Land of One Hundred Stories
by volta arovet
This story contains many references to classic Japanese tales. I've included a long author's note at the end of this story which outlines where the different characters come from.
The land of Kaidan was covered in fog. It slept in the valleys, crawled through the streets, and slid under the doors until everything was cushioned by the thick, white mist. Rootless moss hung from the trees, drinking their fill from the air and sighing in vampiric satisfaction with the wind. People shuffled slowly through the mist, never hurrying for fear of walking into someone else.
Voices drifted through the air, disembodied from their curtained source, and the bright clatter of geta on cobblestone was met by a lusty line of song long before the two men met.
"The serpent's heads said bottoms up' and chugged that holy brew; with eight stomachs full of sake, I bet you'd be snoozing too!" The singing man finished the verse with a flourish, sweeping his slick, black cane through the air.
"Très bien, très bien!" the other man cheered, clapping graciously. His wolf companion grolfed softly, its nose working overtime through the thick fog. "You have provided a truly unique welcome to your city!"
The singer's enormous ears perked up, and he blinked through his smoky spectacles. "Dig it! Travelers, and ones with good taste!" His voice was old and smooth, like a handful of gravel ground down into the finest sand. "My luck must be crazy. Tell me, man, are you patrons of the arts, or do you ride the art groove itself?"
"A touch of both," the man demurred. The wolf chuffed and butted her head into the man's knees. "Pardonez moi. Perhaps it is better to say that my mere dabbling in the arts is well compensated by my companion's great talent and greater generosity." The wolf huffed in approval and ambled away to inspect some nearby birds.
"Yeah, man, I knew I sensed someone with the groove! The name's Hoichi, song cat extraordinaire." He did a shuffling sort of bow, more of a sketchy dance than a humbling act.
"Waka, god's gift to man," Waka said, with his own brand of dramatic bow. The effect, naturally, was lost on Hoichi, though the blind songster seemed to appreciate the title. "With me is ma chérie and irreplaceable companion, Amaterasu." Said companion gave a friendly yip, then wagged her tail in excitement as the noise sent her little bird friends spiraling into the air.
Hoichi slung the biwa off of his back. "And this is my irreplaceable companion, Benten." He slapped its strings, which hummed in a pleasant manner. "You play?"
"Only the flute, I'm afraid," Waka said.
"Solid! We're having a little shindig later tonight at the Dead Dog Cafe; you should definitely come jam with us. We play all kinds of crazy songs, but the specialty of the house is The Most Happening Tale of the Heike. We're also working on a second part to the story about those crazy cats Nagi and Nami, but our Lady starts to flip if we go too long with that song, so keep that one between you, me, and the fog." Hoichi tapped a finger against the side of his nose in a pointed manner.
"Your secret is safe, mon frère. We would be delighted to join you later tonight." Waka paused for a moment and glanced at the fog, which seemed thicker than ever. "Provided, of course, that we can find our way."
"Not used to not seeing where you're going? Wonder what that's like." Hoichi laughed and strummed another chord. "You get used to it, so I hear. Just keep walking towards the music, and if your nose hits a wall, turn left."
Waka nodded. "Fair advice," he said in admission. "I don't suppose there have been ill effects due to the fog? Perhaps a sudden sickness in the area?" he asked a little too eagerly.
Hoichi frowned. "No, man, not unless you count a general case of the black and blues. It's a drag, but that's it. On the plus side, the acoustics are jamming."
"Ah. Things are never that simple, are they, mon chou?" The wolf did not deign to respond, having gone to sleep in the interim. "Never mind. We will simply have to spend more time exploring the city."
Hoichi slung the biwa onto his back "Dig it, dig it. Much as I'd like to stand around shooting the fog fantastic, I feel obligated to tell you that anyone planning to do more than a one night swing in this city's got to check in with our main boss and Lady of the land, Lady Izanami. Just keep walking down this road, and when you crash into a big set of gates, you're there."
"Thank you, we will do just that."
"Later, gator," Hoichi said, and shuffled off, cane tapping in time to his singing. "Our main man Nagi knew the time had come to fight, and he..."
Waka knelt to Amaterasu's level and ran a hand through her thick, silky fur. "Reveille, mon chou. We have much to do before we rest tonight, and it is not fair for you to sleep through the tedious investigation part of our journey."
Amaterasu yawned and gave Waka's face a cursory lick.
Waka stood and sashayed his way down the street in the direction Hoichi had indicated. "Come now, and be sure to keep up. It would not do to be separated in this fog. We would never find each other ever again, and I'm certain one of us would simply--"
Amaterasu dashed past him in a blur of flowers.
"--die of loneliness. Wait for me, chérie!" Waka raced after her, holding his hat in place with one hand and the other in front of him to check for obstacles. Only the constant scent of fresh flowers and autumn leaves assured him that he had not lost his friend's trail.
He found her sitting primly in front of a very ornate set of gates, her tail wrapped smartly about her feet.
"That was not funny, petite."
The wolf's tongue lolled, giving the distinct impression that, on the contrary, it had been very funny.
Both wolf and prophet jumped when the gates creaked open, unlatched by an unnoticed old guard. He wore armor in the old style, which may have fit him as a youth, but now he rattled about in it like the final arrow in an archer's quiver. "Come in," the old guard said, beckoning them with spindly fingers. "The Lady would like to meet with you."
Waka bowed in an after you' motion, graciously letting Amaterasu trot ahead. She quickly disappeared into the inner halls. "I had no idea we were expected," Waka said, making casual note of the patterns in the gate and tapestries on the walls.
"The Lady sees all newcomers to our town," the old guard said with a dry parchment voice. "Particularly those who are warriors, or those who travel with wolves as their companions."
"Quelle intéressant," Waka said blandly. As they approached the inner chamber, Amaterasu came running back to them, pawing furiously at her nose. "What is the matter, chérie? You are not being very polite to our host."
