When the sun had clearly risen in the sky, and the sight of land was visible from the bow, he finally looked over at Saru and spoke.

“That thing…was a yomi.”

“A yomi?” Saru repeated as if he were speaking another language. “I thought that it was a kind of kami, only wicked and hideous.”

The young monk at the stern cleared his voice. Gin nodded, permitting him to answer for as a Truist he should know such things.

“Yomi are the physical manifestations of kami who have relinquished their place in the spiritual realm to seek revenge,” he explained. “In a way, they can be considered fallen kami, for they have intentionally come to the mortal plane, and in doing so, they forsake their immortality. Unlike kami, yomi can be slain or injured by mortal means. However, they can also harm and even kill humans, which is often their intent. The reason why kami fall is different for each kind, but it is usually brought about by some tragic or self-serving reason.”

“I still don’t understand. That was a monster, not a kami. Kami are supposed to be beautiful.”

“When kami are corrupted,” Gin interjected, “They turn into corrupt versions of their former selves. Oni, for example, were said to be beautiful, angelic beings long ago when this world was born, but were filled with greed and sought to dominate man, so now they appear as vile and hideous creatures. They have lost the dignity and the intelligence that they once had, and instead, are driven by passion and rage.”

“So oni are a kind of yomi. I never knew...” Saru said contemplatively.

“That yomi that we just encountered was also guided by similar feelings of discontent. It was seeking those who had wronged it, but it would also destroy anything in its path. Luckily, we were able to reach into its darkened mind, and persuade it to let us go.”

“It did not seem to like the light from your sword either,” Saru noted.

Gin paused, thinking of how best to describe what he wanted to say. “Think about it this way. Do you know the children’s game, janken?”

She nodded. “Rock, paper, scissors,” she said, making the motions with her hand.

“Yes. Think of yomi as the rock, the kami as the paper, and humanity as the scissors. Typically, yomi can easily defeat humans, for they are often larger and have amazing physical attributes. But kami can control and dominate the yomi, for they are the pure, uncorrupted form of a yomi. Humans have an ill effect on kami, for our races are opposites in a sense. The presence of a human can weaken kami, and the wicked acts of humans can often lead a kami to fall.

With that said, humans have found a few ways to tip the scales in our favor against the yomi. Some people have been trained to harness the energy of the spiritual realm through magatama and consecrated swords. They can use that power against the yomi.”

“It’s only within the skillset of a Kaijin to be able to do such a thing,” the young monk exclaimed, falling to his knees as if awestruck. “I had no idea such men still existed on the Islands. What a miracle it was that you were sent to us on this night!”

Gin looked uncomfortable. “I am not a Kaijin. Not anymore.”

At this, the boy furrowed his brow and appeared concerned. “But surely you must be joking. One cannot just leave a sacred office once they have been accepted.”

Gin did not reply but turned back towards Saru who still looked confused. “I was able to injure it, but it was this young monk here who saved us in truth.”

The boy’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “B-b-but I…”

“While it is true that yomi can be slain,” he continued, “We were clearly outmatched out here on the strait. But we were lucky to have a Truist initiate with us, and his prayer tapped into the part of the yomi that was once a kami. This creature must have been driven mad by the pollution of its waters by slain Truist monks, which would explain why it was enraged and its bizarre monk-like shape. This must be the very creature that has been terrorizing seafarers in the East Sea. What makes me nervous is that it has now entered the strait and seems to be proceeding west. It said that it was going to seek the one who wronged it. How strange…”

The monk finally rose from his knees. “I always thought that yomi could only be defeated by a Kaijin.”

Gin sighed. “That is what most believe, but no, anyone can do it if they are clever enough to interpret what may pacify the yomi. In this case, it was the prayer of a clear-hearted monk.”

“But surely that cannot happen every time,” Saru exclaimed. “We happened to have a Truist with us. What if we didn’t?”

Gin ran his fingers along the sheath of his sword. “There are some yomi that cannot be mollified. In such a case, all that is left then is force.”

This was followed by another prolonged silence.

“I can’t think about this anymore,” Saru confessed, rubbing her head.

