Some people meet the way the sky meets the earth:

Inevitably,

and there is no stopping or holding back their love.

It exists in a finished world,

beyond the reach of common sense.

― Louise Erdrich, Tales of Burning Love

Part One: The Woods and Hills Downriver

I.

On Taichi's twenty-first year, Lady Mashima had given everything she discerned her son needed, and with a keen eye on the sign of times, decided to release Taichi from the safety of her soft cream hands and proffered him to the imperial court—the height of the wheeling and dealing of her schemes. To mark this journey with good fortune, Taichi was tasked to hunt a golden pheasant to be offered to the goddess Amaterasu. Japanese and Indian astrologers were summoned for consultation of the most auspicious day and place for the hunting to take place. Both astrologers plotted on the moon of the 16th of the sixth month and pointed at Crow's Land. The latter's revelation hardly surprised the Lord and Lady for, in the wisdom of their hearts, they had already analyzed that for the sharpening of one's character, one must face the unknown.

Crow's Land remained a mystery for most of Taichi's life in the House of Gloom. The woods were said to be wild. Traversing in its wake then would require experience and strength of will to resist the intriguing working forces common in undisturbed places so that one wouldn't get lost. He only knew of the famous Ikaruga crows that dwelt there and marvelled at the concurrence of his family's three-footed crow insignia and their existence.

Two friends accompanied Taichi in the hunt: one was a son of a samurai, his bodyguard and a childhood friend called Nishida Yusei; the other was a scholar from the capital that became his kin in his adolescence, Komano Tsutsumo. They left the House of Gloom at daybreak on their hunting trousers, bows and quivers, a knapsack for their lunch, and thick coats against the cold wave of the hills even at the peak of the day. When they reached the river, the ascending sun was already casting away the mists and shadows of Tatsuta, the sky had a soft pink hue, and they had already missed the crows flexing their wings across the water. Their boat was, to their relief, remained as inanimate as they had left it at the bank yesterday.

Taichi was filled with excitement and apprehension for the hunt. He was not concealed from his paternal ambitions and his mother's intentions so he knew the weight of this undertaking and the need of it to be successful. He willfully accepted this mission set upon his head when he came out from the womb as a beautiful boy and made it his own duty as the firstborn and only son of the current head. Everything he learned and trained for and the patience he endured to maintain in their provincial home was for the fulfilment of that filial vision.

"What wondrous things await for me in Crow's Land!" he declared as he beheld its low hills and shore. A young man's heart could only contain a little of life's pleasures until it demanded to break forth from the lips.

"Assuredly, wonderful things you have never known, Mashima. The heavens already attested their advance felicitations!" Nishida said. He too was swept along with the young heir's ardor.

"Advanced felicitations?" the scholar parroted. "My dear friend and I do not mean I'm looking down on you Mashima when I say this but we know not when and where the light and gloom overtake us so we better be careful with our steps."

"There is wisdom to that saying, Komano. And I agree." Taichi turned around to his friends. "But the gods have given us a measure of allowance to hold the wheel of fate that we might vanquish the gloom away."

Standing with a victorious stance at the bow, the two friends looked at him with adoration. He was indeed a sight to see, all the more when his youthful ardor was unshakable and his utterance prophetic that Komano took back his flighty thoughts. Because when they looked at him, they believed anything he put his mind into could be possible.

Nishida couldn't help but reinforce his initial statement with something he had always boasted as his ability. "Believe in my strong intuition, my friend. Something life-changing awaits for the young master."

Their arrival seemed to disturb the respected silence of the island, and yet the inhabitants didn't protest. At the foot of the hills, Crow's Land looked like any other forest Taichi had been to but it was eerily silent and immobile, making him question if any creatures other than the crows that had left for the day lived there.

Nishida, being the only one who had hunted in Crow's Land, led the way as they started climbing. It wasn't as difficult as the two new-comers imagined. There were multiple tracks clearly worn down by the frequent coming and going by experienced hunters. They soon noticed signs of the other inhabitants: crunches on the earth behind trees and bushes, nuts half-eaten or dragged by startled squirrels, twigs broken by an expectant couple of birds. These sounds and telltale signs accumulated in the vacuum of eeriness until it was dispelled and Taichi was put to ease.

Nishida inspected a cypress tree that got in between the trail. He pulled out his pocket knife and carved the three-foot crow insignia on its trunk. "The trees all look identical here, so in case one of us gets lost, this will serve as our meeting spot." He stepped away from the trunk and admired his handiwork.

