Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Kazemaru and Miharu ❯ Chapter 38

AN: The first part of this chapter is a flashback, just so you know!

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Kazemaru swept over his holdings, a sense of pride washing over him. He had just achieved his second century, and his vassals were finally beginning to pay him heed. He wouldn't truly reach majority until he was 300, but at least they no longer saw him as a child.

 

He was so lost in his thoughts he nearly flew over the crater without noticing it. He doubled back quickly, staring in awe at the scene of destruction laid out before him. A circular depression in the ground, which he guessed to be nearly 50 feet across, had been gouged into the land. Around the edges of the freshly revealed dirt were bodies, human and demon. But it was the lone figure in the center of the crater that caught his attention.

 

A girl, who was little more than a toddler, crouched, sobbing. She seemed totally oblivious to him as he carefully landed a few feet from her. He approached her slowly, the idea that she had created this destruction making him cautious, but also curious. His hand hovered a few inches from the girl.

 

"Are you alright?" he asked. She looked up slowly, and he was surprised to see that she was human. How could a human cause this much chaos?

 

She smeared the tears from her face and nodded weakly.

 

"What happened here?" he asked, looking around. When he came back to looking at her, she had fresh tears rolling down her face.

 

"I didn't mean to!" she wailed. "The d-demons," she stuttered between choked sobs, "they came out of nowhere, all around. Houshi-sama hid me in the wagon, told me to guard it. When one saw me, I got real scared. There was a lot of light, and then everyone was gone!" she began sobbing in earnest again.

 

Kazemaru frowned. "What was it you were supposed to be guarding?"

 

Hesitantly, the girl uncoiled her body a little, showing him the tangerine-sized sapphire she had hidden. She picked it up carefully, shielding her hands with her tattered sleeves. "The Orb of Satsuma," she pronounced carefully. "The ultimate weapon of protection..." she broke off into sobs again.

 

Kazemaru was filled with awe and fear at the blue globe, which shone with a star burst in the middle. His greed got the better of him, though. "How does it work?"

 

She sniffed heavily. "Only the pure of heart can wield it, and only in defense. I didn't know..." It seemed her tears had tried up, and she stared blankly off into space.

 

Well, that ruined it for him. He certainly couldn't wield such a thing. "Where were you travelling?"

 

"Ise," she said quietly. "I'm supposed to train to be the head priestess's assistant."

 

Kazemaru ran a hand through his hair and thought. Ise was far to the south, outside of his territory. He didn't know why he pitied this human girl, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone, even though she clearly had the means to protect herself.

She fainted when he picked her up, and he could feel her holy aura crackling against his jyaki, but eventually it subsided. It took him only a few hours to fly to Ise, and she awoke again when he landed. He set her down carefully.

 

"The shrine at Ise is only a half-hour walk that way," he pointed to the east. "The barriers prevent me from taking you any further."

 

The girl looked around in thought for a moment, and then held up the sapphire for Kazemaru to take. "I have nothing else to thank you with," she said softly.

 

Kaze stared at her in shock. "Don't you... I mean... Wouldn't you rather a demon didn't have it?"

 

She shook her head enthusiastically. "Demons can't wield it. Humans shouldn't."

 

He took a closer look at the little girl. There was something more to this one... an old soul, maybe. "Why not?"

 

She stared at the jewel as if it were a particularly smelly dead thing. "It's not right... It killed

Houshi-sama and the others, not just the demons. That's wrong. Please hide it for me."

 

Kaze carefully took the orb from her hands, but aside from being very heavy, it seemed to be nothing more than an abnormally large gem. "I will do that."

 

With that the girl nodded and began to walk away. Kaze stared after her a moment, hesitating.

 

"What is your name, girl?" he called after her.

 

She stopped, turning back slowly. She acted so much older than her little frame could be.

 

"Miura Harumi," she said simply.

 

Harumi... Kaze thought. An odd name for a priestess. "My name is Kazemaru-sama, Harumi. Should you find yourself in the lands of the east, do not hesitate to seek me out."

 

She nodded, but her farewell said otherwise. "Arigato, and Sayonara, Kazemaru-sama." She bowed deeply.

 

Kaze responded with a dip of his head. "Goodbye, Harumi. May you grow to earn your name!" he said lightheartedly, and took off.

 

Once back, he had hidden the jewel well, and then forgotten about it.

 

 

Kaze returned from his nostalgia, examining the girl before him. She was clearly enchanted--she should be middle aged, but looked only 20 something. "Well, although you are a beauty, I could hardly say you suit your name..." he mused.

