One could only imagine how fierce the storm had been, given the terrible state of things.
The bedrock of the ’Star Cave’
at Star Valley Temple had completely collapsed, and the waterfall splashed down in several streams. There was no longer any trace of the wayside shrine where it was thought to have stood, and only a few remnants of the cornerstone remained. He could only guess that it had been blown away by some great force.
The police had almost completed their inspection of the site, but appeared not to have made much progress due to the danger of a further collapse. However, this was clearly not a simple landslide.
A man stared at the scene from the roped-off area.
He was tall and dressed in a black suit. He looked as if he might be more at home in the government or business district rather than here in the deep mountains; he didn’t seem to be a local. Nor did he look like either a police officer or a member of the press. At any rate, he stood out.
The mountain wind was cold. The young man next to him tugged his collar down against its chilly touch on his neck, shivering.
“...They got hit, huh?”
He, by contrast, was dressed in baggy second-hand fashion, complete with fashionable heavy sneakers. He squatted languidly, chewing gum and staring at the cave just like his companion. He looked out of place next to the man in the suit.
“And we finally set the stage to settle this peaceably, too. I can’t believe the Life-Ripping Star was stolen. Everything was in vain. Geez...” He shook his head wryly. “What are you gonna do now, boss?”
Naoe Nobutsuna was still glaring at the cave forbiddingly.
The young man peeped at Naoe’s profile from below, his shoulders slumping. He was at a loss.
“A thief’s made off with our prize. Where the hell did these people come from? I worked so hard to get close to Sogou—that’s all hogwash now. All our hard work’s down the drain. All that information I sold to Sogou was for naught. A lot of trouble for nothing, that’s what this was. They snatched the star from under our noses. I can’t believe it,” he lamented, on the verge of tears. “What’re you gonna do, Master Naoe?”
Naoe did not answer. But there was anger between his eyebrows.
(Crap. He’s super angry...)
Ichizou was scared. He had grown to recognize Naoe’s temper since working with him. He had learned down to flesh and bone how terrifying Naoe was when angry.
“H-hey, Boss. Hope you’re not thinking of doing anything rash.”
“Do you know who did this, Ichizou?”
His voice was calmer than expected. Ichizou peered into Naoe’s face, a little surprised, to find Naoe glaring straight at the cave. Ichizou sighed and scratched behind his ear.
“Well... I can’t say for sure, but—... I’ve got a pretty good idea”
Naoe’s eyes widened. “You know?”
“It’s just a guess. It’ll be such a bother if it turns out to be them.” He drooped despondently. “I’ll look into it—please give me some time. It looks like all of the soldiers here at the cave were killed, so it’ll probably take a while.”
(It can’t be helped—)
Naoe contained his anger and glared again at the crumbled waterfall. What was done was done.
(Even though it was right in front of us.)
He gnashed his teeth, wholeheartedly cursing the star thieves as well as his own misfortune. This again. The God of Fate apparently hated him.
(I was so close.)
“But still, they were pretty thorough, weren’t they? I can’t even read the residual psychic energy.”
The thieves had been meticulous; they had used a fox charm to throw the residual psychic energy—akin to the fingerprint of a «power»-wielder—into chaos before leaving. Evidence pointing to the identity of the perpetrators had been destroyed.
“Without these clues, we’ve got no trail to follow...”
This young man’s name was Katsuragi Ichizou. Naoe had met this strange possessor spirit in Tokyo. Ichizou had been following him around ever since. He owned a magic flute made of human bone named Kasumimaru, and had been wandering around hunting for ‘nourishment’ for it when he’d met Naoe, whom he’d initially intended to make his prey. According to Ichizou, the liver of a kanshousha made the best possible food, and he’d initially started following Naoe around for that reason.
(Actually, I was planning to «exorcise» him ASAP.)
That had been the plan.
Ichizou knew his background and identity. He even knew important Uesugi secrets which must not be leaked.
(He can’t be allowed to live.)
But Ichizou was a strange man, and had of his own accord begun working with Naoe. His stated reason was that he found someone who had abandoned Uesugi interesting.
Five months had passed.
