Yokai (14 page)

“
And maybe so is this
situation you’ve decided is your horrible fate,” Brian told
her.

The train slowed to a stop and a man’s
voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing that they had arrived
at Kakunodate. Yumiko looked out to see a neat, clean station with
vending machines and advertisements plastered over the heads of
passengers as they marched to and fro like ants, hurrying to their
destinations. As she stepped off of the train behind Brian, their
conversation dispersed from her mind. The sound of cicadas greeted
her and she smiled at the warm air that brushed her hair from her
shoulders. It was spring, but it felt like a summer day with the
sun high in the sky, warming her skin, and the happy chatter of
people filling the space around her.

As they walked past the station and
toward the compact town, Yumiko couldn’t wipe the grin off of her
face. She spent so much of her time in Tokyo, especially holed up
within a one-mile radius on the bad side of town, that it did
wonders to have a change in scenery. It felt like a nice, quaint
suburb, with wide open streets and lots of greenery. The air was
fresh and clean, and the view wasn’t distorted by the harsh glow of
neon lights, or disturbed by the incessant honking of impatient
cars.

“
You look like you’re
enjoying yourself,” Brian noted, watching her.

Yumiko pursed her lips, then shrugged.
“I suppose I am.”

Brian looked happy at the admission,
and led them down a street lined with traditional samurai houses.
“This town in amazing,” he said. “It’s been untouched by war since
it was built in the early seventeenth century.”

Yumiko watched a man pulling a couple
in a rickshaw as he passed them, before glancing up at one of the
samurai houses, a sprawling estate beyond a tall wooden fence.
“It’s beautiful here.”

“
Would you like to visit
one of the houses?”

Yumiko debated for a moment, but shook
her head. “We’re here on business.”

“
But we can indulge
ourselves a little since we’re here.”

Yumiko chuckled. “Mr…Brian. Let’s take
care of your business first, then we can determine if we have time
to sightsee.”

“
I can agree to that,”
Brian grinned at her. He touched her back gently to usher her
forward, and she swallowed hard as a shiver of pleasure ran down
her spine. She felt like a normal girl for the first time in a long
while. It was easy to forget one’s self in a place like this, with
a handsome man.

But there were reminders of her quest
everywhere, as well. A supernatural green glow emanated from one
samurai house, while small creatures danced on the rooftop of
another. Houses as old as these were bound to be infested with
yokai, having seen so much history.

At the end of the street, Brian took a
left and Yumiko heard the Hinokinai River up ahead, and then she
caught a glimpse of it through the trees. However, she was too
distracted by the trees to focus on the water. She nearly froze at
the sight of them. Cherry blossom trees, in full bloom, their
branches overflowing with bright pink flowers, as if they held
armfuls of beautiful bouquets in their arms.

“
Beautiful,” Brian
breathed.

Yumiko gaped at the trees, their
branches hanging low, their trunks old and thick. “Yes, they
are.”

“
I wasn’t talking about the
trees,” he said softly, and brushed a strand of hair out of her
face.

Yumiko met his eyes, then looked away,
knowing that her face was on fire. To save herself some
embarrassment, she stepped forward so that she was in full view of
the street. The branches of the trees formed a tunnel of pink, and
without waiting for Brian, she walked along the tunnel, head
turning up to take in the breathtaking scene. She felt surrounded
by the flowers, their sweet scent invading her nostrils and making
her think of spring. She caught another glimpse of the river
through the trees and slipped between the trunks, hearing Brian’s
footfalls muffled by the grass as he followed her.

More cherry blossom trees bloomed near
the river, the petals so pale they nearly looked white from where
she stood, giving the trees the illusion that they’d been covered
by snow.

“
Not everything in this
world is ghosts and demons,” Brian said from behind her, so near
that she had to resist her body’s impulse to lean into the heat he
gave off. The scenery was so romantic that she didn’t trust herself
around it; she didn’t think that she would remember herself and who
she was if she looked at him again. But Yumiko knew that she wasn’t
a normal girl, and she couldn’t give in to this temptation, to the
illusion of…whatever this was. Because that’s all it was. An
illusion. A respite from her real life, which was teeming with
ghosts and demons.

