Read Online Moon and Star: Book One by Mike Bergonzi - Free Book Online

jumpy. The anticipation of when he'd talk was more stressful than the actual words spoken.
    Where was Mayumi? She'd said she was going to scout ahead. See if there were anymore bandits or ronin blocking their path to Reikutaun.
    The sun began to set, which meant Mayumi had been gone for over a day. What if something happened to her, he thought. She could need our help.
    He looked over Sora. He twiddled his thumbs, whistling to himself. The sound was quiet enough that Kaito wasn't sure if he'd been making noise the whole time or he'd never heard it until now.
    Kaito shushed him after hearing something nearby. The boy hid his lips inside his mouth. Unsure of what it was, and whether or not it was friend or foe, Kaito grabbed Sora by the arm and bolted behind a fallen tree. They stayed as low to the ground as possible, keeping quiet and still. At least, Kaito was trying to be quiet. Sora found it an appropriate time to giggle. He glared at him, but he wouldn't stop.
    "Something's tickling me," he said, holding back a laugh.
    Kaito crawled through the bushes to get behind him. A large spider crawled on his left foot. The creature fidgeted its legs as if trying to spin a web, but Sora's foot wouldn't keep still. He screamed. Katio covered his mouth and smashed the spider, praying no one heard the scream.
    The crickets began their nightly song and the two of them remained in the bushes.
    Sora coughed. At first it was only once—but as the night went on, Kaito grew worried. He looked over at him. The boy was shivering and his face was bright red.
    "Mom?" he asked. His eyelid fluttered. He groaned, body shaking despite the warm weather outside. "No! Don't do it!” he shouted. “It’s my fault. My fault she’s … dead.”
    Kaito raised an eyebrow. Tears ran down his brother’s cheeks, but showed no other signs of consciousness. The nightmare must’ve been frightening. He was talking about his mother. Their mother.
    The night grew darker and they had no choice but to leave the safety of the bushes. Not like it mattered anymore. If someone were after them, they would've been found by now. Kaito wiped sweat from his brow and looked back at Sora. He wasn’t faring well at all. A few more hours and he’d be dead.
    Kaito looked at his glass container of water. He splashed the liquid around inside the corked ceramic bottle, letting the swishing noise tell him how much water was left. It barely made a sound.
    If he were to give it to Sora, he’d have none for himself. But without his help, I wouldn’t know where to go? He’d never ventured this far into the woods.
    “If one of us is going to survive it might as well be you,” he said, uncorking the bottle with a pop.
    He lifted Sora’s head up off the ground, slowly tipping the bottle to his lips and letting the water dribble down his throat. The boy coughed, then lied still; no motion at all except the faint beat of his heat.
    The crisp night air blew over Kaito’s arm. Sora still did not move. He grew worried that perhaps he made a mistake in giving his water to someone who was already about to die. Why should he have to suffer? Better yet why did both of them have to die? There had to be a way to save one of them.
    A leaf came into contact with Kaito’s hand, landing in his palm. The leaf was unfamiliar, but at the same time, he knew what it was: a way to save Sora’s life.
    Memories of his lessons with Yuri flooded his mind. He processed each one as they appeared, sorting through them at a rate most would call impossible. In times of great stress, the body was capable of incredible things. Seemed the same was true of the mind. Kaito opened his eyes, unaware they’d been closed as he remembered Yuri’s botany lessons.
    The image of the leaf entered his mind’s eye. Of course. A karanasu leaf. Apothecary’s used it to make antidotes for poison. This particular leaf was not native to Kyotomo. One needed to delve deep into the forest in order to find them. Seemed Kaito