The Call of the Ghosts
+Chapter 2
--
"Foxy, wake up! Look at my new clothes!"
I rolled over from my right side, looking up at Bankotsu. He had on a white kimono set with pants that ballooned out at the ankles. He was wearing gray and purple armor over the white kimono set with a red sash tying it securely. I smiled in approval, and that was all Bankotsu needed. He grinned and picked up Banryuu. I remembered where I had got it from, and a tear slid out of my eye. Bankotsu looked back at me, staring at me.
"What's the matter? Homesick?" The least of my worries. Without Koji; hell, there was nothing to go back home to. "Ko? You okay?"
"Hm?" I wiped the tear away and nodded. "I-I'm fine…"
"Okay, good. Wouldn't want my traveling partner down in the dumps, now would I?"
"I guess not…"
"Good."
Bankotsu smiled and tossed Banryuu over his shoulder. He said we were heading for the castle village of Kyotaka for our search of the perfect band of men. On the way, I decided to ask him:
"Why seven men?"
"Not too much and not too less. It's an unlucky number, and we're not going to be luck to the people we go to."
"Why?"
"Foxy, if I told you, you'd never forgive me."
I frowned and walked besides him, looking at the puddles left in the road from the rains deep into the last night. We traveled in choppy silence; sometimes I would start a short conversation and then he would start another. It was a nice, sparkling day with a new friend; I couldn't have asked for anything less. Along the way, I wondered who had killed Koji back in my time. I noticed the halberd, but the person…who did it? I decided to just enjoy my time with Bankotsu and not think about things like that. It made me cry.
At seven, Bankotsu announced that it was our first night of traveling and that there were many more to come. My tail wagged and I curled up in a ball, watching the twilight sky. Bankotsu was sitting besides me. He frowned in thought.
"Hey, I might need to learn how to make a fire for cold nights." He scratched me behind the ear and my leg started to move up and down. "Do you know how, Foxy?"
"No…" I answered softly. Bankotsu chuckled.
"You sound like my younger sister, Mei." Bankotsu closed his eyes.
"Where is she?"
"Got married off when she was thirteen. I tried to stop it; I didn't stand a chance."
"Hm…That's sad. Was the man old and wrinkly?"
Bankotsu stared at me for a while. Then he started laughing quietly at first, but then it grew heartier until I thought he couldn't breathe. Then he calmed down and rubbed my head.
"That's just what she said to me the night before she left. He was old and wrinkly…"
Bankotsu flopped onto his back and sighed, draping his right hand over his forehead with cast a shadow on his beautiful blue eyes. I stared at him and then turned away, flopping onto my back. My bangs fell over my eyes, and I sighed, thinking about home. Bankotsu and I lay in silence, watching the shooting stars streak across the infinite darkness that shrouded the lands. The silence was good. None of us talked. It was a friendly, all-knowing silence. And I treasured it. A chill came across the ground and Bankotsu and I huddled close to keep warm. I took in his sharp musky scent and fell asleep, listening to his calm heartbeat.
"Oh, look at that, Mei."
"That's brother!"
"He's with a fox demon…"
"Aw, looks like he finally got a girlfriend~"