On Thin Ice (Prequel to Guild)

Chapter One: A Poetic Problem

                 Few gods were still worshiped in the house of the serpent. Few gods were spared the abuse of time- the wickedness of erosion and decay. Few pairs of celestial eyes still saw their idols' precious forms polished and cleaned. Smelled the incense and tasted the blood that stained their painted terracotta chins as they drank his tributes. His offerings. His pleas.

"Lady Chikara, hear my prayer, drink my blood and help me kick my sister's ass."

The blood spread slowly through the etchings in the plate, dying its icon crimson. I am the blade: the characters interlocked. I am the blade, and you are the wielder. "Lady Chikara, hear my prayer and drink my blood. Help me beat Jia," he repeated, tipping the contents of the dish into the statue's mouth.

Chikara's teeth and lips were stained with the blood of ancestors passed. They didn't move. No matter how much he willed they would. How much he feared they would.

Sighing, Dai bowed his head once more. "Please," he added, though he seriously doubted the Heart-Eater cared for the word. Her descendants- his family- certainly didn't. "One trial victory- that's all I need."

Nothing.

Dai reached for the pitcher of water to extinguish the candles. To wipe the blood from his hand and dagger. Why in Ogonsekai did he even try?

His fingertips cut through the swirling smoke of sandalwood and sage- only to stop when the sound of a gong cut through him.

The young lord whirled to face the ceremonial gong on the wall opposite his. The wall opposite the Bloodstained Three: Kirai, Chikara, Shibo. Hate. War. Death. There, the gong was still settling. Its mallet lay in its proper place, untouched.

He flipped back around.

Chikara hadn't moved.

The gong sounded again.

He squinted. First into the silver eyes of Chikara, then into the marbled brilliance of Shibo's. The dragon-god of hate Kirai's seemed to glint at him- but that may just have been the candlelight.

Again.

This time, Dai saw a shadow move and the blood turned to ice in his veins. Watched. He was being watched...And not by the celestial.

He took a shuriken from the folds of his robes and hurled it at the arras adjacent to the ancient gong. It squealed. It squealed and Osamu Hikawa, ever the polished prince, stepped out into the light.

And Daiki Kimsura, ever the disaster, winced as Osamu dangled the severed right tassel of his hair in the air between them.

"It was a dumb trend anyways," he grumbled.

Osamu arched a brow.

"And you were spying on me!"

The crown prince just chuckled softly, shaking his head as he crossed to the faded, entangled forms of the god of love and the goddess of lust. Without removing the golden wire that bound it, he tied the lock of hair around the goddess's terracotta fingers. After muttering a small, scripted prayer, he set it ablaze.

"You should know better. My father would have aimed to kill."

The prince tucked the remaining tassel behind his ear, then checked the serpentine clip at the back of his head to ensure he still had the rest of it. Isuto-blue eyes gleaming, he smirked at the shogun's son. It was a serpent's smile. "The fearsome prince of heretics kneeling in a shrine? I couldn't resist. You must be truly desperate, Dai."

The glint of Dai's dagger had him recoiling.

"Hey, now! I'm not here to mock you."

Dai snorted.