Twelve Kingdoms: Monster in the Mirror
Pre-note: Takes place between episodes 6 and 7, standard spoiler disclaimers apply. In other words, watch the TV series first. It's that good.
*
A few particles of dust knew which way to scrape across her dark colored skin to irritate her to no end. The setting sun's heat was almost as bad as the sand, yet the sooner night came, the cooler it could get. The discomfort of the weather was almost as annoying as the company she had to endure.
An overgrown mouse, roughly half her height, had implored her on more than one occasion to slow down, since his shorter legs made it difficult for him to keep up with her gait.
Had she the choice, she would have gone on alone, but considering that this mouse could be of some use to her changed her position, temporarily.
For the last several days in this forsaken land, she had nearly been killed by monsters and betrayed repeatedly by humans. The more she saw the people of this land, the less she liked them. After narrowly escaping dying at the hands of her 'best friend', she had completely given up on trusting people.
There was that woman who was about to sell her and Sugimoto to the whore house. Then the old man that came from Hiroshima that sold them out to the authorities. Then, after getting a look into Asano's mind, no thanks to that tactless monkey, she wanted to deny how alone
she was.
Sugimoto's attempt on her life severed the last rope of her patience. She could never trust anyone anymore. There was always some reason, some other motive for them to use her.
Then, the mouse had attempted to earn that back, despite lying to the authorities searching for her, she had no trust to give out.
For one of the few occasions where the mouse was ahead of her, she took a brief glance at him.
One slash was all she needed. The blade would be most effective at the neck in the front. If it was from behind, a well aimed stab could lance his heart. Either way, he'd be dead within seconds. The people of Kou hated Hanjyuu anyway, so what would it matter?
Despite his promise to take her to En Country, she wouldn't dare take any chances. There was a large bounty of her head and if it was enough for the mouse to turn her in, then she'd kill him before it'd happen.
"Of course he would..." Aozaru hissed from the back of her mind, "...he and his mommy are dirt poor. Just think of the chances they could have with the money..."
She frowned and restrained herself from doing something rash. She needed this mouse... rat, whatever, to get her out of this country. She hated it. She was sick of being on the run and if the mouse was right, then she could actually live a life of her own in En Country.
"Hmm... we're not going to be able to make it to Goryou by tonight," the mouse says with a sigh, leaning against a crossroads post.
"So, what now?" she asked with a hint of impatience.
If he noticed her agitation, he didn't show. "What else? We find a Riboku to spend the night by since there aren't any towns in the area."
"Do you know if one's nearby?"
He nodded before turning to a nearby wood. "Yes. Hanjyuu have a link to them, just like the humans do with a Riboku. It's pretty much instinctual."
Reluctantly, she followed the mouse into the woods at the night began to fall. With every other glance, she made mental notes to make sure she would be able to find her way out, should the need arise to leave by herself.
Looking to the shadows in the distance, she could almost feel the animosity of some of the animals that lived here. Evidently, the creatures here decided she was not welcome. It wasn't new. At least they made no secret of it.
"The smaller youma of the forest hate anything not like their own," the mouse said, taking a glance to his side, "it's no surprise really. With things deteriorating in Kou, the youma have gotten restless."
Narrowing her eyes towards the distance she asked, "Will they attack?"
The mouse shook his head, "Normally, they wouldn't. Youma are semi-docile. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. However, lately, they've gotten more agressive."
"Does anyone know why?"
The mouse shrugged, "well, folk lore says that the heavens are displeased with the Emperor of Kou, but I think it's because the Emperor is tightening his hold on the people and the resources of the country. The animals feel threatened and so they react."
She nodded, remembering his comments before during their trip from his home. Study hard and you pass the test. Work hard in the field and you'll get a good harvest. Or so he said. She figured the constant persecution he and the rest of the Hanjyuu in Kou made him bitter. In a way, she was in the same boat as he, but there was still something in him that didn't drag him down to the level of bitterness Yoko found herself at.
