“It is true that your leader wielded the Sword,” Oguna said, his voice measured and controlled. “What do you want? What are you trying to gain by branding us as renegades?”
“The penalty for impersonating a prince is very grave,” the messenger said, ignoring his question. “You must be punished. But if you desist from this fruitless war and surrender yourself as the leader, we will spare the lives of the prisoners. If, however, you refuse, we’ll turn not only the prisoners but also you and every one of your men into corpses. Which do you want?”
Oguna smiled faintly. “I see. You want my life. That’s all, right?”
“Choose.”
“All right. If you promise not only to spare the lives of the prisoners but to set them free and guarantee that you will never bother any of my men again, I will accept the terms of your bargain.”
“Our prince is merciful. He will surely do as you ask.” The man turned and pointed toward a hill to the north. “You must come alone to the cedar wood on that hill tomorrow at dawn. If you are not alone, or if you fail to come at the appointed time, we will kill the prisoners. Remember that.”
“I understand,” Oguna said. The messengers turned their horses and galloped off, checking over their shoulders frequently. Oguna, however, merely watched them recede into the distance without issuing any orders.
Toko was the first to reach him. She had been listening to this altercation from some distance away, but the content had been so shocking that she unwittingly tapped the power of the Misumaru and appeared in front of him. “What on earth were they talking about?” she shouted. “How dare they say that to you? Why did they call you an impostor?”
“I know who their leader is,” Oguna said, with a dark scowl. “There’s only one person who could come up with a scheme like this. Someone who knows everything I’ve done … including what I did to my brother; someone who saw it all. And now he’s sneering at me, gloating over the fact that I’ve been caught in the same web that once ensnared my brother.” Toko was startled at the extent of Oguna’s rage. She had never heard him speak with such venom before. “Sukune. The emperor’s shadow. The emperor ordered him to follow me everywhere. I knew that. It was he, and those who served under him, who made all those attempts on my life. But he was just a tool. He only acted under the emperor’s orders. So I thought there was no point in hating him. But this is going too far. I’ll never forgive him for this. Or the emperor who’s behind it all.”
“Oguna,” Toko said fearfully.
“He used the power of the Sword. How he managed that, I don’t know. I don’t know, but I can’t let him continue,” Oguna said, an edge in his voice. “I can’t allow someone like him to wield that Sword. It’s not right.”
“No, Oguna. That’s the same as saying that you want the Sword back.”
“I can’t let Sukune use it.”
“If you confront him when you feel like this, it’ll be disastrous.” Toko was at her wits’ end. It was dangerous for Oguna to become so enraged at the thought of someone else wielding the Sword. Toko could see that, but Oguna couldn’t. Because he rarely expressed any anger, the fury he felt now was too explosive for him to fully control.
“You don’t understand, Toko. I can’t back down. I’ll go and defeat Sukune alone. I have to show him who the true master of the Sword is.”
“But you were supposed to have severed yourself from it,” Toko shouted.
“What’s the point in severing myself if it’s only going to start acting with a mind of its own? I have to finish it. By myself.”
“Don’t you see? It’s the Sword that’s doing this. It’s trying to draw you to your death. If you do what it wants, you’ll die.”
“I can’t help it. In the end, this is the only way to stop its power.”
“You’re so stupid!” Toko yelled. This was too much. She felt betrayed. Oguna had not chosen her after all. It had only looked like he had. When it came to a crisis, his resolve had easily crumbled.
At the sight of her tears, Oguna started, as if coming to his senses, but Toko had had enough. It would only make her more miserable to let him see her tear-streaked face. As she still bore the Misumaru, that thought alone was enough to spirit her away.
Materializing in a forest on some unknown mountain, Toko paused to weep. What am I going to do? I can’t possibly find the fifth magatama in time. Oguna will leave at dawn tomorrow. And his mother will take him.
