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Spirit Bound: Bonus Story

The Love of Yoishi Takahashi: Part Eight

I apologise. I did not expect it would take so long to tell this tale; I suppose I should have skipped over many points in order to make this telling less of a protracted affair. Regardless, let us continue. When last I spoke, Kikyo-san -- the Japanese Marten priestess -- had left for Kofu to trade some ofuda, and I had delved into my past to learn how best to make a weapon to battle the Demons. Upon calling forth Tai Lung, I had learned it may be possible for me to imbue my sword with the essence of an Ancient One. After returning to the castle, I began to undertake that task by contemplating the best baths to prepare the sword.

The next day found the castle once more engulfed in a late summer rainstorm, so I took the opportunity to begin attuning my katana to my chi while studying. Silver, I knew, from my Western lives was a great symbol of purity and proved most effective in slaying the evils found there, but here in the East -- particularly China and Japan -- it was jade that served a similar role, though in more of a defensive than an offensive one. I could see great merit in the use of these materials in forging a new blade, but how effective would they be in a bath? How much study would it involve? Too much, I believed. I was greatly familiar with the properties of organic materials for use in medicines and poisons; I had some lessons on the use of inorganic materials for use in ofuda, but knew nothing on the use of, or recipes for, metals.

I shall not bore you with the minutia of that work, nor the hours spent channelling chi through one paw, down the length of the blade and back into my other paw. Instead, I shall jump forward a few days to a point a week after Kikyo-san left the Ohtori castle, the minimum amount of time it would take for her to reach Kofu. Once again I sat by the waterfall pool with the hot springs at my back and the falls to my left. The sound of a few higurashi -- a type of cicada common in Japan -- could be heard over the water and the breeze in the bamboo, though it was a bit early in the year and very early in the day. My katana had spent the night in its alchemical bath and I sought to see how it reacted to a few hours of chi-use. The initial tests at the castle seemed promising, but now it came down to a full scale trial.

Just as I closed my eyes, I smelt the faint odour of bone and Otter fur approach. I ignored my nudity and rose, katana loosely held in paw. "Good afternoon, Kitsune."

The Kitsune, Kodokuro, stepped out of the bamboo in the guise of an elderly Otter woman, the same one she wore when we first met. "Ancient One." Her eyes ran down my naked form. "I can see why that daimyo is taken with you. If I thought I had a chance I'd offer to dally with you."

I smirked at her. "You don't." The smirk changed to a frown. "Now, I don't mean to be abrupt, but why are you here? The last time we spoke was when you helped those Oni ambush me, and while you may have reasons for unwillingly helping the Demon, you are helping it."

Her form shimmered and shifted to that of her natural, two-tailed, one. The fox settled by the edge of the hot springs and smiled up at me. "That may have been the last time you spoke to me but not the other way around."

"So it was you in the rice fields when the Demon tried to smuggle the Oni into the castle with Ichiru." She nodded, her smile taking on an aspect of satisfaction and superiority. I remained suspicious, and ensured I kept aware of my surroundings. She may be a distraction. "Then, if you _are_so unwilling, why not help me? What type of Demon is it? Where is it hiding?"

The smile faded and her ears canted backwards. "As if I could tell you."

'Could tell,' not 'would tell.' That was not a careless transposition, but a warning of some sort of duress. Magic, blackmail, hostages, or something else? I did not sense anything demonic, but Demons and their spells could be most subtle. I would not rule out the chance of magical duress, but I was inclined to believe it was another sort. "Then, once again, why are you here?"

The smile returned. "Why do I need a reason? And even more importantly, why would I need to tell you? Isn't the chance of having a conversation with someone more entertaining than a mortal enough?"

I almost felt offended by her use of my favoured style of dissembling. Did she honestly believe I would fall for that? "If that was your reason, you would have just said so." She may already have achieved her reason for being here by indicating she was an unwilling pawn; this may be the only way she had to request help, by obliquely hinting at it and hoping I clued in. I had clued in, quite some time ago in fact, but had not offered assistance. I felt rather guilty. "Surely you have a mate to talk with? Kits to care for?" As soon as I said 'kits' she visibly flinched, but hid it almost instantly. Well, then, I had my answer.

"No, I have no mate. He was killed last spring. My kit... is no longer in my care, either. So, as you can see, I have a lot of free time on my paws." She stood and stretched. "But I tire of your suspicions. Perhaps I will stop by tomorrow and see if you're in a better mood." Her ear and one of her tails flicked to the path leading into the clearing, and when I glanced in that direction, she leapt to the top of the falls and vanished.

There was nothing there. I turned back to the pool and sat down wondering how I could save the Fey's child. A faint shimmer moved past my sight in the water and made me consider asking the Kami. They may know. I called on Tai Lung again, and let him occupy a corner of my mind. That seemed sufficient since the faint shimmer coalesced into the shape of large carp covered in vibrant aquamarine scales. In the waterfall, I could see another Kami, but one that looked almost elfin. She stood barely over a metre tall, with a thin, lithe, form covered in petite scales. Her knee-length hair was a blue-white reminiscent of the bubbles formed by the falling water, and her scales were a light aqua. Both Kami seemed to realize I could see them clearly and moved closer, but remained beyond reach of my blade.

The Pool Kami poked its head out of the water. "Ancient One." He spoke more slowly than I expected and it had a surprising depth, too.

The Fall Kami looked down at her neighbour. "What is an Ancient One?"

He rolled over on his side a little to look up. "What he is. It's what the Kitsune called him, anyway. You've been around as long as I have and travelled just as extensively."

From behind me I could hear a faint rustling. When I looked back, a taller shape had stepped out of the dense bamboo. She was roughly my height, perhaps a shade shorter, and while she possessed some feminine features she had little of the beauty of a dryad. The Bamboo Kami appeared to be made out of interwoven bamboo stalks, in the same manner dolls used to be made out of small sheaves of grass or corn leaves, and her face looked like a well-made female Elf mask carved from several planks of bamboo boards fastened together. Even her hair had the appearance of bamboo leaves woven together to make a cascade of delicate leaves spilling down her back. She, too, approached no closer than sword reach. "The greater Kami of the forest spoke to me about him, knowing he travelled here before. He is in touch with the Underworld and summoned the remnants of deceased mortals. He is a foe of the Demon on our mountain."

The carp-like Kami spat a stream of water toward my hindpaws, soaking the flowers I stood by. "Mortals. Why do they flee this world when they die? They should return to Gaia as we do. This one seems to be seven souls crammed into one body so tightly they're sticking together like trees growing too closely to one another. Is that what makes him an Ancient One? Some of the souls _look_ancient."

The doll tilted her head to study me. "I think that's why he's called that. I don't care what he is if he's willing to kill Demons. Many of my sisters have been eaten, and the taint is spreading over Ashitaka. What will happen to us if he wakes, or worse, becomes corrupted?"

The other two Kami shivered in dread. Behind me, toward the cliff edge, came the sound of grinding rocks. Out of the stone I frequently sat on grew a large mole head that, of course, appeared to be carved from a dark volcanic rock. If it was scaled accurately, this Kami would be twice my height -- the visible portion of the rock must be a small fraction of the entire thing. A paw twice the size of my head waved in front of the whiskered nose. "It...begins. Ashitaka weakens... stirs in... slumber. The Demon grows strong... as she feeds... on him. On us." The mogera's obsidian eyes blinked sleepily as it slowly turned to look around.

The conversation amused me, at least all of it but that very ominous pronouncement, but I interrupted them. "Pardon me, Kami, but I was hoping you could answer a question." All of them looked at me in surprise, even the Rock Kami sat up straighter and opened his tiny eyes widely. "Do you know where the Kitsune's kit is being held captive?"

The surprise and interest waned. The Fall Kami shrugged. "No. It's not here, so I have no idea."

The Pool kami blew a geyser of water upwards. "No. She has Demon stink on her; I don't care."

The Rock Kami shook his head slowly. "The taint is... on the north face. Look there."

The Bamboo Kami laughed, though her face showed no emotion. "The wind whispers through my stems, we carry gossip through our leaves, and the butterflies buzz with news, but such things only travel so far. I heard of nothing nearby. Ask the breeze and hope you find one that whistled in from the north."

I could not get an answer more clear than that, 'Go ask someone else.' So, do I wait for another day, or leave now? If I were to begin infusing my sword, I may not have ample strength to fight, but once I finished I may have a much more potent weapon. I may also find that, in the interim, Kodokuro was forced to help the Demon again or that her kit was killed. She already lost her mate. I sheathed my sword and bowed my head to the Kami. "Thank you. I'll go there and see what I can find." I began dressing.

The Bamboo Kami's expressionless mask shifted slightly, drawing the fine, carved eyebrows closer together. "Why do you care? She works with the Demon from what you said."

I shrugged. "Because she doesn't want to help it. If she refuses her kit will die, but if I save_her child, she will have no reason to cooperate with the Demon and _lots of reasons to help me kill it. Regardless, I don't like letting innocents die or be used as pawns like this." Though at times my orders went against what I liked or did not like; I could only be grateful that innocents very rarely made for good military targets and the chances of another daimyo being as kind and sweet as Kaoru were infinitesimal.

The doll turned away. "Follow. My sisters and I will guide you through some shortcuts to the north of Ashitaka."

She led me into the thickest part of the bamboo surrounding the clearing, which bent and arced away to give me room, while I yet tied my sash. Then, without warning, she began to run as swiftly as the bounding sika deer. She ran for almost five minutes before she dashed through a doorway made of woven bamboo, and we found ourselves on another part of the mountain. A second Bamboo Kami stood waiting a short distance away.

My guide gestured at her sister. "Follow." She turned abruptly and ran back through the arch. The second Kami began to run, forcing me to give chase. I made my way through three more such arches, changing guides at each one, before we stopped.

I caught my breath in a decaying copse of bamboo, which grew surrounded primarily by withering pines. All leaves and needles showed much brown rather than the lush green I had seen elsewhere, and the sound of trickling streams led me to believe it was not caused by a lack of moisture. The scent of rotting vegetation filled my nostrils. My current guide quickly left and the Kami of this grove turned to face me.

Her hair carried the same unhealthy brown of the leaves around me, her dress was tattered with clumps of 'fabric' missing in places, and her mask bore two large fissures across it -- one over her left eye and the other running from her right 'ear' to centre of the mouth hole. This doll stood a mere two-thirds of a metre high; the entirety of her grove must be much smaller and less productive than the first of her sisters I saw. "Ancient One."

I bowed my head. "Kami. Do you know why I'm here?"

She nodded slowly. "To save the Kitsune and weaken the Demon... hopefully before slaying it."

The corner of my muzzle crooked up in a lopsided smile. "That's the plan. It's seems pretty daunting, but I'd rather die trying than give up before I even start. Demons can't be permitted to live."

She regarded me for a minute while I waited patiently. "The Kami of the mosses and ferns have all died -- none of the small ones survive -- but before the last of them passed they mentioned a cave recently occupied by Oni. That may be what you seek." She pointed to the south-east. "Farther up the slopes, beyond the bamboo and corruption, is where they said it lay."

"Then that is where I'll go. Thank you." I bowed again and turned.

"We would do far more to help slay the Demon, Ancient One. As long as it lives more of us will die. Or worse. Once the Kitsune is freed, she must seek out her kin to cleanse Ashitaka before the taint reaches his heart."

I nodded without looking back, and set off.

I maintained a steady, loping stride, one that did not tax me at all and that I could do silently. Furthermore, to reserve my chi, I allowed Lung to slip back into his deep slumber; I could call him back once I passed beyond the dying forest. There was something that troubled me, however: the Kami said Oni were in this cave. How could Oni stop a Kitsune from rescuing her kit? Even a young, two-tailed Kitsune should be able to outwit them with illusions, or somehow sneak in if she couldn't just kill them outright. There had to be more to this, perhaps some magic to keep her away. Such things were worth keeping in mind, but there was naught to be done until I determined if this site was indeed the prison of the Kitsune kit. I ran on.

In a mere ten minutes, I found myself passing from evergreen trees interspersed with bamboo to a forest comprised solely of trees. The mosses and ferns also began to return, and with them an absence of the unnatural decay and illness. The cave should be close.

I prepared to call Lung forth when a small ball of foxfire, often attributed to Kitsune, danced toward me. I altered course to meet it and the ball began to float away, leading me onward a few hundred metres in a slightly curved path. The light vanished by a large clump of bushes at the top of a cliff; based on my limited visibility I assumed the cliff to be no more than ten metres high.

Kodokuro, in her true form, stepped out of the bushes and sat by them regarding me curiously. "You've travelled far, and very quickly, Ancient One."

I shrugged, crossed my arms, and leant sideways against a tree. "So have you, Kitsune. I heard some interesting gossip about this place and I thought I'd check it out."

She wrapped her tails over her paws, and yawned widely. "Oh, nothing so interesting as to dash about blindly. Really, you should take it slowly around here or you might stumble across some very dangerous creatures. I've heard stories about a cave full of Oni that are led by an Oni priest. Those brutish priests are infamous for laying magical traps to catch the unwary." For supposedly being unable to volunteer information because of an enchantment, she certainly could give coherent warnings when it came to her kit.

I stood upright with a fiendish smile. "Those are the Oni that are supposed to have the best treasure. Perhaps I'll find this cave and wander in. Beating a few monsters shouldn't be that hard." All attempts at looking calm and unconcerned vanished; Kodokuro sprang forward to stand in front of me with head low, tails bristled, and teeth bared. I shook my head before she could say anything that might cause problems for her. "Oh, you want a share? Then stealth might be the better course. I could slip in through the realm of the Kami and ghosts, bypassing all dangers, if I knew where the treasure was kept."

The Kitsune lifted her head disdainfully and stalked off, back rigid. "I'm sure there's a sign just pointing to it." She snorted. "Please. As if they'd be stupid enough to leave a sign saying, 'go down eight metres to reach the treasure,' out where anyone could find it." She kept walking as she talked and snapped over her shoulder when I went to follow. "Stay where you are. I don't want your oafish company. You probably can't even banish evil auras in order to remove curses from what you might find, or have the brains to just grab and flee if you did somehow reach a treasure room." I could no longer see her, but I could hear her clearly, and hear the sound of frantic digging, vegetation moving, and other less discernable noises. The noise stopped shortly. "I'll bid you good day, sir. I say, good day. If you do something as audacious as robbing some hypothetical Oni cave, I don't want you to show me what you find at a pond upstream from here. Again, I say good luck, I mean day."

I waited half a minute before going to the sign someone was so stupid as to leave. She'd left a circle of bare earth with the Greek words 'Seek Hades,' written in pine needles and branches in the middle followed by '26 podes' which was a rough equivalent of eight metres. The Kitsune had, apparently, heard me speak in Greek and took the time to find out what it was. I did not know whether to be impressed or alarmed. Unfortunately, I was not entirely certain as to her meaning. Yes, she did wish me to go down eight metres here, but did she wish me to call Timeus forth, or was the reference to Hades merely a direction -- down -- and by what means.

