Touko had the feeling that she’d witnessed something that she really shouldn’t have seen. She felt numb all over and vaguely feverish, as if the knowledge she’d gained was burning her up from the inside.
The strange Tree People underground. The wild beasts that had become Fire Fiends. Test subjects relegated to anonymity. The thing that disturbed her the most was that the Tree People were being hidden in plain sight: their prison was beneath the tallest tree she’d ever seen.
Before today, Touko had never heard a Guardian God speak. The boyish Guardian God who had come here was entirely different from Warashi, the Guardian God of her village. Warashi did not fight or speak and had no aura of threat. The boyish Guardian God had a corona of violence around them; she felt like they would be able to pulverize her, bones and all, with a single glance.
Akira shook Touko to snap her out of her trance, but Touko barely reacted. Terror of the Guardian God kept her still.
Koushi’s voice reached her, but not the words he said. Everything was vague and unfocused.
Touko bowed her head and stared at her hands, which lay palm-up on her knees. Her hands weren’t injured. She found that confusing. She remembered a battle and getting hurt. She also remembered the glow and tingle of healing light, but the rational part of her mind couldn’t explain that because healing magic didn’t exist.
Akira called out to Touko again, and this time, Touko managed to stir herself into movement. She focused her eyes, nodded to Akira and then looked back at Kanata. Kanata stood guard over her, close enough to touch. He was alert, but he didn’t appear concerned or fearful.
You shouldn’t be protecting me, Kanata. Koushi is your master, remember? You were part of his family first. Touko tried to convey this with her eyes, but Kanata just twitched an ear at her and stood still.
Temari looked up at Koushi, bared her tiny fangs, and growled loudly.
“Let’s get away from here,” Akira said. “It’s not every day that you get a warning directly from the Guardian Gods. If we stay here much longer, we should expect another attack.” Akira grabbed Touko’s arm and turned her so that she was facing Koushi. “Where do you live? This child left her village and came to the capital to return this dog to you.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Touko saw Koushi nodding and saying something. His outline blurred before her eyes; she felt like she was about to pass out.
Akira retrieved her gear bag and slung if over her shoulder. “All right. Follow me.” She started walking, still holding onto Touko’s arm.
Touko tried to calm herself so that she could breathe evenly as she walked. When she’d first agreed to come to the capital, she had never expected what she’d find. She wasn’t here because she’d wanted to leave her home; that decision had been taken out of her hands by her aunt and grandmother. Still, she’d tried to make the most of things and honor her commitments. Her journey should be done. She should be able to go home now. But… well, with things as they were, she didn’t think she’d be going home anytime soon.
Her aunt and grandmother had tried to get her to ride in a cart with people from her village, though that hadn’t happened. Touko wondered what would have happened if she’d been guided here by people she knew instead of strangers. There had been so many missteps along the way. She and Koushi had just stumbled into a Guardian God, which could have proven fatal. How did other people live when there were forces that were so much more powerful than them?
The Tree People in the well of the old tree were completely different from those she’d met before. Their bodies had been tampered with—changed by the gods for reasons she didn’t comprehend. Altering beasts to make them into Fire Fiends also made no sense to her.
The noise of the factory operating in the city behind her was too loud. Smoke belched into the sky from large metal tubes, and the clanging of more metal was strident enough to shake the air. Discolored wastewater spewed into the capital’s canals.
The Guardian God had smiled at her before they vanished. Why? They were so dignified, so high above them all. There was no reason for them to acknowledge her existence at all. A chill ran down Touko’s spine. The tang of blood scented the air. Akira was no longer bleeding, but blood stained her clothes and the ground where she’d been hurt.
“And this is why I don’t live anywhere near the lower city,” Akira said, gesturing to the scene around her.
“Um… are there any more of those tiny spies around right now?” Koushi asked.
Akira shook her head. “No, I don’t sense any nearby.”
“I see. Then we can talk. This might sound like a strange question, but have you ever been in the Central Archives before?”
“The Central Archives? There’s no way I could get in there. Until recently, I was a wandering Fire Hunter and spent most of my time in the forest.”
Akira and Koushi talked while they walked, and Touko followed after them, only half-listening. It seemed to her that they were far away and speaking to her from among the clouds. The sound of the dogs’ breathing felt much closer. Sometimes Temari glanced back at her and narrowed her eyes in displeasure.
