Curse of the Zodiac Serpent

Ayako watched as the man, claiming to be a god, fingered the tip of the extravagantly decorated weapon. Was that dagger going to be used to kill her? Most likely.

She stepped back in retreat but Kenji’s form was at her back. She glanced up at him as her form pressed firmly up against his hard exterior, she instantly regretted it. The look on his face was something that resembled sorrow and regret.

She knew at that moment he never wanted to hurt her, but regardless, he was willing for the sake of his men. She was sure that if she were a normal woman with a normal past she would feel offended, but not her. If anything it gave her a newfound respect for him, she saw herself in him. Just as he would do anything for his crew, she would do anything for the imperial family and her home, just as she had already given her old life up.

“Come now.” The bald-looking monk man burst into laughter. “You’re acting like I’m to kill you.”

“You’re the one holding the knife.” She pointed out.

He shrugged casually. “True.”

That was not in the slightest bit comforting. She realised then, this man enjoyed toying with people. The glint in his eye and the menacing grin only added to her hypothesis.

Rolling his eyes he sighed. “I only need a few drops to test if your blood will work, don’t be so dramatic over a little cut!”

“And if it works?” She pushed.

“No need to worry your little head over the details.” He cooed.

What was he leaving out? And why? He was clearly doing this on purpose heightening her anxiety by the minute. It was as though he’d done this before.

Kenji took hold of her arm from behind, she’d almost forgotten that she was pressed up against him, the feeling was somewhat comforting until he presented her hand palm up to the robed mystery man.

“That a boy, ever the loyal servant.”

“Ekans just get this over with!” Kenji moved forward with her in his hold this time.

She tensed up as her hand was gripped and pulled over the shiny dishware at the centre of the altar. He was swift with the blade, it sliced through her flesh leaving a sting behind. She grimaced but didn’t make a sound as her palm filled with blood, pooling in the centre and running off the sides.

It was Kenji who pulled her hand back after a few moments and wrapped it in a dirty cloth. Great, that was going to get infected.

“Ekans?” She asked confused, was that his name?

“What about it?” The man wasn’t paying attention to her, instead, he was adding ingredients to the dish with her blood in it and stirring.

“Your name is snake spelled backwards.” She pointed out.

“And? It’s easy to remember that way.”

She stifled a laugh. His head shot up as he glared at her, his eyes sent chills through her body. His eyes were yellow with slites like an actual snake. He hissed at her as though he were displeased or perhaps offended, she’d struck a nerve it seemed.

“Best not piss off the god, princess,” Kenji muttered.

“Too late... ” She whispered back.

Ekans strode toward her, his piercing gaze making her feel like she was merely two feet tall. His dominating presence filled the shrine and the air felt heavy. This man held an air of power about him that she had never witnessed before, and it was terrifying.

Kenji’s grip tightened around her injured hand, he felt it too. “Will it work?” He injected.

Ekans’s head snapped to the pirate, the atmosphere around them seeming to mellow out slightly as his anger calmed. Returning to his bowl he dipped a finger into the thick liquid and raised it to his lips.

This whole time Kenji hadn’t released her, though he wasn’t exactly restraining her either. His hold was light and gentle, his posture was however stiff and his gaze remained trained on the snake god. He was on guard, but the gentle caress of his thumb along her palm had her at a loss for what to think, this man heavily confused her.

The god raised his brow at her and she knew she’d been caught. This was the moment they would find out.

“It’s tainted.” He stated.

Shit! Her mind was running wild, how could she salvage this?

“But perhaps in enough volume, we can filter out the impurities and make it work.” He added.

She frowned, that didn’t make sense. She wasn’t part of the royal bloodline, even if they drained her dry it wasn’t going to work.

“Perhaps!? So you’re not sure, that’s not good enough!” Kenji’s voice had become slightly aggressive.

“The piece you stole was a century old, the bloodline is not the same as it was back then. This is the only possible way.” Ekans spoke as though her life meant nothing. “Besides you know your crew won’t last much longer without a cure, already some are withering and their bodies decaying.”

“He’s lying,” Ayako stated, catching both their attention.

“Wha-” Kenji was cut off.

“Yes little one, what exactly do you mean?” The snake god’s grin grew wider as though he already knew her answer.

“I’m not Princess Matsu, I took her place to allow her to remain on land, safe.”

Neither seemed surprised at her announcement.

“You knew?” She asked Kenji surprised.

“I had my suspicions, but figured since no one made a fuss over you when you were handed over that you resembled her and were at least related to the princess.”

“We share a similar appearance, that is all.” She tried.

“Not quite deary.” Ekans injected himself into the conversation. “Who is your father?”

“I was never told, I was found as a child and raised by the shogun.”

“Now who’s lying? Spit it out, your life as a Kunawici is over now that your face is revealed.”

She cringed, she knew that, but how did he? It was the sacrifice she had decided to make for the imperial family. With a heavy sigh, she spoke. If he knew who she was then he also already knew the answers. “Lord Kaiko Tokugawa.”

It felt weird to admit it out loud, they had never had a traditional father-daughter relationship.

“And who is Lord Kaiko in relation to the emperor?” Ekans’s tone was condescending, he already knew this it seemed.

“They are cousins, through marriage only.”

“Through marriage, yes, but you are still a Tokugawa are you not.”

“Not of the royal line, no.” She tried to protest.

“So you would have us not use you and go back for the princess then?”

“NO!” She blurted out in a panic.

“Well then, I never said it needed to be royal blood, the pirates just thought that way because of the name.” He chuckled to himself. “All that is needed is pure Tokugawa blood, the same as the one that once used the stolen artifact.”