The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

earth and collapsed there on the ground. The horses' hooves raised a cloud of dust about his head.
    His thoughts stopped. There was nothing he could think to think about.
    Screams echoed down the boulevard.

    The carriage rushed on without a pause. Then it slowed and resumed its leisurely pace. His retinue followed after, passing down the street as if nothing had happened. Everyone else who had watched the tragedy unfold before their eyes froze in horror. Within an empty space inside the crowd lay the trampled child.
    Many there thought to rouse themselves to help him, but were equally cowed at the thought of the retinue turning back. The banner that they carried was the banner of prefectural governor. It was his carriage. His name was Shoukou. Making a scene in his presence was a very risky thing to do. Everybody who lived along the street had learned that lesson well.
    The child moaned. Yes, he might still be saved. But wait at least until Shoukou's carriage has turned the corner.
    The child lifted his head slightly and then let fall. He heard the sound of his own skull splashing into the mire of his own blood. Again he tried to raise his head and look for help, but could not.
    The people stopped on the street and looked at him with vacant eyes. No one was coming to his rescue. He wanted to get up but could not.
    It hurts, Suzu.
    Someone ran out of the nearby alleyway. She stopped, spun around with an extraordinary grace and rushed over to him.
    "Are you okay?"
    She knelt down next to him. He had no idea who she was. His eyes were already growing so dim that all he could see was that her leggings were soaked with red.
    She called out, "Somebody bring a wagon!" Seishuu felt her warm hand on his shoulder. She said, "Hold on."
    "Oh damn, I'm dying."
    "You'll be okay."
    "Suzu will get all weepy on me." And once you got her started, the tears just kept coming. It was such a downer.
    He thought nothing else after that.

    Suzu ran over from the hitching post next to the gate. Seishuu was suspiciously nowhere to be found. Where did he go? she asked herself, looking around. Not far off, a crowd of people was gathering. Something was going on. A strange wind blew down the avenue.
    She finally approached the bystanders, asking, "Have you seen a kid about this tall?" She strayed closer to the crowd. Though there were quite a number gathered there, they were shrouded in silence. "Um, have you seen a kid with orange hair?"
    A voice called out from the other side of the crowd. "Do you mean this child?"
    Suzu clawed her way through the throng and froze on the spot. A person was kneeling there on the ground and next to her the crumpled form of a child.
    "Seishuu!"
    He must have collapsed. His condition had been getting worse, lately. She rushed up to him and stopped in shock. Where was all this blood coming from?
    "Seishuu!" Suzu knelt, scanned the faces around them. "What happened? Somebody call a doctor!"
    "It's too late."
    Suzu turned abruptly to the source of that calm voice. "But if we don't get a doctor--"
    "He's dead."
    Suzu stared at the girl with wide eyes. She was the same age as her, perhaps a tad younger, her crimson hair such a vivid red it looked almost dyed.
    "No . . . . "
    "Your name?"
    Suzu shook her head. This was no time for pleasantries. They had to go for help immediately.
    "If you are Suzu, then he asked that you not cry for him." The girl lowered her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that's what he wished me to tell you."
    "This can't be!" Suzu touched his body. It was still warm to the touch. "Seishuu!"
    How did he get this awful wound? His particular orange hair, that so agreed with everything about him, was splattered with blood. Why were his arms and legs all bent up like this? Why was his chest caved in like this?
    "No, it's not true . . . is it?"
    But they were going to Gyouten. They were going to meet the Royal Kei and she was going to cure him. Suzu took the boy's body in her arms, embracing him like the hostage rescued from the enemy.
    "What happened?"
    "I don't know. When I found him, he was already like this on the ground. I suspect he was trampled by a horse."
    "Whose?" Suzu surveyed the people around her, seeking out the villain. They all shook their heads. "Bastards!" Who could do such a thing? She balled her hands into fists, the question echoing over and over in her mind. "Seishuu . . . the bastards who did this . . . !"
    The drum sounded, announcing the closing of the gate. The crowd melted away in ones