Kaori awoke disoriented. As her consciousness began to return, her first sensation was to feel very cold; her first impulse was to settle over the body that was near to hers.
"Mom... mom?" she asked sleepily, hugging her companion's chest, looking for some warmth.
Her second sensation was feeling very hungry. Then she began to open her eyes slowly.
But all of the above was replaced by a strange bewilderment as Kaori watched the glow of the dawn sky in front of her face.
For a few seconds her brain refused to understand what her eyes were seeing: a meadow of grass gently swaying in the breeze, and illuminated by the faint twilight of dawn. None of that was what she used to see when she woke up every morning.
Not understanding where she was, she gently pushed herself with her arms to separate herself from the warm body she was sleeping on, and then she saw Ayami sleeping underneath her.
Ayami's face showed an expression of pain and sorrow, and her cheeks were marked by the passage of tears that had left clear furrows through the black smear of soot that littered her face.
"Ayami-san!" Kaori finally exclaimed, unable to understand what was going on.
Ayami mumbled something incoherent, and began to wake up, groaning as she tried to move and felt the hardness of the rock beneath her. For a couple of seconds, she looked quizzically at Kaori, and then around her, trying to figure out where she was as well.
"Kaori-sama?" Ayami asked in confusion, "Are you alright? What's wrong with you?"
"Ayami-san, where are we?" asked the girl, still not understanding the situation.
Ayami looked at Kaori, and suddenly her mind snapped awake. She opened her eyes and looked around in alarm, trying to make sure there was no danger lurking around them.
"Sshh, Kaori-sama, wait a moment," said Ayami, trying to sit up and looking in all directions, up, down and out of the small grotto they were sheltered in.
Ayami struggled out of the cave where they had spent the night. The hardness of the rock and the cold had numbed her body. After stretching as best she could, she helped the girl out with her.
Kaori, still half asleep, was still staring at everything around her with a deeply puzzled look on her face. She took a couple of steps and turned to look at the mass of stone they were emerging from, and suddenly all the memories of the night before came rushing back to her mind like a sledgehammer.
"Ayami-san... my sister... Hanako, where is she? Where are my parents?" she asked in alarm, looking at the woman.
Ayami felt a lump in her throat. She looked off into the distance, towards where she figured the shrine should be, and saw only wisps of white smoke rising slowly in the cold morning air.
"I... I don't know, Kaori-sama. We should look for them now, we should go back and ask for help. Your parents and sister must be very worried about you, so we'd better go back."
"I want my mommy! I want to be with mommy!" said Kaori starting to cry inconsolably.
Ayami approached the girl and hugged her to calm and comfort her.
"It's fine, don't cry, calm down, calm down, everything will be all right, let's go back and meet everyone, shall we? We'd better go right away, so they won't be worried."
"But... they're... they're all right?" asked the girl between hiccups.
"They have to be. They have to be..." said Ayami trying to encourage herself. "Let's go."
"But I want us to go home!" Kaori cried.
"Last night we barely escaped the fire through the forest, it is not safe to go back by that same route. We'd better go down and take the stairway route. Don't worry, it will be easier that way."
Ayami retrieved the blanket they had covered themselves with and placed it over both of them, and they began to walk hugging each other.
With the light of dawn, Ayami could recognize which area of Itomori they were in. With the lake as a reference, they had advanced about two kilometers diagonally up the mountain. She remembered that the path around the lake had to be nearby. If they reached it, they could move easily enough to find help in Itomori and return to the shrine.
"Look, Kaori-sama, there, there's a mulberry tree!" said Ayami happily pointing to some wild trees laden with berries that were a little further along their path.
"Can we eat them?" asked the little girl excitedly.
"Yes, let's get some, we need to eat something."
Kaori and Ayami moved along a wild trail, always stopping at the fruit-bearing trees. Ayami, much taller than the girl, reached into the branches and shake them, making Kaori laugh, who would cover her head from the rain of fruit, then pick the berries that fell to the ground. Kaori kept the ripest and sweetest berries, and for a while the fear and exhaustion left their minds. And so they moved on until they both relieved their hunger.
A short time later they came upon the road around the lake, and reached one of the populated areas of Itomori as the first rays of the sun began to peek over the mountains.
The morning activity was beginning, some peasants and shopkeepers were leaving their homes to go about their work. Women were opening the doors of their houses to air them out. But all the people stopped to look at Ayami and Kaori with some surprise and concern on their faces.
Kaori noticed the strange attention they were receiving, and pressed herself against Ayami's body.
"What's going on, Ayami-san? Why are they looking at us like that?"
Ayami had also noticed the strange attitude of the people, and tried to keep walking without drawing even more attention to themself.
"I don't know, maybe it's because of our clothes," Ayami answered with the first thing that came to her mind.
"But if these are the clothes of the sanctuary, they have always known them."
"You are right, I don't understand..."
They continued walking in that environment approaching the densest area of buildings where the small local market and the central well of the market were installed.
Then both women stopped dead in their tracks in surprise at an unexpected sight. There were several dozen dead people, of various sizes and ages, lying side by side, some covered with mats, some with cloths, and many still exposed without any protection. Most of the corpses showed unmistakable signs of burns from the fire.
Ayami was stunned for a few seconds without moving, just watching. Suddenly she noticed that Kaori was just as shocked as she was looking at the scene. She grabbed Kaori by the shoulders and turned the girl towards her, hugging her and hiding the image from the girl's eyes.
"Kaori-sama, you mustn't see that, you mustn't see that, forgive me..." excused Ayami, trying to keep control as she herself was about to burst into tears from the shock.
They remained in each other's arms for almost a minute, motionless on the edge of the square.