Naoe had spent them ceaselessly searching for Takaya. Since Ayukawa had found him at the mist-concealed mountain cottage, Naoe had exhausted his physical strength and suffered a nervous breakdown; yet he had not lost his determination to find Takaya. He was undeterred. He didn’t care about himself; he had to find Takaya. He’d crawled out of bed like a madman. With the full cooperation of Ayukawa, who couldn’t bear to stand by and watch, he had set out on his search. Yet despite fervent intelligence-gathering efforts in the area, he’d found not even a shadow of Takaya. He had vanished, leaving no trace or sign behind. After a month of searching, Ayukawa had finally pronounced:
“He’s gone, Naoe. Give it up and come back.” To the Uesugi as their supreme commander, he’d meant.
Kagetora must have already ended his own life and been purified. There was no point searching for him. If you consider Kagetora’s feelings, you’ll naturally realize what path he took. You made a promise to Kenshin that you must fulfill. You must see reality unbound by hope.
Naoe refused to heed him.
How could he give up when no body had been found?
(He’s not dead.)
Even if purification was the only option. Even if there was no other way.
He denied the memories driving him insane. He couldn’t nod; he still wanted to believe. He knew what he had to do. He was waiting for Naoe to come after him— That response made Ayukawa look at Naoe as he might someone deformed; then he shuddered.
“You’re going to abandon Uesugi? You really intend to throw it all away?!”
Ayukawa refused to accept it. This man, who had once told Naoe that he was his friend before he was a vassal, now pleaded with him with tears in his eyes.
“What are you thinking! You’re insane. Would you be here if not for him? Who gave you this life? Are you going to betray your benefactor, Lord Kenshin? Do you intend to go even if it nullifies Lord Kenshin’s grave resolve?”
“I will not forgive you! It’s unreasonable, it’s irrational, and I will never forgive you for it!”
Ayukawa hadn’t cried even when he’d lost his family, but he was crying now. Yet Naoe had to go. He shook off Ayukawa’s weighty persuasion by brute force. No matter how grave a crime he had to shoulder. Even if before him lay only judgment in Hell.
He didn’t look behind him. His glare was fixed on the path before him.
His mind was made up.
“I’m...never going back to Uesugi.”
He had made his decision during the months he had spent alone with a broken Takaya.
He‘d thought about it all the time, even to the point of mental deterioration. He’d thought about it for months. His answer had crystallized in the heart-wrenching ’smile’ Takaya had given him on their parting.
His path had probably been in front of him since the beginning.
Naoe left Ayukawa behind.
(It all started there.)
Naoe stared at the crumbling rocks beneath his feet as he thought back on those frantic days.
He’d continued his search locally, but had eventually given up with the knowledge that time was against him. He had gone to Tokyo to establish his own intelligence network. Having abandoned Uesugi, Naoe no longer had the power of an organization behind him. He had to work on his own.
He’d met Ichizou in Tokyo while the latter had been tailing him in the hunt for a kanshousha’s liver. Naoe had had no time for anything except Takaya, and Ichizou had ended up learning of his true identity.
In Tokyo, Naoe had met a certain person: none other than Irobe Katsunaga.
Not even Ayukawa knew. Irobe had caught on to what Naoe was doing; he’d seen through everything.
Naoe’s mind replayed every word Irobe had said to him. Irobe, the master of human psychology. Ayukawa had kept him in the dark about Naoe and Takaya, but Ayukawa’s integrity had revealed his guilty conscience to Irobe. That must have been Irobe’s starting point for unraveling the reality behind Ayukawa’s guilt and bitterness. —That Naoe had saved Kagetora in Aso. That because of Kagetora, he would not return to Uesugi. That even now—he refused to return.
He could no longer escape.
No, he’d anticipated this. He had to meet Irobe and tell him the whole truth. That had been his decision.
“...There is only one thing in this world which would move you to give up your heavy responsibilities, I believe. He’s alive, isn’t he?” Irobe had asked, speaking about Kagetora. Naoe had spoken gravely and with sincere resolve in response, revealing all that had occurred after Aso, everything concerning Kagetora. He had then expressed his intentions, the only thing that was left say. —It hadn’t surprised Irobe. Silence had fallen.
(You must have known.)
“Naoe Nobutsuna is martyr to Uesugi Kagetora.”
No matter what sins he incurred. Even if he were tormented for the rest of eternity...
Who he was signified what paths he walked.
