Touko gasped in surprise at the bright sunlight all around her. She twisted and sat up. She’d slept through the whole night. Akira was nowhere to be seen.
In the corner of the room that Akira used as her bed, blankets and shawls were neatly folded. The sickle she usually left behind when she went out to buy food or carry Kun around on adventures was gone.
Touko heard a quiet sound from the direction of the front door. She knew immediately that she wasn’t hearing Akira. Shouzou’s mother walked with a heavy, weary tread in the mornings. She was probably trying to be as quiet as she could so that she wouldn’t wake anyone. Akira’s footsteps and Temari’s wanderings both had a lighter sound. Touko didn’t hear them. They were gone.
Kun slept soundly on a futon next to Touko’s. He was upside-down from her perspective: his feet were near her face.
“Oh, Touko… good morning.” Kaho waved at her. She’d just washed her face and came over to sit next to Touko. She was frowning and looked tense as she handed something to her. “This is from Akira,” she said.
Kaho handed her a small can with a yellow label that read “Red Cobalt” along with a letter folded in half. Touko took both without replying to Kaho and opened the letter roughly.
Touko, I’m sorry. I left last night. I didn’t wake you up because I knew you’d be angry with me. Really, I am sorry.
I got the red cobalt. The black cart that goes to your village will be leaving tomorrow morning. Take the red cobalt back to your village and be safe.
I’m certain our petition to the Guardian Gods will be granted.
The letters were written in pencil with a very rough edge. Mistakes had been blacked out. Akira’s handwriting looked like a mischievous child’s who was still learning to write. She’d put more strength into her hand, trying to get his message across, but the strokes were uneven. Her hand had been shaking when she’d written this.
“That… that’s it?” The emotion that stirred up Touko’s heart was not impatience or anger. Last night, Akira had promised to go with her, but she hadn’t. She was disappointed—in herself or Akira or both. “Miss Akira, your handwriting is terrible…”
Kun, who had been sleeping soundly, woke with a start.
“Where did Akira go?” Even though he had only just awakened, Kun’s cheeks were flushed. His eyes darted around, searching for the Fire Hunter. His face scrunched from impatience. He bit his lip and looked down.
“She went to the Guardian Gods’ shrine by herself,” Touko said sadly.
Kun grabbed Touko by the sleeves and shook her. “I’ll go too! I have to help her!”
“Kun, you can’t. Miss Akira told me to stay here…”
Kaho tried to calm Kun, whose breathing was getting rough. But Kun would not be calmed.
“I’ll go, too… I have to go!”
Touko looked at her bag, which was resting on a chair in the hallway. The sickle and Protector Stone were in it. She’d promised Akira that she would bring her sickle.
Kaho looked where Kaho was staring and shook her head. “No, no. You can’t go after her, even if you’re armed. It’s way too dangerous.”
Touko tied the belt of the over-robe she’d worn to bed and quickly straightened her hair.
“No. It’s no good, chasing after her… you’ll just end up being a burden.”
Touko stared intently at Kaho’s face. “Maybe I’ll be a burden and maybe I won’t. I won’t know unless I try. I want to help Miss Akira. She helped us get here, and now the capital is in danger. That’s what Kanata’s owner said. The whole capital is in trouble, Kaho, and I feel like I have to do something.” Her eyes shone deep and clear like a mountain stream with fish swimming at the bottom.
Touko put on her straw sandals, stood up, and grabbed Kun’s shoulders. Kun clung to her. “Kun,” she said, “where is your messenger insect? We’re going after Akira now, and we have to hurry. Can your messenger insect find her fast?”
Kun looked straight at her, nodded several times, and then ran out into the hallway to collect some insects.
“Hey!” Shouzou called out from behind. He’d been awake this whole time. “I know how you feel, but you shouldn’t go after Akira. You need to get on one of the black carts leaving the capital in a day or two and go back to your village while you still can.”
“B-but, if things stay like this, the capital…”
“You idiot!” Shouzou cut Touko off before she could finish speaking. “What can a little brat like you do? If the capital is dangerous, then that’s even more reason to return to your village. Take Kaho and Kun with you. I was told by my dead comrades and by the captain to protect you brats, and dammit, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Shouzou’s voice was cold, but determined. His outburst overwhelmed Kaho briefly; she stood there with her mouth hanging open. Shouzou shifted all his weight to his good side and tried to stand up under his own power. He shouldn’t be able to stand or walk. It was doubtful whether he would even be able to sit up fully on his own. At this rate, he’d fall off his bed.
“You can’t get up, Mr. Shouzou,” Touko said. “You’ll hurt yourself!” Touko looked away from Shouzou, who was staring right at her.
“Shut up. What are you trying to achieve by chasing after her? You’re only going to end up making things worse. Think about why she just left you here without saying anything to you, you idiot child!”
Shouzou couldn’t yell as loudly as he’d been able to before his injury, but his raised voice still made Touko flinch. Usually when an adult in her village scolded her, Touko would remain still, staring silently at her toes. She would wait until the adult had finished yelling, and then in a small voice she would say, “I’m sorry.” After that, she would return to her work in the fields or around the house. That was what she’d always done. But now, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t do this the way she usually did.
“Kid, you can’t,” Shouzou said, still yelling. His pants pulled tighter around his legs as he attempted to rise. Kaho pressed him down by the shoulders and muttered something about getting too worked up and needing rest.
“Fine, I can’t get up,” he said, submitting to Kaho’s care. “Promise me you won’t go after her. I can’t follow you, and that means I can’t protect you. Stay here.”
His sole remaining eye glared at Touko.
Summoning all her strength, Touko glared back at Shouzou. He was hurt because of her.
