CHAPTER 3
Spirit Fire
Finally, he had a name, a solid way to track the rat, after all this time. Henzo. The name echoed in Ichi's mind for the next few hours. The denizens of the swamp called him Boss Henzo because the old man had practically ruled half of Takenuma for the last decade. Every soldier who'd ever been through the swamp had dealt with the old man, either for drugs, companionship or just a place to sleep, Henzo controlled the monopoly on all the services. Henzo had a quarter of the swamp's population in his employee, and the rest were too afraid of him to rebel. Ichi had even heard reports of the Boss sacrificing his competition in blood rituals, which usually meant oni were involved.
Captain Ichi didn't like the odds he would be up against. Not that he didn't have confidence in himself and the men he had chosen, but the sheer numbers of those working against him would be overwhelming. A direct call out of the man would result in an embarrassing defeat. The captain would have to find a way to infiltrate the criminal underworld and find a way to get closer to Henzo and his rat.
Currently, Ichi contemplated his next move over a fire, boiling water for some tea. His men were scattered around him, taking turns at the watch, though it mattered not if they were asleep or awake, Ichi could spot an enemy several yards away and be on them before they even realized he'd moved. Especially in a messy swamp whose waters would easily give away one's position. Then again, any attacker would clearly be adept at traveling through the swamp, so Ichi was relieved his men were watching over him, no matter how unnecessary it was.
The captain figured he had two choices, go after Henzo first, effectively neutralizing most of the swamp's illegal activity, or take out Quick-Claw, which was his original objective. The risk level would be higher with the first option, but then the reward was far greater, and after the embarrassment of letting the rat escape, the captain needed any extra credit he could get.
Eventually, he decided it was best to spread his forces and go after both. By coordinating with his men, they could launch an ambush against the rat while he slipped in to Henzo's mansion and dealt with the crime lord. It was a sound plan, but would take a lot of resources and more man power than he had. Of course, that was the brilliant part. He was surrounded by resources and man power, this was Takenuma, land of the shadows. Hundreds of assassins, cutthroats and mercenaries called this place home and, with a little flash of some imperial coin, they'd be just as loyal to him as they would any other employer. The captain was brought back to reality when he heard the high pitched scream of his tea letting out steam.
A smile on his face, Ichi poured the comforting liquid into a mug and took a sip, watching as the steam willowed into the night sky and faded away.
The oni's breath was heavy, but deafly silent. Puffs of hot breath billowed out of its open maw. Kagai's crimson red eyes were focused intently on the fire a few yards in front of him. The swamp's thick layer of moss and growth had provided excellent cover while he had navigated closer to his prey's location. The demon's animalistic instinct told him to kill, to feast upon the entrails of his intended victims. But a clear, solemn voice in his head said to wait, there would be enough blood later, if only he just waited a few more seconds for the captain to take a sip of tea, then he could strike.
Ducking under a fallen piece of moss covered bamboo, Quick-Claw came to the front of the force Henzo had amassed. There, the one armed Lucky stood, pointing ahead. A ramshackle hut, held aloft by five bamboo supports, sat before them. A small opening in the thatch roof let a cloud of smoke escape, hinting to a fire on the inside, a man made fire. Quick-Claw had noted several empty insect nests on their way toward this hut, and just now realized that most of what he assumed to be smoke was actually a swarm of beetles.
Henzo had said the jushi had a connection with bugs, but Quick-Claw hadn't assumed it to be of such a vast extent. The beetles crawled all over the hut, swam the waters around and under it, and constantly emerged from inside. One flew past the nezumi's head, causing the rat man to swat annoying at it. Just before Quick-Claw would've knocked it from the sky, a powerful arm seized his wrist and held it still.
Lucky let go of the nezumi and raised a single finger to his dry lips, telling the rat man not to make a noise or anger an insect. A single death would trigger the whole swarm, then they'd have a massive problem. Man-eating insects were not on the man's list of favorite ways to die. Quick-Claw nodded and reached for the hilt of his sword, suddenly stopping himself when he remembered the odd sensation from before. Maybe later.
Lucky stood tall, unraveling his manriki-gusari, then shouting loudly. "Soeki Konchuu, you have a debt that needs to be paid! We're here to collect that debt!"