A middle-aged woman with a broom in her hand came out of one of the closed shops around the square a few meters away from where the girls were. She was about to start sweeping in front of her shop when she saw Ayami and Kaori hugging like statues.
"By the gods, is that you? Ayami-san, is that you?" asked the woman, dropping the broom loudly.
"Ume-san?" Ayami asked in surprise, turning to the woman.
The shopkeeper stood staring at them for a couple of seconds, and then made a dash back inside her shop, shouting, as if she had seen a ghost.
Ayami and Kaori were perplexed looking at the place where the woman had disappeared, without being able to say anything. Then they heard someone running out from inside the house.
The first to come out was a young girl, dressed as a Miko maiden. She took three or four steps looking in all directions, and when she saw them, she ran towards Ayami and Kaori to hug them.
"Ayami, sister, you're alive! You're alive!"
"Amane-chan!" Ayami shouted in surprise, opening her arm to receive her younger sister who jumped into her arms.
"You're alive!" exclaimed the Miko priestess, separating from the two and looking at them in anguish. "Kaori-sama! Are you hurt? How... how did... how did you manage to escape?
"We're fine, sis, we're fine. We left the shrine last night with Hanako-sama and Kaori-sama, when the fire was coming. But we got separated from Hanako-sama when we were escaping, is she with you?" Ayami asked anxiously.
"No, she's not," Amane answered.
"But have you seen her?" Kaori asked anxiously.
"No, we haven't seen her, Kaori-sama, I'm sorry, I just pray that she's alive..."
"And why are you here, in Ume-san's house? Where are the others?" Ayami asked, a bit puzzled.
Amane opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. As if looking for help, she turned towards the house she came out of. At that moment Mrs. Ume together with Masaru, Mr. Koba's son, came out of the house.
Masaru, seeing them, ran towards them as well, but when he reached the women's side he fell to his knees and clung to Kaori's kimono.
"Kaori-sama, I'm so sorry, I couldn't do anything, I couldn't do anything..."
"What's wrong?" asked the girl, looking at Ayami and Amane in confusion.
"You don't... know?" Amane asked.
"What happened? Amane-chan, Masaru-san What's going on?" Ayami asked in alarm.
Amane took a couple of steps back, and could no longer look them in the face. Pouting, she began to talk to them between hiccups.
"The shrine... the shrine... no longer exists."
"Did the fire destroy everything?" Ayami asked in amazement, "But... where are the others?"
"We... Amane-san and I came to get supplies yesterday afternoon," Masaru began to recount, his eyes wandering. "We came to Ame-san's house, and when we started to go back... we heard the screams of fire... we wanted to go back to the shrine, but the fire had reached the staircase and the forest and we couldn't go forward... and we had to go back... then we met my father, who was coming from the artisan sector, but we couldn't do anything. We had to go back..."
"So, are you with Koba-san?" Ayami asked hopefully.
"He's at Ame-san's house too, but he's in bed," Amane explained.
"Why? Is he hurt?"
"He... he's lost in thought, speechless," Masaru continued. "The three of us were up late helping people in the village, unable to get near the shrine, but by dawn the fire had subsided, father and I were able to go up... and... no one was left-" but Masaru's words got stuck because of the lump in his throat.
"Mom and Dad aren't at the shrine?" Kaori asked quizzically.
"Kaori-sama, I'm so sorry... there's no one left alive. Everyone died! Everyone!", answered Amane in tears.
"No, no, no, no, it can't be, I saw them come out of the buildings!" said Ayami.
"They're all dead!" shouted Masaru. "We found all their bodies, charred or shattered by the fire!"
"Sha-Shattered?" repeated Ayami in skepticism.
"Keitaro-sama, Hiroshi-sama, my mother, Jiro...! Everyone! Everyone! Aaggghh!" shouted Masaru in agony. He started pounding the ground with his fists, out of control.
"No... daddy couldn't... mommy can't be…" Kaori looked at Ayami throwing her clothes at her and then hitting Ayami with her small fists. "Ayami-san, you told me they were fine. You told me they were fine! Why? Why?"
"Kaori-sama... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," Ayami said, hugging Kaori to hold her back. "I didn't know... I didn't know it!"
"Now... we're... alone," Amane said.
"Nooooo! Nooooo!" cried Kaori in tears, "Mommy! Mommy!"
But the cries of pain from Kaori and her companions could get no response. They could only receive the pitying glances of Ume-san and her family, who had gone outside, and that of other morning passersby who were around them at that hour.
§
"Kiyo-sama, Kiyo-sama, please wake up."
Kiyo opened her eyes, and saw Masao kneeling near her. She gave a lazy yawn and looked around. The sky was just clearing; dawn was soon to come, and the sound of birds announced the new day.
"What is going on, Masao-san?"
"I got some milk for the baby at that farm we saw on the road yesterday."
"Really? -That's great! But how are we going to give it to him?" Kiyo asked quizzically, settling down to look at the baby sleeping against her body.
"If you want to go back to sleep, I'll take care of it."
"I'm going to help you, I don't want to miss this, give me a minute."
Kiyo moved a little to the side and took the small bundle in her arms. Seeing the baby so close, sleeping, filled her with a desire to want to hold him and protect him like she had never felt for anyone before.
"You're going to be able to feed, little baby. Your big sister will help you."
Masao fetched a bowl and a small copper pot to heat the milk in, under Kiyo's watchful eye.
"It was hard to get this," Masao explained as he prepared everything. "It was still dark and they almost came out with sticks thinking I was a bandit. But I managed to get along with the farmers and convince them to give me milk."
"Well, how kind," said the girl with some relief at the result.
