Chapter 11: The Divided Master
Ryokan spent the next few days preparing tirelessly for his departure. As he had implied in his conversation with Kanehira, he wasn't intent on returning to All Gods until he had found a shrine that could provide him with the secret to manipulating spirits.
But Ryokan knew that he would have to be cautious throughout his journey. The world outside of the Minakami forest was changing rapidly and becoming more dangerous as people conceived new weapons and new means of rampant destruction. No one knew it better than Ayase Osaka, wife of the veiled priest of the Osaka house, whom Ryokan took the time to consult with before his departure. She had been one of the women sent into the world to find suitable kusabi sacrifices for the village, but had barely managed to come back with her life, much less any kind of ritual fodder. She had been severely injured by a gun-one of the new weapons that so terrified the villagers-and was very nearly crippled, condemning her to walk with a hunch for the rest of her life. Ryokan knew how terrible it could be; he had been there when the veiled priests prayed for her and removed the small metal sphere that had been lodged within her hip.
But Ryokan would not be deterred, and he continued to pack and prepare for his travels until the day on which he had made plans to leave. As he had guessed, Kanehira appeared at his house at the last possible moment to try to talk him out of it.
"Please, I beg you Ryokan, at least tell me where you're going." Kanehira followed Ryokan through the Kurosawa manor as he gathered his things. It was manifest that he was upset. "It isn't the Himuro mansion that you're bound for, is it!"
"Surely you jest, old friend." Ryokan turned around and raised an eyebrow, making Kanehira blush with embarrassment. They both stopped near the house's front foyer, and Ryokan began rustling through his belongings, looking for something that he wanted to show Kanehira.
"Of course not." Ryokan continued. "I may be getting on in my years, but I'm no fool. Judging from what I've seen in my nightmares, it's more likely than not that the 'Hell Gate' of Himuro mansion has already overflowed, and if that's true, then I don't want to be anywhere within ten kilometers of it."
Ryokan finished rifling through his belongings and withdrew a book, about the same size as the Himuro one. He tossed it to Kanehira, who caught it and began examining the cover. It was emblazoned with the picture of a large mansion not unlike the Himuro one, but it had a strange, almost impossible blue tint to it, and it was shrouded in a depth of snowfall as well as one of darkness.
"However," Ryokan explained, "I found that book placed along with the first one. It details the existence of the Kuze manor-a shrine that lies to the far north of here. It's a long way, but the Kuze family has been in this 'practice' even longer than we have, and they're very well respected in the Mutsu region. Anyway, it could be our last chance."
Kanehira stared at Ryokan. His facial expression still communicated unease.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be on my way. I'll need to travel quickly if I am to make it to the shrine before the last snows of winter melt. It's already late February; I'm running out of time."
Ryokan neglected to mention why the weather's state even mattered, but Kanehira was wrought with doubt all the same. He looked at Ryokan's aging form and bit his lip nervously.
"Ryokan...I don't like this idea of yours. This isn't some small trip you're making. I am reading the map in this book, and it says that the Kuze shrine lies dozens of miles north of here. The rest of Japan has become dangerous and uninviting, and," Kanehira paused, shy about continuing to speak his mind, "I hate to admit it, but you're getting a touch old to be traveling alone."
Ryokan chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder reassuringly.
"Heh, perhaps I am, Kanehira. But I will meet the Kuzes within their own shrine regardless, and I won't leave until..."
"...and that's another thing!" Kanehira showed unusual amounts of rudeness in cutting Ryokan off mid-sentence. He must've felt strongly indeed, to be defying the man who was, by all accounts, his master.
"How do you know that the Kuzes can even be trusted? If they're anything at all like us, then they won't be inclined to treat visitors favorably-at least not without their own selfish motives. You could be walking into a death sentence!"
Ryokan closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists, the smile gone from his face. He had read enough about the graceless practices of the Kuzes beforehand to know that Kanehira's concerns were well founded. He would not be welcomed within the Kuze walls, especially if he failed to arrive before winter ended.
Yet, Kanehira's concerns were utterly meaningless, utterly pointless, utterly foolish. For all of the possible affronts to his very existence that he could face, at the hands of some random outsider or at the hands of the Kuzes themselves, it would still be worth it to stop the one great affront to his village now bearing down on them all. He would gain what knowledge he needed from the Kuzes, whether they liked it or not.
"I understand your concerns, Kanehira, really I do. But none of that matters now. Even if something does happen to me, you once told me that we must suffer in order to achieve true enlightenment. Are you really telling me that you've given up on that conviction so easily?"
Kanehira shook his head grimly. He didn't answer Ryokan's question, but when the Ceremony Master tried to leave the foyer for the third time, he heard Kanehira's voice again, and it came solemnly.
"You know, Ryokan, we may be better arrayed to understand the world after we have suffered at its hands, but you can't benefit from that enlightenment if you die in the process. What of your wife and children-won't you miss them?"
