by M. H. Bonham
The dragon flew overhead, its scales scintillating like water droplets in the air. At first Kasumi halted and looked up, thinking it was the dragon who flew them to Shinobi-jima. Yet as she looked at the dragon, it became apparent that this creature was bigger and older than the dragon she had ridden. The wind picked up, and the dragon roared, its voice thunder that rolled over the island. As it shook its scales, rain fell in torrents around them.
“Quick!” Kasumi shouted. “Call the winds!”
Akira’s face betrayed his uncertainty. His brow furrowed and he gritted his teeth. She could hear him mentally call to the winds, but the weather became more violent. “I can’t,” he shouted over the downpour. “They won’t listen to me with the dragon.”
Suddenly the dragon turned and, with a deafening roar, sped right for them.
#
Akira drew Windspirit. Even as he did so, he knew he was no match for this dragon in human form. The dragon would kill them both. He looked at Kasumi, who stood beside him, her katana drawn. Certainly she didn’t deserve to die for his mistakes.
“Get out of here!” Akira said to Kasumi. “The dragon doesn’t want you; it wants me. If you run, you can find passage off this island.”
Kasumi shook her head. “I’m staying beside you. You can’t possibly take on the dragon alone in mortal form.”
Remember your training, Windspirit said. Every time a samurai draws his blade, he welcomes death as a friend.
Akira was about to argue with both of them but was grateful for the help. The dragon charged them, breathing fire. They both dodged the flames and ran into the forest, using the trees to shield themselves. The dragon roared and crashed into the woods behind them, snapping whole tree trunks like thin branches and dried twigs. Akira ran; sweat streaming down his face and body, his hand gripping the no-dachi’s hilt. He had to find a way to put the dragon at a disadvantage. But how?
Good, you’re using your mind. Keep the dragon on the ground and reduce its ability to maneuver.
The trees, thought Akira, but he couldn’t see the forest slowing down the dragon. Still, if he could find rocks or trees big enough impede the dragon, he might have a chance. The forest ground grew marshy, and with each step he took, his feet sank into the wet grass. Grass soon gave way to sand, and he and Kasumi stumbled out onto the beach.
#
Kasumi stared in horror as she saw the dragon coming for them. She doubted that it would let her live, and even if it did, she would fail in her duty to bring Akira home. She looked in longing at the ocean. So close and yet so far from escaping.
Akira turned around and brandished the no-dachi. The dragon paused, much to Kasumi’s surprise, on sight of the blade.
You are mine, Stormhammer. Do not defy your destiny with the Shinobi.
Akira frowned. “I can’t! I am samurai, not ronin. My family would be shamed should I choose this fate.”
The dragon laughed. Your family thinks you are dead. You could bring greatness to both your clan and the Shinobi by joining us. Your lands will become ours and you will be a greater warlord than you could ever be as a samurai.
Don’t listen to him, Akira, Kasumi said in mindspeak. Their promises serve only them.
Akira glanced at her. “Will you allow Kasumi to leave?”
No, the girl will bring fresh blood to our island. She will marry one of my children.
Kasumi stared. “You want us for breeding stock?”
Akira raised his sword. “Unacceptable.” I’ll become Tengu before I let that happen, he told Kasumi in mindspeak.
Kasumi gaped at him. You can’t do that; they’ll kill you or take you away forever.
Akira’s gaze never left the dragon. I’m already dead, Kasumi. I’ll do what I have to. Run and find a way out while I keep the dragon busy.
There is another way.
Kasumi blinked. The voice that spoke was neither the dragon nor Akira. The dragon growled, rumbling like thunder, but did not speak to her. What? her mental voice whispered. Who are you?
The one who can help you save your people from Nanashi. The one who can save your lives…
Kasumi looked around. There, beneath the waves, she saw the darkness edge nearer. “No,” she whispered. “No.”
The stench of demon grew, making her weak and causing her stomach to churn. The demon coalesced beneath the waves from a formless creature to a dark female with fangs and long claws instead of hands and feet. Kasumi Neko, you haven’t much time. The Shinobi will be here soon.
No.
