Kayo stared in horror at the broken door casting shadows in the light of the orb she now gripped tightly. Not only had the medicine seller been thrown through the wall and who knew what else, she was now left with the mononoke in the hallway, armed with only a paper lantern filled with phosphorus without knowing how to actually use the orb as a weapon.
She attempted to crawl to her feet, getting tangled in her kimono. She didn't want to be noticed by the mononoke but she'd already screamed his name. Or not-name. This wasn't the time for that sort of debate.
And now they were both staring at her. She gripped the orb, pressing herself against the wall with her knees bending towards each other. She glanced between them nervously as they approached. That was it. She was going to die now.
"He doesn't belong." They both pointed at hole in the wall.
She stared at the hole, uncertain what to do or say. They were talking to her, but they weren't attacking her. She glanced at each one then back at the hole. They were getting closer, but they still hadn't attacked or told her that she didn't belong.
"He doesn't belong," the repeated. "He had to go."
This was getting weird. She glanced between the two dolls again. They had drawn closer and closer. If they were human, she probably could've felt their breaths on her neck. "W-why don't you like him?"
"He wants to break up our family..." one replied.
"...with that taima sword!" the other finished the statement.
"Break up your family?" She asked nervously. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on the conversation as if it were normal. She just wanted them to stop breathing down her neck. Perhaps if she could find their reason or perhaps even just reason with them.
"Yes," one replied.
The second one continued. "We must be together."
"But didn't they….." Kayo paused. Saying the wrong thing would probably tick off the mononoke, right? Then again, she wasn't sure. The candle mononoke had actually reached out to the medicine seller, asking him to release the sword and end their suffering. Right now, the mononoke seemed almost as if it were lying to itself. She swallowed hard. "Didn't they abandon you in that room to die alone?" She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to be thrown through a wall.
"What are you….." one began.
"...saying?" the second one ended.
She opened one eye, peering at the one on her right. "You're… you're Ichi's dolls, right? Ichi died alone in that room, abandoned."
"Abandoned," one said.
"Abandoned," the other repeated.
"Forever alone," they both added in unison.
"Is that why you're upset?" Kayo questioned a bit more boldly.
"We need to stay together," one answered.
"This is the only way," the second one continued.
Kayo frowned. This mononoke was disillusioned. She felt for it. She could understand why the medicine seller wanted to put them to rest. Mononoke really were suffering in one way or another, bound to emotions beyond their control. "By becoming their wishing doll while they reap the benefits?"
"Used," one said.
"By those we love," the second one added.
"Jealousy, abandonment, why can't we stay together?" the dolls continued in unison. "Shina is to blame." The dolls turned, their joints not bending very well as they staggered towards the hole the medicine seller's body made in the wall. "She broke up the family. She must be stopped."
Kayo gulped. She said something wrong. "Th-that's not what I mean! You don't need to go harm her!" She considered reaching forward, her hand halfway poised in the air. How was she supposed to stop a mononoke? She was just a human girl attempting to figure out the supernatural and medicine and whatever the medicine seller actually was.
She reached out to the dolls, but as her hand nearly brushed one's shoulder, the pair suddenly blinked forward through the hole, traveling awkwardly into the darkness. "Wait!" she called out to them. It was honestly the last thing she expected to say to a mononoke ever, and yet there she was, yelling it into the darkness. She staggered forward, trying to step through the hole. She caught her kimono on the wood, snagging it and ripping it but she just yanked it free, continuing on.
"Mr. Medicine Seller!" she called out into the dark room. The orb was going out, the light finally dimming as the concoction within began to grow dark. But as it dimmed, she noticed a light streaming up from behind some boxes in the room. Carefully she rounded it, finding a gaping hole in the ground.
Below her was the tea room. The medicine seller had landed face first in the pile of dolls, crashing through the tea table and sending tea cups and snacks in all directions. To the side were Shina and Mitsu, cowering in the corner as the creepy dolls approached them. "Mr. Medicine Seller, wake up!"
He didn't seem to move.
She worried that he didn't survive the fall. She was so certain he wasn't human, that he was some supernatural being that just looked human. But perhaps he was just a strange-looking human who just happened to exorcise mononoke. Perhaps he was now dead. But she had to try. "Mr. Medicine Seller!" She squinted at him. During the fall, he must've used the taima sword to shield himself as he now gripped it in his hand.
"I think I know the reason!" she shouted. The sword seemed to stare at her. Was that thing alive? She shook her head. Now was not the time to contemplate what was or wasn't alive in this man's inventory. Everything he had was marginally questionable.
"Regret!" she continued. "Ichi wanted everyone together, but she regretted that the tea house pulled everyone apart!" She stared at the sword. It hadn't reacted yet. There was more to this. He made it look so easy, how he could piece together the information.
"We wanted to be together!" the dolls shouted. "Ichi wanted a family!"
"What are you talking about?!" Mitsu cried. "Ichi died of a sickness! I wanted her to live!"
"Stupid little sister!" Shina began laughing. "Ichi just wanted family! It was always about family! She didn't care if this tea house was ruined or not! I couldn't let her marry off to that family and shut it down!"
Mitsu stared at her sister. "S-shina, what are you saying? Ichi was marrying up so we wouldn't have to worry about money anymore! She wanted to take care of us!"
"I shut her in that room to die!" Shina laughed. "I left her to rot! She's still there! Ahahahahaha!"
