Pilgrim 3, p.15
Pilgrim 3, page 15
Eventually.
As they walked, Danzen quickly glanced at Yato, yet again wondering how she would fit into all of this. Would she continue on as an assassin after what happened next? She had reached a crossroads in meeting him, one that allowed her to change course and potentially spare her life, or one that saw her buckling down and becoming something she couldn’t have been without meeting him. And aside from her role, what would his role be? Would she simply learn from him in the time that they were together? Then again, if that was her choice, if she wanted to remain on the path, did Danzen owe it to his former instructor Thane to shepherd her? And what would that entail?
They crossed over the river, the smell of fish reaching Danzen’s nostrils. They weren’t far from the monger market near the wharf, and it was busy with activity, sellers calling out prices and hacking away at their morning catches. They passed a couple children carrying fish on a string, the two running excitedly back to their home. A man moved around them pushing a wheelbarrow full of fish, several still flopping, their scales gleaming, Kudzu licking her lips as she watched them pass. Danzen caught her doing this; she quickly made eye contact with him, smirked, and looked away. They came to the area of the city known for its carriages, as well as its high-end hotels courting those who had recently come off a trip up the river, and needed to continue on to either Sainshand or Bahlingar.
“Here.” Yato took a seat at a small restaurant with tables and chairs out front. A waiter stopped by, and after Danzen ordered tea, she spoke again. “It’s behind me; the hotel with a green roof. That is where I last saw Soko.”
“We will need to find out if she is still there, discreetly.”
“And how would we go about doing that?” Kudzu asked Danzen. “If I were in my fox form, I could sniff around…”
“It would be helpful to talk to the hotel staff. I’ll handle it.” When the waiter came back around with tea, Danzen switched into his Demon Speak power: “Go to the hotel with the green roof, and bring their front desk clerk to me. Tell them there is money in it. This is urgent.”
“As you wish, my lord,” the man said. It wasn’t long before he returned to the table with a short woman in black robes, her hair combed back and matted to her head.
“My lord?” she asked Danzen.
“I’m looking for someone,” he told her, “a woman wearing a mask who may be staying at your hotel. I need to know the honest answer to the questions I ask you. Is this woman staying there? Have there been any unusual guests?”
“There was a woman,” she said, her eyes twitching for a moment, “a few days ago. We weren’t allowed to speak with her, but the manager did. She left with two attendants yesterday.”
“Male attendants?”
The hotel clerk nodded.
“They didn’t say where they were going, did they?” Kudzu asked.
“No, they did not. She never actually spoke to any of us. I only briefly saw her. All I remember was that she was in long black robes that looked almost as if she were floating. I don’t know how to describe her other than that.”
Danzen returned his focus to Yato. “We will need to put out the signal to meet at the tavern. We can get a bow and arrow on our way back to our hotel.” Danzen looked at the waiter and the female hotel clerk again. “You will forget this conversation, and you will forget ever seeing the three of us. Thank you. You are dismissed.”
****
Everything was set, the arrow now sticking out of the wooden statue, a blue cloth wrapped around its fletching. It was a signal, and for it to work they would have to partially move to the room above the tavern, at least in Yato’s case. Danzen’s yokai companions would be stationed across the street, while Danzen would wait in the room next to Yato, to quickly use his voice once Tensei and Sonin came to meet her.
“You should have put it up tomorrow morning,” Jelmay said, the bakeneko still resting on the bed once they reached their hotel room. “That would have given you another night to rest.”
“It’s too late now,” Yato said as she set the bow and its quiver in the corner. They’d gotten a beginner set, the cheapest one available.
“Have you ever seen this man jump? I’m sure he could reach the arrow and take it down,” Jelmay said, gesturing toward Danzen.
“It doesn’t matter,” Yato assured him. “Part of our agreement was that we would wait a day before going, so we have time. We can still rest for today, and move into position in the morning.”
“So just the four of us in this room all day?” Kudzu asked as she sat down on one of the beds. “Any way I can get some herbs to help me sleep?”
Unlike their cabin on the ship, the hotel suite was set in a single room. It was large, but Danzen could sense how it could feel confining after a few hours. He’d been meaning to step out onto the balcony and view the fairgrounds, and once he did so, he was struck by the memory of the fight he had there against Soko and his own demons. There were no signs of the battle now, and it appeared as if the town was erecting a monument to memorialize the event, the utter tragedy.
It was all his fault.
The monument, which from what Danzen could tell would be a pedestal where people could offer prayers to the dead, would not be there if it weren’t for him, if he hadn’t come to meet Soko head on. Now on the balcony, staring out at the fairgrounds and particularly at the men working on the monument, Danzen felt a sense of shame he’d rarely felt before.
He bit his lip, his hands on the railing as he bent his head forward.
This was why he needed to disappear. Now there would be a monument to his condition. He could only imagine the rumors that had spawned around it. Where had the demons come from? Had people seen Danzen and Soko battling? If so, what were they saying about that? He recalled some of the guards at the event, but there had been so much chaos that it may have been hard for them to pick out individual moments. Danzen didn’t know. Either way, it was yet another reminder as to how he didn’t belong in the human world.
