116

 

116.  Flesh Ancient Yokai Design

 

When the night deepens in Yamato, the cicadas buzz softly, and a soft velvet darkness gently blankets the land. On this particular night, a lone man looked out to a diligently-crafted garden filled with raked sand, groomed plants, and sculpted stone. His eyes looked cold and distant, yet still smoldered with latent energy. With three swords strapped at his side and a light blue haori jacket draped over his ceremonial hakama, he appeared regal and commanding. Long black hair spilled over his shoulders, encasing the man's smooth, handsome face.

 

Hijikata Toshizo, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, stood outside the Shieikan, the monochrome complex that acted as the Shinsengumi headquarters in Neo-Edo. The garden at his feet was situated stories above the newly-modified metropolis, which may have made Hijikata feel like a technological overlord, had he been interested in such things.

 

In his mind, he watched two young boys fight with wooden swords within a garden that was overgrown with lush, wild flora. In that world, the sun shone brightly, birds chirped, and the sound of fresh water running from a nearby river could be heard. One boy smacked the other across the shin, broke his balance and left him open for a second strike on the breast. A scream of victory was heard, and the two children smiled.

 

"I'll beat you one day, Toshi!" the child with a round, warm face said with a big grin.

 

Toshi, tall and slim with long black hair, smirked back and raised his sword for another round.

 

Kondo Isami, Commander of the Shinsengumi, had grown up in the same village as Hijikata. They'd shared the same dream ever since they were young, and Hijikata trusted his childhood friend more than any other.

 

That's partly why he had chosen Kondo to lead the Shinsengumi. The responsibility of being a spokesperson, delegate, and announcer of news was a difficult task. While the vice was physically a stronger swordsman than his leader, only Kondo had the human compassion and patience necessary to play the part. While Kondo was off appeasing the masses, Hijikata was able to plan the next moves for the army and organize his troops. It was the perfect partnership, and so he felt no hesitance in letting his childhood friend take all the limelight.

 

Furthermore, he couldn't imagine wasting his precious time sitting in on meetings with haughty politicians and dusty elders. Behind the artificial garden in which Hijikata now stood, Kondo Isami was currently engaged in a meeting with Koga Suzunosuke. Also present at the meeting was a man named Sasuke, both the heir to the Fukunaga estate as well as the current delegate of the organization that had funded Koga's army and Yamato's technological revolution. Hijikata didn't know much about the details, and didn't care, either. Kondo would take care of it all.

 

The scent of sake drifted out from the steel fortress's vents. Neither he nor Kondo were frequent drinkers, but his commander was no doubt indulging himself in order to better bond with Koga and Fukunaga. It was a circumvention of self that Hijikata was utterly incapable of.

 

As only Yamazaki and Kondo knew, Hijikata cared nothing about the Emperor, the government, the secrets of the universe that Koga sought, or even the fate of Yamato itself. Instead, he wanted to become one of the great heroes he and Kondo had read about when they were young – chivalrous warriors who followed the way of the sword perfectly, invincible legends whose names rang out through the land. To do that, he would stop at nothing, even if it meant using his homeland as a tool to help further his ambition.

 

Hijikata pulled a small notebook out from the depths of his robes and opened it up to a blank page. Although the stern man would never tell anyone, he was actually a great fan of haiku, and loved dreaming up odes in his spare time, whether they were about nature or imaginary women. As his childhood memories spread out in his mind, Hijikata began to write, capturing the spirit of his youth.

 

"Penning another masterpiece?" a playful voice called from behind.

 

Hijikata jumped, stuffed the book back into his clothes and turned around sharply. Perched on a metal pipe curving around the side of the metallic fortress was a lithe, pale-skinned human in a bright pink kimono.

 

Okita Soji had only been a child when Kondo and Hijikata first dreamed of creating the strongest army the nation had ever seen. Bright, cheerful and playful, the pony-tailed swordsman was also a demon when it came to combat, rivaling even Hijikata's strength.

 

"What are you doing here?" Hijikata asked the 1st Division Captain.

 

"Just thought you might want to know what the Kyo squad had to say with its most recent transmission." Okita's red lips curved upwards. "But I guess I can keep it to myself if you really want."

 

"Wait," Hijikata called out. "Did it come in just now?"

