Right before they left Spring Breeze Hall, Furuichi-sensei had come calling. “I must meet with your son!” He told Shizue, while Kuro was sitting, for the first time near the entrance hall.

“It’s alright mother,” he said, right before Shizue could start protesting.

While Kuro invited him to sit on the ornamental sofa, Furuichi-sensei stopped and stared at Ylinat sleeping on the little table beside it. He only sat after Kuro had waved Kurocchi off.

Ah. Afraid of cats.

“I’m sorry for not coming today,” he said, as he sat down. “I began my inquiries to your auspicious theories. And, I have to say … you are a genius.”

“It was a pleasure talking to you… I don’t know what happened - this just … came to me, after I woke up.”

“It’s the will of the kami! My lord Karahashi, you must come to Navori!”

“What is that?”

“Navori!” Furuichi-sensei said. “Navori of the Nine Hills. Navori of the forests. Navori of the dreams. Navori, the city of mages!”

“Witchcraft won’t serve you in our discussions, Furuichi-sensei.”

“Not witchcraft, my lord. Magecraft! It’s the study of our existence and of the gods! Of course, I am no good at that. But, after talking with you, the spark of knowledge ignited within me, and I have been inspired to go and visit my roots again. I knew there was not a lot of hope in this invitation to Navori, but I have come to extend my regards. Here.”

He extended a card with his name. Shintaro Furuichi.

“You must come one day, my lord. I will take up residence at the Sugaku Kenkyujo, near the Forest of Insight. Feel free to reach out to me. Sayonara.”

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They were leaving late afternoon. There were four carriages in their travelling party. Each had two horses. The family would be in one, and then Shou and Yoko, and then Doctor Ryomon and his assistant, and the last one would carry the luggage and goods that are necessary for a long, princely visit.

“Have a pleasant journey, Viscountess,” Jun said. “And good luck to both the young master and the young mistress. The Imperial Court comes rarely this far in the east.”

“You’ll not be coming, Jun?” Kuro asked.

“I would have loved to, but alas, I must remain here to oversee the functions of the Hall.”

“He stays back, most time,” Shizue said. “But, then he’s seen a lot of Castle Hisaka.”

“I’m also too old to travel, young master. The bones don’t hold up with age. The knees are the first casualty.”

“Yes… really looking forward to aching knees in a stagecoach,” Shizue said. “I’ll write to you as soon as I can, Jun.”

“Bye bye, Jun” Narumi waved him from the window.

As the door closed, the driver shouted haiyah! And the carriage started to move.

“And now, children!” Shizue said with full dramatic emphasis. “Mother will take a long nap. You both be good.”

Kuro was sitting on the window, Narumi in the middle, and Shizue had taken the other window seat. The carriage was large enough that it still left comfortable space on the back seat even with the three of them sitting there. Narumi put her head on his shoulder, though.

The scenery on the road consisted of countryside homes, spacious farmlands, and then narrow streets running off to the side where the houses congregated. The fields looked golden, both due to the season and the rays of the Sun creeping towards the mountains. Right about time they saw the main little town of Nishihisaka, with its quaint main street and large farmer’s market, Shizue Karahashi was snoring.

“What dangerous skill,” Kuro said, and Narumi giggled. Mimi sat up and looked from the front seat.

The horses neighed and fell into a regular trot. The wheels creaked sometimes on the ups and downs and imperfections of the road. They quietly watched the scenery pass them by. Forests of pine and then tall coniferous trees he hadn’t seen before (”chiyodaru”, Narumi said) with thick trunks that rose high into the sky, blocking out the orange tint of the setting sun. As the forest cleared, he saw clouded peaks far into the distance, not as tall as the impressive wall of ice and snow and sharp, cragged rocks that he saw from the gardens, but still impressive enough.

They were speeding through a valley. A massive, wide one between the foothills of two mountain chains.

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The west and north has the Whirlwind Mountains, and the south has the rolling hills of the Senjou Mountains. Ylinat said in his minds, as Narumi had dozed off for a moment on his shoulder.

So, Hisaka is the only direction which isn’t surrounded by mountains?

It’s a broad valley, Nishi-Hisaka. It becomes wider and wider as we go towards the Eastern Capital - Hisaka. There are many narrow valleys that begin at Spring Breeze Hall, however.

You seem to know a lot, being a cat, you know.

It’s what I do: I purr and know things, my lord.

“Nnnn…” Narumi said on his shoulders.

She’s most… uncanny, Ylinat observed.

Watch it. She’s my sister.

And, she’s the one who gives me scritches and forehead rubs. Ylinat said. Your point being? How many scritches have you given me–?

Narumi got up, suddenly. “It’s too loud,” she said. “Where are we?”

