Chapter Eight
"Run!" Yuichi screamed as Lady Hikaru lunged at them. Chizu leapt to the side, skidding across the floor before forcing herself to her feet and dodging another attack.
They both hesitated, facing each other and breathing hard. Lady Hikaru's delicate face twisted into an unpleasant sneer. "I should have known the Yokai was just a distraction. But I'm surprised she's made friends with the likes of you."
"At least she has friends. And doesn't hang people's skulls up on the wall!" Yuichi hurled back, glaring at her over Chizu's shoulder.
"Funny you say that, because your skull is soon going to JOIN THEM!" Lady Hikaru lunged a second time, and this time Chizu wasn't fast enough. She slammed them into the wall, making Yuichi cry out in pain.
Chizu's ears flattened and her fur stood on end as she stared into blue eyes burning with murderous intensity. The kitsune's sharp teeth glistened as she spoke.
"You're Yuichi's friend, Chizu, aren't you? The Neko ninja traitor." Chizu grunted as the kitsune pinned her arms to the wall in a vice-like grip. "I'm impressed. But anyone who dares intrude in my fortress and mess with my things will die, painfully."
Chizu knew she should do something, but she was paralyzed with fear. She's going to bite my head off. I can see it in her eyes.
Then Yuichi took action.
Taking careful aim, he kicked backwards at the kitsune's knee that was showing slightly through her kimono. Bone crunched as her knee was forced backwards and Lady Hikaru screamed.
Chizu stumbled forward as the kitsune fell in a pile of wildly thrashing tails.
"Spot!" Yuichi shouted. "Come here!" His tokage, holding Edgewing in his mouth, leapt onto his shoulders. "This is your chance, Chizu!"
She didn't need to be told twice. Fueled by adrenaline, she half-leapt, half-clawed her way onto a support beam and fled. She didn't know where she was going, she only knew she needed to get as far away from the screaming as possible. As she made her way through a new tunnel, her lungs burned and her muscles ached with exhaustion. We're never going to make it out of here.
There was a loud flapping noise and suddenly she saw a large crow flying in her direction. "Chizu! Yuichi! There you are. Who was screaming?" It spoke with Karasu-Tengu's voice.
"Lady Hikaru." Chizu gasped for breath. "Please, help us!"
The crow grabbed onto them and with unnatural strength for such as small creature, pulled them through the air, avoiding the beams. Chizu could hear shouting noises; it sounded like the Nine-tail ninjas had been alerted to their infiltration.
She didn't stop praying until they made it outside.
XXX
Outside, the sky was dark with clouds. As soon as they broke through a cave entrance and skimmed low over the ground, the crow turned into Karasu-Tengu's true form and the three of them crashed into the ground.
"Oww," Chizu moaned. She tried to untie the leather sleeves keeping her and Yuichi bound together, but they wouldn't budge. Karasu-Tengu towered over them, bleeding from wounds on her face, wings, and body.
"I knew you would be in need of my help," she said, pulling out a small knife and cutting them free.
"You went into the tunnels! Thank you," Chizu said, taking a moment to catch her breath. The entrance to the cave was visible through the trees. She could see many bodies lying on the ground.
"They eventually gave up fighting me and I couldn't stay out here and do nothing."
"Sensei, you're bleeding!" Yuichi said.
"And so are you," Karasu-Tengu stated, causing Chizu to realize he was bleeding from a headwound, probably from their encounter with Lady Hikaru.
"We need to get the trag out of here," Chizu said, getting shakily to her feet. "They could come after us any second."
Karasu-Tengu turned her golden weapon into a giant sword. "Yuichi, don't move." In one mighty blow, she broke the chains on his ankles. The sound of the impact echoed through the forest. Chizu glanced around nervously, but they seemed to be alone.
"Ok, now pull your wrist as far apart as you can and for the love of nature, don't move them if you don't want to lose a limb."
"Ok, but please be careful," Yuichi said nervously. One more well-placed strike and he was free.
"Finally!" Yuichi stood on wobbly legs. "I've been waiting to do this!" He embraced Chizu in a tight hug. "Thanks for risking your life to help me."