"Kind? Fuh!" Masao snorted disdainfully. "Farmers don't know kindness. They were only nice when I offered them a silver monme for the milk."
Kiyo's eyes widened in shock. She looked at the container Masao had brought with him. It couldn't have been more than two liters of milk.
"Did you pay them... a silver monme... for that little bit of milk?"
"We promised to save this baby, didn't we?"
Masao looked at the Miko maiden. The morning light gave her a strange, almost unearthly beauty. If he didn't know she was badly injured, he would have thought she was a sleeping goddess. Then he looked at Kiyo who was holding the baby, who was beginning to whimper weakly.
"Last night the girl woke up for a minute. I was with her. She asked me to save her brother. I can't... let another baby die. I can't..."
"Masao-san, relax, it's okay, we're going to save him."
The man nodded without being able to speak any more. He continued to prepare the milk in silence. Kiyo remained respectfully silent at Masao's pitiful face. She only interrupted him when she saw the milk begin to steam.
"Masao-san, isn't that too hot?"
"The farmer's wife recommended to heat the milk very well, but she told me that it was too strong for a small baby, so we should mix it half milk, half clean water. And to make sure it was warm with my little finger, it shouldn't burn. With the cool water it should cool down."
"Oh, wow...I've never had to do that," Kiyo exclaimed. "At home, that's what my mother does, she always watched my little brothers."
"Someday you'll be a mother too, Kiyo-sama. And then you'll learn that and many other things."
To be a mother. The idea sounded so strange in Kiyo's mind. A day before she would have thought it was crazy, but now with the little baby in her arms, the idea kept flitting through her mind. A strange feeling tugged at her to take care of that little baby. «Will this feel like being a mom?» thought Kiyo, smiling to herself.
"Well, the milk is ready, I'll cool it and we'll give it to him," Masao said, calling Kiyo attention.
"Hey, but... how are we going to give it to him?"
"Uhm..." Masao looked around thinking, "I know! Let's wet a little cloth with the milk so the baby can sip it like a breast."
"Huh? Oh... I get it," Kiyo said, admiring the man's ingenuity.
Masao returned to the cart and searched through the cloth until he found a piece that seemed appropriate.
"Kiyo-sama, I need you to hold the baby as if you were going to breastfeed him, so he'll feel comfortable, but I'll hold the cloth close to his mouth."
They both settled down and Masao put the milk-soaked cloth near the baby's mouth. The baby was so weak and sleepy that it did not react at first, but when a few drops of milk reached his mouth, he became active and began to greedily search for more. With her little hands she began to clutch at Kiyo's breast as he sipped the milk from the cloth.
"It's working!" Kiyo exclaimed ecstatically. The sensation of holding the baby to her breast and watching it suckle sent a chain of emotions she couldn't contain.
"We're going to save you, baby. You're going to be all right. And your blood sister will be, too."
When the baby had had enough of drinking milk, Masao gently picked him up and carried him to rock him to sleep. Kiyo got up and went to his brother Jisuke, who was starting to wake up.
"Good morning, brother. Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning, Kiyo-chan. I got some sleep, I think."
Jisuke sat up and looked at the Miko priestess beside him. He touched her face. She was warm, and seemed to be sleeping, but the hissing sound of her breathing made it clear that she was breathing heavily.
"You did it, beautiful girl," Jisuke spoke tenderly to her.
The man stood up, and began to move to prepare breakfast. Soon the camp was in full swing.
"What shall we do now, Jisuke-sama," asked the ox-driver Tetsuo when they were all gathered around eating.
"We'll wait for Tanaka-san to come back. I hope the danger is gone; I don't want to take any unnecessary risks."
The four continued to eat in silence. Unbeknownst to them, they were all thinking about what fate would have in store for them that day.
§
Hanako had been floating in a mental limbo that fluctuated between consciousness and unconsciousness. She had woken up a couple of times and seen herself in the night, surrounded by strangers. They seemed friendly and concerned, but she was so weak that she didn't even have the capacity to be afraid of them. She had barely managed to ask them to save her little brother Toshiki. It was the only concern that was on her mind.
She was like this several times. Until suddenly she felt conscious again. A strange warmth enveloped her. The pain and anguish of breathing suddenly felt far away, until it faded. She opened her eyes, and found herself sitting on a quiet grey sandy beach, facing a lake. Small waves made a soft rhythmic sound as they crashed against the shore. The blue sky was very bright.
Hanako gazed with a unique peace of mind at the scenery for a long time, until she suddenly realized that this wasn't Lake Itomori. There were no mountains surrounding it. «Is this the sea?» she thought to herself, remembering her father's tales of his travels.
She looked up at the sky and was astonished to see that there was no sun in the celestial sky. She turned and behind her she saw trees and plants of an unknown kind, and beyond that the landscape was diffused in a strange mist.
«Where am I?» she thought, but stillness did not leave her. She kept looking around, until she saw that from one end of the beach two blurred figures were approaching her, advancing through the mist. When they were about fifty feet away from her, the figures began to define themselves. It was her parents.
"Mommy, Daddy!" cried the girl, jumping to her feet and running towards them.
Hanako's parents waited for her and welcomed her with open arms.
"I knew we'd find you here," Kyomi said with a smile. "It's all right now, Hanako."
"I was so scared for you. Dad, where are we? Where...?"
Suddenly Hanako realized that she was alone.
"Little Toshiki! -Mom, I don't know where-!"
Kyomi put a finger over Hanako's mouth and gently shushed her.
"Shh, it's okay. He's fine. Kaori is fine too. They won't be coming with us for a while. They still have to continue with their tasks. They still have to fulfill Musubi's designs."
