Chương 80: Chapter XXI Verse II — The Kappa Mother's Confrontation & the Rut of Vengeance — Part III

Sawako approached the hearth, gripping her daughter's hand. They sat, the firelight casting long shadows across their green skin. The motherly kappa took a deep breath, her voice trembling.

"When I first saw Asaka near my home… I hissed at her. I wanted to drag her into the depths and drown her." She clenched her hands.

"Every time she came to the riverbank, I threw stones. I cursed her lineage. I wanted her to feel the fear we live with every day." She looked up, eyes glassy.

"But she never ran. She just… sat there. She started leaving cucumbers on the rocks. Fresh ones. Clean ones." She stroked her daughter's head.

"And when my daughter fell ill with the muddy-fever… it was Asaka who left the medicine bundle. She never asked for anything in return." She turned to her daughter.

"Do you have something to say about Ms. Asaka?" Mizuki nodded enthusiastically.

"Sister was so nice! She always played with me when Mama was busy!" She held out her toys.

"She brought me a paper balloon that never popped, a shiny glass marble, and a spinning top! She said… she'd bring me a new doll next time…" The girl sniffled, burying her face in her mother's arm. Sawako held her tight, but when she looked up, her eyes were cold.

"But there will be no next time." Her gaze swept across the humans.

"I was a fool. I thought maybe we could coexist. But look where that got her! She was missing for months! We searched everywhere! Not knowing she was buried beneath a landslide caused by the greed of your kind!" Her voice rose to a shout.

"We only found her yesterday because the sorcerers brought us the body! The culprit wasn't sorry—he was just terrified of the ghosts! He let us mourn an empty coffin to save his own skin! Her death proves what I knew in the beginning! There are no 'good' humans! There is only the hunter and the prey! And today, my trust in them has died with her!" She whipped her head towards Galan, pointing accusingly.

"And you! You speak of restoring balance?! The ghosts are the only reason the humans hesitate before entering our forests! They are the only shield we have left! If you take them away… then the humans will have nothing to fear… they will come back with their axes and their nets, and they will finish what they started… your 'justice' will only lead to our slaughter!" The crowd gasped. Umiginu stood frozen, pale. Alright, playtime's over, Galan thought. He stood up, his tone calm.

"On the contrary, Mrs. Sawako. The 'shield' you cling to is made of fear, and fear always breaks in the end. My brand of justice offers something stronger: a prosperity that doesn't require you to hide in the dark."

"And what makes you so sure of yourself?!"

"Let me tell you a story," Galan said, pacing the stage.

"Fifteen years ago, in a land full of foreign yookai, there was a place called the Nightly Forest. The humans living nearby were hungry and desperate. They pushed into the forest, and the forest pushed back. The tree spirits ensnared them into starvation, and the satyrs lured them off cliffs. It was a war of attrition, fueled by the same fear that grips you all now." He stopped, looking directly at Sawako.

"The forest spirits thought they were winning. But the humans just hired mercenaries. They burned the woods to corner the yookai and slaughter them. The 'shield' of fear didn't stop the destruction. It only made the humans more ruthless." Murmurs of fear washed over the clearing. Tadamaru's fur bristled, his mind recalling the scent of burning wood and the screams of his sister as they fled the flames.

"So… what happened? Did they kill all the yookai?"

"Nah." Galan shook his head.

"I brought in my crew. The Guardians of the Divine Hearth." A hush fell over the gathering.

"First, I introduced them to Meredith, a wife of mine with fists that can crush mountains. She taught the humans how to build stone kilns and use coal instead of burning the sacred groves. Then, suddenly, they didn't need to cut down the deep woods anymore."

"After her, there was Pheidon, a master builder," Galan continued.

"He built a dam that still lets fish pass through unharmed. And who do you think maintained the river's flow? The river folk. Water yookai, just like you kappa." The kappa exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"So the fishes… they didn't die?" a young kappa murmured to another.

"If he is to be believed, yes," an older one replied.

"And why would the yookai help those who hunted them?!" Sawako scoffed. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Because I made sure they got paid. We set up a trade agreement. The yookai allowed the humans to harvest specific resources. In exchange, the humans traded gold, tools, and processed goods. Just like the ten-gu in Sky Favored Island." The ten-gu in the trees shifted, well aware of their kin's prosperity.

"And to ensure no one broke the rules, Aletheia and Lisandra, my horse yookai girlfriends at the time, patrolled the trade routes."

"Did he seriously sleep with the horses?!" a young sorcerer whispered. His friend slapped the back of his friend's head.

"No, you idiot! They're clearly those half-human, half-horse people!"

"And after just two years," Galan continued, "we turned the province into the wealthiest one around. The humans stopped seeing the forest as a threat and started seeing it as their greatest asset."

"Awesome…!" Mizuki jumped around.

"Mizuki, no! Don't believe his lies!" Sawako hissed, shielding her daughter. Mizuki frowned, clutching her toys to her chest.

"But, Mama… the other kappa told us that the humans from the port are really nice."

