Books. Lab specimens. New notebooks
and a box full of pencils. Colored brushes. A desk, a chair, an
peach-colored upholstered couch, a bed, and an amber celestial
globe. Models of living things, wiring diagrams of black carts and
ships...
The room that Yuoshichi had given
to Koushi was full of things he'd never seen before. All the
teaching materials from the academy were available here. The room
was larger than his family's house, and completely carpeted. The
wallpaper was styled to look like plants. The windows were polished
to a mirror shine, and simple curtains could be pulled over them
all.
"Do you like it? The room faces
west and doesn't get much sunlight. There's not much to be done
about that, I'm afraid," Yuoshichi said from the doorway.
Koushi was overwhelmed by the room.
The night after his mother's burial, he had come to the Okibi Estate
in desperation. Hinako had come with him the day after that,
arriving in a horse-drawn cart arranged by Yuoshichi. They'd brought
only what would fit in the carriage.
Yuoshichi wasn't wearing his gray
embroidered outfit today. He'd changed into a long ocher inner
jacket with very thin vertical stripes that appeared and disappeared
depending on the lighting.
"Um, it's really too much for me to
take in," Koushi said. He felt like he didn't belong in a place like
this. All he'd wanted was to give Hinako a safe place to live and
access to good medical care. He'd believed that they'd be given a
simple room to live in, not this ostentatious paradise. They had no
blood ties here, and it was hard for Koushi not to think of them as
freeloaders living on charity.
"Of course, of course," Yuoshichi
said. "Make use of this room as you see fit. If there's anything you
need, just let me know. I need to go to work, so please excuse me
for the moment. Any of my servants can assist you in my absence. I
hope that you and your sister will treat this place like your own
home. I'd be delighted if you two would dine with my wife and
daughter tonight." Yuoshichi's voice rumbled through him like the
echo of a deep drum.
Is he serious? Koushi
thought. How could he think otherwise? His mother wasn't even two
days buried. None of this seemed remotely real.
Outside one of the windows, Koushi
spotted a dark green fir tree rising into the sky like one of the
academy's spires. The tree was on fire, burning brightly.
Koushi had left Obiki Estate late
the previous evening. He'd picked his way through the city to get
back home and had found Hinako awake, panicking and hugging her
doll. She'd jumped on him the second he'd arrived, red-faced and
crying.
"I'm sorry I scared you," Koushi
had said, patting her head and then hugging her briefly. He'd looked
into her eyes, which were still wet with tears. "Hinako. I met
someone who said he'd help us find a better doctor. He offered to
let us live with him."
"We're moving?" Hinako had asked.
She'd seemed confused at this sudden turn of events. Koushi should
have known that she would be.
Koushi had nodded.
Hinako had copied him, her short
hair swaying under her chin with the movement. "But... I don't wanna
move."
"I know it's sad to have to leave
home, Hinako. But our mother told me to take care of you and protect
you. Even if she were still here, I'd have to keep that
promise."
"You promised mom?"
Koushi had nodded solemnly, staring
into Hinako's dark eyes. She'd seemed sad, somehow, and like she
wanted to comfort him. The weight of all his responsibilities was
reflected in her eyes.
That night, Koushi had packed up
everything that he could possibly carry. Yuoshichi had told him to
leave the concealed lightning fuel where it was; someone from Obiki
Estate would come to retrieve it later. Yuoshichi would also take
charge of the larger furniture in their house and begin the process
for withdrawing Koushi from the academy.
Right now, Hinako was being
examined by a doctor in her own room. The doctor appeared young to
Koushi, but she was well-dressed and had an earnest expression.
Hinako was always frightened of meeting people for the first time,
but she didn't seem to fear this doctor, which was a good sign.
Hinako's room wasn't much different from Koushi's; they each had equal space given to them. There was a doll on the windowsill in her room wearing extravagant clothing; it put Hinako's current beloved doll to shame.
After Yuoshichi left, Koushi
approached a bookshelf that was built into the wall. It was full of
beautifully bound books. Koushi pulled one down and opened it. He
was still stunned by how unreal all of this seemed and wasn't able
to focus on the letters well enough to read them.
The sound of a knock on the door
startled Koushi.
A girl around Koushi's age opened
the door slightly and peeked in. Koushi had been expecting one of
the servants and froze.
"Um... may I come in?" the girl
asked.
Koushi, confused, closed the book
and set it hastily back on the shelf.
The girl entered the room with
hesitant steps, appearing nervous. She smiled feebly. "The doctor
sent me. She wants to talk to you about your sister's prognosis. Oh!
I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Kira Okibi. I
was going to meet you with my mother at dinner tonight, but she
hasn't gotten up yet, and anyway the doctor sent me."
Kira had an unusually low voice.
She wore her hair long and was tall. Her knee-length dress was the
same color as the pine trees outside the window.
So this is Yuoshichi's
daughter,
Koushi thought.
I should say as little as I can get away with. I don't want to
embarrass myself or make her think I'm rude.
"Um... hello," Koushi said.
Kira nodded gracefully, then
motioned for him to follow her. He nodded like some kind of
simpleton and trailed after her, feeling self-conscious. He sucked
in a harsh breath.
