Page 62 of Shadow of the Fox

“I am Taiyo Daisuke,” the former Oni no Mikoto announced with a formal bow to Yumeko. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Yumeko-san. Thank you again for the honor of accompanying you on your mission. As a traveling onmyoji, you must see a lot.”

“Taiyo,” echoed the ronin, sounding incredulous. “You’re part of the imperial family?”

“The fourth son of one of the emperor’s many cousins,” Taiyo Daisuke replied with a rather wry smile. “Thankfully, two of my brothers married well and hold important positions within the court, and the third is an imperial magistrate, so I don’t have to worry about meeting my family’s expectations.”

The ronin smirked. “That’s a very unsamurai-like attitude, Taiyo-san. Won’t you have to commit seppuku for having such a dishonorable thought?”

“My clan knows I will do whatever is required to uphold the honor of the Taiyo,” the former Demon Prince said easily. “At the moment, nothing is required of me. So I am free to pursue my own agendas.”

“Which is lurking on bridges and challenging strong warriors to duels,” the ronin said.

“Which will now include escorting Lady Yumeko and her companions to the capital,” the noble corrected. “Yumeko-san?” He smiled at the girl and gestured to the distant lights over the river. “I would suggest spending the night in Sagimura. The inn there is simple but agreeable, and the staff are very attentive. I have always found it a pleasant stay when I leave the capital to go on my pilgrimages.”

“Pilgrimages,” the ronin snorted. “Is that what you call them, then?”

No reply from the noble. Even I had to admit, the former Demon Prince had excellent selective hearing. “Shall we go then, Lady Yumeko?” he asked the girl. “If we hurry, we may yet reach the inn before dinner is served.”

Yumeko returned his smile and, for just a moment, something inside me bristled. “That sounds wonderful,” she said, instantly perking at the mention of food. “Thank you, Taiyo-sama.”

“Please, Yumeko-san.” The samurai held up a hand. “Taiyo-sama is my father. The four of us just fought and killed a giant centipede together. I believe we’ve earned the right to call each other by our first names. Just Daisuke, if you would.”

“Daisuke-san,” Yumeko repeated, still smiling. “Thank you.”

“Well.” Taiyo Daisuke stepped back, gazing across the river. “I believe this is the very first time someone met Oni no Mikoto on a bridge and crossed to the other side.” His gaze fell to the oni mask, still held loosely in one hand, and he smiled a bit sadly. “I suppose I won’t need this anymore,” he murmured. “Whatever the outcome, whether it ends in victory or defeat, I have a feeling that Oni no Mikoto’s next duel will be his final one. So...”

Drawing his arm back, he hurled the mask into the air. It arched up, spinning red and white, before dropping lazily into the river. For a moment, it floated on the surface of the water, a small pale oval against the black. Then, the snarling oni face disappeared as the current pulled it under, and it was lost from view.

26

The Capital

My eyes hurt from staring.

Kin Heigen Toshi, the City of the Golden Plain, could be seen long before we even reached its impressive gates. Built on the juncture where two rivers—the Hotaru and the Kin no Kawa, the River of Gold—met, it spread for miles in every direction. The tightly packed inner city was surrounded by river and protected by steep stone walls, but the urban sprawl had crossed the natural moats and continued to creep across the plains. I had never seen so many buildings in my life; from afar, it looked like a ragged blanket of roofs, walls, bridges and roads had been spread over the entire valley.

Near the very center, rising from a vertical hill and surrounded by sheer stone ramparts, a magnificent castle soared into the air, towering over the city. Though its bottom walls were white and trimmed in dark wood, its roofs and top floors had been covered in what seemed to be pure gold, for they gleamed brilliantly against the cloudless sky, almost too bright to look at.

“Behold, the Palace of the Sun,” Daisuke told me, sounding almost as proud as if he’d designed the castle himself. “Home of the emperor, and the heart of Iwagoto.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I admitted, shading my eyes against the glare. “Is it really made of gold?”

“Gold leaf, my lady,” Daisuke replied. “The walls and roof are gilded with it. Sadly, we’ve yet to figure out a feasible way to build a castle of pure gold. Though Emperor Taiyo no Ryosei did try, until the peasants revolted.”

“It seemed they weren’t satisfied with starving to death while their emperor built himself a palace made of gold,” Okame added behind us. “Ungrateful wretches.”

Daisuke ignored him. He had changed outfits since the night at the bridge and was now wearing a pair of dove-gray hakama trousers and a sky blue haori jacket with silver clouds curled along the hems and billowy sleeves. The crest of the Taiyo, a blazing sun within a circle, was etched onto each shoulder. In the light of day, with his double swords thrust through his obi and his long white hair tied behind him, he looked every inch the noble warrior.

Very unlike Okame, leaning against a tree at our backs, the end of a reed poking from between his lips. Or Tatsumi, standing to the side, a shadow that nearly blended into the shade cast from the branches. I could feel both of them watching us, one cold and alert, one mockingly amused, and wondered if either of them had felt anything close to amazement before.

“When it was built,” Daisuke went on, unaware of the intense scrutiny at our backs, “the emperor at the time, Taiyo no Kintaro, demanded a castle that would shine brighter than sun itself, so that everyone would see our family’s influence for miles around. Since its construction, it’s been burned to ashes no less than four times but has always been restored to its former glory. A Taiyo has ruled from that palace for over seven hundred years.”

“It’s beautiful,” I said, squinting as one of the roof tiles caught the sun and flashed a searing white against my eyelids. “Though, I am curious—does everyone living around the castle go blind on very bright days?”

He chuckled. “You learn not to look directly at it in the summer.”

We followed the road, which soon merged onto a wide thoroughfare, with crowds of people traveling to and from the capital. As we crossed the bridge and walked beneath the wide, sweeping gates, my heart beat faster in excitement. Everything here was so grand! So large, and noisy and fast paced. I felt very small as we walked past dozens of shops and market stalls, unable to stop myself from looking at everything.

There was a sharp tug on my sleeve, and Tatsumi pulled me to the side of the road, just as a man jogged by pulling a two-wheeled cart. He shouted something that might’ve been an apology or a curse and continued down the street without breaking stride.

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