Three Sacred Treasures
Across the sea where the cherry blossoms bloom and the white-eye bird gives each writer her plume, there floats an island that may seem to you strange and new; for even snow-capped mountains wear rice hats, too.
There in this kingdom, three sacred treasures give royalty their power to rule: a sword, a mirror, and a jewel. The sword divides the wrong from the right, while the mirror warns of threats and fright, and the jewel can change a person to anything outright. Without at least one of the three in hand, the members of the royal family will fade away. And though each treasure can point to another, they once caused great pain for one sister and brother.
Our story begins where a river flow ends. Behind a waterfall, a set of prison bars keeps Princess Aimi in a cave. There the samurai Katsuo keeps the sacred sword on the prison door to keep the princess from the outside world.
It happened one day that Katsuo was collecting food for the princess in the nearby forest. Left alone the princess saw through the tears a shadow through the water. How could Tanuki know where she was stashed away? As the young farmer passed through the waterfall and against the prison bars, she said:
“Oh, Tanuki, you must have traveled so far from your fields and abandoned your work to rescue me! Let me tell you of the events that brought me here, so I’d forget my pain but remember your love, so dear.
“As I told you on those nights you’d visit my palace, the king and queen left the throne to my brother, Makoto, and me. Leaving him with the three sacred treasures, their life slipped away so that our reign could begin. But Makoto grew jealous. Because I am older, I should be queen so long as I marry. Fearing this, this wicked prince had the samurai, Katsuo, kidnap me and imprison me here. Makoto gave me what I thought was the sacred mirror, but I can only see my reflection. Only the sacred sword keeps me alive, but my brother enchanted it so that only Katsuo’s words can remove it and set me free.”
“Oh, Aimi,” said Tanuki, “How many times did I warn you of your brother! How much you have suffered! How everyone fears that you should marry a peasant like me! Wait, I hear Katsuo returning. Send him off on an impossible mission tonight, and I will return to rescue you.”
Tanuki disappeared behind the waterfall and Katsuo returned with fruits, clothing, and firewood. The princess scowled at the samurai for keeping her from her beloved Tanuki.
Katsuo set the fruit behind the prison bars. “My princess, here are the finest fruits in the whole island. I’ve watched you enjoy them in the palace; I’ve touched their trees that you grew in your orchards; I’ve heard that you gave them to the poor.”
The princess turned away and refused to even open her mouth.
Katsuo set the clothes before the princess and said, “My princess, here are the finest clothes in the whole island. I’ve watched you wear them in the palace; I’ve touched the spindles where you wove them; I’ve heard that you gave them to the poor.”
The princess folded her arms and refused to even move.
Finally, Katsuo struck the rocks in front of the firewood and sparked a fire. He sat down and did not say a word. He turned away to watch the waterfall, and Aimi moved closer to the fire. Turning around, Katsuo caught her approaching, and she stopped. He turned around briefly again, and she approached further. By the time he had turned a third time, she was as close to the fire as he.
After a few moments of silence, Aimi brought her hands closer and closer to the flames.
“Be careful, princess,” Katsuo warned.
She did not listen and brought her hands closer to the flames. Katsuo, knowing that he was not allowed to touch the princess, did not move her hands away but stamped the flames with his own hands.
Katsuo held his burnt hand and nursed it in the waterfall. The princess, sorry for what she had done, went to the pile of goods Katsuo brought her, took an akebi fruit and tore off a strip of clothing.
Aimi reached through the bars and took his hand. He shuddered as she gently rubbed one of the seeds across the wound and wound his hand with the cloth.
“I’m sorry, Katsuo,” she said. “That was cruel of me.”
“The wound is gone now, princess, and your fault with it,” Katsuo said as he looked at her bowed head. “I only wish that you would also care for yourself and let others care for you. The prince has warned you about Tanuki...”
