Ukikumo Shinrei Kitan Vol 2 Chapter 1

VOLUME 2 – THE WAY OF THE DEMON SWORD
the way of the crossroads killer (TRANSLATION NOTES)

prologue

It was a dark night –

Thick clouds covered the moon. Without the light of the lanterns, it would have been impossible to see one’s feet.

Hagiwara Iori was rus.h.i.+ng home, as if she were running from the darkness.

‘You act so tough, but you’re still afraid of the roads at night?’

Her brother, s.h.i.+ntarou, made fun of her as he walked beside her with a lantern.

'I am not afraid,’ Iori said indignantly, which made s.h.i.+ntarou’s face light up with a bright smile that did not match the darkness around them.

'You couldn’t even go to the toilet by yourself before. You’d always cry about how you were afraid of ghosts.’

Though that was true, that was when Iori had been a young child.

'I’m not a child any longer.’

'Ah, true. The truly frightening ones aren’t ghosts but humans,’ said s.h.i.+ntarou meaningfully.

Iori agreed with that. Now that the black s.h.i.+ps[1] had come to Uraga, there was much fuss about expelling the barbarians.

That wasn’t all. Iori had heard that there was a crossroads killer[2] – somebody testing their new swords on pa.s.sersby – on the road by the Tama river that they were walking now.

'We must not let our guards down.’

'You’re right. However, if we’re up against a human being, there’s nothing to worry about if you’re here, Iori,’ said s.h.i.+ntarou with a shrug.

'Please protect your own body yourself. I will have my hands full just trying to run away in this outfit.’

It was true that Iori practised the sword, but currently, she was in a woman’s kimono and had no weapon on her. It was impossible for her to move freely.

Furthermore, with s.h.i.+ntarou being the eldest son of a samurai family, saying that he would get his younger sister to protect him wasn’t a joke anybody could laugh at.

'Come to mention it…’

s.h.i.+ntarou stopped mid-sentence and halted.

'Is something the matter?’ Iori asked.

s.h.i.+ntarou looked around, as if he had noticed something.

'I thought I heard somebody’s voice just now…’ muttered s.h.i.+ntarou.

'Somebody’s voice?’

Iori tried to listen harder.

All she heard was silence. No voice reached her ears. Just as she was about to tell s.h.i.+ntarou that perhaps he was mistaken, a shriek – 'Gyaa!’ – reverberated in her ears.

Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou looked at each other.

That shriek was no laughing matter. Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou nodded at each other and then ran towards the source of the shriek.

They reached a house at a crosswords and stopped without thinking –

There was a man lying face-up in training clothing there.

'Did something happen? Please stay with us!’

Iori rushed over to the man’s side.

There was a wide cut on his left shoulder and a frightening amount of blood was gus.h.i.+ng out, forming black pools on the ground.

His face was pale and his lips were turning purple. However, he was still breathing.

Iori took out a hand towel and tried to block the man’s injury, but the blood wouldn’t stop.

'A crossro… kill…’

The man said that in a hoa.r.s.e voice and groaned. Then, he stopped moving.

In the commotion, a young man and woman stuck their heads out from the door of the house.

'What happened?’ the man asked.

He had a rugged body and a height that made you look up at him, but his way of speaking was restless.

'A man appears to have been attacked…’ said s.h.i.+ntarou.

'Could it be…’ murmured the woman.

She had a smooth oval face and almond eyes – a beautiful woman.

The woman took a step forward to look at the man’s face. Then, the blood left her face.

'Brother!’ the woman screamed. She pushed Iori away and clung to the man on the ground.

It seemed that the man who had been attacked was the woman’s older brother.

'Brother… Why did this…’

The woman buried her face in the man’s chest and cried with heaving shoulders.

All Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou could do was stare silently. The man who had spoken to them first was muttering something to himself while looking down.

Iori was just about to ask what he was saying when a man who looked like a samurai ran up to them.

'Oume-san!’

The man called out to the woman.

'Tsujioka-sama. My brother…’ said the woman in a faint voice, lifting her head slightly.

Then, the face of the man named Tsujioka turned red. He looked angry. Then, he turned that angry gaze towards Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou.

'We heard a scream. When we ran over here, he was already…’ said s.h.i.+ntarou.

Tsujioka’s gaze dropped to the floor.

'b.a.s.t.a.r.d… This is the work of the crossroads killer!’ shouted Tsujioka. He ground his back teeth together.

As the woman’s sobs echoed through the night, Iori felt a gaze p.r.i.c.kling her back, so she turned around.

There was a man standing there –

He was an old man, probably fifty or so.

He wore a mouse-coloured kimono and his loose hair fell on his shoulders.

He was terribly thin and wrinkled all over, and so pale that it was hard to think him alive. It was as if he were a corpse that had crawled out of a grave.

Despite that, his sunken eyes were bloodshot and filled with a killing intent.

– Could this man be the crossroads killer?

When that thought crossed Iori’s mind, a cold shudder ran through her body and she couldn’t move.

Even if she fought him, she had no way of winning. Though there was no reason to it, her heart knew. That was how strange the air about the man was.

– He’s going to kill me.

The moment Iori thought that, somebody hit her on the shoulder. It was s.h.i.+ntarou.

'What is it?’

'The crossroads killer is there…’

Though she pointed, the man who had been there just earlier was gone, as if he had melted in the night.

– What on earth is happening?

Iori could do nothing but stare.

1

'Iori-san, did you see a ghost?’ Yasohachi asked after hearing Iori’s story. Iori was sitting opposite him.

They were inside the slanted building of an abandoned shrine.

The suffocating humidity and dim interior may have made the story even more frightening.

'It’s likely – ’

Iori shut her eyes. Her small fists were clenched tightly on her lap.

It was Iori, who studied the sword and hated to lose. She was probably angry at herself for being unable to anything.

It was mysterious how even that part of Iori seemed lovely.

'In short, a ghost committed the random killing.’

'That’s what I think.’

Iori nodded.

If that were true, it was a terrifying story, but there was something Yasohachi didn’t understand.

'Do ghosts kill people randomly?’

Yasohachi spoke to the man leaning against the wall.

He was the exorcist who was living here without permission.

His hair was untied and unkempt, and he wore a white kimono casually with just a red kimono sash. His skin was even paler than the kimono. He looked like he had just come out of a ghost painting by Maruyama Oukyo.

What stood out more than anything else were his eyes.

The man’s eyes were a deep, vivid red. The colour of blood.

His name was Ukik.u.mo.

It wasn’t his real name. Since he wouldn’t tell Yasohachi no matter how he asked, Yasohachi just called him that.

He had met Ukik.u.mo through a certain case and had, ever since then, experienced many different paranormal events at his side.

