Books. Lab specimens. New notebooks and a box full of
pencils. Colored brushes. A desk, a chair, an peach-colored upholstered couch,
a bed, and an amber celestial globe. Models of living things, wiring diagrams
of black carts and ships...
The room that Yuoshichi had given to Koushi was full of
things he'd never seen before. All the teaching materials from the academy were
available here. The room was larger than his family's house, and completely
carpeted. The wallpaper was styled to look like plants. The windows were
polished to a mirror shine, and simple curtains could be pulled over them all.
"Do you like it? The room faces west and doesn't get
much sunlight. There's not much to be done about that, I'm afraid,"
Yuoshichi said from the doorway.
Koushi was overwhelmed by the room. The night after his
mother's burial, he had come to the Okibi Estate in desperation. Hinako had
come with him the day after that, arriving in a horse-drawn cart arranged by
Yuoshichi. They'd brought only what would fit in the carriage.
Yuoshichi wasn't wearing his gray embroidered outfit today.
He'd changed into a long ocher inner jacket with very thin vertical stripes
that appeared and disappeared depending on the lighting.
"Um, it's really too much for me to take in,"
Koushi said. He felt like he didn't belong in a place like this. All he'd
wanted was to give Hinako a safe place to live and access to good medical care.
He'd believed that they'd be given a simple room to live in, not this
ostentatious paradise. They had no blood ties here, and it was hard for Koushi
not to think of them as freeloaders living on charity.
"Of course, of course," Yuoshichi said. "Make
use of this room as you see fit. If there's anything you need, just let me
know. I need to go to work, so please excuse me for the moment. Any of my
servants can assist you in my absence. I hope that you and your sister will
treat this place like your own home. I'd be delighted if you two would dine
with my wife and daughter tonight." Yuoshichi's voice rumbled through
him like the echo of a deep drum.
Is he serious?
Koushi thought. How could he think otherwise? His mother wasn't even two days buried.
None of this seemed remotely real.
Outside one of the windows, Koushi spotted a dark green fir
tree rising into the sky like one of the academy's spires. The tree was on
fire, burning brightly.
Koushi had left Obiki Estate late the previous evening. He'd
picked his way through the city to get back home and had found Hinako awake,
panicking and hugging her doll. She'd jumped on him the second he'd arrived,
red-faced and crying.
"I'm sorry I scared you," Koushi had said, patting
her head and then hugging her briefly. He'd looked into her eyes, which were
still wet with tears. "Hinako. I met someone who said he'd help us find a
better doctor. He offered to let us live with him."
"We're moving?" Hinako had asked. She'd seemed
confused at this sudden turn of events. Koushi should have known that she would
be.
Koushi had nodded.
Hinako had copied him, her short hair swaying under her chin
with the movement. "But... I don't wanna move."
"I know it's sad to have to leave home, Hinako. But our
mother told me to take care of you and protect you. Even if she were still
here, I'd have to keep that promise."
"You promised mom?"
Koushi had nodded solemnly, staring into Hinako's dark eyes.
She'd seemed sad, somehow, and like she wanted to comfort him. The weight of all
his responsibilities was reflected in her eyes.
That night, Koushi had packed up everything that he could
possibly carry. Yuoshichi had told him to leave the concealed lightning fuel
where it was; someone from Obiki Estate would come to retrieve it later.
Yuoshichi would also take charge of the larger furniture in their house and
begin the process for withdrawing Koushi from the academy.
Right now, Hinako was being examined by a doctor in her own
room. The doctor appeared young to Koushi, but she was well-dressed and had an
earnest expression. Hinako was always frightened of meeting people for the
first time, but she didn't seem to fear this doctor, which was a good sign.
Hinako's room wasn't much different from Koushi's; they each had equal space given to them. There was a doll on the windowsill in her room wearing extravagant clothing; it put Hinako's current beloved doll to shame.
After Yuoshichi left, Koushi approached a bookshelf that was
built into the wall. It was full of beautifully bound books. Koushi pulled one
down and opened it. He was still stunned by how unreal all of this seemed and
wasn't able to focus on the letters well enough to read them.
The sound of a knock on the door startled Koushi.
A girl around Koushi's age opened the door slightly and
peeked in. Koushi had been expecting one of the servants and froze.
"Um... may I come in?" the girl asked.
Koushi, confused, closed the book and set it hastily back on
the shelf.
The girl entered the room with hesitant steps, appearing
nervous. She smiled feebly. "The doctor sent me. She wants to talk to you
about your sister's prognosis. Oh! I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet.
My name is Kira Okibi. I was going to meet you with my mother at dinner
tonight, but she hasn't gotten up yet, and anyway the doctor sent me."
Kira had an unusually low voice. She wore her hair long and
was tall. Her knee-length dress was the same color as the pine trees outside
the window.
So this is Yuoshichi's
daughter, Koushi thought. I should
say as little as I can get away with. I don't want to embarrass myself or make
her think I'm rude.
"Um... hello," Koushi said.
Kira nodded gracefully, then motioned for him to follow her.