Hinako's room was right across from
Koushi's room. Kira knocked lightly on the door, then peeked into
the room, just as she had in Koushi's room. "Doctor. I've fetched
him," she said.
"I see. Hello," the doctor said.
She got up from her chair, which was set next to the bed where
Hinako lay.
Hinako turned to look at Koushi and
grinned.
Hinako was safe. That made Koushi
breathe easier. Coming here was the right thing to do; it had to
be.
The doctor explained Hinako's
symptoms and potential treatments while Koushi listened.
"The initial diagnosis of
contamination during the fetal stage is correct. Your sister's
condition is quite likely to change dramatically in the future.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that she will recover with any
certainty. Better nutrition and hygiene will help, of course. She's
been taking quite a large number of pills to manage the pain, but my
recommendation is to wean her off of several. These drugs can have
severe long-term effects. Right now, what Hinako needs most are rest
and good food."
The doctor was well-spoken and
polite. She talked to Koushi as if he were an adult.
Hinako's eyelids were droopy.
Koushi noticed a cup and pitcher of water on a low table next to the
bed and guessed that Hinako had taken medicine that made her
sleepy.
"Normally, children with your
sister's same condition weaken and get sicker much earlier in life,"
the doctor said. "That she has made it so far and is so strong is
remarkable. One potential hazard for her is infectious disease, but
we are far from the factory areas here, and the wind rarely carries
cross-contaminants this far. Good air prevents the spread of
disease. I believe that once Hinako gets physically stronger, many
of her symptoms will improve."
Koushi took a long breath and
relaxed his shoulders. He gripped his pants at the knees, hands
bunching in the fabric to calm himself. Then he took off his glasses
and closed his eyes. He was glad that Hinako was drifting off to
sleep; she needed that.
When unexpected blessings came,
people said they were sent from the guardian gods. The guardian gods
were a lifeline, connecting people to the power and wonder of the
world that had existed before people had lost control over fire.
When Koushi had been a young child,
the owner of a laundry service had gathered all the children in the
neighborhood up and put them to work. That man had been a true
believer in the guardian gods, and he'd instilled that belief in all
the children who would listen. The guardian gods were called gods,
but that wasn't quite what they were. They were a divine race, there
were different levels of power among them, and the highest-ranked
was a young-seeming woman, called a princess.
How could an ordinary person like
Koushi express his gratitude to a princess among gods? His mother
had been the one who'd done so much to raise and support Hinako, who
had lived her life constantly on the edge of death. Hinako's own
stubbornness and strength of will might be the only reason she was
still alive.
The doctor didn't attribute
Hinako's life, or her possible improvement, to any guardian god. She
looked on Koushi and Hinako kindly and said, "It must have been very
difficult for you. The master of the house asked me to express his
condolences about your mother. Please be at ease about your sister;
we will take good care of her. I take full responsibility for her
treatment going forward."
While the doctor and Koushi were
talking, Kira went out into the hallway. Koushi gritted his teeth
and tried his best to hold back tears.
If I cry, it won't change anything. Nothing will get better.
He thought about Hinako being dead and buried in a mass grave and
felt a lump rise to his throat. He didn't know what else he could do
to prevent that. He looked down, red-faced with his shoulders
shaking, and the doctor fell silent.
***
"Isn't Dr. Takimi good?''
After the doctor left, Kira
returned to the room and looked at Hinako, who'd fallen asleep.
Koushi nodded awkwardly, turning
his head away from Kira as best he could so that she wouldn't be
able to see any trace of his crying.
"Thank you. Thank you, for caring
about us even though we're strangers."
Kira looked up in shock, her wavy
hair fluttering gracefully. She reached out to touch the back of his
hand; Koushi was so surprised that he barely felt it at first.
"Let's not talk so formally," she said.
Koushi was startled by the softness
of her hands. He and Hinako were thinner, and their hands were
calloused from work. Even his mother's hands had the same kind of
toughness, since she'd worked in a factory for so many years. He'd
never known a person's hand to be so smooth and clean.
Kira looked at him, her eyes as
blue and clear as water, then squeezed his hand gently in hers.
All at once, Koushi felt ashamed of
his own dry, cracked hands. What did Kira think of them? That they
were dirty?
"I've lived inside this house for
my whole life," Kira said. "Sometimes I feel lonely. I was happy
when I learned you two were coming to stay here. It'll be a little
like having siblings, right?" Her speech was too familiar for use
with strangers, like they were, but Koushi sensed no ill intent.
Though she'd been born wealthy and privileged, Kira had an unusually
kind nature.
"While your sister is sleeping, let
me show you around the house. Is that okay?" Kira asked, standing
up. Her skirt, made of richly embroidered fabric, swayed with her
movement.
Koushi wondered if it was difficult
for Kira to move around wearing a dress like that. Dragged by the
over-eager Kira, Koushi left the sleeping Hinako behind in her own
room and went out into the hallway.
