by Dave Ferraro
“Of course not, Yumiko,” Mori replied, her lips trembling. “You’re like a daughter to me. All I’ve ever wanted was your happiness.”
Yumiko felt her eyes filling with tears and simply nodded, not trusting her voice. She had felt the same about Mori, that she was like the mother she’d never really had. She hoped she conveyed that with the look she gave Mori in return.
Mori reached out and touched Yumiko’s hand. “Yumiko, there’s something you need to know. I wanted to tell you as soon as I returned from America.”
Yumiko looked at her expectantly, and Mori seemed rather hesitant, which worried her. “What is it?”
“I didn’t go to America just to confirm my suspicions of Brian. I went because of something a colleague of mine sent my way.”
Yumiko frowned, wondering what she could be alluding to.
“Your mother, Yumiko. I’ve had people searching for her since you came to me.”
“My mother?” Yumiko sat up straight, eyes wide. “What? You…found her?”
“She’s in America,” Mori confirmed. “She’s been there ever since she left.”
Her mother was alive and well! She hadn’t been taken by yokai or killed outright after Yumiko had been spirited away, as she’d feared all these years. She had fled to America! Yumiko’s breath caught as she turned this over in her mind. But why would her mother have left her? Why had she left everything behind in a hurry to flee halfway around the world? The revelation seemed to bring more questions than answers. She looked up at Mori, and saw no smile lining her face, and suddenly Yumiko dreaded what she was about to hear.
“You’re sure it’s her?” Yumiko asked softly.
“Yes.”
Yumiko nodded and bit her lip. “Why did she leave? Did you speak with her?”
Mori shook her head. “I didn’t have to, Yumiko. I know why she left.”
Yumiko blinked, swallowing hard. “Okay. Tell me.”
“She fled Japan to keep her daughter safe.”
Yumiko let out a deep breath. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but she’d been filled with tension at the answer. “I am safe,” she said, smiling. “I think…” She let the thought fade at the dark look on Mori’s face. She looked sad, defeated. “Sensei?”
Mori took a shuddering breath and looked Yumiko in the eyes. “Her daughter was with her, Yumiko. You were with her.”
Yumiko froze. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re a reflection of that girl, Yumiko,” Mori said, looking away. “You always have been.” She swallowed hard. “You are a yokai.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Her mother disappeared without a trace, out of fear for the life of her daughter.
Her organs were on the wrong side of her body.
She could see yokai and command mirrors.
Of course she was a yokai. She hadn’t merely been touched by the supernatural world. She was supernatural. Why had she imagined herself the exception all of these years? Because she’d escaped a yokai king and lived to tell about it? Because she’d had a purpose to her life, a drive to survive?
Her mind whirled.
One day, a human girl will appear, one with a brave soul and keen mind, and a will so radiant that she will melt the heart of a yokai king. It is in her image that humans will be represented.
She was the image in the prophecy. The image, but not the girl. She represented humanity, but wasn’t human. Yumiko frowned. Of course. She’d lived alongside humans her entire life. She was living proof that humans and yokai could co-exist. And if she married Kagami, she was also proof that yokai could live in both worlds.
“Yumiko?” Mori said, softly.
Yumiko looked up.
“Are you alright?” Mori asked. She frowned at her choice of words. “Of course you’re not. That was quite a-“
“I’m fine,” Yumiko interrupted her. “It makes sense. Everything makes a certain amount of sense now.” She stood up, and Mori followed suit, looking concerned.
“Yumiko,” Mori shook her head. “You can’t pretend that you didn’t just have your world turned upside-down.”
“That’s been happening a lot lately. Maybe I’m learning to roll with it.” Yumiko crossed her arms. “I remember things, you know. I remember what it was like when I grew up with my mother.”
“You retained her memories when you were made in her image,” Mori nodded. “That’s why you were so confused.”
“See what sort of a life you can make for yourself out there.”
