The Open Road

by Paul Kidd

  “Thank you, Bifuuko san!”

  Water cascading in through the ceiling made a stream that ran off under one wall, but the rear half of the house seemed dry. Kuno carried Sura to the rear of the house, feeling her stirring weakly in his arms. She tried to lift her head. Finding a clear patch of floor, Kuno laid her down, roughly wiping dry her face.

  Chiri threw off her raincoat, backpack and hat. She took the baby carefully from Tonbo as the exhausted man removed his helmet and thatched coat. He let his backpack fall, and sank to the ground, utterly numbed.

  Kuno was already opening backpacks. He shook out blankets and bedding, and found a towel Sura had apparently swiped from Lord Ishigi’s mansion. He gave it to Chiri so that she could dry the baby, then he lay Sura down.

  Kuno managed to strip Sura of her wet, dripping clothes. He tucked blankets over her, and slung her clothes over a beam to drip sullenly onto the floor.

  There was a crash as Tonbo hauled off his breastplate and tassets, dragging them over against a wall. The lacings were swollen with water. He stripped off armoured thigh guards, shin guards, throat collar, under-arm guards and finally his thick mail sleeves. He heaved a sigh, and then as an afterthought pulled out a small knife that had been sheathed at his back.

  Daitanishi had shaken himself dry. The floating rock found an old hearth, still littered with dry wood. Chiri found some tinder in her own tinderbox and set it down amongst the wood. Daitanishi banged against some old ironwork, making sparks. Bifuuko gently fanned the glowing tinder until it finally burst into flames. Their little fire begun, the two elementals drifted about looking for more wood to feed the flames.

  Chiri passed Tonbo the baby, then began stripping off her own wet robes. She hung her clothing carefully up to dry. Tonbo sat looking down at the tiny creature in his hands. He blinked, still too stunned to completely understand.

  Kuno sat beside him, hauling off his own armour. He felt utterly lost and dazed.

  “A baby!” He looked at it in blank amazement. “What are we going to do?”

  Chiri sat beside them. She had brought a soft robe and blanket, and carefully helped Tonbo warmly wrap the baby. The little creature was already calm. It looked up at them with a blank, wondering stare, then screwed up its eyes and tried to nestle back to sleep.

  Chiri gently smoothed the baby’s hair.

  “It is very beautiful.”

  Kuno nodded, clearly feeling relieved.

  “Well – at least we have you here.”

  The rat spirit regarded at Kuno in puzzlement. He nodded, developing his thought.

  “I mean – at least you can feed the child.”

  Chiri raised one brow, and looked at Kuno through a considering eye.

  “Kuno san – do you have any sisters?”

  The handsome samurai blinked in surprise.

  “No, Chiri san. Why?”

  “It would make explanations easier.” Chiri blushed, just ever so slightly. “Kuno san, I regret that I am not – ah – equipped to feed this child.”

  Tonbo scowled. He held the baby in his arms, already feeling proprietal and protective.

  “We need to find a wet nurse for the child.” He proudly settled the baby in the crook of his arm. “A little boy needs his food!”

  Kuno leaned forward in interest.

  “It is a boy, then?”

  All three friends leaned in over the baby, frowning. Finally Chiri leaned back, scratching at her chin.

  “Surely it is too pretty to be a boy?”

  Tonbo coughed. “We are investigators. We should investigate.”

  Kuno was quite shocked.

  “We can’t look! It would be an impropriety.”

  The baby stirred and suddenly began to wiggle about. Tonbo held the child out at arm’s length, frowning as he inspected it.

  “Why is it moving about?”

  Chiri peered more closely. “Perhaps it is uncomfortable?”

  Kuno squatted down and opened up the child’s blankets. The baby had a ragged fold of cloth about its loins. Kuno made a wise face and nodded, suddenly understanding what had happened.

  “Aaaah! It appears to have a badly adjusted nether garment.” The samurai pulled back his sleeves. “I believe I shall tie it in the Hokkaido ‘full moon’ knot.”