The princess remembered her love and grew obstinate. She interrupted him, “My brother Makoto only wants to be king by himself. Not only did he have you abduct me, but he tricked me with this mirror. The sacred one should show me warnings, but in this one I only see my reflection.”
“Princess,” Katsuo said, “so long as you don’t recognize yourself, that is all you will see.”
Angry with him, Aimi said, “There is one thing you can do for me, samarai. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Onibi who inhabits the forest. It’s said to be magical. Bring it to me, please.”
Katsuo was so surprised that she finally allowed him to care for her, he did not realize at that moment that no one has seen the Onibi and lived to tell about it.
Katsuo rose and left into the forest. Going deeper and deeper into the forest, he came across an enormous tree he had never seen. Upon moving closer to the twisted roots that blocked his way, the tree limbs jerked suddenly. Tens of branches pounced and jerked at him like snakes. Katsuo swiftly dodged their attacks and saw that the trees branches had blood-sucking fangs. He brought out his sword and began to hack away at the striking mouths. But it was no use; with every branch cut, another grew in its place. He jumped, flipped, and ducked, but he knew that he could not carry on like this. Finally, he had an idea. He ran through the striking fangs right to the tree’s trunk. When all the mouths were ready to strike him, he thrust his sword into the tree to hoist himself away. The tree’s branches missed him and struck at the heart of the tree. The mouths could not release their fangs from the bark and sucked the tree of its own life.
Moving past the withered tree, he came into a clearing. There he saw a woman facing the only way through the forest. Slowly combing her hair, she calmly turned around and revealed her mouth, slit from cheek to cheek, and said, “Am I beautiful?”
Katsuo’s sword rose from out of his hands as if a ghost had taken hold of it. It turned against his own mouth as if it was waiting for his answer. He knew that this demoness would cut his mouth in anger if he said that she were not beautiful. But if he said that she was, he knew that she would cut his mouth to make him just as “beautiful.”
Though it hurt Katsuo to look at her, he found courage to see her face. There he saw a small rose placed in her ear. He had an idea.
“You are as beautiful as that rose,” he said.
She looked back at the rose, grew jealous of it and crushed it in her hand. Suddenly, she began to fade away, for her soul was hidden within that very flower.
Katsuo sadly picked up his fallen sword and passed through the clearing. After walking even deeper into the forest, he was suddenly pushed back as if he had run into a wall. He got up and tried to pass through the barrier, then tried to strike it with his sword, then tried to dig beneath the invisible wall, but it was no use. He turned around and found a little demon sitting on a treasure chest.
“Having trouble, samurai?” the demon asked with an evil smile.
Knowing that his sword could not harm the demon, he reached into his pocket and removed his prayer beads.
“In this chest I have that which will get you past this wall,” the demon announced.
The demon opened the chest. Inside Katsuo saw a key, a hammer, and a shovel.
“Choose,” the demon demanded.
Katsuo said, “I choose the chest.”
“What?” the demon exclaimed.
Katsuo then grabbed the demon and threw him in the chest. With his prayer beads, he wrapped the chest shut and the demon was powerless to escape.
Katsuo said, “I will release you if you remove the wall!”
He pressed against the passageway and felt that the wall was no longer there. He removed his beads and the demon ran away.
Finally, he came to another part of the forest. There he saw a light hovering over a marsh. As he approached, a sweet voice came from the light calling his name, “Katsuo, Katsuo, Katsuo...”
When he finally came close enough, he saw that the light was in the form of Princess Aimi. She said, “Katsuo, I realize that I was wrong about Tanuki. You’ve proven that you are the most worthy of me. Come into my arms and take what you most desire.”
Tanuki realized that he had loved the princess all along and began to approach the marsh but suddenly stopped.
“No, princess. It is true that I love you, but I do not wish that you love me. I only wish that the man you loved would truly love you.”
