Free Moon and Star: Book One by Mike Bergonzi Page A

where the sun rose in the sky. It was positioned halfway between the horizon and the top of his head. Tree leaves more or less shielded his eyes from the sun’s light. Once in a while a gap in the tree top made it hard to see, but after last night he wasn’t about to let the sun stop him from surviving.
    When he arrived on the coast of the main island Honshu the water sparkled from the sun’s rays. Kaito ran for the water. It was his first time being this close to such a large body of water. He’d never been to the ocean. Father and Yuri prohibited him from leaving the castle grounds. Eight years later and he finally understood why. He was their bargaining tool; their ace in the hole.
    Their hostage, Kaito thought.
    He didn’t mind being a piece in the game of politics, even knowing what he did. It’s not like he had a bad childhood. His was probably better than most kids. What bothered him the most was the lack of trust that both sides seemed to lack when it came to him. No, not seemed to, did lack. Jin always said to lead by example. Both the Yoritomo and the Minamoto had shown him they were not afraid to lie to best the other.
    The water was colder than he expected. He could barely get one foot in the water before the ocean's waves crashed against his upper leg. Kaito ran away, shivering The lower half of his kimono was clean, but felt much heavier than normal; as if he were being weighted down by a vast quantity of wood or rocks
    Kaito sneezed. Last night’s weather seemed to have given him a cold. He felt sick and going into ice cold water was not the best thing to do after shivering all last night. But he’d manage. Somehow.
    He’d all but given up hope on Mayumi or Sora finding him. He might as well try to make the journey to Yoshino himself. Perhaps they would be waiting for him there. Kaito packed up what few belongings he had: the dagger, his only remaining change of clothes—which he’d already worn twice so far—and some berries he found.
    His stomach growled in protest as Kaito finished packing the last of the berries in a cloth sack. He tied it up tight, making sure the berries wouldn’t fall out, then fastened it on his rope belt. One day there’ll be a sword there, he thought, and continued towards Yoshino.
    Kaito stumbled through the woods, lost and confused as the sun continued its descent for the day. He’d eaten a few berries to gather up his strength, but all he felt was pain bubbling in his stomach. He wanted to die. Anything would be better than this agonizing feeling of some imaginary force jumping up and down on his belly for their own sick, twisted amusement.
    He placed a hand on his stomach, moaning. He burped, but didn’t feel any better. Those berries must’ve been bad, he thought, collapsing against a tree and sliding down the rough patches of bark. He faded in and out of consciousness. Every time he opened his eyes, the world around him changed in a visual sense. One of the illusions looked like a giant pond ripple, which covered the entire world, or at least his perception of it. Watching the inner wavelets journey outward was soothing for a bit, but then became nauseating as the speed in which they moved became faster and faster. Eventually it was a blur and Kaito could no longer keep his eyes open.
    When he continued to look at the distorted world, the berries found their way out the same way they had come in.

Chapter Nine

    Kaito gazed upon the horizon and out at the great sea. It was his first time seeing water so vast and large. It seemed endless, but he knew what was on the other side: His home. His real home. He didn’t even know what it looked like or what to expect. Would he be welcomed with open arms or would he be labeled a traitor? After all he’d failed his mission. A mission he'd found out about only recently from his younger brother.
    He sighed, wondering if Sora was with Mayumi or if they’d gone their separate ways. Kaito was young, but Sora was younger. To