"So, that means..." Hanako asked, her eyes widening in astonishment.
"It means we've done our part, my child," Hiroshi replied. "Now everything we fought for and did is done. None of that matters now, because it is no longer in our hands. Only Shitori-no-kami knows what will happen, and he will continue to guide the Miyamizu to fulfill our destiny. He will guide Kaori and Toshiki."
"The ways of our god can be difficult to understand," Kyomi added. "In the long run he knows our destiny and guides us, even if we don't know how. The three of us have finished our tasks. And now we can be reunited with our ancestors."
"We're not going back anymore?" Hanako asked with a hint of sadness.
"No, our time has passed. But you did very well, Hanako. I'm so proud of you," Hiroshi said, smiling at the girl. "Someday those we left behind will join us too. Now come on, I want you to meet someone I know you'll be happy to see... and who will be able to answer all those questions that I and no one else could answer for you before."
Hiroshi hugged his daughter affectionately. And she really felt that everything was fine now.
"Come on, my loves," Kyomi said tenderly. "They're waiting for us."
Hiroshi, Kyomi and Hanako began to walk hugging each other, back along the beach, until they disappeared in the mist of that sunless world.
§
Goro Mayugorô was lying in the grass on a mountain esplanade. He had walked all night trying to reach the Miyamizu shrine, but the fire had prevented him from passing through all the places he had tried to reach. In the early morning, exhaustion got the better of him and Goro fell exhausted, falling asleep on the spot.
The morning light filtered through the grass, but it failed to wake him. The light began to seep into his psyche, shaping his dreams. He had had nightmares during the night, but now in his dream he saw himself at peace, sitting in front of Lake Itomori, watching the wind rock a fishing boat.
Goro saw the water glistening in the evening light. Everything was so peaceful! That was the lake he liked to look at with Hanako...
As he remembered his beloved, a sudden desperation came over him, He had to find her! In the dream, he was about to stand up when two arms crossed in front of his chest and embraced him. And the voice he most wanted to hear spoke in his ear.
"I knew you'd look for me."
"Hanako!" replied Goro hugging the girl's arms, and pulling her to him, feeling the warmth of the girl's body on his back, "I knew I'd find you! I knew it!"
"You haven't done it yet. But I know you will. Goro, remember that what happened is not your fault. What happened is Musubi. Destiny had to be fulfilled."
Goro turned around, his face facing her, looking at her quizzically. She smiled at him, caressing her beloved's face.
"I know you don't understand now," Hanako continued. "Things didn't turn out the way we wanted them to. Fate has things in store for us that sometimes we don't expect, and that we can't avoid. But we have to play our part in history. Without you, what happened wouldn't have happened, and our present would be different, but our future and the future of Itomori would be in danger. Today's pain is tomorrow's happiness."
"I... I don't understand you...what future are you talking about?" said Goro taking the girl's hand on his cheek, "I want to have a future with you, remember? To be together, even if it means leaving Itomori behind."
"I wanted it too," said Hanako with a sad face.
"Not anymore?" Goro asked, alarmed. "You don't want to... be with me anymore?"
"It's not that. I always wanted to be with you, until the last moment. But now the distance between us is more than we can overcome. I'll be waiting for you when the day comes that we can see each other again."
"I don't understand you, what do you want to tell me? What distance are you talking about?"
"You'll know when you find me. And when you do, take me to my family. It is the last thing I ask of you, my beloved Goro. Help me start the new future of the Miyamizu family."
"Hanako, what do you mean? Speak to me clearly!" Goro replied in anguish.
But the girl broke away from him, gently, escaping from between Goro's hands, which could not grasp her.
"Look for me. Musubi will guide you. When you find me, please take me to my family. And remember that I always loved you and will always love you."
The girl turned around, and began to walk away quickly, as if floating in the air.
"No, Hanako, wait for me Hanako! HANAKO!"
The boy's awakened scream was such that it was verbalized into a scream in the real world. Goro woke up, opening his eyes with a start. In front of his face, the tall grass surrounding him was all he could see. He felt thick uncontrolled tears fall down his cheeks.
The boy stood, looking around in all directions.
"Hanako? Hanako?... Hanako!" he started to shout, calling out to the girl.
But he was all alone in an indeterminate place on the mountain. To his right he saw the reflection of the morning sky in the waters of Lake Itomori, and to his left thick wisps of white smoke rose in the distance, for hundreds of yards where the fire had consumed the forest to ashes.
"How... how am I going to... find you?" Goro asked himself in anguish, feeling the helplessness of not being able to find her.
But suddenly, he felt a heartbeat echoing in his head, and heard the clear sound of a rattle, similar to the ones used in Shinto ceremonies that Hanako used when doing her beautiful kagura dances.
Startled, he stood up, and something in him made him feel that Hanako was no longer in the shrine, in that direction where there was only smoke and ashes. Then he felt as if a rope was pulling him in another direction, behind his back. He turned in that direction, and a pulse, a call made him feel that she was that way.
And just as suddenly as that feeling had begun, it suddenly ceased and disappeared.
Goro was dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. But the sense of urgency to find her overcame all his blocks. And Hanako's voice came to his mind, just as he had heard it in his dream:
"Find me..."
"Hanako... wait for me... I'm going to find you!" Goro took a breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'M GOING TO FIND YOU!"
With only the hint of direction, the boy began to take somewhat giddy steps, looking in all directions, expecting to see his beloved at any moment.
§
The traders' camp was quiet. They had breakfasted early, and then had dismantled and stowed their camp-beds in their wagon. They now had the minimum necessary to wait for a few hours, for everything else was already packed, and they were ready to leave if necessary.