Of course, Kagami had assumed she wouldn’t be able to build any sort of life for herself in the human world. He hadn’t understood why she’d rejected him, when she was a yokai herself. Why hadn’t he told her? Why had he let her believe the lie?
“You’re still Yumiko,” Mori said, watching her. “You’re still like a daughter to me.”
Yumiko stiffened at that, and looked up at Madame Mori. She saw kindness in the woman’s eyes, affection in her smile. Nothing had changed. She was right. Just because truths that had been there all along had been revealed didn’t change everything that had occurred over the past ten years. “And you’re like a mother to me,” Yumiko told her, and managed a smile.
She was glad that she had a mission to take her mind off of things. If there was something she was good at it, it was throwing herself into work, closing herself off and focusing. It probably wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with discovering that you were actually a monster and not a human being, but Yumiko didn’t exactly have the luxury to rock herself on the floor of a shower and cry for hours. And she wouldn’t if she did. That wasn’t who she was. Maybe the other Yumiko, the one who had fled with her mother, who’d grown up to live a normal life as a normal human being had that luxury. Maybe that’s who she was. But it didn’t matter. When Yumiko had been created in that girl’s image, she had taken a different path. A harder path. Looking back, she doubted she would find any remnants of that innocent girl left within her. She might as well be a stranger, even if they had shared memories once upon a time. Her mother was a stranger, if she could even call her mother. It would be more appropriate to call the mirror she’d sprung from her mother.
Swallowing the bitterness she tried to deny that she felt, Yumiko strode confidently into the courtyard to greet her friends. Reina and Shou were there, as were Enenra and Tanuki. A half dozen kappa stood alongside them, the brave, ugly beasts. A beautiful woman stood beside Enenra, with long, flowing black hair. She was dressed in casual attire similar to the others, and while her face seemed familiar, Yumiko couldn’t quite place her.
“Is this it?” Yumiko asked, surveying the group with mild disappointment. She’d thought that other yokai would feel inspired to join them in freeing the man who’d built such a beautiful sanctuary for them.
“Well,” Reina shrugged, exchanging a look with Shou, “the two oni wanted to come, but seeing as how they were recently on Shuten-Doji’s side, we kind of nixed that idea.”
Yumiko nodded her approval on that decision.
“And I didn’t feel particularly comfortable with The Slit-Mouthed Woman fighting alongside us,” Shou admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Call it a grudge, if you must.”
“Okay,” Yumiko said, taking a step toward the mystery woman. “You will be joining us?”
The woman looked down her nose at Yumiko and flipped her hair. “I will help you because I like Kagami. I owe him for his hospitality and it only seems honorable.” She smiled. “And I haven’t had a chance to stretch my tresses in ages.”
Yumiko’s eyes narrowed and she eyed the girl’s hair closely. Each strand ended in wicked-looking barbs that she’d at first mistaken for curls.
Standing up straight, Yumiko bowed to her. “We appreciate the help, Harionago,” she said politely, recalling a rather feverish skirmish with the yokai before she’d sent her to this world. Harionago had complete control over her hair, and had been skinning a man alive with it, and very met
iculously at that, when Yumiko had caught up with her. She hadn’t been named The Barbed Woman for her sharp tongue.
“And you as well,” Yumiko bowed to the kappa, who looked pleased at her attention. Her smile stiffened when she stood upright to see Ame-Onna hanging on the arm of one of the kappa. “And what are you doing here?”
Ame-Onna flashed a smile her way. “I can’t very well let you save my master without my help.”
Yumiko glared at her. “Too bad. You’re not coming.” She looked to the others, and waved them toward The Hall of Mirrors. “Let’s move. We’re going to come out of a mirror in a shrine at the base of Mount Ooe. Since Shuten-Doji has no mirrors anywhere on the mountain itself, we’re going to have a very long hike ahead of us.”
Ame-Onna sighed as they began marching away without her. “Very well. I guess Kagami must have also told you about Shuten-Doji’s totem, after all.”
