A Thousand Leagues of Wind, the Sky at Dawn

10-1

"Youshi, what's all that blood!"

Rangyoku's voice cried out as soon as Youko took off her overcoat. Youko shook her head. "It's not mine. I came across an injured boy in Takuhou."

"Goodness gracious!"

"The boy was run over by a carriage. The whole thing gave me a bad feeling."

With the gate closing fast approaching, she had left Takuhou in a hurry, rode Hankyo till they were near Hokui and made it by the skin of her teeth.

"The carriage was already some ways off when I got there, but the only conclusion I can come to is that it was responsible. Yet it didn't stop and nobody chased after it."

"Well, that's Shoukou for you."

"Who?" said Youko, leaning toward her.

Rangyoku returned to her chair in the main room and continued the sewing that she had interrupted. "The governor of Shisui. If it was a real luxurious carriage, then it was probably him. Nobody but the governor ever rides in a carriage like that."

"He is that well known?"

"Very much so. A beast like him doesn't associate with little people like us." Rangyoku frowned. "There are people in Hokui who run away from Shisui. You don't hear so much about it recently. They say that prefectural guards at the border inspect everybody who tries to leave. Lots of bad rumors come out of that place."

"Really?"

"We're really lucky, this being the Taiho's domain, and all. I've heard that the Marquis of Wa is a really dreadful person. A long time ago, he used to be the duke here."

"That's what Enho says, too."

Rangyoku nodded. "People say it was really awful back then. Thankfully, he got sent to Wa Province. It must be tough on the people of Wa. There's no guarantee that our peaceful lifestyle will go on forever. We live now in the Duchy of Yellow, but I don't know if that's going to last, either. Even if we stay in the Duchy of Yellow, when I turn twenty I'll move to a homestead, and it could be in Wa."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"It'd be better if I could find a good person in the next two years." Rangyoku laughed. Youko tilted her head quizzically. "Find a nice guy in Hokui and get married at the same time I get my partition. If I'm registered under his name, I could transfer my partition to his village. If there's available land, that is."

Youko blinked several times. "That's your reason for getting married?"

"Where you get your partition is really important. Do you know what an intercessor is?"

Youko shook her head. "No."

"They introduce you to a marriage partner, set the conditions and arrange for the meeting. For a fee, they register you on the census and transfer the land. And after that, you split up. That's what an intercessor does."

"That's incredible."

"You think so?"

"In Yamato, marriage is not so simple. Well, recently, people have become very adept at getting divorces, but it's not exactly an admirable thing to do. Splitting up so simply is pretty surprising."

Rangyoku giggled. "Yamato must really be a great place. In my case, when I find the right person, we're going to stay together and have children and raise a family. But if my partition ends up in Wa, that's what I'll do. Did you know that the tax rate in Shisui is seventy percent?"

"You're kidding!"

Taxes typically came to ten percent of the harvest. Adding in special levies to support the military and the civil service, it shouldn't exceed twenty percent. That was established policy.

"Levies amount to twenty percent, and there's a ten percent poll tax. A twenty percent excise tax for building bridges and dikes. A contingency tax for defending against youma and funding the orphanages. It all adds up to seventy percent."

"That's crazy."

The law consisted of the Law of the Land and the Divine Decrees, also known as the Great Colonnade. The Divine Decrees were the provisions handed down by Heaven. Not even a king could violate them. Laws promulgated by the king were known as the Law of the Land. It was equally forbidden for province lords and governors to abrogate the Law of the Land. The tax rate was established according to the Law of the Land, and it was ten percent. Province lords and governors were allowed to impose another five percent on top of that. The current imperial tax rate had been reduced to eight percent, and no additional levies were allowed.

That's what Youko said. "Levies are not now allowed. Furthermore, I haven't heard of any additional taxes being imposed. To start with, what in the world are these contingency and excise taxes? Those services should be provided by the Imperial Army."

Rangyoku said with a nervous laugh, "That's why they say Shoukou is a tyrant. Really, I can't understand why the Empress looks the other way when there are people like him around." She cut the thread she was sewing with and stuck the needle in the pincushion. "Better get dinner ready. You need to change. If Keikei sees all that blood, it'll throw him for a loop."

Youko left the main hall and went straight to the study. She called out to Enho and entered the room. He was replacing a book on the bookshelf. When he saw her his eyes widened.

"Youko, where did that blood come from?"

"I helped somebody who was in an accident. That's not why I'm here. Did you know that the tax rate in Shisui is seventy percent?"

Enho sighed softly. "I see. You heard about that. That's why you went to Shisui."

"That's actually not why I went to Shisui, but is it true?"

"It's true. Settle down."

"I don't recall ever authorizing that!"

In response to this outburst, Enho took another breath and showed her to a chair. "Losing your temper won't help anybody. Look, Youko, the tax rate in Hokui is thirty percent."

Youko gaped at him. "But Hokui is in the Duchy of Yellow!"

"No matter how compassionate a duke we may have, it won't do much good if he can't keep an eye on things every minute of day."

Youko took a deep breath and dejectedly sat down in front of Enho.

"Don't let it get you down. No enlightened monarch can take over the reins of government all by herself. Without capable ministers to back her up, the rule of law will never take hold in the kingdom."

"But--"

"Kei of late has not been blessed with enlightened monarchs. Have you heard the people of Hokui complaining? You haven't. Back when Gahou was in charge, the tax rate was fifty percent. Under the Duchy of Yellow, it's thirty percent. Everybody is very grateful for that."

Youko had nothing to say in reply.

"Of the seventy percent tax that Shoukou levies, the imperial tax comes to ten percent. Gahou skims off forty percent. The remaining twenty percent is left to Shoukou. Shoukou is a skilled bureaucrat with a knack for tax collection, so Gahou takes a special interest in him. At any rate, Shoukou seems to be just the kind of person capable of raising that forty percent for Gahou."

"But why?" Why were such things allowed to go on? Youko found herself on the verge of tears at her helpless, worthless state.

"In fact, in Wa Province reclamation projects are thriving. Building dikes here and there, bridges here and there. Gahou insists that he is not collecting taxes, but spending money that was already set aside. And if he is building dikes and bridges with that money, it's difficult for the kingdom to then criticize him. Nevertheless, the bridges in Wa tend to come falling down. Even when the rain doesn't fall. It's something of a joke. But if everybody says it's because the engineers are cutting corners, again, it's hard to directly criticize Gahou."

"So that's what it comes down to."

Chousai, who had the Privy Council under his thumb--well, having demoted him, she ought to refer to him as Taisai--but Seikyou and his ilk hated Gahou like snakes hate scorpions. All this venom notwithstanding, it had to be said that Gahou never left a flank open to attack. If Seikyou could do nothing, then short of an Imperial Rescript delivered by Youko herself, Gahou would stay one step ahead of the law. Many voices within the ministries clamored for such a Rescript, but many objected just as vehemently, saying that enacting Rescripts not founded on hard evidence could plunge the kingdom into chaos. Even those opposed were distressed by Gahou's actions, making clear how unsympathetic a character he was.

"But Gahou and Shoukou are not the only public servants lining their own pockets. The kingdom is replete with them. Arresting only Gahou and Shoukou will accomplish nothing. Another Gahou would soon appear."

Youko lifted her head. "But better than doing nothing."

"And on what basis?"

"That is--"

"Shoukou is a beast, but with Gahou giving him cover, getting a warrant would be difficult. If it were that simple, somebody would have already taken care of it."

"Today I saw Shoukou kill a child."

Enho looked at her in surprise. "Really? This was something Shoukou actually did?"

"Probably."

Youko explained the situation. Enho sighed. "I see, and that person was the one responsible. Do you think that it would be enough to arrest him on?"

"But--"

"He'll no doubt claim that he wasn't the one in the carriage. And if not that, then you'll see a mountain of testimonials that it wasn't the carriage itself that killed the boy. Don't forget that Shoukou is a governor because he can wield that kind of power."

Youko bit her lip.

"It is not good to leave such a public servant to his own devices, but bend the law in order to exact retribution, and the law loses its meaning. That is a far worse sin. Let's not get impatient."

Youko bowed and left the study. She tightly shut the door to her own room.

"Hankyo, I hate to impose, but I'd like you to go to Kinpa Palace."

"About Shoukou?"

"Yes. We've got to do something. Tell Keiki that I'd like him to investigate."

"By your command."

With that, the room fell silent. Youko furrowed her brow. The image of the boy rose up in her mind. He had been so emaciated. Whether or not Shoukou had deliberately killed him, she couldn't say.

"It is all so sad."

And such a small child. If Shoukou had killed him, then it became her responsibility for keeping such a monster in office.

The boy's dying words echoed in her ears. He didn't want to die because Suzu would weep for him. His older sister? Or… Youko suddenly looked up. "Suzu?"

What a strange name. Hardly a common name around here. Perhaps… .

Because Youko was listed upon the Registry of Wizards and everything was automatically translated for her, her language skills were truly lame. Thinking back about it now, she couldn't recall what language the girl had spoken in. She couldn't even remember what she looked like. Only the pain and grief in her eyes. Why hadn't she noticed, why hadn't she taken the time to ask?

Where were you born?

Youko glanced down at her bloodstained clothing. I need to go back there, to Shisui. She shook her head. What would she say to her? Shoukou was stayed in office because of her. In Kei, there were still laws that discriminated against kaikyaku. She hadn't repealed them. If she met a kaikyaku, she would have nothing to say worth listening to.

"I really am worthless as a monarch."

10-2

The way I see it, there's two kinds of crying.

It's true, Suzu thought, gazing at the casket being lowered into the grave. She had never wept such heartbreaking tears. The lamentations tore at her chest until she was out of breath, until there was nothing left inside her but emptiness.

The sad little shrine stood alone in the cemetery outside the city of Takuhou. The barrel-like casket sat there throughout the night and now disappeared into the hole.

Stop, Suzu had begged the grave keeper. Don't bury him. It's too sad. She knew it was a meaningless request.

He reassured her with a pat on the back and all but tore the casket from her grasp and hauled it away. Again, she repeated the same vain request as a stone struck the top of the casket and the grave was filled in.

The round shape of the casket symbolized the egg from which people were born in this world. From the husk you were born, to the husk you shall return. The ranka containing the child was plucked from the riboku. The parents would tap on the ranka with a stone to create a crack, a good luck charm to ensure a quick birth. Following that custom, they used a round, egg-like casket made from fired-clay, and then, presaging the reincarnation of the dead, opened a fissure in its surface with a stone.

The hole was filled in, leaving behind a small mound of earth. Even after the grave keepers left, Suzu stood there dumbly.

I knew it all along.

She knew that Seishuu was going to die. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had always known it was going to happen. The symptoms were too severe. He couldn't eat. He was wasting away. He was getting worse all over.

Could even the Royal Kei have saved him? The empress surely should have been able to. On the other hand, far from everything turning out okay, it was just as likely that neither the empress nor the royal surgeons could have done anything for him.

"But he didn't deserve to die like that."

Why'd he have to get killed in a hit and run? Even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have lived that much longer.

"I am an idiot." Suzu clutched at the earth. "I put all my faith in the Royal Kei. Why didn't I take him to a doctor in Goto!"

Taking him to a doctor might have proved pointless as well. That fear, coupled with the conviction that the Royal Kei would save him, had created these foolish expectations. Better to have taken him to a doctor in Goto, right after they got off the boat. If they only hadn't come here.

"Seishuu… I'm sorry." The sobs still filled the throat. Her tears had not dried. "I'm sorry."

A cloud passed across the sun. Suzu stared at her own shadow.

"Miss, the gates are closing."

She turned blankly toward the sound of the voice. She saw a figure of a smallish person. For a moment, she grasped at false hopes.

"You going to be here long? Your teeth are chattering."

"Leave me alone."

He looked three or four years older than Seishuu. About fourteen. A small-framed boy with black hair. The boy said, "In Kei, it's still not safe to be caught outside a city at night."

Suzu glared at him. "Leave me alone. Don't worry about me."

"You want to get eaten by a youma? You got some sort of death wish?"

"You wouldn't understand. Go on ahead."

The boy didn't answer. For a little while, standing behind her, she felt his eyes on her back. "Nobody understands how I feel at all!" she cried.

The boy answered quietly, "Crying out of self-pity does no respect to the dead."

Suzu's eye widened in surprise. People who cry because they feel so sorry for themselves. "Who are you?"

"I'm from Takuhou. Shall we return together?"

Suzu got to her feet. Once again she looked down at the small mound of earth. "Do you know who he was?"

"Everybody knows about it. You came from Sou?"

The boy held out his hand. Suzu took it. He had a warm, delicate palm. She said, "This child is a child of Kei. He fled the kingdom and went to Kou. Then he fled Kou and went to Sou. And now he was returning to Kei."

"I see," the boy said to himself. He looked back at the mound of earth. "That is sad."

"Yes," Suzu nodded. The tears spilled down her cheeks. Still weeping, the boy's hand in hers, they returned to the city.

"Are you from Takuhou?"

They arrived back at the city just as the gates closed. Inside the gates, Suzu averted her eyes from the right-hand side of the road and more tightly gripped the hand in hers. She didn't let go until they had crossed the main boulevard.

"Are you from Kei, then?"

"No. From Sai."

"That's a long voyage. Do you have a place to stay?"

Suzu nodded her head. "Thank you for talking to me."

"Sure," said the boy. He looked at her. "Cheer up. If you don't walk facing forward, you'll end up falling into a hole."

"Into a hole?"

"The hole of your own self-pity."

"Yeah," Suzu muttered to herself. That would be disrespectful to Seishuu. She could hear Seishuu still scolding her. "You're right about that. Thanks."

"No problem."

"What's your name?"

"Sekki."

"Hey," said Suzu, looking into his face. "Do you know if that guy who ran over Seishuu has been arrested?"

Shh, Sekki said, signaling with his eyes. "Better you don't talk about such things so people can hear." He led her into a nearby alleyway. "That guy won't be arrested."

"You mean you know who it is?"

"Not an acquaintance, if that's what you mean. I wouldn't want to be known as an associate of that beast."

The vehemence with which he spoke surprised her. "Who is it?"

"Everybody in the city knows: The governor killed the boy traveler."

"The governor?"

The governor, Shoukou. Remember that name. The most dangerous man in Shisui Prefecture."

"He killed Seishuu?"

"The boy fell down in front of Shoukou carriage. The carriage stopped. And then--"

"And then--he would do something like that?"

"Shoukou is completely capable of it."

"That's awful." Suzu slumped against the wall and slid to the ground. "Seishuu couldn't even walk straight." She hugged her knees. "I should have carried him on my back." Why had she been so unwilling to? He hardly weighed anything at all. She could have done it.

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Suzu."

Suzu shook her head. There was no way she couldn't but blame herself.

"And it does no good to blame Shoukou."

"Why not!" A fierce expression rose to Suzu's face.

"To begrudge Shoukou is as good as getting murdered by him all over again." He turned and added almost as an aside, "I guess no one taught you that until now."

10-3

From the eastern quarter of Ryuu, Shoukei and Rakushun crossed Mt. Koushuu and entered En. As soon as they had crossed the border, Shoukei gaped at the splendidly maintained roads.

They had traveled parallel to the ridgeline of the Koushuu mountains, making their way along the valleys, then climbed the switchbacks up the face of the mountains, stayed a night there, climbed further to the summit of a small peak. At the summit, a city hugged the slopes. A high barrier wall divided the very center of the long, narrow city. In the wall was a huge gate. This side of the gate was Ryuu. On the other was En.

The differences in the appearance of the streets and the cities themselves facing the barrier wall were highly curious. Upon reaching the gates, the worn, pothole-filled roads turned into trim, even, stone-paved avenues. The typical panorama of small shops lining the rutted streets along the main boulevard, people, carriages and carts all tangled up together. Crossing into En on the other side of the gate, the shops stood smartly in tiers and waves of people flowed down the sidewalks between the shops and the right-of-way alongside the road.

"Amazing."

The building lining the streets themselves were tall. Many were built from stone, four or five stories, windows glazed with glass. Ryuu also had tall building with glass windows, but Ryuu left you with a gloomy, decrepit impression. Perhaps because the buildings in Ryuu were so much older. Perhaps because of the frozen water puddling on the worn stone roadways. Perhaps because the glass windows were clouded and cracked. In any case, it looked as if Ryuu had tried mightily to mimic En, but had tired of the effort and quit halfway through.

I'd heard En was wealthy, but… .

The wealthiest of the northern kingdoms. Yet the sight of this city, more than anything she had imagined, left her speechless.

"En is a cold country, so how can it be so different?"

When it came to the seasons, Hou and En were not that different. En was situated further south than Hou, but as it was located in the northeast corner of the continent, during the winter, it was swept by freezing seasonal winds. In fact, the sense she got as they walked along was that it got no warmer as they drew closer to En.

"Are there large mines here?"

Rakushun glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "No. Unlike Hou or Ryuu, En doesn't have much in the way of natural resources. Growing wheat and raising cattle, that's about it."

The cities were big and business flourished, explained Rakushun, but the larger portion of the kingdom's wealth came from the annual harvest.

"But a difference this big!"

"That has to do with the difference in the qualities of the kings."

"The kings? That accounts for this?"

"En has not faltered in five hundred years. That accounts for the biggest difference."

"But--"

"When the throne is occupied, natural disasters occur less frequently. With fewer wars and natural disasters, the population grows. The people work hard and cultivate land and agricultural stocks grow as well. By maintaining the fields well, harvests flourish. The kingdom carefully controls surpluses of grain to ensure against overproduction and price deflation. The kingdom manages the land, and stockpiles against a rainy day, and thus keeps every nook and corner in good condition."

"For example," Rakushun continued, "dig drainage canals to prepare for the rainy season. Build bridges over the canals, and secure them with stone foundation so they don't collapse. Cover the canals where they cut through roads. By preparing and following a well thought-out plan, the cities can be protected. Over ten or twenty years, carry these programs throughout the kingdom. With a kingdom being guided over a long period of time by a single policy, it will come to be adopted in the kingdom's furthest precincts."

Shoukei's father had sat on the throne for thirty years. The previous king had ruled for not half a century. In contrast to that, this was the result of a single king governing for half a millennium.

"The kingdoms of short-lived kings are quite unfortunate. You finally create a business and build it into something big, and it's swept away by a flood and you have to start all over again."

"True."

"The Royal Hou was infamous for his cruelty. Maybe not to you, but such a king was not a blessing to his subjects."

Shoukei glanced briefly at Rakushun's profile. "Probably not."

"The king is there to help the people. Oppressive kings do not stay in their positions for long. But what is difficult now will become worse when a king falls. And when the Saiho dies as well, it will take five to ten years for the king to be chosen. Twenty years might not be unusual. When natural disasters have gone on for two decades, the land is all the more devastated. Even finding enough food to eat becomes problematic."

Shoukei said, "No matter the king, he gives his all for the people. But it's not necessarily true that these efforts will quickly come to fruition and yield results. When a kingdom is in chaos, so are men's hearts. For the time being, judgements must be severe and the people brought back to the straight and narrow. Don't you think that is necessary?"

Her father had said so often. Whenever he promulgated a new law, there were ministers who complained it was too strict. He repeatedly insisted that in order to reorganize a kingdom, such steps were required.

"But to such an extent? There are limits to everything. True, overthrowing a king is perhaps going too far."

"The Royal Hou did not fall because he lost the Divine Mandate, but because traitors assassinated him."

Rakushun nodded. "The province lord of Kei rose up and struck down the king. Though regicide is a grave crime, it is not always proscribed. In some cases, it might be preferable."

Shoukei bowed her head. It was beginning to dawn on her why her father had been so hated, why a traitor like Gekkei remained so popular. The people believed that Chuutatsu was only making things worse. Gekkei acted before ruin was visited upon them, and so they revered him. The people made their choices clear. And thus their reproach had turned on Shoukei as well, who had never once remonstrated with the king.

"Let's go," Rakushun said.

Shoukei walked from the rather sad Ryuu side of the city to the bright and thriving En side of the city. The name of both cities was Hokuro.

As expected, when entering En, passports were expected. According to custom, passports were always inspected when crossing an international border, in order to check the movement of criminals and inspect any belongings in your possession. You were not necessarily turned away if you didn't have a passport, but you did have to be questioned by an immigration official.

Having been told about this beforehand, Shoukei nervously told the border guard that she did not have a passport. She was shown to a building next to the gate, but another guard stopped then. "No need to bother," he said. "As long as you're with him, you can be on your way."

The guard politely handed Rakushun's passport back to him. Rakushun bowed and passed through the gate. Shoukei asked him again, "So exactly who are you?"

"Like I said, a student."

"Whenever I think about it, you're an awfully suspicious guy."

"I've got my reasons. Just as you have yours."

"It's almost as if your plan all along was to investigate Ryuu."

"That was part of it. I wanted to see what other kingdoms were like. When I was living in Kou, I heard a lot about En, but actually going there was a whole lot different. School is in recess from the New Year till spring. So I wanted to spend the time to take a look at the other kingdoms. As it turned out, there were people willing to make the necessary arrangements if I went to Ryuu. In exchange, I was to fill them in on the state of affairs in Ryuu."

Shoukei gave Rakushun a sideways glance. "You mean, like whether Ryuu is in decline."

"Yeah," Rakushun nodded. "This is a matter of no small import. If Ryuu really is failing, then its borders will become more and more dangerous. Refugees will start flooding out of Ryuu. A kingdom has got to prepare for that kind of eventuality. A heads-up beforehand can make all the difference."

"So, important people in En sent you to investigate."

"That's pretty much it. En is a wealthy kingdom, truly blessed. The land and the people are at peace. But that doesn't mean it is free from problems." Rakushun looked over his shoulder and pointed back at the gate. "The Ryuu side of the city is rather forlorn. No two ways about it, it's better to stay at an inn in En. Despite this, come nightfall and you have many people entering Ryuu. Why would that be?"

Shoukei craned her neck, looking backwards. "It is strange, now that you mention it. So many people leaving like that. There's no way they could make it to the next city now."

"It's because there's no low-rent district in En."

"Eh?"

"The people of En are well off. When they stay in an inn, they don't have to share lodgings with people they don't know. In the first place, such establishments aren't that common. And the clientele tend to be the kind who skip out on the rent, so innkeepers have no fondness for them. However, not all the citizens of En are rich. There are itinerants, refugees, people just scraping by. Lodgings for these people are hard to come by in En. True of traveling. In En, it's pretty much by carriage or nothing."

Carriages pulled by one or two teams of horses frequented the highways, speeding travelers from one city to the next. In the countryside, farmers with time on their hands would make their horse carts and wagons available for transportation. Otherwise, driving a carriage or stagecoach was an occupational specialty.

"Because En is a wealthy kingdom, there is no need for farmers to hire themselves out during the off-season. Usually, only the rich ride in carriages, but in En, anybody can. Moreover, the rates are reasonable, though not as cheap as a horse cart. People have enough in their pockets that they tend not to quibble. Still, lacking the horse carts that poor people can afford, if the poor have got to travel during the winter, it's on foot."

Shouko again glanced back at the gate. The travelers heading in the Ryuu were indeed a worn-out, unpretentious, motley-looking bunch. At a glance, it was obvious from the tide of people flowing through the customs houses on either side of the gate that they were mostly refugees and itinerants without passports.

"People flock to En because it is wealthy. But the distinctions between the citizens of En and the people flooding in, between rich and poor, can't be erased. Those who can't find lodging often camp out in the streets and freeze to death. Then you've got desperate men who, fearing that fate, become thieves and robbers. Refugees are En's biggest problem. In some of En's larger cities, the number of refugees and itinerants are becoming significant. In these past ten years, dealing with them has turned into a real headache."

"That's why you're concerned about the state of things in Ryuu."

"That would be it."

"So, tell me, who did endorse your passport?"

Rakushun only waved his tail in response.

"What, you can't show me?"

Without answering, Rakushun took the passport from his pocket and held it out to her. On the back was the fresh seal of the Chousai of En, one In Hakutaku.

"The Chousai… . "

Rakushun fluttered his whiskers. "Don't take that to mean I've ever talked to the man. The person who let me borrow the suugu got the endorsement from the Chousai for me."

The Chousai was the head of the Rikkan, the chief minister. Anybody who could make such a request from the Chousai would have to be close to the center of power.

"That's impressive."

Rakushun scratched at the bottom of his ear. "It's not that I'm an important person. But I do happen to know the Royal Kei."

"The Royal Kei?"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Shoukei felt a pain in her chest. "How could someone like you--?"

Rakushun said, answering the rest of the question. "How could a hanjuu like me know her?"

Shoukei hurriedly apologized, "No, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. I am nothing more than the hanjuu you see. But I don't see anything wrong with that. Though you do make it sound as if there is."

"I didn't mean that."

"The Royal Kei is an acquaintance of mine. A friend. I like to think that she counts me as a friend, as well. From the outside looking in, it might strike some as very strange. I resisted it at first, too. I mean, she being an empress, and all. I told her once that I couldn't very well go around calling her my friend, and she practically chewed my head off."

"The Royal Kei did?"

"Yeah. She said that there was no more distance between us than that of two people standing next to each other." Rakushun smiled. "I found her dying at the side of the road. So I picked her up and took her to En."

Shoukei's mouth dropped open. "Dying at the side of the road? The Royal Kei?"

"She's a kaikyaku. A taika. She was swept onto the shores of Kou. At the time, the standing edict in Kou was to execute all kaikyaku. They pursued her until she collapsed from exhaustion."

Shoukei pressed her hand to her chest. She had believed that this girl who had become empress had been blessed with that great fortune without so much as lifting a finger.

"When I first took the Royal Kei to Kankyuu, I thought I'd get myself a nice little job as a reward. The longer I was with her, the pettier such goals became. When asked what I wished as a reward, I planned to say: admission to secondary school. But when the moment actually came, I blurted out: university. I'd mostly studied at home, so I was really bluffing when I said I wanted to go to college."

Shoukei looked at Rakushun, a jumble of feelings going through her. "I don't think anybody's going to give you a reward for taking me to En."

"That had nothing to do with it. You looked pretty miserable sitting there in that jail cell."

"Me?"

"Yours was the face of somebody who had taken about all she could take." He narrowed his eyes. "It reminded me of the Royal Kei when I first met her."

"So you picked me up and took me to En."

Rakushun laughed. "Like I told you, these chance encounters seem to be my destiny."

11-1

En is situated to the southeast of Ryuu, but the winters don't differ that much. Just as in Ryuu, it was a hardship to travel except by horse-drawn wagon. Though in En, people used carriages. The team of horses pulled a solidly-built coach and took them south on well-groomed roads.

Poorer travelers walked along the shoulders of the road. The blowing wind was cold, and you could freeze even while keeping on the move. They clutched onjaku to their chests, heads ducked into the wind, and carried over their shoulders sacks filled with a little charcoal and firewood. Here and there along the highway, the firewood would feed bonfires where they could warm themselves. They cast sideways glances at the stagecoach as it rushed past.

"It must be rough to have to travel on foot," Shoukei said to Rakushun, sitting across from her.

The coach seated two facing bench seats that each could sit three people. Shoukei and Rakushun were the only passengers.

"Shoukei, do you still want to go to Tai?"

Shoukei let out a breath. "I really wanted to go to Kei."

"Eh?"

"I wanted to go to Kei and work for a minister, get close to the Royal Kei. I'd ingratiate myself with her. And when the opening presented itself, usurp the throne. Something like that. I'm pretty sure half of it was in my imagination. But half of it was serious. You mad at me?"

"No. But if you really were serious, there's no way I could look at you again."

"You're right." Shoukei laughed. "I needed to get registered on the census. I heard that if you went to Tai and caught a boat to Kei, you could get land and get registered in Kei."

Rakushun gave her a surprised look. "I hadn't heard of that."

"The original goal was to go to Tai with the kitsuryou. But for the time being, it's just as well going to Kei and looking for some land there."

Shoukei looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "In fact, being the princess royal was a big deal to me. I didn't want to give up living in the palace and my luxurious lifestyle. It was really embarrassing working in the fields and wearing commonplace clothes. When I heard that the Royal Kei was the same age as me, I envied her so much. I couldn't forgive her for having all that I had lost."

"I see."

"To tell the truth, it's still hard for me to stay in cheap hotels. It's mortifying to have to wear wool. But that's the penance I've got to pay." She clenched her hands, turning the tips of her entwined fingers white. "All I did was play around at the palace. I didn't do anything else. I didn't know people hated my father so much that they wanted to murder him. I didn't want to know. And now I'm paying for it. That's why Gekkei--he's the marquis of Kei Province--erased me from the Registry of Wizards. I get it now."

"Yeah."

"If I hadn't been the princess royal, I would just be another child at the orphanage. I'd still be in my minority, without the wits to become a government official. That's why I got sent to the orphanage. I didn't have a clue. I just didn't get it."

"Better you get it now than never."

"Yeah," Shoukei laughed. "The Royal Kei, what kind of person is she?"

"She's about the same age as you."

"But not an idiot like me."

"Oh, she would call herself an idiot. And then she would say: But they made me empress, anyway!"

Shoukei laughed again. "She sounds like me."

"Perhaps. But you are more, well, feminine. The Empress is kind of rough about the edges."

Shoukei giggled and looked out the window at the passing scenery. "I'd like to go to Kei." She wanted to meet this empress. And if not meet her, she wanted to see what kind of a kingdom she was going to create.

"Returnee groups are forming all over En and heading to Kei."

"You mean, since the Royal Kei was enthroned, people have been going back."

"Quite a number of people. They don't really know what kind of monarch she'll turn out to be, but in any case, with the Royal En lending a hand in her ascension, the people of Kei are pretty sure she'll turn out to be a good empress."

"So that's the rumor. But it's hardly carved in stone that she'll be an enlightened monarch."

"True, but home is better than staying in En. They've got land there, and while it might not be great, they can plant their own two feet on their own ground and start a life." Rakushun flashed a wry smile. "There was nothing wrong with getting out of Kei while the getting was good, but when it comes right down to it, life is rough for a refugee in En. It is better than staying behind in a kingdom going to the dogs. And En does its best to take care of people. Seeing how rich En is has got to hurt, though. Still, the only way to become a citizen of En is to buy land or become a public servant, and neither one of those is easy. Otherwise, if you wanted to settle down in En, you'd have to get hired by a wealthy land owner and work as an itinerant farmer, or get a job in a shop. So people long for their home country."

"Makes sense."

"I've been very fortunate. I was lucky enough to get into the university. The people of Kei are pretty fortunate, too, compared to the average refugee elsewhere."

"Really?"

"The Royal Kei and Royal En have a good relationship. The Royal Kei has told the Royal En to convey her best regards to her subjects and the Royal En has acknowledged her wishes. That alone is plenty to be thankful for. He has done much to help resettle the people from Kei back in their home kingdom. It's coming out of the national budgets of both En and Kei, a compromise worked out between the En and Kei. It doesn't make life easier for people from the other kingdoms, though."

"Indeed."

"The Royal Kei has a lot of things going for her. She's got a strong En watching her back, there to encourage her."

Shoukei wondered what kind of geography Kei had, it being so much further south than Hou. She said, "Do you think the returnees would mind someone who wasn't from Kei coming along with them?"

"I don't think so. They've got no way to check whether you've got a valid passport or not. A lot of people's homes were destroyed and they fled without their papers. Even so, if you want to go to Kei, I'll take you as far as the border."

"Rakushun."

"Tama should be waiting at the next town. The suugu, I mean. That's his name. With Tama, I can fly you to the Koushuu Mountains and be back to Kankyuu in two days."

Shoukei looked out toward the southeast. "You don't have any concerns about my going to Kei?"

"Not at all. Check it out. Go see what it's like."

"I will."

"Once you've seen what you need to see, how about you come back to Kankyuu and fill me in on how things are going there?"

Shoukei nodded.

11-2

Shoukou. He killed Seishuu. Huddled in her room in the inn, those three words alone occupied her mind. He killed Seishuu.

"I won't forgive. I won't forget."

Suzu repeated these words over and over to herself. A knock came at the door. It was one of the innkeeper's servants.

"Miss, the gates have opened. Will you be staying on?"

Suzu got out her coin purse. "A little while longer. Here, I'll pay in advance."

It was enough to cover her expenses for five more days. After that, it would take another five days to get to Gyouten.

"Well, okay then," said the servant. He quickly cleaned up the room and left. Suzu watched him go. She stared at the ceiling. "Shoukou. I won't forgive you."

After that, Suzu wandered about the city pretending to be taking a stroll and seeing the sights. She'd randomly greet passers-by and ask them about Shoukou. No one had much to say. It wasn't a subject people felt free to talk about.

She thought at first about bringing charges against him, but after walking around the city for five days, she realized that would be impossible. Shoukou was a governor with a great deal of power. He controlled Shisui Prefecture. The taxes far exceeded the rate set by the kingdom, and the balance disappeared into his pockets. The tax collectors were brutal. The law was a plaything used to punish people on a whim.

As egregious as his actions were, Shoukou hadn't answered for them and wouldn't answer for them. That's what everybody said. He distributed his ill-gotten gains throughout the bureaucracy and bought his own protection.

Her next thought had been to travel to Gyouten and directly appeal to the Royal Kei. It wouldn't be easy arranging an audience with the empress, but she did have her passport with the endorsement of the Royal Sai.

After five days in the city, she gave up on that, too. What she'd learned of Shoukou's brazen behavior was even worse. The city spilled over with privately resentful voices, but such was the fierceness of Shoukou's grip that none dare voice these feelings aloud.

"Seventy percent or a life," was the expression she heard.

The tax was seventy percent of the harvest. If this payment was short in the slightest, you paid with a life. Turn yourself in to be killed, or present the head of one of your family.

Shoukou went hunting in the hamlets, they said. When he was in one of his moods, he'd go to a farming village in the outlying districts and kidnap girls. A few days later he'd toss them out like a bundle of old rags.

At times, merchants came from the borders of Kou and ships arrived from Tai carrying human cargo. He deceived itinerants and refugees from the faltering kingdoms into coming to Shisui to replace those that had died beneath his lash. Wagons and ships traveled to the kingdoms bearing food and provisions and distributed it to families who had lost their homes and land. Those receiving the goods believed that the governor dispatching the wagons and ships to be a compassionate man. In the place of the provisions, people were carried on the return trip. Travelers who came, lured by the promise of land and citizenship, would curse their terrible folly only afterwards.

Why, Suzu asked herself with almost unbridled fury. Why would the Royal Kei keep such a beast as a public servant?

Rumors abounded on the streets. The reason Shoukou could persecute the people so, the reason he was never called to account, was because he had somebody covering for him. Probably somebody in Gyouten. Somebody in Kinpa Palace. Somebody at the top.

The late empress Yo-o had been in on it, so the rumors went.

The late empress had no interest in governing the kingdom, that was why. The ministers and government officials did whatever they wanted and nobody gave a damn. Kiss a little ass, throw a little jewelry and silk around, and they'd look the other way.

Because she was a woman, the people of Takuhou said. Kei had bad luck with empresses. They never governed in peace.

Suzu laughed to herself. An empress from Yamato, the one person in the world who would understand her. A monarch filled with gentleness and compassion.

What a joke.

The Royal Kei had been her best and last hope, the one thing that kept her going. I want to meet her, Suzu had told herself over and over again. What an idiot she'd been.

"I won't forgive them. Shoukou or the Royal Kei."

Suzu left Takuhou and headed for Gyouten. As expected, it took her five days. Using her bank book, she withdrew the balance of the funds. It'd raise eyebrows when the Royal Sai found out, but at this point Suzu didn't care.

The first thing she went looking for was a licensed arms merchant.

You couldn't defeat a youma with an ordinary sword. You'd end up breaking the sword and not hurting the youma. For youma hunting, you had to have weapons upon which a special spell had been cast. Because they were only made by the Minister of Winter, they were called touki, or winter weapons. On the door to the shop was the official seal authorizing them to make armaments.

Licensed arms merchants were also the only dealers in the chains and ropes used to capture and train youma and other you-beasts. Suzu recalled traveling often to an arms merchant at the base of Mt. Ha in the southwest kingdom of Sai to buy military-grade tack for the groom who took care of Riyou's flying tiger, Setsuko.

And quite different from an ordinary dealer, these arms merchants carried a class of weapons not widely known to the public--weapons that could kill a wizard. A governor was a class of baron, and thus a full-fledged wizard. You had to have a particular kind of sword to wound him.

Suzu browsed around the shop and selected a dagger. She didn't know how to use one, but she knew she'd need it. Arms merchants actually rarely sold "winter weapons" to customers. This was one time when the endorsement of the Royal Sai on her passport came in handy.

She next went to an establishment that specialized in pegasi and flying beasts. She didn't need a horse or ox. What she needed was a mount much faster than a horse, a pegasus that could leap over any fence or barrier.

Flying youma were captured by wild game hunters in the Yellow Sea, where youma abounded in great numbers. Game hunters were called "corpse hunters" because they spent as much time tracking down the bodies of fellow trackers killed by youma as they did the youma themselves. The job of a corpse hunter was to capture youma, break them and deliver them to a wrangler. Youma wranglers worked hand-in-hand with death. So the animals didn't come cheap. Capture a top of the line youma like a suugu, break and train it, and you would be set for life.

Suzu entered the shop. A middle-aged man in the shop was turning through the pages of a ledger. He said, "Welcome."

He only raised his eyes when he spoke. A scar ran from the top of his head to his right cheek. His right eye was caved in.

"I'm looking for a pegasus."

"How much?" Are you willing to spend? he meant.

Suzu placed the bank notes on the table. "Whatever I can get for this."

"You want one that flies or one that's fast?"

"One that flies. And one that heeds commands well."

"You ever been on a bird youma?"

Riding a bird youma was no simple task. "No. I'd prefer a horse."

"In that case, a sansui is the best I can do for you."

"What kind of beast is a sansui?"

"A horse with a blue coat. It doesn't really have what it takes to fly at altitude, but it's got strong legs. Handy for leaping over the occasional river. Not exactly fleet-footed. Three times as fast as your regular horse, but gets winded quick. If that's okay with you, I've got a real gentle one."

Suzu nodded. "Sounds fine."

"Where you staying?" the man asked.

Flying youma were not kept in the city. Suzu gave him her name and the inn she was staying at.

"I'll bring it to you. The whole thing takes seven days. I could get it to you quicker, but I'd have to run it, and it being a sansui, then you'd have to rest it a day. After that, it needs time changing owners."

"Seven days suits me fine."

"Half down, half on delivery."

Suzu nodded. "It's a deal. I'll be waiting."

And so she waited at the inn, portioning out the remainder of her funds to leave herself enough to eat. This was the Gyouten she had so longed for, the city that blanketed the terraced slopes of Mt. Ryou-un. She wasn't impressed. It didn't mean anything without Seishuu there with her.

Seishuu, welcome to Gyouten.

High up at the top of Mt. Ryou-un was the Imperial Palace. In the palace lived the Royal Kei, the damned fool of a monarch who let a man like Shoukou be.

Suzu grasped the dagger inside her blouse. She'd gut Shoukou with it and head back to Gyouten ahead of the news. Using the Royal Sai's endorsement on her passport, she'd arrange for an audience with the Royal Kei.

They'd squeal like stuck pigs. Shoukou, and at the end of the day, the Royal Kei--they'd picked the wrong child of Kei to kill.

As promised, the sansui was delivered seven days later. The stable boy handed Suzu the scent ball. Inside the scent ball was a burning incense stick. It had a little buckle to attach to a belt or sash. Inside the ball was the incense prepared by the youma dealer. The wrangler used this burning incense to tame the youma. When the youma was sold to another person, it'd be charmed by the smell of the incense and would not get alarmed. After that, the intensity of the incense was slowly reduced until the animal was acclimated to the scent of its owner.

