by T. Isilwath
She was shaking, and he forgot his own fear and anger in the face of her distress. His vixen was hurting, breaking apart, and he could smell her pain.
‘All this time… all this time she’s been carrying this burden and didn’t share it with me. She must have felt so alone and helpless. How terrible it must have been for her, and now, with her medicine running out… She must be so frightened.’
“Joanna-sama…” he breathed, reaching for her, and she grabbed his arms, her eyes welling up with tears.
“I can’t be responsible for the death of everything I know! I would rather die myself! I would rather never go home, and never see Michael again, if it meant that the people I love would be safe. My life is worth that. Can you understand? Please tell me you understand,” she begged as she began to cry.
He’d never seen her like this, never seen her so lost and suffering. He couldn’t stand it. It wasn’t right! Nothing should ever hurt her or bring sadness to her perfect face. He threw his arms around her, breaking the grip she had on them, and clutched her to his chest.
“I understand. I do. I do understand,” he whispered as she clung to him, sobbing. Her tears broke his heart, and he struggled to hold back his own as his mind raced for what he could do, how he could help her. ‘You don’t have to be alone anymore. You don’t have to carry this all by yourself. I’ll help you. I’ll do anything to help you.’
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I don’t mean to yell. I’m just… I don’t want to die! But I’m just so scared. Akihiro, I’m so scared!”
He held her tighter, holding her together with the force of his own will as she trembled against him and wept.
“Don’t be scared. I’m here. I’ll protect you. I’ll find a way. There’s always a way,” he vowed, rocking her as he tangled his fingers in her hair and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. “I promise I’ll find a way.”
‘Joanna. I won’t let you die!’
He made her tell him everything. Anything there was to know about her disease, he forced her to reveal with endless questions and demands for answers. He interrogated her relentlessly all the way back to the grove, and she lost her temper with him twice, but he pressed on. If he had any hope of helping her, he needed to know everything there was to know about her illness.
And what an illness it was. A terrible affliction that starved the victim no matter how much food he consumed. Prior to the creation of the medicine called insulin, those who were affected lingered and wasted away until they lost consciousness and died. It was horrible, and even worse when it attacked young children as it had with Joanna. She had been diagnosed with this tounyoubyou (or die-ahh-beee-teees in her English) when she was only six years old. If insulin hadn’t been available then, she would have died.
When they reached the sacred grove of cedars, he helped her make sure that the camp was still intact and got her settled in. Then he told her that he needed to deliver the salt to the village, changed into the green kosode and nobakama field pants Kaemon had given him, and took his leave with a promise to return soon. He prayed all the way to the shrine that Kaemon would be the one to answer the bell when he rang. He knew that he needed help if he was going to find an alternative medicine, and Kaemon was the only one he felt he could trust.
Coming up to the engawa of Ichiro’s house, he pulled the short rope that swung the bell clapper and waited. His prayers were answered when he heard the steady footfalls and smelled the unique scent of the young priest, and he thanked whatever gods looked over desperate half-demons for his luck.
“Hanyou. You have returned,” Kaemon greeted kindly.
He lowered his eyes in submission and knelt at the man’s feet. “Yes, Kaemon-sama. I have brought four sacks of salt.”
The young human crouched down to examine the sacks, nodding with approval. “This is excellent, Hanyou. I do believe that your idea will work.”
“It is my fervent wish.”
“And ours as well. We pray every day for a solution to the problem of the oni-gumo nesting in the caves.”
He nodded, his heart pounding. He knew he had to take the risk, but what if Kaemon proved to be untrustworthy? He kept his head down, hoping that Kaemon would notice that something was amiss and question him about it.
“I will gladly spread the salt and sow it into the soil at the cave entrances,” he offered, wetting his suddenly dry lips and trying to still his sudden quaking.
“That would be most helpful,” Kaemon answered, then paused. “Hanyou, does something ail you?”