A raspy, old voice answered from inside the hut. "Oh, is that you paper boy, I thought I already paid this month."
"Don't be smart with me, old man, come out or we'll burn the hut!" Lucky threatened, beginning to swing his chain weapon.
The front door of the jushi's hut was suddenly engulfed by a wave of black beetles, the little insects flooding out like dammed water. Lucky waited patiently for all of them to empty out. Slowly, a concentrated amount of them, in the shape of a humanoid, stepped out, landing with a wet thud in the murky swamp water. A few reckoners snickered at the sight, while others shifted uneasily. The humanoid raised its "arms" and Quick-Claw watched as drones of beetles flew in every direction. When the blanket of insects had parted, a single man stood in their wake.
"Nice of you to join us, jushi" Lucky chuckled.
Soeki was tall and lengthy, with little muscle and sagging, wrinkled skin. His eyes were empty holes and his hair thin and loose. He wore pitch black robes and carried a staff made from bamboo, decorated with hanging feathers and skulls. The jushi's cracked lips formed a smile at the sight of the reckoning squad, especially Lucky.
"Like the entrance?" the jushi asked. "I could've just had them swarm and eat you alive, but I thought I'd go for something more contemporary."
"Stow the banter, old man, you owe Boss Henzo some retribution" Lucky stated firmly.
"Do I?" the old jushi asked. "Last I remember, his idiots were encroaching on my lovely little patch of hell and disrupting the mating cycle of my beetles. They don't like that, so they ate the intruders and I took some of the goods as compensation for their pain and anguish."
"Those goods belonged to Henzo, which means you stole from him, which is why me made this little house call," Lucky said. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the easier way. No matter what though, you will repay your debt to the Boss."
"The Boss?" Soeki asked. "Whose Boss? Your Boss? I'm sorry, but my only boss is myself. As far as I'm concerned, I owe you little pests nothing."
Clearly out of patience, Lucky snapped his chain forward, sending the weighted end screaming toward the jushi. The old man remained perfectly still as the chain snapped the air just next to his ear, then shot back to its wielder. The jushi had called Lucky's bluff. Now, the reckoner smiled. The magic user wanted a fight? He'd get it.
Lucky snapped his fingers and a pair of hulking reckoners stepped forward. The thugs drew throwing axes and moved in unison. Steeping cautiously toward the frail old man before them, the reckoners seemed to know just how dangerous it would be to underestimate the jushi. When the first reckoner pulled his axe back in preparation for throwing it, the jushi sprang into action.
Chanting words of power, Soeki took control of the swarm of insects nearest to him. The man-eating beetles completely covered the reckoner and began tearing into his flesh little by little. The man's screams could be heard even as he sank into the swamp, kicking and thrashing in an attempt to remove the devils. Quick-Claw gulped.
The other axe-wielding reckoner chucked his weapon as hard as he could. Slicing through the air, the head of the axe swung toward the jushi's head. The magic user held out his hands and hardened the shadows in front of him, creating a shield of darkness that knocked the axe to the ground. The jushi's focus now solely placed on the remaining axe thrower, Soeki summoned more mana and began weaving a new spell. Using the same shadow control he'd shown earlier, the jushi gathered a group of shadows and hardened them into a spear of darkness.
The reckoner stared in horror as he was impaled by the shadow spear, his comrades watching as the point entered through his gut and emerged out his spine. Blood and gore poured from the gaping hole left in the wake of the spell as it faded back into the shadows of the Takenuma Swamp. Quick-Claw stared in awe at the death of the reckoner. He looked up at Lucky, surprised to find that the man seemed far less impressed.
Nervously, Quick-Claw drew his sword. Feeling the now familiar power it granted him, Quick-Claw decided it was a power to be embraced, not feared. At the sight of the drawn katana, the enemy jushi's face changed, becoming very serious. He glared at Quick-Claw with his empty eyes.
"You!" the jushi yelled, pointing at the nezumi. "A great spirit resides with you!"
Lucky cast a glance of confusion at his partner, only to find that the nezumi thief was glowing a bright blue. "What's going on Quick-Claw? What does he mean?"
"I don't know," the nezumi said. He held up his sword. "But I think this has something to do with it."
