Chapter Eighteen
There and Back Again
>>>Evening - May 8, 1583
The last rays of sunlight were fading from the forest as Fuji, Takashi, and Yuki ventured ever higher along the winding trail. Takashi was occupied with using a lamp he had borrowed from the onsen to find a suitable campsite for the night while Yuki hummed a pleasant tune. Fuji, however, had finally relented to the pitiful whines for attention from the raccoon dog that had followed the group ever since their departure from Yunoyama.
Takashi looked backwards just in time to see Fuji give a piece of dried boar meat to the tanuki while patting its head. "Hey!" the ronin called back. "I thought I told you not to feed that thing!"
The apprentice faced Takashi and spoke apologetically. "I know, but she's just too cute to resist! It couldn't hurt to take her along for a while, could it?"
Takashi raised an eyebrow. "Her? How do you know it's a girl?"
Fuji looked honestly dumbfounded. "Um, I don't know, just kind of seemed that way to me."
"Oi." the ronin groaned. "I guess you can do whatever you want, but remember to take care of business."
Fuji nodded gravely. "There's no way I could forget."
"Now," Takashi mused, shifting the lantern left and right as he continued forward. "There has got to be somewhere to make camp around here that isn't on a slope." A low growl issued from the ronin's stomach, which he promptly rubbed. "Wish we were still at a lower elevation, then there'd be fresh meat to hunt."
Not even a moment after Takashi finished his sentence, Yuki dove straight into the underbrush. There were a few alarmed warbles and lots of rustling before the ronin and the apprentice heard an audible snap. Yuki emerged from the foliage covered in leaves, pinestraw, and feathers with a large quail lodged in her mouth, its neck broken in the struggle.
"You called?" she managed to mumble around the unfortunate fowl.
The raccoon dog hid behind Fuji with a low whimper.
Takashi grimaced for a moment as he rummaged through his travel bag. "Geez, Yuki. I hope you don't think that men find that kind of thing attractive." The ronin found what he was looking for, holding out a small burlap sack. "Put it in here; we'll eat it later."
"Attractive?" Yuki questioned, releasing the bird from her mouth and pulling stray feathers out of her teeth. "You wanted fresh meat, right? Didn't I get it for you?"
Takashi smiled halfheartedly. "I guess that's one way of looking at it."
Yuki grinned mischievously upon finishing her work. "So, what're you trying to say? You don't think I'm attractive?"
Surprisingly, the ronin's face flushed bright red. "What? When did I say anything like that?"
Yuki giggled at the ronin's reaction. "Come on, Taka-kun; I'm only kidding! You do remember how to kid around, right?"
Takashi resumed his forward motion, slinging the quail sack across his back where it impacted slightly on the scabbard of the Shinryo-ken. "Of course, I knew that all along. We-we'd better get moving before it's too dark even for this lantern."
Fuji looked dejectedly at the ronin. "Who did he just tell to keep his mind on business?" he mumbled.
The raccoon dog chirped in agreement.
One or two hours passed by as the travelers continued up the trail without sighting a single suitable campsite. The sound of falling water could be heard in the distance as Takashi addressed the group.
"Well guys, we may end up having to camp in the middle of the road."
Yuki coughed. "I doubt it's even wide enough for that, unless you're willing to cuddle up real close, Taka-kun."
Takashi straightened visibly. "Hey, enough of that already!"
Amidst Yuki's chuckles of amusement, Fuji spoke up. "Takashi, Yuki?"
The ronin turned back. "What's up?"
"I've been thinking about something," the apprentice began. "About Megumi."
Takashi sighed heavily. "Let's face it, Fuji. She was an Iga for the entire time we knew her, and she played us like fools."
"That's just the thing." Fuji replied. "For instance, I can see how she would have faked all that stuff she said to us, and to a certain extent I can imagine how she presented an entirely false demeanor. Still, there are things that just don't fit."
"Like what?" Yuki questioned.
Fuji looked up toward the treetops, using his peripheral vision to keep his heading fixed on Takashi's lamp. "For instance, remember that time when we were attacked at the ramen bar in New Komo Town? Why would Megumi have saved you from that kunai if she wanted you dead?"
Takashi stopped for a moment in thought, but soon shook his head and continued walking. "That's easy; she just wanted to gain more of our trust."
"Was that necessary though?" Fuji inquired. "Think about it; she could have killed you in your sleep at any time and made her escape before anyone noticed. Why didn't she?"
This time, Yuki stopped and put a hand to her chin. "He's got a point, you know? She could have gotten away with that any one of those nights we made camp. Why make an attempt on your life when you were awake and fully armed?"
