The Gates

Sleep, then wake. Sleep again. If you forget about time, it’s like the lights are dancing in and out. He finds no rest.

Hitode dreamed of his mother.

This was the only place he ever saw her, he had no pictures or memories, just the haze of a dream shaped like a woman.

She was sitting above in heaven, while Hitode stood upon a mountain of needles, his body cut in half, barely able to stand on its own.

“Here my son, take this. Your father made it.”

She extended a line of yokai all stitched together in a twisted rope. At the very end was that of a man with a horse head.

“I’m scared,” said Hitode, looking at the sharp fall down.

“Hold me tight,” he said. “I won’t let you go.”

Hitode took his hands, but found they were stuck fast.

“You’re whole now.” whispered the horse. “You’re whole now.” the rest of the yokai echoed.

“But, how can I reach my mother? Mother, how can I climb the rope?”

His skin began to melt into the horse’s hand.

“My son, you’re not supposed to climb. You are the rope.”

He wriggled trying to get free, but his flesh boiled and fused with the rest of the spirits.

He could hear them, the mob of spirits climbing the mountain from down below, all wanting to go to heaven. They held on to him in a warm embrace.

They all looked like him.

“I’m not waiting for you.”

Suddenly, the rope is dropped.

Hitode woke up with a gasp, only to have a hand clamped on his mouth. He licked it instinctively.

“Yuck!”

He shook his head, head throbbing loudly again. He looked around. He appeared to be in some alleyway.

Beside him was the startled young woman he tried to save.

“Oh, you’re still alive.” he grumbled.

“You think just because I look like a kid, you think I can’t handle myself?”

“You tried to marry a yokai a week after meeting him.”

“I’m naive, not helpless.”

He took a closer look at her: she was covered in a few scratches, bruises, and lots of blood.

“Don't worry, it's not mine.”

“Well, okay, Miss Killer. How come we're not out yet?”

She pointed to the sky.

While there are many static entrances to the spirit world, there is but one exit for visitors. It exists at the heart of the city of yokai, where the sun meets the earth and changes seats with the moon. It serves as a shining root connecting both worlds together.

As such, it had a very long line just to enter, where many young and hungry yokai would be glad to dine on their bones.”

“Just be glad I got us this far.”

“Why did you save me?” wondered Hitode aloud.

Hitomi laughed, without missing a beat. “You think I saved you? No, you’re saving me. That’s what started all this, right? If you’re going to fight, you’re fighting for me. If I need a sacrifice, I’m going to sacrifice you. I’m sure you can take it.”

A smile lightly tugged at his lips, before a sharp pain stabbed into his head. Visions of a horse neighing, a village scattered by fire, and a great winged beast. A lone warrior carrying a blade dispersed the beast.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Hitomi, coldly.

“I’ve got…an idea.”

“Does it hurt whenever you think?”

He stuck her tongue out at her.

“Just tell me, how did you get over here on your own? What power do you have?”

She reached over tenderly, meeting Hitode in the eye. The man gulped.

‘Ow!” there was a handful of hair in her hand. “Hey I need that!”

“I need it more than you. You were fast asleep and I had to make the executive decision to save us. At least you didn’t complain as much while you were asleep.”

He checked his hair and found at least an inch was removed from the other side.

“It’s not like you had much anyway.”

Hitode learned to die a little more that day.

In a society of order lines are constantly drawn and erased, changing borders and

meanings all the time. To maintain this order however, sometimes some lines last a little longer than others. And to hundreds of yokai, who stood waiting, this line lasted a little too long for their taste.

Nurarihyon stood, impatiently tapping his foot. He wanted to get out as quickly as possible, but so did several dozen other yokai who had attended the wedding. All the waiting was made worse by the loud yokai behind him.

“This is taking too longgg. I want to go alreadyyy.”

“So do the rest of us,” said Nurarihyon, annoyed. “But we all have our place in this line.”

“Since when do yokai have to follow stupid rules? It’s so annoying.”

