Soon enough your maidenhood will be taken. You cannot hold on to it forever. Perhaps it is time to be practical? To face life as it is?’ The seventh okami-san (Korin-san) The Nest of the Swallows July 1945 KONOE AKIRA’S DAILY HABITS changed little in the following three years. He had, however, become so dependent on Anna that during the dark hours he seemed unable to be without her until he fell asleep. She was now fluent in Japanese and spoke it in the refined manner of the educated élite; this meant he was able to converse with her readily, adding to the intellectual stimulus and education she had received from 2nd Lieutenant Ando. It was not in the nature of a Japanese man of his background to outwardly show affection to a young female, but Konoe Akira was undoubtedly preoccupied by her presence in his life. If it could be said that the Japanese colonel was dependent on her, then equally it could be said that Anna had bonded with him.
