The Streets of Asakusa

“So… You are going to swindle people?”

“Oy - It’s not swindling! It’s called acting!”

“But you’re pretending to be someone you’re not…”

“Yes! That is what acting is!”

“So then… You've been acting all this time?”

“Uh… I guess so?”

“But this time, people will pay money just to see you act?”

“Yes - exactly!”

Yuame frowned once again, returning to his deep thoughts.

Kaoru sighed. “You’ll understand when you see it. We’re almost there!”

Night had fallen as they reached Asakusa. Though a few torches had lit the road to Yoshiwara behind them, they had crossed many patches of pitch-black darkness. The two of them could see fairly well in the dark, but Kaoru had the advantage, being nocturnal. Yuame found he could not see as well as he used to, when night or day mattered little to him as a house-spirit. He remained silent and thoughtful as he followed Kaoru down increasingly narrower streets.

Back on the road, he had half expected the tanuki to turn towards Yoshiwara, but to his surprise, Kaoru had not dawdled. He did catch him throwing a longing glance towards the pleasure district though, and heard him chuckling softly to himself.

Yuame refrained from asking. It was pointless to ask Kaoru anything that he did not want to answer.

Following close behind the joyously humming tanuki, Yuame took in Asakusa, under the moonlight this time. The preparations for the big festival were still being made, though the feverish activity of the daytime had entirely dispersed as night fell. They walked past completed and half-constructed drum-towers, stages and yet empty food stalls of bamboo and wood. Covering cloths stirred in the evening breeze.

The streets were empty. Yuame realized they had only passed a few people as they ventured deeper into the district. A few men had glared at them as they passed, before darting away into alleys themselves. The buildings they passed all had their doors closed, sparse candlelight leaking from behind barred windows. A few talking voices. Barely any laughter. Yesterday’s cacophony seemed like it had taken place in another world entirely.

A chill was gliding down Yuame’s back. Something felt off. Walking closer behind Kaoru, Yuame spoke up, though his voice automatically changed to a whisper.

“Kaoru? Where is everyone?”

“Hmm?” Kaoru’s hum trailed off as he turned, finally looking around as if he was noticing his surroundings for the first time.

“Oh - you know. Resting. Drinking. Getting an early night before the… final day of preparations?” he shrugged, gesturing vaguely at the stalls lining the street.

“Why wouldn’t there be anyone out here, though?” Yuame murmured, looking behind them once again. A cloud shifted before the moon, covering them in even deeper darkness.

Yuame could barely see anything through the veil of his hood. He was tempted to remove it, but something told him he had better not. It felt safer to keep it on.

He had not imagined Edo’s nights to be this eerie. While forests came alive at night, it was as if everything here went into hiding along with the sun. But from what…?

Kaoru had gone silent at his side. It seemed he was listening for something, his human appearance perking its ears.

“Hm. Guess we’d better move.”

Yuame stumbled forward as his wrist was grabbed and Kaoru dragged him further down the street. His pace had quickened, though the drunken swagger in his step was still very obvious. Yuame remained feeling uneasy, but Kaoru’s presence did help to ground him. Soon enough, he naturally fell back into following the tanuki’s lead.

It had always been like this, after all. It was Kaoru who decided their route, their plans, everything. The most Yuame could do was try and steer the tanuki away from plans that sounded way too reckless, with varying results. A few times Yuame’s caution had kept them safe. Other times, Kaoru’s courage and incredible luck had paid off.

This acting thing… He wondered if it was a good idea. Kaoru said it was just like what they had done on the road, but…

During the winter, when they ran out of money and with Kaoru unable to conjure coins from leaves, the tanuki had put his other talent to work; his charm. They would seek out well-off looking travelers at inns or eating facilities, and here Kaoru would strike up a conversation. The tanuki possessed a type of disarming friendliness that would tempt most people into drinking together, sharing laughter, stories, and eventually entire meals.