Calling Timeus would cost some chi, rather a sizable amount of chi, as would running even a short distance through the realm of spirits, but the extra sight it would grant could be important. I judged it prudent considering the potential price blindness may exact.

It took a moment of focus to draw Timeus forth, but once I had, I found the priest did not wish to merely watch from the side-lines as Lung seemed more than content to. The large Dog appeared in my mind's eye superimposed over the scenery around me. I rarely found myself intimidated by taller Furs, but the spectral image of Timeus almost frightened me. He stood _forty_centimetres taller than me -- a good span above even Lung -- and looked to be twice my weight. The bulk of Timeus was perhaps the most unnerving aspect of the black Dog; every part of him looked broad and powerful, as if he was bred to crush those who displeased him. From his wide paws, which individually looked capable of covering my skull and lifting me, to his thick jaw, every aspect appeared designed for war.

His voice rumbled up from the depths of his cavernous chest. *If you need my power, Yoishi, leave it in the paws of one capable of using it. Step aside and leave this to me. I will destroy our foes.*

I should have called on Lung if I wanted to see into the realm of ghosts. *That's not our goal, Timeus. Not yet, anyway. The primary objective is to rescue a Kitsune pup. Once it is safe, then we can kill the Oni. Then and only then.*

My past life looked at me with a measure of scorn. *I'm not a fool. I can see what's going on. Kodokuro is being blackmailed and we need to rescue her child to earn her allegiance. With that, we take away the Demon's ability to hide its troops. However, if this Oni beneath us can use magic, then it's too great a threat to let live. I can easily protect the pup and crush the beast in the cave. None can challenge me in my lord's domain.*

Well. I certainly did not lack confidence in that life. I hoped I mellowed out as I aged; this echo appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties, so it may have happened. *And we can easily go back to kill it after we bring Kodokuro her pup. We have our mission and we'll carry it out as... inferred. Grab the 'treasure' and leave immediately.*

Timeus stepped toward me and I involuntarily took a step back. His presence pressed against my soul in an attempt to tip the balance to his favour, but I merely allowed his energy to push through and let mine flow around him as water flows around a stone. Timeus stopped and regarded me closely. *You move as Lung did. Our styles differ, and I doubt I could make the best use of that body; you lack the strength and size I once had. I'll stand aside and watch, even though it'll be difficult for me. I've never been one to sit on the sidelines.* The giant Dog faded from my sight.

That was a relief. I did not wish to waste chi combating Timeus when I had a dangerous foe waiting for me. I nodded my thanks and stood on the circle Kodokuro had made. I was about to step through the Veil when a small Kami hopped out of the moss beneath a tall tree. Why did those Kami always wait until _just_before I went to do something before speaking to me?

The Moss Kami looked much like a small frog or toad, about half the size of my palm, and like many of its cousins, it appeared to be crafted from the vegetation it embodied. "Ancient One. Warning. Bad Oni below. Uses magic to capture Kami and ghosts. Uses captives to make more magic. Stone Kami say ghosts forced to warn Oni when they see someone. Sneaking hard, even for Kami. Little Kitsune very ill; Kami can't help. Bad Oni put Demon magic on Kitsune so Kami can't rescue, either. Kitsune will die if leaves cave."

That was very much along the lines of what Kodokuro seemed to warn me of, that I had to remove a 'curse' from the treasure. Some sort of 'evil aura.' Would that be like the cloud of taint the Kabutomushi Demon made? Timeus appeared in my mind's eye, again. His smile, a very kind and fond smile, surprised me as he looked at the Kami. *I would like to speak to him.* I stepped aside feeling a little perplexed by this abrupt change in demeanour. Timeus knelt to address the Kami. "Little spirit, thank you for your warning. Do you know if this bad magic on the Kitsune pup is drawn from a ghost?"

The frog blinked at Timeus twice before tapping the ground with its forelimb. On the second tap, a head no larger than the Moss Kami's popped out of the ground. It appeared quite serpent-like, with a flattened triangular skull and wide mouth, but the transition from head to body was much smoother than even that of a snake. The Kami, I believe it to be one associated with the soil or something in the soil, glanced back at us and began a whispered conversation with the frog.

The conversation took little time and the summoned Kami vanished once more. The Moss Kami blinked at Timeus again. "Maybe. Four ghosts near Kitsune, much magic from ghosts. Demon magic. Killing Kitsune. Killing Kami and ghosts, too." The idea that ghosts could be killed by something other than magic drawn from Hades took me by surprise. Quite a number of events had been doing so of late.

Timeus gently rubbed the head of the frog. I felt a small trickle of energy leave my body and flow into the Kami. "Thank you. I'll rescue the Kitsune and return to eliminate the beasts that dare interfere with my lord's business. None may prevent a soul's passing." The massive Dog stepped aside and relinquished control. *Carry on.* I stood and the Kami blinked at me, croaked, and hopped back into the dense moss it came from.

I slipped into the realm of ghost and spirits. The world changed abruptly from what I was used to, becoming almost misty and indistinct, but all life around me took on sharper clarity. The Moss Kami sat in the pocket of vegetation he called home, shining brilliantly as the energy of the moss flowed into it and back again in a symbiotic manner. Flickers of light danced through sky above as a flock of birds took wing, startled by the much larger form of a wolf passing nearby. Beneath me, through metres of stone, I could faintly see the coruscating and vile energy of a tainted being. That must be the Oni priest. I couldn't see the other Oni nor the Kitsune or ghosts. Just in and out; don't get tied up or stuck inside the hole.

I dropped through the rocks until I could see the ghosts. The four souls hovered beneath me chained by glowing bands of tainted magic. The chains ironically drew power from the ghosts, and two lines left each being: one went to the centre of the room and coiled around the weakly flickering shape that must be the Kitsune pup, and the second went to the Oni priest. He would know the instant I severed those bonds,any of those bonds. Unfortunately, those were not the only prisoners. Within what I assumed would be the walls of another room within the caverns were dozens of other spirits, both Kami and mortal. I would have to return for them.

I mentally prepared myself and plummeted the last two metres. The moment I passed out of the rock I returned to the mortal realm and gathered my chi into my paws and hindpaws. I slashed at all four bands of magic at the same time, noting they flared brightly and with great heat, and threw my weight back so I did not land on the pup. As I rolled backwards, I scooped him up with one paw, and passed once more through the Veil.

A thunderous roar resounded from the caverns drowning out the warning cries of the ghosts. A third band of tainted magic grew from each one and shot toward me. I leapt up, drawing on the lessons Song Li had learnt. The laws of physics did not apply here, only the power of the mind. I had honed my mind with years of harsh training as a shinobi to react to any threat and to make my much slower body move as swiftly as it may. With the cumbersome flesh out of the picture, my mind was free to move as it would, as fast as it wished. The magic chains did not even come close to catching me before I reached the surface, but it cost much chi.

If only that were the sole defence, however. The Oni set out in pursuit and they were fast. I heard the Oni priest bellowing at the base of the cliff and felt a surge of magic. The next thing I knew, there were two Oni flying up eight metres to land with a great splintering of trees just beyond club reach. Their eyes glowed with infernal magic, as did their weapons, and they stared right at me. They could see -- and presumably strike -- me even beyond the Veil. A curse left my lips and I set out as fast as my mind could push me.

I flitted through the forest, heading for the stream Kodokuro had mentioned. The sound of destruction followed closely in my wake, but the trees slowed them and allowed me to put a hundred metres between us. Such would be a small distance once I lacked the strength to remain in the realm of ghosts; a time that approached more swiftly than the Oni. I almost passed the stream without seeing it in this shadowy place, but the gestures of a small water Kami alerted me to change course.

Timeus spoke up. *Enter the mortal realm before changing course.* I did so and nearly fell at the abrupt change of velocity. _*We shine like the Lighthouse of Alexandria to those with the sight. We might confuse them for a while and cause them to slow. We're also using too much energy and it'll make it harder to kill them.*_The sound of pursuit faltered and stopped for five seconds before it resumed at a slower pace.

The Kami that showed me the location of the stream -- the spirit appeared as a small scaled salamander --followed along curiously. "Hide from Oni?"

I panted as I nodded. "Yes, please."

It leapt into the air and wriggled as it arced over a stone. "Hiding!" It landed in the water and small waves began to immediately lap over each paw print I left, wiping them out. A few other Kami laughed, too, and swirls of dead leaves fell along my trail making it seem as if no one had passed by this season. Sounds of pursuit diminished even more.

I allowed myself to slow and recover some of my breath when the fierce bellow of the Oni priest stopped me in my tracks, quite literally. The force of the wind he exhaled when he teleported not two metres away from me completely halted my progress. He was answered by two roars, and the other Oni set out at top speed towards me once more.

This black-skinned brute stood a metre taller than its blue kin, and it reeked of more than poor hygiene. I could well believe this to be a throw-back to the Oni first created by the Demon Lord Amatsu-Mikaboshi or one more recently 'modified' by some powerful Demon. Its ebony tusks pulsed with red striations, as did its horns, like miniature volcanoes. Its long whitish-grey hair billowed about its broad head like dense smoke in a continuing volcanic theme, and its eyes gleamed like burning pools of lava. Large hands streaked toward me from either side with such speed the air whistled about the long, jagged claws. The obsidian-like blades cleanly gouged out huge chunks from the trunks of trees without hindering their progress at all.

I dropped and sprang backwards, knowing it could react fast enough to stop me if I went any other direction. I flipped over to land on my hindpaws and sprang back and upwards into the higher branches of a tree. The black priest pointed at the trunk of the pine I stood in and a coruscating arc of purplish-white lighting shot forth and shattered it. The energy continued both up and down the trunk. I leapt to another tree and did not stop. I bounced from treetop to treetop in an attempt to make toward the pond Kodokuro waited at while presenting the least opportunity for this unnatural monstrosity to strike at me.

*Ground him.* Timeus offered, though I knew not what he meant. *Use Lord Hades' power to trap him in stone. You seem very good at running, but that's not killing him.*

The pup whimpered in my arms; the constant motion appeared to be unsettling my passenger. Fighting was not an option I favoured. *I'm not trying to kill it. I want to leave this pup with his mother, and then kill the beast when I have both arms free and my full mobility.* Ahead of me, I saw light glinting off water. I sprang forward to another tree, aiming lower on the trunk, and bounced my way down while making for the water.

The Oni priest roared again, and the force of the sound picked me up and flung me like a ragdoll. I gathered my chi into my free paw and spun about to cut through the malevolent energy wrapped about me. The sound of splintering trees drew closer; the other two Oni approached rapidly.

My hindpaws hit the spongy earth in silence and my claws dug deep furrows as I scrambled to keep traction while righting my momentum. The violent spinning from the mere fraction of a second in that maelstrom had caused great vertigo, but I dared not stop to let my balance return. It was then Timeus seized control of my body. "Hades, god of all things beneath the earth, I call upon your spear!" A surge of power, much like I felt when I had called forth the souls of the honoured dead at the shrine, flooded through Timeus and into me. I spun about swinging one hindpaw around in a wide circle, and dropping my free paw to the ground. A large cone of rock sprang out of the soil and pierced through the left thigh of the black-skinned beast. Timeus relinquished control and I fled once more.

The demonic Oni tipped forward, as it moved far too quickly to stop, and I heard it crash to the ground with the sound of tearing flesh and splintering stone. It scrambled up almost immediately, but the wound and the delay meant it had no chance to catch me in time. Though it came to be a far nearer thing than I had hoped.

The chase continued and all three Oni now nipped at my heels. The sound of their kanabo smashing through the trees I had passed a mere two seconds ago deafened me to all else. I leapt over the last bush that separated me from my destination and found my heart falling through my stomach. It was not here. The pond I had seen earlier was not to be found. I stumbled and gaped before my nose and chi told me of the deception; an illusion hid the water. Kodokuro must be near. I caught my balance and ran on, right over the water, as the Oni thundered through the poor bush.

I leapt over the 'stream' that wound through the supposed clearing, and acted as though all the deception was truth while I idly wondered what Kodokuro would have done had I not penetrated her deception. The pond encompassed a surprisingly large area, over ten metres, and I could not gauge its depth in the centre as I ran over it, meaning it likely plunged at least five metres down in a bitterly cold funnel. Perhaps a Kami or Fey lurked nearby to whisk the kit away should I have fallen in the water.

The first blue Oni solved the riddle. It stepped on what _appeared_to be solid earth, and pitched forward when its foot found soft mud. Fey magic grabbed it in a swirl of water, and dragged it to the centre -- beyond my sight -- as the brute struggled futilely. The second fared little better; it ran too fast and too close to its comrade to have any hope of changing course that quickly or stopping. It, instead, leapt in hopes of evading the trap, and landed on the far side of the false stream with a great splash and gurgling demise.

The Oni priest slid to a halt, sending a wave of debris into the air and leaving deep trenches in the soft ground. It pointed its index and middle finger at me. I leapt aside to dodge another bolt of lightning, but it appeared I need not have exerted myself thusly. A large disc of foxfire caught the bolt and dissipated it harmlessly.

The illusion of the clearing vanished. Eight Kitsune surrounded the pond in their natural feral shapes, including Kodokuro. Those with two or more tails wore leaves upon their heads instead of a skull, and all had their tails arched over their backs like scorpions as they snarled in fury. One near me had _six_tails, though the rest had between one and three. The beast stood no chance.

All the Kitsune jabbed their tails at the Oni and a great tornado of foxfire engulfed it, lifting the giant over twice its height into the air. It did not go quietly; its bellowing roars shook the clearing yet the force of its voice did not alter the core of the tornado. I saw many of the one-tails shaken or even knocked over, but the six-tailed Fey did not so much as shift an iota. Even when the brute began to strike out with bolts of lightning once more she remained unmoved, except for a single tail which directed a disc of foxfire to catch each bolt.

The tornado began to tilt over the pond, and the Oni grew more desperate. It began belching forth torrents of lava, but it all got caught up by the whirling fire and posed no threat to anyone. I saw it try to gather power from the souls in its cave, but the two-tails drew the energy down to the circle of Fey, instead. The Oni even went so far as to turn itself into a cloud of volcanic ash, but that merely made the job easier for the foxes. The tornado plunged into the centre of the pond and the Oni reverted to its normal form and sank beyond my sight.

The Kitsune all sat back on their haunches and coiled their tails around the paws. The pond shimmered and suddenly appeared as a normal mountain pond, no deeper than thirty centimetres in the middle. I gaped. I knew what I had sensed and the water had stretched _metres_down.

