In the Forests of the Night
A Hikaru no Go Ghost Story
Part 6b: Burnt in the Fire of Thine Eyes (continued from 6a)
***
The first thing that Hikaru notices is that the ground seems a lot closer to his face, and that he now stands on four legs instead of two. Yet, neither that fact nor the fact that he seems to be covered in fur bothers him overly much. What does bother him, though, are the fleas. It feels rather satisfying to give himself an all over scratch with a hind leg. He then rolls in the grass to get rid of the last annoying twinges. The insects don't like being coated in the pungent scent, and they leave quite hastily.
Oooh, now this is HEAVEN! His fur free of irritations, Hikaru concentrates his attention on other matters. He turns his nose to the wind, straining from it the information of the world. He has to be quick though; the duties of the court weigh upon him even now. It is not often he has an opportunity to break away from the monotony that comes with his title. He knows his mate is probably already telling his advisors to find him. If he's fast, however, he might just be able to hunt down a rabbit or two before they can catch up.
Unfortunately, the wind does not hold the quick-leaping-forest scent of a rabbit-on-the-run. A cat has passed by recently, leaving a fish-in-the-night smell, and the dusky scent of wood-well-chewed confirms the existence of various small life forms which squeak their lives away in the grass. But wait! Curling in the wind, at this moment ... the scent of human! His ears prick up and catch the sounds of quiet giggling and clumsy footsteps of a human child.
As a rule, his kind avoids humans (they tend to shout, pick up torches, and start waving sharp sticks about when they suspect a night wanderer is around) but something makes him stretch all four legs out and follow this teasing current. As the scent becomes stronger and stronger, he decides to change form. Humans are not very bright; they are easily fooled by the right kind of body.
He could have also become invisible as well; with the night shadows at his command, he can hide from the sharpest of human eyes. But there is little entertainment in stalking prey that does not know it is being hunted. It is the chase, after all, that he relishes the most.
A sharp shivering flash envelopes him, followed by a sensation much like an all body "hiccup." He stands on two legs now. The world appears differently at this angle. The smells are flat, and the colors not so vivid. Silk kimonos, however, have the distinct advantage of not attracting fleas.
Looking up, he notices that the moon is now rising over the horizon, polishing the world in a silver glow. He does not need the light to find the human, though. Huddled in a small ball against the cold earth, its presence confuses him slightly.
Hikaru traces the wind again, wary of a trap. He cannot judge mortal time accurately, but he senses that the child is very very young. Humans usually do not allow their cublings go wandering off in the night, especially when they know that there are other, less innocent wanderers about. Yet, his nose cannot find any trace of treachery. Perhaps the little one is lost?
If that is the case, well -- the second law of the hunt states that the weak should fall first. He moves forward.
The child turns. Trusting violet eyes, impossibly large in the small face, look up.
"Foxy!" the child giggles. Hikaru pauses mid-stride. The cubling recognizes his true form. But then again, that is nothing too special. Young children often see more clearly than their older counterparts.
Still, something about this mortal intrigues him. Something ... not quite right. He reaches down into himself and brings forth his own truesight. And what he sees ...
Shock nearly takes him to his knees. Truesight enables his kind to delve into the energy that flows in and around the world they live. In his truesight, the earth pulses with a slight indigo shade and the rocks emit a deep azure hue. Grass, trees, and other plant life blaze periwinkle. Purple pinpricks are the tiny insects at play, and even the smallest mouse burns with a intense violet light.
Nothing stays one color for long though; shades constantly shift as energy is exchanged from one form to another. To one with the right kind of eyes, the world is a glowing kaleidoscope with life as its tilting pieces, tumbling in ever changing patterns from one moment to another. Once the sun rises, the spectrum will swirl again.
But until then, he is careful to keep his gaze to the ground. The sky at night is dangerous; the stars, with their aching, unchanging radiance, can blind a fox spirit if he looks with full truesight. No fox out of its first tail would dare to even glance up without properly shielding himself. It is the first rule a young kitsune learns when they open their second set of eyes, the set that looks beyond.
And normally, to the right kind of eyes, human auras contain a paled luminescence, washed out like the sky amidst rain. But this child .... this human child ... is a child of a star colored aura ... too bright! He is like a kit again, starblinded, mewling for help . . .
The small, chubby hand patting his head finally brings the world back into focus. He blinks, trying to erase the halo that surrounds his gaze. His truesight subsides, contracting and adjusting like a real eye's pupil.
"Sai like foxy! Play stars?" the child asks. Cupped hands hold a small collection of rounded rocks. The normal auras around the stones have changed slightly though; they now flicker with a pure, cobalt intensity, seen only in the hottest form of fire.
"Foxy?"
No, not a normal human child. What would happen if it were to join the ranks of the ever proselytizing monks? In the hands of those beings, this child and its truesight would be a deadly weapon. Without their protective illusions to hide them, not a single kitsune or night wanderer would be safe from exorcism. If allowed to grow, would this child seek to destroy his people?
"Play stars!" the human insists. In its hands, the rocks glitter, flashing silver and blue.
His claws arch back, ready to tear at the soft throat. Yet, something stirs in him. To tenuous to be called compassion, at best it might be named curiosity. He has never seen a star-aura before ...
"Stars," the child repeats as it carefully places the rocks back on the ground.
"Unca show Sai stars. Sai show foxy!" tiny hands pick up a stick and etch a few unsteady lines on the ground. The chubby fingers clumsily gather up the rocks then throws them haphazardly against the lines drawn into the dust. The scattered bits of falling light: heaven's tears made solid.
"Put here. Ta-da!"
And flashing bright against his mind eye, he can see it ... an universe begins to shape and spread outward. He has to shield his gaze as if he had looked up to the real sky.
Something prickles through him. Wonder? Is this feeling wonder? He has seen many things on this restless earth, but this ... this is something new.
He turns away from the child and the dust covered stars and ponders this strange feeling inside him. His claws clutch at the air. Such power in mortal form scares him slightly. One quick slash would take care of it all, just one quick ...