But Suzu didn't have much interest in any of this and didn't bother to remember much of it. Once she'd made it back to Gyouten, the thing could drop dead for all she cared.

Suzu stayed on in Gyouten for three more days while she and the sansui got used to each other. Then she headed back to Shisui Prefecture and Takuhou.

Seishuu, soon I'll have your revenge. Shoukou and the Royal Kei, they will feel what you felt in spades.

11-3

Youko finished her morning chores and sent Enho's charges off to school. The school here didn't have an age limit, so Rangyoku attended along with Keikei. The main subjects were reading, writing and arithmetic. Children could go to school starting from the age of seven (counting a child as one at birth and a year older on each New Year), or five (counting birthdays on date of birth).

Because there was no formal graduation, adults could attend as well, and often came with babes in arms.

It was a pretty laid-back atmosphere. The main thing stressed was that the talk be about something more constructive than mere gossip. But as a consequence, open attendance was allowed only during the time that the villagers returned from the hamlets to the town. The school itself was closed from spring until fall. Anybody wishing to attend otherwise had to get a recommendation from the superintendent (who was also the principal).

Youko lingered behind in the now vacant orphanage and fretted about the girl named Suzu. What should she do? Go to Takuhou to look for her? She'd sent Hankyo off to Gyouten and he still hadn't returned. That was another reason for her hesitation. As she prepared lunch, she turned the whole thing over in her mind, wondering what to do.

"Hey, Youshi!" said Keikei.

Enho always left with Keikei and Rangyoku and returned together. Keikei ran ahead and got home first.

"Welcome back."

"You got a guest!"

"I do?"

"Yeah," Keikei nodded.

Youko glanced over her shoulder as Rangyoku walked in with Enho. Without a word, Rangyoku looked at Youko and grinned. "At the Eika Inn next to the dragon gate."

"An inn?"

Rangyoku giggled and went into the kitchen. She pulled Youko over to a secluded area by the wall. "It's a guy."

Youko raised her eyebrows. The first image that popped into her head was the man she'd met at that shady tavern in Takuhou. "Was it perhaps a rather grim-looking man? A big man?"

"More of a slender physique."

"About fourteen or fifteen?" If it wasn't the big man, then maybe the boy who had intervened on her behalf.

Rangyoku gave Youko a teasing scowl. "Oh, stop it! I can't believe you'd forget a good-looking guy like that! He said to tell you that your servant had arrived. You'd know who it was."

Youko's eyes flew wide open.

"Wow, I mean, your servant! That's so incredible!"

Youko hastily waved her hands, batting away the implications. "Don't be ridiculous! It's nothing like that!"

"Ah, you're blushing. Must be a really neat guy. He was dressed so fine!"

"No, no, no. Oh, all right, what exactly did he have to say?"

"So you do know him. You two must be really close." Rangyoku laughed out loud. She rolled up her sleeves and went to the water barrel. "Well, you better go right away and find out. And if you're not going to be back tonight, be sure to let us know!"

"I figured it was you," Youko said when she walked into the guest suite at the inn and recognized the prim face.

He opened his eyes suspiciously and leaned forward. Then quickly and politely bowed. The cloak fell from his shoulders.

"Forgive me for beckoning you here."

He certainly did present himself well. Compared to his usual attire, he had about himself an air of frugality, but that was because he couldn't very well show up here in full ministerial dress.

"That was some way of getting my attention."

"Eh?"

The bellhop who had showed her to the room gave her a meaningful look. He left the room and wordlessly closed the doors behind him.

Youko let out a deep sigh. "Forget it," she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. From next to her ankles she heard what sounded like snickering laughter. "Oh, Hankyo. You know, you could have sent Hankyo for me."

"I wished to see what kind of place this orphanage was. Should I not have?"

"Hey, fine with me. So, Keiki, why come all the way here?"

Keiki took a scroll from the stationery box resting on his knees and rolled it out on the table. "Do you have your Imperial Seal?"

"Do I have my what?" Youko shook her head and grinned. "Sorry, didn't bring it with me."

"Some paperwork that needs to be taken care of. Tomorrow, I'll have Hankyo go fetch it."

"Okay."

She took each of the documents from a stationery box. Although she had left everything in Keiki's care, the decrees of high government officials still required the Imperial Seal. She unwound the scrolls and scanned the text. She could hardly read a word, so she couldn't do much more than skim over it. She'd have to get Keiki to read it aloud for her in order to understand it.

"And how is the rike?"

"What? Oh, it's great. Enho's a good man, and I love the kids."

"Is that so? That is good to know."

"Which isn't to mean I don't have any concerns," Youko muttered.

"Ah," said Keiki, lowering his voice. "As for your inquiries about Shoukou, I examined the civil service records and asked around the ministries. He is the governor of Shisui Prefecture, Wa Province. A high-ranking official of no good repute."

"Seems to be a lot of that in Wa Province: Marquis Gahou, Governor Shoukou."

"He has crossed the line many times. The ministers are desperate to discipline him, but no matter what happens, Gahou watches his back and covers everything up."

"Enho calls Gahou a jackal who shed its tail."

"A fair description."

"Fortunately, Shisui happens to be close by. I was curious to see for myself what this Shoukou was like. I'd also like to check out the capital of Wa Province."

"You shouldn't be taking unnecessary risks."

"I don't. I'll be careful."

Keiki gave Youko a sideways glance. "Really? I can smell blood on you."

"Eh?" Youko sniffed at her sleeves.

"It is blood, is it not? Though I do not wish to imply that Your Highness was the cause of it."

"Oh, that's right. I came across an accident. It happened a few days ago. Can you still smell it?"

"It strikes me as the blood of an innocent, spilled without a curse, so it is not acrid. I do worry for your well being."

Accursed blood. Youko smiled darkly to herself. Keiki used that description often when she was battling the pretender. No matter how much magnanimity you displayed, when you killed someone or ordered their death, the malice and bitterness in the blood hung like a fog around her. Kirin could not abide blood, and the scent of such accursed blood pained them.

"Don't worry about it."

Keiki--and all kirin--ate nothing tinged with blood. They weren't forced to reject it out of hand, but even foods fried or sauteed in suet would harm their bodies. According to Rokuta, kirin of En, that was why kirin swept away to Yamato never lived long. The shortened lifespan of a kirin without a king was approximately thirty years. A kirin in Yamato could last maybe a third that long.

Such were the kind of creatures that kirin were.

"Really. I can take care of myself."

"I earnestly pray that you will."

"So, how are things going in Gyouten?" Youko asked, with a bit of forced cheerfulness.

Keiki responded with a dour expression. He said, "Without Your Highness there… " and sighed.

As usual, the warring ministers had divided the court into two factions. Although Seikyou, the previous Chousai, had lost de facto authority, and Taisai, leader of the opposition, had died, things had pretty much stayed the same. Left with no real authority of consequence to toss around, Keiki's sense was that they had less interest in governance than in fighting petty turf battles.

The things some people were saying as if true: fearing regicide, the empress fled to Yamato. She had sought refuge in En. She had hidden herself deeply within the palace compound. Others went so far as to say she had been kidnapped by Marquis Koukan of Baku Province. What they all had in common was the criticism that she had abandoned the throne and grave doubts that she would ever return to it.

As Keiki explained all this, Youko took a breath and let it out. "I see."

"And there are those who claim that because things were not going the way you desired at the palace, you grew frustrated and appealed to the Royal En and will henceforth staff the court with bureaucrats from En."

"What?" said Youko. She bit her lip and then cynically laughed. "But, of course. Without the help of the Royal En, they think I couldn't have done a thing by myself."

It was true, though. And it vexed her, having to depend on others like this.

"I consider it all nonsense. But perhaps you have entertained such thoughts?"

Youko felt a shiver go through her. "Why ask me a question like that?" Her green eyes darkened. "Is this something you have your own doubts about?"

Feeling the weight of her displeasure, Keiki unconsciously averted his gaze. He who could stare down a youma could not look his lord in the eye.

"At least you have to believe in me."

"Forgive me."

"Look, no one has less faith in me than myself. More than anybody else, I doubt my qualifications to be empress. There have been rulers who let these doubts and suspicions overcome them and fell from the Way. That is why, if nobody else in this world believes me, you have to."

"Yes," he said, bowing.

Youko opened the scroll in her hand. "Do you have to return right away?"

"A quick return would be problematic. I have supposedly traveled to En."

Youko grinned. "Of course. So, would you like to take a trip to Takuhou?"

"Takuhou in Shisui Prefecture, I take it."

Youko nodded. "The capital of Wa Province, what is it, again?"

"You mean, Meikaku?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking of going to Meikaku, and stopping by Takuhou on the way. I'd like to see what things are like in Wa Province. You can be my tour guide."

"Yes, but… . " Keiki hesitated.

Once again her eyes darkened. "I'd like you to see it, too, Keiki. I want you to see the Kei you don't see from the palace."

"Yes."

"Well, then, let's straighten out all this paperwork. Sorry, but would you read it aloud to me?"

11-4

"Enho," Youko called out. She stopped in front of the screen doors to the study.

"Is that you, Youko?" came the warm reply.

"Excuse me," she said, and walked in. Enho was sitting at his desk by the window. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She said, "Sorry, but could I have a few minutes of your time?"

"Go ahead. What's on your mind?"

It was as if he had anticipated her concerns. Youko smiled nervously. "I was thinking of going to see the capital of Wa Province."

"Meikaku. So you've developed an interest in Wa?"

"Yes," she answered honestly. "Rangyoku says that she'd rather arrange a marriage of convenience than accept a homestead in Wa. Better to marry and then get divorced. That got me curious about what makes Wa Province such a rotten place. I want to prevent her doing something like that, if I can. Rangyoku would surely not do it because she wants to. That conditions in this kingdom could drive someone to . . . . "

Enho suddenly smiled. Taken somewhat aback, Youko queried, "Enho?"

"I see. Marriage is a more conservative tradition in Japan." He motioned to her, and as she usually did, Youko sat down in the chair next to him. "You needn't fret that much over this. Marriage is not so weighty an institution here. Tell me, why do people get married in Japan?"

"Um… because it's lonely all by yourself."

"And that's why people feel it necessary to get married? It's certainly true that living without a spouse is lonely. So people want somebody to be close to. Here it's called a common law marriage."

"Well, I guess there's the problem with children."

"In this world, children are only born when a petition is brought to the riboku. You must be married to do so, else the Rishi will not allow it. But if you simply wish to live with someone, formal marriage is not necessary."

"Ah."

"If you want children, you have to get married. Otherwise, a common law marriage will do. In order to petition for a child, a couple must reside in the same town and attend the same Rishi. That's pretty much the way it works. So if you get married, you have to move. One of them has to move to the other's city. Splitting up by itself doesn't mean they'll have to move back to the town they came from. And if their current hometown is an unwelcoming place, they may seek out relatives elsewhere."

"So you can move to different kingdoms that way?"

"Yes, you can. But you have to transfer your census registry to the same kingdom as your spouse. You can't marry a citizen of another kingdom. This is one of the Divine Decrees and must be observed. To ask for children, you must be married and residing in the same town, and to get married you must both be citizens of the same kingdom."

Enho flashed a knowing smile. "When it comes to the riboku, there is no other way but to petition Tentei. It possibly has to do with the same reason that a king must be from the kingdom he rules. Apparently, there was once a king who solemnized a marriage between a man and woman from different kingdoms. Even though they went to the riboku and tied a ribbon to the branch, they were never given a child. Eventually they dissolved the union. The Reason of the World rejected them."

"That is strange," Youko said to herself.

Enho smiled nonchalantly. "In Japan, God is not necessary. But here, God is. Tentei is necessary for the logic and reason of the world to work. Are you familiar with the first of the Divine Decrees?"

"That the temporal world must be ruled with humanity, according to the Way."

"Correct. Turn your back on the Way and you will inevitably oppress the people. There is an absolute cost for straying from the Way. You can turn your back on the Divine Decrees and establish your own laws, but they will never work to your satisfaction. The Reason of the World is woven into the Divine Decrees. As it says in the legends, Tentei Himself handed down the Divine Decrees to us."

"Makes sense." Such a strange world this is, Youko once again thought to herself.

"Based on what you have told me, marriage in Japan is designed for the protection of the family. It is a system structured to preserve the integrity of the family bloodline. Here, though, there is nothing like a family bloodline. When a child turns twenty, he separates from the household. No matter how wealthy a person might become, that wealth cannot be passed on to his children. When a person turns sixty, his land and house are transferred back to the kingdom. If he wishes, he may hold onto it for the entirety of his life, yet it cannot be left to anyone upon his death. Only accumulated savings can be bequeathed to a spouse, but only because it was wealth generated by the both of them. And when the spouse dies, it is all transferred back to the kingdom. In turn, no matter how poor a person might be, it becomes the kingdom's responsibility to feed them if they can't feed themselves."

"Well, then, why have children in the first place?"

Enho smiled. "Tentei looks to the hearts of the parents and gives them children accordingly. In other words, becoming parents is Heaven's way of recognizing their qualities as human beings. At night, it's said that the souls of children slip away from their bodies and fly to the Five Sacred Mountains, where they tell Tentei how their parents are treating them. After death, that is how people are judged."

"Could that perhaps be seen in religious terms?"

"Better to view it in ethical or moral terms. The rearing of the child given you brings you closer to virtue, closer to the Way. In fact, there is no profit in having a child. It takes time and money."

"So that is why a child leaves home at the age of twenty."

"That is the case. And that is why parents devote themselves to their children. To despise a child is to despise Heaven. By serving their children, they are serving Heaven."

"I see."

"It must seem strange to you. So it would be to anybody who speaks of pedigree in terms of bloodline. The closest thing to a pedigree is a surname. A marriage may be registered under either spouse's census records. Your own name doesn't change, but the records are unified under one or the other's name. The child thus inherits the name registered under that unified record. The significance of this is that when the incumbent emperor is found lacking in moral virtue and a change of dynasties is carried out, a person of the same surname cannot accept the Divine Mandate."

"Huh."

"The originally registered name of the previous Royal Kei, the late Yo-o, was Jo. And your parents did not have the surname of Jo. In the case of Kou, the surname of the previous king was Chou. Therefore, the next king will not carry the surname of Chou. The king of Hou has fallen. His surname was Son. You can be assured that the next ruler of Hou will not be a Son."

"I see. So that means that my friend Rakushun could never become king of Kou."

"If his surname is Chou, then throughout all history I know of no case when it has ever happened. It is the unalterable Reason of the World. You cannot change the name you were born with. Even if your parents divorce, it does not change. When you marry, it does not change. That is why people have what is called an inherent family name. It is the only real function and meaning of the family name."

"That is completely different from common practice in Japan."

"Indeed," Enho laughed. "In Japan, it seems that once people get married, they're determined to stick it out one way or another. Here, people get married and divorced on quite a regular basis, with no qualms about raising other people's children. In fact, remarrying with stepchildren is highly regarded. Perhaps because the more children you have, the more blessed you must be. To become a parent in the first place you must have a certain quality of character."

"I see."

"At the end of the day, there are also people who don't wish for children. Because there is no necessity for them to marry, they settle for a common law marriage. Because getting married does involve a vexing amount of paperwork, those who have given up on children accept the situation and make do with a common law marriage. It's not uncommon for such arrangement to take place even while maintaining separate households. But if you're unwise enough to take as a partner someone who doesn't live in your general vicinity, you're unlikely to meet except during the winter."

"Right."

"It's more complicated when a couple are also civil servants. When you work for the government, obviously you have to move. You wouldn't get married to get split apart, so the road to advancement would necessarily be limited. To prevent such a disagreeable outcome, many avoid marriage."

"Really?"

If that was true, then there must be a lot of single people amongst the ministers. Those deciding to marry would be unlikely to choose a civil servant as a spouse.

"To the people of this world, such are the limits of marriage. It is important to those who want children, and lacking in significance to those who do not."

"Huh," said Youko, taking a breath. And right now, getting a partition in the right place was more important to Rangyoku than having a child. That was the extent of the problem.

"It really is different," she said to herself, and then hung her head. "But can I get married?"

Enho forced a smile. "The monarch is not a human being."

"I'm not… I guess."

"If you were already married, technically speaking, once you acceded to the throne the marriage would be annulled and become a common law marriage. Consequently, you can't have children. However, you can bestow the rank of royal consort upon a companion, such as queen or prince. Your children, Youko, are the citizens of Kei. You serve Heaven by serving them. A married couple serves Heaven by rearing their children. There is no difference."

"I guess not," she said with a nod.

Enho smiled. "Go wherever you must. It is well and proper that you see to the welfare of your children."

Youko bowed. "Starting tomorrow, then, I shall ask for your leave."

Youko rolled over on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Your children are the citizens of Kei. You serve Heaven by serving them.

Back in Japan, she had never given much thought to God. She had a hard time grasping what the existence of a god like Tentei was supposed to mean to her. "Serving God" was a concept she was not familiar with. She sighed deeply. She heard from somewhere the sound of a firm voice. "Your Highness… there are men."

"What?"

Begging her pardon, Hankyo's presence vanished and then shortly reappeared. "There are at least five men outside the rike."

Youko got up. "Who are they?"

"I do not know. Ah, they have left."

"Follow them."

"By your command," said Hankyo and slipped away.

Hankyo was back the next morning. "They spent the night in Hokui, left the gates this morning and were looking for a wagon going to Takuhou."

Youko fastened the straps of her knapsack. "No doubt about it. I've got to go back to Takuhou and see for myself what's going on."

12-1

"Hey, Suzu."

She was wandering around looking for an inn when she heard the voice behind her. Because she had the sansui, she had to stay at an inn with stables. Stealing a pegasus was a serious crime, but they were so valuable that given the chance, no thief was likely to pass it up. At least according to the man who sold it to her. Pretty sure that there ought to be an inn with stables that wasn't all that expensive, she set off for the neighborhood where she'd stayed before.

She turned around. There amidst the bustle of people was the boy she'd met at the cemetery. "It's you… . "

He slipped through the throng piling up at the gates before closing and ran over to her. "You came back? Why?"

Suzu tilted her head to the side. "What are you asking for?"

"You went somewhere, didn't you? You left the inn, so I thought you'd taken off for good."

Suzu remembered that his name was Sekki. "How do you know what inn I was staying at?"

On the day they had met, he hadn't come with her to the inn. They had gone their separate ways in the main boulevard.

Sekki shrugged guiltily. "Ah, sorry. I tailed you."

"Why?"

"I was worried about you. I thought you might try to get back at Shoukou somehow."

Suzu gulped. "Don't be silly."

"So you're fine, then? And the pegasus? You went to buy it?"

"Yeah. I got tired of traveling by wagon. I don't have to worry about carrying a sick kid around any more." She laughed cynically and Sekki looked away. She said, "Fine by me. So, do you know a cheap inn with stables?"

She didn't have much left in her purse, and inns with stables just weren't that common.

Sekki raised his head. "I live at an inn. It's a bit run down and it doesn't have stables, but the back yard should be big enough for a pegasus. But that's okay, 'cause nobody's going to try and steal anything from us." He took hold of her hand. "You can stay with us. Besides, our rates are good."

Sekki's house was located in a run-down block of the city. Men loitering along the way gave Suzu and the sansui suspicious glances as they passed by.

Leading the sansui along, Suzu asked, "You're sure this is okay? It looks like a pretty dangerous neighborhood."

Sekki grinned. "No worries. Ah, here we are."

Suzu looked in the direction he was pointing. It was a bit old but well-kept inn. Sekki ran ahead to the side of the entrance, opened the wooden door, and motioned to her to follow. "Let's go in here."

Inside the door was an alleyway where some barrels and buckets were stored. Through the alleyway was a small courtyard and vegetable garden. Sekki pointed at the hedge. "You can tie it up there. Do you know what it eats?"

"Hay and fodder."

"We'll get some for you. In the meantime, we can water it."

Sekki went to the well and lowered a bucket into the water. Right at that moment, the back door opened and a man appeared there. He was so tall she had to look up at him.

"What are you doing with a fine beast like that, Sekki?" His eyes focused on Suzu. He gave her a very suspicious look. Hauling up the bucket, Sekki turned and smiled at him. He said, "It's hers. She's staying here. I told you before, remember? The girl I met in the cemetery."

"Ah," the man said, nodding. He grinned broadly, flashing a friendly smile. "Yeah, that was pretty awful. Come on in. It's something of a dump, though."

"Do you also work at this inn?"

She was shown into the kitchen and invited to sit down. Suzu politely took a seat. The man dipped a ladle into a big pot, filled the teacup and set it down in front of her. He cut a pretty rough figure as a waiter.

"I guess you could say I'm the landlord. In fact, it's Sekki that's keeping the books."

"You're his older brother?"

"Yeah. And he works me like a dog." He laughed in a loud voice. "I'm Koshou. And you are?"

"Suzu Ooki."

"That's an odd-sounding name."

"I'm a kaikyaku."

"Hoh," he said, a surprised look in his eyes.

Suzu was surprised, too. To be honest, claiming to be a kaikyaku hardly aroused any feelings in people at all. When she thought back about it now, whenever she said that she was a kaikyaku, she kept expecting something dramatic to happen.

"Must have been rough."

Suzu shook her head. She hadn't suffered much during her journeys. She was healthy, and even though her parents had died long ago, she hadn't been chased out of her hometown. Her life was still her own and that was no small thing.

"Koshou, you shouldn't bring guests here." Sekki came into the kitchen and gave his older brother a playful glare.

"Oh, this is okay, isn't it?"

"No, it's not. Now, go find out where we can get hay or fodder."

"Okay, okay," Koshou replied cheerfully. He smiled at her and left the kitchen.

Watching him leave, Sekki sighed. "Sorry. My big brother really isn't much of a gentleman."

"It's fine. Sorry about making you run around looking for fodder. I don't want you to go to too much trouble."

"Don't worry about it," Sekki laughed. "Let me show you to your room. Please forgive the fact that it's a tad unkempt."

Despite being located in this neighborhood, the inn had guests. There were four guest rooms, and in the three days she'd been staying there so far, occupants had come and gone. A bunch of men hung out in the tavern on the first floor. They weren't exactly a high-class bunch and they (and the occasional woman) seemed to be there all the time, talking together in hushed voices. The house across the alleyway that led to the back garden also saw a lot of comings and goings.

This is a strange inn, Suzu thought as she straightened up her things. After some thought, she placed her purse with what few coins remained on top of her bags. She slung a long, thin pack over her shoulder. In the darkened courtyard, she saddled up the sansui.

"You going out at this hour?" asked Koshou, coming out of the house.

Suzu nodded. "I thought I'd go for a walk."

"The gates are closed. Where you going?"

Suzu didn't answer. Koshou leaned forward and gave her a hard look. "Take care," he said, with a wave of his hand. The light from the kitchen glittered dully off the ring on his finger.

Suzu bowed her head, took up the reins, and turned toward the alley.

Oh, yes, it's from a chain, she thought, settling into the saddle. The thin ring that Koshou wore, it was the link of chain. A slender strand of steel just big enough to wrap around a finger, it would be otherwise linked together to form a chain belt. She had seen them decorating the leather belts that the less-privileged classes wore. They'd taken one apart and wore the links on their fingers. A short chain like that hung in a corner of the kitchen like a talisman.

Sekki wears one, too.

Not only Sekki. Now and then, a man she passed in the hallway did, or one of the men lounging around the tavern. Perhaps most or all of the people coming in and out of the inn.

She felt like she'd chanced across something quite strange and curious. Feeling a touch of melancholy, she exited onto the main thoroughfare. It was already night, and even the number of drunks on the street had begun to decrease.

The prefectural hall was located in the center of the city. The prefectural offices occupied the grounds within the fortress walls that surrounded the castle-like complex. On the inner loop road that ran around the walls was a large mansion facing eastwards.

Shoukou, the governor of Shisui Prefecture, the beast of Takuhou.

He had an official residence within the inner castle. A second residence, a large house in Takuhou's second district. And a huge estate in the countryside outside Takuhou.

Suzu had recently taken to walking down this street and had determined that of his three residences, he was currently staying at the one on the inner loop road. The estate in the countryside was solely for entertaining invited guests. The house on the inner loop road was for when he had work to attend to at the prefectural hall. The third house seemed to be reserved for other occasions. This meant the beast was up to his usual tricks at the prefectural offices. She couldn't begin to imagine what sort of sinister plans he was cooking up, but there was no doubt that they weren't for the benefit of the people of Shisui.

Suzu cast a cold look at the house and rode the sansui to the street corner. On the grounds of a deserted Taoist temple, she dismounted and sat down in an inconspicuous spot with a view of the currently-closed gate of the temple.

Now we wait, Seishuu.

She reached inside her vest and touched the handle of the dagger tucked into the sash of her kimono. The blade could cut a youma apart. It could cut apart a wizard as well. She had already determined that the sansui could vault the wall inside the loop road. Anything that could jump over that wall could easily trespass the wall of the house. If the master of the house was present, he would be sleeping in the back. And, in fact, to the back of the building that faced the road was a luxurious, multistoried house.

I will make him feel our bitterness and pain.

She hugged her arms tightly around her knees.

12-2

In the dead of night, Suzu led the sansui to the inner loop road. She turned down an alleyway adjacent to Shoukou's house and stared up at the multistoried building rising over the wall.

She'd leap across the wall and charge into the building. She would dispatch Shoukou and then jump down onto the road and head for Gyouten. There she would arrange an audience with the Royal Kei.

I won't forgive them. Not Shoukou and not the Royal Kei.

She repeated the words as if to convince herself and took up the reins of the sansui.

A hand closed over hers. "No."

Suzu sprang back, colliding with the sansui. The sansui neighed a discontented growl. She looked behind her. The shadow at her back had the height and width of a boulder.

"Koshou."

Another person appeared behind her and tore the reins from her grasp. A man she recalled seeing at the inn.

"Why--?"

It just wasn't Koshou and the other man. A number of others were hiding in the shadows along the narrow alleyway.

Koshou softly wrapped Suzu on the knuckles. He said in a low voice, "Shoukou isn't the only one inside that house. There's guards all over the place. You gonna kill all of them?" He pulled on her arm. "C'mon. We're going home."

"No. Let me go."

Koshou glared at her. "If Shoukou finds out you've been staying with us, we're all dead men."

Suzu caught her breath.

"They wouldn't kill you right then and there. That's the problem. It'd cause all kind of trouble."

"I… . "

Suzu looked at the building rising over the wall and then back at Koshou. She had not intended to cause Sekki or Koshou any grief, but right there in front of her was the house of the enemy.

Koshou patted her on the back. "I know how you feel, kid. So I'm asking you to come back with us."

Men were camped out in front of the inn. When Suzu returned together with Koshou, Sekki ran up to them from behind the wall of men. He was holding a lantern. He said, "Suzu… thank God."

The men echoed this opinion. Suzu bowed to them. Koshou again patted her on the back. He said, "Sorry about this, everybody. But we brought her back okay."

The crowd sighed in relief. As they left in ones and twos, they patted her on the back as well.

"Good to see you're okay."

"Now, don't you be going off half-cocked like that."

"Gave us a hell of a fright, girl."

She had really put Koshou and the rest of them in a tight spot. But as she watched them walk away, the lack of censure in their voices perplexed her.

At Koshou's prodding, Suzu went into the inn and sat down in the tavern. One of the men took the sansui around back.

A number of men were in the kitchen. Ten more came into the tavern with her. An older man hurried out of the kitchen and placed a steaming teacup in front of her. She realized that her body was chilled to the core and her teeth were chattering. She wrapped her hands around the teacup and warmed her frozen hands.

"So," said Koshou, resting his hands on the table and looking down at her. Her eyes focused on the steel ring on his finger. "You hate Shoukou?"

Suzu tore her eyes away from the ring and looked up. "I hate him."

"You're not the only one. Not the only one who knows what it's like to have that kind of hate in your heart. You got yourself a mean weapon there. Do you even know how to use it? What exactly did you think you were going to do to Shoukou?"

"I--"

"Do you know how many bodyguards he's got in that house? And how many of them you'd have to fight to get to his room?"

She bowed her head.

"Suzu, it ain't possible. He's not the kind of enemy that just anybody can take down in a fit of rage."

"But--!"

His eyes softened. "It's really too bad about the kid."

Suzu stared up at him. Her vision blurred. All at once, everything bottled up inside her came pouring out. "Seishuu… " she sobbed. "He was… really sick. And I killed him. He had to run away from Kei and escaped to Kou. Then his village in Kou was destroyed and he had to run away again. His dad got killed by a youma right in front of him and then his mom died. He was sick from getting wounded by the youma. He was really, really sick. A little scratch like that and he suffered so much."

"I know." Koshou patted her tightly clenched hands.

"I was going to find a cure for him. We were on our way to Gyouten. He just got worse and worse every morning. No matter what he ate, he couldn't keep it down. He was getting so thin. He couldn't walk straight, could hardly see… . "

The hot tears burned down her cheeks. "I shouldn't have let him there. I was looking for an inn, but I should have carried him with me. If I had, he wouldn't have ended up getting killed."

He was so thin, he weighed hardly anything at all.

"I shouldn't have come here in the first place. I should have taken him to a doctor in another city."

"Don't hate yourself so, Suzu," Sekki said. Suzu turned to him. He was sitting next to her, watching her intently. He said, "You hate yourself more than you hate Shoukou. More than punishing Shoukou, you want to punish yourself."

Suzu blinked. "Yes. That's true." The tears continued to well up, falling like rain. "I shouldn't have left him there. I shouldn't have come here. It's my fault. If only I hadn't brought him with me!"

She'd been all wrapped up in her fantasies, and Seishuu had died because of it. "He didn't want to die. Oh, he never stopped cracking wise about it, but he was scared about dying, too. But he did. It's my fault, and there's no fixing it now. It's no use saying I'm sorry or asking for forgiveness now!"

Wracked by sobs, she couldn't speak for a long moment.

"That girl, she told me that he forgave me. But I don't forgive me!"

"But, Suzu, no matter how hard you struggle and suffer, you won't resurrect the dead. That's just the way it is."

"But--!"

"What you tried to do would have amounted to nothing, and that's wrong. If all you are is your anger and resentment, if you think it's okay to kill people to revenge a personal grudge, then you are no better a murderer than Shoukou."

"So you're saying I should forgive him? I've heard what kind of person he is. He's made lots of people suffer just like Seishuu. That's why I was going to kill him. You expect me to forgive something like that?"

Koshou slapped her on the back. "Didn't say nothing about forgiving him." When she looked up, he laughed. "Show your hate for Shoukou and you'll taste his retribution. That's what everybody's afraid of, why they all keep their mouths shut. See no evil, hear no evil. But don't you be thinking there's nothing but cowards in Shisui."

"Koshou, you… . "

Suzu raised her head. She glanced at Sekki. Then at the men in the tavern who were all quietly watching over her.

"All of you… . "

They all wore those same steel rings.

"Shoukou will fall. We're only waiting for the right moment. We were afraid you were going to tip our hand." Koshou took a chain from his jacket pocket. He unfastened a link from the chain and presented it to Suzu. "Forget Shoukou and go somewhere else and live a carefree life. Or take this." He added, a severe expression on his face, "But if you do, you may never remove it. Betray us and be prepared to accept the consequences."

"Give it to me." Suzu reached out her hand. "I'll never betray you. I'll do whatever it takes to free myself--and Seishuu--from this grudge!"

12-3

Shoukei climbed Mt. Koushuu to the border of En and Kei and entered Kei. The name of the city at the border checkpoint was Gantou. Thanks to Rakushun, she had no problems crossing the border.

"Take care."

Parting with her in the Kei part of the city, Rakushun returned to En. Shoukei watched him leave and couldn't help but hang her head and say, Thank you.

He'd arranged a passport for her, and given her traveling money out of his own pocket. He'd given her a lot. He brought her this far and hadn't begrudged her a thing. She couldn't begin to thank him.

"Oh, damn," she said to herself, as Rakushun's waving tail faded out of view. She hadn't thanked him in person. She'd never apologized to anyone. Back in Hou, back in the sticks, she'd groveled to Gobo. In the palace in Kyou, she'd groveled to the Royal Kyou. But never with any sincerity. She'd never thanked anybody from the bottom of her heart. She hadn't even been sorry about it.

When she raised her head again, Rakushun was gone from the broad, finely-maintained streets of En. He was probably already on the suugu and galloping back to Kankyuu.

She took a breath and cast a glance back over her shoulder. The kind of differences you saw here at the border of En and Kei were not dissimilar to those at the border of Ryuu and En.

So this is Kei.

The city straddled the summit of the Koushuu Mountains. From the gate separating En and Kei, the city stretched out over the terraced slopes. A commanding view of the city opened up from the thoroughfare before the center gate. At the same time, the kingdom spread out from foot of the Koushuu Mountains.

Along with Shoukei, many others also stopped there on the street and gazed out at their surroundings and breathed sighs of resignation. Compared to En, the view was a desolate one. No snow lay on the wintry countryside, and the lack of snow cover only accentuated the lonely, barren view.

The border city was big. Nevertheless, the hustle and bustle were sadly lacking. Small buildings huddled together along narrow streets paved with compacted earth. It was warmer here compared to cities in the north, but all the windows were tightly shut. Windows glazed with glass were scarce as hen's teeth. It seemed a city stubbornly refusing to extend a welcome to anybody.

The wrecked buildings were everywhere, only the skeletons of their structures remaining behind. The jumble of motley shops lined the road, from the cramped buildings spilled a tide of smashed jars and jugs and furniture and household implements. Countless small huts, shutting out the wind with scrapped wood and old rags, perched along the outer loop road encompassing the city. Ragged, weary people crowded sullenly around the bonfires.

Kei was a country in turmoil. Here the precedent of a long-lived king did not exist. The most bitter difference between En and Kei was the long rule of a single monarch.

Large numbers of people flowed into the Kei side of the city, and the greatest portion of them were refugees.

"I thought it would have improved a bit more," muttered a despondent man, who seemed to speak for the crowds of people flowing down the street. "Yeah, I shouldn't have come back."

Shoukei heard the sighs from people in the group.

"Is it all this rotten, I wonder? It sure doesn't look good."

"I left the country after the empress died. I had no idea it had gotten this bad."

"Yeah, it's hard," Shoukei thought to herself as she walked along. It's going to be hard fixing up this kingdom.

The refugees were a headache to En, but so they were to Kei. People who had been to En couldn't help comparing it to Kei. In fact, compared to her home kingdom of Hou, the condition of Kei wasn't so bad to make her despair. Yet the differences between En and Kei were as obvious as the nose on your face. Side by side with the prosperity and liveliness of En, the Kei side of the city looked a wreck.

The group of people continued on down the street together and entered a cheap inn. She finally found a three-story building with vacancies. Big rooms, but you had to share accommodations.

The refugees staying at the inn expressed a variety of sentiments: from those happy they were able to return to their home country, earnestly optimistic about the future, to those nursing the broken dream of moving back to a blessed, wealthy kingdom and living the easy life.

"You hear that about the empress?"

Shoukei overheard several people talking together in a corner of the guest quarters.

"An empress? Again?"

"If I'd known that, I would have stayed in En."

"Empresses are no good. They don't have what it takes. It's all going to hell in a handbasket soon enough."

"The minute it starts heading down that road, we're hightailing it to En."

"I'm telling you, the next time we leave, we're never coming back."

Yeah, it really was a mess. Shoukei sighed. For some reason, the Royal Kei didn't seem like a stranger to her. When she thought about what it must be like to be the Empress, she had to sigh in sympathy.

And right now she's probably in the palace thinking the same thing.

"I wonder if we just should head back now."

"Never happen. There's nothing left for us in En. No matter how you slice it, we weren't born in En."

"Yeah, but we can't go back to where we was born, neither."

"Hopefully something's left of our hometown."

"Forget it." One of the men leaned forward. "You know anything about ships leaving from Goto?"

"What's that?"

"Warships headed to Tai. One of the governors in Wa Province been dispatching them, or so's I hear. Seems they're picking up refugees in Tai and bringing them here."

"News to me. You gotta be crazy, heading off to Tai, now? Put a cork in it."

"Not, I'm not talking about that. Let's see, where was it… yeah, Shisui. The governor of Shisui, he sends out these boats 'cause of how sorry he feels for the refugees and all. If you get on board and make it to Shisui, he'll give you a plot of land and register you on the census."

"Shisui, Wa Province… that's right on the border of Ei Province."

"Hey, if they can take care of refugees like that, Shisui's got to be doing great, right? If we ask, they got to welcome us in, right?"

"Nonsense." A woman waved her hand dismissively. "It's all sweet talk. People pulling the wool over your eyes."

"It ain't. I heard the same from other people as well. Right?"

There was a lull in the conversation.

"They got you believing in tall tales, all right. That's all they are."

"That can't be true. C'mon, no one's heard of it before? Really?"

In response to his query, Shoukei raised her voice. "I have."

The tight little group suddenly opened up, its attention falling on her. The one man approached her. "It's true, isn't it? I knew it!"

"Well, um, I heard about it in Ryuu. I heard about it from a sailor who worked on ships that sailed from Ryuu to Tai. He said there were ships like that."

A flurry of conversation followed, all of them arguing at the same time about how well off Shisui must be, and how their hometown might not even exist anymore.

"So why don't we just go see for ourselves?"

"My village got destroyed when the river flooded its banks."

"I'd still rather go back to where I was born."

They ended up split down the middle, between those who wanted to start for Shisui right away, and those who thought it all a pack of lies and argued that nothing good would come of it.

"Where'd you come from?" one of them asked Shoukei.

She tilted her head to one side. "I'm from Hou. You know, I'd like to get a homestead of my own, but I'm not old enough." She could always fib about her age, but she wasn't sure about how to carry it off. "But if Shisui really is that wealthy, I don't see any harm in finding out for myself." She nodded to herself as she spoke. "I figure I've got to get a job somewhere, and it might as well be Shisui as anywhere else."

The next day, Shoukei started her journey to Shisui. She'd gotten used to traveling by wagon in Ryuu so that was how she'd decided to proceed. Unlike Ryuu and En, there were many people walking along the roads. In fact, it wouldn't be too cold to walk. The work of walking alone would keep you warm enough, aside from the tips of your feet and hands, to be tolerable.

The road headed south toward Meikaku, the capital city of Wa Province. The highway to Gyouten ran east to west through Meikaku and Shisui.

The devastation of the countryside was severe. Many of the buildings in the villages en route were destroyed. The wrecked fields lay fallow, the ashen forests blighted and burned. With so little snow, nothing was hidden from view. Now and then, in the countryside surrounding a hamlet where people lived, you could see the rows of earthen mounds. So many people had died.

It made her shudder. The ravaged mountains and streams, the loss of life. This was because of the king, because no king sat upon the throne.

"Miss, where you from?" an old man sitting next to her in the wagon asked.

Shoukei tore her eyes away from the view out of the back of the wagon. Many wagons in Kei traveled with the back uncovered.

"Hou," she said.

"Is it true, the stories about the king of Hou dying?"

"Yes."

"Huh." The old man hugged the onjaku to his chest. "So Hou's gonna go through this as well."

Shoukei's eyes widened in response to this matter-of-fact statement. It was true. Many people would die. Victims would begrudge their assailants, the same way she hated the Marquis Gekkei.

And so he should be hated, for bringing such destruction upon the kingdom. She said, "Kei is better off now, with a new empress on the throne."

The old man chuckled. "I suppose you could say it's getting better. But that's what we all thought the last time."

He didn't have anything more to say after that.

