Beyond the Werefox Whistle
Written by Uehashi Nahoko
Illustrated by Yumiko Shirai
Part 3: Nobi and Sayo
Chapter 3: Two Boys
Koharumaru opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling above his bed at Morikage Estate. The ceiling was tall and decorated in an elaborate style. It was painted a deep red and bordered with detailed paintings of spring flowers. The lamp by Koharumaru’s bedside illuminated the design.
Is all of this a dream? Koharumaru asked himself. The past few days had all seemed like one long, uninterrupted dream. He wanted to reach the end of the dream and wake up. I guess I’m still asleep.
He heard murmuring voices nearby. Koharumaru twisted on his bed and closed his eyes. If there are any gods listening, please protect me.
***
The plum blossoms were in full bloom and starting to fall.
A light dropped down from Koharumaru’s painted ceiling and hovered above his head. Koharumaru was still sleeping.
I am your divine guardian. A voice came from the light. Koharumaru opened his eyes when he heard it.
In a few days, you will be legitimized by your father. He will make you his heir. Then you will leave this place, and you will never have to return to Morikage Estate ever again.
Koharumaru’s hands trembled finely. Was the light real? Was it telling the truth, or was this all still part of his dream? He wanted to believe the light. He wanted to leave this place and not be locked up anymore. He’d been locked up and hidden for most of his life. All he wanted was his freedom.
There were times when Koharumaru became so enraged by his circumstances that he’d go wild, kicking and punching at doors and walls and thrashing about in a fit of madness. He’d woken up from dozens of dreams where he was riding a horse across the countryside. The frustration he felt on the mornings after those dreams was unbearable.
The light was telling Koharumaru what he wanted to hear. That was what made him think it was part of a dream. But the light didn’t match any of his previous dreams. He’d never seen it before. Did that mean it was real? He looked at the light, curious but cautious.
Koharumaru… do you truly yearn for freedom?
Koharumaru nodded.
What would you be willing to do to be free?
Koharumaru blinked. “What?”
I am asking how far you are willing to go. What you are willing to do. What you are willing to give up for the sake of your desire.
“I would do anything and give up anything. It’s the only thing I want.”
Are you sure?
“Yes.”
Very well. The voice told him of the trials he would have to overcome. You will now have a long, long dream. Your father will come to greet you, and then you will travel to Yuuji Castle.
***
Just as the light predicted, Lord Harumochi came to Koharumaru’s room later that morning.
Koharumaru prayed silently to his divine guardian. I will endure every trial. I swear.
I’ll be watching over you, his guardian deity replied.
Koharumaru felt suffused with warmth. Even when his guardian deity didn’t speak, he could sense their presence. If he focused too much on the feeling, he couldn’t think about anything else.
After his father left for the day, Koharumaru returned to his room and stared up at the ceiling until he started to drift off. Before he slept, he saw a familiar face in his mind’s eye. He knew the girl, but didn’t remember her name. Maybe she was someone he’d met a very long time ago.
Koharumaru fell into a deep, dreamless sleep before he could remember who the girl was.
***
Deep in the mountains in the shade of an enormous jagged stone, hot water bubbled up into a spring. Kinawabou sat on a smooth stone to the side of the spring and dipped his feet into the hot water. “Nobi?” he asked.
Nobi was in his fox form and soaking his entire body in the spring. He opened his eyes and turned to Kinawabou.
“How are your wounds?” Kinawabou asked.
“Better,” Nobi said.
“Good, very good. The power of a Tengu’s hot spring is not to be underestimated. I expect you’ll be fully healed by tomorrow morning.”
Nobi climbed out of the spring slowly and shook himself, splashing water away from his fur. He started licking the wounds to his front paws with a diligent expression.
“You’ll hurt yourself that way,” Kinawabou said. “The wounds there might reopen.”
Nobi reluctantly ceased his grooming efforts, then transformed into his human form. Most of his other wounds had been healed by the spring.
“Where is Sayo?” Nobi asked.
“Sleeping. I gave her some medicine made from ivy vines. She took a brief bath in the spring, then went to sleep in the cave.”
Nobi turned toward the cave behind the grove that hid the healing spring.
“So… what should we do now?” Kinawabou asked.
