About damn time, the girl wanted to scream when she heard the bar on the outside being removed. Despite her anger, she managed to keep quiet and watch the villagers opening the door.
“Forgive me for taking so long,” an old woman said. She never even glanced at Ei and Tadayoshi as the men by her side closed the door.
Despite the words, the girl felt no regret on the old woman’s voice, and that only added to her anger. Ei had no idea for how long they waited, but she knew it had been too much.
In this windowless prison, it’s hard to tell how much time has passed… Maybe making us wait like this is a tactic to worn us down, she thought, observing the old woman and the men helping her walk.
The fire Tadayoshi had lit was almost out but the air was hot, stale, and hard to breathe. Both she and her master had undressed their heavy clothes, but even so, they still sweated. Not even the cold breeze when the villagers opened the door softened the heat.
The old woman dragged her feet slowly until she was before Tadayoshi and Ei. With the help of the two young men, she sat. More villagers entered the house and stood by the entrance like guards. After the last one entered, she closed the door quickly, but not before Ei saw more people standing outside.
In that brief moment, the girl saw many villagers holding tools. Without closing her eyes, she expanded her senses. The house’s surrounded, Ei realized, holding her breath as she glanced at her master. As discreetly as she could, she brought her sword closer.
The old woman took her time staring Tadayoshi and his sword, barely paying any attention to his disciple. This time the girl didn’t mind. She too wasn’t paying attention to the old woman. Ei was more interested in her bodyguards. The way they stare at Tadayoshi made her feel uneasy.
“My name Otose and I’m this village leader,” she said in a weak and frail voice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. “Sorry I took so long to come. This old body can’t stand the cold like before. It hurts my bones…”
“No, please. Don’t apologize. We’re glad we found a place to rest,” Tadayoshi said, speaking only to the leader, ignoring the men behind her. Even so, he never took his eyes off any of the people inside the room.
How can you do that, master? Ei should be used to that kind of stare too, but the men’s gazes were sinister. There was no hate nor anger nor anything else she was familiar.
It’s more like… they pity us like… as if we’re two pathetic and strange beings. That was what made her unease. She had no idea how to react to that. It’d be better if they feared us… She knew hate and fear more than she should.
Ei wanted to hold her sword, to wrap her fingers around the handle that was a perfect match for her hand. Her instincts told her to do that. But before she could do anything, her master placed a hand on her back and forced her to bow while he did the same.
“I’m Tadayoshi and this is my little sister, Eiko. We were traveling with a group, but we passed by the village at the foot of this mountain, some bandits ambushed us. Some of us managed to escape but we got separated and then lost. If not for that man’s kindness, me and my little sister would still be there in the forest.”
Tadayoshi shivered, and Ei realized half of it was real. So he was unease at that creepy forest too…. She felt both glad and relieved. So I wasn’t the only one…and he’s not completely obsessed with the rumors…
“If it’s not too much trouble, please, let us stay here and rest for a while before going back to our journey.” Tadayoshi lowered his head.
“Please. Just for a little while,” Ei said in a weak and frightened voice, showing a few fake tears before bowing like the swordsman. Without a word, the disciple could tell her master approved.
When the girl raised her head again, she saw the villagers exchanging glances among themselves. Ei could tell most didn’t want to let them stay, but they showed no reaction. They’re good, she thought, looking at each one.
There was only one villager, a woman, who had something akin to a smile. But Tadayoshi showed no sign he had noticed; he only had eyes for the leader. Even so, Ei knew her master had noticed their reactions.
The old woman also showed no reaction. She didn’t appear to be older than fifty, but the harsh life in the mountain had taken its toll on her appearance and left its marks. The leader was missing a couple fingers on her left hand, her face was covered with scars, part of her right ear was missing and one of her eyes was pale.
Is she blind from that eye? Ei wondered as she shifted on her place a little, her legs stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.
The leader’s good eye focused on her for a second before turning her attention back to the swordsman. The girl felt a shiver down her body. If it was me under that eye for so long, there’s no way I could take it… She closed her fist to stop the trembling.
