Fanfic by Yomi no Miko
Chapter 26: Trap House
_______________________________
Two days before the attack, I decided to visit Kaizo. I felt it could be the last time I'd see him and Kaizo had always been a good friend in spite of everything. It was funny the way that my friendship with him survived the fact that we're supposed to be enemies. We were truly loyal to each other and at the same time, to our own sides of the game. He never asked me anything about Kurama or the band activities and I never asked him about his powerful weapon although I knew that it was an information that Kurama craved to get.
Before I left, I told Kaizo that I was about to something really wild, and maybe I'd never visit him again. Actually, I said so 'cause I believed that time Kurama was about to banish me for good. It was my desire, I confess. But since I couldn't leave him by myself, I decided to drive him to take the first step.
The day of the epic attack came faster than I thought. Although many thieves gave it up, it didn't look like Kurama had anything to do with that. The plan was very simple. I'd lead a group of more or less twenty youkai to the point where we'd join another group, formed by mercenary youkai. Then we would surround our target and wait till night to attack. Despite its simplicity, that kind of plan usually worked fine. Kurama always managed to create very interesting variations of it, but I wasn't as patient as he was. Besides, Kurama never used mercenary soldiers. He thought they weren't worth the risk. However, since I started to work on my own, I found out that was a very easy and fast way to form a large group.
When the night fell, as far as I can remember, everything seemed fine. The weather was pretty nice, the sky was beautiful. The watchmen switched places as expected, and the only surprise we had was to see that there was some beasts guarding the fortress entrance as well. Then I gave the sign and the strike began.
I spent centuries trying to figure out what the hell happened that night. As we broke through that place's main gate, it all seemed just too easy. I mean, not easier than usual, but easier than I expected. I even considered quitting as my instincts screamed at me that something was wrong, but I didn't go back. Giving up was never considered to be a reasonable option for me at that time.
We fell into a trap. All the thieves were slaughtered like pieces of meat. It was very obvious to me that the youkai that attacked us weren't only the ones who lived at that place, but also warriors that had been previously hired to fight us back. They were too many and some of them were powerful youkai, who could crash more than three of us with a single blast of energy. I can clearly remember the one that beat everyone in his way and headed directly towards me so fast and fiercely that I couldn't defend myself. How could I ever forget the last time that my eyes saw something? Somehow, I managed to wound him. I heard when he told the others to run away and screamed that life was more important than the reward.
After I was left, all I felt could be resumed
as pain and silence. I couldn't see, my head was spinning. I ended up falling
from a cliff. I don't believe it was that high, but I was so confused and
terrified that my body crashed against the ground helplessly. Then I passed
out or something. I remained there for a long time though. I waited for
Kurama to come and rescue me like that other day. I think I even prayed
for that as deep inside I knew that he could do it if he wanted to. It
was me after all, the one who'd have given him my own soul if there were
a chance. Besides, despite of everything, I believed we were... friends.
However, I was blind and useless then. No more than a broken body covered
with blood and dirt. So I waited for death. There was nothing else I could
do.
I woke up and still gloom was all around, even darker than in my nightmares. I couldn't remember anything that happened. My whole body ached like hell. Someone sat beside me and that was all I could notice for a long time. So dark. I didn't know if I was awake or still sleeping. Maybe dead. I felt a light touch on my face. Gentle fingers that were tying something near my still closed eyes.
"Kurama..."
"Yomi... It's me, Kaizo. Don't move. You're hurt."
"Where am I?" I insisted, a little more conscious "Why is it so dark?"
"Don't you remember? The trap?"
I didn't. I couldn't remember anything at that moment and in the weeks that followed.
"Did you cover my eyes?"
"Yes... But... It's necessary. You hurt them."
"Am I blind?"
"Yomi, I don..."
"Am I?"
"I think... you are."
I thought I was prepared to know the truth, but I wasn't. Nothing I ever lived had prepared me to feel that my eyes had been replaced by aching cuts and that I would no longer be able to use them. While Kaizo tried to comfort me with encouraging words, all that I could think was that my life had come to an end and I wasn't even lucky enough to be dead. I couldn't see, I couldn't move, and for days, I even hated Kaizo for taking me out of the that stupid pit.
Eventually, things changed. My body got strong
again, and I gave up trying to drive my savior to hate me. It was useless
anyway. Kaizo couldn't care less for all the hateful things I said. It
took me over a year to start to be the Yomi I used to know. Although Kaizo
told me he had already met some youkai that could fight even being unable
to see, I didn't believe I'd ever hold a sword again. I started to try
to act positive but deep inside, I still wished I was dead. I guess Kaizo
was gentle enough to let me believe I could fool him with my fake smiles
and pathetic sense of humor. Maybe he thought that by taking care of me,
he could feel like he had been given a younger brother again. Maybe he
just thought we were equal at least.
"So how are you today?"
Kaizo asked the very same question every single day, after telling me some new gossips from the nearby villages or any other subject he could come up to entertain me.
"Better than yesterday, worse than tomorrow." My usual line, till the day that finally I had something meaningful to say.
"I guess I remembered to guy who attacked me" I told him. Almost one year had passed since that day.
"That's great. I knew you'd remember. So, did you know him?"
"No. I'd never seen him before."
"How did he look like? If he's a hunter, maybe I know him."
"Brown skin, yellowish hair. Two long horns... maybe wings or something.... Not like yours, more like an insect..."
"Well, he must be an outsider... He must have been hired for that, you know..."
Life was more important than the reward. I had remembered that too. But telling Kaizo about it was the same than admitting to myself that there was no mystery about the whole thing. Not even before I remembered the face of that creep.
"No, he was probably just one of watchdog."
"If you say so."
"Kaizo, I appreciate all you did for me, but I've got to move on. I..."
"Are you thinking about joining Kurama's group again?"
"It's not that..."
"He quit the band."
"Nani?"
"Soon after you're attacked. The East's got too small to him. That's all I know."
"That's a funny thing to know. Anyway, I'm thinking about going back to the South."
"South?"
"I'll be fine. I'm blind but tough, you know..."
"I know you are."
"And you'll be free to hunt Kurama again. Is he still worthwhile?"
"More than ever."
"That's good. Next time we meet, we'll be both wealthy and fat youkai..." I paused. It'd be a miracle if we lived to meet again. If I lived... I was about to say good-bye to only one who had ever done something for me uninterestedly. And still, I denied him the only thing that could put an end to his own private purgatory. After all I went through, how could it be so hard?
"Kaizo, I don't have anything to give you... but.... You see, this weapon of yours, it..."
"You don't have to do that. I appreciate, but
don't. Taking that from you, would make me worse than him."
That's how I returned to the South of Makai, the region I once abandoned, searching for gold and adventure. In the end, the only thing that survived beneath the remains of all my broken dreams. After almost three centuries, I was exactly three swords and two coats richer than in the day I left. Not that bad for my former village standards, as a matter of fact. However, by the time I reached it, I wasn't alone anymore. Time and stamina made my body relatively adapted to a word of darkness, pain made my youki stronger and the memories of those stunning years in the East reminded me that no matter what happens, there's always a way to go on.
For the years that followed I moved between the
South and the West of Makai, as a thief, a mercenary or just a traveler,
but I always felt like I was destined to go back to the land of dust, and
make something out of it. And that's how everything started. Dust and dreams.
__________________________________________________
Shrine to Yomi-Sama -