Yokai (23 page)

“
No, I’m really not,” Brian
assured her, chuckling. “Many yokai have gone to different
dimensions over the years. As long as a mirror from Earth makes its
way there, I can see it as well.”

“
But a different
dimension?” Yumiko couldn’t help getting caught up in the idea. “Is
that even possible?” She stared into the mirror as something like a
seahorse floated across the surface and was suddenly swallowed by
one of the moving flowers. She gasped and grabbed Brian’s arm
instinctively. When she realized what she’d done, she slowly let go
of him, but not before she saw the tenderness in his eyes. The
longing.

Swallowing hard, she turned away. “I
can’t believe that it’s another dimension,” she said,
softly.

“
It’s just a place,” Brian
told her. “As long as it’s a place, and as long as a mirror can get
there, it will appear on this wall.”

“
And you could walk into
that dimension,” Reina said, suddenly excited. “Like, you could
bring us there?”

Brian bit his lip. “Yes, I could.
However, that particular world has an atmosphere that wouldn’t
support your delicate human body.”

Reina frowned. “Delicate human body?
Really?” She turned to Yumiko. “I think he just insulted
us.”

“
It was more of a
compliment, really,” Brian tried, but Reina stalked away. Yumiko,
amused by the exchange, just sat back and watched as he followed
Reina, trying to reword how he described their bodies.

And then the room filled with smoke as
Enenra returned.

“
That was quick,” Reina
commented.

The smoke seemed to converge on a
single point, like being sucked into a vacuum, and after a moment,
the smoke pulsed and formed into the previous shape of a handsome
young man. He smiled triumphantly at them.

“
Well?” Brian asked,
crossing his arms.

“
It’s not much further
ahead,” Enenra announced, voice full of pride. “The human appears
unharmed.”

“
His name’s Shou,” Reina
said, stepping past him rudely and stomping up the hall.

Enenra watched her retreating form.
“Don’t I get a reward?”

Brian smiled tightly. “Thank you,
Enenra. But people don’t do good deeds for rewards. They do them
because they should be done.”

Enenra seemed to mull this over as
Yumiko followed in Reina’s footsteps.

“
Shouldn’t I be praised, at
least?” Enenra asked, confused. Brian didn’t even bother to answer
and they fell into silence as they walked up the
hallway.

Yumiko gestured for Enenra to lead the
way, and he obliged, finding pleasure in leading them, at
least.

“
I’m sorry,” Brian said
quietly as he fell into step beside Yumiko. “He can be a
little-“

“
He’s fine,” Yumiko
interrupted, not looking at Brian. “He’s a strong warrior. That’s
what we need right now, no matter what form they come
in.”

Brian blinked, then nodded, matching
her steps until they saw Enenra stop ahead, and Reina pause to lean
over as she peered into a mirror.

Silently, Yumiko stepped up to the
mirror and saw Shou tied to a chair and gagged in a desert, a sand
dune rising behind him. The sun beat down on him, pasting his hair
to his forehead as sweat covered every inch of his skin. His head
kept drooping, but he didn’t seem to be harmed. He seemed to be
struggling to stay awake and alert, shaking his head to ward off
unconsciousness.

“
That is definitely a
trap,” Reina muttered, fixing her eyes on the lone figure in the
mirror. “He’s at least a hundred feet away from the mirror, which
gives anyone lying in wait plenty of time to attack.”

“
And we can’t see behind
the mirror,” Brian said slowly. “There could be an army waiting,
ready to step between us and our chance to escape.”

“
It doesn’t matter.” Yumiko
lifted her chin. “I’m going to rescue him, no matter the
odds.”

“
No,” Brian said, frowning
at her. “I’ll go.”

Yumiko glared at him. “No offense, but
that’s my friend out there. I’m going in to save him, whether you
say that I can or not.”

“
And what if we’re both
captured?” Brian demanded, stepping up so that they were looking
each other in the face. “What then? Who’s going to rescue both of
us if whatever’s waiting out there is too much for us to handle? We
need you here.”