There were no leads to guide her, and even if it were possible to find the last stone, she could not hope to do it in just one day. Time was far too short. She wracked her brain for an answer but found none. Just as she was about to despair, she suddenly remembered someone who could help—in Himuka at the western edge of the country. Lady Iwa, the greatest priestess in the land.
Lady Iwa was not yet a year old. But she might know something about the fifth stone. After all, she had been born with the stone called Ki in her fist. Once the thought had occurred to Toko, she could not put it out of her mind. Clinging to this slim chance, she rose to her feet. The distance between Himuka and Hidakami was immense. The entire country of Toyoashihara lay between them. But she had the Misumaru, and Sugaru had already proven that it could take her there. It was too soon to give up. She must try every option.
THE MOUNTAIN OF FIRE was no longer smoking. It was already late in the day and the sky was turning a pale, hazy purple, but the air was not yet cold on her skin. Whereas the camellia trees in Hidakami were still barren of buds, here in Himuka they were already heavy with flowers. Exhausted, Toko stumbled through the slanting rays of the sun until she caught sight of the infant’s mother, Lady Hayakitsu. The lady had just left the gate of what looked to be a newly constructed building. In fact, all the houses appeared new, having no doubt been built after the flood. Lady Hayakitsu joined a group of women and chatted with them as they moved off down the street together. Toko debated calling out to the women but decided against it. Lady Hayakitsu would welcome her with surprise and delight—there was much that Toko wanted to tell her, but there was no time. She wanted to meet with Lady Iwa and return as quickly as possible.
Toko flew a short distance and found herself in the courtyard of a house. Lady Iwa lay in a cradle in the middle of a large room, the doors of which were flung open onto an inner garden. Bathed in the late afternoon sun, the baby girl gazed at the ceiling and stretched her hands up toward it. Colorful toys hung from a beam and stirred faintly in the breeze.
Lady Iwa had grown much bigger. Her skin was fair and her face was very cute. But the sight of her robbed Toko of confidence. She had been a fool to waste all that energy traveling to the far western edge of the land. This girl was probably nothing more than what she seemed—a baby. What deep questions could she possibly expect her to answer? But when she looked anxiously into the cradle, Lady Iwa turned her large eyes toward her, and they were the eyes of a wise old woman. Fortunately, the magatama allowed Toko to hear the infant’s thoughts and to translate them into the language of the land.
What’s wrong, my child? What is troubling you that you should come so far?
Toko almost choked with emotion just to be asked this question. Having been on her own for so long without any guide, her relief was so intense that she could have cried. “I have to find the stone of Hidakami,” she said. “The last magatama. I just have to have it. By tomorrow morning. Please, Lady Iwa, help me. There’s no one else I can turn to.”
You already wear four magatama around your neck. That is enough to give you powers no ordinary person could dream of. Why do you want more?
“To destroy the Sword and save its master. The Misumaru of Death is not enough to stop the Sword from drawing Oguna to his doom. I need all five. Why can’t we find the magatama of Hidakami? Is it because the stone from Mino has disappeared?”
The magatama of Hidakami exists, Lady Iwa said. She closed her eyes in thought and then looked again at Toko. But it is beyond your reach. Neither you nor Sugaru can obtain it. I
t cannot be found by the bearer of the Misumaru.
“But why?” Toko cried.
Because it is no longer possible to obtain any power greater than death in this world. In the past, when the gods walked the earth, perhaps, but now it exceeds our capacity. Or so the Goddess of Darkness thinks. A power so great that it does not belong in this world can only bring calamity—just as the Sword has.
“Then is it impossible to save him? Is there no way for us to resist the evil power of his mother?” Toko clasped her hands together and pleaded. “Please. Give me the power. I will show you that I can turn misfortune to fortune. I love Oguna. I would not use that power for any other purpose.”
Another woman once thought the same thing—the mother of the one who wields the Sword, Lady Iwa said quietly. Toko felt as if she had been slapped. She once thought ‘Nothing evil can be born of love.’ Do you intend to obtain this power so that you can vie with her over that youth and determine which of you is the greater evil? Is that really what is best for him?
