by Dani Hoots
“Yeah, some of the attendants here wrapped it with some plants, and the wound’s almost done healing. I didn’t even think that was possible.”
“Plants of the yokai world are a lot more potent.” I chomped on another onigiri. “Have you eaten?”
Yamato stared at the ground, already beet red before stepping outside where the bath was. I took off my towel and pinned up my hair. I used a bucket to rinse myself off and stepped into the water.
“The water’s nice and warm, Yamato, come join me!”
He reluctantly washed off and stepped into the water, his hands blocking any wandering eyes. I giggled as he moved toward me.
“This is really awkward.”
I gestured around. “At least there aren’t that many yokai. Usually there are many, many beings filling the bath.” Actually, I noticed there weren’t that many yokai in general as we walked through the building. It seemed like only a third of the rooms were occupied.
“Is it due to less human interaction with yokai?”
“I suppose... Maybe they all have moved into the netherworld. They say once you move there, you can never go back to the human world. These onsen are the only link, and then you have to choose.”
“Why don’t yokai just stay in the netherworld then? If humans aren’t there, wouldn’t they be happier?”
I shrugged. “It’s not quite the same. It’s kind of like the afterlife and isn’t as full of life, so to speak. The human world is where all the energy and interesting stuff happens.”
“I guess that makes sense. Kind of like being in the city versus the country. What about you? Do you want to stay in the human world then?”
“Of course. That is where Aki-chan is.”
“What if he went to the netherworld? Would you follow him?”
I leaned back more and pursed my lips. I hadn’t really thought about it, but I wondered what life would be like living in the netherworld. The place seemed so bland, but it was something I would do for him, if given the opportunity. “I suppose. But I doubt he ever would. I mean, he was created to be a link between the kami and humans. If something were to happen to him, I think it would be into a different world, not the yokai netherworld.”
“Your world is complicated.”
“That it is.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes, taking in the warm water. Although we had a hot spring at the Inari shrine for all the kitsune, it wasn’t the same as this place. The water felt warmer, purer, and more relaxing. Perhaps it had to do with the fact I had just defeated a couple of yokai.
Either way, this place was worth it.
I sat against the rock, my eyes closed, breathing in the nice clear air. I was happy the human miasma hadn’t affected the air here yet. It seemed to me it was only a matter of time, but I could have been mistaken. We were on the border of the netherworld after all; it wasn’t like humans could visit here.
Hopefully it would stay that way.
Peering over at Yamato, I found him resting his eyes. It was good to see he was finally relaxed after everything we had gone through. For me, it wasn’t anything new, but for him all of this was probably terrifying. This will help him rest well tonight before we ventured farther up the mountain. We had a long road ahead of us, especially since I didn’t quite remember where Akikumo’s house was. Everything kept changing through the years, and I swore the house changed spots every time we came back here. Knowing Akikumo, perhaps it did.
I heard footsteps come up to the bath.
“May we join you?” a voice asked.
Looking up, I found a group of kappas. This seemed familiar. “You may.”
“Thank you. You are most kind.”
The group stepped in and I sensed Yamato’s worry. I leaned over and whispered in his ear.
“Don’t worry, they won’t steal your shirikodama.”
His face turned even redder than it was from the hot water. I laughed and leaned back again. The bath was rather large, and the kappa stayed on the other side, whispering to each other. I almost drifted off, and I tried to do my best in keeping conscious as I didn’t want to fall asleep in the water. I couldn’t do that to Yamato.
“Miss, may we ask you a question?” a kappa squeaked.
I opened one of my eyes and looked over. Afraid it had to do with Yamato, I swam to be between him and the kappa. “What is it?”
“Were you not the kitsune that used to travel with Akikumo-sama?”
Were these the same kappa that had requested Akikumo to help them all those years ago? “I am. Do you know where he is?”
The kappa seemed hesitant. “It has been years, but we were the ones who spotted him and reported to Inari-sama. However, we haven’t seen him come down from the mountain in quite some time and fear the worst.”
I shook my head. “No, if he died I would have known. Please, tell me where you saw him last.”
“We met him here a while back again, and he said he was heading home up the mountains, nestled in between Mount Tate and Mount Tsurugi. You will have a lengthy journey before you, going up those mountains, not to mention the evil yokai in the area seem to be getting more restless.”
This we already knew. “Thank you. That gives us at least a direction of where to go.”
“If you find him, please send him our regards. We are thankful for all the help he has given the kappas in his life. We will never forget his generosity.”
No, it seemed like no one ever forgot all the things he did for them, even the humans. Yet they all thought he was dead. It made no sense. If they thought something happened, why did no one look for him? Or help? Why was I the only one who searched for the person who has kept this world going?
He had to be alive. I could feel it in my chest. His energy still existed. I wouldn’t let anyone tell me otherwise.
YAMATO and I retired back to our room, and I lay on my side, sipping my sake and looking out into the mountainside. Now I knew where his home was, and we could head straight there in the morning. The mountains were still beautiful even if humans were slowly expanding their city. I took a deep breath, relishing in the clean air.
