Paul watched, concerned, as the paramedics loaded Yuko into the back of the ambulance. Yuri helped lift the stretcher containing her sister, and joined her in the back as the medics closed the doors.
Yuko had regained consciousness, much to everyone’s relief, as she’d been borne down the mountainside from the Oni’s half-finished village. She’d been weak and rather groggy, but lucid enough that the worry of brain damage had receded from the forefront of Paul’s mind. He’d insisted on the hospital though, embolisms and blood clots were a potential worry still.
Inari had caught up with them as they’d reached the bottom of the steps from the temple. The Jorōgumo, Arakune Tsuchigumo, had carried Yuko the whole way down and changed back into her human form upon depositing Yuko on the bench at the bottom of the stairs. She had started to retreat, but had stopped when Inari came hurrying down. Now they were in low-voiced discussion, about what Paul didn’t care.
Turning round, Paul called to Inari.
“I’m going to head to the hospital as well.”
Inari nodded, but over her shoulder Paul caught the sneering look from Arakune. He stiffened and glared at her.
“Just what is your problem Arakune?!”
“Why would you waste your time with oni? They’re brutes, barely more than animals. That pair are hardly better than that, despite being half-breeds. Better if that one dies of it’s weakness I say.”
Inari was looking at Paul and caught the flash of fury in his face before he schooled his expression. Without hesitation, she moved to place herself in Paul’s way as he strode forwards, towards Arakune. Placing a slim hand on his sternum she spoke urgently.
“Paul-kun, please..she could not know, please..”
Paul took a deep, shuddering breath, and taking his eyes off Arakune, who had sensed something and begun to back up, looked Inari in the eyes.
“Sometimes the world is better off without some people in it.”
“That is not a decision for you to make Paul.”
Paul’s eyes flashed, seething rage boiling up from the depths of his soul.
“Why not? Whose decision is it then? Yours? Because you’re a Goddess? So we stand around doing nothing, while another fucking bastard gets to commit heinous acts of evil!”
“Arakune isn’t..”
“DON’T tell me she isn’t the same! I’ve been seen far too much not to recognise the type! She’s another bigot, like others I’ve seen. You don’t know, you haven’t left your temple in centuries so you…”
“I have lived far, far longer than you my Herald, and seen more than enough of evil not to know what you speak of. Quell your anger, for in truth are you not more enraged by her calling Yuko weak, implying as it does that your wife was also weak?”
Paul took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. Leaning forward he rested his chin on the top of Inari’s head, as the tension left his body.
“Low blow.. but accurate. I am going into town to the hospital and see how Yuko is, before I’m tempted to start pulling legs off that spider. You talk to her and find out what her problem is. But if she can’t or won’t mind her manners than I will personally squash her like a bug before she settles on this mountain. I’ll tolerate a lot, except intolerance.”
Inari nodded, then rested her forehead against Paul’s chest, murmuring into his clothing.
“I understand, and I’m sorry. I will make sure she behaves and if she can’t… I will not ask you to deal with her but take that upon myself. My hands are stained red enough, even if it was long ago, that a little more won’t matter.”
Paul snorted.
“And what makes you think mine are any cleaner? We really need to talk someday about some things from my past I am not proud of. I promised no secrets between us, and you know I keep my word.”
“I know Paul-kun, but I also know that those things cause you pain to speak of, and I won’t pry.”
Paul nodded slowly, and sighed.
“Later Inari, later… I’d better go before I lose what few shreds of self-control I have left. Just… deal with that monster before I get back.”
Inari nodded, letting go of Paul as he turned to leave. Inwardly she sighed. She could tell he was in a great deal of pain, as well as more furious than she’d ever seen him be, or ever wanted to. But he was still in control of himself, somehow, and there were more pressing concerns for now. Although, she noted with concern that he’d called Arakune a monster...something he never, ever did to any yokai that she knew of. Confirming something that Inari had suspected, but never asked about.
Paul clearly didn’t go by appearance when it came to deciding what or whom he regarded as monstrous. Counter to all her experience with humans, he judged yokai and human alike by who, not what, they were. Equally obvious, in the past he’d encountered humans that he considered monsters, and judging yokai by that yard-stick, found them more human.
Once again, Inari wondered… just who was Paul Holmes, and what had he been before he was her Herald?
Arakune watched as Inari’s Herald left, hardly daring to breath lest she attracted his attention. She’d known she’d misjudged and insulted him gravely when she looked at him and saw his eyes go flat and cold, reflecting her death. Inari was Kami, and to be feared for what she could do… but her Herald in that moment had utterly terrified Arakune.
