by T. Isilwath
Not a single scar or blemish marred her skin; although she had one tiny brown spot that she called a “mole” near the corner of her lip. Other than that, her skin was smooth and untouched by time. Most women her age had lines and marks from the hard lives they led, their skin wizened from the sun and careworn from husband and children, but Joanna bore none of those telltale lines and wrinkles. In fact, it was hard for him to believe that she was twenty-four because she still had the face and body of a youthful maid.
He’d known that she’d been crying sometime before he had arrived last night. He could smell the salt of her tears and see the faint tracks they had left behind on her cheeks. He had wanted to whine and lick her face so the evidence of her sadness was washed away, but he had remained silent. Instead he had let her distract herself with her “photographs” from her “camera,” (he still shuddered when he remembered the bright “flash” that had nearly blinded him) and tales of her homeland, some of which he would not have believed if she hadn’t shown him the pictures.
He’d learned a lot about her people and her country by looking at her pictures, and he had seen what Japan was to become in her books. She even had a very detailed map of the whole of Japan, populated with roads and villages, most of which he had never heard of. She pointed out that Zenko-ji was in what they called Nagano in her time, and showed him where it was on the map.
Edo had been renamed to Tokyo and it was huge. It was so big that the city would one day engulf the grove where they now lived, which was a tragedy because it would mean that the sacred trees had been cut down. In fact, from the look of things, most of the forest where they now lived had been cut down to make way for the massive buildings made of glass and stone. He couldn’t imagine the Japanese clear-cutting so many sacred trees, and he wondered if they had all gone mad. It was easy to see from the pictures that the sky was dark with hazy smoke, and he knew the city had to be filthy. From his few trips into the capital of Kyoto, he knew large human villages often were. How could they possibly stand to live in the squalor some of them accepted as normal?
Maybe it was one of those times when humans’ dull noses actually worked to their advantage because they couldn’t smell their own stench.
It almost defied belief to see what was going to happen: the number of people, the monstrous cities, the new “tehk-no-lo-gee,” the way they traveled…
but there it was in her pictures so he could see it for himself. If he hadn’t been able to read many of the plaques on the Japanese buildings, he might not have believed it and chalked up the strange sights to magic. He might also have been inclined to think she was lying to him (had she been anyone else), but he had absolute faith that his Joanna would never tell him a direct lie. He still had a few issues with her keeping the whole truth from him, but knowing what he knew now, he could understand her reluctance to reveal all of her secrets.
Even now, he knew she worried about the consequences of telling him about the future. Knowing what was going to happen beforehand was very dangerous, and that knowledge could be used to change the course of future events.
He puzzled that it wouldn’t matter because everything had obviously already happened, but that just seemed to give her a headache so he’d dropped the subject. Not that it made any difference. He doubted anything he had learned could protect him from the hunters, and he knew he’d be dead before too long, so none of it was really worth worrying about.
He sighed and leaned close, breathing in her scent. He could smell the faint flowers of her shampoo, and the different smells of her clothes and bedding, but underneath all of that was the scent that was uniquely hers, the scent that brought him peace and eased his loneliness. It was imprinted on his brain now.
He could pick her out of a crowd or track her trail as she moved through the forest. Now that he had her scent, there was nowhere that she could hide where he would not find her.
She mumbled something in her sleep and rolled, revealing the soft back of her neck that begged to be licked, and he had to physically stop himself from doing so. Such intimate play was meant only for mates and she was not his.
‘But maybe now that she has decided that she does not want to go home, maybe she can be mine,’ he thought, shocked by the sudden rush of emotion the idea brought with it, the fierce possessiveness and urge to keep her with him.
‘Mine,’ the wild side of him said, the part of him that was all fox.
‘Not yours. She is not prey to be hunted or a mate we can take by force. She must be wooed, courted and won. She must consent to be with us,’ the human in him admonished, making the fox growl with frustration but grudgingly agree.
‘I will learn her customs and woo her with gifts. I will bring her meat and firewood to show her I am a good provider. If she accepts me as her mate, she will want for nothing,’ he vowed, then a dark tendril of thought poisoned his happiness with the reality of her situation. ‘But first, she must live. Today you will get the medicine or take Kaemon’s letter to Zenko-ji.’
He wasn’t sure if he was going, but he was planning on it just in case.
There was a good chance that Kaemon would need to write the letter, and, if he did, Akihiro would have to leave for Zenko-ji right away. He knew that if Joanna didn’t get medicine to treat her disease, all thoughts of becoming mates were pointless. He had no choice but to find a treatment (or cure) if he wanted any hope of staying with her. Once she ran out of her insulin, she would be completely dependent on whatever was available locally, and, if Kaemon’s medicine didn’t work, his Joanna would die. The very thought of losing her in such a way struck at his very core, and both his human and his fox sides recoiled in horror. He swore that he would never let Joanna die.