Koushi and Hinako both had rooms on
the second floor. Kira invited Koushi downstairs. The Okibi home was
very large; the ceilings were high enough for two adults to walk
down them, one carrying the other on their shoulders. Rows of
windows in the hallway looked out into the garden. It had been
raining when they'd arrived, but now the sky was clear. The lights
in the rooms they passed were off, but there was a large ceiling
lamp in the hallway that was on. Koushi caught glimpses of other
lamps--rows of them.
"So your sister's name is Hinako? I
like that name. It's cute as a button," Kira said. She had let go of
Koushi's hand as they walked. She hummed to herself, then asked,
"What should I call you?"
"Koushi." His own responses to her
questions were brief. Her lively personality made him feel dull and
embarrassed by comparison.
Kira didn't seem to care that he
wasn't talkative. She turned to face him, asked questions, and kept
moving briskly. Her skirt swirled dramatically as she walked.
"Write your name down for me," Kira
said.
"What?" Koushi had nothing to write
with and no paper to write on.
Kira drew invisible letters in the
air. Koushi copied her, concentrating. He needed to write the
letters backward because they were facing one another.
Kira nodded to herself, her face
lighting up. "That's a great name! 'Kou' for 'blaze' or
'conflagration,' and 'shi' for 'stability' or 'perfection.'"
1
Kira was right. Most children were
given names that referenced fire in some way, and men's names often
had numbers attached that were assigned different basic meanings.
The numbers weren't tied to birth order at all. The number one meant
"only good," two meant "peace and kindess," etc. The numbers were
often combined with another letter associated with fire, or red.
"Call me Kira," she said.
2 She wrote her name as
Koushi had, backwards in the air. "I'm sixteen. How old are
you?"
"One year younger. I'm
fifteen."
At the academy, girls of the same
age were usually shorter than Koushi, but she was just as tall as he
was.
Kira continued with the tour,
showing Koushi the dining room, reception hall, bathrooms, and a
grand hall where parties and gatherings were held. These parties
could be as grand as a banquet to honor Fire Hunters or as
clandestine as a trade meeting between business owners.
Koushi looked around at the grand
hall and realized that his father had been here before, possibly
many times. The spacious room was empty now, filled only with chairs
and a table covered by dust cloths; the furniture was stacked neatly
against one wall. There were no windows in the hall and no lights
were lit, so it was dark.
"You don't attend school at the
academy?" Koushi ventured as he and Kira went out of the grand hall.
It seemed like Kira wanted to show
him the garden next. She paused before a simple wooden door, hands
finding one another and twisting in shyness. "I wanted to go," she
said, "but my parents decided to have me taught by a private tutor
instead. Since I'm an only child, I have no choice but to inherit my
father's factory."
Kira spoke more quietly as she put
her hand on the door handle to open it.
"And where do you think you're
going, young lady?" a voice echoed from further down the hall. "You
must think me naïve or foolish if you believe I'll let you sneak
outside."
Koushi and Kira turned around
together and saw a slender woman standing at the bottom of the
staircase that led to the second floor. She wore a long, flame-red
dressing gown, her black hair falling loosely over it in lazy curls.
The effect was elegant, if casual.
"Mother," Kira said. Her usually
bright voice came out sounding muted.
This was Yuoshichi's wife and the
mistress of the house. It was nearly noon, but she looked like she'd
only just gotten out of bed. Koushi wondered if she might be sick,
like his mother had been. Her face resembled Kira's, but age or some
other quality made her appear sharper. She walked down the hall,
staring at Koushi with her eyes slightly narrowed. Her dressing gown
made her look like a flame drawing closer, and Koushi stood up
straighter out of nerves.
"So you're one of the new children,
yes? I'm Yuoshichi Okibi's wife. I apologize for not coming to greet
you immediately on your arrival. It's an honor to have you staying
with us. Ever since I found out you were coming, there's been so
much liveliness in the house." She faced her daughter. "Kira, don't
be reckless. You position as the heir of the factory is far from
assured, and if you keep chasing foolish notions your father can
easily replace you."
"Yes, mother. I'm sorry," Kira
said. She looked down, cheeks flushed pink.
Her mother smiled. She was
unusually tall; combined with her slenderness, she looked a little
like a snake staring down at Kira and Koushi. Her complexion was
very pale, but the skin of her face had a peculiar shine, and there
was puffiness under her cheekbones.
"I'll be taking breakfast in my
rooms. Please take your time and look around as much as you'd like,"
Kira's mother said to Kouchi. To her daughter, she said, "Please
don't come to see me until dinner, Kira." Her white hands tucked her
loose, flowing hair into a clip with practiced ease; it looked like
the start of a dance. Though she was fully clothed, her movements
gave the illusion that she was showing more skin than she was; the
dressing gown was extremely form-fitting. She excused herself from
the hallway and walked away with a lilting smile.
"...Is she not feeling well?''
Koushi asked after Kira's mother left.
Kira's hand was still on the door
handle. She looked up at him in surprise and offered him a
quicksilver smile. "No, she's all right. She didn't give you her
name, though. It's Hibana." She spelled her mother's name with her
finger, tracing it in the air. "She's not sick or anything, but she
suffered a lot when she was young," Kira said apologetically. "So
she gets depressed sometimes. Most of the time, she's perfectly
fine. I'm sorry you had to see her like that on your first day here,
Koushi."
