The Crypt of the Gashadokuro

Akio and Yamashita try to figure out the strange happening which are going on in the city of Kawatsi.

The Crypt of the Gashadokuro

Ichi

The journey to Shiki city; the capital of Minami Kawatsi, was wet and humid. Their horses grew tired but as they were only a few miles away from their destination, Akio and Yamashita decided to push on through the night. With the clouds dissipating and the rain finally stopping, the mid-day sun eventually began to break through. In the distance they could see Shimo Akasaka castle perched up high in the Yoshino mountains, overlooking the city. As they reached the outer walls, they could see a few guards standing on the parapets up high, surveying the vast land beneath them. Two guards stood either side of the huge wooden entrance gates dressed in red leather armour with a dragon crest on each shoulder. This was echoed in the large flag gently billowing in the wind above the gateway. After stopping at the entrance, one of the guards reached out and held onto Akio’s horse reigns.

“What business brings you here?” He asked.

“We are looking for a place to rest as we have been riding all night.” Akio replied. “We were hoping to stay just a few days, to recuperate.”

The guard wished them a pleasant stay and let go of the reigns, allowing Akio and Yamashita to enter. With his sister riding alongside him, they made their way into the city. They passed market stalls full of vendors busily keeping up with the mornings hustle and bustle. A sound of banging and clattering of hammers on metal could be heard as the blacksmiths were hard at work as usual. Above all the noise and din of the city, Church bells chimed out.

Akio finished hitching up their horses as Yamashita jumped down to stretch her weary body. They removed their weapons and any leftover supplies from their saddles. Akio looked around the market plaza for any sign of a tavern, whilst Yamashita placed her weapons upon her body. Looking for lodgings, they walked a short distance down one of the city streets, until they came across a building named ‘The Crow and Chicken’. A rusty weathered sign hung on the front of the tavern, depicting a crow pecking at a chicken thankfully, the building itself appeared in better shape than the sign. Being careful not to disturb a drunk fast asleep on the steps in the doorway, they entered the tavern. The Inn keeper wiped drinking glasses on the front of his apron, before setting them back in their place. He was a short man with long grey receding hair, his pot belly would have spilt over the top of his trousers, if it weren’t for his apron holding it in. The travellers approached the bar.

“Hey there, have you got any rooms to spare?” Akio asked politely.

The inn keeper continued cleaning glasses and said nothing.

Yamashita looked around at her surroundings. Although the outside of the tavern seemed to be falling apart, inside it was pretty much intact. She walked over to one of the windows that looked out on to the street and took a seat. Akio once again asked if there were any rooms available.

“I heard you the first time.” The Inn Keeper snapped back in a high-pitched voice. “Can’t a man clean his glasses first, sheesh.”

“Sorry I thought you hadn’t heard me.” Replied Akio.

“Oh, I heard you. You need to learn some patience.” The man fired back angrily. “I’m a busy man you know?”

“You seem busy.” Said Akio, looking around but unable to see anyone else in the bar but his sister.

“Well, I am! Do you think this place ticks over all by itself? I have to clean the glasses, sweep the floors, make sure the barrels under here are stocked up.” He pointed beneath the counter, then continued to rant a bit more.

By the window Yamashita placed her feet upon the table, the Inn Keeper spotted this from behind the bar and shouted at her to take them down. He continued ranting, informing them the place was not a barn. Akio apologized for his sister’s behaviour. He then explained that they were both exhausted from their travels, and they’d be grateful for a room. The inn keeper informed Akio the only room available was a double. Looking over at Yamashita he could see by her face that she wasn’t impressed, as she hadn’t shared a room with her brother since they were kids, Akio agreed to the room.

“It will be twenty Yen a night”. The Inn Keeper informed him. “How long do you intend to stay?

“We’ll be here for a maximum of three days”. Akio replied and handed him a bag of Yen.

The Inn Keeper took the bag and carefully inspected the contents inside, he then handed Akio a key to the room. Informing him it was up the stairs and at the end of the hallway, Akio took the key, thanked him and then beckoned Yamashita to follow him up the stairs. Yamashita looked at the inn keeper as she got up and saw him lick his lips whilst staring at her. Repulsed, she turned away in disgust.

As they reached the door to the room Yamashita couldn’t hide her disbelief any longer.

“Why did you agree to take this room?” She asked. “We could have gone to another tavern and had a room each”

“It’s a roof over our heads, isn’t it? What's your problem?” Akio felt too weary to argue. “If you’re that bothered you can have the bed.”

He put the key in the lock and after hearing the click of it opening, he pushed the handle to enter. As they both walked into the room, they could see it had the basics, a double bed in the centre of the room with a window looking over the city. There was a separate washroom with an iron bath set against one of the walls, there was also a sink which faced a window on the back wall.

“See it’s quite a nice room for the money. It has everything we need.” Akio said taking in his surroundings.

He removed his Sigma sword from his back and lay it across the wooden table next to the bedroom door. Removing his katana from his waist, he placed it where the Sigma sword lay. Finally, he removed his weather cloak and placed it on top of both his swords. He then lay down on the two-seater sofa and stared at the ceiling.

“What are we even doing here?” Yamashita asked.

“I haven’t been here for some time, I thought while we were passing, we could catch up with an old friend.” Akio replied, gradually growing tired.

Yamashita started to ask more questions, but Akio told her she will have to wait until morning and then he will tell her everything.

By this point, Yamashita had also removed her weapons and weather cloak, placing them over the foot of the bed she was now laying on. Facing towards the window which looked out onto the city, she whispered softly under her breath a song their mother had sung to them whilst they were kids. ‘If you ever feel alone in this world, sing this song and you will always think of home” She would say.

Akio could hear the soft tune his sister was quietly singing. He too started to sing the song to himself. Exhausted, they both fell into a deep sleep.

Ni

As Yamashita awoke early to the sound of a rooster crowing somewhere deep in the city, she always preferred to rise before her brother as it allowed her precious time to herself. Taking time to soak in the iron tub, she finally appreciated feeling clean for a change - even if it wasn’t the warmest of baths she’d ever taken. Climbing out, she wrapped herself up in one of the towels provided by the Inn and then settled herself by the window to enjoy a warm drink. With one leg perched on the window ledge she realised this was the freest she had felt for an awfully long time. With no cares in the world, she felt like a normal woman for once, unlike the hybrid she really was. Her daydreaming ended abruptly though, as her brother let out a loud snore.

Akio stirred with a snort and a cough as he quickly fumbled around him, searching for the ale flask he had placed beside himself during the night. Still half asleep, he took a long, slow gulp on the contents inside. Blurry eyed and oblivious to his sister sitting by the window, he gently pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. Rubbing his eyes to focus, he eventually spotted Yamashita and wearily he walked over to join her. Looking out across the city, the sun was just beginning to appear from behind the steeple of the church in the distance and below the market vendors were busy setting up their stalls for the day.

“Looks as if it is going to be a lovely day.” Akio stated after breathing in the fresh morning air. He then walked off towards the bathroom.

Deciding it was time to get dressed, Yamashita stood up allowing her towel to fall to the floor and she then perched herself on the edge of the bed to slip her feet into her trousers, before pulling them up over her waist. Choosing to leave her long hair to hang loosely around her shoulders, she put on her kimono carefully pulling the attached belt tightly around her body. Taking her time, she then began placing her weapons about her body.

Akio walked out the washroom towards his clothes and threw his shirt on over his head. Then he too began the ritual of placing his weapons over the top of his clothes.

“Are you ready?” He asked, turning to face his sister.

“Yes, but first you said you’d tell me who this friend is that you want to see.” Yamashita reminded her brother.

“Ah yes.” Akio remembered. “Well, you remember the time I left the Ōuchi settlement to face my first task on my own?” He asked.

“Yes, I remember.” Yamashita replied. “Wasn’t that the time you had to slay a werewolf?”

“Yes, that's the time. Well, on my travels I came across this city, and I decided to rest before heading out on my solo quest.” Akio sat down on the bed to tell his story.

“Anyway, whilst staying here in this very tavern, I started to hear rumours about a monster wreaking havoc on the city folk.” He continued. “I wasn’t really sure if it was true, or if the people had mistaken a wild animal for a monster however it being my first solo mission, I thought it best to investigate what was going on. I started to ask around, but people didn’t want to talk to me. I just assumed it was because of my age, as I was young man at the time. Feeling disheartened, I decided to venture out of the city and head out on my quest. Well, whilst on my return journey I met a young girl of a similar age to myself. She seemed lost, so I asked if she needed someone to show her the way back to the city. She declined and explained that she wasn’t lost, but that she liked to escape the city to have some quiet time by herself. After asking if was okay to walk with her, which she agreed, we walked whilst talking non-stop about everything at last it was nice to relate to someone who was not a fellow monster hunter.” Akio stopped talking for a moment as he became lost in the memory. He then let out a heavy sigh.

“Anyway, to cut a long story short, it just so happened that she was a princess and that was the last time I saw her.” He added, trying to bring the story to an abrupt end.

Surprised, Yamashita was about to burst out laughing. But when she saw the serious look on her brothers’ face, she thought better of it.

” Well, we better not keep your princess waiting, had we?!” She added, gesturing towards the door.

Leaving their room, they walked down the hallway towards the top of the stairs leading down to the tavern. On their descent they spotted the Inn Keeper talking to a tall thin man at the bar with short, cropped hair. He was dressed head to foot in dark green and draped around his waist were bolts for the cross bow that he had slung across his shoulder. Noticing Akio and Yamashita, the Inn Keeper bid them a good morning. The tall thin man turned and nodded towards them, and they exchanged pleasantries. As they walked by him, they noticed his battered face had a fresh cut on his cheek which was oozing blood. A scar on the back of his neck confirmed their thoughts that he was no stranger to violence. Not wanting to intrude, they left the thin man and the Inn Keeper to continue their conversation.