Amaterasu looked at him with big, soulful, inkblot eyes and whined softly. Waka tsked.
"My poor Amaterasu," Waka said, and knelt, inviting her into his lap. She nearly toppled him as she rushed to bury her poor, sensitive nose within his robes. She breathed deeply, the familiar scent of fabric and soap driving away the noxious fumes irritating her nose. "Perhaps this will teach you not to go sniffing where you haven't been invited to sniff, hm?"
Amaterasu whuffed and pressed her cold, wet nose against Waka's warm, unprotected, and particularly ticklish belly. Waka's squeal was a manly squeal.
The guard cleared his throat.
"Ah, yes, pardonez moi. My companion will remain here while I meet with your Lady. I promise she will be on her best behavior. Is this acceptable?"
The guard nodded, though his mouth was set in a disapproving line. Amaterasu gracefully extricated herself from Waka's lap and curled up on the floor, nose resting neatly on her front paws, the very model of a wolf who was up to no trouble.
Waka opened the doors of the main chamber and brushed aside the clinging curtains. The inner chamber was as thick with incense as the streets were with fog, and the scent of smoke and old, dead flowers was so strong that Waka's eyes watered in sympathy while his nose gave up the hope of smelling anything properly for the next hour. The aisle down the center of the room was lined with decorative votives and peony lanterns casting a warm glow about the room, and at the end of the aisle on a raised dais sat the Lady.
She was dressed in the colors of spring flowers at dusk, and wore feathers in her hair. Her features were as obscured by her white lace fan and gauzy veils as they were by the thick, swirling incense.
"Greetings, traveler. Please come forward," the Lady said in a voice of chocolate silk. "I am the Lady Izanami, mistress of this town."
"Waka, wandering prophet," Waka said, choosing an alternate one of his many titles. He fell into a luxurious bow. "Enchanté."
"Ah," she said, and it was simply an ah' with neither pleasure nor judgment.
"I am not whom you expected?" Waka asked, arching an eyebrow. "Or perhaps it is better to say, this is not the person you wanted?"
"It never is," she said with a heart-breaking laugh. "Do not trouble yourself, it is no fault of yours; I have merely been waiting for a particular person for a very long time. I welcome you to our town, and hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you, you are most gracious. As a thanks to my lovely host, would my Lady care to hear a prophecy?" Waka's hand rested pointedly on his flute.
The Lady fanned herself, her dark-lashed eyes barely visible above the spiderweb lace. "Yes. I believe it would be... interesting."
Waka twirled his flute, raising it lightly to his lips. The notes tripped playfully through the air, lilting and swaying like a drunken kappa. The ambient magic came to him as it always did, nearby dreams and fears coloring the prophecy. There was true magic here, yes, but it was strange, almost hidden, sad but not malicious.
Waka lifted the flute from his lips and whirled around, loose sleeves snapping sharply, flashing rose and red. He pointed to the Lady, and as he spoke, a strange wind lifted the wings of his hat, billowing them fiercely behind him.
"Your reign and the fog will last until the dogwood blooms!" Waka pronounced.
"Oh," the Lady said, fluttering her fan as she thought.
Waka cocked his head, and as the glow of prophecy left him and the sourceless wind died down, he was yet again just a man. "Was the prophecy not to your liking?"
"It is merely strange. We have no dogwood in this land. I suppose this could mean that I shall always reign over this town." She pressed her fan to her lips. Waka watched impassively. "No. No, I suppose not. In all the stories I have heard, there has never been one where such a prophecy meant an unending rule. Quite often, it seems that the more impossible the condition, the more quickly the end will come."
She shook her head, and Waka raised his eyebrows in mild approval.
"I shall think on this. Thank you, Prophet Waka, though I admit I would rather know if my stay here will end happily, rather than simply that it will end."
"Such is the way of things," Waka said. It was a useful phrase that seemed to say much while saying nothing at all. "Au revoir, Lady."
"Be well, young prophet," Izanami said as the curtains swayed shut.
Waka and Amaterasu quickly left the Lady's abode, all the time under the pressure of the old guard's disapproving gaze.
"Trees," Waka said to Amaterasu after relaying the prophecy. "It always seems to be trees which lift the curses throughout Nippon, doesn't it? Personally, I blame you, baby." Amaterasu made a mildly amused noise. "I suppose you would know all about trees, wouldn't you? Some might call it an obsession." Amaterasu yalped and shook her fur. "Well, enough of this sad place. Let's go somewhere a bit more cheerful. Care to lead the way,mon petit lapin?"
Amaterasu flicked her tail and rushed through the streets in a burst of speed, letting the cool wind and fog run through her fur and chase away the overpowering scents of incense and funeral flowers. This time, Waka followed close behind, the tails of his hat flowing behind him as Amaterasu ran unerringly towards the largest concentration of people in the town.
The stopped in front of a rundown building full of lights and music. The roof was pleasantly crooked and the sign out front had a chipped painting of an old dog.
"You always lead exactly where we need to go," Waka praised. Amaterasu preened. "Shall we go inside?"
They walked down the cobblestoned path to the door. Amaterasu's short claws went tik tak tik tak and Waka's geta went karan koron karan koron against the hard stone.
A young man burst through the door. "Darling!" he cried as he wrapped Waka in a mad embrace. "I have missed you so much!"
"Mon amour!" Waka cried. "I have no idea who you are!"
Like magnets reversed, the young man repelled himself from Waka as quickly as he had clung to him. "Oh! I'm very sorry, I, ah, I thought you were someone else. Obviously. Never mind, ah, just forget I...even exist." He fiddled with his topknot ornament, an interesting collection of parchment and pens. Amaterasu nosed his hand in a comforting manner before he melted into a blushing pile of goo.
