Hyakkimaru's Birth
Book 1 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Part 1 - Kurama
After that meeting with Zheng He, the choice on whether or not to become a doctor was more or less taken out of young Tajumaru's hands. His father assumed that he would follow in his footsteps and continue his research, even into arts and practices that were forbidden by law and tradition.
Tajumaru accompanied Chin Uiro to his estate to learn in his library. He thought that the shōgun or someone in the Imperial Court should be concerned about that; hadn't his father revealed everything about his forbidden research to Zheng He? And hadn't Zheng He talked to the shogun?
There was another problem as well. If Tajumaru was really going to be a doctor just like his father, he would have to share his father's passion. But he'd always been opposed to being a doctor. He couldn't simply change his mind and his desires because his father—or Zheng He—said so.
In the end, the boy who was Tajumaru had grown into the doctor known as Jukai, but he couldn't really say that he'd become like his father. Hisamaro had never believed in blessings, curses, or magic. When he had set aside his birth name to become Jukai, the change had signified something greater: a fundamental alteration in how he thought about medicine and the world.
Jukai had spent more than half his life studying the branch of traditional medicine that concerned magic. That line of study had revealed to him many essential elements of what it meant to be human. The mind and body existed in equilibrium, but the body could sometimes achieve things that should not be physically possible. Jukai wanted Oniwakamaru to experience nature in the hope that some of nature's power would help to heal him.
He was disappointed beyond words when his theories and research failed.
***
Oniwakamaru was nearing the end of his third year. Sakuzō entered the main living area where Jukai sat, looking like he'd seen a ghost. "Master—it's the baby—"
Jukai forced himself to remain calm. "What happened?"
"He…fell. Off the wall."
When Sakuzō took Oniwakamaru out in his cart, he often leaned him against the wall while he put the cart away. He was usually suspended from a sort of sling made from white cotton that Sakuzō hung on a nail. He'd never fallen out of the sling before.
"Maybe he's too heavy for the sling now," Jukai said. "He's been getting bigger, so that's possible."
Although Oniwakamaru had no limbs, his growth was consistent with that of a normal toddler's. Jukai didn't understand why Sakuzō seemed so upset. Had Oniwakamaru hurt himself in the fall?
"Uh...when he fell...he called out," Sakuzō said.
"What?" Jukai asked. "Did he say something?"
Sakuzō shook his head. "Just...a grunt. I heard...his voice."
Jukai smiled a little. "What you heard was probably just the sound of him hitting the floor."
Oniwakamaru had never spoken before. Sakuzō must have imagined that Oniwakamaru had cried out in pain, just like any other child would when they fell. His agitation that Oniwakamaru had fallen when that had never happened before likely contributed to his distress.
"Hm," Sakuzō said. "Maybe. But..." he trailed off. In the end, he couldn't say anything to contradict his master. And he knew that Jukai had taken to treating the boy with dispassionate indifference ever since he'd realized that he couldn't be healed. He had given up on new treatments after Oniwakamaru had turned three and showed no signs of improvement.
So Jukai didn't think there was anything strange at all about what Sakuzō had said. Oniwakamaru had fallen from his sling where it was hanging up on the wall, but he was fine. That was all.
***
In truth, Oniwakamaru had cried out for food. Three years was a long time for Jukai, but the time felt short to Oniwakamaru. Jukai had started his treatment of Oniwakamaru with high hopes and grand ambitions, but that had all faded in the gray and hopeless days that followed.
But the treatment had—assuredly and demonstrably—affected Oniwakamaru. He was simply slow to express its effects.
Sakuzō was the first to notice any kind of change at all. He had many children of his own and had seen many more born and raised. Any child that survived to the age of three was worth celebrating, no matter now impaired they were.
Sakuzō sat in a chair in the main living area, feeding Oniwakamaru in his lap as usual. Jukai stared darkly at Oniwakamaru.
"He can eat, but he doesn't seem conscious of anything else. Is it really all right for him to keep living this way?" He sighed.
