#Ishiha

[aishiteru-kenshin]

Raven of The Inner Palace | 後宮の烏 | Kōkyū no Karasu

[eyesofanapothecarian]

Top to bottom goes right to left

[nocandnc]

*grabs your shoulders and shakes you* WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN!!?!

[sasaranomiya]

I read the Koukyuu no Karasu sequel Ui no Hana

So a week ago Kouko Shirakawa released Ui no Hana, which turned out to be a sequel to Koukyuu no Karasu! It's not really stated exactly when it takes place, but it's probably around twenty to thirty years after the events of the last book, since there are a lot of sorcerers in the capital now, and there are even schools for sorcerers.

It follows a pair of new characters, Tou Gekki (right on cover) and Hou Reiyou (left on cover). Gekki is a genius sorcerer and Reiyou is from a prestigious sorcerer family but has no talent for sorcery. The two are engaged and it looks like this series will be following their exorcism adventures.

You may find the surnames Tou and Hou familiar, and that's because the two mcs do in fact have connections to characters from the previous series! Reiyou is the heir to the Hou family (same family as Hou Ichigyou) and Gekki is the adopted granddaughter of Tou Senri, who's no longer the Winter Minister by this time. He married the daughter of Un Gyoutoku (Kajou's uncle).

Fun facts

Senri tells Gekki stories about the Raven Consort and he and Jusetsu still talk

Sorcerers wear black robes and white sashes in honor of the Raven Consort

Brief mention of Ishiha and Ayura (Ishiha is the Winter Minister)

[bijoumikhawal]

Bite the Hand that Starves You: Chapter One

(originally posted 12/5/23 on AO3)

Fic as of chapter contains: discussion of abortion, references to drug use, intersex and trans characters

---

Julian shouldn’t have been in the infirmary at this hour. His shift ended quite some time ago, but while he was up eating a middle of the night snack, he realized he’d forgotten a personal padd down here with a book he’d been reading on it. He certainly could have replicated a new one. But the excuse to get in a decent walk and enjoy the quiet of the station at night had convinced him otherwise.

Vusora wasn’t up and about the main room of the infirmary. More likely than not a patient had called for her- over-nighters were moved to private rooms, if possible. Ishiha either was also helping a patient or had been allowed to rest early.

Julian felt a bit uneasy, though this was all normal.

His unease grew when he heard a slight sound from near the back.

Quietly, he walked towards it. Maybe it was a nurse. If it wasn’t, he didn’t want to tip them off.

He heard another scuffling sound, and he was close enough to determine it was the pharmaceutical closet, normally locked. Then silence.

When Julian had the inside in his direct line of sight, it was hard to describe what he felt.

“Oh, Garak.”

Garak didn’t turn to face him, simply holding still like he was contemplating the possibility of melting into the shelf.

---

Julian sat down across from Garak in his office. "Alright. Why were you attempting to steal from the infirmary stores?"

Garak had gone along with him without struggle, but was petulant as expected. "Why do you think? Surely you remember the last few months."

Julian rested his chin on his hand. He certainly did. After Garak claimed to be recovered, there naturally were aftershocks. He reluctantly submitted himself to checkups- for a week. Then he abruptly refused to see just about anyone, working on alterations from his quarters and only having his shop open for two hours each day, primarily to allow customers to pick up their orders and do final fittings.

That bizarre behavior had ended a few weeks ago… not too long before the incident with the Dominion simulation.

"I'm just curious, if you are looking for a high, whatever made you think this would do it." Julian held up the vial, having slipped it into his hand while ushering Garak out.

"I'm curious as to why you haven't called security."

Julian continued, ignoring him. "Perhaps you were reaching for something else?" He rolled the vial in-between his fingers before putting it on his desk. "Because this is a Rigellian abortifacient. And while I'm not certain, the information I do have leads me to believe taking any significant dosage would likely give a Cardassian liver damage." It was a 77.6 percent likelihood based on current data, his brain provided helpfully.

Garak looked at him balefully, saying nothing.

Julian tapped the top of the vial. "I would've hoped you had learned not to hide this sort of thing from me, Garak."

"Yes, yes, you're very clever, doctor. You simply know about every sneeze on this station the second it happens." Garak said with a sneer.

"Are you pregnant, Garak?"

Garak retreated again. "Don't be absurd."

"What's absurd about it? I haven't done that kind of examination, of course, so I don't know your personal anatomy, and that makes it a very fair question."

His mouth was held in a firm, thin line.

"Garak. I'm not judging you, or whatever it is that made you think stealing medication was a wise course of action. I just want to help." Julian paused. "And if you are, even a Bajoran medication-"

"-Is still not suited to my biology and has similar risks to what you have in your hand right now. I decided acute liver failure was preferable to cardiopulmonary damage."

Julian didn't smile. "Alright. I'm fairly certain it's less likely, but that would be a risk." He made a mental note that Garak might have a family history of heart and lung problems.

Garak seemed put out that by saying such, he had admitted to the issue. He also just- seemed tired. Some of his hair had escaped the hold of the styling product he normally used. There was redness in his eyes, too, and though the implant had been deactivated months ago, he still looked somewhat ill.

Julian leaned forwards. “I’m not currently planning on reporting this.”

Garak scoffed. “I guessed as much. You should, you know.”

Julian closed his eyes and inhaled. “Which of us is the doctor, again? You seem to have come under the impression that it’s you.”

“When it comes to me, I should think we’re evenly matched.”

Julian didn’t rise to the bait. “As I said, I just want to help. Unfortunately, my knowledge is limited in this area.”

Garak’s hand settled on the desk. Julian picked up the vial again.

“Give me two months.” Julian said. “And if I don’t have a better option, I’ll administer the dose. I’ll do everything I can to mitigate the side affects- anything you need.”

Garak was death-still, gaze tilted downwards.

Julian cautiously reached out, resting his hand on Garak’s upper arm. He could feel his muscles stiffen, then relax under his touch. “I would think this goes without saying, but I will speak of this to no one on this station. And if you need someone- to talk to, to help you, to-“

“I understand.” Garak said, in the tone of someone who just wished you’d stop talking.

Julian gave his arm a squeeze.

“Is this something you offer for all your patients?”

“You’re my friend as well as a patient.” Julian keyed his office door back open, standing at the door to let Garak know he could leave like a dvarapala. “It's late- you should head home, get some rest. I’ll call you when I’m more prepared to help you with this.”

Garak didn’t need much encouragement to go. Julian went back to his office to mark down some notes. And when he left, of course he almost forgot his padd again.

---

Nothing was quite as humiliating as getting caught while doing something he should have been perfectly capable of. And worse, he wasn’t even in trouble for it, because it was such a pathetic thing to be caught doing.

Garak kicked the wall of the turbolift with uncharacteristically unrestrained violence. Of all the things that could compound the situation here, this was the last thing he’d expected. It was a possibility, yes- but it had slipped his mind entirely in the years he'd spent as the only Cardassian on the station, which was unforgivable.

And of course, of course Dr. Bashir had been understanding about it. Garak wished he had called security. There were rules, and so there were consequences. That all made sense. Mercy! What was mercy- foolishness, a tool of confusion, a lapse in duty!

Everything was so sharp without the wire.

He wondered to himself, if Dr. Bashir was relieved that he hadn’t been trying to get high, or if he was confounded by him having yet another medical issue. Probably not the latter- challenges were met with eagerness and a cocksure attitude that a solution could be found. Dr. Bashir was still early in his career, after all, and even doctors with decades of experience…

He needed an auxiliary plan. Certainly, Dr. Bashir had said he’d administer the treatment himself, but he’d only said it, and even if he’d offered to make a record of it, he was free to change his mind. It was a privilege of expertise.

He wondered what all got reported back to the Order about him these days, if they had surveillance on the infirmary, and if Tain was thinking on him with disgust already.

A moment of anger seized him. If Tain thought so of him, he had no one to blame but himself. It was his “tactical decision” that had gotten Garak unto this mess, a simple “no” on his part, or even stating that he didn't care what Garak did, and this never would have happened. Or even-

Garak breathed. Counted. Centered himself.

Allowing such thoughts to fester would only worsen his chances of no longer being exiled. No use in bitterness over the past. He had enough to deal with- and it was almost more than he could handle.

Ideally, when he exited the turbo lift, no one who may be watching noticed anything was amiss. Aside from him perhaps seeming tired. A particularly kind person might’ve asked, “late night?” he imagined, if the corridor to his quarters was not silent save for his own footsteps.

The difference between the temperature in his quarters and the rest of the station was such that opening the door felt like a wall of fire coming to meet him. He had limited the impulse to tamper with the environmental controls in previous years- but when he felt his out of season mating cycle coming on, well. It became necessary. And when it ended abruptly, he hadn't the sternness to turn it back down.

A shudder went through him at the thought of how necessary it’d become if this wasn’t dealt with.

That wouldn’t happen. He would make a plan of his own if this fell through.

---

Julian summoned him to his office a week later, still in the late hours when Garak had first gotten caught. He phrased it as “a follow up for your implant, to set my mind at ease”.

Garak had (painfully) skipped their lunch that week, so this would be the first time seeing him since that night.

The corridors were just as empty as they’d been last time. It wasn’t quite as late as it had been then, but even Quark’s was closed.

Julian was sitting in his office. When Garak closed the door behind him, he immediately began fiddling with a small device next to him, and sat it down on his desk once he was satisfied.

“A signal jammer? Why, doctor, I’d think having recordings of your patients in general was a major ethical violation.”

“It’s not for me. But you know that.” Garak did- he knew that Odo and the good doctor had come into rather major disagreement over the former’s desire to install recording equipment in the infirmary.

Julian also had a pad of paper and a pen sitting on his desk. Off Garak’s look, he said, “You can’t hack paper. I assume you’d prefer this is kept… relatively off the record.”

A correct, though complicated assumption. All of this was already “on the record”- logs of doors being opened and turbolifts being used, security camera footage (Garak was reasonably sure he’d avoided that until he got caught last time, but hadn’t bothered after that), and so on. Julian had provided some cover by having his communication obscure the nature of his late night visits, but Garak felt somewhat doubtful he would be able to keep it that way- no matter how much he wished it, that the only evidence in the end would be memory.

“First. Are you certain you’re pregnant?”

Garak glared at him. “Do you think I’d try to steal from the infirmary on a suspicion?”

“I need to know where we’re at, Garak, and that includes asking questions you may find stupid. How did you find out? How long ago do you think this happened?”

Garak looked down to his hand, which had located a loose thread in the chair upholstery and was spinning it between his fingers, feeling the slubbed texture. “It happened a little over a month ago. There were some… unexpected behavioral changes, and certain biological processes didn’t quite happen as expected since.”

“I would prefer specifics, if you can.” Garak’s eyes slowly met his. Julian held up a hand.

“I did say if you can. I don’t doubt you’re certain based on the information you have, but I’m not familiar with this area of Cardassian healthcare, and with any patient I’d rule out any chance of false positives before proceeding.”

“How can you rule out a false positive if you don’t know?”

Julian tapped his pen against his desk. “Why do you think I waited a week before asking you to come for a preliminary appointment?”

The knowledge that Julian already likely knew specifics of why Garak might be reticent to be detailed made him no less embarrassed. Let him put the pieces together, if he knew so much. “I've had an increased need to be warm, a dramatically increased appetite followed by a low one, sluggishness, worsened mood, and pheromone changes.”

“You can sense your own pheromone changes?” Julian asked as he scribbled notes.

“You can smell when you sweat, can’t you?” Garak replied. “Among other… things, the latter in particular makes me quite certain of what’s going on.”

Julian opened a desk drawer- how clever of him, Garak thought irritably, keeping things out of sight until he needed them- and brought out two sets of a swab and a container. “If you don’t mind.”

Garak tilted his head to the side, allowing Julian to rub each swab over his jaw glands. “Out of curiosity- how do you plan to test those if this is “off the record”?” he asked, distracting himself from his increased heartbeat at having to adopt the posture.

“I’ll say I’m testing the equipment. It doesn’t get logged in patient records, so anyone you’re worried about wouldn’t immediately think to look there, it’s a separate indexing system, and I schedule tests on a regular basis. I can claim that I think there was an error and retest within a few days if that makes you feel better- bury the data somewhat.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Julian put the swabs away. “Are there any particular medical concerns you have?”

“Other than the obvious?” Garak had managed to tear the thread out by now, and his spinning was making it twist into a little ball. He dropped it.

Julian looked at him, trying to be compassionate- Garak hated it. And he hated that he was aware the reaction wasn’t founded on anything he had actually done to offend Garak, not really. It was evidence to Garak’s- problem.

“I don’t want to be pregnant. That’s all.”

Julian nodded. “I understand. There’s a few more questions I’d like to ask, if you would.”

Garak leaned back in the chair with a sigh.

[kurokawaia]

─── ❛ request characters ❜

ANIME

⋆·˚ ༘ * Hunter X Hunter :: Kurapika Kurta, Leorio Paradinight, Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs, Illumi Zoldyck, Silva Zolcyck, Chrollo Lucilfer, Feitan Portor

⋆·˚ ༘ * Berserk :: Griffith, Guts ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Death Note :: Light Yagami, L Lawliet (L), Miheal Kheel (Mello), Mail Jeevas (Matt), Nate Rivers (Near)

⋆·˚ ༘ * Bungo Stray Dogs :: Dazai Osamu, Atsushi Nakajima, Kunikida Doppo, Edogawa Ranpo, Fukuzawa Yukichi, Nakahara Chuuya, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Sakunosuke Oda, Saigiku Jono, Suehiro Tecchou, Dostovesky Fyodor, Sigma, Nikokai Gogol ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Sk8 The Infinity :: Kojiro Nanjo, Reki Kyan, Langa Hasegawa, Kaoru Sakurayashiki, Miya Chinen ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Bleach :: Ichigo Kurosaki, Issin Kurosaki, Jushiro Ukitake, Zaraki Kenpachi, Kuchiki Byakuya, Ichimaru Gin, Urahara Kisuke, Abarai Renji, Shinji Hirako, Kyoraku Shunsui, Aizen Sosuke, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Yumuchika Ayasegawa, Cifer Ulquiorra, Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, Coyote Starrk, Ishiha Uryu, Ishida Ryuken, Haschwalth Jugram ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Naruto/Boruto :: Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Shusui, Uzumaki Naruto, Senju Tobirama, Hatake Kakashi, Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Jiraya, Otsitsuki Indra, Otsitsuki Ashura, Otsitsuki Momoshiki, Otsitsuki Toneri ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Demon Slayer :: Demon slayers; Kamado Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Tokitō Muichirō, Rengoku Kyōjurō, Tomioka Giyū, Uzui Tengen, Shinazugawa Sanemi, Iguro Obanai, Himejima Gyōmei, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Demons; Kibutsuji Muzan, Kokushibō | Michikatsu Tsugikuni, Douma, Akaza ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Wind Breaker :: Haruka Sakura, Suo Hayato, Togame Jou, Kaji Ren ༊*·˚

DONGHUA

⋆·˚ ༘ * Mo Dao Zu Shi (the founder of diabolism); Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official's Blessing); Xei Lian, Hua Cheng, Shi Qingxuan, Feng Xin, Nu Qing ༊*·˚

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 - ¡!

Hunter x Hunter - caught up with the manga and watched the anime

Berserk - completed the 1997 anime, completed the movies and the 2016 seasons, currently reading the manga (up to chapter 260)

Death Note - completed the anime and read the manga

Bungo Stray Dogs - watched the anime and caught up with the manga

Sk8: The Infinity - completed the anime

Bleach - caught up the anime, HAVEN'T read the manga past the newest season

Naruto/ Naruto Shippuden - completed the anime, completed the manga, completed all the movies

Boruto - Completed the Manga (haven't watched the anime) ╰┈➤ Boruto | Blue Vortex - caught up with the manga

Demon Slayer - Caught up with the anime, haven't read the manga past the newest season

Wind Breaker - Caught up with the anime, HAVEN'T read the manga past the new season

Mo Dao Zu Shi - caught up with the Anime, completed the novels

Tian Guan Ci Fu - caught up with the anime, caught up with the Manhua, HAVEN'T read the novels

[animehouse-moe]

Raven of The Inner Palace Vol. 3: The Ao God

This cover image is pretty sneaky, very sneaky, even. But truthfully so is the story. It can take you through the motions slowly but surely, letting details build up in the background before open the gates and allowing all of the information to hit you in full force. It's a really good volume that builds on the uncertainty provided by the ending of the second. Not a lot to talk about, but it will be spoilers, so be warned.

This volume got me in a lot of different ways, but I think the most interesting thing is the Ao God. It's a very curious and interesting thing, because it can make you wonder "why did it only show up now?". But in reality, there's two answers. The first is that, like the Raven's elder brother, it awoke/became interested due to Jusetsu's ongoings/changes. The second, it awoke due to the sibling's spat at the end of the second volume. Both of which are very interesting and show how in tune the realm of the gods is with one another.

Regardless of how it awoke though, the Ao God is very interesting as its implied to exist within the human realm, just at the bottom of the ocean. The reveal behind Ui was super interesting and surprising though, considering the Ao God's origins.