 

Her smile became sly and she sat uninvited. "Indeed," she agreed. "I felt it was time to return to you, and I see there was more to it than I thought. Such is Hitsuzen."

 

Kaze looked at her curiously. There was no doubt that she was a kuromiko, but she lacked the shallow grasping attitude he associated with her type. Her "old soul" had survived whatever dealings she had made. "Fate indeed," he said heavily, and then explained the crisis at hand.

 

She nodded thoughtfully. "I can remove the poison," she said slowly, "but I won't do it for free."

 

"Name your price," he said quickly.

 

"The Orb of Satsuma," she replied just as rapidly.

 

He sat back in surprise. "You cannot wield it," he reminded her.

 

She nodded. "I don't intend to. I will destroy it, or at least lessen its power."

 

Now Kaze was shocked. "But why?"

 

Harumi gazed off into the distance. "I knew, even when I was just a child, that the Orb was not meant to be. There was something about it that felt wrong in a way I can't describe. Now that the shogun has come to power, I fear that he may be searching for it, and I don't want it found."

 

Kaze frowned. "I hid it well," he argued.

 

She smiled wickedly. "Yes, but you have things to lose." she gestured to Miharu. "Not only I, but others, could find ways to bargain it away."

 

Kaze sighed heavily, knowing she was right. "How will you destroy such a thing?"

 

Harumi smiled a little at her victory. "I have recently uncovered a legend, not even a century old, which leads me to believe that if I were to shatter the Orb into many pieces, its power would be divided, and the individual shards would provide a more appropriate amount of protection."

 

Kaze thought that over. It made sense, even though it seemed a shame to destroy such a beautiful gem. "I will retrieve it. I won't be long." He stood to leave.

 

"I trust you, and so I will begin on your lady mate immediately. I won't be finished until morning." she looked as if she wanted to ask more, but refrained.

 

Kaze nodded to her, and left. He easily located the hiding place of the jewel, since he had shielded it from discovery. He broke the shield, and removed the large stones blocking a small cut-out chamber in the cliff face. The jewel was wrapped in a white cloth, now yellowed and dingy with age and exposure. He unwrapped it, gazing at the incredible star burst in its depths. It was beautiful, and he would have given a hundred such jewels to save Miharu.

As he flew back to Yokosuka, Kaze began to worry again. Harumi's appearance had distracted him, and she seemed sure of her success, but Kaze couldn't help dwelling on how close he had come to losing her. On his return, the old blind woman informed him that Harumi had asked not to be disturbed, and then went to bed. He stayed up, sitting in the kitchen and examining the Orb of Satsuma in the moonlight. It served as an excellent focus of meditation of sorts, as he thought about exactly what lengths he would go to to protect Miharu. Most of them involved a favorable amount of violence towards outside parties, but there were other things which bothered him. She was human; she could get sick, or injure herself easily. And eventually, much too soon, she would grow old and die. How could he fight time?

 

 

In the predawn light, Harumi exited the temporary sick room. She looked haggard and her age showed. She carried a shallow bowl of black fluid in one hand. She set it down on the counter, contemplating its depths. "I have removed the poison..." she said slowly, her voice hoarse. Her tone made Kaze hesitate, knowing there was more.

 

"...but some of the damage is permanent." She stretched her back, making a face like she had a bad taste in her mouth. "It has weakened her defenses. The first sickness that strikes her, even a small cold, is likely to kill her."

 

Kaze dropped the Orb of Satsuma, and it rolled across the room to stop at Harumi's feet. She picked it up, looking non-plussed, and she used the cloth wrapping on the counter to tie it to her hakama.

 

"But... can't you fix her?" Kaze was shocked still, his brain having trouble processing this new horror.

 

She shook her head. "I've already done everything I can, and your jyaki is about all that's sustaining her. If I had been a regular miko..." she shrugged. "I'm pretty sure it couldn't have been done."

 

Kaze felt cold, a very unfamiliar and unwelcome sensation of helplessness washing over him like an icy tide. "Is there nothing that can be done?" he murmured hopelessly.

 

"Well..." Harumi said slowly, ad Kaze's heart wrenched at the possibility of hope. She wouldn't look him in the eye. "Do you know any mermaids?" she asked quietly.

 

Kaze flopped down onto the floor, horrified. "No!" he said, both in response and at the idea.

 

Harumi shrugged sadly. "At this point, it is the only way."

 

He braced his elbows against his knees and buried his face in his hands. All his plans to protect her... none of them had been so drastic, so dangerous. But if he didn't do it, she would die anyway. "What do I have to do?" He asked, defeated.

