Chapter 003: Rule of Steel

Under the sunless skies, denizens of Kamui STAR strode along the corners of *Susukino*, some clad in robes and others in costumes reminiscent of "witches" as they'd call them. The contrast was rather sharp, like butterflies roving among beetles. Though some walked in patches, they hardly ever shared words with one another.

"Uwah, this place is something else, huh…?"

The teenage girl took her helmet off, as if to get a better look at the place. It was a narrow street, and while it wasn't quite crowded, it felt like she didn't belong here. No way she could! This was *far* from an ordinary scene in the neighborhood she grew up in. These hats, cloaks and half-shadowed faces… Just *where* had she ended up in?

She got off her bike parked on the side of the pavement, taking up a sheathed sword. There was an initial thought about getting a belt to hang this from her waist's white skirt, but the thought was quashed like an egg under a hammer. Who'd wanna be associated with those battle-hardened mercenaries of today? Or those magic-wielding weirdos of Kamui?

Even so, her gaze lingered on the scabbard's sable form, hard and cold to the touch. She couldn't help but appreciate its seemingly eye-shaped tsuba—well, eye-shaped only when viewed from the top—though its tsuka wasn't as steely to hold. Examining the very bottom, she found a comma-like object hanging from a thread. It was deep red, bearing a resemblance to blood.

Her features were creased.

'A magatama…?' "What did I end up with now?"

Then, a scarlet glow emerged from the crimson jewel of the sword's habaki.

'Rejoice, girl! And remember this day! A voice not of her own echoed in her mind. 'For today, *you* have grasped your *fate* with your own hands at last! Yes… today, *you* are to wield *me*, Kagura no Tsurugi!'

"W-What?!"

She blinked rapidly, shaking her head. Kagura no Tsurugi? Eyes stabbed her from across her periphery and who knew where else, and she found her lips pursing immediately. Strange looks weren't good for her, not in a place full of bizarrely-dressed people like these. Taking a hand up, she held her right temple with a smidgen of hesitation.

"Did I just…?" 'Hear that?' Brows locked together, her tone was as low as a whisper. 'Couldn't just by my imagination, r-right?'

'Do you not have a name, girl?' the sword spoke in her mind again. 'Very well, I shall give you the honor of being named—by me!'

"Name? Huh—? Wait," she hissed, "have I just been possessed by an Ayakashi…?!"

'Fool! What Ayakashi would take the form of a sword as magnificent as I, Kagura? I see… you have not yet gazed upon my form, that is why.' An audible click was heard from the sword's sheathe, a c-shaped hook unsealing, followed by a terse shine of the crimson jewel. 'Unsheathe me and acknowledge your blunder!'

'Sword…? T-This isn't mine, I can't do such a thing!' Even as she had responded in her head, she found herself turning left and right. This couldn't be some new technology being abused for those pranks they called "dokkiri," right? 'No-no, it's not like I'm an idol…' But in this *Neuro Age*, guiding sounds into people's heads to play tricks wasn't that odd, right?! The mouth to the closest alley, as far as she could see, was empty. Could it be someone operating via the internet? Actually, *was* her IANUS hacked? That would be grave, as it was the whole neural network embedded in her body!

"This is in public, who even asks for such a thing?" 'B…But what if this thing is really talking, in my head?! Does that mean he can read my thoughts too!?!'

'Hmp, now you label my voice a prank? You have me in your hands, yet you let fear cloud your mind?!' Light flashed from its habaki's jewel once more, now harsher than before. 'It seems I must educate you. Let your business be done with this place so that we—'

"Hya—!"

Even as it blabbered, the sheer shine of the jewel had her facing away with a jerk.

And so the sheathed blade fell on the floor, clattering! Now the stares were no longer imagined and she shrunk further down, inching to her motorbike. If she could glue herself to it in a bid to become a tiny wallflower, she would. Among these mystical peoples of the area, the girl in her white school uniform felt like a sheep masquerading among a pack of wolves, now about to be hunted down for outing herself.

'He was hearing my thoughts!'

Seconds passed and her head was undoubtedly clear and she listened quietly.

"Or maybe I was just going crazy." 'From being in this place.' But then another thought struck her. She crouched down, only poking at the black saya. "If you really *are* alive, then what are you exactly?"

There was a blinking glimmer radiating from the sword's embedded jewel, almost as if it was panicking. When it stopped, she swore that it may have "moved" in some sense, as if the precious stone *stared* back at her.

Could that even be possible?

