Chapter Four
The Brightest Smile
>>>Afternoon - December 27, 1582
The weather was okay. The grass was green, the sky was blue, and there were trees everywhere. Birds were chirping. The wind felt nice. The weather was . . . okay.
Takashi didn't give a flying fig about the weather. Hunger, now that was something else altogether. The ronin was thoroughly convinced that his stomach had twisted itself in knots by now. That would explain the deep rumbles that trumped every intelligent thought in his head. Takashi was hungry. Takashi was really, really hungry.
The ronin plodded onward with a hand over his tortured gut and a gaunt, hanging expression on his face that would have scared the average traveler into the next province. Takashi couldn't even remember the last time he had felt this hungry. It would have to have been many years ago, before his servitude under Lord Nobunaga, before his training under Jeffy-sensei, but after . . .
A low growl that issued from his midsection caused Takashi to cease his reminiscence. The past was all well and good, but he needed some nutrition right now. In fact, to hell with nutrition. At this point, the man would have been grateful for a decent-tasting patch of grass.
It wasn't as if Takashi hadn't prepared for his long journey. He had fully intended to stock up in the last town, but someone had recognized him at the local tavern. That alone probably wouldn't have caused trouble, but apparently, that town in particular had developed a serious aversion towards former samurai. So serious an aversion, in fact, that Takashi had quite literally been given the boot, courtesy of the conveniently punctual neighborhood militia.
The ronin nearly doubled over upon the arrival of a sharp hunger pang that hit him like a thunderbolt. This really had to stop. There was no telling how far away the next town could be, and Takashi wasn't in the mood to find out whether they harbored a similar attitude to the last one. A quick look around soon rewarded the ronin with what he was looking for. A forest! There had to be some kind of food in there, or at least some water.
Takashi's pace began to quicken towards what could very well be his salvation, but the energy for the movement gave out just as quickly as it had appeared. He attempted to rekindle the burst of speed into a loping run, but the best his tired body could do was a ridiculously sporadic motion similar to a man attempting to run while being stabbed in the gut every three steps.
By the time the hapless ronin finally entered the woods ahead, his hunger had increased tenfold due to anticipation. What would he find here? Certain forests could be a treasure trove of various fruits, vegetables, and, if one possessed the skill to acquire it, fresh meat. Sure, it was still the middle of winter, but, especially in the mind of a starving warrior, hope springs eternal. Ignoring the brambles and ivy that tore at the fringes of his hakama, Takashi ventured onward into the labyrinth of ancient trees. Sunlight poured in from the treetops in visible beams at obscure angles. Some parts of the forest floor appeared in full visibility, but other sections seemed cordoned off by a visible barrier of darkness. Though the possibility of a meal drew him further in, Takashi felt the beginnings of fear creep into his mind. One could never tell just what resided in these forests, especially in one so far away from civilization. The slight fear turned into suspicion as visible light began to grow dimmer, and again turned to paranoia as the darkness seemed to take on a life of its own and creep up around him like an intangible snare.
"Hello!"
"AAAAAGH!"
Takashi landed squarely on his butt from utter surprise, but quickly recovered and drew his katana, The Greatness, in a lightning-fast movement. "Who's there! Answer me!"
A young girl emerged from the shadows with a bright smile that caused Takashi to instantly lower his guard. Her long black hair fell in simple locks past her waist, though red ribbons tied somewhere within trailed down even farther. She wore a simple gray kimono with a brown cloth obi and a pair of familiar two-toed socks with accompanying sandals. What really unnerved the already frightened ronin was a pair of wide and extremely clear blue eyes. They seemed almost freakish and most definitely out of place with the rest of her appearance.
"Riho." she answered in a near-singsong voice. "My name's Riho. What's yours?"
The Greatness lowered very slowly as Takashi attempted to balance the need to protect his manliness with the need to answer . . . and the need for food. "Ta-Takashi."
"Ara, yokatta," Riho replied, placing a delicate hand over her chest. "I thought you were a bandit, but a bandit wouldn't have a nice name like that. You're not a bandit, are you?"
Takashi found himself staring at Riho's hand. To be more precise, he found himself staring at what was under her hand: something large, round, and most likely very soft. Amazingly, another primal urge completely overrode his aching hunger. Takashi quickly rose to his feet, sheathed the katana with a stylish motion, and struck a glamorous pose.
"Why, young miss, how could you ever believe such a thing?" he soothed in an excessively amorous tone. "I am but a traveling envoy of justice, lending my blade to the weak and impoverished against the tyranny of evil men."
"Really?"
Takashi made sure to note the girl's enthusiastic reply before his legs gave out under the influence of a massive hunger pang.