Koushi blinked. He still wasn't
used to her referring to him so familiarly. Kira seemed just like
her usual self, but there was a shadow on her usual expression,
caused by her mother's visit. Koushi couldn't entirely shake that
shadow from his mind.
Kira opened the door to the garden.
The scent of flowers washed over them, along with the clean smell of
yesterday's rain.
"Thanks for telling me," Koushi
said. "I'm glad she's not sick. You may have heard this already, but
Hinako and I lost our mother to factory poisoning just the other
day. So I'm very glad your mother is well." He also expressed thanks
for revealing Hibana's name, though he understood why she might not
give it.
Kira drifted off into the
flower-filled garden; if Koushi didn't rush after her, he'd be left
behind. He called out her name to slow her down; she turned and
smiled at him, her expression reflecting the bright colorfulness of
the garden. He apologized for being slow. It felt like he couldn't
stop apologizing.
Hinako woke up around noon, and the
three of them decided to have a meal together in her room. Kira
called out to the kitchen while she was passing by; house servants
brought food to Hinako's room, much to Koushi's surprise. In town,
it was common for people to prepare their meals in a communal
kitchen or to eat at inexpensive food stalls, and most homes did not
have large-scale kitchens. There was a risk of fire spreading in
kitchens.
We come from completely different
worlds,
Koushi thought.
Hinako gasped as warm food was
carried to her on a silver platter. Her cheeks were apple-red.
Perhaps because she'd slept, her complexion was much improved. She
sat up in bed with her short hair sticking out in all directions.
She seemed comfortable here, and that relieved Koushi.
Hinako and Kira were fast friends;
they were talking like real sisters in no time. Kira asked about
what they should do together once Hinako's health improved, which
made Hinako smile. Kira laughed, loud and carefree, as she and
Hinako talked. They ate their soup, bread, processed fake meat, and
steamed vegetables in a spicy broth.
Koushi watched Hinako and Kira
trading laughs back and forth and smiled himself a few times. Having
a hot meal in the middle of the day was a calming, centering
experience. Koushi wondered if there was something in the food
itself that made him feel better.
After eating about half of her
lunch, Hinako burst into tears. Koushi tensed in alarm, and Kira's
eyebrows arched. Hinako had been smiling just a moment ago.
"Mom," Hinako said quietly. "Why
couldn't we eat this with you, too?"
Kira hugged Hinako to her chest.
Koushi was deeply moved.
Hinako's face scrunched up as she
started to cry. Kira kept holding her, trying to comfort her with
kind words. "I know it's painful. It's okay to cry," Kira said. "If
you feel like crying, cry as much as you want."
They'd only just buried their
mother. It was obvious why Hinako was so upset.
Kira stroked Hinako's hair tenderly
as she held her. Hinako trembled all over, but she didn't pull away
even though she'd only just met Kira that morning. Koushi felt
helpless to comfort Hinako in comparison. He was grateful that Kira
seemed to want to treat them like her actual siblings.
Near dusk, one of the servants came
for Koushi. "The master of the house has returned. He would like to
talk to you at your earliest convenience."
All the servants in the house were
dressed well, but modestly. He hadn't noticed any one of them in
particular; they all looked quite ordinary. Only the short old man
who'd led him into the house on his first night here really stood
out from the others.
Guided by the servant, Koushi
headed to the first floor. Yuoshichi was waiting for him at the
bottom of the stairs.
"Hello, Koushi," Yuoshichi said.
"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting. I asked my daughter to show you
around. How did that go?" The scent of his cologne radiated from
him, along with the acrid odor of factory smoke.
"Yes," Koushi said. "I'm still a
little stunned by all this, to be honest. This is completely
different from living in a normal house in the city."
Yuoshichi laughed hugely, his beard
stretching around a wide-open mouth. Then he started walking, the
hem of his long overcoat fluttering behind him. "Come this way.
Follow me."
Koushi walked after Yuoshichi. He
was dressed differently than he'd been that morning. The overcoat
he'd worn in the morning was ocher: red-brown, but now his overcoat
was a deep forest green embroidered with silver thread.
They passed the doorway that led to
the garden, then went all the way to the end of the hall. Yuoshichi
entered the room there ahead of Koushi and shut the door. There was
no one else inside the room, but one of the house lamps was lit.
"This is my study," Yuoshichi said.
Four bookshelves of varying heights
stood against the wall. A small writing desk sat next to a window,
and facing the door was another much larger desk.
Beyond the large desk was another
door--not the same one that Yuoshichi and Koushi had come through.
Yuoshichi rifled through the key ring strapped to his belt and
unlocked this new door.
The open door revealed stone steps
leading to a basement. Yuoshichi turned a knob attached to the wall,
causing lights to flash on above the stairs.
"I brought the lightning fuel from
your house down here," Yuoshichi said. He took the stairs down,
seeming relaxed and at ease.
Koushi hesitated for only a moment,
out of instinct or fear. Then he stood up straight and went after
Yuoshichi. He understood why he was here: Yuoshichi wanted him
to use the lightning fuel, regardless of the danger. In exchange, he
could stay here with Hinako. Hinako would be taken care of by
doctors.
