Dororo: A Novel
Tsuji Masaki
Part Four
The Tale of Nihil, the Demon Sword
Chapter 7
The sounds of the other samurai warriors stationed outside the temple brought Hyakkimaru back to awareness regarding their current situation. He and Dororo were trapped inside the smoldering temple, surrounded by enemies.
“Aniki! They’re closing in on us!” Dororo said.
Hyakkimaru didn’t react. He put on his prosthetic arms and lifted Mio’s body, holding her for a brief moment. “Dororo,” he said, “get out of here.”
“What? I can’t leave you, aniki.”
“You will. I’ll die here.”
“What?!”
Hyakkimaru gazed down at Mio’s face in death. She was still so beautiful, but she’d gone on to the next world. If Hyakkimaru wanted to see her again in truth, he would have to follow her there.
The first thing Hyakkimaru had seen after gaining his eye was Mio’s face. It wasn’t fair. He’d wanted to see her, but he’d never wanted to see her dead.
“If you’re not running, neither am I,” Dororo said bravely. “I haven’t stolen your sword yet. I’m not giving up on that, even if it kills me!”
The samurai warriors surrounding the temple moved in, cutting off Hyakkimaru and Dororo’s routes of escape. Hyakkimaru had defeated Hirukawa Tanosuke’s demon sword, but the remaining warriors had the advantage of numbers. There was no way that Hyakkimaru would be able to escape them all.
Suddenly, Dororo and Hyakkimaru heard more screaming from outside the temple. White light engulfed the samurai attackers.
“Ah! Save me!”
“It’s a monster! Run!”
The light grew brighter. “It’s a vengeful spirit!” one man yelled.
Dororo gaped in amazement as the samurai warriors fled, scattering in all directions like fallen leaves. The bright light that he and Hyakkimaru saw separated into many smaller lights, perhaps fifty in total. They settled on the ground, taking human shapes.
Dororo stepped forward to take a closer look and identified the children of the temple. “It’s you...” So the children hadn’t gotten away after all. They’d been drawn here by the death of Mio, who’d been their mother in life.
“Mio!” the children cried out, then combined into a single, much larger spirit. Together, the children took Mio’s cold hand in their spiritual one. Slowly and with great care, the children’s spirit lifted Mio in its arms.
The edges of the spirit flared with fire as it began to fade. The spirit faced Dororo, still holding Mio tight. “I guess this is the last time we’ll see you,” the spirit said. “Goodbye.”
The spirit’s words were true. Hyakkimaru would never see Mio or the children ever again. Hyakkimaru felt like he was presiding over a funeral as he made his last farewells.
Something cold trailed down Hyakkimaru’s cheek. “What... ?” he asked. “What is this?”
It was a tear. Hyakkimaru was crying.
For a long time after, Hyakkimaru and Dororo wandered aimlessly, unsure of where they should go or what they should do. They didn’t return to the temple, which was just a burned-out husk of what it had been. A grave marker for Mio and the children.
Dororo and Hyakkimaru--where will they go now?
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