He nodded like some kind of simpleton and trailed after her, feeling
self-conscious. He sucked in a harsh breath.
Hinako's room was right across from Koushi's room. Kira
knocked lightly on the door, then peeked into the room, just as she had in
Koushi's room. "Doctor. I've fetched him," she said.
"I see. Hello," the doctor said. She got up from
her chair, which was set next to the bed where Hinako lay.
Hinako turned to look at Koushi and grinned.
Hinako was safe. That made Koushi breathe easier. Coming
here was the right thing to do; it had to be.
The doctor explained Hinako's symptoms and potential
treatments while Koushi listened.
"The initial diagnosis of contamination during the fetal
stage is correct. Your sister's condition is quite likely to change
dramatically in the future. Unfortunately, I cannot say that she will recover
with any certainty. Better nutrition and hygiene will help, of course. She's
been taking quite a large number of pills to manage the pain, but my
recommendation is to wean her off of several. These drugs can have severe
long-term effects. Right now, what Hinako needs most are rest and good
food."
The doctor was well-spoken and polite. She talked to Koushi
as if he were an adult.
Hinako's eyelids were droopy. Koushi noticed a cup and
pitcher of water on a low table next to the bed and guessed that Hinako had
taken medicine that made her sleepy.
"Normally, children with your sister's same condition
weaken and get sicker much earlier in life," the doctor said. "That
she has made it so far and is so strong is remarkable. One potential hazard for
her is infectious disease, but we are far from the factory areas here, and the
wind rarely carries cross-contaminants this far. Good air prevents the spread
of disease. I believe that once Hinako gets physically stronger, many of her
symptoms will improve."
Koushi took a long breath and relaxed his shoulders. He
gripped his pants at the knees, hands bunching in the fabric to calm himself.
Then he took off his glasses and closed his eyes. He was glad that Hinako was
drifting off to sleep; she needed that.
When unexpected blessings came, people said they were sent
from the guardian gods. The guardian gods were a lifeline, connecting people to
the power and wonder of the world that had existed before people had lost
control over fire.
When Koushi had been a young child, the owner of a laundry
service had gathered all the children in the neighborhood up and put them to
work. That man had been a true believer in the guardian gods, and he'd
instilled that belief in all the children who would listen. The guardian gods
were called gods, but that wasn't quite what they were. They were a divine
race, there were different levels of power among them, and the
highest-ranked was a young-seeming
woman, called a princess.
How could an ordinary person like Koushi express his
gratitude to a princess among gods? His mother had been the one who'd done so
much to raise and support Hinako, who had lived her life constantly on the edge
of death. Hinako's own stubbornness and strength of will might be the only
reason she was still alive.
The doctor didn't attribute Hinako's life, or her possible
improvement, to any guardian god. She looked on Koushi and Hinako kindly and
said, "It must have been very difficult for you. The master of the house asked me to
express his condolences about your mother. Please be at ease about your sister;
we will take good care of her. I take full responsibility for her treatment
going forward."
While the doctor and Koushi were talking, Kira went out into
the hallway. Koushi gritted his teeth and tried his best to hold back tears. If I cry, it won't change anything. Nothing
will get better. He thought about Hinako being dead and buried in a mass
grave and felt a lump rise to his throat. He didn't know what else he could do
to prevent that. He looked down, red-faced with his shoulders shaking, and the
doctor fell silent.
***
"Isn't Dr. Takimi good?''
After the doctor left, Kira returned to the room and looked
at Hinako, who'd fallen asleep.
Koushi nodded awkwardly, turning his head away from Kira as
best he could so that she wouldn't be able to see any trace of his crying.
"Thank you. Thank you, for caring about us even though
we're strangers."
Kira looked up in shock, her wavy hair fluttering
gracefully. She reached out to touch the back of his hand; Koushi was so
surprised that he barely felt it at first. "Let's not talk so
formally," she said.
Koushi was startled by the softness of her hands. He and
Hinako were thinner, and their hands were calloused from work. Even his
mother's hands had the same kind of toughness, since she'd worked in a factory
for so many years. He'd never known a person's hand to be so smooth and clean.
Kira looked at him, her eyes as blue and clear as water,
then squeezed his hand gently in hers.
All at once, Koushi felt ashamed of his own dry, cracked
hands. What did Kira think of them? That they were dirty?
"I've lived inside this house for my whole life,"
Kira said. "Sometimes I feel lonely. I was happy when I learned you two
were coming to stay here. It'll be a little like having siblings, right?"
Her speech was too familiar for use with strangers, like they were, but Koushi
sensed no ill intent. Though she'd been born wealthy and privileged, Kira had
an unusually kind nature.
"While your sister is sleeping, let me show you around
the house. Is that okay?" Kira asked, standing up. Her skirt, made of
richly embroidered fabric, swayed with her movement.
Koushi wondered if it was difficult for Kira to move around
wearing a dress like that. Dragged by the over-eager Kira, Koushi left the
sleeping Hinako behind in her own room and went out into the hallway.