Gathering his courage, he swallowed the lump in his throat and answered before he could lose his nerve.
“Kaemon-sama, I beg a favor. I ask for so little, but my need is great,” he blurted in a great rush.
There was a moment of pensive silence, then the priest asked, “What is it that you need?”
He sighed with relief. Kaemon hadn’t refused right away so there was a chance that he might help. He ventured an uncertain glance and found the man looking intently at him. He dropped his eyes immediately.
“I… I require information about a sickness called tounyoubyou. I need to know if there is a medicine for this illness and how to make it.”
“There is someone you know who suffers from this illness,” Kaemon responded, but it was more a statement than a question.
He nodded. “Yes.”
He heard the priest sigh, and he blinked as the man sat down next to him on the porch. “For weeks I have suspected that your attentions have been divided. Your long absences and your often vacant looks gave credence to that. I am glad to see that my suspicions were correct. Has Hanyou found a mate?” He gulped, chills running down his spine as he struggled to answer. “A mate, Kaemon-sama? N… no. She is not mine to claim, but she is very dear to me, and I owe her a life debt.”
“The mountain witch,” the priest commented with a wry smile.
“She is no mountain witch, Kaemon-sama. I did not lie. She is as human as you and Suzuka-sama,” he quickly explained, sitting up.
“Save that she is very sick,” Kaemon pointed out.
He nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “I wish to save her. Please help me.”
“Am I correct in assuming that you do not want my father or sister involved in this?” the priest asked shrewdly.
He looked up at the young man, shocked at his astute observation. “If it is at all possible, yes. I… I do not think that they would understand.”
“They believe you are incapable of pure feelings,” Kaemon stated simply.
He hunkered down and rolled his shoulders forward in answer. He knew very well what the older priest and his daughter thought of him; he didn’t need to repeat it. It didn’t matter that Ichiro and Suzuka were wrong. They believed what they thought to be right, and there was no changing their minds if they had decided he was heartless. Kaemon, however, obviously thought better of him.
“But I remember a day many years ago when I was bitten by a snake, and a certain hanyou found me,” the man began, a fond note in his voice. “He cut the bite wound open with his claws and sucked out the poison with his own mouth.
Then he carried me home to my family as fast as he could run and called for help. Through it all, he spoke to me, telling me not to fall asleep, urging me to stay awake and alive. Then he crept into my sickroom at night so I would not be alone while I was so scared. He told me stories and played tricks to make me forget my pain. He did so at great risk to himself, because if he had been discovered, he would have been severely punished, but he returned, night after night, to comfort me. Those are not the actions of an animal incapable of feelings.”
His pulse raced as he heard the priest speak. He remembered that day very well. He’d heard the boy scream, smelled his blood and the stink of the venom, and had raced to help. He had been so thankful that the wound had been on the kit’s leg and not higher up on his body, but he’d still been afraid that Kaemon would die from the poison. The kit had been five years old and such
bites often killed a boy that young. Ichiro’s mate had recently died, and he was busy caring for young Suzuka, so there had been no one to sit by the kit’s side at night.
He had remembered how frightened he was when he was injured as a little kit, and how comforting it had been to have his mother by his side. He hadn’t wanted the boy to be that scared and have to be all alone, so he had snuck into the room and kept the boy company. For him it had been a simple thing, but it was obvious that Kaemon thought otherwise.
“Yes, Hanyou. I will help you. You must tell me everything you know about this illness. There are scrolls and books I can look in for possible treatments. How much time do I have?”
Kaemon’s answer had surpassed his wildest expectations, and his whole body began to vibrate with relief and joy.
“Until Harvest, Kaemon-sama. Thank you, Kaemon-sama. Thank you,” he replied, prostrating himself before the young priest and bowing repeatedly.