He had also met Iori through a paranormal event. Otherwise, the son of a dry-goods dealer would never have been able to meet with Iori, the daughter of a samurai family.

Though Yasohachi waited for an answer, Ukik.u.mo said nothing.

'Um… do ghosts kill people randomly?’ Yasohachi asked again, which made Ukik.u.mo sigh dramatically.

'Like I know,’ Ukik.u.mo replied brusquely in a low voice.

'Please don’t say something like that so irresponsibly,’ complained Yasohachi.

Ukik.u.mo clucked his tongue at him. 'What’s irresponsible about it? Who’s the one who just barged into somebody else’s place and started telling ghost stories?’

Ukik.u.mo’s red eyes glared at him.

Yasohachi gulped under the weight of that gaze, but he couldn’t back down here.

'Ukik.u.mo-san, you’re an exorcist. This makes this a conversation about work.’

'Are you an idiot?’ Ukik.u.mo said mockingly. He poured some rice wine from his gourd into the cup he had with him and gulped it down.

'What’s idiotic about this? I’m speaking honestly.’

'What’s honest about it? It’s not work if there’s no money involved.’

It was just as Ukik.u.mo said.

Furthermore, Ukik.u.mo was a miser. He wasn’t the sort of man who would help somebody out of the good of his heart.

'But…’

'Whether a man or a ghost did it, random killings should be left to the town magistrate’s office.’ Ukik.u.mo interrupted Yasohachi.

'That may be the case, but innocent people are being murdered. I can’t leave this alone.’

Ukik.u.mo placed his gourd on the ground in irritation.

'Like I care.’

'If it is the work of a ghost, there will be another victim. Don’t you want to do something about this?’

'I don’t.’

Ukik.u.mo yawned and then lay on the floor with his arm as a pillow. He closed his eyes.

It looked like he planned on going to sleep.

If Ukik.u.mo was acting like this, he probably wouldn’t do anything else. That was the sort of man Ukik.u.mo was.

'Um…’

Iori was the one who spoke.

'If it’s money, I will prepare it.’

'Oh?’ Ukik.u.mo opened his eyes.

'Why would you pay, Iori-san?’

Yasohachi c.o.c.ked his head.

'Actually, there’s more to the story – ’

'There’s more?’

Yasohachi’s heart beat rapidly.

'Yes. I would think it fine to just leave it to the magistrate if it were just a random killing. The man who appeared like a ghost might have just been a trick of the eye – ’

Iori looked at Ukik.u.mo. Ukik.u.mo had got up and was scratching his head. Perhaps his interest had been piqued.

After Iori saw that, she continued.

'The night after I saw the random killing, I couldn’t fall asleep. Though I had my eyes closed, I did not feel drowsy. Then – ’

Iori’s clear intonation sounded strangely frightening.

Yasohachi gulped and cleared his throat to wait for the next words.

'I felt somebody’s presence. When I opened my eyes, I saw a dark shadow through the screen.’

'A shadow?’ asked Yasohachi in a shaking voice.

'Yes. The shadow advanced through the corridor. I wasn’t sure who could be walking about at that hour so I rose and went out into the corridor myself.’

While Yasohachi felt a s.h.i.+ver upon hearing Iori’s story, Ukik.u.mo let out a bored yawn and poured some more rice wine into his cup.

'Was somebody there?’ Yasohachi urged Iori to continue.

'It was a samurai in a grey kimono.’

'Do you mean – ’

Yasohachi half-got up from his seat. Iori nodded.

'It was probably the killer I saw that night.’

'What!?’

'Just as I was about to chase after him, the man went into my brother’s room. I slid open the screen to my brother’s room to see what was going on.’

After saying that much, Iori bit her lower lip and looked down.

Yasohachi’s anxiety swelled up as he looked at her slightly pale face. Yasohachi’s fists were sweaty as he urged Iori to continue.

'That man had a knife in his hand and was looking down at my sleeping brother.’

'Wha – ’

'I tried to hit the man to save my brother, but before I could, the man disappeared.’

'That’s horrifying,’ said Yasohachi with a sigh.

Ukik.u.mo just snorted like he thought something funny and gulped down his cup.

'You were probably half-asleep. Just leave it,’ said Ukik.u.mo, wiping the corner of his mouth with his kimono.

Iori shook her head.

'I wouldn’t worry about it if it were just that once, but this has continued,’ said Iori in a lowered voice.

'It’s continued? That would give one the s.h.i.+vers,’ said Yasohachi.

Iori nodded.

'Don’t make such a fuss just because a ghost is wandering your home,’ Ukik.u.mo spat out.

'Just because – anyone would be surprised if a ghost was wandering their home,’ objected Yasohachi.

Ukik.u.mo made a click with his tongue.

'Idiot.’

'Why do you say that?’

'You guys just can’t see them. Ghosts are everywhere.’

Ukik.u.mo’s words echoed sadly in Yasohachi’s heart.

Unlike Yasohachi and Iori, Ukik.u.mo could always see ghosts. It was probably natural to him for ghosts to wander a home.

Since Ukik.u.mo acted so reserved, Yasohachi sometimes forgot, but Ukik.u.mo had seen things like that his whole life.

Perhaps he always drank rice wine to distract himself.

'I’m sorry,’ said Yasohachi, which made Ukik.u.mo look annoyed.

'That part of you really annoys me, Hachi.’

'Why? I just…’

'Just stop it. More importantly, the story isn’t over, right?’ said Ukik.u.mo, pouring himself more rice wine. Iori nodded.

'That’s right. Ever since then, my brother has been acting slightly strange.’

'Strange in what way?’ asked Yasohachi.

Iori took a deep breath. 'He’s fine in the day, but when night comes, he sometimes disappears from his room.’

'Maybe he just left for an errand?’

'I thought so too and asked my brother, but he said he hadn’t gone anywhere.’

'That’s odd.’

'Yes. Strangest of all is that he leaves the room with his sword.’

'His sword?’

'Yes. My brother disappeared from his room last night as well. I couldn’t find him no matter how I looked.’

'So how is s.h.i.+ntarou-san?’

'He returns come morning… but last night, it seems there was another random killing.’

Yasohachi understood Iori’s concern now.

Iori seemed to be worried that her brother s.h.i.+ntarou may have been possessed by a ghost and had committed the random killing.

'Please save my brother! I beg you!’

Iori placed both hands on the floor and bowed her head, her forehead touching the ground –

The daughter of a samurai was begging them, mere townspeople. It was clear how anxious she was about her older brother.

It hurt to look at her.

Iori probably didn’t want to believe that her brother had randomly killed a pa.s.serby, but she couldn’t help but worry that it was the case. That was how people were.

