The Bridge of Tears

 There were people everywhere.

Even before they set foot in the Asakusa district, the roads were so packed they had to walk single file. While Kaoru had kept up his excited chatter during most of their trek by the river, even he was now mute, looking around owlishly at the activities surrounding them.

Stalls and towers were being erected along every street, by workers shouting at each other with hoarse, rough voices. Sweaty men in loinclothes scurried back and forth with materials. Merchants shouted their wares over the din. Pedestrians and travelers like them wove through the traffic haphazardly, only going out of the way of ox-carts and sword-carrying samurai. Dust stirred up from the dry road by dozens of feet drew even the distant silhouette of the giant temple from sight.

The noise, sights and smells were threatening to overwhelm even Kaoru at this point. Guiltily he glanced aside at his companion. Yuame had not spoken in a while.

“So… Seems like we’re just in time for the Sanja Matsuri!” Kaoru grinned, having to shout to make himself heard. Yuame only nodded. Kaoru leaned back from him with a frown, before firmly setting his jaw.

“You wait here. I’m going to find us our lodgings.” Leaving Yuame beneath a large ginkgo tree at the side of the road, Kaoru waded into the stream of people.

He did not expect to get lucky with the first inn he tried.

Nor so much the second one.

But after the third owner turned him away with the same words - “full beyond capacity” - Kaoru began to get anxious.

Walking back into the street, he spotted a group of locals talking among each other. Figuring he had nothing more to lose than he already had, Kaoru walked up to them and gave a flourishing bow.

“Gentlemen! Pardon my intrusion, but could you kindly inform me where my companion and I might find lodgings for the night?”

The men seized Kaoru up silently, unimpressed with his elegant speech. The man closest to him glanced at his travel-worn clothes, sandals and finally his long, messily tied black hair. Kaoru felt himself being classified on the spot. As long as it wasn’t as non-human, he did not care.

“Depends how much you’ve got to spend, traveler.” One of the bronzed men crossed his arms, not hostile but not friendly either. They had picked up on his Kansai accent.

Kaoru smiled stiffly before reaching for his pouch, giving it a shake. When it barely made a sound, the men smirked wryly.

“With just that? Might as well sleep in the streets.”

Kaoru’s face fell. From a distance, he could swear he felt Yuame’s eyes piercing his back. Masking his disappointment, he grinned. “Well… Of course, this isn’t all we have to spend. Just tell me where to go. Surely you fine gentlemen know of places where we can rest and have a meal?”

“We do, stranger, we do.” The tone of the man talking to him dipped, growing impatient. “But everywhere around here is full anyway. Did you really expect to find any lodgings near the Sensoji during this time?” He scoffed, eyeing Kaoru with ridicule. The other men laughed softly.

Kaoru’s smile was frozen on his face. He scraped his throat, feeling the strain. He knew his voice was threatening to break, but he could not give up yet.

“I see. I do seem to have gravely underestimated the impact of the Festival. But what a wonderful occasion this is, bringing so many people together! What a blessing for your businesses it must be, too!”

The men murmured and nodded, missing Kaoru’s subtle sarcasm. He continued: “If not here, could you at least point me into the right direction where we might find available lodgings? The closer, the better! My companion and I don’t require much, just a place to rest our heads will do. Please.”

The men exchanged glances. Finally, a muscled male with a sweat-stained cloth on his head brusquely said: “Try further up north. Follow the coast past Yoshiwara. If you get to the bridge of tears, you’ve gone too far.”

“Heh. Literally,” the first man piped up, and the group chuckled grimly.

Kaoru laughed along with them, a bit too loud. “Bridge of… tears. Got it! Thank you kindly, gentlemen. How much farther north is that?”

“You can get there before sundown. Better do so. Don’t wanna be out here after dark.” That was all the burly man said, giving a glance at the sun nearly reaching the roofs of the surrounding buildings. With that, they turned back to their conversation, leaving Kaoru at the edge of the group. Kaoru raised his chin, his lip curling into a mirthful smile.

Solid advice for a nocturnal being, human.

After a final stiff bow at their backs, he turned away from them with his head held high. He only lowered it again as he walked up to Yuame, seeing the way his companion was leaning against the tree where he had left him.

“I’ll lead with the bad news,” he said. Deep, dark eyes looked up to him from beneath the travel-hood, staring at him silently. It took Kaoru great effort not to avert his eyes.

“Everywhere here appears to be full. But, I was given a tip for lodgings up ahead. We should get there before sundown. Just a little further, Yuame. I promise.”

Yuame merely lowered his eyes, and nodded. Guilt gnawed at Kaoru’s stomach.

***

The sun was setting as they left the Sensoji behind them. Even while avoiding the busiest roads around the temple, it still took them considerable time to cross the district. A few times Kaoru craned his neck to watch the final sunrays hit the roof of the astounding structure, but did not stop walking. They would have to come back here after they had rested, he told himself. Everything would look better once they’d had a good night’s sleep.

Finally they left most of the crowds behind, though a considerable number of people were still on the road leading out of Asakusa. They were back on a winding path in the wetlands, the Sumida river a shimmering black snake in the distance. The light was fading rapidly, but up ahead, a peculiar sight made Kaoru stop in his tracks.

A walled-in city floated upon the river.