Even crazier is how they weave a deeper story with it to provide interesting history. It's stated in this volume that the Raven's brother wants to help Koshun save both Jusetsu and the Raven, but that he doesn't know how. Well, thanks to Ui and the Ao God there's potential. Jusetsu potentially being a part of both the Ran Dynasty as well as the Hi Dynasty from nearly 2000 years ago presents potential in how to save her, as she's able to separate herself from the role of Winter Sovereign.

Let's tone it back down though and look at the bigger picture. The use of weather, flowers, and birds is incredibly interesting still. The Ao God (and by extension the Saname clan due to the jewel they hold) is able to influence weather by inducing droughts or heavy periods of rain, which are featured heavily in this volume to allude to the fact that the god has been awakened.

Then there's the Gardenia that Banka, the Crane Consort, places in Jusetsu's hair. What's the meaning? Well, it's a bit of a double edged sword. While it can equate to trust, it can also be a symbol of knowledge past what you should have. The knowledge in this case being that Banka, thanks to placing the flower in Jusetsu's hair, know that she dyes it. An incredibly subtle bit of foreshadowing for what she does later on in the volume.

And finally, the birds. The star raven is the symbol of the Owl, or the Raven's older brother. We see it featured somewhat frequently in the volume, showing how Owl is watching over his younger sister, and actually providing assistance to Jusetsu. Is it possible that Owl understands the intentions of the Ao God and those that convene with it? It's hard to say, so let's move onto something else.

The way that Shirakawa is able to create stories that feel like they appear out of thin air is really something. Was the connection between Ishiha, Injou and Hakurai, and the Ao God a surprise? Yes and no, as we learnt a little bit about Ishiha's circumstances early on but don't think much of it. It's not until Hakurai talks about buying Injo that all the pieces truly fall into place. Similarly, the reveal between Eisei and Jusetsu. We've known for a decent chunk of time about the histories of each, but this volume puts the pieces together for readers.

And really, I could keep going on and on about this sort of stuff. How the volume continually speaks to the weakness of the Raven and the struggles of Jusetsu, or that the more Jusetsu interacts with others the more her facade crumbles and that that's a representation of Jusetsu taking control over the Raven with her body, and so on and so forth. It's a wealth of carefully crafted details that form a colossal spider's web of interconnected information, and it has me incredibly curious to see how the next volume goes considering how far we've come with this third one.

[nhatlynguyennln]

Lee Sang Yoon và Kim Kyu Ri mang lại những kỷ niệm về tình yêu đầu tiên"About Time"

New Post has been published on http://www.ngoisaokpop.com/lee-sang-yoon-va-kim-kyu-ri-mang-lai-nhung-ky-niem-ve-tinh-yeu-dau-tienabout-time/

Lee Sang Yoon và Kim Kyu Ri mang lại những kỷ niệm về tình yêu đầu tiên"About Time"

Lee Sang-yoon là đại diện của MK Culture Company, một người đàn ông đang yêu Choi Mica (Lee Sung-kyung), người xem bộ phim truyền hình Mon-TV của TVN “About the Time: Around Time”  đảm nhận vai diễn. Kim Kyu Ri là một diễn viên âm nhạc đã quyến rũ Broadway và đóng vai Kim Joon-ah, tình yêu đầu tiên của Ido. Đặc biệt, Kim Jung-a xuất hiện trong nhân vật nữ chính của vở nhạc kịch “Thời gian của Yeon-hee đi ngược” do Lee Do-ha sản xuất trong 5 ngày qua, và hai người họ đã thực hiện một cuộc hội ngộ bất ngờ. Khi Kim Jun-ah đến gần mắt cô, cô bị quấy rầy bởi đôi mắt của Ido, người đã bị mắc kẹt trên ghế của cô, và đồng hồ thời gian sống của người hàng xóm của cô, Mika, bắt đầu đếm ngược lần nữa.

Về vấn đề này, cảnh trong đó Ishiha và Kim Joon A nở rộ trong tình yêu đang diễn ra. Idahawa, người đã trở nên cứng rắn và cứng rắn, bị quyến rũ bởi ‘Eye Doha’ ngoạn mục, một hình ảnh học sinh xinh đẹp, và ‘Chunsoon Jun-a’, một tân binh âm nhạc mơ mộng.

Trên tất cả, Idoha và Kim Jun-a không quan tâm đến con mắt của những người xung quanh, nhưng họ đã mở ra một người yêu đầy đam mê, những người thích làn da thẳng trên đường phố. Hai người quan sát nhau nồng nhiệt, theo một cái nhìn thuần khiết để Kim Joon-ah cầm một bông hồng trên một bông hoa, cho thấy một cái ôm sâu sắc và một cảnh hôn dễ thương, và định kiến “lịch sử tình yêu đầu tiên” của hai người. Hai người đã đoàn tụ trong một thời gian dài đã thu hút rất nhiều sự chú ý đến những gì đã xảy ra kể từ đó và những gì là quá khác so với quá khứ đã được đẹp.

Trong cảnh của ngày xuân ấm áp, Lee Sang-yoon và Kim Gyu-ri đã cho thấy một người đàn ông trẻ và người phụ nữ trong tình yêu, biến thành một ‘hình ảnh giảm giá’, khác 180 độ so với hiện tại. Lee Sang – yun đợi Kim Kyu Ri với vẻ mặt ngớ ngẩn, thể hiện một cách tinh tế thời gian tình yêu đầu tiên của anh trong một tình huống khiến anh nhanh chóng bắt gặp Kim Kyu Ri. Kim Kyu Ri đã tạo ra một sự quyến rũ đáng yêu với một hình ảnh khéo léo và làm cho miệng của nhân viên của anh ta tăng lên. Nhóm sản xuất cho biết, “Kim Joon-ah, nhân vật chính của chấn thương tình yêu đầu tiên của Idoha, sẽ xuất hiện từ chương trình phát sóng thứ 7 và sẽ bắt đầu phiên bản LoveLine mới.” Ido Ha-Mika, người đã tăng cường tình yêu, tôi hy vọng bạn sẽ tận hưởng sự lãng mạn thú vị này. ”

[mandarake-en]

★Mandarake Latest Store Topics★ June 21 21pm Update Sapporo [UFO Arrival Information] <Blu-ray> Mobile Fighter G Gundam Ishiha Tenma Blu-ray Box 2 in stock! https://t.co/LCsx0zCxXV #Mandarake https://t.co/ciCfFMccWU Mandarake Twitter: http://twitter.com/mandarake_en Mandarake Facebook: http://facebook.com/mandarake (Automated Tumblr Post)

[its-naruto-universe]

I’m ashamed of being part of the western fandom

Not only you demand the death of such a great man and mangaka such as sui ishiha, who has the humilty to actually care and answer you back on twitter on social media, But you also have the guts to call him homphobic just because your gay ship didn’t happen.

And this is coming from a non shipper who follows tg only for the angst, so don’t even fucking try to justificate

Wow congrats you can’t get worse than his.

Ah and instead of doing the gay’s moralist on a fucking fictional work try caring more for gay relationships in real life.

AND  HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU WISH HIM DEATH WHEN SUICIDE IT’S SUCH AN DELICATE ARGOMENTS SINCE JAPAN IT’S THE COUNTRY TAT SUFFERS THE MOST FROM THE HIGH RATE OF SUICIDES

JUST HOW

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 4 Chapter 1 - The Silkworm God (Part 2)

The theme got updated apparently

Previous || Index || Next

That night, there was an unusual preliminary announcement.

“Dajia will be arriving here shortly.”

A boy eunuch came to Yamei Palace to inform them. It was still the first watch of the night (seven to nine pm).

Jusetsu found it bothersome that Koushun would be go out of his way to send her a message beforehand, but since there was no point in telling the messenger that, Jusetsu simply replied, “I see.” The boy eunuch noticed Ishiha, who was feeding Xingxing in a corner of the room, and had an “Ah” look on his face. Ishiha made a similar face. “Do you know each other?” Jusetsu asked Ishiha. “We were together at Gyokou Hall,” he said. For a time, Ishiha worked as a servant at Koushun’s residence.

The two were smiling. They were probably good friends. It was adorable. Seemingly remembering his position, the boy eunuch hurriedly bowed and said, “Excuse me.” He was about to leave when Jusetsu took some boiled chestnuts on the tray and put them in his small hands. If he made Ishiha happy, then it might be a good idea to have him serve as the messenger in the future, she thought. At the same time, she asked herself if that was what a Raven Consort would do. Her heart was uncertain.

Jiujiu ran to the kitchen to prepare tea, and Ishiha retreated to his room. Koushun must have waited for the right time to come, since the tea was just ready when he arrived at Yamei Palace.

“There are no changes?” Koushun asked quietly, taking a sip of the gently steaming tea. His voice was quiet but held a hint of warmth, like the winter sun.

“Nothing has changed.”

Koushun’s expression remained unchanged by Jusetsu’s curt reply, and Ei Sei, standing behind him, only frowned. When she turned to look at him, he suddenly turned his head away. Normally, he would stare at her with a biting gaze. She was fine with it as long as he didn’t scowl at her.

On the table, there were the lotus seeds preserved in sugar brought by Koushun. They were Jusetsu’s favorites, which he often brought. After popping a seed coated in white sugar into her mouth, she looked at him.

“…What about you?” she asked quietly.

“Me?” Koushun looked back at her in surprise.

“You asked me, so I’ll ask you too.”

“I see. Well, as for me…”

He looked down a little thoughtfully. It was just like him to seriously think about his answer.

“I’m having a difficult time talking to the Owl.”

The Owl.

The executioner from Kakurenomiya who tried to kill Jusetsu. He was also the Raven’s brother. The Raven imprisoned within Jusetsu—

“…What do you mean by difficult time?”

The Owl said that he was currently imprisoned in Kakurenomiya. Apparently, it was because he had broken a prohibition against interfering with them. In prison, the Owl used a large conch shell as a messenger to deliver his voice. Only Koushun, who was injured by him, could hear him.

“It seems to depend on the tides and waves. It’s not a guarantee that his voice can reach me when I’m near the shell. But I can’t carry it around with me either.”

It would be acceptable if it was a small shell, but it was a large conch shell. It would raise questions if people saw him walking around with it, and moreover, talking to it. They might suspect him of being insane.

“…In the first place, the Owl approached us to find a solution, so there may not be a need to inquire further.”

Display your wisdom, the Owl had said. He told them to think of a way to save the Raven without killing Jusetsu.

“I don’t think so. There must be things that he knows that we don’t know. I would like to have more conversations to confirm that, but…”

“You ask me, but I wouldn’t know such things.”

“You were the one who asked, so I answered.”

“That’s not what I asked you about.”

 “Then what is it?”

Jusetsu was at a loss for an answer. What is it? What answer did I wish to hear?

“…I asked about you, so your answer should be about yourself.”

“I believe I did do so.”

“I didn’t ask about the Owl.”

“How particular you are,” Koushun replied dispassionately, but spoke after thinking it over in silence for a little bit. “I am the same as you. There hasn’t been anything unusual. I’ve been sleeping well lately, and I am in good health.”

“I see.”

Jusetsu didn’t really know what she wanted to ask, so that was all she said. However, after hearing his words just now, she felt relieved. Perhaps that was what she wanted to hear from the start. Koushun didn’t talk about himself voluntarily.

“The head of the Saname clan will be arriving here from Ga Province soon, so there are many things to worry about, though.”

“Saname Chouyou is coming here?”

“Yes. He is presenting silkworm eggs.”

“Silkworms from Ga Province? He’s presenting eggs instead of raw silk?”

“It’s part of his compensation for the previous incident.”

He was referring to the incident in which the uncle of the family head, who had been living under house arrest, had plotted to regain his interests. In the end, his past injustices and murders were soon exposed, and it was said that Chouyou himself beheaded his uncle. Because they had doctored the rice taxes that they were supposed to pay to the central government, the Saname clan had to receive a very severe punishment.

“I desperately wanted the Saname silkworm eggs, but they are never taken out of the province. I couldn’t forcibly take them away. I’m glad I was able to unexpectedly obtain them due to this incident.”

That meant that he used this incident as a pretext to make the request. Koushun’s expression remained cool, though.

“Is it because the raw silk from Ga Province is such high quality?”

“The quality of the luster is excellent, and it is durable. The cocoonery in the imperial court have been conducting research on it for a long time, but we just can’t get that luster with other silkworms. The silkworm eggs presented by Saname are the highest quality among their silkworms. I want to use them as a base to make further improvements and eventually standardize the silkworm varieties of Shou.”

His tone was calm, but he seemed to be extremely ambitious and motivated. It’s unusual for him to talk for so long, Jusetsu thought. At the same time, what caught her attention was the fact that he desperately wanted the Saname silkworm eggs.

The Saname silkworms are worth more than I expected.

“There’s a cocoonery in the inner palace as well.”

Jusetsu was inwardly startled at Koushun’s words. Of course, the cocoonery ghost and the loss of the cocoons were a secret from him. Especially if the cocoons were worth that much.

“The silkworms currently being raised there are Saname silkworms. The Crane Consort is in charge of it.”

“Huh,” Jusetsu didn’t say anything more and simply made a sound of acknowledgement.

“Apparently, the Crane Consort also took care of silkworms when she lived in Ga Province. She is also very knowledgeable about their ecology.”

“Huh…” She remembered that Jiujiu had also said something about that. “Is that so?”

“You didn’t know? I thought you two were close.”

“We haven’t seen each other lately.”

Jusetsu didn’t go to other palaces unless invited. Before, she often received invitations from Banka, but recently they had stopped coming.

“I see. It seems like she hasn’t been feeling well for a while now. I should go visit her.”

“Is she sick?”

The curse incident crossed her mind. Was that still having a lasting effect? However, Koushun denied it.

“She appears to be depressed. It’s suddenly getting colder. It might be because of that.”

“You didn’t go to visit her?”

“I have. We’re exchanging letters as well.”

That was right, Koushun was a conscientious person.

“I’m about to go there today as well.”

“Then you should go quickly. You need not visit me.”

“I didn’t mean to stay too long, but I wanted to see your face.”

Sometimes, Jusetsu felt as though she was standing there motionless at Koushun’s words. In such cases, she couldn’t respond.

Koushun stood up. Even when she looked at his face, it was as expressionless as ever, and she couldn’t read his emotions. When he was about to go to the doors, he turned around.

“I just remembered something. About Hou Ichigyou…”

He was an old man who was an imperial sorcerer in the previous dynasty. He was being pursued on the charges of sending the Owl’s tsukaibe, Shougetsu, into the inner palace, and was arrested in the entertainment district recently.

“His fever has subsided and he’s on the mend. You’ll be able to see him soon.”

Perhaps it was because he had got caught in the rain for a little bit when he was arrested, or perhaps it was due to stress, but Hou became bedridden with illness. Due to his old age, he couldn’t brush off even a minor sickness. He was moved to the inner court for monitoring and nursing.

Jusetsu was relieved to hear that he was on his way to recovery. She had so many things she wanted to ask about sorcerers and the Raven Consort.

“I’ll come again.”

After saying that, Koushun left through the doors. Jusetsu stood up, opened the doors slightly, and watched him and the eunuchs as they left. The sun set, and the lanterns held by the eunuchs were flickering dimly in the darkness.

Jusetsu stood there for a while, watching the lights becoming more and more distant. Suddenly, she noticed a light approaching from a different direction and stared at it. It was the figure of a palace lady that stood out against the light.

Shuuji.

Jusetsu descended the steps and went to her. Shuuji hurriedly knelt when she spotted her.

“L…Lady Raven Consort.”

“What’s wrong? Did the ghost appear?”

“No, that’s not it. Um…”

Shuuji’s face was so pale that it could be seen even in the dim light, and her voice was trembling. Something strange had clearly happened. However, the words that came out of her mouth were completely unexpected.

“Please just forget about what I requested of you.”

“What?”

“Please leave that ghost be. Please—”

Jusetsu frowned. “What exactly is going on? Tell me what happened.”

“No, nothing happened. Please forgive me.”

After repeating “Please forgive me” over and over again, Shuuji finally ran away. Jusetsu silently watched her receding figure. It couldn’t have been nothing.

What happened?

The next morning, Jusetsu once again dressed in a eunuch’s uniform and headed to the cocoonery. Even if Shuuji asked her to leave it be, with that frightened appearance, there was no way she would withdraw herself.

Before she headed to the cocoonery, she had some trouble deciding who to accompany her.

“Yesterday was Onkei, so please take me with you today.”

It was because Tan Kai had said that. Jiujiu couldn’t stay silent when she heard that.

“If you’re willing to take someone like Tan Kai with you, then take me as well.”

“What do you mean, someone like me? You can’t be a bodyguard.”

“I’m worried about you because you’re lazy.”

It seemed that Jiujiu didn’t get along very well with Tan Kai. Since they were arguing, it didn’t look like they would be able to go out. “I’ll bring Onkei with me,” Jusetsu decided. “If it’s Onkei, then it’s fine,” Jiujiu immediately backed down. Tan Kai complained until the end.