As they made their way through the marketplace, fresh poultry and boar cattle caught by hunters and poachers were being prepared by the food vendors for the day ahead. Further on, Yamashita stopped at one of the stalls selling trinkets and jewellery and she started to browse the goods on display. The vendor immediately stopped what she was doing and walked over to Yamashita when she spotted her showing an interest in an opal necklace. She was a woman of about sixteen years of age wearing a long red dress, which looked as though it had been stitched back together over time. Her fiery red hair was kept in place with a deep red scarf, preventing strands from falling in her eyes.

“That’s three hundred Yen.” The vendor stated.

“It’s just an opal on a piece of string!” Yamashita was shocked. “I’ll give you two hundred.” She tried to haggle but the young woman just laughed in her face.

“That’s daylight robbery! You won’t find another one like that around here.” The young woman stood her ground.

“Daylight robbery! What a cheek… I bet it’s not even a real opal, just a stone painted black.” Yamashita stated in disgust.

With that the young woman snatched the opal from Yamashita’s hand and put it in her dress pocket.

“If you have finished looking, I would like for you to leave.” The vendor said sternly.

Angrily Yamashita quickly turned away from the stall and walked off towards her brother. Unknown to the vendor, Yamashita had taken a gold butterfly broach from the stall whilst they had argued. Akio had seen her steal the broach and after she had come waltzing over to him, he asked her if she was going to give the broach back?

“No! I’m going to keep it.” Yamashita gave Akio the look she always gave him when he thought she was in the wrong. “It will look better on me than on the her.” She added trying to justify her actions. Akio just shook his head, knowing there was no point arguing with his sister.

They continued their walk through the marketplace, occasionally stopping to browse at some stalls on the way but eventually leaving the bustling city behind them.

Walking along the muddy streets, it didn’t take them long to reach their destination. They stopped, taking time to gaze up at the castle perched high on the rocks above them. Eventually they decided to cross the drawbridge leading to the castle entrance, glancing over the edge at the deep drop of the moat below. Akio’s attention turned to the stonework as it arched over their heads, it must have been at least twenty feet high. Emerging from the tunnel entrance, the courtyard, it was much bigger than they had anticipated, stone steps led up to ramparts which overlooked the city below and further steps led to big oak doors situated in the castle towers. There were five sets of towers, one for each corner of the castle and another situated in the middle of the back wall, which separated the ramparts. Each tower was approximately one hundred and fifty feet tall and they could see that high on one, billowed a large flag emblazoned with a dragon crest upon it. Yamashita and Akio stood and stared in awe - they had seen some fantastic castles, but this was by far the most spectacular. From high up on the ramparts a soldier began frantically running down the stone steps towards them. He was dressed head to foot in red leather with the dragon crest embroidered on each shoulder guard. Once or twice he nearly fell down the steep steps, and when he eventually reached the bottom, he made a bee line for Akio and Yamashita.

“Halt! Who goes there?” The soldier demanded. “0h what the heck, you’re already in the castle grounds aren’t you?” He added defeated.

Yamashita and Akio introduced themselves as Akuma warriors and asked if he was okay. He nodded and introduced himself as one of the castle guards.

“There should be another guard on the bridge, did you see him?” He asked.

Akio and Yamashita both shook their heads.

“God damn that boy. If it weren’t for him being the general’s nephew, I would have flogged that boy myself by now.” The flustered guard exclaimed. “Akuma, you say? What are you doing in these parts? Are you here hunting the monster that dwells in the crypt?” He asked. “Personally…... I doubt there is a monster. I think it’s just a story concocted to scare the city folk. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a guard.”

“Errr… Yes, that’s right.” Yamashita looked at Akio then back to the guard, before adding - “We are here to put an end to your monster troubles. We were invited by the princess.”

“Oh.. yes, that’s right.” Akio looked at Yamashita with a puzzling stare. “Yes, she sent a message some time back.” The penny had finally dropped. “Is it okay to speak with her?”

The guard explained they would have to wait in the reception hall, and he would have the Princess informed of their arrival. They followed the guard up a flight of steps which led to the castle’s main entrance. After passing through heavy oak doors that led to the reception hall, the guard excused himself whilst he went to find one of the servants to relay the message to the princess.

Akio looked around the hall in awe, its magnificent opulent tapestries hung high on the wooden panelling, and suits of armour stood proudly lined the walls. A richly decorated rug that ran the full length of the hall, had the dragons crest emblazoned upon it in red and cream with glistening gold thread woven throughout. The wooden ceiling above them had ornate dragon’s heads carved all along the rafters. It really was a sight to behold. Yamashita on the other hand was sitting in one of the wooden chairs placed against the walls, she had no interest in admiring the craftsmanship of the castle.

“So, now we are here, what do you intend to do when the princess comes down?” She asked. “You know she isn’t going to be happy when she finds out you lied to get in here.”

“I lied?!” Akio exclaimed as he turned to face his sister. “It was you who told the guard we were here to defeat some monster.”

“Yes and you also went along with it quite happily.” Yamashita stated. She then took her knife from her boot and began to point the tip of the knife into her nails to clean out the dirt.

“Do you have to do that now?” Akio asked disgusted. “You know I don’t like you doing that with your knife.” He added, irritated. “I only went along with it because I thought it sounded like a good reason to get to see her.”

Yamashita smirked knowing how easy it was to wind her brother up. With that she put the knife back in to her boot and stood up from the chair. She walked behind Akio and whispered into his ear.

“Your tricks don’t work on me!” Akio shoved his sister away annoyed. “You had best behave herself when the princess arrives.” He warned.

She mimicked what he said with her hand as a puppet and then slumped back down in the chair. She hooked one leg over its arm and looked at her brother wearily.

Suddenly the door to the reception hall opened and a servant entered, closely followed by the princess. Akio quickly brushed his hair back with his fingers to make himself more presentable. Watching on, Yamashita just rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

“Princess Sukura will see you now!” The servant announced before bowing and turning to leave.

Princess Sukura was as beautiful as he had remembered and even though years had passed, her emerald eyes still shone like gems when the light caught them. She wore a long deep blue billowing dress, with sleeves puffed out at the shoulders revealing her skin - still as smooth as it was the first day he had laid eyes on her. He stepped forward to greet her only to have the Princess slap him hard across the face.

“Don’t you remember me?!” Akio asked, shocked as he rubbed his sore face.

Yamashita laughed so hard she thought her sides would split. Akio looked at his sister in disappointment.

“Of course, I remember you!” Princess Sukura said angrily. “I have never forgiven you for leaving me. You broke my heart so badly, that I promised to never let another man get close to me again.”

Akio stood bewildered, trying hard to recall what she was referring to.

“You really don’t remember do you?” She exclaimed in disbelief. “I should have known you would forget. Well, I have not! And I never will!”

“Please tell me what I did?” Akio begged as he genuinely had no idea what he had done to make her so upset. “I thought we parted on good terms?”

“Oh Akio, you poor thing! You really must have suffered a bang to your head since I last saw you.” Princess Sukura adding in mock sympathy.

Stepping closer to him, she held out her hand. Relieved Akio reached out to take it, but as he did the Princess quickly moved her hand away and slapped him once again, this time across the other side of the face. The sound echoed around the hall.

“Please, will someone tell me what's going on here? It’s so amusing!” Yamashita was laughing so hard now. “No really, I need to know what my brother has done?” She just about managed to ask.

“Sit up straight!” Princess Sukura turned and glared at Yamashita and ordered her to stop laughing. “You’re only making things worse!”

Yamashita slowly took her leg from of the arm of the chair and sat up straight, as she tried hard to muffle her laughing through her hands.

“As you really do seem to have forgotten Akio, then let me remind you. Do you remember walking me back to the city?” She asked to which Akio nodded. “And can you remember the conversation we had on our way back to the city?”

This time Akio thought long and hard, but he genuinely could not remember their conversation, absolutely nothing came to mind.

“Well, I will remind you.” Princess Sukura stated coldly. “As we walked back to the city, we discussed how you would go back to your Ōuchi settlement and inform your elders that you had defeated the monster you were sent to kill. Then, you would return. You promised me you would come back here to get rid of our monster.” She said angrily. “I waited for days.. days turned to weeks; weeks turned to months; then eventually, I gave up waiting. My father said I was a fool to wait for some boy I had met in the woods. To this day, I still believe he thought I made you up. I told him that you were an Akuma Hunter. That you would keep your word and return.”

Akio now recalled the conversation and looked towards his sister. Yamashita stopped sniggering through her hands, as she recalled Akio had indeed once told her that there was a city in need of his help. Quickly she stood up and walked over to her brother.

“You were telling the truth!? We all thought you were telling stories, just exaggerating as it was your first quest.” Yamashita held her brother. “Akio, I am so sorry. If only we had taken you more seriously.” She said quietly.

“You knew of our issue, yet you chose not to come to our aid!” Princess Sukura looked at the pair of them in disbelief, then she turned to Yamashita. “My father died trying to put an end to this monster. When all along the Ōuchi knew of our predicament and not a single Akuma was sent to help us.”

The anger and rage that came out of the princess was overwhelming, causing Akio to rethink his visit, he had no idea it would bring back so much pain. Yamashita tried desperately to explain their side of things, but it only made the situation worse. The princess was having none of it, but just as she were about to leave, she suddenly calmed and composed herself, walking over to the chair where Yamashita once sat.

“I am holding a banquet tonight. You are both welcome to join me as my guests.” She wiped the tears away from her face as she spoke these words.

Akio was quick to accept her invitation, though Yamashita was not so quick.

“Hold on, you were just saying how my brother had broken your heart, why the sudden change of mind?” Yamashita asked suspiciously. Akio tried to silence his sister.

“No, it’s okay for her to have her doubts. I would too if I were in her shoes.” Princess Sukura reassured Akio. “However, accept my invitation or not - either way you can stay one night in my castle, but in the morning, you will be leaving. Then I never want to see either of your faces again… ever. If I do, you will be put to the gallows. Do I make myself clear?”

