The bitter pinches and bites of winter weren’t strong enough to suppress Shichi’s newly adopted garden. Tending to the herbs and vegetables distracted him from the dragging grasp of failure, and so he was found outside more often than not.…

Shichi had never slept so long before. After sliding into the soft futon, the tengu lay unmoving for an entire day. In his attempts to outrun Zaisei, he had lost count of the nights he had forgone sleep—ignoring his stomach,…