12-4

Wa Province was east of Ei Province, stretching from the eastern border of Ei to the Kyokai. Along with Keiki, Youko was traveling to Meikaku, situated in the eastern quarter of the province. A large highway reached straight across Kei from the Kyokai to the Blue Sea. A second major route ran southward from the Koushuu Mountains. The roads intersected at Meikaku.

"Meikaku is an important overland stop," Keiki said.

Using the shirei, the journey took two days. They landed not far from Meikaku and walked the rest of the way.

"This road is the lifeline to the northern quarter of the kingdom. The terminal city of Goto is the only real port that Kei has on the Kyokai. Salt and rice shipped from the south, medicines from Shun, wool and barley from the north, all of these must be purchased with the surplus from agricultural harvest and supplied to the northern quarter to keep the people alive."

"The northern quarter is that poor?"

Keiki nodded. "It is a mountainous region with little arable land. It is dry during the summer, with a long rainy season starting in the fall. The harvest all depends on the weather, but there is no other industry they can turn to."

"Huh."

"Especially now, with shipping traversing the Blue Sea from the south largely at a standstill, Goto has become even more critical. On top of that, there is but one port of entry between En and Kei along the Koushuu Mountains, hence the importance of Gantou to the overland routes and Goto to the sea routes. Cargo coming into Kei from either must necessarily use these roads and pass through Meikaku."

"Could Wa Province be wealthy, despite being in the northern quarter?"

Keiki smiled sardonically. "It is said that highwaymen prowl the roads of Wa. In order to protect cargo shipments, Wa dispatches the provincial guard to build forts and protect the caravans. Because it is paid for with excise taxes, the cost of goods rises accordingly."

"Makes sense."

The unfortunate truth was that there was no way to avoid Wa Province when shipping anything from Gantou or Goto.

"Gahou certainly knows his business."

Keiki scowled. "I think not. There are big cities bordering Meikaku to the north and east that warehouse cargo and house travelers. They're called Hokkaku and Toukaku, and while part of Meikaku they are much bigger than Meikaku. Farmland was procured and leveled, tall walls constructed, and these cities were built from nothing just to house merchandise and people. The people who use those cities shoulder the entire burden. The people of Wa do the work. They're worked like slaves."

Youko said in exasperation, "Why should a man like Gahou be made a Marquis of as important a province as Wa?"

Keiki lowered his gaze. It was the Late Empress Yo-o who had given Wa Province to Gahou. Gahou presented her with a garden on the outskirts of Gyouten. It was a garden the size of a hamlet. Passing through the gates, you were presented with a scene of rustic beauty. A row of six homes, an old man who served as gamekeeper to the deer, a child to feed the pheasants.

Gahou gave Yo-o this beautiful little hamlet, in which the empress could live out her dream of a quiet, uneventful existence. She visited it often, and in thanks gave Gahou whatever he wished. That was how Wa Province came into his possession.

The empress surely was happiest when chatting with the villagers, trimming the grass in the gardens that surrounded the hamlet, teaching the children embroidery in a house built for that purpose. Would things have turned out differently, Keiki wondered, if she hadn't been able to indulge herself so. Every time he pled with her to return to the palace and she wept and refused and carried on, her eventual fate drew inexorably closer.

He should not have put her on the throne. It was not right for her, but the divine oracles had directed him to her. No one else was possible.

"Keiki?"

A soft voice called out to him. Keiki quickly collected himself. His new lord peered up at him, her head tilted quizzically. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Keiki said, shaking his head. He raised his head and looked across the countryside. A mountain stream ran alongside the highway. Ahead of them was the soaring Ryou-un Mountain. You could see the walls rising up at its base.

"That looks to be Meikaku."

Meikaku Mountain pierced the Sea of Clouds. The gently sloping hills gathered about the foot of the mountain. The city snaked along the valleys beneath the ridgelines formed by the hills.

"This is the capital?"

Youko stood at the gates of Meikaku and looked down the main boulevard, a broad avenue almost devoid of life. The imperial and provincial capitals had eleven gates. District and prefectural capitals had twelve. In the case of the imperial and provincial capitals, the central north gate or Rat Gate, was left out. In its place, just north of the city was the Ryou-un and the imperial and provincial government offices.

Youko and Keiki entered Meikaku through the western or Rooster Gate. The main boulevard ran straight east seven hundred paces from the Rooster Gate to the municipal offices in the middle of the city. The street was a good hundred paces wide. In every other city, small shops lined the street making it much narrower, and the street itself would be thronged with people and wagons. But there wasn't a single shop in sight.

There was no evidence of the refugees camped out in the surrounding countryside. There were none of the impoverished and homeless people they had seen in every town and city they had passed along the way during the three days, traveling by means of Keiki's shirei. The place was lifeless. Not a store, not a roadside stall. No crowds coursing along the thoroughfares.

A number of the travelers who entered the gate with her looked over the wide street with equal surprise. Youko glanced to the right and left as she passed through the gate. A sullen man approached, walking through the gate with accustomed steps. Youko called out to him, "Excuse me."

The man stopped and turned his blank gaze to her.

"Something going on today?"

The man was carrying a heavy basket on his back. He cast a disinterested look at the street and then back to her and said with sleepy eyes, "Naw. Nothing."

"Yes, but it's almost nightfall."

"Nothing out of the ordinary here. If you're looking for an inn, better go to Hokkaku or Toukaku. For Hokkaku, go to the Boar Gate. For Toukaku, go to the Hare Gate."

He spoke curtly, and in a low voice. He swayed a bit, as if adjusted the load on his back, and then turned on his heels and without another word walked away.

It was not uncommon for cities to have a second or third much larger city appended to them. She had seen quite a few of them in En. The entire metropolis was often given a single name, but the appended cities were known to keep their original names as well.

"What do you think?" Youko asked under her breath.

Standing next to her, tying a bandana around his head, Keiki tilted his head and said, "Well. It is a bit too quiet."

"Yeah. I could understand there being no people here, but no stores or shops either?"

Surveying the shoulders of the avenue outside the gate as well, there was not even a pushcart to be seen. A few people here and there, the sound of the wheels of the occasional horse cart echoing in the empty air.

"Something happen?" asked the people who had just come through the gate.

Youko smirked unconsciously. "Yeah, I had the same question."

The other party was a group of three men. They looked across the wide boulevard, the confusion evident on their faces. "Is this Meikaku?"

"Supposedly."

"I've never seen a capital city this empty. You two from here?"

Youko shook her head. The men gave the street another puzzled examination. "No shops. No people."

"Something bad went on here?"

"If there'd been a disaster, they'd be flying a white flag."

When disaster befell a city, white flags were flown from the ramparts. With this forlorn sight in front of their eyes, travelers would know something had happened. But that didn't seem to be the case here.

They watched the men start guardedly down the street. Next to her, Keiki said, "I smell death."

"Keiki?"

An unpleasant expression briefly clouded his pale complexion. "This city is a swamp of human malice."

Youko spun around. "We're leaving."

"Your Highness?" he replied.

Youko glanced back over her shoulder. "There's a road through the countryside. The cities are to the north and east, right? There should be access from the outside. I'm not chancing going through the city and stressing you out."

13-1

"We don't have a name for ourselves," Koshou said, drawing water from the well. Next to him, Suzu rinsed out the buckets and jugs. "We number no more than a thousand. Most of us are in Shisui Prefecture."

"Oh."

"If you need something in the city, search out a person wearing this ring. Ask him where he's from. Guaranteed, he'll acknowledge you with an eshaku."

"An eshaku?"

"Like this." He had Suzu hold out her hands and clench her left hand--but not tightly--and then cover the left hand with the right. She then raised her hands together and bowed. This was how people of stature greeted each other. To properly perform the eshaku, though, you should be wearing long sleeves. The jacket Suzu was wearing only came to her wrists.

"It feels funny."

Koshou smiled. "All that really matters is that you confirm that the person you're looking for is wearing a ring without drawing attention to it. When you ask where he's from, if he answers, Shikin in San County, Baku Province, then he's your man. If he asks your name, you say you're Otsu Etsu of Rou Shou."

"What's that mean?" Suzu asked with a quizzical expression.

Koshou chuckled. "Shikin is an old place name. Hundreds of years before, during the reign of King Tatsu, a wizard named Rou Shou showed up in Shikin."

"Was Shikin the location of his grotto?"

"No. Rou Shou didn't have a grotto. He was a wizard who gained his powers through the exercise of his own will. So he can be called Rou Shou or Shou Rou. This class of wizard uses the prefix Rou, meaning elder or old man. He's also called Count Shou."

"Oh, so he's a Senpaku, a self-made wizard who's an earl or count."

Wizards who had risen to the rank of count, and who had attained that rank by means of their own effort, also served at the Five Sacred Mountains. They were the Senpaku.

"He had been practicing his craft for the general public when King Tatsu invited him to serve in the Imperial Palace. His full name is Otsu Etsu. Nobody really knows if he existed or not. He shows up in legends and stories a lot."

"Huh."

"You may be asked the same things from a complete stranger. If someone else with a ring approaches you with these questions, you answer the same way."

"Oh, I see."

"If they're one of us, you can trust them, no matter what. It's guaranteed they'll help you. Our word is our bond. We take pride in it."

"All this in order to get rid of him?"

"Of course," Koshou nodded. "The countryside around Takuhou is crowded with graves. The bodies of the dead cover the land. Somebody has to take him down. Somebody has to bring him to justice."

Suzu stopped what she was doing. By him they mean the governor of Shisui Prefecture, Shoukou. She asked, "Why is someone like him allowed to get away with it?"

"It's said that there are people in high places who give him a pass."

"Like in Gyouten?" said Suzu, raising her head.

Koshou answered with a startled look. He put down the well bucket and sat down on the edge of the well. "Why do you say Gyouten?"

"A rumor I've heard to that effect. The most important person in Gyouten is protecting Shoukou."

"I see," Koushou muttered. "That certainly is being rumored about. It's said that none other than the Empress is protecting Shoukou. But I'm not convinced."

"It's not true?"

"I couldn't say. The one giving a free rein to Shoukou is Gahou."

"Gahou?"

"The Marquis of Wa Province. Shoukou's got the protection of the province lord. That's why he has a free rein. The Marquis is no less a beast than Shoukou. The only difference between them is, as villains go, Gahou is not as blind as Shoukou to appearances."

"I see."

"The Late Empress Yo-o made Gahou Marquis of Wa. She was not competent enough to withstand him, and so he purchased it with his flattery. Protests were lodged, appeals were made, arms were raised in resistance, but she continued to indulge him."

"That's awful."

"Even after the Empress acceded to the throne, he was left in power. There are those who don't believe he enjoys the support of the Empress, but it's not hard to believe. It was thanks to her that the Marquis of Baku was dismissed."

"The Marquis of Baku?"

Koshou stared up at the sky above the small courtyard. "The Marquis of the province to the west of Ei Province. The Marquis of Baku was greatly admired by his people. He is rumored to have been a wise and knowledgeable ruler. This past summer, before the Empress had claimed the throne, a pretender arose and cast the kingdom into turmoil. He resisted her to the very end."

"And for that he was dismissed? While Gahou and Shoukou remain?"

Koshou nodded. "Many people have their doubts about the Empress. None of us understand why the Marquis would be dismissed while Gahou is left where he is. On the other hand, the coronation was only recently. She may not be able to do anything about it."

Suzu sloshed the wash water out of the pail. "Doesn't seem to be much difference between this empress and the last one."

"Maybe so." Koshou gave her a good long look. "What exactly did you have in mind for the Royal Kei?"

Suzu averted her gaze. Koshou took a surprised breath. "You are one to act without thinking. Did you really have it in mind to go charging into Kinpa Palace? There's no way you could have pulled that off."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

Koshou pushed himself off the edge of the well and leaned over next to her. "That kid died in a bad way."

Suzu looked back at him, then looked at her hands.

"I hate to say it, but you can find unfortunate kids like that everywhere. They're hardly rare in this kingdom. This is a kingdom still in chaos. There are tragedies all over the place."

"Yeah. I know," Suzu said with a sigh. "I'm a kaikyaku."

"Yes," Koshou acknowledged with his eyes.

"I was thrown into this world where I could never go home again, I didn't understand what anybody said. I was truly pitiful."

"Yeah."

"But I wasn't truly pitiful. Compared to Seishuu, I was really lucky. I didn't understand that and kept on feeling sorry for myself and insisted on bringing Seishuu all the way here."

"You shouldn't blame yourself like that."

Suzu shook her head. "I was really lucky. Oh, I've been in a tight spot or two, but a little patience and a backbone were all I needed. I never imagined someone like Shoukou causing so much suffering for so many people. I really can't stand myself now." She laughed. "It was really a temper tantrum. Instead of taking it out on myself, I tried taking it out on Shoukou. Like Sekki said, I really do hate myself. But--" she said, raising her head, "we can't let Shoukou be, can we?"

"No, we can't."

"I don't know about the rest of the kingdom, but Shisui is an accursed place and the people here suffer because of it. I want to make it so nobody suffers like that anymore. I want to make it so nobody ever dies the way Seishuu died."

"I understand."

"The fact is, I don't trust myself. I don't trust what my own pain and bitterness are telling me to do. But if you and Sekki hate Shoukou enough to want him dead, then it is okay for me to hate him, too?"

"Yeah… sure." With a shrug, the big man crouched down next to the well and sighed, self-effacing smile coming to his lips. "To tell the truth, I don't get it myself."

"Eh?"

"If you can put something painful behind you, it's over. But being alive means there'll be no end to bad things happening. Still, worrying about every little thing gets you nowhere. Good things happen, too. Forget the bad and you can enjoy the good. You gotta keep putting one foot ahead of the other."

Suzu nodded and Koshou continued. "Honestly, I don't understand government and politics, complicated stuff like that. Whether or not Shoukou is a decent governor, I'm not one to say. Same with Gahou, same with the Marquis of Baku. Maybe Shoukou has some importance to the government. Maybe even a guy like that is useful to someone. But as for me, him being alive makes me tired."

"Makes you tired?"

"I'm a simple guy. When I hear about kids getting killed who did nothing wrong, I get mad. And getting mad makes you tired. It's hard to forget something that just rubs you the wrong way. Sekki's better at it than me. He went right from the county to the prefecture school, and even got into the district academy. His elementary school principal gave him a recommendation. There was nothing stopping him from becoming a government official. I gotta think he's got a bright future ahead of him. But I really can't say that makes me happy. So he becomes a government official, then what? If he gets into the government, is he gonna get used by Shoukou? Fall in with Gahou? I can't get excited about my little brother hanging around with people like that."

"Koshou… . "

"Sekki doesn't like it either. Even though he was interested in it, he quit. There are bad things you can't forget even if you want to. Things you can't be happy about even if you want to. Being that way wears me out. I hate it. Being alive is not enough. You want to feel good about life, right? You want to believe, hey, I'm glad I was born, I'm happy to be there. But as long as there are people like Shoukou around, I can't feel that way. That's why I gotta do something about it."

Suzu took a breath and let it out. "That's it?"

"That's it. If I thought I could storm the prefecture castle and kill Shoukou and put my mind at ease, I'd do it. But it wouldn't put my mind at ease. In the first place, I never could do it. When it comes to dealing with Shoukou, the only way I can think of is to approach him in numbers and force him from office. And if he said, over my dead body, well, then we'd have to oblige him. Anything I came up with on my own would be a waste. I haven't got enough self-discipline."

"Really."

"I've got a temper like a kid. Sekki's the one to think things through."

Suzu laughed. "I perfectly understand where you're coming from."

"Yeah?" the big man smiled.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Well, we need to borrow your sansui. We're collecting weapons. We can't go up against Shoukou and his bodyguards with shovels and hoes."

"So you need to transport some cargo?"

"Rou Hansei, a long-time friend of mine, is getting a shipment ready for us. Would it be okay for you to take your sansui there and back?"

Suzu nodded firmly. "Sure. No problem."

13-2

"This is Meikaku."

The driver dropped Shoukei off at the gates to the city. She looked at the ramparts in surprise. The haphazard state of the walls alone was a shock.

"What a strange city," she observed as she paid the driver.

He laughed scornfully. "That's what everybody says."

"I thought city walls were supposed to run in straight lines."

"Yeah," the young man said, gazing up at the walls.

The walls of a city as big as a provincial capital were normally wide enough to post sentries along the top. Merlons in the battlements provided cover for archers posted behind the parapets. Here and there structures called bastions ("horse faces") jutted out from the walls. Bastions were built in all shapes and sizes, but for no particular reason they were usually rectangular and of a fixed height.

But here at Meikaku, such regularity was hard to find. The wall would run along for a while at an impressive height and then suddenly dip down so low you could see the wall opposite. Some bastions were joined together by wall walks hardly wide enough to walk over. These structural undulations continued on like the untutored scribblings of a child.

Shoukei looked over her shoulder at the young driver. He again laughed sarcastically. "The only inns are in Hokkaku or Toukaku. Originally, the inns were in a bunch of warehouses outside the Boar Gate. They built a big wall around them and every year it gets bigger. Kind of a mess, huh? It's even worse inside, because the old walls were left in place. Try not to get lost."

"Thanks," Shoukei said.

The driver regarded the city walls with a nonplused expression and returned to the horse cart. Shoukei peered at the main gate. A big tunnel was carved into the wall. The gates were adorned with nothing more than a plain-looking pair of doors. The plate above the gate simply read, "Meikaku."

Like the driver had said, a crude rock pile of a wall obstructed the way. At the base of the wall, canvas tarps were stretched over jumbles of wooden planks to form a tent city crammed with huts and sheds barely big enough to lie down in. The overflowing tide of people, their faces glum and ragged, flowed right up to the gates. The refugees had built themselves a village on the vacant land. But it looked like one strong gust of wind would sweep it all away.

When she stepped inside the city itself, its decrepit condition became even more apparent. She had to wonder how many laborers had been pressed into hard service building these pointless, meandering walls. Some were so squat and narrow that they appeared to have been dumped there as refuse. And the others were amazingly high and thick.

The streets zigzagged through the chaotic city, ending in blind alleys. Shoukei had never seen such a confusing place. Buildings built without any rhyme or reason. Horse carts haphazardly blocking the flow of traffic. Milling crowds of refugees only throwing everything into complete chaos.

"What is with this city?" Shouko said under her breath.

She noticed people casting apprehensive glances in one particular direction. A number of them passed by her with tight faces, heading down a road that apparently ran to the city center. One man walked forward with a hard expression on his face. Another man turned back against the flow of people, looking fearfully over his shoulder as he headed in the opposite direction at a brisk clip.

What is going on? she asked herself.

Shoukei headed in the same direction, craning her neck to see. She turned a corner. The people moving in that direction had unexpectedly multiplied. Before long, the surging tide of humanity made retreat impossible.

"You'd better stop."

The sudden sound of someone's voice calling out to her made Shoukei turn back, even as the human wave bore her along. From within the throngs, an old man turned to her and held up his hand.

"You'd better not go. You're gonna see something you don't want to."

"What?" she wanted to ask, searching her surroundings, but the river of people bore her along with them. Before she knew it, she had come to the main boulevard of the city.

It was the center of the city. More than a boulevard, it approximated a town square. The streets abruptly opened up into a plaza surrounded by crumbling walls. Soldiers were posted around its circumference. In the center were a number of people tied together.

The thing she didn't want to see.

The people paraded to the center of the plaza were secured with ropes around their waists. Eyeing the brawny men securing the rope, Shoukei could tell that something was about to happen. The thick wooden posts arranged on the ground only reaffirmed this conviction.

A crucifixion. Those people were going to be nailed to those stakes. There are places other than Hou where this punishment is exacted?

Rakushun had told her that there was no kingdom without a death penalty. But decapitation was the usual method. A particularly severe sentence might entail planting the severed head on a pike. More cruel methods of execution were no longer carried out anywhere else, or so the very knowledgeable hanjuu had told her.

"You don't want to see this."

Somebody pulled on her coat. When she turned around, it was a small, middle-aged man with a tired look on his face. "This isn't the place for a girl like you. You should leave."

"Why are they doing this?"

The man shook his head. "The worse thing you can do in Wa Province is fail to pay your taxes, or run away from a labor gang. It was one or the other for most of them there."

"But… crucifixion… . "

"I know, it's news to most travelers. Nobody wants to spread bad news, that's why. So they leave Wa Province hearing no evil, seeing no evil. Come here and it's another story."

PAGE 117

"But this--"

Shoukei's voice was drowned out by a scream, intermingled with the sound of a stone mallet striking a nail. Without thinking, she turned and saw the writhing form of a man, one hand pinned to a wooden post.

"Stop… . "

Again, the heavy sound. Shoukei reflexively recoiled and shut her eyes. It used to happen all the time in Hou. None other than her own father had mercilessly sent so many people to the gallows.

In an instant, the memory and fear of almost being drawn and quartered shot through her thoughts. The vengeful voices and vitriolic cries of the townspeople as they dragged her into the square in front of the Rishi. The bitterness in Gobo's face as she raised the cane to flog her.

Another scream. Moans arose from the crowds surrounding the square. The rising clamor thankfully extinguished the sound of the falling mallet. Unable to bear it further, Shoukei took a step back. Her heel struck a stone and she almost lost her balance.

A stone.

A stone the size of her fist. Similar stones were strewn across the plaza, probably from the crumbling walls.

The screams echoed against the walls.

PAGE 118

Gobo's son had been executed for throwing a stone like this. How could taxes or forced labor matter so much? Such crimes were hardly commensurate with the extremities of pain that could reduce a big man to such wailing.

"Stop!"

Shoukei grabbed the stone at her feet. Why wasn't anybody stopping this? What kind of people were these? Before her mind could sort it out, her arm had acted. She threw the stone over the wall of people. It flew with no great force, striking one of the soldiers pushing back the crowds. The stone fell to the black earth and rolled several paces.

The crowd fell deathly silent.

"Who threw that!" bellowed a commanding voice.

Shoukei stepped back from where she had been standing.

"Whoever threw that stone, present yourself!

The eyes of the people next to her fell on her. The distress showed in their faces, as to whether or not to finger her as the assailant.

"Drag her out here!"

Responding to the command, the wall of people in front of her broke apart. As Shoukei stepped back again, somebody grabbed her wrist. Shoukei jerked her arm like a whip and broke free. She spun on her heels and clawed her way through the throngs. Once again, that same somebody grabbed her again, hard, yanking her half off her feet.

PAGE 119

"This way."

Shoukei fell to her knees. She raised her eyes. It was a girl her same age. A moment later her eyes fell upon the long overcoat the girl was wearing and she thought, No, a young man.

"This way. Quickly."

The girl spoke forcefully. There was no time to think. She dragged Shoukei along, forcing her way through the crowds. After too many steps to count, crawling most of the time, she was again pulled to her feet. Plowing people out of the way, they finally cut through and saw daylight.

"Where are you! Show yourself!"

Glancing briefly in the direction of the angry voices behind them, the two of them bolted from the square.

Escaping the wave of humanity, Shoukei let herself be dragged along as she ran. They barreled through the countless maze-like streets, arriving at the outskirts of the city near the ramparts. Through a fissure in the wall, they tumbled out of the city.

"I leapt before I looked," Shoukei gasped. The girl at last let go of her arm. Shoukei took a good look at her, vivid eyes set against her scarlet hair. She was definitely a she. Shoukei said, "Thank you."

Behind them in the city, the angry voices rang out.

"I understand the feeling," the girl said. "I tend to act before I think, too."

"It's like I couldn't stop myself."

Tagging along behind the girl, Shoukei peered back over her shoulder. Hard as it was for her to believe, she wondered if she'd caused any unnecessary grief to the people around her. She wondered how the prisoners had fared. The girl looked at her, as if reading her mind. "I'm okay," Shoukei said in strangely confident voice and nodding for no particular reason.

At the same time, some distance off to the side, came a shrill shout. "There she is!"

Ten or more soldiers turned the far corner of the ramparts. Shoukei froze. The girl planted herself in front of her. "Go," she said. "Get out of here."

"But--"

"Don't worry about me," she said, flashing a bold smile. She put her right hand to her waist and deftly drew out a sword.

Shoukei goggled at her. She didn't have time to ask, Do you know how to use that? The girl pushed her on her way. She hesitated and again looked back at the girl, who again told her forcefully to go.

"You'll be okay?"

"Don't sweat it."

Shoukei nodded. She'd be out in the open, cutting across the open countryside. So instead she followed along the weaving, undulating ramparts and soon disappeared from sight.

As she turned the last corner, she looked back and saw the red-haired girl, sword in hand, practically flying about the field. She was acting as a decoy. Shoukei spotted a soldier holding up his arm and pointing towards the girl. Most of soldiers went charging into the field.

Thank you, she said in her heart, and started running in earnest, looking for a place to crawl under. The wall here was too high to climb over. Maybe there was a hole in the wall somewhere.

She turned another corner when a voice above her said, "Hey!"

Thinking it was one of her pursuers, she ducked down. But then glancing up, she saw a man atop the parapets extending his hand down to her. Here the wall was low enough for him to reach her.

"Here, grab my hand."

Shoukei hesitated for a second, glanced behind her. She could hear the sound of footsteps approaching the corner of the wall she had just come around.

"Hurry!"

Shoukei grabbed the hand. The man was twenty-five or six. His strength belied his small size. He pulled Shoukei to the top of the wall with remarkable speed.

Three soldiers appeared from the corner of the ramparts. "Halt!" they called out.

She swallowed the pain from her practically dislocated shoulder, kicked her toes against the stone wall and crawled up to the wall walk. A soldier's hand reached for her foot and missed, clawing at her ankle. Her rescuer's hand still holding hers, she collapsed on the walkway.

She fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Behind her, a soldier climbed onto the wall walk. The man almost casually delivered a kick that sent the soldier sprawling. The soldier roared with anger. The next soldier appeared, holding a spear over his head.

"Run!"

The man grabbed the business end of the spear as it was thrust toward him. A tug of war ensued, ending several second later with the soldier losing the battle and just as quickly finding the grip of the spear planted in his throat.

"Jump!" was the man's next command, as he whirled the spear like a knife through the air and positioned himself. The expression on his face was distant and dispassionate.

Shoukei nodded. It was a good twenty feet from the edge of the parapets to the road below. Sandwiched between the walls was an alleyway strewn with garbage. Hearing the yells and screams of the soldiers, Shoukei jumped, or rather, slid herself off the edge and down the wall. The shock of impact shot up through her legs. She collapsed on the ground.

She sat up, breathing hard. Above her, the man had seized a soldier by the collar and flung him off the far side of the wall. He threw the spear in the opposite direction, spun around and jumped down next to her.

"You okay?"

Shoukei nodded despite herself. He grinned somewhat mischievously and peered up at the wall. "The other girl made a clean getaway. She a friend of yours?"

Shoukei shook her head. Her ragged breaths tore at her throat. She couldn't speak. The alleyway was empty, but at least she heard no one else approaching.

"Can you move?" the man asked.

Shoukei again shook her head. In a past few minutes, she had used up a day's worth of energy. She didn't think she could move another inch.

"That so?" he said with a generous smile. He turned around and crouched down. "Climb on." Shoukei sat there, confused. "C'mon," he said, "hurry it up."

Shoukei obediently clung to his back and the man stood up without faltering in the slightest. "For the time being, pretend you're asleep. I'll take you somewhere where we can rest."

13-3

A shadow approached the woods. "Your Highness," said Keiki, recognizing her in the cold and desolate twilight.

"Sorry about that," said Youko.

"What happened? The word was, you would be leaving the city sooner than later." Keiki pushed through the undergrowth as they climbed the slope. He abruptly stopped and grimaced. "You have a bad scent about you. I am not referring to you, personally."

"You can smell that? Sorry. I had Hankyo bear the victims away from the square."

Keiki sighed. Hankyo had come to the inn, said that he was to leave the city, and then guided him here. Keiki shrank back from the smell of blood. "So a youma appears in the city of Hokkaku."

He glanced at her and found that she was scowling at him. A wry smile came to her face. "I was helping out hurt people. Don't give me that look."

"Then I shall come to my conclusions after being informed of the details."

Youko sat down and again smiled a deeply ironic smile.

They had taken an inn in Hokkaku and stayed there for three days. There, too, Keiki noted the smell of death. With no other town nearby, they had to stay in Hokkaku. Youko strolled around the strange city. The hard toil of the citizenry built these wall, and all to suit the selfish needs of Gahou, province lord of Wa Province.

The better way would be to build the walls as big as possible, at the reach of the city limits, and then build the city small and let it grow over the years. Built it right and the people will come for protection from robbers and highwaymen. But Gahou built no bigger than he had to at any one time, and added the rest to the money he collected in tolls.

The city was densely populated, Gahou having shut most of the population out of Meikaku. The taxes were so steep in Meikaku that only the rich and mighty could afford to live there. People and commerce had been chased out, enlarging Hokkaku and Toukaku to an alarming degree. With travelers and their belongings, the streams of refugees, the cities were cramped. And all because of Gahou and his lousy walls. The peasants who lived in the countryside around Meikaku didn't even have time to farm.

"That's why at least four of them were being executed. They fled the forced labor gangs to get the crops in. They're the ones I had Hankyo help."

"Oh," Keiki muttered.

Youko laughed to herself. "A girl threw a stone at the executioner. I helped her escape, too, but the soldiers came after us. I guess my hair kind of stands out, huh? Getting back to Hokkaku looked difficult, so I had you brought here. Sorry for the trouble."

Keiki let out a breath. "I do wish Your Highness would act with more prudence."

"My bad." Youko propped her elbows on her knees. From the slope of the hill, Meikaku was visible in the distance. "I didn't know people in Kei were executed by crucifixion."

"Nonsense."

"They're crucified in Wa Province."

Keiki looked at her, speechless.

"There are lots of things like that going on in this kingdom that you and I know nothing about."

Like a tax of thirty percent even in the Dutchy of Yellow, inhuman methods of punishment, corrupt officials like Gahou and Shoukou. Two months after acceding to the throne, the Wizards of the Earth had presented themselves at court. Gahou had surely been among them, and Shoukou as well.

"They all fell at my feet and kowtowed, but that only served to hide their scorn. What a stupid empress, they must have all thought."

"Your Highness."

"I need civil servants I can trust."

Right now, in truth, she needed allies. It hadn't occurred to her when they were toppling the pretender. That's because she had En by her side--the personal support of the Royal En and six divisions of the En Imperial Army, commanded by impeccably disciplined staff officers and generals. Youko didn't have to order anybody around. After rescuing Keiki from the clutches of the pretender, the ministers and province lords who had conspired with her one by one were brought into line. It was clear to her now that they had fallen before the authority of the throne and the might of En.

"What kind of person is Enho?"

"Enho?" Keiki answered, with a puzzled expression. "He's a man who knows much about the way things work. He has taught a great many people."

"Maybe I should invite him to the Imperial Court."

Keiki said neither aye nor nay to that proposition. "When it comes to rousing the bureaucracy to action, rather than simply following their lead, Your Highness must make her own decisions. That is the first priority."

"That I intend to do."

Keiki sighed. "There are those at court who battle for power. In order to drag down an opposing faction, they will go so far as to fabricate crimes and make accusations."

Youko suddenly raised her head. "Who are we talking about?"

Keiki didn't answer.

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing. If Your Highness cannot confirm it for herself, she is unlikely to believe it. That is all I have to say about the matter. I only ask that you think it over."

"You mean, Koukan?" The previous Marquis of Baku Province. She'd dismissed him, though Keiki had stubbornly remained opposed.

Keiki raised his eyebrows. "I was not referring to anyone in particular. If Koukan is the first name that springs to mind, then perhaps his fate is weighing on Your Highness's mind."

Youko took a soft breath. "Well, that's something I wouldn't expect a kirin like you to say."

"It is the stubbornness of my lord that drives me to such things."

Youko got to her feet, grinning. "We'd better hurry or the gates are going to close. Let's go."

"Where to?"

Youko brushed off the dead grass and glanced again toward Meikaku. "I understand conditions in Meikaku. I like to go back to Kokei by means of Takuhou. You don't want to be away from Gyouten much longer, do you?"

Keiki nodded, looking up at her with a concerned expression. "And Your Highness?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll be back as soon as possible. But the one thing I have learned living in the real world is that I don't understand it at all."

"Empress."

Youko smiled at the scowling Keiki. "I'll return after I've learned everything inside and out. I can't believe I'm saying this myself, but I don't know when I'll return to Gyouten. That's how much I've figured out I didn't know."

"Indeed," said Keiki.

"I'm pretty sure I'll know for myself when enough is enough. I don't regret it. Coming down to the real world to live like this was absolutely necessary."

"Yes."

"So please wait until I've come to a conclusion. I don't think it will take that long."

Keiki didn't answer, but only bowed deeply.

14-1

Her rescuer came into the room. "How are you feeling?"

Shoukei smiled stiffly. "Nothing worse than a sprain. Thank you."

The man had carried her to a dilapidated house in Hokkaku. The first thing she'd noticed when they arrived was that she couldn't walk. She'd twisted her ankle either when she was scrambling up to the parapets or jumping down into the alleyway. She'd already observed it swelling up a bit.

Shoukei sat down with her leg propped up on a couch. The man pulled out a chair. "You're a brave young girl, but caution is the better part of valor. The girl who ran off into the countryside, do you know who she was?"

"I don't. She helped me get away and then just disappeared."

The man said absently to himself, "Her actions struck me as something more than simple kindness--more an extraordinary display of resolve."

Shoukei leaned forward. "I could say the same about you."

The man smiled broadly, a smile that bespoke the character of a good-natured individual. "Call me Kantai. I've settled here in Hokkaku. I'm a mercenary of sorts."

"A mercenary? You?" His laid-back attitude didn't match the merciless image of a soldier.

"I've got a good arm for it. You run into a lot of highwaymen around here. So I get hired to protect people and their stuff. You don't really need to be all that strong. There simply aren't that many men who really know how to handle a sword."

"And that's why you came to my rescue?"

Kantai gently smiled. "I know the feeling, wanting to clobber somebody with a rock like that."

"Oh." Shoukei felt the tension ease out of her shoulders. "I'm Shoukei."

"Shoukei-san. Did you have a place to stay tonight? The gates have closed already."

Shoukei shook her head.

"You can stay here if you'd like. I'm renting the place with a couple of my mercenary friends. They're admittedly an ill-bred lot, but they're not bad blokes."

"Thank you, but I hate to impose."

Kantai laughed. "Forget about it. After having to look at their sorry faces all day, a pretty girl like you is a breath of fresh air. Anyway, you'd have a tough time trying to find an inn after this."

Shoukei nodded. There was still the possibility that people were searching for her. "But what about yourself? I'd think they would remember your face as well."

This truly did bring a worried look to the man's face. "That's for damn sure. I'm going to have to lay off work for a while. Well, at any rate, food's not an issue, so I'm not too concerned."

"I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry about. It was my decision to rescue you, after all. I've got my own thoughts about the way they do things around here." Shoukei leaned closer and looked at him. Kantai smiled a bit awkwardly. "When you take seventy percent in taxes, not everybody's going to be able to pay."

"Seventy percent."

"In Wa Province, seventy percent is the standard. In fact, the governor of Shisui is the only beast who collects seventy percent. So you're talking fifty to sixty percent on the outside. But nobody can live under that kind of tax burden. In Wa, everybody lives the life of a refugee."

"That's awful."

The tax rate was normally ten percent. At the very worse, additional levies could increase it to thirty percent. At seventy percent, it's tough getting enough to eat, let alone living any kind of life.

"And if you don't pay, you end up like they did. On top of the taxes are the heavy demands placed on the work gangs, building walls, roads, bridges. Those walls are what you get when you throw people off their land and press them into hard labor."

"Why do they put up with it?"

"Because nobody wants to be crucified."

"Yeah."

Kantai patted Shoukei on the shoulder. "Until things calm down, you can rest here. Take your time. " He smiled a bit bashfully. "But before you go, I could use a little help around the kitchen."

"Understood. Thanks for everything."

The house was about the same size as a rike. As private residences went, it was pretty big. The courtyard was surrounded by four halls, with the main gate in the southeast corner. Kantai seemed to be the landlord. He lived in the main wing, and as his guest, she was given the use of a room across the parlor from his room. Her room didn't have so much as a bed, but a divan instead.

Twenty men who looked a lot like soldiers were camped out in three of the rooms surrounding the courtyard. There were maybe two or three women, and they were all quite striking.

The next day, Shoukei found that she could at least walk, so she first decided to check out the kitchen instead of going to an inn. Even the pots on the stove had collected dust. The kitchen obviously had not been used in ages.

"Amazing," she said to herself.

"What is?" Kantai asked.

Shoukei literally jumped. "You surprised me."

"Sorry. How are you doing? Can you walk?"

"It doesn't hurt that much. Does anybody actually use this kitchen?"

Kantai smiled. "Most everybody here eats out. To tell the truth, I'd be happy just to be able to brew a cup of tea. But you can see the state things are in."

"Well, then let's get to the point where we can brew a cup of tea."

"Anything I can do to help?"

She looked up at him and was about to say it'd probably be easier for her to do it by herself, when he smiled sheepishly. "Naw. I know I'd better stick to the cleaning up. I'm all thumbs when it comes to stuff like this."

"You don't say. So, I take it you were brought up in nice digs."

Men and women became independent at the age of twenty, and were at least capable of doing what they observed going on around them. Those who could not were betraying their reliance on servants, of being brought up in luxurious surroundings, of having somebody to watch over them.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Well, I'll wash the pots. You run the water."

"That I shall do."

His overly formal answer struck her as a bit odd. The two of them carried the assortment of pots outside, to the rear of the kitchen. There was a bucket next to the well. The dipper in the bucket suggested that whenever anybody wanted a drink they just came out here and helped themselves.

"It really is every man for himself here."

"They're not the type who give such matters a second thought."

"When was the last time this bucket was cleaned? Unbelievable."

"You think so?"

"No matter. Are you a citizen of Kei, Kantai?"

"Yes. And you?"

"I was born in Hou."

"So you've come a long way to end up here."

Shoukei filled the bucket to overflowing. She washed her hands and smiled. "Yes, I did. I've come a long way. I never thought I'd ever end up in a kingdom where it didn't snow in the winter."

"Huh," said Kantai, as he lowered the bucket into the well.

"I didn't think there were any other kingdoms besides Hou that did something as cruel as crucifixion."

"Yeah," said Kantai, hauling up the bucket. "But Wa Province is unique. The province lord doesn't bother enforcing the rule of law."

"That's not true of all of Kei, is it?"

"Well, I don't know about all of Kei. I suspect only Gahou could make such a mess of things as this."

"Gahou? The Marquis of Wa?"

"Yes. Two beasts rule in Wa. The province lord, Gahou, and the governor of Shisui Prefecture, Shoukou."

"Shisui Prefecture. I was thinking of going there."

"Why?"

He asked with such doubtful expression that Shoukei shrugged her shoulders when she said, "If you go to Shisui, you'll get land and registered on the census. They're bringing in refugees from Tai. You don't know about that?"

Kantai shook his head. "I don't. It's the first I've heard of it. I do see wagons carrying people passing through Meikaku, headed for Shisui."

"You know, that's probably why. When I get to Shisui, I figure there will at least be a job waiting for me."

"I'd stop thinking things like that, if I was you."

"Why?"

"I told you. Beasts prowl the land in Wa, and Shoukou leads the pack."

"But he'd at least want to help the refugees--"

"Shoukou isn't the kind of person who would ever help anybody. If you go there, I guarantee that you'll regret it."

"You're sure?"

A look of firm resolution came to his face. "The reason they're bringing people to Shisui is because they're losing people. There's only so much land. No matter how wealthy, a prefecture can't keep bringing in refugees. The only reason they can is because the people who came before them are dead."