“
Let’s get your book,” she
said, her voice steady, although her heart thumped wildly in her
chest. She tore her gaze from the beauty of the world around her
and stared at the ground. It nearly brought tears to her eyes to
turn her back on this, but this couldn’t be her life. She had less
than twelve months to prepare for the upcoming battle, and she
couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t going to arrive, that Kagami
wouldn’t come for her.

“
This way,” Brian said,
defeat heavy in his voice.

Yumiko turned and followed, watching
his back as he led her to the bookstore that was their destination,
for fear that her eyes would wander and she would be tempted by the
life that could have been, but wasn’t.

Chapter
Eleven

“
What is this book that
you’ve traveled to Kakunodate for?” Yumiko asked as they walked
along a street of small shops. “Is it something that may address
your curse?”

Brian looked over at her hesitantly.
“No, not so much. It holds legends that are not in Madame Mori’s
library, ones that I think she needs to see.”

“
Yokai legends?” Yumiko
frowned. “I’m sure that Madame Mori knows about them. She is a
yokai expert. None know more than her.”

“
No human is all-knowing in
any subject. And some legends prefer to remain hidden.”

Yumiko mulled this over for a moment.
“Okay. Let’s say I believe you. How did you stumble upon this
treasure trove of knowledge?”

Brian grinned. “That’s a polite way of
saying that you don’t believe me, but you don’t have to. You’ll see
it for yourself soon enough.” He paused at a stall with several
trinkets laid out. The shopkeeper was beginning to pack up her
things, as the sun was beginning to set.

“
This is nice,” Brian said,
touching the purple frame of a hand mirror.

Yumiko glanced over its simple design.
“You think so?”

“
I do,” Brian said, then
fumbled for his pocket, pulling out his wallet.

“
No, I…” Yumiko put a hand
out to stop him. “Not for me.”

“
Are you sure?” he stopped
to look at her.

“
I’m sure.”

“
Okay.” He bowed to the
woman of the stall, who quickly packed the mirror away.

With a sigh, he led her two doors
down, where a small bookstore was tucked between a supermarket and
a shop boasting souvenirs. The sign on the door proclaimed that the
store was already closed, but after Brian knocked on the door, it
was opened quickly by a friendly old man with a white mustache and
a marshmallow fluff of thin hair atop his head.

“
Mr. Itou,” Brian bowed.
“Thank you for having us.”

“
Certainly, certainly,” the
man said, waving away the formalities. “It’s always a pleasure to
speak to one interested in folklore.” He raised an eyebrow at
Yumiko. “And this is Miss Sato?”

“
A pleasure,” Yumiko
bowed.

“
Please, come have some
tea,” Mr. Itou said. “And excuse the mess. Since my granddaughter
went to college, there’s no one to pick up after a scatterbrained
old man like me.”

He led them past an entryway with
magazine and newspaper stands overlooking a cash register, and down
one of the many claustrophobic aisles of book shelves crammed to
overflowing with books.

“
You have a lovely shop,”
Yumiko commented as she was led through a door and into a small
kitchen area.

Mr. Itou scrambled around a counter,
preparing tea, and insisted they have a seat. “Yes, we have many
rare and first edition books,” he told her. “I specialize in
Japanese folklore, but it seems that all anybody wants these days
is popular fiction and manga.” He shook his head sadly. “Youth have
no sense of history.”

Yumiko looked around the room to see
books and papers in piles on nearly every available surface. As Mr.
Itou put a tray down before them, he swept his hand over the low
table to empty it of several musty-looking volumes. But Yumiko
liked the old books. She loved the old smell and yellowed pages.
And she was intrigued by Mr. Itou. If Brian was correct, he might
have something important for them. Yumiko had accepted knowledge
from Madame Mori over the years, but had never been able to give
anything in return. Perhaps this was her opportunity to do so. She
wasn’t very optimistic, however. Even if Brian assumed that Mori
wasn’t aware of some text, she most likely was. If Mr. Itou was
aware of it, Master Mori must have been too.

