The crow arrived before either of them.
An old pine at the crest of the slope stretched out a branch, with a lantern hanging from it. The wick was turned low, its circle of light no bigger than a millstone.
The crow perched beside the lantern, its head facing downhill, utterly still.
A freshly folded paper crow hung beneath the lantern. When the wind passed, it turned halfway around, then stopped again.
The village below was already pitch-black, save for a few scattered lights.
The rope had been wound around the branch three times, pulled tight.
Its loose end was long, brushing the lantern shade when the wind passed with two soft rustles.
That was the first thing Kiyoshi saw when he reached the crest.
He nodded to the crow.
The crow turned its head back and went on watching the lamp.
Fine. Another wasted nod.
He set that entry aside for now.
Of the ten entries on the board, one had been blank from the start, too.
Counting from the day the exam began, this was not his first night on a slope like this. It was quiet up here. The flame inside the lantern flickered now and then, and dampness from the grass crept along the ground. Every two steps made his trouser cuffs a little heavier.
Another person appeared beyond the tree's shadow.
There were no footsteps. He was simply there.
Shisui stood on the other side of the lantern, both hands empty and hanging at his sides.
The paper crow was still turning.
Two shadows fell along the edge of the light, broken into sections. Neither man moved.
"You're here."
"Mm."
Shisui lifted his chin toward the woods below.
"Run through it once. Let me see. You've long since mastered what was in the scroll I