Six enormous birds touched to the ground, as tall as any human. Their wings were as wide as a small ship's sails, black on top and a dazzling white underneath. They had blazing black eyes and sharp, curved beaks, and their feet ended in wicked talons. A name came to her, a yokai clan she had heard about before, but had never seen in the forest at home. These were tengu, hawk-spirits not at all fond of humans.
"You," one croaked, clacking its beak and puffing up its feathers. "What are you doing here? This is our place. Humans are not welcome."
Kaede studied her companions. Imari, Kenta, and Takeshi had drawn their swords as well, taking on defensive postures but looking to her for guidance. She took a deep breath. If there was any chance of talking their way out of a fight, she had to try. "We don't want to stay. We just want to cross through the forest to the mountain."
That didn't seem to please the tengu. They chattered amongst each other, flapping their wings and flexing their talons in the dirt. Kaede gripped the hilt of her katana tighter.
"You will go," another of the tengu said. "Humans are not welcome."
"We want to go,” Kaede said as calmly as she could. “If you let us pass, we'll be gone by the end of the day."
"No!" a third tengu squawked. "No humans!"
Rin growled. "Look here, featherbrains. These humans want nothing to do with your forest. They are going to the mountain, and it's no business of yours."
That only seemed to anger the tengu further. The nearest one hissed at Rin, almost like a cat. "Smelly dog! You will go too. No one passes."
Kaede's mind raced. If she didn't do something soon, there’d be a fight. The others trusted her to get them through safely, so she had to do something—and fast. What do I know about tengu? They're hostile and proud, and they think they're better than everyone else.
That gave her an idea. She lowered her sword and addressed the tengu again. "What about a riddle? If you come up with one we can't solve, we'll turn around and never return. If we come up with one you can't solve, you'll let us pass, and we'll be gone by evening."
Imari began to protest, but Kaede silenced her with a warning look. Trust me.
As she had hoped, one of the tengu puffed up its breast. The largest of all, with ragged edges to its feathers, this one had a scar over one of its eyes. From the vivid coloring Kaede suspected it was male. "I am leader," he cawed. "I say our riddle will be better than yours."
"Good," Kaede said. "So, you agree? Whoever tells the hardest riddle wins."
The tengu circled in on each other, bobbing their heads and conversing rapidly in a language Kaede couldn’t understand. While they talked, she gathered her own companions around her.
"Kaede, are you sure this will work?" Kenta asked, aiming a nervous glance over his shoulder. "I don't like the look of those talons. Who's to say they won't attack us anyway if we beat them?"
"Yokai aren't like that," Kaede insisted. "They almost always stick to their bargains, even the unfriendly ones. They're too proud to go back on a wager. We have to come up with a good riddle to stump them."
"It's better than nothing," Imari said. "I'll take a riddle contest over a fight. Want me to give it a try?"
Kaede nodded. "If you know some good ones, go ahead."
Imari left the group and turned toward the tengu, shoulders straight and squared. "Okay, should we go first, or do you want to?"
The tengu looked to their leader. He snorted through the slitted nostrils of his beak, fixing her with a glare. "You first, humans. We will take turns."
"Okay." Imari took a deep breath. "What has an eye, but cannot see?"
The leader's feathers ruffled, as if he was confused and displeased, but then one of his companions whispered to him. He preened himself for a moment, as though he had never been conflicted at all, before answering. "Too easy. A needle."
"How do birds even know what a needle is?" Kenta muttered. "That's stupid."
"Don't call them stupid," Takeshi murmured back. "We want to get out of here with all our fingers and toes."
Kaede cleared her throat to cover up their conversation. "Your turn. Give us a riddle to solve."
Once more, the tengu conversed among themselves, flapping and hopping, but at last, they seemed to come to an agreement. The leader spoke, "If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you cannot keep me. What am I?"
Kaede knew the answer. She looked at the others, and from Imari's smile, she could tell she wasn't the only one who had figured it out. "A secret," she said with confidence. "I'm a secret."
The tengu screeched angrily, beating their wings, but they didn’t attack. Instead, they merely responded with piercing glares. "Your turn," the leader said. "Another riddle."