Six-tails stood and approached me. She reached up with a tail for the kit in my arms, but I stepped back and looked over at Kodokuro. The Fey I knew lowered her head in shame. "My grandmother will be caring for my child. I've... been deemed unfit." I felt sorry for her, but at least the pup was alive and Kodokuro would almost certainly be permitted to see him. I knelt before the grandmother and let her take my charge. She and the other Kitsune -- except the skull-wearing one -- all trotted to an old tree nearby and dove down a tiny hole at the base of its roots; I could see through Timeus' sight that a gate to Faerie resided in that hole. Kodokuro sighed and lay on the rocky bank of the pond staring forlornly after her kin.

I walked around the pond and sat beside her. "He's weak and very ill, but I'm certain he'll recover. Your kit is alive and will do well. Besides, just because your grandmother is raising him doesn't mean you can't see him."

She sighed despondently. "He's going to be kept in Faerie for _decades,_and my grandmother has denied me access to our home until my debts are repaid." She looked up at me sadly. "I'm in your debt, my friend, and it isn't one that can be repaid easily. You've also incurred debt with the local Kami on your quest to aid me, a debt _I_need to repay. I won't see my child again until he is old enough to cross over on his own."

A bit melodramatic, perhaps? I smiled, shaking my head. "The Kami need the Demon of Ashitaka killed and the lands cleansed. I need the Demon killed and land cleansed, including the Ohtori castle. The Kami are willing to call my debt fulfilled if the Seelie Court is informed of the need to cleanse the taint, and as I had help saving your pup, I'm more than willing to count your assistance in these endeavours as repayment. Really, I expect to have your debt repaid by Kaoru's wedding or to be dead."

She rolled her eyes. "'To be dead' means very little in your case; the debt merely carries over to your next life with the added accruement of needing to repay my failure to help you." There would also be the need to find me, and the gap in between lives added more time. That could turn into centuries. She stood with a stretch. "You're right on one measure though, my son is alive and will recover. Grandmother serves the goddess Inari and knows many healers; if Inari doesn't heal him directly, then he'll still receive the best care possible." The 'best care possible' in Faerie meant a great deal, and Inari -- the goddess of rice, amongst many other things -- was known to be most benevolent. Kodokuro trotted down the stream and glanced over her shoulder. "Let's go vent some frustration by clearing out the remaining Oni from the cave. Grandmother took all the fun out of those three."

I followed her. "So what was with the pond? I know it wasn't an illusion; I could feel it stretch down a long way, but now..." I gestured at the shallow water.

Kodokuro grinned viciously. "Older Kitsune can make their own pockets of reality. Grandmother made a prison for those who captured her grandchild and killed her grandson -- my husband." I knew Fey took bonds of family seriously, but even amongst them, Kitsune had a reputation for exacting vengeance for harm done to family members_._ "The Oni aren't dead and won't_die for a very, _very long time. I'll have more tails than Grandmother does now before she lets that happen."

I glanced up at the sun. "I swore to clear out the cave and release all of those still trapped, but I need to recover some chi. I hope to return to the castle before too late, too." It would not be a problem if I could travel as I did coming here, but I did not wish to incur more debt for Kodokuro.

Timeus stirred at the edge of my mind. *I'll retire for now, Yoishi, but call me again when we reach the cave. The ghosts are almost certain to be hostile after their imprisonment, as are the Kami.* The echo of my past life slipped back into slumber.

We continued on in near silence until we reached the top of the cliff where she had drawn the sign in the dirt. I slowed down and spoke softly. "Can you give me a half hour? I want to recover some of my energy; passing through the Veil twice and trying to evade those Oni took a lot out of me." I glanced over at the little Moss Kami's home and saw it crushed and torn to pieces.

She nodded. "Of course, Yoishi. I'd prefer to..." She trailed off when saw my expression. "What's wrong?"

I knelt by the tree and carefully put the shreds of moss back into place. "This Kami gave me a number of warnings about what I'd see in the cave. I hope he's unharmed."

The fox peered at me curiously. "Given the damage to its home, I'd say that's very unlikely, but why would you care? Kami like these are born and die with greater frequency than even Furs. If it isn't dead, then it'll recover; moss is very resilient." She poked at the spongy plant matter with her nose. "Still alive. Let's sit by the cliff edge so I can watch what's going on down by the cave."

I put the last bit of moss back into place and stood. "Very w--" The bellowing of two Oni caused us to stare at each other. They sounded like they were in pain and terrified. I called on Timeus as we dashed to the edge of the cliff and peered down.

Two Oni (one red and one blue) pushed and jostled each other as they struggled to be the first out of the cave opening. I saw the spectral shapes of two Furs, faces twisted in fury, pain, and fear, fly into the large monsters. The beasts fell to their knees and began clawing at their own faces, tearing out huge slices of flesh at each raking motion. Blood splashed over the trodden soil beneath them quickly turning it into muck as they rolled around in uncontrolled, self-destructive agony. Soon, their faces were unrecognizable masses of tattered flesh. Then, the ghosts forced the two Oni to leap blindly at each other. The force of their collision audibly snapped bones, and the beasts began grappling. They rolled about, biting, punching, and kicking as they sought to do the utmost amount of damage with no regard to self-preservation. I felt ill watching it. It took three minutes before the stronger red Oni emerged 'victorious.' I say that with great sarcasm, for the ogre straddled the threshold of death, too, and only a miracle could save it now. Yet, the ghosts were not finished.

The second ghost left its dead host seeking to possess it as well, and the two battled for supremacy inside their victim. The Oni thrashed about screaming until it rolled against the cliff face, whereupon the screams continued but it began beating its head and fists upon the rock as if it sought to hasten its own demise to end the pain. It succeeded. After the fifth strike, I heard bones snap in its head and neck. It slumped, lifeless, against the stone, leaving a broad smear of blood on the dark granite.

I stared aghast at them, and even Timeus seemed stunned for he remained utterly silent. Kodokuro merely sat primly upon an outcropping, tails coiled around her paws. "That was entertaining. I suppose I'll forgive those spirits for denying me my revenge, but let's hurry before there's nothing left in the cave for me to play with."

Kodokuro leapt over the edge of the cliff and floated swiftly down, and I followed by creating small cushions of chi around my paws and hindpaws so I might safely slide down the steep slope using them to control my descent. The fox reached the bottom before I did and watched me, amused, until the ghosts stirred in their dead victim.

The two mad spectres popped out of the abdomen of the red Oni and saw the Kitsune sitting within easy reach. They wailed as only ghosts can, and darted for her. She tilted her head, bemused, and flicked her tails at them. A ball of foxfire appeared at the tip of each tail, and she used them to bat away the bothersome pests, no more concerned than if they were flies. They were as persistent as those insects, too.

She waited until I landed before asking, "So, how do you plan on dealing with them?"

Timeus answered for me. "I'll subdue them and send them on to the afterlife. It'll be more difficult to calm the Kami, as the locals call them."

I asked what I thought was a most evident question. *And how do you subdue something you can't touch?*_One of the ghosts saw me and flew at me in hopes of possessing my body. Timeus, controlling me for the moment, punched it in the face, sending it tumbling back. _*Oh. How does that work?*

My past life grabbed the fallen ghost and punched it in the face a few more times until it stopped moving. *I can choose to interact with the spirits of the dead as I would with a physical object. They still have memories of being alive -- half the time they don't truly remember they're dead -- and a good thrashing works just as well at subduing them as it would with any uppity mortal.*

I tested it by taking control when the next ghost flew at me. Four swift jabs at throat, solar plexus, nose, and groin laid it out on the ground. I never could figure out -- then or since -- why a flying ghost would fall to the ground when struck in the balls.

The Kitsune wandered over and sniffed it. "This promises to be _very_entertaining, indeed. I didn't know you could do that."

Timeus smirked. "The power of Lord Hades is formidable, beyond that of Amaterasu or Inari."

Kodokuro huffed at me... or rather at my past life. "I may not know all of the gods around the world, shinigami, but I know the greater Olympian gods. I probably know more about the various faces they wear outside of the Mediterranean than you."

I mentally poked Timeus aside once more, hoping to forestall an argument. "Okay, let's get going. I'm running out of chi very quickly." Timeus slid even farther aside to be less of a drain and gave me the rite to call Hermes forth to collect the souls. It, fortunately, did not cost any chi as it was merely a request, or perhaps a beacon would be a more apt description.

A chill breeze blew over us as a gate to the Underworld appeared and Hermes stepped out. The gate itself was quite indistinct, but I got the impression of massive double doors made out of some form of metal -- copper or iron, perhaps -- and great ornamentation. They hardly gave off the ominous air most mortals expect from such a portal. Hermes appeared just as Timeus remembered: a Cheetah of impressive height, lean with wiry muscles, golden fur and ebony spots, and eyes the colour of the early morning sun. He wore a leather breastplate -- formed with great attention to the anatomy underneath as was the wont of the Ancient Greeks -- with the attached skirt hanging to mid-thigh and adorned with gleaming bronze caps at the end of each pointed strap of leather. His winged greaves fit snugly on his legs and a helm perched jauntily on his head.

The swiftest of the gods winked merrily at us and scooped up the ghosts. "Greetings, Timeus." He nodded toward the cave. "Looks like I'll be making a few trips."

I bowed deeply. "Yes, Honoured Hermes-sama. I apologise for any inconvenience."

The Cheetah grinned. One could see the great promise of mischief lurking in that smile and in his eyes. "A bit formal in this life, are you?" He looked up and aside. "Bye." He vanished so abruptly I could not see which direction he went in. The doors faded from sight.

The Kitsune blinked in surprise. "Does he always do that?"

I relayed Timeus' wry response. "Yes, he's incredibly busy. It's actually rare for him to remain in place long enough to see him."

"Then why didn't he just grab all the ghosts in the cave rather than make multiple trips?"

I cautiously padded toward said location; the promise of hostile Kami worried me far more than the ghosts now that I knew I could dispose of the restless dead with relative ease. "Because it's the responsibility of those living in the mortal realm to deal with problems caused by others living here. It's our responsibility to give last rites, too." I paused by the entrance.

The cave stretched high enough that even Oni could move about freely putting the ceiling at the same height one would expect in the great hall of a castle. The cavern split in a 'Y' almost immediately, from an Oni's perspective, but that still left a very wide area for us to walk across. Once more, I found myself feeling most small. A quick sniff of the air spoke of the violence that occurred within; it reeked of Oni blood. I would be most surprised to see any yet alive.

Kodokuro came to the same conclusion. "This is a disappointment. I hope there's something here to kill." She flicked her tails and two small mice appeared; I could tell they were illusions, but the way they disrupted my chi field as they moved seemed to indicate a measure of solidity. Someone who lacked awareness of their true nature could easily be harmed by such things. The mice ran off into the cave. The fox nodded to me. "After you."

I chuckled. "Deferring to your senior? I didn't think you'd care about such customs."

She dipped her head down and aside as if blushing but I could still see the malicious smile. "I do when it's potentially dangerous." I laughed quietly and led the way down the leftpaw 'hall.' My companion remained silent until the cavern curved to the right -- farther into the earth. "My scouts found a dead Oni down the other hall. It was crushed by a cave in and... drowned in the rubble. Some earth-based Kami must've made the rock flow like water into its lungs."

Unpleasant. At least it would prove to be so should the Kami seek us harm. "Do you know how many Oni lived here? I can't imagine the Oni priest could control too many on its own. If it was strong enough to bend many to its will, then it'd be strong enough that it'd resist the Demon's shackles."

Kodokuro looked around cautiously despite her apparent confidence. "Between eight and ten, usually. The priest lived here, but the rest seemed to rotate through and spent most of their time in the main camp. They wouldn't dare challenge it, no matter how outnumbered the priest was, because he had the Demon's favour."

"The Demon is that strong? How many are in the camp?"

My companion shivered. "She is. I haven't seen her outside her host, so I don't know what type of Demon she is, but you'll need every trick you've ever learned."

The wail of several ghosts stopped our conversation. A single spectre dove through the wall toward us, chased by a pack of less distinct forms , and carried a small Kami,. A bit of knowledge drifted into my mind, courtesy of Timeus. The longer a ghost spent outside of its body or the Underworld, the less it resembled its mortal self. It took a being of great will to maintain its sapience for any length of time, and the trials these prisoners faced would sap that will very swiftly.

I stepped around the fleeing beings to interpose myself between them and their foes. "Ko-san, protect them while I deal with these, if you please."

Kodokuro looked at me oddly. "Ko?" She still jumped over to stand by the ghost and Kami, and summoned twin flames to cap her tails. "Stay put, mortal spirit."

The ghost of a young Pig girl, perhaps no more than twelve years old, squealed in surprise but did crouch behind the small fox Fey as if trying to hide. The Kami, a mole-like being reminiscent of the Rock Kami I saw by my sweet lover's waterfall, tried to wriggle away but could not escape the firm grip of his... rescuer, perhaps.

The attacking mob found themselves swiftly dispatched and soon lay writhing in pain upon the floor. Only two made it past me, but they were knocked back into my reach by the flames of the Kitsune. All of these had lived as simple farmers at best, or else they had forgotten all they once knew of combat, for they had no sense of tactics nor fighting.

I turned to the Pig. Her spectral form did not show colour well, but I believed I could see hints of the light golden-brown bristles and the cream stripes a piglet of her age would still have. "You're safe now, child. Where are you from?"

Kodokuro flicked her tails dismissing the flames. "She's dead, Yoishi, I'd hardly call that safe."

The child looked at the mob and back to me. She 'stepped' away, though her movement was independent of her legs. "Wh-what are you?"

My Fey... 'friend' grinned toothily. "He's a shinigami, an agent of the Underworld here to rescue and send on the remnants of mortals. You lot are cluttering up the space reserved for the Kami."

The mogera in her arms blinked slowly at me and stop wriggling. "Ashitaka whispered... in his sleep. _'Shinigami,'_is... what he said. Kami... of the shrine... spoke of you... too. Their statues... destroyed. Temple... gone. All priests... dead. Shinigami did not... hear their cries. Minoko called for him... as her flesh... and then soul... was consumed."

Minoko. The small Flying Squirrel that had worn the clothes of a shrine maiden as she swept the courtyard when we arrived at the temple. The girl who fed me and gave me tea as I lay unable to move after summoning the ghosts of Kaoru-sama's ancestors; who spoke with such pride of the actions of the smallest Kami in combat. She was now worse than dead. As were all those who cared for the temple and shrine, and those who were at the temple on Kaoru-sama's orders to help repair it. I failed them. They pleaded for my aid, but I did nothing.

The Pig shrieked and curled up on the floor around the Kami. "Stop! Don't talk about that! They--" She choked on her sobs. "They ate..."