"Oh." Shoukei bit her lip. "So that's what it's about." She'd walked into this one with her eyes wide open, and had blindly thrown encouraging words around as well. If any among those she'd met before ended up going to Shisui, she'd have to apologize to them.

"I wonder what the Royal Kei is doing?" Why does she leave such monsters in positions of power? Wasn't Kei supposed to be entering a new era?

"Our Empress is no good," Kantai sighed.

Shoukei gave him a hard look. "No good?"

"They say the ministers at the Imperial Court lead her around by the nose. That's what happened to our last empress. She didn't care what happened to the kingdom. So she didn't care who governed us."

"Then why doesn't anybody tell that to the Empress?"

"Tell the Empress?" Kantai said, his eyes wide with surprise.

"If you're right, then she's got to be told the truth! Otherwise, they'll turn her into a puppet. Somebody's got to make her see the light!"

"You are--"

"If the Royal Kei doesn't know what state the kingdom is in, it's going to come back to hurt her. Ignorance will be no excuse. Her own weakness won't be an excuse. Somebody has to tell her!" So she wouldn't meet the same fate as herself. So she wouldn't meet the same fate as her father.

Kantai blinked. "Aren't you from Hou?"

Shoukei came back to her senses and reddened a bit. "Yes… but… it's like the Royal Kei isn't a stranger to me. I heard she was the same age as me." She looked down. "Somebody has to tell her! If she doesn't find out, who knows what will happen to the throne?"

"How would you go about telling her? She lives in the heart of Kinpa Palace in Gyouten."

"Indeed."

"Rather, spark a flame here in Wa Province, and she's bound to notice."

Shoukei raised her head and looked carefully into Kantai's gentle and smiling face.

"Light fires throughout all the provinces," he continued, "and she'll notice the embers burning at her feet. Don't you think?"

"I don't know."

This man had saved her life. He'd fought the soldiers chasing her and had given her shelter. Now he was a marked man as well. Why would he go so far? Because he'd been on the run from the beginning. Or he believed he was being pursued. At any rate, this man was preparing to raise the flag of rebellion against the province lord of Wa.

"I don't know, but I do know that something must be done. The state of things here cannot go on. Somehow or other, we've got to make the Royal Kei aware of conditions here."

Kantai laughed without a touch of cynicism or reproach. "I think so, too. Well, let's straighten things up here. Now, you don't have anyplace to go, right? So why not stick around a while longer?"

14-2

Suzu helped out doing odd jobs around the inn. On occasion, she transported goods on her sansui and delivered messages back and forth.

The sansui already disliked being ridden by anybody else but her. Koshou tried mounting up once, but got bucked off and very nearly walloped by a pair of hind legs capable of vaulting the walls of the city. Breaking a you-beast demanded the guts to go toe-to-toe (or hoof) with one, and fully training a pegasus required at least a decade. Its pride must be marshalled first. And only that tamed part of a pegasus would demonstrate a significant diminution of its assertiveness.

"When you get a bit better at mastering this beast… " said Koshou, gazing wistfully at the sansui.

"Me?" Gathering greens from the garden, Suzu stopped and looked over her shoulder at Koshou, who was sitting at the side of the well.

"A pegasus that's been really well trained will follow the orders its master gives it. The sooner you can become that kind of master, the sooner it will do what you tell it. Like, 'Let Koshou ride you.'"

"Well, I'll keep at it and see. It takes time."

"Sure does. When you've got a pegasus, riding a horse pales in comparison."

"Would you like a pegasus, too, Koshou?"

"Not that I could ever afford one. Talk is cheaper. Even if I became a soldier."

"Don't soldiers get pegasi?"

"Only if you rise really high in the ranks. And that depends on luck, but more on having the kind of connections that I don't have."

"Why not?"

"To get promoted, you need a good sword arm, sure, but you have to go to secondary school, too. The commanders of the Imperial Army all graduated from college, don't you know. On top of that, you've got to get commendations. Right now, the only way to get commendations is working for people like Shoukou and beating the crap out of farmers. That's not the kind of soldiering I care to do."

"I see."

"But it'd be nice if I could follow through on something like that."

"How so?"

Koshou tore his eyes away from the sansui and laughed bitterly. "When you're a soldier, you don't need to go to school, and it doesn't matter where you came from. If I could become a soldier somewhere, I could send Sekki away from Wa Province. He's got a good head on his shoulders, so I want to do what I can to make sure he succeeds in life. I want to take him away from here, but until he turns twenty, I got to find work somewhere. Even if I'm looking for a wife, he's coming along, too."

Koshou and Sekki didn't have parents. They'd been in the care of the orphanage until Koshou turned twenty. When he got his independence, Koshou took custody of Sekki. Unfortunately, Koshou had been born in Takuhou, and there was a surplus of land in Takuhou. Not because the amount of land was growing but because the population was shrinking due to the constant turmoil. Many farmers abandoned the land. The unluckier ones stayed and died.

Sekki was registered on the Takuhou census as well, so it was pretty much assured that when he turned twenty, he would get a partition in Takuhou. Even if he wanted to sell out and buy a shop in the city, land elsewhere was more valuable. Those landowners would have the upper hand when it came to making advantageous deals for themselves.

"If he hung in there and attended a local secondary school, it'd have to be a school in Wa. If Sekki demonstrated promise, he could go to university or at least the provincial academy and become a civil servant. But he'd still be stuck in Wa. Even if I found myself a wife and transferred my partition, Sekki couldn't come with me. That's how things stand now. To do right by Sekki, I'd have to become a soldier in another province, and Sekki would have to find a wife there as well… . "

With that, Koshou clapped his hands. "Well, Suzu, how are things going?"

"Oh, stop it." Suzu playfully hit Koshou with the basket she was gathering the greens with. "That kind of thinking isn't like you at all. Wouldn't it be better to make Wa Province a nice place to live by the time Sekki turns twenty?"

Koshou grinned. "That's for sure."

Sekki piped up, "Rather than what worries others, what about what worries me?"

At the sound of his voice, Suzu and Koshou started and turned to the main wing of the inn.

"For example, even if we went to another province, I wouldn't stop worrying about my big brother. Being short tempered and liable to fly off at the handle and all."

Sekki ignored the glare Koshou directed at him and smiled at Suzu. "It's just about lunchtime."

Most of the guests staying at the inn had some reason for being there, so the lion's share of the income was earned at mealtimes. The old man who stood guard in the kitchen was not without talent, and kept the tavern neat and trim. As a consequence, it had gained some small fame in this forlorn corner of the city. The clientele, though, was anything but "high class."

Because alcohol was served, bar fights were the norm. If Koshou wasn't there, things tended to get out of control. "Business has really picked up, thanks to you, Suzu," Sekki laughed as they prepared the noonday meal.

"Don't be silly."

"A girl is a strange sight around here. Many have returned, but women are still scarce in Kei. It's because the last empress had them all expelled."

"Oh."

"And because they were glad to get away from a dump like this, they're not eager to return. Those who know a craft or have some sort of ability aren't coming back. It's going to take some time."

After lunch, the only hangers-on were the same men who always hung out in the tavern. There definitely was not a woman in sight. Not a one. It was very odd.

And then she came into the tavern.

Suzu was wiping down the tables and stopped what she was doing. The girl wore a shabby-looking overcoat that made her look like a boy. But having met her before, Suzu knew at once she was a girl.

"It's you… . "

And that unforgettable crimson hair.

The girl's gaze fell upon her and her eyes widened. "You must be Suzu."

"Yes," Suzu nodded. "Thank you, for before."

The girl had tended to Seishuu when he was run over and killed. Since then, Suzu hadn't had the chance to express her gratitude.

"No need to thank me," the girl said, shaking her head.

Suzu pulled out a chair for her. "Please, have a seat. Do you want something to eat? I'll bring some tea."

Suzu hurried into the kitchen. When she rushed in, Sekki came to his feet. "Suzu, do you know her?"

"I don't really know her. We met once before."

"Oh," said Sekki, a dark expression briefly clouding his face.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. Go on and serve her. Until the regular crowd comes in, I'll straighten up here."

"Well, don't let me stop you," Suzu laughed. She filled a teacup and hastened back to the dining hall.

The girl was also examining the tavern with a similarly grim expression.

"Here you go." She placed the teacup down on the table.

The girl bowed slightly. "It's only you, today, Suzu? The last time I came here, a tall man and a boy of fifteen or so were here."

"You mean, Koshou and Sekki? Koshou is out on an errand. Sekki's in the kitchen. Did you come to see them?"

"No, not necessarily."

"My name is Suzu Ooki."

"Suzu Ooki," the girl repeated. Her name seemed to surprise her.

"Thank you for helping out on that day. I don't like to admit it, but I'm grateful for what you told me about Seishuu."

"The child?"

"Seishuu? He's buried in a cemetery outside Takuhou. He was originally a child of Kei. When Kei fell into chaos, he fled to Kou. When the new empress was chosen, he decided to come back, but then was killed. He's buried in Takuhou, but cannot rest in peace."

"I see," the girl said, with a bitter countenance.

"I met Seishuu in Sou. We sailed to Kei together. There were a lot of people from Kei on the boat. They all expected that things were going to get better, now that there was a new empress. But so far, things have been disappointing. Having a new empress doesn't change anything. The marquis and the governor haven't changed." Suzu asked, "And you are?"

"Youshi," she replied. "I live in Kokei."

"Kokei. Ah, in Hokui. Next door in Ei Province. Is Ei a nice place?"

"More or less," she mumbled.

"I wonder if Kei is pretty much the same everywhere. But it's got to be better than Takuhou."

Youshi didn't answer.

"Life can be tough no matter where you live. But I do think some kingdoms are better off than others. I know there are places like that. I came from Sai. The Empress of Sai is a good person. Kingdoms not blessed with good rulers are pretty pitiful."

"Yeah," Youshi nodded.

"I have to wonder what the Royal Kei is doing, you know? Maybe she doesn't even understand the state her kingdom is in."

"She's a puppet," Youshi abruptly blurted out.

Suzu leaned forward. "Eh?"

"She's not terribly competent. Since she isn't trusted by the ministers, there's not much she can do. And not much she can get them to do. So her best recourse is to shut up and do as she's told."

"Really? You seem to know a lot about Gyouten, Youshi."

Youshi shook her head. "Just rumors."

"Rumors, huh. Just like the previous empress, those in government are left to their own devices, and she remains deaf to the cries of the people. That's why she banished the Marquis of Baku."

"What?" Youshi said.

Suzu furrowed her brows. "Even though the Marquis of Baku is a really good person, the Royal Kei still forced him out of office. He was loved by the people of Baku. But at the same time, she gives the Marquis of Wa a pass. It really is astonishing."

"Yes it is." Youshi stood up. "Sorry, but I won't be staying for dinner."

"Oh. Was it something I said?"

"No. I was passing by, and decided to drop in and see how things were going. I wasn't that hungry to start with."

"Will you come again?"

Youshi smiled thinly and nodded.

After Suzu saw her off, she tilted her head to one side and put down her cup. She noticed that Youshi hadn't even touched her tea. She said to herself, "I wonder if she got fed up with all the chit-chat."

There really weren't that many women in Kei. It was even rarer for her to meet a girl her same age. She had the feeling she carried on a bit more than usual.

Puzzling over this, she went to the kitchen and found Sekki and Koshou loitering in the doorway.

"Oh, you're back."

"Suzu, who was that girl?" Koshou asked, a grave expression on his face.

Suzu answered with a shake of her head. "Somebody I met before. She said she lives in Hokui."

"Hokui."

Sekki looked up at Koshou and said, "Rou's house, remember?"

Koshou nodded. Again with a fierce look, he grasped her arm. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing in particular."

They hadn't talked about anything unusual, that was for sure. Her complaints were no more severe than what people in Takuhou said instead of the usual hellos and goodbyes.

"She didn't have anything to say?"

"Not especially. Ah, she did talk about the Empress in Gyouten."

"Did she strike you as well informed about Gyouten?"

"I don't know, but… she said it was all rumors, though she seemed pretty knowledgeable of the place."

Koshou glanced at Sekki. Sekki nodded. "We'd better move, then."

"Eh?" said Suzu, turning to Sekki.

"She was here before. It was like she was looking for something. If she has a detailed knowledge of Gyouten, then she probably is from Gyouten."

"And that means… ?"

"There are rumors intimating that Shoukou and Gahou have a free rein because they've got the Royal Kei watching their backs. If somebody was sent from Gyouten to check out the situation here, then those rumors may be true."

Sekki nodded at the surprised Suzu. "Get your things together. Better safe than sorry. We'll leave here and move in with some friends of ours."

"But… . "

"That girl was no ordinary person."

14-3

To Rangyoku, it was a day like any other, save the fact that Youshi had been gone now for ten days.

"When's Youshi coming back?" Keikei asked in a bored voice.

Rangyoku smiled. Keikei was lonely. Since the other children at the orphanage had died, he really did have a lot of time on his hands.

"Is Youshi gonna get married?"

"You mean, move in with that guy she went to see? Who knows."

Youshi couldn't get married until she had legally come of age, but common law marriage was not prohibited. If she had parents, they would have to approve, but Youshi didn't have any parents.

"Even supposing she did, she couldn't move away until she turned twenty."

As she explained this, Rangyoku found herself strangely doubting that what Keikei had proposed was true. Though Youshi was supposedly an orphan, Enho treated her more like a guest. And being a guest, she would be leaving before long.

Rangyoku had Keikei help her clean the dishes and wipe off the shelves. After straightening up the kitchen, she glanced over her shoulder at Keikei and said, "Good work. It's about time for tea. Why don't you call Enho?"

"Okay," Keikei said with a big bow, and ran off toward the study.

Rangyoku watched as he scampered into the main hall, smiling. She was proud of her little brother. He was smart and kind, a hard worker. Everybody who met him said so. Even Enho said that after elementary school, he'd recommend Keikei to the prefectural academy.

Pleased with herself, Rangyoku laughed as she arranged the utensils. She heard the door to the main wing opening.

"Enho, would you like some tea?"

No one answered. Rangyoku looked up and glanced toward the doorway. She froze. Several men stood there, men she had never seen before.

"Yes?"

There were six of them. At a glance, they seemed like ordinary men, but there was an air of danger about them. Unconsciously, Rangyoku took a step back.

One of the men shut the door and stood in front of it, blocking the way.

"Who are you? What are you doing--?"

Her inquiry cut off mid-sentence. A man produced a dagger from inside his jacket. Rangyoku screamed and spun around. Heavy footsteps pounded after her. Her arms were pinned from behind.

"What are you--"

A hand covered her mouth. The man holding her nodded to the others. The men positioned themselves next to the door.

What is going on? Who are these men?

The light footsteps padded down the hallway. It was Keikei. Rangyoku's eyes opened wide. The door started to open. In the same instant, she twisted free with all her might and screamed, "Keikei! Run!"

Her feet were scooped out from under her and she crashed to the floor. She lifted her head and looked at the doorway. Her small sibling stood there petrified.

"Run! Keikei, Run!"

With startled eyes, Keikei turned to run, but the men closed on him faster. One effortlessly dragged Keikei toward him and struck him with his fist. No, not a fist, he was holding a knife in his hand.

"What's this!" came Enho's voice, and the sound of his feet.

At the same time, her eyes fell on Keikei body, like he had just decided to sit down. Right above his belt, the handle of the knife.

"Keikei!"

Something struck her hard in the back. Rangyoku screamed and curled into a ball. At the same time came a shooting pain and she screamed again.

PAGE 156

She raised her head and saw Keikei kneeling there, his head almost touching the floor, and Enho running up behind him.

"Enho! Keikei!"

Before Enho reached Keikei, the men rushed at him and grabbed his arms. Enho shook himself free, knelt and picked up Keikei's body. With remarkable strength, he clasped Keikei against his chest, cast her a glance that spoke volumes, and headed toward the courtyard.

"Enho… run… . "

A man blocked his way. With Keikei still in his arms, Enho turned and ran in the direction of the study, the men in pursuit.

Why? Why is this happening?

Keikei.

Rangyoku planted her hands and got to her feet. Swaying, she turned toward the doorway.

Enho.

She heard the sounds of running, the pounding of footsteps from deep within the rike. She dug her fingernails into the walls and staggered down the corridor, gripping the handrail. Should she rush outside to get help? She hesitated, then continued on down the hallway, clinging to the railing.

Keikei.

She ran with a lurching jog, ignoring the burning pain in her back. She came to the walk between the guest room and the study and found Keikei and Enho lying there on the floor.

"Enho!"

"Rangyoku, get away from here!"

"But!" She looked down at her brother crumpled on the floor. The small pool of blood was growing. Keikei didn't move, not for her cries, not for her tears.

This can't be happening.

"Rangyoku!"

She came back to her senses. The men rushed at them, weapons in hand. Instinctively, she turned and ran sluggishly down the corridor. A blade struck her in the back, the impact driving her to her knees. She rolled to the floor, picked herself up, ran on. The weapons slashed at her feet, slammed against the back of her neck. She stumbled into the closest doorway.

Safe haven.

It was the guest room. Her eyes fell on the door to the bedroom. She reached out and crawled toward it.

The lock.

As Rangyoku opened the door and plunged inside, she felt another sharp shock of pain in her back. Ah, she sighed. Something warm flowed down from the back of her neck and across her chest. She grabbed hold of a shelf and collapsed, unable to support herself. A small box tumbled off the shelf and fell open next to her.

It's Youshi's, she thought listlessly. What a strange girl. Now there'll be nobody at the rike at all. Enho will be lonely.

"Enho!"

She'd left him behind. What would become of him now?

What did we ever do to them?

The sight of her brother lying in a pool of blood pained her far more than her own blood gathering around her. He was still so small. Such a good kid. The only person left in her family. When their parents had died, they had joined hands and gone on living together.

What a sad kingdom this was. Being born in Kei was such a pitiful fate. Kei had killed their parents, had tried to banish her, and in the end even pursued them to this orphanage, where at last they had made a peaceful life for themselves. Kei was in such chaos that hoodlums and thieves had a free rein.

Youshi, Rangyoku thought, unconsciously tightening her grip on the small square of cloth in the palm of her hand. Strike down Keikei's killers. Show them no mercy.

There was a hard object in the cloth. Dazed, she stared at her hand and saw gold glimmering between her fingers.

What's this?

A golden seal with an engraved face.

What's it doing here?

Heavy footsteps approached. Rangyoku tightened her grip around it, to hide it from the assassins. A second, a third sharp pain pierced her back.

The Imperial Seal of the Royal Kei.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Help us, Youshi. Please. The way you saved us from the Kyuuki.

Save us, and save the people of Kei.

14-4

"You may leave."

Keiki spoke softly to his shirei. The two youma wordlessly vanished. Kokei and Hokui were visible not too far off in the distance. As usual, they had alighted in a forest a safe remove from the highway.

Keiki's lord stood next to him, sullen and silent. What kind of person is the Marquis of Baku? she had asked.

Something happened in Takuhou. He did not know what she'd heard there, but when she came to where he was waiting outside the city, that was the question she'd posed to him. Keiki hadn't entered the city. The smell of death was too overwhelming.

Youko had returned in something of a rage. He hadn't inquired of the shirei who'd accompanied her as to the specifics of the situation. He had no idea why Her Highness asked such a question with such vehemence, and she wouldn't reveal her real intentions.

"Your Highness has been fully informed, has she not?"

"I haven't. That's why I asked."

"You dismissed Koukan knowing nothing of his temperament?"

Youko had no ready answer.

"I recommended to Your Highness that she act only after making a thorough investigation, that she not rely solely on the word of her ministers. And yet, at this juncture, you pose such a question to me?"

"And investigations were done. Koukan refused to cooperate with the pretender because he had designs on the throne. He envied me and tried to assassinate me. The plot was revealed and he fled."

"Yes, that is how things stand."

"But now I hear that Koukan is beloved by the people of Baku."

"And I have heard such things as well."

"Then why wasn't I told!"

"I shall look into the matter. However, had I deigned to defend Koukan, would Your Highness have listened to me?"

Youko again was at a loss for words.

"In terms of protecting Koukan, I asked on many occasions that Your Highness reconsider his dismissal. Did you not value the words of the ministers over my advice? I said I did not think Koukan was the man being so described. Why ask me at this late date, having already dismissed him?"

"What do you think of him?"

"He struck me as a capable man, though I have only met him twice. That was the impression he left upon me."

"Dammit, Keiki!"

"Shall I take that to mean you have amended your opinion of him? Among others, you have the words of the ministers, the testimony of the witnesses, and my own advice. Did you not consider all points of view?"

"Enough already," she spat.

Traveling from Takuhou to Kokei, she didn't say another word. And now she stared sullenly at Kokei.

"Your Highness, the gates are closing."

"I know," she growled.

"Is Your Highness upset with me?"

She was standing with her back to him. "No." She shook her head. "I'm just pissed at myself."

Keiki sighed. His words were not sufficient. It was not that he was sparing with his words, but that they were never appropriate to the moment. Only afterwards would he realize their insufficiency.

"I do apologize."

"It's not your fault." She glanced back at him, a confused smile rising to her face. "Sorry for losing my temper. You know me, flying off at the handle at all."

"I should have said more."

"Naw. I wouldn't have listened. Sorry about all that. Let's go."

The expression on his lord's face urged him on, and briefly Keiki found himself smiling. The resolute heart of a forgiving lord gave him much cause to rejoice. But at the same time, his thoughts were tinged with longing and regret.

No, said that youthful and dearly-missed voice. I won't jump to conclusions. Better to ask you directly. Keiki stared at the darkening indigo heavens. That kingdom over yonder skies.

Youko thought as they walked back to Kokei, I am so incomplete in so many ways. And not trusting Keiki was first on the list.

"You heading back?" she asked as they passed through the gate.

Keiki looked up at the sky. "I believe there is enough time to say hello to Enho. I will return afterwards."

"That's the kind of guy Enho is, huh?"

"Indeed he is." A worried look flashed across his face. "He was originally from Baku. A man well versed in the Way, in logic and in reason. To tell the truth, I received a request from the Marquis. There were those who envied Enho's popularity and the great regard in which he was held, and wished him harm. Consequently, I received a communique from the Marquis requesting that he be transferred to Ei Province."

"From Koukan. I see."

And fearing that Youko nursed a grudge against him, Keiki had not revealed this to her. Considering all this, she laughed in self-derision. I really do have some ways to go.

Turning these thoughts on her mind, she turned the corner adjacent the rike and continued on several paces when Keiki suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What is it?"

"I smell… blood," he said, his forehead deeply furrowing.

Youko examined their surroundings. It was a town in winter and the streets were deserted.

"You're kidding." She felt a thump in her heart and took off running. She ran through the gate into the rike, sprinted into the main hall and froze.

Drops of blood dotted the floor.

The living room was empty. She felt no other presence in the rike.

"Rangyoku! Keikei!"

The trail of blood continued on down the hallway.

"Enho!"

She ran toward the back of the rike. At her feet, a youma appeared, saying, "The enemy is not here." She acknowledged the voice and kept running. Turning a corner, she found Keikei, collapsed in the corridor.

"Keikei!"

Youko raced up to him and fell to her knees. A knife was buried deeply in the small body. When she touched him, there seemed to be no energy left in his body at all.

"Keikei!"

"Do not try to move him." Youko looked back at Keiki's grimacing face. "There is still breath in him. Hyouki, take the child to Kinpa Palace."

"We won't make it in time," the low voice said.

But Keiki nodded and said anyway, "If the occasion requires it, I shall carry him and go on ahead."

"By your command," came the gruff answer.

The red panther materialized beneath Keikei's body and hoisted the child onto its back. At the same time, a woman with white feathered arms appeared and bore him up.

Youko said, "Hyouki, Kaiko, please do this for me."

She looked around. The blood continued on into the guest quarters. Following the trail, she arrived at her own room. The floor was smeared with blood and gore. In the face of the horror, Keiki faltered and could not proceed.

"Keiki, don't push yourself. Get out of here."

"But--"

"Look after Keikei for me. Get him to a doctor. There's not a moment to lose."

"Yes, but--"

Heedlessly, Youko entered the living room. She noticed that the door to the bedroom was open and headed toward it. Inside was the body of a girl.

"Rangyoku!"

Youko ran up to her, put her hand on her shoulder, and immediately withdrew it. She covered her face with her hands. "Why?"

Rangyoku was dead.

Youko couldn't begin to imagine who could hate Keikei and Rangyoku enough to kill them. Rangyoku's back was covered with countless wounds. She could not begin to grasp a reason for such brutality.

"Why did this happen?" She tore at her hair and then suddenly lifted her head. "Enho?"

"He is not here," said Hankyo.

"Not here?"

"Nowhere in the rike. I have searched every nook and cranny. Neither Enho nor his corpse."

"How do you know?"

"I smell three different bloods. He would seem to have been wounded. I conclude he was kidnaped."

Youko bit her lip. Several nights before, a number of men had surrounded the rike. Perhaps men who had come to see Enho, men with dark faces. Perhaps men from Takuhou. It wouldn't necessarily have changed anything if she had been able to connect the dots, but it grieved her that she hadn't been able to protect them.

"Rangyoku, I'm sorry," she said, stroking her back.

Youko straightened Rangyoku's tangled hair. Her hands were clasped together beneath her body. It struck Youko as such a piteous posture that she pulled her arms out from under her. Her right hand was tightly curled into a fist. From the shape of her fist, it was obvious she was holding onto something. Youko took hold of the still warm hand and gently pried open the fingers. The golden seal tumbled out.

"Oh, Rangyoku."

Youko looked at the seal and at Rangyoku with wide eyes. In the end, had she grasped what it meant? She wouldn't have had time check the impression on the seal. Even if she had, with her wounds, and the fact that the impression was the mirror-image of the characters themselves, would have made reading it difficult, if not impossible.

As Youko pondered this, she also considered the significance of how Rangyoku had hidden it, beneath her body, trying to keep it from being discovered. And the only people she could be hiding it from could have been the killers. But why had she hidden it? Because it belonged to Youko, because it was made out of gold. Or both.

"Rangyoku… thank you." She didn't want to cry, but couldn't hold back the tears. "I am so sorry."

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If she hadn't left the rike, she could have protected them.

"Hankyo, where is Keiki?"

"Returning to the palace."

Youko nodded. At the very least, Keikei alone must survive. If he did not, mere condolences would hardly be enough.

A child also died in Takuhou.

Biting her lip, Youko looked down at Rangyoku. She bowed her head to the floor. "This sorry excuse for an empress truly begs your forgiveness."

15-1

A moonless night. The wind roared. Not a light was on in the rike. Youko sat listlessly in the empty main hall. Keiki had transformed into a unicorn and was bearing Keikei to the palace. Keikei was still alive. But whether or not he could be saved depended on the doctors.

Hyouki said, "The Taiho is not well."

Youko nodded.

"What happened here?" the town manager had asked, when he saw Rangyoku's body. He covered his face with his hands. "And Keikei and Enho?"

"They're not here," was Youko's only reply.

What would she do if he died? And if he lived, how would she explain his sister's death? And Enho's absence?

The elders didn't have to say, "You should have been here." She knew that well enough herself. If she'd been here, three people would not have met such terrible fates.

She said to Hyouki, "Please tell Keiki I'm thankful for all he's done. Take all due care with Keikei."

"By your command. What shall be your next move?"

"I'm going to look for Enho."

"Empress--"

"I do have some idea about what I'm doing. No matter what, I will find Enho and apprehend the brigands who did this."

"The Taiho will worry."

"Tell Keiki he can rest assured I won't do anything reckless, but I just can't sit around here twiddling my thumbs."

"That is what I shall communicate to him."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

Hyouki's voice ceased. In the dead calm, the sound of wind filled the main hall. There was no one here to light the fires. The girl who worked so diligently keeping the coals stoked and the warm steam rising from the stove, she was not here. She would never return again.

Youko picked up the sword she had cast onto a nearby chair. The Suiguu-tou, the Water Monkey Sword, Imperial Regalia of the Kingdom of Kei.

The great power of a youma's soul was sealed into its blade and scabbard. If she could master it well, the sword would show her the past, the present, and the future, and that which was far from her. The sword could also read the human heart.

Youko drew out the sword far enough to expose the blade and stared at the gleaming steel. This sword had, in fact, been smelted from water, and changed its shape according to the lord who possessed it. The Royal Tatsu created the Suiguu-tou. At first, the sword had no scabbard, and resembled a long-handled scimitar. The Royal Tatsu christened it the Suikan-tou, or the Water Smelted Sword. Knowing of its powers to befuddle its lord, the Royal Tatsu later fashioned a scabbard to bind it. Since naming it the Suiguu-tou, its shape had changed with each new monarch. Now it rested in her hands as a plain sword.

Even as an axe, or a stave, the scabbard must attend to that shape. Without the scabbard, it had the mysterious power to turn on its owner. Yet Youko had lost the original scabbard, leaving only its dead shell behind. The scabbard in its current form had already proved incapable of sealing the sword's power.

I should probably call it the Water Smelted Sword from now on.

Although the Winter Ministry had created a new scabbard for the sword, it had done little to check its power. Far from it, when removed from the binding force of the scabbard, the sword ran wild, tormenting her day after day. Even now, Youko could not control the sword, experiencing nothing but cryptic visions and nightmares.

The ministers all silently reproved Youko for losing the precious scabbard, a crown jewel without peer in the known world.

Youko stared at the blade. Finally, she sighed. "It's no good." She could see no sign of Enho anywhere in the visions that emerged from the sword. "Hankyo," she said.

"Yes," he answered from the darkness.

"I'm going to sleep for a while. Please wake me up before the gates open. I want to set out for Takuhou first thing in the morning."

"By your command," the voice alone replied.

Early in the morning, Youko entered Hokui and went straight to the residence of the man named Rou. The strange, shrouded man had led her to Rou. At his place, she'd also observed the big man she'd seen at the inn in Takuhou. The men who had some time ago surrounded the rike were also from Takuhou. Youko had to believe they were all involved one way or another.

Trudging through the fierce winter air, she finally arrived at Rou's residence, and after wandering about for a while, knocked on the front gate. The inside of the residence was deathly silent. She was pounding more determinedly on the door, when an old man passed by in the street.

"What with all this noise at this hour? Rou's not here."

Youko glanced back over her shoulder at the melancholy face of the old man. "Not here?"

"Plum disappeared. Probably took off in the middle of the night. Don't know what's going on, but what with all those shady character coming and going, I'm sure something was afoot."

"When was that?"

"It's been a while, now. Say, about a half a month ago."

Half a month ago had been when Youko first came here. "Would you happen to know any of these men who were coming and going? I'd like to know where he went."

"Hard to tell. At any rate, every last one of them looked to be up to no good." Then something came to him. "There was this creepy-looking fellow who came by now and then. Rode a real fine horse. Looked like a man trying hard not to be seen."

"He wore a shroud over his face?"

"Yeah, that's one way to describe it. A man about forty, I'd say."

"About forty." Youko couldn't think of anybody meeting that description.

"So, was this Rou up to something?"

"Not that I know of."

"Hmph," the old man snorted. "Sure seemed to me he was up to something. He wasn't from around these parts to begin with."

"He wasn't originally from Hokui?"

"Not hardly. Fall of last year, he showed up and settled down here with hardly a 'Hello' 'How do you do' to anybody in the neighborhood. Best not to get involved with that sort. Definitely not good people."

"I see." Youko thanked him with a nod of her head.

She left Hokui and called Hankyo. He was among the fleetest footed of all the pegasi. Traveling by means of the tonkou, he could get there all the faster, but Hankyo couldn't carry her through the earth with him. She had to ride.

From a discreet place along the highway, she mounted up and in a flash had arrived at Takuhou. She dismounted near Takuhou, passed through the gate and headed to the inn she'd already visited twice already. There had to be connection there.

The men who'd been spying on the rike had returned to Takuhou. The first time she'd come here, the men at the inn had struck her as a dangerous and formidable sort. She couldn't risk trusting them. As for the shrouded man and the man named Rou, she was already out of leads. The man at the inn, who'd been to Rou's place in Hokui, she had no choice but to doubt him as well.

She ran down the alleyway, heavy with stagnant air, and stopped in her tracks. The inn was there as she remembered it. She approached the entranceway and put her hand on the door.

Curiously, the door didn't move. The windows facing the thoroughfare were tightly shuttered. She knocked lightly on the door. Just as at Rou's place, there was no answer.

What is going on?

She hit the door with her fist, then turned and hurried over the house facing the inn and pounded on the locked doors. "Who's that?" came the immediate answer. A man in his fifties poked out his head.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering about the inn."

"Ah," said the man, glancing across the street. "They appeared to have closed up shop."

"Closed? I was here yesterday and it was open."

"Late last night, they packed up and left."

"Last night… . " Youko clenched her fists. "And that big guy was one of them?"

"Oh, you mean Koshou? Yeah, he is a big fellow."

"And a boy of about fourteen or so."

"Sekki, you mean. He's Koshou's kid brother. Did you come to see Koshou?"

"Not them. I came to see a girl, Suzu."

"I see," said the man, suppressing a yawn. He scratched at the back of his neck. "The girl with the sansui. They all left. Sorry, but I didn't find out where they went. Who are you, anyway?"

Youko answered with a slight nod, turned and walked away. She heard the man's angry voice behind her, but she didn't look around. Yesterday, hadn't Suzu said that Koshou was out? Hadn't she said that he'd be back?

Koshou had gone somewhere. Why close the inn and disappear? The rike had been attacked at the same time.

"Koshou… . "

She couldn't believe these events were unrelated. They attacked the rike and then absconded. At any rate, it'd be ridiculous to ask whether Suzu would be returning. She asked herself, "What the hell should I do now?"

The shrouded man whose presence caused Enho so much grief showed up at Rou's house. He'd met Koshou there. These men, also involved with the rike, had returned to Takuhou. Koshou, Sekki, the kaikyaku Suzu, and the child who had died in Takuhou--she simply couldn't see how they were all connected.

"I've got to find Koshou."

It was too soon to give up. Koshou, Sekki, and Suzu--Suzu had a sansui with her, and a sansui could be tracked.

"I'm definitely going to find them."

15-2

The house where Shoukei made herself useful was frequented by thirty or so people on a daily basis. At least fifty had stayed there at any one time. Moreover, they were also all clearly associates of Kantai.

Calling them mercenaries was no exaggeration. Many rode as bodyguards with the caravans arriving at and departing Meikaku. However, an equal number were holed up at the house, apparently waiting for something to happen. They didn't seem employed, but a significant number of them came and went quite frequently. Kantai didn't have a job. He was in charge of those at the house.

"Are you stuck here because you helped me?" Shoukei asked him one day.

Kantai shook his head. "No, I'm just a lazy bum."

With a lot of time on their hands, the boarders often jousted with swords and lances. Kantai didn't participate. For the most part, he only watched. But there was no doubt that the leader of the pack was Kantai. They paid him deference, and used polite language when addressing him. Shoukei was treated as his guest. Shoukei worked for her rent, but hardly anybody except Kantai asked her to do anything. Her impression was that a great variety of people had taken advantage of Kantai's offer of lodging, but what they really had in common was an animus toward Gahou, Province Lord of Wa.

A kind of self-made knight in shining armor.

They were a defiant and disciplined group of errant knights, united in opposition to Gahou. Shoukei got that much. From the way Kantai looked after them, she had a hunch there was more to it than that, though.

Where does the money come from?

He must have been raised in a wealthy household. Only that could account for the indifferent manner in which he spread the cash around. Perhaps, it occurred to Shoukei, all these mercenaries were in fact working for Kantai. Or perhaps Kantai himself… .

Pondering these things as she filled the cistern in the courtyard, the sound of horses' hooves came from the frontage of the building. Through the open main gate she saw a carriage drive up. A man stepped down from the carriage. A shroud covering his head and his face hidden from sight, he entered the gate. He took it upon himself to shut the doors. He finally raised his head and she heard the sound of the carriage departing.

"Um--?" Shoukei said.

He lowered the shroud to his shoulders, revealing a man in his forties. There was a great aura of authority about him. "And you are?" he asked, in a deep voice.

Keeping her doubts to herself, Shoukei replied with a slight bow. "I do odd jobs around the place. And who might you be?"

"I came to see Kantai. Is he in?"

"Ah, yes."

The man nodded, and without further ado, headed toward the main wing. He showed no signs of wishing Shoukei to get Kantai for him or show him the way. Shoukei hurried after him.

"Um, excuse me, but how should I address you?" Shoukei knew that this was a residence that anybody and everybody were free to enter when they wished. But even without anybody saying so, she also clearly got the sense that a person of unknown provenance could not simply wander in off the street. "Are you a friend of Kantai's?"

Shoukei placed herself in his path, blocking his way. The man smiled. "I see. He finally found himself a capable handmaid. My name is Saibou. Please announce my presence to Kantai."

I'm not a handmaid, Shoukei said to herself, running up the stairs. She was almost to the living area when Kantai came out. "Kantai--" she said.

"Right," said Kantai, with a nod of his head. No doubt he'd heard her voice from the courtyard. He bowed his head low. Saibou nodded in a mindful manner, climbed the stairs, and entered the parlor.

"Kantai, that man is--"

"Yes, of course. I'll introduce you. Hold your horses."

She trailed after him. Perhaps, it now occurred to her, Kantai had been hired by somebody, and that somebody was this Saibou.

The parlor was right off the main hall. Hanging on the back wall were two banners decorated with Chinese characters. Between them was a decorative scroll. Below the scroll was a shelf, and in front of the shelf were a desk and two chairs. This was the study of the master of the house, but Saibou sat down as if he owned the place, and greeted Shoukei and Kantai.

"You hired yourself an interesting girl, there."

Kantai smiled. "I didn't exactly hire her," he said, and briefly explained how she had come to join them.

"I see," said Saibou with a small smile. "A girl with pluck. But I take it she was less than familiar with the risks of throwing a stone at a government official in Wa Province."

"Not necessarily. She's a refugee from Hou."

Saibou leaned forward and looked at her. "From Hou. Where were you born?"

Shoukei hesitated a moment, deciding whether to be honest and say Hoso, the capital of Hou, or Shindou in Kei Province. "Hoso," she said.

"Shoukei of Hoso. Huh." He didn't pursue the matter further. "So, Shoukei, do you understand what kind of people are gathered here?"

"I have a pretty good idea."

Saibou nodded. "Wa Province is a reflection of the temperament of Marquis Gahou. He oppresses the people, disregarding the honor of the Empress and the will of the kingdom. Corrupt retainers who would shake the roots of Kei cannot be left to their own devices."

"Yes."

"By all rights, the Empress should direct the affairs of the kingdom, but our new monarch has not been on the throne long, and the Royal Court is in the back pocket of officials who took advantage even before the Late Empress Yo-ou. Having been enthroned for barely half a year, it is doubtful that the current Empress has the means to resist them. Taking control of the court and extending the rule of law to the Nine Provinces by itself would be next to impossible. On top of that, the Empress is a taika, and knows little of Kei."

Shoukei nodded.

"If we investigate Gahou here, and raise a stink about the chaos in Wa Province and about Gahou's misrule, the Empress is bound to pay more attention to the suffering in all the Nine Provinces. And when she deigns to start paying attention, we shall petition her with all of the resources at our command."

"I understand."

"For the good of Wa Province, more than toppling Gahou, more than anything else, the Empress must be made aware of conditions here in Wa. Not overthrowing Gahou would be acceptable if the Empress were able to judge the situation correctly. Otherwise, we will no doubt be named enemies of Gahou and the crown, and will be destroyed. In light of all this, will you still stand by Kakutai, Shoukei?" Saibou addressed Kantai as "Kakutai."