To renounce Uesugi—
To renounce his position as supreme commander, the «Yami-Sengoku», the mission which supported the violation of the natural order called kanshou, the many important trusts given him by Kenshin. He had turned his back on the trust of one who was gone forever.
(Abandoned.)
“I entrust Uesugi to you.”
He’d uttered those words with a crushing weight on his chest. But he’d felt no hesitation.
To Irobe, whose loyalty to Kenshin was ironclad, Naoe’s choice was completely unforgivable. Naoe himself was well aware of this. None of this was easy. He had arrived at his answer after a long struggle in the face of guilt. It was too heavy either to carry or to throw away, and he felt as if he might be crushed at any moment. No one would forgive him for ‘throwing it away’. But he could no longer bend. They could no longer live by deceiving themselves about the ‘mission’ that had sustained their warped existence for four hundred years—that it had been imposed on them rather than produced from within; he could no longer live by lying to himself about the fact that his raison d’être was determined by his own heart.
Irobe didn’t forgive him. They were both resolved. Irobe had his own immovable justice. He would never give ground. Neither of them backing down would lead to the worst outcome. Persisting meant they would have to ‘kill each other’. Naoe was prepared for that.
But Irobe never used his «power». It wasn’t forgiveness. There was no acceptance. Only...
“I simply don’t have the confidence to say I can win against you in a fight where you’re pitting your ‘existence’ against mine.”
I will wait, Irobe had said. Not that he would forgive, but that he would wait.
He must have been at the end of his tether to speak those words. What lay in Irobe’s heart was beyond what he could guess.
(And yet...)
“Don’t...let Kagetora-dono die.” Irobe’s parting words—perhaps, indeed, their last parting—etched themselves deeply into Naoe’s chest. He who was trampling Kenshin’s resolve underfoot and turning his back on his promises.
(Lord Kenshin...)
The self who could not fulfill his promises, the self who was throwing it all away.
He was done, Naoe thought.
His declaration to Irobe had been the punctuation in his feelings. There was no more hesitation.
He was no longer Naoe Nobutsuna of Uesugi.
He was just a man.
He existed only for the soul called Kagetora.
He was a man without a name, and that was fine by him.
Katsuragi Ichizou had heard the entirety of his conversation with Irobe. That he would leave Uesugi. It ended there for him, but the public impact on Uesugi was enormous. Protecting Uesugi’s secrets in good faith was the least it was owed. Ichizou was a possessor spirit unaffiliated with any of the «Yami-Sengoku» factions, but secrets could leak anywhere. He had to be «exorcised». However, Ichizou had come to him with unexpected information.
“You want to save some guy whose soul is dying, don’t you? I know of a story that might be useful.”
Ichizou’s proposal had been about the Life-Ripping Star at Star Valley Temple.
“There’s a petrified star of great magical power that was once used in state rituals. If you can get your hands on it, you might be able to save whoever-it-is.”
The petrified star possessing vast magical power that Koubou Daishi had pulled down from the heavens.
A miraculous star that made the impossible possible.
(Has this Life-Ripping Star also been snatched away before my very eyes?)
His heart burned with regret. Naoe had not wasted a single minute, a single second, since Takaya had disappeared. He’d followed the clues given him by an information dealer named Kuroki to Osaka, but had been unable to locate Takaya. But the description given by the witness matched Takaya closely, and had finally convinced him that Takaya had survived after leaving the mountain cottage.
(He’s alive.)
It had strengthened Naoe’s hope.
It was actually Ichizou who had come across the information that someone who looked like Takaya had crossed into Shikoku. It had happened quite a while ago, but the information appeared to be solid. In addition:
“The Life-Ripping Star will be presented to Oda sooner or later. If you want to get your hands on it, you had better move quickly.”
Ichizou was surprisingly well-informed about the «Yami-Sengoku». Where did he get his information from? In any case, he seemed quite adept at obtaining it. Naoe appeared to have struck his fancy, and though his intentions were unclear, he had made himself quite useful, not least in the search for Takaya. There was no coercion; Ichizou willingly undertook everything from running errands to gathering information.
Naoe should «exorcise» him, but was having second thoughts. Right now he had to use whatever came to hand. Takaya was his first priority. The story of the Life-Ripping Star was also quite credible.
—It was worth investigating.