'Iori-san, please raise your head,’ said Yasohachi, but Iori made no movement. 'It isn’t clear whether s.h.i.+ntarou-san actually did kill somebody or not.’

'But…’ replied Iori in a trembling voice.

'Please relax. Ukik.u.mo-san will do something about it.’

After Yasohachi said that, Ukik.u.mo just clucked his tongue very audibly.

2

'Honestly. Getting me involved in something so troublesome,’ muttered Ukik.u.mo as he walked beside Yasohachi.

He had his red eyes covered with a red cloth and was walking with a metal cane to act blind.

Yasohachi thought Ukik.u.mo’s eyes beautiful, but Ukik.u.mo felt the world didn’t see them in the same way.

He hated the looks of fear and disgust, so he hid his eyes with a red cloth, but he had eyes drawn on the cloth in ink.

Yasohachi felt that was even more unpleasant, but Ukik.u.mo didn’t seem to care.

Perhaps this was just a difference in perspective.

'Don’t say that. Please help Iori-san.’

Yasohachi looked at Iori, who was walking a few steps ahead of him.

Though she always did have a small frame, she looked even smaller today.

'You’ll regret it afterwards if you get involved with the daughter of a samurai family,’ Ukik.u.mo said threateningly.

'What do you mean by that?’

'You’ve fallen for her, right?’

'She isn’t the sort of person that a townsperson like me can fall for,’ said Yasohachi with a sigh.

Iori was the daughter of a samurai family. That was such a different background than Yasohachi’s dry-goods upbringing that it would be impossible to think of love.

'I said this before, right? Background doesn’t matter once you get in bed. You’re just a man and a woman.’

Ukik.u.mo’s lips turned up in a lewd smile.

Ukik.u.mo was a pervert. He was probably thinking of something lecherous.

'I can’t believe you’re saying that after you just said I’d regret getting involved with the daughter of a samurai family.’

'It’s just as I said, isn’t it?’ said Ukik.u.mo with a snort.

'More importantly, what do you think of this case?’ asked Yasohachi. This has been at the top of his mind.

Was it possible that s.h.i.+ntarou was possessed by a ghost and killing pa.s.sersby, just as Iori feared?

'There’s no point thinking about things now. I have to see for myself first.’

Perhaps it was just as Ukik.u.mo said.

Nothing would change if they thought about things while understanding nothing. It was possible that Iori had just been half-asleep.

'You’re right.’

'If you’re in such a rush now, you’ll embarra.s.s yourself when you finally do get her into bed,’ said Ukik.u.mo with another smirk.

'Why do you always talk about things like that?’

'Why? Obviously because it’s enjoyable. You have to think about how she’d look baring herself in front of you too, don’t you?’

'Of course I don’t!’

'Is something the matter?’

Iori turned around. Yasohachi had spoken louder than he intended.

'N-no… It’s nothing.’

All Yasohachi could do was try to cover it up with a wry smile.

He felt like his face was on fire. How much had she heard – Yasohachi was concerned, but there was no way for him to ask.

Ukik.u.mo stifled his laughter.

It annoyed Yasohachi, but if he retorted, Ukik.u.mo would only return with double the repartee. Yasohachi sighed and swallowed his words.

He decided to ignore Ukik.u.mo if he spoke again. Yasohachi walked behind Iori.

They went through the Hagiwara household gate and went to s.h.i.+ntarou’s room.

'Excuse us, brother,’ said Iori, and she slid the door open.

s.h.i.+ntarou was reading inside. He slowly lifted his head.

'Yasohachi-san and Ukik.u.mo-san. Thank you for your help the other day – ’

s.h.i.+ntarou looked at them with his usual smile.

From what Iori said, Yasohachi had imagined that s.h.i.+ntarou would be lying on the ground with a ghost possessing him, so it was rather anticlimactic.

However, now that Yasohachi thought about what Iori said again, he recalled that she had mentioned how s.h.i.+ntarou was normal in the daytime.

'Thank you for coming all this way. I told Iori that I was fine, but she just wouldn’t accept that.’

'No, please don’t worry about it,’ said Yasohachi with a stiff smile.

s.h.i.+ntarou was so indifferent that Yasohachi wasn’t sure how to react.

s.h.i.+ntarou urged Yasohachi in. Yasohachi sat down with a straight spine. Iori sat in the same manner.

Ukik.u.mo just sat with one knee up while leaning against the wall. He immediately took his gourd and poured himself some rice wine.

Yasohachi was so exasperated that he had no words.

Though s.h.i.+ntarou and Iori would allow it, if Ukik.u.mo had acted this way in front of another samurai family, it wouldn’t have been strange if he were killed right there.

'What do you think? Am I possessed?’ asked s.h.i.+ntarou once they had all settled down.

He spoke so cheerfully that it was like he wasn’t talking about himself.

Yasohachi looked at Ukik.u.mo.

Ukik.u.mo scratched his chin. There was a difficult expression on his face.

'Um… You don’t look possessed to me at all…’ said Yasohachi, when Ukik.u.mo said nothing.

When Yasohachi’s older sister Osayo had been possessed, she had not been as normal as s.h.i.+ntarou was now.

She hadn’t eaten. She would say things that made no sense. Though she was Osayo, she wasn’t – that was how it felt.

'That’s what I think as well. That this may just be Iori’s mistake – ’

Though s.h.i.+ntarou agreed, Iori didn’t seem to agree with it.

'Brother, I’m sure I saw what I did, and you don’t remember where you go at night, do you?’ pressed Iori.

s.h.i.+ntarou groaned. 'It’s true that I don’t remember, but did I really leave the estate?’

'You did. You suddenly disappeared from your room.’

'But we don’t know if that’s the work of a ghost.’

Nothing would be solved with Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou just talking like this. Yasohachi looked at Ukik.u.mo again.

'What do you think? Is s.h.i.+ntarou-san possessed?’

'From what I see now, he doesn’t look it,’ said Ukik.u.mo with a little sigh.

'Thank goodness,’ said Yasohachi in relief.

'Iori was mistaken then.’ s.h.i.+ntarou smiled, but Iori still looked unsatisfied.

'But…’

Ukik.u.mo interrupted her.

'It’s too early to say that.’

'Eh?’

'Now – that’s what I said,’ said Ukik.u.mo curtly.

'Do ghost possessions come and go?’ asked Yasohachi.

Ukik.u.mo crossed his arms and nodded.

'Sometimes. Anyway, it’s too early to say anything. I’ll keep watch until night.’

Yasohachi could agree with that. He wouldn’t be able to sleep if they left the situation like this. Putting s.h.i.+ntarou aside, Iori wouldn’t be able to accept that.

'Thank you.’ Iori bowed her head politely.

'And I want to hear about the first killing in more detail – ’

Ukik.u.mo turned his head to s.h.i.+ntarou.

