A storm was gathering on the horizon, buffeting the hem of Shiki’s travelling cloak. But he stood against its temper as the rock blocking the road to Yomi. Standing atop a rise in the road, looking down the long valley that drove through the mountains of Shinano Province, he appeared the very image of a god returned from Heaven. By his side stood a woman with hair of a fiery orange hue and a sky blue kimono. Her eyes directed towards the end of the valley, where it adjoined two further paths, one of which would take them to Edo.
‘I hate summer storms.’ she said, adjusting her large hat as the wind tried to snatch it away. ‘They’re always so windy.’
‘We can’t stop now.’ said Shiki with a sigh, holding his own hat in place. ‘You wanted to go to Edo, not me. You’ll get there, come what may.’
The woman glanced at him, smiling a little. ‘Someone’s in a bad mood. Maybe the weather is getting to you.’
‘You know my feelings, Hana. I would have happily stayed in Kochi.’
‘You want to avenge your daimyo, don’t you?’
‘Of course. It is the reason I have become...this.’ he gestured down at his soiled clothes. ‘Were it not for the injustice suffered by Master Azai at... his hand, I would have followed my master into death years ago.’
‘I understand your frustration. But be patient. We shall find your goal and mine at journey’s end. Now shouldn’t we find shelter before that storms hits us? There must be a village nearby. Yes, look!’
Hana pointed. In the near distance was a collection of huts and houses bordering an area of rice fields. Shiki shrugged.
‘Better than nothing. Come on.’
The two began their walk down the hill towards the village. The roadway was lined with bamboo stands which swished and stirred in the growing wind. An earlier squall had turned dirt track into the village into a muddy quagmire, but neither was deterred; Shiki strode through regardless, while Hana skipped across the surface as if traversing stepping stones across a river. As the two reached the village gates, Shiki rapped hard on the wooden barrier. A small door was opened, and an elderly-looking villager came out.
‘Who are you? What do you want?’
Hana took charge. ‘We are humble travellers. We wish to seek shelter during the oncoming storm. Have you anywhere we may rest? A stable or similar would be more than suitable.’
The man closed the door, and after several minutes the gate opened to allow them entry. The village’s headman was before them, and both bowed their heads in respectful acknowledgement of his rank. The headman said they could find lodgings at their local inn, but that they might have to share rooms with other guests. Hana agreed to this, and humbly thanked the headman for his generosity. Shiki nodded in agreement, but was otherwise silent.
The two came to the inn and were greeted by the patroness, who guided them to a table near the fire. The two allowed the patroness to take their cloaks and Shiki’s hat, and sat at the low table upon leaving their shoes in the customary place. The warmth of the fire was a welcome thing, and as they ordered vegetable broth and sushi with sake, Hana glanced around at the other patrons enjoying the inn’s hospitality. There was a fine-clothed woman with a young girl beside her, a stiff-looking man with the accoutrements of a middle-ranking samurai, and a man both plump and bilious who sat near the window drinking with a small group of similar-looking men.
‘Quite a variety here.’ she said, glancing at her companion.
Shiki nodded. ‘Indeed. Any examples.’
‘As many as there are notable characters. Take the samurai yonder. Though he bears no mark of name and clan, I recognise that air of authority. He is a retainer of some standing, but a long way from his native lands here.’
‘On a journey, like us.’
‘Yes. Now for the woman over there. I’ll let you guess first.’
Shiki studied the finely-dressed woman for a time. ‘I would say she is also on a journey, but that perhaps she would rather have used a different route. She is of high status, but perhaps not so high that she has autonomy in her own house. I also fancy that her only having one servant is a sign of her status rather than travelling light.’
‘Insightful as ever. I do recognise her actually, from a visit I once made to Heian-kyo. She’s a noblewoman from the capital, and that girl beside her is her daughter. Probably going to Edo on family business. As to the rest, I will say you are as right as you can be without being scandalous.’
‘Find. What about the man you were grimacing at?’