The stairs turned once to the right
and continued all the way to the bottom of the house. There was
another door there; Yuoshichi unlocked that one as well and passed
through. He ushered the lingering Koushi inside.
This basement room, lined in stone,
was stocked with everything Koushi might possibly need. In the
center of the room was a large table that could serve as a workbench
and a writing desk. A pile of new notebooks and a stack of paper
were neatly arranged on the table. Next to those was a three-tiered
toolbox, a magnifying glass, leather gloves, a leather apron, and
protective eyewear.
Along one wall, the lightning fuel
that Koushi's father had secreted away was lined up in canisters.
Koushi's pulse raced looking at them.
Our mother worked herself to
death to support us,
he thought.
I can't give up before I've even started. She wouldn't give up,
no matter how scared she was.
Koushi could see nothing lacking,
but even if there had been, he was sure that Yuoshichi would
provide. Yuoshichi could provide everything. All he wanted in return
for was Koushi to use this lightning fuel to create something
different.
Taking a deep, steadying breath,
Koushi put his thoughts in order. If he made a mistake here, even a
small one, the consequences would be dire. He felt like he was at a
crossroads: no turning back.
"You'll do your research on the
lightning fuel in here," Yuoshichi said. "You and my daughter will
cooperate on the research, starting tomorrow morning. After that,
you and she will take your lessons with a private tutor. I'll
continue with your research and experiments in the afternoon. Do you
understand the process? Please feel free to ask any questions."
The lighting in this basement room
was plain and utilitarian, unlike the more ostentatious lighting in
the rest of the house. Four egg-shaped lanterns hung from iron cages
on the ceiling, with two placed above the large desk and the
workbench. The walls were unfinished, but the rest of the space was
well-furnished.
"Can I ask you something?" Koushi
said, sucking in a breath.
"Of course; I just said you could."
Yuoshichi's voice echoed all around them.
Koushi turned his head and looked
up, directly at his benefactor. His light-colored eyes shone clearly
even in the relative darkness of this basement room. Koushi felt
like that gaze was capable of swallowing him up.
"Yesterday, you said that this
country would soon be in danger. That's probably why my father
left... But why? What caused the guardian gods to be in such a
compromising position? What's going to happen now?"
Yuoshichi was unruffled; he'd
expected this question. "What do you know about the Spiders?"
Koushi reacted to the name.
Yuoshichi didn't mean the common arachnid, but a group of people
who'd adopted it as a symbol. Koushi had heard of Spiders; they were
once a prominent faction in the capital that had strong ties to the
guardian gods. But Spiders, as a faction, had vanished into
obscurity long ago--at least in the capital.
When hunting, you need to watch
out for Spiders more than Fire Fiends.
Koushi remembered his father's
words and swallowed heavily. According to his father, Spiders were
divine or semi-divine themselves, but they'd fallen out with the
guardian gods. There was no solid evidence that they still existed,
since they concealed themselves in the black forest. No one knew how
they managed to eke out a life in the woods; Spiders were not Forest
People. Had they built their own village or city somewhere? No one
knew.
Koushi's father had believed in the
existence of the Spiders. Koushi didn't know if he'd ever seen one,
but it was clear to him that Spiders and Fire Hunters were natural
enemies.
"I'm familiar with what you're
going to be taught by your private instructors," Yuoshichi said.
"But it won't be the whole truth." He spoke slowly, as if
hand-selecting every word.
"I... would like to know the
truth."
Yuoshichi nodded smoothly. "Some of
what the academy teaches is correct. Spiders are of the same race as
our guardian gods, but they are at odds with them--and the Fire
Hunters, of course. They lurk in forests, hiding and gathering
intelligence. Their aim is to overthrow the capital. They were
expelled from the guardian gods' midst long ago and no longer
possess all of their original power, but they are still very
dangerous. They have long lifespans and supernatural abilities...
though those abilities aren't well-known to us. We know they're
different from the abilities that the guardian gods have."
Yuoshichi folded his hands behind
his back, glancing over at the canisters of lightning fuel against
the wall. Each one was about waist-high on an adult and was roughly
the diameter of a human arm. There were thirteen canisters in total.
The capital's highest-ranking
guardian god and many of her relatives could to control fire. After
humans lost control of fire in ages past, the guardian gods with
this ability created the Fire Hunters. Those guardian gods had
discovered that the fire fuel harvested from Fire Fiends could be
safely used. Other guardian gods in branch families of the one that
ruled the capital had control over other elements: water, wood,
earth, and air.
The nation functioned cooperatively
by design. Villages were scattered across the landscape, acting as a
buffer to the dangerous forest. Villagers planted crops and trees,
tamed rivers and dug wells. It took a long time, but villagers' work
reclaimed some of the hazardous land of the forest, making it
habitable.
The danger of fire was
ever-present. Even the capital had fallen victim to out-of-control
fire, though that had happened long before Koushi was born. A
factory in full operation had suddenly burst into flames. A Fire
Fiend hadn't caused it--that might have been more manageable. It was
a natural fire that had flared up and spread.