Koushi called out to Touko, but she didn’t answer. Koushi turned to face her. Huge clouds were moving across the sky, darkening their surroundings. Some of the streetlamps in the city winked on as they walked. The color of the light was like the stars. Touko realized that they had reached the place where she and Kanata had gotten lost and met Kira for the first time.
“Is this your place?” Akira asked Koushi. “It’s nice.” She looked up at a mansion protected by a closed gate and a high wall. In Touko’s eyes, it looked like a castle from a fairy tale. Was this Kanata’s house? It was larger than the shrine in her home village, where the shrine was by far the largest building.
“Whoever owns this place must be filthy rich,” Akira said, attempting lightheartedness. There was judgment in her tone, and condemnation that felt heavy.
“You’re right,” Koushi said stiffly. “When the city hosts Fire Hunters, the banquet is always held at the Okibi Estate.”
Amazed by the size of the estate, Akira tilted her head as she looked up, then lowered her gaze to Touko. “Touko, look!” she said, pointing to the gates.
When Touko didn’t look, Akira pushed her shoulder. Touko stumbled, then straightened up. She’d been carrying the Fire Hunter’s sickle and his Protector Stone in her hands this whole time. She looked deep into Kanata’s eyes and found familiar wisdom and reassurance there. Something wordless passed between them—something like a farewell.
“Thanks for saving me,” Touko said to Kanata. “I’m sorry for all the trouble we’ve been through.” To Akira she said, “You were hurt, and still didn’t leave us. Thank you, too.” She bowed to Akira, so low that her face was no longer visible. She spun toward Koushi and offered him the sickle and the Protector Stone. “These should be yours. Please accept them.”
Koushi shook his head and pushed the stone and sickle back toward her, not touching the sickle’s blade. “I think you should keep these. You might have need of them soon. If I take them, the person I’m currently working for might take them. Kanata might have been able to find his way to me on his own, but I can’t explain showing up inside with my father’s things. If my guardian finds out you brought them back, his attention might fall on you. I don’t trust him, so I’d rather you keep them for now.” His expression was very like his father’s when he was serious.
“All right,” Touko said. “I’ll keep them. For now.”
“All right. Take this as well. I’m not giving it to you as a ‘thank you,’ mind. I just think it might cause more trouble where I’m going.” He handed over a bottle full of lightning fuel. The contents of the bottle glowed softly; Touko gasped at the sight.
“I-I can’t take something like this. Is it, uh, like the Tree People said? About welcoming fires?”
Koushi shook his head. “I’m not sure what they meant by that, either.” He appeared stunned by the implication that lightning fuel and the Tree People’s welcoming fires might be related. “But I don’t think they were using lightning fuel, even though they knew what it was. It’s just one bottle, and I want you to have it. It’s useful against the monsters in the forest. You can use it to help defend yourself and your friends.”
“Take it, Touko,” Akira said. She was looking around—maybe for more of the little spies that were seeded all over the capital.
Touko nodded and accepted the bottle with somewhat clumsy movements.
“Thank you so much for coming all the way here. I’m glad you brought Kanata back,” Koushi said. “Be careful, and be safe.”
Koushi’s thanks was sincere and it touched Touko to the heart. She bowed.
“Take care of yourself, too,” Akira said.
It was going to rain again soon. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Temari stood between Akira’s legs and growled at the storm, baring tiny fangs. Akira’s eyes went wide as if she were sensing the same threat as her dog.
The wooden door to the side of the gate leading into the estate where Koushi lived whispered open from the inside.
“Koushi?” a young girl asked in a tremulous voice. She was short and small-boned. Her hair was cut in a bowl shape that curled up just beneath her chin. The clothes she wore were very finely made, but they didn’t fit her perfectly. They’d been made for someone taller and broader than she was.
Temari growled softly at Hinako as she walked closer. Akira picked her dog up and placed her in the gap between her leather vest and her shirt.
Touko looked out from behind Akira and noticed the girl blush as she recognized Koushi first, then Kanata.
“Kanata…”
Touko closed her eyes.
The girl ran to Kanata, hitching up her skirt and revealing a pair of beautiful shoes. Kanata barked joyfully at her and bounded over to meet her halfway.
This girl must be Koushi’s little sister. Touko had heard that she was ill. She didn’t look very sick now, just small, but she guessed that illness had stunted the girl’s growth. Her eyes looked too large for her face and were a little sunken in.