"Here we are," the mouse said, pushing past a few bushes to a clearing just to her right. In the middle, a single tree, covered with a gentle incandescence that put her heart at ease. Though it wasn't the exact same she saw a few days before, it was familiar enough to the one she and Asano used to spend the night. She wasn't sure how, but it was safe enough for them to sleep and they were not disturbed by any of the youma chasing her.
"Yoko," the mouse said, placing his pack at the root of the tree, "when we go to sleep tonight, you have to be careful. Riboku like this are often the favorite hunting grounds for bandits in these areas. Hanjyuu are usually safe since they never have enough for bandits to even bother assaulting them."
She nearly snorted in distaste at the notion that she would most likely be targeted. However, it came as no surprise. Everyone or everything had some reason to want her disposed.
She turned to him as he curled up one a few branches. It appeared he was used to sleeping here. It was probably the only chance he had to actually get from one place to another without being forced to sleep outside the walls for the youma to eat.
With a heavy sigh, she leaned against the trunk and moved the bundle on her back to her side. With a single motion, she could pull out her sword and defend herself... or kill the mouse. Even this far out from where the authorities could get her, there was still the chance he could ditch her in the middle of the forest, leaving her to wander aimlessly.
"What better way to get rid of a troublesome Kaikyaku..." Aozaru whispered from a branch above her.
She looked to the monkey and frowned. The only thing she hated more about this monkey's persistent presence was the fact he was right. Her glare traveled from the vanishing intruder to the sleeping mouse. They were rather deep in this forest and if it was larger than it let on, it could be impossible to escape. The mouse coule very well abandon her the instant she fell asleep. As much as she wanted her fatigue to take her into an unconcious state, her suspicion about her traveling companion elimated any sort of exhaustion for now.
The minutes slowly passed into hours and still she hadn't fallen asleep. Even the calming effect of the jewel attachted to her sword couldn't stem the tide of her weariness. She was about to simply give in and sleep when she noticed some movement in the forest just out of sight.
Standing up slowly, she unsheated her sword and proceeded carefully. Whatever it was, it was purposely staying out of sight and moving from different vantiges to observe her. It could have been more youma, but thought against it since they didn't advance yet. Or maybe it was because of the Riboku tree.
Not wanting to see either way, she advanced into the forest silently, leaving the mouse to sleep. If he did abandon her, it would only prove her and that wretched monkey right. And then, she would follow him like a shadow and when he'd least expect it, the steel of her sword would feast on his blood.
The shadows ahead of her continued to move away and when she noticed them picking up speed, she followed suit. No one had gotten away from her before and she wasn't ready to start now.
Knocking lower branches and foilage out of the way, she leaped to the tops of the branches and increased her pace all the more. She could see her quarry matching her as it dodged through the forest with inhuman agility. "Oh no you don't..." she growled before using a tree trunk as a springboard to give her a boost. She was just within sight of the stalker before it vanished into a patch of midnight at the end of a path.
Instinctively, she came to a halt and assessed what happened. The shadow had somehow vanished into the clearing ahead. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the light of the moon, she noticed a large river over a nearby cliff with a single house near it.
It appeared long abandoned and unkept, but in the dirt, she could see prints left by the person or thing she was following leading to the door. Tightening her grip on her sword, she walked to the entrance, noting that the door handle was the only thing that didn't have dust on it.
"I know you're in there!" she cried to the occupant within, "show yourself!"
"Go away..." a sickly sounding woman's voice hissed from within.
"I won't. Not until you show yourself and tell me why you were following me!" she retorted curtly.
"All I wish is to be left alone... I want you and your beast slave out of my forest!" the person within said.
With her patience gone, Yoko stomped forward and kicked in the door. Through the doorframe, she charged and dove when a blade barely missed the back of her head. Turing around, she turned to her assailant and gasped as her form in the candlelight.
In tattered robes, a woman, seemingly ancient and youthful at the same time, glared at her with sunken eyes, greying skin, and ragged hair. Yet, it was not her appearence that surprised, Yoko, but the woman's right arm was sharpened bone shank, additionally equipped with a thick band between the two prongs to hold the bones straight. In her left hand, a serated edged sword, slightly dulled by all the dried blood on it, danced eagerly in her grip.
