by Fuyumi Ono
"You may, if you wish. But you are still the Empress of the Eastern Kingdom of Kei. That calling you cannot repudiate."
Youko's head slumped.
"The kirin covenants with the chosen king. Thereafter, the kirin will not divorce himself from the king. It is an unbreakable compact of obedience. After the king takes the throne, the kirin stands by him as his prime minster."
"Enki, too? He's the prime minister?"
Youko looked at the boy sitting cross-legged on the table. The En chuckled. "Looks can be deceiving. You might not be convinced by looking at him, but kirin are, by nature, beings of justice and mercy."
Enki scowled. The king smiled. "You will find nothing in the counsel of the Taiho but words of justice and mercy. But justice and mercy alone cannot govern a kingdom. There are times when I have gone forth when Enki said to pull back, when I have acted ruthlessly and without mercy. It is, at times, what the righteous rule of a kingdom requires. If I adhered to every word Enki spoke, the kingdom would fall to pieces."
"Yeah … I suppose."
"For example, imagine there is a criminal, a man who murders for money. And let us imagine that this man has a hungry wife and child. In such a case, Enki would tell me to spare the rod. But to leave criminals at large would make the kingdom unmanageable. Regrettable though it may be, the man must be convicted for his crimes."
"Sure … I guess."
"On the other hand, let us suppose that I ordered Enki to execute the criminal. A kirin has not the disposition to do such a thing, but, in the end, protesting all the while, he would carry out the order. Enki must obey me. Must. A kirin cannot oppose the will of the king. Even if I were to order him to kill himself--if, in fact, such an order could be given--he would not disobey."
"So, you're saying that after you're chosen by the kirin, you can pretty much do what you want?"
"Therein arises the hard part. It is the Divine Will of Heaven that a king rules righteously. Heaven's desire is that the kingdom be governed with justice and mercy. Heaven's proxy in this regard is the kirin. However, as I said, a kingdom cannot be governed by justice and mercy, alone. There are times when you must be unjust, must act without mercy. But only to a certain degree will Heaven turn a blind eye."
Youko simply looked at him.
"You may act ruthlessly for the good of the kingdom, but only to a point. Go past that point and the king will lose the right to rule. After all, the throne was given him by Heaven. And when a king strays too far and loses the Mandate of Heaven, the kirin falls ill. This illness is called shitsudou, or the Loss of the Way."
The En wrote the characters in the air. "When the king strays from the Way, the kirin will suffer. At that point, the wise king mends his ways. If he does not, the kirin will not recover. But it is not enough for the kirin to simply persevere. The problem is one of character, the same as with all those people who promise to change their ways and do not. There are few cases of kings who were able to remedy the situation after a kirin was struck down with the shitsudou."
"And what happens if he can't?"
"Then the kirin will die. And if the kirin dies, so will the king."
"Dies … . "
"Human life is short. The king does not age, does not die, because his name is recorded in the Census of Heaven. Kings are immortal because they are gods. But it is the kirin that makes the king a god. So if the kirin dies, so does the king."
Youko nodded.
"Aside from the king returning to the Way, there is one other way for the kirin to be cured of the shitsudou."
"And that is?"
"That is, for the king to release the kirin from the covenant. The simplest method is for the king to end his own life. If the king dies first, the kirin will not."
"And so the kirin will be spared?"
"Indeed. Keiki being a case in point." The En took a breath. "The Late Empress Yo was by nature human, and human beings are by no means perfect. She became romantically attached to Keiki. She would not allow any women to associate with Keiki. She paraded herself around as his wife, grew insanely jealous. In the end, she went too far, expelled all women from the palace and tried to drive all women from the kingdom. With Keiki covering for her, she only grew more extreme, and tried to have those who remained killed. At that point, Keiki fell ill."
"And … ?"