“My apologies. I will scold Tan Kai later,” Onkei apologized as they went to the cocoonery.

“I don’t mind adding him, but three strangers would be too conspicuous, wouldn’t they?”

“I’ll try not to stand out, then.”

A voice suddenly came from nearby, and Jusetsu stopped. Tan Kai appeared from between the trees.

“Did you follow us?” Jusetsu asked, somewhat taken aback.

“Tan Kai,” Onkei called out to him in a subdued voice. Jusetsu could tell that his reprimand was strong enough to be held back so much. If Ishiha was called in the same way, he would probably cry.

“My role is to protect you, Niangniang. But there’s no point in leaving me behind so many times. It’s lonely to be left alone.”

When Tan Kai said he was lonely, Jusetsu felt like she had done something bad.

“…As long as you don’t attract attention, I don’t mind if you follow me.”

“Of course, Niangniang. I can be useful.”

“Tan Kai…”

Onkei’s stifled voice turned colder. However, Tan Kai walked alongside them with an expression of feigned ignorance.

Tan Kai was faithful to his own desires. This was all the more so because Onkei was a self-restrained and overly modest servant. He was the type of person who had never been around Jusetsu before. Tan Kai was clearly aware of his desires to do this and want that. That was something Jusetsu didn’t have. She wasn’t used to it, so she had a hard time dealing with him, but at the same time, her interest was piqued. She thought that Koushun and the others should imitate Tan Kai’s free-spiritedness to some extent.

“Onkei, what have you found out about that mound?” Jusetsu asked him as they walked.

“A veteran eunuch knew what it was. It’s a silkworm mound.”

“A silkworm mound?”

“It used to be a place to discard the silkworms that died during the rearing process and the carcasses of pupae created during silk production. However, it seemed to have turned into a mound where the silkworms are enshrined.”

“So it was a grave for silkworms?”

“Yes. Now, we sell the pupae to carp breeders, so there is no need for a place to discard them.”

“Carp breeders?”

“They say they make for good bait. Every time, the pupae carcasses are stuffed into bags and taken outside by the cocoonery eunuchs.”

She didn’t know silkworm carcasses could be used for fish food. It was much better than just throwing them away.

“The ghost of the silkworm mound, huh,” Jusetsu murmured to herself. She dwelled in the mound and took care of the silkworms in the cocoonery. Was she cursed by the silkworms even after death?

All things considered, she was a tranquil ghost.

She was a ghost with no stagnation, resentment, or bitterness within her body. She simply took care of the silkworms silently and returned to the mound once she finished. A quiet ghost.

“…What about the other matter?” Jusetsu asked Onkei to investigate one more thing in addition to the mound.

“There are fifteen palace ladies working in the cocoonery, and five more are added during the busiest periods. All of them are ladies of Hakkaku Palace, and when they aren’t looking after the silkworms, they return there.”

“They aren’t from Ga Province, are they?”

“No, they are all daughters of imperial capital merchants, wealthy farmers from neighboring villages, and scholar bureaucrats. The main caretakers are the daughters of farmers. Many of the farmers also raise silkworms, after all. Apparently, they learned how to raise Ga Province silkworms directly from the Crane Consort.”

“I see. You did a good job, researching all of that in only half a day.”

She thanked him. Onkei smiled slightly.

“Haha. Niangniang, are you thinking that the palace ladies are suspicious?” Tan Kai interjected. “The loss of the cocoons was the work of a palace lady, not a ghost. Isn’t that right?”

He was perceptive. Jusetsu had Onkei investigate the backgrounds of the palace ladies who worked at the cocoonery.

“If that ghost had been stealing cocoons, then the rumors should have been about that in the first place. However, that wasn’t the case. The ghost only appears to take care of the silkworms. Also…the silkworms of Ga Province are of high value. It would be reasonable to assume that someone took advantage of the rumors of the ghost to steal the cocoons.”

“You’re saying that it was a palace lady taking care of the silkworms who was able to do that?”

“The cocoons disappeared while the palace ladies were taking care of them. It would be difficult for anyone else to do it. They said that the room and clothes of the ladies were searched at the time of the loss, but there must have been some way to hide the cocoons. It is more reasonable than thinking that an outsider did it.”

“So, you’re going to go cross examine the palace ladies now?”

“I won’t do something like that. There is a palace lady I must question first.”

“That Nen Shuuji girl?”

“No. –Onkei.”

Onkei nodded as though he knew what she was thinking. “I know who the palace lady was who said she saw a ghost on the day the cocoons were lost.”

Jusetsu smiled. Onkei understood very well.

“That palace lady stole the cocoons?” Tan Kai asked.

“If it was the palace lady who stole the cocoons, we can blame it on the ghost who appeared,” Jusetsu replied.

“But the ghost does exist, so it wouldn’t be strange for it to appear that day. It’s also possible that another palace lady took advantage of the ghost commotion to steal them—oh, did that palace lady say that there was a ghost because she knew that the cocoons went missing?”

That doesn’t make any sense, Tan Kai answered his own question.

“Precisely. If one were to take advantage of a commotion, one would make a scene at the moment the ghost appeared in order to divert everyone’s attention. However, in reality, such a commotion didn’t occur. It was only after the loss was discovered that she claimed to have seen the ghost.”

“Then, they were trying to steal the cocoons and pass it off as the work of the ghost?” Tan Kai said.

“Perhaps,” Jusetsu replied. She then asked Onkei, “What is the background of that lady?”

“She is the daughter of a wealthy farmer.”

“Then, she must also have connections to sericulture farmers.”

If she didn’t, then there was no point in getting her hands on one or two cocoons. She wouldn’t be able to make them emerge or breed.

“We don’t know the sexes of the lost cocoons, but if they crossbreed them with the silkworms from the sericulture farmers, they could create a silkworm breed that is descended from the Saname silkworms. Or, if the cocoons are a male and female pair, then the breed will be pure Saname. The closely guarded Saname silkworms will be leaked out into the outside world.”

“…It’s become serious, isn’t it?” Tan Kai scratched his head.

“It’s very serious. We’re preparing for the visit of Saname Chouyou. It would be very bad if the cocoons have already been taken outside.”

But this was the inner palace. There weren’t many opportunities to have contact with the outside world. The cocoons were probably still hidden somewhere.

“I think it would be better to inform Dajia—no, the Crane Consort first.”

“I’ll do it once we find out if it is the work of the palace lady. I’m also concerned about Shuuji.”

“She suddenly told you to stop investigating the ghost incident.”

“Yes. What do you think?”

“Yeah, that’s how it always goes,” Tan Kai said with a faint smile. “She must have been threatened.”

In front of the cocoonery, Jusetsu and the two eunuchs split into two groups. In order to avoid Shuuji’s notice, they had Onkei first ask for that aforementioned palace lady. Jusetsu and Tan Kai decided to wait for her behind an inconspicuous building.

Unlike yesterday, they went around the back gate and entered where no one could see them. Eunuchs were still working in the back building as seen from the front gate. They seemed to be cleaning with all the doors open. Some were carrying mulberry branches outside, while others were sweeping the floors with brooms.

“Was this the mulberry storage room?”

“Yes it was. They’ve finished taking care of the silkworms, so I guess they’re cleaning up.”

Jusetsu called out to one of the eunuchs who was tying mulberry branches together with a string. He was a small-framed, young, and quite good-looking eunuch. The eunuchs who worked at the consorts’ palaces were usually chosen for their looks. He seemed to think that Jusetsu was a fellow eunuch, as he wiped his sweat and casually replied with “What?”

“Are you going to throw away those branches?”

“Of course not,” the eunuch said with wide eyes. “You can’t waste even one thing in the inner palace. Everything belongs to Dajia. These can be used for dye or firewood.”

“I see. The pupae are also used as carp bait, yes?”

“Yep.”

The eunuch carried the bundle of branches and moved them next to the gate. There was a pile of branches there. While thinking about how these branches could be used for many purposes, Jusetsu went towards the cocoonery building. There was no one around the room where the silkworms were raised, because there were no more silkworms. On the other hand, she could hear the sounds of people working from another room.

“Now that the cocoon selection is over, the next task is to retrieve the threads.”

Hearing Tan Kai’s words, Jusetsu stopped. “Do you know much about silkworms?”

“I wouldn’t say I know much, but the family I was born into also raised them. It’s common for large mansions to build their own cocooneries and procure silk, in our dom…I mean, region.”

He was about to say “our domain.”

Jusetsu stared at Tan Kai’s face. She heard that before becoming a eunuch, he had been a bandit. But she didn’t know who he was before becoming a bandit. When he was captured by the constables, he was made to become a eunuch because of his good looks. Not only that, but there was an elegance to his features.

He might have come from some prestigious family. She wouldn’t pry into it unless he himself said anything, though.

“…When you say retrieving the threads, do you mean taking the threads from the cocoons?”

Jusetsu went to the back of the building.

“They boil the cocoons in hot water and look for the thread end. Then, they pull out the thread. I watched them do it when I was a child, and it’s really an expert skill. They boil the pupae inside to kill it. There is another way to kill the pupae by drying the cocoon, but that doesn’t produce the unique luster, apparently.”

Indeed, steam was coming out from the lattice windows of the room. As she peeked into it, a voice called out to her.

“Niangniang,” It was Onkei. There was a palace lady standing behind him. She must be the one.

“This is the palace lady who saw the ghost on the day the cocoons disappeared, but…” Onkei said, but he looked a little confused. Jusetsu wondered why. “She says that she wants to tell you about the ghost.”

Hmm? Jusetsu tilted her head. What is the meaning of this?

“My name is Man Jakusui,” the palace lady introduced herself and bowed. Jusetsu had seen her in the cocoonery yesterday. She was an unassuming-looking girl with slanted eyebrows. Her cheeks were as white and smooth as a cocoon.

“You want to talk to me about the ghost?”

“Yes,” Jakusui straightened herself. “Um…yesterday, I was hesitating over whether or not I should tell you right away.”

“What is it?”

“It was different.”

“What’s different?” Jakusui wasn’t getting to her point.

“So, um…” The reason Jakusui was stumbling over her words so much was because she didn’t know how to put it into words. Jakusui gestured frustratedly and repeated her words.

“It’s the ghost.”

Jusetsu was silent for a minute.

“The ghost was different. In other words, are you trying to say that the ghost you saw and the ghost from yesterday are different people?”

“Yes, yes,” Jakusui nodded several times.

What does that mean?

“When the cocoons disappeared, we were in the process of checking the conditions of the cocoons. We observed the progress of each cocoon on the holders and recorded it down. These records are important at every stage of rearing. They will be used as reference for producing more good-quality cocoons during subsequent rearings. As we were concentrating on this task, I suddenly noticed that the palace lady across from me was different from the one I was used to seeing, so I looked up. Then…”

It was a face I had never seen before.

“I heard that the cocoonery is haunted, so I thought, Oh, this is the ghost. I don’t even remember the details of her outfit or hair, but the ghost from yesterday had a completely different face. It’s more, well…childish, I feel. She had a cute round face and wide eyes.”

Also, she added. “Although it was faint, it looked like she was wearing makeup. We don’t wear makeup. This is to avoid accidentally contaminating the room and the silkworms, especially when the cocoons are formed. If the cocoons get dirty with white powder or rouge, they will be ruined.”

“But the ghost was wearing makeup.”

“Yes. I was busy, so I can’t stop working even when I think I see a ghost. Also, I was so scared and surprised that I couldn’t even make a sound. I guess you could say that I was afraid of raising my voice and being noticed… That was how I felt at the time. I tried not to look at her too much, but I tried to catch it out of the corner of my eye, and the ghost quickly moved from its spot.”

“Moved? It didn’t disappear?”

“She disappeared from my sight. She didn’t vanish into mist. Everyone around me was working busily, so once it disappeared from sight, it could get lost in the shuffle. But then, once we found out that some cocoons went missing, there was a big panic.”

Jusetsu pondered. If this palace lady is the one who stole cocoons, there would be no need to talk about this. All she had to do was to say that she saw a ghost, and that it was definitely that ghost. Because Jusetsu had no way of determining whether or not that was a lie. All Jakusui needed was to have the guts to stick with her lie, and if she didn’t, she would be coming clean. She didn’t need to talk about this unnecessary stuff.

“…Why didn’t you tell me right away yesterday?”

“I was wondering if I was imagining things, and what if the ghost cursed me too for telling someone about—”

“Cursed? What do you mean, you too?”

“Oh, um, there was a ghost commotion last night.”

“A ghost commotion…”

She suddenly had a realization. So that’s what that was about?

Jusetsu turned to Jakusui. “Can you call Nen Shuuji over here?”

“Yes, it’s no problem.”

Jakusui jogged back to the cocoonery.

“Are you letting that palace lady go?” Tan Kai asked doubtfully.

“Yes” was all Jusetsu said.

“Then, Niangniang, you think her story was true. That means…”

“There are two ghosts.”

Previous || Index || Next

[kurokawaia]

REQUEST RULES + CHARACTERS

REQUEST RULES ::

⋆·˚ ༘ * i have a life outside Tumblr aka. requests might take a while depending on motivation. ༊*·˚

DONT TELL ME 'I want you to write...', it can come of rude and demanding and I won't fulfill your reques. Come of NICE when you request, e.g, 'I was wondering if you could right,' 'could you please write,' etc ༊*·˚

I WILL WRITE for fem!reader ONLY in all of the thirsts, drabbles, fics and headcanons i write, the troupe will be dom!character x sub!reader unless stated other wise or requested otherwise.

NOTE :: if gender is not specified in request, i will assume it's a FEM! instert and will write a FEM! insert

I can also write any male reader x male character nsfw's but ONLY for Heaven Official's Blessing and The grandmaster demonic cultivation !!sorry if you want male x reader for any other fandom, but this is just the fandoms im comfortable writing this troupe with.

NOTE :: I will rarely write a dom!reader x sub!character

COMFORTABLE WRITING ┈➤ fluff, angst, smut, and dark content.

COMFORTABLE WRITING TOPICS ┈➤ cnc, duncon, noncon, being drugged, breeding, baby trapping, daddy kinks, mommy kinks, dd/lg, blood play, weapon play, kidnapping, yandere, coercion/manipulation, god complex, praise, name calling, degradation, exhibitionism, voyeurism, cervix fucking, size kink, age gaps, cockwarming, bondage, biting, cucking, threesome, throat training, impact play, oral -> male and female receiving, face sitting, double penetration, anal + more ༊*·˚

NOT COMFORTABLE WRITING ┈➤ insest, stepcest scat, watersports, vomit, fisting, pedophilia, chastity, drowning, public nudity, gangbangs (no more than a threesome), cannabilism, hypnosis, duct tape, mummification, consensual servitude, humiliation, harem boys, prostitution ༊*·˚

I WILL NOT WRITE ┈➤ au's!! (i will not write for a character outside that timeline/setting as in the anime. so please refraining from asking me to write a 'modern au' 'collage au' etc. the only exception is making that au within the anime setting, such as; 'character doing this instead of this', like that is that makes sense?) insesct, stepcest ༊*·˚

all characters are depicted to be 18+

REQUEST CHARACTERS ::

⋆ HUNTER X HUNTER :: Kurapika Kurta, Leorio Paradinight, Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs, Illumi Zoldyck, Chrollo Lucilfer, Feitan Portor

⋆ DEATH NOTE :: Light Yagami, L Lawliet (L), Miheal Kheel (Mello), Mail Jeevas (Matt), Nate Rivers (Near)

⋆ BUNGO STRAY DOGS :: Dazai Osamu, Atsushi Nakajima, Kunikida Doppo, Edogawa Ranpo, Fukuzawa Yukichi, Nakahara Chuuya, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Dostovesky Fyodor ༊*·˚

⋆ BLEACH :: Ichigo Kurosaki, Zaraki Kenpachi, Kuchiki Byakuya, Urahara Kisuke, Shinji Hirako, Kyoraku Shunsui, Aizen Sosuke, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Cifer Ulquiorra, Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, Ishiha Uryu, Haschwalth Jugram ༊*·˚

⋆ NARUTO/BORUTO :: Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Madara, Uzumaki Naruto, Senju Tobirama, Hatake Kakashi, Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Jiraya, Otsitsuki Indra ༊*·˚

⋆ DEMON SLAYER :: Demon slayers; Tokitō Muichirō, Rengoku Kyōjurō, Tomioka Giyū, Uzui Tengen, Shinazugawa Sanemi, Iguro Obanai, Himejima Gyōmei, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Demons; Kibutsuji Muzan, Kokushibō | Michikatsu Tsugikuni, Douma, Akaza ༊*·˚

⋆ WIND BREAKER :: Haruka Sakura, Suo Hayato, Togame Jou, Kaji Ren, Umemiya hajime ༊*·˚

⋆ TOKYO REVENEGRS :: Mikey, Draken, Sanzu, Wakasa, Izana, Ran, Rindou ༊*·˚

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 3 Chapter 3 - The Hand Pulling the Sleeve (Part 1)

A shorter chapter that’s mostly focused on backstory...also shellphone

Translation Notes

1. The word used here is  志怪 which translates to “tales of the miraculous/strange.” They deal with the supernatural, and gods, ghosts and spirits

2. Zensen incense is an incense made from fragrant wood. There is one on display at the Shoso-in.

Previous || Index || Next

There were several archives within the imperial palace that collected books. The Koutou Palace Library was one of them, and it had a particularly valuable collection of books. Some of the books were written for scholars on foreign laws and history, while others were elaborately bound manuscripts and rare editions of strange tale collections. (1)

“Have you ever been to the Western Territory?”

