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It was raining so hard that evening that Kaito couldn't even imagine anyone traveling, let alone being outside. And yet, someone was knocking on their front door.
"Can you get that?" Akaito shouted from the kitchen, his hands obviously full with that night's dinner. Kaito didn't need to be told twice. He marked his place in his book and got up from his desk, humming a spell so it put itself away on the shelf. It was his turn to set the table, anyhow.
Nigaito and Daito were play-fighting in the living room again, and he had to carefully skirt around them before he could make his way to the door. Kaiko, who was watching them, gave him a sympathetic grin.
He made it to the front door, turned the knob, and came face to face with a small cloaked figure. Before he could even ask what their business was, the figure pulled down their hood to reveal familiar teal hair. Kaito gasped.
"Miku?"
"Kaito..." the girl whispered back.
Kaito let her inside as fast as he could. She was utterly soaked, dripping water all over the floor. Akaito would be furious, but Kaito didn't care. He quickly dried her with a few short spell-notes and a wave of his hand, but she was still shivering. That wasn't good.
Her face was deathly pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She clung to his arm in a death grip, breathing shakily. "Kaito..." she said again.
"Miku, are you okay?!" Kaito asked, then kicked himself for the stupid question. "What happened?"
"Kaito, who is this?" Kaiko asked from across the room. Daito and Nigaito had stopped playing altogether to watch the commotion.
"What's going on?" he asked Miku again.
Miku laughed. A broken laugh that sounded more like a hiccup, or a sob. She reached up to cup his cheek, staring in wonder at his face, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing in front of her. Kaito rested a hand on hers and found that her skin was warm. Too warm.
"I messed up, Kaito," she said. "I messed up really bad..."
"What do you mean? Messed up what?!" Kaito placed a hand on her forehead, confirming his suspicions. "Miku, you're sick..."
"Really?" she said, blinking slowly. She leaned heavily against him, resting her head on his chest. "Is that why it's too cold?" she asked, in a faraway voice.
"Who is this girl?" Kaiko asked again, approaching them. She looked alarmed at Miku's bedraggled state.
"A good friend," Kaito answered, not knowing what else to say. "She's burning up, Kaiko. I have to..." His mind was already racing, thinking of all the potion ingredients and songs he would need to keep Miku's fever under control.
Kaiko pressed a hand against Miku's neck, and her eyebrows rose. "I'll gather some blankets," she said, drawing back. "You get her to bed."
Kaito nodded. Miku hadn't said anything, even when Kaiko touched her. He looked down again and saw that her eyes were half-lidded, on the verge of closing completely.
"Can you walk?" Kaito asked. Miku muttered something that might have sounded like a yes, and stood a little straighter, but she was still swaying on her feet.
"Lean on me," he said, draping one of her arms around his shoulders. They hobbled away from the front door, and Kaito ignored his siblings' stares as he started guiding her to his room. "It's alright, Miku, you can rest now..."
"A friend, huh?" Akaito was at the doorway holding a tray of food, watching as Kaito sung another spell at Miku's bedside.
Kaito finished the song, added a few more herbs from the chopping board on the nearby table to the cauldron at his feet, and kept stirring. He glanced at Miku, who was fast asleep, checking if she was still breathing evenly. "We knew each other when we were schoolchildren. Before we parted, I left an open invitation for her to visit us... whenever she liked."
It had been years since he had last seen Miku. What had happened since then?
Akaito raised an eyebrow. "So this is the Miku you kept writing about? The prodigy? The rising star? The one you said had the potential not seen in a hundred years?"
Kaito nodded, carefully inspecting the color of the potion and listening to the particular sound of its bubbling. It was to his satisfaction, so he sung the enchanted fire beneath the cauldron to a low simmer and gave it one last stir. It would be ready by the time Miku was ready to eat. "The same one."
He could see Akaito staring at the Miku's sleeping form in disbelief, and Kaito smiled. "You've never heard her sing, brother. You'd think she's part-songbird herself. Her voice could make the earth shake and the trees part. Birds and beasts would rush to her aid. Boulders the size of our house would crumble to pieces and then reform like new. I've seen it myself. All our teachers adored her."
His brother still looked skeptical. "I just thought she would look a bit more..." Akaito gestured with a hand, "...intimidating."
Kaito held back a laugh. "You better come back when she wakes up, then! I'm sure she'll be glad to demonstrate."
"I'll pass," Akaito deadpanned, entering the room to leave the tray of food on the table. "Here's your share of dinner. I've graciously added less spice than usual, so you're welcome to thank me."
"Thank you," Kaito said, but he didn't let Akaito know that he didn't feel very hungry. He would be too busy watching over Miku to eat. If his brother read it in his face, he thankfully pretended not to notice.
"Were you close?" Akaito asked, after a few moments of silence.
A lump formed in Kaito's throat, and he couldn't make himself look Akaito in the eye. "Y-yes," he managed to choke out. "We were."
Best friends. We were best friends.
Akaito smirked. "Who'd have thought that my little runt of a brother would go on to rub shoulders with prodigies, huh? How did she even notice you? It feels like only yesterday when you came crying to me because you had sung the bowl of sweets down from the high shelf and it landed on your head."
Kaito managed to smile back. "I know, I can't believe it either."