"What..."
The woman spat at her shock, "I am a freak, if that's what you wish to know, you insolent churl!" With that, the woman charged and Yoko barely missed losing her head from the sword and getting stabbed in the head from the shank.
As Yoko attempted to contain her fear, the woman chuckled darkly, "I was beautiful once, you know... people once thronged at my presence... how foolish I was back then."
Yoko leaped backward as the woman sent several more lightning quick swipes at her. Yet, to her surprise, she noticed the woman not following. Instead, she smiled again. "I see, you have Jyouyu, eh? Wouldn't be very much without it, would you?"
Yoko's eyes widened when she realized what the woman was implicating. She tried to take the offensive, but by then, the woman waved her sword around and put out all the candles in the house and slamming the door shut.
"I am no fool as to how those work, my dear... I held one once as well. And most importantly, I know their weakness."
In the grip of fear, Yoko stumbled in the darkness. With nothing to see, her spiritual protector was useless and she was without its agility, hightened senses, and sword skill. She was defenseless. As expected, her assailant gave a vicious kick to her stomach, which sent her careening into the wall.
Gripping her stomach, Yoko searched frantically for her weapon, though it wouldn't do her much good. Staying still, she heard the footsteps of her attacker draw near, and though she didn't have her sword, her right hand had a decent grip on what appeared to be a chair. In desperation, she swung the chair and to her surprise, she hit the woman on the shanked arm, eliciting a scream of pain.
With another grab, she was able to grasp the hilt of her sword and make a break for the few cracks of light where the door was. She was about to ram the door with her shoulder when her leg felt the touch of her foe's blade. Another deep slash across the same calf muscle took her balance and she began to careen out of control.
However, she had still gained enough momentum to fall through the door, despite her injury and rolled to a defensive position. Outside, she still had the moon and the stars to see. Though it enabled her protector to operate, her leg was cut up rather extensively and she couldn't stand.
Her enemy talked casually out of the house and towards her. "Hmm, Taika, eh? How unfortunate, living in that awful place. Too bad, you would have been safer there."
Yanking out the blue sphere from around her neck, she placed it against the wounds and within seconds, the cuts closed up and the blood vanished. She looked up, only to see the bone shank speeding towards her face. A quick brandish of her sword caught the shank by the thick band, which kept the points out of her face.
To Yoko's confusion, her foe was breathing a lot heavier and wasn't utilizing her blade. Looking up, she noticed her assassin was more wild eyed and feral than normal.
"How dare he... giving it to another woman!!" she screeched and raised her sword to run Yoko through. Thinking quick, Yoko twisted the sword between the bones, causing the wounds at the protrusions to open again. Yoko dodged the stab and using the distraction, kicked herself up to her feet.
Gaining a little more distance, she prepared her weapon for another charge, but only found the woman on her knees, clutching her wound and sobbing. Her words also made Yoko wonder whom exactly this person was. No sooner did the thought enter her mind, her sword began to glow.
Both Yoko and the woman were captivated by the scene slowly unfolding in the metal of the blade. Through the light, an imperial palace of Kei appeared and soon enough, revealed a scene of the throne room. A woman, garbbed in royal robes appeared, laughing hysterically while the men in her court looked on in worry.
"Those women in Kinpa think they can take Keiki from me... those foolish harlots. I'll kill them all first!"
Her successive laugh caused the men of the court to pale in fear. It also reminded Yoko of one of the Shuusei plays she had seen while she was traveling with Takki.
Looking up slowly, Yoko whispered, "Yo-Ou?"
The woman, Yo-Ou, was now on the brink of tears. "How dare you... it had nothing to do with you!!"
"I thought... you were dead."
Yo-Ou sneered back, "I am!"
Yoko slowly lowered her weapon, only to bring it up again as Yo-Ou charged with both weapons raised. With a sweep of her leg, she knocked Yo-Ou off balance and hit her torso with a shoulder and body weight behind it. With several yards of distance between her and the former Empress of Kei, Yoko lowered her guard in pity for the woman.
