Lady Akaru gazed at her sadly, but she still receded into the distance, clasping the parcel. “Farewell, Toko. And thank you.”
Toko burst into tears and wept until she knew no more.
WHEN SHE WOKE, the morning light had already spread across the sky. Toko rubbed her eyes and then checked for the prince’s jacket, but it was gone. If it were not for that, she would have thought it was a dream. That was not all that was strange. No matter how many people she asked, none had seen Lady Akaru.
Maybe that was her soul. She came back in spirit just to get the prince’s jacket.
Toko wept alone.
5
LIKE A STONE rolling downhill, the battle grew worse. This was all too obvious to Toko and the others who were caring for the injured, although no one said anything. A steady stream of dead, dying, and wounded soldiers already overflowed the hall. They could not go on like this, yet the emperor’s forces clearly had no intention of relaxing the offensive. Instead they seemed intent on finding new ways to annihilate the defenders.
When her father summoned her, Toko thought she could guess what was on his mind, so she spoke first. “It’s no good, is it?”
Onetsuhiko looked at her without bothering to deny it. His face was deeply lined with fatigue. He had rallied his men well, inspiring them to carry on, but he was reaching the end of his strength.
“Toko,” he said. “There’s still time. You must go to Moyama. There are things that you must do.”
“No!” Toko protested. “Please. I don’t want to go! I can’t leave now and abandon all of you here.”
“You’re a woman. There’s no need for you to die here with us.”
“Mother’s a woman too. But she’s going to stay here until the very end. And so will I!”
Her father sighed but appeared unmoved. “Toko, your mother and I have already discussed this. We both agree that you should go and help Kisako, the chief’s second daughter. You have a duty to protect the Tachibana bloodline. As daughter of the headman’s household, you can’t turn your back on that.”
“I’m going to talk to Mother,” Toko said. She turned abruptly and so bumped right into Matono who was just entering the room. Matono caught her by the shoulders. Looking up at her, Toko pleaded, “You’re not going to send me off on my own, are you, Mother? If I go, you’ll come with me, right?”
Still holding her, Matono looked into her eyes. “I’m responsible to this clan for everything that is happening now,” she said steadily. “It was I who brought Oguna into our house and raised him. As such, I am partially to blame for the fact that he is now destroying Mino. I can’t believe that it was a sin to rescue a baby, yet neither am I so blameless that I can desert those who are giving their lives to protect our land. You understand that, don’t you?”
“But, Mother, that’s true for me too,” Toko said. “I want to stay here. Even if we all die, at least we’ll be together.”
“No,” her mother said, caressing Toko’s cheek. “I know it seems hard to have to go on alone, but still that is what you must do. You are the daughter of a headman of the Tachibana clan. Therefore, you must willingly accept the most difficult task of all. It takes great courage to survive; it will be much harder than staying behind in this fortress. But that is what I want you to do. I want you to live.”
Toko blinked. Something about her mother reminded her of Lady Akaru. For an instant, it was as if she saw the two of them standing before her, one overlapping the other.
“Even if we are killed,” Matono continued, “I know that you, at least, will be able to carry on without hating Oguna. You must never blame him, Toko. Some fate far greater than any man could resist is at work here—a sad and twisted fate. I want you to go and see if there is any way to make it right as a Tachibana.”
IT WAS TSUNUGA who brought her horse. Where he had been fighting she did not know, but he was covered from head to foot in mud. The mud had dried so that he looked like a walking clay figurine, but his eyes remained undefeated and even lively.
“Don’t worry, Lady Toko. This fort will not fall. We’ll guard it with our lives. Please don’t cry.”
But his words only made her sadder. Not even Tsunuga, who had always stood by her, could go with her now. He would stay and defend his homeland until the end.
“Tsunuga, I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.”
“Looking back on it, it was actually fun,” he said with a laugh. He rubbed his cheek with a muddy hand. “Next time, let’s go for a walk somewhere less dangerous though, shall we? When this war is over, I would be glad to escort you.”