“You can say whatever you want, but you can’t do anything. And you won’t be able to protect Kaho if you don’t stay here. She’s the one you should protect!” Touko spun on her heel and fled down the hall.
Kun was already using his messenger insect’s eyes to track Akira. His back was pressed against the wall of the hallway, his unblinking eyes moving rapidly. Wiping away tears, Touko picked up her bag from the chair and tied it to her back. The weight of the sickle troubled her briefly. Whenever she’d gone outside before this, she’d worn capital-style clothes. But not this time. She had to leave right now.
Touko wished Kanata were here. She missed him every moment, now that he was gone. She wasn’t sure the sickle would work properly as a weapon without Kanata next to her. Even so, she couldn’t stay here. She was angry that Shouzou had yelled at her and deeply disappointed that Akira had broken her promise.
Kun’s eyes were synchronized with his messenger insect: he could see what it saw.
“Where is Akira now?” Touko asked.
“A road next to a big river. On the left side, a cliff. Above that, smoke and machines.”
An industrial area. Was the big river the waterway that Koushi and Kanata had crossed? Touko clutched the knot tying her bag closed and nodded to Kun. “All right. Thanks.” She was sprinting toward the back door when Kaho called out to her.
Kaho rushed up and grabbed Touko’s hand.
“Kaho… please stay here with Shouzou,” Touko said.
Kaho shook her head firmly. “He can get up on his own. He doesn’t need me right now.” The intensity of her gaze burned into Touko, making her feel nervous—or ashamed.
“He still needs you, even if he says he doesn’t.”
Kaho sighed. “Touko, if anything dangerous happens… call out to Kanata.”
Touko nodded without thinking and smiled, though tears pricked the corners of her eyes. If she called out to Kanata, would he answer?
She didn’t want to leave Kaho here like this. She opened the knot tying her bag closed and freed her red barrette from the lip of the bag. “Here,” she said, thrusting the barrette out at Kaho.
Kaho looked down at the barrette with a puzzled frown.
“It’s a wedding gift,” Touko said, blushing.
“This is something important to you, right?” Kaho turned the barrette over in her hands.
Touko’s parents had bought her the barrette when she was small. It was one of her rare treasures. Her cousin Rin had slipped it into her bag along with a note apologizing for stealing it.
“Yes. I’m sure it will look wonderful in your hair.”
She still had a Protector Stone and a sickle, which Koushi had told her to keep for now. And the candy that Kira had given her. That should be enough.
“Kaho, I hope you’ll be very happy. Just like Hotaru said she’d be.”
Biting her lip tightly, Kaho squeezed Touko’s hand. “Please come back. And bring Akira with you.”
Touko nodded vigorously, then started running. The sun shone brightly overhead. Factory smoke drifted over the capital like a cloud. She’d grown used to running on pavement in recent days.
Touko hastened toward the city’s industrial area.
***
A huge canal separated the residential part of the city from the industrial area. As Touko was about to cross the bridge over the canal, she looked around and caught her breath. She was exhausted from running this far. The sound of her own breathing and the operation of factory machines all around echoed in her ears.
On the left, an industrial area… and a road next to a river. A cliff. Touko was in the industrial area and saw the canal, but she saw no cliff. As she turned toward the Guardian Gods’ shrine, she noticed that the city sloped upward. There was a cleft in the cliffs above her cut by a waterway. It made sense that Akira would use the road to get to the higher part of the city. That way!
Touko was out of breath and her chest hurt. She swallowed to try and stave off her breathlessness. Suddenly something flashed to the side of her cheek. It was a butterfly, large and black. It fluttered its wings at her as she stared, then flew higher towards the cliffs in the distance.
Kun, is that your messenger insect?
She turned her back on the bridge leading to the industrial area and ran down a wide path that led to the cliffs. Weeds and sparse trees grew along the sides of the path. The area had once been nicely maintained; she saw elegant paving stones with cracks down the middle and weeds growing between them.
The black butterfly flew ahead. Touko followed after it without hesitation. There was no sign of the grass having been trampled, but that didn’t mean Akira hadn’t come this way. Fire Hunters had to know how to move in the Black Forest without leaving tracks for Fire Fiends to follow. Would Touko be able to catch up to her before it was too late?
Forgetting about her shortness of breath, Touko forced herself to go faster and ran uphill behind the butterfly.
An unpleasant smell wafted from the factory area on her immediate left across the huge canal she’d crossed earlier. Amid the constantly working machines, a giant dark green tree stood silent vigil. Seeing the old tree again made her shudder. Tree People were there, underground, secret from practically everyone. Koushi had been born in the capital and even he hadn’t known about them until a few days ago.
Sweat trickled down Touko’s chin. The black butterfly disappeared behind a clump of unkempt shrubs. There was no sign of Akira anywhere. The scent of smoke choked her and the undergrowth scratched her bare skins. She sweated in the heat as she picked a path upward.
Touko remembered the river in her village, which she’d entered in the middle of winter once. That river was so, so cold. No one had been there with her as she stood in black water in the dead of night with snow falling and leaving white flakes in her loose hair.
Someone reached out and tugged at her short pants; she nearly fell. Touko turned and found Kun looking up at her with an indignant expression.
“You’re not gonna leave me behind!” he said.
“K-kun, what a surprise… But why are you here? I thought you were going to stay with Kaho and Shouzou.”
With a blank look, Kun said, “I don’t want to be left behind anymore.”
Touko’s knees went weak; she stumbled. “I’m sorry, Kun. I wasn’t trying to leave you. I just wanted you to be safe.”
He nodded, then grabbed Touko’s hand. Touko let him, then looked up. The sunlight was particularly bright, though thick black smoke from the factories obscured it in odd places.
Kun looked up at Touko with his mouth clenched in a frown.