Even Kodokuro could not affect indifference to this news and the ghost's obvious pain. I knelt and drew the piglet into my arms. "Hush, child. I'll go to the temple soon and avenge them. But what of you? Your family? Your accent says you live in Kai province, but I haven't heard of any villages being attacked."

She released the Kami and threw her arms around me, sobbing. The Kami took the opportunity to flee to the safety of the rock floor and did not stop until he was lost from sight. His head poked back out just long enough to say, "Three days ago... she arrived." If it was that recent, then no, word would not have reached the Ohtori yet. I would wager she lived south of my lord's lands, in the i territory and near the north face of Ashitaka. The little Rock Kami ducked back through the stone floor and vanished.

I rubbed the ghost's back marvelling that such a thing could even be done. "What is your name?"

She choked out, "Umeko, Oji-san," around her sobs. I ensured I did not stiffen at the use of 'oji,' which meant 'uncle' and was a term used for middle-aged men you had not yet been introduced to.

Kodokuro looked a little bored with the proceedings and sniffed around. I kept aware of my surroundings but tried to calm the child further. "That's a pretty name, Umeko-chan. My name is Takahashi Yoishi." She started and appeared to just now notice the daisho.

Umeko-chan scrambled away from me and pressed her head to the floor. "My apologies, Takahashi-sama. I-I didn't mean to offend."

I hid my annoyance at her reaction knowing it was a very reasonable one. At least her fear had taken her mind off the trauma she endured, though I needed information that would force her to recall it once more. The name of her village would allow me to place it and give warning to the appropriate lords; I also needed to know if there were any survivors. "You didn't offend me, Umeko-chan, but I do need to ask a few questions." She gulped knowing what was likely to follow. I lifted her head up from the stone. "Please, it's very important. What was the name of your village?"

Fresh tears spilt forth. "I-It was Jurigi. The Otter girl, she... she led them. Oni. Twelve Oni. She killed everyone. She made--" She sobbed and it took a few seconds for her to control herself. "The dead _walk._She took all of us. I saw my body..." She shuddered and fell silent. The memories seemed so horrifying that she was beyond hysteria.

I could guess at what might have followed. All the corpses would have been brought to this stronghold Kodokuro mentioned, and all the ghosts captured and imprisoned somehow. With what the other Kami mentioned earlier, I could safely assume this Demon -- most likely, if not almost guaranteed to be, inhabiting Rei-dono's body -- either consumed some of the souls herself or gave them to the Oni priest and others like it for food. The remaining souls would become fuel for their foul magic.

I would not subject the child to further questions. I had what I needed. "Shush, Umeko-chan. You've been very brave and told me what I needed to know. Thank you. I'm going to call a friend and he's going to take you to a safe place." I do not think she heard me for she did not react at all. I switched to Ancient Greek. <<I call upon the Guide of Souls, Hermes. I ask that you lead the lost to their final rest; let them wander alone no more.>>

The gates to the Underworld opened again, and Hermes appeared before us. He waved his paw at the subdued ghosts and they streamed into his belt pouch. The Cheetah smiled kindly at the stunned Pig and gently draped his paw over her head. Umeko-chan's expression blanked for a moment before she smiled shyly at the god, and she took the soon-offered paw with her own. Hermes Poimandres, the shepherd of mortals, helped her rise, and then escorted her through the gates. The Cheetah called over his shoulder as the gates began to swing shut. "One more trip. The Shishi have the rest cornered in the 'treasure room.'"

I rose and bowed as the god vanished. Let this be done quickly; I had grave news that my Sweet Otter needed to hear as soon as possible. Kodokuro dipped her head toward the now-absent god, and trotted along the hallway. She called over her shoulder, "Let's be off, Shinigami, I grow bored with this. There's little satisfaction to be had from the remains of these sad mortals. I wanted to exact a drawn out vengeance on the Oni, but it wasn't to be."

I followed silently. The amount of suffering this Demon has caused already weighed heavily upon me, and knowledge that it would take _much_effort and preparation to even eliminate its Oni soldiers added yet more gravity to the situation. I did not even know what would be required to kill this monstrosity; if it were not for Kikyo-san the Mother Kabutomushi might have killed me.

The Kitsune slowed and began following behind me as we walked on. "The corridors meet up just around the next bend and continue deeper into the earth for a hundred metres to where my son was. The room looks to have ten or so mortal spirits and six crazed Kami. The guardians are keeping them contained but can't subdue them, from what my mice see."

True to her word, the two corridors met and turned to our left. We padded down the hall quietly and could soon see the back of one of the _Kara-Shishi._The lion-like guardian sat facing into the room as still as the statue it so often occupied. Beyond it swirled a swarm of spectres maddened beyond saving. Each time the ghost or Kami sought to get by the guardian and its seven kin, the air would shimmer and knock the ghost back. The guardians had erected some sort of barrier.

Kodokuro hung back a bit farther letting me approach the back of the Shishi alone. It spoke before I did, while I was yet a goodly distance away. "Shinigami. You failed to arrive. The temple has fallen. The shrine is destroyed. The caretakers consumed. We alone remain, but for not much longer."

One of the dragon-like guardians spoke from its place on one of the ordinal points -- the south-east one if I had not lost my sense of direction. It sat just within my field of vision. "You failed to hear. The cries of the Kami went far and wide. The wind carried our voices. The rivers bore our tears. A sacred site has fallen and the whole of Gaia weakens with its loss."

I bowed my head, shamed.

A Koma-Inu, the more dog-like counterpart to the lion, added, "You must kill the fallen Kami. Destroy them utterly lest the corruption they carry taint us all. Don't allow anything to rejoin Gaia. Do with the mortals as you wish; they carry too little Taint to Turn, but they may prove a threat to their living kin."

I slowly walked forward. I could not sense much of what lay beyond the barrier the guardians had made, but I could see the Kami within it looked... ill. The materials making them, be it vegetable or mineral, were cracked and discoloured. Sending these Kami back to Gaia would be like forcing diseased flesh into an open wound, the very thought of it caused Lung to stir with revulsion.

Timeus 'pushed' against Lung to keep the echo from rising up. *Pray to Lord Hades for protection. It'll keep the ghosts from possessing you, and they're too far gone to interact with you otherwise. You can focus on the Kami freely, that way. Study them to determine the most dangerous, take them by surprise, and act swiftly.*

I could not keep the wryness out of my 'voice.' *You're trying to teach a shinobi how to assassinate, priest? I've got this.* I did recite the prayer Timeus provided while I watched the Kami on the other side of the Shishi's barrier. I couldn't judge the relative strengths of the six, but my experience said the smaller Kami had less strength than the larger. The smaller ones also moved more slowly, as if the 'disease' affected them more strongly. Given that the Oni had been draining them to power its magic, it made sense.

I took an additional minute to watch their movements in order to time my first strikes. I saw my opportunity and leapt through the barrier. I flipped over the back of the largest corrupted Kami, striking it with a flame-enshrouded paw. My paw passed through the indistinct form, but it still combusted in a burst of Soul Fire. The flames caught a second Kami coming up behind it, incinerating it, too. I landed on my left hindpaw, stepped forward into a lunge to strike at the second largest, and then kicked upward in an overhead kick to hit a third Kami passing by. Four Kami down in less than two seconds, even if one was destroyed incidentally.

Now, the ghosts and last two Kami were aware of me and moved to attack. The maddened souls appeared to have no memories of their lives and sought only to possess me. They caused no more harm than wisps of fog brushing against my fur. I wish I could say their cries were no louder than fog, too, but their wails still touched the primal fears common to us all. It clawed at my sanity. Fortunately, my training in meditation provided great defence against mental attacks.

The Kami, separated from their homes by the Shishi, had nothing to attack me with other than their spectral forms. The closest flew at my head. I tipped my body sideways, allowing it to fly over me, and lashed out with my hindpaw at the other Kami. I briefly encased my hindpaw with Soul Fire, and a small ball of bluish flames flew over my leg, flickering out as the Kami died.

Left with one, I found myself at a bit of a loss. It would be a simple matter to destroy all of souls along with last Kami, but it was not my place to judge or destroy the souls of mortals. That did not mean I would not, if necessary. I danced about as I tried to isolate it, but the pestering ghosts refused to back away. Even when I managed to leap free, the Kami never allowed itself to kept apart.

I lashed out with punches and kicks in an attempt to knock out or disable the ghosts, but while I was able to move them, they did not react like they were alive. A punch to where their groin should be had no more effect than it would to a pillow. I say 'should be' as the souls had formless appendages for arms, trailing mist instead of legs, and a lump with a few depressions for a head -- no eyes or distinct mouth. I could not even discern what species any of the Furs had been.

This was a most unexpected dilemma. Still, if I could not knock the ghosts out to isolate the Kami, perhaps I could take the Kami away from the ghosts. I attempted to grab the Kami, a fish almost forty-five centimetres long, but I had great trouble getting a grip on it. Even after several attempts, I could hold it for no more than a second, certainly not long enough to achieve my goal.

Suddenly, ten balls of foxfire hurtled into the harassing ghosts. The force of the impact knocked them to the far side of the cave and pinned them to the barrier. The Kami whirled away from me in an attempt to rejoin its 'school', but it was not fast enough. I tagged it with a bit of Soul Fire, and the corrupted spirit vanished in a burst of spectral light.

Ko sat by the paws of one of the Shishi, her tails primly tucked around her. "While watching you flounder amused me for a few minutes, I began to get bored. I suppose I'm also indebted to you, and..." she sighed dramatically, "that, I guess, means I should help you out. Once in a while." The Kitsune jumped back behind the barrier as the ghosts worked their way free of her magic. "Your welcome. Now hurry up."

*Timeus? How do I subdue them so I can call Hermes?*

The priest took control of my body for a second. After a short prayer, the floor cracked open to reveal deep chasms that appeared to go right to the Underworld. The loud rattle of dozens of chains echoed from within, and magical bands lashed out with blinding speed to bind the spectres. I wished I could glare at my past life, and he knew it. Timeus sounded most smug. *I thought a shinobi didn't need any lessons in assassination.*

*I didn't realize I was such an ass in my past lives.*

*Was? You say that like something has changed. We still are, Yoishi.* I ignored that and called Hermes. I ignored Timeus' chuckles as he retreated, too.

The Guide appeared along with the gates to the Underworld. "Looks like you got this wrapped up. You're out of practice dealing with ghosts, Timeus." His eyes twinkled merrily. "Or, perhaps, you're too accustomed to making_ghosts to remember how you used to send them on." He held up a paw while the other opened his belt pouch; the ghosts flew out of their constraints and into the bag. "I know, you don't have all the memories of your past lives, and you feel you don't have the time to relearn everything. Just take this as a lesson that it can _save you time and energy if you ensure you can deal with most possibilities before leaping in."

I bowed my head. "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Hermes-sama."

He shook his head with a smile. "I don't wa--" He looked aside and vanished before he finished the word.

Ko blinked several times from her spot behind the barrier. "Even if I see Hermes a hundred times, I don't think I'll ever get used to his sudden departures."

The Shishi Kodokuro sat beside spoke, causing the Fey to leap away with bristled fur. "It is time for us to depart."

I really did not like that idea. "Can't you find other statues to inhabit, other places to guard?"

A Koma-Inu answered. "We are born in our statues, from the prayers of the faithful. While we aren't tied to them like a Kami is to its home, we can't live apart from them for long, either. We have no anchor in the realm of the mortals anymore." This was one of the first times I actually considered that Shishi were not like the other Kami, but it seemed most obvious in retrospect. Shishi did not inhabit natural objects; they were born from -- and lived in -- worked stone.

The dragon-like guardian spoke in a voice that sounded most distant. "We leave." He faded away with a faint sighing sound. The other Shishi followed suite.

The talkative Koma-Inu was the last to go. "Avenge our shrine, shinigam..." His voice faded to inaudibility before he finished.

Kodokuro sat down and licked at her left forepaw. "That was a first. I've never seen a Shishi die before."

"And I hope it's the last time I see it." I turned away and walked toward the entrance of the cave. "It's going to be a long walk, so I'd best get on with it."

Kodokuro trotted to catch up with me. "A long walk through an area heavily infested with Oni. While I'd love to watch you kill a few, our first meeting was very amusing by the way, you look very frail right now. I don't think you'd make it."

I did not slow or stop. "I'm not sleeping here."

Glancing down, I saw Kodokuro tip her head to one side and silently laugh. She saw me looking and stopped, draping one of her tails over her nose is mock-bashfulness. "Oh, I don't blame you for wanting to go snuggle up with your little Otter, even if I feel slighted by your adamant refusal to stay with me. I was merely suggesting you take a different route."

I stopped, too. "Look, Ko-san, I'm really too tired to banter with you. Please just speak plainly."

She emitted a most unladylike snort. "From what I've seen of you so far, I wouldn't think you'd know what 'speak plainly' meant." I had no counter to that; it was rather accurate. She sighed. "But, yes, you have used up most of your energy, and on my behalf at that, so I'll oblige you." The Kitsune sat up straight and spoke most patronizingly. "Now, you may not be aware, but I'm a Kitsune -- a Fey -- and I have magic. 'Magic' is the ability--" She must have seen something in my eyes she did not care to explore, for she suddenly changed tone and content. "Shapechanger. I'll carry you back. It'll be faster and easier on you."

"Thank you." We left the cave whereupon Kodokuro changed into the form of a great hawk. She carried me swiftly to the bottom of the hill bearing Kaoru-sama's castle. It felt like more than an afternoon had passed, but I was back. The thought buoyed my heart and lightened my step as I entered to introduce our new ally to my sweetest of Otters.

For the sake of brevity, I shall skip a great deal of the next few weeks. Kodokuro, calling herself 'Sachiko' which means 'joy,' introduced herself to Kaoru-sama and his advisors. Kaoru-sama allowed her to stay, though his advisors were not overly pleased. None faulted her for her actions, but they could not bring themselves to trust her, either. When she was in the castle, Kodokuro took the form of an elderly Otter woman, the same one she had first accosted us with, but she spent most of her time out in the wilderness.

I continued to train with the daisho and to meditate on them as Lung suggested. In the morning, I taught Sakura-dono, while Yuu-kun went to study with his tutor. In the afternoon, I spent time taking Yuu-kun around as I continued to care for the survivors of the Kabutomushi Demon attack. These examinations had taken on a more educational role as I now spent time explaining what it was I did, and have him actively assist as I watched. The lack of any sort of healer in the castle, other than me, may have cost many soldiers their lives that day, and it could very well cost more in the event of another attack.