"And of course, she'll just take advantage of that because she hates you, just like everyone else." Aozaru cackled from the roof of the house.
Yo-Ou jumped to her feet and charged once more, only this time, she whacked Yoko's sword out of her hands, though losing her own. Though, with momentum on her side, Yo-Ou forced her to the ground and held the shank prongs at Yoko's neck.
Despite her best efforts to hold the bone at bay, Yoko found her strength giving out. When she felt the tips of the bones on her neck, she looked up to see Yo-Ou's face change.
"Sugimoto?" she whispered in disbelief.
"I always hated you..." Yuka hissed, "Little miss perfect trying to make everyone happy. I'm sick of it. Sick of you! No wonder Asano dumped you for me!" Yoko lost her grip on the shank arm as Yuka/Yo-Ou drew it back to stab it through her throat.
As the shank came down, the only thing it pierced was Yoko's left hand. Yet, she used it to her advantage and gripped the forearm with her hand, despite the intense pain. With a feral snarl of her own, Yoko punched the bleeding forearm and yanked her hand off as Yuka changed back into Yo-Ou. Rolling out from beneath, Yoko snatched her sword from the mud, raised the point of the blade and aimed for the mad Empress' head. All she hit was dirt as Yo-Ou lept from the ground, yet continued her assault.
Yoko swung her sword wildly, screaming like a maniac as Yo-Ou continuously waved her tattered robes to throw off her aim. Then, from beneath her foe's robes, Yo-Ou's sword appeared and clashed with her own.
"You never should have come here," Yo-Ou hissed.
"It was never my choice!" Yoko screamed back, forcing Yo-Ou into the wall of the house.
"Who cares about whether you wanted this or not? You're still here," Aozaru taunted from above.
"How odd, I remember saying the same thing as I began to whither into this nightmare. So, child, will you make the same excuse?" Yo-Ou provoked before whiping her sword out of the way and hitting her bleeding hand.
With a mixture of rage and pain, Yoko would not hear another word as she hit Yo-Ou's sword out of the way, and struck a clean slash across Yo-Ou's torso. With the momentum of the first slash, Yoko raised her sword high and swung the blade through Yo-Ou's back. Continuing, Yoko spun around and kicked Yo-Ou into the wall, leaving a bloody stain as she collasped.
"DIE!" Yoko screamed, stabbing the blade through the former Empress' chest the instant she hit the ground. There was no pity or remorse in Yoko's hateful glare as Yo-Ou struggled.
To her shock, Yo-Ou started to weep, but with a small smile on her face. With a the last of her strength, Yo-Ou mouthed 'thank you', before spasming one last time and falling silent.
Yoko wiped the perspiration off her forhead as the full realization of what she had done set in. She looked to her shaking hands as the winds made the wounds in her left hand sting immensely. On instinct, she brought out the healing jewel and let it's energy close the wounds. Yet, even with the pain gone, there was still an internal wound she felt would never heal.
She had just killed someone in cold blood. And she wasn't as shocked as she would have been, had she been back in Japan.
"Now you're starting to get it," Aozaru whispered in her ear, "kill or be killed. That's the only way..."
"That's... the only way..." she echoed silently as she gathered her sword from the inert body and stumbled back to the Riboku. She figured, if the rat would try anything, it wouldn't be as painful as this time was.
*
Rakushun was still asleep as Yoko sat against the other side of the tree, letting the gentle glow lull her to sleep. However, there was one thing she had to do. Drawing her sword, she walked around the tree, letting her cruel gaze rest on the sleeping mouse. She only saw the possibility of this rat betraying her for the bounty. The thought drew her sword from her side to point it at his sleeping form.
"I'll be watching you, rat..." she whispered coldly before returning to her side of the tree.
Leaning against the soft bark, she looked to the trees above to met the gaze of a smirking Aozaru. No words needed to be said.
They understood each other perfectly.
End
All things in the story belong to Ono Fuyumi, Media Blasters, and Kodansha.
Whew, what do you folks think? Any good comments and criticisms would be most appreciative.
-Warhammer
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