"Well, I'm turning in," Akaito waved as he moved to leave. "Wake me if you need anything. Good night, Kaito."
"Good night," Kaito said as Akaito shut the door behind him, leaving him and Miku alone.
Outside, thunder rumbled and the rain continued to pour down in sheets. Next to him, Miku continued to sleep, her breathing even and her pulse steady. Kaito kept his vigil, occasionally stirring the simmering potion and singing a song that cooled the sheets that Miku was wrapped in. Despite all the noise he must have made, Miku didn't wake, her sleep as deep as the furthest oceans. And from what Kaito had gathered, she badly needed the rest.
His dinner grew cold next to him as time went on. Kaito eventually started singing songs for himself as well, ones meant to be sung by mages on watch duty during long nights at sea, songs that energized the body and sharpened the mind. As he tried to keep drowsiness at bay, he couldn't help but reminisce of his school years with Miku, which were only a few years behind him, but felt like lifetimes ago.
Kaito was never the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, nor the bravest. Even when he sailed off to the best school for mages in the archipelago, his songs were never as steady as anyone else's. And the world, in turn, seemed to sense it, barely reacting to his voice. He was not a boy of much ambition—he only wanted to tame his ability to protect his family and serve his island—but it still stung to be the one who lagged behind everyone else. The class dunce. The laughingstock. The failure. Even now, the memory of those feelings made him sick to his stomach.
In hindsight, he was a late bloomer, but how was he supposed to know that? Akaito's question had struck him in a place he didn't even know was still tender.
It was only pure fortune that he and Miku had met. They had both chosen a certain alcove to rest from a tiring day and, the two had bonded almost immediately, swapping stories of their families and islands, grumbling on how this teacher or another was more slavedriver than mage, and gushing about their mutual love of song.
He already knew of her reputation as a prodigy, but he was caught off guard by how... nice she was, especially to a failure like him. In his eyes, she shone brightly, like the brightest star in the sky, and he was content to remain in her shadow. She was a songbird about to take flight, and he was loathe to attach himself to her like this, only dragging her down to earth. For a dark time, he even had the thought of abandoning becoming a mage altogether.
But Miku never gave up on him. She never stopped encouraging him, defending him, and even vouching for him during that awful accident with the mangroves. Always, she kept asking everyone to give Kaito a chance, to let Kaito show the others his potential. And at last, he began to show proficiency in the art of healing, singing someone's injuries away without a trace and proving he was worthy to be trained.
They hugged each other in tears that night, Kaito sobbing his thanks over and over again, while Miku reassuring him that she always knew he could do it, she was so proud of him...
Kaito had no idea where he would've ended up if he had never met Miku. He doubted that he would be anywhere near the man he was today if it wasn't for her. He wouldn't have his cloak, or his staff, or even any semblance of pride.
He still remembered that day in port, after they had been made full-fledged mages and let out into the wider world. There, they waited for the boats to take them separate ways—Kaito to his home village, and Miku, with countless accolades and letters of recommendation, to her newest assignment at the island she had always wanted. As they waited, Kaito had admired his new dark-blue cloak, running his hands over it, trying to make himself believe it was actually real.
Miku, meanwhile, had been smiling, humming a tune to herself as she held her head high, letting her twintails be blown about by the sea breeze. Watching her then, Kaito's heart raced, and he knew that she would be destined to do great and wonderful things.
It was there that Kaito had extended his invitation, and the two of them swore that they would eventually meet again. But if Kaito had really spoken his feelings at the time, all he wanted was that Miku not forget him, no matter where or how high she flew. That alone was enough for him.
And now here she was, shivering in front of him, her fever yet to break. As Kaito sung another spell to cool the sheets, he thought of that story of a man who had his wishes granted in the cruelest way possible.
And so he watched, and stirred, and sang, until the dawn came.
Miku finally awoke the next day, and Kaito managed to get spoonfuls of potion into her, as well as some hot soup that Akaito had brought up. He was burning with questions, but her fever was only just subsiding and she still looked exhausted and groggy. Kaito didn't want to push her too much.
There was even a scary moment when she first woke up and saw that Kaito was caring for her. She had turned a bright shade of red, and when Kaito had told her where she was—his room—she somehow turned even redder. Kaito was worried that her fever had returned with a vengeance, so he quickly rushed to administer the potion. That thankfully brought her temperature down, judging from her appearance.
Still, it was a relief that she was awake and coherent now. The hours without sleep were wearing on Kaito, but he tried not to show it. However, he couldn't seem to escape Miku's notice.
"You should rest too," she said, her voice a bit hoarse. "How long have you been awake?"
He tried to keep a smile on his face. "A while," he said. “I’m not that tired, really.”
She shot him an exasperated look, one so familiar it made his heart ache. "Kaito… you have to take care of yourself..."
"It's not that bad," he shrugged. "I'm just glad you're okay."
She had a strange expression on her face at his words, but Kaito was too tired to think much of it. He sat next to the bed once again, watching the pouring rain outside the window. The rain hadn't stopped since the day before last, and it was starting to get worrying. If the rain didn't stop soon, Kaito would eventually have to make himself leave Miku's side to step in, for the island's sake.
He glanced to his right, and saw Miku staring out the window as well. For some reason, she looked upset, more upset than Kaito had ever seen her. Without meaning to, he found his hand placed on her shoulder, and she started at his touch, looking at him.