As they got closer, Kaoru saw that it was a rectangular island, connected to the mainland by a single bridge. A magnificent willow tree stood at the crooked road leading towards the entrance gate. Lights and laughter poured out from behind its walls, the warm hue of numerous red lanterns beckoning visitors closer.

A yuukaku, Kaoru realized. A pleasure district. So that was the Yoshiwara the man had mentioned.

Next to him, Yuame scraped his throat. Kaoru finally realized he had been staring. Without a word, his companion kept walking along the dirt road, fixed on the few lights in the distance where they were headed. Kaoru tore his gaze from the alluring sight and walked ahead of Yuame, his sensitive eyes scanning for any obstacles in the dark.

Soon, they were the only ones on the road.

The rise of a half moon gave them light, though it did not make the sight of the next area any more appealing. After the feverish excitement and bustle of Asakusa, this place felt as remote and sullen as a forgotten mountain town. Only a few buildings dotted the fields as far as Kaoru could see, and several of them seemed run-down and abandoned.

Kaoru took one more look around, squinting into the night. In the distance ahead, he saw the wooden pillars of a smaller bridge stretching into pitch-black darkness. Two guards stood by solemnly.

“Must be the bridge…” Kaoru mumbled to himself. The name had certainly given him pause when he heard it, but looking at the area, he was starting to see the aptness of its depressing name. This entire place would make one want to cry with how drab it looked. And it smelled.

Up ahead, only one rickety house had light streaming from behind its blinds, a single lantern out front showing vacancy. Kaoru thought the sight eerie, reminding him of fox fire. How ironic that this was (most likely) humans goading them, the Others of this world, into possibly a trap.

Unfortunately, they had no options left. With a sigh, Kaoru walked up to the shabby building, making sure Yuame was still close behind him.

***

“Well travelers, you’re in luck! Normally you would be sharing the room, but as of now you are the only ones! You won’t be finding better accommodations elsewhere, especially during the Festival. Keep to your own mat though, or pay extra! You two are fine with sharing one, I take it?”

The beady eyes of the small, rat-faced owner shot back and forth between him and Yuame as he spoke rapid-fire through his brown teeth. Kaoru grimaced, before forcing himself to smile.

“My companion and I have traveled a long way. We would like to have a mat each for a long rest-”

“Then it’s double.” The man rapped the wooden counter with his finger where Kaoru had laid out his coins.

“Double?! For two mats in a shared room?”

“Take it or leave it, traveler. I’m already doing you a favor, letting you share a mat for a discount.” The owner grinned smugly.

Kaoru’s eyes darkened. His teeth grew sharper in his mouth. But before he could open it again, Yuame’s hand rested firmly on his shoulder, warning him. Grounding him.

He sighed deep, and cracked his neck. “Fine. We’ll take one mat.”

“Excellent. The room is upstairs.” With a flourish, the man pointed to a ladder with several broken sports. As Yuame and Kaoru climbed it carefully, he leered at their forms, before shouting: “Listen, I don’t care what you do on that mat - but it’s that single mat and not a sliver more! You hear me?”

As they got upstairs, Kaoru suppressed a growl.

The room in question was nothing but a storage attic, haphazardly cleared of the worst debris. Straw mats were littered across the available floor space. Wooden crates, broken nets and other dust-ridden tools against the walls cast terrifying shadows in the light of a single candle-stomp. There were no windows, but there were holes in the roof.

Fuming, Kaoru checked the mats, choosing the least worn one. He carried it towards the cleanest looking piece of floor, utterly tempted to chuck it down but refrained as not to alert the owner. Dropping his cloth bag and woven hood, he did stomp towards the nearest hole in the slanted roof to take a breather. The entire building shook as he walked.

With a deep sigh, Kaoru glared at the stars appearing. For a moment, there were no sounds. Though Edo was nearby, the night was thick and silent here. And Yuame, true to his nature, barely made any sound at all as he moved to the mat, beginning to remove his own hood and clothes.

All this time he had hoped that Yuame would complain. About the dirt, the dark, the smell. Anything was better than this silence.

Kaoru rubbed his eyes. At least, things would look better tomorrow, wouldn’t they?

Outside, the wind turned. And suddenly, Kaoru smelled it in full force.

Death.

And not the faint scent of peaceful death that lingered around temples and burial grounds.

This was vile, rotten. The sickening sweet smell of corpses left out in the sun and rain for days, maybe even weeks on end before finally being put to the torch or covered with earth…

The udon and dango were threatening to come back up. He broke out in a sweat and burped, nearly retching.

“Kaoru? What is wrong?”

Thank the gods. Yuame didn’t know. Yuame couldn’t smell it like he could.

“It’s… it’s nothing. I just - burp - ate too much today…” 

Covering his mouth, Kaoru moved back towards Yuame, keeping his ashen face in the shadows. Yuame said nothing, but he could picture the kind of exasperated expression he was certainly wearing. Turning his back, Kaoru quickly snuffed out the remainder of the candle.

They undressed without a word, laying their dusty and mud-caked travel gear aside. Insects skittered away from their footfall, only to come crawling back as they settled down. Yuame laid down first, curling up on his side on the edge of the mat. By mercy, the nights were warm enough now not to require coverings.

He was already asleep when Kaoru carefully curled himself around him, burying his nose in his neck. Deeply he breathed in Yuame’s comforting scent, reminiscent of warm tatami floors and faded incense. It warded away the smell of death just enough, and Kaoru too could give in to sleep.