The new calendar called it September, but to Azuki, the girl who became a toki, it was the time of the Descent of White Dew, one of the 24 seasonal subdivisions of Japan. Even on the south-western Japanese island of Kyushu, the temperature had dropped, going from the suffocating heat and humidity of summer to just a little cooler, just a little drier, giving just a hint of the pleasant fall days to come.
In her mountain home, Azuki sniffed the clear, cool air and rejoiced. While a typhoon or two might still rumble through, depending on the whims of the Dragon King, the hot and steamy days of summer were definitely on their way out.
Wind grabbed and tugged at the edges of the scarf she wore to cover the feathers she grew on her head instead of hair. She set her broom against a pillar that