What kind of a design was this, anyway? The crimson jewel, unlike the magatama, was slotted into the area of the habaki with a cutout on the sheathe. Was that why it needed the c-shaped latch to hold things together?

'Certainly not an ordinary sword… Nah, I knew that from the start; this is the stuff of fiction.'

Why wasn't it responding though? She held a finger above the thing.

"Oiii…" Then, she poked the saya again with a raised brow. 'Could it be…?' She felt an onset of a snicker behind her lips, now pressing her fingertip against the sheathe, and keeping it planted. "You can't talk without imposing on someone, can you?"

'That was rude,' it said. 'But you are correct, as swords do not possess a mouth to speak; nor do I need one, as I shall be wielded by you, my Miko!'

"Hah?" 'Miko?' A certain someone came to her mind. 'Me?'

She blinked.

'Yep, I wasn't hacked at all.' If her IANUS really was compromised, it wouldn't need a sword as an intermediary; not like it was latching at her with wires. If it had some internal WiFi device to connect with her, it wouldn't exactly need a physical connection now, would it?

'Indeed, once more, I am Kagura no Tsurugi! It would be rude for you to not announce your name now that I have done so twice!'

'It's not rude if you're an object! And a stranger!' She had retrieved the sword despite these words; a third of it had slipped off to reveal something dark from its fall but she had sheathed it back up reflexively so as to not let dust find home within. It'd be annoying to have its quality diminished now. 'Anyway, I'd better find its—*his* owner before he talks me into something shady.' She turned her gaze up. 'Even swords can be like this here…'

She departed from her vehicle, making sure to not make eye contact with any of the pedestrians with robes and hats. Weird looks be damned; they couldn't happen if she wouldn't see them.

'What do you mean, *owner?*' it spoke again seemingly telepathically. 'You are my wielder, I have already chosen. Cease your plan and do whatever it was you intended to do originally. You seem to be an easily distracted gir—look, you're attracting so much attention!'

"Eek!" She straightened her line of sight and beelined at the set of doors just ahead where the label *Guernica Shop* was carved on a slab of wood. 'Quit joking around. I just found you by that lake earlier. No way I'm your owner, wielder, or whatever!'

'Lake? Hm, I like it. You possess some good sense, at least. I shall tolerate your rudeness, then.' The jewel glowed softly. 'I see… I shall now name you Ren.'

"What?" 'That's a boy's name! I think? Anyway, who owned you before? If you don't tell me…'

''Boy, girl, who does it matter? You get hung up on the strangest things. That must be why you attract so much attention.'

'…T-That's not true!' The thought of that one person came into her mind again: it was a girl dressed in ceremonial attire, complete with a white kosode and a red hakama. *That* was a Miko, not her. 'Anyway, if you don't tell me who your previous owner was—'

Driven by a sense of urgency, she caught the handle of the shoji doors, and pulled it open a tad more harshly than intended.

'—I'll just find one here!'

'Hmp, stubborn girl.'

Fresh and sour scent of herbal products and ingredients had practically assaulted her nostrils wholesale, and she couldn't help but feel her visage scrunch like a leaf braving through the season of autumn. The expansive collection had just about glared her down, as if anticipating an esoteric pick from the wide assortment like she would at a mall. Actually, this was straight up just a wizard's mall, wasn't it? Or one meant for a herbalist?

'This place *smells* strange. Are you perhaps thinking of offering me to a perfumer?' Kagura's tone was of genuine curiosity. 'You didn't just open the first door you could find, did you?'

'Of course not—wait.' She blinked, the door now closed behind her, unbeknownst to her. 'You can *smell* as a sword?'

'No, but you can. Do you smell that? Almonds!'

'We're…' She *did* smell almonds here! But that was beside the point. 'Sharing senses?'

'No, *sharing* would mean you'd sense what *I* would have sensed, too.' A hum was heard from it. 'When we *do* share senses, you will know.'

'So it's more like hijacking my senses… I need to get rid of this *now*.'

Her steps quickened, until she ceased to glance at one shelf, then another. That was when she realized: she was effectively lost in this herbal labyrinth. Where the hell was the counter? You'd think it would be sitting right by the entrance!

'What a place.' She found herself perusing the items off-handedly through her hunt for the ephemeral cashier, proprietor, or whoever the heck was in charge, stepping along with a more casual gait now. Not just the street, but the stores were like this as well. 'Wonder if swords like these would just pop off the shelves here? Would they be as desperate as him?'

Nothing actually *looked* like a sword, but a part of her wanted to believe all the crazy rumors and legends swirling around stores like this. Stories of mages' shops having a hidden roster of mystical items was as old as time, after all.