Koushun asked that question to Shiki in a room at Koutou Academy. This country, separated down the center by a mountain range, had long been divided into the Eastern and Western Territory. The capital was located in the Eastern Territory, and Rouko, home to Ishiha’s Hatan tribe, was located in the west.

“I have been in Dou Province and Gei Province. I served as the western chief military secretary in Dou Province and an assistant inspector in Gei Province.”

Even the gentle-faced Shiki’s low voice was mellow and smooth. And just like the shadows on his face, his voice was tinged with a touch of sadness.

“Dou Province, huh. You must have had a difficult time there.”

There was an island of exiles. There were also several other small islands, which were quite difficult to manage and govern. Koushun heard that the waves were rough and the weather was harsh there.

“The winter cold was hard to withstand,” Shiki answered, nodding.

“Crops don’t grow well there because the winds are too strong. Because of that, iron manufacture and crafts flourish there. Since many of the woodturners and foot bellows operators were roughnecks, so bookish government bureaucrats are no match for them. However, it isn’t enough for warriors to simply suppress them with force.”

“Is the regional military governor handling things well?”

“The governor who summoned me at that time was a well-educated military officer. I have heard from others that the current governor is also a man of good reputation.”

“I see,” Koushun nodded. It was he who had appointed the regional military governor. “Rouko is in Gei Province. The Hatan tribe lives there. I have several eunuchs from there around me.”

“That land…isn’t very bountiful,” Shiki dropped his gaze somberly. “They can’t feed their children, so they give them away. But then there will be fewer workers. Their poverty doesn’t go away. It’s a vicious cycle. It isn’t very pleasant to see brokers coming to buy boys to make them into eunuchs.”

After he said that, he looked up, seeming to remember that he was talking to Koushun. “I apologize for going on a tangent.”

“No…”

Koushun recalled Ishiha’s face. He was still a young child, about ten or so. Ei Sei had also been around that age when he entered the inner palace.

“Generally, the western territories are poorer than the eastern territories. I hear the fish used to be so plentiful in the west that a palace could be built just with fishing.”

“Ah, yes. Ishiha also said that the elders used to be nostalgic for that time…”

“I…? Is he from the Hatan tribe?”

It appeared that he could tell from the sound of the name.

“He’s a eunuch from the Hatan tribe. He worked at Gyoukou Hall for a while. He currently works at Yamei Palace.”

“Yamei Palace…”

Shiki, who had just arrived in the imperial palace, might not know anything about the inner palace. Koushun was about to add an explanation, but before he could, Shiki said, “They say that the Raven Consort lives there.”

“You knew that already?”

“No, I learned about it after I came here. When I was in the provinces, I didn’t even know about the existence of the Raven Consort. Is it true that she undertakes everything from searching for lost items to curse killings?”

“Oh, well…”

He had never seen Jusetsu cast a curse, and he didn’t think she would.

“Um—” Just as Shiki was about to say something after careful consideration, Ei Sei came to inform them. “Dajia, the Duck Consort has arrived.”

“Oh, right. Was it today?”

He had given Kajou, who wanted to borrow books, permission to come here.

Kajou entered the room, accompanied by several attendants and eunuchs. She was a refreshing sight in her pale blue robes tinged with light grey. The dangling ornaments of her hairpins clinked together coolly.

“Did you want to borrow the classical poetry book, Kajou?”

“Yes, I have already borrowed it. There is a copy of a Kakami picture scroll in this room, I believe. I would like to borrow it.”

I want to look at it together with the Raven Consort, she said. Kajou was extremely fond of Jusetsu.

“A Kakami picture scroll?” Koushun looked at the lined-up shelves. “It must be somewhere around here.”

“I shall bring it,” Shiki quickly moved. It seemed that he already knew where everything was.

Kajou thanked him, who returned with several picture scrolls. “My, thank you very much. Are you a scholar? It’s my first time seeing you.”

Kajou often visited the academy, so she was familiar with the scholars’ faces.

“I was appointed here as a scholar recently. My name is Reiko Shiki,” Shiki bowed courteously.

“Oh, is that so? Where are you from?”

Koushun, with a start, said, “He’s from Ga Province.”

“I used to be a deputy inspector in Ga Province. I was born in Hosui in Reki Province.”

Kajou’s smile stiffened for just a moment at Shiki’s answer.

“I see. –I shall look at the contents and choose which one I wish to borrow,” Saying that with a smile, Kajou moved to the long table in the back. The eunuchs holding the picture scrolls and attendants followed. Watching them, Shiki asked Koushun, “Should I not have mentioned Reki Province?”

“Yes. …She lost someone she knew there.”

That was all Koushun said, and he glanced at Shiki. He was shrewder than he thought he would be, showing off his competence in front of a consort and promoting his name.

“——Putting that aside, weren’t you about to say something earlier?”

“Yes…” Shiki lowered his eyes. “Um, will the Raven Consort accept a request from someone like me? Or does she only listen to requests from those in the inner palace?”

“Do you have a request for her?”

Koushun was a little surprised. Somehow, Shiki didn’t look like someone who would rely on such things.

Yes, Shiki answered and rubbed his arms. His expression was dark, a shadow cast over it.

“…I’ll try asking her. By the way, what sort of request do you have for her?”

Shiki moved his gaze as if in hesitation.

“I’m sure you’ll think me a fool, but…” After saying that, Shiki lifted his eyes.

“I can see a hand pulling on my sleeve.”

Jusetsu sat down in a chair and looked at the man kneeling before her. His name was Reiko Shiki. At first glance, he didn’t look like a government official. Jusetsu hadn’t seen that many government officials to the extent that she could conclude that, but he looked very different from the officials she had seen so far. Bureaucrats were generally somewhat cold. It wasn’t that they were cold-hearted. It was an intellectual coldness, like they were sharpening their reason with knowledge.

However, this man named Shiki had no such coldness. His gaze was gentle, and there was a sense of cleanliness radiating from his ruddy skin and dress. He had an affable appearance. But, for some reason, Jusetsu could sense a shadow from him. Like the shade of early spring, there was a sudden chill and loneliness.

Why is this man in the imperial palace?

He didn’t seem to possess the spirit to work for his country or the ambition to make a name for himself. He simply looked terribly lonely.

Men like him are dangerous.

A eunuch offered a bowl of lychees to the frowning Jusetsu. The red skin was peeled in half and placed in a glass bowl for easy eating. Picking up the skin, Jusetsu put the white fruit flesh in her mouth. The sweet juices overflowed.

Jusetsu directed her gaze diagonally. Koushun was sitting there. With an expressionless face, he was leaning slightly against the armrest and sitting calmly. Nobody was saying anything. The rain was so loud that they couldn’t hear each other when they spoke.

This was the Tourin in the imperial palace, the emperor’s villa. It had a garden, a pond, and a beautiful pagoda. Under normal circumstances, she would have enjoyed the view, but the shower that suddenly started made that impossible. It felt as though this gazebo was about to be submerged.

Well, it would probably stop before that happens…

They couldn’t do anything with this kind of rain, so they could only wait for the time to pass. Jusetsu came to Tourin at Koushun’s request to meet with a scholar who had a request for her. That was why she was observing Shiki.

A hand pulling on his sleeve, huh…

She glanced at it and thought, indeed.

There was a white hand holding Shiki’s sleeve. It was a thin, pale woman’s hand. It was neither pulling hard nor gripping it. It was pinching the sleeve between its fingers forlornly. Only a glimpse of a pale yellow sleeve printed with a tiny flower pattern could be seen, and there was nothing beyond that. There was only a hand.

The rain finally let up and showed signs of stopping. Koushun opened his mouth.

“This person says that he can see a hand pulling on his sleeve…”

Jusetsu nodded. “It’s most likely a woman’s hand. She’s wearing a light-yellow upper garment with a pattern of small flowers.”

Shiki suddenly flinched. “You can see it?”

“Even now, it’s pulling on your sleeve. Reservedly.”

Shiki let out a breath. “I can only see it once in a while. It didn’t seem like anyone else could see it…”

He said that he thought that there was something wrong with his eyes because no one else could see it when he asked to confirm it.

“There are those I can see immediately, and those I can’t see no matter what. One might call it compatibility.”

She glanced at Shiki’s sleeve.

“The owner of that hand seems to be very worried about you. If that’s the case, then you must know this person. Someone close to you. And you know why they are worried about you, don’t you? I don’t believe there is much for me to do here.”

Shiki’s eyes widened. “You…can tell that much?”

“I can reveal the ghost with my arts, but is that necessary?”

No, Shiki shook his head. “That person’s sleeve and hand are both familiar to me. In particular, the hand…it is unmistakable. It’s Shoumei. She was my adopted younger sister.”

Adopted sister, Koushun murmured as though in confirmation.

“I only call her my sister, but we are not actually related by blood. I believe that you know that I was an orphan, and so was Shoumei. Orphans like us lived together. We wouldn’t have been able to survive otherwise.”

Shoumei was three years younger than Shiki, and was a helpless child in everything she did, so he took care of her and helped her as if she was his little sister.

“Shoumei also called me ‘Big Brother’ and loved me. In the town where we were born and raised, there was an old teacher who gathered the orphans and taught them how to read and write, and he was partial to me because I did well. Because of that, I was taken in by the current Reiko family. At that time, I asked if they would adopt Shoumei as well. It seemed that the couple wanted a daughter as well as an heir, so they decided to adopt us together.”

“You have good parents,” Koushun said, and Shiki smiled faintly. It was a nostalgic smile filled with affection. That alone made it clear how he thought of his adoptive parents.

“Yes, they are wonderful people. They weren’t well-off, but they said that it would be too pitiful if we were separated from each other. I can never repay my debt to them. And yet…I made them feel sorrow about Shoumei.”

Shiki’s eyes darkened.

“Shoumei married into a family in the neighboring town. There was a wealthy landowning family there, and both the husband and parents were very kind, so we were all overjoyed with such a good match. …It wasn’t until a few years later that something went wrong in the husband’s family. Perhaps their good nature was taken advantage of. They began to believe in the Moon Truth Sect, which was popular at the time. Only Shoumei rejected it. Apparently, they donated a lot of money to the sect… I heard that she reprimanded them many times, but her husband and in-laws didn’t listen to her. My sister would occasionally write to me, asking what should she do, but I was working in another province at the time and couldn’t return right away. I regret not leaving behind everything and going back home back then.”

Shiki furrowed his brows and seemed to be in great pain to say any more.

“…If it’s too painful to talk about, then you don’t have to talk about everything. Just a general outline will do.”

When Jusetsu said this, Shiki nodded slightly. After a moment of silence, he exhaled and continued.

“I still don’t know why her husband and his parents, who were so kind and good-natured, did such a thing. Is that what faith is? One day, Shoumei was encouraged by some men to join the Moon Truth Sect. It had happened many times before, but Shoumei refused each time. However, that wasn’t the only thing that happened that day. There was a quarrel, and eventually they became violent…in the end, Shoumei was beaten to death with sticks by them. I was later told that the men were yelling that by beating Shoumei with sticks, they were going to eradicate the evil things inside her. The men were quickly arrested and executed. By the time I returned, Shoumei was in a coffin, awaiting burial. They were waiting to bury her for my sake. Although it was difficult to tell because of the makeup applied to the dead, her body was covered in wounds. Her face too… That was months before the Moon Truth Sect was destroyed by riots.”

Shiki lowered his head.

“…It was about half a year after Shoumei died that I noticed this hand. The robe with the flower pattern was one I bought for her long ago, and it was her favorite. It wasn’t tailor-made from new materials, but secondhand, so it wasn’t anything much… But even if she wasn’t wearing that robe, I would recognize her immediately. When we were children, Shoumei would always hold onto my sleeve anxiously and follow me. Her way of gently and shyly holding onto my sleeve hadn’t changed at all. It’s like she’s alive, and there are times when I just wanted to grab her hand.”

Shiki smiled sadly.

“But, even though she was helpless and unreliable, Shoumei always seemed to be somewhat worried about me. I used to tell her to worry about herself before she worried about others, but…I guess she had that kind of temperament.”

“…So, are you saying that is why she is still pulling on your sleeve?”

Jusetsu asked, and Shiki lowered his head slightly.

“I suppose so,” he said, nodding as if trying to tell himself that. Jusetsu silently stared at his face.

“I wish to ask if it is possible to send Shoumei to paradise. If things remain this way, it would be too pitiful for Shoumei.”

“If Shoumei’s worries disappeared, she would soon be able to cross over to paradise without me having to do anything. You are the reason why Shoumei is kept here.”

And Shiki probably knows that reason.

Shiki didn’t want to talk about it, so Jusetsu didn’t know what it was.

Shiki hung his head and remained silent. Jusetsu glanced at his waist. There was an ornament hanging from his sash. It had been on her mind ever since they first met here. It was a white coral ornament.

The symbol of the Eight Truths Sect.

“…You said that you were the deputy inspector in Ga Province. Are you an Eight Truths believer?”

“No,” Shiki bluntly denied.

“Then why are you wearing that ornament? It’s the proof that you are a believer of the Eight Truths Sect.”

“This is—” Shiki touched the white coral ornament. “This is something I wear in order to investigate the Eight Truths and the Saname clan.”

“Shiki was poisoned while investigating the relationship between the Eight Truths and the Sanames in Ga Province,” Koushun cut in. Jusetsu glanced at him.

“There’s a possibility that I’m being let go on purpose. There are believers in the imperial palace as well. This is to deceive their eyes.”

There was an unpleasant feeling there, a sizzling sensation like skin being smoked. It was his wariness against the Eight Truths. Hakumyoushi was said to be the Great Sea Turtle God. Was this the same god that was worshipped in ancient times?

Gou-no-Kami is summoning me once more…

They had to be the same. Power had returned to an ancient god… And the Eight Truths, who worshipped that god.

She had a bad feeling about this.

“…You’re still investigating even now?”

“Pardon?”

“Even now, you’re still investigating the Eight Truths and the Saname clan?”

“Yes,” Shiki nodded as though it was natural. “The Eight Truths is something that must not be left alone. They would surely cause a disaster in the future. They must be destroyed.”

His voice felt dim and seemed to echo from the shadows. I see, so that’s where this man’s heart is, Jusetsu thought.

“Do you hate the Eight Truths?”

Shiki stared directly into her eyes. Dark flames dwelled in them.

“I heard that the Eight Truths Sect was derived from the Moon Truth Sect.”

She had heard that from Koushun. “Yes,” Shiki answered.

“…The person who recommended that Shoumei’s husband and in-laws join the Moom Truth Sect is currently the leader of Eight Truths. He is a man named Hakurai,” Shiki spat out the words, his expression unbefitting of his face. “He was the man who taught that people who are possessed with evil spirits can be cured by beating them with sticks.”

He despises that man.

Jusetsu averted her eyes from Shiki and stared at the white hand that was pulling on his sleeve. I think this is what Shoumei is worried about, she thought. She was worried about this hatred. She was worried about his burning hatred intensifying and turning into the beast called revenge and running wild.

Unless Shiki gave up his revenge and let go of his hatred, Shoumei couldn’t cross over to paradise. She couldn’t leave Shiki’s side. She continued to grab his sleeve and tried to hold him back.

Jusetsu looked at Koushun. He was expressionless as ever, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“In any case, there is nothing I can do. I can forcibly tear Shoumei away from you, but that is not the same as sending her to paradise. If you want her to go to Kakurenomiya and turn her into a soul that traverses the river of stars, then you will have to remove her worries.”

The souls of the dead were led to Kakurenomiya in the far eastern end of the sea. After a long time, the souls were swept away on the river that flowed from Kakurenomiya. The river was in the night sky. For the people of the sea, the sky wasn’t what laid above, but something stretched out in the sea. The river was a corridor that connected the sea of beyond to the sea. Souls turned into twinkling stars after flowing from there, and their lights fell onto the earth and became new lives. No one knew if a star would become a fish in the sea, a plant growing from the earth, or a human being.

Every time a star’s light falls to the ground, a life is born.

That was why people feared, respected, and yearned for starlight.

“The wind that blows from the distant sea sounds the flower whistle, and the starlight reminds us of the deceased. If you wish to quietly mourn her, then put Shoumei at ease.”

Shiki bit his lip and bowed his head. Then, slowly, he shook his head.

“I’m sorry. It seems…that I still can’t send Shoumei to paradise.”

Jusetsu frowned slightly. She looked at Koushun and saw him staring out the latticed window. The rain had stopped. Droplets of water were dripping from the leaves one by one outside the window.

Ei Sei made tea for Koushun, who had returned to the inner court. As steam rose from the kettle and the scent of tea filled the room, Koushun felt the tension from his shoulders to his back slowly loosening up. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Ei Sei scooped the boiled tea with a spoon and poured it into a cup. When Koushun accepted it, the scent of fragrant and refreshing tea wafted from the cup even more strongly. He took a sip and found that it was faintly sweet.

