Pilgrim Omnibus 2: (Books 4-6), page 53
Kanjen grunted, the tanuki thinking long and hard for a moment. “Perhaps I can go for Midrah tomorrow. I do have some ways to protect myself.”
“We can go,” Danzen said. “Nomin and I.”
“And me.”
“No,” he told Yato. “Just the two of us. The rest of you will stay here. And that’s final.”
.Chapter Four.
It was impossible to rest that night.
As he had done before, Danzen stayed up with Nomin and his two lion dogs to keep a watchful eye over the others. He didn’t like ordering them to stay behind, but he couldn’t risk anyone disobeying Kitazawa’s instructions. This wasn’t the first time he had been in this situation, and he was getting better at being firm in his decision-making. His companions certainly weren’t weak, all strong in their own ways. They all played a part in this, like Nomin, whose blindness would actually aid him if they were attacked.
It was risky to try to push further into the outer regions, but Danzen was also the type that didn’t want to be intimidated. Without the others around, with only Nomin joining him, he felt like he would have a much better advantage against Kitazawa if she did spring an attack. Another thing he considered that next morning, while the others were still resting aside from Kudzu, was trying to use his echo powers on the demonic yokai.
It was nice to make progress in his practice. Danzen had continued to amplify his precision, and he had been able to repair the stone. Not only that, he had killed Ginza by shattering the man’s bones within his body outside of Arsi. But Ginza was a stationary target, and while Danzen was fast, he didn’t know if he could lock on to Kitazawa long enough to use his power in that way.
Perhaps there was another option; perhaps he could merely take command over Kitazawa’s body and fling her around that way, or break a wing. If he could ground the winged yokai, he would have a heightened advantage. Maybe there was even a way that he could utilize his surroundings to pin her down in some way, but he didn’t know if he was practiced enough to modify the stone in that manner. Not yet. And in the heat of the battle, anything could happen.
“Before you go…” Kanjen stopped Danzen, the old tanuki with a black cloth in his hands now. “I’m aware of what you can do with your eyes closed, but in case you make a mistake, perhaps it is best if you wear a blindfold.”
Danzen took the black cloth from the tanuki. He tied it around his head and then pulled it down so it covered his eyes and the bridge of his nose to make sure it fit properly. Once he confirmed this, he pushed it up to his forehead, and shielded his face with his hood. “We will be back with Midrah.”
Kanjen grunted. “If you head over those hills, you’ll come to a bluff. From there you will likely see some of the sandstone arches. Travel a little further and you will come to Lonyah. The village makes Verba look like a large city, just a collection of five or six shacks, really. Don’t let that part fool you. The people have built extensive homes underground. Remember that. Some may have escaped down there and may still be hiding. Those were Midrah’s thoughts. Good luck. May Sunyata’s grace be with you.”
Sansar rose into the air and landed on Danzen’s shoulder, the bird pressing his wings back. Nomin moved ahead, and Danzen was just about to join her when Kudzu called out to him: “You have to survive.”
This statement caused every muscle in his body to tense for a moment.
He turned to the white kitsune, not sure what to say. Danzen didn’t often question his own survival. He was long past the point of thinking about making it in or out of something alive. He had been raised to be task oriented, and his biggest concern as of late had been those around him. Before, when he was by himself, it was simply keeping as far away from others as possible. The thought of dying rarely crossed his mind, which was why his fight against Ginza had been such a wake-up call.
Danzen felt he had come close.
With this in mind, he offered Kudzu a short nod. “I will be back by nightfall.”
He caught up with Nomin, who kept a low profile as they moved toward the bluff, the two going to extreme lengths to stay within the shadows provided by many of the rocks, sometimes with their backs against them as they entered areas that had better vantage points. The stone had started to shift color in this area, from grays and flashes of white to something that more resembled sand, all of it reminding Danzen of the landscape to the extreme south of Arsi, near the coastal desert.
He hadn’t thought much about the region where he lived for two years of his life, but it had been coming to him more and more as of late. Perhaps he should revisit the area one day in the future, to see what mysteries he could uncover in the form of remnants. Were there yokai there? Had he really been that blind? Likely so.
If nothing else, he could try to recover part of Astra in the mountains outside of Arsi. He felt as if he owed the weapon that much.
Danzen and his companions had eaten a small meal last night prepared by the tanuki, and they had yet to discuss remnants and a visit to the nunnery with Kanjen, everyone’s nerves wracked from their encounter with Kitazawa. Danzen would discuss it once they returned with news of Midrah.
One thing at a time.
The pair of former assassins reached the bluff, and quickly slipped over the other side, back into a pocket of shadow. Danzen didn’t like traveling without his Blade of Darkness, yet he had left it behind, mostly because the glaive on his back could be a hindrance. Now was his chance to move the way that he had moved for so many years, like a panther, like an assassin, his training so instinctive that he hardly thought of it, the way that he covered his tracks, how he tried to breathe with the surroundings.
This had been something that White had taught him, a technique for blending in. His infiltration instructor had explained that everything, including a skeleton, had life to it, and this extended to landscapes and cities, the entire world animated in its own way regardless of what was on its surface or its underbelly. Understand the animation inherent in everything allowed one to truly blend in.