"Before we proceed any further, I want you to remember that the forest gets dense inward so don't go far from the party. If you can no longer see any tracks, then that's the end of it. This may be a small island so it might be impossible to think you'd get lost. But once you get lost in the forest, believe me, you stay lost," Nishida added sternly.

They followed the track to the east. It went uphill at first, then it went down and skirted around a high boulder before it climbed up again. Overall, it was mostly uphill but not a very tough climb. Coniferous trees lined both sides, with dull-colored trunks, thick branches growing out every which way, dense leaves overhead. The ground was covered with undergrowth and ferns that had managed to soak up as much of the faint light as they could. In places where the sun didn't reach, moss had silently covered the rocks.

It got colder the higher they climbed but they still hadn't spotted a golden pheasant. They passed by other inhabitants of the woods but none of them could point out the way of their prey. Taichi strayed from the tracks while keeping it in sight as he examined the earth for the distinct scratching of their strong limbs that he had memorized from the pictures in books. He stayed still, steadying his breath to listen to their crowing. He keenly examined the movements of trees. There was no sign of them. The woods opened up to the summer sky so it should be easy to spot the golden gleam of pheasant feathers and the heat could have kept them running aground and away from their tree nests. So why weren't they around?

Taichi didn't realize he kept his direction away from the initial trail as he walked onwards. He followed a winding path until it got narrower and the undergrowth took over. It no longer looked like a worn-down track but like a kind of channel that water's carved out over time. The channel ended where the trees stood together forming a wall of darkness. Maybe the path continued up ahead, Taichi mused. And maybe on that side was where the golden pheasants flocked.

There was a mysterious allure to this part of the woods. It gave him an inkling that something was hidden from him. He put his one foot in front of the other until he was swallowed by the wall of trees. He found himself in a dim place, a place detached from the forest they came in, the air filled with a stagnant green, not a bird or squirrel to be heard. Up above, the mass of branches blotted out the sky. All signs of summer have vanished, and it was like seasons never existed. And then he heard voices calling his name.

Taichi halted like he was being jerked out from a trance. He slowly turned to the direction of the voices and was gravely struck at the contrast between where he stood and the path lightened by the sun. It seemed his senses took flight and he was walking blind for a moment because why would he deliberately go into the end of the path leading to a different entity. He was suddenly aware of the chilliness brought not by the woods but by the otherworldliness.

His reasoning kicked in. There was no need to panic. There were only a couple of steps separating him from the familiar reality. He strained his ears to catch Nishida and Komano's voices calling for him. The more he heard them the more it strengthened his frozen libs to walk out from the dark place.

Was this what Nishida meant by being lost in the woods? The House of Gloom was situated in a forest so he always felt he belonged in any woods, but after this incident, his senses were heightened. For the first time, he saw the plants and trees in the hills of Crow's Land for what they were—weird and unearthly. They had a physical power, their breath grazing any humans who might chance by, their gaze zeroing in on the intruder like they've spotted their prey. Like they had some dark, prehistoric, magical powers. If in the ocean deep-sea creatures rule its depths, then in the forest trees reign supreme. If it wanted to, the forest could reject or swallow him up whole.

The young master managed to calm his nerves and the natural color of his face returned when Nishida and Komano came running to him. Taichi thought it better not to tell them about his otherworldly encounter with the woods upon listening to their worried inquiries and Nishida looked like he was on the verge of scolding him for straying from them. It was his mistake in the first place and thought it unnecessary to trouble them too.

"This is more difficult than I thought." Nishida echoed everyone's exact sentiments as they rested for lunch.

"So it must be. The gods wouldn't make it easy for the next heir. There will be no honor to it." Komano said.

Taichi frowned at the ground, thinking again about his mysterious encounter and wondered if that too was part of the gods' conniving or his own. "Is that how it usually goes?"

"When an heir ventures out to a quest like this, he must prove himself worthy for the prize, is it not? Isn't that how the affairs of this world work?"

"Worthy, huh? Will the gods make the winds of fortune turn my way, I wonder?" Taichi looked at his hand which still bore his nail marks. He didn't realize he was clenching his hands so much when he was in that dark place. "Do you feel something strange about the woods?"

"All forests feel strange at first." Nishida said out of his experience.

"It's different from that. It gives me an otherworldly feeling. And it's hiding something."