Ryokan sighed deeply and answered as he walked toward the door leading out of his house.
"More than you will ever know, Kanehira. I'm going to say my goodbyes now, starting with you. Good luck, my friend; until I return, All Gods village is in your capable hands. Lead it wisely."
With that, Ryokan closed the door behind him, leaving Kanehira standing alone, feeling empty in an empty house.
Ryokan quickly found that he didn't have to walk far to find his family. As he set across Whisper bridge-the bridge connecting his house to the rest of the village-with his most important belongings packed away into a couple of suitcases, Ryokan saw his family standing at attention at its end, just in front of the large gate that signaled the beginning of his land. The gate was ajar, and Ryokan could glimpse the curious staring of other villagers on its opposite side who were hoping to bear witness to the moment.
None of his family members looked happy, but they did look supportive. All but one, anyway.
"I'm sorry...Kiyomi...Yae...Sae," Ryokan started, his expression rightfully sorrowful, "but I can't stay. The tide of ill fortune never changes until someone strives to change it. I am the leader of All Gods village; I must be that person."
At first, Kiyomi said nothing, and she didn't look into his eyes; couldn't bare to. It hurt her to think that Ryokan still thought himself a Ceremony Master first and a father second, and it hurt her worse to know that he might not live long enough for her to try to change it.
Feeling the awkward silence taking its toll on those present, Sae smiled warmly and stepped forward, holding a small stone in her hand.
"Be careful on your journey, dad. I know you'll make us all proud. I'll give Yae and Kiyomi enough love for both of us until you get back."
Before he could respond, Sae extended her arms and handed the small stone to Ryokan, who inspected its appearance. It was a small, polished hunk of mineral-a chrysocolla stone, judging by its blue-green hues.
When Ryokan looked back down, clearly confused, Sae's smile only grew.
"It's a spirit crystal, dad. I think they have the ability to inscribe themselves with the thoughts of the holder, so maybe me and Yae will be able to hear about your journey if you forget something. It's also just for good luck, so..." Sae trailed off, feeling suddenly shy.
"Thank you, Sae. It will never leave my side." Ryokan complimented her, compelling her to blush and smile once more. With that, he turned to Yae, who was staring at him intently.
"It's okay father." Yae started before Ryokan could even speak, perhaps anticipating that he would try to reassure her as well. "I won't try to hold you back from doing what you think is right. Take as much time in your travels as you need."
Yae bit her lip nervously and looked away when she had finished. She had chosen her words poorly, had sounded much too eager to have him away from the village. It caught his attention, and as he focused on her choice of words, he remembered what had happened a few days ago. Back in the great hall during breakfast time, Itsuki had been ready to say something, and he had seemed nervous, just like Yae was now. Could he be planning something?
Almost without his noticing, a soft, feminine hand reached towards him and maneuvered under his chin. It was Kiyomi, finally having found the courage to look at her husband's face, tilting his chin back to motivate him to return her sorrowful gaze. Looking into her tear-streaked eyes, Ryokan couldn't help but forget Itsuki, if only for a moment.
Feeling awkward, Ryokan tried to step back, but Kiyomi wasn't going to let him go without a few words first. Before he could move too far, her arms folded around him tightly and drew him in. Ryokan could feel her forcefulness, her determination, and his mind became clear as a still wind as he waited for her to speak. Sensing that they might want to be alone, Yae and Sae excused themselves silently and ran back toward the house. Even the villagers who had been watching from the double doors had the decency to leave them in peace. The next few moments, for both Kurosawas, felt like time spent in an alternate reality that they could only wish to be true. The smell of flowers just starting to bloom, the sound of chirping birds and light gusts of wind, the heat of the sun and brilliance of the light upon them-these were the only distractions from their embrace.
Kiyomi leaned in toward him until their faces were almost touching, and found the bravery to speak to him one last time.
"Come back, Ryokan...please...," she choked back a sob, and focused as much affection as she could into her next gesture as her lips met his.
One kiss. A simple, soft kiss that shook and transformed the world at his feet. For just that one moment, that one fleeting moment, reality as Ryokan knew it faded away into a cloud of ash. The Hellish Abyss, the Kuzes, his problems-they all ceased to exist, replaced only by the smiling faces of his family, including his daughters.
That day, Ryokan was back with her, in the small golden fields outside of All Gods, loving her as he had done twenty years ago.
The world had stopped, and Ryokan Kurosawa, the master of Minakami, was lost in time.
By the time the bliss surging through Ryokan's person had finally worn off, he was shocked to see that he and his beautiful wife had already parted ways, and that he had started to head toward the route that would take him out of All Gods. But, as he continued to walk this path, he quickly found the crushing reality of the world bearing down on him once more. Now that he had sobered in the wake of the love that he had shared, all that Kiyomi had done to Ryokan's world reversed itself utterly. The Hellish Abyss, the Kuze shrine, all of his problems-they came back full force, and in their place, it was his family that began to fade away. Once again, the safety and continuation of the endless ceremony was his first sacred priority. His daughters, who he still loved, would be doomed to the crimson sacrifice at the end of the year-there would be no argument of this, not even from his own wife, who Ryokan suspected was less than supportive of letting her daughters go.
