The Wings of Dreams by Fuyumi Ono Read Free Book Online Page A

of the inn. Shushou cradled the teacup in both hands, taking the chill out of her numb hands. She took a long breath and let it out.
    “Aw, you didn’t do half bad,” Rikou said with a smile. “I’ve seen worse.” He was seated across the table from her, warming his insides with a tankard of ale.
    “You don’t have to feel sorry for me. I meant to do a lot better by myself. It’s just so irritating.”
    “That moukyoku is a big part of the problem.”
    “I couldn’t possibly make it to Ken without Hakuto. But wearing the kinds of outfits that the owner of a moukyoku should wear, I’d make myself a target for every highwayman along the way.”
    Raising the tankard to his mouth, Rikou paused. “So you are really going to Ken?”
    “I am.”
    “Where do you call home?”
    “Renshou. I wasn’t about to walk all the way from Renshou to Ken. Besides, I’m in a hurry.”
    “You have parents, I assume? And you left against their express wishes to the contrary?”
    “They certainly did not expressly wish me not to. My going to Ken is hardly the kind of thing they’d be likely to overlook.” She stopped and looked up at Rikou and said, “Well, ah, no. That’s not exactly true. Forget I said it.”
    Rikou smiled. “Too late. I’ve heard enough already. Don’t worry. I’m not about to turn you into the authorities. Were you a lost child, though, that’d be another story.”
    Shushou sighed. “I know enough to stay on my toes. But you struck me as a goodhearted person, so I wasn’t watching my tongue.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Rikou chuckled. “So I assume you left without telling anybody?”
    “Yeah. I ran away from home.”
    “My, my. Now things are getting serious. And all the way to Ken? What business do you have there?”
    “The Reiken Gate is there. I am going to Mt. Hou. Which isn’t to say that I know anybody who lives on Mt. Hou.”
    The smile vanished from Rikou’s face. He blinked. “Young lady, are you going on the Shouzan?”
    “Any reason why I shouldn’t?”
    For a long moment, Rikou stared intently at Shushou’s face. Feeling a touch of self-consciousness, she met the look with upturned eyes.
    “No reason.” Rikou nodded. “No reason at all. However, it’s still a long ways from here to Ken. I came from the south. Things are even more chaotic down there than they are here. Finding a place to bed down at night will become increasingly difficult.”
    “Oh.” Shushou bit her lip. She didn’t like admitting it to herself but it’d been naive of her to think that a moukyoku alone would spare her most of the hardship on this journey.
    “That’s right. You need to have something in writing: The child bearing this letter has been entrusted with a kijuu. Please accommodate her in any way you can. Something like that. Get it stamped with an official seal and nobody will give it a second look. Because no matter how you dress it up, a young girl traveling alone with a kijuu is an odd sight.”
    Shushou’s eyes opened a bit wider. “Can you help me out?”
    “Do you understand what kind of journey you have ahead of you before you get to Mt. Hou?”
    “I understand. It’s dangerous, right?”
    “Sure is.” Rikou nodded and smiled again. “As long as you understand that much, then sure, why not?

    The next morning, Rikou had a letter of introduction notarized by the local representative of the Ministry of Fall. Shushou wasn’t familiar with the precise process, as the government building wasn’t the kind of place where a girl her age could just wander around. So she stayed outside with Hakuto and Rikou’s suugu.
    “Think this will do?”
    The substance of the certificate Rikou presented to her reflected their conversation the night before. The notary’s name and affixed seal turned it into an imposing-looking document.
    “Thank you,” she said, though not without a moment of hesitation.
    “Is something wrong?”
    “Nothing’s wrong, but—”
    Her