All that remained visible of the night camp were the blankets and a thin mattress where the injured Miko priestess still lay, still unconscious. The men had picked her up by the blankets and carried her under the shade of some nearby trees, to protect the girl from the direct sun. Beside her was Kiyo, who watched the priestess's labored, wheezing breathing with concern.
The men were also sitting in the shade of a nearby tree, discussing what to do; as they talked, Masao held the baby, who after feeding a couple of times during the early morning now slept peacefully in his arms.
"Well, we'd better send a scout," Jisuke Kusakabe finally resolved. "We can't wait here forever, and we don't know anything about Takeda-san. Besides, we need to take those two to their family..."
Jisuke turned to the man beside him, who seemed distractedly fiddling with the sleeping baby's little hand.
"Masao, I need you to go quickly to see what's going on in the village and come back as soon as possible to tell us the news."
Masao raised his head and met the gaze of Jisuke and Tetsuo, who were watching him waiting for some response from him.
"Oh... of course, Jisuke-sama. I'll go right away."
The man stood up and carried the baby to Kiyo, and carefully handed him to her so that the woman could continue to care for him. Then he and Tetsuo went to prepare their horse for their scouting trip.
They were just finishing their preparations when they heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching along the path through the forest. The three men became alert, trying to identify who the rider might be.
At the turn of the road appeared the samurai Takeda, who seeing the men ahead hurried the horse's pace to reach them, and waved to them as he approached.
Tetsuo ran to receive the reins of the samurai's horse to secure the horse. His rider dismounted, moving heavily. The merchants quickly noticed that Takeda looked very tired and haggard.
Jisuke and Masao surrounded him anxiously, waiting to receive the news.
"Takeda-san, good to have you back, we were hoping you'd be back soon!" said Jisuke bowing to the samurai.
Takeda responded to the greeting with a slight bow.
"I am glad you are well and have followed my instructions," replied the samurai. "Have you had any setbacks since I left you?"
"No, we didn't have any problem, we arrived at nightfall to this place and we camped without any inconvenience," answered Masao making a gesture to the space behind them that had sheltered them.
"I see, but..."
The sound of a baby gurgling caught Takeda's attention. The samurai was puzzled as he watched Kiyo approach them carrying a baby in her arms.
"Where did that baby come from?" Takeda asked when he snapped out of his daze, looking down at the baby in the arms of the Kiyo already beside him.
"Last night we found a Miko priestess with this baby. She was lying unconscious next to a pond a little further up the mountain," Jisuke replied.
"A... Miko priestess?" Takeda repeated with astonishment. "Where is she?"
"She's over there, in the grove," Jisuke said, pointing to where they had left the girl.
The samurai followed the indication with his eyes and saw the bundle of the girl lying on the ground. Without taking his eyes off her he walked towards the priestess, pushing his way through the men almost running them over, as if he suddenly didn't see them. The men barely managed to move out of his way and looked at each other strangely without understanding what was happening to the samurai.
Takeda squatted down next to the girl and watched her carefully for a few seconds. Then he held her hand in his for a long time, closing his eyes with his head bowed as if he was making a prayer. Then he laid her hand gently to her side, and let out a tired sigh as he stood up and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear them.
The samurai faced the group of merchants that had arrived around him.
"Years ago, I had the opportunity to come to Itomori and meet the family that controlled the shrine," Takeda explained. "There, I met this girl's mother. She was a very beautiful woman."
Takeda turned to look at the Miko maiden, unable to hide the sorrow on his face.
"This girl was undoubtedly her daughter. I could recognize her by her features. At that time, she was just a little girl..."
Jisuke looked at his companions with a happy smile.
"That's great! I knew that girl had to be someone of importance at the shrine. Her clothes and her beauty testify to that. And how are things there, Takeda-san?"
The samurai looked at Jisuke in confusion. After blinking a couple of times, Takeda's face went from strangeness to anger at the merchant's sudden show of joy, as if such an attitude was disrespectful.
"There's almost no village left," the samurai answered hoarsely. "The fire started in an area of artisans with many houses, it destroyed everything in its path. There are at least fifty people dead just in the village."
"Fifty? -But... but... but... what about the shrine?"
The samurai looked down and dropped, sitting down with his legs crossed, his hands resting on his knees. He stared at a spot on the ground in front of him, staring blankly, as if recalling images in his mind. He was slow to respond.
"When I arrived last night, the fire was active, so I managed to organize several men and together we saved a lot of people. When we finished in the village, I tried to go to the shrine to check on them, but the forest around the stairs leading to the shrine was on fire. It was impossible to get close. I went back to the village and rested for a few hours, and then in the early morning I went up again accompanied by some of the villagers. The fire had already consumed all the trees and was almost out, then we arrived at the shrine and..."
The samurai fell silent, unable to continue. The group watched as the man clenched his jaw almost grinding his teeth.
"Takeda-san, are you alright?" Kiyo asked the man.
"Bring him some water," Jisuke ordered Tetsuo.
Tetsuo nodded and quickly fetched a wooden cup from the wagon. Within seconds he arrived back at the samurai and held out a glass of cool water. The man received it and took several sips, clearing his throat and looking gratefully at the group.
"I'm sorry, it's just... I've never seen anything like this," Takeda continued. "In all these years I've had to fight battles for my lord, I've seen fires, I've seen people cut to pieces. I know what death is. But... I've never seen anything like this."
"What... happened at the shrine?" Kiyo asked warily.
Takeda looked up and looked at the four of them.
"When we arrived, there was still smoke coming from all the burnt trees. It was heavy to breathe and hard to see because of the darkness, only the embers of all the buildings of the temple and some flames still burning... nothing was left standing."