 

 

Kaze stood at the water's edge, in the secluded grotto. He placed an offering of fine sake on the rough-hewn altar and sat back. A wizened old man stepped from the grotto wall and sat opposite the wind yokai.

 

"Kazemaru, my old friend. It is good to see you again." He picked up the cup of sake and sipped at it appreciatively.

 

Kaze bowed forward humbly. "Mizu-kami, I am indebted to you for your assistance in my border dispute."

 

Mizu-sama waved his hand dismissively. "Any ally would have done the same."

 

Kaze lifted his head hopefully. "Then you would not be angry if I asked your favor again?"

 

The water god set down his sake and frowned thoughtfully. Kaze was not the sort to ask for frivolous things, but he worried that might be changing. "I suppose it would depend on the favor..." He stroked his long mustache.

 

Kaze sat back, hesitating a little. "I was wondering if you could summon a mermaid for me."

 

Mizu-sama laughed heartily at the unexpected request. "What could a strong yokai such as yourself need with a mermaid? You're already nearly immortal as it is! Besides, it would only make you a monster, you should know that."

 

Kaze ducked his head. "It's not for me. It's for my mate."

 

Mizu-sama picked up the sake cup again and saluted Kaze with it. "Congratulations! I didn't know that you'd picked a mate. But I don't see why she should need it either." He took a small sip of the sake.

 

Kaze refused to look away, to give any signal of being embarrassed. Mizu was kami, and he favored humans as well as demons. "She is human." he said simply.

 

Mizu set down the cup again, with a little less grace. "Oh. And you wish to make her immortal?" He didn't sound as if he approved.

 

Kaze shook his head. "I wish to save her life. She is already dying."

 

Mizu-sama listened with rapt interest as Kaze explained the situation, shaking his head at the madness of Kaito. At last he nodded, and poured himself another measure of sake. "You know what this will do to her?"

 

"She will not be human. She'll turn into a mermaid."

 

Mizu-sama nodded, and took the measure of sake in one gulp. "And you have told her nothing? If she even suspects, it may not work."

 

Kaze nodded, feeling guilty that he could not consult Miharu on her own future.

 

Mizu stood, and began to walk into the water. "She should be here soon," he assured him, "And I wish you better luck."

 

Kaze bowed deeply. "Domo Arigato, Mizu-kami. I am forever in your debt."

 

Mizu-sama humphed. "That alone is what assures me that you do this with the best intentions." With that, he disappeared beneath the waves.

 

Kaze sat at the water's edge, waiting impatiently. It seemed an eternity before the surface broke, wet hair and a pair of eyes poking above the surface and regarding him a moment before dipping back under. He could see her swim to the shore, her movements fluid and graceful, more fish than woman. She dragged herself above the surface, but came no closer.

 

"My lord Mizu says that you wish to deal with me?" She asked, regarding him suspiciously.

Kaze took in the image before him, more interested by her fish-like features than her uncovered human ones, but she gave him an offended look none the less. She gave off an attitude that was bitterer than most yokai women he was used to dealing with.

 

"Forgive me," he apologized, "But I have never seen your kind before. My name is Kazemaru."

 

She hesitated, but seemed to give him some slack, and sat up a little straighter. "I am Kaoli."

He nodded, and she allowed him to study her a moment. Her skin was a bit greener than was normal for humans, and she sported gills on either side of her neck. Her eyes were a piercing violet, and her teeth were sharpened. Her ears fanned out like fins, and the same spined extensions were on her wrists. A little below her waist her skin became scaled, and resolved in a finned tail. Her fingers were long and clawed.

 

"Forgive me for asking, Kaoli-sama," she snorted at his use of the honorific. "but I was under the impression that mermaids still resembled humans...." He wasn't sure how Miharu would like being a fish.

 

Kaoli sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. She used her arms to drag herself across the shore to sit on a boulder. It was a rather pathetic sight, but as she dried off she began to change. Her skin turned rosy, the scales retreating to reveal a set of shapely legs. The fins at her wrists and ears melted away, her teeth blunting and her eyes darkening to normal black. As a human, her nakedness was even more obvious.

 

"Forgive me for not walking," she said sarcastically. "I am out of practice." She crossed her arms over chest and waited for him to speak.

 

"I would be most honored if you would gift me with a small piece of your flesh," he said softly.

 

She snorted again. "Predictable. It's been centuries since anyone wanted anything else, in one sense or the other." A sorrowful look crossed her face, but she turned hard again. "Unfortunately, it will not work. If you know what you eat, you will only become a monster."

 

"It's not for me," he said quickly.

 

"Right. Your loss." Her sarcasm could have melted stone.