Yumiko stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes briefly. Ame-Onna would happen to know the one piece of information that she needed. Destroy the totem, destroy the yokai. In Shuten-Doji’s case, sending him to the mirror world wasn’t an option. She needed to destroy that totem.
Turning and stalking back over to Ame-Onna, Yumiko had to clench her hands into fists to keep from wiping the smile from her smug face. “What is the totem?” Yumiko asked, through clenched teeth.
Ame-Onna’s smile widened. “I will tell you. But you’re taking me with you. I deserve to be in this party.”
Yumiko stared into her eyes for a moment, trying to conjure up as much intimidation as she could, but Ame-Onna didn’t flinch. She knew that Yumiko needed her.
“Fine,” Yumiko spat, turning on her heel. “But you’d better hold your own.”
Ame-Onna chuckled at her back. “I always do.”
***
The trek up Mount Ooe was arduous. By late afternoon, they took a break by a mountain stream to rest and partake of provisions. The kappa took the opportunity to leap into the stream and frolic. They spit water at each other and splashed about playfully like little children. Yumiko enjoyed watching them, and sat at the edge of the stream, munching on an apple.
They were nearly halfway up the mountain, and already it was growing chilly. Even though it was Spring in Japan, the higher they climbed, the closer they got to the snow-capped peak, where it was bound to be downright frigid. Yumiko was glad that she’d had the foresight to bring a jacket, as had Shou. Reina, however, looked like she regretted her poor choice of attire, and already hugged her arms around herself.
“You can turn back now, if you want,” Yumiko offered softly as Reina took a seat beside her, eyeing the kappa with a wide smile. “I can have one of the kappa escort you back down.”
Reina shrugged. “I’ll be fine. We have sleeping bags and blankets for when we break camp for the night. If I get really cold, I’ll just throw a blanket over my shoulders.”
“Let’s hope there aren’t any cute boys at the top then.”
Reina rolled her eyes and nodded toward Shou. “I think you and Shou won this round. I’m left out in the cold again.”
Yumiko scoffed. “You call Enenra a prize?”
“He’s hot,” Reina said, glancing in his direction admiringly. “Even if he is made of smoke.” She cocked her head. “You don’t think Shou’s getting in over his head with that one, do you?”
“I think Shou can handle him.”
Reina chuckled. “I still can’t believe he’s gay. I was totally crushing on him.”
Yumiko smirked. “Don’t tell him that. He has a big enough ego as is.” She bit her lip and sent Reina a mischievous look. “And what guy haven’t you crushed on?” she teased.
Reina pretended offense and slapped Yumiko’s arm half-heartedly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just because I think Enenra’s cute. And Shou’s cute. And Brian’s cute.”
Yumiko giggled. “Tramp.”
“Hey, I’m desperate at this point.”
“Tanuki?”
“Not that desperate,” Reina amended, trying to hold back her laughter. “But seriously, you think I’m totally boy crazy, don’t you?”
“Yes. Because you are.”
Reina nodded, sobering. “I’m just…exploring my options. It’s empowering.” She shrugged. “Not everyone can be as confident as you.”
“As confident as me?” Yumiko asked, bewildered. “Boy, have you been reading me wrong. I’m a wreck.”
“We’re all wrecks. We just have to be happy with who we are.”
“Exactly. You don’t need a boy. You’re great without one.”
“Really?” Reina beamed.
“Really,” Yumiko said firmly, then sighed. “I can’t say that I’ve always appreciated your presence. I kind of took you for granted. But you really are a good friend, Reina. Thank you for doing this.”
Reina blushed and glanced away, then grinned as she looked back at her. “Hey, it’s not like I had anything else to do.”
***
The sun began to set a few hours later. When the path began to grow dark and the terrain flattened out enough for a suitable camp ground, they stopped and set up their tents. Haronago built hers by herself, and finished before any of the others, as she used tendrils of hair like limbs, holding stakes steady with strands and coiling them around mallets, effectively demonstrating the incredible strength each follicle wielded. And then she disappeared into her tent without a word to anyone, or offering to lend a hand elsewhere.
