Flushed Away

Chapter XX: The Game

Chapter XXI: Out

Chapter XXII: Ninjas Don't Cry

Epilogue: A Note for Temujin

Message from the Author

Spread the Ninja Love

Freebie

About the Author

Copyright Page

## Prologue: The Unseen Ones

In this modern age of satellites, drones, and iPhones, when people speak the word "ninja," it is often with a tone of skepticism or derision. To the new generation, seeing is believing. But this all too human saying is a dangerous folly. For how can one begin to contemplate the universe if one does not make any effort to see?

The mountain pilgrim monks are wary of this pitfall. They meditate long and hard under the raging waterfalls and see things which ordinary men do not.

For one, they see time as an unstoppable force. A stone may stand in its way but time does not mind. It does not break the stone but, rather, it breaks itself. Into millions of pieces, millions of drops. By making the hand seal of _Retsu_ , the Wisdom Fist (the index finger of the left hand pointed upward and wrapped in the fingers of the right), a monk is able to slow down the torrent of the waterfall long enough to relish its individual drops.

Within each drop, the monk finds himself, his same self in many different worlds; a different universe mirrored in every rotund transparent belly. And as he looks ever closer he might catch a glimpse of Pan-Terra, homeworld to all ninjas.

Pan-Terra is a singular world, just as no two drops of water are ever alike. It is only identical to other realms in the same way a drop of water would follow certain laws of physics. It has a surface and a shape, what people might call continents, but if one drew a map one would see that that is where the familiarity ends. Local maps of Pan-Terra's macrocosm are segmented into elemental spheres, and therein lies the largest stone and rift.

It all began with the ninja art of concealing oneself using the natural elements. The various techniques were:

fūton no jutsu (風遁) = wind style

mokuton no jutsu (木遁) = wood style

suiton no jutsu (水遁) = water style

katon no jutsu (火遁) = fire style

Outsiders are acquainted with only one breed of ninjas: those who blend with the color of night using sappanwood dye to darken their uniforms. But based on the four elements, it was inevitable for the masters of concealment to vary their camouflage, thereby establishing their respective clans, colors, and lores:

**Clan of Crane**

**Color:** White

**Specialty:** Ten-mon (science of the atmosphere)

**Clan of Tiger**

**Color:** Brown

**Specialty:** Chi-mon (geography)

**Clan of Bear**

**Color:** Blue

**Specialty:** Sui to Hyō-ren (water and ice arts)

**Clan of Dragon**

**Color:** Red

**Specialty:** Kayaku-jutsu (fire and incendiaries technique)

Close on the heels of disparity, competition and conflict follow. And in this world divided by powerful rival clans, the benevolent gods have chosen to intervene by introducing the ultimate power source to deter all threats.

Legend tells of the hand of the supreme deity reaching over and writing sacred words on a sheet of parchment. Contained in the parchment is infinite wisdom and foresight for the preservation of all Pan-Terra, to be then locked away in a tube made of pure Adamantine, the hardest and rarest mineral. No mortal is to learn the secrets until the proper time has come. This is Belshazzar's Scroll, so named after the oracle who received it barehanded from the gods.

But in the heart of every mortal burns a fierce desire to seize more than what is permitted. The same tragic story holds for Belshazzar's Scroll. More than any territory, metal, or relic, the knowledge held by the scroll promises domination of all the other clans. Much blood has been shed to guard it, and many lives have been lost in attempts to claim it for one's own.

# Book One: Wind and Fire

****

There is a proper season for making attacks with fire, and special days for starting a conflagration. The proper season is when the weather is very dry; the special days are those when the moon is in the constellations of the Sieve, the Wall, the Wing or the Cross-bar; for these four are all days of rising wind.

- Sun Tzu, _The Art of War_

## Chapter I: An Intruder in the Palace

Sunlight filtered in through the _shoji_ paper of the windows. It was a beautiful day outside. Sakura could hear birds singing, children laughing. She imagined kites gliding on the winds. And here she was practicing calligraphy.

Seventeen-year-old Sakura sighed in boredom. She didn't even realize she did until she had done so. By then it was too late and the calligraphy _sensei_ , an old man who looked like the mythical tortoise that had been around since the creation of the world, glared at her from above the thick frame of his rivet spectacles. Those glasses were basically magnifying lenses riveted together (hence the name) and were better-suited for scrutinizing the faint underwriting on the pages of dusty tomes in the Imperial Library. Supposedly they made the wearer over-dependent and as helpless as a mole without them, but the eyes of the _sensei_ still looked like those of a hawk and felt like they could probe straight into her soul and banish her to the netherworld.

Sakura stiffened on her knees in front of the low table. Although she was constantly at loggerheads with her tutors especially about what made a proper lady proper, mainly because she doubted very much that her _senseis_ had any inkling of what that concept meant in that day and age, the tutors were acting under strict instructions from her grandfather. Now, her grandfather was someone she wouldn't dare disobey. Her mother, Crown Princess Chiharu, she could reason with and disarm with her Puppy Eye Technique. But to go against her grandfather, Emperor and head of the Imperial House, it would take a more powerful and probably martial skill.

_If only Father was alive_ , Sakura thought to herself and repressed another sigh that seemed to come from the lowest depths of her heart. Her hand was moving the brush elegantly and fluidly over the scroll. Ideally she was tracing the old strokes closer and closer to perfection, but in reality she was just going through the motions. According to the calligraphy _sensei_ , perfecting her brushstrokes would lead to the improvement of her swordplay. If that was true, Sakura thought, she'd be a master swordsman by now.

Her father, fallen heir to the Gold Lotus Throne, was the greatest swordsman of his time. He was killed in a cowardly attack by assassins of the Clan of Dragon when Sakura was still a child. She remembered more of that day than anything else about her father, which was kind of messed up but nothing she could change.

The assassins from the Dragon Clan had transformed the Grand Hall into a sea of fire and looked like demons in her child eyes. Indeed, rumor had it that they had traded their souls for power and their bodies were nothing but empty shells for the dark elements. But they were still identifiable through the traditional red garb of the Dragon ninjas, complete with the _mempo_ or faceplate that covered their faces from the nose down to the chin. Those faceplates were made of both iron and leather with a lacquered finish. They depicted the nose-tendrils and fangs of their spirit animal.

It was no secret that their target had been Belshazzar's Scroll. It was the most precious of all the relics in the possession of Sakura's clan, handed down to the prophets by the gods of creation themselves and entrusted to their care and protection. So it had been for many years. So it would be till the day of truth.

The Clan of Crane had carried on a proud and vigilant tradition as keepers and protectors of the scroll. Using both the martial and mystic arts, they kept raiders at bay. Sakura's late father was the greatest embodiment of that Crane Clan spirit, wearing his immaculate-white _sh ōzoku_ and leaping into the flames of the enemy like a giant white bird spirit that was light and airy and yet full of substance, sacrificing his own life and leaving his loved ones behind.

Before Sakura realized it, a tear had fallen from her eye and ruined the ink on her parchment. Perhaps the calligraphy _sensei_ would understand. She quietly sniffled and wiped the corner of her eye with the long wide sleeve of her white kimono with the huge drum knot on the back. It took her a while to lift her bowed head to check the _sensei_ 's reaction but as soon as she did, she realized something was wrong. The _sensei_ 's typically watchful eyes weren't trained on her. He was listening to something outside, his head cocked.

It was the Imperial Guards shouting: "Over there! Over there!"

"Stay here, Sakura- _hime_ ," her _sensei_ instructed, putting out all the candles and lamps in the room with a simple wave of his hand. With surprising agility, he slid open, stepped out of, then shut the door, throwing the room into darkness except for the pale sunlight seeping in through the paper windows.

As the commotion went on outside, Sakura floated backwards to camouflage herself with the banners and shadows of the wall and tried to regulate her breathing. Through her yoga training, she had learned to reduce her breathing to the point that her heartbeat and metabolism would become very slow and her body would conserve energy. She had resumed sitting _seiza_ -style, which was half-kneeling half-sitting, this time in the dark and fighting back her curiosity with all the restraint she could muster.

As heir apparent, she wasn't allowed to put her life in danger. Hundreds of palace guards would also throw themselves on the blades of the enemy before they would let any harm come to her. Sakura appreciated the selfless devotion but felt like any normal seventeen-year-old girl would: like a sitting duck.

What was all that about? Something unexpected so rarely happened on the peaceful Ethereal Nest so what could it be? She was burning to find out.

Then, all at once, as an ominous fulfilment of the saying "be careful what you wish for," she felt the sliding door of the calligraphy room soundlessly open and then just as quietly shut. Someone had entered the room and, judging by the air disturbance and minute pressure shifts, it wasn't her _sensei_.

Sakura let her eyes adjust in the dark. She could make out a shape right beside the entrance. It was human and crouching parallel to the door, only its profile visible to her. Then her heart gave a leap because she could discern the color of the ninja's _sh ōzoku_. It was red!

The Realm of Cranes was scattered amid the peaks of the highest mountains in the East, veiled by clouds. On the other hand, red ninjas of the Clan of Dragon inhabited the very fertile lands at the foot of volcanoes. They enjoyed the hot springs there and tapped the burning energies from deep within the earth to forge terrible weapons of war. Seeing a member of the Dragon Clan here now was like seeing a mole on an eagle's nest.

Sakura could hardly bear the suspense. It had been a decade since the last sighting of red ninjas on the Ethereal Nest. Who was this? A thief?

As though the red ninja could sense her, it turned its head to the shadows that hid Sakura. Sakura calmed herself again by meditation to become invisible.

Her camouflage appeared to be working, which was a relief. But then she saw the red ninja raise his hands to make the hand seal of _Jin_ , the Inner Bonds, which would bring his awareness to a heightened state. He put his hands together, fingers interlocked. Then, to Sakura's great surprise, he even whispered the mantra in esoteric Highland tongue: "Through the Infinite, I know the mind of each and all." His eyes momentarily glowed red in the dark.

The _Kuji Kiri_ or the Nine Hand Seals was a set of mudras or hand signs. Originally developed by the mountain pilgrim monks of the Ethereal Nest, they were used to purify ninjas under the raging torrent of a waterfall. By forming hand seals, a ninja was able to summon their ki (energy force) to perform their desired technique.

The particular hand seal the red ninja was making would give him the power to read the thoughts of others. It was very useful in scanning dark spaces for the presence of other ninjas. But the shocking thing about it was, the thought-listening technique called _Chounouryokujutsu_ was supposed to be unique to the Clan of Crane, the white ninjas. Right now Sakura was looking at a member of the Clan of Dragon who knew how to execute it.

She could counter the offensive technique with a defensive one of her own, to shield her thoughts from his prying mind. But she focused all her energies on staying calm and sitting perfectly still, mainly because the multi-tiered sword stand was far to her left. The swords were all neatly arranged for display like the glaives and the hollow armors, too far out of reach in the face of a determined red ninja and his shurikens, flames, or both.

Sakura decided the next best course of action. She decided to surprise him by giving him a taste of his own medicine and communicating with him on the psychic plane. This was _Ishin-denshin no Jutsu_. The Mind Transmission Technique. Maybe she could distract him until an opening to tumble to the weapons presented itself.

_\- Who are you?_

The red ninja was aghast. He whipped out a shuriken from the inner pocket of his jacket. When he fanned it out like a hand of cards, it was revealed he actually held six of the wicked throwing stars instead of just one. More than enough to seriously injure an unarmed princess at that distance.

But then the red ninja regained his composure and tried, rather belatedly, to demonstrate either courage or innocence. With a slight hesitation, he slipped his shurikens back inside his jacket.

_\- My name is Temujin, of the Clan of Dragon,_ he spoke in a voice that he might've deepened on purpose. He was now using the pidgin language of the Lowlands, which was very different from the melodic cadences of her Highland mother tongue but which Sakura had been trained to understand and speak.

_\- I am Sakura-hime, of the Clan of Crane. I am pleased to make your acquaintance._

By adding the suffix "hime" to her name, she identified herself as a princess because it was very likely no secret to him now that she was in fact one.

She had always only used the Highlands language of the Cranes, which epitomized high-mindedness and erudition to anyone who heard it. It was her first time to use the Lowlands pidgin because that was the only time she ever needed to do so. It felt a bit strange and uncomfortable to be communicating in the foreign tongue, but she knew her diction and blending were on point and the intruder would understand her.

Sakura bowed low as she was taught. Without moving from her kneeling position, she lowered her body from the waist, hands sliding over knees till her fingertips touched the floor, momentarily leaving herself open to attack. It was mainly out of habit but she also didn't want to break decorum and show that she was afraid. In hindsight, it extended courteous treatment to anyone, be they nobility or commoner, same clan or enemy clan. Perhaps the red ninja would appreciate the gesture and be softened or see reason.

The man who called himself Temujin gave a slight bow in return, if awkwardly.

_\- Tell me, Temujin, what brings you to our home?_ Sakura kept up the calm crisis negotiation.

_\- I, T-Temujin..._ the red ninja stuttered, which almost made Sakura smile, _... have come to warn the House of Crane of an impending attempt at Belshazzar's Scroll._

_\- On behalf of the Realm, I thank you for your efforts, Temujin. But if you finish your mind scan you will see that there is nothing to fear and I have no reason to lie to you. Belshazzar 's Scroll is safe and not even me, the Princess, have knowledge of its precise location. _

Temujin looked at her as though to ask permission. Sakura nodded.

Soon, she felt his mind probing hers. Ninjas of the Clan of Crane were masters of the power of _Jin_ , the Inner Bonds, not only for delving into another person's thoughts but also for hiding one's own. This time, she let him enter without resistance, still as a sign of good faith.

_\- Forgive me, Your Highness,_ Temujin finally said after he was satisfied with what he found. _I have underestimated the security arrangements around the scroll and have insulted you by_ _expressing my fear so urgently. Moreover, I came to the Ethereal Nest and this room without invitation. _

Sakura was pleased with the reversal. It seemed even a red ninja could be taught eloquence and manners.

_\- I accept your apology. But now that you know so much about me, it seems unfair that I should know very little of you. And so, for my first question, please tell me... how did you come to know of our Chounouryoku Technique? I didn't realize the Clan of Dragon was also trained in the spiritual arts._

_\- They 're not, Your Highness. I am but an exception to the rule. I was trained by a pilgrim monk from your homeland the Ethereal Nest. You can rest easy that only I among my clan know it.  _

_\- Interesting,_ Sakura replied. _I would like to meet this wandering monk and --_

All at once the paper of the sliding door was torn and Sakura screamed. A snare pole had thrust through, catching Temujin's left hand and nipping any fire attack in the bud. The weapon was exactly like a snare pole except instead of a loop of rope at the end, the wielder manifested a noose made of either wind or vacuum which deprived Temujin of his fire-making abilities. The wielder also yanked the whole person out through the paper door, widening the hole and causing Temujin to tumble outside.

Sakura rushed out of the arts room using short-range teleportation, to skip the unprecedented choice of sliding the door open or simply going through the large hole in it. The first felt silly while the second was unbecoming of a lady, into whom the two-stage process of sliding the door open had been hammered during tea ceremony. Everyone beheld the sight that hadn't been witnessed on the Ethereal Nest for many years: a red ninja was being restrained on both sides by members of the Imperial Guards.

"I'm not a thief! I came here to warn the Emperor! There will be an attempt on the scroll tonight!" Temujin shouted through the _mempo_ mask __ over his mouth.

"Not a thief, eh? Then a spy! That's what you are!" the guard on Temujin's right said and threw a punch to the red ninja's side, eliciting a groan.

"That's enough," Sakura ordered and the guards stiffened. She walked in stride towards the group on her high _geta_ wooden shoes, which was no mean feat. They made her look much taller, very elegant and commanding. _What do you know_ , Sakura thought to herself, _those lessons do pay off_.

"Please take your mask off and identify yourself to them," she requested Temujin gently. She looked into his eyes, which were the only part of his face not covered by the faceplate mask. In them was a mixture of emotions: fear, confusion, and hatred. He didn't respond.

Sakura held the top of the intruder's ninja mask and slowly removed it. The swarthy face of a young man looked back angrily at his captors and uncertainly at Sakura, whom he was seeing for the first time up close. Sakura was taken aback. She hadn't expected Temujin to be so young, about the same age as her.

He was lanky and his face was slightly pinched, with high cheekbones, but what stood out was the enhancement of his eyes by his hair. Apart from flashing a glint of defiance, those eyes possessed the monolids typical of the Eastern region but their color was a deep hazel brown below his long black bangs. On the Ethereal Nest, everyone had cerulean eyes and white hair regardless of their age.

"Take him to court," a new voice spoke from the left and Sakura saw it was the First Minister, standing by the huge doors which had just opened and led to the Grand Hall. This character was even more dour than the calligraphy _sensei_ and resembled an Ibizan Hound in Sakura's rich imagination.

The guards dragged the prisoner into the doors as the young ninja continued to struggle and protest his innocence.

Princess Sakura was left standing in the hallway as the huge doors closed with a resounding sound. It was only then she realized she was still holding Temujin's red mask, which included the _hachi-gane_ or forehead protector. This consisted of a headband and a piece of metal plate from the many forges of the Dragon Clan and was engraved with curves and spirals suggestive of a dragon.

For Sakura, a sighting of that mark was as rare and magical as the beast itself.

## Chapter II: A Story from the Mines

That night Sakura tossed and turned on layers of featherbeds. Temujin had been locked up in the dungeons as per the Emperor's orders but no extra precaution had been taken to ensure the safety of Belshazzar's Scroll. In short, they didn't take the red ninja's warning seriously.

Sakura hated to admit it but the Clan of Crane could be supremely confident about their appointment as guardians of the scroll. Although it was true that the section of the Treasure Vault leading to the most coveted power source in the world was riddled with booby traps and various obstacles, and not even Sakura had heard tell of what those were precisely, there was still a human variable in the defense system: the chief architect who had devised the whole thing. Unless the Cranes were a barbaric people who killed helpers just as soon as they had rendered their service, the chief architect was the weak link. And criminal elements always seemed to know exactly where to apply pressure to get what they wanted.

Sakura was aware that Cranes didn't have much experience with the criminal mind. She respected and admired the Emperor, her grandfather, but she of all people knew how stubbornly proud her clan could be.

She had now gotten out of bed and was pacing her chamber. It was no use trying to force herself to fall asleep. It was counter-productive and, well, unrealistic.

In the end, she made up her mind to pay the dungeons a visit. If anyone caught her out of bed, she could pretend she'd been sleep-walking. She'd done this before on one occasion - ok, maybe more than one - when she snuck into the castle pantry.

First, she made a hand seal to invoke the pair of bronze lions that stood guard at the temple gates on the Ethereal Nest. One had its mouth open to pronounce "a" and was called the Alpha Lion; the other had its mouth closed to pronounce "un" and was the Omega Lion. This time, Sakura called on the first. She pressed her hands together, fingers interlocked except for thumbs, ring fingers, and pinkies which were straight and touching. The last two fingers were also separated to form a V shape or bird beak. She chanted: "I am one with the Infinite Divine Energy."

This particular hand seal, _T ō_, granted harmony with the universe and thus a state of extreme lightness was achieved. A bright white light tinged with many shifting colors emanated from and then sank back in her solar plexus.

Through long training and meditation, elite Cranes had learned to focus their ki to either levitate or teleport themselves. Sakura could manage these techniques in short bursts. For instance, she could will herself to become as light as a feather and travel limited distances without her feet touching the ground. This was _Karumijutsu_ or the body-lightening technique. Basically, she manipulated her own gravimetric field, which involved some degree of psychokinesis, also an innate attribute of white ninjas.

Far-range teleportation was a whole other level of skill she was yet to master. So, the old-fashioned way, she picked the spots in the wood floors that didn't creak and landed on them like a ghost playing hopscotch. She was familiar with all the right spots even in the dark and she had left her socks on for added sound-dampening.

Down in the dungeons, the floor would give way to stone and what she had to worry about was echoes, dank walls, and the pervasive "cooped-up" smell. But she was too excited about the prospect of seeing Temujin again to care.

**×**

The guard was fast asleep inside his armor. He stood in the long narrow corridor that led to a block lined with individual cells. Not all the blocks had sentries, which indicated that they were empty. Sakura predicted all the other cells in this particular block would be empty, too, except for Temujin's. They didn't have much crime in the Ethereal Nest and she was positive the Emperor would have given instructions to hold Temujin apart from any other prisoners.

Sakura manipulated what little wind there was in the dungeons to carry her feather-light body. In the little moonlight that strayed into those bowels, she looked like an otherworldly apparition, airy and immaterial. Her meditation trainers would be so proud if they saw her. Of course then they'd scold her for using her abilities to break into such an unsavory place.

She needn't have resorted to her ki powers anyway. The guard inside his full armor was sleeping very soundly. His armor was like some exo-skeleton propping him up while his head lolled and retreated like a turtle's inside its oversized shell. No amount of her waving right in front of him could wake him. It must be very uncomfortable though, Sakura thought, sleeping on his feet like that. Then she flitted into the block to find the right cell in the dark.

She didn't need to. A voice spoke in the pitch-blackness.

"Oh, it's you."

Sakura was startled the red ninja could see in the dark. She could barely make out his outline and the bars of his cell although they were only a few feet away. But it didn't escape her attention that Temujin chose to address her without her title and there was a certain coldness in his voice. It must've been the ill treatment he received at court and here in the dungeons.

"You have sharp eyes," she stated, rather than queried, in the pidgin language of the earth-bound clan.

"Dragon Clan ninjas can see well in the dark. We've lived most of our lives in it. Although I must admit, I almost mistook you for a phantom because of all the white sheets you Cranes insist on wearing."

All at once Sakura became conscious of what she had worn going to bed: a flimsy sleeping gown.

"Well, I assure you that was my original intent as a proud member of the house of Cranes," she retorted, feeling thankful for the darkness that hid the blush rising to her cheeks.

"You were only a phantom in appearance. You moved as noisily as a poltergeist," the red ninja rudely added.

Now Sakura's face was as red as a cooked lobster.

"That's rich coming from a burglar caught right at the entrance." It wasn't in Sakura's nature to trade barbs with a commoner but she had always held that princesses should learn to improvise.

"I'm not a burglar!" Temujin spoke angrily, stunning Sakura who had rarely heard anyone raise their voice at her. Also, she worried the sentry in the corridor had heard. Both she and Temujin waited a few moments in silence, listening for any sound of movement from him.

When there was no sign of the sentry waking up, Sakura said in a mature and calm voice: "Ok, I think we should start over. My name's Sakura and you're Temujin. I apologize for the conditions of your cell. We don't normally deprive anyone of light, whoever they may be. It's very inhospitable and uncharacteristic of the House of Crane. We are after all known as the Second Lantern of the World."

There was a long and brooding silence in the darkness where the red ninja should be. Sakura pictured him sitting on the floor in a dejected fashion, one knee raised and the other leg stretched. She hoped he wasn't looking at her, whether or not it was true he had the ability to see in the dark.

Sakura thought her offer of peace was going to be turned down. Then she heard his voice again:

"It's because of me." It was soft, barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"They had to extinguish all sources of light within a hundred yards of me or else I'll be able to manipulate them."

It dawned on Sakura that that was indeed the reason the usual sputtering torches had all disappeared, swathing most of the prisons in darkness.

"I see. My apologies," she said.

"Why do you apologize? It's not your doing, is it?"

"It's common courtesy to express sympathy for another person's pain," she reasoned matter-of-factly.

"Well, I think you apologize too much."

She ignored that, fearing another outburst from him.

"Can't you generate fire from within you?" she asked him instead. "With your ki?"

"Fire can never be created by man. It can only be borrowed. We, of the Dragon Clan, are direct descendants of the god Homusubi, who gave the gift of fire to all mankind."

"I know that story. My mom used to tell it to me when I was a child."

"Well, I'm sure your mom forgot to mention how Izanagi, the king of the gods, punished Homusubi for it."

"I am not aware of it," Sakura admitted, because it was not in the nature of a Crane to lie.

"He did. He had Homusubi chained to a rock, where a giant eagle tormented him day and night."

Sakura chose to remain silent. She had an inkling that the red ninja was aiming for shock value and that he somehow felt pleasure at her discomfort. The intentions of the young man were very new to her.

"And he punished mankind, too, by giving to them Pandora's..."

"What do you know about the threat to Belshazzar's Scroll?" Sakura blurted out.

Temujin was quiet. When he spoke again, it was with a haunted tone:

"I heard talk about it in the volcanic mines. You hear talk about everything down there, where children too young to defend themselves are forced to work for scraps of food. Like I said, we spend most of our youth not seeing the light of day, not knowing any games or playthings except by using our imagination, by listening to stories around the campfire and embellishing them, making them more pleasant, then passing them on to the other kids through the complex network of tunnels stretching all the way to the Southlands."

"I'm sorry. I did not know the volcanic mines were like that," Sakura said sincerely.

"Oh, it's just... life," Temujin answered, deep in thought. "And the darkness can be your friend. It holds no hidden dangers to you. It's clean and simple. Like a thick blanket over all your senses. And fire, well, fire is the greatest luxury the gifted of us can afford. It's useful and it purifies our meat. When we have fire, especially during winter, life is good.

"I myself was sold into slavery by my parents. I never knew who they were. The only connection I have to them is a little pendant that has hung around my neck ever since I was an infant. I was brought up in the darkness of the mines. It was the laborers who taught me how to speak and how to walk.

"We live in and around the volcanoes because of the hot springs and the forges. With the second, we fashion great works of beauty: rings of ruby, necklaces of silver, earrings of diamond. Some of them reach the heights of your Ethereal Nest because the Clan of Crane is our biggest trade partner during peace-time."

Sakura chose not to answer though she knew countless jewels and gemstones in the Treasure Vault and on their very persons indeed came from the depths of the volcanic mines.

"We fashion not only things of beauty but also instruments of destruction: blades, arrowheads, siege-engines; and it's not with a small amount of irony that some of our very creations come back to haunt us. Still, it's a universally accepted truth that, in all four corners of Panterra, the metalcraft of the Clan of Dragon is unparalleled.

"We dug - deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth. And in the same way the Tower of Ravel reached too high, we reached too low. We might have dug all the way to Yomi, dominion of Izanami. We knew because it was as though we had awakened something."

The quiet that followed was chilling.

"Something? What was it?" Sakura whispered in the gap.

"An ancient fire demon."

Sakura held her breath. The precise word Temujin used was " _hiyasha_ " which meant demon in both High and Lowland languages. They were mythical beings. Stories told by parents to scare their children. If the feats of the gods Izanagi, Izanami, Homusubi and so on were considered religious and sacred, especially by the Highlanders, the superstitions about _yashas_ and other evil spirits were impure and pagan. For purely entertainment value. Or were they?

" _Yashas_ are not real," Sakura said but even as she did, she didn't have absolute conviction.

"That's what I thought as well. But if they aren't, how could anyone work for one?"

"What do you mean?"

"The _hiyasha_ was in possession of a lump of the hardest mineral, Adamantine, also known as..."

"Heaven's Metal," Sakura finished Temujin's sentence under her breath.

"Precisely. A pack of _inugamis_ had made a trade with the _hiyasha_ in return for more Adamantine."

_Inugamis_ were yet another stuff of legend. The name meant dog-gods and referred to a breed of humanoid creatures, very tall and heavily built and exhibited a sort of frenzied violence in battle. But Sakura knew from personal experience that there was truth in the stories of those monstrous warriors.

"A trade? Why would they do that?"

"Because Adamantine is the only thing on the planet that can break the tube protecting Belshazzar's Scroll."

Sakura was dumbfounded. Myth and reality converged at this point, blended, and blurred. She even remembered her father telling her stories about how the crystal around the sacred relic was supposed to be unbreakable.

"You said a pack of _inugamis_ made a trade. From which clan were they?"

Before Temujin could answer, the prison block was flooded with blinding light.

**×**

The guards held up Everlite crystals, their light-blue glow bathing the dungeon. The rare minerals were capable of temporary fluorescence and were used as alternative sources of light, from way back when the Clan of Dragon restricted the use of fire in torches. They, too, had been imported from the Dragons, who had little use for them because of their natural fire-generating abilities.

The Ibizan Hound-looking First Minister was leading the party. He wore his long white official robe trimmed in gold.

"Sakura- _hime_!" the first minister shouted. "This is no place for a lady of the Imperial Family!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Sakura demanded even as her voice wavered.

The Imperial Guards had their swords drawn. Sakura glanced sideways at Temujin. He was gritting his teeth behind the bars of his cell, determined to bend or melt the iron with his bare hands. His eyes, as they reflected the flash of the Everlite crystals, flashed red.

"There's been an incident in the Treasure Vault," the First Minister explained.

Sakura was shocked. "Is it the scroll? Has it gone missing?"

The First Minister refused to answer. Sakura followed where his eyes rested.

"It's not his fault! He's been in his cell the whole time. I can testify to that! He couldn't have done it!"

"Take the princess back to her chambers!" the first minister ordered and Sakura was seized by a guard on either side. She struggled for a while, even attempting to teleport herself free out of reflex. Her body appeared to flicker but her concentration wasn't deep enough for such a technique.

"Take the prisoner out of his cell. He'll tell the Emperor the truth or we'll wring it out of him!"

"No," Sakura shouted. "Leave him alone! He didn't do anything!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

## Chapter III: How a Princess Should Act

Sakura cried her eyes out in her room. It was almost daylight but she hadn't slept a wink. She couldn't understand all the mixed emotions she was feeling. Mostly it was indignation about Temujin's innocence and her clan's unfair treatment of him. But it was other bigger issues too; older issues. Temujin just stirred up all the frustrations she'd been denying all that time.

On the strict regimen of a princess and under the watchful eye of the Emperor and his extensions, she felt like a bird in a cage. It was golden, but a cage nonetheless. There were also many things they wouldn't tell her; about her father, that day ten years ago when he passed away before her very eyes and left her and her mother. It was strange but all the knowledge she had of him was only what she could glean from History books and from her hazy memory of her childhood.

They had always treated her like a child, incapable of making her own decisions or surviving on her own. Every mistake she made was magnified in the eyes of her tutors and attendants. All her life thus far had been in preparation for her duties on the throne, for when she would then be seen through the public eye. She didn't want anything of it! She just wanted to be a normal person, do anything she pleased and go anywhere she wanted. Her tutors always told her that mistakes strengthened the spirit and made one a better person. But if they were going to catch her every time she tripped, how was she supposed to learn?

She felt suffocated, trapped. She screamed against her pillow so the sound would be muffled. Her tears moistened the pillowcase and she bit down hard. Because of her strong emotions, she was appearing flickery again, like the rapid images on a thaumatrope; a direct indication that she wanted to disappear but couldn't.

Temujin was the first outsider she had ever met. In her eyes, he represented everything free and spontaneous in life. And in spite of his rough childhood, she envied him his freedom, his spirit to do the unprecedented and break the rules.

There was a gentle knock on her chamber door. Sakura guessed it was her mother, Crown Princess Chiharu. She pretended to be asleep, turning over to her side with her back to the door. Her eyes were wet from all her crying but she stopped sniffling.

"Sakura? May I come in?"

She didn't reply. She heard her mother's voice telling her retinue to wait outside. She felt her slide the door open and shut then walk towards her. She sat on the edge of her bed. Sakura kept her back turned to her mother, shutting her eyes tight to squeeze out the stubborn tears.

"Sakura, I know you're awake," her mother's sweet and gentle voice rang in her ears. It was not a whisper but her mother had that unique ability to always sound calm and soothing. It pacified anyone who heard it, including Sakura's father. Sakura wished she had inherited that from her. "I also heard from the First Minister what you've been doing."

_The First Minister!_ Sakura thought to herself. _When I become in charge, the first thing I 'll do is fire all the Emperor's advisers! _

"Listen, my daughter. I know it's been very rough for you without your father and with the weight of the throne on your shoulders. I think I have some idea how that feels. But I want you to bear in mind that everyone just wants what's best for you. We **do** know what's best for you. And all these things, they're all very confusing now but, in the end, everything will work out fine. Just believe in the people who love you. Trust in them. There are bigger things happening that you're not ready to know yet and it's our duty to protect you. As the Crown Princess and as your mother, it's my duty. We don't want you to do anything you'll regret."

For a moment, Sakura wanted to say something to her mother. Her heart certainly yearned to do so. But she held back because they had been through the same discussion before. The same outburst and argument. Nothing would be different. Sometimes she felt that her mother, no matter how peaceful and content she appeared to be, was more of a prisoner than her. And how could she help her daughter if she was unable to help herself? Sakura kept her mouth shut.

She waited for her mother to say more. But she had finished. She had said her piece. She bent down to kiss the back of Sakura's head, her white hair, and rose. She gently slid the door shut and Sakura heard her and her retinue's footsteps receding.

For crying out loud, what's wrong with me! Sakura thought to herself. What's more, how can I fix it?

The problem was they didn't trust her enough to do anything by herself. But how could she earn their trust if they would never let her do anything? If they would not let her leave the Ethereal Nest?