 

"Yep." Okita nodded, batting his long eyelashes. "They said they want us to postpone our trip for a few days."

 

Hijikata snorted.

 

"I think someone's lying to us..." Okita's tiptoes twirled on the thin pipe. "And I think his name starts with a T."

 

Hijikata rubbed his chin. "I was always against letting that rat into the group, but so many people lobbied for him, and there was no denying his strength. This is what I get for not following my initial instincts."

 

"So, you're gonna kill him?"

 

"If he compromises the squad," Hijikata scoffed, "he'll need to kill himself."

 

"Ooh, scary." Okita giggled. "Can I come along?"

 

Hijikata furrowed his eyebrows at the short, slender young man. "I said I was going to kill Tani, not the entire squad. Get out of here."

 

"Fine, you big meanie!" Okita stuck out a pink tongue. "When are you going to leave?"

 

"I still have some business to deal with, and I certainly can't go anywhere until the commander's meeting is finished."

 

"Oh yeah, you look really busy." Okita laughed, glancing at the vice's pockets.

 

"Shut up," Hijikata barked, swatting out at the young man. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

 

Okita let out a shout, teetering purposefully, then expertly performed a backflip to evade the blow. "I just hope we make it there before they all

 

*************

 

die...die, die!" Tani Sanjuro grit his teeth as he watched the monitors in the control room of the Royal Palace. "Go on, what are you waiting for? We need to kill them all before Hijikata gets here!"

 

"It's actually kinda funny, when you think about it." Harada Sanosuke fiddled with his thick black shades. "Of all the days they coulda shown up, it had to be on the monthly inspection day, right? Geez louise!"

 

Tani watched the Royal Guard pummel the gaki, while Reijiro's band of apparitions began going to work on the tengu army. "Do you think they'll honor the request for postponement?"

 

"C'mon, this is the vice commander we're talkin' about here..." Harada shook his head, bouncing his pompadour. "Eh, I wouldn't sweat it. Todo and Matsubara are already in position. Oh yeah, and Matsubara says he knows one of 'em."

 

"Really?" Tani raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

 

"Beats me." Harada shook his head. "Just relax, boss...we should be able to clean this little fluke up in no time."

 

"We'd better..." Tani turned back to the wall of monitors nervously. "Look at them! They're ripping up the tengu army!"

 

Harada glanced up at the screens. "Maybe it'd be better if we didn't waste any more merchandise and just took 'em out ourselves."

 

"You're right." Tani fingered his mustache. "But first we'd need to split them up somehow."

 

"Nurikabe," Harada said. "That'll do 'em."

 

"Yes, fine. Whatever you need to do. They need to be corpses by the time he gets here!"

 

Tani's eyes flitted nervously across the glowing screens. One documented the explosions of blood as Reijiro

 

*************

 

tore his way through the tengu army, using tooth, claw and blade to sever any part of any body he could get his hands on. Behind, his army of 99 souls made quick work of the hundreds of tengu drones. Some of the soldiers' attacks spread so far that they ended up damaging their own allies, but not a single one showed any sign of remorse. Every specter was a berserk incarnation of anger and resentment, hell-bent on destruction. The only thing capable of stopping them now was death, whether it be at the hands of a foe or due to their own exhaustion of power.

 

Far down the street from the massacre, the starving demons known as gaki continued to pile out from a seemingly deserted house. The gnashing creatures were simple enough to fry, but they just kept coming. Chiaki and her friends screamed as the beasts ripped at their cloaks, and Kamo growled in frustration as one of the little vermin clutched onto his arm and began to bite.

 

Azuka absorbed what little she could of the moonlight. Caleb and Sabine jumped to defend the Empress as she prepped herself, when a roar sounded from the right. Somehow, a group of bloodied tengu had broken through Reijiro's blockade and spotted a fresh new pile of victims.

 

Without a moment's delay, Ravi was off, sprouting a dozen extra limbs from her back to stop the group where they stood.

 

Then, a brilliant white cannon thundered out of Azuka, ripping through the estate and fizzling outwards as it pulverized wood and clay, illuminating the night. Screams of the horde wafted from the wreckage, along with the smell of burning flesh.

 

Ravi crushed tengu skulls and pushed forward as she was assaulted by spears, arrows, and psynergy. She heard a war cry sound out from ahead of her, accompanied by blood and black feathers.