"It's hiding all your golden pheasants, alright. Don't worry about it, Mashima. We still have the rest of the afternoon. I'm sure we'll find one of them by then." Nishida said cheerfully and patted him in the shoulder. He didn't like the troubled look and the grimly tightened jaw. He preferred the confidence that plastered the brilliant victorious smile on his face back at the boat. Besides, staying gloomy on this hunt wouldn't help their luck.

"Should we change direction?" Komano asked. He was as concerned as Nishida and more so than him for he chanced to touch Taichi's hand when they met on the path and the fleeting coldness that passed over his skin was unlikely to even in this cold temperature.

"No, let's go in the same way. The path is more familiar to us and I think there's more area uncovered." Taichi said as he prepared himself to start moving again.

"That's it then. We'll stop when the crows arrive." Nishida pointed to the sky. It was clearer than when they started from the House of Gloom and the sun was high up making them want to take off their coats. Later, the sun would sink low and with it the temperature of the woods, the sky would bleed, and the crows would fly over these trees.

"If the woods really bother you, Mashima," Komano proposed, "it's better to remember that a healthy amount of fear and respect is needed in the forest. I'm sure you already know that."

Taichi did know. The idea came to him when he winded down the path earlier. But he appreciated that Komano said it aloud to him. A wise council has a different effect when it comes from other's lips than just a voice in your head.

Just like before, the towering trees formed a thick wall on both sides, the sounds of scraping, knocking, cooing, chirping, and rustling echoed on these walls but the sun was brighter and higher making the forest less gloomy and the floor surer. Taichi deliberately stirred away from the track leading to the otherworldly part of the woods. He examined his surroundings again—this time he made sure he didn't stray from everyone—but there were still no signs of the pheasants. At one time he entertained a whimsical thought conceived from his tiredness and frustrating search to hunt other animals instead just like the beautiful fawn he was gazing at in a distance or the fox sneaking behind its prey for the sake of the quiver weighing on his back and the bow in his hand. But he let go of it just as quickly as the alerted fawn ran away inward to the woods and as the fox pinned down the unsuspected rabbit. It was disrespectful to shed unnecessary blood.

Soon enough the sunlight started receding from the treetops so Taichi decided to end the hunt. His sending off to the court would have to wait; his parents' excitement suspended. He had been waiting longer than customary so surely he could wait for another day.

He was walking back to the path when he heard a crowing that replenished and bolstered his energy—the sound of his prey. He looked around and spotted Komano and Nishida with their backs facing him. They were walking farther away and they didn't seem to hear what he heard. He called to them but they didn't respond so he took it upon himself.

The sound came from behind. He backtracked, not realizing he walked the long way back. Yet no golden pheasant was in sight. The sound went down as where the path winded so he followed. He skirted the path around the high boulder again, climbed up, trusting the sound to guide him until he skidded at the mouth of the narrow path swallowed by the sea of ferns and wall of trees. Back to the otherworldly part of the woods.

The crowing pheasant resonated within. If he wouldn't step foot on this channel and cross the darkness between the trees, further in where the woods closed off the sky, he wouldn't be able to get his prize for the day. So he willingly stepped into the darkness for the second time. He felt a quiver inside him, a jolt, or something was knocked out of him.

In the river of fate, Taichi Mashima had unknowingly created a diverging channel that set the course of his and his family's affairs from here on out.

Taichi groped on the trees as he proceeded onward. It felt like he was walking for a long time until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was like walking in the tame woods of Ikaruga at night, without a lantern. As he went further, he soon picked up noises and dim light suddenly appeared ahead. The noise soon became distinct and increased in volume. He could identify it as the sound of flapping wings but when he looked up there was nothing. He focused his concentration on that noise and followed it. As he did so, the light grew bigger leading him to a clearing.

He stood at the outer edge of the clearing as he looked up and was relieved to see the trees finally opened up to the sky where he saw the striking black creatures of dusk flying across. It was the first time Taichi heard the crows up close. From afar, the crows squawked shrilly, a sound of warning for children to retreat to their houses before the otherworldliness of twilight come for them; to adults it meant the last waning of the sun concludes their daytime affairs, ushering in the new ones. But at this close, the squawking of the crows meant cheerful announcement to their young awaiting on their nests that they have come home.

In the middle of his merry inspection of this unusual sight, he froze in sudden fright. In the illuminated ground he saw a lady with her back turned to him standing with an open hand to the sky. How he missed her so easily, he couldn't account for it for he was sure no one was standing there a while ago.

