Beyond the Werefox Whistle
Written by Uehashi Nahoko
Illustrated by Yumiko Shirai
Part 2: The Cursed One and the Guardian
Chapter 4: A Guest for the Evening
It was a spring evening. Plum blossoms fell from the trees and drifted away on the wind. Illuminated by the dim light of the rising moon, a warrior passed through the gates of Umegae Estate. He was mounted on a warhorse. He dismounted and passed his horse over to Yata. On the ground, it was obvious that he was quite a bit shorter than most people. Yata’s mother led the warrior to a parlor to wait.
When Dairou came home, he went to greet his guest right away. “Be welcome,” he said, giving the warrior a florid bow. “If you had summoned me, I would have come to the castle without delay. To what do I owe this visit to my home?”
“There is need for haste,” the warrior said. “And we cannot discuss these matters inside the castle. We don’t know where the enemy’s spies are hiding. I apologize for the sudden visit, but my news cannot wait.”
While Dairou led the warrior to the veranda to show them to the main house, he heard pattering footsteps. Ichita came rushing out from inside. Sayo followed him, looking flustered.
“Ichita! We have a guest. Make sure you don’t bother him!” Dairou called out.
Yata’s mother had taken over watching Ichita after Sayo and the others came back from Wakasa Fields. Unfortunately, she was busy cooking dinner and Ichita had escaped her notice easily. Sayo had seen him running off; he’d slipped through her grasp like an energetic puppy and sprinted away. She’d only just caught up with him.
Ichita rushed up to the warrior, who gave him an indulgent smile. “What? Don’t worry about the boy; he’s not bothering me. Is he Suzu’s? He’s grown up. Come on, look up lad. Let me take a closer look at you.” He knelt down to Ichita’s level.
Sayo sighed, relieved that the warrior was kind. She picked up Ichita, bowed her head, and apologized to the warrior for interrupting him and Dairou.
“He’s a naughty boy. Never does what he’s told,” Dairou said jovially.
The warrior smiled and looked at Sayo, and then his expression suddenly became serious. He was looking at her like he recognized her, though she was sure they hadn’t met before. His mouth hung slightly open in shock and recognition.
♢ Hanano? ♢
The warrior was thinking about her mother. She could hear it with her listening power. How did the warrior know her mother?
“Lord Harumochi,” Dairou said. He was frowning and twisting his hands. “Please come in.”
Lord Harumochi nodded quickly and jerked into motion.
Sayo’s expression matched Lord Harumochi’s now. She sensed confusion and regret from Lord Harumochi’s thoughts as he followed Dairou inside the estate. Sayo watched him go as if she’d been frozen in time.
***
As soon as they were inside, Lord Harumochi addressed Dairou. “Dairou, is that Sayo who I just saw?”
“Yes, that is Sayo,” Dairou said.
Harumochi took a seat in an extravagant chair. Dairou sat down in a lower seat than his.
“I didn’t know she was still alive,” Lord Harumochi said. “I thought she’d been killed along with Hanano.”
“Forgive me. I should have told you.”
Harumochi’s expression set in stern lines. Before he could speak, Dairou added, “Everything I did, I did at Hanano’s instruction. She asked me not to inform you of her circumstances, and I respected that. If it were otherwise, I would have told you without delay, my lord. Her young daughter survived, and now all I want is to protect her. I didn’t want your cousin or any of his acquaintances to know that Sayo was still alive. If I had told you, they might have found out.”
Harumochi stared at the floor, lost in thought. “You could have told me in secret,” Harumochi said after a pause. “I should have known. Does my cousin know?”
Dairou bowed his head deeply. “He might soon. I am sorry. Please understand. My highest priority has been protecting the two children that Hanano sacrificed her life to protect. At the time, all I could do was muddy the mind of the assassin so that he thought he’d killed Sayo as well. Otherwise, your cousin would already know—about Sayo, and about Koharumaru.”
Harumochi looked Dairou in the eye. “I came here today because the situation’s become dangerous. My cousin did finally find out about Koharumaru.”