Just then, he smelled a new scent coming closer and recognized it as Suzuka’s. He sat up straight and turned his head just in time to see her come around the corner of the house. She looked a little excited and her steps were a little faster than normal, but he noticed that she slowed down and put a neutral expression on her face when she saw him sitting with Kaemon.
“Hanyou has returned,” Kaemon said.
“I heard the bell and suspected as much. Did you harvest enough salt?” Her voice was a little overeager, and he realized that she was anxious to put their plan in motion.
‘It’s not surprising. Oni-gumo have taken up residence in the caves five times in the last eight years.’
He bowed his head. “Yes, Suzuka-sama. I brought back four bags.”
“Excellent. We should put your plan into action immediately. The oni-gumo will be looking for winter nests very soon,” she said decisively.
“Of course, Suzuka-sama. I will begin spreading the salt tomorrow,” he agreed.
“That would be good.”
He grew quiet and he saw her look at him, and then at Kaemon as a suspicious glint came into her eyes. She frowned in much the same way she had been frowning at him recently: a frown that said she thought he was up to no good but couldn’t figure out exactly what.
“Is there anything else?” she questioned leadingly.
He gulped and swallowed, looking to Kaemon for assistance and uncertain if he would get it, but Kaemon met his sister’s silent stare without a blink.
“Hanyou was asking my advice regarding a… personal matter,” the young priest replied calmly, making a universal hand gesture for a male.
He blushed and saw Suzuka’s eyes go wide as she caught her brother’s meaning. The look on her face was comical because she hadn’t been expecting such an answer from Kaemon, and he had to steel himself not to laugh.
“I see,” she answered guardedly. “Well, I have duties to attend to. Ring the bell for me tomorrow when you are ready to salt the caves, and I will help you.”
He lowered his head again. “I will, Suzuka-sama. Thank you.” They both watched as the young woman made as hasty a retreat as her dignity would allow, then they looked at each other with amusement. Kaemon was the first to break the silence with a small chuckle, and he ventured a tentative smile in return.
“I have no words to express my gratitude or my debt to you, Kaemon-sama, for helping me,” he said with heartfelt thanks.
“You must tell me everything you know and I will do my best.”
“Tounyoubyou is a terrible disease. The body is unable to use food. Those who have it can eat, but they will still waste away until they eventually die. A sign of it is a sweet smell in the sweat, breath and urine-like overripe fruit-and the person suffers from unbearable thirst.”
To his amazement, Kaemon nodded. “Yes. I have heard of this sickness. It is rare, but not unknown.”
He blinked, surprised. “Really?”
“Do you remember when I went to the Temple at Zenko-ji?”
“Yes, Kaemon-sama. You were gone for many weeks.”
“While I was there, a child was brought to the Temple healers with the symptoms you describe. I remember there was an herb the healer prescribed infused in green tea. It seemed to help the child, at least for a time.”
‘An herb!’ He had to restrain himself from reaching out and demanding that Kaemon tell him everything immediately. “Do you know the name of this herb?” he asked, trying not to sound too desperate.
The young priest shook his head. “No, but I know where to look for it in my books. I should have its name and a description for you very soon. I know that it was a vine that grew in higher elevations, but not too high. There were other herbs in the tea he made. I will look in my scrolls and books that I brought back with me. I seem to remember bringing the notes with me when I returned in case a child here was ever afflicted. If I cannot find them, I will write to Zenko-ji and ask for the ingredients, but it may take a while for an answer to come.”
“I will take your letter there myself, Kaemon-sama, if I must,” he offered.
“I can deliver it in a day.” Zenko-ji was in the country of Shi Nano to the northwest, about 46 ri away. If he pushed he could be there and back within three days. ‘I’ll run all night and all day if I have to!’
Kaemon gave him a gentle smile, but shook his head. “That would not be wise, Hanyou. I do not know how well you would be received. I know the priests and priestesses at the Temple preached tolerance and peace, but I do not know how much those ideals would hold when put to the test.” He lowered his ears in disappointment. Kaemon was right. Even with an illusion, the holy ones at the shrine would know him for what he was, and he might have the same trouble that he’d had in Edo. But if he left the letter to normal couriers, it could take weeks, if not months, to get a reply.