Toko smiled. “Really? But aren’t you tired of me?”
“Of course not. I’ll take you, and that’s a promise!” Then he opened the gate and bade her farewell. Fortified by his courage, she was able to ride off and even to keep herself from looking back. But despair soon overtook her. Trying to shake it off, she spurred her horse into a reckless gallop. The prince. Nanatsuka. Lady Akaru. Mother. Father. Tsunuga. Everyone in the hall. Everyone in this land. Will they all die? It’s not fair. Why is this happening?
Tears blurred her vision so that she could barely see ahead. When her horse stumbled over a tree root, Toko went sailing through the air. She was fortunate to land smack in a thicket of bamboo grass. Had she landed elsewhere, she might have broken her neck. Shocked and frightened, Toko burst into tears, unable to bring herself to move. It was ridiculous, she thought, to cry just because she had fallen from her horse, but she could not help it.
I’m not that strong. How can I stop from wondering whose fault this is? How can I keep myself from blaming or hating someone for this when my home, my family, all the people I love are being taken from me? I can’t help but despise whoever did this. I’ll hate them forever. If it’s Oguna’s fault, then I’ll hate even Oguna.
But after crying for a while, she gradually calmed down. Feeling somewhat foolish sitting in the thicket, she stood up slowly. She had escaped with only a few minor scratches. Toko walked along calling her horse and found it not far away rummaging about for bits of grass.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Let’s start over. I promise I won’t cry anymore. Crying won’t change anything anyway. I’m going to the fort at Moyama. That’s all I’ll think about for now. I’ll worry about the next step when I get there.”
BY THE TIME she reached Moyama, the stars had already come out. Light spilled from the doorway of the meeting hall, the largest building in the fort and the only one in which the lamps seemed to have been lit. It was unusually quiet, but as she had not eaten since leaving Kamitsusato, she was too exhausted to notice. Ducking quickly under the woven straw curtain that served as a door, she stopped in surprise. The entire fort was gathered inside, and all eyes now turned toward her. In the middle of the silent crowd sat the Keeper of the Shrine. She looked around and said, “Ah, Toko. Good. You’re back.”
Toko was stunned. It had never occurred to her that the priestess would leave the shrine. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“You should know even better than I. Mino will fall. Once Kamitsusato is defeated, the rest of this land will follow. I came down from the mountain to announce that the end is near. My end as well. He has begun to exercise his power. My own power, however, is finished, and I can no longer read the signs.”
“You mean Oguna?” Toko asked in a small voice.
“Yes. The abomination. Not only has he brought destruction to Mino but he will also bring disaster and misfortune everywhere he goes. He must be stopped. I do not have the strength to do that myself, but there are other Tachibana. Originally, there were five Tachibana clans. Kisako.”
The chief’s daughter seemed to shrink at the sound of her name. “Yes, Keeper of the Shrine.”
“Remember what I taught you? Tell us where the other clans are.”
Kisako licked her lips and then recited in a rush. “In the land of Hidakami, where the sun rises; in the land of Himuka, where the sun sets; in the l
and of Mino and the land of Izumo and the land whose name is forgotten; in these five lands lie the magatama protected by the five Tachibana clans.”
The priestess closed her eyes as if contemplating the words Kisako had rattled off. Finally she spoke. “Much time has passed since the age of our forebears. Who knows if we can still influence the power of the gods in this age when the oracles no longer hold true. As for the five Tachibana clans, we have lost touch with one another and I don’t know what they are like now. Still, we must try. Kisako, Izumo is the closest of those lands. Go there and seek out the Tachibana. Tell them what has happened and ask for aid. We have lost our magatama, so there is no choice but to rely on them. Tell the Keeper of the Shrine of that land that we need a warrior. We need a hero who can take the Misumaru, the string of beads, and with it oppose the power of the Sword.”
Kisako gasped at these words. “Izumo? But that’s so far. How can I possibly make it all the way there?”