Dairou didn’t say anything. His expression remained grim.
Harumochi told Dairou what had happened at the High King’s castle. “As soon as I receive word from the High King that he will perform the ceremony to recognize Koharumaru as my eldest son, I will take the boy to see him.”
“Is that truly the best course of action?”
“I don’t know,” Harumochi said in a tone of resignation. “This is a huge gamble that puts Koharumaru’s life at risk. But if I don’t take it now, I may never get another chance to act. I know you understand that. This isn’t just our only chance to hold onto Haruna, it’s also Koharumaru’s last chance to live a normal life. I can’t deny him that.”
Dairou looked into Harumochi’s face for a long while. He nodded slowly. “When you first sent him into hiding, I did think this day would come, if not in this exact way.”
Harumochi nodded solemnly. “The next two weeks are critical. I would give my life to make this work out. Not only for me, but for Koharumaru, who never had a chance to live among people. He’s been locked up for ten years and more.
“I’m sure you’ve guessed why I came here by now. Just as your father protected Koharumaru, now I want you to protect him by concealing him further,” Harumochi said.
Dairou’s face fell. “I am sorry,” he said. “When my father died of illness, I was only halfway through learning his arts. I have learned a little more from the books he left behind and from my comrades scattered across the world, but I’m no match for that sorcerer.” He thought a moment, then added, “Do you know what ‘ogi’ means in my native language?”
Harumochi shook his head.
“It is an archaic word for protection, or guardianship. The spells around Morikage Estate are meant to protect what is within, not to prevent that which is inside from getting out. Nor is it meant to harm anyone.”
“That’s true. Ogi doesn’t have any offensive techniques, at least not that I’ve seen,” Harumochi said.
Dairou looked like he was sucking on a lemon.
“Dairou, what’s wrong? I’m not asking you to attack anyone. I’m asking you to protect me, as you’ve always done.”
Dairou raised his eyes. “Often, the best technique for defense is to hide. It’s easy to protect yourself if your opponent doesn’t know you’re there. That’s why I’ve been able to protect Koharumaru up until now, in some small way. But once someone has become aware of your existence, you need offensive power to protect yourself. Hiding has failed. There is nothing else I can do.” His face was pale. “Could we explain the situation to the High King and ask for his sorcerer’s help?”
Harumochi shook his head. “I can’t do that. To the High King, I am nothing more than a minor lord. If he lends me a sorcerer, the High King’s own protection will be weakened. He would never do such a thing.”
“But wouldn’t it be troublesome for Lord Moritada to become too powerful, even for the High King?”
Harumochi gave Dairou an ironic smile. “That’s true up to a point. His sorcerer tried to kill me once, and that attempt was prevented by the High King’s machinations. I am also prevented from killing Moritada outright, for the same reason. The balance of power in the region would shift too much if either one of us were to die.”
If Moritada tried to coerce the High King into assisting him—or worse, attempted to depose the High King—then the High King’s sorcerer would murder him where he stood without a second thought. The same was true of Harumochi.
“It is also a matter of honor,” Harumochi added. “The moment he helps me, the High King will be breaking his long-established precedent of treating all lords equally. That would undermine his authority in the long run.” He sighed. “I can see no way of winning without his strength. One advantage we have is that the High King won’t assist Moritada, either. This is between him and me.”
“Then what will you do?” Dairou asked.
“I believe that the High King will legitimize Koharumaru as my eldest son. After that, Moritada won’t dare harm him. The High King has given me time to arrange this outcome. But I cannot do this alone. I need help if Koharumaru is to survive.”
Dairou’s brow furrowed. “I see what you mean.”
Harumochi’s voice was steady and determined as he said, “Then I shall ask for your help in another way. My goal is for Koharumaru to live. Will you walk this path with me and assist me with this goal?”
Dairou closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Various thoughts and memories passed through his mind as he thought about the future.
Dairou opened his eyes. “I am already on that path,” he said.
***
By the time Dairou and Harumochi finished talking, the moon was high in the sky. Harumochi rose from his seat first. After his initial questions, he hadn’t mentioned Sayo once.
