Volume 1 The City Shrouded in Snow
In late December, the third year of Wenjiu, Jiziru Yukimura left Edo Castle alone and went to Kyoto in search of her father who hadn"t been heard of for a month.
It had been snowing for several days. The whole prosperous Kyoto was covered in a thick blanket of white. Jiziru Yukimura stood in the crowd, felt lost and didn"t know where to go and where she belonged. Kyoto was a big city but she had nowhere to rest. What was worse, her father didn"t tell her his detailed address.
"Where is dad? How can I find him?"
She felt cold and hungry. The street was crowded and noisy but she cut a lonely figure. There was a puddle on the ground. Snowflakes fluttered in the air and fell on her shoulders. She lowered her head and stared at her reflection in the puddle - the girl wore a bamboo rain hat with her face red with cold, her hair tied back, her eyes and brows in the shadow of the hat. She disguised herself as a boy. Even her father would be startled if he saw her dressed like this.
After all, she was an inexperienced child. So, she didn"t notice that she had been targeted by some people.
The shades of dusk deepened and the sky grew dark. The silvery moonlight spilt on the ground. All the temples and paG.o.das in Kyoto seemed to be shrouded in sacred Buddha"s light.
Some j.a.panese ronins behind her came closer and closer. Jiziru Yukimura"s heart raced uncontrollably and she started running along the street while she kept a tight grip on the kodachi strapped to her waist. The kodachi belonged to her father. Jiziru turned a corner and quickly hid behind a heap of old wooden barrels. The sound of the footsteps suddenly died nearby.
T/N note:
Katana: a j.a.panese weapon.
Kodachi: a small katana
She breathed a sigh of relief but the very next second, she heard a tumult of shouts and screams. On the opposite wall were the shadows of the ronins fighting with someone. The creepy shrieks came out of their mouths. She saw some of the ronins fell down, blood spattering the dark concrete from gashes in their necks. A man was crouched down on his haunches and sucked blood from cuts on the corpses" necks.
He wore a traditional samurai suit, well-built, but his face looked scary.
There was no skin on his face and vessels could be seen clearly. With an evil smile, he licked blood on his collar while brandishing a katana with surprising strength. There was only one ronin left. He continuously stepped backward. Finally, he gave a loud roar and pushed the monster aside with all his strength, then he pulled his katana and cut at the monster.
Two swords clashed and jingled. The monster opened his mouth and chewed up the ronin"s katana made of steel. The ronin was stunned. The monster seized the chance to cut the ronin in half with his katana.
In the moonlight, the ronin"s body fell to the ground, blood spattering everywhere, like the firework bursting in the clear summer sky.
The monster"s evil smile returned, and it was hideously diabolic. He twisted his head sideways and saw Jiziru Yukimura who crouched in the corner trembling with fear. He lifted the katana and cut at her.
"Ah!"
A shrill cry of anguish reverberated through the street but it was not from Jiziru Yukimura"s mouth. She opened her eyes and saw the monster lie on the ground with his chest impaled. A man stood in front of her. He wore a white scarf round his neck and a white ribbon in his mauve hair. Then, a man with tousled curly brown hair came over and said to the mauve-haired man scornfully, "I planned to kill them single-handed. What a pity that you beat me to it! Saitou, you always run ahead of me every time we meet enemies."
"Oh…I was just performing my task," the man called Saitou replied casually, with his back to Jiziru Yukimura. The brown-haired man turned his head and saw Jiziru Yukimura curling up in the corner. He twisted his lips into a smile.
Jiziru Yukimura didn"t know who the two men were and how they would treat her. She hugged her legs tight to her chest and prayed that she wouldn"t be spotted by them. However, a shiny long sword suddenly came into her view. She raised her head and saw a dreamy figure standing in front of her. Snowflakes were dancing in the air. His voice was low and soft, with a hint of indifference.
"Listen up. Don"t try to run away or I will kill you."
He took two steps forwards and Jiziru Yukimura saw his face. He was so handsome and distant. Her mind went totally blank as she quietly stared at him. There was a white ribbon in his black hair. The moonlight reflected off his purple eyes and he seemed to personify n.o.bility. Jiziru felt like that she was in a dream. Her fast-paced heartbeat gradually slowed down and she finally gained a moment of peace and serenity. She looked at his black hair fluttering in the air and held her breath, completely enchanted.
The snow slowly floated down, light and noiseless, catching the light of the moon, like cherry blossoms floating from trees...
Jiziru Yukimura was tired and hungry. The exhaustion was overwhelming, her eyelids grew heavy, and slowly her consciousness faded into the darkness. She fell forwards on to her face and sank into a dead coma.
The brow-haired man squatted down to check her while nagging, "Vice Minister Hijikata, you have scared her into unconsciousness…"
Saitou standing close by asked, "Vice Minister, how should we deal with these corpses?"
The man named Hijikata held the sword handle and answered casually, "Take off their outer garments and call the Ministry of Supervision to deal with the corpses..."
"What about this child?" Saitou asked.
Hijikata closed his eyes and thought for a moment before he slowly walked away. "Take her to our camp..."
"Why not kill the child directly?" Saitou felt puzzled. Vice Minister was always cold and merciless. Why did he show mercy to the child this time?
"The child has seen all that happened just now. Would it be appropriate to keep this child alive?" Saitou looked at Hijikata earnestly.
Hijikata said with no expression in his face, "Let"s just discuss how to deal with the child after we return to the camp."
He turned and slowly walked away. Snowflakes were falling thick. The moon shone, shedding a silvery light on the street.