Yumiko pressed her lips together in a
hard line to stop herself from offering some sort of retort. She
knew that he was right. If they were both captured, this would all
be over. They couldn’t really rely on Enenra or Reina to launch
another rescue attempt.

Yumiko’s eyes darted to the kappa, who
stood to the side, half-hidden in shadow. “They aren’t going to be
able to help you in the desert. They would die too
quickly.”

“
I know,” Brian touched her
shoulder affectionately, and before Yumiko knew what she was doing,
she covered his hand with her own and offered it a squeeze. His
eyes met hers and held it. “I’ll take Enenra with me. We’ll save
your friend. I promise.”

Exhaling deeply, Yumiko nodded, and
was disappointed when he dropped his hand from her shoulder. It
still felt warm for a moment as her skin and clothes retained his
body heat, but it faded quickly. Her heart began to beat faster as
she realized that she wanted to feel his warmth now, more than
anything. She wanted to be comforted in his arms. She wanted this
whole thing behind them. She was tired of battle. So
tired.

Brian nodded to Enenra and they both
stood before the mirror, facing the harsh desert with resolve,
unseen enemies waiting in the wings.

“
Alright,” Brian said
softly, gripping a sword tightly in hand. “Let’s do
this.”

Enenra nodded and they charged through
the mirror.

Yumiko watched as they stepped through
the mirror, their bodies wavering like heat over asphalt. Reina
clutched her arm anxiously, and Yumiko offered her hand a
reassuring squeeze in return, but Reina didn’t seem to notice. Her
eyes were glued to the mirror and the scene unfolding before
them.

Once they’d stepped cautiously into
the desert, Brian and Enenra looked around slowly, searching for
signs of trouble, but apparently, they didn’t see any, for they
took off for Shou at a run.

“
Ge! Ge! Ge!” Enenra yelled
into the sky, to Yumiko’s alarm.

“
Shut up!” Brian told him,
punching him in the shoulder.

Enenra laughed like he’d never had so
much fun. “You think they don’t know we’re here already? Just
waking them up in case they fell asleep!”

Brian scowled and they continued in
silence.

It seemed to take them forever to
reach Shou, their feet sinking into the sand with each step as they
ran together. Yumiko watched them, trying to remain expressionless,
while her heart hammered within her. Reina gripped her arm tighter
as the kappa watched the proceedings silently behind
them.

Yumiko noted that Shou was shaking his
head vigorously, but that didn’t deter Brian. He kept barreling
through the sand, Enenra at his heels.

And then they reached him.

And the sand exploded around
them.

Oni pulled themselves out of the sand,
where they’d lay hidden beneath the dead soil. Their bulky forms
slowed them somewhat and Brian took advantage of this, beheading
four of them before they ever had their bodies free of sand. But
there were dozens. They had no chance of besting them
all.

Reina turned away, hiding her face in
Yumiko’s shoulder with a moan of dismay. But Yumiko couldn’t look
away. She watched Brian as he fought the oni with conviction,
bravely meeting their steel with his own, barking orders to Enenra
to get Shou to safety.

“
I’m going in there,”
Yumiko said, standing tall.

“
Oh, no, you don’t,” Tanuki
said, leaping into her path. “I won’t let you.”

Yumiko grinned down at him, a little
surprised by his boldness. “You think you can stop me?”

“
Long enough to keep you
from throwing your life away,” Tanuki said through his
teeth.

Blinking, Yumiko watched him for a
moment, then stepped down. Tanuki was right. If she threw herself
into the fray, she would be helping no one. She would only be
making Shuten-Doji’s job easier.

A cackling from the mirror drew
Yumiko’s attention and she saw Oni-Baba, in the form of a beautiful
geisha. She charged Brian with two hand fans tipped with wicked
razor-sharp knives, poking out from her long white kimono sleeves.
She viciously attacked him, twirling and tumbling as if she were
performing some exotic, but deadly dance. Brian met her blows
easily enough, but the other oni also took advantage of his split
attention. One blue-faced oni slashed Brian’s shoulder easily, and
blood splashed to the sand as he grunted. The oni was dead a moment
later, but already Brian was weakening, his blood soaking through
his shirt.