The form of the princess burst into light and the voice said, “Many have sought the Onibi and drowned in these marshes. I see that you are different and do not wish to possess, but to give. You do not wish to be loved, but to love. You alone are worthy of the Onibi.”
The light turned into a jewel and glided into his hand.
Meanwhile, at the waterfall Tanuki had returned to the princess. “Stand back, Aimi, for I have a plan. Hide deed in cave so Katsuo cannot see you, and I will slide through these bars and trick Katsuo into freeing you.”
Suddenly, Tanuki transformed into a small badger and crawled through the bars. Once inside, he changed back into his normal self and embraced the princess.
“How did you do that?” Aimi exclaimed in his arms.
“I found the sacred jewel in the forest. It allows me to change into any form I want,” Tanuki exclaimed.
Then Tanuki took the form of the princess and told her to hide. Just then Katsuo returned with the realization of love in his heart.
Tanuki, in the guise of the princess, pretended to cry and said, “Oh Katsuo, I know now that Tanuki was a liar and only wanted to use me to become king. I’m so ashamed.”
Katsuo, thinking that the sword did not have to separate the princess from Tanuki anymore, whispered to the sword and removed it from the bars. The false form of the princess approached him and said, “I only wish to marry you.”
“Princess, I only want you to be safe. If you only want to marry someone to be queen, you should choose to marry Tanuki.” The samarai bowed down and placed the sword on the ground.
“Very well,” said Tanuki whose voice grew more and more like his own. “Then let only death keep us apart.” He took the sword and brought it high in the air.
“No,” cried the princess. But her voice only stopped Tanuki from cutting all the way through the samurai. Katsuo lay on the ground, so wounded that he could barely move.
Tanuki changed back into his regular form. Thinking quickly, Aimi said, “Don’t waste your time on him. Check outside to see if he brought guards back with him from the forest. Take care of them, and I’ll take care of Katsuo.”
Tanuki believed her story and left the cave. The princess knelt down before Katsuo, began to apply the healing fruits, and started to say, “I’m so sorry...”
“Don’t worry about me, princess,” Katsuo said. “I know I don’t deserve you. Here, take the Onibi. It will fulfill the wish I made for you.”
With his last ounces of strength, he gave her the Onibi jewel. Knowing that he should eventually heal, she left the cave and ran off with Tanuki back to the palace.
As they rode on through the fields, she wondered who really had the Onibi. She asked Tanuki to show her his jewel, and he pulled out one that looked just like the one Katsuo gave her. Tanuki said, “Why would you ask such a thing? You probably want to be sure we have the sacred jewel and the sacred sword. Your brother must have the true mirror.”
After all this time, she began to worry about her brother Makoto. If the mirror she had is real, then he gave her all the sacred treasures and he would be left to die. Sitting behind him on the galloping horse, she took out the mirror so that Tanuki could not see.
As she looked in the mirror, her own reflection vanished and she saw what her brother had done.
First, she saw an image of her brother’s chambers. A badger crawled through the window and opened the chest of the three sacred treasures. The badger took out the sword, but dropped it. The clang woke the prince, but the badger escaped taking the jewel with him.
Then the image blurred and showed another part of the palace the next morning.
“Katsuo,” the prince Makoto said. “You must protect the princess. I have seen in the sacred mirror that Tanuki is not who he seems and will only use Princess Aimi to become king. Take the sacred sword and put it on the prison door; as it separates right from wrong, Aimi will be kept away fromTanuki.”
He hesitated a bit and added, “And give her the mirror as well.”
“But my lord,” said Katsuo. “Without these sacred treasures, what will keep you alive?”
“I still have the jewel,” the prince lied. “She must keep the mirror so that she finally realizes the truth.”
Katsuo took the jewels and left the room. As soon as he was alone, Prince Makoto fell to his knees and began to fade away.
By the time Princess Aimi had finished looking at the vision, Tanuki had taken them to the palace doors. Tanuki took her up to the throne room where all the nobles were gathered and wondering who will replace Prince Makoto.