The gesture of her hand looked like she was waiting for good fortune to fall or she was trying to reach the sky so she could catch one of the crows. She wore a beige kimono with a blue obi and her long hair cascaded in her back with a red ribbon tied near the end.

A breeze came from where Taich stood and chaff was driven with it. It moved around them, fluttering her tied hair, the hem of her kimono, and Taichi felt his coat blowing behind him. The breeze rustled the sea of ferns and the leaves of the trees riling them to become wild spectators. It continued humming and feathering the leaves building up the agitation of an impact like it coveted the lady's attention, or it schemed to drown the sound of the crows. But before it could get to that point, the lady looked over her shoulder. Taichi felt his heart thump loudly at the same time his chest constricted like it was filled with water about to fill him up and he needed to resurface before he got drowned.

"Mashima!"

He blinked and Nishida was in front of him.

"What are you doing? Where is your weapon?"

"What are you..." Taichi scrambled away from Nishida's sinking nails on his arm only to hit his back on a rock. He found himself sitting on the ground and a good distance away from him was where the track ended and where the separated entity began. "What...happened?"

"We should be asking you that," Nishida said crossly but worry laced his voice.

"We found you unconscious over there," Komano pointed back at the entrance of the path he got away from. "We don't know how long you've been knocked out but you came back easily to us. Can you remember anything? Are you hurt?"

"No sign of bleeding," Nishida affirmed above him.

Taichi rubbed his head as he racked at his memory. He was mulling more on the fact that he was unconscious. Was he dreaming all along? But it felt so real. He could trace back everything up to the point the lady turned her head. Nonetheless, he couldn't account what the lady looked like or happened next or why he ended up outside from that place.

"I saw someone there. A lady."

Komano looked back at the track leading to the otherworldly. "There?"

"You went there when I explicitly instructed you not to? Are you crazy?" Nishida was back to his fiery temper again. It was only because Taichi felt so bewildered that he was able to tolerate him.

Komano placated his friend. "Now, now, Nishida. You don't want us to worry about your blood pressure too."

Taichi stood up and walked over to the entrance of the path. "And where are you going, young master ? Are you going back there again to check on a lady when you're completely defenseless?"

Taichi detected Nishida's mockery but then again he knew that his over protectiveness and concern came out as a form of scolding so he let it pass. His statement had also taken him aback. How come he had just realized he was defenseless? From this alone, he had broken multiple rules of a warrior. He searched the ground for his bow and quiver but they were nowhere.

"It's wiser not to go there anymore, Mashima. It's already twilight," Komano said calmly. He walked to him carrying his bow and arrow and handed them back to its owner. "Does the forest get to you this much?

"I wasn't imagining things."

"I'm sure you're not. It's the woods—it's showing you things. Dangerous things." Nishida eyed his only weapon of defence. Taichi understood what Nishidaw was conveying. If it went to the extent of unarming himself then it was, as bright as summer's day, a dangerous lure only a fool would fall for.

The hunting party of the House of Gloom didn't talk about what happened in the woods when they came down the hills or when they crossed the river. The weariness of the day kept their thoughts and concerns at bay and they all recognized the need for space to clear their heads. The guards who greeted them shared their disappointment and they wished the young master for better results tomorrow.

They were walking in the outer hall that connected from the entrance gate of the house when Nishida immediately pounced at the elephant of the room. "What are you going to do now, Mashima?"

The two friends watched the young lord walking a little ahead of them. Taichi's broad, straight back was as resolute as how they had always known him. Except for that unnaturally alarming behavior earlier, he seemed to be the same Taichi Mashima: highly respected within these walls and a courtier who would be surely favored among all men.

"I'll write to my mother about our unfortunate adventure," Taichi replied. He didn't sound disappointed or frustrated either and Nishida curiously picked at this but kept his doubts to himself.

"Do you still think this is a test of worthiness, Komano?"

"Never have I ever been more convinced," Komano said, pushing his glasses to the nook of his nose. "Moreover, I don't think we should continue hunting tomorrow."

Taichi quickly whirled around, stopping the other two in surprise. "And why is that?"

"You need to rest first, Mashima. There was something about the woods that was enchanting you and I think it's taking a toll on you."

"No, I'm fine, I'm fine. Can't you see?" Taichi opened his arms sideward as if his whole appearance was showing the truth of his statement.

