Breaker lingered a moment, exhilarated by her words, and then her body evaporated into steam which faded to nothingness.

I am with you always, my sweet Breaker. Her voice said in his head.
Look for me within the great cavern’s walls.
And Breaker… do not harm any townsfolk.

He stole into Ninyama like a moonshadow, metal boots somehow silent on the rustic roads. He flitted between lantern posts, hugging the pools of shadow like long-lost siblings. The fresh scent of woodsmoke spilled from some of the chimneys, but it seemed the village slept. No one challenged him as he passed beneath the massive stone arches which led to the cavern, but he paused in the lee of the arch as he noted someone breathing just ahead.

The nekojin’s breath was so tempered, his heart rate so slow, that Breaker nearly failed to detect him. The demigod peered out of the shadows and saw the cavern’s guardian kneeling in the middle of the path. He wore a black hakama, the skirt-like pants of the samurai, as well as a stiff kimono jacket. A sheathed katana nestled in his arms like a newborn baby.

“Whoever you are,” the kneeling warrior called into the darkness, his pointed ears alert, “you’ve already interrupted my meditation. You may as well step out and speak your piece. Unless of course you wish to bring harm to this town or this temple… in which case, my blade shall next rest in your body.” His eyes had not opened. His heart rate had barely changed.

Breaker exhaled. Am’aleh had forbidden him from harming villagers, but a Spirit Warder was not a villager. This neko clearly had training in both martial and arcane arts. It would not matter; Breaker could attack him, and knock him out or choke him unconscious quickly. But that would go against Am’aleh’s wishes, if not in letter then in spirit.

He stepped out of the shadows, and the warder’s eyes snapped open.

“Do not fear me, oh sacred guardian.
I stand before you unarmed and peaceful.
Look upon me beneath this silver moon,
And say that you know of my many deeds.”

The samurai snapped to his feet and bared an inch of steel. Just an inch; no more, but enough to check the reflection for attackers sneaking up behind. His amber eyes flashed to the demigod.

“I am alone; I bring you no violence.
Now speak, and say that you know who I am.”

“I have heard of a man with Y-shaped scars on his cheeks,” the samurai said slowly, and then slid his steel out of sight and relaxed his posture. “He is called the Breaker; Joshua Cronen. At my dojo, we sometimes learn from students of his who have traveled to Akashima.” He paused a moment, and then raised a dark brow, a smile ghosting on his lips. “In the stories, you are ten feet tall.”

“Stories are often so far from the truth,
All the while residing right next to it.
If you know me, you must know of my quest.”

Josh took a gentle step closer to the neko, like a rancher approaching a spooked stallion.