On the diplomatic front, answers to the letters Kaoru-sama had sent to the neighbouring lords began to filter in. Most, including to the i, came with thanks of the warning, but naught else. The i spoke of the massacre at Jurigi and the need to keep all troops at home to bolster the defences at each village. Their daimyo recommended Kaoru-sama immediately send at least twenty samurai and fifty ashigaru -- all armed with spears and bows -- to each village to protect them. The messenger carrying the letter had passed through the village on his way here and was most distraught by what he had seen. Other letters came with substantive assistance. The Ohtori's feudal lord, the Daimyo Imagawa, sent eighty samurai and four hundred ashigaru; most of their available troops, as I suspected, went to their stronghold in Sunpu. They would be able to reach Ohtori Kan, this castle, in three days should we be besieged. Unfortunately, Oni did not believe in sieges, but preferred to bash through walls. They were rather good at it.

The letter from my lord, Daimyo Takeda Nobutsuna, came with troops as well. I did not expect this, to be honest, nor who rode with them. Priestess Kikyo and the samurai Renji rode at the front with one of the highly ranked samurai of my lord's guard. His name was Miyako Daisuke; the Miyako were a cadet branch of the Takeda and held the same relative standing as the Ohtori, though Daisuke had no chance of inheriting the Miyako lands. You may translate his rough positioning in the ranks as 'captain': still low enough to be given field work, but possessing experience, skill, and the favour of the higher ranks. Due to that favour and rank, I would be expected to defer to him should we meet. I held no illusions that he would not recognise me. If he personally did not, then his orders would include mention of me, my description, and my position.

As for the reinforcements, the various lords sent a total of two hundred fifty mounted samurai, and a thousand ashigaru. They came with some supplies, but only enough to feed themselves for another week. The logistical problems caused by this assistance would be great, and I was most pleased I would not be expected to assist in resolving the issue.

The issue I needed to resolve, that of the Demon, might have the key in the letter Kikyo-san bore. Unfortunately, most of the letter pertained to matters academic and not specific to this one Demon, not that I could expect such when no one knew what sort of Demon it was. Still, it helped. The priest in Kofu reminded me that all hells were places of imbalance, typically where a few elements dominated. The Demons inhabiting those hells reflected that imbalance and often were vulnerable to attacks of the opposing element. This Demon demonstrated it had powerful necromantic magic which almost always meant Dark aligned magic. Demons were also creatures of corruption and supernatural cleansing could disrupt their very essence. It gave me some ideas, but I would need more materials than I currently had available.

I shall break with this summary to discuss one extended scene in more detail. Two days after Miyako-san arrived with Takeda-sama's troops, I was informed that there would be a meeting in Kaoru-sama's large conference room with all the troop commanders. I, as the only one with any sort of knowledge on the Demon, would be expected to attend. Kodokuro, disliking the many samurai, had not been seen for three days. I did not tell anyone she remained nearby; she was actually skulking around the village making life extremely difficult for those bothering the villagers.

Thus, I found myself following Kaoru-sama, a mostly healed Tetsuo-san, and Akemi-san into the conference room. Kagura-chan and two other shinobi acted as serving girls. Around the large table sat six samurai, notably Miyako-san, a sleek Tsushima Cat, and Imagawa Eiji, a Sika Deer with a most proud set of antlers. In the corner, behind a screen, I could smell Sakura-dono and Yukiko-san; if she were discovered it would create a large problem for Kaoru-sama. To have a girl presume to act as a samurai or lord would greatly offend the visiting samurai.

Kaoru-sama sat on his cushion. I knelt behind his left shoulder and Tetsuo-san behind his right. Akemi-san glanced at me, but Kaoru-sama spoke before his guard could, "Sit at the table, Yoishi-sensei. You have been invited to offer your knowledge to all my guests."

"As you wish, Ohtori-dono." My use of his family name and appropriate honorific caused those who knew us to react with muted surprise. I sat at the far end of the table in the only open seat, and Akemi-san took my place at Kaoru-sama's shoulder.

Kaoru-sama gulped and looked around the table. "W-We need to discuss how we will deal with this Demon threat. Acting defensively will only allow it more time to solidify its hold on the Oni, and increase the number of lost villages. Fortifying each village is a mere stop-gap measure; as we increase the samurai guarding, the Demon need only increase the size of the raiding parties... or begin to make appearances itself as it did here. We cannot station an _army_at each village."

Miyako-san shrugged indifferently. He wore a green kimono with dark brown trim; I assumed he selected it to have the trim highlight the dark stripes on his face, and the green to compliment the gold of his eyes. He spoke with the same formal vocabulary that Kaoru-sama did. "Then leave the villages to care for themselves. The Imagawa gave this land to your ancestors to guard the trade route from Suruga Bay north to Kofu, and that is your duty. The villages, and villagers, are merely your payment for fulfilling your duty." Kaoru-sama looked horrified at the very idea of leaving farmers to the 'mercies' of the Oni and Demons.

Miyako-san's point was sound by the logic of the time: save the territory by sacrificing a few villages, and honouring one's duty regardless of the cost. That trade route was also vital for more than Daimyo Takeda's home city. To the west of Suruga Bay lay an impassable mountain range that ran northward well into Kai province; if Ashitaka fell to the Demons, anything going north would require a very substantial detour, and the roads along the northern end of Suruga Bay would also be cut off. The very purpose of the Ohtori, the i, and two other lords were to keep the roads open around the Oni-infested mountain.

Fortunately, Miyako-san continued, "But, my lord, I agree. The Demon needs to be dealt with and quickly. The content of your letter caused great concern to Daimyo Takeda, and his conversation with Priestess Kikyo about the Kabutomushi Demons only reinforced his desire to put an end to this threat."

Imagawa-san nodded; the soft appearance of his eyes did little to hide the hardness of the soul behind them. "The villages are your concern, Daimyo Ohtori, and our troops are not here for them. We are here to ensure the strongholds stand and the Demon dies." The other representatives nodded agreement.

Poor Kaoru-sama stammered in shock, unable to believe the callousness of the samurai. I inserted myself into the conversation to draw attention away from my Sweet One. "Then we are agreed. Daimyo Ohtori may use some of his troops to reinforce his villages and the strategic strongholds. At the very least, it will help contain the Oni and give us word if the Demon seeks to take an army out while we advance on it. His main troops, bolstered by your reinforcements, can advance on its base, once we find it and gather some intelligence on it."

Imagawa-san looked at me with near contempt. "And who are you, Dog? Daimyo Ohtori referred to you as 'sensei', but you wear the daisho. I can believe he raised a Dog to the samurai class -- his father did," this was coupled with a dark glance at Akemi-san, "-- but you speak as one from my hometown. Daimyo Imagawa has not lowered his standards."

Kaoru-sama bristled fiercely, well, as fiercely as one so adorable as he might, but it was Miyako-san that spoke first, in casual phrasing, "Oh, come now, Eiji-san. You read the letter, and I bet you've heard the tales, too. Takahashi Yoishi-sensei is a travelling artist and a student of the priests. He's even rumoured to have the blessing of the Kami."

Imagawa-san arched an eyebrow. He did not switch out of the formal vocabulary. "I have heard rumours,_yes, including one about _your lord. I am not surprised you defend the Dog, considering Daimyo Takeda also so elevated a family of his servants." A few of the other samurai around the table murmured to each other. It appeared they had not heard this very true rumour before. Akemi-san's eyes narrowed when he met my gaze.

I sighed. "Imagawa-san, if you're accusing me of working for Daimyo Takeda, then let me assure you I'm not one of his samurai. I don't really know why it's relevant, but there you go. Ohtori-dono gave me my daisho after I helped save him from some traitors and two Oni. Killing Oni is worth a pair of swords, yes? And to get back on track, killing Oni is what we're supposed to be talking about."

Miyako-san muttered loud enough to be heard, "I don't know why working for my lord is worth accusing someone over, anyway."

Imagawa-san was not deterred. "Because if Takeda has a samurai that feels it is his right to stand at the shoulder of one of my lord's daimyo, then it raises questions about that daimyo's loyalties."

Miyako-san sneered at his rival. "Then let's talk about the i, shall we? I've heard about this marriage your lord is orchestrating with one of _my_lord's daimyo. "

Kaoru-sama slammed his paw on the table; I could see the faint sheen of tears in his eyes. "Demons! We are here to talk about Demons! If you wish to discuss anything else,_then you may return to your daimyo now, and explain why your flapping tongues have caused you to fail in your mission!" _That was a reprimand bordering on insult. It, in no uncertain terms, told them to shut up, get back to the business on paw, or he would send them home -- with a loss of honour -- to face the wrath of their lords. Such a failure would reflect very poorly on said lord. The insulting part was saying they 'flapped their tongues' like a common servant does dissecting the latest gossip -- that they were acting far beneath their station.

Both Imagawa and Miyako stood to bow deeply. They glanced at each other and the more highly ranked Imagawa spoke for them, "We apologise, Daimyo Ohtori. We will not deviate again."

Kaoru-sama sat and motioned for Kagura-chan to pour him some rice wine. The other shinobi-servants began pouring for the samurai.

Only water was offered to me, something which raised a few confused eyebrows around the table, but I ignored them. "I assume, Daimyo Ohtori, that _I_will begin the scouting? I plan on going to the temple to begin with, since I promised to slay all the Oni there anyway, and start asking around."

My little Otter's eyes grew large as he asked hopefully, "Do... Do you think my father could tell you? I am certain he would wish to help. Perhaps... he might show up at the castle, with Mother even?"

Miyako-san cleared his throat, shifting with great unease, despite the training he most certainly received to combat such rude behaviour. "Your father is... dead, Ohtori-dono. He cannot visit or answer questions." His voice dropped to a faint whisper inaudible to all but me. "I pray ghosts don't visit." It was a fear I saw mirrored around the table. Even some of the serving-shinobi who must have heard the tale of my last trip to the shrine showed signs of it.

I shook my head. "If the shrine is still there and uncorrupted, perhaps, but it's not an easy task without the body of the one I'm asking for or the presence of a descendant. There are lots of souls in the Underworld, many of whom share the same name, so it takes something more to contact the proper one." He looked a bit dejected, so I added, "Your ancestors were quite willing to help the last time I called them. They'd probably be quite willing to do so again, in a similar situation."

Six cups of wine drained as one and rose for refills. Six cups trembled as they waited. Six cups emptied as fast as the servers poured. And six cups thunked loudly on the table after three rounds of liquid courage reinforced the shaken souls of their holders.

Imagawa-san held his cup fast in both paws. "I beseech you, Takahashi-sama," the honorific was not lost on anyone, "do not return with the honoured dead. Naught but trouble arises when the dead walk amongst the living."

Kaoru-sama bristled once more. "My ancestors fought valiantly alongside my living samurai and the kami to defend the temple! I would be honoured to host them in this time of trouble!"

I raised my paw. "No, Ohtori-dono, Imagawa-san is right. The dead have no place in the land of the living; their time is done. It's fine for them to return when called for a short period -- short as in minutes -- when the need is dire, but no more. Even if I could bring them here, I wouldn't."

All those around the table sagged, most in relief, but Kaoru-sama in defeat. One of the other samurai muttered a grateful prayer to Inari, the goddess of rice and fertility. Tetsuo-san whispered into Kaoru-sama's ear, "Will the artist go by himself? It'll be dangerous, and we _need_any information he finds. I think we should send a couple of our best scouts with him."

The thought of losing me coming on top of his previous painful thoughts -- the marriage and not being able to see his parents once more -- caused Kaoru-sama to look even more distraught. Such an open display of emotion would be deemed shameful by the samurai, but it would not do for me to be seen as taking over this meeting -- that would cost Kaoru-sama even more face. Fortunately, I heard a bit of commotion outside the room start up shortly after Tetsuo-san began talking to Kaoru-sama.

"Obaa-san," The guard said to, presumably, an old woman, "you may be a guest of our lord, but he's in the middle of a meeting. I can't let you in."

Kodokuro sweetly responded, "I know he's in a meeting, and that's why I want in. Now, open this door like a good child."

The guard sounded far less respectful to this 'grandmother.' "You weren't invited--"

At this point, Tetsuo-san finished his whispered advice and the samurai in the room appeared to have recovered some. I raised my voice to address the guard outside, "One moment, guardsman, Ohtori-dono may wish to speak with her." I turned my head back to look at my Sweet One. "It's Sachiko. She knows more about this Demon, its actions, and its fortifications than anyone. She probably knows more about the mountain itself, too." All except her name was stated for the benefit of our visitors, who, as I already mentioned, would not appreciate a woman's presence in a war council. I was not about to tell them she was a Kitsune; that was for Kodokuro to disclose if she chose.

Kaoru-sama nodded. Akemi-san called out, "Enter!" and the door immediately opened. The 'elderly' Otter lady stood there in a full silk kimono, black with ornate red embroidery, and adorned with beautiful silver and jade jewellery.

I rose to bow rather deeply to her. "Sachiko-sama." I gestured to my seat for her to take. The other samurai, noting my deference despite my seeming powers, bounced up and also bowed to her.

Kodokuro flipped open a fan in front of her face as if bashful, but in truth to hide a smile from all but me; I knew she would enjoy how I had caused the samurai to act so politely to her. I held my paw out for her to hold onto for balance as she knelt on the cushion beside the low table. One of the servants fetched a cushion for me, while the other poured some wine for Sachiko. I had found that Kitsune could be more than fond of rice wine, though not to the same degree that the other tricksters, the Tanuki, were rumoured to.

Kaoru-sama nodded to her. "Sachiko-sama," he used this title as a mark of respect, not to infer she held a higher rank than he did, "we are discussing how to go about removing Ashitaka of its Demon. Yoishi-sensei has offered to begin gathering information as he clears the temple of its Oni guests, but I would feel better if he was accompanied by someone of your calibre."

Several shocked coughs echoed around the table. Kodokuro's eyes glittered in malicious delight. "You would make an old woman travel to such a dangerous place, my lord?"

Kaoru-sama looked at her in confusion while the samurai glared at him in outrage. "B-But..."

She snapped her fan shut with a loud click before tucking it away in her sleeve. "Oh, shush, idiot child. I'm just teasing you. Of course I'll go; I've wanted to kill those bastards for a while." Six shocked samurai whipped about to stare at her, now. To speak to a lord -- in his _own castle --_in such a manner... it was beyond comprehension. She pulled a long, delicate, and highly ornate pipe from her sash. She glanced at the bowl and a faint wisp of smoke rose up. I could smell a familiar herbal scent: cannabis. The drug had long been used and cultivated in mainland Asia, though it was still relatively unknown in Japan. "Now, young Ohtori, who are these samurai?"

'These samurai' were most certainly lost. Too many unexpected events and bits of knowledge had sprung upon them that were outside their usual spheres of experience, and it left them unable to process new information or even respond to what had already occurred.

Kaoru-sama dipped his head in apology. He quickly introduced those around the table, wrapping up with, "And, gentlemen, this is Sachiko, a former and unwilling ally of the Demon of Ashitaka. Yoishi-sensei released her from her duress, and she now is working with us to exact revenge against our mutual foe." This did not say what she was, but it strongly inferred she was _not_a Fur. That, though unusual, was comprehensible to the samurai.