Nobi looked at him, his expression as still and lifeless as a statue’s. “I’ll sleep a bit, too. Then… I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.”
Nobi stood up and walked into the cave.
Kinawabou scratched his chin as he watched Nobi leave. Steam from the spring rose all around the slick rock where he sat. He ran his hands soothingly over the ivy that had settled over his shoulders.
“Well then… it all depends on that girl, I see,” Kinawabou said.
***
Sayo awoke at dawn. Early sunlight spilled through the cave mouth. Sayo had slept deeply and well; it took her a moment to remember where she was. She curled around herself on a bed of leaves and ivy like a bird’s nest and wondered if everything she remembered was a dream.
Nobi was sleeping nearby, his chest rising and falling. His breathing was soft and even. He looked just like any other ordinary person, not like a spirit fox or magician in disguise. Sayo stared at his face in sleep and wondered who he really was.
Sayo knew that Nobi had saved her life—twice, at least. She got up, trying to make as little noise as possible. The morning mist and steam from the hot spring commingled on the ground so that her feet were wet, but warm. The mist spread through the cave and the grove of trees outside it, partially concealing the hot spring from view.
Usually in a grove like this, Sayo would be able to sense other birds or animals, but she sensed nothing. She and Nobi seemed to be alone in this place.
Sayo froze when she caught sight of Kinawabou sitting near the hot spring.
Kinawabou raised an eyebrow at her. “I probably smell like the trees and ivy around here. Sorry if I scared you.”
Sayo took a step back. “How do you know I’m scared? Can you read my thoughts?”
“Nothing so sinister as that. I get a vague sense of your feelings in this place. It’s one of the perks of being at home.” Kinawabou grinned, then smoothed his expression to seriousness. He glanced at the cave, then said, “If you want to get off the mountain and go somewhere else, I’ll take you there. Before that, though, there’s something I want to say.”
“What is it?”
“Nobi is a familiar. A familiar’s life belongs to their master. Familiars only exist to follow their master’s commands. So when his master finds out that Nobi has rebelled, he will die.”
Sayo didn’t move. She barely breathed. She felt like an ice-cold hand was closing around her heart. “Is there no way to save him?” she asked.
Kinawabou sighed. “No easy way. If he breaks his familiar bond before it kills him, Nobi would be saved.”
“Is that possible? How can he do it?” Sayo asked, leaning forward.
“It would take a sorcerer to do it, and you’d need to know how Nobi’s master created the bond.”
Sayo frowned. Her mother had been a sorceress. Perhaps she would know how to break a familiar bond. But she hadn’t lived long enough to pass that knowledge on to Sayo, even if she’d known it in the first place.
Sayo took a deep breath, raised her eyes, and looked up at the gleaming leaves of the trees around the hot spring. The morning sun was rising.
Sayo’s mother was a sorceress. That meant that Sayo was, too… but she had no idea how to be one. She wished her mother hadn’t died—she always wished for that—but the wish in this moment was more practical. She needed knowledge and understanding and had no mentor here to give it to her.
Kinawabou appeared troubled. He knew that there was no easy way out of this situation for Nobi. Sayo was kind—she acted on her kindness without thinking it through, even—but kindness was not enough to break Nobi’s curse.
Nobi was also too kind for his own good. He’d jumped in to save Sayo without giving thought to himself. And now, everything was precarious, like clear drops of water suspended in a spider’s web.
Grass rustled in the grove. Nobi walked out of the underbrush in his human form. His face was tilted slightly upwards, as if he were scenting the air. He noticed Sayo and Kinawabou near the spring and offered them a slight smile.
“Good morning,” Sayo said.
“Good morning,” Nobi answered. He stumbled a little over the words.
Sayo and Nobi stared at one another for a few moments, embarrassed and unsure of what to say.
“Um… thank you for saving me,” Sayo said after a pause.
Nobi nodded and said nothing.
“What do we do now?” Sayo asked. She tried to get an impression of Nobi’s thoughts and was surprised to find them clear and focused, like spring sunlight. “There are a few things that I think I have to do. I have to tell Takechi about Koharumaru, but I’m also worried about Takechi knowing. It might put her in danger.”
Nobi shook his head. “Takechi will be fine. She’s protected in the castle, and Dairou will help her.”