"Not at all! I have found everyone in this town to be exceedingly friendly and inviting." Waka pointed to the youth and winked. "Bonus points for enthusiasm, baby." Amaterasu lapped at the youth's hand until his blush faded from pomegranate to peony.
"We have to be! With all this fog and so few visitors, it sometimes feels like we're the only people in the world. If we didn't make an effort to have some fun, we'd all go a little batty!" He grabbed Waka's hand. "Please, let me buy you a drink."
Waka turned to Amaterasu. "Shall we?" The wolf nodded and trotted alongside the youth as they entered the cafe.
"I'm Saburo, by the way. I'm a scholar. Well, former scholar," the youth babbled. "I'm kind of going in a different direction now."
The cafe was filled with music and laughter and only a moderate amount of fog mixed into the smoky atmosphere. At the center of attention was Hoichi, playing wildly on his biwa while others banged on drums and rang bells and sang along and generally did whatever they could to fill the room with noise. "He's not the type to lose the girl, so he trucked his way to the underworld, and man, those spirits fly!" Hoichi sang.
The other focus of the room was the bar, tended by a grumpy old man and adorned with a massive painting of a dog sitting proudly in front of a cherry tree.
"This is Inujiji," Saburo introduced. "He's my grandpa and the owner of the Dead Dog."
"Little Pochy's Cafe!" the old man bellowed.
"A round for me and my friend, if you please," Saburo said, ignoring the correction and focusing on Waka. "I'm trying to be a poet now. I think it's my true calling in life. I'm pretty sure I'm on to something here, if only I could think up a rhyme for chartreuse..."
"Star cruise," Waka said absentmindedly, sending Saburo into a flurry of motion as he grabbed pen and paper from his makeshift topknot ornament and rushed to record the suggestion.
Inujiji thumped two cups and a bowl onto the bar. "One for the stranger, one for the penniless ingrate, and a bowl of milk and bones for the sweet little white dog who is so much like my little Pochy." He wiped a tear and gazed at the ornate urn beneath the painting. "Oh, Pochy. How this town has suffered since you've been taken from us!"
"It wasn't the dog, it was the tree," Saburo said, setting aside his scribblings. He picked up his drink, pushed aside the paper umbrella and fruity ornamentation, and spoke around his straw. "Everyone knows that."
Amaterasu's ears perked up, attentive even while she was happily gobbling down her treat. "Tree?" Waka asked.
"The old cherry tree." Saburo chewed on his straw. "It died a long time ago."
"It died of loneliness after my beloved Pochy could no longer visit it!" Inujiji interrupted.
"That's when the fog came in and people stopped visiting up so often," Saburo continued. "Then the Lady showed up and helped keep the town stable when no one else would come here." He frowned. "I'm pretty sure it was in that order, anyway."
"But first, evil spirits killed my dog!" Inujiji would not be deterred from the important matter at hand.
"And for some reason, a blind, deaf, toothless, 14-year-old dog mysteriously died in his sleep at around the same time," Saburo clarified.
"I see," Waka said, sharing a pointed look with Amaterasu. "I am very sorry for your loss. Is the old cherry tree still standing? We would like to pay our respects."
"It's in the field north of town," Saburo said, since Inujiji was too overcome by emotion to speak. "Not too far from here. If you hit the graveyard, you've gone too far. It's pretty creepy, though. You might want to wait until morning."
"No fog is too thick, no night is too dark to keep my from my journey!" Waka declared with a hand pressed to his heart. He was loud enough to make others wonder if there had perhaps been a drink that's too strong' involved. "I have been moved to the utmost by your story! We shall--"
"Hey, I know that loopy voice!" Hoichi said from across the room. "It's my main man Waka, come to show us how it's done on that crazy pipe of his! Pull up a seat, man!"
Waka dithered. "Merci, but I am on a mission of sorts, and..."
"Ain't nothing that can't wait an hour. You know Do You Know the Way to Mt. Hiei?'"
Waka's face brightened, then darkened. "I'm sorry, but I am on a mission from the Gods," Amaterasu butted Waka in the knees and nodded towards the performers, "and clearly--" Amaterasu physically pushed Waka in their direction, "clearly the Gods say I can take a break. My young poet friend!"
Saburo's head popped up.
"Entertain my companion, will you? She is a master at calligraphy; I am sure you will have much to talk about."
Hoichi thrummed his biwa, shaking his head in time with the beat running through his veins. "You ready to play, man?"
Waka brandished his flute. "Standard ondo progression, watch me for the changes, and try to keep up."
"Crazy, man!" Hoichi laughed and counted off the beat.
Saburo looked to Amaterasu. "C-calligraphy?"
Amaterasu gave him a big, doggy grin and flicked her paintbrush tail.
One hour, fourteen numbers, and perhaps one-too-many drinks later, Waka was showing the crowd how "Blow, Fujin, Blow!" was played and Saburo was pouring his heart out to Amaterasu.
"Her name is Tsuya," he sighed, and used a dry brush to trace the character of LOVE onto Amaterasu's back. They had previously determined that Amaterasu's pure white fur was finer than any parchment, and Saburo was pleased to imagine how the dark ink would look on her bright coat. Amaterasu, for her part, was extremely pleased to be such an admired canvas.
"We were engaged to be married when I finished my studies. Unfortunately, her parents weren't very pleased when I abandoned my studies in favor of becoming a poet. They broke our engagement."
He traced FORBIDDEN! on her fur.
"Soon after that, her parents told me that she and her maid had both tragically drowned when the river overflowed. That was only a few months ago."
DEATH was the next character. Amaterasu whined in sympathy and licked his hand.
From outside the cafe, the clattering sounds of geta on the stones rattledkatan koton. Saburo was halfway through tracing DRAMATIC IRONY before his mind caught up to his ears, and then he was leaping across the room to fling open the doors.