"Aa! Are you alright?" Riho gasped as the ronin collapsed in a heap.
Takashi managed a laugh that quickly dissolved into the unfortunate mound of leafy dirt chosen by the kami to receive the impact of his face. "I'm . . . just a bit hungry."
Despite the ronin's best efforts, his consciousness finally gave way to a world of blackness.
>>>Night - December 27, 1582
A short time later, Takashi found himself awakened by the wholesome aroma of roasted fish. His slowly opening eyes revealed a patchwork of black and navy blue that he quickly interpreted as roiling cloud formations in the night sky. Gnarled tree branches overhead flickered in the warm light of a nearby campfire tended by Riho. Takashi quickly rose from a sleeping position and rubbed his sore eyes.
"You're still here?" he questioned.
Riho smiled. "Of course! I couldn't just leave you there, but you're too heavy to carry back to the village. So, I decided to work on your hunger problem with some fish I caught." There was a pause as she fiddled with the twigs that held the fish in place above the fire. "Good timing on your part; I think they're almost done!"
Takashi found it extremely hard to contain himself. Great-smelling food and a beautiful girl to share it with? The days of awful hunger almost seemed worthwhile if just for this moment.
"Thank you," Takashi said as he received a well-toasted mackerel from Riho. "Most people would have abandoned a ronin."
"A ronin, huh?" Riho almost giggled. "What happened to 'traveling envoy of justice'?"
Takashi savored the first bite of what he considered to be the best fish he had ever tasted before answering. "Hey, I'm sure that if I got the opportunity to uphold justice I would most definitely do it."
"Justice?" Riho sighed in a suddenly quiet voice as she gingerly nibbled at her fish. "There used to be a group of people in my hometown who said they fought for that."
After a prolonged silence, Takashi voiced his concern. "And?"
Riho's eyes suddenly looked very sad. "And they were liars."
Noticing the beginnings of tears, Takashi decided to reassure the girl. "Hey, I'm not like that. Even though I'm a ronin, I'll never forget the ideals of bushido or my master's teachings." He placed the remaining bones of the mackerel on the ground before continuing. "I've done too many regrettable things in my life already; the last thing I need is another one."
This comment only seemed to further depress Riho, who stopped eating and turned her face away from the ronin. There was a long silence, during which the fire began to die down. Takashi let his eyes roam over the girl once again. She was indeed almost frighteningly beautiful, but a powerful aura of sadness surrounded her. The ronin couldn't help but wonder what could make such an apparently cheerful person so miserable.
"You know," Takashi finally blurted, desperate for something to say. "That fish was really good."
Riho didn't even seem to hear him. Takashi began to fidget uncomfortably. What in the world was the matter? Why couldn't she say something . . . anything? After another few minutes of silence broken only by the crackling of the fire, Takashi received his wish.
"Really?"
Takashi blinked. "Huh? Well, yeah, of course! I don't think I've ever tasted better fireside fish!"
Riho blushed. "No, I meant the part about the regrettable things you've done." She began wringing her hands nervously before continuing. "What could you have done that you regret so badly?"
A grimace crossed Takashi's young face. He hated talking about that part of his past. In fact, he hated just thinking about it, but for some reason he felt like being somewhat honest with this girl. Maybe it was because he was a sucker for a beautiful woman.
"I killed people." Takashi attempted to state clearly. In truth, the rest faded to a whisper. "I killed a lot of innocent people."
The girl looked intrigued and frightened at the same time. "How many?"
Takashi couldn't believe what he had heard. "'How many'? Why is that important!"
Riho looked almost ashamed now. "It's very important, because I . . ." Tears gathered in her eyes. "Because I . . ."
It took quite a few seconds before either Takashi or Riho noticed the glimmering steel of a katana protruding from the middle of Riho's chest. Takashi's eyes widened in silent shock, but Riho cried out like a feral beast, clutching wildly at the weapon. The blade withdrew soundlessly as a swordsman materialized out of the darkness behind the wounded girl. No, not a swordsman. Takashi noticed the slim waist and definite curvature of a female bosom through the solid green kimono worn by the attacker. A swordswoman?
Before the ronin could force his body to react, the mysterious assailant's blade spun with a quick flash of reflected firelight. Riho's left arm separated from the rest of her body and fell to the ground along with a rush of thick blood from the gaping wound. Another animalistic howl escaped from the depths of the young girl's throat as she doubled over in a kneeling position, her right hand vainly attempting to staunch the flow of her life fluid from the torn muscle surrounding a clearly visible piece of cleanly-cut bone.
