No Need for a Core?

Fuyuko's plan took them to one of the more dangerous parts of Cantraberg. There were different types of dangerous places; in some, guards were eager to keep the streets clean of riffraff, while in others, the local guards were effectively sponsored gangs looking to collect 'insurance' and 'tax'.

Here, the gangs made little pretense of uprightness, and guards did not patrol casually or in small numbers unless they had some sort of connection with the gang whose territory they were passing through.

There was no hard boundary saying where the dangerous territory began, but danger was relative. In the area that Fuyuko paused at to set them up as guards, Papa and Amry looked dangerous enough that no one would mess with them. Too much further in, and the local gang would feel the need to defend its territory against obvious outsiders. "Um," Fuyuko said, "I don't know exactly what I am going to find and do, but I'm going to create opportunities and chances. I want you two to stay here and be somewhere safe for others to get to."

She didn't say anything to Yvonne, though she was certain that the caretaker was lurking nearby. She would act as she saw fit, and the whole point of the way Fuyuko was doing this was to not get Sanctuary directly involved.

"Fuyuko," Papa said softly as he carefully examined their surroundings, the lack of people in the streets, and how the few people that could occasionally be seen moved, "I think I have an idea of what you are planning. Just keep yourself safe first; if you aren't careful about yourself, you won't be in a position to help others. And if you need to talk about anything later, I am always willing to listen." He smiled a little and added, "Although, depending on what you want to talk about, maybe we don't tell your mothers, or at least Kazue."

Amrydor was watching them with a frown. "What are you up to? And if my job is to be her shield, I can't exactly do that if I am not nearby."

Mordecai put his hand on Amry's shoulder. "You're both protectors, but what you protect from is different. You are on a path to gather power so that you can stand out front against any danger and be a shield. Her path is less visible to most."

Fuyuko nodded to both of them, then moved into the shadows of a nearby building. It was already late in the day, and there were plenty of those available. She wasn't doing full shadow jumps, but she wasn't entirely in the normal world either. Instead, she was sort of skimming along the surface between them.

This had never been an area she visited much, and she didn't know exactly who she was looking for or where, but she was effectively invisible, and she had keen senses, so Fuyuko put her trust in that, and in luck, of course. Almost an hour passed as she moved from building to building, searching for young ones who might be in need.

Even in such a dangerous neighborhood, most did not need her intervention. At least, not this sort of intervention. They had parents who cared, even if those parents did not have much to give to them. But soft sobs did eventually catch her attention, drawing her to what was practically a hovel. A child on a bed of straw, trying to be quiet lest he draw more ire from his parents. One parent was loud and demanding, the other placating, and the loud one looked visibly more well-fed. That was enough for her.

Shadows drew tighter around the boy, obscuring him from the awareness of the adults, and then the tiniest of whispers reached his ear. "Do you want to run away? Do you want to disappear from here and go someplace safe? To never see this place or these people again?"

He was startled, of course, but the child didn't make a sound at first as he looked around with wide eyes and trembling lips. Fear of the unknown competed with fear of the known, but the unknown was also offering hope. He closed his eyes and said, very quietly, "Yes." Fuyuko's shadow claimed a few things from nearby to make sure the boy had shoes and clothes, then her arms wrapped around him and drew him into the shadows with her.

They stepped back out of the shadows just around a corner from the boy's now-former home. Fuyuko pointed down the road. "Go that way, and keep going. You will find two men standing at a corner. They are tall and maybe a bit scary looking, but only because they are strong. So long as you reach them, you will be safe, though they will not be the ones helping you. Their job is to keep anyone from following or chasing you. Now go, and may the luck of the shadows be with you."

It was a lot of work to find the children in this much need, but an area like this brought out the worst in people, and it was much more common than elsewhere. Not all accepted her offer, and Fuyuko was not about to kidnap an unwilling child, but all those who did were sent toward Papa and Amrydor.

One situation was particularly painful, because she needed to make a choice. The need to make a difficult choice made her think of Yvonne's story, and gave her even more sympathy for the caretaker's decision. But this was not the time or place to let her mind wander, and Fuyuko focused her attention back on the present.

It was clear that both children were abused, but the older had been influenced by his parents to be mean to his younger sister. The cycle of abuse was already starting, and they couldn't go to the same place, not without risking him continuing his new habits. So it was the younger one that Fuyuko made her offer to, and whom she stole away into the night.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Not all her actions that night were so peaceful as these.

While no children were immediately involved, Fuyuko had come across one of the gang leaders as he wandered out from a tavern, and she began following him. She knew him by name and face, though she had never interacted with him before. His reputation had been enough to have him pointed out to the children of Sanctuary.

