“Tetsuo!” Himiko yelled in glee. She and Yuki returned to their feet, and she rushed to hug the monk. “I’m so glad to see you!” Ryoma didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a tinge of jealousy deep down that a man such as Tetsuo received such affection from someone as sweet as Himiko. It simply didn’t sit right with him.
“Hello, Himiko.” Tetsuo said. “And you, too, Yuki. It’s nice to run into you once more. Although, it might disingenuous to say that we’ve merely run into one another.” Himiko loosened her grip on the monk to lean back, cocked her head to the side, and asked, “What do you mean, Tetsuo?”
“Well,” Tetsuo said, “the truth of the matter is that I followed the three of you here. You see, I mulled it over for a while and decided that I couldn’t well leave you all on the road with a worthless warrior in your midst.” He then turned to Ryoma, smirked, and said, “No offense, samurai.” Ryoma simply scowled in response.
Tetsuo then sighed and said, “Calm down, Ryoma. The two of us won’t get along until we stop bickering amongst ourselves. Here, let me be the first to apologize; I’m sorry for calling you a lapdog.” Ryoma wished to continue scowling, yet relented and said, “Very well. I accept your apology.” He looked to Himiko who gave him a stern prodding with her glare, and so, he continued, “And I’m sorry for misjudging you, Tetsuo.” Himiko smiled once again which delighted Ryoma so.
A faint groan cut through the reverence. Everyone looked to the ground to see Koichi writhing in his armor, his mind in a half-conscious state. He almost looked as if he were on the verge of saying something to them, but all that came from his mouth were grunts and mumbles. “Don’t worry about him,” Tetsuo said, “he should be out for a good while still. I hit him head-on with quite some force, after all.”
“So, what’s our plan of action now?” Yuki asked Ryoma. Tetsuo, however, interjected as he said, “I must check on the headman of the village. He should be in that building there.” He pointed to the larger of the two remaining structures and continued, “You’re all welcome to follow me.”
This time, Ryoma proved to be the one interjecting as he said, “Hold for a moment, Tetsuo.” He pointed to the skewered woman on the ground next to Koichi and said, “Koichi mentioned that this was the last village member alive. If the headman were here in the village, then he’d surely be dead just like the others.”
Tetsuo shook his head and said, “And yet his home is untouched. It would seem this Koichi didn’t bother with torching the empty houses; he must have slaughtered the ones he found in their sleep and only used immolation as a method of cruelty to dishonor their deaths. I’d imagine he planned on throwing that skewered woman back into the inferno, too.” Ryoma mulled it over, then nodded and said, “I see. That makes sense as this woman’s house didn’t catch fire until shortly before her dash to avoid his naginata. He must’ve woken her accidentally and dropped his torch while he fetched his weapon.”
“Is that why the other home hasn’t been burned?” Yuki asked. Tetsuo nodded and said, “I would infer as such, Yuki. You see, that house belongs to the blacksmith who I’d assume is still in his forge since he tends to work into the early hours of the morning. It’s quite some way up the river from here, so it would stand to reason that he didn’t even notice the commotion coming from the village.” Ryoma had heard all he needed to be satisfied and said, “In that case, Tetsuo, let’s assume you’re right. Lead the way.”
And so, the quartet grabbed nearby lumber, set them alight on the side of the burning house to create makeshift torches, and made their way into the headman’s estate. True to the scope of magnitude the exterior presented, it seemed to be far roomier than anyone first assumed. And yet, no one appeared to be home. “That’s odd.” Himiko said. “You’d imagine the headman wouldn’t have reason to leave the village, yet he isn’t here. Might he have been slain outside?”
Ryoma shook his head and said, “I don’t remember seeing anyone in the streets. Like Tetsuo said, they probably all died in their homes, meaning that he wasn’t here when Koichi searched the place.” Tetsuo cleared his throat and said, “Or, perhaps he simply didn’t find the headman when he came looking for him.”
“What do you mean?” Yuki asked. Tetsuo said, “With a role in the village as important as headman, I would have to imagine there would be contingency plans for emergencies. In such dire situations such as this, surely, he would have a method of concealing himself. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Ryoma lowered his head. He said, “I can’t imagine the headman would do such a thing. If the village was in danger, why would they hide instead of confronting the problem?” Tetsuo remained steadfast in his assertation, however, as he said, “You can ask the man once we find him, Ryoma. Come now, let’s begin our search.”