Danzen did just that, his blindfold now over his eyes as he swiftly followed Nomin’s movements.
They reached the first cluster of sandstone arches, Danzen noticing a unique energy in the place. Was there a remnant in the vicinity? He thought about this but decided that now wasn’t the time to look for it if there was. They pressed on, both Danzen and Nomin now covered in dust, occasionally moving onto their stomachs when they came to open spaces, Sansar having to hop along after them.
The village of Lonyah was set in what was almost a ring of sandstone arches, and the homes were made of the same wood that surrounded the kitsune peaks, all with thatched roofs. Danzen and Nomin raced toward the village. Once they reached it, both of them crouched behind a low wall made of mud brick that circled one of the homes.
Once they were sure that they hadn’t been seen, Nomin led Danzen around the first building, where they came to an outdoor workstation, one with a wooden table and other carpentry supplies cast about.
There were two men not far from them, both turned to stone, both armed.
Danzen and Nomin were too late.
****
After drawing his sword, Danzen approached the two statues with the utmost caution. He stepped between them, just about to slip into the shadows provided by the next hut when one of the statues moved. Danzen turned at the very last moment to block a strike from a sword that had been coated in stone, his Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds able to easily chip away a piece of it.
Whoomph!
The other stone guard tried to attack him from behind. Danzen rolled out of the way, and pressed off the ground as soon as he came to his feet. He landed on the fence, and swiveled around just as one of the stone guards tried to slash at him, Danzen jumping over the blade. He brought his sword down onto the man’s arm and severed it, his weapon going straight through the stone as if it were flesh.
This didn’t stop the advancement of the petrified arm, which wiggled on the ground and managed to latch itself onto Danzen’s ankle. By this point Nomin had entered into the equation, the blind assassin using her basket-hilted sword to block a strike from one of the stone guards.
It didn’t matter what they did to the stone statues—Danzen severing a wrist at one point, and even one of the men’s heads—the statues continued to move. And that wasn’t all. There were two more guards on the other side of the village, both of whom came lumbering toward them, dragging their feet.
Danzen slammed into one and kicked the man’s weapon away even though it hurt the bones in his foot to do so. He then severed two of the man’s arms, no blood, all stone, and moved on to the next target, whom Nomin was already engaging.
The former assassin came from behind and drove his remnant sword through the man’s body. Summoning all his might, Danzen lifted him up over his head, and slammed him back down in front of him. Once again he severed the arms, and then decapitated their opponent.
“What are you doing?”
For a moment Danzen thought this voice belonged to Nomin, but as he turned he saw Midrah peeking out of the covering of a well. “You will get her attention!”
“You… you are alive.” Danzen brought his sword down again, and cut through one of the stone guards’ legs.
“Kanjen sent us,” said Nomin, the blind assassin still ready to continue butchering the stone guards.
“You’ve blown our cover.” Midrah narrowed her eyes on Danzen, the black-and-white fur on her face arcing downward with it, her ears flitted back. He could see a glimpse of the top of her silk robes, which were purple with green accents.
“Where are the villagers?”
“Below. That’s why I came to Lonyah, to warn them. When I arrived they were already hiding.”
“At the bottom of a well?” asked Danzen.
“No, this is one of many entrances to the caverns beneath this village. They are extensive.”
“How many people?” Danzen asked.
“About sixty.”
“What would you like us to do?”
“I would like for Kitazawa not to know about these people, so they don’t meet the same fate of those in Verba. You must fend her off once she comes. She doesn’t know that they are down here, and she doesn’t need to know.”
“Kanjen wanted us to come for you.”
“I see…” Midrah appeared to think for a moment. “Perhaps…”
Sansar dropped down to them, the three-legged raven crying out: “She’s coming!”
Midrah crawled out of the opening, her joints moving as if she were swimming underwater. “I will try to help you!”
“Does her power affect you?” asked Nomin.
“I’ll use this.” Midrah produced a cloth from the front of her robes, which she tied around her head.
“Fan out, we will attack from different sides.”
Danzen didn’t mean to summon his Demon Speak power, but he was truly afraid of what would happen next, and with an enemy like Kitazawa, one who had an advantageous vantage point, he knew that being clustered together would hinder their attack.
Danzen ran straight forward, toward the center of the village, Nomin moving left. Midrah started to follow the blind assassin before turning back the other way as Danzen. It was clear that she wasn’t trained in the same way that he and Nomin were.
Kitazawa appeared just about the moment he reached the center of the village, the demonic yokai landing on a weathervane. “I gave you one chance to leave.”
“Your threats don’t matter to me,” Danzen said, summoning the same tone he had once used with Ginza to taunt him. “You will die today.”
As soon as those words left his lips Kitazawa exploded forward, Danzen blocking the barrage of dagger attacks coupled with the sharpened ends of her wings. They came at him so fast that he found himself relying on his command over his own echo, his power guiding him as it often did in a morning practice.
