Chapter 1

The autumn leaves were spiralling down, down onto the temple courtyard, covering it with soft heaps of dull brown and red. A small figure in a coarse light brown robe stood sweeping the leaves away, wishing that the trees would keep their leaves to themselves and spare him the effort. His head was crowned with a bright golden mass of hair, yellow as the sun's rays. His eyes, a magnificent purple, stared blankly at the quick, regular motions of his broom as the stiff bundle of sticks brushed against the piles of crackling leaves, the only sound to be heard for miles. The mountain was a quiet place, home to his master's temple and perhaps a few animals. He was content with being a mere disciple in that temple, for there was nothing else in the world he could want. Nothing.

At this time his master would probably be smoking under the trees, watching the autumn sky as was his wont. He was a quiet, middle-aged man with soft brown hair and a face which belied no internal strife, or maybe he was just good at hiding his worries. The boy often wondered why his master had chosen him for a disciple despite what other people said about him, especially after the monk had told him about the voice. One day a few years past, the monk had heard a voice calling out to him, repetitive and insistent. He had responded by looking for it, following it outside the monastery and accidentally finding the boy by a riverbank. It had been a fortunate meeting, for ever since then the boy had been under his master's wing, learning to become a Buddhist in the mountain temple. He cared little for Buddhism and even less for becoming a monk, for his master was all that mattered to him. All the more so after his master had told him the story about the voice, and said that that was the sole reason why the boy had been taken in. And so there he was, sweeping the courtyard on a cloudy autumn afternoon, cursing the trees for their bad habit of giving him work.

From faraway he could hear a faint sound reverberating, persistent, seeping into his consciousness despite his efforts at keeping it out. It gradually became clearer - a voice, barely audible but getting louder with each call. It was calling for him; his name, over and over again, rather soft but grating to the ear. He could hardly keep sweeping without thinking of putting down his broom and running to find who was calling him; he pictured grabbing the fool by his collar and punching him in the face. He couldn't do that - they would punish him for leaving the temple grounds without permission - but he couldn't concentrate on his work. Perhaps his master would allow him if he explained himself well enough...

He tidied up the pile of swept leaves and left the broom leaning on a tree before going back to the temple to his master's room, where he hoped the monk was at the moment. Thankfully none of the other disciples were around to sneer at him and ask where he was headed, why he had finished the yard work so early or was he shirking, it was so disgraceful of him. All the same thing, no matter what he did. Anyway it meant nothing to him; they could think all they wanted. He had no need of their praise. After walking barefoot - he had no shoes - on the smooth wooden planks of the temple hallways for a few minutes, he reached his master's room, located on the far side of the temple. He knocked a few times and called in a low voice, hoping that the monk was inside.

His call was in vain, for there was no answer. It was possible that the master had gone out for another walk, though this time he hadn't been asked to come because of his chores. He had turned around to leave when he saw a familiar face smirking at him a few feet away.

"Shuei," he said.

"Oi, Kouryuu, what are you doing by Sanzo-sama's room?" said Shuei, his grin cutting a sharp white sliver out of the rough stubble of his face. "He isn't here; he went for a walk in the woods, and won't be back until later in the afternoon."

Kouryuu showed no signs of having heard him. He walked past Shuei, was about to turn a corner when he stopped and turned around. "Tell him I will be gone for a short while when he comes back."

"Tell who? Where are you going? Shirking your chores?"

Kouryuu's eyes remained level. "No. I must go find something."

Shuei raised an eyebrow. "Find something? What would that be?"

"It's none of your business." Kouryuu turned around and resumed walking. Shuei, surprised, only shrugged.