Meanwhile, Enenra was getting away
with Shou, who leaned heavily on the yokai. They were making good
time, however, as Enenra’s lower body had turned to smoke and
seemed to be propelling them forward quickly. The smoke also served
as a screen to deter would-be attackers, who kept their distance,
practically allowing Shou’s escape. And why wouldn’t they? They had
who they really wanted surrounded.

Yumiko stepped forward subconsciously
and Tanuki growled at her. She stopped and glanced at him briskly
before returning her eyes to the fight.

Another blow was delivered to Brian’s
right forearm, and he hissed in pain as he deflected another array
of strong blows from Oni-Baba, who was cackling loudly, certain in
her victory.

“
Damn it,” Yumiko swore,
clenching her fists.

Enenra reached the mirror and held out
a hand. Yumiko frowned, then realized that he couldn’t walk through
the mirror himself. He needed help, and shook his hand impatiently
at her again.

Yumiko stumbled over to the mirror and
pushed her hand through, grabbing hold of Enenra’s wrist roughly,
then yanking him and Shou through, and into The Hall of
Mirrors.

Shou fell to the floor with a grunt,
and one of the kappa leaned over him, offering him some of the
water from the shallow dip on top of its head. Shou didn’t seem
picky, however, and drank it down greedily. Reina grabbed his hand
and Shou flashed her a reassuring smile. “Miss me?” he asked, voice
hoarse.

Reina nodded, biting her lower lip.
“Yeah, you idiot.”

He nodded and lay his head back on the
floor, exhausted.

Yumiko looked up at the mirror in time
to see Oni-Baba thrust a dagger into Brian’s shoulder. She gasped,
drawing everyone else’s attention.

“
I’ll help him,” Enenra
offered, walking over to the mirror again.

Tanuki frowned. “No, wait. What is
that?”

Yumiko squinted as she stared into the
mirror. Something seemed to be approaching the mirror. It was
small, like a bird. And fast, determined to run into the mirror.
Eyes widening, Yumiko glanced up at Brian again. At the moment she
realized that his sword was no longer in his hands, the sword
slammed into the mirror, shattering it. Yumiko had just enough time
to look up into Brian’s blue eyes one last time before the mirror
vanished, as if it had never been there.

The hall was silent for a moment as
they all stood there, gaping at where the mirror had been just a
few seconds earlier. Brian was gone.

“
He knew it was hopeless,”
Tanuki said, voice soft. “He made sure that none of us would do
something stupid.”

“
Fool,” Yumiko shook her
head. “What gives him the right to be a martyr?”

Reina looked up at her
sympathetically, which made Yumiko even madder for some reason. She
didn’t know what she felt. Brian was…lost.

“
We’re going to have to
rescue him too, then,” Yumiko decided.

“
You think he sacrificed
himself just so you could throw your life away?” Tanuki
asked.

“
I don’t care why he did
it,” Yumiko snapped. “I’m getting him back.”

“
Why?” Enenra asked her,
crossing his arms and looking amused. “Could it be that you
actually care for him?”

Yumiko glared at him. “People don’t
just turn their backs on their friends when things get
hard.”

Enenra grinned at her, and she met the
smugness in his eyes with a scowl.

“
We’ll get him,” Reina
said, suddenly looking determined. “We will.”

“
Count me in,” Shou added,
sitting up.

“
Shou,” Reina pushed him
back down. “You need to rest.”

Shou closed his eyes and lay his head
back down. “Give me one night. One night to get my strength back.
Then we can go after him.”

Yumiko was about to protest, but he
opened his eyes and stared into Yumiko’s with such intensity that
she was taken aback.

“
Please, Yumiko,” he
pleaded. “Let me do this. He saved my life. I owe him.”