He managed to repel an attack to the point that Kitazawa took to the sky to regroup. She looped once around the village and tried to divebomb Nomin. Danzen charged toward the two of them, the clank! of swords with a cadence to it that he had grown familiar with. Kitazawa turned just as he arrived and blocked his next vertical cross slash, the demonic yokai glaring at them with yellow eyes through her pointed mask.
“I warned you!” Kitazawa surged forward, and drove Danzen into the outer walls of one of the homes. They broke through, and as they did, she took to the sky again. Danzen watched her shadow loom overhead as the demonic yokai prepared to swoop down for a deathstrike.
It was time.
He loosed his weapon, the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds sailing up into the air, aimed at her midsection.
Kitazawa turned, and as she did, Danzen’s sword pierced through her wing.
The demonic yokai fell immediately; Nomin instinctively took off toward her to finish the job. She dove out of the way as the wounded creature lunged for her, dark pools of blood staining the sandy soil. Kitazawa lowered her head and withdrew Danzen’s sword from her wing. The weapon began to vibrate in her hands, as if it didn’t recognize the user. She tried to hold on to the legendary blade, but it was only a matter of seconds before it returned to Danzen.
He was just about to throw the sword again when she launched into the air, her wounded wing making it harder for her to fly. Kitazawa smash-landed through one of the thatched roofs, kicking up a cloud of debris.
Danzen took off in her direction, as did Midrah, who had been on the sidelines of the fight thus far.
“She’s getting away!”
This voice belonged to Sansar, who circled above. He grew in size as he careened toward the collapsed roof, only for Kitazawa to burst back into the air.
Wham!
Kitazawa struck Sansar, the three-legged raven twisting off to the side, the demonic yokai able to gain some air for a moment using both wings.
She came down again outside of the sandstone arches, dragged herself, and was able to fly yet again, Kitazawa going through the same motions just a moment or so later, hitting the ground, gathering her strength, and fleeing.
Danzen turned to Midrah. “What now? What about the villagers?”
“I will speak to them, but they will want to remain here.”
“Why aren’t we going after her?” Nomin asked.
“I can track her,” said Sansar, who was still in his giant size.
A new thought came to Danzen as he caught his breath.
The predator was wounded, and he had a feeling she would retreat until she was able to fight again. Kitazawa would strike again, there was no doubt about it. It was what Danzen would do if he were her. Not only that, he had a feeling that once she finally retaliated, she would choose a different target. With this in mind, he turned back in the direction they had just come from. “We need to get the others and return to the nunnery,” he said, everything clear to him. “It’s time to prepare for her final attack.”
Part Four
.Chapter One.
Jelmay and Kudzu were waiting outside Kanjen the tanuki’s cave upon Danzen’s arrival. Yato was there as well, cleaning her gauntleted blades. The young assassin bristled when she saw Midrah for the first time. Her expression changed rapidly, evidence of her growing maturity when encountering unknown yokai. As Yama and Nama approached, Danzen explained what had happened and where they intended to go next.
“So Kitazawa could attack at any time?” Jelmay asked after he had heard most of the explanation. “Why didn’t you kill her?”
Sansar answered this question. “She is wounded, but she is still fast.”
“And you think she could attack the nunnery next?”
Danzen nodded.
“Well, we can’t have that. What about these two?” Jelmay motioned from Midrah to Kanjen, who had shuffled over to the opening of the cave. The tanuki had a different cane now, one with an animal design carved into it, and Danzen recalled that the first cane he had possessed had since morphed into his Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds.
“We will go with you,” Midrah informed them. This decision came from a discussion that they had briefly had on the way to the hermitage.
Kanjen picked up where she had left off. “Yes, I believe that is a necessary next step. We will discuss with the abbot of the fox shrine our thoughts on rebuilding Sunyata. We may be able to help if and when Kitazawa strikes.”
‘Discussing their thoughts,’ as he had put it, wasn’t something that Danzen had anticipated. The former assassin had assumed that the Sundiyu Sect would be all for restoring the natural order to their world through the rebirth of Sunyata, especially with their mission of balance. But the way Kanjen had framed this, and something in the tone of his voice, told him otherwise.
Jelmay turned, and began issuing commands to both Kudzu and Yato to gather his things. Yato obliged and Kudzu ignored him, the white fox looking up as Sansar dove toward the cave opening.
The three-legged raven landed on Danzen’s shoulder, and settled. “All is clear. There seems to be no signs of Kitazawa.”
“How badly did you wound her?” Kudzu asked.
“My sword pierced her right wing.” After securing his Blade of Darkness, Danzen lifted one of his bags onto his shoulder. He went for the other leather satchel, the one made of yokai frog leather that Jelmay had given him. “I don’t know how long she will be out of commission. And as I said earlier, she is still able to attack, and has some speed. I don’t think she will be out for long.”
“So you merely caused her some discomfort. Good to know, good to know.” Jelmay pulled his demon bear hide over his shoulders, a sword now sheathed at his waist. “I guess all we can do is stay vigilant. I’m not saying if I were you all I would’ve killed her, but I certainly wouldn’t have let her get away…”
“The nunnery is what is important,” Danzen said with finality.
Yato grabbed the rest of their gear, which she set on Nama’s back. The young assassin used a spare belt Jelmay had to secure the items in place.