The eyes drawn on his cloth seemed to glint.

'I don’t mind. I’ll tell you anything I can,’ replied s.h.i.+ntarou with a smile before starting to explain the situation and about the man who had been killed in more detail.

Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou had been returning from an errand for Shounosuke, the current master of the Hagiwara family.

The man who had been killed was Taniya Samon, an a.s.sistant instructor of s.h.i.+ngai-ryu swordsmans.h.i.+p. He had been killed just in front of the dojo.

Samon’s sister, Oume, and a private pupil of s.h.i.+ngai-ryu, Yamaguchi, had been the ones who came out of the dojo. The man who came afterwards was a pupil called Tsujioka.

Perhaps somebody had been waiting for Samon to return.

There was a large injury on the left shoulder, so it seemed he had been slashed diagonally from there.

Samon didn’t appear to have drawn his sword. Either it was a surprise attack or he hadn’t had the time to.

s.h.i.+ntarou explained clearly while adding his own thoughts. It made it extremely easy for Yasohachi to picture even though he hadn’t been there himself.

Ukik.u.mo listened to s.h.i.+ntarou without saying anything, which was rare for him.

Since he was so silent, it made Yasohachi think that he might have even fallen asleep since his eyes were hidden by the cloth.

'Then what happened to Tsujioka after that?’ asked Ukik.u.mo when s.h.i.+ntarou stopped.

'I don’t know the details, but I heard a man was killed,’ Iori said in a heavy tone.

It made sense for her to sound that way. If what Iori suspected was true, the one who had killed him might have been s.h.i.+ntarou.

She probably didn’t want to acknowledge that.

'Was the person who was killed a samurai?’

Ukik.u.mo turned the eyes on the cloth towards Iori.

'No, it seems he was not a samurai but a townsperson.’

'Hm. This might be more trouble than I thought,’ muttered Ukik.u.mo, putting a hand on his pointed chin.

Yasohachi didn’t know what could be troublesome about it, but he felt like something terrible was going to happen.

3

'Beautiful – ’

Yasohachi spoke without thinking when he saw Iori brandis.h.i.+ng a wooden sword in the garden.

Her silent handling of the wooden sword was swift, strong and elegant.

Though she was beautiful in a kimono as well, hakama suited Iori better.

The brilliance of her simple attire was not just from outward charm – it revealed the beauty within her as well.

'You’re definitely in love with her,’ said Ukik.u.mo, who was swirling rice wine in his cup as he sat leaning against the wall.

'No I’m not,’ said Yasohachi, his face as red as fire.

'Then what are you doing?’

'I just… The moon. I just thought that the moon is beautiful.’

'The moon isn’t even out.’

Ukik.u.mo snorted scornfully and gulped down his rice wine.

Yasohachi looked up. Just as Ukik.u.mo said, the thick clouds hid any sign of the moon.

He felt terribly embarra.s.sed, but it would be even more embarra.s.sing if he acted fl.u.s.tered now.

'I was imagining the moon behind the clouds.’

'Don’t quibble – ’ said Ukik.u.mo as he poured more rice wine from his gourd.

He really drank a lot. He had been drinking this whole time, but his face was not the slightest bit red, and he didn’t seem drunk at all, which was one of Ukik.u.mo’s amazing qualities.

'More importantly, why would anybody just kill pa.s.serby?’ asked Yasohachi, interrupting the conversation.

A crossroads killing was committed at night and at random. However, Yasohachi had no idea why anybody would do that.

'There are usually two reasons for a crossroads killing,’ murmured Ukik.u.mo.

'Two?’

'The first is as a test.’

'For a sword?’

'What else?’

'That’s true…’

'Even a great sword is wasted if it is not used. The sharper a sword, the more one wants to test it.’

'Wouldn’t a straw post be enough?’

Yasohachi had heard of people testing swords on straw wrapped around bamboo.

'They probably aren’t satisfied unless they get a taste of the real thing, so they kill people instead.’

'That’s…’

That was too outrageous.

It wasn’t like murder was acceptable if there was a reason, but it was just too much to take a life just to test a blade.

'The other is for amus.e.m.e.nt. Though some people do it for money –

'How could anyone kill somebody for amus.e.m.e.nt!? Why would anybody do that?’ shouted Yasohachi, leaning forward.

Ukik.u.mo looked obviously displeased. He poured himself more rice wine and gulped it down.

'No point talking to me about it.’

'But…’

'Whether it’s to test a sword or for amus.e.m.e.nt, to a samurai, a townsperson’s life is as insignificant as a bug’s,’ said Ukik.u.mo bitterly.

Come to think of it, Ukik.u.mo had mentioned before that he hated samurai. Yasohachi felt like he had just caught a glimpse of part of the reason.

'But that isn’t the case for all samurai.’

Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou didn’t think of them as insects.

'I know that. But townspeople never commit crossroads killings. There’s a reason for that – ’

Though Yasohachi didn’t want to admit it, it was just as Ukik.u.mo said.

Not all samurai were bad, but crossroads killings were the realm of the samurai. Townspeople would never kill samurai.

'Can’t we just live peacefully?’

'It’s because the world is peaceful.’

'Eh?’

'Crossroads killers are rampant because we aren’t at war.’

'What do you mean?’

'If there were a war, n.o.body would need to test their blades. They could amuse themselves in battle.’

Perhaps Ukik.u.mo’s perspective was valid.

'Is that another truth?’

'Well, it is how it is. In any case, whether at peace or at war, it’s always the people who are sacrificed.’

'Is that why you hate samurai…’ said Yasohachi, but Ukik.u.mo stopped him.

The atmosphere about Ukik.u.mo had changed. There was tension in the air.

'What’s wrong?’

'I sense something bad.’

'Eh?’

'It might have got in already,’ said Ukik.u.mo in irritation. He took his cane and stood up.

Iori ran over. She seemed to have noticed that something had changed as well.

'Did something happen?’

Ukik.u.mo ignored Iori’s question and went to s.h.i.+ntarou’s room. He slid the door open in one motion.

The room was empty –

'When did he…’ said Iori in shock.

Yasohachi couldn’t believe it either. They had been watching s.h.i.+ntarou’s room. He would have had to open the door and walk through the corridor to leave.

Despite that, s.h.i.+ntarou had disappeared.

'Is there a secret pa.s.sageway out of this room?’ asked Ukik.u.mo.

Iori seemed to recall something. 'Ah!’

'What do you mean by secret pa.s.sageway?’

'Samurai estates have several secret pa.s.sageways in case of emergencies.’

Ukik.u.mo pulled down the cloth covering his eyes and looked around the room. Finally, he seemed to sense something and opened the door to the closet.

