Chapter #4
The atmosphere in the inn was appalling. Yosei was never one to enjoy the company of people, let alone the company of such an stinky, boisterous jumble of humans. The men were fat and dirty and smelled of shit and blood and the women were just as fat and dirty, but smelled of sex. Liquor was being tossed around between mouth to mouth, and in the center of it all was Bankotsu, surrounded by a huddle of men betting on an arm-wrestling contest that he somehow started.
Yosei sat in the farthest corner of the inn, her hood covering her head just enough so that she was able to witness the insanity of the inn. Being there was never her idea—crowds of humans were something she often avoided. They entered only after Bankotsu bitched and moaned that he missed sake and that he was sick of looking at her dirty face and greasy hair. The passive aggressive insults had been endless, leaving Yosei with no other choice but to let him do whatever he pleased as long as it was under her supervision.
They came in just as the sun had begun to set over the hills, but what Yosei imagined would be a short meal and sake turned into a night-long endeavor.
The unfortunate table that supported the arm-wrestling match rattled loudly just as Bankotsu slammed the arm of his opponent down, winning again for the tenth time. He hooted and was encouraged by cheers. Yosei fumed as a buxom woman handed Bankotsu the heavy pouch of gold that she had been parading around.
"Bankotsu the Mighty wins again!" The woman announced, queueing a crowd of men to approach him and pat him in the shoulder.
"Bankotsu the Mighty… pfft," Yosei grumbled under her breath. She only allowed it because she knew they needed whatever gold they could get. Achievements and recognition could only lead to trouble in times like these, though. What if someone was clever enough to remember that a similarly mighty Bankotsu was beheaded ten years ago? Oh how the humans would love it if they found out that their arm-wrestling victor was actually an undead wight.
"Who is my next challenger?" Bankotsu hollered at the inn. Several men hooted and raised their fists into the air, but none stepped forward. "Are you really the best this village has to offer?"
Yosei wanted to slap her own face at how stupidly Bankotsu was behaving.
A brute of a man stepped through the crowd and said, "I will be the victor this time!"
The crowd rippled in disagreement with "Not you again!" and boos and "Get out of here, you're drunk!"
Bankotsu calmed the lot by saying, "Alright, as long as you've got something to wager."
The man unsheathed his sword and Yosei was sure a fight was about to break out. Instead, he placed his steel sword and scabbard on the side of the table, saying, "I offer my family's steel." There was an uproar at this as the humans tried to convince him against it, but Bankotsu was in on it the moment he saw the sword. "This sword belonged to my father and his father before him."
"And in return?" Bankotsu plopped himself on the ground beside the low table.
"All the money you've got, of course."
There was a greedy look to Bankotsu's eyes.
Easy peasy?
"Alright that's the spirit! Bring it on!" Bankotsu said.
The crowd hollered as they grasped hands. Bankotsu allowed the man to have one—two—seconds in the game before slamming his arm down, through the table—which exploded into splinters—and to the floor. The entire inn—with the exception of Yosei, mind you—erupted in an uproar of cheers and excitement. "Bankotsu the Mighty! Bankotsu the Mighty!" The humans chanted in dissonance. Bankotsu downed the drink that the buxom wench brought him and burst out in cheers, too.
"NOOOOO! IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Well I suppose the family heirloom ends with you, my drunken friend." Bankotsu bowed smugly for the audience and the giant man tried to throw a fit, but was promptly escorted out of the inn by the group of men that now revered their new arm-wrestling champion.
Bankotsu came by her table when the wagers were over and the night had calmed, his cheeks red and his eyes bright. He dropped the scabbarded sword and pouch of gold on her table. "How's that for a night out?" The gleeful look in his eyes made her all the more annoyed and jealous of his good mirth.
"Don't get all cocky with me and think that you've actually done something clever. This whole charade is pretty stupid."
He took a moment to comprehend her insult, his mind boggled with sake. Still, he wasn't all that slow to recover, "Even after I bring you all this gold and spare you the trouble of finding me a weapon, you're still a giant twat."
His comment salted her more than she cared to admit. What was left, if not to escalate the insults? "Do you realize how irresponsible and stupid of you it was to make a ruckus and stand out like that? What if someone recognizes you? What if they realize that Bankotsu the Mighty is actually an undead murderer? The entire village will chase us off with pitchforks."
"You are just pissed because no one would ever take an interest in the likes of you. Not in a million years. I mean look at you—" Bankotsu snatched the pouch of gold and sword and said before leaving, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go spend my hard-earned gold at a brothel."
"Don't you dare!" She would have screamed at him louder to come back, except she didn't want to make a scene.
Bankotsu spared her one last, coy glance before exiting to the cold of the night. Yosei was fuming. He was such a sleazy, useless slave! What good was he if he was too busy doing some whore when the time came to protect her, like he was meant to? He was just using her to live and was betraying his part of the bargain! How she wished she hadn't spent her energy and life to give him life.