"You may look alright today, but what about tomorrow? Would you still be okay? Will you be strong enough for the otherworldly? I have a feeling that aside from a test, something else is distracting you from what you're supposed to do." The scholar stated this so sternly that the others were forced to consider the possibility of that occurrence without resistance. "I suggest you rest. Just for a day." Komano said softly. A plea of a concerned friend to a friend.

"I understand, Komano," Taichi answered. He really did but he knew what he had to do. "But I cannot waste another day. Do not worry about me. I know I haven't reached my limit yet. If the gods want to test me, they sure have more coming!"

A local hunter was called upon that evening to accompany the hunting party the following day. He boasted himself as the best hunter in the locality; his luck mostly spent on tracking and hunting the rare and difficult beasts and he got the public consensus to attest to it.

This time they dispersed in the woods into pairs. Taichi and the hunter tracked the north, Nishida and Komano to the west and they were to meet at the tree with the three-legged crow at the height of the day. Taichi had renewed his strength and spirit, more conscious now of the enchantment of the woods that seemed to only affect him. His senses might be in the hunt but his mind kept going back to the dark path that led to the clearing. And the lady he saw there.

She had never left his mind. When he thought about her, the fright of the woods diminished for he knew that the lady had more power over him. He had proven it when he slept last night and dreamt of coming back to the clearing again and again until he woke up. Even in his dream, she didn't show her face. The woods he knew he could dispel; the unknown that came with the lady he could not and he was not afraid of this feeling. He was more than willing to venture into the woods. He wanted to see how deep she could influence him—see and feel it. So is our wanton attraction towards the mysterious.

He was glad that the hunter, Fukuda-san, was with him. He was guiding the way and was doing most of the work which in his normal senses he would find insulting and annoying but right now he sheltered under the hunter's self-proclaimed obligation to be of utmost service while he succumbed to his wandering thoughts of the lady.

They rested on a mossy rock facing south after cautiously following a lead for twenty-minutes only to end up with nothing. Slipping through the boughs of trees, Taichi could see a sparkling horizon. It glistened like a cluster of stars.

"It's the first time I see the Tatsuta River from here. It's so beautiful."

Fukuda-san was already looking at the same view and he smiled that the young lord was pleased by the view in their humble land. "Right she is, my lord."

"You looked more pleased than me, Fukuda-san. I see that the river still charms its people as it does to the visitors."

"It is mostly because you have honored your servant with your pleasure, my lord. It is too much for this lowly heart to take this in by myself. You have amplified a simple emotion I could only take in small doses."

"Please. Do not think too much of me. And woe to me who steals Tatsuta's glory."

Fukuda bowed his head at Taichi's request. They were silent for a while as they continued to watch the glistening waters.

"For us hunters, Tatsuta offers relief. When we look back at it when we're having a hard day, we hear our children playing in the bank, we feel the kiss our wives left when we leave our lowly hut, and we could picture out their overjoyed faces if we cross Tatsuta at the end of the day with our quarry. Then we resume our hunt because our spirits are renewed."

"It is a breath-taking sight."

"My lord surely had a better head than mine but I sometimes find it hard to say we cannot step in the same river twice."

"What do you mean, Fukuda-san?"

"The river was here before I was born but my mother loved this river and would often come here when she carried me. I'd like to say I saw Tatsuta when I was still in my mother's womb. And so to me, Tatsuta has always been the same whatever the season and the tides of the day. The same water I bathed and played with as a child, and now my children are bathing and playing in it. It is out of service during winter and the summer is the best time to bath there. It is the same river that exchanges my father's hunt for money used to buy us commodities like what I am doing to my family. Tatsuta is always flowing but it tastes just the same. It's easy to forget rivers change the next time you come to it. Oh. I'm sorry, my lord. I have been talking a lot."

"No, it's fine. I completely understand you, Fukuda-san." Taichi said and he meant it.

They continued their hunt but Taichi was even more distracted. It didn't help that Fukuda was in front of him. So when he stared at his back, hardened and hunched by years of labor, Taichi couldn't help but wrap his mind around the story he shared. The striking words echoed repeatedly in his head.

We cannot step in the same river twice.

Yes, he understood it as much as he understood how Fukuda saw the river as the same. Perhaps humans are wired to that line of thinking. An instinctive characteristic for self-preservation. There is always a price to pay when we see our lives like a river's water that always changes and always flows. We could not always be assured that we could pay with our lot. We acknowledge the river flows and we choose to see that it has always been the same. In our strife for self-preservation, there is more risk in the chance of knowing and seeking what is beyond than keeping at bay.