'Hmp, if something passable *does* appear, they can have the honor of being my aide.'

Ignoring this retort, she turned to the right and at last, she stopped before the counter. Seeing it bereft of presence allowed a sigh to uncoil from her lips, head hanging. Then, a flash passed over her.

"Eh?" She turned up to peek curiously. "Oh."

It was a tiny drone running a scanning beam, a disk-like critter of silver sitting atop the counter.

"How may we help you?"

"Eek!"

An ominous voice resounded across the store. It came not from the drone but a pair of bead-like gold forming in the air behind the counter. What were they, lamps? No, eyes, surely! She figured a head between and around these existed, but the shape of the body was simply unseen to the naked eye. Lips crimped, she met the hard gaze despite the throbbing of her heart, having taken a second to calm her frayed nerves with a quick breath.

Not that it was enough.

'I'm not good with these places… even if the drone's cute.'

"First time at a Sorcerer's Store, Child?"

"Um, second time," her tone was meek, "but you *could* say it's the first…" 'Being talked to like this, anyway.'

She placed the black sheathed sword on the counter as quietly as she could manage, palms pressed on it, collecting what pieces of her composure she had dropped in this brief moment, like putting a broken mirror back together. The blade's jewel, which gleamed gently till now, blinked rapidly again, though not harshly like before.

"So I've um, *found* this sword earlier and uh… was hoping to give it back to its owner, but can't seem to find them. You people are connected to those, *Sorcerer's Wards* or whatever, right? This seems like… a magic sword? Or what was it, an 'Arcane Relic?'"

"Hm, pray undo its sheathe, Child."

'Stop calling me a…' The brunette exhaled, glancing down at its black frame. "Okay." The c-shaped lock was still open from the time Kagura had asked her to draw him, so she did just that and released him, freeing him from his shell. She held him—or it?—upright, and found an obsidian steel radiating a sleek sheen in reflection of the overhead lamp. 'Wow…'

The glowing gem through which the sword evidently spoke mentally stuck out from the bronze habaki. 'It's all black, red and a little bit of bright brown, huh…?'

"Ohhh!" Meanwhile, the gold eyes inflated and deflated repeatedly. "This is…!"

'I don't like this… person. Let's go back, okay?' Kagura told her. 'I'm sure we can find something we can both agree on! Is it money you need? I can guide you to treasures, the likes no one else could have!'

"And what exactly is the point of risky treasure hunts when I can just get—? Oh, sorry." She offered a small smile to the floating eyes. "I don't mind selling this if you have no whereabouts of its owner. Maybe they'd just buy it off you?"

"Interesting." A distorted hum cut into the scene, the gold spheres descending closer to Kagura's level. "Child, is *this* blade speaking in your mind?"

"Um, yeah, I guess…?"

"Hoho… Either a Tsukumogami, or…"

'Look at this guy! Who's to say he wouldn't just take his credits back the moment you step out of this store?' Kagura kept bickering in her head, jewel's light going on and off. 'It's obviously safer if you keep me with you!'

"…How about 2 Coppers, Child?"

"Uhhh, is it *really* all it's worth…? Just uh, 20,000 Yen?" The girl had lowered the blade, holding it over the sheathe in a horizontal fashion. "I've got no trained eye but even *I* can tell it's amazing!" 'Just a bit longer—'

The pair of ephemeral eyes shook momentarily. "A spirit of sentience speaking to the mind could be a hindrance, Child. This is an *appropriate* deduction of its value."

'—And I can leave this…' "Aren't you guys all about magic items?" 'Maybe he's right.' "I may be a high schooler, but even *I* know what lowballing looks like!" 'But can I just keep him?'

'Look, he's even scamming you! Me, Kagura no Tsurugi, only valued at 2 measly Coppers? Ha! Not even a string on my tsuka is worth that little!' The gem blinked again. 'You could cut a tomato with my edge and even *that* would outweigh the offer this fool is making you!'

"Yeah. I could do the thing we lowly 'Commons' do and *still* make *more* than this." She nodded, more to herself than the proprietor. "Appropriate or not, we can't have this deal, Mister!"

"Very well…" the gold eyes squinted at the red flashing of the gem, "then if I am to be gracious, 3 Silvers shall do, young *Mortal*."

'You—!' Then, her frown had practically evaporated. "Three… Silvers?" 'T-That's 300k Yen, now it's *way beyond* what I'd imagined! Uh, so I could uhhh, *eat* what I want, *shop* wherever I want, and even get a better *apartment* and…' Then she frowned again. "And can you stop talking down to me like that?"