Koushi and Hinako both had rooms on the second floor. Kira
invited Koushi downstairs. The Okibi home was very large; the ceilings were
high enough for two adults to walk down them, one carrying the other on their
shoulders. Rows of windows in the hallway looked out into the garden. It had
been raining when they'd arrived, but now the sky was clear. The lights in the
rooms they passed were off, but there was a large ceiling lamp in the hallway
that was on. Koushi caught glimpses of other lamps--rows of them.
"So your sister's name is Hinako? I like that name.
It's cute as a button," Kira said. She had let go of Koushi's hand as they
walked. She hummed to herself, then asked, "What should I call you?"
"Koushi." His own responses to her questions were
brief. Her lively personality made him feel dull and embarrassed by comparison.
Kira didn't seem to care that he wasn't talkative. She
turned to face him, asked questions, and kept moving briskly. Her skirt swirled
dramatically as she walked.
"Write your name down for me," Kira said.
"What?" Koushi had nothing to write with and no
paper to write on.
Kira drew invisible letters in the air. Koushi copied her,
concentrating. He needed to write the letters backward because they were facing
one another.
Kira nodded to herself, her face lighting up. "That's a
great name! 'Kou' for 'blaze' or 'conflagration,' and 'shi' for 'stability' or
'perfection.'" 1
Kira was right. Most children were given names that
referenced fire in some way, and men's names often had numbers attached that
were assigned different basic meanings. The numbers weren't tied to birth order
at all. The number one meant "only good," two meant "peace and
kindess," etc. The numbers were often combined with another letter
associated with fire, or red.
"Call me Kira," she said. 2 She wrote her name as Koushi had, backwards in the air.
"I'm sixteen. How old are you?"
"One year younger. I'm fifteen."
At the academy, girls of the same age were usually shorter
than Koushi, but she was just as tall as he was.
Kira continued with the tour, showing Koushi the dining
room, reception hall, bathrooms, and a grand hall where parties and gatherings
were held. These parties could be as grand as a banquet to honor Fire Hunters
or as clandestine as a trade meeting between business owners.
Koushi looked around at the grand hall and realized that his
father had been here before, possibly many times. The spacious room was empty
now, filled only with chairs and a table covered by dust cloths; the furniture
was stacked neatly against one wall. There were no windows in the hall and no
lights were lit, so it was dark.
"You don't attend school at the academy?" Koushi
ventured as he and Kira went out of the grand hall.
It seemed like Kira wanted to show him the garden next. She
paused before a simple wooden door, hands finding one another and twisting in
shyness. "I wanted to go," she said, "but my parents decided to
have me taught by a private tutor instead. Since I'm an only child, I have no
choice but to inherit my father's factory."
Kira spoke more quietly as she put her hand on the door
handle to open it.
"And where do you think you're going, young lady?"
a voice echoed from further down the hall. "You must think me naïve or
foolish if you believe I'll let you sneak outside."
Koushi and Kira turned around together and saw a slender
woman standing at the bottom of the staircase that led to the second floor. She
wore a long, flame-red dressing gown, her black hair falling loosely over it in
lazy curls. The effect was elegant, if casual.
"Mother," Kira said. Her usually bright voice came
out sounding muted.
This was Yuoshichi's wife and the mistress of the house. It
was nearly noon, but she looked like she'd only just gotten out of bed. Koushi
wondered if she might be sick, like his mother had been. Her face resembled
Kira's, but age or some other quality made her appear sharper. She walked down
the hall, staring at Koushi with her eyes slightly narrowed. Her dressing gown
made her look like a flame drawing closer, and Koushi stood up straighter out of
nerves.
"So you're one of the new children, yes? I'm Yuoshichi
Okibi's wife. I apologize for not coming to greet you immediately on your
arrival. It's an honor to have you staying with us. Ever since I found out you
were coming, there's been so much liveliness in the house." She faced her
daughter. "Kira, don't be reckless. You position as the heir of the
factory is far from assured, and if you keep chasing foolish notions your
father can easily replace you."
"Yes, mother. I'm sorry," Kira said. She looked
down, cheeks flushed pink.
Her mother smiled. She was unusually tall; combined with her
slenderness, she looked a little like a snake staring down at Kira and Koushi.
Her complexion was very pale, but the skin of her face had a peculiar shine,
and there was puffiness under her cheekbones.
"I'll be taking breakfast in my rooms. Please take your
time and look around as much as you'd like," Kira's mother said to Kouchi.
To her daughter, she said, "Please don't come to see me until dinner,
Kira." Her white hands tucked her loose, flowing hair into a clip with
practiced ease; it looked like the start of a dance. Though she was fully
clothed, her movements gave the illusion that she was showing more skin than
she was; the dressing gown was extremely form-fitting. She excused herself from
the hallway and walked away with a lilting smile.
"...Is she not feeling well?'' Koushi asked after
Kira's mother left.
Kira's hand was still on the door handle. She looked up at
him in surprise and offered him a quicksilver smile. "No, she's all right.
She didn't give you her name, though. It's Hibana." She spelled her
mother's name with her finger, tracing it in the air. "She's not sick or
anything, but she suffered a lot when she was young," Kira said
apologetically. "So she gets depressed sometimes. Most of the time, she's
perfectly fine. I'm sorry you had to see her like that on your first day here,
Koushi."
