The Legend of Akikumo Page 3

  Niko-san pulled out a tenugi with hand-stitched roses on it and wiped the blood away from her face. “You will pay for that, Ketsueki-san.”

  With her claws extended, she slashed me across the face. Blood trickled down my cheek. Licking my lips, I tasted the metallic liquid.

  “Is that the best you can do?”

  White kitsunebi formed in her hand. My eyes widened. I didn’t expect her to go to such extremes. If I didn’t get out of there, I was dead meat. If they did accidentally kill me, they would just use some excuse or hide my body and say I ran away. It wasn’t like they cared if I disappeared or not. It was a wonder that they hadn’t tried to kill me earlier.

  I transformed into my fox form and fell from the grip of Daiki and Hikaru. I bolted into the woods, avoiding the kitsunebi that hit the dirt next to me. I darted under the bushes and zigzagged through the foliage, knowing they weren’t quick enough to catch up to me. Over the years, I learned to be a lot faster than them, knowing it was the only way to survive. As long as I got away, they never bothered chasing after me. It was a waste of their efforts.

  The blood from the scratches soaked my fur and ran into my left eye, but I didn’t slow down in case they wanted to kill me right then and there. After a few minutes, I found myself on top of the mountain. I was far from where the three bullied me and knew they wouldn’t come searching for me way up here. At least not for a while.

  I transformed back into my half-human, half-fox form and straightened my red kimono. Noticing I messed up my black obi and golden obijime, I sighed. One problem with transforming into my fox form was that when I transformed back, my clothes were always a mess.

  I did my best to straighten and tighten my obi and center the obidome, even though the ohashori didn’t look quite right. I knew Ichika would lecture me about keeping my kimono presentable when I was outside my own room. Whatever, it was the least of my problems at the moment.

  Jumping up from branch to branch, I made my way to the top of the tree without ripping my kimono. On the highest branch that would still hold my weight, I sat and took a deep breath. The summer air was humid but not as bad as when the typhoons hit. Although it was warm, I loved it as I could sleep here and enjoy the stars. Taking another deep breath, I examined the city’s skyline.

  Over the years, I had watched this city grow, get destroyed, and grow once again. Never in my seven hundred years had I seen Kyoto like it stood now. Buildings larger than I had ever known possible covered the landscape, and it no longer connected itself to the surrounding nature. Having never left this mountain since Akikumo dropped me off here, I found myself not wanting to deal with the humans. I didn’t know how to handle myself around them—not without Akikumo beside me. I didn’t trust them. Then again, I didn’t get along with the kitsune I found myself around either.

  I lay down and stared up at the clouds that glowed from the sun that peeked out. With summer now here, the sun would shine more and the nights would be even warmer. I couldn’t wait to spend my days sleeping in the sun and trying to stay out of trouble during the night.

  That is, if Inari didn’t kick me out of the shrine.

  There was nowhere else for me to go. I did not understand where Aki-chan could have gone, and why he never came back for me. The landscape of Japan changed so much in the past century and a half I didn’t even know where to start.

  Pulling out the magatama, I held it up to the sky. It glowed a deep blue as the sun’s light emanated through the stone. It was the only thing I had saved of Akikumo—the only memory I could hold.

  A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek. He wasn’t dead—there was no way. The other kitsune were jealous I got to explore the rest of Japan without having to comply with the orders of the shrine, more specifically Ichika.

  Not a day went by where I didn’t miss Akikumo. We spent centuries together, wandering Japan and doing the service of the kami. Why did he disappear? Why had he left me here and never come back?

  I would know if he had died. I would have felt it in my heart.

  My ears twitched as I heard something walk underneath where I lay. Glancing down, I found Yuki searching around the area. She was Ichika’s daughter and was normally sent out to fetch me when Ichika needed something. Rolling over, I dropped from the tree and landed right beside her.