"Did everything burn?" exclaimed Masao in astonishment.
"Yes, everything. But... then we advanced to the center of the esplanade... and we found them all dead. Men, women... young, old... all of them..."
"Did the smoke kill them?" asked Masao in wonderment.
The samurai shook his head.
"They had been taking things out of the temple into the courtyard. It's clear that they saw the fire coming, and they wanted to save as much as they could, they took things out from the buildings, I guess sacred objects, furniture, documents... but... even though they were in the middle of the courtyard, all those things were reduced to ashes..."
"But they were far away from the burned buildings?" Jisuke asked in surprise.
"Dozens of meters away," Takeda replied. "You only have to get a few feet away from a burning building to be safe. They were much farther than that, but it was as if the fire... had attacked them despite the distance."
The four merchants looked at each other quizzically. Takeda looked at them helplessly, realizing they didn't understand.
"They... their things were burned, but they also had wounds, bites... charred... as if... a fiery maw had bitten them and torn them apart!"
"Takeda-san, that... maybe they got burned or injured while leaving the buildings..." said Jisuke, trying to make sense of Takeda's words.
"I know what I saw!" Takeda interrupted him vehemently. "Some of them... fell dead in a circle, back-to-back, trying to defend themselves from someone... from something... that attacked them... and... some of them... their faces... still showed terror...; others were lying on the road, with those fire bites on their necks and backs... it seems they were running to take shelter in the buildings... and then we found more corpses that ended up burned in the buildings, under the rubble, hugging each other trying to protect themselves..."
The samurai was so affected that he looked at the four standing with his eyes watering with helplessness. He burst out in anger as he felt that they were looking at him with strangeness and disbelief.
"Who would run to hide in a burning building, in the middle of a fire, if there wasn't an even worse danger outside? Those wounds weren't made by men! This was the work of the gods! Or oni demons of fire!"
The merchants were stunned by this explanation. Not knowing what to say, they stood silently looking at each other, not knowing what else to say. Finally, Jisuke broke the silence.
"But then... Are there survivors in the shrine?"
The samurai shook his head.
"The only person in the shrine that I saw outside of it is this girl. Everyone else who was in the shrine is dead. The villagers with me recognized the priests. One of them was dead in the courtyard, horribly burned, trying to protect a trunk that was completely on fire. The guide knew the shrine and we searched the remains of the high priest's house. And we also found his corpse in the rubble.
"So, if there's no one left in her family, what are we going to do with the girl?" asked Masao.
"Let's take her to the villagers, they'll help her," Jisuke replied.
"The villagers barely managed to survive, and they already have dozens of dead to take care of. Why would you bring them another corpse?" Takeda scolded him bitterly.
"What do you mean, a corpse? We've been taking care of this girl all night!"
The samurai turned and looked at the girl carefully.
"This Miyamizu maiden is already dead. She is no longer breathing. Didn't you notice it?" asked Takeda in surprise.
The four merchants froze. They were frozen and dumbfounded, staring at the girl without knowing how to react. After a few interminable seconds, Jisuke managed to get out of his stupefaction and rushed over to the girl.
"No... no, no, no!" cried Jisuke. He rushed to her side and tried to revive her by moving her, and only then did he realize that she was totally pale and cold. Her lips were bruised.
"Listen to me, girl, wake up! Don't do this to us! Please wake up! Please wake up! Wake up!" Jisuke begged, but the girl was no longer responsive.
Jisuke carefully laid her head on the makeshift pillow, and put his face against the girl's nose.
"There's nothing to do now..." Takeda tried to mediate.
"Shhhh," Jisuke shushed him, putting his soul into catching the slightest sign of breathing from the girl.
Masao, Tetsuo and Kiyo held their breath waiting for Jisuke's verdict, who stood motionless for long seconds. Until he gave up. He sat down and covered his face in rage.
"She's gone... we couldn't..."
Kiyo couldn't bear the grief, and burst into tears, which woke the baby, who started crying too.
Masao approached Kiyo and gestured with his arms for her to pass him the baby. The girl handed it to him and squatted down, saddened by the feelings that overwhelmed her.
"She... that girl was so beautiful... and so young... she didn't deserve it... she didn't deserve that..." Kiyo said.
Masao was doing his best to lull the baby who was still crying, rocking him to soothe him.
"Jisuke-sama... what shall we do now?" he asked.
"This whole trip is lost. We had to get to that shrine..."
"If we had, we would all be dead now, along with the priests," Tanaka replied. "Consider yourselves lucky. The gods were merciful, and luck was on our side that this demon fire started before we arrived."
"What's so merciful about this?" cried bitterly Jisuke. "There are dozens of people dead! And now this girl...!"
But Jisuke couldn't go on, he strided away towards the grassy esplanade, hands on his head, trying to calm himself, walking in circles. He felt like screaming, cursing this cruel place they were going to... the sanctuary they had to go to...
Then Jisuke remembered that he had in his possession the letter from the Daimyo that he was to deliver to the high priest of the shrine. Now that he knew they were dead, he understood that his mission had been a total failure.
Jisuke reached into his clothes, found the secret pocket where he carried the letter and carefully pulled it out.
Takeda watched as Jisuke pulled out the letter and began to open it.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing! That's my lord's letter!"
"The addressee no longer exists," Jisuke replied with a sardonic smile. "At the very least, I want to know if there's still anything worth doing in this disgraced place..."
The samurai stared at him, not knowing what to say to that. Jisuke read the letter slowly, until he burst into a nervous laugh that ended in a bitter groan.
