The Dragonblade [On Hold]

Chapter 5: Can I trust you?

Wait, hold on, Shigeru thought, having the dragonblade doesn't necessarily mean that I'm Genji's son. The dragonblade has picked a commoner over the imperial family. That's how the Shimada family took power. The dragonblade chose a commoner over an evil tyrant, and the Shimada family had ruled since.

Regardless of whether or not he was Genji's son, the blade had chosen him, making him the true emperor. He picked up the fragment of the blade, which was still glowing, and grabbed the cloth. He wrapped up the blade, concealing most of the glow, but a lot of the light spilled out. He frowned at the blade. "Couldn't you stop glowing, or something?" He asked the sword, not expecting anything to happen. To his great surprise, the fragment stopped glowing, looking to the world like any normal sword.

He looked at the blade, shrugged, then walked out of the building. He went back over to the wall, and, slinging the shard across his back, climbed up the ladder. When he got to the top, he dragged the ladder up to the top, then set it down on the outside. Climbing down the ladder, he went back down the path, heading back to the dorms.

It was only then that he realized that it wasn't until he had picked up the piece of the dragonblade had the thoughts in his head had finally left him.

He snuck back into the dorms, quietly closing the door behind him, and turned toward his bed only to see Hitoshi sitting there, arms crossed, obviously waiting for him.

Hitoshi looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "And where the hell have you been this entire time?"

Shigeru tried to dodge the question with one of his own. "Why are you awake and sitting on my bed?"

Hitoshi smiled. "When you try to answer a question with a question of your own, I know that you've been up to something," he replied. "And if you must know, I was awake when you walked out of the dorms. I've been waiting for you since."

Shigeru wondered when he had become so predictable. He made a mental note to change that habit as soon as possible. "I was taking a walk around the grounds. I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to clear my head." That sounds believable, and it's not a lie either, Shigeru thought.

Hitoshi's eyebrows arched upward again. "Just like you took a walk yesterday?"

Shigeru was flabbergasted. "How did you- But you were asleep!" he managed, still shocked.

"I'm pretty sure that I've told you this before," Hitoshi said, "but I generally like to stay awake for about twenty minutes after getting into bed, to think about my day and other stuff." He saw the bundle on Shigeru's back, and this time his eyebrows shot straight into the stratosphere. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Shigeru asked back, before realizing that he had fallen into a verbal trap. Again.

"What did I tell you about answering questions with questions?" Hitoshi admonished. "I mean that thing on your back."

Shigeru thought fast, trying to get out of this situation. He decided that in this case, honesty was not the best policy. "Nothing important," he lied, "Just something that I found on campus."

"If it's nothing," Hitoshi asked, "Then why is it wrapped in silk? I recognize the symbol at the corner" he said, pointing to a bit that was sticking out from behind Shigeru. "It's from the Kihara branch of the weaver's guild. That's some of the most expensive silk in the land. I doubt that nothing would be wrapped in one of the kingdom's most expensive trade goods."

Shigeru was, for the second time that night, flabbergasted. His mouth opened, then closed, hen opened and closed again. He very much looked like a fish out of water, thought Hitoshi wryly.

After a couple of minutes, Shigeru managed to compose himself, though looking at Hitoshi with a new kind of respect, which Hitoshi appreciated. After all, it wasn't every day that someone got beat Shigeru in wordplay.

"It's a... long story," Shigeru eventually said. "I'll tell you and Kameko about tomorrow. Right now, I need to get some sleep."

Knowing that Shigeru was right didn't make it any easier for Hitoshi to wait, but he consented for Shigeru's sake. "Ok, but tomorrow, you're spilling everything. Got it?"

"Yessir," Shigeru jokingly replied, snapping into a mock salute. He tucked the silk-wrapped shard of the dragonblade into his trunk, locking it securely. He shook off his boots and pulled off his gloves, putting those down next to his bed, then crawled under the blankets. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, as they walked into the mess hall, Shigeru and Hitoshi were greeted by Kameko with toast. "I have some news for you guys."

"What?" the two boys chorused, taking the toast.

Kameko laughed and gestured towards their usual table. "Get some breakfast and sit down. We'll talk then."

The boys walked over to the breakfast line and grabbed some trays. A couple of minutes later, the two boys, laden down with trays covered in hot food and coffee, sat down at the table. Taking a sip of the coffee and nodding appreciatively, Shigeru looked at Kameko and asked, "you had something to tell us?"

"Yep." Kameko put down her fork and looked at the two of them. "Mitsu Kudara left today."

"What?" Hitoshi froze, a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth. He set it down gently and stared at Kameko as if she had sprouted a third eye. "Did you say that Mitsu Kudara-"

"-left the academy today," Kameko finished for him. "Yes, I did. She left this morning. Said it was for family reasons."

"Why?" Hitoshi asked, breakfast forgotten.

Shigeru felt his stomach drop. He thought back to what he had heard the previous night. "Guys," he said, startling the two out of their debate, "I know exactly why Mitsu left the academy today."

"You do?" Hitoshi and Kameko chorused, looking at him expectantly. He turned to Hitoshi.

"It's a long story. But before I tell it to you two, I need you guys to swear that the two of you will never tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you. Can I trust you two?"

Kameko and Hitoshi both rolled their eyes. Shigeru was a bit prone to these kinds of dramatics. Nevertheless, the two of them both promised that they wouldn't tell a soul.

"Ok, so it all started two days ago in history class..."

"...and I promised Hitoshi that I would explain everything to you two. And I did." Shigeru finished. "Any questions?"

Hitoshi and Kameko both sat there, shocked by what they had heard. Shigeru had found a piece of the dragonblade and was the true emperor. Mitsu Kudara was the daughter of Hanzo Shimada. Professor Kurogame worked for Hanzo and was here on his orders. Shigeru was possibly Genji's son.

"I have one, actually," said Hitoshi, breaking the silence that had fallen on them. "If Mitsu is the daughter of Hanzo, then why was she Mitsu Kudara?"

Surprisingly, Kameko was the one who answered. "Think about it. If she registers herself at the academy as Mitsu Shimada, her cover would've been blown. Her cover would have never existed."

"The same thing for me too," said Shigeru. "I never knew my father, so I've been using my mother's name ever since I was born. Of course, it doesn't guarantee that I'm right, but it's certainly more than possible."

"Right," replied Hitoshi, looking at the clock. "Breakfast is over, we better get to class."

"Yeah, let's go," said Kameko, "and I hope that we all pay attention. It would be a shame if someone failed another test, right?" She dodged the piece of bread that Shigeru threw at her and got up. Glaring at her, the two boys followed, heading off to class.