"Miku..." he started, but stopped. The question still hung in the air between them. So he tried again, more indirectly. "What's happened, since we've last seen each other?"
Miku took a deep breath. "You have to know," she said, seemingly more to herself, and began.
She had, indeed, had achieved great fame once she had left the school. On her first island she had sung to the buildings when the earth began to quake, holding them together so no one would be crushed underneath. On her second, she had sung to the ocean until it no longer bloomed red and poisoned the people on the coast living on its bounty. On her third, she had even managed to sing a seething volcano back to sleep, hopefully for another few eons.
All these deeds had already reached Kaito's ears in one form or another, and he smiled at the confirmation of the truth. So the songbird had flown high, after all.
But something was wrong.
"At that time, I thought there was nothing in the world I couldn't convince," Miku said with no pride in her voice whatsoever, "Nothing I couldn't persuade."
She even grimaced at her words, as if the act of saying them disgusted her immensely.
Kaito reached out and gripped her hand. "What happened next?"
Miku squeezed back. "I was..." Her face twisted, and she spat out the words. "I was an arrogant fool, Kaito. I thought... I thought I could take on a typhoon."
Kaito's eyes widened, and he fought the urge to gasp. Miku couldn't look at him anymore, but she kept going.
"It was worse because I hadn't been taking care of my voice either. I was exhausted. Stretched too thin. Trying to do too much at once. I thought, I actually thought I could perform the deed worthy of legend, and when it didn't go my way I..."
Kaito felt his stomach sink. He knew what she was about say next, but he didn't want to believe it. Miku sounded like she was forcing the next words out.
"I tried to FORCE it, Kaito! I threw everything I learned away and tried to force a typhoon, of all things, to obey me. My voice… it couldn’t… the song turned dissonant, and now the typhoon is enraged and growing stronger, completely out of control, and it's all my fault."
Miku was breathing heavily as she finished, clutching at the blankets beneath her like they were all that was tethering her to the earth. Her head was bowed, and he couldn't see her eyes beneath the teal fringes of her hair.
"Out there, that’s..." she said, pointing at the window, but her voice trailed off.
He looked outside at the rain falling in sheets, the howling gusts of wind tossing around tree branches like they were nothing but blades of grass. "That's the typhoon, isn't it?"
Miku nodded, and she looked so miserable that Kaito couldn't help but reach out and hug her tightly. She stiffened, but slowly hugged him back, and the two just held each other for several long moments.
"What has to be done?" Kaito asked.
"It's my song," said Miku. "Other mages can try to hold it back, but I'm the only one who can reverse what's been sung. I have to face the typhoon again."
"But... what brought you to this island?"
Why did you look for me?
"Because I've already tried to fix what I've done."
"What?"
Miku pulled back, and wiped at her face. "Not too long after the typhoon escaped my control, I tried to follow it across the sea, and I found myself overwhelmed too quickly. I don't know how long I spent trying to keep my boat together. All I could focus on was getting to safe harbor, and the only safe harbor I could think of was you- your island."
At her story, Kaito felt terror grip his heart. He could imagine her then, floating alone, in the middle of the open ocean, wave after wave crashing over her head as her hoarse voice tried to calm the sea's fury, drowned out by the storm.
"It's a miracle you didn't die!" he cried, grasping her shoulders.
"Maybe it would've been for the best if I did," she said, looking away. "Not after such a horrible mistake."
Kaito's blood ran cold. "Miku, that's... You're speaking nonsense. You don't deserve to... to..."
Miku stiffened, then sighed. "You're right. Even if I were gone, the typhoon would still threaten the entire archipelago. I'm sorry."
"Please don't say something like that again," he said, voice trembling. The thought of never being able to see Miku again under the blue sky, to never again hear her voice, or her laughter... it made his heart twist more than anything else.
"I won't," Miku promised. She sighed and leaned back into the pillows. "As soon as I’m better, I won't impose on you any longer. I'll repair my boat and try again." She stiffened her jaw in resolution. "Until it's done."
"I'm coming with you," Kaito blurted out.
Miku blinked. "What? Kaito, you can't-"
"I know I'm not strong," Kaito admitted. "And my magic was never- will never be as good as yours-"
"Kaito-"
"But I can be your second voice! A second pair of hands and eyes! And if you get hurt, I can-"
"Kaito," Miku stopped him, "This isn't about what you can or can't do."
"But Miku-"
"Kaito, you have a good life here," she gestured at her surroundings. "You have your family and your island to think of. This is my mistake, so it’s my duty alone to fix it. I don't want you to drag you away from all this and sail to your death because of something I did."
"You're not dragging me into anything," Kaito insisted. "I want to come with you. The typhoon can destroy the entire archipelago, so is it not my duty to try and protect it and my island as well? If I die trying to stop this storm, it wouldn't matter where I am, whether on land or at sea. And-" he balled his hands into fists. "If you are to fail, you shouldn't be alone. After everything you've done for me, you don't deserve that kind of fate."
I don't want you to be alone.
That strange look came over Miku's face again, and she fell silent. Then, she slowly nodded. "Alright. Only if... only if you promise me one thing."
"What is that?"
She pointed a shaking finger at him. "You... you have to survive. No matter what happens to me. Someone will sail back to land, and if only one of us makes it, I want it to be you. Understand?"