Shoukei tightened her hand into a fist. "Yes. I truly believe the Royal Kei will recognize our cause." She had to believe, because of the way Rakushun cared so much about her. Even having attained the throne in her unfinished state, an Empress who worried so much about whether or not she was fit for the role should be nobody's fool.

Saibou smiled. "I see. Our guest from Hou believes in the Empress. There's something ironic about that."

"And you don't believe in her?"

"Because there are those who believe, I would like to as well."

"Eh?"

Saibou didn't respond, but rapped lightly on the desk. "In any case, we welcome you, Shoukei. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"And I yours."

Next to her, Kantai tilted his head quizzically. "You didn't come all the way here to see Shoukei, did you?"

"Of course not," Saibou smiled. "Yes, I did have something I needed to do. I came to tell you, Kakutai."

"What is it?"

"A man by the name of Enho, the superintendent in Hokui, Ei Province--more specifically, the town of Kokei--has disappeared."

"By disappeared, you mean--"

"Yesterday, the rike in Kokei was attacked and a girl was murdered. Her younger brother and the superintendent were apparently kidnaped. Nothing was stolen from the rike. I have no idea why it was attacked. Men had been observed hanging around the rike. The word is, they were from Takuhou."

"Takuhou."

"Yesterday in Takuhou, the gates opened after sunset to admit a single carriage."

"Yes, of course."

Shoukei looked up at Kantai. "Meaning?"

"There is another beast in Takuhou, a man by the name of Shoukou. The gates could only have been opened after they were closed on the orders of somebody very high up. In the case of Takuhou, the first name that springs to mind is Shoukou. Turn over that rock, and you will definitely find Gahou there."

"So Gahou commanded Shoukou to kidnap the superintendent?" asked Shoukei.

Saibou smiled thinly. "Let's not rush to conclusions. That's what I'd like you to investigate."

"Oh. Yes."

"And one other thing. A package will arrive here tomorrow. I'd like you to deliver it to Rou in Hokui."

Kantai replied with a ironic smile. "Rou moved to Houkaku. Seems there was someone sniffing around his place."

Saibou furrowed his brow. "Rou moved?"

"I'm sure he'll fill me in when we deliver the goods."

Saibou nodded. "It's a shipment of winter weapons, twenty pieces. I shall leave their disposition to your good offices."

Kantai bowed low. "By your command."

15-3

Koshou and company moved to a brothel in the southwest corner of Takuhou. It was a brothel only in name. With so few women about, there weren't many left to do the entertaining. The remaining working girls had moved to higher class establishments in the eastern part of the city. The only ones who remained were two women well past their primes. Like the madam, they were friends of Koshou.

The character of a city depended a great deal on where you were. In most cases, the urban centers bordered the government offices to the south, with commercial markets located along the loop road. For both markets and residential areas, the low rent districts were found in the west, and trended richer toward the east.

"In fact, urban neighborhoods are supposed to be located in the northern section," Sekki instructed Suzu. The two of them were cleaning up around the forlorn brothel.

"Why?"

"Don't know. It seems to have been that way in older cities. That's what it says in really old books: the government compound is located in the center, and the commoners' residences are built to the north. In such a city, the west would enjoy a higher social status than the east. But most cities are the exact opposite."

Suzu said, "In all the cities I've been to, the most crowded areas are in the south, family estates in the center, and mausoleums and temples in the north."

"That's how it is, isn't it? You very often find that things are the opposite in cities that have been around for a long time, that haven't met with disaster. At some point, it all got turned upside down. It really is quite odd."

"Are you interested in things like that, Sekki?"

"Yeah," Sekki nodded, as he washed the cooking utensils.

"It's too bad you had to quit school."

"Yeah. But I don't think this is the time to indulge such thoughts. It would have been nice to be born in an era when a worthy empress resided in the capital and the kingdom was at peace, but that's just the way things are."

"It would have been nice to have been born in En or Sou."

Sekki smiled bitterly. "Unfortunately, imagining doesn't make it so. I was born in Kei. At the end of the day, you're born where you're born, and you can only change so much after that."

"You really do have a good head on your shoulders, Sekki. I understand why Koshou is so disappointed in the way things have turned out."

"I do worry about my big brother. It's in his nature to get more upset about what happens to others than to himself. He's always making other people's fights his own. But taking on something this big is amazing."

Suzu stopped what she was doing for a moment and blinked. "You don't agree with what he's doing?"

"That's not what I mean. But as much as the people of this town make my brother mad, he doesn't get mad at Shoukou. In other words, if he got really worried and started thinking seriously about how to dispose of Shoukou, he'd conclude it'd be better to go on living and putting up with whatever came his way."

"I get that." Suzu gazed at her hands. Getting injured always hurt. After a while, you reflexively became afraid of the pain. So you soldiered on in order to escape the pain. But at the same time, the soldiering on began to feel like an accomplishment, when nothing was actually changing.

Sekki sighed. "But what if my brother attacks Shoukou and fails? Shoukou will become enraged, and life will only get worse for the people of Shisui. The people of Shisui, in turn, will hate my brother."

"That's probably true."

"That's why it's just too risky to leave him to his own devices. But I really don't know if I'm being a help or a hindrance."

Sekki grinned mischievously. Suzu smiled as well. At that point, the aforementioned Koshou appeared. Suzu and Sekki exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. What's up?"

Kousho beckoned to Suzu from the kitchen door. "Sorry, but I have a job for your sansui."

"You need to transport something?" Kousho often had Suzu carry goods to villages in the surrounding areas.

"Yes, but this time it's a bit further. A two-day journey to the east by horse cart, there's a city called Houkaku. Here's a map. Go to Rou's place. He should have the items we've requested."

Hansei Rou and Kousho were old friends.

"I understand."

"I'm sure Rou will do a good job packing them, but even if stopped by sentries, we cannot permit this shipment to be opened. If they were, they're bound to be stolen."

"These are items you don't want anybody to see?"

Kousho nodded. "Winter weapons."

Suzu stiffened at the mention of the term.

"They're pretty heavy, but not that bulky. Once they arrive, at the very least, we need to get these winter weapons into the skilled hands of a minimum number of our group."

Suzu nodded. "That's fine. I'll be going, then."

The next morning, Suzu left Takuhou and headed east on the main highway. On a sansui, the trip took half a day. Suzu arrived at Houkaku by noon. Houkaku was as big a city as Takuhou. Houkaku was the capital of Rouya prefecture, which was next to Shisui prefecture.

According to the map Kousho had drawn, Suzu looked for a house in the southwest part of the city. She found there a broken-down dump of a residence. The main gate facing the street was tightly shut. When she knocked on the gate, a fifty-something man with odd, mottled brown hair appeared.

"Who is it?"

Suzu bowed, greeting him as Koshou had instructed her. "I've come from Shikin, county of San, in Baku Province."

The man eyes suddenly fell upon her hands, focusing on her ring finger. "Come in."

Rou was cooperating in Koshou's cause, but he wasn't an intimate member of their group. The greeting was not used when seeing friends, but to establish Suzu's bono fides as a trustworthy ally.

Through the door was a narrow courtyard. At the back of the courtyard was an old house no wider than the yard, a small building no larger than a shack. Suzu led the sansui into the courtyard. The man closed the gate behind her and said, "I'm Hansei Rou. Koshou and I hail from the same home town."

"Yes. I came to pick up the shipment."

"Right," Rou nodded. He said with a grim expression, "That is the case, but the shipment in question hasn't arrived."

"Eh?"

"Today, I was supposed to get two separate shipments, but neither has arrived. I'm sorry, but perhaps I could ask you to wait?"

"Okay," said Suzu. Koshou had told her to follow Rou's instructions after she got here.

"If the shipments arrive this evening, I'll have to ask you stay overnight. The place is a mess, but there is a room where you can sleep. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"It's fine. No problem."

"You might as well sit back and relax. I'll get water for that fine horse of yours. Would you like some tea?"

"Sure," Suzu said, with a nod.

Rou wasn't a handsome man, but proved to be a good talker. They sat down at a stone table and watched the sansui munching on the feed and conversed about this and that.

"So you're all the way from Sai? That must have been one long trip."

"I came most of the way by ship."

"What do you think of Kei? Must be pretty cold compared to Sai."

"I was with a troupe of traveling entertainers for a while, so I've been all over the place."

"How about that."

A knock came at the gate. "And now they show up!" Rou playfully scowled. He opened the doors. After exchanging a few words with the visitor in a low voice, a girl about Suzu's age appeared, leading a horse. Her hair was mottled like Rou's but a dark blue color. It struck Suzu as quite extraordinary.

"Well, at least twenty have arrived," Rou said with forced smile. He showed the girl to the table. "Why don't you take your time as well?"

"But--" the girl said, glancing up at him.

"Sorry," said Rou. "Without all thirty pieces, this girl isn't going to pay me. And without that money, I can't pay you."

Suzu raised her voice. "If that's the case, I can pay--"

Rou raised his hand, cutting her off. "No. My place, my rules, and that's not my line of business. I'm the broker, not a dealer."

"Oh, okay."

Rou grinned and glanced over his shoulder at the girl. "That being the case, you'll have to wait for a while. Save your complaints for the tardy party. Would you like some tea, too?"

"Thank you," she nodded.

Suzu gave her a good, long look. From the bone structure of her face, she could tell she was a beautiful woman. They were about the same age. At Rou's urging, she sat down in one of the stone chairs and glanced at Suzu. Her gaze quickly moved onto the sansui.

"A sansui," she said.

Suzu leaned forward. "Are you familiar with sansui?"

"I've seen one or two before."

"Oh. I'm from Takuhou. I'm Suzu. And you are?"

"I came from Meikaku. My name is Shoukei."

"We seem about the same age. How old are you?"

Shoukei seemed to mull the question over momentarily. "Sixteen."

Suzu was about to say that she was, too, but hesitated. What was the best way to describe her age? She was swept into this world at the age of fourteen, twelve by the way birthdays were counted here. After that, she'd wandered hither and yon for four years, and then had become a wizard. That would make her sixteen, more or less.

"I'm the same age," Suzu said. Shoukei tilted her head to one side, but said nothing more. Suzu said, "Shoukei, are you a subject of Kei?"

"No. I'm from Hou."

"Hou? The northwest kingdom in the Kyokai?"

"Yes. One of the four Outland Kingdoms. How about yourself?"

"I'm from Sai. We've both come from far away kingdoms."

"Indeed," laughed Shoukei.

Suzu felt herself relaxing. "This is nice. It's not often that I've gotten to meet a girl my same age in Kei."

"That's true. So why have you traveled so far to get here?"

Suzu pondered the question. She'd set out on her journey for any numbers of reasons, and all of them were dead and gone. Her past desires had no relationship to who she was now. "Oh, this and that."

"This and that brought you all the way to Kei?"

"Well, first of all, I heard that the Empress of Kei was a girl my same age--"

Shoukei eyes blinked and opened a bit wider.

"--and that she was a kaikyaku like me."

"You're also from Yamato?"

"Yes, that's right. With no place to call my own, I thought I'd call the kingdom of a fellow kaikyaku my home. Does that make any sense?"

Shoukei looked at her, her face blank with surprise. Finally she laughed and said, "Me, too."

"Eh? You're a kaikyaku?"

"No. I also came to this kingdom to see the Royal Kei--"

Suzu gaped at her.

"--because she was an empress the same age as me."

"That's weird. So the two of us, from Sai and Hou, came here to see the Royal Kei, and just happened to meet."

"Sure seems like it."

"Wow."

"You're not kidding."

Suzu and Shoukei giggled. "Hey!" came Rou's voice behind them. "No carrying on personal conversations!"

Suzu looked back with surprise, Rou was standing there, teacups in hand, and a sour look on his face. "No private chitchat between people who meet here. My place, my rules."

"Oh… sorry."

"I'm a broker of things, not of people. People who use my services are people with a reason for being here. No shady types set one foot inside the gate. And whatever reasons the two of you have, best you not know too much about each other."

"Sure," said Suzu, with a shrug of her shoulders. She glanced at Shoukei and caught her looking the same way, and for a moment their eyes met.

15-4

The next shipment didn't arrive until just before the gates closed. As Suzu and Shoukei couldn't leave Houkaku, they had no choice but to stay the night at Rou's place. They ended up sleeping in a small room furnished with a divan and a bed without a canopy. Two people in a space meant for one.

"Which one do you want? The bed or the divan?"

"Either's fine."

"Then you take the bed. I'll sleep on the divan."

"You don't have to do that."

"I'm returning on the sansui. Meikaku is way to the east, isn't it? And you've got to go back by horse, right?"

"Meikaku is only a day's ride by horse."

"You should take the bed, then. It's only a half-day ride for me."

Shoukei thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "Thanks. To tell the truth, it'd be nice for a change. I've been sleeping on a couch for so long."

"Really? Well, great then."

The two girls grinned at each other.

"Suzu," Shoukei asked, "what do you do in Takuhou?" And then quickly added, "Maybe that's the kind of thing I'm not supposed to ask."

"Let's pretend we didn't hear anybody say that."

They both giggled, the private laughter filling the small room.

"Oh, I do odd jobs around the inn. How about you, Shoukei?"

"Same here."

"So how did you come across--" those weapons, Suzu started to ask, and thought better of the question. They were probably getting a bit over their heads with a subject like that.

But Shoukei leaned forward and answered. "It is out of the ordinary. Do you know what's in those crates?"

"More or less."

"Winter weapons. To be used how? And there are thirty of them. Not things you can easily lay your hands on."

"Did the people you got them from say what they would do with the weapons?"

"I was only asked to make the delivery."

"Me, too."

A moment of silence followed, the two of them exchanging glances. Shoukei smiled first. "I haven't the slightest idea. It is unusual, amassing winter weapons like that. But somebody with money must be behind it."

"Yeah. I guess we've been told only what we need to know."

Shoukei tilted her head to the side and looked at Suzu. The girl from Takuhou was taking back a shipment of thirty winter weapons. The price of those thirty would be approximate to that of 300 ordinary weapons.

From Takuhou. "Then perhaps the target is Shoukou?"

Suzu waved her hands in denial. "No, it can't be."

"The man who sent me here is gathering mercenaries instead of winter weapons."

Suzu's eyes flew open. "Gahou."

"Undoubtedly. Are you thinking the same thing I am?"

"Sure seems like it."

The bedroom fell into silence. Suzu sat down on the divan and sighed. "The kid I was traveling with got killed by Shoukou."

"Really?"

"Why can a public servant like Shoukou get away with things like that? Shisui really is an awful place."

"I've heard rumors."

"Those rumors are only half as true as reality. Seishuu--the boy I made it all the way to Takuhou with--he didn't do anything wrong. He was killed for getting in the way of Shoukou's carriage. I was so angry. When I try to imagine people looking the other way when things like that happen, I get so mad I can't stand it. But Shoukou--"

"--has got Gahou watching his back."

Suzu blinked. "You know that for certain?"

"That's what everybody says: Gahou and Shoukou are two peas in a pod."

"No doubt they are. I'd sure like to see Shoukou and his ilk get what they deserve. With the Royal Kei looking out for Gahou, nobody's going to try and punish Shoukou. That's why we've got no choice but to take the initiative ourselves, right?"

"I don't agree."

"Eh?"

"I don't think the Royal Kei is doing anything like protecting Gahou. Isn't that what the Late Empress Yo-ou did, you mean?"

"It was true of the Late Empress Yo-ou, and the current Empress, too--"

"The person who brought me here said that the Royal Kei simply doesn't know about things like that."

"But--"

Shoukei looked intently at Suzu. "When I was in Ryuu, I met a friend of the Royal Kei."

"You what?"

"One of her closest companions. I can't believe she's that bad of a person. She wouldn't protect Shoukou or collude with Gahou."

"Maybe not--"

"The Royal Kei has only recently acceded to the throne. There's got to be a lot she doesn't understand. I think that's what it comes down to."

"Ignorance is no defense. She's the Empress, after all."

Shoukei gave Suzu a long, hard look. Then she said, "My father was the king."

"He… what?"

"The Royal Hou. Three years ago his subjects rose up and overthrew him."

Suzu gaped at her.

"My father was detested by the people. The result of all that hate was regicide. They hate him even now, and there's nothing I could do to change that. But even with a father like that, watching him die hurt terribly. Probably as much as it hurt when Seishuu died."

"Yes."

"In order to prevent my father's death, before the hate grew so intense, I should have remonstrated with him. I loathe myself now for not doing so. What if all the people surrounding the Royal Kei are naive dunces like I was? She'll be hated as my parents were. There were people who even said that I condoned my father's sins." Shoukei lowered her gaze. "I don't know what's really happening. But if the Royal Kei is surrounded only by those kinds of people? My father was chosen by Hourin. He couldn't have been doomed from the start. But when the people around him tried to warn him and couldn't get through to him, he ended up parting from the Way."

Suzu examined the longing look on Shoukei's face, an expression that brought to mind another person she'd met recently: She's a puppet.

"You're right," Suzu said. Shoukei tilted her head quizzically. Suzu continued, "I met somebody else who said the same thing. Only rumors, but the word was that the Empress doesn't have the trust of her retainers and can't get them to do anything she wants. So her only recourse is to do what they tell her to do."

"Yes, indeed."

"You think that's really what's going on?"

"I've heard that most of the ministers at the Royal Court are from the era of the Late Empress Yo-ou. I think you can guess what kind of people they are. The same ones who stood by while Yo-ou fell from Way before their very eyes."

"But the Royal Kei dismissed the Province Lord of Baku. Wasn't he beloved by his people?"

"Standard practice for corrupt officials. Of course, beasts like Gahou and Shoukou would conspire against an accomplished and respected man like the Marquis. They'd cook up some crime to frame him with."

"But--"

"There's a superintendent in Ei Province by the name of Enho. I've heard that he's highly knowledgeable of the Way. The rike where Enho was superintendent was attacked. The attackers killed a girl and kidnapped Enho. A gang was hanging around the rike, and rumor has it they were from Takuhou. I've also heard that the same day Enho was assaulted, even after the gates were closed, they were opened again."

"You're kidding." Very few people could order a city gate reopened after it was closed. "It must have been Shoukou."

"He's the only one who could pull off something like that, don't you think? Just like the people around the Royal Kei could engineer the downfall of the Marquis without breaking a sweat."

Shoukei looked into Suzu's eyes. Her big eyes suddenly brimmed over. Shoukei watched her silently.

"The Royal Kei… she's a good person?"

"I have to think so. The way you asked, do you not like her?"

Suzu shook her head. "It'd be such a relief is she were."

"Suzu?"

"I wanted to see her. I thought for certain she must be a good person. I met Seishuu on the ship from Sai. He was in a really bad state, and I was worried sick about him. I told him we'd go to Gyouten together… . "

Suzu spoke his name in such a grief-stricken voice it made her heart ache.

"But he was killed by Shoukou. Anybody who'd let a beast like that run free, who'd protect him, wouldn't have done anything for Seishuu if I had taken him to Gyouten. So what did I bring him to Takuhou for? Just to die?"

"Suzu--" Shoukei said, taking hold of her hand.

"He was such an unfortunate kid."

"Yes, he was."

"If we had gotten to Gyouten, the Royal Kei would have helped him."

"Of course."

Shoukei stroked the back of the sobbing Suzu. She wept like a child. It was enough to break her heart.

I only wish you could understand.

That was all she desired to say to the Empress in Gyouten. Shoukei didn't know whether or not the Royal Kei could have healed Seishuu. She wished--

I only wish you could understand how all the hopes of the people rest upon your shoulders.

16-1

Shoukei picked up the reins of the horse. "Are you going straight back to Takuhou?" she asked Suzu, who was holding the reins of her sansui.

"Yes," said Suzu.

"I hope we meet again."

Suzu answered with a nod.

Where do you live-- Shoukei almost asked, but swallowed her words. They'd talked about so much. She had the feeling they'd talked about things that would bring a scowl even to Kantai's face. Nonetheless, she and Suzu knew the limits of what they could say to each other.

"It was really nice being able to meet you," said Suzu, looking on the verge of tears.

Shoukei nodded firmly. "We'll definitely see each other again, after everything settles down."

"Yeah."

With that, they averted their eyes and mounted up. "Later," they said to each other, and separated on the main highway to the east and to the west.

A day's ride brought Shoukei to Meikaku. She wrapped her shawl loosely around her head as she approached the gates. Though the search for the stone-throwing girl had been called off for the time being, she couldn't be too cautious. The guardsman gave her a once-over, but paid her no particular attention.

In Meikaku, or rather, in the cities of Hokkaku and Toukaku that had grown out of Meikaku, the criminal element was prevalent, and even if very few of them went around throwing stones at officials, the authorities couldn't go on chasing Shoukei forever.

The merchant caravans found themselves thrown into this cauldron of refugees and the teeming poor. It was hard to believe they didn't find it completely disorienting. With nothing to eat, and with no other recourses, starving people would attack wagons hauling grain shipments and were arrested by the police. That they weren't dragged off to the main square could be considered a salvation of sorts, but nobody knew where they were held.

According to the mercenaries, even when highwaymen were arrested, they could win release by greasing a few palms with their share of the loot.

The poor and downtrodden joined gangs that teamed up to attack the caravans, knowing that if they were arrested they wouldn't be punished. Even if their hard-won proceeds were confiscated, and they were lucky enough not to get arrested, at least the pressing hunger would be alleviated. And even when the caravans hired bodyguards, they surely couldn't protect every piece of cargo. Looting and plunder that began in poverty was bound to repeat itself over and over.

A training ground for thievery, that's what Kantai said. Every time he caught one of these self-made highwaymen, the stolen merchandise went to the Provincial Guard. It was never returned to its rightful owner. That was how Wa Province enriched itself.

Traders were aware of this, but had no choice but to go through Meikaku. Smaller merchants formed their own syndicates and hired mercenaries. They bribed provincial officials and demanded that the authorities enforce the law. But depending on what was being transported, there weren't any guarantee that their own bodyguards wouldn't turn on them. In fact, it was hardly uncommon.

Strongmen with the slightest confidence in their abilities gathered from the outlying districts to find work. The competition led to bloodshed over and over.

Shoukei sighed, dismounted from the horse, and walked through the gate.

"So you're finally back. You're late."

Kantai was addressing a number of men when she entered the main hall. When he saw her, he waved the men off. The men got up and left to a separate wing.

"One other shipment didn't arrive," said Shoukei, and forthrightly informed him about what had transpired. She handed Kantai the money she'd gotten from Suzu via Rou.

"That's unfortunate. Did Rou say anything more about his move to Houkaku?"

"There was a girl--" Shoukei knit her brows. Kantai had asked her to inquire into the subject, and she had been told something about it.

"What?"

"Apparently there was a girl checking out Rou's place in Hokui."

"That's all?"

"About the same time he was meeting with the people in Takuhou. A little while later, the same girl visited them in Takuhou. After that, Rou was warned that it'd be a good idea if they moved."

She related the account as she'd heard it. She leaned forward. "So, what kind of man is this Rou?"

"A good man with a good heart. In short, he's an associate of Saibou."

"And what about Saibou? He's the one who hired you?"

"Not the case here. He's somebody who helped me out in the past. Let's leave it at that."

"Saibou helped you out? Or one of his superiors?"

Kantai eyes opened a bit wider and he smiled thinly. He motioned for her to get a chair and sit down next to him. "What do you mean, 'or one of his superiors?'"

"That's the sense I got about him. It seemed to me that Saibou-sama was working for somebody, too."

That was the impression she'd gotten from a word here and there. Somebody had asked Saibou to deliver the message to Kantai. Saibou had no faith in the Empress, but the man who sent him did.

Kantai answered with another wry smile. "I see, a woman's intuition."

"Of course. And?"

"This is the case. Except that nobody's been hired by anybody. Saibou-sama owes the man a debt, and I owe them both. We all agreed that something must be done about Wa Province. To be sure, I get financing through Saibou-sama, but only because the war funds have been entrusted to him."

"Meaning that Saibou's superior is the person in charge? Enho, perhaps?"

Kantai smiled softly. "I don't know Enho, either. Beyond that, don't ask because I won't tell."

"Ah," said Shoukei, closing her mouth on the subject.

"There are men who live apart from society and teach the Way. Through their words, they attempt to keep the kingdom on the path of righteousness. I think Enho is one such person. I couldn't say for certain, though. There are those who try to keep the kingdom true through their actions. Those who arm themselves, as I do, resolved to support like-minded individuals through intermediaries like Rou. In this kingdom, there are many who lament what Kei has become. Not just us."

"Well… yes."

"The same way we have Gahou in our sights, in Takuhou there are people targeting Shoukou. Yes, I see. So there are some men with backbone still living in Takuhou."

"I met the girl from Takuhou. She took the winter weapons back with her."

Kantai furrowed his brows. "If they're amassing winter weapons, then they must be getting ready to strike."

"I think so," said Shoukei, dropping her voice. She had to wonder if Suzu was okay.

"Rou is one of Saibou's old acquaintances. No, better to call him an old classmate of our superior. They both attended the Evergreen Seminary in the western province of Baku."

"A seminary? Is that like an academy?"

A great deal of self-study was required in order to gain admittance to university. To supplement that self-study, students often asked learned men to tutor them, and learned men would in turn open private tutoring schools, or juku.

"The Evergreen Seminary was a kind of private academy that teaches not worldly knowledge, but the Way. Rou is a graduate of the Evergreen Seminary. Because it wasn't an academic juku, anybody could attend. Graduates of the seminary would not necessarily become public servants. But if the kingdom strays from the Way, these paladins will turn out in force."

"I see."

"Saibou and our superior graduated from the Evergreen Seminary as well. That is probably how they got to know each other. In any case, Evergreen Seminary is known throughout Kei, with many calling it their alma mater. Though not anymore."

"Not anymore? The Evergreen Seminary?"

"It was struck by arsonists a year ago. The instructors were murdered and the lecture hall destroyed. The head of the gang was apparently a drifter, a refugee, but he was killed moments before being arrested. Somebody was pulling the strings behind the scenes and made sure he wouldn't talk. Nobody knows who, though."

"Why?"

"Because some people aren't happy about the teachings of the Way. When a kingdom begins to falter, the followers of the Way are the first ones to turn their critical gaze on the government."

"I see," said Shoukei, lowering her gaze.

"Evergreen Seminary was located in the city of Shishou, San county, in Baku Province. In the past, it was called the city of Shikin. Several centuries ago, a Wizard of the Air by the name of Rou Shou appeared there. He was the legendary wizard who rose to wizardhood according to his own virtue, and then went among the people and taught the Way. Nobody knows whether a man named Rou Shou really existed or not. San County was already famous as the home of many ministers and paladins. The citizens of San County are understandably proud of their hometown boys, and when the kingdom lurches off in some crazy direction, they're the first to raise a stink. As the center of it all, the Evergreen Seminary no doubt caught the worst of backlash."

"The Province Lord of Baku also came from that area?"

Kantai gave her a surprised look. "The Marquis? I wouldn't know. Why him, all of sudden?"

"The girl I met at Rou's place said something to that effect. The people of Baku loved the Marquis, but he was dismissed, anyway."

"Yes, I see." Kantai smiled thinly. "The Province Lords are not necessary children of their own provinces. Gahou was originally from Baku Province."

"Gahou was?"

Kantai answered with a troubled smile. "You will find both devils and angels everywhere you look."

16-2

"You're back!"

The cheerful cry arose from the decrepit brothel in a corner of Takuhou. Having brought the shipment home safely, Suzu was bombarded with praise.

The crates were opened and winter weapons of various sizes taken out and inspected. These valuable weapons had been collected from all of the kingdoms. Buying one or two was one thing. But more than ten, and an arms dealer would definitely suspect a rebellion in the making. Putting a large cache of weapons together without considerable connections would have been well-nigh impossible.

"Thirty swords, twenty lances we had on hand from before, thirty bows and a thousand arrows--our entire stash." Koshou looked at everybody gathered in the hall. "I know that eighty winter weapons are hardly anything divided among our thousand comrades. I'm sorry, but this is the best we can do." His voice echoed in the silent room. "I'm also aware that going up against the governor with a mere thousand comrades-in-arms is something of a joke. Afterward, we will have no choice but to appeal to the people of Shisui and ask them to join our cause."

"We'll be fine!" somebody called out. "Once we raise the head of Shoukou, all those who cowered before him will surely come to realize that it is not too soon to give up the fight. I'm sure that's how the tide will turn."

In a corner of the hall, Suzu felt herself shiver. The man's words sounded more like an attempt at self-persuasion. When she glanced at Sekki, standing next to the man, he had a look of forbearance on his face that no doubt matched her own.

Suzu vaguely believed that things would turn out all right for Koshou. But she didn't know if Koshou and the rest of them understood that things weren't fine at all.

"Sekki!" Suzu sought out Sekki from the men exiting the hall. She caught him by the arm and dragged him into a nearby dusty guest room. "Is Koshou really okay with this?"

Sekki leaned against the wall and shrugged. "I have to think so."

"Are a thousand really enough?"

"More than enough to take out Shoukou. He's got a hundred guards at his private residence and take no more than fifty with him when he's on the road."

Suzu sighed in relief. "So one way or another--"

"The problem is what comes afterward."

"Afterward?"

"If we can bring down a provincial governor and end up with twenty men who can still wield a sword, we'll consider ourselves lucky. It's not our intent to take out Shoukou merely for our own self-righteous satisfaction, and then run away as fast as we can."

"It isn't?"

Sekki countered with an ironic smile. "That's what criminals do, Suzu."

"Ah--"

"If we assassinate Shoukou and go on the lam, the people of Takuhou will be thrown into the maelstrom. Shoukou's colleagues within the prefectural castle walls will surely not let the matter rest short of coming after us. This is our opportunity to execute a most meritorious deed. But Shoukou and his underlings who have been living the good life along with him are all birds of a feather. They will surely put the people of Takuhou on the rack and root out the wrong-doers. That's why our object is not to strike at Shoukou and then quietly fade away."

"But if you don't--"

"Those underlings of his will be made to understand who we are and why we did what we did. While contending with those seeking retribution against us, we will attempt to flee to a neighboring province."

"Won't a thousand be too few to accomplish that?"

"Laughably so. Three battalions of five-hundred provincial soldiers each are stationed in Takuhou, along with a thousand prefectural guards and five hundred praetorians."

"That many--"

"Not only that, but our opponents will be trained in warfare, while there are few among us who can wield a sword with any skill. On top of that, as time passes, troops will no doubt be sent from Meikaku. After a few days, if only provincial troops end up garrisoned in the vicinity, I'd estimate three thousand. It's even possible that all four divisions of the provincial guard will end up on our doorstep."

"You can't possibly--"

"If the people of Takuhou do not act in concert and resist them on our behalf, we will all die."

"This is insanity! To what end?"

"To raise the banner of revolt. Killing Shoukou is not the goal. His death is not the end of our cause. After that, the people of Takuhou must show their mettle."

"But--"

"There is no other course. If you cannot condone Shoukou and others of his ilk, then raise the banner of revolt, and let the ministers and all the higher-ups know that we will not stand for their kind any longer."

Suzu pursed her lips. "You're right."

"You are free to leave."

Suzu shook her head. "No. I'm staying right here."

16-3

Youko paced the streets of Takuhou. Her best lead was the trail left by Suzu's sansui. But it was not a well-known species of pegasus, and after beating the pavement and asking around, neither she nor the people she questioned were any wiser as to the nature and fate of the creature in question.

Although she'd asked Hankyo to look for the sansui, he was not likely to ferret out the creature in a city of this size in such a short space of time.

Koshou, Sekki, Suzu. All she had were those three names. No more clues than these? She asked Koshou's neighbors about his whereabouts, but nobody would answer her questions. Clearly, most if not all of them were hiding the truth from her.

She talked to many people, asking about Koshou, and couldn't but become aware of the despondent expressions on their faces. A child had died in this city, and its citizens had watched the carriage drive away, pretending that nothing had happened. She saw that same mind set everywhere she went. What are you looking for him for? she was asked over and over. Even when she explained about the attack on the rike, she was told, "Well, that's too bad," and with those words of consolation, they crossed the street to get away from her.

No consciences were stirred, and no one showed the slightest inclination in helping her. Far from it, the only attention she received was from those warning her to lay off.

What has happened to this city? she thought, passing through the gate of an inn. "Excuse me," she said, and proceeded to ask if anybody there knew a man named Koshou, or if Suzu or Sekki had stayed here before. It stood to reason that a fellow innkeeper might know. Having moved, though, Koshou could be lodging anywhere. But she had no good grounds on which to proceed. She was equally aware of the possibility that he might have simply left town.

"Don't know," the innkeeper bluntly replied.

"Is that so? Thanks, anyway."

She stepped outside and lingered for a while in front of the establishment. While she'd been talking with the innkeeper, Hankyo had surreptitiously checked inside for any you-beasts quartered there.

"None," came the faint whisper when he returned.

Youko nodded to herself. She had started for the next inn along the way when a voice called out behind her. "You looking for somebody?"

When she turned around, a man was coming out from the inn after her. At a glance, he struck her as anything but an upstanding member of society.

"That's right. Do you know a man named Koshou?"

"Koshou, eh?" The man motioned her toward an alleyway next to the inn. Without a word, Youko followed him.

"So what's this Koshou to you, anyway?"

"The rike in Kokei was attacked. I'm looking for some connection between him and the criminals who did it. If you know anything, tell me."

The man leaned against the wall. "You got any evidence for what you're talking about?"

"No evidence. That's why I'm looking for him."

"Huh," the man said. His eyes fell to Youko's waist. "Some sword you got there. You know how to use that thing?"

"It's for my own protection."

"Really." The man straightened himself. "Can't say I know a thing about anybody named Koshou. But if this Koshou was some kind of criminal, you don't expect that he'd still be hanging around here, do you? He would have flown to coop long ago."

Youko looked up at the man's face. He knows something, she thought to herself. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I usually am. You can't go chasing around after people without any evidence. It could be this Koshou's no criminal at all."

The man scratched at the back of his neck. Her eyes fell on his rough hands and her attention focusing to a point.

"While you're traipsing around asking questions like this, you're bound to run into some real villains. Could get dangerous, don't you think?"

A ring. A ring that didn't match up with the man's overall appearance.

"Don't go looking for trouble. Leave that to the authorities."

Koshou, Youko remembered. Koshou wore a ring just like that one. And so did the kid who'd stopped him from roughing her up. And the girl, Suzu, who'd served her tea.

"Shouldn't go around wasting folks' time like this," he said with a flippant wave of the hand.

He turned on his heels. Youko strode toward him. He glanced back at her suspiciously. She caught him by the shoulder and spun him around.

"You---"

Grabbing him by the collar, she slammed him into the wall, pressing her shoulder against his back. The man bellowed. She laid the tip of the blade against his neck. "Would you like to find out whether or not I can use this sword?"

"---bitch."

"Where did you get that ring?"

The man squirmed and pushed her away. She firmed her hold on the sword. The tip sank a few millimeters into his flesh. "Quit moving unless you want get hurt a lot worse."

The man's head nodded forward and he caught his breath, sending a shiver down the length of the sword. A slash of red appeared from a section of the streaked, stained wall above his head. The forefoot of a beast grew out of the wall, extending its claws atop the man's head. His cheek pressed against the brick, the man grasped something of what was happening and cast her a beseeching, sideways glance.

"You know who Koshou is?"

"I don't."

"You're lying. Look, my arm's getting tired. You'd better have something to say before my hand starts to shake too much."

"I don't know!"

"All I want is to sit down and talk. The way you're holding out makes me think that both of you are criminals."

"You've taken leave of your senses!"

"Now you're just pissing me off. Talk."

A moment passed.

"Koshou isn't that kind of man."

"And if we can sit down and talk about it, then hopefully I'll agree with you."

"You're wrong. Believe me."

"Take me to his place. Then I'll have reason to."

"Okay, okay," the man groaned.

At the same time, the forefoot of the beast vanished. Youko drew back the tip of the sword. Sensing no resistance from him, she released her hold.

The man placed his hands on the wall and shook his head. With the hand bearing the ring, he wiped the back of his neck, looked at his palm, and grimaced. "You would go this far? You're crazy, woman."

"And you'd better keep your promise. Try anything funny, and next time this sword will cut you for good."

16-4

The man led Youko to a block in the southwest quadrant of the city, to a row of inns that had really gone to the dogs. The green paint had mostly peeled off the faded, soot-stained walls. This turquoise color was rare, specially reserved for buildings used as brothels.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Don't get snooty," the man replied. "You'll understand once you meet Koshou. That's why I brought you here. Don't start distrusting me now."

They entered the brothel. Immediately inside the brothel was a small dining hall. Hardly anybody was there. An old man hurried out to meet them. Following behind her guide, Youko stood with her back to the door and watched as he and the old man exchanged a few words.

The man retreated into the back room. Soon, in his place, emerged the man she'd met before.

"So, it's that girl again."

"And you're Koshou?"

The man nodded. He gestured toward the dining hall with his chin. "Have a seat. But a meal costs even more than it did before."

"I came here to ask you a few questions."

"So sit. I've got no reason to cross swords with you."

Youko hesitated, spotting two or three other men poking their heads out from the back room. But not sensing in the least any impending assault, she nodded and took a seat.

"You were in Hokui."

Koshou sat down opposite her. "I was. As I recall, I was leaving the house of an associate of mine."

"You didn't say so before."

"I've got reasons of my own for holding my tongue. I'm telling you now, so give me a break."

"For quite some time, a suspicious character has been coming by the rike. The man who led him there was Rou."

"The rike?" Koshou asked, disbelievingly. Her guide and the old man were also at a loss for words.

"The rike in Kokei. I've been staying there."

"Whatever the case, Rou is an intermediary. It's rare for him to extend his services to people, but not so rare for him to be around running errands. Rou and I go way back. I guess you didn't know that."

"Before the rike was attacked, some men seemed to be checking the place out. They returned to Takuhou."

"Attacked? The rike in Kokei was attacked?"

Youko nodded. Koshou was so truly astonished that she almost shook her head in wonder.

Koshou glanced back over his shoulder. "Somebody go get Suzu!"

"Youshi--"

Suzu's eyes opened wide when she saw Youko sitting there. Before Youko could speak, Koshou said, "Suzu, when you were in Houkaku, didn't you hear talk about somebody getting kidnapped?"

Suzu nodded. "There was talk about a rike in Eishuu being attacked and the superintendent kidnapped."

"What was the city? And the name of the superintendent who was kidnapped?"

"I didn't get the name of the city. As for the man's name… I know it was mentioned, but I can't recall."

"Enho," Youko interjected.

Suzu nodded forcefully. "Yes, that's right. It was Enho."

Koshou turned back to Youko. "Enho was kidnapped? Really?"

"Do you know him? Enho?"

"My little brother has attended his lectures on occasion. I went with him once. To be sure, it was Rou who made the introductions. Enho is a renown scholar, so I wanted him to meet my brother."

"Brother--oh, the boy I met before? Fourteen or so?"

"That's right, Sekki. You really don't know where Enho is? Was anybody at the rike injured?"

Youko took a breath. Koshou truly looked as if this had all hit him from out of blue. That being the case, the trail for the real criminals had again run cold. "A girl was murdered."

"That would have been Rangyoku?"

Youko nodded. "Shady types had been hanging around the rike, and everything I knew pointed to you. To make matters worse, after the rike was attacked, you packed up and left."

Koshou smiled at the irony. "We had things on our hands as well. Not something to make a big deal about, but people snooping around puts us on edge. There was this suspicious character who came around twice. We didn't like the way the wind was blowing, and pulled up stakes."

"Where did you go?"

"Not far off. That was the same day the rike was attacked?"

Youko nodded. "Sometime between noon and sundown. Probably about the same time I was talking with Suzu, or just after."

