Well, looks like I managed to finish this summary before the new Gaiden comes out on November 1st. Yay? I uh… will probably get that one done in a more timely fashion, as I plan to split it into two parts, first the new material and then the old stuff.


Shuurei and co arrive in the capital of Ran Province, Gyokuryuu (jewel + dragon, for those of you into kanji), which is a city even more splendid than Kiyou, with many canals (I guess kind of like Venice?). They meet with the governor of Ran Province, Kyou Bunchuu, a man in his forties who is also part of the Nightmare National Exam group. Governor Kyou tells Shuurei that Seiga previously had come to Ran Province, as part of his duties as a Censor (they roam the country investigating wrongdoing), and impressed people there; he also researched the Shiba clan. Governor Kyou is surprised to learn that Seiga has not risen to a high rank. He also says that right now, if Shuurei and Seiga were to compete, he would bet on Seiga. He also talks about how an official only needs to take eighty percent of the go pieces in order to succeed. Shuurei brings the governor up to date on Ryuuki’s journey. He is astounded that no one tried to stop the king. Later, Bunchuu worries about Yuushun, and his vice-governor suggests that he return to the capital if he’s so worried. Many high positions are unfilled. But, Bunchuu is filling an important post as the governor of Ran province, who must contend with the powerful Ran clan. He reflects on the current political situation: in terms of the high officials, nothing has changed for years (probably this is partially the fault of Reishin, who doesn’t try to look towards the future), unusually, but now that Yuushun has arrived, things have begun to move under the surface. Yuushun is an idealist who wants to take all of the go pieces, that is, to gamble and risk everything. Bunchuu prays that he’ll be careful, but since the king has ran off and pushed all the work on him, Yuushun is in a risky position.
Bunchuu and the vice-governor talk some more. It seems that although Bunchuu didn’t seem to be very friendly towards Shuurei, he did actually intend to welcome her, but because of his dour face and manner, it didn’t work out that well. XD Also, the vice gov recalls him saying to remember that one doesn’t be come an official just to be promoted, but for the sake of the people. We also hear that when he was taking the exam, people thought he was a ghost and were frightened, and Reishin, hearing the rumor, led some campaign to exorcise the ghost. Bunchuu was told by a fortuneteller this was the second most (something… crucial or worst) time of his life, but this makes him feel worse, because if this was the second, what is the first going to be like? However, soon he may have to return and make a decision. [Hmm, this guy seems like a really interesting character. I would like to see him return to the capital, to see what he would do. If he really thinks Yuushun is overreaching, maybe he should play the Suou role and become his aide.]

Shuurei has Suou and Ensei research the various cases. Suou is shocked that Ensei is capable of investigating, because he thought he was as dumb as he (Suou) was. [... Suou would have to be stupid to believe he was stupid. Erg. ] Shuurei investigates Jin’s case, and finds he was sentenced to death and was supposed to be sent to Kiyou to be executed, but instead the execution was supposedly performed in Ran Province. She finds that besides Son Ryouou, Ou Ki (who at that time had Kouki’s job as head of the Censorate) has also signed off on the orders.

Ryuuki and co are still travelling, and they end up near the Nine Colors Cove (which is near the real house of the Ran family). The Ran house is on the Sleeping Dragon mountain, and the Hyou clan has a shrine on the Houkyou (Treasure Mirror?) mountain. That region is famous for testing the valor of kings. During one reign, there was a succession dispute and all of the princes went to the area, but only one returned (we later learn, because his trusted retainers aided him). Ryuuki merely intends to go to see Shuuei, but there’s a problem. For some reason, only those of the main line of the Ran clan can get there easily without getting lost. Even Jyuusan-hime took half a month (the distance is about two days) to get there because she kept losing the way. Unfortunately, the next day, when Jyuusan-hime awakes, she finds that both Ryuuki and Shouka have gone missing.