Taichi wasn't an exception to this universal law. It was like what Komano said: a good amount of respect and fear is needed for most of life's affairs. His mother had taught him this philosophy even before he had the ability to comprehend them. Follow the rules and it shouldn't get too precarious. Cross the line and beasts of silence lay in wait to maul you with razor-sharp claws. It applied in most aspects of his life. Rigid discipline was established—a necessity to achieve who he must become.

Like all men of duty coupled with grand ambitions, there was no need to know what was beyond the river bend. Duty displaced this. For what more did he need to know when it was already established what he had to do? Taichi Mashima was to fulfil the duty his family had set before him and he was willing to do it. He had mastery of all his lessons, he had developed his natural talents and secretly honed his hand with the sword, bow, and spear. Without arrogance, he knew what he could boast of because that was his duty. All this in preparation for the court—where the greatest act of his duty must be performed.

You cannot step in the same river twice.

He remembered the channel-like path which led to the mysterious part of the woods. How it looked like water once flowed there which resulted in the formation of the natural channel. How, on treading on that channel, it slipped from his mind that he wasn't following it because of the pheasant sound but out of a sole desire to know where it would lead him, without expectations. It led him to the clearing where he felt a special connection to. It led him to the lady whose hand reached to the sky. As if she too was waiting for something to happen.

The river bend. He had to go back there. To stay and look there for a long time until he was sure of what he saw and felt.

They hadn't found a new lead of the pheasants until it was high time for lunch and met with the others. Komano and Nishida also had the same disappointing news. There were only tracks and leads but not the prey. Taichi was too preoccupied to get engaged with their pity. He was thinking how and when to get away from Fukuda-san without anyone noticing.

"Are golden pheasants normally difficult to hunt, Fukuda-san?" Komano asked.

"I have my fair share of golden pheasant hunting and this is the first time they're being difficult," he said like he was bearing everyone's disappointment. "One would be made to think they are scheming something else."

Taichi wasn't able to get away from Fukuda until late in the afternoon. For as they trekked the same path they came down from a while ago, they sighted pheasants. It wasn't the golden pheasant they were looking for but it still gave them a pleasant surprise. Fukuda quickly tuned in to his hunter instincts, and Taichi abandoned his plan of leaving and the spirit and vigor of yesterday when he first set his boat to Crow's Land equipped him.

They saw more of them and followed their flock. It must be nearby, both men thought. The pheasants tolerated their presence as long as they stayed a good distance away. They saw three kinds of species but not a golden pheasant was in sight. The remaining time of the afternoon was spent on shadowing these animals, holding on to the hope that a gold one would be nearby as they went from one flock to another until they felt like fools who had wasted the afternoon away because they were too absorbed to a convenient hope.

"It seems the golden pheasants do not want to be found, my lord," Fukuda said, sounding sorry once again.

"Maybe something else wanted to be found," Taichi mumbled under his breath as he looked up at the sky that was changing colors. "That's enough for today. Let's go back, Fukuda-san."

When they reached their meeting place, Komano and Nishida weren't there yet and Taichi saw this as his chance to escape. "Excuse me for a while, Fukuda-san. I need to take a leak." He pointed at the bushes going to the east.

"Yes, yes, my lord. I will stay here and not disturb you as I wait for the others."

Taichi was so quick in his steps that he arrived at the intersection leading to the dark path without crossing with anyone. He let out his breath before he cautiously went down the channel-path for the third time. Just like yesterday, the trees towered higher and higher, the air grew denser by a minute. But the fear that made him shudder wasn't there anymore. His steps were active and self-possessed until the light from the clearing came towards him from the darkness and saw—blurry it might be in the edges—the lady.

A sense of urgency came over Taichi and though this feeling brought his feet to a flight, he didn't pursue this. Somehow he knew that the lady would not go away until he reached her. He walked on at a normal pace until he heard the crows squawking and flapping ahead and above but he didn't look at them this time. His eyes were fixated at the person's back. The blurry edges swivelled into a stable outline until the lady was in clear sight.

She was not reaching out her hand but was playing a song on a flute. Her flute somehow had overtones lacking in most instruments. If there were words to her music it would have carried the lack of impermanence and awareness of things. It was bewildering and it clung to every part of him. Her music even tamed the scheming wind. Instead of coveting for her attention, it was playing along with it; chaff dancing around her on the tune of her flute until the last crow flew over her and a note lingered on until it faded on her breath.

