Sun could not stand for a month after his battle, for his bones had been broken by the collapse of the building upon his back; he would not open his eyes and his body had grown uncharacteristically cold. His old parents cried tears of fear and despair and the people of the village lamented dearly his approaching death, although some whispered about the nature of the boy that had still had the strength to strike down a bandit after having his body broken, wondering if he was truly human. Brave Yukaru had also fallen into a deep sleep as she healed, but woke up before too long. The burns on her skin left marks that she did not shy away from, and none dared point out after she had stood up to the bandits. She would visit the comatose Sun every day, to pay her respects and gratitude for him saving her life after her will had faltered.
“Oh, Sun. What a fool am I,” Yukaru would whisper often to the sleeping Sun, with a pang on her chest, while she held a prayer bead tightly. “They call me brave, and I took up the sword thinking I could handle the pressure. But that thing...It broke my spirit when it didn’t break yours. You had to shield my body, and now you are broken instead. I am so sorry.”
And by his bedside, she would pray to the gods with fervor for his recovery, for his body to stop growing cold, for him to walk again. And for strength to face the future.
In the first week of the second month since Sun had fallen asleep, Spring officially began once more. And for the first time in so many years, the overcast sky wasn’t dreary and gray, but clear and blue as soft rays of sunlight shone down. The wind was cold but crisp, instead of bringing distant hints of poison. And Sun stirred in his sleep as color started to return to his skin and his deathly cold subsided, being substituted by prodigious heat. After two days, as a soft spring rain fell upon his village, Sun finally opened his eyes.
His parents were beside themselves in happiness, and shed tears of joy as they embraced their son. The entire village gathered together to welcome Sun back to the land of the living, although he could see a small hesitation on some of their smiles, those that feared the unknown power that Sun had to survive such a trial. Yukaru on the other hand had nothing but happiness as she could speak to him again, her own happiness only matched by Sun’s. They met again as comrades and shared their admiration for one another warmly and sincerely.
Sun’s prodigious recovery didn’t push away the doubts and fears of his mind, even as the village threw a celebration, utilizing all the meager resources that they could spare. The name spoken by the demon, Mayakashi, troubled his mind. He danced and ate as much as his still battered body would allow during the festivities, and although he did his best to smile and laugh with everyone else, there was no hiding the doubt in his mind. And Sun noticed a shadow of fear behind some of the other villager’s smiles. People he had shared his life with since his birth seemed to think he was some unknown spirit now, and held their breaths when he wandered too close to the fire in his dancing. Before too long Sun excused himself to rest, and sat far away from the main group to let his mind wander.
“...Mayakashi…Mayakashi….What does it mean? I’ve ever heard of such demons. Mayakashi…” Sun would murmur to himself. The name brought him unease.
He had been so entranced on his wonderings that he didn’t hear someone approach from behind until they placed a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his gaze to see Yukaru, with her black hair tied in a high ponytail and a small bowl of fruit to share. They shared a smile and she unceremoniously sat beside him.
“Are you feeling pain?” She asked kindly. “I cannot move too well yet. My body hurts, so yours must be as well.”
“I just need to stop and rest often. I can go back soon, I just needed a moment away from everything.” Sun picked a ripe berry and popped it into his mouth. “Yukaru...I must apologize.”
“Don’t insult me, Sun. You saved my life, and our village” Yukaru furrowed her brow, giving him a fiery look. “What could I possibly demand an apology for?”
“I... broke your sword,” Sun said timidly. “I don’t think I know how to use one.”
Yukaru broke out in laughter. Sun’s face grew red and he looked down at the ground, scratching his head in order to hide his face.
“Consider your apology accepted, then. You should be saying it to my father, but he certainly holds no ill will about the fate of the sword. It saved us in the end, did it not? But you are right. You don’t know how to use it at all.” Yukaru shook her head, still with a smile dancing on her face. “But, let me tell you a secret, Sun.”
Sun lifted his gaze to look at Yukaru. She took a moment to move her eyes towards him.
“I don’t know how to use a sword, either. I just know how to not break it immediately. I took up the blade thinking that I could just try my best, because protecting what’s important to you matters more than anything,” Yukaru said softly, and a shadow fell over her eyes. “But I couldn’t do it either. When I got afraid, I couldn’t swing it at all. My best wasn’t enough...But your clumsy slash was.”