The siblings nodded to confirm they understood. Calling out for her servant, The Princess bid them both a good day, before turning and departing the reception hall. Leaving her guests with a lot to think about.

San

Carefully they descended the steps to the castle’s tombs below.

“Be careful, or you’ll wake the dead.” Warned the crypt keeper.

His clothes looked like they had seen better days, with his dirty shirt and trousers ripped and torn in several places. Continuing down the damp stairwell, his flickering torch cast just barely enough light to illuminate two steps ahead of him.

“How much further until we reach the tomb?” A deep gruff voice enquired urgently from behind.

The voice belonged to a noble man, dressed in much better attire. Appearing to be a person of wealth, he wore a silver chain wrapped around his neck with a silver locket dangling from it. In a rush, he kept hurrying the crypt keeper on, but the crypt keeper chose to ignore him, as he had been hearing the same question since they first began their descent. When they eventually reached the bottom of the steps the crypt keeper pulled an unlit torch from the wall, and after setting it alight, he turned to face the noble man.

“Take this and follow me closely.” The crypt keeper instructed as he held out the freshly lit torch. Pulling his sleeve over his hand for protection from the flames, the noble man agreed, eager to resume their journey.

As they continued their long walk through the tunnels, they eventually started to pass rows of shelves carved into the tunnel walls on either side. Coffins lay upon these shelves - these were the resting places of royals from years gone by. As they rounded a corner at the end of the tunnel, a great void opened in front of them and from the light of their torches, they could see coffins were scattered throughout. Some were laying open, broken and rotting on the floor with rats scurrying all over them.

Undeterred, the crypt keeper continued searching until eventually stopping beside a tomb emblazoned with the same dragon crest found throughout the castle. Seeing this, the noble man eagerly pushed past the crypt keeper and wiped away the dust and cobwebs covering the tomb. Written on the surface, read the words 

‘Here Lies Emperor Soga. May The Dragons Blood Keep You Forever Asleep.’

A keyhole had been disguised as a full stop after the word Asleep. Seeing this, the noble man ordered the crypt keeper to go elsewhere, as he would be needed no more. Without questioning, the crypt keeper retreated to wait on the steps from which they came.

Placing his torch down on the tomb slab, the noble man removed the chain from his neck and opened the locket case. It revealed a perfectly round key laying inside. Tentatively he placed the key into the lock and turned it slowly. After a click, the tomb lid started to slowly lift. With it slightly ajar, the noble man carefully slid his fingers underneath the slab to push it open revealing inside, the corpse of the emperor. Fumbling inside the coffin, the noble man rummaged around until he pulled free some leather-bound books, desperately thumbing through the pages. When he finally found what he was looking for, he slid the lid of the tomb back into place and locked it tight once again. Placing the key back into the locket, he quickly hung the chain over his neck and then hid the leather book within his robes. He then picked up the torch and headed back to the stairs, to where the crypt keeper waited quietly.

“For your troubles.” He said gruffly to the crypt keeper, as he handed him a small leather pouch. Accepting his payment, the crypt keeper nodded and placed it safely within his trousers.

Without another word passing between them, they both turned and began retracing their steps, up the steep staircase and out of the crypt.

Yon

In a guest suite situated in the east wing of the castle, Akio and Yamashita were getting ready to attend the banquet being held that night. In one room stood Yamashita, balanced on a stool by the bay window and below her a seamstress, busy adjusting the fit of her chosen dress.

“Ouch!” She winced as the seamstress stuck her in the thigh with a pin by accident.

“The gods pay back in mysterious ways!” Akio shouted from the adjacent room, holding back his chuckles.

“If there were gods, they would not have put us in this situation, and we wouldn’t be enduring this torture.” His Sister fired back before once again being pricked by a pin. She glared at the seamstress, whilst trying to restrain herself.

“Stick me again like I am your pin cushion and you had better pray the gods protect you from what I will do to you.” Yamashita snarled.

Luckily, no more pins were required, and the seamstress apologised. She then asked Yamashita to remove the dress so she could complete the appropriate adjustments. Yamashita sat behind a screen and waited for the seamstress to return.

Akio had almost finished dressing, he just needed to add the charcoal shirt with matching waistcoat. He came into the room where Yamashita was still sitting behind the screen and walked over to the bay window to look out at the late afternoon sky. The sky was glowing red with few clouds in view and the sun was beginning to set in the distance beyond the city. He continued gazing out the window for a few moments more before walking over to the one-armed sofa and sitting himself down. Thinking out loud, Akio pondered whether the Princess would ever be able to forgive them for not coming to her aid all those years ago? Yamashita was unable to answer and couldn’t reassure her brother. She felt bad for what she and the Ōuchi had done. Akio had been made out to be a liar, no matter which way you looked at it. They assumed he was a young man, making up stories just to impress them. She should have known that Akio would not have made up such a concocted story just to make his adventure sound better. Slipping on her kimono, she appeared from behind the screen and walked up behind Akio to place her arms loosely around his neck to comfort him.

“I’m so sorry for not believing you all those years ago. I should have tried to make the elders see that you were telling the truth.” She told him gently.

“It’s okay... really, I had forgotten the whole thing until Princess Sukura reminded me.” Akio raised his hands to encase her forearm. “It did make me realise something though?” He added.

“Oh, and what was that exactly?” She asked quietly.

“No matter how much we bicker, we always have each other’s backs.” He replied. “I mean, you didn’t have to defend me the way you did… and for that I will never forget.” With that, Yamashita smiled and kissed him on the top of the head, just as the door flung open.

“Oh gosh! I am so sorry... I didn’t mean to interrupt.” The seamstress burst into the room, apologising with her face turning crimson in colour. She held out the altered dress.

“He’s my brother, not my lover! For goodness’s sake!” She informed the seamstress, taking the dress from her grasp. Once again, Yamashita walked behind the screen and dressed herself in the gown.

Akio finished putting on his shirt and waist coat just as Yamashita appeared from behind the screen. Akio could not believe his eyes; he had never seen his sister look so elegant. But before her brother could say anything, Yamashita warned him never to speak of this again… to anyone.

They exited the guestroom together and walked down the long highly decorated hallway. Tapestries and paintings of the princess’s lineages lined the walls. As they reached the main staircase leading down to the main entrance hall, they could see that crowds of people had already arrived, gathering in groups to chat and joke with one another. These were people that neither would have chosen to mingle with. They came from either aristocratic families or were of royal blood. Akio took Yamashita’s hand to steady her, as they descended the stairs. As they did, the crowd stopped what they were doing to stare at Akio and his sister. After reaching the bottom Akio whispered to his sister that he felt uncomfortable around these people. Knowing Yamashita would feel the same, he guided her steadily to the nearest door, leading her away from the main hall. But just as they were about to exit, they heard a noise coming from the bottom of the stairs, stopping them in their tracks. The room fell silent with everyone turning to see where the noise had originated. There, in midst of the crowd and turning towards the stairs, stood a servant, clapping loudly to gain their attention.

Gasps could be heard breaking the silence as the Princess began to make her grand entrance. Gracefully descending the stairs with her maid by her side, her radiance filled the room as she gradually came into view. Her flowing velvet gown was a rich emerald, green with a deep red silk sash tied around the waist. Emerald and diamond jewellery glistened about her ears and neck, complimenting her pale complexion perfectly. Her hair had been elegantly dressed into buns entwined with emerald, green silk ribbons. Reaching the last stair, her maid stood back and looked upon her, knowing she was the finest artwork she had ever produced. The princess welcomed her guests by announcing her gratitude for attending the ball and she wished them all an enjoyable evening. Pausing for a moment as she noticed Akio and Yamashita standing by one of the exits of the main hall.

“I see we have new company with us this evening.” She announced, gesturing in the direction of Akio and Yamashita. She continued. “My fellow friends and acquaintances, we have with us this evening two of the famous Akuma monster hunters. Please, give them a warm welcome. Akio and Yamashita!”

With that she began to clap and the whole hall erupted with a thunderous noise as they began to clap along with the princess. Akio and Yamashita had no idea what to do. They stood still, confused, like startled deer. Akio then bowed nervously, whilst pulling at his sister to encourage her to curtsey. Yamashita, although a little embarrassed did as expected. The clapping began to ease.

“As you can see, they scrub up really well.” The Princess continued. “They are here as guests of mine and they will be here for a little while, so please everyone, when you see them out in the streets - please do not accost them. I know you will have questions and be keen to hear what adventures they have had, but please be respectful. Now… everyone, have a great time and please… enjoy yourselves.” The princess smiled and moved away from the stairs to head towards the banquet hall. Gracefully walking past Akio and Yamashita, she ignored their very existence.

Akio and his sister dutifully followed Princess Sukura inside the banquet hall. The hall held thirty-three long wooden tables, able to seat at least twenty people. Each table had place settings laid out with a wooden bowl sitting on top of two wooden plates and placed either side of the plates lay knives, forks and a spoon and an ornate wooden chalice. When they were alone, they asked Princess Sukura where they would be seated.

“The hall is big enough to sit wherever you shall choose. Just as long as it is not on the same table as me.” The princess informed them coldly.

“I hope this is far enough away from the spoilt brat!” Yamashita said quietly, as she and her brother decided to take a seat near the back of the banquet  hall.

Within a few minutes the hall was beginning to fill with the other guests and the tables came to life with laughter and frolics. Joining Yamashita and Akio at their table was an older couple, who couldn’t keep their hands of each other. This began to irritate Yamashita as she watched on in disbelief.

“Have you had a good look, eh?” The woman asked angrily after spotting Yamashita glaring at them. “What, are you jealous or something?” The lady and man then decided to get up and sit on another table.

“Akio, do we have to stay here?” Yamashita pleaded with her brother. “I feel so uncomfortable in this dress and if another man tries to undress me with his eyes…. I swear I will poke them out with this fork.” She began to twiddle with the implement in her hands.

