Pilgrim, p.32
Pilgrim, page 32
Danzen was curious as to what was happening outside, but he was also cautious, his weapons not far from him. He also knew better than to do something like stick his head out and see for himself.
Maybe there would be a day that the yokai who lived in Ogul learned to trust him; but that wasn’t going to be today, and now that he knew that they could smell something different about him, Danzen assumed it would be even harder to gain their acceptance.
What Kudzu had hinted at was something that he had thought about numerous times, but had tried not to dwell on.
What if he actually was some kind of demon?
He had once had a conversation with Soko about this, the female assassin of the mind that he was entirely human, even if some of the things he could do said otherwise.
The idea that he wasn’t human bothered him to some degree. How would that even be possible?
If he wasn’t human, what was he?
Morning came and they had breakfast, Danzen noticing that the apples here were juicier than any apple he’d ever eaten in the human world. They were satiating too; just a few slices and he felt rejuvenated, like he’d had his fill.
“You will stop back by here once you retrieve the stone, will you not?” Kikikaki asked him, the yokai’s yellow eyes twitching as she took him in. Her chubby little son sat next to her, yawning.
“We certainly plan to,” Kudzu told her.
“Good, and good luck. And you’re sure you don’t want me to pack a snack for your journey? Snacks are always nice…”
The white fox bowed her head to her counterpart. “That won’t be necessary, but I do appreciate it. We will be able to eat along the way. He’s quite handy with the sword,” she said, lashing her glimmering tail against Danzen’s leg.
There wasn’t quite enough room for him to stand inside their tree stump home, Danzen glad once they finally stepped out of the door. He briefly stretched his arms over his head and lowered them quickly, back to maintaining his composure, his shoulders now pressed back, his famed sword at his side, the Blade of Darkness on his back, and his satchel flung over his shoulder.
As before, the yokai village of Ogul had shut their doors to the former assassin, the only indication that they lived there being the doorways carved into the tree trunks.
Used to being an outcast of sorts, Danzen tried not to pay any attention to their collective shunning as he followed Kudzu into the woods, the fox immediately picking up her pace. She traveled fast enough that Danzen had to call on some of his superhuman ability to keep up with her.
At some point he shot into the air, using a large limb to press himself up even further so he was able to clear the canopy. The sky was gray, the sun barely visible, a rainstorm potentially rolling in from the west. For just a moment Danzen saw just how far out they were, much farther than when he’d gone after Enkhmaa.
He landed to find Kudzu waiting for him, the fox panting. “See anything up there?” she asked him in a playful tone.
“Just trees.”
****
Their trek into the Asura Forest took a westerly angle, Danzen and Kudzu following the tributary that jetted off one of the main rivers they’d passed earlier, roots and rocks crowding the shoreline.
There was plenty of fish, enough that the fox took notice, Kudzu licking her lips. “Perhaps if we caught some for later, we could grab them on the way back to Ogul.”
“Is there a good place where we could hide them?” Danzen asked.
“Leave that part to me. You just catch them.”
Once again, Danzen used his famed blade to skewer fish. He was glad Astra couldn’t speak; he didn’t know how the weapon would have felt being demoted to a glorified fishing spear. Then again, it still was able to take life in some fashion, so maybe Astra wouldn’t give him too much grief.
After he’d caught five or six fish, Danzen strung them up, Kudzu taking it from there, the fox stashing them in the trunk of a hollowed-out tree trunk and nudging rocks over to it.
“It’s temporary, and if a certain type of yokai comes along, they’ll definitely smell it. But I think they will still be here when we return. If not, we’ll see if we can’t grab a few more when we circle back around.”
Danzen nodded and the two continued, his thoughts drifting to what he had told Kudzu last night.
It was the first time since reaching the valley that he had opened up about who he was. He still hadn’t detailed his past life as an assassin to her, but she didn’t press him. That information would come out one day.