“We can discuss it at length another time,” said Gin reassuringly, peering off towards the shore. “For now, let’s get off the water, and get some much-needed rest.”

It took a little bit of time for the initiate-monk to orient himself to where they were and locate where they needed to go. After he spotted a few key landmarks, he steered the ship further towards the shore. The mist had not caused them to deviate too far from their course, which was fortunate, for if they had gotten lost, it was unlikely that the inexperienced monk would have been able to navigate them back. They landed the skiff in a small cove, which was disguised well by tall rocks along the periphery. There was a tiny beachhead that protruded out from a thick layer of bamboo and palm trees. At last, they had reached the southern shore of the largest and most important of the Islands, Nakashima.

They were forced to pull the skiff ashore, as they had no anchor to hold the ship at bay, but between the four of them, it was light work. It was late in the morning when they finally had unpacked and set up camp.

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“This is a secret place, not known to many,” the young monk stated, as he pulled his belongings from the boat. “The man who lent me this ship is a wealthy fisherman, and more importantly, a follower of Truism. He will come for it eventually and sail it back to his own dock further up the coast. This place is inconspicuous enough for it to sit alone for some time without the risk of theft.”

Gintaro sat down wearily and began working on a fire so that they could cook a meal. The boy had a fair store of vegetables with him that would make for a good soup, and by now, he was on the verge of starving. “You mentioned horses. Where would they be?”

“Not far,” said the monk, setting his supplies down at the camp. “I shall go collect them while you eat and rest.”

“Will you not join us?”

The boy shook his head. “I am rested well enough, at least as much as one can expect. As you may imagine, I had quite a tough time finding people willing to join me back in Kagiminato. I spent a few days on the docks searching for help, and I was at leisure then. I will pick up the horses myself and return around dusk. You can rest until then.”

“And you trust us to still be here?” Saru said, flashing a mischievous grin. “You Truists must lose half of what you own to the clever and the other half to the wicked.”

The monk was taken aback by this. “Surely you plan to honor your oath!”

“Pay her no mind,” said Gin, glowering at Saru who merely shrugged playfully. “We will be here when you return. By the way, you never gave us your name.”

“I thought that they didn’t give you holy folk names,” Saru teased.

The monk was unsettled, as Saru had neared the mark. “Initiates are not supposed to use their birth names,” he explained. “When we receive our office, we are given new names as full members of the Order.”

“Well, it is lucky for you that we are not Truists,” said Gin, though the boy looked back at him quizzically. “If we are going to be traveling together, I would like to know what to call you.”

The monk flushed red but eventually gave in. “My birth name is Nō.”

“Then Nō it shall be. Now get along with it! Don’t make us wait one moment past dusk,” Saru barked.

The initiate still wore a confused expression but bowed hastily before disappearing into the nearby forest. Saru laughed, and Gin shook his head disapprovingly. He then looked over at Kaya, who sat alone on the beach, staring out into the ocean. She had been silent since he had confronted her on the ship, and after the ordeal with the yomi, she had barely lifted her head.

“Saru, would you mind?” he asked, handing her the cooking tools.

“Of course,” she replied, understanding his intent.

Gintaro stood up and walked down the sandy beach towards the shore, where the water ebbed back and forth slowly and reflected the bright summer sun. He sat down next to Kaya, and they looked out onto the water together. Neither of them spoke.

Finally, he cleared his voice.

“There is nothing I can do,” Kaya said, interrupting him. Her gaze remained out upon the water. “Nothing I can do that will ever make amends for what I did.”

Gin sighed. “Kaya, I was exhausted. I should not have spoken to you like that. I was wrong. I know that you were in a hard situation. I might have done the same if it was for someone I loved.”

“No, you wouldn’t have,” she said sternly. “That’s the difference between you and me. That’s always been the difference. You never give in to the pressures around you, no matter how strong. And besides, you’re right, I knew what could happen. I couldn’t get out on my own, so I used you to sever the ties for good. I’m no better than them. No better than him.”

“Kaya...” Gin insisted.

