Six Crimson Cranes

The kitchen servants react to Shiori with fear (due to the walnut bowl concealing her face), but she quickly gets to work. Chef Chiruan, tells Shiori to deliver Megari her permission cake, which Megari then shares with Shiori. Megari asks Shiori to write more about herself, but the curse causes Shiori to spill the ink. Zairena bursts in, calling Shiori a “demon-worshipper” and dragging her away.

Shiori realizes that her 17th birthday passed while she was in the dungeon and fantasizes about her birthday banquet. Kiki finally returns, waking Shiori in the middle of the night. Shiori requests Kiki’s help in escaping, but Kiki recommends that Shiori wait out the winter at the castle, as conditions are brutal in the forest.

A storm blows in, and the castle gates remain locked, preventing Shiori from leaving. On the third night of the storm, the guards sound an alarm and lower a bridge, offering Shiori a chance to escape. Realizing her plan is faulty, she heads back to her fish cellar, and guards announce Lord Takkan’s return. Simultaneously, assassins attack the fortress. Amidst the clamor, Shiori responds to a sentinel’s call for help and stitches up Takkan’s wound. When the battle subsides, Shiori leaves Takkan before Hasege spots her.

Shiori returns to the kitchen the next day, where she learns that Takkan is not dead, but his condition is not improving. She tries to convince the cooks to let her make Takkan a special soup, but they refuse to let her touch any food, claiming her spirit will “contaminate” it. Zairena arrives during lunch, and the kitchen erupts in a frenzy of movement and preparation. Chiruan explains to Shiori that Zairena’s arrival means Megari is ill again, and Zairena needs to make her a special blend of tea. She prepares the tea, and then prepares a soup for Takkan, who has been refusing food. She requests that Shiori fetch her water from a distant well, which requires her to walk through the storm.

Along the way, Shiori seeks shelter in the stables, and hears Seryu speak to her from a horse trough. Seryu explains that the curse is preventing her brothers from finding her at Castle Bushian, but he promises to try communicating with them, despite their lack of magic. Shiori describes Raikama’s dark and broken dragon pearl, which is something Seryu has never heard of. He cannot remove the walnut bowl from Shiori’s head with his own magic, as Raikama’s magic is too strong. Nevertheless, they agree to meet at the river sometime. Back at the castle, Takkan continues to refuse food, so Shiori sneaks into the kitchen that night to make him some fish soup.

Shiori exchanges her soup for the chef’s a few more times, until a sentinel enters, demanding who made Takkan’s soup. He takes Shiori to Takkan’s chambers, where they overhear a conversation he is having with Lady Bushian. Shiori learns that Takkan took Hasege’s armor to look for Shiori and found her slipper on the beach. Lady Bushian forbids him from searching anymore.

When Shiori enters the room, Takkan and his mother thank her for saving his life. Takkan invites Shiori to stay for breakfast, and formally invites her to live in the castle—a request that shocks Zairena. In private, Takkan returns his dagger to Shiori and gives her a notebook so she can communicate with others more easily. Shiori’s new room is lavish, but she keeps returning to the fish cellar so she can privately work on the starstroke net.

As a result of Shiori saving Takkan, the kitchen staff are kinder to her. She enjoys learning how to cook from Chiruan, and at night, she separates the starstroke. One day, Shiori sits with other esteemed guests and Lady Bushian to watch Zairena spin golden thread on her spindle. Though Zairena lets everyone have a turn at the spinning wheel, she refuses Shiori because of her scarred hands, embarrassing her in front of the other women. She orders the spindle moved to her bedroom, so Shiori has no chance of touching it.

Shiori realizes that at a gathering, Zairena gave her four persimmons—a number that brings bad luck. She decides to bring the fruits to the temple as an offering, and on the way, runs into Takkan. Inside the temple, Shiori sees her slipper and embroidered tapestry laid on the altar. She asks Takkan about the assassins’ attack, and he explains that he was able to trace the A’landan letter (from Chapter 10) back to Lord Yuji (the seemingly friendly warlord in Chapter 3), and was on his way to warn the emperor when he was intercepted by assassins.

Based on the letter stating the royal children are “gone,” Takkan believes they are still alive, and prays for their safe return daily. He notices Shiori wincing in pain because of the starstroke thorns in her hands, and gently removes the rest. While Shiori reflects on her memories of flirting with boys in the royal court, Takkan encourages her to confide in him because he is her friend.

Megari convinces Shiori to sneak out of the castle to look at plum blossoms with her, despite Lady Bushian’s orders to stay put. During their journey, Megari divulges that Takkan is an excellent writer and singer and wants Shiori to convince him to perform at the upcoming Winter Festival. Takkan is waiting for them at the plum trees, and Shiori realizes that this was a good-natured ploy by Megari to get Takkan and her to spend more time together.

Shiori enjoys the idyllic winter afternoon, listening to Megari practice her lute and Takkan make up stories. Suddenly, the trio realizes that a pack of wolves has surrounded them. Takkan sends the girls back to the castle on his horse, but Shiori returns to help him fight. While Takkan struggles to fight the pack, Shiori notices a smaller wolf with a golden cuff around its leg and stabs it. The injury forces the wolf to call the others to retreat, and Takkan and Shiori survive. Megari returns, chastising Takkan for sending her away. The good-natured ribbing between Megari and Takkan makes Shiori barely laugh, but this sound is enough to turn a plum blossom black as another warning of Raikama’s curse.

Hasege disdainfully awaits the trio at the castle, where he continues to call Shiori a “demon” and taunts Takkan about his broken betrothal. He and fellow guard Pao do not believe there was a wolf attack, and Zairena hopes that Lady Bushian will banish Shiori from the castle.

Shiori spends her subsequent days avoiding contact with others in the castle, for fear of accidentally speaking and killing her brothers. One day, Takkan finds her in a garden veranda folding paper cranes. He tells her about the search for the wolves, and confirms he also noticed the strange wolf with a golden cuff. Takkan suspects the wolf might be Lord Yuji’s enchanter (the Wolf), and thinks magic might have something to do with the emperor’s missing children. Shiori folds six cranes, hoping to convey information about her brothers, but Takkan does not understand. Instead, he tells her the legend of how red-crowned cranes got their color, and their sacred role in connecting humans’ fates.