Part IV. The Ritual Sacrifice Chapter 1

The adventure in Nozu left an indelible impression. Even after we returned to the Gozen School and a week had passed, we still looked at the windows with caution. I think this was the first time I hadn't been chastised, hadn't been told, "Aska got into trouble again," and was actually praised for reacting quickly to the situation. Since I was the first to react, all the smart student's laurels went to me.

Koji didn't miss the opportunity to ask how exactly I defeated the mado-noroi. I didn't want to show the kaiken, but at that moment, the teacher and I were alone, and I didn't want to lie. Sooner or later, he'd find out anyway—that was one point, and... students were allowed to have personal weapons—that was the second. It simply wasn't publicized, but I clearly remembered Satu's tessen fan. So, after a slight hesitation, I took out the knife and showed him the kaiken.

I honestly expected anything, but Koji acted strangely. He glanced at it quickly and nodded. Either he believed I wouldn't use it for ill purposes, or he simply decided to trust me. Both options weren't very plausible, but I had no others.

They didn't tell us much about the curse. According to the information from Koji and Tehiko, some kind of fiend had a personal vendetta against the owners of "At the Mountain" and did something like that. The local investigative services were already dealing with it. The enemy of the eatery's owners was either rich enough to pay the required amount or was messing with tsumi himself. The services of sorcerers, as Misaki whispered to me, cost a fortune here.

I was extremely dissatisfied that there was no way to understand what was going on. For some reason, I had the feeling that the official version wasn't right at all.

I couldn't corner Chou; the first-years were diligently preparing for their semester exams, so they definitely had no time for walks.

...I plopped my bag onto a sun-warmed stone and sat on it, staring at the calm water of the river.

Ever since we started training here with Director Tetsuya, I found the place very pleasant. The encounter with the tsumi, though it left a lasting impression, was somehow forgotten after everything else that was happening. In principle, I wasn't complaining. My ryoku grew stronger every day; the cobra kaiken was a comfort to my soul (I wore it constantly behind my belt, skillfully hiding it from prying eyes); and classes were on schedule. The only thing that bothered me was that I hadn't managed to bring a treat from Nozu for Miya. After all, she was the one who had mentioned the cobra. How did she know? Sigh... I could have asked her, but it felt awkward to show up empty-handed in front of a child, and the packets of okashi my friends had bought for me were left behind in the eatery that Teacher Koji had so bravely destroyed.

And Hideo...

This was truly a problem. He latched onto me so tightly I couldn't shake him off. Back in the tea house, I pretended to be eating and was temporarily deaf, blind, and noticed nothing but my meal, but he understood perfectly well. And the careful look he gave me, I didn't like. I should talk to the Director about it. Or maybe...

I froze at a sudden idea: maybe not the Director, but the Weaver? She was a goddess, after all, and she'd be able to give more sensible hints.

Jumping to my feet, I stood up and... immediately sat back down.

Exactly. A goddess. Therefore, she would start filling my head with her allegories.

I took a deep breath, picked up a small stone from the ground, and tossed it into the river. The stone skipped across the surface, then sank, leaving ripples on the water. For some reason, it seemed that everything that was happening to me right now was just those ripples: impossible to touch or grab. But the reason for all of it was deep, deep at the bottom. And to get to it, I needed to learn how to dive well. And for now, all I could do was splash on the surface like a frog.

My thoughts stubbornly scattered in different directions. For now, I was good at sitting and staring at the river, but that wouldn't do. However, I really didn't want to go back to my room. I had managed to finish my homework during class, so I had a practically free evening ahead of me.

Pulling the kaiken from my belt, I turned it over in my hands. How did Miya ever know about it?

Something crunched behind me. I quickly turned around: no one. I frowned slightly, smoothly rising from the stone. All I needed was another surveillance surprise. Of course, it might just be some animal, but it was better to double-check.

"Who's there?" I asked tensely.

There was no answer.

I squeezed the kaiken's handle; the cobra's eyes flashed between my fingers. I picked up my bag with my other hand. After all, it contained my textbooks on mental ryoku transformation. If anything happened to them, Teacher Yachiharo would wring my neck. And I wouldn't achieve much in this life without a head.

Besides, my intuition was literally screaming that someone was here.

"Who's there?" I repeated tensely. "Show yourself!"

Another crunch of branches. From behind a fallen tree trunk, first funny little pigtails appeared, and then red hairpin flowers. After that—a shy little face and a bright outfit.

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Well... I definitely wasn't expecting this guest. But I couldn't say I wasn't happy to see her. In any case, it wasn't Satu or her hangers-on.

"Miya, hi," I smiled. "What are you doing wandering so far away?"

***

It was dark in the office of the Director of the Gozen School.

It had long been night outside, and so much work had piled up that he'd be lucky to sort it out by morning. The tea was cold—he might as well pour it out. He should brew some more.

Tetsuya set aside another sheet and put down the inkwell.

Although he had returned from the meeting of school directors in the capital long ago, the feeling that he was standing before the minister's gaze and reporting like a schoolboy didn't pass.

Emperor Shunsuke Xa-Karan, may the gods prolong his days, had turned his grandest attention to the schools on the borders with the tsumi. This was bad.

No, this was utter rubbish. Because if observers were sent here, they would start poking their noses into every hole.

And he was already here on shaky ground. And not just him.

There was a knock on the door. A familiar aura, thick as ink and sweet as melted sugar. Darkness slipped in plumes through the crack between the door and the floor.

