It took a week for Yuki and Tanuki to reach the western shores of Nakashima. They had traveled many leagues with little rest, and by the time they had come to the great western sea, both were weary with exhaustion. At the same time, the crashing of the waves and the vastness of the waters gave them a faint hope, and with that hope a renewed vigor of spirit.

  Tanuki had successfully led them to the Shinohara coastline where a great battle was said to have happened. Shinohara did not refer to one particular place, but a western-reaching peninsula situated south of the Ryū border. The peninsula was currently controlled by the Mashige, but it had once belonged to the Ryū, and before them many daimyō had sought control over these lands as it was of strategic and economic value, being surrounded by the sea. There were once large settlements in Shinohara, but recently it had become desolate. With the Mashige in power, many had sought to relocate to the New Capital for greater fortune. Now, only small fishing villages remained.

  The two proceeded to the very edge of Shinohara, where dense forests gave way to the sea. There lay a wide beach which was often buffeted by storms. In summer it may have been a bright, cheerful place, but with the onset of autumn, the clouds and the ocean took on a grim, dismal appearance. The grey sky matched the grey waters, which differentiated themselves only by the white foam of the churning waves. A few gulls mewed overhead, but otherwise, there were no other signs of life.

  Yet they had not come for this vista, but instead to search among the remains of a great battle, of which the like had not been seen in some years. They set out with high hopes, but it soon became apparent that something was amiss. Though it was said that the battle had taken place just several weeks ago, the beach was strangely empty. Not only were there a lack of bodies or human remains but there was also no sword, sheath, emblem, or banner.

  “How could this be?” thought Yuki repeatedly, as they traveled up and down the coastline searching for even the most trivial sign. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

  “Unless I am gravely mistaken, this is the place,” answered Tanuki. “And I am not unfamiliar with this place, for I have been here before, several times throughout my life.”

  They spent nearly half the day scouring the region for clues, of which there were none. It was possible that Truists might have come to cleanse the battlefield and bury the dead. Scavengers may have also come seeking profit among the fallen, but there were no signs of either of these, or else they had done their jobs so thoroughly as to leave no evidence behind. There was nothing but emptiness and an eerie quiet that was masking something, but what that was they could not see.

  By evening Yuki began to despair and sat down in the sand, resting her head in her hands. She was cold and tired, and most of all she was disheartened. “But this was supposed to be a great battle?” she murmured. “Have the waves already washed it all away?”

  Suddenly, she remembered the words of Sōichirō, of how his scouts had gone to Shinohara but never come back. A sinister feeling began to creep over her like a shadow. She stood suddenly and turned around. She felt something, a strange disturbance in the air around her. She peered deeply into the forest behind her. Was someone watching them?

  “I sense something…” her guardian whispered under his breath.

  “As do I…” added Yuki, stepping forward.

  At that moment they could see the faint outline of a person walking towards them amidst the pines. The figure strode forward with determination, and an unseen wave of power pushed out ahead of them. Yuki remembered such a sensation, for it was not unlike what she had felt in the mansion of Ishihara.

  “Could it be her?” she wondered, freezing in terror.

  “She found us!” hissed Tanuki, standing on his hind legs and readying himself for battle. “On your guard!”

  The figure suddenly halted and stood awhile, apparently studying the two travelers, who were so out of place in this desolate scene. The sun was setting in the thick, hazy sky, creating a vivid blue and violet aura over the horizon.

  “So, these are the two for whom I have tirelessly sought. I have waited a long time for this moment,” the voice called out, and there was indeed power within it, for a strong gust of wind seemed to blow out at them, rustling the leaves and kicking up the sand at their feet.

  “How have you managed to find us?” Tanuki retorted. He appeared strong and defiant, but Yuki could sense the anxiety within him.

  “He knows that I am not ready,” thought Yuki, worriedly.

  The figure seemed to chuckle. “Do you not remember? My power, indeed, our power is in seeing. We can see many things, some things that are right in front of us, some that are far off, and even things that might be.”

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  Another strong gust of wind blew out from the wood, as the presence beyond seemed to increase in power.

  “I see a girl who has inherited the Eye of the Kami. I see a kami who is trying to teach her the way. This is indeed Masaki Yukiana and Tanuki of Many Faces, or am I wrong?”

  Tanuki’s eyes scanned about frantically as if expecting a sudden attack. “Where is your kami? Is this an ambush?”

  The figure lifted their arm and pointed towards the sky. “He is there, but this is no ambush. Fear not, for I have not come to you as an enemy.”

  Then, as if summoned by a force of her will, the fading sun cracked through the hazy clouds, and a ray of light illuminated the beach and the woods beyond. Before they stood the figure of a woman, but it was not who they imagined it to be. Her skin was wrinkled, and her face was careworn. The hair on her head was white and it blew about her freely. She wore a long, black pleated robe atop a grey kimono. Over her left shoulder was the ubiquitous shawl indicating that she was of the Truist Order, but while saffron was the color of the general clergy, this person wore bright azure across her breast. In her left hand, she held a gnarled walking stick, and her right hand was held open, as a sign of peace.