“Where did this tea come from?”

“Bu Province.”

“I see. It’s delicious. Your tea is the best, as always.”

“Thank you very much,” Ei Sei smiled a faint, proud smile.

Koushun asked while drinking tea, “How is the tracking of Hou Ichigyou coming along?”

“It doesn’t seem like he left the capital. We are continuing the search for him.”

Koushun nodded at Ei Sei’s reply. Hou Ichigyou was the person who brought Shougetsu to the capital and introduced him to Gyoei. His identity had come to light. He used to serve the previous dynasty as a sorcerer, and was also Ran Hyougetsu’s master. What kind of intentions did such a person have in sending Shougetsu to the inner palace? There were many things they needed to question him about. He must be taken into custody as soon as possible.

Koushun threw another question at him.

“Sei, what do you think of Shiki?”

It was common for the two of them to ask each other questions out of context. That was how it went with Ei Sei.

Ei Sei lowered his long, glossy eyelashes. “He seems dangerous,” he immediately replied.

“Is that so?”

“Dajia…you shouldn’t trust him too much.”

“Does it look like I trust him?”

Ei Sei closed his mouth, and Koushun peered at his expression. He stroked the rim of the teacup, which was painted with flowers and birds.

“…I am wondering what Chouyou is thinking.”

“The Saname…”

“I’ve only met that man three times, but he’s completely unreadable to me. If the Sanames are involved with the Eight Truths, and if they are plotting something no good, he wouldn’t do anything that would arouse suspicion. That’s an absolute fact. He wouldn’t fail to kill Shiki or let him slip through his hands. If Shiki was able to escape from Ga Province, that was because of Chouyou’s will.”

“——Does that mean Shiki is Saname’s pawn?”

No, Koushun put the cup back on the table. “I am not sure about that. Did he only let Shiki go, or did he send him here? Is there a connection between Chouyou and Shiki? What is the relationship between Chouyou and the Eight Truths…?”

Don’t rush. You’ll let him get away.

Koushun folded his hands in front of his body and closed his eyes slightly.

Saname Chouyou…

The head of the Saname clan whose real name was unknown. He wondered where his intentions laid.

“I’m concerned about the Ga Province silk merchants who have been coming and going from the Un estate lately.”

Koushun nodded slightly at Ei Sei’s words.

Tutor Un, don’t pretend to be stupid.

Everything is falling away from between my fingers… In the end, there is nothing left.

He couldn’t get those thoughts out of his mind.

Ei Sei burned incense for Koushun, who had closed his eyes. Clove incense, pipe vine incense, zensen incense (2)…there had always been a variety of incense used here, but recently he had been preferring to burn agarwood incense. That was the incense Jusetsu often used.

As the gentle fragrance filled the air, he felt as if he was in Yamei Palace. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

Jusetsu had told him that the deity worshipped by the Eight Truths was the ancient Sea Turtle God. He had sensed that something was stirring and reaching out to them. He wanted to know just what it was.

“What’s the matter?”

Koushun heard footsteps and opened his eyes. Standing beside Ei Sei was a serving eunuch with a tray in his hands. Ei Sei took the tray and placed it on the table.

“This is a gift from Gei Province that arrived the other day.”

“Ah…the large rare conch snell, was it?”

Ei Sei lifted the cloth over the tray. It held a conch shell as big as Koushun’s face. It had a deep, dark color that sparkled in rainbow colors depending on the angle one viewed it from. It was named the “Brilliant Raven Shell. It was believed that large conch snails were the messengers of the gods who created the Peripheral Mirages—the fog at the ends of the sea. What was more, this was a rare raven shell that sparkled in many colors. Because of this, it was presented to the emperor as a symbol of good omens. Apparently, it was picked up a local fisherman after it had washed up on the beach.

“It was a beach in Rouko, right? That’s Ishiha’s hometown. I heard all sorts of things are washed up there.”

Did even corpses wash up there?

He suddenly recalled the myth that this land was created from the corpse of a god who was chopped into pieces. It was said to be a god who was exiled from Kakurenomiya.

“A country born from death. Is ruling it as an emperor the same as turning a corpse into a throne?”

Koushun, who had the shell in his hand and was admiring its iridescent luster, suddenly felt that he heard a faint voice and looked around.

“Is something the matter?”

“Can’t you hear that voice?”

Ei Sei stopped his movements to listen carefully. “No, I don’t hear anything.”

Koushun gestured to the bewildered Ei Sei to stop talking. He could still hear it.

What was this? It was like a whisper, but it wasn’t a distant voice. It sounded from nearby. And yet it was far away.

“Summer King.”

Koushun startled. It was a familiar voice.

A voice that was neither low nor high. A sound like intense waves. This was…

“Shougetsu…no, the Owl?”

Koushun looked down at the shell in his hand. The voice is coming from here. Impossible.

“Summer King—would it better if I called you emperor? Your names are quite complicated.”

“What’s happening? Where are you talking from?”

“Dajia?” Ei Sei was flustered. “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t you hear him?”

Astonished, Koushun looked between Ei Sei and the shell.

“My voice can only be heard by those who wear my mark.”

“Your mark?”

“I injured you. That must have left a bruise.”

Koushun’s hand went to his arm. The scar he had received from the Owl had already disappeared, but the faint bruise that had appeared still remained. It was a brown bruise, shaped like an owl’s feather.

“I can’t move. I can’t even make tsukaibe anymore. All I can do now is send my voice elsewhere.” There was a sound like a sigh. “I’m in prison. I’m completely powerless here.”

“Prison?”

“I told you that interference was forbidden. Didn’t I say that? I don’t know. Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been punished and sent to the goal. That’s why I had this large conch snail act as my messenger.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t make tsukaibe.”

“This isn’t a tsukaibe. Conch snails can only perform simple things. Right now, it’s conveying my voice. The shell is in your hands, and the snail itself is drifting in the sea, relaying my voice. The trouble is that whether or not it reaches you depends on the tides.”

Koushun stared at the shell and frowned.

“Why exactly are you doing this? You can’t kill the Raven Consort with just your voice.”

The Owl’s goal was to kill the Raven Consort—and consequently, the Raven.

“Yes, I can’t kill her. But, once I get involved, I can’t stand just watching. I want to help the Raven.”

The Owl’s tone was aloof, but his desire sounded earnest.

“…But, you can’t do anything anymore, can you?”

“I can’t. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“What?” Koushun was astonished. “Are you telling me to kill the Raven Consort?”

“I’m not. I want you to help the Raven.”

“So, what—”

“You don’t want to kill the Raven Consort. I want to save the Raven. Even I don’t want to kill an innocent maiden. Didn’t I say that before as well? If that’s the case, think about it.”

“…About what?”

“A way to save the Raven without killing the Raven Consort.”

Koushun stared at the shell. The jet-black shell was glossy, and the rainbow sheen was like moonlight shimmering on the surface of a lake.

“There must be a way to save the Raven Consort as well. You want to help her, don’t you?”

He caught his breath faintly. Yes, he wanted to save Jusetsu from her suffering. That was what he wanted to do.

“…But, that…”

Wouldn’t that mean losing the Winter King?

The Raven was imprisoned within the Raven Consort, who was concealed within the inner palace, and that was how the Summer and Winter Kings were just barely kept in existence. If we free the Raven—what will happen? The Raven would probably not be who she used to be. This dynasty wasn’t an era where the Winter and Summer Kings stood side by side.

Chaos is inevitable.

Chaos caused war. Koushun closed his eyes and drooped his head, as though he could see visions of the war-torn land. There’s no way I could make such a choice.

The Owl continued to speak, not minding Koushun’s silence.

“You and I don’t have conflicting wishes. So think about it. Find a way to help both of them.”

“You can’t just…” Koushun pressed his hand against his forehead. “What can I think of and do about it that a god can’t?”

He heard a snort.

“God this, god that—you mortals were the ones who worship us as that on your own, but I don’t understand that concept. We may be able to do some of the things that you cannot do, but you can also do what we cannot. It’s not a bad thing to fear and respect those of a different race, but it’s a problem if you think they can do anything.”

“I didn’t think you could do anything, but…”

Koushun didn’t think they were talking about a mere difference in race.

“Can you mortals match the claws of a bear? Can you fight against the fangs of a wolf? I doubt you can. But, you have wisdom. That’s why you make tools to fight against beasts. That’s the difference between you and us. We have wisdom too, but it’s probably different from yours. After all, we never even dreamed that Koushou would do such a foolish act. Something that benefitted no one—no, it only benefitted one person: Ran Yuu. I don’t understand how you people think.”

Koushou. The first Raven Consort. She was the one who imprisoned the Raven within the Raven Consort.

“But that is precisely why you lot might be able to think of something. And the way to save the Raven is also…”

Was there such a way? If there was——

The Owl’s voice became distant. There was a faint sound like the tides receding. The voice cut off at that point. Silence returned to the room.

Koushun resisted the urge to throw the shell and placed it on the tray instead. He let out a deep sigh.

“…Dajia, is everything okay?”

Ei Sei, who had been holding his breath until then, asked him nervously.

“Ah…”

His body, which had been lightened by Ei Sei’s tea, became heavy again.

“Sorry, but could you give me another cup of tea? Lukewarm is fine.”

“Understood.”

Ei Sei, not looking bothered in the least, happily prepared the tea again. It must be a hassle. He started the fire, boiled the water, and boiled the tea. Koushun felt at ease as he watched him.

Even though the tea leaves were already roasted and ground, it took some skill to get just the right amount of boiled water and extract the flavor. Ei Sei had always been good at getting the hang of things no matter what. He was a clever person.

If he hadn’t been a eunuch, he would have made a good government official.

He had thoughts like that from time to time, but he never said it aloud. That was because it would only be nothing but degrading to Ei Sei to talk about something that was already beyond help.

“…You’ve improved so quickly in both tea and calligraphy as soon as you were taught.”

“Thank you very much. I truly enjoyed learning from you.”

“Is that so?”

“Until you rescued me, Dajia, I had nothing to hope for in my life,” The sound of boiling water resounded in the room. Ei Sei took salt from the salt rack and added it to the kettle. “I have no regrets about becoming a eunuch, because I would have been in a far worser situation if I had stayed where I was born.”

Ei Sei spoke as though he understood Koushun’s feelings. He was smiling. It was a beautiful smile.

“…”

Koushun, who knew what Ei Sei, who was more beautiful than anyone, had gone through after becoming a new eunuch chi’er, remained silent. It was difficult to imagine a far worser situation than that.

I heard he was born in the entertainment district.

He had never pried. That was because Ei Sei didn’t seem to want to be asked about it.

If I remember correctly, Jusetsu was also born in the entertainment district.

He heard snatches of her story some time ago. She had lived there before becoming a house slave, and her mother was a prostitute as well.

Koushun gazed at Ei Sei’s face as he sipped his tea. Although her features were different from his, Jusetsu was also beautiful. Her face somewhat gave off the same air as Ei Sei’s. They possessed beautiful faces, but also an air of coldness and indifference.

“…I have a feeling that you and Jusetsu will get along very well.”

Ei Sei nearly spilled the tea.

“S-Sometimes, Dajia, you remain silent for a long time, and then you suddenly say something out of the ordinary.”

Ei Sei looked as though he wanted to say, “Get along well? Absolutely not.” It was so funny that Koushun let out a laugh and thought to himself, I’ll say the same thing to Jusetsu next time.

Previous || Index || Next

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 3 Chapter 1 - A Rainy Night’s Visit (Part 1)

I’m back guys~~! This is the volume where a bunch of new characters are introduced and we start the overarching plot of the series. 

Translation Notes

1. Banka is written with the characters 晚霞 which means “evening glow,” while Chouyou’s name is written with the characters 朝陽 which means “morning sun.”

Previous || Index || Next

At the deep, deep bottom of the sea, stretched out in the silence of the night, I am always waiting.

In the dead of night, Ishiha woke up. He quietly rose from his bed so as to not make any sound. He felt like he just had a bad dream. It was because his throat was dry. The rain he had been hearing before he fell asleep had already stopped, but the damp scent of rain that was characteristic of the end of a shower drifted in the air.

――It’s different from the scent of the sea.

It was different from the smell of the tide, mixed in with that somewhat fishy smell, that clung to his skin. Ishiha hugged his knees on his bed. He hated waking up in the middle of the night. That was when he was the loneliest and the saddest. Memories of his hometown and of the time when he was made into a eunuch swirled around in his head, making his chest squeeze tight. He was having trouble breathing and he pressed his forehead against his knees. He choked back a sob.

“…You can’t sleep?”

He heard Onkei’s voice in the darkness. He felt him getting up in the bed next to his. Ishiha shared a room in Yamei Palace with his senior, Onkei. He hastily apologized.

“I’m sorry, I woke you up.”

It was dark, so his tear-stained face couldn’t be seen, but he sounded nasal. He could feel Onkei staring at him. Onkei slipped off his bed and left the room. Just as Ishiha was panicking, wondering if he had irritated him, Onkei immediately returned.

He was holding up a candlestick. His face emerged from the darkness with the flickering flames of the candle.

“Here.”

Onkei held out a cup. It was filled with water. He seemed to have drawn it from the water jug in the kitchen. “You must be thirsty.”

“Y…yes. Thank you very much.”

Ishiha drank the water, wondering how did he know. His parched throat now quenched, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Everyone has nightmares for a while after they become a eunuch.”

That was all Onkei said in his quiet voice. He was a beautiful man, but there was an unapproachable coldness in his appearance that made Ishiha too nervous to approach him. However, the gentle smile that sometimes appeared on his lips told him that he was a warm person at heart.

“Mr. Onkei, was it like that for you as well?”

There was no answer to that question. Onkei blew out the candle and darkness returned to the room. The faint wisp of smoke from the blown-out flame faded quickly. The smell of smoke and water mingled together. There was the sound of Onkei crawling into his bed, and Ishiha laid down as well. The water that soothed his throat slowly seeped into his chest and loosened his stiffened heart. His eyelids naturally drooped, and he was lulled to sleep as though rocked by the waves. In the waves, the image of his hometown floated and disappeared. His parents, the village elders. The fireside on stormy days, the sound of the wind beating at the window, and the starry sky after the storm had passed, like silver sand scattered across the sky. The elders’ tales. The islands born from the chopped-up god. The lost souls blown into the cove. The one or two new lives raining down from the river of stars. He wondered if the baby born next door was growing up healthy. He wondered how his siblings were doing. How was his childhood friend, Ayura, doing——

It seemed that the rain had stopped. Jusetsu turned her attention to the latticed window. Late at night, beyond the lattice, all she could see was a deep indigo darkness. Water was seeping into the darkness. When the rainy season began, there would be large downpours of rain all at once, but they didn’t last long. After the rain, the soil, greenery, and even the darkness became fresh, as if they had come back to life. The scent of life was strong. Jusetsu didn’t care for this time of the year. No, it might be Wulian Niangniang who didn’t like it. She didn’t know. Jusetsu looked at the table. What she had been looking at until then was placed there. It was a necklace of two strands of black pearls. A delicate rainbow pattern played on the jet-black surface in the light.

These black pearls were the feathers left behind by the “Owl.” The remains of what was once Shougetsu, who was created by the Owl. Shougetsu had turned into feathers and disappeared, but Jusetsu had gathered those feathers and stuffed them into a hemp sack. They turned into black pearls overnight. She asked the Directorate for Imperial Manufactories to string them into a necklace.  

We were born from sea foam—that was what the Owl had said. Was that why his feathers turned into pearls? Jusetsu let out a sigh, placed the pearls in a mother-of-pearl box, and put it in the cupboard. It wasn’t as though she would know the answer just by staring at it.

Jusetsu no longer knew who she was. Was she the Raven, was she “Jusetsu,” or was she a mixture of both? The Raven came here from the distant Kakurenomiya. This was the taboo island where gods who committed crimes drifted to. The Raven was trapped in Jusetsu so that she couldn’t escape. Just as the Owl made the doll called Shougetsu, Jusetsu was a vessel for confining the Raven. If she was shattered, would her body turn into feathers and become pearls as well?

Jusetsu let out a small laugh. At night, when she had her attendant Jiujiu retire for the night and was left alone, an unbearable emptiness began to take root in her chest. Loneliness could be endured. However, emptiness ate into her heart little by little. Right now, she wasn’t being swallowed up by it because Jiujiu and the others were here with her. Even if she was disobeying Reijou’s words in the process.

Xingxing, who had rested its wings at Jusetsu’s feet, raised its head. Jusetsu looked back at the door. Xingxing spread its wings and made a fuss. Jusetsu gently flicked her hand and opened the doors. It was a visitor who had come to ask for a favor from the Raven Consort.

Now, she could understand painfully why the Raven Consorts had accepted the requests of the people of the inner palace until now. They wanted to be connected to people. As they weren’t even sure of their own minds, if they couldn’t rely on anyone, they would at least like to be useful to someone and have a connection with others, even if it was just a thin thread.