"The late Empress parted from the Way because of her romantic attachment to Keiki. The prospect of being the cause of his death could not be pleasing to her. In some small way, she had not fallen so far as to be beyond reason. So the Late Empress Yo climbed Mount Hou and there renounced the throne. Heaven accepted her abdication and Keiki was emancipated from her."
"What happened to her?"
"Becoming a king or empress means dying as a human and being reborn as a god. When you are no longer a monarch, you cannot continue to live."
And so the Empress Jokaku of the Kingdom of Kei had passed away.
"You have already been chosen by Keiki as the next king. To accede to the throne, you must ascend Mount Hou and accept the Divine Decree. However, no significant distinction should be made between the convenant and accession to the throne. The Mandate of Heaven has descended. You are the Empress of Kei. Nothing you can do will change it. Do you understand?"
Youko nodded.
"The king has the responsibility to govern the kingdom. You may, if you wish, cast your kingdom aside and return to Japan. A kingdom abandoned by its monarch will fall into chaos. When that happens, make no mistake, Heaven will cast you aside as well."
"And Keiki will be struck down with the shitsudou and die."
"Most likely, yes. But it is not so simple as that. Think about the subjects of your kingdom as well. A king does not only rule. He also bears the responsibility of reigning in the natural forces and the youma. The youma run rampant. Tempests storm. There are droughts and floods and epidemics. The hearts of men are confused. When the realm falls to ruin, there are no words on the lips of the people but those of suffering."
"Falls to ruin?"
"Yes. It took Keiki a long time to find the Late Empress Yo, and the throne was vacant for an extended period. In that time, the kingdom was left in turmoil and the people were impoverished. An empress was finally placed upon the throne, but her reign lasted only six years. In recent years, as he suffered from the shitsudou, public order disintegrated. And then this calamity. All those proximate to En or Kou have fled the country. But the great majority remain behind in Kei. And during all this time, they have been left to the mercies of the youma and natural disasters. There is no other way of saving them."
"You mean, placing a righteous king on the throne as soon as possible?"
"Precisely."
Youko shook her head. "There's just no way."
"Why is that? I believe that you possess all the necessary kingly attributes."
"You're kidding."
"You are the master of your own soul. You know what responsibilities you bear toward yourself alone. When it comes to a ruler who lacks such knowledge, trying to persuade him of his duties is useless. How can he who cannot rule himself rule others?"
"I … can't."
"But … . "
"Shouryuu," Enki said in a reproving voice. "You're twisting arms. What the Royal Kei does with the Kingdom of Kei is up to her. Until she is prepared to accept the consequences of her actions, let her be."
The En sighed. "Yes, you are right. But this alone I wish to ask of the Royal Kei. I am doing everything I can think of to assist the people of Kei, but the national treasury is not inexhaustible. I am pleading with you to save your kingdom."
"I'll think it over." Youko hung her head. There was no way she could bring herself to look them in the eye.
"Excuse me," said Rakushun, "but has anybody figured out what king has it in for Youko?"
The En looked at Enki. Enki stared off into the distance. He said, "And who do you think it is?"
"Well, I've come to the conclusion that it is p
robably the Royal Kou."
Youko looked at Rakushun. For just a moment, this young man with the strained expression on his face seemed in no way connected to the gentle rat she knew.
"And why's that?"
"This is by no means definite. But Youko was chased to exhaustion around those mountains. I don't think all of the youma that attacked her were the kirin's shirei. In that case, what could have caused the wild youma living in the mountains to come together like that? Even if half were shirei, that is still too many. I can't help feeling that the Kingdom of Kou itself is on the decline."
The En nodded. "So it is. In fact, I have received from Kou a strongly-worded petition seeking the extradition of a kaikyaku who fled to En. Kaikyaku have fled here from Kou before. But extraditing a kaikyaku is such an unusual step that I had Enki look into it. Somehow or other, someone in Kou has been supplying Joei with funds. Furthermore, Kou is falling into chaos. Not only does this cast all the more suspicion upon the Royal Kou, but only yesterday, we received word that Kourin has fallen ill with the shitsudou."
