The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

late into the night. I know when he's coming because Enho says it's okay not to lock all the doors at night."
    "Do you know where he's from?"
    "No. I asked Enho, but he wouldn't say a word. I don't like him."
    Keikei nodded as well.
    "Don't like that man?"
    "He's got to be a bad man, for sure," said Keikei, looking at Rangyoku.
    Rangyoku gently rebuked him. "You shouldn't say that. But whenever he does come by, the next day Enho looks all depressed."
    "Why?"
    "I don't know. He won't say. Just one more thing to worry about, you know?"
    "Yes, I know very well."

    She talked a while longer with Rangyoku and Keikei and then returned to her room.
    "Hankyo."
    "I am here."
    "When that man leaves, tail him. I want to know where he is lodging."
    He had to be staying somewhere. The city gates would be closed at this time of night.
    "By your command."

Chapter 29
    T he boat passed Mt. Koushuu at the borders of Kou and Kei. The Koushuu were the ranges of mountains that demarcated the borders between each of the eight kingdoms. There was at least one crossing, and no more than three, where the mountains could be traversed from one kingdom to the other.
    Because every kingdom had the same geography at its borders, the borders were also known as the Koushuu. Suzu gathered that from the Koushuu mountains separating Kou and Kei to the port of Goto in the northern quarter of the Kei, centrally located on the eastern coast, it was a trip of four days and four nights.
    "Hey, Suzu, I've got a present for you!"
    Suzu was standing on the deck looking out at the ocean. Seishuu ran up to her.
    "Here," he said, proudly producing a piece of dried fruit, a candied apricot.
    "What's this?"
    "It's for you," he said with a pleased look.
    What a strange child. He'd given her such a hard time, you'd think he'd keep his distance afterwards. But that was not the case. Rather, they seemed to bury the hatchet rather quickly. He was cheeky enough to come into the women's stateroom and sleep next to her. Suzu as well was somehow able to keep her temper in check. Anyway, anybody picking on Seishuu because he was a child would catch it in spades. The kid really had a mouth on him.
    Also because they were now sleeping in the same room, Suzu couldn't help but observe how often he was in pain. Almost every morning found him holding his head and moaning. He wasn't lying when he said that he'd get better after some rest, but even when he was on the mend, he often got sick to his stomach. When he was well, he'd go back to behaving as if nothing were wrong. Otherwise, he could hardly keep his feet under him, and would have to half-crawl, half-walk to get around.
    Suzu suspected that Seishuu did not have an ordinary illness. He said he'd been attacked by a youma. Suzu had seen the wound once. There was a small cut in the back of his head right beneath his pony tail. She was relieved that it did not look like a particularly severe injury, but he said that his head began to ache only after being wounded there.
    "Hey, Seishuu, you really okay?"
    He popped an apricot into his mouth and looked at her in surprise. "What?"
    "Your injury. You say it still hurts, so that must mean it's not healing. How are you doing?"
    "You're right. I'm not really okay."
    "Have you been seen by a doctor?"
    Seishuu shook his head, no. "Never had the time. But it's okay. I just got to rest for it to get better."
    "Is it as bad as it used to be? Or is it somehow getting worse?"
    She had noticed that the periods of time he was in pain were getting longer and longer. And after he woke up, it was taking him longer before he could walk normally.
    Seishuu said in a disconcerted voice, "Hard to say, I guess."
    "The last couple of days, you've been rubbing at your eyes. Are your eyes feeling bad, too?"
    "It's getting hard to see."
    Suzu gasped. "Obviously, something's wrong. Don't keep saying it's getting better. When we get to Kei, we're taking you straightaway to see a doctor."
    "Okay."
    "Did you have a place you needed to go?"
    "Seishuu shook his head. "My mom's dead--"
    "I don't believe it. So you just randomly headed for Kei? Shouldn't you have just stayed in Sou?"
    Seishuu turned away with a huff. "Mom said to go back to Kei, so I'm going back to Kei."
    Suzu took a deep breath. "At any rate, when we arrive in Kei, I'm taking you to the doctor for an examination. For all we know, you could be at death's door."
    Seishuu suddenly trembled. "You know that because you're a wizard, Suzu? Am I really