In the Ran clan’s manor, Shuuei meets with Setsuna. Setsuna asks him if he intends to throw away the Ran clan and choose that foolish king. Shuuei says that even if the Ran clan won’t choose Ryuuki, he will, and that the Ran clan can manage without him. Even if Ryuuki ends up badly, Shuuei will follow him to the very end. But Setsuna refuses to let Shuuei leave the clan, and also reveals that the priestess who entered the shrine is Shusui. Shuuei goes to search for Ryuuki.

Meanwhile, Shuurei learns that Ryuuki has entered the forbidden Nine Colors Cove. Shuurei resolves to bring him back, even if it it means risking her job. As Shuurei leaves, she asks Bunchuu what the name of the Censorate official who suggested throwing the manjuu into the water was. He replies that it was Ou Ki, speaking with great respect. [Interesting. So Ou Ki is not just a man seeking power or a mere defender of noble privileges.] She also learns the souvenirs Kouki asked her to get exist only in Nine Colors Cove (ahaha). Ryuuren pops up with a boat to take them there.

Ryuuki is walking through the forest. Nine Colors Cove is a weird place. The lakes are pure green, with white tree trunks in the water, and there are no fish. Also, trees seem to grow right out of the water. Ryuuki is still rather upset over the mess he’s in, and he sees three baby pandas, and after recalling that pandas are not carnivorous, huggles them (see illustration). Later, Ryuuki collapses due to altitude sickness. Although Ryuuki is in good shape, due to his training in swordfighting, this kind of problem occurs when you ascend too quickly. While Ryuuki is unconscious, Shiba Jin picks him up and takes him to the Hyou clan’s shrine and imprisons him.

Shuurei, Ensei, Suou, and Ryuuren arrive at Nine Colors Cove (it was quick because the Ran clan has really fast boats). When Shuurei awakes, Ryuuren has gone off to look for a hot spring, but suddenly, they meet Shiba Jin. He tells them Ryuuki s being held prisoner unconscious in the shrine, and he has been ordered to take Shuurei there alone by Hyou Ruka. However, she is not Jin’s true master, and he doesn’t really care about that, so Shuurei orders Ensei and Tantan to go search for Kouki’s omiyage, and if they uh… happen to end up following the same path as Shuurei and Jin, so be it. Jin explains that there probably are no fish because the chemicals in the land dye the water green and kill the algae, meaning no food for fish. Jin continues to insist he is not Jin. Also, strangely, although Tantan seems pretty tired out by the hike, Shuurei feels totally fine. [Yet more evidence of changes to her body, or perhaps evidence that Suou needs to hit the gym.] Shuurei enters the shrine and meets Shusui, or actually, Hyou Ruka possessing the body of Shusui. She falls unconscious.

Ruka also goes to meet Ryuuki. She says he reminds her of his father, and also says that he is an easier king to manipulate than Seien, and orders him to abdicate. She says that Ryuuki is too weak to be a good king, and that she can find a replacement (as Uu Uu should have told him, the royal house and the Hyou clan are two sides of the same coins, both carrying the blood of the first king, and cannot survive without each other). She says he is not king, and that he should have realized it himself, and that he simply engaged in politics for the sake of a woman. He ignores Uu and Ou Ki’s advice, and doesn’t care about anything as long as he can be with Shuurei. Exhausting his officials, as the old ones retire, he hasn’t tried to nurture new ones, and has wasted the last two years. The Hyou clan will not recognize himn, and it’s not only them. Ryuuki cannot deny this, but Ryuuki refuses to give up. It seems what had truly bothered Ryuuki was that he had deep down desired to b king, but was horrifed that he was not truly so. Now that Ryuuki has, however, realized he wishes to be king for his own sake, and not for Shouka or Shuurei’s, he won’t give up. Because Ryuuki had heard that only a true king may arrive at the shrine, he secretly decided to go there. [Well, I guess being carried up and imprisoned there is one way of arriving.] Ryuuki will no longer say that he doesn’t want to be king, and although he is ‘Ryuuki’ he will no longer attempt to evade or throw away the part of himself that is ‘king’ as well. Ruka didn’t expect this of Ryuuki, but no matter. She orders Jin to kill him.