“There’s a river passing to our right. It’s still far away though. We just passed another forest of the jiyotaru”

Narumi blinked. “Chiyodaru. Chi. Yo. Da. Ru.” She stretched her arms and yawned entirely with her mouth open. Mimi, who was sleeping on her lap got up and stretched did just the same, and hopped on the space in the front seat beside Kurocchi.

“Something will fall in,” Kuro shook his head. In response, for an extended period of time, she tried to put her finger in his mouth.

“What the f–”

“Oh!” she said suddenly. “I know this road! It’s the way to the Stone Bird Inn! That’s awesome, we might be staying there!”

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The views of the evening were lost to darkness. The last he remembered of it were the clear snow covered peaks touched in sunset’s fading glow. The stars soon became a backdrop for a dark canopy of trees, then empty fields with distant lights of homes sitting for dinner.

Narumi and Kuro played ‘I-spy’ and ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ till they got bored. Then, at her insistence, he learned a game called “Nekote”, where they had to show the fingers in each other’s palms, like rock-paper-scissors and add the numbers shown by the fingers. You lost a life every time the fingers shown would be the same ones in both their hands. You lost nine lives, and the other person would start adding up their total. The difference in total would be paid as coins.

“Best cat collects coins!” Narumi said. “Though, I’m surprised you knew what rock-paper-scissor was. You didn’t forget that, huh?”

That is interesting, he thought. “The memories that remain are completely random.”

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Shizue only woke up with a start right around the moment they entered the nondescript postal town of Aritada, and said, “Amazing, we’re here early.”

The carriage took a sudden turn towards the river, and down a slope. It hurried past houses with lights spilling into the dark streets. The lamps were illuminating it in little pools.

But there was no mistaking where the big inn was. Or how it was named.

A carved stone statue at the center of a fountain stood at the entrance, surrounded by tendrils of steam coming out of the water that pooled beneath it. Jets of water burst from on top of it to fall on its wings, and seem like its wings were on fire. The splashes down into the pool were spectacular in the limited light from lanterns that surrounded it.

The air was cold and humid. When the line of carriages finally stopped, Kuro could hear the roar of a mountain river in the distance.

“Let me help you down, nii-chan” Narumi told him.

“First get –” Pain. It came all of a sudden. Maybe a result of him sitting the entire time? He almost fell on top of Ylinat, but then he steadied himself. Use the stick, he told himself.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He was very careful getting down. First steps always with his good foot holding the railings on the side. There were just two steps down here, but the last one needed him to step on his bad right foot. He gritted his teeth, waiting for a sharp stab.

But it came as a wave.

A tall, all consuming wave washed over him. His eyes could only see the white of blinding pain. One moment he was putting his weight down, the other moment he was on the ground, his face on the pretty cobblestone walkway.

There were screams. Less from him - his breath was caught by it. And damned be if he was going to scream. Damned if he would show them, and show the pain, that it affected him. No. He bit down on his anguish, his face contorted and shaking. His teeth biting down so hard, he thought he would break them.

People were pulling his arms and legs. His body was held aloft and he was taken, arms around shoulders, through the glittering door of the inn.

He lost his consciousness, and thought he was falling through a hole. He stretched his arms, and then –

But, he found himself on a bed. Sweating and breathing hard; surrounded by people. He closed his eyes, and thought “just five minutes, more.”

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Kuro relaxed in the bath, soaking himself in the warm water and breathing in the fogged up air.

Doctor Ryomon had checked up on him, and said that there wasn’t a lot to worry. Pain from such injuries can come and go.

Shizue was adamant he should be in the bath; they hadn’t listened to any of his protests after that. He was stripped, and he was picked up by Shou and Ryomon’s assistant and taken inside.

It was a large bath, with hidden sources of light placed beyond stones and rocks. They set him down between some large rocks and beside a lantern of intricate design, made of carved stone. Underwater, there was a smooth stone seat, where you could sit and keep your feet down.

The warmth of the water woke him up. It was very hot. Hotter than he had thought it would be. They left him, telling him that he would feel better in it.

It was one of the few illuminated places in the bath. In the farthest end of the pool, and it was quite like a pool, a tap of almost boiling water could be seen pouring in an unceasing little stream into it.

And it was only because there was stone lamp beside the tap. Most of the others were hidden behind the large rocks surrounding him. It was a mystical sight. They weren’t exactly outside, but there was some sort of cold coming from somewhere. He hadn’t checked.

The only thing he cared about then was his leg. Little by little, the throbbing ache receded. What the hell happened when he was getting down from the carriage?

My lord, he heard Ylinat say. I will be going and taking rounds. Just to see that there is nothing mischievous in this surroundings.

Where are you?

Far away from that water, my lord. Far away. And Ylinat left.

Mischief? What sort of mischief was Ylinat talking about? Yes, he had told him, mischief was afoot. The only foot he was worrying about was his own.

But, then he heard the door slide open and close.