He took her hand in both of his, and closed his eyes.
"Promise."
"Are you sure about this?" Akaito said, handing Kaito another cloth package filled with rice balls and smoked fish. Kaito nodded.
They were at the harbor, and Miku was singing the final repairs to her boat. Kaiko was there as well, helping her inspect the hull, outriggers, and the connecting aka between them. They had found that Miku's craft had been in tatters when she had arrived at the island, made more of magic than wood. But now it was almost good as new, with Kaiko having gladly donated timber, bamboo, and two of their strongest sails once she learned that Kaito was to be part of Miku's quest.
The sky was a cloudless blue, the rain having abated in the night. But Miku's face had still been grim. "It's moving northwest," she had explained. "But it will return, ten times as strong as before, and with the destruction of countless islands in its wake."
Still, it was hard to believe that there was a typhoon anywhere at all that day. The waves were calm and the wind was good, the perfect weather for sailing.
Kaito packed the food into the boat, along with the rest of their provisions. He looked up, and found that the rest of his siblings had arrived in order to see him off. Kikaito and Kizaito grabbed him in a bear hug, ruffling his hair and asking him to tell them about how it all went when he came back. Mokaito offered him a few sips of a bitter drink made from a rare berry for strength, and Kamaito draped a shawl they had woven around his cloak for good luck. The young ones—Daito and Nigaito and Kageito—all tugged at his cloak and, to his amusement, made Kaito promise to have Miku come visit again so she could tell them more song stories. Even Taito and Zeito were there, with Taito muttering a few well-wishes and Zeito giving him a meaningful nod.
"That's a good boat you're taking; it will carry you far," Kaiko said, wiping the sweat off her brow. "If anything can survive the jaws of a typhoon, I believe that one can. Please take care, Kaito."
"He better!" Akaito said, crossing his arms. "I promised Father that I would take care of you, and yet here you are, riding directly into a storm to save us all." His eyes softened. "You better come back to us, little brother."
Kaito spent a few more minutes with them, and many hugs and kisses and tearful goodbyes were had (most of the tears being his own), before he finally took his staff and walked back down to the boat, where Miku was already waiting.
They untied the boat from its moor and set sail, and Miku started singing, strengthening the northerly wind that took them further from shore. Kaito crawled onto the cargo netting suspended between two aka and watched his island and his family shrink into the distance, until he could see them no longer.
It was then he noticed that Miku had been watching him all this time, smiling.
"They really love you, don't they?"
Kaito wiped at his eyes, still wet. "Yes..."
"You're really lucky, you know," Miku said, wistfully. "To have a family like that..."
He cocked his head. "What about yours, Miku? How's your sister?"
Miku sighed, running her hands up and down the ropes. "I haven't seen her or my brother in years." She stared into the waves, watching them ripple against the bow. "I wonder what they're doing right now..."
Kaito noticed then, her hunched posture, the creases on her brow, the dark circles under her eyes that hadn't gone away even after several nights of sleep. "Hey," he said. "Maybe we can visit your family when all this is over? I'd like to meet them."
Miku looked up in surprise, then slowly smiled. "Yes, that would be nice..." But her expression darkened again, and she looked off into the distance. "She was so small too, when I left," she said, "By now she's probably the same age I was when I last saw her." She sighed. "The typhoon could be heading their way right this minute. I hope they'll be safe..."
Kaito shuffled closer, until he sitting next to her, and hugged her close "They'll be okay, you'll make sure of it."
Miku stared at him for a moment, then looked away, muttering something under her breath, something that Kaito couldn't catch.
"I hope so," she eventually said.
The boat continued to cut through the water, the colorful sail catching the wind.
They kept sailing with Miku's hand at the tiller as they chased the typhoon, moving swiftly across the waves as if they weren't there at all.
As they went, they would spot islands close by, sometimes clustered so close together they had to carefully weave through them. He could see Miku’s eyes roving over them like a hawk, checking for any possible signs of damage caused by the storm. Thankfully, most of the islands they saw were still green, but then there were those that made Kaito’s heart sink, ones with fallen trees and piles of broken boats and wreckages of what were once houses visible from afar. Miku said nothing at these islands, only stiffening her jaw and pulling at the ropes with even more vigor.
When the first wind that had taken them from Kaito's home island died down, Miku sang it back alive. The wind came back stronger than ever, tousling her long teal hair and stretching out the sails. At Kaito’s suggestion, they took turns after that, for the sake of saving their magical strength for the trial ahead.
Often, they would go in a particular direction for some time, but then Miku would perk up, rigid and alert, hearing something Kaito couldn't. She would then tell him that the typhoon had suddenly changed direction and was now heading eastward. Then westward. Then eastward again. Thus, Kaito spent a lot of time crawling between both sides of the boat, helping Miku shunt the mainsail and secure its horizontal spar every time they needed to change directions.
This chaotic path was to be expected, of course. A typhoon was one of the most capricious and powerful things in the world, second only to the sea. The typhoon did what it wanted and went where it wanted, following its own whims of rage and destruction, and trying to sing to one was so unthinkable that not even their teachers bothered to warn against it.
Legends had been sung of great mages meeting their end, in the face of a storm.
And yet Kaito refused to let fear grow in his heart, silencing the song of doubt in his mind as soon as it began to play. Miku would succeed. He believed in her.
