The Fox's Quest (10 page)

Sanae hoped she was wrong to worry Akakiba had fallen into an ambush. She wanted to help, but… If she went in the forest where the cursed sword and her brother were supposed to be, she would lose part of her life force.

Yet how could she do nothing? She could at least look for her brother’s spark on the other side and keep an eye on it. If her brother’s spark weakened, she’d try to go in and help anyway. So what if it killed her? She’d already died once and it hadn’t been so bad.

Chapter Fifteen

Mamoru

B
adly wounded, drugged, and left near-naked in an unheated cell, the Fox samurai stayed alert longer than Mamoru would have thought possible. “Cell” was admittedly a fancy word for what was essentially a pit dug in stone under the clan house and closed with metal bars thick as a man’s arm. During summer it was a storage room for food items best kept cool. During winter the cold made it a death trap.

There came an hour when the fox could raise his head only with difficulty to meet their gazes, his eyes glassy with exhaustion because he would not sleep while they watched him. The injuries he had sustained during his capture had partly healed but yet dripped blood, a sign he had no spare energy left—or so said Yoshio.

“That should do,” Yoshio said. “Possess him.”

Mamoru recoiled. “Me? I already have a body.”

“I have no one else who knows how to do it. Get in there and squeeze their clan’s secrets from his mind.” Yoshio frowned at him. “If you’re so attached to that body, you can return to it later. You did expel the original soul?”

“Yes.” It would have been more accurate to say “no,” but since there remained a single mind where there had been two previously, the difference was inconsequential.

“Leave the body in your bed while you’re away. It will be safe. I do it often, to no ill effect.”

Mamoru remembered seeing it happen, but he still didn’t like the idea. Unlike the creature that called itself Yoshio, he was attached to his body.

He’d learned a great deal over the last couple days, especially about magical swords and the true powers of fox samurai. Now he was poised to increase his knowledge, through stealing the fox’s secrets. Not that he expected it to be easy—or even possible. There was already a spirit in there, wasn’t there? Could one body fit two spirits?

“If I do it, can I go to the city?” Where Usagi was waiting for him. “I’ve recovered sufficiently.” He’d just spent a long, exhausting week helping Yoshio turn the forest into a death trap. He deserved to go.

“That depends on your performance.”

“Why don’t you do it? I’m nowhere as experienced as you.”

“Do as you’re told,” Yoshio snapped.

Was Yoshio afraid of doing it himself, afraid of what might happen?

Ah well, a mission was a mission. There was always danger involved anyway.

He went to his room and, after barring the door, lowered himself in bed gingerly to spare his still-healing burns. Leaving the body that had become his home was distressing; leaving it unprotected where Yoshio could get at it was worse. It took time to pry himself out of the body because the human parts of him didn’t want to leave.

Upon achieving success, he hovered above his body, watching it until he was certain breathing and other automatic functions critical to survival hadn’t stopped. Being freed from physical sensations for a short time wasn’t entirely unpleasant. While he would willingly sustain worse wounds in Usagi’s defense, he didn’t enjoy suffering through the long recovery phase inherent to injuries.

Mind on business, he told himself. The faster he got the information Yoshio wanted, the faster he could return to his own body and plan his trip to the city. He’d run away if it came to that. Usagi was waiting.

He zipped through the hallway, brushing against a
shinobi
who, evidently alarmed by the faint contact, spun round. He almost apologized, but that would have made it worse. Yoshio wouldn’t be happy if he caused rumors the clan house was haunted.

At the back of the clan house, there was a hole in the floor and a staircase leading into darkness lit by a pair of torches. There was the cell and the rope-bound samurai who huddled within, his eyes darting back and forth as he no doubt considered potential escape plans. He must know the uselessness of it, yet he tried.

Mamoru threw himself at the fox’s mouth. It was kept partly open by a device of Yoshio’s creation, the same one that had been used on him back when he’d only been human. He had no idea why it was necessary. What reason was there for mere skin to stop his entry? After all, he could penetrate skin layers from the inside to reach the whole of the body. Yet there was a difference and he couldn’t explain it. He spread out from inside, meeting the expected resistance.

Tired the fox might be, but broken he wasn’t. They waged war, shoving at each other, grappling for control of the body. Yoshio stood above, watching impassively as the samurai’s body twitched and kicked, out of control.

Listen,
Mamoru told the fox.
You’re weak and tired and you can’t keep this up forever. Can’t you make it easy for me? I’m afraid he’ll hurt me if I don’t get what he wants.

The fox answered with a terribly rude mental snarl. He was following orders; it wasn’t his decision to do this. If the fox would simply cooperate, they could end this painlessly.

Hours must have passed, for the clan leader left and returned several times to look in on his progress—or lack thereof.

