The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

passed, her hair had grown out. Takki made the dye from roots in her garden. Copying what she had observed Takki do, Youko had searched for the same kind of roots. Through trial and error, she was able to fashion a dye of sorts. But the species of root or the process itself was wrong, because the dye washed out afterwards.
    At this point, her hair wasn't so different from its original red. She was getting used to the strange color. She still got an odd vibe when looking at herself in the mirror, but the visage wasn't unbearable. She bathed and dressed, all the more aware that she was getting used to this life.
    When Rakushun got back, he told her about the kaikyaku. "It seems there's a kaikyaku living in Houryou, the local prefectural seat. It's along the way."
    Youko raised her eyes for a moment and then looked away. "Oh, really."
    She didn't want to meet him. And even if she did, the thought of hanging out with a fellow countryman and getting all depressed was even more painful.
    "They say he goes by the name of Hekirakujin."
    "That's Heki Rakujin?"
    "Yeah. He's something like a professor at a prefectural college."
    That being the case, he wouldn't be the old man who had ripped her off. And when she thought it through, it wasn't likely she would run into him here. But that was only a minor comfort.
    "Shall we go and see him?" Rakushun looked at Youko with hopeful eyes.
    "Well, it'd probably be a good idea."
    "Then you'll go?"
    "Sure . . . I guess."

    The next day, they departed from the road to Kankyuu and headed to Houryuu to visit the school.
    Shire-level preparatory schools here were called jogaku and prefectural academies were called shougaku. In En, students aiming for a district academy ( joushou ) could do their preparatory work at a prefectural academy, or could attend a prefectural polytechnic college ( shoujo ). This "Professor Heki" they were visiting taught at such a shoujo. He lived in a compound at the school.
    Dropping in on a professor out of the blue was bad manners. Following formal procedures, a letter was sent and an interview requested. The reply from Heki Rakujin arrived at their inn the next morning. The courier bearing the reply accompanied them to the school.
    The school in Houryou was located within the inner bailey wall of the city, built in the archetypal Chinese style. With its expansive gardens, the school resembled more a wealthy estate than a school. They were led to a small gazebo where they waited. The next person they saw was Heki Rakujin.
    He said, "Please excuse the delay. I am Heki."
    His age was hard to tell. Older than thirty, younger than fifty, Youko thought. He seemed both old and young. A gentle smile came easily to his smooth, unwrinkled face. He had a completely different air about him than that old man, Seizou Matsuyama.
    "Did you receive our letter?" Rakushun asked. "We, um, thank you so very much for sparing a moment of your precious time with us."
    Rakujin smiled at Rakushun's overly polite language. "Relax. Make yourselves at home."
    "Um . . . . " Rakushun scratched at the bottom of his ear. He looked at Youko. "This is the kaikyaku."
    The man responded at once to Rakushun's introduction. "Of course. But she doesn't look much like a kaikyaku to me." He turned to Youko.
    "I supposed I don't."
    He laughed. "I can't say I ever saw that color of hair in Japan."
    "Um . . . . "
    Responding to the inquiring look in his eyes, Youko explained her predicament. Why, she didn't know, but since coming here she had changed like this. It wasn't only the color of her hair. Her face, body, even her voice had changed.
    When she finished talking, Rakujin nodded. "That means you're a taika. "
    "Me?" Youko's eyes opened wide. "A taika?"
    "When there is a shoku, here and there get mixed up together. People come here and ranka go there."
    "I don't get it."
    "When a person in Japan or China is caught up in a shoku, they are brought here. In the same way, ranka sometimes get swept into that other world. A ranka is like an embryo. In the other world, a ranka can become embedded in a woman's womb. The child that is subsequently born is called a taika. "
    "That's what you're saying I am?"
    Rakujin nodded. "A taika is a being of this world, the way you appear now. It is the form bestowed upon you by the Tentei."
    "But when I was over there . . . . "
    "If you had been born the way you are now, it would have caused quite an uproar. You do probably resemble your parents."
    "Yes. People say I look