"I've got another one," Imari said. "What is as light as a feather, but even the strongest person can't hold it for more than a few minutes?"
The tengu turned to each other again, but this time, they grew more and more agitated, with some breaking off to nibble at their feathers while the others pecked and jabbed at each other. After several tense minutes, the group seemed to arrive at an answer. Kaede swallowed. Her heart drummed too hard in her chest, and she couldn't get enough air. It had been several minutes since the start of the confrontation, and still, the tension hadn't broken.
"A bird," the tengu leader said. "Light enough to fly, but no human can hold us."
Imari shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. The answer is breath."
At this, the tengu erupted in a great commotion of squawking and hopping, enough to shake the leaves of the chouchun trees and cause several to fall to the ground. Kaede readied her sword, but to her relief, the birds didn’t attack. They seemed angry, but inclined to stick to their bargain.
"You still won't win," the leader of the tengu said. "Now, we ask another riddle. What is greater than Sun and Moon, older than the first Ancestors. Poor have it. Rich need it. If you eat it, you die. What am I?"
With a stab of panic, Kaede realized she couldn't think of the answer. She paused for a moment, searching her brain, but nothing came to her. Looking at the others, she was discouraged. Kenta shrugged helplessly, and Takeshi frowned even more than usual. Imari's brow knitted in concentration, but she didn't seem to have a clue either.
Ancestors, this was a bad idea, Kaede thought as the sinking feeling of doubt began to creep in. I shouldn't have suggested a riddle competition. I can't think of anything, not a single thing.
"Wait! Nothing."
Imari's head whipped around. "What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"You definitely said something," Kenta protested. "I heard you. What was it?"
"No," Kaede said. "The answer to the riddle is nothing. There's nothing greater than the Sun and Moon, and nothing older than the Ancestors. Poor people have nothing, and rich people want for nothing. And if you eat nothing, you die." She turned to the tengu. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Again, the tengu hopped and flapped and jabbed their beaks and shook the trees, but this time, Kaede wasn't afraid. Breathless and thrilled, she was confident that she had won. When the tengu finally settled and the leader spoke, she could tell from the venomous reproach in his voice that though she had angered him, he wouldn’t attack her.
"Go," he crowed. "Leave now, and do not come back this way."
Kaede didn't wait around for him to change his mind. She started off past the tengu at a swift trot, diving back into the forest as quickly as she could. The others were hot on her heels, and none of them slowed back to a walk until they were a fair distance away.
"That was a close one," she panted, waiting for the others to catch up.
"Yeah, but we got out of it all right, thanks to you," Imari said. She was breathless, but her eyes gleamed with excitement and admiration. "That was brilliant! How did you think of it?"
Kaede grinned, pleased with the praise. "I told you, I know my spirits. I knew if we could get them to agree to a wager, they’d let us go by."
"A good tric
k," Takeshi said, also sounding impressed. "You were clever to think of it."
"Indeed she was," said another voice, one that didn't belong to any of their party members. "Almost, dare I say, as clever as a fox."
Kaede stopped in her tracks, but she didn't have to look around to find out who had spoken. There was movement in the brush ahead, and then a small creature stepped out into the open. It was a fox, the same fox from before, as far as Kaede could tell. It had a fine gleaming coat of orange and white, and nine bushy tails trailed behind it, almost like the plumes of a peacock. Daubed in black with white at the tips, they swished slightly as the fox regarded them.
"Don't worry about the tengu coming after you for revenge, Iori-san," the fox said. "They're horrible trackers. If they can't see you, they won't be able to find you."
Kaede's eyes widened. The fox had addressed her by her ronin name, but none of them had spoken it. "How do you know who I am?"
The fox smiled, if ever a fox could smile. "I have been watching you and your companions for a while, Iori-san. You have been of great interest to me."
"Interest?" Kaede asked. The fox didn't seem to bear them any ill will, but she was still suspicious. Kitsune were tricksters, according to all the legends she had ever heard and the yokai she had spoken to. They weren't usually hostile, but they often had secret motivations.
"Yes. But first, give me a moment."
