Balance
I surveyed the Kihaku in front of me. It was by far the strongest Mononoke I had ever encountered, a malevolent, twisting mass of pure anger. I tasted metal and my vision was tinged with black and red, just from looking at it. I shut my eyes and drew upon my inner power to keep my balance and sanity.
It was when I looked directly at the creature through closed lids that I recognized it. The behemoth drew a shuddering step that rocked the earth before settling into a crouch closer to Kutsuriuri and I.
"Hello, old friend," it hissed, its voice a cacophony of deep basses and howls.
"You must use that term quite liberally should you deem me a friend," I countered coolly, bringing my sword up in front of my face.
The Kihaku chuckled, a shudder rippling along its body. "Come now, Baransu," it laughed, and I felt a shudder come over me as it spoke my name. "Is that any way to speak to your elder?"
I turned my gaze to Kutsuriuri, heart twanging in sympathy at how the Kihaku was affecting him. I drew upon my power again to envelop his tiny human consciousness, easing away the anger the Kihaku inflicted him with and bringing his mind into a union with my own. Our thoughts flitted back and forth like lightning, taking place in the span of the blink of an eye.
I could tell that Kutsuriuri was quite shaken by everything that was happening. 'It is alright, Kutsuriuri; I'm shielding you from the worst of its effects,' I whispered, mind-to-mind.
The mental breath Kutsuriuri drew was far from stable. 'You are acquainted with this Mononoke?' he asked.
'"Acquainted" is one way to put it,' I answered. 'This Kihaku is the spirit that birthed all Mononoke subsequent to it; it is the spirit of malevolence and vengeance, using its poisonous anger to turn the spirits of the afterlife. Even though your own spirit is housed in flesh, it still feels the tug of the anger. Two spirits awoke in response to its influence upon the souls of the dead: a spirit to remain in the Afterlife and bring peace to the souls of the afflicted, and myself to come to this side of the barrier and send the souls back to the Afterlife.'
'He called you "Baransu",' Kutsuriuri said. I flinched across our mental link, and I could feel Kutsuriuri's focus sharpen. 'Baransu is my true name,' I said after a pause. 'It means –' 'Balance, yes I know,' Kutsuriuri interrupted, causing us both to smile. He remained quiet for a moment longer before he spoke again. 'I never really wondered what your name was; I suppose it was just a different label for you, one that I knew deep down but that I never knew how to voice.' I smiled again.
'On a different note,' Kutsuriuri continued, 'how are we going to defeat this Kihaku?' My head drooped momentarily at the drain on my energy at maintaining this mental link, reminding me why I had never attempted it before. 'I don't suppose that you could unlock my sword again so that I can more easily defeat the Kihaku?' I grimaced.
'I can't feel anything from it right now; I think you'd have to unshield me so that I can determine the Katachi, Makoto, and Kotowari,' he said hesitantly. My fear spiked. 'I cannot do that! The poison of its anger would consume you!' I cried.
'You must!' Kutsuriuri replied forcefully. 'I cannot determine the Katachi, Makoto, and Kotowari unless I can experience the Kihaku fully, and you will not be able to fully fight the Kihaku unless you are at your full potential. Which you will not be able to do if you are using up all of your energy to shield me and if you are not in tune with the Sword of Exorcism!'
I grimaced; as always, Kutsuriuri's wisdom was sound. 'Alright,' I conceded. 'I will stop shielding you, but I will keep my mind open to you.' Kutsuriuri nodded, and with an uneasy shiver, I withdrew my shields from around his mind. The Kihaku was mid-step towards us, menacing as ever.
Almost immediately, Kutsuriuri groaned and fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen as his pale cheeks flushed red as though in a fever. His eyebrows drew together in anger, and the set of his mouth was just as furious. I could feel his mind struggling to overcome the poisonous feelings of the Kihaku, and it was not until I felt his willpower, like a clear bell, pierce through the veil of rage and begin to quest that I surged forward towards the Kihaku, drawing my sword and attacking.
The Kihaku gave a malevolent snort, like a beast before charging, and split into multiple forms. I could sense the drain in strength it had upon the Kihaku, and I focused my attacks on the smaller, weaker forms, quickly disposing of them and channeling them to the other side of the barrier. Giving the Kihaku another once-over, I noticed that even before I had attacked, it had not fully been in this world, although somehow it was leaking more and more of itself between realms. I did not focus my attention on what was drawing it to this world, instead working on overpowering the creatures striking at my sides.
I could feel Kutsuriuri address the Kihaku, and its reply startled Kutsuriuri even more than it startled me. "Puny human, do you not recognize me?" it chuckled maliciously. Kutsuriuri took an agonized breath, falling to one knee from where he had righted himself. I could see flashbacks flickering across our mental link. I caught a fleeting glimpse of two bodies that were probably pale beneath the sheen of blood covering their skin with wheat-blonde hair splayed around their heads, before Kutsuriuri stamped down on the images. I could feel the exertion it took to merely stand up and bring his own sword in front of his face as I frantically battled the smaller Kihakus.