Without further argument, the quartet set about trying to locate the headman. They searched high and low with nary a clue to be found until Yuki noticed a peculiarity within the main bed chambers. “Everyone,” he yelled, “come check this out!” The others found themselves surrounding Yuki on the floor and Himiko asked, “What did you find, Yuki?”
Yuki answered, “I noticed a discrepancy with the floorboards. Look at this square of wood right here; it’s faint, but you can detect a slight discoloration compared to the rest of the floor. It appears as though someone purposefully cut through the original board and placed this new panel down.”
“Excellent work, Yuki!” Ryoma exclaimed. “It must be a secret trapdoor. Let’s try and open it!” In lieu of further prolonging, he handed his torch to Himiko, placed the sheath of his katana into a small crevasse on the side of the panel, and pried it free from the floor. Sure enough, an opening beneath the floor presented itself to the quartet, and within the hole, the headman sat in a fetal position.
“Please don’t hurt me!” The headman exclaimed as he shielded himself from the sudden burst of light illuminating his secret hiding spot. Tetsuo attempted to calm him down as he said, “It’s quite alright, headman. That monster in human skin ransacking the village will no longer pose a threat to you.” He held out his hand to the quaking headman with his most sincere smile despite the fact that he would still merely resemble a shadow amidst the glow of the flame.
“That voice.” The headman said. “Might you be the new recruit to that nearby temple?” Tetsuo continued smiling and said, “The very same, my good sir. I assure you that we’re here to help. Please, take my hand so that I may assist you out of this hole.” The headman didn’t hesitate to comply and grabbed the monk’s outstretched hand. With their combined effort, the headman made it out of the ditch and back onto an even level with the others in the room.
“It was terrible.” The headman said. “I noticed the horned man entering one of the homes and I froze; the sheer stature of that beast shook me to my core, so I fled and hid within the secret room. Soon thereafter, I heard him enter my own home, so I didn’t make a peep. Thank the gods, he failed to notice me and eventually left. I wasn’t sure if he’d return, though, so I remained here just in case.”
“Unbelievable.” Ryoma said. The others turned to him inquisitively, so he continued, “I can’t fathom how you could run and hide from danger within your own village. You’re their leader! It should fall on your shoulders to see to the safety of those beneath you. How dare you allow them to die!”
Himiko slapped Ryoma. “How could you say something so scathing, Ryoma?” She asked. Ryoma didn’t seem to comprehend the reprimand, so she continued, “Not everyone can be some gallant warrior such as yourself. Look at him, Ryoma; he’s an elderly man who would be massacred were he to stand up to Koichi. Just because we fought that bastard doesn’t mean everyone should.”
Ryoma looked at her intensely and then turned his attention to the headman. Indeed, he was rather old and frail, in no condition to face such a fearsome foe. Then, the samurai contemplated if it was his own inadequacies he was projecting, unable himself to tackle his opponent. And so, he relented and said, “You’re right, Himiko. I’m sorry, sir. It was wrong of me to insult you and your position.” He placed his forehead on the floor and said, “Pray accept my apology.”
“Wow,” Tetsuo said, “even I didn’t receive such groveling. I’d say he truly means it.” Himiko smiled and said, “He sure does.” Then, she lifted Ryoma back up from the floor and hugged him, a notion the samurai deeply appreciated. The headman cleared his throat and said, “I accept, young man. I assure you that you haven’t offended me. We all have different roles to fill. I thank you for ridding us of that horrendous monster.”
Ryoma was going to respond, but the sound of a whinny outside interrupted him. “What could that have been?” Yuki asked. Ryoma said, “I’m not sure. Let’s go investigate.” He and the others rose to their feet and exited the headman’s estate.
Within the light of the still burning home, the group noticed Koichi slung atop his mammoth horse. “He managed to move after that trauma?!” Tetsuo asked in amazement. Before he could think to reach for his nunchakus yet again, the horse began galloping eastward away from them.
“Damn,” Ryoma said, “he got away. We should have killed him while we had the chance.” He looked at his katana; even in its sorry state, it still had a jagged edge capable of slitting someone’s throat. Unfortunately, he was so sidetracked with inspecting the headman’s house that he didn’t think to finish Koichi off.
“Don’t worry, Ryoma.” Himiko said. “As soon as you repair your weapon, you’ll have the opportunity to stop him once and for all. I’m sure of it.” Ryoma asked, “You really think so?” She nodded and continued, “Trust me, if we’re to save this country, we’ll surely need to count him amongst the demons we must purge. But first things first; it’s high time we found that blacksmith and his forge.”