Surprisingly enough, the lady slowly turned half-way towards where he was standing and they caught each other in the eyes as silence settled in. This time, she was wearing a powder blue kimono with white waves at the edges and swirly clouds above them; and a blue-green obi hugged her waist firmly. Her long hair was pinned up with a single hair clip with a sakura ornament hanging at the tip. For Taichi, it felt like he was standing there for a long time because he remembered these details even after they parted and it was something that plagued his mind until they met again.

She was beautiful now that he was standing and seeing her closely, under the gracious lights of dusk.

"You're here."

Two words stated as if a long heated argument had finally come up with an answer that couldn't be dissuaded either to the right or to the left.

"I'm here." An answer that went out from his lips first before going to his head.

"You also came here yesterday and left quickly." Her voice was soft and curious.

"So it wasn't a dream," Taichi said more to himself although he kept looking at her straight in the eyes for he could not tear his eyes away.

She laughed lightly behind her sleeve. She turned fully to him. "Do I look like a dream?"

Taichi smiled. Her laughter was a melody he wanted to spend his whole life answering. He offered her a poem as an answer.

"Reality, within the depths of twilight

Has no more substance than the lucent dream."

The lady tilted her head and kept silent. Then she said, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know," said Taichi. The lady looked puzzled and he registered how unintelligent he might have sounded. He honestly didn't know why he came, he just knew he must but that didn't seem acceptable and clearly, it wasn't the answer the lady expected because now she had a small frown on her face.

"The pheasants!" Taichi said when the silence stretched on and the hollow of it reminded him of the sound that led him here yesterday. "I came to hunt for the golden pheasants."

"You can't find them at this time," the lady said, "and you can't find them here." She glanced at the dark wall of trees surrounding them as if to make her point.

He figured that much, of course, but the animal didn't concern him at the moment. "May I know who I'm speaking to?"

"You live across the river." She was looking past him but he caught a subtle faraway glint in her big, doe eyes.

"Yes."

The lady only turned her head away and looked pensively at the dark forest that compassed about them. "I have to go now. And you should, too; it's getting dark." She made a quick glance at the sky. Twilight was shrinking away and she turned to leave.

"Wait." And as he said so the lady stopped. "I want to see you again. That is if it pleases you."

"You'll get lost in the dark if you don't go now," she said quietly.

"Would you at least answer my question?" He stepped forward. There was a sudden rush of wind between them. It wasn't the same wind that greeted him last time. It was more ominous, intending to separate him from the lady as he felt it pushing him back. It was getting louder and unfriendlier.

The lady looked back at him with a fleeting look he could hardly read since her sleeve was covering the lower part of her face. Then she walked straight to the darkness in front of him until she was seen no more. Yet the wind stayed, imploring him to go back from where he came.

Taichi walked away with lesser trouble and it took him a shorter time than when he came in. When he arrived at the other end, he caught sight of the last crimson light on top of the trees and he heard his friends calling for him. He looked back at the wall of trees before he hurried downhill. Then it dawned on him that he didn't come out of the path in the same way as last time.

CHAPTER NOTES:

Heian Period. In this period of Japan, the aristocrats (the only social group that defined this period) made a cult of beauty. According to historian George Sansom, "The most striking feature of the aristocratic society of the Heian capital was its aesthetic quality...even in its emptiest follies, it was moved by considerations of refinement and governed by a rule of taste." What constituted good taste? That which was beautiful. Thus, my emphasis and focus on the physical attributes of the characters and how in their looks alone, they gain respect and reverence by the people around them. Like, Reiko, who though living in the province had men from the capital fell on their knees for her hand. It could be understood then why Reiko, despite her low rank gained power and degree of control from men out of her beauty alone. Or how Nishida and Komano were inspired just by looking at Taichi.

Beauty and vanity are one of the main themes in this story. These drive the actions, motivations of the characters, and conflicts are created because of it.

Heian aristocratic women. A matriarchial social system dominated Japanese society in ancient times. Women even get involved in politics. Married women often remained in the home of their parents where they wait visits from her husband or someone else; and if they move to the house of their husband it would usually be on their later years. I didn't mention in the prologue but Reiko lived in the Mashima Heian mansion when she married Oligoto.

Moon of the 16th. In Japanese it is called izayoizuki, the moon after the night of the full moon. This moon seems to hesitate in the twilight before rising, hence the term izayoi (hesitating). It is also be called the "waiting for twilight moon". I chose this moon to signify what Taichi is going through in this hunt. Though the astrologers said it was a lucky day, Taichi didn't find a golden pheasant but had a lot of waiting to do: whether it be waiting for his prey, waiting for the sending off to the court, or waiting on the lady (obviously it's Chihaya) at twilight.

