Disclaimer: Twelve Kingdom world and characters belong to Ono Fuyumi.
It'smore than 1 year.I stopped writing after school started, partly because I didn't have the whole story thought out and ordered yet, and partly because school projects fried the creative part of my brain too much on a daily basis to allow extra work-out.Although my last summer started long ago, I've beenall signed up for classes and whatnot... a'ight enough excuses, ifanyone got frustratedwaiting, I'm sorry.
I looked up more detailed information regarding the world of Twelve Kingdoms on a Japanese site, but my illiteracy in the language permitted only so much understanding. The military system was one thing I looked up, and to avoid using too much meaningless terms I choose to transform each rank into their best fitting modern equivalent according to my judgment. Also, since I don't have a good source of kanji pronunciation guide I began to base off the spelling and pronunciations of new name of people and place on Mandarin Chinese, which is more readily available to me. Perhaps I should list out all the created names somewhere with their kanji and literal meanings?
Stone, like small, fat mushrooms caps, their arrangement betrayed their artificiality, spread off to both sides of this dirt path. Behind these stones lay a soundless village in dark silhouette, enclosed by bamboo fencing, in front of a low sun. There was no need to go further for Youko, who stood before these stones. She didn't count them, but estimated near forty. They say on no mounds of earth, nor did they have mini altars before them, and neither were there any other tokens of human contribution to the dead besides the tombstones themselves. Despite that, Youko was quite certain that she viewed a graveyard. She knelt down, and observed the grass were unevenly new throughout – from her furthest an arm's height to just a thumb's for those closest to her. The burial process had spanned over several days, but the method of burial was equally minimal and hasty. She looked up and around once more, and concluded that the original graveyard for this particular village must lie on the opposite side – they should be easily-potted tall tombstones with incense stands, and she saw none. The houses of that village seemed to be all in tact – no black scorch marks or fallen roofs – and fuzzy above the roof tops of the houses was the tip of a large tree that must be situated at the center of the establishment. From where she was everything appeared to be fine, except for the lack of life and a gate ajar.
Three days ago, Youko had her meeting with Batou, a lieutenant of the provincial army of You Province. The meeting was to be a brief interview before she could decide whether or not to re-enlist the man. She invited him to lunch, and, although not much a drinker herself, put out fine wines. After a few drinks, she asked him why he left his job before. Relaxed, Batou told her that he and two other lieutenants used to serve one captain whose name was Karyuu. When the false empress took the throne, that captain suddenly disappeared with one of the lieutenants and his young daughter. He applied for the vacated position hopefully, since he had had several years of decent service history to You's provincial lord, Minkai. His application letter, however, seemed to have passed into another world.
Just when Batou was frustrated enough, he received the news that a new captain had already been assigned almost as soon as the old one disappeared. The news surprised him, and then it angered him when he found out that the new captain was Minkai's own nephew who had next to no experience in military affairs. Feeling shamed and bitter, he deserted his office with a few of his men, hoping to find his old captain. They were unsuccessful, however, and he went back home, hidden as a farmer. His followers also left him for their own homes. Batou lived in a small town to the south of Kokin town, close to the waters. When asked about the troops of people outside the Kinpa Palace1 that had come with him, he said they were average people from and around his town. Some of them had lost their livings due to natural disasters or youmas, and some volunteered when he started this group of militias to fight youmas and bandits.
One month ago Batou and his party tracked down a particular pair of Saikos2 that had been harassing several villages and roads. The sheer brute force these creatures possessed made it nightmares for many local residents to go outside even during days. He and his men had hoped to stop and stock up on food and water at a village not far off their track before lunging their final assault on the Saikos' lair within the forest up the border mountains. They quickly became alarmed as they moved closer to the village itself, when a sourly stench stung at their noses. Upon arriving, they found numerous maggot-infested corpses, already decomposed so that white bones showed in many parts, littered everywhere. In some places, domesticated beast large enough, such as horses and oxen, had evidently ran down what fences that contained them and escaped. Smaller ones like chickens or goats that were kept in iron cages or had not the strength to escape laid dead in their confines due to neglect and starvation. There were dried blood stains everywhere, no just near the rotting carcasses, but splashes on walls, droplets on paths, and stains on made-shift weapons like sickles and cudgels, held in hands of some of the dead bodies. The heat had sped up the decomposing process, and the rutting fume drove his party out of that horrid place before long.
