The End of the Road and Where It Began

A new world laid at their feet.

At least, that was what it felt like. Even Kaoru, who had seen Osaka and Kyoto, had not been able to imagine that the fresh new capital would outdo the old one this swiftly.

Right in front of them, Edo Castle rose from the valley like a boulder in a stream, the city crashing into the edges of its widespread grounds and surrounding moat. Both Yuame and Kaoru peered beyond at the horizon, but gave up on seeing the city’s end; Edo reached as far as their eyes could see, and their vantage point was not high enough. They had begun their climb up Atagoyama just before dawn, and now, the first beams of sunlight appeared over the sea to their right.

Yuame watched the sunrise, still baffled as more was illuminated of the city stretching out before him. His heart pounded from the short climb, but there was another feeling rising in his chest, making him grip the front of his travel robes more tightly.

Next to him, Kaoru let out a loud whistle.

“Incredible. What a sight…”

Yuame said nothing. While Kaoru continued to admire the view, he turned to look behind them. His mood sank a bit lower as he searched for the shape of Mount Fuji, but to no avail. While Edo basked in a cloudless dawn, far in the distance from whence they had come, fog and vapor packed tight over the mountain range.

Despite having seen the holy mountain shrouded more often than not, Yuame took this as a bad omen. It was also disheartening to see it so far behind them now, after having traveled so many months with it looming in their direct periphery. Aside from the sense of awe the mountain inspired, Yuame had found its presence comforting. Natural. Grounding. In comparison, the stark man-made silhouette of Edo Castle radiated pride. Defiance. Pompousness.

“Just look at that castle! Ah, to finally lay my own eyes upon it…!”

Kaoru was still fawning, entirely unaware of his companion’s mood. Only when he finally tore his gaze from the city and saw Yuame’s face, did his beaming smile vanish.

“What is the matter? Are you not impressed?” There was disappointment in his voice, and a tinge of annoyance.

“That’s not it.” Yuame shook his head, not meeting Kaoru’s eyes. “It’s truly incredible. I’m just tired from the journey.”

“So am I,” Kaoru huffed. “But would it kill you to be a little more excited? We finally made it!”

Yuame looked back at Kaoru, who in turn averted his face. Silently he took in his distinct profile. Kaoru had a hooked nose, defined cheekbones and soft lips that were currently pouting. Though he was able to alter aspects of his human appearance, it seemed he had taken a liking to these elegant facial features.

The longer Yuame looked, the more the dark circles under Kaoru’s eyes began to stand out. The detail was both convincingly humanizing, yet worrisome; it also indicated that his true animal features were threatening to pierce through his disguise. They would need to find a place to rest. Proper, undisturbed rest.

Where that would be, neither of them knew. They had just passed the final stop on the Nakasendo, and in the distance they could almost see the mighty bridge where it and the other Great Roads originated from. The amount of buildings stretching in every direction dizzied Yuame. Though their options appeared to be numerous, would any of them be truly safe?

Far across a river to the north, the clangor of a bronze bell heralded the dawn. More sounds were beginning to reach up Atagoyama. Edo was waking up.

Again, Yuame felt the tightness in his chest. But he also knew they could not simply turn back now.

“Let’s go, then,” he said, gently nudging Kaoru’s arm. “The sooner we find lodgings, the better.” 

The tanuki sighed, before yielding to the peace-making gesture, his pout melting back into a smile.

“Yes, we should make haste. So much to see! Once we secure our lodgings, we must go and explore-“

“How about a nap first?”

“Hmm, yes, a nap might be good. But before that - food! Some fresh fish or octopus would be amazing, it has been months…”

Yuame humored his companion’s descent into a food tangent. He was more than used to those. He himself did not need to eat, but to Kaoru, food was a necessity - and a major joy. While the tanuki excitedly pointed out the fish markets up ahead, the two companions began their descent down the hill.

***

The sun stood high in the sky, and they had barely made it half of the distance they usually crossed. Yuame was starting to get miserable. The suffocating feeling he had felt atop the hill had only intensified the further they walked into Edo.