"How else would I refer to a youngling?"

"It's what you said just now, 'mortal!' I am a customer, you know?"

"It was indeed a statement of fact, but it is *irrelevant* to our business. Let's get this transaction over with, shall we?"

'He'd eat you first. Look at these greedy eyes! And that was more than ten times the original price, and so suddenly at that!' Kagura was half-yelling into her head. 'I bet he's hurrying because he'd called his pals to retake the money outside. Do not commit this error!'

"Fact? Be it a Vasara or a Mayakashi, we're both humans. Even if you look cool by just… showing your eyes!" Her gaze was slightly narrowed at the creature. 'Unless he's an Ayakashi? No, he can't—'

"This is *more* than you could manage at your age, Child! It *is* the best offer you'll get."

"You know what?" Her grasp tightened on the sword. "If I'm selling this," she took the scabbard off the counter and sheathed Kagura, "it'd be to a dumpster, because even *that* would have more respect without a mouth like yours!"

"Child!"

The warped voice called out but the brunette had practically stormed out of the herbal mall, her breaths heavy and her teeth grit hard beneath her lips.

'Who does he *think* he is?! Arrogantly talking down like that…' She glanced left and right, scowling. 'But if what he said is true and his goons are on the way—I need to get out.'

'Right-right, let us be free of this almond-scented shop!' The sword's jewel sizzled at a consistent rate, as if scanning for anything about to flip out and bare a fang their way. Honestly, its hope for her wasn't the prettiest but for now, not getting pawned off to a seedy shop like this was enough victory for the day. 'How dare he, looking down on the Miko of Kagura?'

The street looked as alien as before with all its residents going about their day, but only because the girl wasn't used to the blatant display of their fashion, or the lack thereof, in such an obscene scale at that! Still, she couldn't tell if any of these people were the would-be hooligans of the gold-eyed freak she spoke to.

She closed the doors behind her in haste.

"You don't have to tell me," she whispered. "This place's too much."

She made way to her motorbike, which thankfully appeared to be untouched. Boarding it, she pressed the helm through her brown mane, locking its visor on, and hit the ignition—engines fuming and thrumming. The girl exhaled deeply, though the heart drumming against her chest did little to suggest anything concerning relief. Not having to show her expression to the nearest passersby with the helmet on was just a small retreat, but the anguish brewing and stewing within wouldn't cease so soon; she would *never* understand the attitudes of these so-called magicians.

"So what exactly is a 'Miko of Kagura?'" She broke the silence between them. "Is there a shrine you belong to?"

'It means you are my wielder and I shall accept none else,' the sword answered. 'My shrine… That is where you reside, I suppose.'

"Eh?" Then the bike arced over the street and they were off. "*I'm* the shrine? That makes *no* sense."

'Egh, it's not important—what's important is *you* are my *Miko* now! And you still haven't given me your name!'

"That's beside the—! Oh yeah… I'm Fujimori Hotaru, an occasional racer. Uh, good to meet you." 'Introducing myself to a sword…' She shook her head. 'It's still hard to believe.'

'Fujimori Hotaru… I see. With this, Hotaru, you are now my Miko! Together, we shall gather the Sacred Seven Hougu, and have them reconvene.' The sword's gem flashed. 'What a momentous day today is, hahaha!'

"The what—?!" The bike craned a tad with a fierce screech on the road, but Hotaru had reeled it back in line. 'Sacred Seven—the Seven Hougu? Aren't those the legendary things that'd descended *decades* ago?! "…But what do they have to do with us?"

'Behold, in your hand you wield Kagura no Tsurugi, one of the Sacred Seven! With me in your hand, you only need to obtain six more!'

"Y-You're one of the…?" 'But why would I need the other six? I'm too young to die here—*everyone* and their nannies want you guys!'

'Worry not about those nannies, Hotaru, such a fate would not befall my Miko! Yes, with me in your hand, fate is yours to shape with your will! And if it is treasure you seek, then what greater treasure there is besides the Sacred Seven?'

Something told her this was nonsense. What sword could shape fate? 'Not like he's a Tap where I can type my future, or a magic keyboard for that matter.' "Wait, who said I wanted treasures?"

'…You were about to sell me for 3 Silvers. It seemed like it was a hefty sum for you.'

She smiled behind the helmet. "Because it's easy money?"

'Then what is it that you desire, Hotaru?'

Her gaze fell low to the road.

"What is it that I desire? Hm…"