“We might as well have something to eat whilst we are here as Princess Sukura’s guests.” Akio tried to calm his sister.

“Guest my arse! We are no guests.” Yamashita snapped. “We are only here to amuse her princess, nothing more. She just wants to humiliate us, that is all.”

“Don’t be stupid!” Akio put down his wooden chalice as he wiped the ale from his mouth with his sleeve. “If she wanted to humiliate us, do you think she would have us come to this banquet and mingle with her guest?”

“Yes, yes I do.” His sister replied suspiciously. “As this would be the perfect situation to rub our noses in it. All because we let her down all those years ago. Come on think about it. Why have us come here as her guest and not be able to sit up on her table? It doesn’t seem right.”

“Maybe you’re right and that is what she intends to do. But can’t we just enjoy ourselves before she tears into us? … Just a little.” Akio nudged his sister playfully with his shoulder.

“You can. I am heading back to our room and getting out of this ridiculous dress.” Just as Yamashita started to stand up, she noticed something to her left at the opposite table. She could see a man holding a book and joking with some other gentlemen, but this seemed a little off. She sat back down to get Akio’s attention and pointed out what she had seen.

“What do you think they are doing? They seem to be up to something?” She asked quietly, intrigued.

“Leave it be Yamashita, it doesn’t concern us.” As Akio finished speaking, he could see his sister undo a few buttons on her dress and ruffle up her hair with her fingers.

“Well… I am going to find out.” She informed him as she got up and pretended to stagger across the room, bumping into folk as she walked towards the other table. As she neared the table, she placed both hands upon the table and leant down.

“Any of you fine men need a damsel tonight?” She pretended to slur as she swayed. One of the men looked up and got an eye full of breast.

“Oops silly me… oh well, too late, you’ve seen now” She laughed, settling herself next to him. “What are you reading there? Bedtime stories?” She slurred as she reached over to the book which lay open on the table.

The man next to her grabbed her arm and placed it around his back and he pushed himself closer to her.

“Let’s say we take this somewhere else, eh Missy?” The man asked, breathing his drunken fumes on her. “Then you can tell me some real stories about your Akuma hunting.”

“Oh really!” She giggled whilst slipping a knife from her dress sleeve. She pressed it into his side, just below the rib cage. “I’d really like to look at your book first” Yamashita teased.

The man slid the book from the middle of the table towards Yamashita. The others at the table watched on as the man began to recite some of the passages to her. He motioned to the other men with a nod that all was okay, and he continued to read.

‘The blood of a royal highness is all that is required on the blood moon to open the gates of hell.’ He stopped mid-sentence and looked up at Yamashita.

“Please continue, it sounds fascinating.” She urged as she pushed the knife harder under his rib.

‘Only then will it be strong enough to hold the forces of evil and release them from their Vail from which they hide.’ He continued.

“Okay Akuma hunter, is that enough? How about my story?” He said grinning.

“Another time. I am a little drunk and I think I will need a good night’s sleep.” She removed the blade from his side and began to stand up and saunter back towards her table. She sat down next to Akio and buttoned up her dress

“Well, anything to worry about?” Akio asked

“Yes, a lot of evil to worry about. They want to open the gates of hell, and to do that they need royal blood on a blood moon night.” She explained. “When is the next blood moon?”

Akio was about to answer when he noticed the men from the other table all got up and started to head out of the banquet hall. Yamashita stood up ready to follow. Just as she did so, the Princess asked the hall for their attention. She was about to start a big speech when she spotted Yamashita rise from her table.

“Akuma hunter, are you going somewhere?” She addressed Yamashita. “I am about to make a speech and I believe you should hear this.”

As much as Yamashita wanted to say out loud what she thought about the Princess, she decided to keep her mouth shut and politely told her she just needed to go to the toilet.

It won’t take long Akuma hunter, you can wait?” Princess Sukura urged.

“Your highness, it can’t wait. Unless you’d like a puddle in the royal banquet hall?” Yamashita fired back.

Princess Sukura wasn’t having any of her excuses and demanded she sit back down. Yamashita reluctantly did as she was told.

“As you can see, we have two Akuma hunters here tonight. At least they have come…. but never in our hour of need. When we needed the Akuma at our most vulnerable time, where were they? Nowhere to be seen. Now we have no need for them and two show up in my kingdom. How ironic!” The Princess continued to berate them. “It was my father who wanted their help to save us from the monster who took most of our loved ones. The monster fed upon them. Tearing them limb from limb… and where were the Akuma? It was that Akuma there…” She pointed towards Akio. “Yes, you boy. Stand up and let everyone see you.” Akio did as he was told. “That Akuma, his name is Akio. We were, what I assumed were friends. How wrong was I to think I could befriend an Akuma? However, I was young and naive at the time. Just a child. Now years later he blackens my Kingdom by showing up here with his sister. Yes, you girl. Stand up.”

Yamashita looked up at Akio and then slowly stood up so all the banquet guests could see them together.

“Yes, you see his sister Yamashita. She was the one who stopped the Akuma coming. She told me herself if it was not for her then we would not have lost our loved ones.” The Princess informed the guests.

“What lies you sprout from your mouth.” Yamashita could no longer bite her tongue. “It was not I who did not want to help. It was our elders. They thought Akio was adding more to his quest than what he was sent to do. He was the same age as you when he came to your aid, he assumed you needed help not your kingdom. He saw you that day, all by yourself and as a boy might when they see a beautiful young girl, they do not think straight! He thought you were just a normal common girl, who had gotten lost in the woods. Once you told him you were of royal blood…. That is when things changed for him. A young man meets a Princess. That does not happen every day.”

“That is true.” Princess Sukura momentarily lowered her head as she remembered that young boy. In an instance that moment was gone, and she raised her head once more. “But I did tell him we needed help from the Akuma. He promised me they would come. When I reached home, I told my father that the Akuma were coming, and he waited for six whole months! When the Akuma hunters never showed, I was called a liar and was banished from leaving the castle grounds ever again. That was until my father passed away. Trying to defend his kingdom from the monstrosity which laid in wait for him. And you stand there with the audacity to call me a liar!?”

“What kind of monster is it?” Akio interrupted.

“I beg your pardon!” The Princess replied shocked. “You want to know what kind of monster it was that killed our loved ones? What right do you have to know this?” She demanded. “If you had come to our aid when we asked, you would have known?”

“Yes, I get that. But still, I would like to know. Not many men have I come across that have beaten a monster. I mean knights slay dragons most of the time, they might even defeat an Ogre, Troll or some other living force. But what was this creature your kingdom defeated?” Akio waited for an answer. “I see no Samurai’s here. All you have is simple farming folk, which would use pitch forks or some other crude weapons, but I have not seen a single Samurai since we have been here. This I find troubling. Every kingdom has Samurai of some kind, even Shoguns. But here, I have seen none. Why is that?” Akio walked from his table and approached the Princess’s table and stood in front of her.

“You may want to humiliate me, and that's fine - I deserve it. But Yamashita has done nothing to you, so leave her out of this. So, again… please can you tell me where are your Samurais? Or what kind of monster was it that was attacking your kingdom?”

At this moment Yamashita had come to Akio’s side to stand beside him.

Princess Sukura drank from her golden chalice and slowly placed it back down.

“Fine have it your way Akio. Since my father died, I did away with the royal Samurai since they destroyed the monster.” She explained coldly. “No monster, no need for Samurai or Shoguns. As you know yourself, we live far away from any other kingdom so there would be no need for an assault on us. And as for the monster - it was a Gashadokuro.”

“A Gashadokuro.” Both Akio and Yamashita spoke in tandem.

“Is this the monster that resigns in the crypt?” Akio pressed the Princess.

“How did you know that?” The Princess demanded. “I never told you that.”

“The guard at the main gates told us about the monster that dwells in the crypt. So, I am guessing you have not really got rid of this monster. I think you are not telling us the whole truth. Now, we can talk about this in private. Or… we can do it here in front of your guest’s? Which will it be?” Akio knew he had the Princess over a barrel. Would she really reveal the truth about the monster in front of her loyal subjects? It was a gamble he was willing to take.

The Princess sat back down in her throne and pondered over his question. She knew he had caught her out, but did she really want to reveal the truth here and now? After slowly downing what was left in her golden challis, she ordered the hall to be emptied and for everyone to go home. The banquet was over.

There was upheaval from the guests as they got up from their tables. Some demanded they stay to hear what the conversation was about. Others whined about not having anything to eat. Most left without saying a word.

After the hall had emptied, the Princess sat all alone at her deserted table. Akio and Yamashita were still standing in front of her. Looking up, she gestured for them to join her. They did so willingly.

“Well, you know part of the truth.” The Princess poured herself another drink. “The monster still abides within the crypt. It has not taken a soul since…” She paused for a moment and wiped away the tears which were building up in her eyes. “Since I gave the order to send the street urchins and the homeless peasants to be sent down to the crypt, to keep the monster fed.” She began to sob uncontrollably. “It makes me more of a monster than the one that dwells within the crypt. What have I become? I just wanted the slaughter to end.”

Akio moved from where he sat, he stood up and sat himself in one of the empty chairs beside the Princess. He took one of her hands and held it within his.

“You’re not a monster. You were doing what you thought was right. You believed that there was nothing else you could do.” Akio tried to reassure her. “You tried to send help to the Ōuchi and when we never came, what else could you do? Let Yamashita and I put this right. We can banish this monster for good. If you will accept our help?” Akio asked.

Yamashita moved to the seat the other side of the Princess and comforted her.

The Princess looked at them both in turn, and she accept their help.

Go

After washing, Yamashita instantly felt comfortable slipping into her normal clothes again and settled herself down to relax. After accepting a cup of wine from Akio, she eagerly drank it down and when she had finished, she handed it back to him to fill up.

"So, what shall we do about this Gashadokuro?" asked Akio.

