The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

as one, and in that same instant the grating, noisy shrieks were that much closer.
    "What's going on?".
    "She'll get away."
    "No, over there."
    The human wall swayed to and fro. Youko surveyed the street beyond them. A wave of people bore down on them. The people cried out as they ran away from something, scrambling frantically not to be left behind.
    " Youma. "
    Youko's arm responded in a flash.
    "A youma . . . . "
    "A bafuku !"
    "Get out of here!"
    The human wall crumbled and scattered. Within it, Youko set off at a run. From behind her echoed a scream. She saw a beast mowing down everyone in front of it as it galloped along. It was a huge tiger. The tiger had a human face stained with splotches of red. Youko ran down the street, dancing out of the way of people diving for cover in the surrounding shops and stores.
    The tiger quickly closed the distance between them. She had no choice but to stop and make her stand.
    She faced the tiger's disconcertingly human expression, regripped the hilt of the sword and settled into her stance. The tiger charged at her in a gust of wind. She pivoted to the side and brought the sword down with all her might. A spray of blood accompanied the sound of impact and she knew she could have avoided the blood if she hadn't closed her eyes in the moment that the blow landed.
    She slashed at the striped limbs, skipping out of the way as it toppled over, and took off at a run. The beast roused itself, chased after her. She parried with the sword, feinted with her feet, raced down an alleyway.
    She emerged into the main thoroughfare and found there a crowd of people who hadn't grasped exactly what was going on. "Get out of the way!"
    At the sound of Youko's voice and the sight of the beast chasing after her, the crowd scattered.
    And then . . . .
    " What? "
    There in the distance, a flash of gold. It was beyond the crowd, too far away to make out any facial features. She didn't have the time to take a good, long look, but she knew that kind of golden hair was out of the ordinary.
    "Keiki!"
    Without thinking, she set off after him. In the next moment the golden glow was swallowed up in the stampede of human beings.
    "Keiki?"
    A shadow fell suddenly across the sun. The huge tiger sailed over Youko's head. The youma landed amongst the fleeing throng. People screamed, trampled beneath the huge paws. Youko checked her forward motion and ducked out of the way.
    Keiki? Who else could it have been?
    She didn't have time to think about it. She slammed another blow into the pursuing beast. Then, taking advantage of the confusion all around her, slipped away through the streets of Kasai.

Chapter 24
    T he monkey said, "I told you so."
    It was the middle of the night. The monkey's head floated above the stone marker standing at the side of the road. After leaving Kasai and wandering about for a while, Youko had continued on down the highway.
    She was on her own again. In the process she'd ended up with Takki's rucksack. In the bag was a change of clothes and Takki's purse. There was enough money in her purse that if she ate and slept in cheap dives along the way she could make it last a bit. The theft didn't bother her conscience a bit.
    "I warned you, silly girl."
    Youko ignored him. The glowing blue head tagged along, as if skating next to her as she walked along silently. Youko zoned out the monkey and its screeching laughter. She knew she'd been a fool to let herself be fooled so badly. She didn't need to hear it from the monkey as well.
    Besides, she had more pressing things on her mind than the monkey, such as the gold-haired man she'd seen in Kasai, and the appearance of the youma in the middle of the city.
    Youma are never supposed to go where people live.
    Takki had said as much, said that it was rare that such a thing should happen.
    Youma never show up in the middle of the day.
    The tiger in Kasai, the dog-like creatures that attacked the wagon, the kochou that had shown up at her school, they had shown up during the day or in the early evening. But they were the exceptions.
    Was it because Keiki was there?"
    The monkey's piercing laughter interrupted her mid-thought. "Little girl, it's because you're such an easy mark!"
    This was impossible for her to ignore. "It's not!"
    "Oh, but it is. Think about it carefully, little girl. Even you find it most strange, do you not?"
    Youko bit her lip. She was determined to believe in Keiki. If she couldn't believe in him, she would have nothing to fall