They sailed for several days and several nights. Every evening they ate together, with Miku enjoying the rice balls Akaito had packed as if she hadn't eaten one in years, and Kaito insisting she take another one of his own dried fish despite her protests. Every night, they huddled together on the floor of the boat with their cloaks as makeshift cots, one asleep, the other watching the stars, making sure they were still sailing in the right direction.
Still, there were long hours where there was nothing else to be done on the open ocean other than watch the blue waves go by, and Kaito and Miku filled them with countless stories of the years they'd been apart. They were little things, not even worthy of a campfire tale, let alone a legend, but Kaito still loved to tell them, and he loved listening to them even more.
Like the story of the time little Kageito thought of sailing off to sea like his big brother and nearly took one of Kaiko's boats for his own, with a large bamboo reed he had found on the shore for a “mage’s staff”. That one made Miku bring her hands to her face and squeal over how adorable that was, which Kaito knew for sure Kageito wouldn't appreciate if he were there. There was also the one Miku told of a particular incident in her second village involving a goat thief, a cranky rooster, and three coconut crabs, which made Kaito laugh so hard, he nearly slipped overboard and Miku, laughing almost as much as him, had to pull him back up.
And when the stories ran out, they had songs. All the ones they used to sing together. None of them had any sort of magical power, but that didn't matter to Kaito. In the end, despite his years of schooling, he still loved music simply for what it was, not for what it could do. And Miku was the same way. It was still the biggest thing they shared, even after all this time.
They quickly ran through all their favorites. Some were the old legends that everyone knew, like the story of how Saki, the first mage, created the first song; or the epic of Genbu, and how he had outsmarted the wild boar and the crocodile by changing his name. But others were simpler, more down-to-earth ballads and ditties about longing and romance, but that didn't mean Kaito and Miku sang them with any less enthusiasm. Their voices resonated together across the sea, her gorgeous songbird voice complementing his own with every call and response they did. The notes and melodies and harmonies would exchange so seamlessly between them that Kaito would often forget where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. They were no longer on open sea, but in that alcove again on school grounds, singing without a care in the world.
"I missed this," Miku laughed after a song one night, the moonlight reflecting on the surface of the water and vaguely illuminating her face. Then she sighed, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I really missed this..."
"I know..." Kaito chuckled as well, taking a sip of fresh water from one of their bamboo casks. "I missed you, Miku. It was really lonely, not having a duet partner."
Miku gave him a long lingering look, her expression once again unreadable. She then wrapped her cloak around herself tightly, nestling closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her obligingly, thinking she must be cold.
"It was very lonely for me as well," Miku said, after a few moments. "I missed you too, Kaito. I would've visited sooner, but-” She started speaking very quickly, her words running together, “There was so much to do, there just wasn't enough time, there was never enough time, and I really hope you never thought I forgot about you, because I didn't, but if you did, I'm-" She paused to take a breath. "I'm really sorry..."
"Wait-" Kaito held up his hands, head spinning at her words. Even if he had made peace with the thought of Miku forgetting their friendship years ago for the sake of grander things, it still stunned him to be faced with the fact that he was remembered. That he actually existed inside someone else's head. That he mattered to someone in the same way they mattered to him.
"Miku," he said, "You don't have to apologize. I knew you'd be busy, but-" He smiled, and found his vision growing blurry. "Thank you," he whispered, choking up, “Thank you for not forgetting me.”
Miku cupped his cheek in her hand. "I would never forget you, Kaito. I don't think I can. I-"
She suddenly went quiet.
"Hm?" Kaito blinked. "You what?"
Miku pressed her lips into a thin line. "N-nothing. It's just..." She sighed and leaned his head against his shoulder. "I'm tired, Kaito. I'm really tired."
Kaito ran a hand up and down her back. "Get some sleep, then. I'll watch first for the night." They couldn't be much further from the typhoon now. Miku needed all the rest she could get. On impulse, he took off the shawl that Kamaito had given him and wrapped it around her shoulders. "It must have been so hard, dealing with all this on your own, hasn't it?"
Miku slowly gripped the shawl, thumbing its woven geometric patterns. "You have no idea..." she said, in an odd tone of voice, but before Kaito could ask about it, she had already curled up to sleep, and he didn't want to disturb her any further.
It was on the sixth day when they finally caught up to the typhoon. The sky above them had turned grey and dismal, and they would occasionally be hit by a light drizzle, the raindrops feeling like icy pinpricks on Kaito's bare skin.
They couldn't have made it sooner. Their supplies were beginning to run low, and in another day they would've had to fish for their own supper and sing casks of seawater into something drinkable. But that was the last thing on Kaito's mind.
They were here.
Miku was singing now, persuading a stray sea breeze to blow in another direction so it could bring them closer to the typhoon's center. Kaito wondered what it thought of them. Even the most foolhardy fisherman would have turned tail and run from the typhoon ahead, yet here they were, sailing towards it.
Meanwhile, Kaito was checking on everything on the boat once again: if the ropes were strong enough, if the knots were tight, if the sails had torn, if there were any suspicious cracks and weak spots along the hull and mast and spars and aka and outriggers that had to be fixed...
He had already done this five times in the last few hours, but surely it wouldn't hurt to do it another five more.