"Darling!" he cried, this time embracing the right person.
"Honeybear!" the girl squealed, and kissed him thoroughly.
"Alcohol!" the girl's maid begged as she squeezed past the two and slumped down at the bar. Her peony lantern rested at her feet, blossoms sagging in tired imitation of its owner. "Please, alcohol!"
Amaterasu tilted her head and made an inquiring noise.
Saburo broke apart from his girl and blushed. "Her parents were lying, of course," he told Amaterasu. "They had just sent her to live with some relatives in the country. They wanted to keep us apart."
"Never going to happen, Pookie-pie," Tsuya said, rubbing her nose against Saburo's.
"Of course not, Sweetie-muffin." The two sighed, gazing into each other's eyes.
Amaterasu rolled her eyes and slumped to the floor.
"Hey, Hoichi!" the maid called across the room, interrupting the musicians. "There's this totally human guy outside asking for you."
The music immediately stopped. "Botan, you are ever my angel of good news."
Botan sniffed and concentrated on her drink, her lips still set in a perfect pout.
"Well, folks," Hoichi said, hoisting his beloved Benten to his back, "the knock on the wall says it's time for you all to figure out what to do without me. You don't have to go home, but I can't stay here, heh heh."
With a double snap and a "dig ya later," Hoichi disappeared out the door. Saburo and Tsuya ran hand-in-hand into one of the back rooms, giggling madly all the way. Botan followed them slowly and settled herself at their doorway, quietly enjoying her drink much more than any one person had the right to. The band dispersed into just another collection of people with instruments.
Waka made his way back to Amaterasu. "Sadly, the party seems to be over." Amaterasu huffed and shook her ears. "Just as well," Waka said, smoothing the fur around Amaterasu's neck. "With all that attention our young poet friend was giving you, I was starting to get jealous, mon minou."
Amaterasu snapped at Waka's hand.
"Excuse me. Mon petit poussain d'amore adoré?" Waka tried.
Amaterasu nodded, mollified, and got to her feet. She trotted to the door.
"Au revoir, my good bartender," Waka said, waving at Inujiji. "À bientôt, baby," he said to Botan, giving her a sassy wink. "You know, in my day, we would merely hang our hat upon the door frame." She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips, which was as much an acknowledgment as anything.
The night air was sweet and cool and thick with fog. Amaterasu sniffed at it constantly, her talented nose leading them straight more reliably than Waka's small lantern. They walked north, or as close to north as they could approximate. The lights of the town faded behind them, and soon all they could see were the path at their feet and the faint ghosts in the fog, sad illusions brought about by Waka's lantern and Amaterasu's gentle, ever-present glow.
The cherry tree was bare and torn, broken limbs jutting out like old bones. Amaterasu whined. Waka placed a hand on the trunk, smoothing a gnarl of bark. It crumbled beneath his fingers. "Poor thing," he murmured. "You have been separated from your loved ones for a long time, haven't you?"
Waka produced a charm from his robes, said the appropriate chant with accompanying hand symbols, kissed it once for good luck, and pressed it to the trunk.
The tree did not react.
Amaterasu stared at the tree intently, her tail wagging in perfect circles. Flowers sprung up between the tree's roots, and its branches shivered for a moment, then were still. Amaterasu whined again, pawing at the ground. She stretched and yawned, and curled up in a perfectly dog-shaped divot in the tree's roots.
"Tired already, ma poupette?" Waka asked, leaning over her. She didn't respond. The soft scent of cherry blossoms drifted through the air, and for the first time in their stay, the fog started to lift. Faintly, the thin, metallic sounds of a biwa could be heard coming from over the hill.
Waka crept to the top of the hill, moving slowly so as not to disturb his companion's rest.
It was a graveyard. The first thing Waka noticed were the imps, dancing wildly around the tombs, like crumpled paper caught in the wind. Skeletons rattled and shook, chattering their teeth in appreciation. The ghosts were more dignified, floating sedately and nodding their heads in time to the music.
Waka apprised the situation, placed his hand on Pillow Talk, and leapt into battle. At least, he would have, if a certain wolf hadn't just clamped her jaws onto the seat of his hakama and refused to let go. Waka swallowed his yelp and turned an interesting shade of purple.
"What happened to leap before you look?'" Waka asked, rubbing his injured...pride.
Amaterasu gave Waka a look that clearly implied that he was an idiot, and perhaps threw in a few pointed remarks about his hat.
"There's no need to be rude,chérie."
Amaterasu rolled her eyes and motioned to the group below.
"And there he saw his blushing bride had gone all gross and corpsified," a familiar, gravelly voice sang from below. "So he turned tail and ran, baby, ran!"
"Ah. I see," Waka said, sheathing his sword. So Hoichi was wrapped up in all of this. Of course. He didn't seem to be in any immediate danger--the blind musician probably couldn't even tell his patrons weren't alive. And while defeating and exorcizing the group wouldn't be difficult, doing so while protecting their friend might be a risk they didn't need to take.
"As you wish, mon poulet," Waka sighed. "We will wait."
They watched, on edge, while the imps cavorted and the skeletons rattled and the spirits bobbed in time. As dawn approached, Hoichi laughed off his fifth request for an encore and tapped his way home. The ghosts vanished, the imps scampered away, and the skeletons climbed back into their tombs.
"Shall we purify the gravesite now, or wait until tonight when all of the spirits have returned?" Waka asked Amaterasu, who had already curled up in a neat little ball and fallen asleep at the dead tree's feet. "Very well," Waka said, and settled himself beside her. He tugged his hat down over his eyes, and Amaterasu stretched her head until her chin was resting lightly on his knee.
The sharp katan koton of geta broke the early morning silence. Amaterasu's ears swiveled towards the noise. "Going for a walk?" Waka asked, not bothering to remove the hat from his eyes.