But did he belong in Diyu?
This was a question that he hadn’t really considered. If his place wasn’t in this world, was it in the afterlife? And what did it mean that he was even considering a question like this? He had a feeling that he wouldn’t be accepted in Diyu anyway, not without the power of his father’s throne. A hunch told him that full-blooded demons like his brother likely didn’t mix well with those who had died and gone to the realm, and that as a half-blooded individual, he would be even more ostracized. The ultimate outsider.
Kudzu joined Danzen on the balcony.
“Remembering things?” she asked carefully as she stepped up next to him, her arm grazing against his.
“I am.”
“It was a tough night,” she said as she too looked out at the fairgrounds.
“And now they are erecting a monument.”
“What a very human thing to do.” Kudzu turned and looked at him. “It’s still strange, seeing you like this.”
“Without my hair?” He ran his hand over his head.
“If it weren’t for the way you carry yourself, I would say you look like a different person altogether.”
“I’ve been told I don’t carry myself well.”
“Did Jelmay say that?” Kudzu asked, harkening back to a conversation they had once had in one of their many trips through the Asura Forest.
“Among others.”
“You have a lot on your mind, and it weighs down your shoulders to some degree. But you don’t have bad posture or anything.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you tired? Jelmay and I can look after Yato while you rest.”
“Maybe I should rest.”
“We could go back into town and grab a few things for tonight, some food, perhaps.”
“The hotel has food,” Danzen reminded her.
“The bread wasn’t very decent, and I’m craving fish. I think you know why.”
“I’m sure they could get fish.”
“You aren’t good at taking hints, are you?” Kudzu asked as she playfully tapped her hand against his arm. “I’m trying to give you time to rest here, to be alone, so you don’t have to hear Jelmay rambling.”
“Right. Thank you.”
She motioned toward the fairgrounds. “Don’t take this as seriously as you are likely going to take it. It happened, and while the demons did come from you spilling blood, it wasn’t entirely your fault. Soko is the one who brought this on. She didn’t have to. If she had wanted to fight you, the two of you could have walked off into the woods, or found some empty place to do it. I know you feel guilty, but just remember that it was Soko who caused this event. And she must have known how it would torment you. I am assuming you’ve always been…”
“Been what?” Danzen asked, after Kudzu didn’t finish her sentence.
“Closed off, quiet, the kind of person who keeps to their thoughts. Soko must have known this about you, and she would likely know how you would take this, how the deaths of that night would have affected you. Don’t let her use that against you.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Good, now you should get inside and get a little rest. I’ll take care of the other two. Is there anything in particular you want from the market?”
Danzen shook his head.
“Nothing at all? Candy?”
“No, I’m fine.”
.Chapter Four.
Danzen was awoken several hours later when Yato returned with the two yokai, Jelmay and Kudzu also debating the merits of gambling during the day, which was apparently something Jelmay had attempted to do once he saw a group of teenagers playing with bone dice along a dirt road.
“I’m so good at that game, Kudzu!”
The argument more or less continued over the meal that followed, the kitchen below preparing some of the fish that Jelmay had purchased for them at a monger’s market. All of it was exquisite, the white fox falling into a deep sleep after while Danzen, Jelmay, and Yato sat around the table, the bakeneko picking his teeth with his claw.
“So we move to a new location tomorrow, right?” Jelmay asked. “I only ask because I would prefer to stay here. What can I say? It’s comfortable.”
“Hopefully Tensei and Sonin will come as planned tomorrow night, they can have their… desires… stripped away from them, and then they can lead you to Soko.”
“And you think that they will be as easygoing with this as you are?” Jelmay asked her.
Yato shrugged. “From what I can tell based on what I’m currently experiencing, I don’t know if they really have a choice.”
Jelmay bobbed his head left and right. “Hmmm… would you say that this time that you have spent with us has changed your opinion on Pilgrim over here?” he asked, apparently in the mood to pose difficult questions. They hadn’t had any ale, but there had been some local wine served in small shot glasses, which was another reason Kudzu was already asleep.
“I… I don’t know the answer to that question,” said Yato, lowering her head to some degree.
“Come on. We’re not as bad as we seem, just look at us. Pilgrim here seems tough on the outside, because he is, but once you get to know him, he’s quite lovable. Isn’t that right?”
Danzen didn’t respond.
“I think he’s lovable. Aren’t you lovable?”
Once again, Danzen remained silent.
“See? It’s a unique kind of softness, maybe I should clarify that.”
“I don’t believe I’m prepared to talk about this,” Yato finally said.
“Eh, maybe you’re right, maybe I shouldn’t pry. Call me a sucker for a good story, but I like to see people come full circle, you know, from bad to good, or even good to bad. As long as they don’t remain stagnant. I don’t think there’s anything that displeases me more than remaining stagnant,” Jelmay said, motioning toward Kudzu.
Yato grinned. “You two really hate each other, don’t you?”