“I’m not asking you to go alone. Even I have reservations about sending you there by yourself. Toko, you must go with her. You too are a Tachibana. You must help each other to reach Izumo.”
Toko hunched her shoulders and exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Kisako, who had turned to stare at her. “Keeper of the Shrine,” Toko said. “You say that we need a warrior. Do you mean a warrior to defeat Oguna?”
“Yes.”
“So you want us to look for someone in Izumo who will avenge us by killing Oguna?”
“Yes. The one who wields the Sword must not be allowed to live. His is a power that was not meant to exist in this world. The mission of the Tachibana clan since ancient times has always been to subdue that power. I know how you must feel, Toko, but this is no time for mercy or compassion.” She paused and then continued. “I told you that Prince Oh-usu was a Takeru. So is Oguna, for it takes one Takeru to kill another. His life will thus be brief. I don’t know if this is any comfort to you, but even if the Tachibana don’t kill him, he cannot survive for very long. The power of the Sword, however, is so evil that he must not be allowed to live even for that short space of time. As long as the Sword is wielded, it will continue to twist fate and destroy any harmony in Toyoashihara.”
“Keeper of the Shrine!” Toko said. “There’s no need to seek a warrior in another land. I’ll be that warrior. I will kill Oguna.”
Everyone stared at her. The high priestess held her gaze as if weighing it. Then, seeing that Toko’s resolve did not waver, she said, “Your courage at least should qualify you as a warrior. But I can no longer see the future. I long to believe that this choice will bring good fortune, but it could just as easily bring the opposite. The only way to find out is to go to Izumo. When you get there, seek the one who bears the magatama. Nothing can be done until you have the Misumaru.”
PRINCESS MOMOSO sat Oguna down in front of her and chanted a long prayer. Waving a sakaki branch in her hand, she brushed it against his shoulders several times. When she finished, the vacant expression on Oguna’s face changed and he began to blink. His eyes, however, remained unfocused.
Princess Momoso gently raised his chin and asked, “Do you recognize me?”
“Mother? What are you doing here?” Oguna murmured with a puzzled look.
She smiled with relief and stroked his hair. “That’s better. I flew to your side as soon as I heard. This is the villa at Awami. You’ve been in a stupor for days and would not eat unless food was put in your mouth. That’s why you were brought here.”
Oguna looked around in surprise at the unfamiliar room. He had thought that he was still in Mino.
“You were possessed by Oh-usu’s death. You must be careful not to stare too long at the dying. They can seize your mind.”
With a sudden, violent motion, Oguna thrust her hands aside and backed away. His face grew deathly pale. He had remembered what he had done.
“Don’t touch me! Please! Don’t touch me.”
Princess Momoso’s eyes grew round. “What’s the matter?”
Shaking, he screamed, “What am I? Some kind of monster? What is this power? Why did you give me the Sword?” With trembling fingers, he undid the belt at his waist and threw the weapon on the floor. “I don’t want to see that horrible thing ever again. I don’t need it. I wish it would disappear.”
The Sword spun off into a corner, leaving a gash on the floor, but nothing else happened. Princess Momoso watched wordlessly. Then she went over, picked it up in both hands, and held it out to him. “You are just upset. It will not help to take it out on the Sword. Even if you try to shatter the blade or melt it down, it is already a part of you, its power is one with you.”
“I don’t want it.” Turning his back on the Sword and Princess Momoso, he crouched down on the floor. “I don’t want it. I killed the prince. With that Sword—no, not with the Sword; with my mind. How could that be possible? I loved him …” He broke off and then added tremulously, “He was my brother …”
“Oh-usu was destined to die. If you hadn’t killed him, someone else surely would have,” Princess Momoso said. “As that was the case, then it was more merciful for him to be killed by your hand than by the blade of someone base and vile. It was the judgment of the heavens.”
“Are you saying that I was his judge?”
“Weren’t you?”