  Kuno reached out to take the ends of the cloth and make a complicated adjustment. The baby’s cloth fell off. The tiny creature immediately peed – straight into Kuno’s face.

  The man gave a stoic sigh, and looked up at the others.

  “Tonbo san – congratulations upon your new son.”

  Clearly some sort of lower garment was necessary. The three friends laid the baby down on a blanket and gathered about, putting their minds to the problem.

  A towel was clearly too small for the task. Kuno pondered, then produced the cotton cover that usually wrapped his blanket.

  The quilt cover was clearly too large. Finally they compromised by using an old under-robe. Chiri folded the robe over into an approximate square, and the results seemed fairly satisfactory.

  They settled the baby’s bottom onto the cloth. Kuno immediately took charge of folding the cloth about the baby, but the other two both tried to intervene. Chiri tried to wave the man away.

  “Here! You make a triangle!”

  Kuno would hear none of it. “A triangle is bad luck – the good fortune runs out of the lower point. Surely a half circle…?”

  “How are we to make half a circle? The cloth is square?”

  “No matter, no matter! We shall modify the initial fold…”

  Tonbo gave a growl. “You’re going to wake him!”

  “No no – we are almost finished!” Chiri used the sleeves of the old robe to hold the garment shut. She proudly sat back to survey their combined handiwork.

  “There!”

  The entire result looked like a cross between a collapsed tent and a nest full of mad snakes. Daitanishi and Bifuuko peered at it, looking rather dubious. But Tonbo, Kuno and Chiri were proud of their work.

  The baby was sleepy. They carried the little creature carefully over to where Sura lay flat on her back, fast asleep. They gently tucked the baby into bed beside her, watched for a moment to make sure all was well, then tiptoed carefully away.

  The rainstorm had settled in for the duration of the night. Clothes and armour were hung to dry as best they could. Tonbo was installed with some of Sura’s plum wine in hand, while Kuno and Chiri lit their lamps, stoked the fire, then gathered water from the gushing roof. A pot was placed over the flames to boil soup, and another set to cook rice. Chiri warmed sakē, and it was very gratefully received.

  They drank together while feeling the walls of the ruined house tremble with the wind and gusting rain. But there was a good fire, and the back of the house was dry. There was something oddly wonderful about all sheltering together from the storm.

  The soup was prepared – hot and thick with noodles. The three friends sat companionably together, eating and listening to the storm, as rainwater gushed through the broken roof to make a little pool that ebbed off and away through broken timbers.

  Chiri served out the rice, topping it with her own mix of spice, seeds and bonito flakes. She kept a great deal aside – both for Sura in case she awoke, and also to make rice balls to eat on the following day.

  She looked across to check upon the baby. The little creature was sleeping quite peacefully, rugged-up and warm.

  “He seems quiet enough. Perhaps the magic of his birth stops him from hungering?” The rat gave a troubled sigh. “Still – we must find a village quickly.”

  Kuno gestured out towards the ruins.

  “What happened to the village out there? War?”

  Tonbo shrugged. He shook his head as he set aside his empty bowl.

  “There have been no armies marching. The empire is at peace.”

  “Hmmm…” Kuno looked towards the broken door. “Bandits?”

  Kuno rose to look out through a brea
k in the outer wall. He could see nothing of note: the streets were dark, and the rain poured steadily down. There were no weird lights in the night – and decidedly no more ghosts. He watched for a while, then quietly returned.

  Tonbo had nodded off to sleep whilst sitting up. Kuno looked at his comrade in respect, then brought forth a blanket and wrapped him against the cold.

  Chiri had already set out some tasks for herself for the night: she kept a journal of the group’s adventures, and had set out her brush, ink and a tight little box of paper. She met Kuno’s eye and nodded towards the street.

  “I will keep the first watch, Kuno san.”

  Kuno bowed to her in acknowledgement. He settled himself nearby, spreading out his bed and making certain his swords were beside him. He sat up one last time to ensure that the baby was well. Everything seemed perfectly in order.

