Destiny Ninja 2: Kaito

Chapter 6

Some letters are starting to appear in the blank part of the scroll, stroke by stroke. They seem to be appearing because of the heat of the steam from the pot over the stove.

"Is this..." The legend passed down in the House of [Y/L/N]? But it seems slightly different from the one I am familiar with...

This is what the scroll says: "If the one, who can wield the Three Sacred Treasures, does not die by sunrise of her coming-of-age day, Yamato Island will be destroyed."

"Does not die by sunrise of her coming-of-age day?" The one, who can wield the Three Sacred Treasures... It's talking about me, right? So, no matter how much I purify the symbols... "Yamato Island will be destroyed if I don't die?"

My mind goes blank, and I cannot take my eyes off of the scroll.

Am I destined to die, not just to save the world? Did Father and Mother know this? There is no point in thinking about it. Even if they had known it, they wouldn't have the choice to refuse it from their position. They would have had to send me off to the journey anyway...

It is the House of [Y/L/N]'s role to maintain the peace of Yamato Island. If they were put in a position to choose between the life of their own daughter and the lives of people on the entire island, they would have no other choice but to choose the latter.

Father and Mother must have known it. They must have sent me off after suffering for a long time. I understand how much they think about the people of this island... And I... have always respected my parents for it...

Thinking about my dear family and their heartbreaking decision, I feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"No! Don't cry." I say to myself.

As I clench my teeth so as to stop tears from falling, "[Y/N]?"

Suddenly, someone calls me from behind, and my shoulders jump up in surprise. I turn around to see Kaito standing there, and he looks shocked to find me crying.

Oh no!

I try to hide my watery eyes with my hand, but Kaito grabs me by the wrist before I could do so.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Kaito..." His unexpectedly kind tone of voice makes me about to cry.

"[Y/N]?"

"Look at this." I hold the scroll I have in my hand out to Kaito. 

"Is this the scroll we saw the other day?"

"Yeah, read it."

"Okay." Kaito takes the scroll and begins to read it silently. Then, the expression on his face gets harsher and harsher. "What the... It's totallly different from the legend we know!"

"Yeah, probably those letters became visible with the heat of the fire in the stove. Even I.... was not aware of it."

"If you don't die, the island will be destroyed!? This is insane!"

"I don't want to believe it either, but they have intentionally kept it hidden. I don't think it's a joke..."

"Why... Why do out ancestors have to make us suffer this much?" Kaito grasps the scroll tightly in anger. "Aren't there anything else written on the scroll? Like... the way to solve it...."

"I didn't notice anything..." Kaito gazes at the scroll, and then gives out a small gasp of surprise. "What?"

"Look here."

"Huh?"

Kaito points his finger at the last part of the paragraph I was reading. "It's just barely legible, but it says 'Except'."