Koushi blinked. He still wasn't used to her referring to him
so familiarly. Kira seemed just like her usual self, but there was a shadow on
her usual expression, caused by her mother's visit. Koushi couldn't entirely
shake that shadow from his mind.
Kira opened the door to the garden. The scent of flowers
washed over them, along with the clean smell of yesterday's rain.
"Thanks for telling me," Koushi said. "I'm
glad she's not sick. You may have heard this already, but Hinako and I lost our
mother to factory poisoning just the other day. So I'm very glad your mother is
well." He also expressed thanks for revealing Hibana's name, though he
understood why she might not give it.
Kira drifted off into the flower-filled garden; if Koushi
didn't rush after her, he'd be left behind. He called out her name to slow her
down; she turned and smiled at him, her expression reflecting the bright
colorfulness of the garden. He apologized for being slow. It felt like he
couldn't stop apologizing.
Hinako woke up around noon, and the three of them decided to
have a meal together in her room. Kira called out to the kitchen while she was
passing by; house servants brought food to Hinako's room, much to Koushi's
surprise. In town, it was common for people to prepare their meals in a
communal kitchen or to eat at inexpensive food stalls, and most homes did not
have large-scale kitchens. There was a risk of fire spreading in kitchens.
We come from
completely different worlds, Koushi thought.
Hinako gasped as warm food was carried to her on a silver
platter. Her cheeks were apple-red. Perhaps because she'd slept, her complexion
was much improved. She sat up in bed with her short hair sticking out in all
directions. She seemed comfortable here, and that relieved Koushi.
Hinako and Kira were fast friends; they were talking like
real sisters in no time. Kira asked about what they should do together once
Hinako's health improved, which made Hinako smile. Kira laughed, loud and
carefree, as she and Hinako talked. They ate their soup, bread, processed fake
meat, and steamed vegetables in a spicy broth.
Koushi watched Hinako and Kira trading laughs back and forth
and smiled himself a few times. Having a hot meal in the middle of the day was
a calming, centering experience. Koushi wondered if there was something in the
food itself that made him feel better.
After eating about half of her lunch, Hinako burst into
tears. Koushi tensed in alarm, and Kira's eyebrows arched. Hinako had been
smiling just a moment ago.
"Mom," Hinako said quietly. "Why couldn't we
eat this with you, too?"
Kira hugged Hinako to her chest. Koushi was deeply moved.
Hinako's face scrunched up as she started to cry. Kira kept
holding her, trying to comfort her with kind words. "I know it's painful.
It's okay to cry," Kira said. "If you feel like crying, cry as much
as you want."
They'd only just buried their mother. It was obvious why
Hinako was so upset.
Kira stroked Hinako's hair tenderly as she held her. Hinako
trembled all over, but she didn't pull away even though she'd only just met
Kira that morning. Koushi felt helpless to comfort Hinako in comparison. He was
grateful that Kira seemed to want to treat them like her actual siblings.
Near dusk, one of the servants came for Koushi. "The
master of the house has returned. He would like to talk to you at your earliest
convenience."
All the servants in the house were dressed well, but
modestly. He hadn't noticed any one of them in particular; they all looked
quite ordinary. Only the short old man who'd led him into the house on his
first night here really stood out from the others.
Guided by the servant, Koushi headed to the first floor.
Yuoshichi was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hello, Koushi," Yuoshichi said. "I'm sorry
if I kept you waiting. I asked my daughter to show you around. How did that
go?" The scent of his cologne radiated from him, along with the acrid odor
of factory smoke.
"Yes," Koushi said. "I'm still a little
stunned by all this, to be honest. This is completely different from living in
a normal house in the city."
Yuoshichi laughed hugely, his beard stretching around a
wide-open mouth. Then he started walking, the hem of his long overcoat fluttering
behind him. "Come this way. Follow me."
Koushi walked after Yuoshichi. He was dressed differently
than he'd been that morning. The overcoat he'd worn in the morning was ocher:
red-brown, but now his overcoat was a deep forest green embroidered with silver
thread.
They passed the doorway that led to the garden, then went
all the way to the end of the hall. Yuoshichi entered the room there ahead of
Koushi and shut the door. There was no one else inside the room, but one of the
house lamps was lit.
"This is my study," Yuoshichi said.
Four bookshelves of varying heights stood against the wall.
A small writing desk sat next to a window, and facing the door was another much
larger desk.
Beyond the large desk was another door--not the same one
that Yuoshichi and Koushi had come through. Yuoshichi rifled through the
key ring strapped to his belt and unlocked this new door.
The open door revealed stone steps leading to a basement.
Yuoshichi turned a knob attached to the wall, causing lights to flash on above
the stairs.
"I brought the lightning fuel from your house down
here," Yuoshichi said. He took the stairs down, seeming relaxed and at
ease.
Koushi hesitated for only a moment, out of instinct or fear.