They held hands and started walking together.
The quality of the sunlight dyed the scenery yellow. Kun’s hands quickly became damp with sweat. The nutrient-poor soil, the old pavement, and even the factory smoke took on a strangely familiar feel. Touko had never been here before, but she didn’t feel lost or out of place.
They reached the end of the path, which was crumbling and covered in grass. They hadn’t seen a single other person anywhere. Akira, if she had gone this way, had left no sign of her passage. Akira was a fast runner, so perhaps she had already reached the shrine. Perhaps she had already delivered her prayer to the Guardian Gods and was waiting to be shown the path to the Millennium Comet’s hunting grounds.
But what if Akira hadn’t come this way?
Touko shook her head. Akira was heading for the Guardian Gods’ shrine. She had to have come this way. She quickened her pace and felt Kun speed up beside her.
The constantly moving factory machinery looked like the innards of a large creature. The factories themselves spread across the city in a haphazard pattern that Touko couldn’t fully discern. Various buildings, canals, and giant trees standing tall—all of these were enshrined on the mountainside she and Kun were scaling. The Guardian Gods’ shrine loomed above them, white and pure and peaceful-looking. It was as if were separated from the rest of the world.
Little by little, more grass sprouted along their path. Kun was like a dog walking forward with his eyes fixed on the ground. He thought about his parents and friends who had left him behind in the forest; he was muttering about them under his breath.
Touko wondered why he hadn’t chased after his friends and family after they’d abandoned him, but managed to answer her own question before she asked it. Kun had almost certainly run after them, but he’d been so injured and sick. There was no way he’d be able to keep up. He’d been immune to the insects that caused Spiders to be impervious to combustion in the presence of natural fire, unlike his friends and family. So they’d left him alone in the middle of the Black Forest to die.
Touko wouldn’t abandon Kun like that. Akira wouldn’t, either, if she were here. They had to catch up to her. If they didn’t, Kun would be devastated. Anxiety gnawed at Touko’s gut, threatening to consume her.
They stepped on withered grass as they walked up the path’s steep incline. Now that she had some time and distance away from Shouzou’s house, she was surprised at herself for defying Shouzou so fiercely. Fierceness was not her way. When her parents had burned to death, she had lacked the courage to approach them and see it happen with her own eyes. She wasn’t even that shocked when they died. Many children in her village lost loved ones to fire in the same way. It was a cruel life, being a child in a village. She thought she’d learned to simply accept things as they were, no matter how terrible.
But she didn’t want to accept things as they were right now. Akira wasn’t the kind of person to give up. Touko admired that about her and wanted to emulate that quality.
Touko and Kun rushed ahead without speaking. It was silent all around; only the sound of their heavy breathing broke the stillness.
They reached a place along the path that was so overgrown that they needed to duck so that they wouldn’t hit their heads on tree branches. Kun reached the other side of the under-grown part of the path before Touko and tugged her forward so that she got tangled in underbrush and tree branches.
“Akira! It’s Akira!” Kun cried out, forging head and tugging Touko by the hand even though she was obviously stuck.
In Touko’s attempt to free herself from her predicament, she came close to the cliff edge and almost fell. She righted herself, regained her balance and looked for Kun.
“And what are you guys doing here?” Akira asked. She stood further up the hill along the path. She was wearing her Fire Hunter uniform. “I wrote you a letter telling you to wait, didn’t I? I’m sorry for breaking my promise. I was planning to apologize when I got home.” She was slightly out of breath, as if she’d just come running back down the path. “I wasn’t about to die without saying I was sorry first.”
Kun ran to Akira before Touko could say anything and hugged her with all his strength.
“Miss Akira…” Touko looked up at her.
Akira’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have come. Shouzou got mad at me, too,” Touko said.
Temari ran down the hill and sniffed Touko’s feet with her tongue hanging out.
“It’s dangerous for you both to be out here, especially dressed in your old clothes. What if the police had found you on your way here? Did you have a plan for that?”
Touko flinched and prepared for more scolding, but Akira stopped speaking and patted her on the head instead.
“I can’t send you back now, so I’ll take you with me. But you have to hide when it gets dangerous. From now on, you’ll have to listen to what I say. Both of you. Can you do that?”
“I can do it!” Kun shouted exuberantly.
“Yes,” Touko said. Her voice was drowned out by Kun’s reply.
Kun was acting strangely excited. Akira lightly flicked his hair and scolded him. “Hey! We’re not going for a walk. Take this seriously!”
The scolding had no effect. Kun was just happy to be with Akira again.
The air was filled with smoke from the factories. Touko quickly wiped away tears; the smoke was getting in her eyes. A weed-covered house overlooking the canal peeked out along their path.
“This is the old road,” Akira said. She started walking. Touko and Kun followed her. “In the past, this road was used for transporting people and goods. No one uses it anymore. But if we follow it, it’ll lead us to the Guardian Gods’ shrine.”
The old road was apparently once paved white, but it had been abandoned for a long time. The road’s surface had become uneven due to minor landslides and raised tree roots.
As they walked, thin trees popped up to the sides of the road. Akira pointed to the industrial area. The factories spewed an extraordinary amount of smoke into the air. The buildings were all connected by complex black ropes with a metallic sheen. “These days, people and goods are moved along those ropes. We should see the shrine soon.” Her gauntleted hand shifted from the industrial area toward the rocky mountain towering ahead.
The Guardian Gods’ shrine overlooked the industrial area. From here, it was impossible to see in great detail. Through the thin haze of smoke and steam, Touko caught a glimpse of glittering jade-colored roof tiles.
