ISHIKOZUME By Kondoru
Part Three-The Will of a Stone.
Standard disclaimers
Thanks to JP for Betaing.
The Adept stood by the rock, fingers on chin in deep thought. He was a tall, lanky individual in a grubby white robe, much smeared with the resin of pine trees and charcoal.
He had a cheery girlishly pretty face, the long hair of a courtier and beautiful white wings.
Or at least, Sugino had once possessed such good looks.
These days his face was drawn and pale though the most fearful austerities known to tengu, his eyes red rimmed though lack of sleep, his hair was the matted locks of a wild hermit and his wings as dirty and ragged as his clothing.
It was all in a good cause.
He had spent several years in preparing himself both mentally, physically and spiritually for this.
Sugino intended to release the seals on the dreaded Onikui tengu.
He wasn't afraid of the Strongest of all tengu.
Indeed Sugino probably counted as that individual's only friend.
He had not been born a tengu, but had been turned into one by the Kami as punishment for his shamelessly egoistical ways. Sugino had spent many years in lonely wanderings, trying to come to terms with his dark ascension. He had hated life, hated himself, and hated everyone. It was a miserable sort of existence.
Meeting with the Onikui had changed that. The Onikui was also a violent outcast. They were birds of a feather.
The Onikui had made him want to live life again. It might not be a normal one, but he would learn to like the Tengudo. He was stuck there after all.
Now he had been defeated...Not by Oni, but by humans, a kind much weaker. What had gone wrong?
It was Suginos duty to rescue his friend.
Lastly, Sugino liked the challenge, He wasn't much of a fighter, but even by the high standards of the Tengudo, he was good at magic.
He had been here nearly five days, trying each and every unbinding spell in his considerable repertoire.
No luck. The rock remained as obdurate as stone, and its sleeping prisoner remained asleep.
Sugino nearly kicked the offending lump of granite, but managed to remember his feet were bare. (He wasn't always the baka some people made him out to be.)
"The things I go though to get you out of hock, you black feathered bastard." He snarled.
After the Ishikozume rite it was a bit of an anticlimax.
They buried Ichinomiya Akai Kiri in Lord Edogawas family cemetery. It seemed the right thing to do.
Lord Edogawa sat writing in his office; Ryosukai came in, completely derailing his haiku.
"Shame about Ichinomiya Akai Kiri," Lord Edogawa said mournfully.
"He was very weak, people with his defect are often sickly," said Ryosukai soothingly "He had a family, did you know?"
Lord Edogawa was a little startled at that, but he knew exorcists often married. They weren't your usual monk
"A couple of little boys, -both are normal, I'm glad to say."
"Normal as in having no abilities or normal as..." Lord Edogawa left it hanging. He had never mentioned Kiris deformity in front of him but had heard several people refer to `That white rat. `
Ryosukai smiled. "We don't know if they have abilities as yet."
"Do you think they would accept a reward?" lord Edogawa said plaintively. "Where do they live anyway?"
"Somewhere to the north of Kyoto." Ryosukai replied. "I imagine near Mount Hiei." Which made sense really, Mount Hiei being one of the holiest mountains in the country.
"I knew he wasn't local."
"There's more." Ryosukai shuffled his papers uneasily "Minamoto Raikatos left." Was all he said.
Lord Edogawa gave a great sigh. He had expected this. "We were going to reward him handsomely too." Lord Edogawa was sad
"He's not like that," said Ryosukai, "it's for the best, I think."
"Very well." Lord Edogawa nodded. "But I think we will tell everyone just what a good job Minamoto Raikato did for me. He is a true youkai hunter." What do you do with such awkward people?
That spring, lord Edogawa visited Ichinomiya Kiris widow. He had meant to earlier, but things just piled up on top of him. And then there was his wife's new pregnancy.
