Chương 78: Chapter XXI — Killers for Hire

The forest hummed its nightly activities as the duo walked in silence, passing through shrubs and a small river before taking a right turn on a hill.

"Tell me, Mr. Raccoon Dog, what's your name?" Galan asked casually.

"Why do you wish to know?"

"It's either that or I keep calling you Mr. Raccoon Dog."

"Tadamaru."

"I'm Odagawa. Nice to meet you."

"Hnh…" Tadamaru grumbled.

"Nice to meet you," he sent dismissively. They descended a steep slope.

"So," Galan asked, "what exactly is your reason for vengeance?"

"I wish to avenge the death of the person who meant so much to us," Tadamaru sent, his mind-voice heavy. Galan's mindcast brushed against the raccoon dog's thoughts, pulling a name and an image from the surface.

"Shimizu Asaka." Tadamaru snapped his head back.

"You know her?!"

"She is my main lead. Heard that she already took vengeance on the one who killed her." She did? That's good, but… Tadamaru thought of it some more.

"Regardless, that incident couldn't have been done by a single person."

"But when will it stop? Once you kill the person ordering the wood? The people that use them? The perpetrators' family?"

"Wha—I…" They stopped on their track.

"You know full well that such an action will only lead to more vengeance being committed," Galan continued.

"And once it gets going, it'll be nigh impossible to stop. Now tell me, what would a being that only cares for the continuation of the cycle do after you all sated your vengeance? You think they'll just go away?" Tadamaru stared at the ground, gritting his teeth, knowing full well that the strange samurai was speaking the truth.

"But… what choice do we have…?" He looked up, eyes glassy." The ghosts are the only thing we have to fight back against the cruelty of the humans!" Galan knelt.

"Even so, perpetuating the cycle will only lead to your country's ruin. We don't know what their end goal is, nor do we know what would happen once everyone is terrified of them." He rose.

"I have a better plan, one that involves me summoning Asaka, having her take a piece of my soul back so that I can learn about them from the inside, and then set up a meeting between the ghosts and the daimyoo to fix the justice system."

"You think that would work?"

"Yeah. This is just my usual method of doing exorcism back in my home country. And it's not like you Japanese people and yookai have any options in the matter." I hate to say it, but he has a point, Tadamaru thought. He sighed.

"Of course. My home is nearby. Let's go." They reached a massive, ancient camphor tree. Tadamaru pushed aside a curtain of leaves, revealing a hidden path that led into a sheltered ravine. Below, a settlement of makeshift huts lined a riverbank, lit by the uneven glow of paper lanterns.

"Quite the home you all made for yourself," Galan noted.

"We're not here because we wanted to," Tadamaru replied. Galan's mindcast swept over the settlement, picking up flashes of forced displacement and slaughtered families. He saw Tadamaru's own past—a forest fire started by humans and the loss of his parents and sister.

"My condolences," Galan said softly.

"It's fine," Tadamaru sent, his mind-voice hollow.

"I'm sure it won't be long for the humans living in the north to start copying the ones that live near the port. And then all of this bloodshed will be over…" Huh… despite everything he went through, he still treated me like an equal. Galan thought.

"I hope so too, Mr. Tadamaru."

"Thanks, Mr. Odagawa." He walked ahead.

"Now, let's not keep them waiting." As they reached the village entrance, a young ten-gu saw the duo approaching.

"Mr. Tadamaru! Who is that human you got with you?"

"He's Mr. Odagawa, sent here by Lord Zensuke. I'm taking him to meet the Great Elder." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"She's still preparing for Ms. Asaka's funeral at the burial ground."

"Understood. I'll see you there." Tadamaru nodded. The young ten-gu's attention turned to Galan.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here, Mr. Odagawa." Galan nodded.

"Oh, I will. Don't you worry." The young ten-gu scratched his head.

"Ah… okay…" The duo walked deeper into the sanctuary, but they soon found the air growing thick with suspicion. A massive, one-legged oni sat in front of a hut, his weathered face a mask of old hatred. He locked eyes with Galan and let out a guttural grunt before spitting contemptuously onto the dirt, just inches from Galan's sandals.

"My, that guy was rude," Galan remarked, unimpressed. Tadamaru looked back.

"Oh, you mean Gantetsu? He lost his leg from a quarry blasting operation of Black Metal Mountain by the humans." Tadamaru explained.

"He told us that a random boulder fell on him when he was out on a walk a few decades ago." He looked ahead again, his tone turning bitter.

"I also asked the sorcerers about it, and they told me that it was for a mining operation related to the port. Though I doubt the humans asked for permissions first."

"I see," Galan murmured. He kept his anger in check… but I suppose his time in the sanctuary allowed him to properly process his emotions. They passed a bridge, noticing a kappa mother scrubbing her daughter's shell near the river. She noticed the duo, causing her to pull the child close as Galan walked by, eyes filled with a mother's protective ferocity.

"Hey, what's her story?" Galan asked.

"Her husband was killed by humans over a fishing dispute," Tadamaru explained quietly.