The First Minister had said there had been an incident in the Treasure Vault. That only meant one thing: that Temujin was telling truth and Belshazzar's Scroll, just as everyone feared, had been stolen. Only such a thing could throw the entire castle into a furor. And she was 100% sure Temujin wasn't the one who took it. He was even trying to warn them of it. If only the court or her grandfather had listened, they might have prevented the scroll from being taken.

To sum up, the scroll was missing and Temujin would most likely be executed for being an accessory to the crime or some such.

The question was: What was she going to do about it?

**×**

With the aid of an Invisibility Spell ( _Sukeru Majutsu_ ), Sakura was able to get into the Imperial Barracks without too much trouble. It felt weird using the powers of the elite mages against their own imperial troops, but Sakura steadied her nerves and reminded herself that what she was doing was for the greater good.

Now she was wearing her ninja garb, which was very similar to Temujin's except that it was completely white and didn't have the metal forehead protector or the face plate. Instead of those, it had an eye shield with lenses made of transparent mica and rested on the forehead of her mask when not in use.

But the biggest difference was, the _sh ōzoku_ of the Clan of Crane was more form-fitting and designed like a one-piece garment. There was a lot more to it than met the eye. Under the arms there were rivets and on both sides of the body down to the hips there were folded steel frames which, when hooked to the wrists, could stretch large flaps of silk. The Cranes had mimicked and adopted the mechanics of both the hand fan and the flying squirrel. The same flap of loose cloth could also be extended between the ankles, which would then serve like a bird's tail.

Contrary to popular belief, Crane _sh ōzokus _didn't grant its wearers the ability of flight. The suit let the white ninjas move through the air by gliding, often from one cliff face to another, while slowing descent and lengthening time in mid-air. The first prototype was created by a white ninja who floated using a giant kite.

Sakura passed by Imperial Guards in all manners of vigilance. A few were napping like the one she encountered in the dungeons (she now hoped he hadn't gotten into too much trouble) while many were at the ready and alert upon the slightest sound or sign of trouble. Several times she only narrowly avoided being discovered by a highly-sensitive sentry or patrol. She would pass very close to them and overhear their conversations, but every sound she perceived at her state of invisibility was garbled as though she was moving underwater.

Still, she was able to gather enough information. The whole castle had been placed on high alert because, just as she feared, Belshazzar's Scroll had gone missing from its supposedly secure and confidential location. Temujin was being blamed for this because, as per the court's ruling, he had distracted the castle defenders and was in effect complicit in the theft. When he was unable to share information beyond what he knew, the court deemed he was refusing to cooperate and decided to have him executed by daylight, which meant Sakura just had a few hours to uncover the truth, if that was at all possible.

The punishment would be beheading, as tradition dictated. The fact that Temujin had been assigned the most severe penalty on the Ethereal Nest showed the gravity of the charge. Belshazzar's Scroll was the most powerful relic in all of Pan-Terra and the Gold Lotus Throne would do anything they could to retrieve it, or teach a harsh lesson to those who would hinder their goal.

Now Sakura had reached the Armory. If her guess was right, here she would find all the red ninja stuff that had been confiscated from Temujin. She figured the best way to tell if Temujin was lying was by checking if every part of his story fitted. She could do that by studying his possessions. Detective work, forensic science, and logical reasoning were staple skills of a fledgling ninja.

She rummaged through shelves of close-range weapons - _ninjato_ and _wakizashi_ swords - then those for long-range fighting - grenades, shurikens, knives, blowguns - till her eyes settled on a box that was clearly set apart from the rest.

She knew at once they were Temujin's belongings. First, there was the familiar bright red color of his _obi_. For some reason, his jailers thought it best not to let him keep his belt. Next, there was a pair of tiger claws. Individually, those consisted of two iron bands conjoined by a leather strip; the upper one slipped around the palm and had spikes embedded in it while the lower one fitted around the wrist. These were an original invention of the brown ninjas of the South and were designed for climbing trees, but they were sometimes borrowed by the other clans for scaling castle walls.

There were also several _kunais_ (throwing knives), a pair of sharpened _sai_ knives with their prongs curving fire-like, and a _kusari-gama_ , which was a sickle at the end of a long chain. Dragon ninjas were renowned for their skill in wielding the _kurasi-gama_ , which looked stunning when lit with their trademark flames.

A curious thing was a pair of gloves with flint and steel attached to the palm of either, but then she recalled what Temujin said about red ninjas needing at least a spark within a hundred yards of them to command fire.

Acting purely on instinct (which her trainers sometimes encouraged), she tucked all the items away in the inside pockets of her _sh ōzoku_, in her _obi_ belt, under her gloves, and in her collar. She did everything quickly, before she could get cold feet. Then something caught her eye.

It was a necklace with a unique pendant. The necklace itself was made of pure silver, though judging by its appearance it was ancient and hadn't been well-maintained. The pendant was something else entirely. It was the symbol of a dragon claw clutching something white, like an egg. But the whole thing had been broken in two and the other half was probably hanging at the end of another necklace. Perhaps around the neck of Temujin's biological parent?

She quickly pocketed the memento and resolved to visit the dungeons again. To do what exactly, she wasn't sure. But everything Temujin had said so far was the truth and she was definitely not going to let the Imperial Court execute an innocent person. So, she was going to set him free. And after that?

She knew she'd be in a lot of trouble but there was still the slim chance she wasn't going to get caught. This, in its raw, incomplete form, sounded like a plan.

**×**

"Stop right there!"

Sakura froze in the dungeon corridor that led to Temujin's cell block. The Invisibility Spell was potent and only elite members of her clan could master it, but there were a few special people who had the natural ability to detect a white ninja even when they were at the invisible state. Those people had the gift of sixth sense, which meant they could perceive things that other people couldn't, like ghosts, future events, and princesses taking a stroll way past bedtime.

One such clairvoyant guard was coming closer with his spear pointed menacingly at her. Unfortunately, behind her ninja mask, there was no way for him to recognize she was the princess. Meanwhile, the rest of the guards remained at their posts, confused who their fellow guard was addressing.

Sakura steeled herself. There was no turning back now. Once the guard grabbed or struck her, she wouldn't be able to maintain the level of concentration needed to keep herself invisible. She had to do something.

She slipped her hand into the inner pocket of her _sh ōzoku_.

"Show me your hands! Put them up where I can see them!"

She did as she was ordered but when she took out her hand, it held in them one of Temujin's red gloves and the flint and steel attached to its palm.

The guard's eyes widened in comprehension.

Sakura hurried to strike flint and steel together while wondering if the guard would keep hesitating to impale her; if she was close enough to Temujin's cell; if he had been listening; if his hearing was good enough to catch the sound of a spark being made. So many ifs.

A tiny spark blossomed between the two pieces.

The guard's spearhead thrust at her hands and she dropped the flint and steel to grab and stop the spear's wooden body.

There was a deafening whoosh as the spark transformed into a giant blaze that was somehow shaped like a bird; a red bird. Sakura guessed it was probably the _Suzakuken_ or the Red Bird Attack of the Dragon Clan. She had heard stories about it. It pushed Sakura and the guard away from each other.

Sakura landed on her back on the cold stone floor. All at once she was completely visible, her white uniform slightly burnt, smudged, and smoking. The jig was up and Sakura had lost the element of surprise. The spear the guard had thrust had instantly been reduced to ash. The guard himself fell hard across from Sakura, struck his unhelmed head, and lost consciousness.

The rest of the guards quickly responded by drawing their swords and raising their _tate_ wooden shields which, history hadn't taught them, could easily burst into flames. With a loud shriek, the fiery bird glided in the middle of the corridor and swept aside all guards with its searing heat. All except one.

The warden, who now stood in the way of the bird, had the rare privilege of standing face to face with animate fire. The towering firebird bent down its head to pick with its beak the ring of keys hanging from the warden's belt.

The warden cried out in pain as his belt and the fabric of his pants burned. The top of his pants disintegrated in an instant and they fell down to around his ankles, exposing his undergarment. As embarrassed as he was, the warden couldn't pull his pants up before he fainted from both fear and the extreme heat.

The red bird lifted its head with the key ring in its beak. The metal sizzled and blackened at its fiery touch but it held. The bird took off again and rounded the corner to the cell block.

Through Sakura's smoke-filled eyes, she saw that the firebird didn't come back out. Instead, a figure walked calmly into the corridor.

As she lay dizzy on the floor, she registered Temujin standing in the middle of the burning corridor with guards slumped on either side of him in all states of disorientation: coughing, crawling, conscious, semi-conscious. Then she saw Temujin make the hand seal of _Py ō_ and heard him speak the mantra: "I am without fear." This would allow him to channel his ki and unleash more flames.

"No," she shouted. "That's enough!"

From where she was lying, Sakura made the hand seal of _Rin_ for strength, and executed the _Mienai Kekkai Jutsu_ or the Invisible Barrier Technique. She manifested a curtain of steady airflow that acted like a force field around the nearest targets of the red ninja's fire.

Temujin was taken aback, but he yielded and left the flames as they were and even turned down those that had gotten too high. Sakura watched his gaiter-tied shins and straw sandals step towards her and then hesitate just a few feet away, as though he was deciding what to do with his rescuer.

It was at this point she blacked out from the smoke and exhaustion. All her sneaking around had taken its toll.

Nothing is going according to plan, she thought drowsily.

## Chapter IV: Homusubi and the Eagle

Sakura was woken up by strong winds blowing against her face. She opened her eyes groggily and saw the glare of the sun above her. She turned her face away and tried to turn over to her side.

"Just a few more minutes," she mumbled to her chambermaid.

When she couldn't turn or twist her body, she opened her eyes and looked down at... the ground two miles below! She screamed.

"Whoa!" Temujin cried out from somewhere above her. "You're awake!" he shouted above the roaring winds.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes because Temujin appeared to be _riding_ a giant eagle.

Sakura was sure it was a giant eagle because the beast actually twisted its neck to peer down at her even as it continued flapping its gargantuan wings, stirring up a hurricane around her. The eagle made a series of high-pitched chirps as though to say something to her, who was by deduction clutched in its huge claws. The grip was not so tight as to squeeze the breath out of her but it was definitely not a comfortable spot to be in, especially because of the height.

"What in heaven's name is this?" she screamed.

"This is Griffin. He's a Harpax eagle."

The eagle chirped again as though in approval of Temujin's introduction. It seemed the creature was chatty in its own eagle way.

At Temujin's signal, Griffin stopped flying forward and started hovering in the air while still flapping his wings. Then the eagle carefully took Sakura out of his claws with his beak, picking her up by one of her legs. Sakura screamed as she momentarily dangled so high above the ground.

With a practiced movement, Griffin flicked his beak and sent Sakura flipping 180° over his massive head. Sakura landed directly behind Temujin, who was straddling Griffin's neck.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" she screamed, making Temujin temporarily deaf.

They made a few pitiful attempts at conversation. There were so many questions Sakura wanted answers to. For starters, how Temujin managed to bring her to Griffin or Griffin to her, how Temujin came to have such a pet, and whether technically she had been kidnapped or she had defected. But since it was almost impossible to hear each other above the noise of the wind and Temujin, unlike Sakura, didn't have any protection for his eyes, whatever conversation they managed soon petered out and all they could do was wait till they were on safe and quiet ground.

**×**

They chose a resting spot deep in a bamboo forest, away from the line of sight of any search parties on gliders that would've been sent out by the Gold Lotus Throne. They tended a fire that Temujin had generated and, having taken off their ninja masks, ate roasted pikas.

Griffin had expertly spotted the crude burrows under bamboo stumps and fallen bamboo shoots. Temujin then flushed out the small egg-shaped mammals with his flames. At first, Sakura didn't know whether to feel pity or disgust because of the animals' cuteness and round ears, which resembled those of rodents, but when the smell of cooking meat wafted in her direction, her royal stomach grumbled. Besides, according to Temujin, pikas were more related to rabbits.

"Harpax eagles are very unique creatures," Temujin spoke when they had eased their hunger. As though understanding the compliment, Griffin fluffed his chest and let out a call like a cackling laugh. "The main diet of Harpax eagles consisted of the moas that used to dominate the Backlands."

Sakura had read about moas. They were flightless birds akin to ostriches with a duck-shaped bill, but instead of feathers they had hair on their bodies and no wings, not even vestigial ones. A moa could grow up to twelve feet tall with its neck outstretched, though they preferred to carry their heads forward. They also made a call like a plaintive trumpet. And like Temujin said, tens of millions of these ungainly creatures used to roam and graze the grasslands of Wet End, till man learned to domesticate them as transportation and hunted them to near extinction for their meat.

"A good-sized moa could weigh up to five hundred and ten pounds but Griffin here can carry one off very easily."

This time, Griffin preened himself very intently.

"I said Harpax eagles are unique because they evolved very rapidly, perhaps too fast for their own good. They changed exclusively in response to one species of prey. It was said that their ancestors were only normal-sized eagles. And for a while their legendary flocks did flourish, but then the ecosystem was thrown out of balance by man, who both hunted down the Harpax eagles and gave fierce competition by drastically reducing the population of the moas.

"I met Griffin inside a cave in No Man's Land. This was when I fled from the mines and the bounty hunters contracted to bring back runaway slaves like me. When I found him, Griffin was in his molting period right before reaching maturity. Trust me, you wouldn't want to face a Harpax eagle when it's molting.

"I was fourteen years old then; he only six, but already big enough to bite me in half if he had wanted to. And he must've really wanted to because I bore the brands of the Clan of Dragon and the mines. Red ninjas and Harpax eagles don't get along very well, you see. Thanks to the legend of the Bringer of Fire Homusubi and his punishment, red ninjas had been notorious for hunting down Harpax eagles in a coming-of-age ritual. Either this or putting them in cages for amusement.

"A molting Harpax eagle would have its beak and talons encrusted with calcium, its feathers coated with oil and dirt. At that time, Griffin was like a dull arrow that was no longer good for hunting because it made a whistling noise when fired, alerting what little prey there was to be found in the emptied Backlands. And catching the attention of human hunters, too.

"Griffin had been like this for a couple of months when I stumbled upon him. There were very few remaining Harpax eagles to tend to him during the crucial molting stage, so he was weak from lack of food. He could barely lift his head to fend me off, and when I shone the light of my fire in the shadows, a horrible sight greeted me. His eyes were partly blind and didn't react at all. He had smashed his worthless beak, plucked out his feathers so he was bald in places, and rubbed off his talons into stubs. No human should bear witness to the raw transition of such a magnificent creature.

"I almost killed him right then and there, out of pity. In fact, he seemed to be daring me, urging me with his blank stare. Though he couldn't speak, I understood one thing from his isolation: he had come into the cave to die.

"But I took care of him. I hunted for our food and fed him. For four months I did that. I saw a kindred spirit in him. We were kind of the same, you see. We were both orphans and alone in the world. All we had was each other and the bare instinct to endure and survive.

"Soon, the harsh natural process that was ingrained in his biology, that first tried to kill him off, ended. His feathers, beak and talons all grew back, and became far more efficient than they ever were. He had a growth spurt. He's twelve years old now but he reached this size six years ago. He became more beautiful than he ever was. You know that saying what doesn't kill you makes you stronger? His molting stage was the epitome of that. I've never seen a stronger spirit rise out of such a destructive fire."

**×**

Sakura returned all of Temujin's possessions that had been confiscated from him, one by one and the necklace with the halved pendant last. Sakura knew what that particular possession meant to him so they were both quiet as she handed it over.

Finally, she asked: "Does my grandfather think you kidnapped me or I ran away?"

"What does it matter? If they see us, they'll shoot me with arrows and rescue you."

"You're right. I guess it makes little difference. What do you plan to do now?"

"I have to retrieve the scroll or find the people who actually stole it. I have to clear my name or Crane soldiers won't stop hunting me. I can't be running my entire life."

"Good call. I'll go with you."

"What? No. You stay here and meet your rescuers once Griffin and I have flown away. You can't come with us."

"Who are you to tell me what to do? I will do what I want. Belshazzar's Scroll is missing and it's my responsibility to my clan and my future realm to find it, and since you're my biggest lead, I'm going with you. Besides, you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"Oh no, no, no. That's not how it works, Princess. Down here you don't get to give orders. I don't have to do anything you say."

"Why did you bring me then?"

"Oh, I don't know. I had to do something. I just saw you lying there in the dungeons and you helped me escape when I never asked you."

"Yeah, right. If it weren't for me, that ungrateful head of yours would've already said goodbye to your neck. You should've just left me in the prisons if you didn't care about me."

"I panicked, ok? I figured whatever you were trying to pull off, it was very ill-planned. I thought you'd better get your act together somehow, think things through, and then meet your rescuers once you're more rested or something."

"I don't think so, mister. I think you were so scared you wanted to save your skin and took me hostage. I was a backup plan to protect yourself."

"I did not kidnap you!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Griffin, who could only make guesses about their human conversation cocked his head quizzically. First, he turned to Temujin and then Sakura. He was bewildered how such a peaceful conversation could go south so fast.

Then the two ninjas were quiet, each of them sulking, seething.

It was Sakura who spoke again first: "None of that matters now because you're forgetting one very important thing."

"What's that?" Temujin asked angrily.

"Even if you do find Belshazzar's Scroll or the bad guys (and that's a very big if all on your own) you still need a good word to the Emperor so you don't get executed. Or did you think they were going to take the word of a Dragon ninja like you?"

Temujin kept quiet. Sakura knew the point had hit home.

"And who else in the entire world can do that for you? Why, only me, Princess Sakura, granddaughter of the Emperor and heir to the throne."

Griffin squawked at Temujin as though to rally behind Sakura.

"And how are you gonna deflect all the arrows when they come flying at you? You may not have meant to take a white ninja as a hostage but it was the smartest thing you ever did. Even if you hadn't planned on it, you better let me do my job as your shield. You're the first person they want to harm and I'm the last."

Griffin squawked again to second Sakura's argument.

To Sakura's surprise, Temujin squawked back at Griffin. Then he made a couple of extended, high-pitched cries before finally screeching.

Griffin seemed to understand and responded with a different sequence of sounds.

This went back and forth for a couple more turns as Sakura watched dumbfounded. It sounded as though the discussion had shifted to pet and owner.

Finally, when they had reached some sort of agreement, or impasse more like it, Griffin and Temujin both fell quiet and Sakura saw her cue to get back in on the debate.

"You speak Harpax?"

"Not really. Over the years we kind of developed our own language. I just always try to read his mood and then guess from the context what he would want to say. He does the same thing with me I suppose. And somehow we just end up understanding each other. Of course sometimes our guesses are completely off the mark."

"That's so cool," Sakura complimented sincerely. "What did he say?"

"He wanted to know how much you weigh."

"WHAT?"

Sakura had never been so insulted in her entire life. Then she launched into an angry tirade: "Well, you tell him, you tell the giant eagle with the umanicured nails, that I'm the lightest excess baggage he's ever gonna carry. Well I never! I'm as light as a feather!"

Man and bird looked shocked at this outburst.

"Are you sure you're not just reading him wrong?" Sakura eventually asked.

Temujin laughed at how swiftly she changed moods, then Sakura joined in good-naturedly. Even Griffin seemed to get the joke and expressed his appreciation with a sort of braying peal call.

## Chapter V: The Plan

"If you're going to join us, we need to set some rules. First, don't ever slow us down," Temujin said sternly.

"I won't. On the Ethereal Nest, I'm nicknamed Sakura Swiftfoot because I'm fast like that."

Temujin brushed that off.

"Second, no princess tantrums. You come with us of your own accord and at your own risk. We're not going to pamper you just because you feel uncomfortable. And when a fight breaks out, don't expect us to jump in front of a spear to save you. We'll try to work as one but when the going gets tough, you're on your own. "

"Look, no crown. I'm just a plain ninja."

"Third and last..." Temujin paused for suspense. "Minimize conversation. As you can imagine, Griffin and I are not used to talking a lot."

"Done and done. I'm as quiet as a mouse. Why, on the Ethereal Nest, they used to call me Murmuring Brook because..."

"Ah-ah," Temujin cut her off, wagging a finger and then pinching an invisible mote in the air. "Shut it."

Sakura had no choice but to do as she was told.

"Do you agree with all these rules?"

Sakura smiled sweetly but did not open her mouth.

"Nod if you mean yes."

Sakura nodded.

"Very well then. We'll let you in on the plan... I've already told you about the rumors in the mines, about how a group of _inugamis_ had made a blood pact with the _hiyasha_ in exchange for more Adamantine."

"Yes, that's what I've been meaning to ask you," Sakura suddenly cut in. "Do you know which group of ninjas made the deal with the fire demon? They could only be fire-wielding ninjas, right?"

"That's what I thought as well. The stories aren't very clear on this."

"Could it be Tamerlane's group?" Sakura finally asked the unmentionable. No particular ninja had been held accountable for the death of her father, but on the day of the attack, the leader of the raiders wore the red _o-y ōroi_ armor whose lacing and crest were associated with Tamerlane.

Temujin looked her straight in the eye. "But that could only mean Tamerlane has somehow achieved immortality. That guy has died more times than a cat's got lives. If that was true, he'd be, what, a hundred and thirty years old now."

Sakura shook her head, more to herself than to Temujin. "No, you're right. It can't be him. Even if he had somehow survived through the Age of Darkness, it was Father's ultimate act of sacrifice to trap him and his men with the _Shinpu-Ren Majutsu_."

Both Sakura and Temujin fell quiet.

Temujin was the one to break the silence: "All right, I'll tell you what I know. What the stories say is that the _inugamis_ were made up of ninjas from a completely different clan."

"What clan?" Sakura asked nervously. "Bear? Tiger?" then, under her breath: "Crane?"

Temujin hesitated, but not because he doubted the accuracy of the information. "It's either a combination of all of them, or none of them."

" _R ōnin_ ninjas? Wanderers?"

"The stories tell of ninjas of a new clan."

"What? But that's impossible. What's their mother element?"

Temujin shook his head. "Nothing we've ever known before."

Sakura was stunned. This was a whole different set of challenges all together. She was starting to feel way out of her league. Like she was in the middle of something much larger than them, dealing with legends that were older than time itself.

"Don't worry," Temujin reassured her. "You've got the best detective on this case. There's another piece of information I haven't mentioned to you yet and this is our next clue."

Sakura leaned closer in anticipation.

"How the thieves knew about the exact location of the scroll and the design of the security system could have only been through the chief architect of the Treasure Vault."

Sakura felt her excitement rising. Her hunch was right! The human element in the security system was the chink in the armor, and the chief architect was where the bad guys put pressure to get to the Vault.

"All we need to do now is find this architect and make him tell us who he shared his top-secret information with," Temujin proudly finished, thinking himself so clever for coming up with the lead.

Sakura waited eagerly for the rest of the plan. When she realized there wasn't anything else, she asked: "That's it?"

Temujin looked as her thinking: Aren't you impressed? But there was just the faintest glimmer of doubt in his self-satisfaction.

"And how do you propose to find this chief architect if you don't even know who he or she is?" Sakura asked the obvious question.

"Well, Ms. Know-It-All, a clue is better than nothing. If you must know, I tried to convince your supercilious court to give me this piece of information but they threw me behind bars instead. At least we have a lead that we can follow up. Even if we knock on every door on the Ethereal Nest to ask about the chief architect, that's still faster than consulting a crystal ball, which I think you and your kind are wont to do. And if we get our hands on some Yellow Scrolls, we can narrow the search down to a few dozen professional architects. How hard can it be?"

Sakura couldn't let the insult about the crystal ball pass. White ninjas were mages; they were not cheap fortune-tellers.

"How hard? You expect us to go around the realm knocking on every single door like almanac hawkers? When your face is on every wanted poster?"

"Well, actually, I expect you do it. You're their princess after all."

Sakura glared at him. "That's the worst plan I've ever heard in my entire life."

"It's better than nothing. It's not like you have a better alternative."

"Actually, I do."

"Ok, let's hear it. If you're so smart."

"First of all, don't go announcing yourself on porches like some loud ninja. Go to the back doors, every town has them, even the cleanest ones. Find the sleaziest tavern, the most questionable establishment, where falsehood and shrewdness are the order of the day and murderers rub elbows with mercenaries. Then slip a gold coin to the bartender or whoever's in the know."

Temujin stared at Sakura, wondering how a princess came up with such an idea or knew of such places. He had to admit he was slightly impressed.

"You expect us to enter a tavern of the most blood-thirsty, gold-hungry ruffians in your realm and hope they don't sell us out to the authorities? What if they decide to kidnap you instead?"

"Actually, I don't expect me to do it. I expect you."

Temujin's slight admiration turned into a scowl.

"And correction: it's not gonna be the worst tavern in MY realm. It's got to be the worst tavern in the Northern Ice Province."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Why?"

"Remember when I told you your plan was the worst I've ever heard in my entire life?"

Temujin nodded, as slowly as his brain was following her logic.

"I would know because, growing up as a princess, I was secretly privy to the keyhole and closets of top-level meetings among generals and royalty. I'm a veritable chest of geopolitical secrets."

"And what a close-mouthed chest you are..." Temujin rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, but softly.

"Whatever. I know for a fact that the best architects in the realm are not from the Clans of Crane, Dragon, or Tiger. They're from the Clan of Bear, in the Ice Province."

"Blue ninjas?" Temujin said incredulously. "You're saying a blue ninja designed the safest, strongest and most secret vault in the Treasure Hall of the Clan of Crane? Tell me, why would the Cranes trust a ninja from another clan with a task of earth-shattering import?"

"Because we're trusting and optimistic."

"Or naive."

"Right back at you. Don't you know that people in the Northern Province are famous for their constructing skills? Dragons are excellent metal-workers, Cranes mages, Tigers hunters, and Bears, they're builders."

"Nonsense. I don't believe that for a moment."

"You should. I happen to have studied a thing or two about architecture and design in the Imperial Academy of Science and Technology."

"You were being tutored for calligraphy," Temujin reminded her.

"Oh all right! I was home-schooled. The point is, do you know about the two moments of creation?"

"Nope. Now, what are those?" Temujin asked with exasperation in his voice.

"Every builder must create an object twice. First in his mind and second in the physical world. Every builder, from the carpenter to the master architect, knows this. If you can't create anything in your mind first, you'll be wasting a lot of time, effort, and resources. First, you need to make sure all the measurements are accurate before you start cutting things. You need a master plan."

"Are you talking about blueprints?"

"Exactly! You're not as slow as you look."

Temujin let the jibe pass.

"The only difference is, in the case of the Bear Clan, the blueprint is an actual construct instead of a piece of paper. The reason they're the perfect natural builders is because they can create ice structures first. Blue ninjas have a natural aptitude for imagining, planning, and constructing mazes and obstacle courses, among many things."

Temujin was quiet for a while. Finally he said:

"Ok, I have to admit I'm impressed. I never would have imagined the creator of the impregnable Treasure Vault was a ninja of the Bear Clan."

" _Yatta_!" Sakura screamed in triumph, beaming proudly.

"But... let me get this straight. You want us to fly all the way to the North on Griffin here. Then once we get there, we enter the most suspicious tavern we could find and ask the bartender for information about the chief architect?"

"No, we use my divination stones to pinpoint who the chief architect is. The tavern plan is too dangerous and could get us killed."

Temujin stared at Sakura in disbelief. Griffin, seeing the reaction in his owner's face, mimicked it and also turned to Sakura.

## Chapter VI: The Next Clue

Sakura prepared to cast a Divination Spell ( _Uranai Majutsu_ ). First, she knelt and made the _kuji-in_ hand seal of _Retsu_. She held her left hand palm-forward in front of her chest with forefinger raised. Then, with her right hand she gripped the forefinger and pressed her right thumb onto its nail. This represented The Wisdom Fist and allowed her a peek into the space-time fabric. She chanted: "I am one with the energy of manifested reality," and the spot right between and above her eyes flashed briefly.

What she was about to do was open her mind to different flows of energy. All matter consisted of energy waves that were constantly being re-created. Visualizing this re-creation would grant her incremental control of time.

Having geared her ki properly, Sakura took out a _kinchaku_ drawstring purse from the inner pocket of her ninja suit. From it, she spilled magic gemstones and an odd collection of things. Temujin recognized pieces of lapis lazuli and hematite but there were also vials of oils, a dried-up seashell, small rolls of parchment, a paintbrush and an inkwell, and a small book with white covers. She even asked to borrow Temujin's pendant.

"Would you like some candles?" Temujin asked her.

"Why? Do you have any?" Sakura retorted but the red ninja wasn't sure if she was joking. She started dabbing oils on her forehead, face, hair, and hands.

Next, with a twig she drew a circle in the ground that was big enough for her to sit in. She divided the circle evenly into four teardrop-shaped swirls, within which she placed objects at certain points. As she stepped into the circle, the whole circumference lit up with energy. She took the lotus pose in the center.

She cast the Invisibility Spell but only halfway, making her appear sort of there but not there and inspiring a high-pitched cry from Griffin. Then she uttered the incantation of the Divination Spell and wrote symbols on a piece of parchment. When she had said the last words of the incantation, the objects she had placed in the circle all glowed a fierce white, like effusion rising in waves. Sakura threw her head back and rolled it around her neck. Her eyes, alarmingly, had been infused with the same white glow and her lips let out a soft moan, scaring Griffin so much that he took a couple of steps back in his awkward, rocking gait. Even Temujin tensed and instinctively readied his legs to run.

Sakura opened her right hand palm-down and Temujin's pendant dangled at the end of its necklace. But it looked like it was defying the law of gravity because it was pointing more and more upwards instead of down as though blown by the fiery white effusion. Like a pendulum bob that had swung to a near-horizontal position.

Finally, Sakura's whole cross-legged form shone dazzlingly like an earthly star.

**×**

The purpose of the spell was to help Sakura tap into the recesses of her memory where she might have missed something important. If she was lucky, they would offer her a glimpse of the future as well.

Sakura ignored the small warning in her head. Novices were discouraged from casting a Divination Spell because, in her _sensei_ 's words, it was "imprecise, subjective, and unpredictable." Some mages-in-training also became obsessed with either the past or the future to the point that they languished away from the present.

Sakura began to see through the perspective of her younger self, many years ago when she was still wont to hide under tables to eavesdrop on grave, state-level meetings with the Emperor or court officials. She would sometimes be caught but they would dismiss it as harmless playfulness. Besides, what could they do to her? She'd be presiding over the same meetings in the future so she might as well have an early start.

Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized one of the several pair of legs she could see from under the table. It was her father's. He was still alive and well. He never got the chance to rule as Emperor but he had seen to the resolution of some of the most vital issues of the realm. She felt a sharp pang of nostalgia and grief when his voice, deep and commanding as a drum, floated down to where her three-year-old self was hiding.

Her father was a soft-spoken and serious man. Indeed the secrets of the realm he kept bottled up inside him were not meant for ordinary men, and the duties he had to carry on his broad shoulders were Atlantean. Still, he was not immune to the charms of his one and only daughter and he could be coaxed into singing an out-of-tune lullaby when it was just the two of them. Sakura would join in and hum along, and that somehow always knocked her father out faster than she could bring herself to sleep.

Everything she saw in the divination episode was blurry. Like sand dunes swept ceaselessly by strong winds, the images had frayed edges that were stretched and spiky. Meanwhile, the voices and sounds were muffled and echoey, like how she would hear real ones whenever she summoned invisibility.

The grownups were having the first rounds of talks about the security designs for Belshazzar's Scroll. This much Sakura could gather. Just like in a dream, it was impossible to catch the exact words being said. All she could hear were _impressions_. Now the words were shapeless shadows of what used to be specific and real. They were in a middle state between being recalled and being completely forgotten.

Sakura focused all her attention on another pair of legs. This one, based on how everyone addressed the person and how the general flow of the discussion veered to and jumped off from him, was the chief architect. The ninja from the Bear Clan in the North.

Through three-year-old Sakura, the only things available within her field of vision were almost identical pant legs. Court officials of the Clan of Crane favored white baggy pants which complemented their tops with the very wide sleeves. All extra widths of fabric worked like a cat's whiskers and brushed against obstacles to alert them to any potential dangers. The clip-clopping _geta_ clogs would give way to tight-fitting _tabi_ boots when donning a white ninja suit. The _getas_ were cumbersome compared to the steel-toe-capped boots which felt like having nothing on the feet.

On the other hand, the foreigner from the North wore pantaloons made of lightweight and glossy caribou fur. The whole garment had been dyed a watery blue, which was the clan color, but there were inserts of white fur at the thighs. These light and dark strips signified the leg muscles and invoked the fleet-footedness of the hardy snow bird, the ptarmigan. The visitor's sealskin parka (fur to the inside) also had long flaps on the front and back. The back flaps he would always, with a discreet yet elegant movement, sweep to the right side as he sat down. Both parka and pantaloons were never inappropriate because blue ninjas always brought with them their own temperature.

Using the honed mental powers of her present self, Sakura paused the memory of the man's snow boots to glean any clue as to his identity.