She’d frozen, painfully aware that her life hung by a single fragile thread, and unable to think of any way to avoid her doom if that thread parted. She didn’t even understand why, only that she’d infuriated him beyond tolerance and he’d resolved to end her in that moment.
But as she listened she came to realise something. Inari’s Herald saw the oni as people, like himself, and thought they were equally worthy of respect. From what was unsaid, she thought that perhaps he saw all yokai the same as well.
Arakune felt as if she’d touched a live wire, the shock was so great… counter to everything she knew of humans, this singular man saw yokai as people … and then he’d called her a monster! Not because of her nature, but because of what she’d said!
It was confusing enough that as Inari turned and approached her, Arakune found herself trembling, terrified, her insides feeling as if she’d swallowed ice water. Without meaning to she reverted back to her natural form and collapsed, all eight of her legs failing her in an instant as her hearts fluttered in anxiety.
Inari blinked as Arakune paled, reverting back to a half-spider, and collapsed as her legs folded under her, overcome by fear.
She had intended to scold the young woman, upbraiding her about her archaic and unfounded disrespect, but now Inari found herself wanting to reassure her. It was obvious that Arakune knew by how narrow a margin she’d escaped death, and perhaps even why. Inari took a mental breath, pausing, as she considered that perhaps a gentler approach might be better.
Fleetingly, she wished Kiko was here with her. Her lover was a gentler soul over-all, and much better suited to this sort of thing. Inari had even joked that perhaps she was Kannon, goddess of mercy and compassion, returned. Which Kiko fervently denied, regarding it as presumptuous and not to mention she was entirely the wrong religion for that! Inari had refrained from affectionately teasing her further, not wanting to provoke an existential crisis by pointing out that other religions gods and goddesses were just as real as her.
Freeing herself of fond recollections, Inari knelt in-front of the quivering Arakune.
“Child, do you understand what occurred?”
Arakune nodded, and then slowly shook her head, unable to form words as her mind whirled. Inari looked her in the eyes for a moment, then sighed.
“You know what, but not why? No, you could not know I suppose. My Herald was married once, not that long ago to him. She was his soul mate, and she died of the same thing that struck down Yuko. By insulting Yuko, you insulted her as well.”
Arakune placed her hands over her eyes as she bowed her head.
“I… I meant him no insult Inari-sama!”
“And yet you meant insult to Yuko, who he counts as friend as well?”
“I didn’t know that! How could I? A human who sees oni as friends? Impossible!”
Inari laughed mirthlessly.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“You will find there is very little that is impossible to my Herald. In just a few short months he has upended the natural order of the world, brought magic back from the brink of extinction, changed for the good how humans see us yokai and many other things. This is a new world you’ve awoken to Arakune. A world of his making, although he’d deny that. If you want to have a place in it, I would suggest you stop antagonising him with your unreasoning hatred.”
Arakune shook her head.
“I don’t hate oni. They are what they are and I don’t know why he hates me for saying it!”
Inari took a hold of the confused Arakune’s shoulders and shook her lightly.
“Arakune don’t be a fool! Have you even met an oni before today?”
“No. I live… lived, in the city. But I heard about them from my mother.”
“So you judge them upon what you’ve been told? Without even knowing for yourself what they are like? Do you not see how foolish that is?”
Arakune stared at Inari, then sighed, hanging her head.
“I see it now… they are not as I’ve been told, are they?”
“Do you think Paul would claim them as friends if they were?”
“Perhaps… perhaps not. I don’t know him well enough to judge.”
Inari smiled slightly.
“Then perhaps you should get to know him better, and the oni as well. But first I think you owe him an apology, a considerable one.”
Arakune sighed and nodded.
“I’ll … no.. I don’t know him well enough. Inari-okami, what would you give him if you were me?”
Inari smiled and then sighed.
“Well… if you were thinking of spending the night with him, I would forget that right away. He’s still very much in love with his wife, and has refused even my advances.”
Arakune blinked, drawing her head back slightly.
“Really ?! But… no, never mind. Not my business. Ok… what else would serve? I could offer to serve him otherwise?”
Inari shook her head.
“He’d hate that. Others have offered before you, but he prefers to do things himself. No, if you wish to show contrition, apologise to him, to Yuko and Yuri, sincerely, and then help the oni rebuild their village. Get to know them while you do so, and show him that he was wrong to dismiss you as monster. That will please him.”
Arakune looked at Inari in bewilderment.