There was another option, he knew, but he had no idea if it would work with his mixed blood. Even though half-demons like himself were hated, it was not unusual for a demon to take a human mate. Such bondings would be restricted to the brief lifetime of the human partner were it not for the sharing of blood. In this, the demon partner would cut his mate, then cut himself and allow his blood to spill into his mate’s wound. The demon blood would bond with the human blood, affording the human mate long life and health. The ritual was simple and repeated as often as necessary to insure the continued benefits of the bonding. His father had blood-bound his mother, and she had remained practically ageless and immune to disease until the effect wore off several years after her mate was killed.
It was possible that similar effects could be achieved with Joanna if he were to perform a blood-bond with her, but such a ritual was reserved only for mates, and he had never heard of a half-breed ever doing one. Then again he didn’t know any hanyous who had ever lived long enough to find and take a mate, let alone blood-bond with them. In theory it could work to sustain her, perhaps even reverse the effects of her illness, if she was willing to accept him as her partner.
He intended not to tell her of this option, however, because she seemed torn enough as it was, and he did not want her to think he was offering it in order to make her stay with him. Nor was he even certain that it would work.
For all he knew, a blood-bond between a human and a half-demon could be disastrous, perhaps even killing the human partner if her blood did not accept her mate’s, and that was a large part of why he kept silent. If the time came when he had no choice but to offer his blood or watch her die, then he would tell her about the bonding and its potential benefits and risks. In the meantime, he would do what he could to find a medicine to replace her dwindling supply of insulin.
‘Today you must salt the caves, then find out if you have to take Kaemon’s letter to Zenko-ji. But first, you should get the mon piece from Joanna to pay the message boy so you have it if you have to go,’ he reminded himself. It would do no good to travel all the way into Shi Nano without the money he needed.
It looked like Joanna was not going to awaken any time soon so he slipped out of his bedding to use the waste pit. Once he was finished, he washed his hands
in the stream and returned to camp to build a fire. One thing he did know how to make was miso soup, and he used a dollop of the red miso paste plus some of Joanna’s dried seaweed to make breakfast. They also had some dried meat left over from their hunts so he mixed a few strips of venison with chopped vegetables and heated that up with a little bit of boiling water.
His cooking was plain and utilitarian, but edible, and the smell of the food woke Joanna. She crawled out of the hollow, gave him a sleepy smile, then yawned and went to relieve herself. When she returned, he handed her two bowls; one filled with the miso and the other with the boiled meat and vegetables. She accepted them with thanks and took a taste of the venison dish. The look on her face said it all as she licked her lips, then reached for her spice bag.
Giving him a wry smile, she sprinkled a little salt on the plain dish, and he made a show of looking offended.
“You don’t like my cooking?” he sniffed.
“Oh no. It’s fine,” she insisted, but he knew she was sparing his feelings.
“It just… needed some salt.”
He gave her a little glare. “You’re just humoring me, aren’t you?” She looked at him, wide-eyed and innocent. “Who me? Would I do that?”
“Yes,” he replied with conviction.
“Akihiro, you wound me with your lack of faith.”
“I have faith. I have absolute faith in you. I just know my cooking.” She laughed and reached out to rub his ears. “It’s okay. The men of my time can’t cook either. Well, most of them at least. Besides, how can I fault a hot meal that was made on my behalf?”
“Who said I was making it for you? Maybe I was planning to eat without you. I may have a long journey today as you pointed out to me on your fancy map,” he teased, pulling his ears out of rubbing distance.
“I still can’t believe you would go all that way on foot in a day.” He shrugged. “I would go twice as far, and run all through the night, if it meant I would find a medicine for you,” he told her with absolute conviction.
“My brave fox, so steadfast and true. What would I do without you, hmm?” she said with a gentle smile as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, up high near the corner of his eye.
For a moment he froze and his heart stopped beating. He hadn’t been expecting her to kiss him, and his heart began to pound in his chest as a wave of hot and cold raced through his body.
‘She… she kissed me.’ He blinked at her, stunned, and gingerly felt the place were her lips had touched his skin. ‘No one has… not since I was a little kit…’ “Joanna-sama…” he whispered, overcome.
She blushed slightly, but the coloration in her cheeks only made her more beautiful to him. “You should eat heartily to keep up your strength then, and take some dried venison and pork with you so you’ll have something to eat if you end up going,” she said, changing the subject.
He knew he ought to say something, but he was still speechless, and, when he finally did manage to make a noise, all that came out was a pathetic squeak.
Feeling the heat rise in his own cheeks, he made an effort to clear his throat and tried again.
“There is no need for that, Joanna-sama. I can easily hunt along the way.
You should keep your food here because you must eat to keep up your strength.”
She gave him a tolerant look and a wry smile. “Aki, I was hunting and feeding myself for weeks before I ever met you. I am perfectly capable of gathering my own food. You, however, will not want to stop to feed yourself. You will run all night and arrive at Zenko-ji exhausted and incoherent.” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “I will not! You just don’t want to eat my cooking,” he accused teasingly.
She shook her head but he knew he had her, and he had to smile at her embarrassment. He let her squirm for a little bit before reassuring her. “But I understand. I’m not fond of my cooking either, so I can’t blame you. I’ll let you make it up to me by cooking me one of your own meals when I return.”