After the wind started blowing in their favor, Miku suggested taking some of the cargo netting and using it as safety lines that would secure themselves to the base of the mast. An extra precaution, if one of them were to be swept overboard.
"It's something I wish I'd thought of the first time around," she said, her eyes haunted. And that was all she needed to say for Kaito's imagination to run amok.
"How did you even survive the first time?" he whimpered.
Miku looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Dumb luck," she said.
That didn't make him feel any better.
The thought that he had been this close to losing Miku still weighed heavily on his mind, even as they tied ropes around their waists, singing spells to tighten the knots more surely than any ordinary human strength could provide.
While Kaito stewed in his own worry, Miku seemed to be deep in thought about something. She stared out at the dark clouds ahead, gnawing at her lip. "Kaito," she said, turning to face him with her hands balled into fists. "Before we go further, I have to tell you something."
Kaito sat up. "What is it?"
"I..." Miku looked like she was struggling to speak, brow furrowed. "I..." She swallowed, wringing her hair with her hands. "Just... give me a moment..."
"Is it about the storm?" Kaito asked. "Is there something else about it?"
"N-no! I... it's just..." Miku visibly deflated. "Mmn. Never mind," she sighed, averting her eyes. "It's not that important."
"Are you sure?" Kaito wondered what was on her mind, especially with something so dangerous up ahead, but if Miku didn't want to talk, then he respected that.
She nodded, looking at the oncoming storm once again. "We have bigger things to worry about."
Kaito saw the darkening clouds, heard thunder rumbling in the distance, and felt a cold chill run down his spine, one that had nothing to do with the rain. He gripped the end of the horizontal spar tighter, ready to shunt the sail at a moment's notice. "Right."
The wisest mage-scholars in the archipelago had once manged to deduce that the shape of a typhoon was a bit similar to an octopus. It was a many-armed beast, all those tentacles lashing out from a central point, its "eye".
Miku had never reached the eye on her first attempt to calm the storm. She had gotten close, before the damage to her boat became too great and she had to turn back. She speculated with Kaito that her original song, the one that turned an ordinary typhoon into the raging beast it was now, might have been such an affront to it because it had been sung on land as the typhoon approached, far from the eye.
"Looking back," she said, "It really was impertinent of me, was it?” She laughed at herself, sadly. “It's no wonder the typhoon was so offended. I wouldn't be surprised if it's so powerful now out of pure spite."
Indeed, the typhoon did not hold back as Kaito and Miku sailed into the first of its arms. The light drizzle turned into a shower, then turned into sheets, and soon the two were soaked to the bone from the rain and the rough seas. The waves became turbulent as the wind grew stronger, tossing the boat around like a child's toy. It was all Kaito could do to hold on tight and try not to be thrown off.
As the wind howled, the two of them sang. Kaito singing to the ropes and sails to keep them from being torn apart from the strain, while Miku sang to the ship to keep it moving in its singular direction.
They couldn't speak to each other, but they still moved as one as the wind kept trying to blow them off course. Shunting the mainsail took much more effort now, Kaito grunting as he and Miku constantly pushed the spar from one side of the boat to the other as they tried to adjust to the shifting wind. The waterlogged ropes burned his hands with how hard he was gripping them, but Kaito refused to let go.
Then, a reprieve. The rain grew less intense, and the wind eased. But Kaito knew this was only temporary. There were gaps between the arms, after all.
"Are you okay?" Miku asked.
Kaito tried to put on the biggest smile he had. "I'm fine. I could do this all day!"
"Good," she said, grimly. "It's only going to get worse from here."
She was right. In almost no time at all, they were already sailing through the next arm of the typhoon. And the next. And the next. And each time, the waves grew just a bit larger and the wind just a bit stronger, the gaps between each arm shrinking until they barely had enough time to catch their breath before the wind and rain picked up again.
And then, the breaks stopped altogether.
It was raining so hard at that point that Kaito could barely see what was in front of him, let alone Miku. The wind blew so powerfully that the gusts almost seemed to make it rain sideways. The sky was dark as night, the occasional flash of lightning revealing the gigantic waves that now dwarfed the boat, the sea threatening to swallow the boat whole.
Through the constant booming of thunder and the howling and crashing of the wind and rain, Kaito couldn't hear Miku's singing voice. He couldn't even hear himself. But he kept singing, his voice hoarse and his entire body aching. He sang, begged, pleaded to the boat to hold together, just a bit longer, just a bit further-
A flash of lightning that nearly blinded him, and to his horror, Kaito saw that the mainsail had nearly ripped in half. Another powerful gust of wind, and it tore completely to shreds, flying off the boat and landing somewhere Kaito could no longer see. Without a sail, they were now at the mercy of the waves.
Cursing himself and his weak magic, Kaito tried not to panic. Where was the oar? Was it even possible to paddle in this weather?
Miku suddenly gripped his arm. She was shouting, trying to tell him something, but he couldn't understand. But then he realized she had taken off her cloak and was giving it to him.
Oh! Of course!
Kaito took off his own cloak, and sang the bundle of cloth into a new mainsail, spelling it onto the mast and spar. Miku had also given back the shawl, and he used it to add to the raw material, strengthening the sail. Almost immediately, it stretched out to its limits from the strength of the wind, but thank the spirits, it held. The boat shot forwards, and Kaito no longer had any idea if they were still going in the right direction but at least they were going.