Oniwakamaru shook his head back and forth.
"Look!" Sakuzō said. "Did you see it? He shook his head just now."
Jukai regarded Sakuzō with a dubious expression.
"Master?" Sakuzō asked.
Jukai said nothing. He watched Oniwakamaru intently. Oniwakamaru truly had shaken his head; that wasn't a trick or an optical illusion.
Oniwakamaru tilted his head all the way forward and rolled off the chair onto the floor. The blanket he was wrapped in came partially undone as he fell. Jukai heard him grunt when he hit the floor.
"Uuh..." Oniwakamaru groaned.
"Ah!" Sakuzō hurriedly picked up Oniwakamaru and clutched him to his chest.
"Sakuzō," Jukai said in a voice loud with excitement, "you heard that, right?"
"Yes," Sakuzō said. "It's the same as...as that other time." Sakuzō had been holding onto Oniwakamaru quite tightly just now. The boy had clearly wanted to leave the chair.
"Hm," Jukai said. "Set him on the chair again." Jukai's voice was quiet and hoarse. Hope made his throat feel tight.
"Yes, taifu."
Jukai's heart beat loud in his ears. Oniwakamaru had a will of his own. He was trying to move himself. He had a voice: one that he could be taught to use.
Sakuzō picked up Oniwakamaru and set him on the chair again. Jukai and Sakuzō watched with baited breath for a long moment, but Oniwakamaru didn't move. He stayed on the chair, still and unresponsive.
Jukai reached out and slapped Oniwakamaru on the cheek.
"Master, please don't!" Sakuzō said. He grabbed Jukai's hand and pulled it down.
Jukai didn't hit Oniwakamaru again. Oniwakamaru didn't react to being struck.
"Let me know immediately if he moves again," Jukai said. "He may be able to perceive more than we realize."
"Do you...think he can...hear?" Sakuzō asked.
"Possibly."
"Blessed Kannon...goddess of mercy...make it so." Sakuzō clasped his hands in fervent prayer.
Jukai was less demonstrative about his hope, but he identified the emotion that he was experiencing as joy. He hadn't felt anything like it in ages. The dreams and ambitions he'd set aside scarcely a year ago now seemed viable again. He had been most sure of his treatment method's effectiveness when it came to restoring Oniwakamaru's sense of hearing. He needed to verify if his hearing had, indeed, returned.
After that day, nearly three weeks passed without a change. It was unseasonably warm for autumn. Sakuzō set Oniwakamaru in his handcart and pulled him down the mountain to Kurama Temple. He had gone to the temple every single day after hearing Oniwakamaru's voice for the first time.
Sakuzō stopped the handcart in a shady grove. He dipped a cloth into a shallow stream, then wrung it out. He settled the damp, cool cloth on Oniwakamaru's forehead to make him more comfortable in the heat. The river was pleasantly cold this far upstream; when they went further down the mountain, even the water would be warm.
Sakuzō returned to the stream and dipped his arms in up to his elbows. He remembered splashing and playing in a small creek near his home village of Kaede as a boy. He wanted to have Oniwakamaru play in the water, too, but that was impossible. He had just decided to return to the handcart when he heard a wild monkey hoot from somewhere behind him.
The monkey was close to Oniwakamaru: Sakuzō saw it as he sprinted back to the cart. Strangely, there were several monkeys gathered around him. When Sakuzō realized that they weren't harming or even touching Oniwakamaru, he stood still and watched as the monkeys pointed to the cart and called out to one another as if they were having a conversation.
Oniwakamaru tilted his head from side to side, as if he were listening to the monkeys. He faced the nearest monkey and lifted his head up to it as if he knew exactly where it was.
"Ah, Oni—!" Sakuzō closed the remaining distance to the cart. The wild monkeys scattered in surprise. Sakuzō looked into the cart and called out Oniwakamaru's name over and over again, but Sakuzō received no response. Oniwakamaru’s face remained the same as it always had been: eyeless, noseless, and devoid of expression.