  Nestling down, Kuno patted at the hilt of his longsword before drifting off to sleep listening to the sound of rain, feeling the storm winds thrumming hard against the walls.

  Morning came slowly to the shabby hut, bright white light stealing in through the broken roof. Rainwater puddles in the middle of the floor gleamed and twinkled merrily in the sun.

  Kuno sat on guard, half dozing as the campfire warmed water for their morning tea. Chiri lay curled up at his side in animal form, sleeping peacefully in a nest of blankets. She had a sweet little snore, rolling onto her back and quivering her whiskers as she dozed. Tonbo slept at the far side of the fire – his tetsubo always firmly in the crook of his arm. The storm had gone, and the whole world seemed at peace.

  Sura lay on her back in bed, mouth open and snoring softly, looking decidedly rumpled. She wore an old, patched under-robe which was well and truly open. Tired but totally happy, she breathed in the scent of wet earth and old wood. She nuzzled into her blankets, thoroughly enjoying the warmth, and gave a mighty yawn.

  The baby lay up against her breasts, snuggling in for warmth. The little creature nuzzled blindly at her, and suddenly managed to latch onto a nipple.

  Sura’s eyes shot wide open.

  The fox screamed, scrabbling frantically to sit up in shock. The baby lay in bed, wailing and crying. Tonbo, Kuno and Chiri all awoke and glared in accusation at Sura, crying out in annoyance. Kuno made a noise of absolute frustration.

  “Sura!”

  Sura held the baby out at arm’s length as if it had the plague. Every hair on her head stood out stiff with aversion.

  “What the hell is this? Who put this in my bed?”

  Chiri had turned into her human form, tugging on her outer robes. She took possession of the baby, trying to calm him down.

  “Give me that!”

  Sura frantically ran her hands over her front, her neck and sides. “Gods – it touched me! Did I get a rash? Did it pee on me? Ewww!”

  Sura suddenly realised that there was breeze against her chest. She looked at the others in suspicion.

  “Who opened my robes?”

  Chiri jounced the baby, and shot a lofty look at Sura.

  “It was done only in the best interests of the child. The baby needed pillows.”

  Kuno gave a snort.

  “Small and thorny though the pillows might be…”

  Sura drew in a breath to protest, glaring at Kuno – her chest out and willing to fight. Instead she irritably tugged her clothing closed.

  The baby was howling and crying – a terrible thing to have to hear first thing in the morning. Sura got up and climbed into her clothes – annoyed to find her pants still damp from the night before. She had to yell to be heard above the baby’s cries.

  “We’re still stuck with that thing? Why didn’t you give it to someone in the village?”

  Tonbo gave a scowl.

  “The village has gone.”

  “Well how do we shut that thing up?”

  Chiri glowered at Sura. “We feed it!”

  No one else was moving. The fox gave an irritable sigh. She slung on her breastplate and grabbed her spear.

  “Fine! I’ll go get us a rabbit or something, and we’ll make the kid breakfast.”

  Chiri looked to Tonbo, sucking on a tooth.

  “No sisters?”

  The big man glanced at the fox and shook his head. “No sisters.”

  It was imperative that the baby be fed. The group collected their gear – damp as it was – and made ready for the road. Sura gulped down tea and a rice ball, half deafened by the crying baby. She stomped her way outside to check the lie of the land, looking up and down the village streets.

  It had been a prosperous village in its day – well built houses and a great many barns, racks and looms. All had been well and truly destroyed. Roof beams jutted from burned, ruined houses. Rainwater pooled in the streets amongst the wreckage. There was no wildlife – no wild dogs or stray chickens, nor skeletons lying in the ashes. Sura clambered onto a mound of fallen wreckage and looked for signs of life, but there was nothing beyond a few sodden, half-drowned weeds.

  The others emerged from the ruined hut, Chiri walking beside Tonbo and carrying the baby. They stood looking up at the sky. Thankfully the clouds had gone, and it had become a cool and sunny day.