"Foxy?"
He surges back into four feet form. Powerful jaws open, teeth flash ...
"Foxy!"
And grasp the back of the small kimono.
With the child dangling from his jaws (still breathing and giggling, much to his self disgust), he lopes away. His journey does not take long, but in that short time, he notices that the weight of the child is not unlike that of his own kits.
No matter. At the very edge of the human village, he can see lines of lanterns weaving their way across the wide fields. Voices echo in the wind, calling and searching. He opens his mouth and drops the wiggling bundle roughly against the dirt.
There. It to its world, his to his. That is as much as he can do, for now.
His thoughts return to the rabbits-on-the-run and the taste of blood-in-the-night.
Hikaru leaves.
Time passes, as it usually does. Not that he takes notice. Time is a mortal invention; for an immortal kitsune, there is only the here and the now. The seasons sluice from him like water through his fur.
Yet, the scent in the wind today - a familiar one - Hikaru follows it willingly, changing once again to two feet form. This time, though, he uses the night as a shield from the child's mortal eyes; he will be able to watch without being seen, no matter how keen the child's eyes may be. Caution is doubly necessary this time; the monks, of late, have been congregating around this particular village. He wonders if this might have anything to do with the child.
When he reaches the cubling, he notices that the youngster looks different; the child's limbs are longer and his hair, once gathered into a small bow at the back of his head, has been bunched into circles around the ears.
So, this is what mortal time means, he suddenly thinks ... seconds marked into a length of flesh, before that final fall into dust and bones. The cubling's aura, however, remains unchanged. He, for the child was definitely a male cub, looks up. The violet eyes are still the same, as well.
The small mouth opens wide in a gasp. Something too fragile to be called recognition, but half a memory, nonetheless, crosses the child's thoughts. "Oh! Kitsune!"
Hikaru's claws twitch as he gapes in amazement. The cubling still sees him, even when he is cloaked by the shadows. This should be impossible! Anger rips through him, raw like like lightening. He should rip those eyes out, crush their daring intensity. Nothing should look upon him so! Yet ...what does the child see, when he looks into his face?
"You're pretty," the young one murmurs. "I sneaked out to find you. The monks say that you and the other night thingies are trouble, and they want to make you be good. I told them not to be mean to kitsune though ... cause you guys are with In...Ina..."
"Inari-sama?" the name of his lord triggers a sense of unease in him; he should be back at court now, fulfilling his duties to his master and his people. Strange mortal children had no place in the world of the wandering night.
Though he knows that other night travelers must have noticed the child by now. He is surprised no one has managed to finish off the perplexing little mortal yet, even given the increased activities of the monks. Some would have taken the monks for a challenge.
"Yeah! But they didn't listen. They're scared."
"You should be scared too!" Hikaru lets the growl rumble low in his throat and shows all of his teeth. The violet gaze never leaves his face, does not flinch, does not yield. Why is this impudent mortal not cowering?!
"Kitsune may be servants of Inari, but that doesn't mean we can't eat you."
"Do you know how to play Go?" the wide smile that bursts across the small face is as unexpected as is the question. The child still shows no sign of proper fear or respect. Hikaru bares his fangs even further.
"What does that have anything to do with me not eating you?"
"Play a game of Go with me!" the child demands. "Play now!"
"Did you hear me? I can eat you up," Hikaru lets his claws gleam in the moonlight. The child merely laughs, however. The sound tinkles in the air, making Hikaru's ears twitch.
"Well, play a game first! Nobody'll play me anymore ... I dunno why. Mother says I'm a good player! I'm six-and-a-half," the child lifts up six fingers, with the seventh one bent over, "but I beat grandmother AND uncle. I beat the really old fogies in next village too. They smelled funny and they didn't have any teeth! Wow, you have LOTS of teeth! But now nobody'll play me."
The child sighs and tugs at his messy robes. Hikaru can smell the everyday scents of house and home on him, as well as the grownup scent of his family, but there is no scent of other children. It's not exactly surprising, however; judging by the quality of his clothes, the youngster's family must be one of, if not THE richest clan in the territory. But even without that, the cubling's skills alone would . . .
No, Hikaru is not surprised.
"Nobody. Not even when I don't play Go. But Grandmother said that kitsune had imp ... impee ... court thing."
"Imperial?" Confusion swirls inside him. Just where is this conversation heading? Does the child know of his position?
"Yes! Like in Heiankyo. I wanna go to Heiankyo, cause they play a lot of Go there. But mother says that we can't. Somebody did something mean to Grandfather and he lost his face or something, but not really, cause it's still on his head, but now we have to live here. It makes everybody really sad at home, 'specially father. But I'm gonna go to Heiankyo, and they can come too. They play the best kind of Go there, and I'll make them take me. I want to play the Emperor."
Hikaru's mind reels in bewilderment. The topic of conversation bounces more than a rabbit caught in a snare; he has lost the original point long ago. Perhaps the child is simple minded? Maybe he needs yet another reminder of just who was in charge and who had the fangs. He shows both accordingly.
"What does Heiankyo have anything to do with the Kitsune Court, and what does all that have to do with me not eating you?"
"Silly! All courts play Go. I can't go to Heiankyo now, but nobody said nothing about the kitsune court," the child waves him off, as if this conclusion is the most logical in world. "Look! I drawed a Go square."
This time, the lines are straighter than the ones that the child drew years before, but the same power is still there, nonetheless. "I don't gots the goban, 'cause it's too heavy, but I gots the Go stones."
Indeed, the child's sleeves and pockets bulged misshapenly.
"Play with me! Please? If I win, you gotta take me to the kitsune court to play Go with the Emperor of the Foxes. Okay?"
"Kiyiiiii! Child, don't tell me that this nocturnal venture of yours was simply to get an opponent for a Go game! You can't be desperate enough to seek opponents in the night ..." the thought intrigues Hikaru.