“Me and the fox? No way, it’s all for show. There are going to be songs written about us one day and we have to get along, so it’s sort of a mutual appreciation for the future of this epic tale, and it has been epic, let me tell you. I mean, start with this guy,” Jelmay said, gesturing toward Danzen, “and somehow you ended up here, in a hotel room with you and two yokai. And that’s not to mention everything that has happened between now and then, from trips to Diyu, to accidentally killing a demon bear and a number of other things involving nozuchi that I don’t want to get into. There’s also the—”
Something struck the window; Danzen hopped to his feet, his hand going to the grip of the sword. He recognized the sound as a small pebble, and another one came not long after.
“It looks like we may have company,” Jelmay said. “One of us needs to be on the outside looking in.” He grabbed his shield and his sword, and as he did so he morphed into someone that resembled one of the hotel employees. “Just in case.”
“Good,” Danzen said, agreeing with the bakeneko’s assessment. “Go.”
Another pebble struck the window.
Danzen slowly made his way over to a side table, where he equipped his gauntleted weapons. He slipped his Blade of Darkness over his shoulder, so it was sheathed on his back.
“Kudzu,” he said as he came to the bed. The white fox stirred, and looked up at him. “Something may be happening soon. Please be ready.”
She shifted off the bed, Danzen turning away as she took her human form, Kudzu nude for a moment before changing into some robes.
“What about me?” Yato asked Danzen, alarm in her eyes. “How can I help?”
Yato’s gauntleted blades were on the side table, next to where his weapons had been just moments ago. He made a split-second decision, one that he hoped wouldn’t come back to haunt him. “Put them on, and be ready for anything.”
Another pebble.
“Is this something that Soko would do?” Kudzu asked, who now stood at the back of the room, also with her blade drawn.
“There are a number of things she would do,” Danzen said as he withdrew Astra. “And we may be overthinking this. I’ll go out there; the two of you stay back. Hopefully, it’s nothing.”
Skrrict! Skrrict! Yato summoned her blades.
As carefully as ever, Danzen let himself out onto the balcony, his eyes immediately falling to a pair of torches below. As he had suspected, it was indeed Soko, and the female assassin was with Thane’s two students. Accompanying them was a team of what Danzen instantly assumed were younger Diyu Brotherhood recruits, all wearing matching white masks, the same one that Soko wore, the only difference being that hers had red accents around her eyeholes.
“Stand down,” Danzen said, summoning his power, the two words feeling as if it had originated in the depths of hell and somehow pried their way out of his mouth. He had to amplify his voice considering he was on a balcony, which only made it hurt more as it scratched out of his throat.
Even with his effort, none of the assassins stirred.
Soko rose higher into the air, darkness enveloping her as she left the glow of the torchlight below. She stopped about ten feet away from Danzen, now at eye level.
“They can’t hear you, dear,” she said. “I saw to that.”
Danzen recalled what the archery instructor known as Yuna had done to her own students, the blood trickling down their necks originating from their ears.
“You disfigured them to thwart me?”
“I do a lot to thwart you,” she said, “but it is all for a purpose, a reason.”
Yato stepped out on the balcony.
Soko turned to her, tilting her head slightly as she took the young assassin in. “If it isn’t the little traitor. You were always the weakest of Thane’s students, and I was sure that you would die first. But I have a policy, you know, not to trust my first instinct, and I also saw a scenario in which you led Danzen to me under the influence of his power. He is influencing you, isn’t he?”
Yato didn’t respond.
“That’s what I thought. We knew you had arrived in the city as soon as the ship reached the wharf,” she told the two of them. “I see you have changed your appearance in the hopes that this would help you in some way, and I must say, you look good with short hair. It reminds me of how you looked when you were a boy.” She floated just a few feet closer to him. “I don’t want to kill you, you know. I remember the battle we had on this very field behind me, and I thought a lot about it since. No, I don’t want to kill you, but I wouldn’t mind owning your weapons, especially the shadow one, which reminds me of Jinkai and his Penumbra. But that’s a conversation for another day, and there will be plenty more of those, at least for me anyway. And I suppose there’s always the afterlife, where we can finally reunite. Would you like that?”
Danzen didn’t respond to Soko’s question; he did his best to ignore the hair standing on the back of his neck, knowing full well that the ghoul floating before him could attack at any moment.
“You claim to be the son of the ruler of Diyu, and by the time I get there, maybe you will have taken his throne. Can you see it?” she asked as she tilted her head, a sliver of moonlight reflecting off her white mask adding a hint of tragedy to the image that Danzen would later have trouble putting words to. “We could rule it together, you and I, Diyu could be ours.”
“I will not be ruling Diyu.”
“Yes, you will, and I will be your queen. You will see then when you have taken the throne that I am the only one worthy of your affection. Not a useless yokai, or a young and naïve follower.”
Kudzu stepped out onto the balcony as well.
“They said there was a woman with white hair with you, and I wondered if it was the fox,” Soko said, still with her focus solely on Danzen. “She got in the way last time, if I recall, but it won’t be so easy this time.”