The tea was watered-down and bitter,
but Yumiko politely sipped at it. As she set her cup down, she
caught her reflection in a mirror above the door to the bookstore,
and looked away quickly. She shifted uncomfortably and ignored the
questioning look that Brian sent her way.

“
Mr. Mathis tells me that
you are quite a yokai aficionado,” Mr. Itou said after a moment of
silence.

“
Mr. Mathis is too kind,”
Yumiko murmured modestly.

Brian snorted.

“
There are three great evil
yokai,” Mr. Itou stated. “Do you know them?”

Yumiko cleared her throat. “Of course.
Tamamo-no-mae, the nine-tailed fox, Emperor Sutoku, who became a
Daitengu, and Shuten-Doji, king of the oni.”

“
Very good,” Mr. Itou
looked pleased and rubbed his chin as he studied her. “Madame Mori
has taught you well.”

“
You know of Madame Mori?”
Yumiko perked up.

“
Of course. Her knowledge
is legendary. I have conversed with her on yokai myself a number of
times. I like to think of myself as a resource for her…line of
work.”

Yumiko nodded.

“
You are the yokai hunter
that I’ve heard so much about, aren’t you?” Mr. Itou asked
bluntly.

Yumiko glanced over at Brian, unsure,
but nodded again.

Mr. Itou let out a deep breath. “I
thought as much. You hold yourself like a warrior, one who is used
to battle and being always ready for the unexpected.”

“
Thank you.”

Mr. Itou looked at her warily.
“Forgive me for saying so, but your line of work brings death. I
suspect that this old town is home to many yokai, and they will
note your presence before long. I will give you what you seek, and
ask that you to be on your way.”

Brian blinked, surprised. “Mr.
Itou-”

“
I suspect that my company
won’t be missed when I give you what you seek,” Mr. Itou
interrupted him. He stood abruptly. “Please, enjoy your tea. I will
be back in a moment.”

Yumiko stared down at her teacup as
the man left them, ducking back into the bookstore. When she raised
her eyes, she saw Brian gazing back at her. “I’m sorry,” she told
him.

“
Don’t be. He’s a
fool.”

“
Is he? I find him to be
rather wise.”

Brian sighed. “Yumiko…”

“
You could learn a thing or
two from him,” she said quickly.

“
And keep my distance from
you?”

Yumiko shrugged.

“
I don’t think I could do
that. I wouldn’t want to. I’ve been away from you for long
enough.”

Yumiko frowned at his choice of words.
While flattered, and a little happy if she was honest with herself,
she thought that she detected some meaning hidden in them.
Suddenly, she realized that she knew very little about Brian. His
past was shrouded in mystery. Just who was Brian? What secrets were
buried in his past?

“
We’ve only known each
other a little over a month,” she murmured.

Brian pursed his lips. “That’s true.
But doesn’t it feel like longer than that?”

“
And here we are,” Mr. Itou
said, returning, and saving Yumiko from further
discussion.

He held a scroll in one hand, and a
leather-bound book in the other. Both were yellowed with age.
Yumiko concentrated on them to get her mind off of Brian. She
pointedly turned away from him.

“
I asked you about the
three great evil yokai for a reason,” Mr. Itou said. He set aside
the book, and unrolled the scroll carefully, stretching it across
the floor beside them. Yumiko leaned forward, squinting at the
words on the page, although she didn’t need to, as Mr. Itou read
them aloud: “When Shuten-Doji was just twelve years of age, he was
known throughout Echigo as a pretty boy, even though he was an
unplanned bastard. He was known for his long lashes and hair the
color of chestnuts. All the girls loved him and wanted him to be
theirs. Shuten-Doji, however, refused the love of all of the
females who approached, and they all died, they were so distraught
over his indifference. Soon, Shuten-Doji earned a reputation that
kept people away from him. Lonely and bitter, he burned all of the
love letters that the females of Echigo had given to him, but the
smoke enveloped him and poisoned him, turning him into a grotesque
creature. An oni.”