“Oh Makoto,” the princess cried.
“He conspired against us, Aimi. He deserved what happened.”
“But I saw in the mirror...” the princess tried to explain.
“Let me see it,” said the very scared Tanuki. He took the mirror from her hands. Thinking that he now had all three of the sacred treasures, he said, “It’s very simple princess. I have the three sacred treasures that will keep you alive and you love me. Just marry me and we can both rule together.”
Suddenly, Katsuo rushed into the throne room and was about to call out to the princess. However, he found them holding hands and about to make their vows. He knew that she had made the wish of the Onibi jewel and that Tanuki finally loved her. With a tear in his eye, he began to walk out of the palace.
The princess turned to Katsuo and then looked back to Tanuki. She pulled out the Onibi jewel and said, “I’ve made my choice.”
To Tanuki’s surprise, Princess Aimi left Tanuki’s side and ran toKatsuo. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before she’d fade away without the sacred treasures, she tried desperately to reach his arms before she’d die.
“I love you, Katsuo. I love only you,” Aimi said with tears in her eyes and her arms around Katsuo’s neck.
The mirror and sword flew out of Tanuki’s hands and into the princess’ and Katsuo’s. The true sacred treasures were reunited. She turned the mirror on Tanuki and revealed his true form, an evil badger.
“A shapeshifter!” the people cried.
Unarmed and exposed, he ran from his reflection and fell out of the palace window.
“But he had the jewel...” someone questioned.
“She had the true jewel all along,” another answered.
Within her hands, the Onibi jewel beamed with light and said, “Yes, it is true. I am the Onibi who guards this jewel. The king and queen had left a fake jewel with the sword and mirror so that the Prince and Princess would not be tempted to separate the sacred treasures and try to live without each other.”
Holding the princess in his arms, Katsuo asked, “But my wish was that the man she loves would truly love her.”
“And I do not have to make that wish, Katsuo,” said the Onibi. “The man she loves is you.”
After some time, Katsuo and Aimi were married and ruled together in peace.
There in this kingdom, three sacred treasures give royalty their power to rule: a sword, a mirror, and a jewel. The sword divides the wrong from the right, while the mirror warns of threats and fright, and the jewel can change a person to anything outright. Without at least one of the three in hand, the members of the royal family will fade away. And though each treasure can point to another, they once caused great pain for one sister and brother.
Our story begins where a river flow ends. Behind a waterfall, a set of prison bars keeps Princess Aimi in a cave. There the samurai Katsuo keeps the sacred sword on the prison door to keep the princess from the outside world.
It happened one day that Katsuo was collecting food for the princess in the nearby forest. Left alone the princess saw through the tears a shadow through the water. How could Tanuki know where she was stashed away? As the young farmer passed through the waterfall and against the prison bars, she said:
“Oh, Tanuki, you must have traveled so far from your fields and abandoned your work to rescue me! Let me tell you of the events that brought me here, so I’d forget my pain but remember your love, so dear.
“As I told you on those nights you’d visit my palace, the king and queen left the throne to my brother, Makoto, and me. Leaving him with the three sacred treasures, their life slipped away so that our reign could begin. But Makoto grew jealous. Because I am older, I should be queen so long as I marry. Fearing this, this wicked prince had the samurai, Katsuo, kidnap me and imprison me here. Makoto gave me what I thought was the sacred mirror, but I can only see my reflection. Only the sacred sword keeps me alive, but my brother enchanted it so that only Katsuo’s words can remove it and set me free.”
“Oh, Aimi,” said Tanuki, “How many times did I warn you of your brother! How much you have suffered! How everyone fears that you should marry a peasant like me! Wait, I hear Katsuo returning. Send him off on an impossible mission tonight, and I will return to rescue you.”
Tanuki disappeared behind the waterfall and Katsuo returned with fruits, clothing, and firewood. The princess scowled at the samurai for keeping her from her beloved Tanuki.
