[mosquiton@crosswinds.net]
The canopy of leaves blocked the sunlight from high overhead,
coloring the grass with a spiderweb pattern of shadows. As we
walked along beneath it, the rustic scents of the forest filled our
senses. I took in the earthy smell of the ground beneath us, a
reminder of the rain from last night. Last night, the night I left
home forever.
The night before, I had left in the darkness, the rain pouring
down on my head, drenching my clothes with a numbing chill. The
flowing water ran across the length of the wakizashi which he had
given me, washing away the blood...
Shishio-san was a strong person. I was happy to be able to
travel with him. The small sword at my side was the reminder of
last night, when he agreed to let me go with him. As I looked up at
him, travelling slightly in front of me and to my side, I could not
help but smile in admiration at the thought of his power. The now
familiar bandages which wrapped his whole body fluttered in the
breeze, still damp from last night's deluge. Shishio-san had been
burned badly by the Ishin, and it left his body a scarred, charred
mass. Because of those burns, he was always in pain, but he said
that he was stronger because of it. I didn't doubt the truth of those
words. And I didn't doubt that if I stayed with Shishio-san, I would
grow to be strong, just like him.
"Ne, Shishio-san," I began timidly, "when do we eat?"
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Are you hungry already,
Soujiro? Alright, it's almost noon anyway. We still have some rice
from your house, no?"
"Hai, Shishio-san!" the smile on my face shone even brighter
at the thought of eating.
We settled down under the shadow of some large tree. I took
out some of the rice balls from my pack, setting them down on a
cloth between us. Shishio-san quickly grabbed one of the balls and
raised it to his mouth, taking quick, large bites. I stared at him for a
while, and just as I was about to grab a rice ball for myself, he
spoke.
"What is it, Soujiro?" he said, still chewing on his last bite.
"Ah, it's nothing, Shishio-san. I was just remembering the time
when I first met you."
"Hmm?"
"It was just like this, when I first brought you those bandages
and some rice balls in my family's granary."
My family had been the proprietors of a prosperous rice
business. Shishio-san had been on the run on that night, when I
was carrying some sacks of rice to one of my family's warehouses.
I was watching when he had killed some policemen. I just
watched, as he menaced over me, ready to kill me with his huge
katana, still dripping blood. I thought I was going to die. No, I was
eager to die. Eager to be released from the hell that I had been
living. Instead of killing me, Shishio-san asked me to bring him
some food and bandages. I hid him in the granary, where we sat,
just like we were sitting now.
"So it was," Shishio-san muttered absently, finishing off his
rice ball. He reached for a second.
I took a bite from my rice ball, savoring the slightly sour
flavor. Shishio-san didn't speak most of the time, he didn't really
have much to say. "They all got really mad when they figured out I
was hiding you," I laughed, trying to make some conversation.
Shishio-san took a few bites before answering. "So you
handled them."
"Uh, hai," I said, not sure what to say next. Indeed, I took care
of them. I showed them that I was stronger. If I stayed with
Shishio-san, I would become stronger still.
My thoughts were disrupted by a red blur off to my side.
"Heh, what was that?" I quickly tracked the blur with my eyes,
scrambling to see what had caught my attention.
Shishio-san just hummed in response.
I saw it clearly, standing there, flitting its nozzle-like head
about. A fox, its red pelt shimmering in the noon-time sun. As I
looked closely at it, I saw a few unusual things about this fox.
Most foxes were sleek and delicate-looking, with a fine bone
structure and graceful form. This fox, however, appeared rather
stocky, with a big bushy tail almost the size of its already chunky
form. But the most unusual thing about this fox was the thick,
heavy mat of dark fur atop its eyes, which gave it an illusion of
having eyebrows.
As I stood there, examining it, it turned to look at me. Its
strange, canine face regarded me, those thick eyebrows contorting
into a strange expression as it stared into my eyes. It seemed to be
asking, "What do you want?"
I made no move, simply admired this strange-looking creature.