“I begin to wonder if you can win,” Yoshio said, in a tone that renewed Mamoru’s fears for his physical body. He didn’t want to return to his room and find out his body had a slit throat!

I’m terribly sorry,
he said, and pushed harder, harder. He wouldn’t let the fox hide. The fox would be assimilated, whether he liked it or not.

Information began to filter to him: names and faces. Akakiba: that was his self. Akahana, Kiba, Sanae: those were his family. Yuki: his lover? Not quite. Something complicated, but warm.

The fox clamped down, but he couldn’t hold. He tried to flee, but there was nowhere to go.

Don’t think you’ve won
, the fox snarled. Then, he disappeared.

Confused, Mamoru searched everywhere. He found no other mind sharing the body with him. He searched within himself, too, but couldn’t find any evidence he’d absorbed another mind. If there was no mind left, he could not get any information. Insofar as he could tell, there was nothing “inhuman” left either, not even the ability to become a fox. What was left was a human shell weakened by hunger, cold, and lack of sleep. It was an unpleasant shell to be within.

Yoshio listened to his report with an air of surprise. “He left his body rather than be taken? Hm. How samurai-like. They’re ever so fond of suicide.”

“May I return to my own body now?” Mamoru asked, eager to escape the nagging hunger and bone-deep exhaustion. “I can’t become a fox. I tried. This is a useless body.”

Yoshio paced, a human habit he didn’t seem to use consciously. “No, no, not useless. We shall keep it. I’ll bring food for you to feed it and get its strength back. It is nearly time for humans to sleep; I will go and consult an ally. There may yet be a use for this empty body. His clan has connections we may be able to use. You have his name, at least?”

“Yes. He is named Akakiba.”

Warm clothing and food helped to make the samurai’s body comfortable, but Mamoru was happy to leave it behind. After all, he couldn’t move around in the clan house in the body of a man the clan had supposedly captured for ransom. Now no more than a puppet, the samurai’s body rested on a cushy futon. If any of the human
shinobi
asked, they’d say the fox was drugged.

Watching the empty body’s chest rise and fall, Mamoru couldn’t help but have the unpleasant feeling it might rise and walk at any moment. He was nowhere as certain as Yoshio that the fox had died. It hadn’t felt like the fox meant to kill himself, it’d felt like the fox had a plan.

He began to float away, looking forward to a good night’s sleep in his own body and his own bed, but a faint noise made him zip back, fearing— No, the samurai’s body remained unmoving. For now.

Chapter Sixteen

Yuki

I
n the middle of the dead forest where the sword—and Akakiba—should have been, there were traps camouflaged under the snow. After his first near-fall, Yuki had taken to using a long branch to test the ground ahead before putting his feet on it. Following a trail consisting of triggered traps and fox tracks, he found an expanse of snow stained with crimson.

Something twisted in his guts. A human could survive the loss of this much blood, but a fox was much smaller.

“Sanae, do you see him?”

The fact Sanae was still with him was proof the sword was no longer in the vicinity. There was a good chance the sword and Akakiba were in the hands of the same people.

Sanae had been flicking in and out of existence for a little while now, crossing to the spirit realm and back again.

That stupid sword,
she said, exasperation thick in her voice.
It must be hiding my brother’s life spark. There’s no other reason why I couldn’t find him! I can’t pinpoint the sword either. It doesn’t pull on me when it’s not amplified by the energy sink.

“Keep looking. We’ll find him.”

Yuki didn’t voice the far more logical possibility Sanae couldn’t find her brother because his life spark was too weak to stand out from the naturally small sparks of humans and animals. Or, worse, because there was no life spark left. He’d rather pretend it was the sword’s fault, too.

Using the last of the day’s sunlight, he set up camp in an area of the dead forest burned down to ashes. Camping here made it less likely his fire would start a second blaze, there being nothing left to burn. He ate dried fruit taken from his bags and tried to sleep while it was an option.

He groped for his link with Drac, finding the distance had stretched but not broken it. He could barely make himself “heard” as he projected worry, could barely feel the faint reassurance that came back. It was enough; Drac was waiting for him in safety.

Akakiba might be waiting for him, too, but not in safety. Sanae would find him. He had to believe that.

He must have fallen asleep because a voice woke him.

I don’t find this state as pleasant as Sanae claims it is,
Akakiba’s unmistakable cranky voice said. The voice did not come from the battle-scarred and hard-eyed man Yuki knew, but from a fox remarkably alike to Sanae’s stylized fox form, aside from the color—a bright gold instead of a bright red.

“I never did figure out why your aura is yellow and your sister’s is red,” Yuki said stupidly. Then, waking up for good, he pitched forward on hands and knees to be at eye-level with Akakiba. “You’re here! Like this! Are you…” He swallowed, dreading to ask but unable not to. “Are you dead? What happened to your body?”