  “Eeep!” She jumped, all nine of her orange tails puffing up more than usual. Even the hair on her ears were sticking straight up into the air. Realizing the noise was me, she took a breath. “Oh, Tsuki-san. You scared me.”

  “Sorry about that, Yuki-san. I presume your okaasan is looking for me?”

  She nodded, her glittering orange hair dancing around her ears. She kept her hair short the entire time I knew her, and such simplicity always made me debate if I should cut my hair again. It was much easier to handle, but then I couldn’t style it how Akikumo used to show me how. Somehow my long hair made me feel more connected to him.

  I gestured for her to lead the way to the shrine. To the humans, the structure looked like a sizable cement building with black roofing like many other shrines through Japan. Priests and priestesses took care of the shrine, and humans would leave offerings and pray for whatever they needed, whether it be selfish or otherwise. To us yokai, however, the building was much, much different.

  Once we went through the last torii, it transferred us yokai into a whole different scenery. Instead of the one building, many buildings made up the area with rooms for each of us kitsune. The principal building, in which the humans laid their offerings, was much larger and housed the Inari. I only set foot in that building once, as they only allowed kitsune who earned all nine of their tails, or other kami, inside. The only time I was allowed in was when Akikumo was visiting and I went to search from him.

  Ichika was waiting for me at the entrance, the scowl she usually gave me already formed on her face. Seeing her narrow eyes look at me with such disgust only meant one thing.

  She was going to kick me out.

  Stepping up to her, I bowed. I kept my head facing the ground, waiting for her to give me my sentence.

  She let out a deep breath. “Tsuki-san, Inari-sama would like to speak to you.”

  My ears perked up and rose. “What?”

  She flipped out her sakura-painted fan like she always did when I frustrated her. “It seems Inari-sama wants you to run an errand.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had lived on this mountain for over a century and a half, and Inari now wanted me to speak to them? Not to mention, be given a task after I screwed up for what Ichika deemed “the last time”?

  She grabbed the ohashori part of my kimono and straightened it out. “You need to be more presentable to Inari-sama. There, that should do it.”

  My mouth opened, but no words came out. I never expected this. I glanced over at Yuki-san to find her as surprised as I was. Her eyes were wide and quickly turned bitter. I was going to face some wrath once I was out of my meeting, as it was a great honor for a kitsune to be called upon. Now the “yako” was taking the place of one of them.

  “Get to it, Ketsueki-san. Do not keep Inari-sama waiting.”

  I gave Yuki-san a slight wink and brushed one of my tails against her as I walked past. She scowled, but I didn’t let it bother me. The kami had called upon me themself.

  Chapter Four

  July 1336 (Muromachi Period)—Hira Mountains

  AKIKUMO NEVER SEEMED to stop traveling.

  It had been days since we left Kyoto behind. There was nothing left to go back to, not after those samurai took over the city. I didn’t understand humans and why they would want to destroy the peace that they had. We lived in Kyoto for a couple of years, before we would have to move again. I didn’t grow up as fast as most humans since kitsune lived for over a thousand years. We weren’t even considered full grown until we were a thousand years old. Then we would have all nine of our tails.

  Akikumo didn’t have nine tails like my parents did, but he did
seem older than them. I watched as he led us through the forest into the mountains. I believed we were north of Kyoto still, but I wasn’t good with my sense of direction. I just followed where my mother and father went. And now Akikumo.

  We had stopped by a neighboring town that hadn’t been attacked by those nasty men on horses, and Akikumo bought me some new clothes. I stayed hidden just outside the town, waiting for him as I didn’t want to go near any humans. I waited in the woods, keeping my ears alert and taking in deep breaths. The woods smelled sweet and a little wet from the rain a few nights ago. I liked being out there more than in the towns where it reeked of vile human. The metallic taste of blood still lingered on my tongue from that night.

  I heard the crunch of leaves and detected the sandalwood and jasmine scent that Akikumo possessed. I opened my eyes to find him holding a few bags. I jumped up and hugged him.

  “Missed me already?”