Most humans tended to go out of their way to avoid wanderers and for a good reason. He hasn't been joking about eating the child, after all. In fact, he is slightly angry at himself for not ending this back when they had first met. Did the young one remember his one moment of weakness, so long ago? Did that passing pause of kindness fool the cubling into believing he was safe in the night? Or ... was kindness something so rare in his world that the child has to look for it elsewhere? Hikaru snorts.
Perhaps the easiest answer is the best -- the youngster is feeble brained, for all his aura's brilliance.
"So, you came all the way out here, looking for monsters, just to play a game of Go?"
"Yup," the child nods. "I just want someone to play with me. Cause nobody ever does. Grandmother says that kitsune are very smart. I want to play smart people cause dumb people are boring. I bet you can play real good!"
"Did someone drop you on your head as a babe?" He circles the child, but no such damage is readily apparent. "I am not a simple mortal opponent. I will not be easily beaten. I should just eat you now and end the misery."
"My name is Fujiwara no Sai. If you get bored, you can always eat me later. Just play!"
To his great surprise, Hikaru conjures up a real goban (much to the child's squealing delight) and sits down for a game. Even more surprisingly, he doesn't get bored. It isn't hard to beat the child, but there's a strength in his moves that foretells of a magnificent future.
And now everything within him is screaming that he should rip out the child's throat and leave it at that. It would be a mercy to the young one at this point. Talent like his would draw attention, and not all of it would be kind.
He should end it for once and for all, as he should have back then...
But oh, how he relishes a challenge! His kind is famous for their love of games, and the child is very amusing diversion in a world gone stale to his senses. Immortality has become rather tedious after the first millennium. Besides, what harm can it bring?
It is only a mere child, he tells himself. Afterwards, there is still always time to do what he must, once he tires of the puling brat. Or perhaps ... others can do it for him.
The next night, he brings along a cunning tengu demon, who loves to play the game as much as he loves stealing little children. The tengu leaves without taking the child, but not without extracting a promise that Sai would show up in a week's time to play him again.
And so the word spreads, about a human child with a star's soul, who is willing to challenge the wanderers of the night as equals, without fear, and in defiance of the codes that should separate the two worlds. To play him is to have a hand in the creation of universes and to have the ability to break through the very boundaries of what it means to be mortal and immortal ... and such a lure is hard to resist, even for the night wanderers who have seen nearly everything on both the mortal and immortal planes.
And so the night games continue . . .
***
However, at this point, the vision faded, and Hikaru found himself sitting in front of a roughly hewn table, with a cup of chrysanthemum tea steaming its soft fragrance into the air.
What happened?! was the first coherent thought to bubble up in Hikaru's mind, once his mind was his own again. He blinked as Osusuki backed away.
"I was ...you!" as usual, his mouth was the first thing that moved. He put out a hand to steady himself against the table top, then patted his body all over, just to make sure he had the right amount of legs and arms again. "Uggh. I had fleas! I mean, you had fleas!"
He itched his neck vigorously, still feeling the phantom memory crawling upon his own skin. "That's SO creepy! Ugh!"
"You're the one who wanted to know. It was the only way I could show you what my kind see when we look at Sai ... and at you."
"Me?" Hikaru shook his head wildly. "No way. Not me. I mean, I share the Go obsession, and that's TOTALLY his fault, by the way, but that's about it. I don't have this shiny soul thingie. I'd be better at Go if I did."
Osusuki put up a delicate hand and snickered behind it. "I swear, you are quite the puzzle. You possess so much bravado and arrogance and so little common sense that it's a wonder that you make it through a day without someone trying to kill you, gag you, or string you up by your heels."
The fox spirit tilted his head. "And yet, in spite of all your overweening pride, you have this odd insecurity around you, as well as a desperate need to prove yourself. Though perhaps not very deep, your currents certainly run crosswise, Shindo Hikaru."
"I don't understand all you said, but I'm NOT!" Hikaru declared. "So there!"
"As you mortals say, I rest my case," Osusuki nodded as he sat back down on his side of the table. "Tell me this, then. How do you think you can see Sai in the first place, if you weren't gifted with some of the same truesight he holds? Sai's aura ... and the way he saw us truly ... the way he believed in his games, with all the power in his soul, is what marked him in in the eyes of the night wanderers. He played us many times, mostly losing, but occasionally ... occasionally winning."
"Think about that for a moment. He was not even seven of your human years yet, but he could play immortals millenniums old and hold their attention."
The fox spirit's hands picked up his tea cup and held it in front of his face for a few seconds, staring at the liquid inside.
"He made us all see the world a little differently, after a game with him. His brilliance at Go was just a physical manifestation of the power in his spirit ... think of it as a vehicle or outlet. It's not the game, you see, but the character and the person behind it that drives its power. Given time, he could have played the gods themselves, but he foolishly cut his own life short."
Osusuki drank the last of his tea, then placed the cup back onto the table with an almost too careful delicacy, as if the slightest touch could shatter the porcelain.
"The ability to see the world beyond what's in front of your eyes ... it's a rare gift. But even more rare is the ability to change how other people see the world through your gift. Like I said, you have it as well, Shindo Hikaru. To my truesight, you shine brighter than even your name might suggest.You are a star-souled child, with the ability to give creation to other stars and to inspire others to seek worlds they would never venture into otherwise. Perhaps three or four others are like you, in your world. But no more than that. Yours, therefore, is a very special soul indeed. So you can see why the Demon Lord would want you so very badly."
"Touya Akira is like me, too," the name slipped out before Hikaru had a chance to stop it. He clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Oh crap, now they're going to be after Touya!
"Kojoro mentioned that name to me," Osusuki said, bemused. "She seems to think that a guest here tonight looks exactly like this person you mentioned. She wanted to go and hunt for him."
"Hey! Leave Touya OUT of this." Hikaru felt panic begin to twist his insides. I can't handle a battle on two fronts ... oh crap ... not Touya too ...
"Easy, Shindo Hikaru. Even Lord Amatsu Mikaboshi, as powerful as he is, has to be summoned before he can manifest. Words and pacts are very important to the wandering world; sometimes, it's all we have. I doubt this Touya Akira of yours shows any inclination to go wandering into graveyards on certain sacred nights. He is safe from us at least. I give you my word on the honor of all kitsune, on the ten oaths we swore to Inari-sama, on my nine tails themselves."