"They're only nice because they wish to exploit us!" Galan chuckled.

"You know that's their job, right? I'm sure they get paid well. Maybe the angels even gave the kappa some holy water for their head-plates as a bonus."

"Really?!" Mizuki gasped. They're that crazy over water? Whoa.

"Maybe?" Galan shrugged.

"I can set that up once I become the humans' hero."

"That sounds wonderful!" Mizuki cheered. Excited chirps rippled through the kappa. Sawako's face twisted with fury and horror. She stepped between Galan and Mizuki.

"I have enough of you! I will not be persuaded by sweet lies! You can't convince me that you managed to force all those yookai to stop fighting!"

"Look, I didn't force them," Galan sighed.

"I merely removed the reason they were fighting. And once the hunger and fear were gone… the 'monsters' became neighbors."

"For that is the justice I bring!" he shouted towards the crowd.

"Not just by punishing the guilty, but also by fixing the broken world that creates them!" He put a hand on his heart.

"Now, the ghosts offer you a shield of fear! I am offering you a banner of unity!"

"B—But!"

"That is enough, Sawako," Umiginu interrupted, her tone soft. She slithered forward, coiling her lower half to meet the kappa's height, her eyes mirroring a shared, profound sorrow.

"I am fully aware of the pain you carry, for I, too, carry that same pain. But your husband… he would not have wanted this. He would not have wanted his memory to be a weapon of hatred." Sawako froze. The rage in her chest faltered, her mind pulled back through the years to a cold evening by the riverbank. She remembered her husband, his rough, webbed hand gently stroking Mizuki's head as they huddled inside their damp river hut.

"I am going away for a long time, Mizuki, Sawako," he had whispered, pulling them both into a tight, final embrace.

"When I return, Japan will be a place of peace. Like the stories the foreign travelers tell of their land… we will have that too." She remembered watching his silhouette disappear into the cold nightly mist, his daughter's small, warm voice calling after him to bring back a new doll. He had returned the next morning as a cold corpse washed up on the riverbank.

"Do you remember the man he was, Sawako?" Umiginu asked gently, anchoring her back to the present.

"He fought for a world where his daughter would not have to live in fear. He left searching for the very peace that this god is now offering. To cling to your hatred… is to spit upon the very dream he sacrificed everything for." Sawako's face crumpled.

"But he failed…"

"No, Mama," Mizuki said, setting down her toys and hugging her mother's legs.

"Papa didn't fail. He is a very brave kappa! And Sister Asaka said that being brave is never a failure!" Sawako's breath hitched. Her daughter's simple truth struck harder than any argument. She looked at Galan, the fire of hatred replaced by desperate hope.

"I will give you a chance. To right the wrongs of this land."

"Leave it to me!" Galan gave a thumbs-up. A collective exhale swept through the clearing. Sawako bowed to Umiginu.

"Please forgive my loss of composure, Great Elder."

"All is forgiven, Mrs. Sawako."

"Thank you, Great Elder!" Mizuki beamed, then turned to Galan.

"And you too, Big Bro Oda! Make sure to keep your promise, okay?"

"I will," Galan nodded. After Mizuki retrieved her toys, Sawako gently guided her back to their spot. Umiginu then spoke to Galan, amused.

"You handled the situation quite well, Oda." Galan bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Honey Umi." He froze. Oops. Not again. The crowd stiffened.

"Does that foreigner actually know the Great Elder?" a ten-gu whispered. Umiginu chuckled.

"I should be the one thanking you. Thank you very much, Honey Oda." Galan blinked. Oh, so that's how it feels…

"Anyway… who's speaking next?" An old green oni raised his hand.

"I—I would. I wish to say a few things regarding our fallen human."

"Very well," Umiginu said. Galan returned to his seat as the oni entered the stage, unfolding a ragged piece of paper. He cleared his throat.

"My name is Genbu. But to the humans of the valley, I was simply… a monster to be hunted." He squinted at the hard-to-read lines on the paper, then crumpled it in his fist, choosing to speak from the heart as his gaze settled on the coffin.

"I was a bodyguard for hire. I protected the weak. But I did not just protect. I also… removed threats. I silenced the gangs who only seek to harm. I have washed human blood off my hands more times than I can count." He looked at Umiginu, then at the crowd.

"I thought Ms. Asaka would hate me for it. She was pure light. I am old blood and dirt. But when I confessed to the lives I had taken… she didn't flinch." He touched the pale seam from a katana on his chest.

"She bandaged my wounds. And she told me…

'Sir Genbu, a gardener must sometimes pull the weeds with violent roots to save the flowers. You are not a monster. You are the garden's wall.'" Tears welled in his eyes, his breath hitching with every pause.

"She understood that peace has a price. She understood that for innocence to survive… someone has to be willing to dirty their hands in the dark." Galan listened, arms crossed. To dirty your hands in the dark… to be the wall… to do the unthinkable so that others may live… As the oni's story continued, the peaceful clearing dissolved, pulling Galan back into his memory.