The dragon roared, breaking the staring match between itself and Akira. It lunged at Akira, raking its claws and belching fire. Akira ducked away from the claws and rolled, sliding beneath the dragon’s belly before the flames hit. He sliced upward with the no-dachi, cutting into the dragon’s belly. Dark blood, stinking of sulfur, splattered him and he screamed. The dragon clouted him with its tail, and Akira stumbled back, dropping the no-dachi. The dragon leaped on top of him as a cat would pounce on a mouse.
At that moment, the ninja appeared around Kasumi.
#
Akira gasped for air and rolled as the dragon’s claws raked him. He could change into a Tengu, he thought. He could save them both.
But at what cost? Windspirit said. The blade lay beneath him. Pick me up. Use me. We can fight our way out of this!
Akira drew his wakizashi, his short blade, and made thrusts upward into the dragon’s belly. The dragon screamed and swatted at him, knocking him off balance and onto the no-dachi. He rolled and brought the no-dachi lengthwise as a guard over his body. The dragon’s claws tore as they scratched the no-dachi’s blade.
#
Kasumi changed into a tiger and attacked, fighting her way through the Shinobi to reach Akira. He had somehow slipped from the dragon’s grasp and drew his wakizashi, using it as a stabbing weapon in close quarters. The ninja used her moment of distraction to throw shuriken at her. Her coat was like armor, but her skin was still fairly thin, and she whimpered as the occasional throwing star met its mark. She wheeled around, clawing ninja and leaping on them, biting with her huge fangs and disemboweling with her claws.
But the ninja had ninjato, and soon she felt the sting of the blades entering her side. She screamed in rage, tasting blood. She wheeled on the ninja and, with a single swipe of her massive paws, ripped the man open from throat to belly.
You will not win without my help. I can bring you both back to Tsuitori.
No.
I can heal you. Without Akira, you will not win against Nanashi.
No. Kasumi screamed with tiger rage. She wanted to lash out at this wicked thing, but it was too deep in the water, and the oni would have her if she entered the waves.
Your people will die. Demons will run rampant over the world. All because you would not accept my help.
You are a demon. Why would you help me?
Because I don’t care about the other demons. I care about myself. I will help you. In exchange, I would want payment from you in a year’s time.
Payment?
I need a body. I want yours.
No! she shrieked and lashed out at the ninja. Akira screamed as well, and she saw he was in the dragon’s talons again. The dragon opened its maw, exposing katana-sharp teeth.
A ninja with a kusarigama wrapped the chains around her legs and slammed the sickle into her flesh. She cried out in pain and collapsed as bright red blood from her lungs filled her mouth with a copper taste.
One year? she mindspoke to the demon.
One year. My payment is due in one year.
Her mind began to darken. All right, Kasumi said. Save us. I’ll pay your price in a year.
With that, she blacked out.
Chapter Eighty-Five
Kasumi awoke, still in tiger form. She was lying in a dark thicket under the starry sky. Beside her lay Akira. The young samurai pressed close against her warm body, heedless of impropriety or danger. She sniffed him and found that he was uninjured, as w
as she, and his rhythmic breathing told her that he slept. His great no-dachi lay beside him, and on a cursory look, she found her clothing and weapons nearby as well.
She took a slow breath and tried to place where they were. By the overwhelming Tengu scent, she suspected they were back on Tsuitori-jima as the demon had promised. She lashed her tail, and to her horror, she saw not one, but two tail tips. Her tail was forked.
The stench of oni pervaded her senses. It is a reminder of your promise, the oni said. Within a year’s time, you will become a Bakeneko.
Horror filled Kasumi but she could not think of anything to say. In a year’s time, she would allow the demon to possess her.
As swiftly as the demon appeared, it disappeared and with it the terrible stench. Without even thinking, Kasumi shapeshifted back into a woman and found herself naked in Akira’s arms. Akira’s eyes opened and Kasumi pulled herself from his grasp. He gasped as she rolled away and stood up, pulling her clothes from her pack and putting them on.