"Come in," Tetsuya said without raising his voice, knowing perfectly well he would be heard.

Koji appeared in the doorway. Gloomy as a thousand tsumi after a dance on bones. He looked at the Director's desk, nodded briefly, and asked,

"Need help?"

"I won't refuse. As you can see, the work only increases. You look worried, what happened?"

"I haven't looked well since Yuna died," Koji replied, sitting down at the table across from the Director and taking a stack of scrolls and folders.

Since... they had arrived at the Gozen School, they had barely had a chance to talk quietly. Lots of work, lots of trouble from the students, and the constant tension that someone might show up and start an inspection.

They checked everyone, of course. Recently, they were searching the Tokugawa School so thoroughly it was scary to talk about. The students and our teachers were tracking signs of tsumi summoning and sorcerous plaques with kanji. Everything was immediately destroyed, but someone reported it higher up. As a result, observers were sent, and the directors of the nearby schools were gathered in Shiihon—the capital of Taiyoganori.

Tetsuya was angry. Because, one way or another, artifacts belonging to sorcerers and onmyoji were constantly found in the schools. To understand why, one only had to remember that schools were once temples and homes for all who went to defend Taiyoganori. Then the tsumi diminished, and the clans... the clans began to fall apart. And the temples were converted into schools. But the legacy of the former inhabitants hadn't disappeared. Some were taken away, some were burned, but some remained.

None of the Tokugawa boys had been seriously injured, so it looked like an attempt to blow a huge problem out of a relatively moderate nuisance that the teachers and the Director could handle on their own.

"I grieve with you," Tetsuya said calmly, a simple kiseru, a tobacco pipe, appearing in his hands. "But I am just as worried."

Koji was silent for a while, then unrolled a scroll, sighed loudly, and rolled it back up. He looked directly into Tetsuya's eyes. For a moment, a primordial darkness spread through his eyes. The kind that belongs only to those who have agreed to let the night into their blood.

"The mado-noroi. Think about it yourself, where does a curse come from in a small town? Nozu lives quietly and keeps its head down. For a sorcerer to go there..."

Tetsuya looked at him with interest. A fragrant, greenish smoke was already curling from the pipe. Tobacco with a special herbal mixture was brought to the Director of the Gozen School from the capital by trusted people. A slightly minty-sweet smell drifted through the office.

"You understand perfectly well that there are other ways to eliminate the owners of 'At the Mountain'," Koji smirked wryly, realizing he was being listened to attentively and that Tetsuya was waiting for him to continue. "Simpler and more discreet. Summoning a mado-noroi is like riding a hebi into the Imperial Palace. A place where you are not allowed to step even in shoes, but only with bare feet after a bath and incense."

A smile involuntarily appeared on Tetsuya's thin lips. There was some truth in that. It was a shame that you could only ride a hebi through the forest or the mountains. People in the cities wouldn't be afraid of them, but they wouldn't be too happy about them either. Especially where some aristocrat's important procession was passing.

"Your hypothesis?" he inquired.

Koji crossed his arms over his chest. Right now, he looked little like a simple Gozen School teacher with an eternally impassive face. The darkness flared like black fire beneath his skin, eager to break free from indignation and anger. Koji controlled himself perfectly, but he didn't have to hide in Tetsuya's presence.

"I'm thinking. Nothing coherent comes to mind yet. But the townspeople I interviewed unanimously insist that the owners of 'At the Mountain' didn't have serious problems with anyone. In general, they were pleasant people who hadn't seriously offended anyone."

"Are they lying to us?" Tetsuya narrowed his eyes, letting out smoke.

Though he didn't need to ask. They were lying. And very clumsily and crudely, hinting that they shouldn't meddle in this matter. A mado-noroi is not an everyday occurrence for ordinary people, but it is quite a common phenomenon for those who constantly see tsumi.

"The authorities will let the matter drop. Because there's nothing to go on," Koji said grimly.

All the students survived, so there was no special reason to raise the issue. More accurately...

Tetsuya sighed. There were reasons, but no one would allow the case to proceed. An unfortunate incident occurred. That's it. Because where a sorcerer has left a trace, the Emperor's people take over the case. And they aren't very fond of sharing information.

Koji rubbed his chin.

"You see, everything would be fine, but Aska Shenghai won't leave me in peace. All the troubles started pouring down on us since she visited the Weaver's temple."

The Weaver is a wayward goddess. If she gets something into her head, you can't beat it out. Tetsuya had never been her follower, but what could you do.

"Do you think Aska is somehow connected to the incident in Nozu?" he asked thoughtfully, watching the tobacco smoke weave gray-green patterns under the ceiling.

"It's not excluded," Koji shrugged. "Every step we take—Aska is everywhere."

"Just admit that her infatuation bothers you."

Koji flushed; Tetsuya smiled. A second later, Koji smiled himself.

"If only," he snorted. "Before, I was constantly wary, but after the temple, Aska seems to have been replaced. She isn't interested in anything but training."

"That's good. So keep observing her. And I'll try to figure out the mado-noroi and what they're hiding from us. But we'll have to put that off. Because very soon, we'll have much more serious issues."

Koji raised an eyebrow; darkness slipped from his fingertips.

"What issues?"

"Things are restless in the capital. The Emperor is sending his observers to the border schools to take away talented students. Our task is to defend every single one of our girls."