"What a fucking waste," she said between gritted as she, too, left the bustling bar. "Maybe I ought to fly away with Storm and let his life force deplete, then who'll be laughing next?"
Yosei grumbled the entire way out of the village. She felt ugly and inappropriate and knew that humans would never accept her. Come morning, one look at her green eyes and at the red, tattoo markings on her cheeks and they would know that she was not like them. Then, she would be chased out of this shithole with torches and pitchforks and Bankotsu would be too busy being wrapped up in-between some whore's legs to do anything about it.
She was so caught up in her anger at Bankotsu that she failed to notice the shadows that followed behind her. They slithered past houses and alleyways abaft Yosei until she had walked into the depths of the surrounding woods. The stillness of the night was her only indication that something was wrong, but when she finally realized she wasn't alone, it was too late. She whirled around just as the shadows that had pursued her materialized themselves. Five hooded demons surrounded her, their eyes glowing crimson; waiting, stalking.
Yosei licked her lips. She was glad the Man of Many Faces didn't deem her important enough to come fetch her himself. Instead, he sent his band of demon lackeys. "Madam raven, how we've searched for you," one of them stepped forward, his robes so long it slithered. He bowed to keep her at ease, though Yosei knew better. The one next to him was extending a net, while the iron chains belonging to the one to his other side rattled loudly, disturbing the stillness of the forest. They were going to take her in, peacefully or otherwise.
"Come now, milady, Lord Ichiroumaru awaits you."
Yosei thought to back away, yet she was aware that one of them was behind her. She was completely surrounded; trapped in by either one of them anywhere she turned. Her heart clung to her throat, her breathing constricting as she considered how to escape.
"And he can keep waiting forever—you wretched demons. If you are worth anything, pass along the message that I will never be his," Yosei spat before creating a swirl of crimson light that shot out to maim them. They jumped up unscathed, only to land even closer to her in a tighter circle. She choked, growing weaker at her lack of energy. Mayhap she would have stood a chance against all five of them in another time and universe, but not now, for her energy was too spent in feeding her thrall with life. Bankotsu, where the fuck are you?
Then the realization came to her. Ichiroumaru did not have to come fetch her himself after all, for she was already too weak to defend her own freedom.
The demons lunged forward to apprehend her and Yosei was left with no other choice but to use the last droplet of magic left in her. She summoned all her strength and transformed into a raven so black it blended into the dark of the night. Her wings allowed her to soar for a few seconds in an useless attempt to fly away, but the demons were faster than that.
They all jumped at once, growling and screeching as they draped her with the net. The air was knocked out of her, her bones aching at the weight of the iron upon her body. It alone was enough to crush her into submission and she fell hard on the gnarled floor. Her magic went out and just like that she transformed back to her human form.
"Bankotsu—help—" She whispered but her words were in vain. She didn't even have the energy to summon neither him nor Storm.
"The lord will be pleased, my dearest raven." The demons chortled.
"The pact was made and blood magic cannot be broken."
"Oh how the lord will reward us for returning his wife—" The demon was cut short as a whoosh! came from behind and the air and the leaves went up in a whirlwind. One of the demons was beheaded and the rest were spooked, so Yosei and the net were tossed to the sidelines. She hit her head against a protruding trunk, the impact causing her sight to blur.
Bankotsu emerged from the darkness of the shrubbery with a battle cry, the sword he had just won at his arm-wrestling contest at hand. He slashed at one demon, then the other, pushing them back one by one. They recovered and lunged, and Bankotsu fought them, one against four, until only one was left standing.
There was a reprieve while the demon assimilated that his comrades had been defeated, a reprieve which Bankotsu used to try to spot Yosei in the darkness. "Yosei? Yosei!" Those blue eyes of his, that had once looked so coy, searched the woods for any sight of her in concern.
Yosei dragged her aching body towards him, the rustling of the grass catching his attention.
"How dare you interfere with the business of Lord Ichiroumaru? Are you so eager to die, you human pest?" The demon bellowed as his dark magic enveloped Bankotsu.
No, was all Yosei could think. She got to her feet, ignoring the blurring of her vision, and created a crimson energy sphere that she threw in Bankotsu's direction to disperse the darkness. The fog around Bankotsu cleared just as the demon lunged for a lethal blow. Claws bared and robes bellowing, the demon slashed at Bankotsu.
For a moment, Yosei thought it was all over, but Bankotsu was able to dodge and parry the hit. The demon slashed at him one more time, this time his claw clashing against Bankotsu's sword. The force of the demon was such that the steel shattered in two, the sound rattling the stillness of the forest. Bankotsu was the first to recover and he took advantage of the demon's pause to thrust the sharp end of what was left of his sword through the demon's neck. Blood spluttered everywhere and the demon gargled in Bankotsu's arms as the life slipped away from him.
Blood-stained and sweaty, Bankotsu lifted Yosei in his arms. She nestled herself in his embrace, suddenly experiencing a security she hadn't felt in many years. "I never took you as the hero-to-the-rescue type," Yosei murmured, afraid that if she didn't inject their exchange with some sarcasm it would become more meaningful than what it actually was.