The horrific sight caused Takashi's legs to automatically extend. The ronin literally jumped from a sitting position and drew his katana in a blinding arc as he rushed the swordswoman.
"What the hell are you doing!" he cried.
His strike met the attacker's blade with a resounding clang, but his muscles simply would not relent from their forward motion. Takashi struggled forward in an attempt to overpower the female assassin. Sparks flew from the blades as they grinded against one another accompanied only by the muffled screams from Riho, who had by this time nearly placed her head between her knees in agony.
Takashi seemed to be winning the bladed grapple when the attacker's eye met his through a slit in her wide and conical straw hat. The woman's voice was flat and unyielding even as she slowly gave inches of ground to The Greatness.
"Why are you defending this thing?"
"What kind of question is that!" Takashi shouted in response. "What the hell do you think you're doing! We were just sitting by the fire and having dinner! Why would you do that to Riho! What did she ever do to you! Huh!"
The attacker's katana seemed to disappear along with the attacker herself from under Takashi's nose. Stunned for a split second as he attempted to rebalance, Takashi felt his legs suddenly leave the ground. That woman had cleanly dodged away from the power struggle and used the sheath of her sword to sweep the ronin's feet out from under him. Rather than simply fall to the ground, however, Takashi twisted his descending body to face the ground and used his left hand to stabilize his landing. The Greatness came to bear again on the enemy as Takashi quickly swept his remaining momentum into a kneeling position. He laughed as his body prepared for another dash attack.
The ronin grinned. "You're not going to win with cheap tricks like that, you arrogant heifer!"
The swordswoman, now across the campfire from Takashi and the gasping Riho, twitched visibly at the insult. "Is that so? Actually, I could have killed you with that motion had I so intended." The assailant's chin arced upwards, and Takashi would have been able to see her whole face had it not been for the shadow of her hat. The one cold green eye that was visible made the ronin's skin crawl. "In answer to your previous question, that 'Riho', as you call her, is a murderer."
Takashi's face seemed to freeze. So that was why Riho had been so interested in his past. Was she guilty of the same crime? The ronin laughed darkly within the confines of his mind. Perhaps something similar, but most definitely not the same. Not so many . . . Not so heartlessly . . .
"There's no way!" Takashi yelled, attempting to give Riho the benefit of the doubt. "There's no way that such a cute girl would do that!"
"Girl?" the swordswoman questioned in what seemed like mild surprise. "You think that thing is even human? Have a good look at your 'cute girl'."
Takashi didn't want to believe what he saw when he turned back to the injured Riho. The previously bright blue eyes now literally glowed as if about to ignite with flame. Long fangs protruded from delicate lips, and ears that had previously been small enough to hide behind Riho's generous locks of black hair now protruded to sharp points in a truly demonic fashion.
"A rokurokubi." the swordswoman commented into the silence cast by Takashi's shock. "A shape-shifting demon that attempts to blend into human society. Many are honestly benign, but just as many give in to their demonic nature and run rampant within towns by night." The single visible eye beneath the straw hat narrowed. "This particular type of demon tends to be more of a trickster than a killer, but once wounded they have been known to suck a human body dry of blood to regenerate their own health. After that initial feeding, they find the taste hard to resist and often continue to feed until killed." The assailant brought her heavily stylized katana to bear on Riho's head. "A farmer's entire family met that fate in a town just northeast of here; his wife and three young children were found drained completely. A tavern owner saw a girl that the townspeople knew as Riho fleeing the scene, and I've been offered a hefty reward for returning with the demon's severed head."
Takashi finally ordered his vocal chords to work. "Is this true, Riho?"
Despite her shifting demonic state, Riho still managed to evoke a pang of sympathy from Takashi. Tears flowed from her shining eyes as she answered the ronin in a distorted voice.
"I'm sorry, Takashi. I tried hard; I tried really hard to stop myself. But they were just so . . ."
Riho placed her right hand over her head and howled once again, though it seemed less a result of physical pain and more a cry of heartfelt remorse. "I don't know what to do, Takashi! What's wrong with me!" The girl's speech was broken by choking sobs. "What . . . what in the hell is wrong with me!"
Takashi looked terrified several moments before Riho easily dodged the attacker's blade and launched herself at the ronin, fangs bared. To the surprise of the nearby swordswoman, Takashi received the attack with open arms, his katana clattering loudly to the ground. He hugged the demon fiercely with his left hand even as her fangs sank into his neck. His right hand moved silently to his remaining weapon.
"I'm sorry, Riho."
Takashi's wakizashi penetrated the girl's forehead as the swordswoman's katana almost simultaneously severed Riho's head from her body. The head hung by its fangs from Takashi's shoulder for a moment before sliding off. The ronin withdrew his weapon and kicked the body into the campfire just as the demon's missing appendage rolled into the flames.