It wasn’t the stare of someone full of hate. It was a cold and dead stare, of someone who wouldn’t hesitate to do anything in order to save those she cared. There’s no way she’ll let a couple of strangers stay… Even if she ends up condemning us to death, she’ll makes us leave right now…
“Of course we don’t expect it to be for free. Ei.”
Tadayoshi didn’t need to say much else. Inside the bag, there were items they had prepared for occasions like this. Though she didn’t like the idea, Ei knew what might help the old woman incline towards let them stay.
To hide the rest of the content from the villagers, Ei unwrapped the cloth around the blades of two axes without taking it from the bag. She took the two tool that could be used as weapon and handed it to her master. Hope they don’t try to use it on us, the disciple thought.
“I know it’s not much, but I hope this can help in these times,” Tadayoshi said, offering the gifts with both hands, making sure he didn’t close his fingers around the shaft.
As Ei closed the bag, she pulled her sword closer, ready to react to any sudden movements.
The old woman didn’t move. In fact, she didn’t even glance her eye at the axes her master offered. She kept staring at Tadayoshi with the cold and with the dead eye that seemed to look through one’s soul.
“You and your sister can stay until you’re well enough to travel,” she said at last, her voice in the same frail demeanor. But to Ei, there was something imposing on her tone. “But I recommend don’t staying too long. Despite building this house for lost travelers, times have changed. We don’t appreciate strangers that much.”
Like you had to say that. We’re not blind, Ei thought, breathing out in relief when one of the guards took the axes from Tadayoshi’s hands.
“Thank you very much for your kindness,” the swordsman said, bowing again. Ei imitated her master.
The old woman bowed, if barely, to them. Then, with the help of her bodyguards, she stood up.
“By any chance, did more people show up?” Tadayoshi asked when she was by the door. “I’m worried about my group. Perhaps the bandits followed us…”
“No. You’re the first ones to come up here in a while,” the leader said after some thinking. Some of the villagers exchanged quick nervous glances but kept quiet.
“No one…” Tadayoshi ran a hand on his worried face. “P-perhaps that’s good sign, right? I mean, the village at the foot of the mountain was destroyed but if the bandits don’t come up here, maybe they’re okay. Lost in the forest, but still alive…”
No one answered him.
“Could be,” Otose said curtly before leaving the house.
The villagers outside became serious when the door opened. Before anyone closed it again, Ei saw the leader saying something. The others seemed relieved and began to disperse, including the ones surrounding the house.
As the silence settled, a young woman opened the door. She had a tray with two portions of millet with an egg at the top and placed it before the outsiders.
Ei thanked for the food in the same weak and frightened voice, all still part of her act. Even so, her words were true. After the tense mood had gone, the girl realized how starving she was. Tadayoshi picked up the chopsticks and smelled the food.
“Seems delicious,” he said, smiling at the woman. She widened her eyes, made a reverence and left the house.
When she opened the door, Ei noticed there were still some villagers around their prison room. Finally alone, her master’s smile vanished as he massaged his shoulders.
“I thought the old lady would make us leave right now.” The swordsman stretched his arms while still sitting. “The last thing I wanted was to go back to that creepy forest… What’s wrong?” he asked when he noticed his disciple strangely quiet.
Ei hadn’t touched the food yet. She had enough experience to suspect anything given by suspicious people. Eyeing her food, she took a portion of the millet covered with the yolk with the chopsticks and smelled. It doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, she thought, before nibbling. As she chewed, she realized there was nothing strange, and took a bigger portion.
“How did you know?” she asked with her mouth full.
“Their reaction,” he said with a serious expression. “If they’re not used to put anything suspicious on the food, most people will get nervous. That woman didn’t seem like she had. And before you asked, no one else around us seemed like that either. But to be honest, the most important clue is that if you’re okay after eating it, it must be safe.” With a smile, her master picked up a generous portion and ate.
Ei was too hungry to feel anger.
“What do you think it’s wrong with this village?” she asked when they finished.