At this moment, Shuuei steps in. It seems he was watching from the shadows all this time (embarassingly for Ryuuki, he also witnessed the panda-huggling…). Ryuuki is still unable to fight because of the altitude sickness, but Jyuusan-hime also arrives to defend Ryuuki. Jyuusan-hime says she’ll buy them time by taking on Jin, even if she’s outclassed, and Shuuei tries to leave with Ryuuki, but they are opposed by a brainwashed Shusui. Shuuei decides to break the brainwashing with the Power of Love!! So he says ‘look over there, it’s Shouka!’ Everyone else yells at him for this, but it works. XD (Shuuei himself feels pitiful to have used the name of another man, since he’s in love with her. T_T)

Meanwhile, in the room with the sacred mirror sealing the 108 spirits in the lake, the spirit of Ruka (her real body is somewhere else; unlike Riou (lil’ Riou’s dad), her younger brother, she is not unaging. However, her spirit still appears young) is looking at Shuurei, who is still out cold. Her plan is to take over the body of Bara-hime’s daughter so that her younger brother will finally look at her. Ruka, in case you don’t recall, is totally obsessed with him for some reason.

Shouka, however, is not going to let her just do that. He says that he thought she was rotting away somewhere (she’s over eighty), and Ruka says that as usual, he has quite a sharp tongue, and says she doesn’t entirely hate him. The rest of the conversation is confusing… I hope this does get animated so it makes more sense, or it could just be that this is a lot of foreshadowing. Shouka asks how much longer she’s going to be obsessed with her good for nothing younger brother. Ruka says how can someone who became obsessed with a sennyo (female Immortal), stealing away and marrying her, criticize her. [It's somewhat difficult to understand with my limited Japanese skills what Ruka is saying, because her speech pattern is odd.] She goes on about how women foolishly live for the sake of their men, and how men exploit women and cause wars and misrule the land. She also says that Shouka has committed many evil deeds, and Shuurei must sadly bear the burden of both his and Bara-hime’s actions, and there is no longer a place for her on the surface of the country (front side… I think she is referring to how the Shi clan is the front and the Hyou clan the back of the coin.) Shouka continues to prevent fate. She says that it is Shuurei’s destiny to madden men, and although they try to help her, eventually destroy her. So, why not give her Shuurei, to spare her from this destiny?

However, Shouka won’t be convinced by her sophistries. He refuses. Ruka says that he has always been like that, and that wishing for a flower, he won’t rest until he gets it, even if he knows it shall wither once he has it. The woman who is loved by Shouka shall certainly be happy. Loved to the point of not caring whether one is destroyed. However, no matter how much the flower is loved, the fact that a plucked flower shall wither shall not change. But Shouka, at the very least, will not hand her over to Ruka and Riou, but at least let her live freely. Ruka asks if he is even willing to break sacred mirror to defeat her. (Shouka, having no mystical powers, can only do that to make her retreat). Of course he is. Shouka says that not to complain because the work of her clan has increased a bit, but to work hard. Ruka says that she does not hate Shouka. He’s as calm as ice, rational and realistic, won’t care what he breaks in order to get the person he loves. (Like right now, Shouka is rather indifferent about what disaster will occur). She admires the depth of Shouka’s feelings, but says his beloved daughter will be destroyed by his love, and she and Shouka are the same kind of person. She swears that just as he stole Bara-hime, she shall steal Shuurei. Then Shouka breaks the mirror, and she fades, smiling as if she were the victor. Then the mountain begins to shake.

Shuuei has brought Ryuuki down to the boat to leave him with Suou. Shuuei tells Suou if anything bad happens, to leave without the rest of them. At first Ryuuki is shocked, but then, thinking of how Shuuei has left Jyuusan-hime and Shusui up in the mountain, how Shuurei came to look for him, and how Suou is willing to leave Ensei and Shuurei behind, realizes that he must, as Shuuei said, be more conscious of who he is. He accepts Shuuei’s words. [See what I mean about Ryuuki getting character development?]

