I closed the tab with a trembling hand. My arms were shaking so much, the phone nearly fell from my grasp. A chill, from so long ago that I’d forgotten it, ran down my spine with a vengeance. I closed my eyes, but Hana’s limp body still flashed in front of me. What had I got myself into?

Checking for footsteps or voices outside, I staggered out of the stall. ‘I’m done, Yuuhei.’

He swung open his door and marched out, rubbing his tummy. ‘Yes! I can feed this growling monster.’

For once the joke didn't land, and I couldn’t smile. Yuuhei's grin faded.

‘That bad, huh?’ he asked, as I handed his phone back.

‘Read it first. We need to sort something out.’

Several hushed conversations in class and bathroom breaks later, Yuuhei helped me figure out what to do next. It was high time I'd revealed everything to Minister Banji.

***

February 14. Fourteen and a half years old. Saishuu Riku.

The dim-lit room of the inn didn't help my disorientation, as I opened my eyes. Sixteen minutes and eleven seconds. I'd broken my record. Yet I couldn't bring myself to be excited about it.

Hana's unseeing eyes haunted my dreams for many nights to come.

***

February 16. Fourteen and a half years old. Saishuu Riku.

Everyone had bright hair in Anzenkai. Whether dyed green or a natural redhead, every person we crossed on the streets sported this trend. For the first time in my life, my blonde hair didn't stick out.

We passed shops and fish markets on the way to Anzenkai's HQ. With sloping grey roofs stacked one on top of the other, the establishment was akin to those in feudal Japan. Further down the city, well past ports and calm beaches, the blue sky darkened into a storm. Perhaps I'd imagined it, but faint thunder sounded through chirping birds and chattering people.

Handing the letter over to Minister Fuyu’s secretary took only a few minutes, and we were done with our quest before we knew it.

‘Now, to the beach!’ said Cho, her curls going frizzy in the humid air.

‘Beach? We have to go to Heikisato.’ Kei crossed his arms. ‘We’d already waste two weeks without a mission on the trip back.’

A spoil sport as always.

Maya gave a little smile and closed her notebook. ‘The rest of us can just catch up with you later.’

‘That's right!’ Cho placed her hands on her hips. ‘See how you can get a mission without three teammates.’

Three? I grimaced. ‘Leave me out of this.’

‘Oh I know you want to see the beach, Tahro.’ said Cho. ‘Besides, do you really want to spend two weeks alone with Kei?’

She had a point.

‘Alright,’ Kei sighed.

Cho whooped and headed down the cobbled street, her dress billowing in the breeze. Passerbys scurried out of her way. The rest of us marched down like civilized humans.

Though the beach looked close from the HQ, the road spiraled down-hill for ages. A breeze softened the searing sun, but brought with it a stink of fish. It was Anzenkai's main produce after all. The passing cartloads of fish and seafood shops were proof of it.

Ten minutes into the walk, I grew bored enough to make a game of counting people without bright hair. First was Cho, who was now so ahead of us, we could barely see her blue dress weaving in and out the crowd. Then was Kei, with hair so dark it had an azure shine. A brown-haired man argued over the price of prawns with a merchant down the street. A woman who strode into an inn we’d passed had tresses almost as dark as Kei's.

Then a man with spiky black hair and an orange scarf around his neck rushed up the road.

My breath caught in my chest. Beginning to tremble, I turned my head to get a better look. Though he got further away every second, he was the right height. His complexion was the same tan, and his hairstyle was just as I remembered. The kidnapper, Saeru.

What was he doing here of all places? I swirled around. This was madness. But I had to know.

‘Tahro, where are you going?’ asked Kei.

‘Uh, bathroom!’ I shouted, as I ran up the street.

Saeru didn't stop somewhere close-by. Everytime I thought I'd caught up with him, he'd go around a corner. But his dark hair stood out in the sea of bright heads, and I'd always find him a few steps later.

He ran into the HQ.

My mind struggled to wrap itself around what was going on. Only one way to find out. Panting, I entered the building. While not as crowded as the HQ in Heikisato, the entrance hall was packed with a veritable number of people. After frantically searching for a few moments, I spotted him going through a doorway.

The man rushed through a maze of corridors, then up several flights of stairs. Though my lungs were searing, I was so close now, only a meter or two away. My footsteps blended with the many swordsmen and officials walking up and down, and he didn't seem to suspect he was being followed.

By the time he reached the ninth floor, my muscles were burning. For whatever reason, no one stood around the last staircase or its corridor, not even guards. Goosebumps prickled on my skin. Something was weird about all this, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. Saeru slowed down, turning his head this way and that, as if searching for imaginary onlookers. I crouched behind a corner, only peeking in to see if he’d reached the tenth floor.

Keeping my breathing steady, I followed him up as quietly as I could.

The highest floor was deserted, and the roof swooped down to the side. A few chairs lined the area and a tapestry of sea creatures spanned the walls. From my right came the click of a door. I approached it, and my every footstep seemed to echo in the antechamber.

Muffled voices, so soft I couldn't make out the words till I was within a foot of the door, came from behind it. My heart beat loud and made it harder to listen in. If I wasn't wrong, this had to be close to the Minister’s office. Scenarios of getting caught eavesdropping into confidential information ran through my mind. But what was he doing here? Brave, curious or reckless, I peeped through the keyhole.

Behind was a blurry image of an office. An oddly familiar man with cyan hair in a ponytail lounged behind a desk, while another one--My heart skipped a beat-- Saeru stood by the door, arms crossed. My mouth turned dry as I remembered the pictures I'd seen of the other man. Minister Fuyu.

‘I hear you couldn't get Kaede.’ The minister leaned forward.

‘We'll have to try again, before the witch gets there first,’ Saeru sighed. ‘Minister Banji says he's working on it. But what about the boy?’

I bit my tongue before I gasped. My heart drummed louder. What the hell was going on?

Minister Fuyu waved his arm and grinned. ‘He came here on a quest today--Banji set him up. The kid, what was his name--Tahro-- is no spy, Banji is just paranoid.’

His words hit me like bricks. Of course I wasn’t a spy! I wanted to shout. But in my current position, that would make even Minister Fuyu believe otherwise.

Saeru pulled at his scarf, brows furrowed. ‘How could you be sure? I hear he appeared out of nowhere, just to become a swordsman. Genkoushi could've set him up. Or Kou Ta.’

What does Genkoushi or Kou Ta have to do with this? The towns of agriculture and mining had a peaceful relationship to Heikisato and Anzenkai, as far as I knew.

‘It's true that we never got notice of his arrival. The last person who washed off this shore was that nature whisperer, and that was fifteen years ago.’ Minister Fuyu grabbed a candy from a tin beside his paperwork. ‘But it's likely we could've missed him. Maybe he snuck in a fish boat. But even Genkoushi wouldn't trust a ten year old to spy for them.’

‘Minister Banji is less certain,’ said Saeru. ‘And I wouldn't be surprised if someone who'd hire a witch would also use child spies.’

‘I know a spy when I see one, and he isn't it. But I have no doubt Banji would imprison the boy the moment he could find a good reason.’ Minister Fuyu rolled his eyes and offered the box of candy to Saeru. ‘The kid better be in his best behaviour. Peppermint?’

Perhaps it was my imagination, but Minister Fuyu’s eyes rested on the door a moment longer than it should’ve before looking back at Saeru.