Utsushiyo Monogatari: Crimson Shadow

Chapter Five: Deliberation

"Katori sama, Seiryu sama has arrived", the shrine maiden quickly bowed before him in the study as he grind the ink stone slowly into the intricately carved smooth crab shaped rock. Placing the stone down carefully, he beckoned for the young attendant to hand him a towel as he washed his hands in the bucket of water. 

Before he could say anything, the door moved sideways revealing Seiryu. 

"Old friend, fiery like a dragon."

"My my, how you changed...what has it been. A mere two hundred years?"

"Recovery of my yōki is tedious." 

Two hundred years ago, the troubled landing had never left his mind. Many of the humans they guided over perished in the ambush of resistant locals. Stories of surviving Ayakashi made it into the local legends of small rural villages. In the new capital of Heian, a new flourishing nation was indulging in the arts and cultures of his motherland. A little too much to his liking. Harima province still held a special place in his heart despite the thorn there. 

"Ryujin has placed your name forward."

"Oh? As?"

"Uji-no-kami."

"Hmmrph," was the reply Katori gave as he looked out into the valleys from the window. Not one for many words. The last meeting was to his dislike. Pompous indigenous Ayakashi annoyed him as they drew challenges between each other for leadership. Dealing with them on an annual basis would frustrate him more than often. He neatened his pristine white silk sleeves  quietly as Seiryu watched awkwardly at his silence. 

"When is the next meeting?", Katori broke the silence.

"Next moon."

"Hmmrph. Bloodshed." 

Seiryu could only hesitantly nod. The Yamato Daiyōkai clans had expressed an interest in those two key places. Fights were the natural process of determining who rules. Much like the intrigues of the courts. Objections on the behalf of Katori had been made even by Seiryu and Yakō . The Daiyōkai himself looked frail with a sickly pallor on his delicate face.

—————

A young maiden walked past him on the dirt path leading towards the busy market place. Her face resembled someone he once knew. Pretending to be a lost traveller, Katori approached her.

"Well, sir. I can bring you to the shrine.", she offered happily to the good looking stranger.

"That's very kind of you. What's your name if you don't mind me asking?"

"Issei."

"That is an unusual name. It means one star?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. It means first generation. My grandfather named it after his sister."

"Oh. So they were first generation in this village?"

"Yes. Taken in by a kind old lady as he told me."

She proceeded to tell him the tragic tale of her grand aunt. How a humble shrine maiden who caught fire and heroically flung herself into the Kako river to prevent the village from burning. He listened most attentively as they strolled along the open fields.

"You know...my family loved her a lot. Rumour also had it that our lord never married because of her. It was left to his sister's son to be adopted. The memorial lays in the shrine for her. By the large waterfall."

"He must have died heartbroken."

"Yes. There is a village saying that he grieved for her at every aniversary near that fateful bridge. Villagers often say that his ghost does come back." , she stopped and turned to pointed at a faraway spot where a wooden bridge could be seen.