“Is it wise to drink sake?”
I glanced over where Yamato was sitting, his arms wrapped around his legs, keeping his beige after-bath kimono tight, as if afraid it would come loose and I would see him naked again. “I won’t get drunk. I built up a tolerance eventually. Besides, I will only have a couple of cups.”
“Ah.”
“You should try some.”
“I’m underage.”
“I suppose for human society you are. But remember, you are in a yokai onsen. Those rules don’t apply here.”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”
“You are telling me a delinquent like you hasn’t been drinking?”
“I just mostly get into fights, and I have found that people who drink don’t fight as well.”
He had a point. I had seen many men stumble while trying to throw a punch, only to fall. “That’s fair. However, this is yokai sake. It’s not the same as human sake. This might be your only chance to have some.”
Yamato hesitated as I handed him a cup. He slowly took a sip and his eyes brightened. “Sugoi, this is amazing!”
I chuckled. “I told you so. But only that cup. Who knows if you can hold your liquor?”
“That’s fair.”
I finished my glass and held up the blue magatama. I was very close to finding him now. I would have my answers at last.
“What is that?” Yamato asked.
I let out a sigh. “A gift from Aki-chan. It’s the only thing I have of his. He gave it to me, saying it was the same color as my fire.”
“That sounds precious.”
“It is. If anything happened to it, I don’t know what I would do.”
Yamato didn’t answer, and as I peered over at him, I found him asleep. I got up and moved my sake so I could roll out the futons. I placed him in his and blew out the candles. We needed to r
est if we were going to hike to the next mountain tomorrow.
YAMATO and I retired back to our room, and I lay on my side, sipping my sake and looking out into the mountainside. Now I knew where his home was, and we could head straight there in the morning. The mountains were still beautiful even if humans were slowly expanding their city. I took a deep breath, relishing in the clean air.
“Is it wise to drink sake?”
I glanced over where Yamato was sitting, his arms wrapped around his legs, keeping his beige after-bath kimono tight, as if afraid it would come loose and I would see him naked again. “I won’t get drunk. I built up a tolerance eventually. Besides, I will only have a couple of cups.”
“Ah.”
“You should try some.”
“I’m underage.”
“I suppose for human society you are. But remember, you are in a yokai onsen. Those rules don’t apply here.”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”
“You are telling me a delinquent like you hasn’t been drinking?”
“I just mostly get into fights, and I have found that people who drink don’t fight as well.”
He had a point. I had seen many men stumble while trying to throw a punch, only to fall. “That’s fair. However, this is yokai sake. It’s not the same as human sake. This might be your only chance to have some.”
Yamato hesitated as I handed him a cup. He slowly took a sip and his eyes brightened. “Sugoi, this is amazing!”
I chuckled. “I told you so. But only that cup. Who knows if you can hold your liquor?”
“That’s fair.”
I finished my glass and held up the blue magatama. I was very close to finding him now. I would have my answers at last.
“What is that?” Yamato asked.
I let out a sigh. “A gift from Aki-chan. It’s the only thing I have of his. He gave it to me, saying it was the same color as my fire.”
“That sounds precious.”
“It is. If anything happened to it, I don’t know what I would do.”
Yamato didn’t answer, and as I peered over at him, I found him asleep. I got up and moved my sake so I could roll out the futons. I placed him in his and blew out the candles. We needed to rest if we were going to hike to the next mountain tomorrow.
Chapter Eighteen
Winter 1596 (Azuchi-Momoyama Period)—Okayama Providence
I REALLY HATED SNOW. Even with my fur the cold was miserable. I wrapped my three tails around myself, trying to block the white coldness from touching my kimono and haori. It felt like my nose hairs were frozen. I missed the nice, warm summer months and couldn’t wait for them to come back.
I watched as Akikumo walked in front of me with ease, as if the coldness meant nothing to him. We had gone up to the pond the kappas needed help with. After Akikumo cleared the area for them, they begged him to stay the summer... which led into fall... and now we were into winter, heading down the mountains to get where it was a bit warmer, after much pleading on my end.
Normally, before I came around, Yamiyo revealed Akikumo stayed in the snowcapped mountains during the winter. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have traveled down the mountain to the coast, or anywhere warmer really. I felt bad about having changed Akikumo’s routine, but I also didn’t want to stay.
We parted ways with Yamiyo a few months back once we’d reached the pond. I missed him already, but Akikumo assured me that once he was done with his work, he would rejoin us. I couldn’t wait until I had my ojisan back. I cared about Akikumo a lot, but I enjoyed having Yamiyo around. Akikumo opened up more with his brother, and I enjoyed seeing that side of him.
We trekked down the mountainside, and I wrapped my arms around myself even tighter. Akikumo didn’t look over at me, knowing what I would say.
“This is why I was begging you to leave earlier, Aki-chan. Now we are stuck in the snow. I don’t want to camp out another night in my fox form.”
