Beyond the Werefox Whistle
Written by Uehashi Nahoko
Illustrated by Yumiko Shirai
Part 4: Breaking the Curse
Chapter 1: Sayo and Koharumaru
Harumochi bathed, changed clothes and prepared himself as best he could for his meeting with the High King the next day. He was staying at a large inn that catered exclusively to noble clientele.
After Harumochi completed what preparations he could, he sat down with Dairou and had a drink.
“At last,” Harumochi said. “This will all be over tomorrow.” He poured rice wine into Dairou’s cup.
Dairou gulped down the rice wine all in one go.
They sat in companionable silence for a short while—silence that was broken by the calls of the guards outside Harumochi’s room.
“My lord,” a guard said from the other side of the room’s sliding door. “There’s a young woman named Sayo here. She wants to see you.”
Harumochi raised an eyebrow. “Let her in,” he said to the guard.
The sliding door opened, revealing Sayo. She bowed deeply to Harumochi. Her hands twisted around one another because she was nervous.
“Sayo?” Harumochi asked. “Are you all right? To what do I owe this visit? Please, raise your head.”
Sayo looked up. Harumochi was looking at her kindly. She didn’t know him, not really, but she wanted to believe that he was kind. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then set her shoulders. “I’m here on behalf of Dairou of Umegae Estate.” Her voice came out clearly, though it trembled a little.
Harumochi frowned in confusion. “What?”
Dairou hadn’t risen from his place in front of the low table. He made a low sound in his throat like a growl.
Sayo stood up straighter. “Lord Harumochi, I know that person looks like Dairou, but they are a sorcerer’s familiar in disguise, and an enemy.”
Harumochi’s gaze flicked from Sayo to Dairou in disbelief.
“Lord Harumochi, if that man is Dairou, then he knows who I am. He knows about my parents. Ask him.” She wiped away sweat from her forehead with one hand. Her eyes were wide and panicked.
Harumochi looked at Sayo with the same gentle kindness as before. She looked very much like Hanano. As he gazed at her, he felt like a curtain was pulled away, leaving his mind clearer. He blinked.
Was I under a sorcerer’s influence? Harumochi thought. Is what Sayo says true? A chill went up his spine. He faced the false Dairou with one hand on the hilt of the sword he carried at his hip.
“You’re right, Sayo,” Harumochi said. “Since you are Dairou, tell me: who is Sayo’s mother? Who is her father?”
The thing with Dairou’s face snarled in bestial rage. “So you’ve found me out, Lord Harumochi. It would have been troublesome to assassinate you before the High King. I was planning to chop your head off and make my escape tonight.”
Kageya’s disguise melted away, revealing his spirit fox form.
“You bastard!” Harumochi drew his sword and slashed at the spirit fox one-handed. The spirit fox’s fur turned the blade easily. Kageya took no damage. He spun, then leaped at Sayo.
Nobi crashed through the sliding doors in his fox form in a blur of speed and pinned Kageya down, biting the other spirit fox on the nape of the neck.
Sayo removed a charm bracelet that the real Dairou had given her from her wrist. She placed it in Kageya’s wide-open mouth. Kageya choked and sputtered, writhing in pain. He glared at Nobi.
Nobi looked away, then took a few steps back. He shook himself, somersaulted through the air and transformed into his human shape.
Sayo had been given letters from Dairou to pass to Harumochi. She pulled them from her sleeve. Kageya watched the letters change hands and growled in anger.
Harumochi stood still, sword still raised in threat and pointed at Kageya. “Sayo,” he said. “There are… things that you should know.”
***
Koharumaru was fast asleep. He awoke with a start when the sliding door to his room opened. A girl carrying a candle entered his room. She closed the door behind her.
Koharumaru frowned. “Who are you?” he asked.
Sayo sat down near his bed and placed the candle between them. She was so nervous. She wasn’t sure how to say what she needed to say to Koharumaru.