The fire had spread from person to
person, combusting them all. People fled the city along the
waterways, trying to escape, but pressing close together only made
the fire spread faster, and the city's waterways became a road of
corpses. A guardian god with power over water had finally stopped
the fire. The guardian gods had cleared the corpses and rebuilt the
city after that--no easy feat, since the fire had taken everything
down to scorched earth.
Since then, the people of the
capital had relied on the guardian gods. People feared the forest
and Fire Fiends; cities and villages were the only safe places to
be. No one wanted to live like a mole underground. The guardian
gods--and Fire Hunters--were what made life in this country
possible.
What about other countries, other
places? Koushi didn't know. He didn't know anyone who knew. There
might be nations where people lived without the protection of
guardian gods, but Koushi had never heard of them.
"The Fire Hunters have reported
that the Spiders are getting ready for a display of power."
"You mean they're going to attack
the capital?" Koushi asked. "Why? There are guardian gods
here..."
Yuoshichi nodded gravely, silent.
Koushi licked his dry lips and
looked around the room. "I don't understand. What are you going to
use the lightning fuel for? Shouldn't the guardian gods be able to
quash any threat that the Spiders pose?"
Yuoshichi snorted. "You are right,
of course. The guardian gods will protect the city. But who will
protect us?" He paused. "To the guardian gods, we're not
people. We're just like the crops that get harvested in the fields.
We have our uses, but without supernatural abilities, we're not
terribly important."
"What?" Koushi's voice trembled
slightly. He'd never heard anyone speak like this about the gods
before. While Koushi had no strong faith himself, it was hard to
believe that a nation that relied so much on its guardian gods would
treat ordinary people like so much chaff. He couldn't understand
Yuoshichi's position.
Koushi looked into Yuoshichi's face
and saw some dark, deep emotion brewing in his eyes.
"Large fires that occurred in the
past decimated the capital's population," Yuoshichi said. "Almost
half of the number of people who used to occupy this place died to
fire in the last generation. I'm certain that the people who did
survive were grateful, but that does nothing for the people who
died. People who lived in the villages suffered when the capital
couldn't keep up with trade and supply demands.
"Yes, the guardian gods will stop
fires--with water, or by controlling the flames. But they won't do
it to save people. To save the city, yes. But what they do won't be
in time to save many people. They don't care about saving people in
the path of the flames." Yuoshichi's voice was thick with an emotion
that Koushi had never heard him express before.
A chill went through Koushi; he
felt cold through.
Guardian gods could live for two or
three hundred years, or more. In addition to their various powers,
they possessed some of the technology of the ancient world. That
technology had allowed them to build the capital, and the villages
as satellites, without causing large-scale outbreaks of human
combustion.
But calling the capital well-built
would be a lie. Many of the people who lived there were desperately
poor. Everyone relied on the Fire Hunters to bring back fuel and the
guardian gods to distribute it--usually unfairly. There were many
people living on the fringes of the capital who had no choice but to
steal or run away to the wild forest. Those who worked in the city
fell sick and died from the pollution generated by factories.
Koushi's mother had died from her
work, and Hinako would always be sick because the air in the capital
was poison.
If the guardian gods really do
have great power and can use past technology, why would there be
people who are poisoned by the factories in the first place? And
is it true that they didn't put out the fire fast enough to
prevent so many deaths?
Koushi had never heard anything
like this from the academy or from other adults in the city. Koushi
guessed that Yuoshichi was a survivor of the last great fire that
had torn through the capital, though he couldn't have been very old
at the time that it happened.
While Koushi had never heard
Yuoshichi's opinions expressed in so many words, he still believed
him.
"To the guardian gods, we're not
people. We're just like the crops that get harvested in the
fields. We have our uses, but without supernatural abilities,
we're not terribly important."
Was that what Koushi believed? No.
But it was clear that Yuoshichi did.
"The factory district is nicknamed
the Garden of the Gods," Yuoshichi said. "It generates products and
revenue and secures the guardian gods' economic position. We are,
all of us, a controllable and replaceable resource. A commodity, no
different from gemstones or plants."
"The Garden of the Gods," Koushi
echoed.
"If a Spider attacks the capital,
there is no guarantee that the guardian gods will protect us. We
will have to protect ourselves, and to do that, we need power.
Weapons."
Koushi felt as if the scales were
falling from his eyes. If what Yuoshichi said was true, then what
he'd been taught for his entire life was a lie. His mother had died
ignorant that the capital that might become a battlefield where no
one was safe. His father probably knew this, but he hadn't told his
family anything. He'd fled the capital, taking the dog and never
coming back.
Had Koushi's father left because he
was angry, or afraid? Brave? Ashamed? Koushi wished he knew.
Angry. Koushi remembered that his father had been angry. "Damn it, this one never fucking listens." His father's voice came back to him out of the distance of time.
How many years had it been?
Koushi's father had been talking
about Kanata. Fire Hunters spent days or weeks on end in the black
forest, killing Fire Fiends and harvesting fuel, accompanied only by
their dogs. Hinako felt safe with Kanata with them and cried when he
and their father were gone. She worried about what would happen if
they died in the forest.