The fox began to glow with a strange light, and Kaede watched in fascination as its body rippled and shifted. It grew taller, standing on two legs instead of four. Its fur receded, leaving only skin behind. Its tufted ears melted back into its head, and its nose shrank and changed shape. The air around it seemed to blur, and Kaede felt as though she were watching the transformation through smoky glass or the surface of a pond.
At last, a young woman stood before them. Her straight black hair fell down her shoulders, and her round, youthful face reminded Kaede of the moon. She wore a simple kimono the same color as her fur had been, but beneath it, Kaede could still see the tips of her tails curling around her ankles. In this form, she appeared to be about eighteen or twenty, if Kaede had to take a guess, but judging by the nine tails, she had to be at least nine hundred, possibly even older. With foxes, looks were deceiving.
Beside her, Imari bowed. "Hello. My name is Homura Imari. May I ask yours?"
Kenta stared at her. "Really, Imari? That's all you're gonna say?”
"Or maybe ask why she was following us?" Takeshi added suspiciously.
The fox's eyes twinkled. "You say 'following' as if it's a bad thing, Hibana-san." She returned Imari's bow, dipping deeply before all five of them. “You can call me Kyuubi.”
Kaede tilted her head. “Isn’t that a little bit on the nose? ‘Nine-tailed’?”
The fox grinned brighter still. “I find it amusing, Iori-san. And, as I said before, you have been of great interest to me. It isn't often that humans come here."
"We've come here in search of Kurogane," Imari said. "Do you know him?"
Unsurprisingly, Kyuubi's answer was indirect. "Yes and no. However, I believe I can be of assistance to you. I would ask you to follow me."
Kaede looked to Imari. "Should we trust her?"
"I was about to ask you the same question," Imari whispered back. "You're the yokai expert. What do you think?"
Kaede thought about it. Despite what had happened with Bo, they could probably use the help of someone who lived in the forest in case more unfriendly yokai showed up as night fell. "Will you take us to Mount Aka, Kyuubi? You may know it as Hongshan."
"Yes. Just be warned, what you find there will not be what you expect. It never is, with dragons involved."
"So, there are dragons here," Imari said triumphantly. “Forgive me, but our last guide wouldn’t confirm it.”
"Of course there are," Kyuubi said. "It's not called Mount Hongshan for nothing. Now, come on. We should be off, if we want to reach our destination before dusk."
Kaede noticed Takeshi looking over at her. “I don’t like this—”
"But you don't see a better option," Kaede finished for him. "I don't think she means us harm, but keep your eyes open anyway. The tengu were a close call."
He gave her a nod. Once more, the tension between them had receded into mutual respect. Without being told, Kaede could tell he appreciated what she had done, especially since it had kept Imari safe. She smiled. Even Imari hadn't tried to interfere this time. It seemed her companions were finally starting to trust in her abilities.
"We'll go with you," she told the fox, "and thank you for helping us."
"Very well. Try and keep up." Kyuubi headed off through the forest at a spritely pace, barely grazing the leaves with her sandals. Kaede followed, but she let Imari and the Hibana brothers take the lead this time, waiting for Rin to fall into step beside her.
"What do you think of all this?" she whispered under her breath, so only Rin could hear. "You were quiet back there."
"Just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention," Rin said.
Kaede had thought as much. "So?"
"I agree with Takeshi. I don't like this. Kyuubi seems friendly enough, but we should keep our eyes open and our noses to the ground. My mother always told me when I was a pup, you can never trust a fox, especially when they’re trying to be your friend."
***
Shortly before sunset, they arrived at the foothills surrounding Hongshan. The chouchun trees thinned out, revealing the open air, and the soft, leaf-covered ground beneath Imari's sandals became rough with gravel. As she picked her way up the uneven slope, she remained near Kyuubi. Normally, she would have walked with Kaede, but their new guide fascinated her. She stuck close as the fox scaled the mountain, putting her feet in the same places.
Although she knew it was rude, she couldn't help staring at the lightly swishing tips of Kyuubi's nine tails. The foxes she had encountered in the past had three or four at most, including the ones who had saved her life years ago. To find a fox with nine was almost unheard of. Kyuubi had to be almost a thousand years old, possibly even older.