“Real sociable, that one,” Reina muttered, walking past Yumiko.
Yumiko smirked and looked up to see a full moon shining overhead, silvering the mountainside, and providing enough light to be able to watch their immediate surroundings, should anything decide to take advantage of the night to attack. As of yet, they hadn’t encountered a single threat, which unnerved Yumiko. What if Shuten-Doji had left his mountain fortress in favor of a safer location to dispose of Brian? It was too quiet. She’d expected some form of resistance by now.
“What do you think?” Shou asked quietly as he sidled up to her, having just finished erecting his tent. He wiped an arm across his forehead, then gulped at a water bottle greedily.
“I think that something has to be watching us,” Yumiko decided. “I just don’t know why they haven’t attacked yet.”
“Maybe they’re waiting for the right moment,” Shou suggested.
“When most of us have fallen asleep?”
Shou shrugged.
Enenra appeared behind Shou like an apparition, most of his body foggy as it dispersed into smoke. “I’m going to take a look around.”
“Good idea,” Shou nodded.
Yumiko tapped her lower lip. “Look for satori. They would be somewhere nearby, but would keep themselves well-hidden.”
“Satori?” Shou asked, surprised. “Why satori?”
“Because that’s who I would send out here,” Yumiko said as Enenra nodded to her and faded into the darkness. She turned to Shou. “The satori can read people’s minds. It would be the perfect way for Shuten-Doji to gather intelligence on us, and assess the threat. He doesn’t know how many people are coming after him, or what our plan of attack is. One well-placed satori would change that and give him quite an advantage.”
Shou pressed his lips into a frown and looked around at the bushes and shrubs that surrounded them, jutting out of the rocky hills and crags. The shadows were deep and inky black, and any number of things could be hiding nearby and they would never know, especially if those things were much more familiar with the terrain than they were.
A rattling sound from nearby caused Yumiko to pause and tilt her head. Shou frowned and was about to say something, but she put a hand on his arm for quiet. He looked around for the source of the noise, eyes widening when he gazed beyond Yumiko.
Yumiko whirled to see a mammoth figure, several stories tall, pushing through the evergreen trees to the east of where they stood. In the moonlight, white bones gleamed ghostly, making
the giant skeleton stand out starkly against the surrounding darkness. It was apparent from the noise that the sound they heard was its bones creaking, its teeth clanking.
While Yumiko didn’t necessarily consider it a threat presently, she nonetheless ushered Shou to the thick shadows beneath a nearby boulder, and quietly watched the behemoth until it disappeared, although they heard its bones rattling long after they could no longer see it.
“Did you guys see that?” Reina whisper-shouted, skulking over to them and ducking into the shadows. “That was crazy!”
“It was beautiful,” Shou said, still gazing in the direction they’d seen it disappear.
Yumiko nodded. “It was beautiful, in a way.”
“What was it?” Reina asked.
“Gasha-Dokuro,” Shou answered before Yumiko could. “It’s a yokai fueled by the remains of hundreds of bodies. It’s usually found in remote areas, near mass graves.”
“Or during wartime,” Yumiko added. “I’ve never actually seen one. They’re quite rare these days, since the amount of death needed for them to form is so extensive. And they have to continue to consume dead bodies, or perish.”
“Which means that Shuten-Doji has been quite busy,” Reina said thoughtfully.
“I would say so.”
The air thickened suddenly, and Enenra appeared outside of their haven of shadows. He looked amused to find them hiding, but he didn’t comment on it.
“Did you find anything?” Shou asked, stepping out into the moonlight.
“A satori,” Enenra reported with a nod. “There were tracks of two others, but I wasn’t able to find them.”
“So, he’s going to know we’re here,” Reina said, sagging. “And who’s here.”
Yumiko frowned. It was a blow, but perhaps something could be salvaged from this setback. “Where is it?”
Enenra cocked his head. “I trapped him half a mile from here.”
“Bring me to it.”
Enenra raised an eyebrow. “Giving orders like a queen already, are you?”