They came to a small clearing covered in tall grass. Kudzu stopped dead in her tracks, her snout in the air.
“Someone is out there.” The fox crouched low to the ground as she crept forward. “Stay low; I’m sensing humans.”
Danzen crouched behind a tree and brought his hood over his head. Kudzu moved through the tall grass and back to him, the fox carrying a look on her face that he couldn’t quite interpret.
Once she reached the former assassin, she spoke in a low whisper: “Hunters, likely from Chutham. They were just here, and they are probably only a few minutes away. That’s not all. Believe it or not, they have captured our little friend.”
“Our friend?”
“The bakeneko. They have him in a cage.”
“Is this common?” Danzen asked. “Capturing yokai?”
“It has grown more common, yes. Groups of hunters come to the forest mainly looking for deer and other animals. They will kill yokai as well, but many don’t; many prefer to catch them instead and see if they can sell them. This is a new thing. This used to never happen.”
Danzen considered what she’d said.
If they went after the shapeshifting yokai, Danzen might end up in a situation where he hurt one of the hunters. If they allowed the bakeneko to be captured and sold, there was a chance that he would have to deal with it later anyway, once the cat took someone else’s form and became possessed by a consumptive spirit.
There was also the promise that the cat had made him, that he would explain who the man in white robes was…
Danzen recalled the man now with his red hair and sharp features, something almost demonic about him, his eyes filled with a burning fury.
“We should go after him,” Kudzu said after giving Danzen enough time to voice his thoughts.
“And then what?”
“And then we return to our main quest: reach the tree, get the gemstone, and return to Ogul by nightfall.”
“Lead the way,” Danzen told her.
He was going to have to act quickly; perhaps he could rely on his incredible stamina and strength to perhaps spook the hunters, rather than engage them.
Still, they might see his face. To prevent this, Danzen placed his hand in a puddle of mud slowly drying in the shade of one of the trees. He spread the mud over his face, concealing his appearance even more.
“Good idea.” Kudzu led him around the glade, Danzen following close behind her, the former assassin keeping low to the ground as he stalked his prey.
He was hyper-cautious of his surroundings as they drew closer to the hunters, Danzen now able to hear two of them speaking. Kudzu indicated for him to wait as she slipped forward again. She returned, confirming with a whisper that there were indeed four of them, two of them carrying the cage, and that the bakeneko was asleep.
“Did you say he was asleep?” Danzen asked.
“Correct,” said Kudzu, shaking her head. “Maybe they did something to him. I don’t know.”
“Do they have weapons?”
“Knives and bows.”
“Stay here.”
Danzen took off his satchel and his Blade of Darkness and placed them before the fox. He looked up to the canopy, the tops of the trees a good fifty feet above him, and once again pinpointed the direction in which the hunters were heading.
Sending power into his legs, he shot to the side of a tree trunk and used that as a springboard to fling himself well above the canopy. He arced down and cut through the trees, landing before the four hunters with his sword drawn.
The men, all of whom wore some form of camouflage made from leaves and fur, startled at once. Danzen loosed his blade immediately, expertly sending it through the strap of one of the men’s shoulder packs, the blade returning to his hand.
The two men that were carrying the cage, which was affixed to a long pole, dropped it immediately. Their hands shook as they went for their daggers, the two men in the front, including the one whose bag Danzen had cut through, going for a pair of bows.
“Go,” said Danzen, calling forth a voice he rarely used. “And never return to this forest.”
It was a cheap way to end this quickly, but Danzen didn’t want to murder the hunters, especially now that he saw just how pathetic they were.
Not only would it draw suspicion from Chutham, it could also have the effect of bringing more hunting parties into the forest as they searched for the men. Danzen was doing everyone a favor by calling on his Demon Speak ability, even if he felt as if it momentarily made him vulnerable.
The men lowered their weapons, and were just about to step away when Danzen asked one of them for the key to the cage. The hunter fished around in his pocket for it and handed it to Danzen before stepping away.