“Is this your first time heading to the other world?” asked Nurarihyon

“Yeah? How did you know?”

He gave the loud yokai his best smile.
“Let me tell you a secret.” He leaned close.”We’re just doing this to annoy younger yokai like you.”

“Huh?”

“Yes. And if you cut straight ahead, you can make it much much faster.”

“Ok! Thank you, old man!”

“I’m…not that old.”

Everyone watched the young yokai run to the front of the line, some even starting to cheer as he passed by.

He smiled and they smiled back. He laughed and they laughed with him.

“This is so fun” he thought to himself, as he neared the end. “Why doesn’t everyone do this?”

He slowed down.

“Why isn’t anyone doing this?”

He was answered by the guardian.

A blade the size of his own torso had been run through his body. Holding it was a warrior of immense stature, standing almost as high as the gate itself.

When everyone heard the blade come down, they cheered so loudly. But the giant’s expression remained austere. Eyes ever watchful.

As Nurarihyon basked in the red glow of his prank, he heard another loud bang. He looked ahead but nobody was dumb enough to run ahead. So he looked behind and was immediately scorched by an explosion.

“Hey, would you mind moving out of the line for us?” asked Hitode, with Hitomi brandishing what looked like a burning piece of hair in her hand.

“Umm” Nurarihyon looked at the burning wreckage behind them. “Sure.”

“How about the rest of you?” called out Hitomi.

“Actually I wanted to-” Hitomi smited him with an explosion of thorns, spikes of hair erupting from his body only to suddenly ignite.

The other yokai muttered in agreement and stepped to the side, holding their breath from the scent of burning hair.

They ran forward.

“How many do we have left?” asked Hitode.

“Two, but only because you wouldn’t let me cut more.”

“We just got the hairline even.”

“It looks like a barcode.”

“Oh shut up, we’re almost to the front of the line.”

They were stopped by a black human shaped blob.

“Hey, could we pass?”

“Hmm?”

“Could we pass?”

“My name is Umibozu.”

“Nice to meet you. Could we-”

“Nice to meet you.”

Hitode took a moment to look searchingly into the creature’s eyes.

“I was wondering if we could pass.”

“No.” Umibozu said with a smile.

It was Hitomi’s turn to reply.

Umibozu wasn’t quite affected by the world. It’s not because he was bigger than everything. It was because he had a routine: wake up, spend a few hundred years in the

spirit world, go back to sleep. But every now and then, he’d go out into the human world and take a nice relaxing dip in the ocean. Because of this, he could take the world in stride.

So when the little girl threw spikes at his face and it exploded, he just chuckled. He’d be

in the water soon.

“How much closer are they?” asked Hitomi.

Hitode looked back.

Their plan, in foresight, had seemed rather clever: Scare everyone with bombs so they could move to the front without triggering the guardian. However, it was also very loud. So much so that it attracted many other disgruntled yokai alongside the initial angry mob.

“They’re bigger.”

“What? What does that mean?”

She turned.

“Ah..yeah I don’t want to deal with this.” She threw the bomb at the advancing mob.

“What?”

She pointed at Umibozu. “Screw you”

“Thanks.”

She hopped off Hitomi’s shoulders and sprinted to the gate.
“Wait!” yelled Hitode.

The guardian stepped forward, raising his naginata.

Now, Hitomi wasn’t stupid—far from it, to the point where her intelligence was a burden. She was, however, extremely trusting. Trusting enough to marry a horse-headed man a week into meeting him. Trusting enough to let the man who killed him save her.

And right on time, Hitode leapt in front of her, just as the blade came speeding towards her. She knew his body wouldn’t be enough to halt the blade—at this speed, it would cleave right through the both of them. But she knew he could slow it down. Just a second would be enough. She quickly ducked.

Only, she didn’t have to.

The blade stopped, just inches from Hitode’s face.

“What did you do?”

“I thought this was you with your magic.”

“I’m out of balls.”

Then they realized there was only one person who could have stopped it.