And yet, here she is, volunteering to help us. Why? Imari knew she couldn't come right out and ask, so she started with something a little less direct. "So, do you live here in the forest?" she asked, panting lightly as she scurried over a boulder. Like Bo, Kyuubi was far more agile than the rest of them.
Kyuubi paused, allowing her to catch up. "I've lived in many places, but currently, this is my home. I find it quite picturesque, aside from the smell."
"True enough. I'm sure the tengu would have cleared out too, if they'd had noses instead of beaks."
"Probably," Kyuubi laughed. "But what about you, Homura-san? Why are you so far from home, searching for the mysterious Kurogane?"
Imari hesitated. She wasn't certain how much of her story she wanted to tell, but she saw no reason to keep it secret, either. After a moment of indecision, she held up the sleeve of her kimono, allowing it to fall past the stump of her wrist. "I was hoping he could do something about this. I lost it in an accident—one that a clan of foxes saved me from, actually."
Kyuubi’s tails perked up and her eyes brightened. "Foxes, you say? Well, that's good to hear. Not all humans trust us, so it's nice to meet someone who's had a pleasant experience with my kind."
"I'd call it more than a pleasant experience. I was trapped beneath a large rock in a cave-in, and the foxes pulled me free. They couldn't save my hand, but I owe them my life. Anyway, about Kurogane. The legends say he isn't an ordinary blacksmith, so I thought…"
Kyuubi murmured low in understanding. "I see. Well, you're right that Kurogane is no ordinary blacksmith. They may be able to do something about your hand, but whether they will choose to help, I cannot say."
"Is there a reason he wouldn't?" Imari asked, eager for information. The thought of coming all this way only to have her request denied was unbearable. "Please, if you know something, tell me."
"I know," Kyuubi said. "Kurogane is a reasonable person, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. There is always a reason to say no."
Imari retreated to her own head for a moment. For all the planning she had done, all the preparations she had made, and all the difficulties she had overcome, the fact that Kurogane might refuse to help had never occurred to her. And what will I do if he tells me no? Not give up, surely. I didn't come all this way only to return empty…oh. Perhaps that's a bad turn of phrase.
"If he won't help, I'll ask him to direct me to someone who can," Imari said, full of determination.
Kyuubi smiled. "I admire your spirit, Homura-san. Good things always come to those who are willing to pursue them. If Kurogane will not help you, search the forest for me. Perhaps by then I will have thought of someone else who might replace your hand. My memory is long, you see, and it takes me some time to sort through the older ones."
"Thank you so much, Kyuubi," Imari sighed with relief. "I hope I won't need your help, but the offer is more than appreciated."
"Yes." Kyuubi froze in place, raising her nose to the air. Even though it was human-shaped, Imari had the impression of whiskers twitching as the fox sniffed the breeze. "But now, I’m afraid I must take my leave. I'm sorry to abandon you so abruptly, but I've caught scent of something troubling."
"Troubling?" Takeshi asked. He, Kenta, Kaede, and Rin had finally caught up just in time to hear Kyuubi speak. "What do you mean?" He reached for his sword, but Kyuubi stopped him with a gesture.
"Troubling to me, not to you. I sense someone coming, a friend of yours, as a matter of fact. They have no quarrel with you, but I'm afraid they aren't on the best of terms with me." She gave a sheepish grin. "I played a trick on them a few centuries ago, and dragons are known to hold grudges."
"Wait, dragons?" Imari blurted out. She wasn't sure whether to be eager or wary. "They're a friend? I would have remembered meeting a dragon."
Kyuubi dipped her head. "Trust me when I say that you won't be in any danger. I really should be going. Foxes are good at sensing other spirits, but if I don’t hurry, the dragon will feel my ki too." With a final look over her shoulder, she curled in on herself, growing shorter and shorter. Her ears grew tall and pointed, and her kimono melted into sleek sheets of fur. Soon, she was a fox once more, standing only as high as their waists. "I won't be far," Kyuubi told them, black nose twitching. "I'm simply going back down to the forest. Come and see me some time. It was a pleasure to meet you."
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