Chapter 12

"Kubo, are you all right?"

No answer, only more staring off into space. Cautiously she approached him, finally close enough to inspect for injuries. Nothing that she could see aside from a scrape on his cheek, but the look in his eyes- the wanderer stare, the one showing no one was home in the head, that frightened her more than any physical wound might have. "Kubo, can you hear me? What happened?"

This question snapped him back to his senses. "He happened. The Moon King." He glared up at her. "And you slept through the whole fight. Some help you were."

He cringed internally at her mortified expression. "But how could I have?.. Why didn't you wake me?!"

"Don't you think I tried? He- it wasn't your fault, I'm sorry. He put a spell on you, I couldn't wake you." He looked down at the shards in his lap. "The Moon King came here before sunrise, swathed in shadow. I'd never seen him do that, it was... It wasn't like him. I know that sounds stupid, but it's true. He said- he said since he controls moonlight, he can follow us wherever we go, wherever it goes. I tried to fight him, I almost beat him! Then..."

"Then what?"

But Kubo was distracted again, gazing fixedly forward. "Kubo, now is not the time to mourn! I can only imagine the terrible price you've endured, but you must tell me what happened."

Kubo's eyes sharpened to focus, then focused on her. "It was- I can't explain it."

"Try."

"It was like- I heard him arguing with himself, and then... He was gone! It was like he was possessed."

"How so?"

"His powers were different- stronger, faster, darker. He used shadows to tie me up!"

"Shadows? That's not-"

"His power? You're right, it's not." Suddenly slumping over, he sighed, "Which means something else was using him to fight me. Something very dark and evil. It doesn't matter now. Whatever took him over was only stopped by something from my pack: my shamisen. Which is now destroyed. Now I can't beat him or it."

Akira sat in silence beside him for a few minutes. "Kubo, I am truly sorry about your instrument. To lose one's channel is a horrible travesty, and I can only imagine what you are going through right now. However, we must stop the Moon King, or whatever you saw last night. If what you saw is right, then we are in dire straits than I feared. We must defeat him, now."

Kubo glared at her, thrusting a wooden shard in her face. "With what? Maybe you missed the part where my instrument was shattered to pieces! That was the only way to control my magic. Without it, I'm..." He sniffled, swiftly wiping his face with his sleeve.

"You're not useless, Kubo. Would I be here if you were?" Unexpectedly, she gently lay her hands on top of his, and he felt a flush of warmth in his palms where their skin connected. "Better?"

"Uh, yeah... How'd you do that?" Kubo felt like he'd just awoken from a nap, the kind of alertness one only knows upon the first first moments of waking up from a perfect night's sleep. His mind was sharper, his senses clearer, his mood less dreary.

"Part of my repertoire- the sun is healing, you know."

"Right..."

"Anyway, much as I'd like to rest here all day, we must hurry." She rose to pack up the campsite. Shakily, Kubo got to his feet, still wobbly from the his battle.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"To defeat the Moon King."

"Did you miss the part when I said he destroyed my weapon and seemed impervious to my magic? Even the Sword Unbreakable didn't have much of an effect!"

"No, but what else should we do? Give up?"

Kubo growled, kicking at a stick.

"If what you told me is true, a great evil walks among us."

"What evil?"

"Pray that I'm wrong, but we could be fighting against the Shadow."

Somehow, despite the bright sun, Kubo felt remarkably chilled. "The Shadow?"

"Don't speak it out loud! Like I said, pray I'm wrong about this. Why Mother would send only me to protect you is beyond me."

"Wait, what?! First, Amaterasu is the one who sent you? She knows about me?"

"Who else would send me, Kubo? She is my mother, after all."

"Second, what is this thing you're so terrified of?"

"Later. We must go if we are to find the Sword of Light."

"Wait, now there's another sword? I thought the Sword Unbreakable could defeat any monster!"

"It's not enough this time. I'll explain, but we have to move now!"

Kubo hurriedly snatched up the remainder of their supplies, feeling Akira's anxiety like a flame in his soul. "Fine, but you are explaining everything this time. No more secrets."

Akira nodded. The instant she wasn't looking, Kubo snatched up the remains of his shamisen, bundling them up into a cloth sack and shoving them deep within his pack. A single loose shard, attached to a long strand of black hair, dropped to the floor. Kubo stared at it- his mother's hair. Gently, he placed it in his chest pocket, close to his heart.

Yards away, a demon raged. "You dare! You dared to stop me, disobey me!" Shadow raged and fumed.

"If you hadn't broken my concentration, I would have had him," the Moon King sneered.

The entity reared upwards and backhanded him across the cave's floor. "Insolence! Speak against me again, and dying will become your greatest wish!"

I have been patient, the Moon King thought. I can remain so a little longer. "As you wish, my liege."

The shadows receded into their hole.

Hello, everybody!

So, I was just rereading this chapter, and I definitely had to fix it. I'm sorry for the grammatical errors! In my defense, I edited it the first time around two in the morning, if not a bit later. XD

All good now. Enjoy!