Chapter 23: The Riptide

Misaki fails to glean details from a Yammanka soldier and resists the impulse to infiltrate their camp for answers, choosing her children’s safety over spycraft. Sleepless, she watches the encampment from a ridge where Kazu joins her. Their tense banter shifts when Kazu asks about Takeru, prompting Misaki to warn him against intervening in another lord’s marriage.

The conversation turns to Anryuu, the Tsusano ancestral blade. Kazu recounts wielding the massive sword in the battle, revealing a breakthrough: Tsusano jiya can directly manipulate their own blood, granting extraordinary strength and speed. He has continued compensating for his broken arm by moving his blood, and vows to protect Misaki if needed.

They discuss Kazu’s family and Misaki pointedly asks if he loves his wife, Aicha; Kazu realizes he does. Kazu also discloses that their parents originally considered marrying Misaki to Takashi, but their father chose Takeru after meeting both brothers, believing Takeru stronger and steadier. Misaki is conflicted by this revelation.

Mizumaki Fuyuko summons them to the blacksmith village, where the Yammankalu have unearthed a vast pit filled with all collected bodies—Kaigenese and Ranganese alike—laid over salvaged timbers. As villagers react in horror, Colonel Song orders them restrained and announces the bodies will be burned “to prevent disease.” Takeru requests family remains for rites; Song refuses.

Song further commands silence: publicly, the dead must be called victims of a coastal storm. He signals the pyre’s ignition, erasing evidence of the Ranganese attack. Takeru submits, securing only the possibility of future aid while troops prepare to leave. Misaki swallows her fury to protect her family and stands to witness Mamoru’s body burn—the only defiance she can afford.