Katsuo set the fruit behind the prison bars. “My princess, here are the finest fruits in the whole island. I’ve watched you enjoy them in the palace; I’ve touched their trees that you grew in your orchards; I’ve heard that you gave them to the poor.”
The princess turned away and refused to even open her mouth.
Katsuo set the clothes before the princess and said, “My princess, here are the finest clothes in the whole island. I’ve watched you wear them in the palace; I’ve touched the spindles where you wove them; I’ve heard that you gave them to the poor.”
The princess folded her arms and refused to even move.
Finally, Katsuo struck the rocks in front of the firewood and sparked a fire. He sat down and did not say a word. He turned away to watch the waterfall, and Aimi moved closer to the fire. Turning around, Katsuo caught her approaching, and she stopped. He turned around briefly again, and she approached further. By the time he had turned a third time, she was as close to the fire as he.
After a few moments of silence, Aimi brought her hands closer and closer to the flames.
“Be careful, princess,” Katsuo warned.
She did not listen and brought her hands closer to the flames. Katsuo, knowing that he was not allowed to touch the princess, did not move her hands away but stamped the flames with his own hands.
Katsuo held his burnt hand and nursed it in the waterfall. The princess, sorry for what she had done, went to the pile of goods Katsuo brought her, took an akebi fruit and tore off a strip of clothing.
Aimi reached through the bars and took his hand. He shuddered as she gently rubbed one of the seeds across the wound and wound his hand with the cloth.
“I’m sorry, Katsuo,” she said. “That was cruel of me.”
“The wound is gone now, princess, and your fault with it,” Katsuo said as he looked at her bowed head. “I only wish that you would also care for yourself and let others care for you. The prince has warned you about Tanuki...”
The princess remembered her love and grew obstinate. She interrupted him, “My brother Makoto only wants to be king by himself. Not only did he have you abduct me, but he tricked me with this mirror. The sacred one should show me warnings, but in this one I only see my reflection.”
“Princess,” Katsuo said, “so long as you don’t recognize yourself, that is all you will see.”
Angry with him, Aimi said, “There is one thing you can do for me, samarai. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Onibi who inhabits the forest. It’s said to be magical. Bring it to me, please.”
Katsuo was so surprised that she finally allowed him to care for her, he did not realize at that moment that no one has seen the Onibi and lived to tell about it.
Katsuo rose and left into the forest. Going deeper and deeper into the forest, he came across an enormous tree he had never seen. Upon moving closer to the twisted roots that blocked his way, the tree limbs jerked suddenly. Tens of branches pounced and jerked at him like snakes. Katsuo swiftly dodged their attacks and saw that the trees branches had blood-sucking fangs. He brought out his sword and began to hack away at the striking mouths. But it was no use; with every branch cut, another grew in its place. He jumped, flipped, and ducked, but he knew that he could not carry on like this. Finally, he had an idea. He ran through the striking fangs right to the tree’s trunk. When all the mouths were ready to strike him, he thrust his sword into the tree to hoist himself away. The tree’s branches missed him and struck at the heart of the tree. The mouths could not release their fangs from the bark and sucked the tree of its own life.
Moving past the withered tree, he came into a clearing. There he saw a woman facing the only way through the forest. Slowly combing her hair, she calmly turned around and revealed her mouth, slit from cheek to cheek, and said, “Am I beautiful?”
Katsuo’s sword rose from out of his hands as if a ghost had taken hold of it. It turned against his own mouth as if it was waiting for his answer. He knew that this demoness would cut his mouth in anger if he said that she were not beautiful. But if he said that she was, he knew that she would cut his mouth to make him just as “beautiful.”
Though it hurt Katsuo to look at her, he found courage to see her face. There he saw a small rose placed in her ear. He had an idea.
“You are as beautiful as that rose,” he said.