"I was in the inn the same time you were. I returned when you were talking to Suzu."

"Eh?" Youko said, looking at him.

"You were talking about the Marquis of Baku. You seemed awful suspicious to me. I spied on you from the kitchen." He spoke with the same wry smile.

"It was Shoukou," Suzu said in a low voice. Youko turned to her. "That day, after the gates of Takuhou closed, a wagon returned to the city and the gates were opened again to let it in."

"I see," she heard a small voice behind her say. She glanced back over her shoulder. Sekki was standing there.

"You--"

"Have you thought about why Enho would be targeted?"

"No," Youko answered honestly.

"What kind of person is Enho?"

"I know that he was originally a citizen of Baku. That's all."

Sekki nodded. "He was connected with the Evergreen Seminary in Baku Province. He wasn't an instructor, but I've heard that he consulted with people in a similar capacity to that of a teacher. Beyond that, I don't know much more."

"The Evergreen Seminary?"

"In the middle of the city in San County. A highly respected private school dedicated to the teaching of the Way. Last year it was raided by arsonists. The school was destroyed and all the instructors killed, but a number of people managed to survive. Rou has mentioned that he was attending the Evergreen Seminary, so I'm sure he has some connections to it."

"So all these people who came to visit Enho--"

"Most likely, yes. Rou earnestly asked that this not be divulged. Even today, people connected to the Evergreen Seminary are being hunted down."

"Hunted down? Why?"

Sekki answered plainly. "Because it's a thorn in the side of those who have fallen from the Way following after their own selfish desires."

"Men like that--"

"Men like that can't abide people knowing about the Way. Neither can they abide it when they take up the reins of government. You see, if they can't completely surround themselves with people just like them, who claim not to give a damn about Virtue or the Way, they'll be deposed sooner or later."

"But--"

"I've heard that the Marquis of Baku attended the Evergreen Seminary as well. Because they found the existence of the Marquis so intolerable, they plotted to unseat him. Those who followed the pretender on one side, and the Marquis--who opposed her--on the other. If he turned out to be right, then all those who followed her would lose their place of power. So they whispered half-truths in the ear of the Empress and entrapped the Marquis. Such is the nature of the lot we are dealing with."

"Indeed," Youko said, placing a hand on her forehead.

"According to Rou, the attack on the Evergreen Seminary came at the instigation of the vice-minister in the Shisui Prefecture Ministry of Summer."

"What?"

"We asked for further details, but nobody would talk, so we only heard this second-hand. But the criminals who attacked and burned the Evergreen Seminary were said to be itinerants, coiled snakes that crawled out of Takuhou. Right after the attack, the current vice-minister, a mere itinerant at the time, was promoted to the ministry. That's some promotion. The criminals and the vice-minister were surely acquaintances."

"Shoukou, you mean."

Sekki nodded. "The vice-minister was pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the mastermind was surely Shoukou. I have no idea why Shoukou should so despise a seminary in Baku Province. But if he knew that survivors from the seminary were in Hokui, he would make every effort to finish them off. That's the kind of man he is."

Youko looked at the face of the boy who was relating all this so calmly. "So Enho is perhaps in Takuhou?"

"The possibility is high. Whether alive or dead, I can't say."

Youko jumped to her feet.

"Hey, where you going?

She stopped at the sound of Koshou's voice. "I'm going to rescue him."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"I have to!" She owned him that debt of moral obligation and respect. Rangyoku was dead and Keikei lay at death's door. Only Enho could she save.

"Stop!"

Koshou grabbed her by the arm. She jerked herself free of his grasp. Sekki stood in front of her, blocking the way. She took him by the shoulders and pushed him to the side.

"Youshi! Wait!" Suzu's shrill voice froze her in her tracks. "Shoukou has dozens of guards at his beck and call. His carriage entered Takuhou, but do you have any idea where he went? Or the many places Shoukou could be imprisoning his detractors? Don't go leaping before you look."

"But--" Youko started to say, when Koshou again took a hold of her arm.

"We have associates constantly keeping an eye on Shoukou. I think they'll know where that troublesome carriage ended up."

"Associates?"

"We've been on his trail for three years. There's not a day that goes by when we don't know what the bastard's been up to."

"Koshou--you--" Youko scanned the faces of men in the dining hall, whose numbers had at some point swelled to a dozen or more. "You are--?"

If she'd thought it through, this was the conclusion she should have come to. There was no way Suzu's malice toward Shoukou would have abated in the least.

Koshou lightly clapped Youko on the back. "You're packing a helluva weapon there, but can it cut a wizard? Or should I ask, can you wield a sword that will cut a wizard?"

PAGE 235

Youko smiled thinly. "To the bone."

Koshou sent off a messenger, who returned past midnight. Koshou looked at the people assembled in the main hall. "The carriage entered the prefectural castle. As you all know, of late, Shoukou hasn't left his official residence at the castle."

Youko glanced at the nodding faces. The faces of those willing and able to do what I cannot.

"We don't know why he brought Enho back to the prefectural castle. But that's how the man operates. He's definitely up to no good. If Enho still lives, then I want to rescue him."

The silence filled with a powerful feeling of mutual consent.

"In any case, I don't intend to wait much longer to get things rolling. That could mean tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow." Having spoken his mind, Koshou surveyed the crowd gathered in the main hall. "What say you?"

His question was answered with a shout of approval.

"Good!" Koshou said with a nod. "We have bided our time for three years. The moment has come to bring an end to Shoukou's rule!"

17-1

In the second year of Sekiraku, according to the calendar of the Kingdom of Kei, during the early dawn hours on the first day of February, one of the official residences of Shoukou, the governor of Shisui Prefecture, was attacked. The assailants, comprising some twenty citizens of Shisui Prefecture, shot fire arrows from the surrounding streets, scaled the walls, and fought their way into the inner sanctum. Yet the person of Shoukou was not found within.

After crossing swords with the residential guards, the assailants scrawled the characters Shu On on the walls. As soon as the city gates opened, they broke through the Horse Gate and fled. Pursued by provincials guardsmen, at least half their number slipped free and escaped to Ei Province.

Shoukou's full name was Seki On. Shoukou read the characters Shu On ("a special gift") as Chuu On ("the gift of execution"), expressing a desire for his assassination. In his indignation, he sent two hundred of his troops after the assailants and ordered five hundred more mustered from the surrounding territories to stand guard at the prefectural castle.

Just before these troops were scheduled to arrive at Takuhou, on the night of the first attack on the governor's residence, the granary in the center of the castle compound was attacked. Mere moments before the arrival of the praetorian guard assigned to Shoukou's personal protection detail and the provincial garrison at Takuhou, the assailants set fire to the granary and fled.

The fires were extinguished before the structure was consumed, yet the assailants again left behind the characters Shu On, and absconded to Ei Province. This time, approximately thirty individuals broke through the Horse Gate, half their number escaping capture and crossing the provincial border into Ei.

Clearly rogue elements were attempting to foment a rebellion. Suspecting another attack on the granary in the works, Shoukou assigned provincial guardsmen along with his praetorian guard to cordon off the granary. Three hundred praetorians were further dispatched to watch the roads and the borders. However, after two days, no assault had come. Early in the morning of the third day, Shoukou having let down his guard if only in the slightest, the attack came at his countryside estate east of Takuhou.

The assailants numbered a hundred. When the provincial guardsmen and praetorians stationed at the granary arrived at the estate, the forces inside and outside the estate fought to a standstill.

"I wonder if they're okay."

At the window of the brothel, Suzu looked in the direction of the Hare Gate. In the midst of the chaotic city, dusk was already falling.

"They'll be okay, as long as they've got Youshi," Koshou reassured her. He didn't offer any reasons, and Suzu took an uncertain breath. Koshou said, "I offered two hundred men, and Youshi said she could get the job done with a hundred. I'd say the odds are on their side."

Youshi had promised if they could capture Shoukou without killing him, she'd make it happen with a hundred.

"You need to be concerned for yourself, Suzu," Sekki said, as he strung a bow.

"I'll be okay," she'd replied. "After all, nobody can handle the sansui without me around."

"I'll leave Sekki to your care," Koshou said.

She nodded. "But what about you, Sekki? Can you draw a bow like that?"

"No problem. I don't have the best aim, but I'm not totally useless." He laughed nervously. "Do you know how they settle things when two kids applying to school come out the same in grades, character, and relative merits?"

"I don't. An archery contest, perhaps?"

"That's right. The best shot wins. So I did a lot of practicing."

"I see."

Sekki wanted to become a government official. If he wished to make anything of himself in this kingdom, that was his first step, Sekki had the brains to succeed. In fact, he had an almost uncanny ability to read things right.

First, we send out twenty to get Shoukou all riled up.

These twenty had set fire to Shoukou's official residence on the inner loop road. Then hightailed it out of there. The next time, thirty struck the granary.

The granary was a warehouse that stored grain against times of famine. Setting it alight was a bold gesture on Sekki's part. "Our actual intent is not to burn it down," he explained. "And if by chance it should be consumed, Shoukou never had any intent on distributing it to the people, anyway."

But by doing so, Shoukou would have to post guards. And when the attackers fled, in a rage, they would chase after them. Shoukou would recall the constabulary from the surrounding districts and harden defenses around the castle.

That's what Sekki predicted, and that's exactly what happened.

"Next, we raid his countryside estate with two hundred men, who will barricade themselves inside the walls. Eventually the provincial guard will be called in."

Based on the precedents established after the previous two incidents, Shoukou would dispatch his praetorian guard to where Wa borders Ei Province. As the previous attackers had numbered twenty and thirty respectively, when two hundred rebels showed up in force, he would conclude that he now had the measure of their entire contingent. The possibility was high that the inflamed Shoukou would redeploy his forces from the castle perimeter to his personal manse.

And in fact, two battalions of provincial guardsmen and half as many praetorians surrounded the estate, with another battalion manning the blockades along the highways. Left in Takuhou were five hundred constables and five hundred of Shoukou's personal security detail. Of them, in the afternoon, half were ordered to the estate, and those remaining were dispersed to stand watch in the city, guard the prefectural castle, and protect the granary.

Koshou raised his sword, and then lightly planted the tip in the earth. The long blade glimmered. "There should be two hundred or so fools left in the castle." Suzu turned to him when he spoke. "Watch out for the crossbows. With your back against the sky, you'll stand out like a sore thumb."

Suzu grasped her short sword and nodded. They and their more than 800 compatriots assaulting the castle possessed no satisfactory defenses.

"We'll see you later, I guess?"

Outside the window, the dusk was falling. The few left behind watched Suzu and her party leave the brothel. They and a few dozen others scattered throughout the city still had things to do that needed to get done.

"It's getting dark."

Youko wiped the falling dew from the blade and looked at the sky beyond the tower gates. Like Shoukou's own elevated pride, the ramparts surrounding his estate were surprisingly high. He was apparently possessed of the conviction that not even the treetops in his carefully groomed arbor should be seen by the hoi polloi.

Of the hundred-odd armed farmers and citizen-soldiers with her, by and large the majority of them were still in fine fettle. They were well protected by the bulwarks and watchtowers that Shoukou himself had built.

"The sun is down," Youko said. "They'll be coming over the walls." A man arming his crossbow next to her nodded. She said, "Retreat toward the main hall, link up with them there, and then regroup."

The man warily slid his gaze across the perimeter, and started back toward the main hall. The others followed after him in twos and threes.

Bringing up the rear, Youko said as if to herself, "Hankyo--"

Yes, came the whisper of his voice.

"After this, I'll leave the rest up to the shirei." She had borrowed from Keiki every shirei he could spare.

"You should escape to the Imperial Palace and muster the Imperial Army."

"Do you think what Keiki could not achieve I would be able to accomplish?"

Dismiss Shoukou, she had demanded of him. Or else mobilize the Ei Provincial Guard. Neither request had been honored. The ministers wanted details about why she wanted to dismiss Shoukou. A letter dispatched with Hankyou, carrying the Imperial Seal, proved similarly useless. Ultimately, her request to mobilize even the Ei Provincial Guard was refused.

"Prepare for the worst. We only have ourselves to rely on. Fly with the night and reduce the enemies' numbers as much as possible."

"Is this your desire, Empress?"

Youko replied with a bitter smile. "You have my permission."

17-2

The provincial castle compound had four gates. Of the four, the main or southern gate was also called the Phoenix Gate. The sentries at the Phoenix Gate suddenly found themselves confronted by several hundred citizens of Takuhou. Horrified, they watched as this mass of humanity flooded across the drawbridge toward them, brandishing weapons. The sentries frantically began to close the castle gates, which had been left open that night to allow ministers and soldiers free passage in and out of the castle grounds.

The mounted knight leading the mob reached the gate before it closed and swiftly dispatched the sentries. The gates were opened wide, and the armed civilians rushed the lookouts above the gate.

Archers posted at the merlons found themselves hamstrung by the sheer height and excessive ornamentation of the parapet walls, all built as a sop to Shoukou's vanity. The main gates were at least thirty meters high. Already, because of the height of gates and the failing light, it was impossible to discriminate friend from foe in the shadows. Moreover, turrets that should have afforded a clear lookout constituted little more than architectural embellishments, and faced the outside of the gate with severely compromised fields of view.

At any rate, blindly firing their crossbows, they had no idea whether they were hitting anything or not. As it took time to rearm the crossbows, they were overrun before they could get off three arrows each. Seconds later, they had no choice but surrender. Not surprisingly, the warning fires were extinguished without an acknowledged reply, as if the posted sentry had stepped out to take care of business and didn't bother returning.

A contingent of castle guards ran along the wall walks, stampeding into the castle. Praetorians scattered here and there tried to raise the alarm. Most of them were cut down by the arrows and fell futilely in the dust.

The temporarily opened gates swallowed up the citizens of Takuhou and then closed.

"Lower the portcullis!"

Accompanying the cry, a block and tackle at the base of the watchtower began to move. The thick, single panel inside the gates noisily descended toward the tracks in the roadway under the gate. Suzu watched from the dark tunnel closed off by the gate to make sure the portcullis fell squarely into place in the channels, and then caught up with the crowd already running to middle gate that closed off the inner court.

They had only crossed a short distance when the middle gate was closed and the sound of the descending portcullis rang out. The castle guards inside shut the gate with their own self-defense in mind. Normally, inner court gates were simply constructed. The walls surrounding the inner court were as well only a taller, thicker variety of the walls that surrounded a typical domicile. Connected in a single span to the main castle walls, the appearance of the inner gate, which lacked the typical main and auxiliary entrances, again put Shoukou's aesthetic tastes on full display.

"Suzu!"

Suzu looked back at the sound of Koshou's voice. She reached and Koshou grasped her hand. As soon as he vaulted onto the back of the sansui, Suzu barked out a command to the bucking sansui and it launched itself into the air.

The sansui easily scaled the walls. Koshou jumped off before its feet touched the wall walk. Suzu swung the sansui around and set it down outside the gate. She made five trips carrying men over the wall. On the sixth, a cry of exultation arose from the gate turrets.

"Good job!" shouted Koshou, and turned to the sixth man alighting from the sansui. "Open the inner gate! Suzu, direct everybody to the inner court!"

"Yes, sir!"

The gate was opening inwards by the time the sansui returned to the threshold of the gate. She saw the portcullis in front of the gates raising up, and further beyond a clutch of constables on the run.

"Sekki! Climb on!" Suzu urged him from astride the sansui.

Sekki bent his bow and let an arrow fly in the direction of the middle gate. Then he nodded and ran over to her. Suzu reached out her hand. He wrapped his hand around hers and she pulled him onto the sansui's back. The sansui neighed with obvious irritation. Suzu patted his neck to calm it down. "That's a good boy, that's a good boy. Don't be so disagreeable. Sekki, are you all right?"

"I'm okay," came his voice behind her. "Suzu, when I give you the signal, lean forward in the saddle. I don't want to hit you when I fire the bow."

"Got it." Suzu spurred on the sansui. When they passed through the gate, Koshou raised himself to his full height and thrust his broadsword into the air. "If all our number are here, then close the gates! Onto Shoukou's quarters!"

The answering cries shook the ground.

People ran along the wall walks, weapons raised, breaking down the doors of the turrets and guardrooms along the way.

Confident that their comrades occupying the ramparts had their backs, they overwhelmed the onrushing praetorians. The men accompanying Suzu charged into the depths of the prefectural offices. In the innermost heart of the castle they found themselves facing Shoukou's official castle residence.

Every time Sekki said to jump, Suzu nimbly launched the sansui into the air. From the elevated vantage point, they could take in the full extent of the panic gripping the compound. People rushing in and people running for their lives, all crashing about in extreme disarray. The overwhelming majority comprised those fleeing the scene, but Sekki pointed out that they likely anticipated the arrival of the provincial guardsmen and praetorians currently racing toward the city.

"Will they really come?"

"For sure. But with our allies manning the ramparts and guarding the gates, it will take them some time. If we can capture Shoukou before then, they may well lose the will to carry on the fight." Sekki yelled at the top of his lungs, "Suzu!"

Suzu glanced ahead of the sansui's landing area and caught her breath. Two sentries wielding battle axes awaited them. The sansui couldn't launch itself again without touching ground, and there wasn't time to turn aside.

The blades flashed at the sansui.

She instinctively shut her eyes, barely managing to swallow the scream that came to her lips. The sansui bellowed. The next sound was the heavy thud of the collision. They hit the ground. The sansui's descent came to a halt.

"Youshi!"

At the sound of Sekki's voice, Suzu opened her eyes. The two sentries lay sprawled before them.

"You saved us!"

"I only took out one of them," said Youshi. "Your sansui kicked the other one into next week. That's one smart animal."

"And the estate?" There was not the slightest hint of relief in Sekki's voice.

"They're hanging in there. They were doing such a good job holding the fort, I left things in their hands for the time being."

"Holding the fort--"

In contrast to Sekki's tone of voice, Youshi's was rather cheerful. "I'd estimate that we've reduced the troop strength of those heading our way by at least half."

The two battalions (1000 soldiers) and five hundred praetorians surrounding Shoukou's country estate were in complete disarray. Despite all the watch fires lit, places remained in darkness. And in that darkness, something moved.

The enemy barricaded inside the main hall of the estate in front of them was not the problem.

Screams burst forth from the darkness, and when they ran to see they found their fallen comrades wailing pitifully, deep wounds in their limbs, wounds that had been inflicted by no moral weapon, but resembled the teeth and claw marks left by beasts. Yet they caught no sight of whatever creature had caused them.

All they knew was that something was out there, and there were many of them. Fear seized them until they quailed at the sound of their own footsteps.

They began to retreat in ones and twos. When the arrows ceased to fly, they realized that they were now too far from the main hall for a bow to reach. The order had not come to withdraw, but no soldier had any desire to hold that ground. They whimpered and cried like children. Accustomed to preying on the weak, they had no experience going against an enemy whose fear of them was so much less than their own fear of the darkness.

"The prefectural castle is under attack!"

At the height of the tension, the word raced through the rank and file. Profound feelings of relief gripped all the soldiers equally. The battalion commanders were no exception.

"What is going on!"

"Hundreds of armed civilians have stormed the castle!"

Thin smiles showed on the faces of the battalion commanders as they conversed together: "We're walking into a trap here. We'd better go back." They shouted in voices that might have sounded a tad too enthusiastic, "Return to the castle!!"

Like a dam breaking, the soldiers stamped toward the Hare Gate. The number of troops abandoning their positions and pouring like a tidal wave through the gate were at least half of their original strength.

Left behind where they had fallen in the darkened countryside, the cries of the wounded still called out for rescue.

17-3

With Koshou flanking her, Youko advanced on the keep of the provincial castle.

Every now and then, they'd cross swords with a castle guard or sentry barreling around a corner, shrieking bloody murder. Youko glanced at Koshou. Koshou wielded his broadsword in a furious manner. The blade of the sword was tipped with a thick, barbed fluke instead of a regular spear point. The weapon itself must weigh more than a hundred pounds. His ability to keep knocking the enemy about with it was a feat worthy of admiration.

By simply swinging the broadsword at a charging enemy, its hundred-plus pound mass alone would shatter his opponent's bones. The sheer force generated when he flung the sword out to the side flattened armor like a swatted fly. In that manner he warded off any attackers who came at them from the rear.

Every swing of Koshou's sword was met with a ghastly shriek in return.

"Incredible," Youko muttered to herself.

Koshou laughed and glanced over his shoulder. "You're no ordinary person yourself."

"I'm not doing anything so extraordinary."

"Then how'd a pretty young thing like you get used to so much death?" As they ran down a hallway, Koshou's breathing told her he was close behind.

"Long story," Youko replied with a thin smile. I fought the pretender's army. And fighting meant killing. If she had faltered then, her supporters would have died. She couldn't very well have hidden behind the backs of those protecting her, fearing soiling her own hands with blood.

In any case, a throne is a thing purchased with blood. That is what the Royal En told her. Even had she received the throne from Heaven without shedding a drop, it would have been impossible to hold onto it without the rivers flowing red. The pretender's army would still have to be vanquished, internal rebellion crushed, criminals executed.

One way or the other, better not to be a coward.

"Youshi!" came Suzu's cry, as the sansui soared over the roof and landed in the courtyard.

Youko sensed murderous intent to her right and crouched down. She heard the sound of enemy armor and a slashing attack whistled over her head. She answered in the same direction, reaching out to parry and thrust in return. Against this weapon--that could pierce the toughest youma--the armor was so much tissue paper. The sword bisected the enemy like a hot knife through butter. She yanked it out and whipped it around, flinging the gore off the blade. Not a drop adhered to the shining steel.

"That sword is some piece of work," said Koshou, with a grim smile.

At the back of her thoughts, Youko heard a voiceless whisper. Hankyo-- She didn't have to ask if he'd returned. Go! she told him. Get to where Shoukou is and cull the enemy's forces.

There was no reply, but Youko knew that her orders had been delivered.

When Suzu's squad arrived at the castle keep, for reasons unknown, the grounds before the governor's residence were awash with blood. Suzu reflexively brought her hand to her mouth.

Koshou raced up behind her. "How did this happen?"

"Our allies must have gotten here first," was Youko's quick explanation, as she jumped over the corpses. She was breathing hard but her steps were steady.

"Huh---" said Koshou, with a befuddled expression, casting a puzzled glance at the corpses. He planted himself beside the door. The voices of the men bringing up the rear fell to a hush.

Koshou delivered a single blow with the broadsword. The thick wood splintered. The rest of the assault group piled on, and a second and then third attack rent it in two. The tip of Koshou's sword still embedded in the wood, door collapsed inward.

The building appeared empty, quiet as death. There was no sign of any human presence. Bodies were strewn across the floor as if cut down in the middle of a conversation. They opened doors here and there, checking every nook and cranny and then ran toward the inner sanctum. At the very heart, across from the open door, the figure of a man huddled in the corner of the room.

The people entering the room momentarily froze in place.

Suzu dismounted from the sansui was following hard on Youko's heels. She also stopped in her tracks.

The man crouched down, trying to crawl under the divan in the gorgeously-arrayed room. He had a blanket pulled over his head, yet the mound of cloth could be clearly seen for what it was. And as the mound itself was the size of the divan, how he was going to fit under the divan was anybody's guess. And even a child knew better than to leave his nose poking out from the folds. The round, lumpy mound trembled.

Koshou acted first. He approached the man and grabbed the blanket. A strangled scream reverberated from beneath the layers of cloth.

The scream came from a tremendously fat man. His age was difficult to determine. That's how tremendously obese the man was. An eternity of gluttony had left him hardly a man but a strange species of creature.

Koshou tossed the blanket to the side. Half-buried in the mass of flesh, the small, animal-like, beady eyes looked up at Koshou, suffused with fear.

"Shoukou, I presume," Koshou stated flatly.

"No, no, no!" the man shrieked.

"Who else in Takuhou could be mistaken for the likes of you?"

People poured into the room, surrounded him. Among them was Suzu, who reached into her tunic, to where the sword rested against her racing heart. She firmly grasped the hilt.

This is Shoukou.

Her hand trembled. She drew the sword from its sheath.

The man who killed Seishuu.

"Suzu."

Youshi spoke in a low voice. Suzu started, her eyes wide in surprise. When she looked back over her shoulder, Youshi shook her head, no. She lightly patted Suzu on the arm and then pressed through the ring or people, who all stood there as if frozen in place.

"So you're Shoukou."

"No, I'm not!"

"What did you do with Enho?"

"Enho?"

"If you can deliver Enho alive, we may spare your life for the time being."

The man little eyes nervously flitted back and fro.

"On the other hand, if you wish to die, I will accommodate your desires." She drew her sword. The man frantically backed away. He looked like a fat bear trying to scratch his back on the divan.

"Really? You're really going to help me?"

"You have my word."

Youko looked up at Koshou. With a bewildered expression, he looked back and forth between Youko and Shoukou. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Now you're making promises like that. He's all yours, then."

Youko replied with a slight nod. She knelt down in front of Shoukou. "Out with it. Where's Enho?"

"H-he's n-not h-here."

"What?"

The man raised a quavering hand, his stubby forefinger tracing a crooked circle in the air. "Meikaku. I know nothing. The Marquis of Wa asked me to. So I sent him to Meikaku."

"Gahou? Why would Gahou want to kidnap Enho?"

"I was told to kill him. Because he was a survivor of the Evergreen Seminary. That's what he said. I ordered the raid, but didn't kill him. The fools brought him here. When I informed the Marquis, he said to deliver Enho to him."

"So he is still alive?"

"I didn't kill him. Truly."

Youko glanced behind her, at the flustered and perplexed faces looking down at them. "I understand the malice in your hearts, but please discipline yourselves for now. This man is tied to Gahou. If he is killed and Gahou escapes, all will be for naught."

His knowledge of the depraved lengths to which the Wa Province Lord had gone made Shoukou a vital link.

A man standing next to Koshou cast his eyes up toward the heavens and heaved a big sigh. Taking that as a signal, the room shook with jeers of derision. Some crying out in scorn, a few others quietly holding back tears of despair.

The room once again fell into silence and the human cordon around Shoukou dispersed. Dejected, shoulders drooping, they exited the room. Behind them, Koshou suddenly scraped the tip of his broadsword against the floor.

"The provincial guard is coming! This is no time to get complacent!"

At once, his crestfallen comrades were seized by the warrior spirit. After the requisite disrespectful glances at Shoukou, they snapped out of it, lifted their heads proudly, and marched out of the room.

Suzu continued to stare at Shoukou. He was nothing but a frightened, stupid-looking man. Her malice for him was deep, but that malice was hers alone. Not even Seishuu had shared it when he died. If Seishuu had spoken any words of revenge in his final moments, she would have killed him no matter what Youshi said.

"You killed a child in Takuhou."

Shoukou shuddered violently, like a wounded bird.

Suzu balled her hands into fists as she turned on her heels. "And I will never forget it."

17-4

The soldier arrived at a gallop in the middle of the night. After counting the dead hanging from the walls across the mote, he'd come to the conclusion that the castle defenders had given up the fight.

A nearby vassal looked up and said, "Meaning--"

Astride his horse, the battalion commander nodded. "Meaning the rebels have control of the keep."

The castle grounds were still as death. Rugged gates and thick walls guarded the prefectural offices. When the provincial guard had arrived, the castle was already in the control of the rebels. They would have no choice but to directly challenge these formidable defenses. Even if they broke through, what they had come to defend was likely no longer there.

"Tell them to cease fighting and pull back. Launching an offensive now would be meaningless."

"But the praetorians--"

The commander's gaze fell upon the praetorians, who were feverishly readying themselves for a charge upon the main gates. "Give them fair warning as well. In any case, the rebels will have already found their quarry. Say that I'm ordering them to cease engaging and withdraw because the person who would call them to account likely no longer draws breath."

He knew that the zeal of the praetorians had little to do with honor or loyalty, but sprang forth from fear. If they pleased Shoukou, they won whatever rewards they could imagine. But if they displeased him in the least, they would be dispatched without mercy. Those who served Shoukou knew this better than any.

"Retreat and regroup. Pitch camp at the West Gate. We'll rest until dawn and await reinforcements from Meikaku. The rebels may attempt to flee before then. Capture anyone who attempts to leave the castle. If they resist, do not hesitate to employ deadly force."

Most of the praetorians within the castle grounds had been killed or had given up. Any remaining ministers had immediately surrendered. They were gathered together and locked inside the buildings. The remaining bodies of the praetorians were hung from the castle walls.

The provincial guard posted outside the castle walls pulled back and formed a battle line outside the West Gate. They settled in and awaited the dawn.

"Well, now what?"

From the guard tower, Koshou looked east, surveying the scene before the Blue Dragon Gate. The guard towers were squat stone structures built at critical junctures along the parapets. The towers projected over the inner and outer portions of the castle wall, studded with merlons and crenels from which firing positions could be established, and thick doors and walls facing the wall walks to the left and right. Such a vantage point offered a clear view of both the interior and exterior of the castle from which fire could be directed at the enemy. Closing the doors cut off access to the wall walks.

"If we don't move first," said Sekki, "we'll have no choice but to break through their lines and make a run for it." He peeked through a catapult crenel at the city beyond.

"Sure seems that way. Things are quiet around here."

The external environs of the castle seemed asleep, but no one was sleeping. Uneasy groups of people here and there, people returning to report after cautiously checking out the state of the prefectural castle. That the rebels had control of the castle could be ascertained from the bodies hanging from the walls. But more than that, what would they do next?

"Well, what are we going to do?" Youko asked Sekki.

Sekki shook his head. "Whatever we decide upon, we've got to act before dawn. Once it becomes light, we will find ourselves at a distinctive disadvantage."

"Could we retreat with Shoukou as our hostage?"

"Shoukou does have some value as a hostage. Other than that, if the citizens of Takuhou don't rise to our defense, there's not much hope for us. One battalion of provincial guards and close to five hundred praetorians are guarding the border with Ei Province. If we can't create enough chaos in Takuhou to entice them back here, we'll be left with no escape route. And the provincial guards stationed at Meikaku are currently marching from the east."

"And to the north?" Ken Province could be reached by crossing the mountains to the north.

"Our only option there would be to reach the mountains in twos and threes and make our way to Ken. We know what's coming if we remain in Wa. Our only recourse is to flee to a neighboring province. Yet Gahou could put an end to that option by asking the Province Lord of Ken to mobilize his guard units. By the time we crossed the mountains, news of the rebellion would have preceded us, and the Ken Provincial Guard would be waiting for us."

"So it's Ei Province or nothing."

"Yeah," Sekki said with a nod. "The Taiho's duchy across the river remains our best bet." He looked hopefully out at the sleeping city.

A knock at a door and a small voice whispered, "The prefectural castle has fallen."

Voices full of surprise echoed back and forth. Then silence.

The opportunity had come to liberate Takuhou, some argued strenuously. "How many people have been killed so far? If we don't act now and prove to the powers that be that we're no cowards, after Shoukou is gone we'll be saddled with another like him."

"The next governor may be worse than this one."

"Shoukou doesn't rule the kingdom. That's a lesson they need to learn."

"Yeah, they need to know that no beast will govern us, at least in Shisui."

The voices were cut off by the sound of a closing door. In ones and twos, downcast men gathered in the southwest corner of the city.

"How'd it go?"

"Not well. Nothing but cowards in this city."

"Nobody seemed happy even hearing that the castle had fallen. They still all have that constipated look on their faces."

"No matter what happens, they'll invent some reason to be afraid. It's soaked into their bones."

"Do they think if they make of themselves a small enough target, the arrows won't find them? That's how they plan to live out the rest of their lives?"

"So what do we do then?"

A hush fell upon the darkened streets as the whispers ceased.

"If it only comes down to us, we're going to help--"

"Somehow we've got to help make good their escape."

The night sky began to brighten.

"This is bad," a quiet voice said.

Suzu turned and looked at Sekki. They were standing on the wall walk next to the watchtower atop the gate. The darkness had already lifted enough to make out people's faces in the dim light.

Acknowledging Suzu's gaze, Sekki laughed nervously. "We can't afford to wait. Daybreak is coming."

A deathly still fell upon the wall walk. Koshou took a deep breath.

"After this, we'll never see Shisui again. It may not be much, but we brought down Shoukou a few pegs. No matter what, he's going to have to account for the chaos that occurred here. Let's just leave it at that."

Dejected sighs filled the air.

"What now, Sekki?"

"Distribute the minimum necessary provisions from the storehouse. Then head straight north into the mountains."

"Escape to Ken Province?"

"That's our only recourse. Honestly speaking, if we turn toward the west, in the time it will take us to engage the provincial guard waiting for us, the guard from Meikaku will have caught up with us."

"And south?"

"No good. The distance is too great. The cavalry would overtake us before we made it to a neighboring province. There's no way we can compete with soldiers on horseback. No, going north is our only option."

From the start, they had no defense against the airborne cavalry riding pegasi. The provincial guard had few air cavalry, Sekki said, and they'd had no choice but to gamble that such a rare asset would be held back in reserve.

"We'll break through in the north, where no battalion commanders are stationed. It may not be much, but troop moral cannot be high."

Including the wounded, at least seven hundred had made it this far--more than any of them expected. But Koshou and the rest of them could only count it as a defeat, the citizens of the city not having come to their aid. After this, they had no choice but to run for the hills.

Everybody seemed to understand this. Heavily armed men hung their heads in frustration.

"Well, then!" Koshou declared in a clear, loud voice. "So the citizens of Takuhou are nothing but cowards! Look around, and that is how many are not. In short, we are the only people left in Shisui with real heart. And we had the gall to all gather here together!"

A ripple of laugher arose from the downcast crowds.

"We did it once, and we can do it again! We'll make good our escape!" With this cry, Koshou rallied their assembled forces.

"He really is something," Suzu heard Youshi mutter to herself. When she turned to her, Youshi smiled. "A little speech like that, and Koshou renews their fighting spirits. Incredible. He'd make a good general."

"I wonder."

"Indeed," Youshi laughed.

At that moment, Suzu heard the sound of wings overhead.

17-5

Suzu flung back her head. There in the gray sky above, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow, the silhouette of great wings.

A bird.

"No, a pegasus!"

The crowds dissolved into panic.

"The air cavalry!"

"Sekki!" Koshou roared.

Suzu looked for Sekki and saw that he was already bending his bow. The arrow flew into the sky and was swallowed up by the black shadow. A second later a spear shot down at him.

"Sekki!" They all shouted. Suzu was paralyzed with fear. Koshou and Youshi reached for him. Youshi gave him a shove and Koshou yanked him out of the way just in time. The spear planted itself in the wall walk where Sekki had been standing the moment before. The cries of relief and terror mingled together.

"To the guard tower!"

At the sound of Koshou's voice, they rushed to the guard tower doors. Suzu grasped the reins of the sansui. A spear pierced its neck. Suzu screamed. The sansui toppled over, its weight dragging her along, the whiplash in the reins flinging her to the side. She drew painful breaths as Koshou grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her up. Another spear plunged into the ground at their feet.

"Yeah, those provincial guards are in a different league," Koshou grunted, pushing Suzu toward the closest guard tower. "Get in there! Look after Sekki!"

Nodding, Suzu stared at the heavens, overcome with feelings of hopelessness. The swarm of pegasi darted to and across the breaking dawn sky. She couldn't tell how many. The spears and arrows fell like rain. The trueness of their aim made it clear they were the elite of the elite.

"You too, Koshou. Come on!" Suzu grabbed his arm.

They didn't have the weapons to shoot down the air cavalry. Arrows began to fly from the roof of the guard tower, but there was otherwise no defense against an airborne enemy.

"I can't believe the air cavalry was mobilized!"

"Please, let's go in!"

Suzu shoved him with all her might toward the guard tower. As soon as they stepped inside the thick doors, she saw another flock of pegasi flitting through the air. She estimated fifteen. However, just as one mounted knight was the equal of eight infantrymen, one air cavalryman was a match for twenty grunts.

Uttering a string of oaths, Koshou ducked into the guard tower. The empty room contained only the block and tackle mechanism for hoisting the portcullis. Koshou ran through the room and climbed the stairs, scrambling to the top floor of third level above the main gate.

"Suzu!"

Following on Koshou's heels, no sooner had Suzu reached the top floor but she found a crossbow pointed straight at her. Sekki quickly aimed it elsewhere and tossed her a bolt. "Arm it for me," he said.

Suzu nodded. She placed her foot in the stirrup at the nose of the crossbow and pulled up on the cord with all her might. Then she laid the bolt in the groove and handed it back to Sekki. She picked up a spent crossbow and similarly loaded a bolt and passed it to one of the soldiers firing through the crenels at the air cavalry.

Alongside them, men were shifting the platform of a crossbow-like catapult that faced the exterior of the gate. Following Koshou's shouted commands, another group of men raised shield walls to protect themselves from descending projectiles and crossfire.

The large main room of the guard tower was made of stone. No walls faced outside or inside the gate. Instead, the room was enclosed by a ring of columns that formed the merlons and crenels, leaving the room otherwise completely open along its two lengths. They took axes and hacked away at the architectural flourishes to widen the field of view for the archers, and then set up temporary shield walls covering the gaping rectangular apertures that otherwise were protected only by the merlons and overhanging eaves. From between the gaps, the dark city of Takuhou spread out beneath their gaze. The sky was barely light enough to discern the outlines of the city.

They were not completely without hope. They'd figured out how to aim the large catapult. Even without hitting the target, its presence drove the air cavalry away from the guard tower. Now the cavalry repeatedly charged and pulled back.

"Damn and blast, but they're fast!" Suzu heard Koshou cursing. He'd missed. With the shield walls in place, their exterior view was obstructed as well.

"We're out of bolts!"

The cry came from the men grouped around the catapult. The weapon didn't shoot ordinary arrows, but projectiles as long and as heavy as spears, that could slam straight through a building. They'd exhausted their supply.

"We've still got crossbows. Use them and your longbows. You've got pikes, don't you?"

Someone shouted behind them, "Koshou!"

As they turned, the shield wall at the back of the guard tower blew inwards. Splinters of wood rained down around them. Outside the gaping hole was a pegasus, its coat the color of red copper.

"Don't let them board us!"

With the attack concentrated on their forward positions, they'd neglected the rear. If pressure were brought to bear here, it'd all be over. Once they could no longer lay down covering fire, the air cavalry would swoop down upon them. Sekki was closest. He spun around and readied his bow. Youshi drew her sword and started running.

Two figures were astride the pegasus. One bore a spear. He jumped off the back of the pegasus, vaulted over the parapets, and somersaulted to the floor. Suzu focused her attention on the pegasus. It was a kitsuryou. She recognized the rider.

Suzu leapt forward. "Sekki! Youshi! Stop!"

At the reins of the kitsuryou was a young woman.

"It's Shoukei!"

As if recognizing the sound of Suzu's voice, the head of the kitsuryou turned back. The flowing mane glimmered red in the first rays of light from the east. Suzu ran toward the crenels.

Shoukei called out, "Hey! Suzu!"

Suzu glanced over her shoulder at Koshou. "They're not our enemies! I met her at Rou's place!"

Suzu sidled up to hole in the shield wall and peaked out. The beautiful striped horse sailed right up next to her. The rider leaned forward. "Suzu! Are you all right?"

"Shoukei! How did you get here?"

Shoukei held out her right hand and pointed straight ahead.

"What?"

Suzu leaned over the wall. Shoukei pointed east down the main boulevard, toward the Blue Dragon Gate where the provincial guard was bivouacked. Throngs of people were pouring off the street.

"That's--"

Shoukei waved to her and then dropped down, weaving the kitsuryou in and out of the shadows between the buildings, flying north. Watching her leave, Suzu sensed someone standing at her side. She looked up. It was the man who had jumped off the back of the kitsuryou.

