The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

homesick and left her feeling depressed. The blue monkey showed up, too, and made things worse. But the raw feelings didn't last.
    Once they got up the next morning and started out, it was one fascinating scene after another. Takki was as nice to her as she could have hoped for. Borrowing strength from the jewel she could keep on walking without getting tired. And knowing that at night they would be eating a good meal and sleeping in a decent bed made it all the more tolerable.
    It was hard being so far from her home, but at least she now had a caring guardian at her side. She couldn't be thankful enough that she had been lucky enough to meet her.

Chapter 22
    T he three-day journey was soon over, and proved somewhat anticlimactic. On the third day the tall buildings of Kasai rising above the river plain told them that they had arrived. It was the first place Youko had seen that actually looked like a city.
    "Well . . . it is big," Youko said, as they passed through the gate and got a chance to look around.
    Takki chuckled. "Around these parts, the only city bigger than Kasai is Takkyuu, the district capital."
    A district was the next step up from a prefecture. Youko didn't have a good grasp of the relative sizes involved. She didn't think that Takki did either. When she spoke of the "government," it was sufficient for her to mean the town hall or maybe the prefecture seat.
    Inside the gate, stores large and small lined the main road. They were different from those in the towns they'd passed through up to now. These were grand and luxurious. It reminded Youko of Chinatown. The big buildings had glass windows that were quite impressive. It was still early in the afternoon and the street was not crowded, but she had the feeling that come closing time and the place would be packed with travelers.
    Now that she thought about her decision to live in this bustling city, her mood improved a bit. No matter where she settled down, even in one of the towns, she couldn't complain. But it went without saying that a lively place like this was better.
    Takki turned off the main road, towards a block of smaller-scale shops. The area had a vaguely run-down feeling, but there was no change in the hustle-bustle atmosphere. A number of businesses were organized into a kind of medieval strip mall sharing a common roof. Takki headed towards the one that was quite the most elegant.
    It was a three-story building with bright green pillars. They entered the imposing front doors into a large restaurant that took up the whole of the first floor. Takki left Youko to admire the splendid accouterments and grabbed the waiter who came out to greet them.
    "Call the mistress for me, will you? Say her daughter's come to see her. You got that?"
    The man's face broke into a grin and he hurried out of sight. Takki watched him leave, then sat Youko down at the nearest table. "You wait here. Go ahead and order something. Everything's really good."
    "Are you sure it's okay?" This restaurant was bigger than any inn or dining hall they'd been in so far.
    "Don't worry about it. My mum will pick up the tab. Treat yourself, anything you want."
    Even so, Youko couldn't really follow the menu. Sensing that, Takki laughed, summoned a waiter and ordered a few things. The waiter bowed and left. At the same time, from the back of the restaurant appeared a woman just old enough to be called an "old woman."
    "Mother," said Takki, standing up and smiling. The old woman reacted with a cheerful expression. Watching attentively, Youko saw with relief that she came across as a nice person. With her as her boss, it couldn't be that bad of a job.
    "Youko, you wait here, okay? I have a few things to talk over with my mum."
    "Yes," Youko said with a nod. Takki smiled and hurried after her mother. The two patted each other on the back and laughed together and then disappeared into the back. Youko watched them leave with a smile. She placed Takki's rucksack next to the table and paused to look around the restaurant.
    For some reason, there seemed to be no female employees. All the waiters and busboys were men, as were most of the customers. She caught several of them glancing in her direction, checking her out. Without really knowing why, she began to feel very unsettled.
    A short time later, a group of four men came in. They sat themselves down at an adjacent table, turned and leered at her, whispered amongst themselves and burst into laughter. It was starting to creep her