The Legend of Akikumo Page 2

  I said nothing as memories of Akikumo came back to me, causing tears to form in my eyes. I grabbed the magatama and closed my eyes for a moment. It had been over a century since I last saw him. He disappeared without a trace, and I still hadn’t forgiven him for that.

  “How about you go back to the shrine and get some sleep? Tomorrow I will have a lengthy conversation with Inari-sama. Then you and I will discuss what to do next.”

  Bowing, I did as she ordered and wondered what I would do without this place. I had never been on my own. I traveled with Akikumo for hundreds of years until he brought me to this place. What would I do if I had to leave?

  Chapter Two

  July 1336 (Muromachi Period)—Kyoto, Japan

  ALL I SAW WAS RED.

  The stench of blood saturated the air, making my hands shake. Flames grew larger and larger, and the smoke tried to mask the metallic smell, but I still tasted it. I huddled in a ball, rocking back and forth.

  “Tousan... Kaasan...”

  Tears fell down my face as I stared at the blood that pooled under my parents’ bodies. Blazing pieces of the wooden roof fell next to me, setting the tatami mat on fire. The fire had grown, and I doubted my home could last much longer. The heat caused my eyes to dry up faster than they produced tears.

  “Tousan...” I sniffled. “Kaasan...”

  The smoke filled the house and I could no longer breathe. I tried to cover my mouth with the sleeve of my red happi, but it didn’t help. I coughed and coughed. I had to get away from this place. But I couldn’t leave my parents here. Maybe someone could help me—maybe someone could save them.

  Grabbing my kaasan’s arms with my small hands, I yanked and dragged her through the rubble, using my entire strength. It took a while, but I managed to move her through the shoji that led out into the street. Once I was out of the building, I sat on the dirt and sought to catch my breath.

  And that’s when I noticed my home wasn’t the only one burning. The entire row of houses was up in flames, with men and women dashing through the streets, screaming. Men on horses, holding katanas and torches, flooded the streets. The bouquet of fear, blood, and smoke overwhelmed my senses.

  Turning, I called out to the families I once shared meals with. “Please help! My chichiue is still inside!”

  No one stopped for me. I grabbed on to one man’s happi.

  “Please help me!”

  He shoved me to the ground. Tears rolled down my face as I rushed back into my home to help my tousan. He was heavier than kaasan, and it took me a while to move him even a meter. I kept struggling though, as I would never have forgiven myself if I didn’t at least try.

  Slipping on the blood I had smeared on the ground, I fell on top of my tousan’s body. I rose to find my happi and hands covered in blood. It felt thick and sticky, and I wished it would all just go away.

  “Tousan?”

  Tousan’s body didn’t move. I placed my ear against his wet, sticky chest. I no longer heard his heartbeat.

  An enormous chunk of the roof came crashing to the floor next to me, catching tousan’s black happi on fire. I tried to grab his wrist and pull him, but my hands were too slippery. I struggled to grab his ankle, but it was no use as I couldn’t wrap my hands around him.

  “Tousan!”

  I couldn’t help him now. I hurried out the shoji and dropped to kaasan.

  “Kaasan.” I rubbed my cheek against hers, trying to nudge her awake. “Wake up.”

  Her eyelids fluttered. “Aiko...” Her voice was hoarse.

  “I’m here, kaasan.” More tears came. “But tousan... he...”

  Our home collapsed, and the flames grew. Kaasan turned and saw what happened.

  She coughed and placed her hand on my cheek. “Aiko, run. Get out of here before the scent of human blood devours you.” She coughed again, her blood splattering my face. “Even I can sense it with this smoke, and...”

  Her eyes stopped focusing on me and her arm went limp. I grasped her hand and placed it on my cheek.

  “Kaasan... Kaasan!” I started wailing, not wanting to leave my mother’s side.

  But she said I had to run. Why was that? What did she mean by the scent of human blood devouring me?

