The Woods Are Dark and Deep

by Blue Jeans

Chapter 8

I remembered how white Kimigiku's face was as she recounted what she had seen. While the other was also a demon, it was obvious from her face that even a long-time demon could be moved by the horror of what the furies could do. Amagiri's own face became more and more unreadable as Kimigiku's report wore on. Sen's complexion soon became the same shade as Kimigiku's, but her lips were set in a firm, grim line and she bore the facts with dignity. I do not know how I looked, but I also did not turn away or deny any of it.

How could I?

This was the fruit of my own clan's work. This was the darkness I was responsible for. I wanted to close my eyes and go back to the days when Father was still sane and I hadn't set foot outside of Edo, but those days were over. I remembered, instead, Kazama's piercing gaze as he told me that it was my choice to face the truth or ignore it. My spine straightened at the memory of his voice and I listened closely to all that Kimigiku had to say no matter how horrible it was. I listened until silence followed her words and my muscles ached at how tightly I held myself.

Everyone was silent. "So," Amagiri said wearily after a long pause. "Nagumo-san has made his move. He has poisoned the humans and continued where Kodo-san left off."

Sen clutched her fists. "When will Kazama-san get here?" she demanded. "We cannot just sit here while Nagumo-san threatens the humans. With his actions, he could reveal to all that demons still exist, even to the ones who do not believe in us anymore! Everything we have done up to now would be wasted. The Imperial Army will also not overlook this for long and soon they may try to use us again or, at the very least, begin to try to track us down."

Amagiri looked grim and slowly, all eyes turned to me. "Let us wait three more days," I said softly. "We will prepare for departure during it. If Kazama does not show up by then, we will have no choice but to leave him a note. Every minute we wait, we are allowing more furies to be born and more horrors to be visited upon the humans."

It was strange... when have I start saying such things as "the humans", as if I were not the same as them? While this was true, it was only recently that I had begun to think like that, much less talk like that.

"Rushing into battle without a plan is a bad idea," Amagiri advised. "While what you say is true, if we do not have a solid idea on how to stop your brother you are only going to make things worse."

I bit my lip. Every part of me wanted to deny what Amagiri was telling me. A small part of me even wanted to deny that Kaoru and I were related by blood. How could someone who shared what ran in my veins be such a monster?

I swallowed those words. I thought, instead, about what Kimigiku had told us. I thought about what Amagiri was advising. I also knew that if I waited longer than the three days I offered, I would go mad.

"He is building an army," I finally answered, considering my thoughts and my words equally carefully. "If he is planning and continuing what my Father... what Kodo-san started, he would be looking to recruit others into becoming furies. If that is what he is doing, he will need to feed them blood." There was no denying it. Sunlight hurt the furies and blood-lust filled them with madness. Neither could be excluded.

"Do you think that Nagumo-san is working for the Imperial Army as well?" Sen asked, her eyes hooded and thoughtful.

I shook my head. "No. He mocked their inability to stop the furies the last time we met. I doubt he sees them in any high esteem. Sen, you have even told me that he was sent to the Nagumo because he would not submit. If anything, he is only looking to use the furies." While I had not known Kaoru long, somehow I felt what I said was correct.

Amagiri relaxed a little. If Kaoru had been working with the Imperial Army, things could very easily get a lot uglier. Still, not having the Imperial Army in the equation meant that we were clueless to what Kaoru meant to do. Also, just because Kaoru was not directly involved with them, it did not mean the Imperial Army will not be soon involved simply because they would be drawn by the carnage Kaoru left behind.

"While I would prefer not to rule it out," Amagiri said. "Assuming Nagumo-san does not mean to work for the humans, his actions are still too obvious. It would not be long before the Imperial Army will try to use this to their advantage. Knowing someone is still continuing the research concerning the furies would push them to seek whoever is doing it, out. You are correct, Princess, if they cannot find this person, they will come looking for us again."

We all nodded in agreement to this. Kimigiku was grim as well. She had, mostly, covered the tracks that Kaoru left behind, burning the remains of villages ravaged by furies. However, now that she was here, no one would be covering Kaoru's tracks.

"He's leaving me a message," I finally said. "It will continue until I reply in return."

Sen frowned at this, but no one could deny what everyone had already suspected. "Do you think you can stall him?" Sen finally asked me, her eyes searching my own.

This was no longer Sen, my friend. This was Sen, the head of her clan. I looked back and thought about my last encounter with Kaoru. I stayed very still and forced myself not to grimace or reach for my stomach. "I don't know," I finally said. "But if the message is for me, then he would come for me once we are out there. He seems to enjoy gloating." I finally said, weary and tired. More tired than I had felt in the last few days when laughter had lifted me away so easily from the worries that weighed me down now. "If I don't go out soon, we may very well find the Imperial Army adding complications to our investigation."

Even Amagiri could not deny that. If the Imperial Army was not already aware of such acts, it would be very soon. While some of it could be attributed to ronins running wild since the war's recent end, it would not last long before someone began to look into it.

He sighed as Sen turned to him, as if he knew what was coming. "We'll move out in three days," Sen said in a tone that broached no argument. "We will start the preparations tomorrow. Amagiri-san, please write a note to Kazama detailing what has happened and our decision. We'll start heading north. Wherever he is, Nagumo-san is surely heading for where Kodo-san was last known to be. If he is going to track us down, might as well make it easier for him. Perhaps, we can kill two birds with one stone."

Amagiri looked at her for a long moment but did not argue, much to my relief. In the end, he only gave her a nod that was almost a bow.

The night would be a long one, it seemed.

To be continued...