Then he stood up straight and went after Yuoshichi. He understood why he was here: Yuoshichi
wanted him to use the lightning fuel, regardless of the danger. In
exchange, he could stay here with Hinako. Hinako would be taken care of by
doctors.
The stairs turned once to the right and continued all the
way to the bottom of the house. There was another door there; Yuoshichi
unlocked that one as well and passed through. He ushered the lingering Koushi
inside.
This basement room, lined in stone, was stocked with
everything Koushi might possibly need. In the center of the room was a large
table that could serve as a workbench and a writing desk. A pile of new
notebooks and a stack of paper were neatly arranged on the table. Next to those
was a three-tiered toolbox, a magnifying glass, leather gloves, a leather
apron, and protective eyewear.
Along one wall, the lightning fuel that Koushi's father had
secreted away was lined up in canisters. Koushi's pulse raced looking at them.
Our mother worked
herself to death to support us, he thought. I can't give up before I've even started. She wouldn't give up, no
matter how scared she was.
Koushi could see nothing lacking, but even if there had
been, he was sure that Yuoshichi would provide. Yuoshichi could provide
everything. All he wanted in return for was Koushi to use this lightning fuel
to create something different.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Koushi put his thoughts in
order. If he made a mistake here, even a small one, the consequences would be
dire. He felt like he was at a crossroads: no turning back.
"You'll do your research on the lightning fuel in
here," Yuoshichi said. "You and my daughter will cooperate on the
research, starting tomorrow morning. After that, you and she will take your
lessons with a private tutor. I'll continue with your research and experiments
in the afternoon. Do you understand the process? Please feel free to ask any
questions."
The lighting in this basement room was plain and
utilitarian, unlike the more ostentatious lighting in the rest of the house.
Four egg-shaped lanterns hung from iron cages on the ceiling, with two placed
above the large desk and the workbench. The walls were unfinished, but the rest
of the space was well-furnished.
"Can I ask you something?" Koushi said, sucking in
a breath.
"Of course; I just said you could." Yuoshichi's
voice echoed all around them.
Koushi turned his head and looked up, directly at his
benefactor. His light-colored eyes shone clearly even in the relative darkness
of this basement room. Koushi felt like that gaze was capable of swallowing him
up.
"Yesterday, you said that this country would soon be in
danger. That's probably why my father left... But why? What caused the guardian
gods to be in such a compromising position? What's going to happen now?"
Yuoshichi was unruffled; he'd expected this question. "What do you know about the
Spiders?"
Koushi reacted to the name. Yuoshichi didn't mean the common
arachnid, but a group of people who'd adopted it as a symbol. Koushi had heard
of Spiders; they were once a prominent faction in the capital that had strong
ties to the guardian gods. But Spiders, as a faction, had vanished into
obscurity long ago--at least in the capital.
When hunting, you need
to watch out for Spiders more than Fire Fiends.
Koushi remembered his father's words and swallowed heavily.
According to his father, Spiders were divine or semi-divine themselves, but
they'd fallen out with the guardian gods. There was no solid evidence that they
still existed, since they concealed themselves in the black forest. No one knew
how they managed to eke out a life in the woods; Spiders were not Forest
People. Had they built their own village or city somewhere? No one knew.
Koushi's father had believed in the existence of the
Spiders. Koushi didn't know if he'd ever seen one, but it was clear to him
that Spiders and Fire Hunters were natural enemies.
"I'm familiar with what you're going to be taught by
your private instructors," Yuoshichi said. "But it won't be the whole
truth." He spoke slowly, as if hand-selecting every word.
"I... would like to know the truth."
Yuoshichi nodded smoothly. "Some of what the academy
teaches is correct. Spiders are of the same race as our guardian gods, but they
are at odds with them--and the Fire Hunters, of course. They lurk in forests,
hiding and gathering intelligence. Their aim is to overthrow the capital. They
were expelled from the guardian gods' midst long ago and no longer possess all
of their original power, but they are still very dangerous. They have long
lifespans and supernatural abilities... though those abilities aren't
well-known to us. We know they're different from the abilities that the
guardian gods have."
Yuoshichi folded his hands behind his back, glancing over at
the canisters of lightning fuel against the wall. Each one was about waist-high
on an adult and was roughly the diameter of a human arm. There were thirteen
canisters in total.
The capital's highest-ranking guardian god and many of her
relatives could to control fire. After humans lost control of
fire in ages past, the guardian gods with this ability created the Fire
Hunters. Those guardian gods had discovered that the fire fuel harvested from
Fire Fiends could be safely used. Other guardian gods in branch
families of the one that ruled the capital had control over other elements:
water, wood, earth, and air.
The nation functioned cooperatively by design. Villages were
scattered across the landscape, acting as a buffer to the dangerous forest.
Villagers planted crops and trees, tamed rivers and dug wells. It took a long
time, but villagers' work reclaimed some of the hazardous land of the forest,
making it habitable.
The danger of fire was ever-present. Even the capital had
fallen victim to out-of-control fire, though that had happened long before
Koushi was born. A factory in full operation had suddenly burst into flames. A
Fire Fiend hadn't caused it--that might have been more manageable. It was a
natural fire that had flared up and spread.