Relieved, Hikaru let the fabric he had clenched in his hands fall. Though he had every reason not to, he believed that Osusuki would keep that oath. "Wait, you have NINE tails?! No wonder you're such an ass."
"And you have none, so what's your excuse? The point is that I swear by the lovely length of each of them that your eternal rival is safe. You are lucky that you found yours, even if you lose your chance to play him after tonight. That was what Sai truly lacked to refine his soul ... what none of us night wanderers could give him. A mortal must play another mortal; Go is a game of souls, and he could hardly gain any experience playing those who were soulless. He was so excited about going to the mortal Court, to play real humans."
Osusuki's claws dug slightly into the table again. "Or at least his family was eager for him to go there. We had one whole year with him, before they took him away. It was the first time I ever noticed time, you know? Being with a mortal does that. It was the first time I saw the vibrant colors of a true spring, or felt the blazing, heavy heat of a summer, or laughed in the golden brilliance of an autumn, and or brooded on the quiet, still despair of winter ..."
"Oh man," Hikaru snickered. "You guys really DO use a lot of dramatic, flowery phrases. Quiet, still despair of winter ...."
"Are you trying to get your head bitten off?" the kitsune asked. Hikaru caught a glimpse of some sharp, white teeth. "I am the Lord of the Kitsune. Mock me at your own risk."
"So what? I'm about to lose my soul to the Lord of the Demons! Can you beat that?" Hikaru put one arm behind his head and stretched nonchalantly. Osusuki froze, his expression a rather strange cross between anger and bewilderment.
"Shindo Hikaru," he finally managed to say. "Never let it be said by anyone that you do not ... how do you humans put it? Have BIG ones. Now, shall we call a truce to this? For the good of our mutual acquaintance?"
Hikaru stretched the other arm instead of answering immediately, but he could not help glancing back through the woods which they came. "I wonder how Sai's doing."
"It's better if you don't know; that way you won't give away his next moves," Osusuki said. "Lord Amatsu Mikaboshi is a difficult enough of an opponent already."
"Hey, about that -- I've been wondering about something. It's not the first time Sai's played him before, right?" Hikaru asked. "Did he come to one of those night games?"
"No. It wasn't like that ..." Osusuki's voice trailed off, and for the first time that evening, he displayed a trace of uncertainty. His hands fluttered between his cup and his fan, never settling on one or the other for longer than a breath. "Our one rule, during the night games, was that no one was allowed to hurt Sai nor any of his family. No one ever did. In that clearing, on the mortal plane, he didn't summon us; we came to him. It was a neutral meeting."
"So ..."
"But that one time, I ... the rules were broken. Sai nearly lost his soul."
"What?!" Hikaru spilled his tea all over his robes. "OWWW!"
Osusuki sighed in exasperation. He waved a hand. The tea stains lifted themselves back into golden brown droplets, which then dissolved midair.
"Sorry," Hikaru mumbled, although Osusuki could probably tell he did not mean a word of it. He looked back through the trees, toward a game he couldn't see, and sighed. "Look, I still don't have the full picture. Maybe if you showed me that, then we can talk. I can't play a game where I can't see all the pieces."
"It doesn't matter. You'll lose anyway, if the Lord of Darkness is your opponent."
"My sensei once said that a great player always has a backup plan, to counter whatever happens on the goban. I'm not the best player, but I am going to be, one day. I need your help though, cause you're not telling me everything."
"Are you sure you want to journey in the mind of a kitsune again? I'm warning you, it won't be pleasant this time."
"It wasn't pleasant the last time either! I don't like the fleas, no, but ... I have to know. I need to understand about Sai, and why all this crap is happening. You don't want Sai to go to Hell. I know you don't."
"You humans were always a bit voyeuristic," Osusuki remarked. He reached over and poured Hikaru a new cup of tea. After a moment's hesitation, Hikaru picked up the teapot.
"Show me already!" he demanded, thrusting the kettle out like a weapon, "Or are you chicken or something? The Lord of the Foxes is a chicken! Bawwwwk! Bawwwwwk!"
In retrospect, Hikaru had a feeling that clucking like an overgrown banty rooster to the Lord of the Kitsune was probably not a good idea. Especially when he misjudged the shifting weight of the pot, and nearly poured a jet of boiling tea onto the kitsune. He caught himself just in time.
Osusuki narrowed his eyes. "Again with the mockery. You, little mortal, are lucky your soul is already marked for damnation. Otherwise, I'd seriously consider introducing you to MY concept of Hell."
"BAWWWWWWWWWK!"
"Stop that! Fine, if you insist on mucking about in my mind," the kitsune rubbed his head wearily. "I don't have to tell you that it's not a enjoyable place to be. I have seen many things, little human, most of which should not be even half glimpsed by mortal eyes."
Osusuki's voice sounded neither cocky nor arrogant nor even angry, which made Hikaru pause. This, in turn, nearly caused another mess as the kettle tipped again, threatening to send tea down the front of Hikaru's own robes. At the last moment, Osusuki snapped his fingers, and the teapot safely righted itself. "Are you absolutely certain, Shindo Hikaru, that you want to see?"
If Hikaru didn't know better, he would have thought he saw a trace of sadness ... or guilt ... in the kitsune's eyes.
But .... can a kitsune even feel guilt? Hikaru wondered. Having been in Osusuki's mind, he knew that kitsune in general did not see the world in quite the same way humans did. No, not guilt ... this is something even more complex than guilt. Perhaps ... regret.
Feeling a little flustered and wary, Hikaru finally settled on pouring the fox spirit a cup of tea, this time managing to complete the task without inadvertently scalding himself or the Kitsune Lord. Osusuki nodded politely, accepting his unspoken gesture of truce. The fox spirit took a sip, then another, before setting the cup down.