  No one paused to help me—no one stopped to ask if I was okay. I watched as the woman who used to sneak me treats when my parents traveled up to the shrine ran past me. Why did she not stop to help? Why did she ignore me?

  Why did this happen? Why were so many people running?

  I stood up, my clothes soaked with the blood of my parents. Filling my lungs with air, I breathed in the different scents. It was no longer my parents’ blood that filled my nostrils. No, I smelled the essence of human fear. The tangy scent filled my mouth, along with the metallic stench of mortal blood. Saliva dripped from my mouth.

  Hunger took over my body, and I gave in to the lust.

  My fangs sharpened, and my nails lengthened into claws. The sugure that hid my ears and tail vanished and my true form unleashed itself—my kitsune form.

  My parents always hid our true forms through sugure, and I did not understand how to control it. Now they lay dead in the street and all I saw was red. All I smelled was fear. All I craved was blood.

  Snarling, I leaped onto one man on a horse. He screamed as I snapped my jaws at him. Metallic kozane armor covered his skin and my attacks failed. The man threw me off of him. I landed on my hands and feet, hissing.

  “Yokai!” the man screamed.

  More men riding horses gathered around us. They circled me and pulled out bows and arrows. Five men tugged back their bows, and arrows came raining down upon me. I zigzagged through the obstacles, not letting even one arrow touch my skin or fur. A soldier with no helmet caught my eye, and I jumped up at his head. I bit at his neck, warm blood filling my mouth. Before the other humans retaliated, I leaped off him, running as fast as I could through the street with blood dripping off my lips.

  “Stop her!”

  I ran faster than them, even as just a child. My bloodlust rose, and I possessed no will to stop it. I had never been around this much fear and blood before. I didn’t understand what was going on here.

  Friends I had grown up with screamed as they pointed at me.

  “Yokai! Yokai!”

  I was shaking, panting, growling. The sharp rocks and debris in the streets scratched my hands and feet, but it didn’t slow me down. The blood only aided the already stained soil, no longer knowing what red went to whom. Bodies littered the pathways, stained crimson, the stench of death engulfing the city. Those who were still alive tried to escape and run. I looked for anyone who would help me get away from the men on horses, but they only stared at me wide-eyed and turned the other way.

  These were my friends—why did they shriek and run away from me? Something hard hit my head and body. I shook my head and turned to find my friend Laito-kun holding a rock in his hand. He and I used to play down by the water when our parents showed in the market. His black hair was crusted in blood and dust, and his eyes were red with tears. I hissed, and he ran away, screaming.

  It was all their fault. They all deserved to die.

  Due to my distraction, the samurai ran at me with their katanas at the ready. As one man slashed at me, I hopped up onto his arm and bolted toward his face. With my claws extended, I ripped away his throat. Blood splattered my face as I smiled. They deserved this. They all deserved this.

  The men screamed and slashed away at me with their katanas. Part of one blade hit my shoulder, blood adding to my already soaked happi and kimono. Hissing, I jumped onto the road.

  I no longer saw the buildings or forest around me—only the color red. I howled as blood painted the men and women running past me.

  “Kill the yokai! Get her!”

  Over a dozen men armed with swords and bows and arrows surrounded me. They kept their helmets on and made a barrier so I couldn’t escape or attack. I backed up into the wall, my tail up and hissing.

  T
hey pointed their arrows at me, ready to shoot. I looked for an escape, but I discovered no way out of there.

  When I thought I had lost all hope, a large white figure grabbed me and started running.

  “Stop him! He has the yokai!”

  I kicked and scratched, trying to get away from the man that held me in his arms. I slashed in every direction when his grip loosened.

  “You are a feisty one, aren’t you?” a man’s voice asked.

  With the little freedom I had, I dropped to the ground and darted toward the outskirts of the town. Now that I could focus, I transformed into a full fox and ran as fast as possible. I didn’t want to leave my tousan and kaasan, but I had no choice—I had to get out of there.

  Glancing back, I discovered a white figure chasing after me. The creature kept up with my speed. Adrenaline pumping, I pushed my legs faster, but it changed nothing. It still followed.