‘Him?’ Hana frowned. ‘He is the kind who would be a bandit were he thinner and not so flush with money. Those around him are fair weather friends only. He treats others as beneath him to stave off his own feelings of nothingness. He too is likely heading to a major port, likely to further some deal to increase his wealth.’
‘All on journeys then.’
‘True.’
‘But with no such agreeable and unusual companion.’
Hana smiled, an inscrutable expression. Their order was brought, and Hana sniffed the broth with approval. There was some roughness to the cut of the vegetables, but otherwise it was a nutritious meal worth eating. The sake was also good, and quite fresh judging by its strong yet airy tang. The sushi, dipped in soy sauce, was also delicate and smooth without being wet or slimy. Hana particularly enjoyed the sushi, while Shiki savoured his sake.
The storm struck as they sat there, arriving with a whirlwind and burst of thunder that made nearly everyone else start in their seats. The Takeda samurai remained as a statue, while Hana smiled and continued to enjoy her meal. She began playing with the last few pieces in her broth, pouring a little of the soy sauce into it to see what would happen to its flavour and texture. She was slightly distracted by the growing ruckus from across the room where the rotund man continued to indulge. Shiki ignored him and stared into the fire.
Night came swiftly, aided by the glowering clouds overhead, and the whole village retreated into shelter as rain began pouring from the sky. When asked whether they wished to stay the night, Hana said yes and that they could share a room if needed. It took some little time to assure the patroness that there would be nothing scandalous happening during the night. Hana hinted that she was far younger than she looked, and her “bodyguard” was sworn to protect her. With the patroness satisfied and the two alone once more, Shiki chuckled.
‘Remember that village where you said I was too young for you?’
Hana frowned. ‘That is enough of that, Shiki. Not here.’
It was not until much later that night, when the two were in a small room at the back of the inn, that Hana was able to relax again. With the door closed and the window fastened, she removed her hat, exposing the ears poking up through her fiery hair. It gave Shiki a momentary shock to remember his companion and confidant was a nine-tailed kitsune, a powerful fox spirit sent by Inari Okami herself.
‘Back in that village you mentioned,’ said Hana coldly. ‘we were in a place where my kind and our lady are worshipped. Here we are in tanuki lands. I won’t allow myself to be compromised by such slovenly creatures. That man in the corner? He had tanuki written all over him. I hope he does not join us on the road for any measure of distance.’
Shiki sighed. Hana had helped him out of many difficult scrapes during their journey to Edo, ranging from financial difficulties to fighting off hostile yokai, but she had a violent dislike for tanuki in any form. A few weeks after first setting out, they came upon a tanuki in disguise; the argument and subsequent battle covered three days before Shiki ended by threatening to cut off both Hana’s tails and the tanuki’s own magically-imbued parts. The two settled down for a night’s sleep, with Shiki keeping an eye open for anyone approaching. With this assured protection, Hana discarded her human shape and curled up in her blankets as a fox.
The following day dawned bright and clear, a relief for Hana – by the morning the smell of nearby tanuki was too much for her to bear, and it was a struggle to maintain her human form. Paying their bill, the two set off once again on the road to Edo. The sun shining on the fresh ground caused the scent of wet earth to cling to the air and everything nearby. Shiki walked on regardless, but Hana ran ahead and took deep breaths of the cleansing air while waiting for her companion to catch up.
For many miles after leaving the village, the road skirted the edge of rice paddies tended by the village workers. After a while the road turned in among the forest of bamboo that still dominated the lower slopes of the valley. Beneath the trees, Hana kept a hand on her hat as if something were threatening to knock it away or snatch it from her head. Shiki in contrast bared his head and enjoyed the moments when large drops of water fell from above onto his topknot. As they neared another corner, Hana stopped and held up her hand.
‘Someone is near.’ she called out ahead. ‘Show yourself!’
After the briefest of pauses, a figure stepped from behind a rhododendron bush. It was the samurai from the inn. Shiki frowned.
‘How did you get ahead of us?’