Oguna leapt up. “Stop it! I’m not that kind of person, and I don’t want to become like that either.” But then his voice faltered. “When I said that I wanted to be strong, this was not the kind of strength I meant …”
“But it’s what you are. You alone can wield the Sword. You are the strongest man on earth.”
Confused, he turned his anger on her. “Mother, why aren’t you afraid? Why don’t you fear the fact that you gave birth to me? I am afraid. I’m more afraid of myself than of anything else in the world.” Once he had started, he could not stop. “You ought to fear me too. You should despise me. The prince did. I would rather you hated me from the very beginning than to have you change after you have shown me kindness.”
Princess Momoso’s eyes were lined with worry. “Ousu, you are upset. Why do you talk such nonsense?”
“It isn’t nonsense. I—”
“I do not fear you. Even if I were the last person left on this earth, why would I fear you? You do not know what it means to be a mother.”
“But what if I kill you? This power is beyond my control.”
“I do not care if you kill me,” she answered. “Why are you worrying about such trivial things? You are my life. No matter who you kill, even if you kill me, I will love you. It is enough for me to know that you exist. I live only for your sake.”
Oguna stared at her blankly for a moment. As he stood biting his lip, at a loss for words, sobs rose unbidden to his throat. “Mother,” he finally managed to say. “Mother, you should not say that.” The words let forth a flood of tears. “Surely you must know, my birth was a sin. The power of the Sword is proof of that. Of all of us, the person who tried to drown me in the river was doing the right thing.”
Oguna, who had never in his memory cried aloud in front of anyone, realized for the first time that it could actually relieve some of the burning pain inside.
Princess Momoso held him in her arms and whispered, “There is no need for you to suffer so. No need at all. It is my sin, not yours. You did nothing wrong. You were born. That’s all, so why should you be blamed? Do not blame yourself anymore. I am the only one who is at fault.”
Although sobs still racked his body, lethargy gradually stole over him. Crying seemed to be the first step toward solace. She’s wrong, he thought. But I don’t have the courage to turn her away. She may be the only person left who will accept me as I am. Because she’s my mother … He pictured yet again the island engulfed in flames, a scene seared in his memory. Never again could he return to Mino. Never again could he return to being Oguna of Kamitsusato.
I wonder where Toko is. I wonder if she’s all right.
He h
ad said goodbye to her once when he had been about to die. Yet he felt much farther away than he had then, even though he was alive. I’ll never see her again, he thought, anguished. I have no right to even think of seeing her.
“WHAT IS THE KEEPER of the Shrine going to do?” Toko asked Kisako in a half-hearted effort to make conversation.
“She said she was going to return to the shrine. She declared that she just can’t leave, though she destroyed the oracle hearth and burned the altar; even though there’s nothing left.”
At dawn, everyone in the fort at Moyama had gathered their few belongings, divided up the food, and departed, each going their own way. But in the end, the high priestess had decided not to seek refuge.
“Just like Mother and Father and the others,” Toko whispered. Toko and Kisako, who were hardly more than children, had been left to carry the burden of the Tachibana women alone into an unforeseeable future. Toko felt the weight of responsibility keenly. She and Kisako had left the fort and stood now on the shoulder of Moyama, looking down at their homeland. The fort was tiny in the distance, half concealed by the trees on the slope below them. The fence that Toko had helped build looked small enough to flatten with her little finger. Knowing that they would never see their home again once over the pass, the two had lingered at this spot for some time.
“Let’s go,” Toko said. “We won’t get anywhere if we stay here all day.” She slung her bag over her shoulder.
Kisako wept, unable to bring herself to leave. “Not yet. Please,” she said with a sob. “Just a little longer. This is the last time we’ll see Mino. I want to engrave it in my mind. Oh, how could such a terrible thing be happening? My heart is breaking. I never dreamed that we would be defeated, or that I’d be forced to wander without any idea of where to go. Why do I always have to suffer?”
Toko wondered irritably why she was being forced to set off on this long journey with Kisako of all people. The future seemed very dark indeed.
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