Once, their father and Kanata had
gotten separated in the forest, and Kanata hadn't returned home for
many days. Hinako had been inconsolable. Their father had taken over
Hinako's care to give their mother a break while he was home: he
took her to the doctor and prepared meals. Hinako was so upset that
she caught a fever.
One of the other Fire Hunters
offered to lend their father another dog, but their father didn't
accept that offer. He patted Hinako on the head, told her to pray
for the dog and that he'd return soon.
Just as their father had said,
Kanata returned on the fourth day after going missing. On his own
four paws, he'd made it through the black forest and back through
the tunnel into the capital all by himself. He was badly injured.
His nose was swollen to about twice its usual size, and he walked
with his hind legs dragging behind him. He hadn't eaten in days and
was pitifully thin. He carried the torn-off leg of a Fire Fiend in
his mouth; when their mother saw it she shrieked in alarm.
Kanata had chased a Fire Fiend down
into the valley after it had fled. All he'd brought back was the
Fire Fiend's severed leg and himself in more or less one piece.
"Idiot dog," his father had said
gruffly as he pet the battered hunting dog. "We can't go out for
another two weeks at least, with your legs like that."
Hinako was overjoyed, and Koushi...
well, he was a little jealous of Kanata. The dog had been reckless
and everyone had been worried, but he was welcomed home as if he'd
done nothing wrong. It was hard for Koushi to understand.
Koushi always kept a little of
himself back in reserve, so that he'd never risk being pushed past
his limits. His father was a Fire Hunter; his mother, a factory
worker; if either of them were out of commission, his sister's care
and the care of the house fell to him.
Kanata never kept any of himself
back. His recklessness made him a strong runner and fighter. Even
injured, he radiated power and confidence.
Koushi wished that he could be more
like that.
"You haven't given me a clear
answer," Koushi said. "What are we using the lightning fuel for? You
say protection and weapons, but... how?" He looked under the
workbench. There were empty glass bottles arranged in wooden boxes
on the floor. Some of the bottles came in standard cylindrical
shapes, but there were others formed much more peculiarly. Still,
the material that the bottles were made of was familiar; Koushi had
a few guesses about how they could be used.
One particular shape looked right
for a handheld lantern--or a grenade.
Yuoshichi's eyebrows arched; he
seemed about to smile. "Yes. I see you understand. We're going to
protect the capital from the Spiders, Koushi. We can't rely on the
guardian gods. We never could."
The factory area is the Garden of
the Gods... If the gods are really ruling this country without
considering people as human beings, then my mother died and my
sister is sick because they don't care.
But even if they didn't care, no
one could stand against the guardian gods. Even the Fire Hunters who
routinely battled monsters for a living were under their direct
control. Were the Spiders even strong enough to strike a blow? They
had the same kind of powers as the guardian gods, but surely time
and distance had weakened them? Koushi didn't think it would be
possible to successfully defy the guardian gods if they put up a
united front.
"I understand why protecting
ourselves is important," Koushi said, "but do we really need weapons
as powerful as those powered by lightning fuel?" If weapons were all
that was required, why wouldn't a club or a dagger like the ones
used by police officers be enough? Factory machinery could be used
as weaponry with a few tweaks.
Lightning fuel wasn't safe enough
to be worth the risk, was it?
Yuoshichi nodded. "That's right, we
do. Spiders have divine bodies, like the guardian gods do. They are
different from us humans. Ordinary weapons won't harm them." He bit
his lip. "There are too many things I don't know. What knowledge I
have is a fraction of what we need. A Spider will ignite near fire,
as we do, but even that might not kill them--divine bodies recover
quickly. If the guardian gods and the Spiders went to war, what
would become of us ordinary people? We must avoid situations where
civilians will be put in danger. Several trusted Fire Hunters are
secretly investigating the movements of the Spiders. Much of the
information we have of them is unconfirmed, however.
"Here's what we've learned. Once
the conflict begins, it is certain that the capital will fall into
chaos. I don't think we can trust the gods, who think of people as
little more than weeds. It is my assumption that humans will have to
protect humans."
Humans will have to protect
humans...
Koushi's lower lip trembled. Like
Yuoshichi, there was far too much that he didn't know. He didn't
even know much about the Okibi family, and he and Hinako had landed
in their laps. But he'd decided to come here, and to cooperate; none
of his circumstances had changed.
"All right," Koushi said. His hands
sought one another, grasping. "I'll try it. I'll try making weapons
here."
Yuoshichi's expression twisted into
a strange sort of smile on his fleshy face. It took Koushi a few
moments to understand that he was pleased because of the room's
relative dimness.
"Thank you. I look forward to
seeing your progress. I probably don't have to say this, but you
shouldn't discuss this work with anyone else."
"Not even my sister?" Koushi
asked.
Koushi knew the answer before
asking the question and wasn't in the least surprised when Yuoshichi
nodded. He felt light-headed all of a sudden, like his body was
floating. Koushi dug his fingernails into his own palms to ground
himself.
"I understand," Koushi said. "I
won't tell her. Or anyone."
The smile that Yuoshichi gave him
this time was that of a beast that had cornered its prey.