"Just going home," Botan said coolly. "Don't mind us."
"Bonne journée," Waka murmured, and drifted back to sleep.
He woke to the conspicuous absence of Amaterasu. He rubbed his suddenly cold knee as he peered about in the fog, which was back to its usual impenetrable thickness. He was reminded of the first true piece of art he had created as a child: White Dog in White Fog. It has truly been a masterpiece to challenge the very boundaries of what is art?' despite his instructor's accusations of laziness. It seemed slightly less amusant now.
"Ma chérie?" Waka called. "Mon chou? Mon petite lapin?" He paused. "Amaterasu?"
The very smug wolf appeared before Waka.
"Busy purifying the graveyard?" Waka asked casually, a bit put out.
Amaterasu gave him a look that said that one of them was wise, talented, and in possession of a clever plan, and the other wore purple pants. Once her point was made, she dashed towards the town. Waka shrugged and followed. He had a vague idea what she was planning, or at least, where she was running to.
The Dead Dog was quiet in the midday lull. Inujiji was cleaning, spending as much time dusting the silver urn as he did polishing the bar. "Pardonez moi, we are simply looking for a friend," Waka said as they breezed past the entrance.
Amaterasu, never one for polite niceties, head-butted open the doors to the back rooms. The first one was empty, the second had a snoring Saburo whistling "Tsu" with every sigh and "ya" with every breath. The third room held the person they were looking for.
"Hoichi!" Waka roared as they made their grand entrance. "Mon frère, your very soul is in danger!" He pointed his flute at the man, the wings of his hat billowing mysteriously in the wind. (Not that the blind man could truly appreciate his gift for drama, but it was the principle of the thing.)
Hoichi jumped, then hastily slipped his bag of gold into the sleeve. "Waka, my man, you play a mean flute, but your words are all out of tune, dig?"
"We saw your performance last night," Waka said gravely. "The private one." Amaterasu curled up on the floor and waited for the exposition to be over.
Hoichi debated playing dumb, then hung his head. "I know it's selling out, but a man's got to eat, dig? And these cats are going places! Said if they like my sound they'll take me with them tonight." He lowered his voice. "Just don't tell the Lady. The backers said they're trying to keep a low profile, dig?"
"Mon frère, your patrons are ghosts."
Hoichi blanched. "But they were kickin' last night!"
Waka paused to think this over. "No, what I mean is, your patrons remain ghosts, as dead as they were last night when you played for them in the graveyard, and as dead as they were the night before that, and as dead as they will continue to be this night when they drag your spirit with them to death's door." He paused again to judge Hoichi's reaction, and added, "Very dead."
The musician's shoulders slumped. "Major drag, man."
"But fear not! We have come up with a plan to keep you safe while we defeat all of your enemies!"
Amaterasu took this cue to start tugging on Hoichi's robes.
"And apparently this plan involves you getting undressed," Waka said blithely.
"Better my clothes than my skin, dig?" Hoichi said, quickly stripping down to a simple fundoshi.
Amaterasu produced an ink stone, eyed her human canvas carefully, and began to draw. Deftly, the sutras were traced over his skin in intricate, overlapping patterns, holy words and spiritual energy combining so that every line of ink glowed with protective power.
"I see!" Waka said. "With these protective markings, no dead or evil creature will be able to see you. Just be silent and they will not know you are near." Waka inspected Amaterasu's work, nodding approvingly. "Ah," he said, pointing to Hoichi's very large, very bare ears. "You missed these."
Amaterasu gave him a look that clearly implied that there is only so much ink in a stone.
"Fair point, ma petite crotte. I'm sure it won't make much of a difference." Waka looked out the window at the midday sun. "And now, all we must do is wait for the night."
The sun set approximately three seconds later.
Waka raised his eyebrows at the extremely innocent Amaterasu. "You have many virtues, mon poulet, but patience is not one of them." She was utterly unrepentant.
"You guys gonna cut out now?" Hoichi asked.
"Yes," Waka said. "Remember: do not speak, and you will be safe."
"Don't worry, man. I know how to zip the lip." Hoichi laughed. "This means no music too, huh? I'll have to make it up to my Benten later."
Waka and Amaterasu left the cafe, passing the old bartender (who was very confused about why the evening crowd was already arriving).
A very strange imp was waiting outside the cafe. Its gangly arms were hanging out of a ratty kimono and its knobby knees showed under the tattered hem of an old hakama. Its mask lacked the usual symbol, and instead had two blotches for eyes and a big, smiling mouth.
"Hello, fellow human! Excellent night to be human, isn't it?" the imp chirped pleasantly.
"Bonjour," Waka said, not entirely sure what to make of things. Amaterasu growled softly.
"Hello, fellow human's non-human animal pet!" The imp bent to scratch Amaterasu under her ears. There were few things Amaterasu was willing to overlook an imp's inherent evilness for, and a good ear scritch was one of them. "Have either of you seen human musician Hoichi in there?"
"I'm sorry, but Hoichi has left the town entirely," Waka said. "You can search for him, of course, but you and your colleagues will not find him in this town."
"Really?" The imp sighed. "Well, thanks for telling me. I'll probably have to keep looking around. If I don't come back with some proof that he's gone, they'll tear my very human ears off my very human head!"
"Good luck with that, baby," Waka said as he and Amaterasu walked away.
"So long! Stay human!" the imp waved after them.
"That should delay them long enough," Waka said to Amaterasu, who laughed a devious, doggy little laugh. "Shall we clear the graveyard of spirits?"
Amaterasu yipped her assent, and the two dashed, side by side, to the graveyard.
Even without Hoichi, the party had already started, and the graveyard was packed with imps, skeletons, and ghosts. Several large imps were banging on Taiko, and a skeleton was weaving about with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Waka immediately decided he wasn't going to look too closely at the contents of the tray.