"I know the Katachi," Kutsuriuri said with effort. "A soul of anger."
Nothing happened.
The Kihaku let out a bellowing laugh. "You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to defeat me, mortal," it snarled with what could be only described as a smile on its face. With that, it brought its hands together and blasted Kutsuriuri with a column of fire.
I raced over to Kutsuriuri and tackled him out of the way, the inferno scorching his wooden sandals. I did not check him over any further, instead diving back into the fray and praying that Kutsuriuri would be able to figure out the Katachi, Makoto, and Kotowari.
As I whittled away at the Kihaku's divisions, I could feel the main Kihaku pressing its consciousness against the mental barriers of willpower that Kutsuriuri had erected around his mind. The main Kihaku was still, as if its own exertions were occupying all of its strength.
"It is futile to resist me, insignificant one," it whispered in a voice of poisoned honey. "You know that you are angry; you've been trying your whole life to hide it. Your anger at the deaths of your parents…your anger at Baransu for leaving you behind…your anger at the Father for disowning you and casting you out, for refusing to acknowledge your skill in medicinal and arcane arts…yes," it hissed. "Feel the anger…let it come out, let it pour through your veins like hellfire, let it direct your soul."
I nearly let out a shout as Kutsuriuri's mental barriers dropped, and the Kihaku swarmed upon his mind like the oceans breaking a dam. However, I felt Kutsuriuri's intentions; as he drew the Kihaku into his mind, he saw more clearly the spirit's purpose. I groaned a bit and faltered in my attacks; the Kihaku's anger was seeping across Kutsuriuri's and my link.
Everything seemed to happen at once.
As I faltered, a Kihaku division scored a lucky blow on my torso, and I heard the crack of glass and felt a liquid seep through my sash.
The Kihaku divisions slowly vibrated into nothingness, only to rejoin with the main body of the Kihaku. The entire Kihaku froze, but I could feel its materialization from the Afterlife increase rapidly.
Once more, images flooded the link between Kutsuriuri and I. I saw the Kihaku's anger at how well the spirit of peace was countering its efforts to turn the souls into Mononoke, and I saw its resolution to come to this world to reign anew. I saw the death of his parents at the hands of the twisted Mononoke, and I saw the Mononoke plant what seemed to be a pulsing black-and-red sphere, about the size of a pea, within the young Aia. I saw that the Kihaku had been lying in wait, pulled out of the Afterlife by the bit of itself housed within Aia, and that its full connection with Kutsuriuri was what was completing the materialization. I saw Kutsuriuri realize this, and he fought against possession by the Kihaku.
Both he and I realized at the same time that opposition against the Kihaku's growing presence and strength within Kutsuriuri's mind was futile. With his last ounces of strength, he drew together his thoughts.
"Katachi: a desire to exist without opposition! Makoto: to possess a human soul and use it as a vessel! Kotowari: there is none!"
The Sword of Exorcism gave three loud chinks, the dragon's jaws clapping together and overpowering the howls of the Kihaku, and once again I was filled to the brim, unified with my sword.
I could not do anything, however, as the Kihaku finished traversing the barrier. Kutsuriuri doubled over in agony, and the visible form of the Kihaku descended upon his prone form. It dissolved into a shadow and converged with Kutsuriuri.
Kutsuriuri got up on one knee, lifting his head to look at me. His once-blue eyes were now a shimmering black, the blood vessels bursting slightly and gathering in droplets at the corners of his eyes. He stood up to his fullest, and though the Kihaku was housed within his flesh, his shadow showed the monstrosity contained within. He threw his arms outwards, and a burst of flame erupted from each palm, setting fire to the foliage on either side of him.
"Can you kill me now, Baransu?" he jeered at me.
My sincerest apologies to my readers. I had this whole chapter typed up and ready to go to publish on Sunday...and the file got corrupted and I lost EVERYTHING that I had typed. I've spent the past four days trying to recreate my work, and unfortunately I won't be updating this Sunday (three days, two of which will be dedicated to college packing and unpacking, won't be enough to write the next chapter). Thank you all for your patience, and see you in two Sundays!
And hey, cool! I got to the point where if I want to skip chapters, I get a scroll bar! YIPPEE that makes me so indescribably happy! I don't know why; it just means my story's really long. But it makes me feel accomplished ^_^
*Update (8.22.13): I realized after publishing this that Kutsuriuri sounds a lot like a Horcrux...what can I say? Ms. Rowling had a good plot point when she thought of that idea. As such, I'm updating the disclaimer: I do not own any of the Mononoke characters, nor do I own the Horcrux-ish idea. I DO, however, own this particular Kihaku. I did a bit of research, and "Kihaku" is best translated as "spirit, soul, mettle, energy, force, or psyche", which I thought to be an appropriate terminology for the force that births all Mononoke. I am unsure if Kihakus are an actual thing in Japanese mythology, the way Mononoke and Bake Neko are, but I am using my "artistic license" for this bit, lol.