“What happened?” Akira said, his voice hoarse from sleep. “The last thing I remember is the dragon tearing me apart, and now I’m here.” He paused. “With you.” His gaze lingered on her naked form as she slid the tunic on.
“We’re on Tsuitori-jima. I—I made a deal and got us here.”
He cocked his head, birdlike. “A deal?”
“It’s none of your concern,” she said brusquely. “The main thing is that we’re on your island and you can find your father.” She found herself quivering as he stood up.
Akira walked over to her and put his arms around her. Despite herself, she could feel her body react to him. Maybe it was the shock of the demon’s bargain. Maybe she just wanted to be held. He touched her chin gently, and she looked into his eyes. They weren’t dark, the way most men’s eyes were. They were light brown, almost golden. She hadn’t really noticed them until now. His hair, despite being unruly and long, framed his face like a warrior from an ancient time. He leaned forward and kissed her tentatively.
The shock of his lips against hers ran through her, and she eagerly met his kiss with her tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her as his hands removed her clothing and she tore his off with a tiger’s ferocity. The touch of his skin made her want to press him even closer against herself. Teasingly, he explored her breasts with his tongue, sliding down to her navel and below. Then he entered her and she screamed in ecstasy as their lovemaking fell into a rhythm.
She snarled and bit into his chest, drawing blood. He grasped her hands as they partially morphed into claws and held her down as she licked the blood. He tightened against her and screamed as he came with each thrust. Sweaty and shaking, he collapsed against her, and she began licking the salt from his skin.
#
Akira closed his eyes, spent from the exertion. When he opened them again, he saw Kasumi looking up at him with emotion he had never seen with the Tengu women—affection, maybe even love. He kissed her and held her close to himself, letting her warm tongue explore his body. He was surprised that he had felt resistance when he first entered her and realized she was a virgin. He thought it odd that a woman of her age would not have lain with a man before now. Certainly she was more cosmopolitan than he.
He looked into her eyes and was surprised to see that they were not dark as he previously remembered, but a light brown with a hint of green within. She was a bit of an enigma to him—both haughty and vulnerable, confident yet unsure. He kissed her again. “Thank you for saving us.”
She stiffened underneath him, and her eyes grew hard. “I did what I had to do.”
“What happened?” he whispered.
Tears formed in her eyes, and she shook her head. “Get off of me.”
Normally Akira would’ve complied, but he felt something was dreadfully wrong. He could feel her tense beneath him, and her skin shivered and rippled. “No,” he whispered, sliding his tongue into her ear and nibbling against her neck. “Tell me what happened.”
She will not tell you because she has made a bargain with oni, Windspirit said.
“No, no,” she whispered.
“The oni came while we were fighting?” Akira asked, worried.
“Don’t ask,” she said.
“Kasumi-chan,” he said softly. “I must know.”
“The dragon was killing you. The ninja had cut me. I was dying…” She buried her head in his chest and cried.
She agreed to become possessed by the oni in a year’s time, Windspirit said, if the oni would save you both and bring you to Tsuitori-jima.
“You sacrificed yourself to save me?” Akira said incredulously.
Kasumi cried harder.
To save the Neko. If you died, she felt there was no hope for her people or for the world.
“Why?”
Kasumi wiped her face with her hand. “If Nanashi succeeds in destroying my people, the Kimon, the demon gate, will be unguarded, and the demon armies will enter and destroy our world.”
Akira swallowed hard. “So you forfeited your life in one year to save me? To save all?”
She lowered her eyes. “Yes.” Her voice was barely audible.
He stared at her, not sure what he should be feeling. He felt guilty now for not changing into a Tengu. He had thought about it while the dragon had attacked, but he knew he would’ve suffered death or a worse fate with the Tengu. He hadn’t quite given up, but he had been so preoccupied fighting the dragon that when he was too weak, he didn’t have enough strength to change into a Tengu. Instead, he had let Kasumi sacrifice herself to save him and her people. Guilt gnawed at his throat.
If you had turned into a Tengu, you would’ve doomed her people, Windspirit said. It was the only thing that could be done.