“You don’t remember me, Koharumaru?” Sayo asked.
Still frowning, Koharumaru took a closer look at Sayo. He had dim memories of gathering around a light like this in the barn at the edge of Morikage Estate. His ears started ringing and his head hurt as he remembered. He pushed those thoughts away.
Sayo watched Koharumaru’s expression change, then said, “I guess you don’t. Not yet.” She stretched out one hand tentatively and gripped his ear.
Koharumaru tried to pull away, but Sayo’s grip was firm.
Sayo pulled, and something fell out of Koharumaru’s ear, skittering across the floor. Sayo chased the small object across the room.
Koharumaru roared in pain as Sayo let him go. “What did you just do?! Who are you?”
Sayo didn’t answer. She beckoned to him, saying, “Come and look at this. This was inside your ear.”
Koharumaru glowered, but he looked at the object in Sayo’s hand. It was a large winged insect. He’d never seen one like it before.
“This is a cursed insect,” Sayo said, pointing. Her finger was covered in letters and symbols that Koharumaru couldn’t read. “Dairou told me I’d be able to catch it with this spell he wrote on my finger.” She shuddered, feeling goosebumps rise on her arms. She held the cursed insect down by the wings, then glanced up at Koharumaru. “You see the insect, right? Do you remember who put it in your ear?”
“You’re a liar,” Koharumaru said. “You must have put that bug in my ear. It’s the only explanation that fits.”
Sayo gaped at him in shock.
Koharumaru glared at her, eyes full of distrust.
“Why would I do such a thing?” Sayo asked. “Koharumaru, don’t you remember the walnut mochi I brought you? We ate persimmons under the trees in the autumn.”
Koharumaru’s gaze wavered. Did we play together? he thought. As children? The ringing in his ears faded, as did the pain in his head. He took a deep breath, then looked into Sayo’s eyes as if he were trying to read some riddle there.
His head pounded. Koharumaru rubbed his forehead and stumbled back a step. He dropped to his knees on a floor mat and stayed there. Memories surged into his mind like the waves of a stormy sea. He remembered Sayo. He remembered nights hiding from his protectors on the estate and sneaking through gaps in fences.
He remembered driving Sayo away.
“Sayo?” he asked.
Sayo smiled.
Koharumaru let out a deep, shuddering breath. He sought out the presence of his guardian deity, but he couldn’t sense them anywhere. Had his guardian deity abandoned him? Why? Because he’d remembered something that he shouldn’t? His hands shook.
Sayo steadied him, placing one hand on his left shoulder.
Koharumaru shook her off. “Don’t touch me.” He backed away with his arms raised, acting like a spooked animal.
“Koharumaru? Are you all right?” Sayo asked.
He didn’t answer. If his guardian deity was gone, did that mean he had to go back to Morikage Estate? He was terrified of what would happen to him now. He never wanted to be locked up ever again.
***
Cold sweat beaded on Sayo’s forehead as she approached Koharumaru. Having removed the cursed insect, she wasn’t sure what else she could do. Koharumaru remembered her, but he didn’t trust her. Why? When had that happened?
The light of recognition in Koharumaru’s eyes dimmed. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and faced Sayo squarely. “I’m all right now, I think,” he said. “I’m not crazy. I remember you, Sayo.” His voice was strangely hushed. “Please leave. Just for awhile. If you really want me to be free, leave me now.”
Sayo tilted her head. Her throat was so dry that it was difficult to speak. “Koharumaru… you’re already free. You’ll never have to go back to Morikage Estate. I promise,” Sayo said.
Koharumaru smiled. It was a faint smile, barely there, but it lingered. He nodded at Sayo. “Maybe you’re right.”
He still didn’t believe her. His heart was closed to her. He wasn’t the same boy she’d played with as a child anymore. Something had changed. A long time ago, he’d cared more about Sayo and her safety than his own self.
Koharumaru wasn’t like that anymore.
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