She stalked him and observed him, saw the way he treated others; making sure that she had the right target. This was the sort of 'leader' to push a child into trying to steal frivolous things from a merchant, and if the child got caught, simply shrug and walk away without ever acknowledging or helping the child. If no parent or guardian was found for a child thief, they might easily end up a debt slave, just like any adult thief who was caught. He was also known for being brutal and sadistic in general, even to his own people. So she waited, biding her time until he was sufficiently alone.

He never saw the blade that drove into the side of his neck, silencing him forever.

Fuyuko dragged his body into the place between shadow and reality and left it there. The gleaming eyes of rats were already gathering for the sudden feast, and they had no trouble slipping into the shadows to find their fresh food.

Once she had gotten some distance between herself and the corpse, Fuyuko tucked herself into a corner for support and practically collapsed. She was trembling and fighting to breathe normally, lest the sound of her gasping or crying draw attention. This was the first time she'd killed so coldly, and she didn't like it. But she knew she'd do it again if it was someone like that.

She also knew that only the training and experience she'd gained in the last year had allowed her to do this so cleanly. It had been difficult keeping her presence and intent hidden enough for him to not notice, and even then, she'd felt his aura start to flare when it was too late for him to react.

It was a weak aura compared to what she faced regularly now, but Fuyuko was certain he had been stronger than she'd been when she'd left Cantraberg with that farmer who had taken her in for a few weeks before she set out on her journey. He'd been in more than a few fights, and fights between gangs could be deadly.

When Fuyuko felt in control of herself again, she carefully straightened back up, then slowly made her way back the way she'd come. There were certainly more that she might be able to help, but Fuyuko wasn't certain that she could be careful enough right now. Her emotions were clouded by a sort of numbness, and she was pretty certain that was a bad thing.

Fuyuko thought this was probably one of the reasons that Yvonne didn't do things like this, aside from just potential political issues if she became notorious. This wasn't a healthy way to live, and the only reason she wasn't reacting even worse was because of the training she'd received, including some lessons from Princess Orchid.

But just this once? It was a small gift to the children and people of this city, where she'd been born and raised.

When she reached Papa and Amrydor, Papa simply looked patient and understanding. Amrydor looked more somber and a touch troubled as he said, "I was paying attention, so I could feel you the entire time."

Which meant that with his affinity, he probably felt it when she killed. Fuyuko closed her eyes as a shudder ran through her, then she opened her eyes again to meet his gaze. "The rats were waiting, and eager for a feast."

He nodded in understanding. "I'm not really comfortable with how you decided to pursue justice, but I trust you, and I won't ever gainsay you lightly. However, if I think I need to stop you, I will. Whatever it takes." There was a shadow of pain in his expression when he said that.

That was both comforting and slightly terrifying. Fuyuko forced a smile and shrugged. "Not a habit I'm lookin' ta make."

Papa sighed. "When we get back, you two are going to take a break. You've both taken in the lessons you've been taught very well, but I am beginning to think we've overdone it a bit in getting you ready for this delve. You both have other types of lessons to learn still."

He stepped forward and gave her a hug, then reached up to ruffle her hair. "It's going to be fine. Now come on, we want to get this done before dawn."

"Wait. Um, how many reached you?" she asked nervously. The number turned out to be three higher than what she had sent. Evidently, some of the children had doubled-back so that they could save friends as well. Fuyuko couldn't really blame them. It wasn't all that different from what she had spent the night doing herself, but it had been a lot more dangerous for them than for her.

She felt relief knowing that they seem to have all made it. Sending the kids off like that was risky, but she couldn't have escorted each one to safety and still gotten to all the others.

Once they moved on, it took a little while to reach their destination, but there was still a fair amount of time before dawn.

Fuyuko didn't recognize the house that now stood where her home had been, but that wasn't much of a surprise, really, even if some small, child-like part of her had still expected for it to be the same. Papa took them to the edge of the property, though a little off to the side. "Amrydor," he said, "I want you to stay here. This is also going to be a bit of training for Fuyuko, and I'm going to show her how to use you as an anchor to find her way back. We're going deeper into shadow than she's been before, and she needs to know how to get back."

Then he grinned and glanced at her. "You know, before the next time that she foolishly takes too big a jump."

"Hey!" she said in protest as she blushed. "I only did that once."

"And nothing would ever drive you to push your limits again?" Amrydor asked.

She wanted to say no, and found she couldn't. So she crossed her arms and huffed at him in response to his teasing.

"Alright," Papa said, "let's get this started. Fuyuko, begin by focusing on his aura, then try to tie a ribbon of shadow to him. You are going to focus on keeping that ribbon intact and maintaining awareness of his aura. I'll take care of walking us deep into the shadow realm. Are you ready?"

Fuyuko nodded, then began following his instructions. She nervously wondered what it was going to be like and just what they would find.