The Wings of Dreams

Shoutan said proudly, prompting a smile from Kinhaku. Shoutan cocked his head to the side. “Though it sure was scary walking at night.”
    Kinhaku chuckled. “When moving through wide open areas, you always do it at night. If Gankyuu didn’t clue her in, then she must have thought it up on her own. She has a good head on her shoulders. I don’t think we need to worry too much about her.”
    He said to the rest of the seated men, “Speaking of which, lets make as much progress as we can manage before daybreak. Shushou will be safe in the capable hands of the shushi master. But with Chodai taking the lead and a rattled Kiwa racing to Mt. Hou behind him, our first priority is join up with them and pull back on the reins a bit.”
    Shoutan nodded at length. “All right,” he said.
    Around him people were getting to their feet. Kinhaku gave Gankyuu a relieved look. In reply, Gankyuu raised his hands and muttered in exasperation, “What a farce this turned into—”
    “Shushi usually cross the Yellow Sea in small bands, don’t they?” Rikou soothed him. “Just like old times, eh?”
    “The old times never included bringing a couple of amateurs along for the ride.”
    “Since I’m the boss here, there’s no point arguing about it. What do we do next?”
    “Build a fire and take a nap. There’s no sense looking for somebody except in the full light of day. If we’re lucky, she’ll see the firelight and saunter right up to us.”
    “I wouldn’t bet against her doing just that.”

Chapter 34
    [5-3]  T he remaining members of Kiwa’s company left with Kinhaku and the goushi. Gankyuu and Rikou stayed behind. They slept resting against their kijuu—that had swapped owners—awoke at daybreak and made breakfast.
    “Shushou doesn’t have food or water. Would there be a watering hole around these parts?”
    “If you dug a well, I suppose.”
    Rikou scanned the environment around them. “Considering the extent of yesterday’s search, there’s certainly nothing on that slope below the cliff.”
    Gankyuu cast him a puzzled look. “You are—how should I put this—an odd duck.”
    “Me?”
    “Yes, you. Who are you exactly? I never have gotten a satisfactory answer to that question.”
    “A simple traveler.”
    Gankyuu smirked. “What I thought you’d say. And why is a simple traveler so intent on finding Shushou?”
    “What? You’d leave her behind?”
    “I wouldn’t go that far.”
    “You’re a hard man, Gankyuu. But despite everything, right up to today, you’ve stuck with the caravan.”
    Despite everything, Gankyuu echoed to himself.
    “When Shushou fired you, weren’t you going to take off on your own and go hunting? Why are you still sticking around? The bellyaching notwithstanding, I think the girl’s grown on you.”
    “Hardly the case,” Gankyuu muttered. “I’ve got reasons of my own. When it comes to hunting, some place are better than others. Sticking around for the time being is simply more convenient.”
    “Is it? Well, I’ve got reasons of my own too.”
    Gankyuu said with a mighty sigh, “Listen, Rikou—”
    Rikou grinned back at him. “That’s crafty of you, Gankyuu, keeping your own true intentions close to the vest while conniving others to open up about theirs. Though if that’s your strategy, you need to work on it.”
    “That’s for sure,” Gankyuu said with another sigh. “It’s not like I care all that much about your true intentions. But—”
    “But—?”
    “I don’t get you. Nothing you do makes a particle of sense.”
    “I’ll grant you that. It probably doesn’t.”
    “Now and then you come across as a perfect scoundrel.”
    “That’s fine by me.”
    Confronted by Rikou’s bright, smiling face, Gankyuu held his head in his hands in mock anguish. “You’re the one who took a shine to Shushou and came all the way to the Yellow Sea. And yet, when Shushou ran off with Kiwa, you just let her go. That makes the two of you anything but a pair. You said you held your life too dear. I get that. Then why put your life at risk to go searching for her?”
    “Where’s the risk? Shushou hunted down the shuen.” Rikou chuckled. “That girl is something else.”
    “With the shuen gone, more youma will be coming to fill the void. If you really valued your life, you wouldn’t be wandering around here. You’d be hitching a ride with Chodai to Mt. Hou. Instead, you left the caravan and even swapped your suugu to go look for her. If she’s