The House-Spirit and the Forest-Guardian - Part III

Yuame blinked back at the tengu, at a loss for words. For a moment his mind went entirely blank, safe for the man’s question.

Wait. Am I a fox? Is there a possibility that I am and just didn’t know?

Being put on the spot so suddenly, Yuame found himself almost instantly yielding to the tengu’s expectation. Being right would certainly placate the guardian. 

No, I cannot be a kitsune. At least, let’s assume for now that I’m not. And if I say that I am, yet cannot prove it… Won’t that be worse than lying?

Yuame’s mind was spinning circles. The tengu tilted his head, thrown off by the distance in the willowy male’s eyes, before he finally found his voice again.

“Uhm, no, forgive me, my lord,” Yuame fumbled. “You are correct that I’m no tanuki, but neither am I a fox.”

“What?” the tengu furrowed his brow. “Then what kind of animal-shifter are you?” 

He smirked wryly, clearly confused. “Next thing you’ll tell me you’re actually a human!” He let out a single dry, barking laugh that sent goosebumps up Yuame’s arm.

Yuame swallowed, still weighing his options. He was not an expert liar like Kaoru. Therefore, the only option he saw was telling the truth.

“I’m not an animal at all, my lord. I’m… I’m a zashiki-waraji. A house-spirit, if you will.”

“... What?”

“Well, at least, uhm, I used to be a spirit, but I have a body now, so… uh…”

Yuame began to babble as his nerves increased, yet did not know what else to say. The tengu’s mouth was slack, his round yellow eyes blinking slowly - until he processed what he was hearing.

Suddenly the grip on his wrist tightened, making Yuame wince. The tengu pulled him closer, eyes wide in disbelief. “A house-spirit? You mean… a human-servant?”

Then that disbelief made way for anger, crimson rage beginning to color his face and long nose. The silver-haired man’s nostrils flared, his wings bristling and expanding behind him.

“A house-dweller? A pet-spirit? I already thought you looked disgustingly too human-like, but this is even worse!”

Yuame’s eyes widened fearfully at the sight of the man’s fury. He tried to pull himself free, but the tengu’s grip was like a vice, pulling him forward on his knees until he was close enough to feel the man’s breath against his face.

“Have you no shame? Humans - those vile humans who think they own what was never theirs, who cut down more and more of my trees to make their homes and feed their fires - and you, you live there for their benefit, blessing the dead remains of my forest?!”

What started as a snake-like hiss built into a roar of anger, the tengu’s voice booming once again through the barren trees. Yuame whimpered in pain as the winged guardian rose to his feet, dragging Yuame with him until his toes left the ground. His eyes watered as the tengu dangled him like a strung-up rabbit, growling into his face.

“How dare you ever set foot in my realm, vermin! I thought that at least you and I were of the same world, but no… You’re a man-made parasite!”

“Stop - please - I’m sorry - !” Yuame gasped for breath, feeling his wrist sprain under the pressure. His feet kicked helplessly, striking the man’s abdomen and thighs and feeling nothing but solid muscle. Before he could even try and kick a place that might hurt more, a different loud voice exploded across the clearing.

“LET GO OF HIM!”

Suddenly, he was free. The winged man cursed as something rammed into him from behind, making him release Yuame’s wrist. Yuame fell to his knees and balled himself up tight as the tengu teetered on his feet before him, wings flapping to keep his balance. He was just safe from being trampled as the tengu reared back, still wrestling with his attacker. Yuame unfolded, quickly wiping his eyes before looking on in shock at what he was seeing.

Kaoru had jumped onto the tengu’s back, his legs wrapped around the man’s waist beneath his wings. He had the silver-haired man in a headlock, and his free arm was raining punches to the man’s jaw and nose. The tengu growled, eyes closed tightly to protect them from the onslaught. For a second, Kaoru seemed to have the upper hand. But as the surprise wore off, it turned out he was no match to the tengu’s strength.

Yuame covered his mouth as with a roar, the tengu threw Kaoru off with a mighty blow from his wings, stirring up snow in all directions. Kaoru sailed several feet through the air, narrowly missing other trees as he landed at the edge of the clearing. Before he could recoup, the tengu was upon him. Yuame stared in horror as the furious man pinned his companion to the frozen ground, his large fists ripping into him with dull reverberating slaps.

No. No. What if he kills him? What can I do?!

Yuame panicked, cold air searing his lungs as he drew in too much, too fast. His hands grasped the sides of his head, fists balling and pulling at his long brown hair.

Think, Yuame. You have to do something. Anything!

Suddenly there was a loud pop, followed by the sound of massive branches growing, breaking and rearranging in the blink of an eye. A mighty tree rose from where their small hut had stood, its wide trunk blocking out the sun and casting the clearing into shadow. The tengu looked up in surprise, momentarily slacking his grip. It was all the time Kaoru needed to act.

When the tengu’s focus returned, he was clutching an empty kimono in his fist. With a furious growl, he jumped to his feet. “Cowardly rodent! Where are you?!”