 

Two of Reijiro's soldiers rushed toward Ravi from the other end, seeing no distinction between the monsters and the bald woman. Sandwiched between tengu on either side, Ravi watched as a naginata blade and two sai shot toward her.

 

The next roar that sounded through the town made the bellows of Reijiro's souls sound like whimpers. Up from the splintered foundation of the house rose a gargantuan monster which could only be the mama gaki. Bloated, festering sacs sagged around her waist, the sourcea of the starving monsters, swaying as the giant raised one leg.

 

Kamo watched as the sky was eclipsed. "Just when you think it can't get any worse..."

 

Frantically, he scooped up some of Chiaki's friends and rolled to the side. He just managed to dodge in time as a gnarled foot stomped down into the earth, shaking out even more gaki from their mother's sides.

 

The mama gaki raised another foot, and Caleb scrambled out of its range. Azuka and Sabine followed him, but as they dashed toward the alley Kamo had chosen, they found a large creature blocking their way.

 

Green and translucent, it completely filled the gap between the buildings in the alley. Through the rectangular membrane, Kamo could be seen on the other side, scanning the area ahead for any sort of sanctuary.

 

"What the hell is this?!" Azuka shouted. Two beady eyes at the top of the creature stared down listlessly.

 

"A nurikabe!" Chiaki screamed. "Someone put it there to block the path!"

 

Azuka wasted no time and charged up another blast.

 

"No!" Chiaki called out, but it was too late. The Empress's frustrated attack struck the center of the strange monster and rippled through it. In response to the potent attack, the nurikabe extended horizontally and vertically, cutting through buildings and stretching into the sky.

 

"What?" Azuka muttered through gritted teeth. "It absorbs psynergy?!"

 

"We don't have time for this!" Caleb shouted, as the mama gaki trampled after them. He pointed further down and began running. "Let's just go around!"

 

And so, Azuka's group ran through the night, escaping the gaki and the tengu army. Attempting to give chase, the mama gaki raised its leg and stomped down on the nurikabe that blocked the ally. With that, the nurikabe swallowed up more force, increasing its dominion. Toppling backwards over the ground, the gaki and its children were overtaken by tengu and soldiers, drowning in black blood.

 

At the head of the line, Caleb concentrated on Kamo's glowing aura and wound through the confusing back alleys of the city. Yokai leapt out at every turn, while creeping arms extended from holes in the ground and tripped up some of the runners.

 

"Chigusa's gone!" Chiaki shouted suddenly. "She was right behind me a minute ago, but I can't see her now!"

 

Caleb looked nervously around. "Kamo and Ravi are still back there. What are we going to do to?"

 

"Forget Chigusa," Kiriko rasped, long black hair waving in the shadows behind the group. "We can't sacrifice time just to save one person, Chiaki. Get over it."

 

"How can you say that?!" Chiaki stopped in her tracks and spun back. "Chigusa saved my brother's life! I'm not going to let her die out there alone. I'm going back to look for her. Just keep going without me if you have to!"

 

"Allow me to accompany you." Kasatsuji Satoka, the tall woman wrapped in black bandages from neck to toe, fell in line with her leader. "For protection."

 

In the front of the group, Caleb, Sabine, and Azuka fought shoulder to shoulder, holding back new yokai. Before any of them figured out what was going on, Chiaki and Satoka were off, gone into the night.

 

Kiriko crossed her arms and smirked. "Three more corpses it is."

 

Once the three foreigners cleared the path, they turned to see that only four women remained with them: Inugami Kiriko, the eerie one who seemed to enjoy watching her friends suffer; Muro Kyokuran, the one with the bob and a worried look on her face; Sakakibara Ban, a short and stout young woman who was also the younger sister of the late Sakakibara Shun; and Miyako Bara, a woman with a noble beauty who had been silent for most of the journey. Although it was a painful decision, Azuka chose to press on, and the seven soon found themselves at a dead end surrounded by large estates.

 

"Looks like we're going to have to bust through one of these," Caleb said.

 

Azuka moved toward a stone wall that encompassed the entrance to one of the houses. "Stay together, everyone – especially you, Kiriko. Why do you keep lagging behind us?"

 

Caleb and Sabine followed the Empress' eyes back to the gangly girl, who stood apart from the group, just barely visible among the creeping shadows of the alley. A single lone eye peered back at Azuka from between her black locks, coupled with a toothy grin.

