"You mean Yamato Kotoba. Wasn't that the language Crim spoke to her father during their dispute?" Malachi remembered.
"It was. But Storm knew Yamato Kotoba as well," Itsuki pointed out.
"I doubt Crimson knows how to speak that dialect. It's not taught anymore and it's extremely hard to learn," Yoshi considered.
It wasn't that we doubted she could learn the language, but from personal experience, we'd all tried learning it and only Yoshi could successfully speak and understand it. I could read it, but the others couldn't do either.
I focused on the blades, trying to decipher the words. I blinked as the characters transformed into letters in my mind and I pieced them together.
"Sealed...One?" I translated aloud.
"Wait, what?" Malachi sounded astonished.
"It says ‘Sealed One,’" Yoshi confirmed.
"Aren't Sealed Ones individuals whose powers have been locked away for either their personal health or as a punishment?" Haru recalled.
"It generally is used on young children when their powers were far too strong for them to control. Storm wasn't sealed because she gained control of her powers rather quickly, but others with similar levels of magic affinity are typically sealed until they're eighteen. Once they reach of age, the seal is removed, otherwise it backfires," Itsuki explained.
"Backfires how?" Quil sounded nervous about the answer.
"The person dies," Yoshi declared gravely.
We were all stunned silent by those three words. Itsuki rose up, walking over to the painting to take a better look.
"That day, before Storm went on that mission, didn't she say she bumped into someone?" Itsuki queried.
"Yes! She mentioned something about a Sealed One. I didn't know what or who she was referring to," Malachi admitted.
"You think she met with Crimson and knew right away she was sealed?" I wondered.
"Knowing Storm's powers, yes. She'd be able to tell with ease. I bet she didn't tell Crimson more either due to the time constraint or because Crim was merely human. If it was an individual who had their power sealed during their childhood, they would still be able to use a small amount of magic here or there. But prior to Crimson obtaining Storm's powers, she wasn't able to use any magic." Yoshi looked thoughtful.
"Is Crimson's case worse because of that?" Quil asked.
I could feel the tension flowing off of him from where I was.
Haru moved his hand off Crimson's forehead and placed both his hands on her heart. He closed his eyes. "Give me a second.”
A large gold magic circle formed beneath us on the floor, followed by two progressively smaller orange ones. I could see the sweat begin to form on Haru's forehead as he scrunched his face in concentration.
He took a deep breath and pulled back his magic. When he opened his eyes, he looked pissed. The others and I exchanged looks, unsure what Haru discovered.
"Haru. Why do you look like you could kill someone?" Quil spoke cautiously. Even he was wise enough to watch his tone when Haru was pissed off.
"Crimson isn't human," Haru spoke with clenched teeth.
We all frowned at Haru who moved his hands from Crimson's chest and reached out to remove the towel from her forehead. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss there.
I was about to ask him what he was doing, but then Crim's hair began to glow. The silver highlights began to glow a bright orange while the rest of her normally black hair turned to an electric pink that reminded me of the Kitsune’s eyes in the image Crimson had created.
The wave of magic that pulsed off of Crimson made the hairs on my arms stand up and fear began to rise within me. Even my Kitsune was afraid, yet there was a small part of him that was intrigued by what she was.
"Holy shit!" Malachi exclaimed in shock.
Haru pulled away and the glow faded from Crim's hair, returning it to normal. She looked less pale and I could tell she was breathing easier than before.
"I didn't notice it because I couldn't feel an ounce of magic in her. Even when I checked on her over and over again, I didn't sense or see anything. But if she's sealed, there are only two locations a seal can be placed. Generally, when a shifter or child with magic is given a temporary seal, it's put in their heart," Haru began, pointing to his chest.
"But if they're sealed before birth, the only place that can hold that much magic within a baby is their mind." Haru touched his forehead. "So, if someone seals off a baby's powers before birth, the seal is placed on the brain," he concluded.
"So you're saying a seal was placed on Crimson when she was in the womb? Wouldn't that mean her mom placed it on her?" Itsuki questioned.
"Not possible. When a baby is in the womb, it 'steals' magic from their mother to survive. If the baby is a magician, it takes more magic from the mother than a shifter would. If the baby is both, it comes down to whichever is stronger, the magic side or shifter side," Haru described.
"Mosuki Arashi is a strong Kitsune shifter, but her magic is just as strong. Adding Konashi to the mix would double her magic threshold," Itsuki calculated.
"So someone else had to have placed a seal on Crimson while she was still in Mosuki's womb; she probably had no idea. Crimson was born as a human because the seal had already taken effect," Quil summarized.
Haru nodded. "And whoever did it would have had to do it multiple times during the pregnancy. It had to be someone close to Mosuki who knew she was pregnant, which could have been her husband, Konashi, one of their doctors, or close friends and family."
"Wasn't Mosuki part of a team? The books talking about the Arashi legacy state that they were a group. Mosuki was partnered with someone who was her best friend or something. I remember it being a guy," Itsuki confessed.
"We need to do more research on this, but not now. Let's get Crim cleaned up and in bed. After that, we can go hardcore on researching," I tried to sound confident.
As curious and pissed as I was, neither my Kitsune nor I liked that Crimson was still on the floor. Regardless of whether she was unconscious or not, I wanted to nestle in bed with her and give her the moral support and comfort she needed.
"We can't tell her," Malachi spoke up.
Quil lifted an eyebrow at him. "Um, either you’re blind or you haven't noticed how independent Crimson is. She's like Storm in that way, and I can guarantee both of them hate being left in the dark."
"I'm aware of that, but this is getting out of hand," Malachi huffed, rising to his feet.
Yoshi nodded in agreement. "I have to agree with Malachi on this one. This is getting to be too much. Crimson has been dealing with anxiety over having to see her family in a few days and also because of Storm's murder case. She went from an average human to carrier of Storm's powers and a pocket watch with four missing crystals that we all know she'll have to help us retrieve. She's working on her commissions that are now behind because of her breakup. Adding in the ambush you guys had two days ago, she's already on high alert."
"She doesn't get consistent sleep and even when she does, she's not resting; she continues to see Storm's memories or has nightmares. If we break it to her that she may not be human and that someone close to her planned this all at birth, I can guarantee she'll have a panic attack or breakdown," Haru predicted sadly.
"Imagine being treated like an outcast your whole life, only to then find out that someone took it upon themselves to steal away your powers, and inflicting upon you twenty-two years of misery and neglect," Quil whispered.
We were silent for a moment, all of us staring at Crimson. No one deserved to be treated that way. She had a difficult life because of someone's selfishness. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't handle that well at all.
"We'll tell her, but she needs a break first. We need to do something to help relieve all this built up stress she has. Like a vacation or holiday," Malachi suggested.