At first, it looked like a regular closet, but in the corner, a tatami-sized s.p.a.ce was actually a hidden door.

'I should have realised when you told me he disappeared from his room…’

Now that Ukik.u.mo mentioned it, Iori had said that s.h.i.+ntarou went missing from his room.

Yasohachi had thought it was just a metaphor, but it seemed that hadn’t been the case.

'I will go look for him!’

Iori’s face was pale as she ran out of the room.

Yasohachi went after her.

Though they flew out of the gate, they stopped there.

He looked around, but s.h.i.+ntarou was nowhere to be seen. They had no idea where he had gone, so they had no way to look for him.

Just as Yasohachi was at a loss, a shriek – 'Guwaahh!’ – echoed through the street.

Yasohachi and Iori exchanged a glance and then ran towards the source of the voice.

Iori was faster than expected. Even though Yasohachi had started running first, Iori surpa.s.sed him in no time. Yasohachi had his hands full just trying to keep up with her.

They turned a couple of corners and had reached Yotsuya-ookido when Iori suddenly stopped.

Yasohachi panted as he looked up. He saw two people at the end of the street.

One had an oval face and a huge frame. It was Yamaguchi, the private pupil of s.h.i.+ngai-ryu.

Whether surprised or frightened, his eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping.

The other was a man in an unders.h.i.+rt wielding a sword –

'Brother!’ screamed Iori.

The man holding the sword slowly turned towards them. At the same time, the clouds covering the moon parted.

The reddish moonlight undoubtedly shone down on s.h.i.+ntarou –

He was clearly strange His eyes were bloodshot and his lips were twisted in anger.

'Brother… is that you?’ asked Iori in a trembling voice, like she couldn’t believe her eyes.

'Aagh…’

s.h.i.+ntarou groaned and raised his sword towards Iori.

– He can’t mean to kill Iori!?

Iori held up a wooden sword, but her hands were shaking. It probably wasn’t from fear. She was shaken by s.h.i.+ntarou’s strange behaviour.

Even Iori had no way of winning like this.

'Brother… please return to your senses,’ begged Iori with tears in her eyes, but her words didn’t seem to reach s.h.i.+ntarou’s ears. s.h.i.+ntarou waved his sword.

– Iori’s going to be killed if this continues.

'Please lend that to me.’

Yasohachi took the wooden sword from Iori and faced s.h.i.+ntarou with it. That said, Yasohachi had no training. He was in a terrible position.

s.h.i.+ntarou’s bloodshot eyes moved from Iori to Yasohachi.

Though Yasohachi had managed to get s.h.i.+ntarou to look away from Iori, he didn’t know what to do now. While he was thinking about this, s.h.i.+ntarou came rus.h.i.+ng at him.

– He’s going to kill me!

The moment that thought crossed Yasohachi’s mind, a dark shadow quickly pushed s.h.i.+ntarou away.

s.h.i.+ntarou fell to the ground, dropped his sword and stopped moving.

'Don’t just jump in without thinking, you idiot.’

It was Ukik.u.mo.

He glared at Yasohachi with two red eyes.

It seemed Ukik.u.mo had saved him. Yasohachi had been so intent on saving Iori, but perhaps, just as Ukik.u.mo had said, he had been reckless.

'Why… did this…’

Iori was in shock. Her knees buckled underneath her and she sat down.

Yasohachi didn’t know what to say to her. All he could do was look at Iori, who had crumpled to the ground –

4

'This is terrible – ’

Yasohachi looked down at s.h.i.+ntarou, who was sleeping in a futon.

s.h.i.+ntarou had collapsed, so they had taken him to the familiar clinic of Kois.h.i.+kawa Souten.

Kois.h.i.+kawa was examining s.h.i.+ntarou now. He was still in his unders.h.i.+rt since they had awoken him in the middle of the night.

'I think he’s just unconscious,’ said Kois.h.i.+kawa with a sigh after finis.h.i.+ng his examination.

'Thank goodness…’ said Yasohachi in relief, but Iori, sitting at s.h.i.+ntarou’s side, still had a hard look on her face.

Even if s.h.i.+ntarou was fine physically, the incident hadn’t been solved.

'Please let him sleep like this for today. He will probably wake up as normal tomorrow,’ said Kois.h.i.+kawa as he stood up. Just as he did so, the door opened and Ukik.u.mo peered in.

'Eek!’

Kois.h.i.+kawa’s face twitched.

Yasohachi understood how Kois.h.i.+kawa felt. The case which had acquainted Kois.h.i.+kawa with Yasohachi and Iori had not been a pleasant one.

Ukik.u.mo had grasped one of his weaknesses then.

'Oi, quack doctor.’

Ukik.u.mo put a hand on Kois.h.i.+kawa’s shoulder.

'Y-yes…’

He was so frightened it hurt to look at him.

'You didn’t give him any strange medicine, right?’

Under Ukik.u.mo’s red-eyed glare, Kois.h.i.+kawa looked like he was going to cry.

Though it was incredibly mean-spirited to bring up that case now, it was partly Kois.h.i.+kawa’s fault for doing what he did, so Yasohachi couldn’t say anything.

'O-of course not… I haven’t done anything…’

Kois.h.i.+kawa shook his head furiously.

'Really? All of the crossroads killings so far have been close to your clinic. Don’t you think that’s strange?’

'Eh? I-I don’t know anything.’

Though it was probably because he was afraid of Ukik.u.mo, the haltering nature of his speech made it seem like he was hiding something.

Iori was watching them with a suspicious expression on her face.

'Ukik.u.mo-san, you should let him off,’ interrupted Yasohachi. He couldn’t help it when he saw how pitiful Kois.h.i.+kawa looked.

'Well, a coward like you wouldn’t have anything to do with crossroads killings.’

Ukik.u.mo let go of Kois.h.i.+kawa, who ran out of the room.

'Did something happen?’ asked Iori, who seemed suspicious of Kois.h.i.+kawa’s fl.u.s.tered state.

Many things had happened, but they couldn’t discuss it. Especially not to Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou. Yasohachi would rather sew his mouth shut than speak.

What Kois.h.i.+kawa had done closely involved Iori and s.h.i.+ntarou.

’M-more importantly, what is going to happen to s.h.i.+ntarou-san?’

Yasohachi forcibly changed the topic.

Ukik.u.mo had his cane on his shoulder as he sat down and sighed.

'From what I see, he isn’t possessed by a ghost – ’

'Then is that the end of it?’

'Idiot!’

Ukik.u.mo poked him with his cane.

'Ouch!’

'He wasn’t possessed in the daytime today either. He was possessed at night.’

'Oh, I see…’

Now that Ukik.u.mo mentioned it, that was right. They didn’t know when s.h.i.+ntarou might be possessed again.