"I never took you for an idiot, leaving the village all on your own."
"And while you were preoccupied with other matters?" Yosei asked him as her blurry vision made out the lights of the village ahead.
"Even more so. You know I can't get that gold back, right?" His admittance made her angry… jealous even.
"Must have been easy on the whore, getting free money for nothing."
Bankotsu walked into the bar and without any shame or hesitation paid the tender to give him a room upstairs. The owner recognized him at once and gave him a room. Yosei was dropped quite unceremoniously onto one of the futons laid out for them just as a crew of attendants came into the room to bring them a tub and hot water.
"For you, my most precious Mistress," Bankotsu bowed insolently when the attendants left the room.
"Nonsense."
"Are you afraid that you might actually look presentable under all that grime?"
Well yes; in a way the dirt was like armor to her. One look at her and any human would be appalled. What better protection against people than that?
"Come on now, you at least have to be decent under all that dirt for some husband to hire a band of demons to fetch you."
Yosei was alarmed. It showed in her face, making Bankotsu's grin all the wider.
"I heard them. Is this Man of Many Faces your husband?" He asked.
"You wouldn't understand." She figured Bankotsu was just going to annoy the crap out of her until she got on the water, so she proceeded to shed her hood and yukata. Any lesser girl her age would have been bashful to undress under those eyes of his, but Yosei had seen and experienced enough evil and abuse in her life that she did not care.
Bankotsu's eyes traveled from her bony cleavage, down to her perked nipples, and further down to her shadowed center as he lent her a hand to getting in the tub. "You're not going to scream and call me a pervert for looking at you like most girls out there would?" He finally asked.
Yosei chortled, "Stop kidding yourself. Most girls out there have been raped at least once in their lives. They wouldn't care if someone like you happened to see them naked. Besides, you're my thrall. Calm down." In the dim candlelight, Yosei could see Bankotsu's cheeks turning red, and she felt quite proud of herself for such a feat. Still, her comment brought her back unpleasant memories of when she had been the one spread unwillingly under a cruel, lustful man.
"How about you scrape all that grime off you first and then we can pretend that I would ever be attracted to the likes of you."
His comment made her fume, so she gave her back to him and focused on scrubbing the filth off her body.
"So… help me understand the Man of Many Faces."
A heavy silence hung in the room. She supposed some short truths wouldn't hurt anybody. Only me… "Right. Well… Ichiroumaru—The Man of Many Faces, he and I were married, against my will, obviously. I wasn't even present to conclude the ceremony, but the priest was paid off and he pronounced us man and wife anyways."
"And the angry husband is out to get his wife back so that he can finally consummate his unholy marriage?"
If only it were as simple as that. "It's more than a political marriage, it's a pact of magic. I'm not human, I'm sure you've realized, but I'm not demon either. I am conjurer, a being born from the earth and given earthly magic. The types of powers that conjurers can wield are endless; I only know of a mere few all thanks to being apprenticed to Old Takako for some time." Yosei turned to face him, the water a little too snappy for her taste now.
"So he's a conjurer too. And?"
Yosei wondered if Bankotsu was an insensitive asshole on purpose or if he simply lacked any tact with words. "My family never cared to teach me of this magic because of our stupid traditions. A female conjurer is never to master her magic. We are simply conduits to amplifying our conjurer husbands' magic."
"Sounds like the typical tradition of every other high born female in Japan." Bankotsu rolled his eyes. Still, he helped her when she rose from the tub and draped her body in linens.
"I suppose so. Conjurer families are few and far in between, that's why I ended up with Ichiroumaru." She shivered as she explained, "I call him the Man of Many Faces because saying his name brings back bad memories. I rather… not think about him."
She rolled her body in the soft linens and curled herself on top of the futon. Bankotsu began unclasping his armor and Yosei wondered if he was about to strip naked to get in the water. Thankfully for her sanity though, all he did was set his armor aside and settle himself on the futon next to hers.
"So what's the catch? Why does he want you so badly?"
"A conjurer's power after it has been amplified is terrifying—something out of this world. So naturally, he wants it." Yosei paused, afraid that Bankotsu was able to see the hurt in her face. The bane of her existence was her race and family tradition. Oh how happy she would have been if she was born as a lowly human. "We serve our husbands by amplifying their magic and bearing them children. And we amplify their magic by consummating our marriage." She licked her lips, her heart now hurting. "So, yes, you're right. The Man of Many Faces is hunting me to consummate his marriage, and by doing so he will consume me and my power."
Bankotsu's eyes were almost green under the light of the flickering candle. He rolled his body closer to her, making her stomach flutter unpleasantly. "I'm hungry," his words were a mere whisper, yet to her were crystal clear.
"All this talk about consuming my power got you in the mood?"
Bankotsu didn't reply. He inched closer and reduced the distance between their lips, drawing the breath and life from her, and by doing so, fed his soul.
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