The Guardian Gods live there… does the one we saw at the old tree live there, too? How many Guardian Gods are there? In the village a lot of people wondered if there were a lot of Guardian Gods, since there were a lot of normal people. Guardian Gods were similar to normal people, but they lived longer and had powers. They wrote their missives and letters on blessed paper that Touko’s village made.
I wonder what they write, Touko thought.
Kun squeezed Touko’s hand. She was still gazing at the distant shrine.
Kun walked ahead of her, still holding her hand tight as if he wanted to guide her so that she wouldn’t get lost. The white pavement bucked up in places and weeds grew thick on the ground. Although he was only up to Touko’s chest in height, Kun moved forward with determination and purpose. Just like Kanata,Touko thought.
“The capital has a lot of canals that connect different areas,” Touko said.” Apart from the huge canal we entered the city from, there are a few others that are that wide. They’re covered with wire mesh inside the city so that there don’t have to be bridges everywhere. You can still see the water through the mesh, but the mesh makes it hard to swim in those areas.”
Akira nodded. “That’s right. They say that when a big fire broke out shortly after the capital was built, all the canals in the capital were filled with people trying to escape the fires. After that, people designed things so that the canals can’t get clogged. If necessary, water can flow through the entire city at once. The wire mesh prevents people from falling in, but the water can still move through the mesh and into the city if it has to.”
The scene that Akira described reminded Touko of her parents. Dad, if you’d been near the river during the fire, would you and mom have been saved? She didn’t know. Noise and smoke distracted her from where they were headed. Kun tugged her hand again.
The old road ran along the mountainside past the industrial area and over a huge canal. A few scraggly trees clung to the mountain. Their leaves were bright green in the spring sunshine and fluttered in the breeze. The sky was clear.
The wind changed direction; Touko couldn’t smell factory smoke anymore. Water poured into the huge canal from several drains. From here, the water in the canal looked like it had a greenish tinge like seaweed.
Akira was probably carrying her petition in her pocket. Touko didn’t know what she’d written on the three remaining pieces of blessed paper. She would hunt the Millennium Comet and become the King of the Fire Hunters… Just the thought made the sickle Touko was carrying on her back feel so much heavier. She would definitely save Akira.
Kun got bored of just walking. When he found a bug on the ground, he said, “I need to pee,” and then jumped into the grass.
Akira shrugged, then smiled. Kun crouched down behind a bush, but his back was visible from the path. When he emerged from behind the bush, he was grinning from ear to ear and carrying a lizard in both hands. The lizard squirmed and thrashed about, but Kun didn’t let go.
Was Kun really a Spider? It was hard to believe sometimes. Were his parents and friends planning to attack the capital soon? Did Kun know about the plan to have the dragon bitten by insects and driven mad so that it would attack the black carts? Where had he been during all of that?
Temari walked over and sniffed at the lizard. Kun let the lizard climb on the dog’s nose.
“Dog food!” Kun said.
Temari’s expression transformed in rage as she pounced on the little lizard, who leaped to avoid her paws. She growled furiously at the lizard and at Kun, who had put it on her nose. Kun stared at the dog, dumbfounded. The lizard slithered away and escaped before anyone could stop it.
“Kun, don’t wander off the path again,” Akira said. “We can’t get lost. And we don’t need to eat right now. I’m sure Shouzou’s mom fed you lots of tasty food last night, right?”
Kun nodded and hung his head a little.
At that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew by, causing Akira and Touko to stop still. Temari let out a shrill bark.
“I see. I thought there were a lot of insects in the forest, but there are Spiders who can send insects to others… how amusing.”
Akira hadn’t spoken. Touko hadn’t, either.
A young woman in a silver-white over-robe appeared on the road ahead. She smiled at them and waved like a child. Her nose was oddly pointed like a bird’s beak.
A Guardian God.
Kun froze in shock and hid behind Akira, who had already prepared herself for a fight.
Akira managed to hold the Guardian God’s gaze as she said, “The one from the other day—I believe you were from the Wind Clan, right?”
“Yes. I’m in charge of the city’s spies. My name is Hibari.”
They were all standing on the same road in mostly the same place, but Hibari’s presence was oppressive. She seemed to be looking down on Akira, Touko and Kun from a great height.
“Weren’t you spying on that wealthy factory owner?” Akira asked.
“I haven’t neglected my watch. I came to see her because she’s interesting.” Her gaze shifted to Touko. “It seems you’re planning to hunt the child of the stars, the Millennium Comet. You’re a Fire Hunter.”
Hibari’s gaze moved back to Akira. She had an elegant demeanor and a gentle smile, but her eyes were ruthless and cold. “I have no business with you. You’re in the way. I’m going to stop you here.”
The sound of wooden clogs hitting the earth in unison echoed behind Akira, Touko and Kun. Three spies had come running at their mistress’ call, each wearing black-died costumes that looked like uniforms now that they were all standing together. White cloth covered their faces.
Akira gritted her teeth. Her hand rested on the hilt of her short sword at her hip. “You guys know it too, right? The Spiders will be coming to the capital soon. Their goal is to defeat the Guardian Gods. If the Guardian Gods fall, the people living in this country will be destroyed. Why bother watching that rich guy or stopping me? Don’t you have much bigger problems? Why don’t you focus on guarding your precious princess?””
Hibari lifted her chin slightly. “Ha! You believe she is not guarded? The life of a ruler is life in a gilded cage. Go and try to see her, if you like. I’ll even help you with that.”
Suddenly, a gust of wind hit them. Temari barked in alarm. Kun yelled at the top of his lungs. Touko closed her eyes so that she wouldn’t see what happened next.
Behind Touko’s closed eyelids, a strange scene played out.