Koushi’s little sister clung to Kanata’s neck with all her might, calling the dog’s name over and over again. Touko watched silently as Kanata wagged his tail and licked the girl’s cheek with his tongue. These people were Kanata’s family. Koushi and his little sister had been here in the capital all this time, waiting for Kanata to return.
Touko was deeply relieved, but crushingly sad at the same time. She hid behind Akira and stared at Kanata’s back. Slowly, she bowed her head and prayed. Don’t look back at me. Please, don’t. You’ll never see me again, now.
Koushi’s younger sister looked up at him, still clinging to Kanata. She glanced at Akira and noticed her gear. “What about dad?” she asked.
Touko’s chest tightened with pain. Blood drained from her face. She had to apologize to Koushi’s sister, too. Apologizing to Koushi wasn’t enough. Koushi and his sister had lost their father because of her.
As Touko tried to step forward, Akira pulled her back by the shoulder and shook her head. Koushi looked in Touko’s direction and gave her a short nod. “Thanks for your help. You should go home now. It looks like it’s going to rain again.”
Koushi looked up for a moment. When Touko glanced the same way, she saw the shadow of a tiny spy standing atop the gate. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought it was the same one that she and Koushi had seen before.
“You’re right,” Akira said. She’d also noticed the spy. “You all should go inside now, too. Take care, and hopefully we’ll see you again soon.” Akira gripped Touko’s shoulders tightly as she spoke.
Koushi’s sister frowned, but when Koushi guided her back into the estate, she didn’t protest. They walked away, and Kanata followed after them. Kanata didn’t give Touko so much as a single backward glance, and Touko was glad.
Koushi turned and ran back back toward the gate. He bowed toward Touko once, then chased after Kanata and his sister.
Touko could still smell Kanata faintly. It seemed to her that he was nearby, like he always had been, even though she knew he was gone now.
“Kanata’s home now, Touko,” Akira said. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be okay.” She shifted her satchel’s weight over her shoulder, then said, “Let’s go. Can you walk?”
“Yes, yes, I can walk,” Touko mumbled as she stumbled after Akira.
“You’re crying. Here.” Akira lifted Touko up piggy-back style. Touko cried into her shirt, barely making a sound. “You did good, kid. It’s really hard to say goodbye to a dog. It’s tough for a kid to be all alone out here without their dog.” Akira did a quick inventory check to make sure that the lightning fuel wouldn’t be jostled too much during travel. Then she said, “You should be proud of yourself. You crossed the Black Forest and got to the capital. The people who sent you here won’t have any reason to reproach you. You came here to do do exactly what you’ve done, young as you are.”
As Akira carried Touko down a hill, Touko buried her face in the back of Akira’s shirt and wept. Kanata was a part of her heart now: his bark, his loping running gait, his strangely human and intelligent expressions. She never wanted to forget anything about him. He’d protected her and befriended everyone—Hotaru, Benio, and Kaho had all loved him.
Oh no… there’s the thunder again.
Thunder shook the ground in the far distance. Koushi and his sister could probably hear it. The Tree People trapped beneath the well of the old tree might be able to hear it, too. The Guardian Gods in their shrine could hear it.
There was a splashing sound coming from a canal to the left. Someone was swimming in the water. Heavy clouds hung low in the sky. The air swirled with the promise of rain.
Temari, who was snugly nestled in Akira’s arms, growled low in her throat.
Thanks to Akira’s fast feet, they were able to get back to Shouzou’s house by the sea before the rain started falling again.
Almost as soon as they entered the house, a torrential rain began to pound the capital’s patchwork roofs. Shouzou’s parents had not yet returned from work. Did they have rain gear, or would the rain pass before they could finish work?
“Akira!” Kun rushed to the Fire Hunter the instant she opened the back door. He charged into her legs and hugged her. Akira stumbled; she was carrying Touko and all of their things and Kun’s sudden charge put her off-balance. She caught herself before she fell and lowered herself to her knees. Touko hurriedly got off Akira’s back.
“Hi, Kun,” Akira said. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”
Akira’s hand forced Kun’s head up as he clung to her. He’d been crying recently. “When the messenger insect died, I thought you were gone too. But you came back!”
“Messenger insect?” Akira asked.
Kaho came out of the back room, exhausted to her bones. She’d been left alone with a crying Kun, and looked it. Kaho approached Touko and Akira with an eyebrow raised and her arms folded. “Touko, where have you been? I was worried. Kun had his eyes open and wouldn’t move, and just when I thought he was okay again, he started crying and acting out.” She frowned.