"This... this... how can the gods be so cruel?" Jisuke said, holding out the letter to the samurai, who approached him and received it warily, but his curiosity was stronger, and he began to read it silently as well.
"What does the letter say?" asked Masao.
"The Daimyo 'invites the high priest Miyamizu to the next full moon to come with his family to his palace, to formalize his engagement to marry his daughter to the fourth son of the Matsudaira family'…" Jisuke recited aloud, as if he had been reading the letter in public. "He had to go with his daughter... with his daughter..."
Jisuke covered his eyes, trying to control himself. Then he looked at the now deceased girl. He approached her and took her hand. The girl's skin was completely cold. He stroked her face and tidied the hair that was messed up on her forehead. He left the girl's hand gently at her side. Jisuke looked up at the sky, trying to contain his emotions.
"So that girl...?" said Masao looking at the dead girl.
"She's probably the high priest's daughter," Takeda replied. "She must be the daughter this letter speaks of. Her resemblance to her mother is proof. I will have to inform my lord that the marriage will never take place."
"Then what are we going to do with the baby, Jisuke-sama?" asked Masao. "If his sister and his whole family is dead..."
"We'll take him to the villagers," Jisuke replied.
"I don't think that's worth it either," Takeda said, standing heavily. "That baby is an orphan now. His whole family is dead, and to give him to the villagers or peasants of Itomori is to condemn him to misery. He will only be a burden to them."
"But this is his home, there has to be someone who wants to take care of him!" said Kiyo in anguish, rising her voice "He's a baby! Someone...someone's going to take care of him! Jisuke? Someone's going to take care of him, right?"
"You don't understand anything!" answered Takeda angrily. "The village of Itomori itself may disappear after this! I wouldn't be surprised if that baby ends up starving to death, or being eaten by those same wretched villagers who lost everything and will now face the winter struggling to keep from starving and freezing to death."
Kiyo, reacted violently to the samurai's description.
"You can't be serious, Takeda-san! How could those people do something so cruel to an innocent child!"
Jisuke stood up and spoke loudly to his sister.
"Kiyo! Calm down! What Takeda-san says is true. I know of families who in the last famine devoured their own children when food was scarce. That's real, and it has happened before."
"Then we had better put that boy out of his misery," Takeda said, closing the Daimyo's letter and placing it in his robes. "The best thing that can happen to him is that he can be reunited with his parents and ancestors with a clean and honorable death, without suffering."
Takeda brought his hand to his waist, and unsheathed his wakizashi sword. Everyone around him was petrified at the sound and at the sight of the gleaming blade.
"Hand that baby over to me," Takeda said to Masao, holding out a hand for him to hand over. "I promise he won't suffer."
"Takeda-san, please stop, you can't be serious," Jisuke tried to mediate, his hands forward in a gesture of peace.
"Would you rather prefer that we bury him alive with his sister? Or let him starve to death? Or be torn apart by the mountain beasts?" Takeda replied, sternly. "This is the best thing for him!"
"No!" replied Masao, hiding the baby behind him, and offering his side to the samurai. "Takeda-sama, have mercy on this child! Please!"
"It is out of mercy that we must let him rest with his family and his ancestors."
"We promised to save him! I promised his sister I'd save him! I can't let him die! I won't let him die just because!"
"And what are you going to do, you scurvy merchant? Are you going to raise him?" Takeda sneered, "My sword has been drawn, and it cannot return bloodless on its saya. Do you want my sword to know that child's blood, or do you want it to know yours? Choose your next words wisely!"
"No, Takeda-sama, please!" Jisuke tried to calm him down, but he didn't move from his place, terrified of the samurai's sword.
"Silence!" commanded the samurai. "This man made a promise, didn't he? Let's see where the honor of the merchants lies!"
Takeda took two more steps towards Masao, standing less than two meters away from him.
"But if your word is only good when it's for money, you'd better hand that child over to me and let me put him out of his misery right now, so he can go to his ancestors with dignity!"
Masao cowered against the ground with the child against his chest, hiding him from the samurai.
"Please! Takeda-sama spare his life! Let this child live!"
"That child is already dead. Don't you understand? Give it to me!"
"No! -No! He has to live! I'll... I'll raise him! I'll make him my son! This child will be my son! Let him live! Let him live!" cried Masao, sobbing over the baby who burst into tears at the cries of everyone.
For several seconds the samurai stood silent, frozen with his left hand outstretched toward Masao and his right hand holding the wakizashi at his side, ready to strike. Kiyo stared wild-eyed, covering her mouth, paralyzed with panic, while Jisuke and Tetsuo stood still, barely able to move in fear and shock. The only sound was the baby's cries and Masao's sobs trying to protect him.
Takeda relaxed his stance, raised the wakizashi high, and tensed again.
"Are you willing to give your blood for that child, Masao-san?" Takeda asked. "Answer me!"
"Let him live! Do what you want with me, but let him live!" replied Masao, shrinking in on himself, with his eyes closed.
"Nooooo!" Kiyo shouted.
"Silence and stand still, everyone!" Takeda ordered, with a shout of authority. "You have all heard this man. If that is his will, I will honor it on this child's behalf. Masao-san, stretch out your arm!"
"What...?" Masao said weakly, sitting up and looking fearfully at the samurai. Seeing him standing next to him with his sword held high, he almost collapsed in fear, and stretched out his hand with an open palm, while turning his head in the opposite direction, trying to protect the baby with his body.
Takeda advanced toward Masao and grabbed his arm by the wrist. Masao could only let out a muffled groan. The samurai lowered the sword gently, and rested it lightly on Masao's thumb, then drew it away. Within a second, a thin trickle of blood ran down Masao's hand. Then the samurai let go and stepped back.