Shocked, Toko fell silent. After a long moment, she whispered, “But … I … what should I … Do you mean that I should quit defying her?”
I cannot tell you what you should do. You have walked your own path thus far. No path will satisfy you except the one you find for yourself. But there is one thing I can tell you, you who will likely be the last Tachibana woman to bear the Misumaru. The magatama do not draw their power solely from the stones. Your Misumaru is missing Aka, the stone from Mino. You must think about what that magatama means.
TOKO HAD NO CHOICE but to return empty-handed. Fortunately, her flight had left a trail that she could follow, making it even easier to return to camp than it had been to find Lady Iwa. Before she knew it, she found herself once again beneath the trees on the mountainside. Despondent, she stayed there, motionless, for some time. Curled up in a ball, she thought about what Lady Iwa had told her. Aka, the stone from Mino. The magatama that vanished with Akaru. How does Lady Iwa expect me to understand the meaning of that? Akaru loved the prince so much that she gave up her life for him. Must I do the same …?
Toko thought back on what Akaru had done, feeling the pain of those memories all over again. Was it selfish to hold out for what she desired? Was it an unforgivable sin to want to live—and to want Oguna to live as well? Would fate deny her this?
Night fell and a curtain of blackness spread beneath the dark trees. Toko pondered her situation until she felt her head must burst but came to no conclusion. On impulse she decided to return to the camp. It was cold and lonely here by herself. There was no reason to stay. She materialized beside the stockade on the spot from which she had first vanished. The torches had been lit. To her surprise, Oguna was still there, standing alone, as if he had never moved.
“Toko!” He grabbed her in his arms as if to keep her from disappearing again. “I thought you’d never come back.”
Toko was sorry. She should never have left his side. She should have stayed with him, particularly now, when he had prepared himself to die tomorrow. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, clinging to him. “I was such a coward.”
Oguna peered into her face, trying to see it in the torchlight. “I’m the one who wanted to apologize. All I ever did was make you grieve. You’ve done so much for me, and I was never able to do anything for you. But—I have to go tomorrow. I just have to.”
Toko said nothing.
“I’m not asking you to understand. That would be too unfair. But no one else can do this for me. I have to do it myself. As the commander of this army, I cannot let Takehiko and my men die. I have to save them. And it has to be me who takes back the Sword.” He took a deep breath. “Because the Sword is not only my mother, it’s also a part of me. It is only right that I should take responsibility and bring it to an end. I want to live—with you. I still want that. But if I do not go tomorrow, I will no longer be me. Please forgive me … if you can. I mean it when I say that I love you. Now and forever, more than anyone else.”
Oguna has already chosen, Toko thought. He was no longer speaking from anger but from the depths of his heart, after long and careful thought. She could feel that. And she could feel his love for her. She knew that this choice was the best answer that he had been able to find.
There’s nothing I can do. Never had she felt so utterly powerless. Up until now, Toko had risen to the occasion whenever faced with a challenge, convinced that she could change the course of events by the force of her will. But now she understood for the first time that she must let go. Because Oguna had a will of his own. Even if he walked forth into death, if that was what he decided he must do, she would not bend his will to hers just to make him stay. I am not like his mother, Toko thought, surprised at this discovery. Unlike his mother, she could understand Oguna. She could recognize what he desired and abide by his will.
“I won’t stop you,” she said, smiling through her tears. “If you insist that this is what you must do, I won’t interfere. Don’t worry. I’m not angry. Perhaps I should do everything in my power to stop you from going tomorrow. And because I choose not to do that, perhaps it is really me who is driving you to an early death—”
“No, that’s not true,” Oguna said hastily. “Are you sure you’re not angry with me?”
“I love you. Therefore I can trust you. I believe in what you choose to do. If you believe it is the right thing and go of your own free will, then I will not try to stop you.”
That was what Lady Akaru had done. She had believed. She had not acted on the basis of what she thought would happen. She had simply believed in the one she loved. Her beauty came from her ability to trust completely, regardless of the outcome. I too can believe, Toko thought. No matter what Oguna does. Even if he vanishes from this world.