She looked back at the rose, grew jealous of it and crushed it in her hand. Suddenly, she began to fade away, for her soul was hidden within that very flower.
Katsuo sadly picked up his fallen sword and passed through the clearing. After walking even deeper into the forest, he was suddenly pushed back as if he had run into a wall. He got up and tried to pass through the barrier, then tried to strike it with his sword, then tried to dig beneath the invisible wall, but it was no use. He turned around and found a little demon sitting on a treasure chest.
“Having trouble, samurai?” the demon asked with an evil smile.
Knowing that his sword could not harm the demon, he reached into his pocket and removed his prayer beads.
“In this chest I have that which will get you past this wall,” the demon announced.
The demon opened the chest. Inside Katsuo saw a key, a hammer, and a shovel.
“Choose,” the demon demanded.
Katsuo said, “I choose the chest.”
“What?” the demon exclaimed.
Katsuo then grabbed the demon and threw him in the chest. With his prayer beads, he wrapped the chest shut and the demon was powerless to escape.
Katsuo said, “I will release you if you remove the wall!”
He pressed against the passageway and felt that the wall was no longer there. He removed his beads and the demon ran away.
Finally, he came to another part of the forest. There he saw a light hovering over a marsh. As he approached, a sweet voice came from the light calling his name, “Katsuo, Katsuo, Katsuo...”
When he finally came close enough, he saw that the light was in the form of Princess Aimi. She said, “Katsuo, I realize that I was wrong about Tanuki. You’ve proven that you are the most worthy of me. Come into my arms and take what you most desire.”
Tanuki realized that he had loved the princess all along and began to approach the marsh but suddenly stopped.
“No, princess. It is true that I love you, but I do not wish that you love me. I only wish that the man you loved would truly love you.”
The form of the princess burst into light and the voice said, “Many have sought the Onibi and drowned in these marshes. I see that you are different and do not wish to possess, but to give. You do not wish to be loved, but to love. You alone are worthy of the Onibi.”
The light turned into a jewel and glided into his hand.
Meanwhile, at the waterfall Tanuki had returned to the princess. “Stand back, Aimi, for I have a plan. Hide deed in cave so Katsuo cannot see you, and I will slide through these bars and trick Katsuo into freeing you.”
Suddenly, Tanuki transformed into a small badger and crawled through the bars. Once inside, he changed back into his normal self and embraced the princess.
“How did you do that?” Aimi exclaimed in his arms.
“I found the sacred jewel in the forest. It allows me to change into any form I want,” Tanuki exclaimed.
Then Tanuki took the form of the princess and told her to hide. Just then Katsuo returned with the realization of love in his heart.
Tanuki, in the guise of the princess, pretended to cry and said, “Oh Katsuo, I know now that Tanuki was a liar and only wanted to use me to become king. I’m so ashamed.”
Katsuo, thinking that the sword did not have to separate the princess from Tanuki anymore, whispered to the sword and removed it from the bars. The false form of the princess approached him and said, “I only wish to marry you.”
“Princess, I only want you to be safe. If you only want to marry someone to be queen, you should choose to marry Tanuki.” The samarai bowed down and placed the sword on the ground.
“Very well,” said Tanuki whose voice grew more and more like his own. “Then let only death keep us apart.” He took the sword and brought it high in the air.
“No,” cried the princess. But her voice only stopped Tanuki from cutting all the way through the samurai. Katsuo lay on the ground, so wounded that he could barely move.
Tanuki changed back into his regular form. Thinking quickly, Aimi said, “Don’t waste your time on him. Check outside to see if he brought guards back with him from the forest. Take care of them, and I’ll take care of Katsuo.”
Tanuki believed her story and left the cave. The princess knelt down before Katsuo, began to apply the healing fruits, and started to say, “I’m so sorry...”
“Don’t worry about me, princess,” Katsuo said. “I know I don’t deserve you. Here, take the Onibi. It will fulfill the wish I made for you.”