Dairou asked Harumochi to stay the night, but Harumochi refused; he lit a torch, collected his horse and returned to his castle.
With a heavy heart, Dairou entered the living room. Ichita was there, breathing heavily in his sleep with Suzu kneeling down beside him.
Suzu looked up at him. “Brother… is something wrong?”
“Where’s Sayo?” Dairou asked.
“She left a little while ago and hasn’t returned yet. I think she might have just needed to go to the bathroom.”
Dairou’s face became stern. “Don’t lie to me, Suzu.”
Suzu sighed. “Sayo heard Harumochi’s thoughts. She looked upset when I saw her last. I think she was just a bit shaken up. "
“Did Sayo overhear us?”
“I don’t believe so. It’s as difficult for gifted listeners to hear thoughts through walls as it is to hear people speaking. At least it is for me. Sayo’s gift may be stronger.”
“I think you’re right, and that she didn’t overhear us. I took precautions while I was in that room before I started talking. She must have heard Lord Harumochi’s thoughts before he entered the house. They saw each other when Ichita ran off earlier, and Lord Harumochi remembered Hanano…”
Dairou’s mouth snapped shut as the echo of footsteps reverberated from down the hall.
Sayo entered the living room with her head bowed, bringing a gust of damp cold evening air in along with her.
“Sayo, where have you been?” Suzu asked in a light and breezy tone. “It’s freezing outside!”
Sayo smiled, though it looked plastered on. “To the bathroom. I was feeling a little sick…”
Suzu stood up and put her arm around Sayo’s shoulders. Sayo was shivering and her skin was cold to the touch. “You poor thing. Sit down and I’ll draw a medicinal bath for you. That should warm you up and help you feel better.”
Sayo stood there in a daze. She didn’t spare Dairou as much as a second glance.
As soon as she finished speaking, Suzu left the room and went to the kitchen to heat up some water.
“Sayo…” Dairou wanted to say many things to her, but he wasn’t quite sure where to start.
Before he could say more, Sayo cut in, “Dairou. Thanks so much for your hospitality, but I really do think I should head home soon. I’ve neglected the hut—I only just realized how long I’ve been gone.”
Dairou stared at Sayo intently. Her face was pale and withdrawn and her eyes looked too big for her face. She was terrified. What had she learned from Harumochi’s thoughts that had caused such a reaction?
He wanted to ask her why she wanted to go—the real reason—but he knew she wouldn’t tell him. She was like a cornered animal. She wanted to retreat to her own den and try to protect herself.
That might be better for her right now than staying here, Dairou thought.
Lord Harumochi had asked Dairou to risk his life to save Koharumaru. Suzu and Ichita would be safe; Suzu knew how to protect herself. Sayo might be safe, but right now, her only safety came from the fact that her enemies didn’t know she was alive. She might be happier living in the village as she’d done before than staying here in unfamiliar surroundings.
Sayo was precious: her mother’s only child. It would be dangerous to have Sayo here. If she was involved with Dairou’s family, the enemy sorcerer might take Sayo. She was a sorceress and could be taught to open doors to the dark world. She had such talent. Dairou hoped that if he taught her the basics of magic, she would become an even better magician than Hanano one day.
But fate didn’t give him the time to teach Sayo. Lord Harumochi had said that everything would be decided within the next few weeks. Maybe he would have time to instruct Sayo in the future, but he had no time at all now.
Dairou decided to let Sayo go home. He’d been hoping to tell Sayo about her mother and persuade her to live at Umegae Estate, but there was no time or space for that at the moment.
“All right. I’ll ask the horse to bring you back home tomorrow morning,” Dairou said quietly.
***
Harumochi rode home under the moonlight, hardly looking at anything around him. He couldn’t get Sayo out of his mind. The thought that she was alive—and had been alive this whole time—sent a shiver down his spine. He was grateful, even happy, that she’d lived through the attack that had killed her mother. He hoped that she’d had a happy life until now.