"Then it's done. You gave of your blood for that child. Now it is like your blood and kin. And you shall cherish it as your own kin until you die. For your own honor, never forget that."
Takeda then turned and began to walk away from them. He swung his sword, ran the blade through the arm and elbow of his kimono, and sheathed the wakizashi with a clang.
Instantly, Kiyo and Jisuke ran to where Masao was. They both hugged him and started crying. A couple of meters away Tetsuo couldn't take it anymore and fell down sitting on the ground, as his legs couldn't hold him.
Jisuke broke away from Masao, who continued to sob hugging the baby, while Kiyo hugged him trying to comfort herself and reassure the man.
"Are you an animal?" Jisuke shouted at the samurai, so blinded by adrenaline that he didn't measure his words. "Why did you nearly kill my friend, and nearly kill us all with fear?"
Tanaka turned to face them, his hands resting on his swords. His angry face was gone, and he looked at them with a look that reflected a mixture of weariness and contempt.
"You merchants are always looking for your own convenience. Everything is for profit; I don't trust you!"
Tanaka looked at his sword. He stroked his fingers along the pommel of the hilt.
"But there is a life at stake here. I knew that baby's family, and out of respect for them I would have taken his life to prevent his suffering. And for the same reason I couldn't leave him in the hands of just any man... unless I knew he was someone with enough honor to be able to put his life in front of him for that child."
The samurai retraced his steps, and approached Masao again. The man was trembling, but he could not take his eyes off the imposing figure of the samurai in front of him.
"You earned my respect today. But that's a very small baby. If you stay here, he'll surely die. You'd better get him out of here as soon as possible, if you care about his life."
Masao looked at Jisuke, and spoke to him in a trembling voice foreign to him.
"Jisuke-sama, I want to... please... let me take the boy back to Takayama... right away."
"You had your horse ready to depart, didn't you, Masao? Take the boy and go home. Your wife will know better how to take care of him than you," said Jisuke, approaching Masao and putting one hand on his shoulder and the other to help him stand up.
"Kiyo-chan, do you know how to put the baby in those cloths the priestess brought? Masao's going to need them to carry him."
"Yes, that was an onbuhimo. I've seen them used," the girl replied. "Come with me, Masao-san."
Jisuke turned to the samurai, and spoke to him in a respectful manner.
"I'm sorry I insulted you, Takeda-sama. I shouldn't have told you that before."
"I understand why you said it and why you thought it. You are a brave man. But watch your tongue. If it had not been me, and it had been someone else, you would be accompanying the priestess fate right now."
Jisuke looked at the girl and let out a long sigh.
"And what shall we do with her?" he wondered aloud.
"There's no point in taking her to the village. Not now," Takeda replied. "She was someone important to the people of this area. It would be disrespectful to leave her like this, lying on the mountain, at the mercy of the beasts of the field."
"Shall we bury her then?"
"If we bury her, they'll never find her, and she'll be alone for eternity," Takeda mused. "Let's make a temporary grave, and cover her with stones. That will protect her from the beasts. And this is a road that is traveled, soon some villager will find her, and they can give her the kokubetsu-shiki ceremony this girl deserves."
"Okay, let's do that," said Jisuke. "Tetsuo! We need your help, collect as many stones as you can in the surrounding area."
"Yes, Jisuke-sama," the man replied, and went off to do his business.
"Brother, look!" Kiyo shouted, waving a rope in his hand as she ran toward Jisuke. "This was among the onbuhimo cloth."
"What's this?" Jisuke asked as he received a thin braided rope from Kiyo, red at the ends and gradually changing colors until it reached the blue of the sky in the center in an intricate pattern of threads and colors.
"That's one of the kumihimo ropes they made at Miyamizu Shrine," Takeda explained. "I saw them on my previous trips. Their women used to wear them as a hair ornament, too."
"Really?" Kiyo said, looking up at the priestess. She approached her slowly, fearful, not daring to touch her. She bent down and peered intently at the girl's hair.
"That's right, she's wearing one too!" Kiyo said, pointing at the girl.
"I have an idea, I think that will help her," said Jisuke.
Masao had finished grooming himself and approached the men, carrying the baby on his chest in the onbuhimo, just as they had found him with his sister. He kept a safe distance from the samurai, whom he looked at with dissimulation, but without being able to hide his suspicion.
"I'm ready, Jisuke-sama, I'll leave at once."
"May the kami protect you, Masao. Let my father in Takayama know what happened, and tell him we're on our way back right now."
"Won't you take the cargo to Itomori?" Masao asked wonderingly.
"We won't. If the villagers and peasants are in the middle of a tragedy now, blinded by despair, the worst thing we can do is present ourselves with things of value to them. We could be robbed, or worse. We'd better return to Takayama as soon as we finish covering the girl. Takeda-san, will you come back with us too?"
The samurai looked at them, then looked in the direction of Itomori village, and gave a long sigh.
"That town is cursed. I don't want to go near it again. I'll come back with you, and I'll protect you the rest of the way as my lord has instructed me to do."
A few minutes later, Masao was riding away as fast as he could, avoiding shaking the baby too much, who was restless on his chest, safe in the fabrics of the onbuhimo.
"Come on, little boy, come on, hold on, hold on. We have to get to Takayama today," Masao encouraged him.
He came to a bend in the road where he would henceforth lose sight of the camp site. He stopped his horse for a moment and turned to take a last look at the place.
"Beautiful Miko maiden, I promised you that I would save you brother. I swear on my life that I will keep my promise and make him my son. He will live for all you."
A second later Masao was again riding at top speed, just thinking about getting home with the baby alive as soon as possible.