“L-Lady Raven Consort. I have a matter I wish for you to…”

Before she could speak, the doors opened, and the flustered palace lady falteringly said this.

“You may enter.”

Jusetsu sat down in a chair. The palace lady also sat across from her while looking around nervously. Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be an attendant of some palace. Her ruqun was of fine silk, and her sash was adorned with an ornament of white coral with a violet-colored decorative cord.

“I am the Crane Consort’s attendant at Hakkaku Palace. My family name is Ki, and my given name is Senjo.”

The attendant introduced herself. She was a thin woman with a slender and pale face. Her hands were tightly clasped together in front of her chest, and her body was trembling slightly.

“What is your business here?”

When Jusetsu asked her that, Senjo took a deep breath. Hesitant to speak, her gaze wandered, then she looked at Jusetsu with imploring eyes.

“A ghost has been visiting me.”

Senjo’s nails were digging into her clasped hands. She closed her eyes and repeatedly exhaled and inhaled, perhaps to calm herself. She touched the white coral hanging from her sash, and as she stroked it, her breathing finally evened, and she spoke again.

“…The ghost only comes on rainy nights. It comes to the door of my room. It doesn’t even knock on my door, much less come in. How do I know that a ghost is visiting me? I hear its footsteps. Footsteps walking in the rain. It walks steadily and stops in front of my door. When the rain stops, its presence disappears. There is a puddle in front of the door. It cannot be a person. A few times, I couldn’t help but peer through the lattice window. I see a black shadow there. But I can’t make out its appearance. It’s right there, but I can’t see it. Only its feet in long boots are visible. All that I can see other than that is water dripping from its clothing. No matter how hard I look, its face is indistinguishable, as if it’s covered in shadows.”

After speaking with a trembling voice, Senjo let out a deep breath. Her shoulders were heaving. While she was talking, even now, she was stroking the white coral frequently. It seemed that she couldn’t calm down unless she was fiddling with something. Jusetsu got the impression that she was high-strung, but that might be because she was haunted by a ghost. Her almond eyes, which would be charming otherwise, were red.

Jusetsu peered at her face, and then spoke.

“When did this begin happening?”

“It began on the first rainy night on my journey from my hometown to here.”

“It didn’t start after you came to Hakkaku Palace?”

“Yes. I have always been an attendant of the Saname clan—”

“Saname clan?”

“It is Lady Banka’s family. Do you not know it?”

“I know not. Who is Banka?”

Senjo’s eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps remembering that the Raven Consort was someone isolated from society, she cast down her eyes and said, “I beg your pardon.”

“The Saname clan is a wealthy family from Ga Province. They are a clan that migrated from the country of Kakami a long time ago, and they were once feudal lords who governed the whole of Ga Province, but now they have stepped away from government and are a powerful family with a large number of manors. Ga Province is a rich land, and the Saname clan is in no way inferior to that of a great merchant.”

Jusetsu recalled hearing that the Crane Consort’s family was wealthy when she visited Hakkaku Palace before.

“This Banka is the Crane Consort, yes?”

“That is correct, Lady Raven Consort.”

“Despite her family name sounding foreign, her given name is in the Shou-style.”

“Lady Banka’s name was given to her by His Majesty when she entered the inner palace. Since long ago, the Saname clan has never revealed their true names to others. Since the head of the Saname clan, Lady Banka’s father, calls himself Chouyou, His Majesty gave Lady Banka her name to match him.” (1)

“I see, afterglow, huh.”

It was a stylish name. That man could do something so elegant? Jusetsu thought of Koushun’s face, which always lacked expression.

“Master Chouyou was also very happy. And—um…”

Her face said, What were we talking about again?

“We were talking about when the ghost appeared. You said that it was after you left your hometown, and you have been an attendant of the Saname clan for a long time.”

“Yes, that was the case. So, nothing happened when I was with the Saname clan in Ga Province. When it was decided that Lady Banka was to be married to His Majesty, on the way from Ga Province to the capital, there was a night when it rained, and that was when it started. It happened when we were staying at an inn.”

Seeming to recall that time, Senjo trembled.

“Even after the rain stopped and the ghost disappeared, I couldn’t sleep for the whole night. Even now, when it starts to rain after dark, I’m out of my mind terrified. Tonight as well—”

“It was raining just now, was it not?”

Senjo nodded while trembling.

“After I confirmed the rain had stopped and the ghost had left, I couldn’t bear it any longer and came here. I have no other choice but to rely on you, Lady Raven Consort.”

“Do you wish for me to drive away the ghost?”

“Yes. Please fulfill my request. I will prepare compensation for you, so please—”

Jusetsu thought about it for a moment. A ghost that only appears on rainy nights—?

“…I’m quite curious.”

“Eh?”

“The fact that it doesn’t come through your door weighs on my mind. You say that it only stands there and does nothing?”

“Yes, but,” Senjo was about to protest, but Jusetsu held up her hand to stop her.

“On the other hand, I am also concerned about the fact that it is following you. It seems that it isn’t a ghost that has settled down in the inner palace.”

Senjo paled at the words “following you.”

“I wish to investigate where the ghost appears. Tomorrow, I shall visit your room. And then—”

Jusetsu stood up and brought over a piece of hemp paper from the cabinet.

“’Tis merely for peace of mind, but I’ll give you this amulet. It is for protection. It’s the type of thing that sorcerers walk around giving out, but weak ghosts will not come near you with this.”

Senjo gratefully accepted the amulet, which had strange characters written on it in ink.

“Do you not have any clue as to the identity of that ghost?”

At Jusetsu’s question, Senjo hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “No.” She hugged the amulet against her chest and quickly left the pitch-black palace.

Jiujiu was always noisy in the morning. She talked incessantly while bringing in the water basin for washing her face or while getting breakfast ready. It was like the chirping of a little bird. She rambled on about things like how it wouldn’t rain today because winter wrens were flying high in the sky, or how it was good weather for laundry, or how the rice cakes in the kitchen had mold on them.

“In my hometown, they say that if the Fishing Star looks hazy, then it’s going to rain,” Ishiha said as he helped prepare breakfast.

“They don’t say that around here. We don’t have the custom of looking up at the night sky because they close the doors at night.”

Ishiha’s hometown was a small fishing village. For those who made their living by fishing, the stars were an important guidepost for finding directions.

“For us, it’s very important to know where the stars are and when they appear.”

“Then, your tribe isn’t afraid of the night, then? They say that Yeyoushen appears at night.”

“No, we’re afraid of Yeyoushen. That’s why we wear charms against our skin and don’t go fishing on starless nights. We’re afraid of monsters coming out of the waves and dragging our boats down to the bottom of the sea on dark nights.”

It was very interesting to hear about Ishiha’s hometown, which was very different from this area. Jusetsu had never actually seen the sea with her own eyes. The exception was through the eyes of the Raven who slipped out of the inner palace on nights of the new moon.

“The sea must be a terrifying thing.”

Jusetsu murmured as she scooped up her porridge with a spoon. Ishiha laughed brightly. His tanned skin wrinkled tightly.

“It’s scary, but it’s also warm. It’s like a cradle.”

“A cradle?”

“The waves. They come and go, like a very big cradle,” Ishiha gestured like he was rocking a cradle. “Besides, they tell us that you have to be afraid. Otherwise, people will underestimate the sea. We should be afraid of it.”

“Did your village elders tell you that?”

“Yes. They taught us a lot about the sea and the stars.”

Jusetsu supposed that it was similar to what Reijou was like to her. She blew on her scooped-up porridge to cool it. The congee with snow fungus and dried day lilies was so hot that it would burn her throat if she didn’t cool it down enough. It would be nice if they could serve it a little cooler, but the old servant Keishi would never allow it. She always said that food must be served when it was hot because it would quickly get colder and colder. She finally put the cooled porridge into her mouth. The crispy snow fungus was one of Jusetsu’s favorites. The pine nuts sprinkled on top of the porridge were fragrant and nourishing. In Keishi’s mind, Jusetsu would always remain a small, underfed child, and she still only prepared nourishing food for her.

“Niangniang, what are your plans for today?”

Jiujiu asked. Usually, her answer was “nothing in particular,” but today was different.

“I’m going to Hakkaku Palace.”

“Oh, you’re going out? It’s been a while,” Jiujiu suddenly sounded excited. “Then, this is a good opportunity for you to wear the clothing that was given to you by Hua Niangniang recently. The pale purple raw silk robe and peach-colored skirt…the crystal hairpin will do.”

She spoke like a full-fledged attendant. “I don’t need to dress up so excessively,” Jusetsu reminded her, but the exuberant Jiujiu wasn’t listening. Since she seemed to be in a good mood, Jusetsu thought, Oh well, and gave up. Jiujiu liked dressing up Jusetsu. According to her, it was boring how Jusetsu usually dressed in black.

As soon as she finished breakfast, she was made to change clothes. The colorful clothing was a gift from Hua Niangniang—the Duck Consort, Un Kajou. Kajou wanted to take care of Jusetsu as if she were her younger sister. She often had garments tailored and sent to her even though she said she didn’t want them, and Jusetsu, unable to ignore them, reluctantly accepted the gifts. Why did those around her never listened to her?

Jiujiu kept changing the sash and hairpins, taking on the task of changing her clothes until she was satisfied. Jusetsu simply stood there. She kept silent, because it would only prolong the process if she interfered. “Are we finished?” Jusetsu asked Jiujiu, satisfied with the pale red crystal hairpin and the dangling gold hairpins. “I believe so,” Jiujiu nodded with an air of importance. Kougyou, who was helping with Jusetsu’s change of clothes behind her, had her shoulders shaking with amusement.

Leaving the care of Xingxing to Ishiha, Jusetsu left Yamei Palace with Jiujiu. For some reason, the usually-difficult Xingxing had taken a liking to Ishiha and became attached to him. Xingxing—didn’t the Owl call it Harara? Could that be its real name? As Jusetsu passed through the woods surrounding Yamei Palace, she looked up at the treetops. With a cry of “gah,” a bird landed there. Brown wings with white spots. It was the spotted woodpecker. She thought that bird had also disappeared when Shougetsu scattered into feathers, but it was living in this forest.

――Didn’t he say that this bird is a tsukaibe?

Was that why it was staying here? Nothing could be gleaned from the eyes of the woodpecker—Sumaru.

They went through the woods and headed north of the inner palace. Onkei, who was Jusetsu’s bodyguard, was most likely watching over her from somewhere in the shadows. That was why she was walking without much caution. Within the inner palace, it was filled with trees, blooming flowers, waterways, and sturdy mud walls. The tiled roofs of the palaces looked like waves as they reflected the sunlight. Just as Jiujiu said, it didn’t look like it would rain today. Senjo must be relieved as well.

“What business do you have at Hakkaku Palace?”

Jiujiu asked as they walked down the alley between the mud walls.

“I received a request.”

“Ah, so a visitor did come last night. You slept until quite late this morning, so I wondered if that was the case,” Jiujiu pouted a little, like she was sulking. “That’s why I always asked you to let me stay up until much later.”

“One never knows when visitors like that will come. It is useless to stay up late for them. You and the others have to wake up early in the morning.”

“But…”

Jiujiu didn’t look happy. Jusetsu would lose if they continued this quarrel, so she changed the topic.

“Do you know the consort of Hakkaku Palace?”

“Was it the Crane Consort who visited last night? No, I’ve never met her.”

“It was the Crane Consort’s attendant. Even if you’ve never met her, do you know anything about her?”

Jiujiu tilted her head.

“I don’t really know much. Hakkaku Palace doesn’t have a very high rank within the inner palace, and it’s located on the outskirts. Rumors about it don’t reach this far. I believe she is a princess of Ga province. I heard that she is the youngest daughter of an old and powerful family, and that she is a generous person without the primness of a rich young lady.”

Jusetsu also heard that she was very generous in giving away fabrics and hairpins before. Senjo had also been wearing fine clothing.

“There’s talk that since the position of Magpie Consort is now empty, the Crane Consort or Swallow Mistress might be promoted. If anything, it seems more likely that the Swallow Mistress——”

“…”

Jusetsu still felt depressed when she thought about the Magpie Consort. The image of her blood splattering as her throat was bitten open flashed through her mind.

Jiujiu, who seemed to have sensed Jusetsu’s feelings, changed the subject in a panic.

“Oh, Niangniang. By the way, we have the peaches that His Majesty gifted us the other day. I’ll peel them for you when we return to Yamei Palace.”

“I can peel a peach by myself.”

“But your hands will get all sticky. Ishiha makes quite a mess of himself, getting the juices all over his face.”

“He is a child, so it can’t be helped.”

Jusetsu let out a soft laugh. Ishiha wasn’t accustomed to eating fruit, so he always made a big mess. It was quite adorable to see his mouth sticky with fruit juices.

A hedge of juniper trees came into view. It was Hakkaku Palace. There were crane ornaments on the roof tiles. Jusetsu went around to the back entrance. When she came here before, she also entered from there. Just as before, there were palace ladies drying clothes nearby. There was a palace lady who remembered Jusetsu and had a look of “Oh?” Jusetsu called out to her.

“There is an attendant I would like you to call for me.”

“Aren’t you an attendant of Yamei Palace?” She tilted her head in confusion. “But you aren’t dressed like an attendant today.”

It would be bothersome to explain, so Jusetsu didn’t answer her question. “Call an attendant named Ki Senjo here. She’ll understand if you say it’s someone from Yamei Palace.” However, before the palace lady could leave, there was the sound of running footsteps.

“Lady Raven Consort,” it was Senjo. “I’ve been waiting for you. I didn’t expect you to come from the back entrance.”

Apparently, she had been waiting for at the front gate. Looking between Senjo, who was out of breath, and Jusetsu, who was called the Raven Consort, the palace lady’s eyes widened. The palace ladies drying the clothes at the back were whispering to each other about something. There was awe in their eyes. It was the fear directed towards the Raven Consort, who lived quietly in a jet-black palace, darker than the darkness of night, deep within the inner palace, and took on any request from searching for lost things to curse killings. Jusetsu glanced at one of them, sensing something different in her gaze. Standing a short distance away, a palace lady was staring at Jusetsu. There was no fear in her eyes. That said, she didn’t know how to describe it. It was neither friendly nor hateful. It was, dare she say it, something like earnestness. Did she have a request for the Raven Consort?

“Lady Raven Consort, please come this way.”

Led by Senjo, they headed for the palace. They were guided to a palace next to the consort’s residence in the center. It was the residence of many attendants. Across the courtyard was the building used by the emperor when he visited. Double-layered gardenias were blooming in the courtyard. The white flowers were as vivid and distinct as summer clouds, and their fragrance was strong. Their whiteness and scent would be recognizable even in the middle of the night.

“Apparently, peonies used to be planted here,” Senjo explained after following Jusetsu’s gaze. “I heard that His Majesty ordered the garden to be reconstructed. He must be pained by the memory of his mother.”

Koushun’s mother was the previous emperor’s Crane Consort. “I see,” was all Jusetsu said, and she looked away from the garden.

Senjo’s room was in a corner of the palace. It had a door and lattice window facing the outer corridor. When Jusetsu entered the room she saw that there was also a door and window at the back, and guessed that the ghost came from that side. She tried opening that door and going outside. The back was poorly lit, shadowed and cool. It was even darker because of the trees planted there. Beneath the shade of the leaves, Jusetsu stared closely at the ground. This was where the ghost was standing.

―There is certainly indications here.

The faint remaining presence of a ghost.

――But, this is…

“How is everything, Lady Raven Consort?”

Senjo timidly asked from inside the room. Jusetsu turned around.

“There is no doubt that there is a ghost coming here.”

Senjo paled and pressed her hand to her chest. Jusetsu took a step back and pulled out a peony from her hair. She blew on it. The flower instantly turned into smoke and spread like a thin curtain as it wavered. Soon, the figure of a person began to appear beyond the smoke. It was indistinct at first, but gradually became clear. Its contours took distinct form, and vacant eyes and slightly opened lips emerged. Bloodless, pale lips. The ashen face belonged to a man in his twenties with a dishevelled topknot. Loose strands of hair fell over his forehead, and there was no light in his sunken eye sockets. There was the sound of water dripping. A puddle was created at his feet. No, it wasn’t water. It was red. Something red was dripping from the hem of the man’s robes. It was blood. His body was slashed from the base of his neck to his chest. Fresh blood poured down from his neck unceasingly. His blood stained his clothes and dripped onto the ground.

Senjo collapsed onto the floor with a sharp, shrill scream. Jusetsu blew on the smoke and the man disappeared. She rushed over to Senjo and was relieved to find that she hadn’t fainted. She and Jiujiu helped her to a couch.

“That was Saku Hashuu.”

Senjo said with a pale face. Her voice was trembling and shrill. Her breathing was erratic, so Jusetsu rubbed her back to encourage her to take deep breaths. After taking two or three deep breaths, Senjo’s complexion improved considerably. She squeezed the white coral hanging from her sash.

“…That ghost just now was named Saku Hashuu.”

Senjo said after drinking some water brought by a palace lady and calming down. Her voice was still trembling.

“Was he an acquaintance?”