Once the hunters were gone, Danzen turned his attention to the cage, where the cat still slept. Figuring the yokai wasn’t going anywhere, Danzen turned back to where he had left Kudzu, just twenty or so feet away, so he could grab his satchel and the Blade of Darkness.
As he turned away, the yokai suddenly spoke in his scratchy voice: “You’re just going to leave me trapped in here?”
Danzen grimaced and turned back to him. “You were awake this entire time?”
“Maybe…” The bakeneko stood now, his paws on the bars of the cage. The cat looked him over with his yellow eyes, the pudgy feline in a vest that was a size too small.
“Couldn’t you just have used your powers to trick one of them to let you out?” Danzen asked.
“Who wants to go to all that trouble when they can just be rescued?” asked the cat. “Also, impressive rescue. I daresay I’ve never been rescued in such a way.”
“Stay here.”
The yokai shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Danzen reached Kudzu, who quickly took off toward the caged bakeneko, giving him a moment to sheathe his Blade of Darkness on his back, and place his satchel over his shoulder.
Once he had retrieved his gear, the former assassin returned to the cat, who was still in his cage, a sly look on his face as he spoke to Kudzu.
“There he is,” said the bakeneko, his gaze hopping from Kudzu to Danzen. “Why the muddy face? Did you slip along the way?”
“How could you allow yourself to be captured?” Kudzu asked, her voice already tinged in annoyance. “You could have clearly tricked those hunters.”
“I was sleeping,” the cat said in a mischievous tone.
“Yet you are awake now.”
“How else was I supposed to meet with the two of you?”
Kudzu’s gray eyes flared up as she realized what happened. “You knew we were coming, didn’t you?”
“I knew it was a possibility, and it was a possibility that I wanted to be part of. So I figured I would get myself captured by those four idiots, and you two would come along to rescue me. Did I expect this guy here to come flying out of the sky with mud on his face? No. But it worked, and I feel like it was a solid rescue.”
“There are so many variables that could have changed the course of how things played out,” Kudzu started to say.
“You should know by now, Ms. Fox, that I deal entirely in variables. They have backfired before, like what happened with Uncle Gempachi—my apologies, by the way, I didn’t expect to get so swept up in that particular possession—where was I? Oh, yes, variables. It seemed like now would be a good time to reconnect with the two of you, considering how quickly I left the last time we met. I suppose I should apologize for that as well. I was a bit startled after finally breaking free from my possession. And I should go ahead and admit it now: I needed a little time to lick my wounds, as they say.”
“So you knew that we would come after you?” Danzen asked.
“I’ve already said that I did. It was a variable that I trusted would happen. And if my assumption had been incorrect, I would have just disappeared once the men got back to Chutham, which would have had the added bonus of teaching them a lesson. I can see the disappointed looks on their faces now,” he said, his long, droopy whiskers twitching. “That would have been a nice image.”
“Why?” Danzen asked.
“Not only do I dabble in variables, but I also dabble in destinies, and as much as I’m not going to like how this turns out—well, at some point—you and I have a role to play in all of this. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced to each other. My name is Jelmay.”
“Kudzu.”
“Pilgrim.”
“Pilgrim?” the cat laughed. “What kind of name for a human is that? That can’t be your name.” He stopped. “I suppose it doesn’t matter what your real name is, right? You’ve come a long way to escape your real name, and I’m not going to try to figure it out, especially in front of your foxy friend here. Pilgrim will work for now. Are you going to open this cage?”
Danzen seriously considered letting Jelmay stay in the cage.
“You have the key…”
Danzen approached the cage and unlocked it.
Jelmay stepped out, the cat stretching his paws wide. “Now, that’s more like it.”