He sat in the guests of honour place, drinking tea and feeling very awkward. Why had Kiri had to die over some stupid rite? Why hadn't he ordered Minamoto Raikato to behead that wretched youkai? In retrospect it seemed such a stupid thing to do, put the welfare of a tengu and a very bad tengu at that over an innocent human.
"He was very brave," lord Edogawa felt so fake for telling her such a cliché. He fiddled with his fan uncomfortably. "I know that sounds so glib of me."
The widow nodded, "I'm fully aware of the power of the Onikui tengu. To be frank I'm surprised my Kiri succeeded." Kimu told him with conviction.
"He had a lot of help." Lord Edogawa said "Minamoto Raikato, the famous Youkai hunter was there."
Kimu nodded again. She took a sip of her tea. "He would not have been able to do it without your help."
"Is that it?" Lord Edogawa had thought his role in the venture was to make sure the heroes had enough hot tea to drink.
"Yes, you gave support and supplies, and made sure that there was a secure place to hold the Onikui, "she rubbed a drop of tea off of her cup thoughtfully. "You mostly were not afraid to let Kiri do his own thing. And you helped him see justice was done. A small part? No."
"You make me sound like a hero as of old."
"According to Kiri you had a meal with the Onikui Tengu, locked in the dungeon with him, completely unarmed. I think that's very brave."
"The Onikui was bound with spells to cage him and render him docile. He was no threat to anyone."
The exorcist's widow was resolute. "You had faith in my husband's magic's, even to trust them to keep you safe in the presence of a powerful demon, the strongest tengu by far. "She paused. "I'm glad you accepted my husband...He's had a hard life, he has always been an outcast for his strange appearance."
"Um, what do I say to that doesn't seem clichéd?" Said Lord Edogawa pathetically.
"Please don't feel bad about it." Kimu suggested. "How is your wife?" she changed tack.
"still abrasive, but I love her." He paused, "She was going to kill the Onikui herself. She put me to shame." He paused again. "She's got a new pregnancy to distract her."
"That's a nice way to put it." Kimu was always respectfully semi formal with the Lord, he noticed. Rather like her late husband. But Kimu was a medium; she was different to those who had never seen the Other World.
Lord Edogawa gave a slight shudder. He himself had seen the Other World, in the dark eyes of a mad youkai and the red eyes of a too sane human...He didn't want to get any closer.
"I want to reward you, if it does not seem presumptuous or insulting. Kiri died on me, Raikato departed to parts unknown. I know dealing with the Other World puts you beyond material goods. "He smiled. "I would like to offer you and your sons a place in my retinue."
Kimu thought a bit. She then said. "I will not make the decision for them, but can it wait until they are old enough to decide for themselves?"
"Yes, that's a good idea."
Spring turned to summer.
One day, Lord Edogawa was out riding, on a whim he turned up the track which led to a certain large boulder.
He wasn't sure just what he would find. The rock was moss grown, and looking like a natural part of the forest.
Lord Edogawa walked up to the massive rock, which looked as if it had never taken a prominent part in a Shugendo rite ever.
He placed his hand upon it. Of course, he could feel nothing. Was there anything to feel?
Lord Edogawa walked back to his horse shaking his head sadly.
It became a test, over the following centuries, for aspiring exorcists to go to the rock of the tengu, as it was called, and attempt to break the wards and free the imprisoned Onikui.
They found nothing.
Eventually, as has happened in so many places, `tengu` was confounded with `tenko`, -the protective kami was remembered as a fox.
As Lady Edogawa had hoped, the Onikui Tengu was dead, buried and forgotten.
Except by one person...
Dirty white hands made a mystical gesture.
"Break!"
The white winged tengu made another kuji-in
"Muuu!" Said his companion unhelpfully.
"Be quiet, Muu-chan, I'm trying to do magic." The tengu pulled off his inner robe and hung it up on one of the spars of the long collapsed shrine. He sighed, thin chest heaving. The tengus ribs stuck out like those of an umbrella, he had spent the winter in the austerities of the great cold, not only that, had fasted pretty much all year, all in order to gain the necessary spiritual power for his attempt to free his friend.