  Tanuki was at first at a loss, but then he bowed himself low before the figure. “Show respect, human, for you are in the presence of the Truist Sage.”

  “The Truist Sage?” Yuki repeated. She lowered her head but was unable to avert her eyes.

  “It is the title for one who can communicate with the kami, but unlike you, she does not need the Eye,” Tanuki explained. “She is chosen by the Truist Order to be a leader among them.”

  “Please rise,” the old woman said softly. Her voice was smooth and as serene as a lake, but also deep and laden with hidden sadness. “I am the Sage no longer. Yet my task is not yet fulfilled…”

  “Why then have you come?” asked Yuki timidly. “You said you were looking for us.”

  The woman stepped forward towards the beach, just as the sunlight was once again obscured by the gathering clouds. A white-faced hawk swooped down from above and then beat its wings several times over her shoulders, before landing gently. She and the hawk studied Yuki for several moments before answering.

  “We have come to help you, Yukiana-san.”

  These words seemed to have a profound effect on her, as she stood on the very edge of despair. “Help me?” she whispered.

  The eyes of the woman and the hawk seemed to stare deeply within her, gazing as it were at the very depths of her soul. It was uncomfortable, but she did not flinch.

  “We can only help you so far as to point you in the right direction, but you must walk the path yourself.”

  Yukiana wanted to let herself hope this was true but was also wary of these new strangers. If there was anything she had learned in all these past months, it was to not trust so easily. Yet as with Tanuki, what choice did she have?

  “Show me the way, Sage-sama,” she said, bowing low.

  The woman smiled once again. “Please, call me Aya. This is Taka, and he is the kami of the air. He sees what many cannot see, or do not want to see. You have come here searching for something, have you not?”

  Yukiana nodded. “We came to find the remains of a great battle but have so far found nothing. It is as if the battle never happened at all.”

  “Yes, so it seems,” murmured Aya, surveying the beach, “But unless I am gravely mistaken, there was indeed a battle that happened here. I can sense all that death, even now.” She seemed to shudder at this, and her brightness withered, if for a moment.

  “How could it all be gone by now?”

  “How indeed. I sense something ominous here, a darkness even deeper than that which often lingers around a battlefield. I sense…her…”

  “Ishihara?” Tanuki interjected.

  Aya bowed her head gravely. Then, she looked up once again and cast her eyes upon Yukiana. “I see what she has already taken from you, child.” Then she winced as if struck by sudden grief. “And yet I sense that it is your destiny to contend with her, though the outcome of such a strife is impossible to see. Because this is so, I cannot tell you all that I desire. Time is short, and you must grow strong or face destruction. You must succeed where I have failed.”

  Yuki could not speak, she could only wonder how this woman, with seemingly so much wisdom and power, could have possibly failed. And now she was expected to do what a Sage could not?

  Aya continued. “With the Shōgun dead, there are no longer any checks to Ishihara’s ambitions. Her time has finally come, and she will move quickly until her designs are fulfilled. Every moment then, is precious, for our hope is small. But even a seed of hope can grow.”

  The woman held out her walking stick and pointed towards the ocean, growing dark with the setting sun. “The answers you seek lie beneath the waves. My kami has seen it, a lacquered chest at the very bottom of the sea. If you wish to stop the war between the Tora and the Ryū, the answers lie in that chest. But you must hurry, for even now they gather for war, and if the Tiger and the Dragon fall, the north shall belong to Ishihara, and her victory will be well-nigh complete.”

  She set down her staff with an air of finality.

  “A chest?” Yuki muttered. “At the bottom of the sea?”

  “But she is not ready for an underwater transformation!” Tanuki interposed. “We had only just begun to work on land creatures and even then, we required the aid of a shinou as her transformations have been unstable.

  The Sage looked at him and her face was sorely grieved. “I am sorry, but there is no other way.” She then gazed out into the distance, like a forlorn statue of a bygone era.

  The sound of the crashing waves behind them, and the howl of the wind through the trees was all that could be heard for several moments.

  At last, Yuki turned to face the beach, just as night finally fell. “It must be me,” she said quietly, with growing resolve. “I must do it.”

  Tanuki made to argue but then stopped himself. “If we use a shinou, it might just work. But if your transformation fails, and if you are too far down…”

  “We have no other choice.”

  “I could do it,” offered Tanuki.

  Yuki shook her head. “No. This is my trial.” She then glanced over towards the former Sage, who stood motionless. She felt a burning fire rise her. “I must do it.”

  Tanuki, sensing the unyielding determination within her, bowed his head in acquiescence. “Then I shall aid you with all my power.”