"You're awful!" Shina cried.
Kayo gasped, holding a hand over her mouth. People really could be awful. Dying in that room alone was bad enough. Mitsu's cruelty was a stab in the heart.
The medicine seller stirred. The taima sword reacted, chattering and shouting. "Release! Release!" That was the reason that had remained within the mononoke, fueling it until it came alive with rage. Ichi just wanted to take care of her family. She regretted not being able to keep everyone together while Shina's greed had broken the family apart.
He quickly took to his feet, withdrawing the chattering sword from its sheath. His inner self had awoken, now standing in the tea room with the dolls clamoring away, wishing for Shina's death. "Come, I'll put you to rest."
The dolls turned, seeing him standing there with long flowing blonde hair that seemed to move in an invisible wind. His dark eyes focused on the pair of dolls. He could see their pain, the suffering they had endured from the hatred and neglect. Humans truly could be awful to their own family. "You don't have to feel this pain anymore."
"Will we be together again?" the dolls questioned.
"Perhaps in time," he replied, drawing the blade to the side. A step forward and he slashed the sword in a wide arc, the dolls breaking apart as his blade cut through them.
Kayo blinked. The sword had shouted to be released but the next thing she knew, the medicine seller was standing on the ground in a lunge, pushing the sword shut. The dolls lay lifelessly on the side of the room as Shina cackled and Mitsu just cried, grabbing one of the dolls and sobbing into it miserably.
What had just happened? She was watching the whole scene play out, but it seemed like she missed him actually using the sword. For a moment, she was certain she saw someone else wielding it. She stared down into the tea room, gripping the dimming orb as she watched him stand up and tuck the taima sword back into his obi. He turned, stepping over the broken tables and dolls as he headed for the back door.
Kayo stood up, carefully stepping over the broken crates as she tried not to tear her kimono more as the quick turn of events attempted to replay in her mind.
Just who was the medicine seller, truly? What was he?
….
"So what are you going to do now, Miss Mitsu?" Kayo questioned as they stood outside the tea house. It had been boarded up and shut down quickly after the guests within had suddenly been teleported back outside and into the festival. Rumors of hauntings and yokai quickly spread, and the tea house was no longer popular as Shina had wished.
"I don't know," Mitsu shook her head. "I can't believe Shina would do that to Ichi. I can't believe this was all because she wanted to get rich off the tea house." She sighed, watching as the people passing by turned away from the once-popular building. "We'll think of something. Maybe I will. I'm not sure I can stay knowing what Shina did."
"Look, take it from someone who had to leave their house because of a mononoke," Kayo placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders. "You'll probably find yourself wandering, but in time, you'll find something that calls to you."
Mitsu perked up a bit. She hadn't expected Kayo to understand, but she knew exactly the feeling. They were kindred spirits. "You know, you're right. I'll find something. I just hope Ichi knows that I will always love her and that I miss her."
The medicine seller turned. A woman in a decorative flowered kimono carrying a doll stepped through the boarded doorway. Down the stairs she strode and past the group, hugging the doll tightly. "I know that we'll be together soon." She paused for a brief moment, staring up at the medicine seller. She smiled at him brightly with almost a childlike grin as she placed a hand on Mitsu's shoulder.
He grinned a bit as the soul disappeared into the crowd. No matter how many souls he'd released, seeing them free of their ire was nothing short of satisfying. Silently he turned, heading back towards the crowd.
Mitsu blinked, confused at what made him smile. "He's an odd one, isn't he?"
Kayo nearly laughed. "He'd deny that if you said it to him. But he was probably looking at the soul released from the mononoke."
"Ichi's?"
"Yeah, more than likely." Kayo nodded. "He doesn't see the world like we do." She wasn't entirely sure how he actually saw the world, but it definitely wasn't in any human sort of way. He always seemed to be looking at things that weren't there. Or didn't look to be there for her. "Actually, I don't know what he sees."
Mitsu placed a hand on her own shoulder. It almost felt someone was with her, even if just for a moment. "Perhaps some things are best left unknown." She dug into her kimono sleeve, pulling out a small coin purse. She pulled some coins from it. "Here. I don't have much, but at least I should thank you for helping us."
Kayo stared at the offered coins. The offering was meager and Kayo desperately wanted edamame for dinner, but something told her to not take it. She placed her hand around Mitsu's, curling it closed. "It's not that I'm not grateful, but you'll need it to start your travels."
Mitsu smiled softly. "You're far too kind, Miss Kayo."
"Maybe we'll cross paths again," Kayo grinned. "But maybe not. When you cross that guy's path, it always involves mononoke." She turned to point at him, noticing he was barely visible at the edge of the crowd. "He keeps doing that! Heeeeeey! Mr. Medicine Seller! Wait up!" She pulled at the edges of her kimono, frowning at the tear but continuing on anyway. She paused to turn back and wave at Mitsu. "Best of luck!"
"You as well!" Mitsu waved back. What an odd pair they were, but she was thankful they had crossed her path. Now she had her own path to figure out and what the future may hold for her.
...
Author's notes
Meaning of the names of the sisters:
Ichi – "One". eldest sister
Shina – "Possessions". I thought it sounded good. middle sister
Mitsu – "Third". youngest sister
I like the idea that the medicine seller's other self isn't seen by most people. It's hard to say since oftentimes the people around him are distracted or hiding or something in between. He is a mysterious one. What does he see? Is he human? Who knows!