'Why is my brother possessed? And why would he commit…’

Iori looked at Ukik.u.mo pleadingly.

She was frantic in trying to save her brother. Yasohachi wanted to help her, but he could do nothing.

If only he could see ghosts like Ukik.u.mo – the thought came to him, but he didn’t say it.

Ukik.u.mo, who could see ghosts, had lived his life having to bear that weight. Saying that thought would be like denying everything Ukik.u.mo had experienced.

'That’s the problem.’

Ukik.u.mo put his cane on the floor and poured rice wine from his gourd into his cup.

Normally, he would gulp it down, but he just looked at his cup like he was thinking.

After a while, Ukik.u.mo murmured, 'There’s something strange about this case.’

'Something strange?’

'I don’t understand the goal of the crossroads killings.’

'Is there a goal?’

'Of course.’

'But you said that crossroads killing were for testing a new blade or for amus.e.m.e.nt – ’

'Idiot. Both of those are goals, aren’t they?’

Now that Ukik.u.mo mentioned it.

Even if they were selfish actions, from the view of the person committing the crossroads killings, that was the goal.

'Then is the goal not amus.e.m.e.nt this time?’

For somebody who had died and become a ghost, it was pointless to test a new sword. That would make the goal amus.e.m.e.nt.

After Yasohachi said that, Ukik.u.mo made a click with his tongue in irritation.

'You don’t understand anything.’

'Why do you say that?’

'Ghosts are the spirits of people who are already dead.’

'Yes.’

Yasohachi had heard this explanation from Ukik.u.mo countless times before. That was why he had said what he had.

'What amus.e.m.e.nt would a dead person get from killing somebody alive?’

'Maybe they hate the living because they’re dead?’ suggested Yasohachi.

Ukik.u.mo smiled bitterly. 'If that were the case, we wouldn’t be able to stop the crossroads killing.’

'Ah!’

It was just as Ukik.u.mo said.

Ukik.u.mo’s method of exorcising spirits was different from the usual.

He didn’t chant sutras to expel spirits. He found the reason they were wandering and eradicated that reason so that the spirits would leave.

If the spirit committing crossroads killings was wandering because he hated everyone who was alive, Ukik.u.mo would be unable to do anything.

'Could it not be to test their skill?’ said Iori in a heavy voice.

'What do you mean?’

'Though this is just a feeling, I think that ghost was a killed swordsman while alive. Perhaps he wants to keep testing his skill even after his death.’

'I see – ’

Yasohachi nodded in admiration. It was very like the daughter of a samurai family to think that way.

The first man murdered was Samon, an a.s.sistant instructor of s.h.i.+ngai-ryu. He probably was fairly skilled himself.

Though Yasohachi didn’t understand himself, if one were seeking to improve one’s skill, it would make sense to duel with a man like that.

'That’s possible, but something seems odd.’

Ukik.u.mo narrowed his red eyes.

'What is it?’

Yasohachi didn’t know what was odd about it. Ukik.u.mo gulped down his rice wine, sighed and then said, 'The man who was about to be killed by s.h.i.+ntarou earlier.’

'Ah,’ said Iori. It seemed she understood.

'That man is Yamaguchi, a private pupil of s.h.i.+ngai-ryu at the dojo of Taniya Samon-sama, the man who was killed first.’

Yasohachi clapped his hands together after hearing Iori’s explanation.

'It’s hard to think of it as a coincidence if they’re both from the same dojo.’

'That’s what bothers me. There might be a reason that these are the people being killed.’

Ukik.u.mo smiled.

To Yasohachi, the smile looked terribly obscene –

5

'This is really terrible,’ said Yasohachi as he walked the sunlit road.

'That’s why I said I didn’t want to do this,’ said Ukik.u.mo beside him with a click of his tongue.

He had his eyes covered with the usual red cloth and was using a cane to pretend to be blind.

Though Ukik.u.mo said things like that, he always stuck his neck in because he couldn’t leave things along. That was one of his good points.

Of course, Yasohachi would never say that. If he did, Ukik.u.mo would just go home in a perverse fit. That was how Ukik.u.mo was.

'Will s.h.i.+ntarou-san be all right?’ asked Yasohachi. This had been bothering him.

s.h.i.+ntarou had woken up at Kois.h.i.+kawa Clinic this morning. They had asked him a number of things, but he had no memory of what had happened at all.

He had never been in terribly good health, so it had been a.s.sumed to be exhaustion.

'He should be fine. Told him to hole up in the storeroom,’ said Ukik.u.mo with a snort.

'Holing up in a storeroom isn’t really fine, is it?’

'Idiot. If we let him loose, he might actually kill somebody this time,’ said Ukik.u.mo in a lower voice.

He was right. They had managed to fix the situation last night, but that might not be the case next time. Somebody had been killed the night before that.

They would probably have to keep him in until they expelled the spirit of the crossroads killer.

'So where are we going?’

Yasohachi was following Ukik.u.mo, but he hadn’t been told where they were going.

'You’ll find out when we get there,’ Ukik.u.mo said curtly. He walked forward briskly.

When Ukik.u.mo was like this, there was no point asking him anything. Yasohachi knew that from experience.

He silently followed Ukik.u.mo.

They stopped when they reached an old dojo at a crossroads. Yasohachi knew what Ukik.u.mo’s intentions were now.

He caught sight of a sign that read s.h.i.+ngai-ryu.

A large-framed man came out of the dojo. It was Yamaguchi – the man who had almost been killed last night.

'Hey, you – ’

Ukik.u.mo called out to Yamaguchi.

'W-what is it?’ said the man in a weak voice that did not match his body.

'I want to ask you about the crossroads killing.’

The moment Ukik.u.mo said that, Yamaguchi’s face grew pale. Perhaps he was recalling the events of last night.

'I-I know nothing.’

Yamaguchi tried to go back inside the dojo, but Ukik.u.mo didn’t let him.

He blocked Yamaguchi off with his cane and glared at him with the eyes drawn on his blindfold. Even though they were just drawn on, there was an intimidating air to them. It was mysterious.

Yamaguchi gulped.

'Don’t play the fool. I can tell you know something.’

Ukik.u.mo brought his face close to Yamaguchi’s ear.

'I-I really don’t know…’

'If you wish to discuss that, I will talk – ’

It was a woman’s voice.

Yasohachi looked and saw a woman standing there. She was elegant and beautiful with almond eyes.

'Who are you?’ asked Ukik.u.mo.

'My name is Ume,’ said the woman.

From what Iori said, she was the younger sister of Samon, who had been killed by the crossroads killer. She was more beautiful than the story had suggested.

Oume led them into a room in the dojo.

Though Yasohachi had thought a dojo would be livelier, it was quiet and dark.