Chizu blushed. "Y-you're welcome," she stammered.
Karasu-Tengu drew back when Yuichi went for her next. "No touching," she said firmly.
"Aw come on, not even a little?" Yuichi turned back to Chizu with a smirk on his face, about to say something, but he froze.
"What's wrong?" Chizu started to ask, but her sentence was broken as he leapt at her and knocked her to the ground.
"Filthy fox!" Karasu-Tengu lunged at the hidden archer, sword raised. One powerful swing ended its life.
Chizu crouched over Yuichi, staring with uncomprehending eyes at the arrow protruding from his upper shoulder. As blood started to seep into his tunic, panic spread through her body.
"No. NO!"
"Chizu! What's wrong?" Karasu-Tengu towered over them both.
"The archer…I saw it…" Yuichi said uncertainly, his eyes glazing over. He was definitely going into shock.
"We just got you back, you can't die!" Chizu cried. Karasu-Tengu smacked the side of the cat's head.
"Chizu, stay calm! We can't draw any more attention to us. His wound doesn't look fatal. Right now, we need to get out of here."
She picked up Yuichi and lifted herself into the air with great effort. Then she grabbed onto Chizu and carried the two of them into the darkening sky.
XXX
It had been raining for a while.
Right now, the forest was thick with fog, occasionally visited by a cold drizzle. Chizu kept watch for danger, huddled in a ball at the edge of shelter she and Karasu-Tengu had built with a tarp they'd stolen. They would have bought it, but no one would sell anything to them.
No matter how far they traveled from the cavern, everyone seemed to know who they were and refused to help them. Eventually, afraid their location would get back to the Nine-Tails, and with darkness approaching, they'd taken this tarp and built a shelter and a fire.
Karasu-Tengu muttered something in her sleep and Chizu glanced back. The crow Yokai did not look good. She had skillfully removed the arrow from Yuichi and treated the injury for infection with herbs that she'd found, but Yuichi had steadily gotten worse. Eventually, as Karasu's health started to suffer as well, the possibility that the Nine-Tails' weapons was poisoned became more likely.
Chizu knew she could inch back under the shelter of the trap to stay drier, but some part of her embraced the cold seeping through her body. She sat there, tired and angry, wrapping misery around her like a blanket.
What now, God? I know you can hear me, even when everything feels hopeless. Would you have mercy on us and bring some kind of help?
Presently, she could hear Yuichi shifting his blanket around as though he was waking up, and she waited for him to speak up. That rabbit couldn't go two minutes without talking once he was awake, even in his sickly condition.
"I had a bad dream."
She turned to face him, trying to think of something comforting to say and hating the fact that she couldn't think of anything.
Yuichi sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "You and Karasu-Tengu got eaten by Lady Hikaru. I saw the whole thing."
Chizu had suffered through plenty of nightmares herself, and her heart panged with sympathy. She settled next to him and stroked his ears softly to help him calm down.
"It's okay, Yuichi. We're right here, and we're fine." Mostly fine.
She could see him visibly relax, but he studied her face with concern.
"You don't look so good."
She snorted. "What do you mean? You're the one that's been shot and poisoned. I'm fine, honestly."
"I know. But I've never seen you look so sad before. Your eyes look…" he hesitated. "Dead."
She sighed and forced a smile. "I'm just really tired. Don't worry about me."
"But I do. I worry about you all the time."
She blinked. "What? Why?"
He looked to the side, avoiding her gaze. "I…you always…nevermind." A moment later his melancholy expression changed into a mischievous smile. "Ok, so…totally random question, but do you have a crush on me? Kitsune keeps saying you do, but I don't believe her."
Chizu frowned. "What's a crush? And why would I have it?"
He hesitated. "It's…well…nevermind again."
A hint of a smile finally crossed her face. "Ok then, Yuichi. Keep your secrets. Usually you can't stop talking."
"Chizu. Someone approaching."
Karasu-Tengu's interruption sent a jolt of fear through her.
Every nerve on edge, Chizu rose to her feet and pulled the naginata off her back. She could see a short shadowy figure approaching them slowly.