  I made my way into the forest that surrounded Kyoto, ducking under branches and jumping over small bushes. I was smaller than whatever chased me, so I had the advantage of getting through tight spots. It didn’t seem to matter though, as I heard the creature’s steps as it raced after me. I didn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to help me. Whatever chased after me would catch up and get me.

  But at least I would be with my family.

  Plunging down into what I thought would be a path, I found myself trapped between a few boulders and the hillside. I had nowhere to go. I turned to find a large white creature stepping up to me. Moving my tail in front of me, I growled.

  The creature was gigantic and looked like me in its face, but it was much larger. His pure white fur glistened in the full moon. His golden eyes stared at me, and I didn’t know if it was because he saw me as his prey or if he was studying me. Slowly he transformed into a man. He wore a white-and-gold kimono with a blue happi over it. His long white hair lay gently against his kimono, along with a small blue pendant.

  I kept hissing as he bent to my level and reached out his hand. I bit down on his palm, growling.

  “It’s okay. I won’t harm you.”

  I tightened my jaw, not trusting what a human said to me. None of the humans I grew up with sought to help me—why would a complete stranger try to comfort me? No one came to my rescue. I was all alone with only myself to save me.

  I looked up again at him and realized among his white hair were beast ears. Then it hit me—he had transformed from a wolf. This person wasn’t a human. He was a yokai just like me.

  Letting his hand go, I licked his wound. No, he didn’t taste like the blood of the humans. But he didn’t taste like a kitsune either.

  “That’s better. I know they scared you, and don’t worry, I’m not like those humans. I’m like you, except an okami.”

  An okami was a wolf yokai. I curled up in a tight ball. The okami were much stronger than kitsune even if the kitsune possessed all nine of their tails. He could still attack me.

  He crouched closer. “I won’t hurt you. I wanted to make sure you were fine. Did those men harm you in any way?”

  “They hunted me like an animal. I had to defend myself.”

  Peeking around, I found no way to get out of there without having to get past him. He had me trapped. The okami sat all the way down next to me.

  “I know. I saw. How did you end up in Kyoto? Among the battle, no less.”

  “I... I...” Tears formed in my eyes. “My hahaue and chichiue... they...”

  I transformed back into my half-human form, and the man wrapped his arms around me. I clutched his blue happi and sobbed.

  “It’s okay. You are safe now. Cry all you want.”

  It felt like I sat in his arms for hours, letting the tears fall. Now that I found myself away from the town and away from where the smell of blood filled the air, I could process all that had happened. My family was gone. My home was gone.

  And no one cared.

  When I finally could breathe again, I leaned back and peered up at the okami who had saved my life. His deep amber eyes stared at me with such kindness. I had never seen someone look at me like that before, other than my own parents.

  “Why did you save me?”

  He smiled and patted my head. “Because you are just a child, and there haven’t been any kitsune born in hundreds of years. I didn’t want something so special to die like that.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I am called Akikumo. And what about you?”

  My name... I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t remember it without my heart aching. I shook my head. “I... I don’t know.”

  His eyes watched me, and he brushed the crusted hair away from my face. “Well then, how about I give you a name?”

  I looked up at him, wide-eyed. “You would do that for me?”

  He laughed. “Why not? How about I call you Ketsueki for the color of your hair?”

  Tears started to fall down my face again, and Akikumo wrapped his arms around me, letting me cry in his arms once again.

  Chapter Three

  Present day—Kyoto

  SITTING UPON THE TORII, I watched as the patrons came up the mountain to give offerings to Inari, the kami of rice cultivation and prosperity. Now that it was daytime, I knew that the people weren’t doing dares like the teens last night. No, all these people came to either pray to the kami or to enjoy the scenery.