“I would ask of you one more thing.” Oguna’s voice was almost a whisper. “If I do not come back, I want you to live. Even without me by your side, I want you to live, for me, just as strongly as if I had lived.”
Toko realized that Oguna must also be thinking of Lady Akaru. Akaru’s death had been hard on Toko, but she knew that it must have been even harder for Oguna.
“All right,” she said. “I promise.”
Oguna stayed with Toko until just before dawn. Then he left alone for the hill to the north. Toko, who had dozed off just for a moment, dreamt of a white swan flying. When she woke, Oguna had already gone.
The swan had come to her for but a moment, only to fly away. And she had neither pursued him nor tried to stop him. She had let him follow his heart. Those with wings are drawn to the heavens. That was his nature, and she had accepted Oguna completely, including that. She had loved him on the basis of that acceptance, without trying to change him or make him her own. If his mother was also a part of Oguna, there was no point in vying with her. Toko chose instead to accept, to relinquish the fight entirely and with it, any attachment to either victory or defeat.
I will have no regrets. After all, Oguna came to me. I will not cry …
But the tears spilled from her eyes. She had accepted everything only to lose it all.
OGUNA CROSSED THE FIELD of withered grasses under the dark sky, flushing out a herd of deer. Watching them race away, he remembered what Nanatsuka had told him and realized that he had not yet hunted the deer of Hidakami. He had not been able to enjoy even one leisurely day tracking game. He wished that he could have done that before … before all this. His men would have been so happy. If he had lit a fire on the spot and roasted the meat, just as he and Nanatsuka had once done, Toko would have enjoyed it too.
The lively image floated before his eyes like a mirage and evaporated just as quickly. All that was left was the broad, dark field and the frosty cold. Oguna patted the drooping head of his steed and urged it forward. He could not turn back. He could no longer turn his eyes away from the task he had set himself.
Oguna dismounted at the bottom of the hill and started up on foot. Dawn was beginning to tinge the sky. A crimson stain spread throug
h the darkness as though pushing the night away and bringing the world into sharp relief. He reached the top of the hill just as the sun’s first golden ray shone forth from the east. There was a clearing in the grove of trees at the top, and there, Sukune waited, his armor gleaming. Oguna saw no one else, although he suspected that Sukune’s underlings must be nearby, most likely concealed behind the trees. Oguna strode straight across the clearing. He wore no armor and was clad only in the white that he always wore.
“You cannot know how long I have waited for this day,” Sukune said.
It was the same soft voice that Oguna remembered, but now its very gentleness sounded cruel. “You won’t have to chase me from one end of the country to the other anymore, will you? You must be very grateful,” Oguna said. He realized that he had learned to speak with this quiet control from Sukune.
“I am the emperor’s shadow. I go wherever the emperor wills. I do whatever he bids me. But it was not for him that I waited for this day, but for myself.” A smile touched his almost feminine features. “You have no idea how I felt when you appeared in Mahoroba bearing the Sword, O son of Princess Momoso. Nor can you ever guess how I felt as I watched you use that Sword to kill Prince Oh-usu and usurp his place as crown prince.”
“What are you trying to say? That you despise me?”
“You’re not the legitimate heir to the emperor. You were abandoned and buried. Yet you used your power to rise to the height of glory as crown prince. You are the epitome of all that is most despicable.”
“But it was through your scheming and that of the emperor that I was forced to kill my own brother, Oh-usu. My brother had become an obstacle, and now, so have I. That’s all, isn’t it?” Oguna could almost see his father behind Sukune and he barely managed to keep his composure. “You exploited my power and then when you found me in your way, you sent me as far away as possible. Yet still I did not turn my hand against you. Because I myself accepted that my very existence was unforgivable. Why do you hate me so much? Even though I’ve volunteered to remove myself from your sight, regardless of whether you hate me or not?”
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