Twelve Kingdoms v01 by Fuyumi Ono

Author:Fuyumi Ono
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-4062647748
Publisher: Kodansha Paperbacks
Published: 2016-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 36

[5-2] Youko spent the rest of the day in the room sleeping. She’d come to the conclusion that Rakushun was the sole occupant of the house.

“It’s got a tail. That can’t be good, eh?” It was the middle of the night. The blue monkey’s head sat at the foot of the bed. “One way or another he’s bound to betray you, don’t you suppose?”

Though there were two beds in the room, Rakushun didn’t sleep there. She didn’t think the house had another bedroom. She wasn’t sure where he bedded down for the night.

“Isn’t it about time you skedaddled out of here? If you don’t, he’s bound to steal your life away. No?”

Youko didn’t answer. If she continued to lie there and listen, the blue monkey would just repeat itself over and over. These were her anxieties. The monkey appeared in order to reveal them to her. He fed her fears and then gobbled them down. She was sure that was the way it worked.

Youko turned on her side. The blue monkey smoothly slipped over the covers until its small head rested next to her pillow. He peered at her. “You’ve got to strike first, before something bad happens. If you don’t, you’ll never survive. Isn’t that right, little girl?”

Youko rolled over and stared at the ceiling. “It doesn’t mean that I trust him.”

“Eh?”

“The way things are now, me not being able to move and all, I can’t do anything about it. If I leave before being able to effectively use the sword, I’ll just become some youma’s next meal.”

Not to mention that the wound to her right hand was severe. Even after a day of pressing the jewel against her hand, she hardly had sufficient strength in her hand to grip the sword.

“He’s going to figure out soon enough that you’re a kaikyaku, no? You really think you should be taking it easy like this? Ah, the governor’s men could be arriving any second.”

“In that case, I’d let my sword do the talking. If four or five of them came at me, I’d get away with my head intact. But before that happens, I’ll take advantage of the situation.”

There’s no one here I can call an ally.

But she really needed help now. Until she could properly wield the sword again. Until a bit more of her strength returned. Until then, she needed a safe bed, food and medicine. She didn’t know if Rakushun was on her side or not, but at least he was providing what she desperately needed. Until she knew for certain, she would take advantage of the situation as things stood.

“He could be poisoning the food, no? How can you be sure that that medicine is really medicine?”

“I’m taking precautions.”

“And I’m telling you that you’ll be outsmarted.”

The blue monkey was venting her doubts and fears. As she answered them one by one it resembled an exercise in self-examination.

“If he really had in mind to do something to me, he could have done what he wanted when I was unconscious.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.