The Harsh Cry of the Heron
Gillian Rubinstein
 Takeo and Kaede are now the prosperous rulers of the Three Countries. They have three daughters, Shigeko, and twins Miki and Maya. Shigeko, the eldest daughter and heir, has been trained as a boy as she will inherit the domain of Maruyama when she comes of age, and the Three Countries upon Takeo's death. Maya and Miki, on the other hand, are seen as cursed not only because of the superstitious beliefs concerning twins, but also because of their Tribe talents, indicated by the Kikuta lines on their palms. They are feared and ignored by many, including their mother, but are well loved by Takeo and Shigeko. Takeo's only fear is that the prophecy concerning his death will be realized - he can only be killed by his son. Kaede soon gives birth to Takeo’s second son. A new threat to Takeo has appeared. Arai Zenko and his wife Hana have allied with the Saga Hideki, a warlord who has conquered the rest of the Eight Islands in the name of the powerless Emperor, Kikuta Akio, the Master of the exiled Kikuta family, and the Western foreigners (Portuguese), to destroy Takeo. Muto Kenji, at the end of his years, attempts in vain to negotiate with the Akio and see his grandson, Hisao. Hisao, really Takeo’s son and future killer, has no Tribe talents leading Akio to abuse him, but as Kenji attempts to flee with him he sees that Hisao is a ghostmaster, capable of communicating and controlling the souls of the dead. The soul of his mother, Yuki, is haunting him. Kenji soon commits suicide to avoid capture, eager to see the next world. Maya, whose Tribe talents go beyond the Tribe's ability to control her, takes the spirit of a cat within her and struggles to assert her control over it, becoming increasingly erratic and dangerous. She and Miki are separated, and Maya must train under Taku. Taku is soon killed on his brother Zenko’s orders and Maya is captured. Hisao is finally able to communicate with the spirit of his mother when Maya is captured, but rejects his mother's pleas to spare Takeo's life. Rather than battle the Emperor's forces, Takeo and his retinue travel to the capital to engage in a bowmanship contest: the victor will rule the Three Countries. The Otori win, and Takeo departs in glory, leaving behind an exotic animal, a Kirin (likely a giraffe or an okapi), as a gift. However the Kirin frets, breaks free, and follows Takeo's army, which is seen as an omen and a slight on the Emperor. Saga takes the opportunity and pursues them. In the resulting battle, both sides enduring great losses until Shigeko shoots Saga in the eye, and he retreats. Maya, dominated by the cat spirit within her, slips into her parents' house, and kills her infant brother with the Kikuta gaze. Overcome with grief, Kaede slips into temporary insanity when Hana reveals the existence of Takeo's teenage son by Yuki. She orders their house burned to the ground, and goes with Hana and her sons. Takeo finds her and tries to reason with her, but she calls the guards. Knowing he cannot fight his wife, he abdicates in favour of his daughter Shigeko, and retires to Terayama. There, Akio and Hisao come to kill him, but at the vital moment Hisao, armed with a pistol, freezes. Akio grabs the pistol, but it explodes in his hands, killing both him and Maya (who possessed the cat spirit at the time). Takeo, now believing it is his time, puts a knife in Hisao's hands, and falls upon it, bringing the prophecy of his death to fulfilment. In his abdication, he made an alliance with General Saga, betrothing Shigeko to him in return for an alliance, and for Shigeko to be co-ruler with him in the Three Countries. The combined armies defeat Arai's. Zenko and Hana take their lives, along with their youngest son, but at Kaede's request, Saga spares their other two sons. She brings them to Terayama to live, and, guilt-ridden before Takeo's grave, she prepares to commit suicide. Only Miki's appearance makes her decide to live on for her sake.