A few hours ago they had crossed the Nihonbashi bridge, officially marking the end of the journey they had begun almost a year ago. While the massive structure had certainly been impressive, the amount of people pressing into them from all sides had made it difficult to breathe. Rather than stopping to watch the activity of boats and fishermen on the waters below, Yuame had focused on nothing but his feet and the sturdy wood beneath them.

Meanwhile, Kaoru seemed to have forgotten all about his exhaustion. The tanuki flitted to and fro across every market they passed, marveling over the sights, the fine wares and goods for sale, and especially the many mouthwatering scents drifting from stalls and shops. Within the past hours he had eaten his fill of fresh raw fish, crispy senbei, a large serving of udon noodles in broth and finally dango sweetened with mirin and soy sauce. The latter he had shared with Yuame, and though the sweet, shiny glaze had tempted the zashiki-waraji, he found he couldn’t stomach any human food after all.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. Just before Kaoru could trot off to a large stall with a merchant yelling about rare goods all the way from a strange land called Oranda, he grabbed the back of his kimono.

“Kaoru. I thought we were looking for lodgings?”

Kaoru froze before smiling sheepishly. “We are! But it is only midday yet, we still have enough time.”

“I really need to rest, Kaoru. Please.” The deep, dark eyes of the house-spirit pleaded with him from behind the veil of his travel hood. He was not merely being sulkish; his strength had been waning for weeks as they had pressed on towards Edo. Single nights at different inns and other unfamiliar places had started to wear him down to the bone.

Seeing Yuame’s ashen complexion, Kaoru’s smile faded. He nodded. “Fine. You’re right. Don’t worry, I will find us a place in no time.”

“Please do,” Yuame sighed, raising a hand to rub his temple. With one eye, he threw a piercing glance at Kaoru’s drawstring pouch. “Do we even have enough money left to afford an inn here? For more than one night?”

The tanuki followed his gaze, and weighed his pouch in his hand. The way his eyes narrowed and lips jutted out into a pensive frown did nothing to elevate Yuame’s worries.

“Should be enough,” Kaoru mumbled, looking around searchingly - and avoiding his companion’s eyes in the process. “And if not…” Finding what he was looking for, he jerked his head for Yuame to follow him.

Up ahead, a line of willow trees on the riverbank formed a natural perimeter. Kaoru instantly made for the grove, his determined gait making other pedestrians move out of his way. Yuame hurried silently behind him. Feeling the stares they were attracting, he lowered his hood deeper over his eyes.

“Could you at least be more subtle?” Yuame hissed as they approached the largest willow, its green branches drooping down into the water and onto the dirt road. Men, women, ox-carts and ware-laden peddlers beelined around the reaches of the tree and the two travelers standing in its shade. It did appear as if no one was watching them now, but Yuame still moved closer to Kaoru, shielding him from sight as the tanuki plucked several leaves off a branch.

“Oh hush. This is the easy part.” Kaoru slid his hand full of leaves into his sleeve. Closing his eyes, he began to focus. Yuame pretended to adjust his and Kaoru’s furoshiki cloth bags as a glow emerged from within Kaoru’s sleeve, faint enough to be missed among the dappled sunlight through the branches. When he took his hand back, several old and worn looking coins laid on his palm.

“This should do,” Kaoru said breezily, though his voice cracked. Yuame gave him an exasperated look. Kaoru too was reaching his limits. His temper flared, wanting to give his reckless companion an earful… but he decided to save his strength. Scolding Kaoru had never been effective before, anyway.

“Now then…” Kaoru hummed as he slid the coins into his drawstring pouch with the rest. He still acted wholly unbothered. Yuame both admired and despised his resilience.

“Listen, I know you’re tired, but we’ve almost made it to Asakusa. Let’s find lodgings there. It will be safer too, you know why? There stands the largest temple of all of Edo! Another extraordinary sight awaits us. You’ll be amazed Yuame, I promise!”

Kaoru was beaming as he gestured ahead, laying his other hand around Yuame’s shoulder. The zashiki-waraji sighed, before he gave a meek smile back.

“Fine. If it’s just a little further…”

Steeling himself, Yuame fell in behind Kaoru on the packed dirt road, sloping gently along the bank of the Sumida river.