  My feet and tails dangled down, but none of the humans walking underneath the torii noticed. I used sugure—a glamour magic that made it so the humans couldn’t see me. Learning how to use such magic took me a long time, but I got the hang of it. It helped that humans ignore all things yokai. While they came up here often, giving their thanks to Inari, I noticed the actual belief—the genuine belief—in the supernatural plummeted in the past hundred years. This made it easier to hide from them. Humans can’t see what they didn’t believe.

  Which was why I loved scaring them.

  I leaned back and hung backward off the Inari. My long black and red hair dangled down away from my face. None of the humans even noticed. I sighed as I knocked off a black hat a woman was wearing. She jumped and glanced around, trying to figure out why her hat fell to the ground. Before her friends got too much farther, she grabbed her hat and hurried after them. I sighed.

  “Hey, Tsuki-san!”

  I glanced over to find Daiki standing out in the forest under one of the maples. He wore a smirk on his face as his nine orange tails glistened in the sun. I jumped to the ground and made my way away from the path and toward the trees where he waited, even though I knew no good would come of it.

  “What do you want, Daiki-kun?” I asked as I crossed my arms in front of me, careful not to wrinkle the sode of my crimson kimono.

  His sapphire eyes twinkled. “I heard you got in trouble with Ichika-sama last night. It seems that you have finally gotten yourself kicked out of this place.”

  News traveled fast in the shrine. I knew it was only a matter of time before the other kitsune started making fun of me for getting into trouble once again. “Ichika-sama hasn’t decided yet. I’m waiting for her to finish talking to Inari-sama.”

  He brushed back his shaggy orange hair with his slender fingers. “How many times has it been now that you have gotten in trouble? If you weren’t such a yako, maybe you could fit in with us zenko.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and clenched my fists, my long nails digging into my hand. I knew I couldn’t use my kitsunebi on him as too many humans ventured near us. Even if they couldn’t see my yokai form, they would be able to see the flames. There was also the fact that Daiki-kun was much older than I was and possessed all nine of his tails.

  Although it’s not like that had ever stopped me in the past.

  “I am not a yako.”

  “You weren’t born in the shrine and never got the proper lessons on how to behave for Inari-sama. The only reason Ichika-sama has kept you around was because Akikumo-sama begged her to adopt you. I’m surprised he didn’t pawn you off to someone soon
er.”

  I shoved him. “Take that back!”

  He straightened his black haori he wore over his white nagagi. I wanted to spill matcha on his nagagi so he would have to purchase a new one. He enjoyed keeping his clothes in pristine condition.

  Two other kitsune peeked their heads from around the trees. Niko and Hikaru. Great, that was all I needed: more people to poke fun at me for getting in trouble last night.

  “What’s going on here?” Hikaru asked, stroking one of his white-furred tails. He wore a sky-blue nagagi with a white haori on top, which was typical for him. He always seemed to wear some type of blue.

  Niko-san scratched her own gray ears with her long pink painted nails that matched her floral kimono. “Causing more trouble, Tsuki-chan?”

  The three of them now surrounded me. I knew I couldn’t do anything, not without Ichika finding out, and I would be in even more trouble than I already was.

  I tried to ignore them and tried to step around Niko-san, but she placed her hand out. “Not so fast.”

  “I’m glad such an innocent zenko as yourself takes the time to harass a kitsune like me.” I spat. She glared at me with her golden eyes.

  “Watch what you say, yako. We are your superiors.”

  “Don’t call me a yako.”

  Hikaru leaned back against the maple tree. “Just because that ossan raised you doesn’t make you respectful. Besides, he’s long gone. He just dropped you off here so he could go die in the woods somewhere.”

  Clenching my fist, I growled. “He’s not dead!”

  Niko-san’s sweet, sarcastic laugh made my ears turn back. “There are no more wolves in Japan. Face the facts. Akikumo-sama is dead.”

  I punched her straight in the nose. She screamed and placed her hand on her now bleeding nose. Before I could dart into the wilderness, Daiki and Hikaru grabbed me, digging their claws into my wrists.

  “We aren’t done with you yet!” Daiki bore his claws deeper into my skin, blood dripping down onto the grass.