Then another flash of lightning hit, and Kaito felt his heart drop to his stomach.
They were on the crest of a massive wave, seconds away from crashing back into the sea, and it was a long way down.
All he could register after was his hands gripping the nearest aka as hard as he could, his stomach lurching as the boat tumbled in the air, and the painful jolt beneath him as they hit the water, briefly becoming soaked as the boat bobbed back up to the surface. Kaito was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Miku wasn't next to him.
Panicked, he looked around, thinking she had gone overboard, but then he noticed a bright light further up the boat. It was Miku, and she was holding an orb of lightning in her hand, a bright sparking thing that gave them precious light. Before he could even be relieved, he noticed that she had been trying to get his attention, pointing over the side of the boat. What was wrong?
He looked, and saw that the bamboo outrigger that used to be there had snapped completely off the aka, leaving their boat unbalanced and uneven. Heart pounding, he looked at Miku again, and she was making a gesture with her free hand. She wanted to be given something-
Suddenly remembering the cloaks, Kaito reached down into the boat and to his immense relief, found their mage staffs still stored within. He grabbed one, not knowing whether it was his or Miku's and not caring, and tossed it to her. She sang to it, Kaito unable to hear the notes, making it change in size and shape until it could replace their lost outrigger, and she climbed over the side, balancing precariously on two aka so she could attach it back on.
Kaito realized that he had been too distracted watching Miku repair the boat to pay attention to the sea around them. He looked up, much too late, to notice the enormous wave above their heads.
Before he could even shout a warning, the wave crashed down on him, Miku, and the boat; gallons and gallons of water knocking Kaito senseless and sweeping them both overboard into the abyss.
Saltwater in his eyes, in his mouth, in his lungs. Kaito flailed in the water, trying to kick to the surface, but where was the surface? There was a tight, painful feeling around his waist but that was less important than the burning in his chest.
He had to breathe. He had to reach air. Sheer animal instinct kept his legs kicking and his arms moving as he tried to swim up, up, up, and then his head finally broke above the water and he found himself gasping and coughing and his eyes stung and he couldn’t see, because it was still raining and the typhoon did not care all-
Where was Miku?
It came back to him like a punch to the gut. The boat, the wave, the warning never given—Kaito tried to look around him but it was so dark in all directions, he couldn't find anything at all.
Then another wave hit, and forced Kaito beneath the surface again.
He was tossed around underwater like a kite on a windy day. Kaito kept trying to swim, but his body was beginning to tire and he didn't even know if he was getting anywhere with such a strong current.
He began to despair. What if this was it? Was this the end? Would he and Miku be lost at sea, forever?
Miku, I'm sorry, I couldn't-
His body suddenly slammed into something so hard, Kaito knew it would bruise. For a moment, Kaito thought it was a large piece of driftwood, but then the thing grabbed onto his arm. He reached out to it, and found a wrist, a pair of hands-
Miku!
He clung to her tightly, not wanting to lose her again. At least they wouldn’t drown alone.
It was then that the pain around Kaito's waist became too much to ignore. Kaito reached down on instinct, felt rough rope, and suddenly remembered—the safety line.
Hope surging within him, he felt around until he found the rest of the line, and Miku's line too, and then began to pull himself along them. He felt another hand next to his own, and he realized that Miku was pulling herself along as well.
They kept going, each having one arm around the other, with their free hands focused on holding onto the line, pulling themselves closer and closer to the boat. They were still being tossed around, but Kaito noticed that the currents were getting weaker and weaker, and the ocean was slowly getting brighter, to the point when he opened his eyes, he could see Miku's face.
Their safety lines grew slack. The two looked at each other, and immediately swam for the surface.
They surfaced around the same time, coughing and wheezing and gasping for air. To Kaito's surprise, he felt the sun on his face. Shading his eyes with a hand, he looked around.
The ocean was now almost calm and quiet, like it hadn't just tried to kill them. The sky directly above them was a clear blue. But in the distance, surrounding them on all sides, Kaito could see the darkest storm clouds that he had ever seen in his life.
They were in the eye.
Miku was still coughing, and Kaito thumped her on the back to help get the water out, but it didn't seem to be helping. He looked around for their boat, since it had to be nearby, but nearly missed it—it had half-capsized, and now all that was visible was the one of the outriggers sticking out of the water. It was the outrigger that Miku had repaired, Kaito couldn't help but notice.
The two swam towards it. The side of the hull was barely above the water, but it just was enough to hold onto. When they got there, Miku seemed to have finally cleared her lungs, and was now burying her head in her arms, breathing deeply. Bruises were forming on her bare arms, and there was a cut on her forehead that was spilling red onto her face. Kaito gently sang, his voice scratchy and rough, magically closing the wound and clearing away her worst-looking bruises, ignoring the pain he felt in his own leg and waist.
"You... okay?" Kaito slowly asked.
Miku nodded weakly. "I'm... fine...", she said, her voice just as hoarse as his. She scooped up seawater onto her face, wiping the blood away and hissing as it stung. "Last time... was worse… didn’t have… a healer..."
Kaito looked around them once again. The waves were still pushing the boat, even though its sails were submerged in the water, and the dark clouds surrounding them were growing closer and closer. He felt his whole body shudder at the thought of going back in there again.