The Northerner's boots were different from the white-ninja _geta_ boots in that they had been assembled from two distinct pieces: an upper made of dehaired seal skin and a sole that came up the sides of the foot without any seams, made of bearskin. Present-day Sakura guessed that such a design made the boots impervious to snow. Sakura even remembered receiving as a gift a white pair adorned with pompons, which she had worn only once in the mild winters of the Ethereal Nest.

Sakura concentrated harder, to see clearer.

On the visitor's boots, the instep and the lower part of the cuff were decorated with appliqued skin motifs. Sakura's gift was enhanced with a floral pattern but, on the man's boots, there was the recurring paw of a small animal that she couldn't readily identify. With luck, this would be the man's family crest.

Before she knew what was happening, Sakura's consciousness was whisked away to a completely different time. It was as though she had leapt several years forward and was at once seven years old. As it was in a dream, logic evaded her and it appeared as though the raid on the castle and the first attempt on Belshazzar's Scroll happened on the same day as the meeting with the chief architect. Sakura knew this was virtually impossible (the chief architect was yet to begin construction of the Vault) but her consciousness believed and existed in the moment nevertheless. Just as it was on that fateful day, the red-clad invaders had set fire to the Grand Hall.

Sakura could see the blaze even from her spot under the table, which was also odd. All participants of the meeting rose and cried out in alarm. They left the door open, giving Sakura front row seats to the painful event that was about to take place. She saw her father, just like she did so many years ago, rush towards the invaders in full ninja suit and with _ninjato_ blade drawn; brave and selfless. For the last time, he looked back over his shoulder at Sakura, pulled down the white cloth-wrap over his face and mouthed a message that only ninjas trained in lip-reading could understand. Then he turned his back on her with an ominous finality. He employed the best of the Clan Crane techniques so he looked both ethereal and majestic.

This was an accurate memory that Sakura had; the only thing dubious about it was how it flowed immediately from the secret meeting with the chief architect and the fact that she was a seven-year-old who still hid under tables. Powerless, she relived the tragic memory suffused with the same amount of grief and helplessness that gripped her child heart. She watched through eyes brimming with tears.

And yet upon the merging of her past and present selves, bits of new information were rushing in and mixing with what was fact. As she watched the red ninjas cut down her father, she caught glimpse of something that glinted on a red armor with carapace-like segments. The wearer of this particular armor was supposed to be Tamerlane, the dreaded leader of the pack. She tried to focus all her mental powers on him but it was not easy. The Divination Spell was slipping out of her control.

She could almost see the item, whatever it was the divination was trying to show her. She could feel it was something important. Like a wisp of knowledge, a forgotten name hanging on the tip of her tongue. It was very near and yet at the same time elusive. A bright obvious light that floated just in front of her, her fingertips could almost reach it. But then, all at once, she found there was a transparent barrier keeping it away from her.

Like the prime directive of an automaton whose scope of consciousness could never be bigger than that of its maker. Like a little girl crying against her mother's chest, unable to grasp the whole concept of loss and grief, unable to crumple it down to manageable size. Now it had gotten too large and too thick for her. Too big for any mortal mind to comprehend. It was starting to recede. Like a phantom she simply couldn't hold, slipping through the fine-toothed comb of her consciousness.

She was awakened by Temujin frantically shaking her by the shoulders.

**×**

"Oftentimes the mind takes us to places we don't plan to travel to," she explained to Temujin and Griffin as she sat back against the inclined roots of a tree, waiting to regain her strength. Griffin was fanning her gently with the tip of his large wing.

Her stuff and the symbols she had scrawled in the earth were back to their normal, unglowing state. They were just lines and odds and ends without her magic. The sight looked sad to Sakura for some reason. As though he could read her thoughts, Temujin picked all the objects up and put them away in her purse; his own necklace he tucked away inside the collar of his ninja jacket.

"Did you find the information we need?" Temujin asked, when she looked less fragile and the flush of life had seeped back into her face.

"Sort of."

"Sort of?" Temujin didn't want to demand but it was quite important. "What do you mean 'sort of'."

Sakura gestured for Griffin to bring her a nearby twig. Griffin was happy to oblige, looking a bit like a pet dog when he bit the stick between his huge beak and dropped it on Sakura's lap.

Without rising from her sitting position, Sakura drew another symbol in the ground. This time, it was not for a spell because it was only one thing. The potential family crest of the chief architect; what she had glimpsed in the divination episode. Or at least her closest rendition of it.

"What's that?" Temujin asked.

Griffin also peered curiously at the drawing.

"I was hoping you could tell me. It's a small animal's pawprint."

Temujin leaned over closer to the earth as though it was an actual track to investigate. "Well, you're asking the right guy. I am a master of tracking, you know."

"Oh please," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Just make a guess."

There were five toes. Long and thick with claws, and webbing between them.

"That, beyond the shadow of a doubt, is the print of a turtle," Temujin announced.

Griffin squawked loudly in protest.

"It seems Griffin's a better tracker than you."

But because Griffin can't speak, it became a miming game. Griffin took the twig from Sakura's hand, then rapidly opened and closed his beak on it.

"Capybara?"

Griffin shook his head. He then started lifting and lowering his tail feathers.

"Platypus?"

Griffin shook his head adamantly.

"Pelican?"

"Otter?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to shake her head. None of the names were ringing any bells. The way divination worked, she would know it when she heard it.

"Beaver?"

"That's it!" Sakura nearly jumped from her sitting position.

Griffin was also nodding his head energetically, slightly miffed that no one managed to guess what he had been trying to demonstrate all along.

"It's Babor," Sakura said, a bit mystified herself at the way everything came flooding back to her. The name meant "beaver" and was an old nickname for a hard worker.

"Yuri Babor. That's the name of the chief architect," she finished breathlessly. 

## Chapter VII: The Journey North

And so they set out to the North. At first, Sakura and Temujin clung to either of Griffin's legs to avoid being seen by Crane gliders who might be flying overhead, which included Sakura's search and rescue party and Temujin's shoot-on-sight fanbase.

As they advanced northward, they felt the gradual change in temperature which was a clear sign they were nearing the territory of the Clan of Bear, whose mother element was water and ice. Temujin radiated the ki from inside him to keep all of them warm: himself, Sakura, who sat behind him, and Griffin, whose neck was the only spot his heat could reach. Any hotter and Griffin's feathers would burn.

The drop in temperature went hand in hand with a decrease in light. At that time of year, it was night 24/7 in the territory of the Bears and it became harder and harder to see anything beyond the fire-glow that Temujin shone. The weather, too, had grown harsher. Snow was falling though they hadn't noticed when it started to, nor when it became a full-blown blizzard. Soon it was impossible to continue flying.

Temujin and Sakura decided to make a landing and take shelter. They had to shout over the howling winds to communicate this to each other.

Griffin swooped down and made a slow glide. Visibility was very low. After what felt like eternity in the biting cold, they spotted a large cave that was only partly hidden in the white expanse. Griffin alighted in what looked like the middle of nowhere and, after dropping off his passengers, shook off ice horns that had formed on some of his feathers. Temujin lit their way with one torch-imitating hand.

They entered the cave and felt so relieved to be out of the blistering cold. They could hear distant surf masked by the screaming wind and assumed there must be a beach nearby, but when they looked out of the cave they saw nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see. The absence of light was complete as though the womb of the world had opened up and swallowed them. This trampled their spirits.

The gnawing chill also got to them and they felt an exhaustion of both mind and body, which was why they all decided to skip their late lunch / early dinner and settled for sleeping off the bad weather and the oppressive darkness. They would worry about everything tomorrow.

Temujin kept a fire burning in a floor depression with some whale oil, which for some reason was abundant inside the cave. The area must be a hot spot for whales to get themselves stranded, Temujin thought. It must have a gently-sloping coastline or something.

_Yeah, that must be it_ , Temujin thought drowsily and yawned. Sakura and Griffin were both already fast asleep, the white ninja sleeping under one of Griffin's wings like a young bird herself. As he sank deeper into unconsciousness, Temujin stopped thinking of his fire and it drooped parallel to the depth of his sleep.

He awoke with a start. Sakura was shaking him. Or she was shaking as she clutched his ninja jacket, but not from the extreme cold.

"What is that?" she asked under her breath.

Temujin picked his head up and, through bleary eyes, saw two giant yellow orbs burning in the dark.

"That's just Griffin," he told her. "Go back to sleep."

"Um, unless Griffin grew an extra pair of eyes, I don't think that's him," Sakura said in the same tremulous voice.

There was a deafening roar and Temujin's eyes flew open. They all scrambled to their feet and backed away from the mouth of the cave, Griffin the slowest. The Harpax eagle let out his loudest screech in response to the monster battle cry. Sakura and Temujin covered their ears.

"Dragon," Temujin muttered to himself.

"What?! In this cold dump?"

"It's a **water** dragon" was Temujin's curt reply.

The northern lights must've started while they were sleeping because there was ruby-red light spilling from outside. Against this striking light, the dragon's silhouette pressed forward, undeterred by Griffin's warning. It loomed much taller than Griffin, its head almost brushing the ceiling of the cave and breaking some of the icicles there.

"Tell me," Sakura whispered, looking up. "Do water dragons breathe fire?"

Temujin looked at her flabbergasted. "You might as well ask me if dragons can swim."

"They can't, right?"

"Of course they can!"

Another knee-rattling roar from the newcomer. It sounded like the _Dragonese_ equivalent of "Get out of my cave." Temujin and Sakura shook from head to foot. The cave had suddenly felt so small as to be nearly claustrophobic.

"Grab hold!" Temujin screamed, referring to Griffin's feathers. With cyclonic force, the giant eagle ran forward while beating his wings.

Within the pitch-back silhouette of their worst nightmare, glowing embers in the shape of lungs appeared. The water dragon was like a bullfrog puffing its vocal sacs up before it sang, but in this case the croak was deadly and exothermic.

A burst of red-hot flames shot above them and barely missed Griffin's head, which he was quick to bob low, but it set fire to some of the feathers on his back. Sakura applied a layer of vacuum on the eagle's surface to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, she wasn't powerful enough to do the same thing for the entire cave or to stop the fire straight out of its creator's mouth.

Griffin let out a piercing cry of pain but didn't stop and butted the dragon's glowing chest. He pushed the fellow giant out of the cave's entrance. The dragon landed on its back outside, the light in its chest extinguished, causing it to choke a bit. Using its tail, it flipped itself over on all fours in the man-deep snow, its white scales blending perfectly with the environment. A sort of albino breed, it was both beautiful and lethal.

Griffin jumped up and, with his large lifter feathers, instantly got himself airborne. Now all he had to do was find a thermal or warm rising air to soar, which was not an easy feat in that place.

"Come on, Griffin needs our help!" Temujin shouted and grabbed Sakura's hand. Temujin made the frozen patch of ground beneath them very hot and a thermal shot up into the atmosphere. Sakura then kept the pillar of air in place by adding more wind. Griffin was quick to take advantage of this. He flew inside the thermal, stopped flapping but kept his huge wings extended while also spreading their tapered ends. His tail feathers opened like fans and he climbed as high as the warm air would carry him.

Griffin pulled back his wings into a more narrow point. Now he was gliding while falling slowly, and Sakura created other rising columns of wind to keep their altitude. Griffin moved from one to another. They were all three panting heavily in the barren sky, the rippling curtains of northern lights their only source of light, painting them an ominous red. Still, they were relieved for having narrowly escaped death.

"Have we lost it? It looks like we lost it," Temujin asked frantically, his normally dark-accustomed eyes straining to pierce the inky pool below.

"Oh, you should've seen your face!" Sakura tittered. "That was the most scared I've ever felt in my entire life!"

They all tried to calm down their racing hearts and the sudden rush of adrenaline. Griffin especially, whose heart they could feel through all his bulk and feathers, beating madly like a rapid volley of cannonfire.

"Can water dragons fl--"

Before Sakura could finish her question, a dark shape from overhead fell like a sudden eclipse. Sword-like fangs sank into Griffin's neck as walls closed in from everywhere to block all light.

It was the dragon.

"Nooooooooo!" Temujin shouted as Griffin struggled to get his wings free from the deathly embrace. The red ninja lost his grip and tumbled down the open bottom of the shroud and into the wide night sky.

"Temujin!" Sakura screamed and leapt after him without hesitation. The edges of her ninja suit trembled in the whipping wind and snow. It hurt to keep her eyes open.

She flattened her arms to her sides and hooked the steel that was folded on her hips to her wrists. When she spread her arms again, flaps of silk stretched taut under both her arms. She did the same between her legs by clicking the heels of her _geta_ boots together, creating a sort of bird's tail for stabilizing flight.

The silks flapped violently in the winds but they did not rip. Sakura was able to glide and slow her descent.

This was the secret ninja art of the Clan of Crane. Sakura's body had been made many times lighter by training in _Karumijutsu_. She was also built like a dancer and was perfect for maneuvering the suit. But every white ninja knew that, more than the suit itself, a ninja's technique and knowledge of attack-angles was essential.

She pinned her arms to her sides and the effect was instantaneous. She dove and started building up speed like a bird of prey. She lowered her head, swept back her arms to reduce drag, and bent her knees slightly, all the while listening to the wind and gauging her speed. White ninjas could reach speeds of up to 180 miles per hour before pulling out and gliding again.

She aimed herself at Temujin, who was plummeting backwards in a freefall. There was no time to worry about Griffin. The poor guy was on his own against the dragon.

As she streaked by Temujin, she let him grab the front of her suit. She tried to calm him down by looking into his eyes above his faceplate.

"I thought this was your spirit animal," she joked.

"It's a water dragon! I hate water dragons!" Temujin screamed.

It was nearly impossible to stay aloft with the symmetry of her suit compromised.

"Grab onto my belt!" Sakura instructed.

Temujin did as he was told and Sakura stretched out her wings and produced lift, slowing down their fall. Next, she pulled down her mica-lensed eye shield over her eyes. She started meditating for _Teikiatsujutsu_ , the Cyclone Technique, which if directed to the ground would provide enough propulsion for them to fly up and then gently descend. Theoretically.

The problem was, Sakura would have to skip the _kuji-in_ hand seal or else sacrifice her symmetrical body position, which was critical. Although it was pitch-black below, her mental calculations warned that the ground was getting dangerously close. It was rushing towards them, and at their current speed the impact was going to be bone-breaking if not fatal.

"I am conscious of and manifest the laws of nature," she chanted as calmly as she could.

She let out a soft grunt. It was very hard concentrating. She had always executed the technique with both feet planted firmly on the ground, never in mid-fall and never with an anchor hanging from her belt. As they plunged, she was torn between executing the Cyclone Technique and maintaining her surface area. Breaking the symmetry of her arm wings to thrust her palms downwards would force them into a dive.

She couldn't stop thinking of the oncoming ground.

_Here goes nothing_ , she thought to herself. She imagined her ki like streams of light, shooting from her navel to her collarbone before splitting into her arms. She cupped her hands but then felt something snap within her.

It looked like a white-hot flash inside her head and then an absolute calm filled the emptiness. Did they crash?

"Where are we...?" Temujin asked shakily.

Sakura reluctantly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the northern lights. They were overhead. Then she turned her eyes to their feet and saw crushed but solid snow. Excited, she swiveled her head. The cave was right behind them!

"We're on the ground!"

"What? How did you do this?"

Sakura stared at Temujin with shock in her face. "I did it," she muttered incredulously.

"Did what? What did you do?"

" _Bunkai no Jutsu_ ," she replied. Temujin mirrored her astonishment. She was referring to the prized skill of teleportation, which very few white ninjas were capable of, not even her grandfather or mother.

" _Yatta_!" she screamed and leapt about happily, doing a spontaneous victory dance. "I'm not sure how exactly but I did it! I did it!"

Her celebration was short-lived because from the sky they heard the approach of gargantuan wings. As much as they hoped they were Griffin's, both Sakura and Temujin expected to see the dragon. Indeed its silhouette descended with the unconscious Griffin dangling limp from its talons. At the height, the difference in size between the two Goliaths was obvious: the dragon was two-thirds bigger than the Harpax eagle.

"Why you -" Temujin gritted his teeth and made towards the monster. Sakura grabbed his sleeve.

"We need a plan," she said.

## Chapter VIII: The Showdown

The water dragon lowered Griffin's body to the snow-covered ground and then hunched over it, wary as any predator. The relentless winds swept the land and sometimes howled like angry spirits. They were enough to send frightened children under their blankets and push ordinary trekkers to the ground.

But Temujin wasn't ordinary. He was a ninja.

The dragon tensed and snarled when it saw Temujin ahead, making a lone stand in an extremely uneven showdown. His right hand was crimped on his side and blazing like a torch. Without it, he would be lost in the suffocating darkness. He was like a flickering candle on the edge of the world.

The dragon didn't mind. Its eyes glowed yellow in the dark. Just like Temujin, it was capable of night vision. And a dragon could see many miles ahead of it, much more than an eagle, even if it was a Harpax.

"Hey you!" Temujin shouted. "That's right. I'm talking to you, Ugly! That's my friend you got there. If you know what's good for you, you're gonna leave him alone right this instant."

The dragon seemed to understand the taunt because it stepped over Griffin and half-crawled, half-slithered in Temujin's direction, its long tapering tail wiggling in excitement.

At first the dragon crept gently and then it began charging.

"Ok, Sakura. Whatever you're planning," Temujin muttered nervously to himself, "you better do it now."

Nimble as a gazelle, Sakura was running right behind the dragon and its twisting tail. Then she was leaping from curl to curl, climbing efficiently up the long appendage. Every time she landed on the slippery white scales, her image appeared distorted and spectral. Unbeknownst to her, she was partially activating the _Kosoku Zanzo Jutsu_. This meant "Rapid Image Technique" because white ninjas had the ability to move so fast that it would appear as though there were many discrete copies of them, even as they were being left behind by the actual person. The effect was similar to the optical illusion created with a flickery light source. If you move your hand back and forth rapidly, it would appear as though it was leaving a trail of images behind.

Sakura had been training very hard to perfect the technique but she never could. Today was her lucky day. Apparently, she could perform many surprising things when she had the proper motivation.

Sakura went all the way to the top of the dragon's head and teetered there. She grabbed hold of the crown of short pointed scales on the back of the monster's head, which her books back on the Ethereal Nest had mistaken for horns.

The dragon, meanwhile, kept running and shrieking. It was unaware of Sakura's presence in the same way a water buffalo would barely notice the extra weight of a bird.

Just as Sakura predicted, the dragon stopped charging when it was a couple of hundred feet away from Temujin. It rose on its hind legs to contract its venom glands and squirt their contents upwards at high pressure. The dragon's skin was albino but translucent at its underbelly so its heart, liver, and intestines were visible. The red glow they witnessed earlier was the diabolic bioelectrical process the dragon was capable of. It was literally charging itself for the kill.

Sakura's plan was to extinguish the fire right from the source, at its earliest and smallest stage. She sucked all the oxygen from the fine mist of chemical reaction that was the dragon's breath.

_It 's working_, she thought to herself.

The dragon itself cocked its head Griffin-like when its attack didn't proceed as usual. It was rather comical.

_Thanks, Sakura_ , Temujin thought. _Now it 's my turn._

Temujin made the hand seal of _Py ō_ to channel his ki. "I am without fear," he chanted. With a smooth, practiced snap of his fingers, he created a spark with his concealed flint and steel. Then, with a guttural cry, Temujin released all the ki he could muster in a _Hi Iki_ _Ken_ (Fire Breath Attack). He had cupped his hands in the shape of a lotus flower and from between them surged layers upon layers of destructive blue flames.

Temujin gave it his all, aiming at the dragon's transparent abdomen and chest while being careful to keep his attack far below the head where Sakura was. Still, the heat of his blue fire was such that Sakura felt waves of it from where she stood, about twenty feet above the hellish spray. But she held on because this was their only chance at defeating the monster and surviving. Temujin was right, a water dragon's weakness lay in its transparent underbelly.

The dragon roared in both pain and anger at being given a dose of its own medicine.

When Temujin had spent all his ki and stopped, panting in exhaustion and falling down on one knee, the giant was covered in thick, billowing smoke.

_Sakura..._ Temujin thought, turning his anxious gaze upwards to where he saw the dragon's head last.

He didn't have to wait long because the ceaseless winds in that remote part of the world blew away the smoke covering their opponent. And the dragon was still there, standing like an unscathed gunslinger in a duel. Besides its normal horned face and pissed-off look, Temujin thought the creature was now actually glowering at him. There was no sign of Sakura anywhere.

His heart fluttered. It was a well-known fact that dragons had a fire-resistant and extremely tough hide, but if the water dragon was fireproof even at its underbelly, they were in serious trouble.

It was. Temujin couldn't believe his eyes but all his flames hadn't even made a dent in its flesh. The dragon's chest and belly were whole and unchanged, apart from glowing red-hot.

The dragon made another deafening roar as though to ask: "Is that all you've got?"

"Don't be easily disheartened," Sakura spoke as she gently alighted next to him with the aid of her _Karumijutsu_. Temujin had never felt so relieved to see someone.

Sakura had addressed Temujin without looking at him, in a very mature and fearless voice. And in that single moment, the red ninja felt his heart swell with affection for the white ninja. "Have you forgotten the lessons of curving a _katana_ , metal-worker? What comes after firing the blade in the forge?"

First, Sakura made the hand seal of _Zai_ , which was the Ring of the Sun and gave her control of the sky and the elements. "I am conscious of and manifest the laws of nature," she chanted.

From the ground beneath her, a circle of light appeared and radiated upwards. Next, she unleashed _Teikiatsujutsu_ - the Cyclone Technique - which gathered the stormy winds in that barren place and all the snow and ice that came with them. What she had failed to do mid-fall, she would now deliver with a vengeance.

She brought all the elements smashing against the dragon's glowing underbelly. The beast budged and used its tail to steady itself against the onslaught. It was determined to withstand the second attack and prove it was the king, the alpha predator of its domain.

What the dragon failed to realize was that Sakura wouldn't stop at hurling funnels upon funnels of wind. After she had super-cooled the dragon's underbelly, she launched herself in the middle of her own cyclone and withdrew a short wooden implement from her suit. Another ingenuity of the Crane Clan, the object turned out to be an extendable bō staff.

Near the mouth of her wind tunnel, Sakura teleported again. But she was so focused on what she was doing that she barely noticed. She ended up floating parallel to the dragon's chest and executed rapid combos of two-handed underarm spins with the bō staff. It appeared as though she was emerging from the cyclone in an invisible boat but she was pulling the oars so fast that she threw out sparks on either side of her.

The attack was akin to pinwheel blades repeatedly striking a surface; the only difference was, instead of paper, the blades were made of white oak that shattered the scales around the dragon's heart, spraying green dragon blood. The massive, extremely muscular heart was now exposed. It was the size of an outhouse and weighed at least three hundred pounds.

The dragon roared in pain and snapped at Sakura. Fortunately, the white ninja had anticipated its next move and had already generated a _Mienai Kekkai_ or Invisible Barrier. This time, it was a full sphere, making Sakura look like a gerbil inside a ball.

The dragon bit down. And though a white ninja could summon and compress air that was strong enough to support the full weight of an adult elephant, the dragon's powerful jaws managed to puncture Sakura's shield.

"Sakuraaaaa!" Temujin screamed and started doing a ninja's high-speed run. His body tilted ahead and looked like it was about to pitch forward, but he managed to sustain the precarious position with velocity, using many, lightning-quick steps and landing on the balls of his feet. He was running very rapidly without noise and his surroundings fell behind him in a blur.

When he was fifty feet away from the hind legs of the upright dragon, he started throwing _kunai_ knives from the inside his __ jacket without stopping or reducing speed. He threw them with such strength that they dug in the dragon's softened belly, making footholds all the way up to the monster's chest, but the gap between each was quite wide.

With an agile bound, Temujin alighted on the first _kunai_ foothold with nothing but his _tabi_ sock and straw sandal to protect his flesh. _Kunais_ had slender handles that were about fifteen centimeters from ring pommel to cord-wrapped tang, basically no more than nails. But Temujin was using his iron-will concentration which allowed him to walk on burning coals and do push-ups on a bed of nail. And if flesh proved weaker than spirit, he would just have to live with scarred soles. There was no time for second thoughts, only improvisation.

He rapidly jumped from _kunai_ to _kunai_ , throwing more of the short knives above him to continue his ascent.

With one last mighty bound, he rose and floated like a butterfly directly in front of the monster's beating heart. His hands were inside his jacket and when he took them out, he held in each a _sai_ blade. But instead of plunging the blades into the gargantuan heart, with quick eyes and almost surgical precision, Temujin identified the thickest and most rootstock artery. He thrust both _sai_ blades and, with their curved prongs, twisted and knotted this artery, effectively blocking blood flow.

Gravity finally caught up with him and dragged him down. But thanks to his handiwork, the already supercharged heart of the beast, capable of pumping blood up the creature's twenty-foot-long neck, started beating dangerously fast.

Temujin fell to a nimble crouch in the snow but, as he looked up, the dragon groaned and threatened to keel over. He ran forward between the timber-like legs just as the monster toppled with a deafening crash. Then Temujin ran back towards the dragon's mouth to check on Sakura.

## Chapter IX: Daybreak

The dragon was dead. It was lying on its belly and its chin rested on the ground, eyes and mouth shut and half-buried in the snow. There was no sign of Sakura anywhere.

_If she had been swallowed, she would have to be somewhere between the throat and the belly_ , Temujin thought, turning around and going back where he came from, scanning the dragon's considerable prostate length.

Strange sounds made him go back to the dragon's head. The facial muscles were fidgeting though the eyes remained closed.

With a clack, Sakura's bō staff projected, throwing the jaws open.

"Ewww! Don't ever make me do that again!" Sakura shrieked because she was covered in dragon spit. "Why couldn't we have fought a giant koala instead? At least that would've known about eucalyptus mints."

Miraculously, she was all right. Temujin felt so happy to see her and laughed through his _mempo_ mask.

_Giant koala, right._

All at once he remembered something and his eyes widened.

"Griffin!!"

If he was a white ninja, Temujin would've instantly appeared where his pet lay. But with all his remaining strength, he still managed to fly to Griffin's side.

He cradled the Harpax eagle's thick neck.

"Is he all right?" Sakura was right behind him, probably by teleportation. Temujin finally admitted to himself that Crane ninjas were the lightest and most fleet-footed of all the clans.

"He's got a pulse," Temujin replied, his jubilation tempered with anxiety.

"Your feet!" Sakura exclaimed.

Temujin had left bloody footprints in the snow.

"I'll be all right," he said.

Sakura believed him but thought he must be in pain. Still, all his attention was directed to Griffin.

"Let me try a healing spell on the two of you," she offered.

Apart from being practitioners of magick, the Cranes were also renowned healers. Sakura made the hand seal of _Rin_ or the Diamond Thunderbolt, which called on Griffin's and Temujin's strength of mind, body, and spirit. She chanted: "I empower you with vital energy."

Next, she made the hand seal of _Sha_ or the Inner Lion, which signified the second of the pair of stone lions that flanked the entrances of Ethereal Nest temples. This hand seal granted her the power of healing by connecting herself to the universe and its many vibrations, simultaneously increasing the rate of her own frequencies. "The flow of infinite divine energy flows through me to heal you," she chanted.

Once again she took out her drawstring purse and this time spilled out an amethyst, quartz crystal, the metal osmium, and others Temujin couldn't identify. Just as with the Divination Spell, Sakura carved in the snow a circle with swirls inside it, right next to the unconscious Griffin. Then she was uttering a spell and writing something on a piece of parchment. Soon, bright white light radiated from her heart and out of the ground to seep into Griffin's feathers and the soles of Temujin's feet. To his astonishment, Temujin's cuts closed instantly.

There was no visible activity from Griffin except for the temporary light but Sakura reassured the red ninja: "He's going to be all right. I managed to clean his burns and take out the dragon venom. But the cold and the elements aren't going to help. We need to move him someplace warm."

"How exactly are we going to do that?" Temujin asked. His question was drowned by the raging winds over that cold and barren place.

**×**

With the sunless dawn came the proverbial ray of hope. A gaggle of curious onlookers from the nearby villages had come and caught Sakura and Temujin asleep in the open. Last night, they were sitting close to Griffin and Sakura projected a giant dome of airflow around them (with a chimney on top). Then Temujin generated a fire to keep themselves and the whole length of Griffin warm. They must've been exhausted from the fight because they fell asleep that way.

They were woken up by the chatter and wide-eyed stares, just as Temujin's fire disintegrated into its last sparks and Sakura's air dome fizzled away. Naturally, it was still dark in the North but at least the weather had broken. Many of the villagers were carrying torches that threw a harsh light on the foreigners.

"Greetings, friends! And welcome to our humble little fell, Pukkitunturi in Wōdenland," spoke a jovial rather stout man who sported a lot of white, from his handlebar and long, squarish beard to his ermine-trimmed surcoat. A gray fur hat also curled like a live animal atop his head. He looked a little kingly and out of place.

As though his talkative self wasn't enough, the man had actually contracted a whole marching band to get his message of hospitality across. The band, who was wearing winter uniforms, started playing a cheerful and lively tune.

"Ok, ok, that's enough. You're gonna make us deaf," Temujin said, still wiping the sleep off his eyes.

The band's music died with a plummeting trumpet.

"Pardon my intrusion, young sir and miss, but is that what I think it is?"

Sakura and Temujin stood up and tried to make themselves as presentable as possible. "Yeah, this is Griffin. He's a Harpax eagle, one of the very few left. And this here is Sakura. She..."

Sakura poked him in the ribs with a very sharp elbow, still beaming all-out. Temujin was about to introduce her offhandedly as Princess of the Gold Lotus Throne but realized she was right. Keeping her identity secret would be best in their situation. Although diplomatic relations between the kingdoms were often not ideal and bogged down, heaven knows how far Crane spies had reached in search of their princess.

"... is a white ninja," Temujin finished unimpressively, stating the obvious.

"Well, welcome, welcome, you're all very welcome," the man spoke in the pidgin language of the Eastern lowlands. It would seem he was the only one in that place who knew how to speak it.

"I am Mr. Olsson and on behalf of the town of Pukkitunturi and all its neighboring villages, I wish to express our deepest gratitude for your slaying the Great Beast, the Devil of Sea and Ice," he said, gesturing to the dragon stretched out on the snow, where more of the fell denizens were either riding the dead body or posing in front of a wet plate camera.

"Ol' Bindy had been terrorizing villagers, spiriting away muskoxen, and monopolizing the fish. Having put an end to her fiery reign, you are now officially our town's heroes. And apart from the eternal debt of gratitude we owe you, you have gained for yourselves the bounty of five hundred pounds of gold! Yay!!!"

Temujin heard the sound of a slot machine paying out and his eyelids flying open mirrored the matching reels of a jackpot.

Right on cue, the wet plate photographer appeared in front of them. Having set up the strange wooden apparatus with three legs, the photographer tucked his head under a smothery, all-black tent which trailed behind the accordion-looking body. Right then the apparatus looked like a completely different breed: half-man and half-automaton with a total of five legs. An assistant stood beside and slightly behind the photographer, inexplicably holding up a frying pan.

Without warning, a flash and a loud bang exploded in the pan, illuminating the perpetual night. Foul-smelling smoke billowed and then dissipated.

Both Temujin and Sakura stood blinded and dazed. Mr. Olsson, meanwhile, didn't seem to mind and showed expertise and the uncanny ability to pose and smile for the camera at the most opportune time and for a full twenty seconds like a statue. As our heroes collected their scattered thoughts, a patter of footsteps revealed the weird animal had moved on to another interesting scene.

Before the town master could barrage them with more grand oration or another out-of-this-world contraption, Sakura spoke:

"People of Pukkit--"

Temujin prompted her.

"...tunturi, we're both honored and thrilled by your warm reception."

Sakura knew a thing or two about grandstanding. Mr. Olsson readily provided simultaneous translation.

"We thank you for the honor and for your boundless generosity. Nevertheless, we deeply regret that we must refuse the token of your gratitude. We cannot accept any reward because we have rendered the service out of a genuine desire to help."

Before Temujin could whisper something, she had poked him in the ribs again with her powerful elbow.

"Nothing would make us happier than to know you will put the generous amount you have offered us to good use. We hope it will enable you to rebuild your lives and make your town even greater. Apart from this, there is only one other thing we wish to ask of you. My companion and I seek an audience with a certain Mr. Yuri Babor. This is the main purpose for which we have arrived at your small but lovely town."

Mr. Olsson held up one plump index finger as though to say "Hold that thought" and turned to his personal assistant, who was a thin, ineffectual-looking fellow and hung around him like a disproportionate shadow. The assistant spoke loudly to the crowd in the local language of the Northerners, which neither Sakura nor Temujin understood.

One of the villagers responded to the assistant in the same language. The assistant then softly relayed the message to Mr. Olsson. The town master listened officiously to the report and then turned back to the heroes.

"A-ha! Noble guests, I have splendid news. The person you seek indeed resides within the borders of Wōdenland. However, he is in a village farther up from our fell called Blarjokull. Most of our region's _j ōnin_ families thrive there."

"Pardon me, sir, but aren't you _j ōnin_ yourself?" Sakura asked.