“There's not much we can do at this time.” Replied Yamashita. “Let's wait until morning and then we will be able to access the crypt. Anyway, there's more to it, don't you think?” She added. “Those men reading that book seem to know more about it."

“Yes definitely” Her brother agreed. “They found it very amusing, but did you get to see what the book was all about?”

“That I did dear brother. He even read a passage from it.” Yamashita said as she began to lace up one of her calf-high boots.

“Well?” Akio waited patiently. “So, are you are going to enlighten me?”

“Yes” Yamashita took her time explaining. “The passage he read to me went like this….‘The blood of a high royal is all that is needed to open the gates to Hell on a blood moon. In this way, it is able to hold the forces of evil and release them from their Vail from which they hide.’

“Do you think they intend to harm Princess Sukura?” Akio asked concerned.

"I don't know." His sister replied, all the while reaching deep into her second boot. With a smirk she pulled out a key she had managed to hide earlier.

“Where on earth did you get that?” Akio asked in surprise.

“I took it from the man whilst he was reading the passage to me. I was quite persuasive.” Yamashita was feeling pleased with herself.

“I bet you were.” Akio sighed. “So, what are you planning to do?”

“I am going back to the banquet hall to see if I can see where those men disappeared. There must be clues left somewhere. Are you coming? I could use your eyes.” She asked.

“Do I have a choice? No, don't bother answering that, I already know the answer.” Her brother stated as he stood up, turning to pick up his Sigma sword.

Yamashita finished lacing her boots and stood to place a bow across her back and a quiver on her thigh. Confirming they were ready, they both left the room and walked into the street back towards the castle.

The moon was at its highest above them, and no clouds were visible for miles around. As they reached the castle, Akio used his demonic vision to see if any guards were about. He observed through the walls and spotted some soldiers manning the drawbridge. He then looked up on the ramparts, and there he could see few guards scattered, randomly. Looking at his sister, Akio informed her they should take advantage of this opportunity whilst they still had it. His sister agreed.

"Goddess of the earth, bind these walls with your elemental roots." Yamashita stated as she placed her hand upon the castle wall.

As soon as she had spoken these words, her hand lit up surrounded in a green aura, then roots began to sprout from her fingertips, climbing the exterior wall of the castle. In no time, the roots had reached the very top. She was able to tug on the newly formed roots and they seemed robust enough to carry her weight, so she began climbing to the top. Akio then followed, pulling himself over the top of the wall. Reunited, the siblings ran along the battlements, toward one of the towers. When they reached the tower door, Akio gingerly pulled at it to enter inside, only to discover it locked.

“Damn it!” Akio exclaimed, frustrated. “What do we do now?”

"Don't panic." Yamashita said, calming her brother. She rummaged through one of the pouches on her belt. Finding the container, she was looking for, she revealed it contained lock picks.

“You always seem prepared for anything?” Akio whispered to his sister.

“With you as my brother, someone has to be.” Yamashita whipped back at him.

Within seconds, the lock gave way and Yamashita softly opened the door.

"Ta-da!" She turned to quietly mock Akio.

Creeping inside, they quietly descended the spiral staircase, softly lit by candles lining the walls. From time to time, they would pass oak doors leading out to the various floors of the castle.

There came a point when they were sure they would be caught. One of these doors suddenly opened and a castle guard entered below them. Retreating quietly back up a couple of stairs, they waited patiently only to see him disappear through an adjacent door. Relieved, they softly continued down the rest of the stairs. As they finally reached the door that would lead them out to the first floor, Akio consulted his Demonic vision to verify that everything looked clear. Deciding everything looked good, they entered onto the landing.

They stepped onto the familiar red carpet, with tapestries hanging on the walls depicting war scenes from across Kawatsi. Intermittently, armour from samurai soldiers hung displayed on wooden racks.

With their hearts racing, they cautiously crept along the landing towards the stairway leading down to the main hall. As they approached the banquet hall, Yamashita turned to Akio to see if his demonic sense had alerted him to any danger. He gave the sign that everything seemed fine. They then ran as silently as possible down the steps and into the great hall.

Stopping to catch their breath, and to collect their thoughts Akio quickly noticed that the tables laid out only hours earlier, were now no longer around. Yamashita took longer to realise and to question what was happening. “Wait… What? Where are the tables?” Yamashita asked Akio. “I know I have the demonic vision sister, but I can't see into the future.” Akio replied sarcastically. “I know you can't.” Yamashita tutted. “No need for your wit!” “Something is trying to keep us from finding out what those men are up to.” Akio concluded.

As Akio scanned the room with his vision, he checked with his sister the exact location of the table on which she sat with the men. She advanced forward a couple of steps and began pacing across the open space, using the blue banner which had been hanging behind the table as a reference. After careful thought, she pointed to roughly where she believed the table would have been. Akio made his way over to where she pointed and knelt, wiping the stone floor with the palm of his hand. Although it was possible for him to make out a faint footprint, it didn't indicate if it was that of the man they were seeking.

“This is hopeless! With nothing to go on, I am pissing in the wind.” Akio remarked frustratingly.

Reaching into her pouch, Yamashita produced the key that she had stolen earlier that night. She then walked over to Akio, handing it to him with hope there may be clues only he could see. Akio began to use his demonic vision and he was surprised to find it had a print on it. After examining the floor, he could make out a similar mark where the table had been. Akio then placed the key on the ground. A partial handprint became visible that lined up perfectly with the key, suggesting that someone had picked it up from the floor. He decided to search the area for signs of similar prints to the one he had found. Getting up to walk toward the exit the man had left through, he carefully studied the stone doorway before eventually noticing another print. This time it was a full print and residue left was present from the heat of his palm.

Beckoning to Yamashita to follow him, they continued down the hallway that led away from the banquet hall. The heat residue lingered, but it was faint. Coming to a halt as they reached a huge oak door blocking the only exit, Akio opened it cautiously. Immediately behind the door they could see stairs leading to a second landing, quietly they began to climb. At the top of the stairs a huge room opened before them, straw covered the floor and basic furniture sat arranged around the space. There was a table, chairs, a coat rack, and a rudimental fireplace with a black pot hanging over it. Yamashita approached the primitive cooking area, tentatively peering into the pot. It contained a stew of sorts and as she pulled out the ladle to sniff the contents, it reeked of horse meat and vegetables. Choosing not to try the contents as she was unsure how long it had been there; she placed the ladle back into the stew. Akio continued to look around for any sign of the residual heat they were following.

“What do you suppose this room is used for?” Yamashita asked Akio.

“It looks like a room where the guards would come and have their breaks. Judging by how basic it is, I don't think it is made to be lived in for long as I can’t see any bed to sleep in.” As he rubbed the straw with his foot, Akio continued. “I suppose they could sleep on the straw, although I would have thought it would be very uncomfortable.”

“Whatever this room is, judging by the stew pot, it looks as it though it has been used recently. Do you think the man we are tracking has been here?” Yamashita asked.

“It’s Hard to tell.” Akio informed her. “I’m not picking anything up due to the heat from the fire.”

Yamashita walked over to the table placed in the centre of the room. Clearing a space amongst the cluttered bowls and cups, she pulled up a chair, crossed her arms on the table and rested her head upon them. Akio continued walking around the room, his sight had returned to human vision as he examined the assorted items laying around. He picked up an old guard coat which was lying on the ground, dusted it off and was about to put it back on the hanger when something caught his eye. Sticking out the top pocket of the coat was a piece of parchment. He removed it and hung the coat on the rack, he then walked over to Yamashita and took a chair and sat down at the table. Unfolding the piece of parchment, he stared at it for a moment as he read the contents. Yamashita was about to yell at Akio for disturbing her when she looked up and saw Akio hand the parchment to her for her to read. She started to read it when it suddenly occurred to her what Akio had passed to her.

“Wait a moment…. isn't that the same Passage, I told you?” She asked confused.

“Read the bit underneath it.” Akio nodded in agreement, urging her to continue.

Yamashita read the parchment again, this time from the beginning.

The blood of a high royal is all that is needed to open the gates to Hell on a blood moon. In this way, it is able to hold the forces of evil and release them from their Vail from which they hide.

The night before the blood moon, we will need the Princess. It's up to you how you bring her to us, but we need her alive.

Kind regards

Ishii.

“At least now we know his name is Ishii and he intends to kidnap the Princess for some kind of bloodletting.” Akio stated unsettled by what he had just read.

“Do we know what this means?” Yamashita handed the parchment back to Akio.

“Apparently, Princess Sukura is in grave danger. But I don't know what any of this means.” Akio placed the Parchment in his trouser pocket. “Would it be appropriate to share our knowledge with her?” He asked.

“We should, but I think we should hold on to this information a while longer. The blood moon is in three days and they plan to kidnap her the night before, so it gives us at least a day or two to work out why they need the Princess. Then we can tell her all we know.” Yamashita tried to assure him.

“I think you're just saying this because of the way she treated us at the banquet.” Akio stated, standing up. “When we tell her what we know, she is going to ask how long we have had this information. It will give her even more reason to not trust us when she finds out." Akio began pacing the room.

Yamashita stood up and walked over to her brother, placing a hand on his arm to reassure him.

“That's a chance we will just have to take.” She said calmly.

Roku

The men got up from the table and headed out of the banquet hall. Pausing at the doorway to look back, Ishii could see Princess Sukura standing at the table beginning to deliver her speech. He spotted Yamashita getting up to head his way but then stopping as the Princess called to her. This gave Ishii the opportunity to sneak away and continue down the hallway till he came to the oak door, pushing it open to head inside. Once inside the room, he closed the door behind him. Looking around the room he could see three guards in the room, two sat at a table whilst the other was busy by the fireplace stirring a pot containing stew which he then proceeded to fill three bowls and passed them over to the guards at the table. All the guards wore the same uniform of red leather armour. It covered their torso and continued down their forearms and shins - the only part not covered was their backsides. Their steel helmets had neck guards consisting of layered red leather dragon scales woven together. The two seated guards had placed their helmets on the table whilst the third had placed his on the coat rack.