He paced up and down, trying to think of a new variant of the unbinding spell.
"Muu?" Suggested Muu-chan.
"No..." And Sugino entered a fresh new cominbination of spells.
Nothing happened.
Sugino leaned against the rock, panting.
Muu-chan sat atop the rock, in spite of Suginos health and safety advice concerning `fearsome youkai sealed up in rocks`
Blast it all! Sugino had tried hitting the rock with his lightning, but only managed to singe his feathers with a flashback. Was he not the strongest of adept, a master at magic...How else had he undergone such a dark ascension to become a tengu?
His friend had been sealed away in this rock...How dare they? Sugino was beginning to hate humans more and more.
Every century or so, Sugino would come visit the shrine, cursing and growling at the heavenly fox written on the sign. (He was half tempted to correct it; the pettiness in Suginos heart overruled that.)
This was the first visit since he had married Muu-chan. How he wanted to show off his beautiful young wife to the Onikui!
He would put up wards of his own, partially to keep out malign influences, partially to hide his efforts from the senses of other adepts...And individuals who wanted to keep the Onikui bound.
Then he would tie back his sleeves and set to work.
And get nowhere except hot, sweaty and shown up in front of Muu-chan.
The Onikui would not come out, not for his best friend...What was he up to?
Sugino decided to give in...For now.
"Come on Muu-chan," He picked up the small green youkai, "if he's going to be like this, he can rot for a few more centuries."
What Sugino did not realise was that since his friend was now nameless, he could not answer to his given name or his title. No wonder all Suginos magical efforts came to naught.
Of late the Onikui tengu was having dreams
He had slept a long time, and couldn't wake up, so he had taken refuge in his dreams...if that was the right term for the torment he suffered.
He could not remember his past, and so was forced to relive Ichinomiya Akai Kiris version of the Ishikozume rite he had been the victim of.
The rite of his binding repeated and repeated, he couldn't get away from his defeat.
Trapped in his occasional hell, the Onikui tengu was getting more and more desperate...He tried repeatedly to reach out to the physical world...If he could attack the wards from the outside...possibly even possess someone and make them perform the rite...
...But of course Kiri had thought of that, hadn't he, the red eyed bastard. The Onikui tengu couldn't remember his past...And so couldn't use his powers. He was as helpless as a Karasu tengu chick in its shell.
Yet the Onikui had one hope, one solace. There was one person in the world who knew about him, cared for him.
He dreamt of Ichinomiya Akai Kiri. Or was it Akai Kiri? For this individual was just a child.
Like Kiri this little boy was an albino. (He was a relative of Kiri?) He was sickly, a cry-baby, not much good at making friends, but of course his strange appearance and aversion to daylight didn't help.
He didn't have many friends, human one's, for he could see youkai...The people of the Other world befriended him and protected him.
They had told him about the Onikui tengu...He was the strongest tengu of all...No one could bully him or laugh at him.
But he was sealed away somewhere...The little boy was upset. How could a being so magnificent be imprisoned away from the world? It was not fair.
He chose the Onikui tengu as his patron. In doing so he created a mental bond between them.
Suddenly life was much better; he had a window, however tenuous to the physical world. The tengu did what he could to help the poor boy, which was precious little
In return he received the unconditional love of a child.
The Onikuis new friend made him feel things he had not thought it possible he was capable of feeling. It was new and ultimately terrifying. But he thrived upon fear. Even his own fear. Love was just as exhilarating.
The boy set up a little shrine to his personal kami.
The Onikui felt at ease. He had never been worshipped, as some Tengu were; and of course he simply loved having his ego preened.
He gave his strength, or did he draw it from his sole worshipper? The boy had a strong will, stronger than most humans.