"My lady, you are too kind," Mr. Olsson bowed demurely. "I warn you that I am susceptible to flattery. Indeed I must now confess that I used to be _ch ūnin_. But alas, as much as I desire it, within these veins flow not a drop of blue blood from the _j ōnin _dynasties. All of us here are plain _genins_ now, apart from the two of you."

This made perfect sense. All the townspeople and villagers wore layers of hooded parkas, mittens, trousers, and boots, all dyed in the watery blue color of the Bear Clan, but not one of them wore an actual ninja suit. They were all _genins_ or ordinary ninjas.

Every inhabitant of Pan-Terra was a ninja since every human had ki within them and the potential for wushu. People used the ninja arts in their daily lives, especially those who had reached an exemplary level of excellence in their chosen profession. A baker would toss his dough high up in the air to spin and stretch it, a stevedore would move tall stacks of crates with freight hooks, a cook would rapidly slice vegetables without getting injured; all these people practiced wushu and thus were called _genins_ , ordinary ninjas who played very important roles in the daily operations of society.

The next class was the _ch ūnins_ or apprentice ninjas, who were training to master the craft and, compared to _genins_ , had greater skill in the martial arts and general ki control. They might be tutored by a wushu master or have lived with monks at a time in their lives. Temujin belonged to this class of ninjas while Sakura belonged to the third and final class.

The _j ōnins _were the master ninjas. They belonged to the few ancient families who had a natural and outstanding talent for ki manipulation. Many of them also took on leadership positions in the communities they belonged to. It was universally accepted truth that overachievement lay in the blood of _j ōnins_.

"According to the best estimates, a journey to Blarjokull would take..." Mr. Olsson paused meaningfully for the assistant, who in turn faced the knowledgeable villager.

The villager spoke again in the Northern language, the assistant made his report, and Mr. Olsson translated the message to Sakura and Temujin.

"Fifteen hours by..." Mr. Olsson checked again with his assistant, who was nodding many times rapidly, and continued: "By a sled of _jolfrs_ , winter wolves. Yes, a sled of winter wolves."

"Very well then," Sakura answered, making full use of her lessons on eloquence and diplomacy. "Mr. Olsson, may we request the best medical attention for our injured comrade, Griffin Iron-beak..." she made that one up on the spot, "and a sled of your fastest winter wolves to carry forth Temujin and me to our purpose?"

Temujin whispered something in Sakura's ear.

"Also, may we request that your most reliable blacksmith fashion some of Ol' Bindy's scales into a red ninja armor befitting a true hero of Pukkitunturi? Apart from this purpose, you have our express permission to do what you will with the flesh and all that remains of the former Terror of Sea and Ice."

"Done, done, and done," the town master was quick to answer, swelling with pride. "You have my word that our shaman shall tend your feathered steed. He shall receive the best treatment and recuperate in the biggest Sauna Lodge this town has ever seen. Since we are unable to carry him... um, we'll built the lodge right around him!"

There were enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.

"Second, our speediest team of _jolfrs_ shall take you wherever you wish to go, at the time most convenient to you. And you have my word that you shall reach the abode of this Sir Babor the soonest possible."

Again, more cheers.

"Finally, we shall be happy to extend the services of our expert blacksmith. I have just the person in mind. He's well-acquainted with the exquisite metal-work and fire application of the East. In fact, he supplies most of the blue ninjas' suits. It will normally take..."

The assistant held three fingers up.

"...three days for such a hero-worthy armor to be ready, but we shall try our utmost and pour our hearts to the task."

"We are both very pleased that you are able to grant all our requests." Then, discreetly, Sakura told Mr. Olsson: "One last thing..."

Mr. Olsson looked at her perplexed, but bent down to bring his ear closer.

Sakura whispered: "Can we have a word with your photographer?"

## Chapter X: Visions

" _Blitzlicht_ ," Sakura repeated the word to herself when she got the answer from the photographer. She let the foreign word roll on her tongue as though she could taste it, could see its physical equivalent again: Flash Light.

"It's incredibly bright," Temujin agreed, reading Sakura's thoughts.

"It's from a new solution," said the photographer, who had brown hair, blue eyes, and very pale skin. He also wore a monocle that barely hid the many layers of bags under his eyes. He looked more at home under the black tent of his creation than in the outside world. In Sakura's rich imagination, he evoked the image of a ki-sucking ghost called a _jiangshi_. His assistant, on the other hand, the one who had held up the frying pan during the photo op, looked like a gravedigger in an ill-fitting suit, like someone assembled from stolen body parts. He contributed very little to the conversation so the impression was enhanced.

"We mix fine magnesium powder with potassium chlorate," the photographer explained.

"If we vary the amount of the powder in grams, we could adjust the distance covered," Temujin thought out loud.

"Yes, that's right. But it has two major drawbacks, as you might've noticed. First, it's highly explosive. Why, twice I had accidentally set fire to my dark-room wagon. And once I set fire to my own clothes, and his hair."

Sakura and Temujin looked at the photographer's assistant. His hair did seem to be growing in uneven patches.

"What's the other problem?" Temujin asked.

"Oh, you already saw it. Or rather smelled it. It creates clouds of foul smoke."

Sakura was listening very intently, perhaps too intently. "That's good. That's really good. Where can we get some?"

Both the photographer and his assistant looked at her as though she had gone daft, but Temujin knew precisely what she was thinking.

**×**

Mr. Olsson wasn't just boasting about the Sauna Lodge. Denizens of town and village started building one right around the still unconscious Griffin. They looked like fabled dwarves or very small people around the Harpax eagle. They erected a structure made up of whalebones, which littered the area thanks to Ol' Bindy's voracious appetite. The ends of the whalebones were set into the snow in a huge circle that encompassed Griffin. They were naturally curving and formed a high domed framework. Then the entire frame was covered with driftwood and caribou and seal skins to create a hut.

Inside the Sauna Lodge was a central pit where big quartzite and basalt cobbles from the sea shore would be placed after being heated outside. Temujin could easily pitch in with that and heat them up to a fiery red in no time.

Temujin didn't give much credit to any village shaman's mumbo-jumbo about spirits and the spirit world. But he did know that to let Griffin's natural healing process do its job, they must get him out of the cold and keep him as warm as possible. And even with a crowd of helpful villagers, moving a Harpax eagle was out of the question. They had to bring the heat to him.

As fast as the Sauna Lodge was built, Ol' Bindy was unbuilt. As word of the felled dragon reached the distant villages, more and more people came - almost like ants. How they prepared the dragon for cooking was very efficient because everyone worked together. Sakura and Temujin couldn't quite put their finger on it but there was a certain dwarvish industry and precision in how the people in that frigid region worked.

In no time, the dragon was reduced to a hulking skeleton that was still slumped where it had crashed in the snow. Someone probably kept Temujin's pair of _sai_ knives as a souvenir because he never saw them again. People came away from the bones with strips and slabs of meat, hung on wooden sticks balanced over their shoulders.

It was brought to Sakura and Temujin's attention that the village blacksmith had begun working on the armor they requested, as soon as he had received the tough hide from Ol' Bindy. The intriguing craftsman who had knowledge of fire applications wouldn't be joining the festivities planned for the night, they were also told, in order to meet the deadline of three days or earlier.

The dragon's meat was cooked as roast, stew, steak, kabob, ground, burger; and in consideration of the guests from the East, steamed, deep-fried, pan-fried, and dumpling. The villagers also offered to make some dragon sashimi for Sakura, but the princess-in-disguise cordially refused. Besides, the pungent-tasting wasabi sauce that the Highlanders were so fond of derived from a plant that grew only along the stream beds in the valleys of the Ethereal Nest.

Almost inexorably, the feast began. There was a lot of singing, dancing, and drinking. The local drink was a distilled wine called _palovino_ or burning liquor. Sakura couldn't drink because she was not yet of legal age. Almost-twenty-year-old Temujin seemed to like it, as he liked all things that had any remote association with fire, including spicy foods. He always looked in pain when he was eating them though. But _palovino_ tasted almost medicinal in both taste and finish and was a bit too strong for Temujin, who was used to drinking beer from the town of Qingdao and the occasional expensive _sake_ from the Highlands, a drink fermented from rice with floral notes on the palate and a very long finish.

The traditional Pukkitunturian dance, on the other hand, was surprisingly light-footed, full of flourishes and claps, and whose rhythm Sakura could quickly catch before she performed the Ethereal Peak's very graceful and poignant Swan Dance, which everyone enjoyed in front of the big bonfire. Afterwards, she taught the children paper craft and made paper cranes that flapped their wings with the aid of her tiny breezes. It was evident that Sakura had had a lot of practice and training for the aesthetic arts. Temujin, on the other hand, proved to be flat-footed and sought to hide away from all the invitations and good-natured teasing by claiming to check on Griffin.

Griffin stayed asleep through the loud merry-making and in spite of Temujin's fervent wish that he regain consciousness. It was unnerving because Temujin knew from experience that Harpax eagles slept very lightly and awoke at the slightest noise. In especially tense or unsafe conditions, Griffin would even sleep with one eye open. Now, the fact that he was in a coma meant that he must have suffered a strong trauma to his head. In any case, just as the village shaman said, the only one who could help Griffin now was himself. His spirit was out of his body and roaming the spirit world, wherever that was.

Temujin added some new rocks into the pit in the center of the lodge to keep the temperature at a good forty degrees. He himself was sweating like a candle; he could only imagine how Griffin felt with all his down feather. He dipped water from a bucket and poured it into the hot stones, raising puffs of steam.

"Have you come to seek counsel?"

Temujin was startled. As the steam dissipated, he noticed the shaman, the original fire-tender, sitting cross-legged at the far end of the lodge. He thought everyone else was at the feast.

"Forgive me. I didn't realize you were still here," Temujin quickly apologized with a bow.

"That is all right. I am neither here nor there and I come and go as I please," the shaman answered in Temujin's Eastern tongue.

Temujin looked at the shaman more carefully. His overall impression of him was "Elephant Man," because the man was bald and had had his ear lobes stretched with big wooden disk gauges. His whole body was also covered in tattoo, as far as Temujin could see of his skin not covered by the shawl and the hazy atmosphere inside the lodge, which was starting to play tricks with Temujin's eyes - or head.

"Have you come to find yourself?"

"I am not lost. I know who I am."

"Everyone has a need to find himself from time to time."

Before Temujin could answer, the shaman threw something into the stones that made the fire blaze. Smoke came between him and the shaman and completely obstructed Temujin's vision. The last thing he saw was the old man's hands forming the hand seal of _Retsu_ , also called the mudra of Supreme Wisdom. His left index finger was pointing upwards and wrapped by his right hand.

The next thing he knew, he was back with Sakura and drawing something in the snow. This one was a recent real memory.

"Take a look. See? First, the dragon contracts its venom glands which contain both sodium and demineralized sea water in separate sacs. It squirts them upwards at high pressure. It's also capable of creating its own spark to light the exothermal reaction. This is bioelectricity; the red light we saw inside its underbelly. Next, both the dragon's fangs are special because embedded in them are L-shaped canals."

First, Temujin drew the shape of two fangs, then within them, the path of the spits.

"The exit holes direct both sodium and water in two forward sprays, then they mix and combust."

"I see..." Sakura said. "That's so ingenious! Nature indeed makes the perfect warriors."

"I wish I could do that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, ninjas from all the other three clans are capable of generating their ki to perform their _jutsus_. You can summon wind out of nowhere. A blue ninja from the Clan of Bear can reduce the kinetic energy of atoms and lower the temperature, thus generating ice on command. And a brown ninja from the Clan of Tiger can create and animate plant life. Only red ninjas are not able to create their mother element themselves. We need to always bring a source of fire with us. We cannot create fire, only mold it."

"That's not true," Sakura replied. "Why do you think white ninjas make the hand seal of _Zai_? We ask permission from the gods to use the sky and the elements."

"No, it's different because air, the ingredient of your wind, is everywhere. You know what I mean. If I hadn't had my flint and steel last night, who knows what could have happened? Something like that can decide the difference between life and death."

Sakura was quiet.

"Sorry to vent on you. I just wish I could do the _Hououtenku_."

"Just keep trying. I'm sure with enough training, you can. Nothing's impossible. I mean, there are tons of other Crane Clan techniques I haven't mastered yet. There's _Bunkai no Jutsu_ , which I can do only sporadically, _Bunshinjutsu_ , _Zikan Touketsu_..."

"Which one do you find the hardest?"

" _Bushinjutsu_ , the alter-ego technique. You create a double of yourself and this double does things just like the normal you. The things the alter-ego can do varies depending on the ability of the caster. Sometimes it's nothing but a ghostly image, sometimes it can even do the fighting for you. The thing is, I'm supposed to project two different personalities of myself, then incite the second one. It just seems impossible for me to do that because I'm so open. I'm always the same person inside and out. You can read me like a book."

Sakura paused as though waiting for him to add his own opinion of her.

"Er, I see what you mean..." Temujin fumbled for the next words. "But _Hououtenku_ is different. It's not a technique. It's just a myth that our ancestors made up. To give us hope that no matter how low the Clan of Dragon sank or how dark our history got, we will persist. I mean, think about it: an old bird that fans its own funeral pyre with its wings until it's fully consumed. From the ashes, a new being rises, a new red ninja - capable of controlling the kinetic energy of atoms to generate his own fire. I have better luck believing a story like Griffin's, because evolution just doesn't skip centuries like that."

"Who knows? This world has many mysteries we don't have all the answers to."

They were both quiet.

"What's the _kuji-in_ hand seal for it?" Sakura asked.

"The last one. Zen, the Hidden Form. For enlightenment."

" _Temet Nosce_ ," Sakura mumbled. "Know thyself."

As soon as she had said the words, Temujin was spirited away from her side to a phantasmagoric retelling of history. Temujin hadn't noticed when he had fallen asleep but here he was skipping like a stone over water, from one episode to another without the slightest logic or order. More urgently, he was deprived of the ability to pinch himself awake. It was as though he was inside a cocoon of sleep and sinking deeper and deeper inside it.

## Chapter XI: Roots

Everyone knew the story. The history books of all four clans didn't differ or sugarcoat. The Clan of Dragon used to have a strong and prosperous kingdom, the mightiest one in all the land. They were the best miners and blacksmiths, and they were the first people to master and command their element.

Members of the Clan of Dragon were considered the direct descendants of Homusubi, the fire-god. They hewed mountains and smelted rocks to build the stateliest castles and the most impregnable fortresses. They created hand weapons and war machines - repeating crossbows, hand cannons, trebuchets - that extended their power to all four corners of Pan-Terra. The exhaust of their smokestacks would sometimes choke the sky as far as the eye could see.

Their haughtiness reached new heights when they forbade the use of their element unless the other clans paid a tribute. And fire brought light and warmth, especially during the harsh winter season. It purified man's nourishment before it entered his body. The discrimination of the Dragon Clan was such that during the day when the light of the heavens shone everyone could bask in it, but when night fell, it was very dark indeed. There were no torches in the poor villages and where darkness spread, crime and superstition reigned.

Eventually, the Clan of Dragon prohibited the burning of incense and other offerings to the gods. They built a sky-high tower for all the world to marvel at but which also served as a monument of defiance to the gods. This was the Tower of Ravel.

From under the Dragon Clan's iron fist, the peoples of Pan-Terra each turned to the three other elements like a duck took to water. First, the Clan of Crane learned to harness the strength of the wind to run their mills and grind their grains. Second, the Clan of Bear prayed for the generous mother seas and rivers to provide sustenance in the form of fishes, who were said to leap voluntarily right into their boats in great numbers, offering their raw and clean meat as sacrifice. Finally, the Clan of Tiger became the most skillful hunters and learned to tame and domesticate (even speak with) the beasts of the land. For the lean season, the Clan of Tiger would grow fruits, vegetables and nuts, and store teas, spices, oils and medicinal herbs.

The gods didn't turn a deaf ear to the pleas of those who remained faithful. They were angered by the hubris of the Dragon Clan and took it upon themselves to restore order to the world. In their infinite wisdom, the gods knew that the Dragon Clan was too powerful for any half-hearted alliance to bring down, so they created a competition of martial arts skills called the Gold Lotus Tournament ( _Kinren Budokai_ ). Each of the four clans was invited to send only one representative. The inhabitants of the spiritual realm also decreed that the winner be awarded a unique scroll, passed down to the great oracle Belshazzar, as a symbol of the divine right to rule all the land.

Just as the gods had foreseen, the proud Dragon Clan accepted the challenge.

The Dragon Clan's representative to the Gold Lotus Tournament was a fearsome warrior named Tamerlane. He was the most powerful red ninja of his time.

It was a blind draw knockout tournament. The fighters from all four clans drew lots and were paired. Then, the ultimate ninja contest for the dominion of all Pan-Terra began.

The result of the tournament was best summed up in the children's playground song:

_Wind breaks Wood._

_Fire melts Ice._

_In the absence of Wind_

_Fire withers and dies._

As the rhyme had accurately preserved, the deciding match fell upon the representatives of the Crane Clan and the Dragon Clan. The Crane Clan's fighter was a man named Hanzo and was the uncle of the current Emperor of the Gold Lotus throne.

The two warriors fought with their utmost strength and abilities, to the death or near it, as the rules of the tournament dictated but also because neither of them would yield. At a certain point, his right arm terribly burned by Tamerlane's fires, Hanzo was terribly incapacitated.

Yet when both fighters had fought their hearts out and reached their limits, their ninja uniforms in tatters, Hanzo of the Crane Clan proved to have the greater endurance. He had managed to reserve one last spurt of energy, one final trick up his sleeve, and it was something that would go down in the histories of all the clans.

First, he made the hand seal of _Rin_ , the Diamond Thunderbolt, to call on his inner strength. "I am empowered!" he shouted to the crowds. Visible, pure energy manifested from his broad shoulders in wavy currents. It was the first time anyone ever saw a one-handed seal because ninjas needed both hands to harness the full power of their ki. Next, Hanzo made the hand seal of _Zai_ , the Ring of the Sun, to borrow control of the elements. "I see the consciousness of the laws of nature," he chanted. "I **am** that consciousness." An intense stream of light radiated from the ground in front of him then vanished above his head.

Finally, he executed _Shinkuujutsu_. He pressed his palm on the sand of the arena and created a thin fissure to where Tamerlane lay. Through this fissure, Hanzo created a vacuum shroud that enveloped the red ninja. Even as he was deprived of all ability to summon fire, Tamerlane was slowly suffocating. It was a fatal chokehold on the red ninja. He had only two options: to die or to yield.

In the battle-hardened culture of the Dragon Clan, there would have been more honor in dying than in surrendering. Or, to be precise, there was no honor in any manner of defeat.

Hanzo won against Tamerlane and was awarded Belshazzar's Scroll, signaling an end to the long and tyrannical dominance of the Dragon Clan. Tamerlane was shamed and cast out of the Dragon kingdom to become a _r ōnin_, a clanless ninja, a drifter in the desert plains. But he went into exile together with a group of supporters; renegade Dragon ninjas who believed their clan had been cheated out of their rightful destiny.

**×**

It might seem backwards because from the reliable written word, Pan-Terra's history would move on to the misty realm of folklore and mythology. But relentless chaos swept the lands prior to and during _Ankoku Jidai_ (The Age of Darkness). And the only sources of information thereafter were anecdotal evidence, stories, and alleged sightings.

Not much was known about Tamerlane and his group of _r ōnins_ past their banishment. Some said they sailed the vast oceans to serve as mercenaries in the mystical West, which was driven by the magic of technology instead of ki. Others said they all drowned trying to cross the infinite sands of the Megaceruses' Graveyard. What was known though was that in the time that Tamerlane and his group disappeared, sightings of strange, human-like creatures began.

The _Inugamis_ (Canine Gods or Demon Dogs) were a race of monstrous ninjas. They had immense strength, a sort of immortality, and various mystical abilities. People claimed they were demons that had possessed the bodies of departed ninjas because they wore _ō -yorois_, which were a type of heavy armor reserved especially for times of open war, but they carried them with careless disregard for the color and design of the lacing and marched under a disarray of banners, not unlike how hermit crabs would take over the shells of other creatures.

Others believed the _Inugamis_ were _l angrens _(狼人) or wolf-men. Their armors covered them from head to foot except for their fingers and the skin around their eyes visible through the slit of their helmet, and all openings were said to reveal thick hair. Worse, they always fought in a sort of trance-like frenzy and with inhuman ferocity, tearing their opponents apart after catching a whiff of human blood.

At any rate, it was impossible to verify eyewitness accounts because hardly anyone survived a raid of the _Inugamis_. Thus they existed only in ghost stories and legends.

Fifty years ago, the first ever attempt at stealing Belshazzar's Scroll was made. The _Inugamis_ were believed to be responsible for this cowardly attack. Crane monks protected the relic with their lives but the thieves managed to achieve three things. First, they assassinated Hanzo, Tournament champion and first Emperor of the Gold Lotus Throne. Second, they started a war among all four clans because they left no evidence that would identify them with only one. Finally, they earned the wrath of the gods through "Fire from Heaven" ( _Tenrai no Kasai_ ).

Thus did the Age Darkness loom over man.

Before the actual day of reckoning, the oracles gave warning to only three clans; those of the Crane, Bear, and Tiger. The gods commanded them to seek higher shelter, build boat-houses, and make an unimaginable exodus across the land bridges towards the southern horizon, bringing with them all manners of beasts and fowl.

The people who would climb the highest peaks were the Cranes. The Bears, who were renowned architects, built the boat-houses and also houses that towered on stilts. And the people who would make the perilous trek to the South, using land bridges that they themselves expanded with their ki, were the Tigers. These brown ninjas also used their animal-controlling abilities to command all creatures, from the largest elephant to the smallest possum, to join the diaspora. The ninjas' emerging powers enabled them to march along deer and lion, sheep and wolf, side by side while ensuring their good behavior towards one another.

Darkness fell thereafter.

The arrival of meteoroids had always been viewed by the Clan of Dragon as auspicious events bestowed upon them by the gods. It was from the natural iron content of the first meteoroids that the Dragon Clan first learned to harness a far more superior metal for their hunting weapons, blades, and blacksmithing tools, ending the Bronze Age and jumpstarting the Iron Age.

This time though, it was a killer meteor that dropped from the heavens. A six-mile-wide ball of fire made direct impact on land. First, the heat pulse of the blast obliterated everyone within a thousand-mile radius. A hundred thousand cubic miles of earth was also thrust up and hurled as smaller but no less destructive missiles. In the sky, dust rose and the sun was covered with ashes. Day turned instantly to night.

On land, the shockwaves ignited wildfires and triggered multiple earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. On water, the seas towered like walls to crash down on the coastal areas and sweep away an untold number of lives.

This was to be known as _Ankoku Jidai_ or the Age of Darkness, when the gods punished and turned their backs on man.

That night lasted for many years, till people forsook hope that light would ever come back. The monster race of the _Inugamis_ was said to have been burnt by the fires and then drowned. Their remains were entombed in giant chunks of ice as the entire world froze up.

As it turned out, the shadow cast over the world would last for three whole decades.

**×**

What do all these mean? Temujin asked himself. Why was his mind taking him to all these places? Was the village shaman behind all this?

_When young bass hatch from the spawn, the father guards the area against potential predators, circling around and keeping his offspring together. After a few days, most of the newborns will have swum away. The few remaining ones, the stragglers, are deemed weaker than the rest. At this point, the father undergoes a complete transformation. From protector, he becomes the actual predator and gobbles up his young._

Temujin saw as though from the perspective of a newborn child in a crib. But this was impossible because no infant was capable of such advanced memory. Still, he saw a huge but blurry head hover over the infant, cooing down, and from its neck dangled the familiar pendant - his pendant, still whole but its other half inexplicably shrouded in black. He reached up to it with useless baby fingers and actually managed to touch it.

The next instant, the pendant was falling from an imaginary height to a surface without dimensions. Temujin saw it break. The pendant split in the middle as it bounced lightly. But only the half that Temujin knew so well was visible, the other half was somehow always concealed; either out of focus or angled away.

_Do not be a slave to your past_ , his __ monk teacher had taught him. This one was another real memory Temujin had. _ It is true that a bamboo tree that has deep and wide roots will survive a storm. But there is greater endurance in how its stalk bends and sways against the wind, and how it springs back after the storm has passed. Survive and live for the present. You are a freeman. The past does not belong to the dominion of man but what you do from here on is entirely up to you. That is where your true power lies. _

The blurred face hovered over the infant again, except this time, for some reason, Temujin felt the setting had changed. He was in the mines. He was in the dim tunnels and being handed to a wet-nurse in the slaver's camp. A whole childhood of servitude for a few pieces of silver. A boy to grow up without a name, without a family, without an exact date of birth. His birthday was, quite miserably, the day he was sold into slavery because that was what went down in the ledger. The thirtieth of April, twenty years ago.

_There is no light without darkness. No darkness without light. _

All at once, a whole crowd of faceless people surrounded Temujin and were glaring at him. They kept asking: "Who are you? Who are you?"

Temujin surfaced out of the vision with a gasp, bathed in cold sweat.

He was in the Sauna Lodge again. Had been all along. It was burning hot and he was soaked. The shaman was still there but didn't seem to mind the heat.

"Whatever you have seen," the shaman said, "belongs to you and you alone. No words need be spoken."

Temujin flung open the flap of the lodge and quickly stepped out into the icy wind and the sound of merry-making.

# Book Two: Wind and Ice

Without first having a correct heart, it is impossible to take advantage of strategy. Koshi said that not cultivating [the proper heart] will cause confusion and distress. The meaning of "correct heart" is the adherence to virtue, righteousness, loyalty, and sincerity. Without maintaining virtue, righteousness, loyalty, and sincerity, it will be impossible to have intrepid spirit.

- Bansenshukai, 1676

## Chapter XII: Onwards

Sakura and Temujin had decided to leave early the next day. It was disorienting not to have the sun to signal night and day but fortunately for them the North was renowned for three things: lamp fuel from whale oil, fresh seafood, and the ever reliable chronometer. People sometimes joked that the craft and technology of watchmaking evolved parallel to the Northern fishermen's need to preserve their catch at their optimal freshness.

The heroes intended to come back as soon as possible, for Griffin and the fire-proof armor that was still being forged by Pukkitunturi's best metal-worker. As promised, the town provided them with their fastest sled team of _jolfrs_ or winter wolves. The same great crowd gathered to see them off despite their scheduled return. Mr. Olsson was wearing his most luxuriant and warmest robe yet, and the sled itself was a covered number that resembled a carriage and came with all the bells and whistles - literally.

Sakura needn't have worried about the draft animals because the Northern breed of wolf was much larger and more muscled than their cousins in the East. They were the size of ponies and could even be ridden. The local heroes were also provided an official guide and musher who sat at the front. Finally, amid deafening well-wishes from the Pukkitunturians and their musher's baritone shout of "Hike!", they set off.

The journey was uncomfortable and tedious. The small windows of the carriage were meant to preserve the heat that was supposed to come from the furnace, with the result that it was stuffy inside. Naturally the sled had not been designed for a red ninja who could radiate the equivalent warmth in exchange for some open space or extra leg room.

But Temujin didn't mind because it gave him plenty of chance to talk with Sakura in intimate closeness. She sat on the back seat facing forwards and, in the pale light of his candle-finger, Temujin studied her profile as she gazed at patches of snow outside illuminated by their carriage's lamps. This was the first calm and tender moment they shared after the fight with Ol' Bindy, perhaps even after they left the Ethereal Nest. And the longer Temujin looked at the white ninja, the more his heart ached with a longing that his brain could not comprehend, let alone express.

She was at that stage between being a girl and being a woman so her face had the remnants of the age she was quickly leaving behind. Yet as a Crane she had the type of face that would stay young for a very long time. It was cherubic and had a plump roundness to it because of baby fat. She had doe eyes, a small button nose, and a tiny mouth with full lips. Her long eyelashes complimented the slant of her eyes and made them feline, not to mention the clear blue color of her irises and her long white hair.

She looked like an otherworldly goddess or the rare cub of a maned white lioness, enhancing the impression that Temujin had maintained since he first laid eyes on her. She represented everything perfect and ideal in the world, as though she was something war, illness, or even death couldn't touch. Subconsciously, Temujin felt she embodied everything he never had growing up.

At the moment, the corner of her lips was curved in a faint smile that Temujin couldn't understand because there was nothing to see except snow. For Temujin who was accustomed to the lush farmlands at the foot of volcanoes and the vast grassy steppes, it was a thoroughly strange experience to be surrounded by ice. During their fight with Ol' Bindy he had already formed his impression of the mineral as something inconvenient and dangerous. Plus, being a red ninja, he had an inherent bias against the anti-heat element.

In Sakura's case, there was snow on the summits around the Ethereal Nest plateau but she had only ever experienced it from a distance as a vista outside her window while she practiced the serene art of tea ceremony or flower-arrangement. It filled her with endless wonder that the runners under their sled were made of steel that glided smoothly across the stuff. It gave her an unprecedented idea for a game down the pristine slopes of the Ethereal Nest, using narrow strips of wood tied underfoot; something very thrilling and also recklessly dangerous. She resolved to enact it as her very first ordinance when she became Empress of the Ethereal Nest.

At first, Sakura worried about their musher, who was a taciturn man by the name Ivar, but then she recalled seeing him appropriately dressed for the occasion under many layers of animals: caribou, wolf, polar bear, bird, and seal; plus a ruff of wolverine fur framed his face and snow goggles carved out of caribou antlers completely covered his eyes except for two thin slits. Compared to him, Sakura and Temujin were underdressed. Ivar also seemed to attack his top-level mission with a great deal of zeal, going over bumps on their route like someone possessed.

Sakura and Temujin had a lot of things to talk about but even the most talkative person would run out of topics when thrown onto a sudden expedition. Eventually, they put their heads together for a bit of weapons design.

"First, we find an egg and drill a small hole in its bottom. We drain out the yolk, dry the egg, and then put _blitzlicht_ inside. We seal the hole with candle wax..."

_(*Author 's Note: Kids, don't try this at home.) _

"... then we paint the shell black."

"Why black?"

"For stealth."

"Well, I personally think it's more striking and fashionable to paint it pink. For that matter, we could add crushed chalk of various colors to make the smoke more colorful. Like a rainbow. That would surely disorient the enemy."

Temujin chuckled at her way of thinking. He was amused more than anything else. The truth was, he had never met anyone like her, even among the women of his own clan. Sakura realized how odd her idea might've sounded to him and also laughed. Then they were both quiet for a while.

"Your techniques have gotten better and better. They saved our lives more than once. Your parents should be very proud of you."

Sakura blushed at the compliment. Then she smiled softly, if a bit sadly.

"Do you know my family name? The family name of the current Emperor of the Clan of Crane?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm, I guess I must've read about it somewhere but I don't really remember."

"My full name is Sakura Rokkaku."

"Rokkaku? You mean, you're the daughter of Yaro no Kazan? Spear Kazan?"

Sakura nodded.

"What was he like as a father? I mean, I'm a big fan!"

"Well, you know, I didn't really get to know him."

"Oh, yeah, right..."

"That's all right. It was ten years ago. It doesn't bother me anymore. But I do remember the day the _Inugamis_ came. I don't know what you've heard about them but when they came for the scroll they were still mostly made up of red ninjas, which is the reason why I had some misgivings about you at first."

"It's all right. I understand."

"I remember that day completely. It's not something you can forget. Some nights I still have nightmares about it."

Temujin was quiet even though he wanted her to continue.

"That was the first time the _Inugamis_ set foot on the Ethereal Nest. As you can imagine, the sight of you, a red ninja, was quite a shock to everyone because it's been ten years since we sighted outsiders last, especially a red ninja.

"I was seven years old when they came. Out of thin air, they appeared in the Grand Hall, right on the long table reserved for banquets and conferences. You can imagine our panic because it was not so far from the throne. They must not have known about the Treasure Room and the possibility of a stealthier approach."

"They can do that?" Temujin asked with wide eyes. "I mean, appear out of nowhere? They must have complete mastery of _Retsu_ , the space and time dimensions."

Sakura grimly nodded. "There were eight of them, including the dreaded Tamerlane - or at least his signature war armor. And it was just as the legends described it: like fighting a pack of rabid, feral beasts. They were disorganized and unpredictable. They didn't have any plan of attack or discernible technique. They could've achieved more by kidnapping the Emperor or taking him hostage but it seemed as though there was only one conscious thought in their minds: destroy everyone and everything in sight.

"Tamerlane was the most terrifying of all. He felled Cranes like wheat under a scythe. Everyone threw themselves in front of the throne to protect the most precious of all, my grandfather. And as I watched, I knew the grown-ups felt exactly the same thing I did. It was raw terror. The terror that no force on earth would be enough to stop Tamerlane and the other _Inugamis_."

Sakura paused and Temujin let her take her time.

"Then my father cast the _Shinpu-Ren Majutsu_. The Infinite Vortex of the Divine Wind. In theory, the spell summons winds of such godly force that all matter and particles would be sucked in. Nothing and no one would be able to escape. My father labored to trap the monsters, one by one, into the raging vortex. To send them back to where they had crawled out of: Limbo or _Rengoku_ , the land of all departed beings and everything else unnatural.