“Hashuu was my fiancé. We lived in the same neighborhood, and we had been friends since childhood…even though it was called a betrothal, it wasn’t so formal that we didn’t even know each other’s faces until the bride’s veil is lifted at the ceremony, but rather a relationship where we knew each other well,” Senjo spoke softly, sometimes at a loss for words. “In our region, we have a tradition of paying a visit to the shrine of the local god before getting married. Three years ago, we went to visit the shrine. I was accompanied by my mother and a servant, and Hashuu was accompanied by his parents and a servant. It takes two full days to get to the shrine on the mountain and back, so it was a bit of a sightseeing trip. Pilgrims would dismount from their horses at the foot of the mountain, and from there they either ascend on foot or by palanquin. Hashuu was a good walker, but everyone else were women or elderly, so we had to go by palanquin. That was a mistake.”

Senjo sighed with deep regret.

“Starting from the first palanquin, Hashuu’s parents, my mother, and I rode in that order, and the servants followed Hashuu’s parents and my mother on foot. Hashuu accompanied my palanquin on foot, and since it was a mountain road, the palanquin bearers walked slowly and without haste. We proceeded without issue in this way for a while, but then it began to rain. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and I could no longer see the palanquin in front of me, but it seemed that only the palanquin I was riding in was falling farther and farther behind. Hashuu became suspicious and urged the bearers to go faster, but the two bearers only gave vague replies and made little progress. I had heard that some bearers were miscreants who would threaten customers with exorbitant prices or even mug them, I had never imagined that I myself would cross paths with such wicked bearers. When we were picking bearers, we picked young men who looked as simple and honest as possible. They decided that it would be easier for them to attack me and Hashuu, who were unaccompanied by escorts. In the rain, they finally bared their fangs. They abandoned the palanquin and pointed knives at us, demanding money and goods. If that was all, Hashuu might have obeyed them for the time being. But they were also trying to kidnap me. Because of that, he——”

Resisted.

“Hashuu held the bearers back and told me to run. He told me to follow my mother’s palanquin and ask for help, and he wouldn’t be far behind. I ran. I fell many times because my feet got stuck in the wet ground. I had never hated the rain so much as I did during that time. By the time I returned after calling for help, Hashuu was already…”

Senjo couldn’t get the words out. She took a breath and then said in a hoarse voice, he was already dead.

The bearers had fled the scene, but they were soon caught by the police. Since they mugged and murdered someone, they were of course sentenced to death. They had already been executed.

“…If Hashuu hadn’t let me escape during that time, I don’t know what would have happened to me. I can’t believe that he…didn’t cross over to paradise and wanders around as a ghost…”

Senjo covered her face with her sleeve. However, it wasn’t unusual that he would become a ghost if he was killed. Jusetsu wondered if Senjo had vaguely foreseen this. Last night, when she asked Senjo if she knew anything about the ghost, she had hesitated in her answer. She probably didn’t want to consider it, her betrothed becoming a ghost.

But, that ghost…

Jusetsu turned to the door again and looked outside.

“The ghost didn’t appear when you were still in your hometown, yes? Also, he doesn’t come in through the door.”

Senjo turned around. “Yes,” she answered and nodded.

“One thing is certain,” Jusetsu pointed at the door. “That ghost is what we call a tsukaibe.”

Senjo tilted her head. “A tsukaibe…?”

“Someone has set him to work and sent him to you. To put it simply, he’s being used as a tool. As a tool of a curse.”

Senjo’s eyes widened. “A…a curse?”

“The traces of sorcery are immediately recognizable. But I know not the curser or their goal. There’s no meaning in a sluggish curse where the ghost is simply standing outside a room only on rainy nights without haunting its target to death. I don’t understand their intentions.”

Jusetsu frowned.

At this stage, I can only think that they simply want to scare Senjo.

“Returning a curse is easy. However, it’s not wise to return a curse without a clear idea of the other side’s intentions. This level of curse will not kill the curser even you return it. Rather, by returning it, they might even cast a new curse on you. Do you have any idea who is likely to curse you?”

Senjo shook her head vigorously.

“Then, I’ll have to investigate a little more now.”

“Investigate…what do you mean by that?”

“The people around you.”

“Haa…” Senjo looked worried. “Are you saying that someone I know has cast this curse on me?”

“A curse wouldn’t be put on you if the person had nothing to do with you. In fact, it would be easier to find you if they did.”

Senjo ducked her head and looked around.

“What…what should I do?”

“Think carefully about whether there is any reason someone would cast a curse on you, or anyone around you who can cast curses.”

“Yes…” Senjo nodded nervously.

“For now, I’ll put a ward around your room. It seems that the ghost doesn’t enter your room for now, but this is just in case he tries to enter.”

Okay, Senjo pressed her hands to her chest, looking a little relieved. Jusetsu took out a shaft with thread wound around it from her pocket. She unwound the thread and circled the room with it, from corner to corner.

“…This technique was originally used by sorcerers. My arts aren’t suited for delicate work.”

Jusetsu muttered as she unspooled the thread across the floor. The principle was the same as the barrier that was previously used on the Jakusou Palace pond. The arts of sorcerers and the Raven Consort were similar yet different, different yet similar. Were they originally the same, or were they completely different—?

Jusetsu tied the ends of the thread in front of the door.

“This will do,” she said and stood up. Senjo thanked her profusely. “This is not a fundamental solution, though.”

“No,” Senjo shook her head at Jusetsu, who was bewildered by her gratitude. “I can sleep peacefully knowing that no one will come in.”

“…I see.”

Jusetsu studied her pale face.

What good would it do to curse such a frail, powerless woman?

She couldn’t figure out the curser’s goal. Curses were more or less magic that placed a burden on oneself. If it was returned to you, it could kill you, depending on the degree of the curse, and the greater the power of the returner, the greater the danger. It wasn’t something with much benefit.

Is the curser a sorcerer who’s this confident that the curse can’t be broken?

However, if that was the case, she didn’t understand the point of aiming for a mere attendant like Senjo. It would be different if it was someone with status like Koushun.

The more Jusetsu pondered it, the deeper the wrinkles between her brow became.

I sense something troublesome.

These kinds of hunches were usually right.

Previous || Index || Next

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 3 Chapter 2 - The Turtle King (Part 1)

Translation Notes

1. This is a reference to the historical “Five Surnames and Seven Hopes,” the collective title for the seven most powerful clans from the Warring States Period to the Tang Dynasty. They consist of the Cui Clan of Boling, the Li Clan of Longxi, the Cui Clan of Qinghe, the Zheng Clan of Xingyang, the Wang Clan of Taiyuan, the Li Clan of Zhaojun, and the Lu Clan of Fanyang.

Previous || Index || Next

The new bodyguard sent to Jusetsu, the eunuch Tan Kai, was somewhat different from who she had imagined.

“Ei Sei said he’s good match for you, so I assumed that he would be a quiet and obedient person.”

In response to Jusetsu’s words, Onkei, with a very serious expression, said, “This is Attendant Ei’s harassment.”

“Harassment? Towards me?”

“No, towards me.”

Jusetsu stared at Onkei. “…Do you not get along with Tan Kai?”

“I do not like him.” His tone was so flat and decisive that it was bracing, but he added, “But in regards to the mission of guarding you, we can indeed compensate for each other’s deficiencies.”

“And by that, you mean…”

“Tan Kai is good at archery, and I am good at martial arts.”

“I see, so close range and long range. ——Ah, could it be that Tan Kai was the one who shot the arrow when I was attacked by Shougetsu?”

Onkei nodded. “He was the one who shot Shougetsu’s shoulder.”

Indeed. As one would expect from someone recommended by Ei Sei, he seemed to be skilled.

However.

“Lady Raven Consort, Kougyou has peeled some pears for you.”

Tan Kai came into the room with a bowl of pears in his hand. He was holding an unpeeled pear in his other hand and biting into it as they watched. He was a young man who was a little taller than Onkei, with a somewhat refined face and alluring almond-shaped eyes. But he was as carefree as the wind and too unfettered like a feral child.

“Tan Kai,” Onkei’s voice was sharp and cold. “Know your place.”

“Whoa, your reprimands got shorter.”

“We’re in Niangniang’s presence. I’ll tell you every single thing you did wrong in detail later.”

“I can’t remember each and every one of them, you know.”

He seemed to be aware that his manners were so poor that he couldn’t remember all his missteps.

Jusetsu didn’t care about etiquette at all, but she wondered how he survived in the inner palace with that personality of his.

“I’ll just say one thing for now. Don’t hold the bowl with one hand.”

“That’s all?”

“If you hold the bowl with both hands, you won’t be able to hold a pear and eat it.”

“Haha, I see,” after saying that in a completely unimpressed tone, Tan Kai put the bowl on the table. “Shall I call Ishiha as well? He’s outside playing with Xingxing.”

Jusetsu nodded at Tan Kai’s words. He grinned and left the room. I feel like I somewhat understand why he was able to survive in the inner palace with those manners of his. He had an amiability that couldn’t be hated, and an allure that drew people to him.

“I sincerely apologize for him, Niangniang,” Onkei was already fed-up just from this exchange. “I mind it not,” Jusetsu answered. In fact, she really didn’t mind.

Tan Kai brought in Ishiha, who was holding Xingxing. Everyone ate the pears, including Jiujiu and the rest. Yamei Palace had become even livelier with the addition of Tan Kai. The austere and frightening atmosphere of the palace where the Raven Consort lived was completely erased during the daytime.

No, it’s not quiet at night here either.

“Lady Raven Consort, you had guests last night as well, right?” Tan Kai said, leaning against the door and biting into a pear.

“Yes…” Jusetsu popped a piece of pear into her mouth and nodded. The well-chilled pears were full of moisture and made one feel revitalized when eaten in the hot and humid weather.

“With such frequent nighttime visitors, it’s impossible for a single guard to protect you. It was right to add me.”

“No, I don’t expect those kinds of risks…”

More and more people were visiting Yamei Palace.

“My neck has been feeling stiff lately. Is this a curse from someone?”

“My younger sister has received a marriage proposal. Could you tell whether or not it’s a good match?”

“Is there any charm that works for love?”

Those were the only types of visitors she received. She understood that they were all in a predicament, but why did they keep swarming to her?

“I heard that you heard a request from a Hakkaku Palace attendant the other day, Niangniang,” Jiujiu said after leisurely chewing a pear. “And, you also consoled a palace lady. Before, you went to Hien Palace and interacted with Hua Niangniang, so you’re gradually seeming less and less like a mysterious and fearsome consort. People are starting to realize that you’re a kind person, Niangniang.”

Jiujiu smiled happily.

Jusetsu had weakened. How did things become like this? The choices that had been made one by one, had now piled up and changed the world around her.

That’s why I can’t forgive myself for a single one of them.

She had placed an attendant by her side, she had helped a eunuch, she had received gifts. She had made those choices while knowing that they were wrong.

An unexplainable frustration burned in her chest. This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be.

But then, where should she start to make things right? It was no longer possible to let go of everything and be alone.

“I wonder if it would be better to increase the number of attendants if things are going to be like this. But I’d just hate it if there are too many attendants here,” Jiujiu murmured. Jusetsu turned her gaze to her, and she ducked her head in embarrassment. “Because I’ll get jealous.”

“Jealous…?”

“Niangniang is a kind person, so I’m sure you’ll also treasure your other attendants.”

Jusetsu tilted her head in consideration, then said, “You’re the only attendant I need.”

“Really?” Jiujiu seemed happy. Is it really something to be so delighted about, Jusetsu wondered.

“The Lady Raven Consort doesn’t seem to know what jealousy is,” Tan Kai said. When Jusetsu turned to him, he narrowed his eyes into a smile. Tan Kai always had an easygoing smile affixed to his face.

“If you’re talking about knowing it personally, then I most probably don’t know.”

Tan Kai nodded, still with a faint smile on his face. Onkei, who was wiping Ishiha’s hands, kept glancing at him. He seemed to be worried that he would say something insolent again.

“I’m sure you’ll learn about it in the future.”

It sounded like a prophecy. Jusetsu peered at Tan Kai’s face. One type of divination was to divine one’s own destiny from the casual conversation of others. For instance, if you heard the word “death,” it meant that you were about to die. Tan Kai’s words just now, which he himself might have said without any deeper meaning, had quietly crept into Jusetsu’s heart and sunk to the bottom.

“That reminds me, have you heard of this rumor?” Tan Kai’s voice was strangely cheerful, as if switching the atmosphere of the room. “There’s a rumor I heard at the rokuboushi the other day, about a ghost haunting the inner court.”

This wasn’t the type of story to be told in a cheerful tone. Jiujiu frowned in displeasure. Tan Kai continued to chatter on, disregarding her.

“Apparently, late at night, the ghost of an elderly drudge wanders around.”

Elderly drudge? Ishiha whispered in confusion, and Tan Kai grinned. “It means an old servant,” he explained.

“He doesn’t seem to be a eunuch. From the shape of his cap to his attire, he seems to be someone from a very long time ago. He totters around with his back bent—like this, see—and his clothes are tattered. He’s holding a small vessel with both hands as he drags his feet.”

What a pitiful tale, he said.

“This ghost took up residence in the inner court?”

“This is a rumor that’s only being talked about recently. I heard about it the first time the other day.”

“Why is a ghost from so long ago wandering about?”

“I wouldn’t know. Well, it’s just a rumor. We don’t even know if it’s true or not.”

“Don’t you know someone who actually saw him?”

“I don’t know anyone,” Tan Kai said easily. “It’s related to the inner court. I work in the inner palace, so I wouldn’t know anything.”

The inner court was the residence of the emperor, and the inner palace was the residence of the consorts. Each had their own eunuchs.

Jusetsu sighed. “There are plenty such stories of uncertain authenticity here. I’m tired of hearing them.”

“No, no, trivial rumors are still important, Lady Raven Consort. Rumors are clusters of information. They are places where you can find fragments of unexpected secrets. To play your cards well, you have to have sharp ears.”

“I see. So that’s how you’ve managed to stay safe all this time.”

Tan Kai smiled affably.

“I’m here to be useful to you. If there’s information you desire, I will get it for you.”

“I don’t particularly need information about others here. There’s no need for you to useful,” Jusetsu said, then added, “Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Haa,” Tan Kai blinked as though let down. “Lady Raven Consort, you’re kind of…”

He scratched his ear in confusion, as though she was different from what he was used to.

“She’s very kind,” Jiujiu interjected.

“She’s kind, or rather, she’s too soft.”

“Hey!” the corners of Jiujiu’s eyes raised.

“It’s my job to cross dangerous bridges, so this is the first time someone’s telling me not to do anything dangerous.”

Tan Kai looked at Jusetsu with narrowed eyes as if he was trying to guess what she was thinking, but then he suddenly cracked a smile. He glanced at Onkei, then turned his attention back to Jusetsu.

“Understood, Niangniang. I won’t get involved in anything dangerous. But, if you’re ever in danger, I will do my utmost. I will repay you for your concern for my well being.”

As Jusetsu had only known him for a short time, she couldn’t tell how serious his words were. But, she decided to take them at face value. “Mm,” she nodded. The affable expression returned to Tan Kai’s face.

“Although, Niangniang. It might be unwise to have the carefree attitude that you don’t need to know what’s going on around you. It might have been fine until now, but from now on…”

“Why?”

“Because the Raven Consort is no longer the Raven Consort she’s always been. You are no longer the mysterious consort isolated deep in the depths of the inner palace. You are intimate friends with Dajia. That’s problematic. It’s very problematic.”

She had also been lectured frequently by the previous Winter Minister, Gyoei, to not close to him.

“Reason?” Her question was curt.

“Secretariat Un is impatient. He’s the prime minister. His granddaughter is the Duck Consort, Lady Kajou. Secretariat Un’s ‘ears’ are planted within the inner palace. He bribes palace ladies and eunuchs to obtain information. He is puzzled by the fact that the Rave Consort, who had been completely disregarded until now, had suddenly started interacting with Dajia. At any rate, there’s not much information on you. He’s frantically trying to find out just who the Raven Consort is and how close she is to Dajia.”

“…He would know that we don’t have the kind of relationship to be frantic about once he investigates.”

“I wonder about that. Since you are a consort who doesn’t perform night duties, it’s true that there wouldn’t be any danger of an heir being born. However, depending on the situation, that might be more troublesome.”

Why? Jusetsu frowned.

“Producing heirs is the emperor’s duty, so Dajia takes good care of his consorts. But your relationship with him doesn’t fit within that framework. And yet, he’s always visiting you——”

“…He is not the kind of man who is kind to others out of obligation.”

Koushun didn’t possess that level of dexterity.

Tan Kai showed an unreadable smile.

“I guess that’s what it is about you.”

“What?”

“I’ve taken a liking to you as well, so I’ll gather useful information within a safe range. If I don’t do that, you’ll get dragged into troublesome things occasionally.”

After saying that, Tan Kai opened the door and left. He was most likely taking a look around outside. Onkei let out a sigh. “He is a strange one,” Jusetsu said, taking the initiative.

“It’s not so much he’s strange as that he’s selfish.”

