Teito Monogatari:
The Tale of the Imperial Capital
Part 1: Great Spirit of Tokyo
Author: Hiroshi Aramata
Part 5: A Preposterous Proposal
Chapter 22: A Daring Challenge
Lieutenant Katō arrived at Mori Rintarō’s residence a bit after nine o'clock at night. Mr. Mori received him at once. Kōda Shigeyuki was still at the house, but he didn't greet the lieutenant. He lingered in shadows, standing silently in the hallway.
Mr. Kōda was noticed, of course, but Lieutenant Katō said nothing to him. He followed Mr. Mori into his study. He didn't remove his military cap. Kōda Shigeyuki told a passing maid not to let any servants enter the study until the lieutenant left. Then he entered the study and slid the door closed.
"Lieutenant Katō, I have an impertinent question to ask," Mori Rintarō said.
"Yes, what is it?" Katō stood at attention.
"Is this handkerchief yours?"
Mori Rintarō thrust out a handkerchief dyed with a pentagram pattern for him to see.
Lieutenant Katō shrugged dismissively. "Yes, that's mine."
"Have you ever given this to someone as a gift?"
"Yes, an acquaintance who is a civil official."
"To a woman?"
"No."
"A girl who had this handkerchief in her possession has been carried into my residence. Do you have any idea who she might be?"
"Most likely she is the younger sister of the civil official."
"Mr. Katō, I'd like to ask something rather indelicate," Kōda Shigeyuki said bluntly. "Did you make that girl drink something? The other day—yes, I think it was the night before the Boys' Festival in May—when I first met you at the restaurant, you were doing something odd in the courtyard. I suspected you were gathering materials to curse someone. Surely your target wasn't that young lady?"
Lieutenant Katō grinned. "Since meeting you that day, I have read several of your works. Professor Kōda Shigeyuki, I am astonished at the depth of your knowledge. No excuse will work for you, I imagine, so I will speak plain: I have found myself in a position where I must borrow the peculiar disposition of Yukari Tatsumiya." He snatched the handkerchief away from Rintarō and then said, "My apologies, Surgeon General Mori. Now that there is no longer any evidence of wrongdoing, I will tell you the truth. I will come again to take the girl with me before long."
"Take her with you?" Mori Rintarō snapped back in a sharp tone. "You are an officer. Why do you need her?"
"I could ask the same, Surgeon General. I never imagined that girl would be carried to Your Excellency's residence."
"I won't hand her over to you," Kōda Shigeyuki said darkly.
"I will take her."
"By force?"
"How absurd. I need only send a shikigami and have her carried off."
"Send a shikigami? You mean to manipulate demon gods and use them to snatch the girl away?!"
"Exactly. Forgive me, Surgeon General, but this is a private matter. I am doing this to save the girl's life, so I ask you most earnestly not to interfere. I have written her address here, so you may return her to her parents or keep her here for awhile, as you please. Do not forget that I will come and take the girl soon, on day of the Heavenly Thief and the hour of Heavenly Years. I shall now return to barracks, sir." He saluted, pulled down on his military cap, and then left the study at speed.
Kōda Shigeyuki, formidable as he was, drew back from the door. He had seen numerous sorcerers over the years and studied the occult himself, but he was not usually so terrified of a fellow occultist. He watched the lieutenant's back until the man disappeared into the darkness.
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