"I saw the gateway to another world and it was eerily beautiful. Crane mages are acquainted with the many mystical energies of the universe, both dark and divine. But one glance and you'd know the vortex was malevolent. Like a hole that wasn't meant to be where it was; irreverent like graffiti that a child had drawn on a sacred wall. Its calm beguiled an insatiable hunger as it sucked in anything and everything that fell within its range: swords, helmets, bodies. My mother hugged me and I buried my tear-streaked face against her chest.

"No one had believed it was humanly possible. But I guess the gods were watching over us that day because they used my father as their vessel through which they could channel their might."

Sakura fell quiet again.

"And as it is with vessels, sometimes they get damaged by what they seek to contain. One by one, my father's bones were broken by the extreme force man was never meant to harness. My mother screamed his name and, as I peeked beyond her kimono, I saw my father look back over his shoulder for the last time with grim determination. Just turning his head like that must have taken excruciating effort. He smiled as though to tell mother and me that everything was going to be all right - that he had dealt with the invaders and vanquished all of them. There was no need to be afraid anymore.

"He also mouthed a message specifically for me. Strangely, I had always assumed his message was 'Don't let them see you cry.' That would've been in line with his serious character. But through the Divination Spell that I did the day before and my lessons on lip-reading, I realize now that what he had tried to tell me was in fact 'I'll miss your lullaby.'

"That revealed a bigger picture of my father and proved I didn't really know him as much as I thought I did."

She smiled her poignant smile again.

"When the portal had whisked away all the _Inugamis_ , my father let go and looked at peace. But we knew better. Just like the enemies he cast out, we knew he wasn't going to survive the harsh nothingness of Limbo. Even though my mother covered my eyes from the tragic sight, I knew his passing through the portal was like sticking a finger into piranha-infested waters. He'd be torn to shreds."

"And then it was over. As suddenly as they had appeared, the hole and all the invaders were gone. Everything was back to normal. Only one thing was different. One thing that mattered above all else. And I felt a pang of emptiness knowing that my father was no longer with us."

More silence. When Sakura spoke again, it was with cold reserve.

"Come to think of it, it'll be his death anniversary soon. I'm sure they'll be releasing hundreds of sky lanterns for him, if they're not too busy looking for me."

"I'm sure everyone's looking for you. They're all probably worried sick about you, especially your mom and your grandfather."

"Do you really think so?" Sakura asked Temujin. "Sometimes I'm not so sure anymore. It's like they care about me but not really me, you know. Like they're worried no one's going to be around to take over the throne. So basically they're worried about the realm and the throne. I just happen to be the person next in line for it. They can't even imagine what kind of pressure that gives me. They keep saying " _Do this, Do that, You shouldn 't do this, You shouldn't be like that_." For once I want them to care about me as the real me, you know, as plain Sakura and not Sakura the princess or the heir apparent."

"Hmm. I never imagined a princess' life to be like that."

"You're lucky to be a normal person, to have a normal life."

"Me? Lucky? That's the last word I'd describe myself."

"Well, it shouldn't. I mean, think about it: you're free to do whatever you want. No one's going to tell you otherwise. No one's going to dictate to you who you can or can't be. You need not worry about what other people might think or say. I picture you like that: Free. Just like Griffin."

"My life isn't all roses, believe me. There are plenty of things I don't want to go through again, ever. Maybe I've just gotten so good at hiding all the bad stuff that I got you sold on the life of the poor and homeless."

"Hmm... maybe you have," Sakura said thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, you're more of a world-on-your shoulder-type of guy than I thought you were. Perhaps we should trade places once."

"Me? Live on the Ethereal Nest? That'd be the day." Temujin laughed at the silliness of the idea. He pictured himself doing just that: a red ninja training under the famed crystal-clear waterfalls, meditating to strengthen his ki without any other care in the world. That would be a sight.

"Why not? You already know one Crane technique, don't you? Speaking of which, you still haven't told me who your _sensei_ was who taught you everything you know."

"I didn't think you'd know him as he doesn't really call attention to himself. He's more the silent-I'll-whack-you-on-the-head-if-you-can't-do-it-right type."

"Oh, I've known many _senseis_ like that, believe me."

"All right, let's see... He's a wandering monk, like I already told you, and he's very mysterious. People simply called him _Koumori-san_ (Mr. Bat) on account of his being blind."

"He's blind?!"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't know it from the way he moved or fought. Trust me, he's sharper and faster than any normal-sighted fellow I know. He looks as old as a mountain but he could beat men half his age."

"Wow! But how did he come to know of our Crane _jutsu_?"

"Oh, that's because he's from your clan."

" _Hontoni_?"

"It's true. Wind was his original element. He only came to the mines to help the poorest of the poor by running a soup kitchen and a dispensary. There were rumors floating around that he was doing that for penance, that he had done some great crime on the Ethereal Nest and he felt guilty about it. At any rate, I didn't care about any of them. I only knew him as the mentor who was enlightened, who protected the weak and taught them the ninja arts so they'd be able to protect themselves."

"Hmm. A monk who can wield two elements. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a feat. He must be really powerful."

"He is. I'd be lucky to reach even just half his level."

"I would really like to meet him after all this trouble with Belshazzar's Scroll is over."

"Well, it would be very hard to catch up with him. His pilgrimage takes him all over Pan-Terra."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"When I ran away from the mines. He had encouraged me to do it. And he was there, too, at the gates when the guards caught me and tried to bring me back to my camp. There was this strong ninja called Ganzorig, who was the leader of the guards and the cruelest of them. He ordered me to turn around and go back to my fellow slaves, but my _sensei_ stepped in and risked his own place in the mines for me. My _sensei_ fought him and his gang of guards. He shouted to me to leave that place and never to return. That was the last I ever saw of him."

Sakura silently reflected on the man's selfless act. Finally she said:

"I see so much more in you, Temujin, so much more than you realize. I guess your _sensei_ saw it too; but apart from him, people have been underestimating you all your life. Because of this, you have a habit of lowering your standards, you goals. You really shouldn't."

"All right. I'll keep that in mind," Temujin answered. "Thanks for the sage counsel, Your Royal Highness," he added teasingly to ease the serious mood.

Sakura hit him on the chest with a strong puff of wind and a bit of snow.

Temujin oomphed and his candle-finger went out. Sakura grinned and they both laughed.

They slept for the rest of the trip, under thick fur blankets that came with the carriage-sled. Sakura hadn't slept a wink during the party last night so she was the first to doze off. And she must've been really tired because she actually snored a bit. Temujin found this amusing but decided to keep this detail to himself.

From his opposite seat, he moved next to her to share the warmth that radiated from his ki. She snuggled closer against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Temujin gladly received her weight and stayed still for a long time to keep her makeshift pillow in place. 

## Chapter XIII: A Cold Welcome

When they finally arrived at their torchlit destination, they were surrounded by another crowd, reinforcing Sakura's impression since Pukkitunturi that they didn't receive that many visitors in the Northern Province. Most of the first onlookers were children; something very surprising to Sakura, who was used to seeing a lot of senior people around her - teachers, officials, retainers etc. And it wasn't just because she grew up isolated as royalty, it was because the Clan of Crane valued wisdom and experience over youth, gradually producing an aged population.

The villagers on this northernmost glacier, Blarjokull, wore the same thick clothing as those in Pukkitunturi. The main difference, it appeared to Sakura and Temujin, was the bronze skin and dark eyes of the people here. In the northernmost corner of the world, their hair was dark and straight unlike those of the Pukkitunturians, who were closer to Sakura in appearance. Also, over here everybody had wide, round faces with high cheekbones.

The _ch ūnins_ and _j ōnins_ of the Clan of Bear wore a light, close-fitting and pliant garment that covered their entire bodies. In the past, the blue ninja's jacket had been fashioned out of sea mammal gut for water-resistance. Now the raw material came all the way from the Amazon jungle in the South, from trees called the "crying wood." The tree, when cut with a _ninjato_ , produced a sap that was runny and milky white. This same sap had led to the creation of the rebounding ball and, by extension, the game of _cuju_.

According to the stories, a few brown ninjas tried rubbing a thick coating of the sap all over a clansman's body and, after several applications and dryings, the clansman wriggled himself free and invented a waterproof suit that could also keep the body warm in the water. Having little need for thermal insulation in their tropical region, the brown ninjas found it practical to barter some of the abundant stuff to the North. In return, they received vast amounts of seafood, which was a welcome alternative to meat and whose exotic taste captivated them.

In addition to seafood, the Northerners also bartered whale oil, especially that of the cachalot, which burned brighter and cleaner than coal. On large boats pulled by hippocamps, they travelled to the Southern coastlines wearing the thick furs that many of the natives found odd. There they exchanged their goods for the Amazon jungle's pliant material.

Back in the Northern Province, the village seamstresses would seal the wrists, neck, and ankles of the suit with sinew derived from the back muscle of the caribou. Because animal sinew shrunk when wet, it limited the amount of water entering and leaving the suit. A blue ninja would get wet inside his suit but the water would be trapped and stay warm.

More recently, stories told of an inventor (there were plenty of bright minds in the North) who accidentally dropped some tree sap on a hot stove and beheld its transformation into a much more versatile material. Northern blacksmiths, trained by the Dragon guilds in the East, soon began to add sulphur to make the sap more durable. Sakura had read in her science books that, on the molecular level, the process was quite similar to engineering. Cooking the sap added truss-like bonds between its molecules.

A blue ninja suit wouldn't be complete without a pair of insulating _tabi_ boots, gloves, and a balaclava. Finally, the suit was dyed with a pattern of blue-on-blue waves to make the wearer invisible to the deadliest natural predator in the water: the Great Arctic Shark.

**×**

The _ch ūnin_ ninjas eyed the two foreigners warily, especially Temujin. The search parties after them couldn't have reached this far north on their gliders and hot-air balloons so Sakura decided to employ a different tactic.

With a smooth sweep of her hand, she took off her ninja mask and freed her long white hair. The Northerners murmured among themselves.

"Greetings, denizens of Blarjokull," Sakura announced. "Please allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Princess Sakura of the Gold Lotus throne. This is my friend Temujin of the Clan of Dragon. We've come here on official imperial business and seek the counsel of one Mr. Yuri Babor."

There was no reaction from the villagers except for more whispers. Apparently none of them could understand the lowland language of the East. But then somebody from the back of the crowd spoke in Sakura and Temujin's common language:

"We are pleased to welcome you, Your Highness."

The crowd parted to reveal the village chieftain, a wizened old man who had a long white beard and mustache whose ends drooped down below his chin. He wore a parka and trousers made of animal hide with light bands around the biceps, forearms, and shins. Two dramatically large panels of caribou white fur also extended from both shoulders of the blue parka, down to the chest, and both sides of the midsection. Finally, the chieftain carried a wooden staff with a huge blue pearl fixed at the top, which both granted him a dignified air and served the practical purpose of helping him walk.

"My name is Reijo and, on behalf of my people, I apologize for our rusty hospitality," the man continued in a calm voice. "But it's not often of late that we have seen travelers this far out in the ice. Much less a member of the Imperial family from the Highlands."

"I understand. We do not hold it against you and would not dare impose on you any further. However, we would deeply appreciate it if you could point us in the direction of the person whom we seek."

"What, pray tell, does the princess of the Gold Lotus throne need from a lowly member of the Bear Clan?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential information."

"I see," Chief Reijo said thoughtfully, stroking his long silky beard while eyeing Temujin with open suspicion, if not belligerence like the _ch ūnin_ ninjas.

"We're in a bit of a quandary here, Sakura- _hime_ ," Chief Reijo calmly spoke again. Now Sakura could discern an underlying chill she hadn't noticed before, like an iceberg with most of its mass submerged; such was the long history and latent animosity between the two Clans of Dragon and Bear.

"As much as we would like to offer you our assistance, there are two matters that hinder us. First, the ill reputation of your companion precedes him. The red Northern lights have given us fair warning of his arrival. It doesn't bode well for our village to receive a member of the Clan of Dragon."

Temujin tensed and squinted his eyes through the opening of his mask. He knew precisely what the chieftain was referring to: the ancient match between Tamerlane and Gunnar, the representative of the Clan of Bear, at the Gold Lotus Tournament. Tamerlane had been notorious for being a brutal fighter.

"Temujin comes in peace," Sakura spoke. "He doesn't mean any insult to your clan by coming here. Like I said, we're both simply passing through and have business of great import that we need to see done."

"Be that as it may, the customs of the clan are iron, Sakura- _hime_ , and I am merely a servant of the will of my people. As a future leader of your own clan, I'm sure you can appreciate the value of preserving tradition."

"Then let it be known by all your clansmen that my friend Temujin, if you should know one thing about him apart from the fact that he belongs to the Clan of Dragon, has slayed the dreadful water serpent Ol' Bindy."

Chief Reijo made a brief translation to his people. Most of the crowd were surprised and a few were amazed, but the _ch ūnins_ were incredulous and made hissing noises.

Chief Reijo raised a hand to quiet the crowd. Then he spoke:

"We'll take your word for it, Sakura- _hime_ , and we are grateful for your friend's having put an end to the tyrannical reign of Ol' Bindy. However, there remains another reason why we cannot accommodate your request."

"I can't imagine any other complication."

"Here in the village of Blarjokull, we are not in the habit of revealing the identity of one of our own to strangers. We only discuss family affairs with members of the clan and we never break this rule even under the pain of death. Brown ninjas take great pride in this communitarian spirit."

"But we are no stranger to you. As you recognize, I am Princess Sakura of the Gold Lotus throne and, by my transparent self, I vouch for the identity and character of Temujin."

"What's in a name or a title for that matter? Beyond them, can we truly know anything about a person?"

"Then how do you propose to confirm our character? How can we prove to you that we are who we say we are?"

"Well, it's good that you ask," Chief Reijo answered. Before Sakura could realize it, she had fallen into the chieftain's verbal trap. "Here in our village, we have two ways of uncovering the truth, through the Vision Test and the Test of Burning Ice."

"I'll take the Test of Burning Ice," Temujin suddenly spoke. All eyes turned to him; this red ninja who personified the enemy that blue ninjas were taught to hate all throughout their training, the boogeyman that little Northern children were taught to fear.

"You have courage, young man. You willingly step forth though you are unaware of the particulars of our methods."

"I don't care. I'll take it and I know I'll pass it," Temujin blustered. The truth was, he had a good idea what the first, the Vision test, was. If it was anything similar to what he experienced in the Sauna Lodge back in Pukkitunturi, he knew it was a test he wouldn't do well on.

"We admire your confidence, Dragon ninja, but the Test of Burning Ice is a duel between two warriors. For how can one truly know another except by facing him in combat? People may project a certain character for the sake of appearances, but in the face of possible death in combat, all true colors are revealed."

Chief Reijo smiled mockingly. Sakura knew he was just upholding the things his village held sacred, but she couldn't help feeling a strong dislike towards the man's subtle taste for physical force.

"I accept," Temujin answered. "Who shall be my opponent?"

Chief Reijo translated the current state of the conversation.

Without hesitation, someone volunteered from the group of _ch ūnins_. Or rather, the answer was so obvious that all the other ninjas stepped aside to reveal the best of them. It was a towering and hulking warrior.

The village champion said something with a lot of zeal and the rest of his ninja buddies whooped. They started chanting the warrior's name and soon everyone else joined: "Magnar! Magnar! Magnar!"

Temujin swallowed though his throat was dry.

"Ok, that could've gone better," Sakura muttered while lifting her eyes to cover the full height of the Hercules.

"How tall do you think he is?" Temujin whispered.

"Seven feet six inches," Sakura answered, still not taking her eyes off Magnar.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good at guessing heights. What does it matter?  Didn't your _sensei_ teach you 'the bigger they are the harder they fall'?"

"Not really. I just hate it when tall opponents make me look like a dwarf."

"I think that's the least of your worries."

## Chapter XIV: Fire vs. Ice

The circular arena lay in the center of the village and was made of smooth ice. It was around thirty feet in diameter and surrounded by eight stalagmite-shaped ice pillars crowned with sputtering torches. Between these pillars stretched thin, highly transparent but durable panes of ice that served as barriers through which the audience could watch. These barriers curved away from the torches and went on to meet at the top to create a twenty-foot-high bubble dome, to prevent any ninjas from levitating too high.

Temujin stepped inside the arena through an opening in one of the barriers. After him, someone froze up the hole to lock him in. He walked to the center of the ring exhaling water vapor through the filter of his mask and feeling a lot of angry Bear eyes on him. He knew Sakura stood amid them watching with a very worried expression, but he couldn't remember where he had left her and he didn't want to look weak or nervous by looking for her now. In his right hand, he carried both the chain and scythe of his _kurasi-gama_ and, out of sight, he readied the flint and steel in the palm of his left glove.

His opponent came in through another hole in the barriers, which he himself closed after him. Again, Temujin marveled at the warrior's height and build. He also took a mental note of Sakura's assessment. This guy was not 7' 6". He was 7' 7 ¼'' with his boots on.

The fighter was older than him but not that much, Temujin guessed, but he was definitely the tallest in his village. Add to that the fact that among all the clans the Dragons tended to have the shortest members, and the match was starting to look like David vs. Goliath instead of Fire vs. Ice, the antithetical, perfectly even elements.

The crowd was getting noisy. Naturally everyone was rooting for their champion and booing the red-clad outsider. Temujin was glad he couldn't understand any Northern language so he was still able to block out most of the taunts hurled at him.

Then they got ready. An ice golem, which resembled a plain sparring dummy, popped into view and stood between the two fighters. It asked Temujin in the Eastern language: "Are you ready?" He nodded. Then the ice golem asked Magnar. Magnar beat on his chest with a fist. Finally, the ice golem shouted: "Fight!" before melding seamlessly with the ground. It didn't leave any puddle or slippery patch and would be back when needed; a marionette of Chief Reijo whose voice the ice golem had mimicked.

Temujin made the hand seal of _T ō_ to invoke the first of the two lion sentinels, the Outer Lion. This heightened his harmony and balance with his ki. He chanted: "I forgive all injuries, offenses and slights - past and present" then struck his flint and steel together and generated a fireball that soon engulfed his left hand. The color of this flame was mostly red and was visible only because of the North's extended night, which meant that it was cool enough for his skin. In his right, he gripped his _kurasi-gama_ tighter.

Magnar also made the _T ō_ hand seal and moved his hand as though drawing something from an invisible sheath on his left hip. Then with his ice-generating ki, he projected a very long sword made completely of clear ice.

The crowd roared. Magnar charged.

First, Temujin kept his _kurasi-gama_ close, its long chain slung over one shoulder, running across his body and folded by his left hand. With his right, he held the scythe like a scimitar. He blocked Magnar's powerful strokes with either the scythe or the taut chain. His red flame had by now enveloped his entire figure and it swayed like a cobra attuned to his every movement. One of Magnar's powerful slashes made a shallow cut in Temujin's cheek and the red ninja realized the ice sword was as sharp as razor and as hard as stone.

As with most ninja fights, their movements were nothing but a blur to the untrained eye. Both fighters attacked, blocked, and evaded so rapidly that sometimes all the _genins_ saw was impressions, their limbs like the tips of calligraphy strokes where the brush was lifted.

At last, Temujin's quick eyes saw an opening in Magnar's barrage and he switched to offense by flinging his scythe, letting it swing at the end of its long chain. Blue-hot fire accompanied the blade and chain and it was like the plumb of a pendulum with a fiery trail. Temujin combined a variety of these swings like a fire-dancer - above his head, around his body, under his arms, in wider and wider arcs, both chain and blue fire. Indeed, it was a dance of destruction as the scythe sliced dangerously through the air at the end of its long chain. Magnar evaded with ducks, body twists, and flips.

Now Temujin was spinning the _kurasi-gama_ on either side of him. Faster and faster with the sound of a hurricane. Finally, he was moving so fast it appeared as though he had two rings of fire on both sides of him and they rolled out two giant flame-tongues towards Magnar.

Magnar quickly made the hand seal of _Rin_ to summon his inner strength and raised a wall of ice from the ground with an uppercut in the air. This was the _Hy ōkekkai no Jutsu_, the Ice Barrier. Its base was shaped like tree roots but its body was smooth if a little cloudy. It effectively blocked Temujin's fire atacks and disintegrated them. Then, by dropping his huge arm, Magnar made the wall of ice disappear as quickly as it had risen.

But Temujin had quickly followed up with an underhand flick of his _kurasi-gama_ and, even as the frozen wall collapsed to the ground, his scythe managed to plough through the last protrusion of ice, swing up, and wrap around the blade of Magnar's sword.

The crowd booed and the _ch ūnins_ hissed.

Temujin pulled with all his might and Magnar growled through his ninja mask. Temujin knew there was no way he was going to match his opponent's brute strength so he sent his flame streaking along their connection as though whale oil had been daubed on the chain. The ultra-hot blue flame heated Magnar's sword to its melting point.

More catcalls from the crowd.

The blue ninja didn't mind being disarmed and Temujin's celebration was short-lived. Magnar simply generated another ice weapon and this time he made sure there was a sword in each of his hands. When Temujin sent his scythe flying at the end of its long chain again, Magnar parried it and the blade buried itself in one of the ice barriers where it got stuck.

Magnar made the hand seal of _T ō_ again and whispered the mantra. Then he slowly bent over and reached for the tips of his boots, like someone doing stretching. When he had straightened again, Temujin saw that he had created what appeared to be short ice blades underneath the soles. Temujin couldn't put two and two together as to the purpose of such accessories but from where Sakura watched anxiously amid the crowd of Northern _genins_ , she recognized yet another tool to propel a ninja across the ice.

To prove her theory, Magnar bent his knees, bowed, and then slid across the ice at great speed. To Temujin, it looked like the red ninja was performing the typical ninja run but he was doing it without moving his legs. Before Temujin could say "Wait," Magnar was upon him and had slashed across the chest of his jacket with both swords, creating an angry "X." Temujin screamed in pain and went down on one knee.

This was the _Yukidori Bakushin_ or the Snow Bird Dash. The crowd roared appreciatively.

From his kneeling position, Temujin dug out his scythe from where it was buried. He did this by throwing his arm forward and projecting a horizontal cascade of blue fire. This drilled a hole in the ice immediately around the scythe. Temujin tugged and the weapon flew back to him.

Meanwhile, Magnar had continued his slide all the way to the end of the ring and, without decreasing speed, continued up the wall and then kicked off, executing a back flip that dropped him right in front of Temujin. He landed on one foot with surprising grace, bringing down his two swords with him. Fortunately, Temujin was ready and blocked both sword chops with his scythe, which was still hot from all the flames.

Magnar kicked off again and slid backwards. If his boot blades weren't visible, it would seem as though he was levitating on ice. He may be huge but he wasn't slow at all. On his mother element, he was as light-footed as a Crane ninja.

Next, the grandstanding Magnar started spinning on one foot and became nothing but a blur. He was doing it so fast, probably close to eight revolutions per second. He had one of the best center of gravities Temujin had ever seen. And with his two swords he was a lethal tornado that edged towards the red ninja and threw sparks against his _kurasi-gama_. Temujin was pushed back amid deafening cheers. When Magnar stopped spinning, he was composed and without the slightest sign of dizziness.

So, this is the famous _Koori no Odori_ , Temujin thought to himself. The Ice Dance.

When Magnar spun again, Temujin threw the _kurasi-gama_ and it wrapped around the blue ninja's ankle. As Magnar spun, he unwittingly wound more of the _kurasi-gama_ around his shin. It all happened so fast and the chain whipped out of Temujin's hand, causing some friction burn even through his gloves. The chain looked like a fishing line rushing out of its reel after hooking a big catch. When Magnar finally stopped because of the drag, it was too late for him to realize what he had done. Indeed, he was like a child's top around which the string was coiled.

Temujin saw the opportunity and tugged hard, causing Magnar to spin the opposite direction and making him lose balance. He fell down on his side. Temujin wasted no second and leapt towards his opponent.

It was the first time ever that Magnar felt disoriented. By nature, blue ninjas could spin in only one direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. His eyes widened through the opening of his balaclava when he saw Temujin about to knee-drop him. He managed to roll away at the last second and Temujin's knee hit the ground that was just under him, making a hole in the ice.

Magnar panted behind his mask as he stood trying to anticipate Temujin's next move. This fight was proving to be harder and longer than he expected. He supposed the rest of his clan was thinking the same thing. Worse, perhaps influenced by the Crane princess' non-stop cheers, he could hear some of the _genins_ starting to cheer for the outsider.

Temujin rose from his kneeling position on the ice, his entire body poised and ready with the _kurasi-gama_. He had stomped back into position, his movements fluid and iron-clad. This was the Dragon Stance. Its objective was to demolish the opponent's defense by breaking their own stance or making them tire themselves out, while at the same time providing no opening for any counter-attack. The pivot was the waist, the upper or lower torso, and all the power was released via the crimped Dragon Claw. Temujin's inhalations had been quiet but his exhalations were deep hisses; tense but controlled. He was transmitting his ki from his waist, through his body, and to his hardened forearms. Like a dragon preparing its breath of fire. Magnar hated to admit it but Temujin was proving to be a worthy opponent.

The blue ninja decided to go all out and finish the match once and for all. First he made the hand seal of _Zai_ , which granted him control of the elements. Then he kicked off and slid backwards, but just as he moved away he appeared to pluck shurikens out of his chest and hurl them towards Temujin. What he was doing exactly was pulling ice out of thin air. The process was no different from how nature would make snowflakes, which was why all Bear throwing blades were of a distinct stellar shape radiating outwards. This was another specialty of their clan, who prided themselves both on their snowflake art and on the _Shaken Fubuki no Jutsu_ , which granted them an endless supply of shurikens during combat. One could say they had made the particular ninja weapon all their own.

A barrage of ice shurikens hurtled towards Temujin.

"I am without fear," Temujin whispered the mantra for _Py ō_, the Great Thunderbolt, to help him focus all his energy. From where his belly should be under his ninja uniform, an intense bright light appeared to rise in sync with his breathing. At the same time, he made shoulder reels with his _kurasi-gama_ , twisting his body left and right with the blazing scythe and chain swishing in front of him, each turn linked and flowing into the other like one continuous spin: a veritable force field of fire. The scythe had also been swallowed by a blue fireball, which kept making this loud whooshing sound like a creature with huge wings. In the dim arena, it was like Temujin was painting the air around him with long, glowing filaments.

In this sense, _Kurasigamajutsu_ was similar to a fire whip performance. The red ninjas also called it _Agni no Mai_ (Dance of the Fire God). Although Temujin refused to show it at the feast, not only Bears and Cranes were capable of graceful movement.

All the shurikens melted before they could do any harm.

Temujin made the hand seal of _T ō_ to establish oneness with his ki. Then, in a spectacular visual trick, he yanked off his _mempo_ mask and appeared to suck all the fire around him. Next, he appeared to yawn because he opened his mouth really wide and made a slight, sharp cough, floating a ring of fire out of his lips. Finally, using both his hands, he pushed a cushion of air right behind the ring of fire, causing it to expand bigger and bigger. Following closely behind like a dragon with plumes of smoke trailing out of his nostrils, he blew out more fire that touched and appeared to coat the ring, like coils of insulated wire wrapped around an iron doughnut.

This was _Hi no Wa Jutsu_ , the Ring of Fire Technique.

Magnar was paralyzed with fear and watched the blazing top of the ring approach his neck. He shut his eyes.

The crowd let out a startled "Oh" in unison and fell as quiet as the dead.

"Enough!" Chief Reijo shouted from behind Temujin.

The red ninja stiffened.

**×**

When Magnar opened his eyes again, he was alive and unharmed. The ring of fire had continued past him, just singeing the top of his balaclava and dissipating with a wave of Temujin's hand.

"Temujin of the Clan of Dragon," Chief Reijo's voice thundered, reverberating over the entire arena and outside. Out of Temujin's sight, Sakura winced at the sound.

"You..." the village chieftain spoke through his ice golem, "... have shown great courage and honor. You have faced an enemy, a fighter you barely know, and trusted him with your life just as he trusted you. You have passed the Burning Ice Duel and we welcome you as a brother!"

The crowd supported Chief Reijo's words with cheers. Among congratulating _genins_ , Sakura jumped for joy.

Temujin and Magnar bowed to each other and the sight of the two ninjas, one red and the other blue, the first in many decades, was a thing of beauty.

## Chapter XV: Memories

"Konnichiwa! My name is Aleksandr, the youngest child of Yuri Babor," a young ninja stepped out of the crowd and introduced himself to Temujin. He was speaking in the pidgin language of the Eastern lowlands in consideration of the foreigner. Surprisingly, among all the denizens of Blarjokull, this Aleksandr, who was eighteen - younger than Temujin and only a little older than Sakura - was one of two who could speak the Eastern tongue.

Many other villagers had congratulated Temujin by shaking his hand, patting him on the back, or just calling out his name from the sidelines. The acceptance and complete reversal of attitude greatly pleased him. Who could've thought that he would put an end to the decades-long animosity between Dragons and Bears? And Magnar proved to be a real sportsman. He even lifted Temujin for some crowd surfing and a slight toss in the air; the second, Temujin would learn, was a taste of the Northern festival custom of "blanket tossing," in which hunters were celebrated by throwing them high in the air on a big circle of patched-up seal skins.

"I was told that you wish to see my father. Unfortunately, he's away on one of his expeditions. I offer my assistance in any way you require it," Aleksandr bowed, too courteously in Temujin's opinion. He seemed more courteous than his fellow villagers, his conduct almost equal to a _j ōnin_ of the Clan of Crane.

Sakura was still weaving her way through the throng of curious _genins_ who kept staring at her, smiling, whispering, and some daring to touch her white hair. She reached Temujin's side and was about to give him a forceful pat on the back when she set eyes on the bowed Aleksandr.

Aleksandr lifted his head. His and Sakura's eyes met.

Only a few seconds passed but a whole range of emotions went through the eyes of both. First, there was friendliness, which was replaced by shock, then confusion, and finally embarrassment.

"Sasha?!"

"Sakura?!"

They blurted out.

"Oh my god, it's been so long. How have you been?"

"Far too long. But wait, do I know you? How do I know you?"

"Oh god, I'm sorry I think I've mistaken you for someone else."

"You look very familiar to me, too. Have we met?"

"No, I don't think so. That's impossible. I don't know anyone outside of my clan except for Temujin here. How did this happen?"

"Forgive me, Princess, my memory is playing tricks on me. I could've sworn I know you. It's like..."

"...deja vu..." Sakura finished Aleksandr's sentence.

"Exactly! This is so strange. I need to take a moment."

"Yes, me too."

Temujin and the nearby onlookers looked at the two ninjas who were both flushed. They were acting really weird, like two socially inept people trying to hold a decent conversation but failing. It was a good thing the other villagers could only guess what they were talking about.

"You all right?" Temujin asked Sakura, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Sakura said. Then, as an afterthought: "It's just that I'm certain I know that ninja but I simply can't remember how. It's too intense, this feeling. It's driving me crazy."

"What? But how can that be? You've been cooped up in the palace all your life, right? There's no way you know him."

"Exactly. That's what I keep telling myself. Unless..."

As Temujin watched, Sakura's eyes widened.

"I met him in my childhood! That's it! That's the only explanation. It all makes sense now."

"What? No, it makes no sense at all. What do you mean you met him as a child? If that's true, how could you have completely forgotten?"

" _Kioku Massh ō Majutsu_," Sakura mumbled. "A Memory Wipe Spell."

"It's true, isn't it?" Aleksandr spoke from behind them. "They erased both our memories after that day."

Sakura turned to look at him, her eyes getting misty. She nodded.

"I'm sorry," she told Aleksandr with deep sincerity. Temujin supposed she was apologizing on behalf of her clan for using such a messed-up spell, but there were a lot of things Temujin didn't know about the memories that the two had shared and her Clan had erased. Aleksandr said "that day." What day?

"Well, at least I found you again," Aleksandr finally spoke, his own eyes starting to shimmer. "I'm pleased to meet you for the second time."

**×**

As much as Temujin wanted to know what really transpired between the two, first they had to get away from the villagers' prying eyes. Aleksandr insisted Temujin call him Sasha like Sakura did, even though the red ninja thought Aleksandr was better because Sasha sounded like a girl's name to him.

They met Sasha's big family. He had five siblings plus his mother. Like he said earlier, Mr. Babor was travelling to an as yet undisclosed place.

Sasha was the youngest and he had three brothers and two sisters, in that order, which made Temujin think that, being the youngest son, Sasha could be the apple of his parents' eyes. Looking at the blue ninja in the fire-glow inside the family's receiving igloo, Temujin could feel the emotional support and affection that must've been showered on Sasha as he was growing up. It showed in his words and behavior. The blue ninja radiated a sort of innocent, confident, and positive aura that was similar to Sakura's and noticeable to an orphan like Temujin. Naturally, Temujin felt a bit of jealousy, too, as Sasha tried to piece together bits of resurfacing memory, sometimes turned to Sakura with a bewildered expression, and Sakura would join in to finish a sentence or fill in a gap.

