Vol 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6: Disaster
“What do you mean, ‘she went out’? Noait just ain front of the examination room, yelled at the doctor who had just told him the news
It was the next day, Sunday Takaya had come to the hospital to visit Yuiko The doctor replied placidly, “She may not have her memories, but she has a perfectly healthy body, so since she expressed a wish to go out, I allowed her to do so”
“You just let her—you shouldn’t just let your patients do whatever they want!”
“Ah Well, incidentally, she ith the young lady who accompanied you the other day when you came to ask her questions, so I asked her to look after the patient”
“Argh Hey, Mister! Wait!”
The s away down the corridor
But “the young lady who came with you”? That would be
(Morino?!)
Though he had no idea how she was a “young lady”
(What the hell? She took Yuiko out?)
Takaya pressed a hand against his face and groaned When had they become so buddy-buddy? If Yuiko wasn’t here, then he’d just wasted a trip
“daroaned resentfully, but in the next nation
(guess I’ home?)
Actually, he hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night, so his body was still sluggish His circling thoughts had kept hiht In his oay, he’d been affected
By the words of the man who had called himself Naoe
(He was probably justfun of me, wasn’t he?)
If so, it was a pretty elaborate story But he didn’t think that it was all a bunch of lies Then again, he couldn’t precisely believe everything the man had said
But
“Please keep an eye on her”
His words from yesterday were on Takaya’s mind
“”
“Guess I’ll have to go look for them”
And he tottered out the door
The sky outside the building was overcast Even the peaks of Northern Alps, which could usually be seen in the direction of the city, were barely visible He hadn’t taken his bike because he’d thought it ht As he walked outside he heard the pitter-patter of the beginnings of a drizzle
If Saori had taken Yuiko out, where would they be headed? It appeared that they’d decided to go sight-seeing around Matsumoto
(The castle, maybe?)
That was probably a good bet He started walking in that direction
He suddenly noticed the white gravel bed beneath his feet
He saw in his mind the bike shed from yesterday And Naoe, who hadthem
“Don’t think that this does not concern you”
Takaya stared down at the pebbles
He’d been half-convinced then, but—
(Can I do it?)
If he really was Kagetora as Naoe had said, then he too should be able to use «nendouryoku»
He concentrated his le pebble
That ie from yesterday
(Come on)
He glared at it with ferocious concentration, urging it upward in his round Takaya concentrated all his power and focused on it once more
(Move!)
It didn’t move one bit To his vexation, it showed no reaction at all
He grimly put all his power into it
(Move, I said!)
The rock didn’t even quiver
As if it were ignoring Takaya on purpose
Takaya exhaled and gave up
As if it would move
(da monk!)
In an burst of pique he sent the pebble flying with a kick
Naoewith him
(He’d better not think he can get aith it, because I’onna make him pay)
Having come to that ill-tempered conclusion, he brushed the hair out of his eyes and headed out of the hospital gates
He’d definitely look foolish if he took that ridiculous story seriously
The way to Matsumoto Castle was shorter via a back lane His feet turned instinctively towards Nakaht, Takaya hardly noticed the drizzling rain soaking into his clothes
His feet stopped abruptly Within the narrow spaces between buildings by the side of the street he suddenly saw strange shadows crossing the alleyways out of the corners of his eyes
(What)
He turned to the right There, too?
Behind hiulped hard
An ar with every movement The warrior stared at Takaya out of hollowed eyesno, they weren’t eyes at all What stood behind him was a skeleton An armored skeleton
Takaya couldn’t find voice to speak
(It)
Turning, he saw more skeletal warriors all around him—and these were probably just the foot soldiers The bones of their ar yolk, and they tottered around with the wisps of their few reth they vanished in front of a storehouse No, there was one left
Takaya stood shock still, quietly staring
And suddenly those almond-shaped eyes narrowed
“The spirits linked to the Takeda are beginning to move”
Naoe’s words
(So I should believe him?)
Seeing as happening now
It was going to be hard to deny
Meanwhile, Saori and Yuiko had finally arrived at thetour, Matsumoto Castle
“Eek—wait up!” Saori gasped, short on breath as she climbed the very steep steps of the castle tower
“Maybe I packed too much lunch? It’s so heavy!”
Wheezing and panting, she finally arrived at the top of the stairs alone on ahead, waiting for her
“”
It was the highest floor of the tower Though there were other pairs of tourists already there, it was still uncrowded because of the early hour The well-lit top tower floor had latticed hich were placed relatively near the ground Saori, crouching to look out, said to Yuiko, “Oh, you can’t see much because it’s cloudy If you come on a clear day, you can see a lot more”
“”
Noticing that she was talking to herself, Saori peered at Yuiko’s face For some reason, Yuiko hadn’t spoken to her since sometime earlier
“Yuiko-chan, what’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?”
“”
Yuiko continued to stare outside expressionlessly Though Saori thought Yuiko’s ether and added, “You know, I really like this castle There are other places that are this high up, but don’t you think this place ht have cli Maybe it’s because I like historical dramas”
“”
“Wouldn’t it be great if this were your home? Oh, but in the winter it’d probably be cold,” Saori said, and laughed at her own joke Next to her, Yuikoin a faraway voice
“huh?” Saori asked, not having catch what she’d said Yuiko repeated huskily, “This is our castle”
“Yuiko-chan?”
In an expressionless tone that was aleth to us, the Takeda, and to no other It hath been sullied by false history”
The voice wrung fros to the Takeda This land is Takeda land”
“Eh, huh, what???”
Saori was utterly confused and upset at being completely unable to interpret Yuiko’s words The other tourists had gone down the stairs, and only the two of them remained on this floor
“Havehave you re? Yuiko-chan”
Yuiko’s eyes becaht
“This castle rightfully belongs to the Takeda No other shall be allowed to touch it”
The edges of her lips curved in a cold smile The person who stood there was obviously not Yuiko at all
“Verily, we must purify this sullied castle My Lord htful course”