Now slowly walking past the graveyard and into the ghost village, Youko noted the dark stain spots she saw. They were as the lieutenant had described – everywhere. Their concentration increased as she probed deeper in, but almost none near the gate from which she entered. She opened her mouth to order Hankyou and Hyanki to examine the other three gates for her, but promptly remembered that they had been sent away by none but herself not too long ago. If only I had known… thought she dryly. The streets there were not as straight and well-organized as would be in a bigger community, but the four gates still sat at their respective directions. She turned abruptly left, and walked to the village's southern gate. The blood stain distribution was just like the eastern gate. It was as if no one tried to leave when whatever disaster it was befallen them.
Was it really a plague? Most likely not, Youko mused. She had yet to learn an epidemic that would cause massive and, judging from the shapes of some stains, spurting bleedings. Still, she had to take in that possibility considering how different this world was from the one which she came, and how all sorts of crazy things can happen here.
Did youmas attack? Quite possibly, since some corpses held weapons, according to Batou. It was, however, strange that youmas would eradicate an entire village and yet leave so many corpses untouched, since, from Batou's account, all the dead bodies were in relatively completeness, though rotten to dirt. Wouldn't a youma be attacking humans to eat them?
Or were they besieged by the notorious marauders that drew her out here initially? This cause sounded the most appealing, but Youko painfully noticed that even though there were dried hoof prints casting near the once muddy fields, they were confused. Most likely, those prints were left by escaped animals of the villagers, and not of the purpose oriented fleet of bandits. She hit a stucco wall to her right in frustration. These villagers were certainly murdered, and she wanted a culprit. Perhaps, she tried to make sense out of this bizarre case, perhaps the marauders came on foot, in disguise? That must have been it!
"Shuujo!" a rather unfamiliar voice broke her chain of thoughts, "Someone is already here."
Quickly and soundlessly Youko brought herself against the wall she just hit, her right palm resting on the hilt of the Suiggutou3. "Where is he?"
"By the tree, near the center of this village. It is an old man," replied the shirei.
"Thank you," said Youko, and hesitated briefly before asking, "Who is this?"
"Jakko4," the little shirei surfaced from Kei-Ou's shadow, and bowed standing on its hind legs.
"You've been following me?"
"Yes. Shuujo have not order me to leave," replied the shirei as he sank back into the earth. Youko allowed herself a smile. A shrewd one, thought she. The sword was bared. She waited to turn her final corner, and observed the low grumbling of a pig and the voice of an old man. .
"Stop acting like a spoiled child now, and come on," the old man was saying.
Youko peeked. There was no one else but an old man of salt-and-pepper hair and a fat pig with rope around its neck. The old man was dressed for out doors, and carried a package across his back. He was looking and talking to in front of him at nothing in particular. Was he talking to the pig? Youko thought, and stepped out toward him, sheathing her sword. "Umm… mister, it will be dark soon…" The old man turned around crisply and the look of clear surprise and horror dispelled her doubt about his sanity.
"How did you…? Leave! Leave here now!" he yelled, waving his arm desperately.
"Shuujo!" cried Jakko all of a sudden distressfully. Just then something busted out of one of the village home beyond the old man, and charged at great speed toward her. The beast appeared vaguely to be a horse, but was a woven mass of bright colors. It had two uneven horns like a rhino, and two symmetrical ones like a bull's, but growing out of its cheeks, all lowered to better pierce the young empress with.
"Youma!" spat Youko and redrew the Suiggutou. To her sorrow, the old man threw himself between them, facing the youma.
"No! You mustn't…!" was all he could get out before the wind was knocked out of him and the youman's horn pierced through his abdomen. The pig screamed and ran off. The youman gave out a noise like the cross between a neigh and a yelp, jerking its head side ways, and tossing the old man to the ground. It spun around and galloped away, a lion-like tail trailing behind it. By then Youko had clearly seen the beast was brightly colored only on its face and manes, but the rest of its body was blue with vivid red curling lines, as if it was bleeding. She felt a maddening urge to charge after the beast for its blood, but her senses jerked her around to kneel beside the dying old man. Some distance off came the cut-short scream of the pig was heard.
"Are you alright?" she asked, taking out the Hekisoujo5, but realizing not even the enchanted gem could save the old man's life at that point. He was at the edge of death. He hauled his shaking, skinny hand to his chest.
