Ietake wasn’t wrong calling the area a place where the kamigami lived. It was as if every tree had been made from molten silver, poured from the sky and forged into their extraordinary shape by the gods. A shape fit to house a noble spirit, if not a god. In the midst of all the people-like trees shimmering in the sunlight, stood a dilapidated house that not even my kenmun companion dared to get close to. Chirizukakaiou’s residence was quiet, unsettling me more than Kemukemu who had shown me to it.

Kemukemu told me he was never around in the day, choosing to do his business at night. The hair on my body stood on end at its words. I was already on edge at the thought of talking to Chirizukakaiou in the daylight, but at night? I sat down on a log. It wasn’t a fear of Chirizukakaiou that was crippling, it was a fear of what came prior to his emergence. A decaying house was a breeding ground for all sorts of youkai. Places never truly became deserted, only filled with a different kind of life. A life that was governed by different laws then us, life that made up Chirizukakaiou’s trash heap kingdom.

As the sun set and Kemukemu left with the promise of finding me later if Chirizukakaiou didn’t kill me, I had to psych myself up to get close to the old house. I could feel eyes on me, every part of the house alive. Torn shoji were filled with eyes, watching me as I moved around the engawa, heading towards the only lighted room. I hated the stares, but if it meant I could delay coming face to face with different youkai, I would gladly accept it.

A shoji door slid open before me, clawed fingers wrapped around the wooden doorframe. Hopping out on a two-toed leg was a red karakasakozou, umbrella folded and a large eye assessing me. I froze, watching it watch me. If I kept it in my sight, there was a chance it wouldn’t come up and lick me. The paper umbrella had a hole where an arm would be, covered in dust. It hopped closer, acting oddly tame than what I had been told. It made a noise like it’s wooden shaft had broken, then promptly went back inside, looking back at me as if it wanted me to follow.

The entire room was lit by one small candle. I thought I felt the tatami move as I walked on it, as if breathing with my every step. I knew there were countless youkai in that room, all gathering dust, all engrossed at me encroaching on their territory. Then there was Chirizukakaiou himself, sitting by the candle and fidgeting with boxes. His red skin glowed against the candlelight as he created more and more tsukumogami. He threw a zabuton at me, tears looking suspiciously like a face. I dropped it when it started to make noise, stepping back and hearing the unmistakable sound of a paper lantern getting crushed. I saw a long tongue out of the corner of my eye, dragging itself across my chin. I hesitantly took a step forward, my foot sinking into a pile of cloth. I pulled it away, falling on my back between two karakasakozou who licked my entire face, covering it in a foul smelling oil, then hopped away.

If I wasn’t paralyzed by the thousands of eyes on the ceiling staring at me like one would stare at stars, I would’ve run out to conquer the house another day. Chirizukakaiou kept pulling old, discarded and abused items out of the boxes, throwing them in my direction. Different youkai newly born or older than myself, all came to lick about my face and hands, gnaw on my kimono. My waraji pulled against the ties keeping them on my feet. I half expected my obi to slither off my body, my kimono to wander off. I regretted not bringing Malachai with me. I just needed someone here to hold my hand, whether it was him or Shii. Shii was always good about calming me down when I worked myself up about repairing a section of shoji a guest accidentally tore. Left broken, left abused, the eyes would begin to appear, begin to watch my every move.

I closed my eyes, rolling myself into a ball, covering my head with my hands. Another tsukumogami licked the back of my neck, and I shook in fear. I was going to die here, the youkai each getting a taste before devouring me whole. Why did I ever think it was a good idea to face this by myself? I revered each and every one of my possessions for fear they’d turn into horrible monsters who took pleasure in scaring my soul from my body. I wanted Shii to tell me there was nothing really in the dark, this all my imagination. Shii…I had to make it out for her, I had to at least explain to her why I’ll have to run away forever. I had to make it out for Malachai, not only because I was his thing. He needed me to ease him through his memories, to find the pieces of himself he buried to keep himself safe.

I took a deep breath knowing it wouldn’t still my body any. I faced the dust king on all fours, unable to stand. “Chi-Chi-Chi—” I swallowed hoping that would steady my voice, at least. “Chirizukakaiou-sama.”

He looked up from his boxes, two long ears poking beyond the candle’s light. “Oni­-san, it’s rude to wear shoes inside.” My waraji sandals came loose at his words and began to run around me on little legs. My obi tightened around my waist. “Why do you desecrate my home?”

“Help.” My obi lessened its constriction but slithered up my body to wrap loosely around my neck. “Ie-Ietake-san t-told me y-you may be-be able to h-h-help me.” He grabbed the candle, placing it under my chin. “Hide-Hide horns…fangs…” He was so close I could smell the dust and smoke on his red skin, taste the fear in the back of my throat.