She stood in a large hall. Polished pillars rose toward a high ceiling. Thick, decorated mats made of woven rice fibers were scattered along the floor. An elaborately designed crossbar rose above a window. This was a hall somewhere within the shrine. It was quiet all around. No one told Touko this in words. The wind seemed to tell her, communicating with little shifts and eddies.
There were about a dozen Guardian Gods in the hall. They wore robes of different colors based on which clan they belonged to. The Guardian Gods whispered to one another, standing in corners with their faces lowered. The men wore formal robes and the women were wore layered dresses. There were no children. Some had beautifully tied black hair while others had heads of shining white hair. No one spoke above a whisper.
It seems that the soil is exceedingly poor this year in many places.
Princess Teyuri can no longer fulfill all her duties, poor girl.
But Princess Teyuri is able to perform her duties well much of the time, isn’t she?
The princess’s heavy responsibilities must be lightened. But only after she handles the matter of the Millennium Comet’s return.
If we increase the number of new human children, the princess’ burden will be lightened.
That would go against Princess Tokohana’s wishes.
The world cannot survive if things continue like this.
We must do something before the Spiders get here.
Princess Teyuri told me to prepare some new paper.
We must rely on the princess’ prayers.
Prepare a new vessel for the Millennium Comet.
Whispered words crested over Touko like a wave of air. Among the dozens of gods, Touko saw no sign of Princess Teyuri. She might have been there, but Touko had no idea what she looked like. The wind told her in no uncertain terms that the princess was absent from the hall at the moment. Touko saw inside the shrine and could identify everyone there with the wind’s help, but the princess wasn’t here.
What is this?
Touko’s head pounded; she had an unbearable headache. She shivered as a gust of wind passed over her shoulders.
Then the wind suddenly stopped and the scene in the hall where the Guardian Gods had gathered disappeared. Touko and her friends were back in the middle of the old road, surrounded by three of Hibari’s spies. Unlike the paper doll-like spies Touko had seen before, these were adult-sized and taller than Akira.
“We, the Guardian Gods, have been worrying for two hundred years about whether the Millennium Comet would return and usurp Princess Teyuri’s place. The Millennium Comet floats alone in the void of space; her thoughts and her supernatural powers far surpass ours. Because of that, I do not act against the Millennium Comet. I watch, and wait.”
Akira raised her eyebrows, paying close attention to the spies closing in on them. Kun clung to Akira’s waist, but bared his teeth and growled like an animal at the incoming attackers. “The next leader of the Guardian Gods will be the Millennium Comet? That doesn’t make sense. The Millennium Comet is entirely mechanical. Humans or the Guardian Gods created it.”
Hibari’s eyes twinkled, showing amusement. Her mizura hairstyle fluttered in the cold wind. “To me, she is an elder sister, just like Princess Teyuri and Princess Tokohana. I cannot forgive anyone who tries to kill her.”
The moment Hibari finished speaking, the spies made their move. One of them leaped high into the air while the remaining two crawled along the ground and advanced in a straight line. Touko’s eyes were unable to keep up with their swift movement. She thought she would be targeted, but the only person the spies aimed for was Akira.
Akira evaded the spy that attacked from above, striking out with her short sword at the same time. Temari barked to warn Akira that one of the spies was about to throw a knife. Akira blocked the knife with the gear bag hanging from her waist. The deep-fried dumplings Shouzou had given her that morning spilled from the bag and splattered on the ground.
“Wow, you’re able to dodge quite well.” Hibari grinned, showing teeth. She tossed blades in rapid succession. This time, Akira wasn’t the only target.
“Kun, stay by Touko!” Akira cried out as she moved to dodge the blades coming at her.
Kun, who had been clinging to Akira, had already been thrown off. Touko hurriedly caught him before he could go hurtling over the cliff’s edge. She pulled him back up by the shoulders. He landed butt-first on the old pavement, out breath. His capital-style clothes were torn. Shattered dumplings fell around him, cut by throwing knives and blown about by wind. He was sweating all over. His arms felt clammy when Touko tried to pull him upright.
“Ugh…” Kun groaned. His eyes were red and puffy and started twitching. His low, animal-like voice made Touko’s hair stand on end.
In front of him, Akira fought off the three spies by herself.
One of the spies kicked up exposed earth with the teeth of his wooden sandals. Dust blinded Akira for a few seconds. Akira kicked the loose pavement with her toes, grabbed a chunk of it, jumped up and closed the distance between her and the nearest spy at top speed. With all her might, she slammed a piece of pavement into the spy’s face, which was still concealed by while cloth. Another spy circled around Akira to stab her in the back. Akira shifted her whole body to evade the backstab, but that put her directly in line for the last spy’s attack. The last spy took a flying jump and kicked Akira in the head with their wooden sandal.
The sandal cut a bloody gash across Akira’s forehead. Akira was unsteady on her feet for a few seconds; then she forced herself to stand straight.
This was terrible! Touko had followed Akira so that she could try to save her. Akira had already made so many sacrifices and was prepared to make so many more.
“Is Akira okay?” Kun whispered.
The blood from Akira’s forehead dripped down her face. Akira wiped the blood from roughly on her clothes. A drop of blood splattered and hit one of the spies. In that moment, the spy’s form unraveled; it shrank, becoming the familiar paper doll clad all in black.
“Why don’t you try to save your sister, then—the one who’s still alive? Why aren’t you by her side? If the Millennium Comet is also your sister, then why have you left the world in this state until now?”
“Enough with your foolish questions.” The smile had disappeared from Hibari’s face. Her dreadful gaze was fixed on Akira, who continued to fight the two remaining spies. “The Guardian Gods could have made the land more stable without waiting for the King of the Fire Hunters to appear. I showed you that illusion before; that proves it.” She walked closer to Akira.