“It… it will? Proving him wrong will make him happy? But… I don’t understand!”
Inari laughed.
“Don’t worry, Paul-kun is a very perplexing man. But yes, he would be happy to find you are not a monster after all.”
Arakune couldn’t help herself, she glanced over her shoulder at her spider body, and then looked back at Inari, a sceptical look on her face.
“He has noticed I’m an Jorōgumo, a spider-demon?”
Inari nodded.
“Yes, but to him, that’s less important than how you behave.”
Arakune shook her head.
“Why do I care what he thinks of me?”
Inari smiled to herself, while keeping her face still… the phrasing had not escaped her notice.
“Because he is a man of singular determination and force of will. He is quite capable of reordering the world to achieve his goals, having done so once already. A man to be wary of indeed, but a good one. A man that it’s hard to not find attractive.”
“Sounds like someone it would be better to have as a friend, or at least, not an enemy. But he called me a monster, and humans kill monsters.”
Inari shook her head.
“I think he’s not so decided yet. If he wanted you dead, you would be already. Paul-kun is not man to wait to do things that he sees as needful. But I do think you had better set about proving you’re not a monster, before he comes back.”
Arakune nodded slowly.
“Very well… if I must I’ll concede some of my domain to the Oni.”
Inari blinked.
“Your domain?”
Arakune sighed and nodded.
“Yes Inari, mine. As the last of my family, that side of the mountain is mine by ancient agreement between you and my ancestor. Paul-dono did mention you might have forgotten, but there should be records if you do not believe me.”
“No, no.. I do not doubt your word Arakune. I apologise for having forgotten, but… why did you wait so long to return?”
Arakune shrugged.
“I had a good life in the city, as did my mother before me and her mother before her. We had a source of magic that sustained us, and we thought that it had dried up elsewhere. But, with that gone, I risked what I thought was certain death to return to our old home, hoping to find it’s wellspring still existed.”
Inari laughed.
“Well… it is..and it isn’t, as we have a new source. But.. how did you not hear of magic’s renewal before?”
Arakune shook her head.
“I slept... like my smaller cousins, I sleep during the winter months and my plans were laid before I slept last. I… did not believe the signs I felt as I journeyed here, I didn’t want to believe in case I was wrong. And I rarely listen to the news., I’m not as long lived as you Inari, but I’ve long enough to find the scurrying affairs of mortals tiresome. What they do doesn’t concern me, save how it affects my business. So, no I had not heard nor did I let myself see, and I’ve made a fool of myself as result.”
Inari nodded slowly. She’d been the same herself after all, unconcerned with a world that didn’t seem to have a place for her any more. That had changed, just as Arakune’s would… and thinking of that she decided what to do about her.
“Arakune, I apologise for my mistake. If I had remembered then this misstep could have been avoided. So, this is much my mistake as yours. But, it would be too much to ask the Oni to move now… they have been driven from their home far too often before, to ask them now and they are too far along in building their new home. So, instead, how about we discuss compensating you for giving up that land? The oni won’t want anything higher up the mountain, so you have that, but what about an opportunity lower down as recompense?”
Arakune studied Inari.
“An opportunity? What kind of opportunity?”
“You mentioned you ran a business?”
Arakune shifted uncomfortably..
“Umm.. yes. I...ah...provided certain services to businessmen, and women.”
Inari interrupted.
“You were a courtesan?”
Arakune took a deep breath, remembering who she was talking to and shook her head, throwing aside modern squeamishness about sex.
“No, adjacent but not that. I was a professional dominatrix and shibari mistress. I ran a small club also that provided a safe space for like-minded individuals. But.. well, you don’t need to know what happened but I lost my business, and with it my source of magic.”
Inari nodded. She’d been vaguely considering an idea for a few weeks, but now it crystallised as Arakune spoke.
“Good. I have an idea. Would you consider owning and running a Ryokan here, a suitable recompense?”
Arakune blinked, surprised by the offer.
“A Ryokan? But, I don’t know anything about running an inn? And where would you even put it?”
Inari smiled.
“Walk with me, I’ll show you. But it seems running businesses in these modern times is lot more complicated. Paul-kun was explaining it to me, there are tax forms and inspections and many other things I know nothing of… and if we are to run a place for travellers to stay a while at the temple I would need to either hire someone who knew how to do this, or learn myself. But, it occurred to me that perhaps you might consider taking this off my hands as recompense instead, and that way we both benefit. You have ownership of the Ryokun, and I don’t have to concern myself with it’s running. Of course… to keep it legal and make sure that it still counts as part of the temple complex, I would need to retain ownership of the grounds and charge rent, but that would be nominal…”
Arakune studied Inari as they walked back up the stairs to the temple.