Jyuusan-hime and Jin face off. He asks if Ryuuki is a kind person, and Jyuusan-hime says “more than you.” Jin says that’s a bit painful to hear, but Jyuusan-hime says that they were happy together, yet she can’t throw everything away to be with him. She says, finally, that she loved Shiba Jin, but that Jin is now dead, and this is over. She asks him to give back the eyepatch she sewed for him, because she made it for Jin. He does, and she cuts it to shreds. Jin says he is no longer the man willing to give his life for her. Jyuusan-hime says that she will become happy and not waste the life that Jin gave to her (she says there are lots of men in this world better than him). She’s done living for Jin, and shall live for herself. But Jin says that he’ll never find a woman better than Hotaru. She tells him he no longer has the right to use that name, but he says it is his alone, and he knows of no other name for her. On that alone, he won’t budge…

Shusui rushes to save Shuurei and finds that some idiot has broken the sacred mirror! She accuses Ensei, who has also come to the room, who denies it, but she forgives him because he didn’t know any better. Shusui finds the erhu that Sou Youki used to seal the 108 spirits. Suddenly, she sees Kuro approaching Shuurei. It jumps on her and melts into her hand. Suddenly, it begins to rain.

Shuuei and Ryuuren see it has begun to rain. Shuuei asks “Ran Ryuuren” whether he can do anything, and he begins to play his flute with a great deal of effort. Shuuei thinks the mountain is shaking less, and the rain has become less intense. In this area, the name “Ran Ryuuren” has a special meaning.

Meanwhile in the boat, Suou and Ryuuki are feeling rather wretched under the rain. Then Shuurei and the rest arrive. Shuuei is about to go back for his sister, but then Jin arrives carrying her, unconscious (seems he knocked her out). Jin says this is not where they will have their final match, and Shuuei is surprised that Jin, a man who would not swear his loyalty to Setsuna, would become an assassin for someone. Shusui decides to stay along there also, because she is afraid she will just be brainwashed again. She meets Shouka, and says that she shall face the rest of the Hyou clan, and stop running away. Shouka warns that she may never be able to break free again, but her resolve is firm.

They all return to the Ran clan’s nearby mansion. Shuuei asks his elder brothers to have a wager with him. If he can tell them apart, they will agree to certain conditions. Although this is one of those scenes not shown, Shuuei, surprise, wins, and in return for him not getting two of them killed, has himself disinherited so he may be free to follow Ryuuki. There may also be other terms (ambiguous). However, Shuuei says that even if their public ties are broken, he is still their brother, and will help them if they need it.

As Shuurei is resting, she half-wakes up and sees her father watching over her, but she thinks it’s a dream since he shouldn’t be there. Shouka is worried about Shusui, whom he thinks of as a daughter. Shuurei says that she can’t separate herself from her father yet. BTW, later Shouka had to worry about how he was going to explain himself… He ended up saying he lied because it was you know, a matter of state, and that he was “rescued by the Black Wolf” (to Jyuusan-hime’s great excitement. XDDD)

Jyuusan-hime explains her history with Jin. (I explained it earlier so we don’t have to get into that part again). We also learn that Shuuei’s dad was one of those rare people capable of polyamory, and so he uh, somehow managed to make all of his wives like him and be satisfied married to him. Shuurei stops Jyuusan-hime before she can get to the part about how she asked the triplets for help. Shuurei guesses that the triplets actually did nothing, because they didn’t wish to commit the serious crime that interfering in such matters would be, but just pretended that they had in order to make their sister feel better. [Really. No wonder Shuuei said that they weren't soft. 0_o They got her to promise them stuff in exchange for nothing. They simply said "wakatta" (means, "understood" or "I know." Which means they never concretely promised anything.] Shuurei wonders what she would do if she were the official judging Jin. Patricide is the greatest of the “Ten Crimes,” but because of the circumstances, Shuurei would try to give him a lesser sentence.