With his last ounces of strength, he gave her the Onibi jewel. Knowing that he should eventually heal, she left the cave and ran off with Tanuki back to the palace.
As they rode on through the fields, she wondered who really had the Onibi. She asked Tanuki to show her his jewel, and he pulled out one that looked just like the one Katsuo gave her. Tanuki said, “Why would you ask such a thing? You probably want to be sure we have the sacred jewel and the sacred sword. Your brother must have the true mirror.”
After all this time, she began to worry about her brother Makoto. If the mirror she had is real, then he gave her all the sacred treasures and he would be left to die. Sitting behind him on the galloping horse, she took out the mirror so that Tanuki could not see.
As she looked in the mirror, her own reflection vanished and she saw what her brother had done.
First, she saw an image of her brother’s chambers. A badger crawled through the window and opened the chest of the three sacred treasures. The badger took out the sword, but dropped it. The clang woke the prince, but the badger escaped taking the jewel with him.
Then the image blurred and showed another part of the palace the next morning.
“Katsuo,” the prince Makoto said. “You must protect the princess. I have seen in the sacred mirror that Tanuki is not who he seems and will only use Princess Aimi to become king. Take the sacred sword and put it on the prison door; as it separates right from wrong, Aimi will be kept away fromTanuki.”
He hesitated a bit and added, “And give her the mirror as well.”
“But my lord,” said Katsuo. “Without these sacred treasures, what will keep you alive?”
“I still have the jewel,” the prince lied. “She must keep the mirror so that she finally realizes the truth.”
Katsuo took the jewels and left the room. As soon as he was alone, Prince Makoto fell to his knees and began to fade away.
By the time Princess Aimi had finished looking at the vision, Tanuki had taken them to the palace doors. Tanuki took her up to the throne room where all the nobles were gathered and wondering who will replace Prince Makoto.
“Oh Makoto,” the princess cried.
“He conspired against us, Aimi. He deserved what happened.”
“But I saw in the mirror...” the princess tried to explain.
“Let me see it,” said the very scared Tanuki. He took the mirror from her hands. Thinking that he now had all three of the sacred treasures, he said, “It’s very simple princess. I have the three sacred treasures that will keep you alive and you love me. Just marry me and we can both rule together.”
Suddenly, Katsuo rushed into the throne room and was about to call out to the princess. However, he found them holding hands and about to make their vows. He knew that she had made the wish of the Onibi jewel and that Tanuki finally loved her. With a tear in his eye, he began to walk out of the palace.
The princess turned to Katsuo and then looked back to Tanuki. She pulled out the Onibi jewel and said, “I’ve made my choice.”
To Tanuki’s surprise, Princess Aimi left Tanuki’s side and ran toKatsuo. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before she’d fade away without the sacred treasures, she tried desperately to reach his arms before she’d die.
“I love you, Katsuo. I love only you,” Aimi said with tears in her eyes and her arms around Katsuo’s neck.
The mirror and sword flew out of Tanuki’s hands and into the princess’ and Katsuo’s. The true sacred treasures were reunited. She turned the mirror on Tanuki and revealed his true form, an evil badger.
“A shapeshifter!” the people cried.
Unarmed and exposed, he ran from his reflection and fell out of the palace window.
“But he had the jewel...” someone questioned.
“She had the true jewel all along,” another answered.
Within her hands, the Onibi jewel beamed with light and said, “Yes, it is true. I am the Onibi who guards this jewel. The king and queen had left a fake jewel with the sword and mirror so that the Prince and Princess would not be tempted to separate the sacred treasures and try to live without each other.”
Holding the princess in his arms, Katsuo asked, “But my wish was that the man she loves would truly love her.”
“And I do not have to make that wish, Katsuo,” said the Onibi. “The man she loves is you.”
After some time, Katsuo and Aimi were married and ruled together in peace.