"Very well then. It was spring when I saw Sai for the last time before he left for the capital, near the middle of the month you know as April...."
to be continued
A Hikaru no Go Ghost Story
Part 6b: Burnt in the Fire of Thine Eyes (continued from 6a)
***
The first thing that Hikaru notices is that the ground seems a lot closer to his face, and that he now stands on four legs instead of two. Yet, neither that fact nor the fact that he seems to be covered in fur bothers him overly much. What does bother him, though, are the fleas. It feels rather satisfying to give himself an all over scratch with a hind leg. He then rolls in the grass to get rid of the last annoying twinges. The insects don't like being coated in the pungent scent, and they leave quite hastily.
Oooh, now this is HEAVEN! His fur free of irritations, Hikaru concentrates his attention on other matters. He turns his nose to the wind, straining from it the information of the world. He has to be quick though; the duties of the court weigh upon him even now. It is not often he has an opportunity to break away from the monotony that comes with his title. He knows his mate is probably already telling his advisors to find him. If he's fast, however, he might just be able to hunt down a rabbit or two before they can catch up.
Unfortunately, the wind does not hold the quick-leaping-forest scent of a rabbit-on-the-run. A cat has passed by recently, leaving a fish-in-the-night smell, and the dusky scent of wood-well-chewed confirms the existence of various small life forms which squeak their lives away in the grass. But wait! Curling in the wind, at this moment ... the scent of human! His ears prick up and catch the sounds of quiet giggling and clumsy footsteps of a human child.
As a rule, his kind avoids humans (they tend to shout, pick up torches, and start waving sharp sticks about when they suspect a night wanderer is around) but something makes him stretch all four legs out and follow this teasing current. As the scent becomes stronger and stronger, he decides to change form. Humans are not very bright; they are easily fooled by the right kind of body.
He could have also become invisible as well; with the night shadows at his command, he can hide from the sharpest of human eyes. But there is little entertainment in stalking prey that does not know it is being hunted. It is the chase, after all, that he relishes the most.
A sharp shivering flash envelopes him, followed by a sensation much like an all body "hiccup." He stands on two legs now. The world appears differently at this angle. The smells are flat, and the colors not so vivid. Silk kimonos, however, have the distinct advantage of not attracting fleas.
Looking up, he notices that the moon is now rising over the horizon, polishing the world in a silver glow. He does not need the light to find the human, though. Huddled in a small ball against the cold earth, its presence confuses him slightly.
Hikaru traces the wind again, wary of a trap. He cannot judge mortal time accurately, but he senses that the child is very very young. Humans usually do not allow their cublings go wandering off in the night, especially when they know that there are other, less innocent wanderers about. Yet, his nose cannot find any trace of treachery. Perhaps the little one is lost?
If that is the case, well -- the second law of the hunt states that the weak should fall first. He moves forward.
The child turns. Trusting violet eyes, impossibly large in the small face, look up.
"Foxy!" the child giggles. Hikaru pauses mid-stride. The cubling recognizes his true form. But then again, that is nothing too special. Young children often see more clearly than their older counterparts.
Still, something about this mortal intrigues him. Something ... not quite right. He reaches down into himself and brings forth his own truesight. And what he sees ...
Shock nearly takes him to his knees. Truesight enables his kind to delve into the energy that flows in and around the world they live. In his truesight, the earth pulses with a slight indigo shade and the rocks emit a deep azure hue. Grass, trees, and other plant life blaze periwinkle. Purple pinpricks are the tiny insects at play, and even the smallest mouse burns with a intense violet light.
Nothing stays one color for long though; shades constantly shift as energy is exchanged from one form to another. To one with the right kind of eyes, the world is a glowing kaleidoscope with life as its tilting pieces, tumbling in ever changing patterns from one moment to another. Once the sun rises, the spectrum will swirl again.
But until then, he is careful to keep his gaze to the ground. The sky at night is dangerous; the stars, with their aching, unchanging radiance, can blind a fox spirit if he looks with full truesight. No fox out of its first tail would dare to even glance up without properly shielding himself. It is the first rule a young kitsune learns when they open their second set of eyes, the set that looks beyond.
And normally, to the right kind of eyes, human auras contain a paled luminescence, washed out like the sky amidst rain. But this child .... this human child ... is a child of a star colored aura ... too bright! He is like a kit again, starblinded, mewling for help . . .
The small, chubby hand patting his head finally brings the world back into focus. He blinks, trying to erase the halo that surrounds his gaze. His truesight subsides, contracting and adjusting like a real eye's pupil.
"Sai like foxy! Play stars?" the child asks. Cupped hands hold a small collection of rounded rocks. The normal auras around the stones have changed slightly though; they now flicker with a pure, cobalt intensity, seen only in the hottest form of fire.
"Foxy?"
No, not a normal human child. What would happen if it were to join the ranks of the ever proselytizing monks? In the hands of those beings, this child and its truesight would be a deadly weapon. Without their protective illusions to hide them, not a single kitsune or night wanderer would be safe from exorcism. If allowed to grow, would this child seek to destroy his people?
"Play stars!" the human insists. In its hands, the rocks glitter, flashing silver and blue.
His claws arch back, ready to tear at the soft throat. Yet, something stirs in him. To tenuous to be called compassion, at best it might be named curiosity. He has never seen a star-aura before ...
"Stars," the child repeats as it carefully places the rocks back on the ground.
"Unca show Sai stars. Sai show foxy!" tiny hands pick up a stick and etch a few unsteady lines on the ground. The chubby fingers clumsily gather up the rocks then throws them haphazardly against the lines drawn into the dust. The scattered bits of falling light: heaven's tears made solid.
"Put here. Ta-da!"
And flashing bright against his mind eye, he can see it ... an universe begins to shape and spread outward. He has to shield his gaze as if he had looked up to the real sky.
Something prickles through him. Wonder? Is this feeling wonder? He has seen many things on this restless earth, but this ... this is something new.
He turns away from the child and the dust covered stars and ponders this strange feeling inside him. His claws clutch at the air. Such power in mortal form scares him slightly. One quick slash would take care of it all, just one quick ...
"Foxy?"