" … with the shitsudou," Rakushun echoed. Bitterness clouded his otherwise lively, young face. "In that case, the end of Kou is near."
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Youko asked.
It was the En who answered. "It would be simple to counsel with the Royal Kou as a colleague, but the man will not agree to meet. And even if we did, nothing can be done if he will not admit to the error of his ways. Our only remaining recourse is that the rightful Empress of Kei accepts the Mandate of Heaven and fills the vacant throne. Why the Royal Kou has meddled in the internal affairs of Kei, I do not know. But if the purpose was to put a puppet on the throne and lead her around by the nose, then only then shall we see his ambitions wither and an end to this insulting pretense."
His gaze fell on her. There was much more in his eyes that was left unsaid. Youko bowed her head. "Please give me time."
Part VIII
8-1
Youko was put up in a magnificent suite with a soaring ceiling. The interior decor, from the furniture to the water pitcher on the table, had the indelible mark of fine taste and sumptuous luxury. The room was enormous, the glazed windows huge. There were arrangements of flowers, the smell of burning incense, the kind of thing that would make the eyes of a peasant from the backwoods of Kou spin.
Having become accustomed to a pauper's accommodations on the road, she felt the same. She couldn't settle down. She had wanted to retreat to her room, give herself some time to think things out, but the ornate, overstuffed chairs were uncomfortable. The lacquered table was finished with mother of pearl and would show even a fingerprint if she touched it. She hesitated even to sit there with her chin in her hands.
Glancing around the room, she saw another, smaller room, about ten feet by ten. Perhaps she could relax better in there. Then she approached the room and sighed.
The door partitioning the two rooms was folded back. The door was engraved with a delicate fretwork. As she stepped inside, the room became much bigger. Silk curtains hung down over a raised platform. The curtains were half open. Silk bedding covered the platform. That this ten-foot square room consisted of just a bed struck as some sort of bad joke. She couldn't think of lying on this thing. Sleep was out of the question.
With nothing else better to do, Youko opened the big window. The French doors reached from the floor to the ceiling. Stained glass filled the geometric patterns between the lattices. Beyond the doors was a wide balcony.
As the En had promised, her room faced a terrace that looked out over the Sea of Clouds.
When she opened the window, the salt smell of the sea drifted in. It was preferable to the incense. She stepped outside. The terrace, covered with white stone, ran around the circumference of the building. It was about as wide as a small courtyard.
She walked along the terrace. She leaned against the railing and gazed out at the Sea of Clouds. The big moon was sliding down the sky into the waves. Staring at the waves dashing against the rocks beneath her, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw an animal with a gray coat coming toward her.
"Out for a walk?" she asked.
Rakushun grinned at the question. "So you can't sleep either?"
"Yeah. You too?"
"How can you sleep in a room like that? Now I'm sorry I didn't go back to the inn."
"Same here."
The rat laughed. "What are you talking about? You have a palace just like this one."
The smile disappeared from her face. "Yeah, I probably do."
Rakushun stood next to Youko and like her gazed out over the ocean. "The palace in Kei is located in Gyouten, Ei Province. It's called Kinpa Palace, the Palace of Golden Waves."
It didn't peak her interest. She answered with a listless, "Huh."
Rakushun was quiet for a moment. "You know, Youko."
"What?"
"It's most likely that Keiki was captured by Joei, the pretender."
"So it seems."
"If the Royal Kou was really determined that you never take the throne, there's one foolproof method."
"Yeah, kill Keiki."
"Right. If Keiki dies, you die, too. Because you have not yet ascended Mount Hou and accepted the Divine Decree, I don't know what would happen to you. But that would probably be the end result."
Youko nodded. "No doubt. It's because I did that covenant thing with him and because I'm no longer a human being. That's why I don't get injured easily and why I can understand what people say. That's why I can wield a sword and why I was able to cross the Kyokai. It's all because of that."