"I know what I saw." Oniwakamaru could hear the monkeys. Sakuzō was certain of it. He returned to the estate as fast as his legs could carry him with Oniwakamaru in tow, eager to tell Jukai everything.
"Oni...wakamaru can hear. I saw it. I'm sure."
Jukai remained silent. Sakuzō wasn't sure if Jukai believed him or not.
"But...he can't hear...my voice." Sakuzō stared dejectedly at his feet.
Jukai gave him a decisive nod. "I believe you. The voices of monkeys are pitched higher than the voices of humans. He might only be able to hear higher-pitched sounds."
"Ah," Sakuzō said.
Jukai still appeared disinterested, but he felt the stirrings of a cold enthusiasm. Sakuzō was an honest man—so honest that lying never occurred to him, simply as a matter of course. He took nearly everything he saw and experienced at face value.
But Jukai was different. He needed to be sure before he accepted anything as fact—and to be sure, he had to conduct tests and make observations. This was research.
"Sakuzō," Jukai said. "This is very important. I want you to observe Oniwakamaru extremely closely from now on. The moment you notice anything worth reporting, call out to me as loudly as you can."
"Yes, taifu." He rushed back to Oniwakamaru's side.
Jukai appeared as calm and disinterested as ever, but he was even more interested in the sudden changes in Oniwakamaru than Sakuzō was. It seemed that Oniwakamaru relied on something other than his five senses to perceive the world. Jukai had expected him to show some sign of change before he'd turned three, but apparently, the effects of Oniwakamaru's treatment were delayed.
He also didn't know which of the treatments had been effective. Had it been acupressure? Proper nutrition and fresh air? Had Sakuzō's visits to Kurama Temple motivated Tamon-ten or the merciful Kannon to work more miracles on his behalf? Perhaps everything that he and Sakuzō had done contributed to his recovery in some way.
The next morning, Jukai accompanied Sakuzō to the grove where he'd seen the wild monkeys gathered around Oniwakamaru. There were no monkeys to be seen when they reached the grove. Jukai had Sakuzō roll out the handcart with Oniwakamaru in it to the exact same spot where it had been the day before. He undid some of the cloth that Oniwakamaru was wrapped in so that the boy's face was clearly visible.
"Take Oniwakamaru out of the cart," Jukai said.
"What?" Sakuzō didn't understand Jukai's intentions. It was dangerous enough for Oniwakamaru to be outside; the cart was his only real protection from environmental dangers.
"Do as I say," Jukai said in a harsh tone.
Sakuzō picked up Oniwakamaru and placed him down outside of the cart.
"Leave him there and come over here," Jukai said.
"Uh..." Sakuzō's concern was plain on his face, but Jukai's command was inflexible. Sakuzō obeyed. The two of them hid behind a tree and waited.
Oniwakamaru was left all on his own, but he didn't cry out or try to roll around. Bright sunlight broke through the tree canopy and shone into the grove. A flock of white-eyed warblers landed in the trees and chirped to one another with lively, twittering voices. It was a shame that Oniwakamaru couldn't hear them.
Sakuzō stared straight up at the white-eyed warblers. "Aren't their voices nice?" he asked Oniwakamaru. He wished the boy could answer him. So did Jukai.
The white-eyed warblers flew out of the trees at the same time; it seemed like they'd been startled by something. When Jukai looked around, he saw a large group of wild monkeys jumping from tree to tree.
Sakuzō's eyes widened in horror. The monkeys drew closer to Oniwakamaru, but they made no attempt to attack. Their attitude was curious, not hostile.
Jukai and Sakuzō exchanged surprised gasps. Neither spoke.
And then, Oniwakamaru laughed.
Up until now, Oniwakamaru hadn't so much as shifted his expression. He'd never spoken a single word—yet now, he was laughing as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His cheeks and mouth must be loose enough—and responsive enough—for him to actually laugh.
"Hahahaha!"