He looked up, at the cloudless sky. "The typhoon has granted us an audience," he said. "Maybe you should sing now?"
She started shaking her head frantically. "I did sing, back there, you couldn't hear me, but I did try. It wouldn't listen, Kaito."
"It might be different now; this is the closest we could possibly get-" Kaito said, but Miku continued to shake her head. "What's wrong?"
"Kaito, I-" she brushed at her eyes, "I don't know if I can do this... I don't know if it's even possible for one mage, and I'm so tired..." her voice trembled, and Kaito's heart ached.
He took her hand, entwining their fingers. "Let's sing together, then," he said. "And if it still doesn't work... at least we tried."
Miku stared at him, then shut her eyes and nodded. "Okay."
They didn't have much time to waste. Kaito gingerly climbed up the side of the hull and tipped the boat back over, their patchwork deep blue spell-sails tilting back into place. The inside of the boat was filled with water, but neither of them cared as long as they could still sit somewhere above it.
They sat next to each other near the tiller, holding hands with their eyes shut. They breathed together, letting the sound of the waves wash over them.
If this was going to be the last song they would ever sing together, then they would make sure it would be the best one they ever sung.
Miku began, her voice husky and almost faltering, but Kaito gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and she seemed to find her footing, voice rising in pitch, taking flight like the songbird he always knew.
Kaito then let his own voice come in. It was soft, it was weak, but it was his. He understood now—when he was by Miku's side, he felt like he could fly with her wherever she went, and go as far as he needed to go. It was enough to make him lift his head up and sing with pride.
Their voices danced around each other, her high to his low, and soon they were harmonizing perfectly, with Kaito feeling the vibrations resonating in his whole body. There was magic in the air now, both his own and Miku's, but Miku was taking the lead now, crafting her message to the storm.
And Kaito, to his surprise, understood it perfectly.
Aren't you tired?
His eyes shot open. He wasn't expecting that approach, but now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense.
Miku continued, Kaito's voice being the supporting frame to her melody as she wove the spell with all the mastery she had.
How long have you been like this? Far too long, hasn't it?
Dark clouds swirled around their little circle of sunlight. Lightning flashed in the distance, thunder soon following with its ominous rumble.
I'm sorry. I didn't want it to turn out this way.
The clouds swirled faster now, closing in on them, and Kaito was afraid. But he kept singing, because he would never abandon Miku, especially not now.
You don't have to be angry anymore. You can let go.
A shower of rain suddenly swept across their faces. But it was brief, and the sun above them continued to shine. Was it Kaito's imagination, or were the clouds getting lighter?
Their voices kept rising, and Kaito's throat ached, but he kept going, gripping Miku's hand. With a sudden burst of courage, he let his magic flare out, voice trailing into his own melody, and with Miku quickly catching on and harmonizing with him, Kaito added something of his own.
It's alright. You can rest now.
There was suddenly a great rumbling around them, and the two stopped singing and clung to each other, terrified. But then, the air shifted, like the world itself was heaving a sigh. Kaito looked around, watching in disbelief as the dark and roiling storm clouds around them began to fade, breaking up into white wisps so thin that soon they dissipated completely.
It was now a perfectly sunny day on the open ocean, with nothing around them but clear blue skies.
"The typhoon's... actually gone," Kaito muttered, awestruck. He then whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "Miku, we did it!" he cried with joy, turning to the girl next to him. "It’s over! Miku!"
She was staring up into the sky, silent.
"Miku?"
"It's done..." she whispered. "It's done, it's fixed..." She stared into her hands, breathing heavily. She then started to giggle, and soon she was roaring with laughter, tears streaming down her face.
She tackled Kaito into a hug, and he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her tightly as her shoulders shook with sobs. And Kaito realized that he was laughing and crying too, realizing how ridiculous they looked now, bruised and scratched and clothes ragged and torn, and he could already feel the magical exhaustion setting in because that was the most magic he had ever used in his life, but it was worth it, it was all worth it. They had won.
Then, to Kaito's shock, Miku suddenly tilted her head up and kissed him.
His thoughts ground to a halt, and he could only sit there dumbfounded as she lingered there on his lips for a moment, then pulled away, giving him that look he had seen so many times before but never understood.
"I thought I'd never get to do that," she said, smiling through her tears.
Kaito stared at her, a hundred little things in his mind and in his heart finally clicking into place.
"Now if you-," she looked away, "If y-you don't feel… If you... I'd understand, but-" she sniffed, "You have no idea how much you mean to me, Kaito. You're kind, the kindest person I've ever met, you were always there for me when I was at my limit and you've helped me through so much and you- I-" She hiccuped, gripping the fabric of her clothes. "I've never had a better friend in the world," she whispered.
Kaito leaned forward and gently embraced her, brushing her hair away from her face. She looked up at him, her teal eyes wide. "Neither have I," he said, his heart hammering in his chest, and he kissed her.
She tasted like the ocean, her cheeks still wet with tears and seawater. Kaito deepened the kiss, which Miku eagerly returned, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer.
The way home would be long and difficult and dangerous, with the boat still half-full of water and their supplies completely gone, but in that moment, Kaito didn't really care about any of that. With the sun shining brightly on the two of them, along with the cool sea breeze and the gentle rocking of the waves, all he knew was that he didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
fin.