Something was very wrong. The young prince of the Enishi could feel the presence of some unknown evil approaching the village. The wise woman, Kaede, had ordered all the villagers to return to their homes. Miroku noticed as he rode through the forest that the animals were acting strangely. As he came up the road leading to the village, he saw that even Kirara seemed a little restless. He jumped off her back onto a nearby wall for a greater vantage point as he looked around to see what was going on in the village.
"Come on, Kirara." He commanded as he ran along the stone structure.
The nekomata ran up a wooden step ladder beside the wall and quickly took her place at her master's side. Kirara lowered her head so Miroku could hoist himself onto her back. As they rode up the path, Miroku noticed his sister Kagome and her friends, Yuka and Eri, up ahead.
"Girls!"
"Miroku!" called Kagome in response.
"Something strange is going on. You must hurry. Lady Kaede has ordered everyone back to the village at once."
"We just came from Mushin."
"Did he see something?"
"Yes, in the forest. Something's wrong."
"The birds have all gone!" said Eri.
"And the animals, too!" piped Yuka.
"I'll go to the watch tower and check with Mushin. You three hurry home as quick as you can."
"Alright. Be careful!"
Miroku rode toward the watch tower and dismounted Kirara, leaving her at the base. As he climbed up the ladders to reach the top, he paused to peer into the forest beyond after feeling the ominous presence yet again. A slithering black mass was visible over the stone wall that separated the forest from the meadow in front of it.
"Something's there."
Miroku continued his climb and soon stood by Mushin's side. The old man was staring intently at the same spot the prince had observed.
"Mushin did you see it, too?"
"I did. That thing isn't human." Said Mushin.
"Lady Kaede is calling everyone back to the village."
Miroku looked down to see some villagers scrambling to get to shelter.
"Look there," Mushin said.
Miroku looked again at the space between the trees, retrieving an arrow from his quiver and drawing his bow. He aimed it at the shadows where the unknown creature was hidden.
A strange black substance bubbled and quivered between the stones in the wall, the surrounding trees and vegetation withered and died wherever it made contact. A grotesque creature with red eyes burst through the wall and crawled onto the open field, its limbs and body made of innumerable black worm-like appendages that wriggled as it moved.
"It's some kind of demon!" yelled Mushin.
"A demon?" asked Miroku.
It stopped in the middle of the meadow, the black mass leaping up into the air to reveal a giant boar. The animal threw back its head and roared. When the boar was once again covered in its writhing black shroud, it moved toward the watch tower. Kirara was directly in its path.
"Run, Kirara, run!" Miroku called to the nekomata.
Despite the command, Kirara did not move an inch. She stood visibly shaking with fear. Miroku fired his arrow at a beam that held up the watch tower, effectively startling his friend into action. As Kirara fled, the demon boar crashed into the tower and toppled it over. Miroku grabbed Mushin as they fell, jumping with him into the nearby trees.
"It's headed for the village!" said Miroku as he and Mushin caught their bearings, "I have to stop it."
Without another word, Miroku descended from the tree and ran to where the watch tower once stood.
"Wait, Prince Miroku!" Mushin pleaded, "Be careful! That thing is cursed! Don't let it touch you!"
"Here, Kirara!" called Miroku to his companion as he restrung his bow atop a ruined rock.
Once at her master's side, Miroku climbed on and together they rode down a steep rocky slope into the forest below. The two found the boar running through the trees, destroying everything in its path.
Miroku cut in front of it as it ran toward the village, pleading with the creature.
"Calm your fury, oh mighty lord! Whatever you are, god or demon! Please, leave us in peace!"
Meanwhile, Kagome and her friends were walking down the hill to the village when they saw the boar appear from the forest, stopping to observe the area. Training its burning eyes on the girls, it raced toward them at a surprising speed.
"A monster!" cried Eri in alarm.
"Come one!" shouted Kagome, beckoning the others to follow her.
Miroku cut off the boar again in an effort to stop the beast from causing harm, but it continued to charge forward.
"Go back!" he commanded, "Please, leave our village alone! I beg you, please! Stop!"
While the girls ran, Yuka tripped and fell to the ground. Eri stopped and tried to help her up.
"Get up!" yelled Kagome. Stopping to face the boar, Kagome drew her sword to defend her friends. The other girls watched in horror as the terrifying beast came toward them.
"Kagome!" shouted Miroku.
Turning in his saddle, he drew an arrow through his bow and fired it into one of the creature's eyes, stopping it in its tracks. A deafening cry of pain filled the air. The creature's body seemed to be transforming as the black appendages shifted to take new shape, creating a bulbous quivering mass.
"Run!" Miroku shouted to the girls.
"Hurry! Come on!" said Kagome as she and Eri hauled Yuka to her feet and made their escape.
Miroku stood before the creature, watching its movements as its body transformed. Sensing danger, he turned Kirara and rode away from the beast.
Suddenly, several limbs shot out from the boar's body, reaching for Miroku as he ran in a circle around it.
A limb latched on tightly to his right arm, searing his flesh through the fabric of his bracer. With a sharp tug, he pulled free of the appendage and drew up his bow. The wounded on his right arm bubbled as he fired an arrow into the boar's head, drawing another in case that was not enough to dispatch the beast. The animal screamed in pain, it's unnatural limbs falling to the ground and ceasing their pursuit.