My body is fine. Where’s your dragon?

“Drac stayed at Chiyako’s home. I’m fine as long as he keeps warm.” Thinking about that resuscitated his anger. “What were you thinking, leaving me behind? Did you expect I’d insist on bringing Drac along and fall asleep in the middle of a fight? We’re not glued together!”

You always act like you are
. There was sulkiness in there, lurking under the surface.

Sulkiness meant…jealousy? Yuki put this interesting bit of knowledge aside for later consideration. There were more pressing matters to address, like where exactly Akakiba had left his physical body.

Sanae appeared out of nowhere, gasping,
Brother! What happened?

Captured. Starved. Possessed. I had to get out or be eaten.

Akakiba’s multiple tails were swishing in what was likely irritation. Giggling, Sanae said,
Ah, you have three tails!

What?
Akakiba said. Then, sounding surprised as he looked over his shoulder,
Huh. I do have three.

I have five,
Sanae said.
I always knew I was the strongest.

This means nothing! It’s a manifestation of the subconscious mind.

Your subconscious thinks you’re not as good as me, Brother.

A horrible suspicion formed in Yuki’s mind. Maybe there should have been five tails. He stared at Akakiba. “Is it because the first sword bit you? I saw it take energy.”

Akakiba stared back, ears gone flat.
It could be.

Sanae rounded on her brother, tone sharp and horrified.
You never said you let it feed on you! You idiot! It could have killed you!

It didn’t ask for my consent,
Akakiba snapped.
I hardly felt different, after.

I can’t believe you—

They bickered on until Yuki clapped his hands together loudly. “I agree it’s worrying, but can we focus on the most urgent matter first? A demon kidnapped his body! Can’t we get it back?”

I plan to do so,
Akakiba said.
But I thought you might like to know where I am. The sword is there, along with the man I believe to be the mastermind in this distasteful affair. Taking the sword away from the energy sink has greatly diminished the danger of its proximity, so I can go back.

Sanae bounced, her paws leaving no prints in the snow.
I’ll come along! You get in horrible trouble when I’m not there. Show me where it is.

Akakiba looked around.
I believe it was that way.

“You
believe
?” Yuki repeated. “Did you lose your own body?”

I know where my body is, thank you. I merely need to recall in which direction the place is.

Now that the shock had worn off, Yuki realized the temperature was absolutely frigid. His fingers were stiff, his ears almost burning. He pulled his blanket tighter against himself and set to rebuilding the dying fire.

The cold air irritated his lungs as he worked, making him cough.

It’s too cold for a human out here
, Sanae said.

I agree
, Akakiba said.
Yuki, can you find your way back to Chiyako’s or do you need Sanae to guide you?

They argued. Eventually, Yuki yielded because his throat was too raw for further argument. He packed and mounted. The siblings escorted him until early sunlight appeared to light the path.

We should go,
Sanae said.

Yes,
Akakiba said.
Keep going, Yuki, and don’t delay.

Turning back to spite them wouldn’t have been sensible or useful in any way, so he didn’t. He went to Drac and, he had to admit, felt tremendously better when he was welcomed with a scaly hug and a wonderfully hot cup of tea offered by Chiyako.

By the time his extremities had thawed, he’d started to fret. Why hadn’t Sanae reported back? What if they couldn’t find the body? What if it had been killed?

The sisters were present in the room when Akakiba and Sanae finally returned. Ari hardly reacted, but Chiyako jumped.

Hello,
Sanae said brightly.
I’m Sanae. Pleased to meet you. This is my brother Akakiba, but I think you already know him.

Yuki shook his head, despairing of his friends and their lack of interest in the benefits of discretion. At this rate, the whole country would soon know fox spirits were real.

I can’t waste my chance,
Akakiba said as he began to pace.
My body is weak. I must wait until they have fed it sufficiently, and snatch it from them. They seem keen to keep it safe, now that I have gone from it. They’re not even using it at the moment.

I’m the one who pointed out it was best to wait,
Sanae said to Yuki in a fake whisper.
That brother of mine would have jumped right in, and put himself in a position twice as worse by letting them know he can go in and out at will.

I have reasons to worry for the safety of my body,
Akakiba shot back.

Sanae’s tails curled about her sitting form, her attitude conveying smugness.

“There must be a reason they’re keeping it,” Yuki said, unsure what to do about the warring siblings except try to distract them. “We might like to know what it is.”

Time to spy on the spies,
Sanae said gleefully, vanishing at once.

Hyperactive red-haired child,
Akakiba said, disappearing too.

“I don’t understand why they’re fighting, suddenly,” Yuki said to no one in particular.