Given that conclusion, Naoe had Ichizou start a full-scale investigation into the Life-Ripping Star in parallel with his search for Takaya. Ichizou had succeeded in making contact with Sogou and begun preparations to infiltrate them.
That was when someone else had struck.
Naoe had proceeded to a town called Kawashima on Takaya’s trail. That same night, Ichizou had sneaked into a Miyoshi meeting to gather information—just in time for the attack.
After a fierce battle that killed all the guards, the Life-Ripping Star had been taken. Its whereabouts were unknown.
(Chase two hares, and you’ll get neither...)
But he had a time limit. He refused to be crushed by fate.
He had to find Takaya.
There were so many things Naoe had to tell him. What he was really trying to do. Kenshin’s thoughts. Above all, about Takaya himself.
The death of his soul was near at hand. —The limit of his existence.
If someone didn’t «exorcise» him immediately, his soul would soon shatter.
Takaya had to die now, or he would never again be reincarnated.
He had to be «exorcised» now.
He had to...
(I...!)
Once again he bit his lip to hold back the pain.
(I have to find...)
A way to save him. A way to stop him from going supernova.
(I will find it.)
He knew it would be difficult. He could not allow himself to be defeated by the obstacles before him, considering the weight of what he had thrown away and the magnitude of what he had to do. He would succeed, no matter what stood in his way. Even if demons stood in his way.
(Even if the gods stand in my way.)
“Let’s see what we can do,” Ichizou said. “I’ll find out where the Life-Ripping Star is. As I said, I won’t ask for your liver until I have the Life-Ripping Star, Boss.”
He seemed quite motivated. Based on his colloquial expressions, Naoe guessed that he was from this part of the country. Shikoku was like a garden. It was difficult to move around here, so it was nice to be able to depend on someone who familiar with the local situation. He couldn’t, however, believe that this Ichizou had no connection to the «Yami-Sengoku». Who was he? He seemed to scorn those who were part of the «Yami-Sengoku», but he swam through this world like a professional.
(Who in the world is he?)
“But this was pretty out there, what happened here.” Ichizou looked with admiration at the devastation of the cave. Not that this was the time for admiration. “There’s still some strong bastards in the world—...”
Naoe followed his gaze to the crumbled bedrock. The energy, thrown into chaos by the fox charm, was fading. He could tell from the oppressive, throbbing feeling rising up from beneath their feet, however, that there had been a fierce battle here. A large amount of «energy» had been expended. It stained indelibly like gunpowder smoke. To have used this much «energy» meant the thieves had been nothing but the best.
He folded his arms, trying to guess their identity. Something suddenly plucked Naoe’s sixth sense. What was he sensing? His eyes widened abruptly. He’d been touched, for just a moment, by a faint waft of air.
(What—...?!)
“Boss, what’s wrong?”
Ichizou’s eyes were wide with surprise. Naoe reflexively extended his antennae. It couldn’t be. But it was so familiar.
For an instant just now, the «energy» he sensed—
(It’s very similar.)
His soul had reacted before anything else. But to encounter that sensation here was an impossibility, and it shook Naoe. Yet this was a scent he could never have overlooked or forgotten, no matter how faint. Like his personal scent, it was carved into the deepest depths of Naoe’s being.
(Could this really have been...Kihachi?)
He had to be sure. Naoe abruptly knelt, and Ichizou jumped back. Naoe pressed his left palm against the black ground. His face was terribly stern as he concentrated on the «energy» around him. He began his spirit-sensing. He poured his soul into sensing the remaining «energy», probing as delicately as if he were dissecting microscopic cells. One minute, two...
Ichizou had no idea what was going on. The extraordinary sense of urgency froze him in place. Naoe’s narrowed eyes finally opened.
(What’s going on...?)
He’d gained no clear confirmation. There were too many kinds of psychic energies mixed together for him to grasp any single one. Maybe it was only the undertone of the scent that was similar. Yet—
He lifted his hand. The ground was cold. An ugly scar had been gouged into his left palm. He done that to himself after Takaya had left him, clutching a shard of glass in his despair.
Now that Kagetora was gone, only the scar was left.
“Boss...”
Naoe’s glare pierced the air. The crease between his brows was familiar to Ichizou, but he had never seen such an eager expression on Naoe’s face before. He shuddered.
His gaze was like a sharpened blade.
Naoe glared straight ahead without breathing.