“There must be some way. If a letter goes by courier, it might take too long,” he complained with a soft whine of distress.
“Short of taking it to Shi Nano and paying a message boy to carry it to the Temple, I cannot see a way around it.”
Kaemon’s off-hand comment spurred an immediate idea. ‘Joanna still has two mon pieces! One would be more than enough to get a message boy. It would be a veritable fortune for a poor child. I could take the letter to Shi Nano, find a poor boy and offer him the mon piece to take the letter up to the Temple.’
“There may be a way, Kaemon-sama,” he said excitedly. “If you cannot find the medicine in your books, please write your letter. I will take it to Shi Nano and find a boy to go to the Temple.”
“You have money for a message boy?”
“Not I, but I know where I can get a mon piece.”
“A mon piece? That is four times the amount I would give a message boy.”
“The information is very important. I would give my weight in silver for the ingredients to that medicine!” he admitted.
Kaemon raised his eyebrows. “Your weight in silver? This woman does mean a great deal to you.”
He lowered his gaze, concentrating on his hands. “She is not mine to claim, and I have nothing to offer her even if she was, but… but she is everything to me, Kaemon-sama. I must save her.”
“You will,” Kaemon said with quiet conviction. “I know you will. Kitsune mate for life, and whether she is yours to claim or not, she has your heart. You would move the earth and stars for her if she needed it.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
“I will look though my books and scrolls tonight. If I cannot find what we need, I will write the letter and you can take it to Shi Nano after you have salted the caves.”
He couldn’t hold back the tears of gratitude that welled up in his eyes and two spilled over to roll down his cheeks. “Thank you, Kaemon-sama,” he choked softly.
“You once saved my life, Hanyou. The least I can do is to help you save another.”
“And I will remain forever in your debt.”
“You do a great deal for this village. Most of it with little or no thanks, and more
often than not, you bear the blame for many things that you are not guilty of doing. I know full well that you were flogged for the chickens the weasel killed. It was not right. Anyone with eyes could see that a small animal had chewed its way into the pens. It is we who owe you, Hanyou, and, to be honest, I fear the day you come to collect your debt,” Kaemon told him seriously.
“I would never harm anyone in this village unless they were a danger to those I love,” he assured him.
“I know. I hope someday my father and sister will come to understand this.”
He nodded and sighed sadly. He didn’t know if Ichiro, Suzuka or any of the other villagers would ever see him as anything but a monster. If not for Joanna, and now Kaemon, he would have thought it impossible for any human to look upon him with something other than hate or mistrust.
“You should return to your friend. I am sure she is waiting for you.” He blinked a few times then recognized the dismissal for what it was and bowed. “Yes, Kaemon-sama. I will be back in the morning.”
“I will have the name of the herb for you and, hopefully, the recipe as well.”
“Thank you, Kaemon-sama.”
“We will see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. Have a peaceful night.”
“And you as well.”
He slowly rose to his feet and backed off the engawa. With one final bow to the young priest still sitting on the wooden slats, he turned and hurried into the forest. He was eager to get back to Joanna and tell her the good news.
Chapter Fourteen
With Akihiro gone, Joanna was left alone with her thoughts, and she felt his absence strongly. Without him there, she had nothing with which to distract herself from her situation, or the fact that her companion now knew the whole truth. While in some ways she felt better because she now no longer needed to keep the secret, in others she felt worse because Akihiro had reacted with the nervous half-panic that she had predicted he would. He had immediately thrown himself into the quest of finding a treatment or cure for her disease, and did so with the conviction of one obsessed. Then she remembered that his mother had died from a fever, and she wondered if that meant he would try harder to save her. It brought her no comfort to think about what would happen if he should fail.