 

"What's so funny?" Azuka asked, but turned back to the house without waiting for an answer. "I want you all to stay out here for a moment. I'm going in to check this place out."

"Whoa, what?!" Caleb shouted. "Are you sure that's really a good idea, Cap–um, Empress?"

 

"I've already conquered the darkness," Azuka said, as she stepped up to the door. "I'll be fine."

With that, Azuka slid through into the black abyss. Silence ensued, and it only took a few moments for Caleb and Sabine to exchange shifty glances.

 

"This is bullshit," Sabine said. "I didn't want to piss her off by trying to tell her what to do, but there's no reason for us to stay out here."

"I'm with you," Caleb said, taking a deep breath before he stepped forward. "Everyone, stay close!"

 

Caleb and Sabine illuminated the dark interior with their auras as they entered the house. Inside they found a seemingly normal entranceway with wooden geta shoes strewn along the dirt floor. On a raised platform, a hallway continued straight down into the darkness, lined with paper screen doors. The house was silent, and through the chaotic amalgamation of psynergy around them, it seemed impossible for Caleb or Sabine to sense Azuka within.

 

"You feel anything?" Caleb turned around to the four Yamatoan women, who simply shook their heads return.

 

The four bunched up behind Caleb and Sabine as they stepped down the hallway. Not a single ray of light pierced the house from any angle, and moist straw tatami mats squished beneath their feet.

 

Caleb heard a paper door open and close. The sound caused him to jump, and he jerked around in caution, surprised at how twitchy he'd become.

 

"Now what?" Sabine grumbled.

 

The women looked around in confusion. Then, one gasped.

 

"Ki-Kiriko... Kiriko's gone!"

 

Caleb waved a glowing hand around to get a better look. Sure enough, the phantom of a girl was gone, and he had no idea which door she'd disappeared behind.

 

"Kiriko?" Caleb's voice trembled as it echoed through the empty hallway. "I'm getting a bad feeling here."

 

Although he didn't want to admit it, Caleb could feel creeping up his spine. From the minute he stepped into the house, something had entered his heart and knocked him off balance. He could no longer sense Kamo's aura. The outside world seemed eons away. And so, at an utter loss, he reached out and gripped Sabine's hand.

 

"What's wrong, Caleb?" She looked up to her ally. Sweat dripped down the man's forehead, rolling off the rounded edge of his nose.

 

"N-nothing..." He shivered as he took a step back. "Maybe we should get out of here."

 

"What the fuck are you saying?" Sabine furrowed her eyebrows. "Captain Azuka's in here somewhere! You just want to leave her because you're getting a little scared?"

 

Caleb looked from the foreboding hallway to Sabine's scrunched-up face. "Sh-shut up, Sabine! I-I'm just saying there's no telling what's inside here. You saw what happened with the last house!"

 

"God, would you just hurry up and grow a pair already?" Sabine shook her head in disdain. "If Captain Kamo was here, he'd have this place cleared by now."

 

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" Caleb shrieked. "If you're so fearless, then why don't you go do it?!"

 

The man's panic only seemed to fuel Sabine's anger. "You know, you sure like to act like a hero, Caleb, but when it really comes down to it – when the shit really hits the fan, you're fucking useless! Captain Trujillo and Amyr got killed in cold blood, Cliff got crippled, but you've never gotten a goddamn scratch on you! Haven't you ever wondered why that is?"

 

Caleb paled. "Sabine, I–"

 

"I almost died back in that forest!" Sabine screamed, raising her arms. "You fucking coward!"

 

A mixture of panic, fear, and vexation crossed Caleb's face, and he spun around and shoved open one of the paper screen doors that lined the hallway.

 

He was met with a mountain of eyeballs. Bloodshot with fragments of muscle still attached, they toppled out from the room, spilling into the hallway and burying the warriors up to their waists.

 

Sabine let out a yell and opened the door behind her. This time, bleeding human tongues poured out, wriggling and licking their way across the body of the blacksmith.

 

The house began to shiver and shake, not as if an earthquake was happening, but rather as if the entire structure had begun to laugh. Darkness gulped down the five, and all that remained were their cries, converging and ringing out through space.

 

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

Next: Female Trouble