The samurai smiled. ‘We are not all bound to a particular time of day and pace of life. It was easy to leave long before you and prepare. Shiki Osugai, I am required to stop you.’
‘I see.’ Shiki nodded. ‘Here and now, or–’
‘Wait.’ Hana held out her hand. ‘You, samurai. To whom are you sworn?’
The man turned, his narrow eyes fixed upon Hana. ‘Why should I explain myself to you, fox?’
Hana’s mouth twitched. ‘How did you know?’
‘It is plain to see. And smell.’
‘Given our pressing errand, I will not take offence. But you will answer my question if you want me to keep my companion at bay.’
‘Very well, fox. I am Toru Ishimura, once a retainer to Azai Nagamasa, as your “companion” was.’
‘Excuse–!’ Shiki’s mind cleared. ‘Wait... Now I remember you. But you died. You died with his retainers when he committed seppuku.’
‘No. I did not die. I lived on to fight for my true liege.’
‘Your true– No. No! I won’t believe it.’
‘Quiet.’ hissed Hana, who then addressed Ishimura. ‘Are you here at the behest of Lord Oda?’
‘Yes. He knows of your journey to Edo. It cannot be allowed to continue. You stay out of this, fox. I am only here for the ronin’s head.’
‘At least I remain loyal to my lord. You are a base traitor! Just like Oda!’
‘Your temper tantrums mean nothing.’ Ishimura grasped the hilt of his sword. ‘Will you not draw and die like the samurai you claim to be?’
Hana might have stepped in and thrown their opponent aside, but she remembered the last time she had tried to stop Shiki fulfilling his need for “honour”. She walked to the edge of the path and sat on a patch of grass, producing a fan from her sleeve to ward off the summer day’s mounting heat. As she sat and watched, Shiki and Ishimura readied their swords and took up fighting stances.
‘OOORRRRAAAA!’
There was a tearing crash as something large and furry plummeted from the bamboo above and landed on top of Ishimura. Hana started and Shiki jumped back as the furry creature flattened Ishimura beneath its plump bulk. For a moment they both stared, then the thing tipped up the brim of its large hat and chortled.
‘Sorry for crashing the party. Did I miss anything?’
Hana rose stiffly, and Shiki wondered if her expression had caused winter to arrive early somewhere in Honshu. He then recognised what had dropped in on them from a great height. This was a tanuki, and from the looks of it a mature and somewhat merry tanuki.
‘What do you want?’ was Hana’s curt reply.
The tanuki scratched its belly. ‘Thought you needed help. I can’t have samurai killing each other here. We’d never start our tanuki-bayashi!’
Before Hana could reply, the tanuki began drumming on his belly, emitting the familiar “pom poko” beat. Before Shiki could stop her, Hana stomped forward and kicked the tanuki onto his back. Before his eyes, Hana’s human form was warped by fox-like features, and her paw was planted on the tanuki’s expanded chest. The tanuki stared at Hana’s face as her canine snout twisted into a disgusted grimace.
‘We are on an important journey, tanuki. I have no time for your idiotic pranks, or your impulsive interference.’
‘Temper, temper.’ the tanuki grinned. ‘I know you’re on a journey, which is why I intervened. Didn’t you see me in the inn?’
‘See you–? Oh, I see. That man in the corner, drinking a lot. That was you?’
‘Yep. My friends and I are on a journey too. So was that other one.’
‘What other one?’
‘That pretty woman?’
‘She was–’
‘She was a jorogumo heading for Edo. I’d not linger if she realises just how handsome your man is.’
‘I....see.’ Hana sighed. ‘Alright. Just for once, I’ll take your advice. Shiki, come on. We’ll take the mountain track. My thanks to you, tanuki.’
Shiki glanced from Hana to the tanuki, then sheathed his sword. The three left the tanuki behind with the unconscious Ishimura. The two came to a fork in the road, and in the distance Hana smelt the spider’s poisonous taint. They took the left hand fork up and round the mountain.
‘So we continue to walk the road.’ said Shiki.
‘As we vowed.’ said Hana.