Temujin couldn't fully grasp it but there in the spacious igloo that Sasha and his two brothers had constructed with their ki in a matter of seconds, the heat of the fire was reflected on Sasha's face and he looked like some galvanized demi-god, or one of the muscle-bound blacksmiths that Temujin used to look up to when he was a child growing up in the mines.

Indeed Sasha looked the part. He was tall and quite buff. His skin was golden brown and his hair was dark, but for some reason, unlike the rest of his siblings and his Bear clansmen, his eyes were blue like the Pukkitunturians'. His hair color made him look tough and the contrast with his eyes made him look cold. Temujin wouldn't really say he was handsome - it was a male thing that he refused to confer such a compliment to anyone but himself - but what truly bothered him was, Sasha and Sakura kind of looked good together.

Entertaining these thoughts mere days before his twentieth birthday, Temujin felt a pang of despair unlike any he had ever experienced since he learned to survive on his own in the world.

**×**

Mr. Yuri Babor brought his youngest son with him to the Gold Lotus palace every time he had a meeting with the Emperor and the Imperial Court and every day during the construction of the Treasure Vault. And every time he did, young Sasha would hang out with the Crane princess who was almost the same age.

At the time, five-year-old Sakura still had a father and the world had just been released from _Ankoku Jidai_ (The Age of Darkness). The dust clouds that had choked the sun for a full thirty years began to tear apart and the world was able to breathe at last, like a miner emerging from a collapsed tunnel.

Pan-Terra was experiencing its first ever spring in a long time, the mother of all springs which pollinated the flowers of all green plants. Previously they had lain asleep and stunted despite the prodding of the agrokinetic Clan of Tiger. Everyone looked up at the skies and, after letting their eyes adjust to the dazzling brightness, basked and celebrated in the dawn of a new era.

Sakura, too, was still young enough to enjoy some freedom from her royal tutors. More importantly, she was yet to have the gloomy streak that the death of her father would bring.

Sasha recounted the first time she saw Sakura. It was through a crack in the door that he peeked, rather shamelessly he now confessed, at the young Sakura practicing the tea ceremony. He had looked very bored in the corridor while waiting for his father to finish a long meeting with the court officials, so one of the female retainers told him there was some _wagashi_ , a traditional type of sweet, being served in the tea room. Sasha ran excitedly to the place only to discover, after opening the _shoji_ door a bit, that the sweets were part of a half-play tea ceremony. Inside the room, there was a girl his age who looked quite intimidating in the focused and measured way she went about her imaginative play.

Through the gap, Sasha watched Sakura fuss over the task of serving _matcha_ (green tea) like her life defended on it. She was inviting as she smiled to herself and carried on a conversation with her invisible guests. She looked very mature for her age in the way she moved in her small white kimono. There was a certain gracefulness and music in it, too, that Sasha's mind could barely comprehend at his age but which his heart deeply appreciated. He thought she reminded him of his mother and a baby caribou that he saw once, because of her long and slim fingers as she dried her hands and sprinkled tea leaves into the boiling water.

The blue ninjas and the caribous had an alliance. The blue ninjas spared the fawns and hunted only to nourish themselves and their family; the caribous in turn offered their meat as sacrifice to become part of the blue ninjas' bodies. Sakura in that precise moment projected two things in Sasha's eyes: she looked ungainly tall at her age yet there was latent strength in her celebration of life, like a prancing sprightly spirit that rested in the corner of her smile.

In the end, Sasha couldn't help but introduce himself and request to join Sakura's tea party. He joined her in many other activities since, and they became inseparable.

They built towers out of cards; something that Sasha always failed in because he didn't know how to regulate his breathing and he had a tendency to be impatient. However, on the river banks, he would make the most elaborate mud pagodas complete with mini-fountains. They watched celluloid short films with no sound, and still they marveled at the boundless potential of the cinematograph and technology in general, especially Sasha, who dreamed of becoming an inventor. He would show her his sketches of future wonders and write down her suggestions. He promised to make the first true motion picture film that would last for hours and asked Sakura to be his actress. And right away they turned to rehearsing _kabuki_ plays that Sasha both wrote and starred in as the mysterious and diabolical _Yami Tenn ō_ or Emperor of the Dark (and his minions); Sakura the valiant princess who disguised herself as a man to join the army and single-handedly win peace for all the clans.

They spent countless hours talking about all sorts of subjects, and because Sakura didn't really have the freedom to travel, Sasha would regale her with stories of the hunt, the animals on the Northern ice caps, and the _jutsus_ of the blue ninjas. They made blanket forts in Sakura's room and told ghost stories. Then, when it became clear it was the only way to spend time with her, he joined her private lessons; on yoga, sewing, origami, the _shamisen_ (a kind of three-stringed musical instrument), the ballroom dances of the exotic West for which they became dance partners, then playing hooky at the waterfalls to watch the white _ch ūnins_ train and to pet the deer that came there to drink.

The present-day Sakura remembered most of all playing with the face-paint of her mother and the ink from the calligraphy room to duplicate the tattoos of the Clan of Tiger on their fresh skin. Last, listening to the musical box that Sasha himself made and gave her as a gift. It was composed of mirrors and carved wood and had elegant dancers spinning because of magnets underneath.

## Chapter XVI: A Ninja Mission

As Sakura and Sasha exhausted all topics and fantasies their rich imaginations could come up with, Mr. Yuri Babor's highly confidential project also neared its end. And so the young minds turned to graver thoughts and the conceptualization of "that day."

"You wanna what?" Sasha's eyes grew wide after Sakura whispered the idea in his ear.

"You heard me. We're gonna steal it so we can have a look."

"The clouds you can look at. The waterfall, the deer, the shoes of our parents while they're having a conference; you can look at all these things. But..." Sasha lowered his voice, "... Belshazzar's Scroll? We can go to prison for that. Do you know how much trouble we'd get into?"

"I know. Don't you think I've thought this one through?"

"Then please give me one good reason why you wanna put us in that mess."

"Actually, I can give two," Sakura said. They were both lying on the cool reed bed by the waterfall, playing hooky again, only the dragonflies rattling above them aware of their presence amid the stalks.

"All right. I'm listening."

"First off, we'd only get in trouble if we got caught. And what sort of ninjas are we if we let that happen? I mean, don't you realize this is going to be, like, the ultimate test of all our ninja training?"

"Oh My Buddha! I don't know what to call your way of thinking. It's backwards, illogical, and...uh... just plain wrong."

"Maybe. But listen to the second reason. You'd actually be helping your father and I'd be helping my whole clan if we pulled this off."

"What?! How?" Sasha exclaimed. "How do you call that helping?"

"Not so loud," Sakura hissed. "Because, we could show them possible holes in the security of the scroll. Holes that need patching."

"If there WERE any holes. That vault is impenetrable. It's full of mazes and booby traps. We could get ourselves killed just entering it."

"No, we won't. Think of it as a game. That's how they planned the whole thing. Like your father said, only the pure of heart can enter. Right?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"What do you think 'the pure of heart' means?"

Sasha stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"It's children. Us. The vault can be opened only by kids because we don't think the way grownups do. We haven't got any negative energy in us like, oh I don't know, gold fever or a big head. We're the exact opposite of the _Inugamis_."

"You're forgetting one very important thing. There's one other option. We could just leave the system as it is. I'm sure it's already perfect and my father has done his best to make it burglar-proof. Why do we need to make suggestions about its design? We could contribute to our parents and make them happy in many other ways. Safer ways."

"You should hear yourself talk. Are you really THE genius ninja of the Babor family? The prodigy who could create arbalests at the age of four? You should probably change your family crest from beaver to chicken."

"I'm no chicken!" Sasha sat up from where he was lying.

"Stay down!" Sakura hissed and pulled him back down.

"All right, if you're really a Babor, then you'll help me do this last thing and you'll help both our clans keep the scroll absolutely safe."

"I can't even! What makes you think they even need our help?" Sasha asked desperately.

"Because, Mr. Genius, they said they're gonna be building the strongest vault on the planet and make it imp-- impa--"

"Impenetrable."

"Thank you, impenertable to evil grown-ups but not to evil kids. They're trying to make a vault that they don't really understand because they're grownups. Can't you see? They don't know how kids' brains work."

"So you're saying my father, one of the greatest minds of this era, is making a huge mistake?"

"No, I'm saying there might be a couple of holes in the system that our parents built, and it's up to us, their kids, to show them those holes. Before evil grownups spot them."

Sasha looked at Sakura dumbfounded. Inside he was amazed that Sakura had figured out all these things but he was also scared. Sakura sometimes had that effect on him. And yet, truth be told, though he put up a lot of resistance, in the end he would follow Sakura to the ends of Pan-Terra. No matter how much he played the devil's advocate and no matter what kind of trouble she put them in, Sakura would call and he would come running.

Sakura smiled with satisfaction, thinking herself very clever. She knew all her arguments made perfect sense. Behind them though, the cause of her free-thinking attitude was only one. Everyone around her, her father and mother included, didn't think she could accomplish anything on her own. She was always too young, too weak, too soft. She was something delicate they had to watch and protect all the time. But if she and Sasha could accomplish this one feat, she'd be able to prove beyond any doubt that she could do much more than they expected of her.

**×**

Sasha drew their plan in the dirt. Sakura peered down at it.

"Ok, the vault uses tesseract technology."

"Tesse - what?"

"Tesseract. It's four-dimensional space. A cube inside another cube. Outside, the door of the vault would appear small and regular-sized but inside, it's gonna be huge."

"As huge as what?"

"It can be as huge as anything! My clan has perfected this architecture of 4-D space. So, _j ōnin_ igloos and tents look small and uncomfortable outside but, when you step in, you're transported into another world."

"Whoa!"

"Yeah. It could be as big as a Western ballroom or even a _cuju_ field."

"Hmm. That's gonna be tough. They could put all sorts of traps in that amount of space."

"Exactly." Sasha looked at Sakura hoping she finally saw how doomed their plan was.

Sakura looked right back at him.

"Well, go on."

"What? No, this is impossible. It's suicide."

"Nothing is impossible if you put your ninja heart to it. Hasn't your mother ever taught you this?"

"I'm pretty sure she meant it differently."

"Whatever. Go on."

Sasha let out a very deep sigh.

"The first challenge we're going to face is the vault door. It has a locking mechanism that can only be opened by a combination code."

"Do you know the combination?"

"Why would I?!"

"Never mind. I just thought to ask. Anyway, I'm sure we can guess it."

"I admire your positive thinking but the dial has a diameter of 7.5 feet."

"What? You said the jumbo sizes don't start till after we get in!"

"I didn't say that! I said outside, the door would look normal. I didn't say anything about the dial."

"Oh all right! I'll climb up the dial and jog on it. Just tell me what numbers to stop at."

"Not numbers. Symbols. Zodiac signs."

"Well, then it can't be that hard 'coz there are only twelve signs in the zodiac."

"Only twelve? Do you know how many possible combinations that means?"

"How many?"

"Since three symbols are required, that's twelve times twelve times twelve. Answer: one thousand seven hundred twenty-eight."

"One thousand seven...?! Great. We'd be grandfather and grandmother before we could crack that vault," Sakura said sarcastically. "I'll be the Empress then and I can just ask an attendant to open the thing. Why'd your father make it so hard?"

Sasha just stared at Sakura dumbfounded.

"Ok, how are you planning to deal with this? There must be something we can do," Sakura said, rolling up the sleeves of her kimono.

"Well, while you slowly rotate the dial, I could listen for the clicks when the drive cam connects to a wheel and graph the left and right contact points. I mean, it's made of metal and it's huge, so I'm sure the reverberations would be easy to catch. That would lower the number of attempts to a hundred and sixty-two."

"Now we're talking! What did I say! Easy as pie! Then what?"

**×**

In the actual implementation, their brilliant safe-cracking plan took ages. Sakura leapt up on the dial and walked forwards and backwards on it like a gerbil (especially in her small white ninja suit) while on ground level, Sasha listened and noted down the clicks. Several times Sakura complained and Sasha had to shush her down.

It turned out that, during the real thing, they had completely switched roles and Sasha was more serious about getting the task done as efficiently and safely as possible. It was a matter of professional pride for him that once he started something, he would see it to the end. Besides, someone had to make sure Sakura only got herself in the smallest mess possible.

When he was finally testing the different combinations of the zodiac signs that he had plotted out - Rooster Monkey Dog; Rooster Dog Monkey; Monkey Rooster Dog; Monkey Dog Rooster; Dog Monkey Rooster; Dog Rooster Monkey - Sakura kept talking nervously on the dial that Sasha sometimes lost track of what particular combination he was checking.

Finally, through Sasha's patience, great memory, and quick mental maths (and Sakura's whiny walking on the dial), they managed to crack the combination and the safe emitted an unexpected but very rewarding chime. Little did they realize that the three zodiac signs were the only ones, based on the Wu Xing or Five Element Theory, whose equivalent element was metal and not any of the clans' mother elements.

" _Yatta_!" Sakura's motivation instantly turned back on.

But her enthusiasm ended there. As the huge metal door lumbered open, spinning many hidden gears and coiling and uncoiling many unseen springs, their next challenge was revealed to them. It was a labyrinth made entirely of ice. Only its entrance was visible and the rest disappeared in shadow so they had no idea of the total width, but they could see a fifty-foot-high ceiling and many half-transparent, half-opaque walls.

## Chapter XVII: The Labyrinth

"It's a water maze," Sasha said. "I should've known!"

"How can you tell?"

"See the floor? It's sloping."

"Isn't that good news? Water would melt the whole maze."

"Not these walls," Sasha said, feeling the texture of the entrance wall with reverence. "This is perma-ice. Hard as diamond. There are absolutely no air bubbles inside the ice crystals. Our Clans combined their powers and spells to create this thing of perfection. No _jutsu_ , fire or otherwise, is powerful enough to break it."

"Well, good thing water flows downhill. Let's just make sure to stay on top."

"We can't. It depends on the layout of the maze. And if I know my father, these walls shift to create various designs and give the illusion of having no beginning or end. You remember the musical box I gave you? There are magnets underneath this labyrinth."

"Great. Isn't there any good news?"

"The good news is, I've prepared for this one as well," Sasha said with a smile and tried his best to look confident. He started rummaging inside his rucksack which was made of sealskin and, when resting on his back, made him look like a turtle with a cute, streamlined shell.

Sakura made a comment about his looking like a "ninja turtle" and Sasha found it so funny he was in stitches for a full minute. When he calmed down again, he went right back to business:

"I've brought ropes to make sure we don't get separated and we can find our way back to the entrance. I also brought these."

Sakura stared at what Sasha was handing her. It looked like a miner's helmet but instead of a headlamp of Everlite, it was fitted with something completely different: a multi-colored pinwheel.

"What's THAT?"

"I invented this myself. Behind the pinwheel there's a vibratile element that constantly engages with the eyelets of the wheel. It emits a steady clicking sound. Of course without your constant breeze it wouldn't work."

"What do we need to wear this for?"

"Imagine we were bats. We're flying blind because we don't know what wall formations are waiting for us out there. Basically, we're going to concentrate on the echoes that our pinwheel clicks will produce and try to create a mental map of the maze. Just remember your blindfolded _bokken_ training and listen hard."

"I see... Ok. Just don't tell anyone I wore something as colorful as this."

"You know, only a princess could think about her appearance at a time like this. Anyway, are you a rightie or a leftie?"

"Rightie."

"Oh, I'm a leftie. Well then, this is our first rule: We ALWAYS stick to the right wall. Put your right hand on the right side wall and keep it there. Never take it off. Whenever we come to a turn, we turn and slide our right hand along the wall as we turn. Like this. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"What did I say?"

"Sir, stick to the right, sir!" Sakura shouted with a mock salute. It impressed Sasha how she could keep her calm and sense of humor.

"Very good. We follow the right wall. Now, our second rule is to never get into any dead ends. If we hear a dead end coming up, we simply turn around, switch walls and continue. Ok?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Triggering a booby trap in a water maze will cause some alleys and sections to be flooded. You don't want to be trapped in a dead end when that happens. So, Rule No. 3, if you find yourself in a dead end, get out of it pronto. And Rule No. 4, avoid making any unnecessary movements or sounds that might trigger a trap. If you sense a good place to set a trap, take caution. Remember your jungle survival lessons."

"Sir, yes, sir! Don't get into any dead ends; keep an eye out for booby traps!"

"Ok, last. Rule No. 5. If anything goes wrong, don't panic and run around like a headless chicken. We've got to attack this challenge with logic, analytical thinking, and formulas."

Sakura let the metaphor about the headless chicken slide. She was the one who first called him that anyway. And rope or no rope, she felt there was no turning back beyond that point. Unbeknownst to Sasha, she was only keeping her cool for his sake; behind her happy-go-lucky behavior, she was scared stiff.

**×**

The process of getting through the labyrinth was slow and time-consuming. But thanks to Sasha's clever thinking, they made steady progress. He was right. They should deal with the whole thing methodically using their brains. It was counter-productive to lose their calm and get themselves lost. Worse, they could get themselves killed for real. Although Sakura never showed it, the thought was in her mind all along.

She also knew that to prove something, she had to be strong; for herself and her future imperial subjects. She couldn't express it to Sasha but she felt great relief being able to depend on him even in the face of mortal danger.

He was the bravest person she had ever met. Her father was very brave, too, and strong. But apart from when he would try to sing her to sleep and fall asleep ahead of her, they barely spent time together because of his duties to the throne. So at this point, Sasha was her hero.

Earlier, Sasha had tied the rope first around his own waist then around Sakura's, making sure it was secure but not too tight. Sakura appreciated both the act and their closeness. She hoped she didn't blush too much and he didn't notice. Finally, Sasha walked back to the entrance of the maze and fastened the other end of the rope to the wheel handle of the vault door. There was enough rope slack between the two of them to run around and probably execute some ninja maneuvers if needed, and behind them, there was a lot of extra rope to cover the length or width of the maze even with its twists and turns - at least theoretically. Sasha had included all these in his calculations.

Sakura felt safe with the rope tied securely around her waist. And as Sasha led the way through the eerie maze, they indeed ran their gloved fingers along the ice walls. The idea of using echolocation was also proving to be very effective. Sakura had some idea what shape the maze took - or shapes, as the layout of walls budged and shifted around them. This partial knowledge helped steady her nerves in the dark.

They held up Everlite crystals as torches, which Sasha had also seen to. Sakura avoided looking directly at the walls of ice because they reflected their distorted and ghostly images. It was a disturbing feeling being surrounded by glass-like surfaces, even above their heads and under their feet. And the small sounds they made were magnified and repeated like echoes in a mausoleum. Sakura still couldn't see how this challenge was fitting for kids. There was nothing fun or remotely kid-friendly about it. But despite her worries, she didn't let her concentration wander too far lest she cut off the supply of breeze to operate both their pinwheel-topped helmets.

As they moved along the silent and barren passages, Sasha noted and memorized intersections and turns while leaving marks - codes - by scratching the surface of the ice with his ki. He did these even as their layout rearranged around them.

Sakura, for her part, tried to keep quiet so as not to break Sasha's concentration. Eventually, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind to focus on the echoes that their pinwheels produced. She attempted to complete her mental map of their ever-changing surroundings. At first there was nothing but the rhythmical sounds of their footsteps, hurried but calm, and the dim back of her eyelids through which the glow of her Everlite seeped in. Then she began to imagine the edges and corners of shapes as the echoes arrived. Soon, she could "see" other parts forming...

"Look here," Sasha suddenly spoke.

Sakura opened her eyes. Sasha was crouched and peering over something on the floor. In the light of his Everlite, a shiny, delicate strand of thread was revealed.

"This is a booby trap trigger. Be careful not to trip it or we'd have water on top of our problems."

"Roger that."

They gingerly lifted their feet over the taut thread and continued. In the worst-case scenario, if the entire maze did get flooded, she'd be able to provide both Sasha and herself bubble helmets. And the trap would probably trigger a secondary alarm and bring in the cavalry. At least that was what she hoped would happen because she wouldn't be able to sustain her bubble _jutsu_ indefinitely. Now back to the shapes... Sakura pricked her ears to the echoes again. She still didn't have a complete picture but they were starting to look familiar...

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of Sasha's scream. She saw, in their pale light, a four-armed ice creature towering above him. Sasha had somehow managed to block, with only his Everlite crystal, the creature's massive kukri blade that had come down in a chop.

Sakura quickly executed the hand seal of _Rin_ , the Diamond Thunderbolt, and chanted, "I am empowered with vital energy" to project a dome-shaped cushion of compressed air over Sasha, effectively blocking the second kukri chop of the ice monster.

"What is THAT?"

"It's an ice golem!" Sasha screamed from where he had fallen on his butt on the ice. Sakura grabbed the rope connecting her to Sasha and tugged with all her might.

"Let's get out of here!" she screamed.

The blank-faced and empty-eyed golem pierced through with another weapon; this time a trident. The three ice prongs punctured Sakura's air dome and chipped the spot on the floor where Sasha was seconds ago. It was a good thing Sakura had dragged him out of the way.

The ice that composed the golem's body was of a blue shade, which confirmed Sakura's fear that this labyrinth guard was patterned after the fearsome Kali, the goddess of war and destruction in the folklore of the Lowlands. Though the golem was made of ice from head to foot, Sakura could see the distinct grooves of a breastplate, armor skirt, and arm and leg bands.

"Quick! Tell me how to stop it!" Sakura shouted over the roar of wind as she hurled out _Teikiatsujutsu_ - the Cyclone Technique. The golem raised her right arm in front of her face and advanced against the super winds with slow, clip-clopping steps.

Sasha quickly made his own _Rin_ seal and shouted: "I am strong!" He then reduced the kinetic energy of atoms around him and lowered the temperature. He threw his left arm in a sweep and turned the ice golem completely frozen. The golem got suspended in her walking-against-the-wind form, trailing horizontal icicles where the _Touketsujutsu_ (Freezing Technique) had gone past.

"That's not gonna hold him for long," Sasha warned. As if to prove what he had just said, the golem's pupilless eyes rolled behind their icy prison, turning first to Sasha then to Sakura.

"You see that paper talisman on her forehead?" Sasha instructed. "It contains a sealing spell but it's upside down. We need to turn it right-side up."

Sakura focused on the yellow strip of paper with characters that spelled out: _Be Still, Unrighteous One_. There were also deity seals running down its length.

"Oh, you mean that talisman just past the kukri blade, the trident, and the pair of sledgehammer fists?" she asked sarcastically.

Sasha had no time to retort because then the ice golem shattered her restraints by flexing her muscles. It lunged for Sakura.

Sakura threw several _kunais_ in an attempt to knock the paper talisman off but, just as she expected, the ice golem easily deflected them with her kukri and trident. She didn't even slow down and Sakura barely had time to direct a current of air under her feet, effectively lifting herself up and over the golem, who had gone on to slam against the ice wall where Sakura's back had earlier been pressed.

The golem rapidly turned her head from side to side, shaking off dizziness and chips of her face. She had also left a mask-shaped crater in the wall where, with incredible luck, the paper talisman now hung. It would seem the golem's flesh and the perma-ice had equal hardness.

With her quick thinking, Sakura summoned a breeze to pluck the paper talisman and send it gliding to her hand.

"Give it to me!" Sasha shouted and caught the paper mid-air.

The golem seemed to be aware of the paper talisman's relevance because then she turned to Sasha with contempt. The golem squatted, leaned forward, and swept both her free hands back while pointing kukri blade and trident. She shot forward.

Sasha made the hand seal of _Rin_ once more and this time called forth the _Hy ōtejō no Jutsu_ or Ice Manacle. It was more durable and could be applied in a pinch. Not to split hairs but, in Sakura's opinion, it looked more like a cangue than a manacle. It bound the ice golem's weapon-carrying hands by producing a block of ice around the wrists.

In the next millisecond, Sasha slid smoothly between the legs of the ice golem by manipulating the vibrating molecules on the surface of the floor, the stuff that made all ice slippery. Then, straight from how he was trained to deal with larger opponents, he sprang up to the seven-foot-tall golem's back and rode piggyback style.

He put a sleeping hold on the golem purely out of muscle memory. He could no more dent the golem's ice skin than he could crack diamond.

"Uh..." he said. "What do I do next?"

"Attach the paper talisman!" Sakura screamed.

Before Sasha could do anything, he had to hold on for dear life. He locked his arms around the head and his legs around the hips as the golem leaned forward to try and slip him off. When that didn't work right away, the ice golem tried to snap the Ice Manacle off her wrists.

"OhnoOhnoOhno!" Sasha screamed. "She's gonna get free and do a backwards stab!"

Sakura quickly severed the rope connecting her to Sasha with a _kunai_ and made the hand seal of _Py ō_, the Great Thunderbolt. "I know my deep spiritual self," she chanted.

Next, she summoned thin streams of wind that coated the rope and untied it from her own waist. It would appear as though she was using sheer psychokinesis so this technique was called _Nend ōryokujutsu _and was sometimes used to animate a rope in the infamous rope trick. This time, she used the streams of wind to form a loop with the rope. She cast the lasso.

The ice golem had just split the Ice Manacle and flipped her kukri from standard to reverse grip. Just as Sasha had feared, she intended to do a backwards underarm thrust.

Sakura widened the lasso enough to encompass the trident's full length and the tips of all three prongs, then she slipped it smoothly around all four of the golem's wrists and tightened it with a physical tug. The golem now looked like a hogtied animal minus her still free legs.

Sakura grunted as she tried to hold on to the tail of the lasso and the golem struggled and stumbled around blindly.

"I can't pin the talisman! I'm slipping!" Sasha screamed trying to hug the slippery face.

Sakura continued using her _Nend ōryokujutsu _and whipped the paper talisman from Sasha's fingers. But just as she was about to attach it to the golem's forehead, the golem turned with a mighty heave at the lasso. An involuntary "Whoa!" left Sakura's mouth like when she would restrain her pony back on the Ethereal Nest.

The golem started running haphazardly down the dark alley. Sakura fell on her stomach and was dragged along. She projected a cushion of air under her and looked like a magical white carpet hovering inches from the ground.

Still using her breeze, Sakura groped with her mind to pin the paper talisman on the golem's forehead.

She could see a dead end straight ahead, looming closer and closer as the golem continued running at full steam. At this rate they were going to crash with bone-breaking impact.

In one last here-goes-nothing move, Sakura slapped the paper onto the golem's face. Then she let go of the lasso, closed her eyes, and waited for the crash.

## Chapter XVIII: Of Cats and Water

The next thing she knew, she was sliding backwards.

She heard a deafening crash. It sounded like the ice wall had shattered into a million pieces in spite of what Sasha had said about its invincibility.

When she finally opened her eyes, she couldn't see a thing. Sasha raised his Everlite crystal to survey the damage and a confusing sight greeted them. The opposite wall was still intact except for a few cracks and yet there were a hundred pieces of ice scattered on the alley floor.

"Did we win?" Sakura asked over her shoulder to Sasha, who was crouched next to her prostrate form.

Sasha nodded. Amid all the debris and stretching away from the point of impact, Sakura could make out a slide composed of ice. It turned out she had managed to pin the paper talisman to the golem's forehead after all, and Sasha had gotten both of them to safety by generating the slide. With the sealing talisman in place, the ice golem had shattered.

" _Yatta_!" Sakura suddenly screamed. "See! What did I tell you? Easy as pie!"

Sasha couldn't help but also smile behind his blue ninja mask. But then he held up his Everlite crystal again (Sakura's had been lost in the fight) and his eyes squinted through the opening of his mask.

"Sakura," he said calmly, "what's Rule No. 3?"

"Uh... no dead ends?"

Sasha raised his Everlite above his head and shone its light farther ahead. There was a wall standing in the way.

"I'm sure the golem activated a trap while she was running. We gotta get out of here. Now."

Sasha grabbed Sakura's hand and turned the opposite way, desperately trying to recall his last memory of the maze while analyzing their current position. He shouted: "This way!" and pulled Sakura hard.

They ran as fast as they could. They were back to sticking to the right. From the darkness ahead of them, they heard an ominous rumbling sound. There was no mistaking the sound of a giant wave of water coming closer. But there was no turn in the wall they were following and they were headed straight to the advancing tsunami.

"Just go straight!"

"Are you sure? Coz that's where the water's coming from."

"Yeah, keep following this wall. The walls will switch soon," Sasha said calmly but secretly he kept his fingers crossed.

_You better be right_ , he thought to himself. They half-groped, half stumbled in the dark; the water becoming more and more deafening as it rushed to meet them halfway.

Sasha squeezed Sakura's hand tighter. With their acute hearing, they could sense thousands of cubic meters of water - equivalent to millions of pounds of force - spilling straight at them.

But then, to their relief, the ice wall they were following indeed started to budge. It creaked and swiveled in the middle like the false back of a castle closet. Other walls around them were also shifting. They couldn't see the entirety of the change because of its sheer scale, but they had the impression of theater backdrops efficiently being moved in the cover of darkness. That is, if the stage hands were giants.

Like clockwork, the shifting walls locked and became seamless again. Then, with Sakura and Sasha safely on the other side, the ten-meter-high wall of water crashed harmlessly by. The tsunami sounded muffled and appeared almost blob-like because of the enclosed alleyways, yet both Sakura and Sasha knew what destructive power it possessed. Sakura guessed that water from one of the falls in the Ethereal Nest had been diverted to supply the maze.

After a couple of minutes, the ice became clear again. The wave had moved on and drained somewhere else. Or the shifting design of the maze had isolated it, flooding one part of the maze like Sasha predicted. They were both very lucky to be in the dry section.

"I hope that's the last we see of that. Do you think it's gonna follow us around?" Sakura asked Sasha.

"It depends what shape the maze takes. And on gravity. In any case, we better make sure we don't activate any other traps."

"Got it. Thanks for having my back out there."

"No prob. You were pretty cool yourself. I mean, lassoing the ice golem like that."

"Right?! Did you see that? I was amazing!" Sakura said, reliving the moment and posing like she still had the golem lassoed.

"Sure, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The sooner we get out of this maze, the better."

"Right. Lead on, navigator."

Sasha smiled. He liked that compliment. Then his eyes through the opening of his mask squinted again.

"All right, here we go." He shone the Everlite into the dark passages ahead of them and Sakura made sure to follow right behind by gripping the remaining length of rope still hanging from Sasha's waist. Truth be told, Sakura was a little afraid of the dark. And if it hadn't been straightforward before, now with their rope severed, going back the way they came was no longer an option.

**×**

When their pulse had calmed down and their footsteps had returned to the steady rhythm of their cautious advance, Sakura also went back to creating mental images of the labyrinth designs. Their pinwheels were surprisingly undamaged by their fight with the golem and, after covering various sides and angles, Sakura now had a more complete picture and a firmer sense of the layouts.

She went over the images in her mind, using both memory and imagination to fill in the gaps. Then it dawned on her like an epiphany.

"Oh my God!"

"What? What is it?" Sasha asked, alarmed. He had stopped walking and turned around.

"I know now why they said only kids can enter the maze."

"Why? What are you talking about?"

"The maze designs. I know what they are."

"Really? That's great. Well, what are they."

Sakura looked at Sasha and answered: "Cat's cradle."

**×**

"Cat's Cradle?" Sasha asked incredulously.

"That's right. There's a total of six designs the maze keeps coming back to. So far, I've identified, in this order: Eagle's Claw, Turtle, and then..."

She drew a figure on the palm of Sasha's glove with her index finger.

"That's the Canoe. Well, at least for children in the Northern tribes. What else?"

"Well, Canoe then Sake Glass, then Cat's Eye, then Lightning. It goes back to Eagle's Claw after this."

"That's fantastic, Sakura! I never would've thought! You're a genius!"

Sasha gave Sakura a sudden hug, literally taking her breath away and making her blush again in the dim light.

Then, Sasha crouched and drew the layouts by scratching the surface of the ice floor directly in front of them. He lined up the cat's cradle figures in chronological order and erased mistakes with a sweep of his hand following suggestions from Sakura, who peered over his shoulder.

"It makes perfect sense. Cat's cradle figures are always the same orientation because the anatomical loop locations are unambiguous wherever children live. And it looks like, among all the six figures, the Eagle's Claw and the Lightning are the most relevant to us."

"Why's that?"

"Well, four figures overlap in all four corners except these two. The Eagle's Claw and the Lightning overlap in only one. "

"I see. That's the exit."

"Exactly. Oh, I know where it is! If my calculations are correct, it's not too far now."

" _Hontoni_?!" Sakura asked with a tremendous sense of relief. "Lead on!"

In Sasha's own excitement, he didn't notice a piece of ice rock until he had struck it with the toe of his _tabi_ boot. The whole time the alleys had been smooth ice all over and this was the first time they saw any extra formation.

Sasha and Sakura both held their breaths. The ice rock clattered ahead in the dark. It then bounced off something that clicked like a lever.

They raised their eyes fearfully as unseen gears creaked in the dark ceiling above. Then, from behind them rose the familiar, terrifying rumble of water.