  I blushed and stepped away. Kneeling, he pulled out two new kimonos and five hiyoku to go under the kimonos. The hiyoku were all simple colors, but both the kimonos had patterns of blue flowers across them. One had a white main base color and the other was black.

  “These are beautiful. You didn’t have to buy me such beautiful kimonos. I would be fine with a simple one.”

  He shook his head. “Simple won’t do if you are traveling with me. We will be meeting many yokai and kami, and I don’t want them to think little of you if you aren’t wearing a beautiful kimono like they are.”

  More yokai? I hadn’t known many other yokai. My mother and father tried to stay hidden from others like them. I wasn’t sure why, as I never asked. I presumed it was so they could blend in with the humans more.

  I bowed. “Thank you, Akikumo-sama.”

  He ruffled my black and red hair. “No need to bow so low. And please, call me Aki-chan.”

  I couldn’t believe he was asking me to call him by such an informal name so soon. I blushed. “Okay, Aki-chan.”

  “And I will call you Ketsue-chan. Sound good?” He smiled gently and watched me with his golden eyes.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  He tossed his long white hair back and gathered the sacks he had with him. “Good. Now, can you carry one of these sacks? We have a long road ahead of us before we reach our next stopping point. I have a small home in the mountains north of here. I actually have a lot of homes scattered throughout Japan, but you will learn that later. And you will learn that it is rare for me to be at any one of them for that long of time. Or at least that long of a time for a yokai. We will be staying with a lot of friends and acquaintances. That is, if you want to stay at my side.”

  I nodded. “I do.”

  It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go, and Akikumo seemed to be nice enough. I still didn’t trust him fully, but I had nowhere to go and he hadn’t given me any reason to leave.

  “Well then.” He turned to the path. “Follow me.”

  AKIKUMO wasn’t joking when he said we had a ways to travel. We had traveled for two nights now, and I didn’t know how much more walking I could do without resting. I carried the small bag he gave me and felt bad that he had three large bags that he carried that included food and clothing for the both of us. He also had a katana at his side, with a light blue, leather-wrapped handle and a gold sheath. I never saw him use it, but I also never saw him take it off. I presumed he was afraid others might attack us, but I had no idea why.

  Because humans weren’t trustworthy?

  Every time I thought about humans, the angrier I became. Those who said they were my friends, those who stayed up at night with me, watching the stars and telling stories—they all betrayed me. They left me to be attacked by the samurai and didn’t care that I had almost been killed.

  They didn’t care that my parents lay dead in the streets.

  No, I didn’t want to see another human as long as I lived. I wished that they didn’t exist in this world so that I could have a peaceful life. The yokai and kami would never treat me like I was just some animal. Aki-chan didn’t leave me like the humans did—he saved me from being killed. He didn’t even know me, and yet he had shown me more kindness than those who knew me did.

  An aching feeling developed in my chest. What was this feeling? I never had known it before that moment, and I didn’t like how it festered inside me since the night of the attack.

  There was a rustle in the bushes, and Aki-chan quickly pulled out his katana and was at the ready. The blade was a light metallic color, almost as light as Akikumo’s hair. I hid behind him, not sure what was going on. Why was he so afraid? Why did he think the noise would bring us harm?

  A rabbit jumped out from the bush and hopped off into the distance. Aki-chan let out a breath.

  “Nothing to worry about. It was just a little creature.”

  I let go of his kimono. “Why did you think it would harm us?”

  He set down his cloth bags and looked up at the shining sun. “Traveling in Japan isn’t safe for those who do it alone. I, of course, have nothing to fear, as yokai wouldn’t go against me, but the humans who leave for the woods sometimes become more savage than others. The other humans call them bandits, and they will attack those who try to travel. It is why you don’t see many humans traveling, and if they do, they travel from inn to inn in groups to be safe.”

  So it was humans who were behind his fear. I should have known. They weren’t trustworthy, and when they lived out there in nature, where it was serene, they simply turned to violence and attacked those who were just traveling. Every moment that passed, the angrier I got. Tears ran down my cheeks.