“So, with what do we owe this pleasure?” Asked the guard who had been cooking.

Ishii pulled up the spare chair and sat at the table to join the guards.

“Curse that girl.” He muttered as he stabbed his knife into the table. “Curse the lot of them. Why did she demand to see the book? I should've just pushed her away. But those breasts fell in my view…. God damn that girl!”

“What are you on about?” The guard opposite him asked as he pulled at his bread and dipped it in his stew. “What girl? What breasts?” He asked.

“The Akuma hunter that's who.” Ishii rambled on. “She swoons over to my table, with her dress all hanging loose from her perfect body - demanding what the book was all about. She placed a knife in my ribs demanding I show her this book.” He held up the book of the dead for them to see. “I would never fall for such a foolish thing again…. curses.”

“Don't complain about it!” Sniggered the guard who did the cooking. “What I’d give to have a face full of tits, instead of standing out in the cold all night.”

“No, you don't understand. I nearly told her about our plan to open up the veil between our world and the dead.” Ishii explained. “Nearly… but I soon came to my senses. That's all we need, two Akuma hunters meddling in our business.”

“What did you show her?” Asked the guard who was eating. He looked at Ishii through his hair which dangled in front of his face. He had a scar running from his forehead, above his right eye all the way down to his right cheek. “Well? Do I have to repeat myself?” He slurped his stew from his spoon not once looking away from Ishii.

Looking right back at him, Ishii knew this soldier well. He once took orders from him when he too was in the guards. He knew if he said the wrong thing then he would feel the full wraith of this soldier. However, if he did not answer his question honestly, he would feel more than just his fist.

“I told her about the blood moon and the veil that binds the two worlds” Ishii replied, out of fear. “I didn’t go into too much detail though, only what the books say.”

“Show me the page from the book.” The guard demanded.

Ishii opened the book to the page that he had shown the Akuma hunter in the banquet hall.

“What you worried about?” The guard read the passage and slurped another mouthful of stew as he continued. “It's just a passage. They will know nothing unless you told them more. Have you told them anything else?” He demanded.

“No, I told her nothing.” Ishii squirmed in his seat trying to make himself comfortable as he could. “But you know these Akuma hunters, they let nothing lie and they won’t stop until they find out the meaning of this passage.” Feeling a little braver, he raised his voice. “I risked my life to retrieve this damn book, I went into the crypt and could’ve been eaten by the Gashadokuro, so I won’t let us all fail because of some monster hunter!”

Sitting up straight, the guard calmly put down his spoon and slid the bowel to one side. Ishii knew instantly he had crossed the line. He tried to apologize for his outburst, but the guard was having none of it. Standing up he walked over to where Ishii was sitting and pulled the knife from the table and placed it under Ishii's chin.

“Who do you think you are speaking to?” The Guard demanded. “Just because you no longer serve in the guard, do you think you can raise your voice to me?” His voice was deep and menacing. “I am still your superior. Not in rank, since you left the guard, but in the sect - I am, and always will be your superior! You take orders from me and no one else.  You may think you are safe in your luxury house far away from the castle, but remember, you are not safe. You are not safe anywhere. You think the Gashadokuro is something to be feared?”

He pushed the blade onto Ishii’s throat and blood began to trickle down the blade.

“You should fear me more than any superstitious monster made up to scare the simple folk of this city.” He looked at the other two guards and declared. “I am Yamazaki Nigori of Clan Nigori, my fathers before me have reigned over this province for centuries and we shall reign once more. No one will stand in my way, not even Akuma hunters or anyone in this room. Do I make myself clear?”

With everyone in the room in agreement, he slowly removed the knife from Ishii's throat and returned to his seat to start eating once more. Ishii took a rag from the table and placed it to his throat to inspect the cut left by Yamazaki. When certain that it was no more than a nick, he sat upright in his chair and asked Yamazaki how they were going to continue with their deed. Yamazaki informed him that everything will continue as planned, unless stated otherwise.

Ishii reached over the table to place the book of the dead back within his robes. Suddenly, Yamazaki slammed his hand back on the book, telling Ishii that the book would stay with him as he would keep it safer than he ever could. Feeling put in his place, Ishii stood up and bid them all a good evening. He walked towards the door and managed to slip a note within one of the guard’s coats unnoticed and then left the building.

He crossed the courtyard and headed towards the main gate of the castle. The guards at the main gate bid him a good evening, which he chose to ignore whilst continuing on his way. He walked down the main bridleway heading towards the city. As he approached the poorer side of the city he turned down a side street with buildings compacted tightly together making walking down this alleyway a tight squeeze. Eventually arriving at the end, he crossed a bridge which led to the red-light district. Hanging out on every street were women between the ages of eighteen to forty-five, flaunting their bodies for a quick yen. Ishii walked by, as he had other matters to deal with it. Continuing deeper into the red-light district, the ladies of the night shouted obscenities at him and flashed their cleavages as he passed, offering their services.

Ishii finally reached his destination. Before him stood a three-story building, with a decorative red and yellow dragon painted on its roof. He rubbed at one of the dirty windows to peer inside before he knocked at the door. As he couldn't see a thing as no candles were burning, he decided to proceed and knock. Using the dragon door knocker to knock twice, the door opened slowly. There, stood a woman no taller than himself pushing her ample bust back into her dress.

“Evening Miko. Is Shoji here?” Ishii asked.

“He is.” She looked him up and down whilst trying to sort out her long black hair.

“You don't have to sort yourself out on my behalf.” Ishii explained. “I am only here to see Shoji. I won't be staying long.”

“That’s a shame.” Miko hoped to win him round. “I thought we could have some fun together.”

“Not this time Miko, I have a business to sort out.” Ishii explained.

“Don't we all sweetie… I am not a meeting place for waifs and strays you know. I do have an establishment to run.” Miko sighed as she showed him in, leading him up the stairs to the first floor.

As they passed through the ground floor it was mainly a huge library. People from all over came here to study the literature and History of Kawatsi. The first and second floor were inhabited by the girls of the night and had dark and dingy hallways lined with candles. Most had either burnt out or were about to and Miko wouldn’t replace them till the following day. They headed down the first hallway where the majority of the rooms appeared occupied. Occasionally one or two doors lay open to air them out after their use. Rounding the far corner of the hallway they continued up to the second floor.

This floor was for the clientele that was of high status or for those who had some bizarre needs and did not want the people below to find out about. Miko stopped outside one of the doors numbered forty-one and knocked on the door. She used a rhythmic beat to let the girl or girls inside know it was her. The door unlocked from the other side and Miko let herself in. As both Miko and Ishii entered the room, a mature lady quickly dressed in one of the lightweight Kimonos and left the room. On the bed lay a naked man with a flowery pillow covering his nether region.

“Ah.. Miko (hic)! Have you come to join us?” The man slurred as he spoke.

“Not this time Shoji. You have a visitor.” Miko declined his offer.

“Be she an angel (hic) sent from the gods and send her in.” Struggling, Shoji

tried to get up but in his drunken state he was finding it rather difficult.

“No angel.. this time it is a gentleman who wants your attention” She explained.

“For god's sake Miko (hic)…. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.. I’m not interested in boy fun.” Slurred Shoji, falling back onto the bed.

“Neither am I Shoji!” Ishii informed him sternly. “Get dressed, we have an issue to sort out. Thank you, Miko I will take it from here. Maybe I will be back to visit you soon.” Ishii bowed toward Miko in respect before she left the room leaving the men to get on with their business.

Ishii quickly threw Shoji his trousers and then walked over to the wine, swirling the bottle and sniffing its contents before pouring himself a glass. He then sat down on the chair by the window to enjoy his drink.

“Shoji, why do you come to these places?” Ishii asked. “Besides the obvious I mean. Why do you come here?” He continued. “A man of your attire could easily have any woman you’d choose. You are handsome, tall and have a full head of hair. You have a chiselled body that most men - me included - would die for…. so why come here?”

Ishii was right in his description of Shoji. He was around thirty-five years old, and he stood a little over six feet tall. His full head of golden hair looked like a lion’s mane when brushed neatly. With his chiselled, washboard torso his biceps were possibly the same size as Ishii's head.

After struggling for some time, eventually Shoji had managed to put on his trousers. He then staggered over to where Ishii had poured himself the wine, and after fumbling around for a glass, he then thought better of it and just drank straight from the bottle. He then sat back on the bed.

“Why not? It’s full of pretty girls and it caters for my needs” Shoji replied, taking another slug of wine. “And I get this for free! What else can I ask for?”

“Surely there has to be another reason besides the girls and wine?” Ishii probed further.

“What are you're getting at Ishii? Just spit it out! You can’t have come here just to tell me what a mess I am making of my life…. So, what is it?” Shoji began to get irritable and raised his voice. “Did someone piss you off? Or does someone owe you money? That's the only time I normally see you… when you need my help. So, pardon me if I haven’t time for pleasantries. I was happy about ten minutes ago.. the world was amazing. Then you turn up!”

Ishii took another swig from the glass and looked at Shoji.

“Your right, your right Shoji. The only time I come to see you is when I need your help.” Ishii explained. “This time though, it is not me who needs your help. It's someone else. I have come on their behalf, and they don't even know I am here.”

Shoji's ears pricked up as Ishii mentioned this.

“Is this person going to pay well for my help?” Shoji was now intrigued. “You know I don't do things for free.”

“Oh, they will pay you well. So much money that you could buy a share in this place.” Ishii continued. “Or you could even open your own establishment and take Miko with you if you must.”

Shoji took a swig from the bottle and stood up swaying from side to side. Ishii thought he was going to fall back onto the bed as he was swaying so much.

“So, tell me Ishii, what is this proposal?” Shoji asked trying hard to concentrate. “And who is the contract for? I might be drunk, but I’m not doing this blind.”