He surges back into four feet form. Powerful jaws open, teeth flash ...
"Foxy!"
And grasp the back of the small kimono.
With the child dangling from his jaws (still breathing and giggling, much to his self disgust), he lopes away. His journey does not take long, but in that short time, he notices that the weight of the child is not unlike that of his own kits.
No matter. At the very edge of the human village, he can see lines of lanterns weaving their way across the wide fields. Voices echo in the wind, calling and searching. He opens his mouth and drops the wiggling bundle roughly against the dirt.
There. It to its world, his to his. That is as much as he can do, for now.
His thoughts return to the rabbits-on-the-run and the taste of blood-in-the-night.
Hikaru leaves.
Time passes, as it usually does. Not that he takes notice. Time is a mortal invention; for an immortal kitsune, there is only the here and the now. The seasons sluice from him like water through his fur.
Yet, the scent in the wind today - a familiar one - Hikaru follows it willingly, changing once again to two feet form. This time, though, he uses the night as a shield from the child's mortal eyes; he will be able to watch without being seen, no matter how keen the child's eyes may be. Caution is doubly necessary this time; the monks, of late, have been congregating around this particular village. He wonders if this might have anything to do with the child.
When he reaches the cubling, he notices that the youngster looks different; the child's limbs are longer and his hair, once gathered into a small bow at the back of his head, has been bunched into circles around the ears.
So, this is what mortal time means, he suddenly thinks ... seconds marked into a length of flesh, before that final fall into dust and bones. The cubling's aura, however, remains unchanged. He, for the child was definitely a male cub, looks up. The violet eyes are still the same, as well.
The small mouth opens wide in a gasp. Something too fragile to be called recognition, but half a memory, nonetheless, crosses the child's thoughts. "Oh! Kitsune!"
Hikaru's claws twitch as he gapes in amazement. The cubling still sees him, even when he is cloaked by the shadows. This should be impossible! Anger rips through him, raw like like lightening. He should rip those eyes out, crush their daring intensity. Nothing should look upon him so! Yet ...what does the child see, when he looks into his face?
"You're pretty," the young one murmurs. "I sneaked out to find you. The monks say that you and the other night thingies are trouble, and they want to make you be good. I told them not to be mean to kitsune though ... cause you guys are with In...Ina..."
"Inari-sama?" the name of his lord triggers a sense of unease in him; he should be back at court now, fulfilling his duties to his master and his people. Strange mortal children had no place in the world of the wandering night.
Though he knows that other night travelers must have noticed the child by now. He is surprised no one has managed to finish off the perplexing little mortal yet, even given the increased activities of the monks. Some would have taken the monks for a challenge.
"Yeah! But they didn't listen. They're scared."
"You should be scared too!" Hikaru lets the growl rumble low in his throat and shows all of his teeth. The violet gaze never leaves his face, does not flinch, does not yield. Why is this impudent mortal not cowering?!
"Kitsune may be servants of Inari, but that doesn't mean we can't eat you."
"Do you know how to play Go?" the wide smile that bursts across the small face is as unexpected as is the question. The child still shows no sign of proper fear or respect. Hikaru bares his fangs even further.
"What does that have anything to do with me not eating you?"
"Play a game of Go with me!" the child demands. "Play now!"
"Did you hear me? I can eat you up," Hikaru lets his claws gleam in the moonlight. The child merely laughs, however. The sound tinkles in the air, making Hikaru's ears twitch.
"Well, play a game first! Nobody'll play me anymore ... I dunno why. Mother says I'm a good player! I'm six-and-a-half," the child lifts up six fingers, with the seventh one bent over, "but I beat grandmother AND uncle. I beat the really old fogies in next village too. They smelled funny and they didn't have any teeth! Wow, you have LOTS of teeth! But now nobody'll play me."
The child sighs and tugs at his messy robes. Hikaru can smell the everyday scents of house and home on him, as well as the grownup scent of his family, but there is no scent of other children. It's not exactly surprising, however; judging by the quality of his clothes, the youngster's family must be one of, if not THE richest clan in the territory. But even without that, the cubling's skills alone would . . .
No, Hikaru is not surprised.
"Nobody. Not even when I don't play Go. But Grandmother said that kitsune had imp ... impee ... court thing."
"Imperial?" Confusion swirls inside him. Just where is this conversation heading? Does the child know of his position?
"Yes! Like in Heiankyo. I wanna go to Heiankyo, cause they play a lot of Go there. But mother says that we can't. Somebody did something mean to Grandfather and he lost his face or something, but not really, cause it's still on his head, but now we have to live here. It makes everybody really sad at home, 'specially father. But I'm gonna go to Heiankyo, and they can come too. They play the best kind of Go there, and I'll make them take me. I want to play the Emperor."
Hikaru's mind reels in bewilderment. The topic of conversation bounces more than a rabbit caught in a snare; he has lost the original point long ago. Perhaps the child is simple minded? Maybe he needs yet another reminder of just who was in charge and who had the fangs. He shows both accordingly.
"What does Heiankyo have anything to do with the Kitsune Court, and what does all that have to do with me not eating you?"
"Silly! All courts play Go. I can't go to Heiankyo now, but nobody said nothing about the kitsune court," the child waves him off, as if this conclusion is the most logical in world. "Look! I drawed a Go square."
This time, the lines are straighter than the ones that the child drew years before, but the same power is still there, nonetheless. "I don't gots the goban, 'cause it's too heavy, but I gots the Go stones."
Indeed, the child's sleeves and pockets bulged misshapenly.
"Play with me! Please? If I win, you gotta take me to the kitsune court to play Go with the Emperor of the Foxes. Okay?"
"Kiyiiiii! Child, don't tell me that this nocturnal venture of yours was simply to get an opponent for a Go game! You can't be desperate enough to seek opponents in the night ..." the thought intrigues Hikaru.