“I only did it because you were there. I was frozen with fear before you came along, and I started burning with rage when you fell. I could only do my best because you were there.”
Sun’s words were little more than a stream of thought, and the full context of it all wasn’t immediately received. His words sunk in slowly, like a rock gently floating down to the bottom of the river. And when they did, everything suddenly felt very, very warm as the silence stretched between them, awkwardness settling down and blood flowing up into Sun’s face.
“...We haven’t had a lot of time together,” Yukaru said, nervously. “But I...I believe you. Maybe I can do my best if you are there, too. I want to be more. I want to be stronger.”
“So do I.”
“Then...Let’s do it together.”
The two spent a long time talking that night, away from the ears of others, enjoying the serene night.
In the following years, Sun and Yukaru walked together, and trained. Yukaru, determined to never falter when it mattered, practiced with a new blade she had requested from her father every day. Sun, determined to never lose to a demon and find out more about the Mayakashi, matched her fervor with his own blade. And the two, determined to enjoy their peace together while it lasted, trained together as much as they could.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Two long years passed. The first year had been the best one the village had ever had, with the sunny days becoming more common and spring and summer bringing good weather for crops. It was during this time that the village was renamed to Tayou, in hopes that it would attract more good fortune. However as the months of autumn approached, the temperature once again fell harshly, and the winter was building up to being the harshest one yet. News from the other parts of the country became even more scarce.
The next year, the long winter had returned. The first week of spring did not bring clear skies, but more of the same overcast weather as before, just warm enough to melt the ice so that the villagers could work the land again and messengers could travel the roads. Throughout the two years, Yukaru and Sun had been training with their blades often, and had grown into true self-taught swordsmen.
In the middle of spring, a messenger coming from the capitol came, in a well groomed black horse and flanked by two imposing Samurai. The villagers gathered in the center of Tayou village to listen to him, under the watchful scowl of the Samurai, who seemed to be incredibly tense and whose armors were scratched.
“By the order of the Four Shogun of the Four Cardinal Districts, and by word from the Emperor, let this be known throughout the land! Dangers roam the roads of this country and threaten the peace and safety of all our citizens, and the gods have been angered and made distant! A call is issued to all that are able bodied to come and join the army of his Heavenly Authority! Priests, men and women of faith and shrine keepers shall also undertake a pilgrimage to the shrines spread across the country, to expel demons from our land and appease the gods into once again favoring our people! Let it also be known that there is a grand reward for roving bandits upon these lands, let their names be known in infamy and their lives be swiftly extinguished, with a handsome reward for their slayers or those that assist in capturing them: Otarou, of the Red Throat! Kumiko, The Sprout! Iron-Mace Oniroki! Tsukahagi, The Poisonous! Otominako, of the Broken Blade! Ryu, the….”
Sun’s blood froze, and his hearing failed as he recognized the name. Although the messenger was still listing bandits, the entire village started to mumble and murmur in sudden fear. The Samurai, with their large spears and menacing scowls demanded order and attention from the villagers until their voices died down and the messenger could finish his message. With a stoic warning that all able bodied would have to make the trip on their own, the group left in as much a hurry as they arrived, for they still had to deliver this same message to the other villages among the mountains. They left drawn portraits and the list of names of the wandering bandits, and a written version of the message with the people of Tayou.
A cold blanket of tension fell upon Tayou. The elderly, even those that had served as soldiers in the past, could not make the perilous journey. Most of the young able bodied people were necessary within the village to care for the elderly and defend against wandering beasts and bandits, but the doubt of the people fell upon Sun and Yukaru. The two could feel the weight of the village’s doubts upon them, and much more. Sun had frozen in place ever since the messenger left, staring off vacantly into the distance, with Yukaru giving him a worried look. When he moved, it was to move towards the board upon which the message and the posters had been nailed to. With his throat dry, Sun read the names until his gaze fell upon the one he recognized.
“Tsukahagi, the Poisonous. Impossible. It simply cannot be,” Sun murmured in disbelief, but the drawing was there. A massive mountain of a man, with wild red hair, sideburns and a ponytail, dressed in gold and black robes. Although the visage of the spider wasn’t visible, his appearance was unmistakable. “I’ve slain him two years ago! What is the meaning of this?!”