It is purely coincidental that Taichi's namesake poem "Tachi wakare" is poem 16 in the Hyakunin Isshu and Taichi has a moon dichotomy in the OG story. Don't you think Tachiwakare is waiting poem too? Waiting for the voice of the beloved telling the poet to come. *gushes at all the romantic implications* I also found a song title "16th moon" and the lyrics conveyed the same sentiments in this chapter and the next. Go check it out. You don't know how amazed I felt when I discovered these details working for my story.

Golden Pheasant. The pheasant is said to be the divine messenger of Amaterasu. It is an important symbol of power, abundance, and promise. I chose a golden pheasant because it's closely related to the sun attribute of the goddess.

The path leading to the otherworldy part of the woods. If you notice, I described it as "a kind of channel that water's carved out over time". Connect this to how I describe Taichi's feelings the first time Chihaya glanced his way, "his chest constricted like it was filled with water about to fill him up and he needed to resurface before he got drowned" and this statement: In the river of fate, Taichi Mashima had unknowingly created a diverging channel that set the course of his and his family's affairs from here on out. Yes, I'm playing with river and water imagery here. Though water is more of Arata's "element" Tatsuta is the main shadowing figure in the story. Also, like how Arata shadows the OG story. Huh, another coincidence I didn't plan.

Twilight. On the two times, Taichi saw Chihaya, it was on the verge of twilight. Remember in Kimi no Na wa, Mitsuha and Taki's timelines coincide at twilight too. In Japanese twilight is translated as Tasokare meaning "who is that". Taken from Yukino's explanation in the movie, "Twilight, when it's neighter day or night. When the wold blurs and one might encounter something not human". Is Chihaya not human then? She is. For the peak of Taichi's encounter of the otherworldy in Crow's Land, he must meet it at twilight.

The wind. Is to add Taichi's "element". Remember in Taichi and Chihaya's Yoshino tournament and Chihaya said something like a blast of wind is blowing this way about to hit me. It's the same imagery I had in the first time Taichi saw Chihaya with her hand reaching out to the sky. "it coveted the lady's attention, or it schemed to drown the sound of the crows" in the same way that Taichi wanted Chihaya to look at him properly in their Yoshino match, the wind signifies Taichi's unspoken desire in this story to make Chihaya look his way too. The second time the winds are unfriendly because "her music even tamed the scheming wind". It's like how Chihaya "won" over him in their karuta match, the Chihaya here had a "control" over their meeting. She did the asking without answering any of Taichi's questions.

Chihaya's bewildering music on the flute. I described Chihaya's music as If there were words to her music it would have carried the lack of impermanence and awareness of things. This might not be enough to explain why it bewildered Taichi. An understanding of Heain literature connected to their rule of taste is needed. The dark side of Heian literature is in the form of deep-seated sense of anxiety caused by impermanence (mujokan) and the poignant sense of pathos associated with the transformation and passing away of things called mono no aware (the awareness of things). Heian aristocrats had a sharp sensitivity to these elements. Thus, Taichi was bewildered on their absence in Chihaya's music for it was beyond the ordinary sensibilities, contributing more to the otherworldliness. More on this next chapter.

Her laughter was a melody he wanted to spend his whole life answering. Alluding to poem 16 again. The willingnes of the poet to return (answer) when he hears his beloved calling (pining) for him.

Reality within the depths of twilight... the original text is "night" instead of twilight. It's from an anonymous author in Kokinshu 647.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

It's already 11/16 in our place, midnight, so I guess I missed my own deadline. Lmao. I'm so not good at deadlines. I will not be announcing my next update because I can't keep my word (plus I have studying, procrastinating, and Netflix to do) but my goal is still next Sunday, GMT+8.

Oh yeah. Characters may act OC: I have a confident Taichi and a womanly Chihaya for the main part. So to remind you of the essence of the characters, I stuck with some of their inner conflicts in the original story. Example, Taichi's trouble with the luck of the draw is a struggle against fate. Then there's Chihaya's subtle issue of loneliness. I hope I can translate these into my story.

I hope you like my first chapter. Is it too boring? Too long? I accept constructive criticisms since I also want to improve in my writing. Anyway, until next time! Leave me some love if you can. XD