They were two separate sides of the whole of his personality, two halves that called him, beckoned to him, contending for his attention. At one side, his lighter incarnation-a loving, affectionate, proud father and husband with all that a person could ever want. At the other end, a darker manifestation that would do absolutely anything to achieve its ends. It had little sense of conscience or morality. It believed that might was always right, and that some goals were worth fighting for unconditionally. Not even torture and massacre were out of bounds-not for this side, the side of the Ceremony Master, a side born scarred in a suffering world.
So...which was he? A father, or a Ceremony Master? In any case, it was his darker side now influencing him, enticing him to focus on Itsuki's suspicious activity once more.
"Don't worry, Itsuki, you will see me again. At any rate, I'm not going anywhere just yet, not until I've had a look into your thoughts and intentions. If you and Yae are hiding something from me, I'll find it, and END it!"
Ryokan whirled around and began walking briskly away from the edge of the village toward Kanehira's house. He entered with no trouble and came to find the house deserted. Glad that he would not have to explain himself to anyone, Ryokan worked his way up to the second floor and navigated the hallways and tatami rooms until he came to the room that he was looking for.
"Itsuki's room." Ryokan muttered, reading the plaque above the door that led into the small room. Discourteously, Ryokan entered the room and began rifling around with the furniture, checking underneath his bed and in all the drawers of his cabinets, making sure to leave things as he had found them. He wasn't looking for much, just some evidence that would answer, once and for all, whether or not Itsuki was plotting against him. Eventually, he found what he was looking for; there were a few scraps of paper among all the others on his disordered desk, grouped together in the binding of a diary with the picture of a butterfly on it. Ryokan unfastened the cord tied around the book to hold it shut, and read what little there was to read.
The old man grumbled; he had really hoped to find more than this. The diary page was torn and very brief, but the rest of it was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't even written by Itsuki, but by Sae, his own daughter. It was a clearly written note from her, expressing her willingness to go through with the Crimson Sacrifice.
It gave him enough hope to put his mind at ease. He had forgotten the fortune he had been granted in the form of Sae's unflinching devotion to her duty as a twin. Itsuki and Yae's opinions, whatever they may be, would be irrelevant as long as Sae refused to discard her beliefs. If she made the decision to perform the ritual, which she would, then Yae would as well. She simply didn't have the willpower to defy the wishes of her dear sister.
Ryokan considered staying behind to read more of Itsuki's untidy notes, but he had to make time on his journey and be out of the forest before nightfall. That left him with a mere few hours; he couldn't afford to dawdle anymore. Envigored for the start of his journey, Ryokan set out and slammed Itsuki's door shut behind him. As he did so, the slamming of Itsuki's door shook the room slightly. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cause several more papers to fall off of the edge of Itsuki's desk and onto the tatami floor. They were also pieces of Sae's diary, and they told a different story then what the last piece had. Ryokan hadn't seen them when he investigated. In his near future, he would sorely wish that he had.
Ryokan Kurosawa stood motionless at the top of Misono Hill, overlooking his village with a sense of pride. At his back, a large, old torii gate stood stalwart at the village's border, with the only working path out of All Gods village at its rear. There had once been another, more dangerous path out of the village, one that Ryokan didn't often speak of, but it had been sealed shut by a mechanical lock decades ago. That left this one path, a path constantly guarded by veiled priests to ensure that no one left or entered the village without his direct approval.
As Ryokan took a few fateful steps toward the gate, he turned to glimpse the village once more and beheld an awe-inspiring site.
The entire village-every villager-was staring up at him reverently. Deciding to seize this moment, Ryokan drew his father's sword and held it high above his head, a symbol of victories to come. Much to his relief and excitement, his action was greeted by the roaring applause of the villagers below. They were still hopeful and, more importantly, still loyal to him.
"I will return to All Gods and carry out my duties as the master of this land. I swear to you, Kiyomi, that I will do more than simply 'come back'.
I will be victorious...for the village."
Ryokan turned without another thought and walked through the torii gate, not stopping as he was absorbed into the forest, and into a brave new world.
Hope you liked it. A couple of notes:
1. I'm aware that, in the cannon game, the note by Sae seen in this chapter hadn't been written yet. That's a very small cannon alteration on my part.
2. Just so readers know, I'm not planning on including Ryokan's journey to the Kuze shrine as a part of this story, since it's supposed to be more about the events of FFII. Instead, I'm planning to write it as a separate one shot, so if you've enjoyed my story, be sure to check out the next one, which will be the story of Ryokan's travels.
As always, comments and criticism will be greatly appreciated.