Sakuzō and Jukai stared dumbstruck at one another. Oniwamakaru's head tilted back and forth as if he could hear—or maybe see?—the monkeys.
Oniwamakaru rolled to the right and fell on his back. None of the monkeys laid a finger on him.
"Oni...wakamaru!" Sakuzō called out as he dashed from his hiding place.
The monkeys scattered, screeching as they went. Sakuzō picked up Oniwakamaru.
Jukai felt flushed and over-excited. He hadn't really doubted that Oniwakamaru could sense things somehow, but now, he had proof. He could laugh. He could move on his own, under the direction of his own will.
Jukai approached Sakuzō and Oniwakamaru and crouched down. "You truly were blessed by the compassionate god of Iwakura Shrine. I don't know what life has in store for you, but I swear that I'll give you every advantage I can."
The hopes, dreams, and ambitions that Jukai thought he'd lost returned to him.
***
Sakuzō and Jukai returned to their estate with Oniwakamaru. They didn't notice any other changes for a while. Oniwakamaru was the same expressionless, doll-like lump that he'd always been. The idea that he had ever moved and laughed of his own accord seemed impossible. Even Sakuzō started to doubt what he had seen and heard. He wondered if Oniwakamaru could only hear the monkeys and nothing else.
Oniwakamaru displayed no sign of interest in the human world. It was difficult to tell what he perceived or understood, if anything. It was possible that whatever senses he had weren't fully developed yet, or had atrophied because he wasn't capable of using them.
One day, Jukai ordered Sakuzō to shout in Oniwakamaru's ear.
"Shout?" Sakuzō asked. "What should I shout?"
"Vowel sounds," Jukai said. "'Ah,' 'oh,' 'ee,' and sounds like that. It doesn't really matter what you shout; just make it loud."
"All right, taifu. I'll give it a try."
Sakuzō took Oniwakamaru out in his handcart every day as usual, only now, he started shouting at him.
"Ah!" he shouted.
Oniwakamaru didn't react.
Sakuzō had a naturally loud voice. Though he'd never recovered the full use of it after his throat injury, he used his loud voice to the best of his ability. Birds took flight from the trees whenever he shouted. Rabbits, squirrels and other animals sped away from him in all directions. He was so loud and put in so much effort that he lost his voice after a few days—but he kept shouting for as long as he could, no matter how much his throat hurt.
Jukai used a variety of wild ginger that mainly grew in China and the stem and leaves of the Japanese lady bell flower to make Sakuzō medicines to help him recover his voice more quickly and ease his pain. After Sakuzō recovered his voice, he tried imitating monkey voices instead of shouting.
"Kikiki! Hoeh! Ho!" He added hand gestures and movements, trying desperately to elicit some kind of reaction.
Jukai often shouted at Oniwakamaru as well, but he got the exact same results as Sakuzō.
One warm afternoon, Sakuzō brought Oniwakamaru out to the animal pens in the handcart. He left Oniwakamaru in the cart while he did the milking for the day. In the distance, he heard wild monkeys calling out to each other. It sounded like they were coming closer.
Sakuzō froze still when a monkey approached the handcart, alone. The monkey stood directly in front of Oniwakamaru and let out a high-pitched cry.
Oniwakamaru smiled. Other monkeys emerged from the woods and started whooping.
Sakuzō was overjoyed to see Oniwakamaru's smile. "Monkeys!" he shouted, waving. "We're friends!"
The monkeys were startled and ran back to the trees. Oniwakamaru stopped smiling.
"I'm sorry," Sakuzō said. "I promise that I'll let you play with them more next time."
Oniwakamaru shifted toward Sakuzō and lifted his face up. "Wah," he said.
"What?" Sakuzō crouched down, very close to Oniwakamaru.
"Hahahaha...." Oniwakamaru was laughing again, in a bright, clear voice.
Jukai stood on the opposite side of the yard near one of his storage sheds. When he heard Oniwakamaru's laughter, he smiled so hard that it hurt. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks, but he didn't notice them.
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