Kodokuro blew a cloud of smoke down the table and tossed back her small cup of wine. She held the half-metre long pipe in one delicate paw and leant forward to rest her elbow on the table. "Charmed, I'm sure. You mortals have short lives, so let's skip this pointless yammering and get to the good stuff. Yoishi and I go scout out the temple, kill some Oni, and... what? What are you lot going to do other than wander around making a nuisance of yourselves?"

The samurai looked baffled, but Imagawa-san frowned a touch at the obvious insult. Kaoru-sama merely tipped his head aside in confusion. "We are meeting to decide what is to be done and when, Sachiko-sama. The soldiers cannot march if they know not where_to march or against _what."

The Kitsune drew another long breath from her pipe. "Lovely. So once again, the oh-so-noble samurai sit on their asses while others risk their lives, and call it 'honour.' Hah! I don't know how Inari can support this nation." The thick cloud of smoke floating about her shaped itself into a battle scene. "Everywhere samurai gather it seems common mortals suffer." The scene shifted to the scene of a village being ransacked by mounted warriors, and sparks rose from her pipe to illuminate the fires destroying the houses.

She was pushing the tolerance of the samurai, including Tetsuo-san. Rudeness, they understood, and they knew of only one way to deal with it: the sword. Yet, most did not know what she was, her capabilities, or how she fit in their class system. Was she to be held in high enough esteem that she was exempt from the rules of etiquette, or low enough to be dealt with summarily? Was she on par with them, thus requiring a challenge be issued, and if so, how?

Rather than give them time to decide, I stepped in. "Sachiko, please stop tormenting them so much. They're allies, for now. You know the rules." I knew she would know I referred to the unofficial agreement surrounding the arrival of Demons: put everything aside in order to deal with it. I just wondered where all the other Fey were; they must be aware a great threat dwelt nearby.

Miyako-san regarded me shrewdly. His tone still held great wariness, but moving back to more familiar ground was allowing him to regain his composure. "Allies? Rules? You speak to her with great familiarity, Takahashi-sensei. If she is indeed an ally, perhaps you could enlighten us as to whom we're allied with. Daimyo Takeda doesn't enter into an alliance with someone he knows nothing about."

Kodokuro sat back, waved her paw over the bowl of the pipe, and tucked it away in her sash. "I'm not your ally, at least not in such grandiose terms. There are ancient agreements, mortal, going back millennia that say we're to work together to slay a Demon whenever it appears. All feuds and conflict of any sort must cease, and even blood enemies must find a way to trust each other enough to fight our mutual foe. Enemy of my enemy and all that."

Imagawa-san turned back to the table; he had just requested that the shinobi-servant fetch some snacks. "I have never heard of this 'ancient agreement', Sachiko, if that is indeed your name." That was quite an insult. He both left off any honorific from her name and accused her of deceit. "Why should we trust you after you made it abundantly clear you hold us in disdain?"

Kodokuro bared her teeth in a semblance of a grin. "Because I want this Demon dead even more than you do. It slew my mate, held my kit hostage, and I'm now bound to Yoishi here until I repay my debt. As for the agreement, I know you know nothing about it. That's why mortals aren't to be trusted; you forget debts, agreements, and alliances after a measly few centuries. This very castle is built on land your ancestor, noble Imagawa, promised to leave untouched for my family." She shifted to her natural form and brushed her left tail over the Otter skull she always wore. The samurai recoiled in shock. "The traitor felt the displeasure of my grandmother keenly, but she decided not visit her wrath on those around him. I disagree with her decision, but I won't oppose it. However, this Demon's presence is a direct result of that treachery. If my family still dwelt in this region, it wouldn't have been able to arrive unnoticed, and it would've been slain by Grandmother quickly. She's decided that if mortals want her land so much, they should fight for it; if you can't hold it, she'll step back in to reclaim it."

That explained much. I had mentioned that Kitsune are infamous for holding grudges, and it appeared Kodokuro's grandmother was no exception. She would even go so far as to violate the ancient agreement in order to make her point, though I doubt she would place Ashitaka itself in too much jeopardy.

I did need to know one thing however. "How much time do we have before your grandmother intervenes?"

Kodokuro laughed. "Ashitaka weakens, and Grandmother doesn't want him to wake. She'll Hunt shortly after you leave; once you do, she believes the mortals have virtually no chance of defeating the Demon."

I was quite surprised to find Grandmother could delay or call upon the Great Hunt. This 'grandmother' must not be the same as the six-tails I had met earlier. "Is the grandmother you refer to the same one I have met?"

A ball of rice wine drifted out of one of the pitchers and floated toward Kodokuro. The fox's smile became most sinister. "No, this one is that one's grandmother, too, and she's far less forgiving. The mortals made their choice and will live _-- or die --_by it." She snapped up the pale orb.

'Grandmother' may very well be a full nine-tailed Kitsune. The stories I heard placed them on par with the greater Kami, though not as powerful as the greatest like Amaterasu. Perhaps an equal to Ashitaka or Fuji -- Volcano Kami.

Miyako-san took a bowl of edamame from the server. "Since you're obviously hostile towards us, Kitsune, why shouldn't we deal with you now, and go on to fight this Demon on our own?"

I answered before Kodokuro could. "You can't. She's indebted to me, which means she's under my protection." I turned to her. "Which also means your behaviour reflects on me."

Miyako-san understandably did not like my answer. I presumed to tell him what he could and could not do? I was to defer to him, and not talk back or dictate his actions. "You tread dangerous ground, ronin." A ronin was a lordless samurai and marked the lowest status one could have and yet still be a member of the samurai class. It was not an accurate title, and he knew it, but he played along to our perceived relationship.

I bowed while remaining seated, and switched to a formal phrasing. "I apologise, Miyako-san, but my honour cannot allow one under my protection to come to harm. If your honour was impinged, I will accept the consequences." 'Consequences' typically being a duel.

Kodokuro growled and quietly spoke. "My debt increases, and this time it's one of my own making."

At the same time she said that, Kaoru-sama nearly leapt out of his fur. "What!?" Tetsuo-san went so far as to place his hand upon Kaoru-sama's shoulder. My Otter shrugged it off. "No, I cannot allow either of you to be harmed! I require your services and injuries will prevent you from carrying out your duties."

Miyako-san accepted that; a lord could so interfere if needed. He still regarded me closely for nearly a full minute as he weighed options in his mind. "Very well. I will accept your apology, _this time,_Takahashi-san." Imagawa-san also seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as did two of the other samurai.

The remaining two did not, and one of them said so, with a sneer no less. "What is this, Miyako-san? Has his overblown reputation made you sheath your blade?" This was a double entendre of an insult; it accused him of backing down from a fight, and that his dick had become Dog-like -- that he was now 'lesser.' Akemi-san's hackles rose, but he gave no other sign he heard the slight on our kind.

Miyako-san turned to the vocal samurai -- Ihara-san, a middle-aged Moon Bear, and an apparent veteran of several battles -- with a bland reply, "Daimyo Ohtori is right, Takahashi-san has an important task to set out on first thing in the morning. His slight was also minor enough for me to overlook considering it originated from a female Kitsune."

Ihara-san faced me, and I felt his chi brush mine as he sought to gauge my strength. I focused on stilling the flow of chi within me so as to present him a falsehood. His expression showed he bought my deception and thought me a poor chi-adept, if one at all. "I don't forgive insults so easily, Takahashi-kun." I did not like being referred to as a child anymore then than I do now.

My reading of his chi told me he was of moderate strength in spirit and body, with some little training in the use of his chi, and from what I had observed of him earlier, a very competent swordsman. I would gain valuable experience fighting as a samurai by duelling him. "Then we will face each other with bokken as soon as this meeting is completed." Bokken were wooden swords with similar weight and shape as katana. They were safer than katana, but could still cause some injury. Shinai would be the best choice to mitigate injuries, but I rather liked the idea of causing pain to one whose honour was so fragile, and whose tongue was so quick to insult in turn.

Ihara-san bared his teeth. "My honour demands more than playing with such toys."

Tetsuo-san broke from his role as guard enough to gravely intone, "Then your honour will remain wanting. Daimyo Ohtori was clear in his wishes, and _I_will ensure they are carried out."

Ihara-san appeared to know of Tetsuo-san's skill and immediately backed down. I was left wondering about the Macaque's history; he must have quite the reputation. Ihara-san did add, "As a guest, I must honour the daimyo's wishes, of course." He shot me a fierce look. "But that doesn't mean I can't give you the thrashing you deserve."

I nodded to the Bear. "I understand. I will fight as best I can in your style, but please note that I have not trained as a samurai. I learnt how to fight under several teachers, including Buddhist priests, and I am most comfortable fighting unarmed."

His eyes narrowed. "You're already offering excuses for your loss?"

"No, I am offering fair warning that my style will be unorthodox. I expect to, at worst, offer you a challenge."

I noted Imagawa-san arched an eyebrow at Tetsuo-san, who responded with a fierce flash of his fangs. The bet had been placed, and Tetsuo-san expected me to win. Akemi-san subtly tipped his nose toward me, while Miyako-san motioned toward Ihara-san. A bit more of the silent dialogue went on, and it was settled: the four would each wager a koku -- roughly the amount of rice a man would eat in a year, and the basis of a samurai's wages. Tetsuo-san likely earned 400 koku a year.

Ihara-san did not believe me; his expression made that most evident to the point of dire insult. "If you haven't learnt to fight as a samurai, and find your paws a suitable weapon -- as if you really were barely better than a feral -- then you won't be a challenge."

Kaoru-sama sounded most wroth when he spoke. "If I may interrupt?" Silence descended on the room. He fixed Ihara-san with an almost stern glare, though his whiskers twitched with visible nerves. "Then after you have fought your duel with Yoishi-sensei, why not have a second bout, with him unarmed and you with a bokken? He may use all his skills, while you may use yours. I have noted that samurai like to gamble, including those supposedly guarding my person, so let me participate. I wager 100 koku that you will not so much as touch him, let alone strike a solid blow."

The Moon Bear wavered, with his eyes darting back and forth between my Otter and my self. "I-I would accept that wager, Daimyo Ohtori, but... that is a third of my yearly stipend. I do not have those funds left after paying my retainers." Typically, a samurai would own some bits of land and would have retainers care for it; in most cases 65% of a samurai's stipend would go to such expenses. Even Tetsuo-san would likely have land cared for by retainers, while earning extra due to his duties as bodyguard and advisor.

"Oh? You would refuse me after entering my home and insulting my guests? My samurai? Do not forget that Masashi-san is also a Dog, his family elevated to the samurai class by my father, and I selected him to be one of my personal guard. I gave Yoishi-sensei his daisho, chose him to be my healer until a permanent one could be found, and placed the fate of my lands -- and my neighbours -- in his paws by entrusting him with the primary role in removing this Demon threat. Do you think me so naïve that I would not realise that the insults directed at them would also reflect upon me? Do you believe me -- a lord -- to be barely better than a feral?"

Poor Ihara-san was at a loss. He could not dispute what Kaoru-sama said for it was quite true, but the sum stated was exorbitant for all but a daimyo. It was a trap most shrewd, and one requiring knowledge of the samurai rules of etiquette I did not think Kaoru-sama had. This from the little Otter who balked at giving a traitor a clean death, but instead wished for me to save his life if only to be forced to execute him later.

Ihara-san steeled himself. "You have placed an interesting wager before me. I accept. I can touch Takahashi-kun with a bokken before he forces me to submit with no other weapons than his paws."

I cut in, "Unarmed. The terms were you with a bokken while I'm unarmed. I can strike you with any part of my body and use any technique I know."

I was merely waved off. "Yes, as you say. I see no difference, but we have enough witnesses here to ensure the duels are conducted honourably."

Kaoru-sama stood. "Then we will end the meeting and reconvene in the training courtyard in five minutes. Imagawa-san, you will officiate. Leave." As we all rose to depart, Kaoru-sama added, "Yoishi-sensei, a word." I nodded and waited for the room to empty. As soon as it did, minus Tetsuo-san and Akemi-san, Kaoru-sama grabbed onto my kimono and pulled me close. I wrapped him within my arms, feeling his body shivering violently. "Yoishi? Why... why must they speak so? They speak with little regard for others, for those farming our lands, for those they are to protect, for others who bear the same swords they do. For those whose differences may be so trifling; it is not as if you or Akemi-san chose to have a sheath and did so out of spite. I do not -- I _cannot_understand it."

I rubbed his back with one of my paws. "I'm glad, Sweet One, I'm very_glad you can't. That way of thinking is part of this world; it pervades it from those deemed beneath all other classes, up to the highest levels in every nation I know of. Life holds little meaning and less value. Only in some of the temples have I found empathy for others to be more common, but even then it isn't in all people or all temples. You don't belong, Daimyo Ohtori-dono _or Kaoru-kun, and for that I've found you to be an extremely rare treasure." I leant back a touch so I could raise his chin from my shoulder and look into his eyes. The eyes I would soon be unable to peer in ever again. My vision blurred for a moment, and I quickly shut my own as I kissed him hoping he did not see my tears rise. I released his mouth shortly and merely held him close. To distract us both, I raised my voice a touch. "So, oh daring student of mine, what did you think of the visiting samurai?"

Kaoru-sama started within my embrace, and Akemi-san looked about the room. Tetsuo-san merely stepped over to the screen Sakura-dono hid behind and slid it aside. Sakura-dono did not look even the least bit surprised or shamed; she merely rose to her hindpaws and tipped her head to her lord and brother. "At least I do not have to worry about missing some of the duels."

"Sakura! What is the meaning of this?!"

She waved at Kaoru-sama dismissively. "Oh, shush, I wanted to hear what was going to happen. I agree that Yoishi-sensei should not go alone, and I also agree that allowing any sort of dangerous duel was too great a risk. Yoishi-sensei is too valuable to jeopardise for such a stupid reason, and if the visiting leaders were harmed by a duel with him, the neighbouring lords might take offence." The smaller Otter smiled up at her brother. "I was most impressed by your courage and lordliness at several points, Nii-sama," which was a respectful way to address him as 'older brother,' "and found myself astounded by the insight you showed in placing that wager. Though, truly, the masterstroke was threatening to send Miyako-san and Imagawa-san home if they did not stop arguing."

The praise, which appeared to be quite rare, took my Sweet One greatly aback. He found himself unable to scold her, which I am sure he intended to, and merely released me so he might twist the belt of his kimono in his paws as he stared at the floor.

I gently scritched around one of Kaoru-sama's small ears. "Kaoru-sama, I need to get to the courtyard." He leant into my paw for a moment before nodding. I turned and walked away feeling his gaze follow me out.