Kasumi had sacrificed herself to save his life. By her sacrifice, he owed her much. She was willing to give up her life to rescue him in the hopes of saving her people. Her cause became his cause. He would dishonor her if he left her and her people to their fate.
He kissed her, aware of the hot tears burning his eyes. “Kasumi-chan,” he whispered. “I won’t let the demon take you. I’ll kill it with my no-dachi; you’ll see.”
Kasumi snorted and sniffled a bit. She smiled at him. “You think you can?”
“Windspirit isn’t an ordinary blade. You’ve seen what it does to Akuma. Do you think a little oni is a bother?” Despite the bravado in his voice, he wondered if the no-dachi could take out the demon.
Without question, Windspirit said mildly. The problem is she gave her word.
We’ll see about that, Akira said. He kissed her again tenderly, and they made love once more.
Chapter Eighty-Six
Dawn broke cold and cloudy. Akira and Kasumi had slept, their naked bodies entwined under her silk blanket. Akira was awake, thinking. He heard the Tengu calls in the forest, and even the South Wind welcomed him home. He was home, here on Tsuitori-jima. But would it ever be the same?
Kasumi yawned and snuggled closer to him. He ran his hand over her soft hair and paused as he saw a streak of orange along the roots. Her hair was no longer completely black, but tawny, like a tiger’s. He smiled; she, too, was kami but half human. Her presence comforted him in an odd way. They had found each other through fate. Perhaps she could show him how to fit back into the world of men.
That is something you must do for yourself, said Windspirit. The sword had been oddly quiescent during their lovemaking. Akira wondered what his old master thought about it. A simple diversion, nothing more, the sword replied to his thoughts. You had best return home and find Takeshi. He’ll be worried sick about you.
Akira sighed and nuzzled against Kasumi’s body. Since his time with the Tengu, he hadn’t felt human until now—now that he was with Kasumi. The scent of her body, the feel of her skin, and the lovemaking had made him feel more human than all the sex with the Tengu women. He knew now what he had to do. Her mission became his when she forfeited her life. It was his duty to save
both her and her people from the demons.
Was this what it was to be samurai? To take on a duty, even as hopeless as this?
Samurai means “to serve,” Windspirit reminded him. The samurai do not just serve our lords, but we should fight for what is good.
A red hawk soared overhead, reminding Akira that they were in the Tengu forest. He stroked Kasumi’s hair until she looked up at him. “Kasumi-chan, we need to go.”
She smiled and snuggled deeper into the covers. “I could lay here with you forever.”
Akira grinned and took her in his arms again, making love to her one more time.
#
Sometime later, they had found a stream and washed and dressed. Akira knew the forest well enough from his time spent with the Tengu to lead her to his family’s estate. As they walked to the road that led to Yutsui, he could see that the workers were out in the fields, harvesting. He stopped and stared at the peasants, trying to come to terms with the amount of time he had been away.
Kasumi must have sensed his discomfort and took his hand in hers. Her skin was remarkably warm and soft, and he turned to face her, wishing he had never met the Karasu-Tengu, wishing he had paid more attention to Rokuro’s training, and wishing he had stayed home instead of going out. He expected to hear Windspirit make a snide comment, but the sword stayed quiet. Perhaps his old teacher knew he wasn’t in the mood to be told how foolish he had been.
We all make mistakes, Akira-san, Windspirit said in reply. You’ve done well.
#
Despite being dreadfully hungry and having little food, they walked until they entered Yutsui. The town was pretty much as Akira remembered it, only it seemed smaller and quainter next to the Shinobi villages. The smell of cooking rice cakes and fish filled the air, and his mouth watered at the heavenly scent.
As they walked into the town, the people stared at both of them. They must have looked ronin, given their disheveled appearance. His long, unruly hair without the customary topknot and his clothing, faded and worn from their travels, gave him a remarkably different appearance. The oni hadn’t seen fit to give them clean clothing, and his was torn and stained with blood. Kasumi’s clothing was in better repair but dirty from ninja trampling it on the ground. Her hair hung loose and wild about her shoulders. Their swords marked them as samurai, as did their fearsome appearance. They walked toward the main gate of his family’s compound.