For the first time in the history of the gate, the ancient guard was smiling, cheeks pulled back to show long jagged fangs. He’s shaking and making a strange noise. They realize he’s laughing. He pulled his blade back and bowed before Hitode.

“What the-”started Hitode.

“Well, don’t start being all thoughtful now. Run!”

They leapt through the gate together.

This gate was old when the first man walked along the shore of Okinawa, and saw a god swimming off the coast. Here was the first reflection, where the sun sees its face as the moon.

Here they emerged in the dark blue, with no sense of up or down until the air from their lungs showed them the way. Hitode struggled to swim, body seemingly drawn to the black of the deep. He could see something watching from down below: a pale face smiling at him. It shook his head before turning around revealing a long silvery fish tail.

Suddenly, a strong force lifted him upward. He broke the surface alongside Hitomi. They were where the horizon would be, the shore a distant white line.

“Did you see her too?” he called out to her, but she was already swimming back.It was a difficult swim they were able to reach a beach, wetly collapsing in the sand.

The sun was gone. It was only raining now.

“You know, I’m sure if it were sunny out,” said Hitode. “We would have enjoyed that swim. I don’t get to swim often, so I say we should try that again.”

“Again?” asked Hitomi getting up to remove the sand caked in her hair.

“Yeah, like we’ll do it another time.”

“You think I’d want to hang out with you again?”

“I’ll take it from your tone that’s a no?”

“You ruined my wedding. You killed my husband…And you think I’d want to do this again with your ugly reflective skull?”

She kicked wet sand in his face.

“When you put it that way…”

“I never want to see you again.” She said, storming away, shivering from the cold.

Hitode sat up and sighed. ‘What can you do?’ he thought to himself. His head was stinging quite a lot. Things were stirring in the back of his mind, heavier than the clouds over his head. He began to think about that face he saw under the water. Other faces began to join in. They should have been familiar. They should have had names and voices, but they remained pale and soundless in his head.

His smile shone over him—that dark guardian’s. His teeth began to stretch and twist, becoming old pathways winding up a hill.. He stumbled along, trying his best not to fall. It felt like his head was trying to split apart.

These steps do not lead to home, he said to himself. These steps lead nowhere, these steps–

He stopped by a door. A warm and comforting door. He doesn’t bother to knock.

“Where were you?” asked Kenichi. “You were almost late for dinner. I thought you-”

His eyes widened as he saw Hitode. “You’re sopping wet!”

He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Hitode.

“You’re such a softie.” said Hitode, almost in a daze. “ And you’re quite warm. I’ve always liked your hugs.”

“I always liked it when you told me where you were.”

“Oh you know the usual. Saving people. Starting fights. Someone recognized me today.”

“Yeah?”

“It was a giant.”

Worry flashed on Kenichi’s face, disappearing as quickly as lightning.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” said Kenichi. “It just sounded like you had a long day.”

“Well, he was quite scary. Although, not quite as scary as this girl. She makes bad decisions like you wouldn’t believe. Gave me this terrible haircut. Lucky I was there to save her, huh?”

“Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Hitode laughed. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I’m always nice. You just forget.”

“I guess so.”

Kenichi kissed him on the forehead.

“I don’t think I would forget that,” said Hitode.

“You would.”

Kenichi held him close and for a moment, suffering didn’t seem so bad. His arms were

like a dream, a sweet reminder of comfort. He hugged Kenichi back, smelling the lemon scented soap on his skin.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain at the top of Hitode’s head. He tried to reach up to feel

what it was but Kenichi was holding him too tightly.

“Shhh, it will be better soon. Just relax. I’m here.”

“My head hurts.” burbled Hitode

“It will stop hurting soon. It always does.”

But Hitode never listened. Kenichi just had to wait. Eventually, he went limp. He laid him onto the ground gently, removing the heavy spike from his skull.

“It’s not so bad now, is it?”

Kenichi curled up beside the still Hitode, holding him tenderly now. He kissed the tears from his sleeping friend’s face.. Even after all this time, they were just as salty and sweet.