Kaoru’s rugged appearance and loud, contagious laughter mostly appealed to the wives of traveling couples or a certain type of men. He would often guess right as to which people were most receptive to his charm - but if the person was not responding well to Kaoru’s merrymaking, he’d beckon Yuame over instead. Now, the man (or woman) would bask in the calming presence of a beautiful long-haired, regal-looking person, who did not speak as much but rather lended a listening ear. In the end, both turned out equally effective. Kaoru would get his drinks and meal, and using the same strategy on inn owners had earned them a few free stays, too.

While Yuame stuck to his same human persona, Kaoru would get carried away with the characters he created; so far he had been a traveling priest, a disgraced samurai, and a remorseful pirate among many more. Sometimes he would have entire taverns hanging on his lips as he regaled his character’s life story - with Yuame fidgeting in a corner, uncomfortable with the amount of attention they were attracting.

Considering those events had taken place in small villages and settlements along the Nakasendo Road, the idea of Kaoru repeating the same spiel in Edo was not settling his nerves. But, they did need money and a place to stay… And if it wasn’t for him, Kaoru would be fine living outdoors. Which was why Yuame had consented to these tactics in the first place, though he did not enjoy the idea of taking money from others. Especially not when all he had to offer was his company.

“Hm, it was around here… somewhere…”

They had stopped in the middle of a crossroad. Yuame looked up at the two-storied buildings surrounding them, the moonlight illuminating their awnings and large wooden windows. This was no mere residential area; large wooden signs and cotton banners advertised sandal-weaving businesses next to wig-makers, cosmetics and sewing-shops. The streets were again broader here, suggesting horse- and ox-carts passing through.

There was no one around here either. A few times Yuame thought he saw flickering lanternlight, but it might as well have been the moonlight playing tricks. A humid fog had rolled in from the river, drawing the ends of the streets from sight. When he looked into the broadest one, Yuame could just see the silhouette of a mighty temple gate, towering over everything else.

Somewhere in the distance, Yuame thought he heard a clack of wooden geta against stone. Then, silence once more. He shivered, peeling away his veil to peer into the darkness.

“Kaoru…?”

The tanuki was still squinting at the different buildings, muttering to himself about how different they looked at night. “...Pretty sure it was this one…”

Another clack. And another. Goosebumps erupted on Yuame’s arms.

“Or… that one…”

The sound was coming closer. Sharp clacks against stone turned to scrapes on gravel. Slowly at first, then speeding up.

Heart pounding, Yuame tried to discern where the sound was coming from, but the empty streets replayed it with hollow echoes. It was most likely nothing, just another person passing by, nothing to worry about. And why would an ex-spirit get worked up over a human?

But the suffocating feeling he had felt in his chest when first looking out over Edo, was back. And it told him that these were not mere silent streets.

This was a hunting ground.

“Kaoru…” he whispered again, pulling softly at his companion’s sleeve. But Kaoru ignored him, or did not notice.

The half moon finally reappeared from behind a cloud, shedding light through the fog.

A still figure stood before the temple gate, blending into the silver mist.

Yuame’s eyes widened.

Moonlight refracted on something in their hand - a blade? Or claws?

“Kaoru…!”

“Ah- this is the one!” Without responding to Yuame’s urgent tone, Kaoru stepped towards a nearby building, its front barren of any shop-signs except for a panel of fraying posters. Yuame grabbed again for his sleeve, his breath hitching with dread as he turned to point out the menacing figure - but when he looked again, it was gone.

“Yuame?”

The longhaired male nearly jumped at the hand to his shoulder. Kaoru pulled it back, eyes wide. “Woah- what’s wrong? Did you see something?”

“I…” The streets around them were empty and silent once more. The gate loomed in the distance, forming a protective barrier between this world and the next.

But on which side were they currently?

“I - I thought I saw…”

Kaoru tilted his head in question. Yuame sighed.

“Nothing. It was probably nothing.”

Kaoru hummed, his dilated pupils reflecting the moon as he looked up and down the street, but did not see anything worth noticing.

“Come on then. We’re here.”

Kaoru smiled as he walked up to the building’s front, Yuame following close at his heels. He did not care where they were going anymore; as long as it was somewhere inside.