Sayo looks so much like her mother, Harumochi thought. He remembered the first time he and Hanano had met. Her father, Nada, was a sorcerer who had served his father. Nada had been a tall, quiet man with startlingly pale eyes. Hanano and her father had come to Yuuji Castle when Harumochi was twelve years old. Hanano had been about his same age.
Harumochi’s father, Masamochi, had been a miserly man. He didn’t give Hanano a separate room, but had her live in the same room as Harumochi. They lived like brother and sister for many years. Masamochi said that he did this so that it would be easier for Hanano and her father to serve Harumochi when he became the Lord of Haruna.
Hanano was always quiet, though she wasn’t intimidating like her father was. She had learned to dance from her mother, who’d died when she was very young. As Harumochi and Hanano had grown up, Harumochi had learned more about sorcerers and sorcery.
Harumochi liked Hanano, but hated sorcery and its barbarous techniques. Hanano didn’t like sorcery, either. Harumochi didn’t think that Nada wanted to force his daughter to become a sorceress, but there were few options for people born with the gift of sorcery. Harumochi had never talked to Nada about sorcery, really, but he’d always been calm and reasonable. Nada doted on his daughter and didn’t want to see her suffer.
A few years after Hanano came to the castle, Kourou, Dairou’s father, entered Masamochi’s service. He was a refugee from a foreign land suffering from the aftereffects of a terrible civil war. Masamochi didn’t trust him—not at first—but Nada folded Kourou into the castle’s household easily. Nada saw the potential in the Ogi techniques almost immediately and leveraged Kourou’s knowledge for the sake of Haruna—and his daughter. The Ogi technique was a different branch of magic than sorcery. Perhaps he was hoping that his daughter could learn it and not have to bear the curse of sorcery or use its hideous techniques.
Shortly after Lord Masamochi passed away, the sorcerer Nada followed him in death. Hanano had left the castle, going to live with Kourou and his family. Harumochi didn’t blame her now, but at the time he’d felt abandoned. She’d never wanted to learn sorcery. The Ogi techniques were better suited for her magical gift and her personality.
Losing Hanano in his life had been a devastating blow, even before her death. They were bonded as close as siblings. Harumochi married and had children as the Lord of Haruna should, but Hanano’s absence was always keenly felt. He had asked her, more than once, to bond to familiars as her father had done so that she could protect the land, but Hanano had always refused.
Then, several people who were important to Harumochi were murdered by the familiars of enemy sorcerers. Harumochi had blamed Hanano for these tragic events. Even now, remembering that time in his life caused him great pain.
He shouldn’t have blamed Hanano for what happened. None of it had been her fault. Hanano had a gentle soul. She couldn’t even crush an ant, never mind kill a person. That wasn’t in her. She wouldn’t pick flowers in the spring because picking them killed them. She was always considerate of the lives around her.
Harumochi had no doubt that Hanano had done the very best that she possibly could. She shouldn’t be dead now. He gritted his teeth and tried not to let his past mistakes torment him. When he remembered her face now, he saw Sayo’s, too—so similar to hers.
Dairou was right to conceal Sayo’s existence. If the sorcerers in Yuki learned of her existence, they would kill her.
Thank you for protecting her all this time, Harumochi thought. He wondered if Sayo had inherited her mother’s gift for sorcery and magic.
Harumochi shook his head. Even if Sayo did have her mother’s gifts, it wouldn’t be right to train her as a sorceress. She would only die like her mother if she learned to use magic of any kind. Harumochi would never ask her to do it… not if he had any other choice.
Being the Lord of Haruna sometimes meant that he had to make difficult choices. If it came down to saving Sayo’s life and protecting the entire land, which would he choose? His father had chosen to use sorcerers. He still used them, himself.
Harumochi urged his mount into a gallop. Yuuji Castle appeared in distance.
Harumochi had to use sorcerers, but he didn’t have to use Sayo. Not yet. He hoped he wouldn’t ever have to use her as her mother had been used.
I won’t involve Sayo in this, Harumochi thought as he rode. No. Not yet. Not ever.
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