Touko flinched. She couldn’t remember seeing Kaho so angry at her before.
“Well, uh… I left a letter saying I was going to look for Kanata’s family. Did you see it?”
Kaho’s face twisted in anger even more. The scars all over her face twitched. “A letter, huh? The one that was left on the futon? That was, I mean…” She looked down. “I can’t read.”
“What? You can’t read?” Touko asked.
Kaho pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and spread it out. Akira peeked at it and said, “Did you write this, Touko? You’ve got good handwriting. Some kids who go to the Academy here can’t write this well. I guess since your village makes paper, you know how to use it to read and write.”
Temari jumped out of Akira’s clothes, landed on the floor, then shook all over. Then she sniffed the floor, on the hunt for food. She whined.
Touko understood why; the smell wafting from Shouzou’s room was a mix of blood and excrement. Akira handed her the bag she’d carried with her from her village: it still had the Fire Hunter’s sickle and Protector Stone in it. The back of her throat was sore from crying. Leaving the house and returning made familiar scents new again, and stronger. The scent of disinfectant hanging in the air wasn’t overpowering enough to overcome the smells of Shouzou’s long illness.
Kun clung fiercely to Akira, who patted his back. Then she looked at the note Touko had written again and bit her lip.
“Touko, where’s Kanata?” Kaho asked. Her expression was grave.
Touko said nothing; all she could do was hang her head. She felt the absence of the dog like a physical wound. She had no more tears left to cry.
The sound of the rain pounding the roof echoed in the enclosed space. The storm was getting worse; it might last all night. Kaho reached out and pulled Touko into a fierce hug. Touko let out a squashed sort of sound and didn’t hug back. Kaho tightened her hold around Touko as if she were afraid that Touko would disappear into thin air.
Dimly, Touko thought that she should give Kaho a proper apology for worrying her, but no words came out of her mouth. She was in a state of overwhelm from everything she’d seen and experienced that day.
Akira and Kaho said something, but Touko didn’t hear it over the sound of the rain.
“Ah, damn. That hurts. Where am I?” Shouzou asked from the back room.
“Mr. Shouzou!” Kaho cried out. She and Touko ran to the back room together.
“It hurts, I’m hungry…” Shouzou was still in bed, but his right eye was open. His mouth twisted in a grimace as he tried to sit up.
“Don’t you have something else to say?” Kaho asked in an impatient tone. “We’ve been worried about you. We didn’t think you’d wake up.”
Shouzou stared at Kaho blank-faced for a few seconds.
Akira laughed. She was holding Kun’s hand, since the boy refused to let go of her. “Well, Kaho should really be reprimanding me for failing to guard you all. But she stayed with you while you were sick the most, Shouzou. You should thank her for that.”
“Huh?” Shouzou asked. He tried to say more, but all that came out was a hoarse cough.
Touko left the room to fetch water. The windows facing the street now had curtains courtesy of Shouzou’s father, who’d made them when Akira had told him her concerns about being watched or discovered by spies. Touko checked the family’s supply of fire fuel and confirmed that there was enough to boil water. Because of the curtains, Touko felt safe moving within the house. She missed Kanata, who always padded along behind her.
Touko went to the kitchen and poured fire fuel into a hollow in the stove. Then she filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove’s burner. As she waited, she looked at her bottle of lightning fuel. It was a golden honey color. She remembered Hotaru talking about honey from the bee-keeping villages when they’d been riding on the black cart together. Benio was supposed to get married in a bee-keeping village.
Cradling the bottle of lightning fuel in her hand, Touko waited for the water on the stove to boil. It should still be light outside, but the heavy rain made everything dark.
Rain. I thought Koushi made it rain. He said he didn’t, but maybe he was wrong. The flash of the lightning fuel passed before her eyes as remembered light and heat. The memory of the Tree People test subjects pained her. Kanata being gone hurt even worse.
But she was safe in here, safe from the rain and the storm, and that made her feel a little better. Thunder echoed far away. Touko reflected that she wasn’t scared or unhappy to be here. The idea of honey made her retrieve the piece of candy that Kira had given her so that she could sniff it again. The bag she’d carried all this way was comforting and familiar.
Touko retrieved a potholder from a drawer so that she wouldn’t burn herself when she took the kettle off the stove. She closed her eyes and felt as if she was back in her home village for a moment. The bottle of lightning fuel warmed the palms of her hands.
No comments:
Post a Comment