"You're Suzu?"

"Yes. And you are?"

The man gave her a charming smile. "I'm Kantai. I guess you could call me a colleague of Shoukei's."

Suzu looked eastward. "And they are--?"

Koshou leaned out over the wall to see what she had seen. "Your comrades in arms?"

"They arrived before the main body of the provincial guard. Jolly well done, I say." Kantai laughed. "Five thousand strong."

18-1

In the streets of Meikaku, the capital city of Wa Province, rumors abounded of strange goings-on in Takuhou in Shisui Prefecture. Having heard the same from her friends, after completing the shopping she'd been sent to do, Shoukei rushed home.

"Did you hear, Kantai?"

Standing in the center of an assembled group, Kantai nodded. "Yes, Takuhou. It appears that someone has been so audacious to set fire to Shoukou's residence." He grinned. "Shu On was a brilliant stroke. Our colleagues in Takuhou have their game together."

"I wonder if they'll be okay."

Kantai thought it over, saying neither yea nor nay. "The word is the assailants have already fled. They attacked the residence, and then escaped Takuhou before the gates were opened. Half their number made it across the border into Ei Province. However, the man himself wasn't at the castle compound."

"Wasn't he their objective, then?"

"That's what makes it such a strange story. We have allies in Takuhou who have Shoukou in their sights. They've gone so far as to amass winter weapons, so I have to believe this is part of a greater plan of insurrection. Maybe those fled after missing their target."

"Perhaps," Shoukei nodded. She couldn't believe the people who had collected those thirty winter weapons would have only gone so far and no further. "Maybe it's a completely different group. Not our friends in Takuhou."

"Hard to say," Kantai agreed. "But if this is their work, Shoukou's not going to just let it blow over."

"Eh?"

"If nothing else, they're not idiots."

The next day, Shoukei was preparing breakfast when Kantai suddenly called out for everybody to gather in the main hall. There she saw that all the mercenaries had gathered, along with Saibou.

"What's going on?" she asked, and was told to wait until everybody else had arrived. After biding her time there for a while, the arrival of three "merchants" she didn't know was the signal for the doors to close.

Kantai got to his feet. "A messenger pigeon arrived this morning from Takuhou. Shortly before dawn, the castle granary was attacked. The granary was set alight, and the attackers fled to Ei Province. They were from the same group who left the aforementioned Shu On."

A murmur of conversation ran through the room.

"Our colleagues in Takuhou know what they're doing. Their true intent is to sow discord."

"What kind of--" Shoukei queried in a quiet voice.

Kantai nodded. "The group that raided Shoukou's residence yesterday did not err in failing to seize Shoukou. Only twenty attacked the residence, made a big deal of leaving the characters Shu On behind, and fled to Ei Province. Both teams having made their getaway to Ei, about now Shoukou is really getting incensed. This is not the kind of man who can deal with such a provocation with any sense of humor."

"Yes, I know, but--"

"Shoukou will surely order the garrisoned guardsmen and his praetorians to secure the border. They'll increase surveillance of the citizenry and will try to ferret out the rebels. The rebels' clear intent is to disperse Shoukou's defenses."

Shoukei couldn't follow everything she was being told. She scanned the audience and found she wasn't alone.

"There are three battalions of 1500 men garrisoned at the prefectural castle, one thousand praetorians, and five hundred archers. Three thousand soldiers. Without the matching troop strength necessary to win a head-on attack, they're doing what I would do. Get Shoukou riled up, get him to dilute his troop strength, and as much as possible reduce the force presence at the prefectural castle. I don't know how many troops have been sent to track down the brigands, but in any case, an appropriate number of soldiers must be garrisoned at the castle, and Shoukou will no doubt be recalling troops deployed in neighboring counties."

"But won't that end up increasing troop strength?"

"It will take two or three days to recall the troops. That's when they must act. They'll spring another decoy outside Takuhou, enrage Shoukou, draw away more soldiers, and then rush the castle."

The room fell into a dead silence.

"Even if it hadn't come to my attention that our colleagues were amassing a stockpile of winter weapons, it'd strike me as a doable plan. But they have to raise an army before the praetorians return. They probably have no more than three days. To draw away the provincial guard, they're going to have to devote a convincing number to the decoy, who will have to stick it out just long enough. After that, they'll charge the castle with everything they've got left."

Shoukei caught her breath. How would Suzu fare? What role would she play? Would she remain unscathed? Would she come through it okay?

"However, they don't know the full story," said Kantai. Shoukei leaned forward and Kantai continued. "Shoukou and Gahou are joined at the hip. If Shoukou was a run-of-the-mill regional administrator, Gahou wouldn't lift a finger to help him. The arrival of the guard would be delayed, and only a minor contingent would be dispatched. There'd be no reason to cover for an administrator the people found so disagreeable that they'd resort to violence. Yet knowing all this, Gahou will continue to succor Shoukou. To put in other words, Gahou's trained Shoukou like a pet to do his dirty work for him."

Kantai paused and then said, "In short, Shoukou knows where the bodies are buried. If the conflict stretches out without immediate resolution, the kingdom may get involved and things would get complicated. If, by chance, Shoukou is captured and placed in the dock, he won't go down quietly. Gahou is already readying a large army. He'll stop at nothing to suppress this uprising. Our colleagues, who will have their arms full with just three thousand defenders, haven't got a chance."

A stir of conversation filled the meeting hall.

"We shall ride to the support our Shu On brethren!" Kantai declared. "And while we're at it, we'll cause a little mischief of our own."

"What kind of mischief?" someone asked, and Kantai flashed a guileless smile. "Well, to put down the Shu On Rebellion--as we shall call it--the provincial guard will take one or two days to reach Takuhou. Meikaku will empty out in the meantime. Why we let this opportunity slip through our fingers?"

"Ahh--" went the murmur through the room.

Kantai beckoned to the three "merchants." He said, "I'm giving you the opportunity to remove the stigma from your names. Together with your followers, set forth to Takuhou. Be sure to arrive before the provincial guard."

The stigma? Shoukei puzzled, but the men answered in unison: "Yes!"

Kantai turned to Saibou, man seated in front of a display cabinet. "And how shall we proceed?"

Saibou thought it over for a moment. He looked at Kantai and said, "Leave Meikaku to me. You go to Takuhou."

Kantai smiled. "Cat's out of the bag, eh?"

"I know you have a fondness for hotheads like that bunch. However, I'm asking you to start a war. As soon as your men are provisioned, set forth for Takuhou. Our objective is not Gahou's assassination, but to make the Empress aware that something is rotten in Wa Province. Don't turn this into a do-or-die effort. Lose if you must. I'll figure something out afterward."

"Thank you!"

Shoukei raised her voice. "I want to go to Takuhou too."

"Oh?" Saibou looked at her.

"A friend of mine is in Takuhou, fighting alongside the Shu On Rebels. Please allow me."

Saibou nodded. "Shoukei, you said your name was? Can you ride a pegasus?"

"I can."

"Then accompany Kantai. Go and assist those brave souls."

Shoukei bowed deeply. "I won't disappoint you!"

18-2

"Just how many--!" exclaimed Koshou, as Shoukei explained how they had come to be here. She'd returned with the five thousand citizen soldiers, escorting them into the castle. Koshou finally got to ask his original question: "How many men do you have left in Meikaku?"

Shoukei looked at Kantai, and Kantai smiled mischievously. "Twice the number we sent here."

The uproar momentarily filled the calm guard tower.

When the onslaught came from every direction in the brightening dawn, the few hundred remaining provincial guard encamped at the West Gate couldn't surrender fast enough. Kantai's irregulars whittled the air calvary down to half their original number and forced them to withdraw. Suffused with the rays of the morning sun, the castle compound filled with ringing cheers. But this was not the end of things. The rest of provincial army was scheduled to arrive the day after tomorrow.

"Unfortunately, we've got to keep the provincial guard pinned down here for three days. Given three days, by the time the guard hears about the state of emergency in Meikaku and are ordered to return, the die will have already been cast."

Koshou looked up at the ceiling and heaved a big sigh. "Step on a cockroach, and there's a hundred more where that one came from. I assume you've got mates aiming to take out Gahou."

"What? No. We've got no plans to knock off Gahou and take over the provincial castle. We only hope to sully his image and tarnish his name. That you'd actually schemed to overrun a prefectural castle was a huge surprise on our end."

Koshou laughed loudly. "A feather in our caps, then. When guys like us lock our jaws on something, we don't let go so easy."

When Shoukei emerged onto the wall walk, Suzu and another girl were looking down at the castle compound.

"It's a good thing you weren't wounded," Shoukei said.

Suzu glanced back over her shoulder. "Yeah," she said. With a shining countenance, she turned to the girl next to her. "Youshi, this is--"

Recognizing her, Shoukei burst out, "It's you!"

The girl reacted with equal surprise. Taken aback, Suzu said, "You already know each other?"

The girl nodded. Shoukei spoke up. "She saved my life in Meikaku. I didn't get a chance to thank you. I never imagined we would have met in such a place as this."

"No problem," the girl answered, with a smile.

"Your name is Youshi? We didn't have time to introduce ourselves before."

"This is unbelievable," said Suzu. "Youshi, this is Shoukei."

Youshi flashed her a smile, as did Shoukei in return. They lined up on either side of Suzu, shoulder to shoulder, and gazed down at the foot of the wall walk.

"It's incredible, all these people," Suzu blurted out.

Shoukei grinned. "You didn't expect it?"

"Not in a million years. To be honest, I have to wonder if it's the best tack to take."

"Smooth sailing certainly doesn't await us. The provincial guard are on the march and headed our way. They'll get here tomorrow or the day after. Today's our one chance to take a breather."

"Yeah."

"At least you captured Shoukou."

Suzu nodded and turned to her neighbor. "Because Youshi said not to kill him. And the fact of the matter is, killing him would have felt good in the moment, but over the long haul, it wouldn't have meant anything. He's an awful man, but it's better that he should stand in the dock for his crimes."

"You're right."

Suzu and Shoukei were silent for several minutes. The warm, springlike sunlight flooded the wall walk. The smell of blood and death was in the wind, but they had become inured to its scent.

Suzu said, "I can't believe that we're just hanging out like this."

Shoukei agreed. "Really. The city feels so strange."

The hustle and bustle inside the castle filled the air with a dull roar. Outside the walls, the city was silent. The main boulevard was devoid of people. The only time a person did appear was to cross the street, walking briskly to the other side as if to fetch something left behind.

Although the castle gates were closed and secured, people came and went in significant numbers. Despite this, none of the city's denizens dared to come and check things out for themselves. Even individuals spotted crossing the boulevard far off in the distance acted as if they knew nothing and saw nothing.

"Everybody's holding their breath, wondering what's coming next."

"Holding their breath?"

"Shoukou really was a monster. In one way or another, everybody was terrified of him. There's not much humanity left in this city."

"Meaning--?"

"The same time we were tracking down Shoukou, our agents fanned out throughout the city to rally support for our cause. But nobody answered the call. Even when the prefectural castle fell before their very eyes, they wouldn't get off their butts. They're all convinced that if they even raise a finger, they'll be found out and consequences will follow."

"That's harsh."

"Still," said Suzu, placing her hands on the merlon and straightening herself, "I have a pretty good idea where they're coming from."

"How's that?"

"I was working at a big estate before I came to Kei. The mistress there made my life hell. When I think back about it now, I should have asked her, 'Why are you doing this?' But show disrespect to Mistress Riyou-sama and she'd tear you apart with her tongue and then work your fingers to the bone. So you shut up and lived with the fear. You shut up and persevered, and all the while only got more and more scared."

"Huh."

"She was always saying, 'If anything bad happens, you'll catch it,' and you'd be overcome with this sense of unease. When I sort it out in my mind, though, Mistress Riyou-sama wasn't so cruel that she'd ever deliberately kill me--she didn't even physically accost me--but I could never convince myself that she wouldn't."

Suzu turned her back to the city. "When you're putting up with something, it's coming to the end of your tether that scares you. No matter how hard things are now, you just know your life will get so much worse if you give into your impulses and go flying off the handle."

"I suppose that's true--"

"But that doesn't mean the times weren't tough. Because my life was hard, I couldn't stop thinking how unlucky I was and couldn't stop feeling sorry for myself. The people shut up in their houses right now are in exactly the same state of mind. It would never occur to them to try and take down some big important person."

An ironic smile came to Shoukei's lips. "Anybody who ends up dead probably had it coming. That's what they're thinking. But when you understand that there are people like Shoukou in the world, then you know the murderers are the evil ones."

"That's true."

"People treat unhappiness like a competition. Of course, the dead are the most unfortunate of all, but when you feel compelled to pity another person, it somehow makes you feel like the loser. Believing that you're the most pitiable person on the face of the earth isn't so different from believing you're the most blessed. Feeling sorry for yourself and resenting all others, you run away from what you really should be doing."

"Indeed."

"When someone tells you, 'No, you're wrong,' you get all pissed off at them. You're angry because they dared to criticize poor unlucky you."

Suzu giggled. "Exactly."

Shoukei looked at Youshi, who, eyes downcast, hadn't said a word so far. "Sorry. We didn't mean to bug you with all this chit-chat."

"Not at all," Youshi said, not shifting her gaze. "I've been thinking about how we all managed to end up in the same place, in the same predicament."

"Yeah."

"Being happy is simple. It's the getting there that's hard to pull off. At least, that's the way it strikes me."

"You know," said Suzu. "when it comes to living a life, happiness is only the half of it. Suffering is the other half."

"I couldn't agree more," Shoukei said with a nod. "But all we see is the suffering. Little by little, we lose the ability to even recognize happiness when it's in our grasp."

"It's a matter of willpower. You know, this is a strange conversation we're having."

"Strange indeed."

Shoukei and Suzu ran out of things to say. The three of them lazily enjoyed the slight breeze.

"People are curious creatures," Suzu said absent-mindedly. As if snapping out of a daze, she lifted her head. "Hey, how about we do a patrol? Let's take a walk around the walls."

18-3

On such a carefree afternoon, it was hard to believe that there was a war going on.

"Starting tomorrow, people are going to start dying," Suzu blurted out as they strode along the wall walk.

"With so many sacrifices being made," Shoukei added, "news of this is bound to reach the ears of the Royal Kei."

Youko stopped in her tracks. Shoukei glanced over her shoulder, a quizzical look on her face. "Ah," she said, a smile coming to her face. "You see, even if we attempted a coup d'etat, there's no guarantee that it would succeed. Kantai and the others aren't thinking about dispatching Gahou. If they could have their way, they'd like to know why their leader was punished by the Royal Kei. But if she takes notice, then it's worth the cost."

Suzu nodded in agreement. "The Empress can't have any idea what's going on in Wa Province and Shisui Prefecture. If she knew the chaotic state things were in, and how much Shoukou and Gahou are despised, she'd be sure to investigate and spend a lot more time righting wrongs like this. That's what we're shooting for."

Suzu giggled to herself. "To tell the truth, I came to Kei to meet the Empress. So did Shoukei."

Youko's eyes flew open wide. "To meet the Royal Kei? Why?"

"Because she's the same age as us," Suzu and Shoukei said at the same time, and laughed.

"That's the only reason?"

"No, not really," Suzu quickly added. "It was also because we were both kaikyaku."

As they strolled along the wall walk, Suzu recounted the tale of her long journey. It really was a long journey. So many things had happened by the time she'd wound up here. Now, despite being in the middle of a war she wasn't sure she'd survive, she found herself strangely at peace with herself, as calm as this early spring morning.

"Because I was a kaikyaku, I felt incredibly sorry for myself. I told myself that a fellow kaikyaku like the Empress would take pity on me and help me out."

"You've really grown up, Suzu," Shoukei said.

Suzu waved her hand. "Oh, c'mon. It's hardly anything to boast about."

"Well, I despised the Royal Kei. But only because she was favorite scapegoat. I couldn't forgive the fact that I'd been driven out of the imperial palace at the same time a girl my same age had been crowned Empress."

And then Shoukei recounted the details of her journey as well. The regicide of her father, the freezing winters spend at the rike, the time she was almost executed, and being sent to Kyou. How she'd escaped and fled to Ryuu, and the person she encountered there.

"If I hadn't met Rakushun, I'd still be in the same sorry state I was then. I owe him everything."

"Rakushun--!" Youko exclaimed.

Shoukei turned to her. "He's a really good person. I had to believe that if the Royal Kei was a friend of his, then she must be a good person too."

"I am?"

"Eh?" Suzu and Shoukei said together. They stopped and stared at her. "You're what?"

"I mean, what I'm telling you is, the Royal Kei you're talking about is me!"

Both Suzu and Shoukei's mouths dropped open.

"I know this is going to sound like some sort of joke, but listening to your stories, I couldn't remain silent. I had to say something." Youko felt incredibly awkward. Suzu and Shoukei didn't look like they were buying it.

"The Royal Kei? Sekishi?"

"Yeah. The ministers came up with that name. The Red Child. You see, because of my hair--"

Their sense of astonishment slowly grew. "Is your name really Youshi?"

"Well, it's really Youko. The characters are the same. You as in taiyou (the sun). Shi as in shison (descendant)."

"You can't be serious!" Suzu stared at Youko. Buried feelings groaned to life within her. Hadn't she bought the dagger currently inside her vest for the express purpose of killing the Royal Kei?

Shoukei gazed at Youko as well. The person she'd resented and envied for so long was right there in front of her. Long-forgotten emotions swelled within her breast. Had she ever really hated her that much?

"If you're telling us the truth, then what in the world are you doing here?" Why aren't you in Kinpa, the Imperial Palace in Gyouten? she meant.

"I'm a taika. I don't know a thing about this world. I was being tutored by a man named Enho."

"Enho--the man who was kidnapped?"

Youko nodded. "Shoukou had the rike attacked and Enho abducted. Shoukou may have carried out the orders, but in one way or another, Gahou was at the root of it. Shoukou says that Enho is now in Meikaku. I've been looking everywhere for him, trying to rescue him, and this is where I ended up."

"You didn't have to get involved in something like this!" Shoukei practically shouted at her. If she was the Empress--really was the Empress--then she should have simply dismissed Shoukou. Carrying on in this manner, so many people who'd never intended to put their lives on the line were suffering mortal injuries. How many people had died so far? Of the three men Kantai had ordered to Takuhou, one was already dead. The faces of mercenaries she'd become so accustomed were gone before she knew it. How many of Suzu's comrades had been lost as well?

"I couldn't order the Imperial Army to arrest Shoukou. I don't have that kind of authority."

"What do you mean you don't? That doesn't make any sense!"

"I don't. I truly don't. I told Keiki to relieve Shoukou of his post, but the ministers wouldn't act without sufficient grounds. I had to present them with convincing reasons and concrete evidence to back them up. I do not have the trust of the bureaucracy."

"Why?"

"They say I'm incompetent. And I am. I don't know anything about this world. No matter how hard I think a matter through, I can't say what the best solution is. The ministers don't trust empresses. This kingdom has had a bad run of empresses. And when it comes to something like this, they're hardly going to leave things to my discretion."

"This is too unbelievable." But Shoukei had heard too many times how Kei was not blessed by its empresses.

"I asked Keiki to mobilize the provincial guard, but he wasn't able to. His minister of defense and his three commanding officers were suddenly struck ill."

Shoukei was too taken aback to speak.

"He returned to the palace to put the Imperial Court in order, but it was too late. Enho had been kidnapped. The rike was attacked and a girl my age was murdered. Her brother was stabbed and now clings to life. He was immediately taken back to the palace, and while the doctors have done everything they can for him, we don't know whether he will live or die."

"Doctors," Suzu muttered to herself. Shoukei glanced at her. Suzu's eyes were focused on Youko.

"Yes, I know. A child died in this city as well. When I found him, the life was all but gone from him. There wasn't anything I could do to help him."

"Really?" Shoukei asked. "You would have helped him if you'd been in time?"

Youko drew her brows together in obvious discomfort. "Of course. One life is worth as much as another."

"And if that child had suffered a less grievous wound?"

Youko's expression turned even more disagreeable. "And you, Shoukei? Would you have walked by on the other side? Wouldn't you have at least taken him to a doctor? Isn't that the kind of thing that people normally do?"

"Yeah, sure," Shoukei said, with a sigh. Suzu didn't say anything. She rested her forehead against the merlon.

"Look, as an empress, I'm nothing to write home about, okay? I had no idea my subjects were dying right and left, being taxed to death, worked to death, and suffering God knows what else. I know it's a poor excuse to say that I only feel compelled to help the unfortunate right there in front of me, but like I said, I'm pretty much a joke as far as empresses go. When I said I'd help Keikei or that other boy, that still means that some other kid in some other place else is going to die. But how can you ignore the suffering in front of your eyes?"

"You can't."

"Yeah," said Youko, bowing her head. "I'm sorry I don't exactly measure up."

Shoukei nodded. Hugging her arms around the merlon, Suzu suddenly burst out laughing.

"Suzu--"

"I know, I know," Suzu said, waving her hand back and forth. She clung to the merlon and buried her face in the crook of her arm, tears of mirth streaming down her cheeks as she laughed.

"Suzu, what's your problem?"

"But… I mean… this is so stupid!"

"Suzu, really!"

"Not knowing the slightest thing about her, I built up all these expectations, only to see them dashed. I didn't place all my hopes in Youko. I placed all my hopes in some big, important person called the 'Empress.' What a fool I was!"

Youko stared at her, a perplexed expression on her face. Suzu flashed her a strained smile. "But that's the way it is with an empress, no? Everybody burdens you with their own expectations. Nobody thinks about things from your perspective. And so we all get to wallow in our own disappointment. Don't you think?"

Shoukei looked up at the heavens and sighed. "Indeed."

"So what do you think I should do?" the puzzled Youko asked.

"Huh?" said Suzu, raising her head. "Well, there's no doubt about that, is there?"

Shoukei scowled at Suzu, and then sighed again. "No, you're right. There isn't." She clapped Youko on the back. "We defeat the provincial guard and tear Gahou from power!"

19-1

In the dead of the night, Youko was awakened from a light sleep by the violent beating of a drum.

"W-what's going on?"

Next to her, Suzu and Shoukei awoke with a start.

"An attack?"

"The provincial guard can't have gotten here already!"

They jumped to their feet and rushed out of the guard tower onto the wall walk. The sound came from one of the drum turrets positioned at the four corners of the castle walls.

"What happened, Kantai?"

Standing on the wall walk, Kantai turned his severe countenance and gestured toward the south.

Youko gasped. She and Suzu and Shoukei stood rooted to the spot. The darkness spread out over the city of Takuhou. To the south, a light could be seen along the outer loop road. A red light. Flames.

"A fire?" queried Suzu.

Youko narrowed her eyes.

"Why?" somebody asked.

Sekki and Koshou came running.

"Koshou, there's a fire--"

Sekki's voice interrupted hers. "It's the provincial guard."

"What?" The people there all turned and looked at Sekki.

"This is no doubt some strategy of Gahou's. The guard intends to burn us out, along with Shoukou and the city."

"Nonsense!" came a cry from the gathering crowd.

"Koshou, what do we do?" a familiar voice asked. "Consider the time of night! We must wake the citizenry and muster them to put out the fires!"

"No!" Both Kantai and Sekki answered together.

"Why not, Sekki?"

"The guard are waiting for us. The calvalry has likely pushed on ahead of the infantry. They're waiting for us to leave the castle. Send anybody out there, and the elite of the cavalry will set on them like a wolf pack."

Kantai agreed. "Sekki's right. Rush out of here and you'll be running headlong into a trap. It will takes hours for the fire to reach the castle. For the time being, it'd be best to watch and see how things develop."

Koshou glanced back and forth between the two. "You mean to stand by and do nothing?"

"There's probably nothing that we can do," Sekki said. The sound of a pounding drum burst forth from another turret on the castle walls. Sekki hung his head. "Another fire's been lit."

"Sekki!" Koshou raised his arms. "We turn our back on them and we're no better than common murderers!" He said to Youko. "Let's go."

"Youshi! Koshou!"

Suzu put her hand on Sekki shoulder. "It's wrong to get even with somebody out of a personal grudge, right? If we look the other way now, it will look like we did it all out of spite. We'll lose the high moral ground."

"Suzu--"

"There's no saying how things would have turned out if Kantai and Shoukei hadn't shown up. Since we were prepared for that eventuality all along, what if only we go?"

Sekki nodded. "Find a place where you can break through and secure an escape route for the people of the city."

"All right, then." Koshou gave Sekki a slap on the back that practically sent him sprawling. "Move out!"

A man noticed the smoke and jumped out of bed. He took note of the sound of popping wood and the strange hot wind and shook his wife awake. After the many days filled with dread, she slept soundly on this unexpectedly quiet night.

"Wake up!" he shouted. He ran through the living room to the bedroom opposite and scooped his small daughter up in his arms. Still half-asleep, she opened her eyes. Soothing her and hurrying his wife along, they headed outside.

"What in the world--!"

The avenue was a sea of flames. The man at once understood that the fire had become a firestorm.

"We've got to get out of the city! Now!"

This was what came from defying Shoukou. The people in Shisui were born under an unlucky star. This what happened when they questioned that fate. But until today, at least the destroying angel had passed by his house.

They mingled together with other scrambling, befuddled people running toward the Monkey Gate. The man stopped in his tracks and stared. The Monkey Gate was closed, and the mounted knights arrayed in front of the gate were up to no good. The ground beneath the horses' hooves was strewn with bodies.

He grasped his wife's arm, turned on his heels, and dragged her back the way they'd come. His wife screamed as an old man next to him took an arrow in the chest.

What did he do? What had he ever done to the likes of them? He had nothing to do with those rebels. Why kill him and all his kin on account of what they did?

For the time being, the rest of them could only run frantically down the street toward the inner loop road, away from the conflagration. The flames licked the sky all around them, filling him with horror. Here, there, and everywhere. From every point of the compass. The tongues of fire licking upwards next to a gate an instant later had crept along the ridgepoles and joined with a neighboring fire, growing much stronger.

What is going on?

Any escape had been closed off. His daughter opened her eyes and began to wail. "At the very least--" he said, turning around. A red light glowed atop the ink dark walls of the castle, lending it a foreboding and magisterial appearance. "You go to the castle."

"But--" his wife objected.

He handed the child to her. "They're the ones who overthrew Shoukou and caused all this. They won't abandon you. Go!" he said, giving her a push.

At the same time, the west White Dragon Gate opened and people spilled out. He froze in place.

"Get back!"

He stared at the horse and rider galloping toward him.

"Watch out for ambushes! The fire won't spread easily beyond the main boulevard! There are bound to be arsonists still in the city!"

"Understood!" they shouted, as they sprinted past him.

In all the confusion, the man hadn't budged an inch. Left behind in front of the gate, a boy perched on a horse waved at him. "They'll show you the way! Follow them!"

Amidst the jumble of human activity in front of the White Dragon Gate, Kantai sprang onto the back of his kitsuryou. He turned to his two subordinates. "As much as possible, keep the people away from the castle walls. An attack may come in the midst of all this turmoil. Take the wounded inside the castle if necessary, but keep on your toes. There may be provincial guardsmen lying in wait among them."

"So you'll be going as well, then?"

Kantai grinned at the men before him. "To put it another way, I can't afford not to. No man's praise can make up for Koshou's scorn." He shouldered his lance. "I'll leave the rest to your good offices."

The men bowed. Kantai saluted and spurred on the kitsuryou.

19-2

"Koshou!"

Alerted by Youko's cry, Koshou scanned his surroundings. His eyes were drawn to several men charging out of a nearby alleyway. Seeing weapons in their hands, he swung his broadsword, eviscerating the first and impaling the second and third on the back swing.

Youko charged into the melee and cut down the remaining two.

"These bushwhackers are everywhere."

"Very much so."

The main boulevard ran straight from the White Tiger Gate to the Rooster Gate. Urging the panicking civilians to move toward the castle, Koshou wiped off his sword. As expected, even a winter weapon eventually lost its edge. They regrouped with their colleagues and crossed the main boulevard. The fire pressed south along the streets. Where the street dipped down, Koshou came to a halt.

They saw the silhouettes of mounted riders coming toward them, dragging down the small shops that lined the streets as they went along. Without all the debris, the street would be close to eighty paces wide, and it'd be rare for a fire to breach the gap. For the time being, the fires raging to the left and right of the street had not approached close enough to singe them.

"Those bastards are fast," Koshou growled. "Aim for the horse's legs."

"Roger!" came the acknowledgments from around him.

They stared each other down. The horsemen made the first move. As soon as the order was given, the earth trembled and the horses launched forward. Koshou and his companions sized up the situation and readied themselves.

Youko stepped off to the side, leaned over and addressed the ground at her feet. "If you would, please," she said.

"Yes," the voice answered in return, and faded away.

The horses bore down on them. The horse in the lead suddenly crashed to the ground. "What?" puzzled Koshou. The fallen horse tripped up the one behind it. The third horse just managed to skirt the pileup, but then for some reason tumbled to the ground as well--as if its hooves had been yanked out from under.

"What the hell's going on?"

"Strike while the iron's hot," Youko's cool voice said next to him.

Koshou glanced at Youko, but she had already taken off after the fallen knights.

When Kantai arrived on the scene, the street was a confusion of friend and foe: fallen steeds and the onrushing civilians, panicked soldiers returning fire.

"You seem to be handling things." Kantai dismounted from the kitsuryou and jumped down next to Koshou. The kitsuryou turned and set off back to the castle.

"Not our doing. We seem to have some friendly spirits on our side. The horses took it upon themselves to bite the dust without us lifting a finger."

"Huh." Kantai readied his lance. Made of forged steel down to the hilt, the lance was Kantai's personal winter weapon.

"And with so little light, haven't taken an arrow in some time now."

"A good thing too, having good luck and a fair wind at your back. Let's take the fight to the Rooster Gate!"

"I'm with you!" said Koshou, and started off at a run. Kantai followed after him, skewering the unseated knights milling about in disarray.

A soldier bounded to his feet. Youko batted away the spear tip thrust at her. Having lost his weapon, the soldier ran away, and Youko didn't bother chasing him. She looked up. The Rooster Gate was not far off. She could see a catapult there, but no projectiles had recently flown in their direction. She smiled to herself. At her heels a voice said, "Soldiers have begun a headlong retreat from the outer gate."

"Thanks. And how are you holding out?" Shirei they might be, but they were not invulnerable. Winter weapons could mortally wound them. An alert soldier could sense them coming, even hiding in the shadows.

"A few scratches. Nothing serious."

"Sorry for the trouble. Could you do another job for me?"

"The provincial guard stationed at the Rooster Gate?"

"Yes." Youko indicated the nearby enemy with her sword.

"By your command."

The voice disappeared. At the same time, a soldier drew his sword and closed on her. Their blades clashed, throwing off sparks. Steel ground against steel. She turned his sword aside, he stumbled off balance, and she swatted him in the back with the flat of the blade. He didn't retreat though, but slashed at her again. This time, she parried the attack, aiming for the hilt. He dropped the sword and ran off yelping.

"You don't seem to enjoy killing people," Kantai called out to her.

"Better a conflict resolved without a death than with."

"If we're not culling the enemy's forces, then what's the point?"

"I'm hoping to chip away at their morale instead."

"Aren't you a strange one. Handling a sword the way you do, and yet spouting such sentimental nonsense." There was laughter in his voice. "Who were you speaking with just now?"

"Nobody. I have a habit of talking to myself."

"Oh?" Kantai said, stepping away from her. Three soldiers ran at them waving their swords. He mowed them down with his lance, like wheat before a sickle. The heavy armor groaned. Struck above the knees, the three crumpled into a heap on top of each other.

Youko was amazed. That Koshou possessed the strength to wield a hundred-pound broadsword was impressive enough, but the way Kantai twirled around that solid steel lance was beyond incredible. Even Koshou had to gasp. The lance must weigh at least three hundred pounds, and as burly a man as Kantai was, he didn't weigh three hundred pounds. Not only carrying a steel lance as massive as himself, but whirling it about the way he did, defied common sense. And yet he showed no signs of running out of energy.

"He's some kind of monster," Koshou said in an amazed tone of voice. He was breathing hard by now. He held a scimitar in his hand.

"What happened to your broadsword?"

"Broke it."

"Ah," Youko nodded.

She ran down the street. Three thousand had stormed out of the castle. They established a fire line in the middle of the main boulevard and moved forward to extinguish the flames. The Rooster Gate was before them. Youko's platoon had been significantly reduced in number. Nevertheless, they somehow had to hold the gate and the city streets between them and the main gate of the castle.

For the time being, the firestorms in the city behind her seemed to be abating.

19-3

Suzu and Shoukei and their squad galloped through the city, directing civilians dazed and confused by the fire to the south. "Extinguish the fires! If you intend to run for it, then head for the Rooster Gate!"

Here and there, guardsmen were still lying in wait. They evaded them as best they could, but pretty soon their strength began to flag. They were ambushed over and over. A mercenary next to Shoukei was struck and felled. They just managed to escape as more soldiers rushed them, firing arrows and thrusting pikes. Another horse was struck in the legs and collapsed.

Not far off, Suzu screamed. "Sekki!"

The rider of the fallen horse was Sekki. He hit the ground and was sent sprawling. Light infantrymen charged him. Shoukei swung her mount around, but there was no way she would reach him in time. She spotted a soldier swinging a scimitar and screamed as well. Sekki wore no armor that could protect him from such a weapon.

"Sekki!"

The heavy clang rang out from a violent impact. The soldier waving the scimitar dropped his weapon, threw his arms over his head, and squatted down on the ground. Suzu stared in amazement.

"Enough already!" The white-haired old man swung the hunk of wood a second time at the soldier. "Who do you think you are?"

A rider approached on Shoukei's blind side and delivered the coup de grace to the soldier.

Sekki sat up and looked at the old man holding the wooden door bolt. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it."

A sinewy hand reached down to him. Sekki grasped the hand and was pulled to his feet. Sekki wasn't injured so badly that he couldn't walk. He went to let go, but the old man held on. Sekki turned to him.

The old man asked, "Is Shoukou dead?"

"We've captured him. He's being held in the prefectural offices."

"Ah," he said, at last letting go of Sekki's hand. "Is there anything more I can do?"

Sekki smiled. "You can help put out the fires."

The man nodded and turned around. Suzu smiled down at Sekki. "See? There are people here who get it."

Sekki grasped her hand and she pulled him onto the back of the horse.

"Let's go. We still haven't made it all the way around the city."

They fought their way to the Rooster Gate and dispatched the platoon of soldiers there who had held their ground. The area around the gate was quiet. No incoming arrows. The guard towers atop the gate were silent.

Youko permitted herself a small smile. Koshou gazed at the scene disbelievingly and turned to her. "What have you been up to?"

Youko returned the look and casually shrugged. "What could I have possibly been up to? Say, do you think we should open the gate?"

Koshou scowled and approached the gate. The gate had a portcullis, but it hadn't been lowered. He pushed aside the assault wagon barricading the three doors of the gate and released the bolts.

It was likely that the arrows would come flying as soon as he opened the large center door. Knowing that, he hesitated. Youko's hand did not as she opened the smaller auxiliary gate. She often pressed forward in this reckless manner. When she did, Koshou had learned, it usually meant the danger was gone.

Kantai opened the second auxiliary gate to Koshou's left. "Will you look at that," he said, in a deeply curious voice. He turned to Youko, who was securing the ring in the door to a hook on the wall. "Youshi, did you know there were no enemy outside?"

In fact, there was no sign of the enemy outside the gates. Aside from some wounded, and the scattered corpses and weapons, the countryside was almost bucolic.

"Ah--" said Youko, and shook her head.

"You didn't seem very uncertain about opening that door?"

"I, uh, forgot that there might be enemy out there."

"You--" Kantai started to say.

Youko interrupted him. "Enemy are approaching from the other direction. Don't you think we'd better hurry up and get ready for them?"

Koshou and Kantai exchanged glances. A man ran up to the door that Koshou was holding, pushed it open and latched it.

Koshou thought he was from Meikaku. Kantai thought he was from Takuhou. Having secured the door, the man pointed at the assault wagon. "Wouldn't it be best to move that and set up a defensive position?"

"Sure," said Koshou and Kantai, and then noticed that the man was shaking so bad his teeth were chattering. At this late stage, neither Koshou nor Kantai had seen anybody in their squads trembling this badly.

Koshou grinned and gave the man a whack on the shoulders. "Right you are. Thanks for the advice!"

As soon as they'd set up a defensive line outside the gate, they heard the sound of approaching horses.

"They're coming."

Koshou readied himself. In a peevish voice he exclaimed, "Dammit! We didn't have time to let the civilians escape!"

The red light from the city shone on his face. Youko peered up at the guard towers. Is this light a blessing? Or does the smoke cause more harm than good? It'd be hard to shoot at the enemy without any light to see by. But with the thick smoke filling the streets, it was getting hard to see anything even with the light.

"What do you say, Koshou? Should we shut the gates and return to the city center?"

"No other choice but to."

"There's an assault wagon," she heard Kantai say.

The hand gripping the hilt of her sword shook slightly, as did the ground beneath her feet. On unbroken ground, an assault wagon was the equal of ten mounted knights. The heavy rolling sound of the armored wagon echoed through the smoke.

The few civilians who had girded up their loins to join them retreated back down and sought the refuge at the castle. Only the battle-tested massed at the Rooster Gate. Even so, Youko and her fellow defenders were at an overwhelming disadvantage. The provincial guard would not only strike at the Rooster Gate. They'd have no choice but to divide their strength among the other gates at well.

They had about five hundred fighters gathered at the Rooster Gate. The provincial guard typically maintained reserves of 7500 cavalry in three regiments of 2500 soldiers each. Two regiments had been dispatched from Meikaku to Takuhou. With one regiment pushing on ahead, that meant another 2500 would be bringing up the rear. They could deploy at least four hundred to each of the twelve gates.

The rebels had broken the siege at the Rooster Gate, but simple math said that a good 4500 cavalry still surrounded Takuhou.

"Shut the gate!" ordered Koshou, and turned on his heels.

The sound of the assault wagon pressed nearer. Faint shapes and shadows could be seen through the smoke. Youko's eyes widened. It wasn't an assault wagon. It was more like a wedge out of the Great Wall itself moving slowly toward them.

"A siege tower," Kantai said in a low voice. "They came with siege towers."

"Siege towers?" queried Koshou.

"The forward portions are lined with armor, and behind them sandbags, giving cover to the soldiers. The big ones are called cloud bridges. That one's a thunder bridge. It's drawn by a bunch of siege wagons, each pulled by teams of horses. Ordinary mounts won't do, though. They'd tire too quickly."

"You're not so normal yourself."

"No less normal than Youshi. That thing there's for attacking the castle. If we don't stop it now, even if we shut the gates, it'll just break through the walls."

"What's the best way to attack it, then?" Youko asked.

Kantai raised his head in response to her question. "Koshou--" he said.

"What?" Koshou asked, looking back at him.

Kantai gestured with his lance. "Prepare fire arrows. As best you can, man the wall walks and fire down on the teams pushing the siege tower forward. You can use this. You hold it at the base and brandish it about. If it's too much for one person, make it a two-man operation. At any rate, if you can stop the siege tower coming in from the north and check the progress of the cavalry, head back to the city."

Koshou took the lance and grimaced. "We'll see what we can do. What are we going to do about the one coming from the south?"

"Leave it to me."

Youko peered up at Kantai. "With your bare hands?"

Kantai laughed. "My bare hands will do. You can cover me."

Youko furrowed her brow. The siege tower moved ever closer. They didn't have time to debate the subject.