“A nominal rent? How nominal?”
“A tithe, a tenth of profits per year perhaps? Payable as a donation to the temple.”
“Half that, and of net profits… and I’ll agree once I see what I’m getting.”
Inari chuckled.
“Very well, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. We already have several guest houses, and there is much room to build more as well as room for a second, larger, bath-house and other facilities. I can talk to the local tenuki clan and get a discount for the construction work.”
Arakune nodded, her mind already turning over the possibilities. If she had a stable source of magic here, she wouldn’t need to drain the chi from her clients as she had before. She could run a respectable inn, redeeming her reputation, and keep her proclivities as a hobby instead. It would be much more enjoyable if she didn’t need her playmates to survive on… and if she snacked from time to time, no more than a nibble to taste, well that was all part of the fun!
Certainly, it beat camping in the woods on a wet and windy mountainside and living off whatever wildlife she could catch in her webs! Her idea of roughing it up until recently had been a cheap no-stars love motel, never mind a tent in the wild! And now Inari was offering her not just a place to stay, but a livelihood as well as a way to a more respectable place in a society that would accept her as yokai.
For that, Arakune thought, she would not just tolerate the oni and make her apologies, she would abase herself to them if asked, and happily so!
Paul was still fuming as he headed for the local general hospital. Arakune was a bigot right out of the pages of history, regarding oni as sub-sentient. He hoped Inari could talk some sense into her, but he wasn’t pinning much on it. It was bad enough that the yokai were facing prejudice from humans, without other yokai adding to it!
Still, something bothered him about what she’d said. She’d called Yuri and Yuko, hafu, literally half-breeds. There were stories about oni men raping human women and impregnating them and a few about oni women being seduced by human men… usually ending badly for all concerned. But he’d dismissed them as just that, stories, made up to paint oni in a bad light, or occasionally to poke fun at certain strong individuals as supposed half-breeds.
Paul wracked his brains as he rode, mostly to distract himself from his fuming bad mood. Just supposing Arakune was at least right about Yuri and Yuko being half-human, it seemed unlikely she’d lie about that meaningless detail, and surprised he hadn’t known, so clearly it was an obvious thing… somehow.
Still, Paul thought as he sat waiting at the traffic lights, resting one leg down and drumming his fingers on the handlebars of his bike. Ash had persuaded him to buy a motor bike to putter into town on, but considering the lack of space to park it when not in use and the lack of funds to afford it, he gone for something smaller than her custom machine. He’d gotten a good deal on a small Honda Cub. A second-hand Super-cub to be precise, which was somewhere between a motor scooter and a ‘pure’ bike as far as he was concerned.
Still, he ruminated, there had to have been some basis for the old legends of humans and oni having children. Although, now that he really thought about it, the word ‘oni’ having derived from the old kanji character on, meaning to hide or conceal, it implied that ancestral oni at times had been just as much refugees as their modern descendants, and it wasn’t too much of a stretch to connect oni with European legends of trolls and orcs. So one could imagine some proto-hominid, maybe related to Neanderthals or something like Paranthropus robustus, as ancestors of all of those. Which having been driven out of Africa ahead of the spreading H. Sapiens, went into hiding and evolved to utilise the much stronger prehistoric mana field to boost their metabolism and increase their strength. The various differences between trolls, orcs, oni and other related sorts could be explained as regional variations of the same human sub-species, living hidden from the rest of humanity for thousands of years.
Which, he supposed, would mean that technically they weren’t yokai as such. Being more corporal than spirit or magic based as they were, but also they would possibly be cross-fertile with humans.
Although how had Arakune known that, seemingly just by looking at them…
Paul swore under his breath suddenly… the answer of course had been almost staring him in the face. Oni had no heso, or belly button. Whereas the sisters did have one. He had no idea why that would be, from a biological point of view, nor even why oni didn’t have one. But until now he’d dismissed it as a quirk of the local clan’s make up, which obviously the sisters didn’t share. But, given that Arakune could seemingly tell at a glance, it was probably that.
Paul carefully accelerated, pushing his little Honda to it’s max, and leaving the legal speed limit in the dust. Yuko’s half-human ancestry was important medically. He wasn’t sure if it would make a difference, but it wasn’t something to take chances on. For all he knew, she might react badly to some drug or other because of it!