"Run!" Sasha screamed.

**×**

It all happened so fast. Sasha and Sakura ran as the tsunami thundered behind them. Technically, it spilled to fill all the hollow spaces because of gravity and the tilt of the maze, but the enclosed passages made it appear as though the water was also taking turns and even chasing them. In a sense, that was also true. If they failed to outrun it or if they got themselves into any dead end, the end result would be the same. They would be like ants drowned in consolidated droplets, and the water wouldn't know the difference.

Even as Sasha's heart pounded with fear for both his and Sakura's lives, he willed himself to think quickly. He was using both his memory and logic to study all the turns they passed in a blur and all the others they took in haste. Like in a house of mirrors, everything looked the same. But Sakura was right, the maze was following cat's cradle patterns. Each design lasted for exactly ten minutes unless they tripped a wire, in which case the maze would immediately proceed to the next. There was also a transition of ten seconds between designs.

Right now they were in the middle of the transition between Canoe and Sake Glass, which meant that the section they were currently in was shrinking, pushing the water even faster behind them. Also, a dividing line between the cup figure and the saucer underneath it would soon lock, trapping them out with the water. To prove Sasha's predictions, the alley ahead of them started to be intersected and blocked by another wall. Ten seconds.

"Don't look back, Sakura! Just keep running!"

"We're not gonna make it!"

"Yes, we are! Grab the rope and use your Levitation Technique!"

It seemed as though their luck had indeed run out because right before Sake Glass, there was a clear straight path to the exit. But instead of an easy way out, they were about to be blocked and sealed in a watery tomb. The water was hard on their heels. By the sounds of it, the wave would be upon them very soon. A few seconds could spell the difference between being saved and getting drowned.

_Six one thousand... Seven one thousand... _Sasha counted inside his head. At the end of the alley, the wall was protruding steadily. Soon, there would be barely enough space for one person to pass through. Like Sakura feared, they were not going to make it.

"Sakura!" Sasha shouted without looking back. "No matter what, hold on to the rope!"

"No! I'm slowing you down!"

Sasha dropped his body to the ice floor and slid.

He slipped through the narrow gap and the wall clicked shut after him. They made it!

"Woohoo!" he screamed. "That was exciting!"

But when he had turned around, he realized that Sakura was unable to clear the wall in time. She was still there on the other side of the ice, facing him; behind her the mountain of water loomed. Instead of levitating, she had actually used her _Nend ōryokujutsu_ (Psychokinesis Technique) to untie the rope from Sasha's waist.

"Sakura!" Sasha screamed and punched the ice between them. The barrier was so clear they could see each other well enough but no sound seeped through.

Sakura chose not to turn around towards the darkness and the water. Still facing Sasha and his lone light and right before the tsunami dropped upon her, Sakura made the hand seal of _Rin_ and generated a spherical field of air around her. So, when the wave hit the wall with all its fury, she was able to withstand the force, which was akin to the charge of a hundred monoceruses. Still, the shock wave staggered her inside her protective bubble. The projection seemed to be holding. For now.

"Sakura!" Sasha kept punching the ice wall in desperation. Sakura was smiling as though to tell him everything was going to be all right, obviously trying hard not to cry. But when she saw Sasha's knuckles had started bleeding, she couldn't help but let a tear fall.

Sasha knew that the submerged white ninja would eventually lose her concentration and burst her bubble. She wouldn't be able to last the combined twenty-minute span of the current design and the one after it. If she were a blue ninja, she might just be able to hold her breath for that amount of time. Blue ninjas were trained in breath-holding meditation.

The tsunami had also gathered some ice debris along the way, which behaved like projectiles ricocheting off each other. When Sasha directed his Everlite, he saw a fine mist of blood rising from the lower part of Sakura's bubble. Her leg had been cut by a stray piece of ice. She was bleeding!

Sasha whimpered in frustration. There was nothing he could do. The wall was perma-ice, as tough as diamond and impossible to break.

## Chapter XIX: Flushed Away

Sasha dropped to his knees crying. He knew he shouldn't let Sakura see his distress but there was no helping it. He couldn't just watch her die!

They shouldn't have entered the vault in the first place. It was a bad idea. By agreeing with her plan, he had placed their lives in grave danger.

What were they thinking? They were just kids. Why did they think they could do this? If the grownups themselves had a hard time doing it, how much more would they?

If only his or Sakura's parents were here. If only an adult was here - any adult - to tell him what to do.

Sasha paused. Any adult...

What would a grownup do in this situation? he asked himself. He imagined his father was there with him. What would he do?

The first thing he would do, the first thing he would tell him was...

_Don 't panic_, Sasha thought to himself. He imagined his father speaking to him directly so even the thought sounded deep and whole like his father's voice, calm and wise like that of a village elder who knew everything.

_There 's nothing you can achieve with a clouded mind. The first thing you need to do is clear your mind and master you fear. _

_Yes, father,_ Sasha answered in his head. He sat down right in front of Sakura and took the meditative pose. His eyes were shut so he couldn't see Sakura's curious expression.

He sat crossed-legged on the ice floor and placed both his hands on his lap, right over left with fingers fully stretched and palms facing upwards. His four fingers rested on each other while his thumbs faced upwards towards one another diagonally, forming the shape of a triangle, which symbolized the spiritual energy about to rise from deep inside him. Like the latent heat being released during the freezing process.

As a blue ninja, he was taught that the primary purpose of _Hy ō-ren_ (the Ice Arts) was creation. The Clan of Bear took great pride in inventing things out of their mother element, both utilitarian and aesthetic. Destruction had no place in their nature and their techniques. And from what he was told, that was the exclusive domain of the red ninjas, the Clan of Dragon.

But for some reason he recalled his father's lesson about pressure points ( _Tenketsu_ ).  In a fight with a larger or heavier opponent, he could amplify the effects of his attacks through a firm grasp of human physiology. Sasha would envision the opponent with lines drawn across their body because the smaller the section the closer he got to a pressure point. Some of the most vulnerable were: nerve clusters, joints, blood vessels, the windpipe, and the groin. Applying pressure to these spots altered the flow of the opponent's ki and the effect ranged from a slowing of the heart rate to numbness and unconsciousness.

Inanimate objects were not known to have any pressure points, and yet it was also true that most materials had a certain degree of elasticity in them, no matter how small. For instance, a balloon, a _shamisen_ string, a tree trunk, even a concrete slab. They all followed natural philosopher Dr. Hooke's Law: _ut tensio, sic vis_ , which translated to "the extension is proportional to the force." In principle, if a material was struck in the right spot, it would start to oscillate and its structural integrity would be compromised. Still, ice and diamond were very inelastic.

_Creation is sometimes a painful process,_ Sasha remembered his father telling him, _like in the moment your mother gave birth to you. And the blue ninjas always create out of nothing. But the act and product of creation are always, without a doubt, a miracle. _

Kali, the goddess of war and destruction, was also a mother. She was a fierce warrior who first had to destroy before she could build.

Like someone sleep-walking, Sasha rose from where he had been meditating; eyes still shut. Sakura watched mesmerized even as her bubble sapped away her last reserve of strength. She saw Sasha walk towards the barrier between them. Her eyes reflected surprise and confusion because they both knew the ice was indestructible.

Sasha took the glove off his left hand and pressed his palm against the surface of the ice. Blue ninjas only had the power to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms; they couldn't produce energy to weaken the individual hydrogen bonds between H2O molecules and initiate melting. But by touching the ice, Sasha could feel the underlying ice crystals and their structure. Inside each ice crystal, the water molecules were designed in layers of hexagonal rings with oxygen atoms in the corners. Strong ice like this one was composed of many crystals packed very close together.

Sasha imagined the hexagonal rings like a stack of bricks. If stress was applied perpendicular to the stack, ice would slowly deform, but if he pushed the stack from the side, the ice would deform with less stress applied. The problem was, the ice crystals inside perma-ice had been arranged so randomly that it was tough to get to the individual stacks. It was like a Rubik's Cube whose cubelets were stacks of bricks of varying orientations.

Sasha would now attempt to perform one of the _Saihy ōjutsus_, the Ice-Breaker techniques, which he had been forbidden from learning because they were destructive. It was a taboo to attempt to destroy what another blue ninja had created, especially if it was expressly designed to withstand any blow.

But first, like a speedcuber, he whipped the layers of the imaginary giant Rubik's Cube to make every cubelet all the same orientation. Or like a multi-armed Kali himself, he shuffled decks of cards four at a time. In his utter concentration, his head rolled around his neck but his eyes remained shut.

On the other side of the ice, the weakened Sakura was starting to feel the crushing pressure of millions of pounds of water. Her bubble had started flickering and it wouldn't be long before she passed out and the water engulfed her.

Sasha opened his eyes and rapidly made the hand seal of _Rin_. Finally, he delivered the Meteor Fist ( _Ry ūseiken_). As a child, he had trained regularly to punch and kick a post wrapped in canvas. This toughened the knuckles of his hand. But contrary to appearances, one punch was a coordinated effort of many parts of the body - hip, knees, shoulder, elbow, and wrist - all flowing seamlessly to deliver a force of thousands of newton with pinpoint accuracy.

He loudly exhaled and felt his knuckles connect with the ice. He did not hesitate a bit nor slow down. He did not think the ice was tougher than his hand and his fingers would break. It was all in the mind, his father had taught him. If he put his mind to it, he was capable of achieving anything. The world was his canvas.

He didn't decelerate his punch against the surface of the ice. Instead, he imagined his fist going through the wall as if its inside was made of liquid. This was the follow-through.

In the end, Sasha wasn't able to fully extend his arm. He merely produced a crater in the spot right in front of him. His grave expression turned to dismay, then horror. He hadn't fully contemplated the possibility of his last option still falling short.

He was about to consider his attempt a fail and collapse into a puddle of remorse when, to his amazement, the crater began to throw cracks outwards. Then, the highly pressurized, microscopic air bubbles started rushing out from between the cracks, throwing him down to the ground.

"Oh my Buddha! I did it! I did it!!"

But then the creaking and cracking got so loud and he realized what was about to happen.

"Uh-oh!"

The wall of ice erupted, spilling Sakura free - and two million gallons of water.

"Grab my hand!" Sasha screamed to Sakura as he generated an ice floe under him. When she did, he lifted the limp white ninja aboard and hugged her, feeling great relief that she was alive.

"Hold on!" he shouted as the roaring water carried them straight up the long alley.

**×**

When Sakura opened her eyes, Sasha was peering down at her with grave concern.

"You're awake. Thank Buddha," he said. He had taken off his ninja mask, his black hair wet.

Sakura got up but suddenly felt woozy. "What happened?"

"Take it easy. Don't strain yourself. We're alive, thank the Seven Seas. I can't believe it myself but we got out of the maze."

"Yeah. I saw you break the ice wall. Was that real?"

"You bet! It was amazing! No one back home's going to believe me. That perma-ice was supposed to be indestructible."

"You gotta teach me that trick. Anyway, where are we?"

"Well, we just finished the first challenge and we're about to start the second."

"What?! How many are there?"

"Just one more. At least, that's what I overheard my father say."

"Oh all right. Help me up."

"Easy, there. You're officially benched on account of that cut on your leg. An ice sliver cut you pretty bad."

"That's what you think. You just wait. I'll perform a quick healing spell then I'll be good to go. I can take care of those knuckles for you, too, if you want."

"You can do that?"

"Sure! I do it every day," Sakura lied.

When she had regained her strength, she made the hand seal of _Sha_ , the Inner Lion. She chanted, "The flow of infinite divine energy flows through me to heal us."

Next, from inside her ninja suit she took out a drawstring purse and spilled out some gems, vials, a seashell, small rolls of parchment, a paintbrush and an inkwell. With the seashell, Sakura scratched a big circle in the ice under their feet.

Once seated inside the circle, she started uttering a spell and painting calligraphy on a piece of parchment. She spoke in esoteric Highland language so Sasha couldn't catch anything, but soon bright white light radiated from her heart and projected from the circle's circumference to then seep into the cut in her leg and Sasha's swollen and bleeding knuckles. All their wounds instantly subsided and closed, much to Sasha's astonishment.

"Wow! I feel brand new!"

"What did I tell you, huh?" Sakura said proudly. "Now, let's take care of our wet clothes."

Sakura stuck out her hand in the shape of a gun and from the tip of her index finger a current of wind blew to Sasha's wet hair.

**×**

Sakura couldn't understand what she was seeing. It looked like a tower stretching up to a hundred feet high. Just like the maze, it was completely made of ice, which gave it a smooth and transparent appearance, but it was also encased in a second layer like cabinet glass. Under this second layer and high above, what completely boggled Sakura's mind, there were many trapezes, ropes, and hoops just like in a white ninja's training rig, but there were also flashing lights made of multi-colored Everlite crystals.

There were curlicues of ice looping above the training rig, across and down either side of it like fangs. There were arrow symbols and three words, but because of the two ice fangs on the left and right sections, two of the words were unreadable and only the one in the center was clear. It said: ERA. Overall, the thing emitted an eerie glow like an alien rocket ship in the dark.

"What is it?" Sakura asked with a gulp.

"It's a giant pinball machine," Sasha answered with a mystified look on his face.

"Oh, didn't think your father was a big fan."

"He isn't. This is another of their ideas to create a challenge only the "pure of heart" can pass."

"Well then, we better give it a try."

"What? What are you talking about? You almost died in the maze."

"But I didn't. Look, do you want to get out of here or not?"

"I do."

"If you want to go back the way we came..."

"That's completely illogical."

"Right? Then forward."

Sakura was back to her old self. The best proof of this was, she was giving marching orders again to the reluctant Sasha.

## Chapter XX: The Game

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do. This challenge looks like it's been designed with white ninjas in mind and you're the lighter and nimbler one, so you'll be the ball. Is that ok?"

"Yep, wouldn't want it any other way."

"If my calculations are correct, the acoustics inside will be nasty. Sounds will bounce back late, loudly, and repeatedly. It'll feel like you were in a jungle, or even a war. You won't be able to use echolocation like we did in the maze. Instead, you need to narrow your focus and block out all the noise. Trust only what you see with your eyes and not what you hear."

"All right. Make my concentration as narrow as the tip of an arrow. Roger that."

"The good news is, it looks like they gave up on the idea of having movable flipper bats. I can shout out instructions to you from down here, through the small hole on either side where the flipper buttons were supposed to go. The bad news is, my message will be delayed cause I'm not speaking from halfway up."

"I can work with that. But are you sure your voice is gonna reach me?"

"Yep. Check this out." Sasha stood on the right side of the giant ice cabinet and spoke something gibberish into the hole. His voice did sound very loud and weird and seemed to be bouncing everywhere inside the machine.

"What did I tell you? SAKURA... RA... RA... RA... RA... THIS IS... IS...IS...IS... YOUR CONCIENCE... CIENCE...CIENCE...CIENCE."

Sakura thumped him on the upper arm.

"Ouch! You hit really hard. You know that?" Sasha tried to rub the ache away. Then he pointed at the right side of the structure, where a vertical tunnel made a loud, constant drone as it delivered wind up in a column. "You'll enter the machine through there. That's the Shooter Lane."

"That's Crane Clan bodyflight equipment. I use it all the time for _Karamijutsu_ training."

"Oh, good to hear. When you reach the top you can maybe kick off to bring yourself over there to those Rollover Lanes. There you can grab any of those trapezes, ropes, or hoops scattered on the upper two-thirds and keep yourself up. If this is an honest simulation of a pinball machine, you'll have to do a sequence of acrobatic maneuvers to beat the game."

"How would I know what to do?"

"I'll pass on as much information as I can. I'll know more once you start playing. You could try watching the blinking lights but because you'll be very close to them, it'll be hard for you to notice patterns or clues. I'll be your eyes. When in doubt, it's always a good idea to swing over to the trapeze or hoop that has a flashing light next to it."

"So I just jump all over the place at random?"

"Yeah. We don't have much choice because we don't know what the rules of this pinball game or mode are yet. For example, those three words that make up the Drop Targets? They're puzzle pieces that haven't been activated. They will be once you start moving around.

"Now, look down the middle of the playfield. That's a ninety-foot drop to the Out Hole and a big no-no because if you do, it's game over. You'll drain out of the machine. Worse, we don't know where that hole leads.

"Could be a bottomless pit," Sasha finished offhandedly, but Sakura wasn't sure if he was speaking figuratively or literally.

"Ri-i-i-ght," Sakura said. "So, jump all over the place while ignoring the background noise. Follow the lights. Wait for your instructions. Don't fall down bottomless pit. Anything else?"

"Well, those are your standard setup for left and right flipper bats," Sasha said pointing at the two trampolines on either side of the pit. "So, first rule of the game is don't fall down into the Out Hole because we don't have extra lives, if you know what I mean. Second rule, try to stay in the upper levels of the playing field, among the trapezes and hoops, as much as you can."

"Why's that?"

"Well, if you look at the lowest hoop, that's thirty feet above the trampolines. It'd be hard to get back on the horse if you fell down."

"Easy-peasy. I can do that with my eyes closed."

"I admire your confidence but if you do fall, make sure you're on those ice slides over there. They're called Return Lanes and they'd bring you right down to the trampoline-slash-flipper bats. Those ice slides next to them? They're called Out Lanes and they're bad news because they'd lead you straight to the Out Hole."

"Roger that. Don't fall down. If I do, I should slide down the Return Lanes. Right?"

"Right.'

"Don't fall along the Out Lanes and slide out of the game."

"Never."

"Ok, got it. Anything else?"

"Um, nope. I think we're good to go."

"All right! Let's do this coz I'm getting hungry!"

"Um, Sakura one last thing."

"Yes?"

"Well, um... I just wanna tell you one more thing before you head inside."

Sakura pricked her ears because Sasha's voice sounded more mature than usual. It was sensitive and softened; almost ominous.

"No matter what happens, I want you to know I'm really happy you insisted on bringing me here with you. This is the most exciting, scariest, fun, and... craziest time I've ever had in my entire life. And I want to thank you for it. Before I met you, my life was ordinary and boring. I used to be really depressed all the time, which was the real reason my father brought me with him to the Ethereal Nest. But apart from your kingdom and all its beauty and treasures, I found something much more precious: your friendship.

"You're the coolest and most amazing person I've ever met. And I know sometimes you're also afraid but you never let it show. I know sometimes you're sad but you always have a ready smile for everybody. You always think of other people around you, Sakura. And although you think you're not fit to become the ruler of the Ethereal Nest someday, I'm positive you'll be a natural for it because of your personality."

Sakura's eyes moistened. Before she could shed a full-blown tear though, she threw another friendly thump on Sasha's arm and turned around to hide her eyes. Sasha took the hit without his usual complaint and Sakura walked towards the entrance of the vertical wind tunnel.

The door was a hole shaped like an arch. There was no ground to step on past the doorway but there was a steady column of strong wind that would blow her upwards.

She wasn't sure if what Sasha said was just his way of cheering her on, but it definitely worked. He had that uncanny ability sometimes, to be insensitive and dense most of the time but know exactly what words to say to melt a young girl's heart. She didn't know how else to explain it but she definitely felt it.

**×**

Just like the maze, the pinball challenge was very different from her expectations. As soon as she had stepped into the arched doorway, she was whisked up to a height of a hundred feet. Sakura didn't mind because she wasn't afraid of heights (she was much more afraid of the dark) and like she told Sasha, she had done bodyflight training countless times. However, and this was what bothered her most of all, she felt something unusual just as she was floating on top of the column of winds. All her powers had been nullified.

She could only think of one explanation for this. The whole pinball challenge was enveloped by some kind of Anti-enchantment Spell, which was very bad news for Sakura. This meant she wouldn't be able to perform any ki techniques, including _Karamijutsu_ (body-lightening) or even the unpredictable Teleportation, which she had been counting on if worse came to worst and she was falling to a bottomless pit. Now, she doubted if she could even clear the thirty-foot jump from the trampoline to the lowest hoop like she had boasted to Sasha earlier. She would have to rely on just her human abilities.

"EVERYTHING OK UP THERE... THERE...THERE...THERE?" She heard Sasha ask through the hole and he was right. The noise sounded messed up and disorienting even just at the entrance to the game.

"No, everything's wrong! I can't use my ki!" she screamed down to Sasha even though she knew there was no way he was going to hear her outside the pinball cabinet. The awful truth was: she was on her own. There was no turning back either because they couldn't turn off the column of air in the Shooter Lane even if she wanted to. The only way out now was by winning against the machine or falling down the Out Hole. And as Sakura and Sasha both knew, the second wasn't really an option.

She had never felt so alone in her life. Floating high above the ground with no ki talents or magic, the winds howling at the mouth of a giant toy that thought nothing of her except as an object - a ball - she began to feel really scared. The height in itself didn't have any effect on her and so far she was still held aloft by her mother element. She was always at home with the air and wind no matter where she was. She was like Sasha in this sense who could hold his breath for half an hour under water because of his yoga training and his masterful knowledge of biology and physiology. Being with their respective elements was the safest place for either of them.

Sakura started crying. She missed her parents. She finally admitted to herself that she had been wrong to enter the vault and try to get a peek at Belshazzar's Scroll. Worse, she made nice-guy Sasha accompany her. Now both their lives were in danger. This made her feel like a terrible person. She was probably rotten to the core.

It was all because of her constant need to prove herself to her parents, to rebel and show them they were wrong on at least one point. They didn't know everything, especially when it came to deciding her life; what she could and couldn't do.

But she had to face the truth now. Her parents did know. And like they thought, Sakura was the one who didn't know anything. She was a foolish girl whose only talent was for getting herself in trouble and then waiting and crying for someone to come rescue her. Ironically, that probably made her a natural for the position of Empress, because what she was good at was being rescued and protected; from herself included.

But then she recalled what Sasha had told her right before she stepped off the edge, and she derived new courage from his words.

_I can do this_ , Sakura thought to herself, wiping the tears hard off her cheeks. She placed her feet against the ice wall, bent her knees, and kicked, launching herself forward and out the vertical tunnel into empty space. _I 'm a ninja!_

**×**

She reached, swung, tucked her legs, soared, and swished in the air. They were the usual acrobatic exercises that she did for her _Hichojutsu_ lessons, the leaping and flying art. The difference was she could feel gravity to be much stronger than usual, which was proof of her inactive Body-lightening Technique.

The shine of every trapeze bar and hoop, the rough and burning texture of every piece of rope, every strain of muscle, every drop of sweat, the push of the wind against her body; all these felt more real and magnified. She couldn't afford to be detached or simply go through the motions like she sometimes did in her private lessons. This time she had to do her absolute best and never let her concentration waver because the cost of a mistake could be fatal.

Sakura was not about to let any negative thoughts stop her either. If anything, they made her appreciate every second of the experience more because they were ephemeral, never to happen again precisely the same way. So, while on the surface it was her body and deeply ingrained habit that made the jumps, grabs and somersaults, deep down it was all her, so to speak.

The other important difference was the lights and sounds. Like Sasha warned, they could get very distracting. Imagine a sudden flash or blinking in the periphery of your vision, or right next to the trapeze bar you had to grab. Sakura had to maintain an almost tunnel-like concentration to block out everything else and feel only the air and her, only the trapeze bar and her fingers, only the swing, only the momentum, only the vast silence inside her head; none of the glaring lights, the harsh cacophony of strange echoes, and the black mouth waiting below.

The third and last difference was the network of ice tunnels and slides. She knew it was probably Sasha's father's idea but it was terrible in her opinion. It was like a giant earthworm's transparent piece of real estate, or a water dragon's intestines. At least this was how she imagined it would feel and look to be swallowed by one based on Sasha's stories.

There was one particular trapeze that, when swung, always brought her smack into the entrance of the twisting slides. The entrance was just slightly bigger than a rabbit's hole and very inconvenient. She would slide either feet-first or head-first, it varied depending on which connection she came from, and there was no room to hold her arms out.

_Ladies and gentlemen, please keep your hands on your sides at all times,_ Sakura thought to herself. The network of ice tunnels would let her rattle along inside - up, down, left, right - till, like a child's capricious mouth, it spit her right back out to empty space. It was left to Sakura to grab hold of something - anything - amid the rush and the heady sensation of free fall.

Trapeze, Hoop, Rope, Trapeze, Rope, Hoop, Ice Slide. She'd be back in no time for a different sequence. If she wasn't a white ninja, she'd have already puked or, worse, splattered on the ground.

UM, SAKURA... RA... RA... RA... RA... Sasha communicated from the bottom politely, worried about breaking her concentration. YOU'RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS... THIS... THIS... THIS... BUT YOU NEED TO GET DOWN... DOWN... DOWN... DOWN... TO THE TRAMPOLINES... LINES... LINES... LINES... LINES...

Sakura instinctively looked down at the trampolines many feet below. Big mistake. She missed the next trapeze after a rope swing and sent herself hurtling to the far right-side wall. She slammed against it and clawed for purchase, projecting her _neko-te_ (cat claws, a staple of _kunoichis_ or female ninjas of any clan). Unfortunately, they were not enough to stop her rapid descent down the ice. Worse, she was in an Out Lane, which led directly to the bottomless pit. She closed her eyes and streaked downwards.

"Sakura!!!!" Sasha screamed as he watched her slide.

## Chapter XXI: Out

Sasha's brain neurons fired signals as fast as the accident transpired. He knew there was only one thing they could do now. It was a move that wasn't by the book. Called a "Death Save," it involved nudging the machine and hoping it didn't detect a tilt.

He waited for Sakura to pass right where he was standing. He didn't have to wait long. She rushed by him and disappeared under, taking the bend towards the Out Hole. Soon she'd drain down the pit.

_Not if I could help it_ , Sasha thought. Now Sakura was directly parallel to where he was standing; only she was sliding on her stomach feet-first to the middle bottom of the machine.

Sasha executed a _Zenpo Keri_ or forward kick, stomping with all his might while keeping his spine erect to maintain balance, which was characteristic of a ninja's _Budo Taijutsu_.

The tremendous force of the kick rocked the whole pinball cabinet towards the left and ironically speeded up Sakura's slide towards the Out Hole. But this was all part of the plan because there was in fact an overhanging shelf on the right side of the Out Hole's mouth. By increasing Sakura's momentum, Sasha sent her right onto that shelf. Then Sakura did a reflexive back flip and brought herself out of the mouth of death and onto the left trampoline.

"OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodThat was close!" Sakura panted.

"Too close," Sasha agreed, also out of breath. Now that they were more or less on the same level, they could hear themselves better. "Unfortunately we can't do that technique too many times or the machine would disqualify us for tilting. I'm sure there's a plumb bob somewhere under to monitor illegal moves."

"Why'd you call me down here?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you remember those three words I said were like puzzle pieces? We can read them now."

Sakura looked up and managed to make out the words even though she was directly under them. In the left section, it said "SWORD." In the clear center, it was still "ERA." And on the right, it was "PARTS." Sword Era Parts. Sword Era Parts? Sword Parts Era?

"What do they mean?"

"They're anagrams," Sasha explained. "Jumbled words. If you notice, there's a different color of Everlite crystal behind each letter. You activated them when you passed in front of them through the ice ramps. If you apply a sequence to the colors, say white-blue-brown, other words are formed."

"I see. They're the colors of the three clans except Dragon."

"Precisely. So, white-blue-brown-white-blue-brown turns the first word from SWORD to WORDS. The same pattern changes the third word from PARTS to TRAPS."

"Words Are Traps," Sakura said.

"That's right. Words are traps for ideas. It's a quote from Master Zhuang. He's a philosopher whose writings were instrumental to the creation of Taoism."

"So how can this Mr. Zhuang help us?"

"Well, I'm guessing you need to activate the letters of the middle word by passing them one by one. And you need to activate them in the right order. That's A, then R, then E. Otherwise, the word isn't going to form and the Drop Targets will just restart."

Sakura looked up at the letters of the word "ERA." They were more than thirty feet away from the trampolines. Then she looked down over the edge of the trampoline she was standing on. The bottomless pit gaped.

"Easier said than done," she said. "They're right in the middle so one wrong move and I drop straight into the Out Hole."

"I thought you said you could float and it was easy-peasy?"

"That's what I thought. But I haven't been able to use any ki techniques since I entered the game. There's an Anti-enchantment Spell or something."

"What?!" Sasha almost fell apart.

"I'll just have to rely on my body alone," Sakura said. "Don't worry. I can still do this."

"You don't need to, Sakura!" Sasha shouted, "That's the thing. You've done plenty enough already. You've gotten us this far. You don't need to prove anything anymore."

"No, my father told me to never do a half job on anything. We've got to see this to the end."

"I think people outside are on to us now. I'm sure I set off an alarm when I broke the ice wall. They must be ramming down the doors right this moment."

"That just means we need to do things a bit faster. We're almost there, I can feel it."

"But if you fall down the Out Hole again... there's nothing else I can do. I can't lose you!"

"I won't and you won't lose me. I'm telling you I can do this," Sakura said with grim determination.

"Are you sure?" Sasha asked nervously.

Sakura looked back at him over her shoulder and flashed a wink. "What did I tell you? I can do this even with my eyes closed!"

She started jumping on the trampoline.

"All right! Break a leg! Or don't!" Sasha shouted, trying to sound as optimistic as he could. He was a negative-thinker by nature.

Sakura jumped up and down to test the amount of potential energy the trampoline's springs could store. This particular trampoline was made of sewn-together seal skins, which was characteristic of trampolines in the North. Sasha had told her all about the festive custom of blanket toss among the Clan of Bear.

She made sure to jump at the center of the trampoline, which was optimal. She bounced higher and higher, stretching the trampoline fabric as far down as it would go. But she was still a long way from the lowest hoop that could swing her to the Drop Target letters. That hoop was exactly thirty feet away.

She didn't dare look down because that meant seeing the gap between the trampolines and the unfathomable darkness of the Out Hole. Instead, she quieted and emptied her mind. She was steeling herself for the moment before the leap of faith. This was the most crucial ingredient in every jump: the trusting part. The belief that you could fly and reach the heavens; a faith stronger than the law of gravity itself and the fear of falling.

It was time. As the trampoline material stretched to its limit, Sakura used all her energy to propel herself in the jump. This was the push-off which would determine how high and how long a white ninja could stay in the air.

As a matter of fact, the amount of energy Sakura managed to add to the trampoline's maximum jump was equivalent to an impressive four feet. But as she hung at the apex of the jump, she realized her maximum effort would still come up short, the bottom of the hoop would still be out of reach. After one second, she began to descend.

It was at this precise moment that, out of reflex, Sakura flicked a piece of rope from under the sleeve of her ninja suit. It was the same rope she had untied from Sasha's waist but now a _kunai_ was attached to its end. The rope wrapped around the bottom of the hoop and, before it could unsnag, Sakura pulled herself up. Her fingers closed around the curve of the hoop.

Thirty feet below, Sasha jumped in relief.

**×**

It took several more jumps to and from a higher trapeze, which was diagonally above. Add to this Sakura's mistake because the three Drop Targets were very close to each other, which reset the word ERA by clearing all the lit Everlite crystals. Sakura didn't mind as long as the game didn't restart the whole play field. Compared to the jump from the trampoline, this part was tolerable.

Finally, when the word ERA was activated in the right sequence of colors, Sakura hung from the trapeze and shouted back down to Sasha: "What's next?"

"Jump to the Lock Sinkhole... hole... hole..."

"The what?!" Sakura gestured her inability to hear.

"Look up... up... up..." Sasha shouted while pointing up.

Sakura did. That was when she noticed something had changed in the flat surface of the play field. Several blocks of ice had actually retreated, creating a square indentation that was big enough for her to crawl into. Amid the smooth and slippery cabinet, seeing this was like seeing an oasis in a desert.

Sakura checked again with Sasha below and he was nodding, so Sakura swung from the trapeze to a hoop and finally to a rope that overhung the hollow square. Gripping the rope, she swung at an angle from the ice. She let go and the rope flung her right into the hole.

Sakura crouched inside the small square cave and her weight must've triggered something because all the walls of that cramped space started throbbing with lights from Everlite crystals. Sakura shut her eyes from the blinding display, but when she opened them again she saw in the periphery of her vision something that made her swivel her head. She gulped.

It was Belshazzar's Scroll. It was resting in another receptacle in the farthest ice wall. But it was definitely not far from Sakura's reach.

Sakura rubbed her eyes to make sure it wasn't a trick or something. She couldn't believe it! She had dreamed and imagined the moment for so long, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most sought-after relic in all of Pan-Terra, just to have an idea what it looked like. Now she was crouched only a few feet away from it.

The scroll was much smaller than she imagined it would be. It looked like any ordinary scroll, rolled-up and yellowing around the edges. And yet Sakura knew it was not the appearance that mattered but the wisdom contained within the single page; wisdom that had been inscribed directly by the Supreme God Himself, Izanagi. It almost felt sacrilegious just being in its presence.

As though to make up for its ordinary appearance, the scroll was preserved in a tube container that was made of a crystal-like substance. Sakura had heard enough of the legends to know that this was an Adamantine shell.