"Ji…Ryou… please give…to… …," were his last words. Youko held him silently and still for a while longer, then, taking in a deep breath, she laid him down carefully. She searched inside his clothe where his hand stopped at, and withdrew a medical license plate. Apparently the man was a doctor from near by. Is he the doctor from Kokin town whom I've heard rumors about? Just when she was contemplating on how to find out who he was and how to inform his family if any, Jakko called her again.
"Shuujo, the youma has returned,"
"Good," said Youko with a menacing smile, surprising Jakko. She stood up, and readied her sword.
"Shuujo, is it really a good idea to…" he began, but was shut up.
"It has killed one of my people, and most likely many more. It deserves death!" The many-horned youma dashed out from behind a blood-stained house, made a sharp turn that kicked up great clouds of dust, and charged head on at Youko like a crazed bull. "You are not getting away this time!" she snarled and drew back her sword, ready to pierce the beast's heart in one blow.
A pale flash and there stood between her and the youma what resembled a unicorn of the European legends. "Keiki!" cried Kei-Ou with dismay, "Et tu!"
Choosing to ignore his master for the moment, Keiki began chanting rapidly at once, his single horn slowly radiating as he did so. "Rin! Byo! To! Sha…" The youma's mad stampede froze and its movements sealed by the divine beast's words. Both stood in complete silence and stillness as they simply stared at each other. In mere moments, however, a deafening screech soared from behind the youma, past it, nearly striking Keiki as it wheezed by him, and got chopped in half by the Suiggutou. Although no harm was done, it had broken Keiki's concentration, allowing the youma to tear away and escape. Youko's first reaction was to run after it. After a few steps she stopped herself as she watched in shock a hooded figure came out of his hiding, grabbed the fleeing youma by it horn, and swung himself onto it back, riding away together.
Youko was especially tempted again to storm after their hides when the hooded figure extended a left hand, and pointed his thumb down.
"Shuujo!" she turned back as beckoned. Her other, expressionless half was staring at her as if she was a to-be shirei, and fury was burning all around his holy body and in his widened, purple eyes. Ack.
"Shuujo," Keiki repeated, his voice shaking a bit less this time. "Disappearing without notifications, running amok out in the wilds alone, and refusing protection from shireis. You're the empress of Kei kingdom! How can you cheapen your well fare so? What will Kei become of if something is to happen to you? The ministry will become confused and doubtful with your constant absence! If there are things you wish to investigate you should just relay a command to the provincial lord! There is no need to devote excess amount of time in one area. The other provincial lords might feel neglected and displeased. Moreover, reluctance to discuss…" And on went Kei-taiho, over-taken by emotions and completely oblivious to the whole-bodily shaking that had taken over Her Royal Being like a volcano about to erupt.
"ENOUGH!" Youko bellowed. Unbelievable! Thought Youko, he knows nothing but to nag at me about where I'm falling short of his expectation!
"Shuujo…" Keiki was rather taken aback for a while by the girl's out burst. The pause gave him a chance to take in his surroundings and all the blood marks that were everywhere. He then noticed the dead old man, the big blanket of blood he laid upon, and his right fore hoof that was soaked in it. The kirin then suddenly went rubber-legged and wobbled drunkenly sideways away from the blood, and dropped down on his behinds, his head lowered between his stretched-out front legs.
"Keiki! Are you alright?" Youko rushed to the side of her suddenly ill kirin, concerned, and with no trace of her boiling anger a little moment ago.
"I'm fine… just a bit faint,"
"You need to leave. Go wait for me outside this Hell hole, wait, better yet, go wait for me in Kokin town," said Youko while wiping the bloodied hoof clean with a corner of her sleet casual caftan. "They will be closing the gates in an hour or so. Can you make it?"
"Yes," Keiki straightened himself up, and hesitated to leave. He wanted to ask where Youko would be going and doing what that he would be waiting her for, but he also didn't want to detonate her temper again.
"What's the matter?" Youko asked.
"Shuujo... is not coming with me?"
"I will hand this man over to the authorities of Kokin town, and I want you to go ahead first," explained Youko. The amount of blood that covered the dead body could have the kirin fainting every five minutes, being more an extra burden than help.
"Hankyou, Hyanki, and Juusaku, stay with Keiki," added Youko, "I will take this man to Kokin town" The shireis had just caught up to their kirin master, who, with his speed, had left them sweating and chasing his shadow leagues behind.