“A brother?” Yukaru asked, with little confidence. She shivered, before looking around and lowering her voice. “Or...Something else. Sun, we know that he was not...Human. I know you’ve seen it too. The spider. He’s some kind of demon.”
The scowl on Sun’s face was deep as he considered what this could possibly mean. Blood was pumping in his ears as he was brought back to the night of the battle, and he felt slightly sick remembering the rush of fear, anger and adrenaline that night brought him. Mayakashi echoed Tsukahagi’s voice, as real as the night he attacked. Sun could feel his body tensing up. The mighty Mayakashi shared their magic with me! Die in fear!
“Sun.”
Yukaru’s voice was a splash of fresh water, quelching the fires in Sun’s memory. Her hand on his shoulder brought him back, and when he met her gaze, they were steely and determined, filled with strength and purpose. Sun steadied himself and thought about it deeply, closing his eyes. When they opened, there was fire within them.
“I can’t just let this be. He might return...I have to make sure he doesn’t come back and hurt everyone to get revenge. And I have to know what he meant before, about who gave him power. I need to learn what the Mayakashi are,” Sun steeled himself, taking a deep breath. The decision would be hard. “...I’ll go. I am going to take my blade and leave Tayou to go towards the capitol. Someone out there has to know something about all this, and if I’m part of the army, I can find them somehow. I’ll find Tsukahagi and make him tell me everything he knows, before he can hurt anyone here. My parents are getting old, I can’t let them go through it again.”
Yukaru got a small smirk on her face as Sun spoke. She crossed her arms, looking down at the burn scars on her body.
“This is what we have been training for this whole time, isn’t it?” Yukaru said softly, lost in thought. “To protect what’s important to us. We’re not just clumsily swinging these swords anymore, Sun. We’re warriors, now. And we’ll go to the capitol together as warriors and make sure that demon stays dead for good next time.”
“You don’t have to follow me,” Sun said with a hint of worry. “Who will protect everyone?”
“...I can’t do it,” Yukaru said after a moment. She looked over her shoulder to the village, a sad look on her face. “I trust my skills, Sun. I’ve poured all I have in learning how to fight...But that night two years ago still keeps me awake at night. That spider demon haunts my dreams. When I think of facing him again, I feel myself freezing with fear. I’m no worthy protector, and that’s exactly why I have to go as well. I need to conquer myself. I can’t falter while holding my blade ever again, and I’m not going to stand here and let my fate come to me.”
Yukaru’s eyes were fiery as she looked at Sun, as if daring him to question her reasons or look down on her. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, Sun just took a deep breath and nodded. He understood ever so well. Yukaru’s gaze softened ever so slightly.
“And also...Sun. You have saved my life before. We struggled together against those bandits, you broke your body protecting mine. I’m not going to forget that, ever, so don’t even think about it. If you are going off to fight, I’m going as well.” Yukaru gave Sun a sly smile. “And you were the one that said we work best together, right? That we would become strong together? I didn’t take you for a liar, Sun.”
“I’m not! Alright, well, I can’t argue with that, can I?” Sun relented, but there was a bright smile on his face. “It’s a long road…”
“We’ll go through it together,” was Yukaru’s simple answer.
They found strength in the presence of one another, in all the things that were yet unsaid by their bodies but understood by their souls. Sun gave the village one last look, drinking it all in. The calm street and simple buildings, and the crisp mountain air that blew through. He remembered the precious few days of clear skies and bright sun he had experienced here. The simple meals he’d shared in his house and working on the fields, hunting in the valleys, practicing with Yukaru behind the blacksmith’s house every day. Each moment a spark, a small ember that he took the time to mark into his heart, to protect in the following journey. Those embers coalesced together, and when Sun met Yukaru’s gaze again, they were burning like a roaring fire behind his eyes. He took Yukaru’s hand, holding it firmly, a handshake between warriors.
“We’ll travel together, and we’ll fight together. No matter what or who comes in our way,” Sun declared as incandescent eyes met each other. “We will push forward. And together, Yukaru, we will reach the capitol, learn the truth about the Mayakashi, find Tsukahagi the Poisonous, and strike him down once for all!”