Amaterasu leapt from the top of the cherry tree hill, landing neatly on the tallest tomb. She let out a bone-chilling howl, tossing her head and baring her pretty, white teeth. Waka, having lessened the pull of gravity for dramatic effect, touched down lightly beside her.
"For those of you don't understand my companion, this means that we are here to purify this land of evil creatures who don't belong, in other words," Waka pointed Pillow Talk at the party-goers, "you."
Amaterasu charged the nearest skeleton, her reflector flashing in the moonlight as it dashed the creature into a pile of bones. It fell, and she turned to the next
Waka smirked at the spirits before tossing a charm to the ground. A fiery barrier flew up around the edges of the graveyard, preventing any possibility of escape. With that done, he brandished his sword in one hand, a set of prayer slips in the other, and began his own attack.
The fight went quickly. Amaterasu was fury in motion, her reflector at turns striking and blocking those who dared to fight, her rosary lashing at those cowardly enough to keep their distance. Her opponents were kept off balance by the sudden gusts of wind or rains of holy water, and the tall monuments crumbled and fell at her command, trapping imps beneath the stone.
Waka, for his part, largely focused on the ghosts, his prayer slips whipping through the air, trails of black light marking the path to his targets. The ghosts returned to rest with a screech or a sigh, and soon the graveyard was still.
"That should be most of them," Waka said as he lounged against a broken headstone, "but there will be more unless we treat the cause, and not merely the symptoms. We still do not know what has caused this land to be displaced." The barrier around the graveyard faded away.
Amaterasu nosed about the piles of dirt and bones, her tail swishing away remnant impurities. Waka tossed her a bone tied with a neat, blue bow. She gave Waka a look.
"It's not one of them," Waka said, mildly insulted.
Amaterasu gave a wolf's equivalent of a shrug and set about happily gnawing the bone.
"Hey! Guys!" a voice called out. Waka and Amaterasu looked up, and through the fog they could barely see the outline of the very human imp, who was dragging someone behind him. "That musician left town, but he forgot to take his ears with him! Do you mind if I keep them? I think they'd really help my image!"
The imp stepped into the graveyard, and the two could see that the creature had a firm hold on Hoichi's ears. The musician was fine, considering the circumstances--true, he was practically naked and captured by an imp and was probably terrified, but he had the sense to keep silent, and that was the important part.
"Actually," Waka said, brandishing his sword, "we would mind." Amaterasu let out a warning growl.
The imp raised its free hand in greeting. "Oh, hey! Fellow human! How's the human thing going?" It looked at the piles of bones and used prayer slips littering the ground. "I was minding my own human business in town when I noticed these ears just lying around, and I..." The imp couldn't decide whether it should concentrate on the gleam of Waka's blade or the menacing gnash of Amaterasu's teeth. "I thought to my human self that the human who forgot these ears was probably looking for them, so..." It gulped. "I'll just...leave them here, okay?"
The imp released its grip on Hoichi's ears and ran as fast as it could away from the graveyard, shouting a pleasant, if strained, "Stay human!" over its shoulder.
"Whoa," Hoichi said, rubbing his head.
"Are you all right, mon frère?" Waka asked.
Hoichi took stock of his situation. "Looks like I'm all present and accounted for," he said, after patting himself down to make certain he wasn't missing any body parts. "Whatever mojo you guys did definitely worked. That totally human guy couldn't see me at all, except for the ears." His enormous ears, though chafed and pink with cold, quivered in gratitude.
"We are sorry for that. They should not bother you again," Waka said. "Shall we get you back to the village?" He looked at the graveyard, as if noticing the damage for the first time. "After my companion fixes things here first, of course."
Amaterasu's tail flicked back and forth, and the broken headstones and tombs reassembled themselves. "Thank you," Waka said, his eye drawn to a pair of tombs near the back. One was quite ornate compared to the other, and both were relatively new-looking.
He pushed on one of the lids until it gave way and examined its contents--or lack thereof. He noted the names.
"At the very least, we have our next clue, mon choux," Waka said, and the three headed back to town.
The Dead Dog was relatively quiet compared to the night before, probably due to the musician's absence. A few customers milled around the bar, with Inujiji serving drinks in the most reluctant way possible. Botan, drink in hand and peony lantern by her feet, was lounging by one of the doorways to the back rooms. She was lounging as though she had invented lounging and then dedicated her life to perfecting the art of it.
"Bonjour, baby," Waka said to Botan, giving her a wink.
"Bonjour yourself." The maid gave Waka a nod and raised an eyebrow at Hoichi. "Nice to see you, Hoichi, though I usually don't see so much of you."
"I'm just going to slide along and slip back into some threads, dig?" Hoichi said, and swaggered off to his rented room.
"Is Tsuya here?" Waka asked, once Hoichi had left. "There are some things I must ask her."
"My mistress is currently busy doing entirely virtuous things with her fiancé," Botan said, sticking her nose up in the air. "Playing board games, I believe."
"Board games?" Waka asked.
"Board games," she said, and the way she said it left no room for argument.
"Perhaps you may help me, then. While wandering about the graveyard, I happened to notice a most unusual pair of graves," Waka said lightly.
"Did you, now?" Botan sniffed. "It's nice to have a hobby."
Waka leaned in closer. "These graves happened to have your and Tsuya's names on them."
Botan laughed, and the laugh was beautiful with its utter disdain. "Is that all? My mistress's parents have been known to be very thorough when it comes to protecting their daughter."
Waka blinked. "You are saying that the graves are simply part of a plot to keep Saburo and Tsuya apart?"
"Do we look dead to you?" Botan huffed.
"No," Waka said, frowning. "You don't."
"It's amazing the lengths some people will go to to maintain a lie," Botan said airily, and took a long drink from her cup.