  The road seemed to lead on towards the forest. The Spirit Hunters hiked up their gear, stoically ignored their damp, chafing clothing, and headed onward through the ruined village.

  They picked their way past a wrecked cart and out onto the main road. The baby had ceased its crying, soothed by Chiri as she gently jogged him up and down. Daitanishi sat upon Chiri’s shoulder, watching the baby in something between fascination and disapproval. The rock kept himself well out of the baby’s reach.

  As Sura came close, the baby suddenly turned his face and reached a tiny hand out towards her, lighting up with a smile. Chiri was most put out.

  “Hmph. He wants you, Sura san.”

  Sura recoiled out of reach of the baby’s wet little hand.

  “Gah! Keep that oozing ball of drool away from me!”

  From up at the lead of the march, Kuno looked back at Sura.

  “I thought maternal instincts were… instinctual?”

  The fox made a face.

  “Bleaugh! The only way I want to bring up a child is if it’s cooked and seasoned first!”

  Much to Sura’s annoyance, the baby began to cry again. The fox stomped on ahead, trying to ignore the noise.

  “Damnit!” Sura saw the ruins of a substantial village inn – now just a pile of burnt old beams and walls. “What the hell happened here? I thought this was supposed to be some sort of silk-weavers’ village?”

  “Not any longer.” Tonbo looked out across the blackened ruins. He gave a scowl. “There is grass growing in the ruins. This happened at least a year ago.”

  The baby had gone into a fit of crying, wailing in absolute dismay. It went on and on, until finally Sura gave a curse. Shoving her spear into Kuno’s hands she marched over to take the baby in her arms.

  The infant was instantly quiet, despite Sura holding it as if it were covered in goo, looking extremely unhappy with the way her day was unfolding. She managed to wrap the baby in its blanket and hitch it up into her arms.

  “If this thing pukes on me, I’m going to tie you bastards up and have you waddled to death by ducks!’ She winced away as the baby gripped at her face. “Ewww – its hands are wet! Oh gods…!”

  Chiri gave a sniff.

  “The baby is a he – not an it.”

  Tonbo shook his head and ignored the squabbles. He plodded onwards down the road, leading the way out of the deserted village and on towards the forest.

  They walked up and over a little rise. The village vanished from view behind great, tall stands of weeds.

  An orchard of mulberry trees still grew in huge profusion upon the surrounding hills. But the road dipped down past fallow rice paddies thick with rainwater and mats of algae. It wound past deserted mulberry groves, then headed off through old fields towards the great, dark forest just be
yond.

  Tonbo led the way. Sura tromped doggedly behind, carrying the baby, while Kuno and Chiri entertained the child with flowers and smiles. Chiri skipped gaily along, utterly delighting the baby as she brought him bright colours to enjoy. The rat joyously booped the baby on the nose with a flower, leaning in to make happy little noises as she walked.

  “Goochie coo! Gichie gichie coo!”

  Sura could only shake her head.

  “If you people could only hear yourselves…”

  Seething quietly in disgust, the fox stomped her way onwards.

  They walked perhaps a full ri past the old abandoned paddy fields. There were grasslands to either side now, and the forest loomed huge and dark only a hundred yards beyond. The road plunged clean through the eaves and on into the gloom.

  Just short of the forest, a group of huge white oxen contentedly munched on the grass, within a field fenced off with wooden rails. Sura saw the animals, and instantly brightened with joy.

  “Cows! Cows make milk!”

  Kuno rolled his eyes. “Those are oxen.”

  Sura was already heading over to the fence. “Well, can we milk oxen?”

  Kuno leaned quietly over to Chiri and murmured in her ear.

  “To my shame, there is a part of me that wants to tell her to walk over there and try…”

  There were two men in the field tending to the oxen. Both were neatly dressed in black, and each had white streaks in the middle of their hair. They brightened the instant they saw visitors approaching, bowing and waving. They came striding over to greet Sura and her companions at the fence. The taller of the men gave another merry bow.

  “Noble samurai! Noble travellers! You must have suffered from the storm!”