In the courtyard, I saw it contained a great many samurai around the periphery, with those of greatest rank to the fore. The walls were also adorned with them, and any perches that could hold a person held _someone,_though mostly ashigaru or servants. Yet more people were attempting to find a place to watch. Word had travelled quickly. I trotted through the open corridor in the crowd to stand at one end of the area left clear; I stopped upon the patch worn by Sergeant Kaito's hindpaws. I ignored the crowd and knelt, hindpaws behind me and paws on my knees, to wait.

Behind and above me, through the windows of the barracks, I heard the students note my position. "He's calling on the ghost of the sergeant to help!"

"He can't, idiot, the sergeant isn't dead!"

"That's just a rumour, idiot-idiot. If the shinigami is calling on him, it means he is dead."

"He's probably calling on all of the old instructors, not Kaito."

"Oooohh... Cool." This paraphrased conversation was repeated many times around me, along with wildly varying reasons for the duel.

Kodokuro, once again in her guise as an elderly Otter woman, knelt in front of me. I kept my eyes closed, knowing she knew I was aware of her. "How can I repay this addition to my debt?"

I expected this question, and did not have an answer. "I don't know, Sa-san, I'll come up with something. I actually think this may work out to my benefit, anyway. I need to practice using a katana, and I doubt many in the castle would be willing to entertain me, so this is a fine time to see other styles of swordplay. Just don't interfere, please. You can play with Ihara later."

I sensed Kodokuro's amusement and felt a twinge of worry on Ihara-san's behalf. She rose with the coinciding hush of the crowd. Kaoru-sama moved across the open space to stand at the front of the crowd. Behind him were Akemi-san and Hamataro-san, beside him were his siblings and the most senior of his samurai. Tetsuo-san stopped in the middle of the open space and motioned for two bokken. Imagawa-san walked up to stand facing him while a student samurai brought out the swords. Testuo-san examined the bokken, nodded, and passed them over to Imagawa-san with a short bow. The Sika examined them himself before passing them on to two samurai to deliver to us. Normally, the two samurai delivering the weapons would be chosen by us, the ones duelling, but in the interest of time, Renji-san was to deliver my weapon and one of Ihara-san's samurai did so for him.

The Pika knelt before me and raised the bokken. "Takahashi-sama." I placed my paws out level with his own and slightly farther apart. He lowered his paws between mine so the blade ended up resting on my pads. He dipped his head. I ran my paw over the wood to confirm it was to my satisfaction. Renji-san rose, bowed to me, then to Imagawa-san and Tetsuo-san, and moved to the edge of the square. I set the bokken on the stone before me.

Ihara-san's second also indicated the bokken was satisfactory. Ihara-san stood in a relaxed posture, blade held loosely in one large paw with the tip resting against the stone. "I'm ready, Takahashi-kun. You may want to stand, if you aren't surrendering already."

I did not so much as twitch. "Isn't it customary to start kneeling, so we can take each other's measure?" It was only customary within iaijutsu duels, and therefore something done by chi-adepts. There was a secondary reason for my choice to remain kneeling, however. By starting in a more vulnerable position, I gained more respect from the other samurai, and he would lose it unless he, too, knelt. So it would go when we began, the one to 'twitch' first and reach for his blade would lose some small honour -- easily regained by striking swiftly. A formal public duel began well before the first clash of blades.

Imagawa-san ostensibly ignored us and spoke to Tetsuo-san. "I expect this duel to be very fluid, making it difficult to keep a clear view of the action. It would honour me if you acted as my second."

Tetsuo-san bowed, formally announcing, "I accept, and concur." The Macaque lowered his voice to a more private volume. "I have seen Takahashi-sensei fight on multiple occasions; he surprised me with his speed."

Ihara-san reached his decision and knelt seven paces away from me. Within five would indicate he felt he was faster than me -- which was obviously untrue -- beyond ten would say the opposite and that he feared he would be unable to rise before I reached him. If I were in his position, I would have stayed back another pace or two to ensure I was able to ready myself after standing, but he likely had practiced the motions rigorously. "I thought you knew little of samurai duels."

"I said I hadn't trained as a samurai, not that I never saw any duels or knew nothing about them. However, watching is very different from participating."

I could feel the hostility in his chi as he stared at me; a daimyo's commands or not, he had murderous intent. Whether he acted on such feelings was another matter. "It's very different, Dog, and I have a lot of practice." Those who could hear him twitched in surprise. This was the second deliberate insult he made.

I laughed openly, angering him further. "I suspected as much. You seem to have a very fragile sense of honour." Some in the crowd sharply inhaled at my counter insults: laughing at him, and offering a direct insult to his honour. Ihara-san growled and reached for his bokken.

Imagawa-san spoke loudly for all to hear, "Daimyo, noble Ohtori, samurai resident and visiting--" Ihara-san settled back into place, though his paws kept twitching, "-- we witness the first of two duels of honour between Ihara Kosuke and Takahashi Yoishi. It will be conducted with bokken and the arts of the samurai. As the insulted party, Ihara-san, what are the terms?"

Ihara-san did not take his eyes off of me; I felt his chi pressing against mine and worked at maintaining a deceptively low profile. "None. We fight until one of us can't anymore."

I saw an almost disdainful expression flicker across Imagawa-san's face. "Daimyo Ohtori has forbidden any harm from occurring. There is also a second duel to occur. Do you wish to avoid facing Takahashi-san's full skills?" A quick glance at the other samurai who had been in the meeting showed that was the same conclusion they had reached as well. Imagawa-san addressed the crowd once more. "They will duel according to the rules of the Imagawa Shinshin Ryu style. Each strike deemed solid by the judges will count as one point. Strikes to the head and below the knee are forbidden. A blow near the heart counts as two. The first to reach ten points wins." Imagawa-san glanced at me. "Use of fist and hindpaw are permitted, but grant no points. Holds and throws are forbidden." The Sika Deer raised his left paw. "A point for Takahashi-san is signified thusly," he lowered it and raised his right, "and this for Ihara-san."

I slowly inhaled and held the breath to control the adrenaline coursing through my body. On the exhale I consciously relaxed my muscles as they sought to tense in preparation of combat. My chi responded to my command and remained languidly flowing despite my subconscious' attempts to fight or flee. This was not yet time for it to act.

The paw dropped signalling the start of the combat and Imagawa-san stepped back. My chi roared to life coursing through my body and lancing forth along the spiritual bridge established between Ihara-san and me. I caught his burst of chi close to him and we locked 'horns' in silent battle.

Our minds created a replica of the courtyard we knelt in, with the non-participants showing as indistinct shadows. The Bear grabbed his bokken and leapt to his hindpaws with a roar. Grabbing the wooden blade with his left paw, he pulled away from the hilt to draw out a metal katana from what was now a sheath. He tossed the sheath away; it faded into oblivion as soon as he took his conscious mind off of it.

I affected surprise and fear, though the surprise took little acting. Altering 'reality' in such a major way took some training. I did not fear the blade regardless of form as the only damage one could take here was what you _allowed_to occur. Your own subconscious was the true foe in this battle.

Ihara-san drew close, so I rolled forward, scooping up my bokken as I went. I rose to one knee as the Bear swung down with a two-pawwed chop. Such a weighty swing would spell trouble for me in a physical duel, but I merely blocked it with a casual bat of the bokken. I did not allow my subconscious to add any force to his swing, and merely accepted it as a light blow. I rolled beyond him before he could swing again, swatting at his rump as I rose. He roared fiercely, whirling to strike me down for that insolence.

Now was the time to learn rather than taunt, so I did not use any more meditative tricks to avoid his attacks. I sought to approximate my own speed and strength, though a bit slower and weaker to prevent him from properly gauging my abilities, and began to study him.

As expected, his first swing easily broke through my guard; I could not hold my bokken with enough strength to directly block his attacks. He struck me on the upper bicep, and appeared surprised when I showed no sign of wounds. I moved to counter-attack, but he easily flicked his katana around in a tight loop to catch my stick. We rapidly exchanged a series of strikes, none of which landed, before he got through my guard again. Three more blows landed on my upper body requiring my conscious attention in order to prevent my subconscious from registering them. Each time it made it easier for him to break through again.

I deviated from my knowledge of the katana and took on Song Li's knowledge of the baton. I held the stick in my right paw and braced the upper portion, as needed, with my left. I fared better this way-- I could at least block properly-- but his strength and reach still prevented me from taking control of the duel. I was not overly concerned as long as I did not get hit too often; my intent was to learn, after all.

After another minute, I felt the beginnings of fatigue. I could not analyse his tactics properly in the midst of combat, and as it was going, I would lose the real duel. I decided to see how he fared when I added more elements of my favoured combat styles. I sprang backwards, switching my bokken to my left paw with the blade running down along my forearm, and crouched a little as I moved into a ninjutsu ready-stance.

The confident smirk faded from Ihara-san's muzzle to be replaced with wariness; he had the experience to be suspicious of the unknown even when he thought he had the upper paw. Wariness did not stop him from pushing his advantage. The Bear bellowed as he put his full power into a sweeping horizontal slash aimed at my head. I ducked beneath it, raised my left arm to block the swing, and at the moment of impact, I tipped my arm back to let his katana skitter along the edge of my bokken and pushed up. As the attack sailed harmlessly over my head, I tilted farther over and kicked at his unprotected right side. I caught him in the small ribs. All of his muscles along his side contracted to try to keep his 'broken' ribs in place. Ihara-san grunted in pain, then grunted again when I jabbed him in the diaphragm with the pointed end of my bokken while I lowered my left leg.

Remaining close in, I deflected his next two attacks, and countered with kicks and punches. Ihara-san left no doubt as to his fury, but he abruptly switched tactics. His chi stilled, far more quickly than I thought he could manage, severing our connection. I could have fought to force the link to remain open, but that would be too costly for the meagre benefits.

Closing my eyes, I heard the heavy sound of the Bear springing to his hindpaws and scooping up his bokken in a single fluid motion. I subtly shifted my position so that the pads on my toes were set against the ground. He approached very quickly. I timed my movement precisely, so that I grabbed my own bokken, tipped backwards to place my weight on my hindpaws, and leapt straight up just_as he attacked. I sailed over his bokken, smacking his 'broken' ribs in the midst of my flip. He grunted and flinched when his muscles spasmed; I could almost _see them lock up into a tight knot. The mental wound carried its effects over to affect the physical body.

Imagawa-san and Tetsuo-san signalled my first point in the duel, and the crowd murmured their approval.

Ihara-san growled, then slammed his body into mine while I yet remained airborne and flung me back. His wooden blade struck me in the upper thigh. The referees signalled his point, now.

Skidding back over the stones on both hindpaws and my right paw, I held my bokken loosely in my left and studied his movements. They were most definitely hitched whenever he tried to twist or stretch his torso. I remained low-- it would force him to use the muscles in his side-- and sprang to his right when he approached to circle around him.

He attacked in an attempt to keep me within easy reach. He pushed off with his left hindpaw to lunge at me, his blade spearing toward my left eye. Ihara-san expected me to block or pull back, but I dropped instead. I landed on my shoulder blades, spun about kicking at his arms with one leg to push his bokken farther to his right, and then up at the hilt to send his arms skyward. I succeeded with the first, but he released the bokken with his right paw and snapped the blade sharply about with his wrist. The referees signalled three more points for him when the blade landed on one side of my leg, and then down on my chest. I only managed to strike him in the ribs again as we both moved back to size one another up.

The score stood 4-2 in his favour. This was truly causing me concern for the next duel. How was I to force him to submit without getting hit? I was a shinobi; my skills lay in striking before my foe knew I was even there. That would not work here. Then again, a shinobi's strength also lay in planning, preparation, and forcing the combat to occur on our terms. I smiled grimly.

Ihara-san planted himself, scowling. "What's so amusing, cur? In case you haven't noticed, I'm winning."

"So sorry, I was just playing the long game, and that's worth a smile." I darted forward, and then sprang back when he stepped forward swinging. I danced about a little just to force him to twist with his follow-up attacks; he did not want to let me move close enough to strike back.

"Stop bouncing about and fight."

I laughed. "Oh, I'm just waiting for an opening, you know. You spend so little time in the field that I know you'll tire quickly."

The Bear grunted as he swung again, the knot in his side pulling painfully. "I've got more endurance than you'd expect. Don't worry, I'll silence your yapping little laughs soon enough."

"Oh? Can't take a ribbing? Maybe someone will take your side, and say you're right. Then again, maybe knot, but I don't want to muscle in on your show." I waggled my ears and eyebrows at Ihara-san, and made to swipe at his ribs. As expected, he could not bear the taunting, and he fell for my feint. I switched my target mid-stride, rolling to my right, and punched his heart with my right paw while my left drew the blade of my bokken along his ribs. I sent trickles of chi into his system to quietly seek out his tenketsu,_the nodes within the chi-network. They were too small to see for _any level chi-adept, but when activated or blocked, they could be used to control another person's chi. With my chi resting in the tenketsu around his heart, I could accurately target them and seal his network completely; the heart was the greatest of the yang producing organs and one of the centres all chi must flow through as it moves about the body.

Ihara-san sought to spin to catch me, but his taut muscles seized up completely and stopped him with their searing pain. I kept my momentum and slipped in behind him, striking with bokken, paw, and hindpaw before he could react. More of his chi-network was now 'mapped' in preparation for the next duel, and the score stood at 6-4 in my favour.

He knew I had him if he did not do something quickly. Ihara-san tried to run forward to evade me, but I switched the bokken to my right paw and struck him twice more. The Bear began to panic. Roaring, he powered through his knotted muscles, and with a surge of chi, he twisted about. I attempted to block his swing by bracing the upper portion of the blade with my left paw and angling the wood so his strike would not hit straight on. He cut through my bokken, leaving me with a length two-thirds of the original, and dealt me a most cruel blow near the heart.

8-6.

We both stood back a pace as we attempted to catch our breath. I used my chi to quickly patch up the growing bruise on my side and to settle my ragged breaths. I could sense the excitement of the crowd, the anger of Kodokuro, and piercing through it all, the worry of my beloved Kaoru-sama. I glanced over. My Sweet One held the lapels of his haori -- a light, open, outer coat -- fast in both paws and up against his muzzle. His eyes were most large, and his barely visible whiskers twitched wildly.

I winked roguishly at him and leapt toward my foe, the remnants of my bokken held backwards in my left paw once more. Ducking and rolling by Ihara-san's first few swings, I drew in close, swatting the Bear's rump as I did so. He took me by surprise and kicked me beneath the chin. I lost my balance, and fell sprawling on the stones. He stabbed me in the chest by the heart before drawing his blade back for a second jab. Spinning around on my shoulder blades, I swung my legs up to kick his arm away. I struck him on his left arm with my bokken, Imagawa-san marking the point, but shielded from his eyes, Ihara-san stabbed me in the chest again. Tetsuo-san marked the score; he did not see my strike.