 

Kaze became a little frustrated. "I pity your situation; I know there must be some story behind your own transformation. But my wife is dying, and you hold the only key to her survival."

 

Kaoli considered him anew. "You are a selfish man, to "gift" her with this sort of survival. My own lover left me when he saw what I'd become. I doubt you can convince me you are any different."

 

Kaze stiffened, his ire raising. "If it had mattered to me what she was, I would have never mated her in the first place."

 

Kaoli regarded him with a frown, which slowly melted way. "She is human?"

 

Kaze nodded.

 

Kaoli shook her head defeatedly. "Alright. But let me transform again, so it will look like fish, and not arouse her suspicion." She pushed off to stand carefully. Although the muscles in her legs looked powerful, they were clearly not accustomed to supporting her weight or operating independently. She tried to take a step, and faltered.

 

Kaze caught her before she hit the ground, and stood. Kaoli squirmed uncomfortably, but quickly realized he paid no attention to her feminine gifts, but looked ahead and walked quickly to set her down in the shallows. She shifted herself a little deeper, and rubbed the water over herself to speed the transition. She studied him carefully, clearly surprised by his considerate behavior. Kaze quickly surmised she had experienced very little kindness in her long life.

 

Once her transformation was complete, Kaoli lengthened a claw and neatly sliced out a sashimi-sized piece of her tail, and then sliced off the scales. By the time she was finished, the hole had already filled and she was completely healed. She reverently held it out to Kaze, who received it on a piece of rice paper he had brought for this purpose and folded it up.

 

"How can I repay you?" Kaze asked sincerely.

 

Kaoli gave him a long look, thinking. "Love her, and treat her well, no matter what she does."

 

Kaze put a hand to his heart. "I swear it."

 

Kaoli nodded, and regarded him a moment longer, a look of longing in her eyes. She then flopped over into the water, splashing, and swam away quickly.

 

 

Kaze returned to the old woman's house quickly, and showed the flesh to Harumi.

 

"Good," she whispered, and then asked the old woman to bring her some rice and a plate. Once brought, she had Kaze carefully lay the flesh on top. "Have her eat this," she whispered. "Make sure she eats the whole thing, and don't let her suspect!"

 

Kaze nodded, and took the plate and some chopsticks. He walked into the sickroom, and stared at Miharu for a long moment. She was so pale, and her chest barely rose and fell as she breathed. He sat beside her, setting down the dish beside him. He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek, and her eyes fluttered open.

 

"Koishii..." She smiled a little.

 

"Are you feeling better?" Kaze asked.

 

Miharu took a moment to take inventory of herself and nodded. "A little..."

 

Kaze smiled. "Good. You should eat."

 

Miharu made a face. "...not hungry," she murmured.

 

Kaze clucked his tongue. "Baa-san found some very good fish for you. It will help you get better." Inside, he hated himself for lying to her.

 

Miharu sighed a little "Alright. Help me sit up."

 

Kaze propped her head against his knees, and handed her the plate. She decided to forgo the chopsticks, feeling too weary to bother with them. She picked up the mermaid's flesh and studied it.

 

"I never liked sashimi," she said, and managed to make it not sound like whining.

 

"Cooking ruins the curative properties," Kaze said truthfully.

 

"Alright..." Miharu tucked the piece in her mouth whole, chewed a little, and swallowed. "Not bad," she admitted. "Tasted more like chicken than fish..."

 

Kaze chuckled nervously, and tried to get her to eat the rice. She pushed it away. "You eat it, koishii. I really am not hungry."

 

Kaze let her rest again, and left the room, more nervous than ever. He set the plate of rice back down on the counter, untouched. "How long do we wait?" he asked Harumi.

 

She shrugged. "You didn't ask the mermaid?"

 

He shook his head. "She wasn't in the best mood... I didn't want to press her."

 

He stared around the room, wondering what to do. Harumi laid a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go find something to key you busy. I'll bet caring for Miharu has got you behind on your duties as lord. You'll know when to come back. You'll feel it."

 

Kaze looked back to the sickroom, not wanting to leave Miharu. But if he stayed here, just waiting, it would drive him mad. He nodded a little, and left.

 

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A/N:

 

dun dun DUN!! lol. So yes, the plot thickens. A few parts worth mentioning:

Mizu-kami means water god. Literally.

All my info on Japanese Mermaids comes from an episode of Blue Seed. I was entranced with the concept, and embellished on it a little.

The scene where Kaoli pops her head above the surface to study Kaze was inspired by the movie Beowulf. Angelina Jolie was 30 kinds of hot in that movie.

According to cannibal tribes, people taste like chicken. Thus the "tastes like chicken" joke.

 

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!