"Stay where you are!" Chizu warned loudly, bracing herself for battle.
"I mean you no harm," said the figure with a voice that quavered with old age. It was an elderly badgermaid carrying a bag and dressed in simple peasant garb. "I heard about your friend in need of help. They did not want me to come, so I had to make sure I was not seen."
"Be careful," Karasu-Tengu said. She coughed. "Could be a trap."
Chizu lowered her weapon. "Are you a healer?"
The badgermaid nodded. Chizu cautiously let her approach and examine Yuichi, who sat up and groaned.
She unwrapped his bandages and studied where his shirt had been cut away to reveal the injury. Even through his fur there was clear discoloration of the skin. The healer made a "tsk tsk" sound as she cleaned the injury and applied some ointment that she had brought with her.
"This should help with the pain, young one. You are truly remarkable. I've never seen anyone get away from the Nine-tails, especially those they target." She smiled at Yuichi gently.
Despite grimacing from the pain, Yuichi managed to smile back. "It was mostly due to my friends. They're the remarkable ones."
"What do you mean, 'those they target'?" Chizu asked, shifting from one foot to the other restlessly.
The healer glanced at her. "The new matron of the Ninetails clan has a lust for vengeance like no other before her. She has tracked down living relatives to any animal-folk that has wronged her clan, even if it was hundreds of years ago. Then she brings them into her fortress, and none of them ever come out again." She shook her head. "I laid eyes on her once. Such a beautiful creature, but so full of death." She moved over to Karasu-Tengu, who had been watching every move the healer made.
"Do not examine me. I am aware of the extent of my injuries. Just tell me if my pupil's poisoned, and if there is any cure," the crow Yokai said coldly.
Chizu's heart plunged at the sad expression on the healer's face that said it all. "I can see this is an arrow wound. From one of their archers?
"Yes."
"They tip them with a very rare poison secreted by a fungus in the Nagami forest. There is, unfortunately, no cure."
Yuichi's face fell, and Karasu-Tengu muttered something under her breath. "How long do you think he has?" she asked.
"It's hard to tell. But probably…a week or less. Still, there is more honor in dying this way than the fate that would await you at that kitsune's teeth." The healer patted Yuichi's uninjured shoulder and put a sack of herbs in Chizu's hand.
The cloud of gloom over Chizu's head settled even more as she followed the healer away from the shelter. "Thank you," she said in a subdued voice. "But why would you help us? How do I know you're not a spy?"
The healer stopped and looked at her thoughtfully. "For generations, my family has told tales of a brave ronin rabbit who saved my great-great grandfather from certain death. If what I've heard is true, and that boy truly is his descendant, I am honored to be able to help him in any way I can. Consider it a debt repaid."
Chizu smiled, feeling a little lighter inside despite the weight on her heart. "I see. I am happy to tell you that Yuichi has definitely been following in his ancestor's footsteps. I only wish he had more time to do so."
The healer hesitated. "Well…this is an unconventional way, and I only recommend this to those that are desperate, but there is a valley not far from here that is rumored to contain unicorns."
Chizu's eyes widened. She remembered the Ninetail ninjas talking about unicorn meat. Most so-called unicorn meat wasn't real, but rather peddled by hunters that liked to spin fantastical yarns to gain some extra yen for their efforts. The beasts were known to have the supernatural ability to heal, but were incredibly hard to find.
"Where is this valley?"
"It's hidden in the Kiubata mountains, and it's guarded by a warrior whose name no one knows. Most visitors are hunters in search of the unicorns, and few of them return. But those that seek healing say that the warrior brought them to a unicorn."
She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "I don't know if any of this is true. But if you're able to make the journey, I suggest you try."
Chizu and the healer parted with a respectful bow, and Chizu made her way back to the shelter, deep in thought. She'd heard about hidden valleys containing unicorns, and this news brought memories of old tales and legends to mind.
"What is it?" Karasu-Tengu asked as she approached, noticing the agonized hope on her face. "What did she say?"
Chizu took a deep breath. "Karasu-Tengu, do you know where the Kiubata mountains are?"