What is it you want to ask?’ said Oume politely.

Now that Yasohachi looked at her again, Oume looked pale and terribly tired. Her older brother had just died. It made sense.

'I said earlier. The crossroads killing,’ replied Ukik.u.mo. He sat cross-legged and had his arms crossed.

'There is nothing I can say. I rushed out after hearing the commotion, but my brother was already…’

Oume shook her head and wiped tears from the corner of her eye with a finger.

It made Yasohachi think of Iori, who acted strong but was frantic inside. Iori was probably keeping her worries to herself too.

'Your brother, Samon. Anybody hold any grudges against him?’ Ukik.u.mo asked mercilessly.

'What do you mean by that?’

'Exactly what I said. Did anybody hate him or alienate him?’

'Wasn’t this a random killing?’

'Maybe, but maybe not – I can’t say it’s a coincidence when two people from the same dojo were targeted.’

'Two people?’

Oume c.o.c.ked her head to the side.

'You haven’t heard?’

'What are you talking about?’

At first Yasohachi thought that Oume might have been playing dumb, but it seemed she really didn’t know anything.

Why hadn’t Yamaguchi talked to Oume about last night? It probably wasn’t just that he hadn’t had the chance.

'If you haven’t heard, that’s fine.’

Yasohachi thought that Ukik.u.mo would have pressed further, but he backed down easily.

'Is that fine?’ Yasohachi asked Ukik.u.mo quietly, but Ukik.u.mo didn’t respond. He put his pointed chin in his hand and smiled meaningfully.

What on earth is he thinking – Yasohachi didn’t understand Ukik.u.mo at all.

'In any case, my brother wasn’t the sort of person somebody would hate. He has been looking after this dojo – after s.h.i.+ngai-ryu – ever since my father collapsed due to sickness a year ago.’

After saying that, Oume sniffled.

It probably wasn’t just Samon who had suffered. Oume must have gone through a lot herself, but she didn’t show any of it.

'You say he’s been looking after this dojo, but it doesn’t look that lively…’ said Ukik.u.mo as he looked around the room.

It was extremely rude. Yasohachi wanted to say something, but Oume spoke before he could.

'It is as you say. We have had a sudden decrease in students since my father’s death.’

Oume clenched her fists tightly atop her lap.

'Looks that way,’ said Ukik.u.mo, looking around the silent room.

's.h.i.+ngai-ryu is a swordsmans.h.i.+p style created by my father in his own blood. For that to die out in just one generation… it is painful to think of.’

'You don’t practise it yourself?’

Ukik.u.mo mimed a practice swing.

Oume laughed and shook her head.

'I’m a woman.’

Yasohachi felt something wrong with those words.

In the past, he might not have thought anything, but he couldn’t accept that now after having met Iori.

'There are some women who practise the sword as well.’

He couldn’t help but speak.

Oume’s face twisted. Her expression showed not sadness or pain but anger.

'That is just quibbling. Who on earth would attend a dojo with a woman as an instructor?’

Oume’s voice was harder than it had been before.

'That’s…’

Yasohachi was at a loss for words.

Practising the sword alone as Iori did and teaching at a dojo were different.

Just as Oume said, it was unlikely that anybody would attend a dojo that had a female instructor.

'What is going to happen to this dojo?’ said Ukik.u.mo, changing the topic. Oume’s expression seemed to turn even harder.

'Though it hasn’t been decided yet, but it may be necessary to close it down.’

'That’s…’

Yasohachi couldn’t help but speak, feeling the weight of the crossroads killer’s actions.

'Perhaps it might have been necessary even if my brother were still alive…’

Just as Oume finished speaking, the door opened and a man came in.

He had a sword at his waist and wore the clothes of a samurai. He was probably in his mid-twenties. His eyes were incredibly sharp.

'Who could you be? What are you doing here?’ the man said in a sharp voice.

'Declare yourself before asking the same of others. Are you an idiot?’

Ukik.u.mo wasn’t shaken by the man’s appearance at all. He glared at him with the eyes drawn on his blindfold.

For a moment, the man’s expression stiffened, perhaps shocked by Ukik.u.mo’s strange appearance, but he immediately caught himself.

'I am a pupil of s.h.i.+ngai-ryu. My name is Tsujioka, and I am the retainer of the Endou family.’

When Tsujioka gave his name, Ukik.u.mo smiled mockingly.

'Is something funny?’

'You were acting so arrogant that I thought you were from some big samurai family, but it’s just a puny family, and you’re only the retainer at that.’

'You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!’

Tsujioka placed his hand on the handle of his sword.

'Draw your sword if you can. I came here on behalf of the Aoyama family. If you kill me, you won’t get away with it.’

Ukik.u.mo stood up and drew closer to Tsujioka.

The thing about the Aoyama family was a complete lie, but it seemed to work on Tsujioka. He just said, 'Urgh,’ and stopped speaking after that.

Though he was arrogant towards those below him, upon hearing the name of a stronger samurai family, he grew quiet.

There were many men like Tsujioka among the samurai.

'Sorry for bothering – ’

Ukik.u.mo said just that and left.

Yasohachi didn’t want to be left behind in this suffocating atmosphere. He ran after Ukik.u.mo.

'I will take vengeance – ’

Just as Yasohachi was about to leave, Tsujioka spat that out.

'Eh?’

'I will take vengeance against the man who killed Samon-dono. You do not need to do anything.’

Yasohachi had nothing to say in response to Tsujioka’s killing intent, so he left the room silently –

'That ended up feeling a bit strange,’ murmured Yasohachi upon leaving the dojo. Ukik.u.mo, who had been waiting outside, snorted in laughter.

'How troublesome,’ Ukik.u.mo said with a sigh. He used his cane and pretended to be a blind man walking.

'Do you think that Samon-san angered somebody and was killed for that?’ asked Yasohachi as he ran after Ukik.u.mo.

'That’s what I thought at first… but I don’t think it’s a grudge.’

'Then Samon-san was just killed randomly.’

'You really are an idiot.’

Ukik.u.mo pulled the cloth covering his eyes up and glared at Yasohachi with just his left eye.

When that red eye looked at him, it felt like he was being sucked in. It was strange.

'What’s idiotic about what I said?’

'Idiots are idiots.’

'I won’t understand unless you tell me properly.’

'More importantly, I have a request.’

'A request?’

Yasohachi c.o.c.ked his head to the side. Ukik.u.mo smiled. He seemed amused.

6

After Yasohachi bed Ukik.u.mo farewell, he returned to his home temporarily and brought his art supplies to the Hagiwara household –

He went to the same room he had the night before and sat opposite Iori.

'How has s.h.i.+ntarou-san been since?’ Yasohachi asked before bringing up the topic at hand.