"Do not anger the spirit!" Soeki yelled.
Now afraid, Quick-Claw began to sheath his weapon. Yet, something told him not to. A voice echoed in his head. I'm not here to hurt you, the voice said, accept my power and I will bless you with it. Grabbing his head and trying to tear the voice from his head, Quick-Claw dropped the sword in fear. The voice, and the power the sword had granted him, dropped with it.
"The blade you carry is a spirit vessel!" Soeki exclaimed, pointing at the fallen weapon. "I can sense its power from here. You are in over your head if you try to control it, nezumi, hand it over!"
"The weapon stays where it is!" Lucky yelled, spinning his manriki-gusari.
"Do not interrupt reckoner, this is far beyond you" the jushi warned, waving his hand. A swarm of beetles buzzed toward Lucky. With a wide swing of his chain, the reckoner broke the swarm's tight concentration, but the insects still managed to get close enough to distract him, diving in for an occasional bite or pinch. Lucky swatted at them in vain.
The jushi turned back toward Quick-Claw. "Hand over the blade or I will have my kira beetles strip you of your flesh!"
Faced with certain death, the nezumi bent down and picked up the katana. As he did, a new kind of power surged through him, snaking through his veins and up into his brain. Suddenly, the weapon felt as light as a feather and his movements felt ten times as fluid.
Do not let the jushi have me, the spirit's voice commanded, his intentions are to siphon my power. I have looked into your mind, you would not do the same. Power is all you seek, and I can give you that. Just embrace my gifts and use them to slay the foul wretch.
This time, with the added power and confidence the sword had provided, the spirit's words became far more clear. Yes, the jushi meant to claim the power of this weapon as his own, instead of borrow it and use it. He couldn't let that happen.
Quick-Claw's eyes met those of the jushi before him and the two glared at each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, the nezumi took a step toward the jushi and held out the sword.
"That's it," Soeki said, "hand it over!"
The jushi ordered his insects to grab the weapon, sending a line of them forward. Before the killer beetles could seize the weapon, however, Quick-Claw wrapped his hand around the hilt. The blue aura that had gathered burned in his eyes like spirit fire, then transferred to the weapon's blade.
"The fire of Tatsumasa!" Soeki exclaimed.
With the katana's blade covered in blue flame, the nezumi slashed at the oncoming insects as Soeki tried to redirect them. When the first insect was struck by the blade, it immediately ignited in magic fire. The fire spread down the swarm of insects, bathing them in flame until every last one had burnt to ash.
Soeki stared in awe at the nezumi's new found power.
Adrenaline rushed through Quick-Claw, adrenaline and excitement. The sword's spirit had kept its promise. If he embraced the power, the spirit would give it to him willingly.
Calling on more of the spirit's strength, the nezumi sprang toward the awe-struck jushi. The magic user turned the shadows around him into a hardened shield in response. Quick-Claw slashed the flaming sword he held at the magical shield and watched as the weapon cut through it like butter.
Soeki held up his staff in defense, watching as the nezumi fell down toward him, his katana raised high. The jushi screamed, a wave of insects flocking to him and covering his body just as Quick-Claw struck. The blade's flames surged, more power erupting from them. Quick-Claw listened as the beetles popped in the flames like kindling, another wildfire spreading across them, and their master. Underneath the blanket of fire, Soeki let loose a bloody cry as his skin withered and burned.
In a matter of seconds, the jushi's insects had disappeared, leaving him to burn as a pile of flesh and bones, being eaten alive by spirit fire. When the carcass had mostly turned to ash, Quick-Claw sheathed his weapon and turned back to the other reckoners. Their eyes were wide with fear and surprise. The nezumi cracked a crooked smile and held up his fist, yelling a battle cry. The other reckoners joined, and the night sky filled with their cheers. Even Lucky joined, chanting the nezumi's name.
"Quick-Claw! Quick-Claw! Quick-Claw!"
The nezumi glanced down at his katana, the reason for his success. The jushi had given the spirit a name before he had struck. Tatsumasa, that was what he had said. Now the nezumi had a name for his weapon.
A/N: Thus the power of Tatsumasa is revealed! Not the full power, mind you, that's for later. Don't forget to review!