Akira kept desperately fighting the spies. The white cloth covering the spies’ faces turned red. The blood from Akira’s split forehead had turned one of them into a paper doll—and that doll wasn’t moving like the ones Touko had seen before. It appeared to be completely inert.
“So with all the Guardian Gods gathered together, they could do it?” Akira asked. “Why haven’t they, then? Why is everyone so reliant on your precious Princess Teyuri anyway? You call her your sister, but you’re sure not treating her like one. She doesn’t help anyone—not anymore. And neither do the Guardian Gods.”
The wind that brushed against Hibari’s face, ears, knees, and shins was stirring. Akira’s words made her tremble. Touko could feel her rage, even at a distance. The wind strengthened as Akira kept up the desperate fight.
Akira and Hibari didn’t understand each other. Hibari thought Akira wanted to kill Princess Teyuri when she actually wanted her help. Hibari’s emotions had gone out of control; she believed Akira was a threat to her and the other Guardian Gods. As the wind buffeted Touko’s bare skin, Touko shivered and wondered if Hibari had been born this way: powerful, and with perfect control over the wind.
“Why am I always different?” a childish voice whined. Touko couldn’t see who had spoken. “Whenever I make something out of paper, it moves. Is this the my power? Is it all I get?”
“Use that strange power to your advantage. Create a spy of paper and have them watch over the capital.” Another voice, older. Touko couldn’t see this speaker, either.
“I hate cities!” The first voice again. “They’re so dirty and people are suffering all over the place. I don’t want to do that kind of work. If a spy needs to apprehend someone, won’t they need to hurt them? Blood scares me…” The voice became gradually quieter and quieter. “I want to make skylarks! Ones that can really fly. Oh, and butterflies!” The sensation of a hand reaching out to Touko’s…
..and then the voices were gone.
There was a click as a spy held his short sword low, then jerked it up across Akira’s chest in one quick slash. Blood spurted out from Akira’s chest and shoulders like water.
“No! Stop it!” Touko cried out.
Temari barked furiously at Hibari.
Ahead of them, along the old road soiled with blood and dust, Hibari stood immovable.
“Please stop! Miss Akira isn’t trying to do anything bad! Please don’t kill her!” The smell of blood overwhelmed Touko. She nearly gagged.
Touko’s scream was drowned out by another voice. Kun let out a loud cry at the top of his small voice. His face was red as blood, though he wasn’t bleeding. The strange cry was like a dying animal’s. It made Temari, who had been barking during the whole battle, stop and flinch.
Akira stumbled to one knee, unable to support herself. She held her short sword out in front of her chest so that she could keep defending herself, even when falling. The spy attacked again, and she deflected the slash with her short sword. Her blood fell on the spy, turning it into a paper doll.
The last remaining spy suddenly arched their back, then collapsed. A black beetle clung to the spy’s body as it reverted to paper doll form.
Touko’s knees shook. The sickle on her back felt heavy again. She had a weapon, but she didn’t know how to use it. She couldn’t do anything.
Silence all around. Akira managed to stand, groaning all the while. “Looks like your little friends don’t want to play anymore,” she said to Hibari.
Hibari smoothly took out a new piece of paper doll from the sleeve of her robe. Her movements made Touko freeze. The Guardian God could create as many new dolls as she wanted.
Kun bared his teeth at Hibari.
Akira raised her head and yelled, “Kun, stop! You can’t harm her.”
Suddenly, Kun stopped screaming, his eyes wide open as if he had forgotten to blink. He glanced over at Touko briefly, then glared at the Guardian God.
“If you kill my sister, I’ll burn you all to death.” Hibari’s voice was filled with ferocious hostility. Kun was never very expressive toward people, even Akira, but Touko could tell at a glance just how much Kun despised Hibari. Fire would kill him, though, the same as any human. He wasn’t like the other Spiders who were immune. By standing up to Hibari, he was putting his own life in grave danger.
Hibari’s porcelain-smooth cheek twitched. Her eyes were cold and dead, making Touko think of river water in the middle of winter and mounds of snow covering the ground. Memories of home flowed into her mind. Without even thinking about how to untie the knot that held her bag shut, she did it, then slipped between Kun and Hibari to protect the small boy.
Hibari’s cold eyes softened as she saw Touko standing there, pale and shaking. “There’s no hope for you, but you’re interesting,” she said. “I think that if anyone were to save my sisters, it might be someone like you. I have no intention of killing you. Fire Hunters and Spiders are my only enemies.”
Hibari smiled. The spring breeze blew away the smell of dust and blood and left the old road relatively clean. Then she stopped smiling and approached Akira. Touko knew that Hibari would kill her if she could.
Stop it, stop it… Touko wanted to scream so much that she thought she might burst, but she didn’t make a sound. She wanted to protect Kun and Akira, but she was so short and weak and didn’t know how to use a sickle to fight. She never wanted to see another person die in front of her ever again.
“Touko, if anything dangerous happens… call out to Kanata.” Kaho’s words returned to her in her desperation. Touko tried to take a breath. It was no use. If she didn’t exhale and inhale with deliberate slowness, she would hyperventilate.
A shadow ran towards her, small—and human-shaped. Touko forgot to breathe. She turned and found a little girl who looked vaguely familiar. She had large eyes, plump cheeks and a slightly pointed chin.
Koushi’s little sister, Hinako. She was barefoot and in her pajamas, and for some reason that Touko didn’t understand, she was here now.
“Um, uh?”
Akira’s warm hand grabbed Touko’s shoulder. She pushed Touko and the angry Kun behind her.
“Miss Akira, this girl—” Touko said, gesturing to Hinako.
Akira turned a sharp gaze toward Koushi’s younger sister. “What are you doing here? Go home!”
Hibari didn’t even bat an eyebrow at the little girl who’d suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was smiling again.