The fire had spread from person to person, combusting them all.
People fled the city along the waterways, trying to escape, but pressing close
together only made the fire spread faster, and the city's waterways became a
road of corpses. A guardian god with power over water had finally stopped the
fire. The guardian gods had cleared the corpses and rebuilt the city after
that--no easy feat, since the fire had taken everything down to scorched earth.
Since then, the people of the capital had relied on the
guardian gods. People feared the forest and Fire Fiends; cities and villages
were the only safe places to be. No one wanted to live like a mole underground.
The guardian gods--and Fire Hunters--were what made life in this country
possible.
What about other countries, other places? Koushi didn't
know. He didn't know anyone who knew. There might be nations where people lived
without the protection of guardian gods, but Koushi had never heard of them.
"The Fire Hunters have reported that the Spiders are
getting ready for a display of power."
"You mean they're going to attack the capital?"
Koushi asked. "Why? There are guardian gods here..."
Yuoshichi nodded gravely, silent.
Koushi licked his dry lips and looked around the room.
"I don't understand. What are you going to use the lightning fuel for?
Shouldn't the guardian gods be able to quash any threat that the Spiders
pose?"
Yuoshichi snorted. "You are right, of course. The
guardian gods will protect the city. But who will protect us?" He paused. "To the guardian gods, we're not people.
We're just like the crops that get harvested in the fields. We have our uses,
but without supernatural abilities, we're not terribly important."
"What?" Koushi's voice trembled slightly. He'd
never heard anyone speak like this about the gods before. While Koushi had no
strong faith himself, it was hard to believe that a nation that relied so much
on its guardian gods would treat ordinary people like so much chaff. He
couldn't understand Yuoshichi's position.
Koushi looked into Yuoshichi's face and saw some dark, deep
emotion brewing in his eyes.
"Large fires that occurred in the past decimated the
capital's population," Yuoshichi said. "Almost half of the number of
people who used to occupy this place died to fire in the last generation. I'm
certain that the people who did survive were grateful, but that does nothing
for the people who died. People who lived in the villages suffered when the
capital couldn't keep up with trade and supply demands.
"Yes, the guardian gods will stop fires--with water, or
by controlling the flames. But they won't do it to save people. To save the
city, yes. But what they do won't be in time to save many people. They don't
care about saving people in the path of the flames." Yuoshichi's voice was
thick with an emotion that Koushi had never heard him express before.
A chill went through Koushi; he felt cold through.
Guardian gods could live for two or three hundred years, or
more. In addition to their various powers, they possessed some of the
technology of the ancient world. That technology had allowed them to build the
capital, and the villages as satellites, without causing large-scale outbreaks
of human combustion.
But calling the capital well-built would be a lie. Many of
the people who lived there were desperately poor. Everyone relied on the Fire
Hunters to bring back fuel and the guardian gods to distribute it--usually
unfairly. There were many people living on the fringes of the capital who had
no choice but to steal or run away to the wild forest. Those who worked in the
city fell sick and died from the pollution generated by factories.
Koushi's mother had died from her work, and Hinako would
always be sick because the air in the capital was poison.
If the guardian gods
really do have great power and can use past technology, why would there be
people who are poisoned by the factories in the first place? And is it true
that they didn't put out the fire fast enough to prevent so many deaths?
Koushi had never heard anything like this from the academy
or from other adults in the city. Koushi guessed that Yuoshichi was a survivor
of the last great fire that had torn through the capital, though he couldn't
have been very old at the time that it happened.
While Koushi had never heard Yuoshichi's opinions expressed
in so many words, he still believed him.
"To the guardian
gods, we're not people. We're just like the crops that get harvested in the
fields. We have our uses, but without supernatural abilities, we're not
terribly important."
Was that what Koushi believed? No. But it was clear that
Yuoshichi did.
"The factory district is nicknamed the Garden of the
Gods," Yuoshichi said. "It generates products and revenue and secures
the guardian gods' economic position. We are, all of us, a controllable and
replaceable resource. A commodity, no different from gemstones or plants."
"The Garden of the Gods," Koushi echoed.
"If a Spider attacks the capital, there is no guarantee
that the guardian gods will protect us. We will have to protect ourselves, and
to do that, we need power. Weapons."
Koushi felt as if the scales were falling from his eyes. If
what Yuoshichi said was true, then what he'd been taught for his entire life
was a lie. His mother had died ignorant that the capital that might become a
battlefield where no one was safe. His father probably knew this, but he hadn't
told his family anything. He'd fled the capital, taking the dog and never
coming back.
Had Koushi's father left because he was angry, or afraid?
Brave? Ashamed? Koushi wished he knew.
Angry. Koushi remembered that his father had been angry. "Damn it, this one never fucking listens." His father's voice came back to him out of the distance of time.
How many years had it been?
Koushi's father had been talking about Kanata. Fire Hunters
spent days or weeks on end in the black forest, killing Fire Fiends and
harvesting fuel, accompanied only by their dogs. Hinako felt safe with Kanata
with them and cried when he and their father were gone. She worried about what
would happen if they died in the forest.