Most humans tended to go out of their way to avoid wanderers and for a good reason. He hasn't been joking about eating the child, after all. In fact, he is slightly angry at himself for not ending this back when they had first met. Did the young one remember his one moment of weakness, so long ago? Did that passing pause of kindness fool the cubling into believing he was safe in the night? Or ... was kindness something so rare in his world that the child has to look for it elsewhere? Hikaru snorts.
Perhaps the easiest answer is the best -- the youngster is feeble brained, for all his aura's brilliance.
"So, you came all the way out here, looking for monsters, just to play a game of Go?"
"Yup," the child nods. "I just want someone to play with me. Cause nobody ever does. Grandmother says that kitsune are very smart. I want to play smart people cause dumb people are boring. I bet you can play real good!"
"Did someone drop you on your head as a babe?" He circles the child, but no such damage is readily apparent. "I am not a simple mortal opponent. I will not be easily beaten. I should just eat you now and end the misery."
"My name is Fujiwara no Sai. If you get bored, you can always eat me later. Just play!"
To his great surprise, Hikaru conjures up a real goban (much to the child's squealing delight) and sits down for a game. Even more surprisingly, he doesn't get bored. It isn't hard to beat the child, but there's a strength in his moves that foretells of a magnificent future.
And now everything within him is screaming that he should rip out the child's throat and leave it at that. It would be a mercy to the young one at this point. Talent like his would draw attention, and not all of it would be kind.
He should end it for once and for all, as he should have back then...
But oh, how he relishes a challenge! His kind is famous for their love of games, and the child is very amusing diversion in a world gone stale to his senses. Immortality has become rather tedious after the first millennium. Besides, what harm can it bring?
It is only a mere child, he tells himself. Afterwards, there is still always time to do what he must, once he tires of the puling brat. Or perhaps ... others can do it for him.
The next night, he brings along a cunning tengu demon, who loves to play the game as much as he loves stealing little children. The tengu leaves without taking the child, but not without extracting a promise that Sai would show up in a week's time to play him again.
And so the word spreads, about a human child with a star's soul, who is willing to challenge the wanderers of the night as equals, without fear, and in defiance of the codes that should separate the two worlds. To play him is to have a hand in the creation of universes and to have the ability to break through the very boundaries of what it means to be mortal and immortal ... and such a lure is hard to resist, even for the night wanderers who have seen nearly everything on both the mortal and immortal planes.
And so the night games continue . . .
***
However, at this point, the vision faded, and Hikaru found himself sitting in front of a roughly hewn table, with a cup of chrysanthemum tea steaming its soft fragrance into the air.
What happened?! was the first coherent thought to bubble up in Hikaru's mind, once his mind was his own again. He blinked as Osusuki backed away.
"I was ...you!" as usual, his mouth was the first thing that moved. He put out a hand to steady himself against the table top, then patted his body all over, just to make sure he had the right amount of legs and arms again. "Uggh. I had fleas! I mean, you had fleas!"
He itched his neck vigorously, still feeling the phantom memory crawling upon his own skin. "That's SO creepy! Ugh!"
"You're the one who wanted to know. It was the only way I could show you what my kind see when we look at Sai ... and at you."
"Me?" Hikaru shook his head wildly. "No way. Not me. I mean, I share the Go obsession, and that's TOTALLY his fault, by the way, but that's about it. I don't have this shiny soul thingie. I'd be better at Go if I did."
Osusuki put up a delicate hand and snickered behind it. "I swear, you are quite the puzzle. You possess so much bravado and arrogance and so little common sense that it's a wonder that you make it through a day without someone trying to kill you, gag you, or string you up by your heels."
The fox spirit tilted his head. "And yet, in spite of all your overweening pride, you have this odd insecurity around you, as well as a desperate need to prove yourself. Though perhaps not very deep, your currents certainly run crosswise, Shindo Hikaru."
"I don't understand all you said, but I'm NOT!" Hikaru declared. "So there!"
"As you mortals say, I rest my case," Osusuki nodded as he sat back down on his side of the table. "Tell me this, then. How do you think you can see Sai in the first place, if you weren't gifted with some of the same truesight he holds? Sai's aura ... and the way he saw us truly ... the way he believed in his games, with all the power in his soul, is what marked him in in the eyes of the night wanderers. He played us many times, mostly losing, but occasionally ... occasionally winning."
"Think about that for a moment. He was not even seven of your human years yet, but he could play immortals millenniums old and hold their attention."
The fox spirit's hands picked up his tea cup and held it in front of his face for a few seconds, staring at the liquid inside.
"He made us all see the world a little differently, after a game with him. His brilliance at Go was just a physical manifestation of the power in his spirit ... think of it as a vehicle or outlet. It's not the game, you see, but the character and the person behind it that drives its power. Given time, he could have played the gods themselves, but he foolishly cut his own life short."
Osusuki drank the last of his tea, then placed the cup back onto the table with an almost too careful delicacy, as if the slightest touch could shatter the porcelain.
"The ability to see the world beyond what's in front of your eyes ... it's a rare gift. But even more rare is the ability to change how other people see the world through your gift. Like I said, you have it as well, Shindo Hikaru. To my truesight, you shine brighter than even your name might suggest.You are a star-souled child, with the ability to give creation to other stars and to inspire others to seek worlds they would never venture into otherwise. Perhaps three or four others are like you, in your world. But no more than that. Yours, therefore, is a very special soul indeed. So you can see why the Demon Lord would want you so very badly."
"Touya Akira is like me, too," the name slipped out before Hikaru had a chance to stop it. He clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Oh crap, now they're going to be after Touya!
"Kojoro mentioned that name to me," Osusuki said, bemused. "She seems to think that a guest here tonight looks exactly like this person you mentioned. She wanted to go and hunt for him."
"Hey! Leave Touya OUT of this." Hikaru felt panic begin to twist his insides. I can't handle a battle on two fronts ... oh crap ... not Touya too ...
"Easy, Shindo Hikaru. Even Lord Amatsu Mikaboshi, as powerful as he is, has to be summoned before he can manifest. Words and pacts are very important to the wandering world; sometimes, it's all we have. I doubt this Touya Akira of yours shows any inclination to go wandering into graveyards on certain sacred nights. He is safe from us at least. I give you my word on the honor of all kitsune, on the ten oaths we swore to Inari-sama, on my nine tails themselves."