“What about the man who attacked me?” Sayo asked.
“That was Suguro. Suguro told one of the children who runs errands for him sometimes to lure you out of Takechi’s room. Takechi wouldn’t fall for that.”
“So he lured me out on purpose? Takechi will be safe from Suguro?”
Nobi nodded.
“Well, that’s a relief, at least.” Sayo rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand in a self-soothing gesture. “Since Takechi is safe, I need to find Dairou. Koharumaru might be in danger. Dairou should know how to protect him. He might know how to save you, too, Nobi.”
“Save me?” Nobi looked at Sayo, confused. No one had really cared about whether or not he lived or died before. Sayo’s attention made him feel strange, not cared for. “You need to think about yourself, Sayo. The master won’t leave you alone—you can close doors to the dark world. He’ll try to kill you sooner rather than later. You need to leave Haruna and Yuki behind as soon as you can. Don’t waste time trying to help me.”
Sayo looked up at Nobi in a daze. She hadn’t realized until now that closing the door to the dark world carried such dangerous consequences. But Nobi was right. Yuki’s sorcerers wouldn’t allow Sayo to live once they learned what she was capable of doing.
Saya looked away and bowed her head. Where could she flee? She didn’t know… but fleeing the country wasn’t impossible. The skills of midwifery and weaving that Sayo had acquired would come with her wherever she went.
A stiff, dull feeling spread from the nape of Sayo’s neck to the back of her head. Her grandmother had carried her over the mountains once—carried her away from Yuki and into Haruna. Had her grandmother anticipated that she might need to move? She’d known how her mother died. She might have guessed that Sayo wouldn’t be safe staying in Haruna forever.
Her grandmother had also chosen a very safe place to settle outside of Yona Village. Now that safe place was compromised. It was only a matter of time before Yuki’s sorcerers learned where she lived.
Sayo covered her face with her hands. It was true that she could leave Haruna—leave Koharumaru, Dairou, Suzu and Nobi. She could go far away from the ties that bound her here. But was running really the right choice?
“It might be better for me to run away,” Sayo said quietly, “But what about Koharumaru? What about Dairou and Suzu? They can’t run. Your master wants them dead, too, doesn’t he?”
Nobi nodded.
“I might live if I run,” Sayo said, “but my life wouldn’t be worth living. Not if everyone I know dies.” She couldn’t just abandon Dairou, Suzu and Koharumaru. The only life she had was in Haruna. She would survive here, or she would die with her friends. That was how Sayo felt.
Sayo looked Nobi in the eye. “I’m not running. I’m going to find Dairou.”
Nobi’s face clouded over. He spent a long moment deep in thought. Kageya was trailing Dairou. Tamao would be close behind. They were at the inn in Aori, or would be soon. It was possible that Kageya and Tamao had already killed Dairou.
But maybe not. Maybe Dairou still lived. Maybe he was strong enough to fight off Kageya and Tamao. And if that was true, then maybe Dairou was strong enough to protect Sayo even after Nobi was killed by his master.
“Dairou knows protective magic, so he might know how to help you,” Sayo said. “I think that going to see him is our only option. There’s no future for either one of us if we don’t get help.”
Nobi shook his head. There was no way that Dairou would be able to help him. There was no future for him without his master. Dairou might be able to save Sayo, but he definitely wouldn’t be able to save Nobi.
Nobi considered Sayo’s words, then nodded hesitantly. If there was no way to save them both, then it was best to help Sayo reach safety. “All right. We’ll find Dairou.”
If Dairou was still alive. If he was dead already, he wouldn’t have been able to protect Sayo anyway. They had at least a little time before Nobi’s master learned of his betrayal because Sayo had closed the door to the dark world.
Having made his decision, Nobi felt lighter, like a little fox leaping out of a den. He was warm all over; his worries and cares took a few steps back from him, leaving him at ease. It was as if he were running across a field at dawn. The light shone over the horizon, showing him a larger world than he’d ever seen before. He felt like he could run all the way to the horizon. The chains that had defined his entire life were gone. He could run as far and as fast as he wanted.
Nobi could run until his life ended—to the end of the world.
Nobi looked straight at Sayo for the first time and smiled.
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