“Thought you would never ask!” Ishii smiled at his friend. “The contract comes from Yamazaki Nigori himself. The target is Akuma hunters. Do you think you can do this?”

“Akuma hunters eh? How many?” Shoji dropped the bottle of wine and once again fumbled for a glass to fill with water. Once again he gave up on the glass and downed what he could from the jug and then proceeded to pour the rest over his head in an attempt to sober himself up.

“I thought you would like this contract.” Ishii now felt relieved. “One is a female the other I cannot be sure… however, I do know there are two of them. I know this because like you Shoji, I too have my ears and eyes everywhere.”

“Do you want them disposed of like a normal contract? Or something entirely different?” Shoji smirked as he asked the question.

“The details I will leave up to you my friend. But fail and it won't be me returning for the next visit.” Ishii warned. “It will be Yamazaki Nigori.”

“I won't fail!” He assured him. “But, if this is a trick Ishii - it will be you I kill. Do we understand each other?” 

With both men reaching an understanding, they finalised the deal.

Nana

The siblings sat at the table in the guards’ room wondering what to do next. Akio had lost the heat signature of the mysterious man named Ishii - if that was his name. All they had to go on was the name signed on the piece of parchment Akio had found in one of the guards’ coat pockets.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Breaking the silence, Yamashita suddenly spoke up whilst twiddling her hair.

“What can we do? We have come to a dead end with no more clues to go on. We may as well see if we can track down this Gashadokuro. What do you think?” Akio asked calmly. “We can also tell princess Sukura about the danger she may be in?”

“As much as I would like to warn princess Sukura .. a part of me wants her to suffer.” Yamashita replied sourly. “It might make her realise what a b***h she is.”

“We are Akuma. If we let everyone succumb to their ways, we would be no better than the monsters we hunt.” Her brother tried to reason with her.

“I know.” She sighed. “But occasionally it would be nice to teach them the errors of their ways.”

Yamashita stood up and walked towards the door, turning to see if Akio was following and then together they walked back down the corridor towards the banquet hall. Checking the coast was clear, they ran towards the stairs leading to the tower and battlements and then began their descent down the vines Yamashita had placed earlier. Reaching the bottom, they headed off towards the graveyard - just a short walk from the castle. As they passed through the graveyard gates, everything seemed quieter than usual. Graveyards are quiet at the best of times, but this felt eerily quiet.

“Are you sure you want to continue looking for signs of the Gashadokuro?” Akio asked looking at his sister concerned. Yamashita nodded in reply.

Headstones and crypts lay either side of a gravel path winding up to the church sitting at the rear of the graveyard. The foundations of the church consisted of giant stone slabs, supporting hand carved logs heavily decorated with religious symbols and deities. They stood at least forty feet high and housed a large golden bell at the top. Where the roof joists met, lay two long curved pieces of timber running the entire length of the church - these were painted red to make them stand out.

Yamashita and Akio walked up the gravel path until they reached the first crypt. Inspecting it, they could see no evidence of tampering and moved on to the next one. They did this at least a dozen times until they came across the crypt belonging to Princess Sukura’s parents. Chopped down branches from the nearby cherry blossom tree, planted in remembrance of Princess Sukura’s parents, lay scattered covering the entrance. Akio began to remove the branches, revealing a gaping hole where the sealed doors should have been. Above, the tomb inscription read.

Here lies within this crypt the family of the Biditsu Clan
These men and women who ruled over our great province
May they rest in peace.

“Sukura did not tell us it was her family’s crypt which housed the Gashadokuro?” Akio looked at his sister in shock.

“Maybe she doesn’t know it is her family’s crypt?” Yamashita said nervously. “We don’t know yet if the Gashadokuro is living in here. We have no idea how long the crypt has laid disturbed. It could have been like this for some time?”

Even as she spoke these words to Akio, she found it hard to believe that Sukura had no idea of her family crypt being damaged. Vandalism of an important crypt such as this would surely have caught the attention of the keeper of the church grounds. They would have had to inform the Princess of their findings. Akio tried really hard to believe that Princess Sukura did not know of the damage. However, a part of him desperately wanted to head straight back to the castle to confront her with what they had found. He wanted to hear it from her own mouth that she was oblivious to what was going on, but reluctantly, he decided they had already come too far. Akio continued on, pushing his body through the tight opening of the entrance. He called out to his sister and Yamashita followed him into the crypt. They were both surprised to find steps leading down into the depths below. It was tradition that the crypt belonging to persons of noble origins be set on one layer. The coffins would rest on stone shelves set within the walls, and the head of the family - normally the husband and wife - laid to rest in decorative coffins in the centre of the crypt. This crypt seemed suspiciously different from the outset.

Before venturing down the steps, Akio removed the Sigma sword and uttered the sacred words enabling it to light up with fire. They ventured down the steep stone steps cautiously, making sure they did not lose their footing. Eventually reaching the bottom, they found the crypt opened up into a vast space. The void consisted of tombs all holding the former family members.

Akio walked over to one of the walls and lit one of the extinguished torches and handed it to Yamashita. As she wandered around the crypt she occasionally stopped at the stone tombs using the torch to illuminate the inscriptions on them. Mostly they contained the name of the deceased person and the year they died, other than that, there was nothing much of interest. Akio made his way to the back of the crypt, where broken coffins were piling up with their contents spilling out. As he began to rummage through the piles of bones occasionally he would come across gold jewellery embedded with precious stones including Ruby's, Diamonds and Sapphires. Yamashita warned him not to take any of the jewellery as it could upset the dead, and she rather not have a spirit attached to them. In agreement, Akio walked back over to his sister to check if she had found anything out of the ordinary. She told him she had not, and she couldn’t find the source of anything supernatural either. They were about to give up their search when they suddenly heard footsteps descending the steps.

Akio and Yamashita quickly extinguished their lights and hid behind one of the coffins placed just below the stone steps. From their vantage point they could see two hooded figures enter the crypt and then walk over to the coffin where Yamashita had been previously. One figure stood taller and broader than the other. Akio and Yamashita watched on intently.

“Ishii, do you have the book?” The smaller man asked.

“Here it is.” Ishii removed his cowl and slowly placed a bag onto the crypt lid whilst starting to unwrap the cloth.

“That's him… that's the man I spoke to in the banquet hall.” Whispered Yamashita.

Akio closed his eyes and when he reopened them, his eye colour had changed to a hazy yellow allowing him to see everything in orange and black - everything orange looked sharper and more defined. He looked from the edge of the coffin using his demonic vision to get a clearer look at the man Yamashita had pointed out. The other man ran his fingertips over the leather bind of the book and let out a sigh.

“The book of the dead…. have the preparations been made?” The hooded figure asked Ishii.

“The princess will be with us on the next full moon. As for the Akuma, I have my best man on the job. He will despatch of those two any way he can.” Ishii reassured him.

“Good, I am glad I can put my trust in you Ishii. If this all goes the way as planned, Kawatsi will be mine to rule once again.” The man replied. “The Nigori name will be where it had once been, it will be like the Nigori had never gone away.” With that he removed the hood, revealing his identity.

“My lord.” Ishii bowed to Yamazaki Nigori. “It has been a pleasure to serve under you and may I serve ever more when Kawatsi is yours.”

Yamashita’s jaw dropped open when she finally saw the revealed face of the other figure. “Yamazaki Nigori!” She whispered under her breath. Akio’s eyesight returned to normal as he looked at his sister.

“You know of this man?” He mouthed to her.

Yamashita nodded and quietly informed him that the Nigori family once reigned over Kawatsi.

“The Nigori family was a name you never wanted to hear if you were an outsider. They brought fear to the Ōuchi. You thought fighting monsters was a hard task? The Nigori were - are worse than monsters. They were the ones that banished us from Kawatsi over two hundred years ago. Our ancestors fought a hard battle with the Nigori clan that lasted over sixty years. The story you were told growing up …. was the battle of Nigori.”

Akio looked at his sister in disbelief. Then the pair kept as quiet as possible whilst they continued observing Ishii and Yamazaki.

Yamazaki removed his robe and laid it over one of the coffins to his right. He looked at Ishii and asked him if he was ready to see what the Gashadokuro has to say to them. Ishii nodded nervously as he was unsure whether it was a good idea to release the Gashadokuro from its slumber. Yamazaki opened the book of the dead to the page which contained the spell to awaken the Gashadokuro, then running his finger along the words, he began to read them aloud.
Akio and Yamashita watched on. As Yamazaki read the spell aloud, the crypt began to shake violently and the dust that had gathered on the undisturbed coffins began to stir up - creating billowing clouds in the air. Next to Ishii and Yamazaki, a large skeletal hand with just muscle ligaments attached, rose up from a gaping hole in the floor…. then a second hand followed. The hands pressed down firmly onto the ground and started to pull up an enormous weight behind it. It was so heavy that the hands made impressions in the concrete as it pushed up. Emerging through the opening, a large head became visible. It was a terrifying mixture of bone and muscle ligaments and as its torso was gradually revealed, once again it comprised of muscle and bone.

Akio and Yamashita watched on in horror as they witnessed the Gashadokuro emerge from the ground. At one point, Akio was sure the enormous monster would break through the crypt, causing it to come tumbling down around them. To brace himself from the impact, he squeezed himself under the concrete steps which lead down into the depths of the crypt. Yamashita saw what her brother did and followed his lead.
Yamazaki continued to read from the book as Ishii watched on, choosing to cower behind the coffin. A piece of the crypt ceiling gave way under the almighty pressure of the Gashadokuro rising and landed next to Ishii, causing him to cower even more. Eventually the dust settled, and the ground stopped shaking. Akio and Yamashita emerged from under the staircase and crawled back to where they were previously hiding. Through the dust they could see the huge Gashadokuro, its torso half out the ground reaching the full height of the crypt. The ceiling had spilt and cracked into what resembled concrete spider webs. Yamazaki remained exactly where he had summoned the great beast.