Takashi scratched the back of his head in exasperation. "Look, I'm not going to try to understand her motives here. Are you willing to excuse what she did at the onsen, Fuji? Are you going to forgive what happened to your mother?"
Fuji looked downcast. "Of course not, but I'm just saying that it doesn't make sense."
"Don't dwell on it." the ronin advised. "Thinking like that isn't going to help when we confront her."
"Is that so?" a familiar voice called out of the darkness.
Takashi turned the lamp forward on the path in surprise, quickly calming down when he identified the interloper. "Jeffy-sensei? Thank the kami!"
The sword master hobbled forward on his crutches in a more awkward manner than usual. "Thank someone. In any case, you guys are looking for a campsite, right?" Jeffy pointed toward the sound of falling water, which had gotten progressively louder over time. "There's a cave under that waterfall that should do well for the night. Follow me."
>>>Night - May 8, 1583
The waterfall that Jeffy had spoken of was massive and powerful, cutting a rock-laden scar into the side of the mountain before going underground several feet below. The trail led across a natural bridge in front of the deluge and back around to the south side of the mountain. A large cave lay hidden on that side under large swaths of foliage, some of which had been hacked aside by Jeffy upon his initial discovery of the place. It did indeed extend for quite some length, ending with a very wet raised section toward the back that opened toward the rear of the waterfall.
Moisture that had gathered on the ceiling dripped down at regular intervals, echoing across the cavern along with Takashi's footsteps as he whistled at his surroundings and cast lantern light all around.
"Man," the ronin commented. "I remember this place being a lot bigger."
"Huh?" Fuji commented as he swept the vines covering the entrance aside. "What do you mean, 'you remember'? You've been here before?"
"Ditto." Jeffy added. "You knew this was here?"
"Not exactly." Takashi returned. "I've only been here once before, and I didn't remember exactly where it was."
Yuki was the last to enter, hesitating slightly just before stepping in. "This is a place from our memory, though; I'm sure of it."
Fuji and Jeffy were left dumbfounded as Takashi and Yuki strode toward the back of the cavern. The lantern light revealed a previously unseen feature at the back of the cave, and it was quite a sight to behold. All across the rear wall of the cave were curious inscriptions in a foreign language, some of it even in pictographs. Below the wall laid a large pedestal bearing three deep grooves and another inscription, this one written in kanji. Yuki bent low and caressed the grooves, touching the Kamikaze-ken that had been sheathed in her obi.
"This is where Taka-kun, Hideaki, and I found the three blades eight years ago. The Shinryo-ken, Kamikaze-ken, and Ikazuchi-ken were all buried in this pedestal."
"The words below the space for the swords," Fuji inquired. "What do they say?"
Takashi bowed his head low. "I don't even have to look at it to tell you."
We who have watched over all the land since its very birth
Created, in the hour of our greatest sin, weapons your race would come to loathe.
Wind guides lightning across the sky and lightning strikes the earth.
Lightning, opposed as it is to the wood, creates the fire that consumes them both.
Fuji blinked for a moment, taking in what had just been said. "What exactly does that mean?"
Yuki shook her head. "We didn't even think about it at the time. After all, who has time to interpret ancient prophecies when there's great-looking blades to be had."
"Prophecy, hmm?" Jeffy mused as the raccoon dog entered, shaking water from the falls off of its fur. "How would you know that, Yuki?"
The raiju seemed surprised for a moment before responding. "It's written in the manner of the ancient raiju scribes, at least, according to what my brother said back then."
Jeffy began to look over the walls in the back. "Indeed. So, what about the rest of the inscriptions? Can you read them?"
"Me?" Yuki questioned. "Why would I be able to read that?"
Jeffy placed a hand over the symbols engraved into the walls. "This is the language of the raiju clans that inhabited this mountain for a short time about 40 years ago."
"What?" Takashi interrupted. "How do you know that?"
The sword master's eyes narrowed. "Raijin, the demon responsible for the chaos on this mountain, is a raiju, just like Yuki and Hideaki. During the time that Jiro and I trained under his tutelage, he received word via a messenger of his race that a civil war had taken place between the two remaining tribes of humanoid raiju. It happened somewhere far to the north, though humans never knew of it taking place; the elders of the tribes made sure to disguise the conflict properly."
"Whoa," Takashi again interjected. "If you knew all this, why didn't you tell us?"
Jeffy looked severely at his former student. "Do you expect an old man like me to remember everything whenever it's convenient? Only by seeing Hideaki and comparing the power of his chain to Yuki's sword did I remember."