'There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with his body, but it seems he doesn’t know what is happening to him…’

'What is he doing now?’

Yasohachi regretted his question the moment he asked it. Iori looked down sadly.

'He is in the storeroom by himself. It is locked from outside, so I don’t think he will be leaving.’

Even if there was no helping it, Iori had to feel bad about locking her brother s.h.i.+ntarou in the storeroom.

Yasohachi had had to shut his older sister Osayo in when she was possessed too, so he understood Iori’s feelings painfully well.

When Yasohachi mentioned this, Iori shook her head slightly.

'My brother cheerfully said that he’d be able to focus on his reading. Of course, he was trying to appease me.’

Iori seemed pained as she averted her gaze.

'It’s fine. Things will work out. Let us do what we can.’

Though Yasohachi knew they were just plat.i.tudes, they were all he could say now.

Iori seemed to know that as well, so she said firmly, 'Yes, let’s do that.’

'Actually, Ukik.u.mo-san requested something of me.’

'A request?’

'Yes. He asked me to draw the ghost’s portrait from your description, Iori-san.’

Yasohachi had only seen s.h.i.+ntarou possessed, so he had no way of drawing the ghost without Iori’s help.

Though Ukik.u.mo could see ghosts too, he had left, saying he had better things to do.

Yasohachi felt like Ukik.u.mo had been trying to help Yasohachi out in his own way, but it wasn’t the time to say anything about that.

'I see. I’m not confident, but I will do my best for my brother.’

Yasohachi was relieved by Iori’s immediate response. 'I’ll get ready then.’ He spread out his art supplies and prepared to paint.

Yasohachi was anxious himself since it was his first time doing something like this, but dwelling on that now would do nothing.

'Let us begin – ’

Once Yasohachi had finished his preparations, he looked at Iori once more.

'He was very thin. It was as if he was just skin and bones.’

It was probably the first time Iori had had a portrait drawn of someone based on her description. Her tone seemed rather anxious.

'Thin – ’

Yasohachi used a brush to draw the outline of a face based on Iori’s words. He exaggerated it too much and made him look like a cuc.u.mber.

'He wasn’t that thin,’ said Iori with a small smile.

It might have been the first time Yasohachi had seen her smile since the incident. If Iori would smile even for a moment, Yasohachi felt happy he had made a mistake.

'Of course.’

'Though he was thin, his face was not long.’

When Yasohachi heard the word thing, he thought long as well, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. He wanted something else to work from.

'Did he have any special characteristics?’

'Hm… He had a slightly square jaw.’

'Square…’

'Yes. Though he was thin, he was… He was angular.’

– I see.

The explanation just now helped Yasohachi imagine the man. Yasohachi used his brush on a new piece of paper.

'Like this?’

'Just as expected from you. That was how he looked.’

Iori’s eyes were sparkling.

Though Yasohachi felt elated by the praise, he kept himself calm. He couldn’t get ahead of himself.

'How about his nose?’

'It was pointy like a beak.’

'Did it stick out? Or was it more… droopy?’ asked Yasohachi while demonstrating with his hand.

'It was droopy.’

'I see…’

Yasohachi drew a couple of noses on a different piece of paper.

'This one is close,’ said Iori while pointing at one of them.

'This one then.’

'Yes. But the nostrils were a bit smaller…’

After Yasohachi drew the same nose with smaller nostrils, Iori exclaimed, 'That’s it!’

'What about his eyes?’ Yasohachi asked.

Iori held her breath. Her face went pale.

'They were bloodshot, but… There was something very frightening about them…’

Iori’s words suddenly became vague, so Yasohachi’s hands stopped, unable to draw.

'Frightening?’

'Yes. When I faced those eyes, I was frozen. I felt that I would be unable to win if I drew my sword.’

Iori’s well-formed eyebrows furrowed.

Yasohachi couldn’t believe it. Though Iori was a woman, she was very skilled with the sword. He had seen her defeat a samurai before.

That was why Yasohachi couldn’t believe it.

'Even you couldn’t beat him, Iori-san?’

'No, I couldn’t. I probably wouldn’t have been a match at all – ’

'Is that something you can tell before you cross swords?’

'In swordsmans.h.i.+p, it is important to be able to tell an opponent’s skill,’ said Iori, her jaw set.

If Iori was saying this so firmly, it probably was the case.

'He was that skilled then… which means that he might have been well-known while he was alive,’ said Yasohachi.

Iori nodded. 'A well-known samurai or an initiate of some style of swordsmans.h.i.+p.’

There was something that bothered Yasohachi about Iori’s words.

'I see…’

'But why would somebody so skilled commit a crossroads killing…’ said Iori, sounding pained.

'I don’t know. However, swordsmans.h.i.+p is the skill of killing, isn’t it?’

Yasohachi’s careless words made Iori’s expression freeze over.

Iori practised swordsmans.h.i.+p as well. Yasohachi had just called swordsmans.h.i.+p the skill of killing in front of her.

He had done it now – but it was too late.

An awkward silence continued.

'It is true that swordsmans.h.i.+p is a skill used to kill people,’ said Iori.

'Eh?’

'But it is also a skill used to keep people alive.’

'To keep people alive?’

'Sorry, I can’t explain properly now, but I don’t want you to think that everyone practising swordsmans.h.i.+p does so in order to improve their skill in killing.’

Iori’s words echoed in Yasohachi’s heart.

Yasohachi, who didn’t practise the sword, couldn’t just understand, but he knew that Iori, sitting in front of him, was not the sort of person who would kill someone because she wanted to.

'I apologise.’

Yasohachi bowed his head deeply.

'Why do you apologise?’

'I said something careless without knowing anything.’

'It’s fine. No matter what is said, it is true that there is somebody going around killing at random. Furthermore, one’s skill with the sword does not have anything to do with one’s character.’

'A skilled swordsman may not be a person with a strong sense of justice – is that what you mean to say?’

'Yes. That is another factor of swordsmans.h.i.+p – ’

It had become a deep conversation at some point. If this continued, they would never finish the portrait.

Iori seemed to realise that as well, as she smiled self-deprecatingly. 'Sorry for speaking of something so tedious. Let us swiftly finish this portrait.’

'Yes, let’s.’

Yasohachi nodded and began to paint once more.

At first, it had been difficult, but Yasohachi, the painter, and Iori, the explainer, grew accustomed to their roles as time pa.s.sed and they managed to finish the portrait speedily.

It was imprudent of Yasohachi, but it had been truly fun for him to speak with Iori like this and paint.

If only it weren’t such an incident – the thought crossed Yasohachi’s mind, but if there hadn’t been an incident, he wouldn’t even have been able to speak to Iori like this.

That was what it meant to have a difference in clas