Ryuuki meets with Shuuei. He says he wishes for Shuuei to return to him. He is asking for him as an ally, not as a friend (of course Ryuuki wants friends, but as king, what he needs is allies). He asks Shuuei to swear his absolutely loyalty to him. He asks Shuuei to choose him, because he has chosen him. (Yeah, and one of them does think this almost sounds like a romantic proposal XDDD). Shuuei reveals that he has been disinherited and can no longer use the power of the Ran clan (Setsuna does not wish to meet with Ryuuki, nor will he have the officials of the Ran family return), but Ryuuki doesn’t care.

Then, now that Ryuuki is fed and rested, Shuuei challenges him to a rematch (see volume eleven). Shuuei handily wins. Ryuuki is rather shocked, and it seems that Shuuei has been holding back his true power and was not able to be serious earlier because he was uncertain of his loyalties. But now that Shuuei has wholeheartedly sworn his loyalty to Ryuuki, he is able to show him how strong he really is. (The Shiba clan, under whom he trained, has the rule ‘don’t show anyone your true power.’ In the bodyguard army, the only people he loses two are the two generals.) It seems that Shuuei had not been sure Ryuuki would want him back without the Ran clan’s power. (It seems, BTW, that Yuushun had foreseen this and advised Ryuuki how to regain Shuuei’s loyalty. Yuushun is fairly scary.)

Shouka has something very important to say to the Ran triplets (”Ran Setsuna”: among people who do know them, they call themselves Yuki (snow.. the setsu of setsuna is this kanji), and probably Tsuki and Hana. (Snow, moon, flower: it’s a phrase relating to the four seasons)). BTW, when they were kids, Shouka was their tutor (well, considering their ages, more like their babysitter). Because of this, they’re very fond of him, and wish that he was their elder brother (they think he’s wasted on Reishin. BTW, Reishin and the triplets detest each other). Shouka discusses… something with them (it seems this was one of his main motivations for coming to Ran Province). They say they will see when the time comes. However, we don’t get to actually hear what this important future request is. Anyway, they all head back to Kiyou using the Ran clan’s super-fast boats.

Then we have the infamous conversation between Ryuuki and Shuurei. He tells her he will no longer be king for her sake, which surprises her. He says, he’s not really sure exactly why, still, but he wants to become a king worthy of being respected by all those who have sworn their loyalty to him. He says that he shall find his own way as king. (She thinks she can see him becoming king in this instant) Ryuuki tells Shuurei as king, he must marry, and he shall have Jyuusan-hime enter the Inner Palace as Shusui’s replacement. If he marries anyone other than Shuurei, it shall be her. He cannot afford to wait for Shuurei. Shuurei is more moved than she thought she would be by these words. So he shall give himself a certain period of time to win her hand, a time which is not short, but not long either…

Suou and Ensei talk on the boat. Suou asks him if he likes Shuurei. Ensei says nothing and just smiles. Suou reflects that he has never met a man who could so thoroughly separate private and public matters. (Ensei has chosen to support Shuurei being an official) He thinks Ensei is cooler than Seiran. Meanwhile, Ryuuren and Shuuei also talk. Ryuuren hears about how Shuurei can drink unimaginable amounts of liquor. Shuurei’s body is somehow continuing to change.

Upon arriving in Kiyou, Suou goes straight to Kouki’s office and gives him a full report. Later, Shuurei reports to Kouki, who says he knows what she did. If we remember volume 10, when Suou said to Kouki he knew of Shuurei’s weakness, it was there that Kouki agreed to spare Suou’s father if Suou reported on Shuurei to him. However, Tantan has agreed to be fired in place of Shuurei, and is leaving for the provinces. (He also decided to leave so that Kouki wouldn’t use him to spy on Shuurei. Unlike Ensei, Suou will not throw away everything for Shuurei, but he’s willing to do at least this. ) Shuurei rushes to where Suou is preparing to leave the capital, and promises that if she’s promoted, she’ll bring him back to work under her.