Part of him wanted to tell the boy to give up, he was simply not strong enough to break Ichinomiya Kiris potent wards, that he didn't even know where the Onikui Tengu was bound...Should he be letting loose such a notorious individual anyway?
His little friend drew a picture of how he visualised the Onikui Tengu, a long nosed creature with wings tearing apart and devouring terrified oni.
The Onikui tengu was touched.
He was the little boy's hero, a frightening demon who nevertheless fought evil. The Onikui tengu was the strongest; he was everything the boy was not.
He was sad that such a magnificent creature as the Strongest tengu of all would be sealed away from the physical world.
"When I find you, I'm going to set you free!" Was his promise every day.
The Onikui Tengu hung onto that. It was the only hope he had.
The first thing the tengu saw when the wards holding him were dispelled, and the great boulder split down the middle to let the autumnal sun shine on him, were the red eyes of his arch enemy. `That was quick` he thought.
But on reflection he realised it was not so, he had felt the exorcist pour the last of his considerable power into the incantation to get it to work, no way could Ichinomiya Akai Kiri be alive!
He looked around, the shrine was in ruins and small trees and bamboo had grown up around, just how long had he been bound?
To the tengu, it was merely a night's slumber.
He looked again at the mortal who had woken him...This was a younger version of Ichinomiya Akai Kiri, with his white hair cut much shorter...It was someone else. This individual regarded him with a look of hero worshipping delight.
It was his friend from his dreams.
He looked into these not so unfamiliar strangers eyes. Tengu do not make eye contact. They know what they will see, and it's not nice.
All he saw in this persons eyes was love. There was no evil in his soul. (What the Onikui did not realise was that Ichinomiya Kantarou was unusually clever at concealing his soul.)
The tengu was immediately charmed.
And this man, so like and unlike Ichinomiya Kiri had given him a name! A girl's name, to be true, but it was a proper name of an ordinary individual and not some demonic being.
That demonic being inside him screamed that this was all wrong, that he shouldn't be letting a human gain power over him.
He also knew this might be his only chance at release...And it looked such a nice day.
How could he refuse such a request? It was well within his power.
So the tengu decided to accept the rite of binding. He was ever the pragmatist.
"I am Haruka..."
"Welcome to Hell, Haruka." Youko the Kitsune told him when he had come down from his room (not a cage!) after an exhausted but natural sleep. "Even a mighty tengu like you will be humbled under Kantarou."
The newly named tengu had to smile to himself. Youko was a fox, in spite of her intelligence she was still an animal...In a former life she may have been in Hell, but she clearly had no memory of it.
Yet he had no real memories of the time before his binding. Who was he? Who was this creature Kantarou worshipped called the Onikui tengu?
He felt no real connection to that being. He was Haruka, an ordinary kohana tengu...And a slave to Ichinomiya Kantarou, the exorcist.
Still, a tengu has to know both Heaven and Hell...It's all they will ever know...And it's what makes them so strong.
Haruka sat down to breakfast. He was part of the normal world again.
Kantarou came sauntering in in his night robe, last night's text hanging from one hand. "Good morning Youko, Good morning Haruka."
Both Youkai gave a slight bow to their human master. "I see the night dweller is up." Youko said with no irony.
Kantarou gave a big smile to Haruka. "I hope you slept well, Haruka." He said "Do you like it here?"
"It's a bit of a shock to the system." Haruka admitted. This was an alien world...But Haruka was an alien himself.
Ichinomiya Kantarou had indeed set the Onikui tengu free...In order to enslave him. He had balls of steel, Lashings of effrontery and incredible amounts of spiritual power.
And Haruka was going to have to get used to this world and this master. He shook his head slightly. He did not mind the Name-pact...Humans didn't live long. Fifty years time and he would be free again.
They ate breakfast in silence; while the sun shone on a world that was both familiar and unfamiliar...But wasn't the Tengudo like that?
Haruka for one, was eternally glad to be part of the physical world again.