"Probably. Keiki is in the hands of your enemies. For your own good . . . . "
"I don't want to hear it."
"Youko."
"No. It's not that I think I'm above it all. I know what a king is, what a kirin is. That's why I'm not going to make a decision like this just based on self-preservation."
"But … . "
"I'm not being self-destructive." She smiled. "When I came here, considering the state I was in, dying wouldn't have come as much of a surprise. I've somehow survived till now, but probably more due to luck than anything else. I was as good as dead when I came here, so it's not something I get all choked up about. At any rate, I don't want to be the kind of person who gets all choked up about stuff like that.
"I don't want this to be some rash, life or death decision. I know what everybody expects of me. But if I simply do what is convenient for everybody else, let everybody else determine what my life will be, then I won't be shouldering the responsibility myself. That's why I've got to think it over."
Rakushun looked up at her with his jet-black eyes. "I can't understand what you're so confused about."
"I can't do it."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I know just how mean and ugly a human being I am. I'm no king. I don't have it in me."
"That's not true."
"If you are a hanjuu, Rakushun, then I'm a hanjuu, too. I may appear human, but I'm a beast inside."
"Youko … . "
Youko gripped the railing of the balcony. There was a delicate beauty in the luxurious feel of the ornate stone. Casting her gaze downwards, she could see the lights of Kankyuu glowing like sea fire through the transparent water. The waves broke with a gentle rumble upon the shore. It was an extraordinarily sublime scene, but one far removed from what was in her heart. There was an equally striking castle in Gyouten, Kinpa Palace. To think of herself living there aroused in her not timidity but disgust.
That's what she told him. Rakushun sighed. "A king is just an ordinary person until he is chosen by the kirin."
"Being chosen by the kirin doesn't change anything. I'm the same person I was, stealing from people, threatening people, assaulting people when I have to. I trust nobody. I was willing to trade your life for my own."
"The Royal En thinks you can do it."
"He doesn't know what a miserable cr
eature I am."
"I think you can do it. I'm the one you were thinking of finishing off, so if I say so, then it must be so."
Youko looked down at him, this rat who stood no higher than her stomach. He poked his head through the handrails and gazed intently at the ocean floating in the sky.
"I just can't … . "
He didn't answer her murmured dissent, only continued to stare out at the Sea of Clouds. He patted Youko on the arm with his small hand. When Youko turned to him, the gray coat of his back was already to her.
"Rakushun."
"All this has left me at my wit's end as well. There's nothing wrong with being confused. Take your time, think about it."
Youko watched as he walked off into the distance. He raised his hand, but didn't turn around.
"Rakushun," she said to herself, "even you don't know everything about me."
But I know.
This wasn't the sound of her own voice echoing inside her skull. Her head shot up and she scanned the surroundings. But it wasn't a sound she had heard with her ears.
You have not been alone. I have seen everything.
"Jouyuu?"
Accept the throne. You are capable. You are qualified.
Youko couldn't answer. That he had spoken left her speechless. And what he said, only more so.
I have disobeyed the command of my lord. Forgive me.
Keiki's instructions to him came back to her, "Be as if you are not there." Was this why, until this moment, he had not once responded to a thing she had said?
You thought me a monster, begged and whined for me to be taken out of you. That is why. This was an error on your part.
"I really am a fool," she said to herself.
This statement went unanswered.
8-2
The next day, Youko was awakened by her lady-in-waiting. When she took her seat for breakfast, to the question on everybody's face, she shook her head, no. Rakushun came as a rat. He nodded and fluttered his whiskers. The En and Enki showed only small signs of disappointment.
The En said, and some bitterness was mingled with his words, "Your kingdom and your subjects are yours to do with as you wish. But in any case, I would like to see you reunited with Keiki. If you still intend to abdicate, that is another matter. At the very least, for the sake of the kingdom, you should want the Saiho back safe and sound. Do you not think so?"