Chirizukakaiou took a clawed hand and forced my mouth open, fingers grazing over my teeth, over my two bottom fangs, and the soft gums next to my upper incisors. “Kitsune udon.” He removed his hand from my mouth, wiping it in my hair.

“K-Kitsune udon?” I asked, “Fox udon?”

“Catch a kitsune,” he said. “Take two canines, both it’s ears, and eat them.” He pulled the flame away. “Finish your business within two moons, oni-san, if you’re lucky you’ll have six moons. Not many are lucky.” He set the candle back on the table. “Rest here tonight, oni-san, we both know the forest is unfriendliest in the dark.” He took his place by his boxes once more. “You may sleep in the next room.”

Staying the night in this house filled with my worst fears felt impossible to me. There was no way I’d be able to get a wink of sleep without worrying about what could be lurking in the dark. What other choice did I really have, though? It was a half a day’s walk to Kisankoku, and Chirizukakaiou was right. The nasty youkai tended to frequent the night more than the day. I had been lucky to run into a friendly kenmun, I didn’t expect I was lucky enough not to run into something worse.

I pulled my obi away from my neck, leaving it in that room as I crawled out. I tried to stand when I made it to the porch walkway but had no luck. I didn’t want to touch the shoji walls and doors, or the wood. I wouldn’t make it out alive if I ended up touching an eye, or sinking a finger into an open, waiting mouth. I crawled into the next room, not bothering to shut the door I so gingerly slid open or try and find a futon to lay in. I curled myself up on the hard tatami, trying to not to listen to all the noises that filled the house. Every groan or chatter I heard made me flinch. Every step I heard put me on edge. I couldn’t even pretend the noises were all in my head because I knew there was a youkai in the room with me, breathing so faintly I could barely discern it through the quiet cacophony.

I may have slept when the fear gave way to exhaustion. I wasn’t entirely sure I could call it sleeping. I was in and out of consciousness for the most part, too scared to go to sleep, but too exhausted to stay awake. I jolted awake what felt like every few moments, afraid something was about to pounce on me. I was more tired in the morning than I was last night. In the light that filled the room, the creatures didn’t seem as scary. I could see all the eyes blinking, all the tsukumogami that ran about the house, bringing chaos unto it.

With my newfound bravery, I resolved to leave the house as fast as possible. I didn’t bother trying to chase down my shoes or my obi, running out of the house in bare feet with my bag. I left Chirizukakaiou a small offering in thanks for his information, however. My feet seemed to sink into the engawa, wanting to keep me trapped in that house full of monsters. I had to pull my feet from the sticky wood every few steps to even make it to the forest floor. The house wanted me to stay with it. It knew I wasn’t from the world of humans, and yet, I wasn’t from the world of youkai either. I belonged in that world in between, where the oni and tengu resided. At least until I could catch a kitsune and tie up my loose ends as a human.

I wracked my brain trying to think of the shrines that dotted the mountainside. If I were to catch a kitsune, I would hope it was a wild one. It already felt sacrilegious even speaking about it, I didn’t want to bring the wrath of a god down upon me, as well. I was sure I had missed some in my mental list, and I was sure Ietake would know of all the ones that laid abandoned and forgotten when the government told us to take to the coast. I didn’t bother to wait for Kemukemu, my entire body having calmed down for a moment on the soil covered ground begun to send signals that I needed to get as far from the house as possible. It wanted me. It was going to keep me trapped in Chirizukakaiou’s domain as long as it liked if I let it.

Every step I took on the uneven ground was painful without my waraji sandals. I could feel every twig, branch, rock, every speck of dirt underfoot. I imagined I looked rather insane, dirtied feet, open kimono, wandering through the forest by speckled sunlight. I was easy pickings for the many things that lingered between the seen and the unseen. Something seemed to settle over me, pushing weight throughout my entire body. I hoped it was just in my head, the weariness taking over. But my mind wanted to think of what the weight could be. A ghost, a spirit, something friendly, something sinister. Did the mountain hate me? Or were the gods on edge because I was going to kill and eat parts of a kitsune?

I walked faster. I ignored the pain in my feet, of cuts and splinters. I held my kimono closed with my hands. The sun kept moving across the sky, and I felt I wasn’t making any progress. I was surely lost. If I could see smoke, it would point me towards the village, or at least towards another kenmun. I kept on, hoping I was retracing my steps, and when I saw unnatural light, I rushed towards it, against the weight settling inside my bones. It was the mountain air freezing my skin, I told myself. I couldn’t have picked up a malicious spirit.

I ran over dirt and branches and rocks, scratching my feet and ankles up even more than they had been. I wanted to get to Kisankoku, to get to Ietake and tell him what Chirizukakaiou had said. To let Malachai know I was unharmed, and that the forest didn’t take me in the same way it had him. He was waiting, pacing at the back of Ietake’s house. He definitely could smell me before I had even seen the roofs through the trees. I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting him to do when he saw me, but I certainly wasn’t expecting him to punch me.