Once, their father and Kanata had gotten separated in the
forest, and Kanata hadn't returned home for many days. Hinako had been
inconsolable. Their father had taken over Hinako's care to give their mother a
break while he was home: he took her to the doctor and prepared meals. Hinako
was so upset that she caught a fever.
One of the other Fire Hunters offered to lend their father
another dog, but their father didn't accept that offer. He patted Hinako on the
head, told her to pray for the dog and that
he'd return soon.
Just as their father had said, Kanata returned on the fourth
day after going missing. On his own four paws, he'd made it through the black
forest and back through the tunnel into the capital all by himself. He was
badly injured. His nose was swollen to about twice its usual size, and he
walked with his hind legs dragging behind him. He hadn't eaten in days and was
pitifully thin. He carried the torn-off leg of a Fire Fiend in his mouth; when
their mother saw it she shrieked in alarm.
Kanata had chased a Fire Fiend down into the valley after it
had fled. All he'd brought back was the Fire Fiend's severed leg and himself in
more or less one piece.
"Idiot dog," his father had said gruffly as he pet
the battered hunting dog. "We can't go out for another two weeks at least,
with your legs like that."
Hinako was overjoyed, and Koushi... well, he was a little
jealous of Kanata. The dog had been reckless and everyone had been worried, but
he was welcomed home as if he'd done nothing wrong. It was hard for Koushi to
understand.
Koushi always kept a little of himself back in reserve, so
that he'd never risk being pushed past his limits. His father was a Fire
Hunter; his mother, a factory worker; if either of them were out of commission,
his sister's care and the care of the house fell to him.
Kanata never kept any of himself back. His recklessness made
him a strong runner and fighter. Even injured, he radiated power and
confidence.
Koushi wished that he could be more like that.
"You haven't given me a clear answer," Koushi
said. "What are we using the lightning fuel for? You say protection and
weapons, but... how?" He looked under the workbench. There were empty
glass bottles arranged in wooden boxes on the floor. Some of the bottles came
in standard cylindrical shapes, but there were others formed much more
peculiarly. Still, the material that the bottles were made of was familiar;
Koushi had a few guesses about how they could be used.
One particular shape looked right for a handheld lantern--or
a grenade.
Yuoshichi's eyebrows arched; he seemed about to smile.
"Yes. I see you understand. We're going to protect the capital from the
Spiders, Koushi. We can't rely on the guardian gods. We never could."
The factory area is
the Garden of the Gods... If the gods are really ruling this country without
considering people as human beings, then my mother died and my sister is sick
because they don't care.
But even if they didn't care, no one could stand against the
guardian gods. Even the Fire Hunters who routinely battled monsters for a
living were under their direct control. Were the Spiders even strong enough to
strike a blow? They had the same kind of powers as the guardian gods, but
surely time and distance had weakened them? Koushi didn't think it would be
possible to successfully defy the guardian gods if they put up a united front.
"I understand why protecting ourselves is
important," Koushi said, "but do we really need weapons as powerful
as those powered by lightning fuel?" If weapons were all that was
required, why wouldn't a club or a dagger like the ones used by police officers
be enough? Factory machinery could be used as weaponry with a few tweaks.
Lightning fuel wasn't safe enough to be worth the risk, was
it?
Yuoshichi nodded. "That's right, we do. Spiders have divine
bodies, like the guardian gods do. They are different from us humans. Ordinary
weapons won't harm them." He bit his lip. "There are too many things
I don't know. What knowledge I have is a fraction of what we need. A Spider
will ignite near fire, as we do, but even that might not kill them--divine
bodies recover quickly. If the guardian gods and the Spiders went to war, what
would become of us ordinary people? We must avoid situations where civilians
will be put in danger. Several trusted Fire Hunters are secretly investigating
the movements of the Spiders. Much of the information we have of them is
unconfirmed, however.
"Here's what we've learned. Once the conflict begins,
it is certain that the capital will fall into chaos. I don't think we can trust
the gods, who think of people as little more than weeds. It is my assumption
that humans will have to protect humans."
Humans will have to
protect humans...
Koushi's lower lip trembled. Like Yuoshichi, there was far
too much that he didn't know. He didn't even know much about the Okibi family,
and he and Hinako had landed in their laps. But he'd decided to come here, and
to cooperate; none of his circumstances had changed.
"All right," Koushi said. His hands sought one
another, grasping. "I'll try it. I'll try making weapons here."
Yuoshichi's expression twisted into a strange sort of smile
on his fleshy face. It took Koushi a few moments to understand that he was
pleased because of the room's relative dimness.
"Thank you. I look forward to seeing your progress. I
probably don't have to say this, but you shouldn't discuss this work with
anyone else."
"Not even my sister?" Koushi asked.
Koushi knew the answer before asking the question and wasn't
in the least surprised when Yuoshichi nodded. He felt light-headed all of a
sudden, like his body was floating. Koushi dug his fingernails into his own
palms to ground himself.
"I understand," Koushi said. "I won't tell
her. Or anyone."
The smile that Yuoshichi gave him this time was that of a
beast that had cornered its prey.