"You going or not? Hey, you up there!" Koshou barked out. "Cover them!" The fighters before the gate suddenly stormed northward. Kantai launched himself southward.

He's fast. Youko followed after him, matching his unusually rapid gait. She drew her sword. Only because she had ordered the shirei to eliminate the archers could she proceed without fear of arrows.

At the same time her eyes grew wider with amazement. Kantai's body sank lower and lower to the ground. For a moment she feared he had been struck by an arrow, but he sank even lower. More than sinking, she got the impression that his body was somehow contracting. This wasn't because of an arrow. His forward progress made that clear.

What in the world--!

The shape and form of his body seemed to be dissolving. A moment later, he began to grow larger. His mutating form was both growing and taking on completely new dimensions. Or so it seemed to her.

From the wall walks as well, from every direction, a great stir went up. Kantai was some different kind of human. His hands emerged--no doubt about it--as forepaws. He shot across the ground up to the siege tower as fast as an arrow. He coiled up his body--now resembling a small mountain--and raked the side of the siege tower with a huge forepaw.

That single blow shook the thunder bridge. The siege wagons connected to it rocked back and forth and crashed to the earth, halting its forward progress.

He's a hanjuu.

Lances jabbed at the enormous bear, as it reared up on his hind legs. Youko ran forward to sever the spear tips from the shafts.

"Hey, my apologies," came a deep voice suffused with laughter. With a swipe of its paw, the huge bear took off the whole front of the assault wagon and sent it tumbling through the air.

As she swung her sword, Youko had to smile as well. "Just as I thought, the strength of no ordinary man."

The sun rose over the hills to the east of Takuhou. The city still smoldered, the smoke blurring the morning rays. But at least no tongues of fire could be seen.

Between the White Dragon Gate at the castle and the Rooster Gate, a collection of wagons blocked off the side streets, securing direct access to the Rooster Gate. Many silhouettes could be seen occupying the guard towers over the twelve city gates. The countless figures of men and women alike were perched atop the walls stretching out from the main gate.

Meeting fierce resistance, the Wa Provincial cavalry ringing the city had retreated for the time being. After a great deal of effort, they'd managed to join up with infantry advancing along the highway south of Takuhou and were setting up battle lines on the plains outside the Horse Gate.

The provincial guard rushed here had no grasp of the number of enemy forces they were facing. To what extent the citizens of Takuhou had joined up with the rebels, or whether they were only holed up in the citadel and protecting that.

This civilian rebellion was nothing to make light of, the foot messengers said. Already the civilians had taken over the ramparts and were keeping a valuable prize within the prefectural offices themselves. They were going to have to attack the formidable fortress at the heart of the city. Amidst this gloomy realization, even more startling news arrived:

This morning before dawn, Meikaku fell into chaos.

20-1

"Great!" exclaimed a smiling Koshou. "We kept 'em pinned down for three days, just like Kantai wanted."

Looking out from the turret at a corner of the city wall, he could see that the provincial guard troops bivouacked there were pulling up stakes. From the start, they'd faced a fortress of a castle, and Shoukou's large-scale defensive works had turned Takuhou into the size of a provincial castle.

"What in the world happened? It's amazing!"

"More than amazing, unbelievable," said Kantai. In the turret, Shoukei and Suzu exchanged glances and smiled.

"I'm starving."

Koshou sat down on a bench. There was plenty of food in the prefectural castle, but nobody to prepare it. It'd been left up to the castle cooks to keep the many prisoners of war fed. But as Koshou and the rest of them had no idea where the loyalties of the castle staff lay, they hesitated eating what was being served. The staff had at last been increased, and the night before they'd finally managed a cooked meal. But they hadn't had the time to eat since.

Suzu giggled. "Some of the women in the city are bringing meals. Just hold on a bit longer."

Koshou sighed pitifully. A voice called out from the top floor of the corner turret, "Koshou! Reinforcements!"

"What?" Koshou leapt to his feet and ran to the stairs leading up to the top floor. Everybody followed after him.

"Koshou!" The man looking down from the top of the staircase looked pretty green.

"Reinforcements?"

"Their standards?"

The man's voice rose to a nervous squeak. "Dragon banners in the west!"

Koshou and Kantai practically fell over each other rushing up the stairs. Shoukei gasped, "Dragon banners--that's the standard of the Empress." She seized the arm of the man who came stumbling down the stairs. "Dragon standards? Really?"

"I--ah--"

"What color are the ensigns?"

"Purple."

Shoukei and Suzu exchanged surprised looks. Youko darted up the stairs. Dragon standards and purple ensigns. They could only mean one thing.

The Palace Guard.

Koshou and Kantai rushed down the stairs. When they ran out on the wall walk, Shoukei and Suzu climbed the stairs.

"Youko! Is it really the Palace Guard?"

Looking out the window, Youko nodded, her face white.

"Why would the Palace Guard be coming here?"

"I have no idea."

From the window, Youko stared out at the nearby hills. A large army was proceeding down the highway, cavalry in the lead. They bore the dragon standard. There could be no doubts about it. This was indeed the standard of the Palace Guard, who should be currently stationed at Gyouten.

"It looks like we won't be ending up under the thumb of the provincial guard."

Shoukei stood next to Youko. "Gahou's got an ally in Gyouten. That person would be in the position to mobilize the Palace Guard."

Youko turned to her. "The Ministry of Summer?"

"What kind of person is the Defense Minister?"

"To tell the truth--" Youko had to think about it. She mentally traced the organizational chart of the Imperial Court. What faction did the Minister of Summer belong to? The army wouldn't move on any but the Minister's orders. Positing that there was a person who could mobilize the army, the person must wield significant power among the ministers.

"Seikyou."

"Who?" said Shoukei.

"The previous Chousai, the Minister-in-Chief of the Rikkan. He heads the most powerful faction in the Court."

"That's it, then."

"Wait a minute." Suzu spoke up, in a puzzled voice. "Why would Chousai mobilize the army on Gahou's behalf? Mobilizing the Imperial Army would be strange enough. But the Palace Guard? That's because Youko is here!"

"Oh, it's for Gahou," said Shoukei. "Nothing else makes sense, does it? So is Gahou using Chousai or is Chousai using Gahou?"

"But Seikyou hates Gahou."

"Hates him? Why?"

Youko unconsciously caught her breath. She remembered Seikyou declaring how Gahou's behavior was unforgivable, but then saying that without evidence there was nothing he could do. She heaved a vexed sigh.

"Faking a feud is a piece of cake. If he's getting Gahou to do his dirty business, then of course he would pretend to disapprove in public. The kind of people who would slight the Empress and mobilize the Palace Guard on a whim would certainly be capable of the rest. It was probably Chousai's faction advocating the sacking of the Province Lord of Baku."

"You're right. It was."

"In short, Chousai hated the Marquis of Baku. A province lord who followed the Way and loved his subjects would be an eyesore to him."

"Um--" Suzu said, somewhat dubiously. "Do you think the kidnapping of Enho and the destruction of the Evergreen Seminary was the work of this Chousai as well?"

"The Evergreen Seminary?"

"It was on Gahou's orders. So was sending Enho to Meikaku."

"That's definitely the case. What about the Wa Province Lord looking so disapprovingly on seminaries in other provinces? If Chousai was pulling the strings behind the scenes, then it starts to make sense. A fellow of the Evergreen Seminary like Marquis Baku would prove a nuisance. They'd despise all seminaries like it. Graduates entering the Imperial government on the recommendation of the Marquis would cause them nothing but problems. It all fits together, doesn't it?"

Youko sighed again. Then she narrowed her eyes. "You've got a devious mind, Shoukei."

"I understand palace intrigues very well. I didn't hang around in the palace for thirty years for nothing. A few things I got down, if I say so myself."

"Unbelievable," Youko said with a sly smile.

Suzu tugged on her sleeve. "But what do we do now? The provincial guard was bad enough. But how can it not be over when the Palace Guard arrive?"

Youko knit her brows. "The Palace Guard are a tough lot, particularly the air wing of the Palace Guard. There's a frightening lot of them."

"More than fifteen?"

"If all three regiments of the Palace Guard were mustered, the total would come to three companies of one hundred soldiers each. And along with them, an equal number of soldiers equipped with pegasi."

Suzu was rendered speechless. Youko's green eyes blazed. "But I shall not countenance this being done without my permission!"

20-2

The flags of the Palace Guard ringing the city had the citizens of the city in a high state of agitation. The Palace Guard was different from the provincial guard. People recognized the dragon standard as that of the Empress, bearing the authority of the Kingdom.

The Imperial Army has come to suppress the rebellion.

Voices of despair filled the streets. Even if they surrendered, the punishment would be severe. Fearing that not a single person would be spared, they prepared to flee. Koshou's and Kantai's mates were no exception.

Clearly, people said, the Empress was watching Shoukou's back. They had been mistaken, others cried in frustration. Anyway, they were the rebels, not themselves.

One regiment had already arrived, and the standards of two more could be seen behind them. Civilians rushed to the gates, claiming they were going to surrender to the Imperial Army.

"Earn the displeasure of the Empress, and it's all over."

"We didn't plan on going along with treason!"

"Earning the displeasure of Shoukou amounts to the same thing. Earn the displeasure of the Kingdom, and God knows what will happen."

They'd acted on their own and brought calamity upon Takuhou. These criticisms all fell on Koshou: "You've made things bad enough already!"

Koshou sat dejectedly in the guard tower above the main castle gate. "Why did they come here?" he asked. There was hardly a soul present. The reason was, it'd been heard whispered about that if Koshou's head was presented to the Imperial Army, the people of Takuhou could win some forgiveness.

"What do we do?" asked Kantai.

Koshou hung his head and sighed. "What does it matter what we do? Might as well open the Horse Gate and let escape those who want to." His tone of voice was casual, but there was no life left in his words.

"The moment you open the gate, the Imperial Army will come rushing through."

"Too late to worry about that now." Koshou looked up at Kantai, standing in front of him. "Kantai, everybody knows you're a hanjuu now. You'd better take your kitsuryou and get out of here."

"Hey, you calling me a coward?"

"Naw." Koshou smiled and looked around the room. "I just don't think there's any saving us. It's better not to get anybody else involved." He called out, "Tell the men securing the gate that as soon as they get here, they should get ready to escape. And watch out for the civilians. They're a little pissed at us."

"But, Koshou--"

"Even if we're to be executed as traitors, we've still got our honor. We can't keep everybody locked up like they're hostages."

"Koshou, wait!" Suzu cried out. "Don't give up so soon!"

"She's right," Shoukei agreed.

"Hold on a little while longer. They're waiting for us to give up without a fight. Otherwise, they would have attacked already. There's still time. It's not over until it's over. Don't rush to any conclusions."

Koshou took a breath and raised his head. A self-mocking smile came to his lips. "I'm the last one who wants to be thought a coward."

"It's not over until it's over," Shoukei and Suzu chorused.

Koshou and Kantai both narrowed their eyes suspiciously. "Speaking of which," Koshou said, raising his hand, "Where's Youshi?"

Suzu and Shoukei exchanged glances. Shoukei was the one who spoke first. "She's stationed at the Horse Gate. Even if you told her to open the gate, I don't think she would."

As Koshou opened his mouth to say something, a man came up the stairs of the guard tower. "Koshou!"

"What's up?"

"Some people are here. They say they represent the people of the city."

Everybody scowled at the prospect, but Koshou bigheartedly invited them to come up. Sekki moved over next to Koshou. Then everybody else did the same. They couldn't take any chances that their guests might be harboring funny thoughts about taking a shot at Koshou.

The party consisted of six middle-aged men. Representing them was a man by the name of Kakugo. "Don't get the idea that we're cooperating with you," he said dismissively. "We consider ourselves the prisoners of war of you rebels. We wish to be freed, and cannot abide being thought of as rebels like yourselves. You and your gang of outlaws--"

As Kakugo continued to cast aspersions on Koshou, the other five joined in. By the time Koshou had sighed in resignation, Suzu spoke up in a loud voice: "Enough already!"

Not only Kakugo, but Koshou and Kantai as well jumped in surprise.

"Didn't you despise Shoukou? Did you like the way he governed?"

"Hold your tongue, Missy."

"I'm not holding my tongue! If you're so willing to give Shoukou a pass, then you're no better than him! You've got no business coming here and whining about it. We'll hogtie you the same we did Shoukou!"

"Suzu--" Koshou said a bit severely.

Suzu returned the look. "And when did you turn into a mouse? You've got no reason to doubt yourself, listening to these fools." Koshou hadn't done anything wrong. And nobody was going to tell her the people of this city didn't hate Shoukou.

"I joined Koshou after Shoukou killed a boy who was like a brother to me. Shoukou ran over him in his carriage. Nobody blamed Shoukou. Nobody chased him down and dragged him from his carriage. I thought that was because you were afraid of him. But if that's not the case, if you're all willing to overlook his actions, then you're all my enemies! I'll forgive none of you!"

"Point taken, Miss. I'm not saying we didn't hate Shoukou, but we want to live." Kakugo declared, "We had no choice with a man like him but to bow our heads and go along! We're thankful that you've overthrown Shoukou, but we have no desire to throw our lives away. We love our families--do you think there's something wrong with that? You may have slain one beast, but the Empress is sure to appoint a bigger monster in his place."

"The Empress is not our enemy!"

Kakugo shouted, "Then what's the Palace Guard doing here? Are you saying the Empress would condone an insurrection in Takuhou? Is that what you're saying?"

"You're wrong!" Shoukei cried out. "The Empress knows what's been going on here. Do you know of the three beasts that prowl this Kingdom?"

Kakugo heaved a sigh and blinked several times. "Shoukou, the governor of Shisui Prefecture. Gahou, the Province Lord of Wa. And Seikyou, the Chousai."

"Hey," said Koshou. The rest of them as well looked at Shoukei with dubious expressions. Shoukei smiled at them in turn.

"That is indeed the case. The coin wrung out of Shisui flows into Wa. And what is collected in Wa fills Seikyou's pockets. In exchange for burning down the seminaries, sullying the name of the respected Marquis of Baku and having him expelled from the Imperial Court, and then attacking the rike, he gave them safe refuge. The provincial guard were ordered here for the same reason. If Shoukou or Gahou were ever arrested, things could get very dicey for Seikyou. That's why he sent the Palace Guard to Takuhou."

"How did you figure that out?" Kantai asked.

Suzu and Shoukei exchanged glances. "Because it wasn't the Empress who dispatched the Palace Guard. The Empress sympathizes with the plight of the people of Takuhou. It was Seikyou and Seikyou alone who sent them. That's why the Palace Guard are holding their positions outside the city gates and haven't attacked. They've got no legal orders to. They're hoping to cow us and wait us out and get us to surrender on our own."

"But--!"

"You see, Kantai, for as much power as Seikyou wields, there are equal forces arrayed against him in the Imperial Court. The Court is divided into two factions--for and against Seikyou. Do you think those opposing him will remain silent while he orders the Palace Guard around like they were his personal bodyguards? But if he only mobilized them and dispatched them to Takuhou he could always say it was a bluff. And if that results in a suppression of the rebellion, well, then another feather in his cap. But if it comes down to a fight, then even for a former Chousai, mere excuses won't suffice. The Palace Guard is the domain of the Empress alone."

"But they're going to attack any minute!" Kakugo yelled. "And when they do, it's all over! Don't you understand anything?"

"The Empress will save us. Please do not act prematurely."

Kakugo jabbed a finger in Shoukei's face. "What kind of reassurance is that? The Empress and Seikyou have probably been in this together all along!"

"That's impossible!" chorused Suzu and Shoukei. Neither could hold back a faint smile.

Kantai chuckled. "Well, the way you two are going on, it sounds like you're on regular speaking terms with the Empress."

Shoukei and Suzu shared a look. Shoukei said, "We are."

"You can't be serious!" Kakugo bellowed. "Since when are girls like you granted an audience with the Empress?"

Suzu was at a loss how to answer. Shoukei caught her eye, nodded, and spoke up instead. "You said it, Kakugo. It must strike you as quite odd that I should be granted an audience with the Empress."

"Of course it must!"

Shoukei bore down on him with her words. "My name is Shoukei, daughter of the Royal Hou, Emperor of the Kingdom of Hou. Do you think it odd that the Princess Royal of one kingdom should be granted an audience with the Empress of another? If you have any doubts as to the legitimacy of this my claim, then you may inquire of Gekkei, Province Lord of Kei. Ask him if he knows the Princess Royal of Hou, whose full name is Son Shou."

Kakugo and Koshou and the rest of them stared at her, opened-mouthed.

"My father recently passed away. I entreated with the Royal Kei and was invited to the Kingdom of Kei. The Royal Kei requested that I sojourn in Wa Province in order to ascertain the state of affairs here and report back to her. Through a strange set of connections, I ended up helping out Koshou here. But the Royal Kei is aware of all of this. She wishes to take this opportunity to arrest Seikyou. I can promise you that the Empress would not be pleased to hear you blaming Koshou and carrying on like rats deserting a sinking ship."

"This is nonsense!" Kakugo's face clearly showed his disbelief.

Suzu reached into her pocket. "Kakugo, read this."

Kakugo took the item the girl was holding up. It was obviously a passport. So? his expression said, and Suzu told him to look on the other side. Kakugo turned it over and visibly stiffened.

A seal in red and India ink. No, an Imperial Seal.

"In the Kingdom of Sai, I served Mistress Suibi on Mt. Ha. Having received permission from the Royal Sai herself, I set forth to the Kingdom of Kei to visit the Royal Kei. If you wish to confirm this, please direct any questions to Choukan Palace. That is, only if you doubt the veracity of this Imperial Seal."

Kakugo looked back and forth between the passport and the two girls. The girls smiled back at him. "Believe in the Royal Kei and wait. There is no way she will think the worse of you for doing so."

"You're a scary pair, you two," said Koshou, examining Suzu's passport. He handed it back to her and stared into her eyes. "What you just said, was that all true?"

Kakugo and his entourage had already agreed to wait and left the tower. The rumors were racing through the city, and if only in the slightest, the sense of fear and dread had begun to abate.

Suzu and Shoukei glanced at each other. Shoukei answered with a shrug. "As long as they believe it's true, it's true. The end results will not lie."

Koshou leaned forward quizzically. Shoukei waved her hand back and forth. "I don't really know if the Imperial Army will attack or not. But the air cavalry has not arrived, and no attack has come thus far, so I have no reason to believe I'm mistaken. What we must do is trust in the Royal Kei and wait. That is no lie. That is the complete truth."

"Okay, then!" Koshou slapped his knees. "Maybe it's one chance in a thousand, but we'll hold our positions along the walls."

"Koshou!" Suzu and Shoukei said together.

"I believe you two. We'll wait until the Royal Kei and her entourage arrives."

"Good." Shoukei sighed and looked out at the city. When she turned back to the Horse Gate, her eyes widened in surprise. "Suzu!"

"What?" Suzu came running.

Shoukei pointed out the window. "There!"

Koshou and the rest of them piled up next to the window. "It can't be!"

Everybody in the city was on pins and needles. The anxiety could be tasted in the air. The Imperial Army was fearsome. But so were the rebels. Those who wished it all to end feared an attack by the Imperial Army, and feared as well the retribution that would follow. Those who wished to flee feared reprisals by the rebels. In the end, they feared doing anything at all, the consequence of Takuhou being ruled for so long by the likes of Shoukou.

All the day long they looked up with apprehension at the walls. As long as there was no great commotion along the wall walks, then they could reassure themselves that things were fine for the time being.

A woman looked up at the walls for the umpteenth time, and her mouth dropped open in amazement.

"Look!"

Reacting to the sound of her voice, those around her looked as well. Along with the woman, their mouths opened and their eyes went wide with surprise.

20-3

Youko gazed from the guard tower at the surrounding countryside. She could clearly see the growing number of military units pitching camp among the hillocks bordering the fields. Though the army showed no signs of advancing, that didn't mean they did not intend to fight. The troops garrisoned along the wintry slopes were felling trees in the forest.

The Imperial Army was an intimidating sight, Shoukei had said. That may be so, but the provincial guard were the ones on the move. They were making siege weapons, a man in the guard tower pointed out.

"Starting now?"

"These siege weapons will be huge. They'll use whatever timber is available on the battlefield. If they don't need a large number, they'll get it done in half a day. As long as they've got wheels available, that is."

"I see," said Youko, returning her gaze to the countryside. In fact, the enemy army was not her concern. The sun slowly crossed the heavens. She searched the skies. Her patience was wearing thin. And suddenly, there he was.

"He's here."

"Eh?" the man next to her said, glancing at her.

Youko spun around and ran to the guard tower.

People along the wall walk stared up at the sky and gaped.

"But what is it?"

"It has to be--"

The voices arose in ones and twos. Hands were raised and fingers pointed at the sky.

"Why is it here?"

"But that's the--!"

It wasn't a youma or a pegasus. It was not human. It was some kind of beast. Its body resembled that of a deer, with a coat of glowing amber and a mane of gold. There was no one in the Kingdom of Kei who did not know what it was. They would have seen the paintings in the shrines and temples and in the government offices.

"The kirin."

Youko made her way through the astonished crowds. The circumstances notwithstanding, she raised her voice. "Keiki!"

He flew low through the air and landed on the wall walk. Voices cried out, voices suffused with fear, surprise, even joy. Youko pushed through the crush of people and ran to the creature.

"Keiki! You got here!"

"You have beckoned me to such a place as this?" he asked, clearly aghast at the surroundings. "The smell of death is quite pungent."

"Sorry. My bad."

"So this is what happens when you tell me not to worry? You have dragged my shirei through all this grime as well?"

"Listen, you can bitch to me all you want later. For now, take me to the encampment of the Palace Guard."

"You're asking me to comport myself as an ordinary pegasus?"

"I seem to recall that mustering the Palace Guard is your responsibility."

The purple eyes met Youko's, and then turned away.

"C'mon, Keiki. Just a bit more patience. Please." She knew Keiki was exactly the last person she should ever bring to a battlefield. He would truly suffer carrying her, she was spattered with so much blood.

"Let us depart, then." He turned his magnificent head toward the countryside. Youko climbed onto his back.

"Youko!"

The cry came from the base of the walls. She recognized Suzu and Shoukei looking up from the street, waving at her. Youko hardly had time to smile in return before Keiki leapt into the air. As he sprinted toward the flags of the Palace Guard, he said in a quiet voice, "The child lives."

A smile rose to Youko's face.

The troops situated along the borders of the fields looked up as one into the sky and gaped. General Jinrai, leading the Palace Guard Regiment of the Left, was no exception.

Why? he asked, catching his breath. Why was a person riding on the back of the kirin?

It wasn't enough that someone was riding the kirin, but that someone pointed straight at Jinrai--and the battle flags--and flew toward him. He unconsciously took a step backward.

I can't go along with this. Mobilizing the Palace Guard is a risky business.

Go! the Defense Minister had ordered him, and Jinrai had not refused. With the minister dropping Seikyou's name right and left, there was no way he could refuse. He wasn't about to lose rank over something like this.

On the other hand--

The holy beast closed on him, a red-haired lass of sixteen or so astride its back. Now Jinrai understood who she was. The Regiment of the Left had accompanied her to the coronation ceremony and to the receptions immediately following it.

The kirin stopped in the air no more than a few yards off, hovering above the dragon standards. The rider's gaze fell on him like daggers. At the same time her crystal clear voice called out, her anger evident.

"Jinrai!"

At the sound of his name, Jinrai retreated another step. A stir went through the surrounding soldiers, who showed all signs of heading for cover themselves.

"On whose authority have you come to Takuhou?"

"I--ah--"

"Show me your orders!"

He had to concoct some reason, some excuse, something--but he couldn't find the words to speak. His thoughts raced yet found no purchase. She's just a girl, he'd thought. Another mediocrity like the last empress. But then where did this vibrant sense of power and authority come from, that made him quake in his boots?

"When did the Palace Guard and its generals resign their commissions and become a gang of self-employed mercenaries?"

"Your Highness, I--"

"And when did your Commander-in-Chief become Seikyou! Tell me you intend to attack Takuhou on Seikyou's orders and I'll have you all branded traitors!"

Jinrai and the surrounding troops could nothing but stand there, rooted to the ground.

"What are you doing?" The kirin's eyes turned on Jinrai. "What are you doing, still standing in the presence of your liege? I heard no leave given."

Jinrai's willpower crumbled. He quickly sank to his knees. Following his lead, the troops knelt, touching the ground with their foreheads.

"Jinrai--"

"Yes!" Jinrai answered, his head brushing the earth.

"I am now giving you a direct order, an Imperial Rescript. Take command of the Palace Guard and march on Meikaku. There you will arrest Gahou, the Province Lord of Wa, and rescue Enho, the superintendent of Kokei in the Province of Ei. He is currently being held against his will in the provincial castle."

"Understood!"

"You will then dispatch a regiment to Gyouten and take Seikyou into custody. Arrest Gahou and Seikyou, and free Superintendent Enho without further incident, and I'll forget this ever happened, both the actions of the Palace Guard and the Wa Provincial Guard."

"By my word, it shall be done!"

21-1

Suzu watched as the creature and its rider alighted upon the wall alongside the Horse Gate.

"A kirin."

"It is," came Shoukei's voice.

"I wonder if it's right to bring a kirin to a place like this."

The question of how to deal with the solid wall of humanity surrounding them was written on all their faces. Suzu hadn't the slightest idea herself. She wanted to call out to Youko and run to her, but that didn't feel like the right thing to do.

As they all hesitated, Youko bid the kirin goodbye and turned around. "Hey, everything's going to be fine."

Her smile broke the ice. Suzu and Shoukei quickly crossed the short distance between them.

"Everything's okay? Really?"

"The Imperial forces, too?"

"I dispatched them to Meikaku with orders to arrest Gahou."

"Yes!" Suzu and Shoukei cheered together. But the people standing stock still behind them still gaped in amazement.

"Koshou! Didn't you hear? Everything's going to be fine!"

"Kantai! The Imperial Army will take care of Gahou!"

The two big men blinked in bewilderment. At last, the moment broke. Kantai was the first to sink to his knees.

"Your Highness."

In a flurry, everybody else copied him. Koshou remained standing, staring flabbergasted at the kneeling crowd. Sekki called out, "For heaven's sakes, brother, bow!"

"I, ah, but--"

Youko couldn't help giggling at the sight of the poor, confused Koshou. "No, you really don't have to. C'mon, everybody. Stand up."

Of course, nobody dared lift his head. Only the befuddled Koshou remained standing.

Youko said, "I am sorry that my incompetence should have caused the people of Takuhou so much distress, and wish to apologize to them." She turned to Koshou. "And to Koshou and all his kith and kin, I express my heartfelt thanks. In Shoukou's very shadow, you never gave up the good fight and remained true to the cause. You did what I could not, and for that I am grateful."

"Well, you know, it was nothing."

Youko smiled and looked out over the crowds. Heads were popping up here and there. "And to Kantai and his loyal band, I offer my deepest regards. If there is anything you desire, please tell me now."

Kantai lifted his head with a start. "May I truly ask anything of Your Highness?"

"Anything at all."

"Well--" Kantai said, glancing on the two men flanking him, and then at Youko. He again bowed his head. "I wish to dispel any doubts about the dismissal of Marquis Koukan, former Province Lord of Baku. I ask you to please receive the Marquis at Court!"

"Koukan--" Youko couldn't hide her surprise. "Kantai, are you a citizen of Baku Province?"

"My name is Sei Shin, former general in the Provincial Guard of Baku. And these are two of my regimental commanders--"

The two men Kantai indicated bowed deeply as well. One of them spoke up. "Pardon me, Empress, but I regret to inform Your Highness that soon after the pretender usurped the throne, my troops surrendered to her army. Given the opportunity to wipe away that disgrace, I followed General Sei here."

"I see," said Youko, gazing down at the three bowed heads. Of course, Kantai was no ordinary person. He was here with his comrades-in-arms, who had once been his officers. And now that she thought about it, Kantai's mates had always showed him the greatest deference.

"There is something I wish to ask you, first. Did you gather here in Wa Province on Koukan's orders?"

"That is indeed the case."

They had met once before at her coronation, but Youko couldn't remember his face. But based on the men he had gathered around himself, she could imagine what kind of a person the Marquis was.

"Kantai, I wish you to express my appreciation to Koukan for all he has done. Tell your lord that if he can find it in his heart to serve this foolish empress, then I would indeed ask him to visit Gyouten as soon as possible."

Kantai lifted his head and for a moment looked up at her face before bowing once more. "Upon my word, it shall be done!"

Youko nodded and walked over to Koshou, who still seemed completely at sea. She patted him on the arm and pointed at the guard tower. "Why don't we open the gates? There's no need to keep them shut any longer."

"Ah, right," said Koshou, with a big grin.

As he hurried along behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and asked, "Is there anything you'd like, Koshou?"

"Nothing comes to mind. Just seeing Shoukou brought to justice is enough for me."

"Nothing at all?"

Koshou smiled a bit sheepishly. "This here's all I've been thinking about." He stopped walking and Youko paused as well. "Am I going to be punished?"

Youko sighed to herself. "Why would you think that?"

"I made a pretty big mess of things around here."

"Well, if I punished you, Koshou, then wouldn't I have to impose those same penalties on myself?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Koshou grinned. "Oh, that's right!" he said, looking at her. "Now, I'm just asking you as a good mate, see, as a fellow soldier who ate out of the same pot with the rest of us. But there is a small favor I'd like to ask of you."

"What's that?"

"You being some sort of real important person and all, I was thinking maybe you'd know the right people who could make it happen. I was just wondering if you could arrange for Sekki to get into a good school in Ei Province--?"

Watching this exchange, Suzu and Shoukei burst out laughing. Even Youko couldn't keep a straight face.

"Eh? What'd I say?"

The ramparts filled with warm laughter brighter than sunlight.

21-2

The second regiment of the Palace Guard sent to Meikaku returned to Takuhou five days later.

Youko had stayed behind to help put the ship of state aright in Takuhou. But she eventually got fed up with the people of the city prostrating themselves at her feet right and left and confined herself to the castle compound. There she could converse at ease with Suzu and Shoukei as they inventoried the weapons and prepared meals for the wounded. Koshou was the same old Koshou. Having fought the long battle alongside her from the beginning, Koshou's mates grew relaxed around her as well, and went back to calling her "Youshi" the same way they had before.

Kantai and his lieutenants remained on a more formal basis with her, but that was no doubt because he was a general in the military and it was too late to teach that old dog new tricks.

"The Imperial forces approach!" came the shout from one of the turrets.

Youko climbed to the top of the castle wall in time to see a horse-drawn wagon entering Takuhou. She ran toward the main castle gate. The wagon stopped as soon as the driver recognized Youko. He climbed down and bowed deeply, then helped a small man off the wagon.

"Enho."

Enho turned his gaze from the soldier to Youko. "Well," he said, his face breaking into a smile, "I see you're doing well."

"Are you all right?"

Enho nodded, and his eyes darkened. "Rangyoku and Keikei?"

The question was like a dagger in her chest. She buried her face in her hands. "Rangyoku, she--"

A big hand thumped down on her shoulder. It was Koshou. He pointed at the middle gate. "Don't keep the old guy standing around chatting like this. Find a place to sit down."

Youko nodded, and Enho's eyes narrowed a bit. "I believe we've met once before."

"You were a great help to my little brother."

"And how is he?"

"Doing well, thank you. I'd like to bring him by later, if you don't mind. He's been wanting to see you again."

"I look forward to it."

Koshou bowed and continued on toward the main gate. At Youko's urging, she and Enho headed to the middle gate.

"I'm really sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I wasn't at the rike when I should have been. If I had--"

"How is Keikei?"

His soft query stung her ears. "He's in Gyouten. He seems to have made it through the worst."

"I see," said Enho, with an understanding nod. "It's not your fault, Youko. You should stop tormenting yourself about it. If anything, it was my responsibility. They were aiming for me, after all."

Youko lifted her head. "Why would Gahou--or Seikyou--wish to harm you?"

"Well--" said Enho, hanging his head, "I previously lived in San County in Baku Province."

"At the Evergreen Seminary, you mean?"

"So you've heard about it?"

"Then you were there?"

Enho flashed her a self-deprecating smile. "I was. Seikyou made overtures to me there, overtures I rejected. That was the beginning of the trouble."

"Obviously, Seikyou--"

"The Imperial government had uses for the seminary, he said, and we were all to become his underlings. Seikyou is a crook at heart. Cooperating with him could only divert us from the Way. I consulted with the superintendent of the seminary and urged him to turn down Seikyou's offer. As a result, many people lost their lives."

Enho's shoulders slumped as he walked.

"Did they hurt you in any way?"

"I'm as well as I need to be. Don't worry about me. My resolve was to stay fast to the Way, not to sacrifice so many innocent lives in the process. What is such a personal resolution worth, then? Even at my age, this is a question I cannot answer."

"Indeed."

"Now and then, more than teaching the Way, I have to believe that tilling the land or taking up arms to fight would be more meaningful. Look what happens when I try to stay above it all and only teach. The farmer who plants in the spring and gathers his harvest in the fall sees a far greater reward."

"But haven't you been sowing seeds of righteousness among the people all along?"

Enho looked up at Youko. "I see. " He sighed and smiled. "Even living as long as I have, some things take a while to sink in. But a young piece of work like yourself gets it right off. There's no need for you to think so little of yourself."

"I suppose so." Youko hung her head for a moment, and then nodded. "There's something I like to ask of you, Enho."

"What's that?"

Youko stopped in the courtyard. "I'd like to invite you to the Imperial Court and appoint you Lord Privy Seal."

Enho laughed heartily. "What, put an old fool like me in charge of the Sankou?"

"I need a tutor."

"True," Enho said. "After all the pains the Marquis went through to find me a place to live, I suppose there wouldn't be much point in going home again. But if you'd like me to be there, I'd happily come."

"Thank you very much."

"Okay, then," Enho said with a nod.

"Did the Marquis attend the Evergreen Seminary?"

"He did. I wasn't teaching at the time, but the principal brought him along. I taught him as I taught you. He was a good student."

"I really have to apologize. I swallowed everything Seikyou told me, hook, line and sinker, and dismissed Koukan."

"Simply admitting that goes a long way in clearing up the misunderstandings." Enho smiled. "Saibou will be happy to hear it."

"Saibou?"

"The chief minister of Baku Province, also an alumnus of the Evergreen Seminary. When Koukan was relieved of his post, so was the chief minister. After that, they became wanted persons. Nevertheless, he visited me several times on Koukan's behalf. I believe you met him on at least one occasion."

"Eh?"

"He came to the rike. The next day you asked me who he was."

The man who wore the veil. "Oh, so that was Saibou?"

"Yes. It was good meeting an old student, but painful seeing such a promising student brought so low. And it undoubtedly caused Rangyoku and the others a great deal of distress."

Youko looked up at the sky. "But why?"

"Who knows? I think it was just one misunderstanding following another." He tilted his head to the side.

"Still, it's good to know you're okay. I worried that you'd been injured."

"Oh, my injuries were nothing to be worry about. In any event, I'm a fast healer. The brigands who attacked the rike were pretty surprised. That's why they took me with them."

"How's that?"

Enho smiled and didn't answer her directly. "Well, at any rate, it'll be nice to see Kinpa Palace again."

"Enho Sensei--"

Enho chuckled. "When the time comes, though, you'd better use my proper name, Otsu."

"Otsu Sensei?"

Enho nodded. "I was born in Shikin, San County, Baku Province. The present-day city of Shishou. My full name is Otsu Etsu, also known as Rou Shou." Enho laughed heartily. "King Tatsu used to call me Count Shou."

"Eh?" Youko leaned forward with a puzzled expression. Enho only continued to smile back at her.

21-3

"Are you going back?" Suzu asked Youko. Suzu and Youko and Shoukei were staying in the servants quarters in a corner of the castle compound. They were getting ready for bed.

Youko nodded. "I've been away for too long. Keiki is starting to take it personally."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

"I've finally made up my mind. There's still a lot of stuff I can't make heads nor tails of, though."

"It's tough being Empress."

Youko nodded again. Suzu and Shoukei exchanged glances. Youko asked, "So what are you two going to do next?"

"Eh?" said Suzu, her eyes widening. Shoukei quizzically tilted her head to one side.

"You came here to see me, right? And so you did."

"Ah--" Suzu and Shoukei said together.

"Indeed. What to do next?" queried Suzu. Shoukei remained lost in her thoughts.

"You never thought about it?"

"Never crossed my mind," said Suzu. "Though I ought to go back to Sai at least once and express my gratitude to the Royal Sai."

Shoukei stared at the ceiling. "There are people I need to thank and apologize to back in my home country. But I fear I'm still persona non grata there." Then she laughed. "Oh, I do have a promise to keep. I need to take a trip to En."

"A promise?" asked Suzu.

Shoukei smiled. "I promised Rakushun that I'd see him again and give him a report about what happened."

Youko furrowed her brow a bit.

Shoukei said, "What's wrong?"

"I suppose news about the unrest in Wa Province has reached En."

"Undoubtedly it has. Rakushun pays close attention to the goings-on in other kingdoms."

"He's probably worried," Youko said. "Be sure to tell him all about it. But make sure to emphasize that things were resolved in a less-than-disastrous manner and he can sleep easy." Youko rolled her eyes toward the heavens. "If you can, you might want to play down my actual part in what went on here."

Shoukei giggled. "I understand."

The soft laughter filled the room. The conversation momentarily came to an end. Youko suddenly blurted out, "I've still got a problem that needs solving." When Suzu and Shoukei turned to her, Youko tilted her head to the side and asked, "What makes for a good kingdom?"

"A kingdom without any bastards like Shoukou in it," Suzu quickly replied.

Youko smiled thinly. "I get that part, but… what kind of lives do you wish to lead? And what sort of kingdom would you wish for in order to accomplish that?"

Shoukei and Suzu thought about it for a minute. The first one to open her mouth was Shoukei. "I hate cold and hunger. That's what made life at the rike so tough. And I'm hardly one to talk, but I hate being treated badly, and being treated with contempt."

Suzu nodded. "I agree completely. It's great to stop having to put up with stuff like that. Because when you are putting up with it, it makes you feel so small."

"Yeah. You just curl in on yourself."

"Sorry," Suzu said, "but I don't think we're answering your question."

As if thinking about something else, Youko shook her head. "No problem. I'm only looking for advice."

"Really?"

Youko nodded, and then said with less certainty, "At any rate, you've told me what you're going to do next, but what about after that?"

Suzu and Shoukei exchanged glances. Shoukei was sitting on the bed, her arms around her knees. She stared at her hands. "I want to learn more. I'm so stupid about everything it's embarrassing."

"Me, too," Suzu chimed in.

"I don't necessarily mean going to school and all. I mean learning about everything wherever I find it. It's too bad the Everygreen Seminary isn't around any more."

"You want to study--" Youko smiled. "How about this, then? I've asked Enho to be Lord Privy Seal and my tutor. What do you say you both come to work at Kinpa Palace and let Enho teach you there?"

Suzu and Shoukei gaped at her. "Hold on, you're saying--"

"Serious?"

Youko looked at them. "Right now, I could use all the help I can get. Even one more pair of hands will make all the difference." She glanced from Suzu (who seemed to be holding her breath) to Shoukei.

"What about Koshou and Kantai?"

"Of course. I want to find a place for them as well. I absolutely need people I can trust inside the palace, every last one of you."

Shoukei heaved a great sigh. "Well, you can't fight fate. I'm willing to give it a try."

"I'm in. You could ask for the moon, Youko, and you know we couldn't turn you down."

"For the moon?"

Suzu giggled and Shoukei unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. Youko couldn't help but join in. Their gentle laughter echoed off the walls of the small room.