“Right here, bird-shit!”

Kaoru’s voice, mocking but rough with pain, echoed along the now smaller clearing. Yuame and the tengu both looked around in confusion. Before the man’s yellow eyes could fall on the unprotected Yuame again, one of the pine trees near the guardian lifted a root and swatted at his ankles.

The guardian screeched in surprise, jumping out of the way. With utter disgust, he watched as the root retracted before with a pop, it turned into a canine creature with dense black and brown fur. Kaoru bared his sharp teeth at the tengu, his tail and ears tucked in tight.

The tengu was breathing heavily, steam puffing from his nostrils like an angry bull. Veins popped on his temple and his forearms.

“Insolent creature! Quit mocking me! You’re no match to me in my own forest!”

“Let’s see about that!” Another pop, and Kaoru was gone again - leaving behind a flurry of dead leaves that scattered through the air, before drifting down towards the snow. The tengu roared, cursing in ancient words and hawk-like screeches as he stomped on the nearest leaf. Then another, and another, his bare feet crushing every leaf he could reach.

Yuame finally woke from his stupor, and scrambled to his feet. His wrist throbbed with pain. Holding it to his chest, he watched as the winged male was gradually led away from him. Then he forced himself to slowly back away in the opposite direction.

He only stopped long enough to snatch up Kaoru’s grey kimono from the snow, keeping his eyes on the place where the tengu had disappeared from sight. Breathing harshly, he then broke into a run, moving as fast as he dared over the uneven, frozen ground.

The further he descended, the wider the gaps between the trees. Yuame kept looking behind and above him, expecting a raging tengu to descend on him any second. In the distance he could still hear the guardian’s roars.

His sides were splitting. His dry throat ached. His socks and the lower half of his kimono were drenched, his feet numb with cold. After stumbling nearly a dozen times, he dared to hide and rest beside an enormous fallen tree, waiting with dread in his stomach.

Dusk was setting, the cold grey skies predicting more snow to come. The wind picked up, rustling the branches above him and showering him with pine needles. His heart still thumped heavily before he heard the sound of approaching paws and squeaky, snorty breathing. Turning around, he saw the tanuki limping towards him through the snow.

The animal curled one of its front paws to its chest, its fur matted and missing a few tufts of hair. One of its reddish-brown eyes was closed almost entirely.

Yuame immediately turned towards it, scooping the animal up in his arms. It squeaked with gratitude, muscles beneath fur untensing against his chest. Wrapping the tanuki in the coal-grey kimono, Yuame resumed his way downhill.

Together they descended the mountain, the village of Tsumago-juku coming into view. At the sight of the snow-covered roofs and plumes of wood-smoke, Yuame felt a pang of relief in his chest, as well as a strong, deep stab of guilt. He gasped softly, his bottom lip shivering.

Kaoru looked up in surprise as a warm droplet fell on his head. His small round ears perked up in alarm, his good eye wide as an orb.

“Yuame! What’s wrong? Did he hurt you badly?” A short black paw gently scraped against his cheek, Kaoru’s cold wet nose pressing to his jaw. Yuame swallowed back a sob, and shook his head.

“I’m fine, Kaoru… It’s just - he said…”

“What? What did that brute say to you?”

Sniffling, Yuame managed to explain about the humans encroaching on the tengu’s forest. He now understood that Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku were expanding and taking more from both sides of the mountain, making it impossible for the tengu to protect it all alone. “They k-keep on taking more trees f-for their houses and fires and… and…”

Kaoru looked up at him with a strange mingle of sympathy and confusion. He tilted his head before squeaking: “Why are you crying about that?”

He bristled, his fur rippling as he straightened himself in Yuame’s arms. “Sure, human settlements tend to expand quickly… but look around! I still see plenty of fine trees. Really, those Tengu are just cranky and greedy if you ask me. He will always have plenty of trees to worry about. I’m telling you; Humans will never outnumber us!”

Yuame bit his lip, and nodded, though his eyes remained wet. Kaoru sniffed, trying to catch Yuame’s eye.

“… did he say anything else to you?” he asked, worried.

Pet-spirit. Vermin. Man-made parasite.

“N-no… Nothing. That was all.”

The tanuki made a dissatisfied noise, wriggling in his arms once again.

“Hmpf. Well, just so you know… Don’t you mind anything that stupid bird-brain said! Seriously, I have met rocks smarter than that guy. And diluting my good sake… I swear, I still owe him a few more punches, that rude tree-hugger…!”

The Tanuki raged on, exerting himself despite his battered state. The sight alone was endearing enough to finally make Yuame smile through his tears.

However, as they approached Tsumago-Juku, Yuame could not shake the tengu’s words from his mind, nor forget the despair and hate that had radiated from the proud guardian.

Shame and doubt pooled in his stomach like lead. He felt afraid.

Afraid that the tengu had been right about him - about the truth of his existence. And that Kaoru had heard every single word, and was only distracting him because he could not deny it.