Onkei looked fed up, but his melancholic face looked exceptionally beautiful. “Is something the matter?” he asked when he noticed Jusetsu staring at him. She shook her head. If she said what she thought, she was likely trouble him even more. But, Jiujiu readily said, “Beautiful people still look beautiful even when they look sorrowful,” and Ishiha also nodded seriously. Onkei, with a perplexed look on his face, let out another deep sigh.

Dewdrops glistened on some of the lily pads that were battered by last night’s rain. The buds also looked moisty and puffy with water. Squinting at the glare of light reflecting off the dew, Koushun put his hand on the parapet. Although the outer corridor facing the lotus pond was in shadow, there was no way to block the heat and humidity. Ei Sei had been fanning him, but his retainer, Ka Meiin, was approaching him from the corner of the corridor, so he had Ei Sei step back. He asked Meiin, who was bowing, to come closer.

“Today’s council went on for quite a long time. I expected it to be, though.”

The main agenda was to determine the successors to vacant official positions. The Magpie Consort’s father, who was the vice director of the Secretariat, had been demoted to regional administrator, and the director of the Ministry of Personnel was dismissed after arranging for Shougetsu to be admitted into the inner palace at the request of Gyoei, so both positions were vacant. The council had quarreled over who should be appointed to those positions.

“Secretariat Un didn’t concede either.”

“That was also expected…”

On one side, Un Eitoku, the prime minister, recommended people from distinguished families, and on the other side, Meiin recommended people who weren’t from those sorts of families—commonly called a “cold” faction or cold families—thus dividing opinions into two.

“A long time ago, the Secretariat were the stars of distinguished families, and the Ministry of Personnel was the stronghold of distinguished families. They are desperate to regain that position.”

In the past, if you were the child of a prominent family, that alone was enough to get you a government position. Although that system still existed today, most of the so-called star officials were those who had passed the court examinations with excellent grades. Nevertheless, it wasn’t so difficult for children of prominent families who could spend enough time and money on studying to pass the examinations, unless they were exceedingly dull-witted. That was why many people from prominent families held high positions even now. On the other hand, there were people who didn’t come from prominent families who could also “spend sufficient time and money on studying.” For example, wealthy merchants, large landowners, and powerful clans. It was those people who were now rising in the bureaucracy.

“I’m sure they especially want to regain the Ministry of Personnel. After all, they would have the authority to manage government officials. Once they take it, we’ll be back to the era where prominent families are at the height of their power,” Meiin made a gesture like he was putting down a Go stone. “—At least, they think so.” Then he shook his head.

“People’s activities cannot go backwards. Therefore, government must also move forwards.”

Koushun simply stared at the lotuses in silence. The one he chose in the end were those recommended by Meiin. Un Eitoku’s betrayed face was still flashing through his mind.

Meiin wasn’t from a prominent family. He was the son of wealthy merchant who lived in the capital. At the time when he passed the examinations, prominent families were still exercising their authority, and it was difficult for sons of merchants to hold a position in government, even if they passed the examinations with excellent grades. The only positions those people could take were Winter Ministry acolytes, and other than that, officials whose roles weren’t prescribed in the civic codes—unspecified officials. Meiin served as an unspecified official in the countryside for a long time. It was Un Eitoku who recognized his talent and chose him as his son-in-law. Eitoku recommended Meiin to Koutou Academy as a scholar. Eitoku had a good eye, and Meiin was now the foremost scholar and the chief imperial scholar. If Eitoku was Koushun’s right-hand man, then Meiin was Eitoku’s left-hand man.

“Secretariat Un is the head of the noble Un family after all…” Meiin murmured in a somewhat dry voice.

“I doubt he’s a stickler for things like cold factions and prominent families, since he discovered you.”

“No, I’m not so sure about that,” Meiin smiled thinly. His intellectual appearance was bright and vivid. “There’s a difference between making someone your son-in-law and letting them take authority.”

Sometimes, Meiin would show a glimpse of cynicism. He, for his part, seemed to have an inferiority complex in regards to prominent families.

“…I hope I never let a talented person like you slip through my hands.”

Koushun tried to shift the subject, but he wasn’t very good at such things. However, Meiin seemed to have sensed that and matched him.

“Nowadays, no one is turned away simply because they aren’t from a prominent family, so this has been improved. But still, it is a closed door for those without money or backing. Oh yes, pertaining to that, I have something I wish to request of you, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“I have a friend from back when I was working in the provinces. He is a deputy inspector in Ga Province.”

A deputy inspector was an unspecified official.

“As you know, they are not centrally appointed officials, but hired at the discretion of their superiors. He is a very talented man and is sought after in many regions. As it should be, since he passed the examinations with top marks. However——”

“He’s the type to get turned away at the door?”

“Yes. He was originally an orphan and was adopted when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. He also thinks that it’s better to work freely in the provinces than to be forced to become a government official and be confined to the capital, so he has remained a provincial official until now.”

“He’s now interested in going to the capital?”

“No, it was I who recommended it. He told me that he was going to resign from his post of deputy inspector in Ga Province. Apparently, there was something he disliked there. That’s why I invited him to work for me. Of course, since Koutou Academy is under Your Majesty’s direct supervision, nothing can happen without Your Majesty’s permission.”

“…Ga Province, huh.”

“Yes. It’s the hometown of the Crane Consort, if I remember correctly. It’s a difficult region to work in if you don’t have good relations with the Saname clan, whether you’re a government official or unspecified official.”

“Did he not get along with the Saname clan?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Did you ask him the reason in detail?”

“No—” Meiin looked perplexed. “It’s not uncommon for people to move away because of disagreements with the powerful people of a region…shall I ask him? He is staying at my house right now.”

“No,” Koushun thought about it a little, then said, “If that’s the case, bring him to Koutou Academy.”

Meiin’s eyes widened. “Your Majesty, you’re going to meet with him in person?”

“I will have to meet with him anyway. I’m sure that anyone recommended by you is more than worthy, but I want to see who he is.”

“Of course,” Meiin nodded. “Then, I shall bring him to you on a fine day.”

“Very well. What is his name?”

“Reiko Shiki, Your Majesty. He was born in Reki Province, northeast of the capital.”

Reki Province, Koushun muttered in his mind. That was the place where Kajou’s lover died. He was engulfed in a riot caused by the Moon Truth Sect.

While thinking, What a strange coincidence, he was about to end the conversation there when Ei Sei appeared. “Secretariat Un is—” Before he could finish, Un Eitoku came hurrying towards them from the corner of the outer corridor. His gait was so quick that it was hard to believe that he was an elderly man.

“What’s wrong, is there something urgent?” Koushun said.

Eitoku bowed, and then replied, “You won’t deign to meet with me unless it’s an urgent matter?” Koushun smiled wryly.

“Don’t say such contrary things. Come here and admire the lotus flowers,” he pointed to the side. Meiin gave up his spot. Eitoku glared at him. As expected, he was in a bad mood because of what happened at court.

“I see the two of you have been trying to exclude this senile old man lately.”

“He who considers himself a senile old man is not a senile old man. Just because we didn’t agree with your opinion doesn’t mean that we want to exclude you. Don’t be so sullen.”

“…Your Majesty, please do not try to appease me so frivolously.”

Koushun had said this to ease Eitoku’s irritation, but it had the opposite effect. Eitoku’s face turned crimson. He was the only one among Koushun’s retainers who could show so much unconcealed emotion towards him. He was his mentor who had always supported him through his time as the crown prince, the deposed crown prince, his restoration to the throne, and his accession.

“It is true that I do not wish to exclude you, Tutor Un.”

Koushun called Eitoku the way he used to call him when he was a child. For a moment, there was an intense nostalgia in Eitoku’s eyes, and then his face became even more sad.

He’s gotten old.

Koushun thought as he looked at his face. He felt a cold, painful sadness, as if a blade had sunk into his chest soundlessly.

Eitoku apologized for his rudeness and left. After his bent back disappeared beyond the outer corridor, Meiin spoke in a mutter.

“Secretariat Un was most likely going to advise you on unspecified officials.”

“Unspecified officials?”

“In the provinces, unspecified officials are already becoming more powerful, and the officials dispatched from the central government are becoming less and less influential. And in order to confer stipends, government positions are added for convenience, so the position becomes meaningless. Recently, he has been bitterly complaining about how proper officials are becoming in-name-only figures and how unspecified officials are throwing their authority around, making the codes meaningless.”

Unspecified officials had it convenient. The directors could be decided at the sole discretion of the emperor, and the directors could employ subordinates without having to ask the central government for their decision. As their name suggested, they weren’t bound by the codes. They were gap-filling positions that couldn’t be filled by government officials. They were outmaneuvering professional positions.

In addition to that, Meiin must also be a reason for Eitoku’s apprehension, Koushun thought as he glanced at his profile. He was afraid of being outmaneuvered by him. Scholars were also unspecified officials.

The Eitoku from five years ago…no, three years ago would not have feared such a thing.

Will old age dampen his spirit, dull his instincts, or cause him to look only to the past instead of the future…?

Koushun considered how to handle Eitoku, and by extension, the faction of the prominent families.

Rocked by his carriage, Eitoku headed towards the Un estate from the imperial palace. The mansion of the Un clan, one of the Seven Great Clans (1), was located not far from the imperial palace. When he arrived in front of the main gate of the estate, he dismounted from the carriage and passed through the gate. Soon after, servants arrived and welcomed him. Gyoutoku, his second son, poked his head out from the inner door.

“You’re late, Father.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“We have steamed rice cakes. I shall prepare tea for you.”

“…Eating is the only thing you’re fervent about.”

Eitoku was exasperated as he stared at Gyoutoku’s puffy and round face.

“Food is the source of everything. It’s important. If you are hungry, you cannot think, and you cannot be kind to others. To have a broad mind, you must be full.”

“Ah, yes, yes. That’s enough.”

Eitoku waved his hand. Is it alright for the heir to the Un clan to be so carefree? He thought. Gyoutoku had a round body and a round and amiable personality. This made him deeply virtuous among officials, but he lacked the level-headedness that was sometimes necessary. Eitoku was exceedingly anxious about leaving the estate to him and retiring.

If only Chitoku was here.

How many times had he thought that? His eldest son, Chitoku, grew tired of the intense ups and downs of bureaucracy and quickly left home to become a merchant. Now, he has made a fortune as a respectable sea merchant.

Chitoku, contrary to Gyoutoku, was a bit too sharp, which was why he was quick to turn his back on his family. How much better would it have been if the two of them had been able to help Eitoku by compensating for each other’s shortcomings.

It’s far too late to say any of this, though.

He sighed. He had no other sons besides his eldest and second sons, and he chose a son-in-law who he thought would be a good choice for his youngest daughter. That was Meiin. In terms of excellence, Meiin certainly lived up to Eitoku’s expectations. But, perhaps he was somewhat misreading his stubbornness and ambition.

His Majesty as well…

He had never left his side since he was a child. He intended to teach him politics, preach righteousness, and raise him with love. When he ascended the throne as emperor, he was moved to tears, thinking, Finally.

But he is no longer a little child.

He was not a child who Eitoku must guide and instruct. There would be times when he would disagree with Eitoku. That was natural. That should be celebrated as growing up.

However, he felt a feeling of “betrayal” deep within him that couldn’t be wiped out. The discerning Koushun must have realized this. That was why he said what he said to appease him.

While changing in his room, Eitoku looked at his hands, which were thin and fleshy and covered in wrinkles. Their elasticity and moisture had long since disappeared.

“Master, a guest has arrived.”

He had been putting his arm through the sleeve of his robe when the servant informed him.

“Who is it?”

“He calls himself Hou Sanrou. He is a silk merchant.”

“Hou? An unfamiliar name. He must not be a silk merchant from the capital.”

“He says that he comes from Ga Province.”

“Ga Province?”

Eitoku stroked his beard for a while, then spoke.

“Very well. I’ll meet with him.”

Previous || Index || Next

[kurokawaia]

ANIME

⋆·˚ ༘ * Hunter X Hunter :: Kurapika Kurta, Leorio Paradinight, Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs, Illumi Zoldyck, Silva Zolcyck, Chrollo Lucilfer, Feitan Portor

⋆·˚ ༘ * Berserk :: Griffith, Guts ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Death Note :: Light Yagami, L Lawliet (L), Miheal Kheel (Mello), Mail Jeevas (Matt), Nate Rivers (Near)

⋆·˚ ༘ * Bungo Stray Dogs :: Dazai Osamu, Atsushi Nakajima, Kunikida Doppo, Edogawa Ranpo, Fukuzawa Yukichi, Nakahara Chuuya, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Sakunosuke Oda, Saigiku Jono, Suehiro Tecchou, Dostovesky Fyodor, Sigma, Nikokai Gogol ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Sk8 The Infinity :: Kojiro Nanjo, Reki Kyan, Langa Hasegawa, Kaoru Sakurayashiki, Miya Chinen ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Bleach :: Ichigo Kurosaki, Issin Kurosaki, Jushiro Ukitake, Zaraki Kenpachi, Kuchiki Byakuya, Ichimaru Gin, Urahara Kisuke, Abarai Renji, Shinji Hirako, Kyoraku Shunsui, Aizen Sosuke, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Yumuchika Ayasegawa, Cifer Ulquiorra, Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, Coyote Starrk, Ishiha Uryu, Ishida Ryuken, Haschwalth Jugram ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Naruto/Boruto :: Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Shusui, Uzumaki Naruto, Senju Tobirama, Hatake Kakashi, Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Jiraya, Otsitsuki Indra, Otsitsuki Ashura, Otsitsuki Momoshiki, Otsitsuki Toneri ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Demon Slayer :: Demon slayers; Kamado Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Tokitō Muichirō, Rengoku Kyōjurō, Tomioka Giyū, Uzui Tengen, Shinazugawa Sanemi, Iguro Obanai, Himejima Gyōmei, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Demons; Kibutsuji Muzan, Kokushibō | Michikatsu Tsugikuni, Douma, Akaza ༊*·˚

⋆·˚ ༘ * Wind Breaker :: Haruka Sakura, Suo Hayato, Togame Jou, Kaji Ren ༊*·˚

Hunter x Hunter - caught up with the manga and watched the anime

Berserk - completed the 1997 anime, completed the movies and the 2016 seasons, currently reading the manga (up to chapter 260)

Death Note - completed the anime and read the manga

Bungo Stray Dogs - watched the anime and caught up with the manga

Sk8: The Infinity - completed the anime

Bleach - caught up the anime, HAVEN'T read the manga past the newest season

Naruto/ Naruto Shippuden - completed the anime, completed the manga, completed all the movies

Boruto - Completed the Manga (haven't watched the anime) ╰┈➤ Boruto | Blue Vortex - caught up with the manga

Demon Slayer - Caught up with the anime, haven't read the manga past the newest season

Wind Breaker - Caught up with the anime, HAVEN'T read the manga past the new season

Mo Dao Zu Shi - caught up with the Anime, completed the novels

Tian Guan Ci Fu - caught up with the anime, caught up with the Manhua, HAVEN'T read the novels

❛ request rules ❜ + ❛ request characters ❜

⋆·˚ ༘ * i have a life outside Tumblr aka. requests might take a while depending on motivation. ༊*·˚

𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 'I want you to write...', it can come of rude and demanding and I won't nessecarily fuffil your request, I might write your request but there is a high chance I won't. Come of NICE when you request, e.g, 'I was wondering if you could right,' 'could you please write,' etc ༊*·˚

𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 for fem!reader (fabr), in most of the thirsts, drabbles, fics and headcanons i write, the troupe will be dom!character x sub!reader unless stated other wise or requested otherwise. I can write for gn!reader x charcater but not anything nsfw, sorry, i just can't write it right.

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 :: if gender is not specified in request, i will assume it's a FEM! instert and will write a FEM! insert

I can also write any male x reader nsfw's but ONLY for Heaven Official's blessing and The grandmaster of demonic cultivation !! sorry if you want male x reader for any other fandom, but this is just the fandoms im comfortable writing this troupe with.

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 :: I will rarely write a sub!character x dom!reader unless i like the request itself ༊*·˚

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 ┈➤ fluff, angst, smut, and dark content.

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐒 ┈➤ cnc, duncon, noncon, being drugged, breeding, baby trapping, daddy kinks, mommy kinks, dd/lg, blood play, weapon play, kidnapping, yandere tendencies, coercion/manipulation, god complex, praise, name calling, degradation, exhibitionism, voyeurism, cervix fucking, size kink, age gaps, cockwarming + more ༊*·˚

𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 ┈➤insest, stepcest scat, watersports, vomit, fisting, pedophilia, chastity, drowning, public nudity, gangbangs (no more than a threesome), hypnosis, duct tape mummification, consensual servitude, humiliation, harem boys, prostitution ༊*·˚

𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 ┈➤ au's!! (i will not write for a character outside that timeline/setting as in the anime. so please refraining from asking me to write a 'modern au' 'collage au' etc. the only exception is making that au within the anime setting, such as; 'character doing this instead of this', like that is that makes sense?) insesct, stepcest ༊*·˚

all characters are depicted to be 18+ and i will not write smut about a minor where there isn't a canon time skip for them ༊*·˚