Read Online The Wings of Dreams by Fuyumi Ono - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Fuyumi Ono
Ads: Link
going on the Shouzan and many of them brought along family members and bodyguards and hearty kijuu.
Escorting the girl to Mt. Hou and back again, not straying into dangerous territory in search of kijuu, was hardly impossible. He’d never worked in that capacity before but was familiar with the bodyguards—known in the trade as goushi or “guardians”—who made a living at it, and was friends with several of them. He’d heard his fair share of hard-luck stories. He figured he could weather it well enough.
While she was on Mt. Hou, he could work in a little kijuu hunting on the side. Not bad work for sixty-five ryou, he reminded himself over and over.
“Hey, Gankyuu.”
The handful of trouble he was stuck with hunched her shoulders against the cold and glanced guilelessly up at him.
“What?” he said.
“What are you wearing that poncho for?”
Instead of answering, Gankyuu clucked to himself. The reason he had the poncho draped over his head like a shawl was to keep from being spotted by his mates. He didn’t want it noised about that he was escorting a child across the Yellow Sea. He’d never hear the end of it.
“Son of a bitch,” he grumbled.
Shushou laughed. “You don’t know when to bow to the inevitable. You need the money, don’t you?”
Damn straight, he said to himself. Gankyuu glanced down at her. She’d removed her two-piece ruqun and replaced it with the humble underjacket he’d scrounged up the night before, and then wrapped her padded kimono around that.
He’d expected her to bitch and moan about taking off the ruqun and sneer at the underjacket even more. But without him pointing out that the long sleeves would be a pain to deal with, she’d agreed to the change without any fuss, thank heaven.
“Where did a girl like you come up with money like that?”
“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you are implying. I took whatever I could find lying about the house.”
“You what ?”
“Including the kijuu. But the kijuu was stolen by a bad-tempered man like you. A sad and sordid tale. And then to have my lodgings practically stolen out from under me. You adults really are a sorry lot.”
Gankyuu couldn’t help thinking that she’d broken even on the stealing business. He said, “A kijuu?”
“Named Hakuto. A moukyoku. Do you know the species?”
Shushou recounted how her moukyoku was stolen as they checked out the street stalls. The stores opened this early for travelers who’d left necessary purchases to the last minute. Although he’d put together provisions for two the night before, Gankyuu scanned the store fronts as well.
“He was tame and well-mannered, fast on his feet, so smart it was like he understood what I was thinking.” Shushou’s lips drew a tightly in frustration and regret.
“I see. That was a bad move on your part, Miss.”
“What do you mean?”
Gankyuu picked out a few dried apricots and tucked them away. He said over his shoulder, “Moukyoku are good around people. Not only yours, the whole species. Moukyoku in the Yellow Sea can be coaxed along with a little bait. They’re three-quarters of the way to becoming kijuu from the start, willing to trust anybody who calls out to them. You can’t hand over the reins of a moukyoku to anybody, especially in a busy city. You have to remain extra wary until you’re safely in a stables with trustworthy guards.”
“Really?”
“Really. Getting out of the saddle was your first mistake. You should count yourself lucky he didn’t haul you off to the constable.”
“If he did that, I would have come out on top. I’ve got the papers to prove it.”
“I bet he did too. As authentic as yours.”
Shushou blinked. “Authentic? How could his be authentic?”
“There are plenty of crafty hunters like them about. They do their hunting in Ken Province, not the Yellow Sea. Because hunters going to the Yellow Sea are bound to have kijuu. They probably had their eyes on you since Rinken. They pick
Escorting the girl to Mt. Hou and back again, not straying into dangerous territory in search of kijuu, was hardly impossible. He’d never worked in that capacity before but was familiar with the bodyguards—known in the trade as goushi or “guardians”—who made a living at it, and was friends with several of them. He’d heard his fair share of hard-luck stories. He figured he could weather it well enough.
While she was on Mt. Hou, he could work in a little kijuu hunting on the side. Not bad work for sixty-five ryou, he reminded himself over and over.
“Hey, Gankyuu.”
The handful of trouble he was stuck with hunched her shoulders against the cold and glanced guilelessly up at him.
“What?” he said.
“What are you wearing that poncho for?”
Instead of answering, Gankyuu clucked to himself. The reason he had the poncho draped over his head like a shawl was to keep from being spotted by his mates. He didn’t want it noised about that he was escorting a child across the Yellow Sea. He’d never hear the end of it.
“Son of a bitch,” he grumbled.
Shushou laughed. “You don’t know when to bow to the inevitable. You need the money, don’t you?”
Damn straight, he said to himself. Gankyuu glanced down at her. She’d removed her two-piece ruqun and replaced it with the humble underjacket he’d scrounged up the night before, and then wrapped her padded kimono around that.
He’d expected her to bitch and moan about taking off the ruqun and sneer at the underjacket even more. But without him pointing out that the long sleeves would be a pain to deal with, she’d agreed to the change without any fuss, thank heaven.
“Where did a girl like you come up with money like that?”
“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you are implying. I took whatever I could find lying about the house.”
“You what ?”
“Including the kijuu. But the kijuu was stolen by a bad-tempered man like you. A sad and sordid tale. And then to have my lodgings practically stolen out from under me. You adults really are a sorry lot.”
Gankyuu couldn’t help thinking that she’d broken even on the stealing business. He said, “A kijuu?”
“Named Hakuto. A moukyoku. Do you know the species?”
Shushou recounted how her moukyoku was stolen as they checked out the street stalls. The stores opened this early for travelers who’d left necessary purchases to the last minute. Although he’d put together provisions for two the night before, Gankyuu scanned the store fronts as well.
“He was tame and well-mannered, fast on his feet, so smart it was like he understood what I was thinking.” Shushou’s lips drew a tightly in frustration and regret.
“I see. That was a bad move on your part, Miss.”
“What do you mean?”
Gankyuu picked out a few dried apricots and tucked them away. He said over his shoulder, “Moukyoku are good around people. Not only yours, the whole species. Moukyoku in the Yellow Sea can be coaxed along with a little bait. They’re three-quarters of the way to becoming kijuu from the start, willing to trust anybody who calls out to them. You can’t hand over the reins of a moukyoku to anybody, especially in a busy city. You have to remain extra wary until you’re safely in a stables with trustworthy guards.”
“Really?”
“Really. Getting out of the saddle was your first mistake. You should count yourself lucky he didn’t haul you off to the constable.”
“If he did that, I would have come out on top. I’ve got the papers to prove it.”
“I bet he did too. As authentic as yours.”
Shushou blinked. “Authentic? How could his be authentic?”
“There are plenty of crafty hunters like them about. They do their hunting in Ken Province, not the Yellow Sea. Because hunters going to the Yellow Sea are bound to have kijuu. They probably had their eyes on you since Rinken. They pick
Similar Books