Amaterasu snatched her peony lantern and ran.
"Come back here!" Botan yelled, and ran after the wolf. "Bad girl! Bad girl! Give that back!" Tail wagging, Amaterasu bounded about the room, always staying a step ahead of Botan. Amaterasu was all the way to the cafe's entrance when Botan finally got a hand on the lantern.
Saburo shrieked and ran out of the back room.
Tsuya followed, but she was not the same lively young lady of the previous night. Her skin was pale and ragged where it hadn't rotted off, her eyes were sunken, and her entire left arm was now nothing but bone. "Honeybear?" she asked. As she left the room and entered the cafe proper, her ghostly appearance faded until she was once again a living person. "What's the matter?"
"Ah," Waka said, deftly plucked the lantern from Amaterasu and Botan, and blew it out.
Tsuya and Botan were both visibly, dramatically dead.
"Oh, shoot," Botan said, and the cafe erupted into chaos.
When the patrons were done screaming, panicking, rushing for the exits or making their own, only Waka, Amaterasu, Saburo, and the two dead girls were left standing in the cafe.
"Sweetiepie?" Tsuya asked softly, kneeling by Saburo. She reached a skeletal hand towards his, but drew back before they could touch. "Saburo, please."
After a few seconds of this, Botan grumped and hit Saburo upside the head. "Say something, you twit."
"Ow," Saburo said, rubbing his head.
"She loved you so much she never stopped thinking or talking about you, and when we died, she brought us both back because she still couldn't stop talking my ear off about you. That's how epic this love story is, and all you can say is ow?'" Botan had her hands on her hips and was leaning in close, and the dangerous look on her face almost made Saburo not notice the bug crawling out of her ear.
"Is that what happened?" Saburo asked Tsuya.
She nodded.
He slipped his hand around hers, thumb lightly brushing over the bones. "Darling..."
"Honeybear..."
"We can make this work, right?" Saburo said, and there was hope in his eyes. "With the lantern, at least."
"I'm afraid not," Waka interrupted. "I am sorry, but the dead are meant to be dead, and that is the way of things. To do otherwise is to be in the domain of the gods."
Amaterasu rose, her tail swishing in figure eights, and the lantern relit itself. She nosed Waka's knee.
Waka produced two prayer slips. Moving faster than any human could see, he attached them to both girls' foreheads. "Be at peace," he murmured. The girls closed their eyes, feeling the magic working through them.
After a moment, Botan reopened her eyes. "Think they were a dud?" she asked, since she was clearly only merely dead, not truly, sincerely, one hundred percent dead.
"You have until sunrise, and then your souls will be at rest," Waka informed them. "Make the best of your goodbyes."
Saburo and Tsuya looked at each other, grabbed the lantern, and rushed into the back room. Botan swayed over to the bar and pounded on it. Inujiji, who had been cowering behind the bar, jumped to attention. "Two of the house specials, and keep them coming," she ordered. "I've got a lot of living to do tonight."
Amaterasu's tail thumped happily against Waka's leg. "You needn't be so smug, ma petite crotte. I am not entirely heartless in the ways ofl'amore."
"Hey, softie," Botan said, and Waka burned. "You probably want to know where we got the peony lantern from."
"That would be helpful, baby." Waka gave her his most charming smile.
"Yes, it probably would," Botan said, and turned back to her drink.
Waka frowned, thinking hard for a minute. He stole one of Botan's spare drinks and thought some more. Eventually, he came to a conclusion. "If you will excuse us," Waka said, and he and Amaterasu left the cafe.
The Lady's gates were imposing as ever, but with one slash of Amaterasu's tail, they fell open. They would not wait for any manservant this time, and they brushed past the old guard with only the most token of apologies.
Waka entered the center chamber without the standard proclamations or dramatic posing. Izanami sat up on her dais, her fan fluttering nervously. "Who is..."
A large gust of wind ran through the room, sweeping out the incense and smoke and causing all the lanterns to flicker. As the lights dimmed, Izanami's appearance changed, dark shadows covering her eyes, hands becoming thin and sharp.
"Lady Izanami," Waka began, but stopped. Amaterasu had entered the room. She walked to the Lady and placed her head on the Lady's lap, whining softly. "Nami," Waka corrected himself, his voice breaking a bit on the name. "What have you done?"
"Shiranui," Nami crooned. "Have you come to save me again?"
"She is Amaterasu now. Nami," Waka said, and wasn't sure where to go from there.
"Amaterasu, hm? You'd like to know what happened?" Nami asked. She kept her attention on Amaterasu, fingers tracing tenderly over the crimson markings. "After Orochimaru was defeated, I lived a very happy life. I married Nagi, and I had beautiful children, and I died far too young."
"He tried to follow you, didn't he?" Waka said. "I remember the rumors."
"He did follow me," Nami said. "We spent many days together in the land of the dead, but it is no place for the living, so one day he abandoned me. He said he couldn't watch me decay anymore." Her hands trembled. "It hurt so much to lose him again."
"So you created this place, halfway between the land of the living and the land of the dead," Waka said. "Nami..."
"Time moves slower here," Nami said. "I wouldn't fall apart so fast, and the lanterns and incense keep me looking alive and hide the scent of death. We could have been happy here."
"But he never came," Waka said.
Nami threaded her fingers through Amaterasu's thick fur and sighed. "No, he never came."
"Nagi died a long time ago," Waka said, and the sad tilt of Nami's mouth showed that she had long guessed that that had happened.
"I have been searching for a way to rejoin this land to that of the living, but I have started to doubt that it will ever happen unless the conditions of the spell are met." She gave Waka a wry look. "The lovers must be reunited in death.' That's what it says."
Waka rubbed his chin. "Difficult, but not impossible. Come, ma chérie. We have an errand to run."
The two moved to leave the room.