The horrid smell of charred flesh began to creep through the makeshift campsite as the fire consumed what just a few minutes before had been a normal girl sharing dinner with a ronin. Takashi stared in silence at the scene for a moment, his widened eyes flickering wildly in the firelight, his face and upper chest splattered with the demon's lifeblood. The woman in the green kimono remained still for some time as well before noticing a string necklace with a small piece of jade that had fallen out of Riho's kimono during her attack. She knelt down and retrieved the item as Takashi seemed to snap out of his reverie and begin cleaning his stained wakizashi on a piece of scrap cloth. The swordswoman turned the object over in her hands several times before speaking.
"The farmer mentioned that this was missing from one of his daughters. I guess this will do as proof that the demon is dead." She turned to the ronin and observed his quiet actions for a moment. "Why did you kill her so quickly? You seemed desperate to defend her just a few moments ago."
Takashi sighed and answered without taking his gaze away from his weapon. "Because that kind of thing can't be forgiven." He finished cleaning the wakizashi, sheathed it, and began work on The Greatness. "That farmer wouldn't have forgiven her, and I saw what she was feeling in her eyes; Riho wanted to stop, but couldn't control herself anymore. I'm not appointing myself as any kind of judge, but . . ." The ronin's eyes narrowed. "No one can live like that; death was the only release I could give her from the pain of her actions."
"Interesting," the swordswoman commented. "You sound as if you talk from experience."
Takashi rose to his feet while returning his katana to its scabbard. "Well, enough about that. Where are you headed?"
The woman in green looked surprised. "Back to the town to claim the reward, why?"
The ronin grinned. "I'm coming with you."
The swordswoman's dark raven hair shook from underneath her hat. "What? Why should I take you with me?"
"Well," Takashi began with mock haughtiness. "I could claim my half of the reward for helping you out."
The woman bristled visibly and took hold of her sword handle. "Like hell!"
"But," the ronin chided. "I'm not that kind of guy. If you hadn't stepped in when you did, I might have been killed. Therefore, I owe you a favor, and I won't rest until I've repaid it."
The girl in the straw hat calmed a bit and, to Takashi's great relief, removed her hand from the grip of the stylized and grooved katana. "That's . . . quite a surprise. I'd heard differently about your personality from the previous town."
Takashi couldn't hide his sudden confusion. "Wait, why would you know anything about me?"
The woman sighed. "I was hunting the rokurokubi, right? They're known to prey most often on fools and drunkards, which was exactly how the residents of the last village referred to you. I used the demon's heading along with yours to guess the most likely place for her next attack."
The ronin's eyebrow twitched visibly. "Fools and drunkards, huh?" He clenched a powerful fist in determination. "Well, I'll just have to prove that those bumpkins know nothing about the only student of the Jeffy-Yaen style!"
Takashi finished speaking just in time to see that the mysterious swordswoman had already walked off towards the first shafts of daylight that had broken over the horizon. He quickly gathered his weapons, put out the campfire and stumbled after her.
"Hey, you could have waited." the ronin grumbled upon catching up to the woman.
"A student of the legendary Anakouji Jeffery, eh?" she mused as if ignoring Takashi's complaint. "You might just be useful to me if you possess even half of his skill."
Takashi sighed as he walked alongside his new companion. "A violent mission, huh? Already feels like the old days." His facial expression changed for a moment as if remembering something important. "I think you should know that since I'm not claiming my half of the reward, I expect to be fed on this mission."
The woman shook her head. "You never miss an opportunity, do you? Oh well, fair enough, I guess." She held out a slender hand towards the ronin that was accompanied by a uncharacteristically bright smile. "I don't think I introduced myself. The name's 'Noriko', what's yours?"
Takashi smiled somewhat crookedly. Just a short while ago, this "Noriko" had brutally killed a girl that for all the world had looked as innocent and sweet as a child. Now the woman herself had almost taken on that same appearance. What had occurred by the light of that campfire had burned deeper in Takashi's heart than it probably should have, and the ronin knew that. He would journey with this warrior maiden, not so much to repay a debt, but to discover why people smiled the brightest when they had the most pain to hide. The ronin took hold of the girl's hand and shook it gently.
"Takashi, Ueda Takashi."
(End Chapter Four)
Japanese Dialogue and Terms (in order of appearance):
ara - loosely translates as "oh".
yokatta - the literal meaning translates as "it was good", but it is most often used in a similar manner to "Thank God!"
rokurokubi - see description in the chapter text.
