Bokuden

Near the beach, Ecatrina and her granny robot raced along the sunlit sidewalk. Ecatrina had been looking forward to a day at the shore, but something had caught her attention that made her reconsider. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a rat—a disturbing sight on its own—but this one was even more unsettling. The rat was completely blind, its eye sockets empty, and it scurried toward the beach with an unnerving urgency.

Ecatrina, despite her young age, was remarkably astute when it came to sensing danger. Her instincts, honed by past experiences and an innate wisdom, told her that this was no ordinary occurrence. The rat's erratic behavior was a red flag, hinting at something more sinister lurking nearby. She knew from experience that such signs often preceded trouble, and she knew how to avoid it.

 Not everyone would have noticed—or even been able to identify—the rat. However, Ecatrina recognized it immediately. The rat was no ordinary rodent; it belonged to one of the 185 Zetin of the spirit world. This particular rat was Bokuden, ranked 19th among them. The Zetin were ranked based on their proximity to the ruler of the spirit world, and while their ranking did not directly correspond to their physical strength, Bokuden was known to be one of the most formidable entities among them.

Ecatrina had no intention of confronting Bokuden. Her experience had taught her that when it came to dealing with such powerful beings, discretion was the better part of valor. If she ever found herself in a situation where she had to face him, her first priority would be to escape. She understood that, despite the Zetin's ranking not being solely based on strength, Bokuden was a significant threat. Before she realized it, she had already entered the metro system. The sweltering heat of the outside world gave way to the refreshing chill of the air-conditioned metro station. It was a quiet time of day, with the station only sparsely populated, as it was outside of business hours. A few commuters loitered around, waiting for their trains.

Ecatrina stood by the platform, her gaze drifting over the scene. Her eyes settled on a mother gently holding the hand of her little toddler, a tender moment that triggered memories of her own family. She wondered about her mother, who had been exiled from her grandfather's empire. Had she managed to move on and forget about Ecatrina?

Axel, "her reliable source of information", had often reassured her that her mother had indeed started a new life. Despite the painful reality of her exile, Axel's unflinching consistency in his accounts provided a strange sense of solace. No matter how many times Ecatrina asked, Axel never showed any sign of irritation. He repeated the same story, steadfast in his attempts to offer reassurance, even though the truth of her mother's new life was a difficult pill for Ecatrina to swallow.

 To her surprise, she saw Mahir waiting there for the CDS bullet train. There are so few people here she thought. Ecatrina's eyes were able to see much more than the average person's. That is why she noticed the rat.

 Ecatrina realized she looked at Mahir for too long because now Mahir was staring back at her. So, Ecatrina awkwardly smiled at her and waved at her. She saw Mahir wave and then go back to watching on her phone.

 Ecatrina heaved a sigh of relief and mumbled inside her head, "Her senses are keen. I stared at her for only a few seconds, and she knew I was staring."

 The Train arrived perfectly on time. Ecatrina grabbed the nanny robot's arm and boarded the train. She saw that Mahir was still on her phone. This was the stop that led to their district. Ecatrina thought that Mahir was so invested in the show that she might miss the train. She was about to call out her name but then she once again saw a white rat without eyes at the entrance of the metro. She wondered if the rat had followed her here.

instinctively, Ecatrina clamped her mouth shut to avoid drawing the rat's attention. The rat paused, wiggling its tail, then turned its head and fixed its gaze directly on Mahir. Ecatrina watched in mounting anxiety as the rat inched closer to him. When it was just a foot away, the lights in front of the train flashed red, signaling that the train was about to depart. The doors slid shut with a soft hiss, sealing off the platform.

Ecatrina felt a pang of regret for not calling Mahir over to join them earlier. She shifted her gaze downward, staring blankly at her shoes. Her heart sank as she realized that the rat had sensed Mahir's aura, placing him squarely under Bokuden's scrutiny. The weight of the situation pressed heavily on her, and she felt a deep sadness knowing that Mahir was now inadvertently caught in the crosshairs of a powerful and potentially dangerous spirit.

 ***