The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

but well-kept inn. Sekki ran ahead to the side of the entrance, opened the wooden door, and motioned to her to follow. "Let's go in here."
    Inside the door was an alleyway where some barrels and buckets were stored. Through the alleyway was a small courtyard and vegetable garden. Sekki pointed at the hedge. "You can tie it up there. Do you know what it eats?"
    "Hay and fodder."
    "We'll get some for you. In the meantime, we can water it."
    Sekki went to the well and lowered a bucket into the water. Right at that moment, the back door opened and a man appeared there. He was so tall she had to look up at him.
    "What are you doing with a fine beast like that, Sekki?" His eyes focused on Suzu. He gave her a very suspicious look. Hauling up the bucket, Sekki turned and smiled at him. He said, "It's hers. She's staying here. I told you before, remember? The girl I met in the cemetery."
    "Ah," the man said, nodding. He grinned broadly, flashing a friendly smile. "Yeah, that was pretty awful. Come on in. It's something of a dump, though."

    "Do you also work at this inn?"
    She was shown into the kitchen and invited to sit down. Suzu politely took a seat. The man dipped a ladle into a big pot, filled the teacup and set it down in front of her. He cut a pretty rough figure as a waiter.
    "I guess you could say I'm the landlord. In fact, it's Sekki that's keeping the books."
    "You're his older brother?"
    "Yeah. And he works me like a dog." He laughed in a loud voice. "I'm Koshou. And you are?"
    "Suzu Ooki."
    "That's an odd-sounding name."
    "I'm a kaikyaku."
    " Hoh, " he said, a surprised look in his eyes.
    Suzu was surprised, too. To be honest, claiming to be a kaikyaku hardly aroused any feelings in people at all. When she thought back about it now, whenever she said that she was a kaikyaku, she kept expecting something dramatic to happen.
    "Must have been rough."
    Suzu shook her head. She hadn't suffered much during her journeys. She was healthy, and even though her parents had died long ago, she hadn't been chased out of her hometown. Her life was still her own and that was no small thing.
    "Koshou, you shouldn't bring guests here." Sekki came into the kitchen and gave his older brother a playful glare.
    "Oh, this is okay, isn't it?"
    "No, it's not. Now, go find out where we can get hay or fodder."
    "Okay, okay," Koshou replied cheerfully. He smiled at her and left the kitchen.
    Watching him leave, Sekki sighed. "Sorry. My big brother really isn't much of a gentleman."
    "It's fine. Sorry about making you run around looking for fodder. I don't want you to go to too much trouble."
    "Don't worry about it," Sekki laughed. "Let me show you to your room. Please forgive the fact that it's a tad unkempt."

    Despite being located in this neighborhood, the inn had guests. There were four guest rooms, and in the three days she'd been staying there so far, occupants had come and gone. A bunch of men hung out in the tavern on the first floor. They weren't exactly a high-class bunch and they (and the occasional woman) seemed to be there all the time, talking together in hushed voices. The house across the alleyway that led to the back garden also saw a lot of comings and goings.
    This is a strange inn, Suzu thought as she straightened up her things. After some thought, she placed her purse with what few coins remained on top of her bags. She slung a long, thin pack over her shoulder. In the darkened courtyard, she saddled up the sansui.
    "You going out at this hour?" asked Koshou, coming out of the house.
    Suzu nodded. "I thought I'd go for a walk."
    "The gates are closed. Where you going?"
    Suzu didn't answer. Koshou leaned forward and gave her a hard look. "Take care," he said, with a wave of his hand. The light from the kitchen glittered dully off the ring on his finger.
    Suzu bowed her head, took up the reins, and turned toward the alley.
    Oh, yes, it's from a chain, she thought, settling into the saddle. The thin ring that Koshou wore, it was the link of chain. A slender strand of steel just big enough to wrap around a finger, it would be otherwise linked together to form a chain belt. She had seen them decorating the leather belts that the less-privileged classes wore. They'd taken one apart and wore the links on their fingers. A short chain like that hung in a corner of the kitchen like a talisman.
    Sekki wears one, too.
    Not only Sekki. Now and then, a man she passed in the hallway did, or one of the men lounging around the tavern.