On the distant fields of Kyuden Kakita, four foxes fled into the wide woodland.
Lost forever to the world of men, one turned for a last long gaze at the lights of the distant palace. For a moment, the wind ruffled her shorn hair, reminding the young kitsune of all the things that would be left behind.
That place is not yours, Sister. One of the other foxes nuzzled away her tears and barked encouragement. You should never have stayed as long as you did. The ways of man are not the ways of the spirits. Leave them to their own destiny: it is not for us to change the will of fate.
I loved him.
We know.
*
there were individually strong sections of this book — Ameiko’s departure, Toshimoko’s meeting with Yokatsu, the battle at Kyuden Kakita — but ultimately it felt like a selection of disconnected anecdotes (which also didn’t quite ever line up with the timeline as we saw it in The Unicorn), rather than a cohesive novel. messy. also the honorifics were all over the place, but that’s a minor complaint.
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