****
The bakeneko stood before Danzen and Kudzu with a satisfied grin on his face. “It does bring me great pleasure when I’m able to align the stars in a way that works out in my favor. You two—well maybe you would, Kudzu—couldn’t possibly understand just how many times I’ve gotten it wrong. But, not this time! And all I had to do was trick a group of noodle-brained hunters.”
“You still have yet to tell us why you wanted our paths to cross,” said Kudzu, gritting her teeth.
“You know as well as I know that something very interesting is happening in the valley,” Jelmay said, “and I plan to be part of it. I have caused a lot of, shall we say, turmoil in the lives of humans. And I would like them not to return the favor, if that means anything to you.”
Danzen was already starting to understand how Jelmay’s prescience could be annoying.
There was a way that the cat held himself that gave him an almost patrician demeanor, likely coming from years of taking the form of humans. He didn’t appear old, but neither did Kudzu, Danzen not able to guess their ages based on their appearances.
There was something unique about the bakeneko, however, as if he had spent time cultivating his echo. Danzen had noticed the same sensation around others whom he had encountered, those who may or may not have practiced in secret.
“Has he told you what he is?” Jelmay asked Kudzu. “Or has he kept that part secret?”
“He has told me a few things, mostly about his speaking ability and concerns with his blood,” Kudzu said in a delicate way.
The bakeneko shrugged. “Well, I suppose I will let him catch you up on the other details at another time. Shall we?”
“Shall we what?” asked the fox.
“Get going? We are supposed to travel to some tree for a bit of jewelry, are we not? I do love a treasure hunt.”
“You’re coming with us?” Danzen asked.
“Of course, I’m coming with you. Do you really think I would go out of my way to be captured by those smelly idiots and carted around in a cage as if it were a palanquin for a meet and greet? No, I’m joining you. Welcome to the team, Jelmay,” the bakeneko said, trying to impersonate Danzen’s voice.
Kudzu sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that it would have been much easier if you just met us at, I don’t know, his monastery? Or at the start of the forest. Or in Ogul.”
“Ogul?” Jelmay laughed. “My dear, I was run out of that village years ago, long before you were born. Now, I don’t know if anyone who ran me out would still be alive to welcome me back, but, I’m sure their offspring have heard of me.”
“You seem to think very highly of yourself.”
“I am a one-of-a-kind,” the cat told her as he turned in the direction they had originally been heading. “Are we going? We're still a few hours away, and will probably want to take care of this tree and its skeletal warriors before the sun comes down. Come, I’ll entertain you with my stories and quips along the way.”
“I don’t trust him one bit,” Kudzu said under her breath, Danzen nodding in agreement as the two watched the cat move onto a forest path.
The bakeneko placed his hands on his sides and looked at them. “Well?”
Danzen took a step forward, Kudzu following him.
“That’s more like it,” said the cat as he started walking again. “I’m glad I didn’t have to turn up the charm or anything to get the two of you to trust me.”
“We clearly don’t trust you,” said Kudzu. “I’m sure you’ve already intuited that.”
“If you didn’t trust me, would you be following me?”
“You’re going in the same direction we were going.”
“I suppose she has me there,” the cat told Danzen. “Is she always this tough with you?”
Danzen didn’t respond.
“Figures. But she does seem like she’s nice company to have around, so I suppose both of us will have to put up with her poor attitude,” said the cat, lifting his chin a little. “Ooo!” He trotted forward to a bush that was growing around the base of a tree, a small stream next to it. He began plucking blackberries from the shrub, popping them into his mouth. “You should try some of these,” he told Danzen. “They’re best this time of year.”
The former assassin looked to Kudzu to confirm that it was fine to eat the berries. She nodded, and he picked a few of them, tasting one of the berries first before picking more. The berries were tart with a sweet aftertaste, juicy as well.
“See? I’ll never do you wrong,” Jelmay told him as he stuck his head into the bush to find more berries. He popped his head out with a small branch in his teeth, one that was covered in juicy little morsels. “The best ones are deeper in the bush,” he said. “You want me to grab you a branch?”