The judges faced each other with us in the middle. Imagawa-san ran a paw over one of his antlers. "The match is finished. Duellists, drink and refresh yourselves while we settle the score." He shook his head at the Macaque. "I was right to want a second pair of eyes."

Ihara-san appeared close to exploding or at least to stabbing me in earnest. He turned his back to me. The Bear choked on his words. "The Dog hit me first. The match is his." A faint murmur swept through the crowd; even in his loss Ihara-san earned much respect for his display of honour.

My delight and my heart leapt to his hindpaws; Kaoru-sama's wide eyes sparkled in delight, and his mouth hung open in a most adorable smile. I rose, ignored by my opponent, and bowed to Ihara-san's back. I then bowed to my sweetest love with a puckish flair. He bowed in return, held in place by society's dictates, though I could see his ardent desire to embrace me despite the crowd's presence. I felt the same as he did, but merely said, "Ohtori-dono, I now fight for your honour. I promise it'll be over far more quickly, and with less doubt of the outcome."

The Bear whirled back to face me with open hatred marring his face. "His honour!? How can anyone who elevates a Dog to the position of samurai_have _honour?" I heard Miyako-sama click his katana loose in its scabbard; Akemi-san looked just as close to losing control. Hamataro-san clutched the hilt of his katana, and the Salamander's muscles rippled visibly as he tried to decide how he should react. He did nothing when he saw Akemi-san staying put. Ihara-san seemed oblivious to the jeopardy he faced. "You may have won the last duel, Dog, but you'll never be a true samurai. The best your kind should ever hope to be is a farmer. You don't have the brains or soul to be part of the artisan's class, and you're too primitive to be even the least of the upper classes. The gods have dictated your place; _stay_there."

Timeus roared to life in my soul. His voice boomed across the courtyard. "You dare claim to know the gods' will?" Timeus lost his place in time, reverting to Classical Greek. I pointed imperiously at the larger Bear, though to my eyes he shrunk precipitously as if I wore Timeus's flesh. <<You have demonstrated your hubris, mortal, and will face the power my Lord Hades has granted me!>> I stamped the ground with my right hindpaw. Lord Hades shook the ground and impossibly deep cracks spiderwebbed the stones. Faint wisps of mist rose out the rifts in the form of clutching paws. I stepped toward the shocked samurai, and the ground trembled more violently as my left hindpaw made contact with the stone. The cracks opened farther showing the shadowed light of the Underworld.

The mists clawed at the wide-eyed Ihara-san pulling him to the largest of the holes. "Call off your pet Kitsune, Dog! I'm to fight you,_not _her!" Kodokuro would not let that 'pet' remark pass without incident no matter how long it might take.

I shook my head and called Timeus back. 'Let me handle this, Timeus. I don't want to show my paw and let Daimyo Takeda have any call on Lord Hades' gifts. Besides, I don't want there to be any doubt that I kicked his ass.' Timeus stepped back with some grumbles, but stirred restlessly just beneath the surface. The cracks closed with some ominous groans. "I fight my own_battles, knave, and she knows I wouldn't allow such interference. By Daimyo Ohtori's command, I won't send you to face the Lord of the Underworld to answer for your hubris... _today. Be warned, I won't always be so forgiving."

Behind me I heard some whispering. "Was that Riku-sama? I-I thought I saw him standing behind the shinigami."

One of the student samurai whispered back to the elderly ashigaru. "Riku? Was he an instructor before Kaito-san?"

"Y-yeah. The previous one. I was younger than you are now when he died, though."

'Oh?' I glanced back. The ashigaru looked to be too old to fight, perhaps in his fifties, which meant Kaito-san must be at least that old if he took over when Riku died. Riku probably wasn't still teaching up until his passing, however. Interesting. The Tanuki hadn't looked that old.

Imagawa-san walked to the centre of the open space. "Your attention, please!" The crowd instantly fell silent, and Ihara-san bit off the sharp retort he was about to deliver to me. "We will begin the second duel shortly. Daimyo Ohtori Kaoru has requested Takahashi Yoishi answer insults delivered to his noble personage, to his samurai Masashi Akemi, and to Takahashi-san himself. This duel will be unorthodox. Takahashi Yoishi may not bear any weapons," the Sika Deer fell silent while the crowd murmured its astonishment, "and will fight unarmed but with his full skills." The crowd's response to that was far more excited and robust. "He is to force Ihara Kosuke to surrender without being hit once. As per the daimyo's commands, he must do this without causing lasting harm."

I raised my paw and stepped forward. "The wager requires me to force him to surrender without being hit. The duel doesn't. As you said, my honour has been impugned by Ihara-san, and I will make him answer for it regardless of his potential luck." I gestured around me. "There are many witnesses to his insults, so none may question my right."

Ihara-san growled. "You're a Dog; you have no rights or honour." I heard some very quiet agreement around me, but when I glanced about, the voices fell silent before I could see who shared his views.

Tetsuo-san placed a hand on the hilt of his katana. "You have no right to question the will of a daimyo. My daimyo. Ohtori-dono has chosen Takahashi-san to stand for him, and his father has elevated the Masashi family to the rank of samurai. If you question his right to do so, say it to my face." Ihara-san lowered his gaze to the stones; I noticed at that time the stones bore faint blue striations across them where the cracks had been. It appeared Lord Hades wished to leave a subtle reminder there. Tetsuo-san said nothing more, but looked about as if searching for others who might dare challenge his lord.

Imagawa-san held both paws up. "Very well, Takahashi-san, you are correct about the terms of the wager. The scoring system of the Imagawa Shinshin Ryu will hold for Ihara Kosuke. Once again, I remind both duellists that attacks causing lasting harm are forbidden and will result in an instant forfeiture. Blows from a bokken to the head are one such attack, as are holds that damage the joints." He was right; many holds caused strain on the joints and could easily leave permanent damage if either person moved in a way that applied more force.

I moved to stand in the instructor's circle while Ihara-san retook his position. He mockingly asked, "You aren't getting on your knees before me again?"

I shook my head. "I'm not going to waste my time. I've taken your measure and found it very wanting." The students smothered laughs behind me. I ignored them and entered a light trance to ready myself. I was going to crush him.

Imagawa-san shook his antlered head. He did not appreciate the pointed jibes before such a solemn occasion; he took duels most seriously, as most samurai did. Such insults demonstrated contempt towards one's foe and violated the spirit of honour that should preside. "If you are ready?" We nodded. "Begin."

The Bear roared a wordless challenge and charged. He was most confident I would fare even more poorly than the last duel with no blade to block his swings. I waited until he was three paces back before summoning the full weight of my chi. Raising my head, I locked eyes with him and attacked. Ihara-san froze in spot as if impaled, his bokken nearly falling from his numb paws. I strode toward my stunned opponent relishing in the sight of the sweat forming around his bare nose, and the dampening fur of his forehead. His muscles twitched as he struggled to regain control, but the suddenness and ferocity of my chi attack had found him unprepared.

My strides were shorter than his, and on my third step -- still one away from him -- he managed to weakly swing. I leant back to let the blade whiffle harmlessly between us. The pause allowed him to regain a little more control over his body. I, however, jabbed at the tenketsu in his upper arm. I easily blocked them and numbed the nerve clusters nearby for good measure. Ihara-san's left arm fell limp. He appeared rather taken aback, but it did not slow him. He pivoted to place his vulnerable left side further away from me and began to fence with the bokken to take advantage of his greater reach.

I could not get close; since he was not attempting to land heavy blows anymore, he moved with enough speed to keep me away from his left side no matter how I dodged or rolled. With a mental shrug, I gathered chi within my lungs and throat, then unleashed it in the Shout of the Celestial Dragon. Ihara-san was taken completely off guard, and caught the blast beneath his collar bone. He flipped head over heels in mid-air, landing on his hindpaws a few paces back, and tumbled over.

Leaping after him, I landed atop his broad torso just as he collapsed. I jabbed at several of the tenketsu around his heart before he tightened his grip around the hilt of his bokken. I jumped aside, watching to see how the loss of control of even more of his chi would affect him. Over half of the tenketsu around his heart were sealed, and that should impair the effectiveness of his entire left side, possibly his breathing as well.

It was a bit hard to tell at first -- the flight, landing, and my jumping on him had winded him -- but he had some trouble rising and settling his breath. Eventually standing upright, Ihara-san pointed a wobbling bokken at me. "I'm not done, Dog. I'll never surrender to--" He made an extremely stupid error and locked eyes with me. I could not resist.

Lashing out with my chi, again, I forced a connection between us. The mental construct of the courtyard appeared, and I wasted no time in taking full advantage of my position. I began pummelling him with enough force to break his bones. He tried to fight back, futilely, and then tried with as much success to keep from crying out. I did not stop until he curled up on the ground, weeping, in an attempt to shield himself from the pain.

I broke the connection. Ihara-san collapsed to the stones, blood seeping from his nose. What remained of his active chi-network was in chaos, and he barely clung to consciousness. I strode over and sealed off the last of the tenketsu around his heart, and then kicked away his bokken. "I claim victory."

"No..." Ihara-san tried to push himself upright, but forgot his left arm was not working. He pitched forward to land on his face. "No..." He shoved himself into a sitting position. "I can still win."

Imagawa-san's face hardened. "No, you cannot. He sealed your chi-network. You cannot even rise, let alone get your bokken. You are defeated. Do not tarnish your honour with foolish pride."

The Moon Bear glared blearily at the noble Sika Deer. "I haven't surrendered. He can't win until I do. I'll never surrender to him." Ihara-san forced himself to his hindpaws; I just watched in a measure of disbelief.

Imagawa-san shook his head. "That... is what the terms were. I cannot call the match over even knowing he has less than an hour to live before the lack of flowing chi causes his body to die."

I sighed. "More like ten to fifteen minutes. The strain he's under is draining his strength quickly."

Ihara-san laughed shortly and broke out into a coughing fit. "Then I just need to wait. I'll win in ten minutes."

Kaoru-san squeaked and stepped out into the 'ring.' "But you would die!"

Ihara-san gasped out in vindictive glee. "And by the terms you set out, that means the Dog forfeits. He can't cause permanent injury or death. I'd rather die than surrender to him."

My Sweet One turned to me in horror. "Stop him!"

How? I shrugged. "My paws are tied, Ohtori-dono. I could _torture_him in an attempt to break his spirit, but that'd weaken him even faster." I could try to unblock the tenketsu, too, but if he resisted it would be a very difficult process, and it would put him back into a stronger position.

"T-Torture!? You know how to torture someone?"

I shrugged again. "I'm a healer, Ohtori-dono. As you saw with the traitor Hanadoku, an excess of medicine can kill as surely as any poison. It's a fine line between healing someone and killing them, and when you're dealing with chi-based healing, the line is even finer." I looked up at Ihara-san. I found his triumphant expression vexing beyond belief, but my honour would not allow me to resort to torture for such a trivial matter.

He laughed openly at my irritation. "So you see, _cur,_you can't defeat a true samur--"

I poked his diaphragm and forced all of the air out of his lungs. "Oh, just shut up, already. We're talking."

Kaoru-sama looked very distressed and began twisting the fabric of his kimono with his paws. "Y-You are hurting him, Yoishi!"

"No, not really. It's more frightening than painful. I'll let him go before he dies. Maybe. What about the duel?"

Kaoru-sama looked down at the stone. "Nullify the wager. You have won the duel. I spoke in haste and rendered the terms too vague, but he is incapable of fighting so the duel -- by any measure -- is yours."

Imagawa-san nodded in agreement. "That is just." He raised his hands. "Takahashi Yoishi is the victor in both duels." I released my hold on Ihara-san and bowed to him as he fell.

Kaoru-sama's eyes were wide in concern. "You can heal that chi... thing you did to him, yes? Please do not let him suffer an--"

Ihara-san growled once he had enough air, cutting Kaoru-sama off. "I don't accept the verdict! Ohtori has ulterior motives and isn't an impartial judge! He's already shown he has no honour by--" I punched him in the jaw, nearly rendering him senseless as well as silent. It saved his life; Tetsuo-san and Akemi-san had already stepped toward him with blades drawn.

My love cringed. "Yoishi-sensei, heal him. He will be leaving my lands in the morning and may never return. His second will take charge of Daimyo Omori's troops."

I bowed. "As you wish, daimyo. Will you write the letter tonight or in the morning?" Without official correspondence to be delivered, it would leave Ihara-san free to say what he wished of the event, though that would only offer a temporary reprieve before word travelled through other channels to his lord.

The captain of the ashigaru asked, "Shall I inform my men to prepare to escort him?"

Kaoru-sama flicked his fingers at the captain. "Unnecessary. He has shown honour in the first duel, and I know he will leave as ordered. I will write the letter tonight while Yoishi-sensei treats him." He raised his voice. "The duels are over; clear the courtyard."

I shouted over the excited chatter and shuffling hindpaws. "You! Ashigaru!" I caught the gaze of two ashigaru when they turned to look at me, and motioned for them to approach. They hastened toward me. "Bring Ihara-san to my workshop and make sure Yuuto is there."

Ihara-san heaved himself up from the stones. "How dare you stri--!?"

I jabbed him -- hard -- in the diaphragm to shut him up again. "I saved your life, _fool._You crossed the line and were about to be summarily executed. Just shut up and come with me." I released him, and the ashigaru caught his arms when he staggered back. I bowed to Kaoru-sama, then Imagawa-san. "Daimyo. Imagawa-san."

Kaoru-san did not react, he looked too distraught to do so, but Imagawa-san tipped his antlered head to me in return. "Takahashi-sensei." There was a slight hesitance before the honorific. I guessed he still had not decided where I should fit in the strict, if ill-defined, hierarchy of Japanese society.

I led the way to my workshop to restore Ihara-san's chi network and to tend to our wounds. I knew it would matter little in Ihara-san's case; he would be executed shortly after returning home. He had been acting as Daimyo Omori's representative, and I could guarantee that nearly provoking a war was _not_the plan particularly with a representative of Daimyo Imagawa present. Ihara-san's actions cost his lord much honour and standing, and the Bear would be executed in an attempt to reclaim some of that loss. Ihara-san's family may also be executed or exiled if Omori-dono felt it would help demonstrate his repudiation of Ihara-san's actions, in fact I felt it was almost guaranteed. I felt a twinge of sympathy for the Bear when the realisation of the consequences of his actions dawned on him. Merely a twinge, as I was still most wroth with him. Neither of us spoke to the other outside of necessity the entire time I treated him. As a note, my friends, I did later learn that Ihara-san told his family to flee to Korea while he was en-route to Omori-dono's castle. The daimyo, in their absence, declared them stripped of all lands and titles, and ordered his people to execute them on sight. Ihara-san's fragile honour had cost his family everything.