“My god how are we supposed to deal with this monstrosity?” Yamashita turned to her brother.

“It’s going to take more than your magic sword and my elemental magic.” Akio was not sure himself. He couldn’t take his eyes from the monster which towered above them.

“Who dares disturb me from my slumber?!” The Gashadokuro spoke in a deep, thunderous voice. Yamazaki looked on in awe of what he had just summoned before him.

“Who dares awaken me?” The Gashadokuro spoke once again, slamming his fists on to the ground, shaking he crypt violently. Yamazaki had to hold on to the coffin behind him to steady himself. Once he had composed himself he spoke to the Gashadokuro.
“I summoned you. I am Yamazaki Nigori of the Nigori clan. I have an offering for you.” He started to explain. “But before I give it to you, I require some assistance.”

The Gashadokuro laughed so hard that the surroundings once again began to shake.

“You expect me to assist you? You pathetic human of the Nigori clan. Why should I assist you?” The Gashadokuro asked, his voice booming. “I should just eat you and be done with you.”

Yamazaki turned around, so his back was facing the Gashadokuro, he picked up the book of the dead and spun back round to show the Gashadokuro. “This is how I summoned you.” As he rose the book of the dead into the air. “Without this book you would not be here. At any moment I can send you back to the depths of hell once again, so I do believe I have the upper hand.” Yamazaki said smugly to the Gashadokuro.
The Gashadokuro saw the book that Yamazaki was holding and with an almighty swipe he brought his hand crashing down on to Yamazaki, Yamazaki leapt out the way just in time as the bony skeletal hand hit the floor where he was last standing. The Gashadokuro leant close to Yamazaki and aggressively asked Yamazaki if he would hand him the book of the dead as the book did not belong to him, it belonged to the mother of demons. Yamazaki quickly placed the book into his robes and with that he stood his ground with the Gashadokuro.
“Oh you want the book. I don’t think so. I asked you nicely that I wanted your help with an issue I have. You said yourself I am not worth the time, however now you know I have the book of the dead. You want me to hand it over to you, I don’t think so. Oh, one other thing I do know who this book belongs to, and you were right it was the mother of demons until my clan a few centuries ago stole it from her know it belongs to the Nigori clan.” Yamazaki told the Gashadokuro.

Hachi

Shoji walked out into the early morning mist having just left Ishii back at the red-light district. His head was still fuzzy from all the alcohol he had consumed, and he decided the walk would do him good. The mixture of the fresh air and the cool morning breeze would hopefully be enough to bring him back to normality. As he walked he kept thinking back to what Ishii had told him. He was eager to deal with the Akuma hunters, but before that could happen, preparations had to be in place, he could not face the Akuma hunters blind. Shoji knew the hunters had elemental spells and other arcane weapons at their disposal. He had heard stories floated about in taverns of how the Akuma hunters dealt with their monsters and the things they had used against them. This, however, did not put him off the contract he had taken out on them… but he knew he had to be ready for whatever they had to pit against him.

Finally, he reached his destination, which was a rundown barn in the middle of nowhere. It was a piece of land he had acquired in one of his gambling adventures. The opponent had put up his farmland up as a wager as he had run out of yen. He was so convinced he was going to win his bet against Shoji, he bet everything he owned. Unfortunately, unbeknown to him, the game was set up for Shoji to win.
Shoji swept the perimeter of the building, making sure no-one had tried to break in. It was almost impenetrable as Shoji had placed magical wards around the building. Though he was not a master of magic, he knew a little on how to protect his belongings - something he had learnt from an old acquaintance. Standing at the front of the barn he waved his hand in a circular motion through the air to remove the wards and then entered.

Stepping inside he saw nothing out of place, it was the way he had left it since his last visit. Shoji walked over to the desk in the far corner of the barn and pulled up a chair to sit down. Flicking through paperwork scattered on top of the desk he came across one sheet entitled ‘How to trap a Yōkai.’ As he read on, he realised this was the last adventure he had participated in, and he remembered just how much detailed preparation he’d needed to catch the Yōkai - and how long it had taken.

He stood up and walked over to a cabinet containing an array of bottles placed on four shelves, he then removed one of the bottles from the top shelf. The bottle read ‘Ki no ke,’ which was a forest Yōkai. He held it up to his face and softly spoke to the jar “I may have a use for you yet!”

With that, he walked back over to place the jar on top of the desk. He sat back down, pondering over his idea. If he set the Ki no ke free from its jar, he was sure it would still be angry with him for trapping him inside but he had no way of knowing until he freed it from its glass prison. A part of him wanted to open the jar straight away to see what would happen, although this possibly was fatal a choice for him to do. He pushed the matter to one side and began to plan how he would try to capture the two Akuma at the same time.

However, his eyes kept drifting back towards the jar. He picked up the jar housing the Ki no ke and stood up to leave the barn. As he made his way to the rear of the barn, he placed the jar on the ground wondering what he should do. He was about to turn and head back inside but it was like the jar was calling for him to open it. He crouched down beside it and slowly began to open the lid, hesitating for a brief moment but then continuing with a swift flick of his fingers, he popped the lid off and sat there waiting. Nothing seemed to happen at first, he even thought maybe he had labelled the jar wrong. But then all of a sudden, a swirl of mist began to appear out of the opening, rising up high into the air. The sky began to form into dark, menacing thunderclouds directly above his barn, lightning crashed all around him and the deafening boom of thunder echoed over the landscape. Standing still Shoji watched on as the mist began to change into vibrant colours of blue and yellow, mixed with tinges of green. Then suddenly, through the mist walked a humanoid figure dressed in a white sleeveless top with white trouser. He was of muscular build with short scruffy black hair and matching shaggy sideburns. The Ki no ke approached Shoji cautiously as he knew what he was capable of, he didn’t want to fall for his trickery again.

Taking a couple of steps forward towards the Ki no ke, Shoji was still hesitant. He knew the Yōkai was going to be a little more than pissed after becoming trapped inside the jar. Shoji wondered how long it had been since he had captured the Yōkai. Flying debris whipped around in the wind the Ki no ke had summoned when released from its glass housing and the thunder and lightning slowly dissipated. Shoji lowered his arms that shielded him and after seeing the Ki no ke emerge from the mist, he fumbled through his clothing to find a weapon to protect him. He suddenly remembered his weapons were still in the barn, he couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been not bringing out a weapon for protection. The Ki no ke stood facing Shoji, anticipating an attack. But after a brief moment he realised Shoji was not going to put up a fight, so he allowed himself to breathe in the fresh mountain air before speaking to Shoji.

“Well, my old friend… here we are face to face once again. How have you been?” He asked. “I must admit it is nice to stretch myself again. Do you know what it’s like to be couped up in a glass jar? No, I guess you don’t as you have been busy doing whatever you do.”
“Two years.” The Ki no ke said to Shoji as he sat himself on the floor and ran his finger through the grass, savouring the moment as it might be his last time he would be free.

“Two years?” Shoji replied a little confused.

“You wanted to know how long it has been since you put me inside the jar. Well, it has been two years.” The Yōkai said still sat on the floor skimming the grass with his hands.

“How did you know what I was thinking.” Shoji asked suspiciously.

“Come on Shoji, you know we Yōkai can read your thoughts. How long have you been studying my kind, and you did not know that?” He said sarcastically. “Don’t take me for a fool.”

The Yōkai was right of course. Shoji knew all about the various groups of Yōkai and of what they were capable. He knew there were at least eight types, however, Shoji had only caught five of them. He had listed them on the shelves inside the barn.

“Well Shoji, just how many types of Yōkai are there? Please tell me of the ones you know?” The Yōkai demanded of Shoji.

“Why does that matter? You can read my thoughts, so why not just pick them out of my head?” Shoji asked.

“Ha ha ha, but that would be no fun for me! Please enlighten me with your knowledge.” At this point the Yōkai had lay down on the ground, looking up at the crisp cloudless sky above him.

“Very well then, we can talk about more important things. Let me think, there is Yama no ke which live high in the mountains, Michi no ke they like to walk along foot ways or paths, Mizu no ke they reside near or in bodies of water, mainly lakes or freshwater ponds.” Shoji informed him. “There’s the Umi no ke, the sea dwelling Yokai’s, then of course there is your Ki no ke, which dwell in forested areas. The ones I have not caught yet, are Yuki no ke which are snow Yōkai the other two are harder to catch as they are more elusive. They are Oto no ke the Yōkai of sound and last of all Dōbutsu no ke - it's a more Imaginative Yōkai.” After Shoji had finished reciting of all the Yōkai he sat down next to the Ki no ke.

“Very good!” The Yōkai nodded in confirmation. “That has impressed me. You know lots about my race, why is this? What about my kind appeals to you?”
“Enough already! What is it you want Ki no ke? It isn’t a history lesson in Yōkai. What do you want? There is always something you Yōkai want from whomever releases you. So, what is it?” Shoji was beginning to lose his cool with the Yōkai.
“Again you are so right Shoji. What I want is to not be back into that horrible jar which you kept me in. What I want is to be free with my own kind. I miss roaming the forests, smelling the scent of the trees and the plants which grow all around.” The Ki no ke sat up and pulled his legs up to his chest like a child would if they were upset. “So, Shoji, now you know what I want. What do you want with me? There is always something you humans want from a Yōkai. Do you want wealth? Or do you want me to cause mischief to someone who has annoyed you?”

Shoji looked over to the Yōkai, he could see that the Yōkai was tired of being a tool for others own gain. Shoji placed his hand on to the Yōkai’s arm causing him to look at Shoji in surprise.

“I tell you what I will do Ki no ke if you do this one thing for me, I will make it so that you will be able to go back to your own kind.” Shoji assured him.
“You can really do that Shoji?” The Yōkai asked through his arms.
“Yes. All I ask for in return, is for you to get rid of a couple of Akuma's for me. That's all you have to do.” Shoji turned away from the Ki no ke and looked out across the land of which he owned.