Kirara stopped running at a safe distance away from the demon, giving Miroku a moment to examine his wound. The bracer around his arm was dissolving, leaving his skin red and inflamed. Although the wound was extremely painful, he merely gritted his teeth and raised his head to look at the monster he had defeated. The boar stood where it had been shot, breathing heavily. Its left eye seeping a black slime which killed the grass at its feet. It fell to the ground and lay on its side.
"He killed it!" shouted a village elder.
"Miroku!" cried Kagome, running toward her brother.
"Fetch Lady Kaede!" said the elder.
"Don't put out the fire yet!" said a man from the village.
Kirara walked forward to meet Kagome halfway, Miroku falling off into her waiting arms.
"Miroku, are you all right?"
"Don't touch it, Kagome." Said Miroku. "This is an evil wound."
Miroku grabbed a handful of soil, rubbing it onto his arm. He and Kagome continued covering the wound until Lady Kaede arrived.
"All of you, keep away from him!" said the old woman, "Stay back, I say!"
"What should we do?" asked Kagome frantically.
"Slowly pour this over his wound," said Lady Kaede, handing her a large jug.
Rushing back to her brother's side, Kagome uncorked the jug and poured the contents onto Miroku's arm. He winced, grunting in pain.
Kaede approached the beast, bowing low.
"O nameless god of rage and hate, I bow before you."
She bowed again.
"A mound shall be raised and burial rites performed on this ground where you have fallen. Go in peace and bear us no hatred."
"Disgusting creatures," said the boar in a menacing voice, "Soon all of you will feel my hate… and suffer… as I have suffered."
The boar's body disintegrated, leaving nothing but a giant skeleton lying in a pool of blood. The villagers were repulsed by the sight of it and shied away from the stench. Though the boar was dead, it's evil presence could still be felt by all present.
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The village elders, Lady Kaede, and Prince Miroku all gathered secretly that evening. The wise woman was to determine the next course of action for the prince by reading his fortune. Everyone sat inside a wooden fort, the wise woman and the prince in the middle of the room while the elders were seated at the right wall. Miroku sat cross-legged opposite Lady Kaede, his face stoic. His arms were extended with both hands resting on his knees, his right arm was bandaged.
Lady Kaede sat with her right leg folded under her left knee, scattering polished stones over a white mat with a red triangle in the middle. Leaves and an antler had also been placed among the stones.
"This is very bad indeed," she said when she had finished.
"The boar god carried some kind of poison inside him, driving him to madness. A hatred so poisonous that it manifested, consuming his heart and flesh and turning him into a demon. Prince Miroku?"
"Yes?"
"Show everyone your right arm."
The prince unwrapped his bandaged arm, holding it up for all to see. The wound had grown and produced large black and purple markings that wrapped around his entire forearm like a phantom hand. The elders gasped at the sight.
"What does it mean?" asked one of them
"My prince. Are you prepared to learn the fate foretold to you by these stones?
"Yes. I was prepared when I loosed my first arrow."
The wise woman nodded.
"The infection will spread through your entire body, destroying your bones and flesh. It shall cause you great pain, and then it will kill you."
Miroku lowered his head, but his expression did not change.
"Is there no way we can stop it?" asked the elder who spoke up earlier.
"The prince got that wound by defending our village and saving our lives!" said another
"Do we just sit here and watch him die?" asked a third.
"Your fate cannot be altered, but you can rise to meet it. If that is your desire." Kaede continued.
The old woman tossed a small metal ball onto the mat.
"This ball of iron was found in the boar's carcass. It shattered his bones and burned its way deep inside his body. This is what hurt him and turned him into a demon. There is evil working in the Western lands, my prince. It is your destiny to go there and see what you can with eyes unclouded by hate. You may find a way to lift your curse. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"We are the last of the Enishi." Said the oldest elder, "Five- hundred years have passed since the emperor destroyed our tribe and drove the remainder of our people to the East. Some have managed to survive here for all this time, but the blood of our people grows thinner with every generation. Now you're saying that our last prince must cut his hair and leave us, never to return? The gods must be laughing at us."
Miroku turned to an ornate bowl, unsheathing a knife in his hand. Raising the knife to the bun atop his head, he used one hand to hold his hair and the other to cut. The elders looked on sadly, one put his head in his hands. The prince placed the hair into the bowl and bowed low.
"Our laws forbid us from watching you leave, Miroku. "said Kaede as the former prince turned to face her once more. "Whatever happens now, you are dead to us. Forever."
Miroku bowed, stood up, and turned to leave.
"Farewell."
To his credit, Miroku showed no signs of grief. He did not crumple under the weight of his impending doom, but walked tall and steady as he left the fort. His face remained stoic, not looking back at his former kin. He left them for the last time.
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Once he had prepared all he would need for his journey, Miroku retrieved Kirara from the stable and coaxed her out into the open. When they were on their way, they were stopped by Kagome.
"What are you doing here, Kagome?" asked Miroku in a whisper, "You know it's forbidden!"
"I don't care about that. I came to give you this so you would never forget your little sister."
Miroku took a small arrowhead shaped object from Kagome's outstretched hands.
"Your crystal dagger. I can't take this, Kagome."
"Brother, promise you'll keep it with you to protect you! Take it with you, please, I want you to have it! So you won't… forget."
"You know I could never forget you, Kagome."
With those parting words, Miroku rode out of the village into the night as Kagome watched. He would never be seen there again.