"They blocked the river, starved the tribes, and slaughtered those who tried to cut the nets."" That must've created a lot of fatherless families."

"Yeah. But it's fine. The sorcerers told me that the ghosts punished the humans by hiding them until they starved before leaving them near the port."

"Something tells me they died anyway."

"It was quite odd. The villagers fed them a lot of food, but it killed them instead, and healing magic only made them die faster." Overfeeding shock. A classic.

"So that's why you guys are holding the ghosts in such a high regard." Tadamaru nodded.

"Yup. But they still can't solve the problem of us losing our fathers. That made life quite difficult for us until the Great Leader took us in."

"She sounds like a wonderful yookai."

"She sure is," Tadamaru confirmed, smiling.

"She's the only reason most of us aren't starving right now. Unlike humans, we can't just run to other tribes and beg for help—everyone has their own problems and humans to deal with."

"I assume I'd get a chance to meet her then."

"You'll have to if you want to get any information regarding Ms. Asaka. The Great Leader spent the most time with her after all." Galan nodded upward.

"Hmph. Good to know." They reached a stairway leading down to an intersection guarded by four battle-hardened oni and a mountain dog, with one of the oni sharpening his large field sword. The red one at the front stepped forward, blocking their path.

"State your name and purpose." Realizing that they didn't have anything to offer him, Galan bowed with fake reverence.

"Good evening, Lord Oni. My name is not important, and what I seek here is none of your business." Tadamaru froze. The oni growled, stepping closer.

"What did you just say to me?" he asked, his words low and guttural.

"Sorry, I'm new here. Can you send me to your boss? I don't have time for underlings." The poor raccoon dog tried his best to hold onto his bladder. The oni steps directly in front of Galan, his breath reeking of cheap rice wine.

"Give me a reason not to turn you into meat for the dog," he threatened.

"Because you'd be the one to end up that way," Galan said with a smirk. The oni paused, confused by the sheer audacity.

"Hmph… the only creature with the guts to say that to an oni is either a god, crazy, or a sorcerer." He tilted his head.

"Which one are you?"

"How about a crazy god sorcerer?" Galan replied, crossing his arms.

"Ask Shuten Dooji if you don't believe me. I'm sure he's still boasting about our fight back at the Soaring Heights Theater."

"Akuro! Is that true?!" Kazanmaru shouted while looking back. The other red oni that was leaning against his club then spoke up.

"I only heard he fought and partied with an odd foreign god in mismatched clothes." He looked Galan over.

"He fits the description. Maybe you should skip this one, Kazanmaru. I'd hate to attend two funerals in a row." Kazanmaru returned his attention to Galan.

"Chh. You expect me to be scared of you for that?" he scoffed.

"Nah." Galan shrugged.

"I know you oni like it when your supposed prey fights back. So I'm sure you're only more excited to fight now." Meanwhile, through his shaking body, Tadamaru thought to himself. Does this human have a death wish…? Or is he really a god…? A blue female oni named Rinka laughed.

"Hey, I like this guy. Maybe you really should treat him as an exception to the rule," she said to Kazanmaru, petting her mountain dog.

"And let this human walk unsupervised?!" The defiant oni snapped.

"Relax. We have him," she nodded upward at Tadamaru. Kazanmaru loomed over the trembling raccoon dog.

"Why are you helping him?"

"I—I thought… we could become allies," Tadamaru stammered, improvising wildly.

"I wanted to bring the Great Elder a person who could help her convince the humans to stop taking away our things…" The rhythmic screech of the whetstone in the back stopped. The silence was sudden and heavy. The green oni looked up from his massive field sword, his eyes cold and measured.

"What makes you think they will keep their word this time?" he said, his voice akin to a lighting bolt that's about to strike. Tadamaru flinched.

"Umm… since the humans at the port are much nicer… maybe they can convince the other humans. At least, that's what she told me her plan was." The scraping sound resumed, a slow, deliberate rhythm that signaled the interrogation was over.

"Let them pass, Kazanmaru," the green oni said. Kazanmaru whipped his head around, disbelief etched on his face.

"Are you serious, Raihoo?" The patient oni paused his sharpening again.

"Don't let me repeat myself." The red oni glared at his comrade, jaw working as he swallowed his rage.

"Fine," he scoffed, returning to the others with heavy, resentful stomps. He turned back and addressed the duo.

"Go. But don't make me regret this."

"Thanks." Galan nodded.

"Of course… we will be going now…" Tadamaru sent, scrambling down the path. Galan waved cheerfully over his shoulder.

"See ya later, Big Bro Kazanmaru!" Kazanmaru strained every muscle in his body to not pursue him, helped by the voice of Raihoo, his voice still calm.

"Just let it be. I'm sure he's harmless."

"Hmph. Doesn't seem that way to me," the red oni doubted.

"If he dares cause trouble in the village, the other yookai will let us know," Rinka added, stroking her massive dog.

"Just save yourself the stress for now." Kazanmaru looked back at where Galan had disappeared, his mind racing as he tried to guess what the foreigner's plan truly was.