As they set off, Suou’s father is confused. Didn’t Suou receive a promotion? So why is Shuurei so sad? … It seems that actually, Suou was promoted to the same rank as Shuurei (before he was her assistant). XD His job is now to go around the country investigating corruption. Ahaha. It seems that later (future narrator again) Suou leaves his mark on history as a legendary censorate official (it’s useless to hide anything from him), famed for his ability to work undercover, and expose wrongdoing with minimal harm to innocents.

When Ryuuki returns to the palace, Yuushun greets him, then begins to tell him about Kouyuu…

Commentary: Obviously, since the volume ends with Yuushun starting to tell Ryuuki what happened to Kouyuu, the next volume will have Kouyuu doing something. Up to this point, I had felt that Kouyuu was rather an overrated character, comparatively, because after vol 2-3 he never really did anything vital to the plot, and a lot of his characterization bits were repetitive, because all Kouyuu did repeatedly was realize zomg what should I do wait I don’t need to make a decision right now. Now perhaps Kouyuu will have to FINALLY make a decision. I think he’ll decide for Ryuuki. Well, obviously, we KNOW thanks to future narrator that Kouyuu has a distinguished career as one of Ryuuki’s officials. Actually, what Reishin will do is far more interesting. It is actually hard to see when, if ever, Kouyuu has done anything worthy of reprimand, whereas not doing your job is usually a firing offense, so if anyone should be fired, it would be Reishin. :P It is unclear whether Yuushun has any ideas for helping Ryuuki gain Kouyuu’s wholehearted loyalty.

BTW, I think I now support Shuuei/Shusui simply because I feel sorry for Shuuei, and wish that Shusui would just move on from Shouka, since it’s obvious he thinks of her as a daughter, kind of like Kourin and Sa Enjun. Well, who knows how this will work out, now that Shusui is stuck with the Hyou clan.

As for Shouka, he’s one of my favorite characters, so I’m glad to see him finally doing something in the story after a lot of inactivity. Although, just how productive is Shouka if he can just pop off to vacation with Ryuuki for a month or two? We never see any mention of other officials in the archives. Shouka doesn’t even think that he needs to explain his absence to anyone other than Shuurei and Seiran. Is his post a sinecure or something? Also, it amuses me how Shouka uh… just sort of wandered away from the boat during the whole confusing confrontation with Hyou Ruka, and no one noticed that he was gone. I would think that they should at least worry what they’re going to tell Shuurei. “Uh… Shuurei, I brought your dad along for fun, but I kind of misplaced him. :( ”

Ryuuki: Since Ryuuki’s main flaw, in terms of action was… essentially not building relationships with his top officials. So now are we going to see Ryuuki reaching out to the ones who are not particularly impressed with him? … That will be quite a sight to see. But yes, I am really curious to see how this new Ryuuki will rule.

Suou: Argh, am sad that Suou is not going to be in the next vol, probably, because he has become one of my favorite characters. Unfortunately he didn’t get to do much in this volume, but I hope later Shuurei will go to the provinces and ally with him. Or… gaiden story about the great detective censorate official Shin Suou? I think a character like him is both useful and difficult for an author. It’s both inconvenient and convenient to have a character who sees through people and their schemes.

Ran clan: Shuuei was v. cool in this volume, I got to say. I wish there was more Ryuuren, because he didn’t do much other than show up and be all mystical. Setsuna, also I want to see more of him/and them, but then they would have to come to Kiyou, as it seems unlikely the story will go back to Ran Province. (Or will it? I really want to see the other provinces, especially Kou province)

Jin and Jyuusan-hime: Jyuusan-hime is def. a strong character. I like her and look forward to seeing what she’ll do later. As for Jin, maybe it doesn’t come through in the summaries, but he’s quite charming. I look forward to finding just WHO he swore his loyalty to, and why? And his final match-up with Shuuei. I am wondering whether Jin will come to a happy or unhappy end… So far in the story, there hasn’t been much Tragic Death, which it would be if Shuuei ended up killing the man who was once his best friend.

tags>>