"Excellent, excellent. Let's get
the registration certificate for the Central Archives arranged
immediately. You shall be granted viewing rights."
Shortly after that, Koushi and
Yuoshichi vacated the basement so that they wouldn't be late for
dinner. The garden outside the window was shrouded in shadows. A
kind of flower that Koushi didn't know the name of glowed gold in
the dark, lending the hallway a bit of light. The flower petals
shimmered like dragon scales as they walked past.
"I'll be holding onto the key for
this room," Yuoshichi said. "You can only access this place when I
am present in the manor."
"Yes, sir."
Koushi was collecting secrets.
There were many things that he wasn't permitted to tell anyone. He
wondered if, one day, he would have secrets that he couldn't even
tell Yuoshichi.
Koushi answered Yuoshichi's
questions very briefly to hide his unease.
Hinako was his first concern, so he
separated from Yuoshichi and headed to the second floor on his own.
When he paused at the top of the staircase and opened his palms, he
saw the red marks where his nails had dug in.
He missed his father. No one had ever ruffled his hair, patted him on the head and called him an idiot--or brave. It seemed stupid now, but he felt very strongly that his father and Kanata were gone, and maybe not coming back.
***
Koushi heard voices spilling out of
Hinako's room before he reached it.
"See, this color suits her after
all." The voice belonged to Hibana, Kira's mother. Koushi was so
surprised that he missed a step and stood still. He knocked on the
door and announced his arrival.
"Please come in," Kira said from
the other side of the door. "You should take a look at this,
too."
Koushi wondered what was going on.
He opened the door.
Hinako clambered out of bed when
she saw him. Her cheeks were dusted with a fine and shiny powder
like sugar. "Koushi!"
Koushi stood in the doorway,
wide-eyed. Hibana and Kira giggled behind their hands.
Hinako was no longer wearing her
white clothes from the morning, but a pale honey-colored robe
layered underneath one of a slightly brighter color. The wide skirt
tapered at the bottom, making Hinako look like a little bird with
its feathers puffed out. Her hair was done up with a pearl-encrusted
hairpin; shoes of the same style poked out from under her skirt.
"This is Kira's evening gown from
when she was a child," Hibana said. "I'm quite glad that I kept it
now." She was sitting at the edge of Hinako's bed and stood up. Like
Hinako, she'd changed clothes, wearing a different flame-colored
dress. Her hair was done up neatly; large red-jeweled earrings
adorned her ears.
Hinako ran over and took Koushi's
hand in hers.
"Kira and Miss Hibana asked me to
change my clothes before dinner," she said.
"Oh, uh," Koushi said, stumbling
over his words. "I see." He tried to pat Hinako's head as he usually
would, but the hair ornament would interfere with that. If he wasn't
careful, he'd ruin her hairstyle.
"Isn't she darling? I'm glad mom
decided to help with the clothes," Kira said. "She's very
knowledgeable about this sort of thing." Kira tilted her head,
looking happy.
Koushi looked more closely at
Hinako's bed and noticed that there were more clothes and dresses in
various colors arranged in a neat pile. Blue, pink, mauve and white
items peeked out of the pile. While Koushi had spent time with
Yuoshichi getting a tour of the basement, Hinako had stayed up here
trying clothes on.
"Shall we go to dinner?" Hibana
asked. "We should take our seats before your father arrives. He said
he has some paperwork to take care of. Koushi, would you mind
passing the time with us with some pleasant conversation?" She
turned to Kira. "Let's go downstairs."
"Yes, mother."
In one smooth motion, Hibana slid
past Koushi and into the hallway. She glanced at him in passing;
Koushi thought she was studying him. She didn't seem quite as
intimidating as she'd been earlier in the day,
Kira followed swiftly after her
mother.
Koushi still didn't understand the
relationship between Kira and Hibana. Kira had always been obedient
that he'd seen, but Hibana was always a little distant with her.
There were times when Kira appeared frightened of her mother.
"Koushi!" Hinako reached out to
him, intertwining their fingers.
Koushi squeezed his little sister's
hand. She didn't have a fever. "You look very nice, Hinako." He
meant it.
Hinako offered him a warm smile,
then walked in front of him, pulling him by the hand.
As Hinako and Koushi walked down
the hall behind Kira and Hibana, Koushi wondered if he'd have time
to get so used to this house that he wouldn't remember the way to
his own. His dad and Kanata would come back at some point, right?
Hinako wanted and expected that as much as he did.
Koushi didn't let go of Hinako's
hand, even when they went down the stairs.
1 煌四, or "Koushi," is how the character's name is written. The first kanji is more commonly translated as "sparkle, glitter," and the second just means "four." Name kanji can have different meanings in Japanese, though "Koushi" with this spelling is not a standard Japanese name.↩
2 綺羅, "Kira," is also spelled in a non-standard way. Her name has nothing to do with fire; the first kanji means "beautiful" (more specifically, "beautiful silk thread") and the second kanji means "gauze," though it's common in use of proper names and names of concepts like 修羅, "shura," meaning "violence" or "carnage," and is a kanji in the name of the Rashoumon Gate.↩
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