Seeing as no answer was forthcoming, it lost interest in me, and
began pawing around the ground nearby. After a while, it lumbered
from the clearing, into the undergrowth.
"Wai!" a cry of delight escaped my lips as I padded after it, my
lunch summarily forgotten.
"Don't go off too far, Soujiro," Shishio-san called at my back,
almost like an afterthought.
The fox wasn't moving particularly fast, and so I felt no need
to press the chase. I didn't really want to catch it, I just wanted to
watch it. I'd never seen such a curious creature.
Abruptly, it stopped from its lumbering walk, and it sniffed the
air with an upraised snout. Seemingly satisfied, it began pawing at
the ground again. Wondering what it was up to, I crouched down,
watching contentedly. After a few moments, it seemed to find what
it was looking for.
Near the base of a tree, a small hollow was dug near the roots.
With renewed gusto, the fox tapped at the sides of the burrow,
causing the loose earth to collapse. It dug its paw into the hole,
enlarging it, smashing the sides, agitating the ground around it.
Suddenly, a small ground squirrel popped out of the burrow,
apparently panicked by the fox's ministrations. It skidded out of
the hole in terror, only to have that terror multiplied ten fold at the
site of the fox's uncanny visage.
As the squirrel darted away, the fox suddenly sprang into
action, its previously shambling gait suddenly replaced with a feral
grace. I watched, transfixed, as the fox jumped around, badgered
the squirrel, chased it around as if playing a game.
"Are you still watching that thing, Soujiro?"
I momentarily tore my gaze from the spectacle and saw the
tattered bandages beside me. "Unm," I nodded. I looked back to
see the squirrel dashing around frantically, trying to escape. The
fox however, was every bit as nimble, and it easily kept on the
rodent's tail, almost like the squirrel's own shadow.
"Ne, Shishio-san, what is it doing?" I wondered.
"A skillful hunter knows not to strike immediately," Shishio-
san explained. "It will tire out its prey before landing the final
blow."
"Heeeh..."
The image of the squirrel, dashing about in terror, vainly trying
to escape the fox's merciless attacks felt disheartening. Suddenly, I
gripped the sword at my side, and the voices of the night before
came back.
A woman screams.
"Niisan!!!"
"What have you done, you little brat?!!"
A flash of lightning illumines a small wakizashi, dripping with
blood. On the floor lies the body of a dead man. My cousin.
I snapped my gaze back at the squirrel. It seemed to be tiring.
The wakizashi in its saya trembled in my grasp, as the knuckles of
my hand whitened. Shishio-san simply looked on, an impassive
look in his darkened eyes.
I grasped the hilt of my sword with my other hand, and
immediately, I wondered what I was doing. I didn't want to strike
the fox down. No, I wanted, I wanted... I wanted to give my sword
to that squirrel! Just as Shishio-san gave me this sword, this sword
which I used to kill my family...
I took a step forward and began to draw my sword. Before I
could, a bandaged hand covered my small hands, and I looked up
to see Shishio-san shake his head.
"Watch," he commanded.
The fox pounced again, and the squirrel was beginning to tire
out. Being herded in a corner, over and over, had taken its toll on
the little rodent.
"Isn't that fox cruel, Shishio-san?" I asked.
He simply looked down at me, his hand still on mine.
"Do you really believe that, Soujiro?"
The image of the fox, darting, pouncing, harassing the squirrel
was a familiar sight. Far too familiar. I thought of my cousins, my
uncles, my grandfather. And I remembered the pain. Pain that I
didn't want. And with that pain, I began to smile.
Seeing me smile, Shishio-san took his hand from mine. A small
smile crept onto his lips as well, and he left me in the clearing as
he munched on another rice ball.
The fox suddenly jumped one last jump, and the squirrel was
buried underneath its paw. The fox whacked it one more time, and
seeing the rodent motionless, it began to tear at the tender meat
with its long snout.
As it took its first bite, it looked up at me, its strange eyebrows
giving it an almost human appearance. Its eyes bored into mine,
and once again its face contorted into a strange expression. I knew
what it was saying.
"What's so cruel about eating lunch?"