  Akikumo seemed to notice my face as he knelt down beside me. “What’s wrong, Ketsue-chan?”

  “Humans. I hate them. They are savage beasts who only know destruction. They don’t care about others; they only care about themselves. They have such finite lives—why do they live like this? Why do they not care about taking each other’s life? Why don’t they just try to help each other instead?”

  He wrapped his arms around me. “Oh, Ketsue-chan. Humans are complex creatures. They want to be able to make a difference in the world so that their name will be remembered since they do not live as long as us. There are many temptations and forces that even we don’t understand. I believe one day you will though and that you will learn to love humans. They are created by the gods, just like we were.”

  I shook my head. “No, I will never care for humans. They hurt my family.”

  Holding me tighter, he placed his forehead on my own. “I know they did, and I’m sorry I couldn’t have saved them as well. War is an awful thing. But you are young and you will see many more things before you become a full kitsune.”

  I didn’t know if that made me feel better or not. I didn’t want to experience painful things like I had just felt—I wanted to hide and never show my face ever again. I could go on with my life without having to interact with humans again.

  But I knew I wanted to be with Akikumo, no matter where he took me. I just had to get used to the life he led. It only had been a few days, but I felt I could trust him.

  “Now, should we get going? We are almost there—just a few more hours.”

  I nodded and he stood up and grabbed the bags. I grabbed my own bag, and we traveled farther into the woods. I noticed that Akikumo would kneel and pick some leaves, then place them in the pouch he had in his white-and-blue kimono.

  As he saw me right in his face, he chuckled. “Are you wondering what I am doing?”

  I nodded. He took one of the leaves and handed it to me. “Here, try this.”

  I took it and placed it in my mouth. It tasted cool, pungent, but almost sweet. It was rather delicious, but it didn’t explain why he was picking it.

  “It tastes good,” I said.

  “Yes, it is used for tea and a few different medicinal uses. It is called mint. I picked some so we could have some tea tonight.”

  A drink made of this would taste good. I couldn’t wait to try
it. Akikumo must have studied plants for a long time because I didn’t know any of them. I was too scared that some were poison and had no one to teach me. I wondered who had taught Akikumo.

  Those were all questions that went through my mind, but I was still too shy to ask them. I said very little to him, even though he was able to figure out what I was thinking or needing at any moment. I wasn’t sure where he came from or how he could read my mind, but he was very good at it.

  “Min...t?” I asked, trying to repeat the word he had just taught me.

  “Yes, exactly. Come look at this plant.”

  I stepped closer to him.

  He pointed at the stem. “Mint has a square stem, and the leaves are opposite and rotate up the stem, see?”

  I nodded, trying to understand what he was explaining. I sort of understood, but I didn’t quite know if I would remember.

  “And the flowers are small, purple, and group at where the leaves meet the stem. Then if you crush one of the leaves”—he grabbed a leaf and rubbed it with his fingers—“it smells pungent like this.”

  He held it out for me to take a whiff. It smelled just like it tasted.

  “Easy enough?” he asked with a smile.

  I nodded. It made sense, and I was sure I could tell from the aroma.

  “Now, we better get going. Only a few more days until we reach my place. Are you coming with me?”

  I nodded, as I didn’t know what else I would do.

  He smiled gently. “Good. There is a lot more I would like to teach you.”

  My tail wagged back and forth as he turned to lead us forward. I wondered what else I could learn.

  Chapter Five

  Present Day—Kyoto

  I BIT AT MY LONG NAILS as I waited on the other side of the shoji from where Inari awaited, tasting some of the blood that was left under my nail. Inari handled all their business in this room, including meeting other kami, listening to the prayers of the parishioners, and discussing matters with the kitsune. Akikumo met with them, but I did not attend with him. In all my time here, I talked to Inari once and since then have only seen glimpses of their beauty.