She smiled at him and nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” Chuckling, he returned to his own breakfast and finished off his portion, then went for seconds. Joanna did have a point. If he had to go, it would be a very long way, and he wasn’t going to want to stop to hunt or gather food.
While he ate the remainder of the miso and venison, Joanna wrapped up the dried meat and some vegetables, putting them in a little cloth sack that he could tuck into the front of his kosode.
He knew that Kaemon and Suzuka were probably already waiting for him, and he ought to leave very soon. Kaemon was very specific that he was not to do anything regarding Joanna’s medicine until the salt had been spread. If he had to go to Zenko-ji, he would need to leave no later than mid-morning. Once he was there, he would have to find a message boy, which reminded him that he needed to get the mon piece from Joanna.
“Joanna-sama, I need one of your silver mon pieces to pay a message boy.
If I already have the money with me, I won’t have to come back here to get it, and I will be able to leave sooner. If I do go to Zenko-ji today, I don’t dare go into the temple myself. Even with an illusion, the holy ones there would sense my demon blood. I cannot risk being Sealed or killed before I can return with the medicine.”
She gave him a dark look that was half fear and half anger. “Best that you not get Sealed or killed at all.”
He nodded sheepishly. “Well, yes, of course. That would be best,” he grudgingly agreed.
He watched as Joanna put down her bowl and went into the shelter. When she came out again she crouched by his side, gently took one of his hands and placed the little silver nugget in his palm, closing his fingers over it and cradling his hand between both of hers. She caught his eye and held it, looking seriously at him as if she were trying to peer into his soul, and his heart began to pound in his chest again.
“Come back safely to me, Akihiro. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I will. I promise. If I am not back by tonight, then you will know I have gone to Zenko-ji.”
His answer seemed to satisfy her because she nodded once and released his hand. His skin, warmed by her touch, chilled quickly once it was gone, and he felt a deep sense of loss. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and stared at her, knowing he should go but simply unable to make his body move. He knew her medicine wouldn’t run out until Harvest, but still some nameless fear made him worry that something would happen to her while he was gone. She looked at him, a kind, understanding expression on her face, then leaned forward to hug him tightly.
“I’ll miss you too,” she told him as she pulled him close.
He trembled, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. Her scent filled his nostrils, finding all the lonely, empty places in his heart and filling them with her tender affection. He didn’t want to let go, but he knew that he was out of time. Slowly, he pulled away, chancing a tiny lick to her temple with the very tip of his tongue. She responded by rubbing his back before letting her arms fall away.
“Be safe,” she said.
“You too,” he answered, but his voice sounded hollow.
“I will.”
He bit his lip and fought the urge to crawl inside her and never leave, then he forced himself to back away. She gave him a little smile and a wave as she watched him go. Finally, he made himself turn around so he couldn’t see her watching him and resolutely walked out of the grove. His fox instincts screamed in protest, but he stamped them down even as his heart broke in his chest.
‘You have no choice. Joanna needs medicine. You won’t be gone long, and you’ll bring back the ingredients that will save her life,’ he told himself.
What Joanna didn’t know was that he had taken a piece of cloth from the laundry, something called a “sock.” It smelled of her, and he tucked it into the front of his kosode so he would have her scent with him while they were apart.
He had been right, and both Suzuka and Kaemon were waiting for him when he arrived at the shrine.
Suzuka looked a little annoyed, but Kaemon merely smiled softly at him, a knowing twinkle in his eyes. He quickly bowed to both of them in order to hide his blush.
“Good morning, Suzuka-sama, Kaemon-sama. I hope that you were not waiting for me for too long,” he greeted apologetically.
“Not long, Hanyou. We finished our morning duties,” the young priest said.
“We are prepared to spread the salt. We brought the bags and also some garden tools,” Suzuka informed him.
He nodded, casting Kaemon a questioning glance, and motioned towards the path to the caves. “Of course, Suzuka-sama. If we dig furrows and fill them with salt, the salt is less likely to blow away in the wind.”
“That was our assumption as well,” the miko agreed.
“Let us go then,” he said.
He picked up the sacks of salt and led the way to the caves. Kaemon and Suzuka followed him, and they arrived at the cave entrance within a short time.
“I will go inside first and make sure we are not already too late,” he offered.
“Yes. That is a good idea,” Suzuka agreed.
It was dangerous business going into a cave that might be a demon spider nest, and he went with extreme caution. All of his senses were on full alert as he crossed the threshold into the grey darkness of the rock cavern that made up the front room of the cave system. On the far side there was an opening that led into the maze of interconnected caverns that stretched deep into the hillside. He knew from previous oni-gumo hunts that this cave system had only one major entrance. There were air shafts and vents, but no other large openings big enough for a full-grown adult female oni-gumo to pass through. That little detail was what made the caves so attractive to the demon spiders: one way in, one way out. It was a perfect, easily defensible shelter, but the same features that made it so favored were also what made it so dangerous. Once inside, the prey were trapped with nowhere to go, even if the victims were the cave inhabitants themselves.
He sniffed carefully, scenting for any sign of fresh oni-gumo activity, but, thankfully, the only demon spider he smelled was old and mixed with blood.