“They’re acting like normal siblings, to my eye,” Chiyako said. She sat with needle and thread, mending torn clothes. “Although normally the siblings who behave that way are a bit younger.”

“Humans,” Drac said, as if no other explanation was required. Mentally, the dragon pushed on him a tad harder, pressing him to acknowledge the growing hunger in his belly. If Yuki wanted to stay awake during winter, he needed to keep Drac warm and awake, and an awake dragon was a hungry dragon.

Sorry,
he sent to Drac mentally, and, aloud, “I didn’t mean to neglect you.” He caressed Drac’s soft underbelly to make amends, feeling how pleasant it was through the mind link.

“You’ve been troubled. But now you know the fox is well, food would be appreciated.”

Yuki had never learned the bow, for the simple reason Akakiba had no skill with it and couldn’t teach him. Since hunting with a sword was impractical at best, he had to come up with a different way of capturing the food Drac needed. He pondered the problem.

“Are mice good food?” Ari inquired. “We have lots of mice in the back of the house. I know how to make traps.”

“Show me how,” Yuki said.

The traps were half-filled buckets of water with food hung above with a string. When mice attempted to get at the food by perching on the rim of the bucket and reaching out for it or jumping at it, they fell in the bucket and drowned.

In an entire day of efforts, they caught three fresh mice. Overnight, they doubled their catch. After that, Drac was content to eat the mice Ari brought and Yuki’s help became superfluous.

In some way, it irritated him to have been rendered useless. He could neither help Akakiba and Sanae in their spying efforts nor devote his time to feeding Drac. The horses alone needed him, for they had run out of hay. He made the trip down to the village the next day, taking advantage of clear skies and nonexistent wind. Arriving late, he begged shelter at the first home he reached. He was found there by Akakiba in the early hours of the morning.

Ah, here you are. They’re moving my body. They appear to be heading for Kyoto.

“Isn’t that where Aito and Jien are meant to go next, to investigate the inn? I thought that’s what Sanae said. Is there a link?”

We don’t know. They haven’t spoken of their goal. The mastermind likes to keep his secrets.

“Will you seize your body then?”

Soon, yes. We’ll wait until they’re some distance away from the clan house, for safety.

“What of the sword? Is it going to Kyoto?”

No. The mastermind is keeping it. It’s frustrating, as it appears to be the original stolen sword. Its quality is much higher than the one we recovered.

“We need to get it away from them.”

Agreed. If it seemed possible, I would have done it while my body was inside. But there are dozens of
shinobi
there and they like to install traps in their homes. I likely wouldn’t have been able to escape the cell anyhow. Better I secure my body first, and the sword second.

“You mean you’ll turn back and attack them on your own terms, don’t you? I should meet up with you to help.”

Stay with the girls. It’s safer.

“Isn’t that what you thought when you tricked me into sleep and left to get the sword alone?” Yuki snapped. “Look what happened to you! You need backup and I can provide it.”

You need to stay where it is warm and safe.

The fox disappeared, cutting the discussion short.

“Bastard!” Yuki said to the wall, quivering in indignation. Akakiba meant to leave him behind again, that was what it was.

The logical part of his mind insisted Akakiba’s recent behavior must be a result of the trauma of Sanae’s body-death. Losing a loved one could make anyone protective of their remaining friends. It wasn’t rejection but a misguided attempt to keep him safe.

Understanding the situation didn’t make him any less angry about it. He didn’t want to be treated like a thing to be protected. He wanted to help. No, more than that. He wanted Akakiba to welcome and value his help.

Unable to return to dreamland, he left not long thereafter with as much hay and soybeans as could be bought with his coins, as well as with an extra bag of rice. Chiyako claimed her plot of rice and vegetable garden had yielded sufficient food to feed him the entire winter if necessary, but he saw no need to abuse her hospitality.

Halfway through the trip back, his connection with Drac returned to its usual strength. The illusion of crunching on the tiny body of a wriggling mouse came to him, along with a spurt of hot blood and a deep feeling of satisfaction. It made him want to eat meat, a craving to which he had yet to become accustomed. As best he knew, people bonded to small-sized dragons didn’t feel the need to eat helpless creatures, so why did he?

Don’t compare me to dragons too dim to speak,
Drac said in his head, conveying indignation. They weren’t real words, but easy to interpret all the same.

He could feel how staying near the fire made Drac’s hide dry and itchy, how he longed for the relief a bath would provide.

Ask Ari to help
, he sent.
You’ll have your bath.

The road rose quickly, winding round the mountainside. The further he went, the deeper the snow was. The horses kept to a fast pace, content to be stretching their limbs.

Alone on the road with a pair of beasts who made for poor conversation, Yuki pondered. Should he try to catch up with Akakiba? He could make himself useful if he arrived in time.