“This must be the work of the Water Clan. I told them to stop… but they managed to reshape her body. Poor thing.”
“What do you mean?” Touko asked.
Akira’s breathing was heavy. The hand gripping Touko’s shoulder clenched so hard that it almost hurt.
“Didn’t I just show you? The Guardian Gods possess great power. We can transform the body of a human child so that they no longer need to fear the fire from the Fire Fiends. The difficulty is not in the Guardian Gods’ abilities, but in acquiring subjects to test this process on.”
“But why?” Touko asked. Why Hinako? When they’d dropped off Kanata, she’d clung happily to the dog’s neck, looking up at Touko and the others with an embarrassed look on her face. Why would such a young girl living in such a splendid mansion give over her body to the Guardian Gods for this procedure?
“The Guardian Gods would never tell us Tree People what was happening. We’re nothing but their test subjects. We’re not like the people who were sent into the forest to help the villagers. We’re prototypes, failures. They’re embarrassed and don’t want us to be seen, so the Guardian Gods have isolated us here.” That was what Kiri had said. Was Koushi’s sister a Tree Person? She didn’t really look like one, but that didn’t mean that she hadn’t been altered like the Tree People at the bottom of the well of the old tree.
The sickle touching Touko’s back started to heat up. She looked at Hinako, who was facing Akira with a placid expression.
Hinako’s gaze shifted to Touko, then to Kun, and then to Hibari. Her small nose twitched, catching the scent of something. She was much younger than Touko, yet her eyes seemed old, ancient even. She looked so exhausted, but her mouth was twisted in an angry grimace. Hinako wanted to fight.
Kun let out a loud noise from his throat, stared at Hinako, and then bared his teeth.
Touko hurriedly grabbed Kun by his shoulders. “Kun, this girl is different and not our enemy. Don’t attack her.”
Kun didn’t react.
“Stand back!” Akira shouted to Hinako. Even in the face of Akira’s stultifying shout, Hinako’s eyes remained wide open and unwavering. Her eyes were like Kun’s when he was seeing through the eyes of a messenger insect: wide open and unblinking.
Touko felt like she was looking at something inhuman as she gazed down at Hinako. She was Koushi’s little sister, though—that meant she was human, right? Hibari was the only one here who wasn’t at least somewhat human.
“Hm. We’ve had a lot of failures among the prototypes, but the girl looks like a suitable specimen,” Hibari said softly.
Akira stepped in front of Touko, Kun and Hinako. “Temari, heel!”
“Miss Akira!” Touko couldn’t understand what Akira was trying to do.
As Akira confirmed that Hinako was staying put, the wind picked up. Touko sensed the wind moving everywhere, as if it were alive. Dirt blew into Touko’s eyes; she shut and rubbed them but it was too late. For the next few seconds at least, she was effectively blind. The dirt clogged her ears, too. She bent to hold Kun and maybe block some of the dirt from reaching him.
Temari came running to Touko’s feet. In the center of the rushing wind, Hibari stood on air, clad in silvery white formal robes. Five newly created full-size spies were behind her.
A droplet hit Touko’s cheek. She thought it was rain, but it was actually fresh blood from Akira’s back where the wind was causing her armor to chafe her skin.
Touko tried to cry out, but her voice was completely drowned out by the wind. She was unsteady on her feet, and then the wind was lifting her, tossing her about like a rag doll. She fell to earth, searching for Kun with her hands because she couldn’t see.
In the distance, she heard the sound of a dog barking. Kanata! She would know that bark anywhere. She forced her eyes open and saw Kanata running toward her through a haze of dirt and sand.
Touko was lifted in the air again and lost sight of Kanata. Temari collided with her chest; she grabbed the dog out of the air and hugged her. She started falling again, her senses all in confusion.
She splashed into the canal with muddy water all around her. Some kind of molten debris filled the water, and an eerie-colored bubble popped on the water’s surface. She nearly passed out because she still couldn’t really see or hear anything and she’d inhaled a lot of dirt. Her hands. Where were her hands? Where had Kun gone?
Temari kicked at Touko’s chest. That was right; she hadn’t let go of Temari when she’d fallen. That was good. But Kun wasn’t here, and that was terrible. Touko gulped in air with difficulty. There was a stabbing pain behind her eyes when she opened them fully; she still couldn’t see. Temari kept kicking her incessantly, but Touko didn’t let go.
Hinako’s feet sloshed through the churning water. She half-carried Touko, who was flailing and drowning, and headed toward the shore. Without saying a word, Hinako moved Touko in front of a ladder that would take them all out of the canal.
Touko picked up Temari with one hand and climbed the ladder with the other. Without all her strength, she couldn’t lift herself up to the top of the ladder, which had ten rungs.
What should I do… How should I climb up…
As Touko hesitated, the hem of Hinako’s nightgown flashed across Touko’s field of vision. Hinako had jumped out of the canal.
When Touko finally reached the top of the ladder, she collapsed to the ground and puked out everything in her stomach. Temari shook herself off with a disgusted shudder. Slimy things were stuck in her fur.
Touko’s back felt heavy. It took her a moment to understand why: the bag she carried was soaked through. She wondered if the foul water had seeped into the Fire Hunter’s sickle. She hoped it wasn’t ruined.
Kanata… Touko searched for the dog all around her. She’d heard him bark just a minute before. When she looked up, she saw a cliff overhead, rising steeply above the factories’ smokestacks. The old road was visible in outline. She guessed that Akira and Kun were on the road somewhere. Akira was injured. Kun might be, too.
“Poor Kun…”
Hinako stood nearby, also looking up at the cliff. She bent her knees, preparing another jump.
“Wait!” Touko said. “Are you going up the cliff? I have to get there, too.”