"Waka!" Nami called after them.
Waka paused, but did not turn back.
"I never visited the Moon Temple, not even once, after Orochimaru was slain. I'm sorry."
"It's for the best. In those days, I considered you a poor trade," Waka said, and left.
The fog was thicker than ever, and it was only through the solid effort of Amaterasu's nose that the two found their way back to the Dead Dog, which was once again the happening place to be. (Patrons tend to have short memory in a town with so few social spots.) Waka burst through the doors.
"My friends!" he announced. "I have found the cure to your city's troubles!" He waited until Hoichi stopped playing and all eyes were on him. Even Saburo and Tsuya peeked out from their back room. "We must reunite two lovers in death!"
The crowd was silent.
Hoichi raised his hand; his expression was inscrutable behind the inked lines and smoked glasses. "Does this mean one of us has got to kick it? Because I just got out of that and I'm not tripping to try it again."
"I'll do it," Saburo said. He held Tsuya's hand tightly in his own. "When the morning comes, I'll join Tsuya in death."
Waka opened his mouth to protest, but Inujiji beat him to it.
"Don't be a darned fool, boy," the old man said. "You think when your grandma died, I should've just rolled over and died too? You think I should've joined my sweet little Pochy? Well I didn't, because I'm going to be dead for a long time, but I'm only going to be alive for the little time I've got." The old man spat. "Got to be a fool to throw that away."
"Very well put," Waka said.
"But how can I go on living without her?" Saburo protested. "How, when the very thought of it sends me into soul-crushing despair, and there is no hope, no joy, no love, only a black candle whose flame causes my spirit to grow ever darker until there is nothing but night?"
"Saburo," Waka said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy sniffed. "You become a poet." He cleared his throat. "But this is not important, as I had another pair in mind. Inujiji!" Waka pointed to the bartender.
The old man squinted at him. "Yes?"
"Your beloved little Pochy, he loved the cherry tree, did he not?" Waka asked.
"Sometimes I think he loved that tree more than he loved me," Inujiji said.
"Fantastique. This morning, as the sun rises, I would like you to take Pochy's ashes and throw them on the cherry tree," Waka commanded. "If their feelings were true, this should break the curse of the fog."
Inujiji was in tears. "You mean...my little Pochy will save the entire town?"
"Quite possibly. We shall keep Saburo as a backup plan," Waka said, and spun on his heels before anyone could protest. "And with that, we must now take our leave.Adieu, my friends." Waka swept out of the cafe and into the streets.
Amaterasu stayed a moment longer, watching the crowd with a level gaze. The scent of spring flowers filled the air, and for a moment, everyone felt a deep sense of warmth and satisfaction. The feeling was gone as quickly as Amaterasu, darting through the doors and joining her companion outside.
They walked to the edge of town, then up a hill, then up quite a bit more until the land of Kaiden seemed like nothing more than a child's toy beneath them. The land was gray and featureless, and they watched from the ark as the sun slowly rose over the horizon.
A splash of pink, and the fog was racing over the lands, retreating to the farthest corners before melting in the sunshine. A magnificent cherry tree bloomed on the highest hill, and the people were coming out of the little toy houses. They blinked at the sun in disbelief. The earth began to slide.
Like an image becoming unfocused, the town slid apart into two copies, one solid and rough, the other translucent and faded. A moment later, both were gone, vanishing back to where they should be.
"And that, ma poupette, is that," said Waka.
Amaterasu walked slowly over to Waka, and she leaned against his legs, and she leaned, and she leaned until he finally gave in a fraction, and then she was lying over him, butting her head against his chin.
"I know, I know. There were no happy endings in that town, but there were endings nonetheless, and that is good in itself," Waka murmured into Amaterasu's fur.
Amaterasu huffed but didn't move.
"Come,ma chérie," Waka said at last, hoisting Amaterasu off his belly. "There are many more places we must visit. If you promise to use turn signals this time, I'll even let you drive, baby."
Amaterasu hopped into the driver's seat as if there were no question about who would be in charge.
Together, they chased the dawn.
Author's notes:
The title of this story and the town it takes place in is a reference toHyakumonogatari Kaidankai, or "A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales." It's a traditional form of Japanese folks getting together and telling ghost stories.
Hoichi comes from the story of Mimi-nashi Hoichi, or "Hoichi the Earless." The use of Hoichi in this story is very similar to the traditional one, although you can tell from the title that the original Hoichi didn't get off quite so lightly as this one.
Tsuya, Saburo, and Botan come from the tale of Botan Doro, or "Tale of the Peony Lantern." There are several versions of this (and several name variations--Tsuya is known as Otsuya or Otsuyu, Saburo is also known as Shinzaburô or is sometimes a widowed samurai named Ogiwara, and Botan is either unnamed or is supposed to be named Oyoné but it didn't shorten well). The general tale is the same--a beautiful woman (with a maid who carries a peony lantern) visits and sleeps with a man, who later discovers that the woman is actually dead. He protects his home with wards and tries to stay away from her, but he is unable to resist temptation and eventually lets her in. His servants find him dead, lying next to the skeleton of the woman. Depending on the story, he either has a blissful or terrified look on his face.
Inujiji and Little Pochy come from the tale of the Hanasaka Jiisan, or "The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Blossom." Okami already has several characters who fit the description of Hanasaka Jiisan, but I thought it was a shame that neither actually owned a dog.
Izanami is a reference to a tale about the goddess Nami was probably named for. Izanagi and Izanami were the first gods, and were husband and wife who created the islands of Japan as well as other gods. Izanami died in childbirth, and when Izanagi stormed the land of the dead to rescue her, he found that she had already started to rot. Disgusted, he ran away and abandoned her to the land of the dead. She cursed him and said she'd kill many of his people, and he said he'd just make more, so they became the masters of the dead and the living.