Teito Monogatari:
The Tale of the Imperial Capital
Part 2: Supernatural Babylon
Author: Hiroshi Aramata
Part 1: Impossible Fight to the Death
Chapter 6: The The Night Before the Battle
When Kōda Shigeyuki got off the streetcar at Marunouchi, he hurried past the front of the General Staff Headquarters and went through the main gate of the Ministry of Finance. The Tatsumiya family’s steward was waiting there for him and waved. He guided Shigeyuki to a conference room inside the Ministry of Finance. The Tsuchimikado family’s representatives were already seated. Shigeyuki recognized the old sorcerer Hirai Yasumasa, with whom he had spoken several times in Kyōtō, and exchanged a brief bow.
“I appreciate your coming here, sir,” Shigeyuki said to Yasumasa.
“Likewise,” Yasumasa replied. “I am sure you have many duties at the Kyōtō University of Letters. We are grateful that you returned to Tōkyō.”
“To be honest, the post of lecturer at Kyōtō University of Letters does not really suit me. I am considering putting in my letter of resignation.”
Footsteps echoed in the hall outside as Shigeyuki spoke, and then Tatsumiya Yōichirō burst into the conference room, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Gentlemen, I am terribly sorry to have kept you waiting. An emergency meeting is being held. I couldn’t leave right away. I have no words sufficient to apologize.”
Shigeyuki, hands in his pockets, glanced toward the back of the room. "Never mind that. How is Miss Yukari doing?”
“She is well.”
“Good. I’m glad we made it in time.”
“Mr. Kōda, Lieutenant Katō has finally specified the date and time. He says he will receive Miss Yukari at eight in the evening on the second day of the ninth month of the old calendar.”
“‘Receive’ her, he says? Surely what he means is that he intends to abduct her and make her his bride?”
“She would never agree to such a thing. What an audacious fellow,” the sorcerer said.
“At this point, I'm thinking of requesting police protection,” Yōichirō said. “Why can’t they arrest him before he tries to take her?”
“They won’t,” Shigeyuki said. “I asked my friend Rintarō, but he said that to detain an army officer, indisputable physical evidence of a crime is required.”
“Mr. Kōda, because of that man, a young woman has lost her mind, and now he is trying to abduct her,” Junichi said. “We must protect her ourselves, if no one else will. We will seize the physical evidence of Lieutenant Katō’s crimes and hand it over to the police.”
“Indeed,” Hirai Yasumasa said. “Mr. Kōda, the challenge before us is not a test of strength or a battle of wits. Ultimately, we are faced with sorcery, and we can only face that with sorcery. The honor of the Tsuchimikado family is at stake. We must all protect this girl.”
“Don’t worry, Yōichirō,” Mr. Kamo said. “Hirai Yasumasa has come all the way from Kyōtō for this, and you have the full support of the Tsuchimikado family in this endeavor. We will not be outdone by the likes of Katō.”
Yōichirō and Mr. Kamo had become friends since their shared meetings at Baron Shibusawa’s estate.
“I am grateful. You are my only hope, gentlemen. Please, I beg you—protect my sister.”
There was a knock on the door. An orderly opened it and called Yōichirō’s name. “You are being summoned to the main conference room,” the orderly said.
“Understood. I’ll come at once.”
“Yōichirō, go back to your meeting. Leave the rest to us,” Junichi said.
Yōichirō bowed and hurried out of the room.
Watching his retreating figure, Shigeyuki felt a strange sense of emptiness. “He certainly works hard.”
“All the government folks do.”
“But his younger sister is in danger.”
“Knowing him, he would not even be at his parents’ deathbed,” Junichi said.
“I don’t like this. Not one bit,” Shigeyuki said.
“Mr. Kōda, we have no time to spend criticizing bureaucrats. We must immediately discuss countermeasures,” Mr. Kamo said.
They gathered around the table, trading tense glances.
The first to speak was Shigeyuki, who had rushed back to Tōkyō upon receiving Mori Rintarō’s urgent message. According to Rintarō’s letter, Lieutenant Katō had come in person to inform him, the Surgeon General of the Army, of the precise date and time that he intended to abduct Yukari.
“He must be confident,” Shigeyuki said. “We should expect him to be exceedingly prepared. He has had months to plan this crime.”
“That confidence strikes me as out of place,” Mr. Kamo said. “He must know that we will resist his plans. Why tell us an exact date and time?” He tilted his head.
“Katō has been making prophetic statements in a cryptic manner since the beginning of this year. Now that he has specified the date and time so clearly, we must assume that he is completely ready to take Miss Yukari at any time,” Junichi said, his voice becoming shrill.
The old sorcerer Hirai Yasumasa placed his hand on the round table and slowly clenched his fist. “There is nothing for it but to enter ritual abstinence.”
“But Mr. Hirai, the period of abstinence is fixed at seventeen days,” Mr. Kamo said. “Even if we were to begin now, if the enemy appears tomorrow night at eight, our prayers will not take effect. We have no time for the full ritual.”
“Mr. Kamo, we of the Tsuchimikado family have been challenged to battle by this heretic Katō. The enemy is prepared for us, but we are not prepared for him. Despite that, we must do all we can to protect this young woman. We must pray for the guidance of our founder, Abe no Seimei."
“What implements are needed for the ritual?” Junichi asked.
“That is our work,” Hirai Yasumasa said quietly. He gave Mr. Kamo a pointed look.
Mr. Kamo nodded and then excused himself. He hurried out of the Ministry of Finance.
“The next problem,” Yasumasa said, “is where to hide Miss Yukari during the ritual. We can hardly leave her in Sugamo Hospital. I would very much like to have her placed in our Tōkyō training hall.”
Shigeyuki and Junichi agreed to Yasumasa’s proposal.
“Very well, Mr. Hirai. We have no choice but to rely on you. I will go to Dr. Morita now, explain the situation, and have Miss Yukari transferred to the training hall,” Junichi said.
Shigeyuki and Junichi stood up and left the conference room.
Yukari’s parents, the house steward, and Hirai Yasumasa remained in the conference room. The parents had no idea what to do to save their daughter.
“We will now enter a state of purification at the Tsuchimikado Tōkyō training hall,” Yasumasa said to Yukari’s bewildered parents. “The purification will be over in two days. I ask for your cooperation. Please keep these Seimei Seals on your person.”
Yasumasa reached inside his breast pocket and removed two talismans. A shape was inscribed in the center of each.
“This protective charm—surely it is the Dōman Seiman?” Yukari’s father asked.
Yasumasa gave him a stern look. “Do not speak so carelessly. Dōman Seiman is a heretical name. For us, this is the Seimei Seal.”
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