“It’s dangerous,” Hinako said, looking down.
Touko’s whole body throbbed in pain as she tried to stand. She didn’t think any bones were broken. She could move; moving just hurt. She was ashamed at how little she’d been able to accomplish thus far. “I know it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous for you, too. Your brother must be nearby, right?”
Hinako turned to face her. She looked very sad. “He’s not with me. I’ve been doing bad things without telling him. He sent Kanata after me, so that’s why he came.” She bowed her head.
“You have to go home to your brother after this, right? Did you run away?” Touko wanted to prevent Hinako from doing anything rash, for Koushi’s sake if for no other reason.
Hinako shook her head. “If I don’t go and help them, the people you were with will die.” Hinako’s voice faded into the sound of the factories operating.
Touko hadn’t given much thought to the factories up until now. She saw metal walls, external staircases outside of buildings, and steel columns. Far beyond all of that, a small delivery vehicle drove slowly along the street.
A bare foot leaped over the edge of the waterway. Touko dropped to her knees and grunted in pain. Hinako was leaving her behind. Crossing the huge waterway with ease, Hinako reached the cliff and, as light as a frog, climbed up the cliff with her bare hands and feet.
Touko was stunned as she watched Hinako leave, her heart beating faster and faster in her chest.
What should I do? I have to get back on the cliff. Akira and the others―
The canal that Touko had fallen into was near a factory rubbish dump. Crows gathered and cawed among huge metal boxes filled with scrap iron and other debris. Rats are making their nests in and under the boxes.
Further up the cliff, Hibari was fighting Akira with her spies. Touko looked around but didn’t see any factory workers nearby. In the distance, someone was driving a small transport vehicle down an alley. Someone else was climbing a ladder on the outside of a building, and someone else was arranging tools on a cart. Everyone was working as usual. The machines in every factory were running smoothly. Somewhere in there, Shouzou’s father must be working.
Touko’s legs felt heavy. Her hands and feet had gone numb at some point. She tried to force herself to move and couldn’t find the strength.
Temari pushed against Touko’s shin with her round head.
“Eh…? Temari, the factories are over there. You need to get back up the cliff, where Miss Akira is.”
Seeing that Touko was addled and not moving, Temari spun around, straightened her legs and jumped around, barking.
Something was coming.
Touko heard an unfamiliar roar in the distance. It wasn’t Fire Fiends; she knew what those sounded like. No. The factory machines made it hard to determine exactly where the roar was coming from, but it was certainly not coming from inside the city.
Koushi had said that at the southern end of the main industrial area across the canal, there was a tunnel leading out into the Black Forest. A barrier was set up halfway through the tunnel so that Fire Fiends couldn’t get into the city.
But Spiders could get into the city. The Spiders… were they here? Already?
Hearing the strange roar, some of the factory workers started moving more quickly and shouting to each other. Touko remembered the carnage that she and the others had found at the bay and pushed herself upright by force of will.
The Spiders were here: close and getting closer. The roaring sound grew louder, to the point where Touko thought that Fire Fiends were growling alongside the invading Spiders.
Temari stomped her feet and barked furiously. She looked up at Touko with an angry face. Temari was a hunting dog, and Touko was the only one standing near her with a sickle.
Touko was confused and hesitant. There were many Fire Hunters in the capital. If the Fire Fiends really did cross the barrier, then Fire Hunters would hunt them down. What Touko needed to do was to go to Akira, which meant she needed to go back up the cliff.
As Touko made a plan of action, she realized that she couldn’t smell normally. She’d fallen in sewage and had gone nose-blind to it at some point. When the acrid, bitter chemical smell that the Tree People used to ward off Fire Fiends wafted through the air, she smelled it but couldn’t identify it immediately through all the other scents assaulting her senses. She inhaled and caught a hint of iron and metal in the air.
A small bird flew across an alleyway in the industrial area and let out a sharp cheep like a scream.
From behind the building where it perched, a Fire Fiend in the shape of a large wild cat emerged. It stood in the midst of the towering machinery all around it like a black cut-out painting. Its fur was pitch black, its eyes burning red. It was carrying a small Tree Person in its mouth. Touko squinted and recognized Shuyu, the little Tree Person who’d come into the city to catch a bird before. He had gray skin, sandy hair, and soft, flowing leaves sprouting along his bare arms and shins. Shuyu was dead, his throat bitten open and bloody. His limbs dangled down to the ground as the Fire Fiend dragged him along.
A shiver ran up Touko’s spine.
How had Shuyu gotten caught? The chemical that Tree People used should keep Fire Fiends away… unless the Spiders had driven them crazy like they had the dragon. The Spiders weren’t just here: they were all over the place. In the Tree People’s old tree, inside the city, in the Black Forest: everywhere. Nowhere was safe.
The terrible sound of the black carts being destroyed by the dragon that had been poisoned by insect bites returned to her. Creaking, roaring, tearing—and flames. She heard crying and screaming and people shouting to one another. She couldn’t make out any words.
Touko felt like she’d just been doused in freezing water. She glared at the Fire Fiend, wishing that she could be as strong as Hinako so that she could defeat the evil wild cat who’d killed Shuyu. Hinako had easily traversed the wide canal and scaled the vertical cliff without any tools.
Nodding to herself, Touko untied the knot that held her bag closed, exposing the Fire Hunter’s sickle. “Temari!”
The dog hadn’t gone far. She returned when Touko called her and snorted derisively.
Touko picked up the sickle and started running up the cliff as fast as she could toward Shuyu and the Fire Fiend. Far above her and Temari, the factories buzzed and hummed and ancient trees stood silent vigil.
Two shadows witnessed Touko’s approach from on high, but made no move to stop her.
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