Sakura gingerly reached out her hand. Although the scroll itself didn't glow like the Everlite crystals around her, it felt like it was radiating out of its containment. It announced itself in its simplicity and quiet mystery. And when she gripped the Adamantine tube at last, it felt cold and very smooth to her touch.

She lifted it and marveled at its weight. She had expected it would be heavier. She turned it over and around a couple of times, still mesmerized by its actuality. The realization of what she had accomplished still hadn't completely sunk in.

Then, all at once, the bottom of the hole she was crouching in fell and she was sliding down another tunnel. Sakura hugged the scroll tight against her chest and shut her eyes as she hurtled down.

**×**

She didn't go down the Out Hole as she feared. Deep down, she also knew the tunnel was leading her to a completely different place, a safe one, because she had beaten the game and completed all its challenges. So, when her butt skidded on solid icy ground, she turned her head and realized she was on ground level again and outside the pinball machine, on the left side of it because Sasha was running excitedly to where she was.

"Oh my star and jellyfishes! You did it, Sakura! You got Belshazzar's Scroll! You're officially the sneakiest ninja in the whole wide world!"

She casually handed the scroll to Sasha, who took it with great amazement and respect, then she plopped down on the ice.

"Sakura! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just exhausted."

"Oh my Buddha, it's true. I'm actually holding Belshazzar's Scroll in my hands right now."

Sasha turned the crystalline tube this way and that, oohing and aahing while testing its weight and memorizing its dimensions. After a while, he asked: "What do you wanna do now?"

"Let's go home," Sakura replied with contentment.

**×**

An exit had opened to the left of and far behind the pinball machine. The rear walls of the vault must've shifted to create a new access, where none before existed. This new exit naturally had never been used before and caused quite a shock to the staff of the castle kitchen, where the large door had emerged right behind the fireplace-turned-oven.

Just as Sasha guessed, the whole castle had been alerted. It looked like all the Imperial Guards stood outside with their swords drawn and wooden shields raised. On taut bow strings, many arrows waited tensely for the culprits to come out but no-one dared attack because whoever could come out of the vault must either be royalty or a very powerful intruder. Imagine all their surprise when two kids, dressed in their official but small-sized ninja suits, emerged looking timid and afraid.

"Hold your fire!" The stern voice of Sakura's father was heard. He was in charge of the castle defenses and the vault but this time he was concerned about the archers the most because he knew what damage a single arrow could do when released by accident. He ran between the guards, who had immediately parted and stood at attention when they heard his voice.

Sakura, too, almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. Sasha was holding Belshazzar's Scroll, most likely to cover for her.

"Sakura! What's the meaning of this?" her father, the legendary shinobi Kazan, also known as Spear Kazan, asked as he stopped in front of them.

"Sir!" Sasha answered before Sakura could. Sakura wouldn't have managed to anyway because she was shaking with fear.

"This was all my idea," Sasha explained like a conscript who wouldn't dare look his officer in the eye. "I just convinced Sakura to come along. We didn't mean to do any harm, least of all to Belshazzar's Scroll. We merely wanted to discover and point out the flaws in the security, to help the Imperial family protect the scroll better!"

"Sasha!" Mr. Yuri Babor had finally arrived at the scene after passing between the ranks of guards. He stopped next to Mr. Kazan Rokkaku. He had heard Sasha's explanation and it was clear from his expression that he didn't approve.

"That's not true," Sakura finally spoke in a soft voice. She took Belshazzar's Scroll from Sasha's hand but kept her head bowed. "It was all my idea. Sasha protested against it but I forced him to come with me."

"But why?" Mr. Rokkaku asked in a loud, if confused, voice.

"I wanted you to notice me," she finally admitted. "To prove to you that I was also a great ninja worthy of your attention. I thought the only way to achieve that was to steal the scroll, which occupied your mind day and night."

Sasha glanced sideways at Sakura, uncertainty filling his face. He had been standing in stiff attention like the guards but now he fidgeted.

"How dare you!" Mr. Rokkaku roared and both Sakura and Sasha flinched.

"Sakura!" Sakura's mother, Mrs. Rokkaku, also arrived and made a beeline for her only daughter. She dropped to her knees and hugged Sakura tight. "I'm so glad you're all right."

"Sakura Rokkaku!" Her father continued. "You have brought great shame to your family and the throne. Never has a princess acted so unbecomingly! Do you know the punishment for what you've done?"

"Kazan!" Mrs. Rokkaku looked over her shoulder and shouted, either to scold her husband or to stop him from speaking. But Sakura saw the fear in her eyes, the fear for her child. Sakura hadn't really thought this part over but she now realized there must be laws in place for their situation.

Mrs. Rokkaku whispered in Sakura's ear: "He's just so relieved you're alive. We both are," but Sakura doubted if that was true.

"How could you pass such a burden to your parents?" Mr. Rokkaku kept on scolding her. "Do you know what disaster you have brought to our noble family? What pain it is to weigh your fate against the good of the entire kingdom?"

Sakura wasn't listening anymore. She had resolved long ago to never cry in front of her father because it was a sign of weakness. So far she was succeeding. But the sight of her mother protecting her while her father glared down was too much for her young heart to contain.

Her tears fell in streams. She began sobbing and her shoulders heaved up and down.

This was the worse. She had wanted so much to appear strong in front of everyone and here she was bawling like a child. Her father was right. She was a shame to her family and the entire kingdom.

It was also because of all the trials she and Sasha had to go through. She was scared to death the whole time she was inside the vault and now the tension had taken its toll. Last, it was the possibility that instead of making things better, she had actually made them worse. Instead of achieving something for herself, she had made the biggest mistake of her life.

Oh, how could something so wrong seem so right at first?

Her father was still speaking: "A good leader must put the welfare of his kingdom before his and that of his family. And so, Sakura Rokkaku, it is with great pain that I hand down the punishment for your transgression..."

Mrs. Rokkaku's embrace tightened around Sakura.

## Chapter XXII: Ninjas Don't Cry

"They're but children," someone spoke from afar. The voice was calm and soft, but with its inherent authority and in the tense silence, it was heard by everyone.

The voice caused an immediate effect. Everyone, from Sakura's father to every single soldier and castle staff dropped to their knees and bowed, their hands touching the ground.

It was the Emperor!

Sakura's mother and Mr. Babor both turned around and laid themselves low as well. Sasha, after throwing a hesitant glance at Sakura, who chose to remain standing with her head bowed, followed suit.

A great hush had settled, only Sakura's sniffling (she tried to completely stop the waterworks but it was impossible) and the soft, steady footsteps of the Gold Lotus Emperor could be heard.

"Children will be children," the Emperor continued speaking in his calm voice.

Sakura kept her head bowed and sniffled as quietly as she could till the Emperor was standing directly in front of her. She could see the immaculate skirts of his royal robes.

"Who among you will not admit to some mischievousness in your youth? Eh, Kazan?"

Then the Emperor placed his fingers under Sakura's chin and slowly lifted her face. Sakura reluctantly met his eyes, but relief suffused her body when she saw nothing but wide understanding in her grandfather's soft gaze.

"Wipe your tears, my child. Ninjas never cry, as you've probably heard so many times already. Permit this old man to remind you just one more time.

"There are only three times in her life that a ninja is supposed to cry. First, when she is born. Second, when her mother passes away..." The Emperor took his fingers from under Sakura's chin. He turned around, walked towards Mrs. Rokkaku and bade her rise. He told Mr. Rokkaku the same and continued: "Finally, when her father passes away."

"The gods know the young will have plenty enough reasons to cry," the Emperor added melancholically.

"Also, the word "ninja" both means the one who is unseen and the one who endures. This young girl, my granddaughter, has shown to us today the true meaning of the word. She has exemplified our spirit. For how many of you will have the courage to go against the wishes of your family? How many of you will have the determination to act on your plans no matter how insurmountable the odds? And how many among you will conquer you fear, stand the test, and survive?"

The Emperor walked back to Sakura and held out his hand. "I believe you have something that you wish to give your father?"

Sakura shyly lifted her eyelashes and handed Belshazzar's Scroll to the Emperor, who in turn passed it to Mr. Rokkaku. The great warrior took the scroll with both hands and a bowed head.

"Ah, all is right in the world again. I am pleased," the Emperor said and, when Sakura briefly caught his eye, she thought he actually winked at her.

He turned back to the parted sea of guards. "Now, hear my decree," he commanded in a stentorian voice. If Sakura's mother's voice was naturally mellow and soothing, her grandfather's was authoritative regardless of whether he was in a calm or emotional state. Mr. Rokkaku got this from him.

"Mr. Babor and my beloved son Kazan shall extend their endeavor of providing security to Belshazzar's Scroll. In line with this, I hereby appoint my granddaughter Sakura and this young man Imperial Advisers to their parents for the duration of the project and for as long as it is necessary to reinforce the protection of the scroll."

Mrs. Rokkaku's face showed great relief and admiration for the Emperor's wisdom. Mr. Rokkaku and Mr. Babor looked on impassively and held back from showing their feelings, but everyone could guess they were equally relieved that their children had been spared a much harsher fate.

"However..." the Emperor began ominously, "upon the completion of this activity, both Imperial Advisers to matters of scroll security must be subjected to a _Kioku Massh ō Majutsu_ (Mind Wipe Spell) to prevent their valuable knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. The secrecy of the scroll is of the utmost importance."

Mrs. Rokkaku smiled at Sakura bitter-sweetly. Some precious memories would be taken from her daughter's mind, and to have an unclear knowledge of one's past, whether it be a single day or season, whether altered, replaced or left empty, was tragic. Still, it was a more agreeable penance than what was originally intended.

"This is my judgment and every ninja shall uphold it," the Emperor finished.

**×**

"So, this is it," Sakura told Sasha in the antechamber. They had been helping both their parents with the improvements to the vault. It had been several weeks of extended stay for Sasha. Mainly, the grownups asked questions about how they managed to overcome the obstacles - the vault door, the maze, the ice golem, the pinball machine - and Sasha and Sakura answered separately, never together, perhaps to check if they were telling the truth.

They weren't allowed to share any ideas of their own, a situation which Sasha greatly regretted and tried many times to change by cutting in. He knew the only time he'd be able to propose his ideas to his father was in the duration of the improvements. Afterwards, he wouldn't have the bragging rights for being part of an official imperial project. He wouldn't even remember it.

Sakura, meanwhile, was content to just do as she was told. At least she was able to spend more time with her father, every day in fact, to help with something that meant a lot to him. Sakura felt they had gotten closer during those several weeks than they had ever been in her entire life. Perhaps this was something the ever wise Emperor foresaw. Her father seemed to become softer and less demanding of her, or maybe it was only because they finally found the opportunity to get to know each other. It only partially occurred to Sakura that after the memory wipe, all would be forgotten.

In hindsight, it was premonitory that her grandfather arranged they spend more time together because of Mr. Rokkaku's impending death.

"Yes, this is it," Sasha replied. They were allowed to have one last time together to say their goodbyes. Afterwards, the erasing of memories would be administered.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Sakura asked.

"What's the point? You're not gonna remember it anyway."

"Who knows? A very strong feeling of dejā vu has been known to reverse a Mind Wipe Spell. And besides, I'm a white ninja myself. So, you know, maybe I have a few tricks left, like a way to keep the memories I cherish safe inside my brain," Sakura bluffed.

Sasha just smiled because he knew it would take a very powerful sorceress to perform such a feat.

"It's all right," he said. "Just make sure to bump into me in the future so we can help each other out. We can fill in the missing pieces together. I'll make sure to remember some of the memories if you promise to remember the rest."

"Promise?" Sakura asked, extending her little finger for a pinky promise.

"Promise and sealed." Sasha said, curling his own pinky around hers and pressing her thumb with his.

They didn't immediately let go of each other's hand.

"Is there anything else you want to say to me?" Sakura asked breathlessly.

"Do you remember the anagrams in the pinball machine? Words are traps for ideas. I don't need to say them because you already know."

"How will I know if you don't say them?"

"Because it's our hearts that are speaking to each other."

"I see."

Sasha blushed. Normally timid, this time he bent down to kiss Sakura on the forehead. Sakura closed her eyes at the gentle touch of his lips.

"You tell me this now?" she whispered.

Afterwards, they both walked out of the antechamber into separate rooms and their glances over their shoulders were the last they ever saw of each other.

Until now.

**×**

Temujin's conflicting feelings manifested in the fire at the center of the igloo. The flame was dipping, which signified the elemental power fueled by his desire was weakening. It also flickered several times, which meant that his heart was being clouded by doubts.

Temujin was ashamed to admit it but he disliked Sasha. He knew it was unfair of him to judge him because they had just met, but in his mind Sasha represented everything he didn't have: loving parents, a big family, a tight-knit community, an identity. Sasha was the youngest and it showed in his gentle soul and the natural way he both gave and expected affection. He had known only his world and thus had the trusting and contented aura that Temujin didn't. And because of these things, Sasha and Sakura were a perfect match. This last realization hurt Temujin above all else.

It was his own fault anyway, for entertaining the slightest possibility in his mind that Sakura would fall for someone like him. He hadn't even noticed when the feeling started. Now it was the only thing his young heart knew and it was causing so much hurt.

The fire flickered again.

The Dragon elders said there were three layers of light in any fire. The outermost was the amorphous aura, the one inside that was the white flame, and the last one, the innermost, was called the dark light. All these levels mirrored the shape the invisible flame took inside a red ninja.

Temujin felt both envy and jealousy. Envy towards Sasha for being himself and having everything that he never did, and jealousy towards the fact that Sasha and Sakura deserved each other. Two people who had never been needy, had always been steeped in tenderness, and had been through an extraordinary experience together, ended up with each other again.

Sasha and Sakura filled in the missing pieces of their memory. They did this fondly, nostalgically, to remind the other and themselves that this and that event had happened and that their feelings were real.

"Speaking of Mr. Babor," Sakura finally broke the lull, "where's your father now? I would very much like to see him again."

"Well, that's the thing. He's gone on an expedition to the Southern Amazonian jungle. He's heard legends of a second meteor landing there way back in the Age of Darkness. The meteor is said to contain the element Adamantine, the same stuff that protects Belshazzar's Scroll. My father knew such a material would bring about untold wonders in the field of civil engineering, but he also knew it could pose a threat to the world if it fell in the wrong hands."

"There was a second meteor?" Temujin asked. "A twin of _Tenrai no Kasai_ , the Fire from Heaven?"

"Yes, but it's supposed to be smaller and the exact opposite of Fire from Heaven. If _Tenrai no Kasai_ was a bane, the second meteor was a boon. The gods dropped both on our planet at the beginning of the Age of Darkness."

Sasha paused.

"My father had been sending us letters every chance he got, via courier frigatebirds, to let us know his progress. But not too many days ago, his letters stopped. We fear he may have gotten into some trouble."

Sakura and Temujin looked at each other. This sounded like the perfect lead to follow up on. The miners' stories had come all the way from the South after all, through the vast network of tunnels. In the South was where the pack of _Inugamis_ sought to acquire Adamantine and unseal the scroll. They had to go there.

Much to Temujin's dismay, Sakura then decided to tell Sasha about their secret mission to retrieve Belshazzar's Scroll. It was true they needed all the help they could get but Temujin had somehow hoped they would ask someone else. Worse, the blue ninja was more than eager to join them, not only to help Sakura but especially his father. There was no containing Sasha's gung-ho zeal once he learned the scroll had been stolen.

The only problem now was getting his mother's permission without raising any alarms.

"That's not a problem," Sasha readily said when Sakura voiced out the concern. "The Clans of Bear and Tiger are trade partners and we have ships sailing to and from the South."

"Regular trade partners?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Sasha answered, "it's only your clan that insists on its isolation and, well..." he paused and turned to Temujin, "your clan isn't exactly friendly."

"On that I agree," Temujin said.

"So we get on one of those trade ships," Sakura said. "But then, going back to the question, how do we convince your mother again?"

"That's easy. We don't let her know till I'm already at sea."

"What?!" Sakura and Temujin exclaimed.

"You're gonna run away?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it's not really running away considering that I'm with you two and it's to investigate my father's current condition. Besides, I'm already eighteen and old enough to decide these things on my own. It's about time I got off this glacier and saw the world. Buddha knows my elder brothers have had their shares of adventure. Except for the time I went to the Ethereal Nest, which I can't even boast about and can't even remember properly, I'm terribly lacking in experience."

"Still," Sakura said, "there must be another way. I could tell your mother that I'm inviting you on official imperial business."

"No, that wouldn't work," Temujin said. "You're not the Empress yet."

"Yeah," Sasha agreed, "and my mother has the nose of a _jolfr_ for lies of any degree."

"What does that mean again?" Temujin asked.

"A wolf."

"Oh right."

"So you're just going to run away?" Sakura asked.

"No, not run away," Sasha corrected, "save the world."

He gave his most charming smile as Sakura and Temujin looked at him.

## Epilogue: A Note for Temujin

The three ninjas tried to act normal to avoid raising any suspicions. Sasha suggested they have a sauna bath which was a big thing in the North and the surest way to blend in and not call attention to themselves. It was also the most time-consuming and overindulgent, in Temujin's opinion, but Sakura was all for it because she had heard of the extraordinary benefits of the sauna to the skin.

They took off their ninja suits and slipped into uniform robes, Sasha generating a wall of opaque ice for Sakura to change behind. She and Temujin folded their suits on the igloo floor after removing all their weapons and valuables, and it made them feel very guilty when Mrs. Babor insisted on washing their clothes while they plotted to take away her youngest son.

Sasha only worried about their suits not drying fast enough for the trip back to Pukkitunturi the next morning, but he had forgotten Sakura could air-dry them and Temujin could probably press them with his heat. The two young men wore dark blue robes and went to the same public bathhouse while Sakura had on a light blue one and headed off to the ladies' section.

After surviving the sauna and donning swimsuits made of the pliant material from the South, called "tree drops" in the Northern language, they went for a dip in the freezing sea. It was too cold for Sakura's and Temujin's liking and they couldn't understand why the blue ninjas punished their bodies by tempering them like swords. Temujin instantly heated the water around them and turned their spot into a hot spring, which was more familiar to him and Sakura but was robbed of all delight for Sasha.

The two guests were still stuffed from the feast in Pukkitunturi but Sasha's mother strove to fatten them up with all kinds of fresh fish, in all manners of cooking, and made them feel guiltier than ever. She even prepared raw _sashimi_ and the rare delicacy _torafugu_ or the tiger blowfish.

In the Amazon rainforest of the South, the brown ninjas dipped their arrows and _fukiya_ darts in the toxin of the poison dart frog. The frog was considered the most poisonous animal in the whole of Pan-Terra, and the tiger blowfish was the second. Each blowfish contained, mostly in its liver and ovaries, a curare-like poison that could kill thirty people in a matter of seconds. There was no known antidote. But expert chefs in the North prepared the fish very carefully into paper-thin, translucent slices, removing the eleven deadly parts intact while leaving just the slightest trace of poison. In all four clans, connoisseur diners especially of the _j ōnin_ class would experience a warm tingling and gentle numbness on the lips along with the thrill of courting death.

To extend freshness, the Northern fishermen either stored the fish in ocean water that they had moderately cooled or paralyzed them using a special acupuncture technique. The history books traced the acceptance of _sashimi_ or raw fish among all the clans to the days when the Clan of Dragon prohibited the use of fire to cook meat.

Sakura knew all this because the Ethereal Nest also traded for seafood from the North to feed their craving for raw fish, previously met by the salmons that thrived in the crystal-clear streams and mountain rivers. Alas, among all the delicacies the bountiful seas had to offer, she had never experienced _torafugu_ because she and her grandfather were officially forbidden to take the risk; Imperial Food Tasters notwithstanding. Mrs. Babor almost had a heart attack when Sasha reminded her.

In the middle of the meal, Sasha asked permission from his mother to accompany their guests back to the town of Pukkitunturi. Sasha's mother heartily agreed and asked him to bring back some provisions from the big market over there. Little did she know Sasha wasn't planning on coming back - at least not in time for supper.

When it was time to retire, Sasha again asked his mother if he could sleep together with the guests and the three ninjas stayed up all night telling more stories while Sakura and Temujin dried their clothes. Also, the two got Sasha to sneak away some eggs from his mother's kitchen. When the blue ninja succeeded, they proceeded to make the first ever flash grenades in Pan-Terra. Temujin was in charge of delicately piercing the eggs, draining out the yolk and drying the shells. Sakura didn't want him near the _blitzlicht_ that she had gotten from the Pukkitunturian photographers for fear that he would trigger an explosion.

They barely had any sleep but thought that was all right because they'd have plenty of chance during the ride to Pukkitunturi. At the mention of their ride, Sakura and Temujin suddenly remembered their musher Ivar, but Sasha reassured them that "blue ninjas always take care of their own." Indeed, after Temujin's awesome performance on the Burning Ice test, they - and by extension the driver who had brought them - had become instant celebrities again. Ivar regaled everyone with the story of how the two ninjas __ defeated Ol' Bindy. How he managed to come up with such vivid descriptions was beyond the actual dragon-slayers, but Ivar was treated to a lot of _palovino_ by Chief Reijo as a substitute for the preoccupied warriors.

Consequently, Ivar was in no condition to drive the next morning, but Sasha was quick to volunteer to take his place. It turned out most blue ninjas were skilled at mushing. Thus it was decided by everyone that Ivar stay behind to nurse his drunkenness and just be on the next scheduled trip back to Pukkitunturi.

Sasha's mother, third brother, and first sister came to see the young ninjas off at lightless dawn. There were also Chief Reijo, Magnar, and several other _j ōnins _and _ch ūnins_. Two of Sasha's brothers and both his sisters were already married. In fact, one of his sisters came carrying a very adorable infant on her back, inside the large hood of her caribou-skin parka. The other blue ninjas were already out training while the _ch ūnin_ fishermen had set out on their catamarans in the small hours, taking advantage of the wind. The large fishing ships were typically at sea several days in a row and two of Sasha's brothers were on one of them.

Mrs. Babor cried a bit when she saw her youngest on the coachman's seat of the carriage-sled, and once again Sakura and Temujin couldn't help but feel sorry for what they were planning. Sasha, meanwhile, was just raring to leave. And so they did.

**×**

Upon their arrival, they went straight to Griffin's Lodge and found the Harpax eagle conscious, much to Temujin's relief, and molting.

"Molting?!"

The village shaman nodded.

"I thought Harpax eagles only molted once in their lives!"

Sasha looked scandalized.

"Well, how many times do they molt?"

"At least five," Sasha replied.

"He picked a bad time to have his thing. How are we supposed to leave him behind?"

"Just tell him."

"What?"

"Most village shamans are _ch ūnins_ from the South, brown ninjas," Sasha explained. "It's because Northerners value reason and science so much and they sometimes forget the spiritual side of things. Shamans from the South remind us about that spirituality. And as you might have heard, brown ninjas have the talent of zoopathy, the ability to speak with land animals."

"Land animals? But Griffin's a bird."

"It doesn't matter. Beasts and fowls, those are the animal brothers of brown ninjas. Fishes, those are ours."

"You mean, you can talk to fish?" Temujin asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. In any case, go ahead and tell the shaman the message you wish to convey to your pet."

Although it felt awkward to be passing a message for a bird, no matter how like a brother Griffin was, Temujin did as he was advised. The shaman then touched Griffin's thick neck feathers and both closed their eyes. Griffin didn't peep or chirp so it was hard to tell if he was indeed having a dialogue with the elder.

"Ninjas communicate with their animal brothers using images, not words," Sasha softly explained to Sakura and Temujin. "We visualize in our mind a picture that we want the animal to see and then pass it on. In exchange, the animals send their own images."

"For real?" Temujin asked.

The village shaman relayed Griffin's answers to them: "Your animal brother understands and wishes you well on your journey. He regrets that he cannot accompany you on this particular quest because it is the proper season for his "sharpening." But he would like it very much if you return to him as soon as he is ready or as soon as you have finished your task. He promises he will strive to be stronger for your next challenges."

"Whoa," Temujin spoke under his breath, "he said all that?"

The shaman nodded. "Go ahead and express your farewells in the way that you know."

Temujin held Griffin's long beak and pressed his forehead against his soft feathers. For a tender moment, owner and pet were forehead-to-forehead.

"Amazing! I think I just saw one of Griffin's images!" Temujin said afterwards. He had tried to communicate with his pet visually, just like Sasha described, instead of using their usual noises. He quieted his mind and imagined a large boat on whose deck he was standing and waving goodbye to Griffin.

Griffin responded by sending an image of himself in the cave where they first met. He was in the same bad state but this time, many of Griffin's fellow Harpax eagles were there to attend to him.

Temujin couldn't help but shed a tear at the pure connection between them.

"If what you're saying is true," Sasha said, "you're the one who's amazing because you were able to learn a technique that was supposed to be exclusive to brown ninjas. Also, you were able to learn it at once although it normally takes years to master."

All three ninjas pondered this mystery till they were startled by loud chatter from outside the lodge. It was Mr. Olsson and Co. ** **

**×**

"Your dragon-scale armor," Mr. Olsson proudly announced as his thin assistant handed the items to Temujin. "As promised."

Dragon scales were light and very flexible and yet offered amazing protection, especially against fire. What they called armor was actually more akin to a coat or a suit of the tough material. These ones had been wrought into the shape of the traditional ninja jacket and painted red so they didn't differ much from Temujin's original top and still matched his cloth mask. On the front of the armor there was the same spirally mark as on his _hachi-gane_ (forehead protector): a black slithering dragon. It was perfect.

In the eyes of the villagers, who seemed to be everywhere they went, Temujin tried on the suit complete with extended front and back flaps, which had been influenced by the Northern fashion. Next, he put on the forearm and shin guards. The finishing touch was a large _obi_ belt, also of dragon scale.

Everyone admired the craftsmanship and how gallant Temujin looked.

"It's a perfect fit," the red ninja said; confusion in his voice.

Mr. Olsson froze.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Sakura asked.

"It is but it's also strange. How did the blacksmith know my exact measurements? He's never once seen me. In our haste to get to Blarjokull, we forgot to leave him specific instructions."

"Oh, I wouldn't think too much about that," Mr. Olsson assured Temujin. "Our local blacksmith is a very mysterious ninja, full of surprises, but a good fellow. He is not from around here but everybody adores him just the same. Oh, and have I mentioned he's blind?"

"Blind?!" Temujin and Sakura echoed.

"Oh yes, that's right. Completely, I'm afraid. I wouldn't challenge him to a spar though on account of that, for he can put any able-bodied ninja to shame. Also, he prefers a simple and private life."

"I've heard of this blacksmith," Sasha cut in. "He's the one who makes most of the blue ninja suits by cooking the tree-drops in a stove. Somehow he knows how to combine fire and wind techniques."

"True, true," Mr. Olsson continued as though unwilling to let anyone steal his thunder. "That's because he originally hails from the Ethereal Nest like you, young miss. Rumor has it that he was once a monk."

"It's him!" Temujin shouted. "My _sensei_! In the mines we simply called him _Koumori-san_ (Mr. Bat) because of his blindness and his extraordinary sense of hearing. Where is he? You must take me to him."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Your _J ōnin_ship," Mr. Olsson said. "Our blacksmith makes his presence felt only when he wishes, precisely like the wind. He had only just completed his obligation in the smithy when he left word with his assistant that he'd be travelling."

"Travelling? To where?" Temujin asked.

"Only he shall know. He first came to our town six years ago, during a blizzard. Witnesses said a little boy had gotten separated in the ice and a lone rabid winter wolf chanced upon him. The blind old man, who had been wandering in the cold for days, defended the boy.

"The villagers thought they were watching a spirit as he fought because of his speed and general weightlessness. They likened him to a white tiger, the vision of which was very rare and precious to our people. The mad _jolfr_ ran off and the wanderer earned all our respect. The villagers tended his wounds and he has stayed in our town ever since. We all came to call him " _Ilmari-san_ " because of that day he moved like air."

There was a hush as the three young ninjas listened in awe.

"What's equally fascinating is," Mr. Olsson continued, pleased that he had captivated his audience, "here in the North we have the legend of the _J olgib_, the Yule Cat. It tells of a feline spirit who would bring sweets and toys to sleeping children in return for some leftover fish. For many years, we've suspected our blacksmith filled this role with devotion. He would make all the toys and sweets in his smithy and then slip unnoticed into tents and igloos. He has never once been caught."

"Whoa! That was him all along?" Sasha asked. "I, too, believed in the legend when I was younger."

"Alas, in the current state of things, I fear there may not be any toys and sweets this year," Mr. Olsson said sadly.

"Mr. Olsson, is there any amount left in the reward you once offered us?" Sakura asked.

"Why yes, Your _J ōnin_ship. Why do you ask?"

"Well, if it's at all possible, we would like to donate a portion of our bounty towards the continuation of the tradition. Perhaps some of the villagers can work to make toys and sweets till the celebration of Yule."

"How generous of you, young miss. Upon my honor, I'll see that it gets done and the spirit of the Yule Cat and _Ilmari-san_ is preserved."

"Hold on," Temujin suddenly spoke.

Everyone fell quiet and turned to him.

"There's a scroll hidden under the right forearm guard," he explained as he pulled the object out.

"What does it say?" Sakura asked.

Temujin read the note aloud:

_Temujin, my student,_

_You are a man of destiny. The choices you make shall echo in eternity and affect countless souls._

_I am on my way to Southern Amazonia in search of Yuri Babor. If you are wise, you will not follow me there._

_Temuijin, you are a freeman now. You are not bound by fate to do anything, no matter how strongly you feel about it._

_Like I taught you, the past is a realm that you have no dominion over, but the present and the future, that is where your true power lies. Only you can make the choice._

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked. "What are we supposed to do?"

"We're going to go after him," Temujin said.

"What?" Sasha asked. "But didn't your _sensei_ just say the opposite?"

"Even _Ilmari-San_ is not going to be enough to beat all the _Inugamis_ and rescue your father. He's going to need our help. He told me not to follow but he fashioned this fireproof armor for me. He knows me very well. The more he says I shouldn't do anything, the more I crave to do it."

Sasha's nod was approving, if slightly confused.

"Mr. Olsson," Sakura called on the town leader again, "you've been very obliging and reliable, and you have taken great care of us for the past few days. I'm afraid we need to impose again on your generosity for one last favor."

"I live to serve the noble houses of the _j ōnins_, my lady," Mr. Olsson said with an elegant bow. "Simply ask and I will do everything in my power to arrange it."

"We require a ship to take us to the Amazons," Sakura said.

"So be it. I have many at your disposal. Select one or I shall hazard a guess as to your preference."

"Please choose one for us and, uh, I don't suppose it comes with a crew?" Sakura asked uncertainly.

"There is no need," Mr. Olsson said and nodded towards Sasha.

"Leave that to me," the blue ninja said with a confident grin.

**TO BE CONTINUED....**

# Please Rate My Book

Hi guys,

Writers like me succeed because of ratings and reviews from readers. If you enjoyed Elemental Ninjas, I'll deeply appreciate it if you leave a review on your favorite store. This will help other potential readers discover my work.

Thanks and looking forward to reading your honest review!

**Spread the Ninja Love**

Stay tuned for more action and adventure with our young ninjas! Just wait for updates on my author newsletter till the next installment in the saga of _Elemental Ninjas_.

You're also welcome to share this tale with your friends by clicking your favorite sharing site below:

# Freebie

** **

 Get Free Rare E-book

**3 Earths**

Genre: Sci-fi / Dystopian

**When Earth ended, three worlds began.**

As far back as anyone can remember, humanity has been divided into three different breeds: Empyreans, Tritonians, and Terrans. The first are the epitome of wisdom; aloft on their floating fortress, they are the keepers of light, last living legacies of a once great species. The second are water-breathers who prefer a life of neutrality and isolation, sunk in the depths of their underwater kingdom. The third have been cast away to a cold and dark life on the blighted earth, shunning the light to dwell underground.

Into these three worlds, Riktor, Alaric, and Aerie are born. Twin brothers, two lovers, and one woman whose heart is torn between them.

But a war is brewing among the three nations. To tip the scales, a new source of power rises after lying dormant for decades. Within our heroes' own genetic makeup, legends have been written and destinies are waiting to be fulfilled.

# About the Author

For a long time Mon D Rea has taught English as a foreign language, but his one true love has always been writing stories. He never stopped scribbling - between classes at uni, in between part-time work, on napkins, on the back of receipts, on the bus, and inside his dreams.

His friends say he's a grammar Nazi with a hyperactive imagination, and these two personalities of him are constantly at each other's throats. He used to be a Neanderthal but now almost tech-savvy. He likes superhero movies.

He wrote "Elemental Ninjas" from August 14 to November 30, 2016.

**You can sign up for Mon 's newsletter, with updates and giveaways here: **

http://www.phenomenalpen.com/freebies

**Connect with Mon online:**

Email: author@phenomenalpen.com

Website: <http://www.phenomenalpen.com>

Twitter: @phenomenal_pen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phenomenalpen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phenomenalpen

Elemental Ninjas

Copyright: Mon D Rea

Published: December 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

Cover Art by Galuhh