She turned around and looked at him straight in the eyes. For the first time since they met the day before, there was a clarity about them, despite the tears that began to flow. “I need you to tell me what happened, Gin-san. The full story. It’s my fault, I need to know the fullness of what I have done.”

At this, he shifted uncomfortably. “Kaya, this is not all your fault. I held the sword. It was me who killed, not you.”

“Even so, I need you to tell me. Tell me everything.”

He reluctantly told his story, filling in as much detail as he could. Kaya listened intently but continued to look out at the water. Her face was grim as if she were processing, ingesting every word as if it were a bitter meal.

At length, he came to an end. By now, the tide was coming in, and the foam of the surf was just reaching their feet. It felt relieving and in a way cathartic to tell the story and to feel the cool water slide through the spaces in his toes.

Kaya sighed and turned once again to face him. “Gin-san, there is nothing I can do to repay you. But I will certainly try. From what I can understand from your tale, great powers are conspiring against you. They will use what happened in Kagiminato to defame you. My girls and I will tell the truth to whoever is willing to listen, and from my experience, men tend to listen to women like us. We will make the story of your quest to rescue your daughter the most talked about tale in all the land.”

Gintaro smiled. “I’m honored. But you never said where you were going, and what you intend to do.”

Kaya stood up. Her posture was tall but elegant, and the gentle sea breeze blew about her brightly colored kimono so that she looked like a living painting. There was a defiant look in her eyes, a look of ambition that he had not seen in her except when they were both quite young.

“I’m going back to the Old Capital,” she said firmly. “I’ve scrimped and saved for many years, and now, I’m going to help those girls become proper geisha. No more of this wallowing in the slums like pigs, selling our bodies when we are so much more than that. We will show them who we really are.”

Gin nodded approvingly. “That suits you. You know what they say, every geisha needs a mother.”

She flashed a confident smile into the wind. “I was always afraid to reach for the top. I never thought I was good enough after what I went through growing up. But you’ve shown me something, Gin-san.”

“And what’s that?”

“It doesn’t matter what you have done. You are never too old to change.”

The waves suddenly came in further than they had and crashed among their ankles, receding slowly.

“Hey!” Saru shouted from the campsite. “Food’s ready!”

Both Gin and Kaya came in from the beach and sat alongside Saru for the meal. The vegetables were fresh, and Saru’s preparation was perfect. They all enjoyed the hot feast and drank down the soup until there was nothing left but an empty kettle. After a few moments of full and utter contentment, Kaya stood up.

“I am deeply sorry, but I must be going now, and I am afraid that this will be goodbye, at least for some time. I need to make sure that the girls made it across the strait. Though I do not think it likely that they had to deal with the same terror that we did, they are beautiful girls after all, and I do not trust the self-discipline of that filthy man to hold out for long.”

The way she said ‘filthy’ with such utter contempt made both Gin and Saru laugh. They rose to send her off, though she packed light and needed only a few minutes to prepare.

“Saru-chan,” Kaya finally said with a hint of affection. “You are a good and loyal friend. Gin-san is lucky to have met you. You could have easily walked away, but here you are. Please, for me, keep him safe, and help him bring his little girl back home.”

Saru bowed low. “To be honest, I distrusted you from the moment I met you. But now I see that I was wrong about you. Your love for your girls is obvious, and just like Gin, you would sacrifice anything for them. Such a thing is not contemptible. Instead, I find it quite honorable. I hope you find success wherever life takes you next.”

They bowed to each other once more before Kaya turned to face Gin.

“I forgive you,” he said before she could say anything. “There is nothing more I can say. I forgive you. Go now and may the All-kami guide you.”

Kaya moved to speak, but his words had hit her so hard that she was unable to utter a word. She nodded, bowed low, turned, and pushed into the forest in the direction of Matsuyama.

Gintaro took a deep breath as if he had just finished another great battle, like the one in Kagiminato or the one upon the strait.

“I need to rest,” he said, as if to himself. Saru agreed, and they both proceeded back to the campfire and despite the heat and the bright sun overhead, they both fell into a deep and restful sleep.