3. Too Hot a Blaze

Smoke filled Hanzou's lungs and he forced himself not to breathe. He had to get out. He had to get to his stack of antidotes that would have something that helped with inhaling thick smoke. Shielding his face, he navigated the halls of the palace and promptly got lost. Small wonder, he'd never been here before, and he could barely see what was just in front of his feet. When a guard stopped him, he understood that he was probably a goner.

'Did you set the fire? What did you do that for?' The guard sounded bored.

'I didn't. Your stupid little princess did.' While fighting him off, no less, and not intentionally. That she'd hit her head and was certainly dead by now wasn't his fault. She should just have let him have a bit of fun and go his way. She'd still be alive then, if she'd been nice and quiet and pliable. But no, she had to flail like a madwoman and set the whole place on fire while he tried to keep her calm for just a bit.

'Well, I don't believe you.'

Hanzou had no time for this. He spun to try and find his way out again, but the guard had grabbed him by the back of his clothes and was holding him firmly.

'You burn us down, you burn with us.'

Hanzou stopped struggling. He had nothing on the much younger man – much less one who resigned himself to death so readily. 'You don't care much that you'll burn, too, do you?'

The guard grunted. 'I'm going to die anyway.'

Understanding what was happening, Hanzou hid a grin. 'You're sick?'

'Yep.'

'Maybe I can help you, too. Help me get out and I'll try. Let me go and I might save your life.' Or he'd poison him. It depended on his demeanour. Someone without scruples could be useful.

The guard hesitated only for a moment. 'Fine,' he said then. 'With me. It's not like you've got a lot to lose by coming along, either.'

Ϡ

The small hut wasn't far away. A couple of days ago, Hanzou had found it inhabited by a relatively fresh corpse he'd dismantled before burning what was left. A human body had a few interesting fluids, though, and a dead person didn't need them anymore anyway. Right now, he was boiling slippery elm bark and had his companion – Masaru – inhaling steam with thyme under a thick cloth. Somehow he was worse off even though he hadn't run through the smoke as long and was a lot younger. He should be fine.

So far, Masaru had been very compliant. He had yet to tell Hanzou what was killing him, but at the moment he was too busy to listen anyway. Taking the water from the flame, he poured a bit of the liquid into two bowls. 'Hey, kid. Let that cool a bit, then drink it. It'll stop you from feeling like you swallowed a huge jagged rock.'

Masaru appeared from under his cloth, looking baleful and haggard. 'Swallowing always feels like that. And I'll just throw up anyway. Can't keep anything down. Like I said, I'll be dead soon.'

Hanzou narrowed his eyes, thinking carefully. He had something he wanted to test, and he might just have found the perfect subject. Seeing how his own life was drawing to a close – he was certainly not getting any younger – he was trying to find a way to cheat death before it came for him. But trying to drink demon extracts wasn't appealing yet. Maybe this guy was desperate enough, but Hanzou shouldn't seem too eager. 'Listen here,' he said slowly, as if he was only just thinking about this. 'I know my way around poisons. Do you know some poisons can save a life as much as kill in the right dosage? Maybe I have one that saves you.'

Masaru shrugged. 'If you want to murder me, you really needn't bother.'

'I don't want to murder you. I want you to try something. Maybe it kills you. Maybe it saves you.'

'You want this for yourself, then, to extend your life.'

A slow smile formed on Hanzou's face. 'You've got me. And you have nothing to lose. Just like I didn't when I followed you out earlier.'

Masaru looked at his emaciated hands for a moment, then back at Hanzou. 'What will it do to me? And what's in it? I want to know what I'm getting into.'

Thrilled, Hanzou broke the wax seal on the earthen jar he'd stored his concoction in. The contents hissed ominously, making him glad he wasn't the one to try this. 'What will it do to you? Ah. That's to be seen. It should give you strength and vigour.' It might also take some of Masaru's intelligence, but by the looks of him, there wasn't much to lose to start with. No need for him to know that, he wouldn't miss it. The stupid never did. 'What I wasn't planning on telling you unless you insist is that it includes parts of demons.'

Masaru shrugged. 'I don't care. What parts?'

'Brain tissue, digestive fluid, bits of livers and spleens. All of different demons. It should help with the indigestion, too, you know. You won't just live, but you'll be able to eat.'

'Have you tested this somehow?'

'I've tested the components by themselves on … people with nothing to lose.' Not all of them had been volunteers, but no-one would look for them. 'Most of them made it.' Well. Initially. But Hanzou had to be sure they wouldn't blab. What he'd do with Masaru remained to be seen.

'You're really a rather horrible person, aren't you?' the young guard asked.

Hanzou's mouth split in a leer. 'You don't seem to mind.'

Masaru shrugged. 'I'm dying. What difference does it make to me?' He stood gingerly and approached Hanzou, standing only a little taller than him. Despite what he had on Hanzou in height, he looked feeble, pale, and unstable on his feet. 'But a way out would make a difference. If I live …' He straightened and Hanzou saw that it cost him an immense effort to just stand upright. 'If I live, I'll be your servant.'

'I don't need a servant,' Hanzou said quietly, 'but if you volunteer to help me get what I want and make sure no-one gossips about me after, you'll certainly live longer.'

((I went with the manga here, rather than the somewhat toned-down version of the anime. If we do evil, we do it all the way, shall we?))