Fuji raised his hand politely. "Why did that jog your memory?"
Jeffy sighed. "It's all on the walls here, or at least, what I can translate of it. When the war began to drag on, both sides created an enchanted weapon. The tribe of the mountains created the Ikazuchi-ken to control the power of lightning. The tribe of the forests, in turn, created the Kamikaze-ken, in hopes that the power of wind could curb that of lightning. With these weapons, the tribes nearly annihilated each other, leaving only a few scattered survivors to make their way to Mt. Gozaisho. At the end of it all, however, there was no one left who remembered how to destroy the enchanted blades." A curious look crossed the sword master's face before he continued, nearing the end of the inscriptions. "It is written here that a famous blacksmith arrived in the land at that point, and bore witness to the broken hearts of the survivors. With their help, he created this cave as a monument to the tragedy of the raiju, and secured the swords of lightning and wind into this pedestal to restrain their power."
"Swords of lightning and wind," Fuji echoed. "What about the Shinryo-ken?"
Jeffy seemed to have difficulty reading the last part, due to the fact that some of the symbols had worn off. "The blacksmith had originally traveled to this region in search of a way to seal the curse on an ancient broadsword which had come into his possession."
"Oh man," Takashi laughed. "You've got to be kidding me."
Fuji was dumbstruck, allowing the raccoon dog just enough time to sneak into his travel sack and swipe another piece of dried boar jerky. "You're saying that the guy who originally owned the Shinryo-ken came here to purify it, the same as us?"
Jeffy looked strangely confused. "Actually, I'm not too sure. Some of the text has worn off here because of the waterfall; its flow must have altered since the creation of the cave. There seems to be something pretty important here about a dragon and the 'potential' of something or other, but it might as well be an ancient raiju recipe for shrimp ramen, what with the blasted water having carved away the most relevant symbols. This stuff is difficult to interpret even with every symbol present."
"Well," Yuki surmised. "At least we know why the Shinryo-ken is so different from the other two swords."
"Kind of makes you wonder though," Fuji said, quickly shutting his travel sack upon finding his food stolen. "Where did Takashi's sword come from anyway?"
"Hayate . . ." Jeffy mumbled to himself as he felt the manner in which the symbols had been written. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Okay!" Takashi declared loudly, removing the dead quail from his travel sack. "That is way too much for my brain to absorb in one night. Anybody else's head feel like a fried egg? I say we cook the bird and think about all this tomorrow."
"Hey," Jeffy commented. "Where'd you get that?"
Yuki foofed another feather out of her mouth and grinned widely. "Thought I'd never get that one out."
Sparse laughter broke out at Yuki's strangeness just before Takashi and Jeffy began working on a fire. Fuji, however, remained quite distant from it all, questions playing on his mind seemingly at random. Just what was that giant sword that Takashi taken from Mt. Gozaisho eight years ago? Where did it come from? What about those two words that Jeffy had read to them? Dragon? Potential? What did those have to do with anything? The apprentice looked out into the rapid deluge of the waterfall. Was Noriko still out there somewhere? Fuji couldn't figure out for the life of him why he cared in the first place, but somehow, the thought of Noriko sleeping by herself, alone in the cold night, caused a lump to form in the back of his throat. Maybe if he hadn't opened his big mouth earlier, the swordswoman would still be with them, sharing the quail that was now roasting over the open flame.
Fuji buried his head inbetween his folded arms, bringing his legs in close. There was so much to figure out about what was going on, so much to take in all at once. So many questions without answers, so many answers without questions. So many people to worry about, and too little time to do anything about it. All that, on top of the worry that he might not survive to find all the answers, caused the apprentice's mind to become exhausted and quickly descend into the realm of slumber.
>>>
Noriko walked back out of the Yunoyama Onsen slowly, ascending the stone steps toward the cliffs above the baths. Moonlight shone strong upon the treeless area, giving the swordswoman a fairly decent field of vision, but this turn of good fortune did not make its impression upon her. Where had everyone gone? What had happened here?
Upon reaching the cliffs, Noriko received the answer to her question in the form of May Pilazzo's grave, standing like a lone sentry at the end of the cliff, watching over the onsen's lonely villa. Confused at first, Noriko looked at the crude inscription under the name May Pilazzo. It read, "also known as Gateau Ari, tenant to the Yunoyama Onsen".
Noriko put a hand to her mouth to stifle the sudden wave of nausea that overcame her entire being. "What the hell?" she wondered aloud. "What the hell happened here!"
(End Chapter Eighteen)