"Excellent, excellent. Let's get the registration
certificate for the Central Archives arranged immediately. You shall be granted
viewing rights."
Shortly after that, Koushi and Yuoshichi vacated the
basement so that they wouldn't be late for dinner. The garden outside the
window was shrouded in shadows. A kind of flower that Koushi didn't know the
name of glowed gold in the dark, lending the hallway a bit of light. The flower
petals shimmered like dragon scales as they walked past.
"I'll be holding onto the key for this room,"
Yuoshichi said. "You can only access this place when I am present in the
manor."
"Yes, sir."
Koushi was collecting secrets. There were many things that
he wasn't permitted to tell anyone. He wondered if, one day, he would have
secrets that he couldn't even tell Yuoshichi.
Koushi answered Yuoshichi's questions very briefly to hide
his unease.
Hinako was his first concern, so he separated from Yuoshichi
and headed to the second floor on his own. When he paused at the top of the
staircase and opened his palms, he saw the red marks where his nails had dug
in.
He missed his father. No one had ever ruffled his hair, patted him on the head and called him an idiot--or brave. It seemed stupid now, but he felt very strongly that his father and Kanata were gone, and maybe not coming back.
***
Koushi heard voices spilling out of Hinako's room before he
reached it.
"See, this color suits her after all." The voice belonged to
Hibana, Kira's mother. Koushi was so surprised that he missed a step and stood
still. He knocked on the door and announced his arrival.
"Please come in," Kira said from the other side of
the door. "You should take a look at this, too."
Koushi wondered what was going on. He opened the door.
Hinako clambered out of bed when she saw him. Her cheeks
were dusted with a fine and shiny powder like sugar. "Koushi!"
Koushi stood in the doorway, wide-eyed. Hibana and Kira
giggled behind their hands.
Hinako was no longer wearing her white clothes from the
morning, but a pale honey-colored robe layered underneath one of a slightly
brighter color. The wide skirt tapered at the bottom, making Hinako look like a
little bird with its feathers puffed out. Her hair was done up with a
pearl-encrusted hairpin; shoes of the same style poked out from under her
skirt.
"This is Kira's evening gown from when she was a
child," Hibana said. "I'm quite glad that I kept it now." She
was sitting at the edge of Hinako's bed and stood up. Like Hinako, she'd
changed clothes, wearing a different flame-colored dress. Her hair was done up
neatly; large red-jeweled earrings adorned her ears.
Hinako ran over and took Koushi's hand in hers.
"Kira and Miss Hibana asked me to change my clothes
before dinner," she said.
"Oh, uh," Koushi said, stumbling over his words.
"I see." He tried to pat Hinako's head as he usually would, but the
hair ornament would interfere with that. If he wasn't careful, he'd ruin her
hairstyle.
"Isn't she darling? I'm glad mom decided to help with
the clothes," Kira said. "She's very knowledgeable about this sort of
thing." Kira tilted her head, looking happy.
Koushi looked more closely at Hinako's bed and noticed that
there were more clothes and dresses in various colors arranged in a neat pile.
Blue, pink, mauve and white items peeked out of the pile. While Koushi had
spent time with Yuoshichi getting a tour of the basement, Hinako had stayed up
here trying clothes on.
"Shall we go to dinner?" Hibana asked. "We
should take our seats before your father arrives. He said he has some paperwork
to take care of. Koushi, would you mind passing the time with us with some
pleasant conversation?" She turned to Kira. "Let's go
downstairs."
"Yes, mother."
In one smooth motion, Hibana slid past Koushi and into the
hallway. She glanced at him in passing; Koushi thought she was studying him.
She didn't seem quite as intimidating as she'd been earlier in the day,
Kira followed swiftly after her mother.
Koushi still didn't understand the relationship between Kira
and Hibana. Kira had always been obedient that he'd seen, but Hibana was always
a little distant with her. There were times when Kira appeared frightened of
her mother.
"Koushi!" Hinako reached out to him, intertwining
their fingers.
Koushi squeezed his little sister's hand. She didn't have a
fever. "You look very nice, Hinako." He meant it.
Hinako offered him a warm smile, then walked in front of
him, pulling him by the hand.
As Hinako and Koushi walked down the hall behind Kira and
Hibana, Koushi wondered if he'd have time to get so used to this house that he
wouldn't remember the way to his own. His dad and Kanata would come back at
some point, right? Hinako wanted and expected that as much as he did.
Koushi didn't let go of Hinako's hand, even when they went
down the stairs.
1 煌四, or "Koushi," is how the character's name is written. The first kanji is more commonly translated as "sparkle, glitter," and the second just means "four." Name kanji can have different meanings in Japanese, though "Koushi" with this spelling is not a standard Japanese name.↩
2 綺羅, "Kira," is also spelled in a non-standard way. Her name has nothing to do with fire; the first kanji means "beautiful" (more specifically, "beautiful silk thread") and the second kanji means "gauze," though it's common in use of proper names and names of concepts like 修羅, "shura," meaning "violence" or "carnage," and is a kanji in the name of the Rashoumon Gate.↩
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