"Shuujo meant to carry this corpse alone to within the town gates?" Keiki asked incredulously. The dead man was, although old, nearly a whole head longer than his young sovereign, and wider too.
"Correct," said Youko, "I want none of the townsfolk finding out they've the Empress visiting." She picked up one of the old man's arms kneeling on one knee, and shifted his lifeless weight over her back. Even with Jouryou's help, a dead person was still quite a heavy burden. She had to take a few quick, tiny, and heavy steps backwards before she could lift both of them upright. She felt a strain at her lower back as if it was that time of the month, something she left gladly in the other world.
"Shuujo…" Keiki began.
"Don't," Youko glared at him. She took a balancing step eastward. Then another. And another. And marched steadily for the still welcoming gates of Kokin town.
At the western gate of Kokin town two gate guards were cracking their necks sideways, stretching their arms, and staring intensely up at the large rocks that were the building blocks of their town. Guard Suai let out a grunt as he noticed a bulky figure making his way to them. "Every time," exclaimed guard Tang, "somebody just have to barge in at the last minute."
"People are crazy," guard Suai agreed. They both watched with annoyance as the person snailed on. Then Suai realized something wasn't quite right. "Wait…" he squinted, having grown up in the mountains, he had better eyesight than his partner. "What the Hell is he carrying?" Tang, alerted, began to squint with great efforts as well. It took a while before both guards saw they had two people instead of one, and longer still for them to recognize the man being carried as the red-haired youth reached the gates. A series of loud quacks made by wood stick against metal sheet broke out above them.
"Doctor Lien!" both guards cried out in unified horror.
"He's dead," said Youko.
"What happened?" the guards glared at the girl.
"I ran into him out side, and we were attacked by youma. I wasn't fast enough to save him," Youko explained.
Both guards eyed their blood-stained visitor suspiciously. The dead man had bled enough to cover Youko's back, and her front was also splattered with brown speckles when the youma's horns pierced the old man right in front of her. It looked like, she just realized, she had stabbed someone frontally. "You have a sword," Tang stated, "Hand it over."
Youko's hand went to her side, where the Suiggu Sword was hanging from her sash. Of course she couldn't conform. They wouldn't be able to draw it anyway, and not many people in the Twelve Kingdoms own an enchanted, auto-lock sword. She also remembered with a mental wince that it was bloodied from when she dropped it in the old man's blood puddle when he passed her the medical license. She was doomed guilty of this death even with DNA testing and all. Nakajima Youko, she thought you are so dead. "I can't give you this sword."
The cries uttered by the guards upon recognizing the corpse and the delay in shutting the town gates had drawn down the upper level guards that kept time, and the man that was in charge. He was an average-built man in his mid-thirties, with short, slightly curled hair and thick eye brows that were as dark as his eyes. Strangely enough for a gate guard he looked almost sympathetic with those eye brows of his, but also well learned. He was briefed of the event, and demanded sternly for the sword that was, unknown to him, the national treasure. "Just let us check that sword," he said, "Unless you're hiding the blood stains you forgot to wipe off."
"I did not kill this man!" Youko exclaimed.
"We will decide that," he said, reaching out for the Suiggu Sword. At that the Hinman jumped to action as Youko deflect the guard master's hand and tripped guard Suai in one circular motion. She aimed at the distant mountains and sprinted.
Four guards including the guard master tailed their suspect out the town gates, but braked shortly as they saw two foaming and snarling youmas bearing down at them from beyond the youth. They promptly U-turned and scrambled back to shut the town gates. "Go get eaten by youmas!" guard Tang tossed out his last insult.
Though escaped safely with her true identity, Youko was sure her portrait would be peeking off every wall and pillar in Kokin town from the wanted poster within one day. Keiki chose to express his feelings regarding this matter with absolute silence all the way back to Kinpa Palace and well into the following day, which worked out for Youko anyway since she was storming her brain all night on how to inquire the provincial lord of You about the bandits, and maybe the strange ghost village.
Late the next day, after his return from Ei's provincial government, Keiki looked for his Empress in her study. She wasn't there. Instantly nervous, he nearly ran down Suzu on his way to Kei-Ou's bedroom right before Her Highness' chamber doors. "Suzu, is Shuujo in for the night?"
"Not at all," Suzu answered energetically, waving her palm, "In fact, she had just sent for you."