“So much I don’t even know where to start.” Tadayoshi stopped drinking from the bamboo bottle and cleaned his mouth with the back of the hand. “From the tracks, the soldiers did run to this mountain. There’s no way the villagers wouldn’t notice that many people coming up in their land. Even with that creepy forest. Either they all got lost and died, or the old lady is lying. And they seemed too worried with only two travelers, one which was hurt. At the very least, they’re hiding something.”
Ei agreed with her master, but there was something else bothering her. Something she couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe it was the villagers’ stare. And the old lady’s. I can understand her, but still… With no idea what to think, the girl gave up and went to sleep a restless sleep.
Despite her bad first impression, the village’s daily life was like any other. Every villager woke early and did their morning chores. But when Tadayoshi and Ei came closer, they stopped whatever they were doing and watched the outsiders with suspicion.
Even covering their swords with a cloth made no difference; the villager’s stares were the same as yesterday. As I thought, it’s not hate… It’s more as if they had never seen such deplorable existence… It’d be strange if a village accepted strangers just out of the goodness of their hearts but…
Something else also caught Ei’s attention. The children. The few she saw were playing onigokko. The kid chosen as oni would chase the others, and whomever the kid caught would become the new oni and would chase the others. By the end of the play, the kid who had been the oni most times would have to do a dare. Ei played it a lot back home and was proud of the fact she barely had to do any dare in her entire life.
But the swordswoman had never seen children playing in such a sad way. They ran, sweated, and shouted. All with smiles on their faces. But to Ei, it was hard to watch. She could tell they weren’t really having fun. All those smiles were fake.
It’s like they’re forcing themselves to play… to act like kids, the girl thought. She remembered their guide. If I’m right, he had just buried someone, maybe his kid… that would explain why these kids look so sad. But then, why would they force themselves to do play?
Knowing it would be hard to get any information from the grown-ups, Tadayoshi made his disciple approached the kids.
“Do you really think I can get anything from them?” she asked, but she knew she would end up doing anyway.
“Better than nothing,” he said, giving her a tug.
The disciple sighed and walked towards the kids. But she was right. The children weren’t playing for real. All of them, without exception, fled when Ei got close enough.
“I told you” she said when she got back.
“That was weird. Even though you look, you aren’t old enough for them to run away like that. Or do you smell that bad?”
“That’s the best you have today? Besides, compared to you, even a rotten corpse doesn’t smell so bad.”
After so long with her master, the disciple had developed a way to counter his constants jokes. But there was a limit. If Ei talked back too much, he would increase the jokes to an annoying level.
“It will be hard to get any information from anyone. What are we gonna do?” She changed the topic quickly.
Before he could say anything, his stomach answered for him, rumbling.
That’s the best way to shut him up, Ei thought, snorting and covering her mouth to hide her smile.
The villagers hadn’t talked to them, less alone offered any food. We’re ghosts to them… maybe that’s their not so subtle way of telling us to get out. The disciple would be glad to do that, but her master would never consider dismissing a rumor.
“We’ll hardly get any food from them… we should search if there’re any fruits outside the village…” Tadayoshi stopped talking when two villagers passed by them.
One of them carried a big sack while the other followed him carrying tools. They ignored the outsiders but greeted a couple cutting firewood. The woman placed the small logs on a tree stump and the man brought down the ax a couple times until they had two pieces. The wife collected the wood and placed it on top of the others close by.
Ei noticed the ax the husband used was one his master had given. So they think those axes are worth one meal each? They cost much more than that, she thought, staring.
As the woman cleaned the sweat and placed another log, she noticed the swordswoman looking at her. She smiled at the girl but when she saw Tadayoshi by her side, she got back to her chore with a frightened expression.
“She was inside our prison yesterday with the leader… she was the only one who didn’t stare at us like we were pitiful… well, to you,” Tadayoshi said.
So you noticed that too, Ei thought, not surprised. Even with so many people inside that cramped space, her master would hardly let something like that go by without noticing.
The swordsman stared at the woman for a while. So far, he only got her to glance at him a couple times. “Ask her if there’s a temple or sanctuary around here,” he ordered his disciple.
“Why?”
“Just ask,” he insisted.
Ei sighed and nodded, but on the inside, she thought it would hardly result in something. Who’d talk to a ghost asking where the temple is? That’s like, bad
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