Relieved, Hikaru let the fabric he had clenched in his hands fall. Though he had every reason not to, he believed that Osusuki would keep that oath. "Wait, you have NINE tails?! No wonder you're such an ass."
"And you have none, so what's your excuse? The point is that I swear by the lovely length of each of them that your eternal rival is safe. You are lucky that you found yours, even if you lose your chance to play him after tonight. That was what Sai truly lacked to refine his soul ... what none of us night wanderers could give him. A mortal must play another mortal; Go is a game of souls, and he could hardly gain any experience playing those who were soulless. He was so excited about going to the mortal Court, to play real humans."
Osusuki's claws dug slightly into the table again. "Or at least his family was eager for him to go there. We had one whole year with him, before they took him away. It was the first time I ever noticed time, you know? Being with a mortal does that. It was the first time I saw the vibrant colors of a true spring, or felt the blazing, heavy heat of a summer, or laughed in the golden brilliance of an autumn, and or brooded on the quiet, still despair of winter ..."
"Oh man," Hikaru snickered. "You guys really DO use a lot of dramatic, flowery phrases. Quiet, still despair of winter ...."
"Are you trying to get your head bitten off?" the kitsune asked. Hikaru caught a glimpse of some sharp, white teeth. "I am the Lord of the Kitsune. Mock me at your own risk."
"So what? I'm about to lose my soul to the Lord of the Demons! Can you beat that?" Hikaru put one arm behind his head and stretched nonchalantly. Osusuki froze, his expression a rather strange cross between anger and bewilderment.
"Shindo Hikaru," he finally managed to say. "Never let it be said by anyone that you do not ... how do you humans put it? Have BIG ones. Now, shall we call a truce to this? For the good of our mutual acquaintance?"
Hikaru stretched the other arm instead of answering immediately, but he could not help glancing back through the woods which they came. "I wonder how Sai's doing."
"It's better if you don't know; that way you won't give away his next moves," Osusuki said. "Lord Amatsu Mikaboshi is a difficult enough of an opponent already."
"Hey, about that -- I've been wondering about something. It's not the first time Sai's played him before, right?" Hikaru asked. "Did he come to one of those night games?"
"No. It wasn't like that ..." Osusuki's voice trailed off, and for the first time that evening, he displayed a trace of uncertainty. His hands fluttered between his cup and his fan, never settling on one or the other for longer than a breath. "Our one rule, during the night games, was that no one was allowed to hurt Sai nor any of his family. No one ever did. In that clearing, on the mortal plane, he didn't summon us; we came to him. It was a neutral meeting."
"So ..."
"But that one time, I ... the rules were broken. Sai nearly lost his soul."
"What?!" Hikaru spilled his tea all over his robes. "OWWW!"
Osusuki sighed in exasperation. He waved a hand. The tea stains lifted themselves back into golden brown droplets, which then dissolved midair.
"Sorry," Hikaru mumbled, although Osusuki could probably tell he did not mean a word of it. He looked back through the trees, toward a game he couldn't see, and sighed. "Look, I still don't have the full picture. Maybe if you showed me that, then we can talk. I can't play a game where I can't see all the pieces."
"It doesn't matter. You'll lose anyway, if the Lord of Darkness is your opponent."
"My sensei once said that a great player always has a backup plan, to counter whatever happens on the goban. I'm not the best player, but I am going to be, one day. I need your help though, cause you're not telling me everything."
"Are you sure you want to journey in the mind of a kitsune again? I'm warning you, it won't be pleasant this time."
"It wasn't pleasant the last time either! I don't like the fleas, no, but ... I have to know. I need to understand about Sai, and why all this crap is happening. You don't want Sai to go to Hell. I know you don't."
"You humans were always a bit voyeuristic," Osusuki remarked. He reached over and poured Hikaru a new cup of tea. After a moment's hesitation, Hikaru picked up the teapot.
"Show me already!" he demanded, thrusting the kettle out like a weapon, "Or are you chicken or something? The Lord of the Foxes is a chicken! Bawwwwk! Bawwwwwk!"
In retrospect, Hikaru had a feeling that clucking like an overgrown banty rooster to the Lord of the Kitsune was probably not a good idea. Especially when he misjudged the shifting weight of the pot, and nearly poured a jet of boiling tea onto the kitsune. He caught himself just in time.
Osusuki narrowed his eyes. "Again with the mockery. You, little mortal, are lucky your soul is already marked for damnation. Otherwise, I'd seriously consider introducing you to MY concept of Hell."
"BAWWWWWWWWWK!"
"Stop that! Fine, if you insist on mucking about in my mind," the kitsune rubbed his head wearily. "I don't have to tell you that it's not a enjoyable place to be. I have seen many things, little human, most of which should not be even half glimpsed by mortal eyes."
Osusuki's voice sounded neither cocky nor arrogant nor even angry, which made Hikaru pause. This, in turn, nearly caused another mess as the kettle tipped again, threatening to send tea down the front of Hikaru's own robes. At the last moment, Osusuki snapped his fingers, and the teapot safely righted itself. "Are you absolutely certain, Shindo Hikaru, that you want to see?"
If Hikaru didn't know better, he would have thought he saw a trace of sadness ... or guilt ... in the kitsune's eyes.
But .... can a kitsune even feel guilt? Hikaru wondered. Having been in Osusuki's mind, he knew that kitsune in general did not see the world in quite the same way humans did. No, not guilt ... this is something even more complex than guilt. Perhaps ... regret.
Feeling a little flustered and wary, Hikaru finally settled on pouring the fox spirit a cup of tea, this time managing to complete the task without inadvertently scalding himself or the Kitsune Lord. Osusuki nodded politely, accepting his unspoken gesture of truce. The fox spirit took a sip, then another, before setting the cup down.
"Very well then. It was spring when I saw Sai for the last time before he left for the capital, near the middle of the month you know as April...."
to be continued