Feeling much more relaxed, Keiki thanked the dark-hair girl before stepping past her to knock on Kei-Ou's doors. Although taihos are the only ones in the whole kingdom who may enter their rulers' chamber without permission, Kei taiho never failed to ask. "Shuujo, it is I, Keiki. Requesting permission to enter."
Can the formality, would you? Though Youko helplessly, but said instead, tiredly, "Come in."
Upon entering the royal chamber, the taiho realized his empress had changed to her street outfit, and was in the middle of wrapping up the Suiggu Sword in a piece of cloth. "That was pretty fast even for one with the fastest legs in this world," she teased.
"Shuujo, you're leaving again?"
Youko gave her kirin a bemused look, "What else does it look like I'm doing?"
"Is Shuujo going back to Kokin town?" Kei taiho's expressionless face remained unchanged, and his tone of voice was flat as ever, betraying no emotions.
"Yes. There is a personal matter I want attended to," When Keiki didn't say anything else, Youko looked up from her wrapping. She expected more questions, especially since they hadn't had a real conversation since last night. Instead, Kei taiho stood there with furrowed brows and a thoughtfully perplexed expression. Apparently there was a lot on his mind as well. She almost asked what he was thinking about, but, suspecting that she wouldn't get a satisfactory answer out of him and fearing she would be ask the same question in return, she didn't. If he wasn't going to open the can of worms, neither was she. "Are you… still mad at me?"
Keiki was surprised by the question, which was written all over his pale face. "No, as long as Shuujo is unharmed," he answered honestly.
That kirin does not lie, does he? Deciding that the atmosphere had become too emotional for her taste, Kei-Ou switched to her official mode, "The provincial lord of You Province, ah… what is his name…?" The one that spoke no more than five times since I took over, I feel bad I never remembered his name.
"Minkai,"
"Since he already reported that investigation on the notorious bandit lord is already underway during the assembly this morning and he knows I'm aware of it I will leave that matter to him. I told him I expect regular and frequent reports," Kei-Ou looked up with new thoughts in mind, "What do you know about a former captain of You province named Karyuu?"
Keiki was confused by the illogical jumps from subject to subject, and trying to catch up with his mistress gave him little time to think much, which he suspected was the Empress' intension. "Karyuu is a master marksman and led a team of skilled horsemen personally to battle every time. He has yet to receive defeat, and there are some newly born legends about him in his last battle at Tanyuan City. He is very strict about military rules. I've heard he made the provincial lord of You dismount before entering his camp on foot at the battle of Tanyuan City simply because the rules forbid horse riding inside the camp," Keiki reported.
"What could have made him walk out on a successful career like that?" the young Empress mused out loud. She swung the Suiggu Sword over her shoulder, and was about to walk out of the room pretending to be still thinking when Keiki called her.
"Shuujo," Keiki said, and Youko braced herself for a lecture, "may I ask you to remain within town walls this time?"
"… That's it?" Youko asked in disbelieve. He was not going to ask me what this 'personal matter' was? Not to leave it to someone else and go take care of more important matters?
"Huh?"
"N-nothing!" He probably gave up on lecturing since I doubt I'll listen anyway. She suddenly felt a tinge of guilt tickling in her heart. There he was, her other half with whom she was supposed to work together to build and protect an entire kingdom, and she was avoiding him like the plague. Then she remembered how he actually sent all his shireis to keep half a dozen eyes on her because she sneaked away once for a few hours, and her guilt disappeared with a poof. "Can you lend me one of your shireis again?"
"Hankyou, go with Shuujo to Kokin Town,"
"Thank you. I'll try to be back tomorrow before dark," Youko said. After she and the slender, dog-like shirei took off from a courtyard, Keiki look down at his blurry shadow and call for his nyokai to follow them.
1 Where ruler of Kei lived.
2 Bull-like youmas that attacked but were cut up by Youko in an En town.
3 Suiggutou : Kei's national treasure. A sword that reflects what sits in the heart of its owner.
4 The rabbit-like youma Keiki caught as demonstration for Taiki.
5 A pale green gem attached to the sheath of the Suiggu Sword; has the ability to heal wounds and provide warmth.
I stopped halfway through this chapter last summer, and picked it up again 1 year later, with many pauses between every other few paragraphs. Hopefully things hold up in logical order and tells a good story.