Come by Night 2: Winter's Moon

Chapter Twelve - Just Like Old Times

kanabō - metal cudgel, the usual weapon of choice for an oni
Mitsuaki - m., bright, luminous light
oni - horned and tusked ogre

They rush out of the woods, a herd of bloody oni, kanabō in their hands. I wait until the last possible second, and step out with my katana. Oni flesh is tough, but sharp steel will cut it. The blade makes contact with a slab of living meat. The force of impact nearly takes the sword out of my hands. I am braced for it and lean forward. I am rewarded with a grunt. I cleave through and glance across bone. Blood spurts in a fount.

I spin and duck around the tree. Another oni comes barreling out of the mist. I am faster than he is. I sidestep and cut his head off from behind. The ogre's head bounces down a hill. I hear the jingle of rings behind me. Katsurō has his staff. I grin. I know how deadly he is with that thing.

Two horned ogres appear behind the one I just gutted. I keep them in a diagonal line, refusing to let them surround me. These guys are tough, big, part of a gang. The closer we get to Hell, the more we will come across bands of brutes. I know their kind. I used to run with packs like this one.

Baka tengu had to be loud. The bastard likely doesn't care what he brought down on us. Once, neither would I. But I have you and Tsukiko to get back to. I cannot afford anything to happen to me. This kind of thing is no longer fun. I am in a struggle to survive in one piece at any cost.

Therefore, I fight dirty.

I dodge a cudgel barely in time. I am all instinct now. I duck a swing, then narrowly avoid another. This demon is huge! He smells bad, too. I grit my teeth and continue to evade him. That thing will shatter my bones if I take a hit! I weave around him, swift as smoke and wind. My katana grazes his ankle tendons. Cut those, anything falls.

He goes down screaming to his knees. I skewer his eyes, one at a time. The center of my back itches. I turn and swing upward. I don't even have to think about it. My senses are alive! I hear everything - and with these ears, I hear a lot. My bristled fur feels the nuances of air. I can smell my foe, giving away proximity. My eyes are specialized to see motion and minute changes of light.

The demon side of me is recklessly happy and terrified. My heart hammers, time has become meaningless. I hew the hand from my victim, for that is what they are to me. Prey. They chose the wrong yōkai to fuck with, and it will cost them everything.

I set forth a blaze of summoned spirt fire at one foe, charring him to a crisp. In the same moment, I leap and duck into a roll, springing up behind the demon who just tried to smash my brains out. His hamstrings part beneath the razor edge of my blade. He twists his torso to get at me, but I spin around his body, appearing in front of him like an apparition. I slice once, twice across the abdomen in quick succession, then I thrust up under his jaw.

I pull my sword out, prepared for the next... but there is no one left to kill. It is hard to believe. I turn in place, looking for the next. My senses do not lie. It is only the tengu and I, panting, splattered in blood.

"You asshole," I snarl. There is only the soft echo of my voice in the after-battle silence.

He laughs. "Just like old times, eh?"

"Fuck you." I jerk my bloodstained kimono up onto my shoulders. I wipe down my blade with a cloth and sheathe it. I exude my wrath in every tense movement. I stalk past Katsurō toward our destination, wishing to be done with this more than ever.

"Awww... come now, Mitsuaki..."

I whirl and march into his personal space, scarce an inch separating us. "Do not ever call me that again." There is a gekker reverberating in my throat and my ears are flat down and back. I am trembling with adrenaline and rage, yet my voice is soft. I turn my back on him and walk away.

"Fine, 'Ee-sah-moo,'" he calls out petulantly behind me. "What about the corpses?"

"What about them?"

"We can't leave evidence we came through."

"Find a shovel," I call over my shoulder.

"What? Why would I do that? You can do it quick as blinking."

"Ah, yes. But 'why would I do that?'" I mimic.

"Are you daft? They'll know we're coming!"

"I guess you should have thought of that before you announced to everything in the vicinity we were here, huh?"

His sigh is exaggerated. "Seriously?"

My response is to keep walking.

"Please?"

Without stopping or looking back, I wave my arm, summoning enough fire spirits to set the corpses alight. The smell of roasting meat permeates the forest. I salivate and keep moving. The conflagration is over quickly. Soon, only ashes and the ugly scent of charred bones remain.

"Hey, wait for me already, would you?" Behind me I hear the jingling staff as Katsurō jogs after me to catch up. "Are you mad at me? You are!"

"Will you shut up already?"

"Tchkk. Kitsune are so fussy."