Akikumo sighed. “Then we will find the closest human settlement and stay in a hotel.”
“But I don’t want to stay with the humans.”
“Then we should have stayed with the kappa.”
“But it was cold up there.”
Akikumo turned and gave me a look. “Well you will have to decide here real soon as we are halfway down the mountain.”
I pouted. “Well... we should have left earlier and none of this would have been a problem.”
“Yes, you’ve said that. But we couldn’t be disrespectful to the kappas’ hospitality.”
“They were the ones who were disrespectful to you by not letting you leave and demanding you stop your plans and travel across Japan to help them with something they should have fixed themselves.”
Wrapping his arms around me, Akikumo stroked my back. “Oh, Ketsue-chan. You have much to learn about humility and generosity.”
“But they aren’t being generous to you! They are just using you.”
“That doesn’t matter. If I was only generous to people who were generous back, then it wouldn’t mean a thing.”
“But shouldn’t there be an equal exchange between two people? It doesn’t seem fair.”
“Nothing in this world is fair, but we must always strive to be good. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a point, now would there?”
I frowned. “I guess not.”
He stepped back and smiled. “Now, where do you want to go?”
I played with the snow using my geta. “Down the mountain toward the human settlement. But I think you should be generous to me and get me some apples preserved in honey.”
“At this time of year? That will cost a lot.”
“Well, you should have left the mountain earlier.”
He laughed as he ruffled the top of my head. “Never change Ketsue-chan. Now, we better keep going so we can get there before dark. I don’t want to hear you complain how cold it is once the sun sets.”
“Then you better get walking.”
The snow came down more violently, and we found ourselves in the middle of a blizzard. We couldn’t stop as then we wouldn’t reach the town before the sun set, but it was difficult to see much ahead of us. Everything was painted white, and the wind howled through the forest, almost as powerful as a demon.
Akikumo didn’t slow down from this snow but seemed to relish in it. Maybe Yamiyo was right—Akikumo really loved the snowy winter. I felt bad for making him always leave the mountain. There were times we had stayed for a bit, but it was never for the entire summer. I couldn’t ever understand why he enjoyed it so much as my fur was beginning to freeze.
Glancing up at Akikumo, I found that his white fur blended in with the snow. Perhaps that was why he liked it so much—this was where he was supposed to be. I never wanted to leave Akikumo’s side, but I also didn’t enjoy forcing him to travel when he didn’t want to. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for being selfish, but I was afraid if I opened my mouth, it would freeze. I would just have to tell him later.
We came upon a small clearing where the trees didn’t shield us from most of the snowstorm, and I felt as if I were getting whipped by the wind. How could snow be so soft yet so powerful?
Akikumo stopped right in front of me and I slammed into him. I glanced up to see what was wrong, when I noticed his ears twitched and he placed his hand on his katana. I tried to listen, but all I could hear was the wind howling. I took a deep breath and let my mind calm some more, when I picked it up—the faint cry of a woman.
Akikumo started forward in the direction that the voice was coming from, and I followed suit. As we walked a few steps forward, her figure appeared in the snowstorm. She wore a white kimono, almost like a wedding kimono. Her hair was long and dark black, sprawling all around her as she sat in the middle of the snow.
As we came closer, she moved her kimono sleeves away from her face. Her eyes were red, as she had been crying, but her skin was a pasty white. It almost appeared as if she had thick makeup on, but her skin didn’t seem to be
covered in any substance.
Akikumo knelt beside her, his hand still on his katana. “What is wrong?”
“My husband. He is gone.” She started crying again, burrowing her face into her sleeves.
I glanced around to find any evidence of the husband and saw a mound in the snow. I dug a little to find a man. His face was turning a shade of blue, but his chest was still moving.
“Aki-chan! I found him!”
Picking the man up by the arms, I dragged him to where the woman was. “He is still alive. Your husband is not gone.”
She kept on crying, as if not listening to what I had said.
Akikumo took a deep breath. “This is not your husband, is it?”
She shook her head. “No, it is not.”
“Then why were you crying next to his body?”
I didn’t like where this was going, not to mention this man needed to get somewhere warm if he was going to survive. But did I care? My own concern surprised me, but I didn’t pay it much mind. I would just see what Akikumo wanted to do.
She peered up at Akikumo. “You don’t understand. These men always come and they always try to take me away somewhere else. They don’t know what it is like to have lost someone they loved. All they want to do is keep me for themselves. Since they don’t understand true agony, they have paid the price for their sins for not listening.”
It hit me. She was a ghost yokai, forever wandering this forest because of her husband’s death. I wondered how she died and if she had frozen out here in the mountains. It would make sense, given the blizzard.
Akikumo reached his hand out and grabbed hers. “I will listen to you tell of your husband. Who was he? What happened?”
The ghost yokai’s eyes widened, as if surprised by the gesture. “He was an excellent man. He provided for me and protected me. We used to live out in these woods when a big snowstorm hit. He was outside getting firewood when a tree fell on him.”